The central Presbyterian. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1856-1908, 1867-03-13
For THE CENTRAL PRESBYTERIAN.
Resurrection of Christ.

The third test is next to be considered,
viz: the honesty of the witnesses. In
this examination we will include the
twelve disciples and the first converts to
Christianity; because they come equally
with the Evangelists, under the eondi-
tions of this test.
1t is inconeeivable that men should in
vent labored, costly, and stupendous
fiction without any definite object. That
object could not have been either the
hope of earthly or heavenly gain. 1t
could not have been the former; for in
his last discourse, With his disciples, on
the night of his arrest, Jesus said to
them, "they shall put you out of the
synagogues," the severest punishment
to Jew,) "yea, the time cometh that
whosoever killeth you will think that he
doeth God service" They were to be
cast out of the Church, and with the ban
of accommodation upon them were to
be hunted as wild beasts upon the hills.
These were the rewards held out to them.
Yea, they were to lose their beloved Mas
ter, and were to wander about as sheep
without a shepherd. "Behold the hour
cometh, yea, is now come, that we shall
be scattered every man to his own"
"If the aoorld hate yOai, ye knO1o that
at hated me before 1t hated you. IF ye
were of the aOorla, the world s0Ould lore
has oVn, Bat because gre are not Of the
verld, 6ut I hare chosen you Out Of the
Vorld, therefore the world hateth you."
SIN the scorld ye shall hare tri6ulatiOn.' .
He Vas careful too to remove delN-
sion, an sOhich some Of them a0sre prone to
indulge, that after little transient slg-
fering, they agOuld share IN the .glories Of
the Kiagdom about to be revealed.
When they questioned him on that
subject at Lake Tiberias after his resur-
rectiOn, they received pointed rebuke.
AT the same time, he pointed out the
vanity of their expectations by foretell-
ing to Simon Peter that he should suffer
an ignominous death in his old age. St.
Paul, too, labored to remove similar err
ror, into which the Church of Thessa-
lonica had fallen. Snow we beseech
you, brethren, by the coming of our
Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering
together unto him, that We be not soon
shaken in mind or be troubled, neither
by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from
us, that the day of Christ is at hand.
Let no man deceive you by any means;
for that day shall not come, except there
come falling away first, and that man
Of sin be revealed, the son of perdition. p"
2 Thess. ii: Is. The first preachers
and teachers of the new religion were
pains-taking in instructing the converts
to Christianity, that they had nothing to
expect in this life but poverty, shame,
trials, prosecutions, Affections, and posi-
bly,, an ignominious death. Paul en-
phatically declared that "all that will
live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer
persecution" And so the Apostles felt
when they were scourged by the Sanhe-
drim, and they "rejoiced that they were
counted worthy to suffer shame for his
name" eff We suffer for righteousness
sake, happy are ye: and be ye not afraid
of their terror, neither be troubled" F"
l Pet iii: IA. "Beloved, think it not
strange concerning the fiery trial which
is try you, as though some strange thing
happened unto you"
Such were the expectations of earthly
good held out to those, who should adopt
the religion of the cruci6ed Nazarene.
And how they were fulfilled, let Pauls
experience be given as sample of the
whole. 2 Cor, XII: 24-33. His own elo-
quent description of the suffering of the
faithful under the old dispensation, is
equally applicable to the afflictions of
the primitive Christians. "And others
had trials of cruel mockings nd'scourg-
ings, yea, moreover, of bonds and i'm
prisonment. They were stoned, they