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Returning
from the Amazon, he began a series of open-air services in Nazareth. The
local priest hired a bandit to assassinate him and got his accomplices -- the
mayor, the judge and the police -- to leave town so there would be no one to
appeal to, in case the nefarious plot became known. The plot did become known
and Ginsburg was urged not to hold the meeting, but he declared: "I
prefer dying to running away. I am ready to shed my blood for that Dear One
who shed His blood for me." He preached for an hour, expecting every
minute that something desperate would take place but nothing happened. He
called for a song and then began preaching again. He boldly attacked the
Church of Rome and exposed the confessional, the immorality of the priests
and the evils associated with the doctrine of purgatory. Still nothing
happened and he closed the meeting disappointed, for he knew that persecution
would aid the cause.
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Two months
later the hired assassin was soundly converted and, with tears flowing
freely, confessed to the believers what had happened. On the day he was to
have assassinated the missionary, he drank some liquor to stimulate his
courage. He came to the meeting both armed and nerved for his bloody
assignment. However, the drink overpowered him and put him to sleep! Said
Ginsburg, "Here is one good job that alcohol accomplished. It saved my
life."
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