"God's plan is not to abandon this world, the world of which he said that it was 'very good'. He intends to remake it. And when he does, he will raise all his people to new bodily life to live in it. That is the promise of the Christian gospel.

"To live in it, yes; and also to rule over it. There is a mystery here which few today have even begun to ponder. Both Paul and Revelation stress that in God's new world those who belong to the Messiah will be placed in charge. The first creation was put into the care of God's image-bearing creatures. The new creation will be put into the care, the wise healing stewardship of those who have been 'renewed according to the image of the creator' as Paul puts it.

"In God's new world, of course, Jesus himself will be the central figure….. He is, at the moment, present with us, but hidden behind that invisible veil that keeps earth and heaven apart….. But one day the veil will be lifted; heaven and earth will be one; Jesus will be personally present, and every knee shall bow at his name; creation will be renewed; the dead will be raised; and God's new world will at last be in place, full of new prospects and possibilities. That is what the Christian vision of salvation…. is all about."

From Simply Christian
by Tom Wright SPCK 2006