To the Editor:
Over the past year I have been studying the Book of Revelation and have learned that there is one theme that runs throughout this book, and it is prevalent in our lives today. The battle between good and evil. We also know that in the end God wins. In my study of Revelation I also came across the comprehensive thesis written by St. Augustine in the fourth century titled “The City of God.”
Throughout human history there have been countless kingdoms, empires and nations, but Augustine narrows them down to two – the City of God and the City of Man. Those living in the City of Man have no time for God and look to man and sometimes themselves, fueled by pride, as the ultimate source of authority. On the other hand, those who live in the City of God look to God as the ultimate source of authority. As Paul wrote in his letter to the Romans, “For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God.”
This was also the catalyst for the Charles Dickens novel “A Tale of Two Cities,” where he wrote in the opening of the book, “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way.”
So even though we are citizens in the City of God, we still live in and must deal with the City of Man. The problem is that too many people try to isolate themselves in the City of God and refuse to address the issues that we face in the City of Man. In my view, the only way we can follow the commandments of God and carry out the Great Commission of Jesus Christ is to get involved by trying to make the City of Man a better place to live.
Dr. Mark Allen from Liberty University explained the relationship between the two cities by writing, “It may be tempting to believe that because the many institutions of life, such as civil governments, businesses or families, deal with very temporal concerns, they are only part of the City of Man. However, this would be to misunderstand the distinction which Augustine is making. According to him, while all of these institutions inhabit the same saeculum, they do not necessarily belong to one city or the other. Rather, each institution can participate in either city, depending on the attitudes and orientations of its members, and the nature of its structures.
“For instance, a government which seeks to dominate its population, stifle the church, amass fortunes for itself at the expense of its people, and orient itself inwardly, viewing man as the measure of all things, would be squarely situated in the City of Man, whereas a government which loves justice, protects its people, seeks the common good, and orients itself toward God as the end of all being participates more in the City of God.”
The good news is that even though the two cities are intertwined in a world that is dominated by Satan as the leader of the City of Man, Jesus is still reigning in the City of God, and when He returns to establish His Kingdom here on Earth, Satan will have no part in it. The City of Man will be defeated. Satan and unfortunately all of the unbelieving Earth dwellers will face a second death that will separate them for eternity from the presence of God. In Revelation, John writes that “the smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever, and they have no rest, day or night.”
The Believers, on the other hand, will reside with Jesus in His Kingdom and will not only be free from the power and penalty of sin, but also from the presence of sin. Human depravity will be gone, and the ability to sin will be nonexistent. Ultimately, it is a Tale of One City, which is the New Jerusalem, the City of God, where God will dwell with His people forever.
Anthony P. Monzo
Cape May
