Clement of Alexandria, in his “Stromata,” says of these cherubim: “Each of them has six wings, whether they typify the two bears, as some will have it, or, which is better, the two hemispheres.... Both have twelve wings, and thus through the circle of the zodiac, and of self-marrying time, they typify the world perceived by the senses.” The table in the temple was symbolical of the earth, as we learn from Clement of Alexandria again, when he says: “The table, as I think, signifies the image of the earth; it is sustained by four feet, answering to the summer, autumn, spring, and winter.” The shew-bread was placed on the table in front of Yah, and was divided into twelve pieces, typical of the twelve signs, as we find stated in Ex. xxv. 22 and 30 (literally translated): “And I will hang [or be deposited] there, set [or sitting] before thee; and I will talk to thee from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubim, which are upon the ark of the testimony ... and thou shalt set shew-bread always upon the table in front of me.” The candlesticks, with three branches on each side and one in the centre, having seven lamps burning on them, represented the seven summer signs, including both the equinoxial ones. Josephus tells us that the candlesticks were divided into seventy parts, answering to the seventy decans of the seven signs. The veil of the temple was of blue, purple, and scarlet, and represented the atmospheric vault of heaven tinged, as it frequently is, by the sun’s rays. The pomegranates represented the fixed stars. The dress of the high priest was ornamented with 566 bells, corresponding with the days of the sidereal year, with two bright emeralds and twelve precious stones, which, according to Clement of Alexandria, represented the sun and moon and the twelve signs of the zodiac. Sufficient has been said to leave no doubt as to the real meaning of the tabernacle and its appurtenances, and, I think, to establish the truth of what I have previously stated—viz., that the ancient religions were of astronomical origin and abounding in symbolical rites and ceremonies. It only remains for me now to repeat what I have maintained before in other essays—that the Christian religion of to-day, although modified by time and circumstances, having been considerably manipulated so as to be brought within touch of modern requirements, is nothing more or less than a rehash of the Egyptian, Persian, Hindu, and Phœnician mythologies—an old worn-out faith, in fact, dressed in gaudy and attractive garments. [Illustration: THE EARTH OF THE VEDIC PRIESTS.] [Illustration: HINDU EARTH.] [Illustration: THE EARTH OF THE LATER GREEKS. B.C.] [Illustration: POMPONIUS MELA’S COSMOGRAPHY. 1^(st) Century. Heathen.] [Illustration: CHRISTIAN MAPS OF THE WORLD IN the 10th. Century.] [Illustration: CHRISTIAN MAP OF THE WORLD IN THE 8th. Century.] [Illustration: MAP OF MARCO POLO End of 14th. Century.]