Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Home
Evangelical
Four cities: One City

Four cities: One City

Last updated on: March 8, 2019 at 9:01 am by John Mark N. Reynolds

Four cities: One City 2019-03-08T09:01:45-04:00 John Mark N. Reynolds

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Discussion that culminates in high tea!

The Jewish people heard God and God promised them a King, not just any king, but a king in David’s royal line. Jerusalem was David’s city and for hundreds of years as Judean power rose and fell, Jerusalem remained safe. God had promised, right?

Yet the prophets began to suggest something deeper. Jerusalem better beware. Having become wicked, something wicked was coming. God’s city was going to fall, but God’s City would be restored. A remnant would return and Jerusalem would live again.

There were two Jerusalems. Visible Jerusalem was soiled by injustice to the poor, unfaithfulness to God, child sacrifice, and tyranny. David’s Jerusalem endured splendidly in the promises of God: just, faithful, pure, and free.

Eventually, Jerusalem was rebuilt without any illusions. Old men wept who had seen what had been and knew that the visible city was a remnant city for the remnant of the people of God. There was, eventually, a brief moment of independence under the brave Maccabees, and a glorious temple under Herod, but every wise man knew the greater Jerusalem was yet to come.

Jerusalem endures as the ideal: the heavenly city that was, is, and is to come.

Jesus came and bled in Roman Jerusalem, the subjugated city. His blood hallowed the stones as icons of the streets of gold to come. Roman Jerusalem killed Jesus, the Heavenly Jerusalem saw Him crowned King of Kings and Lord of Lords.

So it goes with all the meaningful cities of our world: Rome herself was sanctified by the blood of the martyrs and claimed to be eternal, yet Rome fell. Rome was only an icon of the true City whose builder and maker is God.

Constantine the Great built a new Rome, Constantinople, and the long walls preserved education and splendor for centuries. The site of the Church of the Holy Wisdom would surely live in safety for all time. Right? Yes, though heretics plundered and invaders stole the physical city: Constantinople is kept by the intercession of the Theotokos: was, is, and is to come

As Constantinople faded, a seed was sown in a third Rome: Moscow and a Kremlin raised onion domes to the sky. Blue and gold contrasted with snow and there was a toughness, endurance, glory that must endure. Yet when hearts of men grew colder than the snow, they murdered millions and defiled Third Rome.

Our American founding fathers looked to republican and not imperial Rome to build a city. They made from the start, room for the heirs of Jerusalem. Remnants of the Eastern Empire came from Greece, Syria, Palestine to strengthen the new republic with the wisdom of the east. Now our alabaster city gleams, yet it is not undimmed by human tears…except ideally.

The ideal must come.

The message is simple. We love the images, but they fail. Someday, hopefully many centuries from now, Washington will be sacked or drift into the backwater of history. Yet the dream of a republic, born in Rome, nurtured by the Founders, will not die. The City will live.

Nothing good, true, and beautiful will ever be lost. All will be healed and when the New Jerusalem comes lowering down, as my Nana saw in a vision, then there will be all the glory that was Rome, the Holy Wisdom of Constantinople, the glittering splendor of Moscow, and the Reality of the dream spoken in Washington D.C.

These are just a few of the cities that will be real forever in the one City that will come and never fall.

Even so come, Lord Jesus, come!

—————————————-

Some thoughts after a high tea centered on City of God at The College at The Saint Constantine School.

On Books

Spiritual Reflections

Previous Post

March 6, 2019

The Strange World of Elbert Hubbard’s Scrapbook

Next Post

March 8, 2019 King of the Golden River (Ruskin/Rackham)

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Apologetics Art Culture Education On Books On Education Philosophy Politics Pop Culture Spiritual Reflections Uncategorized

Select a Month October 2026 September 2026 August 2026 July 2026 July 2025 June 2025 September 2024 July 2024 June 2024 December 2023 June 2023 September 2022 May 2022 April 2022 March 2022 February 2022 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

Which letter of Paul is addressed to a slave owner about a runaway slave?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Galatians Titus Philemon Colossians

Books by This Author John Mark Reynolds

See All Titles »