Introduction
A New Heaven and a New Earth: Reclaiming Biblical Eschatology is a magisterial
volume that acts as a plea to the Church at large to re-examine her eschatology. The overall thrust of Dr. J. Richard Middleton’s magnificent book is that the Scriptures teaches a holistic eschatology, one in which “salvation” comes not only to individual persons, but the entire cosmos, or “heavens and earth.” The book is broken into an introduction, 5 parts, and an appendix.
The introduction explains the problem – that Christians, by and large, have failed to understand the biblical notion of the redemption of the cosmos, but have placed their hope in a heavenly, otherworldly destiny. The first part gives a high-level view of the flow of Scripture “from creation to eschaton.” Middleton challenges the notion of human beings being made simply to worship God – which would result in heaven being a supra-mundane life of disembodied spirits glorifying God day and night (if there is a day and night at all in this non-material heaven). Rather, Middleton brings up the Cultural Mandate – a mandate in which human beings, as God’s priests on Earth, is to build culture. As Middleton puts it, “Humans, the Bible tells us, are cultural beings, defined not by our worship, for worship is what defines creation (all creatures are called to worship). But the human creature is made to worship God in a distinctive way: by interacting with the earth, using our God-given power to transform our earthly environment into a complex world (a sociocultural world) that glorifies our creator.”
Next, Middleton goes into a deep dive of Scriptural verses in the Old Testament that he
believes support the idea of Holistic Salvation. He argues powerfully that the Exodus is a
paradigm of salvation. Middleton points out that while the specific words “save” and “redeem” are in reference to God’s freeing Israelites from bondage, thus making YHWH Israel’s “salvation.” It is the entire story that functions as a paradigm. Middleton argues well that a life of obedience to YHWH was necessary for the Israelites to complete salvation. He insightfully points out that the law comes after the act of grace (saving them from Egypt). He goes further to state that obedience as gratitude is not all, but that obedience completes the act. Middleton also discusses God coming in judgment and salvation, helpfully pointing out that God’s judgment is ultimately redemptive.
Part three of Middleton’s book is the other side of the coin – the cosmic renewal in the
New Testament. Middleton goes through many New Testament passages, exegeting each one to show the cohesive nature of his eschatological view. He demonstrates from passages like Acts 3:17-21, Ephesians 1:7-10, Colossians 1:16-20, Romans 8:19-23, and 2 Peter 3:10-13 that the object of God’s saving activity are things – things in heaven and earth – creation itself, our bodies, the works of the earth, and so forth.
Middleton then moves on to discuss texts that seem to be “problematic” for the holistic
eschatological view. Here, he looks at texts that seem to suggest some sort of cosmic destruction. He faces these verses head on, addressing verses such as 2 Peter 3, Hebrews 12, and Revelation 20-21. Furthermore, Middleton goes on the address verses seem to point to heaven as an eternal destiny for believers. Middleton again addresses all these verses. He points out an illustration N.T. Wright made of presents being prepared for a child in a cupboard. That does not mean the child has to actually live in the cupboard to enjoy the present. Likewise, we as children of God do not have to go into a far off ethereal plane to enjoy God’s preparation of his “mansion,” rather as Revelation points out, it will come to us. He goes on to address the “Rapture” and shows how unbiblical this view truly is. Lastly, Middleton addresses the topic of going to heaven as a “temporary” place before the resurrection. Here, Middleton denies that this is the case using both
logic and biblical evidence.
In his final part of the book, Middleton discusses the ethical implications that come out of
this holistic view. Specifically, Middleton uses Jesus’ Nazareth encounter in Luke 4:16-30. He beautifully demonstrates why Jesus’ reading of the Isaiah text was “good news” being fulfilled, and why the people appreciated what Jesus said. Furthermore, he demonstrated the demand or “challenge” Jesus brings with it, and why they reacted the way they did. In the end, Middleton demonstrate that Jesus requires of His followers to break down social boundaries and walls, taking away division of “us versus them.” God’s Kingdom is about including all peoples, uniting them under the Lordship and Kingship of Jesus and what he inaugurated with His coming and death and resurrection. The appendix of the book walks the reader through a short history of thought – of how and why the “new earth” disappeared from Christian theology.
Strengths and Weaknesses
The book has many profound insights. It stands as a strong testimony to the research that
Dr. Middleton put into it. One of its greatest strengths is its deep conviction of staying true to the biblical texts. Middleton takes each verse in the context of the verse itself, as well as the overall tenor of the Scriptures to paint the holistic eschatological view in which he propagates. Another strength is his willingness to struggle with difficult texts that, on the surface, seem to go against his theological convictions. The book itself does not simply rest with an abstract eschatological view. It digs deep into the underlying meaning of holding on to a worldview, demonstrating remarkable ability to apply it to personal ministry and daily living.
One text that Middleton seems to “gloss” over, or at least not argue very well, is 2
Corinthians 5:6-9. These verses are the strongest argument for an “intermediary state” between death and the ultimate resurrection. This, coupled with Philippians 1:23, are a big reason why many Christians today believe that when someone passes away they are with the Lord. Taken with Revelation 6:9-10, this seems to “seal the deal” on this doctrine or theology. Middle handles Revelation 6:9-10 well, and also Philippians to a large extent. His handling of 2 Corinthians 5:6-9, however, is significantly weaker. Middle argues that when Paul says “…we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord” that we (most Christians) read into the text the foreign notion of being a disembodied spirit when we are “at home with the Lord.” He uses the previous verses to say that Paul obviously has a strong longing for a resurrected body. This is true. But Middleton merely dismisses the idea that Paul is speaking of a hierarchy of wants, namely the resurrected body, then a disembodied state in heaven, then the present earthly body. While it is understandable that, for Middleton, this one verse does not overshadow the entire
tenor of Scripture that seems to indicate no intermediary state, but rather a Holistic Eschatology, it is a weakness in his argument nonetheless. When one couples 2 Corinthians 5:6-9 with Philippians 1:23 and Revelation 6:9, as well as a few other verses that do not so clearly argue for an intermediary state, this writer finds it difficult to merely dismiss the notion of a possible intermediary state. Overall, however, the probability seems to indicate no intermediary state, even if the possibility is there.
Conclusion
It is rare to find a book that so powerfully argues its point, regardless of the objections
one may have against its premise. I have always held to an “intermediary” state, specifically because of the aforementioned verses, but also because it theologically and emotionally makes a lot of sense. Furthermore, this is something that many Christians seem to hold to. Middleton powerfully demonstrates the contrary. Through excellent use of exegesis, sound arguments, and the overall flow of Scripture, Middleton forcefully makes his point that God is going to redeemed the entire world. This is the hope that Israel had, this is the hope that Jesus spoke of, this is the hope that Paul dreamed of, and this is the hope that we can look forward to. This holistic view is beautiful and all-encompassing. It affects my way of approaching every issue. While God will “redeem” this world, it is still this world in which he redeems. The continuity, rather than discontinuity, should force us to reevaluate our approach to others and the world in
which we live. We should not think of separating from the world but infiltrating it. God gave us a Cultural Mandate and we must walk in it.
One of the ways in which this book can affect the way one lives is in his example of
Jesus’ Nazareth sermon. Middleton argues that the kingdom of God involves a transformation of everything in this world, including our bodies, society, and even the economy. Yet that was the way in which the Old Testament read – with God promising physical promises of descendants and land. And that is the way in which Jesus, during his sermon, addresses his Jewish audience. Furthermore, God’s Kingdom is inclusive of all who has pistis in Jesus. And it goes beyond that. Since all things and all people are included, there is no secular/sacred split that has come about as a mutation of a Platonism. Middle argues that Jesus challenged his audience – and by extension us today – in two ways. One is that we must not limit salvation to simply our soul or to life in heaven. Instead, it has to do with God restoring everything – indeed the very cosmos. Secondly, Jesus challenged his audience not to limit by people groups. We must accept, with open arms, people of all races, backgrounds and culture who would call Jesus “Lord.” Christ is who binds us a “brothers and sisters” to be redeemed in the new heavens and new earth. Whatever social and ethnic differences should be miniscule in light of God’s surpassing grace. Jesus healed the blind, the leapers the lame, the deaf, and indeed even the dead. These are people deemed “cursed” by God, who through Jesus, showed that they were never cursed. We all are like them, in need of God to make us whole. And one day he will – for now we must work the calling in which he had called us. Middle urges us to follow Jesus’ sermon to break down the walls of hostility and reach out beyond ourselves.
In the end, Richard Middleton has crafted a book that I will reference again and again. He takes a major theme of Scripture – Salvation – and shows how it is a cohesive thread throughout. Furthermore, Middle applies this to our lives as Christians, showing us what it means for theology, and indeed how eschatology, can affect and influence every decision we make.
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Steven Shaw
Thoroughly and deeply rooted in scripture
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