"Yes, There Will Be Fishing in the Afterlife," New Book on Heaven Reveals

CHICAGO, IL, March 14, 2011 (Press-News.org) Theologian and author Dr. Paul Enns has considered the famous axiom, "Don't be so heavenly minded that you're no earthly good" ... and found it wanting. "I've reflected on it. That statement is wrong, decidedly wrong," he says. "We could transpose the statement to read correctly: 'Unless you are heavenly-minded you won't be any earthly good'."

It is only as we fixate our thoughts on our future hope in heaven that we will be strengthened and enabled to live wisely in this life, he explains in his latest book, Heaven Revealed: What Is It Like? What Will We Do? And 11 Other Things You've Wondered About (Moody Publishers).

The pastor of biblical training and leadership development at Idlewood Baptist Church, Tampa, Fla., Dr. Enns serves as professor and director at the Tampa Extension of Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary. The inspiration for Heaven Revealed is deeply personal, he admits: "I'm absorbed with the thought of heaven ... the thought of reunion with my beloved wife of 45 years, Helen."

Helen's death prompted Dr. Enns to delve deeply into the subject of heaven and the afterlife. The results? "I found that well-known biblicists who wrote prolifically on the rapture, the tribulation, the second coming and the millennium had little to say about heaven."

People are interested in heaven, he adds. Thankfully, the Scriptures have a great deal to say about the subject. Among the many things the Bible reveals about Heaven and the new earth that is to come: We will be reunited with loved ones; We will have a real body and a familiar voice; We can even go fishing if we want to (Ezekiel 47:10).

"Undoubtedly, many men will look forward to this," Dr. Enns laughs. "If you never learned on earth to fish and were a poor angler, this may be a great opportunity to take up the sport."

Comforting and concise, Heaven Revealed reveals specifics about the afterlife that will both inform and encourage Christians who are left here on earth after their loved ones pass away. It also helps assuage the fear of death.

Dr. Enns explains, "We see death all around us. We read about death daily in the newspapers. We see it on television. We stand at a grave site and weep. The Scriptures tell us that Christ has abolished death. That statement is strong."

It is only as we begin to fathom, in even a small way, the grandeur, the beauty, the joy that awaits us in heaven, that we will learn how to live on this earth, he concludes.

"Our life here is brief--like a vapor that vanishes [James 4:14]. But God has opened a fantastic future for us, a future of happiness unparalleled by any earthly measurement. The mind that is focused on the glories that await us in heaven will learn how to live on this earth in this present life."

For review copies or interviews with Dr. Paul Enns, contact Janis Backing, publicity manager for Moody Publishers, at 312-329-2108 or janis.backing@moody.edu.

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