Virginia Argus

FOR THE VIRGINIA ARGUS.

FRIENDLY ADDRESS TO THE
Jews, fellow citizens, on this globe,
and cojoint passengers from this to a per-
manent, and to us yet an invisible world.
Permit me in the language of benevolence,
to solicit your attention to objects infinite-
ly more important than the diatems of
transitory existencies, and the accumula-
tion of delusive riches, which increase dis-
satisfaction and anxiety, but never conduct
to the haven of a serene mind, and a con-
tented spirit.
Nominal Jews and Christians for many
ages have been substituting time in
place of eternity, and external objects in
place of spiritual substances, and have left
the stage of time disappointed, and it is
to be feared, have not bettered themselves
by their passage into the world of spirits.
Permit me then to expostulate with you
as people whose happiness is the object of
my concern. I have no prospect of pre-
ferment or honor from you. I am not so-
licitous to procure enmity against myself,
or wantonly to provoke your resentment.
Believe then that these lines flow from the
heart of a friend, who highly esteems num-
bers of the Jewish nation.
I wish to be understood, that this ad-
dress is not to such Jews, as would not
part with a trifle of time-objects for all the
glorious prospects which in proper order
lie on the other side of the lines of time ;
but it is addressed to such Jews as make
conscience of walking according to their
own views of the Old Testament. Jews,
citizens, fellow travellers, to that country,
which finally receives all nations, and re-
turns none to our terrestrial habitation--
you have travelled far from the bounda-
ries of the ancient promised land, and in-
deed I am afraid you have travelled over
the limits of time prescribed for the fulfil-
ment of a prediction which concerns all
nations and all worlds, whether visible or
invisible. As well as you, I believe in the
divine mission of Moses, and the prophets
and in the divine prediction concerning
the Messias announced to make his ap-
pearance on this globe, and who after hav-
ing furnished himself with a body, should
retire to the spiritual world and create a
new heaven, in which he would forever
dwell, and reign with the faithful of all na-
tions. Isaiah, chap. 65, ver. 17.
But Jews, dear friends, predictions
should be understood, or we cannot con-
clude whether or not they are accomplish-
ed, or yet pending. To do justice to the
matter under consideration,
Understand, the persons to whom the
promise is made, they are not beings com-
posed of terrestrial elements, but immor-
tal, and unperishing, rational creatures.
It would be a great error to mistake a
house in which a person lives, to be an es-
sential part of the inhabitant, who posses-
ses the tenement. As great is the devia-
tion from the truth, to think that a man's
body which is composed of terrestrial sub-
stances is the real, essential man which in-
habits that body.
The soul which is the true, real and es-
sential man, by general and immutable
laws appointed by the creator gradually
from the initial formation of the embryo,
assumes, puts on, and at the years of ma-
turity completely furnishes itself with a
body in which it may transact its part, and
at the close of the scene, finally put off
these terrestrial elements, and proceed for-
ward to an immutable stage of life.
In all this above related process, the per-
sonality of the human race is not destroy-
ed -no, nor debilitated in any degree. A
man is a rational being much more com-
plete after putting off his house of clay.
than he was when residing in the same.
He puts on his earthly body, gradually.
through the process of twenty years, or
the embryo, but immediately upon the dissolu-
tion of this transitory body, the soul is fur-
nished with a complete tabernacle of spi-
ritual substances, which in duration, shall
be coeval with eternity. This then being
the case, a promise of the Divine Being,
made either to Jews or Gentiles, must be
made to the immortal man, the true, real
and essential being, and not to the body
or house composed of elements, in which
he resides for a few transitory years.
The misunderstanding of the term soul
and the fallacies resulting therefrom, have
crippled the intellects of countless myriads
of the human race. In Europe, Asia, A-
frica and America, the term soul imports
something that goes out of the person, or
quits the man at death. Oh, ignorance
unmeasurable, and infinitely fatal. If they
understood the business properly, ade-
quately and distinctly, they would know
at the period termed death, that the whole
essential man has evacuated the body or
left his former habitation to proceed for-
ward into a farther advanced stage of ex-
istenee-and thus the term death, as ap-
plicable to man, would be considered as
improper unphilosophical and deceitful.
The flesh and blood body put off at death,
is of no more value to the spiritual man
which departs therefrom, than old corn.
stalks, and old tobacco-stems are useful for
raising new crops of corn and tobacco. 2d
Cor. chap. 5th. ver, 1-4.
When God promised to the Jews an e-
everlasting inheritance for their obedience,
he meant infinitely more than that he
would give them a portion of Asiatic ter-
rritory, to supply them a few years in a
transitory life; and then suffer them to
be annihilated, or pass into another world,
unprovided with implements fit to com-
municate felicity. Such a promise had
been ungodlike and destitute of real friend-
ship.
The promise of the Supreme Being to
all nations, imports something spiritual
and eternal. When God promised Abra-
ham, Isaac, Jacob, &c that he would con-
duct them, provide them territory, food.
raiment and other necessaries of life he
meant that not only in this momentary
life would he provide them external ne-
cessaries and conveniences-but after de-
parture from this external habitation, he
would amply supply them with food, rai-
ment and society-of spiritual origin, and
eternal promise made to men by the Lord of
heaven and earth, embraces in its interior
lasting as endless duration. Every exter-
nal promise made to men by the Lord of
a promise of spiritual substance, corre-
sponding to the obvious external objects.
Then my friends, the Jews, the promis-
ed land so much contemplated, must not
be expected to lie on the banks of the A-
siatic Jordan, but in the invisible world.
where these many centuries past, Abra-
ham, Isaac, Elijah, Isaiah and the pro-
phets, with all the faithful Jews are enjoy-
ing full possession, in fellowship with their
substantial, spiritual and eternal Messias.
If the Messias were to reside and reign
in that promised territory of which ancient
Jerusalem was the capital, then all the
faithful Jews who have for four thousand
years past departed this life, would be e-
eternally deprived of his society and the ad-
vantages resulting therefrom.
There is no process either in the spiri-
tual or temporal world, by which these an-
cieut and faithful Jews, could return back
into terrestrial habitations. Let none here
say Omnipotence, if he pleased, might ef-
fect this point-No, Omnipotence has pre-
scribed an order from which he never has,
nor will deviate -and from which he says
in a consistency with his essence, he never
can depart. By the immutable laws of
the Eternal One, an acorn may progress
into a twig and from thence into a sap-
ling, and in that course of proceeding at
an hundred years, may arrive at the sta-
ture of an oak tree--but the Omnipotent
has fixed no laws by which an aged oak
may in retrograde order be reduced into
a sapling, and from thence into an acorn
as it was in its original state.
In like manner an embryo, or an infant,
may progress into manhood; but by no laws
of Omnipotence can the old man be redu-
ced to the infant, and embryo, and finally
into limbus patrum. From the same pa-
parity of reasoning, no manner of retrocession
can exist by which Enoch, Noah, A-
braham, Isaac, and numbers of obedient
Jews who have hundreds-and thousands of
years since resided in a world of spirits.
can again assume corporeal bodies or ta-
bernacles, of elementary materials, and
so to reside at Jerusalem or in Judea, with
a Messias. As soon shall the soul of a
grandfather become the soul of an em-
brio, or infant, as those departed Jews can
return into flesh and blood and dwell with
a Messias on this globe.
The consequence is that if a Messias
were to appear according to the expecta-
tion of some honest good hearted, yet mis-
taken Jews, all the old testament prophets,
and all Jews now in the spiritual world
would be at a distance from him, and he
would only preside among a few Jews col-
lected in this present generation; were a
Messias to appear and continue on earth
he would only be a prince to the most in-
considerable part of the Jewish nation.
There are now existing in the spiritual
world forty Jews for one that at present
lives on the four quarters of this globe.
Forty generations of Jewish extraction
have passed from this world and only one
exists on earth.
Would a reign of a redeemer among
such an inconsiderable portion of that nati-
on as the above related implement, the pre-
diction of a Messias as recorded in scrip-
ture, when the very individual prophets
who predicted his advent would be them-
selves deprived of his presence if he exis-
ted in this external world, they being in
the spiritual one. According to the pure
divine prediction of Moses, and the pro-
phets, the Messias must be such a person
and in such a situation and place as that
the confluence, the convocation, the ga-
thering of the obedient Jews and Gentiles
should be to him.
He must not reside at Jerusalem in A-
sia, but in the durable Jerusalem where all
already are convened all the pious Jews.
and the righteous of all nations who have
taken their departure from their subluna-
ry habitations, & where to the end of time.
all the pure people shall be assembled.
Isaiah, chap. 25th, ver. 8.
No Messias on this earth would an-
swer to the above description of the pro-
phets. Leaving out of the question that
small territory of the ancient promised
land, the whole surface of this globe after
multitudes of generations, would not be
able to contain the faithful of all nations,
admitting the possibility of their returning
to this world. Daniel, chap. 7th, ver 10.
O my dear friends, the Jews, make rea-
dy by obedience to the Lord's command.
to meet your Messias in the real substan-
tial and spiritual promised land, where he
has been for many ages reigning along
with the righteous Jews, and the truly pi-
ous of all denominations.
If you prepare yourselves by obedience
for the possession of this above described
promised land, -when you depart this life
you will not be disappointed, and you then
will remember the contents of this ad-
dress.
Jews, dear friends, I hope you will not
be offended with benevolent intentions.
Farewell.
PHILOPRAGMOS.