I’ve heard it said that we should not be so
heavenly-minded that we do no earthly good.
And I’ve wondered – how is that even possible? Paul Enns, seminary professor, turns it on its
head and counters it with the idea that “unless you are heavenly minded, you
won’t be any earthly good”.
We don’t talk much about heaven, but God gives us
glimpses of what heaven will be like, not just to offer us comfort and
encouragement as we journey through this life, but so that we can walk through
life purposefully with an eternal perspective.
When Dr. Enns lost his wife at age 65, his thoughts were consumed with
heaven. He had questions and discovered
that the Bible had plenty of answers. The
result of his research through examining the Bible for descriptions of heaven culminates in his book
Heaven Revealed: What Is It Like? What
Will We Do? And 11 Other Things You’ve Wondered About.
In the first half of the book, he describes what and
where heaven is, the relationship of heaven to the Millennium and the new
heaven and earth and what they will be like (explained from a pretribulation/premillennial
point-of- view). In the second half of
the book, he describes what life will be like in heaven, what we will do, what
we will remember, and what our relationships will be like. He draws his answers from a variety of
passages and verses in the Bible.
This book is matter-of-face, not flowery, yet Dr. Enns
personalizes with illustrations entwined with Scripture. Dr. Enns admits to writing as a Biblicist,
piecing together different verses in order to connect them into a puzzle
picture of heaven. While I may not agree
entirely with his approach, assumptions, or conclusions, overall he accomplishes
his goal of showing how to live with an eternal perspective and hope of heaven
in order to strengthen us and enable us to live wisely.
For more information, check it out at the Moody Press Newsroom.
Disclaimer: I received a complimentary copy of this book from Moody Press in exchange for my honest review.
