Question from a Reader:

You say in the introduction to your book 50 Days of Heaven that Satan lies to us about Heaven. Why? And what does that look like?

Answer from Randy Alcorn:

I think Satan lies to us about Heaven so we don't anticipate the great and glorious eternal plan God has in store for us (Ephesians 2:7). Jesus said of the devil, “When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies” (John 8:44). Some of Satan’s favorite lies are about Heaven. He doesn't want us to long for the resurrection and the endless beauty God has in store for us. 

The devil, who God evicted from Heaven, wants Heaven to sound boring to us, because that implies God is boring. He doesn't want us to be so excited about Heaven and the New Earth that we would want to share the Gospel with people so they would anticipate living forever with God and His people. Satan wants us to dread Heaven and grab onto everything we can here and now. God, on the other hand, wants us to set our minds on Christ and the Home He is preparing for us. For this reason, it’s good to pray for God to enlighten our minds and break through the devil’s lies as we look at what His Word says about Heaven.

Think about it: Jesus is a carpenter—with omnipotence! He made the world, and He's going to fix it, so that its eternal beauty will be far more glorious than anything we see now (Romans 8:18). This current world, still under the Curse, at its most beautiful, is just a small foretaste of that awesome world to come! When that sinks in, we’ll live not simply for the present, but for the eternal future that awaits us. We’ll frontload the blood-bought realities of Heaven into our present lives. And happiness in Jesus will flood our hearts and minds!