Jerusalem's Hope

This book and all the other books that are in the series is fantastic. The Thoene's writing is realistic, factual when necessary and I am trying to catch up on all their books. I would recommend this entire series for anyone who does not know much about what happened to Israel before and after they became a nation. Make sure you start with the first book in the series.

I am simply amazed at the incredible knowledge I have learned from this book. It is simply a wonderful read. From the telling of this story, I have learned about the Jewish faith and it's Passover and also about the belief they have in the coming of their "Messiah" which is prophesized throughout the Torah. After being a Sunday School teacher for 17 years, this says alot for the Thoene's. However, I did not just read this for it's biblical sense alone, I read it for it's characters too. I thoroughly enjoyed reading about the development of Marcus and Miryam and what had become of the "Sparrows." If you have read the other books in the series, then you too will find this book a pleasant addition to the collection!

I loved this book. It was very touching in many places and made so clear the importance of the lamb as sacrifice for sin for the Jewish people. The story of the children, the lambs and Zadok was wonderful. The ending of the book brought me to tears. I can't wait to read First Light!

The sixth volume in the series picks up exactly where the last (STONES OF JERUSALEM) left off. Yeshua sends the three "Sparrows," Emet, Ha-or, and Avel, off with a message for Zadok, who takes them in and begins to teach them the ways of a shepherd in Bethlehem. Meanwhile, the political situation in Jerusalem over the use of temple money to build a Roman aqueduct heats up, trapping the shepherds as well as Marcus and Nakdimon in the cross fire. Will the situation erupt during Passover? Will Yeshua show up? If so, will he be in danger? And exactly who is he anyway?This is the third break in the 1948 storyline in the series. While I've enjoyed the look at 1st century Israel, I still want to know more about Moshe, Rachel, and the other characters we started the series with. But that's my only complaint.The books set in the 1st century are different from normal Thoene books because the focus is more on emotional struggles and the political battles take a back seat. As always, the historical research is outstanding, transporting the reader completely to another time and place. The Thoene's once again weave powerful word pictures from the story that clearly show what Jesus did for us.While I'm sorry to leave the 1948 storyline behind, I'm anxious for their new series to start as it continues the story of Yeshua and his followers.

The Thoenes have done it again with another superb book. Although Yeshua does not appear as often in this book as he does in the previous books, the message that the authors are trying to convey is still clear: to show why the picture of Christ as a lamb was so important to the Israelites. The point at which little Emet realizes that the lamb must die to atone for sins is amazing, and again brought tears to my eyes, as have so many passages in the previous books. This book does leave the reader hanging at the end, because not much mention is made of what is going to happen to Yeshua. Yet, I think this provides an excellent segue for the next series which the Thoenes will be writing, the A.D. Chronicles, which will tell the story of the last year of Yeshua's ministry here on earth. Another job well done, Brock and Bodie!