A Brief Book Summary from Books At a Glance
by Steve West
Table of Contents
1 The Modern Romance with Heaven
2 No Earthly Idea about Heaven
3 What Heaven Will Be Like
4 New Jerusalem
5 What We Will Be Like in Heaven
6 The Heavenly Host
Appendix 1 The Jewels in Our Heavenly Crown by Richard Baxter
Appendix 2 The Kingdom of Heaven by Thomas Boston
Appendix 3 The Sympathy of the Two Worlds: A Sermon by Charles Spurgeon
Appendix 4 Home at Last! A Sermon by J.C. Ryle
Summary
Chapter 1: The Modern Romance with Heaven
There is currently an enormous interest in heaven, angels, spirituality, and the afterlife. Popular shows and movies deal with these themes, and many people are exploring them. Although Christians should be happy that many people are moving away from a materialistic, atheistic view of the universe, it is deadly if they are moving towards new age spiritualism or the occult. There are people who have become famous and written best-sellers recounting their near-death experiences and trips into the light of heaven, but what they recount contradicts God’s Word. Often the accounts are couched in Christian terminology, but the discerning reader can see through the veneer and recognize that the authors are defining biblical terms in completely unbiblical ways. Scripture clearly teaches that Satan can masquerade as an angel of light, and we should not be surprised that false doctrine is taught in a subtle, deceptive way. Cultic and new age beliefs lure people away from the truth of God, often teaching a universalism for salvation, redefining God and Christ, embracing pluralism, promoting aberrant ethics, accepting pantheism, and exalting psychology while minimizing biblical categories of sin. There is often a gnostic element where the individual receives a supposedly higher spiritual knowledge than what is found in Scripture, and a dualistic view of good and evil that is in harmony with eastern mysticism rather than God’s Word. These teachings always exalt human righteousness, sufficiency, and religious works, demeaning the sovereignty of God.
Although some people have masked their experiences in the language of Christianity, others have been overtly hostile to the faith, denouncing Christian doctrine as lies. This is exactly what Satan has always done: he is the father of lies, and he is looking to ensnare and destroy souls any way that he can. One of the things it is essential to remember is that when the Apostle Paul was shown heaven, he said that he was told that it was not lawful for him to utter what he had experienced. If Paul himself was not permitted to reveal what God had shown him, why would we think that God is giving non-Christians a higher revelation and giving them the authority to tell the world all about it? When people directly contravene the principles of God’s Word, we know that what they are teaching is not in line with the truth. Scripture alone is our source for knowledge about heaven and the afterlife. . . .
[To continue reading this summary, please see below....]The remainder of this article is premium content. Become a member to continue reading.
Already have an account? Sign In