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Page 53
But how does all this prove that these notions were derived from
the religion of the ancient Persians? I answer by requesting you,
my reader, to peruse, attentively, the following account of the
fundamental principles of the religion of Zoroaster, the prophet of
the Persians.
The doctrine of Zoroaster was, that there was one Supreme Being,
independent, and self-existing from all eternity; that inferior to
him, there were two Angels, one the Angel of Light, who is the
Author and Director of all Good; and the other, the Angel of
Darkness, who is the Author and Director of all Evil; that these
two are in a perpetual struggle with each other; and that where the
Angel of Light prevails, there the most is good; awl where the
Angel of Darkness prevails, there the most is evil. That this
struggle shall continue to the end of the world; that then there shall
be a general resurrection, and a day of judgment, wherein just
retribution shall be rendered to all according to their works; after
which, the Angel of Darkness, and his followers, shall go into a
world of their own, where they shall suffer in darkness, the
punishment of their evil deeds. And the Angel of Light, and his
followers, shall also go into a world of their own, where they shall
receive, in everlasting light, the reward due to their good deeds.
It is impossible but that the reader must see the agreement of the
doctrines of the New Testament with all this; and since it is
undoubted, that these tenets of Zoroaster are far more ancient than
the New Testament, and since, as we have seen, that that book is
much indebted to oriental notions for many of its dogmas, there is
no way of accounting for this coincidence (that I know of), besides
supposing the Devil of the New Testament to be of Persian origin.
It is, however, in my power to make this coincidence still more
striking from the words of Jesus himself, who says, (Matthew xiii.
24), �The kingdom of Heaven is like a man who sowed good seed
in his field, but while men slept, his enemy (mark the expression)
his enemy came, and sowed tares among the wheat; but when the
blade sprung up, and brought forth fruit, then appeared the tares
also. So the servants of the householder came near, and said unto
him, � Sir, didst thou not sow good seed in thy field? whence,
then, hath it tares?� And he saith unto them, an enemy hath done
this.� You know the rest of the parable. The explanation of it is as
follows:--�He who soweth the good seed is the Son of Man, and
the field is the world; and the good seed are the sons of the
kingdom, and the tares are the sons of the Evil One, and the enemy
who sowed them is the Devil.� Here you see, as far as it goes, a
precise agreement with the doctrine of Zoroaster; and to complete
the resemblance, you need but to recollect, that at the day of
Judgment, according to the words of Jesus, the wicked go into the
fire prepared for the Devil and his angels; and the righteous go into
life eternal with the Son of God.
But is there not a Satan mentioned in the Old Testament, and is he
not there represented as an evil and malevolent angel? I think not.
This notion probably arises from the habit of interpreting the Old
Testament by the New. The Satan mentioned in the Old Testament,
is represented as God�s minister of punishment, and as much his
faithful servant as any of his angels. The prologue to the book of
Job certainly supposes that this angel of punishment, by office,
appeared in the court of Heaven, nay, he is ranked among �the
Sons of God.� This Satan is merely the supposed chief of those
ministers of God�s will, whose office is to execute his ordered
commands upon the guilty, and who may be sometimes, as in the
case of Job, the minister of probation only, rather than of
punishment; and there is no reason why he should be ashamed of
his office more than the General of an army, or the Judges of the
criminal courts, who, though they are not unfrequently ministers of
punishment are not, therefore, excluded the royal presence; but on
the contrary, their office is considered as honourable;--i. e.,
punishment without malevolence, does not pollute the inflictor.
Consider the story of the destruction of Sodom, Genesis xix.; of
Egypt; Exodus xxii.; of Sennacherib, 1 Kings xxix. 35; also Joshua
v. 13. The term Satan signifies an adversary, and is applied to any
angel sent upon an errand of punishment For example, Numbers
xxii. 23, �The Angel of the Lord stood in the way, for an adversary
(literally, for a Satan) against Balaam, with his sword drawn in his
hand.� �Curse ye Meroz, saith the Angel of the Lord,� whose
office is to punish. So also Psalms xxxv. 5, �Let the Angel (of
punishment) of the Lord chase them, (i. e., drive them before him
in a military manner; pursue them:) let their way be dark and
slippery, and the Angel of the Lord following them.�
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