Weekly expositor. (Brockway Centre, Mich.) 1882-1894, 1894-02-09
TABERNACLE PULPIT.
DR.. TALMAoE BREACHES ABOUT
THE HEAVENLY KINGDOM.
snow It Came to Pass While Was
Among the Captives by the River of
Ch-bar That tho heavens Were Opened
and L Saw Visions of God"

hymns, the scripture lesson and the
prayers, as we'll as the sermon, were
about the future world more than about
this world. Rev. DIR. Talmage took for
his subject: "A Vision of Heaven" the
text being: Ezekiel Iii: "Now it
came TO pass as l was among the cap
tives by the River of Chebar that the
heavens were opened and saw visions
of God"
Expatriated and in far exile on the
banks of the River Chebar, an aflluent
of the Euphrates sat Ezekiel. 1t was
there he had an immortal dream,
and it is given to us in the holy script
ures He dreamed of Tyre and Egypt
He dreamed of Christ and the coming
heaven. This exile seated by that
river Chebar had a more wonderful
dream than You or l ever have had, or
ever will have seated on the banks of
the Hudson, or Alabama, or Oregon, or
Thames, or Tiber, or Danube.
But we all have had memorable
dreams, some of them when we were
half asleep and half awake, so that we
did not know whether they were born
of shadow or sunlight; whether they
were thoughts let loose and disar-
ranged as in slumber, or the imagina-
ton of faculties awake.
Such dream l had this morning. It
was about $3.50 and the day was break
ing. 1t was a dream of God; dream
of heaven. Ezekiel had his dream on
the banks of the Chebar; l had my
dream not far from the banks of the
Hudson. The most of the stories of
heaven were written many centuries
ago, and they tell us how the place
looked then, or how it will look cen
turtles ahead. Would you not like to
know how it looks now? That is what
am going to tell you. was there
this morning. l have just got back.
How got into that city of the sun L
know not Which of the twelve gates
entered is to me uncertain. But my
first remembrance of the scene is that
i stood on one of the main avenues,
looking this way and that lost
in raptures and the air so full
of music and redolence, and laugh
ter and light that l knew not which
street to take, when an angel of God
accosted me and offered to show me
the objects of greatest interest, and TO
conduct me from street to street and
from mansion to mansion, and from
temple to temple, and from wall to
wall. said to the angel, How long
hast thou been in heaven?" and the
answer camo, "Thirty-two years ac-
cording to the earthly calendar"
There was n secret about this angels
name that was not given me, but from
the Tenderness, and sweetness, and af-
lection, and interest taken in my walk
through heaven, and more than all in
the fact of thirty-two years residence
the number of years since she assembled,
think it was my mother. Old age,
and decrepitude, and the tired look
, were all gone, but think it was she.
You see, was only on n visit TO the
city, and had not yet taken up resi-
dence, and could know only in part.
/ looked in for few moments at the
great temple Our brilliant and lovely
Scotch essayisI, Mr.. Drummond, says
there is no church in heaven, but he
did not look for it on the right street.
St John was right when in his
Patmosic vision, recorded in the third
chapter of Revelation, he speaks of
1.-THE Temple of My God" l saw it
this morning; the largest church ever
saw; as big as all the churches and
cathedrals of the earth put together,
and it was thronged. Oh, what
multitude! had never seen so many
people together. All the audiences of
all the churches of all the earth put
together would make poor attend
ance compared with that aSscmblage.
There was fashion in attire and head
dress that Immediately took my atten-
ton. The fashion was white. All in
white, save one. And the head-dress
was garland of rose, and lily, and
mignonette, mingled with green leaves
culled from the royal gardens, and
bound together with bands Of gold.
And saw some young men with
ring on the finger of the right hand,
and said to my accompanying angel,
"Why those rings on the fingers of the
right hands?' and Twas told that those
who wore them were prodigal sons,
and once fed swine in the Wilderness
and lived on husIs, but they came
home, and the rejoicing Father said,
'Put ring on his hand"
But I said there was one exception
to this fashion of white pervading all
the auditorium and Gear up through
all the galleries. 1t was the attire of
the one who presided in that immense
temple. The chiefest, the mightiest,
the loveliest person in all the place.
His checks seemed to be flushed with
infinite beauty, and his forehead was
morning sky, and his lips were elo-
quence omnipotent But his attire was
of deep colors. They suggested the
carnage through which he had passed,
and l said to my attending angel,
what is that crimson robe that he
wears?" and was told, "They are
dyed garments from Bozrah," and The
trod the wine press alone"
Soon after entered this temple they
began TO chant the celestial litany. 1t
..,oa ,,,,1;lra onvfhiuor had ever hoard