Years ago, I enjoyed teaching an in-depth, 12-hour course on Heaven and the New Earth at Corban University. We had it filmed with the goal of providing a course that people can use for personal study, or in groups. (I was a bit younger, but the content has remained timeless!)

I am often asked to teach a class on Heaven in churches and schools, but time does not permit me to say yes. The good news is it’s already been done and recorded for you, and you can use it in your church, with your family, small group, Sunday school class, or any other way you wish.

John Eldredge says, “We can only hope for what we desire.” To this I would add a corollary: We can only desire what we can imagine. If you think you can’t imagine Heaven—or if you imagine it as something drab and unappealing—you can’t get excited about it. You can’t come with the childlike eagerness that God so highly values (Mark 10:15).

When you know you’re going on the trip of a lifetime, what do you do you? You prepare, you read about it and talk about it—maybe even take a class about that particular country and its customs and languages, foods, history, and features. You do what you can to get ready, and that feeds your excitement.

Well, the greatest journey, and certainly the greatest destination, any of us will ever travel to is Heaven, followed by the realm we will live in forever, the New Earth. (Since the New Earth will be literally Heaven on Earth, Scripture tells us far more about it than most people imagine!) I hope the videos of this class will help you prepare for that journey.

Consider how our misguided view of Heaven thwarts our joy and undermines our evangelism. Why would we want to share Christ so that others too can spend eternity in a boring ghostly place? Ironically, we know we should share the good news, but we aren’t convinced going to Heaven really is good news!

Yet all along God promises that we will live on a new earth in a new universe, reigning to His glory. We will behold wonders of God’s new creation beyond our wildest dreams. Forever delivered from the sin and death that once plagued us and our relationships, we will worship and work and rest and serve and laugh and feast and celebrate to God’s glory and our good.

Here’s a clip from the class, about how having a biblical view of Heaven can help us reach people with the gospel:

And here’s the 55-minute video of session one:

I invite you to watch sessions 1 to 12 for free here. (EPM also offers free class resources, including a study guide with leader’s guide and an inductive study. And for those would prefer to watch the class on DVD, we offer it in our store.)

A viewer of the class sent our ministry these kind words: “My son passed to glory last year. Your video Eternity 101 got me through almost impossible days.”

Another one wrote, “I just wanted to let you know that my church youth group is watching your Eternity 101 DVD series for our youth Bible studies. I love it, and the rest of the group is thoroughly enjoying it as well. It's amazing how our view of Heaven can change how we live on earth.”

And here’s one more: “Our Bible study group just finished Eternity 101, and it was awesome! I've been a Bible believing Christian for years, and I was surprised at how many misconceptions I've had about Heaven.”

May studying about the life to come bring you great peace, happiness, and purpose!