All Things New or All New Things? (Remastered)

0:00Hey everybody, I'm Tim McEy and this is my podcast, Exploring My Strange Bible. I am a card carrying Bible history and language nerd who thinks that Jesus of Nazareth is utterly amazing and worth following with everything that you have. On this podcast, I'm putting together the last 20 years worth of lectures and sermons where I've been exploring the strange and wonderful story of the Bible and how it invites us into the mission of Jesus and the journey of faith. And I hope this can all be helpful for you too. I also help start this thing called Bible Project. We make animated videos and podcasts and classes about all kinds of topics in Bible and theology. You can find all those resources at Bibleproject.com. With all that said, let's dive into the episode for this week.

1:00All right. Well, this is the fifth episode of a five-part series we've been doing on the podcast called Resurrection as a way of life. We've been exploring the importance and key role of the hope of new creation and resurrection in the mind and heart of a follower of Jesus. And this teaching we're going to explore the final pages of the Bible, the depiction of new creation in the book of Revelation. And how crucial it is to understand the way that the Bible talks about this new universe as new because it both means that it has profound discontinuities, ways that the new creation will be unlike our current way of experiencing the world. But at the same time, the way that the final pages of the Bible describe the new creation shows there's also lots of continuity. In other words, there's lots of ways that the new creation will be similar to the world as we know it is both similar and dissimilar. And what does that mean? And why is that even important?

2:02If the question has never occurred to you, why that's an important thing to think about, I'm going to hopefully convince you that it's a really, really important thing to think about. How the new creation is both different and similar to our current world. So there you go. That's the question we're going to ask as we open the last pages of the Bible. Let's dive in. Today, it's fitting that we should turn to the second to the last page of the Bible to allow the empty tomb and the resurrection of Jesus to truly expand out into the glorious Christian hope of a universe raised from the dead of a resurrected world. And that's exactly what what John's talking about here. So I'll just put a big passage up here on the screen, but most of you have an open in front of you or turned on in front of you, whichever. And this is this is the glorious glorious passage of scripture comes right near the end of the story.

3:05And it's vision from the revelation. So let's just stop right there. This is from the book of the revelation, not revelations with an earth on the end. It's the most common mispronunciation of the book, the revelation. And you know, I was a little nervous in picking a passage to teach on in this series from the revelation because here's what I found about this book in modern, modern audiences, at least in the West. Much like as I often say, cilantro divides a room in half, half love, half hate, half a repulsed by it. Book of Revelation has much of the same effect on modern readers. Either some people love it and are obsessed with it. And often not always, but often it's connected to an upbringing or a background and church traditions that are really into prophecy timelines and end times. timetables and this kind of thing went predicting Jesus's return and all that.

4:07So some people love it and find it endlessly fascinating for that. And it's precisely that group of people that makes the other half of the room totally weirded out and repulsed by the book of Revelation. And there's like, I just want to love and follow Jesus. I don't know. It'll all pan out in the end kind of thing. So that's about the effect that this book has on modern readers. And it's understandable. It seems like a bizarre book to most modern readers. And eventually, you know, you might get accustomed to it, but it's it's a highly image driven book full of imagery that it's just fantastic and outstanding. And the author, John, has all of these visions that he's writing down. It seems bizarre to modern readers. It was not bizarre to the first followers of Jesus who are all Jewish. The book of Revelation is a perfect example of a kind of literature that was very popular at the time of Jesus called the period of the second temple or second temple Judaism.

5:10Bible nerds today call it Jewish apocalyptic literature, but the book of Revelation is not the only book of its kind from this time period. There are many other Jewish apocalypses that recounted dreams or visions that prophets had. And what these dreams or visions do is they give the prophet or the visionary a chance to zoom up to like 30,000 feet, so to speak over history and current events and to offer God's point of view on the meaning of history and the meaning of events and what's gone wrong and where it's all going. And the primary way that all of these book of Revelation, but other Jewish apocalyptic texts, I could give you a whole list of them. You can go by translations of them down at Powels and you will be better off for it because they're fascinating to read. But the way that all of these texts communicate is through heavy intense imagery, the best analogy that I can find. It's not perfect, but it's a good one. And our own way of thinking about media and communication today is cartoons and specifically political cartoons work with me here. You guys ready? Just work with me here. You'll see two appear on the screen. Each one of them is lampening the main presidential candidate got play fair. Right.

6:27So there you go. Hillary is getting made fun of and so's Donald right there. So let's play fair. Okay. So here's two recent political cartoons. Now if you're an American citizen. If you even just if you're not American citizen. If you've been in America culture for say five years, do you need me to explain these cartoons to you? You get it. Don't you? The one on the upper left is brilliant. Isn't it? Come now. All right. Whether or not you agree with it. Let's just get this is a very creative thoughtful artist. You know, I'm saying in a million ways. And the one on the right. If you're a indie race car fan, it's also brilliant. And it's in its own right. Right. Do you need me to explain this to you? I don't I don't think you do. So just think if let's say someone from G.S. is day, you know, a Jewish person who's living in ancient Rome, where to time travel. Right. And come sit next to you right now and be looking at these images. Would it make perfect sense to them? Of course not. Where do you what do you think they would start asking about?

7:28Why is there a man in a dark like costume wearing a cape? What's that blonde bangs protruding from there? And why is there an elephant hanging from a spaceship weather vane right in the cloud city of bestman is so like what's happening here? Like what's that about? Right. And why is there what's that automobile and why is it crashed before the finish line and indie race cars? And why is there a donkey pushing it like what's these are not self explanatory. You actually have to have a very sophisticated knowledge of American history of American political symbolism and imagery. You also have to have a background in American sports race car sports. You have to be well versed in a whole imaginary universe. Right. No, the Star Wars. And do I have to teach you any of these? No, you're just you you you get it. You get it. So these are images and symbols that refer to real people and real things in history.

8:34But also laid on top of them as a layer of symbols and images from other real things or imaginary world and it all swirls together into these really complex drawings that didn't require you to have an explanation. And I would suggest to you that when we come to the book of Revelation, it's it's exactly the same thing just the citrus watt you and I have become time travelers to ancient Israel Palestine. And we are being invited into the highly image driven dreams and visions of John that he you know like your dreams are weird and fantastic by the way. But also the John clearly had these experiences and then he prayerfully meditated over them and represented them in this form of literature that was common in in John's day. And just like these assume that you have a knowledge in Indycar racing and Star Wars, John's apocalypse assumes that you are immersed in the world of the Hebrew scriptures and in the world of first century Roman Israeli politics.

9:45That's what John assumes that you know and that's why we find it all so bizarre. And so like lesson number one we're going to move on real quick here, but just less than number one and this is for free. The book of Revelation seems weird to you primarily because we don't live in his time and place from 2000 years ago. That's why it repulses half the room and fascinate the other half of the room. And so we always have to do is first ask first humble ourselves and then second ask what is the thing that he's alluding to and what thing is he picking up from the Old Testament scriptures or from his culture and adapting and doing something brilliant with to communicate. And the way that John has pulled from the Old Testament and then mixed it together with his vision of the empty tomb and the resurrection and what that means to for following him in the future of the universe brilliant thing of brilliance. The book of Revelation is what I'm telling you it's a work of literary ninja re.

10:45It's really amazing and brilliant. Let me just show you one example and it's from the paragraph. Let's go back to the paragraph here. Oh, let's go back. So first line and this will get us right into the resurrection and how the book of Revelation works. So when you heard or read the first lines, a great paragraph right here from Revelation 21. I saw a new heaven and a new earth first heaven and the first there's passed away. There was no longer any sea. Now, even if you're not an expert in the Old Testament scriptures, my hunch is that some page of the Old Testament came into your mind and would page what you be. There was a spoiler alert. Who's going to be all right? What page? What page of the Old Testament? Page one. Page one. He's deliberately echoing the opening words of the whole Bible from Genesis chapter one. Pay attention. A new heavens and a new earth first heavens first was passed away and what's no more.

11:46See now Christian surfers around the world are very depressed when they read this. We're like really? I was actually hope I could do quite a lot of that in the new creation, but you'll see I actually do think there's still hope once you get the meaning of John's image. Okay, so let's go back to where he's quoting from you'll see what he's doing here. So he's he's quoting from the opening lines of the Bible in the beginning God made the heavens and earth when you see the heavens don't think city and the sky. The heavens is the normal Hebrew way of referring to the clouds like what's up there the sky and when you see the earth don't think globe right Hebrews had no concept of the globe it wasn't but six it wasn't until like 70 years ago that you and I have a picture of the globe to look at for going to say. There's no way that's what was in their head within their head is what if if heavens refers to what's up there what is earth refer to. This is what's down here it's just like it's a normal language based on normal observations that you and I would make just standing right here the heavens and the earth now let's talk about what is the current state the uncreated state of things in the beginning that God is working with how are things down here on the land happy face said face.

13:11Well it is wild and waste. And darkness is over the surface of the deep and the deep there refers to the deep deep waters of the deep seas so right here we're introduced into a very very is relied ancient is relied view of the world Genesis one tells a story of how God takes a chaotic. Watery wasteland and transforms it into a garden that's ordered and he'll appoint the humans to both cultivated and expanded the Genesis one is telling a story about God transforming darkness and wasteland into beauty and into order. And precisely what God does in Genesis one is take the sea the chaotic sea and transform it into land and and garden and so on you might ask like what case so why is the sea this image of chaos you know so we take cruise ships out into the oceans and whatever we certainly haven't came the thing.

14:24Do you guys know there was a new species of whale discovered just three weeks ago did you see this was a dead it was a dead it calls a beek nose whale. The watch it washed up dead way up on the in the Arctic but it was a completely unknown species of whale and you're just like what do we know really we don't know anything all about what swimming under one there so amazing right so we but we have a sense. Since you know sea travel has continues to be perfected and so on like the sea isn't the first thing it comes to our mind when we think of the most dangerous threat to human stability and existence on planet earth right the sea is not all comes to our mind but it is what came to Israel like authors minds if you read through the Old Testament and just tally all of the times the ocean or the sea is talked about it is almost never positive. It was one of the most threatening the Israelites were never a seafaring people they left that to the Phoenicians up north and the Egyptians down south they never had huge fleets except not one king's rain but they they were never known for being a seafaring people and it's reflected in the Old Testament the sea was a terrifying place to Israel right.

15:38And maybe had something to do is the passage through the Red Sea and it just freaked them all out after the Exodus and they never want to make votes again after that but so here's the point you read through the Old Testament the sea was a place that represented the instability and chaos of the world it's a place where humans shouldn't spend too much time because it will destroy you the first opening page of the Bible. The Bible depicts the uncreated chaotic instable state of the world as a watery wasteland and what God does is he overcomes the sea to create land and garden and everything Genesis chapter one now you can debate about the details and all that all that kind of stuff but that is just the basic storyline of Genesis chapter so John knows this he grew up on these scriptures and so when he envisions the new world that opened up. On Easter morning and the kind of world that God is going to make that could be called new.

16:39A place what that's permeated with God's love and God's presence where does his mind go because the page one of the Bible and so what let's go back to revelation here the next slide yeah so when you envision the new heaven and a new earth the way of life the way that humans exist on the world is still marked. It's still marked by the same instability and chaos and death and so what God is going to do is invite the world because of the resurrection of Jesus into a new kind of existence a new kind of community and this is a world that has no sea good. That's right and so what we want to know is okay but what does that actually refer to in terms of like the physical makeup of this read this resurrected universe this actually mean there's no H2O molecules gather together in large bodies right and yeah like that's what our mind go and that's a similar question to asking of these political cartoons okay so is a donkey actually going to push.

17:49I'm sorry at some point in this election like will a donkey appear on the stage and artists would just be like no you know no you don't get it that's not the meaning of the image. Are you with me. We're missing the point we ask if there is going to be H2O molecules in the new creation which is missing we're missing the point the point is we we get the echo of page one of the Bible and what we see is this is a world where every threat to. The safety and stability of the new creation has been removed if John were sitting and right having his visions in the 21st century he would say you know a new heaven a new worst and there were no longer any nuclear weapons or something like that it's thinking of the ultimate threat to human safety and existence hey guys done. Okay so just put on this set of glasses and read through the whole book of Revelation and it will blow your mind it's the most brilliant most brilliant. The logical literary work it's incredible now I want to focus in here on something that were equipped with a set of reading skills well look at what he does here when he opens his vision of the new creation calls the new heaven and the newer.

19:04And the first seven and the first earth passed away so if you just read that face value what it seems to say is which heaven and earth are you an I am happening. The old one it's going to pass away and God's going to bring about a new one. So that puts in our minds of a story so we live in the present heaven and earth that you and I are familiar with and God's going to bring about a new one this one's going away with that's tended to feed into. Is a story that's very common in many traditions of Christianity about this world being second rate. Or evil primarily because it's physical and material and what God is going to do is bring about a new world of some kind that's partly physical or not physical at all most of us haven't really worked that one out and the goal though is to get out of this.

20:08Heaven and earth and get into heaven or a new heaven and earth and I just from reading this paragraph itself I just would like to invite us to see that what John saying is actually more. Complex is more sophisticated than that. If you don't think as a as a follower of Jesus that your ultimate eternal destiny is in a non physical world of clouds and bliss and so on even if that's what you don't believe your neighbors who aren't followers of Jesus definitely think that's what you believe. And they think that your ultimate dream and vision is to get out of the world as opposed to engage it and live in it and seek a 12 being. And so what this is this matters because what what a person hopes for shapes what they live for. And so if the story is to like scrap this heaven and earth and let's just wait for the new one. If that's my primary way of thinking about it will affect how I live and engage this heaven and earth and John's inviting us to see something that's more interesting than that I think because look at the last one when he uses the word new again.

21:24If we just had that for sentence we would definitely have the this one completely gone and it'll be brand spanking new one but look at what he says here at the end. The one who was seated on the throne says I am making all things new. I am making all things new. Now both in the language John's writing in in Greek and in English just take two words new things and swap their order. And would you get as a sentence that says I am making all new things. But is that what it says. Doesn't say I'm going to make all new things it's going to I'm making all things. Now there are a difference in your mind between those two. There is there is an English and there is in Greek to make all new things says the things that existed before done never over new things.

22:27But what John actually says is there are things that are right now and they are going to be made. So which is it is the first sentence saying I'm going to make all new things or is it the last sentence I'm going to make all things new. Which is it. It's exactly right. What is what is this the fact that we're asking the question shows that we have the wrong categories. We don't have the right categories. We have this idea that if something is going to be done away with that it has no connection to the new thing it will become. And if something is new it means it's completely disconnected from the old and John will say. Oh, no, sorry, I'm sorry. Language is failing me at the moment. The empty to the empty to John's not peering into a crystal ball here. He was a witness to the risen Jesus. And where his mind goes is to say if if what happened on Easter is the future of the universe in the future.

23:35For Jesus followers. How do we begin to talk about that resurrected world and he does it with the word new. Now we've already nerded out but can we nerd out of one more thing and then we'll then we'll move on. And this is really this is really fascinating because it's a challenge that we have in English. I think one of is one of the main challenges here on us with the word new. There are in the language shons writing in Greek and all through the New Testament Greek or the Jewish Greek that the New Tessimos written in has two different words for new in English. We just have one. New. And in in John's language and in the language of the New Testament authors they have two and they have different nuances of meaning and it's important to actually see the difference. So the first one it's less common and you can see it up there at the top it's called n'os n'os and what English part of a word do we get from this one.

24:37This one went right into English. Through Latin neo. It's not just a character in the matrix although that's true. Right, but we put neo on like the front of words make make up your own example, but neo. So so N'os in New Testament Greek is primarily referring to the time of something. How long something's been in existence. It's newness of time. N'os is one of the main words you actually don't see it very often translate it as new because most often way it's used as a young people gets translated as a young person or a new a new person. Meaning a young person one who has not lived very very long so it's new in time. But then there is another word it's more common in Jesus's teachings in Paul and I'll let you guess which word that John is using in in Revelation. The doesn't have to do with how long something's existed has to do with its quality or to nature.

25:40This is a little parable that Jesus told where he uses both words and he plays them off each other. It's brilliant where he talks about no one pouring new. N'os wine into old wine skins otherwise the wine will burst the skins and both the wine and the wine skins will be ruined. Okay, so let's pause real quick here. They didn't have zip lock bags and they didn't have plastic containers or so when for most humans for most of human history when they want to make something that's waterproof and airtight what material do they have to use. Animal materials either intestines time out like sausage that kind of thing or leather so when he says skins here is referring to leather leather pouches that would be sewn together so tight that it would be watertight and airtight and so this is how they would ferment wine. So they would get net us wine right so new grapes but they have to become wine not just grape juice they need to ferment it so they would create and sew together these leather pouches and pour the wine in and seal it up and when they seal it what does wine do over the year that is fermenting what's it emitting through the process right so gas so what's going to happen to that bag that leather pouch.

27:04It's going to expand so there may not have leather so there's a limited number of times you can do this with a leather pouch because by the sixth or eighth round this the leather is going to at first was robust and stretchy and thick and after another times it's going to be stretched and thin and then it starts to dry this is why if you have a leather jacket from 100 years ago or whatever it's all brittle and you don't get flakes and stuff like that so it's dry do you get Jesus point here if you want to ferment net us wine. You can't use old drive thin brittle stretched out wine skins what you need is a kainas wine skin. This isn't about how long the wine skin has existed it's about the quality of the leather it needs to be a leather that's still thick and stretchy and that has a waterproof seam it's about the quality and it doesn't did the go live 10 years ago. 10 years or one year before we're going to you know kill it and then use it's can other doesn't matter how long it's been existed the matters is the quality do you see the difference you get it.

28:13Jesus is clever let's just say Jesus is clever playing the two new words off of each other here is very brilliant okay so let's go back to revelation. And just ask yourself which which word do you think he's using he's using kainas a new quality look i'm bringing about. A new kind of creation a new quality of existence and the old kind of existence is going to pass away. And when God brings and invites the world into its new quality of existence he will be making all things new. He's making new things but more importantly he's making all things new so what's this talking about this isn't just talking about material physical existence. When when when John talks about the old heaven and earth and again you have to reach out there's one to 20 right so this vision of the world is you and I know it it's a world.

29:16That is good that we who as humans as God's images who have been given responsibility over it we've ruined what God has made good. We've ruined it through our own moral corruption and our selfishness and that happens on an individual level that happens on a corporate level a heaven and earth and a way of existing where life is a zero some game it's true in nature if the wolf wants to live the rabbit must die. That's just how like food chains work it's woven into the very pattern of the heavens and earth you and I happen and it's true in human existence to for this people group to have resources this people group you usually loses out on its resources for this group to have freedom and existence and to live some other group eventually has to die as they fight over those resources and for me to win you have to lose.

30:17This is the heavens and earth that you and I have it do I need to provide examples just think of your day yesterday think of your workplace and how people compete and one up each other and think think of what's happening in politics think of those political right think of what's happening in Syria or in Iraq name any human community on the planet. Life is a zero some game for me to win and to survive and to have abundance usually someone else loses and goes without and dies and that's heaven and earth that you and I know. And then into this heaven and earth comes Jesus of Nazareth and he has this announcement that the gods rain and rule in kingdom has invaded and broken into this have the kingdom of heaven has come to invade the kingdom of earth and as Jesus.

31:17Some of the people to a new kind of life a new way of living how did he do it and he boils down for us very clearly key moment he said the meaning of existence is love it's to live as God's images and humans under the rain of God and to love God which is about devotion and allegiance and gratefulness and not giving my allegiance and not assigning the meaning of my life to some of the things that's created and not the creator the love God and it's also about loving neighbor they're totally connected that I seek the well being of others even if it costs me and regardless of their response to me. And then Jesus he both taught about it and this thing we call the sermon on the mountain and all of his teachings and then he didn't just like teach about it he lived it. He was the leader who was the servant and he was the glorious exalted one who gave himself to serve other people and Jesus vision of the universe and of what God's inviting the world into is that it's in a universe governed by God's love life is not a zero some game.

32:34If I spend myself in love for your benefit it looks like I lose but actually I win because you win and you got to win in a way that didn't involve you having crushed me. And then you come down and you say like well you helped me like have benefit cannot can I please return the favor because you didn't beat me up to take it from me or you with me in Jesus vision of the kingdom of God life it's not a zero some game. And there you go that's Jesus and it's not just this teachings it's not just the way that he lived it's what the meaning of his death. The meaning of the crosses that is is of God becoming human to take into himself the horror and consequences of the sin and the evil and the treachery and the hypocrisy. And the selfishness of the current heaven and earth that you and I have all produced here and he allows it to destroy him.

33:37He allows us to win and allows himself to lose precisely for his upside down kingdom to. And so the resurrection of Jesus from the dead is the triumph of God's justice in wrath and judgment on our current heaven and earth and the way of life that we exist in. But it's also the moment of his greatest love and life because he invites us into a new kind of existence. What John saw happen at Easter isn't just about material existence like getting reconfigured in the future it's about the meaning of life. It's about a new way of existing that the resurrection opened up let me flow this into one idea and we'll kind of land this and perils us to take the bread and the cup. Just like John talks about the first heaven and the first earth passing away and a new quality of existence a new kind of universe and life that God has in store and he's in the process of making all things new.

34:48In Revelation this is all like the future at the end of you know this is where history is going. But notice in this whole series this is the same exact language that the other apostles used to describe what's happening inside of you and me as followers of Jesus right now. Because of what Jesus did in his life and death and resurrection because of his commitment to us in the presence of his spirit he's committed to making his people new. Let me just show you two brief places this is worth a whole series in and of itself but just two statements for close together in Paul's writings. Paul the Apostle says therefore we followers of Jesus we don't lose heart. Even though outwardly we are wasting away yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day we are being made new can you guess what what word he's using neos or kainas.

35:49So a follower of Jesus is somebody with a foot in two worlds in the old heaven and earth and in the new heaven and earth like you straddle them my physical existence but also like when I'm insane and forget my true identity as a follower of Jesus the way my brain and body and mind works in the stupid decisions that I make like that's all wasting away and that should be very clear from the way in which I'm going to be. I'm going to be able to see my skin's wrinkling up in the more gray hair that I have in the way that it's painful even to just to sleep these days you know I met a few ways you wake up sore how sleeping painful but it is right use your body you feel it your wasting away. But that's not the end of the story because of Jesus and especially his resurrection from the dead there is a new quality of existence that's happening right now that you're being invited into as Jesus is disciple which is what we're going to do.

36:49Connects to one of his Paul's most famous statements in chapter five he says so that if anyone is in Christ if anyone has given their devotion and their faith in wrapped their arms around Jesus for dear life. So that what becomes true of him is what becomes true of me my identity is in Christ and what he's done for me if that's my reality and my identity. New creation the old is passed away and the new has come exactly what John said the old heaven on earth passed away and the kind us has come now I don't know how you feel about your body or your life right now Paul wants you to envision that your old humanity has passed away and if you're sitting here in the body of your old humanity you're wondering really when did that happen when I was sleeping when did that really happen. So what does that mean it's this image of having a foot in two world so outwardly I'm in my old heaven and earth my old humanity and it's passing away quite visibly right as for all of us.

38:02But there's something happening inside of us the Jesus if you allow Jesus to mess with you this teachings and his presence in his life and his death and resurrection to really mess with you what you'll find in yourself being birthed in yourself is a new way of existing. It's the way of the kingdom it's the way of Jesus upside down kingdom and there are moments I wish they were way more often and you probably do too. Where I actually by God's grace actually obey Jesus and follow him and love my neighbor as myself how many of you know what I'm talking about and when you do that you realize like oh this is real like this is what I'm here for. And this is what a real human existence is all about I don't have to win and you don't have to lose for us to weaken the like recon style and forgive each other of what we've done to each other. And we can actually find a new way forward in this broken relationship where I can find a new way of existing in the world so that other people don't have to lose so that I win and when you actually obey Jesus and do that that's what Paul saying you're in touch with the new the new has come.

39:17You're actually experiencing new creation the new heaven and earth right here in the midst of the old one I know this is all very intense imagery and I can be very theoretical and ethereal and this is the last thing that John the visionary wants us to feel. John's inviting us to see that you and I live in simultaneously the old heaven and earth and in the new heaven and that every day I'm invited to choose which heaven and earth I'm going to inhabit and make decisions by and allow to be the filter for how I treat you and how we relate to each other and we live here in the city. And it's a decision that requires an immense amount of faith to allow myself to undergo loss and inconvenience so that I can serve and love other people for their own benefit like this, but it's not natural.

40:19It's not it can become second nature by God's grace but that takes a long time. It takes practice it takes a whole community of faith people committed to each other to living this new quality of existence. And so I don't know I don't know what that is for you as we come to saying and to take the bread and the cup here's the question that I would encourage you to ask what relationship in your life what person like it person as a person in your life where how you relate to them it's the old way it's the broken way. And what would it look like for that strained relationship to truly be made new the way John talks about it what would it be for the way you approach a difficult situation in your workplace or in your family what's the new way of doing things not the old way it might be your own mindset as your own body ages or as life goes on and difficult things happen and we're disciplined.

41:23And we're disappointed and we lose opportunities and we make stupid decisions and we get in this this mindset of melancholy and depression what does it mean to truly live in the hope of all things being made new even though in the present I'm losing out. I don't know what that is for you but Jesus knows and he wants to meet you exactly in that place and help you see how he's making all things new within us and around us amen. Amen. All right you guys thanks for listening to the Strange Bible podcast and also I hope this series on resurrection and new creation has been helpful and thought provoking for you. We've got more series coming down the pipeline for this podcast and thanks for listening hope it's helpful for you guys so we'll see you next time.

42:27Amen.