Foreigners and Strangers on Earthنمونہ

Let's begin with a quick look at the words used in the New Testament to describe strangers:

FOREIGNERS (xenoi) "foreigners", "aliens"

These people come "from outside" (Acts 17:21; Matthew 27:7) and may be considered guests, but they do not belong to the local community. Jesus in the passage concerning judgment on the nations says: I was a stranger and you invited me in (Matthew 25:35). The Greek word for "hospitality" (filoxenia) literally means "love of foreigners". In Ephesians 2:12, Paul says that the pagans were foreigners to the covenants of the promise, that is, the covenants did not concern them, but now through the work of Christ they have become fellow citizens (Ephesians 2:19).

STRANGERS (parapidēmoi) "who resides in a country not his own, far from his people"

This is the condition of the believer, who is far from his heavenly homeland (1 Peter 1:1). The Jews viewed themselves as such when they were far from Jerusalem. The Epistle to Diognetus (2nd century A.D.) says about believers: "They live in their own country, but as strangers; they respect and fulfill all the duties of citizens, and bear all burdens as foreigners; every foreign country is their homeland, yet every homeland is a foreign land to them."

RESIDENT ALIENS (paroikoi) "live next or near to"

This means not having the right to citizenship. This was the fate of Israel in Egypt (Acts 7:6), of Moses in Midian (Acts 7:29) and of Abraham in Canaan (Hebrews 11:9). The risen Jesus was considered to be so by the disciples on the road to Emmaus (Luke 24:18). Believers are strangers here on earth (1 Peter 1:17), but are citizens of the heavenly kingdom (Philippians 3:20).

OTHERS (allotroi) "belonging to another"

It means "coming from another family, another people". In Matthew 17:25, the king’s sons are contrasted to others. For Abraham, even the Promised Land was a foreign country (Hebrews 11:9).