The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1891-11-16
TALMAGE AT EPHESUS.
his TExT: "GaEAT IS DIANA OF
TIE HPaESIANS.s

461 aACAANO.
The Melo-drsmatic Story Of the Death
of Bishop Polycsrp at Smyrna-The
Bloody Practices of ths Bandits Along
the Road TO Ephesus-Ihs huins Of
the City.
BROOKLYN, N. Y, Nov. 15.-Dr Talmage
continued this morning his series OF ser.
mons entitled. From the Pyramids to the
Acropolis.n This sermon, which is the hfth
Of the series, is concerned with the doctors
visit IN Ephesus, OF which city, with its
wonderful temple and other buildings. he
gives vivid description, with character
istic exegetical comments on obscure
passage of scripture. His text was Acts
XIX, "a, ''Great is Diana OF the Ephesiaus."
We have landed this morning at Smyrna,
a city OF Asiatic Turkey. One Of the seven
churches OF Asia once stood here. You read
In Revelation ITO the church in smyrna
write" lt is a city that has often been
shaken by earthquake, swept by confagra-
tion, 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 save himself from martyr-
dom, the pro-consul saying: Swear and I
release thee; reproach Christi replied;
Eighty and six years have | served him.
and he never did me wrong; how then
can l revile my king and SaviourF'
When he was brought to the fires into
which he was about to be thrust, and the
officials were about TO fasten him to the
stake, he said: Let me remain as / an.
for he who giveth me strength to sustain
the fire will enable me also without your
securing me with nails to remain unmoved
twak kkA Aman IIfaNa ~
20 consume him, aud under the winds the
flames bent outward 80 that they did not
touch his person, and, therefore he was
slain by swords and spears. One
cypress bending over his grave il
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 Ephesns; the
bandits In that region have had an ugly
practice Of cutting off the ears of travel.
ers. and sending these specimens of ears
down TO Smyrna, demanding ransom.
The bandits suggest to the friends OF the
persons from whom the ears have been subs
tracted 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. One traveller
was carried of to the robbers'
den. and 1880 was paid for his rescue.
The bandits were caught and beheaded, and
pictures of these ghastly heads are on sale
in the shops OF Smyrna for any persons 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 10
was suggested that we had better omit
Ephesus. But that would have been
n xvh
never recover. We must see Ephesus--
associated with the most wonderful apos-
tolio scenes. We hire a special railway
train, and in about an hour and half we
arrive at the city of Ephesus, which was
called "The Great Metropolis Of Asia,n and
Zone of the eyes of AsIa,n and "The
Empress of Ionia," the capital of all learn
ing and magnihoence. Here, as l said, was
one OF the seven churches Of Asia, and firsU
OF all we visit the ruins of that church
where once an ecumenical council Of two
thousand ministers Of religion was held.
Mark the fulhllment of the prophecyl
or the seven churches of Asia, four were
commended 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 occIrred Just as the Bible
said ir would occur. Drive on and you
come to the theater. which was $50 feet
from wall to wall, capable of holding Sc, 700
spectators. Here and there the walls
rise almost unbroken, but for the
most part the building is down.
Just enough of it is Left to help the
Imagination build IL up as 1t was
when those audiences shouted and clapped
az some great spectacular. Their huzzas
must have been enough to stun the heavens.
AS took my place at the center of this
theater and look 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 a trowel on those
walls, and every foot that trod those stairs,
and every eye that gazed on that amphi-
theater, and every voice that greeted
had gone out of hearing and sight
for ages on ages. felt a thrill
OF interest that almost prostrated me amid
the ruins. Standing there We could not
forget that Ia that building once asse M
bled q riotous throng for Paurs condemna-
tion, becanse what he preached collided
with the idolatry OF their national goddess.
Paul tried TO get into that theater and ad.
dress 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 oct among the people who had
shrieked for two mortal hours till their
throats were sore and they were black in
LILO ldC6s Ofehb IS Oia1A OF the EDleSiQQs.N
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 It was a building $50 feet
long by 200 feet wide. Paul refers to what
transpired there in the way OF spectacle
when he says: "We have been made a
spectacle Yes. Paul says: 81 have fought
with beasts at Ephesus," an expression
usually taken as figurative, but suppose i5
was literally true. for one Of the amuse-
Tnents in that stadium was to put a dis
liked man in the arena with hungry lion
or tiger or panther, and let the fight 60 on
until either the man or the beast or both
were slain. 1t must have been great fun for
these haters Of Christianity to hear that
on the morrow in the stadium In Ephesus
| the missionary Paul would, in the press
ence of the crowded galleries, fight a
| hungry lion. The people were early there
| to get the best seats, and a more alert and
| enthusiastic crowd never assembled. They
| took their dinners with them. And was
| there ever O more unequal combat pro-
posedl Paul, according to tradition, small,
| crooked-backed and weak-eyed, but the
| grandest man in sixty centuries, is led to
Ehe center, as the people shout: There he
comes the preacher who has nearly ruined
our religion. The lion will make but
brief mouthful of him." 1t is plain that ali
the sympathies of that crowd are
with the lion. In one of the underground
rooms hear the Qrowl of the wild beasts.