Muggletonianism

The Muggletonianer, named after Lodowicke Muggleton († 1694 ) were a small Protestant sect in England in the 17th and 18th centuries. They belonged to the non-conformist dissenters that occurred during the English Interregnum, 1649-1660.

The movement was triggered by the 1652 vision of the tailor John Reeve, and his cousin Lodowicke Muggleton, whom his followers saw as the voice of the " last prophet of God." Muggelton Reeves and declared themselves the " two witnesses " of the Book of Revelation (Rev 11.3 LUT). A summary of their teaching was in 1656 under the title: published The Divine Looking-Glass or the Third and Last Testament.

After Reeves death in 1658 Muggleton had to pass a short struggle for control in the group with Laurence Clarkson, a former Ranter.

The Muggletonianer awaited the return of the Messiah and were followers of millenarianism. They believed, among other things, that the soul is mortal and that no formal religious ceremonies are necessary. Some scientists see influences the teaching of Muggletonianer in the work of the painter and poet William Blake.

The group survived until the 20th century. The last Muggletonianer, Philip Noakes died 1979 in Matfield, Kent. The records of the sect, which he had kept, were handed over to the British Library.