Audubon County Republican. [volume] (Audubon, Audubon Co., Iowa) 1885-1894, 1891-11-12

foliage Eut the barrenness and gloom
aud loneliness of the island made it a
prison Tor the banished evangelist.
Domitian could not stand his ministry
and one day, under armed guard that
minister of the gospel stepped from a
to sing boat 10 these dismal rocks,
and walked up to the dismal
cavern which was to be
his home, and the place
where sho- Id pass before him all the
conflicts of coming time and ali the
raptures of coming eternity, Is it
not remarkable that nearly all tho
great revelations of music and poetry
have been made to men in bauishment
Homer and Milton ban shed into
blindness; Beethoven banisned into
deafness; Dante writ ng his "Divina
Commedia" during the nineteen years
of Punishment from his native
land; Victor Hugo writing his
LES Miserables" exiled from no c
and country on the island of Guernsey
and the brightest visions of the future
have been given TO those who by sick
ness or sorrow were exiled from the
outer wor d into rooms of suffering.
Only those who have been impri ,oned
! by very hard surroundings have had
great revelations made to them. So
Patmos, wild, chill and bleak and
terrible was the best island in all the
archipelago, the best place in all the
earth for divine revelations
Tnru down all the lights that we may
better see it. The panorama pa sses,
and 10 the conquering Christ, robed,
girdled, armed, the flash of golden
candlestlcks and seven stars in his
right hand, candlesticks and stars
meaning light held up, and light scat
tered. And there passes a throne and
Christ on it, and the seals broken. and
the woes sounded, and dragon ain,
and seven last PLAQUES swoop, and
seven walls are poured out, and the
vision vanishes And we halt mo
ment to rest from the exciting spec
tace. Again the panorama moves on
be ore the cavern of Patmos, and 10.
the exile sees great city represent
ing all denominations, Babylon tow
cred, palaced tempted, foun-
tanned, follaged, sculptured, hang
ing.gardens, suddenly going crash!
crash and the pipers cease to pipe,
and the trumpets cease to trumpet,
and the dust and the smoke and the
horror I'LL the canvas, wnile from
above and beneath the voices announc-
ing Babylon is fallen, Is fallen And
we halt again to rest from the spec a
Gle. Again the panorma passes before
the cavern of fatmoS. and Ohm the
exile sees mounted Christ on snow
white charger leading forth the av-
airy of heaven, the long line of white
chargers galloping through the scene,
the Gathering of hoofs, the clinking of
bridle- bits. and the Fash of s9ears,
all the earth conquered and all heaven
IN DoXology. And we halt again to
rest from the spectacle. Again the
panorama passes before the cavern of
Patmos, and John the exile sees great
thrones lifted, thrones OF martyrs,
thrones of apostles, thrones of
prophets, thrones of patriarchs, and
throne higher than all on which Jesus
sits, and pondcrous books are opened,
their leaves turned over, revealing the
names of all that have ever lived, the
good and the bad. the renowned and
the humble, the mighty and the weak,
and at tine turn of every
leaf the universe Is in rapt.
ure or fright. and the sea emp.
ties it's sarcophagus of all the dead of
the sunllen shipping aud the earth
gives way, aud the heavens vanish.
spectacle. The panorama moves on
before the cavern of PatmOs, and John
the exile beholds city OF gold, and
river more beautiful than the Rhine or
the Hudson rolls through it, and fruit
trees bend their burdens on either
bank, and all is surrounded by walls in
which the upholstery OF autumual for
ests, and the sunrises and sunsets of
all the ages and the glory of burning
worlds seem to be commingled. And
the inhabitants never breaty sigh,
or utter u groau, or discuss difference,
or frOwn dislike, or weep tear.
The fashion they wear is pure white,
and their tOrCheads IRE eucircled by
garlands, and they who were sick are
well, and they who were old are
young, and they who were lereft are
reunited. And as the last figure of
that panorama rolled out of sight,
think John must have fallen back into
his cavern, ncrveless and exhausted.
Too much was it for naked eye to look
at. Too much was it for human
strength to experience.
My friends, would not wonder if
you should have a very similar vision
after awhile. You will be through
this world, its cares. and fatgues, and
I struggles, and if you have served the
I Lord and have done the best you
could, / should not wonder il your
dying bed were a Patmos II often
has been so. | was reading of dying
boy who, while the family stood round
sorrowfuIly expect ng each breath
would be thelast, cried, open the gates
Open the gales. Happy! Happy. Hap
py" john Owen in his last hour said
to his attendant, ''On, brother Payne!
the long wished for day has come at
last" Rutherford, in the closing mo-
ment of his life cried out, Il shall
| shine, l shall see him as he Is, and all
the fair company with him, and shall
I have my share. ha' gotten the
victory. Christ Is holding forth his
arms to embrace me. Now | feel
Now | enjoy! Now rejoice. | feed
on mama, have angles food My
eyes will see my redeemer Glory,
glory dwell eth in the Immauuefs
land. Yes, 10000 times in the history
OF he world has the dying bed been
made Patmos. You see the time
Will come when you will, q child of
God, he eXlled TO your last sickness
as much as John was exiled to atmos.
You will go into your own room not
W cohe out again Tor GOl Is gong 10
DO sonnet hing better and grander and
happier for you than he has ever vet
done! There will be such visions let
down to Your pillow as God gives no
man if he is ever to return to this
ia sGe world. The apparent feeling of
uneasiness and restlessness at the
time OF the Christian departure, the
physicians say, is caused by no real
distress. 1t is an unconscious and in
voluntary movement, and l think in
many cases it is the vision of heavenly
gladness too great for mortal enour
ance. 1t is only heaven breaking in
on the departing spirit. You see your
work will be done and the time for your
departure will be at hand, and there
will be wings over you and wings un-
der you, and songs let loose on the
air, and your old father aud mother
gone for years will descend into the
rom, and your little children whom
you put away for the last sleep years
ago will be at Your side, and their kiss
will be ON your foreheads, and you viii
Gan p..F. In, F,.n