Your artificial, squibbling suggestions to the world about myself, my imprisonment, and the like, I freely bind unto me as an ornament among the rest of my reproaches, till the Lord shall wipe them off at his coming.
Faith and holiness are my professed principles, with an endeavor, so far as in me lieth, to be at peace with all men. What shall I say? Let mine enemies themselves be judges, if any thing in these following doctrines, or if aught that any man hath heard me preach, doth or hath, according to the true intent of my words, savored either of heresy or rebellion. I say again, let them themselves be judges, if aught they find in my writing or preaching doth render me worthy of almost twelve years' imprisonment, or one that deserveth to be hanged or banished for ever, according to their tremendous sentence. Indeed my principles are such as lead me to a denial to communicate in the things of the kingdom of Christ with the ungodly and open profane; neither can I consent that my soul should be governed in any of my approaches to God by the superstitious inventions of this world, because commanded to the contrary, or commended for so refusing. Wherefore, excepting in this one thing—for which I ought not to be rebuked—I shall, I trust, in despite of slandor and falsehood, discover myself at all times a peaceable anl obedient subject. But if nothing will do, unless I make my conscience a continual butchery or slaughter-shop—unless, putting out mine own eyes, I commit myself to the blind to lead me, as I doubt not is desired by some—I have determined, the Almighty God being my help and shield, yet to suffer, if frail life might continue so long, even till the moss shall grow on mine eyebrows, rather than thus to violate my faith and principles.
To the reader. I marvel not that both yourself and others do think my long imprisonment strange—or rather strangely of me for the sake of that—for verily I should also have done it myself, had not the Holy Ghost long since forbidden me. 1 Pet. 4: 12; 1 John, 3: 13. Nay, verily, notwithstanding that, had the adversary but fastened the supposition of guilt upon me, my long trials might by this time have put it beyond dispute; for I have not hitherto been so sordid, as to stand to a doctrine right or wrong; much less, when so weighty an argument as above eleven years' imprisonment is continually dogging of me to weigh and pause and weigh again the grounds and foundation of those principles for which I thus have suffered. But having not only at my trial asserted them, but also since—even all this tedious tract of time, in cool blood, a thousand times—by the word of God examined them, and found them good, I cannot, I dare not now revolt or deny the same, on pain of eternal damnation.
XXIII. ANTICHRIST.
ANTICHRIST DESCRIBED.
ANTICHRIST is the adversary of Christ; an adversary really, a friend pretendedly. So then antichrist is one that is against Christ; one that is for Christ, and one that is contrary to him; and this is that "mystery of iniquity."
Against him in deed; for him in word, and contrary to him in practice: antichrist is so proud as to go before Christ, so humble as to pretend to come after him, and so audacious as to say that himself is HE. Antichrist will cry up Christ; antichrist will cry down Christ; antichrist will proclaim that himself is one above Christ.
Antichrist is the "man of sin," the "son of perdition;" a beast that hath two horns like a lamb, but speaks as a dragon.
Christ is the Son of God; antichrist is the son of hell.
Christ is holy, meek, and forbearing; antichrist is wicked, outrageous, and exacting.