THE BUILDERS by Roderick S. Owen

Pacific Press Publishing Company · Oakland, California · Apr 13, 1904

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 30, No. 15.

THE BUILDERS

By Roderick S. Owen

BY RODERICK S. OWEN.

(Concluded.)

I SHALL attempt to show you but one more room to-day, the one called His Glorious Appearing. Here it is, as you see, right in the center of my building, and every other room is directly connected with it. In fact, only for this room all the other rooms would fall to the ground. You see it is circular in form, and has a glorious high dome, clear as crystal, and like the dome of heaven. This chair of Faith in the center of the room is so constructed that one can recline in it, and look out through the dome; or, by readjusting it, one can look out through the passage ways into any one of the other rooms. For instance, if you take the Guide-book, and read for a time, the dome will be lit up with a glorious light which will penetrate every one of the other rooms. Let the eyes follow this light into the Sanctuary room, and there you will see Jesus, our great High Priest, sitting at the right hand of the Father, or standing by the ark of the covenant; or perhaps you will see Him laying aside His priestly garments, and putting on His kingly robes, while all the angels gather about Him, ready to come to the earth. Turn and look by the same light of the Glorious Appearing into the room, Estate of Man, and view the graveyard through the State-of-the-Dead window, and, lo! you will see it all illuminated with a light like the breaking of a glorious morning; you will see the graves open, and the dead in Christ arise. The Immortality window will be aglow with light, for God's people are raised immortal, and you will hear them shout, 'O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?' See 1 Cor. 15:53-55. It is a soul-inspiring shout of victory over everything corruptible.

'Sometimes most wonderful scenes appear in the dome itself, and in this connection I wish to relate a view which came to me at one time, and which left a deep impression. I had been reading in my Guide-book, when suddenly I heard a distant roll of thunder, and, looking up, I saw before me a vast plain upon which were many houses. Away in the distant horizon a dark cloud was seen spreading over the plain, and, as it approached, the air grew heavy and chill, and on all sides it soon appeared dark and threatening.

'As the storm came on, the inhabitants rushed out of, and began to examine, their houses. I then saw that they were the homes of the builders, and I even recognized my own among them. I noticed that there was a great deal of questioning and controversy among them about the foundations of their buildings, and also about the windows, Immortality and State of the Dead. Would they stand such a storm of wind as seemed to be coming? And the ten doors, were they all properly set, so that none would give way, nor be found to have a single defect? And again: About that fourth door,—which would prove to be the stronger, the old style or the new? This was a great question. 'O, that I had followed the Book of instruction more closely!' was the thought uttered or unexpressed by all.

'Suddenly the storm burst upon them in all its fury. Matt. 7:27. The wind blew a terrific gale. The sand of the plain was picked up, and carried in clouds, producing a veritable simoon. O, how the buildings creaked and swayed in the wind! Domes were carried away, windows were crushed in, floors gave way, and some buildings were leveled to the ground. Then came the rain in a perfect torrent, which seemed as tho it would sweep everything before it. The houses where the domes or windows or doors had given way were soon filled with water, and began to crumble and fall. The sand of the plain was being washed away, and those houses whose foundations rested upon it soon went down, and were engulfed in the flood.

'There were some houses, however, which stood for a long time. They were the ones whose superstructure was correct, and whose foundations rested almost entirely upon the rock; but there were places where a little sand had been left beneath the walls. This the water gradually washed out, and left a place in the wall unsupported. Here one rock and there another fell until an opening was made; through this the floods rushed with great violence, and the building went down with a crash, the wreckage disappearing in the angry waters. As I looked over the storm-swept plain, how few houses were left standing!

'The storm passed away, the waters subsided, and there stood forth the true foundation stone, swept clean and bare, save for a few buildings still standing. Then there burst upon the plain a glorious light. O, how calm, how peaceful, how bright! Each building was radiant with the light of the new day. The plain seemed white and glistening. The glory of God now flooded it.

Suddenly the storm burst on them in all its fury.

'By a careful study of my Guide-book I found that the buildings are our characters; that the storm is the judgment; that our faith and practise will determine our destiny; that the Ten Commandments is the standard of judgment, and that our daily conduct must conform to these; that Jesus is the only foundation upon which a character can be built; that the fiery trials and the searching judgment will sweep away every character which does not conform in every detail to the instruction found in the Guide-book. O, my friend, study it faithfully, and follow it closely, and all will be well; for soon the opening skies will reveal our returning King, while all the heaven shall be filled with the radiant beings who are sent to gather God's children to meet the Lord in the air (1 Thess. 4:16, 17), and finally to take possession of the earth made new' (2 Peter 3:13; Rev. 1:1-7).

Shall you be there? Shall I be there?