Heaven: Rejoicing in Future Glory
Learning About Heaven from the Past
The Church Should Sing for Heaven’s Sake: When and Why We Stopped Singing About Heaven, and How to Start Again
by Matt Westerholm
“The Very Heaven of Heaven”: Puritan Reflections on Immanuel’s Land
by Matthew D. Haste
Establishing the Foundations
On Earth as in Heaven: A (Very) Brief Biblical Theology of Heaven
by Sam Emadi
Do We Get Rewards in Heaven?
by Brian Vickers
Three Ways Our Deeds Relate to Our Salvation
by John Piper
Hallelujah over Hell? How God’s People Rejoice While Their Enemies Perish
by David Mathis
Heaven in the Christian Life
Crumbling Homes on Earth, Established Kingdom in Heaven
by Dieudonné Tamfu
Thank God for the “Pie in the Sky”: Why the Heavenly Minded Do the Most Earthly Good
by Aaron Menikoff
The Other Christ-Centered Joys of Heaven: An All-Things Vision of the Christian Afterlife
by Jared Wilson
God Can’t Wait for You to Get to Heaven: A Reflection on Ephesians 2:7
by Dane Ortlund
Hymns in a Woman’s Life
Drew Bratcher
Perspectives on Heaven from the Persecuted Church
Forum
Heaven and the Doctrine of the Church
Churches: The Embassies and Geography of Heaven
by Jonathan Leeman
The Lord’s Supper: A Foretaste of the Heavenly Banquet
by Bobby Jamieson
How Church Discipline Aims at Heaven
by Chopo Mwanza
How Heaven Shapes Our Philosophy of Ministry
The Hope of Heaven at the Beginning of Ministry
by Omar Johnson
The Hope of Heaven at the End of Ministry
by Phil Newton
Heavenly Helps for Pastoral Problems: 7 Ways Heaven Helps Us Overcome Challenges in Ministry
by Mark Redfern
Heaven in Our Troubles
by Jeremy Pierre
Preaching Heaven to Help Your People Fight Materialism
by Ryan Fullerton
Should We Talk About Heaven When We Share the Gospel?
by Matthias Lohmann
How Does the Hope of Heaven Drive Missions?
by Wayne Chen
Book Reviews
Book Review: Heaven, by Randy Alcorn
by Caleb Greggsen
Editor’s Note:
There’s been a lot of talk about politics and pandemics lately. These are important things to talk about. Disciples of Jesus should care about justice in this world and about physical well-being.
Yet remember Satan’s temptation: “All these kingdoms I will give you if you bow down and worship me” (see Matt. 4:8–9). You can know Satan has successfully seduced you with this particular temptation anytime you begin to believe the kingdoms of this world are more important than the kingdom of heaven. Whenever you focus wholly on the temporal and lose sight of the eternal. Whenever you spend all day thinking about physical safety instead of spiritual safety, or about justice in this world more than justification.
I have written elsewhere that justified people care about justice, and by “justice” I include the temporal justice of this world. Let’s not pit faith against deeds. Likewise, what good is it to say to a hungry man, “‘Go in peace, be warmed and filled,’ without giving them the things needed for the body” (James 2:16)?
Still, unless the saints continually focus the eyes of their hearts on the eternal, we will wrongly prioritize the temporal over the eternal, what we can see over what we cannot see—our present cities over the city whose architect and builder is God (Heb. 11:10).
Therefore, as we come to the close of 2020, with all its important talk about politics and pandemics, 9Marks wants to help all of us once again cast our eyes toward the eternal—toward heaven. After a tough year like this one, we need to recalibrate. We need reminding of what’s of first importance, lest we lose our way.
Maturity, you might say, can be measured in time horizons. Toddlers see a couple seconds into the future, children to the weekend, teenagers to their college years, young adults to their retirement. Saints, however, are the ones whose gaze should stretch into eternity.
The world yanks our eyes to focus only on right now. But we must always fight to look toward eternity. Only then will politics and pandemics, work and play, the world or life or death or the present or the future, assume their right places (see 1 Cor. 3:22). We pray this Journal will help.
— Jonathan Leeman
P. S. Thanks to Tim Steward for the use of his painting Multitudes for the Journal’s cover. You can see more of Tim’s work here.
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