The Hope of Glory - A Preview of Things to Come

By Warren A Henderson

The whole Bible is an expression of divine truth. Our understanding of that truth is not gained by the private interpretation of any one particular Scripture (2 Pet. 1:20), but rather through the guidance of the Holy Spirit in comparing Scripture with Scripture (1 Cor. 2:13). By reviewing the whole of Scripture, we are able to answer with a high de

• Language: English
• Publisher: Warren A Henderson
• Release date: Jul 21, 2016
• ISBN: 9781939770257

Book preview

All Scripture quotations are from the New King James Version of the Bible, unless otherwise noted. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Nashville, TN.

The Hope of Glory – A Preview of Things to Come

By Warren Henderson

Copyright © 2014

Cover Design: John Nicholson

Editor: James Martin

Illustrations: Nathanael Martin

Technical Review: David Dunlap, Steve Hulshizer

Proofreaders: David Lindstrom, Dan Macy

Published by Warren A. Henderson

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Pomona, KS 66076

Perfect Bound ISBN  978-1-939770-24-0

eBook ISBN  978-1-939770-25-7

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Other Books by the Author

Afterlife – What Will It Be Like?

Answer the Call – Finding Life’s Purpose

Be Holy and Come Near– A Devotional Study of Leviticus

Behold the Saviour

Be Angry and Sin Not

Conquest and the Life of Rest – A Devotional Study of Joshua

Exploring the Pauline Epistles

Forsaken, Forgotten, and Forgiven – A Devotional Study of Jeremiah

Glories Seen & Unseen

Hallowed Be Thy Name – Revering Christ in a Casual World

Hiding God – The Ambition of World Religion

In Search of God – A Quest for Truth

Knowing the All-Knowing

Lessons For Life

Managing Anger God’s Way

Mind Frames – Where Life’s Battle Is Won or Lost

Out of Egypt – A Devotional Study of Exodus

Overcoming Your Bully

Passing the Torch – Mentoring the Next Generation

Relativity and Redemption – A Devotional Study of Judges and Ruth

Revive Us Again – A Devotional Study of Ezra and Nehemiah

Seeds of Destiny – A Devotional Study of Genesis

The Bible: Myth or Divine Truth?

The Beginning of Wisdom – A Devotional Study of Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Song of Solomon

The Evil Nexus – Are You Aiding the Enemy?

The Fruitful Bough – Affirming Biblical Manhood

The Fruitful Vine – Celebrating Biblical Womanhood

The Olive Plants – Raising Spiritual Children

Your Home the Birthing Place of Heaven

Table of Contents

Title Page

Other Books by the Author

Preface

Israel’s Hope – Christ’s Second Advent

Israel - The Apple of God’s Eye

Allegories of Love

Grace and Faith from the Beginning

Seventy – Israel’s Number

Bible Prophecy in Motion

Impending Predictions

The Sign of the Unknown Tongue

Babylon Destroyed Forever

The Exodus Connection

Jeremiah’s Beholds

Israel’s Future in Review

God Is Not Done With Israel

The Church’s Hope – The Rapture

Similar, but Different

What Is the Church’s Hope?

Two Resurrections

Millennial Views

Rapture Views

The Believer’s Hope – To Be With Christ

A Body Fit for Heaven

What Will Heaven Be Like?

Heaven: Questions and Answers

The Blessed Hope

Glossary

Endnotes

Preface

The whole Bible is an expression of divine truth. Our understanding of that truth is not gained by the private interpretation of any one particular Scripture (2 Pet. 1:20), but rather through the guidance of the Holy Spirit in comparing Scripture with Scripture (1 Cor. 2:13). In the realm of eschatology (i.e., the study of last things) this task is daunting, and there is little doubt that in heaven we all, including the author, will learn that we did not have everything quite right. With that said, by reviewing the whole of Scripture, we are able to answer with a high degree of confidence such questions as: Does God have a future plan to bless the Jewish nation of Israel? How does His agenda for the Jewish people differ from His future plans for the Church? Is the Church to be looking for the coming of the Antichrist or Christ Himself? Has Christ already come for the Church? Is it true that Christ will not return until the Church prepares His kingdom?

A literal interpretation of Scripture naturally leads to a literal fulfillment of Bible prophecy. Accordingly, many yet unfulfilled Bible prophecies simply call our attention to a future day in which God will honor His Word. Consequently, there is no need to spiritualize or allegorize Scripture to help God out – He is fully capable of doing exactly that which He says, when He says, without man diluting the meaning of what He says.

It is not the intent of this study to condemn various eschatological or theological positions, or belittle those associated with them, but rather to examine the prophetic hopes of the people of God. To do so, we will start with considering the overwhelming Scriptural evidence that God has not abandoned the Jewish people. Furthermore, we will see that if Scripture is interpreted literally, God’s future plan for glorifying the Church is quite different than His agenda for restoring the nation of Israel to a position of honor and blessing. Hosea refers to this latter event as a door of hope for Israel (Hos. 2:15). But we will see that such evidence not only bestows hope to the Jewish nation, but should also excite every Christian to love the blessed hope, the appearing of the Lord Jesus Christ (2 Tim. 4:8)! Consequently, both the nation of Israel and the Church have all their hopes in Christ!

Writing to encourage persecuted believers scattered throughout the Roman Empire, Peter conveys a message of hope:

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time (1 Pet. 1:3-5).

Therefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and rest your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ; as obedient children, not conforming yourselves to the former lusts, as in your ignorance (1 Pet. 1:13f).

The King James Version of the Bible renders the phrase referring to hope in verse 13 as hope to the end and the verses base that hope on the resurrection and revelation of Christ.

Paul also declares that the believer’s hope is based on Christ: To them God willed to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles: which is Christ in you, the hope of glory (Col. 1:27). In Christ, the believer is ensured an extraordinary future!

Solomon declares, Hope deferred makes the heart sick (Prov. 13:12). Hope is rejoicing now in the future promises of God. What guarded David’s heart from depression in difficult times? Hope! And David’s hope was solely in the Lord (Ps. 39:7). Jeremiah, who intimately knew about suffering for the Lord, rightly summarizes the matter of hope for all of God’s people: Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, and whose hope is the Lord (Jer. 17:7). Trusting and hoping are two different things. However, exercising faith in the present is inseparably tied to hoping for the future. No matter what darkness the future holds, may the Lord’s people maintain "the hope of glory" and "hope to the end."

Israel’s Hope –

Christ’s Second Advent

Israel - The Apple of God’s Eye

The ancient idiom the apple of my eye is an expression of endearment still commonly used today. What most do not realize is that the term originates in the Old Testament. The Oxford English Dictionary states that the phrase refers to something or someone that one cherishes above all others.¹ The pupil, or aperture, through which light passes to the retina, is the tenderest part of the eye. Because sight is the most valued of our five senses, we treasure our eyes and diligently guard them from harm. The eye is an incredible organ to which even the slightest injury is most acutely felt and may cause loss of function. It is also an organ that is not easily repaired through surgery once damaged. For these and other reasons our eyes are quite dear to us!

Accordingly, we understand that when Jehovah invokes the term the apple of God’s eye in Scripture, He is speaking of something or someone that He cherishes greatly. The Lord uses the term three times in the Old Testament and, in each case, He is conveying His tender affection towards the nation of Israel:

He found him in a desert land and in the wasteland, a howling wilderness; He encircled him, He instructed him, He kept him as the apple of His eye (Deut. 32:10).

After Jeremiah announces that God has put Israel away as an adulterous wife he pleads: Their heart cried unto the Lord, O wall of the daughter of Zion, let tears run down like a river day and night: give thyself no rest; let not the apple of thine eye cease (Lam. 2:18; KJV).

For thus says the Lord of hosts: He sent Me after glory, to the nations which plunder you; for he who touches you touches the apple of His eye (Zech. 2:8).

This Old Testament Hebrew idiom is derived from three different Hebrew words. In Deuteronomy 32:10, ‘iyshown literally means the little man of the eye (or more specifically the ‘iysh or man reflected in the pupil of the eye). The root word in Lamentations 2:18, ‘ayin, literally and figuratively refers to an eye. Finally, in Zechariah 2:8, babah is used to speak of the gate of the eye (referring again to the pupil). These words relate to the minute reflection that an onlooker sees when gazing directly into another’s eye while face to face. This Hebrew idiom is surprisingly close to the Latin version, pupilla, which means a little doll. The pupil is round, dark, and in the center of the eye, and thus reflects an image of what is directly in front of it.

The tenderness of this term is explained in the Song of Solomon. The bridegroom proclaims of his Shulamite bride, Behold, you are fair, my love! Behold, you are fair! You have dove’s eyes (SOS 4:1). The bride speaks of her beloved as having eyes like the eyes of doves (SOS 5:12). As C.E. Hocking comments in his book Rise Up My Love:

The dove spoken of here is the rock pigeon, which hides away from danger among the stony crevices of a rock face. Normally, like eyes, these doves are always seen in pairs. Both lovers describe the other’s eyes as doves’ eyes. Indeed, her eyes are a true mirror image of his and his eyes of hers. Beauty and constancy are suggested, for the dove has its mate alone before its eyes, and mourns when its mate is absent.²

Solomon affirms that a husband and wife are to have doves’ eyes for each other (i.e., eyes only for each other). If one’s love is intensely focused on their spouse, they cannot be distracted by another; to do so would require one to turn their head away from his or her beloved. Hence, in the verses above, the term apple of one’s eye is an intimate phrase expressing God’s concentrated devotion and commitment for His covenant people, the Jews. It is used three times to express God’s love for them: at their national commencement (Deut. 32:10), during the darkness of spiritual apostasy in Jeremiah’s day (Lam. 2:18), and, lastly, in reference to their spiritual restoration in the Kingdom Age (Zech. 2:8).

Some may take issue with the latter statement, but let us examine the context of Zechariah 2 to confirm the future nature of the passage:

For thus says the Lord of hosts: He sent Me after glory, to the nations which plunder you; for he who touches you touches the apple of His eye. For surely I will shake My hand against them, and they shall become spoil for their servants. Then you will know that the Lord of hosts has sent Me. Sing and rejoice, O daughter of Zion! For behold, I am coming and I will dwell in your midst, says the Lord. Many nations shall be joined to the Lord in that day, and they shall become My people. And I will dwell in your midst. Then you will know that the Lord of hosts has sent Me to you. And the Lord will take possession of Judah as His inheritance in the Holy Land, and will again choose Jerusalem. Be silent, all flesh, before the Lord, for He is aroused from His holy habitation!" (Zech. 2:8-13).

When does God refer to Israel as the apple of His eye in this passage? At a future time when the Jewish Messiah will return to the earth to restore His covenant people to Himself and punish those nations who have persecuted them. He will then dwell in the midst of the Jewish people at Jerusalem in the Holy Land, at which time many Gentiles will also be joined to Christ and honor Him. Clearly, this event has not happened yet, but speaks of a literal kingdom that Christ will establish on earth in a future day.

Revelation 20 states six times that this kingdom will last one thousand years and will commence directly after the Antichrist is destroyed (Rev. 19:17-20), those who sided with him are punished (Matt. 13:47-49; 24:31-41; Rev. 19:21), the seven-year Tribulation period is complete (Dan. 9:25-27; 12:7-12; Rev. 12:5-6, 14; 13:5), and Satan and his angels are bound in a bottomless pit (Rev. 20:1-3).

The prophet Zechariah, writing in the sixth century BC, repeatedly mentions the coming of Messiah to rescue and restore His covenant people and includes many prophetic details to ensure that these future events cannot be confused with any past situation. The following are some specific examples of events prophesied by Zechariah which have not occurred yet:

Zechariah 8:20-22: Jerusalem will be the religious capital of the world – all those entering the millennial kingdom will journey to Jerusalem to worship and pray to the Lord.

Zechariah 8:23: During the millennial kingdom, the Jews will be the most esteemed nation on earth (also Isa. 61:9).

Zechariah 12:2-9: Just prior to the Kingdom Age, all the nations of the earth will gather against the Jews and Jerusalem will be under siege. The Lord will defend His people by striking the enemy horses with blindness and their riders with madness. The Lord will destroy all the nations gathered against Jerusalem (also see Joel 3).

Zechariah 12:10: When Messiah returns to defend His covenant people, the Jews will look upon Him and weep; they will then realize that they had previously crucified their Messiah, as prophesied in Psalm 22, Isaiah 53, and Zechariah 13:7.

Zechariah 13:8-9: Two-thirds of the Jewish people will die during the Tribulation Period because of the Antichrist’s intense persecution of them. The remaining third will be protected from harm (Isa. 1:18; Rev. 12:5-6, 13-17), experience spiritual rebirth (Joel 2:28-29; Ezek. 36:23-28), and be restored to their Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ (Rom. 9:27). In fact, 144,000 Jews, 12,000 from each of twelve tribes, will be specifically sealed and protected by God to preach the kingdom gospel message throughout the entire world during the Tribulation (Matt. 24:14; Rev. 7:4-8; 14:1-5).

Zechariah 14: The city of Jerusalem will have been conquered (half its people enslaved) when Christ returns from heaven to protect His people and destroy the Antichrist (vv. 2-3). He will land on the Mount of Olives and split the mountain in half, such that a river of water will flow to the east and to the west out of the newly formed ravine (vv. 4-8). The returning Messiah will be King over the whole earth (v. 9). He will cause the Jews’ oppressors to fight each other and then cause their bodies to dissolve where they stand (vv. 12-13). John provides the number of those soldiers gathered in the Jezreel Valley for the battle of Armageddon: 200,000,000 (Rev. 9:16). He then explains that the entire valley will become a giant winepress, for when Christ destroys this great army, their blood will freely flow out of its basin for 182 miles (Rev. 14:19-20). Zechariah notes that the Jews will be fighting to defend Jerusalem when Christ returns and then He will bestow on them the wealth of the nations (vv. 14-15). Afterwards, says Zechariah, all the people remaining on the earth will be required to come to Jerusalem to worship the Messiah and they will be severely punished if they do not (vv. 16-21).

It is quite obvious to even a casual reader that these events have never occurred. For example, the Mount of Olives is still intact, Jerusalem is not the religious capital of the world, and the nations do not worship the Jewish Messiah there. The context of the passage is plainly future and Jewish in nature, thus it cannot be referring to the Church.

Throughout his entire book, Zechariah distinctly references the Jews as the people of Judah (21 times), the Jewish nation of Israel (five times), and those living in the literal city of Jerusalem (41 times). He speaks of the Jewish people in the second person (you) while referring to non-Jews as they. Zechariah also describes them as those who orchestrated the crucifixion of their Messiah and who, at His Second Advent, will mourn they did so (Zech. 12:10). Only seriously flawed hermeneutics could spiritualize all these references and fail to see the Jewish flavor of this book.

The Jews referred to in the book of Zechariah are the same Jews as in the rest of the Old Testament. They are not the Church. The Israel that Zechariah refers to is the Jewish nation whose capital is Jerusalem. If God has no plan for the nation of Israel, why does He still refer to them as the apple of His eye at the very moment He will return to avenge them among the nations, exalt them as His esteemed people, and take up residence among them again?

Though presently rebellious, Israel is the apple of God’s eye and Zechariah warned that any nation that oppresses God’s covenant people will receive His wrath! Corrie Ten Boom’s father, Casper, realized this truth. Adolph Hitler hated the Jews and was intent upon exterminating them; over six million Jews were murdered during the World War II era. But in the early days of World War II, the Ten Boom family hid Jews in their home and assisted them to escape Nazi-occupied Holland. Eventually, the Ten Boom family was arrested and imprisoned for their compassionate ministry to the Jewish people. Most of the family died in labor camps, but Corrie survived. She later wrote of her family’s experience and why her father had compassion for the Jewish people:

Once the occupation of Holland was underway and the Jews began to suffer persecution, Casper, although quite old by then, devoted himself to the rescue effort. He even attempted to get his own yellow Star of David to wear, so he could identify with the Jews in their time of trouble. Although Corrie kept him from doing so, he compensated by taking off his hat to every Jew he would meet.³ He surprised Corrie by his comment when he saw the soldiers packing Jews into the back of a truck: Those poor people, he lamented. Corrie thought he meant the Jews, but then