Update from the President

Celebrating Hope in a World Without Hope

The face did it to me. I have been a subscriber and avid reader of National Geographic for many years. But the cover photo of its August issue was heart-rending. A young Rohingya child, cradled by his (or her) refugee mother, peers out, clearly anxious and bewildered. His mother jumped out of the boat from Myanmar and waded the rest of the way to the shore of Bangladesh. The photo deeply affected me because of what it represents for countless people at this very moment.

The cover story, "A World On the Move," tells the tragic gripping tale of "the largest diaspora" in human history, which is surging incomprehensibly. Just how big is it? "The United Nations estimates that more than a billion people—one in seven humans alive today—are migrating within their countries or across international borders" (emphasis added throughout). This worldwide catastrophe is taking place in the Middle East, in Africa, in Latin America, in Asia—basically almost everywhere in the world! It is hard to truly imagine or appreciate its shocking scope.

One author of the National Geographic coverage, Paul Salopek, has spent 15 years walking with these people. He writes that "Millions are fleeing violence: war, persecution, criminality, political chaos. Many more, suffocated by poverty, are seeking economic relief beyond their horizons."

These people—one in seven alive today—tragically have little or no hope in this world. Any real solution to this global disaster lies beyond the grasp of human systems.

Ironically, in a world seemingly without hope, we in the United Church of God—the spiritual assembly of God—confidently hold marvelous, breathtaking, magnificent HOPE!

In a few days, we will hear these astonishingly wonderful words, backed by the powerful authority of the living Head of our Church: "We tell you this directly from the Lord...the Lord himself will come down from heaven with a commanding shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet call of God. First, the believers who have died will rise from their graves. Then, together with them, we who are still alive and remain on the earth will be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. Then we will be with the Lord forever" (1 Thessalonians 4:15-17, New Living Translation).

Further, as Paul wrote to the Corinthians: "Let me reveal to you a wonderful secret. We will not all die, but we will all be transformed! It will happen in a moment, in the blink of an eye, when the last trumpet is blown. For when the trumpet sounds, those who have died will be raised to live forever. And we who are living will also be transformed. For our dying bodies must be transformed into bodies that will never die; our mortal bodies must be transformed into immortal bodies" (1 Corinthians 15:51-53, NLT).

This is what the apostle Peter commanded us to consider, when he wrote: "set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ" (1 Peter 1:13, English Standard Version).

This marvelous hope should fill us with excitement, wonder and gratitude. These words of incredible promise kept the early disciples of Jesus Christ focused on enduring persecution, being victorious over trials of every sort, and loving one another despite human failings. Yes, we've all heard these words before. But, in light of what is now going on in this world, can we lift up our eyes and open our minds afresh to fully appreciate what is being said here?

As we well know, ancient Israel often blew the shofar as a warning signal. This, of course, reflects one of the essential missions of the United Church of God—to provide a clear warning to the world of the dire consequences of disobeying and rejecting the authority of God Himself. The billion people presently trapped in a homeless refugee status reflect those consequences.

In ancient Israel, two special silver trumpets were blown to announce Holy Days and special occasions. As noted in the Church's online commentary of Numbers 10-11, "these trumpets were a type or a picture of the heavenly trumpets that will sound at the return of Christ (1 Thessalonians 4:13-17)" (ucg.org/beyond-today/beyond-today-commentary/bible-commentary-numbers-10-11).

When this supernatural blast encircles the globe on a future Day of Trumpets, the day symbolizing when Jesus returns in His Second Coming, these sounding trumpets will herald the ultimate regime change of all time! In ancient Judah, the reign of kings was reckoned from the Feast of Trumpets, the first day of the civil calendar. The Feast of Trumpets also figuratively heralds the inauguration of Jesus Christ as the King of Kings.

Note these powerful words of hope: "Then the seventh angel blew his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven, saying, "The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever" (Revelation 11:15, ESV).

I will have much more to say about this time, a time when we all go up to the mountain of the Lord, during my sermon during the Feast of Tabernacles.

As we celebrate this coming Day of Trumpets, a billion people will be tramping through foodless deserts, dangerous urban backways, pockmarked war zones. Can we truly appreciate the marvelous gift that God has given us?

So, on the Festival of Trumpets, let us confidently and gratefully celebrate hope, even in a world that appears to have no hope!

I wish you a wonderful beginning to the season of the final four Holy Days of the year, which fall within the coming three-week period. May God give you further hope of His gracious design for humankind for all eternity. For this coming Feast of Trumpets weekend, Bev and I are traveling to Florida and will visit our brethren and ministry in Vero Beach, Ocala, St. Petersburg and Tampa. 

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.