1. The Hope is Unique to Believers

Christians have hope. Others do not. Unbelievers are without hope and without God in this World. We used to be in their shoes, so it’s not difficult for us to relate to their circumstances.

… remember that… you were separate from Christ… without hope and without God in the World (Ephesians 2:12; NASB).

A stark contrast exists between the Church, which has hope, and the rest of humankind, which does not have hope. They grieve in a way that we do not. Their future is bleak while ours is bright. Their life is vain while ours has meaning. Their relationships are finite and terminal, while ours are infinite and eternal. That’s why they mourn so bitterly when they grieve the death of a friend.

Reunification

Regarding the loss of a brother or sister in Christ, Paul said this to the Thessalonians:

… we do not want you to be uninformed about those who sleep in death, so that you do not grieve like the rest of mankind, who have no hope (1 Thessalonians 4:13). 

According to this verse, the hope of Christians is that we will join our beloved brothers and sisters in Christ who have passed away. The Hope is that we will see them again. The people of the World who have lost their friends and family will not see those friends again. They are eternally lost.

The passage continues like this:

For we believe that Jesus died and rose again, and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him… (1 Thessalonians 4:14)

Information Sharing

What are we supposed to do with this information about our resurrection? We’re supposed to encourage one another. That’s what you’re supposed to do with the information that 'God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him.' You’re supposed to use it to encourage Christians who feel discouraged about the death of a beloved brother or sister in Christ. It's not just to console someone about the loss of a family member. We’re supposed to share this information with Christians who have lost Christian friends.

The Thessalonian believers lost some brethren--likely they suffered death due to persecution--and the believers who were left behind felt deeply saddened for their loss. Paul’s solution was that they should speak to one another about the hope of the Rapture.

For the Lord himself will come… and the Dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. 

Therefore encourage one another with these words (1 Thessalonians 4:13-14, 16-18).

Who and When to Encourage

How much time do you spend talking about this Hope to your fellow believers in Christ? According to Paul, we should encourage one another with conversations about the Rapture. But most Christians these days are too comfortable to care about a Resurrection. They live carefree lives. They don't relate to the Hope of the Kingdom. They have enough satisfaction in this World.

Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh… Woe to you who laugh now, for you will mourn and weep (Luke 6:21, 25).

The Rapture is no comfort for those who are enjoying the World now. It’s no comfort for those whose worldly success has brought them joy and satisfaction—people who laugh life away. The Hope sounds unattractive to worldly-minded people, but it’s still the Hope that we are offered in the Gospel.

People who are disinterested in the Rapture never had much love for the brethren in the first place. The loss of a believer is not much of a loss to them. They have other friends who keep them happy. Therefore, the comfort God offers them in the Rapture is no comfort at all. Only those who love God's people will be comforted by the Rapture event.

2. Becoming an Heir

An inheritance awaits us. God has predestined us to become heirs of the Earth and heirs of his Kingdom! But we can only obtain this inheritance through a contract—the New Covenant. We only become heirs through the covenant God establishes with us through baptism.

… he [God] saved us… through the washing of regeneration and renewal by the Holy Spirit… so that, having been justified by his grace, we may become heirs according to the Hope of eternal life (Titus 3:5-7; LEB).

The inheritance is exclusively for those whom God saves. In other words, only those who have been saved from sin. How are we saved? Through baptism in water and the Spirit. Children of God, born of the Spirit will inherit the Earth. Only those who have received God’s grace by means of baptisms qualify as heirs of God's Kingdom. That's the stark message of this passage.

But it's so hard for most Evangelicals to accept the role of baptism in salvation. They've been trained to reject Peter's words 'baptism now saves you' (1 Peter 3:24) and Christ's words '... he who believes and is baptized will be saved' (Mark 16:15). They can only affirm "salvation by faith alone," the words of Martin Luther. They refuse to deal with Paul's words 'He saved us through the washing of rebirth...' (Titus 3:5). It's too much for them.

Likewise, Peter's words of conclusion to one of the greatest sermons ever preached, the one he preached at Pentecost, remain a mystery to them:

'Be saved from this perverse generation!' So then, those who had received his word were baptized... (Acts 2?40-41; NASB)

They cannot associate baptism with salvation. It goes against their fundamental beliefs.

What is Eternal Life?

Now, it’s important to understand that eternal life is the umbrella term for everything we’re going to experience in the Kingdom. We’re going to experience a resurrection, we’re going to partake of the divine nature, we’re going to experience immortality, power, and authority.

In addition, we’re going to get a tract of land (that’s the inheritance). We’re also going to live under God’s government, rule in the Kingdom, rebuild societies, act as priests and kings, judge angels, be with Jesus, and meet God face to face. All these wonderful experiences are included under the promise of eternal life.

Titus 3:5-7 says that the inheritance is according to the Hope of eternal life. What exactly is the Hope? It’s not a wish, a dream, or our imagination. We’re not wishing upon a star. This isn't Disney World, it's the Kingdom of God. The inheritance is not according to strange interpretations of the Scriptures. It’s not even according to hope. That's not what the Bible says. It says that we are heirs according to the Hope.

Being heirs of the land God will give us is a small part of the immense collection of promises we call the Hope of eternal life. That's the Hope we're talking about. It's a collection of certain promises of God. If you have been saved through baptism, and have been born again as a child of God, you are now an heir of God.

Inheriting the Earth is just one of many promises you get through the Hope of Eternal Life.

3. We Glory in the Hope

We glory in the Hope, we relish it. The Hope is our pride and joy. Can you tell? We’re not afraid to announce it, to sing about it, or to teach it. That's exactly why the author of Hebrews calls our Hope in the Kingdom the Hope in which we glory.

But Christ is faithful as the Son over God’s house. And we are his house, if indeed we hold firmly to our confidence and the Hope in which we glory (Hebrews 3:6).

This verse defines God’s Church. It says 'We are God's house if...' and then it tells us what the condition is. We are the Church if and only if we hold firmly to the Hope.

Do you see people who hold tight to God’s promise of the Kingdom? That’s the Church. Do you see a group of people who sing about their future and glory in the Hope? That’s God’s Church.

Those Who Will Fail

But there are many congregations--and it's the great majority--which do not boast about the Kingdom. Most congregations are embarrassed to even mention the Kingdom Hope. You don't hear them talking about the Rapture, Christ's rule, the Kingdom, or the New Jerusalem.

Those congregations will fail under testing. They cannot persevere under trial. Any church which is not firm in the Hope will eventually disavow fellowship with those who are firm in the Hope.

How do we know this? How do we know they'll fail? Simply because as the World system tightens its grip on humanity and the Antichrist rises to power, those who hope in the Kingdom will become the outliers--the pariahs of society. We’ll resist the Antichrist’s new world order by the strength our hope in the Kingdom gives us.

We will be hated by all for not conforming to the World—and it will become dangerous to associate with us. That’s when the many congregations which do not glory in the Hope will lose all love for us. Their love will grow cold. They will fall into the deception of the Antichrist, will apostatize from the Faith, will hate us, and will betray us.

The warnings of Jesus will be fulfilled:

Then they will hand you over to persecution and will kill you, and you will be hated by all the nations because of my name. And then many will be led into sin and will betray one another and will hate one another, and many false prophets will appear and will deceive many, and because lawlessness will increase, the love of many will grow cold (Matthew 24:9-12).

Protect Yourself

Do you want to make sure you never fall into the Apostasy? Do you want to make sure your love never grows cold? Glory in the Hope. Declare without any reservation or shame that you are hoping in the Kingdom of God. Surely if Judas had gloried in the Hope he never would have betrayed Jesus.