USA > Pennsylvania > Lancaster County > Ephrata > Chronicon ephratense : a history of the community of Seventh Day Baptists at Ephrata, Lancaster County, Penn'a. > Part 4
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25
A sensible person, acquainted with the counsels and plans discussed by them on their homeward journey, as they are described by a Brother among them, J. M., must soon become aware that they gave entirely too inuch rooin to their sus- picion against this new congregation, from which of necessity such a schism had to follow. They indeed considered it a blessing that they now already had planted two congrega- tions in the land, namely, one on the Schuylkill and the other in Conestoga ; but concerning the latter they were in perplexity, and thought they ought to send a Brother there as Superintendent, for which they proposed one Kein- per, as being both edifying and having the gift of prayer. Butt what troubled them most was that they had heard that the Superintendent and two others observed the Sabbath. Most of them insisted that one should prescribe rules for the Brethren in Conestoga, that they might observe the Sabbath for themselves, but should preach its observance to no one else, so that whoever wished might observe Sunday. Thereupon another one said : "If they intend to observe the Sabbath, they must observe also the whole law ; for he who ordained the Sabbath ordained also circumcision." Others said it was a strange thing that the Brethren in Conestoga had so firmly settled upon the Sabbath, and yet would not preach it ; for if it was ordained to be observed, it must also
28
CHRONICON EPHRATENSE.
be preached. This they said because the Superintendent had declared that he had received no command to preach it to others, but only to observe it himself. At last, however, they all became agreed that so long as the Brethren in Conestoga were so few in numbers they might grant others their liberty, but that if they should increase they would probably make the attempt to bring others also under this Jewish ordinance. Finally, they charged Peter Becker with having left too much in the hands of these newly converted ones.
All these matters deserve closer investigation. Whoever considers this journey, together with the great blessing accompanying it, must confess that God was with them, at least up to the time when that man was found whom he had destined for a more important work. It is also certain that the Superintendent dealt with thein in sincerity, and entered into communion with them with his whole heart. Had they not in the beginning permitted their suspicion against him to overmaster them, but had they condescended to him as he had done to them, he would have been the man through whom they would have recovered again their first vocation received at Schwarzenau ; for he had a higher witness than they ; such an unpleasant division would not have taken place ; but, on the contrary, they might have received into their shelter many virgin spirits in future times. The Superintendent visited Peter Becker yet on his death-bed, and among the rest said to him : "What a pity it is that there were no wise men among you when the awakening in Conestoga commenced ; how we could now live under your shelter !" Whereupon the latter wept. Of all this honest Henry Kalckgläser, one of their teachers and originators, who ended his days at Ephrata, may be accepted as a witness ; for the same gave as the reason why he left them and joined the new congregation, that at Ephrata he had found again his first revival spirit. However, they had at that time already strayed so far away from the bounds of the Spirit, that they could not live under so sharp a testimony. Defection from God takes place first of all within the heart, even while outwardly there may often still be a great deal of
29
A HISTORY OF EPHRATA.
1
ado made about him, especially in forms of worship ; but its fruits at last will be brought to light. Accordingly, as they failed in God's trial of them, his choice passed from them, and with the election all blessing also, unto the person of the Superintendent, of which Peter Becker must have had a consciousness, for he confessed that on the journey to Cones- toga they had lost something which they had never afterwards recovered. Even if the Superintendent had been a deceiver, as inany of them called him, yet they did not follow the right method to reclaim him; they ought to have come down to him in humble faith, then he would have stood by them, or, if he had not been the right man, God would have released them. This was done by many others who would have had more right to withstand his testimony, since they had been many years under his leadership, which certainly was a stern and strange one ; but these inade it a matter of conscience to do so, as being convinced of his being divinely sent. Whether or not such trials shall come again, time will show ; certain it is that nothing can be overleaped in the divine Providence's leading. The Superintendent, shortly before his end, met some of them on a journey, when he asked a Brother what kind of people they were, being so reserved towards him? The Brother answered, "They are Baptists." "Well, well," said he, "I shall yet become their prince in eternity." These circumstances have a cer- tain likeness to the history of Jacob and Esau ; for- to these good people belonged indeed, as to the older son, the rights of the first-born ; but they lost them through the younger one, and therefore, as Esau against Jacob, they conceived a strong dislike against him, which afterwards they handed down to their descendants.
But O, thou great God ! they stumbled at that stumbling- stone. O the depth of the riches, both. of the wisdom and knowledge of God ! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out ! Thou dost let us stumble and fall so that in our best efforts we might be confounded, and no man may say to thee, why doest thou thus? For a holy purpose thou didst deliver up to Satan thy servant Job, who faithfully served thee, in order that thy mercy might be
30
CHRONICON EPHRATENSE.
magnified in him. Yea, thou didst forsake thy child Jesus himself upon the cross, in order that thy great salvation might be manifested under all the heavens. Therefore spare not us ; only lead us not into temptation lest we become vessels of wrath to offend thy saints. And if we must stuinble at thee and fall, grant that we mnay thereby be humbled and brought to a knowledge of ourselves, that the tempter may be confounded in us.
CHAPTER V.
THE NEW CONGREGATION ESTABLISHES ITSELF UPON THE DOCTRINE OF THE HOLY APOSTLES, AND ELECTS THE SUPER- INTENDENT AS ITS TEACHER.
After the Superintendent had now ratified his covenant with God in the water, in which he gave himself uncon- ditionally unto him, Providence brought it about that those who had been baptized with him elected him as their Teacher. In this John Mayer was mainly instrumental ; and thus without himself seeking it he was thrust into the vineyard. His ordination to this office he received from the same one who had bestowed it upon Elijah, John the Baptist and other reformers, who were awakened specially and directly to come to the help of a church fallen asunder. Experience has shown that, as soon as he assumed the office, a large measure of the Spirit rested upon him ; wherefore, as soon as he began to hold meetings, contention arose against him throughout the whole land, which has not ceased even after his death. Many of his former friends, when they became aware of this sudden change in him, declared that he had gone out of his mind ; thus Henry Zimmermann once said to him : "Conrad, Conrad ! You have taken upon you a sore load ; you will get to be a fool ; I have known such people in Germany." He conducted all meetings, however, with astonishing strength of spirit, and used so little reflection over it, that even in the beginning he was not suffered to use a Bible ; so that the testimony in its delivery might not be weakened by written knowledge. He began his discourse with closed eyes, before a large crowd of hearers ; and when he opened his eyes again the most of them were gone, not being able to endure the Spirit's keenness. On such occa- sions wonderful mysteries of eternity were often revealed through him of which he himself had before been ignorant ; but these were soon sealed up again, and then he would say :
(31)
32
CHRONICON EPHRATENSE.
"The Spirit retires again into his secret chamber." When- ever he felt that persons were present who sought to catch and confine his discourse in the meshes of reason, he would suddenly be moved to hold a discourse directly contradictory of his former one, and that too with equally strong reason- ing, so that his hearers were thrown into a holy confusion. At the same time he was very sensitive to any hidden obstacle that might be present at the meeting, and in such case never ended until everything was right again. On one occasion, while he was engaged in an important discourse at a meeting, a inan entered who probably had been living unchastely, whereupon he cried out : "What is that? I smell woinen-" whereupon the inan speedily decamped. He was a born orator, and could carry out a proposition to great lengths, especially if he had rationalistic persons before him, for which his opponents blamed him very much. In his delivery, however, he was too fast, because he had to hurry after the Spirit, when he often concerned himself but little about the rules of language.
To return to the history. The congregation went on, and in December, 1724, held its first love-feast with Brother Sigmund Landert, at which the Superintendent officiated for the first time. At the beginning of the next year he inade a journey to the Schuylkill and Germantown to the Baptists, for then they were still united. He had for companions two Judaizing Brethren, who were very burdensome to him and at the places where they lodged ; for they had such a fear of pork that they would not eat out of any vessel that was not quite clean. It is true that the Superintendent had a deep insight into the secrets of nature ; from the nature of the food he knew how it would affect the unclean inembers ; and from this the suspicion against pork and unclean foods first arose ; as the first Christians, it is well known, also avoided them. (Vid. Zozim. Hist. Ecc. Cap. XI). His followers, deeply in love with his pure life, imitated him not only in this, but went still further, and raised scruples against geese also, because these supply man with their feathers for his luxurious indulgence. Consequently both these creatures were banished from the housekeeping of the Sabbatists.
33
A HISTORY OF EPHRATA.
At this circuinstance the Baptists were not a little offended, for they had already before suspected the new congregation of intending to revive Judaism. To this was added another circumstance that also pained them inuch, in that in the year 1725 one of their proselytes, Jan Mayle, went over to the new congregation, whom afterwards many followed.
In the beginning of May, 1725, a meeting was held at John Landes's, where the Superintendent for the first time held a baptismn, baptizing seven, of whom the most important were Michael Wohlfahrt and Rudolph Nägele. The first of these had lived with him, and it seems that the Divine Wisdom had given him to the Superintendent that the latter might be exercised in his holy walk, for they were both of choleric disposition. Soon after this inan's baptismn they two traveled about the country, and announced to inen the counsels of God concerning future salvation, whereby many became greatly exercised, and some few were awakened, but the most disregarded it. Several tried to hide themselves from the truth behind the Law of Moses ; for soon after, A. W. of Oley, and D. C., circumcised each other after the Jewish manner, and then blasphemed much against Paul because he did away with circumcision. On this account the Superintendent wrote them an emphatic letter, in which he speaks thus : "I counsel you, for the sake of the Mediator Jesus Christ, leave off your folly, lest you lose thereby even the grace and promises of the new Covenant. You have not a single witness among all the Apostles upon going among the Gentiles with the Gospel that circumcision was even so much as thought of at a single place." (See his Theosoph. Epistles, Page 125.)
Circumstances now demanded that they must sacrifice to God their beloved solitude in the wilderness, for the good of their neighbor. Wherefore they inoved apart, and a little house was erected for the Superintendent on the land of the afore-mentioned Nägele ; and here these spiritual Israelites had their first settlement, after they came out of Egypt, pass- ing through the Red Sea, that is, the water of baptism. Soon others joined themselves to him, and then one could see in their little houses an edifying picture of the huts of
D
34
CHRONICON EPHRATENSE.
the holy Fathers in the Egyptian wilderness. In this region wonderful influences caine down upon him from eternity, of which the least ever became known. The afore-mentioned Nägele inuist have had very minute acquaintance with the same, otherwise he would hardly have been able to endure so strange a leading, in which he manifested greater fidelity to the Superintendent than could have been expected from any man. Wherefore he was often heard to say : "Let Nägele speak and tell what kind of a man I was ; so much doth God venture on a man that he may bring him into his net."
Now, however, the time drew nigh when God remembered Rachel in her long barrenness that she became pregnant. For it was resolved in the Council of the Watchers that in the sixth period, as being the Philadelphian church-season, a virgin should be made ready as the bride of the High Priest, and for this Pennsylvania was specially chosen. And now the Spirit awakened many free souls of both sexes, who began to strive for the knightly crown. Among the female sex the first were two natural sisters, A. and M. E.1 They fled from their father's house in the year 1726, and put them- selves under the Superintendent's guidance, which caused much remark in the country, especially since he had to be with them very much. The congregation built them a house on Mill Creek, in which they lived four years. In the same year, at Easter, R. N.2 held a love-feast, at which two Brethren from the Schuylkill, H. L. and D. E., 3 were present, and at which a controversy arose between H. L. and the Superintendent. The former asked how it could be con- sistent with the righteousness of God that so many innocent children had to suffer along with the rest in the general courts of justice. The Superintendent answered : "They have indeed not sinned as yet ; but they are not on that account innocent, for the evil nature is in them, which plainly shows itself with increase in years." Question : "Do you not believe that they will be saved if they die this?" Answer : "No." Question : "Then you consider them to be damned." Answer: "That we do not say; but we
1 [Anna and Maria Eicher]. 2[Rudolph Nägele].
3[John Landes and Daniel Eicher. ]
35
A HISTORY OF EPHRATA.
hold that they must be purged from their inherited sin by means of a kind of purgatory." Their purpose was to elevate the natural married state into an holy estate, in order thus to give the right to salvation to children ; but when they failed in this, they both became offended and did not liold to the congregation any more. One of them afterwards took his child up in his arms, kissed it, and said : "O, thou poor child ! art thou to be damned if thou wert now to die ? That would be a horrible thing, since thou hast not yet sinned." And because this man afterwards in his offended mood passed into eternity, the rumor was brought to the Baptists that the Superintendent had perinitted a Brother to die without being reconciled with him ; yes, and that he had spread a new heresy in Conestoga, namely, that innocent children are damned when they die. These people, as is apparent in some of their hymns, agree with the Mennonite Church in this, that they think that infants are born pure and innocent. And because the Superintendent recognized the advantage flesli and blood sought over these people, his opposition caused him to be called a forbidder of wedlock.
Meanwhile, amidst these differences, the work of revival went on. About seven weeks after these occurrences, a Brother on the Schuylkill, by the name of Urner, held a love-feast, on Whitsuntide, to which both congregations were invited, for, apparently at least, they were as yet undivided ; and because the regular teacher, P. B., 4 was not present, the Superintendent was obliged to officiate. On this occasion quite extraordinary powers of eternity mani- fested themselves, such as were never known before or after, so that it was called the congregation's Pentecost. On the first day of the festival everybody in the meeting was as though drunken with wine, and it was noticed that several, who had engaged in prayer, soon after married, and so dragged the gifts of the Spirit into the flesh. The Superin- tendent bore himself as calmly in the matter as if it did not concern him at all ; for he had then already learned enough in the school of the Spirit to treat the good without any self-assumption, which is the worst of sins. After the mneet-
4 [Peter Becker].
36
CHRONICON EPHRATENSE.
ting he baptized eleven in the Schuylkill. Through this occurrence the Baptists were confounded in the person of the Superintendent. On the one hand, they had to admire the extraordinary gifts of the man ; on the other, they knew that he had the name of being a seducer and a destroyer of wedlock. They put their heads together and took coun- sel ; but knew not what judgment to form. Meanwhile on the following night the love-feast went forward with blessing ; at the same it was announced that on the follow- ing Whit-Monday another meeting would be held. This meeting finally threw the good Baptists into the greatest amazement ; for the powers of the new world were again poured out like a river, the singing was pentacostal and heavenly ; yea, some declared that they heard angel-voices mingling with it, of which the reader has liberty to judge for himself. Certain it is that in the times following it pleased the Spirit to bring revivals to men by means of song, so that at length there was developed such singing among the Solitary as has never been equaled by any party in the Christian Church from the days of Ignatius on, to whom first was made known by revelation the antiphonal style of the choral singing of the holy angels. As the suspicion against the Superintendent had notably increased after the close of the meeting, many thought that he must be a sorcerer, and were in fear lest their wives might be seduced. One otherwise upright Brother, M. U., embraced his wife, and exclaimed, "O, my dear wife ! I pray you for God's sake do not leave me!" Such is the effect when God reaches forth into the church of Adamn.
In August, 1727, a grand visit was made by the Baptists of Germantown to the congregation in Conestoga. On the way Henry Traut and Stephen Koch left the party and visited one named J. S., 5 who had been with the Superintendent when he was yet a pioneer settler, and his whole house had been drawn to him ; at this time, however, he was under a ban for having married too near a relation, and was possessed of satanic powers. Him they loosed from his ban and brought to Henry Höhn, where there was a general gather-
5 [Jacob Stuntz].
37
A HISTORY OF EPHRATA.
ing. There he became raving and imitated the cries of various animals, most however of ducks, so that no one could imitate him. As the two Brethren had loosed him from his ban on their own responsibility, they were put under discipline ; wherein the Superintendent had to adapt himself to the circumstances of the time, otherwise the ban was something contrary to his convictions.
CHAPTER VI.
CONCERNING A NEW AWAKENING IN FALCKNER'S SWAMP, AND THE TRANSACTIONS WITH THE BAPTISTS CONNECTED THERE- WITH.
At the close of 1727, or the beginning of the next year, Michael Wohlfahrt, with the sanction of the congregation, traveled to Falckner's Swamp, and visited several newly awakened ones there ; concerning whom he brought home such good reports that, in March, 1728, the Superintendent with three others made a visit there, and with such effect that, on the eighth of the month, eleven persons were bap- tized, whom five more followed in May. Over these Andreas Frey1 was appointed as Elder. Since this awakening not only brought niany out of the domestic state to the Super- intendent, all of whom now have finished their walk of faith, but also increased the settlement by adding thereto many Solitary ones of both sexes, of whom several are still at their labors ; it shall be circumstantially described. After the Baptists at Germantown now received news of this awakening, they were not a little astonished that they of Conestoga still presumed to baptize and break bread, since they stood openly unreconciled with those of Germantown, as they had proved by recently putting two of the German- town Brethren under the ban. H. L., too, at the Schuylkill, who had had the controversy with them about the salvation of infants, had died unreconciled with them, without their having forgiven him; therefore they considered it their duty to warn these newly awakened ones. Accordingly, they
1 Afterwards, out of opposition to the Superintendent, this A. F. left the congregation and went over to the Moravian Brethren, with whom he traveled to Germany, but afterwards left them also, the circumstances of which he published after his return to America. This awakening produced many false priests, of whom several became the first-born of the devil; all of which was caused by the Superintendent's humility with which he always gave offices to others.
(38)
39
A HISTORY OF EPHRATA.
held a meeting at Falckner's Swamp with one Brother John Henry Hagemann, at which they tried to blind the eyes of these newly awakened, and talked much to them of how they loved the Brethren in Conestoga, until they at last stole their hearts, and put their minds into such confusion, that they no longer knew whether they should love or hate the Conestoga Brethren.
When this became known among the congregation at Conestoga the Superintendent sent two Brethren to them with a letter, in which he gave them a stern rebuke for the falseness, deceit, and craftiness which they had practiced upon the newly awakened ones. This letter was an additional cause of the separation that followed. O, how blest these good people would have been, if they could have stopped their self-righteousness and have gone into judgment with themselves ! But they missed it. Instead, they made the letter known among the newly awakened, and made them judges concerning the insult (as they called it), to help to condemn its author. Then they held a meeting in the Swamp, with a Brother Albertus, at which it was resolved that in four weeks a meeting should be held there, with Wil- liam Frey, for trial and judgment, at which both parties, those of Germantown and those of Conestoga, should appear. There the newly awakened should be the judges whether the accusations of the letter against them of Germantown were true or false. To this end they desired them to be neutral, and until then they were to give neither hand nor kiss to anyone. When the Brethren in Conestoga were informed of this proposal they were astonished ; first, at its political craftiness ; then that inexperienced persons were to be the judges in so important a controversy, and in the third place, at their daring in presuming to invite the congregation at Conestoga to such a mock-proceeding. Therefore, six Brethren from the Conestoga congregation were sent before- hand to Falckner's Swamp, and lodged with Brother John Henry Hagemann, who also received them, contrary to the admonition, with hand and kiss, and whom the other house- holds followed in this, notwithstanding that several took offence,and thought the Conestoga Brethren had no clear
40
CHRONICON EPHRATENSE.
conscience, but had come thus early because they did not trust to appear at the trial.
Now let us put aside these quarrels for a while. After A. F. 2 had given up his office among the Brethren, M. W. 3 took his place, who did not fare much better than the former. It was his good fortune that he was a man after God's own heart, who had learned to humble himself when he camne into judgment, and ·besides, had a superhuman fidelity to the Superintendent. He fell from his office with shame and dis- grace, and thereupon fell at the feet of the Superintendent, who then revoked the judgment and received him again into spiritual communion. He afterwards filled his place with one J. L., 4 a novice, who besides was at the time spiritually puffed up. He had his office only six weeks; and how the Superintendent's life was endangered through him will be narrated in the sequel. It would be worth investigating, by the way, as to what was the cause why so many were unfor- tunate in these offices; for experience has proved that the Order sacrificed its most important persons of both sexes in these offices, some of them having to pay the pen- alty with their lives, others who fell through them after- wards recovered with great difficulty, and thanked God when they were permitted to spend their days in private life ; so that one could hardly get anyone to take the offices any more. On the one hand the cause probably was that subor- dination to the Superintendent personally was so difficult ; but it seems that the Spirit, under whose ordering the Superintendent stood in his work, had chosen him for this important service. Besides, seeing that his whole life was spent in intense pain, as those knew who came into close communion with him, 5 it is a greater wonder that any at all endured under his leading, than that so many were wrecked thereby.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.