Chapter 10. THE RESTORATION OF ALL THINGS
Why We Must See a Future. “To live strongly and creatively in the kingdom of the heavens, we need to have firmly fixed in our minds what our future is to be like.”
The Cosmos Open to God.
The Human Future in This universe.
The Older Prophecies. The vision of Jerusalem is one of creation and creativity.
Forcing “Jerusalem” to Happen. “he greatest temptation to evil that humanity ever suffers is the temptation to make a “Jerusalem” happen by human means.”
For All of Humankind—and Beyond. “It is humanity, simply, that is God’s focus in earth history, as it must be ours. It is to the world—the entire world—that he gave his Son.”
Why the Prophetic Vision and Hope? There is more to God’s creation than science can explain.
God Is Really Knowable Only Through the Redeemed Community.
The HumanSignificance of God’s Future for Us.
The Reasonableness of Preserving and Restoring Humanity. “… given the reality of God’s world, it would actually be unreasonable to think we would simply drop out of existence.” “We exist and will continue to exist, then, because it pleases God. ”
And the Possibility. Discussion about whether believing life after death is real requires courage, or is cowardice.
What Will Our Future Be Like?
Really Knowing—for the First Time.
No Death.
The Changes to Come.
What, Then, Changes? “The life we now have as the persons we now are will continue, and continue in the universe in which we now exist. Our experience will be much clearer, richer, and deeper, of course, because it will be unrestrained by the limitations now imposed upon us by our dependence upon our body.”
His Glorious Body. Remember that after resurrection Jesus had a physical bosy, but not constraints of space and time.
“Running Steadfastly the Race Set Before Us.” Three stages.
- THE TIME OF GROWING STEADILY. Becoming more Christlike in our present bodies.
- THE TIME OF PASSAGE. We will not be alone as we approach death and after death.
- THE TIME OF REIGNING WITH JESUS. “In any case, we should expect that in due time we will be moved into our eternal destiny of creative activity with Jesus and his friends and associates in the “many mansions” of “his Father’s house.”
This is Shalom.
Quotes from: Dallas Willard. “The Divine Conspiracy.” Apple Books. https://books.apple.com/us/book/the-divine-conspiracy/id360632495