Alexander (Acts 4: 5, 6) may have come next, followed by the five sons of Annas-Jonathan, Eleazar, Matthias, Theophilus and Hannas-the five brothers, perhaps, hinted at in the para·ble of Dives and Lazarus, "and as many (others) as were of the kindred of the high-priest" (Acts 4: 6). Nicodemus (John 3: I, and 19: 39) and Joseph of Arimathea were "honorable" members of this body, but "who did not consent to its evil council and deed." Geikie suggests the presence of Joazar and Eleazar, brothers of Mariamne the second, "the belle of Jerusalem," wife of Herod the Great.

At each end of the circle sat a "scribe," who recorded the proceedings (Dr. Abbott). "As we have seen, already, the three classes of persons (chief priests, scribes and elders) constitute the component part of the Sanhedrin; the former being the heads of the twenty-four courses of priests."-THEO. D. WOOLSEY, D. D., LL. D.

Their place of ASSEMBLY was in the hall Gazjith (Talmud), supposed to be at the south side of the temple (Lightfoot). From Acts 5: 17-19-21-22 we learn that this hall was not in the temple, for while the apostles were preaching in the temple, the Sanhedrin were waiting for them in their councilchamber. The captain of the temple there brought them word from the temple.-Acts 5: 24.

A preliminary session could be held at the high-priest's palace.

Before this council Jesus was brought, and later, Peter, John, Stephen, Paul and other Christians. The power of the Sanhedrin extended over all Palestine, as far as Damascus. Thither they sent Saul, commissioned to capture Christians and bring them to Jerusalem.

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PHARISEES' RELIGION.

PHARISEES.

THESE claimed to be the dominant religious party in the time of Christ. THE NAME is derived from a Hebrew word meaning "separated." They pretended holiness above all other men, and publicly thanked God for it (Luke 18: 11). They numbered 6,000 in Judea.

The teachings of Jesus, from first to last, were antagonistic to the Pharisees. On more than one occasion He warned the Twelve against imbibing their views. It was too much like leaven to be exposed to the pure loaf. He called them hypocrites, lovers of money, lovers of praise, lovers of the highest seats at table and in the synagogue, liars, robbers of widows and orphans, and held up their religious views to open and just ridicule.

Whatever other point one may see in the "parable" of the rich man and Lazarus, the main one is ridicule of the Pharisaical religious belief. Luke has recorded it (16: 14, 15, 19, 31). Verses 16, 17 and 18 belong elsewhere. The Pharisees (14) were scoffing at the pure teachings of Jesus, and in retaliation He said, "God knows your hearts, and that which you exalt is an abomination in the sight of God." Omitting the next three verses, He went on to show up their abominations in their religious "esteem," and related the parable known as the "Rich man and Lazarus."

We hardly need proceed to show that the story embodied these self-righteous, Pharisees' belief, borrowed, in toto, from the heathens about them, particularly from the Persians. If it had been sound doctrine, Jesus would have had no occasion for introducing it to illustrate their "abominations" (v. 15); neither under their "scoffings" (14) at His pure teachings (13), would He have introduced their religious dogmas in

contrast.

The Pharisees, while claiming to be followers of their father Abraham, had corrupted this simple monotheism, a faith in one God, the Maker and Governor of all things, into the most absurd and untenable of Parsee dogmas.

PHARISEES' RELIGION.

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Zoroaster, whom Aristotle and Eudoxus place 6,000 years before Plato, or 8,300 years from the present period, taught that there was but one God, pure and loving, just like Abraham's God; but through the later false interpretations of the priests, it became, at last, a dualism, or a dogma of many gods. After the bounds of monotheism were past, gods were easily multiplied.

When the Hebrews were carried away captives to Babylon, they recognized but one living God-Jehovah. This is a biblical and a historical fact. On their complete restoration, and in the time of Christ, we find them very thoroughly imbued with the dogmas of their captors. From this time to their destruction, the Pharisee and Parsee religions were very similar.

The Parsees had a “garô-demana (heaven), and a drajo-demana, the residence of devils and the priests of the Deva religion." "Between the two there was a bridge (Luke 16: 26), over which the souls of the pious only could pass."-Chambers' Encyclo.

"Paradise is a word of Persian (Parsee) origin, . . . hence it came to be employed in Jewish popular belief as the name of that portion of Hades, or abode of the dead, into which the saints were believed to enter to await final judgment.”Dr. Abbott.

Hades is a Greek word signifying "unseen," the region of the dead, according to the classic writers, and was partitioned off into a wretched prison-house for the wicked, and an elysian abode of the blessed. In scripture it is the general abode of the dead.

But the Pharisees, after the return from captivity, at which period they originated, in order to make the abode of the wicked (i. e., those not of their views) as uncomfortable as possible, had added to this Greek Hades the eternal fire doctrine of the later corrupted Parsee religion, and had partitioned it from paradise. That the good might enjoy the "torments" of the bad, these two places, heaven and "hell," were placed,

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PHARISEEISM AND CHRISTIANITY.

to reasoning minds, most uncomfortably near each other. Talking across the chasm was not prohibited (Luke 16: 23). Meantime the sinful body rested in peace in the grave (verse 22).

Rev. Charles H. Spurgeon, D. D., LL. D., objects to this, and proposes a "twin hell," saying, "It will be unjust to punish the soul and not the body, for the body has had as much to do with sin as ever the soul had" (Second Series of Sermons, p. 273). This needs no comment.

Paul was a Pharisee; after becoming a Christian he quotes:

"O grave, where is thy sting?

"O Hades, where thy victory?" and drops the Pharisees' hell.

Peter seems to have believed that our blessed Lord lay in Hades (some thirty-six hours in the tomb) when he quotes David literally:

"My flesh (Jesus') shall tabernacle in hope,

"Because thou (God) wilt not leave my life in Hades.”

Luke, discarding the Pharisees' hell, says that Christ was not left in Hades, nor did his flesh see corruption.-Acts 2:31.

Therefore we may understand that these three Christian believers, while using the word Hades, divorced it from its Pharisaical meaning, whereas those who became proselytes to the Pharisees' belief were "two-fold more the child of Gehenna than themselves" (the words of Jesus).-Matt. 23: 15.

Josephus describes the Pharisees as a "party who made men believe they were holier than their neighbors."-Antiq., quoted by Geikie.

Thus, in irony, Jesus said to the Pharisees, "I came not to call the righteous but sinners to repentance."

"He trampled on their rules and customs; He cleared away their rubbish, to them like precious jewels, that pure religion might have free course and be glorified."-Peloubet.

Observe the difference between

THEIR name was, probably, derived from Sadoc or Zadok, and dated back to the time of Ezekiel. They were a priestly race (Acts 5: 17), proud and arrogant, and though few in comparison with the Pharisees, their opposites in religion, "they held the highest posts in the Jewish State."—G.

They were not opposers of the Roman government like the Pharisees. The latter carried their ends by force of number and stubborn fanaticism; the former by the power of wealth, cool calculation, and keeping in with the government. When Herod wished to place Simon Alexander Bothus in the highpriest's chair, to please Mariamne, Herod's beautiful young wife, the Sadducees consented against the Pharisees dissenting.

"The leading tenet of the Sadducees was the negation of that of their opponents, the Pharisees" (Dr. Smith).—Acts 4: I and 5: 17.

Jesus never assailed them, but when they came to Him with their questions (Matt. 16: 1 and 11) He warned the Twelve to avoid their teachings. On another occasion the Sadducees united with their opponents in asking another question, rather