Billy Graham's New 'Heaven Answer Book' Offers Insights Into the Afterlife
"Will there be marriage in heaven?"
"Marriage
in heaven will be on a much higher plane because the church will be
united with Christ [...] In heaven, there will be no loneliness --
fellowship will be more than the human mind can understand, and heaven
will be populated by the saints born of God," he writes.
Renowned evangelist Billy Graham has released a new book called The Heaven Answer Book, which promises to answer "questions that readers frequently have about death, the afterlife, and an eternity in heaven."
Graham's
books comes alongside similar popular titles telling of journeys to
heaven and back or questioning the afterlife, such as New York Times
Bestseller Heaven is for Real by Todd Burpo with Lynn Vincent, and Love Wins: A Book About Heaven, Hell, and the Fate of Every Person Who Ever Lived by Rob Bell.
"I
am convinced that we will never be prepared to live until we are
prepared to die," Graham writes in the book. "God has a plan for us
right now, and life's greatest joy comes from knowing Him and living for
Him every day."
"My purpose in this little volume is to explore
answers, so that we may have hope for the future and meaning for our
lives right now," he added.
The Heaven Answer Book, 179
pages-long and just seven chapters, uses Scripture to support Graham's
explanations of heaven, which he provides in an easy to understand
Q&A format.
Graham, 93, answers several common questions
regarding heaven, including: "What happens when we die?" "What will we
do in heaven?" and "What difference does heaven make?"
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The
evangelist addresses the usually morbid topic of death with an
optimistic outlook on the promise to Christians of eternal life in God's
kingdom.
When asked the question "What are the benefits of death to believers?" Graham responds:
"The
greatest benefit is that we will be free from all the pain and sorrows
and evils of this life, and we will be safely in God's presence
forever."
Graham also answers the question "Can we be sure we will
go to heaven?" by saying that humans cannot make it to heaven on their
own, but rather only through trusting completely and wholly in God.
"Don't trust in yourself and your good works, but turn to Jesus and trust Him alone for your salvation," Graham writes.
Graham addresses very specific questions as well, such as "Will there be marriage in heaven?"
"Marriage
in heaven will be on a much higher plane because the church will be
united with Christ [...] In heaven, there will be no loneliness --
fellowship will be more than the human mind can understand, and heaven
will be populated by the saints born of God," he writes.
Graham has previously written on the subject of death in his 1994 book Death and the Life After.
In Oct. 2011, the evangelist published his 30th book, Nearing Home, which was about aging. In the book, Graham writes,
"All my life, I was taught how to die as a Christian, but no one ever
taught me how I ought to live in the years before I die."
The
93-year-old minister has had his fair share of health issues, including
a 2011 stint with pneumonia, a battle with prostate cancer and an
ongoing struggle with Parkinson's Disease for the past 15 years.
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