A divine looking-glass, or, The third and last testament of Our Lord Jesus Christ whose personal residence is seated on his throne of eternal glory in another world : being the commission of the spirit, agreeing with, and explaining of the two former commissions of the law and Gospel, differing only in point of worship : set forth for the tryal of all sorts of supposed spiritual lights in the world, until the ever-lasting true Jesus, the onely high and mighty God, pesonally appear in the air with his saints and angels / by John Reeve and Lodowick Muggleton ...

CHAP. XLIX.

1 Concerning Gods becoming a childe. 2 None lives, and moves, and have their beings in God, but the Seed of Faith. 3 No creature capable to be essentially one with God.

AGain it is written, In him we live, and move, and have our be∣ing: Also it is written, Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord. What did the Apostle mean by living in the Lord, and dying in the Lord? Or how can a man be said to live in the Lord, and to die in the Lord also?

2 My spiritual friends, though all men have their life or being, in the Creator or in this power by vertue of creation, yet none but the elect do spiritually live, move, or have any being in him: and that is by vertue of redemption onely, and that was the occasion of the Prophets saying, for unto us a childe is born, unto us a son is given: now you know that the Prophet spoke them words, long after the birth of that glorious babe, and yet you see that all his joy or glory, in reference to a life to come, was fixed onely in the person of that Childe.

3 Thus the Prophet, by vertue of the true Jesus in him, did spiri∣tually live, and move, and had his being in the Lord of Hosts, in a full assurance that God the everlasting Father and Creator of both worlds, and all in them, would become a little childe for the Re∣demption of his elect from eternal death, by pouring forth of his most precious life: it is writted, who hath believed our report, or unto whom is the arm of the Lord revealed?

4 Thus you may see, that those men which wanted the light of life in them, to receive that prophetical report, concerning the God of Glory's coming by the out-stretched arm of his eternal Spirit in a body of flesh, to redeem the elect world to himself, were utterly ig∣norant

of the Prophets spiritually living, moving, or being in the Lord.

5 So likewise this was the Apostle Pauls meaning also, when he said for in him we live, and move, and have our being, according to that saying of his, for the life which I now live, is by the faith of the Son of God, which gave himself for me: Also you know it is written to this effect, that some men did live without God in the world; so that you may understand that reprobate men are accounted by the spirit of the Scriptures to live and to die in the devil, and to rise again ve∣ry devils in souls and bodies to all eternity.

6 The chosen of God are guided by the true light or love of Christ by vertue of that light, they are accounted to live and to die in the Lord, and to rise again in the Lord both soul and body, because of their God-like condition, even to all eternity.

7 Thus you that are filled with the light of the true Jesus may clearly see, though a natural man by vertue of creation may be said to live in, or by the power of the Lord, yet upon a spiritual account in reference to Redemption, he may be an absolute devil in him∣self, and so wholly live in the dark power.

8 Moreover, though it is said that the Saints live and die in the Lord, yet I would not have you think that the spirits of the Saints and the spirit of the Lord are so united, that they are but one essen∣tial life or spirit; no, that was none of the Apostles intent in those words: but as beforesaid, his meaning was, that those men which were possessed with the true light of life eternal, by a continual in∣tercourse with the God of Glory from whence that light proceeded, they were vertually united unto the eternal Spirit.

9 Though the chosen of God are vertually united to the eternal spirit of a glorified Christ, yet how can it be said they die in the Lord? or what is meant by their dying in the Lord? Truly most of the elect of God themselves are dark in this thing, it is a sealed book unto them, the Lord alone must open it.

10 My beloved brethren, as there is two lives of the elect in the Lord, a life of grace, and a life of glory, proceeding from one and the same spirit, onely differing much in degree; so likewise you may know there may be said to be two deaths or dyings of the Saints in the Lord also.

11 Moreover, you know by vertue of the light of Christ in the new born of God, they become dead to all their former inward fil∣thiness of flesh and spirit, as namely, they are dead to covetousness,

envy, pride, lust, yea and all excess of vain-glorious delights among men that perish: so likewise they are dead to all their formal righ∣teousness, or hypocritical holiness, to be seen of men.

12 Moreover, they are dead to all carnal Christs in men whatso∣ever, whether they be literal, natural, or notional Christs of empty words onely, arising onely from that blinde-born devil of mans ima∣ginary reasons:

13 Furthermore, there is such a self-denying spirit in all experi∣mental true born Christians from the high heavens, that they abhor to put confidence in any God, Christ, Light, or Life, to give glory un∣to any thing that is in sinful man or angels in the least;

14 Because they certainly know that there is not one motion or thought of any spiritual light or truth in man or angel, but what he received from an infinite glorious Majesty, whose personal presence is in a world where never any actual rebellions was committed a∣gainst his Holy Spirit.

15 Thus in a small measure, through divine assistance, I have shew∣ed you what is the first dying in the Lord, in reference to the first re∣surrection from carnal darkness, to the true light of life in Christ Je∣sus, God-man blessed for ever and ever, Amen. Now give me leave to write a little of the second and last dying in the Lord, because of the eternal personal glory that will immediately follow it.