serpent. St. Philip, however, was the means of converting many of them to Christianity, and even procured the death of the serpent. This so enraged the magistrates, that they committed him to prison, and had him severely scourged, and afterwards hanged him up against a pillar till he died. A. D. 52. St. Matthew. This Evangelist, Apostle and Martyr, after our Saviour's ascension, travelled into Ethiopia, and Parthia, where he preached the Gospel with great success. He suffered martyrdom in the city of Nadabar, being slain by a halbard, about A. D. 60. St. Mark. After writing his gospel he went to Egypt and founded a church. When Mark was preaching in his church at Alexandria,some of the idolatrous inhabitants broke in upon him, and dragged him by his feet through the streets, till his flesh was torn off his bones, and he expired under their hands; they afterwards burned his body. St. James the Less suffered martyrdom at Jerusalem, in the 94th year of his age. He was thrown headlong from the temple, stoned, and his brains dashed out by a fuller's club. St. Mathias, the apostle, who was appointed to supply the vacant place of Judas Iscariot, suffered martyrdom at Jerusalem, being first stoned, and then beheaded. St. Andrew, the brother of St. Peter, preached the gospel to many Asiatic nations. On arriving at Edessa, the governor of the country ordered him to be crucified on a cross, two ends of which were transversely fixed in the ground; he lived two days after he was tied to the cross, preaching the most of the time to the people. St. Peter was crucified at Rome, by order of the tyrant Nero; he was led up to the top of a mount, and was crucified with his head downwards, (according to his request,) thinking it too high an honour to die in the same posture his Lord and Master suffered. Peter and Paul suffered martyrdom on the same day. St. Paul being a Roman citizen, was beheaded. St. Jude went to Edessa, where many were converted to Cristianity by his preaching, which stirring up the resentment of the people in power, he was crucified A. D. 72. St. Bartholomew translated St. Matthew's Gospel into the Indian tongue and propagated it in that country; but at length the idolaters grow ing impatient with his doctrines, severely beat, crucified, and slayed him,, and then cut off his head. St. Thomas preached the gospel in Parthia and India, where, displeasing the pagan priests, he was martyred, by being thrust through with a spear. St. Luke. This apostle and Evangelist had the advantage of a liberal education, and was by profession a physician. He travelled with St. Paul to Rome, and preached to many barbarous nations till the priests of Greece hanged him on an olive tree. St. Simon was distinguished for his zeal by the name of Zelotes. He preached with great success in Africa, and it is asserted that he came into the island of Great Britain. He was cru cified A. D. 74. St. John is said to be the only apostle who escaped a violent death, and lived the longest of any of them, being nearly 100 years of age at the time of his death. 3. SIGNS AND APPEARANCES PRECEDING THE DESTRUCTION OF JERUSALEM. After our Lord had foretold the ruin and desolation coming upon the Jewish people, their city and temple, his disciples came to him privately, saying, tell us when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, &c. Our Lord then informs them of five signs which shall precede the destruction of Jerusalem. The first sign is false Christs, "for many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ, and shall deceive many." The second, wars and commotions, "nation shall rise against nation." The third, pestilence and famine, "there shall be famines and pestilences." The fourth is "earthquakes in divers places." All of which events took place according to our Lord's prediction, as may be fully seen in the history of the Jews by Josephus, (the Jewish historian,) and also by other writers who lived at the time. The fifth sign is, "there shall be fearful sights and great signs from heaven." (Luke, chap. xxi. 11.) Josephus, in his preface to the Jewish war, enumerates these,-1st. A star hung over |