"After
this I looked and there before me was a great multitude that no one
could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language . . ."
(Revelation 7:9).The visions in the book of Revelation give a glimpse of
the people of God at the consummation of history—a multiethnic
congregation gathered together in worship around God's throne. Its
racial diversity is expressed in a fourfold formula that first appears
in Genesis 10.The theme of race runs throughout Scripture, constantly
pointing to the global and multiethnic dimensions inherent in the
overarching plan of God. In response to the neglect of this theme in
much evangelical biblical scholarship, J. Daniel Hays offers this
thorough exegetical work in the New Studies in Biblical Theology series.
As well as focusing on texts which have a general bearing on race, Hays
demonstrates that black Africans from Cush (Ethiopia) play an important
role in both Old and New Testament history.This careful, nuanced
analysis provides a clear theological foundation for life in
contemporary multiracial cultures and challenges churches to pursue
racial unity in Christ.Addressing key issues in biblical theology, the
works comprising New Studies in Biblical Theology are creative attempts
to help Christians better understand their Bibles. The NSBT series is
edited by D. A. Carson, aiming to simultaneously instruct and to edify,
to interact with current scholarship and to point the way ahead.
