Coming Home: Essays on the New Heaven and New Earth

by D.A. Carson (Contributor), C. Jeffrey Robinson Sr. (Editor), Timothy J. Keller (Contributor)

Do Christians overemphasize the hope of the future to the neglect of needs in the present?

Are discussions about the end times unimportant so long as we all "get to heaven" in the end?

In Coming Home, a team of eight leading Bible teachers offers us a vision of the new heaven and new earth that doesn't just impact our view of the future--it also has the potential to change how we live today. These eight essays will stir up within us a longing for our future home as we eagerly await Jesus's glorious return.

Genres: Nonfiction, Christian, Theology

176 pages, Paperback

Published March 31, 2017

About the author

Donald A. Carson is research professor of New Testament at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School in Deerfield, Illinois. He has been at Trinity since 1978. Carson came to Trinity from the faculty of Northwest Baptist Theological Seminary in Vancouver, British Columbia, where he also served for two years as academic dean. He has served as assistant pastor and pastor and has done itinerant ministry in Canada and the United Kingdom. Carson received the Bachelor of Science in chemistry from McGill University, the Master of Divinity from Central Baptist Seminary in Toronto, and the Doctor of Philosophy in New Testament from the University of Cambridge. Carson is an active guest lecturer in academic and church settings around the world. He has written or edited about sixty books. He is a founding member and currently president of The Gospel Coalition. Carson and his wife, Joy, reside in Libertyville, Illinois. They have two adult children.

Reviews

[Gabriel · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the second free book from TGC this summer that I’m reading, and it helpfully reminded me to live with the end in mind. This book consists of essays written by well-loved men who preach the gospel, and each essay expounds on a bible passage. My favourite one was by Mark Dever, which was not so much on eschatology but about what we should be doing in this present temporary life.

[Noah McMillen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed all of these essays, but the first and the last were really the best for me. I loved Keller on Deuteronomy 30, especially how he points to the fact that God already knows the Israelites will fail and also how he shows how the blessings and curses apply for today. Also, Ryken on Revelation 21-22 really got me longing for the new creation!

[Austin Fry · Rating 5 out of 5]

Concise but deep, not necessarily scholastic, but I wouldn’t want it to be. Not everything was groundbreaking nor did everything agree with exactly how I have thought through certain Scriptures (not that I’m necessarily an expert on eschatology) but that’s not the point. It’s a book written by people who long for the ultimate homecoming, offer their insights on specific passages, and it all comes across affectionately.

[E · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the printed version of addresses given at the 2015 Gospel Coalition national conference. The subtitle is a misleading--the last two essays address the new heaven and earth directly, while the other 6 only do so marginally (Dever's more so than the remaining 5). And yet they are all pretty good (especially Keller's on Deuteronomy 30), so I really can't complain. And the appendix, a printed version of a panel discussion of "seeking God's justice in a sinful world" is also very good--my inner neoconservative's opinion of Thabiti Anyabwile went up when I read his words concerning our nation's role in righting wrongs elsewhere, such as those perpetuated by Boko Haram terrorists in Nigeria.

All in all, a book full of decent essays, although I can't imagine it would be one of the first 15 or 20 you would read if studying the new heavens and new earth. And yet it is profitable if you ever come across it and need something to read.

[Adam Thomas · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was drawn to this book by the title. "Coming Home" - a good way to sum up our hope! The contents, though, were not entirely what I expected. Despite the subtitle, the essays (originally conference addresses) are not really about the New Heaven and the New Earth, but just about eschatology in its broadest sense. There's much encouraging material by some passionate preachers (especially the final chapter by Philip Ryken), but it had less depth than I was hoping. So, a good book to read, but not one to go out of your way to pick up.

[Jennifer Bowers · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the second best book on the afterlife I've ever read (no. 1 was Heaven, by Randy Alcorn).
Interestingly, after the eight essays by various authors, there is a panel discussion between them as an appendix. And rather than discuss eschatology, they got into social justice! Knowing where some of these individuals stand on CRT, it was interesting to hear them express themselves on the topic of biblical social justice.

[Lindsey · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not really what I was expecting, which isn't to say it's bad. I was expecting some greater coherence between the essays (which were originally lectures), but that's not necessarily here, so the whole book sort of stops and starts in a jerky way. It would work well to read slowly and devotionally, to think through some of the day-to-day implications of the way we understand the "next" life.

[Jenn West · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really great. Encouraging believers to focus both on the here and now as well as the yet to come.

[Parker Samelson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Generally encouraging. I would appreciate more tangible and applicable theology.

[Philip Brown · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good. Gooood.

[David Watson · Rating 3 out of 5]

A transcript of the plenary addresses of the 2015 Gospel Coalition conference. A few good points on various texts of Scripture.