Reporter and farmer. [volume] (Webster, Day County, Dakota [S.D.]) 188?-1946, 1898-11-10

place for news than 1t used to be-
news that sounded through the streets.
news ringing from the towers, news
heralded from the palace gate. Glad
news! Victorious news!
/ do not think 1t was superstitious
when, one Wednesday night, | stood
by a deathbed within a few blocks o.
the church where / preached, and on
the same street, and saw one OK the
aged Christians OF the church going
into glory. After I had prayed with
her I said to her, I'VE have all loved
you very much, and will always cher
ish your memory in the Christian
church. You will see my son before
l see him, and I wish you would give
him our love- She said, Il will, !
will" and 1 n twenty minutes she was
In heaven-the last words she ever
spoke. 1t was a swift message to the
skies. If you had your choice be-
tween riding in a. heavenly chariot
and occupying the grandest palace IN
heaven. n sitting on the throne
next highest to the throne Of God, and
not seeing your departed loved ones;
and on the other hand, dwelling in the
humblest place in heaven, without
crown or throne, and without garland
and without scepter. yet having your
loved ones around you, you would
choose the latter. I say these things
because / want you to know it is a DO
nestle heaven, and consequently 1t is
all the time improving Every one
that goes up makes 1t a brighter place,
and the attractions are increasing
month by month and day by day; and
heaven, so vastly more OF a heaven,
a thousand times more Of a heaven
than 1t used to be, will be a better
heaven yet. oh, I say this TO inten-
sify your anticipation!
/ enter heaven one day. It is al
mos empty. l enter the temples OF
worship. and there are no worshipers.
i walk down the street, and there are
no passengers. / go .nto the orches-
ira, and / find the Instruments are
suspended in the baronial halls OF
heaven, and the great organs OF eter-
nifty, with multitudinous banks OF keys,
are closed. But / see q shining at
the gate, as though ne were landing
on guard. and / say. Sentinel. what
does this mean? / thought heaven
was a populous city. Has there been
some great plague sweeping of the
population?" Have you not heard
the newsT' says the sentinel. There
is a world burning. there is a great
confiagration out yonder, and all heav-
en- has gone out TO look at the GONNA
grafton and take the victims out OF
the ruins. This is the day for which
all other days are made. This Is the
Judgment. This morning all the
chariots. and the cavalry, and the
mounted infantry rumbled and gal
loped down the sky" After / had lis
tened to the sentinel. / looked of over
fields OF air were bright with a blaz-
ing world. / said, Yes, yes, this must
be the Judgment" and while ! stood
there I heard the rumbling Of wheels
and the Gathering of hcofs. and the
roaring OF many voices, and then |
saw the ~coronets and plumes and ban
ners. and / saw that all heaven was
coming back again-coming to the
wall. coming to the gate, and the null
titude that went OF in the morning
was augmented by a multitude
caught up alive from tho earth. and
a vast multitude of the re~surrected
bodies OF the Christian dead. leaving
the cemeteries and the abbeys and the
~mausoleums and the g~raveyards of the
earth empty. Procession moving
in through the gates. And then 4
found out that what was the fiery
Judgment day on earth was jubilee in
heaven, and l cried. "Doorkeepers OF
heaven, shut the gates; all heaven has
come in! Doorkeepers, shut the u
gates. lest the sorrows and the woes
of earth, like bandits. should some
day come up and try to plumber the
city,"