The diamond drill. (Crystal Falls, Iron County, Mich.) 1887-1996, 1891-11-21
TABERNACLE PULPIT.
TALMAoE's VISIT TO SMYRNA
AND EPHEsUs
suow Prophecies Of the Male Have
neen Falnlled-The seven CArs~-
sian Churches OF Diana--An ln-
ssrucsivc sermon.

We have landed this morning al
smyrna, city OF Asiatic Turkey. Ono
of the seven churches OF Asia once
stood here. You read In Revelation,
ITO the church in smyrna write" IL
Is "A city that has often been shaken by
earthquake. swept by conAFg-atlon
blasted by plaques and bntchcred by
war, and here Bishop Polycarp stood
in crowded amphitheater ana when
he was asked To give up the advocacy
of the Christian religion and save him
self from martyrdoin, the pro-consul
saying: Swear and release thee; re-
proach Christ" replied: Eighty and
six years have served Hisa and He
never did me wrong; how tneE can
! reyile my King and Savior
When he was brought 10 TIE fires into
which he was about To be thrust, ana
the officials were about TO fasten him
10 the stake, he said: LET me romain
as am for he who giveth me strength
10 sustain the fire will enable me also
without your securing me with nails
TO remain unmoved in the fire" His
tory says the fires refused TO consume
him, and under the winds The fames
bent outward so that they did not
touch his person, and. therefore, he
was slain by swords and spears. One
cypress bending over his grave Is the
only monument to Bishop Polycsrp.
But we are on the way to the city OF
Ephesus, about fifty miles from
smyrna. We hire special railway
train, and in about an hour and half
we arrive mt the city of Erhesus,
which was called The Great Metrop-
| oils OF Asia" and Zone of the Eyes of
! - n
| the capital of all learning and mag
nificence. Here, as | said, was one of
the seven churches. and first of all we
visit the ruins of that church. where
once an Kcumenical council OF two
thousand ministers OF religion was
held.
! Mark the fulfillment OF the prophecy
| OF the seven churches of Asia, four
were commended in the book of Rev
elation, and three were doomed. The
i cities having the four commended
churches still stand; the cities having
the three doomed churches are wiped
\ out IL occurred just as the bible said
! IL would occur Drive on and you
come 10 the theater, which was $50
! feet from wall To wall, caIable Of
holding SO, 700 spectators. Here and
there the walls arise almost un broken.
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 and
clapped at some great Spectacular.
! Their huzzas must have been enough
to stun the heavens As took my
! place at the center of this theater and
looked around at its broken layers OF
stone, gallery upon gallery, and piled
/ ia al. Al l. 81
/ day, and thought that every hand
that swung trowel on those walls
and every foot that trod those stairs,
and every eye that gazed on that
amphitheater, and every eye that
greeted the combatants in that arena
had gone out of hearing and sight for
ages on ages, / 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 condemnation, becaase 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 lie be torn in pieces by
the mob, and the recorder OF the city
had TO read the riot act among the peo-
pie who had shrielSed for two mortal
hours till their throats 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 10 show what stupendous
place il must have been when used for
foot races and tor fights with wild
beasts. 1t was building GO feet long
by 9rO feet wide Paul refers To what
transpired there in the way of specta.
Gle when he says. I'VE have
been made spectacle " YES"
Paul says, 81 have fought
with beasts at Ephesus." an EXPRESSION
usually taken as figurative, but ] sup
pose IL was literally true, for one of
the amusements In that Stadium
was 20 put disliked man in
the arena with hungry lion or tiger
or pan her, and let the fight go on un.
III either the man or the beast or both
were slain. IL must have been great
fun for these haters OF Christianity to
hear that on the morrow in the Stad-
ium I'm Ephesus the missionary Ia i
would, in the presence OF the crowded
galleries, fight hungry lion. The
people were early there Ia get the best
seats, and n more alert and enthusi-
ostic crowd never assembled. They
took their dinners with them. And
was there ever more unequal combat
proposed? Paul according :,
tradition, small. crooked backed
and wealx-eyed. but the grandest man
i'm sixty cantur es, is led To the center,
ms the people shout There he comes,
the preacher who has nearly ruined
our religion. The lion will make but a
brief mouthfrl OF him IL is plain
that all the sympathIes OF that crowd
are with the lion. In one of the under
ground rooms I hear the growl of the
wild beasts They have been kept for
several days without food or water in
order hat they may be especially
ravcnous and bloodthirsty What
chance Is there for Paul? But
you can not tell by man size or
looks how tout blow he can strike or
how keen n blade he can thrust Wit.
ness, heaven and earth and hell, this
struggle OF Paul with wild beast.
The coolest man I'm the Stadium is
Paul. What has lac Co fear? lie has
deged all the powers, earthly and in
fernal and IL his body tumble under
the foot and tooth Of the wild beast,
his soul will only the sooner find dis
enthrllment Tut IL 10 his duty, a.
far as possible, TO preserve his life.
Now, | near the bolt of the wild
beasts door shove back, ano the whole