The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1891-12-09
REV. DR.. TALMAGE.
THE BROOKLYN DlVINES SUN
DAY SERMON.
ESubject: ''The City al Ephesus.s

TEXT: "Great is Diana of the Ephesians.s
kActs xix, "a.
1--WE lave landed this morning at Smyrna,
q city of Asiatic Turkey. One Of the seven
churches of Asia once stood here. You read
In Revelation, ITO the church in Smyrna
write" 1t is a city that has often been
shaken by earthquake, swept by confagra-
ton, blasted by plaques and butchered by
war, and here Bishop Polycarp stood in a
crowded amphitheater and when he was
asked to give up the advocacy of the Chris
tian religion and saw himself from martyr
dom, the proconsul saying, Swear and l
release thee: reproach Christ" replied,
''Eighy and six years have 1 served Him.
and He never did me wrong; how then can l
cevile my King and Saviour!"
When he was brought to the fires into
which he was about to be thrust, and the Of
fcials were about to fasten him to the stake
he said 'Lst me remain as I am, for, He
who giveth me strength TO sustain the fire
will enable me also without your securing
me with nails to remain unmoved in the
6re." History says the fires refused to con-
sumo him, and under the wind the flames
bent outward so that they Gid not touch his
person, and therefore he was slain by swords
End spears. One cypress bending over his
grave is the only monument to Bishop Poly
carp
|, But ives are on the way to the city of Ephe-
sus, about fifty miles from Smyrna. We
are advised not to go to EPhesus. The
bandits in that region have had an ugly
practice OF cutting OF the ears Of travellers
and sending these specimens of ears down to
Smyrna, demanding q ransom The BAN
dis suggest to the friends of the persons
from whom the ears have been subtracted
that If they would like to have the rest Of
The body they will please send an appropriate
sum Of money. If the money is not sent the
mutilated prisoners will be assassinated.
One traveller was carried Off to the robbers
den, and $500 was paid for his rescue. The
pictures Of these CHASTITY heads are on sale in
the shops Of Smyrna for aLy person who
may desire to LAY something to look at on
their way to Ephesus.
R,There have been cases where ten and
twenty and thirty and forty thousand dollars
have been demanded by these ~brigands. We
did not feel like putting our friends to such
expense, and it was suggested that we had
better omit Ephesus- But that would have
been a disappointment from which we would
never recover. We must see Ephesus-
associated will the most wonderful apostolic
scenes, We hire a special railway train, and
in about an hour and a half we arrive at the
city of Ephesus, which was called The Great
Metropolis of Asia" andS'One Of the Eyes Of
Asia," and THE Empress Of Ionia," the CAPT.
tai Of all learning and magniicence. Here,
as I said, was one Of the seven churches OF
Asia, and first Of all we visit the ruins OF that
churca where once an ecumenlcal council Of
two thousand ministers of religion was held.
J. Mark the fulaIlment Of the prophecy. OF
The seven churches Of Asia four were COM
mended in the Book of Revelation and three
were doomed. The cities having the four
commended churches still stand; the cities
having the three doomed churches are wiped
out. It occurred just as the Bible said it
would occur. Drive on and you come to the
theatre, which was $50 feet from wall to wall
and there the walls arise almost u~noroken,
but for the most part the building is down.
As I took my place at the centre OF this
theatre and looked around at its. broken lay
ers of stone, gallery upon gallery. gallery
upon gallery, and piled up into the bleak
skies Of that winter day, and thought that
every hand that swung q trowel on those
walls, and every foot that trod those stairs,
and every eye that gazed on that amphi-
theatre, and every voice that greeted the
combatants in that arena had gone out OF
hearing and sight for ages on ages, I felt a
thrill Of interest that almost penetrated me
amid the ruins.
Standing there we could not forget that
in that building once assembled q riotons
throng for condemnation, because
what he preached collided with the idolatry
of their national goddess. Paul tried to get
Into that theatre and address the excited
multitude, but his friends held him back, lest
he be torn to pieces by the mob, and the re-
corder of the city had to read the riot act
among the people who had shrieked for two
mortal hours till their threats were sore and
they were black in the face, Great is Diana
Of the Ephesians."
4 Now we step into the Stadium. Enough
OF its walls and appointments are left to
show what a s%tupendous place it must have
been when used for foot-races and for fights
with wild beasts. It was a building $50 feet
long by 200 feet wide. Paul refers to what
TRANSFERRED there in the way Of spectacle
when he SAYS. I'VE have been made a spec
tacle." YES" Paul says, ~ have fought
with beasts at Ephesus,n an expression
usually taken as figurative, but L suppose 1t
was literally true, for n Of the amuse-
ments in that Sta iium was to put a disiked
man in the arena with a hungry hon or tiger
or panther, and lot the fight 60 until either
the man or the beast or both were slain.
It must have been great fun for these
haters Of Christianity to hear that on the
morrow in the Stadium in Ephesus the mis-
sionary Paul would, in the presence OF the
crowded galleries. fight q hungry lion. Tho
people were early there to get the best seats,
and q more alert and enthusiastic crowd
never assembled. They took their dinner
withthem. And was there ever a more un-
equal combat proposed? Paul according to
eyed, but the grandest man in sixty CEN
turies is led to the center as the people shout:
There he comes, the preacher who has
nearly ruined our religion. The lion will
make but a brief mouthful Of him."
It is plain that all the sympathies OF that
crowd are with the lion. In one OF the
underground rooms I hear the growl Of the
wild beasts. They have been kept for several
days without food or water in order that they
may be especially ravenous and bloodthirsty.
What chance is there for Paul? But You
cannot!te by a mans size or looks how stout
a blow he car strike or how keen a blade he
can thrust. Witness, hsaven and earth and
hell, this struggle Of Paul with O wild beast.
The coolest man in the Stadium Is Paul.
What has he to fear? He has deaed oil the
powers, earthly and internal, and If his body
tumble under the foot and tooth OF the wild
beast, his soul will only the sooner find dis
enthrallment. But it is his duty, as rar as
possible, to preserve his life.
Now, 1 hear the bolt of the wild beasts
door showed back, and the whole audience
rise to their feet as the fierce brute springs
for the arena and toward its small occupant.
think the first plunge that was made by
the wild beast at the apostle wasmade onthe
point osn sharp blade, and the snarling
monster, with a howl Of pain and reeking
with gore, turns back. But now the little
missionary has his turn Of making attack,
and with a few we'll directed thrusts the
monster lies died in the dust Of the arena,
and the apostle puts his right foot on the
Hon and shakes him. and then puts his le,e
foot on him and shakes him. scene which
Paul afterward uses for an illustration when
he wants to show how Christ will triumph
over death-"He must reign till de hatn
put all enemies under His ~feet'-yes. under