Hope in God – Being a Pilgrim

“They come from distant countries, from beyond the farthest horizons. They are the Lord’s weapons to carry out his anger. With them he will destroy the whole land. Scream in terror, for the day of the Lord has arrived— the time for the Almighty to destroy.
For see, the day of the Lord is coming— the terrible day of his fury and fierce anger. The land will be made desolate, and all the sinners destroyed with it. The heavens will be black above them; the stars will give no light. The sun will be dark when it rises, and the moon will provide no light.
Everyone in Babylon will run about like a hunted gazelle, like sheep without a shepherd. They will try to find their own people and flee to their own land.
Babylon, the most glorious of kingdoms, the flower of Chaldean pride, will be devastated like Sodom and Gomorrah when God destroyed them.
Hyenas will howl in its fortresses, and jackals will make dens in its luxurious palaces. Babylon’s days are numbered; its time of destruction will soon arrive.”
Isaiah 13:5-6, 9-10, 14, 19, 22 NLT

The apocalyptic language of Isaiah 13 is grim reading. The prophetic judgement that will fall on “Babylon” will come on “the day of the Lord”, with terrible things about to happen. Those familiar with the plagues described in Revelation will immediately notice the similarity of the events. One verse that is repeated several times in Scripture is verse 10, “The heavens will be black above them; the stars will give no light. The sun will be dark when it rises, and the moon will provide no light”. Jesus said to His disciples, and after the time of tribulation, quoting Joel 2:10, “Immediately after the anguish of those days, the sun will be darkened, the moon will give no light, the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers in the heavens will be shaken” (Matthew 24:29). There is also a reference to cosmic disasters in Revelation 6.

But Babylon represents the ultimate, global system of sin and opposition to God. Isaiah 13 historically forecasted the fall of the ancient Babylonian empire, but Revelation 17-18 uses the name Babylon the Great as a symbol for the end-time, worldly system of evil and commercial corruption that faces final judgment. In Revelation 17:4-5, we read, “The woman wore purple and scarlet clothing and beautiful jewellery made of gold and precious gems and pearls. In her hand, she held a gold goblet full of obscenities and the impurities of her immorality. A mysterious name was written on her forehead: “Babylon the Great, Mother of All Prostitutes and Obscenities in the World””. And then, over the page, we find, “He gave a mighty shout: “Babylon is fallen—that great city is fallen! She has become a home for demons. She is a hideout for every foul spirit, a hideout for every foul vulture and every foul and dreadful animal” (Revelation 18:2). The scriptures weren’t referring to a literal Babylon because that was destroyed many years before Jesus came, but the sin and evil that made the city of Babylon great, at least in the world’s eyes, were the very things that God would eventually have to judge and destroy. Today, in our countries and societies, the spirit of Babylon is alive and unfortunately well, but it won’t last forever.

In Isaiah 13:6, we read, “Scream in terror, for the day of the Lord has arrived— the time for the Almighty to destroy”. The “day of the Lord” is also referred to in Revelation 6:17, “For the great day of their wrath has come, and who is able to survive?” And there are other references and similarities between Isaiah 13 and Revelation’s plagues of trumpets and bowls. It’s a fascinating read to compare the plagues in Egypt, the destruction of Babylon in Isaiah 13 and the chapters in Revelation that describe the end-time judgements.

But Isaiah 13 and the events in Revelation were not primarily given to satisfy our curiosity about the future. Instead, they reveal the character and purposes of God. We learn that God is patient, but He will not tolerate evil forever. Another feature is that human power and pride are only temporary, and nations and empires are accountable to God. Ultimately, He will defeat evil and will rescue and vindicate His people. As we look back over history, we see that it is moving towards God’s appointed conclusion. So we learn that “Babylon”, the world system, may appear powerful and evil may appear entrenched. The world may appear chaotic as we look on at man-made and natural events, but God has appointed a day when He will put everything right. That day may not come in our lifetimes (of course, it might – we just don’t know), but come it will.

The same God who judged Babylon will ultimately defeat every power that opposes His kingdom. For us pilgrims, therefore, the Day of the Lord is not simply a message of judgment. It is also a message of hope. Evil will not have the final word. Suffering will not last forever. The kingdoms of this world will pass away, but the kingdom of God will endure. Until that day, we are called not to live in fear, but in faithfulness.

Dear Lord, when the world seems troubled and evil appears strong, help us to remember that You are sovereign over history. Give us faith to trust You, and courage to remain faithful. Please help us to stand firm in the promise that Your kingdom will ultimately triumph. Amen.

“Show me the right path, O Lord; point out the road for me to follow. Lead me by your truth and teach me, for you are the God who saves me. All day long I put my hope in you.”
Psalm 25:4-5 NLT

A humble prayer from David, as he asks God to teach him, to lead him, and save him. He then finishes verse 5 with the statement “All day long I put my hope in you”. There is no better focus for our God, as I’m sure we agree, but human beings are notorious for hoping and trusting in other things and in other ways. But that hasn’t changed since the days of Adam. Psalm 20:7, “Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God”. “Hope” and “trust” go hand in hand in life. We hope in God for our future, and we trust Him to lead us in His ways.

But before we get ahead of ourselves, we must think about how worldly people understand hope. They use it in contexts such as, “I hope I don’t get Covid”, or “I hope it doesn’t rain on my birthday”. There is an element of doubt in such a definition of hope. A response to the question, “will you go to Heaven when you die” is “I hope so”, again demonstrating that they have doubts, though not strong enough to make them do anything about it.

The whole concept of “hope” comes about because we cannot see what will happen in the future. That introduces another word – “faith”. Hebrew’s 11:1, “Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see”. What do we pilgrims hope for? There will be many things, depending on our stages in life. We hope for the right job, house, partner, and so on. But one thing we all will agree on is our hope in God for our eternal home. And we can see the extraordinary experiences believers have gone through because within them was the hope of a better life ahead. Biblical hope is different from the hope that the world understands. Biblical hope carries with it a surety that what is hoped for, aligned as it is to God’s Word, is definitely going to happen. We might not see it taking place, but we have faith that whatever it is will come about. Jeremiah wrote, “For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future” (Jeremiah 29:11). That’s a great promise of God, and one we must believe for our lives and those of our loved ones.

We pilgrims have a firm and unshakeable hope in the future, and we share it with those around us. 1 Peter 3:15, “But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect”. Do we have our answers ready? Are we a people who are living out God’s truth in our lives, so that others can see it? Are we beacons set on a hill, for all to be illuminated by, standing out from the crowd around us? On Easter Sunday this year I met a dog walker and the conversation came around to what she referred to as the terrible state of the world. She was scared about the wars and threats of war. Of the politicians and their messages of gloom. a poor woman with nowhere to turn to where she could find hope for her future and her family’s. But I shared about Jesus and his resurrection, that through Him we have hope for the future. She admitted that she was an atheist and hurried off, but hopefully I was able to plant a seed of hope. The Holy Spirit I’m sure will water and nurture the good seed of the Gospel planted in that lady’s life that day.

We pilgrims really need to understand the meaning of God’s “hope” and apply it to our lives. We mustn’t be like the house wife in Wales who prayed, when she went to bed, that the coal slag heap behind her house would be cast into the sea, hoping that God would answer her prayer with a much better view when she woke up. On opening her curtains the next morning, the slag heap was still there, her hopes dashed. Her comment was that she knew that her prayer wouldn’t work anyway. When we hope for something we must have faith that the God of hope will answer our prayer.

Paul wrote, “ … We, too, wait with eager hope for the day when God will give us our full rights as his adopted children, including the new bodies he has promised us. We were given this hope when we were saved. (If we already have something, we don’t need to hope for it. But if we look forward to something we don’t yet have, we must wait patiently and confidently.)” (Romans 8:23b-25). We hope and we wait in faith for our hope to be realised.

Father God, in difficult times it is easy to lose hope and faith in You. Father, we admit that we have lost sight of You. In this prayer for hope, Lord, we ask that Your Holy Spirit reignites within us the hope and faith in You. In Jesus’ name. Amen.