ADVENT

Isaiah 25:9  And it will be said in that day, "Behold, this is our God for whom we have waited that He might save us. This is the LORD for whom we have waited; Let us rejoice and be glad in His salvation."

Advent is a season observed in many Christian churches as a time of expectant waiting and preparation for the celebration of  Christmas, a day arbitrarily chosen by the early church to commemorate the birth of Jesus of Nazareth, the most momentous occurrence in the history of mankind, not His ‘birthday’ - as it is often made out to be. The term advent is a Latin word meaning coming or arrival. The season offers the opportunity to share in the ancient longing for the coming of the Messiah, and to be alert for his Second Coming.  The period of advent traditionally begins four Sundays before Christmas and is observed by some Christians as a season of prayer and fasting.

Sin had separated man from God, but God had been always trying to reach out to man. (Heb 1:1-2)  God in His holy nature abhors sin; He cannot tolerate or ignore sin (Habakkuk 1:13). He is a consuming fire. In order to communicate with man God had to lower Himself to man’s level as there was no way man can get closer to God. as he is. Jesus’ birth paved the way for effective communication between God and man.

Seven hundred years before the birth of Christ, the prophet Isaiah said, “Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, a virgin will be with child and bear a son, and she will call His name Immanuel” (Isaiah 7:14).  The gospels record the fulfilment of Isaiah’s prophecy. In order to be really a man, He had to be born of a woman. But everyone born out of sexual union would be stained by Adam’s sin. In order to overcome this “predicament” Jesus chose the rout of virgin birth.

The Bible teaches that the Word who became flesh was with God from the very beginning (John 1:1). The fact of the pre-existence of Christ is testified many times in the New Testament (John 8:58; Philippians 2:5–11; Colossians 1:15, 16). When Jesus came into the world, He was not a newly created individual such as we are, but was rather the eternal Son of God. To be born into this world of the Virgin Mary required divine intervention and this is exactly what the Gospels record. To be a perfect sacrifice, He must Himself be perfect—without sin. Since our race is contaminated with sin, a miraculous entrance into the world would be required, hence the virgin birth.

The Old Testament mentions a Coming Messiah about 350 times, recorded over a period of thousands of years. It was not only the nation of Israel, but the whole world that was waiting for millennia for the Messiah.  This is made abundantly clear from the story of the visiting Magi. (Mat 2). Job who lived in prehistoric days, spoke of a ‘redeemer’ and a mediator between God and man, an advocate who lives in heaven.

Advent is not only a time to meditate upon  this longing of mankind that was fulfilled in the Bethlehem birth of Jesus Christ, it is also a time to remind us that our Saviour has promised to return to judge the earth, His Second Coming can happen at any time.  It might surprise most that while His First Coming was prophesied about 350 times in the scriptures, the Second is mentioned over 2100 times!

His arrival will be swift and sudden. There will be no opportunity for last-minute repentance or bargaining. The choice we have already made will determine our eternal destiny. Let us remain alert and praying lest we be caught unawares.

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