"that great city, [detroit]"

"Should I not have compassion on that great city of Nineveh, in which there are more than a hundred and twenty thousand persons who do not know the difference between their right and left hand?" [Jonah 4:11]

"Why Detroit?" I have been posed this question on numerous occasions.

I am quickly realizing that the notion of transposing one's life into the sprawl of the American inner-city is not nearly so straightforward as it appears. Kudos to the Cooks, Sims and Luptons of the world.

Allow me to state the obvious: Detroit is no Cedarville. Neither is it a Springfield, or even a Dayton. The sheer frequency of crime is staggering, notwithstanding Detroit's well-renowned red light districts and high homicide rate.

Crime, however, is but one distinct challenge. The bankrupt public school system is near collapse. Newly-appointed Rob Bob (I couldn't make it up) is currently responsible for remedying the DPS fiscal nightmare. Unfortunately, some necessary cut-backs have led to tragic side-effects in the classroom.

Conversely, there is substantial opportunity for redemptive living.

Amidst the various tribulations, a stubborn community holds out. True stories of grit and spiritual renewal are no longer anomalies; there is a Work going through the city. They are beginning to take ground.

And then, there are the students: walking dreams driven to silence the living nightmares that define their day-to-day.

Makala Conner | Age 12 | Grade 7

"I want to be a world-renowned pediatrician. I would like to attend Harvard University. I will travel around the world helping children and babies."

Kamarri Coleman | Age 13 | Grade 7

"I want to be a lawyer when I get older because I want to help people stay out of jail. I don't like seeing people go to jail..."

Javon Gossett | Age 8 | Grade 3

I want to be a police officer because I want to find lost children with my K9 dog and solve crimes. I'm going to protect people by making they're OK."

Da Maiyah Hopkins | Age 12 | Grade 6

"When I get older, I want to become a special-ed teacher. I want to help kids read and write. I also want to help my community to have more jobs and more houses."

Marquis Bradon | Age 19 | Grade 12

"I see myself becoming a lawyer, or owning my own company...I also see myself with a wife and kids."

I have few greater joys other than knowing that I'm a hop, skip and a TFA-jump from entering into their lives. I envy their inspiration.

No doubt, the transition from the cornfields of Ohio to downtown Motown will be messy and complicated. But should I -- should we -- not have compassion on that great city of Detroit?

"The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it." [John 1:5]

[JSD]

annihilation / transformation

"Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God..." [Revelation 21:1-2]

This past Sunday, the RCC congregation focused on a passage spanning Isaiah 63 and 64. Though I'm not convinced our collective focus was appropriate (i.e. proper thematic/prophetic context), I was taken in by the themes of Isaiah's desperate call to God.

A brief analysis of the text reveals Isaiah's posture toward the broken status of the world around: the prophet is in the midst of a great lament over the separation between God and his people. Consider the following pattern:

• 63:15 -- Look down from heaven, and see from your lofty throne...
• 63:17 -- Return for the sake of your servants...
• 64:1 -- Oh, that you would rend the heavens and come down...
• 64:2 -- ...come down to make your name known....
• 64:9 -- Oh, look upon us we pray, for we are all your people.
• 64:12 -- After all, Lord, will you now hold yourself back?

In response, God -- in chapter -- manifests his disdain for sinful rebellion, yet promises redemption unmerited by covenant faithlessness. His response culminates in the famous eschatological text of Isaiah 65, where God promises to establish a "new heavens and new earth."

The concept of the "new heavens and new earth" has produced a substantial amount of contemporary, scholarly debate. In sum, there is substantial divide over whether whether scriptures speaks of an annihilation of the present cosmos and the creation of a new universe, or whether scripture indicates the transformation of the present cosmos.

I tend more toward the latter for the following reasons:

• [1] the ordering of Revelation's eschatological process:

The Millenial Reign of Christ precedes the descending of the New Jerusalem; Christ hands over a perfected and established kingdom to the Father [1 Cor. 15:24-28], not a failed realm deserving of obliteration.

If, in fact, the old order is simply obliterated, to what end or purpose does Christ's reign function or fulfill?

• [2] basic exegesis of Revelation 21

The introduction of the New Heavens/Earth, and the descending of the New Jerusalem manifest two important evidences:

"Then I saw a new heavens and a new earth, for the first heaven and first earth had passed away." [Rev. 21:1]

The Greek translated as "passed away" is aperchomai, which literally means "to pass or change from one condition to another." It does not indicate complete destruction or ceased existence.

Consider verse 5, as well:

"And he who was seated on the throne said, 'Behold, I am making all things new." [Rev. 21:5]

It is important to note that verse 5 does not not indicate complete annihilation. God states with clarity that he is renewing all things, not creating all new things. The process described here does not parallel the Genesis 1 creation account, in which God creates ex nihilo from the formless void.

• [3] substantiating OT and NT passages

There are a host of OT and NT texts which seem to indicate that God's ultimate purpose for Creation has been and continues to be its redemption through the establishing of Christ's kingdom. Examples from the OT include:

Isaiah 11:1-9 | Jeremiah 31:31-40 | Ezekiel 37:21-28 | Daniel 2:44-45; 7:13-14

And the NT:

Matthew 6:5-14; 19:28 | Romans 8:18-25 | 1 Corinthians 5:12-58

2 Corinthians 5:16-20 | Philippians:20-21 | Revelation 21:1; 21:5

• [4] the narrative of Scripture en sum

Scripture seems to harmonize around the redemptive, renewing work of God. Indeed, God's redemptive work seems to lead more toward renewal through destruction rather than complete annihilation of the creation, marred by sin. Consider the words of Paul, who states in 2 Corinthians that "the old has passed away" and that "all things have become new."

I am reminded of C.S. Lewis's Narnian character Eustace Scrubb, and his encounter with Aslan. Gradually and painfully, Aslan removes Eustace's dragon scales, producing a final product that is entirely different in character and conduct. Eustace is not destroyed, per se, but his former self has aperchomai -- passed away -- and has been replaced with a renewed self.

N.T. Wright's book, Surprised by Hope, far exceeds my stream-of-conscious blog post in effectively introducing the complexity of this topic. Indeed, there is far more to say on the subject, not only in regard to the scholarly discussion, but also significant implications for Christian ethic, Christian participation, living redemptively, and so on.

[JSD]