The Case for Heaven (and Hell) Bible Study Guide plus Streaming Video by Lee Strobel

Author:Lee Strobel [Strobel, Lee]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: HarperChristian Resources
Published: 2021-09-02T00:00:00+00:00

Reflect

Interview with Dr. Scot McKnight

Dr. Scot McKnight is a highly influential and prolific New Testament scholar, with particular expertise in historical Jesus studies, the Gospels, early Christianity, and contemporary issues involving the church. Having grown up as the son of a Baptist deacon in Freeport, Illinois, he came to faith in Christ as a youngster and later had a transformative experience with the Holy Spirit at a church camp. He earned his master’s degree from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School near Chicago and his doctorate from the University of Nottingham in England.

“First,” said McKnight, “I believe in heaven because Jesus and the apostles did. Jesus said, ‘For my Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day.’ Peter promised his churches they would ‘receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.’ As for John, he said, ‘And this is what [God] promised us—eternal life.’ Paul talked about our frail bodies, saying, ‘For we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands’ (see 2 Corinthians 5:1). If all of them believed in heaven, then it’s good enough for me.”

“What’s your second reason?” I asked.

“Because Jesus was raised from the dead—to me, that’s the big one,” he replied. “Not only was he resurrected, but people saw his body; they talked with him; they ate with him; and then he returned to the Father with the promise that he will come back to consummate history. This gives great credibility to an afterlife—and as N. T. Wright said, ‘The resurrection of Jesus is the launching of God’s new world.’2

“My third reason for believing in heaven is that the overall Bible believes in it.”

“Wait a second,” I said. “The agnostic scholar Bart Ehrman says the earliest biblical books don’t teach anything about heaven, and he seems to suggest that the concepts of heaven and hell were simply made up over the centuries.”3

“Well, let’s look at some facts,” responded McKnight. “It’s true that there’s very little interest in heaven or the afterlife in the Old Testament. It speaks of death—or sheol—the way that other Near Eastern and Mediterranean cultures did at the time, which is that death seems to be permanent. Sheol is a dark, deep, and miry pit. In fact, the Old Testament’s only statements about the afterlife are found in its latest books.4 It’s the New Testament that ushers in a new hope for eternal life and heaven.”

“Should that bother Christians?” I asked.

“Not in the slightest, because this is how divine revelation works. It unfolds over time,” he explained. “The Bible’s major themes develop and grow and expand and take us to the very precipice of eternity. It’s like watching a play, where the whole story isn’t clear until the end. Once we get to Jesus, and especially his resurrection,

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