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NASB | Titus 2:13 looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus, |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | Titus 2:13 awaiting and confidently expecting the [fulfillment of our] blessed hope and the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus, |
Subject: A 2nd and 3rd coming of Christ? Intro |
Bible Note: A 2nd and 3rd coming of Christ? II-III By Rev. Bill Lee-Warner '2. In I Peter 1:13, Peter writes: "...fix your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ." Peter understood that the believer realizes his "blessed hope" at the revelation of Jesus. It is interesting that Peter, who surely would have known if there was to be both a time period and a different focus or objective between the Rapture and the Revelation of Christ, did not even hint at such a difference. Rather, he simply says that the hope of the believer is to be realized "at the revelation of Jesus Christ". The conclusion one reaches based on this verse is that the blessed hope of the believer takes place at the same time as the revelation of Christ, the time when Christ comes to rescue the righteous (the rapture) and pour out His wrath on the wicked (the revelation, as per the pretrib definition). 'To use Titus 2:13 as a Scriptural base for establishing a pretribulation Rapture is a weak argument at best. Not only is the Rapture, separated from "the revelation of Jesus Christ", not the intention of the passage, it cannot be hermeneutically substantiated by any other verse in all the New Testament. '3. Paul reminds his young disciple, Titus, that believers are to look "for the blessed hope". The context of this verse gives us insight as to what is intended regarding the meaning. In verse 11, Paul is emphasizing the "grace of God" through which He has brought salvation to all men. Then, in verse 12, he appeals to that gift of God as the foundational motive for believers to live "righteously" and "godly in this present age" as they move toward that "blessed hope". 'In the New Testament, the hope of believers is mentioned over 50 times. As one traces the use of the word "hope" throughout the New Testament, one discovers that nowhere is the believer's hope ever understood to be limited to that of the Rapture of the saints. The Rapture is certainly included, but it is not the sole idea. On the contrary, the New Testament writers use the word to speak of the broad experience of being liberated from the effects of sin, experiencing the full blessing of their inheritance in Christ, and being unhindered in their worship and adoration of their Lord. 'To make the Rapture the entire focus of the believer's hope is to apply a meaning the New Testament writers did not intend. Certainly the Rapture is a part of the "blessed hope", albeit a significant part, but it is not the sole meaning.' ____________________ www.solagroup.org/ articles/faqs/faq_0011.html |