then, of course, we allow that the epithet "priest" is quite foreign not
only to the Fourth Gospel, but to every other book of the New Testament,
except the Epistle to the Hebrews; but if we look to the things implied
in the idea of Priesthood, such as Mediation and Intercession, in fact
Intervention between God and Man, then we find that the whole New
Testament is pervaded with the idea, and it culminates in the Fourth
Gospel.

The next assertion of the author of "Supernatural Religion" on the same
passage betrays still more ignorance of the contents of St. John's
Gospel, and a far greater eagerness to fasten on a seeming omission of
the letter, and to ignore a pervadence of the spirit. He asserts:--

"It is scarcely necessary to point out that this representation of
the Logos as Angel, is not only foreign to, but opposed to, the
spirit of the Fourth Gospel." (Vol. ii. p. 293)

Now just as in the former case we had to ask, "What is the
characteristic of the priest?" so in order to answer this we have only
to ask, "What is the characteristic of the angel?"

An angel is simply "one sent." Such is the meaning of the word both in
the Old and New Testament. The Hebrew word [Hebrew: mlakh] is applied
indifferently to a messenger sent by man (see Job i. 14; 1 Sam. xi. 3; 2
Sam. xi. 19-20), and to God's messengers the Holy Angels, that is, the
Holy Messengers, the Holy ones sent. And similarly, in the New
Testament, the word [Greek: angelos] is applied to human messengers in
Luke vii. 24, [Greek: apelthontôn de tôn angelôn Iôannou], also in Luke
ix. 52, and James ii. 25. That the characteristic of the angel is to be
"sent" is implied in such common phrases as, "The Lord _sent_ His