(or Word) of God, which is likewise his Son.
After
Adam was driven out of Paradise, the
Logos appointed a kind of
Shechinah in the appearance of Angels to guard the way of the Tree of Life. These I conceive were a
Cherub and a
Saraph, and that the latter (an Angel in the opinion of
Maimonides himself ) was meant by the flaming-sword turning every way; the ver∣satile tayl of a
Saraph or flame-like winged Serpent, not being unaptly so called. And this conceit when I come to explain my self about
Urim, and the brazen Serpent, will seem less extravagant than now it may do in this naked Proposal. And yet as 'tis thus proposed, 'tis not so idle as that of Pseudo-
Anselm , who will have this guard to be a Wall of Fire incompassing Paradise. In process of time, when
Cain and
Abel offered to God their Eucharistical Sacrifices, the Son of God again ap∣peared as Gods
Shechinah; and testified it may be his gracious acceptance of the Sacrifice of
Abel by some ray of flame streaming from that glorious visible Pre∣sence, and re-acting to it; whilst he shewed himself not pleased with the offering of
Cain by forbearing (as I conjecture) to shine on his sheaves, or to cause them to ascend, so much as in smoke towards Heaven. And with this conjecture agreeth the Translarion of
Theo∣dotion in these words,
〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉,
and [the Lord]
had respect to the oblations of Abel,
and set them on fire. That seemeth to be the most anci∣ent way of answering by Fire, some obscure characters of which we may discern in that lamp of fire which passed betwixt the pieces of
Abrahams Sacrifice . And much plainer footsteps of it are to be seen in the contest of
Elijah with the Prophets of
Baal, whom that true Prophet of the God of
Israel vanquished by that sign, triumphing also thereby over that false Deity which they so vainly and with Battologie invoked .