Looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Saviour Jesus Christ. This is one of the few verses in the Bible that mentions the Rapture and the Glorious Appearing together. It is my very strong view that these two events are separated by a period of at least seven years, during which time the Tribulation on the earth will take place. I want to concentrate for the moment on Our Blessed Hope, which I am convinced, refers to the Rapture of the true Church when the trumpet sounds. (1 Thess 4 13-18) Because the Bible calls it a HOPE, some folk may become confused. The word hope in the English language is a very over worked word. So much so that its true meaning is almost entirely lost. Today, the word hope is used almost in the same way as the word wish we might say, I hope it will not rain tomorrow because I want to cut the grass. Using hope in this way robs it of its certainty. In this context we have no certain grounds to hope it wont rain! Where I live in the UK, it most probably will rain! The word hope in the Bible is a certainty. I like to think of it as FAITH in the FUTURE Hebrews 11:1 tells us that faith is the substance of things hoped for. When the Bible speaks of hope it is speaking of a real certainty! That is exactly how I view the Rapture. It is a real certainty. Still future, but a real certainty. The question that comes to mind is how far in the future, or how near is the Rapture? Personally, I believe it to be very near. I believe that we are not just in the last days but the last of the last days. Are you looking for our blessed hope? And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgement, so Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many. To those who eagerly wait for Him, He will appear a second time, apart from sin, for salvation. Hebrews 9: 27-28 To those who eagerly wait for Him. Jesus said in Matt. 6:21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also If we are holding on to earthly things and place all our faith and trust in them, we wont be keen on leaving them. I believe it is time to set our sights on things above. To eagerly wait for Him and to love his appearing 2 Tim. 4:8 An advertisement currently running on British television states Time is running out In the advert, it refers to the time we have left to send in our tax returns and shows a man standing in an hour glass, trying to keep his balance as the sand beneath his feet trickles though to the bottom half of the hour glass. Time is indeed running out. Some are having a job to keep their balance in this world that appears to be going crazy. My friends, it really is time to seek the Lord. One day, it really will be TOO LATE. |
