THE JUST WALK BY FAITH AND NOT BY SIGHT. 567 cob wrestled with God and prevailed by faith Moses contended with Pharaoh. Look through the prophets and you will see, how all the just walked by faith, and not by sight; but all that wished to walk by sight, and not by faith, became blind; witness the children of Israel, when they were delivered from the land of Egypt, how soon they lost their faith and became blind, because they would not walk but by sight; and no further than they could see their deliverance, would they walk by faith to believe! But know that Moses, when I sent him to Pharaoh, confessed he was blind; for he could not see the way that I should deliver them; and though he disputed at first I had not delivered them, yet he relied upon my words till I did deliver them; so he that was blind received his sight, because he walked by faith and not by sight; but the children of Israel became blind and perished in the wilderness, because they trusted to their own sight. Now look to Abraham, where the promise was made: did he go by faith or by sight, when he went to offer up his son Isaac? I tell thee, he had no sight of what I should do, before I called unto him, and opened his eyes to shew called him to try his obedience, and then shewed him the Ram that was prepared in the thicket and this I tell thee is the end for believers. For Adam was not pronounced dead to faith, but dead to knowledge; he had faith after his Fall to believe in my protection; but he had no knowledge of the promise that was made; Abel had faith to offer up his sacrifice acceptably in my sight; but he had no knowledge of what his brother would do through malice; for I tell thee, faith was wanting in Cain: he did not walk by faith, as Abel did. Here I have shewed thee, from the beginning, that man was not dead to faith, but he was dead to knowledge; for Cain, who was dead to faith, was dead to knowledge also, as he knew not the fatal

sorrows he should experience in murdering his brother; but had he had faith, as Abel had, his offering would have been acceptable, as Abel's was. Here I have shewed thee, from faith in the beginning, how it was in Adam, and how he taught his sons to haye faith in ME after the Fall; so that FAITH was not dead in man, but UNBELIEF in man tried to slay FAITH, from the beginning, as you see from Cain and Abel. Now if you weigh deep of faith, he goeth on trusting in the Lord, as a blind man trusteth to his leader: and these are the people that I come to open more clear the eye of faith, that they may trust ME to the end, that I shall fulfil my Bible, all my Promises, and my Gospel, in a way they cannot see; and thus the eyes of faith will believe what they cannot see; but unbelief that walks by sight, and will not believe what they cannot see, their eyes I closed to convince all men, when it comes to the end, that man is as I pronounced him-dead in knowledge; but he may be alive in faith. Here I have shewed thee, from my Bible, the meaning of my words, how a man that pretends to see and walk from the sight of his own wisdom, the sight of his own knowledge and understanding, in every age, became blind; for I tell thee, in that blindness the world was drowned, when Noah by faith built the ark, before he had seen their destruction; so if he had not had faith to believe, you must say he built it like a blind man that did not see; for so I tell thee he was judged by the world, that said they had eyes to see. Job was blind the same, when his afflictions came, that he did not see nor know the reason; yet he had faith to trust in ME; but his friends, that thought they saw from whence his judgments came, that the fault must be in Job, became blind by trusting to their own understanding. This you may discern through the Bible; therefore I said I came into the world to prove them blind, who said they saw, that all men

THOSE ONLY SAVED WHO ENTER IN BY FAITH. 569 might know in the end, it is I the Lord that must open the eyes of men's understanding, if they will pass from the death pronounced on them in the Fall, and come to the newness of life that is promised in my Gospel through my death. This all men must discern from my words; for I now tell thee, it is as easy for a man to open the eyes of him that was born blind, as it is for a man to open the eyes of men's understanding; the mystery of the Creation, the mystery of the Fall, and the mystery of my Death, for the redemption of man, none can see the end, nor how the plan was laid throughout, before their eyes are opened by ME: and I tell thee, every man whose eyes are opened by ME, will confess that he was blind to every mystery I have mentioned. But how could all this be proved, if knowledge had been in them that pretended they had eyes to see? Then ages could not have perished, as I said, for want of knowledge. Now mark the words. I said further-He that entereth not in by the door into the sheepfold, but climbeth up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber. Now mark the words I have said to thee before, that from all ages, from the fall of Adam to my coming into the world, no man entered in to be saved, but those that entered in by FAITH: it was by faith the children entered into the furnace, and were preserved in the midst of the flames; by faith Daniel was saved in the lions den; and thou knowest what I have told thee already of faith-that it is by faith and not by sight, all have trusted for their deliverance, that have been delivered in any wondrous manner. And now I tell thee the same of Man's Redemption; it is by faith, and not by sight, that their redemption will come; for no man can see, by all his wisdom, in what way it will take place; neither can they point out any road, or beaten path that is trod by man, to shew them the way. Let a man appeal to his own conscience and see if he will answer to

see the prophecies of ME in the Bible, according as they were spoken by the Prophets, if he could tell in what manner they would be fulfilled, if he had never seen my Gospel; conscience must answer, in the best and wisest of men, they could not tell, without seeing my Gospel, in what manner it was fulfilled; then how can men pretend to say in what manner my Bible will be fulfilled to the Redemption of Man, before they have seen it? Let the Jews appear, that do not believe my Gospel, and tell how the words of the Prophets are to be fulfilled concerning my dying for the transgression of man; or whom they are to look upon that they have pierced. This, I tell thee, cannot be done by the Jews; while they stand out through unbelief, the words of the Prophets stand never to fulfilled by them: perfectly so I tell thee of the end; my Gospel stands to them that professs to believe it, as the Prophets stand to the Jews, that they say they believe, and yet believe they were never fulfilled, and by their judgment they never will; perfectly so are men's judgment of the Gospel: all men must know it is not fulfilled; and according to the wisdom of men it never will be fulfilled; so the wisdom of the Gentiles is like the wisdom of the Jews; and the world by wisdom know not God; therefore I tell thee, he that entereth in by the door, must enter in by faith in the Son of GOD, that as I suffered for man, to accomplish the first, I shall come again in power to accomplish the last, and take away the sin of the world, and bring man to my likeness, as I created him for at first. But as no man could point out the way I should come in the body, from the words of the Prophets, before I came in the body, so, I tell thee, no man can point out the way I shall come in the Spirit to bring in the Redemption of Man, and establish my kingdom in peace and happiness, before I come in the Spirit to accomplish it; therefore, I tell thee, it is by faith, and not by sight,

THE PARABLE OF THE GOOD SHEPHERD. 571

that true believers now must walk: then they will be like the wise virgins, ready to enter in by the door of the sheepfold, when the Shepherd cometh, which is the only Shepherd for your salvation. And I now tell thee, without faith it is impossible for any man to be ready; for how can they say, This is the Lord, we have waited for him, that now deny I ever shall come? Now let them mark the words of the parable that I spoke unto them-My sheep know my voice; but they know not the voice of strangers. Now I tell thee, every man is a stranger to the true knowledge of my Gospel, as the Jews were to the knowledge of the Prophets, while they rely upon their own wisdom; because I have told them they must be led by my Spirit, and not by the wisdom of man; for how can the wisdom of man direct man, when I have shewed thee from all ages, under the Law and under the Gospel, there is no true knowledge in man? Then know, as I said the knowledge must be in ME to know the time when to come and warn mankind my kingdom is at hand, this must done by my Spirit, but can never be done by the wisdom of man. Did Moses know that he should go to deliver the children of Israel, before I came to warn him? Then how can they think the deliverance of man from all the bondage, of sin and Satan can come before I come to deliver them, and this warning must come from ME; therefore I said, I am the good Shepherd that gave my life for the sheep; then if I gave my life for the sheep, shall not the sheep be mine? But know all men, the sheep that are mine will hear my voice and follow ME; that meaneth, they will believe in MY VOICE, and in MY VISITATION, that I alone am the Shepherd that can warn the flock of my coming, and so they will be waiting for MY COMING till all shall hear MY VOICE and live. Here I have shewed thee from this chapter, the parable that I spoke unto them of the end, that no man could enter into the