The Penn's Grove record., 1891-11-27
TFhHAGE'
TREs RRooKhYN ufvlxus su1p
DAY sKRMON

AHA, -
sahjecs:s" 1hs URv Of Ephesus.s
Tnxr."Great d Diowa Of ne EpAssians.s
Acts XIX, a..
We have landed this morning u Smyrna,
city, Of Asiatic Turkey. One Of the ssvsl
churches Of Asia onco stood here. You Rad
IN Revelation, ITO the church In Smyrna
write" 1t Is a city that has often been
shaken by earthquake swept by c~cnf1aerar
ton, blasted by plaques and butchsred By
war, and here Bishop PolycArp ssood In q
crowded amphitheatsr and when he was
tias religion and save himself from martyr.
dom, the %proconsul saying, Swear and l
release thee; reproach Christ replied,
Eighty and six years have I sarved Him,
and He never did me wrong. how then can I
rey1le my King N Saviour
When he was brought to the hres into
which he was about to be thrust, and the Of
dcials were about to fasten him 70 the stake
he said: LET me remain - ] 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
fire." History a y the fires refused 70 COM
sumo him, and under the wind the flames
person, and therefore he was slain by swords
and spears. One cypress bending over his
grave is the only monument to Bishop Poly
carp.
But we are on the way to the city Of Ephs-
sus, about fifty miles from Smyrna. We
are advised not to go 10 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
dts suggest to the friends of the persons
from whom the ears have been snbtracted
that if they would like to have the rest Of
the body they will please send an appropriate
sum of money. Ii b money is not seut the
mutilated prisoners will be assassinated
One Traveller was carried Of to the robbers
den, and $3.50 was paid for his rescue. The
bandits were caught aud beheadsd. and
pictures Of these CHASTITY heads are on sale in
the shops of Smyrna for any person who
may desire to have something to look at on
their way to Ephesus.
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 1t was suggested that we had
better omit Ephesus. But that would have
been a disappointment from which we would
nevcr recover. We must $50 Ephesus-
with the most wonderful apostolic
scenes. We hire a special railway train, and
u about an hour and a halt we arrive at the
city of Ephesus, which was called '.The Great
Metropolis of Asia, % and Zone of the Eyes Of
ASIA and The Empress of IQnia,n the capt.
tai Of all learning and magnificence. Here,
as 1 said, was one OF the seven churches OF
Asia. and first Of all we visit the ruins Of that
church where once an ecumenlcai council Of
two thousand ministers OF religion was held.
Mark the fulfllment Of the prophecy. OF
the seven churches Of Asia four were com
mended in the Book Of Revelation aud three
we're doomed. The cities having the four
commended churches still stand; the cities
having the three doomed churches are wiped
ont. 1t occurred just as the Bib said 1t
would occur. Drive on n you come to the
theatre, which was 660 feet from wall tn wall
capable of holding ID, 100 spectators. Here
and there the walls arise almost unbroken,
but for the most part the building Is down.
As l tool my place at the centre OF this
theatre and looked around at its broken lay
ers of stone, gallery pon gallery. gallery
upon gallery, and piled up into the bleak
skies of that winter day, and thought that
every hand that swung a 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
in that arena had gone out Of
hearing and sight for ages on ages, l felt q
thrill of interest that Almost penetrated me
amid the ruins.
Standing there we could not forget that
in that building once assembled q riotous
throng for Paufs condemnation, because
what he preached collided with the idolatry
their national goddess. Paul tried to get
into that theatre n address the excitei
multitude, but his friends held him back, lest
he be torn to pieces bv '',A ~ the re-
corder of the city ha, lot act
among the people who for two
mortal hours till theif, sore and
they were black in the fac, treat = Diana
of the Ephesians."
Now we step into the Stadium. Enough
of its walls and appointments are left to
show what a stuPendous place 1t must have
been when used for foot-racss and for fights
with wi d beasts. It was q building $50 feet
long by 200 feet wide. Paul refers to what
transpired there in the way Of spectacle
when be says, 1--WE have been q a spec
tacle." YES" Paul says II have fought
with beasts at Ephesus.v an expression
usually taken as figurative, but 1 suppose II
was literally true, for one OF the muse
ments in that Stadium was to put q disliked
man in the arena with q hungry lion or tiger
or panther, and let the fight go until either
the man or the beast or both were slain.
It must have been great u for these
haters of Christianity to hear that on the
morrow in the Stadium in Epbesus the mis-
sionary Paul would, in the presence OF the
people were early there to get the best seats,
and a more alert and enthusiastic crowd
assembled. They took their dinner
with them. And was there ever . more un-
combat proposed Pau, according to
tradition, small, crooked backed and weak
eyed. but the grandest man In sixty CEN
turtles, is led to the center Is the people shout;
.'There he comes, the preacher who has
nearly ruined our religion. b lion will
but a brief mouthfui Of him.
1t is plain that all the sympathies Of that
.rowd are with the lion. In ono of the
underground rooms / 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 biocdthirsty.
What chance Is there for Fault But Won
cannot tell by a mans size or looks how stout
a blow he can strike or how keen a blsde he
can thrust. Witness, HEAVIER and earth and
hell, this struggle Of Paul with q Wild beast
TIE coolest man in the Stadium Is Paul.
What has he to fear2 He has deiied all tho
powers, earthly and Internal, and 4 his holy
tumble under the foot and tooth Of the wild
beast, his soul will only the sooner find dis
enthrallment. But ir 10 his duty rs Tar as
possible, to preserve his life.
Now. I hear the bolt OF the Will beasts
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 was made on the
point OF a sharp blade. and the siiariins
with a tow Of pain n reeking
with gore, turns back. But nov the little
missionary has his turn Of making attack,
and with a few well directed thrusts the
monster lies died in the dust OF the arena,
and the apostle puts his right foot on the
lion and shakes him, d then puts bis left
foot on him and shakes him-a scene which
Paul afterward uses for an illustration when
he wants to show how Christ will triumph
over death-"He must reign TIL He hath
put all enemies under His feet'-yeA under
His feet.
Paul told the literal truth when he said.
sI nave fought with beasts at Ephesus, 2 and
as the plural is useiI think be bad more
than one such fight. or several beasts were
let loose upon him at one tune. As we stood
that day in the middle OF the Stadium q
looked around at the great structure tSs
whole scene came back upon rs.
Hst we pass cut OF the Stadium for We ara
/, hate TOR other places Of interest ~ Elhs-
sus. 10 add TO the excitement ok1is day
one OF our party was missing. No man 4
safe In that region aions unless hete srmnd
and know how to take surs ain ana uoen1i
fire. Our companion, Dr.. Eoats Hlop1nht
now the publisher Of the Chyfsftan H1rn}6
had gone out ON come expiozatfcns az ~
own, and through ths gate Where FsuI hsd
walked again and again, yet whero 10 man
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