I didn’t grow up with an appreciation for the season of Advent. For me the day after Thanksgiving was the first day of the Christmas season. I certainly had heard the word ‘Advent,’ but in my young mind ‘Advent’ and ‘Christmas’ were synonyms. It was only in my adult life that I was introduced to the Christian Calendar and began to appreciate the blessing of observing a season set apart to prepare our hearts and minds for the coming of Jesus.
As I’ve been meditating on the season of Advent this year, I have found myself reflecting on an uncomfortable historical reality. As many prophecies as there were about the coming of the Messianic King, and as many times as God declared that He would personally undertake the delivery of His people from their slavery to sin, no one was expecting God to take on human flesh in the Person of Jesus. God surprised the world when the second Person of the divine Trinity was conceived in the womb of Mary.
In hindsight, we might have known what God was planning. After all, God had declared through the prophet Jeremiah:
“Then I Myself will gather the remnant of My flock out of all the countries where I have driven them, and bring them back to their pasture, and they will be fruitful and multiply.”
Jeremiah 23:3, NASB
Perhaps we might have known that God would not leave the salvation of humanity to a human being. Perhaps we might have suspected that God Himself would be the bridge between heaven and earth, between God and humanity. Perhaps we might even have wondered if God would enter human history personally, taking on the full form of humanity while remaining fully God. But none did suspect this. When God walked amongst us in the Person of Jesus, none recognized Him as God until, after having been crucified, on the third day He rose from the dead.
I wonder if, as it was in the days of Jesus, it is still in our day. I wonder if we are as mistaken about Jesus’ second coming as those in the first century were about His first. We, too, must attend to the Scriptures—to the testimonies of the prophets and apostles—if we are to be prepared for His coming. And during this season of Advent, I am allowing a prophecy of Jesus’ second coming to ignite my imagination and inspire my preparation. The prophecy is from Revelation 22:12-17, and it reads as follows:
12 “Behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to reward each one as his work deserves. 13 I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.”
14 Blessed are those who wash their robes, so that they will have the right to the tree of life, and may enter the city by the gates. 15 Outside are the dogs, the sorcerers, the sexually immoral persons, the murderers, the idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices lying.
16 “I, Jesus, have sent My angel to testify to you of these things for the churches. I am the root and the descendant of David, the bright morning star.”
17 The Spirit and the bride say, “Come.” And let the one who hears say, “Come.” And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who desires, take the water of life without cost.
Revelation 22:12-17, NASB
May the Lord open our eyes and our ears during this season of Advent as we continue to await the coming of our rightful King. Come, Lord Jesus!
~ J. Thomas ~