WHEN I again became conscious I was being lifted from the water, after which I was carried back to the chair, and was placed with my face toward the window. A Faith pillow was placed for my head-rest, and I looked out upon the scene before me. A light was shining over it all, like the light of a glorious morning, and I heard a voice saying, 'Your sins, which are many, are all forgiven you.'
'I then noticed that the name of the window was Forgiveness, and, as I rested and looked, wave after wave of glory rolled over my soul. Peace filled all its chambers; that peace that passeth understanding; that peace which floweth like a river. A glory seemed to gild the face of nature as I looked upon it. The world seemed to rejoice with me. The grass smiled, the ripple of the brook was turned into laughter. The trees of the wood clapped their hands, while all united in a chorus of praise. I realized that the joy of sins forgiven was mine, and I shouted, 'Glory!' 'Give thanks unto the Lord; for He is good; for His mercy endureth forever.'' Ps. 136:1.
'I then observed that the name of the chair in which I was sitting was Mercy, and that it was the same chair from which I had seen the pictures; for it was the mercy of God which had led me to repentance. And now, my friend, I trust and rest in this chair, and I dearly love this room and everything in it; even the thought of it brings me joy.'
'But,' said the neighbor, 'you do not often visit this room, do you? I have known people who think that there is but one such experience for each soul.'
'Yes, I know that some think so. I thought so myself at one time; but one evening, after carefully reading my Guide-book, I was led in here almost unconsciously. I sat down in the chair, and there appeared some pictures of the scroll I had not seen before; and by these I found that I had been doing some things ignorantly which were not in harmony with my Lord's desire. I also saw written at the head of these pictures on the scroll the words, 'I die daily.' 1 Cor. 15:31. Then I passed through the former experience entire, excepting the burial in water; and this was followed by the same joy and peace. Since then I have made it a practise to visit this room at the close of each day, and, after reading the Guide-book for more light, I enjoy this now blessed experience.
'Now come, my friend, we will next visit the room called the Estate of Man. You will notice that it has three windows placed side by side. The higher one in the center is called Immortality. The one to the right is called The State of the Dead, and the one to the left is called The Destiny of the Wicked.'
'O,' said the neighbor, 'this is the room of which I have heard so many speak, and indeed it seems a dreary room to me. That central window is a little bright and cheerful, but it is so narrow. Why, in our house that window is so wide that you can look out and see all the human family through it.'
'Yes, it is narrow,' was the reply, 'but you notice it is very long, and reaches up so as to give a good view of heaven, and to allow its light to fall upon all parts of the floor.'
'Yes, that is nice,' said the neighbor. 'And this one to the left (Destiny of the Wicked) is about the same as the one in my house, and I never like to look through it. Some of my neighbors have left it out entirely. I feel sorry to think of the terrible scenes of suffering now going on, and which must continue eternally.'
'O, that is not the idea which I get from reading the Guide-book,' answered the builder. 'I do not understand that the suffering is now going on at all, as you will see when I explain more fully the window to the right. The Book tells me that, after the judgment, the wicked will be punished according to the deeds done in this life, and then they will cease to be.'
'O, you do not mean that they will pass out of existence, do you?' queried the neighbor.
'I certainly do,' was the reply, 'for does not the Guide-book say that the unjust are reserved unto the day of judgment to be punished (2 Peter 2:9)? and that 'the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven; and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble; and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the Lord' (Mal. 4:1-3)? And did not John the Baptist say of the wicked, The chaff He will burn up with unquenchable fire? Matt. 3:12.
'Many other texts also speak of the punishment and complete destruction of the wicked. So I am told that, after they are destroyed, this window will be taken out, and in its stead will be placed a most beautiful panel, richly decorated, containing the words, God is love. Then, in the light of His love, we shall ever after see the destiny of the wicked.
'And now, my friend, in order that you may better understand the other two windows, I wish to relate an experience I had in this room not long since.'
'But,' said the neighbor, 'let me first tell you how I and many others have arranged this (State of the Dead) window. You see the way yours is set, it looks a little downward, and consequently you can see nothing through it, aside from that dismal graveyard. That is the disagreeable feature of the whole thing. Now, what we have done is to make this window look up toward heaven instead of toward the grave, and this we accomplished by throwing the bottom outward and upward, and we have raised ours so high that one can not see the graveyard at all, except by standing on tip-toe, and making a special effort, which, of course, most people do not care to do; so that the unpleasantness of this window is almost entirely removed. I said almost, for altho there
is such a bright outlook toward heaven, there is also another way leading from this window, over through the light of the Immortality window into that terrible scene in the window to the left. And O, it is sad to relate, but so many of the human family walk that way. All I can do is to shut my eyes, and not follow them.'
'Yes, that is a sad thing to contemplate,' was the reply, 'but let us see these windows in the light of my experience. Well, one day I
entered this room, feeling especially weak, realizing the frail nature of man. In this mood I seated myself in this chair, called Contemplation, and began to look first through the Immortality window. I could not look up, for I was sad, and consequently but little light entered my vision. Beneath this window, Immortality, I saw the entire human family moving along in a dark shadow, which I saw was the shadow of death. Rom. 5:12. I then saw that they were going to the graveyard, and, in order to get a better view of them, I moved my chair to the window, State of the Dead. As I did so, I heard a voice saying: 'Dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.' Gen. 3:19. 'The soul that sinneth, it shall die.' Eze. 18:20. 'And so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned.' Rom. 5:12.
'From my new view I could see the long caravan of people moving into the open grave. The little mounds were rapidly increasing on every hand. I noticed one grave near the center which was considered important by many who were burying their dead; for, as they turned away from newly-filled graves, they would cast an interested look toward that central grave, and lift their eyes to heaven. At this the sorrow would give place to joy, while some would even sing among the graves.'
