Tonight I got to teach a handful of girls about Old Testament history, beginning with Genesis 1 and going all the way through Malachi. It was pretty great. I spent most of the time not on Israelite history, however, but about the evolution of what I call "the classical Jewish hope," all that stuff about what the Jews were longing for: end of exile, judgment on the pagans and vindication of the Jews (or at least the vindication of the true Jews), the Davidic king and the rebuilding of the Temple and new creation and all that, and then I talked about how Jesus fits into that paradigm, albeit with the paradigm reworked. The last half hour I talked a lot about heaven ("paradise") and the merging of heaven and earth to create the new heavens and new earth. It's always fascinating to me to see people who thought that heaven is eternal and that the earth will be destroyed come to the New Testament understanding that heaven (in the meaning of "paradise") is temporary and that the earth will be renewed and all God's people will dwell within it. Good eschatology is a beautiful and hope-filled thing. Beforehand, I prepared myself with both prayer and a delicious dinner: steamed tilapia, grilled mushrooms, and a baked potato! I miss teaching, I really do, and tonight was a nice nostalgic moment.
Now I'm going to do some reading, relax, take a shower, and go to bed.
Back in the old sweat-shop at 6:00 tomorrow morning.
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