X.UUALITY OF HEAVEN. 



evil, and fitted to the tenovated faculties of the 

 redeemed, will be prepared in some part of the 

 universe, for the residence of the just. 



In reference to the locality, and the circum 

 stances of our future destination, there appear to be 

 only four or five suppositions that can be formed. 

 Either, 1. The world we now inhabit will be 

 new-modelled, after the general conflagration, 

 and furnished as a proper place of residence for 

 its renovated .inhabitants ; or, 2. Some of the 

 globes now existing in other regions of space, to 

 which the holy inhabitants of our world will be 

 transported, may be allotted as the more perma 

 nent habitation of the just; or, 3. Some new 

 globe or world will be immediately created, 

 adapted to the circumstances of redeemed men, 

 and adorned with scenery fitted to call forth into 

 exercise their renovated powers ; or, 4. The 

 redeemed inhabitants of heaven may be permit 

 ted to transport themselves from one region or 

 world to another, and be furnished with faculties 

 and vehicles for this purpose ; or, 5. After re 

 maining for a certain lapse of ages in that parti 

 cular world to which they shall be introduced 

 immediately after the resurrection, they may be 

 transported to another region of the universe, to 

 contemplate a new scene of creating power and 

 intelligence, and afterwards pass, at distant in 

 tervals, through a successive series of transporta 

 tions, in order to obtain more ample prospects of 

 the riches and glory of God s universal kingdom. 



In all these cases, whatever supposition we 

 may adopt as most probable, the general laws 

 which now govern the universe, and the general 

 relations of the great bodies in the universe to 

 each other will remain, on the whole, unchanged ; 

 unless we adopt the unreasonable and extrava 

 gant supposition, that the whole frame of Jeho 

 vah s empire will be unhinged and overturned, 

 for the sake of our world, which, when compared 

 with the whole system of nature, is but an un- 

 distinguishable atom amidst the immensity of 

 God s works. With equal reason might we sup 

 pose, that the conduct of the inhabitants of a 

 planet which revolves around the star Siriuy, or 

 the catastrophe which may have befallen the 

 planets Ceres, Pallas, Juno, and Vesta, must 

 necessarily involve in them the destruction of 

 the terraqueous globe. 



Let us suppose, for a moment, that the globe 

 we now inhabit, with its surrounding atmosphere, 

 shall be cleared from the physical evils which 

 now exist, and undergo a new arrangement to 

 render it fit for being the abode of holy intelli 

 gences in a future state. On this supposition, 

 would not the general relation of things in the 

 universe remain materially the same as at pre 

 sent? The wide expanse of the firmament, and 

 all the orbs it contains, would present the same 

 general arrangement and relation to each other 

 which they now do. Supposing this new-mo 

 delled world to bo of a spherical or spheroidal 



figure which appears to be the general from of 

 all the great bodies in the universe with which 

 we are acquainted there would then exist cer 

 tain properties and relations between circles cut 

 ting each other at right angles, or in any other 

 direction ; or, in other words, between an equa 

 tor and poles, parallels and meridians, &c. as ai 

 present. The direction of its motion, the incli 

 nation of its axis, the component parts of its 

 surface and atmosphere, and other circumstances, 

 might be changed, which would produce an 

 immense variety of phenomena, different from 

 ^hat now takes place ; but the same general 

 principles of geography, astronomy, arithmetic, 

 geometry, chymistry and mechanics, which apply 

 to all the various relations of material object* 

 wherever existing, would also be applicable in 

 the present case ; and, consequently, such sci 

 ences would be recognised and cultivated, and 

 the principles on which they are built, reasoned 

 and acted upon, though in a more perfect man 

 ner than at present, in this new world and new 

 order of things. Such sciences, therefore, aa 

 flow from the natural and necessary relations of 

 material objects, and which tend to direct us in 

 our conceptions of the wisdom and power of the 

 great Architect of nature, must be known and 

 cultivated in a future world, where rational spirits 

 are united to an organical structure, and related 

 to a material system ; and consequently, if tha 

 elementary and fundamental principles of such 

 sciences be not acquired now, they will remain 

 to be acquired hereafter. 



The remarks now stated, with a few modifica 

 tions, will apply to any of the other suppositions 

 which may be made in reference to the place and 

 circumstances of our future destination. Even 

 although the relations of external objects and 

 their various properties, in the future world, were 

 altogether different from those which obtain in 

 the present state of things, still, it would bo 

 useful and highly gratifying to the mind, to be 

 enabled to compare the one with the other, and 

 to perceive how the divine wisdom is displayed 

 in every mode and variety of existence. No 

 possible mode of material existence, however, 

 can be conceived to exist, to which some of the 

 elementary principles of scientific knowledge do 

 not apply. 



There are, indeed, several arts and science* 

 which more immediately respect the preseiu 

 world, and our relations in it, which cannot bj 

 supposed to be subjects of investigation in a fu 

 ture state of happy existence. The study of 

 languages which forms a prominent object of 

 attention with many of those who declaim on the 

 vanity of human science the study of medicina 

 as a practical art; the study of civil and muni 

 cipal law ; the study of political economy, he. 

 raldry and fortification , the arts of war, farriery, 

 falconry, hunting and fishing; the arts of thfl 

 manufacturer, clothier, dyer, &c. in short, aU 



