by Jeffrey W. Hamilton<\/p>\n\t
I. Some things are just hard to describe<\/p>\n
A. When asked to describe her husband, Shulammith answered – Song 5:10-16<\/p>\n
1. We understand that this is not a precise, scientific description<\/p>\n 2. Rather, the unknown is described by the familiar. Somehow we know the\nreal thing is better.\n
3. Each illustration shows a characteristic. It is inadequate, yet beautiful.<\/p>\n
B. Describing heaven causes similar difficulties<\/p>\n
1. We haven’t been there before<\/p>\n 2. Those who have pick familiar things to compare it to, but we know the\ndescription is inadequate.\n
II. Describing heaven<\/p>\n
A. Heaven is home<\/p>\n 1. If you travel for any length of time, there is soon a desire to go home –\nHebrews 11:13-16\n 2. Too many see this life as home, but everything in this world perishes –\nPsalm 49:10-12\n
3. At death, we go to our eternal home – Ecclesiastes 12:5<\/p>\n
4. Jesus has a place prepared for you and I – John 14:1-3<\/p>\n
5. The size is incredible – Revelation 21:16<\/p>\n a. 12000 stadia in each direction, or 1500 miles in each direction, or\n225,000 square miles – not counting the upward direction!\n b. If placed in America, it would span from New York to Denver and\nfrom Canada to Florida\n
c. That is a BIG city!<\/p>\n
B. Heaven is a place of rest – Hebrews 4:9-11<\/p>\n
1. Revelation 14:13 – Rest from our labors<\/p>\n
C. Heaven is a place of friends – Hebrews 12:22-24<\/p>\n 1. I have often traveled and it’s comforting to know there are brethren where\nI travel.\n 2. Friends and relations I just haven’t met yet. But heaven holds all the\nredeemed of all ages. There is no one there who will not be a friend.\n
3. This is a reunion of a close-knit family like no other reunion.<\/p>\n
D. Heaven is a place of beauty<\/p>\n 1. Revelation 4:1-4 – Descriptions rich in color and light. Expensive material\nis used throughout\n
2. Revelation 21:18-21<\/p>\n
E. Heaven is a place of light<\/p>\n
1. Revelation 21:22-27<\/p>\n
a. The light shows the closeness of God<\/p>\n
(1) Psalm 84:11 – God is a sun<\/p>\n
(2) I John 1:5 – God is light without darkness<\/p>\n
b. It shows the purity of heaven<\/p>\n (1) Revelation 19:7-8 – righteousness is liken to bright, clean\nlinen.\n
F. Heaven is a place of joy – Isaiah 65:17-19<\/p>\n
1. Past pains will be forgotten<\/p>\n
2. All causes of sorrow will be gone – Revelation 21:3-5<\/p>\nIII. Heaven is eternal. All of the good with none of the bad. The world we only dream of will\nbe a reality.\n A. But its entrance is limited – Matthew 7:13-14. Not by number, but by those willing\nto enter.\n
B. Revelation 20:12 – Judged by the record of our deeds<\/p>\n
1. We cannot earn heaven, but only the obedient may enter.<\/p>\n C. Nothing we described here comes close to doing justice of heaven. It is far greater\nand more glorious than told. Won’t you make it your home?\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
by Jeffrey W. Hamilton I. Some things are just hard to describe A. When asked to describe her husband, Shulammith answered – Song 5:10-16 1. We understand that this is not a precise, scientific description 2. Rather, the unknown is described by the familiar. Somehow we know the real thing is better. 3. Each illustration shows a characteristic. It is…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[32],"tags":[46],"class_list":["post-63678","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sermon","tag-heaven"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":20093,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/do-you-know-anything-concerning-the-eastern-gate-in-reference-to-heaven\/","url_meta":{"origin":63678,"position":0},"title":"Do you know anything concerning the eastern gate in reference to heaven?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"September 2, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Do you have any information concerning \"the eastern gate\" with reference to heaven? The reason I ask is that a couple of years ago I heard a preacher say as he was closing out a gospel meeting, \"If I don't see you before I'll meet you at the eastern\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":13746,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/who-cares-if-the-word-rapture-doesnt-appear-in-the-bible-it-is-still-a-term-used-to-describe-a-real-event\/","url_meta":{"origin":63678,"position":1},"title":"Who cares if the word “rapture” doesn’t appear in the Bible? It is still a term used to describe a real event","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 31, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I read your article on the Rapture. It was interesting but not convincing to me. \u00a0Who cares if some people use the word 'Rapture' - it is only a term used to describe a real event. \u00a0The word 'trinity' isn't in the Bible either but most Christians use the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1714,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/what-does-the-fatness-of-the-land-and-the-dew-of-heaven-mean\/","url_meta":{"origin":63678,"position":2},"title":"What does “the fatness of the land and the dew of heaven” mean?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"August 17, 2004","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: What does \"the fatness of the land and the dew of heaven\" mean? Answer: \"Therefore may God give you of the dew of heaven, of the fatness of the earth, and plenty of grain and wine\" (Genesis 27:28). A \"fat\" land is one which produces bountifully. The twelve spies\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2004\/08\/Huge-Cluster-of-Grapes.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":41238,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/our-home\/","url_meta":{"origin":63678,"position":3},"title":"Our Home","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 2, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: II Corinthians 5:1-9 \u00a0 I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0God has promised us a place of rest - Hebrews 4:1-3 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0There are days when I turn over in bed and start to think about all the things I need to get done today. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a01.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Even though it is earlier than I\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Audio"","block_context":{"text":"Audio","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/audio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":3266,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/heaven-will-be-even-better\/","url_meta":{"origin":63678,"position":4},"title":"Heaven Will Be Even Better","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 14, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"by Roy Diestelkamp In song songbooks by many congregations is the old hymn: \u201cFor The Beauty Of The Earth.\u201d The first verse says: \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cFor the beauty of the earth, \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 For the beauty of the skies, \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 For the love which from our birth \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Over and around us\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":95441,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/will-heaven-be-here-on-earth\/","url_meta":{"origin":63678,"position":5},"title":"Will heaven be here on Earth?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"May 6, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Hello, I am very thankful for the many good articles I read on your website. I've recently been hearing some in the church teaching the idea that heaven will be on earth in the future. I know from many scriptures that this is not the case. I think one\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/63678","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=63678"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/63678\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=63678"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=63678"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=63678"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}