Prof. Mahaffy, lecturer on ancient history in the University of Dublin,

observes that:

"The _Resurrection_ and reign over an eternal kingdom, by an

_incarnate mediating deity_ born of a virgin, was a

theological conception which pervaded the oldest religion of

Egypt."[221:4]

The ancient Egyptians celebrated annually, in early spring, about the

time known in Christian countries as Easter, the resurrection and

ascension of Osiris. During these mysteries the misfortunes and tragical

death of the "_Saviour_" were celebrated in a species of drama, in which

all the particulars were exhibited, accompanied with loud lamentations

and every mark of sorrow. At this time his image was carried in a

procession, covered--as were those in the temples--_with black veils_.

On the 25th of March his _resurrection from the dead_ was celebrated

with great festivity and rejoicings.[221:5]

Alexander Murray says:

"The worship of _Osiris_ was universal throughout Egypt, where

he was gratefully regarded as the great exemplar of

_self-sacrifice_--in giving his life for others--as the

manifestor of good, as the opener of truth, and as being full

of goodness and truth. _After being dead, he was restored to

life._"[221:6]

Mons. Dupuis says on this subject:

"The Fathers of the Church, and the writers of the Christian

sect, speak frequently of these feasts, celebrated in honor of

Osiris, _who died and arose from the dead_, and they draw a

parallel with the adventurers of _their_ Christ. Athanasius,

Augustin, Theophilus, Athenagoras, Minucius Felix, Lactantius,

Firmicius, as also the ancient authors who have spoken of

_Osiris_ . . . all agree in the description of the universal

mourning of the Egyptians at the festival, when the

commemoration of that death took place. They describe the

ceremonies which were practiced at his sepulchre, the tears,

which were there shed during several days, and the festivities

and rejoicings, which followed after that mourning, at the

moment when his resurrection was announced."[222:1]

Mr. Bonwick remarks, in his "Egyptian Belief," that:

"It is astonishing to find that, at least, five thousand years

ago, men trusted an _Osiris_ as the '_Risen Saviour_,' and

confidently hoped to rise, as he arose, from the

grave."[222:2]

Again he says:

"Osiris was, unquestionably, the popular god of Egypt. . . .

Osiris was dear to the hearts of the people. He was

pre-eminently '_good_.' He was in life and death their friend.

His birth, death, burial, resurrection and ascension, embraced

the leading points of Egyptian theology." "In his efforts to

do good, he encounters evil. In struggling with that, he is

overcome. He is killed. The story, entered into in the account

of the Osiris myth, is a circumstantial one. Osiris is buried.

His tomb was the object of pilgrimage for thousands of years.

_But he did not rest in his grave. At the end of three days,

or forty, he arose again_, and ascended to heaven. This is the

story of his humanity." "As the _invictus Osiris_, his tomb

was illuminated, as is the holy sepulchre of Jerusalem now.

The mourning song, whose plaintive tones were noted by

Herodotus, and has been compared to the '_miserere_' of Rome,

was followed, _in three days_, by the language of

triumph."[222:3]

Herodotus, who had been initiated into the Egyptian and Grecian

"_Mysteries_," speaks thus of them:

"At Sais (in Egypt), in the sacred precinct of Minerva; behind

the chapel and joining the wall, is the tomb of one whose name

I consider it impious to divulge on such an occasion; and in

the inclosure stand large stone obelisks, and there is a lake

near, ornamented with a stone margin, formed in a circle, and

in size, as appeared to me, much the same as that in Delos,

which is called the circular. In this lake they perform by

night the representation of that person's adventures, which

they call _mysteries_. On these matters, however, though

accurately acquainted with the particulars of them, _I must

observe a discreet silence_; and respecting the sacred rites

of Ceres, which the Greeks call Thesmyphoria, although I am

acquainted with them, I must observe silence except so far as

is lawful for me to speak of them."[222:4]

_Horus_, son of the virgin _Isis_, experienced similar misfortunes. The

principal features of this sacred romance are to be found in the

writings of the Christian Fathers. They give us a description of the

grief which was manifested at his death, and of the rejoicings at his

_resurrection_, which are similar to those spoken of above.[222:5]

_Atys_, the Phrygian Saviour, was put to death, _and rose again from

the dead_. Various histories were given of him in various places, but

all accounts terminated in the usual manner. He was one of the "Slain

Ones" who rose to life again on the 25th of March, or the "_Hilaria_" or

primitive Easter.[223:1]

_Mithras_, the Persian Saviour, and mediator between God and man, was

believed by the inhabitants of Persia, Asia Minor and Armenia, to have

been put to death, _and to have risen again from the dead_. In their

mysteries, the body of a young man, apparently dead, was exhibited,

which was feigned to be restored to life. By his sufferings he was

believed to have worked their salvation, and on this account he was

called their "_Saviour_." His priests watched his tomb to the midnight

of the veil of the 25th of March, _with loud cries, and in darkness_;

when all at once the lights burst forth from all parts, and the priest

cried:

"_Rejoice, Oh sacred Initiated, your god is risen. His death,

his pains, his sufferings, have worked our salvation._"[223:2]

Mons. Dupuis, speaking of the resurrection of this god, says:

"It is chiefly in the religion of _Mithras_. . . . that we

find mostly these features of analogy with the death and

resurrection of Christ, and with the mysteries of the

Christians. _Mithras_, who was also born on the 25th of

December, like Christ, died as he did; and he had his

sepulchre, over which his disciples came to shed tears. During

the night, the priests carried his image to a tomb, expressly

prepared for him; he was laid out on a litter, like the

Phoenician _Adonis_.

"These funeral ceremonies, like those on Good Friday (in Roman

Catholic churches), were accompanied with funeral dirges and

groans of the priests; after having spent some time with these

expressions of feigned grief; after having lighted the sacred

_flambeau_, or their paschal candle, and anointed the image

with _chrism_ or perfumes, one of them came forward and

pronounced with the gravest mien these words: '_Be of good

cheer, sacred band of Initiates, your god has risen from the

dead. His pains and his sufferings shall be your

salvation._'"[223:3]

In King's "_Gnostics and their Remains_" (Plate XI.), may be seen the

representation of a bronze medal, or rather disk, engraved in the

coarsest manner, on which is to be seen a female figure, standing in the

attitude of adoration, the object of which is expressed by the

inscription--ORTVS SALVAT, "_The Rising of the Saviour_"--_i. e._, of

_Mithras_.[224:1]

"This medal" (says Mr. King), "doubtless had accompanied the

interment of some individual initiated into the Mithraic

mysteries; and is certainly the most curious relic of that

faith that has come under my notice."[224:2]

_Bacchus_, the Saviour, son of the virgin Semele, after being put to

death, also _arose from the dead_. During the commemoration of the

ceremonies of this event the dead body of a young man was exhibited with

great lamentations, in the same manner as the cases cited above, and at

dawn on the 25th of March his resurrection from the dead was celebrated

with great rejoicings.[224:3] After having brought solace to the

misfortunes of mankind, he, after his resurrection, _ascended into

heaven_.[224:4]

_Hercules_, the Saviour, the son of Zeus by a mortal mother, was put to

death, but arose from the funeral pile, _and ascended into heaven_ in a

_cloud_, 'mid peals of thunder. His followers manifested gratitude to

his memory by erecting an altar on the spot from whence be

ascended.[224:5]

_Memnon_ is put to death, but rises again to life and immortality. His

mother Eos weeps tears at the death of her son--as Mary does for Christ

Jesus--but her prayers avail to bring him back, like Adonis or Tammuz,

and Jesus, from the shadowy region, to dwell always in Olympus.[224:6]

The ancient Greeks also believed that _Amphiaraus_--one of their most

celebrated prophets and demi-gods--_rose from the dead_. They even

pointed to the place of his resurrection.[224:7]

_Baldur_, the Scandinavian Lord and Saviour, is put to death, but does

not rest in his grave. He too rises again to life and immortality.[224:8]

When "Baldur the Good," the beneficent god, descended into hell, Hela

(Death) said to Hermod (who mourned for Baldur): "If all things in the

world, both living and lifeless, weep for him, then shall he return to

the Æsir (the gods)." Upon hearing this, messengers were dispatched

throughout the world to beg everything to weep in order that Baldur

might be delivered from hell. All things everywhere willingly complied

with this request, both men and every other living being, so that

_wailing_ was heard in all quarters.[225:1]

Thus we see the same myth among the northern nations. As Bunsen says:

"The tragedy of the _murdered and risen god_ is familiar to us

from the days of ancient Egypt: must it not be of equally

primeval origin here?" [In Teutonic tradition.]

The ancient Scandinavians also worshiped a god called _Frey_, who was

put to death, _and rose again from the dead_.[225:2]

The ancient _Druids_ celebrated, in the British Isles, in heathen times,

the rites of the resurrected Bacchus, and other ceremonies, similar to

the Greeks and Romans.[225:3]

_Quetzalcoatle_, the Mexican crucified Saviour, after being put to

death, _rose from the dead_. His resurrection was represented in Mexican

_hieroglyphics_, and may be seen in the _Codex Borgianus_.[225:4]

The Jews in Palestine celebrated their _Passover_ on the same day that

the Pagans celebrated the resurrection of their gods.

Besides the resurrected gods mentioned in this chapter, who were

believed in for centuries before the time assigned for the birth of

Christ Jesus, many others might be named, as we shall see in our chapter

on "Explanation." In the words of Dunbar T. Heath:

"We find men taught everywhere, from Southern Arabia to

Greece, by hundreds of symbolisms, the birth, death, and

resurrection of deities, and a resurrection too, apparently

after the second day, _i. e._, _on the third_."[225:5]

And now, to conclude all, _another god_ is said to have been born on the

_same day_[225:6] as these Pagan deities; he is crucified and buried,

and on the _same day_[225:7] rises again from the dead. Christians of

Europe and America celebrate annually the resurrection of _their_

Saviour in almost the identical manner in which the Pagans celebrated

the resurrection of _their_ Saviours, centuries before the God of the

Christians is said to have been born. In Roman Catholic churches, in

Catholic countries, the body of a young man is laid on a bier, and

placed before the altar; the wound in his side is to be seen, and his

death is bewailed in mournful dirges, and the verse, _Gloria Patri_, is

discontinued in the mass. All the images in the churches and the altar

_are covered with black_, and the priest and attendants are robed in

black; nearly all lights are put out, and the windows are darkened. This

is the "Agonie," the "Miserere," the "Good Friday" mass. On Easter

Sunday[226:1] all the drapery has disappeared; the church is

_illuminated_, and rejoicing, in place of sorrow, is manifest. The

Easter hymns partake of the following expression:

"_Rejoice, Oh sacred Initiated, your God is risen. His death,

his pains, his sufferings, have worked our salvation._"

Cedrenus (a celebrated Byzantine writer), speaking of the 25th of March,

says:

"The first day of the first month, is the first of the month

_Nisan_; it corresponds to the 25th of March of the _Romans_,

and the _Phamenot_ of the _Egyptians_. On that day Gabriel

saluted Mary, in order to make her conceive the Saviour. I

observe that it is the same month, _Phamenot_, that _Osiris_

gave fecundity to _Isis_, according to the Egyptian theology.

_On the very same day, our God Saviour _(Christ Jesus)_, after

the termination of his career, arose from the dead_; that is,

what our forefathers called the _Pass-over_, or the passage of

the Lord. It is also on the _same day_, that our ancient

theologians have fixed his return, or his second

advent."[226:2]

We have seen, then, that a festival celebrating the resurrection of

their several gods was annually held among the Pagans, before the time

of Christ Jesus, and that it was almost universal. That it dates to a

period of great antiquity is very certain. The adventures of these

incarnate gods, exposed in their infancy, put to death, and rising again

from the grave to life and immortality, were acted on the _Deisuls_ and

in the sacred theatres of the ancient Pagans,[226:3] just as the

"Passion Play" is acted to-day.

Eusebius relates a _tale_ to the effect that, at one time, the

Christians were about to celebrate "the solemn vigils of Easter," when,

to their dismay, they found that _oil_ was wanted. Narcissus, Bishop of

Jerusalem, who was among the number, "commanded that such as had charge

of the _lights_, speedily to bring unto him water, drawn up out of the

next well." This water Narcissus, "by the wonderful power of God,"

changed into _oil_, and the celebration was continued.[227:1]

This tells the whole story. Here we see the _oil_--which the Pagans had

in their ceremonies, and with which the priests anointed the lips of the

Initiates--and the _lights_, which were suddenly lighted when the god

was feigned to have risen from the dead.

With her usual policy, the Christian Church endeavored to give a

_Christian_ significance to the rites borrowed from Paganism, and in

this case, as in many others, the conversion was particularly easy.

In the earliest times, the Christians did not celebrate the resurrection

of their Lord from the grave. They made the _Jewish Passover_ their

chief festival, celebrating it on the same day as the Jews, the 14th of

Nisan, no matter in what part of the week that day might fall.

Believing, according to the tradition, that Jesus on the eve of his

death had eaten the Passover with his disciples, they regarded such a

solemnity as a commemoration of the Supper and not as a memorial of the

Resurrection. But in proportion as Christianity more and more separated

itself from Judaism and imbibed paganism, this way of looking at the

matter became less easy. A new tradition gained currency among the Roman

Christians to the effect that Jesus before his death had not eaten the

Passover, but had died on the very day of the Passover, thus

substituting himself for the Paschal Lamb. The great Christian festival

was then made the Resurrection of Jesus, and was celebrated on the first

pagan holiday--_Sun-day_--after the Passover.

This _Easter_ celebration was observed in _China_, and called a

"Festival of Gratitude to Tien." From there it extended over the then

known world to the extreme West.

The ancient Pagan inhabitants of Europe celebrated annually this same

feast, which is yet continued over all the Christian world. This

festival began with a week's indulgence in all kinds of sports, called

the _carne-vale_, or the taking _a farewell to animal_ food, because it

was followed by a fast of forty days. This was in honor of the Saxon

goddess _Ostrt_ or _Eostre_ of the Germans, whence our _Easter_.[227:2]

The most characteristic Easter rite, and the one most widely diffused,

is the use of _Easter eggs_. They are usually stained of various colors

with dye-woods or herbs, and people mutually make presents of them;

sometimes they are kept as _amulets_, sometimes eaten. Now, "dyed eggs

were sacred Easter offerings in _Egypt_;"[228:1] the ancient _Persians_,

"when they kept the festival of the solar new year (in March), mutually

presented each other with colored eggs;"[228:2] "the _Jews_ used eggs in

the feast of the Passover;" and the custom prevailed in Western

countries.[228:3]

The stories of the resurrection written by the Gospel narrators are

altogether different. This is owing to the fact that the story, as

related by one, was written to correct the mistakes and to endeavor to

reconcile with common sense the absurdities of the other. For instance,

the "_Matthew_" narrator says: "And when they saw him (after he had

risen from the dead) they worshiped him; _but some doubted_."[228:4]

To leave the question where this writer leaves it would be fatal. In

such a case there must be no doubt. Therefore, the "_Mark_" narrator

makes Jesus appear _three times_, under such circumstances as to render

a mistake next to impossible, and to silence the most obstinate

skepticism. He is first made to appear to Mary Magdalene, who was

convinced that it was Jesus, because she went and told the disciples

that he had risen, and that she had seen him. They--_notwithstanding

that Jesus had foretold them of his resurrection_[228:5]--disbelieved,

nor could they be convinced until he appeared to _them_. They in turn

told it to the other disciples, who were also skeptical; and, that they

might be convinced, Jesus also appeared to _them_ as they sat at meat,

when he upbraided them for their unbelief.

This story is much improved in the hands of the "_Mark_" narrator, but,

in the anxiety to make a clear case, it is overdone, as often happens

when the object is to remedy or correct an oversight or mistake

previously made. In relating that the disciples _doubted_ the words of

Mary Magdalene, he had probably forgotten Jesus had promised them that

he should rise, for, if he had told them this, _why did they doubt_?

Neither the "_Matthew_" nor the "_Mark_" narrator says in what _way_

Jesus made his appearance--whether it was in the _body_ or only in the

_spirit_. If in the latter, it would be fatal to the whole theory of

the resurrection, as it is a _material_ resurrection that Christianity

taught--just like their neighbors the Persians--and not a

spiritual.[229:1]

To put this disputed question in its true light, and to silence the

objections which must naturally have arisen against it, was the object

which the "_Luke_" narrator had in view. He says that when Jesus

appeared and spoke to the disciples they were afraid: "But they were

terrified and affrighted, and _supposed_ they had seen a

_spirit_."[229:2] Jesus then--to show that he was _not_ a spirit--showed

the wounds in his hands and feet. "And they gave him a piece of a

broiled fish, and of a honeycomb. And he took it, _and did eat before

them_."[229:3] After this, who is there that can doubt? but, if the

_fish_ and _honeycomb_ story was true, why did the "_Matthew_" and

"_Mark_" narrators fail to mention it?

The "_Luke_" narrator, like his predecessors, had also overdone the

matter, and instead of convincing the skeptical, he only excited their

ridicule.

The "_John_" narrator now comes, and endeavors to set matters right. He

does not omit entirely the story of Jesus eating fish, _for that would

not do, after there had been so much said about it_. He might leave it

to be inferred that the "_Luke_" narrator made a mistake, so he modifies

the story and omits the ridiculous part. The scene is laid on the shores

of the Sea of Tiberias. Under the direction of Jesus, Peter drew his net

to land, full of fish. "Jesus said unto them: Come and dine. And none of

the disciples durst ask him, Who art thou? knowing that it was the Lord.

Jesus then cometh, and taketh _bread_, and _giveth them_, and _fish_

likewise."[229:4]

It does not appear from _this_ account that Jesus ate the fish at all.

He took the fish and _gave to the disciples_; the inference is that

_they_ were the ones that ate. In the "_Luke_" narrator's account _the

statement is reversed_; the disciples gave the fish to Jesus, _and he

ate_. The "_John_" narrator has taken out of the story that which was

absurd, but he leaves us to infer that the "_Luke_" narrator was

_careless_ in stating the account of what took place. If we leave out of

the "_Luke_" narrator's account the part that relates to the fish and

honeycomb, he fails to prove what it really was which appeared to the

disciples, as it seems from this that the disciples could not be

convinced that Jesus was not a spirit until he had actually eaten

something.

Now, if the _eating_ part is struck out--which the "_John_" narrator

does, and which, no doubt, the ridicule cast upon it drove him to

do--the "_Luke_" narrator leaves the question _just where he found it_.

It was the business of the "_John_" narrator to attempt to leave it

clean, and put an end to all cavil.

Jesus appeared to the disciples when they assembled at Jerusalem. "And

when he had so said, he shewed unto them his hands and his side."[230:1]

They were satisfied, and no doubts were expressed. But Thomas was not

present, and when he was told by the brethren that Jesus had appeared to

them, he refused to believe; nor would he, "Except I shall see in his

hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the

nails, and thrust my hand into his side, I will not believe."[230:2]

Now, if Thomas could be convinced, with all _his_ doubts, it would be

foolish after _that_ to deny that Jesus was not in the _body_ when he

appeared to his disciples.

After eight days Jesus again appears, for no other purpose--as it would

seem--but to convince the doubting disciple Thomas. Then said he to

Thomas: "Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither

thy hand, and thrust it into my side; and be not faithless, but

believing."[230:3] This convinced Thomas, and he exclaimed: "My Lord and

my God." After _this evidence_, if there were still unbelievers, they

were even more skeptical than Thomas himself. We should be at a loss to

understand _why the writers of the first three Gospels entirely omitted

the story of Thomas_, if we were not aware that when the "_John_"

narrator wrote the state of the public mind was such that proof of the

most unquestionable character was demanded that Christ Jesus had risen

in the body. The "_John_" narrator selected a person who claimed he was

hard to convince, and if the evidence was such as to satisfy _him_, it

ought to satisfy the balance of the world.[230:4]

The first that we knew of the fourth Gospel--attributed to _John_--is

from the writings of _Irenæus_ (A. D. 177-202), and the evidence is that

_he is the author of it_.[230:5] That controversies were rife in his day

concerning the resurrection of Jesus, is very evident from other

sources. We find that at this time the resurrection of the dead

(according to the accounts of the Christian forgers) was very far from

being esteemed an uncommon event; that the miracle was frequently

performed on necessary occasions by great fasting and the joint

supplication of the church of the place, and that the persons thus

restored by their prayers had lived afterwards among them many years. At

such a period, when faith could boast of so many wonderful victories

over death, it seems difficult to account for the skepticism of those

philosophers, who still rejected and derided the doctrine of the

resurrection. A noble Grecian had rested on this important ground the

whole controversy, and promised Theophilus, bishop of Antioch, _that if

he could be gratified by the sight of a single person who had been

actually raised from the dead, he would immediately embrace the

Christian religion_.

"It is somewhat remarkable," says Gibbon, the historian, from whom we

take the above, "that the prelate of the first Eastern Church, however

anxious for the conversion of his friend, thought proper to _decline_

this fair and reasonable challenge."[231:1]

This Christian _saint_, Irenæus, had invented many stories of others

being raised from the dead, for the purpose of attempting to strengthen

the belief in the resurrection of Jesus. In the words of the Rev.

Jeremiah Jones:

"Such _pious frauds_ were very common among Christians even in

the first three centuries; and a forgery of this nature, with

the view above-mentioned, _seems natural and probable_."

One of these "_pious frauds_" is the "_Gospel of Nicodemus the Disciple,

concerning the Sufferings and Resurrection of our Master and Saviour

Jesus Christ_." Although attributed to Nicodemus, a disciple of Jesus,

it has been shown to be a forgery, written towards the close of the

second century--during the time of _Irenæus_, the well-known pious

forger. In this book we find the following:

"And now hear me a little. We all know the blessed Simeon, the

high-priest, who took Jesus when an infant into his arms in

the temple. This same Simeon had two sons of his own, _and we

were all present at their death and funeral_. Go therefore and

see their _tombs_, for these are open, _and they are risen_;

and behold, they are in the city of Arimathæa, spending their

time together in offices of devotion."[231:2]

The purpose of this story is very evident. Some "zealous believer,"

observing the appeals for proof of the resurrection, wishing to make it

appear that resurrections from the dead were common occurrences,

invented this story _towards the close of the second century_, and

fathered it upon Nicodemus.

We shall speak, anon, more fully on the subject of the frauds of the

early Christians, the "lying and deceiving _for the cause of Christ_,"

which is carried on even to the present day.

As President Cheney of Bates College has lately remarked, "_The

resurrection is the doctrine of Christianity and the foundation of the

entire system_,"[232:1] but outside of the four spurious gospels this

greatest of all recorded miracles is hardly mentioned. "We have epistles

from Peter, James, John, and Jude--all of whom are said by the

evangelists to have _seen_ Jesus after he rose from the dead, in none of

which epistles is the fact of the resurrection even stated, much less

that Jesus was seen by the writer after his resurrection."[232:2]

Many of the early Christian sects denied the resurrection of Christ

Jesus, but taught that he will rise, when there shall be a general

resurrection.

No actual representation of the resurrection of the Christian's Saviour

has yet been found among the monuments of _early_ Christianity. The

earliest representation of this event that has been found is an ivory

carving, and belongs to the _fifth or sixth_ century.[232:3]

FOOTNOTES:

[215:1] See Matthew, xxviii. Mark, xvi. Luke, xxiv. and John, xx.

[215:2] Mark, xvi. 19.

[215:3] Luke, xxiv. 51.

[215:4] Acts, i. 9.

[215:5] See Dupuis: Origin of Religious Belief, p. 240. Higgins:

Anacalypsis, vol. ii. pp. 142 and 145.

[215:6] See Higgins: Anacalypsis, vol. i. p. 131. Bonwick's Egyptian

Belief, p. 168. Asiatic Researches, vol. i. pp. 259 and 261.

[215:7] See Prog. Relig. Ideas, vol. i. p. 72. Hist. Hindostan, ii. pp.

466 and 473.

"In Hindu pictures, Vishnu, who is identified with Crishna, is often

seen mounted on the Eagle Garuda." (Moore: Hindu Panth. p. 214.) And M.

Sonnerat noticed "two basso-relievos placed at the entrance of the choir

of Bordeaux Cathedral, one of which represents the ascension of our

Saviour to heaven on an Eagle." (Higgins: Anac., vol. i. p. 273.)

[216:1] Oriental Religions, pp. 494, 495.

[216:2] Asiatic Res., vol. x. p. 129. Anacalypsis, vol. ii. p. 103.

[216:3] Bunsen: The Angel-Messiah, p. 49.

[216:4] Prog. Relig. Ideas, vol. i. p. 86. See also, Higgins:

Anacalypsis, vol. i. p. 159.

[216:5] Prog. Relig. Ideas, vol. i. p. 214.

[216:6] Ibid. p. 258.

[217:1] Ovid's Metamorphoses, as rendered by Addison. Quoted in Taylor's

Diegesis, p. 148.

[217:2] Quoted by Higgins: Anacalypsis, vol. ii. p. 114. See also,

Taylor's Diegesis, pp. 163, 164.

[217:3] Taylor's Diegesis, p. 164.

[217:4] Prichard's Egyptian Mythology, pp. 66, 67.

[218:1] Dupuis: Origin of Religious Belief, p. 161. See also, Dunlap's

Mysteries of Adoni, p. 23, and Spirit Hist. of Man, p. 216.

[218:2] Calmet's Fragments, vol. ii. p. 21.

[218:3] Murray: Manual of Mythology, p. 86.

[218:4] See Dupuis: Origin of Religious Beliefs, p. 261.

[219:1] See Dupuis: Origin of Religious Beliefs, p. 247, and Taylor's

Diegesis, p. 164.

[219:2] See Taylor's Diegesis, p. 164. We shall speak of _Christian_

forgeries anon.

[219:3] See Bell's Pantheon, vol. i. p. 2.

[220:1] Quoted in Dunlap's Son of the Man, p. vii. See also, Knight:

Ancient Art and Mythology, p. xxvii.

"From the days of the prophet Daniel, down to the time when the red

cross knights gave no quarter (fighting for _the Christ_) in the streets

of Jerusalem, the Anointed was worshiped in Babylon, Basan, Galilee and

Palestine." (Son of the Man, p. 38.)

[220:2] Ezekiel, viii. 14.

[220:3] Quoted in Taylor's Diegesis, p. 162, and Higgins: Anacalypsis,

vol. ii. p. 114.

[221:1] See Justin: Cum. Typho, and Tertullian: De Bap.

[221:2] See Higgins: Anacalypsis, vol. ii. p. 16, and vol. i. p. 519.

Also, Prichard's Egyptian Mythology, p. 66, and Bonwick's Egyptian

Belief, p. 163.

[221:3] See Bonwick's Egyptian Belief, p. 166, and Dunlap's Mysteries of

Adoni, pp. 124, 125.

[221:4] Prolegomena to Ancient History.

[221:5] See Higgins: Anacalypsis, vol. ii. p. 102.

[221:6] Murray: Manual of Mythology, pp. 347, 348.

[222:1] Dupuis: Origin of Religious Belief, p. 256.

[222:2] Bonwick's Egyptian Belief, p. vi.

[222:3] Ibid. pp. 150-155, 178.

[222:4] Herodotus, bk. ii. chs. 170, 171.

[222:5] See Dupuis: Origin of Religious Belief, p. 263, and Higgins:

Anacalypsis, vol. ii. 108.

[223:1] See Bonwick's Egyptian Belief, p. 169. Higgins: Anacalypsis,

vol. ii. p. 104. Dupuis: Origin of Religious Belief, p. 255. Dunlap's

Mysteries of Adoni, p. 110, and Knight: Anct. Art and Mythology, p. 86.

[223:2] Higgins: Anacalypsis, vol. ii. p. 99. _Mithras_ remained in the

grave a period of _three days_, as did Christ _Jesus_, and the other

Christs. "The Persians believed that the soul of man remained yet _three

days_ in the world after its separation from the body." (Dunlap:

Mysteries of Adoni, p. 63.)

"In the Zoroastrian religion, after soul and body have separated, the

souls, _in the third night_ after death--as soon as the shining sun

ascends--come over the Mount Berezaiti upon the bridge Tshinavat which

leads to Garonmana, the dwelling of the good gods." (Dunlap's Spirit

Hist., p. 216, and Mysteries of Adoni, 60.)

The Ghost of Polydore says:

"Being raised up this _third day_--light, Having deserted my body!"

(Euripides, Hecuba, 31, 32.)

[223:3] Dupuis: Origin of Religious Beliefs, pp. 246, 247.

[224:1] King's Gnostics and their Remains, p. 225.

[224:2] Ibid. p. 226.

[224:3] See Higgins: Anacalypsis, vol. ii. p. 102. Dupuis: Origin of

Religious Belief, pp. 256, 257, and Bonwick's Egyptian Belief, p. 169.

[224:4] See Dupuis: Origin of Religious Belief, p. 135, and Higgins:

Anacalypsis, vol. i. 322.

[224:5] Prog. Relig. Ideas, vol. i. p. 294. See also, Goldzhier's Hebrew

Mythology, p. 127. Higgins: Anacalypsis, vol. i. p. 322, and Chambers's

Encyclo., art. "Hercules."

[224:6] Aryan Mytho., vol. ii. p. 90.

[224:7] See Bell's Pantheon, vol. i. p. 56.

[224:8] Aryan Mytho., vol. ii p. 94.

[225:1] Mallet's Northern Antiquities, p. 449.

[225:2] See Knight: Ancient Art and Mythology, p. 85.

[225:3] See Davies: Myths and Rites of the British Druids, pp. 89 and

208.

[225:4] See Kingsborough's Mexican Antiquities, vol. vi. p. 166.

[225:5] Quoted in Bonwick's Egyptian Belief, p. 174.

[225:6] As we shall see in the chapter on "The Birth-day of Christ

Jesus."

[225:7] _Easter_, the triumph of Christ, was originally solemnized on

the 25th of March, the very day upon which the Pagan gods were believed

to have risen from the dead. (See Dupuis: Origin of Religious Belief,

pp. 244, 255.)

A very long and terrible schism took place in the Christian Church upon

the question whether _Easter_, the day of the resurrection, was to be

celebrated on the 14th day of the first month, after the Jewish custom,

or on the Lord's day afterward; and it was at last decided in favor of

the Lord's day. (See Higgins: Anacalypsis, vol. ii. p. 90, and

Chambers's Encyclopædia, art. "Easter.")

The day upon which Easter should be celebrated was not settled until the

Council of Nice. (See Euseb. Life of Constantine, lib. 3, ch. xvii.

Also, Socrates' Eccl. Hist. lib. 1, ch. vi.)

[226:1] Even the name of "EASTER" is derived from the heathen goddess,

_Ostrt_, of the Saxons, and the _Eostre_ of the Germans.

"Many of the popular observances connected with Easter are clearly of

_Pagan origin_. The goddess Ostara or Eastre seems to have been the

personification of the morning or East, and also of the opening year or

Spring. . . . With her usual policy, the church endeavored to give a

Christian significance to such of the rites as could not be rooted out;

and in this case the conversion was practically easy." (Chambers's

Encyclo., art. "Easter.")

[226:2] Quoted in Dupuis: Origin of Religious Belief, p. 244.

[226:3] See Higgins: Anacalypsis, vol. ii. p. 340.

[227:1] Eccl. Hist., lib. 6, c. viii.

[227:2] Anacalypsis, ii. 59.

[228:1] See Bonwick's Egyptian Belief, p. 24.

[228:2] See Chambers's Encyclo., art. "Easter."

[228:3] Ibid.

[228:4] Matthew, xxviii. 17.

[228:5] See xii. 40; xvi. 21; Mark, ix. 31; xiv. 23; John, ii. 10.

[229:1] "And let not any one among you say, that _this very flesh_ is

not judged, neither raised up. Consider, in what were ye saved? in what

did ye look up, if not whilst ye were in this flesh? We must, therefore,

keep our flesh as the temple of God. For in like manner as ye were

called in the flesh, _ye shall also come to judgment_ in the flesh. Our

one Lord Jesus Christ, who has saved us, being first a spirit, was made

flesh, and so called us: _even so we also in this flesh, shall receive

the reward_ (_of heaven_)." (II. Corinthians, ch. iv. _Apoc._ See also

the Christian Creed: "I believe in the resurrection of the _body_.")

[229:2] Luke, xxiv. 37.

[229:3] Luke, xxiv. 42, 43.

[229:4] John, xxi. 12, 13.

[230:1] John, xx. 20.

[230:2] John, xx. 25.

[230:3] John, xx. 27.

[230:4] See, for a further account of the resurrection, Reber's Christ

of Paul; Scott's English Life of Jesus; and Greg's Creed of Christendom.

[230:5] See the Chapter xxxviii.

[231:1] Gibbon's Rome, vol. i. p. 541.

[231:2] Nicodemus, Apoc. ch. xii.

[232:1] Baccalaureate Sermon, June 26th, 1881.

[232:2] Greg: The Creed of Christendom, p. 284.

[232:3] See Jameson's Hist. of Our Lord in Art, vol. ii., and Lundy's

Monumental Christianity.

CHAPTER XXIV.

THE SECOND COMING OF CHRIST JESUS, AND THE MILLENNIUM.

The second coming of Christ Jesus is clearly taught in the canonical, as

well as in the apocryphal, books of the New Testament. Paul teaches, or

_is made to teach it_,[233:1] in the following words:

"If we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them

also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. For this we

say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive

_and remain unto the coming of the Lord_, shall not prevent

them which are asleep. _For the Lord himself shall descend

from heaven_ with a shout, with the voice of the archangel,

and with the trump of God, and the dead in Christ shall rise

first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be _caught up_

together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord _in the

air_: and so shall we ever be with the Lord."[233:2]

He further tells the Thessalonians to "abstain from all appearance of

evil," and to "be preserved blameless _unto the coming of our Lord Jesus

Christ_."[233:3]

James,[233:4] in his epistle to the brethren, tells them not to be in

too great a hurry for the coming of their Lord, but to "be patient" and

wait for the "coming of the Lord," as the "husbandman waiteth for the

precious fruit of the earth." But still he assures them that "the coming

of the Lord draweth nigh."[233:5]

Peter, in his first epistle, tells his brethren that "the end of all

things is at hand,"[233:6] and that when the "chief shepherd" does

appear, they "shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not

away."[233:7]

John, in his first epistle, tells the Christian community to "abide in

him" (Christ), so that, "when he shall appear, we may have confidence,

and not be ashamed before him."[234:1]

He further says:

"Behold, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet

appear what we shall be, but we know that, _when he shall

appear_, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he

is."[234:2]

According to the writer of the book of "The Acts," when Jesus ascended

into heaven, the Apostles stood looking _up_ towards heaven, where he

had gone, and while thus engaged: "behold, two men stood by them

(dressed) in white apparel," who said unto them:

"Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? This

same Jesus which is _taken up_ from you into heaven, _shall so

come in like manner as ye have seen him go_ (up) _into

heaven_."[234:3]

The one great object which the writer of the book of Revelations wished

to present to view, was "_the second coming of Christ_." This writer,

who seems to have been anxious for that time, which was "surely" to come

"quickly;" ends his book by saying: "Even so, come Lord Jesus."[234:4]

The two men, dressed in white apparel, who had told the Apostles that

Jesus should "come again," were not the only persons whom they looked to

for authority. He himself (according to the Gospel) had told them so:

"The Son of man shall come (again) in the glory of his Father

with his angels."

And, as if to impress upon their minds that his second coming should not

be at a distant day, he further said:

"Verily I say unto you, there be some standing here, which

shall not taste of death, _till they see the Son of man coming

in his kingdom_."[234:5]

This, surely, is very explicit, but it is not the only time he speaks of

his second advent. When foretelling the destruction of the temple, his

disciples came unto him, saying:

"Tell us when shall these things be, _and what shall be the

sign of thy coming_?"[234:6]

His answer to this is very plain:

"Verily I say unto you, _this generation shall not pass till

all these things be fulfilled_ (_i. e_, the destruction of the

temple and his second coming), but of that day and hour

knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father

only."[234:7]

In the second Epistle _attributed_ to Peter, which was written after

that generation had passed away,[235:1] there had begun to be some

impatience manifest among the _believers_, on account of the long delay

of Christ Jesus' second coming. "Where is the promise of his coming?"

say they, "for since the fathers fell asleep all things continue as they

were from the beginning of the creation."[235:2] In attempting to

smoothe over matters, this writer says: "There shall come in the last

days scoffers, saying: 'Where is the promise of his coming?'" to which

he replies by telling them that they were ignorant of all the ways of

the Lord, and that: "One day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a

thousand years as one day." He further says: "The Lord is not slack

concerning his promise;" and that "the day of the Lord _will come_."

This coming is to be "as a thief in the night," that is, when they least

expect it.[235:3]

No wonder there should have been scoffers--as this writer calls

them--the generation which was not to have passed away before his

coming, had passed away; all those who stood there had been dead many

years; the sun had not yet been darkened; the stars were still in the

heavens, and the moon still continued to reflect light. None of the

predictions had yet been fulfilled.

Some of the early Christian Fathers have tried to account for the words

of Jesus, where he says: "Verily I say unto you, there be some standing

here which shall not taste of death, till they see the Son of man coming

in his kingdom," by saying that he referred to _John_ only, and that

that Apostle was not dead, but sleeping. This fictitious story is

related by Saint Augustin, "from the report," as he says, "of credible

persons," and is to the effect that:

"At Ephesus, where St. John the Apostle lay buried, he was not

believed to be dead, _but to be sleeping only in the grave_,

which he had provided for himself till our Saviour's second

coming: in proof of which, they affirm, that the earth, under

which he lay, was seen to heave up and down perpetually, in

conformity to the motion of his body, in the act of

breathing."[235:4]

This story clearly illustrates the stupid credulity and superstition of

the primitive age of the church, and the faculty of imposing any

fictions upon the people, which their leaders saw fit to inculcate.

The doctrine of the _millennium_ designates a certain period in the

history of the world, lasting for a long, indefinite space (vaguely a

_thousand years_, as the word "_millennium_" implies) during which the

kingdom of _Christ Jesus_ will be visibly established on the earth. The

idea undoubtedly originated proximately in the Messianic expectation of

the Jews (as Jesus _did not_ sit on the throne of David and become an

earthly ruler, it _must be_ that he is _coming again_ for this purpose),

but more remotely in the Pagan doctrine of the final triumph of the

several "Christs" over their adversaries.

In the first century of the Church, _millenarianism_ was a _whispered_

belief, to which the book of Daniel, and more particularly the

predictions of the _Apocalypse_[236:1] gave an apostolical authority,

but, when the church imbibed _Paganism_, their belief on this subject

lent it a more vivid coloring and imagery.

The unanimity which the early Christian teachers exhibit in regard to

_millenarianism_, proves how strongly it had laid hold of the

imagination of the Church, to which, in this early stage, immortality

and future rewards were to a great extent things of this world as yet.

Not only did Cerinthus, but even the orthodox doctors--such as Papias

(Bishop of Hierapolis), Irenæus, Justin Martyr and others--delighted

themselves with dreams of the glory and magnificence of the millennial

kingdom. Papias, in his collection of traditional sayings of Christ

Jesus, indulges in the most monstrous representations of the re-building

of Jerusalem, and the colossal vines and grapes of the millennial reign.

According to the general opinion, the millennium was to be preceded by

great calamities, after which the Messiah, _Christ Jesus_, would appear,

and would bind Satan for a thousand years, annihilate the godless

heathen, or make them slaves of the believers, overturn the Roman

empire, from the ruins of which a new order of things would spring

forth, in which "the dead in Christ" would rise, and along with the

surviving saints enjoy an incomparable felicity in the city of the "New

Jerusalem." Finally, all nations would bend their knee to _him_, and

acknowledge _him only_ to be _the Christ_--his religion would reign

supreme. This is the "Golden Age" of the future, which all nations of

antiquity believed in and looked forward to.

We will first turn to _India_, and shall there find that the _Hindoos_

believed their "_Saviour_," or "Preserver" _Vishnu_, who appeared in

mortal form as _Crishna_, is _to come again in the latter days_. Their

sacred books declare that in the last days, when the fixed stars have

all apparently returned to the point whence they started, at the

beginning of all things, in the month _Scorpio_, Vishnu will appear

among mortals, in the form of an armed warrior, riding a winged _white

horse_.[236:2] In one hand he will carry a scimitar, "blazing like a

comet," to destroy all the impure who shall then dwell on the face of

the earth. In the other hand he will carry a large shining ring, to

signify that the great circle of _Yugas_ (ages) is completed, and that

the end has come. At his approach _the sun and moon will be darkened,

the earth will tremble, and the stars fall from the firmament_.[237:1]

The Buddhists believe that _Buddha_ has repeatedly assumed a human form

to facilitate the reunion of men with his own universal soul, so they

believe that _"in the latter days" he will come again_. Their sacred

books predict this coming, and relate that his mission will be to

restore the world to order and happiness.[237:2] This is exactly the

Christian idea of the millennium.

The _Chinese_ also believe that "_in the latter days_" there is to be a

_millennium_ upon earth. Their five sacred volumes are full of

prophesies concerning this "Golden Age of the Future." It is the

universal belief among them that a "_Divine Man_" will establish himself

on earth, and everywhere restore peace and happiness.[237:3]

The ancient _Persians_ believed that in the last days, there would be a

millennium on earth, when the religion of Zoroaster would be accepted by

all mankind. The Parsees of to-day, who are the remnants of the once

mighty Persians, have a tradition that a holy personage is waiting in a

region called Kanguedez, for a summons from the Ized Serosch, who in the

last days will bring him to Persia, to restore the ancient dominion of

that country, and spread the religion of Zoroaster over the whole

earth.[237:4]

The Rev. Joseph B. Gross, in his "Heathen Religion,"[237:5] speaking of

the belief of the ancient Persians in the millennium, says:

"The dead would be raised,[237:6] and he who has made all

things, cause the earth and the sea to return again the

remains of the departed.[237:7] Then Ormuzd shall clothe them

with flesh and blood, while they that live at the time of the

resurrection, must die in order to likewise participate in its

advantage.

"Before this momentous event takes place, three illustrious

prophets shall appear, who will announce their presence by the

performance of miracles.

"During this period of its existence, and till its final

removal, the earth will be afflicted with pestilence,

tempests, war, famine, and various other baneful

calamities."[237:8]

"After the resurrection, every one will be apprised of the

good or evil which he may have done, and the righteous and the

wicked will be separated from each other.[238:1] Those of the

latter whose offenses have not yet been expiated, will be cast

into hell during the term of three days and three

nights,[238:2] in the presence of an assembled world, in order

to be purified in the burning stream of liquid ore.[238:3]

After this, they enjoy endless felicity in the society of the

blessed, and the pernicious empire of Ahriman (the devil), is

fairly exterminated.[238:4] Even this lying spirit will be

under the necessity to avail himself of this fiery ordeal, and

made to rejoice in its expurgating and cleansing efficacy.

Nay, hell itself is purged of its mephitic impurities, and

washed clean in the flames of a universal regeneration.[238:5]

"The earth is now the habitation of bliss, all nature glows in

light; and the equitable and benignant laws of Ormuzd reign

supremely through the illimitable universe.[238:6] Finally,

after the resurrection, mankind will recognize each other

again; wants, cares, and passions will cease;[238:7] and

everything in the paradisian and all-embracing empire of

light, shall rebound to the praise of the benificent

God."[238:8]

The disciples of _Bacchus_ expected his _second advent_. They hoped he

would assume at some future day the government of the universe, and that

he would restore to man his primary felicity.[238:9]

The _Esthonian_ from the time of the German invasion lived a life of

bondage under a foreign yoke, and the iron of his slavery entered into

his soul. He told how the ancient hero Kalewipoeg sits in the realms of

shadows, waiting until his country is in its extremity of distress, when

he will _return to earth_ to avenge the injuries of the Esths, and

elevate the poor crushed people into a mighty power.[238:10]

The suffering _Celt_ has his Brian Boroihme, or Arthur, _who will come

again_, the first to inaugurate a Fenian millennium, the second to

regenerate Wales. Olger Dansk waits till the time arrives when he is to

start from sleep to the assistance of the _Dane_ against the hated

Prussian. The Messiah is to come and restore the kingdom of the _Jews_.

Charlemagne was the Messiah of mediæval Teutondom. He it was who founded

the great German empire, and shed over it the blaze of Christian truth,

and now he sleeps in the Kyffhauserberg, waiting till German heresy has

reached its climax and Germany is wasted through internal conflicts, to

rush to earth once more, and revive the great empire and restore the

Catholic faith.[239:1]

The ancient _Scandinavians_ believed that in the "latter days" great

calamities would befall mankind. The earth would tremble, and the stars

fall from heaven. After which, the great _serpent_ would be chained, and

the religion of Odin would reign supreme.[239:2]

The disciples of _Quetzalcoatle_, the Mexican Saviour, expected his

second advent. Before he departed this life, he told the inhabitants of

Cholula that he would return again to govern them.[239:3] This

remarkable tradition was so deeply cherished in their hearts, says Mr.

Prescott in his "Conquest of Mexico," that "the Mexicans looked

confidently to the return of their benevolent deity."[239:4]

So implicitly was this believed by the subjects, that when the Spaniards

appeared on the coast, they were joyfully hailed as the returning god

and his companions. Montezuma's messengers reported to the Inca that "it

was Quetzalcoatle who was coming, bringing his temples (ships) with

him." All throughout New Spain they expected the reappearance of this

"Son of the Great God" into the world, who would renew all

things.[239:5]

Acosta alludes to this, in his "History of the Indies," as follows:

"In the beginning of the year 1518, they (the Mexicans),

discovered a fleet at sea, in the which was the Marques del

Valle, Don Fernando Cortez, with his companions, a news which

much troubled Montezuma, and conferring with his council, they

all said, that without doubt, their great and ancient lord

Quetzalcoatle was come, who had said that he would return from

the East, whither he had gone."[239:6]

The doctrine of the millennium and the second advent of Christ Jesus,

has been a very important one in the Christian church. The ancient

Christians were animated by a contempt for their present existence, and

by a just confidence of immortality, of which the doubtful and imperfect

faith of modern ages cannot give us any adequate notion. In the

primitive church, the influence of truth was powerfully strengthened by

an opinion, which, however much it may deserve respect for its

usefulness and antiquity, has not been found agreeable to experience.

_It was universally believed, that the end of the world and the kingdom

of heaven were at hand._[240:1] The near approach of this wonderful

event had been predicted, as we have seen, by the Apostles; the

tradition of it was preserved by their earliest disciples, and those who

believed that the discourses _attributed_ to Jesus were really uttered

by him, were _obliged_ to expect the second and glorious coming of the

"Son of Man" in the clouds, _before that generation was totally

extinguished_ which had beheld his humble condition upon earth, and

which might still witness the calamities of the Jews under Vespasian or

Hadrian. The revolution of seventeen centuries has instructed us not to

press too closely the _mysterious_ language of prophecy and revelation;

but as long as this error was permitted to subsist in the church, it was

productive of the most salutary effects on the faith and practice of

Christians, who lived in the awful expectation of that moment when the

globe itself and all the various races of mankind, _should tremble at

the appearance of their divine judge_. This expectation was

countenanced--as we have seen--by the twenty-fourth chapter of St.

Matthew, and by the first epistle of Paul to the Thessalonians. Erasmus

(one of the most vigorous promoters of the Reformation) removes the

difficulty by the help of _allegory_ and _metaphor_; and the learned

Grotius (a learned theologian of the 16th century) ventures to

insinuate, that, for wise purposes, _the pious deception was permitted

to take place_.

_The ancient and popular doctrine of the millennium_ was intimately

connected with the second coming of Christ Jesus. As the works of the

creation had been fixed in _six days_, their duration in the present

state, according to a tradition which was attributed to the prophet

Elijah, was fixed to _six thousand years_.[240:2] By the same analogy it

was inferred, that this long period of labor and contention, which had

now almost elapsed, would be succeeded by a joyful Sabbath of a

_thousand years_, and that Christ Jesus, with the triumphant band of the

saints and the elect who had escaped death, or who had been miraculously

revived, would reign upon earth until the time appointed for the last

and general resurrection. So pleasing was this hope to the mind of the

believers, that the "New Jerusalem," the seat of this blissful kingdom,

was quickly adorned with all the gayest colors of the imagination. A

felicity consisting only of pure and spiritual pleasure would have been

too refined for its inhabitants, who were still supposed to possess

their human nature and senses. A "Garden of Eden," with the amusements

of the pastoral life, was no longer suited to the advanced state of

society which prevailed under the Roman empire. A city was therefore

erected of gold and precious stones, and a supernatural plenty of corn

and wine was bestowed on the adjacent territory; in the free enjoyment

of whose spontaneous productions, the happy and benevolent people were

never to be restrained by any jealous laws of exclusive property. Most

of these pictures were borrowed from a misrepresentation of Isaiah,

Daniel, and the Apocalypse. One of the grossest images may be found in

Irenæus (l. v.) the disciple of Papias, who had seen the Apostle St.

John. Though it might not be universally received, it appears to have

been the reigning sentiment of the orthodox believers; and it seems so

well adapted to the desires and apprehensions of mankind, that it must

have contributed in a very considerable degree to the progress of the

Christian faith. But when the edifice of the church was almost

completed, the temporary support was laid aside. The doctrine of Christ

Jesus' reign upon earth was at first treated as a profound _allegory_,

was considered by degrees as a _doubtful_ and _useless_ opinion, and was

at length rejected as the absurd invention of heresy and fanaticism. But

although this doctrine had been "laid aside," and "rejected," it was

again resurrected, and is alive and rife at the present day, even among

those who stand as the leaders of the orthodox faith.

The expectation of the "last day" in the year 1000 A. D., reinvested the

doctrine with a transitory importance; but it lost all credit again when

the hopes so keenly excited by the _crusades_ faded away before the

stern reality of Saracenic success, and the predictions of the

"Everlasting Gospel," a work of Joachim de Floris, a Franciscan abbot,

remained unfulfilled.[241:1]

At the period of the _Reformation_, millenarianism once more experienced

a partial revival, because it was not a difficult matter to apply some

of its symbolism to the papacy. The Pope, for example, was

_Antichrist_--a belief still adhered to by some extreme Protestants. Yet

the doctrine was not adopted by the great body of the reformers, but by

some fanatical sects, such as the Anabaptists, and by the Theosophists

of the seventeenth century.

During the civil and religious wars in France and England, when great

excitement prevailed, it was also prominent. The "Fifth Monarchy Men" of

Cromwell's time were millenarians of the most exaggerated and dangerous

sort. Their peculiar tenet was that the millennium _had_ come, and that

_they_ were the saints who were to inherit the earth. The excesses of

the French Roman Catholic Mystics and Quietists terminated in

_chiliastic_[242:1] views. Among the Protestants it was during the

"Thirty Years' War" that the most enthusiastic and learned chiliasts

flourished. The awful suffering and wide-spread desolation of that time

led pious hearts to solace themselves with the hope of a peaceful and

glorious future. Since then the _penchant_ which has sprung up for

expounding the prophetical books of the Bible, and particularly the

_Apocalypse_, with a view to present events, has given the doctrine a

faint semi-theological life, very different, however, from the earnest

faith of the first Christians.

Among the foremost chiliastic teachers of modern centuries are to be

mentioned Ezechiel Meth, Paul Felgenhauer, Bishop Comenius, Professor

Jurien, Seraris, Poiret, J. Mede; while Thomas Burnet and William

Whiston endeavored to give chiliasm a geological foundation, but without

finding much favor. Latterly, especially since the rise and extension of

missionary enterprise, the opinion has obtained a wide currency, that

after the conversion of the whole world to Christianity, a blissful and

glorious era will ensue; but not much stress--except by extreme

literalists--is now laid on the nature or duration of this far-off

felicity.

Great eagerness, and not a little ingenuity have been exhibited by many

persons in fixing a _date_ for the commencement of the millennium. The

celebrated theologian, Johann Albrecht Bengel, who, in the eighteenth

century, revived an earnest interest in the subject amongst orthodox

Protestants, asserted from a study of the prophecies that the millennium

would begin in 1836. This date was long popular. Swedenborg held that

the last judgment _took place_ in 1757, and that the new church, or

"_Church of the New Jerusalem_," as his followers designate

themselves--in other words, the millennial era--_then began_.

In America, considerable agitation was excited by the preaching of one

William Miller, who fixed the second advent of Christ Jesus about 1843.

Of late years, the most noted English millenarian was Dr. John Cumming,

who placed the end of the _present dispensation_ in 1866 or 1867; but as

that time passed without any millennial symptoms, he modified his

original views considerably, before he died, and conjectured that the

beginning of the millennium would not differ so much after all from the

years immediately preceding it, as people commonly suppose.

FOOTNOTES:

[233:1] We say "is made to teach it," for the probability is that Paul

never wrote this passage. The authority of _both_ the Letters to the

_Thessalonians_, attributed to Paul, is undoubtedly spurious. (See The

Bible of To-Day, pp. 211, 212.)

[233:2] I. Thessalonians, iv. 14-17.

[233:3] Ibid. v. 22, 23.

[233:4] We say "James," but, it is probable that we have, in this

epistle of James, another pseudonymous writing which appeared after the

time that James must have lived. (See The Bible of To-Day, p. 225.)

[233:5] James, v. 7, 8.

[233:6] I. Peter, iv. 7.

[233:7] I. Peter, v. 7. This Epistle is not authentic. (See The Bible of

To-Day, pp. 226, 227, 228.)

[234:1] I. John, ii. 26. This epistle is not authentic. (See Ibid. p.

231.)

[234:2] I. John, v. 2.

[234:3] Acts, i. 10, 11.

[234:4] Rev. xxii. 20.

[234:5] Matt. xvi. 27, 28.

[234:6] Ibid. xxiv. 3.

[234:7] Ibid. xxiv. 34-36.

[235:1] Towards the close of the second century. (See Bible of To-Day.)

[235:2] II. Peter, iii. 4.

[235:3] II. Peter, iii. 8-10.

[235:4] See Middleton's Works, vol. i. p. 188.

[236:1] Chapters xx. and xxi. in particular.

[236:2] The _Christian Saviour_, as well as the _Hindoo Saviour_, will

appear "in the latter days" among mortals "in the form of an armed

warrior, riding a _white horse_." St. John sees this in his _vision_,

and prophecies it in his "Revelation" thus: "And I saw, and behold a

_white horse_: and he that sat on him had a _bow_; and a _crown_ was

given unto him: and he went forth conquering, and to conquer." (Rev. vi.

2.)

[237:1] Prog. Relig. Ideas, vol. i. p. 75. Hist. Hindostan, vol. ii. pp.

497-503. See also, Williams: Hinduism, p. 108.

[237:2] Prog. Relig. Ideas, i. 247, and Bunsen's Angel-Messiah, p. 48.

[237:3] See Prog. Relig. Ideas, vol. i. p. 209.

[237:4] See Ibid. p. 279. The Angel-Messiah, p. 287, and chap. xiii.

this work.

[237:5] Pp. 122, 123.

[237:6] "And I saw the _dead_, small and great, stand before God." (Rev.

xx. 12.)

[237:7] "And the _sea_ gave up the dead which were in it." (Rev. xx.

13.)

[237:8] "And ye shall hear of wars, and rumors of wars." "Nation shall

rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there shall be

famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in divers places." (Matt. xxiv. 6,

7.)

[238:1] "And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall

separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from

the goats." (Matt. xxv. 32, 33.)

[238:2] "He descended into hell, the third day he rose (again) from the

dead." (Apostles' Creed.)

[238:3] Purgatory--a place in which souls are supposed by the papists to

be purged by fire from carnal impurities, before they are received into

heaven.

[238:4] "And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the

Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years." (Rev. xx. 2.)

[238:5] "And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire." (Rev. xx.

14.)

[238:6] "And I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first earth,

and the first heaven were passed away." (Rev. xxi. 1.)

[238:7] "And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there

shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there

be any more pain: for the former things are passed away." (Rev. xxi. 1.)

[238:8] "And after these things I heard a great voice of much people in

heaven, saying, 'Alleluia; salvation, and glory, and honor, and power,

unto the Lord, our God.'" (Rev. xix. 1.) "For the Lord God omnipotent

reigneth." (Rev. xix. 6.)

[238:9] Dupuis: Orig. Relig. Belief.

[238:10] Baring-Gould: Orig. Relig. Belief, vol. i. p. 407.

[239:1] Baring-Gould: Orig. Relig. Belief, vol. i. p. 407.

[239:2] See Mallet's Northern Antiquities.

[239:3] Humboldt: Amer. Res., vol. i. p. 91.

[239:4] Prescott: Con. of Mexico, vol. i. p. 60.

[239:5] Fergusson: Tree and Serpent Worship, p. 87. Squire: Serpent

Symbol, p. 187.

[239:6] Acosta: Hist. Indies, vol. ii. p. 513.

[240:1] Over all the Higher Asia there seems to have been diffused an

immemorial tradition relative to a second grand convulsion of nature,

and the final dissolution of the earth by the terrible agency of FIRE,

as the first is said to have been by that of WATER. It was taught by the

Hindoos, the Egyptians, Plato, Pythagoras, Zoroaster, the Stoics, and

others, and was afterwards adopted by the Christians. (II. Peter, iii.

9. Hist. Hindostan, vol. ii. pp. 498-500.)

[240:2] "And God made, in six days, the works of his hands, . . . the

meaning of it is this; that in _six thousand years_ the Lord will bring

all things to an end." (Barnabas. _Apoc._ c. xiii.)

[241:1] After the devotees and followers of the new gospel had in vain

expected the _Holy One_ who was to come, they at last pitched upon St.

Francis as having been the expected one, and, of course, the most

surprising and absurd miracles were said to have been performed by him.

Some of the fanatics who believed in this man, maintained that St.

Francis was "wholly and entirely transformed into the person of

Christ"--_Totum Christo configuratum_. Some of them maintained that the

gospel of Joachim was expressly preferred to the gospel of Christ.

(Mosheim: Hist. Cent., xiii. pt. ii. sects. xxxiv. and xxxvi.

Anacalypsis, vol. i. p. 695.)

[242:1] _Chiliasm_--the thousand years when Satan is bound.

CHAPTER XXV.

CHRIST JESUS AS JUDGE OF THE DEAD.

According to Christian dogma, "God the Father" is not to be the judge at

the last day, but this very important office is to be held by "God the

Son." This is taught by the writer of "The Gospel according to St.

John"--whoever he may have been--when he says:

"For the Father judgeth no man, _but hath committed all

judgment unto the Son_."[244:1]

Paul also, in his "Epistle to the Romans" (or some other person who has

interpolated the passage), tells us that:

"In the day when God shall judge the secrets of men," this

judgment shall be done "by _Jesus Christ_," his son.[244:2]

Again, in his "Epistle to Timothy,"[244:3] he says:

"_The Lord Jesus Christ_ shall judge the quick and the dead,

at his appearing and his kingdom."[244:4]

The writer of the "Gospel according to St. Matthew," also describes

Christ Jesus as judge at the last day.[244:5]

Now, the question arises, _is this doctrine original with Christianity_?

To this we must answer _no_. It was taught, for ages before the time of

Christ Jesus or Christianity, that the Supreme Being--whether "Brahmá,"

"Zeruâné Akeréné," "Jupiter," or "Yahweh,"[244:6]--was not to be the

judge at the last day, but that their _sons_ were to hold this position.

The sectarians of _Buddha_ taught that he (who was the _Son of God_

(Brahmá) and the Holy Virgin Maya), is to be the judge of the

dead.[244:7]

According to the religion of the Hindoos, _Crishna_ (who was the _Son

of God_, and the Holy Virgin Devaki), is to be the judge at the last

day.[245:1] And _Yama_ is the god of the departed spirits, and the judge

of the dead, according to the _Vedas_.[245:2]

_Osiris_, the Egyptian "Saviour" and son of the "Immaculate Virgin"

Neith or Nout, was believed by the ancient Egyptians to be the judge of

the dead.[245:3] He is represented on Egyptian monuments, seated on his

throne of judgment, bearing a staff, and carrying the _crux ansata_, or

cross with a handle.[245:4] _St. Andrew's cross_ is upon his breast. His

_throne_ is in checkers, to denote the good and evil over which he

presides, or to indicate the good and evil who appear before him as the

judge.[245:5]

Among the many hieroglyphic titles which accompany his figure in these

sculptures, and in many other places on the walls of temples and tombs,

are "Lord of Life," "The Eternal Ruler," "Manifester of Good," "Revealer

of Truth," "Full of Goodness and Truth," &c.[245:6]

Mr. Bonwick, speaking of the Egyptian belief in the last judgment, says:

"A perusal of the twenty-fifth chapter of Matthew will prepare

the reader for the investigation of the Egyptian notion of the

last judgment."[245:7]

Prof. Carpenter, referring to the Egyptian Bible--which is by far the

most ancient of all holy books[245:8]--says:

"In the 'Book of the Dead,' there are used the very phrases we

find in the New Testament, _in connection with the day of

judgment_."[245:9]

According to the religion of the _Persians_, it is _Ormuzd_, "_The First

Born of the Eternal One_," who is judge of the dead. He had the title of

"The All-Seeing," and "The Just Judge."[245:10]

Zeruâné Akeréné is the name of him who corresponds to "God the Father"

among other nations. He was the "One Supreme essence," the "Invisible

and Incomprehensible."[245:11]

Among the ancient _Greeks_, it was _Aeacus_--Son of the Most High

God--who was to be judge of the dead.[245:12]

The Christian Emperor Constantine, in his oration to the clergy,

speaking of the ancient poets of Greece, says:

"They affirm that men who are the _sons of the gods_, do

judge departed souls."[246:1]

Strange as it may seem, "there are no examples of Christ Jesus

conceived as judge, or the last judgment, in the _early_ art of

Christianity."[246:2]

The author from whom we quote the above, says, "It would be difficult to

define the _cause_ of this, though many may be conjectured."[246:3]

Would it be unreasonable to "conjecture" that the _early_ Christians did

not teach this doctrine, but that it was imbibed, in after years, with

many other heathen ideas?

FOOTNOTES:

[244:1] John, v. 22.

[244:2] Romans, ii. 16.

[244:3] Not authentic. (See The Bible of To-Day, p. 212.)

[244:4] II. Timothy, iv. 1.

[244:5] Matt. xxv. 31-46.

[244:6] Through an error we pronounce this name _Jehovah_.

[244:7] See Dupuis: Origin of Religious Belief, p. 366.

[245:1] See Samuel Johnson's Oriental Religions, p. 504.

[245:2] See Williams' Hinduism, p. 25.

[245:3] See Bonwick's Egyptian Belief, p. 120. Renouf: Religions of the

Ancient Egyptians, p. 110, and Prog. Relig. Ideas, vol. i. p. 152.

[245:4] See Bonwick's Egyptian Belief, p. 151, and Prog. Relig. Ideas,

vol. i. p. 152.

[245:5] See Bonwick's Egyptian Belief, p. 151.

[245:6] See Prog. Relig. Ideas, vol. i. p. 154.

[245:7] Egyptian Belief, p. 419.

[245:8] See Ibid. p. 185.

[245:9] Quoted in Ibid. p. 419.

[245:10] Prog. Relig. Ideas, vol. i. p. 259.

[245:11] Ibid. p. 258.

[245:12] See Bell's Pantheon, vol. ii. p. 16.

[246:1] Constantine's Oration to the Clergy, ch. x.

[246:2] Jameson: History of Our Lord in Art, vol. ii. p. 392.

[246:3] Ibid.

CHAPTER XXVI.

CHRIST JESUS AS CREATOR, AND ALPHA AND OMEGA.

Christian dogma also teaches that it was not "God the Father," but "God

the Son" who created the heavens, the earth, and all that therein is.

The writer of the fourth Gospel says:

"_All things were made by him_, and without him was not

anything made that was made."[247:1]

Again:

"He was in the world _and the world was made by him_, and the

world knew him not."[247:2]

In the "Epistle to the Colossians," we read that:

"By _him_ were all things created that are in heaven and that

are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones,

or dominions, or principalities, or powers; _all things were

created by him_."[247:3]

Again, in the "Epistle to the Hebrews," we are told that:

"God hath spoken unto us by _his son_, whom he hath appointed

heir of all things, _by whom also he made the world_."[247:4]

Samuel Johnson, D. O. Allen,[247:5] and Thomas Maurice,[247:6] tell us

that, according to the religion of the _Hindoos_, it is _Crishna_, the

Son, and the second person in the ever blessed Trinity,[247:7] "who is

the origin and end of all the worlds; _all this universe, came into

being through him, the eternal maker_."[247:8]

In the holy book of the Hindoos, called the "_Bhagvat Geeta_," may be

found the following words of _Crishna_, addressed to his "beloved

disciple" Ar-jouan:

"I am _the Lord of all created beings_."[247:9] "_Mankind was

created by me_ of four kinds, distinct in their principles and

in their duties; _know me then to be the Creator of mankind_,

uncreated, and without decay."[247:10]

In Lecture VII., entitled: "Of the Principles of Nature, and the Vital

Spirit," he also says:

"I am the creation and the dissolution of the whole universe.

There is not anything greater than I, and all things hang on

me."

Again, in Lecture IX., entitled, "Of the Chief of Secrets and Prince of

Science," Crishna says:

"The whole world was spread abroad by me in my invisible form.

All things are dependent on me." "I am the Father and the

Mother of this world, the Grandsire and the Preserver. I am

the Holy One worthy to be known; the mystic figure OM.[248:1]

. . . I am the journey of the good; the _Comforter_; the

_Creator_; the _Witness_; the _Resting-place_; the _Asylum_

and the _Friend_."[248:2]

In Lecture X., entitled, "Of the diversity of the Divine Nature," he

says:

"_I am the Creator of all things_, and all things proceed from

me. Those who are endued with spiritual wisdom, believe this

and worship me; their very hearts and minds are in me; they

rejoice amongst themselves, and delight in speaking of my

name, and teaching one another my doctrine."[248:3]

Innumerable texts, similar to these, might be produced from the Hindoo

Scriptures, but these we deem sufficient to show, in the words of Samuel

Johnson quoted above, that, "According to the religion of the Hindoos,

it is Crishna who is the origin and the end of all the worlds;" and that

"all this universe came into being through him, the Eternal Maker." The

_Chinese_ believed in One Supreme God, to whose honor they burnt

incense, but of whom they had no image. This "God the Father" was _not_

the Creator, according to their theology or mythology; but they had

another god, of whom they had statues or idols, called _Natigai_, who

was the god of all terrestrial things; in fact, God, _the Creator of

this world_--inferior or subordinate to the Supreme Being--from whom

they petition for fine weather, or whatever else they want--a sort of

_mediator_.[248:4]

_Lanthu_, who was born of a "pure, spotless virgin," is believed by his

followers or disciples to be the Creator of all things;[248:5] and

_Taou_, a deified hero, who is mentioned about 560 B. C., is believed by

some sects and affirmed by their books, to be "the original source and

first productive cause of all things."[248:6]

In the _Chaldean_ oracles, the doctrine of the "Only Begotten Son," I A

O, as _Creator_, is plainly taught.

According to ancient _Persian_ mythology, there is one supreme essence,

invisible and incomprehensible, named "_Zeruâné Akeréné_" which

signifies "unlimited time," or "the eternal." From him emanated

_Ormuzd_, the "King of Light," the "First-born of the Eternal One," &c.

Now, this "First-born of the Eternal One" is he by whom all things were

made, all things came into being through him; _he is the

Creator_.[249:1]

A large portion of the _Zend-Avesta_--the Persian Sacred Book or

Bible--is filled with prayers to Ormuzd, God's First-Born. The following

are samples:

"I address my prayer to Ormuzd, _Creator of all_ things; who

always has been, who is, and who will be forever; who is wise

and powerful; who made the great arch of heaven, the sun, the

moon, stars, winds, clouds, waters, earth, fire, trees,

animals and men, whom Zoroaster adored. Zoroaster, who brought

to the world knowledge of the law, who knew by natural

intelligence, and by the ear, what ought to be done, all that

has been, all that is, and all that will be; the science of

sciences, _the excellent word_, by which souls pass the

luminous and radiant bridge, separate themselves from the evil

regions, and go to light and holy dwellings, full of

fragrance. _O Creator_, I obey thy laws, I think, act, speak,

according to thy orders. I separate myself from all sin. I do

good works according to my power. I adore thee with purity of

thought, word, and action. I pray to Ormuzd, who recompenses

good works, who delivers unto the end all those who obey his

laws. Grant that I may arrive at paradise, where all is

fragrance, light, and happiness."[249:2]

According to the religion of the ancient _Assyrians_, it was _Narduk_,

the Logos, the WORD, "the eldest son of Hea," "the Merciful One," "the

Life-giver," &c., who created the heavens, the earth, and all that

therein is.[249:3]

_Adonis_, the Lord and Saviour, was believed to be the Creator of men,

and god of the resurrection of the dead.[249:4]

_Prometheus_, the Crucified Saviour, is the divine forethought, existing

before the souls of men, and the creator Hominium.[249:5]

The writer of "The Gospel according to St. John," has made Christ Jesus

_co-eternal_ with God, as well as Creator, in these words:

"In the beginning was the _Word_, and the Word was with God."

"The same was in the beginning with God."[249:6]

Again, in praying to his Father, he makes Jesus say:

"And now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with

the glory _which I had with thee before the world

was_."[249:7]

Paul is made to say:

"And he (Christ) is before all things."[250:1]

Again:

"Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, to-day, and

forever."[250:2]

St. John the Divine, in his "Revelation," has made Christ Jesus say:

"I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end"--"which is,

and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty,"[250:3]

"the first and the last."[250:4]

Hindoo scripture also makes _Crishna_ "the first and the last," "the

beginning and the end." We read in the "Geeta," where Crishna is

reported to have said:

"I myself never was not."[250:5] "Learn that he by whom all

things were formed" (meaning himself) "is

incorruptible."[250:6] "I am eternity and

non-eternity."[250:7] "I am before all things, and the mighty

ruler of the universe."[250:8] "I am the beginning, the middle

and the end of all things."[250:9]

Arjouan, his disciple, addresses him thus:

"Thou art the Supreme Being, incorruptible, worthy to be

known; thou art prime supporter of the universal orb; thou art

the never-failing and eternal guardian of religion; _thou art

from all beginning_, and I esteem thee."[250:10] Thou art "the

Divine Being, before all other gods."[250:11]

Again he says:

"Reverence! Reverence be unto thee, before and behind!

Reverence be unto thee on all sides, O thou who art all in

all! Infinite in thy power and thy glory! Thou includest all

things, wherefore thou art all things."[250:12]

In another Holy Book of the Hindoos, called the "Vishnu Purana," we also

read that Vishnu--in the form of Crishna--"who descended into the womb

of the (virgin) Devaki, and was born as her son" was "_without

beginning, middle or end_."[250:13]

_Buddha_ is also Alpha and Omega, without beginning or end, "The Lord,"

"the Possessor of All," "He who is Omnipotent and Everlastingly to be

Contemplated," "the Supreme Being, the Eternal One."[250:14]

_Lao-kiun_, the Chinese virgin-born God, who came upon earth about six

hundred years before Jesus, was without beginning. It was said that he

had existed from all eternity.[250:15]

The legends of the Taou-tsze sect in China declare their founder to

have existed antecedent to the birth of the elements, in the Great

Absolute; that he is the "pure essence of the _tëen_;" that he is the

original ancestor of the prime breath of life; that he gave form to the

heavens and the earth, and caused creations and annihilations to succeed

each other, in an endless series, during innumerable periods of the

world. He himself is made to say:

"I was in existence prior to the manifestation of any

corporeal shape; I appeared anterior to the supreme being, or

first motion of creation."[251:1]

According to the _Zend Avesta_, Ormuzd, the first-born of the Eternal

One, is he "who is, always has been, and who will be forever."[251:2]

_Zeus_ was Alpha and Omega. An Orphic line runs thus:

"Zeus is the beginning, Zeus is the middle, out of Zeus all

things have been made."[251:3]

_Bacchus_ was without beginning or end. An inscription on an ancient

medal, referring to him, reads thus:

"It is I who leads you; it is I who protects you, and who

saves you, I am Alpha and Omega."

Beneath this inscription is a serpent, with his tail in his mouth, thus

forming a _circle_, which was an emblem of _eternity_ among the

ancients.[251:4]

Without enumerating them, we may say that the majority of the

virgin-born gods spoken of in Chapter XII. were like Christ

Jesus--without beginning or end--and that many of them were considered

Creators of all things. This has led M. Dridon to remark (in his Hist.

de Dieu), that in _early works of art_, Christ Jesus is made to take the

place of his Father in _creation_ and in similar labors, just as in

heathen religions an inferior deity does the work under a superior one.

FOOTNOTES:

[247:1] John, i. 3.

[247:2] John, i. 10.

[247:3] Colossians, i.

[247:4] Hebrews, i. 2.

[247:5] Allen's India, pp. 137 and 380.

[247:6] Indian Antiq., vol. ii. p. 288.

[247:7] See the chapter on the Trinity.

[247:8] Oriental Religions, p. 502.

[247:9] Lecture iv. p. 51.

[247:10] Geeta, p. 52.

[248:1] O. M. or A. U. M. is the Hindoo ineffable name; the mystic

emblem of the deity. It is never uttered aloud, but only mentally by the

devout. It signifies Brahma, Vishnou, and Siva, the _Hindoo Trinity_.

(See Charles Wilkes in Geeta, p. 142, and King's Gnostics and their

Remains, p. 163.)

[248:2] Geeta, p. 80.

[248:3] Geeta, p. 84.

[248:4] See Higgins: Anacalypsis, vol. i. p. 48.

[248:5] See Bell's Pantheon, vol. ii. p. 35.

[248:6] See Davis: Hist. China, vol. ii. pp. 109 and 113, and Thornton,

vol. i. p. 137.

[249:1] See Prog. Relig. Ideas, vol. i. p. 259. In the most ancient

parts of the Zend-Avesta, Ormuzd is said to have created the world by

his WORD. (See Bunsen's Angel-Messiah, p. 104, and Gibbon's Rome, vol.

ii. p. 302, Note by Guizot.) "In the beginning was the WORD, and the

WORD was with God, and the WORD was God." (John, i. 1.)

[249:2] Quoted in Prog. Relig. Ideas, vol. i. p. 267.

[249:3] See Bonwick's Egyptian Belief, p. 404.

[249:4] See Dunlap's Mysteries of Adoni, p. 156.

[249:5] See Ibid. p. 156, and Bulfinch, Age of Fable.

[249:6] John, i. 1, 2.

[249:7] John, xvii. 5.

[250:1] Col. i. 17.

[250:2] Hebrews, xiii. 8.

[250:3] Rev. i. 8, 23, 13.

[250:4] Rev. i. 17; xii. 13.

[250:5] Geeta, p. 35.

[250:6] Geeta, p. 36.

[250:7] Lecture ix. p. 80.

[250:8] Lecture x. p. 83.

[250:9] Lecture x. p. 85.

[250:10] Lecture ix. p. 91.

[250:11] Lecture x. p. 84.

[250:12] Lecture xi. p. 95.

[250:13] See Vishnu Purana, p. 440.

[250:14] See chapter xii.

[250:15] See Prog. Relig. Ideas, vol. i. p. 200.

[251:1] Thornton: Hist. China, vol. i. p. 137.

[251:2] Prog. Relig. Ideas, ii. p. 267.

[251:3] Müller's Chips, vol. ii. p. 15.

[251:4] "C'est moi qui vous conduis, vous et tout ce qui vous regarde.

C'est moi, qui vous conserve, on qui vous sauve. Je suis Alpha et Omega.

Il y a au dessous de l'inscription un serpent qui tient sa queue dans sa

gueule et dans la cercle qu'il décrit, cest trois lettre Greques {~GREEK CAPITAL LETTER TAU~}{~GREEK CAPITAL LETTER XI~}{~GREEK CAPITAL LETTER EPSILON~},

qui sont le nombre 365. Le serpent, qui est'ordinaire un emblème de

l'éternité est ici celui de soleil et de ses revolutions." Beausobre:

Hist. de Manichee, Tom. ii. p. 56.

"I say that I am immortal, Dionysus (Bacchus), son of Deus."

_Aristophanes_, in Myst. Of Adoni, pp. 80, and 105.

CHAPTER XXVII.

THE MIRACLES OF CHRIST JESUS AND THE PRIMITIVE CHRISTIANS.

The legendary history of Jesus of Nazareth, contained in the books of

the New Testament, is full of prodigies and wonders. These alleged

prodigies, and the faith which the people seem to have put in such a

tissue of falsehoods, indicate the prevalent disposition of the people

to believe in everything, and it was among such a class that

Christianity was propagated. All leaders of religion had the reputation

of having performed miracles; the biographers of Jesus, therefore, not

wishing _their_ Master to be outdone, have made him also a

wonder-worker, and a performer of miracles; without them Christianity

could not prosper. Miracles were needed in those days, on all special

occasions. "There is not a single historian of antiquity, whether Greek

or Latin, who has not recorded oracles, prodigies, prophecies, and

_miracles_, on the occasion of some memorable events, or revolutions of

states and kingdoms. Many of these are attested in the gravest manner by

the gravest writers, _and were firmly believed at the time by the

people_."[252:1]

Hindoo sacred books represent _Crishna_, their Saviour and Redeemer, as

in constant strife against the evil spirit. He surmounts extraordinary

dangers; strews his way with miracles; raising the dead, healing the

sick, restoring the maimed, the deaf and the blind; everywhere

supporting the weak against the strong, the oppressed against the

powerful. The people crowded his way and adored him as a GOD, and these

miracles were the evidences of his divinity for centuries before the

time of Jesus.

The learned Thomas Maurice, speaking of Crishna, tells us that he passed

his innocent hours at the home of his foster-father, in rural

diversions, his divine origin not being suspected, _until repeated

miracles soon discovered his celestial origin_;[252:2] and Sir William

Jones speaks of his _raising the dead_, and saving multitudes _by his

miraculous powers_.[253:1] To enumerate the miracles of Crishna would

be useless and tedious; we shall therefore mention but a few, of which

the Hindoo sacred books are teeming.

When Crishna was born, his life was sought by the reigning monarch,

Kansa, who had the infant Saviour and his father and mother locked in a

dungeon, guarded, and barred by seven iron doors. While in this dungeon

the father heard a secret voice distinctly utter these words: "Son of

Yadu, take up this child and carry it to Gokool, to the house of Nanda."

Vasudeva, struck with astonishment, answered: "How shall I obey this

injunction, thus vigilantly guarded and barred by seven iron doors that

prohibit all egress?" The unknown voice replied: "The doors shall open

of themselves to let thee pass, and behold, I have caused a deep slumber

to fall upon thy guards, which shall continue till thy journey be

accomplished." Vasudeva immediately felt his chains miraculously

loosened, and, taking up the child in his arms, hurried with it through

all the doors, the guards being buried in profound sleep. When he came

to the river Yumna, which he was obliged to cross to get to Gokool, the

waters immediately rose up to kiss the child's feet, and then

respectfully retired on each side to make way for its transportation, so

that Vasudeva passed dry-shod to the opposite shore.[253:2]

When Crishna came to man's estate, one of his first miracles was the

cure of a leper.

A passionate Brahman, having received a slight insult from a certain

Rajah, on going out of his doors, uttered this curse: "That he should,

from head to foot, be covered with boils and leprosy;" which being

fulfilled in an instant upon the unfortunate king, he prayed to Crishna

to deliver him from his evil. At first, Crishna did not heed his

request, but finally he appeared to him, asking what his request was? He

replied, "To be freed from my distemper." The Saviour then cured him of

his distemper.[253:3]

Crishna was one day walking with his disciples, when "they met a poor

cripple or lame woman, having a vessel filled with spices, sweet-scented

oils, sandal-wood, saffron, civet and other perfumes. Crishna making a

halt, she made a certain sign with her finger on his forehead, _casting

the rest upon his head_. Crishna asking her what it was she would

request of him, the woman replied, nothing but the use of my limbs.

Crishna, then, setting his foot upon hers, and taking her by the hand,

raised her from the ground, and not only restored her limbs, but

renewed her age, so that, instead of a wrinkled, tawny skin, she

received a fresh and fair one in an instant. At her request, Crishna and

his company lodged in her house."[254:1]

On another occasion, Crishna having requested a learned Brahman to ask

of him whatever boon he most desired, the Brahman said, "Above all

things, I desire to have my two dead sons restored to life." Crishna

assured him that this should be done, and immediately the two young men

were restored to life and brought to their father.[254:2]

The learned Orientalist, Thomas Maurice, after speaking of the miracles

performed by Crishna, says:

"In regard to the numerous miracles wrought by Crishna, it

should be remembered that miracles are never wanting to the

decoration of an Indian romance; they are, in fact, the life

and soul of the vast machine; nor is it at all a subject of

wonder that the dead should be raised to life in a history

expressly intended, like all other sacred fables of Indian

fabrication, for the propagation and support of the whimsical

doctrine of the Metempsychosis."[254:3]

To speak thus of the miracles of Christ Jesus, would, of course, be

heresy--although what applies to the miracles of Crishna apply to those

of Jesus--we, therefore, find this gentleman branding as "_infidel_" a

learned French orientalist who was guilty of doing this thing.

_Buddha_ performed great miracles for the good of mankind, and the

legends concerning him are full of the most extravagant prodigies and

wonders.[254:4] "By miracles and preaching," says Burnouf, "was the

religion of Buddha established."

R. Spence Hardy says of Buddha:

"All the principal events of his life are represented as being

attended by incredible prodigies. He could pass through the

air at will, and know the thoughts of all beings."[254:5]

Prof. Max Müller says:

"The Buddhist legends teem with miracles attributed to Buddha

and his disciples--miracles which in wonderfulness certainly

surpass the miracles of any other religion."[254:6]

Buddha was at one time going from the city of Rohita-vastu to the city

of Benares, when, coming to the banks of the river Ganges, and wishing

to go across, he addressed himself to the owner of a ferry-boat, thus;

"Hail! respectable sir! I pray you take me across the river in your

boat!" To this the boatman replied, "If you can pay me the fare, I will

willingly take you across the river." Buddha said, "Whence shall I

procure money to pay you your fare, I, who have given up all worldly

wealth and riches, &c." The boatman still refusing to take him across,

Buddha, pointing to a flock of geese flying from the south to the north

banks of the Ganges, said:

"See yonder geese in fellowship passing o'er the Ganges,

They ask not as to fare of any boatman,

But each by his inherent strength of body

Flies through the air as pleases him.

So, by my power of spiritual energy,

Will I transport myself across the river,

Even though the waters on this southern bank

Stood up as high and firm as (Mount) Semeru."[255:1]

He then floats through the air across the stream.

In the _Lalita Vistara_ Buddha is called the "Great Physician" who is to

"dull all human pain." At his appearance the "sick are healed, the deaf

are cured, the blind see, the poor are relieved." He visits the sick

man, Su-ta, and heals soul as well as body.

At Vaisali, a pest like modern cholera was depopulating the kingdom, due

to an accumulation of festering corpses. Buddha, summoned, caused a

strong rain which carried away the dead bodies and cured every one. At

Gaudhârâ was an old mendicant afflicted with a disease so loathsome that

none of his brother monks could go near him on account of his fetid

humors and stinking condition. The "Great Physician" was, however, not

to be deterred; he washed the poor old man and attended to his maladies.

A disciple had his feet hacked off by an unjust king, and Buddha cured

even him. To convert certain skeptical villagers near Srâvastî, Buddha

showed them a man walking across the deep and rapid river without

immersing his feet. Pûrna, one of Buddha's disciples, had a brother in

imminent danger of shipwreck in a "black storm." The "spirits that are

favorable to Pûrna and Arya" apprised him of this and he at once

performed the miracle of transporting himself to the deck of the ship.

"Immediately the black tempest ceased, as if Sumera arrested it."[255:2]

When Buddha was told that a woman was suffering in severe labor, unable

to bring forth, he said, Go and say: "I have never knowingly put any

creature to death since I was born; by the virtue of this obedience may

you be free from pain!" When these words were repeated in the presence

of the mother, the child was instantly born with ease.[256:1]

Innumerable are the miracles ascribed to Buddhist saints, and to others

who followed their example. Their garments, and the staffs with which

they walked, are supposed to imbibe some mysterious power, and blessed

are they who are allowed to touch them.[256:2] A Buddhist saint who

attains the power called "_perfection_," is able to rise and float along

through the air.[256:3] Having this power, the saint exercises it by

mere determination of his will, his body becoming imponderous, as when a

man in the common human state determines to leap, and leaps. Buddhist

annals relate the performance of the miraculous suspension by Gautama

Buddha, himself, as well as by other _saints_.[256:4]

In the year 217 B. C., a Buddhist missionary priest, called by the

Chinese historians Shih-le-fang, came from "the west" into Shan-se,

accompanied by eighteen other priests, with their sacred books, in order

to propagate the faith of Buddha. The emperor, disliking foreigners and

exotic customs, imprisoned the missionaries; but an angel, genii, or

spirit, came and opened the prison door, and liberated them.[256:5]

Here is a third edition of "Peter in prison," for we have already seen

that the Hindoo sage Vasudeva was liberated from prison in like manner.

_Zoroaster_, the founder of the religion of the Persians, opposed his

persecutors by performing miracles, in order to confirm his divine

mission.[256:6]

_Bochia_ of the Persians also performed miracles; the places where he

performed them were consecrated, and people flocked in crowds to visit

them.[256:7]

_Horus_, the Egyptian Saviour, performed great miracles, among which was

that of raising the dead to life.[256:8]

_Osiris_ of Egypt also performed great miracles;[256:9] and so did the

virgin goddess _Isis_.

Pilgrimages were made to the temples of Isis, in Egypt, by the sick.

Diodorus, the Grecian historian, says that:

"Those who go to consult in dreams the goddess Isis recover

perfect health. Many whose cure has been despaired of by

physicians have by this means been saved, and others who have

long been deprived of sight, or of some other part of the

body, by taking refuge, so to speak, in the arms of the

goddess, have been restored to the enjoyment of their

faculties."[257:1]

_Serapis_, the Egyptian Saviour, performed great miracles, principally

those of healing the sick. He was called "The Healer of the

World."[257:2]

_Marduk_, the Assyrian God, the "Logos," the "Eldest Son of Hea;" "He

who made Heaven and Earth;" the "Merciful One;" the "Life-Giver," &c.,

performed great miracles, among which was that of raising the dead to

life.[257:3]

_Bacchus_, son of Zeus by the virgin Semele, was a great performer of

miracles, among which may be mentioned his changing water into

wine,[257:4] as it is recorded of Jesus in the Gospels.

"In his gentler aspects he is the giver of joy, the healer of

sicknesses, the guardian against plagues. As such he is even a law-giver

and a promoter of peace and concord. As kindling new or strange thoughts

in the mind, he is a giver of wisdom and the revealer of hidden secrets

of the future."[257:5]

The legends related of this god state that on one occasion Pantheus,

King of Thebes, sent his attendants to seize Bacchus, the "vagabond

leader of a faction"--as he called him. This they were unable to do, as

the multitude who followed him were too numerous. They succeeded,

however, in capturing one of his disciples, Acetes, who was led away and

shut up fast in prison; but while they were getting ready the

instruments of execution, _the prison doors came open of their own

accord, and the chains fell from his limbs_, and when they looked for

him he was nowhere to be found.[257:6] Here is still another edition of

"Peter in prison."

_Æsculapius_ was another great performer of miracles. The ancient Greeks

said of him that he not only cured the sick of the most malignant

diseases, _but even raised the dead_.

A writer in Bell's Pantheon says:

"As the Greeks always carried the encomiums of their great men

beyond the truth, so they feigned that Æsculapius was so

expert in medicine as not only to cure the sick, but even to

raise the dead."[258:1]

Eusebius, the ecclesiastical historian, speaking of Æsculapius, says:

"He sometimes appeared unto them (the Cilicians) in dreams and

visions, and sometimes restored the sick to health."

He claims, however, that this was the work of the DEVIL, "who by this

means did withdraw the minds of men from the knowledge of the _true_

SAVIOUR."[258:2]

For many years after the death of Æsculapius, miracles continued to be

performed by the efficacy of faith in his name. Patients were conveyed

to the temple of Æsculapius, and there cured of their disease. A short

statement of the symptoms of each case, and the remedy employed, were

inscribed on tablets and hung up in the temples.[258:3] There were also

a multitude of eyes, ears, hands, feet, and other members of the human

body, made of wax, silver, or gold, and presented by those whom the god

had cured of blindness, deafness, and other diseases.[258:4]

Marinus, a scholar of the philosopher Proclus, relates one of these

remarkable cures, in the life of his master. He says:

"Asclipigenia, a young maiden who had lived with her parents,

was seized with a grievous distemper, incurable by the

physicians. All help from the physicians failing, the father

applied to the philosopher, earnestly entreating him to pray

for his daughter. Proclus, full of faith, went to the temple

of Æsculapius, intending to pray for the sick young woman to

the god--for the city (Athens) was at that time blessed in

him, and still enjoyed the undemolished temple of THE

SAVIOUR--but while he was praying, a sudden change appeared in

the damsel, and she immediately became convalescent, for the

_Saviour_, Æsculapius, as being God, easily healed

her."[258:5]

Dr. Conyers Middleton says:

"Whatever proof the primitive (Christian) Church might have

among themselves, of the miraculous gift, yet it could have

but little effect towards making proselytes among those who

pretended to the same gift--possessed more largely and exerted

more openly, than in the private assemblies of the Christians.

For in the temples of _Æsculapius_, all kinds of diseases were

believed to be publicly cured, by the pretended help of that

deity, in proof of which there were erected in each temple,

columns or tables of brass or marble, on which a distinct

narrative of each particular cure was inscribed.

Pausanias[258:6] writes that in the temple at Epidaurus there

were many columns anciently of this kind, and six of them

remaining to his time, _inscribed with the names of men and

women who had been cured by the god_, with an account of their

several cases, and the method of their cure; and that there

was an old pillar besides, which stood apart, dedicated to the

memory of Hippolytus, _who had been raised from the dead_.

Strabo, also, another grave writer, informs us that these

temples were constantly filled with the sick, imploring the

help of the god, and that they had tables hanging around them,

in which all the miraculous cures were described. There is a

remarkable fragment of one of these tables still extant, and

exhibited by Gruter in his collection, as it was found in the

ruins of Æsculapius's temple in the Island of the Tiber, in

Rome, which gives an account of two blind men restored to

sight by Æsculapius, in the open view,[259:1] and with the

loud acclamation of the people, acknowledging the manifest

power of the god."[259:2]

Livy, the most illustrious of Roman historians (born B. C. 61), tells us

that temples of _heathen gods_ were rich in the number of offerings

_which the people used to make in return for the cures and benefits

which they received from them_.[259:3]

A writer in _Bell's Pantheon_ says:

"Making presents to the gods was a custom even from the

earliest times, either to deprecate their wrath, obtain some

benefit, or acknowledge some favor. These donations consisted

of garlands, garments, cups of gold, or whatever conduced to

the decoration or splendor of their temples. They were

sometimes laid on the floor, sometimes hung upon the walls,

doors, pillars, roof, or any other conspicuous place.

Sometimes the occasion of the dedication was inscribed, either

upon the thing itself, or upon a tablet hung up with

it."[259:4]

No one custom of antiquity is so frequently mentioned by ancient

historians, as the practice which was so common among the _heathens_, of

making votive offerings to their deities, and hanging them up in their

temples, many of which are preserved to this day, viz., images of metal,

stone, or clay, as well as legs, arms, and other parts of the body, _in

testimony of some divine cure effected in that particular

member_.[259:5]

Horace says:

"----Me tabula sacer

Votivâ paries indicat humida

Suspendisse potenti

Vestimenta maris Deo." (Lib. 1, Ode V.)

It was the custom of offering _ex-votos_ of _Priapic_ forms, at the

church of Isernia, in the _Christian_ kingdom of Naples, during the last

century, which induced Mr. R. Payne Knight to compile his remarkable

work on Phallic Worship.

Juvenal, who wrote A. D. 81-96, says of the goddess _Isis_, whose

religion was at that time in the greatest vogue at Rome, that the

painters get their livelihood out of her. This was because "the most

common of all offerings (made by the heathen to their deities) were

_pictures_ presenting the history of the miraculous cure or deliverance,

vouchsafed upon the vow of the donor."[260:1] One of their prayers ran

thus:

"Now, Goddess, help, for thou canst help bestow,

_As all these pictures round thy altars show_."[260:2]

In _Chambers's Encyclopædia_ may be found the following:

"Patients that were cured of their ailments (by _Æsculapius_,

or through faith in him) hung up a tablet in his temple,

recording the name, the disease, and the manner of cure. _Many

of these votive tablets are still extant._"[260:3]

Alexander S. Murray, of the department of Greek and Roman Antiquities in

the British Museum, speaking of the miracles performed by _Æsculapius_,

says:

"A person who had recovered from a local illness would dictate

a sculptured representation of the part that had been

affected. _Of such sculptures there are a number of examples

in the British Museum._"[260:4]

Justin Martyr, in his _Apology_ for the Christian religion, addressed to

the Emperor Hadrian, says:

"As to _our_ Jesus curing the lame, and the paralytic, and

such as were crippled from birth, this is little more than

what you say of your _Æsculapius_."[260:5]

At a time when the Romans were infested with the plague, having

consulted their sacred books, they learned that in order to be delivered

from it, they were to go in quest of _Æsculapius_ at Epidaurus;

accordingly, an embassy was appointed of ten senators, at the head of

whom was Quintus Ogulnius, and the worship of Æsculapius was established

at Rome, A. U. C. 462, that is, B. C. 288. But the most remarkable

coincidence is that the worship of this god continued with scarcely any

diminished splendor, for several hundred years after the establishment

of Christianity.[260:6]

Hermes or Mercury, the Lord's Messenger, was a wonder-worker. The staff

or rod which Hermes received from Phoibos (Apollo), and which connects

this myth with the special emblem of Vishnu (the Hindoo Saviour), was

regarded as denoting his heraldic office. It was, however, always

endowed with magic properties, and had the power even of raising the

dead.[261:1]

Herodotus, the Grecian historian, relates a wonderful miracle which

happened among the _Spartans_, many centuries before the time assigned

for the birth of Christ Jesus. The story is as follows:

A Spartan couple of great wealth and influence, had a daughter

born to them who was a cripple from birth. Her nurse,

perceiving that she was misshapen, and knowing her to be the

daughter of opulent persons, and deformed, and seeing,

moreover, that her parents considered her form a great

misfortune, considering these several circumstances, devised

the following plan. She carried her every day to the temple of

the Goddess _Helen_, and standing before her image, prayed to

the goddess to free the child from its deformity. One day, as

the nurse was going out of the temple, a woman appeared to

her, and having appeared, asked what she was carrying in her

arms; and she answered that she was carrying an infant;

whereupon she bid her show it to her, but the nurse refused,

for she had been forbidden by the parents to show the child to

any one. The woman, however--who was none other than the

Goddess herself--urged her by all means to show it to her, and

the nurse, seeing that the woman was so very anxious to see

the child, at length showed it; upon which she, stroking the

head of the child with her hands, said that she would surpass

all the women in Sparta in beauty. From that day her

appearance began to change, her deformed limbs became

symmetrical, and when she reached the age for marriage she was

the most beautiful woman in all Sparta.[261:2]

_Apollonius_ of Tyana, in Cappadocia, who was born in the latter part of

the reign of Augustus, about four years before the time assigned for the

birth of Jesus, and who was therefore contemporary with him, was

celebrated for the wonderful miracles he performed. Oracles in various

places declared that he was endowed with a portion of Apollo's power to

cure diseases, and foretell events; and those who were affected were

commanded to apply to him. The priests of Iona made over the diseased to

his care, and his cures were considered so remarkable, that divine

honors were decreed to him.[261:3]

He at one time went to Ephesus, but as the inhabitants did not hearken

to his preaching, he left there and went to Smyrna, where he was well

received by the inhabitants. While there, ambassadors came from

Ephesus, begging him to return to that city, where a terrible plague was

raging, _as he had prophesied_. He went immediately, and as soon as he

arrived, he said to the Ephesians: "Be not dejected, I will this day put

a stop to the disease." According to his words, the pestilence was

stayed, and the people erected a statue to him, in token of their

gratitude.[262:1]

In the city of Athens, there was one of the dissipated young citizens,

who laughed and cried by turns, and talked and sang to himself, without

apparent cause. His friends supposed these habits were the effects of

early intemperance, but Apollonius, who happened to meet the young man,

told him he was possessed of a _demon_; and, as soon as he fixed his

eyes upon him, the demon broke out into all those horrid, violent

expressions used by people on the rack, and then swore he would depart

out of the youth, and never enter another.[262:2] The young man had not

been aware that he was possessed by a devil, but from that moment, his

wild, disturbed looks changed, he became very temperate, and assumed the

garb of a Pythagorean philosopher.

Apollonius went to Rome, and arrived there after the emperor Nero had

passed very severe laws against _magicians_. He was met on the way by a

person who advised him to turn back and not enter the city, saying that

all who wore the philosopher's garb were in danger of being arrested as

magicians. He heeded not these words of warning, but proceeded on his

way, and entered the city. It was not long before he became an object of

suspicion, was closely watched, and finally arrested, but when his

accusers appeared before the tribunal and unrolled the parchment on

which the charges against him had been written, they found that all the

characters had disappeared. Apollonius made such an impression on the

magistrates by the bold tone he assumed, that he was allowed to go where

he pleased.[262:3]

Many miracles were performed by him while in Rome, among others may be

mentioned his restoring a _dead maiden to life_.

She belonged to a family of rank, and was just about to be married, when

she died suddenly. Apollonius met the funeral procession that was

conveying her body to the tomb. He asked them to set down the bier,

saying to her betrothed: "I will dry up the tears you are shedding for

this maiden." They supposed he was going to pronounce a funeral oration,

but he merely _took her hand_, bent over her, and uttered a few words in

a low tone. She opened her eyes, and began to speak, and was carried

back alive and well to her father's house.[263:1]

Passing through Tarsus, in his travels, a young man was pointed out to

him who had been bitten thirty days before by a mad dog, and who was

then running on all fours, barking and howling. Apollonius took his case

in hand, and it was not long before the young man was restored to his

right mind.[263:2]

Domitian, Emperor of Rome, caused Apollonius to be arrested, during one

of his visits to that city, on charge of allowing himself to be

worshiped (the people having given him _divine honors_), speaking

against the reigning powers, and pretending that his words were inspired

by the gods. He was taken, loaded with irons, and cast into prison. "I

have bound you," said the emperor, "and you will not escape me."

Apollonius was one day visited in his prison by his steadfast disciple,

Damus, who asked him when he thought he should recover his liberty,

whereupon he answered: "This instant, if it depended upon myself," and

drawing his legs out of the shackles, he added: "Keep up your spirits,

you see the freedom I enjoy." He was brought to trial not long after,

and so defended himself, that the emperor was induced to acquit him, but

forbade him to leave Rome. Apollonius then addressed the emperor, and

ended by saying: "You cannot kill me, because I am not mortal;" and as

soon as he had said these words, _he vanished from the tribunal_.[263:3]

Damus (the disciple who had visited him in prison) had previously been

sent away from Rome, with the promise of his master that he would soon

rejoin him. Apollonius vanished from the presence of the emperor (at

Rome) at noon. _On the evening of the same day, he suddenly appeared

before Damus and some other friends who were at Puteoli, more than a

hundred miles from Rome._ They started, being doubtful whether or not it

was his spirit, but he stretched out his hand, saying: "Take it, and if

I escape from you regard me as an apparition."[263:4]

When Apollonius had told his disciples that he had made his defense in

Rome, only a few hours before, they marveled how he could have performed

the journey so rapidly. He, in reply, said that they must ascribe it to

a god.[264:1]

The Empress Julia, wife of Alexander Severus, was so much interested in

the history of Apollonius, that she requested Flavius Philostratus, an

Athenian author of reputation, to write an account of him. The early

Christian Fathers, alluding to this life of Apollonius, do not deny the

miracles it recounts, but attribute to them the aid of evil

spirits.[264:2]

Justin Martyr was one of the believers in the miracles performed by

Apollonius, and by others through him, for he says:

"How is it that the talismans of Apollonius have power in

certain members of creation? for they prevent, _as we see_,

the fury of the waves, and the violence of the winds, and the

attacks of wild beasts, and whilst _our_ Lord's miracles _are

preserved by tradition alone, those of Apollonius are most

numerous, and actually manifested in present facts, so as to

lead astray all beholders_."[264:3]

So much for Apollonius. We will now speak of another miracle performer,

_Simon Magus_.

Simon the Samaritan, generally called Simon _Magus_, produced marked

effects on the times succeeding him; being the progenitor of a large

class of sects, which long troubled the Christian churches.

In the time of Jesus and Simon Magus it was almost universally believed

that men could foretell events, cure diseases, and obtain control over

the forces of nature, by the aid of spirits, if they knew how to invoke

them. It was Simon's proficiency in this occult science which gained him

the surname of _Magus_, or _Magician_.

The writer of the eighth chapter of "_The Acts of the Apostles_" informs

us that when Philip went into Samaria, "to preach Christ unto them," he

found there "a certain man called Simon, which beforetime in the same

city used sorcery, and bewitched the people of Samaria, giving out that

himself was some great one. To whom they all gave heed, from the least

to the greatest, saying: This man is the great power of God."[264:4]

Simon traveled about preaching, and made many proselytes. He professed

to be "_The Wisdom of God_," "_The Word of God_," "_The Paraclete_, or

_Comforter_," "_The Image of the Eternal Father, Manifested in the

Flesh_," and his followers claimed that he was "_The First Born of the

Supreme_."[265:1] All of these are titles, which, in after years, were

applied to Christ Jesus. His followers had a gospel called "_The Four

Corners of the World_," which reminds us of the reason given by Irenæus,

for there being _four_ Gospels among the Christians. He says:

"It is impossible that there could be more or less than

_four_. For there are _four_ climates, and _four_ cardinal

winds; but the _Gospel_ is the pillar and foundation of the

Church, and its breath of life. The Church, therefore, was to

have _four pillars_, blowing immortality from every quarter,

and giving life to men."[265:2]

Simon also composed some works, of which but slight fragments remain,

Christian authority having evidently destroyed them. That he made a

lively impression on his contemporaries is indicated by the subsequent

extension of his doctrines, under varied forms, by the wonderful stories

which the Christian Fathers relate of him, and by the strong dislike

they manifested toward him.

Eusebius, the ecclesiastical historian, says of him:

"The malicious power of _Satan_, enemy to all honesty, and foe

to all human salvation, brought forth at that time this

monster Simon, a father and worker of all such mischiefs, _as

a great adversary unto the mighty and holy Apostles_.

"Coming into the city of Rome, he was so aided by that power

which prevaileth in this world, that in short time he brought

his purpose to such a pass, that his picture was there placed

with others, and he honored as a god."[265:3]

Justin Martyr says of him:

"After the ascension of _our_ Savior into heaven, the DEVIL

brought forth certain men which called themselves gods, who

not only suffered no vexation of you (Romans), but attained

unto honor amongst you, by name one _Simon_, a Samaritan, born

in the village of Gitton, who (under Claudius Cæsar) by the

art of _devils_, through whom he dealt, wrought devilish

enchantments, was esteemed and counted in your regal city of

Rome for a _god_, and honored by you as a _god_, with a

picture between two bridges upon the river Tibris, having this

Roman inscription: '_Simoni deo Sancto_' (To Simon the Holy

God). And in manner all the Samaritans, and certain also of

other nations, do worship him, acknowledging him for their

chief god."[265:4]

According to accounts given by several other Christian Fathers, he could

make his appearance wherever he pleased to be at any moment; could poise

himself on the air; make inanimate things move without visible

assistance; produce trees from the earth suddenly; cause a stick to reap

without hands; change himself into the likeness of any other person, or

even into the forms of animals; fling himself from high precipices

unhurt, walk through the streets accompanied by spirits of the dead; and

many other such like performances.[266:1]

Simon went to Rome, where he gave himself out to be an "Incarnate Spirit

of God."[266:2] He became a favorite with the Emperor Claudius, and

afterwards with Nero. His Christian opponents, as we have seen in the

cases cited above, did not deny the miracles attributed to him, but said

they were done through the agency of evil spirits, which was a common

opinion among the Fathers. They claimed that every _magician_ had an

attendant evil spirit, who came when summoned, obeyed his commands, and

taught him ceremonies and forms of words, by which he was able to do

supernatural things. In this way they were accustomed to account for all

the miracles performed by Gentiles and heretics.[266:3]

_Menander_--who was called the "Wonder-Worker"--was another great

performer of miracles. Eusebius, speaking of him, says that he was

skilled in magical art, and performed _devilish_ operations; and that

"as yet there be divers which can testify the same of him."[266:4]

Dr. Conyers Middleton, speaking on this subject, says:

"It was universally received and believed through all ages of

the primitive church, that there was a number of magicians,

necromancers, or conjurors, both among the _Gentiles_, and the

_heretical Christians_, who had each their peculiar _demon_ or

evil spirit, for their associates, perpetually attending on

their persons and obsequious to their commands, by whose help

they could perform miracles, foretell future events, call up

the souls of the dead, exhibit them to open view, and infuse

into people whatever dreams or visions they saw fit, all which

is constantly affirmed by the primitive writers and

apologists, and commonly applied by them to prove the

immortality of the soul."[266:5]

After quoting from Justin Martyr, who says that these _magicians_ could

convince any one "that the souls of men exist still after death," he

continues by saying:

"Lactantius, speaking of certain philosophers who held that

the soul perished with the body, says: 'they durst not have

declared such an opinion, in the presence of _any magician_,

for if they had done it, he would have confuted them upon the

spot, by sensible experiments; _by calling up souls from the

dead, and rendering them visible to human eyes, and making

them speak and foretell future events_."[267:1]

The Christian Father Theophilus, Bishop of Antioch, who was contemporary

with Irenæus (A. D. 177-202), went so far as to declare that it was evil

spirits who inspired the old poets and prophets of Greece and Rome. He

says:

"The truth of this is manifestly shown; because those who are

possessed by devils, even at this day, are sometimes exorcised

by us in the name of God; and the seducing spirits confess

themselves to be the same demons who before inspired the

Gentile poets."[267:2]

Even in the second century after Christianity, foreign conjurors were

professing to exhibit miracles among the Greeks. Lucian gives an account

of one of these "foreign barbarians"--as he calls them[267:3]--and says:

"I believed and was overcome in spite of my resistance, for

what was I to do when I saw him carried through the air in

daylight, and walking on the water,[267:4] and passing

leisurely and slowly through the fire?"[267:5]

He further tells us that this "foreign barbarian" was able to raise the

dead to life.[267:6]

Athenagoras, a Christian Father who flourished during the latter part of

the second century, says on this subject:

"We (Christians) do not deny that in several places, cities,

and countries, there are some extraordinary works performed in

the name of _idols_," _i. e._, heathen gods.[267:7]

Miracles were not uncommon things among the Jews before and during the

time of Christ Jesus. Casting out devils was an every-day

occurrence,[267:8] and miracles frequently happened to confirm the

sayings of Rabbis. One cried out, when his opinion was disputed, "May

this tree prove that I am right!" and forthwith the tree was torn up by

the roots, and hurled a hundred ells off. But his opponents declared

that a tree could prove nothing. "May this stream, then, witness for

me!" cried Eliezar, and at once it flowed the opposite way.[268:1]

Josephus, the Jewish historian, tells us that _King Solomon_ was expert

in casting out devils who had taken possession of the body of mortals.

This gift was also possessed by many Jews throughout different ages. He

(Josephus) relates that he saw one of his own countrymen (Eleazar)

casting out devils, in the presence of a vast multitude.[268:2]

Dr. Conyers Middleton says:

"It is remarkable that all the Christian Fathers, who lay so

great a stress on the particular gift of _casting out devils_,

allow the same power both to the Jews and the Gentiles, _as

well before as after our Saviour's coming_."[268:3]

_Vespasian_, who was born about ten years after the time assigned for

the birth of Christ Jesus, performed wonderful miracles, for the good of

mankind. Tacitus, the Roman historian, informs us that he cured a _blind

man_ in Alexandria, by means of his spittle, and a _lame man_ by the

mere touch of his foot.

The words of Tacitus are as follows:

"Vespasian passed some months at Alexandria, having resolved

to defer his voyage to Italy till the return of summer, when

the winds, blowing in a regular direction, afford a safe and

pleasant navigation. During his residence in that city, a

number of incidents, out of the ordinary course of nature,

seemed to mark him as the peculiar favorite of the gods. A man

of mean condition, born at Alexandria, had lost his sight by a

defluxion on his eyes. He presented himself before Vespasian,

and, falling prostrate on the ground, implored the emperor to

administer a cure for his blindness. He came, he said, by the

admonition of Serapis, the god whom the superstition of the

Egyptians holds in the highest veneration. The request was,

that the emperor, with his spittle, would condescend to

moisten the poor man's face and the balls of his eyes.[268:4]

Another, who had lost the use of his hand, inspired by the

same god, begged that he would tread on the part affected.

. . . In the presence of a prodigious multitude, all erect

with expectation, he advanced with an air of serenity, and

hazarded the experiment. The paralytic hand recovered its

functions, and the blind man saw the light of the sun.[268:5]

By living witnesses, who were actually on the spot, both

events are confirmed at this hour, when deceit and flattery

can hope for no reward."[268:6]

The striking resemblance between the account of these miracles, and

those attributed to Jesus in the Gospels "_according to_" Matthew and

Mark, would lead us to think that one had been copied from the other,

but when we find that Tacitus wrote his history A. D. 98,[269:1] and

that the "_Matthew_" and Mark narrators' works were not known until

_after_ that time,[269:2] the evidence certainly is that Tacitus was

_not_ the plagiarist, but that this charge must fall on the shoulders of

the Christian writers, whoever they may have been.

To come down to earlier times, even the religion of the Mahometans is a

religion of miracles and wonders. Mahomet, like Jesus of Nazareth, did

not claim to perform miracles, but the votaries of Mahomet are more

assured than himself of his miraculous gifts; and their confidence and

credulity increase as they are farther removed from the time and place

of his spiritual exploits. They believe or affirm that trees went forth

to meet him; that he was saluted by stones; that water gushed from his

fingers; that he fed the hungry, cured the sick, and raised the dead;

that a beam groaned to him; that a camel complained to him; that a

shoulder of mutton informed him of its being poisoned; and that both

animate and inanimate nature were equally subject to the apostle of God.

His dream of a nocturnal journey is seriously described as a real and

corporeal transaction. A mysterious animal, the Borak, conveyed him from

the temple of Mecca to that of Jerusalem; with his companion Gabriel he

successively ascended the seven heavens, and received and repaid the

salutations of the patriarchs, the prophets, and the angels in their

respective mansions. Beyond the seventh heaven, Mahomet alone was

permitted to proceed; he passed the veil of unity, approached within two

bow-shots of the throne, and felt a cold that pierced him to the heart,

when his shoulder was touched by the hand of God. After a familiar,

though important conversation, he descended to Jerusalem, remounted the

Borak, returned to Mecca, and performed in the tenth part of a night the

journey of many thousand years. His resistless word split asunder the

orb of the moon, and the obedient planet stooped from her station in the

sky.[269:3]

These and many other wonders, similar in character to the story of Jesus

sending the demons into the swine, are related of Mahomet by his

followers.

It is very certain that the same circumstances which are claimed to have

taken place with respect to the Christian religion, are also claimed to

have taken place in the religions of Crishna, Buddha, Zoroaster,

Æsculapius, Bacchus, Apollonius, Simon Magus, &c. Histories of these

persons, with miracles, relics, circumstances of locality, suitable to

them, were as common, as well authenticated (if not better), and as much

believed by the devotees as were those relating to Jesus.

All the Christian theologians which the world has yet produced have not

been able to procure any evidence of the miracles recorded in the

_Gospels_, half so strong as can be procured in evidence of miracles

performed by heathens and heathen gods, both before and after the time

of Jesus; and, as they cannot do this, let them give us a reason why we

should reject the one and receive the other. And if they cannot do this,

let them candidly confess that we must either admit them all, or reject

them all, for they all stand on the same footing.

In the early times of the Roman republic, in the war with the Latins,

the gods Castor and Pollux are said to have appeared on white horses in

the Roman army, which by their assistance gained a complete victory: in

memory of which, the General Posthumius vowed and built a temple to

these deities; and for a proof of the fact, there was shown, we find, in

Cicero's time (106 to 43 B. C.), the marks of the horses' hoofs on a

rock at Regillum, where they first appeared.[270:1]

Now this miracle, with those which have already been mentioned, and many

others of the same kind which could be mentioned, has as authentic an

attestation, if not more so, as any of the Gospel miracles. It has, for

instance: The decree of a senate to confirm it; visible marks on the

spot where it was transacted; and all this supported by the best authors

of antiquity, amongst whom Dionysius, of Halicarnassus, who says that

there was subsisting in his time at Rome many evident proofs of its

reality, besides a yearly festival, with a solemn sacrifice and

procession, in memory of it.[270:2]

With all these evidences in favor of this miracle having really

happened, it seems to us so ridiculous, that we wonder how there could

ever have been any so simple as to believe it, yet we should believe

that Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead, after he had been in the tomb

four days, our only authority being that _anonymous_ book known as the

"Gospel according to St. John," which was not known until after A. D.

173. Albert Barnes, in his "Lectures on the Evidences of Christianity,"

speaking of the authenticity of the Gospel miracles, makes the following

damaging confession: