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The Writings of

Jane Lead

Christian Mystic

1624 – 1704

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Spirit’s  Day  Version

With modern language and
paragraph numbering

Edited by
Diane Guerrero

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Shake, shake your Earthly Dust away,
For now it is the Spirit’s Day,
That will admit of no Delay.

(The Eight Worlds, 1695)

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Three hundred years ago it pleased God to deposit invaluable secrets concerning His Kingdom into the bosom of a devout Christian mystic. After the flesh she was born a woman; but she came in the Spirit and Power of Elijah. Her message: The Kingdom of Heaven is at hand. Make His paths straight. Through her writings the diligent seeker will come to understand and follow the specific path that will lead them into that Kingdom, and into a full consummation of all that is available to us in Christ Jesus.

Jane Lead (also spelled Jane Leade) was a 17^th Century Englishwoman who experienced a very deep and powerful conversion at the age of 16. She immediately withdrew as much as possible from the exterior life, and began to focus solely on the interior. Upon the death of her husband many years later, she was visited by Wisdom Personified, who then took Jane as her intimate pupil. She opened up to her many deep and wonderful things concerning the Kingdom of God’s Love, and the ultimate restoration of the entire lapsed creation. As God’s heavenly spy, Jane was also given the great privilege of visiting the Celestial City, and then returned to give us a report of what she heard and saw.

Jane’s writings reveal that the First-Born Children of God will be the generation that will (along with the Lord Christ) usher in The Kingdom of God’s Love to the inhabitants of the earth. These Chosen Ones are also called Nazarites, Overcomers, and Melchizedek Priests. She reveals the course that one must take in order to become part of this Elect Company, which can only be accomplished through the shedding of our tattered Adamic garment, and putting on the pure White Robe of Christ.

Throughout the centuries there have indeed been a scattered few who have come into possession of the fullness of the life that Jesus promised. But Jane realized that her writings were primarily for a time yet future, when the Lord would raise up a generation of saints who would search out and understand the things she was commissioned to write about (see Intro to Fountain of Gardens, Vol. 1, I:17-SDV). And because we are nearer than farther to the consummation of all things, perhaps now is the time to begin a serious study of these mysteries.

That God would commit such secrets to Jane Lead is in itself a mystery. Yet it pleases God to reveal His secrets to the faithful—those who are willing to leave the carnal comforts of a very worldly Christianity, and go out into the wilderness to hear the preaching of this Elijah-woman.

About This Website

My name is Diane Guerrero and I have been studying Jane Lead since the year 2000. Prior to my baptism with the Holy Spirit in 1999 (and even after my baptism) I entered a period of intense hunger for God—which at times became quite unbearable. It was at this time that I happened upon the writings of Jane Lead. Here I felt my hunger satisfied, and what she wrote about peaked my interest tremendously. And the anointing I detected was such as I had never before experienced in another’s writings.

But I had a difficult time reconciling her teachings with what I had learned and believed. Topics such as universal reconciliation and the Melchizedeck Priesthood were completely foreign to me. Other subjects such as the Spiritual Feasts of Israel and the First Resurrection were vastly different, and even went far beyond what my traditional Christian education afforded me. And what she wrote about the true purpose of Hell challenged the very core of my belief system. Thus being unable to come to terms with her writings (or rather being unable to open my eyes to see the extent of the glorious plan of God), I put them away for a time, not knowing what to make of them. But the attraction of the most precious anointing continually drew me back, eventually leading me into a full belief in these things, and ultimately to establish a website devoted to her writings.

Why a Modern Version?

When the Lord began to move me toward producing a modern version, I was frightened at the idea, and for some time I struggled with this call in my life. In the beginning I did nothing at all with the text. I only broke down the large paragraphs, and then numbered each one; for I could see how this would prove useful for study and cross referencing. But the Lord simply would not let me stop there. He made it very clear that He will have these writings available to His children in a language they can understand. People simply do not talk as they did 300 years ago. And if archaic language has proved difficult for some Christians to understand the King James Bible, how much more the deep and mystical writings of Jane Lead? And so my job is to make these texts as clear as possible—without changing their meaning.

Now in defense of the 17^th Century Version, I must confess that I love the flavor of Early Modern English. The King James Bible has been my translation of choice for over 20 years. And because I’m so familiar with the KJV, I have no trouble at all with the dated language. But there are many seeking souls who are acquainted with more modern versions of the Bible, who know nothing about the King James or 17^th Century English, and who find it difficult to get past the thee’s and thou’s. And so my job is to assist them by rendering the text easier to read—without interfering with the message.

And as there will always be lovers of the King James Bible, so there will always be lovers of the 17^th Century Version of Jane Lead’s writings. However there are some who believe that since these manuscripts are sacred, any editing would be a great crime against God and Jane Lead, and would therefore render the texts “adulterated” and “corrupt.” I have no controversy with them; for I hope to believe that their drive to protect these writings is motivated solely by their love for God.

As the manifestation of the Kingdom of the Love draws near, His promised Spirit will explain all things, and lead us into all Truth. For indeed only the Anointed Ones shall truly understand and advance in these profound mysteries as presented to us by the Spirit of Truth—whom we are to earnestly look for, and diligently wait upon.

In Christ Jesus,

Diane Guerrero

About the
Spirit’s Day Version

The goal of the Spirit's Day Version (SDV) of Jane Lead's writings is to assist the modern reader wherever archaic language might pose a difficulty in reading and understanding these glorious and magnificent mysteries. My paramount ambition was to remain faithful to the text, while preserving the beautiful writing style of this mystical Author, as well as the classical flavor of the time period. The SDV is not a paraphrase, thus Jane's beautiful prose and unique terminology remain intact.

Authentic Manuscripts and Text

All original manuscripts are in the public domain, and can be readily obtained through the public library system. The Editor obtained all text from microfilm copies of the authentic manuscripts, which were scanned, copied, and then converted to text.

And since these manuscripts contain the very words of God the Father, His Virgin-Wisdom, and His Son Jesus Christ, I believe they can be considered Scripture. For as Jane herself said, Whatever is purely dictated by the Holy Ghost may be called by that name. (8worlds 1:22d.) Therefore they freely belong to all God’s Children—and should be taught to those who are seeking to press into the First Resurrection—just as the Bible is taught for the teaching and building up of Christ’s Church. As the consummation of all things draws near, I believe we will see an increased interest in these writings, with various versions and commentaries appearing for the education and edification of Wisdom’s Children.

Digitized Original Manuscripts

It has been suggested that the lovers of these divine truths might like to also see them as they originally appeared over 300 years ago, in their purest form. And so I have placed digitized copies of the original books online, for the benefit of the devout seeker, the diligent student, and the meticulous researcher. They can be viewed and downloaded at Scribd.com.

Fidelity to the Author

Fidelity to God and Jane Lead has been my paramount ambition as I sought to edit these writings. My goal was to remain faithful to them both by preserving the accuracy of the text, and therefore maintaining the precise testimony of the Author. Archaic language has been updated, but the message itself is left untouched. The SDV is a revision and not a paraphrase.

Style and Language

Style reveals the individual personality of the Author. Thus, at times I had to give way to what was written rather than what was convenient. My intention was never to polish to her writings, neither am I qualified to do so. My only desire was to assist the modern reader who might have a difficult time with Early Modern English. Therefore archaic pronouns such as thee and thy, were replaced with the modern you and your. Verbs such as giveth and taketh were replaced as well. Archaic spellings were also corrected. Other archaic words were replaced only when the context was clear. However this Editor never sought to improve a meaning, clarify a thought, or to offer any kind of interpretation by replacing or adding her own words.

Paragraph Divisions
and Numbering

Jane’s paragraphs can be are quite long, some of them spanning several typewritten pages. I have therefore broken them down into manageable portions. Her original paragraph divisions remain identifiable and are preceded by the symbol "§." When no chapter divisions were present, I divided the manuscripts into such, with paragraph numbering throughout. This was done so that passages could be easily identified and cross-referenced. But as this is a work in progress, the paragraph numbers are not quite static, and may change slightly in future revisions. Abbreviated manuscript titles were inserted before each numbered paragraph for easy identification. Wherever possible, Mrs. Lead’s original paragraph numbers (if present) were retained.

Sentence Structure and
Capitalization

Some of the lengthy sentences were also broken down. But it lies beyond the level of this Editor’s expertise to rearrange Early Modern English sentence structure. Therefore minor changes were made only when it contributed to smoother reading. Early Modern English writers capitalized common nouns as well as proper nouns. Many of those caps were removed. Caps were added to pronouns that have reference to the Deity.

Also…

Section Headings: When a Table of Contents was provided by the Author, it was placed in the front matter of the manuscript, and also as section headings within the body of the text. The Editor also added her own subheadings wherever she felt it might be helpful in locating passages.

Poetry reveals the writer’s innermost thoughts and feelings, and also reflects the flavor of the time period. Therefore, with the exception of layout, all poetry is left untouched, and remains as it was in the original.

Margin Notes which appeared in the original manuscript were changed to endnotes.

Spelling: The U.S. rather than the U.K. spelling of some common words has been used.

Printing and Distribution: The Spirit’s Day Version of Jane Lead’s writings may be freely printed, photocopied, or emailed for personal use, or for passing on to others—as long as they are made available without charge. They may not be modified in any way. They may not be posted on any website, or published in any form whatsoever. They may be cited, as long as reference to the Spirit’s Day Version is included.

The Name “Spirit’s Day” was taken from a poem by Jane Lead that appeared in The Eight Worlds:

Shake, shake your earthly dust away,
for now it’s the Spirit’s Day,
that will admit of no delay.

Diane Guerrero, Editor

Email: diane@janelead.org
Web: www.janelead.org

8220 Gage Blvd #707
Kennewick, WA 99336
U.S.A.

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