"The Temple and the Church's Mission" by G.K. Beale. A Very Small Review

The Temple and the Church's Mission: A Biblical Theology of the Dwelling Place of GodThe Temple and the Church's Mission: A Biblical Theology of the Dwelling Place of God by G.K. Beale
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

"The Temple and the Church's Mission: A Biblical Theology of the Dwelling Place of God" is an extended study that shows exactly what the title claims. Beale traces out the roadways that lead from Eden to Revelation 21-22. If you've never considered how Eden was a Temple, with Adam and Eve fulfilling the priestly roles of working and keeping it (Genesis 2:15); or how the Tabernacle and Temple were a renewed Garden of Eden; or how the final Temple of the New Heavens and New Earth are pictured as an expanded and intensified Eden, then this is the book to get. In Beale's own words, "the eschatological goal of the temple of the Garden of Eden dominating the entire creation will be finally fulfilled...Hence, eschatology not only recapitulates the protology of Eden but escalates it" (368). And yes, the author masterfully shows how the church in union with Christ is the inauguration of that eschatological Temple. It's a scholarly read, but one worth the time and tenacity. I highly recommend the book.


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