Resources by Topic: Heaven

Jesus spoke of Hell as a literal place, describing it in graphic term.

A close friend of mine, Greg, died when I was in high school. I was a brand new Christian and it affected me profoundly. Then after I’d been a pastor five years, my mother died in 1981.

Ancient theologians spoke of the “Beatific Vision,” which meant “a happy-making sight.”

Unlike God and the angels, who are in essence spirits (John 4:24; Hebrews 1:14), human beings are by nature both spiritual and physical (Genesis 2:7).

Death is not a hole; it’s a door. We don’t end; we relocate.

The biblical truth that we will live forever as resurrected beings in a society of resurrected beings, on a resurrected earth, with our resurrected Lord, has implications that invite speculation.

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.