Study of Scripture - A Tale of Two Cities

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Perspective: Literal-Normal Interpretation. Its authors are committed to maintaining a high level of scholarly ethics.

Bible Tour: A Tale of Two Cities (section) Garden of Eden (section) Man's Covering For Sin (section)

Introduction

Scripture can in many ways be seen as a tale of two cities. Long before Charles Dickens wrote about London and Paris, the authors of scripture wrote about a spiritual rivalry between the cities of Jerusalem and Babylon that span all the way from Genesis to Revelation.

Tour of Scripture

Genesis 2:8-17 (passage) (lesson)

The description of Eden provided by this passage becomes the template that both Babylon and Jerusalem try to mimic. Babylon attempts to create its own "Eden" apart from God, and through the sacrificial system Jerusalem tries to re-establish fellowship with God.

Genesis 3:7 (passage) (lesson)

Immediately after he sins, man struggles to repair his mistake without the assistance of God. He tries to cover up his nakedness with fig leaves, while God's solution requires a covering of animal skin. This attempt to better himself apart from divine assistance foreshadows the humanistic attempts of Babel, whereas the faith in (dependence on) God's solution typifies redeemed Jerusalem.

Topical Chain Reference

This section provides an extensive list of scripture pertaining to the rivalry between Jerusalem and Babylon.

Genesis

• Genesis 2:8-17
• Genesis 2:22-24
• Genesis 10:8-12
• Genesis 11:1-9

Supplemental Resources

• A Tale of Two Cities - an excellent overview of the two cities throughout scripture.