Earth Turns Heaven: The End and Beyond
Posted: Mon Aug 21, 2006 7:41 am
Book Review by Rich Deem
http://www.godandscience.org/apologetic ... eaven.html
http://www.godandscience.org/apologetic ... eaven.html
Book Review: Earth Turns Heaven: The End and Beyond
by Rich Deem
Earth Turns Heaven: The End and Beyond by Maria Vatsa is written from an interesting perspective. Although it was submitted to me as scientific examination of creation and beyond, it might more aptly be called A Brief History of God's Time. Although Stephen Hawking's A Brief History of Time was mentioned in the introduction, I didn't really get how that applied to the book until I read to the end of the book. Earth Turns Heaven is a sweeping examination of God's plan for the creation - from the beginning of time until the end of time, and beyond. As such, it is not really an examination of the science, but an examination of the Bible from beginning to end, since scripture is quoted extensively.
Earth Turns Heaven begins with Genesis 1, in light of other creation passages (Job and Isaiah, primarily), and possible scientific applications. Although the interpretation of Genesis 1 is less literal than I prefer, it was interesting. The book continues through the creation of animals and mankind, then the fall of Adam and Eve, the flood, the tabernacle, the sacrificial system, and the coming of the Son of God. The book covers the life and ministry of Jesus, along with His death and resurrection. The last half of the book examines end times prophecy, from the Old Testament through the book of Revelation.
The books ends with a long discussion of the end of the earth and the judgment. Then there is a discussion of heaven and the New Jerusalem (the "beyond" part).
Who will be interested in this book? The amount of science included in the book is not enough to really interest a skeptic. However, those who are interested in end times prophecy will find the book interesting, since this topic is covered extensively in the last half of the book. The amount of commentary is relatively small compared to the volume of biblical quotations, so one is lead through the Old and New Testament passages that lead to a sequential timeline of events.