The Fulton County news. [volume] (McConnellsburg, Pa.) 1899-current, 1899-11-09
REV. DR.. TALMAGE.
THE EMINENT DIvINE'S SUNDAY
DISCOURSE.
Subject: Our Fathers House - Gods
Homestead, Buiidod on tho Hills of
Heaven, Provides Rooms For ALL
Vivid Picture OF the Celestial Home.

Heaven, Provides. Rooms For ALL
Vivid Picture of the Celestial Home.
Copyright. Louis Klopsch. 1891
WAsHINaToN, d. Gin n unique way the
heavenly world is dscoursed upon by DR..
Talmuge in this sermon under the figure Of
home; text, John xiv.,2 I'm My Fathers
house are many rooms
Here Is a bottle OF medicine that Is a
,ure ALL The disciples were sad, and
Christ offered heaven as an Alternative, n
stimulant and n tonic. He shows them
hat their sorrows are only a dark back
ground of bright picture OF coming
'ellcity. He lets them know that, though
low they live on the lowlands, they shall
get have house on the uplands. Nearly
all the Bible descriptions OF heaven may be
fgurative. l am not positive that In all
henven there Is literal crown or harp or
pearly gate or throne or chariot. They
nay be only rsea 10 Illustrate the glorles
II the place, but how we'll they d6-kt The
tavorlte symbol by which the Bible pre-
sents celestial happiness is a house. Paul,
who never owned n house, although he
hired ono for two years In Italy, speaks OF
heaven as a "house not made with hands"
aud Christ in our text, the translation of
which is little changed, 80 as to give the
more accurate meaning, says: SIN MY
Fathers house are many rooms."
This divinely authorized comparison OF
heaven to great homestead OF large nc
pIOpOst 10 carry out. In
some healthy neighborhood man builds
very commodious hubitatlon. lie must
have room for all his children. The rooms
come to be called after the different mem
bers OF the family. That Is mothers room.
that is Georges room, that Is Henrv's room,
that is Fora's room, that Is Mary's room
and the house is all occupied. But time
goes by, aud the sons 90 out into the
world and build their own homes and the
daughters are married or have talents
enough singly to go out and do n good
work In the world. After II 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 OF the children are
unfortunate and return to the old home-
stead to live, aud the grandchildren come
with them and perhaps great-gran dchli-
dren and again the house Is full.
Millennia ago God built on the hills OF
heaven great homestead for Il family in
Vulnerable yet to be- At first He lived alone
in TINT great house, but after awhile IL
was occupied by very large family, cher
uhic, seraphic, ansehc. The eternities
passed on, aud many OF the inhabitants
became wayward and left, never to return,
and many OF the apartments were vacant.
l refer to tho fallen angels. Now these
apartments are filling up again There are
arrivals ut the old homestead OF Gods
children every day, and the day will come
when there will be no unoccupied room in
all the house.
AZ you and expect to enter 1t and make
there eternal residence, L thought you
would ike 10 get somo more particulars
about the many roomed homestead. "In
my Fathers house are many rooms" You
see, the place Is to be apportloned of into
apartments. We shall love all who are in
heaven, but there are some very good peo-
ala. ,l,a., IA
in the same room. They may be better
than we are, but they are OF 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 apart
ments. "In my Fathers house are many
rooms" You see, heaven will be so large
that III one wants an entire room to himself
or herself 1t can be afforded.
An ingenious statisticlan, taking the
statement made In Revelation, twenty-first
chapter, that the heavenly Jerusalem was
meas ured and found to be Il, 900 furlongs
and that the length aud height and breadth
OF 1t are equal, says that would make
heaven in size 94S sextilion 0SS quintillion
cubic feet, and then, reservlng certain
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 5000, 900, 900 ,000
rooms, each room seventeen feet long, six.
teen feet wide, fifteen feet high. But have
no faith in the accuracy OF that calculu-
tion 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. l should not wonder IL, instend
OF the room that the statistician ciphered
out MS only seventeen feet by sixteen, 1t
should De larger than any OF the rooms at
Rprlin St JnInnG Wintar nuln
my Fathers house are many rooms"
carrying out still further the symbolism
OF the text, let us join hands and go up to
this majestic homestead and see for our
selves. 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 place where we first meet the
welcome Of heaven. There must be place
where the departed spirit enters and a
place in which it confronts the Inhabitants
celestial. The reception room Of the new
ly arrived from this world-what scenes it
must have witnessed since tho first guest
arrived, the victim OF the first fratrlclde,
pious Abel! In that room Christ lovingly
greets all newcomers. He redeemed them
and He has the right to the lrst embrace on
arrival. What minute when the ascended
spirit first sees the Lord Better than all
we ever real about Him or talked about
Him or sang about Him In all the churches
and through all our earthly lifetime will
IL be, just for one second to see Him.
The most rapturous idea we ever had of
Him on sacramental days or ut the height
OF some great revival or under the uplifted
baton OF an oratorlo Is a bankruptcy OF
thought compared with the first dash of
His appearance In that reception room. At
that moment when you confront each
other, Christ looking upon you and you
looking upon Christ, there will be an &C.
static thrill and surging OF emotion that
beggar all description. Lookl They need
no Introduction. Long ago Christ chose
that repentant sinner, and that repentant
sinner chose Christ. Mightlest moment OF
hn immortal history-the first kiss OF
heavenl Jesus and the soul! The soul and
Jesus
But now into that reception room pour
the glorlned kinsfolk, enough OF earthly
retention to let you know them, but with
out their wounds or their sicknesses or
their troubles. See what heaven has done
for them-so radiant, so gleerul, so
transportingly lovely They call you by
name. They greet you with an ardor pro-
portioned to tho anguish OF your parting
ana the length OF your separation.
Fatherl Motherl There Is your child.
Slsters Brothersl Frlendsl | wish you
JOY. For years apart, together again in
the reception room OF the old homestead.
You see, they will know you are coming.
There are 80 many immortals filling all the
spaces between here and heaven that news
like that flies like lightning. They will be
there In IN instant. Though they were In
some other world on errand from God, a
signal would be thrown that would
fetch than rhou0h you roioht at a.