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A carregar... When the Kings Come Marching in: Isaiah and the New Jerusalempor Richard J. Mouw
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Widely respected for his perspectives on faith in the modern world, Richard J. Mouw has long stood at the forefront of the "Christ and culture" debate. In When the Kings Come Marching In -- here revised and updated -- Mouw explores the religious transformation of culture as it is powerfully pictured in Isaiah 60. In Isaiah 60 the prophet envisions the future transformation of the city of Jerusalem, a portrayal of the Holy City that bears important similarities to John's vision of the future in Revelation 21 and 22. Mouw examines these and other key passages of the Bible, showing how they provide a proper pattern for cultural involvement in the present. Mouw identifies and discusses four main features of the Holy City: (1) "the wealth of the nations" is gathered into the city; (2) the "kings of the earth" march into the city; (3) people from many nations are drawn to the city; and (4) light pervades the city. In drawing out the implications of these striking features, Mouw treats a number of relevant cultural issues, including Christian attitudes toward the processes and products of commerce, technology, and art; the nature of political authority; race relations; and the scope of the redemptive ministry of Jesus Christ. The volume culminates in an invaluable discussion of how Christians should live in the modern world. Mouw argues that believers must go beyond a narrow understanding of the individual "pilgrim's progress" to a view of the Christian pilgrimage wherein believers work together toward solving the difficult political, social, and economic problems of our day. Não foram encontradas descrições de bibliotecas. |
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It’s fascinating to me that Mouw matter-of-factly assumes his readers agree literally with what the scriptures say about an afterlife, on earth, in the New Jerusalem. This New Jerusalem is unquestionably described in both Isaiah and Revelation as a city on earth, and that’s how Mouw reads it. Yet Mouw speculates about whether household pets have souls, and what our heavenly bodies will be like. He wonders what it really means when scripture says the ships of Tarshish shall come to the city, bringing cedars from Lebanon. There must be present-day analogies to these things, since this is presumably still in our future, so he goes searching for the “proud and lofty” things of present day cultures to make sense of ancient promises. Mouw assumes his readers picture heaven as real, physical, in the future, and on earth, not up behind the clouds.
Of course Mouw is right and the Bible does describe the New Jerusalem as a city on earth. Nobody who carefully reads Isaiah chapter 60 (the book’s proof text), or the last couple of chapters of Revelation, could conclude otherwise. Isaiah dreams of a day when God will be back in control of this world, and Revelation posits that it will happen in conjunction with a bodily resurrection to live again on earth—using imagery that most lay Christians today correlate with heaven. Hence the provocative title of Mouw’s book: “When the Kings Come Marching In.” Both Isaiah and Revelation describe kings of the nations visiting the New Jerusalem.
That’s an intriguing picture, isn’t it? What are these pagan kings doing in “heaven”? Or do they come from Christian nations? Are they all saved? This puzzle highlights the complexity of trying to read the Old Testament from a Christian standpoint, since when Isaiah made that promise, there was no Christian concept of “saved” or “unsaved.” Mouw speculates that the kings come to Jerusalem for a different kind of transaction, rather than to be accepted among the saved. Perhaps they bring the “wealth of the nations” to God’s people. Or perhaps they come (presumably against their will) to be judged, because justice must be done and God’s people must be avenged publicly.
There is much more to the book, of course; I’m merely highlighting the topic of the book’s title. I find this book to be a curious blending of ancient and modern beliefs, and wonder if it doesn’t do violence to both by trying to merge both together like pieces of a puzzle. ( )