- Please consider the following facts concerning this hope with your Bible.
(I.) OUR HOPE IS THE APPEARING OF CHRIST, NOT THE COMING OF CHRIST.
In Titus 2:13 he wrote; "Looking for that blessed hope, and the GLORIOUS APPEARING of the Great God and our
Saviour Jesus Christ.
II Tim.4:1 says; "I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead
at HIS APPEARING and his kingdom".
II Tim. 4:8 says: "Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall
give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love HIS APPEARING"
I Tim. 6:14 says: "That thou keep this commandment without spot, unrebukeable, until THE APPEARING OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST."
Col. 3:4 says: "When Christ who is our life, SHALL APPEAR, then shall you also APPEAR with Him in Glory.
Please note that the Hope of the Prison Epistles is the "APPEARING OF CHRIST", NOT "THE COMING OF CHRIST".
When Paul wrote his Acts Epistles, under the New Covenant administration, his Hope was the Second Coming of Christ, a
hope that could be FOUND in the O.T. scriptures. He mentions the coming of Christ 10 times in his Acts epistles
Check them out and see for yourself. - I Cor. 1:7, 4:5, 11:26, 15:23, I Thess. 2:19, 3:13, 4:15, 5:23, II Thess. 1:10, 2:1.
But when the dispensation changed at the close of the Acts period; the Hope also changed from the Coming, to the Appearing
of Christ. As a matter of fact, the word "Coming" referring to the Second Coming of Christ DOES NOT APPEAR ONE TIME
IN THE 7 PRISON EPISTLES OF PAUL whereas, it appears 10 times in the 6 Acts Epistles of Paul. Also, the word
"APPEARING" referring to Christ's appearing to the Church IS NOT MENTIONED ONCE IN THE ACTS EPISTLES,
but is mentioned 6 times in the Prison Epistles.
Throughout the Acts period, Paul looked for the Second Coning of Christ and encouraged all believers to be ready for it, but
then suddenly after Acts 28, HE NEVER MENTIONS IT AGAIN IN HIS 7 PRISON EPISTLES . This alone ought to convince
any fair minded believer that a CHANGE TOOK PLACE in Paul's Hope.
Consider this also, if the Coming of Christ is our Hope today, why doesn't Paul mention it at least once in his post-Acts-epistles??
And if the hope of the Acts believers was the Appearing of Christ, why doesn't he mention it once in the Acts epistles ??
I believe the answer is simple, the Appearing and the Coming are not the same event, or hope; and Paul did indeed write about
and preach two different hopes. One simple way to know that these hopes are not the same is that they are spelled different. But
let us look more closely at some of these differences.
There is a world of difference between Christ's Appearing and His Coming; and if our Hope is His Appearing, we ought to know
what those differences are.
(II.) OUR HOPE IS THE APPEARING OF CHRIST ABOVE THE HEAVENS, NOT HIS COMING IN THE CLOUDS
OF THE AIR.
When describing the Coming of Christ in His Acts Epistles, Paul said that Christ would descend from Heaven and come down into
the clouds of the air.
In I Thess. 4:15-17 he wrote: "We which are alive and remain unto the Coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep.
For the Lord himself shall DESCEND FROM HEAVEN with a shout... and we which are alive and remain shall be caught up
together with them IN THE CLOUDS to meet the Lord IN THE AIR."...
But in Paul's Prison epistles when Christ appears to the Church, He does not descend from Heaven and come down into the air. Instead,
He appears to the Church , and then the Church appears with Him IN GLORY where he is now seated at the right hand of God FAR
ABOVE ALL HEAVENS.
In Col. 3:1--4 Paul said: "Seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God... When Christ who is our life
shall appear, then shall ye also appear WITH HIM IN GLORY."
After His resurrection Eph.4:10 says that Christ ascended up "FAR ABOVE ALL HEAVENS". The place He ascended up into is where
the throne of God is located according to Col. 3:1. That place is called "Heavenly Places" in Eph. 1:20 and Eph. 2:6. It is also called "Glory"
in Psa. 8:1 which says: "O Lord, our Lord, How excellent is thy name in all the Earth! WHO HAST SET THY GLORY ABOVE THE
HEAVENS".
God set His Glory and throne above the Heavens and when Christ ascended up "Far above all Heavens" He ascended up into Glory the
dwelling place of God. And when Christ Appears to the Church He will appear to us IN GLORY ABOVE THE HEAVENS and in
the same instant WE WILL BE RECEIVED UP INTO GLORY WITH HIM according to I Tim. 3:16.
When the appearing of Christ to the Church takes place, he will not descend from Heaven down into the air . He will appear to us in Glory
above the Heavens where the Church will be "received up into Glory" (ITim. 3:16) and changed (Phil. 3:21). Praise God for such a Hope
as this! We have a Hope of being received up into a place where only one other person has ever gone, GLORY the dwelling place of God
far above all Heavens.
To sum up this point: Our Hope is not for Christ to descend frown Heaven down into the air, our Hope is for Christ to appear in Glory far
above the Heavens.
(III.) CHRIST'S APPEARING IN GLORY IS THE "BLESSED HOPE" NOT "ISRAEL'S HOPE"
That which we want to stress here is that the hope of Christ's Appearing to the Church is not based upon Israel's Hope, promises or covenants.
The hope that Paul preached and wrote about in his Acts epistles was based upon Israel's promises and covenants . It was the hope that
God promised to Israel in the New Covenant. Paul was a minister of the New Covenant (II Cor. 3:6) and the New Covenant was made
with Israel (Heb. 8:8). Therefore, the Hope of the New Covenant was the Hope of Israel. And this hope can be found in the O.T. scriptures
There are people who have a problem believing that Paul would preach or have the hope of Israel, but Luke makes it clear that he did at
least 4 times in the Book of Acts which he wrote.
In Acts 28:20 Paul said to the Jews in Rome; "For this cause therefore have I called for you to see you, and to speak with you: because that FOR
THE HOPE OF ISRAEL I AM HOUND WITH THIS CHAIN." Much has been said, denied and ignored about this verse, but one thing no
one can deny and it's the fact that Paul preached the Hope of Israel and suffered for doing so . And when he does Luke makes it clear that the
Hope was the resurrection God promised Israel in the Law and the prophets.
In Acts 23 Paul stood before the council in Jerusalem and in verse 6 declared "I am a pharisee: of the HOPE AND RESURRECTION OF
THE DEAD I am called in question."
In Acts 24 Paul again stood before Felix in Caesarea and said to him in verses 14-15
"But this I confess unto thee, that after the way which they call heresy, so worship I the God of my fathers, believing all things which are written
in the LAW AND THE PROPHETS: and have HOPE TOWARD GOD, which they themselves also allow, that there shall be a
RESURRECTION OF THE DEAD, both of the just and unjust."
In Acts 26 Paul again stood before Agrippa and declared to him in verses 6-8
"And now I stand and am judged for THE HOPE OF THE PROMISE MADE OF GOD TO OUR FATHERS: unto which PROMISE
our twelve tribes,, instantly serving God day and night, HOPE TO COME. For which HOPE'S SAKE, King Agrippa I am accused of the
JEWS. Why should it be thought a thing incredible with you, that God should RAISE THE DEAD? "
When writing the Book of Acts, Luke did not go into all the details of what Paul said when he preached the Hope of Israel. However, he
does say that the Hope he preached was the one God promised the fathers of Israel and that it is found in the Law and the prophets.
But when Paul wrote his Acts Epistles HE GIVES YOU THE SPECIFICS OF THAT RESURRECTION in I Corinthians 15:50-55 and
I Thess. 4:14-18. As you read these two chapters, you can see all the details of what Paul said when he preached the Hope of Israel in the
Acts period. Paul also wrote that he suffered for the hope he preached in I Cor.15:29-32 as Luke said he did in Acts 28:20 and Luke calls
the hope he suffered for the hope of Israel . Keep in mind also that you cannot separate what he preached from what he wrote, or
what he wrote from what he preached . PAUL WROTE TO THE SAME PEOPLE HE PREACHED TO AND VICE-VERSA .
The resurrection that Paul wrote about in I Cor. 15 and I Thess. 4 is the Hope of Israel that Luke said Paul preached in Acts 23, 24, 26, 28.
It was the Hope God promised Israel in the New Covenant and Jesus Christ a minister of the New Covenant like Paul (Heb. 8:6), also
preached that Hope in Matt. 24:29-31. By comparing Matt. 24 with I Cor. 15 and I Thess. 4 you will see they are one and the same Hope.
* (Note: for a detailed comparison of Matt. 24 with Mess. 4 see article "The Hope of the Acts Epistles".)
God promised this Hope to all the seed of Abraham that He made the New Covenant with. Because all believers in the Acts body were
accounted as Abraham's seed (Gal. 3:29) and New Covenant saints (Gal. 4:22-31) they partook of this Hope as well as "the promises"
God made to Abraham (Gal.3:16) and "the promise" made to him (Gal. 3:29). They also partook of "the fatness" of the good olive tree
(Rom. 11:17) and Israel's "Spiritual things" (Rom. 15:27).
But when Paul wrote his Prison Epistles under the dispensation of the Mystery, that began after the Acts period, all this changed.
What is said about the Acts believers is not true of us.
We are not grafted into Israel the Good Olive Tree and partake of her fatness, for the tree has been cut down!
We do not partake of Israel's spiritual blessings, instead we have something better, which is all spiritual blessings in Heavenly Places In Christ (Eph.1:3).
We do not partake of "The Promise of Abraham", but of "The Promise" of Eternal Life that God made to us before the foundation of the world. (Eph. 3:6 - Tit. 1:1-2).
We do not partake of "the Promises of Abraham", but of the "Unsearchable Riches of Christ" Eph. 3:8).
We do not call Abraham Our Father, neither are we his seed, for we have One Father who is God (Eph. 4:6).
We are not New Covenant saints, but saints of another administration, and that of the Grace an Mystery, not promise (Eph. 3:1-2).
Our Hope is not the Hope of Israel, but it is the Blessed Hope (Tit. 2:13) .
The Hope of Israel preached by Paul in the Acts period was the Hope of the New Covenant administration made to the seed of
Abraham. It is not the Hope of this administration of Grace.
Like we have said before , WHEN DISPENSATIONS CHANGE SO DOES THE HOPE. When God committed the Dispensation
of the Mystery to Paul and to us Gentiles, he revealed a new and different Hope than what he had previously , under the New Covenant administration.
It is called : "The Blessed Hope - Tit. 2:13
"The Hope of Glory" - Col. 1:27
"The Hope of His Calling" - Eph. 1:18
"His Appearing" - II Tim. 4:1, 8
But under no circumstances is it ever called "The Hope of Israel"!
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