The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1889-07-17
"OUR HOUSE ON THE HILLS"
DR.. TALMAeg's SERMON ON HEAVEN.
The Preacher Describes the Gathering or
Friends And Relatives In the Eternal
Home-rhore Is Room For All
who viii Come.

on the subject: "Our house on the Hills.
His text was John, xiv. Pin my fathers
house are many rooms" He said:
Here is a bottle OF medicine that is
cure-all. The disciples were sad and Christ
offered heaven as an alternative, slim
ulant and a tonic. He shows them that
their sorrows are only dark background
of bright picture of coming felicity. He
lets them know that though now they
live on the lowlands, they shall yet have a
house on the uplands. Nearly all the bible
descriptions of heaven may be figurative.
am not positive that in all heaven there
is literal crown or harp or pearly gate or
throne or chariot. They may be only
used TO illustrate the glories of the place,
but how well they do it! The favorite
symbol by which the bible presents
celestial happiness is a house. Paul, who
never owned house, although he hiretr
one for two years in Italy, speaks OF
heaven as "house not made with hands,
and Christ in our text, the translation Of
which is little changed so as to give the
more accurate meaning, says: ''In my
Fathers house are many rooms"
This divinely authorized comparison of
heaven to a great homestead of large ac-
commodations propose to carry out. In
some healthy neighborhood man builds
a very commodious habltation. He must
have room for all his children. The rooms
come to be called after the different mem
bers OF the family. That is mothers
room. That is Georges room. That
IS Henry's room. That is Flora's
room. That is Mary's room. And the
house is all occupied. But the time goes
by and the sons go out into the world
and build their own homes and the daugh-
tiers are married or have talents enough
10 90 out and do good work in the world.
After awhile the father and mother are
almost alone in the big house and seated
by the evening stand, they say: "Well,
our family is no larger than when we
started together forty years ago." But
time goes still further by and some of the
children are unfortunate and return to
the old homestead TO live, and the grand
children come With them, and perhaps
great grandchildren, and again the house
is full. Many millenia ago God built on
the bills OF heaven great homestead for
a family innumerable yet to be. At first
he lived alone in that grea. house, but
after awhile it was occupied by a very
large family cherubic, seraphic, angelic.
The eternities passed on and many of the
Inhabitants became hayward and Left
never TO return. And many of the apart
ments were vacated. [ refer to the fallen
angels. Now these apartments are filling
up again. There are arrivals at the old
homestead OF Gods children every day,
and the day will come when there will be
no unoccupied room N all the house.
As you and | expect to enter il and
make there eternal residence, l thought
YOU would like to get some more particu-
lars about that many-roomed homestead
In my Fathers house are many rooms"
You see the place is to be apportioned off
into apartments We shall love all who
are in heaven. but there are some very
good people whom We would not want to
live with in the same room. They NAV
be better than We are. but they are of a
divergent temperament. We would like
TO meet with them on the golden streets
and worship with the 4 in the temple and
walk with them on the river bank, but l
am glad TO say that We will live III differ
ent apartments. "In my Fathers house
are many rooms" You see heaven will
be so large that ii one want an entire
room TO himself or herself il can be af-
fOrded. An ingenious statistician, taking
the statement made in Revelations, xxi,
that the heavenly Jerusalem was measured
and found to be 1900 furlongs, and that
the length and hight and breadth of il
are equal, says that would make heaven
In size 948 sextillion 9SS quintillion cubic
feet, and then, reserving a certain portion
for the court of heaven and the streets,
and estimating that the world may
last 100000 years, he ciphers out
that there are over five trillion
rooms, each room seventeen feet long,
sixteen feet wide, fifteen feet high. But |
have no faith In the accuracy OF that calcu-
lation. He makes the rooms too small
From all l can read the rooms will be pa
latial, and those who have not had enough
room il this world will have plenty of
room at the last The fact is that most
people in this world are crowded, and
though out on a vast prairie or in a
mountain district people may have more
room than they want in most cases, il is
house built close to house, and the streets
are crowded and the cradle is crowded by
other cradles, and the graves crowded in
the cemetery by other graves, and one of
the richest luxuries OF many people in
getting out of this world will be the gain
ing OF unhindered and uncramped room.
and / should not wonder If instead of the
room that the statistician ciphered out as
OLlf cDhChbCDu 4tCt ny blAlccus IL sUOuiu
be larger than any of the imperial rooms
at Berlin, St James or Winter palace "In
my Fathers house are many rooms" Car
Yying out still further the symbolism of
the text, let US join hands and go up to
this majestic homestead and see for our
selves.
AS we ascend the golden steps an invisi-
bic guardsman swings open the front door
and we are ushered to the right into the
receDtiOn-room of the old homestead. This
is the place where we first meet the well
come OF heaven. There mnst be place
where the departed spirit enters, and a
place in which it confronts the inhabitants
celestial. The reception-room of the
newly arrived from this world-what
scenes It must have witnessed since the
first guest arrived, the victim of the first
fratricide, the pious Abel. In that room
Christ lovingly greeted all new corners.
He redeemed them, and He has the right
TO the first embrace on their arrival. What
a minute when the assembled spirit first
sees the Lord!
Better than all we e yer read about Him
or talked about Him or sang about Him
in all the churches and through all our
earthly lifetime will it be, just tor one
second, to see Him. The most rapturous
idea we ever had of Him on sacramento
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