Bristol news. [volume] (Bristol, Va. & Tenn.) 1867-189?, 1871-06-02

| tween the two worlds in the history o
our race as given by the inspired wri
ters. 1t appears to have been the
most universal of all convictions. The
Tiel between them and the invisibl,
| world must have been slight indeed
| 1t was no matter of dread or bewiIder
ment To them if in the stiffness of the
sunset hour stranger feet drew neal
| their dwelling, and the phenomena o.
| both worlds became blended into the
| vision. Forms, glorious with the
majesty of holiness, entered beneath
! their feet to commune with them and
teach them in their departing that
they had been with beings of another
land. The very absence of fear OF
wonder in most cases impI les the orig
inal universally of such intercourse
between the inhabitants Ofboth worlds
The separation between the Lying and
the departed was held 10 have been
marvelously slight.
Peter first preached to the Gentiles
the unperishable riches of Christ
through the instrumentality of "a
man " who was interested in the Cos
pei. While Cornelius was at prayer
in the ninth hour. as he SAYS, Il pray
ed in my house, and behold, Il man
stood before me in bright clothing.
and said: Cornelius, thy prayer is
heard; send therefore to Joppa and
call hither a man whose sirnane is
Peter, who, when he cometh, shall
breaches. The spirit is poured out on
the Gentiles, when Peter declares he
now perceives of truth that God is
no rcspecter of persons" Again, Acts
IA, 8: And man appeared 10 Paul
in the night. There stood a man of
Macedonia and prayed him, saying:
Come over into Macedonia and help
u.s. Paul "went Immediately to
Macedonia, assuredly gathering that
the Lord had called US to preach the
gospel to them" There are two points
to which / wish to call your special
attention;
!. This imam was from Macedonia. !"
1t was his native country-born there.
2, He still feels a deep interest for
that, his native land, and desires Paul
to preach the gospel to them.
Macedonia was Il kingdom of Greece.
Alexander the Great, son of Philip.
king of Macedon, having conquered
Asia, and subverted the Persian En-
pire, the name of the Macedonians be-
came very famous throughout the East
and it is often given to the Greeks, the
successors of Alexander in the mOnar
chy. The apostle did not doubt his
call to preach the gospel there after
this man. and was very successful
over there among those MacedOnians.
Here he laid the foundation of the
church of ThessolOnica and Philip.
TO each of these churches he wrote
Epistles in the New Testament.
What stronger proof could any one
desire than is furnished by this case.
This being is never called an angel,
but a man of Macedonia.
Whenever there is demand for the
gospel in this age, it is called 1.-THE
Macedonian cry" That man knew
Paul was capable of preaching to those
proud, intellectual Grecians; hence he
preferred him to any other Of the apOs-
ties. "Greek could meet Greek there
as he did on other occasions.
There is so to speak, but veil be-
tween the natural and the spiritual
world. What we call death removes
that veil, or rather the chryalis state
of our material body opens like the
worm when the beautiful butterfly
scars away with the wings adapted to
theatmosphere, to extract sweets from
the opening flowers. To the pure,
spiritual beings there is a medium OF
communication far surprising our
oceans telegraphs. The atmosphere,
doubtless, Possesses the property of
legraphing with spirits wqo occupy
the plane that will astonish us more
than this type of angelic com,nunica-
ton did when ii was first discovered.
Space itself may be annihilated, and
with an angels ken we may behold,
not through glass darkly as we now
do, spiritual things, but with clearest
vision, as one of our hymns expresses
it.
"Then shall see, and hear, and know,
All desire or wish below,
And every power find sweet employ,
In that eternal world of joy"
The Apostle Paul. speaking of an
celic spirits saws q: Are they not all
ministering spirits sent forth to min-
lister To them who shall be Leirs of
salvation.
In this passage we are expressly
taught that assisting man, or commu-
nication with mankind. is not only Il
standing employment, or Office, of an
gclic spirits, but that it is their only
authorized use or office. Their duty
and their delight is assistance in some
mode to those who are TO be heirs of
salvation. This is not spoken OF as Il
special or issolated case-but the uni
versal duty and privilege of all. 1t
is the established law of the spirit
land. No man living here was ever
better qualified to Judge of this mat
ter than was St raul He aftirms
tnat he was caught up into the third
heaven and had an opportunity oi
speaking from experience. be saw
and heard things unlawful to be re-
vealcd. but this was not one of them.
This was a universally acknowl lodged
fact well known and understood there.
His testimony is not therefore to be
slightly esteemed, rOr invalidated by
n doubt. His own history as recorded
i'm the Acts of the Apostles, hears his
test mony TO his having been thus
minstered to by them.