The Bolivar bulletin. (Bolivar, Tenn.) 1888-1946, 1889-07-19
THE FATHERS HOUSE.
Discourse by DR.. Talmage on the
Heaven of the Bible.
sour House on the Hnls" Desoribad-Its
beauties and Comforts for All who
Accept the Divine Invitation
to Make 1t Their bOde.

The following sermon on sour House
on the Hills" was delivered by Rev. T.
Dewitt Talmage at "rhe Hamptons, " N.
Y. The text was:
In my Fathers house are many rooms.-John
XIV, ?.
Here is bottle Of medicine that is a
cure all. The disciples were sad, and
Christ offered Heaven as an alternative
stimulant and tonic. lie 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 a house on the uplands. Nearly
all tho Bible descriptions of Heaven may
be hgurative. 1 am not positive that in
all Heaven there is literal crown, or
farp, or pearly gate, or throne, or
chariot. They may be only used to illus
trate the glories of tho place, but how
well they do it.! The favorite symbol by
which the Bible presents celestial hap
piness is house. Paul, who never
owned house, although he hired one for
two years in Italy, speaks of Heaven as
q "house not made with hands," and
Christ in our text the translation of
which is n little changed, so as to give
the more accurate meaning, says: 'In
my Fathers house are many rooms"
The divinely authorized comparison Of
Heaven to a great homes tead of large ac-
commodations propose TO carry out In
some healthy neighborhood a man builds
very CommOdious habitation. He must
have room for all his children. The
rooms come to be called after the differ
snt 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 oil occupied. But time goes by,
and the sons 60 out into the world and
build their own homes, and the daugh-
ters are married or have talents enough
aingly 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
says "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
great grandchildren, and again the house
Is fun. Many millenia ago God built on
the hills of Heaven a great homestead for
o family innumerable, yet to be. At first
He lived alone in that great house, but
after awhile it was occupied by very
large family, Cherubic, seraphic, angelic.
The eterni--ss passed on, and many of
left, never to return. Aud many of the
apartments were vacated. I 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 in all
the house.
As you and I expect 20 enter it and
make there eternal residence, l thought
you would like TO get some more parucu-
lars about that mauy-rOOmed homestead.
"In my Fathers house are many rooms. E"
You see the place Is to be apportioned of
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 ths same room. They may be
better than we are, but they are of a di-
vergent temperament. We would like to
meet with them on the golden streets, and
worship with them in tho temple, and
walk with them on the river banks, but
am glad to say that we shall live in diff
ferent apartments. SIN my Fathers
house arc many rooms" You see, Heav-
en- will be so large that. if one wants an
entire room 20 himself or herself it can
be afforded. An ingenious statistician,
taking the statement made in Revelation,
twenty chapter, that the Heavenly
Jerusalem was measured and found to be
twelve thousand furlongs, and that the
length and breath and height of it are
equal, says that would make Heaven in
size nine hundred and forty eight sex
tiIIion nine hundred and eighty eight
uuintillion cubic feet. and then resPrving
q certain portion for the court Of Heaven
and the streets, and estimating that the
world may last one hundred thousand
years, he ciphors out that there are over
eve trillion rooms, each room seventeen
bet long, sixteen feet wide, fifteen feet
high.
But have no faith in the accuracy Oi
that calculation. He makes the rooms
too small From oil that I can read, tho
rooms will be palatial, and those who
have not had enough room in this worlC
will have plenty of room at the last Tht
fact Is that most people in this world arr
crowded, and though out on a vast prai
rie or in n mountain district people may
have more room than they want, in mos
cases it is house built close to house, nnC
the streets are crowded aud the cradle i
crowded by other cradles. and the grave
crowded in the cemetery by other graves
and one OF the richest luxuries of man!
people in getting out of this world viii b,
the gaining OF Unhindered and un
rramped room. And / should not won
der If instead of the room that the stats
ticiau ciphcrcd out as only II feet by 16
81 should be larger tl1O any oE tue lttfpe
rial rooms at Berlin, ST. James or White
Palace. 'ln my Fathers house ar
many rooms" Carrying out still furthe
the symbolism of the text let US joil
hands and 60 up 10 this majestic home
stead and see for ourselves.
AS we ascend the golden steps, an in
visible guardsman swings open the from
door and we are uSherel 60 the right int
the reception room or the old homestead
That is tho place where we first meet tn
welcome Of Heaven. There must be
place where the departed spirit enter
and place in which it cOnfrOnts the in
habitants celestial. The reception roor
Of tha newly arrived from this world
what scenes it must have witnessed sine
the first guest arrived, the victim Of tn
first fratricide, pious Abel. Ia thatroor
Christ lovingly greeted all new corners
He redeemed them aud he has the righ
10 the first embrace on their arriva,
what a minute when the ascended spiri
first sees the Lord. Better than all W
ever reud about Him or talked abou
Him or sang about Him in all ia
churches and through all our earthly life
time will it be, just for one second TO Sc
Him. The most rapturous idea we eve
had of Him on sacramental days or at tn
height of some great revival OF unde
tnc uplifted baton OF an oratOrio, are
bankruptcy cf lhought compared with tn
frst flash 81 iI.s appearance in that re
cspuou ro3m. AT that moment whe