Evening star., 1923-02-28
To the Editor Of The Star,

am very much interested In the
articles which appear In Tho Star re-
specting the recent finds at Luxor,
Egypt. 1t Is to be hoped that the
discoveries being made will reveal to
US much desired data concerning the
earlier life and history Of Egypt.
especially a. to religious beliefs and
habit1: but even II. a. 10 conjsctured.
Tutankhamen should prove to be the
Pharaoh Of the Exodus. It is hardly
to be expected that the religious
opinions and practices Of his time
would give US an insight into the re-
ligtous life of the people At its period
OF highest excellence, for 1t must be
remembered that the exodus was in
consequence Of spiritual deterioration
among the nations Of the Bible, whose
inhabitants were to be driven out and
annihilated. their affairs overthrown
and their sacred groves burned with
lire. because OF idolatrous apostasy.
Moses, we are told in Acts 1922, was
learned in all the wisdom Of the
Egyptians. and must have been much
OF the children Of Israel by his Eeyp-
tian experiences; in fact, the wonder
full providence which led to his dis
covery and adoption by the daughter
or ope of the Pharaohs and upbring-
Ing at the court of her father ought
or itself to be sufficient evidence to
us that the tutelage he thus received
was needful to him in the role he was
to play as the leader of his people
and author Of the first books of our
Scriptures.
Egyptian DecAdencr.
Egypt in the time of MoseG. while a
fourishing empire. was in a decadent
GrNi ri tfr,a1 11Sf
cording to Swedenborg. in Egyp\. Baby
ionda, Assyria. Canaan. etc, the\e once
hourished, ages ago. pure monotVeisuc
religions OF high type. much suAerior
70 tnat which the children of i\ael
aterward exhibited. Egypt especiaf,.
was noted for its worship and contem-
piation OF things Of the spirit. Its peo-
pie were well acquainted with the ma
ture OF the life after death and Of the
SE.respondense corr, pond Of the things Of heaven
outsrowih oftheir spiritual studies. But
what was once to them representatives
OF heavenly things came In time through
regeneration to be objects Of worship,
ana the country from being spiritual in
quality came to be sensuous and idola-
trous Such has been the round OF
every dtspensation. pure start. grad
uin uai deveiopment to fullness Of express
new order. A similar fate seems to
De overtaking Europe today.
our Old Testament gives us
Elimpses of a fiourishing state spir-
1TIualiy in very ancient times of
Egypt. Babylonta, Asssyria. etc. This
is expressed by applying to those
nations the beautiful term. Garden
Of God, or Eden. Thus we read in
Ezekiel. 81. of Assyria. that the As
syrian was cedar in Lebanon. of
such giant stature and grandeur that
in, ha 20 ri NJ
God could hide him or equal him III
beauty: but Assyria, we are further
told. because OF perversion OF this
pre-eminent state. became lifted up
Of him: II caused Lebanon to mourn
for him. and all the trees Of the field
tainted for him. / made the nations
to shake at the sound Of his fall
when 1 cast him down to hell with
them that descend into the pit"
Lesson Of History.
And to this Assyrian we find Egypt
verses 2 and IS of this chapter. the
likeness being put in our English
version in the form Of an interroga-
tory. ITO whom art thou like in
thy ereatness?' Why. to this Assyr-
Ian. wnoss Eoriors past state is then
Babylon, in Isaiah. is treated of as
Lucifer. son OF the morning. or the
light bringer. in its early history. but
as being brought down to hell af-
to the heights OF God.
or Tyre, personifed as a king, It is
said in Ezekiel Thou hast been in
Eden. the Garden Of God. every prec-
ious stone was thy covering
Thou vast perfect in thy ways from
the day thou vast created: but Tyre,
like the other nations, degenerated,
def1ling its sanctuaries by the multi
tude of its iniduitiee. No finer trib-
ute was ever paid to people than
that recorded in the whole chapter OF
Ezekiel 81 of Tyre.
Adam and Eve are not the only
people who are said in Holy Writ
to have been in Eden. the Garden of
God. Whole nations are represented
to have been in this state of spiritual
excellence.
Whsp the curtain Of history goes up
on the nations Of antiquity we behold
them well advanced in the arts OF
civilization, but given over to and
this? swedenborg, who claims 20 have
been introduced into the spiritual
world. aff1rms that he was granted
intercourse with the spirits Of men
who lived ages ago and from them
he learned that the first chapters of
Genesis are symbolical in character
and not to be taken literally, that
Moses got them entire from sacred
word now lost to the world, that
many ages ago the Asiatic world was
given to Monotheistic religion. among
whom the Egyptians were most cele-
brated. and that all idolatry is due to
perversion Of what were once SYM
holical treatments Of religious sub
jects. Thus the calf or bull of Egypt,
later on famous In its worship, orig
inally had a good signification and
was not worshiped. but was re-
minder in the temples and elsewhere
Of what the calves signifled, namely,
external or natural good In worship.
Perversion Of SmybO1s.
when this good is offered to the
Lord. 1t is acceptable. But when the
Egyptians lost this Specification and
worshiped calves as gods or repre-
sentatives Of gods, then in our sacred
Scripture the calf or bullock came to
signify the love Of what Is false and
evil, except when offered in sacrifice
to Jehovah, when 1t meant what it
had first meant to the Egyptians.
And thou shalt slay the bullock be-
fore Jehovah. And thou shalt
take of the blood Of the bullock and
put 1T upon the horns Of the altar with
thy finger Ex., 29.11.
When the psalmist exclaimed.
Ps., 22.12. Many bulls have en-
compassed me-" he did not mean that
q lot Of bulls had got after him. but
that he had been beset by grievous
ayIle O. ,va ,noderna when we use