Advent and The Second Coming

Zephaniah 3:14-20 is such a passionate passage from a people filled with joy and who had every reason to be excited about the coming of the Messiah.

They looked forward to a time when their punishment would be removed and no longer would they fear any harm.

They looked forward with eagerness to a time of rejoicing and singing with gladness comforted by the loving arms of God.

Well, tonight is Christmas Eve, the end of the Advent season and we are also excited about tomorrow. But our celebration is primarily focused on an even that happened in the past—it’s a celebration of the birth of Christ and the Son of God being made man.

But with all celebrations that look backwards there is a temptation for us to lose some of our enthusiasm. The celebrations of anniversaries and birthdays just can’t compare with the excitement that we felt before our wedding day or anticipation before the birth of a new family member. I’ll never forget the birth of our children but I’d be hard pressed to remember what we did last year for their birthdays.

The Israelites looked forward to the coming of the Messiah with an expectant optimism and joy that is hard to duplicate today, but it hasn’t always been that way.

See, the celebration of Advent hasn’t always just been about celebrating the past, it used to be just as much about looking forward to the second coming of Christ.

Flemming Rutledge who researched and wrote a book about the observance of Advent wrote:

“What has been largely lost to us since the eighteenth-century Enlightenment is the primary focus on the second coming of Christ, who will arrive in glory on the last day to consummate the kingdom of God. That is the special note of Advent—its orientation toward the promised future.”

So I believe that because our emphasis upon the second coming has declined over the years our excitement has also declined. And if you’re like me, you’d like to get some of that enthusiasm back because we of all people should be filled with joy this time of year!

So why don’t we focus on the second coming any more?

It’s complicated but a couple of the reasons the Advent season has lost its focus on the future is commercialism and fear.

Instead of focusing on our need for Christ we spend way too much time focusing on all the presents and gifts. Instead of thinking all the suffering and evil in the world we allow ourselves to become distracted with all of the pretty lights and all the shopping. Even those of us who hate shopping probably prefer it to thinking about all the evil in this world.

And while there’s nothing wrong with giving and getting gifts and thinking about what is good and pure, too much focus on them prevents us from honestly seeing the world we live in.

All the gifts, the celebrations, the delicious food, the happy music, etc. can make us numb to the sufferings in the world. And if we allow the commercialism to dominate our thinking it won’t take long for us to stop longing for the return of Christ like we should.

Another reason I think our culture has lost some of it’s emphasis on the second coming is fear. Thanks in part to a plethora of books about the end times, many Christians are afraid of being “left behind” or of facing Christ at the final judgment.

For many the return of Christ isn’t something they eagerly look forward to because for them all they that comes to mind are scary images of dragons and beasts, war and tribulation and death. As a result of this emphasis many of us don’t spend a lot of time longing for Christ’s return.

But that’s too bad because the Bible’s emphasis isn’t negative but overwhelming positive.

Titus 2:13 says,

Titus 2:11–13 (CSB)

For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people...while we wait for the blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ.

For us the grace of God has already appeared which has brought us salvation and we rejoice in that past event. But we also should be rejoicing in what Paul calls our blessed hope—the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ.

Now in order to recapture some of this hope for the future we need to do something that may at first seem counterintuitive. We need to be willing to look at the darkness around us head on.

We sit here in the darkness on Christmas Eve as a reminder that this world desperately needs the light of Christ. And, if we fail the look at the evil in this world, and in our own hearts directly, the need for Christ’s return will be diminished, and we will lose some of that blessed hope.

Rutledge her book writes, “The authentically hopeful Christmas spirit has not looked away from the darkness, but straight into it. The true and victorious Christmas spirit does not look away from death, but directly at it.”

See, it’s when we look honestly at the bad news around us that the good news becomes glorious. The prophet Zephaniah spelled out clearly the evil that was around them and within them but that made the Israelites long for the coming of Christ all the more:

Zephaniah 3:14 CSB

Sing for joy, Daughter Zion; shout loudly, Israel! Be glad and celebrate with all your heart, Daughter Jerusalem!

Feel the excitement and anticipation in Zephaniah’s words! Yes, just as Christ’s first coming was a time of judgement for those who were without Christ, the second coming will be even more so. But for those who belong to Jesus, there is absolutely nothing to fear.

Christ’s own encouragement for his disciples wasn’t one of dread but of comfort and hope:

John 14:1–3 CSB

“Don’t let your heart be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? If I go away and prepare a place for you, I will come again and take you to myself, so that where I am you may be also.

See, if we believe in Jesus we have absolutely nothing to be troubled about while we wait.

2 Peter 3:13 says, “based on his promise, we wait for new heavens and a new earth” but we are not supposed to be just patiently waiting but longing for his return. That’s what this last day of Advent is about.

Paul says in Romans 8:23-25,

Romans 8:23–25 CSB

Not only that, but we ourselves who have the Spirit as the firstfruits—we also groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for adoption, the redemption of our bodies. Now in this hope we were saved, but hope that is seen is not hope, because who hopes for what he sees? Now if we hope for what we do not see, we eagerly wait for it with patience.

We aren’t supposed to just wait, we are supposed to eagerly wait and seeing the world for what it really is can help. The darkness of this room represents our really messed up world and I think most of us would agree that our world leaves a lot to be desired.

But where does that acknowledgement lead you? Does it lead you to despair or to hope? Does it cause you to worry or to long for the return of Christ?

This world is so messed up I can’t wait for when all our problems will be permanently fixed. As it says in Romans 8, I know I’ve been adopted but I am oh so eager to see my heavenly Father face to face.

In a way I’m a little bit jealous of the shepherds, of Mary and Joseph, and the wisemen, and all the others who waited with such anticipation for the birth of Jesus. The shepherds ran as fast as they could to see their Savior. They couldn’t contain their joy. The wisemen spent a fortune just so they could see and worship their king. Mary rejoiced down to the depth of her soul about the gift of God’s Son (Luke 1:46-55).

So we can look back nostalgically but remember we are in a similar time right now as we eagerly await the second return of Christ. Yes, we see our sinfulness and the sinfulness of the world but that just makes us more than ever long for Jesus to return and make all things new.

Christmas is coming tomorrow and with it’s arrival is a glorious reminder of what has happened in the past but it is also a reminder to long for another amazing reality when death and sin will be completely defeated and the light of Christ will shine like the sun in the world and in us.

Let’s conclude with Zephaniah 3:20,

Zephaniah 3:20 CSB

At that time I will bring you back, yes, at the time I will gather you. I will give you fame and praise among all the peoples of the earth, when I restore your fortunes before your eyes. The Lord has spoken.

Oh how we long for that day!