Book: Heaven - Part 1 "The Theology of
Heaven"
Author: Randy Alcorn
Randy Alcorn is the founder and director of
Eternal Perspective Ministries, which is a non-profit organisation which
reaches out to teach about Christ primarily to the disadvantaged and to the
needy, including pro-life and overseas mission work. Before this he was a
pastor for fourteen years. He has also written many other books and novels,
some of which he mentions and quotes fairly frequently in this book.
Topic: Heaven
Surprisingly enough. However, as you will
find out if you read the book, this word is far too simple to explain what he
is actually talking about. He outlines his bible-based beliefs that the word
'Heaven' is not what our culture and society think it is. His topic is to show
what 'Heaven' means biblically and answer the big questions that come along
with it. This first part is entitled "The Theology of Heaven" which does
what it says on the tin. He outlines common thoughts about Heaven and goes
about dispelling the view that Heaven is a fluffy, cloudy place where we will
be bored for all eternity. He focuses mainly on Heaven being a physical place,
and talks about where this physical place will be: this Earth in it's redeemed
form. Towards the end of this part he also starts to look at what it will mean
that God will dwell with us, as the bible promises, and some of the other
promises which the bible tells us about our eternal future.
Length: Doesn't look that long...
...but, boy, did it take me a while to get
through. I'm not sure that was really a length issue, which I talk about a bit
more later. There is a preface, an introduction and 23 chapters in this part.
Each one probably takes about 20-35 minutes to read, depending on whether he
wrote 14 or 8 pages on the topic. However, it has taken me seven months to get
through those chapters.
Style:
Academic, or leaning towards it
It's worth stating that this is not a
'Christian Living', easy to read book. Or at least I didn't find it to be. The
first few chapters were absolutely absorbing. In these he had a brilliant way
of pre-empting my questions. However, as
it starts to get a bit more in depth the style seems to shift. It gets slightly
more intellectual, or at least tries to be. It possibly feels a little
repetitive as he keeps trying to convince you of his argument. But it does have
a great multitude of bible references which is wonderful, especially as the
first subheading in the whole book says "Test this book by
scripture".
Why this book?:
My husband received this book for a
birthday and found it to be really good, so I was really up for reading it.
It's nice to wrestle with questions about the New Creation and/or Heaven and
since I became a Christian I've had lots of them so I knew this would be a good
book for me to look at. As ever, though, there was a more pressing reason for
reading it:
For a long while now the thought of Jesus'
return has terrified me. I will be perfectly honest, the thought of that day
really frightened me. It still does to a certain extent. However, I have come
to realise that the feeling may actually be a good thing. It will be a
terrifying day. But for those who are saved it will also be glorious. We will
finally see our Saviour! The thought of that day no longer scares me so much
that I can't think about it - in fact I am really looking forward to living
forever in the New Creation.
It's taught me:
That I didn't have an incorrect theology of
Heaven in the first place. I thank God that the church that I attended just
after becoming a Christian taught biblical truth very powerfully, and sometimes
very intellectually. This has been a wonderful thing; my theology is biblically
based and therefore I had quite a good starting point. The book has certainly
put some new thoughts in my head which I'm still pondering on and working
through, such as the issue of human rule in the New Creation. I know that God
created us to rule over the Earth and through Jesus' parables we learn that we
will again be given things to rule, but the thought of what that will look like
is something my mind is still happily mulling over. There are many other new
concepts and thoughts beside this, but as they are still in the mulling-over
phase it's hard to pin down what it has taught me just yet.
Favourite quotes:
"If God wasn't willing to forgive on
the basis of Christ's sacrifice, Heaven would be empty."
"Christ's redemptive work extends
resurrection to the far reaches of the universe. This is a stunning affirmation
of God's greatness. It should move our hearts to wonder and praise."
"In Heaven we'll at last be freed of
self-righteousness and self-deceit. We'll no longer question God's goodness:
we'll see it, savour it, enjoy it, and declare it to our companions. Surely we
will wonder how we ever could have doubted his goodness. For then our faith
will be sight - we shall see God."
"Christ is not simply preparing a
place for us; he is preparing us for that place."
Who is this book for?:
Anyone, and I mean anyone, who has
questions about Heaven. If there was someone, including those not convinced by
the Christian faith, who was willing to look into the concept of Heaven I would
give them this book. Possibly with a warning of how long it might take to read,
but I would still happily give it. Of course, a lot of the scripture used to
back up Alcorn's argument is from Revelation, the Bible's book on Heaven, the
Second Coming of Christ and judgement. I would recommend having a read of
Revelation all the way through before delving into the chapters on the present
Heaven, and having a clear idea in your mind of what you think is
allegorical/imagery. But also pray that God will open your mind to the truth.
If you want to read this book then you need
to be aware that it is a bit of a commitment. Unless you are someone for whom
reading big books on theology is a very speedy process, it may take a
while.
Final Thoughts:
It's worth mentioning at this point that it
is clear throughout the book that Alcorn is a pre-millennialist. It takes him a
while to explain what that means, and the different viewpoints surrounding the
millennium which could leave you a little confused, or even worse, accepting of
whatever he says. He does put across quite an unbiased view, taking into
account the differing ways in which people interpret some bits.
It is also a big hefty book. He tells the
story about how, when a pastor asked him what book he was writing, his reply
was 'a big book about Heaven'. It is just exactly that - a big book on Heaven!
This is not really one to put in your handbag for a quick glance at - it will
need time and possibly wrist supports.
This is a good book. It's taken looking
back over my notes and my comments to persuade me of this. I think for someone
for whom the argument that God will not be doing away with the physical world
is not too foreign may, like me, find some of the later chapters a little
repetitive. I also struggled a little to find a running theme throughout the
chapters; it often felt a little like there was no continuity save the
pervading argument he is putting across. However, as I say, having looked back
over my notes there is plenty to be really excited about and lots of
thought-provoking ideas which he brings out. I'm really looking forward to the
next part which answers some questions about Heaven.
What's next?:
I'm taking a short break from Heaven to
read a smaller book. This will be 'God's Big Picture' by Vaughan Roberts. It has
been on my bookshelf for about five years and hasn't been read yet and I feel
it's good to have a break from 'Heaven' before diving in again. A review will
hopefully follow within the next month.
If you would like to also read 'God's Big
Picture' you can get it from 10ofthose.com:
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