Him. For him of whom the Lord said it would have
been better had he never been born, there was no blessed hope. The
Lord had announced His imminent departure from them. He would leave
them. When Peter said "I will lay down my life for thy sake" (John
xiii:30), the omniscient One told him, "the cock shall not crow till
thou hast denied me thrice." How sorrowful this little company must
have been! Despair was probably on all their faces. Their hearts were
greatly troubled.

Then His beloved voice broke the silence and uttered the never to be
forgotten words, "Let not your heart be troubled; ye believe in God,
believe also in Me. In my Father's house are many mansions; if it were
not so I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you; and if
I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you
unto Myself that where I am ye may be also" (John xiv:1-3). In these
words "that blessed hope" is mentioned for the first time in the Bible.

What It Is

Only those who belonged to Him heard this promise. It is therefore a
promise not given to Israel, or to the world, but only for those who
know Him as their Savior and Lord, who have believed on Him and are His
own. The promise is twofold. He would come again and receive them
unto Himself; and that He would take them to the place where He is.
And this is "that blessed hope." His coming for His own to be with Him
in the Father's house to occupy the mansions He has prepared by His
atoning work.

The contrast of this promise of His Coming for His disciples with the
promises of His visible return as given in the synoptics is striking.
He does not say a word about any signs. He does not mention the great
tribulation. Nor has He anything to say about judgment. He only gives
the assurance that He, in person, will come again and then receive them
unto Himself. They were not to look for certain signs and events as
predicted in Daniel's prophecy, or wait for the great tribulation and
the manifestation of the man of sin. His promise told them to wait for
Himself.

His Prayer

A little while later after He had given this promise of His Coming for
them they heard Him pray. This prayer is found in the seventeenth
chapter of John. What a prayer it is! As they listened to His voice
addressing the Father they had new glimpses of His great love wherewith
He loved them. He prayed for their sanctification, for their
preservation and finally for t