The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1889-09-12
THE FATHERS HOUSE.
Discourse by DR.. Talmage on the
Heaven of the Bible.
sour House on the Hills" Described-Its
Beauties and Comforts for All who
Accept the Divine Invitation
to Make 1t Their Abode.

4. Inc text was:
In my Fathers house are many rooms.-Joh1
xiv, 2.
Here is a bottle of medicine that is q
cure all. The disciples were sad, anC
Christ offered Heaven as an alternative
a stimulant and a tonic. He shows them
that their sorrows are only dark back.
ground OF a bright picture of coming
felicity. He let's them know that, though
now they live on the lowlands, they shall
yet have house on the uplands. Nearly
all the Bible descriptions of Heaven NAV
be figuratiVe. l am not positive that in
all Heaven there is literal crown, OF
harp. or pearly gate, or throne, OF
chariot. They may be only used to illus
trate the glories of the place, but how
well they do i'll The favorite symbol by
which the Bible presents celestial hap
piness is a house. Paul, who never
owned house, although he hired one for
two years in Italy, speaks of Heaven as
3 mouse 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"
The diyinely authorized comparison of
20
commodations l propose to carry out. In
some healthy neighborhood man builds
very commodious habitation. He must
have room for all his children. The
rooms come to be called after the differ
ent members 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 time goes by,
and the sons go out into the world and
build their own homes, and the daugh-
ters are married or have talents enough
singly to go out and do a 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
now than when we started to-
gether 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
grandchildren, and again the house
is full. Many millenia ago God built on
the hills Of Heaven great homestead for
a family innumerable, yet to be. At first
He lived alone in that great 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
apartments 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 unoccnpied room in all
the house.
As You and l expect to enter it and
make there eternal residence, 1 thought
you would like to get some more particu-
lars about that many-roomed homestead.
I'm 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
i've with in the same room. They NAV be
better than we are, but they are of q di-
yergent temperament. We would like to
meet with them on the golden streets, and
worship with them in the temple, and
walk with them on the river banks, but
am glad to say that we shall live in diff
terent apartments. Gin my Fathers
house are many rooms" You see, Heav-
On will be so large that if one wants an
entire room to himself or herself it can
be afforded. An ingenious statistician.
taking the statement made in Revelation,
twenty first chapter, that the Heavenly
Jerusalem was measured and found to be
twelve thousand furlongs, and that the
length and breadth and height of it are
equal says that would make Heaven in
size nine hundred and forty eight sex
tillion nine hundred and eighty eight
quintillion cubic feet, and then reserving
q certain portion for the court of Heaven
and the streets, and estimating that the
world may last one hundred thousand
years, he ciphers out that there are over
fve trillion rooms, each room seventeen
feet long, sixteen feet wide, fifteen feet
high.
But have no faith in the accuracy of
that calculation. He makes the rooms
too small. From all that can read. the
rooms will be palatial, and those who
have not had enough room in this world
viii have plenty of room at the last. The
fact is that most people in this world are
crowded, and though out on a vast prai-
RE or in mountain district people may
have more room than they want, in most
cases it 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 gaining of unhindered and nm |
room. And / should not won |
Ter if instead of the room that the statis-
acian ciphered out as only II feet by is, |
t should be larger than any Of the impe- |
'ial rooms at Berlin, ST. James or Winter |
Palace. tln my Fathers house arc |
many rooms" Carrying out still further |
he symbolism of the text let us Join /
lands and go up to this majestic home |
fead aud see for ourselves.
AS we ascend the golden steps. an in
yisioie guardsman swings open the front
loor and we are ushered to the right into
he reception room OF the old homestead
That is the place where we first meet the
Welcome of Heaven. There must be a
lace where the departed spirit enters
nd place in which it confronts the in
abitants celestial. The reception room
( the newly arrived from this world
that scenes it must have witnessed since
be first guest arrived, the victim of the
rst fratricide, pious Abel. In that room
'hrist lovingly greeted all new corners.
Ie redeemed them and He has the right
, the first embrace On their arrival.
That a minutp xvhap the acoanda6 |