Connecticut western news., 1899-11-09
OUR FATHERS HOUSE
DR. TALMAGE DISCOURSES ON THE
 HEAVENLY WORLD.
Gods Homestead, BuiIded on the Hills of Heaven, Provides Rooms For AIl-vivid Picture of the Heav- enly Home.

tCopyrght. Louis klopsch. 1S09.T
 WAsHINGToN, Nov. 5.-In a unique way the heavenly world Is discoursed upon by Dr. Talmage in this sermon under the figure of home; text, John xiv, 2, Tn my Fathers house are many rooms." ...
 Here is bottle of medicine that is q cure all. The disciples were sad, and Christ offered heaven as an alternative, n stimulant and a tonic. He shows them that their sorrows are only a 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 figurative. 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 a house. Paul, who never owned a house, although he hired one for two years in Italy, speaks of heaven as q house not made with hands," and Christ in our text. the translation of which is little changed. so as to give the more accurate meaning, says, Tn my Fathers house are many ro0ms."
 This divinely authorized comparison of heaven to a great homestead of large accommodations propose to car ry out. In some healthy neighborhood a man builds very commodious hab- itatlon. 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 Henrys room, that Is Flora's room, that is Mary's room, and the house is all oc- cupied. But time goes by, and the sons % out into the world and build their own homes, and the daughters. are married or have talents enough sfngly to go out and do good work in the world. After awhile 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 40 years ago." But time goes still farther by, and some of the chill dren are unfortunate and return to the old homestead to live, and the grandchildren come with them and perhaps great-grandchildren and again the house Is full.
 God Built on the Hills.
 Millennia ago God built on the hills of heaven a great homestead for q family innumerable, yet to be. At first he lived alone in that great house, but after awhile 1t was occupied by very large family, cherubic, seraphic, angelic. The eternities passed on, and many of the inhabitants became way ward and left, never to return, and many of the apartments were vacant. 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. '1n my Fathers house are : many rooms" You see, the place is to be apportioned of 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 di- vergent 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. ''In my Fathers house are many rooms" You see, heaven will be so large that if one wants an. entire room to himself or herself 1t 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 12,OOO furlongs and that the length and height and breadth of 1t are equal, says that would make heaven in size 948 sextillion 988 quintillion cubic feet, and then, reserving a certain DOT ton for the court of heaven and the streets and estimating that the world may last a hundred thousand years, he ciphers out that there are over 5,0O0, ,OOO, ,OOO, 900 rooms, each room IT feet long. 16 feet wide, 15 feet high. But I 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 rooTl 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 l should not wonder if. instead of the room that the statistician ciphered out as only IT feet by 16. 1t should be lar ger than any of the rooms at Berlin, St. James or Winter palace. Tn my Fa- ther's house are many rooms"
 A Majestic Homestead.
 Carrying out still further the sym bolism 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 guards man 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 place in which 1t con fronts the inhabitants celestial The reception room of the newly arrived from this world-what scenes 1t must have witnessed since the first guest ar rived, the victim of the first fratricide,