“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 four-fold formula that first appears in Genesis 10.
J. Daniel Hays suggests the theme of race runs throughout Scripture, constantly pointing to the global and multi-ethnic dimensions inherent in the overarching plan of God, in response to the neglect of this theme in much evangelical Biblical scholarship. As well as focusing on texts which have a general bearing on race, he 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.
