Africa...
Africa...
Out of Africa
Africa symbolizes the original home and final destiny of all humans: the Garden of Eden and Heaven.
When Jah first created humans, he set them in a garden in a land the Scripture calls Eden:
And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul. And the LORD God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there he put the man whom he had formed. And out of the ground made the LORD God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil. And a river went out of Eden to water the garden; and from thence it was parted, and became into four heads. The name of the first is Pison: that is it which compasseth the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold; And the gold of that land is good: there is bdellium and the onyx stone. And the name of the second river is Gihon: the same is it that compasseth the whole land of Ethiopia. And the name of the third river is Hiddekel: that is it which goeth toward the east of Assyria. And the fourth river is Euphrates. And the LORD God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it.
In biblical times, "Ethiopia" represented a much larger area than the modern nation's boundaries, including southern Egypt, Sudan, Eritrea, Somalia, and perhaps even more African lands (unknown to ancient Jews) farther west.
Because Ethiopia (in the larger sense) is part of Eden, Africa can be said to represent our original home in the Garden.
There are hints of our African origins outside Scripture too. Many scientists, observing that the human species' greatest genetic diversity is found in sub-Saharan Africa, theorize that the first human beings (from whom we are all descended) originated in Africa.
The following excerpts are taken from the writings of biologist Joseph Graves:
The study found that [single nucleotide polymorphism] diversity was greater within the African populations than it was between Africans and Eurasians.... These results mean that, with the exception of some rare minor genetic variants, Eurasian nucleotide diversity is a subset of African. This is consistent with the idea that modern humans originated in Africa, then subsequently migrated to Europe and Asia.
Ethiopia is located in northeastern Africa in an area thought to be near the origin of anatomically modern humans and along migratory routes out of Africa into the Middle East and Asia Minor in historical and recent times.
All anatomically modern humans are descended from ancient African populations, [though] human groups did migrate out of Africa at different times and ended up in different localities (Americas, Australia, Asia, Europe, and the Middle East).
Liberation & Repatriation
As a symbol of humanity's first home in the Garden of Eden, Africa is also a symbol of our ultimate destiny in Heaven.
The Garden in Eden was a paradise of life with Jah, of harmony, justice, love, and peace. We lost access to that paradise through sin. Now redeemed and incorporated into Y'shua by the power of Jah Holy Spirit, we are a new creation. We advance Jah Kingdom, and look forward to a new Paradise of eternal life and communion with Jah.
The Garden paradise, represented by Africa, is a symbol of the eternal heavenly Paradise to come. They are not identical, as Heaven will be greater than Eden. But Eden points to Heaven.
Thus Africa is a symbol of our original home and our ultimate destiny.
today
I do not say any of this to romanticize the continent of Africa as it exists today. Like too many other places, Africa today is torn by troubles, strife, and suffering. The brutal North American and Muslim slave trades simultaneously depleted the reproductive population of Africa and secured major economic growth for regions like Europe and America, opening the way for the cruel foreign colonization of Africa. The people of Africa still suffer horribly (physically, psychologically, & spiritually) from these past injustices, which are the root of most problems in present-day Africa.
Those who look to Africa as a symbol of both the Garden of Eden and our ultimate destiny in Heaven must also recognize that Christians have much work to do in this present time. Advancing Jah Kingdom includes eliminating injustices and lifting up the poorest of the poor.
the Church in Africa
The Church in Africa, especially in Christianity's ancient formative years, was extremely influential. Many of the greatest theologians of the ancient Church are Africans, including Origen ("father of Greek theology"), Tertullian ("father of Latin theology"), Athanasius of Alexandria, and Augustine of Hippo. Innumerable martyrs, saints, and theologians are the glory of Africa, home to almost all the Desert Fathers and Mothers (e.g. Anthony the Great, Mary of Egypt) and at least three bishops of Rome (i.e. Catholic popes). Among the great African Christians of ancient times are Clement of Alexandria, Alexander of Alexandria, Catherine Great-martyr of Alexandria, Perpetua and Felicity, Cyprian of Carthage, Lactantius, Arnobius, Alexander of Lycopolis, Peter Martyr of Alexandria, Pierius of Alexandria, Cyril of Alexandria, Theonas of Alexandria, Dionysius the Great, and Fulgetius of Ruspe. The Councils of Hippo Regius and Carthage were crucial in the precise definition of the Christian canon of Scripture. The debt of modern Christians to the Church in Africa is incalculable.
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