The Message of Heaven and Hell

This book helps the Bible speak today in areas we often joke about with stories of the Apostle Peter at the pearly gates. Bruce Milne lectured at Spurgeon's College some years ago but has become a worldwide Bible preacher and guides us well in an overview of this subject from Genesis to Revelation. You might well ask, why start at Genesis? Milne writes 'Our whole understanding of the future life, and our personal destiny in particular, is fundamentally determined by what we believe about God, the kind of God he is, and the particular relationships we understand him to sustain with the world and its peoples'. He goes on to add: 'The God who acts to create does so as the expression of an eternal purpose which will reach its conclusion at the end of the ages'.

The opening chapters are under the general title of 'The dawning of destiny; heaven and hell in the Old Testament'. An important section, in a world where many say it was the Apostle Paul who was keen on hell and changed the gospel of Jesus, is entitled 'Heaven and Hell in the Gospels'. Each chapter takes a portion of the Bible, expounds it and applies it to today and ends with a helpful summary. If you don’t have one already it could be good to start a reading group in your fellowship; read a chapter and then meet to discuss the questions included for each chapter at the end of the book. Then perhaps devise stories about meeting the Apostle Peter based on what the Bible actually teaches! A good evangelistic tool wisely used.