This book is the first of a two-volume work with the overall title "Future Hope and Present Reality . These volumes had their origin in the Speaker s Lectures that Andrew Chester gave in Oxford; their main focus is central themes in biblical eschatology, and especially the apparent contradictions between what is hoped for in the future and what is experienced in the present: the stark discrepancy, that is, between the world as it is and the world as it should be. In this first volume, as the subtitle "Eschatology and Transformation in the Hebrew Bible indicates, the author is concerned with the Hebrew Bible (or Old Testament; the second will be on the New Testament). He deals, successively, with central eschatological themes and the deep tensions they involve: divine threats of an absolute end (to human life and to the world itself), and divine promises of blessing and transformation, along with the theological questions inevitably raised by these - both in themselves and in relation to each other; the whole phenomenon of prophecy, and the problems it involves - not least, whether it can be taken seriously, in face of the contradictions and failures it manifests. He discusses the sheer discrepancy between ideal and reality in traditions relating to kingship, along with the tensions inherent in the emergence of messianic hope; death, as representing the end of any relationship with God, along with hope that goes beyond death - in relation both to the individual and also the nation; and, finally, visions of a transformed and paradisal world, and whether these can bear any relation to reality. It is argued that the Hebrew Bible can be seen to offer genuine grounds for hope, but that these can have any cogency only if the problems involved are really engaged with."

Walter Brueggemann is one of the most highly regarded Old Testament scholars of our time; talk-show host Krista Tippett has even called him "a kind of theological rock star." In this new book Brueggemann incisively probes our society-in-crisis from the ground up. Pointing out striking correlations between the catastrophe of 9/11 and the destruction of ancient Jerusalem, Brueggemann shows how the prophetic biblical response to that crisis was truth-telling in the face of ideology, grief in the face of denial, and hope in the face of despair. He argues that the same prophetic responses are urgently required from us now if we are to escape the deathliness of denial and despair. Brueggemann’s Reality, Grief, Hope boldly confronts the dominant forces of our time, taking on principalities and powers that vie for our souls, and calls the church to courageous action.

The kingdom of God is not explained anywhere in the New Testament, yet it seems to be everywhere understood. No explanation was ever needed, and so none was given. In The Future Kingdom of God: A Present Reality and Our Blessed Hope, author Father Steven Scherrer presents an in-depth study of the kingdom of God as it appears in the scriptures. Based on an edited collection of original sermons and essays revolving around the New Testament doctrine of the kingdom of God, this thorough discussion provides a guide for those seeking insight into various aspects about the second coming of Jesus Christ. Some of the topics on which the essays reflect include the splendor of the kingdom of God now present, as seen in the Churchs Advent and Christmas liturgies; the millennial hope as the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy; the enchanted expectation of the Parousia, as seen in the Churchs autumn liturgies; the longing to be found innocent in holiness at the coming of the Lord. Using the scriptures and examples from the Bible, The Future Kingdom of God demonstrates how Christians can, by faith, now live in the splendor of Gods kingdom present in their midst.

Over the last few years, the literature on Generation Z has grown rapidly. However, there is little that directly addresses the destructive cultural challenges to proactive disciplemaking in this generation. Know. Be. Live.® offers a holistic 360-degree approach to discipleship in a post-Christian era. It combines expert thought on faith and culture to equip Christ-following parents of teenagers, college students, campus ministers, and pastors.

“[A] landmark book . . . Solnit illustrates how the uprisings that begin on the streets can upend the status quo and topple authoritarian regimes” (Vice). A book as powerful and influential as Rebecca Solnit’s Men Explain Things to Me, her Hope in the Dark was written to counter the despair of activists at a moment when they were focused on their losses and had turned their back to the victories behind them—and the unimaginable changes soon to come. In it, she makes a radical case for hope as a commitment to act in a world whose future remains uncertain and unknowable. Drawing on her decades of activism and a wide reading of environmental, cultural, and political history, Solnit argues that radicals have a long, neglected history of transformative victories, that the positive consequences of our acts are not always immediately seen, directly knowable, or even measurable, and that pessimism and despair rest on an unwarranted confidence about what is going to happen next. Now, with a moving new introduction explaining how the book came about and a new afterword that helps teach us how to hope and act in our unnerving world, she brings a new illumination to the darkness of our times in an unforgettable new edition of this classic book. “One of the best books of the 21st century.” —The Guardian “No writer has better understood the mix of fear and possibility, peril and exuberance that’s marked this new millennium.” —Bill McKibben, New York Times–bestselling author of Falter “An elegant reminder that activist victories are easily forgotten, and that they often come in extremely unexpected, roundabout ways.” —The New Yorker

The kingdom of God is not explained anywhere in the New Testament, yet it seems to be everywhere understood. No explanation was ever needed, and so none was given. In The Future Kingdom of God: A Present Reality and Our Blessed Hope, author Father Steven Scherrer presents an in-depth study of the kingdom of God as it appears in the scriptures. Based on an edited collection of original sermons and essays revolving around the New Testament doctrine of the kingdom of God, this thorough discussion provides a guide for those seeking insight into various aspects about the second coming of Jesus Christ. Some of the topics on which the essays reflect include the splendor of the kingdom of God now present, as seen in the Church's Advent and Christmas liturgies; the millennial hope as the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy; the enchanted expectation of the Parousia, as seen in the Church's autumn liturgies; the longing to be found innocent in holiness at the coming of the Lord. Using the scriptures and examples from the Bible, The Future Kingdom of God demonstrates how Christians can, by faith, now live in the splendor of God's kingdom present in their midst.

Paul, in seeking to bring unity and understanding between Jews and Gentiles in Rome, sets forth in Romans his most profound explication of the gospel and its meaning for the church. The letter's relevance is as great today as it was in the first century. Throughout this commentary, Grant R. Osborne explains what the letter meant to its original hearers and its application for us today.