The commonwealth. (Greenwood, Miss.) 1896-1923, 1899-11-10
OUR HOME In HEAVEN
Dr. Talnage breaches on the Glories
of Our Fathers House.
Khere Are in Ii Many Rooms, md
There Is n Place for Every
One Of Gods Chill
dren.
Copyright, 1893, by Louis klopsch.)
Washington.

sSAl, Jonn li:E: In my father 5
house are many rooms"
Here is a bottle of medicine that is a
cure all. The disciples were sad, and
christ offered Heaven as an alternative,
q stimulant and a tonic. He shows
them thar their SORROWS are only a dark
background of a bright picture of com
It1g felicity. He let's them know that,
though they live on the lowlands, they
snail yet have a house on the uplands.
Nearly all the Bible descriptions of
Feaven may be tiguratiye. | 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
rsed to illustrate the glories of The
place, but how well they do it! The ia
Norite symbol by which the Bible pre-
sentS celestial happiness is a house.
Paul, who never owned a house, al
though he hired one for two years in
Italy, speaks of Heaven as a house MOI
made with hands, and Christ in our
text, the translation of which is a lit
;te changed, so as to give the more ac-
Surate meaning, says: "ln my Fathers
fonse are many rooms"
This Diyinely authorized comparison
OF Heaven to a great homestead of large
accommodations | propose to carry out
In some healthy ne%ighborhood a man
builds a very c~ommodious h]abitation.
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 lienry's room. that is Flora's
loom, that is Mary's room, and the
Louise is all occupied. But time goes by,
Ind the sons go out into the world ami
build their own homes. and the daugh-
Yers are married or have talents enough
fingly to 60 ont and do a good work IN
the world. After awhile the father and
mother are almost alone in the house,
and, seated by the evening stand, they
say: well, II family is no larger
now than when we started together Al
years ago" But time goes still farther
by. and some of The children are unfOr-
tunate, and retarn to the old homestead
10 live. and the grandchildren come
with them, and perhaps g~reat-grand-
children. and again the house is full.
MillenEia . God built on the hills OF
Heaven Il great homestead for a family
iDnnmerable. yet to be. AT first He lived
alone in that great house, but after
awhile it was occupied by IA very large
family, cherubic, seraphic, angelic.
The eternities passed on. and many Of
the inhabitants became hayward and
left, never TO return, and many of the
apartments were vacated. 1refer to the
Fallen angels. Now these apartments
arc filing up again. There are arrivals
VI the old homestead of Gods children
every day. and the day will come when
there will be no unoccupied room IN all
the house.
As You and | expect to enter ii and
make there eternal residence, | thought
YOU would like to get some more par
ticulars about the many roomed home.
stead. "ln my Fathers house are many
roomS.' You see the place is to be APP
portioncd off into apartments. We hall
love all who are in Heaven, but there
are some very good people whom we
would not want to live with in the same
but they are of a divergent tempera-
mcnt. 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 IL himself or herself it can be af-
forded.
An ingenious statistician. taking the
statement made in Revelation, twenty
first chapter, that the Heavenly Jeru-
salem was measured and found to be
1900 furlongs and that the length and
height and breadth Of ii are equal. says
that would make Heaven in size 9iS
sextillion 9Ss quintillion cubic feet, and
then. reserying a certain portion fer
the court of Heaven and the streets and
estimating that the world may last a
hundred thousand years, he ciplIcrs out
that there are over 5000, 600, 900, 600
rooms, each room II feet long, 16 feet
wide, Is feet high. But / have no faith
in the accuracy of that calculation.
He makes the rooms too small. From
all | can read, the rooms will be pala-
tial, and those who have not had enough !
room in this world will have plenty of
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 it is a house built close to house.
and the streets are crowded, and the
the graves crowded in the cemetery by
other graves, ald one of the richest
Injuries of many people in getting out
of this world will be the gaining OF un-
hindered and uncramped room. And |
should not wonder if. instead of the
that the statistician ciphered out
as only II feet by 16, it should be
larger than any Of the rooms at Berlin,
st. James or Winter palace. In my
Fathers house are many rooms"
Carrying out still further the symbol
ism of the text, let us join hands, and go
up to this majestic homestead and see
for ourselves. As we ascend the golden
steps an invisible guardsman swings
open the front door. and we are ushered
to the right into the reception room OF
the old homestead. That is the first
place where we first meet the welcome
OF Heaven. There must be a place
where the departed spirit enters, and 4
place in which it confronts the inhab-
celestial. The reception room
Of the newly arrived from this world