• I finished reading "Heaven" this past week, as I was icing down my knee. At the end of chapter 45, the CS Lewis quote, page 463 for those with a print book, was great. He himself was 5 months away from death and he was writing encouragement to another who was fearing that her own death was imminent. "Can you not see death as a friend and deliverer? What is there to be afraid of? Your sins are confessed. Has this world been so kind to you that you leave with regret? There are better things ahead than any we leave behind. Our Lord says to you 'Peace, child, peace. Relax. Let go. I will catch you. Do you trust me so little?' Of course, this might not be the end. Then make it a good rehearsal." This book has helped me to see heaven in this way more fully and I pray that we can all look upon death in this way.

    1. ALL DONE!!! What a great read, so eye-opening and mind expanding. It has really helped me think more about eternity and to think more accurately about it. A wonderful aid in “setting my mind on things above” and “looking to the things that are unseen”.

      1. In chapter 45 there is a section titled ‘Going to the Party’. Even if you’re not up to date on the reading or if you’ve dropped it completely PLEASE pick the book up again and read that section. It’s wonderful!

        1.  — Edited

          “That’s why we need to spend our lives cultivating our love for Heaven. That’s why we need to meditate on what Scripture says about Heaven, read books on it, have Bible studies, teach classes, and preach sermons on it. We need to talk to our children about Heaven. When we’re camping, hiking, or driving, when we’re at a museum, a sporting event, or a theme park, we need to talk about what we see around us as signposts to the New Earth.” Chapter 45

          1. A great question and paradigm from Chapter 44. “But we should use the “why not?” test”

            1. “Understanding that our peak doesn’t come in this life should radically change our view of deteriorating health, which otherwise would produce discouragement, regret, anger, envy, and resentment” Ch 43

              1. Chapter 42 (regarding music) ‘If there’s a specific reason why some won’t, why listen to them now?” (regarding laughter) ”One of Satan’s great lies is that God—and goodness—is joyless and humorless, while Satan—and evil—brings pleasure and satisfaction. In fact, it’s Satan who is humorless. Sin didn’t bring him joy; it forever stripped him of joy. In contrast, envision Jesus with his disciples. If you cannot picture him teasing them and laughing with them, you need to reevaluate your understanding of the Incarnation. We need a biblical theology of humor that prepares us for an eternity of celebration and spontaneous laughter.”

                1. Chapter 38 “Christ died for our sins of racism. His work on the cross put racism to death. The redemption of mankind and the earth will include the redemption of human relationships and the uniting of different people groups in Christ. Racist groups that purport to be Christian are the opposite of Christian. There will be no racial prejudice in Heaven. There will be no illusions of racial or national superiority, no disputes over borders Some scholars argue that the image of God has a corporate dimension: “There is no one human individual or group who can fully bear or manifest all that is involved in the image of God, so that there is a sense in which that image is collectivelypossessed. The image of God is, as it were, parceled out among the peoples of theearth. By looking at different individuals and groups we get glimpses of different aspects of the full image of God.”

                  1. John Piper deals with the topic of work in eternity in this podcast. I appreciate how he and Randy Alcorn regularly use words like 'perhaps' as they use their considerable knowledge of Scripture to build a doctrine of the eternal state. There is speculation and sanctified imagination, but that arises from brothers who have given their lives to the study of Scripture.
                    Ask Pastor John
                    John Piper answering tough theological and pastoral questions.
                    www.desiringgod.org

                    1. Good, and similar to Alcorn’s thoughts. Piper seems to lean towards a literal millennium. I agree with him though that it’s more than we can fathom and it will be good.

                    2. , yep...Piper is in the camp of historic premillennialism.

                  2. Ch 36 ”We’ll never question God’s justice, wondering how he could send good people to Hell. Rather, we’ll be overwhelmed with his grace, marveling at what he did to send bad people to Heaven. (We will no longer have any illusion that fallen people are good without Christ.)”