A New Heaven and a New Earth
A New Heaven and a New Earth

Author: J. Richard Middleton

Publisher: Baker Academic

Published: 2014-11-25

Total Pages: 336

ISBN-13: 1441241388

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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.

Essential Eschatology
Essential Eschatology

Author: John E. Phelan Jr.

Publisher: InterVarsity Press

Published: 2013-11-01

Total Pages: 208

ISBN-13: 0830864652

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Study of eschatology often gets bogged down in minutiae that rarely seems to affect daily life. Avoiding this trap, John Phelan gets to the heart of the matter by examining how Christian hope and practice of resurrection impact everything.

Salvation Means Creation Healed
Salvation Means Creation Healed

Author: Howard A. Snyder

Publisher: Wipf and Stock Publishers

Published: 2011-07-13

Total Pages: 279

ISBN-13: 1608998886

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The Bible promises the renewal of all creation--a new heaven and earth--based on the incarnation, life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. For centuries this promise has been sidelined or misunderstood because of the church's failure to grasp the full meaning of biblical teachings on creation and new creation. The Bible tells the story of the broken and restored relationship between God, people, and land, not just God and people. This is the full gospel, and it has the power to heal the church's long theological divorce between earth and heaven. Jesus' resurrection in the power of the Holy Spirit is the key, and the church as Christ's body is the primary means by which God is reconciling all things through Jesus Christ. Jesus' ultimate healing of all creation is the great hope and promise of the gospel, and he calls the church to be his healing community now through evangelism, discipleship, and prophetic mission.

Such a Mind as This
Such a Mind as This

Author: Richard L. Smith

Publisher: Wipf and Stock Publishers

Published: 2021-12-17

Total Pages: 446

ISBN-13: 1666732168

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Our intellectual context is very complicated. There are competing pedagogues, divergent epistemological agendas, and flawed participants. The mind is a warzone. The Old Testament depicts a battlefield between the sinful mind and God’s revelation. Today, many Christians minimize the intellect and do not recognize how sin impacts thinking. Many do not know how to love God with the mind. Many suffer from anti-intellectual inertia. They think like consumers shopping for knowledge, learning formats, and instructors that conform to their buying preferences. They prefer junk food for their minds. They often fulfill the role assigned to them by the world—intellectual simplicity, private religiosity, and subjective spirituality. By comprehensively examining Old Testament teaching concerning the mind, this book promotes a spirituality that puts thinking in its proper place. It explains what God requires intellectually of his vice-regents. It shows that our world is a labyrinth, but that God’s revelation is our reliable guide. This book motivates readers to strive for mental piety, wisdom, and intellectual development, for the glory of God and the fulfillment of our mandate on earth. Readers will learn from their ancient brethren how to better steward their minds.

The Liberating Image
The Liberating Image

Author: J. Richard Middleton

Publisher: Brazos Press

Published: 2005-03

Total Pages: 304

ISBN-13: 1587431106

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Offers a deeply informed take on a key Christian doctrine and its interpretation and relevance today.

Heaven Is Not My Home
Heaven Is Not My Home

Author: Paul Marshall

Publisher: Thomas Nelson

Published: 2001-02-17

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 1418585076

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In Heaven Is Not My Home, author and scholar Paul Marshall asserts that God is not seeking to destroy the earth, but to restore it to its original splendor. In this thought-provoking book, he shows us how the redemption of all things should shape the way we look at every aspect of our lives.

Truth Is Stranger Than It Used to Be
Truth Is Stranger Than It Used to Be

Author: J. Richard Middleton

Publisher: InterVarsity Press

Published: 1995-06-05

Total Pages: 256

ISBN-13: 9780830818563

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J. Richard Middleton and Brian J. Walsh offer an introduction, evaluation and response to postmodern culture that comes straight from the heart of the gospel.

Grounded in Heaven
Grounded in Heaven

Author: Michael Allen

Publisher: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing

Published: 2018-10-02

Total Pages: 205

ISBN-13: 1467451266

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Eschatology and ethics are joined at the hip, says Michael Allen, and both need theocentric reorientation. In Grounded in Heaven Allen retrieves the traditional concept of the beatific vision and seeks to bring Christ back into the heart of our theology and our lives on earth. Responding to the earthly-mindedness of much recent theology, Allen places his focus on God and the heavenly future while also appreciating ways in which the Reformed tradition provides a unique angle on broadly catholic concerns. Reaching back to classical ethics as well as its reformation by Calvin and other Reformed theologians, Grounded in Heaven offers a distinctly Protestant account of the ascetical calling to be heavenly-minded and to deny one’s self.

Abraham's Silence
Abraham's Silence

Author: J. Richard Middleton

Publisher: Baker Academic

Published: 2021-11-16

Total Pages: 272

ISBN-13: 1493430882

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It is traditional to think we should praise Abraham for his willingness to sacrifice his son as proof of his love for God. But have we misread the point of the story? Is it possible that a careful reading of Genesis 22 could reveal that God was not pleased with Abraham's silent obedience? Widely respected biblical theologian, creative thinker, and public speaker J. Richard Middleton suggests we have misread and misapplied the story of the binding of Isaac and shows that God desires something other than silent obedience in difficult times. Middleton focuses on the ethical and theological problem of Abraham's silence and explores the rich biblical tradition of vigorous prayer, including the lament psalms, as a resource for faith. Middleton also examines the book of Job in terms of God validating Job's lament as "right speech," showing how the vocal Job provides an alternative to the silent Abraham. This book provides a fresh interpretation of Genesis 22 and reinforces the church's resurgent interest in lament as an appropriate response to God.

Surprised by Hope
Surprised by Hope

Author: N. T. Wright

Publisher: Zondervan

Published: 2008-02-05

Total Pages: 356

ISBN-13: 0061551821

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For years Christians have been asking, "If you died tonight, do you know where you would go?" It turns out that many believers have been giving the wrong answer. It is not heaven. Award-winning author N. T. Wright outlines the present confusion about a Christian's future hope and shows how it is deeply intertwined with how we live today. Wright, who is one of today's premier Bible scholars, asserts that Christianity's most distinctive idea is bodily resurrection. He provides a magisterial defense for a literal resurrection of Jesus and shows how this became the cornerstone for the Christian community's hope in the bodily resurrection of all people at the end of the age. Wright then explores our expectation of "new heavens and a new earth," revealing what happens to the dead until then and what will happen with the "second coming" of Jesus. For many, including many Christians, all this will come as a great surprise. Wright convincingly argues that what we believe about life after death directly affects what we believe about life before death. For if God intends to renew the whole creation—and if this has already begun in Jesus's resurrection—the church cannot stop at "saving souls" but must anticipate the eventual renewal by working for God's kingdom in the wider world, bringing healing and hope in the present life. Lively and accessible, this book will surprise and excite all who are interested in the meaning of life, not only after death but before it.