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'Oh! the Lord hasteth to bless His people: hinder Him not. Oh and let the Lord's servant Tudor also come hither and wait upon his God. Ah! Jesus hath blessings for him. Oh! be ye not slow of heart to believe !

'Oh! haste thou in thy work- -discern thou the time !' (7)

'Again the Lord spake by Mr. Taplin :

'Oh! for the eye of faith: shall it not be given? Shall there not be a gathering? Let the Apostles be gathered, Oh! let them be gathered. Oh the hindrance, the hindrance of the flesh. It hindereth the Lord in His purpose.

'And ye stars in the hand of Jesus, ye Seven, labour ye to enter into the purpose of the Lord; let not Satan in your flesh hinder.

'Ah! ye Seven. Jesus would separate his Apostles by you; He would commit them to the faith of the Church by you, that He might make them shine.

'Oh! let that Apostle (Cardale) hasten his work, let him gather the Twelve. Oh! the failing, the failing of the foundation. Oh! the failing in your faith. Did not Jesus commit him to your faith? Did He not commit him to your prayers, ye Angels of the Churches? Oh! haste, to gather them. Ah! and thou Pillar of Angels, gather thou the Angels, gather thou the sons, all the sons of the morning. Discern thou the season, number the seven days before it, to wait upon the Lord. The perfect waiting; for Jesus will be inquired of; He will be wrought with; He will be laboured with; He

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'Oh! have ye seen it? Have ye seen it? the darkness of the pit, the outer darkness, the gnashing of teeth, the beating of the bosom, the eye lifted to the light but sealed in darkness. Oh! thou Apostle Drummond, write to thy brother at Oxford, and tell him to go and meet the Lord's servant and Apostle at Dumfries (Mr. D. Dow); let them carry together the commandment of the Lord. Shall not the ruby have fire in its bosom? fire of love!'

Mr. Drummond, inquiring respecting the time the Lord had spoken of, the Lord spake again:

'Oh! is not the fourteenth of the seventh the time? Have ye no faith? would ye let the word slip out of your heart? The fourteenth of the seventh! is it not the month coming?' (2)

'Inquiry being further made whether it was the lunar or calendar month, the word came :—

'She putteth the moon under her feet. Ah! the sun to rule the day. Clothed with the sun. Number ye not four?

'Ah! the Twelve, the Twelve Constellations of Heaven. Shall they not be brought forth? Shall they not be seen?'

'Again the word came :

'Let all thy Angels come, let them be gathered, and the Lord shall give them discernment of Twelve. Have faith in the word. Oh! have faith in thy God.'

On July II we have the following record. Respecting the admission of Mr. David Dow, to whom Mr. Woodhouse and Mr. Sitwell had been sent by the word of the Lord, the Lord spake :

:

'Shall an unclean spirit be let into the house of your God?'
'Again :-

Ah! ye Pillars, stand in your places.

'Ye Angels! ye Seven! Stand in your places and ye shall have discernment. Ye servants of the living God, upon whom is the name of Apostle, ye are in the place of rule, look ye also unto the Lord, and ye shall have discernment.'

Again, by another :

'Ah! by the messengers whom the Lord hath sent may he come, and by no other.'

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On July 13 Mr. Drummond inquired, as keeper of the Oracles, what he was to do if any word of the Lord had not been obeyed. The Lord spake

'Ah! if it be not obeyed, bring the matter before the Council.'

' Mr. Drummond then said that the word respecting the message to David Dow had not been obeyed, and that the two servants, Mr. Woodhouse and Mr. Sitwell, were not to take their seats until they had seen Mr. Dow. They proceeded to leave the Council in search of Mr. Dow, when the Lord spake by Mr. Taplin :

'Return not until thou hast seen him, and thou also who accompanied His servant, who is sent. Shall not the sun stand still? Thou Sun of the Firmament of Heaven, Jesus, stay thy course until thy servant is found.

' And thou, Church, stay thy course until His servant be found. Oh! your enemies are strong, they are mighty. Oh! for the lifting up of the hand unto God that ye may prevail.'

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During the intercession which was then made, the Lord spake :'Oh! the betrayed one, the Lord Jesus, hath passed through the grief. Ah! shall He be crucified again?

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Carry ye the burden of your Lord into your closets.

'Carry ye the burden till ye are delivered.

'Shall Jesus stand at the altar, and shall not His Angels stand with Him on the earth, pressing out their intercession that their brother may be saved, that his light may not be hid in darkness for ever?'

'On the 14th, the day appointed (the fourteenth of the seventh) for the separating of the Apostles, at the morning sacrifice, the word of the Lord came at the close of the service :

'Oh! ye princes of Israel, Jesus again breaketh silence in your ear. Have ye considered the matter? Know ye not there is a tribe lacking this day in Israel? Would ye sit upon thrones judging the sealed ones of Israel? Know ye not that ye shall appear at the bar of your God, and your brother shall appear, and the faithful shall judge the faithless?

Go ye every one and plead ye with him. Ah! have ye the tears

of Jesus? Drop them before him. Oh! haste ye to fulfil your work. Let the Angels stay and intercede. Ah! ah, the Angels! let them plead and bring ye your brother. Command him to come into the Council of the Lord. Command him to come. Plead with him to come.'

'The Apostles departed in order to fulfil their mission, and the Angels continued in prayer until the time of the meeting of the Council, at twelve mid-day.'

(Mr. Dow had been found obdurate in his refusal to be an Apostle.)

'The Lord spake through Mr. Cardale :

'Oh! ye Angels, think not the prayer hath not been heard; think not that Jesus hath not been with you.

He hath pleaded, and He

hath obtained. Ah! the counsel of your God shall stand. 'His purposes shall not fail.

your God shall stand.

Man may fail; but the purposes of

'His bishopric let another take. Ah! of those that have companied with Jesus from the beginning.'

'Through Mr. Taplin :

'And let the Apostles choose, and the Lord shall give forth the lots.'

'Through Mr. Drummond :

'Ah! ye Angels, hath your faith stood in your God? hath it stood in the purpose of your God?'

"Through another :

'From the Angels who have been with us from the beginning let the Apostles choose, and the Lord shall give forth the lot. Shall He not choose His servant?'

'The Apostles withdrew, and during their absence the Lord spake by Mr. Taplin :

'Oh! is it a wonderful thing in your eyes? (2) Oh! ye look at the creatures of a day. Ah! ye mind the things of a day (2). Ah! and therefore the counsel of the Almighty seemeth strange.'

"The Apostles returned, and a word of the Lord came by Mr. Taplin :

Call thou the servants of the Lord, framed before the Pillar of Apostles. Ah those whom ye have chosen.'

'Mr. Cardale called forward Mr. Mackenzie and Dr. Thompson. The word of the Lord came again by Mr. Taplin :

'Ah! hath not Jesus chosen His servant? (2) He saw him in the beginning (2). He saw his faith. He saw he was a foundation in the beginning. Ah! ye Apostles have chosen (2).' (Tongue.) [Then going up to Dr. Thompson.] 'Oh! thou hast been very faithful. Oh! but thou hast a hindrance to thy work. Jesus commandeth thy faith, commandeth thy love; for through much darkness and danger hast thou followed Him. And He shall receive thee yet in His kingdom. Oh! envy not thy brother; he spareth thee suffering.' [Then going up to Mr. Mackenzie.] (Tongue.) 'Ah! Jesus chooseth thee; for thou art reckless in thy love; thou art reckless in

thy faith; thou fearest not the face of a man that shall die. Oh! thou hast been faithful, and Jesus chooseth thee. But a threefold cord is not quickly broken. Let the Angels choose whether of these servants shall choose the Lord. Let them stand in the presence of God (2) and give their assent.'

'The Angels all rose in assent. Through Mr. Cardale the word

came :

'Blessed be thou, servant of the Lord. Draw thou nigh and take thy place, and serve thou faithfully, as thou hast served. He taketh thee from thy charge from feeding the sheep. He giveth thee to his universal Church, an Apostle of Jesus.'

'Afterwards the word came by Mr. Cardale :

'Let the Angels at the evening sacrifice bless this brother in the name of the Lord.'

'At the evening sacrifice the Lord spake by Mr. Taplin (Tongue): 'Ah! the Lord hath thundered out of heaven. . . . Ah! He hath triumphed (5). He hath His twelve (3). Oh! behold ye the triumph of faith.'

'Oh! invoke thou the presence of the Lord' (to Mr. Heath). 'Then turning round to the rest of the Angels:

'Ah! ye lay on your hands in the seven on your brethren. Stand ye up assenting. Stand ye up rejoicing.'

'The seven Angels proceeding to obey the word, the Lord spake by Mr. Taplin :

'Ah! let the Apostles stand.'

'After hands had been laid on Mr. Percival:

'Oh! it is the separating from the mother, yet of the mother. Oh! ye cannot ascend to the throne, ye have to flee into the wilderness.'

'After hands had been laid on them all, the Lord spake by Mr. Cardale :

'Ah! caught up, caught away. Oh! the child of faith committed to the care of the Church!'

Those who have formed their judgment of Mr. Drummond from his anti-Popery harangues in the House of Commons, will perhaps be surprised at his report to the Council, on his return from abroad, in which he says:

'Every part of the ceremony of the Mass is replete with meaning to those who are well instructed, and therefore greatly conducive to devotional feelings.

'On a comparison of those who are seeking to serve God in the Papacy with those who are doing the same among the Evangelical sects, the result is vastly favourable to the former, especially in uprightness, moral integrity, absence of cant and boasting. Persons are to be found in France and Italy of the highest merit, whilst it would be difficult to point out any such amongst the Evangelical Protestants of France and Switzerland.'

One more extract we will give to show that Mr. Cardale,

when he could divest himself of the language of prophecy, could write vigorous, incisive English. It is part of a manifesto addressed by the Apostles to the Churches on August 4th, 1840, asserting their own authority, and declaring their intention no longer to seek counsel from the Council, having learned 'the state of men's minds, and especially the minds of the ministers of the seven churches in London :'

'Apostles are the ordinance for commandment, and to the words of Apostles Angels are to look, and they are not to expect to be satisfied, so as that they should claim to hear the words of prophecy giving light to Apostles.

'Apostles are the judges of the sufficiency as well as of the intent of those words of prophecy. They only are the discerners of those words of prophecy, and therefore none others can adjudicate on the question whether Apostles are acting in the light or not. And so with respect to the several ordinances for counsel given to Apostles. Apostles are the judges of the occasion when to seek counsel, and of the hearing of that counsel. They cannot bring the decision in any question whatever under the adjudication of others, whether or no counsel is to be sought, and whither it leads when given. And our brethren should remember that they are not to look to twelve men, nor to any other number of men, but to the ordinance of God for commandment and rule.

'The case is still stronger as to doctrine. . . . Apostles are the ordinance for doctrine. The doctrine of the Church is the doctrine delivered by Apostles, and all ministers are called to have faith in God, that the twelve Apostles will not deliver to them any doctrine, but that which is the doctrine of the Church, the expression of the eternal truth of God.'

With this high-handed assertion of Apostolic authority, we might say infallibility, we must conclude our extracts, and it is quite time to bring this article to a close. We revert to the question,—Who are these Apostles with such high pretensions? What are their credentials? They claim a call from God through the voice of prophecy. We have shown to what grave suspicion that call lies open, especially in the case of Mr. Cardale, the first Apostle, when, even according to their own admission, there was no one to discern between the voice of the Spirit and the voice of Satan. They appeal in vain to prophecies fulfilled or miracles performed in support of this claim. Has their success been sufficient to compensate for any defect in their title? Far from it. After forty-seven years they have gathered in not more than 10,000, and these not from the unbelieving world, but from those whom they acknowledge to have been believers before. Well may Mr. Miller say

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