Heaven - Alcorn, Randy. Tyndale, 2004. 516p. $22.99, Hardcover. ISBN 0842379428. $32.99, Audio CD set (9 CDs). ISBN 0842379681.
236.24 Heaven—Christianity.
If you thought heaven was a realm of disembodied spirits, powder-puff clouds and eternal harp strumming, you’re in for a huge surprise. This book is, without a doubt, the most definitive, comprehensive and understandable book about heaven ever published—and the most thoroughly researched. Fascinating to read, it is structured like a textbook, making it easy to find and study various topics and questions about heaven. Dr. Alcorn shows us heaven the way Scripture describes it, "A bright, vibrant and physical new earth, free from sin, suffering and death; brimming with Christ’s presence, with wondrous natural beauty and richness of human culture." I did not realize just how little I knew about heaven until I read this book. I did realize, though, how few sermons on heaven I have heard in the past 50 years, let alone sermons that had "the facts" right. This book has been an eye-opener and a marvelous blessing to me in more than one sense. It will surely affect others the same way. As one of Alcorn’s peers remarked: "Other than the Bible itself, this may well be the single most life-changing book you’ll ever read." Count on it.
Dr. Alcorn was a pastor for 14 years and is founder and director of Eternal Perspective Ministries, a special-needs advocacy program in Gresham, Oregon. He provides comprehensive notes, subject and Scripture indexes, and a bibliography. I heartily recommend this book for all Christian libraries as a major resource—the "answer book," if you will, on heaven.
Reviewed by:
Thomas F. Howard
Howard Chapel-Ridgeville UMC
Long Corner, Maryland
