Herald and news. [volume] (West Randolph, Vt.) 1878-1943, 1894-02-22
"a VISION OF HEAVEN"
Subject Of a Discourse by Rev. It.
Dewitt Talmage.
He Makes Tour of ths Celestial City IL
a sunday Morning Dream objects of
Greatest Interest Pointed Oat b.
an 4ingel-what Most Inn
pressed Him.


sermon at the Brooklyn tabernacle
was, "A Vision of Heaven" the text
being Ezekiel l.. 1: Now it came to
pass as | was among the captives by
the River Of Chebar that the heavens
were opened and | saw visions of God. ;"
The sermon follows:
Expatriatea and in far exile ON the
banks OF the River Chebar, an aifiuent
of the Euphrates, sat Ezekiel. 1t was
there he had an immortal dream. and
it is given to us in the Holy Scriptures.
lie dreamed of Tyre and Egypt. He
dreamed of Christ and the coming
heaven. This exile, seated by the
River Chebar, had more wonderful
dream than you or | 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 memorabl
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 a dream had this morning. 1t
was about half past five. and the day
was breaking. 1t was dream of God:
a dream of Heaven. Ezekiel had his
dream on the banks of the Chebar: |
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 win
look centuries ahead Would you
not like TO know how il looks
now? That is what | am going to
tell you. | was there this morning.
| have just got back. How ! got into
that city of the sun know not. Which
of the twelve gates | entered is to me
uncertain. But my first remembrance
OF the scene is that ] 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
laughter and light, that | knew not
which street to take, when an angel of
God aceosted 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 And | said to the angel ''How
long hast thou been in Heaven?" and
the answer came, "Thirty-two years,
according to the earthly calendar"
There was a 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 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 essayist, Mr.. Drummond. says |
there is no church in Heaven, but he |
did not look for it on the right street |
Saint John was right when In his Pat
mosic vision. recorded in the third |
chapter of Revelation. he speaks of
The Temple of My God" ] saw il |
this morning; the largest church ever
saw; as big as all the churches and
cathedrals Of the earth put together,
and it was thronged. 0. what a multi
tude! / had never seen so many people
together. All the audiences of all the
churches of all the earth put together
would make a poor attendance COM
pared with that assemblage. There
was fashion in attire and head-dress
that Immediately took my attention.
The fashion was white. All in white,
save one. And the head-dress was
nette, mingled with green leaves culled
from the Royal Garden, and bound to-
gether 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 | was told that those
who wore them were prodigal sons, and
once fed swine in the wilderness and
lived on husl<s. but they came home,
and the rejoicing father said, Put
ring on his hand"
But | said there was one exception TO
this fashion of white pervading all the
auditorium and clear up through all
the galleries. IL was the attire of the
One who presided in that immense tenn
pie. The chiefest, the mightiest. the
iovliest person in all the place. His
cheeks seemed to be flushed with
infinite beauty, and His forehead was
a morning sky, and His lips were elo-
ouenee omnipotent. But His attire
was Of deep eolors. They suggested
the carnage through which He had
passed, and | said to my attending
angel, "What is that crimson robe that
He wears?" and was told. They are
dyed garments from Bozrah," and
He trod the wine press alone. ="
Soon after entered this temple they
began to chant the celestial litany. 1t