As you may have heard, Todd Burpo’s best-selling book, Heaven is for Real, has been turned into a movie and it hits the theaters Wednesday (April 16th). Burpo’s four-year-old son allegedly visited heaven after being anesthetized for an appendectomy, and the book tells his story.
Unfortunately, Heaven is for Real isn’t the only book of its kind to hit the shelves, or even the only best-seller. The popularity of these I-went-to-heaven books led Birmingham, Ala. pastor Dr. David Platt to address the issue during an in-depth night of Bible study at The Church at Brook Hills called, “Heaven, Hell, and the End of the World.” Much of Pastor David’s critique is based on this resource put out by Phil Johnson of “Grace to You,” the ministry of John MacArthur.
That so many believers are allowing these accounts of heaven to shape their thinking is a sad commentary on our ability to discern what is and what isn’t biblical. God’s Word, not personal testimonies, must be the measuring line for how we think of heaven and every other aspect of truth. Hopefully, the conversation surrounding the movie Heaven is for Real will give you an opportunity to share with someone how we know that heaven is for real, and most importantly, how to get there.
This short video is worth a watch.
David Burnette is a writer and editor for Radical, the resource ministry of Pastor David Platt. This post originally appeared on the Radical blog.
