Chapter 6: Our Ultimate Hope
The Bible is a book of hope. God’s plan is to save us and give us a meaningful life now and forever. He wants to share all things with us and to make us His sons and daughters!
God offers us a future filled with hope!We all face enemies that we need to be saved from. God’s plan is to deliver us from all enemies.
He wants to deliver us from people who want to harm us, from habits and addictions that hold us captive, from sins that produce troubles and suffering in our lives. Even more important, our breaking of God’s perfect and beneficial laws automatically earns death—the last enemy.
And God wants to deliver us from Satan, the evil one—our first and greatest enemy.
Who will deliver us?
Jesus’ very name means Deliverer or Savior. Through Him, God made the way for us to escape all these enemies—even Satan and even death.
“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved” (John 3:16-17).
The Bible calls this way of escape salvation. It tells us the steps to take to be saved, outlined in Peter’s response to those who were “cut to the heart” by realizing that Jesus had died for their sins.
“Then Peter said to them, ‘Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit” (Acts 2:38). (Learn more about this process of conversion that leads to salvation in our free booklet Change Your Life!)
Jesus taught that “he who believes and is baptized will be saved.”
And, mercifully, God “desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth” (1 Timothy 2:4). Sadly, not all will make that choice, but God will make sure all have a full chance.
The hope of salvation
In this dangerous world, as we face our many enemies, the apostle Paul encourages us to put on “as a helmet the hope of salvation” (1 Thessalonians 5:8). The helmet was an essential piece of a Roman soldier’s protective armor, as it has been for soldiers throughout history. We need the protection of the “hope of salvation” to keep our minds safe. For more on this, see our online article “What Is the Helmet of Salvation?”
God is more than able to protect us and defeat all our enemies, and this gives us great hope and motivation.
But we won’t only be looking back on what we have been saved from. Much more, we will be looking forward to what we have been saved for!
The hope of the resurrection at Christ’s coming
In addition to the “hope of salvation,” the Bible also talks about the “hope of eternal life” (Titus 1:2; 3:7) and the “hope and resurrection of the dead” (Acts 23:6).
These are all related, since we must be saved from the death penalty of our sins in order to receive the gift of eternal life. And we will be granted the gift of eternal life through a resurrection— being raised from the dead.
Jesus’ resurrection provides the proof that God has the power over death and that He will grant eternal life to His saints. This is the apostle Paul’s point in the beginning of 1 Corinthians 15—the Resurrection Chapter.
“But now Christ is risen from the dead, and has become the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep [died]. For since by man came death, by Man also came the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive. But each one in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, afterward those who are Christ’s at His coming” (verses 20-23).
Most churches today neglect this teaching, and many Christians hear little about the need for a resurrection at Jesus Christ’s return. Their general teaching is that Christians go immediately to heaven when they die, so why would they need to be “resurrected”?
But, as strange as the resurrection might sound to many, it is what the Bible teaches. Once you study what the Bible really says about the resurrections, you will find it is encouraging, awe- inspiring and full of hope.
God says we are mortal flesh and blood, but He wants to raise us immortal and incorruptible (1 Corinthians 15:50-53). He says we will sleep in death, but He wants to raise us to everlasting life (Daniel 12:2). He says our society is heading for self-destruction (Matthew 24:22), but He and His resurrected followers will intervene and bring real peace and joy to this war-weary world (Isaiah 9:6-7; Revelation 11:15-18; 20:6).
Longtime minister David Johnson envisions the pivotal point of history—the promised return of Jesus Christ—this way:
“Into that darkened and hopeless world the light of hope will descend to the Mount of Olives and begin to spread from an ancient city like a beacon. Once again, the Word of God will ring out, ‘Let there be light!’ And the darkness of life without hope will be vanquished forever.”
That is why we should be “looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good works” (Titus 2:13-14).
Study more about these subjects in our online articles “Hope in Christ,” “What Are the Resurrections?” and “When Will Jesus Return?”
The hope of an eternal life of accomplishment and joy
God offers the “hope of eternal life” (Titus 3:7). This won’t be a life of boredom and frustration—far from it! Jesus said He came “that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly” (John 10:10).
He reassured His disciples, “In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you” (John 14:2). As our article “Many Mansions (in Heaven?)” explains, Jesus was using the priests’ living quarters in the temple as an analogy of the permanent dwelling places He is offering.
Jesus is preparing to welcome His followers “abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior” (2 Peter 1:11). He wants us to have that wonderful sense of belonging, of being at home—forever!But that’s not all. In fact, God intends for us to inherit “all things”—the universe and everything! “You have crowned him with glory and honor, and set him over the works of Your hands. You have put all things in subjection under his feet” (Hebrews 2:7-8).
He also offers meaningful positions of responsibility that will give us an unending sense of accomplishment and excitement. These include being “kings and priests” (Revelation 1:6) and teachers (Isaiah 30:20). Our life now is a preparation for those much greater responsibilities, as illustrated in the words of the master in this parable:
“Well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord” (Matthew 25:21).
Imagine helping Jesus Christ as He brings true justice and peace to this world. Isaiah painted a word picture of this wonderful time:
“Many people shall come and say, ‘Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob; He will teach us His ways, and we shall walk in His paths.’ For out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem. He shall judge between the nations, and rebuke many people; they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore” (Isaiah 2:3-4).
And beyond that, imagine an eternity of supreme happiness! David wrote:
“You will show me the path of life; in Your presence is fullness of joy; at Your right hand are pleasures forevermore” (Psalm 16:11).
Sons and daughters of God
When God created us, He made us in His image, but He formed us of dust (Genesis 1:26; 2:7). So we have the potential to be like God, with the ability to think, create and decide, but we’re physical and temporary.
God is spirit and eternal. And He wants us to become spirit and eternal too. He wants us to be His children!The apostle John exclaimed, “Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called the children of God! Therefore the world does not know us, because it did not know Him. Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is” (1 John 3:1-2).
His children will then be made fully in His image— incorruptible, immortal, His spirit-born children.
We will have an eternally close relationship of love, joy and peace—and all the fruit of God’s Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23; see our online series “The Fruit of the Spirit”).
It’s an unimaginably great hope! But God can open our minds to see it afar off and to embrace it.
After describing the incredible blessing of being the children of God, John added, “And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure” (1 John 3:3).
This hope is well worth the effort. We purify ourselves to become like God now, so we can enjoy a wonderful, exciting and abundant life with our Father and Elder Brother and many brothers and sisters forever!Don’t neglect this hope!We hope you will take the next step on the path to salvation by downloading and studying the biblical passages in our priceless booklet Change Your Life