20
B.- (Continues): As to the oneness of the hope, this is obviously true of the Acts itself. In 1:6 and in 28:20
there is but one hope, viz., `The hope of Israel'. Upon examination this is found to be the case with regard to the
church of the period. Romans, being the last epistle of the series, and the most dogmatic, will determine the
question once for all. Romans 15:12,13 (`trust' is the same word as `hope') reveals that the hope before the church
was connected with Christ as the `Root of Jesse', who should `reign over the Gentiles', the reference being to Isaiah
11 and the great day of Israel's restoration. Every reference to the hope of the church found in 1 & 2 Corinthians,
1 & 2 Thessalonians and Galatians is in perfect harmony with this crowning passage.