10th out of 11 books
—
8 voters
Heaven
by
Randy Alcorn (Goodreads Author)
What will heaven be like? Randy Alcorn presents a thoroughly biblical answer, based on years of careful study, presented in an engaging, reader-friendly style. His conclusions will surprise readers and stretch their thinking about this important subject. "Heaven" will inspire readers to long for heaven while they're living on earth.
Hardcover, 560 pages
Published
October 1st 2004
by Tyndale House Publishers
(first published January 1st 2004)
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Aug 18, 2007
Josh Crews
rated it
5 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
christians with ambition for perfect marriage, travel, friends, adventure
This is my #1 book. After justification/finished-atonement-at-the cross, this is the most wonderful, joyful topic to know, discover and just ponder. The saints will reign with Christ on this very Earth, made perfect at the resurrection. Every Christian brother/sister I will always see again and am never saying goodbye for the last time. The biblical doctrine of Heaven (the New Earth) is very under-taught, under-preached, and under-grasped by modern western Christianity but is a treasure chest fu...more
Apr 17, 2009
Stacey
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
most people
Recommended to Stacey by:
MOPS Steering
Shelves:
faith,
non-fiction
I am pretty excited about reading this book, because at times I can be rather apathetic about heaven. I know my vision can Fall flat on it's face in light of what is coming. In the preface he talks about Florence Chadwick swimming from Catalina Island to the shore of mainland CA-- she stopped 1/2 a mile from the shore. The next day she said, All I could see was the fog....I think if I could have seen the shore I would have made it." Alcorn's vision is to show us the shore.
***
This book, has chang...more
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This book, has chang...more
For many Christians this book represents an "outside-of-the-box" approach to thinking about and envisioning Heaven. The common theme is "What if?" and "Why not?" when it comes to the realities of our future Home. The author lays the groundwork for his claims with specific scriptures on the topic that have been undertaught and/or passed off as figurative. This is a refreshing look at Heaven that has given me a renewed anticipation of my ultimate reward!
Randy Alcorn brings forth a lot of ideas I'd never thought of before (like an intermediate Heaven where believers go between the time they die and the bodily resurrection to the New Earth - it makes lots of sense and there is Biblical grounds for it, I'd just never heard that theory before) and while there are a few where I think he draws broader conclusions than the Scripture allows, on most of his theories I completely agree. I highly recommend it to any Christian. If you don't really look for...more
Great biblical insight about what heaven and the new earth will be like - and how incredible (and not boring) both will be.
Reminds the reader that God is accomplishing everything for His name's sake - for His own glory it shall all be accomplished. And the already accomplished work of Christ - his life, death, and resurrection - are not only the means by which individuals are saved from their sins against God, but also the means by which the whole earth (all of creation) shall be redeemed.
This b...more
Reminds the reader that God is accomplishing everything for His name's sake - for His own glory it shall all be accomplished. And the already accomplished work of Christ - his life, death, and resurrection - are not only the means by which individuals are saved from their sins against God, but also the means by which the whole earth (all of creation) shall be redeemed.
This b...more
This book completely changed my view of heaven. It made me realize some things that I had believed but never really realized what I believed. This is packed full of scripture references - so it isn't just his opinion.
This has helped me look forward to heaven as well as see how my life here on earth right now ties in with my life that I will live in heaven....I realized that I used to think that you lived here, then you died and then everyone started out on the same playing field again (so to spe...more
This has helped me look forward to heaven as well as see how my life here on earth right now ties in with my life that I will live in heaven....I realized that I used to think that you lived here, then you died and then everyone started out on the same playing field again (so to spe...more
Loved the book - a bit wordy at times in terms of being repetitive, he likes to make the same point sometimes more than once so that we definitely get it. I definitely enjoyed this book and recommend it to anyone that may have questinos about Heaven. Although some of the stuff is speculative, Alcorn atleast advises of such. He provides great scripture to back many of his opinions although I would suggest to him with sticking to one version of the Bible, preferrably the King James Version. All in...more
Becoming Heaven-Focused
This book was a breath of fresh air for a believer who feels presently stuck in an evil world and lacks the desire for an ethereal "otherness," convinced that he or she was created for something more. Alcorn presents the argument that our culture's view of Heaven, a cloud-lined, white-washed, harp-filled existence, leads believers to desire this world above the one we were created for. As Christians, we should be filled with hope and desire for Heaven, not dread or avoidan...more
This book was a breath of fresh air for a believer who feels presently stuck in an evil world and lacks the desire for an ethereal "otherness," convinced that he or she was created for something more. Alcorn presents the argument that our culture's view of Heaven, a cloud-lined, white-washed, harp-filled existence, leads believers to desire this world above the one we were created for. As Christians, we should be filled with hope and desire for Heaven, not dread or avoidan...more
Have to say this book was largely a 476-page exercise in begging-the-question. Alcorn begins by assuming that the New Jerusalem of Revelation and the New Heavens/New Earth of Isaiah describe the final state of heaven and then deduces virtually everything about heaven from those axioms. If he’s wrong about those passages, then the book could only be about twenty pages long.
The problem is that Isaiah’s description of the New Earth still includes death: “No more shall an infant from there live but...more
The problem is that Isaiah’s description of the New Earth still includes death: “No more shall an infant from there live but...more
Alcorn is the founder of a nonprofit called Eternal Perspective Ministries, so a book about the theology of heaven is right up his alley. Alcorn begins with the premise that the vast majority of Christians hold unbiblical views about what heaven is like (fact), and that Christians don’t think about heaven enough (also a fact). The first half of the book presents a simplified form of eschatology and discusses topics like: the intermediate heaven, the importance of physical resurrection, and the c...more
This is the most extensive book on the ins and outs of Heaven that I've ever seen. And its author exhaustively addresses every facet of Heaven. When I first began reading it, some of the questions and insights he presented seemed blasphemous, but that's primarily because I've never heard these things from Scripture before. Heaven has always been a gold-laden cloud world where everyone plays a harp. But Alcorn cites this as one of his primary reasons for writing. He captures the imagination of th...more
Alcorn puts forth in this book that Christians have been viewing heaven in the wrong ways and that failure to see heaven and the resurrection as the Bible presents it has watered down the message of the gospel. In this long work, Alcorn uses scripture to re-present the story of heaven and our lives in the resurrected Earth at the end of days. In theresurrection, it will be a physical event and not merely a spiritual one. The idea that it will only be a spiritual resurrection is a false idea that...more
This is unquestionably the best book (other than the Bible, of course!) that I’ve ever read! At a whopping 500+ pages, it may appear daunting, but it is broken down into short, easy-to-manage chapters. I could almost feel myself being blessed each morning as I read from it, and I wouldn’t be surprised if I read it again someday (once everyone else in my family finishes reading it, since I’ve told them all that they absolutely must!). Mr. Alcorn shatters the preconceived conception that most peop...more
Randy Alcorn seeks to restore the biblical picture of the hope of glory when Messiah appears, our bodies are resurrected which can experience Heaven on Earth in the age to come. He does a good job showing how a transformed, restored Earth is the future home of God's people. He does not get into the Millennial question. I am not sure his view on this. He also does not show how Israel fits into biblical prophecy. He seems to be speaking to a broad audience and trying to unite them on this one majo...more
This book is a really fun read. Just know that Alcorn operates off of what he calls the "principle of continuity," meaning that the New Earth is going to be almost exactly like the Garden of Eden. I don't have a problem with that line of thinking, but I'm also not ready to say it's explicitly in the Bible, like Alcorn does - but it certainly seems to be implicitly there.
There are a couple times where he states his own speculations as if they're fact. Like when he says at the bottom of p. 254 tha...more
There are a couple times where he states his own speculations as if they're fact. Like when he says at the bottom of p. 254 tha...more
In his book Heaven, Randy Alcorn highlights how Christians historically have bought into the lie of Christoplatonism (a philosophy which blends elements of Platonism with Christianity). The result is that most believe our spirits will live in the spiritual realm commonly known as heaven after we die. Problem is, the Bible never says this! What the Bible does teach, as Randy Alcorn drives home again and again, is the important truth-- forgotten or misunderstood by so many who have followed Jesus...more
A life-altering, paradigm-shattering book.
Unfortunately, as a church we have done a poor job casting a captivating view of Heaven to our children. This bled into adulthood for me. When I began reading this book, my perception of Heaven was painfully boring. The problem was, I had never been shown just how much the Scriptures have to say about the place. Instead of viewing the Earth we live on as a shadow of what is to come, I pictured heaven as being other-wordly and ethereal.
Randy Alcorn's mat...more
Unfortunately, as a church we have done a poor job casting a captivating view of Heaven to our children. This bled into adulthood for me. When I began reading this book, my perception of Heaven was painfully boring. The problem was, I had never been shown just how much the Scriptures have to say about the place. Instead of viewing the Earth we live on as a shadow of what is to come, I pictured heaven as being other-wordly and ethereal.
Randy Alcorn's mat...more
Although it is way more protestant/sola scriptura than I am used to, and I think has certain failings as a result, it does do an excellent job of turning people's eyes to a much broader view of what heaven could be than pop culture tends to stereotype it. I think the ideas in the book would be especially helpful for youth, though the book itself may not by very appealing to them.
This was a great book that serves the purpose of reorienting our understanding of heaven to a truly biblical view. Alcorn's purpose is to negate the influence of christoplatonism which has hijacked our understanding of heaven and communicate from scripture an understanding of heaven that leads us toward anticipation and living in light of heaven.
The only downside of this book is that it is fairly repetitive over it's 500 pages. Alcorn clearly shows that some issues are very important to him and...more
The only downside of this book is that it is fairly repetitive over it's 500 pages. Alcorn clearly shows that some issues are very important to him and...more
I loved this book. This definitely goes into my favorites category. This book took away some of the fear of dying. I believe the author is right on the mark, theologically, and expounds with logic in area's that are not in black and white in God's Word. Below are a couple of my favorite quotes:
"As long as God keeps you here on Earth, it’s exactly where he wants you. He’s preparing you for another world. He knows precisely what he’s doing. Through your suffering, difficulty, and depression, he’s...more
"As long as God keeps you here on Earth, it’s exactly where he wants you. He’s preparing you for another world. He knows precisely what he’s doing. Through your suffering, difficulty, and depression, he’s...more
I didn't finish this book....got about 3/4 of the way through it and it became so repetitive and so much conjecture that I just didn't see the point. I will say that the first several hundred pages are devoted to the actual theology of Heaven and Alcorn does a great job of documenting his claims Biblically, and I enjoyed this part very much. I also want to give him credit for not being dogmatic about his eschatological view, and for (repeatedly) stating that his vision of what the New Creation w...more
Sep 01, 2007
Cindy
rated it
5 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
individuals desiring a Biblically grounded theology of heaven
Shelves:
theology
Alcorn makes the distinction between the "intermediate" heaven (now - temporary) and the "new heaven & new earth" (final state). He develops a case for a Physical Heaven (final state), as well as other aspects of heaven (learning, rest, new bodies, ruling, culture) - all grounded in Biblical Scripture.
Wow, bought this book to get yet another perspective of what Heaven may mean to someone else and what am I getting so far?? The fire and brimstone of my Catholic upbringing. Yes, I still attend mass daily, but this is NOT what I believe so far as a judgmental, vengeful and angry God who hurls people into this physical hell. "There are many rooms in my Father's" mansion. I believe through the blood shed on the cross at Calvary by Jesus Christ FOR ME, that 'hell' is to be eternally separated from...more
Great book! I enjoyed it very much.
At times Alcorn can get a little repetitive, leaving this reader with the impression that he could have written essentially the same book with 100 pages less. Having said that, however, he is writing about Heaven in a way that is like someone holding up a jewel and turning it in their hand to examine it from all angles. Repetition in that case is understandable. In a way the repetition is helpful in that he repeats the same truths but in different contexts as h...more
At times Alcorn can get a little repetitive, leaving this reader with the impression that he could have written essentially the same book with 100 pages less. Having said that, however, he is writing about Heaven in a way that is like someone holding up a jewel and turning it in their hand to examine it from all angles. Repetition in that case is understandable. In a way the repetition is helpful in that he repeats the same truths but in different contexts as h...more
This is a book I often go back to. Because it is a book that changed a significant portion of my theological mindset. Before reading this book, I have to admit my view on what heaven will be like was deeply inaccurate. And I am happy to report that the reality of heaven is much more exciting! Randy Alcorn does an amazing job of using the text of The Bible to piece together a great picture of what heaven will be like, and it blows away most erroneous depictions of heaven thanks largely in part to...more
I was not pleased with this book at all. We studied this as a bible study group. I just don't interpret the scriptures this way. I think if you've accepted Christ and the Holy Spirit lives in you, there are things you intrinsically know to be true without having any other prior knowledge. His depiction of heaven being backed up with such a LITERAL meaning of scripture just didn't jibe with me. I didn't understand the point of studying and knowing heaven with such ferocious detail. I mean... seri...more
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Randy Alcorn is the founder of Eternal Perspective Ministries (EPM), a nonprofit organization dedicated to teaching biblical truth and drawing attention to the needy and how to help them. EPM exists to meet the needs of the unreached, unfed, unborn, uneducated, unreconciled and unsupported people around the world.
"My ministry focus is communicating the strategic importance of using our earthly tim...more
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"My ministry focus is communicating the strategic importance of using our earthly tim...more
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“Heaven isn't an extrapolation of earthly thinking; Earth is an extension of Heaven, made by the Creator King.”
—
3 people liked it
“The most tragic strain in human existence lies in the fact that the pleasure which we find in the things of this life, however good that pleasure may be in itself, is always taken away from us. The things for which men strive hardly ever turn out to be as satisfying as they expected, and in the rare cases in which they do, sooner or later they are snatched away.... For the Christians, all those partial, broken and fleeting perfections which he glimpses in the world around him, which wither in his grasp and he snatches away from him even while the wither, are found again, perfect, complete and lasting in the absolute beauty of God.”
—
3 people liked it
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Feb 18, 2009 03:18pm