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This institution reserves the right to refuse to accept a copy order if, in its judgement, fulfillment of the order would involve violation of the copyright law. A UTHOR: [MAY, FREDERICK] TITLE: THE BIBLE EXPOSED PLACE: BOSTON DA TE: 1862 COLUMBIA UNIVEI^ITY LIBRARIES PRESERVATION DEPARTMENT DIBLIOGRAPHIC MICROrORM TARCFT Master Negative // Original Material as Filmed - Existing Bibliographic Record '.A • ^ ^ , . r 211.J1 lui^lo Erar3nuc: , pncud ihe Dir.le cxj^cGcd, by Eranniij: . viii , u^G y . 23 cm. 'Ill 1 I I ■ II I [ II I mm^im^mimm^^ll^m^imM 1 Boriton. I.londun,! Pa^G cr i:!a{^-cc aflor p. 548 wanting. By Frederic 1: May? 104459 Restrictions on Use: TECHNICAL MICROFORM DATA FILM SIZE: '}£^:^_^^__ REDUCTION RATIO: Uj^ IMAGE PLACEMENT: lA @) IB IIB DATE FILMED: !ii_'_13 INITIALS ^__^JiL HLMEDBY: RESEARCH PUBLICATIONS. INC WOODBRIDGE. 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BOSTON: PUBLISHED BY J. P. MENDUM, 103 CocBT Stkeet. 1862. EsTF.RFn, accordins to Act of Congress, iti the year One Thousand Eio-ht Ilnndred and Sixty-two, by Fred. May, in the Clerk s Office of the District Court of the United States, for the South- ern District of New York. f PREFACE. The bible, also called the holy Scriptures, is, as its name holy shows, held in great reverence by the Christian population. The Christians in general believe that every thing the bible states, was written down by holy men, inspired by the spirit of God. A few amongst them will admit that some parts of the book bear the stamp of mere human origin, but still on the whole they consider the bible to be a godly book. Comparatively speaking, there are only a very small number of men who do not believe at all in its godliness. Hence the great reverence this book is receiving. The author of the following pages does not participate in the general admiration of the Scriptures ; for, though brought up in the Christian creed, and even with great solicitude of the part of his friends to make of him a devQut Christian, he notwithstanding, has always felt, even from earliest childhood, an instinctive distrust concerning the godliness of the accounts which the bible contains, (jhey always seemed to him to sound very strange and ftibulous, and the actions ascribed to the biblical God appeared to him exceedingly unjust and ungodlike. j In consequence of this impression, he never liked the bible, and never since cared much about that book, nor about what may have been written either in its favor or disfavor. Neverthe- IV less, some time ago, the idea occurred to him to investigate for him- self, whether or not the prophecies, wherewith the Christians presume to prove the authenticity of their creed, were visibly falsified, or wrong- fully expounded. With this view he took a Jewish bible in hand, in order to peruse the prophecies, as well there, as in the Christian translations. By reading the principal parts, the author soon discovered that none of the prophecies, said to foretell the coming of a Christ, ever related to the man Jesus of Nazareth, but either related to a great king, who, as supposed by the Jewish prophets, should come forth out of the race of David, and should reunite the (then severed) kingdoms of Israel and Judah, and destroy all their enemies. This king should be a great hero and a wise statesman, so that under his reign Israel should greatly prosper and return to the splendor which it was supposed to have been in, when the first king David reigned. Now, the mighty hero and king (David the second) never has made his appearance, but this therefore does not give a right to the Christians to say that the fisherman of Nazareth was the person meant ; since Jesus never reigned as king, neither over Israel, nor over Judah, nor over both united. Nor has he slain any of the enemies of these peoples ; and, moreover, he was no descendant of David, since the Christian doctrine teaches that he was offspring of the. holy Ghost. Further, there are some other so-called prophecies, which the Christians say prove the divine mission of Jesus, but which are no- thing more than a few words arbitrarily extracted from sentences, in the midst of some chapters, without the slightest consideration about what is spokea of in such places. By a careful reading of such passages the reader will at once see how the Christians are mistaken. Other pro- phecies, again, said to relate to Jesus, are those in which is spoken of Israel (where the nation is represented as a person). For often Israel is called in the bible God's first-born son (Exod. iv., 22.), meaning God's chosen son — now, wherever the words " God's son " appear, they are eagerly taken up by the Christians as a prophecy of their favorite Lord. In chapter LIII. of Isaiah, Israel is likewise spoken of. The prophet compares him there to a poor leper, repulsed by every one, and suffering greatly of the disease that others have brought upon him. The prophet speaks thus in order to represent the contempt wherewith Israel is treated by other nations. The disease whereof he speaks, alludes to the idolatry which existed in Israel, but which was brought thither by the other nations. And because the prophet, by further representing the other nations as repenting, lets them say " and for our sin was he chastised" (namely for our idolatry), therefore the Christians thought themselves justified to declare that Jesus, the fisherman of Nazareth, bore the punishment of the sins of mankind. If, however, any body will take the trouble of reading this chapter in connection with some few preceding pages, he will soon discover, that no prophecy of Jesus is alluded to. It is nevertheless the only so-called prophecy which the Christian can show forming a regular account of some thing; and as the writers of the history of Jesus, have taken good care to represent him as an innocent sufferer, teaching that his death was for the sins of others, it is true that, by a first perusal, many will not know what to think of this chapter, but when taking it in connection with the preceding ones they will readily find the real meaning of it. The author having thus ascertained that there excists in fact not a single prophecy to prove the truth of the Christian creed, continued his perusal in other parts of the Scriptures, so as to discover what could hive induced the people to believe this book to come from yi VII God. Was it on account of its sublimity ? the prophecies did not show much of it, as they mostly contain i^othing but threatenings and terrible curses, or promises of as impossible blessings; containing more of the ravings of madmen than of godly wisdom ; and of all that they say, Dothing has, until now, ever occurred. Reading further the historical part of the Scriptures, the author found nothing but coarse and fabulous stories, full of contradictions and total impossibilities, and an infinity of tales of slaughter and murder, and of beastly immorality. And the hymns, what are they ? nothing but highflown assertions, touching Jehova^s might and his love for Israel and their king David, and his hatred of all other nations, even of all other human beings.-And shall the author, furthermore, say what he thinks of the New Testament? It gives some good precepts, but just as many bad ones, and is, from beginning to end, full of the grossest sophistry . Reflecting thereupon how nmch harm this so-called holy book has caused in the world for how many religious wars has it not caused, and what harassing disputes has it not continually kept alive ; -and how many families has it not rent asunder, and how much blood and tears has it not caused to be spilt ;— and what dreadful vices of fanatism has it not brought into society ; — and how many individuals has it not sent to convents, to prisons for life;- and above all, how fatally has it, and does it still, oppose the progress of true civilization, the civilization of the mind, by not allowing people to make free use of their reason, though the fairest gift of Providence ? When reflecting on all this, the author hated the bible, and wished to be able to deprive it of its influence. This, of course, could not be done, since its influence is too wide spread. Yet to do something, the author concluded to expose the im- positions of that so-called holy book, and that, only by rehearsing, A in other words, all what it lays down, with but few comments; for most people believe in the bible merely because they are not acquainted with the absurdities, the contradictions, and base precepts it contains. — Reading the same things in an other book, they will con- front it with the original, and finding the comments to be true, their eyes will get opened; and they will soon despise that book of imposition as much as they did revere it before. If no respect is shown, in these pages, for the bibhcal god, the reader must not derive therefrom that the author does not believe in the existence of a Supreme Being j^for he believes therein; and does so by consulting his reason; for nature shows that every thing is made with an order and a design which prove a thinking power to exist in the Uni- verse ; -f- but, he does not believe in the whimsical carricature that Moses represents as the Creator of all things; this foolish representation he views in the same light as he does the other idols of antiquity; ( which were merely invented by priests in order that they might rule over the many. / Some people may object to this way of treating the bible; " for,'^ they will say, " if we no longer respect the bible, how shall we teach our children religion." — Hereupon the author answers, " teach your children religion from nature, for this is the Bible which the Godhead gave us. " He gave us not a printed book, in which only those can read who learned to read and who were enabled to buy the book, but he gave us the great Book of Nature, wherein every one can read, according to the ccapacityof his intellect. Those whose intellect is more advanced, will, of course, read more than others; therefore teach your children the natural sciences, as chemistry and physics, and geology and astronomy, and in degree that their intellect is becoming more developed, they will draw from these sciences teachings of moral philosophy, which 4 YIII will excel by far all the moral teachings of Christianity; thus you will see them become really more religious than all the frightful threatenings of the Christian creed would ever be able to make them. The Author has added to this work some of his own ideas, touch- ing Natural Religion, in an Appendix, so as to show, that he is no Atheist, and also to prevent people of accusing him of being anxious to throw all religion down. The Author. KEW YORK, May 16, 1861. NoTi The Bible used m composing this work, is the translation pub- lished by the American Bible Society, and the Jewish trans- lation oUsaac Leeser, of Philadelphia (1853), the old Eng- lish translation has likewise occasionally been consulted. THE BIBLE EXPOSED. GENESIS. Chapter I. — " In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth." With these potent words Moses commences his narrative of the creation, leaving it to theimasrination of the reader to make out what sort of a beins^this mentioned God was, and from whence he came, or who created him ; as well as where he kept his abode before the creation of heaven and earth. Besides this, Moses might have informed us how many years had elapsed since there was that beginning. We shall, however, consider these first words as merely intended to head the chapter, and thus proceed. We read : " And the earth was without form and void, and darkness was upon the face of the deep." — By this we know at once that the shapeless mass was made. In what manner it was made, and from whence the materials came it was made of, this Moses does not explain, though it would have been rather instructive ; and seeing that he was still divulging a part of the secrets of God, he might have instructed us a little more. Moses continues — "And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters." — The Spirit of God means, we should think, the Sou^ of God, for there cannot exist any other sensible meaning for the word. In all other living beings, the soul (or the immaterial principle) remains united with the body, as when it parts, then the body dies. But this, as we discover, was not the case with the Mosaical God ; for while he busied himself with the Creation, he allowed his Soul to refresh itself upon the waters. The Mosaical God, and his Spirit, thus having existed for a space of time (how long we do not know) in utter darkness (and, as it appears, faring well thereby,) suddenly got a fancy to create light. — " Let there be light," quoth he, and lo, there was light. And God saw the light that it was good, and he divided the light from the darkness, calling the light Day and the darkness Night. — Now that the Mosaical God had the light to enlighten him. he per- ceived, as it appears, how useful it would be to have an open space in the midst of the waters, for (as is to be seen from v. 6 till v. 10) the whole extent of the universe was nothing but one large mass of waters in that time ; under- neath of which very larg-e sea the earth was buried. — And God said, *• let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters," and God made the firmament and divided the waters that were under the firmament from the waters that were above the firmament. — This, it is plain, means he made a horizontal cut through the midst of the great water-mass, so that one part came below, and the other part above, the empty space he created. This space between the waters he called a THE BIBLE EXPOSED. GENESIS II. Heaven. The heaven was made on the second day of world's existence.— After this, the Mosaical God soliloquised in these terms : "Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear," (the dry land seems to have been the bottom of the great water-mass), and behold, scarcelv the soliloquv was ended or it was so. This event came to pass on the third day. And God called the dry land ' earth,' and the gathering of the water he called ' sea '; and he saw that it was good.-We are glad to learn that the Mosaical God was satisfied with his day's work ; it appears, however, that he or perhaps some other God, has afterwards not been so well satisfied with it, and has made great alterations ; for, at least now-a-days, the space above us is no more limited with water, but is an unlimited, an eternal space. And the earth now-a-days is nothing more but a small globe, of which same kind there exist an infinite number more in the universe The earth on that account would not be sufficiently large to form the bottom of the infinitely large water- mass which Moses proposes to have existed. (It is obvious that Moses participated in the opinion of some of the ancients that the azure skies, which we soe above us, were a large sea of water, which they fancied to be there, and thought supported by an arched vault.) - The Mosaical God be-an soon to feel a great affliction for our earth, for behold, the next day" after the creation of the empty space called heaven, he said : ^ let th( re be light in the firmament of heaven to give light upon the earth," and he made two ffr^eat lights, the greater one to rule the day, the leaser one to rule the nio-ht. and besides these, he made the stars and placed them all in the firma- ment of heaven » These things he made on the fourth day.— Thus we become aware how dear our little earth was to the great Mosaical God, for while he used but one day to make all the countless millions of celestial globes (of which manv a one is hundreds of times larger than the earth,) he used several days to accomplish the creation of what concerns our earth alone. Besides, all these countless millions of globes were merely made to furnish to the inhabitants of the earth a pleasant sight during the night. How infinitely good was the great wonder-God of Moses ! Being already informed, however, that the light was created on the first day, we cannot help avowing our surprise at learning now, that the sun and moon and stars were made on the fourth day, as this appears to' be somewhat incongruent, and shows that there is a mistake somewhere.- The Mosaical God, after having made the above-mentioned glob<\s took a fancy to ^tockin<- the waters with moving things that hath life, as also, to stock the firmament'of heaven with fowls that fly. Consequently he created the great whale and every kind of creature that moveth in the waters, and every winged fowl that flv after his kind, and he saw that it was good, and blessed thcm.-The first fowls, it seems, have been flying as high as the stars since they were both placedinthefirmamentof heaven.— This creation happened on the fifth day. And on the sixth day God said : let the earth bring forth the living creature after his kind, cattle and creeping things, and beast, and it was so. And God Baw it was good. Then he said : let us make man in our image, after our like- ^ ness [our would show there was a plurality of Gods), and let ihem have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him ; male and female created he them. And God blessed them, and desired them to multiply-. And God saw everything that he had made, and behold it was very good. And it had been evening and morning of the sixth day. — We are happy to learn that the Mosaical God, on beholding the male and female that he had made, found everytiiing to be very good, for it would have beeti rather unpleasant, if after many days of hard work, he should have discovered that his master-piece for whose benefit he made all the rest, had proved a failure. But how should creatures that were made after the very image of the Gods, not be very good — thev could not be otherwise. Reading this account of the creation we at first wonder what might have suggested to this wonderful God the idea of creating an earth, and creatures, and how he, after having passed so long a time in idle- ness, at once became so diligent and full of luminous thoughts ; but now, since we are informed that he himself also, has the external appearance of a human being, and thus is a sort of human being, now we do not wonder any longer ; for, to a being of this kind, the dry land is much more preferable to walk on than the waters. And he, once having created the earth, will, of course, have felt the want of company, and thus have conceived the idea of forming many creatures, even at last of forming some after his own likeness. Man, now \ knowing .that he is so very much alike the God, creator of all things, has indeed good reason to pride himself and to be vain, and no wonder if he believes that everything existing in nature was only made for his pleasure or benefit. The Bible teaches him to think so. Chapter II. — From the former pages we learned in what manner the Mosaical! God made heaven and earth, and all it contains, in six days. This must have been fa- tiguing work, especially for one not accustomed to do much. Also we read : And God rested on the seventh day from all his work. And God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it because he had rested. — This blessing and sanctifying of the day shows that he must have been tired out and felt grateful for the rest he enjoyed. Yet to bless a day is rather ridiculous, since a day once passed away never comes back and accordingly has no benefit of the blessing, but what matters it, it still shows the grateful disposition of the Mosaical God. If people, on account of this blessing, also sanctify the seventh day, they would do well to remember that it is never the same day, though they may give it the same name. If the Mosaical God did not think of that, it was probably because the pleasure of having rested so well brought him in ecstacy, and gave hira no time to think upon what he said. — Thus having rested to his satisfaction, God commenced again to work. This time he caused a mist to go up from the Sr GENESIS. GENESIS III. 5 earth moistening, the face of the earth } thentaking of the dust of the ground, he moulded out of it the figure of a man. The figure being formed, he blew into its nostrils, and lo, it began to live ; thus the first man was made, and he called his name Adam.— Those among the learned folks, who say that one is astonished, when engaged in the study of anatomy, at the wisdom wherewith the human body is inwardly constructed, may see here how they are mistaken, for man was kneaded out of moistened earth in the same manner as an earthen pot is kneaded by the potter ; this teaches us the Bible.— When now the man Adam had lived for some time alone (and it must have been a considerable long time, for in the mean while he had given names to all the living creatures of the earth, which certainly is not the work of a day,) the Mosaical God suddenly dis- covered that the man needed a companion. In consequence of this discovery, he caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam ; then, while he was in a state of unconsciousness, he extracted one of his ribs and closed the hole with a lump of flesh. Thereupon he metamorphised the rib into a woman and presented her to Adam.— By this remarkable story we learn in what manner man and woman came into existence, and, seeing that nobody else has told us so much as Moses does, we may deem ourselves happy with his disclosures. One thing only is rather to the prejudice of the story, namely that there was already related that male and female were created on the sixth day. Now, not only the male is formed for a second time on the eighth day, but the woman yet several days later. Such inconsistency proves not much for the truth of a story. It is true, we may suppose the first male and female to have been an hermaphrodite, and that the Mosaical God made afterwards two beings of this one, but such explanation atones not for making over the man also a second time ; therefore Moses must have been mistaken while telling this story.— Adam on awaking of his deep sleep, was not a little surprised on beholding the beautiful present God had got up for him ; he uttered his surprise and joy in quite poetical terms, declaring his opinion that man ought to leave his father and his mother and adhere unto his ^ife.— Thus we see how the transport of joy made him speak poetically, even get prophetical visions, for how, without such, could he have known what a father and mother was ; and we see, he perceived at once that such would be thp consequence of his getting a wife. For the rest it was lucky for Adam that his prophetical views went not too far, for else his mirth would have been tempered in a great measure by knowing that the beautiful present God brought him was a deceitful one.— And, says Moses, they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed.— How happy these two must have been to feel no constraint of misplaced shame ! The place of residence of Adam, and Eve, his wife, was a splendid garden ; it was called Eden. After the description given of it, it must have been a very extensive garden, since it contained some of the larg-est rivers of the globe within its limits. And it must also have been a very desirable garden, for Moses says (v. 11-12) there was gold in the garden, and the gold of that land was good.— Whether Adam and Eve may have appreciated the value of it, we do not know, 4 but should have deemed it of very little benefit to them. Yet of still less benefit to them was a tree planted by God in the midst of the garden, called the tree of knowledge of good and evil, and whose fruit God had forbidden Adam (while he was yet alone) to eat of; for, said God, the day he should eat tliereof, he should surely die. Chapter III.— By this chapter we are informed that the serpent was the most cunning of all theanimals,and beguiled the woman by telling her thatshe, by eating of the forbidden fruit, would become alike to God. — The serpent, however, did not believe tJiis himself, for in such case he, also, would have eaten of that mii*aculous fruit. — Eve, not in the least astonished of hearing a serpent talk (wherefrom it appears tliat it was a common thing of hearing serpents speak in those days), picked the nice looking fruit, still having some slight misgivings about it. She also brought some of it to Adam, who, forgetting the injunction concerning it, ate it on the spot. Now it happened a few moments later that the Lord-god, while taking a walk in the garden, unfortunately called for Adam, and he, (although having partaken of the fi-uit of knowledge.) possessed not knowledge enough to keep countenance, and betrayed himself at once, laying the fault upon his wife. His wife again laid the fault upon the serpent The Mosaical God gn'w very angry when discovering that mankind was not so very good (as he at first appears to have believed, in Chapter 1:31) ; he, consequently, began by cursing the serpent, informing him that henceforth he should crawl upon his belly and eat the dust. (Which means he should lose his legs. Besides the legs, the Lord-god has apparently also taken away his voice, or perhaps the voice was lost by eating the dust.) And the seed (the descendants) of the woman should crush the head of his seed (his descendants), while he should only be able to crush the heels of hers. — This saying plainly points to the creeping condition of the serpent, compared with the upright walking condition of man, which makes tliat while the latter can tread the serpent upon the head the other can only bite him on the heels. The Christians, however, have always been very fond of searching for suitable prophecies upon their Christ, and they accordingly have deemed it proper to declare, that the serpent was nobody less than Satan in person, and that the expression " seed of the woman," means nobo■«.». J 6 THE BIBLE EXPOSED. > 7 only one of them, and say that he alone was meant by the " seed ?" Indeed, the Christians are greatly mistaken when they pretend to see here a prophecy ; as a proof of it, we shall only observe this : if we were to take the words as a prophecy explained in the Christian way, it was to convey the mean- ing that Jesus should crush Satan's power. But what does Jesus say himselt? that the majority of mankind choose the broad road that leads to hell, while only few choose the narrow path that leads to heaven. The power of Satan is thus, according to his own declaration, a good deal greater than his, so that the asser- tion of The Christians that Jesus of Nazareth was to crush Satan's head proves to be entirely groundless. Moses also did not look upon the serpent in such a melancholy way as the Christians do, for do we not later see that he ordamed the Israelites in the wilderness to reverence a fiery serpent ? This, of course, he would not have done if Satan also had assumed that shape. We may peruse all the books of Moses, but nowhere can we find the least mdica- tion of his having thought of the existence of such a creature as a Devil. And furthermore, how wicked would have been the Mosaical God if he had placed his two inexperienced human beings in the same garden with a Devil I We cannot admit of such a straight act of wickedness in that great God of Moses, who proved to be so exceedingly good, according to the Bible, as to make all the creation on y for the benefit or pleasure of man. Would then so good a God have been able to treat his fii-st creatures in such a malicious and treacherous manner as the Chris- tians choose to explain ? No, we r.aver can believe it ; we much more prefer to believe that the Mosaical God had never foreseen that the serpent would amuse himself with begnilijg the woman. This, also, was such an uncommonly bold trick and ill-chosen joke, that no one with human feelings and per- ceptions would ever have anticipated it. Even the fact of God's orbidding Adam to eat of the fruit is in itself a proof of his ignorance of the future, for if knowing it, he would have known beforehand that Adam should sin, and would not" have had any occasion to make experiments on that score. The Mosaical God proceeded with meting out his punishments. The woman got now the worse of it, for it seems that the God of Moses, entirely iorgettmg he never prohibitted the woman to eat of the fruit, was in no mood to listen to reason He said he should henceforth multiply her pain ; in pam should she brin- forth children, an(ifor her husband should be her desire, while he should rule°over her -This punishment was severe indeed, but if we look about us m nature we perceive that all female creatures, of what kind it may be, bring forth their yonncr in pain. This is a circumstance common to all, and it seems to he a property which of necessity belongs to animal life. The woman, therefore can- not be said to have received a separate punishment, since there partake of it all earthlv creatures of her sex, and she would have experienced the same whether the Mosaical God had cursed her or not. Then, what concerns the desire for the opposite sex, this exists as well with the man as with the woman, so that the God of Moses did not need name it as a punishment for her only, since it is as much a punishment for him. And as to the woman being g GENESIS III. 7 niled by the man, this, in the first place, is not fully co, since the way of living of human society, we mean the customs of a country, depends as much on the women, as on the men, so that indirectly man is also ruled by woman. Man, however, is apparently the master, but the same is the case almost in the whole seriew«5 of animal creatures ; everywhere we see the male leading the female ; and this originates from their greater strength, and daring. The woman accord- ingly received, even in this respect, no separate punishment, but one common to all creatures of her sex. The man, for hi? punishment, should eat his bread in the sweat ef Ins face, till he returned unto the dust, for dust he was and unto dust he should ret irn. The Mosaical God seemed to have forgotten that he, some time past, had said unto Adam, the day he should eat of the fruit he should die. Now, however, he allows him to live, (that he might eat bread soaked with sweat) yet for a space of 930 years. The God of Moses thus appears to have a rather changeable mind, which is not much god like. And what concerns the eating of his bread in the sweat of his face, which probably signifies that man should have to work in order to get his living, this man has to do, we cannot deny it, but what is the cause of it ? Ic is because the races of white men have quitted the original soil where the human races originated from. The whole appearance and structure of man shows that they must have had their origin in some hot clime, where no covering was required, and where wild fruits grew sufficiently, without culture, to feed them, while they were uncivilized. They once getting more civilized, preferred colder climes, and preferred to settle in countries where they had to spin, and to weave cloth, and where they had to till the ground in order to raise fruits, to the hot clime where mankind was born. Hence, they have to work for a living ; it was their own choice, but it was not on account of the curse of Moses's God. If the white man chose to live in Central Africa, he would have to work as little as the beasts of the field ; he could gather his food in the cool hours of the day, and rest himself for the rest of the time. That man should return to the dust, is a punishment of which woman is not exempt ; the Mosaical God seems not to have reflected thereon ; besides man and woman, all other earthly creatures die also, not only the animals, but even the trees, yea, everything which has life. This proves that it is a necessary property of living organism, that the material form, when it gets old or unfit for life, should decay, so that its substance may serve again for the construction of other forms. Man, therefore, in dicing, only follows an inevitable law of nature, and he would have died, even had the God of Moses never cursed the man Adam.— When reading this chapter, we should at first have thought that the cursings of the Mosaical God were only designed for Adam and Eve, as they were the sinning party, but by a further perusal of the Biblical books, we soon discover that the cursings of this wonderful God of infinite goodness were in- tended for the whole human race, that is, for all the expected descendants of these two unlucky individuals. By this we perceive what a queer notion of justice the great God of Moses must have had ; because Adam and Eve sinned, 8 THE BIBLE EXPOSED. without knowing what was right or what was wrong, he not only was not satisfied with punishing them in a frightful manner (much more than he had threatened to do), but also made the curse of the punishment extend to the whole of their descendants, to thousands of millions of individuals, who could not help, by any means, what father Adam or mother Eve had done. We see from this how vindictive the Mosaical God was, and what an exceedingly wrong idea of righteousness he had ; indeed, he proved to be as whimsical, tyrannical a fool as only the perverted imagination of a man can bring forth. This carricature of a God, sometimes called in the Bible the merciful and gracious God, not yet satisfied with the punishment dealt out, would have some more of it, namely* he would not allow Adam and Eve to stay in the beautiful garden, but chose to drive them out ; as he said, lest they should eat of the fruit of the tree of life, and live forever. — The fruit of this tree seems to have been an antidote for the deadly fruit of the other tree. That the Mosaical God would not allow Adam and Eve to eat thereof cannot be taken amiss, for, he having once cursed them, had, of course, to keep his word, and prevent every- thing that should interfere with its fulfilment ; but he needed not on that account to drive them out, since he, as a mighty (iod, could easily have destroyed the tree, and burnt all its wood and branches and fruits to ashes. The Mosaical God preferred, however, to chase Adam and Eve from the garden ; such we must allow, may have been good sport, a sport worthy of a Lord, in particular of a Lord who has rested many days of his work and has no better occupation on his hands.— Before chasing Adam and Eve, we discover that he made them coats of skins and clothed them. — For the Mosaical God seems to have gotten a delicate feeling for decency. Chapter IV. — In this chapter Moses tells us that Adam knew Eve, and this circumstance had the happy result, that Eve conceived and was deliv- ered of son ; and she said: I have gotten a man from the Lord.— That Eve must have been surprised by seeing the little fellow, we may easily imagine, but how she came to the idea of calling the great God of Moses a Lord, is not 80 easily to be understood ; for Eve, by seeing so many surprising proofs of his Almip'htiness. should have understood that he was a God and not a man, and that a human title was a very unfit one for such a superior being, since a human title carri^ with it the idea of a human individual. — The first son of Eve was called Cain, and Eve conceived again and bore his brother Able. Now Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground . And it happened that Cain and Abel brought offerings unto the Lord. Cain brought fruits of the ground, but Abel brought of his flock and the fat thereof; with this offering the Lord was pleased, but not with that of Cain. This token of partiality ex- cited Cain's anger, and the consequence was that Cain slew his brother when they were in the field. Shortly after the murder had taken place, Cain chanced to meet the Lord on his way. The Lord asked him where his brother was, where- genesis. V upon Cain said that he was not his brother's keeper. The Lord, though, was not so easily to be deceived, for he at once perceived what was the matter, and therefore cursed Cain, announcing to him that he, for the futtire, should be a vagabond on earth. Cains howed some repentance, saying he knew that now he had to fly from the presence of the Lord, anybody he would fall in with would slay him. The Lord, for this time, less angry with Cain, the fratricide, than in former days with his parents, the fruit-eaters, gave him a mark, that whoever might meet him should not slay him. — This, mdeed, was very kind of the Lord, but if the Lord only had remembered that there ex- isted nobody to slay Cain, then he would have understood that the mark was quite an unnecessary thing. Thus the Mosaical God, as we discover, was of a pretty weak memory — but as it is known that lack of memory is often the share of the most genial minds, let us not conceive too low an opinion of him. Or, it may be that his memory was a good one, and that there existed yet other men, but created by other Gods, as according to v. 22 of this chapter, there was a plurality of Gods. Cain now started for another country out of the sight of the Lord. It ap- pears the God of Moses could only overlook a part of the earth ; probably he dwelled in that time on earth himself, for if he had dwelled above, as he did in later days, then he would have been able to overlook the whole earth, in proportion as she was turning. — The country where Cain settled was the land of Nod ; arrived there, he took his wife to him, and she conceived, and was de- livered of a son, called Enoch. — From whence Cain had gotten a wife, Moses does not say, but we may presume that the Lord god has built her out of one of Cain's ribs, before he started off, so as to cause him not to be alone. Some people think that Cain should have taken a sister of his for a wife, but how can they suppose that such a criminal marrioge would have been permitted by the great God of Moses ; besides, there were no sisters, since Adam and Eve begot only sons. — Moses gives us further the names and occupation of some of Cain's descendants, and we see therefrom that some cf them were famous men, wherefore we advise any one to read it. — Adam, in the mean-while, knew his wife again, and she bare a son, and the name given him was Seth, because he was another seed instead of Abel. And Seth begat a son, called Enos, and at that time men began to call upon the name of the " Lord."— Probably the Lord himself had removed without their sight, so that they henceforth had to be contented with calling upon a name, instead of a reality. Chapter V. — From this chapter we learn the pedegree of Adam up toNoah. Al- though Moses forgets to give the names of the females, which is usually required in a pedigree, still, it is not void of interest, as we are informed thereby to what a fabulous old age the men of those times used to reach. Adam, for instance, died 930 years old. Seth 912 years. Enos 905 years. Kainan 910, Mahala- 10 THE BIBLE EXPOSED. GENESIS. 11 beel 895, Fared 800, and Methuselah even reached the blessed age of almost lOOO years. Besides being informed how old they grew, we learn also to what age they retained the capacity of procreating children, for Noah, for instance, was not less than 500 years old wl en he became the father of three boys, known in history as Shera, Ham, and Japheth.— Some have pretended that the years Moses speaks of should be no years of twelve months ; by looking over Chapt- VII. and VIIL, where he gives the duration of the deluge, one may, however, ascertain that Moses, in fact, reckons by years of twelve months.— Yet we learn from this chapter that Enoch was taken away by God ; but as every one will be taken away some time or the other, we see no miracle in this. If though, the Mosaical God should have taken him alive and carried him above the clouds, we fear that Enoch will have felt rather uncomfortable, and soon have died from cold and want of food. Chapter YI. — And it came to pass when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born unto them, that the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair, and they took to themselves wives of all whom they chose — (v. 1, 2). There were giants on the earth in those days, also after that, when the sons of God went in to the daughters of men, and they bare children to them, the same became mightv men, which were of old men of renown (v. 4.) — We perceive by this, that while mankind were fruitful and multi- plying on earth, the Mosaical God, on his side, was not slow neither, in filling the earth with human beings. Who the mothers were of these sons of God, Mosos does not say ; we consequently do not know whether they all were virgins, neither do we know whether the assistance of the Holy Ghost was always required in matters of this kind. But when we recollect the words which the Mosaical God spake in Gen. I, 27, we are almost inclined to think that he was a hermaphroditical being, and thus it may be, that he, by lack of other oc- cupation, passed away the time with procreating children by himself. The Christians, as we know, pretend that God has only one son, but here we discover how greatly they are mistaken, since he got a host of sons. Daughters he seems not to have dealt in. The earth was now well stocked with human beings, and as it had been God's special desire that this should be (vide Gen. I, 28), we might have reasonably expected to find him in a jolly mood about it. This, however, was not the case, for we read (v. 6): and God was sorry of having made man, yea, it grieved him at hisheart, for (v. 5) the wickedness of man was g-reat and the thoughts of their hearts was only evil continually. — To hear such reports of man is indeed a pity, but at the same time we must acknowledge it to sound strange that such should have been the case, since we found in Chapt. I, 31, that God, after having made man. saw that all he had made was very ffood It appears now that he had been mistaken, and no wonder thus he afterwards was sorry of having made man. What being with a human heart is not apt, sometimes, to make a blunder, of I which he has to repent afterwards, and why then should the great God of Moses not make some blunders also. This great Lord conceived now a grand idea how to rid himself of all the creatures, namely, by setting the whole earth under water and thus drowning everything that had life. Only one man had the good fortune of finding grace in the Lord's eyes ; the happy man was Noah, a man upright and perfect in his generations. Noah begat three sons ; these also (probably on account of the good grace wherein their father stood), should, with him and with their wives, be spared from the general drowning. Noah, accordingly, was ordered to build a sort of ship, called ark. wherein he, with his whole family, should take refuge. He also should take with him a male and a female of every kind of living thing that is on earth, to be saved with him from the flood which God intended to cause. — The Lord, thus*, intended to drown all men, and even his own sons, and the grandsons, the giants, who still were of old men of renown ; really» the Lord proved to possess no tender father heart ; and when we consider thereby that he aiso was drowning so many thousands of babies who never did any wrong, and besides drowned so many millions of other creatures, animals who were innocent and who rejoiced in life, then, indeed, we exclaim, the God of Moses proved to possess no heart at all. How, now, can Moses say that it grieved God at his heart to have made man, while he had no heart at all. Such a story Moses could only tell by telling a big lie. Yet, the Lord had no right to make himself so angry with men, for if he had not made them very good, it was a fault of his, not theirs. Chapter YII. — Although the Lord had ordained Noah to take one male and one female of every kind of living thing that is on earth, he, this time, or- dained to do so with the unclean beasts only, but of all the clean beasts Noah should take seven pair instead of one. — Now that the ark was built, the Lord seems to have supposed there was room enough for more than one pair of each kind, and hence he may have ordained to take so many more. The ark according to the preceding chapter, w.s three hundred cubits ^450 feet) in length fifty cubits (75 feet) in width, and thirty cubits (45 feet) in height. Although now this may be a tolerably large ship, it would, nevertheless, not be large enough to contain of all kinds of earthly creatures one pair, much less seven. If the God of Moses ordered such a thing, he clearly proved himself to be utterly ignorant of the infinite variety of creatures that exist on earth ; nobody yet has been able to enumerate them all, and perhaps nobody ever will, for new species are discovered every year. We do not speak of the thousands of species of quadrupeds only, but also of the birds and insects, whose number seem to have no limit ; so that a fleet of arks would have been required to hold them all. We must also keep in mind that one cannot stow away living creatures in the same manner as merchandise, since every one of them ought to have a place to move and to breathe. To see how much room every animal requires it is only necessary to enter a well organized cow-house, or horse-stable, and one will soon 12 THE BIBLE EXPOSED. perceive that the above-mentioned ship would scarcely have been sufficient for the domestic animals and for thope that live in the neighborhood of man, not to mention the others. Furthermore, the food necessary to keep this whole host of i>^'^"|^^'^^^- tures alive during the period of a year (the deluge lasted a year, see Chapt \ 111), would have required an immense additional space, a space still larger than that which the animals themselves required. However this may be, Noah did as God had ordered him, we therefore hope for his sake, that the Lord presented him from the start with a well-filled purse, so as to enable him to buy all the provender necessary for the many creatures he had to take care of. We also hope, for his sake, that he and his sons were mighty good hunters and expert trappers, so that they may not have had too much trouble in catching all the game they wanted. I hey must still have had hard work enough, and it would not have been well if they should have been too tired out when entering the ark, since they will have been allowed no rest even there, as it requires the day-work of many men to feed and water so many animals, and clean all the cages, and keep order among the peace- disturbers. They truly must have eaten their bread in the sweat of their faces^ and have gotten no rest, neither day nor night.-When they all were in the ark, the Lord himself locked the door ; and it came to pass in the six hundredth year of Noah's life, in the second month, on the seventh day of the month, that on this same day. all the fountains of the great deep opened, and the windows of heaven were unclosed, and the rain fell upon the earth, for forty days and forty nights (v 11, 12).— We discover from this that in those times raining was caused bv opening windows in heaven-namely, the blue sky we see above us, was according to the ancients, an arched roof of crystal, and after the opinion of Mo«es (see Gen. I.) there was above this roof nothing but water ; now by openincr windows (or sky-lights) in the roof the water poured down and came as rain on the earth. This time the Lord opened the door-traps to their full width, and let down an uncommonly large quantity of heavenly water ; besides that, there were opened mysterious fountains of the sea, and the water spouted from the sea upon the land.— And the waters prevailed exceedingly upon the earth, so that all the high mountains that were under the heavens were covered with water, even fifteen cubits above the mountains did the water rise. And all flesh perished that moveth upon the earth, and all creeping thing that creepeth, and those in whose nostrils was the breath of life that were on the dry land, died all ; only Noah and those who with him were saved in the ark.— I^hat this story of the holy scriptures is contrary to all what the modern sciences of astronomy and geology teach, is scarcely necessary to mention, since every one must see the absurdltv of the notions of a heaven, etc., as Moses en- tertained, and whereupon he had based this tale. Nobody in the present a-e can be so simple-minded as to believe in good faith that the whole earth could be submerged till the water stood 15 cubits (22^A feet) above the highest mountain. To make the water rise 22>2/ feet above the Chimborazo and other high mountains, and that over the whole earth, would require not less than four or five times as much water as exists on the globe. Whence GENESIS. 13 would that mass of waters have come from, since we know that there exists no sea above, and the waters that are in the sea below could not have left their place, because the deep must be filled ; if spouted on the land it immediately would have returned into the deep, 'i'his account therefore is a great absurdity in itself, probably an invention of Moses, based upon an old legend (still existing in the north-eastern part of Africa) of a great innundation. Now, an innundation may have occurred over the whole land of Egypt in some remote period, but an in- nundation over the whole globe is an utter impossibility, since, as we said, the required quantity of water does not exist. Chapter VIIL— Here we are informed that after a hundred and fifty days, the windows of heaven and the fountains of the deep were shut again, and on the 17th of the 7th month the ark grounded upon the mountain of Ara- rat. In the loth month the tops of the mountains became visible again ; and in the 12th month (thus in two months more) the face of the earth was dry.— Considering the extent of the water-splash, we must allow that the draining of it went on surprisingly quick.— By this time Noah took off the roof of the ark to discover how things looked outside and he saw that the surface was dry.— It was fortunate that all the fowls and little birds after their kind, did not take a fly while the covering was removed. — And it happened, one of those days, when Noah was on the Ararat, that he opened a window of the ark, and sent forth a raven, and the raven flew to and fro until the earth was dry. After a week he sent f«)rth a dove, but she came back, for there was no resting place for the sole of her foot (as if the tops of the mountains were not sufficient for it.) After a week he sent her forth once more, and behold the dove came back with an olive leaf in her mouth ; now Noah knew the waters had receded from the earth.— We discover how wonderfully quick olive trees grew up in that land . where a week previous the dove could find no resting place, now the olive trees had got already leaves.— And as the water was perfectly dried up, God spake unto Noah and ordered him to go forth from the ark with his wife, and his sons and their wives, and every living thing that was with them.— Since the Lord was not drowned with all the other beings in whose nostrils was the breath of life, we are left to suppose that he may have placed himself on the roof of the ark ; also, from there he could hold conversation with the chosen man Noah. Noah finding himself delivered from his prison, felt so thankful that he im- mediately built an altar unto the Lord, and offered thereon of every clean cattle and of every -clean fowl. The Lord smelled the sweet savor, and said in his heart, I will not again curse the soil of the earth for man's sake, for the inclina- tion of man's heart is evil from his youth (v. 21).— A year previously God de- stroyed mankind on account of their wickedness, but this time, as we see, he had altered his mind, and would no more destroy man because of his wickedness ; probably he had come to the conclusion that it was of no use to take such pains 14 THE BIBLE EXPOSED. GENESIS. 15 since man was not to be corrected ; consequently he thought the wisest that he could do was to make the best of it by enjoying the smell of the sweet savor of their offerings. His opinion that the imagination of man's heart was evil from his youth, was, for the rest, not very flattering for the chosen man Noah and his family, as now they were the only scions of mankind he could be speaking of. Chapter IX.— The Lord blessed Noah and his sons that they should multi- ply and repopulate the earth. And he appointed them rulers of all the beasts of the field, and the fowls of heaven and the fishes of the sea ; he also gave them leave to eat every moving thing that hath life, and every green herb, but the blood they should not eat, for the blood wps the life, and the Lord should ask their blood in case they should eat it.— The doctrine that the blood is the life is rather a peculiar one, for in that case we lose a part of our life by every bleed- ing ; and strange to say, most people lose their life without yet having lost their blood ; how the Mosaical God accounts for that we cannot explain. That the Lord allowed man to eat of every living thing and every herb, was very kind ; unfortunately, however, many of those won't agree with the human stomach, and would poison him at a short moment's notice.— The Lord continued in proving his kindly feelings by making a covenant with Noah, that he henceforth never again should destroy the earth by a flood, and by the way of a token, he set his bow in the clouds, namely, the rainbow.— It seems that the God of Moses knew not that the rainbow is nothing else but a consequence of the reverberation of the sunbeams against falling waterdrops, so that (supposing that a flood had taken place), even before the flood the rainbow would have been visible now and then ; this token, therefore, cannot have surprised Noah very much.— Further, we are informed of what passed during the last years, that is, the last three cen- turies of Noah's life. He then busied himself with cultivating the grape vine, and with making wine, and sometimes partook freely of it. Once upon a day he got so exceedingly intoxicated that he stripped off" all his garments in the midst of his tent. His youngest son Ham chancing to come into the tent, seems to have been surprised at seeing the old gentlemen in such a state, for he imme- diately withdrew and told the circumstance to his brothers. His brothers now went out and taking a cloth, they covered their father, going backwards, even without looking at him. When Noah had slept himself sober, he discovered by some means or'other that Ham had been talking of him, and upon that, got in a ra<^e. He therefore cursed, not Ham himself, but Canaan, the son of Ham, who of°course, could not help that his father was a tale-teller.— Though Noah acted entirely wrong by cursing the unfortunate Canaan, and had better cursed his own self, still the'^Mosaical God sided with him, for the descendants of Canaan, the Catiaanites, have, on account of Noah's curse, always been hated by the Lord, /who wished nothing more than to see them either subdued or exterminated by the Israelites).— Some Bible friends have said that the negroes were the descendants of Ham, but they are wrong, since Canaan, the cursed son of Ham, was the sire of the Canaanites — see next chapter. They also have said that Noah was the first vine-planter, a;id knew not the strength of the wine. This is likewise an ar- bitrary explanation, for nothing proves such assertion, while the manner in which his sons considered the state wherein he was, would prove that they knew by ex- perience what drunkenness was. Chapter X. — This chapter tells us of the descendants of the sons of Noah. However, as nobody cares much about Ashkenar, or Riphath, or Thogaz, nor about Ludin, Anamim, Lehabim or Naphchuchim, etc., we shall not waste time with them. It needs only to be noticed that from v. 14-19, it clearly appears that Janaan, the cursed grandson of Noah, was the sire of the Jebusites, and the Emorites, and Hinites, and the other Canaanite tribes, who dwelled in Canaan, — and against whom Moses led his people, telling them that it was the desire of God that they should occupy the land and make the inhabitants their slaves, or slay them ; but about this we shall see by and by. Chapter XI. — Here Moses communicates to us, that while the human pop- ulation was yet one nation, the Lord, upon a day, came down from heaven to see what mankind were doing here below. He then discovered they were busy with building a very high tower which was intended to serve as a beacon so that they might always be sure to find the centre of their common place of habitation. The Lord discovered, also, that mankind were all one people, and spoke all one language. — Considering this in a human way, one would have thought it to be commendable, but the great God of Moses took a diflferent view of it, and was annoyed at the unity he saw among mankind. Consequently he confounded their language so that they did no longer understand each other, and were obliged to put a stop to the erection of their city and tower. — It is easily to perceive that this somewhat queer proceeding of the Mosaical God must have caused great confusion among the peaceful people. Many a one may have gone crazy for life time in consequence of it, but what did the Lord care for that ? He ascended again to heaven, and let the unfortunate people shift for themselves to get out of the confusion as best they could. We learn from this account that the Bible-god is not a God of peace, as they sometimes do tell us. for he disliked peace and preferred to see confusion and dis- union ; we see, furthermore, that he had now chosen his domicil in heaven, but sitting there pretty high, was not able to see what was going on upon the earth, and is obliged to come down when he wishes to know exactly all about it. The Bible-god is, accordingly, neither omnipresent, nor all-knowing. Chapter XH. — Terah, the father of Abram, was a descendant of Shem ; he left the land Us, where he had been residing, and intended to proceed towards 16 THE BIBLE EXPOSED. the land of Canaan, to settle there. He came as far as the land of Haran, and there he died. Abram, his son, received now the order of God to continue the journey, and to settle in the land which the Lord himself would show him. At the same time the Lord told him that he gave him that land as an inheritance for himself and his descendants, and he added the promise that he would make them there to become a great nation and a blessing to the other nations of the earth. (See about this, our observation in Ohapt. XXII.)— We perceive here that the Mosaical God took suddenly a great fancy to Abram without any reasonable cause. Abram himself must certainly have been very much surprised at the sud- den fondness of the Lord ; for seeing God, in propria persona, coming down from heaven only to bless a man, must be a surprising sight indeed. It is a fact that the hoped for descendants of Abram never became a great nation, nor were they ever in full possession of the promised land ; but what matters this, since Abram will have been satisfied with the promise, and have rejoicsd therein. Abram. when arrived in Canaan with Sarai,his wife (who was barren, according to the previous chapter), was soon obliged to leave the country again on account of famine. He then went to Egypt in order to buy the victuals necessary, and took along with him Sarai, his wife ; but, being somewhat afraid that the king of Egypt, called Pharaoh, should fall in love with her, and kill him, he prudently advised her to give out that she were his sister. And behold it actually hap- pened that tlie princes of Pharaoh's house, on seeing her, hit upon the idea of bringing her before their king, who, on the first sight, fell in love with her, and kept ner in his house as a concubine. Abram, the favorite of God, did not op- pose this course of circumstances ; also, he was treated well for Sarai's sake, and received many rich gifts, which he readily accepted. The Lord-god, how- ever, deemed it not good that Abram should be alone, and consequently sent great plagues into Pharaoh's house, and he plagued Pharaoh, because of Sarai, Abram's wife. Pharaoh, who seemed to be a man of great perception, understood at once the reason of all these plagues, and thus gave Sarai back unto Abram, ordering him to leave the country. Abram left, taking with him the gifts he had obtained in such a clever though not very respectable manner. Chapter XIII.— Abram, loaded with his riches, went on his way home, go- ing southwards.— According to the new geography, Canaan is situated north- wards.— Arrived there, the Lord once more promised Abram that land as an in- heritance forever, and moreover, promised him a progeny as numerous as the dust of the earth (v. 14-19).— This promise was probably a token of approval of the Lord for the smartness Abram had shown while in Egypt. The promise, however, has never been fulfilled, since the descendants of Abram have not, for- ever, possessed the desirable land of promise, nor have they become as numerous as the dust of the earth. A thimble-full of dust would, probably, contain a lartrer number of dust atoms than all the Israelites, who have existed and may yet exist, will ever number as long as the world shall stand. GENESIS. n Chapter XIV. — In this chapter Moses tells us about the many kings who lived in the neighborhood of Abram, and who spent the time in making plun- dering excursions. Once they made a descent upon Lot, the nephew of Abram, who lived not far off; they made nim prisoner, and took away all he got. Abram being informed of this circumstance, marched out with an army of drilled servants, 318 men, and pursued the enemy ; he smote them, and defeated them entirely. When Abram had performed this feat, two kings from the neighborhood called upon him to congratulate him. One of them was Melchis- edek, who not only was a king, but also a priest of the most high God. And he blessed Abram and gave him the tithes of all he possessed. — lu accordance with the common belief, people do think that God selected Abram in order to make himself known to him and his descendants, that they should adore him ; now, however, we see that he got yet other persons who adored him ; which shows that people are mistaken in their supposition, and that the fancy God took for Abram was not for that reason, but from pure friendship. Chapter XV. — After these things the word of the Lord came unto Abram in a vision, saying ; "Fear not, Abram, for I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward." And Abram said : " Lord God, what wilt thou give me, seeing 1 go childless, and the steward of my house is this Eliezer of Damascus." — What the steward had to do with the aflfair we do not comprehend ; it seems Abram meant that if he had another steward, one of his own creed, he would not object to have a son of the steward as his. It was very unpleasant, too, for a man as Abram, who expected to get a progeny as numerous as the dust atoms of the earth, to possess not even one child— The Lord seemed to feel for him, for he took him out of doors, and said : " Look, now, towards heaven and tell the stars, if thou be able to number them : So shall thy seed be." — We fear Abram has not been able to number them, for his seed never has been as numerous. The number of stars is supposed to be infinite, because they are dispersed in an eternal space ; that the number of the promised descendants of Abram has never been as larp-e we need not mention, since any one can easily perceive that if such had been the case there would be no room sufficient on earth to hold, much less to support, them all. But seeing that Abram cannot have had an idea of the countless number of the stars, we can acquiesce with the supposition that the false promise he got will, at least, have had the good effect of cheering him up, and in so far weadmiro. the kindness of the Lord to take the trouble of telling a sLory. — Besides that exceedinirly large number of posterity, the Lord also promised him the land, where Abram was for the present, together with all the countries situated between the river of Egypt (the Nile) and the great river Euphrates (v. 18) ; it was now inhabited by the Kenites, and the Kenisites, and Kadmonites, and Canaanites, etc., but it would become an inheritance forever unto Abram and his seed. — That this promise was as false as the former one, is easily perceived, for the so-called descendants of Abram never have had, in undivided possession, any more land 18 THE BIBLE EXPOSED. than the little county of Judea, which, compared to what the Lord promised, is iis a drop to a brim-full glass. And yet that little which they have possessed was their own but for a little while, history shows that they have almost always been subjected to other nations, and have not been free for three hundred years, taking it altogether. Chapter XVI.— Here we are informed that Sarai, in a moment of depressed spirits on account of her being barren, advised her husband to procreate an heir by her handmaid. Abram now (though told by the Lord that he would get lawful offspring), did not object to the proposition of Sarai, and readily complied with her wishes. The consequence was that Hagar, the handmaid, was soon in the family way. And the consequence of this again was that Hagar grew im- pudent towards her mistress, who being not willing to bear with her assumptions, sent her away. Hagar, thereupon, went into the wilderness and roved about ; but it happened one day that she met by chance with an angel of the Lord near by a fountain, and the angel talked to her so persuasively that he made her return to Sarai and be more civil.— This history shows that, in that period of world's existence, the angels sometimes took a walk on the earth. It is a pity they do not do it now-a-days, for if they did, they would be of great usefulness to our housewives, by teaching submission to the servant maids.— Hagar when returned, was delivered of a son, and he was called by the name of Ishma.el, as he should become, according to the promise of the angel, the stock of a countless great nation. Chapter XVII.— When Abram reached the age of ninety-nine years, the Lord appeared unto him ; and the Lord repeated with emphasis the same prom- ise which he had made him already so many times, but now to prove the truth of what he said, he changed the name of Abram into Abraham, and the name of Sarai into Sarah ; (which, of course, proved a great deal !) Also, the Lord was very anxious to make a covenant with Abraham to the effect that he should be, forever, a God unto him and his seed. As a testimony of the sincerity of this covenant, the Lord wished that all the male persons of Abraham's house, and every male child born afterwards, should be circumcised. — It was, truly, verv flattering for Abraham that the Lord was so anxious to be a God for him and for his seed alone, and showed thereby no inclination to be a God for any- body else ; but if we consider that the Lord was the one who proposed and made the covenant, we might reasonably expect that he himself should have given a testimony, since he had no right to ask that the second party to the bargain should give it, as this could not in the least insure the fulfilment of his agreement.— Abraham, however, had good faith in the Lord and was satisfied with the pro- position ; he got up and went immediately to work, first circumcising himself then Ishmael, and further, all other male persons of his house ; he performed all within the very same day.— We already saw that the trained servants of Abra- ham's house amounted to 318 men (Chapt. XI V), and when we now take into GENESIS. 19 consideration that the number of untrained servants and of male children must have amounted to a still larger number, we may rest assured that Abraham must have had a hard day's work by circumcising so many adults, and young ones, all in one day. We candidly confess that he deserves our admiration by showing himself so active and smart in this new sort of religious occupation, which is the more surprising since he himself was an invalid that day by having just un 'ergone the operation. Why, however, it should please the Lord to see his people circumcised, we cannot understand, since he himself had formed man as he was ; for if he did not like to see the prepuce, why had he not formed man without it when moulding him out of clay. But again we discover, the Lord was changeable of mind ; what at one time he considered to be done very well, he at another time wislied to be made very differently. Chapter XVIII. One day, when it was very hot weather, Abraham seated himself at the door of his tent, and lifting up his eyes he beheld three men pass- ing bv. One of these men was the Lord. Abraham no sooner saw him or ran out to meet him, and officiously invited the Lord to enter, for the purpose of re- freshing himself with a foot-bath, and with a lunch, to be taken under the trees. The Lord accepted the kind offer. Abraham immediately ordered his wife to bake cakes, and his cook to dress a fat calf. Thereupon, taking cream and milk, he brought it up with the dressed calf and waited himself on his guests while they ate, — We see by this incident in Abraham's life, what a civil man he was, and also, we discover that the Lord, though being a God, did not despise the hearty dinner of a mortal. When in heaven, he got nothing more of it save the sweet flavor which rises with the smoke, so that it is no wonder he gladly accepted of the opportunity to enjoy for this once a little more,— While he and his companions were thus engaged in refi^hing themselves, the Lord- god took occasion to inquire about Sarah, and at the same time intimated that in a year hence he would return to congratulate her with a son. Sarah over- heard this, as she stood behind him in the door of the tent, and laughed, for she thought within herself, " Shall I yet have pleasure after I am waxed old, and my lord (husband) also being old." The Lord heard her laugh, and offended with this, asked why she laughed ; but Sarah answered, '* I laughed not." But the Lord said, " Nay, indeed, thou didst laugh." And the Lord and his com- panions rose up and went on their way. — By this interesting passage of the Biblical history, we again perceive that the Lord could tolerate more from Abraham than from anybody else ; for in the preceding chapter, v. 17, we are told that when the Lord made the same prediction to Abraham some time ago, the latter one found the idea of a man of 100, and a woman of 90 years products ing children, so ridiculous that he burst into a laughing fit until he fell ou the ground ; yet at this the Lord had not been offended at all. Whilst tlien the Lord and his companions were on their way, the Lord felt undecided whether he should communicate the purpose of his journey to Abra- ham, who kept them company for some distance ; but at last he concluded to 20 THE BIBLE EXPOSED. conceal nothing from his friend Abraham, and thus deliberately told him that his design was, to go to Sodom and Gomorrha and to set those two cities on fire, as their sins were very grievous.— Why the Lord had not chosen the nearest road by coming down in a straight line from heaven upon those places, he does not explain.— Abraham, on receiving the intelligence, drew near to the Lord and a.^ked whether he intended to destroy the righteous with the wicked ? The Lord, after a long dispute with Abraham about the matter, finally declared that if there were only ten righteous he would spare the cities ; but he knew there were not as many there, and not wishing to talk any longer about it, he turned away.— We see how wicked the inhabitants must have been if there ex- isted even not ten righteous in the two cities. One would have expected there would have been at least a sufficient number of innocent little babes there, but it seems they got no babes in those places. Chapter XIX.— This chapter paints to us in lively colors how exceedingly depraved the inhabitants of Sodom and Gomorrha were. When reading it, one is no more surprised that the Lord deemed them worthy of being all burnt alive, for their wickedness surpassed all limits. They would commit no less a crime than perpetrating the most vile obscenity upon the persons of the two celestial messengers, those travelling companions of God, as soon as they arrived in Sodom? And every man of Sodom, both old and young, yea, all people from every quarter, was full of the same obscene lust. They surrounded the house of Lot,' where the celestial beings had taken their lodging, and made a dreadful uproar, supposing they should in this way get them out of doors, but they came not out. Lot then, to appease the crowd, officiously ofiered them the free use of his daughters, but the offer was rejected, they desiring nothing else than the two celestials ; and even made still more disturbance. This began at last to annoy the celestials, who therefore smote them with blindness, both small and great, so that they were in trouble how to find the door. Early on the next morning the celestials set the cities on fire.— Though this instructive and highly moral narra- tive ought to he regarded as historical tnith, since it finds a place in the holy scriptures, still there is something rather suspicious looking in it ; for instance, it looks strange that all men, both young and old, were every one of them so lively disposed that same night : still, it must be supposed that there were both some very old men and very young ones, of whom one would not have expected such wicked thoughts. Besides, it is remarkable that the chi^T passion of all those people should have been precisely a crime which is very much abhorred by almost every man, and which, moreover, is a physical impossibility for most of them. Yet Moses seems to think it edifying to represent a whole prpulation as so fond of such an unnatural passion that he has evidently taken as a model the cupidity of a host of starving wolves after a prey which is be- yond their reach ; and he entirely loses out of view the fact that there is in man naturally implanted the desire for the opposite sex, and that it is too strong ever to cease to exist with a whole population. Moses also forgets to remtmber GENESIS. 21 that in every town there live women as well as men, so that if the males were all smitten with blindness because of their wickedness, and burnt alive, the females, at least, must have run out of the fire, since they were not blind. Seeing, thus, that Moses, here has made a great mistake, by entirely forgetting the existence of females, we cannot help thinking that the tale has very much the appearance not of historical truth, but of the nasty fiction of a coarse-minded clown. Lot and his wife and daughters were led by the celestials out of the burning city, and when once on a safe road they w^ere left with the recommendation not to look back. The wife of Lot, however, being endow^ed with her share of curiosity, had the imprudence of looking back ; the consequence was that she was metamorphosed, on the spot, into a statute of salt. —This, surely, was an efficient punishment, and we must allow that the Lord proved to be a very clever hand for inventing suitable punishments ; yet how the posterity has ever come to the knowledge of this strange metamorphosis, we do not know, for so much is sure, that neither Lot nor his daughters can have seen anything of it, since they would have been metamorphosed themselves in case they had looked behind after Mrs. Lot. Or perhaps the old lady led the van, so that the family, seeing what had happened to her before their eyes, took a warning of it and did not look be- hind them. — We further learn something about the moral character of Lot's daughters. They were rescued from the tire, as we thought, for their righteous- ness and religiosity : still, the first thing we hear from them after their rescue, was to intoxicate their father, and then go to bed with him. The children of incest they thus engendered, became the stock of nations, which according to the views of the Mosaical God, must be a great blessing. Thus these daughters wero blessed for their wickedness, while they would have deserved not less than tlieir mother to have been changed into pillars of salt. Chapter XX. — This time we see Abraham again on a journey. He took his wife with him, and though she was no more very young (being past 90 years), still he took the precaution of recommending her to tell the same lie, that she was his sister, from which he once already had derived palpable profits. Th»i trick again succeeded perfectly well, for Abimelech, the king of the country, on seeing Sarah, got greatly fascinated, notwithstanding her age, and hearing that she was unmarried, took her into his house, paying Abraham a thousand silver pieces for her. Notwithstanding Abraham fared well by it, still it appears that the Lord-god did not like to see him separated from his wife ; he therefore cun. ningly invented some ruse by which Abimelech would be induced to give up the woman, namely, he firmly closed up the womb of Sarah, and of every other wo- man of Abimelech 's house (v. 18). This circumstance caused the king great uneasiness, and having dreamt for what reason he was thus treated by the Lord he hastened to restore Sarah to Abraham, whom he moreover loaded with rich presents so as to appease the anger of the Lord. — Thus we see how profitable it was to be on good terms with the Mosaical God, as with his assistance every manner of making money succeeded a,dmirably well. m GENESIS. 23 22 THE BIBLE EXPOSED. Chapter XXI .-And the Lord visited Sarah as he had said, and the Lord did unto Sarah as he had spoken, and Sarah conceived and bare a son unto Abraham in his old age, at tlie fixed time of which God had spoken to him. And Abraham called the name of the son that was born unto him, whom Sarah bare to him, Isaac (v. l-3).-We perceive now that the Lord kept his word with Sarah, doing unto her as he had spoken, and that she, with the aid ot the Lord, actually bare a son unto Abraham notwithstanding his old age.— Sarah once being a mother became jealous with Hagav, the mother of Ishmael, and she, quite regardless of the fact that she herself had offered her to her bus- band, wanted her to be driven away from their house, which was actually done. Hagar took again to the wilderness with her child, and having walked about lor some time, it at last happened that Ishmael was dying of want of water, but when he was already in the agonies of death, an angel of the Lord called out of heaven predicting that Ishmael would become the stock of a great nation— This prediction must have been a great consolafon ; the angel would still have done better by bringing something to drink. After he was gone, Hagar discov- ered a well not far off. Chapter XXIL— This chapter informs us of a rather strange command of the Lord to Abraham, viz., that he should go into the land of Moriah and there make an offering of his son Isaac. Abraham went thither, built an altar, bound his son upon it, and was going to cut his throat, but, behold, while he was in the act of raising his knife the Lord sent an angel to countermand the order. -From the circumstance that neither Abraham nor Isaac did protest acrainst the command of the Lord to offer the latter one, we may derive what pilous folks they vere. Some, however, will say that to obey a wicked command proves less pietv than to refuse abiding by it. A command given to a father to slay his own son, and then while burning his body to praise the same lord that gave him such an order, is a very wicked command, which Abraham would have done well to refuse— but we may suppose Abraham understood that the Lord wanted only to try him. The angel of the Lord, full of enthusiasm on account of Abraham's rare piety, spoke" to him a second time from on high. This time it was a repetition of that so often rehearsed promise, viz., that Abraham's seed should be in multitude as the sand of the seashore and as the stars of heavens. And his seed should hold possession of the cities of their enemies (these were probably the not cir- cumcised people), and in his seed all the nations of the earth should be blessed (v. 17, 18). ^ ^ , The phrase that all nations of the earth should be bles-sed m Abraham s seed, alludes, according to the Christian belief, to Jesus of Nazareth, whom they say to have been of Abraham's seed, and a blessing for all nations. Yet there is some objection to their explanation, that is, that the man of Nazareth was never a blessing for all nations, in particular not for the Jews. It is only the Europeans and their descendants in America and other countries, that be- y. lieve in him, altogether only a fifth of the whole population of the world, who yet are no more blessed therefore than are the Arabians or Asiatic nations that do not believe in him, since they have to endure the troubles of life as well as those. It is true that Jesus teaches that whosoever do not believe in him is damned to the fires of hell, of which they, as Christians, will be freed — but even this very doctrine would show that he was not a blessing for all nations since there are so many more human beings that do not believe in him than such that do believe ; thus the doctrines of Jesus himself should be a reason why nobody can sustain that he has been a blessing for all nations. Fur- thermore, the first part of this beautiful promise to Abraham, " that his seed should be in multitude as the stars of heaven, and that it should hold possesoioa of the cities of their enemies," never was fulfilled ; now it would not be consistent tc pretend that one part of the promise was fulfilled while the other, (and to that the most frequently repeated part), was not. — What the Mosaical angel alluded tc when speaking of a blessing for all nations, was nothing less than the great code, or book of laws, of Moses. — Moses, namely, was about to lead his host into Palestine, and intended there to make them a great and glorious nation ; for that purpose he had made mighty wise laws, full of the wisdom of the gods, and he thought those laws would civilize the whole world and therefore be a blessing for all nations. Was it thus not right that the angel which spake (and it was the hand of Moses that chronicled the fact) should foretell to the great- grandfather of the Israelites, that the blessing would come through his seed ? This, when proposed as a prophecy, would make a greater impression on the peo- ple. That Moses himself entertained a high opinion of his law-book can be ob- served from Deut. IV, 8, where he says, "And what great nation is there that hath statutes and ordinances so righteous as is all this law, which I lay before you this day ?" — The proverb says, every one think his own goose to be a swan. Chapter XXIII. — This time Moses announces us the death of the mother Sarah, in the blessed age of 127 years. Abraham went to his neighbors to buy a burial place : why he did not bury her on his own grounds, while they were extensive enough, since God had given him so much land, Moses does not ex- plain. In short, we learn that Abraham was well treated, even respectfully, by his neighbors. Chapter XXIV. — From this chapter we receive the particulars attending the marriage of Isaac, Abraham's son. — Abraham was growing old and well stricken in years (as the Bible says), and therefore he sent for his oldest ser_ vant to entrust to him some particular business, which he apparently wished to have done with before his death. 'I'he servant came and Abraham forthwith charged him under a solemn oath never to choose a wife for his young man Isaac from among the Canaan ites. The servant did not object to swear this most solemnly ; after this was done, Abraham laid a hard task upon him, that is, to go on a journey for the purpose of finding a wife for the youth Isaac /who 24 THE BIBLE EXPOSED. GENESIS. 25 according to chapter next was just 40 years old). The servant took the camels and set out for the land of Mesopothamy. And fortunate tlie servant was on his errand, for scarcely has he reached the borders of the land of Mesopothamy, when the ingenuous expedient occurred to him to place himself on guard near a well, situated by a city, and there to await the coming of the women who went to draw water, and the one who should treat him in the most civil manner he in- tended to select. It was not long before the maidens of the city came ; among them was a very handsome one, and who was a virgin, whom no man had known, (as if this was not the case with all virgins in those days). This maiden, hav- ing filled her pitcher, intended to return, but the servant of Abraham now approachinir her, begged her to give him to drink, which she not only did but offered to water the camels. The servant was so much pleased with her that he thanked God for having been so fortunate as to find her. He gave her many presents, and upon inquiring who she were, was informed that she was Ilebekkah, the daughter of Betlmel, Abraham's nephew. Having pro- cured the consent of her relations to take her with him, by giving them plenty of rich gifts, they started together on the next day on the return. When bidding farewell to her sisters they expressed the hope that she might become the mother of thousands of millions of descend-ants, and that her seed should take possession of the gates of those who hated them.— This indeed was a beautiful wish to give a young bride.— AVhen Rebekkah was getting near her new home, she at a distance discovered a young man (of 40 years) ; that young man was Isaac, but though she did not know this yet, still the sight alone of him was sufficient to make her faint and she dropped off the camel. Isaac im- mediately ran to her assistance and lifted her up and carried iier into the tent of his mother deceased, and he loved her, and felt comforted for the death of his mother. Chapter XXV.-— Though we were informed in the former chapter that Abraham had grown old and stricken by the weight of years, (and no wonder, as he must have been now upwards of 140 years.) still we read that he married again ; his second wife's name was Keturah. She bore him six children, all boys.—In Chapter XVII, 17. we saw that Abraham found the idea of his pro- creating children so ludicrous that he foil on the ground from laughing when the Lord told him so; now,however, that he was more than 40 years older, we see him marry again and yet beget a whole lot of children, and healthy ones too, for most of them became, so we are told, a little farther on, the sire of nations. Thus we see how Abraham's procreative power improved with the years. At his hundredth year he could not bring forth a child any more without the assistance of the Lord, while now, being almost half a century older, he became yet the father of a whole family.— Besides these six sons, Abraham had, they tell us now, several sons more of his concubines (v. 6), but he sent them all off to the land of the east.— Sarah, in her simplicity, had once offered him her handmaid. Poor Sarah, if she had known all, she would certainly not have done so.— When aged 175 years Abraham departed this life, and was buried in the same cave with Sarah. — The history of Abraham shows indeed some strange whims of the Lord-god in picking out his man, for Abraham had no peculiarity of a saint about him so as to be the favorite ; yet he was the favorite of God. We can but think this was because he had always proved himself to be willing to execute the first command- ment the Lord ever gave to man : be fruitful, and multiply. Now that Abraham wi.s dead, Isaac, his son, became the favorite. His wife, however, was barren at first ; but at length Isaac prayed to the Lord in her behalf, and the Lord listened to him and Rebekkah became pregnant. And it happened that the children struggled together within her womb. Rebekkah not understanding what such could be, went out and inquired of the Lord what it meant. The Lord said she had got two nations in her womb, and the one was stronger than the other. When the time was fulfilled, Rebekkah brought forth, not two nations, but two male children. The first was red, and all over like a hairy garment ; they therefore called his name Esau. The other was less hairy, and was called Jacob. The first one grew up an expert hunter, but the latter grew up a plain man, dwelling in tents. Isaac loved his elder son, because he liked the venison he shot, but Rebekkah liked her younger one best ; — probably because he made a less disagreeable appearance when yet a baby in the cradle, for, indeed, the other one must have looked like a little monkey. — And it once hap- pened that Esau came home from the field quite faint, while Jacob was en- gaged in eating a meal cooked by himself. His brother begged to give him some of it, which Jacob refused to do except on condition that he would swear off his right of the first-born, to which the other agreed. — The plain man Jacob appears in this transaction, if we may use that expression, rather as a cunning rascal. — Seeing that Isaac was sixty years old when his sons were born, accord- ing to this chapter, and seeing that Abraham died 1 75 years old, while Isaac was born at his 101st year, it follows that Abraham must have been alive when the twin brothers were born. But this fact Moses has totallv overlooked. Chapter XXVI. — Again there was a famine in the beautiful land of prom- ise, and consequently Isaac started for the land of Abimelech. — The land of Abimelech seems to have been a more desirable country than the land of milk and honey. — Isaac selected for his residence the place named Gesar, a city of the Philistines. Here it happened that the Lord appeared to him and repeated the same promise which he had repeated already half a dozen times to Abraham, concerning a multitude of seed as the sand of the sea, etc.; and this time the Lord added to the promise, the land where Isaac was now and all the countries around it. — It is to be observed, however, that the Israelites actually never got possession of the land of the Philistines, as they have never been able to drive them out or to subdue them. — furthermore, we are informed that king Abimelech fell in love with Rebekkah (who, by the by, was mother of full-grown sons) ; Isaac by way of precaution had told her beforehand that in such case she should tell she was his sister so as to prevent his being killed for her sake. 26 THE BIBLE EXPOSED. GENESIS. 2t i! But behold, it once happened that Abimeleck looked out of his window and spying into the house opposite, discovered Isaac sporting with Rebekkah. He, of course, conceived now how they had been deceiving him, but luckily for Isaac, he took the case in good humor and instead of killing him as Isaac had feared, he made him his friend, and made him rich. Isaac, having become rich, was obliged to leave the country on account of the jealousy of the Philistines. On his journey back towards his old home the Lord appeared to him once more and again repeated the same promise about the multitude of seed. Chapter XXVIL— When Isaac had grown old and blind, he once wished to bless his son Esau, provided he would treat him to a well-cooked dish of venison. Esau went out to get the same, but Rebekkah, who had overheard the discourse, called Jacob and desired him to deceive the old man by putting on Esau clothes, and a hairv skin over his face and hands. Jacob went forthwith to mask him- self in that way, and in the meanwhile Rebekkah cooked two young kids, which were to be instead of the venison. Jacob thus arrayed, approached his old father with the dish of bogus venison. The old man, after having eaten the two kids (for his appetite was great, they say) , felt Jacob's hands, as the voice of the latter made him apprehensive of some trick ; but feeling the hairy skin all suspicion vanished, and he blessed him with his blessing. Esau on his return home dis- covered how they had been robbing him out of his blessing and swore revenge. ~ Why Isaac did not bless him too, after he was told that they had deceived him, we do not know, but guess he rather put it off until he again should feel an ap- petite for venison. Chapter XX VIII.— Isaac, after all, seems to have been somewhat amused about the clever manner in which his young one had been fooling him, for he sent for him and blessed him once more. Jacob commencing now earnestly to fear the wrath of his brother, left the paternal house and emigrated towards his mother's relation. He did so, also, with the intention of finding a wife among his kin. The first night of his journey he had to pass under the open skies, and took a large stone as a pillow. Why he did not prefer something softer, such as leaves or dry grays, or something of the kind, we are not told, but one thing is sure, Jacob dreamt heavily that night. For he saw in his dream a great, great ladder, reaching from the earth up to the heaven. Up and down this enormous ladder the angels of the Lord came and went, while the Lord himself was standing at the top of it, speaking from there to the sleeping Jacob, and renewing the promise, over and over again repeated, as regards the land of promise and the multitude of seed ; but this time with the addition that he would protect Jacob wherever he might go. — This was very likely to reward Jacob's shrewdness in deceiving his old blind father. — When Jacob awoke, he poured oil on the big stone, which he had used as a pillow, and swore that he should bring him the tenth of all he ever should possess. — We doubt whether Jacob ever did what he promised ; yet his pouring of oil on the stone shows that he thought the stone was the cause of his dreaming, and de- served a compensation. Chapt. XXIX— From this spot, (namely, from Bethel), Jacob continued his journey eastwards. At last he stopped at a well (the wells played a great part in those days), and he chanced to meet there with a young shepherdess. Jacob as a well educated youth, assisted her in watering the sheep, and gave her a kiss in the bargain. This last performance proved too much for his nerves, for he began to C17 in consequence of the sensation it caused him. He accompanied the maiden towards her father's house and then learned that she was Rachel, the daughter of Laban, his uncle, (precisely the one that Jacob had wanted to find.) On 'being introduced to his uncle, he declared his intention to labor seven years for him,Vo^^iJ^^ ^^^ ^^^^^^ ^^^ *^^^ shepherdess Rachel as reward. The uncle accepted this, and the seven years soon passed by ; they seemed to Jacob (Mo- sch says so) but a few days. Laban, by that time, rather wished to get rid of his older daughter, who had got sore eyes, and accordingly-married her to Jacob instead of the younger one. Jacob has not brought the case before the court, but simply satisfied himself to serve another term of seven years to get the younger daughter, (who by that time, in all probability, must have lost the bloom of prime youth). After seven years more he got her, and was not cheated this time.— His marrying two sisters, however, was not entirely in accordance with the laws of decency, nor with the Jewish law which prohibits such marriages. (See Leviticus XVIII, 18.).— Jacob's misfortune in his double marriage was that both his wives were barren. But Leah, his first wife, discovering that Ra- chel was also barren, suddenly began to be fruitful, and gave birth to a number of sons. Chapter XXX.— Rachel, his other wife, did not like the idea of being behind, but as she herself was barren and could get no children of her own, she took her handmaid and made her bear in her stead and upon her lap. She got in that way several sons, so that Leah began to fall short ; she therefore took also her hand- maid and made her bear for her, so that the number of her sons exceeded that of Rachel.— What u happy man Jacob must have been, having two such zeal- ous wives, assisted by such handmaids ! Really a blessing of the Lord I— But at last Rachel, who had still the greatest charms for Jacob, had so completely made herself mistress of him that the other wife had no more chance to get at him. This was grievous, whereas she wished to have yet more sons ; she there- fore concluded to hire him for a night of her rival ; in this she succeeded, and in consequence, she was delivered, in due time, of one more son. At length the Lord remembered Rachel, so that she also bore a son by herself. His name was Joseph.— The family of Abraham had. as we see, a strong propensity to procre- ate sons only, who, moreover, always became the fathers of nations or of tribes. The Lord attended to their procreation wonderfully indeed.— Further we learn that Jacob, (the plain man, dwelling in tents), knew a trick whereby he could 28 THE BIBLE EXPOSED. GENESIS. 29 make that either white or speckled lambs were born, as he pleased, and by that means he succeeded in appropriating to himself all the flocks of his uncle ; by serving him one year for the white, and another year for the speckled lambs, and so on, until his uncle was poor and he rich. Chapter XXXL— The Lord-god appeared to Jacob and told him it was now time to remove from his uncle s house, and to return to the country of his fathers. Jacob consequently called a meeting of his family and acquainted them with his intention to leave the place ; at the same time telling them if he had become rich it was only in consequence of a peculiar blessing of the Lord who had sent his angel to cause either speckled or not speckled sheep to be born.— We know better, that it was not an angel, but Jacob himself who knew a trick to the purpose.— The next day Jacob stole away with all his wealth and with his large family, leaving Laban behind, stripped of all he got. Besides, Rachel, the sweet, endearing wife of Jacob, stole her father's golden image, the last piece of value left to him. Laban discovering their flight, pursued and overtook them and demanded his golden image ; now Jacob, not knowing who had stolen it, allowed him to search all over ; however, he did not find it. for Rachel had cun- ninHv hidden it under her saddle-cushion, and when her father came to search her, she revised to get up, telling him the sickness of woman was upon her, which he believed, apparently not suspecting his own daughter to be the thief. When now the golden image could not be found, Jacob, in his turn, became indignant* and managed so well that Laban was glad to make peace with him They then took a dinner together, and the next day Laban returned, but without bringing home anvthinir of all he was robbed of.— When we read such eddifying narra- lives, we do not wonder any longer why the Lord-god was so anxious to be a God for Abraham's seed alone, since the first fathers and mothers of that chosen race needed a most strict surveillance. Chapter XXXII. —On his further journeying homewards Jacob had the pleasure to meet with large numbers of angels upon the road, and he said : " here is a host of God."— This circumstance gives us another proof that in that period, the angels used sometimes to take a walk on earth. And as Moses himself calls them men (Chapt. XVIIl), and as the inhabitants of Sodom also took them for human cre.itures ; it is obvious that they got the external appearance of man- kind, and were a sort of man. But how they, with a human frame, may have managed to come from heaven and ascend again, we really cannot imagine. They had wings, you will answer ; but, then, if they got wings, the inhabitants of Sodom would have perceived their celestial origin, and probably would have been afraid of them ; therefore, it is very doubtful that they got wings, and more likely we think, they made their trip up and down per balloon. It is a pity that Moses does not instruct us on that point, for it would have greatly improved our geniographical knowledge ; we mean to say our knowl- edge of the nature and ways of living of the celestial creatures. But, unfortu- I -'-? i /.T nately, Moses has often forgotten to acquaint us with what would have been the most interesting feature of his accounts, and what he don't say we have to devine ourselves. Jacob approaching nearer to his father's home became not a little uneasy about the first meeting with his brother. He therefore sent ahead of his caravan some men with an abundance of presents for Esau, displayed in the most favor, able manner; next followed all his people and all his goods, even his wives and children, but he himself kept behind, and remained on the other side of the river alone. While thus alone a man passed by, and suddenly turning upon him, be- gan to wrestle with him. Jacob proved to be a good wrestler, still, at last he had to give it up as the other one was more than a match for him, and besides, he had his hip bruised. Jacob then begged he should let him alone, but the stranger would not, except on condition that Jacob should bless him, against which Jacob protested, declaring he did not know neither him, nor even his name. The stranger was kind enough not to stick any longer to his point, and let Jacob in peace, after having blessed him in his turn, and having told him that for the future his name would be Israel, instead of Jacob, because he had behaved himself so princely in the wrestling match. Jacob hearing the man talk in that manner, noticed at once that it could be no one less than the Lord- god himself, and he was thus, after all, very much pleased with the strange en- counter, notwithstanding his bruised hip. Chapter XXXIII. — In the morning Jacob crossed the river, and met with his brother, who. forgetting what had passed between them in times gone by' embract d him tenderly, and wanted to return to him all the presents he had sent* Jacob, nevertheless, not trusting him, told him he would follow him to their home, but instead of that, he secretly, turned in another direction, an i estab- lished himself in the neighborhood of the city of Shechem. Chapter XXXIV.— Dinah, a daughter of Jacob, (for Leah had at length given birth to a daughter), was taken away by the son of the king of Shechem. He loved her and spoke kindly to the maiden, and even went in company with his father, to ask of Jacob the hand of the damsel. Jacob and his sons were much annoyed on discovering that an uncircumcised man loved the girl, but when pressed to give an answer, they cunningly granted the request on condition that the whole male population of Shechem should be circumcised : which con. ditiun was agreed to. But see, while au the male population of Shechem was invalid, two sons of Jacob, Simeon and Levi, went out alone, taking their swords with them, and coming upon the city unawares, slew all the male inhabitants, and the voung prince and his father, and drove away the women and children as cap- tives'!— We perceive from this account, how craft was the principal attribute of Jacob's blood It is not, however, so very certain that this story is true, since it is an impossibility that two men should have massacred all the males of a city with impunity ; the males might be invalid, but still not so much so as to allow 30 THE BIBLE EXPOSED. GENESIS. 31 themselves to be butchered without resistance ; besides, the women, all con- jointly, would have been able to defend themselves against two men. We can- not help, therefore, giving it as our opinion that this story is to be placed among the other fictions the wise man Moses indulges in telling us. Chapter XXXV.— The Lord ordered Jacob to leave this place and to take his abode in Bethel, (the place of the high dream.) Jacob set off, but before starting he buried all the gods of the members of his family under a tree. — Each one seems to have had his own god, as well as Jacob had his. — AVhen Jacob and his people left, the population of the surrounding country did not pursue them, for God had brought a terror among them. Thus the Lord, instead of punishing Jacob and his sons for their rascalities, much more sided with them and protected them. This was the advantage of being in favor with the Lord ; one might sin with impunity as much as was agreeable. — AVhile Jacob was on his way towards Bethel, the Lord appeared to. him and again repeated the promise so often reiterated ; but this time adding the promise that a crowd of kings and nations should come forth from Jacob's loins. Jacob was so much pleased to learn the capacity of his loins, that he set up a stone and poured a quantity of oil on it. After staying some time in Bethel, Jacob once thought of going up to pay a visit to his old father, whom he had not seen for so many years. He did so, and came just in time to close the old man's eyes, who died 180 years old. Chapter XXXYL— Now we are informed that when Jacob had once more fixed his domicile in the land of his fathers, Esau went off, choosing the moun- tains for his residence, pretending that the land of their sojourning was too nar- row to support them both.— How Esau could call the land of Abraham and Isaac, a land of sojourning, while it was given to them by the Lord as an inher- itance forever, and how he could find it not extensive enough to contain two amilies, while the Lord intended it to be inhabited by a nution as countless in number as the dust of the earth, this we really cannot conceive, and suppose Esau only int*^nded to protest ; for he being a mighty hunter, will have pre- ferred the mountains and the distant woods, to the lowlands, so as to better in- dulge in h s favorite occupation. — Esau when in the mountains became there the sire of the Edomites, for, says Moses, Edom and Esau is the same name. — Prob- ably because both names commence with an E. — Among the Edomites many a mighty king arose ; Moses mentions some of the most distinguished among them ; we are srlad at least to learn their names, as without Moses we would never have heard of any of these mighty men. Chapter XXXYII.— Here we are told that Joseph, the pet of his father, reported to him all the gay pranks of his older brothers, who on that account did not like him, and when he furthermore began to dream strange dreams, the dis like grew into hatred, and they conceived the idea of murdering him. They would I* S have put their idea into execution were it not for the oldest brother Reuben, who was opposed to this action. They, for that reason, did not kill him, but sold him into slavery, so as to get rid of him at all events, and told their father he was devoured by wild beasts. — There again we have an example of the integrity and virtuous feelings of the sons of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, destined by the Lord-god to become the stock of his chosen nation. In former days he cursed Cain for having slain his brother, but the sons of Jacob, who were no better than Cain, were not punished at all. ALraham had been the particular friend of God, and thus, as a matter of course, his seed would participate in the favor. Chapter XXXVIIL— Judah, one of the sons of Jacob, took his residence at Hirah's. While there he got acquainted with a Canaanite damsel, and begat three sons with her. Two of them were slain by the Lord because they were very wicked.— The cause of their wickedness was, probably, because their mother was a Canaanite; had she been of Abraham's seed, the Lord would not have conceived such a notion as that they were wicked.— Further we read that Judah, (who, the reader must know, became the sire of the chief tribe of Israel,) once met his daughter-in-law between two fountains ; she had disguised herself in order to catch him. He, upon seeing her, thought her to be a harlot, and at once, near the fountain, took advantage of the chance which thus presented it- self. This daughter-in-law, for her part, made use of the opportunity to rob him of his signet, his scarf and his staff. Fortunate for her it was that she did so, for not with impunity could any woman have intercourse with one of Abra- ham's seed ; also, it came to pass that she grew very much in circumference, even so that it attracted the attention of the folks of Judah's house, who re- ported the circumstance to Judah. He thereupon ordered they should burn her alive ; but as they were about to do so, she jumped up, and holding out her hand, showed to Judah his signet, his scarf, and his staff, which he thought stolen by the harlot. When seeing what she showed him, he was dumb-struck on the spot, and did not repeat the order to burn her, but countermanded the same. Soon after this, the daughter-in-law was delivered of two children, both boys ; the mid-wife took very great pains to ascertain who of the two would be the first to make his appearance in the world, or be the first-born, but, though she gave herself much trouble, it remained a case not to be decided on, as they both made a first appearance, each in his turn. The one was called Pharez, the other Zarah. Chapter XXXIX.— Joseph, when sold as a slave, was taken into Egypt, where Potiphar, an eminent man, a captain of the guard of Pharaoh, bought him. He soon made him overseer of his house. Now it came to pass that the wife of Potiphar, seeing the young overseer, took a great fancy to him, so much so that she took it into her mind to seduce him ; but as she was not successful in her proceedings, she decided to commit a rape. Joseph, the virtuous Joseph, however, was not so easily to be deprived of his virtue, and he escaped from her 3S THE BIBLE EXPOSED. GENESIS. S3 embraces, having lost nothing but his linen garment, which remamed m her hands -The conduct of Joseph is, for a certainty, a very praise-worthy ine» and indeed may serve as a good example to the young men (f later ages; nevertheless, that Joseph should have been so entirely an alien to the disposition of his patriarchal blood, looks somewhat extraordinary ; or it must be that Mrs. Potiphar was not of the handsomest cast and not fit to the taste of any young man. If, though, Joseph had been less scrupulous, and had suffered himselt to be seduced, we would, as we are aware of, have been left without this beautiful example of youthful virtue ; but, on the other hand, what a benefit would the land of Egypt have drawn from this event ! For we may be certain that at least one i not two, sires of nations, would have owed to this event their seeing the light of the world ; but, alas, the Lord did not allow this so to be. Alas, we say lot E-yptl-The wife of Potiphar, finding herself placed in an awkward position towards her overseer, helped herself out of the fix by turning the tables accusing him as her ag-ressor, and showing his linen garment as the price of her vie tory. The consequence was that Joseph was sentenced to P"^;^" f %^''^ time.-Strange enough they did not burn him alive; but probably the Lord was with him, and prevented such a punishment. CiiAPTFR XL.-Joseph, while in the prison, got once a fair opportunity to show his ability as an interpreter of dreams. In some of the preceding chap- ters we saw tha\ Joseph himself dreamt dreams, of which he, innocently, under- stood nothing, but the dreams of others he did understand now. He interpreted the dreams of the butler and of the baker of Pharaoh's house, who were both put in prison, and his interpretations proved to be right. Chapter XLI.-Two years later the king himself dreamt also ; yea dreamt two dreams in one night. This circumstance disturbed him exceedingly, and he therefore sent for all the wise men of his kingdom that they should explain the dreams None of them, however, could make out what might be the exact event foreshadowed bv those dreams, (which shows that they were not yet very wise, since the plainest fortune-teller of our days would have given an interpreta- tion.) Then, it happened that the butler remoiabered Joseph, and recom- mended him to Pharaoh, who instantly sent for him. Joseph explained : seven vears of plenty would come over Egypt, J^.nd thereafter seven years of famine.' This interpretation had the happy result that the king (without ihe slio-htest proof that what Joseph said was tnv ), appointed him on the spot chi'ef-victualler over the whole land of Egypt. And a good choice had Pharaoh made, for better victualler had never existed in the world ; the king's granaries were 'filled in tlie seven years of plenty so abuiidantly that the heaps of grain they contained were as the sand of the sea, r.nd could be measured no more. Joseph got married with a daughter of Potipher's wife, and begat two sons, Ephraim and Madasse. i\ Chapter XLII. — And a faminf came over the land of Canaan (the happy land of promise). Jacob, therefore, sent his sons to buy grain in Egypt. 'I'he youngest one, Benjamin, he kept at home, 'i'he sons of Jacob, on coming into Egypt, made their appearance before the great victualler, but did not know him to be their brother. Joseph, for his part, though he recognized them, gave them not to understand who he was, and seemed to rejoice in showing his power. He said that he thought them to be spies, and as they said that they had yet a younger brother, he ordered them to fetch him in order to prove their innocence ; in the mean time he would keep one of them, Simeon, as a hostage. — A fine way of proving their being no spies. Chapter XLYIII.— The brothers, when returned to Canaan, went not im- mediately back to release their brother Simeon, for the old man would not part with Benjamin, and preferred, it appears, to see the other one in prison. Still, at last the famine began to rage so violently again that the brothers wanted to go once more, and this time they succeeded in getting Benjamin to go with them. They now were well received by the victualler, who invited them to din*^ ner ; still, he gave to Benjamin of every meal five times larger allowances than to the others. They may, as it would seem from this, not have had too much to eat on this banquet, yet they got plenty to drink, which ia at least something to speak of. That they got plenty to drink appears from the fact that they all got intoxicated, Joseph as well as they (v. 34). Chapter' XLIV. — When the morning twilight began to show itself, Joseph allowed his brothers to retire from the banquet. Yet, the strange idea came into his head (very likely on account of his intoxication), to play a bad joke upon his brothers, and to frighten them still more than the former time. He for that purpose caused his silver-cup to be hidden in Benjamin's travelling-bag, and when they were gone, he sent people to overtake them ; the cup was found with Benjamin, who, under the impeachment of being the thief, was kept behind. Chapter XLY. — Joseph thereupon observing the anxiety of his brothers, could restrain his tender feelings no longer, and ordering all men out of the room, save his brothers, disclosed to them the secret, of his being their brother. He did this under a flood of tears, and sobbed so loud that they heard it all over town, even in the house of Pharaoh. He further told his-brothers how God had blessed him, and made him like a father unto Pharaoh. — And Joseph told, also to the king what had passed, and Pharaoh gave him permission to send for Jacob and allowed him to reside in the best part of the laud. Chapter XLYI. — Jacob learning that his Joseph was still alive, set out for the land of Egypt. On the night previous of his departing the Lord spake to him, assuring him that he would follow him in Egypt, and return with him in later days.— Thus we see the Lord was obliged to travel, if he wished to bepres- 34 THE BIBLE EXPOSED. GENESIS. S5 ent in another place ; this however we knew already. — The number of people who accompanied Jacob on his journey was 70 men, namely 32 sons and grand- sons of Leah and 16 of her handmaid; and 14 of Rachel and 7 of her hand- maid. VYe see that the legitimate wives of Jacob got each twice the number of offsprings that their handmaids had ; this was very likely by special provision of the Lord, as was the case with ;lieir having born sons only. Chapter XLYII.— Tlie famine was very oppressive at the time they ar- rived in Egypt, but Joseph maintained them all with the bread of Pharaoh. This doing of Joseph was, it is true, a loss to the king, but on the other hand we learn, how much profits he drew out of the Egyptians in favor of the king, so that Pharaoh, after all, can have had no reason for complaints. In the first year, since Jacob's arrival, Joseph earned all the money the Egyptians got, by selling them bread in behalf of Pharaoh. The next year he took all the cattle of the Egyptians, in exchange for bread. The year thereafter he took possession of all the lands of the P^gyptians, also in exchange for bread, all for the benefit And account of Pharaoh. The lands however, he gave them back, under agree- ment that they should henceforth contribute to the king a fifth part of their crops.— We may imagine how profitable an agent Joseph was for this royal bread dealer. Still we must say that fortune aided him very much, since the Egyptians were so passionate bread-eaters ; for in any other country he would not have succeeded so well, as the people would have preferred eating the meat of their cattle to exchanging them for such expensive bread. Yet we do not see why Joseph gave the lands back with tl e agreement that they should con. tribute yearly a fifth part of the crops, for we saw in Chapter XLI. that he took the fifth part away without having the least right to it, hence he needed no con- tract on that point. However, considering all things together, we must acknowledge, he was the smartest financier the king could ever have chosen, and the ablest bread-dealer the world ever saw. Chapter XLVIII.— Here we read the very affecting account of Jacob's last moments. The old man feeling his end approaching called for Joseph and his two sons. These latter ones he saw now for the first time, (though, according to Moses, Jacob had lived 17 years in Egypt.) He blessed them both, and as it was his first and his last blessing to them, we may imagine how solemn that was. What he said, was spoken in prophetical language, the essence of which was, that they both should become the sires of a nation (or tribe), even they should multiply like the fishes.— ^^hat this blessing must have been highly gratify- ing to the sons of Joseph is to be fancied, when one keeps in mind that one fish lays ten thousand eggs in a season, and some even more. — Thereupon he blessed Joseph, and presented him with a piece of land in Canaan, which he said he had won with sword and bow from the Amorites.— We never knew that Jacob had fought any more but the one wrestling-match with the Lord. It may be though, that Moses has not related us all his grand feats. We must acknowledge that in case Jacob actually conquered a piece of land, he could leave its administra- tion in no better hands than those of Joseph ; however we fear that if Joseph should have tried to take possession of it, he also would have had to make use of bow and sword to do so. Chapter XLIX.— After this Jacob called a meeting of all his sons, and blessed th-em ail, speaking every word of it in prophetical language, and often using even elegant, poetical expressions. Judah was now number one on the list, and received the great'ist blessing ; he was a lion-welp, and his brothers should bow before him ; the sceptre should be with him and should not depart from him, (namely from his descemlants), nor the lawgivers from between his feet, until Shiloh should come ; when Shiloh came, then, to him should be the gathering of the people. And Sliiloh should bind his foal on the vine and wash his garments in wine and have his eyes red from drinking wine, and his teeth white from milk. (v. 9-13).— The Christians see in these words a very plain pre phecy of their Christ. It might however be remarked that their Christ has the name of Jesus, which is not tlie sime name as Shiloh. The gathering of the peo. pie, (viz. the people of Israel) has neither been towards him. Nor do we know that Jesus was in the habit of binding his foal on the vine, or of washing his gar- ments in wine and having eyes red from wine. Moreover the scepter had de- parted from the tribe of Judah already some 400 years before Jesus made his appearance in the world ; therefore, considering these differences, between Shiloh and Jesus, nobody with the least good sense can maintain that this contains a prophecy of Jesus. The vShiloh of whom here is spoken, has never made his ap- pearance, but as it was necessary that something should be foretold by a dying patriarch, Moses thought it proper to let him prophecy a great king for all the tribes. Whether that king would have red eyes or not, did not matter much but since the red eyes would be a proof of his drinking a great deal of wine, and this again of his living in a country producing a great deal of wine, therefore Moses thought it convenient to portray him with red eyes.— lliat Judah never has been a lion-welp, and that his brethren have not bowed before him, we scarcely need to remark, since every one must know that after Solomon the other tribes separated ft-om Judah^ and never were united again. Jacob proceeded with his distribution of blessings, but we fear that to talk so much was too heavy a task for his feeble head, and that this caused him to talk delirious language, for we hear him say : Issachar is a strong boned ass, crouchinof down between two burdens (v. 14.), Dan shall be a serpent by the way, an adder on the path, that biteth the horse's heel, etc. (v. 17). Gad ; a troop shall overcome him but he shall overcome at last (v. 19). Asher, his bread shall be fiit, and he shall yield royal dainties (v. 20). Naphtali. is a fruitful bough, a fruitful bough near a well, etc. (v. 22). Seeing that to be fruitful was such a desirable thing, and that to be near a well was of great significancy, we, on that account, imagine that the blessing 36 THE BIBLE EXPOSED. for Naphtali was a very desirable one. For tlie rest, we find all these blessings very poetical, but do not perceive the sense of them ; whether Moses, the author of this book, did understand the sense of it any more than we do, we doubt very much. Chapter L.— When Jacob was dead all the inhabitants of the land of Egypt, wept for him during seventy days. After the expiration of these days all the children and grandchildren of Jacob, and all the elders of the Egyptians went out to the land of Canaan, there to bury him.— Joseph returned to Egypt, had a happy old age, he saw his progeny, even down to the third generation after his sons, and the children of Machir were all born upon his knees— which seems to have been a peculiar good fortune.- -When llO years old he died. EXODUS. Chapter I.— Here we are informed that the children of Israel grew very numerous, and became exceedingly mighty. A new king (Pharaoh) rose up in Egypt, and he said : " behold the people of Israel is mightier than we, come let us deal wisely with them lest they multiply, and it come to pass, that when there be a war, they join our enemies and fight against us, and depart from the land." Thereupon they set taskmasters over them to suppress them with burdensome labours.— From what this king said, we are inclined to con- clude, that he was somewhat out of his senses, for, in the first place, if the people of Israel was mightier than the Egyptians, it was dangerous to undertake anything violent against them ; besides Egypt having become their native soil (for they lived already 430 years in Egypt, according to Exod. XII.) there could be no fear of their joining the enemy, nor of their departing from the land, And even if they had done the latter, the king ought to have been well pleased since he deemed them dangerous companions, llie whole speech is therefore nothing but a compound of nonsense ; and the only thing which it shows, is, that in" case the Egyptians suppressed the people of Israel with burdensome la. bour. they can have been nothing more but the slaves of the Egyptians, since in those days there existed no free labour, and the only condition between the one that ordered the work, and the one that did the work, was that of master and slave. Considering the people of Israel as slaves of the Egyptians, it wonld be- come intelligible why the king could have apprehensions of their takiug up arms as Lord- ship promised unto Abraham. (See our comment on this m Deut. XI.) Chapter VII —The Mosaical God entertained a high opinion regarding the excellent qualities of his friend Moses, for he said unto him: I have made thee a God to Pharaoh, and Aaron be thy prophet (v. 1).-It is sometlung, as may he imagined to be appointed a God. Particularly in those days it was worth Se St e in thaUime a God had not to trouble himself in the least about Z Taws of nature, nor about what was good or evil, but had '"lH-«"!^. *« d« whatever might please his fancy. Whether Pharaoh cared much about this God Lin. appoi ted over him, we rather doubt, and firmly beheye that he wouM Tave mJe him undergo the pain of death, without the shghtest hes.tat.on^ he had but known all his plots against him.-Further the Lord eommumca^ to Moses his intention of hardening Pharaoh's heart, in order to procure for Moses an pportunity of exhibiting his great power of miracles and s.gns. These s.gns would be so wonderful even as to astonish the coming generations. — That the Lord could harden Pharaoh's heart to procure for Moses the opportunity of gratifying his vanity, proved in fact that the Lord's heart itself was rather har- dened ; we were made to think that he was tenderhearted, but we cnscover that he was not. — The great miracles that Moses performed, were immediately repeated by the Egyptian priests. This shows that they were based upon priestly secrets. The priest of antiquity drew not, as the priests of the present age, a large con- gregation by making a sensation-sermon, but they allured their congregation around them, by performing some piece of necromancy ; they were accordingly almost all dexterous magicians, knowing many secrets pertaining to the black art, and which secrets descended as an inheritance from father to son. Moses being the son-in-law of a priest, who got no sons of his own but only daughters, will have had his secrets communicated to him, and knew, we see, to make the most of them. — Notwithstanding all the miracles, Pharaoh's heart remained hardened. Apparently he was accustomed to see many similar miracles. Chapter YIIL — An other miracle of Moses was to cause the river and the ponds, and the house of Pharaoh and his servants to produce plenty of frogs. — We do not know whether the Egyptians were amateurs of eating frogs, if so, they may have rejoiced over this god-sent miracle. How Moses produced so many frogs we do not precisely know, but seeing that fishes can be produced artificially and be sown almost like grain (as the pisciculculture shows), we should not be astonished if that also could be done with the frogs. Their seed, or eggs, is to be found in large quantities in swampy places, and why should that, when trans- ferred to another moist place, not come to maturity as well as do the eggs of fishes- Moses having many of the slaves under control, may easily have prevailed upon them to assist him in such performances of holy miracles. — Next, Moses brought over Egypt a prodigious multitude of flees, bugs, and lice. — A very god-like wonder at all events! By piling up a large quantity of old rags and all sort of filth, one will get in a short time a prodigious number of these agreeable insects, without any particular assistance of the Mosaical God. — Thereupon the Lord brought forth a frightful multitude of wild beasts (probably rats and mice) into the houses of Pharaoh and the Egyptians. For a moment Pharaoh thought of giving the Hebrews leave for three days, but the Lord hardened again his heart, and he would not let them go. Chapter IX. — Another plague came, to wit : all the cattle of the Egyptians died, but those of the Israelites died not.— Such miraculous plague, though im- posing, is easily to be performed with some poison, either in the drink or in the food of the cattle. — After this came again another plague; the EL'-yptians got all full of ulcers. — A godlike miracle ! bu it is known that nothing is easier than to transplant diseases of the skin. One has but to take the clothes of a thoroughly diseased person, and leave them for some time in contact with those of other persons, and soon they will be infected with the same disease. When M 42 THE BIBLE EXPOSED. EXODUS. 48 a man like Moses, who had the slaves of the Egyptians under control, would per- form such a highly moral miracle, nothing was easier for him, since among the Hebrews the diseases of the skin were very common, as may be inferred from the mosaical laws regarding these diseases. There may be said that if Moses performed this miracle without the Lord, it was a foul act of his ; we agree that the production of ulcers was a very foul thing, but the reader ought to bear in mind, that Moses performed his miracles for the glory of the Lord, and since the end was praiseworthy, we have not to censura the means. — After tiiis followed a dreadful storm of hail, which destroyed all the crops.— This was a great plague, no doubt, but observing that a storm of hail is a phenomenon often occurring in summer time, and brought forth by nature, without human aid, and without having need of the intermeddliiig of the miracle-god of Moses, we presume that if a storm has taken place, neither Moses nor his Lord have had anything to do with it. But, since Moses was appointed a God (Exod. YIL) why, should we won- der at his fancying everything he saw in nature to come from himself. Chapter X. — The Lord descended from above to inform Moses that he had hardened Pharaohs heart yet a little more, in order to give Moses a chance of performing the last grand miracle, which would be such an amazingly grest one that even the great grand-children of the Egyptians should remember it, and should know who was the Lord. — The great Mosaical God thought thus, that the only way to make himself respected, was by plagues and acts of cruelty. He wanted the people to fear, but not to love him. — The next thing Moses did, was not yet the grand miracle, it was only the production of a multitude of locusts. — A very troublesome plague, we confess, but as the locust pay almost every sum- mer a visit to Egypt, Syria and all the countries of that region, this plague was as little a miracle as tne hailstorm. — Thereupon came a thick darkness over Egypt. — A darkness can be occasioned by an eclipse of the sun ; and a sort of darkness can also artificially be occasioned by a thick smoke of moist and rot- tening wood and plants. That Moses calls the dusk caused by smoke, darkness, we perceive in Exod. XIV. and Exod. XX 15, 18 and Deut. V. Now nothing is easier than to go forth a distance from a town where there are woods in the neighbourhood, and there to make a mock cloud of smoke by burning the woods and bushes and crops. Chapter XL — At last the grand final plague was to come off. This plague was, that all the first-born sons of the Egyptians, should die in one night, rhe Hebrew were however ordered by the Lord not to mention a word of it, and not to show in the least that the Lord made any difference between them and the Egyptians. They should also borrow of the Egyptians jewels of gold and silver, n order to take them with them when they started. Chaptrr Xn. — The night fixed bv the Lord for the execution of his grand project, was the 10th. of the month. During the night of that day every Hebrew family should roast a lamb and eat it until nothing was left. If a lamb was too much for one family, they should share it with their friends, for no piece of any lamb was to be left. With the blood of the lamb they should besmear the door outside, so that the Lord when passing by during the night to slay, might distinguish the Hebrew from the Egyptian-houses, and know where to send the destroyer (the murderer). — Seeing that the servants of the Egyptians were Hebrews, tl ey probably have unlocked during the night the doors of the Egyp- tian houses, in order to get out to partake of the lamb with their friends, and in this way they may, unknowingly, have favored the entrance of the destroyer. Moses certainly must have known the reason why he ordered them to eat a lamb. That the destroj-er would have been sent by the true God, nobody, who has some faith in divine justice, will be apt to believe, for the slaughter of the first-born sons of Egypt was the most unjust and cruel act to be imagined. The first-born sons could of course not help that Pharaoh's heart was hardened. A God could therefore never have been base enough to perpetrate such a villany, as is this murder of so many innocents. Such an excess of wickedness could only arise in the black soul of an ambitious priest, who, in order to hold himself the reigns of supreme command, did not care whether he made thousands of others unhappy. Whocan tell us if not the ambitious Moses went out in the night, accompanied by an assassin, whom he sent in the houses where he deemed it proper to have one killed. It were not all first-born ones that were killed ; the destroyer seems sometimes to have taken the wrong one, though he always destroyed one, for V. 30 says, and there was no house in which there was not a dead. The kingdom of Pharaoh was, they say, the ancient town of Babylon on the Nil, opposite the site where in later days Memphis was built ; now the number of houses of a kingdom consisting of one town, cannot have been so numerous, or one or two assassins will have been able to kill a person in each house in the course of one night, pro- vided the doors were left open. There is therefcre no miracle to be seen in this plague, and it only could be mentioned as an example to show to what an excess the wickedness of the priest is apt to grovv, when driven by ambition. — The Lord ordained this night should be remembered every year, and he described in a prolix manner how it should,. be celebrated. — The Lord seemed not to understand that the best thing he could have done, would have been to obliterate as much as possible this night of frightful massacre — but, alas, the heart of the Lord seems to have been yet more hardened than that of Pharaoh. When the king heard of the death of all the first-born, he allowed the He" brews to leave. — This Moses, says now ; but afterwards in Chapt. XIV he con- tradicts himself on this point.— Moses gave forthwith the signal to start, and the Hebrews taking in haste all the jewels of gold and of silver, which they could lay hold on, from the Egyptians, followed him on the road of Succoth. They were six hundred thousand men strong, says Moses, not counting the women and children — We fear that Moses was somewhat mistaken as to the number, for COO. 000 full grown males would make a population of at least five times that number, the women and children also counted ; and as we saw there were only 44 THE BIBLE EXPOSED. EXODUS. 45 two mid-wives at the disposal of the Hebrew women, we cannot think that pop- ulation to have been so numerous. Also, Moses will, probably have had no time left on the road of Succoth, to count them ; what he says is thus merely a guess. In Deut. VII. 7 Moses owns that the number of the Hebrews was very small ■when they left Egypt. • Chapter XIII.— While now the Israelites were marching on, the Lord went before them. In daytime he kept himself in a pillar of cloud, and during the night he kept himself in a pillar of fire. (v. 21.)— The Lord seems to have ap- proved the use of Russian baths ; for, as is known, the Russians after having brought themselves artificially in perspiration, cool themselves down by a sudden plunge into a cold bath. The Lord did the same, after having passed the whole night in a pillar of fire, he cooled himself down on the next morning in a pillar of cloud. We hope his health will not have sufiered by it. Whilst then the Lord eat in the pillar, leading the march of his chosen people, he leit, as it seems, the rest of the world to its own fate, and no wonder, a gang of run-away slaves, and thieves besides, needed fully his most careful supervision. The pillar of tire, in which the Lord sat, was very likely a portable lighthouse, drawn ahead of the Hebrew host, on the top of which Moses kept a fire burning at night to lighten the way ; but during the daytime, when the fire was smoking Irom under the ashes, it was a pillar of cloud. Such a lighthouse, built like a little tower, was at the same time useful to overlook from the inside of it, the whole army of Hebrews. Chapter XIV.— When it was told to the king of Egypt that the children of Israel had fled (v. 5) he ordered forthwith six hundred iron chariots to be brought out, and went on the pursuit of them.— The expression - fled " shows plainly that Moses was mistaken in Chapt. XII. when he said, the king gave them leave to go.— That the king pursued the children of Israel was again a hardening of his heart by the Lord, to the efiect of gaining to himself honor at the cost of Pharaoh and his host. (v. 4;. T'he Israelites perceiving they were pursued, complained bitterly of having been allured^ into following Moses.— This again shows that Moses and his Lord were more anxious to free the people, from niaking bricks and doing hard labour, than they were themselves.— The pillar of the Lo°rd who at first had gone in front of the army went now in the rear, in order to bring dark.iess over the array of the Egyptians, but light in that of the Ibraelites-— The darkness alluded to here, was. without doubt, a darkness of smoke. Namely, if Moses let burn on his pharos a large quantity of moist wood, then the smoke passing over the Egyptian army would make it difficult for them to distinguish what was before them or which road they were follow- ing. -Thus, wonderfully protected by the Lord, the children of Israel crossed during the night the sea, in a miraculous manner ; the waters split asunder and were a wall unto them. The Egyptians followed them ; but behold, when in the morning the Israelites had reached the opposite shore, the sea came back and Pharaoh and all his host were drowned. — This, certainly, was a grand and timely applied miracle — but, why should the army of the Hebrews have gone through the sea, while there exist a way by land, viz., the defile of suez, which leads from Enypt into Asia ; the miracle of splitting the waters and setting them up as a wall, is therefore entirely useless ; and we for this reason do firmly believe that the Hebrews cannot have looked sharp out of their eyes when they thought to see walls of water ; they merely may have seen a wall of rocks and sandhills along the coast. They marching on the beach, between the hills and the water, very probably have been told by Moses, these hills were the water standing as a wall, and as it was dark and many of them never may have seen the sea before, a number of them may have believed it. Moses most likely has chosen the beach for a road in order to make a shorter cut, and will have made use of the time of ebbing. The Egyptians following him closely, apparently, have not calculated that they, with their iron chariots, could not advance as fast in the sandy beach ; and thus when the time of high tide came, they have yet been on the beach, while the Hebrews were already on higher ground. The tide of the red-sea comes very suddenly ; they therefore had no time to draw their iron chariots up hill and were obliged to leave them at the mercy of the waves. Without their iron chariots the Egyptians could not fight, since their method of warfare was based on tlie use of these vehicles, they on that account, in all probability, have returned homewards ; leaving it to Moses to tell they were all drowned. The Egyptians were unfortunate in their expedition, but a miracle is not to be seen in this event. Chapter XV. — Moses now writes down the hymn which the children of Israel sung that morning. There must have been quick poetic spirits among them to compose a song relating to the occasion as soon as that. The song is not without character, since it seems to have served as a model to all other bib- lical poets, as the author of the psalms and the prophets.— Further we are in- formed that the water in the wilderness was bitter, and the children of Israel grumbled ; Moses went to the Lord and told him this ; the Lord thereupon showed him a tree, which Moses threw into the water and the water became sweet.— The Lord was sitting inside of the pillar, as we saw in Chapt. XIII ; thus probably he pointed out with his hand, out of the pillar, the tree which Mo- ses had to take. There are several trees and plants which contain a sweet juice, for instance the root of the Licorice is very sweet, and would give a sweet taste to water. It may be the Lord showed him a tree or plant of similar properties. Chapter XVL— When the army was led still further into the wilderness the children of Israel murmured still more against Moses and Aaron, and told them they rather had died in Egypt than wander in the desert ; in Egypt they sat by the fleshpot and ate bread to the full. (v. 3) .--This proves that the He- brews had not so bad a living in Egypt, and merely had followed Moses on ac- count of his promise of a land of milk and honey, which now proved to be the I 46 THE BIBLE EXPOSED. EXODUS. 4T desert.— Moses and Aaron entreated the people, most pathetically, not to mur- mur against them, for this was murmuring against God. And lo, what would happen— while Aaron was yet speaking, the Glory of the Lord made his appear- ance in the pillar of cloud, and spoke, communicating to the children of Israel that they henceforth should get meat towards the evening, and in the morning they should be filled with bread, (v. 10-12).— Considering that the Hebrews were starving, we must allow that the communication made, was for this once a divine one, but in all other times we would have thought such communication more congruous with the dignity of a cook than with the dignity of such a grave being as the great Lord of Israel. If the Glory of the Lord was personified on this occasion by some particular friend of Moses, who mounting into the pharos pronounced from one of its buUseyes the said communication, we cannot state to a certainty, but are inclined to think so, since a Glory, without mouth, cannot speak.— And it happened that quails came up at night and covered the camp, and in the morning there was upon the face of the wilderness something fine in grains, small as the hoar-frost on the ground, (v. 13, 14). And the children of Israel called the name thereof Manna, and it was like coriander seed, white, and its taste was like wafers with honey, (v. 31.)— We will afterwards have an op- portunity to discover that the quails came later (see Num. XI). Considering that the quails and the manna were eatables, they must have been exceedingly welcome to the hungry children of Israel and worth to be called a godly gift ; but that they herefore should have rained from heaven, we doubt very much, since they were, visibly, earthly products, and no products from the skies. There exist in the southern part of Asia, a tree, the name of which we have forgotten, whose seed is very light, so that it is carried off by the wind, sometimes to pretty great distances ; this seed may be eatable ; who now can tell us if not Moses has led his host to a place not far distant from a grove consisting of such trees? If he has done so, he has at all events done better, than to have led them into places where no food was to be found. And also the very plants, or weeds, wherewith the wilderness doubtlessly was covered, may have produced an eata- ble seed, somewhat resembling coriander seed. That the quails came at that place, was no wonder either, for they may have been almost as hungry as the children of Israel themselves, and have relished the manna as much as they did. The quails of the wilderness not being accustomed to be shot at by man, as do the quails of present days, were probably tamer, and, while greedily feeding upon the manna, may easily have been killed with sticks and stones. In Central. America, they say, large flights of wild pigeons will sometimes full down on corn fields and are then often so rapaciously engaged in picking the grains, that the farmers kill them with sticks by hundreds. Why should this not also have been the case with the quails of the wilderness ? Chapter XVII.— Again the children of Israel murmured, this time because they had nothing at all to drink ; they regretted still more to be gone out of Egypt, and in their passion were on the point of stoning Moses and Aaron, (v. 4). But Moses and Aaron escaped out of their hands. Moses now went to the Lord and asked what should bo done. The Lord answered, Moses should strike with his staff upon the rock Ilorcb and water should spring forth. Moses did so in presence of a few Israelites, and the water came and he called the place Meri- bahi — Moses would have acted wiser by performing this convincing piece of mi- raculous power before the whole congregation ; for, seeing that he has not done so, they could suspect him of having gone with some friends in search of a spring, and having found one, to have given out that he had gotten the water by a stroke of his staff, so as to make it appear more wonderful. — Thereupon came Amaleck and fought against the children of Israel. — Amalech was probably a herdsman, to whom the spring or well, belonged, and who, wanting the water for his own flocks, did not wish to see it drained by a host of vagabonds ; hence he tried to drive them away. — Moses and Aaron did not join in the fight, but wetit on the top of a hill. Moses was of great utility on that spot, for he, by holding his hand up, could make that Israel prevailed, but when holding his hand down, Amalech prevailed. — One should take this to be a great miracle, but the fact is, that anybody being on the top of a hill, can easily see what is going on in the valley, and can thus easily regulate the holding of his hand, either up or down, according to how he sees matters are going.— Moses tells us that Amalech was defeated, and he found this affair such a glorious war, that he ex- claimed in extacy : The Lord will have war with Amalech from generation to generation ! — From Deut. XXV we discover however, that it was not Amalech but Israel that was defeated. Chapter XVIII. — Jethro, the father-in-law of Moses came to pay him a visit. He brought with him Zipporah, Moses' wife, and their two children.— of whom we never hear anything afterwards. — Jethro was greatly rejoiced, and felt sanctified, by beholding all the good the Lord had done for Israel— What the good was is not plain. — And Jethro blessed the Lord, and declared he was great above all Gods. — There are accordingly yet other Gods. Chapter XIX. — In the third month after the children of Israel had left Egypt, they arrived in the neighborhood of the mount Sinai and encamped there. Moses went up the mountain to communicate with the Lord. The Lord told liim, he should advise the children of Israel to remember what he, the Lord, had done unto the Egyptians, and how he, the Lord, had carried the children of Is- rael on eagle wings, and they therefore should obey his voice and keep his cove- nant. — We do not see that the eagle wings of the Lord were very rapid in their flight, since the children of Israel after 2 or 3 months' travelling, were not further advanced than the mount Sinai, which is situated but a short distance from the red sea ; we therefore do not see why the children of Israel should obey the Lord's voice out of thankfulness for that ; nor do we see which covenant they should keep, since it was the Lord that had to keep his covenant (of bringing the people to a land of milk and honey) but not the people that had to keep any tl 48 THE BIBLE EXPOSED. EXODUS. 49 «l covenant whatever, since they never had made one.— Further, the Lord made known to the children of Israel, that after two days he would descend upon the mount, and from the top of it speak to the people. At the same time JVloses was ordered to prevent every one from approaching the mountain under penalty of death.— Whereas v. 6 says, the children of Israel were elected by God to be a kingdom of priests, we cannot suppose their footsteps would have desecrated the holy mount ; thus we suppose there must have existed some other secret reason, why they were prohibited to approach ; namely the mountain was to be fitted up for the occasion.— And it came to pass on the third day, that there were thunder and lightning and heavy clouds upon the mountain, and an exceedingly loud voice of a cornet was heard, so that all the children of Israel trembled. Moses went now to the people and bringing them out, placed them at the foot of the mount. They being there, the mount began to smoke at every part, and the voice of the cornet waxed louder and louder, till the smoke became as the smoke of a furnace ; and the whole mount quaked greatly, because the Lord had de- scended upon it in fire (v. 16-1 9). —We do not read that the people saw the Lord descending from heaven, they only saw a great deal of smoke and fire, and felt the mountain shaking. This all, was, surely, a very imposing show, worth to be exhibited by a supreme God ; if however Moses should have had dug with the help of some assistants (nam.ely by those who were introduced into the mysteries) a number of little mines, and had them filled with some explosive in- gredients, he could, without the aid of the Lord, have caused the same effects to occur as narrated here. There may be objected to this, that at the time of Moses the gunpowder was not known yet, and that he therefore could not have done such a thing. ^Ve nevertheless propose that gunpowder or something like it was actually known to Moses, because we see him perform several miracles for the periormance of which some explosive stuff was requisite (for instance the falling down of the walls of Jericho, etc), and considering that the gunpowder was known by the Chinese, now four thousand years ago, according to their history, it would be nothing very surprising if the Egyptians, or at least the Egyptian priests, had also known it. Besides it was not necessary that it were gunpowder like that we use, since every combustible when mixed with salt- petre and sulphur, will become explosive and produce the same effect. Chapter XX.— After Moses had reported the message of the Lord, that nobody should dare to approach him, the Lord began his oration. He then said : I am the Lord thy God, who have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. Thou shalt have no Gods before me.~With these words the Lord introduced himself to the Hebrews, who must have felt greatly pleased by hearing it manifested by himself that he was their God. But as to his assertion of having brought them out of Egypt, out of the house of sla- very, the Lord-god was, to some degree at least, mistaken, for the Hebrews had fled out of Egypt, and could have done so just as well without the miracles of the Lord. — The Lord further said : they should make no graven image nor likeness of anything, nor bow themselves before them. — That the Lord did not approve of seeing people bowing before images was certainly sensible, but not to allow them even to miike likenesses of anything, was rather severe, since the fine arts of sculpture and of painting could not flourish in Israel with such a command- ment. — For, said the Lord, he was a jealous God, visiting tlie iniquities of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation. — It was not a commandable quality of the Lord to be jealous, but to visit the iniquities of the fathers upon the children, was still worse, and proved that he was very vindictive and bad not the least sense of justice, he therefore had no occasion whatever to boast of these attributes of a verv inferior order indeed. Besides that he did not speak the truth, for he punished all mankind for the sin of the first parents, and did not discontinue his chastisements at the third or iburth generation. — He would be kind, continued he, unto the thousandth generation of those that loved him. — This also was not true, for Abraham, Isaac and Jacob loved him very much, they say, still the Lord showed no kindness unto their thousandth genera- tion, seeing that to their descendants he never has given much reason to feel very happy under his reign. Nations of whom he never was peculiarly fond were much happier without his priests and his prophets. — The children of Israel were forbidden to wantonly use the name of the Lord. — Though we shall not deny that the name of Lord is a most beautiful name, much nicer than those of Apis and Isis the Egyptian deities, or that of Baal the Syrian God, still if the Lord chose to take a name bearing a title, than he should act according to it, if he wished to be respected ; but when a lord goes fighting on the public road, as he did with Jacob, or goes into taverns and frightens women out of their wits by threatening to btrangle their babies, as he did on the road of Egypt, then such a lord has no right to exact respect, and he had better make no show of his title. — The Lord also ordained his people to keep the Sabbath-day holy. Six days they might work, but on the seventh day they should not do any work, but keep it in honour of the Lord ; for in six days the Lord had made heaven and earth, and had rested on the seventh. — To keep a day's rest after having worked several days, will, no doubt, be a wholesome thing, but to rest one day of the seven, because the Lord had been pleased to do so, was exacting rather too much from a man of industrious inclination. One loses in that way fifty-two days in a year, which in a life-time makes several years, without any one having the least benefit of it. The Lord may call such a day of laziness a holy day, but we think a day is made holier by industrious labour than by idleness. — The children of Is- rael should honour their father and their mother in order that their davs would be prolonged in the land the Lord gave them. — The land the Lord gave them, was for the present, the wilnerncss, not precisely a land to wish one's life pro- longed in. And what a strange morality the Lord inculcated into the minds of his children ! They should honour their fiither and mother, not out of gratitude for the care they have taken of their child, when young, but out of desire for a long life. — The Lord forbade furthermore to kill, to commit adultery, to steal, and to bear false evidence. — These prohibitions are of importance, and might ^1 60 THE BIBLE EXPOSED, EXODUS. 51 have better held the first place in this list of commandments, yet it seems the Lord regarded the commandments concerning the respect they should pay his name, and the sabbath-day, of greater importance. Of how little importance the Lord himself thought the commandments prohibiting robbing, stealing and killing, would clearly appear from the fact that he himself commanded them (in Exod! Ill : 22) to rob the Egyptians; he furthermore led the Israelites towards a land inhabited by Canaanites and other peoples, and he desired them to kill them, and take their houses and vine-yards, and fields, and all they pos. sessed. The commandments of the Lord, not to kill and not to steal, were there- fore only idle words, without meaning what they purported. The Lord also forbade to covet anything, whatever it might be, belonging to thy neighbour.— This prohibition is easily made, but seeing that the desire to possess a thing arises quite unvoluntarily, it cannot well be prohibited. Also the desire to possess is no sin of itself, it is the trying to take possession of a thing by unfair means, which is sinful, and against this sin works the command- ment not to rob and not to steal.— The Lord recommanding once more not to make anything of gold or of silver for him, but only altars of earth, ended there by his harangue, and the children of Israel withdrew.— We soon will discover how little the Lord meant of his pretended simplicity, for he soon ordered a handsome tabernacle to be made for him, with all kind of gold and silver uten- sils in it. These ten commandments of Moses are considered as cxtraordmarily beautiful and full of wisdom, even are taken as proof of the divine origin of the bible,— as if human instinct would not suffice to teach man to wish that no one mi-ht neither steal his property, nor kill him nor his friends. Every one knows Wt society could not exist if these natural laws were not respected. Be- sides, all the founders of religions have given the same commandments, as Con- fucius the founder of the Chinese religion, and Zoroaster the founder of the Per- sian reli^y*he camp Moses discovered the golden calf and the dancing around it ; at this sight his anger waxed hot, and he threw the two tables of testimony, those precious presents of God, upon the ground breaking them to pieces. Thereupon stepping up to the image he took it down, ground it to powder and strew it upon the water, causing the children of Israel to drink it.—The best parts of the golden calf he may have reserv-d as a wave-offering for what we know.—Moses now inquired of Aaron how he had came to commit such an outrage, whereupon Aaron said, that because the child- ren of Israel were a wicked people, he had thrown their golden ornaments into the fire, and see, a calf had come out of it (v. 22-24) — lliough we were informed that the Lord would not punish the people, still Moses seems to have entertained an other opinion of the matter, for he called a meeting of all the sons of Levi, and commanded every one of them, to slay with his sword, his brother, his com- 5$ THE BIBLE EXPOSED. pagnon, and his neig-hbour. They immediately made an attack, assassinating in this way three thousand men, (of course unarmed men.) Chapter XXXIII— The Lord spoke unto Moses declaring henceforth he would no more accompany the children of Israel on their journey to the land of milk and honey, for they were a stubborn race, the only thing he would do was to send an angel before them to drive out all the Canaan! tes, Aniorites, etc. The children of Israel on hearing this, repented, and brought the remainder of their gold and silver ornaments to Moses. This act of the children of Israel pleased the Lord so much that he altered again his mind and declared he would go with them. Moses now set up a tent, calling it the tabernacle of reconcilia- tion, and behold, whenever he entered the tent a cloudy pillar came down and stood at the entrance. In this cloudy pillar the Lord was hidden from the mul- titude, but not from Moses, with whom the Lord spoke face to face, as a man would do with his friend (v. 11). And it happened that, whenever the people saw the cloud, every one of them arose, and worshipped before the door of his tent. The Lord, on one of those occasions, was speaking with Moses about their journey to the promised land ; Moses then expressed his hope, the Lord would not fail to favor them with his Presence during the journey, and the L^rd assured him that he would remain with them. Moses thereupon begged the Lord to show him his Glory, as an aflQrmation of what he promised, but the Lord answered that whosoever should see his face, would die (v. 20.) — This answer of the Lord was rather contradictory to what Moses had just told us (in v. 11), of his speak- ing with him face to face; besides that, we read in Exod. XXIV: 10, tliat some select ones among the elders of Israel ha 3 partaken of a dinner with the Lord, and saw him, without having died. — Tiie Lord, however, not wishing to refuse Moses altogether the sight of his Glory, condescended to show him at least a part of it, that is, he condescended to show him his naked back parts. To this purpose Moses should place him.«elf in the cleft of a rock, and the Lord would pas.s by, divested of his cloud, but still would hold his hand before Moses* face while passing by, so that Moses should have no chance of seeing anytliing more but just the naked hindermost parts of the Lord when he would be continu- ing his way. (vide v. 21-23). Chapter XXXIV. — Moses was now ordered to make two other tables of stone, alike to the first ones, and to carry them on the mount, when the Lord again would inscribe the commandments upon them ; but nobody was allowed to come near unto the mount, not even at a distance. — The Lord feared perhaps they might hear the sound of his writing-pancil, which would have greatly im- paired the marvellousness of the miracle. — This tiraa Moses remnined again forty days in company with the Lord, and as he asserts himself, without eating or drinking anything during all the time. When Moses returned to the camp his face shone like the sun, so that every one of the children of Israel were afraid of him ; in consequence of which Moses was obliged to cover his face with a vail. — EXODUS. 57 This shining of the face of Moses was probably a consequence of the Lord's lay- ing his hand upon it when walking in his glory ; for the Lord most likely had his hands anointed with some holy anointments after the art of the apothecary, that may have contained some golddust or other glittering substance. Chapter XXXV.— Moses gathered the whole congregation and proclaimed the command of the Lord concerning the tabernacle, the ark, the altar, and all the other holy apparatus which the people had to make, and requested of the children of Israel their gold and silver.— As we saw from the preceding chapters that the Israelites had already spent all their gold and silver ornaments, it must be the Lord intended now to strip them also of their coin. If, with this view, he had ordered thein (in Exod. Ill : 22) to rob the Egyptians and to empty the land rf Egypt, we must allow that the Lord proved himself to be a shrewd finan- cier, or rather, a well plotting speculator.— Farther the Lord ordered Belsaleel, a man who was filled with the spirit of God to make any manner of cunning work (v. 31-33), to do the work.- -It must have been a great honor to have been noticed by the Lord, and of course, worth the .while to work hard for it without any pay. Chapter XXXVL— The children of Israel brought the required offerings, and to that brought so much more that Moses found himself under the necessity of prohibiting the free-oflferings.— The people though stubborn proved to be reli- giously inclined nevertheless* Chapter XXXVIL— Belsaleel made everytliing the Lord had ordained, from the tabernacle, with all it contained, down to even the holy ointment.— No won- der Moses had said, he was filled with the spirit of God to make any manner of cunning work. Chapter XXXVIII.-— Belsaleel made also the altars, but for that purpose a new tribute of copper and brass was demanded of the children of Israel.— These poor children may soon have got through with all their gold, silver and copper ; the more so because they had in the wilderness no means of earning anything. The kind Lord was thus a great taxation upon them. Chapter XXXIX.— The children of Israel made also the robes of service for the priest, and set them ofi" with jewels, as prescribed. When every thing was finished and properly done, Moses blessed the children of Israel.— lliis was the reward for all their troubles and expenses. Chapter XL.— Moses himself arranged everything in the tabernacle as the Lord had commanded. He also anointed the tabernacle together with all what was in it, and after this he anointed also Aaron and his sons, and put the holy garments on them, sanctifying them, so as to be surely an everlasting 58 THE BIBLE EXPOSED. priesthood throughout all generations (v. 15). — A pity this everlastingness lasted but short, since the priests of Aaron's family were killed in Samuels time, this was surely a mistake. — ^VVhen now everything was ready to receive the Lord, and the lamps lighted, behold, the Glory of the Lord (the cloud) came down and filled the whole tabernacle* And the children of Israel saw the cloud of the Lord remaining on the tabernacle by day, and by night they saw fire. — The Mosaical God seemed to delight in dragging continually along with him either a big cloud or a pillar of fire ; now, as these interesting things are suffocatiiig stuff in a dwelling if there is no chimney in it, we suppose he had also a chimney made in his tabernacle. A cloud of smoke, or a flame of fire might have come forth from it when a good fire was kept burning underneath, and might have been beneficial to the children of Israel by hightening their religious feeling's. LEVITICUS. Chapter I. — And the Lord called unto Moses and spoke unto him out of the tabernacle of reconciliation, saying : speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, if any one wish to bring an offering unto the Lord ye shall bring it of the cattle. — Further we read the children of Israel were allowed to bring burnt-offerings ; they should bring tnem unto the door of the tabernacle, and they should consist in a piece of cattle of the male gender, without blemish. Chapter II. — It was also allowed to bring meat-offerings unt© the Lord ; they should consist of fine flour, mixed with oil and frankincense, (oil was used instead of butter). After such offering had been exposed to the fire of the altar for some time, as a sweet savour unto the Lord, it should be eaten by Aaron and hi? sons as a most holy thing (v. 3). Or, when any one wished to offer cakes, he never should forget to pour some oil on them. The cakes should be toasted on the altar and then be eaten by Aaron and his sons as a thing most holy of the offtTing (v. 10). Every parcel of meat-offerings, says Moses, should be seasoned with salt, for the salt of the covenant of God should never be lack- ing in meat-offerings (v. 13). Chapter III. — A peace-ofi^ering was also allowed to be brought, and should consist of any piece of the herd w^hether male or female, but without blemish. The blood should be sprinkled around the altar, and the fat besides the kidneys should be burnt as in the burnt-offering, but the flesh not. Chaptrr IV. — And the Lord spoke unto Moses and ordered him to say unto the children of Israel, that if any one did sin through ignorance against the commands of the Lord, he should bring a sin-offering ; a priest or a ruler should LEVITICUS. 59 brincr a female sheep, but one of the people could bring a female goat, without blemish ; its fat should be burnt as a sweet savour unto the Lord, and the priest should make an apology for him, and the sin should be forgiven. Chapter Y.— There should also exist trespass-offerings for sins committed not from ignorance. Chapter VI— If any one had stolen, or sworn a false oath, he should bring besides the trespass-offering, that what he had stolen, or gained by his false oath, with addition of a fifth part of its value.— Further the Lord repeated once more how a burnt-offering and a meat-offering should be managed, and at the same time declared that as much as would be burnt of it, would be a sweet savour, a memorid, unto the Lord, but what should be left of it, should be eaten by Aaron and his sons in the holy place, as a portion given by the Lord from his offerings made by fire, and it should be considered most holy, for every one of Aarons' pro- geny who should eat thereof, should become holy (v. 16 16).— And the priest that maketh the apology shall also eat the sin-offering ; in a holy place shall he eat it, in the court of the tabernacle of reconciliation (v. 26).— The tabernacle of reconciliation will, in this way, have had very much the appearance of a priestly eating-house. Chapter YIL— And this is the law of the trespass-offering : it is most holy. On the place where they kill the animal for the burnt-offering they shall kill the animal for the trespass-offering. The kidneys shall be removed, but the fat and the body shall be offered up; the priest shall burn it upon tie altar for a trespass- offering made by fire unto the Lord, and every male amonor \he priests I hall eat thereof, in a holy place shall it be eaten; it is most holy v. 1-6). Also we are informed that the flesh of thanksgiving-offerings, with an addition of cakes, made of fine flour and oil, well cooked, should be brought by the riest. unto the Lord, as a heave-offering, and then be eaten by the priest (v. 12-15). The priest was obliged to eat that on the same day when it was brought, but when the offering had been accompanied of a vow, and a greater abundance of offerings was expected, then he was allowed toeat two days over it (v. L5-16). With the peace-offering, as with the fire-offering, the breast of the animal should be brought before the Lord as a wave-offering, where it should be taken by Aaron and his sons. The right shoulder of a sacrifice should also be waved before the Lord and belong to the priest, for the Lord had given the breast and the shoulder of the sacrifice unto Aaron and his sons, as a fixed portion for-ever (v. 31-36). Chapter VIII. —Here we read that the Lord commanded Moses to sanctify as priests Aaron and his sons,— but since we already read in Exod. XL : 16 that Moses did so, we do not see why it was necessary to do so a second time. The ceremony was solemn and accompanied with a great many offeungs, which all 60 THE BIBLE EXPOSED. all are said to be burnt, save the breasts and right shouMers which were placed in- to Aaron's hand to be waved before the Lord (v. 26-27) ; they were then taken off his hands by Moses, who burnt them for a sweet savour unto the Lord, save the breast of a ram which he took for himself as his private portion of the ofier ing (v. 29). The flesh of the mentioned offerings which would not burn but re- main on the altar, should be eaten by Aaron and his sons. They, therefore, were ordained to stav for seven davs in the tabernacle, to eat all what was left, and if after this period of time they would not have succeeded in swallowing all, they were obliged to burn the remainder (v. 31-33).— We perceive by this that the Lord was very anxious to see his priests sufficiently provided with eatables, which truly shows how great care he took for their welfare. Chapter IX. — After these seven days of priestly flesh-eating time, again new offerings were ordered, sin-offerings, burning- and peace-offerings. The breast and the right shoulders were this time also carried by Aaron into the sanctuary of the Lord, or to use Moses expression, Aaron made with them a waving before the Lord (v. 21). Now it happened this day, that while the fat of the burnt-offering was put upon the altar, and Moses was blessing the congre- gation, the Glory (the cloud) of the Lord made su>ldenly its appearance and from it came forth a consuming fire, consuming the fat on the altar. The people see- ing this screamed and fell down on their faces.— No wonder the people fainted at the sight of the Glory of God ; yet we think that if Moses had caused a pil- lar of smoke to make its appearance and had placed within the same, one of his assistants (the Levites) with order to shoot off some kind of fire work, or fire-arm, pointed at the altar, the same effect would have been pro- duced as described here. It may be objected that there did not ex.st any fire-arms, or fire-works, as yet at that time, but as we already suggested previously, it is likely the Egyptian priests may have known the gunpowder, since it was known at that time to the Chinese, who received their civilization partly from India, and India again from Egypt. Chapter X.— Two sons of Aaron began after this to place the incense upon the incense-altar, and behold, while engaged in this holy work, the consuming fire of the Lord, suddenly came forth again killing them both.— Moses says, it was a punishment of the Lord because they would use common fire to burn the incense, but seeing that nowhere is to be found a command to use a peculiar sort of fire for the purpose, we suppose Mo^es conceived a wrong idea, and the death of the two sons of Aaron was merely the consequence of an accident. The Levite placed in the smoky pillar, may by accident have fired his weapon a little too early, and perhaps also he and the Aaronites were a little tight on account of some wine-offerings. — Moses prohibited that henceforth the priests should make use of strong drinks ; — probably the Lord had discovered that strong drink wa3 at the bottom of the accident. LEVITICUS. 61 Chapter XL — The Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron and informed them what animals might be eaten by the children of Israel and what kind not. The first were called clean, the other ones, unclean.— In Gen. IX : 3 we read the Lord gave leave to man to use for food every moving thing that hath life, now however he contradicts himself. The description, or classification, the Lord gives of the different species of animals is for the rest rather annising, and shows that his knowledge of natural history was very limited ; for instance he says : all fowls that creep, going upon all four, shall be an abomination (v. 20). And unclean are nmong the creeping things that creep upon the earth : the weasel, the mouse, the tortoise, the hedgehog, the chameleon, the lizard, the snail, and the mole (v. 29, 36).— Accordingly the Lord ranks the weasel and the mouse in the same class of animals with the lizard and the snail— Whatsoever, says the Lord further, walks upon the belly, and whatsoever walks upon four feet, down to whatsoever hath many feet among all creeping things that creepeth upon the earth, shall ye not eat, for they are an abomination (v. 42) ; and ye shall not make yourselves unclean with them etc., for ye shall sanctify yourselves and shall be holy, as I am holy (v. 43-44).— The Lord, thus, expected to make his people holy by means of a prescribed diet. Chapter XII.— Tlie Lord spoke to Moses and told him that every woman that had conceived ami born a male child, was unclean for seven days ; on the eighth day the child should be circumcised and after this the woman should con- tinue to be unclean for thirty three days more. Making together forty days of uncleanriess. But if she had born a female child, she was unclean for a still longer period, as she should then be unclean for eighty days alltogether.— No wonder thus if the women of Abraham's family had given the preference to bringing forth male children to having female ones.— When the woman was clean again, she should bring to Aaron a sheep, or if poor, she should bring two pigeons. —Now taking in consideration that the children of Israel were to grow as nu- merous as the stars of heaven and as the grains of sand on the sea-shore, we fear that the priest Aaron will have got too much of roast mutton and pigeons to eat. Chapter XIIL— And the Lord spoke unto Moses and Aaron ; and, what he said, was this : if any one should get a sore on the skin, he should forthwith go to Aaron, to have it examined whether it was leprosy or not. In case Aaron should think it doubtful he should lock the man up for seven days, and then ex- amine him again. Was it after this time still doubtful, he should lock him up again. If it proved to be leprosy, the patient should be driven from the camp N. 46) ; but if the sore was healed, then the man should bring offerings to the priest and be pronounced clean.— The man had to bring offerings, probably, h'om gratitude for having been locked up for so many days.— We hope that the daily inspection of ulcers (for among a great and numerous nation many ulcers will daily have made their appearance) may not have spoiled Aaron's appetite 62 THE BIBLE EXPOSED. as this would have greatly interfered with his holy occupation of eating so many offerings. Chapter XIV. — If the leper, after having been driven from the camp, chanced to recover, then on the day of his being cleansed, he should bring to the priest two pigeons for a burnt-offering, and seven days thereafter he should bring an ewe and two lambs of a year old. AVith this should be brought % of an epha of fine flour and a log of olive-oil. After this he should bring a trespass-offering con" sisting also in a sheep with a log of oil, which should belong to the priest as most holy things (v. 18). Of the blood of the trespass-offering, and also of the oil» the priest should take a little in the palm of his left hand, and dipping a finger of his right hand into it, he should smear some of the blood and oil on the tip of the right ear, and on the tip of his right thumb, and on the tip of the right great- toe of the patient, and what might yet be left in his hand he should smear on the patients head, thereby declaring him to be cleansed (v. 25-28). The patient having gone through this ceremony and having gotten rid of his offerings, was allowed to return to his friends. Chapter XY. — The Lord spoke unto Moses and Aaron saying : " speak unto the children of Israel and say unto them, when any man has a running issue of his flesh, because of the issue he is unclean." The man should be sent out of the camp, and all that he had used, his bed, his clothing, his vessels and every- thing, should be declared unclean and be destroyed. If he chanced to get healed of his issue then he should bring, seven days after, a pigeon as sin-offering and one as burnt-offering. — It seems therefore that in Moses time certain diseases were known which usually are believed to be of a later date, and which are often represented as a punishment of the Lord for the incontinence of the present age, but we see now that the Lord deemed it already necessary to send the punish- ment among the earliest generation of his chosen people. — When, as the Lord said, a woman had her blood flowing from her flesh, she also should be unclean, not only during the time it lasted, but yet for seven days thereafter. With her also, everything she used should be declared uuclean and destroyed, and she herself be send without the camp. — Thi? ordinance of the Lord must have been rather trouble- some for the Israelite- women ; and very burdensome too for the father of a large family of daughters, since he will have been obliged to hire a country-seat to send his daughters by turns. And then the continual offering of pigeons, and the continual buying of new vessels must have been rather expensive. Chapter XVI. — And the Lord spoke unto Moses. The Lord ordained this time that Aaron should bring him an offering to make an atonement for himself because two of his sons were killed by the Lord. — Why Aaron should make an atonement for himself is not plain, as it was evidently not his fault if the Lord chose to kill his sons. — Aaron moreover, should, make an atonement for the chil- dren of Israel ; they therefore should bring him two goats, one should be offered as a LEVITICUS. 63 sin-offerinf^, and the other one should be let loose in the wilderness, in order that she mi^^ht go to the god Azazel ; which would procure an atonement to the peo- ple for all their sins (v. 8-10). This ceremony should be repeated every year in the seventh month, and should be a statute lor ever (v. 29). Yea, it should be unto the children of Israel a statute for everlasting (v. 34) . — However, this ever- lastingness, as we know, lasted but short. Chapter XVII. — The Lord commanded that henceforth no Israelite should kill an animal save in the court before the tabernacle, so that the priest might sprinkle the blood round the altar, and burn the fat for a sweet savour unto the Lord. This kind of offering was simply called a sacrifice ; by and by it will ap- pear that by these plain offerings, of which only the fat was burnt, the flesh re- mained at the disposal of the owner of the beast, save the breast and right shoul- der, which were for the priest, as was the case with the peace-offering. — The rea- son the Lord prohibited that any cattle or sheep should be killed elsewhere, was, of course, to secure these pieces of meat to his dear priests. But as the children of Israel were to become as numerous as the stars of heaven, the Lord would however have done well by keeping in mind that the court before the tabernacle should soon become to small to kill all the cattle and sheep required for the use of such a nation. The abundance of sweet savours, occasioned by the burning of all the fat, might also have become troublesome at last. Chapter XYIII. — And the Lord spoke unto Moses, saying : speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them : I am the Lord your God (v. 2) . Ye shall do my judgments and keep mine ordinances, to walk therein : I am the Lord your God (v. 4). Ye shall therefore keep my statutes and my judgments^ which if a man do, he shafl live in them : I am the Lord (v. 5). In this manner the great Mosaical God gave to understand that he was the Lord, and he proclaims on this basis a large number of ordinances ; he does .this in this chapter, and does it in the following nine chapters of this book, re- peating continually all what we read heretofore. In order thus not to be as prolix as the Lord of Moses, we will pass over the remainder, which we can afford so much the better since we have already spoken of all the offerings ordained. THE BOOK OF NUMBERS. Chapter I. — And the Lord spoke unto Moses in the wilderness of Sinai, in the tabernacle of congregation, in the second year after they left the land of Egypt, saying : take ye the sum of all the congregation of the children of Israel, after their families, by the descent from their fathers. The Lord named at the 64 THE BIBLE EXPOSED. THE BOOK OF NUMBERS. 65 same time the men he wanted to have placed at the head of each of these fami- lies (or tribes). Moses and Aaron did number the children of Israel and divided them in twelve tribes after the twelve sons of Jacob, each tribe containing the descendants of either of the sons ; but as Levi should not be considered as a sepa- rate tribe, they divided the descendants of Joseph in two tribes, that is one for each of his two sons.—It is remarkable in this instance, that Moses and Aaron knew of what origin every child of Israel was. The Hebrews had been slaves, and will, of course, have kept no pedigree, and even if they should have done so, it would not have proven much, since they probably had no regular marriages, and the female slaves will have had children of Egyptian origin as well of He- brew. The supposition that they should have kept pedigrees is therefore an ab- surdity ; they moreover knew not to write and would thus not have been able to record the names of their progenitors. Moses could, for this reason, not know of what origin every one of them was, and can only have acted after his own fancy, by dividing them in different tribes. Chapter II.— The Lord gave to know to the tribes in what succession they had to march. Judah should be the first, for it appears that Judah was now considered by the Lord as the principal of the tribes.— That the Lord who al- ways blessed the children, whose father he had loved, thought so much of Judah was probably because they descended from the sons of Judah, born out of his adultery with his daughter-in-law. Chapter III.— The Lord spoke unto Moses saying : bring the tribe of Levi near, and present tkem before Aaron, the priest, that they may serve him, and they' shall keep his charge, etc. We further learn that the Lord had taken the Levites from the midst of Israel, instead of every first-born that openeth the womb among the children of Israel, so that the Levites should be his ; for he was the Lord (v. 12-13).— The first-born were, as we had several times occasion to discover, estimated by the Lord as being of higher value than the other chil- dren. Accordingly the Levites must also have been considered as being more worth than the other children of Israel ; this probably was on account of their progenitor Levi, who so handily and cunningly knew to massacre all the inhabi- tants of Sichem.— Whether the Levites were real descendants of the man Levi, or were those men amongst the Hebrews, who assisted Moses in the performance of the miraculous Egyptian plagues, we are not prepared to say, but rather leave it to the reader's own judgment. Chapter IV.— Moses was now ordered by the Lord to select the sons of Levi, of thirty years of age and upwards, until fifty years old, all of whom were fit for the service, to do the work in the tabernacle of congregation ; and to di- vide them after their families, and give each family different work to do. The family of Kehath pro uced 2750 Levites; the family of Gershom 2630; the family of Merah 3200 ; all being fit to do the work in the tabernacle of congregation ; and besides these there were yet 8580 Levites left, also fit to do the service of the ministry and to carrying the tabernacle. — It seems the Lord deemed the service of the tabernacle very difficult, since he wanted so many ser- vants. 'J'he most difficult part of the service was evidently the eating of all the beef and mutton and fowls the children of Israel brought unto Aaron as sweet savour for the Lord. Chapter Y. — The Lord spoke unto Moses saying : command the children of Israel that they put out of the camp every leper and every one that hath an issue and whosoever is infected by the dead ; both male and female shall ye put out, without the camp shall ye put them, that they infect not their camps in the midst- whereof I dwell (v. 1-3). — This command shows the charity of the Lord, the tender care he took for his chosen chldren. Chapter YL— When either a man or woman chose to make to the Lord the vow of Nazarite, then he or she should keep themselves secluded from the rest, and abstain from strong drink and wine, and vinegar and from grapes, etc., and not shave their hair. When now such a pious person after the expiration of the time wished to return again into his usual life, then he or she should bring, first, two turtles as a sin-offering and a lamb as a trespass-offering ; after seven davs he or she should ijet the head shaved in the tabernacle, for which should be brought a lamb as a burnt-offering, a ewe as a sin-offering, a ram as a peace- offering, and a basket of bread and cakes of fine flour, and loaves with oil, as a meat-offc'ring, and besides that some wine as a drink-offering (v. 14, 15). After the shaving was done the priest should take his part of all these offerings and wave it before the Lord (that is bring it in the sanctuary) as a holiness for the priest (v. 19^20). The pious one might then go home and drink wine if he chose. Chapter YII. — On the day the tabernacle was set up, the princes of Israel^ namely, the heads of the tribes, came and brought before the Lord a very liberal offering of bullocks and sheep, and meat-offerings on silver plates, all pre- sented by the people. — This cattle was of course stolen, since they got no cattle leaving Egypt. Chapter YIII. — The Lord spoke to Moses and ordered the lamps in the tabernacle to be lighted ; the Levites after having been purified (by being shaved all over and being put in clean clothes), were now to be invited to wait upon the Lord in the tabernacle. They all were brought by Moses before the Lord. — It was for a certainty very kind hearted of the Lord to receive the Levites before him, but as he had declared in chapt. lY of this book, and in Exod. XXXIII : 20, that no one should see him and live, he acted here rather contra- dictory by allowing them to approach him,— and partake dinner with him, for 60 THE BIBLE EXPOSED. THE BOOK OF NUMBERS. et we suppose he allowed men. to eat the .any offerings brought by the princes of Israel. Chapteb IX -Moses tells us here about the first anniversary passover which the Srita. .ept, and Turther repeats o„. ^- thaUl. ^^^^^ th. I.M appeared aWo. ^^^;^^:Z^Z cL they reste. in an appearance of fire. W hen the cniiaru. ^ ^^^ ,,eir tents, hut J-;^;^^!*; S^ t^^^^^^^ ^a^'n^ "^ rZ:"!':- SI " is nearly an avowal of the holy .an that his hand ruled the cloud of the Lord. r^ ., r The Lord spolrd a:,d vowed that .f the Lord would give them the promised land they would kill every soul that was in it The Lord felt so much pleased with their vow that he gave them forthr with the land Horma as a present.-We saw in Num. XIV : 4.5 that the land Horma was far in the wilderness, distant from the knd Canaan^ Ihe present can, therefore, not have been much worth.-Seeing that the land Horma produced neither food nor drink, the children of Israel, were obhged to leave it immediately after their arrival ; they on this account murmured aga.n^ lite Lord was much displeased with it, and consequently sent another plague. On this occasion it was some new kind of plague in the shape of fiery serpents wh.ch killed the people -Whether Moses and bis Levites made themselves the serpents of some bark, filling them with gunpowder and caseshot. and throwing them from above the pharos, (called the glory of the I^rd.) we could not state with eertaintv though we think it to be almost certain that such was the case.- 1 he unfortunate chosen people of the I^rd prayed unto Moses for forgiveness, ai«l this act of submission pleased the Lord so much, that he ordered Moses to make a lar-e serpent and to exhibit it upon a pole, and it would come to pass that eyery%ne, who was bitten (wounded) by the other serpents, should live when looking up at this one.-Tliis serpent which Moses should exhibit was probably some piece of fire-work, constructed by some Invite, and which Moses wishud THE BOOK OF NUMBERS. n to exhibit as well for his own gratification as for that of the people. That the Lord should have ordered to make it, is not very probable, for the Lord prohi- bited in his ten commandments the making of any kind of imao-e ; besides the serpent was the image of the beguiler of Eve, and therefore was cursed by the good Lord. Chapter XXII, XXIII and XXIV.— Here we have the story of a heathen magician, who was invited by Balack, the king of Moab, to curse'lsrael. Bala^ am, the conjurer, would have done it, but for the Lord, who took the greatest care to prevent him from doing so. He visited him, personally, several times to order h:m not to do it, also sent his angel and made Balaam's ass talk with a human voice. Balaam hearing his ass talk was not in the least astonished, therefore it may be, this was no miracle, but a common thing with him.— Even in our days it is no strange occurrence to hear asses talk. Chapter XX V.-^The children of Israel lived in good harmony with the chil- dren of Moab for some length of time, even married their daughters. When the Lord discovered this, his anger was kindled, and he ordained Moses to hang the rulers of the children of Israel in the sunshine, so as to turn away the fierceness of his anger (v. 4).— Why he wished them to be hanged in the ^nshine, was probably for the purpose of getting them dried up, so as to be enabled to keep them as memorials.— Besides this punishment ordered by the Lord, Moses ordered yet another one of his own accord ; this was, that every Levite should slay a man who had had connection with a Moabite woman. Pinehas. a grand-son of Aaron, gave the signal of attack by murdering treacherously Zimri, a young Is- raelite, and Cozbi, the daughter of a chieftain in Midian. l^ie massacre became soon general, and 24000 Israelites were killed by the Levites. The Lord was so extremely pleased with the conduct of Pinehas, that he sent him his blessing, through Moses, and gave unto him his covenant of everlastiog priesthood.-l Which has not lasted for ever. Chapter XXVI.— The children of Israel were now numbered once more, and Moses again gives their number to be 630.000 full grown men, not reckon- ing the woman and children. Moses adds with some pride the remark that none of all these had been numbered the first time, as all those, then numbered, had perished in the wilderness.— Thus, these unfortunate beings who followed him, thinking to be led to a land of milk and honey, had all been led to their death- death caused by want of food, and by treacherous murders, and by all kind of torments, called plagues, administerei by the hand of the angel of the Lord, the great man Moses,— the tormentor of Israel. Chapter XX VII.— Moses, after giving some instructions concerning the division of an inheritance in caje there were no male descendants among the heirs, of a sudden informs us that the Lord had ordained him to die on the top of 72 THE BIBLE EXPOSED. a mount, in the same manner as Aaron had died already ; but before dying he Aould transfer a part of his saintity unto Joshua his servant, a man m whom was the spirit of God. Chapter XXVIII. -Moses nevertheless did not die presently, for he, before obeying the command, enumerates once more all the ofiferiogs the children of Is- rael should have to bring to the priest. Seein- that this, and the other eight chapters of this book, contain nothmg but repetitions of what we read heretofore, we pass over the rest. i DEUTERONOMY. Chapter I -Thou-rh we were informed in the former book, that Moses had to die, still he seems to'have taken his time before obeying the order, for he com- mences now to write one book more, on the history of Israel and the oflenngs the people had to bring, all things which he told us previously, so that tins book could easilv have been spared.-He commences the book from the t,me when he complained unto the Lord about the murmuring of the people, saymg the burden of all the people was too much for him to carry. Now to explam why the bur- den was too much, he says, for the people had grown in multitude as the sta,^ of heaven : the Lord had made them thousand times more numerous than they had been -There were now 630.000 men left, a proof that in case their number had grown so very much, the number he gives at their departure from Kgypt must have Cwro„g.-In the course of the chapter (from v. 26-32) he tells us that the children of Israel would not go up to fight against the Canaamtes, when the first attack took place, while in Numb. XIV he would make us believe the peopte were defeated, beca.tse they went up of their own accord, without direction of thf Lord. The holy man contradicts himself here once more. Chapter II.-Here Moses speaks of nations of giants who lived in Canaan and were all destroyed by the Ix>rd in favor of Israel. The king of the Amo rites had also had his heart hardened by the Lord, so as to come out to fight and to get beaten by the hosts of Israel, who utterly destroyed all their cities, so that none of this nation was left alive. CH4PTF.K Ill.-StiU more glorious feats are told here, where women and little ones were murdered, and si.xty cities destroyed, so entirely destroyed that the placewhere theyhad been, could be found no more.-Probab ly, or the manifest reason that they never had existed.-The king of Bashan was killed too. he was DEUTERONOMY. 73 the last of the giants, and his iron bedstead which was nine cubits long was yet kept for a rare-show by some of his neighbors. Chapter IY. — The children of Israel are again exhorted to keep faithfully the commands of the Lord, for says Moses, what nation have their God so nigh as the Lord, our God, is with us. — The Lord took evidently no care of the other nations.— And what nation is there so great that hath the statutes and judgments so righteous as all this law which I set before You this day ? (v. 8). — This day, would show that Moses has not been in a hurry to give his law-book, since he gives it at so late a date : besides we see from these words how big an opinion he had of his laws and statutes — which, truly, did not deserve so much admira- tion — Further, (and following v. 2.5) he prohibits once more the making of carved images, the day they should do such a thing, the children of Israel should be scattered among the other nations ; only a few should be left among the hea- thens, and be compelled to serve other Gods. — Since it has, accidentally, hap- pened that Israel had been scattered among the other nations, the friends of the bible see herein a proof of its truth. The bible-friends will however do well by observing that they were scattered among other nations in consequence of their hostile conduct towards all their neighbours, but not on account of their making images. And besides, Moses said, a few should be left and be compelled to serve other gods ; as the latter has never been the case with the Jews, it shows that this so-called prophecy is very incorrect. Chapter Y. — Here Moses repeats the ten commandments once more, and remembers on this occasion how terrified the people were, when hearing the voice out of the midst of the darkness, when the mountain was burning with fire (v. 23-25).— Seeing that there can be no darkness where a mountain is in fire, it is plain that Moses gives to clouds of smoke the name of darkness. This explains for the miracles where darkness plays the chief part. Chapter YI. — Moses exhorts the people with solicitude, to keep all the sta- tutes and commandments of the Lord, which he Moses communicated to them, in order that they themselves and their sons might live long and increase mightily (v. 2-3). — To increase mightily was a beautiful reward and it was worth to keep for that reason all the queer statutes of the Mosaical code ; if however Mo- ses had got an idea of an existence hereafter, he might, perhaps, with still more efiect have promised a heaven for the pious couls.— Furthermore he says, the Israelites should find at their disposal when entering Canaan, goodly cities, which they did not build, houses full of all good things, which they filled not, and vineyards and olive trees, which they planted not, etc, as presents given to them by the Lord (v. 10-11).— It wa.=, of course, very friendly of the Lord if he intended to give so much, but unfortunately the Israelites have never gotten anything of all these presents, and if they had accepted these presents they would have been obliged to take them themselves from the Canaanites and would have had to fight hard for it. ,1 u THE BIBLE EXPOSED. Chapter YII.— The nations which lived in the promised land, and were to be destroyed by the Lord for the sake of Israel, are now enumerated.— Amonj? them were the Amorites, of whom we are already twice informed (in Dcu^ II. and Deut. III.) that they were destroyed entirely so that no one of them were left. — Moses declares (in v. 1) that the seven nations which lived in Canaan were jj^reater than Israel, also in v. 7 he says, the Israelites were the fewest of all people.— This declaration does not well agree with the pompous exclamation in Deut. 1 : 7, where he says : behold, ye are this day as the stars of heaven in multitude. — Moses gives in this chapter some new precepts, and gives utterance to some views, which were quite apt to make his superstitious nation the most intolera- ble foes to all other ones ; for instance, he teaches : The Israelites should never make a covenant with their enemies (the not circumcised nations), nor show mercy unto them, but continually make wa.- 'ipon them, and utterly destroy them, (v. 1 .) They should never join in marriage with them, but destroy their altars, break down their images, and cut down their groves, for the children of Israel were a holy people unto the Lord, who had chosen them to be a special people unto himself (v. 3-6). Also the children of Israel should be blessed above all people, neither male nor female among them should be barren, and no evil diseases should they get, for all these evils the Lord should lay upon those that hate Israel (v. U-15). And the Lord would destroy all the nations, and would deliver them into the hands of Israel, and Israel should have no mercy upon them. Moreover the Lord would send h( rnets to destroy all fugitives who hid themselves from the sight of the Israelites (v. 16 and 20). Chapter YIIL— Moses says again, the children of Israel should observe all the commandments of the Lord, so that they might live and increase in num- ber.— Thus, if an Israelite died an early death, his friends would hare to infer from it his having not kept the commandments ; while again, every one grow- ing old and having plenty of posterity, must have been a pious one, accordmg to this doctrine.— The children of Israel should also bear continually in mind how good the Lord had been to them, in keeping them in the wilderness for forty years, in order to teach them that man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that procet^deth out of the mouth of the Lord (v. 2, 3).— The holy man had better said " by every thing that goes into the mouth of the Lord;" for the Lord consumed so many meat-offerings and drink-offerings, and otlier offerings of most holy things (in the shape of roast-beef and mutton), that an army of men might have lived upon it.— To conclude his exhortations Moses Bays, they slionld also remember that the Lord, their God, brought them through a terrible wilderness, wherein were fiery serpents and scorpions, and no water to drink.— This were beautiful things indeed, worth to be remembered and to be thankful for! Probably Moses thought to make the people still more afraid of the Lord (their bugbear) by exhorting them to thankfulness in this mocking way. DEUTERONOMY. 15 Chapter IX. — Now Moses informs the children of Israel that the time has come to cross the river Jordan, which separated them from the desirable land. The Lord would give them that land^ and destroy all its inhabitants with a con- suming fire ; the Israelites, however, should not deem themselves righteous on that account, for this they were not, they were a stubborn and hardened people, but it was mere kindness of the Lord to give them tlie land of promise. Chapter X. — Moses continues to exhort the people: The Lord had been so very good towards the children of Israel, he says, and what did the Lord require in return, nothing, only he required they should fear him, and love him, and serve him, with all their hearts and all their zeal. — We have seen in what consisted the fear of the Lord, namely, it consisted ia fearing implicitly Moses and the priests ; the love of the Lord consisted in the bringing of an countless amount of presents (in the shape of offerings) to the priests; and to serve the Lord consisted in killing as many Canaanites as possible, so that the priests might have their share of the booty, and consisted further in passing the Sabbath- days, and many other holy days, in utter idleness, save the bringing of offerings to the priests. — The Lord, says Moses, doth protect the rights of the fatherless and widows, and loveth the stranger. — The love the Lord felt towards widows is well illustrated in Numb. XXXI., where we read that the Lord ordered the mas- sacre 01 thirty thousand defenceless widows, who were in the camp of the Israelites. And the love the Lord felt for strangers, we may form a correct idea of from Deut. VII. Chapter XL — Moses gives once more the assurance that the children of Israel shall come into a beautiful land, a land of milk and honey, where they will not be obliged, as in Egypt, to sow the seed, but where everything grows of itself, for the Lord takes care thereof, and provides for rain and sun-shine in due season, so that the children of Israel will get plenty, and eat to the full, and have nothing to care for but to listen diligently to the commandments of the Lord. — The poor children of Israel must have been awfully disappoinied when coming into Canaan, and finding there a land in nothing superior to other countries, and where they had to sow the seed, if they wished to get bread to eat with their milk and honey. Observing furthermore that the land of Canaan, instead of being more fertile than other countries, is even barren for a great part, we on that acconnt almost believe that Moses himself would also have been dis- appointed had he seen the land. The land of milk and honey which Moses originally intended to go to, was very likely the land afterwards called " Coele- Syria" (Happy Syria), being a part of Syria, and thus called on account of its beautiful climate and fertile soil. This country was situated to the north-east of Palestine, and either Moses must have been led by an* error to suppose Canaan to be this coveted land, or he must have found out that the conquest of a country was more diflScult than he anticipated, and have given up his plan of going any further. It is true that the Lord promised unto Abraham all the 76 THE BIBLE EXPOSED. countries situated between the sea and the river Euphrates (it is repeated here in V. 24), and that Canaan makes part of it, but again the most blessed spot, designated as the land of milk and honey, and where Moses intended to go first, in order to further extend his dominions from that point, may still have been the happy land of CcEle-Syria. That the children of Israel never had posses- sion of the land promised them in v. 24 of this chapter, also promised in Gen. XV : 18, must be known to every one who knows a little of history. They never got anything more, in ful! po>?session, but a small part of it, chiefly the unfertile country of Judea. about 1.50 geographical square miles in extent (say 10 in breadth by 1 5 in length), so that a good pedestrian might have crossed their land in one day. Chapter XIL— This chapter and the following, till chapter XXVI., we pass over as containing nothing new, and being but a tedious rehearsal of former stories. Chapter XXVII.— Moses ordains now that when the children of Israel have crossed the Jordan, six of the tribes should stand upon mount Gerizzim to be blessed, and six should stand upon mount Ebel to be cursed. These unfor- tunate ones were Reuben, Gad, Asher, Zebulon, Dan, and Naphtali (v. 13).— Why these six tribes were to be cursed is not explained. Chapter XXVIII.— And it should come to pass that if the children of Israel would listen diligently to the voice of the Lord (to say, the voice of the priest), then the Lord would set them above all nations of the earth, and they would be blessed with great blessings. Blessed would they be in the :;ity ; blessed in the field ; llessed would be the fruit of their ground, and blessed the fruit of their belly. Blessed would be their basket, and blessed their kneading- trough. Blessed would be their coming in and blessed would be their going out. Yea, the Lord would constitute Israel the head and not the tail, for Israel alone should be uppermost, while all the other nations should be beneath.— Unfortunately for the people of Israel that nothing of all these blessings has befallen them, notwithstanding their listen ng to the voice of the Lord —But, says Moses, it shall come to pass, if thou do not listen to the voice of the Lord, that all these curses shall fall upon thee : cursed shalt thou be in the city, and cursed shalt thou be in the field. Cursed shalt be the fruit of thy body, and cursed the fruit of thy land. The Lord will send against thee misfortune, con- fusion, and failure in all thy occupations, until thou be destroyed, etc. And the Lord will cause the pestilence to cleave unto thee, etc. The Lord will smite thee with consumption, and with fever, and with inflammation, and with extreme burning, etc. And the heaven above thee shall be copper, and the earth under thee shall be iron. The Lord will pour ashes and dust as rain upon thy land, until thou be destroyed. And thou shalt be smitten before thy ene. mies, and become an abomination unto all the kingdoms of the earth. And thy carcasses shall become food unto all the fowls of heaven and unto all the DEUTERONOMY. n beasts of the earth. The Lord will smite thee with madness, and with blind- ness, and with confusion. And if thon betroth a wife another shall lie with her, and if thou build a house, another shall dwell therein. Thy ox shall be slain before thy eyes, and another shall eat thereof. Thy sons and daughters shall be taken into captivity, etc., etc. ; and many more curses should come over Israel in case they did not listen unto the voice of the Lord. — Now, as Israel never be- came so glorious a nation as was promised by the Lord, their posterity believe that their forefathers have been disobedient unto the voice of the Lord, and be- lieve themselves to be suffering for it, according to the curse spoken in this chap- ter. Also the Christians believe the Jews to be under the curse, and that because they did not mind the voice of the Christian Lord, Jesus, and accordingly they consider this chapter as a very striking prophecy of the present condition of the Jew?, they even point to it as a proof of the truthfulness of the scripture. They are the more ready to see a prophecy in this, because v. 37 says : " And thou shalt become an abomination, a proverb and a by-word, among all the na- tions whither the Lord will lead thee." Further, v. 64, says : " And the Lord will scatter thee among all the nations, etc." These sentences now make the prophecy complete, according to the views of the Christians, for they neglect entirely to consider that nothing of all thia series of curses, pronounced here (from V. 15-67) ever has occurred, save the scattering among the other nations^ About this being scattered, (which by-the-bye is in contradiction with their being destroyed, as ulso threatened here), we might observe that Moses, having succeeded in making the Hebrews a people which looked with contempt upon all other nations, and whose bigotry would not allow them to intermarry with them, must easily have understood that, though Israel might be repulsed from the land of Canaan, they still would remain, for some time, a separate people, distinct of the others, on account of their peculiar religion. It was not necessary to be a great prophet to foretell such a thing. So too, as for foresaying that they would be an astonishment to the other nations, no great prophetical capability was re- quired neither; for it is plain that it would appear very odd to the other nations to see the Israelites consider themselvas to be holier creatures, and peculiarly loved by God, while they were repulsed from the land they wished to conquer and while working as slaves under the yoke of their so-called enemies. The oddity of such nation must make them an astonishment and a by-word. This prophecy of their being scattered and being an astonishment is thus merely a re- sult of the sharp-sightedness of Moses, but is not of divine origin. If it was of divine origin, all the rest of the curses ought to have been fulfilled just as well which we know has not been the case. Chapter XXIX. — What Moses spoke in the former chapers he calls the words of the covenant and he exhorts the people to keep them, so that they may prosper. They are all standing this day, he says, before the Lord, that they should enter into the covenant of the Lord their God, and into his oath, which the Lord their God made with them this day ; in order to raise them this _/ 78 THE BIBLE EXPOSED. DEUTERONOMY. 19 It! day unto himself for a people (v. 9-11).— As the Lord had already made a covenant with the people shortly after their flight from Egypt, this one was a second one. The making of covenants appears to have been quite different in those days of what it is now ; for now-a-days the different parties must agree by mutual consent to tne conditiors, while here it was the Lord alone who made it, and desired that the others should keep it, without ever having asked if the Israelites agreed to its stipulations. This mode of acting of the Lord was arbi- trary, and cannot have been very pleasant for his chosen people, though on the other hand it must have been a great honor for Israel to obtain in this way a special God of their own. Chapter XXX. — And it shall happen when all these things have come upon Israel, the blessings and the curses, then will they reflect upon it in their heart, and return unto the Lord their God. And the Lord will have mercy on them, and restore them from captivity, gathering them together, to bring them back once more to the blessed land of milk and honey ; and take away their curse, in order to place it upon the head of those that hate them. — This benevolent inten- tion of the Lord was worthy of so good-natured a God ; for, we see,if the Israelites should ever desert the service of this good God, he promised them, before- hand, to have finally mercy on them, though they might not have obeyed his voice. Only one thing is there that lessens a little the hope of seeing the promise ful- filled, namely, the Lord said in chapter XXVIII : 68, that he shall finally send the children of Israel by ship into Egypt, and there procure to sell them as slaves, and as this is not consistent with what he promises, it is plain he imposes upon his children. — The idea that the Israelites shall return into the promised land is yet alive among them, based upon this chapter, until, now, how- ever, the prophecy has not been fulfilled ; and if we consider that the Isrealites themselves have not likely the wish to settle in the barren land of Judea, but rather prefer to do commercial business in large cities to being there, we may rest quite assured that they never will be reunited again into that desirable land ; but gradually will get mixed with the other nations. Chapter XXXL— Moses now tells us that he is 120 years old, and that it is time for him to die. Before starting ofi*he exhorted the children of Israel not to be afraid when crossing the Jordan, for the Lord himself would destroy their enemies. He thereupon went into the tabernacle where the Lord came, in order to take leave of him, saying, it was now time for Moses to go to sleep with his fathers. — For the Mosaical Lord believed not in a life hereafter, as we often had occasion to observe. Chapter XXXII. — Moses after taking leave of the Lord, sang his last song which we here find recorded. It is a little prolix, but taking into consideration that old folks are often prolix, we must not mind this, but only admire the beau- tiful ideas it conveys. The song seems to have served as a model for the songs which king David composed, and which are known to us under the name of F&ulms. Chapter XXXIII. — After the song Moses spoke a blessing, wherewith he blessed the children of Israel. The blessing was spoken in about the same lofty style as the song, and the contents of it is so full of profound wisdom that the children of Israel might study over it as long as they pleased without ever find- ing out the bottom of it. The only tribe to which Moses spoke in a more intel- ligible way, was the tribe of Levi, namely, he said of Levi : (we take here the words of the Jewish bible) : " Thy thummim and thy urim are with thy holy man, whom thou didst try at Massah, and with whom thou didst wrestle at the waters of Merihah ; who said of his father and of his mother, I have not seen them ; and who did not acknowledge his brothers, nor regard his own children ; for they mind thy word and thy covenant they keep" (v. 8, 9). — Seeing that the Hebrew words of * thummim' and ' urim' mean ' light' and ' excellence,* we have to read, '* let thy light and thy excellence remain with thy holy man." The holy men were the Invites themselves ; Moses wished them to keep for themselves the superior knowledge. For, since he says '• thy light and thy excellence," it appears from these words that the Levites had received greater light in matters of the Mosai- cal religion than the rest of the people. And, as Moses did never speak of this preliminary, we have to infer that this light (or knowledge) was kept a secret among them. Now, before parting from the Levites, Moses thought it useful to exhort them once for all never to reveal this secret to any one but a Levite, and only to trust those whom they had tried with all kinds of trials, and whom had shown to be disposed rather to dcjiy their lather and mother, and even their own children, than to break their oath of secresy ; as such ones alone were worthy to be trusted with their covenant. The word of ' covenant' which Moses used here; also shows that a covenant existed between the Levites, and this covenant proves to have been a secret by the mysterious way he speaks of it. The correctness of our former supposition that the Levites were the assistants of Moses, and were acquainted with the mysteries of his religion, is pretty evident from this chapter. Chapter XXXIV. — Finally Moses announces that he w^ent up unto the mount of Nebo, from the top of which the Lord showed him the promised land of milk and honey, saying : " but thither shalt thou not go." ]\Ioses the servant of God died thereupon. And the Lord buried him in the valley of Moab, but no man ever found his tomb. Moses was 120 years old when he died, yet his eyes were not dimmed, and his natural strength had not abated. — This powerful old age shows us again that Moses had enjoyed an uncommon protection by the Lord, but, though his bodily strength had not abated, still we have good reason to suppose that his memory must hare considerably diminished, and made him commit an error as to the year of his birth, for a man who has led such an i 80 THE BIBLE EXPOSED. TREATISE ON MOSES. 81 active and exciting life is not likely to have possessed his full strength at so old an age as Moses names. He must have been much younger ; but it of course adds to the respect due to a great prophet if he be of an uncommonly old age. It is also interesting to notice from this page that Moses himself wrote that he died. He thus wrote after his death. It could be though that Joshua his successor, wrote this last chapter for him ; and we should not be surprised if Joshua had written the whole book of the Deuteronomy, save the three chapters preceding the last, which may originally have made part of the book called Numbers. The reason why we suppose this book to be written by another than Moses, is because the style of writing differs greatly from that of the other books, and because Moses told us already in the previous one that he was ordered to die on the mount. The children of Israel mourned for Moses thirty days. And Joshua the son of Nun, a man full of the spirit of wisdom, for Moses had laid his hand upon him, took up the leadership of the people, and the children of Israel hearkened unto him ; yet there never arose in Israel a prophet who, as Moses, knew the Lord face to face, and who was equal to him in respect to his mighty hand and terrific deeds (v. 10-12).— Still the Christians believe that their Jesus has been a still greater man than Moses was.- -As to the death of Moses, the circumstance that his tomb was never found, would cause us to suggest, tliat Moses probably was not yet in a hurry to die, and descending the mount on the other side, before the Lord came up to put him to death, has avoided that doom, and has travelled until he reached Egypt, or some other civilized country, where he could rest in peace of all his work, and enjoy the earning of his labor. We suppose this explanation to hold good at all events. To iThat conclusion we come in respect to Moses, after a tUorougb inTestigation of tbe five first books of the bible. Moses, the well-known leader of the Israelites, was born according to the calculation of some historians, in the year 3309, and according to others in the year 3467 B. C, in the northern part of Egypt, in the little kingdom of the (in the bible mentioned) Pharaohs. This kingdom seems to have been situated on the east bank of the river Nile, opposite the place where in later times the city of Memphis was built. The capital of this kingdom, and perhaps the only city of the kingdom, was, according to the sup- position of some, the very ancient city of Babylon, on the Nile. The inhabi- tants of this kingdom, called in the bible by the general name of Egyptians, had, as was the case with all nations of that period, a number of servants, who invariably were slaves, since no other condition was known at that time thun that of master and slave. Tlie slaves were originally gotten by taking prisoners of war, but as they begat children, the children also grew up in slavery. The land of Egypt very likely, as is yet the case at the present time with the whole northern part of Africa, was often visited during the summer seasons by nomadic tribes, who came up from the interior of Africa to seek refuge from the heat and sell their products, to take in return grain and other northern products, wherewith to return back to their southern homes. These nomadfc tribes belong almost all to the race of moors (not to be confounded with negroes). In the interior of Africa there exist tribes of moors, whose languages has much resemblance to the Hebrew tongue, even many words entirely the same, as Dr. Livingstone, the english missionary writes. That the tribes passing through the kingdom of the Pharaohs have sometimes come to a fight with the inhabi- tants, we may take for granted, since we know"^ that the human race has always been fond of fighting. On such occasions the Egyptians have certainly not kt pass the chance of providing themselves with slaves, seeing that a slave repre- sents a value, and that man has always been anxious to accumulate wealth. Considering all these points, it leads us to presume that the Egyptian slaves had their first origin from various nations, and principally from Moorish tribes. To this supposition we must adhere still more, when we learn that in that period the whole population of North-Africa save the Egyptians, consisted of Moorish tribes. A race of slaves will lose however in the course of lime to a great ex- tent the external features of their original race, by a crossing with the race of their masters; this is a fact which is unmistakably visible in countries where slavery still exist ; the late Egyptian slaves therefore have in all probability con- sisted in a mongrel race of Moorish and Egyptian descent. They were called Hebrews, which seems to have meant '• slaves " in the old Egyptian language. A man of the name of Moses, who had been brought up in the house of a Hebrew family at the expense of a daughter of the king, who adopted him as her son, (probably she had good reason for it, as the clandestine manner in which she reared him, leads to the supposition that if the child was her's, it was an ille- gitimate one,) conceived the notion that it would be a fine thing to free the slaves, by creating insurrection among them, and place himself at the heaJ of this people, so that he might govern as king. He tried to incite them into in- surrection, giving the example by killing an Egyptian, because he chastised his slave. The king however having heard of it sent his men to apprehend him, in consequence of which Moses had to flee from the country. He tied into the wil- derness of Arab on the other side of the defile of Suez. There he came into the house of a priest and married his daughter. He seems to have lived with his futher-in-law for some time, keeping the flocks. Tiiough now the keeping of flocks is an useful occupation, still it was no work to please Moses long, for he, being ambitious, would have preferred to rule over men instead of over sheep ; the result of this was that he often pondered over the best manner of carrying out his once conceived notion of making the Egyptian slaves a people by themselves. He came to the conclusion that the best way would be, first, to make them be^ 6 i . ' 1 82 THE BIBLE EXPOSED. lieve that they were all descendants of one family so as to create a feeling of brother-hood amongst them, and then to entice them out of the land of Egypt by some means or other. Moses, accordingly, wrote down a sort of a novel, mixing it with some current legend, wherein he told the story of a man named Abraham, who was an intimate friend of some very mighty lord ; this mighty lord was the very same great man who had made the world and every thing thereon ; now this lord promised his friend he would make his descendants a great and glorious nation, he would also give them luxuriant lands to possess, a land of milk and honey, and would be a god, or a guardian, unto them, to bless them and to protect them against all evil. The descendants of this happy man Abraham, had on account of a famine in the happy land, removed from there into Egypt, where they had at first been greatly respected, but by some unfortunate juncture of circumstances had by degrees sunk into slavery. The mighty lord, who for a time had forgotten them, now hearing their crying-, and discovering they had to do hard labour in mortar and brick, suddenly remembered all his precious promises unto Abraham and resolved to make good his word. He therefore called on Moses to ask his assistance ; and to send him unto the king of Egypt, to command him to let the Hebrews go for three days, in order to ofifer unto the lord, tlieir God, who was in the wilderness awaiting them, — Moses having finished this novel, to which he added a book of laws, and a book of or- dinances regarding the ofierings, returned into Egypt, where he visited Aaron, his foster-brother, and some trusted Hebrews, who might be willing to assist him in carrying out his scheme. The story of the great lord and his intimate friend Abraham was circulated among the slaves. The promise of a land of milk and honey, where they would have plenty, without labour ; and the assurance that the great lord, who so fondly loved them, awaited them on the other side of the red-sea, was, of course, favorably received by the Hebrews, who being slaves, had not sufficient education to see the cheat, nor had they much to jeopardise. Mo- ses thought, if he should succeed in getting the slaves out of Egypt, he would lead them towards the best part of Syria, (called coele (happy) Syria), and con- quer the land, taking it by surprise. Once in that land he would take his seat on a throne, ruling at the same time as priest and as king. He would teach the people the existence of a revenging God (in plain words, a bug-bear), whose minister he would be, and this God should be the mightiest of all gods, and be the special God of Israel ; in this way the people should fear the priests and cultivate a strong feeling of unity among themselves, but treat with con- tempt all other nations. The power of such a priestly king would be very great, and could satisfy the ambition of the most ambitious of men. — The God which ^Moses* imagination brought forth was a sort of human being, with the difference that he was much more powerful than common man, and possessed of an ever- lasting life. The name he gave him was that of " Lord," probably to show that he was the lord among the gods — for Moses did not repute the existence of other gods, as can be seen from Gen. 1 : 26 and Gen. Ill : 22.— Seeing now that to govern the people with success, the priestly king would want assistance, Moses TREATISE ON MOSES. 83 selected a number of men, calling them Levites, to whom he communicated under oath of secresy his intentions and priestly secrets, (gotten from his father-in-law), organizing them into a mysterious society. The tradition of their secrets formed in latter days the cabal or mystic science of the rabbins. It were also the Le- vites who probably assisted Moses in the execution of the Egyptian plagues and other miraculous performances. — Moses, thus prepared, with a story about a god and a patriarch, and with a law-book, and with miracles, and with a number of assistants, bound to him by a most terrible oath, undertook to set the rebellion of the Egyptian slaves on foot, and if they should not rise fi-om their own free will, he would make them do so by means of miraculous performances, and in- duce them to follow him. The miracle-performance was a common occurrence among Egyptian priests or magicians. Once out of the land he should lead them to coele-Syria, and though they might object, observing that they did not see the great lord who was awaiting them, again he should compel them by force of miracles to go and invade the land, killing the unsuspecting inhabitants and taking pos- session of their dwellings and fields. — This grand plan of Moses did however but partly succeed, for if he succeeded by a number of tricks and crimes in al- luring the Egyptian slaves away from their masters, he never succeeded in getting possession of the coveted land of happy Syria ; nor did he reign as king and as priest in the manner as he hoped to do. After some years wandering in the wilderness without being able to conquer any habitable land, being repulsed everywhere, Moses at last gave up his plans ; he named Joshua his successor, and giving out that the Lord had ordained him to die on the mount, he went up on some mountain, descending again on the other side, and made his way towards Egypt, or some other civilized country, where he could spend in ease all the gold and silver the children of Israel had stolen from Egypt, and brought unto the tabernacle, and which he Moses most probably had caused to be carried off and deposited in a safe place, in care of his friend and foster-brother Aaron, who left the camp some time previous. Though now Moses seems to have been almost an infernal being, at least as we would judge of his character, still in one thing he is to admire, namely, in his never failing energy and perseverance ; for nothing was able to discourage him in his efforts ultimately to accomplish his plans, using any means in his reach ; it was only after years of fruitless endeavours, when he saw the total impossibility of conquering the land he coveted, that he gave up the idea of persevering any longer. Had Moses suc- ceeded he would have extended, as is to be seen from the promises of his Lord, his priestly kingdom from the Nile unto the Euphrates, and would have reigned over all the then civilized nations. Fortunately though for the world he did not succeed, for his domination would have been one of priestly tyranny and bigotry, crushing out all free thoughts and noble feelings of the human nature, merely for the end of affording the priests a life of luxury at the expenses of the masses. The catho licism of the middle-ages, when the pope was considered the absolute ruler ovei the souls and bodies of all nations and individuals, was an imitation of the reign Moses intended to have, and was a reign entirely based upon his principles — but f u THE BIBLE EXPOSED. THE BOOK OF JOSHUA. 85 it has not been as strong as his would have been, since the dominion of the pope had not as strong a basis to prove its godlj installation, as would have been the case with a dominion of Mosaical popes, or suceessors of Moses. Fortunately, how- ever. Providence has not allowed such usurpers to trample under foot all the good what exists in humanity, so that the human race las been at liberty to im- prove ; while under the Mosaical reign, it would have gotten totally depraved and have become nearly equal to the brutes. THE BOOK OF JOSHUA. Chaftek I.— And it happened after the death of Moses that the Lord spoke unto Joshua, the minister of Moses, saying : Moses my servant is dead, now therefore arise, pass over this Jordan, thou and all the people. Every place that the sole of thy foot shall tread upon, tl at have I given unto You. From the wilderness unto the Lebanon, even unto the great river, the river Euphrates* all the land of the Hettites, and unto the great sea towards the west, shall be yours (v. 1-4).— See about the extent of the land of the Israelite onr remarks in Levit. XXXIV. Chapter IL— Joshua sent out two spies to reconnoitre the land, in particu- lar the town of Jericho, 'j'he spies went into that place, and they, deemin^- it proper, to unite the agreeable to the useful, stopped over night in a brothel. The king of Jericho being informed of the circumstance, sent to Ilachab, the mistress of the brothel, with inquiries after these men. Ra- chab hid forthwith the spies under a pile of straw, and said, the men were gone long since. In the course of the night she let them down by a rope from Uie window, for her house stood on the town wall ; and thus, the godly spies es- caped. Chapter III.— The children of Israel marched up towards Jericho ,• the ark of the Lord of all the earth, (the Lord got this pompous title since Joshuas election.) was carried in front of the army by the Levites. The people were- not allowed to approach it nearer than at a distance of 2000 cubits (3000 feet), thev were further ordered to sanctify themselves, for the Lord was going to do won- ders which should make Joshua great in the eyes of all Israel. And lo, it came to pass, that, when the Levites stood on the margin of the Jordan, the waters which came down stopped at once and stood like a wall, so that the ark and subsequently the whole army crossed the river, quite dry.—This great wonder which was intended to make Joshua great, may however have been performed in a very simple manner, for, the Jordan, as is known, is but a small rivulet and in some places very shallow, so that the Levites who were ahead of the army could easily have thrown up a dam to keep back the water which came down. The more readily they could do so if they have chosen a spot where the river m de a fork, so as to let oflf the water the other way. The army crossing the river at some distance of the dam, could of course, not see the cause of tlie miracle. 4 Chapter IV. — The children of Israel having crossed the river erected a monument of twelve stones ; and Joshua was now great in the eyes of all Israel, and they feared him as tliey had feared Moses all the days of his life (v. 14.) Chapter V. — And it came to pass when all the kings of the Emorites and all the kings of the Canaanites heard that the Lord had dried up the waters of the Jordan to let the children of Israel pass, that their heart melted away, and there remained no more courage within them. — During the time of Moses, we were informed that the Emorites were entirely destroyed, so that none of them remained, but now we see, they got still a melting heart. — And it happened one of these days that Joshua took a walk in the neighborhood of Jericho, and be- hold, while being near the city, suddenly a man with a sword in his hand, stood before him ; Joshua said, ^' art thou for us or for our adversaria ?" " No," said he, " I am the captain of the host of the Lord, and now I am come." Joshua hearing this, fell on his face, saying : " what doth my Lord speak unto thy servant." The celestial captain thereupon said : " take off thy shoes, for the place where thou standest is holy." Joshua forthwith took off his shoes. Chapter VI. — Now Jericho was shut up and barred up, because of the children of Israel ; no one went in and no one came out. The Lord then ordered Joshua that all the warriors should march around the city once a day, during six days, and the seventh day they should compass the city seven times, blowing the cornets. And it should happen that at the moment, they should blow a last long blast, and all the army should ejaculate a great shout, the walls of the city should fall down, so that the children should have but to enter the city. The miracle happened as the Lord had spoken, and all inhabitants of Jericho, old, young, male and female w^ere slain, except Rachab the whore ; and the city, after being pillaged, was set on fire. And all the gold and silver and all the vessels of copper, etc, which were taken, were brought unto the treasury of the Lord, as these things were holy unto the Lord. — Already in Levit X and Numb. XVI we expressed our opinion that Moses and his assistants must have known the use of gunpowder or some stuff similar to it, and seeing that by this miracle the walls cannot have come down by the mere sound of the trumpets, we feel still more assured that the gunpowder was known. During the seven days that Joshua kept the inhabitants barred up in town by a display of his army, he probably set his Levites at work to undermine the walls and place powder un- derneath them. At a given signal a light was applied to the powder and the walls stumbled down. It was a monk who in later days is said to have invented 5ii ■ 86 THE BIBLE EXPOSED. the powder, but who knows if he has not disclosed some old secret, kept by the priesthood ; who inherited their secrets from the ancient priests of Rome and ot Greece, and they again of Egypt. Chapter YII.— An attack on the town of the name of Ai was now under- taken, but not with as fortunate a result as on Jericho, for this time the children of Israel were repulsed. They wept and put dust upon their heads. The Lord then said they were beaten this time, because some among them had kept for themselves of the devoted things (gold and silver) of Jericho. Joshua therefore should examine by means of a touching-process, who was the transgressor, and such should be burnt alive ; after this execution the wrath of the Lord sliould be appeased. The unfortunate man, who was touched, was Achan ; he had hidden fifty shekels of gold ; the gold was taken away from him for the Lord, and the man with all his family was burnt alive, so that the Lord was appeased Chapter YIIL— The city of Ai was now taken by means of a stratagem which was invented by the Lord himself. Chapter IX.— The cities of the Amorites and Canaanites made an alliance against Israel ; they also sent spies, who at first were not discovered but after- wards were. Chapter X.— The city of Gibeon, whence the spies came, made peace with Israel. The other cities of the Amorites, on that account, joined their forces against Gibeon, so that she sent for help to Joshua. Joshua sent his army and overtook the enemy unexpectedly, in consequence of which they fled in great con- fusion, and it happened that while they were flying through the pass of Beth- choron, the Lord smote them with big rocks from heaven, and more died of the rocks than of the sword.— Probably these projectiles, instead of coming from heaven, came from the rocks of Bethchoron, where the Invites will have assisted the Lord in throwing the stones.— Joshua deemed this day of victory and re- venge too short for Israel, and he therefore ordered the sun to stand still upon Gil^on, and the moon to stand still in the valley of Ayalon, for twenty-four hours. The sun and the moon obeyed him immediately, so that, as Joshua says (v. 14), there was never a day like this, neither before, nor after that the Lord listened unto the voice of man.— That there was never a day that the Mosaical Lord listened unto the voice of man, is quite possible, but that the suu and moon would have stood still is quite impossible, since the whole starry firma- ment would have gotten into a general disorder, in case sun and moon had obeyed Joshua ; for the course of every one of the celestial globes depends on that of others, on account of their mutual attraction, so that if the course of one (especially of such a principal one as the sun) shoulu have been stopped, it would have caused the greatest confusion in the whole system. That the moon may have shone uncommonly clear during that memorable night, and that THE BOOK OF JOSHUA. 8T some drunken hero may have thought her to be the sun, would have been no miracle. The same hero may have also taken some lightfire, or some fire-sig- nal kept burning on a hill, for the rising moon; or perhaps he saw the moon double. Chapter XL— A large number of kings joined against Ii rael, but the Lord said to Joshua : '- be not afraid, for to morrow I give them all up to be slain by Israel." And Israel slew them all and killed every one of them, as Moses had ordained, and all the spoil of the cities did the children of Israel take as booty. All the countries between the mountain of Seir and the valley of Lebanon, were taken by Joshua. He also cut off the Anakins, and utterly destroyed them. We will soon have an opportunity to discover that though here is said, all the countries between Seir and the Lebanon were taken, and the inhabitants de- stroyed, this was not the case. In the same way we are told here the Anakins were utterly destroyed by Joshua, but unfortunately we read in Deut. II that these mighty giants were already utterly destroyed at the time of Moses. Chapter XII. — Joshua enumerates now the name of all the kingdoms he took possession of; their number was 31. The most principal were : The kin^r- dom of Jericho, consisting of one city. The kingdom of Ai, consisting of one city. The kingdom of Jerusalem, consisting of one city. The kingdom of He- bron, consisting of one. The kingdom of Yarmuth, consisting of one; and so forth, thirty-one cities representinir tiiidy-one kingdoms.— We may imagine what important kingdoms they were ; all of them were situated on the west side of the Jordan, (according to v. 7.) The Jordan is about 24 geogr. miles in length. Now taking the land from the west side of the Jordan half way unto the Medit- eranean sea, (further we cannot take it since we know that the sea-coast was in- habited by the Philistines, witli wiom the Israelites had not yet been in war,) then we discover that the space, wherein all these 31 kingdoms were situated, can have been of about 150 geogr. square miles. The dominion of each of these kingdoms can, consequently, not have been very great. Why then should we wonder if forty thousand armed men, ready for war, and having passed review before the Lord, (as appears from Joshua lY: 13,) should have conquered by surprise thirty-one kingdoms (or in plain words thirty-one villages) and have periormed such galant deeds as slaughtering women and children. We can not at all wonder at it ; for they fought with the aid of the Lord. Chapter XIII.— The Lord said unto Joshua, that because he (Joshua) was getting old, stricken by the weight of years, he should divide the land among the tribes of Israel, without trying any further to drive the inhabitants out of it. Joshua divided the land, and the tribes went all to the countries assigned to them ; but were obliged to live in the midst of the other inhabitants —We see that, though, Joshua first told us thai he had utterly destroyed all the inhabitants from the Lebanon till Seir, there remained yet many of them in the country. 88 THE BIBLE EXPOSED. THE BOOK OP JOSHUA. 89 Chapter XIV.— Nine and a half tribe occupied the land on the west side of the Jordan, while two and a half tribe took possession of the land on the north-east side of the Jordan. Caleb, a faithful spy, received the mountain of Hebron as his individual share for his services, yet he himself had to destroy the Anakites who held possession of the mountain.— Strange to say, but the Ana- kites were already twice utterly destroyed, (in Deut. II and in Joshua XI,) but, as we see, every time they make their appearance again. They possessed, we guess, the nine lives of the cat. Chapter XY.— The land on the west side of the salt sea was divided unto Judah, from the bay of that sea till the uttermost southern boundaries to the river of Egypt.— 1'hose who are acquainted with the Jewish history will know that the tr'ibe of Judah never got possession of a tract of land as here described ; their boundaries never reached unto the river of Egypt, but were limited to the country of Judea, which was a plot of ground of scarcely a hundred square geog. miles. And yet this has been the only piece of land, of the whole territory promised, which ever was actually in possession of any of the twelve t-ibes ; we will see in Judges 1 : 27-36. that the other tribes got homesteads which were Bever conquered, 'lliey had to dwell between the towns of the old inhabitants, who have always looked upon the tribes as intruders.— Joshua enumerates further a large number of cities which he holds out as now belonging to Judah. It is, howe'ver, more likely that they belonged to the Jebusites, the original inhabi- tants. Even Jerusalem, which Joshua named in chapter XII among the con- quered and destroyed cities, he now confesses to belong still to the Jebusites; for he says : " As for the Jebusites, the inhabitants of Jerusalem, these the children of Israel could not drive out, but the Jebusites dwelt with the children of Judah at Jerusalem even unto this day" (v. 63). Chapter XVI.— The children of Joseph got their inheritance to the north of the children of Judah. The tribe of Ephraim got the territory from Thap- puach until the brook Kanah. Thev drove, however, not out the Canaanites that dwelt in the land ; but the Canaanites dwelt with the Ephraimites until this day (v. 10).— It appears the hornets had not come which were expected to drive oat the Canaanites. Chapter XVII— The tribe of Manasseh got several lots of ground more than the tribe of Ephraim, because Manasseh had been Joseph's first born ; still the children of Manasseh could not drive out the inhabitants of these cities, for the Canaanites continued to dwell in the land (v, 12). Chapter XVIII.— Joshua sent thereafter three spies to find out which land more would be suitable for the remainder of the tribes who had not got an in- heritance yet. They went out and returned, giving a description of the land thev had seen ; thereupon Joshua assigned it unto the other tribes ; who, of course, had to look out for themselves how to get it. Chapter XIX. — In this chapter Joshua enumerates the large cities situated in the inheritances of the different tribes.— Seeing, however, that none of these cities were taken by the Israelites, these imaginary possessions could not be of anv use to them, unless they wished to do like some fantastical philosopher in Athens, who, in order to console himself for his poverty, took occasionally a walk along the harbor, imagining all the ships he saw to be his ; so also the Israelites could walk along the cities, consoling themselves that they were theirs. Chapter XX.— The Lord ordered the construction of three cities of refuge for murderers ; Joshua selected their place on the east side of the Jordan. Chapter XXL— To the tribe of Levi were given forty-eight cities, with open spaces of ground, as pasture for their cattle.— Of these cities we never afterwards hear anything.— Joshua further says : And the Lord gave rest to all around, just as he had sworn into the fathers, and there was wanting nothing of all the good things which the Lord had spoken of unto the house of Israel ; it all happened as he had said.— This is well spoken on the part of Joshua-, becom- ing to a servant of the Lord, still we may observe in Judge 1 : 27-36, that there were wanting a great many things. Besides, the children of Israel never found a land of milk and honey, and never saw the hornets which should come to destroy their neighbors. Chapter XXII.— The children of Reuben, Gad, and the half tribe of Manasseh got an inheritance on the east side of the Jordan ; as they crossed the Jordan they built up an altar as a memorial of the event, and this so greatly vexed the other tribes that they had nearly engaged in war. Chapter XXIIL— Now Joshua communicates in an elegant speech his intention to die, and at the same time warns his people against marriages with persons of another nation. Chapter XXIV.— Joshua having assembled all the elders of Israel unto Shechem, spoke to them about all the great things the Lord had done for Israel, and gave them the choice to choose another god. They, though, refused to accept of any other god but the Lord, whereupon Joshua ordered them to put aside their strange gods. And it happened after these things that Joshua, the son of Nun, died, 119 years old; and they buried him on the mountain of Ephraim. At the same time with him, Eleazar, the son of Aaron, died also, and they buried him on the hill of Pinehas.— If Joshua and Eleazar went to pay a visit to Moses and Aaron, we could not tell, but suppose so, seeing that Buch worthies ought to join in companionship. 90 THE BIBLE EXPOSED. THE BOOK OF JUDGES. 91 THE BOOK OF JUDGES. Chapter I.— And it happened after the death of Joshua that the children of Israel asked the Lord, saying : " who shall go up for us against the Canaanites to fight them," and the Lord said " Judah shall go up."— In what manner the Lord could say so, is not plain seeing that Moses and Joshua now being dead, the Lord had no one to do the talking for him. — Judah assisted by the tribe of Simeon went up and defeated the Canaanites, ten thousand men strong, and they caught the king of Bezek and cut off his thumbs and great toes. The children of Judah fought also against Jerusalem and captured it, they smote it with the edge of the sword, and set the city on fire (v. 8) .—This fire seems, however, not to have destroyed the city, as we read in v. 21 : " And the Jebusites that inhabited Jerusalem, the children of Benjamin did not drive out, but the Jebusites dwelt with the children of Benjamin in Jeiusalem until this day." (In Joshua XV : 63, is said, instead of children of Benjamin, children of Judah).— The tribe of Ephraim went also up to take possession of its inheri- tance, and succeeded in taking the town of Bethel by treason. The other tribes, were not as fortunate in their conquests, for we read : Neither did Manasseh drive out the inhabitants of Beth-sheam and its towns, etc., for the Canaanites remained in the land (v. 27). Neither did Ephraim drive out the Canaanites that dwelt in Gezar ; so that the Canaanites dwelt in the midst of them in Gezar (v. 29). Zebulon did not drive out the inhabitants of Ketron (v. 30). Asher did not drive out the inhabitants of Akko, etc., and the Asherites Jwelt in the midst of the Canaanites, the irhabitants of the land (v. 31,32). Naphtali did not drive out the inhabitants of Bethsemch, etc., but dwelt in the midst of the Canaanites (v. 33). And the Amorites forced the children of Dan into the moun- tains, for they would not suffer them to come down into the valley (v. 34).— The land of milk and honey was consequently not so easily to be taken possession of as we might have expected from all the previous promises of the mighty God of Israel. Chapter II.— After the death of Joshua and the elders of Moses' time, the children of Israel began to forget the Lord their God, and did what is evil in the eyes of the Lord, namely they served the God Baal. Chapter III.— In order to educate the children of Israel for the science of war, the Lord left among them five kings of the Philistines, besides the Canaanites, and Zidonians, and Hivites, acd Hittites, and Amorites, and Perisites, and Jebusites ; but the children of Isriel took their daughters unto themselves for wives, and their daughters they gave to their sons, and they served their gods. Thus the children of Israel did the evil before the eyes of the Lord ; therefore the ano-er of the Lord was kindled against Israel, and he sold them into the hands of the king of Mesopotamy, and they served him fight years. Then Othniel came up and delivered Irael, so that they had forty years rest ; but the children of Israel again did the evil before the eyes of the Lord, and the Lord strengthened E<^lon, the king of Moab, against Israel, and they served Eglon eighteen years. 'J'hen the children of Israel cried unto the Lord, and the Lord sent them a de- liverer, that was Ehud, a man who was lefthanded. And Ehud made himself a sword and girded it under his garment, and brought a present unto Eglon the king. Now Eglon was very fat, and Ehud standing before him said he had a secret to tell him, (a word of God he called it), in consequence of which Eglou sent away his men ; but behold, scarcely were the men gone, or Ehud, drawing his sword, thrust it into Eglon's body, so that the handle went in after the blade the fat closing upon it, and the dirt came out (v. 20-22). And Ehud blew on the cornet and assembled all the children of Israel, saying : the Lord hath de- livered into your hands your enemies the Moalites. And they went down after him, and slew ten thousand men, all lusty men of valor, and there escaped none. And the land had rest eighty years. Chapter IY.— And the children of Israel did again the evil before the eyes of the Lord, after the death of Ehud. And the Lord sold them into the hand of Yabin, the king of the Canaanites. The captain of his army was Sissera. And the children of Israel cried unto the Lord, for the king had nine hundred iron chariots and oppressed the children of Israel during twenty years. Deborah, a prophetess, ruled the children of Israel at that time, and she sent for Barak and said unto him : " the Lord hath commanded thee to go and to lead on towards Thabas ten thousand men." And Barak said " If thou wilt go with mt then I will go." And she said " I will go indeed, for it is not for thy honor thou goest on the way." The army of ten thousand men went up and surprised the army of Sissera, and the Lord confounded Sissera and all his chariots, and Sissera alighting from his chariot, fled on foot. Sissera fled to the tent of Jael, the wife of a Kenito, and he said unto her : give me to drink, I pray thee ; and she gave him to drink milk and water, and covered him with a blanket. The captain then thinking himself in a safe place went asleep ; but lo, while he was sleeping, Jael approached him and with a hammer struck a nail through his temples, so that his head became fastened into the ground ; thus Sissera, while he was fast asleep and weary, died (v. 21). And so did God humble on that day Yabin, the king of Canaan, before the children of Israel (v. 23.)— The Lord made, as it appears by preference, use of treacherous acts to deliver his beloved children. The nail wh ch Mrs. Jael used might have been kept as a curiosity, as well to show by what means the Lord humbled the Canaanites, as to show how long the nails were they used in those days. A pity, indeed, they did not save this one, not only for curiosity's sake, but also for the edification of posterity. Chapter Y.— The hymn sung by Deborah and Barak on this memorable day of victory is recorded here. It is an interesting piece of poetry, by whichi 92 THE BIBLE EXPOSED. THE BOOK OF JUDGES. 93 n Deborah praises herself in high-soaring vvorils, and also declares that Jael, the murderess, ought to blessed above all women ; while the mother of Sissera be- cause she wept over her son, is sneered at without any compassion. — Under Deborah the land had forty years rest. Chapter YI.— And the children of Israel did what was evil in the eyes of the Lord, and the Lord delivered them into the hands of Midian for seven years. And it came to pass as the children of Israel cried unto the Lord that the Lord sent a deliverer unto them ; namely an angel of the Lord came down appearing unto Gideon, a young man who was threshing wheat, and said unto him : "The Lord is with thee, thy mighty man of valor, etc, ; ... and the Lord says : be- cause I will be with thee thou shalt smite the Midianites as one man." Gideon requested a sign to convince him of the truth of the angel's statement ; and, leaving the angel alone for awhile (probably to give him time to consider his re- quest), he went and roasted a kid and baked some cakes, which he brought unto the angel. The angel ordered him to place those meals upon a rock, which Gideon did, but lo, the angel touching the meal with his stuff, consumed them with fire, and disappeared at the same time. Gideon was now fully con- vinced that he had seen an angel of the Lord. Yet he desired another token of the Lord, with a fleece of wool, which should be dry, while the ground around should be moist with dew. This miracle took place ; Gideon, however, not yet convinced, desired the miracle should take place once more in an opposite man- ner, namely, the fleece should be moist and the ground dry. This also came to pass, and Gideon at last was satisfied. Chapter VII. — Gideon and all the people with him rose up early in the morning, and encamped by the spring of Charod And the Lord said unto Gideon he should not take too large an armv with him, for Israel should boast of having themselves beaten the Midianites ; he should therefore give leave to return home to who were fearful. Twenty thousand returned, and ten thousand remained with him. These men were yet too many, said the Lord ; Gideon should only take those men from among them, who, when drinking at the spring, should lap the water after the manner of the dogs. Three hundred of ihe men proved to drink like dogs, and only these were deemed worthy soldiers. Gideon gave them each a cornet, an empty pitcher, and a torch, and thus equipped, he caused his men to creep during the night into the camp of the Midianites; where of a sudden they began shattering the pitchers, while sounding their cornets, and brandishing their torches. This stratagem brought great con- sternation among the Midianites, who thinking to be surprised by a large force, fought against each other ; so that Gideon, by advancing with his ten thousand rcen, which he had kept in the arrear, had no trouble to defeat the disordered and confused army of Midian. He also made prisoner two of their chiefs, one ot whom he crushed flat against a rock, while he squeezed the other one in a wine- press. Chapter Till. — Gideon with his three hundred valiant warriors crossed the Jordan in pursuit of two other Midianite kings. Coming by the city of Succoth, he desired victuals for his followers, which the city refused. Gideon then threatened that he would whip their flesh with thorns. From there he went to the city of Fennel, demanding the same, but these inhabitants refused also to comply with his request, notwithstanding Gideon threatenpd that he would pull down their tower. Soon after this Gideon reached the army of the Midianites, being fifteen thousand strong, but with his three hundred he slew them al[ immediately and captured the kings. Then returning to Succoth he whipped the elders of that city with thorns, and broke riown the tower of Penuel. The two captured kings were treacherously stabbed by Gideon himself, and robbed of their golden ornaments. The people of Israel were now greatly delighted with Gideon, and elected him for their king, but the disinterested Gideon declined to accept this honor, saying that he were satisfied with a reward of the golden ear-rings which were taken from the Midianites. And the weight of the gold they brought him was a thousand seven hundred shekels. Under him the land had forty years rest. Chapter IX. — Abimelech, one of the seventy sons of Gideon, had taken a different view from that of his father, regarding the royal dignity ; thus, after his father's death, he went up to Sichem, and asked the inhabitants whether they wished to be governed by tne seventy sons of Gideon or only by one ; they preferred to be ruled only by one, and gave him seventy pieces of silver as a mark of their good feelings towards him. With this money he hired seventy idle and reckless men, and followed by them he entered his father's house, killing all his seventy brothers but one, who escaped. Abimelech was now made king, and reigned for three years. After the lapse of th s time Yotham, the escaped brotlier, made his appearance and disputed Abimelech's right. This caused a civil war, in which Abimelech was at first very successful, until he, at the cap- ture of Thabez. while engaged in setting fire to a tower into which the inhabi- tants had fled, got a millstone thrown upon his head which broke his skull, A bimelech looked up to see who hud thrown the millstone, and when perceiving it was a woman, he felt so ashamed that he ordered his armor-bearer to kill him immediately, in order they should not say a woman had slain him.— Abimelech proved to be a man of presence of mind, for not every one, with a broken skull, would have thought as much as he did. Chapter X. — After Abimelech, Thola rose up to deliver Israel, and he ruled over Israel twenty-three years, and then he died. After him arose Yair» and ruled over Israel twenty-two years. And he had thirty sons, riding on thirty asses, and they had thirty cities. And the children of Israel did evil in the eyes of the Lord, they served the gods Balalim and Ashtharoth, and the gods of Syria, and of Zidon, and the gods of Moab, and of Aramon, and of the Philis- tines ; therefore the Lord sold them unto the hands of the Philistines, for eighteen 6 94 THE BIBLE EXPOSED. years Then the children of Israel cried unto the Lord and confessed the.r s,ns, Ld as the Lord saw this, his soul was grieved for the trouble of Israe ; and the people said " whosoever will fight against Ammon shall be the head of Gilead. Chapter XL-Now Jephthah, a Gileadite, was a mighty man of valour, he though was the son of a harlot, and had therefore been driven out by h,s brothers ; but when the children of Ammon made war against the children of Is- rael, the elders sent for him, promising to make him their chief. Jephthah hav- in.. accepted of their offer, sent messengers to the king of Ammon to miorm h™ thit the land of Gilead belonged to Israel, as a present of the Lord, and did not belon.r to Ammon; this message the king did not understand : therefore, the spirit'of the Lord came upon Jephthah, in consequence of which he made a vow that in ca^e the Lord would actually deliver the Ammon.tes into h,s hand , he would offer unto the Lord whatsoever should come forth out o the doors of h^ house to meet him. And it happened that Jephthah defeated tte ch.ldre of Ammon, so that they were humbled before the children of srael Jeph hah comin. back from the battle field, went to his house, and behold, the one tha came out from the door, was his own daughter, his only child who came to mee him with timbrels and dances. When he saw her, he told her h,s vow, and he as an obedient daughter, eomplieon hs be ..ranted to her, in order that she might mourn her vrgm.ty before departn.g thirworld. 'ITie two months were gra„teen amply sufficient, it may be supposed that those many thousands were intended to do military duty under Hiram, the king ot Tyre, to whom the verv powerful Solomon was apparently but a tributary ;— for we also read in V. 11 : and Solomon gave Ilirara twenty thousand kors of wheat as provision for his household, and twenty thousand kors of beaten oil, thus did Solomon give to Hiram year by year. Chapters VI and VII.— The house of the Lord to be built was sixty cubits (elbowslen-ths) lonff, its breadth twenty, and its height thirty cubits, and it took seven years to construct it. Almost the whole house was overlaid with gold, and all the walls round about ornamented with carved figures of cherubims- probably to be in accordance with the ten ccmmandments of Moses.— Having finished the temple Solomon built a house for himself, for this he used thirteen years, he made it a good deal larger tlian the temple. It was also a magnificent building. Chapter VIII. — And Solomon ordered the ark of the covenant of the Lord to be brouMit from tlie city of David and placed in the new building. On that occasion he assembled the elders of Israel and sacrificed sheep and oxen that could not be told nor numbered for multitudes. In the ark itself nothing was found but the two tables of stone of Moses (no great proof of the genuineness of the other Mosaical writs) ; still it came to pass that when the priest came out of the holy place a cloud filled the whole house, so that the priests were obli"-ed to cease to minister. Solomon now addressed the people an oration, concludino" with a prayer tolerably full of sense — at least far superior to the prayers and psalms of David. He after that sacrified a peace-offering, con- sisting in twenty-two thousand oxen and a hundred thousand sheep. — This reck- less butchery excepting, Solomon appears to have entertained more enlightened ideas about the Divinity than David, who was apparently under the impression that his God dwelt in the tabernacle, while Solomon addresses him as residing in heaven ; and merely supposes liira to regard his new house with special favor. Though njw the idea of a God dwelling in the heavens, or in the sky, is yet a heathenish one, still it is not so absurd as that of a God dwelling in a tent or house. Chapter IX. — The Lord once more appeared to Solomon during the night, ratifying his promises made to David. — Solomon, namely, seems by his constant intercourse with priests to have profited of their example, for we see that he as well as any prophet knew to make the people believe that God sometimes ap- peared unto him. David ignorantly went to the Ephod to ask the Lord's counsel, but Solomon, more wise, let the Lord come to him. — The Lord again promised him to establish his throne in Israel forever, if he would walk in the same ways as David his father walked in. — Whereas the history learns tliat the promise was never fulfilled ; since the succession to the throne of Israel came to another dynasty at Solomon's death, we must suppose that Solomon has not walked as David did. It is strange, however, the Lord, who ought to have known what was to come, made a promise which he knew would not be kept. — Further- more the Lord said that if the people of Israel should desert him and serve other gods he would cast them off, and Israel should be a proverb and a by-word among all nations. — This saying is merely a repetition of the words of Moses, see about it (Deut. XXVIH). — The two houses, that of the Lord and that of the king, being entirely finished, Solomon gave to Hiram, the king of Tyre, twenty cities in the land of Galilee in payment for the lumber,gold, and building materials (v .11). — As we saw that Solomon had paid his lumber already dear enough, in chapter V. of this book, the fact of his giving now twenty cities moreover, would go far to show us that, although Solomon is represented as the greatest king on earth, he nevertheless was utterly dependent from the king of the city of Tyre ; whose people though was held in great detestation by the Israelite prophets. — Upon all inhabitants in the cities not being children of Israel, did Solomon, we read, levy a tribute. — No mention, however, is made of the cities which were inhabited by 116 THE BIBLE EXPOSED. THE FIRST BOOF OF THE KINGS. in I' Philistineg only.- Solomon bnilt also a port on the Red sea (no trace of the port is ever discovered), and he made a Davy of ships and sent them to Ofir to fetch him gold. Chapter X.-The Queen of Sheba next came to pay Solomon a visit, hav- in- heard of his wisdom and of the state in which he lived ; she made him a present of 120 talents in gold and of spices, which Solomon readily accepted He also got some 660 talents of gold every year from Ofir, besides what he had of the travelling tradesmen ; thus Solomon became the greatest kmg on earth, for riches and for wisdom. Chapter XL— Bat king Solomon loved many strange women ; he had not less than seven hundred wives, princesses, and three hundred concubines ; he clave unto these in love and they turned away his heart after other Gods. There- fore the Lord being angry with Solomon, intended to rend the kingdom from him o-ivin- it to his servants. The Lord would however not do so for DaviJ s, his Mher's sake, but now would rend it from Soloraon^s son.-The Lord evi- dently was not just in this instance, for how could he visit upon the son the father's love for strange women -The Lord in the meantime stirred up an ad- versary unto Solomon, namely Hadad the Edomite. It is true the pious David had killed off all the males in Edom, but Hadad, then only a child, had tied to the kino- of Egypt, and now being of age, returned to avenge his wrongs. A certain Reron also turned to be Solomon's adversary. And the worst of all was, that Jeroboam a mighty man of valour, happening to take u walk in a new gar- ment, met the prophet Ahijah, the Shilonite. who no sooner saw him or caught hold of the new garment and rent it in twelve pieces, ten of which he gave to Jero- boam ; and this settled the succession-question at once, for it proved that over ten of the 'tribes Jeroboam was to be king, while one was to remain to Solomon's dy- nasty, (and what should become of the twelfth, is not said.) When now Solomon heard of this, he sought to kill Jeroboam, who arose and fled to the king of Egypt, where he remained until Solomon's death ; which, occurred soon hereafter. Chapter XH. -Rehoboam, Solomon's son, was to succeed, but the people hearing of his increasing the taxes, revolted, and elected Jeroboam as king. Ju. dah onlv remained faithful to the house of David. Jeroboam now fearing, the sacrificing at Jerusalem might suggest a re-union of all the tribes, took counsel, and in ac'^cordance with that established two golden calves, that hi? people might worship, one he placed in Bethel and the other in Dan, and the people wor- shipped them.-It is remarkable that the Lord, after giving himself so much trouble to deliver his people from Egyptian idolatry, selected as their king, Jero- boam, who at once re-instituted the idolatry. However it is not to be wondered at that the people worshipped rather a harmless calf, than such a changeable Lord. Chapter XHL— A man of God out of Judah then came to Bethel, while Jeroboam was standing at the altar to sacrifice, and he cried out, that the Loi(J would offer the priests of the high places that burned incense there. In proof of which saying the altar would be rent ; and behold it came to pass as the man had spoken, that the altar burst.- -This miracle though great and wonderful, could still have been effected by gunpowdtr, as we mentioned in Joshua VI, in relation to the falling of the walls of Jericho. — The holy man thereupon, went back to Judah, as the Lord had ordained him, but it happened on his way that he was overtaken by another prophet, who pretended to be sent by the Lord to invite him to his house to eat and drink ; the invitation was accordingly ac- cepted. The Lord was angry about such violation of his command, and there- fore the man of Judah was killed by a lion ; the old prophet however, who under false pretences had enticed him to his house, came to no harm. They afterwards found the corpse, with the lion and the ass of the holy man standing by ; they took the corpse away to give it burial. The lion and the ass, it is said, did not inter- fere, but still looked on. Chapter XI V^. — The son of Jeroboam got sick and his mother went up to Ahijah, (the same prophet who had promised him the crown some time before.) for advice ; scarcely had she made her appearance at the door, when Ahijah called her by her name and informed her, that evil would befall the house of Je- roboam ; the Lord would not only cut off from Jeroboam all that pisseth against the wall, but also cause them to be taken away like dung and eaten by the dogs. — This interesting prophecy notwithstanding, we find it on record, that Jeroboam reigned 22 years, died at.d was buried in a respectable manner. — Rehoboam meanwhile reigned in Judah, where the most disgusting immorality prevailed ; the king of Egypt paid him a visit, and at the same time plundered the house of the Lord and the palace at Jerusalem in the most pitiful manner. Chapter XV. — Abijam succeeded in Judah, his father Rehoboam, but he walked in all the sins of his father, yet for David's (his progenitor) sake did the Lord give him a lamp in Jerusalem, because David had alvvavs done what was right in the eyes of the Lord, save only in the matter of Uriah (v. 5). — In II Sam. XXIV: 1, vve were informed very differently about David.— Abijam having reigned three years was again succeeded by his son Assa. And Assa did what is right in the eves of the Lord : he removed all the idols which his fathers had made, and he brought his own sanctified things into the house of the Lord, silver, gold and vessels. And there was war between Assa and Baasha, a successor of Jeroboam kintr of Israel, all their davs. And Baasha built Ramah on the frontiers of his kingdom, to prevent any one to go out or to come in to Assa. Then did Assa take all the gold of the house of the Lord and sent it to the king of Damascus that he mi"-ht assist him against Baasba. The king of Damascus came and beat the king of Israel ; Assa thereupon demolished Ramah. And the rest of all the acts c Assa, and all his might, and all that he did, and the cities which he built, 118 THE BIBLE EXPOSED. THE FIRST BOOK OF THE KINGS. 119 i iiS» are they not written in the book of the Chronicles of the kings of Judah ? Never- theless in the time of his old age he was diseased m h.s feet (v. 23.) Chaptfr XVI.-Then came the word of the Lord to Jehu against Baasha nred^tt^Tf L that, because he had acted as wickedly as Jeroboam, therefore ^^Z's^l die out, like that of Jeroboam and they all s ould e ea^en do<^. But we read a few lines further : And Baasha slept ^»,h h' J^ J"' ^J was buried in Thirzah, and Elah his son became kmg m h:s stead (v. 6).-rh.s riah wTs two years later treacherously murdered by his servant Znnr .-V . 8 of is I ;: says he began to reign in the 26th. year of A^. ^e re.gne^ two vp^rs and vet vs. 10 suys he died in the 27th. year of Asa.-Znnn became now II After some years the people made Omri king instead of Z,mn. And S di^ w a i^ V T„ the eye'To' the Lord, yea did worse than ull that were So^e hhn Yet Omri slept with bis fathers, and was buned m bamar.a, and Achab his son became king in his stead. Ch .ptek XVIL-Then came Elijah, a man from Gilead, who informed Achab the kiTthat there would be no dew nor rain three years accordmg to h.s word ; the Kmg, tnai u ei cherith, where the ravens StC£fa,;LS n\lf ml!S and evening._In the same manner Sit wi provid^d for in the desert by angels, and Moses used to ^sureTherple'on his return after his repeated absence, that he had taken n Td 01 any kiL ; Elijah might have done as much.-The.eupon Ehjah went ,n tedienrof a c;mn.and of the Lonl, to take board ut a w.dows m Zarepath the wX had only small provisions of oil and flour, but he assured her that lie li, and hlr flour would not diminish, as long .s he was with her ; and she baked h m cake^ The widow's son once took sick and died, EMjah however brongh Sbact to life, which made the woman acknowledge that he w^ a man of S^It would appear therefore that she was not yet able to find th.s out rom , p fl „n,l ™l This is for the rest the first instance of a miracle of r iil rl dt: of ;rw: ..-. sever, recorded in the bible, es>.cial,y TXZ Testament It is however necessary for the reader to know that it '" . K Jmc r or anv one who understands the trick of bringing another in rmt-^sltp t m^^^^^^^^ Fople believe that such one is dead and then by r.H,rthZuired manual operations to bring such pseudo-dead to hie agan,, S ' ~T of the simple bystanders. That the priest of the anc.ent knew he sec" art of Mesmerism's at present generally believed, for the description If the mysteries of Delphi and other places manifest this pretty surely. (]HAPTFE XVIII.-It was now neariy three years, that Elijah had been con- ecaltd f om the king, when he was commanded by the Lord to ^ow hims.^. Se we t up and met Obadiah, the governor of the kings house on the way, who Smiin that thekin.- had immured hundred prophets in a cove ; tl.jah went loStanll and fold Ahab the king, that he was ready to show him who was the real God, the god Lord or the god Baal. The king accordingly sent up all the peo- ple of Israel to the mount Carmel with 450 priests, to build their altar ; Elijah buiit his also, and the altar that first should take fire should determine the quesr tion. The priests of Baal did all they could, but without success, even cut them, selves with knives and lancets ; then came Elijah and ordered an abundance of water to be poured around his altar, and lo, scarcely had he begun to pray before the altar caught fire and burned. This of course convinced the people of his su- periority, of which he took advantage by having the 450 priests seized, whom he murdered with his own hands.— Elijah probably knew, that there exist some in- gredient, to wit, potassium (kalium) that takes fire when brought in contact with water ; a small piece of it dropped in the water underneath the altar would be sufficient to ignite its wood. Elijah needed not to be an able chemist for that, seeing that Potassium is a very common article to be got in all coun- tries. Chapter XIX.— However great Elijah's power may have been, he seems to have feared Jezebel the king's wife, who threatened to take his life for killing the 450 priests ; he therefore went into the wilderness, sat down under a juniper tree and prayed the Lord to let him die ; (why did he not go to Jezebel ?) he fell asleep instead, and was woke up by an angel, who had a cake and a cruse of water for him to eat and drink ; this was repeated once, after which he had so far recovered, that he now did walk forty days and torty nights without resting. He arrived then at the mount Horeb, where he took lodgings in a cave. Elijah was alter some days called out to stand before the Lord. The Lord then gave him some commands ; as to anoint Hazael, as king of Syria, and Jehu as king of Israel, and El.sha as prophet of Israel ; further he should murder in partnership with Elisha, all those that escaped the sword of these here mentioned kings. Chapter XX.— Elijah now appeared before the king Ahab, whom he as- sured, that the king of Syria, Benhadad, who made war upon him and actually besieged Samaria with a numerous army, were given in his hand by the Lord. Ahab, who had already declared himself willing to surrender his treasure, wives and children to the king of Syria, now ordered out his seven thousand Israelites, who took the Syrians by surprise and defeated them with great loss ; Benhadad nevertheless returned, but was again defeated ; hundred thousand Syrians weie this time killed in battle, and twenty-seven thousand more crushed under the walls of Aphek ; then he surrendered to Ahab, who treated him like a brother, even restoring to him part of tiie booty ; which generosity so displeased the Lord, that Elijah h°ad to mform him, that Ahab's life would go for Benhadad's life, that had been doomed to destruction. Chapter XXL— Ahab now wished to buy his neighbour Naboth's vine- yard, but this gentleman declined to sell, wherefore Jezebel the Queen caused him to be indicted by false witnesses for blasphemy and stoned to death by a mob. Ill 120 THE BIBLE EXPOSED. THE SECOND BOOK OF THE KINGS. 121 »! Ahab was cursed for this crime, however, in consideration of repentance, he was assured by Elijah that the evil would be visited upon his son instead of upon himself. Chapter XXII. -There had been peace for three years between Israel and Syria, when Ahab thought it was time to go again to war. Jehosaphat, the kmg Judah, promised him his assistance. The prophets were to inform him betore- hand of the result ; and lo, four hundred prophets of the Lord told him " go up and prosper;" but Micah said they were lying, and foretold the reverse, which incensed the prophet Zedekiah to such a degree that he struck the prophet Micah on thecheek.-It was not fair oi the Lord to make fun of his prophets but it seems to have been his pleasure to sow dissension and strive among his followers. -Micah was thereupon sent to prison, though he had spoken the truth, for Ahab going to battle was killed and buried ; and Ahaziah, his son, became his worthy successor. THE SECOND BOOK OF THE KINGS. Chapter 1. -King Ahaziah fell down through a lattice from his upper chamber, and got sick in consequence. He sent messengers to the pnests of il-Zebub to inqu,re whether he could be cured. Elijah met the mongers aud informed them that the king would have to die, as he had applied to Baa^ Zebub instead of the Lord. The king, on hearing this, sent a oaptau. with fitty men to fetch Elijah, but though they add.^s«.d him ^^V^'^^'^^'f^^^^Z^ sumed by 6re ; another captain with fifty men befell the san.c fate ; the th.rd ZvL Lplo;ed Elijah to come to the king, and he went after ^,ng a.u.d by the tod that he need not fear. He saw the king and told h.m he must d e, and the kingdied ; he was succeeded by Jehoram.-Why Elijahdid not annon.t Jehu as kin.' as he had been commanded by the Lord, is not cxplamed. (1 Kmgs XIX) What^regards the miracle about burning of the fifty men by a consummg fire, see our observations in Numbers XVI. Chapter II -The Lord now intended to take Elijah up to heaven by a whirl- wind Elijah wished to be alone, but Elisha would not leave hnn; all per- suasion was lost upon this faithful friend, who had evidently made up his mmd to see it out. Accordingly they walked together, crossed the nver Jordan on drv ground {Elijah dividing the waters with h,s mantle). hen finahy the Iphet ask^ his friend " what shall I do for thee V Elisha sa.d "let a double portion of thy spirit be upon me ;" this was promised unconditionally. And it Lme to pass, as they still went on and talked, that behold, there appeared a chariot of fire with horses of fire, and it came between them, and Elijah taking place in it, went up into heaven, while the storm-wind was blowing.— We perceive by this that Elijah went up to heaven in much better style than in later days the Son of tlie Lord, who, according to the New Testament, only sat on a cloud ; and consequently we conclude that Elijah was of all others by far the most important man of the bible. The Lord, it appears here, keeps horses and car- riages in heaven, which is very interesting to know, as increasing our knowledge of the highest celestial life. This sudden departure of Elijah startled Elisha so much that he rent his clothes ; instead of them he took the mantle of Elijah, which had dropped before him. Arriving at the river he divided the waters with the mantle, and he crossed on dry ground, and in Jericho he told the people what had happened. They at once despatched fifty men to look after Elijah, lest peradvenhure the spirit of th3 Lord had cast him upon some mountain or into some valley out of his chariot of fire, but they did not find him after a three day's search. Elisha now, after having cured the waters that were unwholesome— perhaps by throwing alum or salt in the well—went on his way and met a great many little boys, who, like little boys now-a-days might have done, took it into their head to make fun, crying : thou baldhead ! go up thou baldhead ! But 'A was a serious thing joking at such a holy man, for Elisha turning round, cursed them ; immediately thereupon two she-bears came out of the wood and tore forty and two of the children.— What a beastly revenge ! We trust, however, in courtesy to the Mosaical God, that this story was but a delirious vision occuring to Elisha in consequence of the fright which the apparition of the fiery horses must have left in his memory. Chapter III.— Jehoram, a son of Ahab, became king in his stead, in the eighteenth year of Jehosaphat, king of Judah.— In II Kings: 17, he was said to become king in the second year of Joram, the son of Jehosaphat, which does not precisely agree.— Jehoram now got into trouble with the king of Moab, a great sheep master, who used to procure cattle for the king of Israel, but this time refused to do so. Jehoram accordingly allied himself with the kings of Judah and Edom to attack the king of Moab. Their joint armies going through the wilderness of Edom were greatly in want of water, and would have perished but for Elisha, who advised that ditches should be made; this was done, water now became plenty and the hosts were saved This prophet further took the harp and played, singing thereby what the Spirit inspired him with, and in that way he not only promised a complete victory over the Moabites, but gave it as the will of the Lord that those people should be destroyed and their lands rendered a wilderness. The Moabites were indeed at first almost van- quished, but their king went upon the city walls and there offered his son and successor as a burnt-ofiering. This act appears to have caused great indignation of the Moabites against Israel, so that the Israelites were obliged to return to their land, leaving Elisha's prophecy unfulfilled. 122 THE BIBLE EXPOSED. THE SECOND BOOK OF THE KINGS. 123 Chapter IV. — ITiis failure of his prophecy does not seem to have dis- couraged Elish much, for we soon witness him performing other miracles, to wit : out of a pot of oil a widow, under his protection, filled several vessels. He further passed on to the town of Shunim, where a tall woman lived, who, as often as the prophet passed by, almost forced him to eat with her. She this time even prepared a room lor him in her house, whereas she had discovered that he was a man of God. One day, being in his chamber and laying down, he sent G( hazi, his servant, to call the woman ; she had an old husband, and as she came she received in acknowledgment of her hospitality Elisha's assurance that after due time she would have a son, and behold, miracle of miracles ! a son was born to her according to the prophecy. This boy grew up, but unfortunately got once headache and died ; the mother soon went in search of the prophet, who presently went home with her. Being there Elisha stretched himself over the dead lad, this he repeated until the lad sneezed seven times, after which action the lad returned to life. — About such miracle we spoke already in I Kings, XVII. He performed yet more such wonderful things, which shows that Elisha had indeed inherited two thirds of Elijah's spirit. Chapter V.— Elisha cured Xaaman, a Syrian captain, of leprosy, and de- clined to receive pay therefor ; but Gehazi, his servant, ran after Naaman, and obtained the presents from him on false pretences, which so much displeased Elisha that he struck Gehazi with that same evil. — Those priests and prophets of antiquity, no doubt, knew some means to cure leprosy, and it seems they also knew how to transplant the virus on healthy bodies ; this, for instance, we saw done by Moses to Miriam, his sister. Chapter VI. — And the sons of the prophets said unto Elisha, behold the place where we dwell before thee is too narrow for us. Elisha agreed in that opinion, and accordingly they all went out to the Jordan and cut trees to build a larger house ; but now it chanced to happen that the axe of one of them fell into the water, Elisha presently cut a stick, and held it mto the river, and the iron did swim on account of that. Elisha knew besides this, many things, even he knew what the king of Syria had in his mind, which so much displeased that monarch that he sent a great host to the city of Dothan, where Elisha lived ; as the city was surrounded, one of Elisha's scholars began to lament, but Elisha himself was not afraid ; for, said he, he was mightier than the king of Syria ; also he prayed the Lord to open the eyes of the scholar; this happened, and then the lad saw a host of horses and chariots around him. Then again he prayed the Lord to strike the enemy with blindness, which immediately took place. They being in that state, he led them to Samaria, where they were well treated by the king of Israel, after which they went home ; and the bands of Syria came no more into the land of Israel (v, 23). And it happened after this (says the next verse) that Benhadad, king of Syria, gathered all his host and went up and besieged Samaria (v. 24). — Samaria was in the land of Israel. These two verses are thus in downright contradiction.— A terrible famine came now in Samaria, so that a woman boiled her son to use him as food ; and it was on account of this'misery that the king made oath that Elisha should be put to death. Chapter VII.— Elisha however obtained a respite of one day, because he promised there would be food in abundance. A captain to the king expressed his unbelief in this prophecy, for which Elisha assured him that he would not participate in that abundance. And see it happened that the Syrians fled that very night, having heard a noise as if hosts of horses and chariots were approach- ino-, leaving large quantities of provisions behind. The city had now abundance of°food, but the unbelieving captain was killed in tlie crowd. Chapter VHI.— Elisha sent the woman, whose son he had brought back to life, out of the country, for the Lord had a famine in store, which was to last seven years— 'I'his proves what delightful country that land of milk and honey was worth to be a land of promise, indeed ! In wars and famine continually^ not to speak of all the murders. Chapter IX.— The son of a prophet was then commissioned by Elisha to anoint Jehu as king of Israel ; no sooner was this done, or this worthy assembled his friends and marched to Jezreel, where the king Jehoram was ; he murdered him treacherously, as also Ahaziah the king of Judah, while Jezebel the queen he had pitched out of the window, so that she uied.— Ahaziah, of whom is spoken of here, began to reign in the eleventh year of Joram, king of Israel (according v. 29), but'' according II. Kings VIII : 25 it was in the twelfth year of Joram. Chapter X.— Jehu being king, went at it in good earnest, killing numbers of descendants and relations of Ahab, for they deserved death is said, because Ahab, (who died long years since,) worshipped Baal-Zebub. Chapter XL— This contains the history of Joash, a son of the late king Ahaziah, who was anointed king by Jehoiada the prophet. He was proclaimed king of Judah, after Jehoiada had succeeded in putting to death queen Athalia, Joash's grandmother for her usurpation and murders. Jehoiada made further a covenant between the Lord, the king, and the people, which was very satisfactory to the high contracting parties. Chapter XII.— Joash walked in the ways of the Lord, giving to the priest all the money which was brought into the house of the Lord, and all the money that was paid by census ; notwithstanding this, we read that he was killed by his own people. Chapter XIIL— Jehoahaz his son was then king of Israel, but his ways 124 THE BIBLE EXPOSED. THE SECOND BOOK OF THE KINGS. 125 m were evil. Therefore the Lord delivered the people of Israel into the hands of the king of Syria, who oppressed them cruelly.— It is surprising that the Lord delivered his chosen people into the hands of a king worshipping Baal, the more so, as it appears, that this was in punishment of the sins of the kings and not of the people.— However a saviour arose amongst Israel, and they dwelt once more in their tents. The time had now arrived for Elisha to rest from his earthly works, and after having predicted on his death-bed to the king that he should beat the Syrians three times, he died. Elisha had been a great prophet, and so great was he even till after his death, that when later a man was buried into the same sepulchre, the moment his body came in contact with the bones of Elisha, he immediately revived and stood on his feet again (vide v. 21).— Nothing can be more conclusive regarding Elisha's greatness. Chapter XIV.— Amaziah was king of Judah in that time, and he did what was riffht in the eves of the Lord, but this was of no avail to him, for the king of Israel attacked and defeated him, plundered the house of the Lord, and broke down the walls of Jtrusalem. Amaziah was thereupon killed by his people.— Thus we see how the Lord rewarded the piety of his kings. Chapter XV.— Azariah succeeded to the throne of Judah at the death of Amaziah his father ; he al?o did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, but the Lord struck him with leprosy, so that he was a leper until the day of his death. Israel in the meantime was attacked by the king of Assyria, but came for this time free, by paying a heavy sura to buy off the evil. Chapter XVL— Achaz succeeded to the throne of Judah ; he did not what is right in the eyes of the Lord, therefore the Lord brought upon him the king of Syria and tlie king of Israel, but Achaz took all the gold out of the house of the Lord and gave that to the king of Assyria to free himself, which that king ac- cepted. Chapter XVIL— In those days Hoshea was king of Israel, and he did what is evil in th'3 eyes of the Lord. Against him came up Shalmanessar, the king of Assyria, and made him his tributary servant. Hoshea however paid not his tri- bute, and therefore the king of Assyria came back and made him a prisoner. And the king of Assyria came up over all the land and he captured Samaria, and led Israel away as bondsmen into Assyria.— This then was the end of all the solemn pledges of the Lord to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and of all the covenants with his chosen people of Israel. Israel had now experienced how delicious the land of milk and honey was, and how much faith it couli place in all the high- sounding promises of the Lord's priests, of the priests of that God that would bless his people and dwell among them for ever ! Chapter XVIIL— Hezeklah, the son of Achaz, became now king of Judah, he did, what is right in the eyes of the Lord ; and in the Lord, the God of Israel, did he trust as no king ever had done, and the Lord was with him, whither so- ever he went. But Hezekiah rebelled against the king of Assyria, and thatking came up against him ; he, however, came free, by paying heavy tributes, which he paid; by cutting off the golden or.iaments from the temple. CiiapterXIX.— King Hezekiah, hearing, that a captain of the Assyrians had harangued the people, thereby insulting the Lord, sent for Jesaiah, the pro- phet, who now also made a harangue, promising the people that the Lord would deliver that city ; and behold, it happened over night, that an angel of the Lord went out and smote in the camp of the the Assyrians one hundred and eighty- five thousand men, who, when they arose early in the morning, were all dead corp- ses (v. 35).— The above narration is probably somewhat exaggerated, where- as it is not likely that the king of Assyria would have sent an army of 185,000 men against a place of so little importance as Jerusalem, only number, ing a few thousand inhabitants, (as apparent in Jeremiah XXXII.) Chapter XX.— Hezekiah was sick to death, and Isaiah the prophet, whom he had called for, informed him, that he was to die ; but before Isaiah had gone into the middle court, the Lord changed his mind, because Hezekiah had prayed ; the Lord now promised, through the prophet, that he would let him live fifteen years longer. Isaiah then put a lump of figs on the boil, and predicted him a perfect cure in three days, in proof of this, the shadow of the dial went back ten degrees.— This, as may be imagined, was a sure sign of the Lord, only throwing the sua some thousands of millions of miles out of her course, simply for the satisfaction of the great Isaiah and his patient.-Isaiah was not only a good physician, but he also prov- ed to be a good prophetizer, for he predicted this time the future captivity of the Jews.— This, of course, deserves admiration, but seeing that this book of kings was written af\er the captivity of the Jews, as is apparent from chap. XXIV. and XXV., so it is that such prophesying loses all its value. Chapter XXL & XXIL— After Hezekiah, Manassess was king, and he again was succeeded by his son Josiah. The most remarkable fact that occurred during his reign seems to have been the restoration of the house of the Lord. While they were busy with its repairs, the law-book of Moses was discovered ;— it was, however, stated, (in I Kmgs VIII) that when Solomon brought the ark into that house, nothing but the two stone tables of Moses were found therein.— The kincr readin"- all what was in the law-book was greatly frightened, seeing that no on one of the people had ever lived according to it. Chapter XXIIL— The curse, or displeasure of the Lord could, as we read, no more be averted by any good acts of king Josiah, though he did his utmost to please him, reforming vigorously, slaying the priests of Baal. etc. All this not withstanding the Lord turned not from the fierceness of his great wrath, where- 126 THE BIBLE EXPOSED. THE BOOKS OF THE CHRONICLES. 127 ..?' ';|j^ ' ^.i, ■■**■ ' with his anger against Judah was kindled, because of all the provocations that Manasseh had provoked him with.— Manasseh the provoker though died in peace, and was dead since long years, but now it was the poor people that had to bear the brunt of anger. Such was the way of the Lord.— Josiah was put to death by tlie king of Egypt. Jehoiakim his son succeeded him, but was tributary to his father's enemy. Chapter XXI V.— In the days of Jehoiachin, Jehoiakim's son, Nebuchadnezzar came against Judah and conquered it. But after the lapse of three years Jehoiachin rebelled, in consequence of which Nebuchadnezzar came for a second time against Jerusalem. All the enemies of Judah had come this time jointly against her. only the king of Egypt came not, for he was afraid of the king of Babylon, who had taken possession of all the countries between the river of Egypt and the river of Euphrates,— namely the very same land which the Lord had repeatedly pledged himself should exclusively belong to the children of Israel for ever.— Jerusalem thus besieged was soon captured, and the best part of the population, including the king, was carried off in captivity to Babylon. Mattaniah, called Zedekiab, was appointed kirg over what remained ; he too rebelled afterwards. Chapter XXY.— Nebuchadnezzar returned again with his army against Je- msalem in the? eleventh year of Zedekiah, and took that city again ; he then burnt it and also the temple, after having stripped it off its gold, further he car- ried off in slavery all the remainder of the population ; and what remained yet fled to Egypt. Here now we see the end of Judah, and of all the magnificent pro- raises of Moses. Israel would be numerous as the sand of the sea and the stara of heaven, and be the most powerful nation on eaith. The Lord would always be amongst them and allow them a land of milk and honey ; their enemies would he crush, and they alone should reign. How were these promises fulfilled ? The best time in their history was under Solomon, and even that king was tributarv to the kin? of Tvre. The whole kingdom of Solomon consisted of Je- rusalera and a few villages ; a kingdom that one could walk through in one day from east to west. Jerusalem the celebrated city, got nothing remarkable but the house of the Lord with its gildings and golden ark. In no arts or sciences did its inhabitants ever excel ; and even of a numerous population that city never could boast, for do we not see when the king of Babylon carried off all the war- riors and all men fit for work, their number did not exceed ten thousand in all (vide former Chapter v. 14).— The whole history of the children of Jacob from beginning to end consists of nothing but of accounts of treacherous murders, butchery of innocents, robbery and plunder, yea of so many crimes, that the whole history is disgusting throughout. And now at last, they are transported, this chosen nation of the Lord, carried into slavery throughout the kingdom of Syria and all Asia. The high sounding promises of Moses seduced the Egyptian slaves to follow him abroad, and now these same promises had the consequence, bv the rebellious spirit they produced, of bringing their descendants back into slavery. There is no bliss on evil doings they say, and here also we perceive in fact, that the bloody and lying teachings of the man Moses brought no pros- perity to his people. THE BOOKS OF THE CHRONICLES. "Whereas what is related in these books is principally but a repetition of what the second book of Samuel and the books of the kings contain, we deem it superfluous to repeat those accounts ; it would moreover be painful for the be- liever in the holiness of the bible to be brought thereby to the certainty that there is a mass of contradictions, and also a good deal of rather amusing, though less o-odly, nonsense to be found in the sacred books of the Chronicles. — For in- stance, among the many contradictirns may be quoted : I Chr. XXI : 1. " And Satan stood up against Israel and provoked David to number the people," while in II Sam. XXIV : 1, it was the Lord who moved David against the people to number them. — So, we find in II Sam. XXIV : 13, that seven years of famine were to come over Israel, while in I. Chr. XXI : 11, 12, it are only three years. —In II. Sam. XXIV : 24, David bought the threshing floor of Arauna for fifty shekels of silver, but in I. Chr. XXI : 25, it are six hundred shekels of gold.— In II. Sam. XXIV : 9, we found the number of fighting men, numbered by Jo- ah, to be : 800.000 in Israel, and 500.000 in Judah; but in I. Chr. XXI : 5, there are 1 ,100.000 in Israel and 470.000 in Judah ; while again in I. Chr. XXV^II. 24, we are informed that Joab did never r.umber the people, because of the wrath, even the number was never recorded in the book of the Chronicles of king David.— In II. Chr. IX : 25, we find that Solomon got 4000 stalls of horses and chariots, but in I. Kings IV : 26, it are not less than 40.000 stalls. —Again in II. Kings III : 1, we were informed that Jehoram reigned 12 years over Israel, while in II. (Jhr. XXI : 20, it are only 8 years.— In I Kings XVI : 8, we saw that Baasha, king of Israel, died in the 26th year of Asa, king of Ju- dah, and was succeeded by Elah ; but in II. Chr. XVI : 1, we read tnat in the 3Gth year of Asa, Baasha the king of Israel came up against Israel.— Thus, he did this ten vears after his death.— Likewise we read in II. Chr. XXI : 20, that king Jehoram was fortv vears old when he died, yet in the next chapter, (v. 1-2,) we are told that the people of Jerusalem made Ahaziah. his youngest son, king in his stead, who was forty-two years old.— Accordingly the youngest son was two years older than his father. And as instances of the nonsense, contained in these books, we may lead the attention of the reader to the genealogies wherewith the first book begins, and he will find it interlarded with some quite curious remarks. So we learn in I. Chr. IV : 21-23, that Shelah, the son of Judah, is the aire of tJie families of 128 THE BIBLE EXPOSED. EZRA. 129 ^ ii! i those that make fine linen, and of the potters, and of all those that dwell among plants and hedges—Then, when reading about the sons of Issachar and Benja- min and others, we are repeatedly told that they were valiant men of might in their generation ; mighty men of valour ; choice and mighty warriors ; chiefs of princes ; which is the more amusing after having read the preceding books wherebv we were informed that these choice men of valour got, for the most times, beaten by their enemies.— Mattithiah, we see in 1. Chr. IX : 31, one of the Levites, got the set-office over the things that are cooked in the pan.— After the genealogies follows a history of the kings of Israel. About David, we read in I. Chr. XL that he had three mighty men in his army ; their exploits are here recorded ; their chieftain was Jashobeam, who alone slew three hurdred men with his spear (v. 9.) and then, there was Abishai, a man who had a name among the three, for he also had slain by himself, three hundred men- Of the three, he was more honorable than the two ; howbeit he attained not to the three (v. 20, 21). Benaiah was also a valiant man, for he slew two lion-like men of ^Moab, and once, on a snowy day, he slew a lion in a pit (v. 22).— In I. Chr. XII. we read that among those that came to David, while he was in Ziklag, there were many mighty warriors, for instances some Benjamites who fought with both hands, hurling st'ones with the one, while shooting arrows from a bow with the other hand (v. 2).— Proceeding with the perusal, we find how manv mighty deeds David per- prmed, and how many ten thousand enemies he slew"; and moreover we learn again (in I Chr. XX : 3) that he, after having taken the city of Kabbah, brought out the inhabitants, and cut them with saws, and with harrows of iron, and with axes. In the same manner he dealt, it is said, with all the cities of the children of Ammon. In another war, at Gath, there was a man of great stature, whose fingers and toes were four and twenty, six on each hand and six on each foot, he was the son of a giant, but Jonathan, a son of David's brother, slew him (v. 6-7). —Next (in Chapt. XXI.) we are made acquainted with the circumstance of Da- vid's numbering the people, and their number was found to be a million and one hundred thousand warriors in Israel, and four hundred and ninety thousand war- riors in Judah. (Accordingly, David could dispose of an army of more than one and a half million of men. Quite a large army for such a puny kingdom as his ; Russia herself, though rather a larger country, might find it difficult to get such an army together.) Because now, David had numbered the people, the Lord sent his angel to destroy Jerusalem ; the angel, while spreading the pestilence, stood near the threshing floor of Oman; David saw him standing there (v. 15-16). The second book of the Chronicles is principally a repetition of the accounts of the kings of Judah, and commences with expatiating on Solomon an I his tem- ple building. It tells how the Lord offered him the choice of a present, and, how Solomon had exacted nothing more but wisdom, wherefor the Lord had prom- ised him not only to give him that, but riches and honor besides. In conse- quence thereof Solomon had soon surpassed all the kings of the earth in wisdom and riches, and had made the silver in Jerusalem become plentiful like stones, and the cedar' trees as common as sycamore trees (Chapt. IX).— The following chapters treat of other kings, and relate us many galant deeds of the army of Judah. Once, for instance (in Chapt. XIY;, we see that army to- tally routing an army of moors of not less than a million of men strong.— In another chapter (Chapt. XVIIL) we read a strange account of the prophets Ze- dekia and Micah ; namely, Zedekiah made himself horns of iron and put them on ; thus ornamented, he went out in company with four hundred other prophets and prophecied that Judah would lose the battle with the Syrians ; but Micah, the prophet, being of a different opinion, said the Lord had put a lying spirit in him and the four hundred other prophets. Zedekia, revenged this affront by slapping iMicah's face. -Reading further of many kings that did which is evil in the sight of the Lord we at last get at a king, with the name of Amaziah (in Chapt. XXV) that did which is right in the sight of the Lord. Also, he went up with his army of 300.000 picked men, able to war, that could handle spear and shield, and over- took the Edoniites, and he beat them, and he slew ten thousand of them. An- other ten thousand, not killed in the battle, were carried away and brought unto the top of a rock, and from there, they were thrown down, so that they all were smashed to pieces (v. 12).— Yet in Deut. XXIII : 7, it was forbidden to abhor an Edomite.— Continuing, we read of several kings more, who, nearly all, did which is evil in the sight of the Lonl, until we come to king Zedekia (who also did which is evil in the sight of the Lord) ; this king would not humble himself before Jere- miah the prophet, and moreover he rebelled against Nebuchadnezar, the king of Babylon. Not only he, but all the people with him, transgressed greatly ; and though the Lord sent them messengers, that rose up early in the morning, they sneered at them, and they abused the prophets. At last the wrath of the Lord was kindled to such a degree that there was no remedy left, and the Lord brought ao-ainst them the king Nebuchadnezar, who had no compassion, neither for old m°en nor maiden ; and he burnt the city of Jerusalem, and he burnt the temple, and the inhabitants he carried away to Babylon to be servants to him (Chapt XXXVI).— Herewith break the books of the Chronicles off; the final issue of what it relates, offers once more no particularly great evidence for the truth of all the once given high flowing promises, which Moses had given in the name of the Lord. EZRA. Ezra, a Jewish scribe, furnishes an account of Judah's return from their bondage in Babylon. He commences by relating that Cyrus, the king of Persia, had his spirit moved by the Lord, to allow the Jews to rebuild the house of the ii 130 THE BIBLE EXPOSED. NEHEHIAB. 131 Lord, the God of hoaven,who is in Jerusalem (v. 1-3) ; thm occurred >n ord«^ ,l,at ihowor* of Jeremiah tl,e prophet sl,o«ld be fulfilled.-unfortunate y though Jeren,iah never spoke of Cyrus.- Cyrus however stirred up, and ordert-d that the Jews should lie left free, an,! even provide,! them with the necessary m.-ans. The Jews aeonliugly went under the lea,!en.hip of Sheshbuzzar, carrymg w.h them the gol,l,'n and silver vessels formerly beUmpuff to the house ol (,od, who i, ir Jerusalem. A long list is given of all the fan,ilies who formed part o the ex™-,!iti,.n. The oU.er inhabitants of the Ian,! of Ju,lah. then peroe.vmg that the Jewa were r,.c,>ns.ructlng the House of the I^r,l, evinced a des.re n,,t only to len,! th<-ir ai.!, but also to serve the same Go,!. This was dechned by the children of Israel, and hence a bitter opposition and interference on the part of those nativ.^,; they !,.,lged a formal complaint against those proecdrngs w. 1 Artaxerxes. a successor of Cyrus, stating, that the Jews had con.e to relunld the bad. and n-bellio„s city of Jerusalem, that if that city be relun t. the Jews would not nav toll, tribute or custom, f,>r as the .-eeords wouhl show, >t had l,een always a n,l>eflious city raising against the Icings and hurtful unto the pro>.nees, and they had moved scMition within the same from the earlK-st tnnes, l,.r winch cauL that citv was .lestroyed. (Chant. IV : 12-lC). The king's answer was that a s,.areh was made and the recor,!s did sh,.w that that city sn,cc the <.arl,est period of its existence, ha,! alwavs ma,!e insurn-ction against the kings, an, re .olbon an, se,h- tion ha,! boon practised therein. wheref,>re he or,!ered that the reb,nl,ln,g slumid not take pla,e.-Thc^e letters, n-portcd by Km an Israelite hin,self. prov,, eonclus.vely ,ha, the .k^tructhm of Jerusalen, was not owing to the worship ol Baabebnl, as the b,.oks of the Kings an,! Chronicles will have it, but to the turbulent and rebel- lions spirit of its inhabitants. . Aftcrwar,!s ,n>,lor the reign of another king (Darius) the Jews were agam al- lowe,! to prosecute the work commenced, and E.ra was this time commissioned to superintend the reconstr.iction, in order that prayer might U offcre,! «> the house of the Lord, who is in .Terusale.n, for the king and of their own , forgetting the rest of human kind. They l^esides ad,lre'=s tliisG,.,! of heaven as ready to pardon, as gracious and merciful, slow to an.w and of great kindness ; the Lor,! of Israel to the contrary was merely a U«l of blood an.1 murder, of jealousy and vengeance. Moreover, Ezra and Neniehial. do not pretend to talk to the Lord in person, as the priests and prophets did formerly, but they limit themselves to praying. Nehemiah growing sick from grief, the king asked him for the cause of ,t, and having learned it, he gave him leave to return to Jerusalem, in order to rebuild the city and the temple ; moreover, he appointed him governor of Je- ru«al,.m. Xehemiah went and rebuilt the city ; in this he was frequently dis- turbcd by the neighboring tribes, but nevertheless he succeeded at last- Further Nehemiah relates to us how Ezra gave to the inhabitants of Jeru.salem religious instruction, by lecturing on every Sabbath-day from the books ot Moses, amf exnlainin,' the same to the congregation ; closing his meetings with a prayer -This manner of keeping divine service again shows us that some taste for civilization in matters of religion had arisen among the Jews, for we remem- ber that the divine service of their ancestors consisted of nothing else but of » wholesale butchery of cattle, and a show of priestly banqueting. ITius on a whole. Stay derive from the books of Ezra and Nehemiah that the rdigious sen i- ment among the Jews had improved eminently since they had lived among the 132 THE BIBLE EXPOSED. Persians, and that we may date from that time the purification of their religion of the barbarism which originally belonged to it. THE BOOK OF ESTHER. Esther was a young Jewess, whom Ahasuerus, a king who reigned from India unto Ethiopia, took as his wife. Once namely, it happened that this king bein- drunk when giving an entertainment, the queen Yashti refused to obey his command to show herself before his intoxicated friends. Hence the king re- pudiated her, and ordered his servants to look for the handsomest virgin m the land, who should fill the place of the queen, after she should have been kept ten months in the house of the king's women, to be anointed with sweet oil. Esther was the fortunate virgin that was chosen. She had a cousin who brought her up named Mordecai, he no sooner heard of the king's preference for Esther, when he appears to have thought himself a great man, for, when he came to the palace to see how Esther was doing, he refused to bow before Haman, who was next to the king, and higher than the Seven Princes of Persia and Media. Ha- man, intending to put his pride down, obtained from the king a permission to destroy the Jews. The orders were issued, and all Jews on hearing it put themselves in sackcloth and ashes, and very likely would never have come out of it again if not fortunately for them Mordecai informed the queen Esther of their danger, and made her believe they would kill her too. The affair took now a different turn. Not only was the general order cancelled, but Haman was ordered to be hanged, and besides, a day was fixed for the Jews for settlement with those that hated them. Of this privilege they fully availed themselves by executing ten sons of Haman, and a large number of the king s subjects besides. The king asked Esther if she was satisfied. She then wished another such glorious day of murder, which the king granted. Mordecai thereafter got Haman's place.— This interesting story is most probably an exaggerated account of^some- thing that actually took place ; no historian, however, has ever been able to give^the exact time of this occurrence, seeing that no Ahasuerus is known in history ; moreover, it is not likely that the subjects of that king should have allowed' themselves to be killed by the Jews, who were their slaves, and com- paratively few in number. We let thus this story go for what it is worth. THE BOOK OP JOB. THE BOOK OF JOB. 133 There was once a man with the name of Job, living in a land called Uz. That man was perfect and upright, fearing God and eschewing evil. Seven sons were born unto him and three daugnters, and his cattle consisted of seven thousand sheep, and three thousand camels, and five hundred yoke of oxen, and five hundred she-asses, and he had a very large number of servants, so that this man was greater than all the sons of the east. And his sons used to prepare feasts in the house, but Job, instead of feasting, ofiered burnt-offerings. Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came among them. The Lord then said unto Satan : whence comest thou? Satan answered : from walking to and fro on the earth. And the Lord said : hast thou considered my servant Job ? Satan then answered that it was not for naught that Job was so perfect and upright, this he was be- cause the Lord had blessed him with all kinds of blessings, but if the Lord would take away all he had, then the Lord would see if he should not curse him to his face. The Lord thereupon wished to make the trial, and gave Satan leave to do with Job what he liked, only he should not kill him. Satan immediately went to work, first he caused Job's sons and daughters to die by some accident, then he caused Job's cattle and asses to be stolen by the Chaldeans ; but Job said : naked came he out of his mother's womb, and naked he would return thither.— A rather difficult performance.— After this Satan struck him with a sore inflammation, so that Job had to take a potsherd to scrape himself therewitAi, and he sat himself down in the ashes. Job's wife wanted him to curse God and die, but Job said: what? should we accept the good alone from God and the evil we should not accept? With all this Job did not sin with his lips.— When now the three friends of Job had heard of all the evil that had come over him, they came to condole with him, and they sat down with him for seven days and seven nights, but no one spake a word unto him. After this time Job opened his mouth and cursed the day when he was born, and wished that day blotted out. The friends of Job then began also to speak each in his turn ; they all talked very wise, and were of opinron that Job must have sinned greatly, and that his present unfortunate state was the punishment for it, they besides had plenty to say about the wonder- ful might and gieat righteousness of the Lord Job in the meantime Fpoke also a good deal, declaring his innocence, and uttering his opinion that his friehds were troublesome comforters. This conversation, which is entirely written m highly poet cal style, having lasted a long while, the Lord himself began to speak also (in chap. XXXVHI) ; he addressed Job out of a storm-wmd, and said : " who is this that darkeneth counsel by words without knowledge ?' — This of course meant that Job spoke without knowledge,-and then in order to make him thoroughly conceive that his understanding was not great, the Lord asked him several questions to answer. As, for instance, « where wast thou (Job) when I laid the foundation of the earth? declare" (v. 4), - whereupon are these founda. 134 THE BIBLE EXPOSED. THE BOOK OF PSALMS. 135 tions fastened, and who laid the corner-stone ?" (v. 5). - Who shut up the sea with doors when it broke forth (as if) it had issued out of the womb ?" (v. 8).— The Lord then, without waiting for answer, continued his questions, even began a new chapter (chap. XXXIX) - Knowest thou (Job) the time when the wild goats brin- forth ?" he asked, (in v. 1), and " who hath sent out the wild ass free, and who°hath loosened the bands of the wild ass?" (v. 5). Wilt the unicorn be willin- to serve thee (Job), or abide by thy crib ? (v. 10). Wilt thou trust him becaui his strength is great? or wilt thou leave thy labor to him? (v. II) Hast thou (Job) given the horse strength ? hast thou clothed his neck with thunder-? (v. 19). Canst thou (Job) make him afraid as a grasshopper? the dory of his nostrils is terrible (v. 20). He saith among the trumpets, Hu ! ha 1 and he smelleth the battle afar off, the thunder of the captains and the shouting (V 25)- Doth the hawk fly by thy wisdom ? (v. 26) .-After the Lord had made a few more such energetical questions. Job answered in (chapter XL) : - Behold I am vile, what shall I answer thee ? I will lay mine hand upon my mouth " The Lord, however, desired Job should behave himself like a man, and answer the following questions : Had Job an arm like God, and could he thunder with a voice like him ? Whether Job could deck himself with majesty and excellency, and array himself with glory and beauty, and could humble the proud and tread down the wicked, then the Lord was willing to confess that Job could save himself (v. 9-14). But behold, the Lord knew that Job was not even able to subdue the Behemoth, who eateth grass as the ox. and whose strencTth is in his loins, and whose force is in the navel of his belly, he moveth his tail like a cedar, the sinews of his stones are wrapped together ; etc. (v 15-18) Could Job (the Lord asks in the next chapter, XLI) draw out Leviathans with a hook ? or his tongae with a cord ? Could Job put a hook into his nose, or bore his jaws through with a thorn? Would the leviathan make many supplications unto Job, would he speak soft words unto him? Would Job play with him as with a bird, or would Job bind him for his maiden ? Could Job fill his skin with barbed irons, or his head with fish spears ? The Lord intended not to conceal the power of the leviathan, nor his comely propor- tions for who could come to him with a double bridle ? His teeth were terrible all around, and his scales were his pride. By his sneezing a light doth shine, and his eyes are as the eyelids of the morning. Out of his nostrils goeth smoke, like out of a seethingpot or a cauldron. His heart is as firm as a stone; yea as hard as a piece ,of the nether millstone. He esteemeth iron as straw, and brass as rotten wood. Sharp stones are under him ; he spreadeth sharp- pointed thin-s upon the mire. He maketh the deep boil like a pot ; he maketh the sea like a pot of ointment.-Job after having heard all the wonderful might of the leviathan, declared (in chap. XLII), that he understood not the things which were too wonderful for him, therefore he would not speak, but chastise himself and repent in dust and ashes.-The Lord being greatly pleased with Job's act of humility, blessed him by giving him fourteen thousand sheep and six thousand camels, and a thousand yoke of oxen, and a thousand she-asses, and another seven sons and three daughters. This book of Job, as is plainly to perceive, forms a highly interesting biblical part It bears all marks of being \ ritten under the influence of the spirit, by some very spiritual individual ! The n est interesting what we learn from it, is principally the existence of some beings that otherwise would not have been known. iu the natural history. For instance, it acquaints us with a creatui-e, called Satan, who walks to and fro on the earth ; further it acquaints us with the Behemoth, and with the Unicorn, and with the Leviatnan, being that all four creatures never seen by any human eye. Especially the acquaintance with Satan is of great importance, seeing that he plays a great part in the New-testament, and thus, to understand that book we must know him. From what we discover here about him, it appears that he is a son of (iod, conversing in a most familiar style with his father when he calls upon him in heaven, but for the rest keeping his abode on the earth, where he busies himself with trying to entice mankind tf do evil. How Satan can amuse himself in that way is quite incomprehensible, peeing that he gives himself thereby a great deal of trouble without having any benefit of it ; this queer inclination of his, besides of being troublesome for him- self, must also be a nuisance for mankind ; as God however seems, since Job's time, to have banis^hed from the earth the Behemoth, and the Unicorn, and the Leviathan, as they are no more to be found, so we will hope that God will also have had the kindness of banishing from it the troublesome man Satan, whose manner of evil-doing we so plainly learn from this instructive book. THE BOOK OF PSALMS. David, the mighty king and hero of Israel, gathered not only the laurels on the field of battle, but also on the field of sacred poetry ; he was a great man ; this is proved by the many divine songs, called psalms, which he has left behind. Perusing those psalms it is plainly to be seen that this hero supposed to please his God by making or singing him agreeable words of poetry; principally the abundance of flatteries that the poet-king mingled in thehyms, must have sounded exceedingly plea ing to the great God of Israel, and we therefore aught to be- lieve that the king David knew pretty well how to coax this Lord.— In most of the psalms, David exhibits, by means of a surer abundance of positive assurances, his intimate friendship with the Lord, and his cc nfidence in the Lord's assistance against his enemies. In psalm 11. for instance, he assures that ow much the heathens (the other nations) may rage, and the kings and the rulers of the earth (that is, of Canaan) may take counsel against the Lord and his anointed king (Dar v:d),he (the Lord) that sitteth in heaven shall laugh, and say: still have I set my king (David) upon my holy hill of Zion (David's city). Then again David as- serte that the Lord had said unto him : " thou art my son this day have 1 b^ THE BOOK OF PSALMS. 137 136 THE BIBLE EXPOSED. M gotten thee." Therefore he (David) advises the other kings to be wise and to kiss the son (him David), lest he be angry and they all perish on the way when his wrath is kindled.— The pious Christians have seen in that psalm a prophecy upon Jesus, because the word of son was used here ; in Exod. IV: 22, how. ever is to be read who is called the son of the Lord. " Isi^ael is my soii," said the Lord. David now as king of Israel, as the chief of that chosen people, thought himself entitled to appropriate the name of son to himself, and now boast ing u'pon that name of honour he advises the other kings of the surrounding countries to make peace with him lest his wrath be kindled and he destroy them. Upon Jesus those words can not at all be applied, seeing that Jesus never was set king upon the hill of Zion ; nor was Jesus' kindled wrath ever able to make kings and rulers perish; what is more, instead of kissing him, we see some ruler, meet the capital punishment out to him, without perishing therefore ; what they surely would have done if Jesus' anger had been so fierce as that of the son de- picted by David. The phrase of " this day have I begotten thee " has in view the alleged renewed friendship of the Lord for the people of Israel since David was their king. It could not refer to Jesus because he instead ol being begotten that day, was begotten many centuries later.— In the same way psalm XXIL had been regarded by pious believers as containing some prophecy upon their dear lord Jesus, and that on account of David's commencing his hymn with the words : " My God. my God, why hast thou forsaken me ?" and this ejaculation now was also used by Jesus on the cross. That this same ejaculation has been, and is yet, uttered by thousands of men, when in despair, those pious believers choose not to notice ; and that moreover, since Jesus often repeats words of the old tecta- ment, his saying may rather be accepte 1 as his repeating words of David than as a prophecy in the psalm,— this likewise they are not willing to perceive.— King David continues his psalm in a lamenting tone, in this tone he sung when beaten by his enemies the Philistines, as we discover in many of his songs ; this time he says complaining : " I am a worm and no man, a reproach of men, and despised of the people. All those that see me, laugh to scorn me ; they shootout the lips, they shake the head, saying : he trusted the Lord that he would deliver him, let him deliver him, seeing he delighted in him "(v. 6-8.)— David being accustomed to return victorious from the battle, supposed the people would laugh at him now that this once he returned defeated ; they would also laugh at his boastings that the Lord should deliver him, while this time the Lord had forsaken him. That this is the meaning of what David says is plain, nevertheless the faithful Chris- tian sees here a prophecy of what occurred to Jesus while hanging on the cross. Still more he feels himself convinced of it when he reads some verses further on : " for dogs have surrounded me ; the assembly of the wicked have inclosed me, they pierce my hands and my feet. I may tell all my bones ; they look and stare at me. They part my garments among them and cast lots upon my vesture (v. 16-18)."— The dogs are, of course, the Jews surrounding the cross^ who pierced his hands and feet with nails ; and the phrase " I may tell all my bones " means, according to the good Christian, that Jesus was naked on the cross /for of a naked man we may, provided he is very lean, tell his ribs) In order ow that the good Christian may comprehend what David referred to when ut of his bones we advise him to look into I. Chron. XI : 1, and he shall fi ouTtl tt mean David's people. So too when David poetically speaks of :— be signifies with that his cities and fortified places ; ^ It Ihe means here to say that his enemies divide among themselves his country Zc^^l^^^^^^^^^ ior Jerusalem. That David speaking of his cities calls them s„^^ CXXXVII: 7.-That the Roman oldiers ITZL the sentence of Jesus, divided among themselves his garments, wa. !ot H f ct worthy to be prophesied, seeing that this happened always among the S t delLct. Thus if David had intended to prophesy he mstead of !iit by such trifles would rather have prophesied Jesus' death and resurrec- Ind what recrards the words : " they pierced my hands and my feet, m TtVlace wefinVin ^ Jewish bible translation : '' like lions they threaten my k .Id n V feet " With his hands and his feet, David alludes to his officers and '£:t:iTLe way as he styled his people his flesh and bones. There . therelore no prophecy to be looked for in this psahn. , . w In the propheci.^ the Christian produce, wheresoever they may have taken them re picled up in a very arbitrary manner out of the midst of some phrases rXn very p Jnly refer to some other matter ; and since now the psalms are i t ytther uLhorent language, the picking of prophecies out o them ,s made Ty ea^y. the more so because David made a good number of psalms so that he S:^t;;::e;meg:.lformymeata„d^^^^^^^^^ to drink." This then is considered as a prophecy reierrm lu wh le han-in- on the cross, was refreshed by a sponge with vmegar bud, ^- SonH; however too far-fetched to be believed by any one who has common 1^; anTas'th this, it is with all the other prophecies picked up m the psalms wp therefore will not stop any longer by them. "™TheS^::re,for theU not regarded as generally eonU^-S P- J--; (for those that are said to contain them are but «<='^P"7/'"^ .^";:i7^ ikely made in his brighter moments !) but they are regarded -^ ^ ™"^ "f \ °„ glorify the Lord. In many of them David however glonBes more h'™ J ^han L llrd,and in each of them he makes great show of h,s -""■"'^^"f ^J Lord and his tivm confidence in the Lord, but then soon "g- ^^"^ the Lord might perhaps forget him, he prays h,m -'VnrSr^i y S^ ever near by, and never to forsake him. Then agam e flatto. the LoM by g.v in. him pompous titles and by relating what grand deeds the Lo ^ ^asjone^ * o t^" ' r " n „„ Uo fVilnks; the Ijord m his lavor, ne re- 138 THE BIBLE EXPOSED. THE PROAERBS. 139 4. I«* psalm CXL he prays, " let burning coals fall upon them ; let them be cast into the fire ; into deep pits, that they rise not up again." The psalms are full of such requests to the Lord, their morals is consequently not very admirable ; and as they are besidas, when looked upon as pieces of poetry, quite worthless, we cannot suppose that the Lord ever can have been much pleased with those songs of David. But seeing that the Lord of Israel, that is, the God of the bible, had strange tastes, we still may be mistaken ; but this at least we surely know, that nobody ought to believe that he, by singing those pitiful hymns, will ever place himself thereby in any higher estimation of that being, called Supreme being, who is the God of nature ; for that God is certainly too wise to allow himself to be coaxed by any hymn, how beautiful or flattering it might be made. THE PROVERBS. Solomon, of whom is written (in 1 Kings, IV: 30, 31) that he was wiser than all men, has also composed a number of quaint proverbs, to (as he says) know wisdom and instruction, to perceive the words of understanding, to receive the instruction of wisdom, justice, and judgment, and equity, to give subtility to the simple, to the young man knowledge and discretion.— Solomon, after that introduction, commences with his proverbs, in which, especially in the tirst chap- ters, the words of wisdom and knowledge and understanding are over-suffieiently repeated. If, however, his repeating at any time those words to his son (where- with he probably meant his people), could be able to produce wisdom and under- standing, we rather doubt, seeing that it is not enough to tell a man to get wisdom, as he only will become wise by real wise instruction, and this we do not believe to be found in the proverbs. The wisdom which Solomon re- ferred to may, however, have been of another kind than the wisdom of the present age ; for, in one of his first proverbs, Solomon says *. " the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge." Now, the beginning of knowK dge of the present day is in no way the fear of the Lord, but consist in a clear mind and the study of science. The fear of the Lord, which is the fear of the biblo- god, (the bugbear wherewith the priests and all prelates care the people out of their wits), is entirely opposed to all cultivation of intellect, for as soon as a man has exercised his intelliect and understands something about the system of nature, he perceives that the Lord, with whose name they try to frighten him, is but an imposition, and that the God who really rules nature is not the whimsical fool they endeavor to press upon his mind, but is a Being of rationality, a Being that he may love, but is not obliged to fear with unnecessary apprehensions, since it is posses-ed of rational intellect. The priest has no power any more over such a man of intelligence, and he knows this, and being afraid of losing the priestly in- flnence tries as much as he can to suppress all that knowledge apt to enhghten Je hun n mind. Hence that the fear of the Lord (that >s the fear of *e r H of the priests), is totally inconsistent with substant.al knowledge. Ex- L t,. h"rproved that no devotee has ever been of any utility to science CTn";w:'e Have been men without tendency to over^evotedn^s who f hlMt the world to her present state of perfection, while the devotee has ::rTe^f ftvuse bat to 'be imposed upon by the priest and other hypo- erte. We therefore boldly declare that Solomon, how wise he may have been, "TSltrZ poof of Solomon-s wisdom, and of the manner how he thoull.Uo imbue subtilty to the simple and knowledge and understandmg and SI to .he young, we will merely content ourselves with g.vmg some of h JZbs intended to instruct. (Taken from the Bible of the Amcr>c«.n B.ble Society). CupTFR II.-My son, if thou wilt receive my words, and hide my com- aZ^ZL thee -so that thou incline thine ear unto w.sdom, and apply Z : un e'tlnding ;-yea, if thou criest after knowledge, and lif^t up t V ice or «ndes.an,iing';_if thou seckest her as silver, -d -■che.t for her ^'for hid treasures ; thou shalt understand the fear of the Lord, etc. (v. 1-6.) Chapter lII.-Be not wise in thine own eyes; fear the Lord, and dej^trt from ev -it shall be health to thy navel, and marrow to thy bones. -Honor the Cd witi thy substance, and with the Bist-fruits of all thme mcome (v. .-9.). CnAPTER IV.-Get wisdom, get understanding ; forget it not ; neither d^ cline from .he words of my mouth. -Forsake her not, and she shall preserve tt :^" tr, and she shall keep thee.-Wisdom is the princpu thmg ; there- fore get wisdom ; and with all thy getting get understandmg (v. 5- .)• Chapter V.-My son, attend unto my wisdom, and bow thine ear to my underrnding,-that thou mayest regard discretion, and that thy hps may k ep k„owled.e,-for the lips of a strange woman drop as a honeycomb and ner mouth i: smoother than oil : but her end is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a two-edged sword (v. 1-4). Chapter VL -These six things doth the Lord hate; yea, seven are an abomination unto him : a proud look, a lying tongue, and »f ^J^^s'-^ -"- cent blood-a heart that deviseth wicked imagmations, feet that be swift n Tn ing to msSef-a false witness that speaketh lies, and '-« /hat soweth d,. ord among brethren.-My son, keep thy father's commandment, and forsak not Ihelaws of thy mother,-biud them upon thiue heart, and t.e them about thy neck (v. 16-21). I i 140 THE BIBLE EXPOSED. Chapter VII.— Keep ray commandments, and live ; and ray law as the apple of thine eye —bind them upon thy fingers, write them upon the table of thine heart (v. 1-3). Chapter Till.— Doth not wisdom cry ? and understanding put forth her voice ? She standeth on the top of high places, by the way in the places of the paths.— She cries at the gates at the entry of the city, at the coming iu at the doors ; Unto vou, men, I call ; and my voice is to the .sons of man.- ye simple, understand wisdom ; and ye fools, be ye of an understanding heart (v. 1-5). Chapter IX.— Wisdom hath builded her house, she hath hewn out her seven pillars : she hath killed her beasts; she hath mingled her wines ; she hath also furnished her table.- Sh6 hath sent forth her maidens; she crieth upon the highest places of the city :— Whoso is simple, let him turn in hither ; as for him that wanteth understanding, she saith to him- -Come eat of my bread, and drink of the wine which I have mingled (v. 1-5). Chapter X.— The wise in heart will receive comraandments ; but a prating fool shall fall.— He that walketh uprightly walkcth surely ; but he that per- verteth his ways shall be known.— He that winketh with the eyes causeth sor- row ; but a prating fool shall fall (v. 9-11). Chapter XT.— A false balance is abomination to the Lord ; but a just weight is his delight.— When pride cometh, then coraeth shame ; but with the lowly is wisdom (v. 1-2). Chapter XII.— The wicked desireth the net of evil men ; but the root of the righteous yieldeth fruit (v. 12). Chapter XIII.— The soul of the sluggard desireth, and hath nothing; but the soul of the diligent shall be made fat (v. 4). Chapter XIV.— The crown of the wise is their riches ; but the foolishnes? of fcols is folly.— A true witness delivereth souls ; but a deceitful witnesf speaketh lies (v. 24-25). Chapter XV.— A wholesome tongue is a tree of life ; but perverseness therein is a breach in the spirit (v. 4). Chapter XVI. — A just weight and balance are the Lord's ; all the weights of the bag are his work (v. 11). Chapter XVII.— The fining-pot is for silver, and the furnace for gold ; but the Lord trieth the hearts (v. 3). THE PROVEEBS. 141 CHAPTER XVIIL-A man's belly shall be satisfied with the fruit of his mouth ; and %vith the increase of his lips shall he be filled (v. 20). Chapter XIX.- Also, that the soul be without knowledge, is not good ; and he that hasteth with his feet sinneth (v. 2). Chapter XX.-The spirit of m^an is the candle of the Lord, searching all the inward paits of the belly (v. 27). Chapter XXI.-The man that wandereth out of the way of understanding shall remain in the congregation of the dead (v. 16). Chapter XXII.-The mouth of strange women is a deep pit : he that is abhorred of the Lord shall fall therein (v. 14). Chapter XXIIL-For a whore is a deep ditch ; and a strange woman is a narrow pit (v. 27). CnAPTF.BXXIV.-My son, eat thou boney, because it is good; and the honey-comb is sweet to thy taste (v. 13), Chapter XXV.-It is not good to eat much honey ; so for men to search their own glory is not glory (v. 27). Chapter XXVI.-The legs of the lame are not equal, so is a parable in the mouth of tools. Chaptrr XXYII-Though thou shouldest bray a fool in a mortar among .heattlth a pestle, yet will not his foolishness depart from U.m (v, 22). Chapter XXVIII.-He that is of a proud heart stirreth up strife, but he that patteth his trust in the Lord shall be made fat (v. lo). Chapter XXIX.-The bloodthirsty hate the upright : but the just seek his soul (v. 10). VYX -This chapter, though added to the book of the proverbs, "^''^:^,i:"^^ slt^^^ is .0. brutish ..„ any TZltLt^s^r,ooornr.on..>icrs^.nAlas,r,mer has he learned w.s- Z nTh::.? ;;:^now,edge of the -'.^„f rjrylS'he'mr Tp I* 142 THE BIBLE EXPOSED. ation that curses their father and do not bless their mother ; a generation whose teeth are as swords, and whose jaw- teeth as knives, to swallow the poor from off the earth and the needy from among the men (v. 11-14). After that highly in- teresting information Agur says at once that the horseleech has two daughters, named : " Give, Give." And there are three things, he says, that are never satisfied, yea four things say not " it is enough " to wit : the grave, the barren womb, the earth that is never filled with water, and the fire (v. 15). Tiiere are also three things that are too wonderful for Agur, yea four that he know not, to wit : the way of an eagle in the air, the way of a serpent on a rock, the way of a ship in the midst of the sea, and the way of a man with a maid (v. 19). And four things are little upon the earth, according to his opinion, and are exceedingly wise, to wit : the ant, the cony, the locust, and the spider (v. 25-28). I'here are also three things which go well, yea four are comely in going, to wit : a lion, a grey-hound, a he.goat, and a victorious king (v. 29-31). Agur having in that manner exhibited his lack of common sense, ends his instruction by declaring that the churning of milk brings forth butter, the wringing of the nose bring forth blood, and so does the forcing of wrath bring forth strife. Chapter XXXI.— This chapter contains the instructions of the mother of king Lemuel to her son, to wit : he should not give his strength unto women, nor drink too much wine ; but look out for a virtuous wife. 'J'hereupon follows a classification of all the good qualities which that wife must possess.— Though now we cordially hope that Lemuel may have found a wife as his mother recom- mended him, we still do not see why this chapter is added to the proverbs. About the wisdom, and knowledge, and understanding, and discretion, to be drawn from Solomon's instructions of wisdom, called proverbs, we let the reader judge for himself, and will proceed to another book of that exceedingly wise king. 4 ECCLESIASTES 5 OR THE PREACHER. The son of David, the king of Jerusalem, styles himself this time the Preacher. Vanity of vanities, vanity of vanities, all is vanity, saith the Preacher. What profit hath a man of all his labour which he taketh under the sun ? One gener- ation passeth away, and another cometh, but the earth remains forever (Chapt. I. V. 1-4). The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be, and that which is done is that which shall be done, and there is no new thing under the sun. Is there any thing whereof it may be said, see, this is new, it hath been already of olden times which was before us. There is no remembrance of former things ; neither shall there be any remembrance of things that are to come with those ECCLESIASTES ! OR THE PREACHER. 143 that shall come after (v. 9-11). -This view of Solomon's (for it is understood that Solomon was the author of this book) that a man has no profit of all his la- hour and that no remembrance of it will remain, is not exactly to be called a very'relicrious view of the matter, but merely that of one who does not look be- yond this world. We therefore would have expected of a holy man as Solomon, that he knew that existence is given to man in this world to prepare for another; it seems however that Solomon's understanding did not reach so far—The preacher gave his heart to seek and search out by wisdom all things that are done under heaven, and behold, he found that all of it was vanity and vexation of 'spirit. And he gave also h>s heart to know wisdom, and to know madness and folly, and he perceived that this also is vexation of spirit, for in "^^^^^ w'^dom is much grief, and he that increaseth knowledge increaseth sorrow (v. 1^-1«)-- This hypochondriacal view concerning the wisdom, is not at all coherent with all the entreaties the king gave to his son in the first chapter of the proverbs, when he asserted that wisdom is the principal thing (for instance m Proverb. I^ • &- , now on the contrary he plainly gives to understand that dullness ^^^ould be pre- lerred-The preacher declares in Chapt. II. that he tried also all kmd of mirth and follv, even gave himself unto wine, he also built himself houses, planted gar- dens and orchaid.,got servants and maidens, and had servants born m his house and gathered silver ard gold and peculiar treasures, and got himseh singers and women-singers, and delights of all sorts, and he was great, more so than all tlm. we before him in Jerusalem, then he looked on all the labour tha he had la^ boured to do, and behold, it was all vanity and vexation of spirit -d ^lere was no profit under the sun. Then, he compared the wisdom and the folly, and he saw that wisdom excelkth folly as light the darkness, but when again observing hat the same events happeneth to the wise man as to the fool, and that the wise ni:n dies as well as the fool, and that his memory will be forgotten as we las that of the fool, then again he saw that all was vanity and vexation o sprit and he came to the conclusion that there is nothing better i^^r a man, thari that he should eat and drink, and should make ^is soul enjoy the good of his la- hour. This Solomon saw was from the hand of God (Cnapt. H- v- 24.)-In the next Chapter, we find again that Solomon after some more 7^" 2Tan^ the conviction that it is the gift of God that every man shall -t -^ J-^^^^^ enjovthegood of all his labour (v. 13.) Solomon also perceived tha that whic be alleth men befalleth beasts, as the one dieth, so dieth the other, they h^a^^^^^^^^ one breath, so that a man has no preeminence above a beast, they a a re v^n^. ties, therefore Solomon concludes that there is nothing ^^^^^;^^^^^^^^^ should rejoice in his own works, for that is his portion (v. 9-22). Solomon or ver'considered all the oppressions that are done under t^^e -n -d ^^^^ the tears of all those that are oppressed, and he saw they had no comforter, he erre praiseth the dead who were already dead, but ^tm more he prais^ those that had never been born, and had not seen the evil that 1 done. And rL considering the right work that is done, Solomon saw, that a man is envied for that, so that he finds this also to be vanity and vexation of spuU 144 THE BIBLE EXPOSED. (chapt. IV : 1-4).— Coming to this point thepreaclicr commences on a sudden to give a large number of incoherent proverbs, having nothing to do with his ob- servations"; with these proverbs he continues till the end of the book, when he winds up by saving : ' let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter : fear God, and keep his commandments ; for this is the whole duty of man" (chapt. XII : 13). — Thougii this conclusion of the preacher sounds rather plausible, we however cannot perceive that Solomon in his preaching said a single word to prove the truth of his conclusion, so that we do not understand how He could get to it. i #. h THE SONG OF SOLOMON. Several chapters of this song are headed in the old English translation as follows : "The love of the Church to Christ. -Mutual love of Christ and his Church.— The Church's fight and victory.— Christ sheweth the Church her (irace.— Christ awaketh the Church.— The Church's faith in Christ," etc.— Seeing that there is not the sliglitcst intimation in any of Solomon's writings of the arrival of a Christ, nor the slightest allusion made to the Christ in this song, we therefore deem it useful to let the public notice that those headings were un- questionably placed there without Solomon's authority ; we also do not find them in the' Hebrew bible, nor in the later English translations. This song is evidently nothing but a piece of poetry, in which Solomon sings the love of a young pair of lovers, without having in view any peculiar religious notion. It is worth being read, whereas it is quite amusing on account of the original com- parisons coming forth in it.— For instance, in chapter I, the lover compares his bride to a teem of horses ir Pharaoh's chariot, for her cheeks are comely with rows of jewels, and her neck with chains of gold. The bride then answers : a bundle of myrrh is my well-beloved unto me, he shall lie all night betwi.xt my breasts. The lover says again in his turn: behold, thou art fair, my love, thou hast dove-oyes, behold thou art fair, yea pleasant, also our bed is green.— Since now a bed' is here in demand, it is plain enough that this song has nothing in common with the pretended love of Christ for his Church. We wonder, therefoie. how the pious bible-translators ever could get to such a notion.— In chapt. II : 14, the lover observes to his love that they are in the cleft of a rock, in a secret place, and therefore he begs her to uncover her countenance. She then says : my beloved is mine, and I am his! — In chapt. Ill, the bride com- plains that she once at night sought her lover on her bed, bat he was gone, she went up in search of him. and found him, and would not let him go until became back with her.— In chapt. IV the lover declares once more that phe. his love, is fair, her eyes are as dove-eyes ; her hair is as a flock of goats : her teeth are as a flock of sheep just shorn ; her lips are as a thread of scarlet ; her temples are as THE SONG OF SOLOMON. U5 a piece of pomegranate, and he. neck as a tower of David, whereon are hangmg a thousand bucklers and shields, etc._In chapt. V the bride complams agam that her beloved has left her ; the daughters of Jerusalem now made a ^P™"'^^ and asked if her lover proved to be any better than the others ; the br.de there- upon, to excuse herself for her love, answers : my beloved is wh.te »nd "idd?, his h«>d is as fine gold, his eyes are as the eyes of doves by the nvers of wa r washed with n,ilk, and fitly set. His cheeks are as a bed of sp.es. H^ b J is as bright ivory overlaid with sapphires. His legs are as p> ars of marb, . and his mouth is most sweet ; yea, he is altogether lovely (v. lO-l")-;^' ^^*P ^ VI we perceive that the lover is coming back agam, saymg he prefe.red his love above three score of queens and four score of concubines she is a,r as the moon, clear as the sun, and terrible as an army of banners.-In chapt ^ II the lover savs moreover, how beautiful are thy feet with shoes . . . thy navel ,s like a round goblet, which wanteth not liquor ; thy belly is like a heap of wheat se^ about with lilies ; thy two breasts are like two young roesthat are twins ; thy neck is a tower of ivo;y ; 'thine eyes are like the fish-pools in Heshbon ; thy nose is like the tower on the Lebanon : thy head is like Carmel , and thyhair - - P-P^' etc -In chapt. VIII the bride is wishing that her lover was her httle brother, suckin.^ at the breast of her mother, then she would be allowed to kiss him w.th- ou b^rng despised. And a few lines further, somebody, (probably the mother) asks: "Who is this that cometh up from the wilderness, leaning "PO" her b«. loved ? I raised thee up under the apple tree, there thy mother brought thee forth."-On account of that coming up leaning upon the arm of her beloved, we suppose that this pair of lovers has gone out to get married, and now returned home as husband and wife. The poetical genius of f o'"™-' ^/^^ -^^^1 will acknowledge, deserves all admiration, and accordingly it is not at all ^tonish- in" that his cotemporaries placed this beautiful song into their holy book. THE BOOK OF THE PROPHET ISAIAH. Chapter I.-Isaiah was a man of visions, who lived, as can be observed from the books of the Kings, and from his own book, in the time when Israe and Judah were in continual war with the Assyrians, in consequence of whi h warlrae was carried away in servitude, while Judah bought herself free wi h The .-old from the temple. It was in the days of Jotham, Uzmh, Ahaz and He^ekiah, kings of Judah, that Isaiah spoke his prophecies and perf-™«^ h- miracles, and principally during the reign of the latter, as is evident m II Kings XX The war with the Assyrians which could have great consequences was without doubt an important subject to monopolise a Jewish "-aji's atten tior. ; Tnd seeing that Isaiah in his long ca«>er could watch the course the things took. 146 THE BIBLD EXPOSED. it is no wonder, of course, that he made his own calculations of what would be the end of it. Those opinions of his, written in prophetical style (of which style Moses had given the example), are called prophecies. They, however, as we will see, have not foretold a single truth.-Tn the first chapter Isaiah represents the Lord as complaining that the people of Israel do not know him, the oxen know their master, but they do not, therefore the Lord has caused their country to be destroyed and their cities to be burnt by strangers ; so that Jerusalem is left by herself, like a cottage in a vineyard, like a lodge in a cucumber-garden, like a besieged city (v. 8) .—What Isaiah said here about Jerusalem was no prophecy, as it was so when he spoke. Chapter II.— Isaiah communicates now that it shall come to pass in the last davs, that the mountain of the Lord's house shall be established on the top of all mountains, and all nations shall flow unto it. And many people shall go and sav, " come ye and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob," etc. (v. 2-3). -The trusting Christian bible-reader thmks to see in those words some mystic profound meaning, touching the future pre- dominance of the Church of Christ We therefore advise such to notice that Isaiah merely speaks here of the mount of Zion, whereon the temple was built ; this mountain, savs he should, eventually, be elevated above all mountams, and then the other nations should see and confess that the God of Israel was mightier than theirs Isaiah, therewith, would give to understand that at last Jerusalem s temple would give the law to the other nations of Palestine ; but he did not speak of the Christian creed, for the temple of Jerusalem and the Christian creed are very different things, and it can only be a confused mind who can con- found the one with the other. Chaptfr III -Here we discover that the Lord, previous to elevating Zion'3 mountain so high, intended first to punish thoroughly all the inhabitants. The people should be oppressed every one by another, children should rule over them ; and moreover, because the daughters of Zion were haughty, and did walk with stretched necks and wanton eyes, winking as they went, and making a tinkling with their feet, therefore the Lord would punish them, and uncover their secret parts, and take awav all their ornaments the chains, the bracelets, the mufflers, iie bonnets, the ornaments of the legs, the headbands, the tablets, the ear-rings, etc-, and their lovers should all be killed by the sword. Chapter IV — " And in that dav seven women shall take hold of one man, saying, we will eat (buy) our own bread, and wear our own apparel ; only let us be called by thy name, to take away our reproach. In that day shall the branch of the Lord be beautiful and glorious, and the fruit of the earth shall be excellent and comely for those that have escaped of Israel" (v. 1;2 -So^ie Christian explainers of the scriptures have deemed it proper to declare that "branch of the Lord" means Jesus Christ, and in that way they see here a THE PROPHET ISAIAH. UT prophecy on the glorious reign of the son of God on earth. Therefore also we find in some bible translations this chapter headed, " the blessings of Christ's kingdom." As Isaiah, however, speaks here of a time when there would be almost nothing but widows and unmarried women in Jerusalem, ou account of the men being killed by the sword, which was not the case in Jesus' time, nor will be the case when that alleged time comes of Jesus' return on the earth (for then all that once lived will arise from death, men as well as women), we, for our part, deem the choice ot such prophecy very improper, and even too foolish to demonstrate how false it is. With the expression of " branch of the Lord," Isaiah had in view •' Israel" the holy people of the Lord, Chapter V. — This time Isaiah gives a song represented to be sung by a young woman, and having for subject the vineyard of her lover. — The song was intended to serve as a parable, to show that in the same way as the owner of the vineyard would act with his yard, the Lord should act with the king- dom of Israel. Chapter VI. — Now Isaiah communicates that in the year of king Uzziah's death, he (Isaiah) saw the Lord sitting on a throne in the temple. Above the throne stood several seraphims, singing to one another : " Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts ; the whole earth is full of his glory !" They sang with such a strength of voice that the posts of the door were shattered by it. Isaiah, when seeing and hearing what was going on, said : " woe to me ! for I am un- done ; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips ; and mine eyes have seen the king, the Lord of hosts." Imme- diately thereupon a seraphim flew unto him, holding a burning coal in his hand, which he had taken with the tongs from off the altar. And he laid it upon Isaiah's mouth, declaring that henceforth his iniquity was taken away and his sins purged. I'he Lord then asked whom he should send to his people ; Isaiah presently offered his service, and accordingly was appointed by the Lord his mes- senger unto the Lord's people. He at the same time was ordered by the Lord to make the heart of the people fat and their ears heavy, and shut their eyes, so that they would neither hear, nor understand, nor be converted, until all their cities should be wasted and their land desolated. — We learn by this account in what manner Isaiah was appointed prophet by the Lord, and by which process his (never lieing) lips were made clean, this indeed is instructive ; but that the Lord at the same time had gotten such a fixed idea of destroying Israel's country, that he even would not allow the people to convert, is a sorry story to learn, as it is not fit to inspire much respect for that Lord of hosts of seraphims. Chapter VIL — And it came to pass in the days of Ahaz, the son of Uzziah, the king of Judah, that Rezin, the king of Syria, and Pekah, the king of Israel^ went up to war against Jerusalem. Ahaz being informed that those kings had confederated against him was moved in his heart. The Lord observing this, sent Isaiah to tell him that he need not fear, and might be quiet, for the Lord f if* THE PROPHET ISAIAH. U9 ""' n 148 THE BIBLE EXPOSED. ~,Vned but 16 years (as evident in II Kings XVI : 2, and XVIII .10), s-i Thif tint L ken came to pass a good many years earlier than Isa,ah prophes,e , wMch otcourse proves not for the veracity of his propheey.-Further, I^m,. .» The name of the Lord F™.itted Ahaz to ask a sign as proof o( the Ix>rd s pr.> ietion but Ihaz refuL, for he said he believed in it, and wished not to tom,>^ TZl The Lord th«ugh,was very n,uch disposed -give a s.gn^^^^^^^^^^^^ fore would give one any how, and that was: a virgin should concen e and 'CraLt and should cai;hisnarneIn..anuel(v.U),and before thec^^,^ know to reiect the evil and choose the good, the countries that Ahaz abhorrea houM beS of both her kings (v. 16)._The faithful Chnstian sees^^n these words,of ve^ ,4,a ^f^^^l^ZI^::^^:^^'^'^ ' That those words were spoken to Ahaz who l»ea aou „ before Jesus and were intended for a sign to him, they do not heed. 1 here .3 S^kenoTa virgin that should bear a son, and this is enough for t em to declar^ t a prophecy - Isaiah, however, says that the child should be called Immanue 1 Vi fhe other child to whom the Christian want the prophecy to refer was not Lued so fo it was died Jesus. This fact alone would be sufficient to show it:' Christians are wrong, if it were not plain -"gh or any^a entive reader to perceive that the promise was a special one given to Ahaz, to wit Te of W young women should conceive and bear a son, and be ore thi "id should I old enough to have any understanding. Ahaz should be freed rol the attacks of king Bezin and king Pekah. In the J--'''^;^'^ ^ /f. also instead of • a virgin shall conceive' . . ' this young woman ^1- ' -J ; Seein.- that a woman that conceives may be a ' young woman, bu cannot any lo^^^r be called a • virgin,' we are sure that the Jewish version >s m this pent more correct than the Christian. Chapter VIII -After that the Lord ordered Isaiah to take a great roll ..and to write on it with a pen, concerning" Maher-shalal-hash-baz !''-ln the Jewish version we read, " to write on it with distinct letters Lemaher-shalal- Lh-bas" (speedy booty, sudden spoilj.-Isaiah having done that took with hm wo faithful witnesses, and went unto the prophetess, and she conceived and bore a son Then the Lord said unto him, call his name Maher-shdal-hash-baz, for befor; the child shall have knowledge to say, my father and -"y mo^^^ier the riches of Damascus and the spoil of Samaria shall be taken away by the king 01 A^syria.-From the former chapter we understood that a son should be boru I Ahaz as a sign, but now it appears that Isaiah, in order to make the sign st.l 1^ certain, did deem it fit to procreate a son to himself too ; and fortunate .t ^Lthat th prophetess, notwithstanding the presence of the two witnesses d.d lonceiveatonccas such a child, procreated upon special order of the Lord by a holy prophet and a prophetess, must of coui-se be growing up a most remark, able prophet, and be quite an acquisition to the people of Judah, who were so fond of prophecies. Chapter IX.— This time Jsaiah is more hopeful as to the future of the people, because a light is shining upon them, and they will rejoice as men rejoice when they divide the spoil; " for a child is born unto us," says the prophet," unto us a son is given and the government shall be on his shoulder ; and his name shall be called (according to the christian bible), Wonderful. Counsellor. The mighty God. The Everlasting Father. The Prince of peace."— According to the Jewish bible the name should be : " Wonderful counsellor of the mighty God, of the everlasting Father, the prince of peace."— The Christians see here again (in verse 6) a prophecy of Jesus, even when they read the next verse which says " of the increase of his government and peace thsre shall be no end upon the throne of David, etc." (v. 7). Jesus now never sat on the throne of David, and never delivered Judah of the Syrians, as we further see that this king should do. Jesus also could never be called, the prince of peace, seeing that he brought more war and strife than peace into the world ; we therefore are sure that Jesaiah informs us here of the birth of the child spoken of in Chapt. VII, and this child he pre- dicts shall succeed on the throne of David, (that is reign over Judah and Israel both) and be a great hero as David I. was, and accordingly deliver his country of all her enemies. Chapter X.— This chapter headed by the translators " the woe of tyrants '» treats of Assyria and its king, and that in no friendly spirit. This king (Sal- manassar) appears however to have been doing well and to have extended his dominions with great success, notwithstanding the woe-cryings of Isaiah.— The Lord will also send that king against Judah, as he was before sent against Is- rael, but Jiidah shall find a mighty helper to deliver them from the Assyrian's voke.— This deliverer, of course, cannot be Jesus of Nazareth, considering that he never fought, nor delivered anybody from the Assyrians. This promise con- sequently refers to the great hero, whose birth was announced in the preceding chapter.— Isaiah also promises here (in v. 20-22), that the remnant of Israel shall return from the Assyrian captivity.— This, as is well known, never took place, for instead of coming back, Israel's name died out in Assyria. The reader auijht to keep in mind that Isaiah speaking of Israel, dees not mean the people of Judah. for he makes a decided destinction between those two. The people of Israel, were the inhabitants of North Palestine, sometimes called Ephraim, of which Samaria was the capital. These inhabitants were already carried off to Assyria in the time Jesaiah spoke this so-called prophecy, as can be noticed from V. 11 of this chapter. Chapter XL— The prophet anuounces here that there is coming forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots ; and the I i 150 THE BIBLE KXPOSED. spirit ot the Lord shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear o the Lori fv 1-2) -The Christian expounders see in those words and what follows a prophecy of Jesus, and his peaceful kingdom to come, especially because Jsa- iah cr^ves further to understand that under the reign of this rod out of the stem of Jesse the peace shall be so great that the wolf shall lie with the lamb, and the lion shall eat grass with the oxen, etc. We however cannot suppose that Isaiah would have so little respect for a son of God as to call him a ' rod besides Jesus was not of the stem of Jesse, since he was the Son of the Holy Ghost Furthermore Jesus never sat on the throne of David tlie son of Jesse, and even, without that, he brought no reign of peace m Israel. It is true that the Christian pretends that this time must yet come when Jesus shall be comincr back iigain out of the clouds, but seeing that until now he has not come back Ind has brought into this world instead of peace, war, massacres, burn- ■ ing on piles of live folks, poisoning, stabbing, and all kind of horrible cruelties, not to mention yet the intense ill-feeling amongst the dififerent sects of Christians . continually enterUuned by his contradictory doctrines, so we deem it right not to consider this chapter as a prophecy on him. Jsaiah intended to prognosti- cate that the reign of the young prince, whose birth he announced m Chapt. IX., should be one of peace, so great as Judah and Israel had never known before.- The prophet also promised that under the reign of that prince the Lord should assemble the remnants of Israel, and lead them back, along a highway, out off Assyria (v. 16).-This agreeable promise though was never fulfilled, nor ever can be fulfilled since the tribes of Israel all died out in Assyria. Chapter XIL--The prophet gives here a song of thanksgiving that the people of Israel will sing in later days for all the anger the Lord once spitted upon them. Chaftfr Xlll.-Jsaiah predicts now that the city of Babylcxi shall be de- stroyed by the hosts of the Lord ; the Lord himself shall be at the head of his army, ai>l on that day of his tierce anger and wrath, the stars of heaven, and the constellations thereof shall not give their light, and sun and moon sliall be dark, ened and the Lord shall punish the world for their evil, and cause the arrogance of the proud { Babylonians) to cease. The men shall fiee as chased roes, but every man that the hosts of tl^e Lord get hold of shall be pierced through by the sword^ and their children shall be dashed to pieces before their eyes; their bouses shall be spoiled, and their wives ravished.-We discover that the Lord had grand projects of revenge, but unfortunately for the prophecy nothing of all this has come to pass ; for Babylon though no more existing at present, was still a growing and flourishing- city for more than four centuries after Jsaiah. It was only when the city of Seleucia was built (307 before C ), that Babylon began to fall off, on account of the trade being transferred to ♦he new city ; smce that time it lost its importance and decayed gradually, until it ceased to be a THK PROPHET ISAIAH. 151 city. Babylon has accordingly participated in the fate of all the cities of the old world, withoutever having been destroyed by hosts of heaven. This nonsensical lan- guage of Jsaiah is nevertheless greatly admired by the bible.friends, for his cursing Babylon, aflbrds them a proof that Isaiah got a prophetical foresight of the Baby- lonian exile that awaited the people of Judah. To explain Isaiah's hatred of that city, it is however sufficient to know that during his life, Jerusalem was at- tacked by the Assyrian king Sennacherib, and this king had chosen Babylon for his residence. Chapter XIV.— Hie prophet prophesies again that the Lord will have mercy upon the people of Jacob and Israel; and the other nations who hold the Israelites in slavery should be in their turn slaves to them for all time to come. —Also this prophecy has not been fulfilled, nor ever will, seeing that the tribes of Israel have entirely been absorbed by the nations who held them in slavery. Chapter XV. and XVL— In those chapters the prophet bewailes tne fate of the land of Moab. In Chapt. XVI, he exhorts Moab to allow the outcasts of Israel to dwell with her peacibly, for then shall the king who shall be estab- lished on the tlirone of David have mercy with Moab; but if she will not, then shall the glory of Moab be condemned within tliree years (v. 14).~This shows that Isaiah's great king David II. was expected to occupy the throne within three years ; accordingly he was not the same as Jesus who until now has not yet sit on the throne of David. Chapter XVII.— Here we are foretold of the destruction of Damascus, and such a total destruction as will only leave ruins.— In this also our prophet is mistaken, for Damascus is up to this present moment one of the principal cities of Asia. Chapter XVIIL— Now the destruction of Ethiopia is threatened, though we are not informed what evil it had done. Chapter XIX.— The fall of Egypt is also this time mentioned for a cer- tainty.— I'his however did not take place, for Egypt increased in power, and remained long after Isaiah's time one of the greatest countries of antiquity, even holding the whole of Palestine for about a century. Chapter XX.— The holy man, Jsaiah, relates us now that he, upon an or- der of the Lord, walked three years naked and barefooted, as a sign and wonder over Egypt and Ethiopia.— But what sign and wonder can there be in a naked prophet? Lunatics often show an inclination to divest themselves of their gar- ments. No doubt that the people, who saw him walk about in his negligee and heard his astounding prophecies, must have been under the impression that he was totally crazy, and if so, then they will have been nearer the truth than thousands even of our generation, who in the raving language ot Isa- I w^ 162 THE BIBLE EXPOSED, THE PROPHET ISAIAH. 153 tl 11 iah suppose to sec divine inspiration, as if Divinity only could express herself in the language of a madman. Chapter XXI.— Again, the destruction of Babylon is foreshown, as also the desolation of Arabia.— Arabia however has never experienced any consequences of Isaiah's ill-feeling towards her, seeing that she since got large and important cities, and is still in better condition than the holy land ever was. Chapter XXII.— Jsaiah curses the valley of visions; and at the same time the city treasurer, named Shebna. Chapter XXIII.— The overthroAr of Tyre is now announced, though seventy years later Tyre should sing again, sing as a harlot, and she should commit for nication with all the kings of the world, and her merchandise and her hire should be holiness unto the Lord.— This manner of expressing must be very near the sublime, for we find it copied in the Revelation of St. John the divine, as ap- plied there to the whore Babylon. Chapter XXIV. -Jsaiah states how the Lord intends to make the land empty, to lay it waste, to turn it upside down; and the inhabitants were to be burned and only few should be left ; then he suddenly cries : My leanness, ray leanness, woe unto me'' The prophet's ideas are this time confused, perhaps even more so than before , the description of the general upsetting and burning of all things, and the throw- m ^^ ^^ InMion Accordingly it came to pass that the angel of the Lord went I^ bTat same Srand smote in the camp of the Assyrians one hundred a'J^fotrscore an, five thousand (185000) men, and behold, when they arose rly nrmorning, they were all dead eorpses.-This story is P™^^ -V - ^ what exa.^.'erau.d, as it is rot likely that as large an army was sent against so Tn a a H; as Jerusalem was (as to be seen from Jeremiah, '-t e apter v^ 28- ,01 This" .-reat miracle of slaughter was already niention«i in the book of Uie S.S and of the Chronicles, where we spoke of it ; also the account of H^^ Si^s riulons cure from boils performed by Isaiah, and all the rest o hese el ers w" mentioned before. Ue only remarkable new account to b ouTdh reTs he predicting by Isaiah that all the treasures of the kings house iui c b cLveyed to Babylon. He predicted this after some messengen, to rob the king's house. CH.PTKK XL-Isaiah now comforts the people, sMing "l^^^'-^-if^ are pardoned, for they bavereceived double punishment for all their sms. The THE PROPHET ISAIAH. 166 voice of him," says he, " that crieth in the wildnemess ; prepare ye the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for oar God. I'V^'y /^"^y f ''" '^^ exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low, «*«• (j- ^^^'-rfK^ cording to the Jewish translation, Isaiah says : " A voice calleth out : in the wilderiJess make ye clear the way of the Lord, make straight in the de^^^t etc The Christian explainers of the scripture have deemed it useful to declare «ii a prophecy on John the Baptist, but taking into consideration that John the Baptist has neither made clear nor made straight any way of the Lord, so it canno , by any means, be a prophecy on him. What the prophet said here wa^ an alia- sL made to he highway, which the Lord would cause to be ma e ,„ the deser^ conduce back from Assyria the captive Israelites Of that highway I-ah spoke in chapt. XI : 16, and in chapt. XXXV : 8 and 10, and ehapt. XLIII . 19. Chaptkh XLI.-In the second ver^ Isaiah "^^^ = " ^';° ^^'f ,,7 ^'l' ricrhteous from the east fete-Many good Christians have declared that this righteous was their Christ, bat when we are reading this chapter, we notice that a fe; hues further is spoken of the Lord's servant, therefore we judge it right to take it for granted that the righteous in question is the same as the servant. The servant now of the Lord is Israel. " Thou Israel are my servant " says the Lord, in verse 8. With " Israel" evidently the whole people of Israel is meant. Chapter XLII.-Also in this chapter there is spoken of the Lord's ser- vant " Behold my servant, whom I uphold, mine elect, in whona my soul de- iZLh • I have put my spirit upon him : he shall bring forth judgment o be Gen« 1' He shall not cry, nor lift up, nor cause his voice to be heard m the str^fetc (V l-4).-Thosewords are expounded as being a prophecy on the S Jesus Christ but taking in consideration that instead of not crying and not liWrup his voice in the street, Jesus did the whole day nothing else, so we are !ure Uiat'this prophecy does not relate to him, but will relate to the servant of the forratr chapter. Chaftfr XLIIL-'Hie Lord being yet on friendly terms with his people says 'Is™-!, fear not, for I have red«.med thee, I have called thee by thy name thou art me (V 1). . For I am the Lord thy (Jod, the holy One of srae , thy Saviou av Egvpt for thy ransom. Ethiopia and Seba fcr thee (v. 3). Te Tmy v^itness, s;ith the Lord, an. my servant, whom I have chosen ; that 1 m" know and believe me, and understan:. that I am he ^.v God ; be o. me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after me (v. 10 . I, eve^ 1, Z tlul and besides me, there is no Saviour" (v. 11).- -Now, ,f the writing, orprophect or Isaiah are to be believed, as the Christians pretend, then we may LT;eonclude that they bear no reference to a Christ, since besides the Lord of Israel there was no other Saviour. I 156 THE BIBLE EXPOSED. i^ »! Chapter XLIV.-We read : '* Fet now hear, Jacob my servant, and Israel, whom I have chosen; thus saith the Lord that made thee, and formed thee from the womb, which help thee ; fear not, Jacob, my servant and thou Jeshurun (Israel) whom I have chosen" (v. 1-2) ; and ^-^'^^^ J^' ^'^^; . f"^ saith the Lord, the King of Israel, and his Redeemer, the Lord of hosts 'la- the first, and I am the last, and besides me there i^ no God v. 6) Fear not neither be afraid ; have not I told thee from that time, and have declared it ? ve are even my witnesses. Is there a God besides me ? yea, there is no God ; 1 l-nnwnot anv" (v 8).-Tn no more conclusive language than the foregomg S have b/en it flh that the Lord would suffer no God beside himself^ and that he was One and indivisible. The very same prophecies of Isaiah a e brouc^ht in evidence, however, for predicting the coming of Jesus and he is Ite^ on, that autl-ority chiefly, to be as great as the Lord a God himsdf while they say precisely the total reverse, as we have fully shown.-The Lord further savs :'' Remember these, Jacob and Israel,for thou art my servant ; I have formed thee ; thou art my servant, etc. (v 21). Thus saith the Lord thy Redeemer, he that formed thee from the womb. I am the Lord that maketh al things; that stretcheth forth the heavens alone; that spreadeth abroad he earth by museir (v. ?4).-Here is thus very plainly mentioned that Israel is the e" nt'the clien onclnd and that the Lord is Israel's only Re eemer ; so t a we ku^w for the future that whenever there is spoken in the book of the prophets of the Redeemer, or of the chosen servant, we have no right to con- Tue either as relating to Jesus of Nazareth. The faithful Christians are apt to make that mistake, but it is plain they have no right to do so. Chapter XLV.-The Lord speaks unto Cyrusinbehalf of his people. Cy- rus is now his anointed, whose right hand i. holden to subdue nations before him.- As Cyrus was the king of Persia, we perceive by Isaiah s admission that the Lord could also look with favor on heathens. This is remarkable ! It is besides, somewhat remarkable that Isaiah should speak at all of a king who lived some 200 vears later. Reading the book of Ezra, we perceived how Cyrus was brought to the idea of releasing the Jews of their bondage ; and observing moreover, that the language and the style of those last chapters is su- perior to that of the preceding ones ; there being not the extravagance in il- Lration, nor the monstrous nonsence to be found in it ; would it therefore not be po«sible that a few chapters of a later date were accidentally mixed with those of Isaiah by some later holy man, for the sake of the holy people ; for as was the case with the Second Book of Samuel, it might have been wri ten after his death In Ezra, verses 2 and 3, it is stated that Cyrus was so much pleased in findin.; his name put down as deliverer of the Jews, that their rek^ase was ordered at once ; if, therefore, these chapter3 should have found accidentally a place among Isaiah's writings, it would be at least as valuable as the rest, on ao count of the happy result they produced. 14 m THE PROPHET ISAIAH. 157 Chapter XLYI.--In this chapter ly. 9) the Lord says : Remember the former things of old, for I am God, and there is none else ; I am God, and there is none like°me.-Can it still be possible, after those repeated assertions, to pre- tend that this same God should have a Son, his equal in every respect ! Would it not be better for the Christians to exclude all such chapters from their bible ? Chapters XLVIL— XLYIII.— The destruction of Babylon is again prophe- sied.— Seeing that no time when that should take place was fixed, an.l seeing that every city wfil once decay and successively disappear, it was not difficult to fore- tell such. About that so-called prophecy we spoke already in chapt. XIII. Chapter XLIX.— The Lord, speaking to Israel, said : " It is a light thing that thou shouldst be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to restore the surviving of Israel ; I will also give thee for a light to the Gentiles, that thou mayest be m'y salvation unto the end of the earth" (v. 6) —The Christian sees here a prophecy of Jesus, but if he would give himself the trouble of comparing it with verse 3, he would soon notice that the Lord speaks of Israel. Chapter L,-Entitled in the old translation, " Christ sheweth his ability to «ave " This heading was of course not written by Isaiah, who did know but one God and Saviour. It commences in this way : " Thus saith the Lord ; where is the bill of your mother's divorcement?" etc.... Whereupon the mother is made to answer : " I gave my back to smiters, my cheek to them that plucked ofi" hair • I hid not my face from shame and spitting."-Thi3 now is pretended to refer to Jesus, who never gave his back to smiters, but had to submit to being pinioned The mother referred to is no other than the city of Jerusalem, and this is fully to be seen in the last part of the next chapter, (v. 17, etc.) where is said while treating on the same subject : '• Awake, awake, stand up, Jerusalem, which hast drunk at the hand of the Lord of his fury ;" and again, " there is none to guide her among the sons whom she hath brought forth," etc. The mother, therefore is Jerusalem ; also it would be strange that this should represent a prophecy of harsh treatment which Jesus would have to undergo, without tlie slightest mention being made of what further would happen to him. Chapter LI.— This chapter is headed in the old translation : " An exhorta- tion to trust in Christ." without it containing tlie slightest reference to that effect and without Isaiah's authority, who never alluded even in the remotest de- gree to anv other Saviour but the Lord, the God of Israel.-The prophet promises here a most happy life to the chosen people when returned to Zion. Chapter LIL— The Lord says now to Jerusalem that she may put on her beautiful garments, for henceforth no uncircumcised shall come into her. The Lord himself will bring back into her his oppressed people, and will be their king ; and he that brings tlie good tidings, saying : " Thy God reigneth," has beau- f Ill) |!fl 158 THE BIBLE EXPOSED. tiful feet upon the mountains.— Because Jesus went sometimes up the mountains, the Christian sees herein a prophecy, though the prophet meant with the beaaii- ful feet very likelv, nothing else than that the mentioned tiding would be well received.-Further the Lord said, speaking of Israel : Behold my servant shall deal prudently ; he shall be excelled and extolliod and be very high. As many were astonished at thee ; his visage was so marred more than any man's, and hia form more than the sons of men (v. 14) .-Now, if this had reference to Jesus as the Christians presume, nobody, no doubt, of his ignorant contemporaries would ever have believed him to be the Son of God. The meaning of the prophet is that Israel was despised by the other nations, as a leper with a marred face among men. But Israel should recover, and be placed high.-That other nations and kings, when seeing such, should be greatly astonished, is the meaning of the next verse ; which reads according to the Jewish translation : " Thus he will cause many nations to jump (in astonishment^ etc. While the Christian trans- lators say : " so shall he sprinkle many nations,'' etc. (v. 15). Chapter LIII.— The prophets asks to those other nations : " Who hath be- lieved our report?" (that is, the report of the former rhapter). The other na- tions .hen answer, apologizingly, (we shall take the words of the Jewish version) : « He srew up like a small shoot before him, and as a root out of a dry land : he had no form nm- comeliness, so that we should look at him ; and no coun- tenance, so that we should desire him. He was despised and shunned by man, a man of pains and acquaimted with disease; and as one who hid his face from us, was he despised, and we esteemed him not (v. 1. 2).— The prophet still represents, here the nations as men, and Israel as a diseased man, or leper ; the Christians have nevertheless deemed it proper to declare this a prophecy of their Lord Jesus, as if an individual of whom it is written that he was constantly surrounded by large multitudes, and tven whose followers were so numerous that the authorities of Jerusalem, in apprehension of disturbances, deemed it un- advisible to arrest him openly, could be said to have been shunned by men, or to have been as one who hid his face. Besides, Jesus was not a man of disease, for his whole way of life proves that he was possessed of a healthy constitution.— We read further, (in the Jewish translation) : But only our diseases did he bear himself and our pains he carried; while we indeed esteemed him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. Yet he was wounded for our transgressions; he was bruised for our iniquities ; the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and through his bruises was healmg granted to us (v. 4,5).— The prophet submits this as an acknowledgment of the other nations, that the people of Israel, owing to the idolatry that originally belonged to those other nations, was made a martyr, and that through the punishments visited upon them, they (the other nations) were made acquainted with the Lord, and healed from their idolatry. It would not be correct to imagine that this should be a prophecy of the sufferings of Je^us, and on that basis to declare his erucification to be in atonement of the sins of other men ; such supposition being directly opposed to all belief in Divine justice. THE PROPHET ISAIAH. 159 The idea that Israel for adopting idolatry from other nations was punished, and that those same nations did profit by the example, this is a representation not so hurtino- to the general sense of Divine justice ; since it does not imply that every individual of tlie nation of Israel should therefore bear the punishment of the sin of others, but each should bear a little, while he was not entirely innocent. And, as we suppose that the author of this chapter will have had some, it may be yet so little, conception of Divine justice, we are inclined to believe that he meant it in the way that we have explained. Besides, if these words were intended for Jesus, then the prophet could not have said : ''our transgressions and our iniqui- ties" for according to the Christian creed, Jesus bore the chastisement ot the transaressions and the iniquities of his believing community, but not of the Jews, since^'they are damned to hell, so that the prophet never could have said that he bore the punishment in favor of his nation.-The other nations continue ac knowledging their sins and praising Israel: We all like sheep went astray; every one to his own way (idolatry) did we turn, and the Lord let hefcdl him the -uilt of us all (v. 6). He was oppressed and he was also taunted yet he opened not his mouth, like the lamb which is led to the slaughter, and hke a ewe before his shearer, is dumb; so he opened not his mouth v. O-lhese are the words of the Jewish version ; in the Christian version they have put: f^is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, etc., so that everybody might understand that it referred to Jesus, that meek lamb of God, as they call him ; but ac cordinc to the, Jewish version, there is only said that the person in question was dumb a^s a lamb led to the slaughter, and there is not .aid that he was ^-g^tered, which makes a nmrked difference. The prophet means to say l^^re that thougn I.rael was oppressed, he did not complain.-The next verse (v. 8) is also different in the Christian from the Jewish bible ; in the Christian there is said that the peri in uestion was cut off out of the land of the living, while in the Jewis bible we find only an inquiring remark concerning it, to wit : " H ho could tell that he was cut away out of the land of life, that for the transgressions of my pel the plague was laid on him r-U is now the Lord who is supposed to Teak and who will give to understand that though Israel has been taken away as a cnminal (bv the Assvrians) , his generation is still existing, so that one cannot nth t he ts L; away out of the land of life-The Lord continue. : " And he made hi, ^rave wdh the wicked, and (was) with the rich in his death , because he had 2!Z2Le, and there wc.no deceit in his mouth (v. 9). -11. Chri^ans of course see here a prophecy on their Christ, because he has been buried in theg^ar- a r cl man,'anS beJause there was. they say, no deceit in Ins mouth IBu the good Christians would do well if they would notice that the grav of the le sonVn question should be with the wicked, while Jesus' tomb was in the gar- a r pious man. Then, the person in question should be with .le ri^ his death, while Jesus during his death went to ^^j^;- ^^^^^ XXIII • 43) • and in the Paradise there were only poor folks (St Mat . A IX . Jt thus H wis not Jesus Isaiah spoke of. Moreover, he said of tha person, ^J::Z n^deceit in his mruth;' and this cannot be said of the Christian 160 THE BIBLE EXPOSED. THE PROPHET ISAIAH. 161 Lord Jesus ; for does Jesus not assert several times that he should come down from heaven sitting on a cloud, to judge the earth, while the generation of his time should still be alive, even some of his disciples should still be living (vide St. Matt. XX V: 26; St, Matt. XXVI: 64; St. Mark, IX: 1). Nevertheless, we see that the whole generation and all the disciples died, but Jesus never came. Heasserted likewise that his coming down should take place at the same time with the destruction of Jerusalem (vide St. Matt. XXIV ; St. Mark, XIII ; and St. Luke, XXI). Jerusalem was destroyed by the Romans about 70 years afier the death of Jesus, but Jesus did not come at the time appointed ; consequently* there was deceit in his mouth.— What the author of this prophecy meant to say was, that lyrael, being dead as a nation, was buried among the wicked (the idolaters), but at the same time God had allowed the people to be with the rich (they were slaves to the rich Chaldeans), so that they had not to suffer from want ; " because there was no deceit in his (Israel's) mouth ;" that will say, because no false doctrines were preached by Israel.— The following two verses, according to the Jewish text, are thus : " But the Lord was pleased to crush him through dis- ease ; when [now] his soul hath brought the trespass-offering, then shall he see (his) seed live many days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hand. {Freed) from the trouble of his soul shall he see {the good) and be satisfied: through his knowledge shall my righteous servant bring the many to righteous- ness, while he will bear their iniquities (v. lO-ll).— In the Christian translation there are some slight differences, very apt to induce the unsuspecting reader more easily to understand that this chapter refers to the sufferings of Jesus for the sins of man, as the translators have boldly invested the heading of the chapter. The Lord speaks here, however, of the righteous servant, and this was srael, as we saw in chapt. XLIX : 3. He says ol him that after he has brought his trespass-offering he shall see his generation live many days. The Israelite law (vide Levit. XIV), prescribed that a leper being healed should bring a trespass- offering ; the prophet having compared Israel to a leper, will merely say, after Israel is healed again, he shall be a prosperous nation. And further the prophet Bays, that through his knowledge (in the true religion) shall Israel bring the many (the other nations) to righteousness (to abhorrance of idolatry), though he bore their iniquities.-' —Therefore:' said the Lord, proceeding to speak, '' will I divide him (a portion) with the many, and with the strong shall he divide the spoil ; because he poured his soid unto death, and with transgressors was he numbered : while he bore the sins of many, and for the trangressors he let [evd) befall him (v. 12, according to the Jewish text).— The meaning of this text is : the Lord promised Israel that he will give hiin a portion (a country of his own) aa other nations have, and then Israel shall be as mighty as the strongest, in reward of his suffering with resignation. " His pouring his soul unto death'* signifies that Israel was, as a nation, nearly dead; and ''with transgressors was he numbered:' signifies that other nations supposed Israel to be a transgressing nation, while they deemed themselves much better. The last line of this verse, '' and for ihe transgressors he Icl {evil) befcdlhim;' is quite different from the Christian text, where we find " and he made intcrceesion for the transgressors:' —Of course the Christians see also in this verse a prophecy on their meek Lord Jesus, entirely forgetting that they represent Jesus to be as mighty as God the father, so that this one did not need give him a portion with the many, nor could ne give him spoil to divide, since all what existed belonged to him. The rest of this' verse sounds nevertheless somewhat like a prophecy on the sacrificed Jesus, especiallv when we would take it for granted that the Christian bible translation was more correct than the Jewish text, and when we would take it for granted that the soul of Jesus was poured into death, and that by this he made inter- cession for transgressors. Seeing however that we have no evidence of that in- tercession, and that it militates entirely against all ideas of Divine justice, we cannot yet take this for granted. If however the Christian bible translators had been willing to add to the prophecy that the here mentioned righteous servant died on a c°ross, and that he got up alive the third day and then went up to heaven sitting on a cloud, then perhaps we might have been convinced that the prophecy referred to Jesus ; but as it is now, we are thoroughly convinced that . it does not. ^rhe prophet or scribe who wrote these pa-es had apparently nothmg in view but to -ive king Cyrus a high opinion of the favour in which tlie descend- ants of Jacob called Israel, stood with the Lord. He wrote it as we may be- lieve without intention to do much mischief with it. Later generations did not comprehend the meaning of this chapter ; there was spoken of a man that suffered chastisement for the sin of others, this was contrary to all ideas of justice, and what it would sav, thev did not know. Some five centuries after the Jewish re turn from captivity, j'esus the fisherman of the lake of Galilea, set himself up as prophet, soon thereafter declaring that he was the great king David IL, the sa- viour of Israel, of whom many prophets had spoken. He went to Jerusalem, but instead of being appointed king in that city, the authorities of the place deemed it ri-ht to crucify such a seditious leader of the mob. that being the usual punishment in those cases. The followers of that prophet were then much annoyed at seeing their chief, instead of becoming the mighty king, dying so dishonorably ; but see, they found a way to help themselves out of the scrape, they declared that the mighty king would come back from heaven and then would he fulfill all what he had said, while this punishment of death was volun- tarily endured by him in order to make an atonement for the sin of his people for this was prophesied by the prophet Isaiah, .-^nd thus became this so-ca'led prophecy, written with an entirely different intention, tae origin oi the crazy and blJpheming doctrine that God should have taken in atonement, lor the sin of the wicked, the blood of an innocent. Chapter LI V -The Lord Pdvises this time the barren to sing, for says he, the children of the desolate are more than the children of the married wife It ar. pears from a few lines further that the barren was the city of Jerusalem ; the Zl was h r ,,sband ; he forsook her for a short time, but he would come back n 102 THE BIBLD EXPOSED. to the wife of his youth with great mercy, this saith the Lord her Redeemer. The Lord will lay her stones with fair colours, and her foundations with sap- phires And her windows he will make of agates, and her gates of carbuncles, and all her borders of pleasant stones. And all her children (the Lord seemed to for<-et that she was barren) shall be taught of the Lord, and great shall be the peace°of her children.— These promises to Jerusalem are doubtless handsome ; a pity however that they never were fulfilled, for though Jerusalem was built up a-ain after the Babylonian captivity, she still was not built up of saphires, neither of a-ates, nor carbuncles, but of common bricks and stones ; and the peace which the children of Jerusalem enjoyed since that prophecy, was never very great nor at all enviable. For did not we see that, in the time of Isaiah, Jeru- salem became tributary to the kings of Assyria, and when one and a half century later, Jerusalem endeavoured to get rid of the payment of her tributes to Baby- lon, the king Nebuchadnezzar of that city sent up an army, which took Jerusa- lem and burnt her down, carrying off her inhabitants as slaves. Cyrus, king of ■Persia, became 50 years after that event also king of Babylon, and gave leave to the Jews to return and to rebuild their city ; the Jews went, but were, durinn- long vears, disturbed in their work by the surrounding inhabitants. Je- rusalem at° last rebuilt, remaitied nevertheless subjected to the kings of Persia. In the year 334 B. C, Alexander the great, king of Macedonia, went up against Persia, and took on his way possession of Jerusalem. After the death of that monarch, Jerusalem was conquered by Ptolemeus, king of Egypt. For more than a centurv she remained under the rule of Egypt, and was during that time al- ways the point of strife between the Egyptians and Syrians, which latter tried to -et possession of her. Antiochus king of Syria, succeeded at last (in the ye^r 203, B. C.) to conquer her, so that she became a Syrian city. Jerusalem henceforth rebelled repeatedly against the kings of Syria, but even notwithstand- ing the heroic efforts of the Maccabees, she was not able to free herself of the Syrian government, and remained under it, until, in the year 63, B. C, all Sy- r a (whereto Judah also belonged) was subjected to the Roman sway. The now repeated revolts of the Jews against the Romans brought upon them the heavy hand of Rome, so that an army sent against them, burnt the city of Jeiusalem down and killed and dispersed her inhabitants. This holy city was after a lapse of time rebuilt again, but again she knew no peace, as the history of the Cru- sades will show. After having thus continually been the battleground of bloody wars and discord, and after having almost always been under foreign rule, Jerusalem has yet at last, not become the abode of her children, but the abode of the children of ^Mahomet.— One may notice from this how much the beautiful promises of the prophecies of Isaiah are worth ! Chapter LV.-In this chapter the prophet invites the people to seek the Lord, then the Lord shall bless them, even make an everlasting covenant with them', to warrant the bounties they shall enjoy through their promised king Da- vid, whom the Lord shall give as a witness to the people, and as a leader and com THE PROPHET ISAIAH. 163 mander to the people (y. 3-4). — Because there is spoken here of the sure mercies of David, and that the Christian find the name of David and the name of Jesus very similar, they see here a prophecy on hira. Isaya speaks however of no one else but of the great king promised in the preceding chapters, the hero of Israel, the David the second to come ; that he did not speak of Jesus appears by his saying that the Lord will give hira as a leader and commander to the people (of Israel) . Jesus now was never a commander of that people, and thus it can- not have anything to do with hira. Chapter LVI—LXYL— Seeing that the rest of the prophecies of Isaiah are of less importance for us, as they do not contain many prophecies on David the second, and are but repetitions of what is already said, we deem it useless to pr< 3 mouth, but moreover the wd of the Ld came unto him, sayi.g : Jeremiah what seest thou And Je. Tmih said : I see a sprig of an almond tree. Then said t e I.r un^o^m . Thou hast well seen ; for I will hasten my word to perform U (v. "-l?)^ J*; remiah was thus found fit to assume his duties, we should almost say, of Cover r General of Creation according to his statement.-What seest thou ? sa.d the JTrd an oto time, Jeremiah then answe>.d : I see a seething pot a,K3 the fae hereof" s toward the North. This incident happened to be asure s,gn that ev^ ItTo b.ak forth upon all the inhabitants of the ^^[^'^'^^^^ upon made, a defenced city, an iron pillar, and brazen walls (v. 18) , thus pre- ^ISiripiaining of Israel's sin in forsaking the LoM (Chapt. H), commres her in Chapt IIL to a harlot and her treacherous sister Judah also, nrno. Uchapter IV.) the Lord exacts of Israel that she shall swear, that the t d li::::,int:;'inUnient, and in righteousness; and 'Ja-he — swear -^a would be done y ^^^ ^^ ^^^^^^ ^^ ^^^^^^^^ . ToTand nS ecoifindaman.if there be any that did justice, so that heTrd milt pardon the city. The D.rd wanted however to avenge himself. for ttere Tal no virtuous man to be found, and moreover, a wonderfu and hor- Si InHasc mmitted in the land ; the prophets P-f-- ^f ^ ^^^ ^ ribie inin, aoV-Jerusalem so benevolently blessed in ^C'ni%^Z,ru ^^ io Chapter VI.-This shows the value THE PROPHET JEREMIAH. 165 of prophecies, for whatever the result mij^ht be of the next inroad into Jewish territory, a prophecy could be referred to, as having foreshadowed what would happen ; this was very convenient ; the prophets always took good care to give no dates, so there could be no difficulty on that score, — Jeremiah wishes, that his head were waters and his eyes a fountain of tears, that he might weep day and night for the slain of the daughter of his people (Chapt IX).— This is very chari- table and it shovvs also, what an incorrigible set these holy people must have been. — Jerusalem was cursed and destruction promised over and over again (from Chapt. YI. to Chapt, XL) ; it should become a den of dragons, — but as that city was subsequently rebuilt, there is no proof that the prophecy was ful" filled. — Neither was it necessary for Jeremiah to proclaim in Chapt. XI God's covenant with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and later with Moses, that they should possess a land of milk and honey, as that agi cement had already been so repeat- edly violated, that it was too much out of time to repeat it — Jeremiah in Chapt. XII thus addresses his master : '• Rii^hteous art thou Lord, when I plead with thee ; yet let me talk with thee of thy judgments "; and thereupon he begins to rebuke the Lord's actions in the most impertinent manner. — In Chapter XV. tlie crisis seems to be approaching, for we find that thouhg Moses and Samuel were to plead in tlieir favor, the doom of the Jews was sealed ; ail the promises and pledges made to them in the name of the Lord notwith- standing. — In Chapt. XVI. we are informed that the I»rd prohibited Jeremiah to marry in the land of Judah, seeing that all the children born in that country should die of grievous deaths and not be buried, but be as dung on the face of the earth. And in the next chapter (XVII) we are informed that the Lord's anger was kindled in this manner, because king Manasse (who was dead already some 200 years) had sinned. — Further to prove how entirely the people of Judah were in the Loi-d's hands, the Lord (in Chapt. XVIII.) sent Jeremiah to a potter to see how he wrought clay and broke tlie pot when he made it wrong, this was by way of illustration. — The Lord forgot however that he being a God, and not a fallible man, must not make mistakes, and had therefore no right to act as the potter. — Again in Chapter XIX Jeremiah had to take a potter's earthen bottle, and take the ancients of the people and the ancients of the priests to a place desig- nated, and proclaim the destruction of Jerusalem, by breaking the bottle. This time Jerusalem's destruction should take place, because the Jews had burned their children with fire for burnt-oflferings unto Baal (v. 5.)— This of course would be a good reason to destroy such city, but as it is well known, that one of the characteris- tics of the Jews is that they are devotedly fond of tlieir offspring, they never can have been guilty of such revolting atrocity. We believe therefore that Jero- mrah sought pretexltes. Also the only instance of exception known, was Jeftha the chosen Warrior of the Lord, not to mention the Lord himself, of whom it is said that he sacrificed his only son !— Chapter XX— Pashur a priest of rank smote Jeremiah for his prophecies, which so displeased that prophet, that in a fit of rage he describes how he was mocked by the people and his sayings disregarded ; and cursing the diiy he was born, even cursing the man who brought his 166 THE BIBLE EXPOSED. father the tidings of his birth, he invokes from the Lord yeiigeance on the whole nation for his (Jeremiah's) sake. — So much for his piety I— Jere- miah, in his XXIst chapter, informs king Zedekiah's messengers, who came to consult him in regard to an approaching invasion by Nebuchadnezzar, that the people of Jernsulem will be smitten by the Lord, who will fight against them with outstretched hand, and that they shall die of pestilence ; and what then remains of the population shall be carried off in slavery by the conqueror. — f Jeremiah had been in the pay of the eiwmy, he could not have disheartened his countrymen more effectually .--In chapter XXII Jeremiah pays a visit to the king of Judah, and exhorting him to repentance, says that if he hear unto his wonJs, there will come a time when kings shall sit on his throne, driving in chariots and riding on horseback. Further, he cursed some of the statesmen, as Shallum and Cooiah. Chapter XXII I.— This chapter contains the promise of a restoratioo. '• And I will," says the Lord, " gather the remnant of my flock out of all countries' whither I have driven them, and will bring them again to their folds. "—This evidently bears upon a reunion of the people of Israel, which, however, never took place.—" And behold, the days come," said the Lord, -that I will raise unto David a righteous branch, and a king shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice on the earth. In his days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely ; and this is the name whert^by he shall be called : The Lord our righteousness" (v. 5-6) .--Probably this must be understood : '^ the Lord is r ur righteousness." 'Vhe Christiai^ see in those verses a very plain propliecy of Jesus, who told that he should come back from the skies and then reign as king in Jerusalem. But taking in consideration that until now he has not yet reigned as king upon the throne of David, neither has he delivered Israel nor Judah, nor has afforded them to dwell safely, so we cannot take it as a prophecy of him as long as he had not done those things. The prophet Jere- miah promises here, in imitation of Isaiah, a great hero, a king David tlie second. That great king, however, never came.— No wonder, however, that the words of the prophet were not fulfilled, for Jeremiah himself declares, in v. X4-17 of this chapter, that prophets walk in lies. Chapter XXIV.— The Lord in his instructions to Jeremiah made, this time, very ingeniously use of two baskets of figs for illustration. Chapter XXY.— Another prophecy of invasion by the king of Babylon and of utter desolation, and perpetual ruin of Judah, follows ; but seventy years afterwards the king of Babylon is to be punished, and his land is to become a perpetual desolation.— Everybody knows that neither a perpetual ruin of Jud«ih, nor a perpetual desolation of Babylon seventy years later, took place • so that THE PROPHET JEREMIAH. we do cot want to show how much the prophet was in the wrong. 167 Chapter XXVI.— Here we are informed that the people of Jerusalem would kill Jeremiah on account of his evil prophecies, but fortunately for him he was protected and saved by one of the elders named Ahikam. Chapter XXVII.— Jeremiah, upon special order of the Lord,' made himself yokes of wood, and hung them around his neck. With that attire he walked through the city, prophesying that every one who was not willing to put his neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon would be punished by the Lord with pestilence and famine. And every prophet who would not speak the same as Jeremiah, he denounced to be a liar, and not sent by the Lord, wherefore he advised the people not to listen to them. Chapter XXVII I.— We read that once upon a day Jeremiah came across the prophet Hunaniah, who forthwith prophesied that the yoke of Babylon would be broken in the same manner as that of Jeremiah, and suiting the action to the words, he dashed Jeremiah's yoke to pieces. Jeremiah went away and put on immediately a yoke of iron, now prophesying that the Lord would henceforth punish the people with a yoke of iron instead of a wooden one.-- As if the peo- ple could help that Ilananiah crushed the wooden one. Chapter XXIX. — Again Jeremiah denounces all his colleagues as false prophets, especially Shemaiah was now a bad one, and therefore he was doomed, with his whole generation to come. But Jeremiah himself was the only true prophet, because he prophesied it would be only seventy years before the Jews should be blessed with tlie happy future the Lord once promised, and all of them who were in captivity should return.— We do not deem it necessary to observe that Jeremiah spoke here no more truth than any of the other prophets, whereas the Jews have even until now never experienced anything of all the promised blessings ; nor has the time of duration of their captivity been seventy years, for it has only been fifty years. According to the Hebrew calculation, the Babylonian captivity began in the year 3402, while in 3452 Cyrus restored them again to liberty, which gives but fifty years of captivity. Chapter XXX.— The Lord promised once more to cause Israel and Judah to return to the land of their fathers.— Unfortunately, however, Israel has nevpr returned, as it was Judah alone that has returned.— After this promise was given, the Lord inquired of Jeremiah if he knew whether a man doth travail with child? for he saw every man (in Jerusalem) with his hand on his loins, as a woman in travail, and their faces turned into paleness (v. 6). Jeremiah does not report us his answer on that extraordinary question, but continues with prophe- sying that the trouble of Jacob shall be great ; the Lord, however, shall save him out of it And in that day the Lord shall break his yoke, and strangers f 168 THE BIBLE EXPOSED. shall rule no more, bat the people of Jacob shall serve the Lord their God, and David iheir king, whom the Lord will raise up unto them.— Because there is spoken of a king David, many Christians think to see here a prophecy on Jesus ; taking, however, in consideration that Jesus never sat on the throne of David! nor that his name was David, so it is plain enough that Jeremiah alludes to nobody else than to the mighty hero and king, David the second, whom the people still expected on account of Isaiah's prophecies. Chapter XXXT.— " At that time," said the Lord, " will I be the God to all the families of Isreal, and they shall oe my people. -The Lord evidently did not know that ten of the twelve families of Israel should entirelyMie out, so that it would be difficult to make them all twelve his people— The Lord then continues to speak of his love, his everlasting love for Israel, who he has drawn with loving kindness (v. 3). He (the Lord) is a father to Israel, and Ephraim is his first-born (v. 9). Ephraim is his dear son ; he is his pleasant child, and the Lord will surely have mercy upon him, this saith Loi-d (v. 20).-- Unfortunately that the pleasant child Ephraim. instead of enjoying surely the Lord's mercy, has died with all his other brethren in Assyria. Surely this is a pity ' Besides, it is a pity that the name of Ephraim is here so plainly written down, else the sayings of '• dear son," and " pleasant child," would have been desirable prophecies on the dear child Jesus. Chapter XXXTL— Jeremiah was put in prison by king Zedekiah, who did not admire his prophecies. While in prison the prophet bought a field of his uncle, and gives us a copious account concerning this trade. Chapter XXXIII.~The Lord promises now again that after the land has been destroyed by the Chaldeans, it again shall be restored, ai'd all the good things he once promised unto the house of Israel, and unto the house of Judah, shairhe fulfill. And in those days shall he cause the Branch of righteousness to grow up unto David ; tnd he shall execute judgment, and righteousness in the land. In those days shall Judah be saved, and Jernsalem shall dwell safely ; and this is the name wherewith she shall be called : " The Lord our righteous- ness" (v. 14-16).— The Christians, of course, declare those verses to be prophecies concerning their Christ. That Jesus never executed judgment in the land nor that Judah was ever saved, or Jeru alem ever dwelt safely through him, this the easy believers do not notice. They would, however, act wiser by ob- serving that Jeremiah alludes to nothing else than to the reign of peace that should'' characterize the dominion of the great king to come, prophesied by Isaiah. That he imitates Isaiah, can be seen from his using the same expres- sion, of " branch " (vide Isaiah IV) . The great king to com(^ should be. as we here notice, a descendant of David, but Jesus was a descendant of the Holy Ghost. 1 lii THE PROPHET JEREMIAH. 169 Chapter XXIV till LII. — Jeremiah having already once been put in prison on account of his prophecies being considered as discouraging the people in their present war, continue 1, nevertheless, to prophesy famine, pestilence, and de- struction, if they did not surrender. Soon we see him put in prison for a second time, he, namely, got once the idea to try to get out of the city (the city was besieged) , and thus the watch on the gate caught him on suspicion of con- spiring with the enemy, and locked him up. Being afterwards brought before the king, he supplicated so meekly that the king took compassion, and allowed him a larger prison and a fresh baked loaf every day. Jeremiah went on, how- ever, making prophecies, so that the princes said unto the king : " We be seech thee, let this man be put to death, for thus he weakeneth the hands of the men of war that remain in the city, and the hands of all the people, in speaking such words unto them ; for this man seeketh not the welfare of the people, but their ruin" (Chapt. XXXVIII : 4). The king gave him in their hands, where- upon Jeremiah was taken and cast into a dungeon, where he sunk in the mire. On further consideration his release was allowed by the king ; Jeremiah again made another prophecy as dismal as any of his former productions. Jerusalem was now taken by the enemy, misery and suffering was everywhere, except for Jeremiah, who appears on excellent terms with the conquerors, as victuals and a reward is given to him by the captain of the guard (Chapt. XL : 5)— That rcA'ard he must have earned. Would this not go far to show that the accusa- tion of the nob'.es, that he weakened the hands of the soldiers, and that he did not seek the welfare of the people, were true to the letter, and that Jere- miah, the prophet of the Lord of hosts, was nothing else but a traitor to his own land, bribed by the enemy ? Also, we discover in Chaptei XLHl, that he is accused, by the remnant of the Jews, of treachery and of speaking falsely, in order to deliver them into the hands of the Chaldeans.— Jeremiah is further ear- ned into Egypt by Jew emigrants, where, as usual, he promises all sorts of evil to the land that is unfortunate enough to hold him. He further successively predicts evil to Gaza, to the Moabites, Ammonites, and Edomites; the latter will be utterly destroyed, like Sodom and Gomorrha ;— their country is the Arabia of the present time (not yet destroyed). No more true was his prophecy against Babylon.— Jeremiah's now conceived dislike for Babylon can perhaps be explained from Chapter LI : 34, stating how Nebuchadnezzar had treated him : " The king hath devoured me, he hath crushed me ; he hath made me an empty vessel ; he hath swallowed me up like a dragon ; he hath filled his belly with my delicacies ; he hath cast me out. "--Jeremiah evidently means to convey the idea that he had met with ingratitude at the hands of Nebuchadnezzar, who has not rewarded sufficiently all his delicacies.— The last chapter, LII, relates to the total breaking up of Jerusalem ; the number of Jews carried ofi" in captivity is given (in V. 30) as 4600 in all — Even allowing for runaways, it would appear from Jere- miah's statement that Jerusalem was not so important a place as is generally supposed. no THE BIBLE EXPOSED. THE PROPHET EZEKIEL. 17 THE LAMENTATIONS OF JEREMIAH. If the prophecies of Jeremiah are dismal, his lamentations are possibly even more so ; the only statement they contain of historical value, if he is to be be- lieved, is, that the Jews were sold in Babylon for money, which would prove that they were actually slaves, and had slave labor to perform.— Jeremiah's writings do not profess much respect for the Lord, whose name is apparently used by him merely as a bugbear to frighten the masses ; especially in those lamentations he speaks rather disrespectful of the Lord, only in the last chapter he addresses him very meekly, even so meek that this last chapter bears not the genuineness of Jeremiah's style. THE PROPHET EZEKIEL.. Ezekiel, the priest, was among the captives by the river of Chebar (Chapter I.) And it came to pass on the fifth day, of the fourth month, of the thirtieth year, that the heavens were opened for him and he saw visions of God. He then saw, a whirlwind, a cloud, a fire unfolding itself, in the midst thereof the colour of amber, and in the midst of that the likeness of four living creatures, looking like men ; every one having four faces and four wings ; their feet being straight and the sole of their feet being like the sole of a calf's foot, sparkling like burnished brass. And as for likeness, they had the face of a man, the face of a man on the right side and the face of an ox on the left side ; they also had the face of an eagle ; their appearance was like burning coals of fire and like lamps ; it went up and down among the living creatures, and the fire was bright, and out of the fire went forth lightning, and thunder, and so forth. This altogether was the appearance of the Glory of the Lord. Ezekiel having contemplated all this, fell on his face. — The Lor.; .nen said to him (Chapt. II.) "Son of man, stand upon thy feet and I will speak unto thee." — After this (in Chapt. IIL) the Lord caused him to eat a roll, containing prophecies, for the people of Israel only. And the spirit took Ezekiel up and brought him among the captives of Tel-abid. Walk- ing from there, he saw again the Glory of the Lord, and the spirit ordered him to shut himself up in his house, as the people were to put bands upon him ani bind h.m. — The people of Tel-abid will perhaps have taken him for a lunatic* and no wonder if they did, for in Chapter IV, we see Ezekiel, upon special order of the Lord, take a tile and lay it before him and portray upon it the city of Jerusalem ; and he laid siege against the tile, building a fort against i^ with a iron pan, and he set the camp against it, placing battering rams round about. Huv ing done this he had to lie on his left side 390 days and then again 40 days on his right side, also he had to make bread of beans, wheat, barley, etc., and bake it with dung that cometh out of man, and eat it in their sight (v. 12). — What sublime com- mandments of the Lord ! — Ezekiel however objected to that diet, whereupon the Lord had the kindness to allow that cow's dung might be substituted for man's dung. — Ezekiel having eaten his cakes, was to shave oflT all his hair^ (Chapt. V.) a third part of it he should burn on the tile, another third part smite about it, and the remaining third part scatter in the wind. A few of the hairs he should bind to his skirts. This tended to illustrate the judgment of the Lord upon Jerusalem. Chapter VI. and TIL — Ezekiel should further prophesy against the moun- tains and the land of Israel, threatening them with the sword of the Lord, and with all kind of terrible punishments, as a retaliation for all their abominations. — Chapter VIIL — And it came to pass in the sixth year, in the sixth month, as Ezekiel sat in his house, that suddenly a vision came upon him. — And, be- hold ; a likeness as the appearance of fire he saw ; the appearance was from his loins even downward like fire ; and from his loins even upward, as the appearance of brightness, as the colour of amber. And that appearance put forth his hand and took Ezekiel by a lock of his hair, and lifting him up brought him to Jeru- salem to the door of the temple. There he saw the Glory of the God of Israel ; who to prove that he had good reason to be jealous, showed him all the idols and abominable things they had portrayed on the walls round about — The Lord thereupon ordained (in Chapt. IX.) that the men who had charge over the city should draw near, every one with his destroying weapon. Those men came and waited beside the brazen altar. The God of Israel now alighted from the Cherub, whereupon he was sitting, and went to the threshold of the house. Here he gave his orders to these men to go through the city and to slay, utterly, old and young, both maids and little children and women. — Ezekiel saw yet more such visions (Chapt. X and XL), visions of coals of fire scattered over the city, and visions of Cherubims, and visions of Glories of the Lord, etc.— In Chapt. XII, we see Ezekiel packing up his things, and breaking a hole in the wall of his house, escaping through it, as a sign for the house of Israel, that their king should flee out of Jerusalem. — Though this sign may be somewhat queer, still the lover of prophecies will admire Ezekiel's faculty of knowing beforehand that the king Zedekiah should flee out of Jerusalem. We therefore advise such one to re- member that Ezekiel's prophecies were written after that fact had taken place. (As proof may serve that in Chapt. XIV, he speaks of Daniel, who flourished some time after Jerusalem was taken).— In Chapt. XIH, the prophet got order to prophesy against all the other prophets of Israel,— and again in Chapt. XIV, the prophet threatens some other men that came to ask him counsel. He said their land shall be destroyed by wild beasts, and even if Noah, Daniel or Job were coming to deliver them, they would not succeed. — Chapt. XV. Because 172 THE BIBLE EXPOSED. THE PROPHET EZEKIEL. 113 the wood of the vine burnt just as well as other wood, therefore the Lord said he would devour the inhabitants of Jerusalem with fire ; should they succeed in escaping from one fire, another should devour them, that they might understand that he was the Lord. Chapter XYI.-XXV.— And the words of the Lord came again unto Ezekiel, saying : " Son of man, cause Jerusalem to know her abominations etc." The Lord.°then, in imitation of Jeremiah, hit upon the ingenious idea of clothing his thoughts in the shape of a novel ; Jerusalem is represented as his sweetheart, forsaken by him because she grossly prostituted herself.— In chapter XVIT. Ezekiel is commanded to put forth a riddle, and speak a parable unto the house of Israel. This riddle, or rather parable, speaks of eagles and a twig of cedar which became a vine of low stature and so on.— The riddle refers probably to the kings of Babel and Egypt, but is not explained, neither is said what the object of the Lord could be to speak in riddles instead of in plain language.— In Chapt. XVIII, Ezekiel asserts that the righteous man shall enjoy a long hfe, but wicked men shall die.-Chapter XIX, is a lamentation for Israel's princes. Their mother is a lioness, who lay down among lions and nourished her whelps among lions; the first of her whelps is caught and brought in Egypt and the second one is also caught in a pit, and brought to Baby!on.-In the next Chapter XX, Ezekiel is ordered to inform the elders of Israel in answer to then- application, that the Lord will not be enquired of by them. They were further told that an-er would be visited upon them, since for all the blessmgs showered in old times upon the people, it had constantly rebelled and not kept the statutes of the Lord ;-yet in Chapter XVIII : 20, it was solemnly assured, that the m- iquity of the father should not be visited upon the son, but the Lord seemed not to remember what he had said. -Thereupon the prophet was ordained to prophesy acrainst the forest of the South. Ezekiel having done so, exclaimed in (v. 49) : " Ah Lord God they say of me : Doth he not speak parables "?-This shows that the people did not know what he meant, and whether the prophet understood al- ways his own prophecies we do not know—Chapter XXI. Another prophecy ao-ainst Jerusalem follows ; the prophet has to set his face towards it ; the Lord has drawn his sword against it, the sword is sharpened and burnished not to return to the sheath any more, and the righteous as well as the wicked are to be cut off.-It was thus useless to be righteous any longer !-The next Chapter (XXII ) is a-ain an enumeration of all the abominations of Jerusalem, and m punishment olf which her sons should be dispersed. -Many one pretends to per- ceive a prophecy in this; such one therefore would do well to recollect that m Ezekiel's time the dispersion was already completed ; in his first chapter he states himself to have been ordained a prophet five years after Jojoachin, the king of Judah, was carried ofif to Babylon.- A fair specimen of religion, as understood by Ezekiel and by the Lord, we transcribe from the following Chapter XXIII. ' Ihe word of the Lord came again unto me saying : Son of man, there were two women the daughters of one mother. And they committed whoredoms in Egypt ; they committed whoredoms in their youth ; there were their breast pressed and there they bruised the teats of their virginity. And their names were Aholah, the elder, and Aholibah. her sister, and they were mine, and they bore sons and daughters Aholah was Samaria and Aholibah Jerusalem. And Aholah played the harlot when she was mine and she doted on her lovere, the Assyrians all de- sirable young men, clothed with blue, captains and rulers, riding on horseback. The Lord discovered this, but she did not leave her whoredoms, therefore she was delivered into the hands of the Assyrians, who discovered her nakedness and killed her, carrying ofif her children. AVhen Aholibah saw this, she became even worse corrupt than her sister in increasing her whoredoms, for when she saw the image of Chaldeans portrayed with vermillion upon the wall, exceeding in dyed attire upon their heads, she sent messengers unto them in Chaldea, and the Babylonians came into the bed of love, and she doted upon her paramours, whose flesh was as the flesh of asses, and whose issue like the issue of horses. Her fate was similar to that of her sister.— This interesting communication is given in full length in a chapter of some dimension. It teaches the wisdom of the Lord to edify th^e people in a useful and at the ame time entertaining manner.— Also in entertaining style is the next Chapter (XXIV,) where the parable is given of a boiling pot in which the prophet is to boil the best pieces of a mutton and its bones, with some water.— This was intended for a prophecy or an instruction to the people, though we can only perceive in it a recipe for making strong broth.— From this Ezekiel proceeds (in Chapter XXV) to say, that the Lord will make Kabbah a stable for camels, and of Amnion, a couching place for flocks. Chapter XXVL— Tyrus is threatened ; the Lord said to Ezekiel, " Son of man, because that Tyrus hath said against Jerusalem, Aha, she is broken that was the gates of the yeople. she is turned unto me ; I shall be replenished, now she is laid waste." Therefore, thus saith the Lord God, " Behold, I am against thee. Tyrus, and will cause many nations to come up against thee, as the sea causeth his waves to come up, and they shuU destroy the walls of Tyrus etc., and it shall be a place for the spreading of nets in the midst of the sea, etc."— It is known that Tyrus was besieged by the Babylonians at the same time as Jerusa- lem, and that the inhabitants fled to the island-city called New Tyre. Ezekiel thus cannot claim this saying of " in the midst of the sea " as a prophecy or in- spiration from the Lord, for h e flourished at a time subsequent to the taking of those places, so that, it may reasonably be presumed, he knew all about it. The city of Tyrus remained yet for two centuries longer the most prosperous com- mercial city of the Old World, and though gone to decay afterwards still, a part of her is left till in this present time, and is known under the name of Tyr, also called Sour. The so-called prophecy is thus not true in its saying : " I will make thee a terror, and thou shalt be no more, though thou be sought for; and thou shalt never be found again." I 174 THE BIBLD EXPOSED. THE PROPHET EZEKIEL. 175 Chapter XXY II.— Contains a description of the wealth of the city of Ty- rus, but all shall fall into the midst of the sea.— The next Chapter (XXVIII) threatens the king of Tyrus. Because he thought himself to be a god ; he should be brought down to the pit, and die the death of them that are slain in the midst of the sea (v. 8). ITien again (in v. 10), he should be killed by the hand of strangers.— This king should accordingly die two deaths.— Chapter XXIX threatens the king of Egypt, who is represented by the Lord as a great dragon in a river ; all the fish will stick to his scales, after which the whole concern will be thrown by the Lord in the wilderness. The Egyptians moreover were to be dispersed, but would eventually be formed again into a nation of no power.— We had already occasion before to refer to similar prophecies on Egypt, and to show that quite the reverse occurred ; Egypt in- creased in power and even under tlie rule of the Ptolemees, the whole of Pales- tine, (the holy land of the Lord) was under Egyptian sway.— The following Chapter (X'XX) is on the desolation of Egypt, and is in the usual style ; so is the next (XXXI) speaking of the glory of Assyria and its ruin. Ezekiel's lamentation on the fall of Egypt, which then follows (in Chapt. XXXIL) was rather unneces- sary ; neither as prophecies nor as literary productions can this writing boast of the slightest value ; of the same weight is Chapter XXXI II, where Ezekiel is ad- monished of his duty as a monitor to his people, responsible for the sin of those that have not been warned by him to mend their ways.— Now the Jews being at that time dispersed over all parts of the civilized world, it is easy to per- ceive how exceedingly difficult the task of this prophet must have been !— The other remarks in this Chapter are more sensible, inasmuch as it is stated again that the righteous shall live and the wicked shall die, though the Lord takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked. The further prophecy on the utter deso- lation, to be brought on the land of Canaan, so that none shall pass through it. is nevertheless rather absurd, for though uninhabited by Israelites, it remained the abode of other tribes.— In Chapter XXXIV the shepherds of Israel are re- proved, and then are the priests and other prophets, but the Lord will save his flock and they shall no more be a prey ; he will judge between cattle and cattle ** And I will set up one shepherd over them, and he shall feed them, even my servant David and he shall be their shepherd " (v. 23). And 1 the Lord will be their God ana ray servant David a prince among t'lem (v. 24). — The Christians claim to perceive in those verses a prophecy of their Jesus ; but they forget that Jesus never gathered together the tribes of Israel, already entirely absorbed by other nations when he came into this world ; neither was Jesus a shepherd or prince over this people ; only very few of the descendants of Jacob acknowl- edging him as a leader. The prince David in Ezekiel's mind was no doubt, in imitation of Isaiah and Jeremiah, the great Warrior and King predicted by those worthies, but who never made his appearance. — The following two chap- ters contain nothing of any importance. Chapter XXXYII— XLV.— The prophet was now in a valley, and the valley was full of bones. At the command of the Lord, sinews and flesh grew upon those bones, breath was given to them, and there they stood the whole house of Israel upon their feet, an exceeding great army (with probably no clothes on). The people of Israel and Judah would thus be reunited into one great nation, and David be shepherd, or king, over them, for ever. — Tnis account ol a resurrection has probably suggested the idea of a resurrection on a larger scale, prophesied in the New Testament. The Christian prophecy is, however, by far the grandest, as it involves a resurrection in the body of the whole human family from the be- inning of the world ; we though do not see how it is possible to conceive such an idea, as we positively know that a human body, in which life is extinct, will be entirely decomposed, and feed again other creatures, and thus assume an endless variety of forms, in which it returns to dust over and ovir again, so that the first creatures would never find their bodies back. Such stories may accordingly have answered for the ignorant people Ezekiel had to deal with, but it is rather too silly to form part of the creed of the people in the nineteenth century.— The next two chapters, XXXVIII and XXXIX, treat on the destruction of Gog.— Chapter XL, entitled by some translators, ' the time and end of the vision,' com- mences : " In the five and twcntieih year of our cap! ivity, and in the fourteenth year that the city was smitten."— This shows conclusively when the so-called prophecies were written, that is, several years or months after the events therein referred to had taken place ; when Jerusalem was smitten, Tyrus, Sidon, and the countires of Edom or Iduraea, and Egypt, and many others were attacked and overrun by the same Chaldeans.- Thetwonextchapter^XLIand XLII, are entirely de- voted to tlie description and measurement of a house, or temple, bv a man of brass, described in the preceding chapter ; the object of all this measuring is left to conjecture ; then follows the catalogue of animals to be sacrificed in the tem- ple, which is filled with the glory of the Lord, and in which no uncircuracised neither in heart or flesh, will be allowed to enter. The people are further in- formed (Chapt. XLV) that as soon as they get the land, a portion of 25,000 by 10000 reeds, shall be set apart upon which to build this sanctuary. The portion to be rendered unto the Lord in meat and wine is also very liberal.— Ezekiel seems to have followed the example of Moses, by amply providing for the Lord. Chapter XLVI—XLVIIL— Ordinances for the prince's worship is contained in this chapter. The gate of the inner court that looketh toward the East shall be shut the six working days ; but on the Sabbath it shall be opened, and also in the day of the new moon. On those days the people shall worship the Lord and their Prince (the great king David II that is to be), shall bring burnt- offerings and peace-offerings ; the exact amount of eatables this prince will have to contribute daily, is given with great minuteness ; also of the voluntary offer- ings to be given in addition.— From this it will appear, that according to Ezekiel the Lord intended to have a good time of it, and that he was as exigent as in the time of Moses ; the children of Israel, therefore, might congratulate them- f 176 THE BIBLE EXPOSED. THE BOOK OF DANIEL. n: lelves that the said temple was never built. The Christians may, besides, learn from this that the prince mentioned by Ezekiel would have been subject to the Lord, therefore it can have no reference to Jesus of Nazareth, as of him they say, that he is equal to God. — The next chapter, XLVII, is entitled by the translators : *• The vision of the holy waters" It states that waters issued from under the treshold of the house of the Lord eastward, the water was deep and contained fish, on its borders grew trees, producing fine fruits, and the leaves were good for healing. — All this is evidently intended by Ezekiel as a promise of a terrestrial paradise ; and it cannot be considered as possessing deeper meaning. That Ezekiel intended it to be understood as he wrote, must be conjectured, becausa though he oiten makes use of parables and riddles, he accompanies those by a state- ment that they are such, which he does not do here. The sayings of water that giveth life, and leaves that heal, must therefore not be viewed as prophecies ^f Jesus' words, for Ezekiel addresses the children of Israel exclusively ; and if the same words are reported to have been used by Jesus, the same can be said of many of his other sayin^-s, evidently borrowed by him from the Old Testament, — In chapter XLYIIl Ezekiel divides the land between the children of Israel. Like Moses, whose style he appears to have partly adopted, he disposes of a great deal which he did not possess ; like the fellow who sold the skin of a bear before having caught one. The children of Israel never possessed the land according to his dis- position, his prophecies remained thus in this unfulfilled, as those of Moses. Although nothing ever came of these splendid promises, there is still in consola- tion for it that all the prophecies of destruction, etc., equally remained without effect. Ezekiel may therefore have been in his time a great man of the Lord, and a celebrated prophet, but to the unprejudiced reader he can only be considered a great humbug. THE BOOK OF DANIEL.. Chapter I and II. — Daniel relates how Nebuchadnezzar, after carrying off the Jews in captivity, selected four young men of royal blood from amongst them for service at his court, and of those he was one. They were instructed in the Chaldean language and learning, for three years, when the king found out that they were already ten times wiser than all Chaldean magicians and astrologers—In the following chapter (II), we learn that Nebuchadnezzar had a dream which troubled him greatly, its interpretation was required. Daniel must have been at that time already an established magician, for he was among those that were to be killed if found ineompetent, and the king would put no faith in any dream interpreter who could not also inform him what he had dreamt. In this dilema Daniel first applied for a respite, which was granted to him and to his three friends, whom he consulted. A vision occured to him, and after only four days the king's dream was revealed to him by the Lord. — Why it was not communicated to Daniel at once, say by inspiration, is not explained, unless the delay was used by some friend of Daniel in obtaining the desired information from the king himself.— The dream of the king was, that ke saw an image with a head of gold, the breast and arms of silver, its belly and thighs of brass, and its legs and feet of iron and clay ; a stone was thrown against its legs, and down came the image, tumbling to pieces, and carried away by the wind like chatf. — The interpretation of the dream was simple : the head of gold was Nebuchadnezzar, the siiver breast a kingdom of less glory, that was to succeed him, the brass beliy a kiugdom decreased again, and so on.— Numerous suppositions have been brought up regarding the kingdoms the dream had reference to ; but seeiug that there have been so many brass and iron kingdoms since, it may be admitted, therefore, that this dream and its inter- pretation by Daniel amounts to nothing, notwithstanding all later explanations. The king was so much pleased with what Daniel said, that he worshipped him, and ordered an oblation and sweet odors to be offered unto him ; Daniel was further made ruler of the whole province and chief of all the governors and wise men in the kingdom. Chapter III and IV.- -Nebuchadnezzar, who seems to have been a man of peculiar turn of mina, had made an image of gold, sixty feet high and six feet broad (that is, height to breadth in proportion of ten to one, not exactly according to human structure), and had it put up in the plains of Dura, in the province of Babylon. A herald then cried out to all nations, the king's com- mand, that they should come and worship this image. The three friends of Daniel refused to obey, and after being pinioned by the most mighty men of the army, by order of the king, they were cast into a fiery furnace. No nieniion is made of Daniel in this case, accordingly we do not know whether he obeyed the command, and if not, how he managed to escape the displeasure of the king, and not share the fate of his friends and co-religionists, we don't know either. Scarcely had they been amid the flames when an angel of the Lord came also in the furnace to keep them company ; and not a hair af their head was singed, not even the smell of fire had passed on them. The king was so struck by this performance, that he declared, that no God could deliver alter this manner and hence the God of these three men should never be abused under heavy penalty. This adventure related by Daniel is about as interesting as the account of a dream of the king by the same author, (in chapter IV), the consequence of which was, that the inter- pretation by Daniel came true, that Nebuchadnezzar was driven from men, and ate grass like an ox, and was wet from the dew of heaven seven years long, until his hair was grown like eagle feathers, and his nails like bird's claws, after which he resumed his business as king, with excellent majesty added unto him.— It reads as if Daniel had drawn upon his imagination for this fact, for it sounds im- probable that the Babylonians, the most civilized nation of those times, would have allowed their king, if he became a lunatic, to walk round about in the fields and to live upon grass. 'J'he history of Babylon, as written by profane authors, do not mention this singular event. .g three full weeks, and on the twenty-fourth day he was by the side of the great river Hiddekel ; on lifting up his eyes he beheld a man whose loins were girded with fine gold of Uphaz, his body was like the beryl, and his face as the appearance of lightning, his eyes like lamps of fire, and his arms and feet like polished brass, and the voice of his words was like the voice of a multitude. 'I'his strange being had been withstood twenty and one days by the Prince of the kingdom of Persia, when Michael, one of the chief Princes, came to help him. Having com- municated this, he bade Daniel good-bye, as it was time for him to return to fight with the Prince of Persia.— This fighting seems to have been the principal occupation of the man of gold, fire, and brass. II l|?| Chapter XL— This chapter is a prophecy of a political nature ; that there shall be three kings in Persia, and the fourth, the most powerful of all by his riches, shall have stirred up against him the king of Greece.— There is some reason to believe that this story was written at a subsequent period (say nearly three hundred years later) ; as we remarked already in chapter VII L Chapter XIL — This promises Israel's delivery from their troubles. " And at that time" (says the prophecy) " Michael, the great prince, shall stand up, and many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to ever- lasting life and others to everlasting contempt ;'' Daniel asked a man who was clothed in linen, and stood near by upon the waters, how that was ; and the man told him there would be one thousand two hundred and ninety days before this would take place, but blessed would he be who waited and came to the thousand three hundred and thirty-five days.— This singular prophecy, which never came to pass, neither after 1290 days, nor 1290 years, the Christians presume to refer to a general resurrection of the dead, as projected i;i the New Testament, but by Daniel's own words it was only for the children of Israel. This prophecy, as having never happened, is accordingly as much a work of THE PROPHET H08EA. ISi fiction as the foregoing chapters ; even in point of fact only to be called non- sense. It is probable however, that it is in so far important, as having, with others, suggested to Jesus' apostles the idea of preaching a genei'al resurrection of the dead. THE PROPHET HOSEA. Chapter I. — Hosea the son of Beeri lived in the time of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah. " And the Lord said unto Hosea : " Go take unto thee a wife of whoredoms and (beget) children of whoredoms.'' So be went and took Gomer, the daughter of Diblaim, and she conceived and bore him a son. And the Lord said unto him : " Call his name Jezreel, for yet a little while, and I will avenge the blood of Jezreel upon the house of Jehu, and will cause to cease the kingdom of the house of Israel." And the woman conceived again and bore a daughter whose name, (also by the liOrd's command,) was to be Lo-ruhamah, " for I (the Lord) will no more have mercy upon the house of Israel, but will utterly take tliem away" (v. 2-6)— The upshot of the foregoing is, that the house of Is- rael and Judah were to be visited by the Lord (which as usual meant punish- ment,) and now in order to give a convincing proof thereof, it was necessary, that Hosea should live with a harlot and beget children of whoredoms, and that those children should have ridiculous names. Chapter II— IV.— Hosea, like one who has hit upon a happy idea, continues in the same strain, and he speaks, evidently, to Jezreel, his first born : " Say ye unto youi brethren Ammi and to your sisters Ruhamah : Plead with vour mother, plead, for she is not my wife, let her put away her whoredoms etc., etc."— In the next CMiapter (III) Hosea is commanded by the Lord to love another woman, beloved by her lover yet an adultress ; he immediately went in search and got one for fifteen pieces of silver and one homer and a half of barley. All this vul- garity and much more is in illustration of the future of the people of Israel, who he now says shall return and seek the Lord their God, and David their king (v. 2-5).— Seeing that the people of Israel never returned, and that Judah, though once returned never sought Jesus, the king of the Christians, so it is quite un- necessary to see in this David a prophecy of Jesus, as some Christians do like to make it believe.— In Chapt. IV, Hosea speaks his judgments against the priests for committing whoredoms,— this of course is very appropriate coming through a fellow, that dabbled in it so extensively himself. Chapter V and VL— Hosea prophesies now that Israel and Judah both shall fell 182 THE BIBLE EXPOSED. i at the same time (which never happened) ; but after two days the Lord should revive them. Chaptfb VII— IX. The language of the prophet is sometimes a little absurd ; in describing for instance the iniquities of Ephraimhe says, in Chapt. YII, the peo- ple are all adulterers, as hot as an oven heated by the baker, (v. 4) and Ephraim is like a cake not turned (v. 8). In Chapter VIII he advises to set the trumpet to the mouth for he shall come like an eagle against the bouse of the Lord, be- cause they have transgressed the Lords covenant. — Who that he is that shall come flying like a blind eagle against the house of the Lord we do not know, but we sin- cerely hope that he will not have hurt himself while doing so.— In v. 8 and 9 Hosea says : " Israel is swallowed up, now shall they be among the Gentiles as a vessel wherein is no pleasure ; for they are gone up to Assyria, a wild ass alone by himself."— This saying plainly shows ; that Hosea wrote after the events took place, it can accordingly not exactly bear the name of prophecy. Chapter IX — XI. The prophet advises the people to rejoice themselves, though in the end of the chapter, as also in the next one, he promises them all kind of fearful adversities. — Chapter XI, aims at Israel's ingratitude to their God ; the I^rd is rep- resented as speaking : " When Israel was a child, he says, then I loved him and called my son out of Egypt" (v. 1.) — The evangelist Matthew has thought fit to apply this as a prophecy to Jesus, on account of the word son ; but as men- tion is only made of Israel, an ungrateful son, so Matthew must have been mis- taken, or he would not have dared representing Jesus as ungrateful. ^ — The Lord's further statement : " for, I am God, and not man, the holy one in the midst of thee and I will not enter into the city" (v. 9), — must be very provoking to Chris- tian bible-interpreters, and prophecy-expounders, who constantly imagine the holy one to be an allusion to Jesus, but in this instance, it will be impossible to do it, seeing that Jesus not only entered the city (of Jerusalem,) but entered almost into every city of Palestine. Chapter XII | — 3^^ treats on Ephraim feeding on wind &c., and con- tains the Lord's statement : " Yet I am the Lord thy God from the land of Egypt, and thou shalt know no God but me, for there is no Saviour beside me (. 4). — This statement also must be incorrect, for pions Christians feel thenjselves most happy in believing in a second Saviour. — In bis last»Chapt«* (XIV) Hosea prophesies against the inhabitants of Samaria, whose children were to be dashed in pieces and the pregnant women ripped up with swords ; he is however at the same time hopeful to the children of Israel and Ephraim, for they at last shall bloom as ^e lily and be in beauty alike the olive-tree; and who is wise, he says, shall understand these things. — With these words the prophet ends his book. We now think that who is wise, will understand that of all what Hosea prophesied, nothing ever occurred, and that the man sought to fool his people in the most abominable language, worth the writing of a person of his kind. THE PROPHET JOEL 183 JOEL. Joel is another great prophet, who declares God's judgments upon the land of Israel. A trumpet shall be blown in Zion and a day of darkness and of gloomi- ness, a day of clouds and of thick darkness, shall come, and wonders shall be shown in the heavens and on the earth, blood, fire, and pillars of smoke, the sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, and the Lord shall come down with his hosts, and they shill devour all the wicked folks; and that day of the Lord sliall be great and terrible. — .411 this was to be tor the special benefit of the children of Israel ; the christians though pretend this to refer to the day of judgment predicted in the New Testament. This prophecy of Joel must have been composed some 2500 years ago, it is true that the date when all this is to come off, is prudently omitted, but until now nothing of what he prophesied ever came to pass- Joel appears for the rest to have been full of the spiiit, for be- sides that his prophecies never were fulfilled, they contain not a single sentence of a person in possession of a composed mind, and such composition is distinctive to all prophecies said to be spoken by influcLce of the spirit of the Lord. AMOS. Amos was a herd-man and also a prophet ; he promised God's wrath to come down upon Syria and Edom and Amraon, etc, and upon Moab, and Judah, with this (in Chapt. II and III); he made the Lord boast of his kindness in hav- ing led the people of Israel, the only people he knew of all the families of the earth, through the wilderness for forty years, and to have raisen of their young men prophets and Nazarites. The Lord further (In Chapt. IV) says to his choseu people, " I have smitten you with blasting and mildew, and when your gardens and your vine-yards, and your-fig trees, and your olive-trees increased, the palmer worm devoured them, yet have ye not returned unto me, saith the Lord. I have sent among you the pestilence after the manner of Egypt ; your young men have I slain with the sword and have taken away your horses ; and I have made the stink of your camps to come up unco your no-trils, yet have ye not re. turned unto me, saith the Lord." — The Lord appears to have used strange means to convert the Jews to his worship, and it is not so surprising therefore, that the people preferred to worship Baal Zebub ; who did not appear to have inflicted BO many miseries upon them.~-The inspired herdsman gives, in Chapter V, a lamen tation on the virgin of Israel, that is to die and is to rise no more, and gives her at tlie \ 184 THE BIBLE EXPOSED. same time many exhortations (very much in the way of advising a sick per- son, while dying, how to live to reach an old age). Then again he prom- ises woe to them that are at ease in Zion, and trust in the mountain of Sa- maria ; — and in Chapt. VII he gives the judgment of the grasshoppers as a sym- bolization of Israel's judgment. — In Chapter VIII the Lord showed Amos a basket of summer fruits, as a sure sign of the end having come for his people ; — and in Chapter IX, entitled by the translators ** the certainty of Israel's desola- tion," it is stated that though they dig into hell or climb up to heaven, they can- not escape the vengeance of the Lord, for the Lord is sure to catch them. — Though now the fate of Israel would appear to be most hopeless, we at once learn at the end of Amos' prophecy that the Lord will re-establish the kingdom of Israel, their cities shall be rebuilt, and they will again have a king, like in the time of David. — The prophecies of Amos contain, accordingly, only contradictions, Botwithstandin? which, thev never were fulfilled, neither in the one nor the other way. Thus the man Amos may perhaps have been a good herdsman, able to scare cows and oxen, but as a prophet of truth, he was a total failure. OBADIAH. Obadiah is another prophet, who twaddles away in the style of prophets about the destruction of Edom. Edom is represented to exalt itself like an eagle, and to build its nest upon the stars ; he therefore speaks his damnation over the people of Edom. — Tliis cursing was, however, harmless, for it never took plac The people of Edom (the Arabs) were never burnt with fire, as he foretold, but became a much mightier nation than Israel ever did. JONAH. Although the Lord usually only sent prophets to his chosen people, he commissioned Jonah for this once to go to Nineveh and cry against her. Jonah, though, did not relish this commission, and fled out of the presence of the Lord to Joppa, where he found a ship going to Tarshish. He paid his fare and went into it; the Lord, however, was not so easily humbugged as that, alsc he sent a great wind into the sea, so that the ship was like to be broken. The THE PROPHET MIC AH. 185 mariners were afraid, and cried, every man unto his God ; they lighted the ship, and finally cast lots to find out for whose cause the evil was sent to them ; the lot tell upon Jonah, who was sleeping at the time ; he accordingly was cast into the sea, and the sea at once ceased raging. And the Lord prepared a great fish to swallow up Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish, alive, three days and three nights. — How mighty is the God of Jonah ! Praise to the Lord of the big fishes ! — Jonah during this confinement occupied himself with praying, upon which the Lord spoke unto the fish, and it vomited out Jonah upon the dry land (Chapt. II). This time Jonah thought betterjof it, and he obeyed the command to go to Nineveh, but after prophesying all sorts of evil, he foutjd that it was not fulfilled accordingly, wherefore he upbraided the Lord (be- ing evidently under the impression that he was being fooled), but the Lord ex- plained by means of a tree that he let grow and destroyed, that because the peo- ple had listened and mended its ways, the destruction of such a large city had better be avoided, for if Jonah could be afflicted about the destruction of a tree, how much more so ought he to be about the destruction of a city. — The book of Jonah is therefore not without interest, as showing that the Lord was, for once, not a destroying and bloodthirsty tyrant ; so that if it contains a little of the fabu- lous it is neverthelss a pretty moral tale, quite instructive. MICAH. This prophet lived in the time of kings Ahaz and Hezekiah, when, ac- cording to the Books of the Kings, the Assyrians made their incursions into the Holy Land ; Isaiah and other prophets lived in the same time, and no wonder that in such time of trouble, visionaries were to be found who saw visions of destruction. Their prophecies, on inspection, do not, however, always agree, even as the prophets themselves seem not always to have agreed.- - In Chapter III, Micah accuses all other prophets to prophesy falsely about peace, which was not to be ; they were to be ashamed and confounded ; the chiefs, he says, judge for reward, the priests teach for hire, and the prophets err and divine for money. — As .Micah claims to be the only good one, Isaiah, as no special mention in exception is made of him, must be among those that err and divine for money ; which we learn to our great regret. — Micah's prophecy in chapter V is headed in the Christian translation " The birthplace of Messiah foretold," etc. "We quote v. 2 : " But thou Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, (yet) cut of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be Ruler in Israel ; whose goings forth (have been) from of old, from everlastirg.'* — This, now, is supposed to be a prophecy of Jesus ; but, of Jesus it cannot be 186 THE BIBLE EXPOSED. !V It 11 said that he came forth out of Bethlehem Jor only of the place where the parents of a child habitually live, and where the child is brought up, can be said of that place came he forth, and the same cannot be said of a place where the mother, while travellin^?, is accidently delivered of a child, 'fliough thus the Evangelist say that Jesus was born in Bethlehem, he still belonged to Naza- reth, and° was also generally regarded as belonging to that place, where he lived nearly until his thirtieth year. No more was he ever ruler in Israel, for though he may be considered the head of the Christians, the people among whom he lived denied his claim to leadership in toto, even crucifying him as a criminal. And what regards the sayings of '^ whose going forth have been from old, from everlasting," this relates not to the ruler, as the Christian expounders would make us believe, but simply relates to Israel, which, according to Micah, is a people of old date.— On further reading this chapter, it will be plain as daylight that Micah only referred to a person that was to deliver the chosen people, by the sword, from bondage. In v. 6 he says : "thus shall he deliver us from the Assyrians." After reading this, we cannot help considering the insertion, of the heading of this chapter as a wilful misrepresentation. The great man, to whom the prophecy like those of Isaiah and others referred, was to be a great warrior, a mighty king, like they imagined David to have been. And because David the firs°t had built Bethlehem and lived there, Micah supposed to prophesy quite ingeniously by making David II to be born there also. More than 2,500 years have elapsed since Micah's prophecy, and it is true that this king David II has not yet made his appearance, but this gives therefore no right to the Christians to declare this a prophecy on another man (that never was a ruler in Israel) merely on accourt of his being born in Bethlehem. With the same right they could relate it to everybody else born there. Chapters YI and VII.—Like other prophecies, filled up as usual with threats ; and the prophet asks whether the Lord will be pleased with thousands of rams, or ten thousands of rivers of oil, or will he (Micah) give the fruit of his body for the sins of his soul. Without awaiting an answer upon those inquiries, the prophet continues with upbraiding his people, and describes them as to be in a deplorable condition of corruption, the judge judges for rewards, the man can- not trust his best friend now, nor his own wife, and no upright man is more to be found. The prophet closes, however, with the hopeful promise that the Lord will forgive their iniquities, and perform the mercies which he once swore to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.— Though now this promise sounds sweet, it is nevertheless a pity for the people ot Abraham that until now the Lord has not performed his mercies, notwithstanding Micah's opinion. HAGGAI AND ZACHARIAH. 187 NAHUM, and HABAKKUK, and ZEPHANIAH. Nahum and Habakkuk are two prophets of small renown, who prophesy in the style of their predecessors, from whom they could have copied, if they wished. Zephaniah, who comes next, makes a clean sweep of it in the most grandiloquent twaddle that he could put together. A Lord's day of punishment to come off; from the princes down to those that leap on the threshold ; there shall be a noise of a try from the fish gate, and a howling, etc. Jerusalem is all that is bad, her prophets are light and treacerous men, and her priests have poisoned the sanctuary. But the Lord shall avenge himself, his day is at hand, the great day is near, it is near, it hasteth greatly, even the voice of the day of the Lord. — It is needless to say, that the prophecy concerning that day when the Lord should come down with his host of heaven remained unfulfilled. HAGGAI and ZACHARIAH. Haggai is a less assuming prophet, flourishing at the close of the Babylonian captivity, who pretends that the Lord had communicated to him that the tem- ple of Jerusalem must be rebuilt. — Zachariah is more assuming, he had visions in the night sometimes. In Chapter III, he saw the high priest, Joshua, stand- ing with Satan on his right, but the Lord cursed Satan, and he accordingly went off. Joshua now was clothed with filthy garments, which the Lord oniered him to take off, and to put on clean garments instead, for the Lord would bring forth his servant the Branch (v. 8).— This (Branch) was a saying of Isaiah (Chapt. IV), then about two hundred years old, rehearsed this once by Zachariah ; it is not likely that this should refer to Jesus, like the Christians presume, whom being God himself, according to Christian belief, could not very appropriately be called the servant the Branch.— It appears by a perusal of Zachariah VI : 12, 13, that this prophet wished to make believe that Joshua, the high priest of that time, who contributed greatly to the rebuilding of the new ternplc, was the long since predicted Branch of the Lord. — Zachariah had more visions, he saw a stone havinl i 192 THE BIBLE EXPOSED. SAINT MATTHEW. 193 I I was very much like other children; this is remarkable indeed, as it might reason- ably have been supposed that instead of flesh and blood, it would have been of a more spiritual nature. It is true that the child will also have had a soul, where- fore the christians will probably attribute the production of the body to the mother and the spiritual part to the Holy Ghost. It may however be observed that the production of a creature as far as concerns its body, is considered by the pres- ent physiologists to be the joint offspring of its father and of its mother, but what concerns its spiritual part or soul, this is considered to be a gift of Providence, or spoken in other words, to be attracted by the ambrio when enough de- veloped to receive life. According to this view the Holy Ghost would have been instrumental in merely a animal procreation. Who would have thought this of the Holy Ghost! And then to take the bride of another for such pur- pose! In reference to pious believers, who hold the Holy Ghost in high esteem, we shall pass it over, witliout lecturing on the immorality of adultery. The name of the child was to be Jesus, for he was to save his people from sin, accord- ing to the angel.— The angel was very kind, no doubt, fur Joseph could now- save himself the trouble of inventing a name. This name Jesus however was very common among the Jews, it had no significance with any other man, and we are therefore at a loss to see, how we are to understand from that name that Jesus was to save his people from sin. Besides Jesus never saved his people, ' the Jews ' (for he was one himself,) on the contrary he has made them, if possible, more miserable, as they have since been considered the descendants of his murderers and ill treated on that account. The angel therefore made a mistake —Equally mistaken was the angel in v. 22 and 23, when he stated, that all this was done that might be fulfilled which was spoken ol the Lord by the prophet, saying: " Behold, a virgin shall be with child and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel."— Now Jesus was never called Emmanuel ; the angel himself ordering his name to be Jesus, and Jesus and Emmanuel are different names, having not nmch in common. The words of the prophet referred to, are to be found in Isaiah VII : 14, but they do not in the least allude ♦.o Jesus, as we fully demonstrated in commenting on those prophecies. The prophet spoke to king Ahaz, promising that a child should be born to him from a young woman and before that child should be able to talk, Ahaz would be delivered of his enemies llezin and Jekah, who annoyed him greatly. It was a personal promise to Ahaz, so that it can never be supposed that Jesaya thought then of Jesus, who livel almost eight hundred years later. Chapter II.— When Jesus was born :n Bethlehem there came wise men to Jerusalem, saying : " Where is he, that is born king of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east and are come to worship him."— These wise men must have been indeed awfully wise, if they could read Irom the stars, that a king was born to the Jews. Their reading was not correct however ; for Jesus never was king of the Jews. Like most people of great learning, those wise men must also have had strange peculiarities, for what use could it have beon to those t foreigners whether a king was born to the Jews. Strange again, that they should have made inquiries in Jerusalem, while the star pointed them the way. It is certainly difficult to have no other guidance than a star, as they might easily have gone good many miles .one way or the other without finding a material difference in their astronomical observations, but they were wise men, and already having been able to find their way by the star as far as Jerusalem, they might as well have found it to Bethlehem.— When king Herod heard of those things he was troubled ; he gathered all the chief priests and the scribes together to learn from them, where the Christ would be born ; and they said unto him, in Beth- lehem, for thus it was written by the prophet.— Matthew here gives, somewhat modified, the words of Micah Y : 1, where is spoken of a ruler of Israel coming forth out Bethlehem. On commenting on Micah we then demonstrated, that this could never have referred to Jesus as a prophecy, as he never was a ruler of Is- rael. Moreover it is not yet so very certain, that Jesus was actually born in Bethlehem, for as it is evident, that Matthew constantly adapts prophecies to his history of Jesus, he may equally in reverse, have adapted the history to some prophecies ; and who would blame a person using his best abilities to convert the ignorant masses to a soul-saving creed ! Joseph was now urged in a dream to flee into Egypt, as Herod the king would seek to destroy the child Jesus. Joseph at once complied. This was, says Matthew, in order that the prophecy might be fulfilled, which says: "Out of Egypt have I called my son." — These words are taken of Hosea XI : 1, and refer to Israel's (the Lord's son) delivery of Egypt. For Jesus was not the son of the Lord, but of the Holy Ghost. — Joseph and Mary with the child had left in good time, for Herod, who did not wish another king of the Jews, caused all the children under two years in Bethlehem and in all the coasts thereof to be slain. This was, says Matthew, according to the prophet Jeremiah : *• In Rama was there a voice heard, lamentation, weeping and great mourning. Rachel weeping for her children." — This of Course is very appro- priate ! for Rama is not Beth-lehem ; the two places were situated quite in differ- ent directions of Jerusalem. Yet it is here remarkable, that Herod should have committed such cruelties on no other ground than on the communication of the strange wise men that a king had been born, whilst there was even no danger for his dynasty. Herod was only a Roman Governor, and though called king by the Jews, the title was not hereditary. And then, of that cruel murder of so many innocent babies, God would have been the inducement ; for though, accord- ing to Matthew, he forbade the wise men to give warning to Herod, he did it after they had done it already, which he as God aught to have known very well Now, why could God have acted thus cruelly ? He acted thus in order that the prophecy of Jeremiah might be fulfilled, that said : there is a voice of lamentation in Rama! Really the name of God the father can not well be applied to him for passing by the fact that Jesus was not his child, the murder of all the little babies in Bethlehem would lead to show, that he had no fatherly feelings at all, even not in the remotest degree. — Matthew further goes on to say, that after the death of 104 THE BIBLE EXPOSED. SAINT MATTHEW. 195 Herod, Josrph returned with Mary and the child from Eeypt and dwelt in Na- zareth ; in order that might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophets, " and he shall be called a Nazareue."— Now searching in the bible, no such prophecy will be found therein. Matthew must consequently have derived this from some apochrypbal source. Chapter III.— In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wil- derness of Judea.— One would suppose from these words that John commenced to preach in the days that the child Jesus was just returned from Egypt, but according to Luke Chapt. I, John was only six months older than Jesus, so Matthew must be mistaken. It is remarkable'that John selected such a uncom- fortable place as a wilderness for his preaching and baptizing, as there could have been no people to preach to and perhaps not always plenty of water for bap- tizing.— He appears to have had, commonly, as text of his preaching, '' Repent Ye, for the kingdom of lienvcn is at hand."— According to this, John did what all the great men of the Lord did before him, that is, prophesying a great day whrn the Lord would come down from heaven to establish his kingdom on earth .—Matthew informs us further, that the coming of John has been foretold by Isaiah.— We had oc- casion to remark in liaiah, (XL), that Matthew is in this greatly mistaken' as John did not prepare, nor made straight a way, neither for the Lord Jehovah, nor for the Lord Jesus ; since the path of neither of them was made straight, not by any means, but remained rather crooked. 'J'he prophecy therefore is not well admissil)le.— The said John had his raiment of camel's hair, says Matthew, a:id his meat was locusts ai.d wild honey.— Matthew appears to have been under the impression, as if John was therefore far superior to any prophet who ate bread. This incident would however only lead us to believe, that John feared his preaching would not meet with sufficient patronage, wherefore he had to resort to the above eccentricities so as to attract the attention of the public.—" And all Jerusalem and Judea and all the region round about the Jordan went out to him, and he baptized them all, they confessing their sias." When John saw several Pharisees and Sadducees come to his baptism, he said (somewhat uucour- teously) : " Ye, generation of vipers, who has warned ye to flee from the wruth to come." This question of course implies a serious threat, which must have been, that the day of wrath and darkness was near, when all gentiles and impious folks were to be trampled under foot as had been prophesied. The Pharisees and Sadducees seem, according to John, to have belonged to those condemned, and to have had most to fear from the wrath to come. Fortunately however to them, all those impious Pharisees and Sadducees appear to have died a natural death, the terrible day havirig never arr.ved. — John the Baptist propounded more such threats, as, that the axe was laid unto the root of the tree, that would not bring forth ^i-ood fruit, to be hewn down and cast into the fire. — lohn evidently meant to convev again the impression that the day was near for all impious people to be destroved ; a great many impious people however have lived since John ! It is therefore excusable to believe, that John failed in his prophecies.— He further announces that the one who would come after him would be mightier than he. — As we understand that John was of about the same age as Jesus, this could scarcely refer to him ; but John prophesied a day of the Lord : Thus, he meant that the Lord (Jehovah) who would come on that day of wrath was mightier than he (John). And Jesus came from Galilee to be also baptized ; but John forbade, wish- ing to be baptized by Jesus ; the latter insisted, however, and John complied at last. And when Jesus was baptized, and was coming up out of the waters, be saw the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God de- scending like a dove, and lighting upon him ; and lo, a voice from heaven was heard, saying : " This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased." — Now, it appears in the first part of this chapter, that John baptized to forgive sins and to allay the wrath to come ; if Jesus was without sin, as might be expected from a Sou of the Holy Ghost, this baptizing-ceremony could be of no service to him, and by taking part in it, he proved himself pleased with a feigned show of piety. Perhaps, though, it was not superfluous, owing to the an- nouncement by the Lord that Jesus was to be considered his beloved Son. In our humble opinion, this declaration would, however, have been of much greater efficiency, if it had been made when Jesus was in Jerusalem ; this might have led to the conversion of a great many people ; — but it may be the Lord pre- ferred the moment that Jesus, divested of all worldly attire, stood there before the people in his undisguised magnificence. Because the voice was heard from heaven (while the Holy Ghost was upon Jesus), the voice is considered to have proceeded from God. Thus God assumed an unjust paternity, Ihe Christians, however, admit his declaration, and call him God the Father, we therefore shall also give him that name, but only in order to make distinction between the different Gods. That the Holy Ghost assumed the shape of a dove during his disccLt, is strange, for though a dove is a pretty bird, kind and amiable, it still is not to be considered a fit representative of a powerful Ghost, and the lookers on were hardly to be blamed if they should have believed that the performance was only that of a tamed and trained pigeon coming to rest on her master's shoulder. And if those people, instead of believing the voice to come from heaven, had suspected it to proceed from a tree in the neighbor- hood, they would probably have given a proof of sagacity, superior to that of succeeding generations, that really think it came out of heaven. It is a pity that now-a-days the Lord no more let hear his voice out of heaven, so as to stir up the faith of the Christian community. More than 18 centuries have passed away, but we neither hear nor see him, also heaven opens no more; and even with the best telescopes we cannot discover the least part of it. If yet the Holy Ghost, in its pure form of an iimoccnt bird, would sometimes come down, and strengthen our belief in the precious stories of Saint Matthew, how delight- ful that would be ! But alas, he also disappoints our pious wislies, persistently declining to make his appearance again. :n 196 THE BIBLE EXPOSED. SAINT MATTHEW. 197 Chapter IV. — Jesus was led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the Devil (v. 1). — So the Spirit, after showing itself so favorably to Jesus, led him into bad company after all ; this shows that it was unsafe to place faith in his friendship. Jesus, it appears, had to go through temptations ; we would have considered it a great deal kinder in the Spirit to keep him out of them.' The good Christians claim, however, that God and the Spirit (Holy Ghost) desired to find out if Jesus could resist the temptation of the Devil. Ordinary people, they say, make inquiries before filling a situation, and God of course had a much better right to do likewise, the more so, as the mission of Jesus was to have a direct bearing upon the well-being of the whole human family. This is undoubtedly good reasoning, supposing that God cannot judge of people without first having convincing proof of their fitness ; but as we learned that God is omniscient, and knows the inward man at a glance, we submit that Jesus might have been excused from this temptation. The Devil, it would further appear, re- sides in the wilderness. According to some, the devil is in the heart of men, which in other words would mean that the germ of evil is in man's heart ; but ' Jesus, a saint, could have no evil within him, and thus the Devil appears to have been a self-existent being, and, at that time, residing in the wilderness of the holy land. Forty days and forty nights Jesus fasted in the wilderness, and when at last hunger became fierce, the Tempter came to him in time, saying : — " If thou be the Son of God, command that those stones be made bread.' Com- mon sense would seem to suggest, that the Tempter gave no bad advice at all events, but the Sen of God, of course judging matters by uncommon sense, per- emptorily answered : " Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth from the mouth of God " — This answer was no doubt uncom- monly sublime, though it does not prove, that after forty days of fasting, some bread would not be very acceptable ; besides, the words that proceed from the mouth of God are so scarce now-a-days, that all pious Christians, who would live on such diet, would soon starve to death- That this theory is incompatible with the laws of nature, will require no comment ; even those most given to fanaticism, would decline the trial of such theory. 'J'hat saint Jesus should not have eaten anything during forty days and nights, was never witnessed by any one, the devil excepted, and as we cannot communicate with that individual, we shall have to take Matthew's word lor the truth of it. Moses also fasted ibrty days and nights on Mount Horeb ; we may believe this, because Moses said so himself. Mahomet, though no man of the bible, also fasted forty days and nights in the wilderness- Should we believe Mahomet? No, we are no Ma- hometans. But ail that has been told of Jesus, we must believe, lor faith in him carries people into heaven. — When now the devil saw that the first tempta- tion was unsuccessful, he took Je^us up and put him on the pinnacle of the temple. — This shows, that in addition to his well known slyness, the Devil is ot immense muscle, for the carrying of a man out of the wilderness on ihe pinnacle of the temple, is truly superherculean. The mildness of Jesus also shows to 4 V good advantage for allowing himself to be carried first by the Spirit, and then again by the Devil, whichever way they pleased.— While Jesus was seated on the pinnacle of the temple of Jerusalem, ihe Devil tempted him to jump down, for, said he, it is written, " He (the Lord) shall give his angels charge concerning thee, and in their hands shall they bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy feet against a stone." Jesus, with great moderation, replied, it was written again, "'I'hou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God."— Perhaps the Devil thought the angels would not be in time to bear Jesus up, and there would be a chance to see him breaking his neck. The Devil was, however, frustrated of his sup- posed enjoyment, though he was right in suspecting the backwardness of the angels ; for they, at a later period, did not even prevent that the feet of Jesus were nailed to the wood, which is much worse than dashed against a stone.— Fortunately, the Devil agnin got the idea to take Jesus up and to cairy him away ; for otherwise, in all probability, he would have starved to death on the pinnacle of the temple. The Devil then carried him to the top of a high mountain, and sliowed him a'l the kingdoms of the world and their glory, saying : '« All these things will I give thee, if you wilt fall down and worship me ;" but Jesus said : « Get thee hence, Satan, for it is written, thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve." The Devil seems have had enough by this reply, for he left him at once.— Jesus, now left alone, and nobody to carry him, must have had quite a tiresome journey to get home again, for neither in Pales- tine, nor anywhere on the face of the earth, exists there a mountain high enough to overlook all kingdoms, even if the earth were level instead of round. W^e may therefore suppose that Satan took Jesus to some mountain of the moon, whence they could observe all the different kingdoms of the earth, while she was revolv- ing ; supposing thereby they possessed sharp eyes, which may be supposed, as well from the Son of the all-seeing God, as from the Devil, whose principal occu- pation seems to be to spy out the weak points. That the Devil assumed the right to dispose of all the kingdoms, was highly impertinent, to say the least ; for is it not that Christians as well as Jews agree that the whole earth was created by the Lord, who alone can dispose of her as he may deem proper? This impertinence of the Devil to offer such a large part of the earth to Jesus, is therefore most surprising, as the Lord could not be supposed to have allowed such an illegal transfer with impunity ; and besides, Jesus was, as an adopted Son of the Lord, much more powerful than the Devil ; hence the temptation to bow for tlie Devil could not be very great, still the more so, since God the Father, according to the statements which are to follow, intended to transfer to him all power to°rule in heaven and on earth ; accordingly more than the Devil offered him. Though thus we admire, to a certain degree, the resistance to tempta- tionby Jesus, in the two first cases, yet in the latter case we see no cause to do 80 ; and should we confess what we think of the three temptations combined, we think tt forms a story not precisely of a veridical appearance, but looking much more like a fable. Also, it might be the Lord ordered the Evangelist to make up such a story in order that he (the Lord) might have an opportuuity to dis- ' H *'ti I 198 THE BIBLE EXPOSED. ^ SAINT MATTHEW. 199 ii cover how far baman faith would go in believing absurdities. This time it was a good absurdity, a thorough one, and thereby be could be enabled, at once, to dis- cover who was possessed of faith and who was incredulous. If we surmise this, it is because it is evident that the Lord was bent upon making experi- ments. After this, Jesus again made his appearance in Jndea, but on learning that John the Baptist was in prison, be left at cmce for Nazareth, and on arriving there went on to Capernaum (a town to the north of the lake of Galilee). This took place, says Matthew, that the prophecy might be fulfilled, stating •' that the land Zebaloji is the Galilee of the people, and the people that are ia dark- ness shall see a great light."— We do not see that this prophecy amounts to much, the more so, as the i^emoval of Jesus to Capernaum was of his own ac- cord. Even if there had been foretold, that the Branch would go to the land Zebulon this would prove nothing, for all who would wish to have this prophecy applied to themselves, would simply have to go thither. — From that time Jesus began to preach, saying : " Confess your sins, for the kingdom of heaven is com- - ing." — This preaching was similar in every respect to that by John the Baptist and many of the former prophets. Thus far no other than terrestrial kingdoms have had existence in this world ; it is true the Chinese call their kingdom a ce lestial one, but we shall not include them as being outside of Christianity. The approaching of the heavenly kingdom has consequently not proved so near at hand as Jesus would make it apear ; and the people of his time could not with right, be told to confess because of its coming. Jesus thus evidently tried to frighten the people around him with a prediction that never came to pass, so that his first and principal preaching was in fact only a falsehood. Pious Chris- tians attempt to excuse him, on the plea that his words should be taken in a spiritual and not in a worldly sense ; but to our understanding it is not clear what mysterious signification there can possibly be attached to a celestial king- dom on earth in a spiritual sense. There can be therefore only one explana- tion, to wit, the happiness of man on earth as presumed that a being will be in heaven, and hence total freedom from sin, under the government of a heavenly ruler. Now, everybody will acknowledge that such a kingdom on earth was not near in the time of Jesus, since that 1800 years have passed away, and it is not yet there ; and further, on looking at the many imperfections and bad pas- sions among men, it may safely be concluded that such a heavenly kingdom will not come into existence yet for a considerable time to come. The above will show that the celestial kingdom on earth never existed, not even in a spiri- tual sense, and that our assertion that the first preaching of Jesus was a false- hood, is not exaggerated at all ; we could go further, and show that tlie Chris- tian religion, instead of bringing heavenly peace among men, lias led to san- guinary wars, disputes, and religious fanaticism. Yea, no religion in this world led to such murders, cruelties, extortions, and oppression of every description, as tlie so-called sacred and only soul-saving Christian church ; and this would bci *z according to the Christians, the kingdom of heaven on earth so repeatedly pro- phesied. And it came to pass that Jesus walked near the lake of Galilee, and he saw two brothers, Simon, afterwards called Peter, and Andrew, who cast out the nets, for they were fishermen ; and he said to them : " Follow me, and I shall make you fishers of men," and they followed him.— It may be surmised that those two men knew Jesus already, for they would probably not have been willing to follow a stranger, without first ascertaining his motives ; this must have happened, therefore, in consequence of some previous understanding. The saying of Jesus, " I shall make you fishers of men," does not denote in Jesus an exalted love of mankind, but merely that he considered them some sort of a mob, of which as many as possible should be converted in view of his own ul. terior objects.— Jesus further saw two other brothers, James and John, they also were called upon to follow him, which they did. Accompanied by these fisher men, he travelled all over Galilee, preaching and healing sickness and disease ; and people from great distance eame to him to be healed, even those that were lunatic and possessed of the devil, and many were his followers.— At all times, even to the present day, have there existed successful travelling mountebanks or quacks ; in country towns particularly, one often hears of such ones, and the un. sophisticaied country people often relate with great seriousness of their miracu- lous cures ; still it is generally difficult to see the patients so miraculously pre- served, they are usually living too lar off, while the patients in the neighborhood are seldom so fortunately cured. The reason simply is, that such philosophers* usually by uncommon gesticulation, accompanied by some mysterious words, impose upon the simple-minded, and aided by strong ingredients of the apothe- cary, sometimes affords some temporary relief to the sufferer, thereby conveying the impression to the looker on that the cure is fully efiected, while the same is only existing in the excited imaginations of the by-standers, and yet magnified by their desire to talk. The healings performed by Jesus must have been very remarkable, as the story goes, but this does not prove that they were of another order, it only proves that his operations were curried on a large scale. In proof that the object of Jesus ^as to attract the admiration of the ignorant masses, may be mentioned that he selected for his field a distant part of the country, where civilization will have been backward, and the people consequently much more inclined towards the miraculous ; and also, that he searched not so nmch the benefit of the benighted themselves, as the admiration of his powers else he might have healed them with less ostentation at their own homes, in the absence oFthe curious. And then, moreover, he claimed to heal those that were devil-peseessed, ly ejecting the devil. Now, weiknow that there is no room for a devil to reside in a human body, he must therefore have been guilty of deceit; and why? No other reason can be found than in order to make his miracle appear more than it actually was, and to astonish tee many. People at all events are not allowed to deny that Jesus made his performances for any other object than to be looked upon by the people as an agent of the Lord. Thus, ril y I 200 THE BIBLE EXPOSED. SAINT MATTHEW. 201 i instead of usin^ convincing reasonings to prove the sacredness of his mission, God, according to this opinion, preferred to resort to the tricks of a conjurer.— As well a jack-pudding might have answered the purpose. Chapter Y.— And seeing the multitudes, Jesus went up into a mountain, and when he was set, his disciples came unto him, and he said : " Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven" (v. 3). — To be poor in spirit, must mean deficient in intellect ; we always thought, however, that intel- lect was the most beauteous gift of Providence to man, as constituting his su- periority over the animal ; all on earth is subject to his sway through his intellect ; and more than this, it enables h.m to admire that wwich is created, and by investi- gation to obtain the conviction that there exists a higher than human wis lom ; but no. the Son of God thought diflferently, and appreciated this precious gift but little ; according to his views, it was enough that his followers got just sufficient intelliect to believe, without examination, all that he chose to preach. — He further taught : '-blessed are they that mourn, for they shall be com- forted" (v. 4). — The Son of the Lord appears to have ignored that a villain may mourn as well as a pious man ; a burglar may mourn over an unsuccessful burglary, as much as a philanthropist over the failure of a charitable purpose. But according to Jesus, it was enough that one mourned ; by doing so dili- gently, comfort would be reached. If Christians were to follow this precept, it would make a pleasant world indeed. There is a truth as old as the world, that those who labor, have promoted progress and civilization, while wo-cryers and lamenters never were of any service, but rather were a nuisance to society. — His next teaching w£*s, " Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth" (v 5). — Jesus forgot again that the meek may have a good many faults, his blessing them, therefore, was rather indiscriminate. The meek followers of Jesus did besides, not enjoy much of their blessedness, they all died without inheriting the earth.^ — *' Blessed are they that do hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled" (v. 6). — This undoubtedly was a great consolation for the followers of Jesus, lovers of i ighteousness ; more than 1800 years have elapsed, however, since he promised them the granting of such wish, and still on earth iniquity reigns supreme. Yet, a great many people hunger and thirst after right- eousness, and would be greatlj gratifitd to see iniquity swept ofi* the world, but in spite of this promise of Jesus, this blessed state of things never came to pass. — He further taught, "Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy" (v. 7). — This was encouraging mercifulness, no doubt, but experience does not show that there was much truth in his teaching, fov often it happens that a kind action meets with ingratitue in return ; neither can it be said that mercy begets bliss ; a certain self-satisfaction of having done well is the only return, but it procures no bliss for life. There may be those who pretend that Jesus, in speaking of mercy, alluded to a future life, but it is not probable that he spoke in that sense, for since he promised a heaven on earth, all his promises should be understood in the same way. Also, such promise of a future life, without a convincing proof or guarantee of iH $ Bome sort, would amount to nothing, since no person ever returned after death to confirm if Jesus spoke the truth or not.— His next teaching, '* Blessed are the pure of* heart, for they shall see God" (v. 8), is on a par with the foregoing, and may scarcely be believed without convincing proofs, for no pure of heart ever saw God during life, and if so honored after death, was never reported. — " Blessed are the peacemakers, for tliey shall be called the children of God" (v. 9). We do not perceive what blessing can be derived from being called a child of God ; it may be an honorable title, flattering to vanity, such title still can confer no bliss ; moreover, all sorts of people, good or bad, can call them- selves children of God ; the first men were products of God, and also of eonrse their descendants. The statement made by Jesus has besides never come true, as a great many centuries have passed away, and peaceable persons have never been designated by that title. The most active Christians also never excelled as peace people ; hence, perhaps, they did not come into the enjoyment of that appellation.—" Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven" (v. 10).— Now, in our opinion, it can never be blissful to be persecuted, perhaps when afterwards in the promised kingdom, they who suffered persecution may enjoy much bliss, but no proof thereof can be adduced. And seeing that the kingdom of heaven on earth did never come, and that a kingdom in heaven in the firmament was never seen, therefore we believe that those who ore not annoyed with persecutions may deem them- selves happier with more certainty than the perseeuted. For the rest such promises of heavenly blessing are easily made, and are cheap. Mahomet also promised to his followers that those who died for the faith would go to paradise in heaven, but whether they found the paradise remains a question.—" Blessed should be those who would be reviled and persecuted for Jesus' sake, for great would be their reward in heaven" (v. 11, 12).— This is precisely like the promise of Mahomet, very encouraging mdeed, but without guarantee for its fulfilment. Jesus cer- tainly asked rather much when he required that people should submit to per- secution only for his pleasure.— After this important teaching, Jesus says to his audience, that they are the salt of the earth, and ask.«, " but if the salt has lost its savour, wherewith shall it be salted ?" (v. 13).— There came no answer to this question, probably for the simple reason that there was no answer for it In fact, that question is also but sheer nonsense, and it is not even clear why it was brought about at all. Jesus, in his new mode of preaching, lost, it seems, the thread of his discourse, what hardly could have been expected of the son of so wise a father.— He continues to his audience . " Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hid (v. 14). A candle is not put under a bushel, but on a candlestick" (v. 15).— After this interesting commu- cation, the sou of God exhorts his audience to let their light shine before the people.— Jesus first states in his sermon that the poor in spirit would be blessed, that theirs was the kingdom of heaven ; he should not require, therefore, that his followers let shine their light before the people, lor in the first pJace could that light not be of much importance, and if it were too brilliaot, tliey would !:il m \ 2C2 THE BIBLE EXPOSED. SAINT MATTHEW. 203 ^W be in danger of losing that kingdom of heaven altogether, it being only for the poor in spirit— The people should not think, said Jesus (v. 17), that he was come to destroy the law or the prophets, but he was to fulfil it.— If this t)e true, no Christian follows the teaching of Jesus, as they do not keep the Jewish laws at all. Jesus, though, spoke not the truth when stating that he did not de- stroy the law or the prophets, since *.his is exactly what he did ; the principal point in the laws of Moses was the worship of only one God. " I am the Lord thy God, and there is no God beside me," said Jehovah ; but Jesus taught that he was the equal of Jehovah, and this of itself was a sufficient subversion of the law and the prophets — " For verily I say unto you," he continues (v. 18) " till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one title shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled."— Every Christian will be obliged to acknowledge that a great many jots and titles of the Jewish law are passed by them, even we make bold to say not one jot or title do they follow, consequently Jesus did not speak the truth. How little reliance, therefore, is there to be placed on his repeated stately excla- mation : " for verily I say unto you," if he had said, " for unverihj I say unto you," he would have spoken with much more correctness. — " Whosoever there- fore," says Jesus, " shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven ; but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven" (v. 19).— Now, as that which Jesus taught was in direct contradiction of the first of the commandments, given by Moses, only a very subordinate place in the kingdom of heaven could be assigned to him ; and his followers, the Christians for the same reason, could never be entitled to be called great in that kingdom. This must be unpleasant for a pious Christian, for who would not, in return tor piety, expect to be called great hereafter. According to this version, it wilj also be perceived that in that excellent kingdom there is class-distinction The general idea, thus, that death does away with such distinction, is quite erroneous. — While Jesus, in the above sermon, shows off his wisdom, he gives a passing hint to the Scribes and Pharisees, fully showing that not one of them will ever get into the kingdom to come (v. 20).— It may be supposed, however, that there were some few virtuous Scribes and Pharisees, whatever they may have been as a class, and it is to be hoped that God, the Merciful, will not have cast them out as unconditionally as his Son did, and may have sent them to some blessed spot somewhere without the limits of the blessed kingdom. Jesus gives further proof of the excellency of his judgment, saying : " That whosoever is angry with his brother without cause, shall be in danger o[ the judgment ; and whosoever shall say to his brother ' Raca,' shall be in danger of the council ; but whosoever shall say * Thou fool,' shall be in danger ot hell fire" (v. 21, 22, 23).— Some may think that the the Son of God was rather severe and unreasonable in his judgment, but they ought to remember that Jesus was favorable to a people poor in spirit, he may therefore have wish<^d to Bee them free from ridicule, by putting a heavy penalty upon people offend- in"- them ; and he may also have been aware, more or less, of having said himself things poor in spirit, and therefore have been anxious to prevent his being called ' thou fool.' Fortunately, however, that his menaces cannot count for more than his promises, there being not the slightest guarantee for the fulfilment of either.—" If thou bring thy gifts to the altar, etc., first be reconciled to thy brother," he says, '' and then^'come and offer thy gift" (v. 90 and 24)— This no doubt is an exceedingly meek precept, and those who wronged may do well to act accordingly ; but the meek Jesus forgot that the one who first went up to the altar to offer might be the wronged party, who would be most decidedly wrong to sue for reconciliation, as the party who committed the wrong would therefore be strengthened in his misdemeanor, and be tempted to wrong the other yet more.—'' To agree quickly with an adversary, lest one be delivered by the adversary to the jud<^e and officers, and be cast into prison," is a precept of the same meekness as the preceding one ;— in following it up, meekne^ss would be carried too far, and might most appropriately lead one to be called « thou fool,' for who, thinking right to be on his side, would tamely surrender such right solely for fear of a trial ? Such a person would soon be at the mercy of the whims and the avarice of others- It moreover betrays a total absence of manliness in him who could bring such notion forth.— Jesus continues, " Whoever looketh on a woman and lust after her, hath commuted adultery with her already in his heart" (v. 28).— From this it would appear that Jesus entertained much more exalted notions of decency than his father, the Holy Ghost, who made light enough of adultery ; Jesus, however, might as well have' observed that persons of different sex possess a natural in- clination to each other, which inclination is innate, and claims its rights without control of the will of the ir.dividual, wherefore Jesus ought not to blame so much the individual on that account, but rather ought to have addressed his re- monstrances to God, as the originator of this state of things. Whereas now Jesus diff^^red in his views with God, he would have acted more to the point not only by prohibiting that men should look at women, but by order- ing that thev should reside in d:fferent cities ; yet he ought not to have omitted toVolii^it women to look at men. as this is pretty sure to lead to said mischief. In V. 29 Jesus teaches something rather extraordinary : " And if thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out and cast it from thee, for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell/' —This resembles greatly the language of a lunatic, and leads one to believe that the religious^ enthusiasm of Jesus utterly confounded him.— It is well known that iUnaticisra is a first step towards lunacy, and even may end in rav- ino- mad less.— In v. 3o he advises to act in the same manner with the right hand, to cu" it off, so that the whole body could cot be cast into hell. It seems Jesus had enough sense left him to understand that if part of the body was parted with, it was impo-sible to have a whole body cast into hell.-He iulbrms us thereupon that whosoever shall put awav his wifesave for the cause of foruicatioo, causelh her to commit adulterv; and whosoever shall marry her that is divorced, committeth adultery (v. 32) —This may contain much wisdom, tliough it is not very plain wiiy 204 THE BIBLE EXPOSED. SAINT MATTHEW. 205 he is an adulterer who marry the woman. And then how can this be made to agree with his statement in Chapter XIX: 29, " that whoever shall forsake his wife, &c., for his sake, was to inherit everlasting life." — Jesus goes on to forbid to make oath "the communication be yea yea, nay, nay, for whatsoever is more than this C'omethof evil "(v. 33-37).- Jesus followers however paid always very slight attention to this commandment, for with all Christians, only excepted two small sects (the Quakers and Anabaptists), swearing is practised very extensively. But it may be the pious Christians did not know what Jesus meant, since he speaks ot swearing by God's throne and by the Footstool of his feet, and by Jerusaluni the city of the great king &c. ; the Christians now, on no longer hearing of these things, have probably thought themselves at liberty to swear away by the great God himself.— Jesus orders further, that whosoever smite thee on the right cheek, turn to him the other also (v. 38-39).— This again is a most unpractical precept, for it presupposes a most unnatural meekness or the most abject cowardice ; not to mention the danger to be killed in that way when having to do with a person of uncontrollable temper. Human nature will never comply with this command- ment ; it could also only have originated in the brain of the timid, among whom we now suppose Jesus might be ranked.~Of the same weight is his following order, " that if any man will take away thy coat, let him have thy cloak also " (v. 40).— This is an excellent method to get rid of one's worldly possessions ; the unpracticable and nonsensical of these commands is so evident as to render all comment superfluous.— And what to think of a precept, that whosoever shall compell thee to go a mile go with him twain (v. 41).— Jesus forgot that one by complying with such order might overdo the thing, and go too far for the mes- sage ; it implies, besides, an abundance of leisure to waste the precious time.- Equally unpractical is Jesus' order (v. 42) to " give to him that asketh thee, and from him that will borrow of thee turn not thou away."— It can easily be appreciated what a compliance with this order would lead to ; and yet it could only be successfully practised by millionairs, who tired of wealth, should desire to get poor as soon as possible.— The meek Jesus then teaches (v. 43— -44) : ' Love your enemies ; bless them that curse you ; do good to them that hate you ; and pray for them which despitefullyuse you and persecute you."— If Jesus had said, " Be forgiving and return no evil for evil," surely no man could have objected to this, but to require us to love our enemies and those who injure us, is rather too much, the more, as love is not subject to command, but the offspring of impulse beyond the control of our will. This order therefore is not only extravagant, but like the others wholly unperformable.— So his injunction to be perfect, like the Father which is in Heaven is perfect (v. 45-48), is even unperformable. -Jesus, no doubt, supposed the Father in Heaven to be truly perfect and now the supposition that Man, subject to all passions, might be equally perfect, is super-extravagant in- deed, to say the least of it. It is striking on perusal of this Chapter, in the first place, in what a high degree Jesus must have been tainted with fanaticism, and of what a timid disposition he must hc*ve been to give such precepts. In the second place it is remarkable, how lew of his precepts were complied with by the Christians, though they always pretend to be his faithful followers. It would even be easy to show, that the Christians do not follow a single one of them : they do not observe the Jewish law and commandments ; they are not allowed to swear, though swearing most extensively in all christian countries ; they must invariably give away all that is asked of them, nay more, but the christians do not do so, rather do the contrary ; they must submit to personal insult, be robbed, be beaten, be sent on errants ; they must even love their enemies and bless those that curse them ; the Christians instead, constantly waged war with each other ; they moreover never ceased to dispute on religious points, and those that were orthodox amongst them, invariably, hated with su^T^reme cordiality those that differed in opinion ; this hatred was, and is, so intense,\hat if they had full liberty, they would fly at each other and tear one an- other to pieces. And all this, for the sake of the good God, a God that no longer, as in the time of Josus, resides only in Heaven, but now is teached to be Omni- present. The Christian religion, therefore, is not the same as preached by Jesus . They nevertheless call him their Saviour, their dear Lord, and represent him as an ideal of nobleness and sanctity ; and why? Because Jesus giving precepts impossible for any human being to follow, took the appearance upon him as if he fully acted up to them himself. This astonished the good people clear out of their senses, and they stood in awe, for the world judges from appearance, and will be imposed upon by appearance, and by its dealers the hypccrites. Chapter VI.— Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen ot them; otherwise ye have no reward of your Father, which is in Heaven (v. 1.) —Jesus accordingly desires that Ye should only assist your feUow men in view of reward ; he would have given proof of more nobleness of character however, H he had reconmiended ditiinteressinent.— " Let not thy left hand know what thy right hand does."— This is greatly exaggerated talking, and therefore not exactly wise. He further instructs his followers in prayer : that the name be hallowed of the Father that is in Heaven.— Jesus probably remembered that his father proper was the Holy Ghost, and that God the Lord had only called him his son on the occasion of his baptism ; he now reciprocated this courtesy by giving the Lord the name of Father, but perhaps he felt not sure that he would be satisfied with the name, and therefore enjoins upon his followers to pray that that name may be hallowed! -The second request " thy kingdom come," no doubt alludes to that kingdom of heaven on earth as foretold by the prophets.— More than 18 centuries have passed away since this prayer was ordered by the son of the Lord and it has not come yet, notwithstanding it has often been prayed ; wherefore it is undeniable that it was not right in him to let his simple followers pray lor something that would not be realized during all their life time ; for thus he disappointed them with vain expectations.— He further says : *' Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven."- -This was a strange request, for it the God of heaven could make his will obeyed on earlh, he would undouotedly have done so ; this request consequently was quite superfluous.— Equally so was K / 206 THE BIBLE EXPOSED. :i the prayer of "Give us this day our daily bread," -for prayer alone achieves nothing ; tlie best and only way is to procure it by labor ; heaven does not fur- nish it gratuitously.— The next request is forgiveness for trespasses as they would forgive those who trespassed against thera.— It may be doubted if all followers of Jesus forgave those who trespassed against thera, as it is not exactly in human nature always to do so ; at least the Christians of later days must have been guilty of many an untruth in saying this prayer ; and the Saint Lord Jesus himself did not act up to it either, for he did not forgive those that trespassed against him, even order ing their destruction by hell-fire (vide chapter XL 20-24). simply for declining to believe in his might. — He also enjoins upon his followers to request °the Father not to lead them into temptation— as if the great Father could employ himself at leading people into temptation ; this was a sacriligious thought ; for was it not the work of Satan and how could Jesus suppose, that the Lord would do Satan's business ?— Jesus closes his brief and energetic prayer with some flattering appellations to the Lord ; giving him the kingdom, power and glory forever.— This flattery may have been acceptible to the Lord, though not giving him his due ; but what matters this, if they only had the desired eflect of securing a hearing for the prayer. The kingdom he said was be- longing to the Father, but this was not the case since it never had existence, neither was the Power to him, as it does not appear that he could enforce his will o» earth by obliging man to be good ; and least of all was to him the Glory for ever whereas the Son, and the Holy Ghost and in the Roman church also the Holy Virgin (called God's mother) have well nigh deprived him of all the glory. Jesus further exhorts his followers not to fast that men may see it, but to do it privately, avoiding a sad countenance, lest they should miss the re- ward of the Father (v. 16-18).— This doctrine to fast in secret may be beautiful, but to expect a reward, is strange, for what satisfaction can it afford to God, to see people fasting ; this supposition truly heathenish, is in downright contradic- tion with an enlightened idea of a Supreme being, that made man with a body requiring nourishment, and hence can find no pleasure in seeing them in want of it. Yet common sense would seem to teach us, that that Being is too infiuitaly great to be pleased with such a puerile mode of showing devotion, and that such supposition can only originate in a very narrow mind.— Jesus then enjoins not to lay up treasures upon earth, where moth and dust doth corrupt, but to lay up treasures for heaven as not subject to corruption.— This command may contain religion of a very superior ord r. but Jesus might have known, that if proper cure be not taken in providing against the wants in this world, destitution, and beg- gary are sure to follow, and people that are destitute not only do not feel happy for themselves, but are a drag on society, and apprehension of starvation would still at the end compel thera to work for earthly compensation ; the saying of laying up treasures for heaven is thus more hallow sounding than full sensed ; and moreover no proof is given where or what those treasures are ; it is like making a present of a gold mine in a land that has yet to be discovered. Humanity is instinc- SAINT MATTHEW. 207 tively convinced of this, also christians, notwithstanding their religious belief, have always given the preference to that sort of treasures which the moth and dust doth corrupt, (but of which some may be left for their children,) instead to the treasures in that unknown land called heaven, undiscoverable to eye and telescope. Jesus thereupon informs his audience, that the light of the body is the eye, "if tiierefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light ; but if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness ?" (v. 22, 23.) — This reads like sheer nonsense, his question as to how great is that darkness, is even so dark, that one would suppose that his light at that moment was not of the brightest. — The au- dience which may be supposed to have been rather mistified by this time, is then informed that no man can serve two masters (v. 24.) — Experience nevertheless has fully shown that this is not so ; in evidence may it serve that the christians serve two masters with great success, namely Lord God Almighty and Lord Jesus Christ, and as distinctly stated in (v. 11) the preceding chapter, it was Jesus express desire that his followers should serve hlra, and also the Lord ; accordingly two masters; this is only a slight inconsistency, of course. — "Therefore," said Jesus, (a'j if it had reference to what just preceded), " take no thought for your life what ye shall eat and what ye shall drink, nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on, is not the life more than meat and the body than raiment," (v. 25). — Taking no thought for providiiig the commonest necessaries has no sense about it, for what would become of society if such doctrines were followed ; this is preaching sloth and idleness and the evil thereof. Man is decidedly compelled to take good care of his body; experience has fully proved, that cleanliness and comfort are powerful agents for morality, and that a want of both blunts the delicacy of fefeling, and hence is unfavorable to progress in civilization ; his question moreover, if the life and body were not more than food and raiment is monstrously out of place, for a body without food is not worth anything as soon ceasing to be an animated body ; and likewise without rai- ment man can not live. These necessaries are inseparable of man, though ilieir exact value cannot well be given, as depending upon circumstances. People will often risk their lives to obtain food, thereby showing, that food is of equal value to them as their life. It is t'lus plain that Jesus by a dexterous twi-t of his question, intended to deceive his unthinking audience.— In support of his saying to take no thought of food and raiment, he points out, that the fowls of the air are fed, though they do not sow nor reap, and the lilies of the field that do not spin nor toil, are yet more magnificently clothed than even Solomon in all his glory (v. 26.) — This may be poetry but can boast of no substance, for what may be said of a bird and a plant is not applicable to human beings, whose requireraentg for sustenance are widely different ; Jesus might with equal justice have recom. mended to his followers to live on water because some fishes and plants manage to thrive on such diet, or he might have ordered them to live on the bottom of the sea, becau^^ the fishes do so, and man is more than a fish ! If Providence il §> lii 208 THE BIBLE EXPOSED. ^ SAINT MATTHEW. 209 4 provided no raiment, nor prepared food for man as for the birds and the lilies, it gave him instead superior intelligence so as to enable him to procure those things and prepare tiiem for his use. Besides, the birds and the lilies only flourish in coun- tries which are their original native country, according whose climate they were madt;, while man, and more particularly the white man, have gradually moved from their native countries into colder climes, where food is only ob- tained after strenuous exertion and where it is too cold to live without raiment ; they could not therefore live according to the precepts of Jesus, but are com- pelled to work. — This doctrine of Jesus is thus only applicable to the negroes of Central Africa and the inhabitants of other such tropical climes, where trees and soil are furnishing fruit in abundance the whole year round, and where the heat renders clothing not necessary. It is true that Jesus precept has also been followed by the inhabitants of convents, who do not toil for food and garments, but get their necessities supplied by others. Perhaps the Saint Jesus desired to see his teachings in operation in the manner as it is done by those pious folks ; butjhow would it be if the whole world acted so ? Jesus continues and says : " which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature?" (v. 27). — Jesus might as well have said an inch, but his propensity to exaggerate was too strong upon him. (It is a general truth that people who are in the habit of having over forcible notions la- bor under a diseased imagination, while those that are in sound condition of brain, are less addicted to exaggeration, and enjoy sounder views.) — Once more he preached that one had only to seek the kingdom of God, and its right- eousness, and all the necessaries of life should be add to you (v. 33). — That Jesus did not preach according to truth, will require no demonstration, every one will feel convinced, and if not, might make the experiment, that meditation on the kingdom of heaven and its righteousness, without providing at the same time for the necessaries of life, would soon lead to privation ; not to mention the danger to be compelled to undertake the journey to the desirable celestial kingdom much more sooner than contemplated or desired. From all this again it is evident, that what passes for the christian religion now a days, is not exactly as Jesus taught. His teachings if followed would soon brino; about a total revolution in society ; those who have money would have to part with it for the support of idlers ; and no man would feel obliged to work, for others would enjoy the benefit of it liich and poor would soon be altogether driven to destitution if all people were honest in following the doctrine; but whereas they would not, so- ciety would soon be at the mercy of a number of scoundrels, imposing upon the pas- sions or weakness of the many. That the Christian religion in its commencement was more in accordance to the teachings of Jesus is generally credited ; the barbar- ousness of the middle ages, the destruction of the ancient civilization, and the power of the roguish priests, would go far towards confirming t lis belief. The doctrines of Jesus, impartially considered, are much like those which thn)ugh all ages have met with most favorable reception from the poorer classes, and find tl.eir origin in a desire to enjoy comfort and ease by appropriating what belongs tn others Ancient and mo Jern history furnish abundant evidences of th^ trouble en"-e.':dered by similar doctrines ; Jesus however knew to put forth his ideas under the cloak of religion. The teachings of Communism and Socialism, as understood by ignorant friends of these enticing chimeras, bears a striking analogy to the teachings propounded by this ingenious son of the Lord. Chaptbk VII. — Jesus said : *• Judge not, that ye be not judged.*'— This, though undeniably a fair precept, is spoken in very undefined a sense, and in that way would give too much scope to criminals ; it is only by judging them, and having tlie laws maintained, that society is secure. — *' Give not that which is holy unto the dogs," continues Jesus, *' neither cast ye your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet and turn again and rend you." — There may be truth at the bottom of this, but the supposition of giving pearls to the swine is very exaggerated again, and that the swine should turn and rend you, reads en- tirely like the raving of a diseased imagination. — He further says : " ask and it shall be given you, seek and ye shall find, knock and it shall be opened unto you " etc., (v. 7-11). — This is certainly very encouraging, but it would not be safe to put faith in this assurance ; for it is doubtful, whether God could give all that is asked of him ; it is much better to endeavor to procure by honest labor what is required, and not trust too much to prayer. The Lord seems to be of opinion, that by granting all that is asked of him, people would soon be given to habits of idleness ; how it may be, at all events it is cf^rtain that very little notice is taken of the prayers sent up to him ; experience teaches this to man.— « Wherefore," continues Jesus, '• all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you ; do ye even so to them, for this is the law and the prophets." — This teach- ing in itself is not to be despised if only not considered to be indiscriminately ap- plied, for what is desirable for one person is not always acceptable to another ; in which case it requires more judgment than may be expected in one poor in spirit. We would furthermore observe that the law and the prophets are no sound authoritv in this case, for the Mosaical laws teach the serving of the God Jeho. vah, the keeping of many Sabbath- or holy-days, and the offering of many offerings, but touching the love of man to his fellow man, they teach but very little ; they seem to have considered this as of secondary importance ; even the law prescribed to hate all foreign nations, to murder and to plunder them, not con- sidering thein as fellow-men. The prophets also taught love to fellow-men in a very partial manner ; they did very little else but cursing and throwing out prophecies of endless horrors against the children of Israel and all their neigh- bours.— Now Jesus warns his audience against the broad-way that leadeth to destruction, for many go in thereat, but few are those that go the narrow way and enter in at the straight gute (v. 13, 14).— Only few may accordingly be expected to reach the unknown but blissful spot called heaven or paradise. We shall have occasion to show lattr that according to Jesus there exists in addition to the desirable celestial kingdom on earth, a paradise and a hell, to either of which places the souls of the dead depart as soon as set free, to be either in great bliss if M / 1^ 4 ; 210 THE BIBLE EXPOSED. or in ^reat misery for all timo to com\ And seeing now that most people go the way ending in hell, it follows, that according to the Christian ^'octrine most people are born to suffer eternal punishment for the short time spent on this world. All those whose sense of right and human feelings are not yet entirely corrupted by false religious teachings, will acknowledge that this statement is surpassingly monstrous, and that in order to put it into execution, a God would be required of such unmitigated cruelty, as the human mind could scarcely con- ceive. We therefore think it unnecessary to point out the fallacy of this state- ment of Jesus, presuming, that the spirit of enlightenment in the 19th century is suflBciently developed to admit its impossibility. Jesus further exhorts the people to beware of the false prophets. — As we have shown in treating on the prophets, they all said the same thing, though it would scarcely be possible for any man to prophesy more falsely than they did themselves; Judea was crowded with such prophets, each pretending to be a true one. Jesus also began as a prophet ; true that he afterwards was called the son of God and thereby lost his title of prophet, but to be prophet was nevertheless his original occupation, and he there- fore shared in the principal quality of all other prophets that of envy to his rivals. Envy can only originate in a consciousness of inferiority, or distrust in one's own power ; the real consciousness of being superior to others, places peo- ple above it, and make them indifferent to envy. Whether Jesus possessed the consciousness of superiority over false prophets is not mentioned.— Jesus spoke fur- ther with great boldness of the manner, in which he would exclude from heaven those, who had not lived according the will of the Lord Father, he should do that simply by saying: " I never knew you, depart from me." — It must, of course, be exceedingly mortifying to a soul to be thus summarily dealt with ; death stripped him of (everything, even of his body, what must now become of such a poor soul, standing there outside, naked and bare without any shelter. Oh that poor soul! In this dilemna he jumps into hell ! Now reader the only way to avoid such a fate is to seek the affection of the God's son Jesus, that he might not say to you, in such critic moment, "depart from me." Of course this advice is only addressed to those whose imagination portrays them a heaven with doors where a soul has to knock to gain admittance. If the representation may be heathen- ish, this does not matter, as long as it serves some purpose. And this, no doubt, it does, according those people, who pretend that the masses should be kept in superstition, that they themselves might reign supreme. — In illustration of his statement Jesus compared the observer of his precepts to a wise man and he who did not observe them, to an unwise man, who built his house on sand. — It is remarkable that while Christians exclude from heaven all those whose relisrious creed differs from theirs, they will be excluded from heaven themselves too, where- as not one of them can boast of a strict observance of Jesus' precepts ; therefore we can not expect to find in heaven either wise or unwise folks. — And the people, were astonished at Jesus' doctrine, for he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes. — 'J'hat the people should be astonished is not surprising SAINT MATTHEW. 211 for tbey had heard Jesus talking such very extravagant things as to make peo- ple wonder how they could ever originate in human brains. His speaking with authority simply consisted in the statement that he could admit souls into heaven, or not. just as he pleased ; no prophet or scribe ever had the boldness to assume such authority, which shows, that Jesus understood the arts of the prophets (the arts of humbugging) much better than Moses and all the prophets who succeed- ed hira. From this point of view we admit that Jesus was a great man, ad- mirably so I \ri Chapter YIII. — When Jesus came down from the mountain followed by multitudes, a leper came to him requesting that Jesus would make him clean. Je-us put forth his hand and touched him and immediately his leprosy was cle:insed» — This surely was a miracle, somewhat like that performed by Moses, though superior to it. Moses put his hand in his bosom and it came out lep- rous ; when he put it in again it was healed. Of Mosos it could be suspected that he had hid a quantity of flour in his bosom, or something else, wherewith he could make his hand white ; but the miracle of Jesus must of course be free from such suspicion, for he was the son of God ; some though may think, that through some skilful slight of hand this miracle could be equalled if not surpassed by many a magician ; but leave them alone! — Surprising was the order Jesus gave to the healed man not to speak of the miracle to any one, though it was performed while Jesus was followed by multitudes ; the man was only al- lowed to show himself to the priests, — The great humility of Jesus is surprising ; for the same secresy must have been expected from the multitudes who witnessed it.— Then came a centurion to Jesus, requesting him to heal his servant who was sick of the palsy ; Jesus intended to visit the patient but the Centurion in great humi- lity stated, that it would be enough if Jesus would order his servant to be healed. Jesus was struck with the faitli of this man, and he said, " Go thy way and as thou hast believed, so be it done unto thee." And the servant was healed the self same hour. — This was a remarkable proof of the divine power of healing of Jesus. It is to be deplored, though, that no one among the multitudes did see the healed servant, as there was no proof therefore that the servant did exist at all ; tliey may also have doubted on the ground, that a Centurion of those times did not think enough of his men to place himself in exhibition as believer in mi- racles on one's account ; other centurions would have contented themselves to send for a quack to come to see the patient ; it could, for this reason, be suspected that Je- sus had a secret understanding with the centurion on the subject ; but no good Chris- tian will suspect this, as he would be no good Christian if he did —Jesus then went to the house of Peter where he found his wife's mother sick of fever and he touched her hand and the fever left her.— Surprising freaks the imagination will play sometimes ; even if the woman was not in the secret, it is still possible, that she was healed, without this fact proving in the least, that Jesus was a son of the Lord.— In the evening Jesus healed a great many people who were possessed of the devil.— How strange that in a small place like Capernaum so many people ; t I •4 212 THE FIBLE EXPO^I>. 4 could have been fonnd possessed of the devil, while in later times this malady may be said to have had no existence in any part of the world ; perhaps the Lord may have sent it among the people of Capernaum, so as to aff )rd his beloved son an opportunity to display his great powere. 'Vhe malady, they say, prin- cipally consisted in the patient making hideous faces and gesticulations as the' devil is supposed to da. Jesus only said the words - go out devil " and the patient at once became himself again. We regret that such cases never came under our observation as to be able to appreciate the greatness of the miracle.— All these performances according to Matthew were in fulfilment of the words of Isaiah : " He himself took oar infirmities and bore our sicknesses " (Jes. LIII : 4).— Matthew seems to be under the impression that the benevolent Jesus took all the diseases upon himself; if be did, the diseases can not have been very serious, as it is evident from his whole history that Jesus was throughout in the enjoyment of pretty good health. Occasionally, it is true, he appears to be somewhat excited, and confused in his preachings, and this may have been in conse.iuence of the great many devils he took upon himself, for sudi companions , re- siding in the brains, must undoubtedly have caused considerable trouble there'in. We must, however, confess not to share the opinion of Matthew in this respect, for the prophecy of Isaiah above mentioned refers to something else, as we showed in our comment upon it.— When now Jesus saw the great mul. titudes about him, he gave order to depart to the other side (v. 18).— Jesus was accordingly followed by great multitudes ; the man that took diseases upon him, spoken of in Jes. LIU, was on the contrary shunned by men. A clear proof that Matthew was wrong to suppose that man to be Jesus.— And a certain Scribe then came, saying : " Master, I will follow thee whithersoever thou goest," but Jesus answered, " the foxes have holes and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head."— rhis shows undeniably how much Jesus sacrificed for the good of mankind, not having a place to lay his head ; fortunately that ' this Son of man ' was not as sick as Matthew imagined, for else that mode of life would not have agreed with him ; it may though be supposed that he octjasionally availed himself of the hospitality of others, and while in Capernaum, resided at the house of Peter.— Another disciple asked Jesus, to suffer him to bury his father, before following him, but Jesus answered : *' follow me and let the dead bury their dead " (v. 22).— How kindly thought Jesus of his fellow-men ; after saying in the former Chapter: « whatsoever ye will that men shall do to you do ye even so to them ;" and now, would the father of the disciple have wished his SOD to deny him a burial ? And how disrespectful spoke Jesus to this disciple of his dead father ; was it in obedience of the command of Moses ; *' honor thy father and thy mother ?" There is indeed not much of the so exalted christian loveli_ ness in those words of Jesus ! Fortunately however for Christianity, that the Chris, tians .never considered them in the light of a command, for had they paid obedience to them and let the dead bury the dead, it would have been preferable not to reside amongst them. We next find Tosus in a sliin at sea, and a great storm arose while he was 8le<:Ding, and the disciples awoke him. saying: "Lord save us, we SAINT MATTHEW. 213 perish ■" Jesus then getting up rebuked the wind and the waves, and there was a great calm. — This was, to be sure, a very miraculouiS performance, the more so, as wind depends upon many causes, originating often in distant and different parts of the globe, and it would be deemed impossible to control the wind with- out removing them ; it was therefore very clever in Jesus that he knew at once whence that wind proceeded, and could bring his wondrous powers to bear as quick upon those diverge causes. It \i also wonderful that the sea calmed down at once, for usually after the storm subsides, it will take several hours, say a whole day, for the waves to settle. But the power of Jcbus appears to hav« been such as fully to annihilate all the laws of nature ; he truly inspires awe, the more, as it is doubtful whether Providence itself has the power to do as much. We also greatly regret that we cannot fully participate in the admiration of this miracle, which non-admiration has its source in the disenchanting idea that sug- gested itself to us, that not Jesus, but Matthew himself must have been sleeping during the storm, and that this pious man must have dreamt the story, which he now relates for general edification. — When Jesus arrived on the other side of the watei's, he saw two men, coming out of the tombs, who were possessed of thedevii, and they said : " Jesus, thou Son of God, art thou come hither to torment us belbre the time?" aini the devils besought him, saying : ^* If thou cast us out, suffer us to go away into the herd of swine." That herd was near by ; Jesus now said to them ; " Go,'' and tlte devils came out and went into the herd of swine ; and behold, the whole herd of swine ran violently down a steep place into the sea, and perished in the waters (v. 32) . — This story is wonderful, indeed, and of course, therefore, very edilying, and entertaining besides ; we hear of live people coming out of tombs, devils goijig into swine, and drowning tliemselves with all the swine together ; we do not hear of such things in the present time. And how remarkable that those persons possessed of the devil, when meeting Jesus, should know at once his name and title; the han J of the Lord was in it, no doubt ! A pity it is, nevertheless, that so many devilized of swine had to be drowned by the performance of this miracle, for they would have furnished food to many other poor devils (Samaritans ; as Jews eat no swine flesh) . Jesus could also have no right to dispose of them ; the more not, if he wished other people to do unto him as he did to them ; we trust, however, that Jesus could not help that those swine ran into the water, and firmly believe they were scared into it by seeing the ter- rible gesticulations and hearing the fearful bowlings of those two devil-possessed men of tlie tombs. Chapter IX. — Jesus went again into the ship and returned to his city, and they brought to him a man sick of the palsy, lying on a bed, Jesus seeing their faith, said : " Son, be of good cheer, thy sins be forgiven thee ;" and certain Scribes said within themselves : " this man blasphemeth ;" wliereupon Jesus asked them : " wherefore think ye evil in your hearts ? which is easier to say, tliy sins be forgiven tliee, or arise and walk ;" and m order to prove them his powei*. Jesus ordered the man with the palsy to arise, to take up his bed and to li I 214 THE BIBLE EXPOSED. I go home; which he instantly did. — This certainly was a most miracaloas per- formance ; no proof, however, is furnished that the sick man was unable to walk before the performance, bat as it is related by Matthew, and as Matthew is called by the Christians Saint Matthew, it must be believed without further information. The question of Jesus what was easier, to forgive the sins, or to say to the man 'arise,' shows that in his opinion the former was the easiest. As a cure, however, may be tHX»ught on by medical means, while the forgiveness of sins can only depend on God, we are led to suppose that Jesus was mistaken. It is easy enough, to be sure, to say : " thy sins be forgiven thee," but to do it, is a much more diflBcult task ; much more 80 than even the removal of palsy. The question of Jesus, therefore, betrayed rather a human, than a divine understanding in this mater. — Matthew further informs us, that as Jesus sat at table, in his house, with publicans and sinners (in the original version there is said, harlots), the Pharisees made the remark of its being improper to be in such society, but Jesns answered, that they that are whole need no physician, but they that are,sick. — Jesus accordingly seems to have thought that by eating with bad people he might convert them ; it is true that most of his preachings, as the giving of the coat and cloak, and the lending of money, must extremely have pleased those folks ; it remains in doubt, however, if on that score they allowed themselves to be converted to the be- lief that he was the Son of God or of the Holy Ghost. Yet, there must have been in those days a great many people more who were unbelievers in his high descent, and it would, therefore, have been much more proper in Jesus if he had kept in more respectable society, commencing with converting them. Matthew may have been an agreeable host, and the publicans jolly fellows, and the female sin- ners pleasant acquaintances, still, it was not proper in the Son of God, it he would lecture to other pec pie on morality, to keep in such society. II the Pharisees questioned its propriety, cannot be blamed in them. The disciples of John eame once upon a day to Jesus, asking : " why do we and the Pharisees fast oft, and thy disciples fast not ;" but Jesus answered : * Cau the children of the bride-chamber mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them ?" — This sounds much like an evasion, by answering with a question with- out stating a reason. The disciples of John might also have remarked to Jesus, that he did not follow the laws of Moses, by not fasting, and therefore was guilty of falsehood in his preaching (of Matthew V : 17), where he said he was not come to destroy the law. If Jesus had simply stated that he prtferred feasting in jolly company to fasting, he would have spoken intelligibly ; his an- swer, nevertheless, shows that lie was smart in repartee. — After this evasive an- swer, Jesus at once proceeds to state, that a patch oi new cloth should not be put on an old garment, and that new wine should not be put in old bottles. — These may be interesting pieces of information, though they do not answer the question of the disciples of John. It may be asserted that Jesus intended to convey the meaning, that he did not wish to add to the religion as established by SAINT MATTHEW. 215 Moses, preferring to get up an entirely new religion ; if this were his intention, he gave proof of weakness of mind by not stating now and before, in a manly, straightforward manner, that he intended to abolish fasting altogether. — While Jesus was speaking, a certain ruler came to him, saying, that his daughter was dead, and if Jesus would only come, he felt sure that life would soon be restored to her. Jesus then arose and followed him, and so did his disciples, and behold, a woman which was diseased with an issue of blood, already of twelve years' standing, came behind him and touched the hem of his garment ; that very mo- ment she was cured at once. — With what wonderful power of healing was Jesus endowed' One had but to touch him, and like with a charged electrical ma- chine, a strong dose of the invisible fluid was immediately administered. It is to be regretted that he no longer sojourns on earth, what services could he have rendered to the human family in his perambulations ; there would be no need of physicians and their medicines ; only we would request him then, not to take notice of his having been touched, for it would be inconvenient for many pa- tients, especially for bashful ladies, if suffering of some complaints, to explain al- ways their diseases in public. It was very fortunate for the good old woman she was so easily cured ; but how Matthew found it out is not told, neither is stated if the speedy cure was immediately perceptible to the people who were present ; we have thus no proof that the cure actually took place. — " And when Jesus came into the ruler's house, and saw the minstrels and people making a noise, he said : " give place, for the maid is not dead but sleepeth," and they laughed him to scorn ; but when the people weie put forth, lie went in and took her by the hand, and the maid arose.— This performance is striking, and shows that Jesus was a most able performer of miracles. Elijah, it is true, also restored a child to life, but he wanted to give himself a great deal of trouble with gesturing, and this was not required with Jesus. As we observed already, wheu treat- ing on Elijah, it is not difficult for any one who understands mesmerizing to brin"- a child, or one of weaker constitution than one's self, into a mesmeric state of unconsciousness. The patient is then often as dead to all appearances, and 6uch as are ignorant of the cause might easily believe it the body of a person just dead, and still, he who mesmerized, has only to make the required manual operation, and the patient will be restored to consciousness in but a moment. Even at the present time it would be practicable to pass for a prophet, in some remote district, when performing the said trick while preaching religion, and what guarantee have we that Jesus did not act on the same principle ? The answer may be, that mesmerism was unknown in the time of Jesus ; this is an error, however, as ancient history conclusively shows that the Greek and Fgvptian priests were aware of the existence of it, and that in all probability they were even much further advanced in it than the present generation is. Jesus may by some means, or accidentally, have learnt the secret, and even on account of it have conceived the idea of starting as a prophet ; a fisherman, turning field-preacher and miracle-performer, must have been encouraged to do 60 by somethin^r, and who knows if not his new acquirements may have sug- I ^1 f- 216 TflK BIBLE EXPOSED. I gested the idea to him. We hope Jesus spoke the truth when he said : " the maid only sleepeth," for a son of God will tell no lies. But why did he say it while it was not required to say so ? Jesus must have understood that those of the bystanders who did not believe in the miracle could have nothing to remark now, while those who did believe, would do so nevertheless, and perhaps even more, by attributing his words to humility. "We, though, do not think that the all- powerrul Son of God had occasion to have so much humility that it would be necessary for him to resort to falsehood ; we also believe therefore Jesus spoke the truth in aflfirming that the maid was not dead.— Jesus performed more miracles on that same day ; he healed a blind man in the street in the presence of a large multitude, ordering the blind man not to say a word about it ; the pious man how- ever, went from there and told everybody of his case ; he was thus as secret about it as Saint Matthew himself, who put it in his book that everybody should read it. — Jesus furthermore healed dumb men, who, by his command and without the slight- est surgical operation, recovered their speech immediately. It is true that we have not the alightest proofs that these people were actually dumb and blind ; lor these eyils are easily counterfeited ; but we nevertheless admire the piety of those men, who, by allowing themselves to be healed in public, in the presence of large multi- tudes, and by returning thanks clamorously, huve so greatly contributed to ocnfirm the soul-saving faith in the Lord Jesus, the fisherman of the lake of Gienesareth, the son of God, the prophet of the kingdom of heaven on earth, and the healer of sickness and diseases among the rabble of Galilee. Chapter X.— Jesus called his twelve disciples together, and gave them power to cast out unclean spirits, and to heal all sorts of sickness and disease. — It was indeed very kind in Jesus not to keep his rare talents all to himself, but to comnmnicate them to others ; the world would thus at once be benefitted by having physicians who would heal all sickness and diseases without loss of time and without medicine ; unfortunately, though, the disciples were not so kind ns he, and appear to have come to an understanding to keep the secret, and not even to impart it to their children ; for since the death of those disciples this precious art seems to have gone in the grave with them, as we never hear of real miraculous curse ever since. — Matthew gives us furthermore the names of the twelve disciples. We notice among them the name of Judas Iscariot ; this was the one who afterwards betrayed Jesus, which would not tend to prove that the wonderful secret art in which he was now instructed by his master, ha? made much impres- sion upon him, or has inspired him with profound respect for the Son of God. — The twelve disciples possessing the requisite knowledge, were sent forth to preach that the kingdom of heaven was at hand; they were not to go among the Gentiles, however. — It is evident that in the commencement Jesus had no idea to have his doctrines preached, except among the Jews. — 'J'he preaching among the Gentiles was first resorted to at a later period (probably after making a successful experiment), wherefore the assertion of the Christians that Jesus came into the world for the benefit of all the nations, provided tliey do believe in SAINT MATTHEW. 2n him, is not confirmed, for in that case he would have ordered, from the commence- ment, that his kingdom was to be announced to all nations. — The disciples were to take no gold, silver, nor brass with them. And when they came into a city or town, they were to inquire who in it was worthy, and there they should abide until they went away (that is, abide as long as they pleased), and if they were not well received, they should go, shaking the dust oft" their feet at the door ; and such city would fare harder in the day of judgment than even Sodom or Gomor- rha. — This was a striking proof of the forgiveness in the meek Lord Jesus. And that, after teaching to treat another as one would wish to be treated by him, and after teaching that the meek and the peacemakers were blessed ; here now is to be seen how the teaching was to be put in practice, lliey were to live on the expenses of others, and if Ihey were refused entrance in a house, or a city, (which could happen occasionally) for not everybody could be willing to take in uninvited and unknown guests, without money or baggage), then such house or city would meet with harder fate than even Sodom and Gomorrha. AVho will not acknowledge that this was acting eminently fair ? fortunatelv, though, for the cities and families who declined the visits of the disciples, wonder-porformers, that they never experienced anything like the fate of Sodom and Gomorrha.— Matthew further informs us that Jesus warned his disci- ples again.st men who would scourge them in the synagogues and deliver them up to governors and kings ; yet, they would speak without difficulty, for the Spirit of their Father would be with them.— One will perhaps be astonished that Jesus knew beforehand that some of his disciples should be scourged ; stiil a great stretch of sagacity was not required to foresee that some would get into trouble ; for several of them, as we shall see hereafter, were people without knowledge of the world and excited enthusiasts, who, without considerhig time or place, would announce the coming of a new king. Those in authority could then scarcely do otherwise than to have them apprehended as disturbers of the peace, and punished accordingly. The Son of God did, in this way, send his simpletons of disciples, wilfully, in all sorts of risks and dangers ; his ob- ject, which originally was to be a great prophet, seems to have been modi- fied by his ambition to make himself king of the Jews (that is, king of a heavanly kingdom in Jerusalem), and this was a much more dangerous enterprise. ... As for the facility of speaking in the spirit of the Eather, no proofs are furnished the disciples ever did it ; yet that they may have spoken the dullest thiugs in full confidence and emphasis, is very possible, because fanaticism is a powerful agent in fostering self-confidence and vaingloriousness. (In our opinion, most of the disciples were fanatics, honestly believing that tho heavenly kingdom on earth, foretold by the prophets, was near; while a few in the confidence of Jesus, must have known what sort of a kingdom he was trying to establish. This opinion is founded on a general review of the New-Tes- tament).— As for the consequences of what Jesus was about to do, we read : " And the brother shall deliver up the brother to death, and the father the child, and tlie children shall ri:-e up against their parents, and cause them to be put to "tl. 218 THE BIBLE EXPOSED. or O death" (v. 21).— We may be truly thankful that the heavenly kingdom on earth never succeeded in ^xir verting human nature to the degree as Jesus thought it would, would ; it is true there are many horrible instances of what fanaticism has led to, but the family ties were fortunately never so outraged as the father deliverin up his child, or the child his parents to death for the sake of Jesus ; he was there- fore mistaken in his expectations. — Jesus further foretold his disciples that they would not have gone through the cities of Israel orthe Son of Man would have come to his kingdom (v. 23). — He sent out, as we saw, twelve disciples, who are supposed to have been rather active in preaching the new kingdom ; and the cities in Israel were few in number, consequently, they must have visited them all, or nearly all, and yet the Son of Man did not come on David's throne. I'hus the Son of Man spoke a falsehood ; and seeing that such is not fair in a Son of God, it may be he called himself therefore a Son of Man. — After this un- true prophecy, Jesus indulges in a fit of eloquence, touching the relation of master and servant, contending that it was enough for the servant to be like his master ; and if the master of the house (Jesus) was called Beelzebub, the dis- ciples should be satisfied to be called the same, or worse (v. 25).— This was in explanation of the degree of equality his disciples should attain; yet, to be also Sons of God or Messiahs, >va3 of course out of the question. Jesus then exhorts his disciples to entertain no fear of those that kill the body, and are unable to kill the soul, but to fear those who can destroy both body and soul to hell (v. 28). — The Son of Man appears to us to be labor- ing here under a slight mistake, for though we will not decide whether a soul can ie destroyed in hell, we may take it for granted that no human body will meet with destruction there, and that for the simple reason that matter does not leave the earth, and that hell is not to be found on this globe, at least not the hell-fire of Jesus. 'J'hat Jesus made this mistake maybe excused in him, since sons of men are fallible ; yet he may only have spoken to make a better impression upon his auditors, who may less have cared whether their soul should be burnt, provided the body was not !— Jesus further advises his audience to confess him before men ; for whosoever would deny him, he would be denied before the Father (v. 33).— We perceive by this that God the Father knows nothing about people, and applies to the Son for information before he disposes of a soul, by sending it either to heaven or to hell. The Sona ccordingly has much more power than the Father. It is to be re- gretted that such a powerful personage was so extremely vain as to require ex- pressly that he should be publicly confessed. It was not sufficient to be simply acknowledged ; no, the Lord Jesus required this confession to be public ; if the people might be punished for it by kings and governors, was of no ac- count, if only the world witnessed the large number of Jesus' followers. The larger the number of his followers, the easier would Jesus, the Messiah, succeed in making his triumphal entry into Jcsusalem,and succeed in becoming king of the Jews. —Then again contemplating the difficulties in store for him, Jesus went on to say : '• Think not that I am come to send peace on earth ; I came not to send peace, but the sword. For I am come to set a man at variance against SAINT MATTHEW. 219 his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law, (v. 34-35). And he that loveth father or mother more than me, is not worthy of me ; and he that loveth his son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me (v. 37). — The sweetness and meekness of the christian religion, of which the Christians boast so much, show to great advantage in tliese words. The Mosaical religion with all her partiality and mistaken sense of justice, at least taught " love thy neighbour (that is thy fellow-Israelite,) and honor thy father and thy mother ;" but the meek Jesus did not think this necessary ; love for him should take precedence over all other affections, no sacrifice should be too great, the voice of nature it'jelf should be stifled. What a splendid proof of the humility of the lord Jesus ; and how did he love humanity, and how blissfulwere his new doctrines ! Unbelievers may assert that such teachings are horrible, that even among the most barbarous nations no such notions were ever found, but such people are in error, of course, because they do not understand it. Such things should be read, with faith in the Lord, and it will then be conceived in what the soul-saving worship of the lord Jesus Christ consists. It consists m hating the world entirely, but to love Jesus, and that by confessing him publicly, and by being constantly in meekness, threatening every body with the day of judg- ment and hell-fire, without fear of those, who can only destroy the body, but are unable to destroy the soul ; and rather to take up the sword against parents and children, brothers and sisters, than to be wavering in the least in the faith of that sacred religion. How blissful the faith in Jesus! How happy and contented one must feel to follow those glorious precepts ! And you unbelievers ! confess yourselves to that faith, and you will enjoy what you never enjoyed before : You will revel in the blissful knowledge that the kingdom of Christ is opened unto you, while for all other beirgs the gates of hell are opened wide ! Oh ! Listen to these words ! so shall you, when grown a believer poor in spirit, inherit a crown of pure gold in the kingdom of heaven, more precious than all precious stones, and greater in value than all the ornaments of earthly vanity ! What follows in this Chapter contains some useful teachings remarkable for clearness, as : " He that findeth his life shall lose it ; and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it. (v. 39.) " He that receiveth a disciple receiveth me (Jesus,) and he that receiveth me (Jesus) receiveth him that sent me. (v. 40.) " He that receiveth a prophet in the name of a prophet, shall receive a pro- phet's reward &c. (v. 41.) " And whosoever shall give to drink unto one of the&e little ones, a cup of cold water only in the name of a disciple, verily I say unto you he shall in no wise lose his reward, (v. 42.) Chapter XL — When Jesus had made an end of ordering his twelve dis- ciples, he departed thence to teach and preach in the cities. John was still io prison, and when he heard of the works of Christ, he sent two of his disciples to 220 THE BIBLE EXPOSED. ask « Art thou he that should come, or do we look fop another?"— By what au- thority Matthew calls Jesus by the name of ' Christ ' is not explained ; it has never- theless been used ever since.— Jesus answered the disciples of John : " Go and show John again those things which ye do hear and see. The blind receive their sight, the lame walk ; the lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear ; the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached to them."— This answer was brief and solid, though not exactly could it serve to prove that not another Christ, would make his appearance, who might have performed still greater miracles. We may suspect therefore that the answer was less calculated to conviuce the disciples of John, than to let John know, what the nature of the miracles, and of the preached gospel was. From this, John should easily perceive that the noto- rious prophet was no one else than his cousin and friend Jesus of Nazareth, with whose project to erect a priestly kingdom, he, without doubt, was acquainted. As John was in prison, and the land of the Jews always full of prophets, his in- quiry was, of course, in order to ascertain, through his disciples, if the notorious prophet was his friend or some one else.— AVhen those disciples had left, the elo- quent Jesus addressed the multitudes as follows : " What went ye out into the wilderness to see? a reed shaken by the wind? But what went ye out for to see ? a man clothed in soft raiment ? Behold, they that wear soft clothing are in king's houses. But what went ye out for to see? a prophet? Yea, I say unto you, and more than a prophet : For this is he, of whom it is written : Be- hold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee. Verily i say unto you, Among them that are born of women there hath not risen a greater than John the Baptist ; notwithstanding he that is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he " (v. 7-11).— It is evident from this address again, that, though Jesus may have been a talented preacher for the poor people of the streets, he constantly contradicted himself; for instance, while stating that John the Baptist is more than a prophet, yea a messenger of the Lord, who came to prepare the way for the Lord, .ind that of all men born of women John the Baptist is the greatest, (consequently even greater than Jesus himself, the son of Mary) he afterwards says that he that is least in the kingdom of heaven, is greater than John. Verily, it is scarcely possible to put more nonsense in as few words, but, considering that is the son of God who spoke, it may be thought as overflowing with wisdom. It has, for the rest, never appeared that John prepared any way ; for scarcely had he commenced to act as prophet when Herod had him locked up. His being locked up, may perhaps have been the reason why Jesus was of opinion that he that should be tl-e least in the king- dom of heaven would be more than John, for he understood no doubt, that as soon as Herod heard of the mob proclaiming a heavenly kingdom on earth, he might have John beheaded at once, as one of the conspirators, so that John would at the end be less than the least in that new kingdom.— Jesus goes on to say : " And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven sufFer- eth violence, and the violent take it by force" (v. 12). — According to this the violent would be more powerful than the God of heaven. The violent dmg SAINT MATTHEW 221 ated by Jesus were probably Herod and his men, who, by having John locked up had prevented the rabble from proclaiming the kingdom of heaven.—'* And if ye will receive it, Jesus says, this is Elias which was to come " (v. 14) .—This refers to the prophecy of Malachi IV: 5 ; but we perceive there that Elijah was to come a short time before the day of wrath of the Lord; the day burning as an oven, when Jehovah would come down himself from heaven to treat the wicked by fire ; but, since this remarkable day never came, the pi ophecy of Elijah could not ap- ply to John by any means ; and to pretend such would be a too plain deception. — Jesus further states in his address that it was said of John, 'he hath the devil,' and of himself was said, he was gluttonous and a wine-bibber, a friend of publicans and sinners, (v. 19).— The cause of this calumnies was, no doubt, with John on account of his eccentricities, which must have appeared to many like the acts of one possessed of the devil. And with Jesus, on account of his frequenting com- pany of sinners ; if he had kept himself throughout in respectable society, he would have avoided the reproach that he was a wine-bibber, &c. Jesus was however in some sense a friend of publicans, for Matthew himself was one and Jesus attended his dinner parties (vide Chapter IX : 9, 1 0.) Publicans were held by the Jews in as much contempt as thieves and pick-pockets ; they were receivers or collectors of taxes, but invariably managed to have a percentage come into their own pockets. And for sinners, may be found in the original version female- sinners or prostitutes ; the translators of the Bible have however thought proper to slightly modify this expression. It would also be too bad to say of saint Jesus that he was a friend of prostitutes; it is true that Mary Magda- len, who accompanied him every-where, had bee.i one, but of her it is said that slie was converted, and this accusation concerning Jesus can therefore have no foundation. Jesus then visited the cities where he had been before, and commenced to cry woe over them, and ill-fated prophecies; somewhat in the man- ner as Jeremiah and other woe-prophetisers had done before him, " Woe un- to thee Chorazim ! Woe unto thee Bethsaida, for if the mighty works which were done in you had been done in Tyre and 6 id on, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. But 1 say unto you : it shall be more tolerable for Ty^^ ^"^ ^'^^^" ^" ^^^^ ^^y of judgment than for you." — It was very fortunate for Chorazim and Bethsaida that that terrible day of judgm^mt has never come, and that they have been allowed to fall into decay in the most natural way. It was nevertheless not very charitable in Jesus to foster revenge against those cities ; for, in the .first place, their principal sin, (that they would not believe in his mi- racles, was probably because they had seen similar performances by other pro- phets.) and on that account had lost their faith in them; and in the second place, the day of judgment burning the inhabitants with fire, would have punished many innocent child not responsible for the unbelief of its parents. — Jesus con- tinues : " And thou Capernaum which art exalted unto heaven, shall be brought down to hell, for if the mighty works that have been done in thee had been done iu Sodom, it would have remained until this day. But I say unto thee, It i 222 THE BIBLE EXPOSED. SAINT MATTHEW. 223 shall be more tolerable in the day of judgment for Sodom than for thee." (v. ?3 and 24) . — The sense of justice of Jesus was admirable ; he was indeed a worthy son of his sire. Because the inhabitants of Capernaum had not believed in his miracle.performings, and paid no attention to his eccentric street-preaching, they would be punished more severely than a people, that according to the story had been guilty of the grossest and most detestable of crimes. It needs no comment that this judgment is as absurd as any which preceded ; also it is not surprising, it those who heard him talk in this manner believed him to be a wine-bibber. — After thus venting his indignation he thanked the Father, because he had hid those things from the wise and prudent, and had revealed them unto babes.— The babes were those people that followed Jesus, and as he constantly preached in the streets and in favor of the poor, it may be presumed that not tiie choicest portion of the nation followed him, but principally beggars and vagabonds ; they then were the babes, alluded to by Jesus, who had the good fortune to have those things revealed to them (but what things it were Matthew forgets to mention). — He further informs his auoience that all things were delivered to him by -the Father ; no man knew the Son but the Father ; neither knew any man the Father, save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son would reveal him. — It was truly generous of the Father to deliver up all things to tlie Son ; the Son however little knew to take advantage of that great power, for he never succeed- ed in establishing his heavenly kingdom on earth, and even when he at last de- clared himself a king, he was crucified for causing sedition. And what regards Jesus' power of revealing the Father to whomsoever he chose, of this also he never gave proof, since even the most devout Christian never saw the Father ; who seems to prefer to conceal himself persistently. — Jesus concludes by Baying to the people : '* Take my yoke upon you and learn of me ; for I am meek and lowly." (v. 29).— Jesus just now asserted that the Father had delivered up all things to him, and that he alone knew the Father and the Father him, this was very likely ' lowly ;' and what preceded, that those who loved their fiither and mother more than him, were not worthy of him, this showed probably his meek- ness. And his woe-cryings and cursings of this chapter prove also his meek feel- ings ! — *' And ye shall find rest unto your souls," he says, ** for my yoke is easy and my burden is light" (v. 29--30).— He said ♦his probably to add strength to his doctrine of the preceding chapter : " I did not come to bring peace but the sword. I did come to set a man at variance with his father, and the daughter against her mother, and a man's foes shall be they of his own household." — The son of man shared indeed largely in the general weakness brought upon him by his half hu- man nature, namely of being vain and presujuptious, and seeing a mote in the eye of another, without noticing the beam in his own. OaAPTER XII. — At that time Jesus went on the Sabbath-day through the corn, and his disciples were hungered and began to pluck the ears of corn and to eat. But when the Pharisees saw it (it would appear as if the Pharisees fol- lowed him wherever he went), they said unto him : behold, thy disciples do that which is not lawful to do on the Sabbath-day ; but Jesus answered that David once ate the shew-bread, which was also not lawful, and that the priests profaned the Sabbath. — The great son of man must have been of the opinion that what is sin in one was an excuse for another, which was strong reasoning for so wise a person. — He then went into their synagogue, where he saw a man whose hand was withered ; the Pharisees asked him if it was lawful to heal on a Sabbath- day, he answered with a question : If a man had a sheep that fell in a pit on a Sabbath-day, if he would not lift it out ; and adding that a man was more than a sheep, he healed the hand. — Without pretending that sickness should not be attended to on a Sabbath as well as on any other day, we cannot admit the logic of his reasoning, as the cases are not parallel ; the sheep in the pit might get drowned or suffocated, but the man with the withered hand might easily have waited another day. Also, it is not likely that the Pharisees would have objected of saving a man out of a pit on a Sabbath-day, and it is only in that case that his remark, that a man was more than a sheep, would have been cor- rect. A withered hand is something that easily can be counterfeited by using chalk or lime, or some other whitening stuflF, and by keeping it motionless. The man with the withered hand may have been one of the publicans and sinners, with whom Jesus was on good terms, for other people knowing it to be unlaw- ful, would probably have hesitated to proffer a request of that sort on a Sab- day.— Then the Pharisees held a council against him, how they might destroy him.— The miracle, therefore, does not seem to have made a pious impression upon the bystanders, even the reverse took place, as the Pharisees seem to have only viewed it as a public desecration of established religious usage — But when Jesus knew it, he withdrew from thence, and great multitudes followed him, and he healed them all, charging them not to make him known.— There must accord- ingly have been multitudes requiring healing in those days, and it is as reasona- ble to presume that all these evils had been sent in Palestine for the express pur- pose of giving Jesus an opportunity to exhibit his wondrous powers of healing. The humility of Jesus in prohibiting the multitudes from making him known, was, according to Matthew, that the prophecy of Isaiah might be fulfilled : " Be- hold my servant, whom I have chosen, my beloved, in whom my soul is well pleased, etc. ; he shall not strive, nor cry ; neither shall any man hear his voice in the streets."— These words, somewhat altered by Matthew, are from Isaiah XLII; but how Matthew can have the sublime impudence to apply them to Jesus, who was constantly engaged in strife with the Pharisees, and in crying woe over many cities, and in preaching in the streets, is irreconcilable. —Jesus pro- ceeded with his miracles ; the Pharisees pretended that he was in league with Beelzebub, the prince of the dtvils, but Jesus said that in such case Beelzebub would act against himself; a devil would not cast out dc^vils ; and then he asked, but if I cast out devils by Beelzebub, by whom do your children cast them out (v. 27).— Tnis shows by Jesus' own admission that such miracles as he performed could be performed by Pharisee prophets too ; this art of casting out devils was I II 224 THE BIBLE EXPOSED. 11 I therefore not a superhuman one. as many, without this intimation, might fain be- lieve. — Jesus now thinking to have put down the Pharisees with his argu- ment about Beelzebub, drew from it the conclusion, that he cast out devils by the Spirit of God ; *' how," said he, '* could one come in a strong man's house, ex- cept he first bind the strong man?" Giving to understand by it that Beelze- bub was bound bv ,him. — It is true that neither Beelzebub, Satan, Belial or any other devil does make his appearance now-a-days, which might lead to the belief that Jesus had actually bound them ; but perceiving, on the other hand, that crime has not yet disappeared from this world, we may conclude that the same evil spirit of old times is still as active as ever, and that Jesus boasted of a heroism which never came to pass. — Jesus further gave it as his opinion, that he who was not with him was against him, and then spoke : " I say unto you all manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men ; but the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven unto men" (v. 31). — It would perhaps be difficult to understand how Jesus, speaking of himself, connected those words, on a sudden, with the punishment he pro- claims against those who could utter blashhemy against the Holy Ghost, but we ought to know that great respect for the Holy Ghost would of course imply great respect for him, the son of the Holy Ghost. It is true that his birth was illegitimate, but what did that matter, for no man, from fear of the great pun- ishment, would ever dare to assert that the Holy Ghost was guilty of fornication. . . . His declaration that all manner of sin shall be forgiven, was very merciful ; it is not clear, however, why the eternal fire of hell, often mentioned by him, would be kept burning ; we must suppose, therefore, that his declaration w: ', incorrect. — 'J'he meek Jesus continuing his speech (and, though according to Matthew he never was in strife, and his voice was never heard in the streets, in fulfilment of the prophecy), he addressed the Pharisees as follows : " 0. generation of vipers ! how can ye, being evil, speak good things, etc. But I say unto you, that every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment", — How terribly long must be that day of judgment of the Lord, for it will take some time to judge all the idle words spoken by men ; the judging alone of all the idle words spoken by Jesus (for he never wrote) would already take more than one very long day. — After assuring once more that by their words people shall be either justified or condemned, Jesus was addressed by cer- tain Scribes and Pharisees who asked of him to give them a sign. — As Jesus appeared to be of opinion that people shall be judged by their wor s alone (for of the exercise of their piety he makes here no mention;, his religion was eminently fit for hypocrites, and it is consequently not surprising that the Pharisees, in proof of what he advanced, should have required a sign , they being hypocrites themselves. — Jesus, however, declined this reasonable request, saying : " An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign, and there shall be no sign given it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas. For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale's belly, so shall the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth" (v. 40). — The great Son of the Holy Ghost #! SAINT MATTHEW. 225 (who out of lowliness styled himself the Son of Man), was slightly in error in re- spect of the sign, or rather he uttered a falsehood, for in the first place Jonas was not in the belly of a whale, the throat of a whale being too narrow to admit of swallowing a man ; and in the second place, Jesus himself was never three days and three nights in the heart of the earth ; he was. according to history, only one day and two nights in a new grave, in a rock above the ground. The quasi-poetical expression of heart of the earth is thus incorrect ; as an excuse, we may bring forth that Matthew, by way of embellishment, may occasionally have used poet's liberty. — Jesus thereupon informs his audience : that the men of Nit.e- veh shall rise in judgment with this gt neration, and shall condemn it, because they repented at the preaching ot Jonas, and behold, a greater than Jonas was here (v. 41) ; and the queen of the south, who paid a visit to Solomon, would also rise and condemn the then existing generation, for she listened to Solomon's wis- dom, and a greater than Solomon was there (42). — From this it would appear that that generation was not to be forgiven, but punished, which is in downright contra- diction with Jesus' statement in v. 31. In either case, it is certain that he spoke idle words, now or before. — While Jesus in this strain preached to the crowd, his mother and his brethren stood without, desiring to speak with him. Now, one of the audience mentioned this to him. but Jesus answered : " Who is my mother, and who are my brethren ?" And he stretched forth his hand toward his disciples, and said : " Behold my mother and my brethren ; for whosoever shall do the will of my Father, which in is heaven, the same is my brother, and sister, and. mother" (v. 49-50). — Thus closed the sermon ; the answer of Jesus, that those who obeyed the Father were his blood-relations, was, however, shear non- sense, and leads one to suspect that he did not wish to recognize his mother and brothers. It could also not be gratifying to a son of God to own relationship to people of the lower class ; besides, it was interfering with Jesus' pretension in Matthew XI : 11, that he was not born of a woman ; and then, to be addressed as a son by an ordinary woman, in the presence of multitudes, how unillustrious was that. t. Chapter XIII. — The same day Jesus went out of the house, and sat by the sea-side, and great multitudes were gathered unto him, so that he went into a ship and sat ; and the whole multitude stood on the shore. And he spoke many things unto them in parables, about seed that fell on good ground and seed that fell on stony places ; the seed on good ground brought forth fruit, but the seed on stony ground did not. — 'Hiis well-known parable is generally greatly admired, and said to signify that even as with that seed, so too with the doctrine of Jesus, it would be accepted by some, while by others it would not ; but .as it teaches noth- ing more, it is, in our opinion, rather a useless parable. — The disciples apparently did not understand its utility, for they asked why Jesus spoke in parables. Jesus then answered : *' because it is given to you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given."— This evidently shows that the 226 THE BIBLE EXPOSED. Lord Jesus only told this story to engage the attention of the crowd, without intention to teach it for their benefit. So nurserv-stories are toid to children to keep thera quiet ; this same mode of action was of course worthy of the Son of God ! for was not his superiority over the people, like the superiority of a nurse over a child ? It might, however, have been expected from a son of God, that he would have taught to better purpose. And as for the mysteries of the heavenly kingdom, which Jesus intended to communicate to his disciples, it is to be regretted thai the disciples never spoke of those ; they remained mysteries for succeeding generations, as much as for the people in the time of Jesus. The disciples of Jesus, thus, kept the people as much in ignorance as he did himself ; probably because -this is one of the standing principles of this enlightened religion — In explanation of the foregoing, Jesus added : " For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance ; but whosoever hath not^ from him shall be taken away even that he hath" (v. 12).— This explanation is perhaps much to the purpose, though it is not clear ; but as Jesus intended to keep his knowledge in mystery, so the less clear it was the better. The principles of justice he taught, of giving all to some, and taking everything away from those who had but little, must be imagined to be full of mysterious divine impt^rtiality ! Jesus spoke yet some more parables, in order, he said, that the prophecy of Isaiah should be fulfilled^ which saith : '• By hearing, ye shall hear and shall not un- derstand,'' etc. (v. 13).— Consequently, the more unintelligible his reasoning, the better would the prophecy be fulfiliied. — One of his parables was, that the king- dom of heaven was like a man, who sowed good seed, but his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat.— We would have thought that the king-dom of heaven need not fear the inroads of an enemv, as the Lord of hosts, with his powerful forces, could easily protect it, and also that the kingdom of heaven could not appropriately be likened to a man ; this comparison would even seem incongruous, but as it is not probable that a son of the Most High should talk nonsense, we have to take it for granted that his words are replete with wisdom. It may, nevertheless, be noticed, that Jesus was deficient in consistency, for in the first part of this tale it is the man who sows, and in the latter part the field on which he sows that is likened to the kingdom of heaven ; which renders the comparison somewhat confused. — We are further informed that the kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hid in a field, which a man finds and hideth, and sells all he has to buy the field. It is also like a merchant in search of goodly pearls. And then again it is like a net that is cast into the sea. — We learn in this way that the kingdom of heaven is like to many things. Of what use such compari- sons, however, are, and what useful teaching they impart, is difficult to under- stand ; one might hear hundreds of such parables, with no other conclusion to^ arrive at than to have been bored a good deal. — It is to be hoped, though, that the multitudes were edified by it ; Jesus, also, to make sure of it, asked thera : " Have ye understood all these things ?" and they said : " Yes, Lord." Where- upon Jesus said : *' Therefore every Scribe which is instructed unto the kingdom of heaven, is like unto a man that is an householder, which bringeth forth of his SAINT Matthew. 227 treasure things new and old.- With this observation Jesus concluded his very instructive parables, leaving to the multitudes plenty to do to decipher thera, and to find the moral if they could—And Jesus departed from there, and went up to his own country, where he taught in the synagogue. And the people were astonished, saying : « Is not this the carpenter's son ? is not his mother called Mary? and his brethren James and Joses and Simon and Judas?. . .Whence has this man all these things ?" and they were offended in him —From this it is evi- dent that xMatthew was sure, that the place of residence of Joseph and Mary was also the country of Jesus, as he distinctly states, that he went up to his own country ; that place was Nazareth in Galilee ; his previous assertion that Beth- lehem was to be the country of the Messiah, in allusion to Jesus, seems therefore not to have been believed by himself. It would further appear that Jesus was con- sidered to be the son of Joseph the carpenter, and to have been, when a child like other children ; if the inhabitants of Nazareth ever could have had the slightest proof of his divine descent, their question " whence has this man all these thino-s?" would never have suggested itself to them.-Jesus did not manv mighty works there, because of their unbelief, saying : " a prophet is not without honor save m his own country and in his own house."-This saying of Jesus fully shows, that Galilee was his own country, even by his own admission, and yet it shows that he was not honored in his own house, which conclusively proves, that the mem- bers of his household did not at all consider him as the'^Son of God, for if they had, they would have shown him some consideration on that account. The re- mail', that a prophet is without honor in his own countrv, may have been correct- the reason in all probability was that prophets in childhood gave no indication of having been selected as such by the Lord, and when they made the assertion afterwards, it could necessarily not be considered otherwise than as wilful decep- tion on their part. The lord Jesus, like all other prophets, must have acquired the gilt of prophecy, and of performing miracles at a later period of his ex- istence. Chapter XIY.— At that time Herod the Tetrarch of Galilee heard of the fame of Jesus. Herod had caused John the baptist to be beheaded, and he then believed, that John had risen from the dead. Jesus on hearing of the beheading of John, departed thence by a ship to a desert place apart, and when the peo- ple had heard thereof, they followed him on foot out of the cities.~It is evident from this, tliat the lord Jesus dreaded to be beheaded, notwithstanding his com- mandments to his disciples not to fear those who only kill the body, b°ut are un- able to kill the soul ; and notwithstanding the assertion of the Christians, that Jesus would willingly sacrifice his body for the benefit of mankind. (That the multitudes followed him even to the desert place, can, moreover, not be used in evidence that Isaiah LlII : 3, referred to Jesus.)-And when it was evening the disciples mentioned to him, that he had better send the multitudes away to' buy victuals for themselves, but Jesus said " Give ye them to eat ;"» the disci- pies informedthera that they had but five loaves and two fishes ; this was brouo-ht 228 THE BIBLE EXPOSED. SAINT MATTHEW. 229 to Jesus by his order, who served it out so well, that all were filled ; the multi tude consisting of five thousand men, besides a large number of women and children ; and the fragments of this feast being collected, there were yet left twelve baskets full. —This, undeniably, was a most remarkable process of serving out provisions, and it^ is much to be regretted, that Jesus did not impart this wonderful science to some' of his followers ; of all sciences it would have been the most valuable one But considering that loaves and fishes, can not come forth from nothing, as all those wh'^ prayed for daily bread will testify to be an useless expectation, so it must be supposed, that Jesus had a large provision of bread in his ship. He was running away from Herod, and may have had the intention to remain for some time on the lake of Galilee, and may therefore liave laid in an ample supply of bread ; the fair opportunity to perform a miracle may however have tempted him to sacrifice, to that purpose, his entire su{)ply of provisions. That the mirach; was an eminently successful one, is evident from the good belief and great veneration it met with from so many generations. It may be said that it is not probable, that the supply he had, was sufiicient to feed so many thousands: but it sliould not be forgotten, that Matthew, the sole authority for the large number given, was not over nice, (as his reference to prophecies shows,) to state a little false- hood, occasionally, in suppcrt of the doctrine he promulgated : the number there- fore may be supposed to be slightly exaggerated ; this may be suspected the more readily, as it is not likely, that Matthew put himself to the trouble of counting the multitudes, and not certain even, that he was personally present at the least at all. Or, ils those were the times for miracles, it may. that Matthew used miraculous spectacles through which he could see things magnified if the occasion required it.— After this miracle Jesus straight-way constrained his disciples to get into the ship and to go before him unto the other side, while he sent tlie multitudes away. And wlien he had sent the multitudes away, he went up into a mountain apart to pray, and when the evening was come he was there alo.ne.— This shows us the piety of the lord Jesus ; we do not perceive how- ever, as Jesus according to his previous statement was equally powerful and even in some respects more so than God the Father, that prayer could be of any use to him, and therefore we think it more natural to susptct, that instead of prayer, he attended a meeting of some infiuential or confidential friends, to deliberate upon tlie means of escape from Herod, and upon the prospects of the heavenly king- dom on earth.— 'I'he ship in which the disciples were had not made much way, for the wind was contrary ; and in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went unto them walkino: on the sea ; the disciples seeing him coming thought it was a ghost.— Tills fact sounds miraculous, it may though be borne in mind, that the sea herein mentioned was only the m^ignifieant lake of Gennesareth, also called the sea of Galilee. Tliis lake no doubt, like many small lakes was shallow at some places, and those must have been well known to Jesus, who according to Mat- thew's reports was constantly on that lake. And besides, as most of the disciples were fishermen, it is likely that the original occupation of Jesus was also that of fisher- man, so that'it will have cost him little hesitation to wade through the shallow- ness, as fishermen often do, and as the amateurs of sea- bathing do still oftener. If some of the disciples mistook him for a ghost, such would only prove that some of them were no sailors, and knew not that there was shallowness — Peter wanted to try if he could also walk on the water, but he commenced to sink, and getting scared, he cried out "Lord save me," but Jesus cau<^ht him, savinjr '■ " thnu of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt." — Peter was a professional fisherman, and may accordingly have walked through that same water before ; his intention may have been to meet Jesn» on his way to learn from him the result of the meeting; a wave may liave upset him for a moment, and hence the cry for help. — It then became calm and they arrived at Gennesareth. All the sick came to Jesus and those who touched the h(;m of his garment were healed. — It was very fortunate that there were continually so many sick in the holy land, so that Jesus should have full opportunity to show ofT his wondrous powers of healing ; it is not men- tioned that all the sick were healed, but only those who touched the hem of his garment. Jesus must have known by whom the hem of his garment was touched ; of course those who could not get near him remained unhealed. CiiAPTKR XV. — Then came to Jesus, Scribes and Pharisees of Jerusalem, saying : " Why do thy disciples transgress tlie tradition of the elders, for they wash not their hands when they eat food." Jesus gave no direct answer, but as was his usual manner, replied with a question, and with a series of scoldirjgs and abusive names, after which he declared, that not what goes into the mouth, but that what comes out of the mouth, delileth a man. — According to this doctrine a ""lutton and a wine-bibber conunit no sin through intemperance, and it is not surprising therefore, thiit the Pharisees once asserted that Jesus was a friend of such people. Jesus might furthermore have remembered that abusive words coming out of the mouth of a son of God was quite improper, yea defiling for such a one, as such a saint personage ought never to have called names, but always to have used per- suasion in a spirit of forbearance and gentleness. Jesus ought, especially this time, not to have been so hard with the Pharisees, for their remark had some foundation, as Jesus had once positively stated, that he did not come to violate the Jewish laws; wherefor he should have conformed himself to it. The half human nature of Je- sus got though the Viest of him ; for though he allowed himself the coarsest re- marks towards the Pliarisees, he could not suffer them to offer their remarks to him ; his obtuseness was of course of human origin. — The disciples mentioned to him that the Pharisees were offended at his remarks, Jesus then replied : "all plants not planted by my heavenly Father shall be rooted up ; let them alone ; they are blind leaders of the blind, and if the blind lead the blind, they shall both fall into the ditch."" — This answer was rather cutting ; but, were not all men of the same origin ?" and were not the Pharisees put on the world by the same Father who put Jesus there? He required moreover his disciples and followers to obey him blindly ; he was therefore as much a leader of the blind as the Pharisee priests. — Jesus now explained his disciples that whatsoever en- tereth ia at the mouth goeth into the belly and is cast out into the 230 THE FTBLE EXPOSED. SAINT MATTHEW 231 draught ; bat those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart, and they defile the man, for out oi' the heart proceed evil thoughts, murder, adultery, etc. (v. 17, 18)— It is discovered that evil thouglits originate in the brain, and not in the heart ; but the Son of the Creator, did not seem to know much about ihe functions of our organs, and not to have studied physiologv and anatomy. Besides this Jesus forgot to observe that good words sometimes procef.'d out of the mouth, while mnnler and other evil deeds do never proceed out of the mouth. —In one of his perambulations with his disciples, Jesus was accosted by a wo- man of Canaan imploring him to have mercy on her, as her daughter was grievously vexed with a devil. Jesus paid not the slightest attention to the wo- man, until his disciples besought him to send her away, as she cried after them. He then said to hpr : "I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel ;" but she came and worshipped him ; he remained unmoved, however, say- ing : " It is not meet to take the children's bread and cast it to dogs," but the woman replied : " the dogs eat the crumbs which fall from the master's table." Struck with that answer, Jesus said : " O, woman, great is thy faith, be it unto thee even as thou wilst ;" and from that very hour her daughter was made whole. —No o-uarantee of any kind is furnished of this wonderful cure, as nolx)dy saw it; it is therefore not imi)ossible that the wonvin's desire was not accomplislied. Those who were possessed of the devil, ami desired to be cured, as we saw, came to Jesus ; the devil was then ordered to clear out ; but in this case the possessed one was absent, and the dovil who was within the daughter, could not have heard Jesus order his removal. The manner in which Jesus first tried to get rid of the woman, shows that he only was sent to the lost sheep of the house of Israel, while all people not Ismelites were to be compared to dogs ; and further we dis- cover that he knew how to repulse tliose whom he did not wish to heal, namely, by harsh and unfeeling words.— Jesus then returned to the lake of Galilee, and he sat on a mountain, and the nmltitudes gathered round him, bringing to him, lame, blind, and dumb people, and they were all healed.— It appears again that the country around Galilee was inexhaustibly productive of infirm people ; it is to ha regretted that the loni Jesus understoo5^ century since the warning and he came not. Whole Christendom though, is still looking for the coming of Jesus ; therefore the Christians, because they believe this beautiful promise, call themselves enlightened, in opposition of those nations who do not believe in these splendid words which never were ful- filled. How wonderful is cot the faith of that pious part of human kind. CaAPTER XXV. — Jesus oucc morc proceeded to give a parable, comparing the kingdom of heaven to ten virgins, five of which were wise and the other five foolish.— By his own admission therefore the kingdom of Christ is foolish for one half. This story not being very instructive, we shall not comment on what he states of the five foolish ore's. — The kingdom of heaven was also like a man, who went travelling into a distant country, delivering his property in trust to his servants.— After these interesting parables Jesus communicates his disciples what he would do as soon as he sat on the throne; he would, namely, separate the sheep (believers) from the goats (unbelievers) and then the king (that is him- self (for in 34 he styles himself the king) would say to the sheep on his right hand. " You blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom ;" but to the goats on his left hand he would say : " Go away to everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels." And those would go to everlasting torture, and the others to everlasting bliss. We may regret that this king never sat on the throne, as all the unbelievers would have been consecrated to the fire, and the dear, meek sheep would have been rid of them, without being any more annoyed by their mockery, and would have inherited the most blissful kingdom on earth. Chapter XXVI.— Upon concluding his remarks, Jesus informed his disci- ples that after two days, the feast of Passover would take place, and that he was betrayed to be crucified.— It seems that Jesus was informed by his friends, that somebody (as we know, Judas Iscariot) had compact with the authorities of Je- rusalem to deliver him in their power for a certain compensation. 'J'hat Jesus would however huve known that he sliould be crucified is not iikely, for then he would either have fled, or otherwise, have given himself up, in case he wished to be treated in that way, which neither he did. He only will have known, that in case the authorities would succeed in catching him, they should crucify him as was done with all rioters ; but since Jesus had a great faction on his side he will not have supposed that the authorities should succeed, and consequently, he will not have valued the betrayal very dangerous.— Jesus soon after the foregoing, made up his mind to return to Jerusalem ; the Chici-priests and authorities in the meantime deliberated on the manner, in which they would cause his arrest, for they dared not to do so publicly for fear of dis- turbance and riot. While now Jesus was with his disciples at dinner in Bethany, and explained to them that a woman, who had poured upon him a jug of pre- cious oil, had performed a very woithy deed, one of the twelve named Judas Is- cariot, stole away, and went to the Chief priest, asking him how much money they should give for delivering Jesus. They said thirty pieces of silver. With this Judas was satisfied. -We learn there from by what sort of disciples Jesus was accompanied. When now the first day of the unleavened bread was there, the disciples came to Jesus, asking : " Where wilt thou that we prepare for thee to eat the pass- over?" andhe°said: "Go into the city to such a man, and say the Master saith : my time is at hand, I will keep the passover at thy house with my dis- ciples."— This saying of Jesus, so greatly admired by the Christians, only proves 250 THE BIBLE EXPOSED. SAINT MATTHEW. 251 that the person, to whom the message was sent, was an acquaintance, who knew about his projects ; and he let him know that the time had arrived to put them into execution. — And as the evening was come, Jesus sat down with the twelve, and while they took their supper, he said : " Verily I say unto you, that one of you shall betray me ;" and at tlie same time he intimated who the betrayer was. — Thisi is mentioned as proof of the omniscience of Jesus, but it is much more natural to suppose, since Jesus had quite a number of followers, that one of them may have detected Iscariot, or heard of his last interview with Caiaphas, the chief priest, and have reported it to Jesus ; Jerusalem being only a small city, it would even have been strange if gossip had been ignorant of it. — Jesus now de- clared that the son of man was to go, as was written, but woe to the betrayer; it would have been good for that man if he had not been born. — This statement ougl't never to have been uttered by the Son of God, for though it is true that many persons are living of whom might be said that they had better not been born ; still, since such people do exist with every generation, this would go far to show that the Supreme Being has a difierent way of viewing this matter, than the public has; and Jesus claiming to be the Son of God, ought therefore, as an obedient son, not to have made a public statement ol his entertaining a different opinion on so important a subject. We might also remember, that as the largest portion of mankind are doomed to fire everlasting by Jesus' doctrine, Judas, by becoming unfaithful to him, could expect nothing worse than to share in the fate of those millions of sufferers, hence that it was as well for him to have beeu born, as it was for the largest portion of mankind ; he was only one more coal in the fire, and it would not burn less brisk for that. — And as thev were eatincf, Jesus took bread and blessed it, broke it and gave it to the disciples, and said ; "Take, eat, this is my body ;" and he took the cup and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying : " Drink ye all ot it ; for this is my blood of the New Testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins." — What Jesus meant by tliis declaration is not easily to understand. The Christians, however, understand it thoroughly, it seems, seeing that they discovered, and proved, as many explanations thereon as there are Christian sects. It is, though, not certain Jesus understood it himself, since a person of sense cannot understand sayings without sense. No one will contend on good ground that the sayings of •' eat, this is my body," giving a piece of bread to eat, and also " drmk, this is my blood" passing a cup of wine, are not unmitigated nonsense. It even might be said that it has all the appearance of being pronounced by one who did not know what he said ; by one, for instance, who, during a supper, had kept a large cup of wine for himself, a cup large enough to serve for the whole company. And when a son of man, sitting at table, unexpectedly receives intelligence of the defeat of all his plans, of which he entertained the brightest visions of prospective brilliancy, why should he then not, in such an oppressive moment, drown his sorrows in a brim-lull cup of wine? And would it be suprising that, if at the close of the meal, such one comes to speechifying, his address should partake somewhat of the sublime ridiculous ? It is not at all unreasonable to suppose that Jesus had done full honor to the cup, since be immediately launches forth into a speech, stating his regret that he shall not drink henceforth of this fruit of the vine, but trusts to drink it again with his disciples when in his kingdom (v. 29). The disciples must also have generously imbibed on that occasion, for we will see that sleep became to them irresistible, though they were aware of the danger of their master. . Jesus, namely, while at table, receiving intelligence that the servants of the law were searching for him, will have understood that his sitting so long at table with his disciples might be the cause of his being taken* so that the food and drink they had used could cost him body and blood. This cogitation may have excited him (excited as he already was) into the exclama- tion of " This is my body and this is my blood." And as Jesus in that moment seems to have entertained the idea of fighting for his life, so he could have spoken of blood that should be shed- His blood was, however, not shed in the sense as generally understood under that term, for then a man ought to fall by the sword, while Jesus was merely nailed through his hands, and by such operation not much blood is shed. That Jesus should have said that this sheddinsr of blood was for the remission of sins of many, is too preposterous to admit of this, as every- body, even with the slightest particle of sense left, must know that the blood of a person cannot be of use in the expiation of the sins of another. The only effect which the shedding of innocent blood could have upon others, would be the falling back of the crime upon those who did commit the murder. If, therefore, Jesus was put to death unjustly, the only effect therefrom, supposing God to be just, would have been the punishment of the real murderers, in propor- tion to the magnitude of the crime, but never could it tend to the remission of sins in others, who were not connected with the case in the least. One must have lost all sense of r.ght and justice to think otherwise. There are, furthermore, no proofs whatever of the truth of Matthew's version of this affair; and it should be remarked, that the other Evangelists report the words of Jesus somewhat differently, each in his own way ; so Matthew, too, will have reported them as seemed to him the most useful. After the supper, Jesus with his disciples went to the Mount of Olives. — This was at some distance from the city, evidently Jesus did not like to be seized too soon, and since on Mount Olive there was some shrubbery, it afforded good op- portunities for concealment. If Jesus could only elude the pursuit during this night, he would be temporarily out of danger, since at other times he was considered safe enough, owing to the mob that was on his side. But now it was passover, and the people were feasting and eating in their houses, forgetting Jesus alto- gether ; they only listened to him, as it seems, when they had nothing better to do. — JcEus then said to those who were with him, that all would be offended be- cause of him that night, but after he had risen he would go before them into Galilee. — It is evident that Jesus intended to go back fast to Galilee, and that he intended to rise early before his sleepy disciples. It would be much easier for him to escape alone than surrounded by such a parcel of blockheads. The 252 THE BIBLE EXPOSED. rising mentioned by Jesus, is explained by the Christians as alluding to his resur- rection, but they forgot, that after the resurrection he went, as they say, to heaven, but not into Galilee ; there is no doubt, therefore, that he only spoke of rising up in the common sense. — Peter thought fit to give him the assurance, though all men might be offended, yet he would not, but Jesus returned him the assurance, that, before the crowing of the cock, Peter would deny him thrice. — The Christians admire this as a prophecy in Jesus ; we, however, think that it should be understood diflferently, since in that way it contains no right answer to the assurance of Peter that he should not be ofifcnded, for if Peter was to deny, without reason given thereto, then he (Peter) should be the offender, while Jesus meant that he (Jesus) should be the offender. That is, Jesiis intended to flee before the cock would crow, and leave his disciples alone. They, on waking up and not finding him, would be offended, ^nd Peter would deny him emphatically. — From the Mount Olive they went to a place called Gethsemane ; Jesus then told his disciples to sit down, taking three of them aside, and he began to be sorrowful and very heavy ; he wished them to tarry and watch, while he would go a little farther to pray. — 'I'he time was approaching that Jesus should be put to death for the remission of the sins of mankind, according to the Christian belief, he now, in his double capacity of Son of God and Son of Man, instead of being sorrowful and heavy, should, we think, have felt light and joyful ; as for the com- paratively little pain he would have to endure, the amplest compensation would be found in the eternal well-bein^- of thousands of millions of his fellow-creatures. Whatever human nature may be, and however depraved it be, still* it may be supposed that many could be found, who, if they had lull and positive conviction of saving all mankind from eternal torture and damnation by getting their hands pierced through, would submit to the pain of it, not only without sorrow but cheerfully and gloriously. But Jesus, the great Son of God, who, imme- diately after the execution, could go to the celestial paradise, was nevertheless greatly depressed with the prospect of meeting bodily pain ; this is strange indeed. — When left alone, Jesus fell on his fece,and prayed that this cup might pass from him. — This prayer would not prove for the truth of one of his previous assertions, that God had given him lull power in heaven as well as on earth ; it would even prove that his power was nothing compared to that of the great Creator. Mal*hew does not mentions, whether Jesus, with his face on the ground, was listening if anyone was approaching ; in that position, as is well known, he might have detected the coming of his pursuers much more readily than while standing or sitting. — After remaining in that posture for some time, Jesus got up to wake his disciples ; as many as three times did he have to do it, but each time they fell asleep again, till at last on the third time, while doing so, he found himself already surrounded by the servants of the law, who came to arrest him. — We learn from this how heavy the sleep of the disciples, after the supper, must have been, not to be able, even at such a time of danger, to overcome their animal nature, and to submit to sleep. That Jesus did not flee SAINT MATTHEW. 253 when he heard the soldiers coming forward, may be thrown in as proof of his voluntarily surrendering himself. Those that think so, would, however, do well to mark that Jesus was at that time in a garden, which probably was hedged in, and that the guards of the high priest will have taken possession of the gates, and have surrounded the garden, so that Jesus was caught as in a cage, and could have no other escape than to force himself through the enemy at the head of his disciples when attacked. — Judas Iscariot, one of the disciples, who had made the agreement with the elders to procure them Jesus without strife of riot, gave, when approaching, Jesus a kiss, as a signal for the soldiers that he was the man they were looking for. Jesus asked him sweetly : " Friend, wherefore art thou come ?" But lo,. instead of receiving answer of that friend, the sol- diers came forth and arrested "him without ceremony. One of Jesus' disciples drawing his sword, smote off the ear of one of the guards. Jesus thereupon ordered his disciples to put up their swords, " for all they that took the sword should perish by the sword.*' This of course meant to say that the force against them was too strong to admit of a successful resistance, so that it was better to give up that idea. — It may be presumed that this was a general order against the use of swords ; but this could not well be the case, as in chapter X Jesus taught that he was come not to bring peace, but the sword among mankind. — The Christians, also, in strict obedience to this injunction, have constantly made use of the sword, an 5 experience has never manifested that he who took up the sword always perished by the sword. There is no doubt, therefore, that Jesus only gave that order specially to his disciples, in view of the circumstance in which they were placed. — While then Jesus was hand-cuffed by the soldiers, he asserted that he could easily get twelve legions of angels for his defence, if he wished. — That this was braggadocio of the most preposterous description, will need no comment, for he had even not been able to obtain what he so ardently prayed for (that the cup might pass from him) ; and how, then, could he expect that the Father, upon his simple requisition, would have sent twelve legions of angels to march against his enemies. Twelve legions would make an army of seventy two thousand angels (a legion numbering six thousand) ; his boasting wa«? thus on a large scale; as a single angel, for (instance cherubim with his flaming sword), would have been a match for all the soldiers of the high priest and elders, even tlie whole board of elders included. It has, moreover, never appeared that there are so manv angels in heaven, for since the times of old noth'nsrhas ever been seen or heard of them, and even their place of residence has never been discovered by any one, notwithstanding our powerful telescopes ; we fear thus that there exist not so many angels as Jesus wished to march out. — Jesus thereupon ad- dressing the men, asked why they came with swords and staves, as if he were a thief, while they laid no hold on him while he was teaching in the temple. But all this was done, he said, that the Scriptures of the piophets might be fulfilled (v. 56). — The most diligent search in the bible will, not lead us to the discovery of any prophecy to the effect that a son of the Most High should ever be seized and treated like a raakebate, as was the ease with THE BIBLE EXPOSED. 254 SAINT MATTHEW. 255 i! Jesus. This question of him was moreover quite unnecessary, as he must have been fully aware, that so long as he was surrounded by a rabble, that could only look with favor on his teachings (regarding the garment, and the cloak, and the money-reaping without sowing, &c.,) that it was not well possible or judi- cious for a comparatively small number of servants of the law to lay hold on him.— The disciples now perceiving their master in custody forsook him and fled. The soldiers then led him away to Caiaphas, the high-priest, where the scribes and elders were assembled. They sought witnesses against him for they wished to put him to death, but found none. At last they found two witnesses, whom Matthew calls ' false witnesses,' though they only stated (which was true) that Jesus had said to be able to destroy the temple and build it up again in three days (this he said, vide John II. 19). And the high-priest asked him what he had to answer hereupon, but Jesus held his peace ; whereupon the high priest said : " I adjure thee by the living God that thou tell us whether thou be the Christ, the Son of God.'* Jesus did not pause a moment to swear this, answer- ing. " Thou hast said ! Yet I say unto you, hereafter shall ye see- the Son of Man sitting on the right hand of Power and coming on the clouds of heaven." (v. 64.) —It may sound harsh to the ears of his meek acd lowly followers, to say that Jesus swore falsely ; it must though be acknowledged that he told a most deliberate and barefaced falsehood, for neither Caiaphas, nor any of the scribes and elders, nor any one else, ever saw him sitting on the right hand of Power, coming on the clouds of heaven. As it is impossible for a son of man to sit on clouds, this of itself should be enough to brand his statement as a falsehood. Je- sus probably intended to frighten his assembled judges ; he had till now, been quite successful in imposing upon his simple minded followers and thought of putting again a bold face upon the matter, but this time he did not succeed.— The judges assembled, judged him guilty of death for blasphemy.— It may be al- leged that this sentence was unjust, but the laws of Moses inflicted capital punish- ment on blasphemy. And the statement of Jesus must have app-^ared most hor- ribly blasphemous to orthodox Jews, for it implied that their great Jehovah, too sacred to be beheld by the eye of man, whom even xMoses w£»s not allowed to see in all his glory, should have a son of woman born.— Peter sat during the judg- ment within the palace, and a damsel said to him : ''• Thou wast also with Jesus of Galilee," but he denied it, and wheii he was out in the porch (it appears he was gradually moving away) another maid said unto them that were there : " This fellow was also with Jesus of Nazareth ;" but Peter stoutly denied it ; a third time it was mentioned to him again, but by denying, swearing, and saying : " I know not the man," he managed to get out ; immediately thereupon the cock crew, and he remembered the words spoken to him. and wept bitterly.— The de- nial of Peter was not very honorable to be sure, but was so far excusable, as he might otherwise have shared the fate of his master and its disagreeable conse- quences, while when free, he might set to work to effect his release, ilie crow- ing of a cock is not so very remarkable, as there must have been more than one m Jeroisalem, and since they frequently crow, he may have had a good opportunity to hear one of them. It was also not surprising that Peter wept ; for Jesus had often promised to be soon with his disciples in his kingdom (the kingdom of Da- vid), sitting at the festive board, drinking wine with them ; while now, from what Peter saw and heard, he could easily anticipate, that instead of feasting, the king of the Jews would die an ignominous death, exposed to the ridicule of the Scribes and Pharisees, and of all the people who had heard his boastings. Chapter XXYII. — When the morning was come, all the chief-priests and elders of the people took counsel against Jesus to put him to death. And they bound him and led him away, and delivered him to Pontius Pilate (the Roman governor, without whose consent no one could be put to death). Judas Iscariot in the meantime repented himself over his betrayal, and returning the thirty pieces of silver, hanged himself. The chief-priests, considered it unlawful to put that money into the treasury as being the price of blood, and therefore ap- propriated it to the purchase of the potter's field for a burial ground for stran- gers. This was according to Matthew in fulfilment of the prophecy by Jere- miah.— That prophecy is there not to be found, only something about thirty pieces of money may be read in Zachariah XI ; but as prophecy in this instance it can not well be admitted, as we demonstrated at that place. — The governor then, put the question to Jesus, if he was the king of the Jews, which Jesus affirmed ; the chief-priests and elders now put in their accusations, which el icited no answer from him, for he probably understood, that accusations on matters of Jewish religion before a pagan judge would not receive much consideration. — Pi- late after that interrogatory did not see much harm in Jesus, and wislied to see him at liberty. Whereas now on the feast of the Passover, the governor was wont to release unto the people a prisoner whom they chose, the governor asked those who were gathered together, " whom will ye that I release unto you ? Barrabas or Jesus ?" Barrabas was another prisoner ; and the people, instigated by the chief-priests and elders, claimed his release. Pilate at a loss what to do, surrendered Jesus for sentence to the Jewish authorities. — Pilate, as is evident, favored the release of Jesus for some reason or another ; as a Roman officer he should however not so easily have cleared of blame a person, who proclaimed himself king in a country subject to Roman sway ; such offence being punishable with death. He must also have known that he acted against the intentions of his government, for he surrendered Jesus to the Jews because he feared that they should report his conduct in this matter to his government at Rome. — According to custom, Jesus was first scourged and then delivered to be crucified ; the soldiers of the governor, thereupon, took him into the common hall, where they stripped him and put on him a scarlet robe ; they also put a crown of thorn-branches upon his head, and gave him a reed in his hand, and saluted him, mockingly, as king of the Jews. After having amused themselves in that way, and after having punched him sufficiently, they took the robe ofl'from him, and led him aw»ay to be crucified. On the way / 256 THE BIBLE EXPOSED. SAIXT MATTHEW. 'Ibt they compelled a man named Simon of Cirene to bear the cross, as Jesus himself appears to have been tired.— Those soldiers therefore seem not to have been so cruel towards him as Matthew represents.— On coming to Golgatha. they gave Jesus vinegar to drink mingled with gall, and when he had tasted thereof, he would not drink.— Matthew would make it appear, as if that mixture was given him to mock or irritate him, while it was simply in pursuance of custom to give a doomed man, previous to barbarous execution, a draught, intoxicating or stun- ning the senses, so as to lessen his shrieks, which could not sound pleasant to the by- standers.. Tliat the draught was not as Matthew states, would appear from the other Evangelists, who give it a dififerent name. But Matthew, no doubt, calls it so, because David once complaining of his enemies, says : " And they gave me vine- gar mingled with gall." Matthew now probably speaks of this beverage, that it might pass for a prophecy on Jesus. — They then crucified him, and the soldiers parted his garments and cast lots for them, that it might be fulfilled, which was spoken by the prophet.— The so-called prophecy may be found in Psalm XXII, where David, under thenime -garments,' speaks of his cities, which the enemies (Jivided amongst themselves. Yet, Matthew might have known, that the clothes of every condemned to death were handed to the executioner according to custom ; so that there was nothing unusual in this dividing ol garments. — Over the head of Je- sus was put a board, whereupon was written : " This is Jesus the king of the Jews." That sufjerscription was undoubtedly a cutting ridicule of all the braggadocia Jesus had indulged in ; lor there he was, nailed to a piece of wood, the great man, who had said to be the powerful king and hero, whose coming among the children of Israel had been foretold for centuries, and who .vould bj the terror of un- circumcised and heathens of all sort; there he was, the mighty king, who proposed establishing a heavenly kingdom in Judea, after burning in tire all those, who did not follow him ; there now he w^as, powerless, notwithstanding hij assertion that he could call forth twelve legions of angels to do his bidding; yet, not one could he get to free him from the wooden cross. What the cause was of his hanging on the cross is by a careful perusal of the history not difficult to perceive ; his proud, defiant, sedicious, and blasphemous language, and the barefaced falsehoods, wherewith he sought to promote his ambitious plans, explain it plainly ; also we see here the proverb verified : Evil breeds evil. — T le high priests, scribes and elders came now to mock Jesus. They advised him to show his power as son of God, by coming off the cross. —Matthew highly disapproves the treatment of those people, and no doubt it is far from generous to ridicule another's misfortune and suffering, but Jesus had so often promised woe to them, that they could scarcely forego the opportunity of taking revenge ; and yet the advice they gave him was a good one, which he might have followed ; if this son of God had come off the cross, he would not only have silenced his enemies, but they even would have believed in his claim, and then, if after such a periormance, he still preferred to hang on the cross for tlie benefit of mankind ; he could, in his estab- lished alraightiness, hook himself on to it again ; the power however, was not there to follow this sensible advice. — Matthew further informs us, that there was darkness over all the land from the sixth to the ninth hour.— This proves not much as there is often darkness on a cloudy day.— About the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice : " Eli, eli, lama Sabachthani," that is to say, according to Matthew, My God, My God, why hast thou forsaken me?— 1'his exclamation of Jesus shows, that though he was a God himself, and though full power in heaven and on earth was given to him, he still was utterly powerless without the aid of God. It wa'j furthermore not christianly in Jesus to suppose, that God would be so unjust as to forsake any one ; and he also should have remembered that he was hung to secure bliss everlasting to a portion of mankind, and torture everlasting to a far greater portion of unbelievers. This blissful thought should have strengthened him and have filled his whole soul with such heavenly joy, as to render him quite insensible to mere bodily pain.. . .That * Eli ' translated means ' My God,' we learn from Matthew. The bystanders, though acquainted wit h the Hebrew, their mother tongue, understood him to call for Elias.— And straight- way one of the soldiers ran, and taking a sponge filled with vinegar, put it on a reed, and gave it to him to drink. Jesus then, crying once more with a loud voice, yielded up the ghost.— The man, who gave him the drink was perhaps named Elias ; and the dying of Jesus soon after the drink would only lead to suspect that something, having similar properties to chloroform for making people ap- pear as dead, was given to him by tliis soldier, bought by Jesus' fnends. We may presume such with the more certainty on account that a young man like Jesus was, will not die from getting his hands pierced with nails —And behold the vail of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom, and the earth did quake, and the rocks rent, and the graves were opened, and many bodies of the saints which slept, arose.—That the vail of the temple was rent in twain, was a great miracle no doubt, but not certain whether it was performed under influence of higher agency, or simply by a mortal who was paid for doing it. That the graves were opened, and that sundry resurrections took place is not men- tioned by any of the other Evangelists ; if this actually happened, no doubt can exist but they would have mentioned it. Neither does any other cotemporary writer mention anything of this resurrection, nor do we learn what they did those bodies when returned to life, and what became of them afterwards, nothing of it we learn ex- cept just the above communication of Matthew. It would however not have been wise of those people to select for their resurrection the very day on which the son of God intended to go to Paradise and spend there a couple of days; they should have remained there in order to be present on this great and joyful occasion. For those reasons we suspect that Matthew was mistaken, and that not one of the dead saints had the least thought of resuscitating on that day.— And when the evening was come, a rich man of Arimathea, named Joseph, a disciple of Je- sus, went to I'ilatus and begged the body of Jesus, whidi was delivered to hira ; and it was then wrapped in clean linen and laid in Joseph's own new tomb, and a great stone was rolled to the door of the sepulchre.— That Pilate allowed Jo- seph of Arimathea to take the body away, was very kind in him, though not ' exactly according to usage, as the punishment of those crucified was to have the 258 THE BIBLE EXPOSED. bones broken, this being the capital punishment ; the suspension on a cross being merely for the purpose of exhibition. According to Mark, Pilate was very astonished to learn that Jesus was dead, but it is a matter of course, that in common courtesy the rich Joseph of Arimathea, could not be made to wait until the punishment was completed. It was decidedly fortunate for Jesus to have such influential friends ; his body could now be properly cared for, without having the bones crushed, and it could be laid in a new tomb properly prepared for the occasion. It was dark evening when Jesus' body was carried there, and it remains, consequently, unknown if the body had fully the appearance of a corpse, or that, as it was intended for immediate resurrection, the appearance may not have been fully so. We may surmise that Jesus was carefully taken from the cross by one of the soldiers of Pilate, perhaps the same who relieved him with the marvellous drink while on the cross, and we therefore trust that the rich Joseph will have magnanimously rewarded that gallant man. — On the next day the high-priests and Pharisees came to Pilate to request that the sepulchre might be guarded, as the deceiver (meaning Jesus) had said that after three days he would rise from the dead ; they feared that the disciples might steal his body, and claim the prophecy of resurrection to have been fulfilled. Pilate told them they had a watch, and they could make it as sure as they pleased. — The chief priests and elders knew, as it seems, the zeal of the disciples of Jesus, and to have dircovered that in order to propagate their blissful creed, they did not scruple to resort to some lit Jle holy tricks . Chapter XXVIII. — In the end of the Sabbath, as it began to dawn, toward the first day of the week, came Mary Magdalen and the other Mary, to see the sepulchre. And bf^hold there was a great earthquake ; for the angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat upon it. — These are the words of Matthew ; the whole tenor of his book shows that he was a friend of the miraculous ; but Mark, who was less partial to it, simply relates that when those women went to the sepulchre with spices, very early in the morning, they found the stone rolled from the door, and a young man with a long white robe sitting there ; Jesus was not there. — The words of Mark bear the mark of truth more than those of Matthew, for a young man in a white robe need not be an angel, and as angels are never seen to descend from heaven, it is much safer to believe that it was a young man. That Joseph of Arimathea may have arranged, with one or two of his servants, to get up a ghost aifair, in order to scare away those engaged in guarding the sepulchre, would not be improbable, for he knowing that Jesus wanted to get out of the sepulchre, must have whetted his brains to imagine some means to get the watchmen out of the way, and it appears to have succeeded very well. How, too, should men sitting round the sepulchre of an enchanter (as they deemed him to be) not be scared out of their wits and run for their lives by seeing in the midst of the night one or two nivsterious white things advancing upon them. The watchmen having SAINT MATTHEW. 259 run off, Jeeus could quietly step out of his grave. — Matthew continues that the women did not find Jesus, but the angel kindly told them that Jesus was risen from the dead, and was on his way to Galilee ; they should quickly go and tell the disciples of it. — Matthew forcibly intimated in v. 1-3 that the women were present at tlie descent of the angel, but now in v. 6 he, forgetting what he had said, relates that Jesus was already gone when they arrived ; accordingly they could not have seen the angel rolling back the stone. This is another reason why Mark should be believed in this respect in preference to Matthew. It is also remarkable that those women should not have been frightened seeing an angel, whose countenance was like lightning, and should not have run off, but have stood listening to his words, and that without fainting. Really this issuprising. — On their way to tell the disciples, they met Jesus and fell at his feet, worshipping him ; he told them to go and tell the brethren to go into Galilee, where they would see him. — No doubt the freshness of his wounds caused Jesus to desire rest, in preference to seeing his friends, and this will have been the reason why he sent the women away so soon. The angel, though, had been mistaken by telling that Jesus was gone up to Galilee, while he was yet near by. The eleven disciples went into Galilee accordingly, on a mountain, where Jesus had appointed to meet them. When they saw him, they worshipped him, but some doubted. And Jesus spoke to them, saying : " All power is given unto me in heaven and on earth ; go, ye therefore, and teach all nation? ; baptising them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost ; teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen." — These words of Jesus sound truly divine ; we may be permitted to ob- serve, nevertheless, that of his power on earth, not much substantial was seen ; and that of his power in heaven (consisting, as we know, in the command of twelve legions of angels, besides all the saints) he did not prove to know how to make use of it. . . The commandment, that all nations should be baptised in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, was rather strange ; for, though the baptism with water may have the effect of cleaning the body externally, yet the evil that is within cannot be reached by such process, and the mere pro- nouncin"" of the three mentioned names can, in fact, effect still less than the water, since they merely penetrate the ear without expelling any evil or doing any good. The only advantage that might perhaps be derived from that ceremony, would be, in case the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost should feel flattered by such appeals to them, and on account thereof should annihilate the records, against the persons thus baptized, from the big book of sin-accounts. If tliese three gods are vain enough to do this, which seems to be the case, then only can baptism be of service to the Christian. Besides baptising, the disciples were to teach all round all that Jesus ordered them to observe. As we have shown before, such a course could only lead to confusion worse confounded ; yea, the strict observance of his doctrines by all the nations of the earth, could only end in their perishing in poverty and misery. And as for Jesus' promise, that 260 THE BIBLE EXPOSED. SAINT LUKE. 261 he would be with bia disciples even unto the end of the world, in this the holy son of the Lord was not true, seeing that according to Mark and I^ike, Jesus as- cended to heaven shortly after his resurrection, leaving all his disciples behind. Also not one of the later followers, or disciples of Jesus, ever bad the pleasure of his personal acquaintance ; instead, then, of being with his disciples to the end of the world, he has obstinately persisted, now already for more than eighteen hundred years, in continually disappointir^ his elected people, those god-rainded, holy-hearted pious Christians, who all were baptised in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, but without ever deriving any perceptible benefit from it. while the disciples sat at meat-, this account does, therefore, not well agree with the general belief in Jesus' ascent from the top of a mount. Yet, since Mark does not say in what manner Jesus went to heaven, and since we discovered that Mark does not like to tell too big lies, we guess his meaning to be, that the soul of Jesus went up to heaven, but not his body, that is to say, that Jesus died. The idea of Jesus' bodily ascent seems to be taken from the account of Luke ; but is it not worthy of noticeithat Matthew and John, who both belonged to the eleven disciples who were said to be present at the said ascension, doti't speak at all of that incident, while Mark and Luke, who did not belong to those eleven narrate it ? If Jesus had actually been taken up bodily, we may be quite certaio that Matthew and John w-uld not have forgotten to relate this circumstance. However, how it may be, we see, at all events, that Jesus was taken away from this earlhly life, and also are informed that the last solemn words of the great Saviour were a damnation to all those that do not believe in him. THE GOSPEtr ACCORDING TO SAINT MARK, Seeing that we have treated the history of Jesus pretty thoroughly in the book of Matthew, we shall not repeat here the same accounts. The narra- tive as given by Mark accords tolerably well with that of Matthew, save some slight differences.— Mark does not give any account of Jesus' birth, but intro- duces him forthwith as being baptised by John the Baptist, while a voice came from heaven, saying : "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased."— By this short bat practical account, Jesus is at once introduced as a son of God, so that the reader has not to ponder upon the miraculous manner in which he was born, but may believe him, if he chooses to do so, as come down from heaven.— In his last chapter, Mark gives the account of Jesus' resurrection. He speaks, however, not of an angel coming down from heaven to open the sepulchre, but merely says, that a young man, clothed in a long white garment, was sitting in the sepulchre when the wonwn came thither to anoint the body. Now, as a young man in a white garment, is not always an angel, so Mark, without burden- ing his conscience with a lie, left it to the choice of the reader to believe the young man either an angel, or a human being, clothed in white. — After his resurrection, Jesus appeared unto some of his followers, says Mark, and also unto the eleven disciples, as they sat at meat, and he said unto them : " Go ye into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature ; he that belie veth and is baptized, shall be saved ; but he that believeth not, shall be damned. And this sign sliall follow them that believe in my name, they shall cast out devils ; they shall speak with new tongues," etc. (v. 15-17). So then, after the Lord had spoken unto them, he (Jesus) was received up into heaven, and sat on the right hand of God (v. 19). — While now Matthew would make it appear as if Jesus remained forever on earth to comfort his followers, Mark, on the contrary, let him go to heaven and sit on the right hand of God. And Mark let him go to heaven, €■- it ,t THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO ST. L.UKE. This gospel was originally a letter of Luke to his pupil and friend, the most excellent Theophilus. Luke describes therein the history of Jesus, according to what he had heard (not according to what he had seen). He first ex- patiates on the history of John the Baptist, but as we do not see that John the Baptist has much to do with the Christian creed, we shall leave that account Dlone. Further, we are informed that it came to pass in the sixth month of Eiizabeth's pregnancy (Elizabeth, the mother of John, was a cousin to Mary)^ that the angel Gabriel appeared unto Mary in Nazareth, then engaged to be mar. ried to Joseph, who was of the house of David. The angel having blessed her, told her that she would conceive in her womb, and bring forth a son, and call his name Jesus, and he should be called the Son of the Highest, and tlie Lord God should give him the throne of his father David, and he should reign over the house ot Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there should be no end. Mary hearing this was quite astonished, for she said,, she knew no man. The angel thereupon declared that the Holy Giwst should come upon her, and therefore the holv thing that should be born by her, should be called the Son of God.— This is the account as given by Luke concerning the origin of Jesus. We, however, do not see since the child was procreated by the Holy Ghost, that he could therefore be called the Son of God ; but leaving this question to be explained by the iearoed Christian theologists, we merely have to observe that the angel told a lie as to the reign of Jesus, for Jesus never has set on the throne of Da- vid, and never has reigned over the house, of Jacob. If it could be said that ft 462 THE BIBLE EXPOSED. SAINT LUKE. 263 he had reigned at all, it should be that his ' name' has governed the mind of Eu- ropean nations, and their American descendents, but not of the house of Jacob, see- ing that Jews have never believed in him. And the messenger Gabriel spoke to Mary of the holy thing that should be born by her, but we, unbelieving as we are, cannot see how, by any means, he could call the production of a woman, who being a human creature, must necessarily be more or less sinful, a holy thing. Viewing this bastard production in its most favorable light, it only could be half holy and half human, thus anyhow no more than a demi-gcd. — Mary made, however, no re- marks, and submissive as she was, she contented herself to say : " Behold the handmaid of the Lord ; be it unto me according to thy word." — It seems that Mary thought that she had to obey every command of her Lord, even immoral commands ; she was tliough mistaken, for immoral commands ought not to be obeyed ; besides, the ' Jus primae noctis' did not exist among the Jews. — And so it happened, that after due course of time, the child Jesus was born. The birth took place in a stable in Bethlehem, while Mary was on a journey, ac- companied by Joseph, to whom she was still betrothed. Why Joseph, who must have known that Mary was soon to be confined, did not procure her a more suitable lying in room than a mule-stable, we do not understand. It is true that the story goes that there was no other place in the inn, but why then, had he not left his espoused wife in Jerusalem, which city was only two hours walk from Bethlehem, and through which they must have passed, since they came from the North. Besides, a city of some extent is much more preferable for an unmarried gir], that is to be confined, than a small village, where usnally every one meddles with other people's business. But it seems it was the will of God that the child should be born in Bethlehem, and nowhere else, and there fore very likely God caused Cesar Augustus to proclaim the queer order to every inhabitant of the world, to go to the city or town of his ancestors to be taxed ; as if the people could not be taxed elsewhere, and as if every one would know in what place his ancestor resided. Yet, it may be that Joseph was care- less on the affair of Mary's confinement, for he will have thought, and with right too, that if the Holy Ghost made Mary with child, the Holy Ghost might as well take care for the babe himself, and did not want to push off all consequences on him ; for the Holy Ghost was mighty enough to attend to his own business. — llie birth of the bastard-cliild was accompanied with a most miraculous circum- stance, for behold, an angel of the Lord came down from heaven to communicate the happy event to a few shepherds in the country, saying that unto them was born a Saviour, which is Christ, the Lord, and he also sang a song for them, by which he promised peace on earth. — We leave that song of the lively angel for what it is worth, for his promise of peace on earth was never fulfilled, and only wonder why the Lord, or the Holy Ghost, who sent that messenger, did not rather send him with the commuication to Jerusalem, and the principal cities of Judea, us nobody would then have doubted the high origin of that child. — Luke nar. rates some incidents connected with Jesus' youth, as, for instance, once when be was twelve years old, his parents went up to Jerusalem to feast the passover, taking Jesus with them. After the feast they travelled back to Nazareth, but after three days journey they discovered that Jesus had not returned with them. They then travelled back again, and behold, coming in the temple, they found Jesus still there (thus six days he had been there), discussing theological questions with the doctors. His mother said unto him : " Son, why hast thou thus deiilt with us ? behold, thy father and I have sought thee sorrowing."— Mary, as it appears, forgot that Joseph was not the child's father. — Jesus, how- ever, being a w'se child, knew better who his father was, for he answered : " How is it that ye sought me ? wist ye not that I must be about my Father's business ?" After that we are informed that Jesus, when he was thirty years of age, went up to John the Baptist to be baptized by him, but John refused at first to do so, yet as Jesus insisted, he at last did it, and behold, while Jesus was baptised, the heavens opened, and the Holy Ghost descended upon him in a bodily shape like a dove (Chap. HI).— We ask ourselves, why can it be that the mighty Holy Ghost took the bodily shape of a dove, since he would have made much more favorable appearance in the shape of a seductive young man or angel. The only reason, for his taking the shape of a dove, we know of, is because Moses said the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters ; now, we also know that the dove of Noah was flying over the face of the waters, this circumstance, thus, of the Spirit moving in the same element as the dove, must have given a connecting idea of the Holy Spirit resembling somewhat a dove. The Spirit now, in order not to exact too mudi of the simple mind of the baptizing folks, will have metamor- phosed himself in accordance with their notion.— Lukes gives us thereupon the pedigree of Joseph, the father of Jesus, even as far back as to Adam, evidently on purpose to show Jesus' descent from David ; but he forgets thereby entirely tliat Jesus was not the son of Joseph, but was the son of the Holy Ghost. Besides, the pedigree which he gives does not correspond in the least to the one of Joseph given by Matthew. So that either St. Luke or St. Matthew must have given a forged one. B^ut, because it is not agreeable to be obliged to accuse these saints of Ibrgery, the good theologists have thought fit to explain that one pedigree was in- tended for Joseph, the other for Mary, notwithstanding that there is plainly spoken of Joseph, and that Mary*s name is not mentioned at all. But they say Mary too, was of David's house, because Joseph belonged to it, and the Jews were obliged to marry their nearest relation. This pretension is, however, a big falsehood, whereas the Mosaical law only prescribe such marriage in case an only daughter was left heir of the family estate, or inheritance, like Moses calls it ; but since Joseph and Mary were both poor, and lived without the country of Judea, there can be here, of course, no question of an inheritance. That Joseph was of David's house is, moreover, not yet so very certain, for if one pedigree is wrong, they both may be wrong; and even with accepting one or both, who, then, will lay down the proof that none of Joseph's many fore-mothers has been guilty of adultery ? for if Mary, the saint mother of the Christian God, was guilty thereof, how much the more could that have been the case with less saint women. At all events, Joseph did live outside the land of Judea. in a 264 THE BIBLE EXPOSED. country inhabited by Samaritans, so that he may just as well have been a Sa- maritan himself'.— We will not rehearse all the stories already narrated by Mat- thew and Mark, and shall therefore not proceed any further with Luke; also it should be painful for the pious people to be made attend on several contradictions in regard to time and place, where the miracles occurred, compared with the preceding gospels. We merely will quote one fact to show Jesus peculiar way of living ; in Chapt. YIII. we see that Jesus was accompanied of his twelve disci- ples, and besides them of certain women, who had been healed of evil spirits, and of infirmities; among them were Mary Magdalene, and Jo^^pna, the wife of Herod's Stewart, and Susanna, and many other women who ministered unto him of their substance. In Chapt. XIV : 26, we hear him command his followers, peremptorily, to hate their father, mother, wife, children, brothers and sisters, and also their own life, for who did not do so could not be his disciple. Now probably in accordance with that sublime doctrine, he had taught the menticned Joanna to hate her husband and children and follow him.— At last we are in- formed ot Jesus painful death and of his resurrection. We find here that after his resurrection he went up to Bethany, and there, was carried up to heaven while blessing his disciples. According to that information of Luke (to be found in Luke XXI V^.) this carrying up to heaven occurred on the very same day of nis resurrection. This is particularly to be observed from v. 13, 29, 33, 36, 50 and 51 . Strange now, that according to Matthew he remained on earth for ever, and went to Galilee after his resurrection. According to Mark he went up to heaven, after some days, and this occurred, as it seems, in Jerusalem ; while again Luke lets him be carried up to heaven, immediately after his resurrection, and in Bethany. Those contradictions do not speak for the truth of these so-called holy gospels. THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO SAINT JOHN. Chapter L— John commences his gospel book under great exhibition of learning ; a pity though that this learning is so exceedingly great, that it sounds quite uncomprehensible ; thus we read : In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God ; and the Word was God. . .The same was in the beo-inninc^ with God. All things were made ly him, and without hira was not anything made, that was made. In him was life, and life was the light of men. And the light shineth in darkness, and the darkness comprehendeth it not, etc.— Seeing that the darkness does not understand the shining light ; it is no wonder we do not understand John. Even his shining light seems very dark to us. It is Baid that with the expression of " Word " John designated Jesus of Nazareth ; M SAINT JOHN. 265 this is also evident from v, 14; but why John invented this singular name of Wo7'd for the holy Son of God, is not plain. Jesus had already plenty of names ; for the pious Christians have at all times evinced their affection for their gracious Ijord, by inventing for him all sorts of endearing names ; not one of those is however less to the point, seeing that the noun JVord is not at all appli- cable to any living being. John might therefore be said to have resorted to non- sense. Yet, it is not clear by what authority John asserts that the Word (Jesus) was with God in the commencement, since Moses the historian of the Creation makes not the slightest mention of it. And since Jesus was born of a woman after the world had existed several thousand years, John's assertion is even con- spicuously fiilse. — John continues this chapter in the same learned strain, and iu the meanwhile refers to John the Baptist, who should have stated that Jesus existed befo7'e him. — We know from the other books of the gospel that John the Baptist spoke of some one who would come afier him, not before hira ; but even if the Baptist had said so, it would be no authority, since John the baptist does not belong to that corps of bible-writers, called saints, who never said a falsehood. — We further learn that John the baptist was not the prophesied Julias. — John should however have borne in mind what Jesus himself said on the subject, (Matthew XL v. 14.) and thus not have contradicted him.— We also are informed that John the baptist, on seeing Jesus approaching, said : '• Behold the Lamb of God which taketh away the Sin of the world." — 'j'his again is another appellation of the meek Lord Jesus ; how however John came upon the idea of bestowing the name of lamb, upon the powerful son of God, who could bind the devil, and cast millions of souls in hell-fire, is inexplanable ; he showed indeed, by giving that name, to have entertained but little respect for the great Jesus. It may be said, that the name was only in reference to the death of Je- sus in remission of sins, like a lamb of a sin-ofier.ng would die, but the cases are not parallel, for the lamb was given by the Jews as a present to their God ; the smell of the frying meat was supposed to reach his nostrils, and please as a sweet savour, and this would render him inclined to forgiveness. The crucifica- tion of Jesus now was neither accompanied of an ascension of sweet savour ; nor was it intended as a present to God, for the Jewish authorities only con- sidered him a criminal, of whom they wished to rid themselves the sooner the better. Jesus cannot therefore be said to have been sacrificed as a lamb. It can besides not be admitted, that God would forgive sins to men, because tnev crucified Jesus, for, if Jesus was innocent like the Christians pretend, God's wrath must have been kindled the more on seeing to what atrocities man- kind was apt. The only real reason which may have induced John to insert this appellation of lamb of God, must be in order to apply verse 7, of Isaiah LIII as a prophecy on Jesus. John's account of the joining, as disciples, of Andrew and of Simon Peter differs o-reatly from that given by Matthew and Mark. He also informs us how Jesus procured other disciples and how quickly he converted Nathaniel, and prom- ised ihat thev should see heaven open and the angels of God ascending and de- 266 THE BIBLE EXPOSED. SAINT JOHN. 267 scending upon the Son of Man. — We never read of the disciples seeing anything of the kind, not even when Jesus was made a prisoner, and would greatly have welcomed a legion of angels to set him free. Chapter II. — And on the third day there was a marriage in Cana of Galilee, (probably the third day after the remarkable conversion of Nathaniel.) Jesu-?. his mother and disciples were guests. And when they wanted wine, the mother of Jesus said unto him : They have no wine ; Jesus said unto her, (very respectfully in- deed ; ) '* Woman, what have T to do with thee ?" He ordered nevertheless six water-pots of stone to be filled with water, and when the manager of the feast tasted it, it was excellent wine. " This was the beginning of miracles, by which Jesus manifested his glory."— It is undeniable that the science to change water into excellent wine was a very wonderful one, and might be very profitable besides, but it is strange that the spirit of God, should manifest itself by such a miracle, it being more like the trick for a wine-bibber than work for a prophet. This would appear the more so, as the guests had already disposed of all the wine in- tended for them, and according to the statement of tlie manager of the feast^ they had already well drunk (v. 10). Jesus however thought fit to treat them to six pots more, each containing three firkins (27 gallons) a piece ; he evidently intwid^d to bring the people in good spirit. — However as this drunken miracle cannot be the work of Divine Power, John aught never have adduced it in evidence of the Divine mission of Jesus. — Jesus then went with his disciples to Capernaum, where tney only remained a few days, for the Jewish passover was near ; and he then went on to Jerusalem. — It is strange that John's statement differs so entirely with those of the three other evangelists ; according to them Jesus, instead of going to Jerusalem, spent most of the time as wander- ing prophet in the country surrounding the lake of Galilee, and only proceeded to Jerusalem a very short time previous to his crucifieation. John prefers to have Jesus in Jerusalem ot once ; he also has Jesus drive the merchants from the temple with a scourge of small chords, which according to the other writers is only one of the last acts of Jesus. And of his being tempted by the Devil John does not speak at all. — The Jews came and required a sign. Ac, cording to the other writers, Jesus declined giving one, but from John we learn, that Jesus said : " Destroy the temple, and in three days I will raise it up." — He was no doubt shrewd enough to know, that the people would not destroy the temple in a hurry ; his promise could therefore be no inconvenience to him. John claims this saying of Jesus to allude to his own body ; yet this cannot be con- bidered correct in the first place not, because the body of Jesus was never en- tirely destroyed or broken by the Jews, and in the second place, because he did not raise up his body in three days , it was after one day and two nights, that he was raised up, and that not by himself, but by an angel. Chapter III. — John relates how Nicodemus a ruler of the Jews came to Jesus by night, to be instructed by him j Jesus told him, that except a man be born again he cannot see the kingdom of God, Nicodemus did not quite under stand this, Jesus then told him, that except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God ; and the wind bloweth where it liketh, and so is every one that is born c f the Spirit (v. 5-8). Nicodemus then appears to have been fully enlightened on the affairs of regeneration. — Jesus also informed Nicodemus, that no man had ascended to heaven, but he that come down from heaven (v. 13). — Jesus evidently did not believe in the Scriptures himself, as it mentions the ascension of Enoch, Moses, Elias and others, all born of women. — Nicodemus learned furthermore on that occasion, that the Son of Man would be lifted up as the serpent was lifted up, by Moses, in the wilderness. — This is quite correct, for the serpent was fixed on a pole, and the fate of Jesus was similar i it is strange though, that the holy son of God could forget himself so far, as to compare himself to a serpent, a creeping, cold-blooded animal, and a synonym of Satan. —God had, he said further, sent his only-begotten son, that who- soever believed in him might have everlasting life ; but who did not believe in his name, was already condemned. — According to this, it is evident, that the only, be- gotten Son came not at all for the benefit of mankind, but chiefly, came for their damnation ; for all the generations before him and those generations after, who lived without the knowledge of him and accordingly could not have believed in him, were going to hell in compliance with his doctrine; yet they are far larger in number than those that believe. The world contains about twelve hundred millions of inhabitants, and only two hundred and fifty millions profess to be Christians. And asof every thirty men one dies each year, more than thirty millions not Chris- tians are thrown in hell every year by that great Saviour ; he therefore had better done to stay away. — The saying here of only-begotten son is again a new ap- pellation. God had however begotten several more sons as is to be seen from Genesis VI., the appellation is therefore not a good one. — After these things came Jesus and his disciples into the land of Judea, and was baptized ; and John (the baptist) was baptizing in Enon, for he was not yet cast into prison (v. 24.) — We learnt however from .Mark 1 : 14, that Jesus fii-st came into Galilee ; after that John was put in prison, while we find him here leaving Gali- lee, and John still free. Chapter IY. — When Jesus learned that he had more followers than John the Baptist, and that the Pharisees were aware of this, he left Jerusalem and re- turned to Galilee. — We will not admit for once, that Jesus feared the Pharisees, as it is not likely that the son of the Almighty was afraid of any man. — He ar- rived in a town ot Samaria, culled Sichar, near the land which Jacob had given to his son Joseph. — How the occupants knew where this land (of which we never heard) was located, remains to be explained, as no surveys nor maps existed. — Jesus sat dowi: near the well of Jacob, when a Samaritan woman came to get water; Jesus addressed her saying: "Give me to drink!" The woman quite surprised, asked him : " How is it, that thou, being a Jew, asketh drink of me, which am a woman of Samaria." Jesus then told her that he was somebody of importance, and if she kuviw him, she would know that he could give her living n ' i I ii 268 THE BIBLE EXPOSED. water ; that answer of course excited the woman's curiosity j^reatly, thus she asked him how he could produce that living water ; whereupon he informed her, that whosoever should drink of 'that living water would never thirst again, but to those it would be like a well of water springing up into everlasting. The woman on hearing this was very anxious to have some of that marvellous water, as it would save her, she said,, the trouble to draw at the well. But Jesus instead of giving her of his living water, as the woman hoped he would, told her to call her husband. The women then acknowledged, that the man with whom she lived was not her husband; and Jesus said he knew she had had five husbands. The woman now at once perceived that he was a prophet, and immediately made it known in the town. This interview near the well, and the learned discourse the holy Jesus held there with the unchaste woman, brought a great many Sama- ritans to believe in him as the Christ, the Saviour of the world.— AV^hat great results small things may have ! — Chapter Y.— Jesus now went to Jerusalem, and behold, near the city was a pool, which was troubled in a certain season by an angel ; and whoever first plunged in was healed of whatever debility or disease he might have.— As all the sick were not healed by the process, it may be supposed that the Lord had selected that day for his amusement in witnessing the plunging match. It must have been quite an exhibition to see so many diseased persons, standing around a pool, all ready to jump in at the risk of breaking their bones. Such sport was worthy of a God, and it is to be regretted, that no description whatever of that remarkable bathing-establishment was ever fourd by any Jew or Gentile historian.— When Jesus came there, he saw a man, who. for thirty-eight years had tried to jump in first, but he had Lot been able to do so.— If that man had only thought of going into the water one moment before it was troubled by the angel, he would undoubtedly have been first ; but, it may be supposed that he did not think of it, or perhaps the angel ordered every body out before stirring up the water.— Jesus took compassion on the man, and saying : " Take up thy bed and walk," the man was healed at once. The Jews were displeised on the performance as being made on a Sabbath-day, and also, because Jesus stated that God was his Father. Jesus troubled himself not at all about the displeasure of the Jews, and teased them still more by his braggadocio about his own em- inence, even stating himself to be somewhat greater than God; he said: "The Father jadgeth no man but hath committed all judgment unto the Son. 'J'hat all men should honour the Son, even as they honour the Fathc^r. He that honoureth not tlie Son, honoreth not the Father.. .Verily, verily, I say unto you, the hour is coming and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God, and they tJiat shall hear shall live," (v. 22-26).— The foregoing words of Jesus fully show that he made himself greater than God ; the entire Chapter is a fair specimen of out- rageous boast fulness, as verily, will require no comment. It may be said, that such a powerful personage had a right to talk in tliat manner ; but we may be allowed to observe, that a great man, >vho constantly talks about his own great- It SAINT JOHN. 269 ness ceases to be a great man and must be considered an idle boaster --Jesu. referred to thew ritings of Moses in proof of what he advanced ; we are however unable to find in the writings of that demagogue anything which m the least reters to Jesus -But that Moses had written about him, Jesus himself states, and says whoever' believes in Moses, also believes in me (v. 46, 47). The Jews, however, who believe in Moses, never believed that statement. OnAPTER VI.— We are here informed that Jesus was in the country, near the lake of Galilee.-How this sudden reappearance thither came about is not mentioned by John,- Jesus performed the well-known bread miracle on that occasion ; in the evening alone, he left, for Capernaum, but the people followed ; not so much, as Jesus states, because they saw the miracles, but in view of getting another meal without pay (v. 26) . Jesus, of course, perceived this at once and there- fore he -ave them nothing to eat, but only some good advice, as that they should not labor for the meat that perisheth, but for the meat which endureth unto everlasting life ; assuring them that he was the bread of life The people how- ever do not seem to have looked upon him as a very useful bread ot life, for Jesus had to repeat it more than once, to impress it upon them.- His further remarks on the subject are too great cant to have originated in the brain of a sound person, what have we to think of such language as of v. 55, 56 : ''tor my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed. He that eateth my flesh and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me and I in him. And the living Father hath sent me, and I live by the Father ; so he that eateth me, even he sha 1 li.e by me " After talking in this learned strain, he concluded with asserting that it is the spirit that quickenelh, but the flesh protiteth nothing (v. 63) .-Jesus for- got that he just a moment before stated that the eating of his flesh would lead to life forever, which would prove that all flesh is not profitless after all. As this chapter contains some of the principal points of doctrine and dispute amoncr the Christians, not at all mentioned by the other Evangelists, we are inclined to suppose that the book of John was written at a later period, when disputes on theological points were of daily occurrence. Chapter VII —After these things. Jesus walked in Galilee ; for he would not walk in Judea, because the Jews sought to kill him -It is evident that Jesus did not like at all to be killed, but as his death by violence, according to his teachincr, was for the eternal salvation of his followers, he should have felt de- licrhted'that the Jews intended to accommodate him in that aflfair, and instead of runnin- awav, he should have -one to meet them. How brilliantly would, in such event, his disinterestedness have shone forth. Besides this, be ought to have remembered that he taught his disciples not to be afraid of them that kill the body (Luke XII : 4)— The brothers of Jesus taunted him with his apprehension : For neither did his brethren believe in him (v- 3-5).- This it must be acknowledged is not in favor of the perfection and divine ^ower of Jesus for his brothers, who had been acquainted with him from boy- 270 THE BIBLE EXPOSED. 11 hood up, should first of all have been convinced of his extraordinary qualities. — Jesus told his brothers that he would not go to Jerusalem, as his time had not yet come ; but they might go there ; and when they had left for Jerusalem, he went up also, not openly, but in secret (v. 10). — This shows how dexterously the excellent Son of God knew to use a little falsehood, if it suited his purpose ; this was very Christian-like indeed : for the Christian creed consist entirely of falsehood. — On his arrival at Jerusalem, Jesus proceeded at once to the temple to teach the community, and here, without the slightest provocation, he suddenly exclaimed : " Why go ye about to kill me ?" the people answered : " thou hast the devil ; who goeth to kill thee?" He then proceeded to talk about circumcision, which was not well connected with what preceded, though very instructive. — A few days later, Jesus stated to the servants of the high-priest that he would not be long among them, but would return to him who had sent him, and they would seek him and find him not. — This was evidently intended as a special puzzle for the servants of the high priest. Those servants, however, found him afterwards when he was wanted, and kept good hold of him, for they nailed him to the wood ; after that time it is not likely that they sought him any more. — In the last day, the great day of the feast, Jesus stood up and cried saying : "If any man thirst, let him come unto me and 3rink. He that believeth in me, as the Scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water" (v. 37, 38). — It may be a very pleasant thing to have rivers of living water flowing out of the belly, but it may be questioned whether the Jews nnderstood the meaning of those sublime words. St. John, however, understood it, for he states that it had reference to the Holy Ghost. . . We though, did not know that the Holy Ghost flows out of the belly. — Many among the multitude on hearing Jesus, said : " Of a truth, this is a prophet." — It is evident, therefore, that according to the opinion of St. John, it was sufficient to utter unintelligible language, to be proclaimed a prophet. Chapter YIII.— The Pharisees brought to Jesus a woman taken in the act of adultery, asking h'ra, with the object of tempting him, whether she should be stoned, according to the commandment of Moses, or not. Jesus then stooped down, and with his finger wrote on the ground, as though he heard them not. When they persisted asking him, he replied at last : " He that is without sin among you, let bim first cast a stone at her." Jesus thereupon stooped down again and resumed his writing on the ground. The accusers now left one by one, leav- ing the woman behind. And Jesus said : " I do not condemn thee ; go and sin no more." — This episode is alluded to as a great proof of fine feeling and gener- osity in Jesus, as if any common man would not equally feel bound to save one of God's creatures from mob violence, the more if, as in this case, a few words would suflBce to do so. But apart from this, it mav be presumed that this tale is not fully in accordance with truth ; in the first place, because it speaks of Jesus writing on the ground, while Jesus never in his life wrote anything ; BAINT. JOHN. 271 and in the second place, it is not probable that the enemies of Jesus, on passing sentence, would have troubled themselves about his opinion or approval; or could have been put to the blush so as to withdraw in the sneaking manner as reported, because Jesus suspected th?ir own chastity. Be- sides, Moses had never commanded that the persons who were to do the stoning should be without sin themselves — The meek and lowly Jesus then addressed the multitude (it seems they had returned) saying : " I am the light of the world ; he that folio weth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life." The Pharisees not inclined to be put out by high-sounding language, answered : *' Thou bearest record of thyself ; thy record is not true ;" but Jesus replied, that the testimony of two men was true, according to the law, and he was one that bore witness of himself, and the Father that sent hira beareth witness of him so that there were two witnesses. — The heavenly Father was thus called by Jesus a man, as he speaks of the testi- mony of two men (v. 17, 18). His assertion can, however, not be admitted ; for in the first place, was his testimony n ot of value ; as no person can be wit- ness in his own case ; and in the second place,t he Father never stated that Je- sus was the light of the world. Besides this, Jesus had stated in Chapt. V : 31, that if he bore witness of himself, his witness was not true.— The Pharisees, therefore, had a perfect right not to believe in the glory Jesus attributed to himself; even, their own eyes would have shown them that Jesus was not connected with the light of the world. — Jesus spoke a great deal more about his intimacy with the Father, and when he had finished, a great many believed in him.— From this it would appear that notwithstanding the aversion John seems to entertain for the Jews, still many of them were blessed with an easy belief, which is the most praiseworthy quality of the Christians.— Jesus furthermore commt'nicated to his audience, that if God were their Father, they would love him (Jesus), for he proceeded forth from God; they might know it from his speech, but because they could not do that, therefore they were of their father the Devil. The Jews were much annoyed by this address, and stated, that Abraham was their father, but Jesus was a Samaritan. Jesus retorted, that he was instead of that much greater than Abraham, for he had existed before Abraham was born. The Jews disliking this remark, took up stones to cast at him, but Jesus hid himself, and went out of the temple.— The almighty Son of God had to sneak away from a few in- furiated Jews. Chapter IX.— And as Jesus passed by, he saw a man who was blind from his birth, and his disciples asked him, who did sin, this man or his parents, that he was born blind. Jesus answered, that neither the man nor his parents had sinned, but it was in order that the works of God should be made manifest in liim ; he then spat on the ground, and made clay of the spittle, and he anointed the eves of the blind man therewith, saying : "Go wash in the pool of Si- ^i 272 THE BIBLE EXPOSED. loam," which the man did, and came out seeing. — The almighty * Light of the World' would, in our humble opinion, have acted much more effectually by simply ordering him to see, instead of rubbing a blind man's face with his spittle. — In con- sequence of this miracle, the priests cast the healed out of the synagogue, on the plea that he was a humbug. Jesus on seeing the man again, comforted him by stating that he (the Light of the World) was come into this world in order that they that are blind might see, and they that see might be made blind. — His object was accordingly to do more harm than good. . Chapter X. — Jesus now commenced to speak in parables, asserting that, " he that entereth not by the door into the sheep-fold, but climbeth up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber." — We discover thereby that the meek Lord Jesus was rather sweeping in his assertion, for if the door of the sheep-fold, by some toward circumstance, would not open, the shepherd himself would be obliged to climb in. It does not imply, therefore, that the person who gains admittance in some other way, is necessarily a ihief. — The humble Lord Jesus explains himself thereupon somewhat in his own fashion, by stating : '* I am the door (v. 9) ; lam the good shepherd (v. 11 and 14) ; I and my Father are one" (v. 30) — In this strain is the whole address ; the only object of which seems to have been the most fulsome self-adulation. — Jesus asserted besides, that he could lay down his life of his own free will, and had power to take it again (v. 17-18). — But we learn in Luke XXII, that Jesus was in intense agony, sweating blood, when they laid hold on him to pass and execute sentence upon him. which circumstance would not at all agree with his boasting Chapter XL — Jesus then went into Bethany, where he restored Lazarus to life, after the man had been dead four days. — We gave our opinion about the resuscitation to life in our comment on Matthew IX. It is remardable never- theless, that not one of the other Evangelists makes the slightest mention of this great miracle, and that the book of John, which agrees in almost noth- ing with the three other books of the gospel, only mentions it. — Before Jesus performed the miracle he groaned and wept ; but as he knew that he could easily restore Lazarus to life, we perceive no occasion for his weeping and groaning, and deem it could only be humbug. Such hypocrisy was, however, not becoming to the Son of the Lord, as all kind of hypocrisy is always contemptible. The chief-priests and and Pharisees, on hearing of the m'racle, greatly feared that all men would believe in him, and that the Romans would come and take away both place and nation. They consequently took counsel, and resolved to put him to death. Jesus, therefore, walked no more openly among the Jews (v. 54).— John construed always all the words and actions of Jesus as having only a reli^-ious tendency ; but he mentions now something about the Romans, who would come ji'ul take away both place and nation, which statement fully shows that he was SAINT JOHN. 213 aware that a political purpose was concealed in Jesus' teachings, for the Ro- mans would have taken no notice whatever of any religious movement, as long as it had nothing to do with politics, as religion of all kind was free with them. Persecution for the sake of religion was not known among them, and has but commenced in the Christian ages. It must be remembered that the Ro- mans were, in Jesus' time, the rulers of Palestine, so that their laws were in force. Chapter XII. -Jesus remained a few days in Bethany with Lazarus, but towards the time of the passover, he went up to Jerusalem. This he did riding on an ass's colt, and the people seeing him, went out before him, crying : " Ho- zanna : Blessed is the king of Israel, that cometh in the name of the Lord."— The account of this glorious triumphal entry, whereby some friends of Jesus shouted Hozanna, we read already of; but then it was stated that Jesus came from Galilee (not troin Bethany), and entered Jerusalem for the first time since his beincr prophet. In that case, the prophecy mentioned in v. 15 of this Chapter, would apply better than it does here, lor in order to say, " Fear not, daughter of Zion ; behold thy king cometh, sitting on an ass's colt," it would be understood that the king should come for the first time. But as according to John, Jesus had been in the city already several times, and only on this occasion thought fit to to ride on an ass's colt, the said prophecy cannot very well apply to him ; it could apply with equal correctness to any one who chose to enter Jerusalem oa an ass's colt's back. That Jesus never was king of the daughter of Zion (Jeru- salem), and that the shouting was accordingly a mistake, will certainly require no demonstration -Certain Greeks, who happened to be in Jerusalem, expressed a desire to see him ; they being brought before Jesus, he gave them to understand that the hour was come when the Son of Man should be glorified (v. 23).— Jesus was certainly in error this time, for instead of being glorified like a king, he was hung on a cross like a criminal, which was not very glorious.— Jesus thereupoQ mad°e a speech in the street, and while he spoke, a voice came from heaven, saying : " I have glorified, and will glorify him again." The people that stood by heard however not the voice, but heard a clap of thunder.— What a pity that they could not hear any more of it, lor if the voice could have been distinctly understood, how much more to the purpose would it not have been ; for, as far as Jesus was can- cerned, the message was quite unnecessary, since he was fully convinced that his glorification was beyond doubt.— Notwithstanding now these encouraging words which Je&us had just heard from heaven, he proved on a sudden to be afraid of be- ing seized by his enemies, for he stopped short in his address, departed, and did hide himself from them (v. 36.) ' Chapter XIIL— And on the night before the feast of the passover, when Jesus and his disciples had taken their supper, he rose and laid aside his garmeats, \x 274 THE BIBLE EXPOSED. SAINT JOHN. 275 and took a towel and girded himself; after that he poured water into a basin, and bec^an to wash his disciples' feet, and to wipe them with the towel wherewith he was°-irded.-This extraordinary performance of Jesus is highly praised by the Chd^tians, as proof of his humility ; but as the operation was entirely use- less in itself, the disciples being very well able to wash their own feet, it might be presumed that Jesus had some other object in view, as for, instance, he could have assumed the disguise of a servant, to delude the soldiers into the be- lief that he was not the person they sought. - About what was further spoken by Jesus, verily, verily, we spoke of it in Matthew ; it has only to be remarked, that he pretended (v. 34) to have invented a new com- mandment, to wit : '^ to love one another. "-We cannot appreciate the nov-elty of that commandment, for it is as old as the world ; without that first of all natural precepts, mankind could have had no existence, but would have destroyed itself from the first. Also no religion was ever without that commandment. Moses the founder of the otherwise not very amiable Israelite creed, teaches," Love thy nei the day of bis resurrection, John relates of his occupations on earth for some short time after that occurrence. Thus we read, that a few days alter the conversion of Thomas tbe unbeliever, Jesus suddenly made bis appearance near tbe sea ot GaUlee, where bis disciples were fishing, ai^ surprised them with a most tix^men- dous haul of fish \ yea 15^ large fishes were caught, and the net was not broken. Bread was soon provided for, and so they all set down to a meal, con- sisting of bread and fried fish 1— We certainly do not consider it a crime in Jesus to eat bread, but only consider it an inconsistency, since be bad pledged biiuseU at THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES. 279 his last supper to eat no bread and drink no wine until he should be in his king- dom ; and the shores of the lake of Galilee though, no doubt, classic ground, were no heavenly kingdom. It is true that John makes no mention whatever of this pledge; probably thinking it unnecessary, as Jesus did not act accordingly. — Neither mentions John the important ascension to heaven ; but for the other evangelists, we would have been in the most deplorable ignorance concerning the last on earth of the great Saviour.— John, relating a few more incidents of minor importance, concludes his narrative with this chapter, declaring his testimony to be true, and assuring us, that if all things which Jesus did should be written, he supposes that even the world itself could not contain the books that were be written. Amen !— Johns knowledge of the size of the earth seems to have been limited ; the world we think is sufficiently large and the prophet's career of Jesus sufficiently short, to afford occasion for such library. \V^e there- fore suspect John of exaggeration in his statement ; but as exaggeration (as can be seen from the books of the prophets) is the privilege of holy inspired men, it seems to be the quality, par excellence, of the holy Spirit, and as St. John's statement so abundantly savors of exaggeration, we dare say that he, though not a prophet in this instance, must have been brimful! of the holy Spirit when he wrote his testimony, which he himself says to be true. THE ACTS OF THE APOSTJLES BY LUKE. Chapter I. — From a review of the four gospels, it appears, that Jesus' prophet's career was but for a very limited period. The preaching of his doc- trine therefore devolved prmcipally upon his disciples. The r acts are described by Luke. He designates tJiese chosen few no longer by the hurabie appellation of disciples (for with such learning as they then possessed, they were of course entitled to something more), but calls them Apostles. 'J'hose apostles then after the disappearance of Jesus returned from Mount Olivet to Jerusalem, where they met in perfect harmony, in prayer and in suppli- cation. And in those days Peter stood up in the midst of the congregation and made a speech (that we might call elegant.) inertiug a few prophecies much to the point, and proposing the election of another apostle in the place of Judas the traitor ; whom he said, had fallen headlong and burst asunder. Two were put in nomination, and after drawing lots, the balloting resulted in favor 0^ Matthew, who was unanimously elected to be the twelfth apostle. 280 THE BIBLF. EXPOSED. THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES. 281 I Chapter II. — And when the day of the Pentecost was fully come, all tlie followers of Jesus were with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it tilled all the house where they were sitting, and there appeared unto them cloven tongues, like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the holy ghost, and began to speak with other tongues as the spirit gave them utterance. — On former occasions we read of great men who received the holy spirit, but never then was it accompanied by phenomena so miraculous. What may have been the cause of the sound and of the tongues of tire, and of the language of the apostles, we are unable to say ; the cause could however not have been a holy one, or the consequences should have been holy also ; and we shall show that such was not the case. — Peter rose to deliver an address. On taking the troub'e to peruse the address, and the prophecies inserted, it will be perceived at a glance, that Peter strove to mislead his audience. He quotes for instance a prophecy of Joel, stating, that in the last days God would pour out of his spirit upon all flesh, and that prophecy according to him referred to the event just vvit- nesscd ; but as we know, this event did not happen in the last days, since the world still exists. Peter also prophesied that the sun would at the same time be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood. That nothing of the kind happened it is needless to say ; his prophecy was therefore utterly false. He also quotes (in v. 25)a psalm of David, when that royal poet speaks of Jehovah; now he deceitfully puts this forth, as a prophecy of Jesus ; his other quotations are equally far fetched. After having scared his audience with many quotations of fearful avengement to come, he adds to it, that the whole house of Israel will have the responsibility of the crucification of the Christ, and in order they may avoid the consequences, he exhorts them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. We perceive from the above, that Peter sought to make proselytes for the church of Christ by deceit and by terrifying them ; this now was the effect of the at present received holy spirit. Now as such effect is unworthy of a gift of God, we should suppose, that the said spirit can not have been of divine origin, but rather think that the most intimate friends of the Son of man understood a trick, by which the room in which the audience were assembled was filled with some spirituous gas, the inhaling of which brought those present inio a slate of excite- ment, on account oi which they gave utterance to incoherent language, that Luke thinks fit to call strange tongues. — Many inquisitive ones came to witness the performance and some said " those men are full of new wine ;' this would show at all events that the strange tongues of the inspired men was not very intelligible ; (what such language was may also be perceived from 1 Cor. XI V: 19,23.) If it should be supposed that the persons, who made the statement, (that these men were full of wine) did so out of prejudice against the Apostles, we have the declaration of Luke himself, (v. 5 and G of this chapter) that all these witnesses were "devout men." — Many were converted on that occasion and afterwards ; and all that believed remained together, and had all things in common. And they sold their possess- ion and ^oods and parted them to all men, as every man had need. And th(^y, // continuing daily with one accord in the temple; and breaking bread from house to house. "lid eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart. Praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved."-We perceive how blissful was the first time ot the Christians ; most blissful for lazy people ! Those who hiid nothing to lose, could make out to best advantage, and those who did have something to lose, might see others share it until their all was spent, and in return therefor they were allowed to be daily with one accord in the temple, praying and thanking the Lord in their e'ltreme singleness and gladness, which they enjoyed by their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Chapter HI.— Now Peter and John went up together into temple at the hour of prayer, and they saw at the gate of the temple which is called Beautiful, a man who was lame, and he asked alms. The man asked them, but instead of giving him alms, they healed his lameness on the spot.— Those two apostles having been the most confidential disciples of Jesus, may be supposed to have known how to find the patients who could be healed to order.— The man fol- lowed them in the temple, walking and leaping and praising God, and all who knew the beggar were filled with wonder and amazement. The crowd that col- lected was at once addressed by Peter, who exhorte 1 them in a speech to confess Jesus Christ; that their sins might be blotted out before the times of refreshing should come from the presence of the Lord.— The time of refreshing must evi- dently have been meant for the time of wrath. We learn how sweet the religion was they preached : A God of wrath constantly before the eye, who only for- gives on condition of the belief, that Jesus the fisherman is his Son, and if any one does not believe that, God refreshes himself by cooling his wrath on such stiff- necked unbeliever. Chaptff IV.— The captain of the temple and the piiests were grieved at the oration of Peter, and therefore put Peter and John in hold until the next day. They were then brought before the council of the chief-priest and elders, who admonished them to make no more speeches, and on condition that they should leave town, let them go. They then went to their own company. The Christians in Jerusalem numbered 5000 already. And when the congre- gated Christians saw them return, they commenced singing the psalm of David, where he says : " The kirgs of the earth stood up, and the rulers were gathered together against the Lord,^ and against his anointed."— As if the giving of an admonition by the Jewish elders had anything in common with the words of Dii- vid, where he complains that the kings conspire against him (David) the an- anointed of the Lord. Luke repeats further once more the statement, that all the believers were of one l:cart and of one soul ; and had all things in common. Neither was there any jiii'on- them that lacked, for as many as were possessors of lands or houses sold 282 THE BIBLE EXPOSED. THK ACTS OF THE APOSTLES. 283 them, and brought the prices of the things that were sold and laid them down at the apostle's feet, and distribution was made unto every man according as he had need. — 'J'his was a corporation of spendthrifts indeed; instead of praising such a state of things, Luke would have given proof of some common sense, by observing that this being of one heart and one soul could not last long, since a society which produces nothing, and maintains it^eIf of its capital, must sooner or later have to declare its insolvency. Time, also, has ehown how soon that communistic association came to an end, for though the Christian religion remained, as far as faith in a son of (iod is concerned, its communism soon came to a dead lock. The Christian religion of the present day is very different from that of the time of the apostles. Chapter Y. — But a certain man named Ananias, with Sapphira his wife, sold a possession and kept back a part of the price, his wife also being privy to it. He brought the other part and laid it at the apostle's feet. Peter knew that this was not the whole sum, and in his Christian manner of viewing things, judged that Ananias ought to give up the whole, and not part of it. When now Ananias stood before him, Peter reproached him with lieing unto God, in punish- ment of which Ananias fell to the ground and yielded up the ghost. Three hours afterwards Sapphira, the wife of Ananias, came and told the same as her late husband, and behold, she was served in the same manner. 'J'his occurrence created great sensation and apprehension among the faithful. — Tlie action of Peter shows with what degree of depotism those first Christian apostles managed their community. It will not be supposed for an instant by any intelligent per- son that Ananias and Sapphira died by the hand of God ; no one could suppose this who professes to believe in a Supreme Being of infinite justice and mercy ; the money laid at Peter's feet was the property of the unfortunate couple, and they could not be compelled to give it all. Tlieir telling a falsehood was cer- tainly to be blamed, but not a misdemeanor to justify so terrible a visitation. Thus, if a God had a hand in that affair, we submit it to have been an evil one. We hope not that Jesus, the God of the Christians, was concerned in the trans- action . . . There are means to kill living creatures suddenly, for instance, by a shock of electricity, when strong enough. It may be asserted this is only a dis- covery of a much later period ; this is true ; but seeing that the middle ages swept almost all vestiges of ancient sciences otf the eartn, and that many discoveries of later date had been known before the said period of desolation, therefore it wonld not at all be impossible that the priests of antiquity had known how to apply electricity to their purposes. The pious Christian will say that it is not likely that St. Peter would have committed murder by any such means, but such pious ones have to remember that Peter was appointed by Jesus a fisher of men, and as a fisher has a right to kill his fishes when he deems it profitable, so Peter could do the same. . . Peter will have discovered that he was often cheated by the new members of this communistic association, that many kept back a part of their '«* r i ■A? I: money, and therefore he will have resorted to some very vigorous measures, of which unfortunately Ananias and Sapphira were the victiras.-And so great was the effect produced by that miracle, that of the rest of the community no man dared approach himself to the apostles, who sat with one accord in Solomon's porch. Here whole multitudes of sick were brought, and they were all healed ; they laid the sick on beds and couches near by, that the shadow of Peter pass- mg by might overshadow and heal them. The high-priests and those in authority, not at all convinced by this time, but very indignant because the apostles had not left town, laid .their hands on them, and put them in the common prison. But lo, an angel of the Lord came by night and opened the prison doors, and brought them forth, shutting the doors again.-We are glad to hear of their de- livery, but do think that the angel of the Lord would have displayed more sa- gacity If he had come down in broad daylight ; this would have convinced the authorities of Jerusalem, without any more difficulty, that the apostles were the real men they claimed to be; while, as it was, they might suspect their de- liverance to be owing to bribery of the jailor.-The apostles, on being free, at once resumed their preachings in the temple, but again were they seized and taken before the council. There it was observed to tliem that they had beea strictly comm-.nded not to teach in the name of Jesus, and to leave town, but they all answered that they ought to obey God rather than men.-That answer was certainly very pious, and worthy of a (Christian apostle, but any fanatic could produce the same reason for his disobeying the laws of the land, if his pe- culiar notions of pleasing his God disagreed with those laws. By creating a ais- turbance in the temple, with seditious language, Peter did certainly not obey tho God of that temple but his own fancy— Peter standing before the council, took occasion to address them on the subject of Christ, and did this in such a manner that they were cut to the heart, and took counsel to slay them. But a Pharisee, a member of the council, named Gamaliel, thought it bad policy to put them to death, and procured their release, alter some flogging, and a peremptory command that they should not speak any more in the name of Jesus. Notwithstandiui' this command, they ceased not to teach and preach Jesus in the temple, and iu every house, says Luke.— From the remarks made by Gamaliel in his plea, it ap- pears that in those days more pretenders to Christship had existed ; for instance, one named Theudas, and one Judas ; both of whose pretensions had been sup- pressed by means of putting them to death, and their followers had been dis- persed. Jesus, on the contrary, had the good fortune of a resurrection, and of having persevering apostles ; to those two circumstanes may it be attributed that his followers were not so easily dispersed. Pretensions to be a Messiah, that is, a Christ, appear to have been the fashion in those days. Chaptek VI. — And in those days there arose a murmuring of the Grecians against the Hebrews, because their widows were neglected in the daily ministra- tion. 'J'he apostles then proposed to appoint seven men of honest report over 284 THE BIBLE EXPOSED. THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES. 285 this business, as they would give themselves continually to prayer and to the ministration of the word. One of those elected was Stephen, a man full of faith and ot the Holy Ghost, who did great wonders and miracles among the people. —It is really surprising, that while so many people existed in later days, and even aow-a days, who either pretend, or think themselves conscious to be full of the holy spirit, not one could ever perform a single miracle, while in those days mira- cle-performing seems to have been attached to the possession of the holy spirit. It must therefore be supposed that the holy spirit was then more con- centrated ; there were fewer believers ; but there being at present so many more, the holy spirit is spread over more surface, and each person may have a smaller portion of it ; hence, probably, the effect must be less in proportion.— The miracles and the excitable preaching in the streets vexed the authorities at last to such a degree, that Stephen was sentenced by them to death, notwith- standing that he looked like an angel when he stood before the council. r Chapter VII.— Stephen after relating the whole history of Israel to the Council (which they must have known already), told them about Jesus, and when he came to the point of Jesus' departure, he exclaimed that he saw heaven opening, and Jesus sitting on the right side of God. He was, after that oration, led away, and s4oned to death.— Stephen was accordingly the first Christian who died the death of a martyr for his faith. On perusing this and the preceding Chapter, we discover in the enthusiasm of Stephen, in his mode of fanatical speech, and in the great miracles he performed, and even in his pious looks, a very striking analogy to Jesus, and as Matthew and John, who were precisely the two Evangelists who knew Jesus intimately, make no mention of what be- came of him subsequent to his crucification, can it not therefore be possible that Jesus and Stepnen be one and the same person, and that he may have as- sumed the latter name in order to return to Jerusalem, in spite of the authorities, so as to aid in the propagation of his creed. The two other Evangelists pretend, it is true, that Jesus ascended to heaven, but as Stephen's soul will have gone hither too, we are at liberty to suppose that Jesus was Stephen, without neces- eatily accusing Mark and Luke of deception. Chapter YIII. — At the death of Stephen a youngman named Saul was present, who seemed to take pleasure in the death of that pious man ; and since the time of Stephen's death there was a great persecution against the church in Jerusa- lem, and the members thereof were scattered abroad through the regions of Judea and Samaria. Saul distinguished himself particularly in the persecution of them. After that passing notice of Saul, Luke relates that the apostle Philip did great service by performing miracles, and made numerous converts in Samaria. He also converted all the foillowers of the false prophet Simon, who performed wonderful things ; even Simon himself was converted, because Philip was Ihe strongest in performing miracles ; Simon was baptized, and remained with Philip ; even he offered him money, provided Philip would show him how to lay on his hands that'people might receive the holy spirit. On hearing of this, Petei grew indignant, and gave Simon a proper answer. The apostle Philip returned to Jerusalem ; on his way he met an eunuch of an Ethiopian queen, Candace, on a devotional journey to that city, reading Isaiah. Philip drew near, got into the chariot with the eunuch, and explained the words of Isaiah so dexterously as a prophecy on Jesus, that the Ethiopian ordered the chariot to stop, and at once was baptised in the river near by ; and behold, when they were come up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught Philip away, who was suddenly found at Azotus, which was quite a distance off.— At any rate, Philip was not a man who lost his time. Chapter IX.— And Saul, breathing threatening and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord, applied to the high-priest for letters to Damascus, in order to bring back to Jerusalem all the runaway Christians. And a-s he journeyed toward°Damascus, there suddenly shined about him a light from heaven. And he fell to the earth, and heard a voice saying to him : » Saul, Saul, why perse- cutest thou me?" And Saul said : "Who art thou. Lord?" And the answer was, '' I am Jesus, whom thou persecutest." Trembling and astonished, he asked : " Lord, what wilt thou have me do ?" He wjis answered : " Arise, and go into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do." And the men who jonrneved with him stood speechless, hearing a voice and seeing no man. When Saul arose he could not see, and they led him by the hand into Damascus, l^iroe days he was there without sight, and without eating or drinking ; and there lived in that citv a man named Ananias, to whom the Lord appeared, ordering him to go to Sauf. Ananias first objected to go to a man so well known for his enmity towards Christians, but he was inforn ed by Jesus, who called upon him, that Saul was a chosen vessel unto him, to whom he would show how great things he had to suffer for his sake.-One learns from this how desirable it was to be a chosen vessel unto the Lord Jesus. The miraculous apparition to Saul has been greatly admired as a proof of the omnipresence of the Son of God. It is strange, however, since Jesus took such good care to prevent Saul injuring his cause, that he in later times suffered the Christians, even those who were most devoted, to un- dergo all sorts of cruel treatment by all sorts of enemies, without in the least inter- ferin" in their behalf. Among the later Roman emperors, some (for instance Nero) attempted to exterminate the Christians, inflicting more injury upon them than Saul ever could have done, but Jesus did not make his appearance once. Even Mahomet, who has driven Christianity almost entirely out of Asia, was never favored by an order or an appeal from Jesus ; but as we see in securing the friend- ship of Saul, the mighty Jesus was less indifferent. Although now Saul and the men who were with him heard the voice and saw the light, but saw not the person from whom the voice proceeded, we are unable to say whether it was 28G THE BIBLE EXPOSED. THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES. 28T really Jesus or some one else who spoke, for we have no proof whatever. We may as well believe that the voice proceeded from some one concealed in a hollow tree on the road, and who, for instance, at the same time, let off some fire-work in Saul's face, injuring his eyes ; the person who performed this miracle could easily have understood that it was more preferable for the Christian church that the eyes of Saul were burnt than that a lot of saints be carried back to Jeru- salem. — When the pious Ananias came to Saul, he recovered his sight, the scales falling of his eyes. — This is very miraculous indeed, but it is not impossible that this messenger of the Saviour inquired every day into the state of the patient, and first showed himself before him at the time that the eyeliis were healed, so that on removing the bandage, Saul would perceive that he could see again. — Saul was soon converted and baptized by Ananias ; he took the name of Paul, and remained some days with the disciples at Damascus ; he even preached in the Synagogue and became more and more strengthened in the new faith. The Jews residing in Damascus determined upon killing him ; they watched the gates day and night for that purpose, but the disciples, aware of this, let him down by lhe wall in a basket. On his return to Jerusalem he intended to join the followers of Jesus, but they mistrusted him. until Barnabas, who knew of his conversion, introduced him. We further learn concerning a few miracles performed by Peter, the principal one being the restoring to li(e of a female disciple, named Tabitha of Dorcas. — In regard to the performance of such miracles we gave our opinion while commenting on Matthew IX. Chapter X. — There was a certain man in Cesarea called Cornelius, a cen- turion of the Italian band ; he was a devout man, and he saw a vision, on the ninth hour of the day, of an angel, who ordered him to send men to Jappa to call Peter to come to him. When the men drew nigh unto the city, l*eter went up unto the house-top to pray, when he fell into a trance, and he saw heaven opened and a certain vessel descending unto him, as it had been a great sheet knit at the four corners and let down to the earth, wherein were all sorts of four footed beasts, creeping things. '^' «"ch descended from heaven, this cannot be explained, than that Peter must have dreamt even Te he "' ,• *•" "'"""■'"• '" " ''"'' -=»" "-- b« "^t down fromtavr neither „, reahty nor m vision, since Astronomy has learnt that there TsTo uch place above in the skies substantial enough to hold a sh^ plter ha. therefore imagmed to see something that is quite Impossible.- Chapter Xl.-On his return to Jerusalem objection was raised to Peter's experienced at full length, and this satisfied all the saints. The dispersion consequent upon the persecution had scattered the Christians in all directil s hey preacW their doctrine wherever they went, and made manv 001^13 among the Jews, principally at Antioeh; and some men of Cvprus a'nd CKen. also preached to Grecians. And in those days christian prophets fr m /eZ- em came to Anfoch ; one of ,hem named Agabus foretold great dearth 2Zl the workUo that all the Antiochian saints resolved to send Lief to th i bi^^t ren in Judea. Barnabas and Saul were the special envoys or. that oc as on -It aTd thaTr^l '""' ": '"'""" '■" ''""' ""^ '^'^^^'^' their join stocrcapita and that the keepmg house ' all with one accord ■ described in Acts 11 : 44-47 had already experienced a severe check. The apostles and christian prophe s' acted very wisely to apply for relief to the brethren at Antioeh, for they hav nl not yet lived so on" vvith ' one neenrri • m„=* I, u , ' '"■ i-m y, navmg necessaries of life. °»« "^-^o^^, must have been better provided with the Chapter Xlf.-Herod, the tetrarch of Samaria, stretched forth his hands to ad Peter was put ,n prison wi,h four quaternions of soldiers to keep him ■ but prayer was made for him without ceasing, and an angel came to his rZ • the chains fell off his hands ; the iron gate that led into the city opened of t^ own accord, and Peter found himself in the street safely del iveredf when the a ^ell" parted. Peter then went to the house of Mary, mother of John, whose'rrnamt .Tb The' hand omT TT':'"'- """"' ''''' ^'"'"=" <"> '''^ "--"3! ten by the hand of the Lord, and was eaten by worms, and gave up the chost M'hat a wonderful story - Why again did not the angel who deliberrted SeT ome in broad day ight ? The whole of Samaria, including Herod would tten' have been converted at once. Why that mystery ? we the;fore arelnc „eJ ft 283 THE BIBLE EXPOSED. THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES. 289 believe that the whole performance was not at all supernatural, but that the keepers were bribed or made drunk. The Christians in that time wr're already nu- merous, and many among thera niu?t have been willing, with a bribe in hand, and the promise of everlasting bliss hereafter, to become jailor, and let escape the Chris- tian prisoners. And what concerns the disgusting disease under which Herod gave up the ghost, is, though very rare, a disease which has oftener been seen ; and then, whether a person dies of a painful disease, or of a comparatively easy one, this never has proved that the person was therefore a better or more wicked man. Chapter XIII.— At Antioch certain prophets were assembled, as Barnabas, Simeon, Lucius, Manaen. and Paul. The Holy Ghost said unto tliem : " Sepa- rate me Barnabas and Saul (Paul) for the work whereunto 1 have called them." After fasting and praying, they laid their hands on them and sent them away.— In the Old Testament we learned that the Lord spoke to the Jewish prophets, but we now learn that the Holy Ghost was or similar terms with the apOstles. We are not informed whether the Holy Ghost made his appearance this time, as a man or as a pigeon, or whether he only made his voice heard from heaven. But what does this matter, it is sufficient to know that the Holy Ghost spoke.— Paul and Barnabas departed unto Seleucia, and from thence they sailed to Cyprus ; at Paphos they found a certain sorcerer, or false prophet, whose name was Bar- Jesus, who was with Sergius, a prudent man, the deputy of the country. Serffius desired to hear Paul and Barnabas, but the sorcerer withstood them. Then Paul, filled with the Holy Ghost, set his eyes on him, called him names, and immediately the sorcerer was struck with blindness. The deputy believed immediately, being somewhat scared. The travellers then started for Ferga, and from there for Antioch. in Pisidia ; at the latter place Paul preached iu the synagogue, reviewing the history of Israel. Jesus' life included, with the happy result that manv of the Jews believed in Jesus. The Gentiles invited Paul to preach and the result was similar. The Jews, however, were filled with envy, stirring up the devout women and the chief men of the city against them ; persecution was raised, and the travellers expelled out of their coast. Prompted by indignation, they shook off the dust of their feet against them, and came into Iconium. And the disciples, that is the Christian congregation thei-e, were filled with joy and with the Holy Ghost on seeing them, and were full of joy that the apostles, by shaking off the dust, had furnished such evidence of their apostolic su- periority— According to the doctrine of Jesus, an apostle on leaving a place, where he was not well received, had to shake off the dust of his feet, a»jd such a place would fare worse on the day of judgment than even Sodom and Gomorrha (Mtitthew X : 14-15). Great reason to be full of joy for Christian saints. Chapter XIY.— At Iconium they spoke so effectively that a great many Jews as well as Greeks believed. Preaching was repeated more than once with success, until a reaction set in, and they were driven from the city in a row by both Jews and Greeks. Iliey then traveled to Lyconia, where they preached the gospel and performed miracles, which made the rabble believe that Barnabas was god Jupiter, and that Paul was god Mercurius. The people intended to sacrifice cattle unto them, but Jews from Antioch and Iconium persuaded them of their mistake, with the unfortunate result, that instead of sacrifices being offered in their honor, Paul was stoned, and drawn out of the city, sup posing him to be dead ; but when the disciples stood round about him, he rose np and went to Derbe. In that city he also preached the gospel, and in many other places likewise, until they both returned to Antioch, where they rehearsed unto the brethren the great things they had done. Chapter XV. — And certain men which came down from Judea, taught the brethren, and said : " Except ye be circumcised after the manner of Moses, ye cannot be saved." No small dissension and dispute arose on this interesting question, and Paul and Barnabas and others were sent to Jerusalem to see the apostles and elders in regard to it. — Why the saints did not submit this very important question to the decision of the Holy Ghost, is not explained, though according to Chapter XIII: 2, they were on speaking terms with him. — At Je- rusalem the question raised no less dispute than at Antioch, until Peter finally settled it by declaring, that circumcision was not absolutely required in those who were converted Gentiles. — The question was however not settled according to the doctrine of Jesus (see Matthew Y: l7-=-19). — Barnabas and Paul, when re- turned to Antioch, disagreed soon after ; it is stated that " the contention be- tween those two divines was so sharp that they departed asunder" (v. 39.) Chapter XVI. — Paul having now chosen Silas for his travelling companion, came to Derbe and Lystra ; a certain disciple was there named 'J'imotheus, the son of a believing Jewess, married to a Greek. Paul desired him also far a travelling companion, he therefore circumcised him because of the Jews, for they knew that his father was a Greek. When they came in Phygia they were for- bidden of the Holy Ghost to preach the word in Asia; and when in Mysia they assayed to go into Bithynia, but the Spirit suffered them not. — They were thus again in full communication with the Holy Ghost. Paul should have taken that opportunity to have the Spirit decide the vexed question of the circumcision, but he seems not to have thought of it. —A vision then came over Paul, in which he saw a man of Macedonia, praying him to come to Macedonia; Paul knew at once where he had to go to, and acting accordingly, he soon arrived at Philippi, the capital of Macedonia. He there met a woman named Lydia, a seller of pur- ple, whom he baptized, and who constrained him to board with her. And one day when Paul and his two frierds went to prayer, they were followed by a cer- tain damsel, possessed with a spirit of divination, which made her masters much 290 THE BIBLE EXPOSED. THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES, 291 o-ain by soothsaying. The damsel cried out, saying : '• These men are the ser- vants of the most high God, which show unto us the way of salvation." And this did she many days. But Paul being grieved, turned and said to the Spirit : '* I command thee in name of Jesus Christ to come out of her," and he came out the same hour. — Paul probably desired to remain incognito. We saw that Jesus, who was as powerful as God himself, could only cast out devils, because, as he stated, he had subjugated Beelzebub, but as for casting out the Spirit, this was impossible, it being his friend, or rather his near relation, and what house can exist when divided against itself? But Paul, we see, though a man tilled with the Spirit, could cast him out of other people, it would appear therefore that Paul was still more powerful than Jesus. — When the masters of the damsel saw that the hope of their gains was gone, they caught Paul and Silas and drew them into the market-place unto the judges. The consequence was, that Paul and Silas were flogged, and cast into prison. Paul and Silas, while there, em- ployed their time in praying and singing praise unto God. That charming music appear to have been acceptable to the mighty Being, for there suddenly was 'a great earthquake ; the foundations of the prison were shaken ; all the doors were opened, and every one's bands were loosed. The prison-keeper, in great trepida- tion, drew his sword, intending to kill himself, but Paul re-assured him in a friendly way that his prisoners had not bolted out. Secured in this respect, he took them to his own house, where presently he was baptized. The magistrates being informed of what hzd passed, gave orders to let them go, Paul, however, declined to do so, and desired the magistrates themselves to bring them out. — As it cannot be supposed that Paul was fond of remaining in prison, it is evi- dent that he wished to be considered a great man, and took all the credit of the earthquake to himself. If it did take place at all, the miracle may have been similar to that of the tumbling walls of Jericho. (See our observations of Joshua VI.) Chapter XYII. — On their arrival at Thessalonica, the travelling apostles met with great success ; many believed also among the Greeks, and not a few women ; but the Jews, who believed not, took unto them some lewd fellows of the baser sort to assault Paul and his friends. They therefore left the city .stealthily, and went to Berca. At that place they met with a better reception ; many were converted, including some honorable Greek women. Paul then went to Athens, where he preached in the market, but the epicurean and stoic philoso- phers called him a babbler. He was honored, however, with a hearing at the Areopagus, where he explained himself at length ; when they heard of the resur- rection of the dead, some mocked, while others said : " We will hear thee again on this matter ;" a few, however, believed. — It is strange that in the address at the Areopagus the words Son of God are not mentioned once ; he only speaks of Unity but not of Trinity, and represents Jesus as a mortal, but not as a God CffAPTER XVni.— Paul then departed from Athens and arrived at Corinth, where he took lodgings with a Jew named Aquila, whose wife was named Pris- cilla; he there worked with the Jew at his craft, tent-makingf. — As the Greeks lived in houses and not in tents, we may suppose that the only tents alluded to, were shrines, imitations of temples, made of brass or silver, which they used for purposes of ornament and worship of their household gods. Such employment was certainly not quite proper for an apostle, but perhaps Paul only resorted to it to satisfy his immediate personal wants ; or, perhaps, he found great pleasure in the company of Aquilla and his wife Priscilla, in which case he may, for friendship's sake, have submitted to those unapostlelike duties.— While working at his trade, he did not forget the work of the Lord, for he preached every Sab- bath-day in the synagogue, converting many Greeks as well as Jews. Opposi- tion soon set in, however, among the Jews, and they blashphemed Paul ; when he shook his raiment, saying : " Your blood be upon your own heads ; I am clean ; from henceforth I will go among the Gentiles," — We learn from this hew great was the spirit of Christian meekness in Paul ; it is not prbable, though, that his threats frightened the Jews very much. — They made insurrection with one ac- cord against him, and brought him to the judgment-seat. But Gallio, the deputy, on learning that the question was merely one of words and names, and Jewish law, dismissed the case; Paul now departed for Syria with Aquilla, and Priscilla his wife, after having shorn the head of the husband, on account of a vow. In Asia Minor he converted, among others, the great scholar Apollo, who had only known the baptism of John, Chapter XIX. — On his travels in the northern part of Asia Minor he came to Ephese, where he asked the Christians if they had received the Holy Ghost ; but they answered : " We have not so much as heard whether there be any Holy Ghost." Paul then baptised them in the name of Jesus, a^d while he laid his hands upon them, the Holy Ghost came on them, and they spoke with tongues, and all these men were about twelve. The apostle remained about two years in that city, and special miracles were wrought by his hands, even so that from his body were brought unto the sick handkerchiefs or aprons, and the disease de- parteTLES. 293 the greatest uproar, and when a certain Alexander, a Jew, intended to speak in his defence, the people hissed at him, because they could hear that he was a Jew. A short butsensible speech of the town-clerk appealing to the mob to abide by the law, restored quietness and order, and they dispersed.— It would not be at all impossible that the tent (or shrine) maker Paul and his friend Aquila may have manufactured little tents or shrines for the virgin Mary and other saints, and that this was the reason why the silversmith's opposition arose. Chapter XX.— Shortly afterwards Paul proceeded to Macedonia, and ar- rived in due time at Philippi ; he remained there three months, when he pro- ceeded to go to Asia ; on reaching as far as Troias he resolved to stay there seven days. Here he was preaching once in an upper-chamber and prolonged his sermon until midnight, when a young man who had fallen asleep, sitting in a window, fell down, from the third loft, and was taken up dead ; but Paul coming down fell on him and said : "Trouble not yourselves, for his life is in him'."— It would appear, though it is not stated, that the young man survived, but if so, it furnishes no proof of the divine power of Paul, as there are numerous instances of similar miraculous escapes, and it would therefore be the most sensible to at- tribute his recovery to casual causes.— Paul departed after this, on his way to Jerusalem, as he said, never to return to Macedonia. On taking leave of the elders, he omitted not to show up his own record in terms of unmeasured self- praise'; which, of course, he had a perfect right to do, following in this the exam- ple of his lord Jesus. And the people wept sore when he left. Chapter XXL— The author of the Acts who, it is said was St. Luke, ap- pears to have been now of Paul's travelling party, for since the preceding chap- ter he constantly mentions "u-e " which would lead us to infer, that he was since an eye witness.—" And it came to pass," the author continues, '^ that after we had launched, we came with a straight course unto Cos, and the day following unto Ehodes, from there to Patara, and finding a ship sailing over to Phoenicia, we ^ went on board and set forth," &c. The Spirit having intimated to Paul, that he should not go to Jerusalem, the party at last stopped at Cesarea.— The Chris- tians of Philippi had furnished Paul with funds for the relief of the poor brethren of Jerusalem, the money may have been spent in travelling expenses, and hence perhaps the injunction ot the Spirit.— At Cesarea Paul and his pariy en- tered the house of Philip the evangelist, who was one of the seven evangelists (we only know of four) and abode with him. Philip had four daughters, virgins, which did prophesy. And as they tarried there many days, there came down from Judea a certain prophet named Agabus, who prophesied that as soon as Paul would show himself in Jerusalem, the Jews would bind his hands and feet. Paul therefore proceeded to Jerusalem at once.— Paul appears to have possessed a singular love of adventure, and as long as he was decent, of course remarks would be out of place; but this time he disobeyed the Holy Ghost, who only very few weeks previous had emphatically ordered him not to go to Jerusalem. — The brethren were overjoyed to see him again, and hoped to learn from him how the circumcision question should be decided. Paul took to that purpose four men who had a vow on them ; their heads were shaved ; and he brought them in the temple to await tliere the accomplishment of the days of purification, until that time an offering should be offered daily, for every one of them. And after these days he intended to perform some ceremony with them, by which some miracle, it would seem, sliould decide the circumcision question. This though is not stated, as unfortunately, ere the seven days were ended, the Jews stirred up all the people, stating to know that Paul had brought uncircumcised men in the temple, and thus polluted the holy place. The consequence was that Paul got a beatinsr, but was saved by the soldiers, who bound him with chains and had him carried into the castle ; and such was the violence of the mob on Paul's sacrilegious act, that he had to be borne by the soldiers. I'he Cliief-captain then interrogated him, at the same time inquiring whether he was the Egyptian robber, who had command of four thousand men in his depredations in the wilderness, but on learning that he was not, he allowed him to address the people in Hebrew. Chapter XXH. — Paul took full advantage of the permission granted hira, for he made a long and pithy address. It was of no avail to him however ; his eloquence was thrown away on the people, who cried " Away with such a fellow, he is not fit to live." The Chief-captain then ordered Paul to be scourged, ex- pecting by tliat method to find out the cause of the bitter animosity of the people against him, but Paul disliking the scourging no doubt, and cleverly forgetting the bold language he spoke in Cesarea (Chapter XXL v. 13.), immediately in- formed the captain thit he was a free-born Roman. — According v. 3 of this chap- ter in his present address, he said : " I am verily a man which am a Jew ;" in Romans IX he said : " my kinsmen according to the flesh, who are Israelites," — accordingly he tcld a falsehood to the captain. The captain now let him off, but had him brought before the Council. — It would seem that only the Romans en- joyed the privilege of a judgment before punishment. Chapter XXIII. — Scarcely had Saul commenced to address the Chief priest, and Council as men and brethren, and to state how he had lived in good conscience, or the high-priest Ananias commanded them that stood by to smite him on the mouth. This put a stop to his oratory, though he quickly told the high-priest that he was a whited wall. And they that stood by, said : "Re- vilest thou God's high-priest.'' when Paul humbly replied that he knew not that he was the high-priest, for he knew it was written : Thou shalt not speak evil of the ruler of thy people. — Whether Paul spoke this in an ironical way we don't know. — At last Paul perceiving that one part of the Council were Saddu- III: re 294 THE BIBLF. EXPOSEl* cees and the other Pharisees, he cried out : " Men and brethren I ara a Pharisee, the son of a Pharisee ; ot the hope and resurrection of the dead I am called in question.'' This brilliant statement set the two parts of the Council at loggerheads with each other, which dispute ran so high, that the chief-captain, fearing lest Paul should have been pulled to pieces by either Pharisees or Saddu- cees, commanded the soldiers to take him by force from among them, and to bring him in the castle. — So the christian apostle Paul, who the day before had called himself a Hebrew, and afterwards a free-born Roman to escape scourging, when before the Council called himself not a Christian but a Pharisee, the enemies of his master. To what barefaced falsehood and miserable subterfuge did not Paul have resource.— In the night the Lord stood by him (v. 11,) no doubt an- other falsehood, for why did not the liOrd stand by him in broad day light when before the Council. — Forty Jews entered into a conspiracy to kill him, but Paul having heard of this, informed the chief-captain accordingly, who had him re- moved from the city by oight, when Paul was taken to Cesarea of which Felix was governor. Chapter XXIY.— The high-priest Ananias then went to the governor him- self, accompanied by Tertullus an orator, to enter a formal complaint against Paul, who was heard in self-defence j when the governor evidently puzzled, had Paul recommitted, and promised a decision as soon as he received the chief-cap- tain's report. Felix in the meantime treated him well, and even paid him a visit accompanied by his wife, evidently desirous to see the sensation man. On that occasion Paul informed Felix of the day of judgment to come, which information is said to have somewhat agitated the governor ; Paul was in prison two years, when Festus succeeded Felix, who left Paul bound. Chapter XXY. — The new governor proposed to Paul that he should ap- pear before the Council in Jerusalem, but the man of the Lord did not like this at all ; he therefore appealed to the Roman Emperor. Festus promised to send him to the Emperor, but first he sent him before King (chief-governor) Agrippa, that Paul might have a hearing, and the specification in his case be made out. Chapter XXYI. — On appearing before Agrippa, Paul gave a circumstan- tial account of himself, and like a true apostle of Christ, he concluded with re- marks on Jesus the CTirist, saying that he was come to be the first that should rise from the dead, and should show light unto the people and unto the Gentiles. Paul probably thought that he could convert Agrippa and Festus, but the latter said with a loud voice : "Paul thou art beside thyself, much learning doth make thee mad." Paul instantly declared he was not mad, politely asking King Agrippa if he believed m the prophets Aud Aggrippa equally polite, answereti : THE acts of the APOSTLES. 295. " tilou almost persuadest me to be a Christian." Those governors further thought that he was not guilty of any crime, and that they might have let him go, but for his appeal to the Emperor — The great apostle therefore, notwithstanding his being so overfilled with the holy Ghost, had made a great blunder. And as for the opinions ot Agrippa and Festus that Paul was not guilty, this can be ex- plained without difficulty by remembering, that they were both Romans, and that his offence was not at all of a political ciiaracter, but one being solely against the holiness of the Jewish temple, in relation to the circumcision question The probability therefore is, that even if Agrippa and Festus were made ac- quainted with all the circumstances of the case, they would have been hugely amused. Chapter XXVJL — On his way to Italy, and while on shipboard, a storm arose which lasted fourteen days. Paul, though not a sailor, had prophesied the gale, and he knew moreover to give the advice, that it was time to eat when the gale subsided. — Which shows Paul in the light ot a great prophet Chapter XXYIII. — The ship was wrecked upon the island Melita. The barbarians were very kind to them and kindled a fire that they should warm themselves. Paul had soon an opportunity to display his divine power, for a viper fastened on his hand ; but Paul, the unterrified, shook off the beast into the fire, and felt no harm. This was only one of the few remiu-kable adven- tures which happened to Paul, so as to remove all doubt, if even the slightest par- ticle remained, that he actually was the Lord's chosen. The chief-man of the barbarians named Publius, received the shipwrecked party with great hospi- tality in his house. That barbarian's father was very sick, but Paul fully re- stored him to health in a twinkling. He then proceeded to Rome at last, where he remained two years in custody, with leave to dwell iu his own hired house, and receive there all that came to him. And during that time Paul did not cease to preach the gospel to the best of his ability among the Jews of that city, and caused great reasonings among them. — 'J'herewith ends the book entitled the Acts of the Apostles, which we humbly submit should have beeu entitled the Book of the wonderful adventures of Saul, called St. Paul. 296 TBE BIBLE EXPOSED. im \i THE EPISTLES OF THE APOSTLES. The Epistles of the Apostles have generally been considered masterpieces of divine learning and wisdom, as only could be produced by inspiration of the Holy Ghost. We, though, examining the same, do not discover wherein consists the wisdom so much admired, we see nothing particularly sensible in them, and find maintained in one page that is contradicted in the next ;. or find it in contradiction with the doctrines of Jesus, whose doctrines they pro- fess to preach ; besides this, the Epistles are written in a very coarse and confused style, not at all fit to give a high opinion of the eloquence of the Holy Ghost. Also every one, by reading the Epistles, shall discover (provided he condescends to lay aside for the time his religious reverence for these apostolic productions), that what they contain is, for the greater part, only cant and foolscap. This must be plain to every one who uses his common sense, and therefore we shall merely limit ourselves with showing a little of the con- tradictions, and of the apostolic hocus-pocus, leaving it to the reader to invvesti- gate further for himself, tor it would be very tedious to repeat over again all that these epistles cant forth. The first Epistle we meet with is of Paul to the Roman Christians. He commences by introducing himself as the servant of Jesus Christ, separated to be an apostle (he might have said separated by myself, since he never followed Jesus as a disciple) ; he thereupon blesses the Roman Christians in an apostolic, yet courteous manner, calling them saints, beloved of God. A few lines further he calls the