there can therefore, be but one heaven-one immense point of congregating spirits, and that point in the midst of the Universe. But we remark still further on the subject of that great promise made to his disciples, that "where I am, there may ye be also," and ask, who can limit this promise, or point out its utmost amount. Wherefore, we imagine, that though he may have myriads of disciples in this world, yet there may be myriads of disciples in all the other worlds which now exist, or may yet be created; and if so, then they must come to that one heaven, for the promise is "where I am there shall my disciples be also." What a thought is this, and what a journey are the righteous pursuing. But if the Word, which was God, that mysterious second person of the Trinity, has not, nor ever can be incarnated but once; how then can, or how could other worlds have been redeemed, if any may have apostatized, and fallen, as this had done; or may hereafter thus apostatize, in the course of unending ages? To this we reply as follows:-it is sometimes enquired (by the inquisitive; which, by the by, we consider a virtue, if tinctured with a little good manners,) if men cannot be saved but by Jesus Christ, how then were those saved who are saved, of those who died before he came into the world, and made the atonement? To this it is answered; that they were saved in the same way souls are saved now; only with this difference; men are saved now by a Saviour already come, and they were saved by a Saviour who was to come, our faith going back and theirs reaching forward. Now, may not this principle, or this economy, be extended, ad infinitum, as to duration, both from the time of his advent, forward forever more; and backward to the commencement of intellectual being, embracing all cases of apostacy, within the reach of equitable mercy? we think it may be, and is thus applied. But if faith in Christ is a necessary condition to salvation, how are other worlds to be benefited by his having been made a sacrifice for sin in this world, and in this only. The principle and the economy is possible, and is as consistent as was its application to the fallen case of this world's inhabitants. God can never be straightened, to effect any thing which is not inconsistent, and can therefore, as easily send his angels, to any and to all worlds, which may have, or yet may fall, as to have sent them to this, to the Shepherds of Judea, to announce the fact of the arrival of the atoneing victim. In our case, we perceive that a band of angels were commissioned to this earth, as its first Gospel ministers, and if to us, why not to others, and to all such worlds as have, or may yet fall in the universe of God? Wherefore, we believe, that if any other worlds, in the past ages of eternity, before this earth, and the system to which it belongs, was created; and the incarnation of the Creator took place; fell or apostatised as this has done; that the angels of God may have been employed to announce to such fallen beings; accompanied with a sufficient amount of evidence, for their faith

to lay hold of, that in the fullness of periods, the Creator would become incarnated, as a sacrificial victim for sin, in a certain world or globe, not yet created: and the whole system of salvation, as revealed from heaven to us, was thus revealed to them. If such may have been the case, that one globe, or even all, may have, or yet inay apostatize; such angels, to whom such a commission might or may be given, were, and may be permitted to give evidence as notable, as was the evidence given of the origin of the Law on Mount Sinia, or of the atonement to the Shepherds; then might such fallen beings become ministers of the grace of God, to their fellow beings, as is the fact in this world; preaching and turning poor sinners to the wisdom of the just. In support of this opinion, we see no good reason why the words of St. Paul may not be extended to such cases; for who can fix the boundaries of the wisdom and mercy of God, to the fallen, if fallen under such circumstances as not to preclude the just exercise of mercy, as it appears was our condition. See Romans, vi. 10," For in that he died, he died unto sin ONCE," or on the account of sin, once, and but once forever more; and as he is risen from the dead "death hath no more dominion over him." On which account, he cannot die any more, though millions of worlds were to fall as this has done; yet the benefits of his death here, may, for aught we can object, be extended to all such cases, by the ministration of angels, and the reception of such ministration by faith, be the condition of their salvation, as well as of ours. St. Paul has recorded the same idea, in his epistle to the Hebrews, x. 12, "But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice (that of himself) for sins, forever sat down on the right hand of God," never to suffer again for offenders. This view of the subject of the incarnation of God, and of the one atonement for sinners, such sinners as are eligible to pity; and of the resurrection of the dead body of Christ, and his ascension to heaven; we think entirely answers the query of the author of the Age of Reason, Thomas Paine; which runs thus: There being many worlds in existence, all of which there can be no doubt, are inhabited, and in as much danger of falling as Adam was; if so, then the Son of God has nothing less to do, than to keep on dying for sinning worlds, as they may happen to apostatize, all along the endless ages of eternity. If so, then an accumulation of corporeal bodies, would be the consequence; and were it so, would present an insurmountable difficulty, which Christianity never could solve or endue that we can see. But on the view of his dying but once, and the benefits of that death being extended to all cases of sin, which can be commiserated, in all worlds, in the great family of nature; then the objection of Paine is obviated, and need give no further trouble. On this view, how amazingly is the redeeming power of Christ's death enhanced, in its glory, in its capability of extending without end to all possible cases of

commiseration. On this plan, contemplation may riot in a boundless, fathomless ocean of display on the part of God; and in ceaseless degrees of intellectual beings, as well as of numbers and happiness, on the part of his creatures. What hosts there are, and shall forever be; besides those of this earth, who shall ascribe salvation to God and the Lamb, who from all worlds, both fallen and not fallen, shall pour as mighty torrents, in perpetual flow, to that one heaven; to rest from their labors, and to ascend in the scale of intellectual happiness, without end. For if there are worlds of intellectual beings who have not sinned as we have done; yet this circumstance must not be allowed to prevent their advancement in the scale of being; lest such as have sinned, and have been subjected to death on that account, might seem to have superior privileges, on account of their resurrection, and happy arrival in heaven; which could not have been if they had not sinned, says one. But such an opinion is not correct, for if our race, or any other race of intellectual beings, on any part of the universe of God, had never sinned, nor ever shall sin, some mode by which they could be removed to give place to others, as they should be born into life, must be resorted to, and that mode would have been translations. That such is the mode, where death has not come, the two instances of the translations of Enoch and Elijah has been afforded to prove it, as well also, as to show how the saints are to get to heaven, who are not to die, and will be found alive on the earth at the time of the last day. For, on this very subject, St. Paul has said, Thes. i. 17, "Then we (they) which are alive and remain, shall be caught up together with them (those who shall then be raised from their graves) in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air, and so shall we even be with the Lord." This being caught up alive is translation, the same as Enoch and Elijah; the same doctrine therefore, may be applied to all worlds, so that equality of opportunity may obtain to those who have not sinned, as well as to them who have. On this subject, the ministration of angels to other worlds, respecting what the Son of God did in this for sinners, may it not be conjectured, that from his birth till his ascension into heaven, that myriads of these supernatural ministers were ever with him, noting down, as heavenly historians, his acts and his sufferings. And that when the mighty history was finished, away they sped, as rays of light, to the respective worlds of the universe, which then existed, or may exist, to tell the tidings of salvation, and of the great atonement.

But says one, how did they communicate it? This is answered by referring to the case of the angels, who first of all announced salvation to the shepherds of Bethlehem. And further, such angels may have even mingled with the inhabitants of such worlds to which they were sent, and face to face, in familiar converse, told them the thrilling story of the wisdom, benevo

lence and power of the Creator, as shown in the incarnation, death and resurrection of the Son of God. On this supposition, that of Jesus Christ being a propitiation for the sin of all worlds, there follows another consideration of the most animating description to Christians of this earth, and this is it. Such as shall be saved, and shall safely arrive in the kingdom of heaven beyond this life, will no doubt be admitted to accompany the Son of God on the great occasions of the judgment days of such worlds as may sin, as this has done, to whom some part in the awful pageantry may be committed, as will be committed to the angels of God at the end of this world, and to the souls of the just who are now in paradise, and shall accompany Him when he shall descend from heaven at the last day.

Ah, who can foretel the ravishing events and developements of the wisdom and power of God, as ceaseless ages shall unfold their secrets; which events and developements will occupy the minds of the highest intelligences, whether of heaven itself, or of the spirits of other worlds, without end, perpetually increasing the happiness of that much desired state of things; while those who shall be lost will be covered with perpetual darkness or ig norance of what is going forward in the Empire of the Eternal God. "Twere easy to dilate here in so bright and wide a field, but we desist.

Condition of the first Spirits, and Proofs that they were made in a great variety of Orders and Degrees of Intellectual Power, and that their first Thoughts or Probation was about their Being, and of the origin of Satan.

But to return to the subject of the employment of those first angelic beings, which we have left some six or eight pages above, with the view of now persuing it somewhat further, and to ascertain the origin of Satan.

We remark that it is impossible to imagine any other subject of contemplation and mental exertion, than the mystery of their being, could at that period have occupied their minds, as there existed at that time no part of the visible creation, themselves and their own heaven excepted, to furnish matter of reflection, and of communication. On comparing the thoughts of their minds with each other, they could but find a similarity of mental pursuit; and the little as yet acquired on this subject could but stimulate to further research. At first it may have appeared to them that they had existed always, as no man, and it is likely no angel, can remember the time when he did not exist; yet they may have been able from a comparison of ideas, acquired by

mental exercise and experience of this sort among themselves, to have come to a conclusion that they had not been long in a state of society at any rate; but how, or in what manner, or from whence they had arrived must have been a mystery to them, till such time as information, from a competent source could be announced, are believed by them. Could Adam ever have solved the problem of the commencement of his being; could he have ever made out in and of himself the author of his own and his Eve's origin? We think not. On which account it was necessary that a revelation on this very point, should be had from a competent source; yet they could, by comparing their thoughts with each other, and from what they could see, hear, and remember, conclude that they had not been long in a state of society with each other. But whether they had or had not, separately existed a greater or a less length of time, or whether always they could not have known, if they had not been told by their Maker. Adam could never have known from whence his Eve had come if God had not told him; for when his side was opened and a part thereof taken away, out of which she was formed, Adam was in a deep sleep; much less, therefore, could he fathom the higher mystery of his own creation, and that of the globe, if God had not told him.

If then it is reasonable to believe that the mystery of their being was the first field of angelic employment, it is also as reasonable to suppose that the Creator did not at first reveal himself to these first-born sons of light; but left them awhile to the exercise of their own powers, while himself remained invisible as he now does to the inhabitants of this, and all worlds except heaven itself; but took cognizance of all their ways and mental operations. Out of such a state of things we may easily perceive that various opinions may have obtained among these sons of the morning, these stars of God, about their existence; yet whatever else their opinions may have been, they could never have come to the all astounding hypothesis that they had been their own creators, as that was impossible; and more than this, it is much to be doubted whether an idea of their having been created at all ever entered their thoughts till revealed; because so high, so deep and so incomprehensible a matter, is in our opinion above the reach or the invention of finite intellect, whether of men or of angels, and could never have obtained in earth or heaven, if this fact, this trait of omnipotence, had not been revealed by the Creator; so important is it, in our opinion, to the glory of God, that all matters of moral doctrine should be a subject of revelation, and that of Himself, as men nor angels by their wisdom could never have found it out.

But we hasten to prove from the Scriptures that the angels were created in a great variety of orders or of intellectual degrees. Such an arrangement cannot but be regarded as beautiful; for