All Things New

New York Times bestselling author John Eldredge offers readers a breathtaking look into God’s promise for a new heaven and a new earth. This is a revolutionary book on heaven built on a very simple idea: heaven is not the eternal church service in the sky. It is, in fact, not religious at all. Jesus referred to the next chapter of our story as “the renewal of all things” (Matthew 19:28). Meaning, literally, the renewal of the earth we love in all its beauty, the renewal of our own being, and all those things which make for a rich life—music; art, food, laughter, all that we hold dear—shall be renewed. Most Christians (most people for that matter) do not really look forward to their future because their views of heaven are vague, religious, and appallingly boring. Hope begins to surge when we understand that for the believer nothing is lost. Heaven is not a life in the clouds; it is not unending worship singing. Rather, the life we long for, the paradise Adam and Eve knew, is precisely the life that is coming to us. And coming soon. The book begins with a reframing of what “heaven” actually entails. God does not say, “I am making all new things.” He says, “Behold—I am making all things new!” (Revelation 21:5). Familiar religious conceptions of heaven are gently dismantled, and readers are invited into a new way of conceiving of their afterlife. Imagery from fairy tales, books, and famous movies such as The Lord of the Rings is used to illustrate what “happily ever after” really means in immensely tangible, accessible, and—most important—desirable terms. For as C. S. Lewis said, “We can only hope for what we desire.” The life we have been longing for is actually the very life that is about to be ours. The imminence of the coming kingdom of God is also clarified; living with an eager expectation of Christ’s return is the heartbeat of the Christian life.