1. Have you read “Heaven Is For Real” (the 4 year old little boy’s account of going to heaven)? What is your opinion or perspective on his story? The answer to the first part of the question is no so that leaves me unqualified to comment directly on his story. However, I will speak to this in a general sense and warn us to be careful with these kinds of stories. Scripture is our authority, and we need to test everything against it. The Bible reveals the truth to us.
2. When you said God would judge the world by fire, does that mean He will destroy it by fire? God will bring destruction during the Tribulation and at the return of Christ (Revelation 6-19). 2 Peter 3:10 says, “But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up.” However, we also need to remember verse 13, which says, “Nevertheless we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.” So, I understand this as judgment/destruction that leads to a renovation of the earth into paradise. To directly answer the question, I would say He destroys it, but only temporarily, and then He makes something better.
3. So Christians will skip judgment and skip the end of the world? Let me preface this by saying that my answer is based on my understanding of the Rapture being before the Tribulation so someone who places it a later time would have a different answer. Also, Jesus took our judgment on the cross so there is no condemnation to those who are in Christ. With that said, the answer is, “It depends.” If you are saved at the time of the Rapture, you will go to heaven and miss the great tribulation. 1 Thessalonians 1:10 says, “And to wait for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead, even Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come.” However, people who get saved after the Rapture during the Tribulation time will be here as God’s judgment is poured out, even though it is not specifically directed at them. Many of them will be martyred for their faith and refusal to worship the antichrist (Revelation 7:9-17, for example).
4. So I thought Jesus was making a place for us in the New Jerusalem? Is God going to make this new place from this world after judgment? Revelation 21:1-2 says, “Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. Also there was no more sea. Then I , John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.” Let me quote a note from the Believer’s Study Bible, “New Jerusalem functions as the focal point of worship and activity for all eternity. The renovation of the heavens and the earth indicates a continuing place for the entire universe in the plan of God. But the incomparable New Jerusalem will preside as the capital and heart of the heavenly kingdom.”
