Our Glorious Hope – The Return of Jesus

As we finish the Twelve Challenges, we will consider the consummation of God’s redemptive plan. He initiated his plan by calling one man, Abraham, and it will be consummated when a descendent of Abraham, the risen Jesus returns as the Divine King and Lord of all. Then, “at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue declare that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Phil 2:10-11). What the Scriptures describe as our glorious, blessed, or eager hope will become tangible and visible. “We were given this hope when we were saved” (Rom 8:24). God’s Kingdom will be established on earth and Jesus will rule in perfect love over the entire cosmos. “Death is swallowed up in victory” (1 Cor 15:54). The end of the present age will become the beginning of the eternal now, life without sin, Satan, sadness, suffering, illness, injustice, or death. 

We will skip the complicated symbolism that fills the apocalyptic portions of Daniel, Ezekiel, and Revelation and bypass the rapture, millennium, mark of the beast, antichrist, and all the other terms and symbols found in those passages. To do this would double the length of our study. Instead, we will consider a prophetic passage in Isaiah 60. This passage has much in common with Revelation 21 and 22 and its theme of the New Jerusalem. I am relying on the insights of Richard Mouw in his book, When the Kings Come Marching In (Eerdmans, Revised edition, 2002). 

The Bible story begins in a garden and ends in a city. A vision of that magnificent city emerges in Isaiah 60. The prophet sounds joyful and excited as he anticipates the day when Jerusalem will be transformed. People are drawn to the city “from distant lands.” It is a city “into which technological artifacts, political rulers, and the people from many nations are gathered.” In other words, the city is being filled with the cultural and technological advances of various nations and peoples. 

God’s redemptive plan will be fulfilled in this city, which is a picture of heaven. It is also called the Holy City “coming down from God out of heaven” (Revelation. 21:2), “a city designed and built by God” (Hebrew 11:10). There is, however, continuity between our present lives and the life to come in the Holy City. 

The Holy City is the center of commerce. Goods and “merchants from around the world” flow into the Holy City. Those goods are things that were familiar to Isaiah: “camels of Midian” (v. 6), “gold and frankincense” from Sheba (v. 6), “flocks” from Kedar, and the “rams of “Nebaioth” (v. 7). Ships from “Tarshish” “are bringing the people of Israel home…carrying their silver and gold” (v.9). “Cypress, fir, and pine” will be brought into the City from Lebanon (v.13). The goods and products from many lands enter and enrich the city. This vision would have surprised and delighted the people of Jerusalem in Isaiah’s day.

When these treasures enter the Holy City, they no longer are symbols of pagan power, pride, or superiority. They serve a new and higher purpose. “They will honor the LORD your God” (v. 9). All that enters the Holy City will serve and exalt God and prosper his people.

Mouw suggests that the achievements of pagan cultures, their contributions to the cultural mandate to “fill the earth” (Genesis 1:28) with good things, will glorify God. Naturally, each nation takes pride in its cultural contributions, including their military strength. In doing so they are essentially stealing God’s glory. They will be judged. Mouw suggests that judgment will not destroy their achievements but will purify those achievements. His judgment will be more like breaking a horse than breaking a vase. He will expose and judge the idolatrous intentions and motives that lie behind these achievements. 

Unjust kings, leaders, and politicians will also come into the Holy City, not as permanent residents, but to be judged (vs. 11-14). Mouw believes and argues that dictators and tyrants will be confronted by those they have wronged. Kings and queens will kneel before the widows and orphans they have oppressed. Once powerful rulers will listen to the testimonies of those they have martyred. White racists will be terror stricken as they face the black men, women, and children they disparaged. All injustice will be exposed and condemned. The LORD alone will be exalted.

All that happens in the Holy City will glorify God. There will be unanimous agreement that the LORD alone is righteous in his verdicts. After all this happens, the kings and oppressors will never enter the city again and God will institute his new order in the Holy City. The renewed creation will be ruled by Christ. Isaiah uses the metaphor of God’s people “nursing at the breast of a queen” (v. 16) to describe the loving and just reign of Jesus. His rule will provide nurture like a nursing mother.

But nowhere in Scripture are we told when this will all happen. “No one knows the day or hour when these things will happen, not even the angels in heaven or the Son himself. In fact, only the Father knows” the time of the consummation (Mark 13:22). Then Jesus adds, “And since you don’t know when that time will come, be on guard. Stay alert!” (13:33). Thus, instead of trying to figure out when God will consummate history, we should live in expectancy, always prepared regardless of when it occurs. Our preparation must include completing the Great Commission (Challenge 12 “B”), “For the good news must first be preached to all nations” (Mark 13:10) before Jesus will return. 

The End is the New Beginning

Our hope is fixed on the promises that Jesus will return. With our risen and glorified bodies, we will rise to meet him (1 Thess 4:17) in the air as he descends to earth, just as he ascended forty days after his crucifixion (Acts 1:9-11). He will return in glory. His return will signal the coming of the new heavens, the new earth, and the new Jerusalem. His coming marks the end of this age and the beginning of the age to come. 

Jesus will reign as the perfect and righteous King. There will be no police because there will be no crime and no sin. Kingdom living will be universal. Everyone will be assigned specific responsibilities, but all that is done will please and glorify the King. Our work will also be beautiful expressions of worship. The old ways will be forgotten as everyone will joyfully embrace Kingdom Living under loving leadership of Jesus. We will live in the eternal now.

A Fairy Tale and More

Fairy tales follow the gospel pattern. Every fairy tale has something bad that unexpectedly turns out good (cross). There is always a curse (sin). The only possible hope is that the prince (Son of God) will come and rescue us (incarnation). This fairy tale, like all fairy tales, appears to be fantasy. Yet it is truth, not fantasy. Disciples live in anticipation of the climactic ending and the joyous new beginning.

Better than a fairy tale, the prince (Son of the King) returns to rule over his people with love. All oppression will cease and there will be true freedom for every citizen. We will celebrate Jesus’ victory through all eternity in the Holy City under the rule of the glorious Prince, who becomes King Jesus. This is God’s promise and the basis of our hope, not a fairy tale. The resurrection is God’s seal of authenticity on how he will consummate his redemptive plan. We become the Bride of Christ. The consummation is a better ending than any fairy tale and surpasses the wildest dreams we ever dared to hope for. In the end, love wins! The end is the new beginning. The Kingdom of God comes in its fullness and as the Hallelujah Chorus exclaims, 

The kingdom of this world

Is become the kingdom of our Lord, 

And of His Christ, and of His Christ;

And He shall reign forever and ever,

For ever and ever, forever and ever….

So be it, forever and ever. Amen!

THINKING IT THROUGH

“The paths of the LORD are true and right, and righteous people live by walking in them.” Hosea 14:9

THE TRUTH: Jesus is the giver of life, Messiah, Savior, and Lord of all. One day every knee will bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father.  

THE CHALLENGE: Disciples seek to bring every part of their lives under Jesus’ rule on their lifelong faith journey. They practice Kingdom living now in anticipation of the consummation.

The Scriptures, questions, and notes are for group discussion and personal reflection. Our goal in Tier II is character transformation which requires sustained effort and growing faith. Thinking through the questions can help you understand this challenge at a deeper level. We encourage you to focus on those questions that you find most interesting or helpful. This is not a test, but a tool to help you respond to the challenges.

Related Scriptures

1 Peter 4:7-8 ⁷ The end of the world is coming soon. Therefore, be earnest and disciplined in your prayers. ⁸ Most important of all, continue to show deep love for each other, for love covers a multitude of sins.

2 Peter 3:8-13 ⁸ But you must not forget this one thing, dear friends: A day is like a thousand years to the Lord, and a thousand years is like a day. ⁹ The Lord isn’t really being slow about his promise, as some people think. No, he is being patient for your sake. He does not want anyone to be destroyed, but wants everyone to repent. ¹⁰ But the day of the Lord will come as unexpectedly as a thief. Then the heavens will pass away with a terrible noise, and the very elements themselves will disappear in fire, and the earth and everything on it will be found to deserve judgment. 

¹¹ Since everything around us is going to be destroyed like this, what holy and godly lives you should live, ¹² looking forward to the day of God and hurrying it along. On that day, he will set the heavens on fire, and the elements will melt away in the flames. ¹³ But we are looking forward to the new heavens and new earth he has promised, a world filled with God’s righteousness.

Philippians 1:20-21 ²⁰ But we are citizens of heaven, where the Lord Jesus Christ lives. And we are eagerly waiting for him to return as our Savior. ²¹ He will take our weak mortal bodies and change them into glorious bodies like his own, using the same power with which he will bring everything under his control.

Philippians 4:4-5 ⁴ Always be full of joy in the Lord. I say it again—rejoice! ⁵ Let everyone see that you are considerate in all you do. Remember, the Lord is coming soon.

Romans 8:23 ²³ We, too, wait with eager hope for the day when God will give us our full rights as his adopted children, including the new bodies he has promised us.

1 Corinthians 15:57-58 ⁵⁷ But thank God! He gives us victory over sin and death through our Lord Jesus Christ.
⁵⁸ So, my dear brothers and sisters, be strong and immovable. Always work enthusiastically for the Lord, for you know that nothing you do for the Lord is ever useless.

Romans 15:4 ⁴ Such things were written in the Scriptures long ago to teach us. And the Scriptures give us hope and encouragement as we wait patiently for God’s promises to be fulfilled.

Romans 8:19-25 ¹⁸ Yet what we suffer now is nothing compared to the glory he will reveal to us later. ¹⁹ For all creation is waiting eagerly for that future day when God will reveal who his children really are. ²⁰ Against its will, all creation was subjected to God’s curse. But with eager hope, ²¹ the creation looks forward to the day when it will join God’s children in glorious freedom from death and decay. ²² For we know that all creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. ²³ And we believers also groan, even though we have the Holy Spirit within us as a foretaste of future glory, for we long for our bodies to be released from sin and suffering. We, too, wait with eager hope for the day when God will give us our full rights as his adopted children, including the new bodies he has promised us. ²⁴ We were given this hope when we were saved. (If we already have something, we don’t need to hope for it. ²⁵ But if we look forward to something we don’t yet have, we must wait patiently and confidently.)

1 Corinthians 15:50-58 ⁵⁰ What I am saying, dear brothers and sisters, is that our physical bodies cannot inherit the Kingdom of God. These dying bodies cannot inherit what will last forever.

⁵¹ But let me reveal to you a wonderful secret. We will not all die, but we will all be transformed! ⁵² It will happen in a moment, in the blink of an eye, when the last trumpet is blown. For when the trumpet sounds, those who have died will be raised to live forever. And we who are living will also be transformed. ⁵³ For our dying bodies must be transformed into bodies that will never die; our mortal bodies must be transformed into immortal bodies.

⁵⁴ Then, when our dying bodies have been transformed into bodies that will never die, this Scripture will be fulfilled:
“Death is swallowed up in victory.
⁵⁵ O death, where is your victory?
O death, where is your sting?”

⁵⁶ For sin is the sting that results in death, and the law gives sin its power. ⁵⁷ But thank God! He gives us victory over sin and death through our Lord Jesus Christ.

2 Corinthians 4:14 ¹⁴ We know that God, who raised the Lord Jesus, will also raise us with Jesus and present us to himself together with you.

Ephesians 4:4 ⁴ For there is one body and one Spirit, just as you have been called to one glorious hope for the future.

Titus 2:11-13 (NIV) ¹¹ For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people. ¹² It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, ¹³ while we wait for the blessed hope—the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ….

Questions

You are encouraged to use these questions for group discussion or personal reflection. Respond to the questions that are most relevant or interesting to you (I urge you to write your responses in a journal or notebook).

1. Why is the return of Jesus called the “blessed hope” and “glorious hope”?

2. Note: Jesus received a new physical body that was also imperishable when he was raised from the dead. On the first Easter evening, the risen Jesus “appeared” to his disciples who had gathered behind locked doors (Jn 20:19-24). His new body must have had new capabilities (able to pass through solid walls). Yet there was continuity because he ate with his disciples and his physical wounds were still visible. He ascended to heaven in that same body. Jesus still lives in his imperishable body and will return in that body (Acts 1:11). All disciples will receive new, imperishable bodies at that time. Our mortal bodies will be transformed into bodies that cannot die. We will not be disembodied spirits. Why is any of this significant in how we think about Jesus and our bodies?

3. Please imagine that you received a revelation from God that Jesus would return one year from today.

   • How would this knowledge change your daily routines?

   • List at least five people you would want to personally share this information with.

   • Would you feel more apprehension or anticipation?

   • What character changes would you most want to work on? 

   • Is there anyone you would need to forgive and anyone you would ask to forgive you?

   • What would be your most urgent concern?

4. Of course, not a single person on earth knows when Jesus will return and so the scenario you imagined above will not happen. But the Bible urges us to live as if Jesus’ return was imminent. Why do you think that is so? 

5. When you frame our mandate to make disciples in the context of Jesus’ imminent return, does that motivate you to step out of your comfort zone and invest yourself in others by making disciples? 

6. Optional: I would personally appreciate hearing from you about your completion of The Jesus Way and anything you would like me to know about your experiences. You can contact me through this website’s contact page. I will respond to you. Thank you for your faithfulness. I wish you God’s richest blessings as you continue the journey as an apprentice of Jesus in Kingdom living. It’s a grand adventure.

   Finally…

   There is no “Completing Challenge 12” (which completed the previous eleven challenges). Instead, I encourage you to conclude this study by reading the two passages and the commentary that follow those passages. Then follow the directions. 
   

   Deuteronomy 5:33 ³³ Stay on the path that the LORD your God has commanded you to follow. Then you will live long and prosperous lives in the land you are about to enter and occupy.

   This single verse could be used to describe “The Jesus Way,” but in its original context these words of Moses were directed to the second generation of Israelites as they prepared to enter the Promised Land. After forty years of wandering in the wilderness, Moses had just reviewed the people’s covenant responsibilities (summarized in the Ten Commandments, Deuteronomy 5:1-21). Moses was reminding them not to ignore, forget, or reject their covenantal responsibilities. 

   Over three-thousand years later, it is a reminder for disciples to stay on The Jesus Way. We must cling to all of Jesus’ teaching, not just the parts we like the best. The Israelites’ destination and goal was to enter and live in the “promised land.” For disciples our destination and goal is to enter and live forever in the “Kingdom of God.” We are on a life-long journey following the path Jesus blazed which leads to the Kingdom. Out journey requires us to practice kingdom living here and now in preparation of living there (the Kingdom Jesus rules over) and then (following his return). We practice Kingdom living in a community, helping one another, and empowered by his Holy Spirit. 

   Jesus continually taught and led his disciples on this journey. The following passage is a succinct description of the Jesus Way. 
   

   Matthew 7:13-14 ¹³ “You can enter God’s Kingdom only through the narrow gate. The highway to hell [or ‘destruction’] is broad, and its gate is wide for the many who choose that way. ¹⁴ But the gateway to life is very narrow and the road is difficult, and only a few ever find it.

   Write a paragraph comparing Deuteronomy 5:33 with Matthew 7:13-14. What does each passage mean in its original context? How can they help you understand the Jesus Way.

   Secondly, write a second paragraph as a personal prayer expressing you concerns and desires pertaining to remaining on and following the Jesus way for the rest of your life. You may want to copy this prayer on a 3 x 5 card and use it as a bookmark and reminder in your Bible. 

   Congratulations! You have now completed the study of the Jesus way. Doing this is a significant accomplishment. I believe God is pleased and smiling because of your achievement. Your continuing challenge, however, is to daily live out the Jesus Way as a disciple of Jesus in your life-long journey of faith. 

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