The Blessed Hope Titus 2:13

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Introduction

Initially intended to simply expound on The Blessed Hope, I’ve felt the need to modify this site’s content to take into account the combination of biblical prophecy and the geopolitical situation in the Middle East, which considers the possibility that the biblical end-times might now be near future. At first site this may seem a strange diversion, but the following verses are a starter for both the ‘blessed hope’ and end-times prophecy consideration: Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me.  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.  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 14:1-3] . Commonly read at funerals, this is a promise by Jesus that there is a place reserved in heaven for all true believers in Christ, which is both a ‘blessed hope’ and a comfort to mourners. Also, these words from Jesus are the first teaching of the ‘rapture’ of the church. The ‘rapture’ is an event at some time in the future when Jesus will return (not His second coming) to remove all true believers from the earth before He unleashes God’s wrath on a fallen, unbelieving and rebellious world. It is the ‘rapture’ that takes us into the subject of the end-times, not generally spoken of in church and, consequently, of which there appears to be little knowledge or interest. Yet it is accepted that Jesus will come again, this time in judgement, referred to as His second coming. Even this is hardly ever spoken of. Many prophecy watchers will tell us that this end-times scenario could well occur at any time. Suggestions that ‘the end of the world is nigh’ have surfaced many times through the ages, but the current (June 2026) U.S. and Iran negotiations, along with the ongoing Israel/Hezbollah conflict in southern Lebanon, could result in a key event that will initiate the prophesied end-times period. It could, of course, also be the case that this key event is triggered by a later situation and will not happen for some time. The purpose here is not to persuade you that this event is imminent, but to take you through scripture that provides irrefutable evidence that it will happen one day - if not any time now! “If not any time now” is hopefully sufficient incentive for us all to ensure we are, what is commonly referred to as, ‘rapture ready”. Simply put: is our faith such that we can be confident we will be included in this rapture event. As an example, if you got to church on Sunday and exhibit the behaviour of a non-Christian the other six days of the week, then the obvious suggestion is that your faith is somewhat lacking. If, however, your faith is strong, is a witness to others and includes some evangelising (sharing the Good News), then you will probably feel confident in your salvation. I suspect many of us fall between these two positions. An encouraging Bible verse is Romans 10:9 … if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.  In contrast, a worrying three verses are Matthew 7:21-23 from the Sermon On the Mount: Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven.  Many will say to Me in that day, 'Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?'  And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!' Links to pages commenting on the above verses are in ‘The Blessed Hope’ page and are offered as a suggestion to help, where required, the transition from lacking to confidence in being ‘rapture ready,’

The primary flow of scripture used is:

The Blessed Hope Jesus’ promise that He will be returning for His church [John 14:1-3] James’ teaching that the coming of the Lord draws near [James 5:7, 8] Paul teaching that the Lord will descend from heaven and the dead in Christ will rise first, followed by those still alive, and together they will all be with the Lord forever [1Thess 4;13-18] Paul also teaches that this event will be instantaneous, and their bodies will be transformed from corruptible and mortal to incorruptible and immortal [1Cor 15:53-54]. End-times The Olivet Discourse where Jesus teaches a small group of His disciples about the end-times [Matt 24] Daniel’s ‘Seventy Week’ prophecy [Daniel 9:24-17] to which Jesus directs us in Matt 24:15 The 70th week and the key event, leading to the Tribulation [Daniel 9:27] An overview page is given in chart form to provide a visual layout of this site.