Read, Watch…, Are We There Yet?

This time of year many believers go through “Advent,” when they anticipate, then celebrate the coming of Emmanuel which means “God with us.” (There are also other thoughts about what Advent is about but, we’ll leave that discussion to another time.) I wonder how many people were actively watching for Him about 2000 years ago. Many knew He was coming. This God, Jesus, was foretold in the Bible and a simple search will bring you many verses which show the many prophecies, or predictions about His first coming, to be and live among us. The Bible says he’s coming again, and as we head into the Christmas season again, I can’t help but wonder what signs or prophecies there are that tell of his second coming, or “Second Advent,” and is anybody reading them and watching?

I remember being in a class on the book of Daniel and one of the themes of this book was to watch as things may change in this world in an instant. Since March of 2020 I’d say we’ve all seen this happen. I also have a list of 150 verses about the times when Jesus returns again, so there is a bunch of material on this second “Christmas.” If Jesus will be coming again, what will the beginning of this new birth’s labor be like? (Even though he won’t be coming as a baby.)

Matthew 24 lists things that need to happen and here are a few: We will hear or read of wars and rumors of wars. If you just look at the news, we’ve had two “World Wars,” China and Taiwan are close, as are Russia and Ukraine. There’s even a potential civil war here in the United States simmering as our leaders seem to be looking for ways to divide us, instead of the opposite. Matthew also says that, “nation will rise against nation.” The original meaning of the word “nation” in this verse is culture. So culture will rise against culture. If you pay attention to this country and others, I believe you could say, “I’m seeing that too.” There will be famines and earthquakes. Even though we are wealthy in this country, many families need assistance with food. I am amazed at the number of families at my school who come to our Second Harvest Food bank truck when they visit our location. It is close to one-seventh of our school’s population or more, every time. We also know how famine is impacting other poorer countries. And, a simple search for earthquakes over the past 100 years will show the amazing increase in them around the globe. From tens and hundreds to thousands each year. Matt also discusses how the love of Christians will grow cold. How many unforgiving and judgemental believers do you know? He also writes that the gospel will be preached to all the world, then the end will come. Ten years ago, I spoke to a friend who works in Bible translation for a global organization and they believed that we were about 25 years away from having a Bible in every language in the world. So, all this is just the beginning of Christ’s next arrival. And, as you can see, some of this has been happening for a while.

Not to be a “downer” around the holidays but, Paul describes in 2nd Timothy 3 that before Jesus comes again, moral decay will happen in society as it is filled with sin and deception. It is interesting that what is called sin in the Bible is now being held up or excused as a virtuous or entitled behavior. If you want more details on what sin is, read the entire first chapter of Romans, or 1st Corinthians also covers a whole lot of sin as you go through the chapters. Sins are documented all over the Bible. Either-way, sin has been here a while and it seems to be growing in it’s boldness, justification and denial, calling Jesus back to save us.

Looking back, the Old Testament is full of stories to help us understand what has, is, and will happen in this life. If you’ve read the Bible you’ll know that God has included much foreshadowing of His Kingdom. There are many who were shadows of Jesus, to give us a “look” as to His character. As I stated earlier there are written predictions of His coming and death. He fulfilled 29 of these on the day he was crucified, maybe more. I’m not that smart to know them all. These “looks” and prophecies of Jesus help us see Him and know who He is, and what He is like; The Great I AM. As I mentioned, there are about 150 Bible verses about Jesus' second coming and one that many know is the Revelation 13 verse about only those with the mark of the beast will be able to buy or sell before He returns. I’m not saying that there is a system here now but, many are currently losing their jobs, or being refused entrance to stores or experiences where they must have accepted something they personally chose not to take. Foreshadowing? I may be considered crazy for writing this but, were the three wise men considered crazy? They went a long way to visit The King of Kings. If you are reading and watching, you can see foreshadows of prophecies beginning to form. Many believers are nervous or scared of what’s beginning to show itself in our world. People deny it. Some are prepping for any disaster. I like to trust God. I have a healthy respect for taking care of myself and family but, I have not seen the need for fear. God says that if you look at the birds of the air and the flowers, they don’t worry like we do in our self-made complicated lives. He takes care of them all. I like to remember that Jesus said, “Do not fear, for I have overcome the world.” (That’s a Jim translation.) It is scary but also thrilling to be living at this time as great evil rises with great good, and we await His return. Now, I don’t know much, nor can I possibly cover all the information on Jesus’ next arrival. I’m just looking forward to the next Advent’s December 26th.

So, we are in more than one Advent this Christmas season, as we have always been. One for this year’s coming holiday celebrating the birth of Emmanuel. The other is all of creation groaning as it awaits His next Advent when God makes everything new and “good,” again. Do you believe He will? If so, are you reading His Word, watching, and wondering, “...Are we there yet?” Either way, Merry Christmas. He is coming.