The Caucasian. (Shreveport, La.) 1900-192?, 1907-10-29

only strong walls. but they are built
out of the most beautiful Of precious
stones Wherever You examine them
their brilliant surfaces CLEAN with
myri3ds OF flashing lights, Never Cid
rainbow in the Sky have such Won
dcrful mixture Of colors as those to be
found among tie precious stones which
are built into the walls of heaven
There i'll apocaiyptic vision st. John
saw the Jasper. the sapphire, the chal-
cedony. the emerald, the sardony2, the
sardius, the clrrysolite, the beryl, the
topaz, the chrysoprase, the jacinth and
the amethyst Oh, the beauty. the sx-
uberance, the infinite variety, Of the
colors of the precious stones of the
walls of heaven. Why were those
stones set in the walls Of the New
Jerusalem? To teach US that when an
immortal soul passes through one OF
the gates of pearl he finds that the
wealth of heaven is so ineXhaustible
that every soul is fully satisfied and
every element of its nature has abun-
dant qualification. From this we I'M
derstand what the Bible means by 'the
beauty of holiness
Where the Walls Are of Gems.
Surprising we should today drive up
to one of the great walled in cities OF
the east. If the setting sun striking
it's light upon its walls turned them
into flaming mountain of light, and
found them q mass of precious stones
and the gates of the city of pearl. what
would we say? Why, we would ex-
claim: cat last we have reached a
city where wealth does not consist in
gold and gems, for here they are of no
more account than to be used for the
decoration of the walls. The treasures
of this city must be spiritual, not ma
terial'' 1t is so in heaven. There God
will give true treasure. and that in in
finite abundance. IN heaven, the
wealth and the joy and the happiness
are so axhaustible that each inhab-
liant can have his fill and yet there is
an ocean of JOY left Like great
tidal wave, the love and the pardon Of
God have rolled through the boule-
wards of the celestial city and over
leaped the walls and left its spray as
glittering gems shining gladstone
welcome to all who approach the heav-
emily capital.
But there is another fact about those
walls of heaven you must not overlook.
The length and the breadth and the
height OF them are equal. What does
St John mean when he says the
height is the same as the length and
the width? Does he mean that the
walls are, as he says. IA cubits high
"a multiple of twelve? Oh, no. This
apocalypse has Il fgurative interpreter
ton. 1t means that the walls of heav-
ell are so high that none of the mean
nesses or contemptibilities or evil
thoughts or sins of earth can ever
overleap them. 1t means that the
walls of heaven are so high that when
we once enter into heaven all the evi!
desires Of our lower natures shall
cease and we shall stand before Christ
perfect as he is perfect, pure as he is
pass through those gates of pearl You
will never again be tempted to be self
ish, never again be tempted to speak
harsh word against your nighbors.
never again be tempted to do what you
ought not to do or to leave undone
those things which you ought to do
Then all bitterness all envy. all hate.
all evil desires. shall forever pass away
Speed that day. o most 'merciful
Father. when | shall awake III thy
glory and my sinful nature shall be
cleansed and purified!
The Breadth Of the Walls.
But the most blessed thing to me
about this text ! have not yet dwelt
upon. That is the breadth of the walls
We are not tod, but | think they are
very broad When talk about the
width of the walls. think there is a
hidden meaning. If some one should
say, "Why are those walls thick?" most
would answer, ITO give them strength"
That is true. But do not believe that
Is the true meaning. Those walls Of
Tie clllpS were uSCu lOI tHc
most pleasurable of purposes. Upon
the tops of their city walls the old
Babylonish inhabitants used to drive
There the citizens Of most of the east
ern cities used to build many of their
houses Do you not remember how
Rahab had her house built upon the
top Of a city wall, where the Hebrew
spies visited her? And there. upon the
hot summer evenings, the people used
to gather upon the city walls to catch
the cool breezes from the mountains
Upon the city walls those who were
expecting their friends to come to visit
them would assemble and watch the
approaching cavalcades. Thus, when
I think of the broad walls of heaven
I always think Of them as crowded
with our dear ones. There they are.
watching and waiting. Every little
while methinks | can hear some of
them say, DO you see him coming?
Do you see my boy? Do you see my
brother? Do you see my husband or