Resources by Topic: Heaven

If salvation can be lost, this requires a reversal of regeneration.

I’m not sure of the rapture’s timing. I affirm the second coming of Christ and am premillennial, but depending on what Scriptures one goes to, a case can be made for pre-trib, post-trib, mid-trib and various adaptations of those positions.

Our view of heaven is comparable to standing out in a hallway and staring past an open door into a dark room. Getting a grasp of the resurrection and the New Earth is like stepping in and flipping on a light switch. Suddenly the shadowy images become recognizable…while our eyes have to adjust to the light, everything starts to make sense.

Daniel Traugott was a 13-year-old boy who died in a car accident, leaving behind his mother, father and four siblings. His mother, Sandy, sent us the following poems she wrote that reflect two different perspectives on his death. (Reprinted with permission.)

Many religions, including Buddhism and Hinduism, picture the afterlife as vague and intangible. Christianity specifically refutes this notion. Biblical Christianity doesn’t give up on humanity or the earth.

The chart “Three Eras of Earth and Mankind” portrays human history and human destiny. It demonstrates the continuity of past, present, and future, and the continuity between life on the old Earth and life on the New Earth. By comparing each series of statements, you’ll see the distinct differences between these three periods. I encourage you to study this chart and contemplate the significance of each phase of Earth’s history

The New Earth will still be Earth just as we, in our new bodies, will still be ourselves. 

Salvation and rewards are given on a different basis, and we should be careful not to confuse them.

I agree it would be better to say “Last Adam” and I will be making this change in a future edition to eliminate any confusion.

Question from a reader: You say in your book that people in Heaven can witness events happening on earth. But what about Isaiah 65:17, which says in heaven “the former things will not be remembered, nor will they come to mind”? Whatever this verse means, it specifically comes after the New Heavens and New Earth, not before. Hence, it has no bearing at all on the question of whether saints presently in heaven can witness events happening on earth.

Heaven isn’t a place of confusion, but clarity.

The following excerpts are from IN LIGHT OF ETERNITY: Perspectives on Heaven, by Randy Alcorn.

I believe this is a subject of immense importance to our understanding of Scripture. Our Platonic/Gnostic assumptions have skewed our views, shifting them closer to Buddhism and Hinduism than to biblical Christianity, which is centered an actual physical resurrection of not only Christ and people but the earth itself, an earth God called “very good” and has never given up on.

Despite my best attempts to be careful with Scripture, my understanding is far from complete and is without doubt incorrect in some areas. But if the reader diligently investigates the Scripture passages referred to in this summary, he may discover to his surprise (and either to his delight or discomfort) that some of his own notions and assumptions about heaven are in fact not biblical. In the process, he will gain a far greater understanding of this vital subject.