Heaven – The Promise of No More Night

By Debra DuPree Williams @DDuPreeWilliams

Maybe it’s because I’m getting older, but I’ve thought a lot about heaven lately. Honestly, I don’t think that’s so unusual. When you get to be in my decade, the years go by fast, it’s only natural to look heavenward.

The New Oxford American Dictionary (2001, Oxford University Press) defines heaven as a place regarded in various religions as the abode of God (or the gods) and the angels, and of the good after death, often traditionally depicted as being above the sky.

As a Christian, I think God would take exception to other gods residing anywhere near His presence. For my purposes, heaven is where God, the one and only God of all creation, dwells, and it is also the place I hope to call home one day.

The King James Bible refers to heaven 327 times in the Old Testament and 255 times in the New Testament. It sounds like a pretty significant place to me.

IN THE BEGINNING

The first mention of heaven in the Bible is in Genesis 1:1, In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. So heaven has existed since the beginning of time. 2 Samuel 22:14 says, The LORD thundered from heaven, and the Most High uttered His voice. Pretty straightforward. Samuel tells us David spoke the words of this song to the LORD in the day the Lord delivered him from all his enemies and from the hand of Saul (1 Samuel 1:1 NASB).

David was pretty sure heaven was God’s home since he wrote these words. Remember, David was a man after God’s own heart (1Samuel 13:14). Also, he’s the one who wrote most of the Psalms which mention heaven many, many times.

JESUS KNEW

And let’s not forget the Lord’s Prayer. You’ll find that in Matthew 6:9-13. In my Bible, these words are in red indicating they are spoken by Jesus. This is a portion of his Sermon on the Mount. One would think Jesus knew the dwelling place of his heavenly Father.

Almost every book of both the Old and the New Testaments mentions heaven. Obviously, it was important to the people of old just as it is to us today.

There are many verses that tell us we will live with God in heaven after our life here on earth is over. Here are a few of those:

John 11:25;  John 5:24;  Luke 23:43;  John 3:16;  John 14:1-31;  1 Thessalonians 4:13-4:18;  John 16:22;  1 Corinthians 15:51-57;  Philippians 3:20-21;  Hebrews 9:27;  Romans 6:23;  John 14:6.

There are more, but these are powerful verses, all well worth printing on your heart to give you hope for the future. And remember my favorite verse-it doesn’t talk about heaven, but it does let us know that God knows our future—Jeremiah 29:11.

FAVORITE VERSES

I think my favorite verses which speak about the afterlife and being in heaven are Revelation 21:1-9 and Revelation 22:5.

As a child, I was terrified of the dark. So much so that my poor big sister had to share not just a room, but a bed with me. God bless her, she had the patience of Job.

Revelation 22:5 is such a comforting verse to me. And there shall no longer be any night; and they shall not have need of the light of a lamp nor the light of the sun, because the Lord God shall illumine them; and they shall reign forever and ever. (NASB)

What a promise!

We will be living in the Light of the Risen Lamb!!

Blessings, y’all!

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Y’all know I love my Southern Gospel music. One of my favorite singers is David Phelps. God gifted him with a voice like none I’ve ever heard. I do hope this blesses you. I cry every single time I hear this, and I’ve requested that it be sung at my funeral one day.