Fm - Session 13

completion

The Return of the King Shalom Restored . . . On Earth As It Is in Heaven

Session 13

worship and prayer

10 minutes

• Sing 2-3 Worship Songs (project songs on PowerPoint) • Pray out loud for the course and for God to reveal himself through it and have each student pray for his or her neighbor at the same time that God may reveal himself and his purposes in a deeper way, give vision and renewed passion for his work on earth to be done.

review of previous sessions and introduction to eighth episode

xx minutes

Over the course of the past 10 sessions we have studied God’s Story with his world and taken a panoramic flight over Scripture, subdividing God’s story into eight episodes. In the last 7 episodes we saw time and again how God so much loved this cosmos, that he didn’t want it to go to waste… that he desired for Shalom to reign, so much that he came on earth himself to put it to rights. We also saw that God looked and keeps looking for people who will help him promote Shalom, and that the church, in particular, was chosen and enabled by God to advance his Reign on earth as it is in heaven. It follows that forming church communities that seek to live according to Shalom principles and promote healing in the world make up the centerpiece of God’s plan to transform the world and restore creation to its original purpose. e purpose of these church communities is to form a new body characterized by reconciliation, forgiveness, love, justice and care for one another; a moral, social and hope-giving force in a world desperate for Shalom. It’s exciting to see that throughout the centuries, the church, when it embraced God’s vision of Shalom, brought dignity, justice, hope and purpose to untold numbers of people around the globe. Today we still are part of this seventh episode, during which God continues to call people to join his side in the fight against evil somewhere out there and within our own hearts. Indeed, we have come to understand that following Jesus implies making his mission our own and advancing Shalom wherever and however we can. is is how far we have gotten with God’s story. At this point we may still ask ourselves though: “But where will it all end? Will our efforts really make a difference?” Indeed, “Where is the universe going and how does God’s story with the world finally end?” “Will Shalom be restored on earth?” “Will everyone participate in God’s kingdom of Shalom, or will some remain outside of it?” “What will those of us who have been saved do throughout eternity?”

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Answering these and other questions is the subject of the eighth and final episode of God’s transforming Story. An episode we could call ‘completion’. But before we fully enter into our session, let’s review the home work.

group activity: homework review

xx minutes

I asked you to read the article “e Last Days”, answer the reflection questions at the end of the article, and to come prepared to share your findings with other members of your group. Some of you even have read the article “e Timing of Jesus’ Second Coming”. Before we enter into a short group work, let me just ask this general question: “What was your overall reaction to the article(s)? What did you think of it (them)?” At this point I’d like you to go into the same groups of 4-5 people and share with those in your group your answers. Divide students into the same groups from last week of four to six and select a leader for each group. If the class is small, do not divide. Ask students to share and summarize the answers to the five questions they wrote into their journals. Walk around and listen to groups. Select one or two student to report to the entire class on the questions (project questions on PowerPoint). e article ended on the note that in order for urban ministry workers, pastors and any Christians to maintain hope and faith in their city or national ministries, they need to develop and tenaciously hold onto God’s vision for the city, nation and world – a vision that is based on the biblical message that God and God’s church will someday win and that this world will someday be renewed and restored to its original purpose!1 Because the early Christians held onto this hope, they were able to face sporadic persecutions and eventually overcome the Roman Empire – which John aptly called “Whore of Babylon”. So what exactly forms part of this hope? What really does the Bible say about the future?

lecture: introduction: the return of the king to judge and redeem

xx minutes

In this age, it appears God is slow to act in the cause of justice. His apparent slowness calls into question God’s power, his willingness to act, and even his existence. Evil, not God, appears to be sovereign. God’s

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apparent impotence is manifested whenever the wicked prosper and the righteous suffer. Most tragic of all, the Righteous One suffered at the hands of the wicked. As the extension of Jesus’ suffering, his followers suffer at the hand of God’s enemies. One day, however, we will witness a great reversal, as God acts to overturn this situation. is action will vindicate God as the one who in his good time does indeed bring to justice his enemies and those who persecute his people.2 Indeed, it is clear from Scriptures that Jesus will come back at the end of times to judge and redeem this world and its inhabitants. e Apostles give a most prominent place to this hope in their preaching (Acts 10:42,17:31) and writings (Romans 2:5-16, 14:10; 1 Cor 4:5; 2 Cor 5:10; 2 Tim 4:1; 2 ess 1:5; James 5:7). In fact, the description of Jesus’ return with power and great glory employs terms that echo imperial Roman rule, though with a very distinct flavoring. His return as Son of Man is a “parousia”, a term used to especially signify the approach of a king, an emperor or future emperor, a military commander, or other officials or envoy to a subject city3 So Jesus’ reappearing, the disciples believed, will establish him once and for all as the true King in God’s new world. In the meantime he is present with us, but hidden behind that invisible veil which keeps heaven and earth apart, and which we pierce in those moments, such as prayer, worship, the reading of Scripture, and our work with the poor, when the veil seems particularly thin. But one day the veil will be lifted; earth and heaven will be one; Jesus will be personally present to judge the living and the dead, and every knee shall bow at his name; creation will be renewed; the dead will be raised; and God’s new world will at last be in place, full of new prospects and possibilities. is is what the Christian vision of salvation is all about.4 In what follows we will look at what this means concretely for the future of our world, the future of God’s people, and the future of those who have rejected God.

scripture study 1: the future of our world

xx minutes

In the following scripture study we’re going to seek to explain how the Bible describes the world’s future! What are God's intentions for this world’s future? I’d like you to approach the texts you’re going to study with the questions assigned to each group in mind. At the end, each group will present your answers to the questions asked to the plenary: Have participants go to “Scripture Study 1: e Future of Our World” and divide them into three groups. Assign each group its texts. Each group needs a poster board and a writing marker. Allow small groups about 15 minutes time to read the texts and discuss their answers to the questions, writing their answers on poster board. Have groups display their poster boards where they can

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be seen (wall, etc.) and report their findings to the large group. Facilitate discussion. Use PowerPoint to summarize or reinforce key points, as needed. Have a participant finally read the conclusion to Group Study 1. Group 1: Romans 8:19-22; Acts 3:21 In chapter eight of Romans, Paul painted on a cosmic canvas a vast picture of the world, from its origin as God’s beautiful creation to the impact of sin, and on to its ultimate restoration at the end of history. Paul recognized that the world is both, delightful, and disastrous, orderly and chaotic. He offered a good news/bad news scenario. e bad news is that all of creation, including human beings and their environments, is corrupted by sin. Sin is so prevalent and so destructive that we need more than just a better earth – we need a new earth. Sin is not just personal, it’s global. It’s infused in the bloodstream of the whole world, where sinful people create systems and cultures that promote and protect evil, as well as good.5 us, creation waits for its delivery from sin and longs for its own salvation, as much as humanity yearns for wholeness.6 So much for the bad news. e good news is that God’s salvation is equally universal in its availability and effects. Creation is as capable of being saved by Christ as are we!7 Indeed, one day all creation will be rescued from slavery, from the corruption, decay and death which deface its beauty, destroy its relationships, remove the sense of God’s presence from it, and make it a place of injustice, violence, and brutality. e whole created order will be made new! Creation will enjoy the same benefits of salvation as will humans, and to the same degree, for “creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God” (v. 21).8 In other words, Paul basically says that through Jesus’ death the present material universe is being transformed to fulfill the purpose for which God created it.9 Reflecting on these verses the noted evangelical scholar F.F. Bruce concludes: “If words mean anything, these words of Paul denote not the annihilation of the present material universe on the day of revelation, to be replaced by a universe completely new but the transformation of the present universe so that it will fulfill the purpose for which God created it.”10 Romans 8, thus, affirms that creation is so good that God intends to purge it from evil and bring it to perfection.11 Notwithstanding, this liberation of creation will be partial and imperfect until Christ returns to redeem it personally. Only at the end of time, when Jesus returns, will it be fully restored.12 at is the message of rescue, of “salvation”, at the heart of one of the greatest chapters Paul ever wrote;13 a message Peter reiterates in his Pentecost sermon: e physical universe is not destined for destruction but for renewal and wholeness. e world we live in is not evil, but is fallen and will be redeemed – the creation will be restored, as the prophets from long ago have already foretold. Group 2: 1. Corinthians 15:24-28; Revelations 11:15-18

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Many people seem to think that life after death will happen somewhere beyond this universe. at we will go to live with God in heaven for all eternity. However, the biblical story doesn’t speak of resurrected believers being snatched away to some heavenly world beyond the cosmos where God waits.14 In fact, 1 Corinthians 15 makes it clear that Jesus’ resurrection guarantees that those who belong to him will be raised here on earth when he comes and returns as conquering king. At that point, Paul says, the end will come – not “end” in the sense that nothing happens after that point, but rather “end” in the sense of the goal toward which everything is currently moving. Christ will then hand over the kingdom to God the Father – after Christ has “destroyed all dominion, authority and power”. Death itself, the ultimate blasphemy, the great intruder, the final satanic weapon, will be defeated. Freed from these powers, creation will rise again in a ‘domination-free order’, becoming a world without death. e words from Revelation 11:15-18 evoke a similar understanding of the future of this world; very different from the one many people seem to have. For them, the words should actually go, “e kingdom of this world is destroyed, and in its place the kingdom of God goes on in heaven”. In contrast, the glimpse we’re given in this moment is not of the end of the space-time universe but rather of its transformation, not its destruction but its salvation, not its replacement but its fulfillment.15 is world rightly belongs to God and his people so, in the end, the Usurper and his followers will be weeded out and the ‚kingdom of the world’ will ‚become the kingdom of our Lord and his Christ’ (Rev. 11:15).16 Indeed, ‘e time has come … for destroying those who destroy the earth’ (Rev. 11:18) – not destroying the earth! Note in this regard that the Scripture does not say “the kingdoms of the world” (as Handel does in his Hallelujah Chorus). ere is a profound difference between ‘kingdoms’ and ‘kingdom’. To say “kingdoms of this world” is to say that the political entities, various nations, and their rulers, will be transformed or converted into the kingdom of God. But to say “the kingdom of this world” means the current world order. e cosmos – the created order, the earth and its inhabitants, the whole of human activity, the world alienated and at enmity with God, the world in the grip of Satan and his demonic powers – that world will be converted into the kingdom of God!17 e government and business order which once was controlled by the evil social order will now be subject to Christ.18 Every knee will bow and every tongue will confess Christ as Lord. And those people, systems, and powers that steadfastly refuse to bow the knee will decree their own inevitable fate. us, in reality, all knees will bow and tongues confess, whether in praise or in despair. Because the kingdom of this world will, indeed, become the kingdom of our Christ.19

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ese two passages make clear, then, that the earth (the systems, the cosmos) is not inherently, ipso facto, evil. It has the marks of alienation from God (i.e. death) because of the alienation of the people and principalities and powers on it. e people and principalities and powers are destroying the earth, and that is what causes it to be corrupt and decaying. If there is evil on the earth, it is because of the evil of its inhabitants and the corrupted principalities and powers. So the time will come “for destroying those who destroy the earth”. But the kingdom of this world will become the kingdom of his Christ. e transformation will happen. ere will be judgment. ere will be mourning for a depleted and corrupt world. Yet, one corporate entity (“the kingdom of this world”) will be transformed into another corporate entity (“the kingdom of the Lord”).20 e kingdom of this world will be liberated from all domination and will become what it has always wanted to be, always groaned to be, always dreamed of being;21 freely breathing in an order characterized by Shalom. And Christ’s redemptive work will be finished with the transformation of the entire cosmos!22 So here we get an insight into God’s ultimate dream: not the destruction and replacement of this creation, but the destruction of the dominating and evil powers that ruin creation and hinder Shalom.23 Group 3: Isaiah 65:17-25; Revelation 21:1-4 Yet, how does the interpretation we have advanced above square with Revelation 21:1 which says the first heaven and earth will pass away? Unless we think that Revelation 21:1 contradicts other biblical texts which speak about the restoration and transformation of the earth, we must think in terms of continuity as well as discontinuity. Both John and Isaiah point us to a “new heaven and a new earth”. However, it is not a new heaven and new earth in the sense of brand-new. e word new is not neos which means ‘brand new’ but Kainos which means ‘renewed’. e new heaven and new earth will have some continuity with the present cosmos – the kingdom of God is already here though not fully. Yet, there will also be a great difference. e “new heaven and new earth” will be a total restoration of God’s creation, which now lies in groans awaiting the inauguration of God’s kingdom in its fullness. Everything that opposes God’s will and vision will pass away and be destroyed. What is in accordance with his vision, however, will be brought to greater beauty. In fact, it will be enfolded in the beauty of God and the beauty he will create when the present world is rescued, healed, restored, and completed.24 God’s new world, then, will be the reality toward which all the beauty and power in the present world are mere signposts. It will be a world which will be more physical, more solid, more utterly real, a world in which the physical reality will wear its deepest meanings on its face, a world filled with the knowledge of God’s glory as the waters cover the sea.25

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What characteristics will this new world have, according to these passages? It is interesting to note here once more that history does not end with this world being destroyed and God’s people going up to heaven. Instead, the New Jerusalem will come down on earth and God will live among us! God's presence, until now hidden behind the vault of heaven, will now tabernacle with those who dwell in the New Jerusalem.26 Interesting, right? Both Isaiah and John, as they draw their books to a close, offer a glimpse of this New Jerusalem descending from heaven. It is Jerusalem (or any city for that matter) as it was intended to be – fulfilling its prophetic calling as a light to the nations, a place of justice and peace, a place where God’s dreams come true,27 and a place where God dwells in with his followers and wipes away our tears.28 is place, then, will be a sin- and death-free realm. Every trace of death and sin that now keeps us and our systems and structures in bondage will be expunged. Shalom will reign forever! Community between God and humans, between humans and themselves, between humans and others, humans and creation, and humans and the systems will be fully restored. Social interactions and relationships, the natural order, and human systems and structures will be free of sin, brokenness and oppression. Everyone will be able to reach their fullest potential. We will no longer yearn to experience the fullness of life. Relegated to the past will be all suffering, grief, illness, pain and death. And no one will ever again go wanting for the necessities that sustain life. e best of human culture may even flow into God’s renewed world.29 Have one or two participants read the conclusion to scripture study 1. (In case certain participants refer to 2. Peter 3:7-17, Matthew 24, or Mark 13 for texts that seems to contradict the interpretation above, explain how these texts fit within this interpretive framework. Also refer to the article “Will the Earth Be Destroyed? Conflicting Interpretations” for further insights into these particular passages).

scripture study 2: the future of god’s people

xx minutes

In the following scripture study we’re going to seek to explain how the Bible describes the future of God’s people! What are God's intentions for the future of humankind? I’d like you to approach the texts you’re going to study with the questions assigned to each group in mind. At the end, each group will present your answers to the questions asked to the plenary: Have participants go to “Scripture Study 2: e Future of God’s People” and divide them into two groups. Assign each group its texts and have one of the participants read the introduction to Group Study 2. Also, each group needs a poster board and a writing marker.

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Allow small groups about 15 minutes time to read the texts and discuss their answers to the questions, writing their answers on poster board. Have groups display their poster board where they can be seen (wall, etc.) and report their findings to the large group. Facilitate discussion. Use PowerPoint to summarize or reinforce key points, as needed. Have a participant finally read the conclusion to Group Study 2. Group 1: Romans 8:17; 1. Corinthians 15:20-28, 35-55; 2. Corinthians 5:1-9; Philippians 1:23; 3:20-21 Remember that it was never God’s intention that humans would live and work in heaven; humans were created for earth. True, Paul seems to say in 2 Corinthians 5:1-9 and Philippians 1:23 that he understands the believers’ desire to escape from the groans, burdens and suffering of their earthly existence. He too would rather leave behind his earthly, temporal tent and dwell in an edifice which is from heaven; from God, and not made by hands. However, he also understands that he and other believers are called to remain in this body for the time being to advance the Kingdom of God, living by faith – not by sight. e good news is that all believers have already received a down payment for their new edifice from heaven in the form of the Holy Spirit. is initial payment ensures that God will make good on his promise. Interestingly, while Paul himself yearns to leave behind his earthly body, his choice is not the gnostic one— that is, to escape the body by sloughing it off. Humans do not have bodies that can be “taken off,” leaving behind some untarnished inner entity (e.g., the soul, as in much of second-century and some modern versions of Christianity). In fact, Paul’s choice is that “we might be further clothed (not unclothed), so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life”. For Paul, then, the alternative is not bodily existence versus life without a body, but bodily life if a higher order, untouched by death.30 In 1 Corinthians 15:35-44, Paul makes a similar point by arguing that life now and in God's redemptive future is and will always be bodily. ere will come a Day when our bodies will be resurrected, so that we can continue to rule – in the renewed earth God will create.31 Paul, who provided the most extensive discussion of the resurrection, spoke of Christ’s resurrection as the firstfruits – the first stage of the resurrection of all human lives. Jesus’ resurrection guarantees that those who belong to him will be raised ‘when he comes’.32 ey will be raised with glorified, nonperishable bodies. Our resurrection, it follows, will not be back to our old bodies; it will mean the transformation of our bodies from mortal to immortal and from corrupt to complete conformity to Christ. Consequently, the apostle used the apparently self-contradictory term “spiritual body” (1 Cor. 15:44). Paul did not mean a “body made of spirit”

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as if this were some new substance, but rather a body transformed by and adopted to the new world of God’s Spirit.33 For Jesus, Paul and many of their Hebrew contemporaries, then, the ultimate hope beyond death was not to live forever in a timeless disembodied state away from the earth. Instead, they anticipated resurrection, an embodied state within this creation in a new era or age when present wrongs would be made right. While death marked the end of earthly life, it did not mark the end of personal existence. rough death God retained the personhood of the dead until the eschatological judgment. At that point they reappeared with the marks of personal continuity – bodily identity, memory, and similarity of character and mental characteristics – intact.34 e goal of our hope, it follows, is the resurrection, not an intermediate state. e resurrection, not death of one’s body, is the doorway to participation in the fullness of God’s Kingdom. is does not mean that the dead immediately experience the resurrection, however. So what happens in the time between our death and our resurrection? e biblical authors offer only sketchy information regarding this question. Describing where and what you are in that interim period is difficult, and for the most part the New Testament writers don’t try.35 Two particular theories have gained wide acceptance in the evangelical community, though none can point to conclusive biblical authority: Soul Sleep: A number of respected evangelical theologians have adopted the viewpoint that at death, we will remain in an unconscious state until the time of the eschatological judgment and our bodily resurrection. Building on the legacy of Martin Luther, who in his musings appealed to the experience of sleep in order to illumine what lies between death and resurrection, proponents of soul sleep claim that the biblical writers often used the term ‘sleep’ to refer to the dead. However, critics are quick to point out that such texts do not supply definitive knowledge concerning the state of the dead, the word is simply a first-century euphemism. Furthermore, soul sleep presupposes that the human person is a substantial dichotomy of soul and body, necessitating a spiritual repose in which the immaterial part sleeps while the material body disintegrates in the grave.36 Intermediate State: A number of other evangelical scholars claim that the biblical evidence points to an intermediate state between death and resurrection, a kind of waiting room, where one temporarily stays without a body until the resurrection occurs and one is embodied once again.37 So right after we die, even while our bodies remain dead, we will be in God’s presence. How exactly and what exactly we will be during this time is unknown though, proponents of an intermediate state admit. What is clear, according to them, is that we will be with God “in heaven”. John,

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they point out, indicated that Jesus was going to heaven to prepare homes for us ( John 14:1-4). It is in these homes that we will live. is doesn’t mean that we will be in heaven for eternity once we die, however, since these homes will one day descend on earth (Revelation 21:1-4). Indeed, God said that when we come to heaven, we will stay there only for a while. Heaven, then, is at best a waiting-room until the great restoration. What is promised after that interim period is a new bodily life within God’s new world (life after ‘life after death’).38 Group 2: Matthew 19:27-30; Revelation 5:9-10; Revelation 20:4-6, 22:3-5 e way to God’s unfolding purposes to put the world to rights, to complete the whole project of creation, appears to be blocked, since God has made the world in such a way that it must be looked after by human stewards, and no human being is capable of taking God’s plan forward. is is Scripture’s statement of the problem of evil: God has a plan for the world; but unless he is to unmake creation itself, which is designed to function through the stewardship of God’s image-bearing creatures – the human race – it looks as though the plan cannot come to fruition.39 Yet, since God has defeated the powers of evil, the powers that hold humans captive, his plan may yet come to fruition. e solution to the problem thus isn’t that the cross has won the victory, so there’s nothing more to be done. Rather, the cross has won the victory as a result of which there are now redeemed human beings getting ready to act as God’s wise agents and stewards.40 e purpose of God’s saving action is to restore human’s dominion on earth. e consequence of Adam’s and Eve’s sin was that humans who were meant to be the rulers became slaves on earth, not only to Satan and sin, but to nature as well. e earth began to grow thorns and thistles and they had to eat of the sweat of their brow. In their struggle with nature, humans ultimately lost, died and became dust. Physical creation won over its ruler - humankind. Death became the master. But by defeating death and giving eternal life to those who repent and believe, God is restoring to humans their authority over the world. Jesus did not come to take our souls to a non-material, eternal Heaven, but to restore the Kingdom to us. e purpose of salvation is to make us kings and priests, or the ‘royal priesthood’ as Peter puts it (1 Pet. 2:9). Humans are given the task to rule. ey had lost the kingdom and become slaves. Jesus saves us from sin and gives us His authority to rule.41 Indeed, all of the passages we studied seem to indicate God has made us to be a kingdom of priests to serve our God, and that we will reign on earth. One would expect that the texts would have said that God would reign forever. Instead they state that the people of God – millions upon millions of people – will reign together with God. In God’s new world, thus, those who belong to the Messiah will be placed in charge. Again, God isn’t going to raise you from the dead just to live with Him forever and play the harp in heaven’s orchestra or sing alto in heaven’s choir. He’s

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going to raise you so that you can get on with your work – your calling and vocation. at is why the Scripture says that we will reign with Jesus on earth “for ever and ever” (Rev. 22:5). Reign means what? To have dominion, to administrate. Within the economy of the kingdom, dominion is cast in terms of servanthood. In perfect submission to Christ, the people of God thus will govern together as servant leaders in a political, economic and religious system that are democratic, just, equitable and relational.42 As we live and work in this fallen world today and, in the future, when we will live and reign with Jesus, the commission from God is the same: “Let them rule … over all the earth” (Genesis 1:26) and the story closes full-circle.43 Have one or two participants read the conclusion to scripture study 2.

scripture study 3: the future of those who reject god

xx minutes

Does the kingdom of God include everybody as insiders, or does it leave some on the outside? Can God’s kingdom of Shalom that is available to all, be missed by some? In any discussion of the final judgment of God and the consummation of God’s Story, questions are inevitably raised concerning the eternal destiny of those who during their lifetime were either ignorant of Jesus Christ or who refused to acknowledge him as their Lord and Savior when confronted with the demands of the gospel.44 So what does the Bible say about what happens to those who have rejected God when they die? And what about those who have never heard of Jesus when they die? In this next group study we’re going to seek to explain how the Bible describes the future of those who reject God? I’d like you to approach the texts you’re going to study with the questions assigned to each group in mind. At the end, each group will present your answers to the questions asked to the plenary: Have participants go to “Scripture Study 3: e Future of those who reject God” and divide them into three groups. Assign each group its texts and have one of the participants read the introduction to Group Study 3. Also, each group needs a poster board and a writing marker. Allow small groups about 15 minutes time to read the texts and discuss their answers to the questions, writing their answers on a poster board. Have groups display their poster boards where they can be seen (wall, etc.) and report their findings to the large group. Facilitate discussion. Use PowerPoint to summarize or reinforce key points after all groups have shared, as needed. Have a participant finally read the conclusion to Group Study 2. Group 1: Jeremiah 17:10; 32:19; Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43; 16:27; 25:31-46

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Group 2: Mark 16:15-16; John 3:18; 2 essalonians 1:3-10; Jude 5-6, 14-15 Group 3: Romans 2:5-6; Rev. 11:17-18; Revelation 20:11-15; Revelation 22:12 e biblical authors often declare that we will be judged according to our works and our faith in God’s truths as revealed in the message of the Gospel. At the judgment our lives will be scrutinized in light of God’s hopes and dreams for our world and for our lives in it. God allows us to be characters in the story of creation, and every day we’re writing more and more of our stories within God’s story. We’re developing our characters by the choices we make, the words we say, the things we think, the attitudes and habits we prefer. And in the end, when our stories have been gathered by God into the bigger story, who we have become and what we have done will be clear – clear in God’s eyes.45 e comparison of how we have lived in light of God’s vision will result in a “shrill dissonance” – though shriller for some than others. We will plainly see the great gap between God’s pattern for our lives and the actual way we lived. e judgment, then, is not a capricious or arbitrary assigning of eternal fates to individuals. Rather, it is God’s public revelation of the significance of all history.46 is cosmic disclosure will indicate the extent to which our individual histories reflected and incorporated the meaning of God’s history. Judgment, it follows, is inescapable, because every story is relative to God’s big story.47 So I can imagine God saying to someone, ‘Well done! You have lived well! You helped the story advance toward my creative dreams. You fed the hungry, clothed the naked, welcomed in the lonely, visited the prisoners, shared your bread with the poor, shared the good news of the Kingdom. Wherever you went, you contributed love and peace, generosity and truth, courage and sacrifice, self-control and justice, faithfulness and kindness. You enriched the story, enhanced its beauty and drama and nobility. Y ou have become someone good and beautiful and true. Your unique, creative contributions will never be forgotten, and even the smallest act of kindness will be eternally celebrated, rewarded. After naming and forgiving and forgetting your many faults and failures, I see so much substance to your character, so much to cherish, so much of value, and it will now be set free, given a new beginning in my new creation. You have an eternal place in my story. Y ou have been harvested from this creation, and now you will enter into the joy of the new creation.48 How would God respond to someone who has not done so well: God might say, ‘Sadly, your contributions have been neutral or negative. You have added more pain and selfishness, more dishonesty and coldness, more greed and disharmony and clutter into the story. I tried in every way possible to get through to you, but you wouldn’t respond to my grace.

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Even if I forgive and forget all the bad things you have done, is there enough of your character left for you to continue existing in my new creation? And would you even like living with me in a story you have avoided, minimized, resisted, or subverted all your life? What have you become? You’ve made money and enjoyed luxuries and seemed like a great success to some of your fellow characters as you pursued your own dreams and desires, but in terms of my dreams and desires, you had your chance to become a good and unforgettable character in my story, and you wasted it. You’ve squandered the time and space you were given. I feel regret about what you could have been, what you could have done, what you could have become, bud didn’t. I wish you had given me more to work with, but you haven’t. Your story has been a tragedy of wasted and missed opportunities.’49 For the enemies of God, then, – those who consistently reject his vision for this world and their lives – the final judgment will result in exclusion from community with their Creator and his kingdom of Shalom.50 God will judge them! He will judge them as a judge, who allows those who consistently reject his invitation to advance Shalom on earth, to live a destiny without Shalom; allowing the oppressors and wicked to reap their own oppression and injustice. In this way he will establish and uphold justice on earth.51 e state they will enter into after their exclusion from God’s kingdom, the Bible calls “hell”. While many people are already living in a type of hell – with lack of love, hope, in brokenness and desolation – the hell the biblical story speaks of is a state of utter and self-inflicted separation from God’s presence. Now, there are different interpretations as to how we should understand hell. Everlasting Torment: Some read the biblical text and take certain scripture passages very literally, saying that those condemned to hell will suffer eternally, with no relief, in full consciousness, and utter loneliness. Since they rejected Shalom, mistrust and broken relationships will take complete hold of them, isolating them from all community and imprisoning them within their own separated self – in an endless ocean of solitude and loneliness and suffering. Annihilation: ere are other interpreters who also look at the biblical text and conclude that those who choose to reject God’s offer of salvation, will ultimately be annihilated and eternally blotted out of any kind of conscious existence. Anything resembling of life will be taken away from them, since they chose death over life. As a result, nothing worthy of life will be left in them; all that will remain is a life-less shell that disintegrates into emptiness and ultimately nothingness.

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Both theories can muster good arguments to make their case. At this point, it is not my intent to take sides on the issue. e important thing is to point out what both theories have in common: ose who reject God’s Shalom are destined to an existence without Shalom. Have one or two participants read the conclusion to scripture study 3.

group reflection and conclusion: shalom restored

xx minutes

Distribute article “Shalom Restored – e Eternal Community” to participants and divide participants into the same three groups. Have all groups read the article together in their group and dialog together about the reflection questions at the end. Allow small groups about 15 minutes time to read the texts and discuss their answers to the questions. Have different members from the groups report their findings and answers to the large group. Facilitate discussion. Have three participants finally read out loud Revelation 21:1-7 to let the message of this powerful scripture sink in.

homework assignment and application

xx minutes

Assign students to study the article “How Holistic Church Planting Transforms Society” as homework. Have them answer the reflection questions at the end of the article in their application journal, and to come prepared to share their findings with other members of their group.

closing prayer Ask a participant to close in prayer. 5 minutes

total time: xx minutes

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personal notes

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endnotes 1

Robert Linthicum, City of God City of Satan, 278 Stanley J. Grenz, eology for the Community of God, 632 3 Warren Carter, Matthew and Empire, 86 4 N.T. Wright, Simply Christian, 219 5 e Word In Life Study Bible, 2038 6 Robert Linthicum, City of God City of Satan, 118 7 Robert Linthicum, City of God City of Satan, 118 8 Robert Linthicum, City of God City of Satan, 118 Since sin is not just personal, the whole creation needed to be saved. We see, then, that in Romans Paul is teaching that there is no dichotomy between the individual and his corporate environment (whether social or physical). It is all corrupted by sin. And God has provided for the redemption of it all. (Robert Linthicum, City of God City of Satan, 118) 9 Paragraph based in parts on personal notes taken during a course offered by Robert Linthicum entitled “Building a People of Power” 10 F.F. Bruce, e Epistle of Paul to the Romans: An Introduction and Commentary, 170 11 Bruce Bradshaw, Change Across Cultures, 46 12 Paragraph based in parts on personal notes taken during a course offered by Robert Linthicum entitled “Building a People of Power” 13 N.T. Wright, Simply Christian, 126 14 Stanley Grenz, Created for Community, 289-290 15 Brian McLaren, e Secret Message of Jesus, 202 16 Dewi Hughes, God of the Poor, 32 17 Bob Linthicum, City of God City of Satan, 122 18 Stephen Charles Mott, Biblical Faith and Social Change, 6 19 Bob Linthicum, City of God City of Satan, 122 20 Bob Linthicum, City of God City of Satan, 122 21 Brian McLaren, e Secret Message of Jesus, 202 22 Bob Linthicum, City of God City of Satan, 122 23 Brian McLaren, e Secret Message of Jesus, 189-190 e truly remarkable thing Paul is talking about here is an incorruptible, unkillable physical world. New creation is what matters, a new kind of world with a new kind of physicality, which will not need to decay and die, which will not be subject to the seasons and the apparently endless sequence of deaths and births within the natural order. (N.T. Wright, Evil and the Justice of God, 116) 24 N.T. Wright, Simply Christian, 47 25 N.T. Wright, Evil and the Justice of God, 116 26 N.T. Wright, Simply Christian, 47 27 Brian McLaren, e Secret Message of Jesus, 203 28 e Word In Life Study Bible, 2333 29 Stanley Grenz, Created for Community, 290 30 e New Interpreter’s Bible CDROM, Volume 11, 84 31 Myles Munroe, Understanding the Purpose and Power of Prayer, 54 32 Brian McLaren, e Secret Message of Jesus, 189-190 33 Stanley J. Grenz, eology for the Community of God, 587 34 Stanley J. Grenz, eology for the Community of God, 596 35 Paul, for instance, was the least bit interested in how people are changed from the earthly tent to the heavenly building. (e New Interpreter’s Bible CDROM, Volume 11, 84) 36 Stanley J. Grenz, eology for the Community of God, 591 37 Brian McLaren, e Secret Message of Jesus, 184-185 2

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Some exegetes interpret Paul’s reference of a “heavenly dwelling – a tent not made with hands” beyond death (2. Cor. 5:1-9) as indicating that at death believers enter conscious existence with God in heaven in an intermediate state. is suggests that the intermediate abode of the righteous is of a higher order than our present earthly experience (Stanley J. Grenz, eology for the Community of God, 594) 38 N.T. Wright, Simply Christian, 218-219 39 N.T. Wright, Evil and the Justice of God, 139 40 N.T. Wright, Evil and the Justice of God, 139 41 Vishal Mangalwadi, Truth and Social Reform, 137 42 Robert Linthicum, City of God City of Satan, 288 43 Myles Munroe, Understanding the Purpose and Power of Prayer, 54 e church reigning with the risen Jesus, has been understood historically as the church ruling the world in a kind of Pax Christiana, as in the Middle Ages when it rivaled state power. An alternative reading would be to see its rule as servanthood, with the church exercising dominion under the authority and power of the Suffering Servant. To ‘reign’ in this sense does not mean, primarily, the holding of positions of power, but the creative subjugation of runaway forces in the world. It is a capacity for mastery given at the beginning of creation, but somehow lost and sidetracked after the Fall and now restored to Jesus. Within the economy of the kingdom, dominion is cast in terms of servanthood. e church is servant to society. Indeed, if the church is to lead at all, it is in serving; in applying the creative energies released in Christ towards the stewardship of creation and the bringing of fallen structures closer to God’s original purposes. It does not require that the church function as a worldly power, only as Daniel and Joseph who served God and their people even under alien empires (Melba Padilla Maggay, Transforming Society, 100-101) 44 Arthur F. Glasser, Announcing the Kingdom, 369 45 Brian McLaren, e Story We Find Ourselves In, 166 46 Stanley J. Grenz, eology for the Community of God, 632 47 Brian McLaren, e Story We Find Ourselves In, 166 48 Brian McLaren, e Story We Find Ourselves In, 167 As he comes in glory, we must not see God as a ‘destroyer’ then, but a Judge, who will punish sin and destroy all the consequences of sin, because He seeks to redeem His creation. is is a message of great hope for the future of this earth and God’s people. Indeed, it is clear from Scripture that God has already judged the sins of those who believe in him and submit to his dream in Jesus’ death. Consequently, all who are in Christ can face the day of reckoning without fear, because we will not come under divine condemnation. Notwithstanding, although our eternal destiny will not be at stake, we will nevertheless be present at the judgment. Paul says, not only the earth and those opposed to God’s rule, but even believers will go through the refiner’s fire (Vishal Mangalwadi, Truth and Social Reform, 136). Why? What purpose could judgment entail in our case? For us the day of reckoning will be an act of purging. God will test our works in order that he might remove all the dross (Stanley J. Grenz, eology for the Community of God, 630-631): “If any man builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, his work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each man’s work. If what he has built survives, he will receive his reward. If it is burned up, he will suffer loss; he himself will be saved, but only as one escaping through the flames (1 Cor. 3:12-15). at the fire of God will consume all that is sinful in me and in the world is not a message of doom, but of hope which should inspire us to work to build things that will last for eternity. e fact that for some of us our works of beauty and value will be refined and will last, must cause us to thank God (Vishal Mangalwadi, Truth and Social Reform, 136). At the same time, the fact that for others of us our works will not be deemed worthy, must cause us to pause and reflect. e Bible is clear that it is by our works that we will be judged, because our outward deeds reveal our inward spiritual state. Believers’

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works give evidence to the presence of true faith in their lives (Gal 5:6). While this may be difficult to accept for those who have grown up in a tradition that emphasizes salvation by faith, not works, there is ample biblical basis that underlines, that while we may be saved by faith, we will nonetheless be judged according to our works. is shock of judgment will go through the ranks of the church, as some will discover that although they are saved, they rendered only meager service (Stanley J. Grenz, eology for the Community of God, 633). In fact, for some the shock will be even greater since Jesus warned, not all who call him “Lord” will enter the kingdom. To some he will respond, “I never knew you!” (Matthew 7:21-23). 49 Brian McLaren, e Story We Find Ourselves In, 167 50 Stanley J. Grenz, eology for the Community of God, 634 51 Now many people (maybe you’re among them) when they hear this, accuse the biblical story of judgmentalism and exclusivism, of old-fashioned narrow-mindedness if not outright fascism. Wouldn’t a merciful God in the end extend his mercy to everybody? How could a loving God condemn people to eternal hell and suffering? As we seek to grapple with these questions, let’s also ask some other questions: Does love not also include justice? Does the kingdom of God say, “You are forced to be in whether you want to be or not? ere is no escape. You will be assimilated”? Wouldn’t that sound more like conquest than freedom? Despite these comments, some people still hold on to their viewpoint that a God of mercy should forgive, instead of judge. Yet, let me ask the question from another angle: Can any meaningful kingdom, including God’s kingdom, exist with no boundaries, no outside? Let’s take a moment to look at this idea by comparing it with other areas of life. If the kingdom of God were a symphony, it would welcome anyone who had a desire to learn to play music – from tuba players to piccolo players, from violinists to percussionists. It would accept beginners and master musicians, wisely pairing up the novices with mentors who could help them learn. But it could not welcome people who hated music or who wanted to shout and scream and disrupt rehearsals and concerts; that would ruin the music for everyone and destroy the symphony. True, it would try to influence music haters to become music lovers, but it couldn’t accept them into the symphony until they wanted to be there because of a love for music. If it did, notwithstanding, the symphony director would be soon dismissed. Or, if the kingdom of God were a soccer club, it could welcome children and adults, males and females, beginners and stars – but it couldn’t welcome people who hated soccer and wanted to replace it with rugby; or people who desired to disrupt games and only sought to shoot the ball into their own goal. If it did, nonetheless, the soccer coach would soon be dismissed. When we look at these two examples from real life, it makes total sense that purposeful inclusion is needed. It’s very similar in the kingdom of God. While God’s kingdom doesn’t exalt exclusion and rejection on the one hand, neither does it propagate foolish, self-sabotaging inclusion on the other hand. Rather, it seeks purposeful inclusion. It seeks to include all who want to participate in and contribute to its purpose – namely advancing God’s vision of Shalom – but it cannot include those who oppose its purpose or fundamentally disagree with its vision of reality. In other words, though this may sound paradoxical: to be truly inclusive, the kingdom must exclude exclusive people; to be truly reconciling, the kingdom cannot reconcile with those who refuse reconciliation; to achieve its purpose of gathering people into alternative Shalom communities, it cannot gather those who seek to disunite and scatter. In fact, if you try to include people who oppose your inclusive purpose, then your kingdom is divided against itself, and it will be ruined. In summary, then, the kingdom of God is open to all, except those who choose against it; those who can’t accept its claims, disagree with its understanding of reality, reject its purpose, do not acknowledge their need for a savior, and desire to thwart its advance. e biblical story clearly says that they await a destiny without Shalom, whether that be in a conscious, ever-lonely state, or by being annihilated. (Brian McLaren, e Secret Message of Jesus, 163-164; 167l 169-170)

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