Finally, Brethren, Farewell — March 2026

What is a city? A city is an organized polity to which an individual belongs, in which he has his specific place, and in which he lives in living connection with the other inhabitants.

Man in his rebellion seeks to build a city here on the earth. He makes this earth his dwelling place in connection with other like-minded rebels. His fellowship is with sin and darkness. In response to the Lord’s sentence that Cain would be a vagabond in the earth, he immediately went out and built a city to establish himself in the earth in his rebellion against God. In rebellion against God’s command to spread out over the earth and in rejection of the leadership of Noah and Seth in the church of that day, Nimrod and his people set themselves to build the city of Babel as the first appearance of opposition to God and his Christ by the antichristian world power, which God wounded with a deadly wound in the confounding of its language. The false church is described as the city of Babylon, a coalition of the rebellious, organized and dwelling together in their hatred of God and his church. And Babel reborn—with its deadly wound healed, as persecutors of the church and haters of God—is that great city, which is spiritually called Sodom and Egypt.

This world since Adam’s rebellion has had its city. The world always boasts against God that its city shall remain forever. And God has continually laid waste to those cities as an abomination to him as he laid waste to Babylon of old, which boasted that it would abide forever.

And in this city we have no part. In the city of this world, our Lord was crucified. And we must go out to him. For here in this city of the world, we have no place. We have here no continuing city. Understand this to mean that we do not belong here. We are pilgrims and strangers here as were Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. We have been translated by the wonder of grace into another kind of city. So soon as we seek to belong here in the world, then we must pack up our tents and become as Lot, who went to dwell in Sodom. Indeed, constantly we must be reminded and as frequently pulled out of that which is spiritually called Sodom as Lot was pulled from that historical city. For the city of this world vexes our righteous souls as that debauched city of the plains vexed Lot’s righteous soul.

We seek a city that is to come. Yes, what does the writer of Hebrews say to the church of his day?

22. Ye are come unto mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels,

23. To the general assembly and church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect,

24. And to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than that of Abel. (12:22–24)

Yes, our city is the elect church of God, the perfection of God’s covenant, the kingdom of God fully come, the habitation of the living God. Our citizenship is in heaven. And the day is coming when that city will descend out of heaven as a bride adorned for her husband. For that day we look!