The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1898-11-09
HEAVEN IMPROVES,
Dr.. Talmage Tells How Gods
Home Has improved.
AN OLD FASHIONED IDEA.
The lllinitable Vastness OF Para
disc. vvnct the Future on
High Will Be. Heaven
Beautified by Death.

All out of the usual line ofse-monlz-
ing this story Of DR.. Talmase concern
ing the next world. and it may Go good
to see things from 4 novel standpolnt:
The text is Revelation xxi, |. And |
saw new heaven.
The stereotyped heaven does not
make adequate impression upon us.
We need the old story told in new style
in order to arouse our appreciation. !
do not suppose that we are compelled
to the old phraseology. King james
translators did not exhaust all the good
and graphic words in English diction-
airy. I suppose il we should take the
idea of heaven and translate 1t into
modern phrase we would find that its
atmosphere is sa combination Of early
June and of the Indian summer IN
Ocsober-a place combining the advan-
tages of city and country. the streets
standing fol the one and the II man
ner of fruits for the other; place OF
musical observation-disclosures, PIP
ers. trumpeters, doxolosies: place OF
wonderful architecture--behold the
temples: place where there may be the
higher forms of animal life-the beasts
which were on earth beaten. lash whip
ned and CALLED and unblanketed and
worked to death turned out among he
white horses which the book of Revela-
ton describes as being in heaven: a
Mace of stupendous literature-the
books open; a place Of aristocratic and
democratic attractiveness-the kings
standing for the one, all nations for
the other; all botanical, pomological,
ornithological, arborescent, worshipful
beauty and grandeur.
But my idea now is to speak chiefly
Of the improved heaven. People some
times talk of heaven as though it were
an old city, finished centuries ago, when
have to tell you that no city on earth
during the last 80 years has had such
changes as heaven. 1t is not the same
place as when Job and David and Paul
wrote of it. For hundreds and hundreds
of years it has been going through
peaceful revolution, and year by year,
and month by month, and hour by
hour, and moment by moment 1t IS
changing, and changing for something
better. Away back there was only one
residence in the universe-the residence
of the'Almighty. Heaven had not yet
been started Immensity was the park
all around about this great residence,
but Gods sympathetic heart after a
while overhowed in other creations, and
there came all through this vast coun-
try of immensity inhabited villages,
which grew and enlarged until they
Joined each other and became cne great
central metropolis of the universe,
streeted, gated, tempted, watered, in
habited. One angel went forth with a
reed, we are told, and he measured
heaven on one side, and then he went
forth and measured heaven on the other
side, and then St. John tried to take
the census of that city, and he became
so bewildered that he gave it up.
That brings me to the first thought Of
my theme-that heaven is vastly i'm
proved in numbers. Noting little un-
der this head about the multitude Of
adults yho have gone into glory during
the last 100 or 500 or l 900 years, Ire
member there are /, 800, 900, 600 of peo-
pie in the word, and that the vast ma
jority of people 'die in infancy. How
many children must have gone into
heaven during the last 500 or 1000
years. If New York should gather in
one generation l 1000, 900 population, if
London should gather in one genera
eicn 100000 population, what vast
increase. But what mere nothing as
compared with the 500,000,000, the
1900, 100000, the multitude that no
man can number" that have gone into
that city. OF course all this takes for
granted that every child that dies goes
as straight into heaven as ever the light
speed from star, and that is one rea-
son why heaven will always be fresh and
beautiful-the great multitude Of chill
dren in it. Put 500. 900, 900 children
in country, it will be blessed and
lively country
But add to this, if you will, the great
multitude Of adults who have gone into
glory, and how the census Of heaven
must run up. Many years ago a
clergyman stood in New England
pulpit and said that he believed
the vast majority of the race would
finally be destroyed, and that not
more than one person out Of 1000
persons would be finally saved. There
happended to be about 1000 people in
the village where he preached. Next
Sabbath two persons were heard dis
cussing the subject and wondering
which one Of the 1000 people in the
village would finally reach heaven, and
one thought it would be the minister,
and the other thought it would be the
old deacon. Now, I have not much ad
miration for a lifeboat which will go
out to sinking ship with 1000 pas
sengers and get one off in safety and let
1899 60 to the bottom. Why, heaven
must have been a village when Abel,
the first soul from earth, entered it as
compared with the present population
OF that great city
Again, I remark that heaven has vast
ly improved in knowledge. Give
man 40 or SO years to study one science
or all sciences, with all the advantages
of laboratories and observatories and
philosophic apparatus, he Will be a
marvel of information. Now, into what
intelligence must heaven mount, angel
hood sainthood, not after studying for
40 or so years, but for thousands of
years-studying God and the soul and
Immortality and the universe! How
the intelligence Of that world mus
sweep on and on, with eyesight farther
reaching than telescope, with power Ct
calculation mightier than all human
mathematics, with powers of analysis
surprising all chemical laboratory, with
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