Meditations from Zion

In biblical times, the “hope of Israel” referred to the long-awaited Messiah. In recent years, this phrase has been adopted my Messianic Jews as a way of communicating that the Messiah has come. What is our hope?

Acts 28:20
For this reason I have asked to see you and talk with you. It is because of the hope of Israel that I am bound with this chain.

Hope is a powerful word but one that is used too casually. Hope is actually entwined with faith. Hope is believing in things or people not seen, things that have not happened, people who have not yet done what has been promised. Hope, corralled, is pure energy.

As Christians, supposedly, we are awaiting the second coming of the Messiah. When Christ returns, He returns not just as the “hope of Israel” but the “hope of the world.”

I confess, I have not put much personal energy into the idea of a returning Christ and I’m not sure why. Is it because the world has “waited” so long? Perhaps it is because I haven’t full understood what that waiting should look like, much less the arrival. Or, do I fear such a return? Heaven is one thing: a non-dimensional place where my non-dimensional spirit will exist in pure joy. But the returning Christ will enter this world and in this dimension. This is Christ returning and changing time, changing everything.

There are all kinds of teachings and predictions about the Second Coming. And of course, as soon as that discussion starts, there’s the controversy over post or pre-millennialism, dispensationalism, etc. These conversations are of not interest to me. We can’t just talk about hope anymore.

Many Jews did not recognize Jesus when He came and proclaimed that He was, indeed, the long awaited Messiah. They, too, had many theological discussions about his appearance. The second coming is supposed to be clear as day: no doubts.

But, lately, I’ve become aware of the power of denial, and I’m thinking that even second coming Messiah will not be accepted or even recognized. If there is no expectation and no hope, there may not be recognition. It may just appear as a cataclysm or 2012 predictions come true or natural disaster. Deaf and blind to the truth.

Today, I ask for the stirring of hope in my soul, for the stirring of expectation. Open my ears, open my eyes, I want to see Jesus.