And also, how man and woman fell from the living God; and how the Serpent became the God of the World. And how God was the teacher of man and woman, who made man and woman perfect: And when they forsook God's teaching, and followed the serpent's teaching, they became unperfect. And how Christ cometh to destroy the devil, and bring man and woman under God's teaching again, who taught them in the beginning. And how the son of perdition did appear. And what the glory of the world is, that the devil would have given to Christ, if he would have worshipped him. And how the world's god came to have a kingdom, and what it standeth in, and must have an end: And what Christ's kingdom stands in, which hath no end. And how the gospel is bad news to the world's god; but good news to them that believe. And how the Old Testament was read among the Jews in their mother-tongue; and so ought all the Christians to read the New Testament among the Christians in their mother-tongue. With some Queries for all to consider of, in the latter end of this book; and other remarkable things. By G. F.

THE Lord God of heaven and earth, who is the creator and maker of all things therein, which created and made all things good; so he is the great Lord of all, both of things in heaven, and things in the earth, and therefore all things are to be subject to the great Lord, especially man and woman, whom he made in his own likeness and image.

So he is called God Almighty over all his works; and the Lord God Almighty to oversee all his works, who is present everywhere, God the father, who is the nourisher and preserver of all creatures that he hath made, and takes care for all, who gives life, being and breath unto all, and made the earth to be inhabited, and placed man upon it, who is

the God of the spirits of all flesh. So he hath given man and woman a spirit and breath to dwell upon the face of the earth, and to serve and worship him in: So that the earth is the Lord's, and the fulness thereof; and man and woman is the Lord's, which he made in his image, who gave all the creatures into the hands of man and woman, which are his, to serve men and women; and men and women to worship and serve God, and not to serve the creatures, but their Creator; nor to make images, or likenesses, or gods, of any creature that God Almighty had created; but that they all should serve man and woman, and man and woman to serve God the Creator, who is above the creatures.

For God placed man and woman (whom he had made in his likeness) above all the rest of the creatures that he had made, and in his power gave them dominion.

So when God Almighty had made and created all things, he saw that they were good, yea, very good, and blessed them; and made man and woman in his own image and likeness, and set them in dominion above all that he made, and they were made good and perfect, and he blessed them.

So man and woman were happy, blest, perfect and good, and all that God made and created was very good and blest, and so stood as long as man and woman stood in the counsel of God, and in obedience to his heavenly voice and command, and so was happy, blest, good and perfect, and was not burdened, nor did not groan, neither man nor woman, nor the creation under the bondage of corruption.

For there was nothing that made them groan so long as man and woman stood in the righteousness and holiness that God Almighty made them in, and obeyed his voice and command.

Now you may say, 'Then how came in the curse and imperfection, and the bondage and corruption, that maketh both the creation, and man and woman thus to groan?'

I say, as long as man and woman stood in God's counsel, and in obedience to his word, and wisdom, and power, by which all things were made and created, they stood in the perfect, good and blessed estate, and in the dominion, in God's righteous holy image and likeness, which did neither corrupt nor burden themselves nor the creation, but stood blessed and perfect in their good estate, which God, who is the only God, had placed them in.

And likewise, all the creation stood in its blessed and good estate, as God Almighty had made it in, who is good, and made all good, perfect and blessed.

And the Lord gave a general liberty to man and woman, and a dominion; and said, 'Freely ye may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden,' and limited them only from eating of the fruit of the tree of know

ledge of good and evil; saying, 'In the day that ye eat thereof, ye shall surely die.'

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Now the devil, the serpent, that abode not in the truth, who was an enemy to man's prosperity and happiness, that tree of knowledge of good and evil, which God Almighty had forbidden man and woman to eat of, and told them In the day that they did eat thereof, they should die,' that did the serpent make his text of to beguile and deceive man and woman with, which God had forbidden man and woman to eat of. And he being more subtile than any beast of the field, he said unto the woman, by way of question, 'Yea,' said he, hath God said, ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?' so the subtile serpent comes to tempt afar off, at the first speaking in general, as to other trees as well as this tree of knowledge: But the woman answered him wisely at first; if she had kept so, she had kept her simplicity; We may eat (said she) of the fruit of the trees of the garden; but the fruit of the tree in the midst of the garden, God hath said, ye shall not eat, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.'

And then the serpent said unto the woman, 'Ye shall not surely die; for God doth know (said the serpent) in the day that you eat thereof your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.'

Now here as Christ said, 'He was a liar and a murderer from the beginning, who abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him; and when he speaks a lie, he speaks of his own, for he is a liar and the father of it.' So he was the father of this lie, which Eve and Adam believed, and so came under the curse and condemnation, and lost their blessed state; who instead of having their eyes opened, by disobeying God, the god of truth, the world's god out of truth blinded them.

' And when the woman saw it was good for food, and pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also to her husband, and he did eat thereof.'

And so the eyes of them both were opened to what was forbidden, but came to be blind to the inward; and then they knew they were outwardly naked; and they sowed fig-leaves together, and made them

aprons.

Now their eyes were downward, through their disobedience to the voice and command of God; for their eyes were far above transgression, whilst they kept in obedience to God's command; they saw then no nakedness, neither were they terrified or troubled at God's appearance, nor had they any shame: But after they had broken the command of God, they heard the voice of the Lord God, walking in the garden in the cool of the day; and Adam and his wife hid themselves

from the presence of the Lord God, amongst the trees of the garden; which hiding and fear was the fruits of their disobedience to their Maker.

And when the Lord God called unto Adam, and asked him, 'Where he was?' he said, 'I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked, and I hid myself.'

And the Lord said unto Adam, Who told thee, thou wast naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree which I commanded thee, that thou shouldst not eat of?' And Adam said, 'The woman which thou gavest to be with me, she gave me, and I did eat.'

And the Lord God said unto the woman, 'What is this that thou hast done?' And the woman said, 'The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat.'

So here came the first finding fault, the woman found fault with the serpent, and the man with the woman after transgression. But whilst they kept in obedience to the voice and command of the Lord, there was no such finding fault.

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And the Lord God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field, and upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life.'

And then the Lord said, 'I will put enmity betwixt thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.'

And unto the woman the Lord said, 'I will greatly multiply thy sorrow, and thy conception: In sorrow shalt thou bring forth children: and thy desire shall be unto thy husband, and he shall rule over thee.'

So, here began the sorrow and anguish; and here came the man to have the rule over the woman, (after transgression;) for they were meet-helps before transgression, and in the image of God.

And unto Adam the Lord said, 'Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and eaten of the tree which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it, cursed is the ground for thy sake; and in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life.'

Here the serpent tempted the woman to eat, and the woman gave unto the man, and he hearkened unto her voice.

So they both forsook God's voice and commandment; and then that brought them into sorrow, by hearkening to the serpent, who was out of truth, and disobeying the voice and command of the God of truth.

So this brought the curse upon the ground for man's disobedience; and so, in sorrow he was to eat of that which the curse had come upon, by their transgression, all the days of his life, and thorns and thistles the ground shall bring forth to Adam and Eve in the transgression. So instead of the garden and paradise, they had that ground which was