The Globe-republican., 1891-12-03
DIR. TALMAGE'S SERMON.
HE DRAWS A LESSON FROM TIE
TEMPLE OF DIANA.
On tho Way from Smyrna to Ephesus-
Bandits, Robbers and PiIErims-Present
Appearance Of the Place Whore PAUL
Fought With Beasts.
The Temple OF Diana.

The Temple OF Diana.
TaImage's text was Acts xix, 81.
''Great is Diana of the Ephesians."
We have landed at Smyrna, . 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 copfIagration, blasted by plaques,
and butchered by war. and here Bishop
POlycarp stood In q crowded amphithea-
ter, and when he was asked to give up
the advocacy of the Christian religion
and save himself from martyrdom, the
thee; reproach Christ" replied. Eighty
and six years have served Him, and He
never did me wrong; how then can re-
vile my King and Saviour?''
When he was brought to the fires into
which he was about to be thrust, and
the officials we're about to fasten him to
the stake, he said, ''Let me remain as l
am, for he who giveth me strength to
sustain the fire will enable me also with
ont your securing me with nails to re-
main unmoved in the fire. History says
the fires refused to consume him. and
ward so that they did not touch his per-
son, and theref ore he was slain by swords
and spears. One cypress bending over
his grave is the only monument to Bishop
POlycarp.
But we are on the way to the city of
Ephesus, 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 off the ears of
travellers and sending these specimens of
ears down to Smyrna, demanding ran
som. The bandits suggest to the friends
OF the person 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.
II the money is not sent the mutilated
prisoners will be assassinated. One
traveller was carried off to the robbers
den and 81. 500 was paid for his rescue.
The bandits were caught and beheaded,
and pictures of these CHASTITY heads are
on sale in the shops of Smyrna for any
persons who may desire to have some
thing 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 do not feel like putting
our friends TO such expense, and it was
suggested that we had better omit Ephe-
sus. But that would have been disap-
pOintment from which we would never
recover. We must see Ephesus-asso-
ciated with the most wonderful apostolic
scenes. We hire special railway
train, and i'm about an hour and a half
we arrive at the city of Ephesus. which
was called 1.-THE Great Metropolis of
ASIA" and ''One of the Eyes of Asia"
and 1.-THE Empress of Ionia," the capital
of all learning and magnificence. Here,
as i said, was one of the seven churches
of Asia. and first of all we visit the
ruins of that church where once an ecu
menical council of two thousand minis
tiers Of religion was held.
Mark the fulfillment of the prophecy
o. the seven churches of Asia; four were
commended in the Book of Revelation
and three were doomed. The cities hav-
ing the four commended churches still
stand; the cities having the three doomed
churches are wiped out 1t occurred
just as the Bible said it would occur
Drive on and you come to the theater,
which was geo feet from wall to wall, Ca
pable of holding sc, 700 spectators. Here |
and there the walls arise almost I'M
broken, but for the most part the build
ing is down. Just enough of it is left to |
help the imagination build it up as it |
was when those audiences shouted and |
clapped at some great spectacular. |
Their huzzas must have been enough to |
stun the heavens.
AS l took my place at the center of |
this theater and looked around at it's |
broken layers of stone, gallery upon gal |
lery, gallery upon gallery. 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 eve
that gazed on that amphitbeater, and
every voice that greeted the combatants
in that arena had gone out of hearing
and sight for ages on ages, l felt thrill
Of interest that almost Frustrated me
amid the ruins.
Standing there we could not forget
that in that building once assembled a
riotous throng for Paul's condemnation
because what he preached collided with
the idolatry Of their national goddess.
Paul tried to get into that theater and
address the excited multitude. but his
friends held him back lest he be torn to
pieces by the mob, and the recorder 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!"
Now we step into the Stadium.
Enough of its walls and appointments
Are left to show what stapendous place
Il must have been when used for foot
aces and for fights with wild beasts.
It was . building $50 feet long by 200
'eet wide. Paul refers to what tran
'pired there in the way of spectacle
when he says, I've have been made
spectacle" Yes, Paul says, II have
ought with beasts at Ephesus," an ex-
preston usually taken Is figurative, but
suppose it was literally true. for one
If the amusements in that Stadium was
% put q disliked man IN the arena with
} hungry lion or tiger or panther, and
ct the fight 20 on until either the man
,r the beast or both were slain. |,
1t must have been great fun for these
laters of Christianity to hear that on
he morrow in the Stadium in Epnesus
he missionary Paul would, in the pres
nee of the crowded galleries. fight a
hungry lion. The people were early
here to get the best seats, and . more