The Maryville times. (Maryville, Tenn.) 1884-1944, 1898-11-24
THE NEW JERUSALEM.
Rev. Dr.. Talmage Presents Some
Novel Ideas of Heaven.
The Home OF the Blest Growing Greater
and Grander all the Time It's POpg-
lation Ever Increasing and
Progressing.


In the following sermon Rev. I. De-
Witt Ialmage sets forth some novel
ideas of the world to come. The text
is: And | saw a new Heaven. "-Rey-
Citations, xxi, l.
The sterotyped Heaven does not make
adequate impression upon us. We
need the old story told in new style in
order to arouse our appreciation. l
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 English
dictionary. | suppose if we should
take the idea of Heaven, and translate
it into modern phrase, we would lind
that it's atmosphere is combination
of early June and of the Indian sum
mer in October, a place combining the
advantages of city and country, the
streets standing for the one, and the
twelve manner of fruits for the other;
a place of musical entertainments
harpers, pipers, trumpeters, doxolo-
gies; place of wonderful architecture
behold the temples! place where
there may be the highest forms of ami
NAL life-the beasts which were on
earth beaten, lash-whipped, and CALLED
and unblanketed, and worked to
death, turned out among the white
horses which the Book of Revelation
describes as being in Heaven; aplace 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, genealogical, pathological,
arborescent, worshipful beauty and
grandeur.
But my idea now is to speak chiefly
of the improved Heaven. People
sometimes talk of Heaven as though it
were an old city, finished centuries
ago, when 1 have to tell you that no
city on earth, during the last so years,
has had such changes as Heaven. 1t
is not the same place as when Job, and
David, and Paul wrote of it. For hun
dreds and hundreds of years it has
been going through peaceful revolu-
ton, and year by year, and month by
month, and hour by hour, and mo-
ment by moment, it 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. immensely was the park all
around about this great residence;
but Gods sympathetic heart after
awhile overfowed in other creations
and there came, all through this vast
country of immensely, inhabited vii
lagos, which grew and enlarged until
they Joined each other, and became one
great central metropolis of the uni
verse, streeted, gated, tempted, wa.
tered, inhabited. One angel went forth
with a reed, we are told, and he meas
ured Heaven on the one side, and Their
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
improved in numbers. Noting little
under this head about the multitude
of adults who have gone into glory
during the last 100, or 500, or 1000
years, | remember there are 100000,
600 of people in the world, and tina
the vast majority of people die in in
fancy. How many children must hav'
gone into Heaven during the last 50'
or 1000 years If New York shoult
gather in one generation 100000 pop
ulation, if London should gather il
one generation 100000 population
what a vast increase! But what |
mere nothing as compared with tn
500 900, 900, the 1000, 100000, the "mul
titude that no man can number" tina
have gone into that city! Of course
all this takes for granted that ever.
child that dies goes as straight int
Heayen as ever the light sped from
star; and that is one reason VIII,
Heaven viii always be fresh and beau
tiful-the great multitude of children
in it. Put s00,O00,0O0 children in
country, it will be blessed and livel,,
country.
But add to this, If you will, tn
great multitude of adults who hav
gone into glory, and how the census O
Heaven must run up! Many year
ago a clergyman stood in New Eng
land pulpit, and said that he believe
that the vast majority of the rae
would finally be destroyed, and tina
not more than one out of 1000 pei
sons would be finally saved. Their
happened to be about 1000 people i
the village where he preached. Mex
Sabbath two persons were heard dis
cussing the subject, and wonderin
which one of the 1000 people in th
village would finally reach HEAVIER
and one thought it would be the mir
lister, and the other thought it woul
be the old deacon. Now, l have nc
much admiration for lifeboat whic
will go out to ship sinking wit
1000 passengers, and get one off /
safety and let 1899 go to the bottom
Why Heaven must have been villag
when Abel, the first soul from eartl
entered it, as compared with the pre-,
ent population of that great city.
Again: l remark that Heaven ha
vastly improved in knowledge. Give
man 40 or 80 years to study one sc
ence, OF all the sciences, with all tn