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.