CONCISE HISTORY OF THE APOSTOLIC CHURCH,

Part 5:

At the determined day Irving arrived early in the morning with the stage coach in his birthplace Annan. Notwithstanding the early hour the entire town was already about to sec its famous local fellow.

In the course of the forenoon innumerable people from the nearby surroundings came flocking to and a complete crowd came riding to it from the neighbouring towns and villages, and it look like whether the Diet would meet and the insignificant Annan would play the role of Worms where once Luther had to appear before the supreme power of the state.

The discussions would start at twelve o'clock and at that time the church was so crowded that many looked in vain for a place. The Presbytery consisting of six members appeared at the determined hour as well as Irving.

The members of that council were all country-parsons who according to Mrs,Oliphant,a lady who we owe an extensive biography of Irving,were half farmer and parson. She says:"Without any of the qualities needed for judgement of such problems,they came together from their fields and parsonage gardens out of their lonely marshland, as if it was sufficient to put a solemn face for a decision which had been worthy a Council of Nicea".

More than two thousand people filled the church where Irving delivered a fiery and high-principled protest speech against the brought in accusations. He ended with the following words: "Oh,would have the Christ not been sacred,Yes,sacred in the womb of His mother, sacred as a child,sacred in His growing age,sacred in His birth,sacred in His life and suffering,sacred in His resurrection and not more sacred in one or another.And he claims us to be sacred like He says: "Be sacred, because I am sacred"That is My teaching".

His defense was of no use.The verdict was pronounced on him:he was declared disposed of the dignity of the office of teacher of the Presbyterian churches. A peculiar incident was the cause that Irving himself has not even heard his sentence. It had become already evening and dark. A candle had already been placed on the table on which the Presbytery was seated. Before the sentence would be pronounced,the chairman of the college invited his colleagues,firstly to pray with each other. Suddenly there resounded a thundering voice which filled the entire space. One of the friends of Irving who accompanied him,brought forth a prophecy: "Get up.Go away!!,Flee,flee from their midst.You cannot pray. How can you pray to Christ who you have denied?,Away!.Away!.Flee from here! "

At the same time the prophesying person hurried to the exit and Irving after him with the words: "Make space,How do you not want to obey the voice of the Holy Spirit? Those who want to obey her,follow me to outside,"

A terrible confusion among the crowd arose which for a part went to the exit,for another part got up in order to look on or to call for silence.The chairman stood with the candle lifted upwards and looked at the uproar in the dark.

Irving never set a foot in a Presbyterian church,but he held a series of sermons in the open air,in the entire South-West of Scotland,where he proclaimed more fiery and more eloquent than ever before for thousands of listeners the sins and the judgement over the Church which had not expelled him but the Christ.

The next Sunday he wanted to baptise a child,but through prophecy he was told that he,by the deprivation from his office,had no right anymore to exercise any ecclesiastical service and that he had to wait until the Lord would grant him a more complete office.

During these incidents the work of God had made large progresses,for let us not forget that the Apostolic work is not bound to a person of Edward Irving. What he had experienced,experienced many others with him. As he,however,was such a famous person,the particulars remained preserved more.He had been expelled from the synagogue,but not he alone, many shared with him the same destiny. And everybody for the same cause. The situation of the various groups which met under the expelled teachers was not without danger. When we read in the first letter to the parish in Corinth--chapters 12-14, how much education the parish needed in the spiritual gifts so that the spiritual flow would not destroy everything as a wild mountain stream,when we then bear in mind that this parish stood under the guidance of servants who were called by God Himself,how difficult has the situation been then for these children of God who were placed after 183O for complete unknown matters,without guidance of authorised ministers. Add to this the case of Baxter who had brought forth many prophecies and who enjoyed such a good reputation. He had published a writing in which he made universally known that the entire spiritual work was only caused by evil spirits. By this there arose understandably a lot of doubt,also with those who had acknowledged and happily welcomed the work as originating from God.

Have Baxter's words then been a lie when he prophesied?. No,However, he made the mistake,driven by pride,to explain his own words which he had spoken through the Spirit. He sinned here against the word of the Apostle Peter: "No prophecy came about by the prophets own interpretation". And when his predictions came out otherwise, than he himself had expected,he declared everything a lie.There had also been persons who prophesied from pride.

Others were instruments of evil spirits who brought confusion because they imitated the true gifts. At the same time somebody came from America who pretended that he also had the gift of prophecy,and that the Lord had also poured out the spring rain at that place.Everybody was pleased about that so that the man was taken up friendly.

Later it was found out that he had been a mean imposter.Not always one was down to earth by which all kinds of faults arose.It was a real hard time and the faith of Irving and his companions should be admired that they in spite of all these disappointments,always were tenacious of the word of the Lord Jesus:"The Father in heaven does not give stones for bread,and if we pray Him for the Holy Spirit,He will give us this".

And happily that the Lord Himself often proved by exact realisation of prophecies that these had really been produced by the Holy Spirit.And in particular also because many oracles of God threw such a clear light on up till now never understood bible places.However,it will be clear to us that this unguided situation could not continue.

But why permitted the Lord so much struggle and trouble?

The answer is simple.The poverty of the Churches had learnt these believers that the gifts of the Spirit were necessary. However,not enough had still been learnt.The Church of the beginning had possessed still more than the gifts of the Spirit. She had had servants who had been called by God Himself. Nobody had thought about that yet. One had been more than satisfied that the current could make the garden of God fertile. However,that the garden also needed a fencing in,that was not thought of,However,by the experiences which were obtained,it was understood what the Spirit really meant with the so often heard cries that there ought to be a body of the Lord, even that there should be again apostles. Such a thing could simply not be imagined, like nowadays still so many Christians are very astonished when we speak about a Church which has obtained the office of Apostle from God.

And a body? It was neither understood that the Lord wanted to carry back the disrupted Christianity to the universal Church of Christ up to the original ordainments.

In the course of the year of 1838 the Testimony was handed to the mentioned ones or to their representatives. The Apostles Drummond and Perceval handed it to a cardinal of Pope Gregory XVI; Drummond and Woodhouse delivered it to the Emperor of Austria; the King of France was unable to receive in audience;the Apostles Drummond and Dallon in consequence of a courtmourning. It is being claimed that the King of Prussia, Friedrich Wilhelm IV has studied precisely the document and that many definitions of his ecclesiastical legislation have been adopted from it.

What has been the result of the Testimony?.

That is hard to say. In the press,especially also in books of church historical nature,it was and still is always discussed or at least mentioned,but the bigwigs of the earth have made fun of the fanatics who said to be Apostles of the Lord.

However,the consequences of this rejection have not been failed to come.The judgements predicted in the Testimony have already come 10 years after the presentation of the testimony and it is yet remarkable for the children of God that the three authorities to whom this document was firstly handed,had all to escape from their residences Rome,Vienna and Paris,in the terrific revolution of 1848 which raged in nearly entire Europe.It happened to them what later has happened to most of the monarchs or will still happen in the near future.

The Pope,the Emperor of Austria,and the King of France stand there before us as three seamarks in the turbulent sea of nations.

The prophecy had determined the initiation activity of Apostles since their segregation on July 14, 1835 at 1260 days and thus they gathered again in Albury on Christmas 1838.

Before we want to inform further the development of the work of God,we will firstly still take a glance at the man after whom this matter has often been named unjustly: Edward Irving. We mentioned lastly that he was called as Angel of the Cathedral in London where he has served until his death.

That happened rather soon, Enemies telt that Irving at the end of his life did not have much confidence in the Apostolic work. They even tried to stir up pity by communicating that he was old before the time by inner struggle and by struggle with the Apostles with whom he often had disagreement.

This struggle would even have been the immediate cause of his death. And thus people are still slandering up to now.It was true that he was o1d before his time and that he,who once was physically such a strong man,died in the still youngish age of 42 years. When we take into consideration,how he has lived and worked,it is humanly spoken not surprising that he has already passed away early. Astonishing much he has worked,day and night. His whole life he has fought against enemies of all kind of nature. He neglected his health order to be able to work in the vineyard of the Lord.The faith,however, speaks different. Where no sparrow will fall to the ground apart from the will of the heavenly Father,would then a worker as Irving pass away without that will?

God thought it necessary to take this loyal servant to Him,and Irving has understood why the Lord took him up. He often had seen with dislike how people always connected his name to the work of God and we also understand that God would not allow that people would consider the testimony established by Himself as work of human beings.

Irving has served that work of God with all the rich talents which God had granted him, But it is also true that sometimes there has been difference of opinion between him and the Apostles.

Is that unusual?

Irving was a human being, with other words a sinner, imperfect. Maybe he has felt once in a while in the deepest of his heart a little sorrow or jealousy, that he, who was so honoured and famous, was not called to the office of Apostle. I do not say that this has been the case, but when it would have been the case, to which some utterances on his death-bed give motive, so what?

Do we not even hear the Apostles quarrel in the last night of life in servitude of our Saviour about the question who would be the greatest, Luke 22:24, so that the Lord give His sublime image of eagerness to oblige in the footwashing. John 13:3-17.

Irving said on his death-bed to Apostle Woodhouse who had travelled from London to Glasgow in order to comfort him and offer ministration (certainly an evidence that the relationship was not so bad, otherwise the Apostle had otherwise not made such a great journey.), that he with his ideas in some matters and by jealousy at the Apostles, had sometimes held up the work of God. Still we have not to take this confession too heavily, because Irving who was very longsuffering and sparing when it concerned others, was very strict to himself.

He blamed himself for the smallest imperfections as heavy sins.People claim that he would not have had confidence anymore in the work he had served. Let us read then the following which is derived from a letter which he wrote a few days before his death in Glasgow to his parish in London:

"I clearly see that the Lord wishes to separate my name completely from that work which He works for the blessing of the entire earth. Oh, what a distress has it been to me that my name was so narrow connected with the work of God. Often have I been shamed and sad about it in 1y prayer that somewhere would be named another name than that of the Lord Jesus so that I almost came to pray the Lord, to rather take me away than that I in some or another way would darken the Name His never beyond praise Son. And it is indeed my great consolation in my removal from joy, my children, and my scattered living brethren that it will be recognised by this, even by the enemies of the work of God, how little I had to do with it, other than to deform and to oppose it. Further I confess that the Lord Who had made me strong and big to the flesh, in order to serve Him, will now also fulfill the word to me: "All men are like grass and all their glory is like the flowers of the field".

With sorrow and tears the Council and the Parish in the Newmanstreet heard reading this letter. Prophecies which came after the reading, took away all hope for recovery; the Lord would prove by taking away His servant that it was not his work, but work of God.

We still want to inform something of which this man, already being ill, has still realised at the end of his life. His doctor had prescribed him a residence in a mild climate in a southern part of Europe for which expensive journey his friends already raised a large sum of money, tut he wanted to go to his birthplace Annan. What drove him?. The enemies say that a prophecy had ordered him to go to the North. Apostle Cardale, however, denies this in a publication in Ker's Observations and writes, that many friends have advised Irving against still travelling in the late autumn to cold Scotland. But he did not want to listen. However, there has been brought a prophecy that he still would work with blessing on his journey.

And this word, by which probably the afore-mentioned slander has been raised, has been fulfilled, although his activity would also cause the death. In chilly, misty weather he still often has spoken in the open air for a large multitude of people on his journey to the North. He has visited from London to Liverpool all the parishes which had already been founded and edified the children of God in the most holy faith. He has even still contributed to the foundation of other parishes. Somebody who ill and weak did such a labour, would have lost the confidence in his work?.......

When he arrived on horseback in Liverpool after six weeks, he felt himself so weak that he wrote his wife to come to him. Together they travelled now slowly to Glasgow. Gladly he had still visited Edinburgh and Annan but his state of health did not allow this anymore. He stayed in Glasgow where he was taken up very hospitably in a family which was unknown to him till now and where he was nursed with great love. Firsly he still visited the there founded Apostolic parish, but he was unable to do service. Soon he was unable to go out anymore. Weakness forced him to stay in bed, on which he has suffered very much. A hot fever swallowed up his last strengths. When he did not suffer too heavy pain, he mostly was plunged in prayer. Once people heard speaking him some Hebrew words. It was from the 23th Psalm, his most favourite psalm: "The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not be in want". Later he stoke the words from Psalm 16, the last verse: "You have made known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasure at your right hand". The last which was heard from his mouth was: .-"Oh, the depth of the peace and the riches of the wisdom of Jesus Christ". Gently and calm he passed away in the night of December 6 to 7, 1834 in the age of 42 years. He left behind a wife with three young children.

Irving was buried,at urgent request of the council of the St. Munges cathedral,in the crypt---(subterranean the high altar)---of this church. His bier was followed by very large multitude whereby a procession of clergymen of the church which had once expelled him!!.

There have even been raised voices among this clergy in Scotland to revise the sentence against Irving, because it was felt that his expel is a guilt which rests on the Presbyterian Church of Scotland and which can only be taken away by rehabilitating the expelled person.

The fourth of August 1892 the hundredth anniversary of his birth, a statue of Irving has been unveiled in his birthplace Annan on the square of the townhall. His statue on a high pedestal rises with inscription "Irving 1792-1834" which was established by clergymen and members of the Scottish State church for which two professors in the theology, Charteris and H. Story had taken the initiative.

When we read such a thing, we involuntarily think of the word of the Lord Jesus about the building of thombs for the prophets. Matthew 23:29-32.

In the entire religious world of Great Britain the passing away of the famous preacher made a deep impression. We only want to quote from the many publications which appeared after his death in all kind of newspapers and magazines the following, descended from opponents of the Apostolic Church.

The famous theologian, Dr. Chalmers, whose name also nowadays is mentioned on sociological domain, and whose assistant minister Irving had been in the St. Johnschurch in Glasgow, sketches him as one of the nobles from nature, while his talents were so excellent that these ought to be admired and his character was so generous and open that he ought to be loved.

In another publication he described him once more as an evangelical Christian who was inoculated on an old-katholic trunk,the stringent and sublime virtues of the first one connecting with the loving and unselfish of the last one. "The basis and the outstanding feature of his character". Chalmers says: "are virtue alone and let alone all his mistakes and fanaticisms which harmed his character in the respect of the world and throw a suspected light on a lot of what in his writings is good, it cannot be judged otherwise than that he has been a man of sincere and deep devotion".