Search results for ""author professor gregory k beale""

The writers and chief actors of the Old Testament expressed a deep longing for the presence of God. This longing is symbolized through history in the Garden of Eden, the ark of the covenant and the tabernacle that housed it, the temple, and the ruins of the temple. In response to this longing, God shares his ultimate mission, in which his people play a part: the expansion of Eden - the temple of God's presence - to all peoples throughout the earth. The temple has always been a source of rich scholarship and theological reflection - but what does it mean for the church's ongoing mission in the world? Beale and Kim build a bridge from the world of biblical theology to our modern-day life. They help us to see clearly that the themes of Eden, the temple, God's glorious presence, new creation, and the mission of the church are ultimately facets of the same reality. Hence, from Eden to the New Jerusalem, God's people are his temple on the earth, the first-fruits of the new creation. God has always desired to dwell among us; now the church needs to follow its calling to extend the borders of God's kingdom and take his presence to the ends of the earth.

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Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth ... And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem ... And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man."' (Revelation 21:1-3, ESV). In this comprehensive study, Gregory Beale argues that the Old Testament tabernacle and temples were symbolically designed to point to the end-time reality that God's presence, formerly limited to the Holy of Holies, was to be extended throughout the whole cosmos. Hence, John's vision in Revelation 21 is best understood as picturing the new heavens and earth as the eschatological temple. Professor Beale's stimulating exposition traces the theme of the tabernacle and temple along the Bible's story-line, also illuminating many texts and closely related themes. He shows how the significance and symbolism of the temple can be better understood in the light of contrasts to and similarities with Ancient Near Eastern assumptions, and offers new insights into the meaning of the temple in both Old and New Testaments.

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