By John Arthur
A Comment on the Sabbath School Lesson for October 19–25, 2002, on John 14:1–3, "The Jesus Hope: Part 2"
Most religious traditions have an orientation toward some future event that will radically transform the present order. Judaism, for example, awaits its Messiah. The hope of Islam is the return of the twelfth imam. Buddhism anticipates Matteya, the Buddha who is yet to come. Christians, too, and Seventh-day Adventists, in particular, look forward to the "Blessed Hope" when Christ returns in glory.
The study entitled "The Jesus Hope: Part 1" focused on the significance of the Advent Hope, the identity of the One who is coming, and the manner of his return. It also dealt with the credibility of this Scriptural prediction. Part 2 highlights the foundation of the Christian hope, and the need for universal awareness of history’s climatic event, together with a portrayal of the Second Coming as one of the main reasons for the Church’s existence.
Commenting on the word "hope," Encyclopaedia Britannica states,
Generally, Christian manuals of doctrine and ethics have given more attention to faith and charity than to a detailed discussion of hope as such. Nevertheless, whenever there has been an unusual concern about the ’resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come’ theological discussions of hope have become very prominent."1
With the tragic deaths of more than 3,000 New Yorkers just over one year ago, perhaps SDAs (who have the Advent hope enshrined in their very name) can be catalysts in reawakening a general debate on what happens after death with a special emphasis on the Christians’ afterlife expectations. This quarter’s lessons will no doubt move our minds into the right gear! There are 140 references in the Bible to different elements of hope, and a statement in the Church’s 27 Fundamental Doctrines reads, "The Second Coming is the blessed hope of the church—the grand climax of the gospel."2
It might be of interest to examine the following two contrasting dictionary definitions: Hope: (noun) desire, wish, expectation, yearning, hankering, craving, longing, anticipation, assumption, feeling that what is wanted will happen, someone or something that is expected to bring victory, fame, glory, etc., to a group. (verb) anticipate, await, desire, expect, long, believe, trust.
Hopelessness: (noun) abject, crushed, depressed, despondent, despairing, disconsolate, downcast, forlorn, woebegone, abandoned, helpless.
The gap between these two conditions of the mind can only be paralleled with physical separation that takes place at the coming of the Lord.
Is it possible for a Christian to be in a state of hopelessness? Not if the life of that person is truly synchronized with the Bible. 1 Timothy 4:10 is just one of many texts that underscore the triumph experienced by those who invest trust and confidence in God and his promises. It reads: "We have put our hope in the living God, who is the Saviour of all men, and especially of those who believe."3 So, then, the Christian message always has been, and always will be, related to that Person who achieved victory at Calvary. Nothing in the world can ever negate that victory.
God’s salvation, however, is comprehensive. The event at the cross saves us from the penalty of sin; the indwelling of the Holy Spirit in our lives delivers us from the power of sin; and the Second Coming ensures that God’s people are emancipated from an environment of sin. Surely this event will bring into reality the feeling that each Christian has concerning what he/she "wants to happen."
On the day of Christ’s coming the contrast between those people who cherished hope, and those who remain in a condition of hopelessness will be even more graphically striking than the word pictures painted by the dictionary. Paul emphasizes this point in 1 Thessalonians 4:13 when he writes, "we do not want you to grieve like the rest of men who have no hope."
Titus 2:13 reminds us of our need to be waiting anxiously for that "blessed hope—the glorious appearing of our great God and Saviour, Jesus Christ." Referring to this text, one commentator writes, "It inspires the hope that some day we may see at closer range that great saving Friend who has made all this possible."4
What sort of impact is this type of conviction likely to have on a believer? I agree with an observation made by Richard Lehmann: "To serve the God of hope means to enter a way of thought filled with joy, peace and faith in a future reign (Rom. 15:13). No situation appears desperate, since the presence of the Holy Spirit guarantees the promise of the future.…Hope banishes worry, fear and anguish, allowing people to lift up their heads (Luke 21:28)."5 Paul envisages the saints being presented to God "holy, unblameable and unreprovable," and he urges those traveling to the kingdom not to be moved or dislodged from this hope. (Col. 1:22, 23)
In recent weeks, a British science magazine has been offering readers the chance of life after death in a bizarre competition. The lucky winner will have their body frozen when they die, in the hope that medical breakthroughs can revive them in the future. The contest winner is also being offered an alternative prize—a week’s holiday in Hawaii! Even if a deceased person is one day "thawed out" and freed from aches and pains, there is still the problem of a sinful and wicked world that needs to be addressed! My view is that God’s plan makes much more sense.
Really no event in the whole of human history can be compared to the scene of the Second Coming. It will be an infinitely more grand experience than the joyous situation portrayed by Nelson Mandela following his release after twenty-seven years of imprisonment, and his assumption of the presidency of South Africa.
In a speech delivered on May 10, 1994, he stated, We have triumphed in the effort to implant hope in the breasts of millions of our people. We enter into a covenant that we shall build a society in which all South Africans, both black and white, will be able to walk tall, without any fear in their hearts, assured of their inalienable right to human dignity—a rainbow nation at peace with itself and the world."6
In this world of sin, Mandela’s noble dream will be difficult to implement in full. When Christ returns, however, sin will be forever eradicated and the glorious utopian promises of Scripture will indeed become an eternal reality. This remains the great hope of all Adventist Christians.
1. The New Encyclopaedia Britannica, 15th ed. (2002), 6:50.
2. Seventh-day Adventists Believe: A Biblical Exposition of 27 Fundamental Doctrines (Hagerstown, Md.: Review and Herald, 1988), 332.
3. All biblical quotations are from the New International Version.
4. Abingdon Bible Commentary (New York: Abingdon Press, 1929), 1290.
5. Richard P. Lehmann, Handbook for SDA Theology (Hagerstown, Md.: Review and Herald, 2000), 910.
6. "Let Freedom Reign," recorded in The Penguin Book of Historic Speeches (New York: Penguin Books, 1996), 499.
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