Exploring God's plan for life on earth

CONTENTS

Preface
1. Introduction

2. From sacred garden to holy city: experiencing the presence of God
Overview
The motif of temple
The temple-garden of Eden
The tabernacle
The Jerusalem temple
The church as temple

3. Thrown from the throne: re-establishing the sovereignty of God
The throne of God
Adam and Eve as God’s viceroys
The theocracy of Israel
The church and the kingdom of God

4. Dealing with the devil: destroying the source of evil
The dragon who is the devil and Satan
Ruler of this world
The ancient serpent
The kings of the earth
Satan defeated
Satan’s reign ended
Resisting the devil

5. The slaughter of the Lamb: accomplishing the redemption of creation
The Lamb
Christ, our Passover Lamb
The Passover in Exodus
Atonement
Purification
Sanctification

6. Feasting from the tree of life: reinvigorating the lives of people from every nation
Holy people in the New Jerusalem
Holiness and wholeness
The tree of life
Ecological transformation
Social transformation

7. Strong foundations and solid walls: living securely among the people of God
Old and New Testaments united
Genuine hope
A tale of two cities

8. Conclusion

From the PREFACE

This study began life as a short course exploring what Revelation 20 – 22 reveals about life after death. In unpacking this, two things became evident: (1) the biblical description of our future existence has more in common with our present life than most people assume; (2) the concluding chapters of Revelation offer a window through which the main themes of the biblical meta-story may be studied. I hope both of these observations will be demonstrated in the chapters that follow.

It goes without saying that no one is an island. The ideas contained in this study have been shaped and coloured by many others. If their present formulation proves instructive and enables others to see further, it is due only to the author being lifted as a child upon the shoulders of giants. The footnotes that accompany the main text go some way towards acknowledging my indebtedness to many scholars, even when on occasions I have differed in my interpretation of the evidence. ...

Why does the earth exist? What is the purpose of human life? Arrogant as it may seem, this short book attempts to answer both of these questions. It does so by exploring a unique story. One of the distinctive features of modern Western culture is the particular emphasis now given to telling one’s story. Everyone has a story to tell, although some may be more interesting than others. Undoubtedly, this is a product of a society that has imbibed the postmodern ideology that all truth is relative. In such a world, every story merits a hearing. Yet, no matter how many stories we hear, we may still be left with a sense of emptiness, for few stories address the fundamental questions of life.

Yet, one story stands apart from all the rest. It claims for itself an authority not derived from human beings but from God. As divine revelation it presents us with a meta-story that claims to communicate absolute truth that cannot be discovered by any other means. While the story itself acknowledges that it does not contain all truth, for much truth may be discovered outside it, it claims to answer particular questions that lie beyond scientific investigation.

This unparalleled meta-story comes from an anthology of literature, the Bible, linked by common themes, centred on a unique deity. Produced over many centuries, the differing texts that comprise this library are amazingly diverse in terms of genre, authorship and even language. Nonetheless, they produce a remarkably unified story that addresses two of life’s most fundamental questions: (1) Why was the earth created? (2) What is the reason for human existence?

Although the process by which this anthology was created remains something of a mystery, having been assembled in stages over a long period of time, it is widely recognized as producing a very significant meta-story. Although its diversity of authorship and genre give ammunition to those who wish to dismantle the story into contradictory parts, there is more here to unite than divide. The anthology itself, which abounds in inter-textual references, provides most of the literary context within which its contents may be understood. There is not a book within the whole collection that can be interpreted satisfactorily in isolation from the rest. Each book contributes something special to the meta-story and, in turn, the meta-story offers a framework within which each book may be best interpreted. In this regard, the long-standing principle of interpreting Scripture by Scripture makes considerable practical sense.

Given the complexity of the Bible as a literary anthology, outlining its meta-story is not easy. The approach adopted here is to begin at the end. As is often the case, a story’s conclusion provides a good guide to the themes and ideas dominant throughout. By resolving an intricate plot that runs throughout a story, a good denouement sheds light on the entire story. While recognizing that there are limitations to this approach, it is nevertheless one way of attempting to determine the main elements of the meta-story.

The final chapters of Revelation, which form the starting point for our study, contain visions that look to the future and anticipate the creation of a new earth and a new heaven. As we shall see, this brings to fulfilment a process that started with the creation of the present earth, as described in the opening chapters of Genesis. The very strong links between Genesis 1 – 3 and Revelation 20 – 23 suggest that these passages frame the entire biblical meta-story. Detailed evidence for this will be provided in the chapters that follow.

To base this study on the visions of Revelation 20 – 22 may seem to some to invite major problems at the outset. The apocalyptic nature of these visions requires that caution must be exercised in reading them. Not everything can be taken literally. Jesus Christ is unlikely to resemble an actual lamb and the New Jerusalem may not be a gigantic cube in shape. Due allowance must be given for the symbolic nature of elements within John’s visions. This does not mean, however, that everything in the visions must be viewed as merely symbolic. As I shall argue, the new earth and the new heavens are very likely to have much in common with the present cosmos.

This brief study does not attempt to be exhaustive, but rather indicative, outlining some of the central themes that run throughout the Bible. Overall, the material is presented using broad brush strokes designed to show the general shape of the meta-story. Where others, to the author’s knowledge, have provided a more detailed discussion, reference is made in footnotes. In places it has become evident that further research still needs to be undertaken to produce a more refined understanding. In attempting to delineate the major themes of the biblical meta-story, I am conscious that aspects of what follows may need to be emended in the light of constructive criticism and/or further evidence.

There is something of value in seeing the big picture, for it frequently enables us to appreciate the details more clearly. The scholarly tendency to ‘atomize’ biblical texts is often detrimental to understanding them. By stripping passages out of their literary contexts meanings are imposed upon them that were never intended by their authors. I hope this study goes a little way to redressing this imbalance, for biblical scholarship as a whole has not articulated clearly the major themes that run throughout Scripture. Since these themes were an integral part of the thought world of the biblical authors, an appreciation of them may significantly alter our reading of individual books.

Good theology always has pastoral implications. Doctrine and praxis ought to be closely related. For this reason, our study of the main themes of the biblical meta-story occasionally moves into the area of application. The truths revealed are extremely important for shaping the lifestyle choices we make. However, because the application of scriptural truth often needs to take into account cultural diversity, the observations made here are suggestive rather than comprehensive.