WHY IS THE RAPTURE CALLED THE BLESSED HOPE FOR BELIEVERS? ISN’T IT MORE THAN JUST A HOPE?
- Why does the Bible so often associate hope with the rapture?
When does a believer in Jesus receive eternal life?
Can we as believers in Jesus have complete and certain confidence in our hope of receiving eternal life at the time of the rapture? - When are we adopted as children of God, and thereby become heirs?
Why does the Bible so often associate hope with the rapture?
There are several scriptures that do associate hope with the rapture, and therefore also with the resurrection of the saints. Titus 2:13 calls the rapture the “blessed hope.”
TITUS 2:11-14 11 For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. 12 It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, 13 while we wait for the blessed hope—the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, 14 who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good.
There is a resurrection to life at the time of the rapture. At the rapture our living spirits are given glorified bodies that can function in both physical and spiritual dimensions. Rom 8:23-24 refers to this redemption of our bodies as the “hope” that saves us, the hope that provides us with eternal life. This passage also makes the interesting statement that “all creation waits eagerly to find out who will and who will not be redeemed.” Those who are redeemed become sons of God.
ROMANS 8:18-25 18 I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. 19 The creation waits in eager expectation for the sons of God to be revealed. 20 For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope 21 that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God.
22 We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. 23 Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. 24 For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what he already has?
25 But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.
The above passage also points out that the creation itself, that is the physical universe, will one day be liberated from its bondage to decay, and the children of God will be freed from their bondage to the physical earth which originated with the fall of Adam and Eve. Their glorified bodies will permit them to not only function on the physical earth but also in the spiritual realms, in heaven. They will also be able to function in the unified new heaven and new earth after the final judgments. Rev 20:11-21:4 tells us that this liberation of the physical world takes place after the final judgment, the great white throne judgment, and the destruction of all evil in the lake of fire. This takes place at the end of the millennium.
Rom 8:23 above points out that we will be adopted as sons of God at the same time that we receive our glorified bodies, which happens at the rapture.
Paul speaks of his hope in the resurrection of the dead and therefore the rapture near the time of his death as recorded in Acts 23 and 24.
ACTS 23:6 6 Then Paul, knowing that some of them were Sadducees and the others Pharisees, called out in the Sanhedrin, “My brothers, I am a Pharisee, the son of a Pharisee. I stand on trial because of my hope in the resurrection of the dead.”
ACTS 24:14-15 14 However, I admit that I worship the God of our fathers as a follower of the Way, which they call a sect. I believe everything that agrees with the Law and that is written in the Prophets, 15 and I have the same hope in God as these men, that there will be a resurrection of both the righteous and the wicked.
Peter tells us in 1 Peter to set our hope fully in the grace that we will receive when Jesus is revealed. When does this happen? At the rapture. What grace will we be given at that time? We will receive eternal life in a new body that can function in both physical and spiritual dimensions, in both heaven and on earth and later in both the new heaven and the new earth. In the meantime Peter tells us to conform ourselves to be like Jesus. We must be like him. We must love as he loved.
1 PETER 1:13-16 13 Therefore, prepare your minds for action; be self-controlled; set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed. 14 As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. 15 But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; 16 for it is written: “Be holy, because I am holy.”[
In Col 1 Paul reveals to us the key to solving a mystery. He tells us that we have hope of being redeemed, receiving our glorified bodies and eternal life if Christ is in us through his Spirit being within us.
COL 1:24-27 24 Now I rejoice in what was suffered for you, and I fill up in my flesh what is still lacking in regard to Christ’s afflictions, for the sake of his body, which is the church. 25 I have become its servant by the commission God gave me to present to you the word of God in its fullness— 26 the mystery that has been kept hidden for ages and generations, but is now disclosed to the saints. 27 To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.
When does a believer in Jesus receive eternal life?
Paul tells us in Timothy that Jesus Christ is our hope. It is only through Jesus that we receive eternal life. When do we receive this eternal life? It is at the rapture when we are resurrected and given our glorified bodies. This allows us to again live in the physical dimensions. At the rapture believers are resurrected to life, to eternal life. We might say that eternal life has past, present and future aspects to it. The death and resurrection of Jesus to atone for our sins made it possible for us to have eternal life. This was done in the distant past. As we live in the present as believers we have the promise and hope of one day receiving eternal life. Finally, we will actually receive eternal life at the resurrection and rapture event in the future. At that time we will again be capable of living in the physical realm, on earth and in the physical universe.
1 TIM 1:1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the command of God our Savior and of Christ Jesus our hope
In several of the scriptures above we saw eternal life associated with the Rapture (1 Pet 1:13, Rom 8:23-25, 2 Cor 5:1-5, 1 Cor 15:22) . Paul tells us twice in Titus that believers have the hope of eternal life. We know that this hope will finally be fulfilled at the rapture when we receive our glorified body.
TITUS 1:1-3 Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ for the faith of God’s elect and the knowledge of the truth that leads to godliness— 2 a faith and knowledge resting on the hope of eternal life, which God, who does not lie, promised before the beginning of time, 3 and at his appointed season he brought his word to light through the preaching entrusted to me by the command of God our Savior.
TITUS 3:3-7 3 At one time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures. We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another. 4 But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, 5 he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, 6 whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, 7 so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life.
Can we as believers in Jesus have complete and certain confidence in our hope of receiving eternal life at the time of the rapture?
The author of Hebrews points out that the law was weak and useless in providing a way to eternal life. He points out that Jesus provided a better hope, one that could completely save those who came to God through Jesus.
HEB 7:18-19, 23-25 18 The former regulation is set aside because it was weak and useless 19 (for the law made nothing perfect), and a better hope is introduced, by which we draw near to God.
23 Now there have been many of those priests, since death prevented them from continuing in office; 24 but because Jesus lives forever, he has a permanent priesthood. 25 Therefore he is able to save COMPLETELY those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them.
The author of Hebrews further points out that we need to hold firmly to the hope that we hold in Jesus because in that hope we can have confidence that we will one day receive eternal life in heaven.
HEB 10:19-25 19 Therefore, brothers, since we have CONFIDENCE to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, 20 by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, 21 and since we have a great priest over the house of God, 22 let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water. 23 Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. 24 And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. 25 Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.
The author of Hebrews continues this line of reasoning in Heb 11 when he points out that if we have faith in Jesus we can be certain of that which we hope for, namely eternal life.
HEB 11:1 Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and CERTAIN of what we do not see. 2 This is what the ancients were commended for.
The points that we see in these last scriptures from Hebrews, namely that we can have COMPLETE AND CERTAIN CONFIDENCE in the hope of eternal life in Jesus as our savior is made clearer to us if we look at the definition of “hope” used in the first century Greek.
One of the meanings of hope in the original Greek was as follows: “Hope is a joyful and confident expectation of eternal salvation.”
That is a far cry from what comes to mind when we think of what the word “hope” means to us in English. The current Webster’s definition of hope: “Hope is the desire or longing for something with an expectation that it will be fulfilled.”
These differences in the definitions are a far cry from each other. In the first century hope implied “joyful and confident expectation” while today it implies more of a longing for something.
That answers our initial question regarding why Paul called the rapture “the blessed hope.” We can be completely certain and confident that we will receive eternal life and our glorified bodies at the rapture, and it will be a wonderfully joyous time indeed. It is certainly much more than is implied by the word hope as we use it today.
SUMMARY AND ADDITIONAL ANALYSIS
We saw in the scriptures presented in this paper that those who believe in and follow Jesus will receive eternal life and be adopted as sons of God at the rapture of the saints. Titus 3:5 says that we are saved through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit. This says that when we are born again as believers and receive the Holy Spirit within us that at that time we are renewed, made clean. Heb 10:22 adds to our understanding of this when it says that it is the heart, or the mind of our spirit which is cleansed. It is cleansed by being sprinkled with the blood of Jesus. Heb 10:22 tells us that the one sacrifice of Jesus makes our spirit clean and perfect forever. It never needs to be cleansed again. Heb 9:12-14 also tells us that this blood of Jesus makes our spirit clean forever and further adds that the sacrifice of Jesus was done “once for all.” This covers all believers and all sins of all time, past, present and future.
Heb 10:20 also implies to us that Jesus is the only way to heaven, to eternal life. It says that when he died the curtain separating us from God in heaven, the curtain separating the Holy Place in the temple from the Most Holy Place where the Spirit resided (Matt 27:50-51), was torn open. This curtain represents Jesus’ body. Jesus’ body being torn allows believers to go through him to get to the Most Holy Place, the throne room in heaven where the Father resides. Hallelujah!!
A close examination of several of the scriptures that we referenced in this study all lead to the same conclusion about how we arrive at the blessed hope. We will display that in the following table.
