The Banner-Democrat. [volume] (Lake Providence, East Carroll Parish, La.) 1892-current, 1894-05-12
THE CHURCH OF CHRIST.
Rev. DR.. Talmage Denies That It is
Losing Power,
And Produces Figures to Demonstrates Its
Ever-IncreasIng Hold Upon the Peo-
Pies of the World - "a From
Conquest to Conquest"

The following sermon on the subject:
From Conquest to. Conquest" was de-
hvered by Rev. T. Dewitt Talmage in
the Brooklyn tabernacle, being based
on the text:
Behold the days come. saith the Lord that
the piowman shall overtake the reaper
Amos. tx, Ia
Picture of a tropical cline with a
season SO prosperous that the harvest
reaches clear over TO the planting time.
and the swarthy husbandman swing
ing the sickle in the thick grain al
most feels the breath of the horses on
his shoulders, the horses hitched to the
plow preparing for new crop. BE
hold the days come" saith the Lord,
that the plowman shall overtake the
reapcr!" When is that? That is now.
That is the day when hardly have you
done reaping one harvest before the
plowman is getting ready tor another.
l known that many declare that
Christianity has collapsed, that the
Bible is an obsolete book. that the
Christian church is on the retreat l
will here and now show that the oppo-
site of that is true.
An Arab guide was leading French
infidel across the desert, and ever and
anon the Arab guide would get down
in the sand and pray to the Lord. 1t
discussed the French infidel, and after
awhile as the Arab got up from one of
his prayers the iufide1 said: "How do
you know there is any God?" and the
Arab guide said: "How do | know
that man and a camel passed along
our tent last night? / know it by the
footprints in the sand. And you want
to know how know whether there is
any God? Look at the sunset Is that
the footstep of of man?" And by the
same process you and have come to
understand that this book is the foot
step of God.
But now let us see whether the Bible
is last years almanac. Let us see
whether the Church of God is in Bull
Run retreat, muskets, canteens and
haversacks strewing all the way. The
great English historian, Sharon Tur-
ner, man of vast learning and OF
great accuracy, not a clergyman, but
an attorney, as well as historian,
gives this overwhelming statistic in
regard to Christianity and in regard to
the number of Christians in the differ
emit centuries. In the first century,
five hundred Thousand Christians; in
the second century, two million Chris
tians; in the third century, five mil
lion Christians; in the fourth century,
ten million Christians; in the fifth GEN.
fr1,-xy mil CT in, ho
sixth century, twenty million Chris
tians; in the seventh century, twenty
four million Christians; in the eighth
century, thirty million Christians; in
the ninth century, forty million Chris
tians; in the tenth century, fifty mill
lion Christians; in the eleventh CEN
fury, seventy million Christians; in
the twelfth century, eighty million
Christians: in the thirteenth century,
seventy-fve million Christians; in the
fourteenth century, eighty million
Christians; in the fifteenth century, one
hundred million Christians; in the six
teenth century, one hundred and TWEEN
ty-five million Christians; in the sew
enteenth century, one hundred and fif-
ty-five million Christians; in the eight
eenth century, two hundred million
Christians-a decadence, as you OBJ
serve in only one century, and more
than made up in the following CEN
turtles. while it is the usual computa-
ton that there will be, when the rec
ord of the nineteenth century is made
up, at least three hundred million
Christians Poor Christianity what a
pity it has no friends. How lonesome
it must be. Who will take it ont of the
poor house? Poor Christianity One
hundred millions in one century. In
few weeks of the year 1881 two
million FIVE hundred thousand copies
of the New Testament distribute
ed. Why, the earth is like an
old castle with twenty gates
and park of artillery ready to thun-
der down every gate. Lay aside all
Christendom and see how heathendom
is being surrounded and honeycombed
and attacked by this all-conquering
Gospel At the beginning of this GEN.
fury there were only one hundred and
fifty missionaries; now there are TWEEN.
ty-fve thousand missionaries and ma
tive helpers and evangelists At the
beginning of this century there were
only fifty thousand heathern converts
now there are one million seven hun.
dred and fifty thousand converts from
heathendorn. There is not sea coast
on the planet but the battery OF the
Gospel is planted and ready to march
on. north, south, east, west. You all
know that the chief work of an army
is to plant the batteries. 1t may take
many days to plant the batteries, ano
they may do all their work in ten min
utes. These batteries are being planted
all along the sea coasts and in all ma
tions. 1t may take a good while K
plant them, and they may do all theil
work in one day. They will. Nations
are to be born in day. But just come
back to Christcndom and recognize ths
fact that during the last ten years al
many people have connected them
selves with evangelical churches a
connected themselves with the churche
in the first fifty years Of tEis century
So Christianity is falling back, and
the Bible, they say, is becoming an oo
solete book. i go into q court, ant
wherever / fnd a judges bench or
clerks desk. find Bible. Upol
what book could there be uttered tn