What exactly is "the blessed hope?"
Oh, it's not far—fetched from "the blessed assurance".
Both originate in one person: the Person of the LORD, Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is the Son of God, the Lamb of God that took the weight of the sins of the entire world of fallen humans upon Himself. Like a lamb, Prophet Isaiah described His sufferings, pains, beatings, false sentencing in a Kangaroo religious court, to His painful execution on the jagged, Roman cross, painful to watch. There upon that cross, the Lamb of God bled and died. Thereafter, He was buried in the belly of the earth. And on the third day, He rose again — raised by the power of God the Father. GOD did this so that through Jesus Christ, all humans could have a relationship with God while on earth, and continue the same after their times had expired on the earth, in Heaven, His eternal abode! This, in a nutshell, is the blessedness of the assurance "that Jesus Christ has come to save sinners, of which I am chief" as Paul the apostle remarked in one of his letters to his spiritual son, Timothy (1 Timothy 1:15). This is the heart of Father—God Who would want many people to be saved, and come to the knowledge of the truth.
Thus, the blessed assurance is that supernatural knowing that you are now a child of God and belong to Him, eternally.
What of the "blessed hope"?
Apostle Paul described "the blessed hope" as the unfailing hope of the child of God that he/she will see his/her Savior Jesus Christ face to face at the Rapture or after death: "If in this life only, we have hope in Christ Jesus, we are of all men most miserable" (1 Corinthians 15:19).
THE DEFINITION OF THE BLESSED HOPE
Let us read Titus 2:11—14:
"For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared unto all men,
Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world;
Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;
Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works."
From the above verses relating to our focused content, there are three important lessons worthy of our notice:
a.) It is the grace of God that brings salvation. Period. Not hard work (even though we all ought to be hardworking). Not good looks — even though we ought to be always presentable and friendly. Not human connections. Not educational attainment. Not your friends. Not your kith and chum! Not your parents' standing in the society. This grace is the benevolent act of the supreme Father—God!
b.) This grace is always teaching us ... In other words, we are constantly updated, informed, connected to, and corrected by the Teacher — the Holy Spirit! I pray and trust that you have not become too big to be corrected by the gentle Great Teacher, the Holy Spirit! And the good Lord does by empowering us to deny ungodliness and lust. Jesus Christ said if the disciple could not deny self, take up his/her cross, and follow him, that person's walk is in vain!
c.) The blessed hope is the holy disciple's anticipatory expectation of His Lord and Savior's appearing in the air: Scripture teaches us that our Lord will return in the air with millions upon millions of His holy angels. "Behold, he cometh with the clouds and every eye shall see him ..." (Revelations 1:7). The King of kings and the Lord of all lords is coming. Nobody will be able to prevent Him. And He's coming for His Bride who is prepared, alert, and awaiting His return. Oh, yes, Maranatha: Come LORD JESUS! (1 Corinthians 16:22).
Now, when our Lord comes, He will come in the 'harpazo'; that is the Greek word for "snatch away", the term theologians call 'Rapture'. The great snatching away will occur "in a twinkle of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet shall sound and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed ..." (1 Corinthians 15:51-52).
MY QUESTIONS
My heart is brimming with a lot of questions though I will only ask you, just a few:
a.) Are you ready for 'harpazo'? Many will be caught unawares. Some mouth-professing Christians will discover that they have been left behind! It's going to be tragic because they would have been left behind to the whims and caprices of the "Man of sin" - the AntiChrist's seven years of impossibilities made possible by God. If you think that the politicians are lying now, please do not wait for the coming of the AntiChrist! For he is the Satan embodied in a human body whom you wouldn't be able to fact-check because of the unbelievable powers that God will allow him to possess. Please put your faith in Jesus Christ, now! How do you do that? You say a simple prayer like this, by faith:
"Father, please forgive all my sins and cleanse me by Your Son Jesus' precious blood shed on the cross. In Jesus name!. Amen!!"
b.) Are you living daily expectant of our Savior? If you are running errant to the Holy Scriptures, stop and think. Stop all your running around's. Stop cheating yourself. Stop dragging; dragging yourself through the mud. Stop pleasing men and women. Start pleasing God. The Bible says "If a man's ways please the Lord, He maketh even his enemies to be at peace with him" (Proverbs 16:7).
c.) Are you witnessing about Jesus' second coming to others? Don't keep this GoodNews to yourself, Heaven rejoices at the moment any one sinner repents and is won to the Lord (Luke 15:10).
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Written by Dr. Sammy Joseph. If you've any inquiries about what you've read — or would love to write for us, please, contact us at (+44) 77581-95466 or email: 'pulsepublishinghouse@harvestways.org'
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