The U.S. as the “New Jerusalem?” Revelation’s Influence on Immigration

Episode Outline:
00:00 – Introducing immigration, Revelation, and American identity
02:31 – Meet Dr. Yijian Lin and her new book
03:15 – How immigration and apocalypse became connected
05:19 – Migration, exile, and movement in Revelation
08:20 – The New Jerusalem metaphor in Revelation and U.S. history
10:29 – Columbus, Puritans, and America as a chosen land
17:59 – How Revelation has shaped U.S. immigration policy
20:17 – Chinese exclusion, Yellow Peril, and apocalyptic imagery
26:29 – COVID-19, disease language, and anti-Asian rhetoric
30:58 – Is America still using the New Jerusalem myth?

Episode Description

As you can probably tell from my incredibly strong accent, I (Megan) am an immigrant to the United States. As such, the US immigration system has been a rather large feature in my adult life…but I’ve never before considered the relationship between American immigration and the Bible, or more specifically, the book of Revelation. It’s never really occurred to me that such a relationship even exists. In contrast, my guest today has written an entire - and absolutely fascinating - book on the subject, and we’re going to be diving right into it! We’ll be exploring how Revelation has been used throughout US history to categorize, demonize, and vilify immigrants, while also painting the US as the New Jerusalem, sanctuary for God’s chosen, which must be defended at all costs.

Also watch these episodes:
How to Weaponize the Bible
How to Weaponize the Bible

New Testament Anti-Semitism?
https://youtu.be/Iz1m_9DgCFE

Does the Bible Condemn Homosexuality? Guest Interview with Jeffrey Siker
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