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Hence it is expected we should be ready to believe the identity of Christ with the Ancient of days . Now , when it is said ( Dan . vii . 13 ) that ' « one like to a Son of Man approached to the ancient of days , and was brought near to his presence , " Dr . S . thinks the word rendered was brought near , though " it does not necessarily imply more than a near approach , may be justly extended to the expression of a personal union . Its radical idea is that
of very close contact ; and its different forms are applied to many instances of conjunction , indwelling , and union 9 the most near and intimate that can exist amongst men . Upon these grounds it is submitted as a fair and rational interpretation of the whole passage , to view it as declaring , in the symbolical language of prophecy , an assumption of the frail and humble nature of a child of man into an absolute union with the great Eternal . " The meaning of the Hebrew word is ' * to be , or be brought near . " It is
used equally of friendly and hostile approach , of nearness in place , time , relationship , dignity , or favour . By a very natural application of the idea of nearness , it is used as a name for what is within us , in reference either to the body or the mind . We can see nothing mysterious or abstruse in its applications , and the idea of extorting from the words , " one like to a son of man was brought near to the presence of the Ancient of days , " a declaration of the " absolute union of a child of man with the Great
Eternal , " is perfectly monstrous . Yet our author is one who is ever ready to reproach Unitarians with far-fetched interpretations invented to serve a purpose . The passage in Micah , which is treated of in the xxviith Section , contains the words , ( according to Dr . S . ' s translation , ) ** whose comings forth are from eternity , from the days of the everlasting period , " which he calls " a
clear assertion ( respecting the Messiah ) of prior and eternal existence . " The literal version is , " whose descent * is from ancient times ,-f- from the days of old . " J The passage is interpreted by Grotius , Dathe , and others , as applying primarily to Zerubbabelj affirming the ancient glory of his family . If belonging strictly and solely to the Messiah , it affirms his designation to his mission in the counsels of God , or perhaps , as it is connected with the mention of Bethlehem , his derivation from the family of David . What then becomes of the clear assertion of our Saviour ' s prior and eternal existence ?
Section xxx . Zcch . xn . 8—10 . " They shall look unto me ( Jehovah , as appears from the connexion ) whom they have pierced . " The words are applied to our Lord , John xix . 37 , where they are quoted , " They shall look upon him whom they have pierced . " Dr . S . concludes that Christ is Jehovah . We hold it to be very evident that the Apostle John only accommodates to his purpose the words of Zechariah , as , according to the most judicious critics , he has done other passages of Scripture in the same narrative of our Lord ' s death . With Grotius we understand the prophet to use the word pierced figuratively for treated with insult and injury ; but if it should be thought that the passage in Zechariah is prophetic of the
circurn-* VDKYID ortus , origines ejus . 1 * CDTp , the root , signifies to precede or go before ; as a noun , what is before ; as 1 , the east , whence the sun sec in a to come ; 2 , former times , antiquity to an in definite extent , but without the idea of eternity , except incidentally from the nature of the subject with which it is connected . X CD 7 ' 1 # , eternity , indefinite duration , past or future , often signifying former times : thus CD ^ Itf TV ) D \ " the days of old , " Deut . xxxii . 7 ; CZ > £ iP CDp , " the people of former times , " Ezek . xxvi . 20 ; CD ^ ltf » ri XDJ , " as the dead of former times , " those who have been long dead , Psalm cxliii . 3 , &c .
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Dr . J . P . Smith 8 Scripture Testimony to the Messiah . 247
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Citation
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Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), April 2, 1831, page 247, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2596/page/31/
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