Rock Doctrine

When the Bible refers to Jesus as a "cornerstone," what was the intended meaning behind this symbolic expression? Other literary references to rock and stone pervade the biblical narrative and provide metaphorical value to numerous subjects, including God, the temple, and the eschatological kingdom, to name a few. Does the use of a common metaphor reveal a theological connection between these various referents? Is there a progression of thought upon which each additional use of the metaphor expa