Resources by Topic: Heaven

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.

I interpret “every race and nation and language” literally. God has chosen people in even predominantly pagan nations and reached them by sending men and women or angels, dreams, and visions. 

I understand how, with our current mindset, it is difficult to imagine needing encouragement in Heaven. So let’s take a look at the ultimate servant leader, Jesus.

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’s letters reflect her broken heart, her nagging guilt . . . and her faith in God.

In Randy’s conversation with Davey Blackburn from Nothing Is Wasted Ministries, they discuss what it will be like to live on the New Earth—finally free from the curse, in awe of God’s glory! Randy explains how looking forward to life on the New Earth shapes how we view this present life under the curse.

Randy had a conversation with Don Cousins, senior lead pastor of Discovery Church in Orlando. They spoke about what to expect on the New Earth, storing up treasures in Heaven, and how events in Randy’s life have shaped him.

Randy had a conversation with Chris Beard at The People’s Church in Cincinnati. They spoke about Randy’s writing, the New Earth, and living in light of Heaven.

Jim Abernethy, a well-known diver and underwater photographer, works primarily with sharks. Years ago in the Bahamas, Jim encountered a large tiger shark he named Emma. 

The ESV Study Bible (which Randy recommends) says of Ezekiel 40-48: “Almost all interpreters agree that Ezekiel 40-48 is one of the most difficult passages in the entire Bible.”

We asked commenters on my Facebook page, “What excites you most about living on the New Earth?” Wow, the responses were so great. Here are a number of them, and I hope they encourage you to anticipate our eternal home.

What would keep us out of Heaven is universal: “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). Because we are sinners, we cannot enter Heaven as we are. Unless our sin problem is resolved, the only place we will go is our true default destination . . . Hell.