The Kingdom of Stone
The Hope of Israel
Long before the Pilgrims wrestled with the question of how to further establish the Kingdom of God on Earth, and long after the Children of Israel wrestled with the same thing, another group of outsiders wrestled with it, too. All their lives, the disciples of Jesus had heard about what the prophets of old predicted—by way of the descendants of Israel, the whole world would one day be blessed, and through them, all would finally come to a knowledge of the one, true God.
Yet flying in the face of such a glorious destiny were centuries of failure, tragedy, and hopelessness. Despite all the valiant efforts of the sons and daughters of Jacob, the hope of Israel always seemed just out of reach. For the disciples, as proud men, and for Israel, as a once-mighty nation, the fire that had burned so brightly slowly faded until it was nothing more than a smoldering ember threatening to go out at any moment.
Story Continues Below
To watch author and historian W. Kent Smith discuss the contents of his book On Earth as It is On Heaven, at the Sacred Word Revealed Conference 2023, hosted by Zen Garcia, CLICK BELOW.
Story Continues From Above
Fortunately for them—and for the world—the repeated failures of national Israel didn’t mean the end of God’s promises concerning His plan for the blessing of all mankind. Despite every misstep on the part of humanity—and every attempt of Satan to derail this salvation plan—God always had a failsafe plan to right the ship if ever it veered off course. At some point in human history, something—or rather Someone—was scheduled to bridge the gap, in making God’s plan for mankind a reality in spite of all our repeated failures. According to prophecy, this Someone would arrive one day when all hope was lost—the Day of the Lord it was called—the day when all wrongs would be made right, when the shame of downtrodden Israel would be removed and her rightful place as head of the nations would be restored.
So, when word spread throughout the countryside, of the Man Jesus Who healed the sick and gave sight to the blind, the dying embers of the old dream began to rekindle once again. Before long, this Jesus had gathered about Himself a group of eager young men who were all anxious to know more about the hope of Israel. What was it exactly? Was it a place? Was it a state of mind? Are You really the One, Jesus, Who we’ve been waiting for all this time? Are You the One Who will finally restore this hope of ours, to establish the Kingdom of God, once and for all?
