Jerusalem was easily the most splendid and opulent city of its time.  Solomon's 40-year reign is nostalgically remembered by the Jews as the golden kingdom.  Based on Isaiah 60 and similar texts, the orthodox Jews (and many Christians) look forward to a time when, under the Messiah yet to come, Israel shall again enjoy such a kingdom when she will be exalted above all nations of the earth, and her onetime Gentile oppressors shall be her servants to build her cities and walls, plough her fields, nurse her children, and pay her tribute.

One text reads as follows:

And the sons of strangers shall build up thy walls, and their kings shall minister unto thee.... Therefore thy gates shall be open continually; they shall not be shut day nor night; that men may bring unto thee the forces of the Gentiles, and that their kings may be brought (Isa. 60:10–11).

It was to explain the first statement, "the sons of strangers shall build up thy walls," that induced me to write this book. At first glance, orthodox Jewry does indeed appear to be correct in believing the Gentiles shall ultimately be vassals of Israel.  But I for one cannot accept this literally, for it violates the spirit and teachings of the entire New Testament—and, besides, I am a Gentile.  Hence, I began searching for an interpretation that not only gives meaning to Isaiah's words but does no violence to the doctrines of the apostles.

Let us now turn our attention to some of the prophecies of the kingdom.  First, the natural.  There was indeed a historical basis for Isaiah's prophecy that the sons of strangers would build up Zion's walls.  David conceived the noble idea of constructing a magnificent temple for the Lord to replace the tabernacle, and, though forbidden by the Lord to build it, a task to be left for his son, he accumulated great quantities of materials for its construction.  Since Israel lacked good timber, David prevailed upon his friend Hiram, king of Tyre, to send him cedars and firs from the slopes of Mount Lebanon.  He also asked for skilled workmen to hew the timbers and saw the great stones, for Israel had no craftsmen so skilled as the Phoenicians.  In addition, David "commanded to gather together the strangers that were in the land of Israel; and he set masons to hew wrought stones to build the house of God" (1 Chron. 22:2).  His son Solomon carried on the alliance between the two nations who had formerly been the bitterest of enemies.  Hiram agreed, for a fee, to supply not only timber but skilled hewers of both timber and stone.  "And Solomon's builders and Hiram's builders did hew them, and the stonesquarers: so they prepared timber and stones to build the house" (1 Kings. 5:18).