Q. Did the Jews believe this idol possessed great power? A. They did. They supposed he had power to give the ability of casting out all other devils. So high a rank did he hold in their estimation, that they called him "the prince of devils," or demons. Q. Are we not bound to believe the Jews were laboring under a great error in supposing this heathen idol was actually a living and wicked spirit, and really possessed power and ability? A. We are. Q. Was not the Redeemer' aware that they believed this palpable and gross error? A. He undoubtedly was. Q. Did he, when accused of casting out devils by Beelzebub, correct their heathen notions on this subject, and instruct them that this god was but a senseless idol? A. He did not; but allowed them to remain still believing Beelzebub to be "the prince of devils." Q. Is it not just as surprising that he did not do this, as that he did not correct the prevailing opinion in regard to demons in general? A. It is. If he had thought it important to correct the one error, he would the other. Q. What inference are we to draw from the wellknown nature of this Beelzebub ? A. If Beelzebub, "the prince of devils," was a fabulous being, possessing no actual existence, and having no power, we must 'conclude that his whole retinue all other devils or demons-are of the same nature, existing only in the imaginations of the barbarous and unenlightened. Q. Who were those from whom it is said Jesus cast out devils? A. They were undoubtedly persons afflicted with insanity, epilepsy, St. Vitus' dance, and other strange maladies. Q. Were the ancients in the habit of attributing diseases to the influence of demons? A. They were. When the malady was of a remarkable description, such as insanity, idiocy, or diseases that produce contortions of body, it was supposed that a demon had taken possession of the individual, and that he could not recover unless the evil spirit was cast out. Q. What did the Jews suppose had taken place, in witnessing a remarkable cure? A. When they saw those who were raging with insanity, or whose bodies were thrown into convulsions upon the least excitement, instantly cured by the miraculous power of Christ, they believed and said he had cast out a demon-when in reality he had but removed the disease which afflicted them. Q. What does Josephus say in regard to curing those said to be possessed of demons? A. In speaking of a remarkable root called baaras which it was difficult to procure, he says, "Yet after all this pains in getting, it is only valuable on account of one virtue it hath, that if it only be brought to sick persons, it quickly drives away those called demons, which are no other than the spirits of the wicked, that enter into men that are alive, and kill them, unless they can obtain some help against them." Q. What does this quotation show? A. It clearly shows that what was attributed to demons, was but a physical disease, which was cured by this remarkable vegetable. Q. What does Dr. Clarke say upon this subject? A. He says, 66 Many eminent men think that the sacred writers accommodated themselves to the unfounded prejudices of the common people, in attributing certain diseases to the influence of evil spirits, which were merely the effects of natural causes." Q. What is the language of Dr. Lightfoot? A. "These words, ['Taketh with himself seven other spirits,' &c.,] seem to have been spoken by our Saviour according to the capacity of the common people, or rather according to the deceit put upon them, more than according to the reality or truth of the thing itself; taking a parable from something commonly believed and entertained, that he might express the thing which he propounded, more plainly and familiarly." Q. Can you name some distinguished writers, who have sustained this view of the subject? A. Among many others may be named Heinsius, Mede, Sykes, Mead, Farmer, and Lardner. LESSON X. Parable of the Unclean Spirit-Continued. Q. Did not Jesus sometimes use the same phraseology in restoring those who were afflicted with a well-known disease, as in curing those supposed to be possessed with demons? A. He did. Q. Can you give an instance of this description? A. "And Simon's wife's mother was taken with a great fever and they besought him for her. And he stood over her and rebuked the fever; and it left her." (Luke iv. 38, 39.) Q. What do you say of this phraseology? A. It instructs us that the Redeemer rebuked and cast out diseases, in the same manner that he rebuked and cast out what were supposed to be demons— from which a well-grounded inference can be drawn, that the latter cases were bodily diseases, of a pecu liar character, which Jewish superstition attributed to evil spirits. Q. Is there more than one original word in the Greek, which the translators have rendered devil or devils? A. There is. Q. Can you name them? A. They are diabolos, and daimon, or daimonion. Q. What is the meaning of daimon, or daimonion? A. These are Greek words, literally meaning demon, or demons-the souls of deceased wicked men. Q. Is devil and devils the proper translation of daimon and daimonion? A. It is not. Dr. Clarke says that our common version, which gives these translations, is not strictly correct. Q. How should daimon and daimonion be translated? A. They should be translated demon and demonsi. e. the spirits of the dead. Q. Did our translators err in this respect? A. They undoubtedly did. They had no authority in the original Greek, to use the word devils as a translation of daimonion. This translation should not have been found in the Bible; but, in its stead, the word demons should have been used. Q. Is it ever said in the Bible, that men are possessed of diabolos-the devil? But A. It is not. Demons, the souls of the deceased, are only spoken of as taking possession of men. there is no reason to believe in the reality of this supposition, as has been shown. Q. From what words are spirit and spirits, translated, as used in the parable under consideration? A. From the Greek words pneuma and pneumata. Q. What is the signification of these words? A. They signify, soul, spirit, disposition of mind, temper, feelings. Q. Are these words ever translated devil, or devils? A. They are not. Q. Do they ever have a meaning similar to diabolos, or devil? A. They do not. Q. Can you quote a passage where these words are used in their different senses? A. "And Jesus, being full of the Holy Ghost, [pneumatos agiou,] returned from Jordan, and was led by the Spirit [pneumati] into the wilderness, being forty days tempted of the devil, [diabolu.]— (Luke iv. 1, 2.) Q. When the Saviour, in this parable, spoke of an "unclean spirit," and "seven other spirits," are we to suppose he intended to teach the actual and personal existence of invisible, wicked spirits? A. We are not. Q. Why did he make use of this language? A. He used it in conformity to the prevailing notions of that day, not to endorse those notions, but through them to convey great and important truths. Q. What does Kenrick say upon this point? A. He says, "Christ here speaks, all along, upon the principles of his hearers, making use of a common notion concerning demons, to illustrate the truth of what he was going to say respecting the Jews." Q. Why did he put his language in the form of a parable or narrative? A. That he might secure the more fixed attention of his hearers. Q. What application should be given to this parable? A. It may be applied to the Jewish nation, and also to individuals. Commentators do not perfectly agree upon this subject. Q. What are Grotius' views of the parable? |