What If Jesus Was Serious about Heaven?: A Visual Guide to Experiencing God's Kingdom among Us

I'm not a trained theologian, but for what it's worth, I found this book to be a wonderful summary of good insights well-supported by a careful reading of the scriptures. It's not written in a scholastic style, but rather in a style that makes theology accessible to people who don't usually read such things. And this is important, because this book addresses, head-on, myths about heaven that are pervasive in the pews of American churches.In discussions with fellow believers, I frequently find myself gently suggesting that we should not speak of "going to heaven when we die" but rather about "being in eternity with God now". It's an endless battle. There are two very misguided notions involved, and American Christian culture clings tightly to both. Jethani combats both misconceptions in his book.First, Jethani takes pains to discredit the notion of being saved as "having a ticket to be redeemed upon death". God is not merely interested in saving us "right about when we're dead". God wants us to enter into deeper communion with him NOW. We can begin eternal life IMMEDIATELY.Second, Jethani dismantles the myth that this "ticket" gains us entry into some mansion-strewn bliss-town just a bit beyond some local galaxy. God is going to redeem Earth. This is the home God made for us, and God is actually able to restore it. He will. Our eternal life with God doesn't just begin now. It also begins HERE. And stays HERE.The widespread ignorance on these topics in American Christendom is remarkable. Jethani's book does a wonderful job of presenting a far more accurate version of how the Bible addresses the matter, and he does so in a very engaging and easy manner. I hope and pray it helps move the needle.Having been exposed to these correctives through the writings of authors like Dallas Willard and N. T. Wright, I was already familiar with the above insights and a great many others packed into this delightful book. But I also ran into new insights all along the way.For example, in the Gospel of Mark we see two different passages where Jesus fed multitudes. The first account includes a number of symbols intended to show that Jesus came to save Jews. Symbols used in the account of the second feeding indicated Jesus came to save Gentiles. There is always more to learn from God's word, and I'm thankful for the new insights (such as this one) that I gained through this book.While reading this book I occasionally found myself thinking that certain assertions might be reasonably debated, but (strange as it is to say) it wasn't until the literal last page of the book that I found myself strongly disagreeing with something. Jethani asserts in his closing words that in the age to come, "there will still be entertainment, commerce, technology and discovery." This claim seemed a bit ambitiously specific, given how much we don't know about eternity--but with respect to commerce it seems (worse) to go against what we do know intuitively about eternity.The word "commerce" is normally used to describe the process by which two parties exchange one thing of value for another. Once we unpack that thought, it becomes clear where my concerns lie. First, the term is always used in a context of scarcity. We trade in order to gain something we want, but which we do not have. But scarcity is not something I expect to encounter in the age to come. And how would we engage in commerce there, anyway? With cash? Barter? Venmo? Zelle? I'm being silly, but I'm serious, too. I don't see myself carrying a wallet in eternity. Suffice it to say, I simply cannot imagine commerce being the proper word to describe heavenly transactions. Gift-giving? Maybe! But commerce? No.I include the above criticism as a reminder that we should be Berean in our reading! That is to say, check what you read against the scriptures. Perhaps you, too, will find something you disagree with. But to my admittedly layman's eyes, this book is chock-full of scripturally-based good information that challenges an awful lot of bad assumptions and Christian myths that need to drop out of our thoughts and vocabulary. All too frequently, myths inform our understanding of scriptures we don't read carefully enough. This book pierces a lot of those myths.I hope this book finds a wide audience, and am doing my part to that end. I've bought several copies (via commerce) and am handing them out to friends and neighbors (as gifts).

Love this series! Refreshing look a Christian topics in fun and challenging way. Why do you believe the things you believe? Because it's what you were told all your life?

This book taught me new insights from the Bible about Heaven. Some were different than what I was taught. Each is describrd very well in short paragraphs with doodles!

A thought provoking book about the Kingdom of Heaven, as taught by Christ. The author argues that we have misconstrued Jesus' teaching about the Kingdom of Heaven. We have limited his concept to the next life and have become " so heavenly minded that we are of no earthly good." Instead, he contends that the Kingdom of Heaven is something that is very earthly and practical.The book is divided into 5 sections: The Kingdom of Heaven has come near; The Kingdom of Heaven is like...; Your Kingdom Come, Your will be done on earth; I am going to prepare a place for you; and The Kingdom of the World has become the Kingdom of our Lord. Each section has subparts that begin: "If Jesus was serious...." The subparts are 2-4 pages long, which makes the book very readable as a devotional.The recurring thesis of this book is that the Kingdom of Heaven exists here on earth. It exists now, in this life, and will be accomplished here on earth in the future. Our emphasis should not be getting away from this world and going to heaven, but reigning with Jesus here and now, and preparing for the new creation that will be a restored earth, not a celestial city.

Jethani continues his excellent series "What if Jesus was serious..." If you are open to having your concept of challenged by Jesus' teaching, this book is for you. It made me think, and that is the sign of a great book!

I think I've said this before about Skye's writings, but he has a way of pulling back the cultural lens of Christianity and getting to the heart of scripture. The book was stunning and hope-filled, causing me to think about heaven in an entirely different way. Highly recommend!

The chapters are short (2-3 pages) and each has a specific point which is backed by scripture. I am really enjoying it so far! Very readable.

My husband and I love this series SO much. It's a great read and we were eager to receive this pre-order book. The author has amazing illustrations for each daily devotional and the topic of Heaven is stellar where he talks about so many amazing things to really keep you thinking about what Heaven is like. 10/10

Skye does an excellent job of covering the topic of heaven with Biblical support and clarity. And he takes a direct approach, to the point. I highly recommend.

Skye has done it again. He has challenged my Christian world view with his critiques of popular interpretations. As always, his doodles are very helpful. I am more of a visual learner.My one critique is of the interpretation when Jesus says “I go to prepare a place for you.” Now I am only a laymen but I think that there may be a more apt interpretation. Ray Vander Laan in one of his series, teaches about the cultural context of the marriage process during the time of Jesus. “I go to prepare a place for you.” Seems to reflect Vander Laan’s interpretation a bit better. Again, I am merely a layman looking at various resources to help me understand what the ancient writers were trying to say. Skye may be on to something with his interpretation.All Skye’s other devotions seem to be spot on. They have helped reshape my view of God’s plan for Heaven and Earth. I’m sure it will benefit you as well but prepare for the stages of grief if you hold popular views of Heaven being a far off place that you will go after you die. The doctrine of God’s plan for heaven and earth is deeper and richer than you think.