Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1897-09-23

I
of the lowly Nazarine is the spade TO
dig the grave both wide and deep, of
all false churches and would-be
Christians. The Good Book teaches
that the inhabitants of the earth
would break the everlasting covenant;
that there was to be a spiritual fam
inc in all the fair land, and the strong
and the mighty would hunger in vain
for the bread OF heaven and faint for
the water of life; that truth and
righteousness would become over
whelmed with the crafts and creeds.
yea the doctrines and the command
ments of men. The Red Hand of
persecution beheaded John the Bap-
fist, cruciied the Savior, stoned
Stephen, dispatched James with the
sword, slaughtered Paul, sacrificed
Peter, and wasted the church. Then
virulent sanguinary prosecutions with
all the Internal devices and infamed
atrocity of Imperial Rome swept pro-
digious numbers off of the face of the
earth. The following emperors gave
forth their royal sanction to this dia-
bolical work viz: l. Nero, A. D. 64-6S.
2, Domitian. S1-96. 3, Traian, 9S-113.
4, Marcus Aurelius Antonies, 161-1SO.
5, Septimus Severus, 1921. 6,
Maximinus, 236-23S. I, Decius, 249-
PSI. s, Valerian, 254-260. 9. Aurelian,
27O-275. 10, Diocletian 3O3, only for
brief while. In the first quarter of
the fourth century Constantine the
Great embraced pseudo Christianity,
enriched the clergy, popularized the
profession, and convened the ecume-
nical council at Neice, to settle the
faith of the church, and formulate
creed. Hundreds of bishops were in
conclave eighteen months, at which
time the views of Arius a presbyter
from Northern Africa, were condemn
ed as heresy, and his charge declared
vacant, and himself and his colabor-
ing ministers were stripped of sacer-
dotal prestige and banished. One
Athenasius, rival priest, not only
conducted the proceedings but ma
nipulated the whole affair and formu-
lated the dogma of belief. This stand
ard of faith and morals is called after
its originator; also by the name of
the city that gave it birth; and by
many 1.-The Apostles Creed'' Julian,
called the Apostle, tried to revive
polytheism, the oracles and trappings
of paganism, and enfamed the Jews
to make fruitless attempt to rebuild
JeruS lem, but his brief career came
abruptly to an end when he fell in
death in foreign war against the
Persians. The frey sons of the desert
were too much for even his Roman
valor. To chronicle in detail a 1.-THE
of the torture from pillage and plumb
er, from fire and the sword, from glib
bet and rack, from cold and hunger,
and from the damp dungeon and the
arena of martyrdom would swell
this paper into volume. Oriental
barbarities; Mohammedan brutality;
the Spanish inquisition; the fall of
Biziers; St. Bartholomew massacre:
the fires of Smlthfield; the flames of
New Salem; the atrocities of Armenia;
the tragedy of Carthage; the Cuban
war; and proud vain greedy world
with an immense standing army all
indicate that the battles OF peace and
the victory of love are yet future. We
turn with glad relief from this long
night of darkness to the millennial
dawn of the rising day. The dark
night of dying world harbingers
forth the advent of a most bright and
glorious day So let the wild bells of
the poet ring out the old and ring in
the new
John the Reyelator declared that
the gospel would be recommitted to
earth by the hands of celestial mes
senger. Jesus said, as a sign and a
witness. it was to be promulgated in
all the world and the final winding up
scene transpired. The claim of
succession IN organism. ordinances,
doctrine, and experience will loaf to
death the advocates of that trust.
The cries of Huss and jerome of
Pragin, while at the stake were the
procurers Of better days and the
piercing rays that were to harbinger
the reformation The reformers OF
the 10th century did we'll A goodly
degree Of political freedom and rel,o-