What does the city of God have to do with the Bible story?
Hi, I’m Fred Zaspel, editor here at Books At a Glance, and that’s our topic for today. We’re talking with Dr. T. Desmond Alexander, author of the new book, The City of God and the Goal of Creation: An Introduction to the Biblical Theology of the City of God.
Desi, great to have you with us again!
Alexander:
It’s my pleasure to be with you. I’m delighted to have this opportunity
Zaspel:
Let’s start with the larger question: What is Biblical Theology?
Alexander:
Well, that’s a hard question to answer straight off, because unfortunately biblical theology can mean very different things to different people. For me, personally, it’s all about appreciating the unity of the Bible’s message. That may seem a strange thing to say, but in the academy the diversity of the Bible is often emphasized, and scholars draw attention to how the Bible is anything but unified in terms of its message. But, to my mind, diversity, which is very evident in the Bible, does not exclude unity. I’m often reminded of the story of the blind men and the elephant. You recall how the blind men came to the elephant and one feels the leg and ends up declaring that it’s a tree; and someone else feels the tail and ends up saying it’s a rope, and so on. And they find it impossible to agree on what this elephant is, because they all focus on different parts and failed to see the unity of it. It seems to me that there is a unity to the Bible but it’s not something that’s easy to describe; and if you end up focusing on different parts of the Bible you may come to the conclusion there’s no way that this collection of writings can be unified. So, for me biblical theology is about emphasizing the unity of the Bible.
Then the other aspect of this is the issue of how do you actually, then, describe that unity? And I suppose back in the 16th and 17th centuries biblical theology was very much like systematic theology. Things were discussed under various topics. Today, the concept of a grand story or a metanarrative is often associated with biblical theology and I think that’s helpful. If you’re looking at this overarching story, it’s possible to explore different themes. Some scholars will look at the theme of the Kingdom of God; others might focus on the Presence of God or on Covenant. For this particular book, I focused on the theme of the City of God.
Zaspel:
So, you have a Bible story and then various themes that can carry that story?
Alexander:
That’s correct, yes, and some themes will be much more central to it than others.
Zaspel:
We find in the book of Revelation that the biblical narrative culminates in a city, the New Jerusalem. How is John’s description of that city significant?
Alexander:
Well, as your question puts it, this remarkable city marks the climax of the biblical story and it pictures a new world, minus all the shortcomings of this present Earth. It’s an amazing description of the coming together of Heaven and Earth with God and his people living together in harmony. Interestingly, there’s a lot of symbolism within John’s description of the city and that has to be taken on board. The city is portrayed as a giant golden cube and this recalls the Holy of Holies in the Temple. John pictures people now living within the Holy of Holies, and that’s a striking image in terms of the relationship between God and human beings being brought together again, where at present there’s alienation and that has disappeared in the New Jerusalem. And then, interestingly, the New Jerusalem which isn’t just only to be found in Revelation, but even the prophet Isaiah in the Old Testament looks forward to it as the fulfillment of God’s plans. This city will be established on a renewed Earth where God will live with his people. I think it’s an amazing picture that we have here at the end of Scripture.
Zaspel:
What connections do we find to Genesis here?
Alexander:
Scholars have long noted that there’s an important link between the City of Revelation in Revelation 21–22 and the opening chapters, Genesis 1–3. I suppose the most obvious connection is the reference to the Tree of Life that you find in Revelation 22. But you also discover comments being made that there’s no longer any curse; and that’s clearly picking up on what happens in Genesis 3 when human beings come under God’s curse because of their disobedience. And there’s a sense, too, in which Revelation 21–22 anticipates the end of death and a transformation of the situation. So, you have these striking connections to which I think others could be added, but those of the most significant ones in terms of connecting Genesis with Revelation.
Zaspel:
So, can we say that the city of God theme begins in Genesis itself?
Alexander:
I think it does. I suppose I’m drawn to the instruction that God gives to the human couple to be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the Earth. You have there a sense, I think, of people living together in community; and that is, in effect, the basis of the city concept. I think the early readers of Genesis 1 would have thought about this and they would have perceived God’s instructions to the human couple to be focused on the creation of a city. And then it’s worth reflecting that in the early chapters of Genesis something of this city-building comes out in terms of what people do. Among the various things that are said of Cain, he is described as being a city builder. Interestingly, he ends up building a city that is not for God but really for his family and he names it after his son. So, I think the early chapters of Genesis hint at this idea of a city. And, significantly, by the time you get to Chapter 11, you encounter the story of the building of the city of Babel, the Tower of Babel story that we’re very familiar with; and that seems to be, in some ways, the climax.
Zaspel:
How is the account of the building of the tower of Babel important? And talk to us about that name, “Babel” – how is that significant?
Alexander:
Because people have been endowed with a desire to be city builders, I think it’s no surprise that in Genesis 11 you have the human population coming together with the desire to create a city. This is something that’s innate within them, that they want to be city builders. But, Genesis 11 is striking in that they build a city, not to bring glory to God, but to make a reputation, to make themselves famous. And, not only that, but they see the creation of the city as providing them with an opportunity to actually, in some way, invade Heaven and perhaps displace God from Heaven itself. So, you have the creation of this tower that they hope will stretch up and enable them to reach into Heaven where God himself is. You have this picture of a city that’s being created by human beings. I suppose, ironically, it’s the antithesis of the city that God wants to create. God wants people to be city builders, but he wants them to build a city where he will be present; and here people are building a city and they have no place for God within the actual city.
Then, the name that we give to the city – Babel. It’s a slightly unfortunate name, because it’s become a tradition to refer to the city as Babel. But, Babel is actually what’s in the Hebrew text and it’s the name given to the city in Hebrew; and almost everywhere else in Hebrew Bible where Babel is used, the translations will translate it as Babylon. So, the city that we’re talking about here is actually Babylon. And Babylon, then, becomes the symbol of human beings coming together in opposition against God. Running through the Old Testament, Babylon keeps featuring as the city that stands in opposition to Jerusalem. When you get to the book of Revelation, itself, towards the end of Revelation you have Babylon being presented as the city that’s here and now, and it’s contrasted with the New Jerusalem, the city that’s yet to come. So, Babylon takes on tremendous significance within the larger biblical story representing human beings and community in opposition to God.
Zaspel:
So as the story unfolds, and Jerusalem becomes prominent, it becomes a rival city then, right?
Alexander:
Yes, and it’s worth observing that the call of Abraham is actually something that takes place in the shadow of Babel, or Babylon. He comes from Mesopotamia to the land of Canaan and it’s there that God promises him that his descendants will become a great nation. And I think there’s the expectation that they will be associated with Jerusalem. Even in his meeting with Melchizedek, the king of Salem, there’s perhaps something being indicated there.
The biblical story goes on to describe how Abraham’s descendants are rescued by God from slavery in Egypt. You have this interesting story in which the people are being forced by Pharaoh to be city builders, but they’re building cities for Pharaoh’s glory. And God comes and rescues them from Pharaoh’s control, from the symbol of evil. And he then brings them, eventually, to Jerusalem where, when David captures the city and the Ark of the Covenant is brought there, Jerusalem becomes the City of God; and when Solomon builds the Temple there, it becomes the Temple City of God. The biblical picture gives considerable emphasis to the importance of Jerusalem. We think of Zion and all that’s associated with it. And I think this part of the story comes across as suggesting that Jerusalem is in some way a partial fulfillment of God’s creation plan. Here is God now dwelling on earth with his people. But the Old Testament story is a story that doesn’t stop at that point and, unfortunately, as you read on, Jerusalem goes into decline in terms of the population becoming more and more corrupt and eventually, interestingly, the Babylonians will come under God’s prompting to destroy Jerusalem.
Against that background the prophets of the Old Testament anticipate the creation of a New Jerusalem. You see this especially in the book of Isaiah. Isaiah begins by describing the corruption of Jerusalem in the eighth century but by the time you get to the end of Isaiah, you’re thinking about a New Jerusalem in a transformed world where everything, in effect, has been perfected and God is present. Isaiah’s expectations are very, very similar to those of the apostle John in Revelation 21 – 22. So, even in the Old Testament context there is this expectation that there will be a City of God where God will be present with his people and folks look forward in faith to the creation of that city.
Zaspel:
Why a city? Why not the more relaxed imagery of the countryside?
Alexander:
Okay, that’s a good question because I fear that for some people the image of a city is anything but attractive. We can sometimes think of a city as being a concrete jungle and a place where you would not want to be. That’s not, I think, how Scripture wants to portray the city. I prefer to think of it as being like a garden-city where people will live together in community and they will enjoy all the benefits that community can bring in terms of relationships, in terms of culture. So, city, I think, is important in that sense, it conveys the idea of people together and enjoying each other. And, most of all, when we think then of the City of God, we’re thinking of a city where God is present. It’s striking that the author of Hebrews, for example, will speak about how Abraham had faith looking forward to the City of God and how he then encourages his readers to also look forward in faith to this City of God. The concept of city isn’t something to be feared, it’s something to be welcomed, because it will be somewhere where we can flourish as human beings and enjoy life as God intended it to be enjoyed.
Zaspel:
Before we sign off, give us a brief overview of your book so our readers can know what to expect.
Alexander:
The book itself largely traces the biblical story, beginning in the opening chapters of Genesis and it picks up on this idea that human beings are intended by God to be city builders. But, obviously, Adam’s and Eve’s actions in the garden of Eden are a betrayal of God and God’s project for the earth is, at this stage, somewhat derailed by human beings who were meant to be very much at the heart of it.
The book then goes on to explore how God comes to redeem human beings from the powers of evil. We see this especially in the story of the Exodus and how God comes and brings the Israelites out of Egypt and brings them to Jerusalem and to the City of God. Much of the book is focused on the Old Testament so there’s a chapter that explores how Jerusalem is presented as the Temple City, the city where God dwells.
It’s also presented as a holy mountain city and there I want to pick up on how, in Scripture, God’s presence is often associated with the mountain. There’s a sense in which the mountaintop is closer to heaven and you get this sort of natural connection being made; but Scripture also draws attention to the idea that the mountain is somewhere holy, and only those who are pure of heart can dwell in God’s presence. So the psalmist can ask the question, “who can ascend the hill of the Lord, who can dwell on God’s holy mountain? The person whose hands are clean and whose heart is pure.” We explore something of the significance of the city as a holy mountain city in the book.
Then the city is also connected with the Davidic dynasty, so I give a chapter over to looking at the importance of Jerusalem as a royal city, and the significance of the Davidic dynasty in terms of anticipating a future son of David who will bring salvation to the nations. The connection between the Messiah in the Old Testament and the city is important and I tried to explore that connection.
As I’ve already mentioned, I think it’s important to observe how the prophets looked forward to the transformation of Jerusalem. The Jerusalem that we see in the Old Testament and the Jerusalem that we see today is nothing like the New Jerusalem that the prophets anticipate. They think in terms of people’s lives being transformed when they become citizens of this New Jerusalem. They use the language of return from exile to speak of the lame walking, the blind seeing. To my mind I think what they are picking up there is the resurrection experience that we can look forward to. So, the Old Testament prophets have something important to say about the City of God looking to the future.
I didn’t have time to write all that I’d have liked to write but there’s a chapter looking at how Jesus views Jerusalem and how he looks beyond Jerusalem to the rest of the world. And then how the New Testament apostles also anticipate a future city that will be created by God. It’s interesting how Paul will contrast the present Jerusalem of his day with the heavenly Jerusalem. And I think he’s anticipating, again, the future, when, with Christ’s return and the renewing of creation, God’s city will be created on a New Earth and resurrected people will be in God’s presence.
So, that something of an overview. Let me just add something else, if I may. The book itself is part of a series of short studies in Biblical theology, so it really only offers a sketch. It’s an outline of the theme; and there’s so much more that could be said on the topic, but that may have to wait for another time. Hopefully, the book will encourage readers to see something of the importance of this theme, especially, I think, in the Old Testament which is often neglected. And I hope it will give them a sense of the unity of Scripture, that they will see how things are connected together from beginning to end. And I suppose, most of all, I hope that it will inspire them to look forward in faith to the inheritance that is ours through Jesus Christ. I very much hope that in a world where many, many people feel somewhat hopeless and lost as regards the future, that focusing on the inheritance that we have in the City of God will provide support and comfort and reassurance. So, that’s something of, I suppose, an overview of the book and my hope in terms of someone reading it.
Zaspel:
We’re talking to Dr. T. Desmond Alexander, author of the new book, The City of God and the Goal of Creation: An Introduction to the Biblical Theology of the City of God. It’s the latest addition to Crossway’s excellent Short Studies in Biblical Theology series. A thoroughly enjoyable read and a very helpful aid to understanding the Bible’s story in big picture.
Desi, thanks so much for your good work and for talking to us today.
Alexander:
It’s been my pleasure, Fred. Thank you so much for inviting me.
