Review of The Three Heavens
Posted: 31 Mar 2023, 14:33
[Following is a volunteer review of "The Three Heavens" by Paul Hitchiner.]
Enter through the grandeur of The Three Heavens as author Paul Hitchiner unlocks a deep and profound exposition of the New Testament teachings. Inspired by the opulence of the Jewish Tabernacle structure, Hitchiner structures his presentation into three grand regions: the outer court, the holy place, and the holy of holies. In his view, these parts allegorically represent the three heavens. The outer court, which he named the first heaven, is reserved for those who do good deeds and help the poor, calling it “salvation by works.” The second heaven, the holy place, is where faithful Christians live. The author does not devote many pages to the third heaven. According to his perspective, the third heaven is where the bride of Christ, the Church, unites with the Trinity. One of the main themes of the book is taken from Jeremiah 17:19: “The heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked: who can know it?” By focusing on this powerful message, the author presents various practical ways for Christians to engage in living a life of Christian character. I have referred to this book as “the guidelines for the second heaven” because of the author’s in-depth approach to explaining the region.
The author does an excellent job crafting the book. Throughout the reading, I only found one grammatical error. Hitchiner presented all relevant Bible verses for every topic, making it a great resource for readers interested in studying the Bible without turning many pages.
Salvation is one area where the book is deviant from what the Bible teaches. The book teaches salvation through two different methods—by works and by faith—which is contrary to what the Bible teaches. It is adamantly refused and regarded as impossible to have “salvation by works.” According to Romans 11:6, “Then it is no more of works.”
Although the author argues that being born again is essential to entering the kingdom of God, Hitchiner says explicitly that merely believing in Jesus is not adequate for salvation. “It is not the people who believed in Jesus who will get their inheritance, but those who have cared for the poor and needy,” he writes. Such a position implies that faith without works is insufficient for salvation, while work without faith can save anyone.
The 15th chapter of the book asserts that there are more than 150 million angels created by God, but the author fails to provide any explanation regarding how he determined the exact number. Additionally, the author states in the same chapter that God re-created the Earth in Genesis one, which contradicts the beginning of the chapter that speaks about the initial creation of the Earth-based on the verse, “In the beginning.” This initial verse confirms that the first creation of the Earth took place during that time.
In conclusion, as someone with a biblical background, I found the book’s foundational principles contradicting my previous convictions, which persuade me to rate it two out of five. I do not recommend this book since it diminishes our trust in the Christ of the Bible, making us depend on our actions and self-righteousness. According to my point of view, this makes our Christianity an utter disaster since we know that our human nature cannot be perfect in the eyes of the holy God. I recommend this book to church ministers to open their eyes to different viewpoints on salvation.
******
The Three Heavens
View: on Bookshelves
Enter through the grandeur of The Three Heavens as author Paul Hitchiner unlocks a deep and profound exposition of the New Testament teachings. Inspired by the opulence of the Jewish Tabernacle structure, Hitchiner structures his presentation into three grand regions: the outer court, the holy place, and the holy of holies. In his view, these parts allegorically represent the three heavens. The outer court, which he named the first heaven, is reserved for those who do good deeds and help the poor, calling it “salvation by works.” The second heaven, the holy place, is where faithful Christians live. The author does not devote many pages to the third heaven. According to his perspective, the third heaven is where the bride of Christ, the Church, unites with the Trinity. One of the main themes of the book is taken from Jeremiah 17:19: “The heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked: who can know it?” By focusing on this powerful message, the author presents various practical ways for Christians to engage in living a life of Christian character. I have referred to this book as “the guidelines for the second heaven” because of the author’s in-depth approach to explaining the region.
The author does an excellent job crafting the book. Throughout the reading, I only found one grammatical error. Hitchiner presented all relevant Bible verses for every topic, making it a great resource for readers interested in studying the Bible without turning many pages.
Salvation is one area where the book is deviant from what the Bible teaches. The book teaches salvation through two different methods—by works and by faith—which is contrary to what the Bible teaches. It is adamantly refused and regarded as impossible to have “salvation by works.” According to Romans 11:6, “Then it is no more of works.”
Although the author argues that being born again is essential to entering the kingdom of God, Hitchiner says explicitly that merely believing in Jesus is not adequate for salvation. “It is not the people who believed in Jesus who will get their inheritance, but those who have cared for the poor and needy,” he writes. Such a position implies that faith without works is insufficient for salvation, while work without faith can save anyone.
The 15th chapter of the book asserts that there are more than 150 million angels created by God, but the author fails to provide any explanation regarding how he determined the exact number. Additionally, the author states in the same chapter that God re-created the Earth in Genesis one, which contradicts the beginning of the chapter that speaks about the initial creation of the Earth-based on the verse, “In the beginning.” This initial verse confirms that the first creation of the Earth took place during that time.
In conclusion, as someone with a biblical background, I found the book’s foundational principles contradicting my previous convictions, which persuade me to rate it two out of five. I do not recommend this book since it diminishes our trust in the Christ of the Bible, making us depend on our actions and self-righteousness. According to my point of view, this makes our Christianity an utter disaster since we know that our human nature cannot be perfect in the eyes of the holy God. I recommend this book to church ministers to open their eyes to different viewpoints on salvation.
******
The Three Heavens
View: on Bookshelves