The Life of the World to Come: Resurrection, Seeing God, and the Christian Hope

What do Christians hope for? The historic creeds, rooted in Scripture, emphasize the resurrection of the body. Alongside the creeds, the Western Christian tradition holds out hope that one day we will see God face-to-face--the beatific vision. Yet recent studies on eschatology tend to focus on one or the other of these aspects, rarely explaining how the two might be brought together.

The Life of the World to Come offers an integrated approach to this question. Beginning with Genesis, Isaac Morales argues that human beings are made for dominion over creation, participation in God's rest, and worship. The Christian hope, Morales contends, must incorporate all three of these ends. Drawing on Scripture and the insights of Irenaeus, Augustine, and Aquinas, he explores both the vision of God and the resurrection hope, demonstrating how they are united, above all, in the church's worship.

Mining the riches of Scripture and tradition, this book presents a compelling interpretation of Christian hope that integrates bodily resurrection with humanity's deep desire for knowledge of, and love fulfilled in, God. Written for scholars, students, and clergy interested in eschatology, this work will appeal to Catholic and Protestant readers alike.

Isaac Augustine Morales, OP (PhD, Duke University), is associate professor of theology at Providence College in Providence, Rhode Island. He previously taught at Marquette University and Duke Divinity School. He is the author of The Bible and Baptism: The Fountain of Salvation in the Catholic Biblical Theology of the Sacraments series and The Spirit and the Restoration of Israel: New Exodus and New Creation Motifs in Galatians.