The point of the present kingdom is that it is the first-fruits of the future kingdom; and the future kingdom involves the abolition, not of space, time, or the cosmos itself, but rather of that which threatens space, time, and creation, namely, sin and death. The vision of 1 Corinthians 15 thus coheres neatly with that of Romans 8:18–27, and, for

We must begin where Sanders ends: with eschatology. The main issue between Jesus and his Jewish contemporaries was his claim that the moment had come, that their god was even now inaugurating his kingdom, and that this—this praxis, these stories, this person—was the mode and means of its inauguration. Thus far, Sanders; and in my view rightly.

(the "gospel," we note, is not simply "Here's howto be saved"; it is the good news that, through Jesus as Messiah, the Creator God is putting the whole world right).34