The enterprise. [volume] (Wellington, Ohio) 188?-1899, 1890-03-26
ANGELOLOGY.
Or. Talmage breaches About the
Powers of the Heavenly Host.
What Gods Radiant Helpers Arc Com
stantiy Doing for Sinful Mortals--Thelr
Deathlessness, Intelligence, Mum.
bcrs, Strength and Achieve


7. Dewitt 1almages recent discourse
in the Brooklyn Academy Of Music.
After the opening exercises, which com.
menced with the singing of the hymn,
Heaven is my fatherland,
Heaven Is my home,"
the famous preacher announced as his
text Judges xiii, 10, "And the angel
did wondrously." Following is yer.
batim report Of the sermon:
Fire built on rock. Manoah and his
wife had there kindled the flames for
sacrifice in praise of God, and in honor
ofaguest whom they supposed to be a
man. But, as the flames rose higher and
higher. their stranger guest stepped into
the flames and by one red leap assembled
into the skies. Then they knew that he
was an angel Of the Lord "The angel
did wondrously." @
Two hundred and forty-eight times
does the Bible refer to the angels, yet I
never heard or read sermon on angel
ology. Tho whole subject is relegated
to the realm mythical, weird, spectral,
and unknown. Such adjournment is un-
scriptural and wicked. OF their life,
their character, their habits, their
actions, their velocities, the Bible gives
us full-length portraits, and why this
prolonged aud absolute silence concern
ing them? Angelology is my theme.
There are two nations Of angels, and
they are hostile to each other--the ma
tion Of good angels and the nation Of bad
angels. OF the former chiefly speak
to-day. Their capital, their headquar-
ters, their grand rendezvous is heaven,
but their empire is the universe. They
are distinct race Of creatures. No hu-
man being can join their confraternity.
The little child who in the Sabbath
school sings, 81 want to be an angel"
will never have her wish gratified. They
are superhuman, but they are OF differ
ent grades and ranks, not all on the
same level or the same height. They
have their superiors and interiors and
equals propose no guessing on this
subject, but take the Bible for my only
authority. Plato, the philosopher,
guessed, and divided angels into super
celestial, celestial, and sub-celestial.
Dionysius, the Areopagite, guessed,
and divided them into three classes
the supreme, the middle, and the last
and each OF these into three other
classes, making nine in all. Philo said
that the angels were related TO God, as
the rays Of the sun. Fulgentius said
that they were composed Of body and
spirit. Clement said they were in
corporeal. Augustine said that they
had been in danger Of falling, but now
are beyond being tempted. But the
only authority on this subject that
respect says they are divided into
Cherubim, Seraphim, Thrones, Domina-
tions, Principalities, Powers. Their
commander-in-chief is Michael. Daniel
called him Michael, st. John called him
Michael. These supernal beings are
more thoroughly organized than any
army that ever marched. They are
swifter than any cyclone that ever swept
the sea. They are more radiant than
any morning that ever came down the
sky. They have more TO do with your
destiny and mine than any being in the
universe except God. May the angel OF
the new covenant, who is the Lord
Jesus, open our eyes, and touch our
tongues. and rouse our soul, while we
speak Of their deathlessness, their In.
telligcnce, their numbers, their strength,
their achievements.
Yes, deathless. They had o cradle,
but will never have grave. The Lord
remembers when they were born, butno
one shall ever see their eye extin.
guished, or their momentum slow up, or
their existence terminate. The oldest
Of them has not wrinkle, or decrepi.
tude, or hindrance; as young after six
thousand years as at the close OF their
hrst hour. Christ said OF the good In
heaven, Neither can they die any more,
for they are equal unto the angels"
Yes, deatbless are these wonderful crea-
lures Of whom speak. They will see
world after world 60 out, but there shall
be no fading OF their own brilllance.
Yes, after the last world has taken Its
last flight they will be ready for the
widest circuit through immensity, taxi
. quadrillion Of miles in one sweep as
easy as pigeon circles dovecote. They
are never sick. They are never en-
hausted. They need no sleep, for they
are never tired. At Gods command they
smote with death, In one night, one hun
dred and eighty-hve thousand Of Sen.
nacherib's host, bntno fatality can smite
them. Awake, agile, multipotent, death.
less, immortall
Afurther Characteristic Of these radi-
ant folks Intelligence. The woman OF
Tekoah was right when she spoke TO
King David of the wisdom Of an angel.
We take in what little we know through
eye and ear snd nostril and touch; but
those beings have NO physical encase.
ment and hence they are all senses A
wall Ave feet thick is not solid 10 them.
Through 1t they 60 without disturbing
fake Of mortar orcyrstal OF sand. Knowl-
edgel 1t flashes on them. They take It
in ct all points. They absorb It. They
gather IL up without any hinderment
No need Of literature for them. The
letters Of their books are stars Tho
dashes Of their books are meteors. The
words Of their books are consultations.
Tb paragraphs Of their books are gall
axies, The pictures Of their books are
sunrises, and sunsets, and midnight au-
roras, and the conqueror on the white
horse with the moon under his feet, and
seas Of glass mingled with Are. Their
library Is anopen universe. Z, No need Of |
telescope TO see something millions Of |
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