Preface.
A review of the Holy Bible
containing the Old and New Testaments.
Edward Biddle Latch 1885
~ Let the light shine; let truth steal forth from its abiding-place, and reveal its grandeur and magnificence. ~
This work at best can be but a scanty elucidation of the Scriptures; for there is no limit to the substance of the inspired work, the foundations of which are massive, well-laid, and ever enduring. The privilege and honor of building upon this foundation is granted to whomsoever will, and each one builds his own superstructure; let us hope it may be neither "hay, straw, nor stubble". The views embraced in the following pages do not, of necessity, unsettle a single stone in the sacred fabric, but tend rather to cement them into a more perfect and harmonious whole. Should, however, any be taken away, they are restored with tenfold brilliancy. In no point or position is the substance of this review to be taken in a sectarian sense, for the Scriptures are not of private interpretation; and, therefore, no man, or bodies of men, can limit the boundaries of light. Sectarianism may bear in its train concentration and development, but it cannot deliver from error. The light shed must come from the source which commanded it to be, and in true recognition of this source unity and harmony will prevail.
Let it be thoroughly understood from the beginning that one man cannot convince another of either right or wrong; but if a man be convinced, it is by his own investigation of that which is placed before him; therefore let such one, if so disposed, read over the bases of this book, and bearing them in mind, discard the remainder, and commence the study of the Scriptures from the first chapter of Genesis, continuing the same without a break unto the Omega of the book of Revelation. Let each man convince himself, for it is his own interest that is at stake.
The interpretations are based upon the revelations of the Apostle Paul and of St. John the Divine. To the former was revealed the mystery of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, and to the latter the mystery of the creation and preservation of men. These revelations give a harmonious solution to the Scriptures from the writings of Moses down, and they cannot fail to show the Master-hand which strewed inspiration broadcast through centuries and centuries of blindness.
The only text used will be the Bible according to the version of King James, as issued by the American Bible Society, New York, 1860.
That was the "Preface of the
Book",
written in 1885
A.D.
Now, learn the "Basis of the
Book":
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The Six Basis.
First
Basis—The Holy Trinity.—The triune
character of the Creator is self-evident; that is, three separate
Persons in One. These are, first, the Power which conceives; second, the
Power which gives or signifies assent, as the Word or Command; third,
the Power which carries out or performs the thought signified or
expressed. Each equal, the one with the other; for the Power which
conceives would not be a Power if each conception was accomplished
without assent. The Word would be no Power without the thought and
action. The Power which acts would be no Power without the thought and
command; therefore it follows that these three are equal, the one with
the other, and combine into the one Infinite Majesty, perfect and
supreme in all his attributes, and above all other powers; yet each is
separate and distinct, the one from the other. They possess the
attribute of manifesting themselves separately and distinctly as
Persons, and it follows that the Power which creates matter can invest
itself in it, endow it with life and become visible clothed with it. It
also follows that no inharmonious relation can exist between the three;
that they all work together; and that without the three was nothing made
that was made.
Second
Basis—The Overthrow of Evil and the Redemption of the Fallen.—This
embodies the ends and aims of the labors involved in the scriptural
records according to the great work Mount Zion, which was laid down from
the beginning.
Third
Basis—The Antiquity of Man.—This basis
brings to light four separate, independent, consecutive creations of
men, of which the present race is the fourth and last. It embraces a
period of time of about thirty three thousand five hundred years'
duration. The revelation of St. John the Divine unlocks the history of
the human races, and also sheds much light on the overthrow of evil.
Fourth
Basis—The great Law of Iniquity, in
which the iniquity of the fathers is visited upon the children, and upon
the children's children, unto the third and to the fourth generation.
Divine in its origin, laid down from the beginning, and upon which
hinges the plan of the redemption of man as recorded in the Scriptures.
Fifth
Basis—The Mystery of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ,
who entered upon his mission as the Redeemer from the day Melchizedek
met Abram returning from the slaughter of the kings. This is the
revelation of the Apostle Paul. Sixth Basis—The Vail, under which are hidden the mysteries of the Scriptures. |
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Are you well versed on the basis? 
Photograph by Harry Burton, Griffith Institute, Oxford 1923 |
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