Recently, the book and movie Heaven Is For Real has captivated the attention of the Christian world and to some degree those outside the purview of Christianity. Before that, Don Piper’s testimonial book 90 Minutes in Heaven made the rounds as it rose to prominence in Christian literature.
Both of these books are written by sincere, Christ-following believers whose desire is to encourage faith and foster belief in God and in His Son Jesus. I do, however, find myself quite uncomfortable with some of the assertions made in both books. Both contain descriptions that are inconsistent with the Biblical accounts of heaven. I will not go into detail about them here, but I highly recommend an article written by Randy Alcorn, author of the book Heaven, which is a summary of Biblical teachings on heaven. You can find his article by clicking on this link.
A larger and much more vital issue, however, is the sufficiency of Scripture for faith and practice. We love to hear the testimony of others that corroborates that which we believe to be so, but what if we hear evidence contrary to what we believe? What if those who had near death experiences came back with a totally different picture than the Biblical account of the afterlife? Which would we believe?
My personal experiences are subjective and vulnerable to circumstances, emotions, fleshly desires, and other such fickle factors. The truths of the Word of God, however, stand true for all eternity and are unchanged by the times, circumstances, and whims of life. I may “feel” one way today and another way tomorrow, but God’s Word remains true because it emanates from the Unchanging One.
I can always count on God’s Word to mean today what it meant back then, to ask of me today the same it asked of me yesterday, and to stand the tests and challenges of changing times, cultures, needs, and contexts. God’s Word…learn it…love it…live by it. He will never let you down.
“Therefore, everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them will be like a sensible man who built his house on the rock. The rain fell, the rivers rose, and the winds blew and pounded that house. Yet it didn’t collapse, because its foundation was on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of Mine and doesn’t act on them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. The rain fell, the rivers rose, the winds blew and pounded that house, and it collapsed. And its collapse was great!” – Matthew 7:24-27
For further reading: