Author: MacArthur, John
Genre: Bible Studies / Devotionals
Tags: Doctrine / Theology
Series:
Rick Shrader‘s Review:
John MacArthur wrote this book in 1996 and it was republished by Crossway Books in 2013. It is a timely book today (2025) because of the controversies and various views on what heaven will be like. This is especially critical due to the recent view called The New Creation Model. In that view heaven is the old earth updated to a “new heaven and new earth” described in Revelation 21 & 22. That view also uses a straw-man argument that most believers think heaven is sitting on a cloud for eternity playing a harp. Perhaps some believe that, but very few if any actually do. MacArthur describes heaven as most Bible-believing people have. Heaven is the “Father’s house” where God dwells and where Jesus now sits at His right hand. Though the “New Jerusalem” is still in heaven, believers dwell there in intermediate bodies prepared for this intermediate time. One day God will do away with this present creation totally and create a new heaven and earth. At that point God will bring the Father’s house from heaven and place it on the new earth as the center of life, activity, and worship. God’s throne is where God dwells. MacArthur, typically, takes much space to refute liberal and Catholic views of heaven, especially the purgatory view. He also refutes the “two-compartment” theory of where Old Testament believers went when they died. The spirits of all believers of all ages have gone directly to heaven though their bodies are in the grave. They will be resurrected in the biblical order. For a traditional and common sense view of these details about heaven, this is a good book to buy.