The Return of Messiah : Part 1

The Return of Messiah : Part 1 Joel 2:28-32             Hope is a little word, but it has powerful effects. We sometimes say, “As long as there’s life, there’s hope.” We often use it in the context of physical injuries or serious illness. But I’ve also heard the statement reversed, “As long as there’s hope, there’s life.” Think about that.             In 2020, the world was ravaged by the Covid-19 pandemic. Government, medicine, academia, and the media made the situation worse by their totalitarian responses and by withholding information and suppressing information. There were forced lockdowns and masking that destroyed many social interactions. People suffered from the lack of human contact, especially the elderly. Children were developmentally stunted by their isolation. The media was filled with constant, breathless apocalyptic warnings. Freedoms of speech and assembly were canceled, and people’s reputations and livelihoods were destroyed. All these things added to a pandemic that already existed, a pandemic of hopelessness.             Every day the news media is filled with climate change hysteria, warnings of over-population, economic disparity, racial animosity, gender dysphoria, and many other issues. Governments and media use these issues to divide people into classes and create hopelessness, fear, and dependency.             People try to escape their feelings of hopelessness by living in a fantasy world, abusing drugs and alcohol, and even pursuing spiritism. It’s not surprising then that suicide rates in the developed world are astronomical and climbing. In the United States in 2022, more than 100,000 people died of drug overdoses. The loss of hope leads to despair.             I read recently of a person who has been through numerous surgeries in an attempt to change their gender. As a result of those surgeries, and other trauma in their life, they are in constant physical and emotional pain. Without hope of relief, they’re now looking for a doctor who will help them die. Their hopelessness is tragic, and unnecessary.             In contrast, Jesus offers us real hope. Listen to what Titus wrote in his epistle. “For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age, looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good works.” That’s Titus 2:11 to 14.             Did you notice from these verses where our hope comes from? It is centered around two appearances of Christ. The first one is in verse 11, “the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men.” That’s the first coming of Christ when Jesus came into the world to provide salvation for us. Paul says in Ephesians 2:13 that prior to the coming of Jesus, we had no hope.             And the second part of our hope is in verse 13; “looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ.” This is the second coming of Christ, our eternal glory! Notice that both comings of Christ impact our choices about the way we live.             Our study in Joel this time centers around the final verses of chapter two. In the Hebrew text, these verses form their own chapter, chapter three. With a sweep of his pen, Joel transports us into the distant future to the time of Christ’s Second Coming.             As I understand Scripture, this second coming of Christ occurs at the end of the Great Tribulation, and ushers in His one-thous