Staunton spectator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1849-1896, 1895-05-29
What Shall We DO in Heaven


What Shall We DO in Heaven!
Ye shall see heaven open, and the angels OF
God ascending and descending upon the Son
of Man.-John l., 81.
A clergyman of this city, eloquent
and we'll beloved, recently discourse d
on some of the probable occupations OF
the soul after death.
1t may be regarded as a sign of the
times that no subjects excite wider
popular interest than those which refer
to what may possibly happen to us af-
ter the cemetery gate is closed. There
has hardly been an age in the history
of the race when rational faith in the
verities of religion has had stronger
hold than now, or when the yearnlng
after some knowledge of the future was
more eager or more anxious.
It sometimes seems as though the
world had Just walked up to the fact
that the circumference of another life
touches the circumference of this life,
and that those who leave us with a
whispered "Good night will soon greet
us with joyful 'sGood morning" as we
meet on the other shore.
What, then, was our surprise when
this eloquent preacher was taken to
task for his utterances on the ground
that our occupations in the Beyond are
a matter of idle speculation for which
there is mo basis of knowledge" Then
followed the curious assertion, mo
body has ever come back from the 9TH
er world to tell the story of his expert
ences there"
Let us look at this subject very bl DAD
ly for few minutes.
idle speculation" for which there is
mo basis of knowledge" On the con-
trary, speculation of this kind seems to
us to be spiritually profitable, and the
basis of knowledge is both wide and
ample. We say this not in the spirit of
controversy, but with the desire to af
ford comfort to the bereaved. God has
taken our dear ones. For a time we
are separated from them, but our love
remains undiminished, while our hope
of reunion, like the candle on the altar
of certain churches, is kept afiame by
day and night. 1t is possible that the
Lord has denied us the privilege of
imagining their environment after as
surfing us that eye hath not seen nor
heart conceived the happiness by which
He has surrounded them? Do we con
travene any one of His injunctions
when with fearful memory we recall
the past, and then in glorious anticipa
ton, based on His promise, dream
sweet dreams of that Home not made
with hands, eternal and in the heav
ems? If He has endowed us with i'm
agination, shall it halt when it reaches
the threshold of pearl, and shall we be
driven back to a grief unillumined by
single glimpse of the cloudless sky
which bends above the departed? Nay,
is it not prerogative which makes US
calm and resigned to think, and think
what they are doing beyond the stars,
and wonder whether they "hold us in
full survey" until wonder becomes
faith, and faith chases our signs away
and brightens our pathway as with a
vision of glory?
the other world to tell the story of his
experiences there.'' Then close your
Bible and clasp it with a clasp, for it
has strangely misled US. Never look at
it more nor trust it again, for its pages
are a snare and a deceit. 1t opens with
the declaration that God held vocal
communication with man. and it ends
with description of the Celestial City
which makes the nerves tingle with
gratitude, while bereavement and sor
row cry out with joy. The magma
tion is stimulated by the vision which
John saw as he sat on the cold rocks of
Patmos, and if it pursues its unwearied
flight to this heaven of Revelation will
the Lord frown in disapproval
Nobody has ever come back? Will
the Christian say that? Dare he thus
throw doubts over the record and i'm
pugn the authority of the record writ
ers? If any one popularity of the BIZ
BILE stands conspicuous it is the constant
reiteration of the nearness of heaven
to earth and the repeated assertion that
angels have literally visited the habi
tations of men. Will you throw down
the ladder OF Jacob, by means of which
heavenly beings assembled and descend
ed? Did Jacob feel that he was engag-
ed in. idle speculation" and what
would have been his reply to the asser-
ton that nobody has ever come back
from the other world ?"
Moreover, did not Christ solemnly
pledge Himself to return for the com
fort of His followers? Did He indulge
in rhetorical license in that hour of up
heaval and utter WEAKNESS? Did He
encourage the disciples by mere figure
OF speech, or did He speak with the
seriousness that He could keep that
pledge?
In our judgment, there is no voice
which can SO effectually whisper,
"Peace, be still !" to the troubled heart
as the voice of the imagination which
pictures our loved ones as looking earth
ward while we look heavenward Let
the picture be as vivid as you can make
it; if possible, think of the other home
as more real than this one; forever bear
in mind the glorious truth that this
life is the portico of the Temple and the
other life the Temple itself; shade your
eyes that perchance you may catch a
glimpse of the white robed multitude
beyond the threshold curtained by
death; listen that mayhaps you may
hear their voices as they sing of the
goodness of the Lord. Your own, from
whom you have parted, are in that
throng, and it will tighten your path
way, bring the ruddy color back to
your cheek, the old smile to your lips,
and enable you to say, "Thy will be
done,n if with reverent speculation
your thoughts wander from the portico
in which you stand to the Temple in
which they dwell.
Think OF heaven as much as you will.
let there be no limit to your thinking.
Your thoughts will irradiate the dark
ness of this life and prepare you for
that hour when with open arms you
shall be welcomed on the other shore.
N. Z. Herald.
n