5 Basics of Our Biblical Hope
By Jonathan C. Brentner
We hear so many differing viewpoints today regarding our hope of forever. Some reject the notion that anything physical can be spiritual or godly. Others reject much of what the Bible says about our future.
However, what can we really know about our future or about eternal life apart from what God’s Word says about it? Should not a literal understanding of Scripture be our guide? I believe so!
Below I list five items that comprise the basis of a sound and biblical hope. For each, I start with the words of Jesus, His promises regarding our future, and then provide other scriptural support.
1. Jesus’ Appearing
If I were to sum up our eternal hope in one word, it would be “Jesus.”
In Matthew 24:44 Jesus said this about His appearing, “Therefore you must be ready for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.” Moments later, He spoke these words, “Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour” (25:13). Jesus instructed us, those who believe in Him, to not only be ready for His return, but to “watch” for it as well. Since He has not yet appeared, these commands remain in effect, do they not?
We see this same expectation of Jesus’ imminent appearing all through the New Testament. Paul repeatedly referred to believers as eagerly waiting for it (1 Cor. 1:7; Gal. 5:5; Phil. 3:20; Col. 3:4; 1 Thess. 1:9; Titus 2:11-13). It’s clear that Paul took the Lord’s instruction to heart as he taught his new converts to wait and continually watch for the Lord’s appearing. His new converts eagerly awaited the Lord’s return to take them home.
I believe this imminent hope of Jesus’ appearing indicates that the rapture will happen before the tribulation. Others disagree. Regardless, I believe it’s safe to say that the early saints fixed their ultimate hope on Jesus’ appearing and nothing else, exactly as the apostle Peter instructed them to do (1 Pet. 1:13).
We also see this imminent hope of Jesus’ return in an early writing of the church called The Didache, a document from the early centuries of the church. It quotes Jesus’ words to watch and be ready.
2. An Immortal Body
The New Testament promises that all those in Christ will someday receive an immortal body. Jesus repeatedly promised eternal life to all who would believe in Him (see John 3:16). It’s clear from the Lord’s conversation with Martha in John 11:20-27 that His promise of eternal life consists of a bodily resurrection.
Paul leaves no doubt regarding this hope in 1 Corinthians 15:51-53, “Behold! I tell 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 trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed. For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality.”
The apostle added this in Philippians 3:20-21, “But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself.” Someday the Lord will transform our current “lowly” bodies into glorious ones resembling that of our Savior.
Those who deny our future bodily resurrection (or our glorious transformation if we are alive at Jesus’ appearing) are false teachers. Scripture is clear that when Jesus comes for us will give us bodies that are both physical and imperishable. Don’t let anyone steal this wondrous anticipation away from you with a distorted Gospel that denies your hope of an immortal body that Jesus and His apostles promise you.
3. Judgment of the Ungodly
God judges the ungodly. We see this all through the Old Testament and no one in the Bible warns us more about the existence of hell than Jesus Himself. He tells us that hell will be a place of “outer darkness” where there “will be weeping and gnashing of teeth” (Matt. 25:30). He further described it in Matthew 25:46 as a place of “eternal punishment.”
Revelation 20:11-15 describes the final judgment of God where all those who reject Christ on earth are “thrown into the lake of fire.” I know it’s increasingly popular to deny the existence of hell, but those who do so contradict the clear teaching of our Lord as well as of the Word of God.
This final judgment of the ungodly does not preclude the Lord’s judgment of wickedness on the earth before that time. Psalm 37:1-15 assures us that the Lord will deal with evil people before His final judgment of them. I believe this Psalm not only warns of the Lord’s punishment of evil throughout history, but also looks ahead to the tribulation when He will pour out His wrath on the unbelieving world (Rev. 9:20-21).
Why is this a part of our hope? It assures us that the Lord will deal with the wickedness we see growing exponentially around us and bring about His reign of righteousness upon the earth. Would heaven really be such a wondrous place with evil people continuing to spread their wickedness? Absolutely not! Jesus will forever vanquish them, along with Satan and his demons, before the eternal state begins.
4. A Physical Reign with Christ in His Kingdom
Our future reign with Christ in His kingdom is not a fringe belief, but a basic biblical hope for our future.
In his book Heaven, Randy Alcorn said this about our future reign with Christ in His kingdom, “Nothing demonstrates how far we’ve distanced ourselves from our biblical calling like our lack of knowledge about our destiny to rule the earth.”
In Luke 22:29-30 Jesus said this, “And I assign to you, as my Father assigned to me, a kingdom, that you may eat and drink at my table in the kingdom and sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel” (see also Matt. 19:28). The eating and drinking depicts this as a physical kingdom where we will reign with Jesus.
In Jesus’ parable recorded in Luke 19:11-27, what was the result of faithful service? The Lord rewarded the faithful with authority over cities. This constituted a physical reward in a tangible kingdom.
In 1 Corinthians 6:1 Paul asks, “Or do you not know that the saints will judge the world?” In ancient times, they did not have the separation of powers that exists today in many governments. Kings also performed the task of judging their subjects. In this context, Paul is saying that someday we as saints will have kingly responsibilities over the world.
In Revelation 5:9-10, the elders seated before God’s throne say this, “…for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation, and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God, and they shall reign on the earth.” Again we see the promise that the redeemed, that’s us, will someday rule upon a physical earth.
I believe this includes the one thousand year reign of Christ that begins after His return to earth. Some deny this biblical teaching regarding the millennium and include only the eternal state in our reign with the Lord Jesus.
Although I heartily disagree with those who only see us reigning with Jesus during the eternal state, at least they return to a biblical stance regarding our future resurrection and the eternal state.
5. Life in the Eternal State, Our Future Heaven
Revelation chapters 21-22 speak of a new earth, recreated after the pattern of the one we know, and a new heaven (where the stars reside). This is the time of which Jesus says, “Behold, I am making all things new” (21:5). In this eternal state, our future heaven or paradise, a huge city referred to as the “New Jerusalem” will descend all the way down to earth (21:9-27). God Himself will reside in this glorious city and I believe the saints of all the ages will also have a home in this wondrous city.
Revelation 21:4 sums up our hope of this time, “He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” This is what the prophet Isaiah looked forward to when he described a great feast that the Lord will someday make for us (25:6-10).
What will the servants of the Lamb do in this eternal state? The angel that showed John the New Jerusalem said this about their future, “…and they will reign forever and ever” (Rev. 22:5).
I believe that along with having a residence in the New Jerusalem, we will also exercise authority in some way on the new earth. Perhaps it will be over a large piece of land or city or in some other way Jesus assigns to us. Whatever the case, we will live forever in the most beautiful city imaginable while enjoying creation restored to what God meant it to be when He first created the heavens and the earth.
As believers, we have a spectacular future that begins with Jesus’ appearing and his transformation of our lowly bodies to be just like His. We will rule with Christ forever and ever in our imperishable bodies enjoying all the wonders of eternity, including a beautifully restored earth.
Can it get any better than this? No, it absolutely cannot get better! It’s a million times better than winning a huge jackpot in a lottery on earth.