Full Description
2014 Word Guild Award (Biblical Studies)
Named a 2014 Jesus Creed Book of the Year (Theology)
Best Theology Book of 2014, Englewood Review of Books
Best Book of Biblical Studies for 2014, Hearts & Minds Books
In recent years, more and more Christians have come to appreciate the Bible's teaching that the ultimate blessed hope for the believer is not an otherworldly heaven; instead, it is full-bodied participation in a new heaven and a new earth brought into fullness through the coming of God's kingdom. Drawing on the full sweep of the biblical narrative, J. Richard Middleton unpacks key Old Testament and New Testament texts to make a case for the new earth as the appropriate Christian hope. He suggests its ethical and ecclesial implications, exploring the difference a holistic eschatology can make for living in a broken world.
Contents
Contents
Preface: How I Came to Write This Book
1. Introduction: The Problem of Otherworldly Hope
Part 1: From Creation to Eschaton
2. Why Are We Here? Being Human as Sacred Calling
3. The Plot of the Biblical Story
Part 2: Holistic Salvation in the Old Testament
4. The Exodus as Paradigm of Salvation
5. Earthly Flourishing in Law, Wisdom, and Prophecy
6. The Coming of God in Judgment and Salvation
Part 3: The New Testament's Vision of Cosmic Renewal
7. Resurrection and the Restoration of Rule
8. The Redemption of All Things
Part 4: Problem Texts for Holistic Eschatology
9. Cosmic Destruction at Christ's Return?
10. The Role of Heaven in Biblical Eschatology
Part 5: The Ethics of the Kingdom
11. The Good News at Nazareth
12. The Challenge of the Kingdom
Appendix: Whatever Happened to the New Earth?
Index
