In 1666 during the great fire of London hundreds of people lost their homes; and many large public buildings were burnt to the ground, including Saint Paul’s Cathedral which they ruined and derelict for a further eight years.
Then one day Sir Christopher Wren, the great architect, visited the burnt out ruins. Has he walked among the rubble he felt very sad at the waist of destruction. He asked for labour to find a small piece of stone – so that he could begin to market new foundations on the ground.
The labour searched around in the rubble. Then a wonderful thing happened! The chance he found a small piece of flat stone, with some writing on it. It’s been part of a tombstone. He took it to see Christopher Wren.
The architect was overcome with emotion. There is only one word on the stone, the Latin word “Resurgam”, meaning “I shall rise to new life again.“
A divine message from God, that he should design a new, more glorious St Paul’s Cathedral, which would rise up from the ashes of the old one.
And preserved in the stonework, high over the south porch, I can see today, the Christian symbol of the Phoenix rising from the ashes – its wings outstretched towards heaven. The sacred symbol of our Lord Jesus Christ resurrection to new life.
I found this story very moving and I do believe it could be prophetic in what is going to happen to the Ukraine. This is not the end for the Ukraine, God is involved and He will restore all that has been taken from the Ukrainians in a way that only He can.
