In this groundbreaking bookâavailable in audio for the first timeârenowned Bible scholar, Anglican bishop, and bestselling author N. T. Wright argues that Christians have not distorted the Bibleâs message about heaven and what happens after we die.
For years, Christians have been asking, ""If you died tonight, do you know where you would go?"" It turns out that many believers have been giving the wrong answer. It is not heaven.
Wright outlines the present confusion about a Christianâs future hope and shows how it is deeply intertwined with how we live today. Wright asserts that Christianityâs most distinctive idea is bodily resurrection, and provides a magisterial defense for a literal resurrection of Jesus. Wright then explores our expectation of ""new heavens and a new earth,"" revealing what happens to the dead until then and what will happen with the ""second coming"" of Jesus. For many, including many Christians, it will come as a great surprise to learn that heaven comes to earth instead of us going to heaven.
Wright convincingly argues that what we believe about life after death directly affects what we believe about life before death. For if God intends to renew the whole creationâand if this has already begun in Jesusâs resurrectionâthe church cannot stop at ""saving souls"" but must anticipate the eventual renewal by working for Godâs kingdom in the wider world, bringing healing and hope in the present life.