"Heaven is important, but it's not the end of the world." - N. T. Wright
The theologians I have been following on YouTube and reading in books - N. T. Wright, Ben Witherington, Michael Heiser, John Walton, and Tim Mackie - seem to have at least one thing in common.
(Outside of a love and appreciation for God's word. And expertise in Biblical languages.)
They are all trying to nudge the popular conception of "the gospel" towards a deeper and more accurate understanding of what the Bible portrays as THE good news.
Most people seem to believe that Jesus came to save sinners (so far so good) so that if we are good enough or if we believe the right things, when we die Jesus will sweep us away to live with Him in Heaven.
Apparently God's plan of creating a material world where He would be able to reside with His creatures just got screwed up beyond salvaging. So He changed His mind and decided to ditch the whole Earth dwelling idea and just pull some humans up to Heaven instead.
(And toss the rest into Hell.)
But Genesis makes it clear that God's creation was good and there's no indication from Genesis to Revelation that His plan ever got dropped.
The New Testament presents a Jesus Who comes to bring Heaven to Earth. His Kingdom is inaugurated with His earthly ministry and He promised that one day every citizen of that Kingdom will enjoy eternal life with God ... here on a renewed Earth.
I think that makes a real difference in how we conceive of the good news.
"Heaven is important, but it's not the end of the world."
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