Marshall County independent., 1899-12-15
TALMAGE'S SERMON.
THE WORLD AS 1T WILL BE"
SUNDAYS SUBJECT.
Text: III. Peter 3: ia New Earth,
Wherein DwelIeth Righteousness-
Story of the New Earth as 1t VIII
BE in Centuries to Come.

world better and happier we sometimes
get depressed with the obstacles to be
overcome and the work 10 be accom-
plished. Will il not be a tonic and IN
inspiration TO look at the world as it
will be when it has been brought back
20 paradisaical condition? So let us for
few moments transport ourselves
into the future and put ourselves for
ward in the centuries, and see the
world in its rescued and perfected
state. as we will see it if in those times
we are permitted to revisit TINS
planet. as | am sure we VIII. We all
want TO see the world after it has been
thoroughly gospelized and all wrongs
have been righted We will want to
come back and we will come back,
to look upon the refulgent cOnsumma-
ton toward which we have been on
larger or smaller scale tOiling. Hav-
ing heard the opening of The orchestra,
on whose strings some discOrds trav-
eled. we will want to hear the last
triumphant bar of the perfected ora
toriO. Having seen the picture as the
painter drew the first outlines on the
canvas. We Will want 10 see it when it
is as complete as Reuben's Descent
from the Cross" or Michael Angeles
Last Judgment" Having seen the
world under the CLEAN of the star OF
Bethlehem, we will want to see it
when, under the full shining of the
Of ID ieyI
strike twelve at noon.
There will be nothing in that coming
century of the worlds perfection to
hinder our terrestrial visit. Our power
and velocity of locOmotiOn will have
improved infinitely. 1t will not take us
long to come here, however far OIL IN
Gods universe heaven may be. The
Bible declares that such visitation is
going on now. Are they not all min
istering spirits sent forth to minister
to those who shall be heirs of saliva
tion?' Surely, the gates of heaven
will not be bolted. after the world is
Edenized, so as to hinder the redeemed
from descending for a tour OF inspec-
ton and congratulatiOn and triumph.
You know with what interest we
look upon ruins-ruins OF kenilworth
castle, ruins of Melrose abbey, ruins OF
Rome, ruins of Pompeii. So this world
in ruins is an enchantment to look
at, but we want TO see it when rebuilt,
repillared recovered realtered, re-
dedicated. The exact date of the
worlds restoration | cannot foretell.
1t may be that through mighty awak-
eningS it may take place in the middle
of the nearby twentieth century. IL
may be at the opening of the twenty
first century. but it would not be sur
prising if it took more than 100 years
to correct the ravages of sin which
have ragged for 5000 years. The chief
missionary and evangelistic enterprises
were started in this century. and be
not dismayed if it takes a couple of
centuries to overcome evils that have
had full swing for sixty centuries.
take no responsibility in saying on
what page of the earthly calendar it
will roll in, but Gods eternal veracity
is sworn to it that it will roll in; and
as the redeemed in heaven do as they
please, and have all the facilities Of
transit from world to world. you and
|, my hearer or reader, will come and
look at what my text calls "A new
earth, wherein dwelleth righteous
ness"
| imagine that we are descending at
that period of the worlds complete
gospelization. There will be no peril
in such a descent. Great heights and
depths have no alarm for glOrified
spirits. We can come down through
chasms between worlds without
growing dizzy, and across the
spaces of half universe without los
ing our way. Down and farther down
we come. As We approach this world
We breathe the perfume of illimitable
gardens. FloraliZatiOn that in the CEN
turies past was here and there walled
in, lest reckless and dishonest pluck
or despoil it. surges it's billows Of color
across the fields and up the hillsides.
and that which was desert blossoms
as the rose All the foreheads of crag
crowned with flowers; the feet of the
mountains slippered with flowers. Oh,
this perfume of the continents. this
aroma of the hemispheres, AS we ap-
proach nearer we hear songs and
laughter and hOsannas, but not one
groan of distress, not one sob of be-
reavement. not one clank of chain.
1iybt tA1 arth
are first acosted by the spirit of the
twenty-first century, who proposes 10
guide and show us all that we desire
to see. Without his guidance We would
lose our way, for the world is so much
changed from the time when we lived
in it. First of all. he points out to us
a group of abandoned buildings. We
ask this spirit of the twenty-frst CEN
tury, What are those structures whose
walls are falling down, and whose
gates are rusted on the hinges?" Our
escort tells us: Those were once
the crime of the world has died out.
Theft and arson and violence have
quilted the earth. People have all they
want, and why should they appropriate
the property of others. even if they
had the desire? The marauders, the
assassins, the buccaneers. the Herods.
the Mana Sahibs, the ruffians, the
bandits are dead, or. transiigured by
the power of the Christian religion.
and are now upright and beneficent
and useful. Prisons are of no more use