All monarchs on the British throne are crowned over a special stone called the stone of destiny. This stone has an extraordinary history—and symbolizes some awesome prophecy as well.

I have written quite a lot about this stone over the years, but recently God showed me some more inspiring truth about it that we need to think deeply about.

The history of this stone begins in Genesis 28, after Jacob left his home and his parents in Canaan in order to seek a wife. As he was traveling toward Haran, “he lighted upon a certain place, and tarried there all night, because the sun was set; and he took of the stones of that place, and put them for his pillows, and lay down in that place to sleep” (verse 11).

Jacob took stones, and apparently threw a coat or animal hide over them to make himself a pillow. When he fell asleep, he had a wonderful dream and received a promise from God (verses 12-15).

“And Jacob awaked out of his sleep, and he said, Surely the Lord is in this place; and I knew it not” (verse 16). What made Jacob think that? “And he was afraid, and said, How dreadful is this place! this is none other but the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven” (verse 17). Something happened that really got Jacob excited and stirred. He knew God was there.

Look closely at the next verse: “And Jacob rose up early in the morning, and took the stone that he had put for his pillows, and set it up for a pillar, and poured oil upon the top of it” (verse 18). Verse 11 clearly spoke of him taking stones, plural—but this verse speaks of “the stone,” singular. Those stones became a single stone! If you study the Hebrew words used here, there is no other way to read this.

You have to believe that no small part of what Jacob was so excited about was this miracle! His statement “How dreadful is this place” is a poor translation. Gesenius’ Hebrew-Chaldee Lexicon defines the word dreadful as “to fear; to reverence as one’s parents; to tremble for joy; stupendous; admirable; wonderful.”

Jacob was filled with wonder and joy at what had happened! He realized that God had performed a tremendous miracle! These stones had literally become a single stone: Jacob’s pillar stone.

This is the beginning of the illustrious history of England’s “stone of destiny”!

This was an event where God was very personally involved, performing miracles! Jacob knew it was something to really get excited about!

What had been a pillow to Jacob, turned into a “pillar.” The word for pillar, matstsebah in the Hebrew, means a memorial stone. God wants us to remember this stone and what it represents.

The fact that British coronations take place right above that stone is deeply significant. That is the throne that Jesus Christ is going to sit on very soon—and that stone points toward His rule out into eternity and the universe!

Small Stones Into One Rock

1 Corinthians 10:4 says the Israelites “drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ.” Christ is that spiritual Rock. He certainly created in that rock a symbol of Himself; there is no doubt about that.

But is that the whole picture? Remember, there were some small rocks there, and they were created into one rock! Is there more to this that we haven’t understood?

Notice this remarkable statement: Jacob said, “And this stone, which I have set for a pillar, shall be God’s house …” (Genesis 28:22).

At that time, there was no temple or even a moveable tabernacle. Yet Jacob received an incredible vision of the future: He realized that God was going to have a house built to conduct His Work from that very place! That is why he called the stone God’s house. It was a special symbol. During Jacob’s lifetime, it was used to show where God was operating from.

Later, the tabernacle and the temple were called God’s house. Scripture shows that spiritually, in the New Testament, God’s own Spirit-begotten people are called the temple of God, or God’s house (e.g. 2 Corinthians 6:16). It is within His people that God dwells through His Spirit (e.g. 1 Corinthians 3:16-17).

Jacob’s pillar stone is also a symbol of God’s New Testament Church. I believe God wants us to discuss this more, because it has awe-inspiring meaning when you think about it!

I wonder if God is telling us something here that we need to understand more deeply.

Christ and the Bride

Romans 10:4 says that “Christ is the end of the law”—or the aim, the purpose, the goal of the law. In other words, if you keep that perfect spiritual law of God, in the end, it makes you just like Christ! Spiritually, you have His very mind and character!

“Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus,” Paul instructed in Philippians 2:5. God wants us to be of one mind with Christ.

After all, we are going to marry Him—at which point Christ and the Bride, Husband and wife, will become “one flesh”—one flesh, one mind, one judgment!

Or, one rock, you could say!

You certainly see Christ symbolized in Jacob’s pillar stone. But the firstfruits are going to marry Jesus Christ and become one with Him. Could we say that stone is also a symbol of Christ and His Bride?

This is a different picture than the one Jesus gave to Peter. Christ told him, You are Peter, or petros—which means little stone. And then He said, I’m going to build my Church on me, the Rock—the Petra—the big boulder! (Matthew 16:18). We must never forget that!

However, with Jacob’s pillar stone, there are little stones that blend together with the massive Stone that is Christ!

Why did Jacob take up these small stones, and why did they become one big stone? That is a phenomenal miracle. What did God have in mind? Is He trying to get His firstfruits, His very elect, to see what this is all about—and how He’s going to honor them as no people will ever be honored ever again?

It appears that future was pictured, in spectacular symbol, when the stones that Jacob used became one stone—the stone of destiny.

One Flesh

God created Eve from the very bone, the very flesh, of Adam. And when He presented her to Adam, that was a type of our marriage to Jesus Christ.

Genesis 2:23-24 explain, “And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man. Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.”

God’s saints have received the very Spirit of God, and will be made from that piece of God! We will become the very sons of God and the Bride of Christ—“one flesh,” spiritually! John 6 says we are to “eat” Jesus Christ spiritually. Ephesians 5:21-33 is one of the Bible’s most awesome passages about marriage—and the Apostle Paul plainly says that it isn’t really about physical marriage: It’s about the marriage of the Church to Jesus Christ!

The more I think about this, the more it makes my mind reel! Is it really true that, for just what we do in this world, God is going to blend us in, and we will become one with Jesus Christ? Yes it is! Those little stones are going to become part of the Rock! They are going to become right on the level of the One who sits on David’s throne! That is an amazing miracle!

How much are you willing to do for God in order to attain that future? How much will you sacrifice? How fervently will you fight your spiritual warfare? Because we will never make it if we aren’t willing to fight for it!

Think of the honor God gives us if we just do what He says. It is easy to question why He lets us go through certain trials or tests. But those are exactly what we need! God is re-creating Himself! And to do that in us, He must refine and purify us! How deeply do we understand that?

This is a stunning picture of the honor and glory and power God bestows on the firstfruits—especially the sons of Zadok, who will be right there in headquarters forever with their Husband! Those saints were ready to rule! Those little stones just blended in and made one big Rock!

There is a oneness we need to understand from this picture. God is fashioning us to be just like Christ. Of course, Christ will always have far more authority and power, but His Bride will be on His level, sitting on His throne. That is so miraculous and wonderful and inspiring that if you fully understand it, how could you ever let go of such a promise?

We have an eternal future with Jesus Christ! That is the truth! We will be building with Him forever! We will be awestruck throughout all eternity over what we will accomplish as the Bride of Jesus Christ!

You’d have to say, that is a rock-like marriage! What a Rock—and what a love—and what a joy that will last forever and ever!

The history of Jacob’s pillar stone in Genesis 28 fits that Husband-Bride message. It pictures our becoming “one flesh” with Christ. That’s what that symbolism is really about. And that stone is right there as a part of the throne of David: It forms the central part of that throne. That really is a stone of destiny for God’s people, and it ought to stir us as perhaps nothing else could!

How loving God is to give us so much. He has given us this knowledge, which is really a great message of hope! We can use it to show the world that a new day is about to dawn that will stop the madness in this world forever! Christ will rule, and His Bride will be right there ruling with Him!