14. What if Jesus Promised to Redeem Not Just People and Creation, But Also Fantastic Stories?

Let’s finish our series by exploring some big questions about the Bible’s promises of epic resurrection. Will the very idea of stories and books last into the eternity ruled by King Jesus? What about other human cultural works? Could even specific books and other human culture end up lasting into the prophesied New Heavens and New Earth? Epic Resurrection series Ep. 12: What if Jesus Promised to Redeem Not Just Our Souls but Our Bodies? Ep. 13: What if Jesus Promised to Redeem Not Just His People But His Creation? Ep. 14: What if Jesus Promised to Redeem Not Just People and Creation But Also Fantastic Stories? Scriptures we cite “For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth, and the former things shall not be remembered or come into mind. But be glad and rejoice forever in that which I create; for behold, I create Jerusalem to be a joy, and her people to be a gladness. … They shall build houses and inhabit them; they shall plant vineyards and eat their fruit. They shall not build and another inhabit; they shall not plant and another eat; for like the days of a tree shall the days of my people be, and my chosen shall long enjoy the work of their hands . Isaiah 65:17–18, 21–22 (emphasis added) “Therefore, whatever you have said in the dark will be heard in the light, and what you have whispered in an ear in private rooms will be proclaimed on the housetops.” ‭ Luke‬ ‭12:3‬, CSB‬‬ Now there are also many other things that Jesus did. Were every one of them to be written, I suppose that the world itself could not contain the books that would be written . John 21:25 (emphasis added) According to the grace of God given to me, like a skilled master builder I laid a foundation, and someone else is building upon it. Let each one take care how he builds upon it. For no one can lay a foundation other than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw— each one’s work will become manifest, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed by fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done . If the work that anyone has built on the foundation survives, he will receive a reward. If anyone’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire. 1 Corinthians 3:10–15 (emphasis added) Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. From his presence earth and sky fled away, and no place was found for them. And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is the book of lif e. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to what they had done. Revelation 20:11–12 (emphasis added) And I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb. And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb. By its light will the nations walk, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it, and its gates will never be shut by day—and there will be no night there. They will bring into it the glory and the honor of the nations . Revelation 21:22–26 (emphasis added) Intro and questions Some folks get nervous here: because we’re talking about eternal stories. Not just classic books, but actual TV, games, internet, memes, and beyond. What about stuff like R-rated movies? shows? comic-book antiheroes? Concession stand We make other concessions in part 1 and part 2 of this topic series. We can’t go deep into things like Isaiah 65:17, “the former things were not remembered.” When it comes to flawed human art (not animals, etc.) we do speculate more. We’ve got to be really careful here. God takes sin seriously. So do we. But if any kind of stories/art have no eternal worth, let’s ditch them now! 1. Why did God give us the gift of making culture (including stories and art)? As we’ve seen, Christians often catch a “meme” that it’s inferior to be human. But it was God’s idea that we should worship him in human ways. In Genesis 1:28 (the cultural mandate), God commands people to make culture. 2. After humans turned evil, why did they still go on making things? Sin corrupts our stories, just like creation (which groans) and us, decaying. But Scripture has examples of people still making stuff./ Not just Israel (records, poetry, songs) but other nations (Jubal in Gen. 4:21). 3. When Jesus redeems us, how does this change the stuff we make? Christians have insider info. We know why we’re meant to enjoy stories. Sometimes we forget, of course. But even then, Jesus is good to us. Even the idea of stories as “vehicles” for truth > “art for art’s sake.” 4. What about stories made by nonbelievers? Even today, we know plenty of non-Christian-made stories t