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Article CLASSICAL THEOLOGY.—XLII. ← Page 2 of 3 →
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Classical Theology.—Xlii.
is now preserved in memory of these sages further than their having been recorded as unexampled magicians and celebrated astrologers . We may , perhaps , enter upon some description ¦ of those strange , unhallowed , obsolete , and forbidden contrivances which came to be prevalentand wereof the
, , many magical rites in practice , the most remarkable and the most ancient in Greece . The determining of conclusions from natural causes , as by the flight of birds , the smoke of sacrifices ; the inspection of the entrails of victims ; "b y the casting of lots ; by ominous words , aspects , and things ; the
configuration of stars ; oracular responses , and all such ( so termed ) physical divinations , are very dissimilar to artificial and supernatural divination , by which , in fact , is meant the Mac-rem and ETTOS . H , otherwise incantations for bringing back to earth the souls of Hades . In the Gospel we find described certain shepherds , who , according to St . Luke ( ii . 8 ) ,
were" Abiding in the field , keeping watch over their flock by night . And , lo ! the angel ( or star ) of the Lord came upon them , and the glory of the Lord shone round about them : and they were sore afraid . And the angel said unto them , Fear not : for , behold , I bring you good tidings of great joy , which shall be to all people . Eor unto you is born this day in the city of David ( called Bethlehem ) a Saviour , whicli is
Christ the Lord . . . . And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of tho heavenly host praising God , and saying , Glory to God in the highest , and on earth peace , good will toward men . "
By St . Matthew , these shepherds are specified as being "wise men from the east . " Now , though it does not follow that they were either Medians or Jews , it does follow that they had a knowledge of the true God ; and without scruple we may believe that the very remote Magi also had the like holy knowledge ; and that Moses
was not deficient in the learning of their wisdom , whatever might have been the relation of that to his own . Still , the veritable mystery of a heavenly immortality within reach of us was left wholly unaccomplished and unexpounded , specifically , by Moses . The Jews , nevertheless , were not unaware of a terrestial spirit and a terrestial Paradise . In the profane poets we read of all the gods being born on earth , and translated to heaven ; but in the books of the First Testament mention is
only made of Enoch and Elijah being taken up into heaven . Carrying out the exalted view of this mystery , it may be said that the fulfilling and unfolding the Scrip tures could only be completed by the coining of Christ , without whom there is no celestial salvation extended to the soul . Of this holy doctrine , aud reward of everlasting life , it is written : —¦
' ' If any man have not thc Spirit of Christ , he is none of his . ... If Christ be in you , the Spirit is life , because of righteousness . . . . He that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you . Therefore , brethren , we are debtors , not to the flesh , to live after the flesh . For if ye live after the flesh , ye shall die : that is to say , ye are made of thc earth ,
mortal ; but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body ( namely , by keeping tho commandments , as He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins ) , ye shall live . That- is to say , ye are made of heaven , immortal . For as many as are led by the Spirit of God , are the sons of God . . . . The Spirit itself bearcth witness with our spirit , that wo are the children of God : ( that is to saynot onl
, y of adoption by baptism , but likewise by tho renewed Spirit which is of Christ , wherob } -, as St . Paul says , we cry , Abba , Father ) . And if children , then heirs ; heirs of God , and joint heirs with Christ ; " not only as St . Paul says , but as Christ himself says ( St . Luke , vi . ) , " Love ye your enemies " ( or ) " Be ye merciful , as your Father also is merciful—do
good , and lend , hoping for nothing again ; and your reward shall be great , ancl ye shall be the children of the Highest . " In explaining the doctrines of these holy mysteries , whereof there could be no explanation before the teaching of Christ , the g ifted Apostle , in his Epistle ( 1 Cor ., XV . ) , almost minutel y divulges their secret : —¦
" All flesh is not the same flesh ; but there is ono kind of flesh of men , another flesh of beasts , another of fishes , and another of birds . There are also celestial bodies , and bodies terrestial ; but the glory of the celestial is one , and the glory ofthe terrestial is another . "
For instance , the Scripture saith unto Pharaoh , " I raised thee up , that I might show my power in thee , and that my name might be declared throughout all the earth . " The Apostle continues , "Therefore hath He mercy on whom He will have mercy , and whom He will He hardeneth , "—that isHe hardened the heart of
, Pharoah ; but Gocl ' s own words' to Moses were , " I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy , and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion . " " There is , " continues the learned St . Paul , "one glory of the sun , and another glory of the moon , and another glory of the stars : for oue star diftereth from
another star in glory . So also is the resurrection of the dead . " That is , one spirit diftereth from another spirit in g lory ; as such spirits of God , through the resurrection of Christ , that confessed Him in their flesh , -and such spirits , not of God , through the resurrection of Christ , that did not confess Him in their flesh . Thus it is written , " Christ is the end of the law
for righteousness to every one that believeth . . . . But the righteousness ivhich is of faith speaketh on this wise , Say not in thine heart , Who shall ascend into heaven ? ( that is , to bring Christ down from above ) ; or , Who shall descend into the deep ? ( that is , to bring up Christ again from the dead ) . But what is it ? The word is ni gh theeeven in thy mouthaud in thy heart : that
, , is , the word of faith , which we preach ; that if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus , and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead , thou shalt be saved . "
Furthermore , the Apostle proceeds to reveal to us the resurrection : — " There is a natural body , and there is a spiritual body . And so it is written , The first man Adam ( namely , the created ) ivas made a living soul ; the last Adam ( namely , the begotten ) was made a quickening spirit . " Here we are plainly informed by this saintly
authority , " That was not first which is spiritual , but that which is natural , and afterwards that which is spiritual ; " or , in other words , the Adam in flesh and blood " is of the earth , earthly ; " the Christ in flesh and blood "is the Lord from heaven . " Therefore , " As is the earthly , such are they also that are earthly ; and as is the heavenly , such are they also that are heavenly . " So , in this wise also , it is written ( Eom . ix . ) : —
" As he saith also in Osee , I will call them my people which were not my people . . . . And it shall come to pass , that in the place whore it ivas said unto them , Ye are not my people , there shall they be called tho children of the living God . Esaias also crieth concerning Israel , Though the number of thc children of Israel be as thc sand of the sea , a remnant shall be saved . "
However inconsistent it may appear , it is compatible with reason , that those who have not been instructed in the same manner as Moses and the " Prophets , neither as were the Apostles , nor either as St . Paul , may , nevertheless , have an implicit reliance on the integrity of those authorities . Granting this , it follows that , to comprehend the mystery , " We shall not all sleep , but
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Classical Theology.—Xlii.
is now preserved in memory of these sages further than their having been recorded as unexampled magicians and celebrated astrologers . We may , perhaps , enter upon some description ¦ of those strange , unhallowed , obsolete , and forbidden contrivances which came to be prevalentand wereof the
, , many magical rites in practice , the most remarkable and the most ancient in Greece . The determining of conclusions from natural causes , as by the flight of birds , the smoke of sacrifices ; the inspection of the entrails of victims ; "b y the casting of lots ; by ominous words , aspects , and things ; the
configuration of stars ; oracular responses , and all such ( so termed ) physical divinations , are very dissimilar to artificial and supernatural divination , by which , in fact , is meant the Mac-rem and ETTOS . H , otherwise incantations for bringing back to earth the souls of Hades . In the Gospel we find described certain shepherds , who , according to St . Luke ( ii . 8 ) ,
were" Abiding in the field , keeping watch over their flock by night . And , lo ! the angel ( or star ) of the Lord came upon them , and the glory of the Lord shone round about them : and they were sore afraid . And the angel said unto them , Fear not : for , behold , I bring you good tidings of great joy , which shall be to all people . Eor unto you is born this day in the city of David ( called Bethlehem ) a Saviour , whicli is
Christ the Lord . . . . And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of tho heavenly host praising God , and saying , Glory to God in the highest , and on earth peace , good will toward men . "
By St . Matthew , these shepherds are specified as being "wise men from the east . " Now , though it does not follow that they were either Medians or Jews , it does follow that they had a knowledge of the true God ; and without scruple we may believe that the very remote Magi also had the like holy knowledge ; and that Moses
was not deficient in the learning of their wisdom , whatever might have been the relation of that to his own . Still , the veritable mystery of a heavenly immortality within reach of us was left wholly unaccomplished and unexpounded , specifically , by Moses . The Jews , nevertheless , were not unaware of a terrestial spirit and a terrestial Paradise . In the profane poets we read of all the gods being born on earth , and translated to heaven ; but in the books of the First Testament mention is
only made of Enoch and Elijah being taken up into heaven . Carrying out the exalted view of this mystery , it may be said that the fulfilling and unfolding the Scrip tures could only be completed by the coining of Christ , without whom there is no celestial salvation extended to the soul . Of this holy doctrine , aud reward of everlasting life , it is written : —¦
' ' If any man have not thc Spirit of Christ , he is none of his . ... If Christ be in you , the Spirit is life , because of righteousness . . . . He that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you . Therefore , brethren , we are debtors , not to the flesh , to live after the flesh . For if ye live after the flesh , ye shall die : that is to say , ye are made of thc earth ,
mortal ; but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body ( namely , by keeping tho commandments , as He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins ) , ye shall live . That- is to say , ye are made of heaven , immortal . For as many as are led by the Spirit of God , are the sons of God . . . . The Spirit itself bearcth witness with our spirit , that wo are the children of God : ( that is to saynot onl
, y of adoption by baptism , but likewise by tho renewed Spirit which is of Christ , wherob } -, as St . Paul says , we cry , Abba , Father ) . And if children , then heirs ; heirs of God , and joint heirs with Christ ; " not only as St . Paul says , but as Christ himself says ( St . Luke , vi . ) , " Love ye your enemies " ( or ) " Be ye merciful , as your Father also is merciful—do
good , and lend , hoping for nothing again ; and your reward shall be great , ancl ye shall be the children of the Highest . " In explaining the doctrines of these holy mysteries , whereof there could be no explanation before the teaching of Christ , the g ifted Apostle , in his Epistle ( 1 Cor ., XV . ) , almost minutel y divulges their secret : —¦
" All flesh is not the same flesh ; but there is ono kind of flesh of men , another flesh of beasts , another of fishes , and another of birds . There are also celestial bodies , and bodies terrestial ; but the glory of the celestial is one , and the glory ofthe terrestial is another . "
For instance , the Scripture saith unto Pharaoh , " I raised thee up , that I might show my power in thee , and that my name might be declared throughout all the earth . " The Apostle continues , "Therefore hath He mercy on whom He will have mercy , and whom He will He hardeneth , "—that isHe hardened the heart of
, Pharoah ; but Gocl ' s own words' to Moses were , " I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy , and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion . " " There is , " continues the learned St . Paul , "one glory of the sun , and another glory of the moon , and another glory of the stars : for oue star diftereth from
another star in glory . So also is the resurrection of the dead . " That is , one spirit diftereth from another spirit in g lory ; as such spirits of God , through the resurrection of Christ , that confessed Him in their flesh , -and such spirits , not of God , through the resurrection of Christ , that did not confess Him in their flesh . Thus it is written , " Christ is the end of the law
for righteousness to every one that believeth . . . . But the righteousness ivhich is of faith speaketh on this wise , Say not in thine heart , Who shall ascend into heaven ? ( that is , to bring Christ down from above ) ; or , Who shall descend into the deep ? ( that is , to bring up Christ again from the dead ) . But what is it ? The word is ni gh theeeven in thy mouthaud in thy heart : that
, , is , the word of faith , which we preach ; that if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus , and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead , thou shalt be saved . "
Furthermore , the Apostle proceeds to reveal to us the resurrection : — " There is a natural body , and there is a spiritual body . And so it is written , The first man Adam ( namely , the created ) ivas made a living soul ; the last Adam ( namely , the begotten ) was made a quickening spirit . " Here we are plainly informed by this saintly
authority , " That was not first which is spiritual , but that which is natural , and afterwards that which is spiritual ; " or , in other words , the Adam in flesh and blood " is of the earth , earthly ; " the Christ in flesh and blood "is the Lord from heaven . " Therefore , " As is the earthly , such are they also that are earthly ; and as is the heavenly , such are they also that are heavenly . " So , in this wise also , it is written ( Eom . ix . ) : —
" As he saith also in Osee , I will call them my people which were not my people . . . . And it shall come to pass , that in the place whore it ivas said unto them , Ye are not my people , there shall they be called tho children of the living God . Esaias also crieth concerning Israel , Though the number of thc children of Israel be as thc sand of the sea , a remnant shall be saved . "
However inconsistent it may appear , it is compatible with reason , that those who have not been instructed in the same manner as Moses and the " Prophets , neither as were the Apostles , nor either as St . Paul , may , nevertheless , have an implicit reliance on the integrity of those authorities . Granting this , it follows that , to comprehend the mystery , " We shall not all sleep , but