Resources by Topic: Heaven

The biblical accounts link mankind so closely with the physical universe and link God’s celestial heavens so closely with the manifestation of His glory that I believe He intends for us to explore the new universe.

It’s always imperative to read Scriptures in context. If you pull a verse out from among its peers, it can appear to say things God never intended.

A people and a place are often identified virtually interchangeably, both in the Bible and in modern culture. e.g. Jerusalem or Babylon or Portland are used in the sense of a place, and also a people.

I’ve seen a few things about astronaut Butch Wilmore, who was stuck in space for nine months and recently returned to earth, and it appears he is a sincere and committed follower of Jesus. 

In this clip from a conversation at the 2024 illumiNations conference, Randy shares about his wife Nanci’s last years, and how she prepared for meeting Jesus face to face. Also, he talks about the happiness that comes from storing up treasures in Heaven.

In this clip from a conversation at the 2024 illumiNations conference, Randy shares his perspective about the deterioration of our bodies on this present earth, and the hope we have that the best is yet to come.

In this clip from a conversation at the 2024 illumiNations conference, Randy explains that questions about whether there will be animals in Heaven are among the most common ones he receives. He shares from Isaiah 65, which talks about animals on the New Earth, and explains how 2 Peter 3:13 and Revelation 22 tell of a global, redeemed Eden.

In this clip from a conversation at the 2024 illumiNations conference, Randy talks about the result of setting your mind on things above where Christ is. He touches on the importance of storing up treasures in Heaven.  

At the IllumiNations conference in 2024, Bobby Gruenewald (founder of the YouVersion Bible app) moderated a conversation between Randy Alcorn,  who wrote a book about Heaven, and astronaut Shane Kimbrough, who has been to the heavens. They talk about the New Earth, the view from space, and more.

If we will indeed have an intermediate physical form immediately after we die, it’s critical we realize this would in no way make our eventual resurrection unnecessary or redundant. The Bible could not be more emphatic about the centrality and significance of the resurrection.

This may sound odd, but I believe—because of what I’ve read in Job and other passages—God is more interested in our seeking Him and wanting to know Him well than He is about us getting secondary and tertiary concepts—i.e., timelines which Jesus didn’t even claim to know (Matthew 24:36)—just right.

If, as Jesus said to the thief on the cross, “today you will be with me in paradise,” I really can’t imagine we will be disappointed by the present Heaven! To be in God’s direct presence will mean great joy.

God isn’t going to abandon His creation. He’s going to restore it. Earth’s destruction will not be permanent but temporary. Just as our destroyed bodies will be raised as new bodies, the destroyed Earth will be raised as a New Earth. 

Two years ago, I did an interview with Davey Blackburn, who hosts the Nothing Is Wasted Podcast. I think because the conversation was between two people who have experienced suffering and the death of a spouse, I felt like God's Spirit was present in an unusual way during the interview.