Br.Aaron Obed Thomas
Hope is always related to the future. Each and every person hopes for something. A businessman hopes for profit in his business. A student hopes for a good career. A salesperson hopes to achieve his sales target. A teacher hopes for good results. Parents hope for a good future for their children.
But here, in this illustration, we want to draw your attention to our “Blessed Hope.” Our Christian life is based upon Christ, the Rock of Ages, and day by day we are drawing nearer to this Blessed Hope.
What Is the Blessed Hope?
Paul says to Titus, his spiritual son:
“Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ” (Titus 2:13).
This Blessed Hope is nothing but the glorious appearance of Jesus Christ. He is our great God and Saviour.
To achieve this Blessed Hope, St. Paul says we should:
Deny ungodliness and worldly lusts.
Live soberly, righteously, and godly in this present world.
Our Blessed Hope is not for this present world but for the future. However, we must prepare ourselves in this present world to achieve it.
To live a godly life, we must deny all ungodliness. Denial is an essential element of Christian life. If we are ready to deny something, we will achieve greater things.
Jesus says:
“If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.”
To follow Jesus—the Author and Finisher of faith (Hebrews 12:2), the Captain of our salvation (Hebrews 2:10), and the Author of eternal salvation—we must deny ourselves. For He Himself denied His position of equality with God and made Himself of no reputation (Philippians 2:6–8).
Just as we must exhale carbon dioxide to inhale oxygen and sustain our physical life, so we must exhale impurities from our lives to sustain our spiritual life.
Denying Ungodliness and Worldly Lusts
St. Paul says that to achieve the Blessed Hope we must deny ungodliness and worldly lusts.
Worldly lust is in total enmity with the love of God.
It means the love of worldly fashions, behaviors, and lifestyles.
We were once worldly men, but God made us into godly men. Lust is the mother of sin and the grandmother of death, as James 1:15 explains:
“Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death.”
Thus, when we deny lust, we overcome the dual powers of sin and death.
The believer who is tarrying for this Blessed Hope should live soberly, righteously, and godly in this present world.
Attitude Toward the Blessed Hope
Dear brothers and sisters, let us examine our attitude:
Do we have a positive attitude toward this Blessed Hope?
Are we keeping ourselves far away from the lusts of this world?
Are we living soberly and righteously?
Though we are living in the present world, we are racing toward the future world because of our Blessed Hope.
St. Paul illustrates this Blessed Hope as the glorious appearance of our great Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
Again, Paul says in 1 Thessalonians 4:16–17:
“For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ shall rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord.”
Here we see the fulfillment of the Blessed Hope of the church.
Three Sounds in the Glorious Appearance
At His coming, three distinct sounds will be heard:
The Shout of the Lord
The Voice of the Archangel
The Trumpet of God
Three Sounds in the Glorious Appearance
1. The Shout of the Lord
The Lord’s shout is not for everyone, but for the saints who have lived and died in Christ—those who denied ungodliness and worldly lusts and lived soberly, righteously, and godly.
In John 11:43–44, Jesus cried out:
“Lazarus, come forth!”
He called Lazarus by name so that not all the dead would arise at once. Likewise, at the Blessed Hope, His shout will resurrect only the godly.
In John 5:25, Jesus said:
“The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live.”
This shout is the key to resurrection.
When Jesus died (Matthew 27:50–52), He cried with a loud voice, and many saints arose. In the same way, His voice will raise the godly saints at His return.
Only those who live godly lives will hear His voice on that day.
2. The Voice of the Archangel
Michael, the archangel, is mentioned in Jude 1:9 in connection with the body of Moses. The devil disputed over Moses’ body, but Michael rebuked him, saying, “The Lord rebuke you.”
On the day of resurrection, the devil will again accuse the saints, but the archangel will rebuke and defeat him with his voice.
3. The Trumpet of God
This is the last trumpet, already prepared for the day of resurrection.
Throughout Scripture, the trumpet often signals war or victory.
In Leviticus 25:9–10, the trumpet marked the Year of Jubilee—a time of liberty and restoration.
In Joshua 6, when the priests blew their trumpets, the walls of Jericho fell, and Israel entered the promised land.
So too, at the sound of the last trumpet, the saints will enter their spiritual Canaan—Zion.
At that time, the devil will be defeated, and the saints will proclaim victory:
“O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?”
And the promise will be fulfilled:
“Death is swallowed up in victory.”
Dear brothers and sisters, are we ready for this Blessed Hope? Let us prepare ourselves for His glorious coming.
Maranatha! JESUS IS COMING SOON!