The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1900-07-11
The Bible is made .ap of the Old Testa.

l. :.
It is because it can be traced bac'. to the
divine heart just as easily as that aisle can
be traced to that door and that aisle tc
that door,
Jerome and Eusebius in the first century
and Origen in the second century. and
I other writer's in the third and fourth cen.
tr:ies gave, list of the New Testament
writer's just exactly corresponding with
our list, showing that the same New Tes.
lament which we have they haa in the
fourth century. and the third century and
But where did they get the New Iesta'
ment? They got it from henaeus. Where
did Irenaeus get it? He got it from Poly
carp. Where did Polycarp get it? He got
| it from St. John, who was the personal as.
sociate of the Lord Jesus Christ. My
grandfather gave book to my father, my
gave it to me, I give it to my ch!lu.o ls
On communion day ! will start the cha.
lice at that end of the aisle, and the cha.
lice will pass along to the other end of the
aisle. Will it be difficult to trace the line
Of that holy chalice? No difficulty at all.
This one will say, 81 gave it to that one" -
and this one will say, II gave it to that
one" But it will not be SO long line ae
this to trace the New Testament. 1t is
easier to, get It the, fact. But you say:
that way, who knows but they were lying
imposters? How can you take their testi:
mony~ They died for the truth of that
book. Men never die for lie cheerfully
and triulnphantly. They were not lying
impostors. They died in triumph for the
truth. Of that New Testament.
well, says some one, now l am ready
to believe that the New Testament is
from the heart of Christ, but how about
that" l believe the Old Testament be.
cause the prophecies foretold events hun.
dreds and thousands of years ahead
events which afterward took place. How
far can you see ahead? Two thousand
years? Can you see ahead hundred years?
Can you see ahead five minutes? No, no.
Human prophecy amounts to nothing.
Here these old prophets stood thousands
of years back, and they foretold events
which came accurately true far on in the
tItl future centuries: M Suppose l should stand
and sixty years from now, three miles and
a half from the city of Moscow there will
be an advent, and it will be in certain
family, and it will be amid certain sur
roundings." 1t would make no impression
upon you, because you know cannot fore
see a thousand years or one year or one
minute, and l cannot tell what is going to
transpire in a land far away. But that is
what these old prophets did.
You must remember that Tyre and
Babylon and Nineveh were in full pomp
old prophecies, said they would be de-
stroyed. Those cities had architecture that
makes the houses of modern cities per-
fectly insignificant. Yet these old pro-
phets walked right through those magnif-
cent streets and said, "This has all got to
come down; this is all going to be leveJed."
Suppose a man should stand up in these
cities to-day and say, There will BE- har-
vests Of wheat and corn where these cities
now stand, and these streets will be pas
ture for cattle" Such a man would be
prophets did that very thing.
Where is Babylon to-day? You 90 and
walk over the ruins of Babylon and you
will not find leaf or a grass blade of
those splendid hanging gardens, and in
the summer time the ground actually bis
tiers the feet of the travelerA Babylon de-
stroycd according to the prophecy:
Where is Tyre! In the day of its pomp
the prophet said, "lhe fishermen will dry
their nets, where this city stands" If
you should go to that place to-day You
are drying their nets on the rocks where
the city of Tyre once stood. Tartar and
Turk and Saracen drying their nets on the =.
rocks.
Well" says some one, "now I am ready
to take the New Testament as from the
heart of Christ, and am ready to believe
the prophecies. The evidence is beyond
all dispute. But you must remember"
says my friend, that the prophecies are
don't expect us to believe all the old book"
If you found one of your good, honest let
tiers in an envelope with ten or twenty
cruel, lying, filthy letters, how long would
you allow that honest ietter to stay there?
In half minute you would either snatch
it out OF the envelope or you would destroy
the whole envelope
Besides that, you must remember that
this book has been under fire fer cent?.
ries, and after all the bombardment of the
skeptics of all the centuries they have not
as the small end of sharp needle. Oh,
how the old book sticks together!
Unsanctitied geologists try to pull away
the book of Genesis. They say they do not
believe it. 1t cannot be there was light
before the sun shone, it cannot be all this
story about Adam and Exc, and they pull
at the book of Genesis, and they have been
pulling q great while, yet where is the
book of Genesis? Standing just where it
u
earth who has ever led it from his Bi-
BILE.
And so the in6dels have been trying to
pull away the miracles, pulling away at the
blasted tg tree, at the turning of the
water into wine, at the raising of Lazarus
from the dead. Can you show me Bible
from which one of these miracles has been
eraseI?
How marvelously the old book sticks to-
gether! All the striking at THESE chapters
only driving them in deeper until they are
clinched on the other side with the ham,
mers of eternity.
And the book is going to keep right on
until the fires of the last d.y are kindled.
Some of them will begin on one side and
some on the other side of the old book.
They will not find bundle of loose manu-
scripts easily consumed by the fire.
When the fires of last day are kin
died, some will urn on this. side, from
Genesis toward Revelation, and others will
burn on this side, from Revelation toward
Genesis, and in all their way they will not
of place. lEar will be the first time1we
can afford to do without the Bible.
What will be the use of tn, book Of Cen
csis, descriptive of how the world was
made, when tie world is destroyed? What
will be the use OF the prophecies when they
are all fulfilled: What will be the use Of
the evangelistic or Paun-e description of
Jesus Christ when we Him face to face?
But do not think we will give up the
Bible even at that time. / think we will
want the Bible in heaven. l really think
the fires OF the last day will not consume
the last copy, for when you and get our
dead children out Of the dust we want TO
show them just the passages, just the
promises, which comforted us here in the
dark day of interment, and we will want
To tall, oyer with Christiaus who haYe had |