hour is coming, in the which all that are in their graves shall hear his voice, and shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.'* Those whose lives had accorded with the gospel, came forth to life or to the enjoyment of all the spiritual blessings connected with the reign of Jesus; while the vile and the wicked came forth to condemnation. It is very evident from the whole tenor of the Scriptures that two resurrections are taught; one a moral or spiritual resurrection, the other a literal resurrection; one a resurrection from dead works, the other from the grave, or from mortality to immortality. Various passages might be cited to illustrate the distinction here made, but mere references must answer. Speaking to the Ephesians, the Apostle says, 'And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins.'t The Apostle John says, 'We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren.' The early Christians experienced this resurrection while in the flesh. But when the last or literal resurrection takes place, then, 'As in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.' Then 'this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.' Whoever will follow out this subject, will find that this passage cannot with any propriety be applied to the final resurrection of all the sleeping dead. Indeed, the motto and its connection show that the resurrection there spoken of was to take place when Michael, the great prince, should stand up for the children of thy people. And when Michael comes, then he quotes the very passage where the prophet spoke of him, and applies it to the closing scenes of the dispensation of rites and ceremonies. Yet a large portion of the christian world constantly apply the passage spoken of in Daniel to that of the final resurrection of the whole human race, And what makes this appear the more singular, is, that many divines who make this application of the passage, say that a future state is nowhere revealed in the Old Testament! But we must leave this subject, with a few consolatory remarks. It appears that the miseries connected with the end of the Jewish dispensation can never be exceeded. Such is the promise of Michael, the great prince. There may be plagues, earthquakes, and famine, but then there will never be such a time of trouble again. This promise seems like a bow hung out in the heavens. But how could this be, if the doctrine of endless misery be true? What comparison is there between the destruction of a single city and the unceasing misery of a large portion of the human family? Reflect on this, reader, if thou art a believer in that doctrine, and answer it to thy own heart. LVII. MIGHTY GOD. 'For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The Mighty God, The Everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.' Isa. ix. 6. ALL these several titles may be found in their appropriate places, for the reader will bear in mind. that our work is arranged in alphabetical order. The phrase Mighty God occurs in twelve instances, all of which are in the Old Testament. We begin by observing, that the personage here spoken of was to be called by these names, but barely giving these names to any one would not prove that the person was the Almighty, or was equal to him in any respect whatever. Among the Orientals, the appellations given as names are always significant. In the Old Testament, we find that the child was named in many instances from the circumstances of its birth, or from some peculiarities in the history of the family to which it belonged.* Frequently the name was a compound one, one part being the name of the Deity, and among idolatrous nations the name of an idol. Thus, SAMUEL signifies heard of God; ADONIJAH, God is Lord; JOSEDECH, God is just.† * Gen. xvi. 11. xix. 37. xxv. 25, 26. Exod. ii. 10. xviii. 3, 4. † See JAHN's Biblical Archeology, sec. 164. Also an Introduction to the Holy Scriptures. By T. H. HORNE. Vol. iii. p. 413. Phil. 1826. It should be observed, that there are various translations of this passage. It is rendered by some, 'And his name shall be called ** a Mighty God, the Father of the everlasting age:' that is, of the christian dispensation, which is to continue to the end of time. Lowth agrees with this rendering, except that he uses the definite article before Mighty God. In the Vatican edition of the Septuagint, the titles are wanting, the whole verse being rendered, 'And his name shall be called messenger of great counsel, for I will bring peace upon the rulers, and health to him.' It is difficult to see how the Greek translators could have so rendered the Hebrew text. It is rendered by some as follows: 'For to us a child is born, To us a son is given; And he shall be called Wonderful, counsellor, mighty potentate, or hero, This is Luther's translation. It is also adopted by Gesenius and De Wette. We have before remarked that we need not be surprised to find the same names and titles that are applied to God, ascribed also to Jesus Christ.* Some exceptions, however, must be made. Jehovah is never thus applied. It is said, however, that even the Jews themselves consider this name as incommunicable. The truth is, the word God is applied to human beings, as our Saviour himself affirmed, in his conversation with the Jews on that point, John x. * See title EVERLASTING FATHER. 35.* We are taught from our earliest years to consider the term God as the proper name of the Deity, and as applicable to him alone. But it was not so when the Bible was written. The Hebrew word, rendered God in this verse, has another meaning perfectly suited to the connexion. We have only to turn to any Heb. lexicon to ascertain that the radical meaning is power, strength, and that it is applied in the Scriptures to a mighty personage, a hero, a potentate. The same word is applied to Nebuchadnezzar, Ezek. xxxi. 11, where he is styled 'mighty one,' or hero of the nations. It is applied to human beings in Ezek. xxxii. 21. Job xli. 25. In conclusion, we observe, in the words of a learned Unitarian, that 'the question is not, Whether Christ is called GOD in Scripture, for that is undeniable; but, In what sense the word is to be understood.' 'Since, therefore, it is a fact, about which there is among Christians no dispute, that Jesus was a person "unto whom the word of God came;" since we know, that he vindicated the application to himself of the title GOD, taken in this sense, (John x. 34, 35.) and since we do not know, until it be proved, that the title belongs to him in any other sense, we ought thus to understand it, wherever we find it * Those who wish to see the various passages where the word God is thus applied, are referred to a work, which we think of great value in settling the true meaning of the various names and titles that are applied to the Father and the Son; entitled 'A Vindication of Unitarianism.' By JAMES YATES. Chap. v. Also to a work entitled 'One God in one Person only.' By Rev. JOHN Sherman. + H. Taylor's Considerations on Ancient and Modern Creeds compared, p. 124. |