Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1885-08-03
THE TWELVE GATES.
A Beautiful Sermon by Rev. DR..
TaImags On
THE TWELVE GATES OF HEAVEN,
Through Any One Of Which the Pure and
BIOOd-Washed May
Enter.
A DEFINITION OF THE REAL HEAVEN.
Subject: The Twelve Gates"

twelve ates were twelve pearls"
Our subject speaks of great metropolis
the existence Of which many have doubted.
There has been vast immigration into that
city, hut no emigration from it. There is
20 such city" Gays the undevout astrono-
1 mer, 1haYe stood in high towers with q
mighty telescope and have swept the
heavens, and / have seen spots on the sun
and scaverns in the moon, but no towers
have ever risen on my vision, no palaces,
no temples, no shining streets, no massive
wall. There is no such city" Even very
good people tell me that heaven is not q
material organism, but a grand spiritual
act, and that the Bible descriptions Of it
are in ell cases to be taken 6guratively. l
bring in reply to this what Christ said, and
ne ought to know: u 90 to prepare" mot
a theory not principle, not sentiment
but "go to prepare place for you" The
resurecte4 body implies this. II my foot
is to be reformed from the dsst it must
have Something to tread on. If my hand
is to be reconstructed it must have some
thing to handle. If my eye, having gone
out in death, is to be Tekindled, I nust have
something to gaze on.
The Adverse Theory
seems to imply that the resurrected body is
TO be hung on nothing, OF to walk in air, or
to float amid the intangibles. You tell US
that if there be material organisms then
soul in heaven will be cramped and hindered
in its enjoynents; but / answer: Did not
Adam and Eve have plenty Of room in the
garden of Eden? Although only few
Yards or few miles would have described
the circumference of that place they had
ample room. And do you not suppose that
God in the immensities can build a place
large enough to give the whole race room
even though there be material organisms?
Herschel looked into the heavens. AS q
Swiss guide puts his slpenstock between the
glaciers and crosses over from crag to crag,
so Herschel planted his telescope between
the worlds and glided from star to star, until
he could announce to us that We live in q
part of the universe but sparsely strewn
with worlds, and he peers out into immensi-
ty until he finds region no larger than our
solar system in which there are fifty thous
and worlds moving And Prof Lang says
hat, BY philosophic reasoning, there must
be somewhere world
Where There Is No Darkness
but everlasting sunshine; so that | do not
know but that it is simply because we have
no telescope powerful enough that we can
not see into the land where there is no dark
ness at all and catch a glimpse Of the bur-
nished pinnacles AS conquerlng army
marching on TO take city, comes at night
fall 10 the crest Of 8 mountain from which
in the midst o. he landscape they can see
the castles they are TO Capture, rein IN their
wsr-chargers und halt 10 take good look
before the, pitch their tents for the night,
so now, coming as we do on this mountain
TOD of prosper, | command the regiment Of
God to rem in ,hsr thoughts and halt, and
before they pitch their tents for the night
take one good, long look at the gates OF the
great city, And the twelve gates were
twelve pearls.
In the first place, want you 10 examine
he architecture OF those gates. Proprietors
# large estates are very apt to have an or
namented gateway. Sometimes they spring
IN arch of masonry; the posts OF the gate
Ianked with lions in statuary; the bronze
uste is a representation OF INTERVIEWING
foliage, bird-haunted, until the hand Of arch
itectural genius falls exhausted, all it's life
frozen into the stone. Babylon had hun
dred gates; so had Thebes. Gates Of wood
and iron and stone guarded nearly all the
old ci'ieu There have been great many
fine gateways, but
Christ Sets Hand to tho Work,
and for The upper city he swung gate as
no eve ever gszed on untouched of inspirs-
lion; with the nail OF his own cross he cut
into it wonderful traceries stories OF past
suffering and Of gladness to come. There
is no wood or stone or bronze in that gate,
out from top to base aud from side to side
il ia sll of pearl. Not one piece picked up
from Ceylon banks and another piece fro N
the Persian Cult, and another piece from
The Island of MaIgarette, but one solid pearl
picked up from the beach of everlasting
light by heavenly hands and koisted and
swung amid n shooting Of angels. The
sIories of the alsbsster vase, and the por-
uhyry pillar fade out before this gateway.
It puts out the spark of feldspsr and Bohe.
nisn diamond. You know how one little
pre oious stone on your finger will fash un-
der the gaSEght. But, oh,
The Brightness
when the great gate CT heaven swinge,
struck through and drifting with the light
OF eternal MONDAY! julius Caesar paid
l25, 900 crows for one pearl. The government
| of Pt rtugal boasted Of having pearl larger
than pear. Cleopatra and Philip H. daz-
zled the worlds vision with precious stones.
But gather all these together and lift them
and add to them all the wealth of the pearl
fisheries and set them in the panel Of one
door and it does not equal this magnificent
gateway. An almighty hand heEea this,
swung this, polished this Against this
gateway on the one side dash all the spleu-
dors of earthly beauty. Against this gate
way on the other side beat the sarges Of
eternal glory. Oh the gate, the gstei II
strikes an infinite charm through every one
that passes it. One step this side that gate
end we are paupers. One step the othei
side that gate and we are kings. The pi!
grim Of earth going through sees in the one
| huge pearl all bis earthly tears in crystal
Oh, gate Of light gate Of pearl gate o
hesveal Fcs our weary souls at last swinl
opep. Heaven is not dull place con
,rscted place, stupid place, Il saw th'
twelve gates and ,hsv were twelve pearls.
In the second place / want you to coun
The Number of Those Gates.
Imperial parks and lofty manors are apt T.
have one expensive gateway and the other
are ordinary; bat look around at these en-
frances to heaven and count them. Twelve
gates admit this is father hard on shafI
seetsriaDs Here is higoted Presbyterian
! sho brings his Westminster Assembly
ca:echism, and be makes a gateway out o.
that AID he says to the world: "You g
through thersmG stay ont And here is :
heoted meu1Sef Of the Reformed church
and be makes gateway ont Of the Heidel
berg catechism and says. You 90 through
there or stay out" And here is bigotet
4 L. nl..k. v,,.ka II \.