Four Views on Heaven
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Discover Different Christian Views on What Heaven Will Be Like
Christians from a variety of denominations and traditions are in middle of an important conversation about the final destiny of the saved. Scholars such as N. T. Wright and J. Richard Middleton have pushed back against the traditional view of heaven, and now some Christians are pushing back against them for fear that talk about the earthiness of our final hope distracts our attention from Jesus.
In the familiar Counterpoints format, Four Views on Heaven brings together a well-rounded discussion and highlights similarities and differences of the current views on heaven. Each author presents their strongest biblical case for their position, followed by responses and a rejoinder that model a respectful and irenic tone toward those with whom they disagree.
Positions and contributors include:
- Heaven: John S. Feinberg. This traditional view says our destiny is to leave earth and live forever in heaven where we will rest, worship, and serve God. We cannot say much about what heaven is like because its pleasures and glory will far surpass anything experienced here. We will be perfect in every way, both morally and in our knowledge. This heavenly vision may seem boring, but only because we are considering heaven from our earthly perspective.
- Earth: J. Richard Middleton. This position counters the popular Platonic notion of heaven by emphasizing that the saved will live forever with Jesus on this restored planet. Worshiping Jesus will be the climax of our experience, but we will also enjoy ordinary human activities in our redeemed state.
- Heavenly Earth: Michael Allen. Increasing number of Protestant theologians disagree with the otherworldly Platonic vision of our final destiny but also suspect that Kuyperians have swung too far in the other direction. His view sounds like a Protestant version of the beatific vision. We will be on earth, but totally locked into Jesus in unceasing praise. This view seeks to highlight both the strengths and weaknesses of the heavenly and earthly views.
- Roman Catholic Beatific Vision: Peter Kreeft. The beatific vision is the ultimate direct self communication of God to the individual. A person possessing the beatific vision reaches, as a member of redeemed humanity in the communion of saints, perfect salvation in its entirety, i.e. heaven. The notion of vision stresses the intellectual component of salvation, though it encompasses the whole of human experience of joy, happiness coming from seeing God finally face-to-face and not imperfectly through faith.
The Counterpoints series provides a forum for comparison and critique of different views on issues important to Christians. Counterpoints books address two categories: Church Life and Bible and Theology. Complete your library with other books in the Counterpoints series.
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John S. Feinberg (PhD, University of Chicago) is department chair and professor of biblical and systematic theology at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. He is the author of Ethics for a Brave New World (with Paul D. Feinberg) and is general editor of Crossway’s Foundations of Evangelical Theology series.
J. Richard Middleton (PhD, Free University of Amsterdam) is professor of Biblical Worldview and Exegesis at Northeastern Seminary and adjunct professor of Theology at Roberts Wesleyan College, both in Rochester, New York. He authored A New Heaven and a New Earth: Reclaiming Biblical Eschatology, The Liberating Image, and coauthored the bestsellers Truth Is Stranger Than It Used to Be and The Transforming Vision.
Michael Allen (PhD, Wheaton College) is the John Dyer Trimble Professor of Systematic Theology and Academic Dean at Reformed Theological Seminary, Orlando, FL.
Peter Kreeft (PhD, Fordham University) is professor of philosophy at Boston College where he has taught since 1965. A popular lecturer, he has also taught at many other colleges, seminaries and educational institutions in the eastern United States. Kreeft has written more than fifty books, including The Best Things in Life, The Journey, How to Win the Culture War, and Handbook of Christian Apologetics (with Ronald Tacelli).
Michael Wittmer is currently Professor of Systematic Theology at GRTS in Grand Rapids, MI. He is the author of Heaven Is a Place on Earth, Don’t Stop Believing, The Last Enemy, and Despite Doubt. He and his wife, Julie, live in Grand Rapids, Michigan with their three children: Avery, Landon, and Alayna.
Stanley N. Gundry is executive vice president and editor-in-chief for the Zondervan Corporation. He has been an influential figure in the Evangelical Theological Society, serving as president of ETS and on its executive committee, and is adjunct professor of Historical Theology at Grand Rapids Theological Seminary. He is the author of seven books and has written many articles appearing in popular and academic periodicals.
