The American church has more or less communicated this idea that when we die, we go off to Heaven to be with God. While this is true, the Bible communicates this to be more or less an intermediate state on the destination to which we are headed: a new Heaven and a new Earth with new imperishable physical bodies. This is Pauline theology and should be Christianity 101, but many of us aren't even aware of the Bible's message on this. It's "Life after life after death," as N.T. Wright puts it.

In this week's podcast episode I preach out some of the details while reflecting on passages from Paul's letters, Revelation, and N.T. Wright's books, Surprised by Hope and The Resurrection of the Son of God. If you're interested in learning more, I suggest Surprised by Hope for the crucial points in the conversation. The Resurrection of the Son of God is very good, but quite comprehensive.