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:ble image/ Les pages totpfsment ou partiellement obsct::cies par un feuillet d'errata, une pelure, ate, ont 6t6 filmdes d nouveau de fapon d obtenir la meilleure image possible. D 10X This item is filmed at the reduction ratio checked below/ Ce document est filmd au taux de reduction indiqu6 ci-dessous. 14X liX 22X 26X 12X 16X 20X 24X 28X 32X The copy filmed here has been reproduced thanks to the generosity of: Metropolitan Toronto Library Canadian History Department L'exemplaire filmd fut reproduit grAce A la g6n6rosit6 de: Metropolitan Toronto Library Canadian History Department The images appearing here are the best quality poasibie considering the condition and legibility of the original copy fsnd in keeping with the filming contract specifications. Original copies in printed paper covers are filmed beginning with the front cover and ending on the last page with a printed or illustrated impres- sion, or the back cover when appropriate. 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Un des symboles suivants apparaitra sur la dernidre image de cheque microfiche, selon le cas: le symbole — ► signifie "A SUIVRF ", le symbols V signifie "FIN". Maps, plates, charts, etc., may be filmed at different reduction ratios. Those too large to be entirely included in one exposure aro filmed beginning in the upper left hand corner, left to right and top to bottom, as many frames as required. The following diagrams illustrate the method: Les cartes, planches, tableaux, etc., peuvent 6tre film^s d des taux de reduction diff^rents. Lorsque le document est trop grand pour dtre reprcduit en un seul clich6, il est film6 A partir de Tangle sup6rieur gauche, de gauche d droite, et de haut en bas. en prenant le nombre d'images ndcessaire. Les diagrammes suivants illustrent la mdthode. 1 2 3 32X 1 2 3 '4 5 6 h :^ t! M TPvBIBIjE,<- Astronomy PYR:^n]iD, BY PROF. JOHN. W.ADAM. PRICE 30 CENTS. L iiTMr S' THE '^ BIBLE, ASTRONOMY AND THB at;?.-!'!' ■' ,. ,ji,.-.T. vlr^r I?YRAMID. I : '^1 RESPECTFULLY DEDICATED TO THB ROYAL ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY OF LONDON, ENGLAND, ".i^7i-f;li -iovjij " bjsfi Uh)l4 0A'N4f>i^ if THE YEAR OF OCB LORD ONB THOtBAim |»(^aT'aUia>BED titp Elf HTT #NE, BT JOHN WALKBB ADAM, IN THE OVVICE OF THIi HINIIi'tEB OF AORICULTUBE, AT OTTAWA 1 •, . .lAVJIMOKOrt'lV.-A (' ERRATA. Page 15 — "End of the age" should read "approaching end of the age." Page 17 — •' River HelHspont " should read " River Halys." Page 18 — "Alexandria the Great," should read "Alexander .t|>e,Qrea^" .-.^ ^ .. j . , , . ^ j_^ ^y^ Page 28, line 26 — " Soli-Stellar" ought to be "Soh-Luaar. * "> 08 .aoiH^ ' , Y H A ^1 rys o '..) ^ w 3 vi or n ovi or h 11 r .1' r ii.i 4 \ PREFACE. Having in my studies on astronomy daring the past year or two observed some very remarkable coincidences of cer- tain terrestrial conditions occurring simultaneously with certain remarkable aspects of the heavenly bodies, and hav. ing observed that the present decade embraces such combi- n'ation of solar and stellar phenomena as has not occurred during the past 6,000 years, these, together with' other observations I have made/ prompt me to bring this work before Ihe general notice ol the public. I firmly believe that the events that will occur during the present decade T^^ill be fully as remarkable as the aspects already presented. The year of I S87 has many strange and peculiar features about it. A great eclipse of the sun will occur on the igth o^ August of that year in the 26° of Leo. The reappearance of the Star of Bethlehem and other stellai* aspects leads me to believe that it will be a very eventful year. In my second edition I will give a fuller account' of the *' Star of Bethlehein,'' together with all the important as- tronomical phases th?»t occur during the present decade; also the weather probabilities during the coming year. In my treatise on " The Divinities " I desire it to be dis- tinctly understood that I entertain malice towards no one, nor have I written it frocp a^y malicious spirit, but purely for the interest of thoS'|^,Who]||'' it ifiay benefit, be they few or many. .%'■-;' ;••■;"*■' -jQfm WALKER ADAM. Toronto, July 11, 188 1. r .:3DAT3RS CONTENTS J irfi/.*! vl<- PACE The Divinities 8 Circles 20 Centres 24 Sevens 80 The Bible 88 Sqli-Lunar Influences 46 Joshuas Command to the Sun 61 Astronomy of the Ancients 62 The Prince ot this World 66 The Coming Planetry Perihelion 67 Our present Comets 68 The Planetry Conjunctions 61 The Signs of the Zodiac 61 Star of Bethlehem 61 The Coming Crisis 62 THE DIVINITIES. , PAGE .... 8 .... 20 .... 24 .... 80 .... 88 .... 46 .... 61 .... 62 66 67 68 61 61 61 62 jTS we take the telescope of science and gaze away down J±. the vista of the past ages, lined on either side with the monuments of long iorgotten empires, there we see looming up in retrospective splendoF from its far distant centre, the effulgent radiance of Him who filleth all in all — of Him who swung the stars within the abyss of the eternal space, and before whom the very highest intelligences of creation veil their faces and pay the ascription of Holy, Holy, Holy! He, in the magnitude of His glory and gran- deur has not forgotten to write His autograph on every atom of His workmanship ; on the upper and under surface of each page of geological strata ; on the leaves of both sacred and profane history ; nay, on every atom from the centre of cre- ation to its outer circumference is daguerrotyped in im- perishable beauty, the character and attributes ot the plastic power that moulded them. The very stars in their ceaseless course transcribe upon the ethereal dome of the eternal space a language that might well inspire the noblest minds with wonder and with love. The wonderful harmony, the mar- vellous order, the exquisite beauty of workmanship, and the incontrovertible evidence^ of design that seems to pervade the whole realms of creation, are surely* ample evidence that some superior order of intelligence must have pie-existed all forms of existing matter. What but an Intelligence could light the nocturnal theatre of the universe with stars, - and hang the sun, like a chandelier, within the mid-day [ concavity of heaven, at whose beckoning even the inanimate i/^ creation is summoned to life and action. Accoi'ding to the sacred narrative the primitive condition of man was one of faultless purity and holiness. Man within the portals of Eden, invested with every attribute that was essential to his well being and happiness. What ineffable joy it must have been for man ! To jsit at the feet of Omniscience and bask in the sunlight of God's infinite glory I On the other -> t THE BIBLE, ASTRONOMY. side, how dreadful must have been the loss resulting from man's disobedience to God's command, the consociational iiies have been severed, excluded from the paragon splendor of Eden ; the veil of darkness has been drawn across the spiritual as well as mental vision, being deluded by the serpent ; nay, more than that, the very Angel of Death has planted his standard on the very threshold of paradise, un- der whose rod all must pass who desire to enter its golden streets. If the narrative recorded in the book of Genesis be the inspired word of God, it then must, necessarily, be true in every respect, and if so is it not likely that ancient history, and more especially the sacred writings ol the ear- liest nations, should contain some account of the original condition of man? Do you not think that if Adam the first man (1 Corinthians xv. 45-47) enjoyed such sweet fellowship with the angelu, and feasting on the loveliness of the Divine Attributes, that after having fallen, not only he but his pos- terity would have adopted every possible means to regain the position already forfeited? Has man ever done anything to regain that position ? Has he, since the fall, ever realiz- ed his need of Divine help ? Go ask those vast monuments of art that seem to outlive the ages ! Ask those collosal temples made expressly for worship ; count, it you can, the host of martyrs that have been sacrificed upon the altars of benighted paganism 1 Mothers sacrificing their children^ husbands their wives, and wives their husbands, and men even sacrificing their own lives I All for no other purpose than simply 'to appease the malignity of some unknown God.* " Great is God above all gods," is written upon the tomb- stone of the past ages. Even although infidelity by its persuasive unction has endeavoured to usurp the preroga- tive of Divine authority, by attempting to supplant the standard of Christian truth and stamp in its place an auto- cracy of fanatic scepticism ; it is evident, despite alllthat infidels may say, that man has truly realized his need of Divine help. The bible is not the only book that maintains that the original condition of man was one of innocence and bliss. Nearly all the sacred books of the various oriental nations up- hold the very same view with respect to man's earliest state of existence, whilst a few of the most degraded anduncultured nations believe that man at one time lived in a state of ♦wild and savage barbarism.' I; is a very remarkable fact that Brahmins say that the first man was created in India, and was called Adamo, which signifies that which ) 4 V # i 0^-> AND THE PYRAMID. «> btgets', they also support the scriptural idea of man's origi> nal purity and holiness ; so do the sacred records of Egypt, Assyria, Chaldaea, Babylon, Medea, Persia, and Mohamme- dan, all recognize a golden age of innocence and bliss. The Chinese, Indian, Egyptian, Assyrian, Median, Persian, Tartar, Jew, Mohammedan and Christian, all adore one supreme God. There is other respects in which these sacred books agree with the scriptures, not only with the Old, but even with the New Testament; however sufficient testimony has been given to prove that man must from necessity have some object of worship. Man has within him an innate faculty ior worship which God has given him, and intended for him to exercise. History does not furnish us with a soli- tary record of a single nation, with the exception of but two, and they being the very lowest type of human existence known to man, who have not recognized the existence of a supreme intelligence, worthy of adoration. E\ en the excep- tional nations above referred to, believe not only in after life, but also in the immortality of the soul. Here are enumer- ated a few, out of hundreds oi others that might be given, of the names ot the principal gods of the most prominent- nations; for instance, the God of China, was Budda ; Egypt, Osiris ; Mohammedan, Allah ; Greece, Zeus ; Chaldea, II, frequently called Ra ; Assyria, Ashur ; Babylon, Baal or Belus ; Jew, Jehovah ; Ephesians, Diana ; Sardinians, Cybele ; Phoenicia, Baal, Thammauz, called also Adon, the Lord, whence Grecian Adonis; Medes, Ahuro-Mazdao or Ormazd; the Moabites and Midianites, Baal-Peor; Philis- tines, Dagon ; the Indian, Brahme. Very few pagans wor- shipped a creator, they being unable to comprehend infinity, consequently their gods were mostly finite, they all seem to haVe had a beginning, and all of immortal birth. Egypt, once the great educational centre of ths Eastern Hcmjsphere.perhaps the birth-place of Collegiate Institutions^ the Ce'^ ^try oi lost Arts and Sciences. A nation famous for wisdom. (I Kings, iv. 30 ; Acts vii. 22). " The hundred gated Thebes" which Homer informs us in his Iliad, was in, his time, the wealthiest city in the world, has like the most of Egypts great cities, been buried for centuries beneath thi?, sand of the bordering desert. The whispering statues of Meranon, that were said to have sent forth from their lipS| a musical sound, which was ascribed as the song tp Aurora^ th« godess of the morning, as it was said to have been heard every morning just before sunrise, but their voices ii it Of THE BIBLE, ASTRONOMY, ever did echo forth a sound, is now silenced iorever. It is evident from the surrounding ruins, that they once formed part of a long avenue or public thoroughfare lined with tem- ples and statues. Their featuies are so much obliterated with age, that chey are now entirely beyond recognition, the ruins of some ot these stupendous temples and statues scat- tered throughout the most populousdistrictsof Egypt afforded a sight of unparalleled magnificence. The grand temple at Carnak, occupying nearly a square mile of ground, is an ex- ample. Well might Napoleon with his army, stop and gaze in wonder and admiration, at its columns of pillars adorned with sphinxes and hieroglyphic characters which contain a historic record of their nation, and as they beheld it they clapped their hands, and gave an exultant shout as a fitting token of their great admiration. The Ramesium was an- other famous temple ; it was six hundred fe^t long and two hundred feet broad, adorned with one hundred aid fifty columns, ornamented, as indeed nearly all the temples in Egypt are, with syphinxes, vhe body of which resembled that of a lion and the face that of a man ; this temple was the residence ol the King. Many of the temples in Egypt, not only served the purpose ot a temple, but also that of the regal residence. Egypt as has already been stated, adored but one God, only, but through the secrecy of the priesthood, the religion of Egypt, was considerably perverted. As the Magi or learned priest, as the case might be, not only ot Egypt, but also of India, China and Persia, have veiled under the mantle of symbolism most of the wisdom and learning which they had acquired in the study of their occult science, only those who were initiated into the sacred rites oi the anagogetical priesthood, to them and them alone were unfolded the sacred importance and wondrous signifi- cance of these holy oracles. The sun, the moon, the stars, the earth, the sea, the flowers, nay, the very animals were converted into a symbolic representation of some particular characteristic or attribute of the great Creator. Indeed, everything, or almost everything was acknowledged to char- acterize some divine feature. The great mass of people re- maining in ignorance soon recognized a god in each ol the different elements until, in a very short time, the gods began to flock into the Egyptian tenets of religion by thethousatid. So much for the priesthood ; to them we are no doubt in- debted for the incipiency of Polytheism as well as Pantheism. " It is the will ot the gods that this temple should endure i> k \ t I 1 ■ 1 1 ^i AND THE PYRAMID. as long as the heavens" was inscribed upon one of the Egyp- tian temples. Now these gods must either have altered their intentions, as sometimes even, the gods make grievous mistakes, or else they were \mable to carry out their plans. Such were the gods whom the people worshipped. Do xio^ her magnificent ruins stand up lijics, made several important discoveries in astronomy, and one particularly in relation to our sun. But these gods, were terribly afraid that his discoveries might upset the doctrines of their religion, be- cause it was entirely contrary to their infallible interpreta- tion of the Scriptures. However modern science has revealed the fact that this astronomer was correct, and the gods were mistaken. So much for the infallibility of the gods. One of the decrees of these gods was that they had to in- terpret the Scriptures according to the unanimous consent of the gods. The gods are as opposite in their views on re- ligion as any two sects possibly could be. Take for instance their interpretation of the Lord's prayer. Some of thesje AND THE PYRAMID iz m gods says " Thy kingdom come " means kingdon of grace. Others says it means kingdom of glory, and not the kingdom of grace at all. " In all passages where there is any difH- culty they are sure to be opposed to each other in their in- terpretations." — Goode. Thus, they take up entirely diflferent views respecting the Lord's prayer, Sometimes these gods were so opposite in their views that they cursed each other in rage and and anger. Whatever is meant by the unani- mous consent of the gods is a mystery doubtless known only to these infallible divinities. Who else can explain it ? These divinities had a special abhorrence to the English translation of the Scriptures, and always desired to have it preserved in an unknown tongue. Speaking of the bible translation one says it is " a detestable kind of wickedness." Another says bible societies are " crafty devices by which the very foundations of religion are undermined," " a nefar- ious scheme." One, in 1850, said in a letter that the bible was " poisonous reading." *' It was contrary to the la-n of their church to publish any portion of the word of God," was the answer a clergyman received when he desired to have a text written on his wife's tombstone in the city in which the gods reside. These gods have their religion so adapted as to harmonize with the necessities of the church. For instance, you are at liberty to commit terrible crimes if you have only suffi- cient money to pay the costs. The gods have placards stuck up outside of their temples to-day ih many cities in the country in which they make their abode. A well known author says, " The merely convential crime of marriage with a first cousin cost ;^i,ooo, while the terrible sin of par- ricide or wife murder costs only £^." Sometimes these gods resort to lotteries and a certain species o! gambling in order to secure funds to pay church expenses. Those that giv»? the most money towards their church have their names painted on the windows and other articles of furniture in the church. I have known these things done within two thousan i miles of Toronto, Ontario. I have known them to bow the knee to metal images of dead gods erected in their temples, not only that, but actually kiss the toe of the sajne. Now is this not encouraging pride and idolatry ? No wonder that they have been opposed to the translation of God's holy word; no wonder that they have kept their congregation ig- norant of the principles taught in the Old and New Testament. ^il 14 THE BIBLE, ASTRONOMY, '- h i n Did their religion tend to increase morality, education or christian usefulness ? No ! echoes the dark ages of the past. Where is the religion that ever persecuted so many lor reading Gods holy word ? These gods employed wicked , men to go about the city and all who were found with a bible in their possession was to be consigned to a cell, the ceiling of this cell was a moveable one it lowered gradually down, occupying often many days to move but a few teet ; it would thus slowly sink until it would finaly crush its vic- tim to death. The object of this slow proceedure was in order to give the more pain to the martyr. If all the arch-fiends of the infernal reg'ion had been summoned from the realms of darkness, to tell which process of execution would cause the most pain and anguish to a dyitig mortal, we believe that their suggestions would have utterly failed to surpass the terrible records that stain the dark pages of past his- tory. The men who searched lor victims were so ashamed of their profession that they had to wear masks in the very cities in which they practiced. It is a wonder that when the god himself came out, arrayed in peacock feathers, at the declaration of his infallibility, that he was not afraid of being swallowed within the everlasting jaws of that Egyp- tian sphinx for his remarkable presumption to assume such an unmerited title. We would have said nothing about this god, had it not been that he assumed that it was impossible for him to err, and since nearly all other churches assume their liability to err, we of course must pass them by. Is it ■possible for anyone hot to distinguish the contrast between the love of Jesus Christ, compared with the malice and hatred of these gods ; the humility of Christ compared with their- arrogance and pride ; His great wisdom compared With their great folly. When will people learn the blessed truths set fortn in' the Gospels of our Lord Jesus Christ ? Men who make themselves the hero of their own tale and think themselves the great central object of public thought and action; those men who make lotig speeches narrating 1 events in which they show what remarkably great men they have been are not usually the men who accomplish .much ; men who boast of their learning are seldom, if ever m«n of gigantic intellect ; men who boast of their > honest character are not usually the people of the most trust- worthy class Those that boast the most are usually the first to fail. Take , the apostle Peter as. an. illustration, .compare with the humility of thewomkn of Canaan (Math. > »• AND ^HB PYRAMID. ir or the Lny ced a the \ny XV. 27-28) ; and the young ruler compared with the woman having an issue of blood (Luke viii. 47-48). Christ never boasted in the true sense of the word. He always respected humility but never boasting. Tradition says that Peter when at Rome (if he ever was at Rome), was crucified with his head downwards. Oh, what a lesson of hu- mility he had learnt from his blessed redeemer. Were not ' his dying words a fitting representative of his humility : " Lord thou knowest all things, thou knowest that I love thee" (Jno. xxi). Phoedrus boasted but the great Caeser was never known to.- boast. The Pharisee and Publican may also be added. '' ' We merely introduced these remarks in order that the reader might be better able to appreciate the inspired ut- terances of these remarkable divinities. Without further illustration the reader is left to form his own opinion of the description these Divinities give of themselves. Here are their own words as quoted by H. Grattan Guiness, in his excellent work entitled, " End of the Age." "I ani superior to all nien whom all persons ought to obey and follow, whom ho man must judge or accuse of any crime, no man depose 6m? / myself. .". .1 am greater than the angels. . . . For as we read the earth is the Lords and the fullness thereof, and as Christ says, all power is given to Him in heaven and earth, so it is to be affirmed that the Vicar ot Christ hath power on things celestial, terrestial and infernal which he took immediately of Christ." . . . " All the world is niy diocese and I the 6rdinary of all mett, having the authority of the King of kings upon subjects. ... I am all in all and above all so that God himself and I' have both one consistory and I am able to do almost all' that God can do, in all things that I list. My will is to stand for reason for I, by ^he law to dispose aboVe this law, and of wrong to make jiistice, in corfecting laws and chang- ing them. . .' .Wherefore if those things that I do, be said ' not to bb dbhe by marl, but of God ? What ciatt you make' me but God ? Again if prelates of the Churdi be called and- counted of Constantine 'for gods. I then, being ibbVe^ali prelates, seem by this reason to be above Air^ods.V'r^'"W riot the King of England itiy bond slave ? ascriptions of Christ piid to gods. ' •* All ^ kings shall ' fall doWri' b^foi^^ hita'Ml natibttS shall seiVe hiibt'* "Thbii'ait knbth^r God' on 'ekrthj'*' and' the 6tt jacc^pted'titlie; '^ bxii hof6l feod.'*' Tht ivhole humbei' 6f all such ckse^ kis ^rbpferiy do apjper- 16 THE BIBLE. ASTF/ONOMY. n ! ! l! tain to my dispensation which come to the number of one and fifty, points that no man may meddle but only I myself alone, I will recite them. •♦ It is he doth canonize saints and none else but he — his sentence maketh a law, he is able to abolish laws; both civil and canon — to erect new religions, to approve or re- prove rules or ordinances and ceremonies in the church, he is able to dispense with all the precepts and statutes of the church. The same is also free from all laws, so that he can- not incur any sentence, excommunication, suspension, iregu- larity, etc., after that I now have sufficiently declared in earth, in heaven, how great it is and what is the fullness thereof in binding, loosing, commanding, permitting, elect- ing, confirming, disposing, dispensing, doing and undoing, etc." " I will speak now a little of my riches and of my great possessions, that every man may see by my wealth and abundance of all thirgs, rents, tithes, tributes, my silks, my purples, mitres, crowns, gold and silver, pearl and gems, lands and lordship's, for to one pertaineth, first the Imperial City, the palace, the kingdom of Sicily is proper to me, Apulia and Capua be mine also the kingdom of England and Ireland, be they not mine, or ought the^r not to be tributaries to me, to these I adjoin also, be&irtes other provinces and countries, both in the Occident and orient, from the north to the south, (he names a number, etc)." Moses saith in the beginning, God made heaven and earth, •' and not in the beginnings, wherefore as I began, so I con- clude, commanding, declaring and pronouncing, to stand upon necessity of salvation, for every man and creature to he subject to me." Just a tew years ago, one of these gods decided to have a grand Ecumenical council, to which he summoned, by an en- cyclical letter, nearly one thousand of the high dignitaries ol his church, for the special purpose of declaring by vote, that he was infallible, he had large mirrors constructed so as the rays of the sun might reflect a radiance of glory around him, , qn the noon at which he was to be declared by their unani- ipous vote, to be an infallible divinity, the day arrived, but, atlas, instead of the sun shining in its resplendent glory upon tl?e divinity,! who, was now seated ia his throve ; the clouds hung tl^ifik,,heayyovef that great city, one might suppose that all fthj^ gpd^ of Greece had broke loose andi t;ook the thui^- derbolts of heaven, to reak vengeance on their rivai, th^ s^ietj mmmm AilD THE PYRAMID. 17 one self ■| ■i 5( of the palace was threatened ; the very voting was, I think, not a unanimous one, but the majority of course decided in favour of the god, but, could such actions endure for any length of time ? No ! the hand of retribution fell heavy upon an action of such -arrogance and presumption, war was de- clared, the day following in which he lost his temporal power, which he had held for many centuries, not only that, but he lost two of his greatest national strongholds in the world. If this is not the finger of retribution I desire to know what is : Thus ended the temporal power of these gods. The sacred books of the various oriental nations are in- deed just as incomprehensible as the gods they worship. Even the best of these sacred books are apt, more or less, to lead the mind of man into a labyrinth of perplexity from which he will find some difficulty m extricating himself as some of these books are filled with legends which are more or less enshrouded in a maze of mysticism. Take the early history of China, India, Greece or Rome, and they are com- pletely wrapped up in fable, and it is no more possible even when they subjected to the light of modern science, to un- ravel these mysteries than it would be to invent perpetual motion or translate the utterances of the Egyptian syphinx. Their oracles were equally abstruse. Within one of the temples at which these oracles are held, they have a three- legged stool, upon which is seated and an elderly woman whom they term Pythia. I allude to the great oracle at Delphi, Cresus, King of Lydia, who was going to fight with Cyrus, King of Persia.- In order to accomplish this act, he had necessarily to cross the river Hellispont ; but before commencing this great undertaking he sent several valuable presents to Delphi, and afterwards consulted their inspired oracles. The answer which he received was was that '• if he would cross that river he would destroy a great empirie." This prediction was remarkably fulfilled. He shortly after- wards crossed the HeUispont, and in doing so he destroyed a great empire. But unfortunately that empire was his own.^ Pyrrhius, a King, desiring to coiiquer the Roman Empire, consulted these oracles and the reply given was " Dico te Romanos vincere posse," that, when translated reads, "1 say that you can conquer the Romans," or you may also translate it " I say that the Romans fcian Conquer you." It;' as ncifly all the inspired declarations of the^e oractes, had^ a double meaning. This was no dbubtvery eiicoiiraging to those who consulted them. A question wad srent to the oracle 18 THE BIBLE, ASTRONOMY, m. ol Jupiter at Dedona. and the answer received was *• Peribis in bello nunquam redibis," which means " you shall perish in war, you shall never return ;" it also means "you shall never perish in war, you shall return." The ambu'gity of this quotation arises not from any defect in the latin langu- age, but because it was not punctuated. A comma after bello, implies that he will perish in war, while a comma after munquam means entirely the reverse. . Apart from the glorious gospel of Jesus Christ there seems little else but ambiguity, idolatry ai.d ignorance. Cicero said " All things are sirrounded and concealed with so thick a darkness that no strength of mind can penetrate them." — (Acad I. 4. N.) " We only follow probabilities and are not able to go a step farther." — (Tus. Ques. i. i. N. 2.) — Fuer- back, that noted infidel ; his dying words were " Truth, O Truth, where is it." Socrates confessed, when dying, that the future was a mystery he could never solve. None of his writings have descended down to us, but we have gained a knowledge of his thoughts as well as actions through com- temporary writers. Even Alexander the Great, who was pupil of Aristotle, travelled hundreds of miles through the sandy desert simply to be called the son ol Jupiter. He gained the long wished for title, and then set himself up as a god. Who would have thought that he would have been so blind as to send presents to these oracles for the sake of being called Jupi- ter's son. He never had unfolded to him the glory and ma- jesty of that God who is the Sovengn ol the universe and before whom every knee must bow. Probably the only time he may have seen the word of God may have been at Jeru- salem, when the Jewish priests showed him the prophecy in the Book of Daniel respecting himsell. At the death of Al- exandria the Great, the Macedonian Empire was divided. Ptolemy took Egypt and took up his residence in Alexan- dria. He was the person who was the means of having the Old Testament translated into the Greek tongue. His tran- slation is commonly called the Septuagent version because he employed seventy ol the most eminent scholars to trans- late the S£^me. Thus he was an instrument in hands of God in destroying the mythology of the past ages. He opened the portals of commerce in Greece, a.nd did much in ways ta incr<;a^e social and educational standing of the people The bible has always been a death blow to my- thology. It affords us great pleasure to know that 1 »'C^if.J«W*:*i|liWWi)»iis |sh |all of ru- ter ter ( nearly all these gods are now dead and entombed amidst the shrines of the past ages. This is but the sepulchre oi 'W' ' arU ii> v\^ulJ^^<\^> ji»j\vMw Or , i. 'Uio livvjiv.n{ fwh jnoVi l.jni«rJ'))<»|) ',ul vino tiuo .J14.JU.1.J • bif'Ul){K>. > ).|i.>rtnc rrrr.'fj n£)>ls) ll-iiV// flDKiv/ ,«fUi)^3i ' I, Sii ;fll(;i . ,t»I'|j:>unq t/vi^ajj.! ; , . ;■.. -aoflJcxivu ?jr)ci! Oil «! •! 'U^-uiiiiinoo ian'o^ii: j 1<» uno) Uifi?)Jxy^f(} n('4 ',' u';jjiiv/ ' ,, rl:jfilw aonilijjo ,jioii«9i:) oJr.miiuuu mi..; >}i,i:vnx. ,ji!..ijv/ >.;; -di Ft.-i'j(ii)>j biimao'iioiuH •>.?. . c^-r-jJoiiTtuij ol vino iJorr i) . . ^\ li ■'f'fmuntK'. Hb oi qi/fvfn, ;,a •noirs f.fl'- ;-:)t(;ditMK f»xij biJi.jtr) uilv/ ijiiil 1(> ffrl ifgijold) h:y\u'j'^ Kjy-J i •3:>n:»io8lo a£i>rK> i«»:v {uii ^^»0£t^J|^,^rJJ rig osiiJi V . M f)id)il»qHioDul bit.. In/,/ i.u/, 'ri.B 3.|ail) ,jW(j ,y.;'.,u;u i'iibqub n.'»v.> fj/diJtiioiUghiu ,8r{]i:i;>t> nv/ouj/aif aji /tidhv/ ^■jmMKaiJ ijtfj is j^nir>nj;l}i ;(l(A;fi8K'' 1 , "'.lavjttr; ibJH)« srftlo \i\m\\'\m ;l>;il <>} Jqju ool Joi; ; // •imiUin ;■■ ..].. .1 w - ' ' ■■•' '•/-) -llnv 9W s)ltily/ (OioiiJii to amuicfotq irxja^jb ufU dJiv/ c, , •ijjji ji^iiJ oJiu .hiyi^.ai ne an .'iviy arrj^ab ic-iini aril ni huctfii 5m1J rj:. noiJftc^i^Jflgia ont:;^ -xU jiIr/T!") 'Jii J ai;d ^ lajtijsitjda h;t.3 . - ( I'l .niU^.'-V," V I i iitbiuia badmoiaa bnt\ Jjr.ih y/«i m taiii sflo-jrij »Ji(;w :t«3i^^, >; i :i:;tmcLi^: ' ! •::».'/ ,-;'-rj l;-:ob /iJ (nirl / i^: .V x; 1 •-yciuiixlft mi H I'^f^RT <'i I ^^^f ^d '^v/ "f^rr .'i; bv."-, 'tKi* I '.fn (TpD is positive, all nature negative ; mind, light, life, and \^i(> all vital forces are dependant on th^ relationship of these two principles. The first is primary, eternal, im- mutable, self-sustaining, energetic and animating in its character and operations, while the latter is secondary, and ever influenced by the modus operandi of the former. The nature, characteristic and general relationship of the opera- tive principle, can only be determined from the general out- lines and external formation of the latter. Thus, a know- ledge of the character and attributes of the Creator, as re- presented through positive principles, may be acquired through studying the works of creation, which when taken altogether, represent the negative principle, especially as portrayed in external configuration. It is no mere hypothes- is, but a self-evident fact, that the great builder and archi- tect of the universe, has written upon the external form of the whole, animate and inanimate creation, outlines which serve not only to characterize the functions and general re- lationship to all surroundinbr tn^uences, but also to manifest the attributes and glorify the character of Him who created them. All forms are symbols, and all symbols are His out- flowing inspiration, materialized and represented through visible nanifestations. Mar may gaze on the surface of the vast ocean of science and the light of philosophy, may even penetrate some depths below, but, there are still vast and incomputable treasures within its unknown depths, unfathomable even to the highest intelligences. In viewing the grandeur and sublimity of the stellar universe, or casually glancing at the ever varying beauties of nature, are we not too apt to link our ideas with the deeper problems of nature, while we v/ill- ingly neglect the superficial and more important features that give expression to innate characteristics ? Does configu- ration in the least degree give us an insight into their gen- e-:ai character? had the circle the same signification as the 4NP THE PYRjLMIDyy: % 'HI ;,-•> angle or square ? does any two, diverge iojrmsKJyeutte^ance^ to precisely the same idea ? ,, ,, [,,,,.> Among the various forms that are scattered throughput the almost illimitable works of Creation, there is npne xao^^, conspicuous than that of the sphere and circle. It ,is tp,ke; witnessed in the revolution of the planets ; in the aspir^tiop>) of plants ; in the construction of sea shells ; in the be^fitijfj^l^ and brilliant halos that encircle the bun, mpoi^, placets and. at tihies even the clouds. Its power is manifest in the ,^hirl* . pool and whirlwind ; in fire-balls and ball lightning ; eve% lightning, which is supposed to be angular, and is so repre^, sented by the ancients in work^ of art, ha^ been, dennpn- strated by scientific investigation to bean irregular, Cjurye* The animal vegetable and mineral kingdom^ a0brd numipr*, , PUS illustrations. In the y^getable kingdom, the baobab^' the largest tree no doubt known to man. It flourishes benec^th,, Africa's tropical sun, the trunk being usually between 25 and. 30 feet thick. It^ foliage forms a perfect hemisphere of frpna, 140 to 160 feet in diameter. The banyan tree, in.lnfji^, ;i& another suitable illustration. The bread fruit on the islaind^; of the pacific is almost perfectly globular. The (duripn fruity of a laifge and lofty tree, which is a ijtative of the Malayan Archipelago is almost globular. So is the fruit of the cactus, orange, grape, fig, etc. In the animal kingdom take t^e, carapace or rather tesselated scalesof (he extinct gIyptodpn„; the globe fish ; also the doree and silicu^»'^,v{ .^^.j ^^ v! tisj/i Nature seemsi to tend to circles. Dew, when isolate^ be-i comes globular, and so do all fluids, such as quiclcsilver, etc. Gasses, when subjected to magnetic action under certain circumstances, assume a circular motipn. Water abends to the clouds in circles. , It is also witnessed in the instincts of animals. The carriage dove ascends, in, a eirculf^r Iprn^^ Birds build their nests, lees their hives and ^pi^prs Jtl?e^f webs round. Numerous animals construct their habitsitipns in a circular form. Mosquitoes, when gathering in njasse^^ seem to assume a glpbular form.^, ^ ,^^ ,. ,^ ),,'^iano ;,.i'l . Things evidently seem good in propprlipn to « their ^pber- odicity. If it were npt so, God would pot have made, tha:^ particular form so conspicuous in ,His works. Is not th^ roundest part of the tree its fruit ? Is not tl^e rpundest part of the vegetable essentially the , best part pf the vegetAplt T take for example the cabbage, potato, onion, puippkin» melon^ 9tc«; same with frnit as the grape, fiKi etc. (ppmpare.the rainbpw tP a flash pf lightning, the, rpsetp the prickly tbprn. lU t! I ^ TH'k 'Mik: A^tkoUSMY. Is -riot the uppiernrtost arid litge^'t spheroidal part of man the' seat of the intellect and reason. ,: ' Agiih' IS th^re atiy form more beautiful than that.of'the sphere ot'ciffcle. Look at the ■ smg an(i setting sun ; look at the vari- tiVited rainbow wrapped in evanescent beauty. Consider the beauty of the ftor'alkingdom ; take the globe flower, the rose; th6 violet, etd. Numerous other evidences could be given, but enough has been brought forward to show tha,t thi circle is of air forms, doubtless the best fitted to repre- sent the Divine character, while those of an angular form' do not present such a favourable asjiect. The invention of the sphere is assigned to Atlas, king oi Mauritania, whom O^id, in his Meta, i v. says, was the son of Titan Japetus, for whose wickedness Atlas had to bear upon his shoUlder the vault of heaven iil the remotest region of the west. Some Say that he was changed into the moun-' tain in Africa which 1 ars his natne. He had the reputation of being a famous astronomer. He was no doubt a real per- soni but mythology, like the priesthood, is so much inter- woven with fable that it is difficult to discern the true from' the false. There is no doubt that his profession gave rise to the idea of Atlas supporting the heavens oh his shoulders. The sphere which is Usually put into the hand of the sov- ereign just before coronation is used as a tbken of universair Dominion, and represented the earth, which is of like form. Nearly all the English kings have a symbolic sphere in left hand* on seals ahd coins. It Was denominated the " Imperial Apple" Temples, Which were of a circular form, were mascu- line, and w6re dedidated to the'siin. So also was the temple of Saturn or Baal, Hammonoif Carthage. The amphitheatre of Veispasian at Rome, iS the largest in the world. The ceil- ing of the panthfebn at Rome is decorated with circles of itars, ericasing each bthei* fi-om centre to circumference. The symbolic Value of the seirpent was said to be itScircUlat iribvettifent ii^ aspiring. ^'^^' '"^'''''''f'T'^f s."'' The ancient Egyptians,'! beM'ved, Used a circle as a'Symbbrof God. T'he !Pefsiaris are said to have worshipped circumferences Of circles, more especially that of the sun, but in reality It was neither the circle nof the sur. wh'ch they worshipped; but some gt^at and powerful spirit thai seeiued t6 them to reside irt the sun. The wor'd jerUsalertf is cbittpbfeed '6f ^i'iis a circJe 'and sol the sun.' It is a remark^ Able fact a circle is used befot« God, t.or'd^kc'., also ibascrip«! tiou^ paid t6 theiti is'**^ Gb^;'* i^tb.; but of cbufse it \sMi ' ' ''^ AND THE PYRAMID. fere Iri- ler [hs Ibe' »^; |re-' there because it is a circle, but simply because it is an excla- mation. But why is that particular letter used as a note of exclamation in preference to all others in our alphabet ? Perhaps, after all, its circular form may nave had something* to do with its present a^d^ptaiion.,, Ii^dia, China, Egypt, and Persia were lands oi oiiible ^worship, i 0, what a wonderous amount ot meaning there is , contained in that small form what a fitly symbol of Him •• that sitteth on the circle of the earthy" an4 whose presence fills the immensity ojt heaven);/^ .Kj?>l.H'ca Tiiio? h'H, •{iivJsrnf.Iq olaiiw yd J to fljiJH ofi; ^•— -4 rtx?;lorJflfl»< >ti:tn5««>iinrafiw,ifirfJ rfio Sa>! > ^;>hfifia(f lo HoilfiJa^aoncpj fltJVjF.r r ' >: t! ; .; . ;; -: uuiiisyiD hv allow Jii'^i^^t^ilJ riJ bfiiitixa vilanfj«'i:i^ bx3£'ibii«aiH oi auou^Jnoa ni^'K; {inow ofo uJ «»Korio aH Vi af;f.6'fn 'iiait)v;jT : >. ) ;bI< j>i at lo S^f.rf ;->Hl " fir. rvrn lo aa*niHSw:fvvt • : 1' m ariJI .ODni;"iK^><| . :>&;3 aict) l,)aiis '.: ■ ■.■■•.nd \mii ,^i%&- H\U lOJt Jf'.?l[ .«1IJOfl ;u.i \.i \m>, ha n''i!)n'^f!fi5j|1o ifv r'nilnrtnt ;>di 'lifiq-rfi ?;:♦ dfeiinni oJ fodhfebii ■jaited.'adl fo! lo KJriolbitii }8»iJd;§iin adJ |.yi.'u,u yy.f d teriJ 8>Jww 8i;id.) lo :if(J j.-;(h <''trr3 gj 1? . j-"i-'f(^'i9/^''i Jnd .-j^^nBitfe fei^ll .a->?»R r«dl ,ht.i'. arnoa aaodt .08 ad. (ijiw V.2 ^v^Y r\7.K ('! 1. ■ . ..ll . '.: ■iquiia Ju(f .ebi' ' •ihimtHbz.o CEiN i iRESi) AnipA ^itjv? Kiaif/J SYMBOLOG Y doubtless had is origin conteini>orary with the birth of the whole planetary and solar system. Doubtless the first orb that was generated by the fiat of an Omniscient will was more or less a vague representation ot his infinite attributes and his eternal existence. Perchance that very orb may have been the embro of our whole stellar universe in much the same way as Adam was the paternal ancestor to the human race. In the great work ot creation, is it not but natural to sup- pose that the Creator, in commencing the work of creation, would begin contiguous to Himself and gradually expand His works from centre to circumference? Not bu'; what He is able to adopt the very reverse means if He chose to do so ; but so iar as nature teaches us we are led to believe that God generally employs those means that are to all ap- pearance the most feasible and intelligible, even to our irail sense and knowledge. For instance, when God cre- ated this earth He could have allowed it to remain station- ary, and have caused .thesiin, ilfiBion, and all " the host of heaven" to have moyei^' around it;i>nce every twenty-tour hours. Just ior one it||id1rtien,t con8ui«(r the awkwardness of such a plan when com paired to^ its present relation to the planetary system ; does it not seem a better and much easier plan to have the earth simply to turn on her axis once every twenty-four hours I What infinite wisdom is displayed in -every single feature that is presented to our gaze. Not a single improvement could be suggested that would not in some way impair the function or organization of any of these ever varying forms that greet our view. God's way is always the be t way, although it may not always appear to be so. What means could be better adapted to furnish us with light and darkness, morning and evening, day and night, hours for work and hours fcr rest, than the earth simply revolving on its az^z It is the marvellous simplicity of Gods works that have bafHed the mightiest intellects of the ages. It is strange, but nevertheless it is true, that the AND THE PYRAmO. :» r> I simplicity of '^oindr things havis bden tbei very ixteans by whicbthe most astute scholars of the age have been baffle^^; In retuiming to our subject do^s it not appear more reason^ able that God« at the very outset, would begin the consrtr^c•; tion of this great universe in proximity to Himself and ein tend it moiie aiid more remote, according to, its magnitude. Nowy if this means has been carried out with regularity and; precision, then are we led to another supposition^ that he must then be in< or else in close, proximity to, the centre of the universe ; and again* if the first orb created, is parent to. ill other orbs, then that orb must also be centralized WAtlM^j the vast realms of occupied space. in-? ■■•s, .nn'r it 5rr,; ) Is it possible to find anywhere traces to show that the 'embryo of our stellar universe must be a central pne. • Does jaature anywhere hint tO; us that the great ; vital prinqiple 9(; •our wholei universe is at its centre. If you, glance at nature carefully you will find in the majority of cases, if not undejr. all circumstances, that : the central position is usually the highest or most important. Vital principles seem almost, «v«rywh*re in nature to emanate from centres. The su|i^ «rhielii imparts life to our earth and doubtless to othe^r ^oitldei, is/in the centre of our solar system. The yits^^t principle of fruit (the seed) is in its centre, example, the orange, >peach, apple, plum and melon. Plants also when; th^ floweit produce their seed usually in the centre of thOi flower ; Example : the. morning-glory, the poppy, the china astor, the sweet pea, and potatoe, besides numerous others illustrate this princifple. The essential part of a vegetable is ^usually the hetirjt;or core, while the drcumfereaQi:ei8: gen- erally of but little importance in comparison. ; . ' : j c. i r, iiAecording to the r doctrines set forth in the science of phrenology, the organ of veneratioD, the function of wh^ch«; is,thew«a!ship and adoration. of the supreme Creator, occu-i pies the uppermost and central position of the skull. The Caucasian race, who- evidently ; exhibit the highest degree of intellect as well as other general accomplishments , in- deed the most perfect type of manhood, is to be found at the/ very (:ientre of the temperate zone.' They lessen in culture,[ beauty and intelligence as ^hey recedefrom that centre. The temperate jsone itself has a central situation, being located; exactly between the. equator and the poles., ' i ii ,f-\h-\k'A The elements of phalUo worship, was held, with great sanc*> tityi by the ancients^ and especially by the Egyptians. T)h0. Hebrewi bible i clearly shows its . sanctity especially in , tlta[ THE BtBZt. ASTRONOMY, j.i 'I administration of sacred ordinances, iilthough it is impose sible to discern it in any of our translations; henceour English word testament is of Hebrew origin. One remark* ablie feature about this obje(^t of worship was its central sit«- nation. "i" "i v.liuitxoj'; n iriovmu lr,:vivj -iff' "Id >uui • History affords numierous illustrations of the importance- of a central position. In the Chinese map, China is situated in the centre, while England and other countries are put on the circumfere-ice. The Areopagus or Mars hill is in the Centre of Athens. When Greece had met with severeiafflic-- tion and desired to ascertain the true God, the place pointed oat to them, as before stated^ was the centre of a circlej The ancients whd believed our earth was possibly the mbst important feature in our solar systemi assigned it a central location until Copernicus proved that instead oi bemg a fijeed centre, it was a moveable body revolving round the Siin. '*''' • :K'^taJ.>ill Ui b»jll MiV/ \ltj\^ \(lllli nii'J -'Thebible also seems ' t6' d^moii^t^atiei the importance bf centres. In Eden the tree of life Was in the n^idst of thegar^ d6n attd reappears in the midst of the street of the Niaw Jer^' vnitVjTn, in the midst of the Paradise of God. Cities of refuge for the Jews was in the midst of the land in which they dwelt. The tabernacle was set in the midst of thd campg When God manifested His jgloryit was between the cheri-* buins in the holy of holies^. Christ, at the crucifixtoii wais v^as in the middle of the the two malefattors^noJ xix, r8.) Also when in glory ; we iead, " In tihe midst 6f the throne.*'-**^ (Rev. vii, 17.) Jerusalem, the gres^t "City of the King," held! a central situation. I have set it in thetnidst of the nations and countries that are around about her. — {Ezek. Vv 5). After the disciples received the Holy Ghost they began their work at Jem . leni and gradually extended from that given centre till the influence of their work should> spread' over the whole earth. — (Acts i 8.)' i!(M-| iiiim9:> bns ieoim^^jc ^ The word heart sb frequently 'used in^scripture, meansi centre or core, and has no allusion to the physical heart, whatever, for ekample take the words in Math, xii, 40; ** as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whales belly, sa shall the son of man be three days and three nights in the) heart of the earth." The Greek word heart, in this verse is' Kardia, it is the very same word Which is usedinMath^v^S;) "Blessed are the pure in heart; for they shall see Ged,"" alsoi in rst Peter i,«a. "love one another with a puveheirti"? Mkkiy othbr passages in the New/Tktajnentv lAlgfht b«'^(ioii '. ': ANiy THE FYRdMlD. ' ' S7 OS- our rk. sit- ii nee ted on the ic- ted clej tibst itral g a the led;, these two are airiply sufficienit foV the pliiT]!>6sei' The "trtttA heart, in, .Hebrew, is sometimes used tb denote the centre, as in ^zek, xxvii, 4, arid Psalm xlvi, 2, the Very 3elmewocxl tMat is used to denote the centre^ is ! used also respecting th« human heart ii in many places imthe Old Testament, n The Hebrews believed that the heari.was the seat of the intellect and reason, also that 6i the passions^ It iseems to me, that both the Hebrew and Greek terms ior hearty mtans centre or fore. In the Latin translation of Math, v, 8> the word is corde, the word corde, occurs also in Math, xii, 40^ also ia {St Peter, 1*22. < ; The latin word corde no doubt comes from the Greek word Kardia, hence our English' word core as the heart was the vitali centre, inthe physical sdnseiof the term^ so the Hebrews also appropriated this word • in a ' spiirituai sense, to mean the gre^t centre oi : thought and spiritual , Sweedenburgrinhis m Heaven audi Hell V bays : best^^angels dwell in central part ojf heaven.'! It is a Very iinpbrtant fact^ thegreat.Pyramid of Egypt, i^ ".ei'ictly in the centre of the habitable landrpontioiii tiioMV^^i^t" .G. .PtatiEi Smyth F. Hi S. S,y believes that the top; stone o£thatuPyramid; is "head stone of the iGOcner," spoken ;oi in the.bible as a tyipeof Christ. . Pj;ofes8Qr . Piaeza Sm^rth^ has' surbly not i bvJerlooiked twb important - features in ireiatibni to. this< stone, respecting ^ta location, namely : that it! is the upperihost and ceritral stone of itheiPytamidj These fdct^'alone aresurely sufflcent toiwarraiitius infbelievin^ that this^stone must have at lekit some signification,! more esipecially so> if it was the work cf I>ivinie inspiration^) iandc I iheitaet o* beiilg central^ iin* plies that whatisrcr itisymhblisesy n^ust beiof a very impor-^ tant character^ iaftebali/ it may yet be proven that Prof. Piazii Smyth maijrjbe: rfght in' kis i concluding ^thatithat stone may bethe t^ihead^stomeofthe cosher.^' atlready alluded ta; Tbiece caki be ino disputing the fact that* tJ'.is Pyramid iS'ii ijtjosib wonderful* pieite oi mechanism] i ( i / ■ • i i . i . • ! ! i • (Herodotiis; ourr most aneieni iiistorian, could not tiell iow what purpose 'it Wasierected; Aristotle was oi* the opinion that it'iwaS:ibii^lt so) as to keep) tbe< people in servilitiy, and thus. prevent' them ipoth acquiring weklth and iitdeperidente; however: Aristotle only expres^ecl this as his bpinidn, ajad fthad redeived fro*i> otheirdi i'-^i^ oi)fiw 6/i t It But' to tieturhi to QMt subject/ '^e: ask thia (|u(<«ti5n j ^»(^hy ^ iSJ tht8< Pyratiikld! in ^ the exact vcenttei of (the 'habitable g>db«>^ mayt lioS i^oA have ^^mploy ed that) ^mit '^^^i-attiM 6)s m ^mb „_1 III : lii: 11 tt THE BIBLE. ASTRONGMY, i>ol to point out ,the Ipicajtion oi His re$i(lence in th« univenle? what can the iact of vital forc«s emanateing iroih gi>ren Cdn- tresv impl^, unless it means that God is seated in the' midst of this great universe ? The fact of spheres and circles b^in^g so prominently set forthliti the' works of creation, may pos- sibly imply that the whole realm of nature is but one "vakt cdrclo of globes. The nucleus of whidh is a living centre, and since > our. sun is exactly in the centre of our solar systeiMJ may: not that be possibly a hint that the great system of systems^ has one great sun that sends forth electric, magnetic andiother influences thbt imparts life to all forms of or^niG matter from the innecmolst centre, to the remotest circumfer- ence; and that there is furthermore a constant interchange of influenctss,^ passing and repassmg, between centre smdcir* cumference. As the waters of the ocean pass into the clouds and return in rain to fertilise the earth ; they form rivulets, thence rivers until they retnrn again to their own center;' so is it with all the influences that are generated at the centre of this vast universe. This great central sun mlay be thel RbsDde>ncb of the King of Kings^ while this lapostate world^ inay occupy a spjEitce in* the vicinity of its circumference.''' 'C It liaS'been surmised by a fewem^inent writers, that Sataff occupied this earthy anteror to the/time ivhen it v^ks '"with-^ out form t and void/'iand: he wasthen the *' Prince; of thi^ world," of this I .will speak more fully in > my treatise ofv ** Solil-stelliar influences." < But maly it> not bci' highly prob*; able« that, our solac system may have had its origin at the eentre of this great istellar struqtixre,! and at birth nuiy haw wingeid its way from centre: to circumference in precisely th^ sameway as acomet progpressesthKoujgh our plane^y system.! Nowiif satan «v)er| was king of this world and lidoubt not but> what he has been ^ that pnobably diuring the period of the! earth's egression, from, that centre, it may- have been the: habitation oCSatan,t.ii^iio at thattifne;was an angel of light| that may possibly have been the. time when he governed it^i and I think that whenouribolarsystenk reached the oircum- ferehcc; of this- immense circle, outside of which inay exist iternal darkness, As it became stationery^ jnst after its cen-i trrfug<'4 n^ot^ement and prior, to {its dirctj motion toi^ardst ^at great , central constelilMion .around which revolves: the whole stel^r uniyerae, which it is Evidently nowapiproach^ . inig, then ' may have been the petiiod wheAfthe powevs of <)ar)cQe^s^iQUghttiagAiu$t th« powers of light, ; and theawouldi tb« fhaottQ^itmdi^pnbe theresultA of SMch itOQfiittitt»bu^^ mm AND THE PYRAMID. »nle? a planet when it reaches its aphelion from the sun returns to its perihelion, so our system when it attained its utmost elongation from the great central sun, it then retraced its steps to its original habitation, which it is doubtless now fast approaching. In th^ Coulr^e' of time, man was ushered into the vacant seat of the deposed king, and it will be occupied by man until it reachijBs that grand centre, then will our earth be subjected to a liquid heat, and in it^ cooJijSg process will form a pei-fect sphere, then '* every {valley shjkU be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be brought low, and the crooked shallbe made straight, and the rough wdys, shall b^ made smooth, and ail flesh shall see the salviation of God/'' Luke iii. 5-6. Then it may become a fixed centre ariid Christ shall be its King, ' '^ '^ Let His name echo from satelltef-'td sk^elite,'pl^h^t 16 plahet, sun to sun, systeiti t6 systeiti^ universe? td univerS6^ till it reaches the buttermosf cfrbtimference of the great creation; ihen let it reverberate backto itsinid(.ijjri Uiiisllirri atii hi •i^^r! ii Aiih .lit no iToi)i ' ■ ■ - tiilfi^d halfiidaW at>6cl ano't ... ,- ■ Ifi djfii P07o//i3Jiii &<] o* 3,mo'5ii .'' .Alul^i ;iu"i "lyvjjjutv/ jj.' jcai f;U ^>V6H prlw ?>aod) vd rrava ..K-jyiiai 1>.> -aH .'n mBJaaT v/"9Vl brrx; blO ad J lip ci^ritiJnw h'sCui'/ivA^tii K .;! \\w.f\iic «>i «i; woUii i' !•'/ oufiq&fi d'jf; ; iliM 9ti) .; , i »d btoprfa !(ritt)ltto - do 16' rio'a B J r«o v ■»<» 9 rfi 'atW ik dom I ; y n f Iio/i will d k i m 9 fo d ; e)iiii nsd usr/j-je 'b«/i '3nj>t iiit ciyVafe'adi it«w $»iddt V^"obt)b'» do;)KV Va'^os It' «ia;j ,fd hOvj^ 'brti; .did*? to aiiei' feciog ;; .-J. V !;iO^( dSfidVtt^ '^•t:^ . • XttfJ fiaV;> , . : >b il-jidw .iioi)j.;Jii.fK;if li^ru^n i 2t|nfK «rnuJdi «UJ5» i>nJ nuni V." I >;?s!Jiluoh r-l !, '.// '.fly SEVENS' ' •»i'i*'«<'»een entertained by the ancients many centuries before the time of Christ. Within the archives of Indian, Chinese^ ^f ohamrpedan, Qrepian, Roman,: Jewish, and Christian his- tory, all of them, without a single exception, have been o^ th^ opinion that our earth was tp. endure for, 6,000 yesirp^ a|i4.that the beginning of the seven thousandth year was to usher in the millenial Sabbath. The number seven has been venerated by almost every nation on the iace of this globe. It seems to be interwoven into almost every form oi religion, even by those who have no respect whatever for the inspired writings of the Old and New Testament. Be- fore making any remarks concerning this number we would call the attention ot the reader to the fact, that doubtless no single number known to man, is more frequently used in the religious works of either Christian or Pagan nations than the number seven. Space will allow us to submit only a few out of numerous others that might be given of the oc- currence of this number. God rested the seventh day and commanded that it should be kept holy ; Balaam commanded Balak to build him seven altars, and prepare him seven bullocks and seven rams for a^ offering ; the Lord co^^anded Eliphaz, the Temanite tvenant wa^ with Ihe PhiKiri- tines seven months ; King Ahasa^fus had seven chamb^i maids ; Queen Esther had seven maids ; Hek^kiah Vtpi^ ieast of unleavened bread seven da^'S; the Shunamites'sori', at his being raised to lifb, sneezed seven timies ; Solotlnon was seveh years building'the temple, at' the dedicatidn df which he feasted seven dayS; the son of th^ priest had to' wear his fathers garments seven days; Mary Magdalinfe' had seven devils; the Apostles chose seven deacons ; seVeri' priests who hald seven trumpets, went aroUnd' Jeric^ho, at the seventh blast the walls iell ; Nebuchadnezzar atd grass of the 'field, like oxen for seven years ^ the house' of Israel shatl be seven months bulging the dead; David praised God' seven titties a day; £:lisha seht his selrvant seven times' tb' look for the cloud, at the seventh time the cli>ud appeared^' Saul was commanded by Samuel to remsiin at Gilgal seven' days; the men of Jsibesh.Gilead fasted seven d'a^s'; severi' Psalmsof penance; seven suji^pHcatibns in the Lords prtiyerV seven utterances 6f Christ on the cross ; seven wounds h^< received on the cross ; in the seventh yekt the laMr Vas di- rected to be read to th6 people ; the blood was commanded' to be sprinkled before the altar seven 'tim'es';'lNoah had' seven days Warning of the flood ; Miriam' shut up' seven' days, to be cured of leprosy ; the fiery furnace at babylon' Was seven fold heat ; Naaman dippedseven'times in Jordan j Jesse made seven of his sons to pass before Saniuel ; the house' of wisdom had seven pillars; the eastern gate of the! temple had seven steps lekdin^ to it, ai steeri in the Vislion by Exekiel; thedoor of it was sieVeh fcubits Wide ; Ai-taxerxes had seven douncellors, sevfn «lbaVei fltnd seven baskets fiill oFbread ; seven churches Iri Asia ; «even golden cfandlestidkis;' seven stairs ; seven arch-angtelsV seven spiritt^ of GvOdV sevetf attributes ot -God ; sevei^ thxinders ;^even Vial^ ; di'agonwitfe seven heads and seve'n'ci-dwtis ; kevdii i>Ugu'efe Tst^i^eh mbuh- tainsi seven tings ; 'feeveh'iamps;' sfeyeti efyes; AbraWdm gavfe Abimelech seVen eWe lambs As a ftiemori^al foi' a w'^H ;; Sdlomon 'had Seven hundred 'vHvesi. Jacob Was seventy at thfe ■turning point of "his life' wheii'he.' df-efamt that! hk SfeW the golden stairway ' leidih^ ^o' ■ thte' poitils' if thii ceteSlial dty with th^ **ktigkiW tfscehidftli 'anrfd^sceiidlh^ Ution'it '* '" '' '" ^''>''''' i-'f''''^'-''' i*:!nj'"ii,./ u■•'/■:,^ ;K;fiiiai ^\i<\ ^ 'd^Veh ai§;es Of thai f' the oi^^o^itfe'siafey'ctf diye added ttal^ n THE BIBLE. ASTRONOMY. ber of eclipses in the year are limited from three to seven ; a flood is recorded in which King Satyavrata and seven patriarchs were preserved ; the largest bell in America is seven feet in diameter, in Notre Dame church, Montreal ; seven vowels ; Linnaeus divides mammalious animals, or those which suckle their young, into seven species ; seven brethern, (and Macabees, 7. r4.) ; ihe sevea summer constellations of the Zodiac, (walking.) i ram, 2 bull, 3 twins, 4 crab, 5 lion, 6 virgin, 7 balance ; there were also seven sleepers, who were seven youthiuL martyrs who escaped in a cavern near Ephesus, and slumbered for 200 years ; seven wonders of the world ; Rome was governed by seven kings ; Prussia, Emp, Wil* helm, seventh king living ; seven notes in music ; seven pri- n)ary colours; formerly, a child was not weaned till after seven days, not being accounted fully to have life before that per> iodic, day ; the seven primary planets ; seven wise men of Greece ; neither the number or names of the consul* tation are given alike ; Queen Victoria has seven palaces ; mole is divided into seven species ; the enlightened men of Egypt were divided into seven grades ; Talmud says Simon the Righteous died seven days after entering the holy of holies on the day of atonement, not seeing a vision ; Prit- chard divided mankind into seven races, viz., Iranian, Tau- ranian, American, Hottentot, mcludiug bushmen, negroes. Papuans and Alfourous ; the hindoos has had an idea of seven continents and seven oceans surrounding India ; his* torians tell us that seven islands of exterior sea, (atlantic), were in their time consecrated to proserpine ; during seven years war under Frederick II history mentions seven im> portant battles ; the war in Spain between the Carlists and Christians lasted seven years; the Franco- Prussian war lasted seven months, and the seventh regiment was first to distin- guish itself ; Rome is built on seven hills ; also Constanti- nople, Muremburg, Hamburg and Lisbon ; ancient Thebes had seven gates ; also Athens, Bagdad and Morocco ; seven steps lead to the tomb of Darius, a Persian king ; seven steps lead to Solomon's throne ; seven arms or branches to the lamp in th^ (emple at Jerusalem ; seven wicks in the per- petual lamp (eternal flame) to the rites ol the Greek church; seven Canary islands; seven Ionian islands; seven prec- ious metals ; seven cardinal virtue, three of which are F. II. and G. ; the Duke of Wellington has seven marshal stafl's ; the Pope is priest of seven churches ; Pope died 01^ -3B«W mmmmm ^" AND THE PYRAMW. :\v\'i M th« setenth day of F«b. 1878 ; thtee ar« aievcfn portals to the bwn ; moon changes every seven days; the Heptarchy,; which consiats of seven kingdoms of the Saxons, in Britain ;■ there are seven syllables in the Mohammedian formula of/ prayer ; la, ill, allah, ill, allah ; the entrance to the great dome at Cologne has seven pillars over which is seven* statues; hop->o'*my-thumb had seven league boots; theCoun-: cil of Trent recognjze seven holy orders; bishop, priest»i deacon, acolyte,; reader, exorcist and door-keeper ; there are- seven sacraments in Roman church; the Mohammedian, paradise contains s^ven heavens, ist of greeHk- 2nd silver 3rd gold, 4th pearl, 5th ruby, 6th coral, 7th light ; also sevens hells, ist abode of hypocrites, 2nd fire worshippers, jcd. Christians, 4th Jews. 5th and 6th not recQrded,7th habitation of such of my people as have been guilty) of great crinies, says^ Mohammed. Mohammed says: & bridge called El.Sirat, spans the fires of Jehennem, consists of seven arches; accord<.i ing to Mohammed only seven th^pgs escape the general defrf> tructiou, viz., the throne of Qod, chair of judgement,' the< tablet, the pen, paradise,; hell and the spirits* Spiritualists; believe in seven spheres in spirit life. The Greek church hasi seven i^cunnenical council9; seven s^^tcred books of the k^nRa; in China ; in Strasburg cathedral, clock* Peter is the seyenth>; o| the disciples that comes out at; nopti ; f according to. the] teaching pf ancients the soul had seven properties, lyhich wer:<^ influenced by th^< seven planets; there are said to be 777. diseases at^ched to the human race. ,,; ., 'j , m to > i< .7. ^.c! 3EVEi THE BISDS] iASTKOifOJ^Y. 1 11 11 Cortcemingi the LevitictI types: of tUli of trumpets " on the first month of the civil year, on the first day of this month a trumpet was blown to herald in the new year, and it was commanded to be hild as a " holy convocation." The reason of the appointment of this feast does not seem to be clearly expressed in the Scripturesl Again, the feast of expiation or atonement was also cele- brated this month, as well as the feast of tabernacles. The three great Jewish feasts were all kept in the month of Tisri, which corresponds to our months of September and October. That least of trumpets is doubtless a type ot the time when *' the trumpets shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible (i Cor. xv. 52). For the Lord him- self shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the arch-angel and with the trump of God " (Thess. iv. 16). The Feast oi Atonement. It was instituted for the cancel- ment of sins committed during the year. On the great day of Atonement the great year of jubilee began, which was typic?tl ot the peaceful reign of Messiah and of the glorious events that shall accompany it. The Feast of the Tabernacles was celebrated by the Jews in commemoration of the journey which they had taken through the wilderness. This first month of the Civil year was chosen no doubt for more purposes than one. Not only was it merely to commemorate past events, but may not the fact of the males having all to appear before God be typical of th*^. great judgement, when " every eye shall see him." The very time of the year has something very suggestive in it, it b'^ing the harvest when all the fruit and products of the earth had been gathered in. The feast, on account of this, was at times called the " Feast of the In- gathering." This being the first month of civil year was also the seventh month of the sacred year and as before stated cor- responds to the seventh and eighth month of the Christian year. About the 23rd of September, every year, the sun enters the seventh summer constellation of the zodiac which is Libra, and occupies about thirty days in going through this sign. The reason that the ancients gave the term Libra to this sign was because the days and nighty were equal at the time when the sun entered this sign. This constellation was generally represented either by a pair of balances or the beam of a balance. Now, the bal- lance has always been held as a symbol of justice, and pos- m 8fi THE BIBLE, ASTRONOMY, sibly Job may have alluded to this when he said : " Let me be weighed in an even balance, that God may know mine integrity." Jc^ xxxi, ,6. The balance is sometimes spoken of, in allusion to the judgement God passes upon men, ^or instance : the words, " Thou art weighed in the balances* and art found wanting," was part oi the terrible judgement pronounced by God upon Belshazzar, and immediately fpllowed that terrible judgement ; not only his empire was lost, but he himself, that very night was slain, and another king had taken possession oi his kingdom. All these events so peculiarly attached to the number seven, has no df ubt some important signification, and since no important evsnt has been known to have transpired in the history of man- kind, that would be a fitly fulfilment of the prophetic sym- bol shadowed forth in this number, we therefore infer t'aat it must imply something yet future. It is a very remarkable fact which I accidently discovered in the preparation of my work, that formerly the seventh day of the week was dedicated to the sun, hence called sun- day, and ♦hat the seventh letter in our alphabet is g, which is 50/ in music, and sol in latin signifies the sun, and if you reckon backwards, commencing at the end of the alphabet,, you will find that the seventh letter is t, which is the inital oiten, and the third letter from the end is x, which is a sym- bol of TEN and three and seven added together, constitute ten and both these letters are a symbol of the cross and also of Christ who is the son of Righteousness. In returning to our subject, we might say that if each of these constellations represented a thousand years, the fifth thousand year would be represented by the sign of Leo the Lion, it is a very strange circumstance that Christ should come into this world just on the fifth morning of this great solar week, on that morning the sun would in a sense, in the constellation of Leo, which is according to the ancient books of the Egyptian Astrologers, termed the house of the sun. May not the fact of Christ having termed himself •♦ The Lion of the tribe of Judah," have some allusion to this remarkable coincidence. The seventh sign of ihe zodiac was the first of the southern and since the seventh month of the saci-ed year was changed into the first month of the civil year, and the seventh day of the week was changed into the first day of the week, so may we infer that the seventh thou- sandth year will be changed into the first thousandth year AND THE PYRAMID 87 of the reign ot the Messiah, "and there shall be no light there ; and they need no candle, neither light of the sun ; ior the L )rd God giveth them light ; and they.,shall reign for ever and ever." Rev. xxii, 5. w-' /t^ »■ 7 f.c' \->. r-.it I 15 "i-.: i "» "sm II THE BIBLE. y/ I HILE we prize our Bible so highly as the inspired VA^ word of God, we must not forget that other nations have writings which they venerate with just as much sanc- tity as we do ours. The Mohammedians have their Koran, the Chinese have their Seven Sacred Books of the Kings, also the sacred writings of Confucius ; India boasts of its Rig-veda and other inspired writings ; the Brahamins have their Shastah ; the Persians claimed that the writings of Zoroaster was 'nspired ; the Jews come and tell us that the the Old Testament is a sacred book, written by inspired men; the apostles tells us " all scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness" (2 Tim. iii. 16 ; see also 2 Peter, i. 20-21). Mohammed who was a mule driver, comes and tells us that he received the Koran from the angel Gabriel. Swedenborg tell us that his interpretation of the bible was given to him by the highest order of angels ; he claims to have spent the larger half of his lite in the abodes of the celestial world. Spiritualists claim that they receive messages direct from the spirit world ; the Vedic literature of India tells us that their sacred books written in San- scrit, is much older than our Hebrew bible, these sacred volumes claim an antiquity of about 40,000 years. The great difficulty that is to be encountered in connec- tion with these sacred and inspired writings, is that the most of them are more or less opposed in relation to their doc- trine. For example, the spiritualists and the bible are op- posed to each other ; the revelations that Gabriel made to Swedenborg, are in direct opposition to the revelations made by that angel to Mohammed ; can angels be guilty ol lying ? If the apocryphal writings be inspired, then it is evident they must be, for we are told in the book of Tobias, (Chap. v. verse 16), *• and Tobias said to him ; I pray thee tell me of what family, or what tribe art thou ?" These were the words Tobias uttered as he stood before the angel Raphael ; but Raphael who had assumed AND THE PYRAMID. n fj/V^ the form of a man, says : verse i8. " But lest I should make thee uneasy, I am Azarias, the son of the great Ananias," also in verse 7, he says he was " of the children of Israel," if you look at (chap. xii. verse 15), he says : ** I am the angel Ilaphael, one of the seven who stand before the Lord." Now it is utterly impossible to accept all these writings as inspired by an Infallible and Ominsc6nt being. We glance casually at each of these and endeavour to determine which of all these books deserves the title of " Inspiration." Space will not permit me to enter into a detailed account of these various books, but enough will be given to furnish the evi- dence brought to bear upon it. The Mohammedian bible the Koran, with its 114 so called Revelations. , A Revelation means literally the act of taking back the veil from, ind means anything that is made known to man that was impossible for him to know otherwise, there is not one-third of the so called Revelations of Mohammed are Revelations at all, in any sense of the word ; take chap, ciii, cvi, cvii, cviii, etc. etc., who would term such chapters as these Revelations, beside all the subjects treated of are destitute of either harmony or ar- rangement, the first chapter is entitled " a cow," and the last chapter is entitled «• men." There seems to be a great deal copied from the scripture, with a good deal of tradition intermixed. It not having the stamp of divine inspiration upon it, we must let it go. The writings of Confucius are far more worthy of consideration than those of the Koran, there seems to be more sense and reason attached to those truly excellent maxims, but he was only a philosopher and we can do nothing more than accept him as such. The seven sacred books of the kings and inspired works of Zoroaster are rather too mythical, too much blended with imagery, to be classified as inspired volumns among the various bibles of the di£ferent nations. There is one, that in some particular feature bears a marvelous analogy to our New Testament. I allude to that sacred Hindoo volume called theBhagavat- Gita. This volume is written in the Sanscrit language. This is a language that had its existence anterior to the Hebrew, This is ft fact that is acknowledged by the most eminent lin- guists living. This Bhagavat-Gita claims an antiquity of several, thousand years before the time of Christ. In this booh it is recorded that there was a person whom it names Chiishna^ who was one of the Sacred I'rinity, and descended Irom the realms of bliss and humbled himself to be borja of a virgin and tsike upon himself the frailty of our human, i^^ -1 ii'l '46 THE BIBLE. ASTRONOMY. ture. He was born in a very humble condition of life and his birth was heralded and announced by the angels. He was visited at his birth by wise men Ironi the East. His parents had to flee to a forfeign land in order to escape the cruelty oi a wicked king who demanded that all the male children should be slain. He performs many wonderful mir- acles ; he is the same person that is called Brahma ; he, in speaking ot himself, says : " I am the understanding of the wise ; the glory of the strong ; I am the Eternal Lord of all nature; I am the Father and Mother of this world, and the preserver; I am death, and I am the resurrection of eternal justice, and of endless bliss." It is recorded that a woman poured a box of ointment on his head ; that he had a favorite disciple ; that he was called a shepherd and was crucified iforthe sins of the people, descended into /tarf«, and afterwards ascended into heaven, or as it is termed Vaicontha in the Sanscrit. There are severe! other remarkable coincidences in the life of Chrishna that correspond exattly to that of Christ. The Parallelism is truly a remarkable one, especially when we consider the great antiquity of the Vedic literature of India. That language, in all probability, is the original language God gave toman. When all men were of one language. I have no doubt but what that language was tht 5»anscrit. Our bible intormis us that God prophesied to Adam that the seed of the womati should bruise the head of the Serpent. This was an allusion to the coming of the Messiah. Nearly all the patriarchs typified Christ. Almost the entire writings of the Old Testament have a bearing more or less concerning His advent. The place of his birth, the flight of his parents into Egypt, Ms character, mission, manner of his death, his burial and resurrection were all clearly pre- dicted in the Old Testament hundreds of years before his birth. No evidence could be stronger in the confirmation of the scripture inspiration than the wonderful fulfilments of its prophecies now as the Old Teistament prophets had unfolded to them the coming of the Messiah ; is it not possible that the Brahaminical writings of the Hindoos may be simply a collection of revelations m^ide to the Antedeluvian age, it has not got the clear ring of inspiration ; none of these sacred books, like the scripture, meddle with prophecy, it yroul(!^ doubtless be their final destruction it they did. The scripture not only asserts that such an event ivill occufi' td s ch a nation or city, but it generally gives a fbiland detJail* ed abbotint, siiich would be dangerous grdutid f6r any utiiii' li/Vi) fas PYRAMID. in the spired volume to attempt to tread ; infidelity when it attnckis scriptural truth, never meddles with its prophesies, because in doing so it only would be injuring itself, and not the scrip- ture; if the bible is not an inspired book, it is a very strange fact that the Old Testament is to-day and has for many centuries been reverenced and held with great sanctity, by the very nation, whom it cpndeniihs, not only that, but it was actually written by men who held the first place in thfe government of that nation ; was not Moses, Joshua, David and Soioiiion, the leaders of the Jewish constituency and the very fact of these men not having made their great leaders heroes, as the other books generally do, is another •evidence that this book bears the stamp of Pivine author- ship. ^ ' Had the bible been given to all nations it would doubt leki^ have become perverted. The language in which that book was written has become dead, therefore time cannot effect the purity of the original copy, as it might have done had that language been still living. To what are we indebted for our charitable institutions, our schools and colleges', as well as our Christian liberty ? Is it not to the Gospel if our liord Jesus Christ that we are indebted ? Some time ago a prince sent an ambassador to her Majesty the Queen to ep,- -quire, *• what was the secret of England's greatness?" lii answer to this question she gave him a copy of the Hoiy Scripture, informing him that that was the true secret of England's greatness. No nation perhaps in this world has •distributed more religious literature than the British nattoh'; and where is there a nation that has been blessed more than the British nation? Where is there laws that ai-e superioir to the laws of Britain? Where is there a Queen, and we might add when was there ever a Queen, that could equal in every respect the one that now sits on the British throne? She, perhaps the only Christian Queen on earth, iias been richly blessed by (jod. No nation has had more evidenc^ of God's approval than that of the Christian nations of out* globe ; wherever the Gospel comes, teeming with the elb- quence of eternal truth, wisdom and knowledge are sure tci increase. Ignorance, vi e and superstition cannot bear tii6 effulgent rays ol the golden sunlight of God-s glorious ^6&'- pel, every iiiie of lyhidh is stamped with the signature pi' the Divine autograph . " bn ^cient mind. In the reign of Queen Elizabeth, an attempt was made to $urpress the circulation of God's holy word. There could be no possible doubt, but what this vast undertaking would ul- timately suceed; as they who had the entire management of it, had every facility to carry it out. A naval armament on a very gigantic scale was fitted out ; numerous vessels were constructed of unoidinary magnitude, the various nations rendered all the available assistance that they possibly cou!d» England was to be the victim of their revenge. It was con- sidered by all who witnessed the vast stores of amunition and implements of warfare, that a failure was actually im' possible ; besides they had a man of eminent experience, as their admiral, they were so certain of success, that they de- nominated it by the teriji," Invincible." Nearly every nation in Europe for three whole years, was engaged in furthering this great project. The time at last arrived when England mus^ fall, never to rise again. When the bible instead of being circulated, was to be chained to the alters in pag^ai^ u ■fS.Hijf'^ixfiJf^^-Skt^M^Wl AND THE PYRAMID. M >n lot temples, never again to be permitted to shed light upon a darkened world of sin and misery ; everything being in readiness to start, the admiral is seized with a fit of sickness and dies, another admiral is appointed in his place and the work is resumed, "xarcely had they left their port, when the mighty armament of heaven', scattered their ships to the winds, leaving but few able to return back to their harbour ot safety. They attempt it a third time,and just as they are about entering the English ports, they are met by a severe storm, that shattered their ships and made the few that were left, to surrender themselves, together with their ammunition and instruments of torture to the English government ; to- day those instruments can be seen in Queen Elizabeth's armory, in the Tower of London. ,1 ,,,, God has always defended his own works. Gamaliel the Pharasee, a great Jewish counsellor, in his address before the council, speakmg of the ministerial work, the apostles said : " if this counsel or this work be of men, it will come to nought : But if it be of God, ye cannot overthrow it ; lest hapily ye be found even to fight against God." (Acts, v. 38, 39. The very same words might appropriately be applied to God's infallible book, the bible retribution is sure to fol- low sin. The Scripture biography of the lives of the pa- triarchs and numerous others, gives ample testimony that. ** whatsoever a man soweth thac shall he also reap" (Gal. vi. 7). God judges men individually, and nations collectively. A nation that persists in sinning against God, may be sure to look for a judgement, sin cannot go unpunished) depend upon it, there is a day coming, when these nations that en- deavor to impede the outflow of divine truth and the distribu- tion of God's word, will be cry.shed beneath the almighty sceptre of Him who alone has the right to rule. The bible, of all other books, has been guarded and care- fully preserved through the ages. The Jews always were very strict in having the Old Testament transcribed, they employed the Soribes for this special purpose, if they made the slightest possible error, they would, I believe, be under the necessity of having to undertake the laborious task of having to re-write the whole work over. The New Testa- ment, as you doubtless know, was so well watched by the various sects that then existed, that no one had a chance to inake the slightest alteration,, even if they desired to do so, thus the scriptures has been preserved, pure through- QUt,thea^es. - ^m^* I 'i il THE BIBLE, ASTRONOMY, ,1 If any society ought to know whether the scriptures is an inspired volume or not, it ought to be the ancient order of free and accepted masons, they claim to have had their birth long before the New Testsment was ever written, and late researches have demonstrated that they are of a very ancient origin at the base of the Alexandrian obelisk, that was lately removed to New York, were tound emblems that were acknowledged genuine by the leaders of that cralt, on both the eastern and western hemisphere. The obelisk of Alexandria, was not the only monument in Egypt that bears testimony to the antiquity of the masonic order ; on numerous monuments, there is ample evidence to show that Masonry is an organization that had an existence in the earliest epochs of the world's history. Is there not some* thing very suggestive in the fact that the inscription on the Egyptian Syphinx shows that that monument was dedicated to the sun, when on the horizon. Now if masonry has lived to see nearly all, if not all the Old Testament written, be< sides, they saw and conversed with those who wrote the New Testament, nay, more than that, it is reputed and ac- knowledged that some of the writers were members of the craft. What does masonry consider about the bible ? does she not uphold it to be the infallible word of God ? Yes, masonry has always been a defender of scriptural truth ; across her very threshold is inscribed in everlasting char^ acters, the incommunicable name of Jehovah ; the bible is her statute book. Masonry throughout the darkest ages of the world's history, has always held an open bible upon her alters and any one that chose was welcome to read it ; masonry has always been in favour of an open bible, no society known to man, reverences the bible more than masonry. Surely this must be a strong evidence in favour of scriptural truth ; when this society acknowledges it to be a Divine Revelation to man, no wonder that certain heath- en gods would not allow their worshippers to join thift society, as they might thereby have unfoldisd to them the wondrous truths of God's glorious Gospel, which has always been a barrier to the progress of idolatry and a terror to the gods. Masonry never chained her bible to her altars i masonry never kept the bible in an unknown tongue; masonry even at the blackest day of the worlds history, was tiever afraid to acknowledge that it possessed an open bible, which ail were welcome to read. The most of these infidels, who attack the bible, display a AND THE PYRAMID 45 n of ir d y t at n of at n at e e- Ihe ed ed e- he ic- he >es \i 1 I great amount of ignorance, both of scripture and history, for instance, Col. Robt. G. IngersoU in his work, "What Must I Do to be Saveu,"says: that "none of the apostles understood Greek." It is no doubt an original idea of his own. It is wonderful what audacity raen have noW-a-days, to stand be- fore an intelligent audience and tell them what almost every school boy knows to be. false, it is scarcely worth while commenting upon such ridiculous assertions which they are utterly unable to prove. You will find that nine-tenths ol the infidels who deny the truth of God's holy word, have never read it through, and not only that, but they generally talk about subjects with which they are very little acquaint- ed with. They use many technical terms and assume that they have read and know almost everything, but if you ques- tion them very closely about the sut>ject which they bring forward, you will fiud that they are completely ignorant of these subjects. If, when you are in company, you should chance to meet one of these boasters, when he talks about any particular sect, as the Mohammedans, Platonists, or about any famous philosophers, etc. ; if you demand from him all the minute details concerning that sect or person, you will find he will have very little to say, keep constantly qaesttoning him, but never argue or contradict him^ you will thus come out the conqueror in the end. Never have any dealings with persons who are infidels, " keep good company or none," and you will always be respected. Never go where you cannot take the blessing of God with you, you will thus show by your actions, that you are an earnest worker in the cause of Jesus Christ. Never go into company where the name of Jesus is lightly spoken of, shun such company as you woul4 a viper ; love and associate with those only who love the Lord Jesus Christ you will thus help to build up the Christian cause and advance the Kingdom of the Messiah. We are certain that God's word will stand in spite oi all the puny efforts that are made to over* throw it. May the time soon hasten when God's inspired word will be the means of destroying the idolatrous rites of heathendom and thus advance the kingi dom of our Lord Jesus Christ. ^zmmati'nmi it rfl vfirti ^f ^aiuiiini J:>tuJ •M f » SOLI-LUNAR INFLUENCES i ast CTTS we witness the constant mutation of the seasons, the JL rising and falling of the tides, besides the almost end- less variety of atmospheric influences that are consUntly going on around us, or as we compare the great c that exists between the animal and vegetable prod of the Polar regions with those that inhabit the tropics, to what other source can we look for the cause of such variety than to solar or stellar influences. That eminent writer Lord Lyttcn says: "01 all the weaknesses which liitle men rail against there is none that they are more apt to ridicule than the tendency to believe ; and of all the signs of a cor- rupt heart and a leeble head the tendency to incredulity is the surest. Real philosophy seeks rather to solve than deny." Men may laugh and sneer at solar and lunar in- fluences, but I tell you the most eminent astronomers and scholars of the day are beginning to recognize the fact that the sun and stars have their influences, be those influences what they may. Frederick W. Earrar, D. D., F. R. S., late Fellow of Trinity College and Chaplain in Ordinary to the Queen, in his " Life of Christ," says : " Apart from asti"ology altogether, it is conceded by many wise and candid observ- ers, even by the great Niebuhr, the last man in the world to be carried away by credulity or superstition, that great catastrophies and unusual phenomena in nature have, as a matter of fact — however, we may chose to interpret such a fact — synchronized in a remarkable manner with great events in human history." Fiamstead, the first Astronomer Royal of London, and founder of the Greenwich observatory^ was a firm believer in the physical influences of the planets. Lord Bacon, Kepler, Dryden, Rev. Dr. Butler, and numer- ous others, held the opinion that the position of' the planets exercised a powerful influence over our globe. Prof. R. A. Proctor in his work, '* Our Place Among Infinities," says : " Not an atom in the remotest orb can move a hair's* breadth without producing in every other atom throughout the universe an effect minute, it may be, to dur perceptions, AND THE PYRAMID. 4T but as manifest to the Almighty as the noonday sun to us."^ There has been considerable talk during the past few yearn of the perihelion of the four great planets, Neptune, Uranus, Jupiter and Saturn. There has been some conjec- tures that the proximity of nearly all the planets to each other on the 19th of last June, was to occasion a severe earthquake or a terrible convulsion of some kind or other. Astrologers, astronomers and many who put themselves up as prophets have been predicting that we are going to have some great disasters and fearful pestilences that are sup- posed to occur between the year 1881 and 1885. There is said to be iour great come' . to occur during the present year, two of which are already visible. Again, there is to be the reappearance of the star of Bethlehem in 1887. In fact it is generally supposed that the present decade is to usher in events that have not been paralleled in the histoid of man during the past two or three thousand years. Before givmg a detailed account of the coming planetry perihelion and other celestial aspects that have given rise to such rumors as are now ventilated in the columns of the public press both at home and abroad, we shall first con- sider the effects of past Y>erihelions of these planets and see if any important events have transpired simultaneously with their nearest approach to the sun. Professor Knapp says, in the Christian Herald, of New York : •' The revolu- tions of Jupiter, the most disturbing element in the system, seem to govern the r-^currence of the pestilential periods. His period of revolution is eleven years and about three hundred and fifteen days — somewhat less than twelve years and this interval of time corresponds most remarkably to the interval of recurrence of the pestilential periods. The article on cholera in the August number of the New York Medical journal, for 1871, asserts that ♦ cholera has broken out there (Hurdwar, India) every twelfth year since 1783, and notably in 1867.'* Now, the perihelion epochs of Jupi- ter tally with this exactly. Calculating backward, Jupiter made his perihelion passage in 1868, 1856, 1845, 1833, 1821, 1809, 1797, and in 1785 ; and these were pestilential periods, not only in Hurdwar, India, but all over the world. Not only Qholera, but all other' forms of epidemic pestilence raged in these periods. Jupiter made his perihelion pas- sage also in 1773, 176a, 1750, 1738, 1726, 1714, 170a, 1690, t679, 1667, 1655, 1643, 1631, 1619, 1607, 1596, I584»and 1573 ; and all these periods were years of aggravated pestt- 18 THE BIBLE, ASTRONOMY. I I tence also, all over the world. He demonstrates from an extensive list of the past perihelions of these planets during the last two c three centuries, that they were in every case accompanied with disastrous results. The editor *" the Christian Herald, of London, England, says: "In the year 542, and again in 1665, the planets Mars, Saturn, and Jupiter were in perihelia. Now, it is a fact capable of something Hke demonstration that in each of these years there were the heaviest visitations of plague of which any record has been discovered. The enormous number of one hundred thousand persons died in England alone in 1665. From the year 542 to nearly 547 it has been estimated by careful experts that from seventy-five million to one hundred and twenty million victims were swept away by the death-dealing tornado of the plague. In the first of the five years covering this period it has been computed that Alexandria, «n Egypt, lost not fewer than fifth thou- sand of her inhabitants, and in the next year eighty thou- zand. Again, in the y'^ar 554, the city of Constantinople lost ten tho;7sand persons each day. In 1720, when Mars and Saturn were again in perihelia, Marseilles, a consider- able seaport in the south of France, lost fifty-two thousand inhabitants out ot an aggregate population ot seventy-five thousand within the short space of five weeks." Dean Stanley, in referring to the terrible loss of life that resulted from the wreck of the Eurydice, said : '* The calamities of this world, so it would seem, come not by accident, but by fixed laws, by a combination of causes which on looking back, seems irresistable." Prot. Max Muller, M.A., the world renowned linguist, says : " Astrology was not such a mere imposition as it is generally supposed to have been. It is counted a science by so sound and sobrr a scholar as Melancthon, and even Bacon allows it a place among the sciences, though admitting that ' it had better intelligence and confederacy with the imagination of man than with his reason.* In spite of the strong condemnation which Luther pronounced against it, astrology continued to sway the des- tinies of Europe, and a hundred years ago Luther, the as- trologer was the counsellor of princes and generals, while the founder of modern astronomy died in poverty and despair. In our time the very rudiments of astrology are lost and forgotten." In giving this quotation from this eminent scholar, Max Muller, I desire it to be distinctly understood that I am not treating of astrology in the modern sense of AND THE PYRAMID. 4» Its a :h le the term but solely on Stellar Influences, and the quotation is introduced merely to shew that Prof. Max Muller evi- dently believes in planetary influences. The ancient Chal- deans and Egyptians having observed that certain aspects of the heavenly bodies synchronized with great epidemics and pestilences. I have no doubt that there observations gave birth to the science of astrology. Astronomy is one of the most ancient sciences. It is a remarkable fact that many ot the predictions made by the ancients were remark-* ably fulhled ; this fact is conceded by many of our mo$>l eminent modern astronomers. Pliny says that Anaximan- der, a pupil of Thales, " foretold the earthquakes that over- threw Lacedaemon." Anaximander was an eminent as- tronomer and did it doubtless by astronomical calculations. Cicero says in his D. Divinatione : " Now as far as I knovy there is no nation however polished and learned, or how- ever barbarious and uncivilized which does not now believe it possible that future events may be indicated, understood and predicted by certain persons." Claudius Ptolemy in his Tetrabiblas writes four volumns in confirmation ot Stellar Influences. The Greek poet Aratus, in " The Phe- nomena " he haf. written, demonstrates that they have a physical efl'ect on our planet. Manilius, Milton, Dante and Chaucer proclaimed in their immortal works the influence of the stars. Josephus, Sir Elias Ashmole, founder of the Ashmolean museum ; Dr. Partridge, Sir Christopher Hey don. Dr. J. B. Trail, Profeesor Piazzi Smyth, Astronomer Royal for Scotland ; Mr. B. G. Jenkins, FeUow of the Royal Astro- nomical Society of London, England, and many more equally distinguished for their vast educational acquirements and world wide fame in the broad field of scientific literature have expressed it as their firm belief that the relative posi- tion of the heavenly bodies have a manifest influences upon our globe. After the testimony of such a galaxy of talent as has al- ready been introduced it is surely not unreasonable to give the subject brought forward a consideration. Scripture Testimony — Is it not a notable fact that the greatest events mentioned in the bible were accompanied by remarkable celestial phenomena ? The birth of our Lord Jesus Christ was heralded by a remarkable star that made its appearance in the eastern sky and guided to the Magii to the birth-place of the infant King. His death also was accompanied by a most remarkable perturbation of the no THE BIBLE, ASTRONOMY. heavenly bodies. The grand temple of the stellar universe was draped in mourning ; the sun mantled himself in a robe of darkness ; nay, more than that, the very earth herself quivered like an aspen leaf. " And it was about the sixth hour, and there was a darkness over all the earth until the ninth hour. And the sun was darkened, and the veil of the temple was rent in the midst" (Luke xxiii. 44-45). " And, behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom ; and the earth did q-.iake, and the rocks rent. And the graves were opened ; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose" (Math. xxvi. 51-52). It is impossible that the darkness could have been occasioned by an eclipse of the sun, as it was lull moon at the time. It is acknowledged by the best mathematicians and chro- nologists that the date of the passion took place on Friday, March i8th, A.D. 29, according to Mr. Cunninghames cal- culations the full moon occurred on that day at 9 h. 16 m., P.M. Mr. H. Grattan Guinness says: ''The full moon of April A. D. 29, fell on Sunday the 17th, and if this was the month the pachal lamb was slain at 3 p.m. of Friday April 17th one day nineteen hours before the full moon ; an ir- regularity and want of adaptation to the Lunar revolutions measuring the feasts, which nothing short of absolute de- monstration should compel us to admit in such a case. The conclusion is that the day of supreme passover was, accord- ing to the normal Levitical arrangement, that of full moon March i8th, A.D. 29, and that the resurrection immediately preceded the normal equinox." At the second coming of our Lord we are informed in Joel ii. 10, that " the earth shall quake before them ; the heavens shall tremble : the sun and the moon shall be dark, and the stars shall with- draw their shming." When God sends his judgments upon the nations of the earth they are generally 'preceded by a disturbance of the elements. In his judgement against Babylon he says : '• B'or the stars of heaven and the con- stellations thereof shall not give their light ; the sun shall be darkened in his going forth, and the moon shall not cause her light to shine." In his judgement against Egypt we are told in Ezek. xxxii. 7 : " And when i shall put thee out, I wiU cover the heaven, and make the stars thereof dark; I will coyer the sun with a cloud, and the moon shall not give her light. All the bright lights of heaven will I make dark over thee, and set darkness upon thy land, saith the Lord God." AVD THE PYRAMID. 81 Joshua's Command to the Sun. — In Joshua's battle against the kipgs God assisted him by causing the sun ai^d mopn to remain stationary in the heavens. I am inclined to think that this great event occurred near the full inpon. We read that Joshua " said in tlie sight of Israel, Sun stan(i thou still upon Gibeon ; and thou, Moon, in .the valley of Ajalon. And the sun stood still and the moon stayed, until the people had avenged themselves upon their enemies. Is not this written in the book of Jasher ? So the sun stood still in the midst of heaven, and hasted not to go down about a whole day. And there was no day like that before it or alter it, that the I^ord hearkened unto the voice of a roan t for the Lord iought for Israel." Various explanations have been submitted in order to reconcile this apparent diMculty. iSome have supposed that by the sun and moon standing still it simply meant that the banners of Joshua, upon which they supposed a figure of the sun and moon were drawn, were planted firmly on Mount Gibeon and Ajalon. Verse 14, above quoted, shows plainly that it was an event of a very extraordinary character and hence it could not pos> sibly apply to the ensigns of their banners. The question might be asked, since the sun moves only the distance of about twice its diameter through the sidereal heavens in one day, how is it possible for it to stand still, considering the fact that its velocity is alreaijy imperceptible to an ordinary observer. On the other hand, even if it did remain station- ary and the earth was to continue to revolve as it does now it would not make any perceptable difference in the length of our day and night, the difference would be about three minutes, fifty-nine seconds. Again, if the earth was to stop its revolution, would it hot completely destrpy for a tifne, the equilibrium of our globe ? These questions, it is true, are not easily answered. Aristotle wrote a whole volume oq Astronomy, which has unfortunately not descended down to .us; it was written evidently before he wrote his work on Mecaphysics. In his Meta, book viii., chap. 8, he says : **'The sun and stai-s, and the entire firmament perpetually energize. No apprehension, also, is there lest at anytime they may come to a stand still, which dread overwhelms some of the natural philosophers." lie also alludes to the perpetuity of their motion in Meta, book xi, chapt. 7. Thif miracle related in the Old Testament, occured more than one thousand years before Aristotle was born ; he, it is evident, never heard of sujch a phenomena, had he heard of such an .j;U"^ i ' 15 THE BIBLE. ASTRONOMY. event, he woulfi certainly haye made , mention pf ii in sdme pl^ his riumerpiis works, However he'has not done so, neither has Aejpophon , Herodotus, ' nor any of the Romian writers, ever taken notice of this event. There y/exe no historians ill the time, this event transpired, Hence we have np account pi it, excepting through the scripture, Josephijis and the Talmud. There is an allusion to it in mythology, which re- cords that a hero commanded the sun to remain sta.tion- ary,] in order that he might accomplish the overthrow of a nation ; it albb records that he divided ,j^ river at his com- mand and went across it dry shod. l*his is recorded, in a v^ry ancient Dook,, and ft has all the appearance of being tron^ the book of tosh ua! ^Regarding this piiracle, it could have been a9complish(ed without either the ?un standing still, or thee'artii discontinuing its revolution, all it requifed would ]^P simply to alter the inclination of tfie axis of t|ie north pole. r7 rt) from its pr^sept .position, say to \a,%. 55 ,40 N.,.lop^. 37*^, 28 .. which is the latitude a,nd longtitude of M9SC0W, or even less than that wpuld accomplish the end desired. The earth and' all the hjeavenl^ bodies could still continue their diufna] revolutions. And if y oil altered the pole to Jerusalem' which IS lat. 31°, 48 ^., long. 35^ .10? E., jou woujd ^hen h^ye the sunal'mbs,t directly overhead, as long as it remained in thajt position ; indeed a very trifling alteration of the pole, lust a few degrees woulq enable the observer, either ^ Gibeon, pr ^ouiit ^jalon, to see the sun for a considerable tiqie. It |s tipt generally known tb^tlate astronomical calculation^ have verified the miramar](able analogy that exist* AND THE PYRAMID, Vk pyra. between the torm of these astronomical figures, and the pU(;« they occupy in our soJar system, Thb Prxnob op this World. — The Chaldeans and Egyp*, tiaA astrologers maintained that the 7 planets were governed, by the 7 arch -angels, as follows : the angel of Saturn was Cas? siel ; Jupiter, Zadkiel ; Mars, Samuel ; the Sun, Michael ; Venus, Anael; Mercury, Raphael ; Moon, Gabriel. There is^ no mention made in their ancient books concerning the anp,el ihat presided over this planet. I have already stated in my treatise on " Centres," page 38, that it was highly probable that Satan at one time was King of this world but lost hie: 4eat through rebellion against God and that he as ever :8ince been an enemy of man on account of his ta ing the position which Satan had forfeited by his having neglected the Divine commands. In Gods command to Adam to -*'' multiply and replenish the earth," there is an evident hint that this earth must have been full before his time, else how ■could Adam, who was the first man, ever refill it ? God'» iioly word distinctly states that there was no "men before Adam " (i Cor. xv. 45-47). However, the Stellar heaven* may have been created long ages before mans existence on> this planet. The sun^ moon and stars were appointed oni the fourth day, but not necessarily created on that d^y ac- cording to the Hebrew text, as the word hasah or made^ \tt Gen. i. 16, means also appointed or ordained. Now since> the creatures that existed upon this earth were not men is: it not likely that they may have been angels, and if so they must have occupied it before the time when " it was without) form and void," for since th&t time it has been occupied by- no one but man, if we accept the literal rendering of thet Hebrew text. Some writets have interpreted these pas-»i ^ages : " How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cast down to the ground,' which' didst weaken the nations!" (Isaiah xiv. 12). •* And' he said unto th«m, I beheld Satkn as lightning ' fall frdm heaVen" (Ltdcex. i^). "And there was war in heaVen ]' Michael iand his angels fought against the dragoh ; arid the' dragon fought and his angets, and p(ro vailed not; neither' was their place fourid any fnorie in heaven. And the great^ dragon was dast out, thttt old serpent, called the ddviraUtd Satan, which- deceiVeth the whole world : he wa^ caitf out into the earth, knd his arigdi were cast oiiC with him '-^ (Re^Utidn ta. jr). The fit!st quo«atidn frbm laaiah^ thef sky*, Hlhid^ td the lali dftbe Kihgdf B4bylori. A wvifeirf J I; 3 I : Ilii I l ^s the other, refuses vto countenance ' the idea ot Satan havifig beem expelled irohi heaven." h Asiior Reves-) lation xii. 7v it (is j even- lefts available than^ either bf the othei!$v inasmuch asiit refers to events which are still future/!; Satah himself says : . "And the devils, taking hinx up. intor an high mountain, shewed lunto him all the kingdoms >qf the worlds in' a moment of time. . And' the devil said unto himv aU this power wiH 1 give thee, and. /the gloryof i tbeirt : jfori that is delivered unto me; and to whomsoever! willil/jgiveit.. It thou therefore wilt woreihip me, all shall be thine" (Lukei i)«i 5'7).' It is probable that' the time when Satan occupip<4 this earth as a king was, doubtless at & very; early >$ta|;e ofl the worlds existence. Job asks xxxviii. 6-7 : " Wheret^pQOt are.the fottadations thereof fastened ? or who? l^dlthe cornei:^^ stone thereoi.s When the morning >starsidahg>tOgether» and alltheeoiib of. God shouted for joy?" -iThis, may have at-* ludedto the time when there' wto universal peace, '* the* sons of Odd" were no doubt, the. angels. - J jtiay biky herei that the general notion that peop>le have concerning angel^r is that they are creatures destitute of 'a^sub^antiftl body.;i they are a sort of an incomprehensible, nothingness. Thl9< idea is entitreily at variance with- God's word, .Angels hat^ a-spiritual body which is just as substantial and '■ pa}pal;fle> to, the, spiritual perceptions as our physical bodif^s ai^ ifi, i^lfVtion t9 .Qur repeptiv^ taqulties,, and if the.angelsspccupy, a . pl(^c|Q , in the stellar u^iyersej I .^lee; no ireason why ,thos^< bofiutiiul stars should not b^ 9. suitable abodC) ibr, " th^.son^^ of ^Qd.'' There is,a tl^ousand unseen iinfiuei^ce^ surrpun4^^ ipg usiofv^hiicl;! we hP'V.e not tb.e, faintest cpnc^ption. ,."I,'0^, this only hiaye I found, that Go4 hs^thjipa^e ,m«,9 ^p^ight; l^ut tUey have sought otft many injyefition)^ " (Ecjql.j^., 29)^ lyten, by neglecting the-Diyine cpmma,i)ds. and seel^ing pu^ wgysfoi their QWD, have thu&cnl ^e gpl^e^ p^a^in t^9^t iinJf^ the phyfti^al tP the spiritu^^ J^mt.toi retM^n ^o ouff p;«bj^>^ th0l^4s tio doubt hi>t wihs^t we arpthoyr ©n.il^eeye pf,f^igr^^ ?] >? r i •mm ri ■<'*mm?''\w!''':. 'h crisis in ,the world s history. The indications of such a crisis are to numerous^© treat in a work of this S|z6, How- ever, ive Will mention a lew, of the.celestiM signs. that sltc now eneageinfi; th^ att^htion o;!: the must eminent n;ie^ or Ji .."mtIj ,'yiaF.Aii.tn-Jx '.n* rn mix .a hiMvy ,w<>rl .jU'iKHHuq i **4t. 'I X-T (!!*!!• 441 "('1' .v-.'-usT >'!'t (.) f''r^£:( "T-'^'V la "'^"'Jflfl The Coming Planetary ,P?iRiHELiON.--rThe perihelion ofi Tupiter occurred on the 25th of September loeo, in 16*' of Aries, the constellation of the rani. There is no perihelion 01 any of the, superior planets takes place during the present, year, but iti 1882 thert will be two penhelions. Uranus will ^ ,— - -^ -,- penneiion 01, Orahii^ that caflnqt be pverlooked. In Rev, xi. 2 it says : " But the, court, which is wUhoiit the temple leave out, and measure it not ; for it is given unto the Gentiles, and the holy city snj^U they trcfad under (oot n>rty ««.!>;, 4;,': v^ r.!''(f tne term day in brophecy to Represent a year ; see Es^ek. iv.^ 6 a^(l'2;Petltiii. 8. ,' ib^ojunar years irbm'tKeferablf Nabo-' aa'sser the Westei-n' i^prnah Empire 01 ; i2^oth yiear oif th^' cnrisiisih £ra tli^Cjireek Empire was restored ; 1206' solar' yearsftrom ^mperor Ju^tjnian? Decree, A. D. 533— 542 the p)^'p4'l jpower '^Il^*an(i'& Revoiutibn Hrol^e out k!p,\ 1^9^-— i3i5 J ,1200 liifiar years from' Era of liegira tfie idebilee' 01 tOl^Fation was g;iVen by T'urWi^h Empire on demand oJFtiilB^ British Government ;' 1260 liina^r years from the deci-eiedf i^od'ye^rs from' trie' era 61 fiegira' which occurred '6n fjie'^ i^t^oonT'of Jiliy'iDth,, 6i2. ' M^Hanimed^aintisiii^aWs fVBiifi' th«^ :iil) i);>bn'j';'>7(f ,f iHr i- ' tMiiv'./ ;,rii I .Jorjfoo k (ii t);>hos.»*n<:| I^' THE BiBLtt, ASTRONOMY, stationary in the very centre of Virgo. Uranus has been usually looked upon by astrologers as a most malignant planet. It is said to always bring evil, especially in its perihelion. Now, what is still more remarkable, the constel* lation ot Virgo is said to rule Turkey. The malignant planet Mars will be in conjunction with Uranus when at its perihe* lion in August, and even Jupiter will be in the middle ot the sign oi Gemini on a direct square with both Uranus and Mars. This, according to the teaching of the Egyptian as< trologers. is considered a very malignant position. The coin* cidence is, when taken altogether, a very remarkable one, it beingthe ia6oth solar year from the era of the Hegira. I think that Turkey, as a nation, will noc outlive the coming year. Neptune in the month of December, '83, which wlil bein peri* helion to the sun in the sign of Taurus. Taurus is said to rule the east. Taurus rules Asia Minor according to the astrology of the Egyptians. Notwithstanding the fact that there are two penhelions in i88a, I think that the spring of that year will be a mild and seasonable one. The coming winter, I think, will not be so severe as the past onie has been. It is likely enough that the latter part of 1882 may close with disastrous wars in the east, though the year may open peaceably. In September 1885 Saturn will be in peri- helion in about 4^ or 5^ ol Cancer. It is between two and three thousand years since the perihelion of these four su- perior planets oc^ured within the space of five years. The nearest date that can be found was a period of ten years — , 1708 to 1718. These were years of fearful pestilence. The death rate was extraordinary high. However, I anticipate that future events will scarcely be as fearful as they are re- presented in the columns of the public press. Whatever may happen will a£fect the east, and since light and civilization progress from east to west, so it is very probable that the influence of these events will spread westward. Our Present Comets. — Comets have from time imniem* morable, been held as the precursor of great events. Joseph- us avers that a Comet shaped like a sword, hung over Jeru- salem, for the space of one year before the terrible disasters that befell that unfortunate city, which has been besiged oyer 38 times. A comet appeared about the time of the birth of our Saviour. The Peloponnesian war A.D.431. The death ojt Caesar^ A.t). 43 ; Constantine, ,^.D. 327 ; Philip Augstus, J\Jp. 12^^ ; Kin^ of Naples, A.D. 1265 ; their death were all preceeded by a comet. iThe comet of 18 11, pireceeded the 1» 4 7 I t AND THE PYRAMID. im^ diiutert of iSia, the dettruction of Moscow by fire and' Borodino war; the death of George III, in i8ao, was pre- ceeded by the comet of 1819, in July the cholera of 1832, came with the comet that made its appearanee that year ; the comet of 1835, preceeded the attempted insurrection at Strasburg in 1836 ; the terrible earthquake at Mortineque, in which 700 lost their lives, in 1839 ; the death of the Duke of Wellington in 1852 ; in z86i a comet came in conjunction with the sun ; that year there was the terrible fire at London; also the death of Prince Oonsort; this comet appeared in Aries, and Aries is said to be the ruling sign of London ; the death of the King of the Belgiums, in 1865, also the downfall of the Roman Church in 1870, was accompanied in each case by the appearance of a comet. We have had the distinguished honour of having one of these interesting comets pay us a visit. He takes a special pleasure in displaying himself in the northern portion of our •ky, he is now about 8 or 9 degrees north of the constellation of Auriga. This constellation is composed of three stars, which assume a triangular form ; the star on the east side of this triangle which is the brightest of the three, is called Capella. About two weeks ago this oomet was near the centre of this triangle, but now she is moving slowly towards a point aboul 2^ west of the Polar star ; the head of this comet which is supposed to be about one thousand miles in diameter, seems to point almost directly towards the sign of Taurus. This sign is said to be the residence of that sun, which our whole stellar system revolves. Alcyone {eta tauri), which is one of the seven stars constituting, the constellation of the Pleiads, is supposed by many astronomers to be the great central Sun. Surely the fact of the great central Sun, being located in the sign of Taurus, ought to give that sigU: a prominent place among the constellations. Is it not rcT markable, that nearly all the most noteworthy celestial as- pects during the present year occur in this particular con- stellation ? The great conjunction of Saturn and Jupiter on the 1 8th of April, which occur^d in Toronto, about the gh^ 2sm. I3sec., A.M. and at Greenwich, about 2h. 4m. 36sec. P.M., the same day, in the 1°, 36/, 41^' of Taurus, 15 hours afler this coniunction took place, the Earl of Beaconsfield^ passed through the portals of death, to recieve a crown of unfading glory in the eternal home of the blessed. There was the conjunctiop of Mars and Saturn, last Friday, July 6th, in io*^ of Taurus; the remarkabt^ aijpect of thie stars THE ^{Jami^ iA^T,mNqnfYden r/3l£i|>iy(^ P9sit^fi of tjl^e^^ sta^^s, I ahnU giyeiloc^tiofiiatti aoOD^ on J.H^e Ji^th, .pf^eijwhich Meap Tme^ the sun -aSP i',. i?9, j of , G^Diiini Npptune, ,15 ', 317 ' -of Taurusi ; Hersohe^ i(y{ 7 oj^jy^rgp,;. ,§(»,turj»,,8°„45,' of Taurus ;i J upitet*. 15^48* of. Taurus,^ ^ar§, ;^3°, 3p ' of ,Ape9 » (>Iars watered. TauruB o» June 22nd), Venus in 15° q( Taurus,; Mer^cuxyin the .23*' ofi Cancel;, pj^Jupeigt^i, ^u.sni^arly all tjjie s^^^s were gather- eel together i^itl^e.f^n pf Taurus.^ This w^ no doubt to. some^ exten^, 9ft(^iQ^,thel?iadii;^ ffav"is of if||o^ ^reat flpodu andj earthqui^kes tha.t have /)een Sv unu$i^ally prev.aleot, during, the present, year, nav, it is acknowledge^ \.h^ there is an allusion to tl^esegr^atconjunction^, in tl^e ^^gn Pf Ti?;Hrus, iu^ the construction of tl|»at, preat Pyram^. TJhe^e j^ n,o doubt > something very suggestiyp in the fact^thaf this, poppet should) ppint directly! to>y^^d that xej^pajrka^e const,qllatipn. The> sign, Tavtus is Spiid tp r^ile the East, ^p we may, pqnsequent- ly 1pp)c in that <|irectiqiji fpr tfie, ifes^lt^ ^indicated by^pi^r^ celestial guest. Taurus rules Ire^nd anjd Persia and is the, hpuse jPfiV^nus an^ whe|-ejShe is np,>y reigning* , "JT^® '^^^^ 91 tl^is com^t is e^tiijt^ated at about four mi^^ipn of ipijies, .hovfr^ evier'it has decr^sed <^onpiderable since,.^e saw it l^st yfeek^ we look ior it to liight, but alas, ith^s npt raad^^itjs a|)peat-^ ance, .possibly it has payght a , colcj and as the pight w^^, ratHer cloudy, it has not ventured out* it does not seem tOt kefep verj^.gopd hpur^, as it is generally ^ brighte^f a/3Puf,,3r. A. My, hpwever.we wpuld not undeyir any circumstances say, ariythirig against it^, personal repuj^a^^jpfli.as it .h^s|,.all the appearance I of bej^'if A v|?ry defifPft .^?P>^P&,??'"«^» W« M%.; This coniet will in a|l p|-pba,bijit^ Jbe^ inyi^jbl|/tput IP days, it attained its perihelipn, .about June iQth, and is npw ralpidly rece^ding from the $un; somi^ riw-n; ii' '"i ■ « I ,.a '~it-J. ■■ 1 .•"'•. I <""' " ■,'■■,"'' ' j !■;; 'i '• > '" have supposed that this comet 15 the same that made lis ap- pearance at th(^ |>irtlji of Saviovr. Tpe.fpnctionpf comets is 1 I ^. ^^p.x^A'^rMM'^vx 9h H r S I^r^yalent. ,, It is a,si||gqlay,fac,t th^tj.uf^ at, ^fij^^.tji^^ th^Jf<^) shpul(l,ocpur, the q^njyncti^^iO^ Jupiipf ,34?fi ,^a(^Hfn in ,ti^^9t 'qonstpljjitipn plipg tlje, t;|r.jvj YH..iqf.? w. April. i»t wi.hyB^^ .i:«^i)l»I) Ij.l M9y 2IS Jdh(i 2 1 St ^«b. loth The, northern are north of the. equator and the soutnerQi (ilJ 111 r ji I // i ir v/<'i"!>l YOU) ,itj'j7y ^(iifins'irni arno?. 'jtoi ,The planets .ate .represented .thus : Sun : , m;!) Tit' // .. ■ -.-.i'^i.! "IT.. -T,; ,(" tPJ tne teturn of the Star, of Bethlehem„ which is said to have iv.^.':.// -w. <:r ."<:<■!■ -iju* T'Vd j,r'.ioi:' 'I ''!jj: '7''/' 'A.I"''^/" pbrtToh of {Keskv. almost di-. rectly East of the Polar star ; the two stars in ilie Dipper which point to the Polar Star, is also directed to a point 10^ south of Cassiopeias chair. 0^ THB BiBLB, AStkdNOMY. Thb Coming Crisis.— Oenisis i, 14, ih speaking of the sun/ moon and stars, says: " let them be for signs ;*' the Hebrew reads ** for signs ov the future." ** Then saith he unto them, Nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against king- dom : And great earthquakes shall be in divers places, and iamines, and pestilences ; and feariul sights and great signs shall there be from aeaven." (Luke xxi, 10, 11.) If these remarkable aspects of our Stellar system be not signs front heaven, then I ask what are to be the " signs from Heaven."* The present decade will doubtless usher in events the like of which have not been witnessed for thousands of- years. This year has indeed been a very remarkably on4 so tar. Look at the fearful deeds of violence commited in Russia. Her Emperor, who had done almost everything in his power to better the condition of his country, was cruelly assassinated last March. Last April England mourned the loss of her great legislative ruler, the Earl oi Beaconsfield. Look at the tearful disaster on the 24th of last May, in which many lost their lives. It is a strange circumsta; ^e that just' before this event, Mercury was in perihelion to the sun, and Venus on thaii day was stationary in her own house, Taurus. She is said to role the sea, now it is acknowledged that she exerc^^iis her greatest power when in Taurus ; it is a re-r liiarkable coincidence. Just a little over a week ago, we were shocked to hear of the terrible mu.5ortune the President of the United States met Wiith, but he is now rapidly recoveringr and we hope will soon resume his official duties Look at the general attitude of the nations, there seems to be a spirit of discontentment and fear ; they seem to be on the outlook for some inipending event, they know not what. The Hin- doos expect their great god to return about 1883 and he will <^stablish his kingdom on this earth, and that he will utterly destroy the works Dujal, whom they recognize as their devil,) so say their ancient books. The Christian nations of our globe are all impressed with the feeling that some great event is evidently pending over our globe. As we witness the general lawlessnesis that abounds, and the fearful con- dition of the nations, we are led to conclude that the time is but short md that the end of this age is fast drawing to a close. May we be prepared for the terrible summons when it may come. ' ,11 hi ^lujKgfi'; J*j (fji/ua ' ■'^ \^ -^