Reviewed by Pastor Ron Klein
Most of us have questions about heaven. In fact, bookstores abound with accounts of near-death and after-death experiences, complete with angelic “guided tours”. A few of these books may have reliable components, but many are misleading and unbiblical.
Christians who believe God’s Word are perhaps partly to blame for this. We have sometimes failed to adequately explore, explain, and emphasize the main and plain biblical teachings about heaven. No wonder we have a world of unbiblical thinking filling the vacuum. There is a void in the human heart crying out for answers about the afterlife, and the relative silence from Christians about what Scripture says about heaven is particularly striking!
Perhaps our seminaries, churches, and families could and should have done a better job. The ultimate destination of God’s redeemed who will live forever with Christ in the Lord’s new heaven and earth provides a vision, encouragement, and hope that is fascinating, thrilling, and life-changing.
Book Highlights
Randy Alcorn has spent many years in biblical research on this subject. In his recent book titled Heaven, he attempts to put into this volume everything he has gleaned, in part reacting to false and misleading views of heaven, especially a certain group. From Randy’s perspective, the contemporary American viewpoint of heaven is a “philosophy which has blended elements of Platonism with Christianity and in so doing has poisoned Christianity and blunted its differences from Eastern religions” (pp. 459). A large portion of the book argues and focuses on this point. He was very clear on this but the heavy repetition of this reasoning made me grow a little weary.
The general thesis of the book is sound and encouraging! Examples and quotes abound to press home his point. Alcorn’s imagination aids us in thought and appreciation of the glories of eternal life that awaits God’s redeemed. This book is good motivation to “finish well”!
Cautions about the Book
Time and space do not allow me to deal at length with problematic portions of the book, but I will highlight a few areas to apply discernment to. First, a few of the authors quoted are controversial in evangelical circles. Next, Alcorn applies descriptions of the Millennium to the eternal state. This may be confusing to some Christians. Thirdly, Randy’s argument for a “refined new earth” as opposed to the destruction of our fallen earth and a newly created “new earth” might not be very convincing to some Christians. Alcorn admits, “In much of what I’ve just said, I’m speculating, of course, but because the Bible gives a clear picture of resurrection and of earthly civilization in the eternal state, I’m walking through a door of imagination that Scripture itself opens” (pp. 434-435). Alcorn imagines animals having non-human souls so that our pets most likely will be in heaven. We will write books, play sports, perform dramas, be injured and heal quickly, and physical things on earth may survive into eternity. If I understood Alcorn correctly, he holds to an “intermediate heaven” and a “permanent relocation of heaven to the New Earth”. I feel more comfortable with Wayne Grudem’s view, “…There will also be a new heaven and earth…There will also be a new kind of unification of heaven and earth…There will be a joining of heaven and earth in this new creation.” In a context of prophetic statements, the apostle Paul says, “Test everything. Hold on to the good”. (I Thes. 5:21) God says in Acts 17:11 that the Bereans, “…examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true”.
Many of the almost 500 pages of Heaven at times uses phrases such as, “it seems like”, “it appears”, “maybe”, “it is possible” and the like. Read these portions with biblical and Spirit led discernment. Remember that all of us know in part and see through a glass darkly. Furthermore, here on earth in our fallen bodies with the world, the flesh, and the devil working against us, we all need to beware of being distracted, deceived, and discouraged about the main and plain things of God.
Summary
If you’ve commonly thought of heaven as a realm of disembodied spirits on clouds with eternal harp strumming, you’re in for a fantastically wonderful surprise! This book is about real people with real bodies enjoying a very close relationship with God and each other in a “global Garden of Eden”; exploring and enjoying these relationships in a new heaven and new earth as God intended it to be. After reading this book, when someone says, “We can’t begin to imagine what heaven will be like”, you will perhaps be better able to tell them, “I CAN”!
If you'd like to purchase a copy of Heaven, stop by Books by the Park this week!
