THE BIBLE'S VIEWPOINT-ARCHAEOLOGY NECESSARY FOR FAITH?

A New "City"

On Pentecost 33 C.E., the Jewish nation lost its favored position before God.  (Matthew 21:43) This made way for something much greater-a heavenly government that would bring blessings to all mankind.  (Matthew 10:7) True to Jesus' prophecy, Jerusalem with its temple was destroyed in 70 C.E.   Archaeology supports the Bible's record of such an event. Yet, for Christians, faith is  not dependent on whether ruins of that ancient temple have been found.  Their faith is centered on another Jerusalem, but this one is a different type of city.

In the year 96 C.E., the apostle John, who had heard Jesus' prophecy about the destruction of Jerusalem and its temple and had lived to see its fulfillment, was given the following vision:  "I saw also the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God." A voice from the throne said:   "He will reside  with [mankind], and they will be his peoples.  And God himself will be with them. And he will wipe out every tear from their eyes, and death will be no more, neither will mourning nor outcry nor pain be anymore." -Revelation 21:2-4. 

This "city" is made up of faithful Christians who will serve as kings with Christ in heaven. Together they form the heavenly government-God's Kingdom-that will rule over the earth, bringing the human race back to perfection during the Millennium.  (Matthew 6:10; 2 Peter 3:13) The first-century Jewish Christians who were to be part of that group realized that nothing they had in the Jewish system of things could compare with the privilege of ruling with Christ in heaven. 

Next time: THE BIBLE'S VIEWPOINT - ARCHAEOLOGY NECESSARY FOR FAITH?/ Conclusion of A New "City" 

From the Awake! magazine