I’m frequently confronted with misconceptions of heaven. Many are more informed by pop-culture references and wild speculation than the biblical account.
In attempting to explain heaven with passages from the Bible, I often contradict people’s creative imagination.
Our understanding of the intermediate state, bodily resurrection, and the physical nature of the new heaven and new earth is limited. In fact, I’ve never uttered “intermediate state” without a response of “Huh?”
Here are five books that help provide a robust, biblical understanding of heaven. Together, they remind us of the source and destination of Christian hope.
N.T. Wright: Where is hope found?
N.T. Wright, in Surprised by Hope, explains how early Christians drew on Scripture to speak of their ultimate future hope, not in terms of “heaven and hell,” but of new creation.
In a recent work, God’s Homecoming, Wright argues the great story of the Bible, from Genesis to Revelation, is about God’s purpose and promise to come and live with us.
The Christian hope is not merely that we go to heaven when we die. Our ultimate hope is that heaven comes to earth in the new creation.
Ray Summers: What happens between death and resurrection?
The major contribution of Ray Summers’ The Life Beyond is its chapter on what he calls “the disembodied state.” While I prefer the phrase “intermediate state,” Summers’ framework is biblically sturdy.
He defines the period between death and the bodily resurrection at Christ’s return as “the conscious existence of both the righteous and the wicked after death and prior to the resurrection.” In this state, the spirit is without body, yet for the righteous, it is a state of conscious joy and blessedness.
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Andrew Davis: What will new creation be like?
In The Glory Now Revealed, Andrew Davis argues, when this present age has ended and the new heaven and new earth have come, our experience of God’s glory will be rich and multifaceted.
God’s past glory will be revealed through his mighty works throughout history. His present glory will be revealed in his face, throne, angels, people, New Jerusalem, and the new creation. His future glory will be revealed through the unfolding events of life in the new universe.
Davis describes heaven as a dynamic place full of thrilling activity where glorified people will grow and develop. For all eternity, we will discover new things about God’s glory.
Matthew McCullough: What difference does heaven make now?
Matthew McCullough’s Remember Heaven is a collection of meditations that place the hope of heaven at the center of the Christian life.
He discusses how the hope of heaven empowers our battle with sin, relieves our anxiety, makes our suffering meaningful, makes our grief bearable, and more.
This work helps keep our feet on the ground and our minds on heaven. Of the five, this may be the most accessible and practical place to begin.
Dane Ortlund: What will home finally be like?
Finally Home is Dane Ortlund’s newest volume, released Oct. 6, 2026. I anticipated its arrival on my doorstep like a kid awaiting Christmas morning. Ortlund is quickly becoming a favorite author. His previous books Gentle and Lowly and Deeper need to be on your shelf.
Like his previous works, Finally Home, references great theologians and poets of the past to glean insights on Scripture. I deeply appreciate the chapter “Eden Restored.”
Ortlund describes our final home not up there but down here; not ghost-like but in bodies; not floating in heaven but walking on earth; not an endless church service but endless work and play. Our final hope is not escape from God’s creation but the restoration of God’s creation.
Jeff Gravens is pastor of First Baptist Church in Sulphur Springs. The views expressed in this opinion article are those of the author.
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