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Books On The New Earth
Will There Be Books and Reading on the New Earth?
BY RANDY ALCORN
My friend
said, “I don’t see why there shouldn’t be books in Heaven. But you will find
that your library in Heaven contains only some of the books you had on earth.”
“Which?” I asked.
“The ones you gave away or lent.”
“I hope
the lent ones won’t still have all the borrowers’ dirty thumb marks,” said I.
“Oh yes
they will,” said he. “But just as the wounds of the martyrs will have
turned into beauties, so you will find that the thumb-marks have turned into
beautiful illuminated capitals or exquisite marginal woodcuts.” – C.S. Lewis, God in the Dock
We know
that sixty-six books, those that comprise the Bible, will be in Heaven — ”Your
Word, O Lord, is eternal; it stands firm in the heavens” (Psalm 119:89).
Jesus
said, “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away”
(Matthew 24:35).
Presumably, we will read, study,
contemplate, and discuss God’s Word.
There are
also other books in Heaven: “I saw the dead, great and small, standing
before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the
book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded
in the books” (Revelation 20:12).
Malachi 3:16-18 is a
remarkable passage that tells us God documents the faithful deeds of his
children on Earth: “Then those who feared the Lord talked with each other,
and the Lord listened and heard. A scroll of remembrance was written in his
presence concerning those who feared the Lord and honored his name. ‘They will
be mine,’ says the Lord Almighty, ‘in the day when I make up my treasured
possession. I will spare them, just as in compassion a man spares his son who
serves him. And you will again see the distinction between the righteous and
the wicked, between those who serve God and those who do not.’ “
I believe that on the New Earth,
we’ll also read books, new and old, written by people. We’ll have strong
intellects, great curiosity, and unlimited time.
It’s likely that books will have
a greater role in our lives in Heaven than they do now. The libraries
of the New Earth, I imagine, will be fantastic.
We’ll have no lack of resources
to study and understand.
I once helped a young friend
search for her biological mother, going through old court records, looking for
just the right clue.
We finally found it. I had the
privilege of introducing them to each other.
It was a
taste of Heaven — where not all reunions will happen all at once, I imagine,
but as eternity unfolds.
Every
biblical genealogy is a testimony to God’s interest in history, heritage, and
the unfolding of events on Earth.
Will God
lose interest in Earth? Will we? No. The New Earth’s history includes that of
the old Earth.
But a new
history will be built and recorded, a new civilization, wondrous beyond
imagination. And we who know the King will all be part of it.
Books are part of culture. I
expect many new books, great books, will be written on the New Earth.
But I also believe that some
books will endure from the old Earth.
Any book that contains falsehood
and dishonors God will have no place in Heaven.
But what about great books,
nonfiction and fiction?
Will we find A. W. Tozer’s The Knowledge of
the Holy, J. I. Packer’s Knowing God,
John Piper’s Desiring God,
John Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress, and Charles
Sheldon’s In His Steps on the New Earth?
I’ll be amazed if we don’t find
them there, just as I’ll be amazed if no one sings John Newton’s “Amazing
Grace” in Heaven.
Perhaps those of us who are
writers will go back to some of our published works and rewrite them in light
of the perspective we’ll gain.
Maybe we’ll look at our other
books and realize they’re no longer important — and some of them never were.
The New Earth, I think, will
confirm many things I’ve written in this book. It will completely dismantle
others.
“What was
I thinking?” I’ll ask myself. (If I knew which parts those were right now, I’d
cut them out!).
And I’ll marvel at how much
better the New Earth is than I ever imagined.
Consider comedy that makes you
laugh but not at the expense of another.
Reflect upon poetry that brings
tears to your eyes, paintings that put you in raptures, music that gives you
goose bumps, . . . Do our aesthetic adventures depend upon sin for flavor? I
think not. - Arthur Roberts, Exploring
Heaven
Randy Alcorn is the founder and
director of Eternal Perspective Ministries and a New York Times best-selling
author of over fifty books, including Heaven (over one million sold), The
Treasure Principle (over two million sold), If God is Good, Happiness, and the
award-winning novel Safely Home.
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