Without the fourth, it must be limited, &c.
Eternal life, in its fulness, implies a spiritual intelligence, embodied in the likeness of its own species and clothed upon with an outward tabernacle of eternal, incorruptible flesh and bones. This state of existence can only be attained by the resurrection of the body, and its eternal re-union with the spirit.
Eternal life thus attained, and endowed with the eternal attributes of intelligence and love, could never exercise, or derive enjoyment from the affections of the latter, unless a.s.sociated with other beings endowed with the same attributes.
Hence the object, or necessity of eternal kindred ties, a.s.sociations, and affections, exercised as the attributes of that charity which never ends.
The third proposition, viz.--
_Eternal Peace_, could never be secured without the development of Eternal Law and government, which would possess in itself the attributes of infinite truth, goodness and power.
Any government short of this, could never guarantee _Eternal Peace_.
It would be liable to be overthrown, by the lack of truth to discern, disposition to execute, or power to enforce, the measures necessary to insure peace.
The fourth proposition, viz.--
_Eternal Wealth_, must, of necessity, consist of an everlasting inheritance or t.i.tle, defined and secured by this eternal government, to portions of the organized elements, in their pure, incorruptible and eternal state.
In order to be wealthy, eternal man must possess a certain portion of the surface of some eternal planet, adapted to his order or sphere of existence.
This inheritance, incorruptible, eternal in the heavens, must be sufficiently extensive for his accommodation, with all his family dependencies. It must also comprise a variety of elements, adapted to his use and convenience. Eternal gold, silver, precious stones, and other precious materials would be useful in the erection and furnishing of mansions, and of public and private dwellings or edifices.
These edifices combined, or arranged in wisdom, would const.i.tute eternal cities. Gardens, groves, walks, rivulets, fountains, flowers and fruits, would beautify and adorn the landscape, please the eye, the taste, the smell; and thus contribute gladness to the heart of man.
Silks, linens, or other suitable materials would be necessary to adorn his person, and to furnish and beautify his mansions.
In short, eternal man, in possession of eternal worlds, in all their variety and fulness, will eat, drink, think, converse, a.s.sociate, a.s.semble, disperse, go, come, possess, improve, love and enjoy. He will increase in riches, knowledge, power, might, majesty and dominion, in worlds without end.
Every species of the animal creation ever organized by creative goodness, or that ever felt the pangs of death, or uttered a groan while subject to the king of terrors, or exulted in the joys of life and sympathy, and longed for the redemption of the body, will have part in the resurrection, and will live for ever in their own spheres, in the possession of peace, and a fulness of joy, adapted to their several capacities.
O Child of earth, conceived in corruption!
Brought forth in pain and sorrow! sojourning In a world of mourning, mid sighs and tears, And groans, and awaiting in sadness thy home In the gloomy grave, as food for worms; Lift up thy head, cast thine eyes around thee, Behold yon countless hosts of shining orbs, Yon worlds of light and life. Then turn to earth, Survey the solid globe, its mineral wealth, Its gems, its precious stones, its gold, its springs; Its gardens, forests, fruits, and flowers; Its countless myriads of breathing life, From _Mote to Man_, through all the varied scale Of animated being.
Visit the gloomy caverns of the dead, The ancient sepulchre, where e"en the worm Of death himself, has died for want of food, And bones disjointed are crumbled fine, and Mingled with the dust.
Nay, deeper still, descend the fathomless Abyss of souls condemned, in darkness chained, Or thrust in gloomy dungeons of despair-- Where the very names of Mercy, of Hope, And of death"s conqueror remain unknown.
Observe with care the whole, indulge in tears, But hope, believe, and clothed with charity Which never fails, thine eyes enlightened, Thy person clad in light ethereal.
Time fades, and opens on eternity.
Again review the scene beheld before.
You startle, seem surprised! confused! o"erwhelmed!
Death is conquered, corruption is no more, All is _life_, and the word ETERNITY Is inscribed in characters indelible, On every particle and form of life.
Socrates, Plato, Confucius, and many other philosophers and divines have written largely on the immortality of the _soul_ or spirit of man.
Some of these have suffered, with joy and cheerfulness, imprisonment, torture, and even death, with only this limited view of eternal existence.
Could these martyrs to a portion of truth so limited, and yet so full of hope and consolation, have handled immortal flesh and bones in the persons of Enoch or Elijah translated, or of Jesus raised from the dead; could they have learned from their sacred lips, and realized the full import of that joyful sentence--
"_Behold! I make all things new_;"
could they have contemplated eternal worlds, of matter in all its elements and forms of animal life, indissoluble and everlasting; could they have beheld eternal man, moving in the majesty of a G.o.d, amid the planetary systems, grasping the knowledge of universal nature, and with an intellect enlightened by the experience and observations of thousands and even millions of years; could they have had a glimpse of all this, and heard the promise--
"_There shall be no more death_,"
issuing from the fountain of truth, prompted by infinite benevolence and charity, re-echoing amid the starry worlds, reaching down to earth, vibrating, with a thrill of joy, all the myriads of animated nature, penetrating the gloomy vaults of death, and the prisons of the spirit world, with a ray of hope, and causing to spring afresh, the well-springs of life, and joy, and love, even in the lonely dungeons of despair! O! how would their bosoms have reverberated with unutterable joy and triumph, in view of changing worlds.
Could the rulers of this world have beheld, or even formed a conception of, such riches, such n.o.bility, such an eternal and exceeding weight of glory, they would have accounted the wealth, pleasures, honours, t.i.tles, dignities, glories, thrones, princ.i.p.alities and crowns of this world as mere toys--the play-things of a day, dross, not worth the strife and toil of acquiring, or the trouble of maintaining, except as a duty, or troublesome responsibility.
With this view of the subject, what man so base, so grovelling, so blind to his own interests, as to neglect those duties, self-denials, sacrifices, which are necessary in order to secure a part in the _first_ resurrection, and a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory in that life which never ends?
CHAPTER VIII.
KEY OF KNOWLEDGE, POWER, AND GOVERNMENT.
Heaven"s n.o.bility, whom worlds obey, Clad in the brightness of eternal day, Enthroned in majesty, as "_Priests and Kings_,"
To whom the universe its incense brings!
Angels, its ministers! Heaven is its throne!
The stores of infinitude are all its own!
Having given a general view of the powers, operations and effects of Theology, as developed amongst the nations of antiquity, the mysteries of the G.o.dhead, the law of nature, and the origin and destiny of the universe, the subject next in order is the KEY of knowledge, power and government, as developed in the heavens and on the earth, for the organization, order, peace, happiness, education, improvement, and exaltation of intelligences in the image of G.o.d--His sons and daughters.
The great family of man, comprising the inhabitants of unnumbered millions of worlds, in every variety and degree of progress, consists of five princ.i.p.al spheres, or grand divisions, in the scale of progressive being, viz.--
First. _The G.o.ds_, composed of embodied spirits, who inhabit tabernacles of immortal flesh and bones in their most refined state, and who are perfected in all the attributes of intelligence and power.
Second. _The Angels_, who are also composed of spirits and immortal flesh and bones, less refined, and endowed with vast intelligence and power, but not a fulness.
Third. _Embodied Spirits_, without a tabernacle of flesh and bones.
These are they who hate pa.s.sed the veil of death, and are awaiting a resurrection.
Fourth. _Embodied Spirits_, with mortal tabernacles, as in the present world.
Fifth. _Embodied Spirits_, who have not yet descended to be clothed upon with mortality, but who are candidates for the same.
There is also a sixth division, but of those we need not speak, as they are not, as yet, included in the scale of progressive being, not having kept their first estate.
The spirits of all men in their primeval states, were intelligent. But among these intelligences some were more n.o.ble, that is to say, more intelligent than others.
_And G.o.d said, these will I make rulers in my kingdoms_.[A] Upon this principle was manifested the election, before the foundation of the world, of certain individuals to certain offices, as written in the Scriptures.
[Footnote A: See Book of Abraham, translated from Papyrus, lately taken from the Catacombs of Thebes in Egypt.]
In other words, certain individuals, more intelligent than the others, were chosen by the Head, to teach, instruct, edify, improve, govern, and minister truth and salvation to others; and to hold the delegated powers or keys of government, in the several spheres of progressive being.
These were not only chosen, but set apart, by a holy ordinance in the eternal worlds, as Emba.s.sadors, Foreign Ministers, Priests, Kings, Apostles, &c., to fill the various stations in the vast empire of the Sovereign of all.