The four dimensions of hope

Amid global uncertainty, the church must proclaim Christ’s return – offering four-dimensional hope that transforms hearts, communities, society and eternity says Malcolm Duncan

One of the four central tenets of the Foursquare Gospel is our belief in the Lord Jesus Christ as ‘the Coming King’.

What we believe about the end of all things, and the return of the Son of God is given the formal name ‘eschatology’ – which literally means ‘the study of the last’. There are many elements to this branch of theology – and a great deal of contention.

Will there be a ‘rapture’ when the church is caught up in the air with Christ? If so, will it be public or hidden? Will it happen before a great time of trouble – the ‘Tribulation’, or after it? Or will it happen in the middle of it? Will there be a tribulation at all?

Will Christ reign for 1,000 years, the ‘Millennium’, before the great and final judgment or is the ‘Millennium’ a metaphor for the time between the first coming of Christ and his return?

A great deal of ink has been consumed on these important questions and sadly, Christians have, from time to time, been extremely aggressive toward one another in their debates, arguments and disagreements about these things. In fact, at one point, Elim ministers were required to believe that Jesus would return and establish his Millennial Reign before his final judgment. That requirement changed some years ago.

Fear of controversy

I am concerned that many preachers and teachers shy away from teaching the reality of Christ’s return for fear of stirring controversy or being challenged. Whilst that might be understandable, I think it is a mistake. As a young believer, I remember being riveted by teaching of the Second Coming. The teaching I heard emphasised that we were living in rapidly changing days and that we should be ready to proclaim the reality of Christ’s promised return. This truth energised mission and evangelism, fed into a fervent prayer life, inspired and spurred us on in discipleship, and drew us into close and regular study of Scripture.

In the rapidly changing political and social scenes of our world today, I sense that a return to preaching and teaching the Second Coming would have the same effect on this generation. Many people are hearing ‘Peace, peace,’ when there is no peace. A whole generation is growing up not having heard the great truth that Christ is the Soon Coming King.

Amidst the political, relational and international chaos in our world, with the Middle East a cauldron of unrest and the world wondering what is coming next, the preacher who proclaims the assurance of the ‘Parousia’ (the Appearing or Second Coming) of Christ, can once again be used by the Holy Spirit to capture the imagination of a generation and give people hope that God is still in control.

The truth we can agree on

Behind all these theological beliefs, there are a series of core convictions that we can all agree on as children of God. Jesus will return and will establish his Kingdom visibly on earth. All things will be made new. Weeping and sorrow will fade away and we will have a New Creation. There will be no pain. There will be no division. There will be no hatred. There will be no violence. There will be no war. Darkness will flee.

The church will be secure and safe. Not one of God’s children will be overlooked, forgotten or abandoned. God will draw all the people of Christ together and we will be forever with the Lord.

We will rule and we will reign with King Jesus. And every knee in heaven and on earth and under the earth will acknowledge the Lordship of Jesus Christ. God knows what is happening on earth. We are not spinning uncontrollably out of control. God is still on the throne.

Two things will accompany one another in the last days. Godlessness will increase and the church will be renewed. As the people of God, we embrace the latter, thankful for the ongoing grace, mercy and empowerment of God in our lives and our witness, and grateful for the gift of hope which can only come from the Holy Spirit and the Word of God.

And as the people of God, we reach out to a broken world, that is falling into ever deeper turmoil and uncertainty with the certain hope of Jesus – the Resurrected One and the Coming King.

Whatever our view of other aspects of eschatology, these are things that we can agree on, these are things that we can preach, and these are things that our community needs to hear.

Four-dimensional hope

These truths do not land with us and stay there. They are supposed to be received by us, then flow through us to those around us and the wider world. I call this fourdimensional hope, or 4D Hope.

Firstly, this hope reaches INTO our souls. It gives us confidence and resilience. It reminds us that God sees US and that God will never abandon the people that have been called to Christ. We have complete assurance that God is with us and will never leave us.

Secondly, this hope seeps ACROSS the Church Militant – the church on earth. It reminds us that the end of all things is not the despair, death and destruction that is all around us, but rather it is the return, reign and rule of King Jesus.

This reminds us that the church is called to a counter-cultural community, living under the rule of Christ and demonstrating to the world that there is a family of faith, where they can find security, meaning, grace and mercy.

The hope of Christ’s return calls the church on earth to have a sense of encouragement toward one another. It births a belonging in us that helps us live as people who do not belong to this world but rather are citizens of Heaven.

Called to preach

Thirdly, this hope pushes itself OUT of the doors of the church and into the community around us. This is where I think some of the early teaching I received was not strong enough. The hope of the Second Coming separates the church on earth from purely social enterprises or being ‘do-gooders’.

We engage with the world around us, we have a vision of politics and policy, not because we think we can change the world, but because we know that Christ has called us to preach the gospel. Jesus died for our sins according to the Scriptures and on the third day rose again, according to the Scriptures, and forgiveness, reconciliation, justification, the gifts of righteousness and new life are all given to us through the death and resurrection of Christ. Then we live out God’s missional purposes on earth by challenging injustice, feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, providing the wanderer with shelter, healing the sick, delivering people from the power of evil and demonstrating the truth that hope has a name – Jesus!

Followers of Jesus follow him into the marketplace, into parliaments, into the academy and every other sphere of society. We are called to blaze with the hope of the coming King to a world that is darkened by despair.

Called to shape culture

Fourthly, this hope LIFTS our eyes to Heaven. It is Christ and Christ alone that can change the world, by the power of the Holy Spirit. As things get worse, we remember that he has warned us that it would be thus. We do not give up. We do not let discouragement drown out faith. We see a disintegrating world and we are reminded that God has the final say!

And so, when we gather, when we pray, when we worship, and when we serve, we have our hearts filled with hope. We do not panic. We are not subject to the whim of any politician, because we are held in the hands of the Prince of Peace. We do not retreat from a world in peril; we press into it with 4D hope.

Modern Pentecostalism is one of the fastest growing elements of the Christian church – perhaps the fastest. As we grow in size, however, we must also grow in our presence. Our place is in the middle of our communities, our cultures and our societies offering the hope of a transforming community that is radiating Christ. We are not shaped by our culture – we are called to shape it by the present and promised power of the coming King.

This article first appeared in Direction Magazine. For further details, please click here.