A Brief Book Notice from Books At a Glance
An unusually good – and helpful – book about heaven that deserves far more attention than it has received. No speculation. Just an unfolding of the biblical outlook to our final salvation in the new heavens and new earth.
Stephen Wellum says of this book:
What a delight to read Dan Barber and Robert Peterson’s wonderful book, Life Everlasting! In a day and age when discussion of heaven is either purely speculative or mere sentimentality, this book carefully unfolds the biblical teaching on heaven in all of its depth, breadth, and wonder. Following the Bible’s own storyline, and unfolding the story of heaven across the canon of Scripture, Barber and Peterson develop five beautiful pictures of our final state and what believers may look forward to in regard to life everlasting. Unpacking the Bible’s own teaching on what heaven is, namely the Christian dwelling in the glorious presence of our Triune God in a new creation, enjoying our eternal Sabbath rest, ruling and reigning with Christ as subjects of God’s kingdom, and enjoying the incredible presence of our holy, covenant God, this book leaves the reader with a breathtaking vision of our consummated state. Biblically faithful, theologically rich, and practically written for the church this book is must reading if you want to think correctly about heaven. In addition, it will not only encourage you to greater love and adoration of our great Creator and Redeemer God, it will also stir you anew to cry with the church in all ages, “So come Lord Jesus.”
Table of Contents
Introduction
Part 1: Creation
1. Creation Marred
2. Creation Renewed
Part 2: Rest
3. Disturbed Rest
4. Perfect Rest
Part 3: Kingdom
5. The Kingdom at War
6. The Kingdom at Peace
Part 4: Presence
7. Banished from God’s Presence
8. Blessed with God’s Presence
Part 5: Glory
9. Exchange of Glory
10. Brilliance in Glory
Conclusion
Frequently Asked Questions about Heaven
Questions for Study and Reflection
Selected Quotes
- “So when Yahweh brings Moses to the king of Egypt and delivers his people, the question arises: Who is this God whom Israel worships who just plundered the most powerful empire at the time? The first chapters of Genesis serve, in large part, to answer that question. And their answer is that the God of Israel, its Redeemer, is also the Creator of the world—everything and everyone in it.” (19)
- “The apostle speaks of the redemption both of believers and of creation. In fact, the former is a microcosm of the latter.” (35)
- “Even as God will not annihilate and re-create us, but will cleanse and transform us, so he will do for his world. He will cleanse and transform it.” (37)
- “Through his perfect life and atoning death, Jesus has opened the door for us to participate in God’s perfect rest in a way unavailable since the garden of Eden.” (69)
- “For a while, God’s kingdom enjoyed perfect peace, what the Hebrews called shalom. Harmony abounded. All was joy and worship. But then the unthinkable occurred: Adam and Eve rebelled against their Creator.” (90)
- “Having viewed three pictures of heaven (as creation, rest, and kingdom), we next turn our attention to a fourth picture: heaven as the presence of God.” (119)
- “The Lord of the universe, the everlasting God, has sovereignly worked throughout world history to bring about an intimate union with his people. Our God is both the transcendent Creator and a loving husband.” (143)
- “Because of God’s eternal election, we have been united to Christ through faith, and nothing can ever separate us from the love of Christ. Nothing, therefore, can hinder God’s gaze of approval upon us in the final examination.” (178)
See our previous book notice here.