Heaven.

What will it be like? How can we possibly even know? (There-and-back-again claims notwithstanding.) Answers range from a healthy emphasis on the new heavens and new earth to images of us flying off into the clouds like disembodied spirits. Blame it on uninformed teaching, pop culture’s harp-heavy depictions, or our own myopic inattention. But the doctrine of heaven is riddled with misconceptions and unhelpful views that tend to confuse rather than clarify.

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In this new 10-minute roundtable, John Piper (former pastor of Bethlehem Baptist Church in Minneapolis), Randy Alcorn (founder of Eternal Perspective Ministries and author of more than 40 books, including Heaven), and Scott Swain (professor of systematic theology at Reformed Theological Seminary in Orlando) take up this thorny topic in the hopes of providing a more biblically informed picture of our future home. They discuss what happens when we die before Jesus’s return, what it’ll be like to dwell in God’s midst without sin, and what difference it makes to get this doctrine right. Listen in on the conversation to hear whether or not they’d sing “I’ll Fly Away,” how heavenly hope affects personal holiness, and more.

Free eBook by Rebecca McLaughlin: ‘Jesus Through the Eyes of Women’

If the women who followed Jesus could tell you what he was like, what would they say?

Jesus’s treatment of women was revolutionary. That’s why they flocked to him. Wherever he went, they sought him out. Women sat at his feet and tugged at his robes. They came to him for healing, for forgiveness, and for answers. So what did women see in this first-century Jewish rabbi and what can we learn as we look through their eyes today?

In Jesus Through the Eyes of Women, Rebecca McLaughlin explores the life-changing accounts of women who met the Lord. By entering the stories of the named and unnamed women in the Gospels, this book gives readers a unique lens to see Jesus as these women did and marvel at how he loved them in return.

We’re delighted to offer this ebook to you for free.

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John Piper (BA, Wheaton College; BD, Fuller Theological Seminary; ThD, University of Munich) serves as founder and lead teacher at Desiring God and is chancellor of Bethlehem College & Seminary. For 33 years, Piper served as pastor of Bethlehem Baptist Church, and he is a Council member of The Gospel Coalition. He has authored more than 50 books, and more than 30 years of his preaching and writing are available free of charge at Desiring God.

Randy Alcorn is the founder and director of Eternal Perspective Ministries (EPM) and the author of more than 60 books, including Heaven and If God Is Good: Faith in the Midst of Suffering and Evil. More than 12 million copies of his books have been sold. They’ve also been translated into 70 languages.

Scott R. Swain is president and James Woodrow Hassell professor of systematic theology at Reformed Theological Seminary in Orlando, Florida. He has written or edited several books, including The God of the Gospel: Robert Jenson’s Trinitarian Theology, Retrieving Eternal Generation, and The Trinity: An Introduction.