The message of Revelation 21 is that heaven will not be airy and detached, but rather a very earthly resolution of this current era. Heaven will be on earth, this earth. The apostle John's word for "new" in the phrase "new heaven and new earth" (Rev. 21:1) is not the Greek word for "different" or "other," but rather "renewed, restored." Indeed, although "the first heaven and the first earth" will "pass away," 2 Peter describes this as a dramatic purification and transformation, not destruction. So our eternal existence will occur where we're standing right now, although it's doubtful we'll recognize any certain spot after such a fiery purification.

The first step, then, in having hope for heaven is simply to do away with any literal picture of our eternal life as wearing robes and hovering about in never-never land. We should only employ these images as they were designed - to be symbolic expressions of the deep peace and beauty of perfect communion with God (Rev 21:3).

Once we see this continuity between our current life and eternal life, our current life takes on a lot more meaning. It is not a largely irrelevant existence, as the crowns-and-harps model suggests. Contrary to the worldview of the Left Behind series about the Rapture, this earth, cursed as it is by sin, is not on an unmitigated downward spiral to hell, from which we must desperately await rescue in the form of the Rapture. 

Instead, we should take on our current earthly affairs with renewed vigor, in the hope and assurance that the brokenness we encounter in their midst will one day be mended, completing the process begun on the cross. We should care for the earth, produce good music and books, and be active citizens - in general, be agents of Christ's redemption in nature and in society. To be sure, the return of Christ will not be brought about by our meager efforts in these areas, but nonetheless they seem a natural response to the message of Revelation 21of ultimate restoration of the fullness of human existence.

This is the big picture I needed for my faith to take root. I made profession of faith at a young age, when I was into contemporary Christian music and thought that faith was basically a feeling, a purely spiritual experience, and that our only purpose in life was evangelism, saving souls. This worldview was shallow and soon my faith began to fall flat. Then I encountered Revelation 21 and, with some wise guidance, saw for the first time this full cosmic picture and its implications for my current life in nature and in society. It just made sense that God was not giving up on this world, but, just as he stuck with humanity and sent his Son to save it, he similarly would restore to perfection the whole of what he created. That's a bigger picture of God than to see him, as many evangelicals seem to do, as simply a missionary coordinator.

The book is five chapters of eight to ten essays each. Chapter 1 asks and tries to answer the question of why we don't hope for heaven as we should. Chapter 2 more fully unfurls this doctrine of the new earth (Rev 21:1). Chapter 3 similarly unravels the doctrine of the new City (Rev 21:2), the restoration of human culture. Chapter 4 looks at the restoration of the dwelling of God with us (Rev 21:3). Chapter 5 will have some final thoughts and examples of living with this full picture of heaven in mind - of the restoration of the earth, culture, and humans. 

My goal is to try to do for others what this under-celebrated full picture of heaven did for me - completely turn my life upside down, give me a deeper sense of God's sovereignty and his tough love that won't let him give up on creation when Satan does his worst. I hope this vision of heaven jolts us out of our fixation on the spiritual - our focus on feeling good and getting spiritually high - at the expense of the natural and cultural. I hope it leads us to see heaven's relevance in our current environmental and cultural interactions. Then, I think, we can truly begin to live in the hope of heaven.
-NB

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