A Treatise Concerning Heaven and Hell and of the Wonderful Things Within (Paperback)

Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: church of God. Nor can we here forbear to pafs a reproof on all thofe, who, whilft they profefs a reverence for the Gofpel Revelation, patronize at the fame time the infidelity of the Sadducees, as touching angels and fpirits, and all extraordinary difpenfations: for to deny all communication with the fpiritual world, whether by vifion, or any other means, naturally leads to Atheifm; and their pernicious rea- fonings in this way have had dreadful effects upon the prefent times, by weakening the fenfe of religion and confcience in the lower clafles of the people. The belief of an intercourfe with the other world, according to the truth of it, keeps alive and cherifiies faith in the immortality of the foul in all ranks of people, and familiarizes the mind to it's exiftence feparate from the body; and it is not to be doubted, that fuch gracious vouchfafements were granted to the Jews under the Law, and have been continued fmce to the church under the Gofpel, in aid and afliftance to men's faith in the written traditions of both difpenfations: fuch being the goodnefs of the Lord in companion to the weaknefs of our nature, and the dulnefs of our minds, which ftand fo much in need of frefh, awakening incitements to call off our attention from earthly to heavenly things. And therefore we cannot but lament, that any men or name in the church, though little deferving of it on this account, have gone fo far beyond this line, as to affert, that all extraordinary gifts and fupernatural difpenfations have totally ceafed fince the third century; but we have no authority for this but their own, and therefore do upon much better grounds alfert, that extraordinary gifts and vouchfafements never did nor will ceafe in the church, till that which is perfect fhall come, that is, till fuch extraordin...