The Chanute times. [volume] (Chanute, Kan.) 1897-1913, 1899-11-17
ITALMAGE'S SERMON.
MANY ROOMS IN HEAVEN"
SUNDAYS SUBJECT.
from John Chapte, XIV, Verse 2, as
FolIows;-"In My Fathers House Are
Many Rooms"-A Bottle OF Medicine
That Is n Cure-Ali.

q
cure-all. The disciples were sad, and
Christ offered heaven as an Alternative,
stimulant and a tonic. He shows
them that their sorrows are only
dark background OF a bright picture
Of coming felicity. He lets them know
that though now they live on the low
lands, they shall yet have house on
the uplands. Nearly all the Bible de-
scriptions of heaven may be fguratiVe.
| am not positive that in all heaven
there is a literal crown or harp or
pearly gate or throne or chariot. They
may be only used to illustrate the
glories Of the place, but how well they
do it! The favorite symbol by which
the Bible presents celestial happiness
is house. Paul, who never owned a
house, although he hired one for two
years in Italy, speaks Of heaven as a
"house not made with hands," and
Christ in our text, the translation OF
which is a little changed, so as TO
give the more accurate meaning, says
I'm my Fathers house are many
rooms"
This divinely authorized comparison
of heaven to a great homestead OF
large accommodations propose to car
ny out. In some healthy neighbor-
hood a man builds very commodlous
habitation. He must have room for all
his children. The rooms come to be
called after the different members OF
the family. That is mothers room;
that is Georges room; that is Henry 5
room; that is Flora's room; that IS
Mary's room, and the house is all &C.
cupied. But time goes by, and the
sons go out into the world, and build
their own homes; and the daughters
are married, or have talents enough
singly to go out and do good work IN
the world. After a while the father
and mother are almost alone IN the
big house, and seated by the evening
stand, they say: well, our family IS
no larger now than when we started
together forty years ago." But TIME
goes still further by, and some or the
children are unfortunate, and return
to the old homestead to live, and the
grandchildren come with them, ana
perhaps great-grandchildren, and again
the house is full.
Millennia ago God built on the hills
of heaven great homestead for a
family innumerable, yet to be. At flrst
he lived alone in that great house, but
after awhile it was occupied by very
large family, cherubic, seraphic, an
gelic. The eternities passed on, and
many Of the inhabitants became way
ward and left, never to return, and
many OF the apartments were vacated.
l refer to the fallen angels. Now
these apartments are filling up again.
There are arrivals at the old home
stead of Gods children every day, and
the day will come when there will
be no unoccupied room in all the
house.
AS you and I expect to enter it and
make there eternal residence, thought
you would like to get some more par
ticulars about the many-roomed home
stead. I'm my Fathers house are many
rooms" You see, the place is to be
apportioned off into apartments. We
shall love all who are in heaven, but
there are some very good people whom
we would not want to live with in the
same room. They may be better than
we are, but they are of a divergent
temperament We would like to meet
with them on the golden streets, and
worship with them in the temple, and
walk with them on the river banks, but
am glad to say that we shall live in
different apartments. I'm my Fathers
house are many rooms" You see,
heaven will be so large that If one
wants an entire room to himself or
herself, it can be afforded.
An ingenious statistician, taking the
statement made in Revelation, twenty
first chapter, that the heavenly Jeru-
salem was measured and found to be
twelve thousand furlongs, and that the
length and height and breadth of it
are equal, says that would make heaven
in size 94S sextillion, 9SS quintillion
cubic feet; and then reserving a GER
tain portion for the court of heaven
and the streets, and estimating that
the world may last hundred thousand
years, he ciphers out that there are
over FIVE trillion rooms, each room
seventeen feet long, sixteen feet wide.
fifteen feet high. But l have no faith
in the accuracy Of that calculation. He
makes the rooms too small. From all
| can read, the rooms will be palatial.
and those who have not had enough
room in this world will have plenty Of
room at the last The fact is, that
most people in this world are crowded,
and though out on a vast prairie or in
a mountain district people may have
more room than they want, in most
cases 1t is house built close to house.
and the streets are crowded, and the
cradle is crowded by other cradles, and
the graves crowded in the cemetery by
other graves, and one OF the richest
luxuries OF many people in getting out
of this world will be the gaining of
unhindered and uncramped room. And
| should not wonder II. instead OF the
room that the statistician ciphered out
as only seventeen feet by sixteen. it
should be larger than any OF the rooms