Randy Alcorn - Everything You Always Wanted to Know about Heaven

I N THIS BOOK, well see from Scripture an exciting yet strangely neglected truth: God never gave up on his original plan for human beings to dwell on Earth. In fact, the climax of history will be the creation of new heavens and a New Earth a resurrected universe inhabited by resurrected people living with the resurrected Jesus.

A pastor once confessed to me, Whenever I think about Heaven, it makes me depressed. Id rather just cease to exist when I die.

Why? I asked.

I cant stand the thought of that endless tedium. To float around in the clouds with nothing to do but strum a harp... its all so terribly boring. Heaven doesnt sound much better than Hell. Id rather be annihilated than spend eternity in a place like that.

Where did this Bible-believing, seminary-educated pastor get such a view of Heaven? Certainly not from Scripture, where Paul said that to depart and be with Christ was far better than staying on a sin-cursed Earth (Philippians 1:23). My friend was more honest about it than most, yet Ive found that many Christians share the same misconceptions about Heaven.

Jesus said of the devil, When he lies, it is consistent with his character; for he is a liar and the father of lies (John 8:44). Some of Satans favorite lies are about Heaven. Satan need not convince us that Heaven doesnt exist. He need convince us only that Heaven is a place of boring, unearthly existence. If we believe that lie, well be robbed of our joy and anticipation, well set our minds on this life and not the next, and we wont be motivated to share our faith. Why should we share the good news that people can spend eternity in a boring, ghostly place even were not looking forward to?

Fortunately, Jesus has come from Heaven to tell us about his Father, the world beyond, and the world to come. If we listen to him which will require a concerted effort not to listen to the devils lies we will never be the same. Nor will we ever want to be. Satan cannot keep Christ from defeating him, but he can persuade us that Christs victory is only partial, that God will abandon his original plan for mankind and Earth. Because Satan hates us, hes determined to rob us of the joy wed have if we believed what God tells us about the magnificent world to come.

By the time you finish reading this book, you will have a biblical basis for envisioning the eternal Heaven. You will understand that in order to get a picture of Heaven which will one day be centered on the New Earth you dont need to look up at the clouds; you simply need to look around you and imagine what all this would be like without sin and death and suffering and corruption.

So look out a window. Take a walk. Use your God-given skills to paint or draw or build a shed or write a book. But imagine our world all of it in its original condition: The happy dog with the wagging tail, not the snarling beast, beaten and starved. The flowers not wilted, the grass not dying, the blue sky without pollution. People smiling and joyful, not angry, depressed, and empty. If youre not in a particularly beautiful place, close your eyes and envision the most beautiful place youve ever been complete with palm trees, raging rivers, jagged mountains, waterfalls, or snowdrifts.

Think of friends or family members who loved Jesus and are with him now. Picture them with you, walking together in this place. All of you have powerful bodies, stronger than those of Olympic decathletes. You are laughing, playing, talking, and reminiscing. You reach up to a tree to pick an apple or orange. You take a bite. Its so sweet that its startling. Youve never tasted anything so good. Now you see someone coming toward you. Its Jesus, with a big smile on his face. You fall to your knees in worship. He pulls you up and embraces you.

At last, youre with the person you were made for, in the place you were made to be. Everywhere you go, there will be new people and places to enjoy, new things to discover. Whats that you smell? A feast. A partys ahead, and youre invited. Theres exploration and work to be done you cant wait to get started.

I have a biblical basis for all these statements, and for many more. After you examine what Scripture says, I hope that the next time you hear people say, We cant begin to imagine what Heaven will be like, youll be able to tell them, I can.