Resources by Topic: Heaven

In my book Heaven, I share how years ago, Nanci read me letters we’d never before seen translated, written in 1920 by her grandmother Anna Swanson to her family in Sweden. Anna suffered severe health problems. While she was in Montana, cared for by relatives, her husband, Edwin, was in Oregon, working and caring for their seven children day and night.

I sometimes ponder what it’ll be like to see Jesus, to fall on my knees before Him, then talk with Him and eat with Him and walk with Him as a resurrected person living on a resurrected Earth. 

In his Heaven book, Randy says the renewed Heaven will have time and space. If God becomes a part of our new Heaven and Earth combination, will He also be giving Himself over to time and space and cease being omnitemporal?

For Christians, death is not a wall but a doorway. Death is not a last good-bye but a “See you later.” We grieve differently, yet honestly and openly, precisely because we look forward to our reunion and to a New Heaven and a New Earth.

We’re told that those coming out of the Great Tribulation will be specially rewarded by being given a place “before the throne of God,” where they will “serve him day and night” (Revelation 7:14-15). Notice that the Master rewards His faithful servants not by taking away responsibilities but by giving them greater ones.

Some time ago Greg Laurie asked me to interview me about Heaven, Happiness, and Hope at his Harvest Fellowship churches in Southern California. I’ve written multiple books on the first two subjects so as I prepared I put my focus on HOPE. And God really did encourage me and renew my hope even as Nanci and I face another challenging episode in her cancer journey. 

In 2019 Randy Alcorn was interviewed the topic of giving and Heaven at a Soar Detroit event. In this clip, he talks about what motivated him to write his book Heaven and the good and bad news about money. 

In this video, Randy Alcorn and Pastor Greg Laurie discuss Heaven, happiness and the holiday season at Harvest Christian Church in Riverside, CA.

Because Adam and Eve were naked without being embarrassed before they disobeyed God, some people say we won’t need to wear clothes in Heaven. Before you freak out, there’s good news. Even prior to the final resurrection, people are already described as wearing clothes.

A reader writes, "Ever since childhood I’ve been afraid of the concept of eternity. I know I'm going to spend it in Heaven with Jesus, but I still get a full-blown panic attack when I realize Heaven will last forever and won't end."

Throughout the ages, Heaven has played a dominant role in the thoughts and lives of God’s people. Heaven is the North Star by which countless Christians have navigated their lives. But have you noticed? Heaven today has largely fallen off our radar screens.

Over the years, I’ve been asked by readers about whether God’s future restoration of creation means that “undesirable” and “unpleasant” animals like rodents (such as rats) and insects (such as mosquitoes or spiders) will be present in Heaven. As one reader candidly wrote, “That sure wouldn’t be Heaven for me!”

Do you consider yourself an optimist or a pessimist? We have no guarantees about how our circumstances will turn out in this life. But when it comes to eternity, Christians have every reason for optimism—we know how the story will end.

Most books on Heaven argue that the New Jerusalem cannot really be the size it’s depicted as being in Revelation 21:15-17, since twelve thousand stadia equates to fourteen hundred miles in each direction. According to one writer on Heaven, “It would dishonor the heavenly Architect to contend that its dimensions were meant to be taken literally.”