Peninsula enterprise. [volume] (Accomac, Va.) 1881-1965, 1894-02-10

their nature?" Well, from what saw
I think childhood has advanced to full
maturity of faculty, retaining all the
residence of childhood, and that the
aged had retreated to midlife, freed
from all decsdence, but still retaining
the charm of the venerable. In other
words, it was fully developed and COM
plete life of all souls, whether young or
old.
CHANGED CONDITIONS.
Some one says, Twill you tell us
what most impressed you in heaven?"
will. Twas most impressed with the re-
versal of earthly conditions. knew, Of
course, that there would be differences
of attire and residence in heaven, for
Paul had declared long ago that souls
would then differ as one star differed
from another" as Mars from Mercury,
as Saturn from Jupiter. But at every
step in my dream in heaven l was amazed
to see that some who were expected to be
high in heaven were low down, and
some who were expected to be low down
were high up. You thought, for in
stance, that those born of pious parent
age, and of naturally good disposition,
and of brilliant faculties, and Of all
styles of attractiveness will move in the
highest range of celestial splendor and
pomp. No, no. l found the highest
thrones, the brightest coronets, the rich
est mansions, were occupied by those
who had reprobate father or bad mother,
and who inherited the twisted natures Of
10 generations of miscreants, and who
had compressed in their body all de-
PRAYED appetites and all evil pro-
pensities, but they laid hold of Gods
arm, they cried for especial mercy, they
conquered seven devils within and sew
enty devils without and were washed in
the blood of the Lamb, and by so much
as their contest was terrific and awful
and prolix their victory was consum-
mate and respondent, and they have
taken places UNNECESSARILY higher than
those of good parentage, who could hard
ly help being good, because they had 10
generations of preceding piety to aid
them. The steps by which many have
mounted to the highest places in heaven
were made out of the cradles of cor
rupt parentage. When l saw that, |
said to my attending angel: THAT is
fair; that is right. The harder the
struggle the more glorious the reward. "
Then pointed to one of the most col
onnaded and grandly do1ned residences
in all the city and said, WHO lives
there?" and the answer was, "The widow
who gave two mites" land who lives
there's" and the answer was, 1.-The peni
tent thief to whom Christ said, This day
shalt thou be with me in paradise. ;"
"And who lives there?" I said, and the
answer was, 1.-The blind beggar who
prayed, Lord, that my eyes may be
opened ,"
NAMES NOT IN THE DIRECTORY.
Some of those professors Of religion
who were famous on earth l asked about,
but no one could tell me anything con-
corning them. Thei: names were not
even in the city directory Of the New
Jerusalem. The fact is that / suspected
some of them had not got there at all.
Many who had ten talents were living
on the back streets of heaven, while
many with one talent had residences
fronting on the Kings park, and back
lawn sloping to the river clear as crys-
tai, and the highest nobility of heaven
were guests at their table, and often the
white horse of him who "hath the moon
under his feet" champed its bit at their
doorway. Infinite capsize of earthly
conditions! All social life in heaven
graded according to earthly struggle and
usefulness as proportional to talents
given!
AS walked through those streets ap-
preciated for the first time what Paul
said to Timothy, "If we suffer, we shall
also reign with him." 1t surprised me
beyond description that all the great of
heaven were great sufferers. "Not all!"'
Yes, all. Moses, him of the Red sea,
great sufferer. David, him of Absalom's
un6lial behavior, and Ahithophel's be-
trayal, and a nations dethronement,
great sufferer. Ezekiel, him of the cap
tivity, who had the dream on the banks
of the Chebar, great sufferer. Paul,
him of the diseased eyes, and the Medi-
terranean shipwreck, and the Mars Hill
derision, and the Mamertine endungeon-
ment, and the whipped back, and the
headman's ak on the road to Ostia, a
great sufferer.
Yea, all the apostles after lives of suf-
fering died by violence, beaten to death
with fullers club, or dragged to death by
mobs, or from the thrust of sword, OF
by exposure on a barren island, or by
decapitation. All the high up in heaven
great sufferers, and women more than
men, Felicitas and ST. Cecilia and st.
Agnes and st. Agatha and st. Lucia and
women never heard Of outside their own
neighborhood, queens of the needle, and
tn, broom, and the scrubbing brush, and
the washtub, and the dairy, rewarded &C
cording to how we'll they did their work,
whether to set a tea table or govern a
nation, whether. empress or milkmaid.
l could not get over it, as in my
dream l saw all this, and that some OF
the most unknown of earth were the
most famous in heaven and that many
who seemed the greatest failures OF
earth were the greatest successes Of
heaven. And as we passed along one OF
the grandest boulevards Of heaven there
approached us a group Of persons so
radiant in countenance and apparel Ihad
to shade my eyes with both hands be-
cause I could not endure the luster, and
I said, "Angel, do tell me who they are"
and the answer was, "These are they
who came out of great tribulation and
had their robes washed and made white
in the blood of the lamb"
EoUALIzED AT LAST.
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