Dear Theophilus

Here is Part 1 , Part 2 , Part 3 and Part 4 : This is the final part of my review of one of my favorite books. This book explains a comprehensive view of Christianity based on a proper eschatology (end-times) centered around resurrection. Highly recommend that you all buy this book! You can borrow mine, but I want it back because it is autographed... :) Chapter 13 This chapter is titled “Building for the Kingdom.” Inherently in the title, Wright wants to make clear that we don’t build the Kingdom; we build for it. God is always the architect. He has a great analogy about stonemasons carving out different pieces for the construction of a cathedral. The mason probably hasn’t even seen the blueprints but his work will go towards the final project (p. 210). This analogy is couched in an admittedly mysterious truth that our work will not be in vain (1 Cor. 15), that our work will be apart of the new creation, that our labor and work for the Lord will be apart of the future. ...

The idea of the Jubilee is something that has always blown my mind. This gift of God that the Israelites never opened is quite possibly the most radical idea ever commanded of human beings on a societal level. I love it on so many levels. This book, being about the church and empire, has an empire focus, but still awesome nonetheless. It says: "One of the most exciting of the Sabbath laws was applied every seven years. Just like the Hebrew people were supposed to refrain from working every seventh day so that their land, animals, and servants could rest (a marked contrast to their overworked life in Egypt), every seventh year, the Hebrew people had a celebration called the Jubilee (named after the jovel, a ram's horn that sounded to herald the remission), during which during which they would take the whole year off of work. During this one-year break, all the food that continued to grow in their fields was free for the taking for families who were struggling to get by (Exodu...