"Behold,
I have told you in advance."
Chapter 10:
The Person
[I pray that] the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints,
Ephesians 1:18
What will be shown in this chapter, is that the “blessed hope” of His body is a person, not an event. That person is Yeshua Messiah, the Son Incarnate.
The condition prayed for in the above verse, is that they might know the hope in which they are called, by the enlightenment of their hearts. This enlightenment comes from and through the Holy Spirit in their lives. The implication of this verse is, that without the enlightenment spoken of, it is not possible to know what is the “hope of His calling.” Upon further examination of the enlightenment spoken of in the above verse, the apostle John (1:9) records that Yeshua, the true light, “enlightens every man.” The difference between those who have and know this Hope and those who don't, is either one’s acceptance or rejection of Yeshua as Master and Savior. It is YHWH who has chosen to make this hope known to those who believe in Messiah. He has made known this mystery. It is the indwelling, abiding presence of the Spirit of Messiah, which gives the disciple this hope. He gives hope of a glorious eternal life with the One in whom he has believed. One’s hope consists of Messiah in him. This clearly shows that the disciple’s hope is present tense, not future tense.
Colossians 1:27
To whom YHWH would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the
Gentiles; which is Messiah in you, the hope of glory:
The hope of all disciples is the same Person who died for their sins. He is the one who gives hope. Yeshua is the one who ensures life with Him in glory (eternity). Without this Person, there can be, and is, no hope. It is by placing one’s life in His hands, that he obtains this hope.
The Scripture below further confirms that our hope is the Person, Yeshua Messiah.
1 Timothy 1:1
Paul, an apostle of Yeshua Messiah by the commandment of YHWH our Savior, and YHWH Yeshua Messiah, who is our hope;
The apostle Shaul (Paul), under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, says that it is Yeshua Messiah who is our hope! This should be comforting to the disciple, since one’s hope is also his Savior, and He is the Son, YHWH incarnate, then certainly his hope must be sure. It can be found wherever Yeshua is. Where is Yeshua? This question was dealt with in chapter 7. He is in the throne room of heaven, behind the veil. (He is also, in a very real sense, if a person believes in Him, in his heart or with him.) This veil, the veil found in the heavenly throne room, should not be confused with the veil of the earthly temple which was torn from top to bottom at the time of the crucifixion of Yeshua.
Hebrews 6:18b-20a
We might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us: which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which enters into that within the veil; whither the forerunner is for us entered, even Yeshua.
What can be seen in the above passage of Scripture is one’s hope is both sure and steadfast. Why? The sureness and steadfastness of one’s hope is in the Person of Yeshua Messiah. Would a person’s hope be sure and steadfast if it were anything other than this Person? It could not be. YHWH is the only true sureness in all creation since He is not created. All else is created and thus not steadfast and shall pass away. In addition, it can be seen that this hope has gone into the veil. This is where Yeshua is. The hope of all disciples is there, and they may enter through the veil by faith, without fear of condemnation. YHWH will accept them, not on their merits, but because of who their Hope is.
This then, brings one again to the reality of who Yeshua is. As the incarnate YHWH (Isaiah 9:6), He is divine. Yeshua is YHWH in the flesh. Here is the sureness of one’s Hope. YHWH is always faithful. Yeshua[23] is always faithful.
1 Peter 1:21
Who by him do believe in Yeshua, that raised him up from the dead, and gave him glory; that
your faith and hope might be in Yeshua.
A person who has accepted the sin offering of Yeshua in his life, must then remain true to the hope which he now has been given.
1 John 3:3
And every man that has this hope in him purifies himself, even as He is pure.
And finally, the one verse in all the Scripture that refers to the “blessed hope.”
Titus 2:13
Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great YHWH and our Savior Yeshua Messiah;[24]
This verse clearly states, that the true followers of Yeshua are to be looking for two separate things: 1) their blessed hope; and 2) the appearing of Yeshua Messiah, who is their Hope. These two items are so closely related, that it is difficult to distinguish between the two. Nevertheless, we must distinguish between them. This hope is not the event of His appearing. If this is the hope of the body of Messiah, then all those who died before His appearing have not seen this hope. However, if the hope of the body is Yeshua Himself, and it is, then they have not died in vain, nor without hope. Nevertheless, in Hope, they have died in Messiah.
The Greek word that is translated as appearing in this verse is EPIPHANEIA. This word is quite significant, as it means “brightness” or “shining forth.” What Paul, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, is saying then, is that the true followers of Yeshua are to be looking for Him. In addition, they are to be looking for His visible and glorious coming. Not one which is secret!
As Yeshua breaks in upon the time continuum one final time, and all of humanity will see Him in all His glory, His bride/wife will see Him whom she has hoped in, while the wicked will try to flee and hide from His presence.
[23] Yeshua simply means – “YHWH saves,” which further shows the importance of knowing His true Name.
[24] Since the phrase “blessed hope” occurs only in this one verse, the reader and student of Scripture would do well to remember, that it is not wise to build doctrine on only one verse.