Real Hope, False Hope, & Blessed Hope.

[Amos_with_goats]

I am starting this thread after posting to, and considering this one.

Look, I don't want to argue Eschatology...

I want to talk about Christ. He is our Blessed Hope.

Christ is our Hope, in Him do we trust. He is greater then all
the trials of this life. In Him we find our Hope of life forever...

He is our Rock, our Salvation, in Him (and in Him alone) we trust.

Countless people have followed Christ to their death, either because of their following Christ or just because of the fact that it is appointed once for all men to die. They have Trusted in Faith and received the promise.

Our Blessed Hope is Christ.

Titus 2:11-14


For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age, looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good works.

Some cite the pre-tribulation return of Christ as the 'Blessed Hope'....

HE IS SO MUCH MORE...

Ours is a Hope that is greater then any belief that we would be 'removed' from a time of trial. Our Blessed Hope is far, far greater then that.

WHATEVER your eschatology, know that the Lord is greater then being called 'Blessed' simply for the relief from the struggle.

Our Lord is greater then that. Our Blessed Hope is greater then whatever comes.

[awestruckchild]

Oh man!
Thanks!
Why do we bicker so much?
Why is fighting the main thing in here?
Why do we have to be so arrogant and ungentle with each other?
We use words and tones that we have no business using with each other.
We must just break His heart so much of the time.
I want to talk about Him too, Amos!

[-SEEKING-]

Amen Amos. He is our blessed hope. I seldom drop by this section but this thread caught my attention.

[jeffweeder]

Thank you Amos.......My blessed hope is not whether i survive tribulation,... although a big part of me hopes so...., but thats not the point. Its about Jesus/ God, and who he is. Eternal life is all about knowing the one true God...AND Jesus Christ who he sent.
Its all about the wonder of Gods supreme and most wonderful kind of Love, and being a part of it.

[David Taylor]

I want to talk about Christ. He is our Blessed Hope.

IMO the intent of Paul in calling the Appearing of Christ as our Blessed Hope, is the same thing as when Paul in other places referred to Christ's Return like a pregnant mother in labor.

The entire time of the pregnancy and labor and delivery, the mother is anticipating and hoping for the Advent of the precious baby.

Even though the mother knows she'll have to go through times of hardship, distress, pain, tribulation, etc before being united with the baby....those are not the things she is hoping for or looking forward to....she is looking through them...to get to the desired and blessed price; arrival and uniting with her beloved one.

Exactly the same thing Christians should be doing in regards to Christ's Advent. He is always our blessed and glorious hope; whether united with Him via natural death, or if the final generation, via His direct Return and uniting with us at the Marriage of the Lamb.

[awestruckchild]

Good morning Amos!
I saw the most amazing thing this morning!
I saw how Joshua 6:5 is a shadow of what is to come soon - I saw how Jesus will fulfill Joshua 6:5!!!

"It shall come to pass when they make a long blast with the ram's horn, and when you hear the sound of the trumpet, that all the people shall shout with a great shout; then the wall of the city will fall down flat. And the people shall go up every man straight before him."

When He shouts, that last trump, we will shout back : Halleluiah!! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!! And we will have victory. The walls of our last enemy will fall down flat and death will crumble and be swallowed up!!!! And the people shall GO UP!!

Oh!! It is so lovely! I'm so excited! Oh, come soon Lord, come soon!!

[David Taylor]

And something to really think about....is the 'last trumpet call' that heralds death being swallowed up; something that is for all people; or only for a subset of people?

I believe it is the 'last' because it is the final call of mortality changing to immortality for everyone; where death is truly ended and swallowed up for everyone. No exemptions based on race, nor situation, nor location.

[Servant89]

THE BLESSED HOPE OF ETERNAL LIFE

PRE-TRIBERS REFER TO THE RAPTURE AS THE BLESSED HOPE. THIS IS TAKEN FROM TITUS 2:13.

TIT 2:13 Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;

GOD MADE THE PROVISION OF DEFINING THAT HOPE IN THAT VERY SAME BOOK TWICE. IT SAYS IT BEFORE, AND AFTER THAT VERSE. GOD SUROUNDED THAT VERSE WITH HIS DEFINITION. THE HOPE IS THE HOPE OF ETERNAL LIFE, NOT THE RAPTURE. READ IT YOURSELF.

TIT 1:2 In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began;
TIT 2:13 Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;
TIT 3:7 That being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.

NOW IS THAT CLEAR OR WHAT? HERE ARE OTHER VERSES RELATED TO HOPE.

COL 1:5 For the hope which is laid up for you in heaven, whereof ye heard before in the word of the truth of the gospel;

WHERE DID HE SAY THE HOPE IS? WE WILL GET THIS HOPE AFTER ARRIVING IN HEAVEN, NOT WHILE WE ARE ON EARTH BEING TRANSFORMED.

Mk 10:30 But he shall receive an hundredfold now in this time, houses, and brethren, and sisters, and mothers, and children, and lands, with persecutions; and in the world to come eternal life.

GAL 5:5 For we through the Spirit wait for the hope of righteousness by faith.

1TH 2:19 For what is our hope, or joy, or crown of rejoicing? Are not even ye in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at his coming?

1TH 5:8 But let us, who are of the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love; and for an helmet, the hope of salvation.

I do not see a pre-tribulation rapture as our hope.

Shalom

[notuptome]

I'm what you'all call a pre-tribber and I do not see the rapture as a "blessed hope" in the context of Titus 2. The rapture is a comfort to those who were concerned that if believers died before Christ came that they would miss out. Paul is comforting the believers in whether we live or whether we are already dead we will partake in the promised resurrected life in Christ.

1 John 3:2 is a blessed promise.

For the cause of Christ
Roger

[awestruckchild]

I'm what you'all call a pre-tribber and I do not see the rapture as a "blessed hope" in the context of Titus 2. The rapture is a comfort to those who were concerned that if believers died before Christ came that they would miss out. Paul is comforting the believers in whether we live or whether we are already dead we will partake in the promised resurrected life in Christ.

1 John 3:2 is a blessed promise.

For the cause of Christ
Roger

Derail...
Is that the same kitty cat as in your last avatar picture? He looks like a real stinker! Looks pretty full of himself!
End derail

[awestruckchild]

...sigh...
I think you guys have missed the point of Amos' thread here.
He didn't want another (ad nauseum) argument or heated debate on pre-this, mid-that, etc.
The man poured out his heart in praise.
Said he wanted to talk about JESUS.
Was sad that we stop praising Him to argue over and over again the same things.
I don't know - I could be wrong, but that's what I got from his post.
Why do we get up in the morning, come in here, and look for the first thread that we know will divide us and will eventually lead one or more of us to very ungracious (at the least) words for one another?
We should all be ashamed.

[notuptome]

Derail...
Is that the same kitty cat as in your last avatar picture? He looks like a real stinker! Looks pretty full of himself!
End derail

Yes and she is a princess or at least she thinks so. Pastrami is my daughters cat. She won't abide the two males so she has a separate part of the house for her own.

For the cause of Christ
Roger

[awestruckchild]

Hmmm...I've heard of deer pastrami but never cat pastrami....