34.3 Christ Is The Basis Of Hope

(Romans 5:1-5a)

Now that we have been put right with God through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. He has brought us by faith into this experience of God’s grace, in which we now live. And so we boast of the hope we have of sharing God’s glory! We also boast of our troubles, because we know that trouble produces endurance, endurance brings God’s approval, and his approval creates hope. This hope does not disappoint us.

34.2 Hope In The Resurrection

(Acts 24:14-16)

I do admit this to you: I worship the God of our ancestors by following that Way which they say is false. But I also believe in everything written in the Law of Moses and the books of the prophets. I have the same hope in God that these themselves have, namely, that all people, both the good and the bad, will rise from death. And so I do my best always to have a clear conscience before God and man.

34.1 Restoration Under The Messiah

(Zechariah 9:9-12)

Rejoice, rejoice, people of Zion!
Shout for joy, you people of Jerusalem!
Look, your king is coming to you!
He comes triumphant and victorious,
but humble and riding on a donkey-
on a colt, the foal of a donkey.
The Lord says, “I will remove the war
chariots from Israel
and take the horses from Jerusalem;
the bows used in battle will be destroyed.
Your king will make peace among the nations;
he will rule from sea to sea,
from the Euphrates River to the ends of the earth.”
The Lord says, “Because of my covenant with you
that was sealed by the blood of sacrifices,
I will set your people free-
free from the waterless pit of exile.
Return, you exiles who now have hope;
return to your place of safety.
Now I tell you that I will repay you twice over
with blessing for all you have suffered.

33.5 The Lord Will Enter; The Pure Can Join

(Psalm 24)

The world and all that is in it belong to the Lord;
the earth and all who live on it are his.
He built it on the deep waters beneath the earth
and laid its foundations in the ocean depths.

Who has the right to go up the Lord’s hill?
Who may enter his holy Temple?
Those who are pure in act and in thought,
who do not worship idols
or make false promises.
The Lord will bless them and save them;
God will declare them innocent.
Such are the people who come to God,
who come into the presence of the God of Jacob.

Fling wide the gates, open the ancient doors,
and the great king will come in.
Who is the great king?
He is the Lord, strong and mighty,
the Lord, victorious in battle.

Fling wide the gates, open the ancient doors,
and the great king will come in.
Who is this great king?
The triumphant Lord – he is the great king!

33.4 God Will Be Our Light

(Revelation 22:1-5)

The angel also showed me the river of the water of life, sparkling like crystal, and coming from the throne of God and of the Lamb flowing down the middle of the city’s street. On each side of the river was the tree of life, which bears fruit twelve times a year, once each month; and its leaves are for the healing of the nations. Nothing that is under God’s curse will be found in the city.

The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will worship him. They will see his face, and his name will be written on their foreheads. There shall be no more night, and they will not need lamps or sunlight, because the Lord God will be their light, and they will rule as kings forever and ever.

33.3 God Will Give The Living Water

(Revelation 21:5-8)

Then the one who sits on the throne said, “And now I make all things new!” He also said to me, “Write this, because these words are true and can be trusted.” And he said, “It is done! I am the first and the last, the beginning and the end. To anyone who is thirsty I will give the right to drink from the spring of the water of life without paying for it. Whoever wins the victory will receive this from me: I will be his God, and he will be my son. But cowards, traitors, perverts, murderers, the immoral, those who practice magic, those who worship idols, and all liars – the place for them is the lake burning with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.”

33.2 The End Of Suffering

(Revelation 21:1-4)

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth. The first heaven and the first earth disappeared and the sea vanished. And I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared and ready, like a bride dressed to meet her husband. I heard a loud voice speaking from the throne: “Now God’s home is with mankind! He will live with them, and they shall be his people. God himself will be with them, and he will be their God. He will wipe away all tears from their eyes. There will be no more death, no more grief or crying or pain. The old things have disappeared.”

33.1 For the People Without Deceit

(Revelation 14:1-5)

Then I looked, and there was the Lamb standing on Mount Zion; with him were 144,000 people who have his name and his Father’s name written on their foreheads. And I heard a voice from heaven that sounded like a roaring waterfall, like a loud peal of thunder. It sounded like the music made by musicians playing their harps. The 144,000 people stood before the throne, the four living creatures, and the elders; they were singing a new song, which only they could learn. Of all mankind they are the only ones who have been redeemed. They are the men who have kept themselves pure by not having sexual relations with women; they are virgins. They follow the Lamb wherever he goes. They have been redeemed from the rest of mankind and are the first ones to be offered to God and the Lamb. They have never been known to tell lies; they are faultless.