BLESSED HOPE THROUGH UNCERTAIN TIMES

BLESSED HOPE THROUGH UNCERTAIN TIMES

Prophecy is much more than the events predicted in the book of revelation.

And it is not just for pastors and teachers.

These predictions were written to reveal something about God’s character and His faithfulness.

Ephesians 5:25-27   ²⁵ Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it;²⁶ That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word,²⁷ That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.

God is speaking to us as Christians today, the Church.

The ultimate goal prophetically is that Christ Jesus present her (the church) to himself as a radiant church.

Radiant means, filled with light, pleasure and joy beaming with well being, that is being happy in the Lord.

A radiant church without stain, wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless.

By the grace of God the church which is now on earth in its imperfections, will soon be a church that is radiant in beauty and holiness.

There will be no stain…that is no defilement by sin.

There will be no wrinkle… no evidence of age and decay.

There will be no blemishes… natural disfiguration.

When the church is resurrected, or, translated, individual believers will have bodies that are without sin, and suited to serving our Holy God throughout eternity.

All of this work of sanctification comes because Christ died for the church and subsequent sanctification grows out of this basic fact of Christ giving himself up for the Church by his death on the cross.

Though a Christian’s position is a sanctified position… as a saint his spiritual state will ultimately be brought up to the same perfect level of his position, When the Christian stands complete in Gods presence, after the rapture of the church.

At that time we will be free from this fleshly body, and will no longer have a sin nature.

We will be delivered from the limitations, weakness, and mortality of this present life with its persecutions and difficulties.

We will be free to serve the Lord without hindrance throughout eternity to come.

 

Philippians 2: 5-11   ⁵ Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:⁶ Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God:⁷ But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men:⁸ And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.⁹ Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name:¹⁰ That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth;¹¹ And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.Jesus will obviously have a higher place than any other person who has a human body.Jesus will also experience universal worship. Every knee will bow to Him.

As Christians we are citizens of heaven. Our expectations are in the future with the ultimate goal that we will have a glorious body in heaven.

But our citizenship is in heaven and we are waiting on our savior to come for us. We want him to come so he can transform our bodies to be like his glorious body.

Even though we Christians are still on earth we are citizens of heaven and are governed by the unseen power of God working in our lives.

A Christian’s resurrected body will therefore be holy, as God is holy. Immortal as God is immortal, everlasting as God is everlasting.

Though the details of a Christians inheritance are not clear, we are promised future blessings and as a joint heir with Christ Jesus. We are looking forward to a glorious inheritance waiting for us in heaven.

The blessings we will receive as a Christian far exceeds our capability to understand or visualize now.

2 Corinthians 5:6-8   ⁶ Therefore we are always confident, knowing that, whilst we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord:⁷ (For we walk by faith, not by sight:)⁸ We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord.

What we call death or dying is only a temporary state of life. The body goes to sleep and the soul and spirit go to be with the Lord.

When the trumpet of God sounds the rapture will take place. Christians who have died will rise first, and then Christians that are still living will be translated into heavenly bodies suited for heaven.

We will all be caught up together to meet the Lord in the clouds. We will remain in heaven for seven years or until the second coming. At the second coming we will be with the Lord on the Earth for a thousand years. We will be his priest and priestesses.