Not sure how profound Mike is here. It's a bit basic, on a first impression and prima facie, not much further than St. Augustine.
http://joshuajudgesruth.blogspot.com/2012/08/dr-mike-horton-on-city-of-god-and-city.html
Dr. Mike Horton on the City of God and the City of Man
Recently I was preaching on
the Hebrews 12:18-29 and the concept that believers are “receiving a kingdom”
(v. 28) and the fact that all the kingdoms of this age will be shaken (vv.
26-27). In his work The Christian Faith: A Systematic Theology for Pilgrims
On the Way, Dr. Mike Horton offers an important and helpful
insight about life in this present age. Tucked into a section exploring
biblical metaphors for the church he writes this as he discusses the metaphor of
“city” as it is found in various places in Scripture:
“As the paradigmatic City
of God, Eden was to expand outward from the garden itself until the glory of God
filled the whole earth. This was humanity’s commission in Adam…Eden, Like Adam
and Eve themselves, was an earthly image of the heavenly reality, an analogue of
God’s home and of God’s own triune communion…The fall shattered this unity of
cult and culture: humanity now lived east of Eden, as the cherubim guarded the
tree of life, barring reentry from all directions with a flaming sword (Gen.
3:24). Living under a common curse, creation also shares in God’s common grace,
which preserves all that God has made, even those who will not finally be
preserved from God’s wrath on the last day. The pseudo-temple of apostate
civilization symbolized by Babel from Genesis 11 to Revelation 18 and 19 would
be overthrown…
The goal of all biblical
eschatology is that God’s dwelling would be with humanity. After the fall, the
cultural and cultic activities diverge into two distinct cities, with Cain’s
line and Seth’s line, respectively. Cain builds a city recognized for its
cultural achievements (Gen. 4:17-24), while of Seth’s line we read, ‘At that
time people began to call on the name of the LORD’ (v. 26). The interaction
between these two cities becomes the theater for the repeated showdowns between
Yahweh and his covenant people (‘the seed of the woman’) on the one hand and
Lucifer and his allies (‘the seed of the serpent’) on the other.
Given the fact that
cultural activity was part of the holy work of the cultural mandate in creation,
building cities and civilizations is not inherently evil. Rather, it is the
corruption of the fallen heart that erects violent, oppressive, unrighteous, and
idolatrous cities that are not only properly distinct from but rivals to the
City of God. Incapable of creating, Satan can only distort that which God
makes, imitating God’s city-building while also using his antichurch as a means
of destroying the true church. We see this contest at the Tower of Babel with
its sacred skyscraper attempting to conquer heaven as well as in the rivalry
between Yahweh and Satan represented by Moses and Pharaoh, and in the conquest
of Canaan with its holy wars in anticipation of the last judgment. Of course,
this trial reaches its apogee on Good Friday, and its outcome is secured on
Easter morning, yet skirmishes continue to the end of the age. Only on the last
day will the cities of this world be made the City of God." Pilgrims
on the Way, pp. 727-728.
What I like about this quote
is how Horton explains the City of Man, ruled by Satan, is a rival to the City
of God. Properly understood, this makes me wonder about common phrases like
"redeeming the culture" or "redeeming the city" which are tossed around in
reformed circles. If the City of Man is at war with the City of God and is
trying to supplant it, why do we go to such pains to get cozy with the culture?
Why do we look for church-planters who are good at contextualizing the Gospel
instead of men who understand this tension and antithesis?
I also like Horton's
description of Satan's antichurch - false churches that wage war against the
true church. This puts into perspective the long list of churches that have
gone astray. They were infiltrated by the enemy and over time he has brought
them down. Some of them have fallen so far that they persecute those who preach
God's Word. This ought to be a stern warning for those who believe that it
couldn't happen to them or to their denomination.
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