Book Review: Heaven by Randy Alcorn

Title: Heaven
Author: Randy Alcorn
Publisher: Tyndale, Carol Stream
Copyright: 2004
Pages: 533
ISBN: 978-0-8423-7942-7
Genre: Christian non-fiction

"The next time you hear someone say, 'We can't begin to imagine what Heaven will be like,' you'll be able to tell them, 'I can.'" So reads the back cover copy -- in its entirety -- of Heaven, a non-fiction work by Randy Alcorn. Within the pages of Heaven, Alcorn explains that the permanent heaven, which he also calls the New Earth, will be a physical place where we have physical bodies and carry out physical activities. He repeatedly demonstrates from Scripture that our life on the new earth will function in ways very similar to our current lives, except that God will banish sin and suffering from His creation and His people.

Alcorn divides his work into three clear sections. The first part, "A Theology of Heaven," contains seven sections. Each section contains several chapters, which each address a question. Alcorn further divides each chapter into sections with bold titles. This first part accounts for the biggest portion of the book.

The second part, "Questions and Answers about Heaven," although not quite as thick, also accounts for a large portion of the book. In this part, Alcorn addresses questions about the resurrected earth, our lives on the New Earth, our relationships, animals on the New Earth, and our activities. Each section in Part II contains 2-6 chapters. For example, Section Ten ("What Will Our Relationships Be Like?") contains the following chapters: "Will We Desire Relationships with Anyone Except God?"; "Will There Be Marriages, Families, and Friendships?"; "Whom Will We Meet, and What Will We Experience Together?"; "How Will We Relate to Each Other?"; and "What Will New Earth Society Be Like?".

Because of its subject, I would expect this book to appeal mostly to Christians. However, it would be suitable for non-Christians who have an interest in the Bible's teachings on heaven. Near the beginning of Heaven, Alcorn addresses two important questions for the non-Christian reader. In the chapters titled, "Is Heaven Our Default Destination . . . or Is Hell?" and "Can You Know You're Going to Heaven?", Alcorn explains the Bible's teaching on salvation through faith in Christ's sacrificial death.

Certainly, every Christian ought to be interested in the subject of heaven, but for some, Alcorn's thick work may be difficult to finish. In parts, his answers become repetitive, and the thick section on theology which starts his book may discourage some readers from wading further into the book. However, the theology section is essential to understanding the whole picture Alcorn attempts to present.

The back matter completes his thorough approach. Alcorn includes two appendices which discuss Christoplatonism, the belief that the spiritual and physical are not compatible; and literal versus figurative interpretation of Scripture passages. Other back matter includes endnotes, bibliography of 6 1/2 pages, Scripture index, names of people index, and subject index of 13 pages.

Alcorn concludes his introduction by conveying his desires for his readers. A "biblical understanding of the truth about Heaven" provides the foundation for "vision, encouragement, and hope" (xx). After reading this book, I found that my Biblical understanding had indeed grown, as well as my vision, encouragement, and hope.

Should you be interested in Alcorn's approach but scared by the length of this work, Tyndale also offers related resources, including a Heaven study guide, which contains Scripture references and questions for an interactive approach, a Q&A booklet explaining a few key questions which Alcorn covers in his book; 50 Days in Heaven, a book of meditations; and Heaven for Kids, a version of this book designed for a younger reading audience.