The City Whose Architect is God

By: Dr. Robert Petterson

Nov 02, 2008

St. Augustine says that the city of man (De Civitas Homi) is conceived in the mind of man and is, therefore, subject to all its limitations. That which is built by human hands will ultimately be torn down by human hands. Where kings ruled and merchants prospered, snakes and scorpions now move silently through dusty ruins of those houses of cards that are De Civitas Homi.

Sermon Text:

[Text: Hebrews 11:10 and 12:22-29]

Is America in the sunset of her life?

Consider another tale of two cities. On a sweltering day in 146 BC, the sun set for the final time on the North African city of Carthage. After a brutal siege where more than a million people were slaughtered, Roman legionnaires annihilated the last of the Carthaginians as they huddled in the temple of their god Dagon.

On a hillside overlooking the Gulf of Tunisia, the Roman commander Scipio Africanus watched the death throes of Carthage. But he did not smile in triumph. Instead, the Greek historian Polybius recorded that Africanus wept as he foresaw in the flames of Carthage the end of his own city. Just as Rome had destroyed others, she would one day be destroyed.

Some 550 years after Carthage fell, the thing that Scipio Africanus dreaded most came to pass. On August 24, 410 AD, the Visigoths sacked Rome. The world was plunged into chaos. Economic markets collapsed along with law and order, and Europe began her tortured descent into the Dark Ages.

With monotonous repetition, history chronicles the rise and fall of cities and civilizations. Carthage died in 146 BC and Rome fell in 410 AD. Scipio Africanus grasped the inevitable truth: no matter how mighty, no city, no nation, no culture is immortal. Scottish statesman, Alexander Tytler wrote,

“The average age of the world's greatest civilizations has been two hundred years. These nations have progressed through this sequence: from bondage to spiritual faith; from spiritual faith to great courage; from courage to liberty; from liberty to abundance; from abundance to selfishness; from selfishness to complacency; from complacency to apathy; from apathy to dependence; from dependency back into bondage.”

America is 232 years old. If she were to die at the average age of the great civilizations in history, she would be at the end of her life. When we look at Tytler's sequence of a civilization's rise and fall, where is America today? Are we at the point of “selfishness” or “complacency” or “apathy” or “dependence”? If we are at any of those stages, the clock is ticking.

How should Christians respond when they see their civilization unraveling? First of all, we need to resist falling into fear, anger, or despair. When the news of Rome's fall reached North Africa, Christians rushed in panic to St. Augustine. After reminding them that God was still on his throne, Augustine retreated to the desert to meditate. He then wrote one of history's great books: De Civitate Dei contra Pagonos which means “The City of God against the Pagans.” We simply call it The City of God.

Augustine speaks of two cities: de civititate homi (the city of man) and De Civitate Dei (the City of God). Though we Christians live in the cities of men we are citizens of the City of God. The City of God is the spiritual city within the secular city; the invisible state within the visible state; the light in the darkness; the salt that stems the decay in the cities of men. Though the cities of men collapse, the gates of hell cannot prevail against this City of God.

Our postmodern world stands on the edge of a precipice. Like ancient Christians in a collapsing Roman world, we must not panic at the political, social, and economic turmoil in our world today. More than ever, we need to invest in the City of God. What St. Augustine wrote 1600 years ago is more relevant than tomorrow's headlines. When we understand The City of God, and our place in it, we will be encouraged and strengthened for the challenging days ahead. In today's passage from Hebrews 11&12 we learn:

That conceived by the mind of man is subject to all its limitation. That built by the hand of man will be torn down by the hand of man.

St. Augustine's first warning is that we can't put our trust in human systems. All things built by humans are ultimately flawed because the people who built them are flawed. Even the Founding Fathers of America warned us that our form of government is imperfect. John Adams said that our Constitution could even be turned against its citizens if they weren't vigilant and disciplined. As the Continental Congress adjourned, a woman cried out to Benjamin Franklin, “What have you given us?” He replied, “A Republic, madam, if you can keep it.” No political, social or economic system can ultimately be kept. Look at how free enterprise capitalistic economy has been turned on its head by human greed and corruption. We must never forget the warning of British writer, J. K. Jerome:

“No society has been able to abolish human sadness; no political system can deliver us from the pain of living, from our fear of death, or our thirst for the absolute.”

In our concert of prayer last Sunday, Elder Tom Comella led us in a prayer of repentance asking God to forgive us for making gods out of our politicians and political parties. I don't know who you are voting for in this week's presidential election, but neither candidate will save America. There is only one Messiah, and he is the Lord Jesus Christ. When we put our trust in people or their schemes, we are setting ourselves up for a fall. Just as Christians in St. Augustine's day were wrong to put their hope in Rome, we are wrong to put our trust in America. St. Augustine points to Abraham as the example of what our attitude should be. Look at Hebrews 11:9&10:

“By faith he made his home in the Promised Land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him in the promise. For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God.”

Abraham knew something about cities. He had been raised in one of the greatest cities in the ancient world. But it was also a pagan city steeped in witchcraft, human sacrifice, sexual immorality, and slavery. God called him to leave that city and embark on a great faith adventure. He didn't know where he was going, but he it had to be better than the city he left.

For the next two centuries he and his descendants wandered the land of Canaan as desert nomads. They lived in tents, as strangers in a foreign country. The Canaanites tempted them to come inside their cities. But they stayed in their tents outside the gates of the cities of Canaan.

Why didn't Abraham or his sons entrust their families to the cities of men? Verse ten says, “For he was looking forward to a city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God.” He wanted “…a city with multiple foundations…” He was looking for a place that was rock solid, able to with-stand anything. A city that strong could only be conceived by a perfect architect and built by a perfect builder. Augustine wants us to remember what Abraham knew: anything not conceived or built by the hand of God is structurally unsound. What then should we do?

1. Search for the City of God

Verse eight says, “By faith he made his home in the Promised Land, like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents…” What is the faith that drove Abraham? Look back to Hebrews 11:1: “Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.” Faith looks for that which is invisible to the naked eye; that which is yet to come. This city Abraham looked for was still a distant promise. It wouldn't come until Jesus came 2000 years later. But people still don't recognize it because it can only be seen with eyes of faith. Skeptics say that it doesn't really exist. But if not, why have architects of the cities of men--from Nero to Stalin to the secularists of our day—been so frantic to scoff at, marginalize, trivialize, or even destroy this City of God? The answer is simple: Satan knows that it exists, and it is the deadliest threat to his world system. Abraham never stopped looking for the City of God. He refused to accept inferior substitutes. He preferred to stay in tents (even if he had to die in them) until the City of God appeared. So what is this City of God? Here's the Bible's description:

1) There are two rival cities: Jerusalem and Babylon

The Scriptures focus on only two cities. The first is Jerusalem. In the Hebrew it literally means “the city of God's peace.” What an odd name for a place that has been destroyed by more armies than any other city in world history! But God chose to make Jerusalem his city. He calls us to pray for the peace of Jerusalem. In Psalm 46:4 he even refers to Jerusalem as “…the city of God, the place where the Most High dwells…” As we shall see in a moment, Jerusalem is the only city that will survive this world.

The second city is Babylon. Outside of Jerusalem, it is the most talked about in the Bible. It is born in Genesis 10 and does not die until Revelation 19. Genesis 10:8&9 says that the architect of Babylon was Nimrod. The name Nimrod literally means the rebel. Chapter 11 of Genesis tells us that his vision was to gather all the descendants of Noah in one place. He ordered them to build a ziggurat tower that would plot the astrological signs so that man could find his answers from the stars rather than God. His dream was a one-word, secular government that would provide health, wealth, and protection. Babylon would be a place where man was dependent on government rather than God. But Gerald Ford once said, “Any government that gives you all that you need will also take from you all that you have.”

The book of Revelation tells us that the mark of the city is 666. In biblical prophecy the number six is the number of man. The number three is the number of God. 666 signifies that man is god. Like Jerusalem, Babylon has fallen repeatedly only to rise again: as the world empires of Egypt, Assyria, Persia, Greece, Rome, Charlemagne, Napoleon, Great Britain, the Third Reich, World Communism, and a thousand other manifestations. The Bible says that it is The Beast that keeps coming back from the dead. All the prior Babylons pale in comparison to this final one-world government ruled by the most powerful of all antichrists. Yet, the Scripture tells us that in the Last Days there will be what St. Paul calls “the great apostasy” or falling away of believers. Millions of professing Christians will be duped into giving their allegiance to Babylon by submitting to the Mark of the Beast: 666. St. Augustine reminds the Christians of his day that Rome's fall is just another fall of Babylon (the city of man). We need to remember that in our day. Like Abraham we need to find our Jerusalem (the City of God). So where is this Jerusalem, St. Augustine?

2) The Historical Jerusalem

Genesis 14:18-20 tells us that Abraham finally found his way to the city of Jerusalem. There a mysterious priest-king named Melchizedek fed him bread and wine (was it a prefiguring of the Lord's Supper?), and blessed him. Abraham was so moved that he gave him a tenth of everything he possessed. Hebrews 7:15 tells us that Abraham saw in Melchizedek a vision of Christ. He saw a foreshadowing of the King of the City of God. But Melchizedek wasn't Christ. And this Jerusalem wasn't the city whose architect and builder is God. The Canaanites had built this city. Later David would rebuild it. After that others would rebuild the city: Muslims, Crusaders, Palestinians, and Zionists. So this historical Jerusalem is not the City of God because God is not its architect and builder. If he were, it would never be destroyed or have to be rebuilt. As a result, Abraham does not abandon his tents for this Jerusalem. Instead he moves on. And so should we. It is a supreme irony of history that Jews, Muslim, and Christians (all claiming Abraham as father) have fought for this historical Jerusalem.

3) The Heavenly Jerusalem

Now we come to the city that Abraham longed to see. Hebrews 12:22 says, “But you have come to Mount Zion, to the heavenly Jerusalem. Again Jerusalem means “God's peace”. But the historical Jerusalem has been a place of continual warfare. That city rejected the only one who could give it peace, and crucified its Savior. Today Jesus is still not welcome in Jerusalem except for the tourist dollars his followers bring. Israel today has more atheists per capita than any country on earth. It actively persecutes Christians. But Hebrews 12:22 speaks of a heavenly Jerusalem where we Christians can now come into. Whenever the word heavenly is used in the New Testament it is not speaking of heaven above, but of invisible or spiritual realms where angels move. The writer of Hebrews is speaking of an invisible city within the visible city. In verse 24 he calls it “the church of the firstborn” where the living God dwells. This heavenly Jerusalem is not the visible church. Sometimes the visible church is as corrupt, godless, and with as much conflict as the historical Jerusalem. Where then is the heavenly Jerusalem? It is where the King of Jerusalem rules. It is the place where Jesus is lifted up and followed as its Lord. It is the invisible and true church!

4) The New Jerusalem

St. John was a prisoner of the Babylon of his day: Rome. The Roman emperor Domitian (the Nimrod and antichrist of his day) had banished him to the penal colony on the Isle of Patmos. But he saw a vision in Revelation 21:2: “I saw the Holy City, the New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband.” We have often interpreted this as a literal city where the saints will live in the new earth. But this is all symbolic. St. John's words are crystal clear if you read chapter 21: This is the bride of Christ, the church talked about in symbolic language. Verse 14 says that it has twelve foundations. One thinks of the twelve tribes of Israel and the twelve apostles, and St. Paul's words in Ephesians 2:20 about the church “built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone.” This was the city “with foundations” that Abraham was looking for. St. John sees the city encrusted in precious jewels. These are the same precious stones that are on the breastplate of the high priest, representing the people of God. God is in the midst of this city, as its light. Finally, says Revelation 21:2, there is a holy city on the earth. This is what Abraham longed for, what the world desperately needs, and what we should desire to be. This is the City of God.

Dearly beloved, did you notice that key phrase in Hebrews 11:9? Abraham's sons Isaac and Jacob also lived in tents. Abraham passed on the vision to his children. He didn't let the cities of Canaan claim his children. When his nephew, Lot, let Sodom take his children and indoctrinate them, he lost his family in the holocaust that came. You teach Abraham's faith to your children. Better yet, live it out before them. Don't let today's culture steal your children. They belong to the City of God, not the cities of men.

2. Don't invest eternity in the cities of men

This is where I want you to pay close attention. St. Augustine reminds us that just as we can't put our hope in the cities of men, neither should we abandon them. Abraham stayed in his tent, but Christ lived in the cities of men. St. Paul brought the gospel to the pagan cities of the Roman world. St. Augustine reminds us of God's command to the Israelites who were exiled in Babylon. In Jeremiah 29:5 he says, “Build houses and settle down, plant gardens…find wives…” Later Daniel became the Prime Minister of the government of Babylon. We are to be a light in the darkness of the cities of men. We teach in their schools, work in their governments, vote in their elections, do business in their marketplaces, sharing our lives and faith with their inhabitants. But though heavenly Jerusalem abides in Babylon, it is only on a temporary visa. We are not citizens of America, or even of this world. Our citizenship is in heaven. We must never lose that for the temporary pleasures of a city that will ultimately collapse. It will give us little consolation to escape the destruction of Sodom, if, like Lot, we discover that we have lost our children to its pleasures. Sacrifice yourself for the good of the city, but never sacrifice your eternity for the goods of the city.

3. Find your hope in the City that is Heavenly Jerusalem

Hebrews 12:22 ff. tells us what we get when we come to the City of God—the heavenly Jerusalem. It requires the faith of Abraham, because we don't often see this thing when we gather together as the church. It is in the heavenly realms and therefore invisible. But here's the often-unseen reality of the City of God: 1) It's indwelt by the Living God. God is here. He is invisible so we have to see him by faith. But sometimes he makes himself visible by signs and wonders and great works that shake the place. He is seen in the love, and righteousness, and good works of his people. He inhabits their praise and worship. He is the living architect and builder who never stops perfecting his city. 2) It's energized by angels. Verse 22 says, “You have come to thousands upon thousands of angels in joyful assembly. Angels are all around us in this place, if only we could see them. They have joy where we fear, because they know that God is doing his work even in these troubling times. And they are going about accomplishing his work. 3) It's strengthened by the saints. Verse 23 says that you have come “to the church of the firstborn, whose names are written down in heaven.” That would be those of us in this place this morning. It would also be more than 2.5 billion people who claim the name of Christ across the world today, more than double the number of Muslims. 4) Encouraged by those made perfect. Verse 23 speaks of “the spirits of righteous men made perfect.” These are those saints who have gone on to heaven: Abraham, Moses, David, Peter and Paul, Mary, St. Augustine, Calvin, Luther, and millions of nameless saints who persevered and overcame the cities of men until they became the New Jerusalem. 5) Guaranteed by the blood covenant. Verse 24 ends by saying, “to Jesus the mediator of a new covenant and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.” Abel died heroically because he believed God. But in Jesus, God himself shed his blood. His covenant with Abraham to bring his children to that city whose architect is God is made secure by the death of Christ. If you are washed in his blood, you are a citizen of this City of God. No matter what happens on November 4, 2008, or as a result of that day, your future is secure in the City of God!

Copyright 2008-2012, All rights reserved. No part of this may be reproduced without permission from Dr. Robert Petterson, Pastor Trent Casto or Covenant Presbyterian Church of Naples.