The City of God "But ye are come unto mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels, 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, And to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than that of Abel." ---Hebrews 12:22-24--- The History of mankind has been a continual struggle between two kingdoms. The Kingdom of Heaven and the Kingdom of this world. St. Augustine portrayed these warring realms as cities, the City of God and the City of Man. The first, and highest is the City of God. It is eternal, a place of light and of life. When the father of our race fell the whole world was removed from that golden age of Paradise. This was the birth of the City of Man. The golden age, the Kingdom of Heaven, our race's ancient home was not destroyed but it was hidden. It remained as did our longing for it, a shadow of sorrow on the edge of our sweetest dreams, but we were cut off from it, from its light, and from its life. The City of God is so called because God is its center and its Highest Glory. When I say that God is its center I mean not only that He is the most important element and focus of the city, but also that He is its literal source. The City's light is God, its life is God. The Holy Scriptures tell us of the beginning of a struggle that has spanned the millenia down to our very day. The clash of kingdoms begins with the story of two brothers. One brother a citizen of the City of God, and the other belonging to the City of Man. Abel is an example to us of the City of God and Cain the City of Man. Abel was a shepard, a wanderer. His life was spent traveling from field to field caring for the flocks. The key event in Abel's life, as in his brother's life, was a sacrifice. When Abel came to worship God, he came in humility and obedience. He came before God on the terms that God had specified and offered the worship that God desired. This act of humility and obedience earned Abel the hatred of his brother, and his own death at his brothers hand. The first example of the City of God was also the first martyr.