Heaven by Randy Alcorn

Goodreads synopsis: What is Heaven really going to be like? What will we look like? What will we do? Won't Heaven get boring after a while?

We all have questions about what Heaven will be like, and after 25 years of extensive research, Dr. Randy Alcorn has the answers.

In the most comprehensive and definitive book on Heaven to date, Randy invites you to picture Heaven the way Scripture describes it-- a bright, vibrant, and physical New Earth, free from sin, suffering, and death, and brimming with Christ's presence, wondrous natural beauty, and the richness of human culture as God intended it.

God has put eternity in our hearts. Now, Randy Alcorn brings eternity to light in a way that will surprise you, spark your imagination, and change how you live life today.

If you've always thought of Heaven as a realm of disembodied spirits, clouds, and eternal harp strumming, you're in for a wonderful surprise.

This is a book about real people with real bodies enjoying close relationships with God and each other, eating, drinking, working, playing, traveling, worshiping, and discovering on a New Earth. Earth as God created it. Earth as he intended it to be.

And the next time you hear someone say, "We cant begin to imagine what Heaven will be like," you'll be able to tell them, "I can."

My rating: 5 stars.

Content warnings: G. A few brief chapters discussing the idea of sex with no detail.

Thoughts: I went in with an amount of skepticism, both in how theologically sound it might be, and how much I thought the subject would really matter. But things like heaven aren't really super talked about in detail beyond some vague ideas of what might be there, at least in my circles. So when a pastor did a sermon series that drew heavily from Scripture with the ideas in this book, it seemed worth a careful look.

But I really do appreciate the ideas presented, and how they were written about. The author starts off the book by saying not to take his words without examining them against Scripture, and expressing his willingness to retract anything he put forth in the book if he is presented with proof that anything he said goes against Scripture. That kind of humility carried over into the rest of the book, and it's obvious he's not just saying what he thinks but presenting what he has learned after long years of studying.

Here and there are a few chapters that felt needless, like the author was just rambling on about the same things he had already said to fill more space. But those things weren't really things that I personally felt much connection to, so for other people having that many chapters on the topic may be meaningful to them. They just didn't do much for me.

There was even a tiny section titled "A Word to the Depressed" toward the end. Seeing that heading made me nervous, because sometimes people can be under the impression that knowing God can magically fix depression, and I know from experience that isn't true. But the subject was handled with grace, understanding, and sensitivity, and it really made me appreciate the body of the rest of the book even more.

A simple look at the Scriptures surrounding our eternal home, and answers to the most likely questions about it, the book could help dissuade fears of death, and encourage an ever deepening relationship with God.