The Red Cloud chief., 1891-11-27
o r OF EPHESUS
DR.. Talmage Continues His Ser
mons on Bible LandA
Ephesian Giories WILDLY Described Won
ders Of the Famed Temple NJ Diana
Warnings In the Fate Of the
Once Mighty City.

4 ders OF the Famed Temple os Diana
n Warnings In the Fate Of the
Once Mighty City.
In the fifth discourse in his series OF
termons entitled From the Pyramid.
20 the Acropolis" Rev. T. DE Witt Tai,
mage. in q sermon at Brooklyn, took
his text from Acts xix 81: Great /,
Diam OF the EphesianA" lie said:
We have landed this morning a,
Smyrna. q city of Asiatic Turkey. One
Of the seven churches Of Asia once
stood here. You read in Revelation,
L the church in Smyrna write" !,
Is q city that mas often been shaken by
earthquake, swept by confiagra,ion.
blasted by plaques, and butchercd by
war. and here Bishop Polycarp stood
in a crowded amphitheater and when
he was asked to give up the advocacy
Of the Christian religion and ave him.
self from martyrdom. the proconsul
saying: 'Swear and release thee; re-
proach Christ" replied: Eighty and
six years have l served Him. and lie
never did me wrong, how then can ]
reviie my King and Saviour When he
was brought To the fires into which he
was about TO be thrust and the officials
were about 10 fasten him TO the stake,
he said: Let me remain as I am,
for He who giveth me strength 10
sustain the fire will enable me also
without your securing me with nails 10
remain unmovcd in the fire" History
says the fires refused TO consume him,
and under the winds the flames beat
outward so that they did not touch his
person. and therefore he was slain by
swords and spears
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 bandits suggest to the
friends OF the persons from whom the
ears have been subtracted that IL 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. But we must see
Ephesus-associated with the most
wonderful apostolic scenes We
hire n special railway train, and
in about an hour and n half
we arrived at the city of Ephesus,
which was called THE Great Metropo-
lis of Asia" and THE Empress Of
1~onia," the capital OF all learning and
magnificence. Here, Us / said, was one
Of the seven churches of Asia. and first
OF all we visit the ruins of that church
where once IN Ecumenical council Of
1000 ministers of religion was held.
Mark the fulfilment OF the prophecy.
OF Tho seven churches of Asia, four
were commended in the book of revela-
ton and three were doomed. The cities
having the four commended churches
still stand; h cities having the three
doomed churches are wiped out Ii
occurred just as the Bible said it would
occur.
Drive on and you come to the theater,
which was $50 feet from wall to wall,
capable Of holding 81. 200 spectators
Here and there the walls arise almost
u~nbroken, but for the most part the
building is down. Just enough of il is
left to help the imagination build il up
as it was when those audiences shouted
n clapped at some great spectacular.
Standing there we could not forget
that in that building once assembled a
riotous throng for Paul's condemna-
ton. because what he preached collided
with the idolatry of their national god
desS Paul tried to get into that theater
and address the excited multitude, but
his friends held him back, lest he be
torn in 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: Great is Diana
of the EphesianS"
Now we step into the Stadium.
Enough Of its walls and appointments
are left to show what a stupendous
place it must have been when used for
foot races and for fights with wild
beasts II was a building ESQ feet long
by 200 feet wide. Paul refers TO what
t%ranspired there in the way OF spectacle
when he says: 1--WE have been made .
spectacle"
Yes Paul says: 81 nave fought with
a u isttftSuS. du eADTcSStcu uSu-
ally taken as figurative, but | suppose
it was literally true. for one Of the
amusements in that Stadium was to
put a disliked man in the arena with
a hungry lion or panther, and let the
fight 60 on until either the man or
beast or both were slain. II must have
been great fun for these haters of
Christianity to hear that on the NOR
row in the Stadium in Ephesus the
missionary Paul would. in the presence
OF the galleries, fight a hungry lion
And WAS there ever a more unequal
combat proposed? Paul. according 10
tradition, small. crooked-backed and
weak-eyed, but the grandest man in
sixty centuries, is led TO the entry. as
the people shout: There he comes, |
the preacher who has nearly ruined our
religion. The lion will make but q
brief mouthful of him" II is plain
were with the lion. In one Of the
underground rooms | hear the growl of
one OF the wild beasts They have
been kept for several days without food
or water, in order that they may be
especially ravenous and bl~oodthirs,y.
What chance is there for Paul?
! think the first plunge that was
made by the wild beast al the apostle
vas made on the point of a sharp
blade. and the snarling monster with a
howl of pain and reeking with gore,
turns back. But now the little mis-
sionary has his turn of making attack.
and with a few we'll directed thrusts
the monster lies dead in the dust of the
arena, and the apostle puts his right
DOT on the lion and shakes him, and
puts his left foot on him and
shakes him-a scene which Paul after
ward uses for Al illustration when he
wants tn show how Christ will triumph
over dea;h-"He must reign till He
hath put all enemies uuder His feet"
yes, under His feet Paul told the lit
eral truth when he said: II have
fought with beasts at Ephesus"
But We pass out Of the Stadium. for
we are in haste for other places Of in
tereSt in EpheSuA In the midst OF this