All Things New: Heaven, Earth, and the Restoration of Everything You Love

This is a very dangerous book. Why, you may ask? It presents the idea that eventually “everything will be alright” and God will restore all. For all of us this is really, really good news. This is a book about the hope that lies at the core of every human soul. Eldredge focuses on Luke 19:28-29 and the Greek word “palingenesia”, the idea of a return to Genesis, a new beginning and renewal. I am surprised he did not focus also on the word “Apokatastasis” found in Acts 3:21 which means “to put back into the original condition”. “ Whom the heaven must receive until the times of a restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began.” I suspect that Eldredge avoided “Apokatastasis” because of the identification of it with universal salvation. John builds his grand vision and hope of the restoration of all things primarily using the imagery of the great prophet Isaiah. Isaiah in many passages paints a picture of an eventually restored creation where “every knee will bow and every tongue will confess” and "every tear will be wiped away and death will be swallowed up" (Isaiah 25:8) . “Turn to Me and be saved, all the ends of the earth; for I am God, and there is no other. By Myself I have sworn; truth has gone out from My mouth, a word that will not be revoked: Every knee will bow before Me, every tongue will swear allegiance. Surely they will say of Me, ‘In the LORD alone are righteousness and strength.’ ” All who rage against Him will come to Him and be put to shame.(Isaiah 45:23-24). Paul quotes Isaiah in Philippians 2:10-11 seeing Jesus as the final fulfillment ” that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” Isaiah is the most quoted prophet in the New Testament. Most Christians don’t seem to be aware of the grand influence of Isaiah on the New Testament writers. We should not be looking primarily to people like Augustine, Calvin or Luther to create New Testament theology BUT instead Isaiah. Eldredge also avoids dealing with the issue of “hell” as defined as a place of eternal conscious torment. He surely knows what happened when Rob Bell did this and the gatekeepers of “Orthodoxy” threw him out. Instead, All Things New has a glowing endorsement by JD Greer, president of the Southern Baptists, on the back. Hmmmm, times may be a changing. If you are new to examining the idea of “Hell” (which is actually an English word circa 725 AD used to translate Gehenna) and the destiny of all souls, let me very briefly summarize below. These are very, very general summaries, see my picture for verses of each . 1. Eternal Conscious Torment- “Hell” is a place of eternal conscious torment for those who reject Christ or who have never made a decision for him. 2. Annihilationism- the idea that the consciousness of evil people and those who reject Christ will eventually be annihilated, only believers will receive eternal life. 3. Restorationism (aka Christian Universalism)- the idea that that all souls will eventually be restored to God. God will be all in all (I Cor. 15:28) .Sin is viewed more as a sickness that will be healed thus any person in a healed state would naturally receive God. Here is a short list of books and documentaries that I have found helpful. All Things New is a great start on your expanding journey of God’s great love for all! 1. Love Wins by Rob Bell 2. Hellbound? Movie by Kevin Miller 3. Four Views on Hell 4. All You Want to Know About Hell: Three Christian Views of God’s Final Solution to the Problem of Sin 5. Her Gates Will Never be Shut: Hope, Hell and the New Jerusalem by Bradley Jersak 6. The Evangelical Universalist by Gregory MacDonald 7. Sinners in the Hands of a Loving God: The Scandalous Truth of the Very Good News by Brian Zahnd 8. That All Shall Be Saved by David Bentley Hart 9. Heaven’s Doors : Wider Than You Ever Believed! by George Sarris 10. Hope for All: Ten Reasons God’s Love Prevails and Hope Beyond Hell by Gerry Beauchemin 11. Early church fathers; Origen, Gregory of Nyssa, Clement of Alexandria

I really loved this book! John Eldredge covers a lot of ground here, and his words stir up a lot of wonderful HOPE for Christ followers. It reminds us of the restoration of all things... that Christ will rule as King, that evil will be overthrown and destroyed, that nothing we love will truly be lost. Our greatest memories and favorite moments here are only a faint preview of what awaits us. There will be great music and food and joy and love and a completely trustworthy, strong community where we are all both family and friends! There will be no racism, hatred, terrorism, death, shadow of death, sorrow, sin, etc. We will be completely free from bondage to death and decay, forever young and vibrant and healthy and whole! We will finally understand what God was doing in our darkest moments and see His plan throughout history. There will be so much to do and learn and explore and discover! This beautiful future is promised and it is coming for all who know Christ as Lord, yet most Christians spend very little time thinking about it... Our kingdom hope is meant to be the "anchor for our souls, firm and secure." (Heb. 6:19-20) John talks about God being our first love -- that when we get that right, it rescues us from so much heartache and pain. (I can attest to that on both sides!) Similarly, the coming Kingdom of Christ is meant to be our ultimate hope, and when we place our highest hope there, it rescues us from so much -- we will no longer feel devastated over the many things that fall short of our hopes and expectations here on earth. I wish I could convey how much this MATTERS. Having this firm and secure hope in Christ helps to ground us through the ups and downs of earthly life, and this book awakens and strengthens that hope. We will live forever and reign with Christ. No eye has seen and no ear has heard all that God has planned for us who love Him, but we can trust that we will not be bored or disappointed in it!! So I would encourage you to buy and read this book, to let your heart go there, and to press into this hope! ❤

This book was a joy to read. It wonderfully resets our perspective from here and now to the reality of here to eternity!

There was some passages in this book that made me cry when I read them, not from grief but from joy knowing my loved one is now experiencing life as it was meant to be and that one day soon we will be reunited. The author had recently experienced a number of deaths in his family and friends and this book I believe brings comfort to those of us who are grieving over those close to us who have passed on before us, and he does an excellent job of offering reassurance and comfort. I really enjoyed this book. The book was very informative but at the same time easy to read. He give a lot of insight into what life for us will be like when Jesus returns and restores the earth as well as the bodies of us and our loved ones who have gone ahead to the perfection He intended for us before the Fall of man. I also like that he stays close to what the Bible tells us about Heaven. But most importantly if you are someone who has lost someone close to you this book will give you great comfort by reassuring you they are much better off now than when they were on this earth and that one day we will be reunited on a perfect earth. After reading this book I read Randy Alcorn's Heaven. Both books cover the same topic but Alcorn's is much longer and exhaustive. Alcorn's purpose, I believe, is to provide more of a theological basis for the existence of Heaven and what we will experience there while Eldredge's purpose is to provide comfort and reassurance to those of us who are grieving the passage of loved ones. While there is nothing wrong with Mr. Alcorn's book I personally preferred Mr. Eldredge's book.

I find the book wonderful. He puts my inner feelings into words. Wish it was translated to my language. But I think he has missed the millennium reign of Christ.

Really ejoyed this book. Just want my heart needed to hear to keep going in this world. I will keep this message close to my heart. Read this book if your life seems to be not what you had hoped for. It will help you get your bearings. Hope is a good thing!

This book is, for sure, John Eldredges masterpeace. Full of hope, helping to get a clear view of what awaits us. Thrilling, full of living hope, important thoughts & bibel verses on topics so less talked about. This book can bring healing and an immense amount of joy & hope. A hope revolution & a great deepening in just loving Christ! A „must have“, a book worth reading twice & more. Perfekt gift for everyone, specially if you want to get in touch with non believers & people who suffer great losses/tragegies!

An amazing book that sharpens our focus on the coming renewal of all things. The last chapter was so powerful and brought me to tears. Praise God for giving us such a real, abiding and powerful hope.

The most profound book I have read in years. It took my faith to a new and deeper level. I wept nearly all the way through - in a good way.