Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1894-03-19


BRooKLYN, N. ", March 1s.-In the
Tabernacle to-day Rev. Dr. Talmage
preached a most eloquent and charac-
terisucally vigorous sermon in reiuta-
sion Of the oft-renewed assertion OF the
enemies Of religion that Christianity is
retrogradinE and the Bible losing it's
hold upon the hearts ard consciences Of
men. The subject OF the discourse as
announced was: 'From Conquest to
Conquest" the text being taken from
Amos o; IS, Behold, the days come,
saith the Lord, that the p,owman shall
OFertake the reaper
Picture Of a tropical cline With a
season so prosperous that the harvest
reaches clear over 90 the planting time,
and the sWarthy husbandman swinging
the sickle To- the thick grain almost
feels the breath 0f the horses on bis
shoulders, the horses hitched 90 the
plough preparing for a new crop. "Be-
hold the days come, saith the Lord,
that the ploughman shall overtaks the
reaper. When is thaJ2 That is now.
That Isl this day when hardly have you
done reaping one harvest before the
pioughman is getting ready for another.
T know that many declare that Christ
family has collapsed that the Bible is
an obsolete book THAI the Christian
church is on the retreat. 7 viii here
ana now show than the opposite OF that
IS true.
AN ARAB GUIDE WAS LEADING
q Frsch in6del across a desert. and ever
and anon the Arab guide would get
down in the sand and pray Co the Lord.
ID Disguised the French inddel, and
after awhile as the Arab got 90 from
one OF his prayers the indie. said.
"How do YOU know thsrs is any God
and the ARAB guide said. How do I
know that man and came. passed
along our tent last night? know 10 oy
the footprints iu the sand And YOU
want 90 know how know whether
there is any God Look at that sunset.
lis that the footstep OF a mans' Any
by the same process you and i have
come 20 understand that this Book is
the io0tsiep of God.
But now les us see whether the Bible
rs last years almanac. Let as see
whether the Church of God Isl boz a Bull
Run retreat musksts, cauteeus and
haversacks strewing an the way. The
great English historian, sharon Iur-
ner. man OF vast learning and OF great
accuracy, not clergyman. but an att
t0rney, as well as q historian, gives
this Overwhelming statistic In regard t0
Christianity and iu regard t0 the num-
Der OF Christians In the different cen-
turtles. To- the first century 500 600
Christians; in che second century, 2,oo0,-
COO Christians; iu the third century, So
coo. 600 Christians; in tne fourth cen-
fury, 10000 600 Christians: in tha nth
century, $4,000 600 Christians; ga the
sixth century, 2O.O0O.O00 Christians; in
the seventh century, "a 600. 600 Chris
c.es; in ene eighth century, 30. 600, 900
rIsHans; in the ninth century, 4J,-
D10 OOH christians; in the tenth CEN
fury, 5OS00OoO Christians; Ia the
eleventh centufy, 100000 Christians;
in the twelfth cantury, so, 000, 600 Chris
tians: in the thirlesnth century, 90, 000,-
600 Christians; in the fourteenth, So,
600, 600 Christians; in the fifteenth CEN
fury. 100, 600. 900 Christians; in the siX-
pr
fn the seventeenth century 1855, coo, 600
Christians; in the eighteenth century,
200, 600, 600 Christians decadence, as
you observe,
Us ONLY ONE CENTURY,
and more thar that made up 10 the
following centuries, while DO isl the
usual computation that there viii 0e,
when the record Of the nineteenth cen
tury IS made up, at least 30),0o0,0 600
Christians. Poor Christianity. VIA, q
pity TO has no friends. How lonesome
10 must be-. Who win take DO out of
the pO0r-hOuse2 Poor Christianity.
Three hundred millions in one century.
in afew weeks of the year ISL 100000
copies of the NewTestamsnt d.stri 0uted. .
Why, the earth is like an old castle
with twenty gates and a park Of artil-
Jerry ready 90 thunder down avery gate.
Lay aside an Christsudom and see now
heatheud0m Is being surrounded aud
h0neycombed and attacked by tais ALE
c0u1uering Gospel AJ the beginning
of this century there were only 100
missionaries; now there are -5,-
600 missionaries AID native help
ers and evangeiists. AT the
beginning OF this century there
,.ero only $4,000 heather con-
verts; now there are 1.750,000 converts /
from heatheudom. There Isl not sea-
coast cn the planet bu, the battery OF
the Gospel is planted and ready 90
march on, north, south, east, west.
Eou an know that the chief work OF an
army is 90 plant the batteries, To may
take many DAYS GO plant the batteries,
and they may DO an the.r work To- ten
minutes. These batteries are being
PLANTED an along the sea-cOGsts and in
an nations. 10 nav take a good while
90 plant them, aud they may do all their
work in one day. They wlL Nations
are Co be borne in a day. But just come
back Do ChristeDdOm and recognize the
fact that during the last ten years as
many people have connected themselves
with evangelical churches AS connected
themselves With che churches ln the
first fity years Of this century
SO CHRISTIANITY Is FAILING
back. and the Bible, they say, is becom-
lnv an obsolete book. go into a court,
and wherever I find o judges bench or
clerks desk, 4 tDd Bible Upon what
book could there be uttered the solsm-
uftv of an oath2 What book is app Co be
put in the trunk OF the young man as be .
leaves FOR city liie2 The Bible what
shall ind ia nine out of every ten
homes ln Br00klyn2 The Bible. To .
nine out of every ten homes To- O1-lSton- +
som2 The Bible. Nolt2iro wrote the .
DroDbecv that the Bible in the nine .
leeoth century would become extinct. .