The New Kingdom: United We Stand
Historically, humanity relied on prophets, priests, and kings to approach God. Jesus Christ's ministry replaces intermediaries, including Himself, with the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, allowing believers to walk in the Spirit (John 14).
The Holy Spirit sheds light on the Holy Scriptures, bearing witness to Christ and God's message directly to the believer who seeks and trusts in Him (John 16).
The "stone cut out without hands" in Daniel 2 represents a kingdom not established by humans but by the Holy Spirit, God Himself (Daniel 2).
An Eternal Foundation
Upon This Rock
From the courts of Babylon to the brickyards of Egypt and ultimately to the ministry of Jesus Christ, Scripture reveals a progressive unfolding of God's purpose to reconcile and unite humanity with His Spirit. What begins as a covenant administered through prophets, priests, and kings reaches its fulfillment in the New Covenant, where the Holy Spirit, who reveals the truth, dwells within believers and is affirmed through the Holy Scriptures.
Throughout Scripture, God's wisdom and power prove that His truth and ways are revealed by the Holy Spirit, as illustrated in Daniel 2.
King Nebuchadnezzar required that his wise men not only interpret his dream but also reveal the dream itself. The decree was almost impossible. No philosopher, priest, magician, or political authority possessed that kind of power. However, Daniel declared that God "gives wisdom to the wise and grants knowledge to those with understanding. He reveals deep truths and hidden secrets."
A similar event occurs in Egypt. Pharaoh's command to make bricks without straw appeared impossible to Israel. However, the removal of the straw served as an invitation and opportunity to trust in Him to provide.
Under the Old Covenant, communion with the Holy Spirit remained largely mediated by prophets, priests, and even kings.
Jesus Christ was the perfect and final mediator between God and humanity. Yet His time on earth would soon pass so that humanity would be one with God through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. Before His crucifixion, Jesus promised His disciples that the Father would send the Helper—the Holy Spirit—who would teach them all things, guide them into all truth, and bring His words to their remembrance. The ministry of Christ culminates in the gift of the Holy Spirit, who continually testifies and baptizes in the name of the Father and the Son through the Holy Scriptures.
The New Kingdom is made up of a community of believers who no longer rely on Jesus to learn God's will. Instead, the Holy Spirit reveals the truth and path through the Scriptures, bearing witness and justifying their actions. A truth beautifully reflected in the Book of Mormon teaching that every individual may know the truth directly through the Holy Ghost:
"And by the power of the Holy Ghost, ye may know the truth of all things." (Moroni 10:5)
Knowledge ultimately comes from God, and the Holy Spirit testifies that the Scriptures are a true path to His righteousness.
The imagery of the stone "cut out without hands" in Daniel 2 further affirms that God's Kingdom is established by His Spirit, and Jesus affirmed this when Peter confessed, "Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God."
Jesus said that Peter's knowledge of Christ had not come through flesh and blood but by revelation from the Father. The foundation of God's kingdom, therefore, stands upon a truth revealed by the Holy Spirit.
Foundational principles are embodied in the Constitution of the United States. The First Amendment protects the free exercise of religion and prevents the government from placing religious authority in a single institution; the Constitution safeguards every person's freedom to seek God.
The Constitution also reflects the biblical principle that individuals remain free to learn from the Scriptures and worship God. In this respect, constitutional liberty provides a civil framework consistent with the New Covenant emphasis upon trust in God rather than dependence upon man.
At the center of the New Kingdom stands Jehovah Jireh, our provider, where wisdom, comfort, conviction, guidance, and understanding flow from the Father through the Spirit as believers prayerfully study the Holy Scriptures and walk in obedience to them.
The end towards which Scripture points is therefore not merely the end of life itself but the end of a divided kingdom that teaches Christ is the only way. The New Kingdom is made up of believers united in spirit, instructed by the Holy Scriptures, made in the image of God, and governed by truth revealed from above rather than authority established below.