Tim King, A House that Stands. 2003.
"Abraham looked for more than the physical dimension that the promises had to offer. He looked for the heavenly city – the true fullness of these promises (Heb. 11:10,16). The book of Hebrews tells us, “if Joshua had given them rest, God would not speak later about another day” (Hebrews 4:8). But as A.D. 70 approached it is clear that believers had not yet entered into such a day. They had yet to find this day of rest. (as if 70AD gave them something that Jesus Christ did not already give them???) This “other day,” however, was rapidly approaching (Heb. 10:33). This would be the time that the heavenly city would come down (metaphorically) and the rule of God would everywhere be found."
"Augustine saw two cities, a city of God and a city of man. In Augustine’s view, we spend our lives trying to escape the city of man and attain (at our death) the City of God. That portrait is no different from the sojourn of Abraham. . . That view neutralizes the ministry of Jesus, making him no better than Abraham."
"The apostle John envisioned the ultimate day of rest as the time when the heavenly Jerusalem would see its arrival on earth (Revelation 22:1ff.), and the apostle Paul saw this as the time when God would be “all in all” (1 Corinthians 15:28). It is the heavenly city coming down that connects us in our eternal walk with God, in our eternal rest with him." (page 52)
"Fortunately, Scripture provides an interpretive clue by demonstrating to us that Jesus came to reverse Eden’s damage. By the focus of his ministry it is evident he knew that if you take away sin you take away the death (spiritual death) that Eden brought. Jesus came to put away death by putting away sin." (page 66)
"For them, they see the work of the Spirit as associated with the immaturity of the church – thus, when the body of Christ came to maturity in A.D. 70, those things associated with its formation simply went by the wayside as remnants of a previous era. The former things would include words of knowledge, gifts of healing, miracles, prophecy, speaking in tongues, and the interpretation of tongues (cf. 1 Cor. 12:8- 10)."
"Whether one sees the “complete” as the New Covenant order or the arrival of Christ in his people or even the Bible as we have received it, the point is that the “complete” is now here and so the partial, i.e., miraculous working of the Spirit, is over."(page 94)
