Excerpts from “Heaven” (booklet) by Randy Alcorn

Jesus told his disciples, “I will come back and take you with me that you also may be where I am” (John 14:3). He uses spatial terms to describe Heaven. The world where refers to a location. Likewise, the phrase “come back and take you” indicates movement and a physical destination…

Scripture gives us many images that are full of implications about Heaven. Put them togehter, and these jigsaw pieces form a beautiful picture. For example, we’re told that Heaven is a city (Hebrews 11:10; 13:14). When we hear the word city, we shouldn’t scrath out heads and think, I wonder that means? We understand cities. Cities have people, buildings, activities, gatherings, art, music, athletics, events of all kinds, and goods and services…

Jesus had a physically resurrected body that allowed him to walk, talk, and eat (John 21:1-4; Lule 24:36-43). We’ve told that our bodeis will be like his (1 Corinthians 15:20, 48-49; Philippians 3:21; 1 John 3:2)…

At death, the human spirit leaves the body (Ecclesiastes 12:7). We go either to Heaven or Hell (Luke 16:22-31). As demonstrated in the story of the rich man and Lazarus–and affirmed by Christ when he tells the thief he will be with him in paradise “today” (Luke 23:43)–there is immediate conscious exicstence after death, both in Heaven and Hell (2 Corinthians 5:8; Revelation 6:9-11; Philippians 1:23)…

If you picture the eternal Heaven as a disembodied state, you have reason to fear boredom–because God didn’t make us for such a world. But when you understand the meaning of our bodily resucrrection and the new universe, all thought of boredom will disappear…

I have included two full chapters on this fascinating subject in the book Heaven, but I will try to summarize the main points here…

Jesus said, “In my Father’s house are many rooms. . . . I am going there to prepare a place for you” (John 14:2). The word place is singular, but rooms in plural. This suggests that Jesus has in mind for each of us an individual dwelling that is a smaller part of the larger place…

No death, no suffering. No funeral homes, abortion clinics, or psychiatric wards. No rape, missing children, or drug rehabilitation centers. No bigotry, no muggings, or killings. No worry or depression or economic downturns. No wars, no unemployment. No anguish over failure or miscommunication. No con men. No locks. No death. No mourning. No pain. No boredom…

We will live for eternity as finite beings. God, who is timeless, can accomodate himself by entering into time, but we cannot accomodate ourselves to timelessness because that is a condition of infinity…

Go alone is omniscient.

God sees clearly and comprehensively. In Heaven, we will see things with clarity (1 Corinthians 13:12). But we will never see comprehensively. We will know much more than we do now, but we will never know everything, because we will never be God…

After death, the martyrs depicted in Revelation 6:9-11 clearly remember at least some of what happened on Earth, including that they underwent great suffering. If they remeber that, what wouldn’t they remember? There’s no reason to assume that in Heaven we will forget our lives on Earth. In fact, we’ll likely remember much more there than we do here, and we’ll probably be able to see how God and angels intervened on our behalf when we didn’t realize it…

The answer is yes, at least to some extent. The martyrs, after they are in Heaven, call out, “How long, Sovereign Lord, holy and true, until you judge the inhabitants of the earth and avenge our blood?” (Revelation 6:9-11)…

Many books maintain that those in Heaven cannot be aware of people and events on Earth because they presumably would be made unhappy by all the suffering and evil–making Heaven something less than Heaven…

Being with Christ will be the greatest joy of Heaven. The next greatest joy will be reuniting with our loved ones who have died. The certainty of the ultimate reunion is so sweet that it makes the parting bearable…

Jesus said that resurrected people would not be married (Matthew 22:30). Yet Scripture makes it clear that there will be marriage in Heaven. There will be one marriage, between Christ and his bride..

A Barna poll shows that for every American who believes he or she is going to Hell, there are 120 who believe they’re going to Heaven. Yet Christ said otherwise: “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it” (Matthew 7:13-14)…