ordinary angel is apparent not only from the names applied to him, but from the fact that God declares that his name is in him. See Ex. 23: 21; and when the Israelites had sinned by making the golden calf, God said he would send an angel to conduct them, but He himself would not go up with them. See Ex. 33: 23. Now the fact that the people regarded such intelligence as "evil tidings,” and "mourned," and "stripped themselves of their ornaments," shows that they could not have supposed the Angel of Jehovah, who had previously pledged himself to be their leader, an ordinary angel; but when God said (v. 14), "My ( face) presence shall go with thee," Moses seemed satisfied.

This Angel of Jehovah also appeared to Balaam in Num. 22: 22; but it will be seen by the connection, that he who is repeatedly called "the Angel," is recognized by the prophets as God Himself.

In Judges 2:1-5, we have an account of the Angel of Jehovah speaking to all the children of Israel, reproving them for their sins; and this Being represents himself as the one who covenanted with their fathers and brought them out of Egypt. Also in Judges 6: 1140, we have an account of an Angel of Jehovah appearing to Gideon, under the oak which was in Ophrah; but Gideon calls him my Jehovah," and said that he had seen an angel of the Lord face to face, and was greatly afraid, till Jehovah comforted him with the promise that he should not die.

It would be needless to refer to more of the numerous instances given in the historical parts of the Old Testament, where God appears to man as the . See Judges, 13: 3; II. Sam. 24: 16; II. Kings, 19: 35; I. Chron. 21: 12; but in all instances, it is apparent that there is a representation of God which comes within the reach of the human senses, and that the Being called Angel, is identical with the Infinite Jehovah himself.

There are numerous other instances in which God, under other names, appears to man. Consult the following texts: Ex. 24:911," And they saw the God of Israel." Ex. 19: 11,

"will come down in the sight of all the people upon Mount Sinai." Ex. 33: 11, "And Jehovah spake to Moses face to face, as a man speaketh unto his friend." Isaiah 6: 1, "I saw Jehovah sitting upon a throne," &c. (v. 5.) "Woe is me! for I am undone for mine eyes have seen the king, Jehovah of hosts." The Old Testament abounds with such declarations; but our chief object is to trace the word Angel through the prophets into the New Testament. It is a question of much importance as to whether this word is ever manifestly applied to the Messiah of the New Testament.

We conceive that the Angel of Jehovah when he appeared to Manoah (Judges 13:3), assumes a title which is peculiar to the Messiah. (v. 18.) "And the Angel of Jehovah said, why askest

thou after my name, seeing it is wonderful?" The same appellation is unquestionably given to the Messiah in Isa. 9: 6, " For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given, and the government shall be upon his shoulders, and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, the mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace." That this text refers to the Messiah of the New Testament no one can doubt.

Again the term is evidently applied to Christ, in Isaiah, 42: 19, "Who is blind as my servant? or deaf as my 2 Angel that I sent?" This angel or servant is the same as the servant mentioned in the first verse, “Behold my servant whom I uphold, mine elect in whom my soul delighteth," &c. ; which, with the 2d, 3d, and 4th verses, are quoted in Matt. 12: 18-21, and applied to Christ. Malachi also refers to the Messiah under this appellation, Mal. 3: 1, Behold I will send my messenger (John the Baptist), and he shall prepare the way before me, and Jehovah, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come into his temple, even the Angel of the covenant, whom ye delight in: behold, he shall come, saith the Lord of hosts."

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That the New Testament writers understood this prophecy as referring to John the Baptist, and to the Messiah, is apparent from Mark, 1:2,"As it is written in the prophets, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee." See also Matt. 11: 10; Luke 7: 27; Mark 1: 3, "The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight." Now the 3d verse is quoted with but little alteration from the Heb. of Isa. 40: 3, "The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of Jehovah, make straight in the desert a highway for our God." Mark, after the blending together of these two predictions, goes on to speak of John and Christ, showing clearly that he understood the Angel of Jehovah of Malachi to be identical with the the our God of Isaiah, and with the Messiah, whose history he is about to record. In the same connection Isaiah calls him the "glory of Jehovah," (v. 6,) which expresssion often refers to a visible appearance of God. See Ex. 16: 7–10 ; 24: 16 ; 40: 34; Lev. 9:6; I. Kings, 8: 11; Isa. 35: 2, and others too numerous to note. The expression refers to the Messiah of the New Testament, in numerous texts, amongst which are the following: Isa. 60: 1; Hab. 2: 14, and others.

יְהוָה

and

In I. Cor. 10 9, Paul says, "Neither let us tempt Christ, as some of them also tempted, and were destroyed of serpents." Now who was this Christ who was tempted in the wilderness? We learn, by referring to Num. 21: 5-9, where we have an account of the people speaking against a being denominated God and JehoTHIRD SERIES, VOL. V. NO. 2

vah, who is represented as the leader of the Israelites, and to whom we have already seen, that the appellation, Angel, is constantly applied. For tempting this Being they were bitten by serpents.

We call the attention of the reader to but one other passage, John, 1 1, &c., where Jesus Christ is called the 40yos Word, and is identified with the God who was in the beginning, and the Maker of all things. Now as Jesus Christ represented God, as a word represents the mind of him who utters it, there is reason for giving him this appellation. But was this a Jewish form of expression? Have we any reason to suppose that the readers of John's Gospel would have been able to comprehend the import of such an epithet when applied to the Messiah? He is evidently arguing to prove the Divinity of our Lord; but if he bases an argument upon a term which the Jews have not been accustomed to apply to their God, nor to the Messiah, he proves nothing to their minds at all. Now it is a fact worthy of attention, that in the Chal. Paraphrase of Onkelos and Jonathan, we have the expression Word

of Jehovah, where reference is made to a visible form of the Almighty. See the following texts: Gen. 3: 8, "The Word of Jehovah walking in the garden;" 26: 3, "My Word shall judge thee and bless thee;" 28; 20, " And Jacob vowed a vow to the Word," &c.; 35: 9, "And the Word of Jehovah appeared to Jacob," &c.; Ex. 16:8,"Your murmurings against the Word of Jehovah ;" 19: 17, "To meet with the Word of Jehovah;" 30: 5, "I will appoint for thee my Word;" Lev. 26: 11, "My Word shall not reject you;" Num. 11: 20, "Rejected the Word of the Jehovah ;" 14:9," But rebel not ye against the Word of the Lord;" 23: 4, "And the Word from before the Jehovah met Balaam;" Deut. 1:30,"The Word of Jehovah, thy God;" 32: 33, "And in this ye did not believe in the Word of Jehovah thy God;" 13: 18, “If thou shalt be obedient to the Word of Jehovah thy God;" Ps. 2: 2, "Against the Word of Jehovah ;" 4, "Word of Jehovah shall have them in derision;" 11, "Word of Jehovah; &c.; Ps. 3: 4, "I cried unto the Word of Jehovah;" Ps. 9: 2, "I will rejoice in thy Word."

3:4,

The above quotations, taken at random out of the Scriptures, are certainly sufficient to show that the Jews, in the time of John, the Evangelist, must have been familiar with the application of the epithet, Word, to the God of the Old Testament; and it is more than probable, had been accustomed to apply it to their expected Messiah.

We are brought by this discussion to the following conclusions: 1. That Jehovah, although in His essence invisible, was accustomed to reveal Himself to the senses of men under the old dispensation. This appearance is often called the shekinah, the habitation or dwelling in the Chaldee.

2. That this revelation of God was identical with the Messiah of the New Testament. John, 1: 18, "No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him."

3. The God of the Old Testament is the God of the New, and there is an identity of thought running throughout the sacred volume.

4. The grand idea of the Bible is the revelation of CHRIST to the world. He is the great Hero, both of the Old and the New Tes

taments.

5. What a bright evidence this unity of thought, kept up through the Pentateuch, Prophets, Gospels and Epistles, affords of the Inspiration of the Bible! God must have guided the minds of all, or their thoughts would not always have been running in the same channel.

6. What a glorious proof of our Lord's Divinity! He was the Angel of Jehovah, the Jehovah, the God who created the world, who presided over, and was worshipped by the Jewish nation.

ARTICLE V.

ASTRONOMICAL VIEWS OF THE ANCIENTS.

By PROFESSOR Tayler Lewis, LL.D., University of New-York.

SWEDENBORG tells us that in the course of his visits to the spiritual world, he several times met with the ghost of Aristotle, and held certain very interesting conversations with him respecting the opinions he had entertained while upon the earth. Among other things, he tells us that he found it exceedingly difficult to drive the old Stagyrite out of his absurd notions in regard to the figure of the earth. It would appear from this account that a two-thousand years' residence in the ghostly world had produced no change in his philosophical views, or given him any more light in respect to either spiritual or physical matters, than he had enjoyed during the dark days of his sojourn in this earthly and animal existence. After a most faithful effort, however, Swedenborg at last succeeds in convincing him of his errors. He learns with astonishment that the earth is actually round, and finally yields to the improbable idea of there being antipodes inhabiting the other side, with their feet and heads in vertical and opposite directions to our own. The ghost of the old Greek remembering, doubtless, with a stubborn pride the absolute sway he had so long exercised in the learned and

scientific world, is very reluctant to be taught such new and startling doctrines. He is exceedingly puzzled to understand how up and down can both have reference to the same point, or how persons and things on the under side of the earth can possibly maintain their position without falling off into the door, or infinite abyss of space below. But he is at last convinced, and becomes, as we are told, very much ashamed of his former notions.

This may be taken as a pretty good sample of Swedenborg's dreams, or of the manner in which he was wont to transfer to the spiritual world the subjective states of his own mind, with all its In others of his numerous viserrors, ignorance, and prejudices. ions, his theological partialities and dislikes are equally apparent; furnishing conclusive evidence, that the spirituality in which he lived, transcended but little, if any, the sphere of his own brain, or the cherished thoughts and impressions of his waking hours.

No reputation that Swedenborg may have among his own followers can shield him here from the charge of having made, to say the least, a shameful and egregious blunder. He admits the possibility of lying appearances sent by evil spirits, and the most charitable supposition might be, that in this case the seer himself was thus imposed on by an emissary of darkness. The Aristotle whom he saw could not have been the renowned philosopher of that name, whose numerous works have come down to us. The truth, however, is that the Swedish mystic has imposed upon himself, by giving in his dreams, an objective presentation to one of the most vulgar errors of his day. Without taking any pains to test its truth, he simply assumes the common notion, that, until quite modern times, all mankind, the learned as well as the unlearned, had believed the earth to be a flat, extended, immovable plain. It is only as representing such a common notion, that we adduce his statement, or attach any importance to it; although we cannot but regard it as most strange, that one who has among his disciples such a reputation for learning, and especially for a knowledge of the ancient world and church, should have suffered himself to be imposed on, or should have imposed on himself, by such a falsity engendered of his own ignorance and prejudice.

That such an opinion in respect to the ancient ignorance should prevail among the comparatively uninformed masses, need excite no wonder. That it should be so often met with, however, among those who not only have the means of knowing, but the actual knowledge to the contrary, if they would but advert to it, can only be accounted for by remembering the strange tenacity of early errors imbibed in childhood, and the power with which they often override the clearest subsequent information. One of the first lessons the child learns in this boasting age, is the immense superiority of modern science, and modern philosophy, to anything which might bear those names in the ancient world. As though the for