From Eternity to Here – Frank Viola

I just received an advanced copy of Frank Viola’s new book in the mail. Opening up the yellow packaging I see it’s called From Eternity to Here: Rediscovering the Ageless Purpose of God.

From Here to Eternity immediately strikes me as being very different from his last two books, Pagan Christianity and Reimagining Church. Moving away from commentary on church corruption and church restoration, this book is more of an exercise in narrative ecclesiology. It presents three stories spanning Genesis to Revelation:

A Forgotten Woman: The Bride of Christ
An Eternal Quest: The House of God
A New Species: The Body of Christ and the Family of God

I am already finding From Here to Eternity more engaging than Pagan Christianity and Reimagining Church, and Frank Viola himself says this book is much closer to his heart. In the introduction Frank says, “This volume can be regarded as my flagship book and primer for all of my previous works,” and I believe he may be right. It seems much more solid, less opinionated, more positive, and he has already surprised me with a couple of fresh insights into God’s story, in just the short read I’ve had so far. Looking forward to the rest.