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Advent Future

Luke 1:30-33 (NIV)
30 But the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God.
31 You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus.
32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David,
33 and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end."

Romans 8:19 (NIV) 
19 The creation waits in eager expectation for the sons of God to be revealed.

Titus 2:11-13 (NIV)
11 For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men.
12 It teaches us to say "No" to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age,
13 while we wait for the blessed hope--the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ,

Revelation 1:4-8 (NIV)
4 John, To the seven churches in the province of Asia: Grace and peace to you from him who is, and who was, and who is to come, and from the seven spirits before his throne,
5 and from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood,
6 and has made us to be a kingdom and priests to serve his God and Father--to him be glory and power for ever and ever! Amen.
7 Look, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him; and all the peoples of the earth will mourn because of him. So shall it be! Amen.
8 "I am the Alpha and the Omega," says the Lord God, "who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty."

Often lost in the season of Advent is the realization that there are two Advents in scripture.  The first Advent, of course, is the celebration of Christmas - Immanuel - God with us.  Jesus "came" to the world and in his birth the stage is set, through an ordinary life of humanity, to be the "grace of God that brings salvation to all men."
Jesus' life, death, and resurrection mean that we have all that is needed to live our lives with eternity in view.
Now, we wait for the Second Advent.  The word "Advent" means "arrival"; and it is the recognition that Jesus is coming again.  I've seen many Christmas cards with the picture of the manger, the baby, Mary and Joseph, "peace on earth, goodwill to men", etc...but I don't remember ever seeing a picture of Jesus in his glory with the words, "Are you ready for Christ's return?".  Perhaps it might seem out of place for many...isn't Advent about Jesus coming as a baby?  Well, yes in part it is, but it is also about his Second Advent...that God who is faithful sent his Son the first time - "in the fullness of time" - and the creation eagerly awaits His coming again.  The question, then, for each of us, is are we also eagerly waiting for His coming?

Peace

Comments

Anonymous said…
Another O. T. passage that announces the Advent of Christ and goes along very well with today's theme is Is. 9:2: "The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned."

Joel
December 12, 2011 at 7:27 AM
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