The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1890-06-05

If it were discovered what these glories
consist of I think we would all be home.
sick to get there that is, course, provid.
ed we could understand them."
In reply to the question the Rev. Jo,
scph Cook, of Boston, said; >
AYES, most decidedly. Christ's words
to The thief, This day shalt thou be with
me in Paradise seem to promise that, for
it is presumable from that language that
the abandoned thief would know mis-
Saviour, of course, and we have reason to
believe that the principle is of general
application. One of these is the parable OF
Dives and Lazarus. who knew each other,
although they were in different states of
being after death. Then the whole i'm.
plication of the New Testament is that
we are surrounded by great cloud OF
witnesses, even in this world, and that we
are to be received, if saved, into the COM
papy of Just men made perfect. The en-
tire revelation of the state of the saved is
that of the Inhabitants Of the city OF
gold, the New Jerusalem. The question
almost answers itself: will the citizens
of the New Jerusalem know each other
or not?'
"I believe heaven is both state and
place, state of the soul and locality.
We know very little oft in the latter re.
spect, but as a state Of the soul ltimplies
deliyerance from the love and sin of it.
The first text that usually comes to my
mind when I think of it is, Father, !
will those Thou hast given me be with
me where I am, that they may behold
the glory that had with Thee before the
world was Perfect similarity of feeling
with God and its consequences are heav-
en- so far as the state of the soul repre-
sents il.
"As heaven is locality, of course the
Language of the Scriptures is fgurative,
but figures mean something. ! am &C.
customed 10 taking the representations OF
the New Testament in this matter as
covering great realities"
The eminent Unitarian preacher, the
Rev. Robert Collyer, D. D., in reply to
the question, said:
II cannot tell, but evidently Jesus be-
lieyed it. It would not be very much o1
heaven for me if / could not find my
children there whom ] have loved here
on earth. All our hearts are so locked
together that it would be terrible
thought, indeed, if we were to believe
that wo should never meet again beyond
tbe crave those whom we have loved and
cherished here"
ATgre Thos. J. Ducey, pastor OF St
Leo's Roman Catholic Church, said:
"There is nothing to prevent Catho.
lie from believing that he will be united
with his friends and relatives in heaven.
A number OF the Fathers have written
works on the subject. ST. Thomas main.
tains that we shall know our own in
heaven, and the Church very generally
accepts that belief.
"a very charming story was told me
by gentleman at a seaside circle last
summer. He said he read the story, but
think it was original with him. The
story was that two men had gone up to
the golden gates and applied to Peter fol
admission. One of the men had been
prosperous on earth, the other not so well
off The first of these, in reply to Peter.
said he wanted to 90 to heaven that he
wanted all good things that the heart
could desire and that he had been used
to having on earth. Peter told him to
turn to the right and he would get every
thing he asked for. The man went in
In 1000 years be returned and said he
was tired Of and wanted to get out
He thought he had been in only few
minutes.
Did you not get everything the
heart wished for?' asked Peter.
"'Yes, but 1 am tired of heaven and
want to get out
".Well,' returned Peter, that is not
heaven that was hell where you were
"The other man had caught just a
glimpse of the holiness of God through a
niche in the wall, ard he became chain
ed to the spot for one thousand years,
although he had no idea that so many
years had elapsed
s'rhere is not much use to speculate
upon the subject as to what heaven is
like. It's very generally taught by the
Church that heaven is a place where, in
the full enjoyment Of the beatifc vision
of God, every pure yearning of the heart
will find its fruition, and the intellect OF
man its perfect illumination"
The Rev. Chaplain G. Q. N1cCabe, the
great missionary worker of the Metho-
dist Church, expressed himself as fol-
lows: ;,
II thoroughly believe that we shall
know each other in heaven. cannot
believe that we shall know leas there than
we now know here, and such
being the case, do not understand
why we should not retain the power to
recognize friends there whom we have
met on this earth. I believe that we
shall not only know and commune with
those whom we have seen here, but that
we shall know those whom we have not
seen, Just as Peter knew Elijah on the
Noun; of TRANSPORTATION and recognizes
Moses, although he had never seen either
of then."
The Rev. DIR. G. H. Houghtou, the
venerable rector of the Little Church,
Around the Corner, says he has the war.
rant of the Scriptures for it that be shall
know his friends in heaven.
The Rev. DR.. David 81. Greer, rector
st. Bartholomew's Church, where the
Vanderbilts worship, was asked if he
believed friends would know one another
in heaven. He drives his conclusions
from philosophical rather than from a
theological standpoint BE said:
81 never had any more doubt but that
we should than I had of my own person.
al Immortality. We are going to carry
our own bodies with US, and I do not see
how we are going 10 fail to know each
other. Personal Immortality implies
personal identity, and that necessarily
implies recognition"
''lVhat is heaven like ?"
81 really do not know, but | do not
think it will disappoint anybody. No
body has ever told us anything at all
about heaven, and anything that can be
said is purely speculation. think if we
do our duty now and think less about
heavca it will be much better. Religion
has been too much top headed toward
heaven. | thiuk we had better stand
clear and bestow little more of our at
tention on this earth for while"
The Rev. j. FL. McIlvaine, pastor oi