It's true that much of it covered very familiar territory. But the final chapters reminded me that it is easy for me to get a bit blase about the relevance of Biblical literature to current events. In a post just a couple of days ago (here) this was my theme. Today the following excerpt from Alexander's book had me soberly reflecting on whether we too easily ignore "the signs of the times".
Speaking very positively of the 'New Jerusalem' and the ultimate restoration of earth as it was intended to be, Alexander also points out that currently our world is more like 'Babylon'.
There is something deceptive about the acquisition of wealth, and those who draw attention to this are never popular. Politicians know they get votes by promising more and more, not less and less. This, in part at least, explains why Jimmy Carter failed to get re-elected as President of the US in 1979.
After a two-week retreat at Camp David, where he had spent time reflecting on the state of the nation, Carter gave a major televised speech on 18 July 1979. In a sermon-like address he drew attention to what he saw as the moral crisis facing the USA. He summarized the problem in these words:
"In a nation that was proud of hard work, strong families and our faith in God, too many of us now worship self-indulgence and consumption. Human identity is no longer defined by what one does but by what one owns."
To underline the seriousness of this he added, "This is not a message of happiness or reassurance, but it is the truth and it is a warning."
Unsurprisingly, many Americans did not take well to this message... Although Carter's analysis was correct, when election time came, Ronald Reagan won by a landslide."
While 'New Jerusalem' and 'Babylon' might not be metaphors that we relate to in our current speech, the reality they speak of is certainly current. This final quote uses two more metaphors that we may resist: 'bride' and 'prostitute', but if what we all long for is 'genuine passionate love' read on:
"With good reason, the New Jerusalem is portrayed as a bride, whereas Babylon is a prostitute. Genuine passionate love will be found only in God's presence; what the prostitute offers is but a fleeting, deceitful shadow of the real thing."
All this has implications for each of us personally, politically and spiritually. As Jesus points out in my favourite Bible story, the God who is Love is only too eager to welcome home any prodigal son or daughter who has tried out 'Babylon' and its 'prostitutes' and not found 'genuine passionate love'.
Rembrandt's well known painting of the father welcoming the prodigal son.
(If any reader of this post doesn't know the story click here for a You Tube version which depicts Jesus telling the story recorded in Luke 15:11-32. It's a pity it uses rather old fashioned English but otherwise well done.)
