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At Christ's Coming, a world had opened up. Those who had entered it saw clearly the signs of its greatness and power, and looked forward to the blessings it was sure to bestow upon all peoples. This world was as real, nay more real, that what they had previously regarded as the substance of their lives. Their love for Him and their fellowship with one another sustained them through all things. Their world was filled with divine purpose and promise (66:3) What a world it was; and what a world with which it had to contend. Though the world of Faith brought by Christ was clearly a reality to the believer, what those outside this world saw was quite different. From the story presented in the New Testament, it seems that those in the outside world, in fact, simply could not see it. It was, in a sense, invisible to them. The Jewish people had no way of comprehending what was going on in the minds and hearts of the followers of Christ - no way of judging the merits of their new pattern of religious practice, no way of seeing what His followers saw with undoubted clarity: the future rise and triumph of His Faith (66:4) The Jews, who disputed in vain, to invalidate the truth of the appearance of the Christ, remained oblivious of this world of faith. Without the acceptance of Jesus as the Christ, the door was closed to understanding either His words or the significance of events in His life. Without such an understanding, the meaning of the scriptures remained a mystery. And, not understanding the meaning of the Hebrew scriptures, the world and life itself was a mystery to them. At the Coming of the Holy One of Israel, far from responding to the spirit of the world of faith offered to them, the Jewish people viewed as insignificant and troublesome the small band of Christ's followers
(66:5)
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