eousness. The apostle says concerning them," whose end shall be according to their works." What end?

The apostle tells us that their end "is destruction," Phil. iii. 18, 19. The same destruction which came on the unbelieving Jews whose ministers they were, see Phil. i. 28, 29; 1 Peter iv. 17, 18. See particularly on Matth. xxiv. xxv, and 2 Thess. ii. in the Second Part.

2 Cor. xii. 7. "And lest I should be exalted above measure, through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of satan, to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure." The word which is here translated messenger is angelos, and which in other places is rendered angel. It was "the angel of satan," that buffeted Paul. Dr. Kennicott says, Dissert. i. p. 100, "For the messenger of satan means here a false teacher, in opposition to a true apostle called 'the messenger of God,' Gal. iv. 14." See Parkhurst on the word Angelos: and on the last passage for the satan here meant. 1 Thess. ii. 18. "Wherefore we would have come unto you (even I Paul) once and again; but satan hindered us." Acts xvii. 1 Thess. iii. I-9, with many other passages show, that the satan who hindered Paul from going to the Thessalonians, was the persecuting Jews, who are frequently called satan. Nothing in Paul's history shows a fallen angel ever troubled him. Only render the term satan, adversary here, and in other places, and such a being disappears.

2 Thess, ii. 9. "Even him, whose coming is after the working of satan, with all power, and signs, and lying wonders." The apostle simply says here, "whose coming is after the working of the adversary." If this is understood of the persecuting Jews, who are called satan in other texts, it is agreeable to the fact, for many

came in Christ's name before the destruction of Jerusalem, pretending to work miracles, so that if it had been possible they would have deceived the very elect. See Matth. xxiv. and Whitby on 2 Thess. chap. ii. 1 Tim. v. 15. “For some are already turned aside after satan." What satan had they turned aside after? The words which immediately precede show this: "I will therefore that the younger women marry, bear children, guide the house, give none occasion to the adversary to speak reproachfully.". The satan, after whom they had turned aside, was evidently the Jews, for they are called both satan and adversary in other texts, and they did speak reproachfully of Christians. It is not easily perceived, how persons could turn aside after a fallen angel, but to apostatise from the faith, or go over to its adversaries, is easily understood.

Rev. ii. 9. "I know thy works, and tribulation, and poverty, (but thou art rich,) and I know the blasphemy of them which say they are Jews, and are not, but are the synagogue of satan." Who a true Jew was, Paul informs us, Rom. ii. 28, 29. The persons spoken of, said they were Jews, but were not. They were of synagogue of satan, belonged to the synagogue of the unbelieving persecuting Jews. Who ever supposed that a fallen angel had a synagogue, and, that the persons John speaks of belonged to it? Nor can it be believed, any number of men had a synagogue in those days, which was called "the synagogue of satan," or of a fallen angel. But the synagogue of the Jews, or the adversary, occasions no difficulty.

Rev. iii. 9. "Behold I will make them of the synagogue of satan, which say they are Jews, and are not, but do lie; behold I will make them to come and worship before thy feet, and to know that I have loved thee." See on the last passage a sufficient illustration

of this text. I would only add, that it has been thought by some, there is an allusion here to the subjection of Jews to the Christians in the flourishing state of Christianity.

Rev. ii. 13. "I know thy works, and where thou dwellest, even where satan's seat is: and thou holdest fast my name, and hast not denied my faith, even in those days wherein Antipas was my faithful martyr who was slain among you, where satan dwelleth." If satan here means a fallen angel, it must be admitted, that his seat was at Pergamus in the days of John. But if satan is only rendered adversary, all difficulty is at once removed. Pergamus was a noted place for opposition to Christianity, for here Antipas suffered death, and Christ's disciples are highly commended for holding fast his name in such a place of persecution. It will not be easy to show how a wicked spirit had his seat or throne at Pergamus, and at the same time was walking about seeking whom he might devour.

Rev. ii. 24. "But unto you I say, and unto the rest in Thyatira, (as many as have not this doctrine, and who have not known the depths of satan, as they speak) I will put upon you none other burden." Here again it is only necessary to translate the word satan adversary, and all idea of a fallen angel disappears.— The deep things, or depths of satan, are the depths of the adversary. It is said that the Gnostics called their mysteries the deep things of God and the deep things of By thus. And Lowman calls it the deep arts of deceit and error. Paul says, we are not ignorant of his devices. 2 Cor. ii. 11. And the whole conduct of the persecuting Jews is a comment on this passage and others above considered.

Such are all the places in the New Testament where the word satan occurs, and it is evident, the Old and

New Testament usage of it are similar, or rather the same. In neither does it designate a fallen angel, whom Christians call the devil and satan.

SECTION VI.

ALL THE PASSAGES WHERE THE ORIGINAL TERM DIABOLOS, TRANSLATED DEVIL, IS USED, CONSIDEred.

WE have seen that the term satan means an adversary, and have noticed its various applications by the sacred writers. We are now to pay some attention to the meaning and application of the term (diabolos) devil, where it occurs in the New Testament.

Let it be then observed, in general, that the term devils is used in the following places in the Old Tes tament. "And they shall no more offer their sacrifices unto devils, after whom they have gone a whoring.They sacrificed unto devils, not to God; to gods whom they knew not, to new gods that came newly up, whom your fathers feared not. And Jeroboam ordained him priests for the high places, and for the devils, and for the calves which he had made. Yea, they sacrificed their sons and their daughters unto devils." Lev. xvii. 7; Deut. xxxii. 17; 2 Chron. xi. 15; Psalm cvi. 37. The word rendered devils in this last text is daimonion in the Seventy's version, and also in the following places: Psalm xcvi. 5, and xci. 6; Isai. lxv. 10, xxxiv. 14 and xiii. 21. It is evident, these devils, or demons, were only heathen idols, or Pagan deities, which could

neither do good nor evil to any man. They were made, and some of them were styled new gods, which had come newly up, and which were not formerly known by the Jews or their fathers. To these demons or gods, the Jews sacrificed their sons and daughters. But they were altogether different from what is meant by the devil or satan; for as Dr. Campbell observes"They could no more be said to have worshipped the devil, as we Christians understand the term, than they could be said to have worshipped the cannibals of New Zealand: because they had no more conception of the one than of the other." Dissert. vi. He adds, "As to the worship of the devil, tou diabolous, nothing can be clearer than that in Scripture, no Pagans are charged with it." The fact is, the Jews knew nothing about the devil until they went to Babylon. Dr. Campbell says, "The word diabolos, in its ordinary acceptation, signifies calumniator, traducer, false accuser, from the verb diaballein, to calumniate." This is also its meaning, as given by Parkhurst and other lexicographers, which need not be quoted. Its extraordinary acceptation, with them and others is, it designates a fallen angel, who is the implacable enery of God and man.—But the first three passages which I shall quote, show that our translators understood the word diabolos in the way Dr. Campbell explains it, which he says, is its ordinary acceptation. The first is

1 Tim. iii, 11. "Even so must their wives be grave, not slanderers (diabolous,) sober, faithful in all things." Here pious women are exhorted not to be slanderers ; literally, "not to be devils." The very same word is used, verses 6, 7, in the singular number, and is rendered devil. Again, it is said, Titus ii. 3, "the aged women likewise, that they be in behavior as becometh holiness, not false accusers" (diabolous.) Aged, pious