Better late than never, eh? Oh, well. So here?s the final installment . . .
---

Thinklings Book Club Discussion Twelve: Chapter 20



Highlights and Reflections

1. I thought the second paragraph of the chapter, which lays out Hoekema?s general view of the new earth, was great. A little long, but worth reprinting in its entirety:

The doctrine of the new earth, as taught in Scripture, is an important one. It is important, first, for the proper understanding of the life to come. One gets the impression from certain hymns that glorified believers will spend eternity in some ethereal heaven somewhere off in space, far away from earth. The following lines from the hymn ?My Jesus, I Love Thee? seems to convey that impression: ?In mansions of glory and endless delight / I?ll ever adore thee in heaven so bright.? But does such a conception do justice to biblical eschatology? Are we to spend eternity somewhere off in space, wearing white robes, plucking harps, singing songs, and flitting from cloud to cloud while doing so? On the contrary, the Bible assures us that God will create a new earth on which we shall live to God?s praise in glorified, resurrected bodies. On that new earth, therefore, we hope to spend eternity, enjoying its beauties, exploring its resources, and using its treasures to the glory of God. Since God will make the new earth his dwelling place, and since where God dwells there heaven is, we shall then continue to be in heaven while we are on the new earth. For heaven and earth will then no longer be separated, as they are now, but will be one (see Rev. 21:1-3). But to leave the new earth out of consideration when we think of the final state of believers is greatly to impoverish biblical teaching about the life to come.
(p. 274)

2. I loved this from p. 275:
?The total work of Christ is nothing less than to redeem this entire creation from the effects of sin.?

3. Here?s something interesting that was a new idea to me:

In other words, just as the people of God in the Old Testament era were restricted mostly to Israelites but in the New Testament era are gathered from all the nations, so in Old Testament times the inheritance is expanded to include the entire earth. (p.278)

That adds another example to the near/far prophecy concept, I think.

4. Connected to the quote and its idea above is this thought from Hoekema about how the promise of the land is a promise to all believers, not just Israel (remember that ?not all are Israel who are of Israel?):

From Galatians 3:29, further, we learn that if we are Christ?s, we are Abraham?s seed, heirs according to promise. All of us who are united to Christ by faith, therefore, are in this wider sense the seed of Abraham. And the promise of which we are heirs must include the promise of the land.

When, in the light of this New Testament expansion of Old Testament thought, we reread Genesis 17:8, we see in it now a promise of the ultimate everlasting possession by all the people of God ? all those who are in the widest sense of the word the seed of Abraham ? of that new earth of which Canaan was only a type. Thus the promise of the inheritance of the land has meaning for all believers today. To limit the future thrust of this promise to Abraham, as dispensationalists do, to the possession of the land of Palestine by believing Jews during the millennium is greatly to diminish the meaning of this promise.
(p.279)

5. Wondrously renewed, praise God!

Those raised with Christ will not be a totally new set of human beings but the people of God who have lived on this earth. By way of analogy, we would expect that the new earth will not be totally different from the present earth but will be the present earth wondrously renewed.
(p.281)

6. And perpetual worship!

In [Isaiah 66] verse 22 God tells us through Isaiah that his people will remain before him as everlastingly as the new heavens and the new earth which he will create. From verse 23 we learn that all the inhabitants of that new earth will faithfully and regularly worship God. Though this worship is described in terms borrowed from the time when Isaiah wrote (?from new moon to new moon, and from Sabbath to Sabbath?), these words must not be understood in a strictly literal way. What is predicted here is the perpetual worship of all the people of God, gathered from all the nations, in ways which will be suitable to the glorious new existence they will enjoy on the new earth.
(p.282)

7. Heaven and earth joined:

Since where God dwells, there heaven is, we conclude that in the life to come heaven and earth will no longer be separated, as they are now, but will be merged. Believers will therefore continue to be in heaven as they continue to live on the new earth. ?He will dwell with them, and they shall be his people? are the familiar words of the central promise of the covenant of grace . . . The fact that this promise is repeated in John?s vision of the new earth implies that only on that new earth will God finally grant his people the full riches which the covenant of grace includes. Here we receive the firstfruits; there we shall receive the full harvest.

Awesome. Yes, Lord Jesus, come quickly.

Questions for Reflection or Discussion

1. I don?t have any specific questions to toss out on particular points made, but feel free to share any compliments or criticisms you have of anything in the chapter.

2. I have really enjoyed the book, and I think it is a good and comprehensive (if basic) overview of amillennial eschatology. Outside of the book club, I would have read it much faster, but even though the club petered out, it was probably good for me to read it at a leisurely pace and do some work of reflecting on its content as I put these posts together. Tell me, what is your overall opinion of the book?
Now that we?ve reached the end, how do you feel about the book club itself? Things you liked or didn?t like? Ways to make it better?

3. I want to definitely try the book club again. Not for a little while, mind you, but I do want to give it another whirl. Next time with maybe a shorter book with a wider appeal. Please use the comments thread to offer suggestions for the next book club selection.

It?s been real, gang. ;-)