Today we went up to London to see the Terracotta Army exhibition at the British Museum. In spite of the gales and torrential rain, we went. Well, we'd had to pay for the tickets in advance! It was well worth going to see. Although the museum has only a few of the 7,000 soldiers found, they are quite amazing. There are also many other exhibits to see and plenty to read about.
The king who had this incredible complex holding his terracotta army built around his tomb was ruler of the state of Qin. And when he had conquered the surrounding six states he declared himself the "First August Divine Emperor of the Qin".
On the other hand it was slightly sad to think he had this massive army built to protect him in the afterlife, so he could rule for ever. But as Jesus said, if we store up treasures on earth, moth and rust corrupt and thieves break in and steal. In fact, early on thieves had broken in to the underground complex and stolen much and the army pieces have deteriorated over time and many were smashed and are being put back together again. What the Emperor omitted to do was to "lay up treasure in heaven", which is what Jesus has exhorted us to do. That's the only way to be sure of a good afterlife!
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