Question # 17

If there are 144,000 spirit anointed people who have a heavenly hope, and a great crowd of people who have another hope of everlasting life on paradise earth, why does Paul say that there is only ONE hope (Eph 4:4), instead of two?

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As I have pointed out already, those with an agenda to deceive others frequently cite only a part of a verse and avoid the context. In this case the context states: "One body there is, and one spirit, even as you were called in the one hope to which you were called; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all persons, who is over all and through all and in all."

Paul is addressing those who have been called to become part of the kingdom. For them there is but one hope, one faith, one baptism, etc. 

Besides, God intends to resurrect the vast majority of mankind back to life on earth regardless of whether or not a person had faith. So, the earthly resurrection is not a hope in the same way. It requires nothing of the person except that they die. However, in the 21st chapter of Acts Paul did mention that he had hope that there would be a resurrection of both the righteous and the unrighteous. Obviously, that is in reference to the earthly resurrection since God would not resurrect an unrighteous person into his presence. In the broader sense, then, there are two hopes.