Blessed Hope

Eagerly Waiting for Jesus

Ken

“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 9:28 NKJV). 

Three Appearances of Christ (Hebrews 9:24-28)

Courtesy of Believers Bible Commentary. 

Verse 26. Christ has appeared. His First Coming. Came to earth to save us from the penalty of sin. Past tense of salvation. “He then would have had to suffer often since the foundation of the world; but now, once at the end of the ages, He has appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself” (Hebrews 9:26). 

Verse 24. Christ now appears. Present ministry to save us from the power of sin. Present tense of salvation. “For Christ has not entered the holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us” (Hebrews 9:24). 

Verse 28. Christ will appear. Anticipating the imminent return of our Messiah to save us from the presence of sin. Future tense of salvation. Coincidental with our Rapture. “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 9:28). 

Our rapture is our Blessed Hope because we will see Jesus. “Looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ” (Titus 2:13).

The blessedness of our rapture is we shall see Jesus as He really is. “Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is” (1John 3:2). 

Since the Cross, the universe has never seen any event of such magnitude as the instantaneous, worldwide catching up or rapture of all those who are eagerly waiting for Him (Hebrews 9:28). 

“Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up [Greek, harpazō, raptured, forcefully snatched up] together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord” (1Thessalonians 4:17).  

We know of nothing that remains for our Lord to accomplish before He raptures His Church home. Hence, our departure is imminent. It is solely the Father’s sovereign timing, which the universe awaits before He raptures His Church. “7 Behold, I am coming quickly! Blessed is he who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book. 12 And behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to give to every one according to his work. 20 He who testifies to these things says, Surely I am coming quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus” (Revelation 22:7, 12, 20). 

Father, truly eye has not seen nor ear heard, neither has entered into the heart of man the things You have prepared for those who love You (1Corinthians 2:9). Eagerly, we desire to be present with You; but, we pray we will keep our hand to the plow in the meantime laboring for You. Cause us not to give up on raising our families, supporting our brothers and sisters, reaching out to the unredeemed, and maintaining our secular employments. Magnify Yourself through the Rapture of Your Church. We pray for the peace of Jerusalem (Psalm 122:6). To You belongs the victory. Lord Jesus, return quickly. In Your name, we pray. Amen and amen.

Judy the Lifesaving Dog

Ken

“A righteous man regardeth the life of his beast” (Proverbs 12:10 KJV). And, why wouldn’t we care for someone who is so faithful to us? Judy (1936-1950) was a pure-bred liver and white Pointer, born in Shanghai, China and adopted by the British Royal Navy as a ship’s mascot for the HMS Gnat, and later with the HMS Grasshopper. During WW2, many times she provided early warning to the ship’s crew of approaching enemy aircraft with her acute canine hearing. After her ship was finally sunk, and finding refuge on an island, she helped surviving crew members find fresh water, saving them all. Upon their eventual capture by the Japanese, Judy was the only dog ever registered as a prisoner of war. Moving from camp to camp, she survived the sinking of the transport ship Harugiku Maru, and saved many passengers from drowning by bringing them flotsam. In camp, she caught small rodents for the POWs to eat for survival. Judy bonded with fellow POW Frank Williams, who shared his handful of rice, and both cared for one another until her death years after the war. Bonding with furry friends such as Judy reminds us of our Lord’s attachment to us. LORD, may we be inspired to be as faithful to You, as Judy was to Frank and all her crew mates. In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen. 

You Don’t Have to Believe in a Rapture to be Raptured

Ken

If you don’t have to know about or believe in a Rapture to be raptured, then why talk about it? The Rapture is the part of the Second Coming of Christ, where we “meet the Lord in the air” (1Thessalonians 4:17 KJV), so we can return with Him to earth. If we “love His appearing” (2Timothy 4:8), then we are “denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, [that] we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world” (Titus 2:12). The Rapture is all about the hope of those who are living godly, for it is the godly who are “looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ” (2:13). Likewise, only godly living will be “looking for and hasting [hastening, yes, hastening] unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat” (2Peter 3:12). You can see that only a godly heart will love His appearing and will be raptured. LORD, work in us a godly heart that we might commune with You now, and that You might rapture us Home later. In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen. 

AI is the Future

Ken

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is the future, and everyone is trying to play catchup in figuring how not to be left behind in product development, incorporating AI into every conceivable aspect of human interaction, and displacing many white collar jobs thought to be immune to machine learning and automation. The title of a YouTube interview with renowned American artificial intelligence researcher, Eliezer Yudkowsy, is “We’re All Gonna Die” (1:49:22). Cheery thought! Like predictions of catastrophe with nuclear weapons proliferation, comet collision, and global warming, Yudkowsky presents his sobering warning that AI will ultimately doom humanity. Jesus prophesied of upcoming days, “And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect’s sake those days shall be shortened” (Matthew 24:22 KJV). Humanists without God in their heart or mindset, like Yudkowsky, are without hope, while the elect of God have been thrown a lifeline! LORD, may the elect make their “calling and election sure” (2Peter 1:10) by practicing godliness, rather than claiming exemption from judgment based upon a claim of salvation, while calling You “Lord, Lord, and do not the things which [You] say” (Luke 6:46). Hope and peace upon all those, who walk in faith with You. Return quickly, in Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen and amen. 

In the Twinkling of an Eye

Ken

Heaven is a place, but it is also a change of dimension. Paul attempted to teach this truth to the Corinthians. “Behold, I shew [shō] you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed” (1Corinthians 15:51-52 KJV). The whole study of God and last things brings us to this mystery. In the blink of an eye, we shall change our dimension into Christ’s presence. The last or final blast of the trumpet for both the living and dead saints will produce this instantaneous change. This is the hope of rapture and resurrection for the Body of Christ. LORD, purify Your body of disciples in hope of this transformation. Come quickly. Lord Jesus. Amen.

Rapture: The Blessed Hope

Ken

“Looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ” (Titus 2:13 NKJV). Sure, I’d like to go, if there’s a Rapture, but how do you know it’s so? Harpazō is the NT Greek for catching up or rapture. “Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up [Greek, harpazō] together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord” (1Thessalonians 4:17). Here, harpazō is understandably connected with the “coming of the Lord” (4:15). We will be “caught up” (4:17) to the Lord in the air to reunite with our predeceased brothers and sisters before we all return with Christ. Harpazō also occurs in Revelation 12:5, where the “woman” (12:1), representing Israel, brings forth the Messiah, who is “caught up” (12:5) to the throne of God. Likewise, the Church as the Body of Christ will be raptured to Heaven, after which Israel will be forced to flee “into the wilderness” (12:6). May the Spirit of Christ “comfort” you (1Thessalonians 4:18) with these words, but let us not be impatient or contentious with one another, least of all, about the Rapture. “According to your faith be it unto you” (Matthew 9:29).