From Eden to the New Jerusalem: An Introduction to Biblical Theology

by T. Desmond Alexander

If our Christian hope involves sharing the New Jerusalem with people from every nation, this should have a profound influence on how we view people from other nations and races. We ought to respect foreigners and distance ourselves from xenophobic attitudes. Racism should have no place in the Christian church. In line with this, the aspirations of the church should never be equated with those of a political cause or party that promotes national self-interest. Whatever sense of patriotism we may have, it must never cause us to despise or hate those from other nations. Unfortunately, we live in a world where national or racial arrogance is all too often exploited for evil purposes. On God’s new earth people from all nationalities and races will coexist.

For many Christians it was unquestioningly assumed that communism was the great enemy of the church. Given its openly atheistic philosophy, it clearly opposed what Christians believed. However, in resisting communism Christians may have been deceived into thinking that capitalism is the church’s ally. Yet, if we want to identify the greatest enemy of the Christian faith, we must look closely at Babylon and observe its obsession with consumerism. There is nothing that stands more effectively as a barrier to people knowing God than the desire for wealth that comes through capitalism.