When the Kings Come Marching In

I have only read two of his books, but I like Richard Mouw. 'When the Kings Come Marching In: Isaiah and the New Jerusalem' is an interesting book. In it, Mouw basically walks the reader through Is. 60, which is filled with new earth imagery. He discusses the relevant data concerning the new heavens and new earth, and what bearing it has for us here and now, particularly as it pertains to culture. He shows the importance of culture, and our role in redeeming it. Heaven is one of the most misunderstood truths among evangelicals, which is crazy, considering the importance of it. This book is a joy to read and will help correct any Platonic notions of heaven that have influenced Christian doctrine.

----Quotes:

----"God intended from the beginning that human beings would 'fill the earth' with the processes, patterns, and products of cultural formation. And this intention has in no way been canceled by human sin. God will redeem and transform that which is presently perverted and distorted by human disobedience to his will." (11)

----If we think of the future life as a disembodied existence in an ethereal realm--which is not, I have suggested, our ultimate goal--then it is difficult to think of our present cultural affairs as in any sense a positive preparation for heavenly existence. but if we think of the future life in terms of inhabiting a Heavenly City, we have grounds for looking for some patterns of continuity between our present lives as people immersed in cultural contexts and the life to come. The Bible, I think, encourages us to think in these terms." (19)

----"Jesus shed his blood to rescue the creation from the curse of sin. And the cleansing blood of Christ must reach not only into the hearts and lives of individuals, but into every corner of the creation which the curse has affected." (110)