Reporter and farmer. [volume] (Webster, Day County, Dakota [S.D.]) 188?-1946, 1898-11-10
TALMAGE'S SERMON
IMPROVEMENTS IN v !,
SUNDAYS SUBJECT.
from revelations. Chapter XXI, ver,c
foiio"s;-"And 1 Saw u New
H~e"ven"--A Glorious Spectacle.

The stereotyped heaven does not
make adequate impression upon us.
we need the old story told in new
style In order to arouse our apprecia-
/, ton. do not suppose that we are
compelled to the old ~phraseology. King
James translators did not exhaust all
the good and graphic words In the
Engiish dictionary. suppose If we
should take the idea of heaven. and
translate 1t into modern phrase. we
would n that it's atmosphere Is a
combination of early June and of the
indian summer in O~ctober-a place
combining the advantages of city and
country, the streets standing for the
one. and the twelve manner Of fruits
Tor the other; a place of musical enter
tainments-harpers. pipers, trumpe-
ters. doxologies; a place of wonderful
srchitecture-behold the temples; a
place where there may be the higher
forms OF animal life--the beasts which
were on earth beaten, lash-whipped,
and CALLED and unblanketed, and work
ed TO death, turned out among the
white horses which the Book OF Reve-
lation describes as being in heaven; a
place of ~stupendous literature-the
books open; a place Of aristocratic
and democratic attractiveness-the
kings standing for the one, all nations
for the-ather; all botanical, pomologi-
IGnl nrnifhnlArfna arhnrnccnnf unr-
shipful beauty and grandeur.
But my idea now Is to speak chiefly
OF the improved heaven. People some
times talk of heaven as though 1t
were an old city, finished centuries
ago, when | have to tell you that no
city on earth, during the last nifty
years, has had such changes as heaven.
II is no the same place as when JOB,
and David, ard Paul, wrote OF 1t. For
hundreds and hundreds Of years ii has
been going through peaceful revoiu-
ton, and year by year, and month by
month, and hour by hour, and moment
by moment, 1t is changing. and chang
ing for something better. Away back
NlCIe NdS buly Out ItoiuShNS "
universe-the residence Of the Almigh-
~. Heaven had not yet been started.
immensely was the park all around
about this great residence; but Gods
sympathetic heart after a while over
flowed in other creations, and there
came. all through this vast country
of immensely, inhabited villages, whlch
grew and enlarged until they joined
each other, and became one great cen
trail metropolis OF the universe, street
ed. gated, tempted, watered, inhabited.
One angel went forth with a reed, we
are told, and he measured heaven on
one side. and then he went forth n
measured heaven on the other side;
and then st. John tried TO take the
census of that city, and he became so
bewildered that be gave it up.
That brings me TO the first thought
Of my theme-that heaven is vastly
improved in numbers. Noting little
under this head about the multitude Oh
adults who have gone into glory dur
ing the last hundred, or five hundred,
or thousand years, / remember there
are sixteen hundred millions OF peoF
pie Ia the world, and that the vast ma
| iority of people die in infancy. o
! many children have gone TO heaven
turing the last five hundred or thou
sand years, IL New York should
gather in one generation a million
population. If London should gather
in one generation four million popula-
ton. what a vast increase. But what
a mere nothing as compared with the
FIVE hundred million, the two thousand
million. the multitude that no man
' can number" that have gone into mar
city! OF course, all this X Tor
granted that every child that dies goes
as straight into heaven as ever the
light sped from a star; and that is one
reason why heaven will always De
fresh and beautiful-the great multi
tude OF children In it. Put five hundred
million children in a country, II VIII
be a blessed and lively country.
But add to this, IL you will. the great
multitude of adults who have gone In
to glory, and how the census OF heaven
must run up. Many years a cier-
lyman stood in a New England pulpit
/ and said that he believed that the vast
majority of the race would finally DC
destroyed. and that not more than
one person out OF two thousand per-
sons would be finally saved. There
happened TO be about two thousand
people in the village where he preach
ed. Next Sabbath two persons were
heard discussing the subject. and won
dering which one OF the two thousand
people In the village would finally
/ reach heaven, and n thought II
would lie the minister. and the other
thought il would be the old deacon,
Now. / have not much admiration for
a lifeboat which will 90 out TO a ship
sinking with two thousand passengers.
and get one of in safety. and let nine
teen hundred and ninety nine go to
The bottom. Why, HEAVIER must have
! been a village when Abel. the first soul
from earth entered II. as compared
With the present population of that
| great city.
Again: I remark that heaven has