The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1870-07-18
RELIGION AMONG THE SHAKERS.
The Birth and Outgrowth Of the Gentle Faith
differing and Glorious Promises Of the
Coming Millennium Sermon by Elder
Egans, Of the Society of Shakers.
wArERvLrEr, N. Y, July 10. 1870.

WArERvLIET, N. Y. July 49, 1870.
Elder +. W. Evans, the principal mouthpiece of
the New Lebanon Society of Shakers, delivered
discourse to the members OF that order at this VII
lage this morning, which, on account of the novelty
OF some OF Its points, WILL doubt be interesting to
the readers Of the HERALD His subject was "The
Marriage OF the Lamb ana Bride" He said that In
the first age the creation of the human race was e
cced through the agency ofan order OF inteigences
In the first and, 10 us, Invisible spirit world which
world however, though invisible to u.s. Is neverthe-
less material. Adam and Eve are generic terms as
are also Enoch Methuseah, Noah and others. The
two first represent not one man and woman only
but an order In number, and an epoch in time.
In the first geological epoch human beings were
produced from the elements OF EARTH
Which elements were visible and lnvislhle-"stand.
ing In the water and out Of the water'-under the
direction Of the intellgences referred to-
IN THAT EPOCH
they did not reproduce, but lived and died cell
bates-were born eunuchs and virgins. This may
be termed the Garden Of Eden epoch.
The second age was when men Slogan to gem
crate and multiply" among themselves s'upon the
earth;'' and the two processes Of spontaneous and
generative creation moved ON together, were inter.
blended, ana produced two orders Of peope-'the
sons ana daughters Of God" and "the sons and
daughters OF mon." These intermixed and degen-
eracy followed that is the "fall.n Gradually they
became more and more corrupted, and regarded
less and less the law OF the second age-seXual
commerce for procreation only, under the direction
OF the provocative angels OF the first sphere These
ANGELS co-oPERATED WITH THE ELEMENTS OF
EARTH
to produce the food as the only means OF checking
the food Of moral and physiological corruption
which was rolling over the whole earth, seating
and drinking, marrying and giving In marriage" for
mere sensual gratiacatIon regardless OF the law OF
use as applied only to the sustentatlOn OF the indl-
vidual and the continuance OF the race. Yet the
detection was not total. "Enoch walked with God;"
was obedient to the ruling angels In all things, hav
ing received ministration from the seventh or
Christ heaven-the resurrection heaven--as q pro.
phet of the future Order He represented an order of
men and women-a Church-"The Sons OF Godn
Moan represented. the procreatige order Of men
and women who were subject to the natural law
and under obedience to the generatlve angels, so
that although they held him as a natural celibae for
SIX hundred years he did not fall from ills integrity
nor did ne become CHRISTIAN; therefore Noah aud
his p0sterity were saved In nature.
In the third age the posterty or Noah divided into
the oDedient and disobed0nt regarded the physo-
logical laws Of nutrition and reproduction. Abra-
ham was OF the former anu the angels separated
him from his kindred and country, TO create through
him new order or nation. He had himself par
taken or the general leaven. and
IN HIS dESERATIvE NATURE
Hagar represented the old heatnenish and Sarah the
angelic. With the latter he was held in subordina-
ton to the provocative angels until 'Sarah was past
age and himself as good rs dead'-t. g., naturally
generatlvely.
ADraham's posterity-lsaac Jacob, &c.-were the
'sons OF God" or this epoch, and more or less
wicked and disposed to analgamate WIN the hea
then people with whom they lived ana by whom
they were surrounded. Hence "law OF separation
was established as means OF protection, which law
Therefore, IN the midst OF ''the people
Of Of, Cod there was was. Sill! higher order
but like Noah and Abraham were, in their xual re-
lations, subject to the penerative Angels. This
whom ere conjoned the creative angels In the IN
visible eartf-the line Of the Messiall-which on the
male SIDE ended in the production OF Jesus by the
agency OF Mary, his mother (who was of that order
onthe EARTH being daughter of DAVID, conjunc-
ton with David called GabreD his father IN
visible earth, vltazed aud directed by those angels
THE ADAMS AND EYES ~f
OF the first epoch. Thus I'm Jesus there was the
physically and physioiogcally morally and splritu-
Elijah represented the Christ order and was a
spirital descendant or Mechisedek, who, In the
days of Abraham, was the rdler OF a church OF
celibates, who were cellbates not because they
were held like Noa by the creative angels but be.
cause like Enoch they had received a ADMINISTRATION
from the seventh or Christ Heaven rs a kind of
first fruitg'-prophets; for the Jews, who had
passed into the second sphere, were still I'm their
generatlve nature just before, the right
epus being In Paradise the wicked In Gehenna
Hence David was all available medium, through
whom the angels could operate, being more mate
rial than themselves ana nearer to the Virgin Mary
than they could come. "Be IL unto Inc as tnou hast
said, y and she conceived 1.-THE Lord visited Sarah,
as he had sad; and the Lord did unto Sarah as he
had spoken;i and she conceived Isaac as Mary con.
ceived Jesus. Thus in Jesus the work OF the crea
tive angels was finally accomplished the earth ele-
mentt MAD produced tne Coming Man''-the .'son
for thousands OF years. In him was concentrated
the
ENERGY OF THE CREATIVE ANGELS
az directing power over the generative function OF
the race, conserved ana utmatng In the perfected
exis ence Also in him. Jesus, as the last OF the race
OF prophets coming down through Enoch, Mel
chizedek, Elijah, John the Baptist, all inspired from
the Christ heavens we have a SCALED OF God, High
Priest after the order Of Mechizedek," who was
..before Abraham In point OF existence and in the
higher than the "God OF Abraham, Isaac and
Jacob;' and therefore Abraham was blessed OF
Melchizedek, who was not physical warrior, but
'klng of righteousness and peace,n and ''by
naure' was Of the first or Eden age and not fallen,
but was spontaneously produced, without (earthly)
earthly ancestry; while Jesus had an ancestry, as
also had Abraham, and consequently inherited
In some degree the fallen nature OF man
OF the creative angels who were unlalen;
while Melchlzedek, having tas natural mani
and joined TO the eternal Christ orderj lend OF life"
was made 'like unto the sons OF God" and abideth
''fo know Thee, the only true God,, and to DO
joined to the Christ order sis eternal life." Snow
consider how great this man was unto whom
ABRAHAM PAID TITHEsn
(and Jesus aso 'in his loins;'' and after whose
order Jesus was made priest by being subject to
his representative John the Baptist, unto whom he
confessed his sins OF omission and commission, and
was baptised unto repentance IN water; and
then unto redemption In spirit; again was
by John further baptised into the Christ
spirit; thus Icing made "BiIh Priest for
ever after the order of Melchzedekn-the
Christ order. Thus was lie "holy, harmless,
and Undecided by generation separate from sinners
and higher than the generalive heavens,n from
whence Abraham received his mlnstratl0ns and
whence his descendants, In and out Of the body,
atively generated Jesus.
All OF the prophets, when acting In that character
were In Or Of the order OF Mechlzedck, and were
INSPIRED FROM THE SEVENTH HEAVEN
to utter sayings and predict condition OF things
incompatible with the jewish order or generation,
private property wars and the sins grow
Ing out OF them. Hence the people stoned the
cts and Killed ihuse ihaL GENT