The metaphor of New Jerusalem has long been used to justify dueling narratives of America as the land of freedom with open gates and the walled city closed to all except those whose names are written in the book of life. 

In Immigration and Apocalypse: How the Book of Revelation Shaped American Immigration (Yale University Press, 2024), Yii Jan Lin explores the idea of America as the New Jerusalem from early European exploration and colonization; through the waves of Chinese immigration and exclusion; the open gates envisioned by Ronald Reagan in his Farewell Address; and the present day rhetoric about closing the wall at the southern border and the characterization of migrants as diseased and dangerous. 

Yii-Jan Lin traces the use of this metaphor in newspapers, political speeches, sermons, cartoons, and novels throughout American history to portray a shining, God-blessed refuge and it's simultaneous opposite, where the unwanted are defined as unworthy for entry. Lin shows Revelation’s apocalyptic logic at work in these conflicting interpretations of the American dream, where judgement may be based on the deeds of the individual or judgement may be based on whether they are predestined for inclusion.

Author recommended reading:

- Heathen: Religion and Race in American History by Kathryn Gin Lum

- Revelation in Aztlán: Scriptures, Utopias, and the Chicano Movement by Jacqueline M. Hidalgo

Hosted by Meghan Cochran 

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