Do you remember when you first began to see how significant the AD 70 destruction of Jerusalem was? For me, it was like a revelation. So much of the New Testament started making sense. For the first time, I could see the import of Jerusalem’s fall in the hearts and minds of many fist-century Jews.

 

Also, it helped me make sense of so many previously difficult passages. For instance, I always wondered about Jesus’ instruction to his disciples to “flee to the mountains” when they saw the end of the world coming upon them (in Matthew 24). How could fleeing to the mountains help them if the whole planet was going to blow up? Yet, seeing this as relating to the sacking of the city caused me to make sense of it. Heading for the hills made perfect sense in that context.

 

Then there was 2Thessalonians 2. How could the “man of sin” be “sitting in temple of God” at the end of the world? The temple was destroyed, and the world might end any day now. However, recognizing a first-century setting for this allowed me to begin to piece the puzzle together.

 

Seeing the significance of Jerusalem’s fall in 70CE this caused me to read the Bible in a whole new way, even though it took a great deal of reorienting and rethinking my theology. A friend once told me, “You see the destruction of Jerusalem on every page.” I answered, “That’s because it’s there on every page.”

 

I became infatuated with the destruction of Jerusalem to the point that I thought it would be a good idea to create a holiday celebrating it. We could call it “Parousia Day” or something like that. So I did some research on the day and discovered there was already a memorial of it. I found the Tisha B'Av  on the Jewish calendar as a time of great mourning.

 

At that point, something inside me clicked, and Jerusalem’s destruction became all too real. I could hear the grief in the voice of Jesus as he envisioned the city’s demise. Like Jeremiah before him, Jesus lamented the catastrophe. More than just a theological event, it was an occasion where countless people died unfathomable deaths in tremendous suffering. From that point on for me, the destruction of Jerusalem became more than just a historical and theological event. It became a human event.

 

Seeing this caused me to rethink not just my theology, but also myself. It forced me to re-read not only the Bible, but also my own thinking. What was it about me that led me to want to celebrate such a catastrophe? Was it my own selfishness? Could I be happy at the expense of others?

 

This left me empty, not fulfilled at all.

 

Just as my previous worldview had been destroyed, this transitional one (which I had called “preterism”) had come to an end. And it propelled me into reading the Biblical story and myself new again.

 

I came to see that fulfilled prophecy was nothing about the destruction of Jerusalem. Yes, it is a key historical event filled with significance, and it is the specific subject of many Biblical texts.  However, fulfilled prophecy is not about the Destruction of Jerusalem. On the contrary, it is about the Creation of Jerusalem and the blessing of the whole world.

 

From beginning to end—Genesis to Revelation—the entire story is abut Creation. The creation of humanity in the likeness of God in a Heaven and Earth perfectly suited for us. Love in a world of Love.

 

As I see it, the high point of the story comes in Revelation 21-22 with the creation of the New Jerusalem, whose light fills the entire earth.

 

If we focus our minds solely on destruction (of the planet or of Jerusalem), we will tend to live destructively. "When your only tool is a hammer, the whole world looks like a nail.” If we’re preoccupied with destruction, we’ll likely overlook creation. And in overlooking creation, we will remain empty and unfulfilled because destruction is about tearing apart and taking away, while creation is about filling up.

 

The New Jerusalem sits in the center of the New World. And at the center of it is a tree—the Tree of Life. Interesting to me is the absence of the tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. This helps us see that there’s no sin and no sin-related death in a world that has the New Jerusalem in it’s midst.

 

Moreover, the Tree of Life has leaves that heal the wound year round. The leaves of that tree are nothing less than the Leaves of Love. I’m simply convinced that the power of love that made the New World is the same power that sustains it. And this is the same power that allows us to experience fulfillment in it.

 

Going all the way back to Genesis, we see a model of God’s Love in the Creation process. In Genesis, we find first and foremost a creation occurring. The very act of creation can be read in several ways. However, at minimum, it is an act of Love.  It’s an act of God’s love because God opens himself to another and makes room for others. To create is to Love. And to love is to experience fulfillment.

 

 

 

URL: http://www.presence.tv/cms/conf_create_jerusalem.php

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