The Prophetic Telegraph - No.115
The Return of the Curse of Quietism
[This is a lengthy but important paper, and it
comes as a result of considerable research over a period of time, as
information was gathered from the Bodleian Library at Oxford, and Dr. Williams'
Library in London, as well as numerous other extracts found in Encyclopaedias.
It reveals an ancient spiritual deception that held sway over centuries, but
has recently been resurrected with a new and ugly face. This presentation is
NOT a diatribe against those brethren held captive by it, but a sincere attempt
to unmask and identify the dark powers who propagate the deception. We are not
attacking Christians, but fighting against spiritual wickedness in high places,
a sure Pauline directive found in Ephesians chapter six.]
Talk to the average
Christian using such expressions as Evangelical, Catholic, Pentecostal,
Charismatic, Toronto Blessing, Promise Keepers, Kansas City Prophets, Alpha
Course, etc., and they'll say, "Oh yes," because these (and
many other such titles) are always up-front in the news. Even if they don't
fully know all the details, they will have read articles in magazines. But
mention the word "Quietism", and by and large it
creates a silence, a puzzled expression, and probably a complete lack of
interest. The word itself is no advertisement to raise eyebrows. When believers
today are saturated with excitement, conventions, "new moves of the
Spirit", and every form of experientialism, the whole concept of "Quietism"
turns them off! "What's this?" they'll say, "Is it
some new word for the Quiet Time?" (which every 'respectable
Christian' is supposed to have each day). No, it's not. The subject is one that
needs airing, especially at this present time. In this article I want to give a
review of the background history, and its relevance to today's Christianity.
Believe me, it's very important.
This is not the first time
I've written about Quietism in a Prophetic Telegraph. In June 1996 I had occasion
to print a warning, in connection with the works of Jane Leade. (PTs 90 &
90A, available on this site.) But since then the new outworking of this form of
devotion has come to our notice, and we have been very alarmed at what we've
read and heard. Hence, further research had been undertaken, and here are our
conclusions.
[It was Cardinal
Caraccioli, Archbishop of Naples, who first coined the word "Quietist",
in the final decade of the 17th Century. Prior to this there had been talk of "Mysticism",
where the mystic retired into himself, so to speak, and by a process of "contemplation",
drew near to God. The subject in its historical setting is almost entirely a
Roman Catholic preserve, though in more recent years it has been considered a
useful tool by Protestants. More as we proceed.]
Early traces of Mystical
Quietism
Traces of mysticism can be
found in very early times, for example, Plotinus (205 - 270 AD) the Greek
philosopher and founder of Neo-platonism, proposed a theory which taught that "the
immaterial, impersonal, indescribable 'One' is the ground of all existence and
value. From it emanate successively MIND, SOUL, and NATURE. Mind contemplates
and organises within itself the Platonic Forms; Soul thinks less coherently,
thus creating time and space; Nature 'dreams' the chaotic material world, the
source of all evil. Man partakes of all these; by rejecting material nature and
cultivating the intellect, he may briefly become mystically united with the
One." (Extract from the MacMillan Encyclopedia.)
Then comes Pseudo-Dionysius
the Areopagite (early 6th Century AD). [His real name is unknown, but his
writings were originally attributed to Dionysius the Areopagite, who was
converted to Christianity by
But it wasn't until 1545
that religious mysticism appeared within the Catholic Church in a publicised
format. "De Oratione et Meditatione" [Concerning Prayer and
Meditation] was written by Pedro de Alcantara. In his treatise he distinguished
two ways leading to eternal life, the outer way, which
consisted of religious pietism and meditation, and an inner path, which consisted of mystical contemplation. These two words, meditation and
contemplation, are important to an understanding of Quietism. Later writers
such as Teresa of
Alcantara's thesis may be
summed up in the words of Arthur Brockhuysen. "Prayer is the main
instrument to true piety. However, it must be practised as a deep inwardly
concentrated prayer inside the heart (oratio mentalis, oratio
recollectionis). This prayer consists mainly of surrendering oneself to the
guidance and will of God, and the elimination of the personal will. It
is essential to abide in God and to continue the prayer in the heart until one
feels refreshed through the grace of God. The soul should let this flux of
grace flow over itself as long as possible as a blessing. Discursive
thinking must be stopped, so that the soul can remain concentrated entirely
within itself."
The resignation of the
personal will, and the elimination of all forms of thinking lay at the root of
this mystical "contemplation". Other well-known figures gave their
whole-hearted support to this method, such as Catherine of Genova,
Angela of Foligno, Tauler, Suso, Bernard of Clairvaux, and Thomas a Kempis. Then
Teresa de Jesus (who was born
The most fertile soil for
the Quietist movement in those days was in
The writings of Miguel de
Molinos, 1628 - 1697
This brings us down to the
time of Miguel de Molinos (1628 - 1697) a pious Spanish priest
with a deep inner life, a mild and friendly man, well versed not only in the
writings of the mystics, but also those of the early church fathers. He was
born on
1. The darkness,
dryness, and temptations with which God purifies souls, and about inner
concentration.
2. The way towards
perfection requires a spiritual guide who must be obeyed.
3. The description of
the state of contemplation. [The book, translated into English, may be found on
the Internet. It is lengthy, amounting to about 70 pages of A4]
Once again there was an
emphasis on the outer way (with its meditation)
and the inner way, (with its contemplation).
Molinos said that by not speaking, desiring, or even thinking, one may arrive
at the perfect mystical silence wherein God may speak to the soul. The exercise
is to enter into one's self, in God, because there is His centre and
habitation. The Pope expressed his great appreciation of the book,
which went into more than twenty editions within six years in Italian, Spanish,
French, Dutch and Latin. By 1685 some 12,000 letters were found in Molinos's
possession, written by well-wishers and enquirers from all over Catholic
Europe.
But it was in that fateful
year that Miguel de Molinos was arrested. It came about as a result of a letter
written by Cardinal Caraccioli to the Pope, wherin he spoke of Miguel's "Quietism".
(Here was the word in its first usage). Apparently, according to the Cardinal,
the process of contemplation was leading to the disuse of the rosary, crucifix,
and other tangible aids to devotion, which had from early times been an
essential part of Catholic dogma and practice. To make matters worse for
Miguel, his Quietism had spread so vigorously in Catholic countries that it
seemed set to dominate the entire Roman Church. Moreover, the Cardinal found
among those who honoured Molinos, those who spoke slightingly of ecclesiastical
ceremonies and sacraments. These were serious accusations, seen to be
undermining the very fabric of the Catholic Church. That which began with the
Pope's blessing was now seen as a dangerous practise, calculated even to
overthrow the Pontiff's authority. The Inquisition was alerted, and Molinos was
detained for questioning.
On
The writings of Madame Guyon,
1648 - 1714
We now turn to
She wrote of no conversion
experience, presupposing that Christ had always lived in her heart. So she
responded to the Lord by saying, "Thou wast in my heart, and demanded
only a simple turning of my mind inward, to make me perceive Thy
presence." She had little regard for the Christ of the Gospels,
believing rather in "the Christ in the centre of
the soul." In her books she speaks about being "absorbed
into God" which sounds a bit like self-hypnosis. She claimed to
have lost self-will after this absorption into God's being, and used
expressions like "the inner death of self".
After the death of her
husband in 1676, Madame Guyon entered a life of religious devotion. She soon
fell under the spell of the Quietist works of Miguel de Molinos which were in
great popularity in
So much for Madame Guyon's
history. I would now like to quote from her writings. Whilst in the company of
Lacombe she wrote "So was my soul lost in God, who communicated to
it His qualities, having drawn it out of all that it had of its own. . . . Oh,
happy poverty, happy loss, happy nothingness, which gives no less than God
Himself in His own immensity, no more circumscribed to the limited manner of
the creature but always drawing it out of that, to plunge it wholly into His
own divine essence." (N.B. She had given all her money to the New
Catholics.)
The following quotes are
from the book mentioned in the last paragraph but one. But before doing so, let
me say that the edition I am quoting from has recently been given a new title, "Experiencing
the Depths of Jesus Christ." Even this title is somewhat of a
misnomer, because she enjoined her readers to know the love of
the Lord Jesus, which is "beyond knowledge", rather
than the person of Jesus. This is not splitting hairs. It is a
very real distinction, and may be seen as one of several in Madame Guyon's
writings.
On the back cover of this
book, (published by The Seed Sowers,
Page 89. "Now
we must ask the central question: How does the soul ascend to God? The
soul ascends to God by giving up self, giving it up to the destroying
power of divine love! Yes, giving it up to the annihilating power of divine
love! This giving up of self is essential, absolutely essential, if you are to
plumb, experience, and continually dwell in the depths of Jesus Christ. It is
only by the destruction and annihilation of self that you can pay homage to the
sovereignty of God!"`
Page 126. "The
effort of the self must be stilled. But even more! The very existence of the
self must be destroyed. There is something in this universe which is the very
opposite of God; it is the self. The activity of the self is the source of all
the evil nature as well as all the evil deeds of man. On the other hand, the loss
of the selfhood in the soul increases the purity of the soul! In fact, the
soul's purity is increased in exact proportion to the loss of self. As long as
you employ your self nature in any way, some faults will also continue to exist
in you. But after you depart from your selfhood, no faults can exist, and all
is purity and innocence. It was the entrance of the self, which came
into the soul as a result of the fall that established a difference between the
soul and God."
Some may say that Madame
Guyon uses the term self in place of what the
Apostle Paul called the flesh, and what has
come to be termed the old Adamic nature. But
on reading the book carefully, I am not convinced of this. In any case, if she was
using the Pauline idea of flesh there is
certainly no way of eliminating it, destroying it, or annihilating it, whilst
we have mortal life in this world. Hence there can be no return to that Edenic
state of innocence and purity that she mentions. Furthermore, to use the term self
as meaning our personality, is absurd in the context of her writings. If
our intrinsic personality were to be annihilated, then we should no longer
exist. If, as she avers, we experience "a sweet sinking into
Deity" then by her terminology we get sucked into the life of God
and no longer exist as individual, recognisable entities. But this vitiates the
whole purpose of God creating human beings and angels with distinct
personalities. It is tantamount to viewing God as some sort of cannibalistic
amoebal-like life-form that surrounds, engulfs, and sucks into itself external
matter, until there is no vestige left of its former identity. It is one thing
to imagine that we all existed in God before we were created, but to
assume that in the final analysis we shall be back where we started, unchanged
and unrecognisable, (what some have developed in these latter days as "the
law of circularity") is to destroy all reason for existence.
These two quotes show the
manner of Madame Guyon's writings. But as I read through the first few chapters
I felt a strangeness afflicting my mind, as though I was reading something
entirely devoid of Christianity, almost as though it were the meaningless
ravings of one who had been commited to a mental asylum. My very first
impression was that she was treating God as a slot-machine. She says that "the
reader who comes to this book, without prejudice, will find, hidden beneath the
simplest expressions, a secret unction. - - I have stated that perfection can
easily be attained, and this is true." The method she
advocates is nothing short of a contrived technique. Follow her
instructions, and hey presto, perfection is there for the taking. Drop your
coin in the slot, and sure enough, out comes a bar of chocolate, exquisite and
perfect! She says, "Some of you may doubt that God can actually be
found so easily. If so, do not merely take my word for it. Instead, try for
yourselves what I am proposing to you. For I am sure that your own experience
will convince you that the reality is far greater than what I have told you. -
- Read this little book in lowliness of mind without the inclination to
criticise. If you do, you will not fail to reap profit from it. - - - Those who
earnestly make trial of this way will find that I have written the truth."
Here then is the promise of
an elixir of life. All you have to do is follow the instructions very
carefully. One is reminded of the charlatan preachers on TV who promise you
untold riches from God if only you will send in your tithe, "as required
in God's word." Jeanne Guyon didn't become a millionaire like the
televangelists. Instead she was put in prison twice. But if she was alive today
in
The technique she advocated
has been called passivism because it requires the
abolition of action, thought, prayer and the self. The soul contemplates God
and withdraws from all rational thinking (which is frowned upon as something
that distracts from the central focus of being absorbed in the deity.) This is
very similar to transcendental meditation as practised
by Eastern mystics, and would be wholly understood by those who have made a
practice of that technique. The trouble is that a vacuum is created where God
placed a rational thinking soul. Madame Guyon simplistically assumes that God
always fills the vacuum, but Jesus spoke about neatly-vacuumed hearts as an
ideal home for seven worse demons! First we are told that self
needs to be destroyed, then we are reminded that the rational
mind is a hindrance to knowing the depths of God. But the
Old Testament was clear in its statement that we should love the Lord our God "with
all our heart, all our soul, all our mind and all our strength."
Four areas are covered here. The Heart for our
Emotions, the Soul for our Personality, the Mind
for our Rational Thinking, and our Strength for Day-to-day
Activities. Madame Guyon was preaching a reverse gospel which
is not a gospel at all, but is subtle in that it promises what most believers
feel they should be seeking and receiving. The Devil knows that twisted truth
is more effective than bare-faced lies.
How eminently plain, clear,
and full of light is the opposite of Guyon's way, as expressed in a delightful
book by Ranald Macaulay, entitled "Christianity with a Human
Face." On page 57 we read, "Notice, then, how
different from the meditation of the mystical tradition is the meditation
encouraged by Scripture. It is obviously the opposite of the 'negative way' for
it is a meditation rich in content. It is not the emptying of the mind,
but the filling of the mind. The believer meditates on God's Word,
seeking to know both what God has commanded in Scripture and how it is to be
applied." Speaking of the techniques adopted by advocates of
"meditation", he says, "Even if they seem to be of
spiritual value they are of no use whatsoever because they involve a complete
misunderstanding of what the Christian life is all about. They do not help at
all in growing in one's relationship with God or in controlling sin. They do
not improve the value of one's prayers in any way." (Page 63) He
goes on to say that "this teaching implies that Christ and His
death are only the gateway to a superspirituality. This can hardly be opposed
too strongly. For, as Paul says, it denies that Christ's work on the cross is
the necessary and sufficient basis for maturing as a
Christian."
An article I downloaded
from the Internet, written by G. Richard Fisher, is entitled, "The
Mindless Mysticism of Madame Guyon." [Countering the Myth of Intermittent
Deification and Sinless Perfection.] He began his article in this way.
"In an era of emotionalism, experience mania, sensationalism, and
mindless Christianity, it is easy to see why the writings of a mystic dead for
almost 300 years are enjoying a revival in readership." Later in
the article he quotes the New Geneva Study Bible as follows. "Believers
are not absorbed into deity, nor do they become divine. Rather,
they have received the Holy Spirit and are the sons of God (John
I quoted from the back
cover of Gene Edwards book, that Madame Guyon was highly rated by Watchman Nee.
Indeed, he said that Nee had the book translated into Chinese and distributed
to every new convert. What troubles me is that on reading Nee's work entitled "The
Latent Power of the Soul", he (and by his many quotations, Jessie
Penn-Lewis as well) speaks about passivism as
an activity of the soul (or psyche) rather
than the spirit of man, and as such he condemns all
such activity. However, in "The
The writings of Jane Leade,
1623 - 1704
The following sketch is
taken from PT 90A, but is needed here for the sake of completeness. Jane was a
devotee of Madame Guyon and Jacob Boehme.
JANE LEADE lived from 1623 to 1704. Originally
JANE WARD, she came from a godly family in
When Jane was 16 she was
dancing at a Christmas Eve party, when she distinctly heard a voice, saying,
"Cease from this, I have another dance to lead thee in, for this is
vanity." It caused her continuing reflection, and she
hastened to come before the Lord and seek His ways.
Information is sparse and
difficult to come by, but it seems that she and her husband were unified in
their spiritual understanding, with Jane conveying her growing appreciation of
divine things through the medium of poetry.
In 1654 RICHARD
COPPIN wrote a book entitled, "A Blow at the
Serpent," in which were prefixed some verses by Jane Leade.
Coppin had already published his three works on the subject of Universal
Reconciliation, in 1649, under the patronage of ABIEZER COPPE.
Another man of the same persuasion, one GERRARD WINSTANLEY,
[the "digger"] had published his treatise on U.R. in the same year.
According to literary sources, these were the first writings in English on this
subject. (We were able to peruse Gerrard Winstanley's book in the Bodleian
Library at
Now Abiezer Coppe was a
good friend of JOHN PORDAGE, Rector of Bradfield Church near
In due course, the writings
of the German mystic JACOB BOEHME (1575 - 1624) were
translated into English progressively from 1644 to 1662, and Pordage was very
interested in them. In 1663 Pordage met Jane Leade, and they shared together
what could be learned from Boehme's works. It inspired Jane in certain
directions, but her works, although paying tribute to Boehme's writings, derive
mainly from the prophetic gift she obtained from the Lord. However, many of
Boehme's expressions tend to pop up again and again in Jane Leade's writings.
In 1670, when William Leade
died, Jane and John Pordage formed "The Philadelphian Society for
the Advancement of Piety and Divine Philosophy" at Bradfield. In
the same year Jane received a vision of a lady who called herself Virgin-Wisdom
who said, "I am God's Eternal Virgin-Wisdom, whom thou hast
been enquiring after." Three times this lady appeared to her,
but on the third occasion, said that it would be the last, but that her
influence would remain inwardly. Jane was never too open about the identity of
this "lady", but pointed her readers to the passage in Proverbs 8,
where Wisdom personified speaks. Perhaps today we should say that she received
the "gift of wisdom", one of those that Paul mentioned within the
nine-fold gift of the Spirit.
And so for the rest of her
days she received some extremely important revelations and knowledge from the
Lord, which she proceeded to keep in a diary or journal entitled "The
Fountain of Gardens," which was eventually published in four
volumes from 1696 to 1701. We were privileged to see copies of the first
edition, which is kept in Dr Williams' Library in
Various other books that
she wrote were published, the first being in 1681, entitled "The
Heavenly Cloud Descending". This was followed two years later by "The
Revelation of Revelations". In that same year John Pordage's book
"Theologica Mystica" [Mystical Theology] was
published posthumously, with a nine-page preface by Jane Leade. Pordage died in
1681, and Jane had witnessed his will, made that year, when he was 74 years of
age. It was in that year that Jane moved to
In 1693 Jane's books
reached
The following year a young
man by the name of FRANCIS LEE stopped off in
In 1695 Francis Lee married
BARBARA WALTON, Jane's widowed daughter, and they lived in
In 1697 the Phil.Soc. was
placed on a more secure footing, and the inaugural address was written and
delivered by Richard Roach. We copied this from his hand-written notes in the
Bodleian Library, contained in a large folio volume of Roach's writings.
In 1696 Jane published "The
Tree of Faith", "The
The meetings in
In that year Jane published
"The Revelation of the Everlasting Gospel Message,"
and in the following year "The Ascent to the Mount of
Vision."
In her last years, from
1699 to 1704 Jane published "Signs of the Times", "The
Wars of David", and the 2nd and 3rd messages to the Phil.Soc. And
between 1700 and 1710, DR. JOHANN WILHELM PETERSEN published
in
Jane's last work, entitled "The
First Resurrection of Christ" was published in the year she died.
It was first released in
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From the above biography it
would seem that Jane Leade's name would be remembered by the number of books
she wrote, but this was not to be. In fact her works remained almost
unobtainable until quite recently. This is one of the strange quirks of
history, whereby Madame Guyon was remembered, but Jane Leade was not. However,
there was a strong connection, as will be seen in the Introduction to the first
volume of "Fountain of Gardens", written by Francis
Lee, originally in German, but translated by the Editor of her work. It is
reproduced here in full, simply because it contains some most valuable
information about the times in which they lived, the books they read, and of
greatest import, the connections they had with the Quietists.
Dear Reader, (original
translator speaking, and not this Editor),
whose soul has been
refreshed by this most endearing conversation of your loving gracious Lord
(with Jane Leade), do now permit this writer to recommend for your most serious
perusal, Lady Guyon's small Treatise on Sanctification, wherein the same Lord will
teach you by his Spirit the gradual process of your Mystic Death which
he has here so lovingly communicated to Jane Leade. This book is to be had of
Lackington & Co., bound up with three other excellent Tracts, entitled The
Christian Liberty and The Lives of Alchemystical Philosophers,
containing a selection of the most celebrated Treatises on the Hermetic
Art.
Such gentlemen, with
whom the Writer is acquainted (who understand the theory of that profound
science) assure him that this is one of the best of those works that have ever
appeared; and conceiving that some few of his readers may (with himself) not be
adverse to perusing such books, have caused him to give intimation of this; and
for Mrs. Leade's opinion of these Philosophers, or Masters.
Now those Christians
who have counted the cost of leading a life altogether conformable to that of
their pattern, JESUS CHRIST; and have determined, in his strength, to surmount
every obstacle that shall arise (not even sparing to cut off a right hand or pluck
out an eye should they become impediments), the writer requests such heroic
Divine Souls to read the following:
The Life of
Lady Guyon,
which of all books (next to the Bible) that have ever been published, is one of
the most useful; and is to be had of Darton & Co., 55 Grace-Church Street,
who also have A Guide to Internal Peace, Bromleys Way
to the Sabbath Rest, Guyon's Easy Method of Prayer, and The
Life of Armelle Nicholas, which is exquisite.
There is now one more
inspired female writer whom the writer has not listed so as to make some
remarks towards the conclusion, which he trusts will not be displeasing to any
of his readers. This Lady was French, and named "Anthoinette
Bourignon". She possessed a wonderful Divine Spirit, and was
blessed with surprising manifestations from God. Her works were in the highest
esteem with many of the most learned in
This Author existed at
the same period as Lady Guion [Guyon], whose peculiar Divine Sentiments were
espoused by the great and most amiable Fenelon, Archbishop of Cambray,
and Mrs. Jane Leade. Those persons who have been so Divinely
blessed as to be in Truth Spiritually acquainted with the writings of these
three Heaven-Born Women, will, no doubt, see some propriety in calling them "The
Triune Wonder of the World". For Bourignon's Works are quite an
introduction to Lady Guyon's, and Lady Guyon's are a complete witness and
directive to Mrs. Leade's.
Mrs. Leade's sublime
Tracts tend to lead the mind immediately to their source in the most delightful
manner, which is the Supreme Triune God, from whom the labours of all three
were derived, and who has graciously displayed in them, in a most
distinguishable manner, the loving Trinity of Justice, Mercy and Love. All
candid readers are particularly requested to excuse the Translator (not Editor)
for adding to these writings of Jane Leade, for your special consideration what
appears to him to be truly admirable and extremely consistent, with a most
worthy God. We reflect no small degree of Honour and Glory upon Him at the same
time. For his vast beneficence is forever constantly exerted to convert every
kind of evil into the highest good to which poor infatuated creatures, are
capable.
To proceed then, this
Writer's conceptions are that: as Woman became the instrument of Satan to lead
Man out of Paradise (disuniting him from his only good and source of
happiness), even so CHRIST in the reverse, now inspires her to claim her RIGHT,
and in the end, to accept her as his instrument to lead Man back, so that God's
Word in its ultimate power, might be verified that Woman is an HELP-MEET TO
MAN. (Comments of translator, not the Editor)
Let any one, who
willingly adheres strictly to the Divine arguments and persuasions of these
three Women (and the Spirit of God in their own Heart), as Adam and Eve did to
the Animalistic Serpent and the Spirit of Satan within, and they will as
certainly experience resultant effects no less astonishing and miraculous. But
instead, it shall be to their everlasting joy and supernal Glory, becoming
thereby invested with a Body more resplendent than the Sun, and far exceeding
the transparency, lustre and radiance of the finest diamond, crystal or ruby.
This is in contrast to that other life, which was to their horrid misery and
ignominious shame, whereby they became disrobed of their glorious vesture of
the Earthly Paradise Body. Of necessity, they had to assume the same gross
palpable Nature as the Beasts, who were then as inferior to Man as an Ox is now
to an Angel. This is in reference to the Body.
The Writer having
taken the liberty throughout this work to give the titles of such Books as have
come into his memory, and which are invaluable as to intrinsic merit, he therefore
hopes his kind readers will not consider him impertinent for producing in this
place an additional list with some few reflections. First, there is Isaac
Pennington's No Cross no Crown, at Phillip's, George Yard,
These Treatises, along
with Wm. Law's Works, P. Clarke's, Dr. Pordage's, R. Roach's, Thomas
Bromley's, Chavalier Ramsay's, and Cornelius Cayley's; Dr. Thaulerus's and
Marsay's Discourses, with Molinos' Spiritual Guide,
may with the utmost propriety, be termed a Garden of Paradise Fruits and
Flowers.
Happy and blessed,
therefore, is the man or woman who delights to walk in such a
Such persons are in
truth, Divinely capacitated to understand the Book of Books (i.e. themselves,
Christ and the Bible), and will be favoured from on high with a clear
comprehension of the deep, most profound works of Jacob Boehme
(whose only pride was in being nothing more than a simple, poor and illiterate
COBBLER.) These true and only dignified minds, will also have the art given
them of separating to perfection, the pure Gold from the pernicious and most
infectious dross.
While the works of
Alchemystical Philosophers (the true Divine Supernatural Masters), and
those of Cornelius Agrippa (the reputed Divine Master, but one
after the mind of Moses),will not be a stumbling block, but prove to be like
Jacob's Ladder, to promote ascension to Heaven, and also to Earth's inmost
centre. They shall ascend again to its circumference, penetrating and exploring
the amazing wonders of Nature, and deciphering the mighty finger of the
Omnipotent in his glorious works throughout the Internal and Eternal Worlds, to
his vast honour, and glory.
As to Jane Leade (the
truly Seraphic), whose writings these Divine Masters will consider a dainty of
dainties, being adapted to afford them a repast most exquisite, thereby
exciting in their loving hearts the highest gratitude and praises to GOD for so
transcendent a blessing. Kind Reader, pray excuse this long digression, as you
will now be presented with what is truly extraordinary, which consequently will
require from you something more than thought. May you therefore receive it
worthily. If so, you will judge not, condemn not, despise not, but pray to GOD.
(Unsigned, but known to be Francis Lee, who was always reticent about
attaching his name)
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Some might be alarmed at
this Introduction to the "Fountain of Gardens", and I suppose, in
part, rightly so. For example, what has Christianity got to do with
"Alchemistical Philosophy"? Cornelius Heinrich Agrippa (1486 - 1535)
was a German physician, theologian, and student of the occult. Molinos
and Guyon appear with heavy honours, as also the other Quietist woman,
Antoinette Bourignon (1616 - 1680), a Flemish visionary who believed herself to
be in direct communion with God, and divinely appointed to restore the spirit
of the Gospel, (nothing wrong in that!) but she also taught that Christianity
consisted not in faith and practice, but in internal emotion and impulse, which
is just an Encyclopaedist's way of describing Quietism. And so we are
introduced to Bourignon, Guyon, and Leade as the "Triune Wonder of the World"!!!
On this basis, I suppose
many would reject everything of Jane Leade's writings without a further glance.
But this would be to miss some delightful passages full of spiritual wisdom.
One only needs to sift the writings, accepting that which appears to be good,
and rejecting the rest. This should be true of ALL written documents.
Furthermore, I have no great respect for my own judgment in this matter, as
though I can act as judge of all that I read. Rather do I approach the matter
from the standpoint of a pilgrim on the pathway, and therefore one who only has
partial knowledge and understanding. Things which I dismissed as of no value
years ago, are now sometimes found to be gems, and vice-versa. No doubt it is
the same for us all.
In my own reading of Jane
Leade, I have found, [unlike Madame Guyon's works], much treasure, even though
it is written in a strangely convoluted manner, with little respect for normal
sentence construction, and use of a strange vocabulary. Those who have had the
job of presenting her works in recent days have spoken of the difficulties
encountered on almost every page. But this is to depart from the main theme of
this writing, which is to investigate Quietism. Jane Leade didn't convey her
Quietism so overtly, and her books are far different to those of Madame Guyon.
Whereas I found Guyon's book totally contrived, Jane Leade's are quite bright
by contrast, and yet she (and Francis Lee) found Guyon's works "the best
next to the Bible." The reason for including Leade's biography here is that
her writings, together with Jacob Boehme's, form the basis of the more recent
upsurge in the use of "Quietism".
- - - - - - - -oOo- - - - - - - -
We have now reached the
point where the 300 years' gap must be closed and evidence produced to show
that the worst aspects of Quietism are now emerging once again, combined with
other dubious misconceptions of Biblical truth. It is for this reason that I
have undertaken this historical sketch, so as to alert our brethren (mainly in
the Unites States) who are widely advertising these departures from sound
doctrine, as will be seen from the following transcripts from a tape received
recently. We do so, not in a critical spirit, but rather to emulate the
Biblical injunction to "earnestly contend for the faith once
delivered." The speaker frequently refers to himself by name,
which we have changed to Stan, to comply with our policy. Here then are the
important quotes from the tape.
"God is today
establishing His Kingdom on earth. We are not waiting for anything to happen
except the Kingdom to come more and more manifest in our lives to His glory.
The time of waiting for God to appear is over.
Romans 8:2 The law of
the spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set us free from the law of sin and death.
. . . We are birthed into this life first as mortal people not really knowing
where we have come from, who we are, what we are here for, or where we are
going, and because we do not know we take on this false identity of an
Adamic life. . . Adam is definitely in a mistaken identity.
Pentecost is a
mixture. God AND us. Adam AND Christ. . . Tabernacles is God ONLY - nothing
left but God. We have crossed the threshold into Tabernacles where there is no
more Adam, no ambition, no desire, . . . only God's will.
Who are we? There's a
little confusion about this because people are not hearing this message . . .
and they're hearing people say we are God, so I want to ask you a
question, if you enter into that realm of Tabernacles, and God fills the Temple
with His glory, and you become, as the word says, not individually but
corporately, but it is individually also, if you come into that place where the
Apostle Paul says the church, the body of Christ, is the fullness of Him who
fills everything everywhere with Himself, please tell me then, who are you?
This is what the world
is longing to see, God manifested in humanity. And if you don't see this, you
go to the grave waiting for the sons to be manifested. You have to understand
that you are NOT a carnal human being, like the word or not, you must
understand that if you and God are two separate beings, if there is Stan and
God, then I am living in a mistaken identity, like it or not, accept it or not,
because if you do not accept, and you can't without an unveiling,
because of your Pentecostal mind-set there is still us and God. When I was
living fully in the realm of Pentecost I could see clearly there was me and
God, and when I'm not fully in Tabernacles, there are times when I walk IN
Tabernacles and I walk OUT, and when I walk out, it is still me and God, and
when I'm in that realm where there is nothing but Him, when I can walk
into that realm, then I can see there is absolutely nothing any longer that
I need to do, I don't need to BE anything, I don't need to aspire to anything,
I just need to bask in the presence of my God. And in that realm Stan DOES
NOT EXIST. In that realm carnality of man has been fully put to death and I
stand manifesting the glory of God.
Who am I? And of
course the carnal mind will get in here, and of course we have people running
around saying I am God. They are no more walking in Tabernacles than in any of
the other courts. But because someone is running around claiming to be God does
not mean that you cannot have the ability and the understanding to walk into
that realm of Tabernacles where there IS nothing but God.
There is a life in
you that has never known sin, there is a life in you that has never
known death, there is a life in you that is called eternal life. It's not
something that you got when you were born again, it's something you were born
into and you forgot.
We are not Adam. We
are not a race of human people trying to be godly. If we are we will
go to the grave. . . . When I would stand before God, He would have to say,
'Depart from me, I don't know you.' People go to church all the time, read
ten chapters a day, pray for an hour, pray in the Holy Ghost for an hour a day,
and God says, 'I never knew you.' How could that be? Because the
only way He can know you is to become you. We cannot know God, even in a
small measure, until He becomes us.
You must realise that
you are NOT Adam. You are CHRIST. You will never become anything in God,
but He will become everything in you.
Many people today are
seeing the good land, but they won't cross over. 'Brother', they say, 'it's
blasphemy for you to declare you're God.' Well, I agree with that. And I don't
say I'm God, but I do say this, if Adam is replaced, and God has filled me
wholly with His life, and when we come together we express, as the word says,
the fullness of Him who fills everything, everywhere, if I am not Christ,
who am I? The greatest problem in the universe is mistaken identity.
Not to know the pull
of sin and death on you any longer, that's what Tabernacles does for you. But
see, you can't enter that realm, and God won't bring you into that realm until
the Potter has finished His work, because Adam cannot enter into Tabernacles.
In the holiest of all, in the realm of Tabernacles, there is nothing but God.
Now I'm not standing up here telling you that I'm fully walking in Tabernacles
and there's nothing of Stan left, but I'm telling you that more and more, day
by day, there is less and less of my carnality.
Do you want
to see Him manifested? Come over to me for a while. Will you see someone who
doesn't make mistakes? No, but I guarantee you, if you come and live with me,
you'll see God manifested."
- - - - - - - -oOo- - - - - - - -
So where does all this
leave us? Sadly, with a heavy heart. The trouble is that this attitude is now
rife in the
The simple interpretations
of the Pauline passages have been exchanged for this new and subtle
teaching. Whereas most believers would understand what Paul was saying, that we
must reckon ourselves dead with Christ,
they in effect turn everything that is de jure into de
facto exposition. They believe that when they enter the "holy of
holies" there is nothing left of their old adamic nature. All is utter
perfection. Self-immolation has left nothing but God alone. This is wierd when
considered in the cold light of day, that anyone should take on board such a
self-contradictory theory. The straight-forward interpretation of Scripture is
that ONLY when we receive our new resurrection bodies do we have that sinless
state, and what is more, we will then STILL HAVE OUR OWN PERSONALITIES. How can
anyone delight in the thought of self-annihilation? It makes you wonder what purpose
God had in view if He looks for the destruction of the very personalities He's
created.
Stan said that in the holy
of holies "there is nothing but God." But in O.T.times, once a year
the High Priest entered that inner sanctuary, and that was whilst he possessed
a sinful nature like ourselves. Furthermore, in Hebrews we are told that
the way into the holiest has now been made open, not
just for the High Priest, but FOR ALL. The blood of Jesus has cleansed us ALL,
allowing us access to the very throne of God, which in earlier days was
typified by the High Priest having to take the blood of the required sacrifices
when he entered the most holy place. There is something simple and
straightforward in such exposition which does not appear in the teaching of
these American brethren, with their new brand of quietism and passivism.
It is not easy to write in
this vein. The very people we seek to disenchant from their state of deception
are the ones who have answers for every query presented to them. We say this
because we have tried. Their response is in this vein - "It is
obvious, my dear brother, that God hasn't yet revealed the truth to you. We
shall pray that, if it be His will, you will come into the knowledge of these
deeper truths. If not, then God has not set you apart as a member of His
Kingdom vanguard." All such expressions are steeped in
spiritual pride, and one wonders why they do not see it as such. But
we write this lengthy article in the hope that the Lord may open their eyes to
the fact that their stance is far removed from the character of the Son of God
as He walked this earth, recorded by the four evangelists for our admonition
and instruction. Our focus must be AWAY from ourselves, out towards
our Lord, not the Quietist's INWARD looking. God's Spirit
dwells within us, yes, to enable us to have a relationship with Him, that we
may become LIKE Him, not that we may BECOME Him. We beseech our
brethren to reconsider where their teaching is leading. Our only reason to
write in this vein is love of the truth and love of our brethren. We are
admonished to expose darkness and have no fellowship with it, and this we have
attempted to do.
To conclude this paper we
should like to quote from C.S.Lewis's "Mere Christianity".
"Do not imagine that if you meet a really humble man he will be
what most people call 'humble' nowadays; he will not be a sort of greasy,
smarmy person, who is always telling you that, of course, he is nobody.
Probably all you will think about him is that he seemed a cheerful, intelligent
chap who took a real interest in what you said to him . . . He
will not be thinking about humility; he will not be thinking about himself
at all."