A Message TO ALL KINGS and RULERS in CHRISTENDOM. To all (called) Christian Kings and Princes, and to all the Parliaments and Rulers and governors of every degree, throughout the whole Christian World. A Call unto you all by a servant of the Lord, in the Name of the Lord God, dreadful and mighty, and the highest Power over all the World, That ye take off oppression, and relieve the oppressed, and cease to grind the face of the poor, and from drinking the whore's cup, and from carrying of her, and from all oppressions whatsoever, lest the Lord God Almighty execute his fierce indignation upon you, if ye will not turn at his reproof, and harken to his voice when he calleth unto you. FOrasmuch as it hath come to pass in the World for many Ages since the last glorious appearance of Christ Jesus, and the light of his glorious Gospel, through his Servants the holy Apostles, That Antichrist, that man of sin, the enemy of Christ and his Kingdom, hath ruled in the hearts of people, and throughout & over the Christian World, and he hath been exalted within and without, ever since the falling away from the true faith, which once was delivered to the Apostles and true Churches, and he hath showed himself to be God, and hath sitten in the seat of God, and hath exercised Lordship over the persons and consciences of men, throughout generations, ever since the falling away from the faith; for the true Church, the elected Spouse, the lamb's Wife, which once brought forth him that was to Rule the Nations, and was clothed with the Sun, and had once great beauty and excellency, hath been fled into the wilderness, and hath been desolate as without Husband and Issue; but hath remained in her place, prepared her of God, where she hath dwelled in mourning, and been fed with the bread of sorrow, being pursued thither by the dragon and his floods of cruelty, who also waited to devour the man child when he was born, and the martyr's blood hath been shed, and the holy Prophets, and Apostles and Saints, have been made war against, and killed & persecuted for righteousness sake, and the two witnesses have long laid slain and rejoiced over in the streets of the great City, and the blood of the Innocent hath been drunk, and the Lamb and his followers hath been made war against, and the dragon, the devil and Satan hath deceived the World, into the name of Christians, without true Christian life, and righteousness and Truth hath stood afar off, and Justice and Mercy hath been wanting, and the fear of the Lord and true obedience to him hath been in a great measure expelled out of Nations, and even all that would not worship the Beast and his Images, and receive his mark, the Beast hath had Power to kill them, and he hath had power to execute his wrath against them that have followed the Lamb, even all this time of darkness and apostasy which hath over-shadowed the Christian World, since the Apostles days until this time; And all this hath been since the falling away from the Life and righteousness and Spirit of Jesus, as I have said, and the Beast hath been great that arose out of the Sea, and out of the Earth, (when the true faith was lost) and his power mighty amongst men, for he received power from the dragon, that made war against the true Church, and sought to devour the man child, and power hath been given him over kindred's Tongues and Nations, and all the World hath wondered and followed after the Beast, and have been admiring his power and his great authority, and saying, Who is able to make war with him, for he hath had a mouth given that hath spoken great things, and it hath been given him to war with the Saints, and to overcome them by his unrighteous Laws and decrees, and all that dwelled upon the earth hath worshipped him, whose names are not written in the book of Life, and he hath had many heads, (even divers sorts and changes of government) and many horns, with which he hath pushed the Innocent, and ruled over the earth, and kept all under his power, and he hath set up Images to worship and likenesses without life, and he hath caused both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive his mark, and he hath carried the Whore, and she hath journeyed upon him from Nation to Nation through the earth, in the sheep's clothing, and made all Nations drink her cup of fornications, and the whore, that false Church, she hath sat as a Queen, in great state and authority upon Nations, Tongues, Multitudes and Peoples, and through the Beasts authority, which hath carried her, she hath Ruled in great authority over the consciences, persons and estates of people, and she hath drunk the Saints blood, and the martyr's blood, and in her is found even until this day the blood of the Martyrs and the Prophets, and of just men, and of all that hath been slain upon the earth, and she hath exercised cruelty and tyranny over the heritage of God, and she hath had the sheep's clothing upon her, even part of the garment of the lamb's Wife, and she hath appeared in much beauty with a golden cup in her hand, in which the wine of her fornications, and the filthiness thereof hath appeared, and which she hath caused the Nations to drink, and by her sorceries and witchcrafts she hath deceived the World, and with her false miracles, and shows and Images and false ministers which she hath set up, she hath corrupted the earth, and all this she hath done by the Beasts power, that hath carried her, who received his authority from the dragon, and from the devil; and thus Antichrist, the Beast and the Whore have ruled in the World in great authority for many generations, and the World hath been as a wilderness by them, and waste, and barren of all good fruit, truth and faith hath been departed from amongst men, and love and peace hath been far away, and murders, thefts, wars, strifes and all injustice and wickedness hath abounded in Nations, and thus the whole earth hath been corrupted through the Whore and false Church, who hath deceived Kings and Rulers and Peoples by her enchantments and sorceries, which she hath caused them to receive at her hand, and out of her golden cup of abominations, out of which they have drunk false doctrines and practices to the deceiving of their souls and bodies; But now the day of the Lord is come and coming, and the lamb's Kingdom is to be set up, and the Kingdoms of this world must be changed and recovered again, and will become the Kingdoms of the Lord, and of his Christ, and the marriage of the Lamb is come again, and the day of glad tidings unto the poor and to the distressed, and the lamb's wife, shall be adorned for her husband, she shall be clothed with the Sun, and shall be covered with her former beauty, and shall be led out of the Wilderness, and the earth shall be refreshed and delivered from the oppressions and Tyrannies of Antichrist and the Whore, for the hour of her judgements are come, and the darkness of the night of woeful apostasy which hath clouded the World is passing over, and the light of the Lamb is risen, and the daystar hath appeared in the hearts of people, and the man of sin which hath sat in the Temple, and showed himself to be God, and falsely exercised the bodies and consciences of deceived people in false ways and worships, is discovering and destroying by the spirit of his mouth, and by the brightness of the coming of Jesus, and the Beast and the false Prophet shall be taken alive and cast into the lake of fire, and the Beast and false prophet shall be tormented day and night for ever, for the breath of life from God is entered into the two witnesses, and they shall again prophesy, and the light of the glorious Gospel that hath long been hid, must again be preached to kindred's Tongues and Nations, and the Kingdom of Christ Jesus must be set up, and these things is the Lord God Almighty bringing to pass, and he will confound and destroy Antichrist and all that have worshipped him, and they that have worshipped the Beast, and drunken the cup of fornication, and committed idolatry with the great Whore, they shall be taken and cast into the bed of torment, and shall weep and howl, because of the great destruction of Babylon that great City who hath been the glory of Kingdoms, and made rich her Merchants (the false Ministers) with deceivableness, whom God will overthrow; that great fenced City of confusion (the false Church) that great Whore, the Mother of all abominations, the Lord God is risen against her, to inquire for the blood of martyrs, and Prophets, and righteous men, that is found in her, and she shall be rewarded according to her ways, and as she hath given others to drink the cup of fornication, so in like manner shall she drink the cup of fierceindignation of the Lord's wrath from his Saints, and she shall no more deceive the Nations by her sorceries, but the earth shall be delivered from her, and the Kingdom of the Son of God shall be exalted over all, and the light of the Lamb shall be the Light of all Nations, and all that are saved shall walk in the light of it, and truth shall reign, and the fruit of righteousness shall abound, and all people shall glorify God their Maker, and the whole earth shall be refreshed with the mercy of him that made her. Wherefore all ye Kings, Princes, Parliaments, Rulers through whole Christendom, this is a request unto you all of a lover of Immortal souls, that you will cease to commit fornication with the great Whore, & that you will not any longer drink her cup of Idolatries, neither that you will causeNations to drink it, neither that you will carry the great Whore any more, nor receive her sorceries and enchantments to deceive your souls and bodies, and this the Lord God Almighty (who ought to be the fear & dread of all Nations) requireth of you, and it is a charge to you in the presence of the Lord God, that ye do not any longer defend the great City Babylon, and the false Church with your weapons of cruelty and oppression, neither that you will ever any more oppress the persons and consciences of people on her part and on her defence, but that you will wholly cast off the Whore, and not suffer her to sit upon you, and that you will not be Servants to her, to execute her cruelties upon the bodies and consciences of people; for these things have you done, and therefore is the Lord displeased with you, and therefore deliver yourselves from the abominations of the folse Church, and receive not her delusions, neither impose them upon the peoples under you, for now the judgements of the great Whore is come, and the time that the Lord will reward her according to her ways, and she shall have of the fruit of her doings, and if you will yet uphold her, and commit fornication with her, and compel the Nations to drink of her cup, and cause all people to worship the Beast, and to receive his mark as it hath been, than the Lord shall execute his vengeance upon you, and you shall in no wise be deiivered; Wherefore I say again unto you, arise out of darkness, and come to the brightness of the light of the morning, even to the son's appearance, and receive his Kingdom, and lay down your Crowns at his feet, for the Lamb is risen whose Crown is immortal, and ye and all your glory, and greatness, and honour, and power is but as dust & ashes before him, and he can break you down & never build you up again; and come out of great Babylon, and forsake your city, for the day of the Lord will suddenly come upon you, for great Babylon is come into remembrance before the Lord to reward her with great indignation; Wherefore this is a call unto you, lay aside your Inquisitions, your goals and Houses of Correction, and Prisons, and all your torturing, and persecuting of the Persons and Consciences of People about Worship, Church and Ministry, for in these things and by these weapons you have defended the Whore, and through the force of your violent Laws, and cruel impositions unjustly laid upon people, have the Whore (the false Church) been carried by you, and defended by you; but lay aside all your cruel weapons, and not persecute nor kill, nor shed the blood of the Servants of the Lord, by unjust Laws, nor limit not the Spirit of God from crying against Babylon, and reproving her iniquities, for these things have you done in defence of the Whore, for you have been the carriers of her, the defenders and preserves of her by your unrighteous Laws, and through you hath she sat as a Queen, thinking she should ne'er see sorrow, because ye have defended her, and taken part with her, and caused Nations to drink her cup, for you have been the executors of her pleasure, to compel the Nations to commit Idolatry, and to partake of her fornications, and you give her authority to drink the blood of all that would not drink her cup, and it is now time to forsake these your ways, and to learn wisdom from the Lord, that you may rule in righteousness amongst men, as men, but not to be Rulers in Christ's Throne, nor his Kingdom, by imposing such a Worship, and such a Religion upon people's Consciences, and to destroy and kill all that will not thus worship to your image, and bow according to your prescription, this ye ought not to do, nor the Lord never entrusted you with this power, nor made you Rulers in his Kingdom, nor to sit in his throne of conscience, for while you have done this, your authority hath been from the Dragon, and not from the Lamb; and now this the Lord requireth of you, let conscience go free, and rule not over the Inward man, for while you do take that upon you, to force such a Worship and such a Religion upon people, contrary to the Spirit of God, you are but servants to the great Whore. Wherefore be warned, for this is an invitation of love, righteousness, truth and just judgement, mercy and peace unto you, that you may know what the mind of the Lord is unto you, and may do it, and rule for God and not for man, upon which dependeth the happiness and well-being of a Nation and Nations, and their Rulers, and on the contrary dependeth their overthrow and destruction, and this will speedily be brought to pass; wherefore come out of Babylon, and deliver yourselves from that bondage wherewith the false Church hath bound you, she hath caused you to drink her cup, and you have been made drunk with her false faith, and doctrines and practices; and ye have compelled Nations to drink the same cup of abominations, and ye have executed cruelty and injustice upon all that would not, and ye have been servants to the great Whore, and being in bondage yourselves, you have brought all in bondage under you; but now the Lord is changing times, and things, and powers, and happy are you if ye deliver yourselves, and let the oppressed go free, in so doing, if ye fulfil this my request, and do the will of the Lord herein, than blessings and peace eternal; but if ye be disobedient, and take part continually with the Whore, ye shall partake of her judgements; And this hath the Lord spoken to you, and in the day of vengeance ye shall confess that you are warned, By a Friend to the whole Creation, that waits for the Redemption thereof, Edward Burrough. THE END.