Eternal Perspectives: Fall/Winter 2024 : simplebooklet.com

This magazine is a publication of Eternal Perspective Ministries, a Christ-centered nonprot organization founded and directed by author Randy Alcorn. It can be read online at epm.org/magazine.All Scripture quoted in Randy's articles are from the English Standard Version (ESV), unless otherwise noted.SubscribeEternal Perspectives is sent free to all who request it. To subscribe by mail or to sign up to receive an email when new editions are posted online, go to epm.org/subscribe.PermissionsArticles written by Randy Alcorn (in this publication and on our website) may be freely quoted or copied, in part or in whole, provided EPM’s name and website are included. (If you wish to revise or leave out portions of an article, please contact us for permission.) Feel free to reproduce this complete magazine, and pass it on to individuals, churches, or groups. A PDF can be printed from epm.org/magazine.Contact39065 Pioneer Blvd., Suite 100, Sandy, OR 97055info@epm.org | 503.668.5200 Help Support This PublicationEternal Perspectives will always be free. But we invite you to help with printing and production costs by donating at epm.org/donate. (Under Special Funds and Projects, select "Magazine Printing Project.") EPM is a nonprot 501(c)(3) organization. All contributions are tax deductible to the fullest extent allowed by law. contents4The Comfort and Friendship of Jesus in Our GriefRandy Alcorn7How Four Simple but Profound Words Can Keep You from SinDavid Powlison8Eternal Perspectives on the Election: What God's Word Says 11“God with Us” Is Exquisite DelightCharles Spurgeon12Heaven: 20 Years LaterInterview with Randy Alcorn17Reader Responses to Heaven18Q&A 19News from EPM20The Persecuted Church Teaches Us to Cherish God’s WordAsheritah Ciuciu22The Esimbi People Celebrate Receiving the New Testament in Their Heart LanguageThe Seed CompanyCopyright © 2024 by Eternal Perspective Ministries Produced and designed by Stephanie Anderson, EPM staff2 ETERNAL PERSPECTIVES FALL/WINTER 2024aboutFollow Randy Alcorn/Eternal Perspective Ministries online:

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4 ETERNAL PERSPECTIVES FALL/WINTER 2024Over the four-plus years my beloved wife Nanci faced cancer, there were many good reports and many bad ones. We rode a roller coaster of emotions throughout her three surgeries, three rounds of radiation, and three rounds of chemo.I vividly remember the day when the doctor said it was now stage-four cancer that had spread to her lungs. That night we prayed together, and then I went downstairs, got on my knees by the couch, buried my face in my hands, and wept. I poured out my heart to God, begging Him to intervene. I did what 1 Peter 5:7 tells us to do: “Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you” (NIV). Suddenly I felt a presence beside me. I opened my eyes and saw our Golden Retriever Maggie’s front paws next to my hands. The Comfort and Friendship of Jesus in Our GriefBY RANDY ALCORN

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FALL/WINTER 2024 ETERNAL PERSPECTIVES 5She gave me a look of loving concern, licked my tears, and then made a loud mournful sound she had never made before and never did after. I can only describe it as a groan. It startled me.I thought immediately of Romans 8 which tells us that we groan, the whole creation groans, and God’s Spirit intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. I realized that three of us were groaning together for Nanci, who we all loved—our God, myself, and our dog. And then I wept more, this time nding great comfort in both my companions. The God of All ComfortA year later, I was there when Nanci took her last breath. I felt profoundly sad, yet so privileged to have been her husband and to be there till death did us part. In the over two years now since she relocated to Heaven, her absence has been palpable. I miss her frequent texts about dogs and football and great quotes from Charles Spurgeon and J. I. Packer and others. I miss the sound of her voice and her laughter, always so loud and contagious. The grief has been dicult. Yet God has been doing a work of grace in my life, bringing me comfort that allows me to go forward without her. (This is greatly helped by the anticipation of one day being with her again in the presence of Jesus!) In Psalm 16:8 David says, “I have set the LORD always before me; because he is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken.” To set God before me is to recognize His presence and constant help.When a child falls o a bike, she doesn’t need her father to say, “Sweetheart, here’s why it happened—given your speed and the weight of this bike, it couldn’t tolerate that sharp turn and…” No. The child simply wants comfort. We don’t need explanations, most of which we wouldn’t understand anyway. We need “God, who comforts the downcast” (2 Corinthians 7:6). Millions of people, including me, aest to the comfort He has brought them in their darkest hours. “…you, LORD, have helped me and comforted me” (Psalm 86:17). Joni Eareckson Tada and Steve Estes write in When God Weeps,God, like a father, doesn’t just give advice. He gives himself. He becomes the husband to the grieving widow (Isaiah 54:5). He becomes the comforter to the barren woman (Isaiah 54:1). He becomes the father of the orphaned (Psalm 10:14). He becomes the bridegroom to the single person (Isaiah 62:5). He is the healer to the sick (Exodus 15:26). He is the wonderful counselor to the confused and depressed (Isaiah 9:6).Paul says, “[The] God of all comfort... comforts us in all our aiction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any aiction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God” (2 Corinthians 1:3–4). Often when we are grieving, we think only of receiving comfort, not giving it. There are times in grief when receiving needs to be our sole focus. But when God comforts us, we are enabled to also use that same comfort to console others. While He pours out His comfort to us directly by a ministry of His Holy Spirit, God is also fond of using other people to comfort us. I have experienced this through my friends and family members. There is great pleasure in both giving and receiving comfort in God’s family. It’s fullling to be His instrument, and that’s a source of comfort as well. God has been doing a work of grace in my life, bringing me comfort that allows me to go forward without Nanci.“

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6 ETERNAL PERSPECTIVES FALL/WINTER 2024The Friendship of JesusJesus says, “No longer do I call you servants… but I have called you friends” (John 15:15). This stunning truth has become a deep daily comfort to me. Ever since I came to know Jesus as a teenager, I’ve had a friendship with Him; but it really hit home when my second best friend, Nanci, was no longer here for me. While other friendships have helped, nothing has meant more to me than the friendship of Jesus. It still does. Every day. I have never felt closer to Him than I do now. I tell myself that Nanci now lives with her best friend and mine. And I am experiencing and sensing His presence with me every day. At her death, neither of us lost our best friend. He is still with both of us, even though we are not yet reunited. That Jesus truly is and wants to be our friend is a revolutionary concept to many Christians. True, we should never deny or minimize the fact that we are God’s servants, and that itself is a high calling. But we should simultaneously arm the wondrous fact that we are His children and friends. God can and does love His servants, but He certainly loves wholeheartedly His children and His friends. And He intends to do His best for us, even when that best takes a dierent form than we might have chosen. Dwight L. Moody said, “A rule I have had for years is to treat the Lord Jesus Christ as a personal friend. His is not a creed, a mere doctrine, but it is He Himself we have.”As we grieve, we nd that grief itself is a companion; but our greater companion and closest friend is Jesus. He has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you” (Hebrews 13:5). Jesus is our mentor and best friend, as well as Savior and Lord. Our relationship with Him grows as we spend time with Him—talking and listening to Him. As Oswald Chambers wrote, “The dearest friend on earth is a mere shadow compared to Jesus Christ.” We Will Behold His FaceSuffering and weeping are real and profound, but for God’s children, they are temporary. One day, grief will end. Forever. Eternal joy is on its way. Jesus, our forever friend, “will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain” (Revelation 21:4). This is the blood-bought promise of Jesus. In the meantime, when our hearts ache, let’s turn to Jesus, our greatest source of comfort and peace. “This is my comfort in my affliction, that your promise gives me life” (Psalm 119:50).Nanci’s death has given Randy opportunities to write and speak about grief, pointing readers to an eternal perspective. This page lists in one place all the resources on grief he has shared on his blog: epm.org/indexgriefAn Index of What Randy Has Written on Loss, Grief, Eternal Hope, and Nanci’s Life and Homecoming

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FALL/WINTER 2024 ETERNAL PERSPECTIVES 7How Four Simple but Profound Words Can Keep You from SinBY DAVID POWLISONGod says many times,“I am with you.”Those are His exact words. . . .What if you are facing a temptation to some immorality? For starters, nothing is private; no secrets are possible.“I am with you.” “I . . . am . . . with . . . you.”Say it ten dierent ways. Say it back to Him, the way Psalm 23:4 does: “You are with me.”Slow it down. Speed it up. Say it out loud.You’ll probably nd that you immediately need to say more: “You are with me. Help me. Make me know that. Have mercy on me. Don’t forsake me. I need you. Make me understand.”You will nd that the competing, lying, tempting voices become more obvious. They are sly and argumentative. They will try to drown out God’s reality. They will sco at what God says. They will sco at you. They will seek to allure you or overpower you to plunge you into a dark parallel universe that has no God.To the degree that you remember that your Lord is with you and you seek Him, then those other voices will sound devious, tawdry, and hostile to your welfare. How did they ever sound so appealing? The contrast, the bale of wills, the conict between good and evil will be more evident. Your immediate choice—which voice will I listen to?—will become stark.Remembering what’s true does not chalk up automatic victory. But we do secretive things only when we’re kidding ourselves. Every time you remember that you are out in public, then you live an out-in-public life. “I am with you” means you’re always out in the open.Even if you sin by high-handed choice, you will still be in broad daylight before God’s searching eyes. He’s still here. You can open your eyes, listen, and turn around in order to nd help. He who loves you says, “I am with you” to awaken and encourage you.What if you face a dierent struggle today? What if you feel overwhelmed with aloneness and fear, buried under your hurt, abandoned and betrayed by people?“I am with you.” “I am with you.”“I am with you.”Again, when you really hear that and take it to heart, you know you are not alone. You are safe. Someone’s manipulative and violent lust violated you; the steadfast love of God never betrays you.Or what if you’re overwhelmed by the grime of past failures? You feel guilty, shameful, unacceptable and ask, “How could God ever accept me?”He responds, “I am with you.” God is not shocked by the ugliness of your real-time evils. He came to give His life for the “foremost” sinner (as Paul twice calls himself—1 Tim. 1:15-16). Christ truly forgives. Truly.Whatever your struggle, “I am with you” changes the terrain of bale. You start to see the fork in the road. There is a way of life. Your choices count, and you can choose life. A good road runs uphill toward the light, where previously you only knew to stumble over the edge into the abyss.Excerpted from Making All Things New: Restoring Joy to the Sexually Broken. David Powlison (1949–2019) was a teacher, a counselor, and the executive director of the Christian Counseling & Educational Foundation.Taken from Making All Things New: Restoring Joy to the Sexually Broken by David Powlison, Copyright © 2017, pp. 115-117. Used by permission of Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers, Wheaton, IL 60187, www.crossway.org.

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RANDY ALCORNI think we can all agree that we are glad this election is behind us, regardless of how we feel about the outcome. (I don’t know the outcome yet, as I write this before the election, which they say is too close to call.) Let’s realize what Philippians 3:20 says: our citizenship is not on this present Earth. Our citizenship is in Heaven. We are citizens of another country, “and we eagerly wait for a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ” (CSB). America (and any other country) may or may not unravel in coming decades, but God’s kingdom certainly won’t! Human kingdoms will rise and fall until Christ sets up a Kingdom in which humanity forever rules in righteousness: “The world has now become the Kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he will reign forever and ever” (Revelation 11:15, NLT). Because Christ will be the King of kings, this will be the Kingdom of kingdoms—the greatest kingdom in human history. Yes, I say human history, for our history will not end at Christ’s return. It will continue forever, to the glory of God. May these verses encourage you to set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at Christ’s return (1 Peter 1:13). FALL/WINTER 2024 ETERNAL PERSPECTIVES 9God’s sovereignty over the nations and leaders of earth:“…for dominion belongs to Yahweh and he rules over the nations” (Psalm 22:28, NIV). “O Yahweh, God of our fathers, are you not God in heaven? You rule over all the kingdoms of the nations. In your hand are power and might, so that none is able to withstand you" (2 Chronicles 20:6).“He changes times and seasons; he removes kings and sets up kings; he gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those who have understanding” (Daniel 2:21). “It is God who judges: He brings one down, he exalts another” (Psalm 75:7, NIV). “The king’s heart is a stream of water in the hand of Yahweh; he turns it wherever he will” (Proverbs 21:1).“Yahweh brings the counsel of the nations to nothing; he frustrates the plans of the peoples. The counsel of Yahweh stands forever, the plans of his heart to all generations” (Psalm 33:10-11). Where our trust should be placed:“It is beer to take refuge in Yahweh than to trust in princes” (Psalm 118:9).“Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of Yahweh our God” (Psalm 20:7). “Do not trust in nobles, in a son of man, who cannot save. …Happy is the one whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in Yahweh his God, the Maker of heaven and earth, the sea and everything in them. He remains faithful forever” (Psalm 146:3-6, CSB).“You are my hiding place and my shield; I hope in your word” (Psalm 119:114). “The steadfast love of Yahweh never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. ‘Yahweh is my portion,’ says my soul, ‘therefore I will hope in him’” (Lamentations 3:22-24). “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way, though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea” (Psalm 46:1-2). Our calling as Christians, presently living as citizens of earthly countries:“I urge, then, rst of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone—for kings and all those in authority, that “

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10 ETERNAL PERSPECTIVES FALL/WINTER 2024we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. This is good, and pleases God our Savior, who wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth” (1 Timothy 2:1-4). “Everyone must submit himself to governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God” (Romans 13:1). “But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to Yahweh on its behalf, for in its welfare you will nd your welfare” (Jeremiah 29:7). “But seek rst the kingdom of God and his righteousness” (Mahew 6:33). “Therefore let those who suer according to God’s will entrust their souls to a faithful Creator while doing good” (1 Peter 4:19). “He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does Yahweh require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God” (Micah 6:8). “For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do” (Ephesians 2:10). Our rock-solid, blood-bought hope in turbulent and uncertain times:“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever” (Hebrews 13:8).“Trust God; don’t worry; be at peace. Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am…Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid” (John 14:1-3, 27).“….we look forward with hope to that wonderful day when the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, will be revealed” (Titus 2:13, NLT). Christ’s coming eternal kingdom on the New Earth: “And in the days of those kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that shall never be destroyed, nor shall the kingdom be left to another people. It shall break in pieces all these kingdoms and bring them to an end, and it shall stand forever” (Daniel 2:44). “At the right time he will bring everything together under the authority of Christ—everything in heaven and on earth” (Ephesians 1:10, NLT).“But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, where righteousness dwells” (2 Peter 3:13, NIV). “And to him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him; his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom one that shall not be destroyed” (Daniel 7:14). At the right time he will bring everything together under the authority of Christ—everything in heaven and on earth.EPHESIANS 1:10“

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FALL/WINTER 2024 ETERNAL PERSPECTIVES 11“GOD WITH US”: all that “God” means, the Deity, the innite Jehovah with us; this, this is worthy of the burst of midnight song, when angels startled the shepherds with their carols, singing “Glory to God in he highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased” (Luke 2:14). This was worthy of the foresight of seers and prophets, worthy of a new star in the heavens, worthy of the care which inspiration has manifested to preserve the record. This, too, was worthy of the martyr deaths of apostles and confessors who counted not their lives dear unto them for the sake of the incarnate God; and this, my brothers and sisters, is worthy at this day of your most earnest endeavors to spread the glad tidings, worthy of a holy life to illustrate its blessed inuences, and worthy of a joyful death to prove its consoling power. Here is the rst truth of our holy faith—“Great indeed, we confess, is the mystery of godliness: He was manifested in the esh” (1 Timothy 3:16).He who was born at Bethlehem is God, and “God with us.” God—there lies the majesty; “God with us,” therein is grace. God alone might well strike us with terror; but “God with us” inspires us with hope and condence.Let us admire this truth: “God with us.” Let us stand at a reverent distance from it as Moses when he saw God in the bush stood a lile back, and put his shoes from o his feet, feeling that the place on which he stood was holy ground. This is a wonderful fact, God the Innite once dwelt in the frail body of a child, and tabernacled in the suering form of a lowly man, “God was in Christ” (2 Corinthians 5:19, KJV). “He made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men” (Philippians 2:7 KJV).BY CHARLES SPURGEON“God with Us” Is Exquisite DelightExcerpted from A Wondrous Mystery: Daily Advent Devotions. Randy writes about the book: "No preacher of God‘s Word speaks to me more powerfully than Charles Spurgeon. His are the words of an old friend, though sadly many of my other friends don’t yet know him. Many thanks to Geoffrey Chang for giving us Spurgeon's rich insights into Christ’s incarnation."Excerpted from A Wondrous Mystery: Daily Advent Devotions by Charles H. Spurgeon © 2024 by editor Geoffrey Chang. Used with permission of New Growth Press. May not be reproduced without prior written permission. Available for purchase at newgrowthpress.com.

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12 ETERNAL PERSPECTIVES FALL/WINTER 2024What prompted you to study and write about Heaven?A close friend of mine, Greg, died when I was in high school. I was a brand-new Christian, and it aected me profoundly. Then after I’d been a pastor ve years, my mother died in 1981. The last month before she died, nearly every day I read to her from the nal two chapters of the Bible, Revelation 21 and 22, which portray the eternal Heaven as centered on the New Earth. Though we had never discussed it in Bible college or seminary, I found compelling this picture of a resurrected world where people with real bodies will live in a redeemed culture forever centered on Christ the King of Kings.As the years went on, as a pastor I was at the bedsides of many dying people and spoke at their gravesides and memorial services. Eleven years to the day after my mother died, my best friend from Heaven20 Years LaterOctober 2024 marked the 20-year anniversary since the release of Randy's book Heaven. By God's grace, over one million copies have been sold. In this interview, Randy reects on writing the book and what has changed since it was rst published.

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FALL/WINTER 2024 ETERNAL PERSPECTIVES 13childhood died, and I had the privilege of being there with Jerry when he left this world for a far beer one.After writing my novel Safely Home in 2001, I decided to write a big book on Heaven, emphasizing not just the present Heaven where we go when we die, but the eternal Heaven where God promises to put His throne on the New Earth and dwell with us.Big books full of Scripture, theology, and quotations from people long dead don’t normally sell well. Yet to my surprise, and the publisher’s, over a million copies of Heaven have sold. Innumerable readers, including pastors, have told me their views of the afterlife have radically changed. No one has been more surprised than I’ve been!What was most challenging about writing the book? What has brought you the most joy?In my research for Heaven, I read over 150 books on the afterlife, most of them long out of print. I did this over a three-year period, and of course, the more you research, the more material you have to handle, and the more you have to cut. If you do ve or six revisions on a book manuscript, as I usually do, it’s easy to lose sight of the end.I had some very discouraging times where I was up half the night writing and asking, “Lord, is this going to make a dierence? Is it worth it?” In that moment, it’s something you have to accept by faith—that a measurable result will come, even if the book isn’t read by people for another two years. The payo did indeed come when the book was published. Over the years, we’ve received hundreds of wonderful leers from people, including many who begin by saying, “My husband/wife/son/granddaughter/mother died, and your book has helped me in my grief.” I have found great joy in hearing how lives have been changed: people have come to Christ, grown and been stretched, or taken bold new steps in following Jesus.When I receive such leers, it’s like God is graciously saying, “Yes, all the work you put into writing really is worth it.”What are the most frequently asked questions about Heaven you receive?Those who are grieving have many questions like, “Does my loved one still care about me? Are they aware of what’s happening on Earth? What are they experiencing in the present Heaven?” We’ve addressed these and similar questions on my blog and in Q&As our sta have helped me answer. Believers who have lost a spouse often have questions about the nature of marriage in Heaven. As I share in the book, there will be one marriage in Heaven, not many. Our marriage to Him is the true Marriage, of which the best of earthly marriages was a symbol and shadow. But while Jesus said the institution of human marriage would end, having fullled its purpose, He never hinted that deep relationships between married people would disappear. I was married to Nanci, my best friend and my closest sister in Christ, for 47 years. Will we become more distant in the new world? Of course not—we’ll become closer, I’m convinced. Of this I’m sure: what Jesus has for us in eternity will be wonderful beyond anything we can begin to imagine (and what we can imagine right now is prey wonderful!). One subject the book did not address is that of cremation. We receive emails asking, “What about bodies that were cremated? How will that aect the resurrection?” While I do have some thoughts

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14 ETERNAL PERSPECTIVES FALL/WINTER 2024about cremation as it relates to the precedent we see in Scripture (I share those perspectives on my blog for those who are curious and are considering future decisions), my response is that our all-powerful God will have no trouble making a perfect resurrection body out of the fragments He will raise! I’m also frequently asked about animals on the New Earth, and specically whether it’s possible that our pets might be there too. I love animals, and especially the dogs Nanci and I have had over the years, so I completely sympathize with the heart behind such questions. That has prompted me to work on a theology of animals and Heaven, which will also release from Tyndale in the future.What parts of the book have received the most pushback from readers?Countless Christians in Bible-believing churches have been held in bondage for many years by false and widespread views of Heaven and eternity. Despite the clear teaching of Scripture, the pushback against the New Earth used to be very strong. (Many people had only heard the New Earth mentioned in reference to Jehovah's Witness beliefs.)When Heaven came out in 2004, it was regarded as unique and radical, and by some as o-the-wall. There are readers and pastors who have struggled to embrace the Scriptural truth that the eternal Heaven will be a physical place. Once, after I preached about the Resurrection and New Earth, a ne Christian man said to me, “This idea of having bodies and eating food and living in an earthly place . . . it just sounds so unspiritual.” Likewise, a Bible college professor took oense at my suggestion that culture—including inventions, concerts, drama, and sports—will likely be part of the New Earth. But if we will be God’s resurrected image-bearers living on a resurrected earth, why wouldn’t they be? Yet there are many more readers who have resonated with what Scripture has taught all along. I believe more now in the truth of what the Bible teaches about Heaven than I even did when I rst wrote the book. I would not have wrien it had I not believed it—but it was so dierent than 98% of what I was reading! I could only nd references to the New Earth in mostly obscure books and a few reformed systematic theologies and serious books of reformed eschatology. I am from a dispensational background, but there is an unfortunate habit of dispensational writers to always think biblical references to the eternal New Earth are actually references to the millennium, which takes place on the old earth still under the curse. It is possible to believe in a literal millennium, but it is mandatory that biblically-based Christians believe in an eternal New Earth and that they not confuse the two. At best the millennium may anticipate or pregure or be a sampling of the New Earth to come. But because it is a temporary period that happens on the old earth still under the curse and ends in death and destruction, and the New Earth is both eternal and from day one without sin, death, and suering, the two should not be mistaken for one another.What has changed in the 20 years since you wrote the book? Do you see a change in how Christians approach the subject of Heaven?To be honest, it was remarkably dicult to nd much at all about the New Earth in those 150 books I read in 1999-2003, and especially much that was biblically grounded. Information about the New Earth was maybe 1-2% of what I read, if even that, but it jumped out to me. Here was a central truth of Scripture that I had never once been taught in a church or Bible college or seminary! In my conversations with people, it was shocking what pastors and Christian leaders believed and did not believe about Heaven.

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FALL/WINTER 2024 ETERNAL PERSPECTIVES 15I have had people tell me (and I hope they’re right) that Heaven has had a major eect on changing the perspectives of evangelical pastors and laypeople on the subject of the New Earth. It’s true I have noticed a striking dierence when I speak to groups today and when I spoke to them 20 years ago. Sometimes I still hear people say, “I’ve never heard that before,” but they are noticeably fewer. More than anything, I hear from people that they have a transformed picture of Heaven and the New Earth that’s helped them fear death less, focus less on bucket lists, and embrace the blood-bought promises of Jesus about the wonders of eternal life with Him and His people. If the belief that God’s people really will live happily ever after as resurrected people on a resurrected earth is a signicant part of my legacy as a writer, I’ll certainly be happy and grateful to God! How has Nanci’s homecoming to Heaven inuenced how you talk and write about this subject? I doubt many people have talked about eternity more than Nanci and I did. Twenty-some years of my researching, writing, and speaking about Heaven gave us much to talk about! I am eternally grateful for those conversations that began decades before Nanci was diagnosed with cancer. While what I learned during those hundreds (come to think of it, thousands) of hours of study was a great encouragement, it didn’t necessarily make saying goodbye to Nanci easy. All that study, however, bolstered my wholehearted belief that Nanci’s death was not the end of our relationship, only a temporary interruption. The great reunion awaits us, and I anticipate it and delight in imagining it with everything in me.Paul said that “we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord” (2 Corinthians 5:8). My true home is where Jesus is. It warms my heart that Jesus and Nanci are in the same home. He is the One who makes Heaven such a wonderful place, all because He is such a wonderful person. Nanci’s death has given me opportunities to write and speak about grief, and I hope, help readers have an

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eternal perspective. (My new booklet Grieving with Hope was born out of what I’ve learned during the last two and a half years since Nanci relocated to Heaven.)How do you hope the message of Heaven will impact the church in the next 20 years?My hope is that the church will increasingly be able to do exactly what Peter assumes all Christians are doing: “looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness” (2 Peter 3:13). Peter links the promise of life together in the new universe with the call to be holy and pure and to live for Christ: “...You ought to live holy and godly lives as you look forward to the day of God” (2 Peter 3:11-12). God wants us to use this time He’s given us to serve Him with all our hearts. I pray that’s what God’s people will do.Joni Eareckson Tada writes in Heaven: Your Real Home,When a Christian realizes his citizenship is in heaven, he begins acting as a responsible citizen of earth. He invests wisely in relationships because he knows they’re eternal. His conversations, goals, and motives become pure and honest because he realizes these will have a bearing on everlasting reward. …He gives generously of time, money, and talent because he’s laying up treasure for eternity. He spreads the good news of Christ because he longs to ll heaven’s ranks with his friends and neighbors.Not only will an eternal perspective change our actions, but it will also change our aitudes. Living with eternity in mind will infuse us with a joy and purpose that can sustain us in daily life, even as we face suering.Charles Spurgeon wrote in his classic devotional Morning and Evening, “Christian, meditate much on Heaven, it will help thee to press on, and to forget the toil of the way.” If we are anticipating life on the New Earth, we will not view suering or death the same—not our death, or the death of a loved one. May the church live upon eternity’s joys now, discarding unbiblical and unworthy views of Heaven, and believing that the best truly is yet to come!The 20th anniversary edition of Heaven includes a new note from Randy for today's readers. It's available from epm.org/heavenbook16 ETERNAL PERSPECTIVES FALL/WINTER 2024

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FALL/WINTER 2024 ETERNAL PERSPECTIVES 17Great Peace Thank you, Randy, for this book. Our daughter left us eight years ago, and I clung to this book every day for months. It brought me so much peace.Renewed Faith I’m about in the middle of reading your book Heaven. My walk was not in a good place. I couldn’t nd my way into a better state of mind. I started reading your book, and it’s put everything in perspective. I didn’t even realize that I had some wrong beliefs about Heaven. It’s renewed my faith.Hope in Grief Today is the nineteenth anniversary of the day our four-year-old ew to the arms of Jesus. Your book Heaven was a lifeline to me in the early days. Knowing where she is and how she is made so much difference in both my and my husband’s grief journey. The tears still fall, and I will not be whole until that day when we are reunited, but the promise of Heaven is everything to me.Eternal Perspective After losing my fourteen-year-old to suicide three years ago, I questioned many things, including my faith. Your book Heaven, and the Bible, of course, are the two things that brought me great comfort each day. Suicide will never make sense, but I am learning to trust that Jesus knows and sees ALL things, and this is all I need to know while I am on this earth.Comfort in Loss I have almost devoured Heaven, reading it over and over. I learned about the book shortly after my husband of 54 years went to be with Jesus, and the comfort it brought me was more than I could ever put in words.Motivated Faith Besides the Bible, of course, Heaven is one of my two favorite Christian books, along with The Pursuit of Holiness, and made me so much more excited about my faith. It motivates me all the more to be about the Father’s business in the present.Courage to Face Death Your book Heaven gave me the courage to look at the imminent loss of both of my parents while I saw their decline side-by-side. It gave me comfort again when they passed into Heaven, and still gives me hope and anticipation for when that time comes for me and other loved ones.Preparation for Eternity My dad was on hospice for nineteen months. He read your book Heaven three times before he went there. I asked him, "Why read it again?" He said that when he plans a trip, he learns all that he can about where he is going. This (along with reading his Bible) was his prep for Heaven! It has greatly encouraged me, too.Reader Responses to Heaven

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Q&AQuestion from a reader: I think a lot about Heaven since my beloved husband went there. I'm so curious about what Heaven is like as I miss him terribly. Words cannot express my sadness and how lonely I am. We had no children; we have no family. Christian friends have their own lives, and we both worked as missionaries overseas. I need help, but I don't even know what help I need! Answer from Heidi McLaughlin, EPM staff:I'm so sorry to hear of your loss. The death of a spouse is an earth-shaering and life-altering event.Randy recalls the rst year after losing Nanci as being in a fog. Because of his intensive studies on Heaven and the New Earth, he felt more hope than he would have without knowing God’s promises for the future, but that rst year especially was hard. We normally recommend that people aend some type of biblically based grief support group such as Grief Share after the loss of a spouse. You need that kind of support right now. I don’t know if there would be a group like that where you live, but griefshare.org does oer online options. If a support group doesn’t work out for you, then we highly recommend grief counseling. Grief and loss, especially early on, can make it hard for some readers to concentrate on reading a big book like Heaven. There are many resources on Heaven and grief on our website. Just do a search and you will see many more articles. Since they come in more bite-size pieces, maybe they will be easier for you to digest than a large book. Randy’s small devotional 50 Days of Heaven has also been a great comfort to many still in the fog of early grief.I know that it can feel like other couples and families are too busy for you, but you really need to be with people right now. I encourage you to ght through the feelings that your Christian friends have their own lives. This is what the Christian community is supposed to do for each other. Have the courage to tell them what you need, and they might surprise you with how they will show up. And have grace for them too. We often don’t know how to help someone in grief. We want to, but we end up saying 18 ETERNAL PERSPECTIVES FALL/WINTER 2024

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FALL/WINTER 2024 ETERNAL PERSPECTIVES 19stupid things sometimes. So be patient with people and tell them you need them and try to think of specic ways they can support you. Maybe you need someone to help you go through your husband’s things (at the right time when you are ready), or maybe you just need someone to come sit with you and be present without talking. Above all, ask Jesus to walk with you through this. Ask Him to send you the help and support you need. Lean hard into Him. Sometimes when we are in deepest grief, we think He’s not showing up but trust what you know about Him to be true! Read the Scriptures that remind you that He walks with you.I wish I could reach across the distance and give you a hug. Father God, the Great Comforter: please be near to your beloved child now as she walks through this time of grief. I know that your heart is heavy for her. You care for your children and what we go through because of death. Thank you for defeating it! Thank you that someday we will be with you together with our loved ones who have gone before us, and you will wipe away every tear. Make your presence felt and known to her today. This devotional contains stand alone meditations to be read one at a time, including questions of self-examination as well as prayer. Learn more at epm.org/50daysDaily eternal reectionsnewsRandy's book Happiness has been released in paperback with a brand new cover. It is available from our store at epm.org/happinessUncovering the Secret to Everlasting JoyRandy's book The Law of Rewards has been revised and updated and released in paperback with a refreshed cover. It is available from our store at epm.org/lawrewardsGaining What You Can't LoseRandy Alcorn will be a keynote speaker on Thursday, April 24, 2025 at Celebration of Generosity, Generous Giving's annual conference where generous people gather in community. The full event will be held April 24-26, 2025 in Austin, Texas. See generousgiving.org to learn more and register.Randy Speaking at Generous Giving's Celebration of Generosity

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20 ETERNAL PERSPECTIVES FALL/WINTER 2024My great-grandmother, Măicuța, grew up in communist Romania and didn’t own a Bible until she was married. In her village, they’d pass around single pages of the Bible and read them, transcribe them, and memorize them before trading the pages with another. I’d grown up hearing this story, and just last year while visiting my grandmother in Romania, she passed it on to my daughter.The scarcity of the wrien Word of God made it all the more precious. If any Christian was caught with pages of the Bible in their homes, they risked beatings, imprisonment, and harsh labor.The Romanian community I grew up in had living memories of people who had endured these punishments because they cherished their Bibles. Even knowing the risk, they continued to read God’s Word, memorize it, and share it with anyone who would listen. One of these women, my dear friend Silvia Tărniceriu, spent several years in a Romanian prison, locked up for her faith and deprived of her Bible. For four months she was systematically brainwashed and mentally tortured until she couldn’t remember a single verse of the hundreds she had memorized during her childhood. (I can't even imagine... can you?)In her darkest moment, Silvia cried out to God asking for a verse—any verse—to bring her comfort in her suering. He responded with a whispered Love your enemies. At rst, Silvia resisted, hoping for an encouraging promise or a psalm; but when none came, she resolved to obey the Spirit’s prompting. The next morning, she cheerfully greeted the prison guard who had mistreated her just the day before. And the most incredible thing happened! As soon as she obeyed the prompt to love her enemy, in the very next moment, God graciously released all the verses she had stored up in her mind, starting with Psalm 23: “The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing. [..] Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me.” Silvia writes in her memoir: "My memory was back! I clasped my hands together! I could clearly remember everything! I was free! Oh, I cannot tell in words the freedom that came over my soul. I was no longer in prison! My spirit was free in Christ! […] I could not stop praising God, and I could not stop quoting verses. Songs came back. I laughed and cried. I had to keep on working, but I could not keep from singing. ‘There’s no other friend like Jesus,’ I sang. I could not keep silent. A well of joy was owing from me.”As Silvia served the rest of her prison sentence, the treasured Scriptures that she'd memorized all those years before brought her comfort, courage, and peace, until the day she was nally released.The Persecuted Church Teaches Us to Cherish God’s Word by Hiding It in Our HeartsBY ASHERITAH CIUCIU

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FALL/WINTER 2024 ETERNAL PERSPECTIVES 21Silvia spent the rest of her life touring the globe, raising awareness for the persecuted church and talking about God's love to whoever would listen. Her blue eyes sparkled whenever she spoke of her friend Jesus, up until the day she went to be with Him in 2013.Corrie ten Boom, who had also been imprisoned for her faith and obedience to Jesus said this: “Gather the riches of God’s promises. Nobody can take away from you those texts from the Bible which you have learned by heart.”Silvia’s story has inspired me over the years to continue hiding God’s Word in my heart, not out of fear of future persecution, but as a way to cherish the treasure we hold in our hands.Because sadly, our generation has unlimited access to the Word of God at our ngertips—and for all that, we're living in the most biblically illiterate generation since the Reformation.But wait! If your Bible’s collecting dust on a shelf, Silvia would be the rst to tell you: there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus (see Romans 8:1). Instead, God’s compassionate Spirit convicts us to turn toward Him in repentance, that He may stir up our hearts and restore our joy. So don’t let guilt or shame turn you away. Instead, I hope you're inspired, like I am, to pick up your Bible and meditate on God's truth today. Set aside a few minutes each day this week to memorize a verse, or pray through a passage, or study a chapter. Whatever you do, don't just nish reading this article and do nothing. Listen to God's gentle voice prompting you to come and nd your soul’s delight in Him. He’s waiting for you.Adapted from Delighting in Jesus by Asheritah Ciuciu (© 2024). Published by Moody Publishers. Used by permission.Asheritah Ciuciu is an author and speaker, and the founder of One Thing Alone Ministries—an online ministry that helps overwhelmed women nd joy in Jesus. Learn more at onethingalone.com

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22 ETERNAL PERSPECTIVES FALL/WINTER 2024The Esimbi People Celebrate Receiving the New Testament in Their Heart LanguageIn June 2018, our beloved coworker and dear friend Karen Coleman went to be with Jesus. Prior to working at EPM, she and her family spent 23 years as missionaries in Africa. We couldn't think of a better way to remember Karen’s legacy than to give in her honor towards the translation of Scripture. EPM partnered with The Seed Company to help fund the Esimbi project, bringing God’s Word to 20,000 people who live in isolated areas in Karen’s beloved Cameroon. It's especially appropriate that we chose the Esimbi language project as this is the language group that Karen went to minister to in Cameroon. Six years later, we are thrilled to report that the New Testament is complete! We want to extend a big thank you to those donors who partnered with us in giving to nish this project in Karen's honor.

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FALL/WINTER 2024 ETERNAL PERSPECTIVES 23The Esimbi people’s homeland is nestled in the forests of Northwest Cameroon. But since 2017, armed conict in the region has forced families to ee. Amid this unrest and the added uncertainty of the COVID-19 pandemic, many Esimbi who once sacriced to traditional gods and viewed the Lord as a distant “Supreme Being” have placed their trust in Him. For over 10 years, the Cameroon Association of Bible Translation and Literacy (CABTAL) has been working with the Esimbi to translate Scripture into their language. In 2021, they completed the New Testament—and then waited three more years for physical copies to arrive. On June 22, 2024, a crowd of 200 gathered in Edéa, Cameroon, to dedicate the Esimbi New Testament. This was to be the rst of three celebrations held for the diaspora, with a fourth being held in the Esimbi homeland. Among the aendees were four Esimbi chiefs who traveled over 250 miles on dangerous roads to witness this historic moment. In a display of honor, four women carried in the New Testament on a small platform. The ceremony included traditional dances, a presentation of gifts, and a shared meal. In one of many speeches, a Seed Company representative recognized the numerous trials the Esimbi have endured. “But God has not abandoned you,” he told the crowd, “and you have not abandoned God’s work.” A CABTAL representative proceeded to declare, “It is hence going down in the history of Bible translation that God now speaks Esimbi.” An Esimbi translator urged the people to not only buy the New Testament but to read it. “Because to have the Bible is not the point,” he said. But to open its pages and be transformed—this is the future of the Esimbi people, for they now can hold the Word of God in their hands.BY THE SEED COMPANYBelow, Esimbi women bring in the symbolic rst copy of the New Testament. Learn more about The Seed Company and their Bible translation efforts at seedcompany.com

Eternal Perspectives: Fall/Winter 2024

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