Page:The Bible and the Churches.pdf/4

 The reader is sincerely asked to cast off all prejudice and preconceived opinions, and read this little book in an open and candid spirit; and as all good comes from the Lord alone, there is at all times a very great advantage in imploring the aid of His Spirit to enable us to see aright. I know many ideas set forth are different to the generally received opinions of the Churches, nevertheless to me they appear in accordance with the Divine revelation; and knowing the terribly conflicting opinions that are held by the bishops and ministers of the Church of England alone, I have considered it the duty of some one to point out the cause and also the remedy, and although I feel quite inadequate to the task, still I have ventured to set before the Christian Church, in a very simple way, what I consider to be the truth; and I think the Word of God, properly understood, will be with me in all I have said. Any little inaccuracies in dates that might occur I ask the reader to pardon, because it was written off-hand, without immediate referenee to books, but I think the ideas are truthful.

It appears to me that the Divine purpose respecting the human race is to make all happy from Himself, but if man will not accede to the terms proposed for, and which are absolutely necessary for, the constituting that happiness, he cannot participate in it. The Lord has met the exigencies of the fallen race of man from time to time—firstly, by the Adamic Church; secondly, by the establishment of the Noetic Church; and when on its decline, and the people had fallen into idolatry, by calling Abraham from idolatry, in whom should be celestially represented the redemption of the Lord, the regeneration of man, and whose descendants should maintain a representative Church on the earth until the Redeemer came. I say, the Lord having met the exigencies of His disobedient