One of my concerns is that many of our families and friends will not be going home with us at the Rapture. This study of the Book of Revelation is to see what ‘Hope’ will be around for those left-behind.

There are quite a few words that we would normally associate with the Book of Revelation, but are actually not to be found in it.

Examples:

• Antichrist
• Despair
• Cherubim
• Believe
• Consumed
• Executed
• Hope
• Fools
• Comfort

The word that interests me is ‘HOPE’. We know that the ‘Antichrist’ is present, but we refer to him as the ‘beast’. The devil, who deceived them, was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone where the beast and the false prophet are. And they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.(Rev 20:10)

Surely there is ‘despair’. “…Fall on us and hide us from the face of Him who sits on the throne…(Rev 6:16), or “In those days men will seek death and will not find it; they will desire to die, and death will flee from them.” (Rev 9:6).

Where are the ‘Cherubim’? Eze 1:4-25 & Eze 10 give a very good description of them. These creatures are identified as cherubim. Cherubim also guarded the Tree of Life. Gen 3:24. They appear to be warriors. As such, they must be playing a very important role during the tribulation.

We know that ‘comforting’ was going on: “And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes: there should be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain…” Rev 21:4

I believe that even ‘HOPE’ has an important part to play during the events as written in the Book of Revelation. And these are my thoughts.

Definition of HOPE

A. Noun

1. The happy anticipation of good (the most frequent significance), e.g., Tit. 1:2; 1 Pet. 1:21;
2. The ground upon which hope is based, Acts 16:19; Col 1:27, “Christ in you the hope of glory;
3. The object upon which the hope is fixed, e.g., 1 Tim 1:1

1. Acts 23:6, “the hope and resurrection of the dead;” this has been regarded as a hendiadys (one by means of two), i.e., the hope of the resurrection; but the kai, “ and”, is epexegetic, defining the hope, namely the resurrection;
2. Acts 26:6-7, “the hope of the promise (i.e. the fulfillment of the promise) made unto the fathers;
3. Gal. 5:5, “the hope of righteousness;” i.e. the believer’s complete conformity to God’s will, at the Coming of Christ;
4. Col. 1:23, “ the hope of the Gospel,” i.e., the hope of the fulfillment of all the promises presented in the Gospel; cp. 1:5;
5. Rom 5:2, “ (the) hope of the glory of God,” i.e., as in Tit. 2:13, “the blessed hope and appearing of the glory of our great God and Saviour Jesus Christ;” cp Col. 1:27;
6. 1 Thess. 5:8, “ the hope of salvation,” i.e., of the Rapture of believers, to take place at the opening of the Parousia of Christ;
7. Eph. 1:18, “the hope of His (God’s) calling,” i.e., the prospect before those who respond to His call in the Gospel;
8. Eph. 4:4, “ the hope of your calling,” the same as (7), but regarded from the point of view of the called;
9. Tit. 1:2, 3:7, “ the hope of eternal life,” i.e., the full manifestation and realization of that life which is already the believer’s possession;
10. Acts 28:20, “ the hope of Israel,” i.e., the expectation of the coming of the Messiah.

B. Verbs

1. ELPIZO, to hope, is not infrequently translated in the A.V., by the verb to trust; the R.V. adheres to some form of the verb to hope, e.g.,
   • John 5:45, “Moses, on whom ye have set your hope;”
   • 2 Cor 1:10, “on whom we have set our hope;”
   The verb is followed by three prepositions:
   1. eis, rendered “on” in John 5:45; the meaning is really “in” as in 1 Pet. 3:5, “who hoped in God;” the hope is thus said to be directed to, and to centre in, a Person;
   2. epi, “on”, Rom 15:12, “On Him shall the Gentiles hope,” R.V.; so 1 Tim. 4:10, 5:5 (in the bess mss.); 6:17, R.V.; this expresses the ground upon which hope rests;
   3. en, “in” 1 Cor. 15:19, “we have hoped in Christ,” R.V., more lit., ‘we are (men) that have hoped in Christ,’ the preposition expresses that Christ is not simply the ground upon whom, but the sphere and element in whom, the hope is placed. The form of the verb (the perfect participle whit the verb to be, lit., ‘are having hoped’) stresses the character of those who hope, more than the action; hope characterizes them, showing what sort of persons they are. See Trust.
2. PROELPIZO, to hope before (pro, before, and No. 1), is found in Eph. 1:12
3. APELPIZO, lit, to hope from (apo, and No. 1): see Despair.

THE RAPTURE

“There is no question that the Lord Jesus Christ is coming again to this earth. It is a prophetic fact, guaranteed by the eternal Word of God. The deity and credibility of God demands it. It is a prophetic future event whose fulfillment may not be far off. Before He comes, however, He will rapture His church up to be with Him in His Father’s house. That event will also mark the beginning of the stormiest time in all of human history, called “the wrath of God” or “the Great Tribulation.” The purpose of these tortuous days will be to provide humanity a seven-year period in which to make their decision to accept Him—or to accept Antichrist, the very embodiment of evil. It is a comfort to all Christians to know they do not have to face the coming storm of judgment. That is precisely why the Rapture is called “the Blessed Hope.”

As Tim LaHaye stated in the above paragraph, there will be a Rapture, the church will be “caught up” together to meet the Lord in the clouds, 1 Thessalonians 4:17, and shortly thereafter, the Great Tribulation will commence. The Greek word HARPAZO, which was translated into “caught up”, could also have been translated ‘to snatch away’ or ‘catch away’, and it is from this Greek word that the term “Rapture” comes from.

Christians today look at the Rapture as being “the Blessed Hope” Titus 2:13, for the following reasons:

1. “Looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ,” Titus 2:13
2. “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.” 1 Thessalonians 4:17. We shall always be with the Lord, Oh what a wonderful hope!!!
3. “So when this corruptible has put on incorruption, and this mortal has put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written: "Death is swallowed up in victory. O Death, where is your sting?" I Corinthians 15:54-55. Every Christian raptured immediately receives an immortal body. We shall never die.
4. “For God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ,” 1 Thessalonians 5:9. Christians are spared the wrath of God.
5. "In My Father's house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.” John 14:2-3
6. “who will transform our lowly body that it may be conformed to His Glorious body, according to the working by which He is able even to subdue all things to Himself.” Philippians 3:21. Another verse indicating the wonderful new body which we shall receive. Christ’s Glorious body is also incapable of sin. We shall also be freed of sin’s reach.
7. “Blessed and holy is he who has part in the first resurrection. Over such the second death has no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with Him a thousand years.” Revelation 20:6. We have much to hope for in this verse:
   1. We shall be declared “blessed and holy” by God.
   2. The second death has no power of us.
   3. We shall be priests of God.
   4. We shall be priests of Christ.
   5. We shall reign with Him a thousand years.

POST-RAPTURE HOPE

“Since the world today is experiencing the grace of God and the withholding of divine judgement on wickedness, it is perhaps difficult to comprehend such a graphic and terrible event as the Tribulation. On the other hand, the Second Coming provides hope for those who in the Great Tribulation will come to Christ, suffer, and be persecuted, but who will be rescued by the return of Christ. What we must keep in mind is that prophecy is just as certain as history. It will be fulfilled in God's time and way -- and perhaps relatively soon.”

1. “Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ, by the commandment of God our Savior and the Lord Jesus Christ, our hope,” Timothy 1:1. The Lord Jesus Christ, our hope. What more hope could we need?
2. “that having been justified by His grace we should become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.”Titus3:7
3. “looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ,” Titus 2:13
4. “20. According to my earnest expectation and hope that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but that with all boldness, as always, so now also Christ will be magnified in my body, whether by life or by death. 21. For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain.” Philippians 1:20-21. Paul was experiencing in prison what most will experience during the tribulation. He knew that if he were martyred, Christ would be glorified. However if Paul lived, then he would be able to continue preaching Christ. Paul also knew that if he were to die, he would go home to be with Christ.
5. “who will transform our lowly body that it may be conformed to His Glorious body, according to the working by which He is able even to subdue all things to Himself.” Philippians 3:21. Another verse indicating the wonderful new body which we shall receive. Christ’s Glorious body is also incapable of sin. We shall also be freed of sin’s reach.
6. “13. Then one of the elders answered, saying to me, "Who are these arrayed in white robes, and where did they come from?'' 14. And I said to him, "Sir, you know.'' So he said to me, "These are the ones who come out of the great tribulation, and washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. 15. "Therefore they are before the throne of God, and serve Him day and night in His temple. And He who sits on the throne will dwell among them. 16. "They shall neither hunger anymore nor thirst anymore; the sun shall not strike them, nor any heat; 17. "for the Lamb who is in the midst of the throne will shepherd them and lead them to living fountains of waters. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.'' Revelation 7:13-17. Such special treatment is promised to this group of believers.
7. “Blessed and holy is he who has part in the first resurrection. Over such the second death has no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with Him a thousand years.” Revelation 20:6. We have much to hope for in this verse:
   • We shall be declared “blessed and holy” by God.
   • The second death has no power of us.
   • We shall be priests of God.
   • We shall be priests of Christ.
   • We shall reign with Him a thousand years.

There are many reasons to have “HOPE” during the tribulation, but I also believe that our tribulation brothers and sisters should be very careful about procrastinating in accepting Our Lord’s FREE GIFT of salvation. “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.” (John 3:16). There will come a time in everyone’s life, when it will not be possible to be saved. I do not know that time, but it will probably occur very shortly after the Rapture for many people. Here is what Solomon has to say about it:

Because I have called and you refused, I have stretched out my hand and no one regarded, Because you disdained all my counsel, And would have none of my rebuke, I will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your terror comes, When your terror comes like a storm, And your destruction comes like a whirlwind, When distress and anguish come upon you, Then they will call on me, but I will not answer; They will seek me diligently, But they will not find me.Proverbs 1:24-28

But whoever listens to me will dwell safely, And will be secure, without fear of evil.” Proverbs 1:33

He who testifies to these things says, “Surely I am coming quickly.” Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus! The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen. Revelation 22:20-21