Tuesday, June 09, 2009

Interview With Frank Viola

As anyone who has had a conversation on just about any topic in the last few months knows, I am a HUGE fan of Frank Viola's book "From Eternity to Here." I was honored to see my original blog review of the book appear on The Ooze.

A few weeks ago I received an email from Frank's staff inviting me to participate in a blog circuit today promoting the book. The best part was the opportunity to submit questions regarding the book for response by Frank Viola. In the midst of a project this large (55 Bloggers In All) he was not able to answer all my questions, but I am grateful for the answers he did provide.. If just checking out Frank's answers to my questions wasn't exciting enough to excite you, my reader, I thought I'd sweeten the pot by giving a FREE COPY of the book away at the end of the interview.

1. You note the bride of Christ is removed from his side when the guard pierced Jesus' side (pleura) and blood and water flowed out. Is there a metaphorical significance to blood and water that you see there?
Yes, I believe so. The blood speaks of redemption. The water speaks of life. There are references to blood and water in John’s first epistle and in his Gospel. The Bride is cleaned by the blood; she is made alive and comes into being by the water (God’s life).
2. You note how important it is that Christ destroyed death to prepare the way for his bride. Was this a partial defeat reserved only for his bride or in totality for the restoration of the entire creation?
For the entire cosmos. The earth changed on resurrection day. On that day, the new creation was born. It will be consummated at the Lord’s return when His glorious Person will fill all things.
3. In the chapter on Mary Magdalene you note she was the first person Jesus spoke to an his words were an echo to Adam's "Woman..." Is Mary therefore the first member of the church?
I believe the church was formed on the day of Pentecost when the Spirit was poured out. Mary was certainly the first witness to His resurrection, which says a lot. Especially in how our Lord views women. In that day, a woman’s testimony wouldn’t hold up in a Jewish court of law. So the Lord made a great statement through appearing to Mary first. In the same way, Peter was the first male disciple who laid eyes on the resurrected Christ. Peter had just denied Him a few days earlier … three times in fact.

What a Lord of mercy and compassion!
4. Your chapter on the 2 tabernacles was certainly the high point of the book for me, so I have two questions about that. First, have you considered an entire work on this theme? Secondly, why was Solomon's temple completely skipped in this discussion?
Thanks. It’s my favorite image of God’s house. No plans for a book on that, but I gave an entire message on it that’s on CD. People have said that the spoken message on David’s Tabernacle is more powerful than the discussion of it in the book. I don’t know if that’s true or not. I don’t believe I skip Solomon’s temple, but I don’t treat it in any depth. When trying to capture the whole sweep of the Bible in a single book, you are forced to choose what you want to emphasis and expand. I felt David’s tabernacle was more fitting for this particular book.
I enjoyed the answers to the question, as I hoped you did too. I also hope our winner, Adam Mearse enjoys his free copy of the book I'll be sending over too. Also for those of you who did not win, I'll be giving away another copy on Friday, so if you did not get your name in the first time, be sure to add it between now and Thursday in the comments right here.

OTHER BLOGS PARTICIPATING IN THE “FROM ETERNITY TO HERE” BLOG CIRCUIT

Today (June 9th), the following blogs are discussing Frank Viola's new bestselling book “From Eternity to Here” (David C. Cook, 2009). The book just hit the May CBA Bestseller List. Some are posting Q & A with Frank; others are posting full reviews of the book. To read more reviews and order a copy at a 33% discount, go to Amazon.com: http://www.amazon.com/Eternity-Here-Rediscovering-Ageless-Purpose/dp/1434768708/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1233609867&sr=1-4

Your browser may not support display of this image.

For more resources, such as downloadable audios, the free Discussion Guide, the Facebook Group page, etc. go to the official website: http://www.FromEternitytoHere.org

Enjoy the reviews and the Q and A:

-----

Out of Ur - http://blog.christianitytoday.com/outofur/archives/2009/05/viola.html

Shapevine - www.Shapevine.com (June newsletter)

Brian Eberly - http://www.brianeberly.com

DashHouse.com - http://www.DashHouse.com/

Greg Boyd - http://www.gregboyd.org/blog/

Vision Advance - http://vision2advance.blogspot.com/

David Flowers - http://ddflowers.wordpress.com

Kingdom Grace - http://kingdomgrace.wordpress.com

Captain's Blog - http://www.captainestes.blogspot.com/

Christine Sine - http://godspace.wordpress.com

Darin Hufford - The Free Believers Network - www.freebelievers.com

Zoecarnate - http://zoecarnate.wordpress.com

Church Planting Novice - www.churchplantingnovice.wordpress.com

Staying Focused - http://kimmartinezstayingfocused.wordpress.com/

Take Your Vitamin Z - www.takeyourvitaminz.blogspot.com

Jeff Goins - http://jeffgoins.myadventures.org

Bunny Trails - http://bunny-trails.blogspot.com

Matt Cleaver - http://mattcleaver.com

Jason T. Berggren - http://blog.jasonberggren.com/

Simple Church - http://www.simplechurchjournal.com/

Emerging from Montana - http://wordofmouthministries.blogspot.com/

Parable Life - http://www.theparablelife.blogspot.com

Oikos Australia - http://www.oikos.org.au/blog/

West Coast Witness - www.WestCoastWitness.com

Keith Giles - http://www.Keith.Giles.com

Consuming Worship -- http://www.consumingworship.org

Tasha Via - www.tashavia.blogspot.com

Andrew Courtright - www.andrewcourtright.blogspot.com

ShowMeTheMooneys! - http://www.showmethemooneys.com/

Leaving Salem, Blog of Ronnie McBrayer - http://leavingsalem.wordpress.com/

Jason Coker - pastoralia.missionaltribe.org

From Knowledge to Wisdom - http://isthistheway.typepad.com/

Home Brewed Christianity - http://www.homebrewedchristianity.com

Dispossessed - http://kblog.kevinjbowman.com

Dandelion Seeds - http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/Dandelionseeds

David Brodsky's Blog- "Flip the tape Deck" - http://flipthetapedeck.blogspot.com/

Chaordic Journey - http://jeffrhodes.wordpress.com

Renee Martin - http://www.reneemartinmusic.com/profiles/blog/list

Bob Kuhn - http://organicchurchnola.wordpress.com/

Living with Freaks: www.livingwithfreaks.com

Real Worship - http://therealworshipleader.com

Fervent Worship - http://ferventworship.blogspot.com

Julie Ferwerda Blog - www.JulieFerwerda.com / www.OneMillionArrows.com

What's With Christina?! - http://w2christina.blogspot.com

Irreligious Canuck - http://www.irreligiouscanuck.com

This day on the journey - http://guychmieleski.blogspot.com

Live and Move: Thoughts on Authentic Christianity - http://liveandmove.blogspot.com/

Spiritual Journey With God - http://www.elvineve.blogspot.com/

Dries Conje - http://www.echurch.co.za / http://www.thejesusfeed.com / http://www.bookdisciple.com.

Journey with Others - http://journeywithothers.blogspot.com

On Now to the Third Level - www.080808onnowto.blogspot.com

Christine Moers - www.welcometomybrain.net

Breaking Point - http://marybethstockdale.wordpress.com

Hand to the Plough - http://www.handtotheplough.com.au

Jon Reid - http://jonreid.blogs.com/oneanother/welcome-pilgrim.html

Weblight - www.blog.worldwidewebservices.se

D. L. Webster - http://gzmproductions.com/dlwebster

Searching for the Whole-Hearted Life - wholeheartedlife.blogspot.com

3 comments:

Mike Morrell said...

Thanks for this interview. Frank has some intriguing thoughts on eschatology that go beyond the 'norm' in evangelicalism today.

I'm not sure if Frank has even read him yet, but if you want to explore similar eschatological thoughts, I highly recommend you check out the work of Andrew Perriman, particularly his The Coming of the Son of Man and Re:Mission.

And then there's my friend Kevin Beck's free eBook, This Book Will Change Your World.

Elysa said...

Please, please, PLEASE pick me! I'll even babysit for free once we move to Swaziland!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Jilliefl1 said...

The Church desperately needs to hear this message. We need to reorient ourselves to line up with HIS eternal purpose and desires, and in the process I believe our deepest longings-and mission-will be fulfilled as well.

Thank you for your interview!