Randy Alcorn - Heaven

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Heaven

Copyright 2004 by Eternal Perspective Ministries. All rights reserved.

Author photo copyright 2007 by Olan Mills. All rights reserved.

Designed by Alyssa Force

Cover photograph by Russell Illig/Getty Images. All rights reserved.

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version. NIV.

Copyright 1973, 1978,1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked NASB are taken from the New American Standard Bible, 1960,1962,1963,1968,1971, 1972, 1973,1975, 1977,1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.

Scripture quotations marked "NKJV'are taken from the New King James Version. Copyright 1979, 1980,1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked NLT are taken from theHoly Bible, New Living Translation, copyright 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked ESV are taken from the Holy Bible, English Standard Version, copyright 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked KJV are taken from the Holy Bible, King James Version.

Scripture quotations marked RSV are taken from the Holy Bible, Revised Standard Version, copyright 1946, 1952,1971 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America, and are used by permission. All rights reserved.

Some Scripture quotations are taken from THE MESSAGE. Copyright by Eugene H. Peterson 1993,1994,1995, 1996, 2000,2001, 2002. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group. All rights reserved.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Alcorn, Randy C.

Heaven / Randy Alcorn.

p. cm.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN-13: 978-0-8423-7942-7

ISBN-10: 0-8423-7942-8

ISBN-13: 978-0-8423-7944-1 (pbk.)

ISBN-10: 0-8423-7944-4 (pbk.)

1. HeavenChristianity. I. Title.

BT846.3.A43 2004

236'.24dc22 2004011329

Printed in the United States of America

12 11 10 09 08 07

18 17 16 15 14 13

To Kevin Butler, Jessi Hickman, Gary Stump,

Cami Norquist, Jerry Hardin, Greg Coffey,

Lucille Alcorn, Leona Bryant, David Reeves,

Daniel Traugott, Lynley Herbert,

Stephenie Saint, Rachel Terveen,

Eli Hubbard, Jonathan Coburn,

Emily Kimball, AlBay lis, III,

John Swartzendruber, Bob Whitson,

Owen Raynor, Joyce Kelley,

Zach Evans, Ryan Dekker,

Cody Ogle, Philip Higgins, Dawn Lechler,

Sally Turpin,Laura Libby, Mike Cimmarrusti,

Kyle Speer, Matthew Pearson,

Jonathan Murphy, Brad and Steffanie Jones,

Eric Kuemmel, Cheyenne Fiveash, Elizabeth Wall, Kelley Lance Courtney, Alison Heth,

and countless others who departed prematurely" (yet in God's good time) to a world far greater than this one but far less than the one to come,

which all of us who know King Jesus will behold together, slack-jawed,

on the New Earth's first morning.

CONTENTS

T hanks to the hundreds of people who, after reading my books, have written me to ask questions about Heaven. Many have shared their stories of loved ones dying, of facing their own deaths, and of God's grace preparing them for Heaven. Some have sought answers to the deepest questions within and have pushed me further in my study of God's Word.

To scholars (and friends) Gerry Breshears, Justin Taylor, and Gregg Allison, who graciously gave me the theological critique I sought: Thanks, men, for sharpening iron and being willing to see the manuscript at its worst so you could help me bring it to its best. And thanks, Justin, for passing on to me all those great resources.

Thanks to my good friend Stu Weber for giving me such strong encouragement after reading the original manuscript. It helped renew my strength to tackle the revisions with hope for the impact of the final product.

I usually mention my buddy Steve Keels in the acknowledgments, but this time he actually deserves it. Thanks, Steve, for being a model of true friendship. I loved our long hours discussing the world to come, and I look forward to many more (both here and there). And ifas you've told meI'll be your gardener on the New Earth, I'll consider it a privilege.

Thanks for the contributions of Randy Butler, Larry Gadbaugh, Marshall Beretta, Keith Krell, Barry Arnold, Matt Guerino, Ruthanna Metzgar, Skeets Norquist, Amy Campbell, Scott Teeny, Dave Sheets, Dave Martin, and Paul Martin. My friends Angie Hunt and Dave Jackson from ChiLibris shared helpful insights regarding animals. Sarah Ballenger chased down stray endnotes. Diane Meyer offered great encouragementthanks, sis.

I deeply appreciated and benefited from conversations with my family: Nanci, the world's best wife, and our sons and daughters, Dan and Angela Stump and Dan and Karina Franklin. Special thanks to Karina, who did considerable early editing of the rough manuscript. Nanci, I'm deeply grateful God used your encouraging words on the first drafts to keep me at this huge task.

Thanks to the musicians of Sovereign Grace Ministries, who drawworshipful attention to the God of Heaven, and to my friend John G. Elliott, whose song "The Praise Goes On and On" and other wonderful Christ-centered music kept me company during much of this several-year project.

I appreciate the diligence, insights, and friendship of my Tyndale House editors, Dave Lindstedt and Lynn Vanderzalm. It was a long haul for all of us, Dave and Lynnthanks for being faithful. Thanks, Carol Traver, for all your labors. Thanks also to the copy editors: Michal Needham, MaryLynn Layman, Heather House, and Jeff Erickson. Special thanks to my friend Ron Beers, publisher at Tyndale House, who first asked, "Would you write a big book on Heaven?" Without Ron's prompting, I might not have undertaken this project.

Thanks to my friends and EPM staffers Bonnie Hiestand, Kathy Norquist, Janet Albers, Linda Jeffries, and Sharon Misenhimer for all you did to free me to work on this book. Thanks to the following people, who kindly typed up many of the citations from over 150 sources: Amy Campbell, Kelsey Carl, Polly Carl, Judy Drais, Lori Durbin, Ferny Guilleux, Andrew Hale, Shawnda Holzer, Tina Ide, LeannaRuth Jensen, Debby Lehr, Christy Miesner, Pauline Merit, Christie Strait, Donna Thomson, Parm Tunnell, and Sherie Way.

I'm grateful to some of my Western Seminary "Theology of Heaven" class members, whose papers stimulated various insights: Danny Jenkins, Andrew McClellan, Mark Baker, Kathryn Barram, Holley Clough, Jan Dwyer, Geoff Hart, Richard Herold, and James Warrick.

Special thanks to Randy and Sue Monnes for generously opening to me their cozy riverside cabin in Sandy, Oregon, for a number of weeks. And to my friends Melissa and Mike King, who made me feel at home as their neighbors.

My deepest gratitude to the hundreds of people on our prayer team, who read my e-mails and took the time to pray for me and for this book. If lives are touched for eternity by it, you will have played a major role. God will reward your faithfulness.

Thanks above all to King Jesus, who stayed with me in long, lonely hours of composition and rewrites, seemingly endless revisions, and labor to search the Scriptures and get all the details right. I knew this would be a massive and taxing project, but I didn't anticipate the extent to which it would drive me to my knees. What great comfort Jesus Christ brought me in the middle of many nights, as I asked and received his empowerment.