Christmas.
The term sounds so familiar, so comforting. It brings forth thoughts of family, of homecomings and of lights, ornaments, and bright-eyed little ones all aglow with anticipation. It brings smiles engendered by knowing Santa will soon place things beneath the glistening tree, some wrapped in colorful paper and ribbons. Christmas, in America at least, with all the shopping and hustle, seems to dismiss for the moment thoughts of troubles, conflicts, and the evil side of life.
This commercially oriented image of Christmas, in a secondary sense, isn’t in itself terrible. Sadly, however, this has, I believe, become the primary view of Christmastime in our nation. And that fact is not as it should be.
To believers in the true meaning of the celebration, Christmas brings thoughts of that event from which has come succeeding Christmases for more than two millennia. The Christ child in the manger, the stable, the shepherds in the fields, the angels declaring the good news that the Savior has been born in Bethlehem.
That announcement was at the same time spectacular and limited in scope of delivery. The angels by the thousands surrounded those Judean hills and gave praises to the Highest in Heaven. Yet only the lowly shepherds–the least socially acceptable people of that time–received the glorious message that Christ the Lord and King was born.
We call that first Christmas the Advent of Christ. It was the birthday of God in the flesh, come to earth to bring peace to men of goodwill. More than that, it was the Lamb of God come to this fallen planet to seek and save the lost–which includes, before salvation by each individual is attained–all of humanity.
The term “advent” means the arrival, emergence, or coming forth of something or someone of importance. Could there be a greater purpose than that of seeking out and saving those who are lost? Is there a more magnificent blueprint than that reclaiming those separated from the Creator God for all of eternity? What could demonstrate absolute love more than that great God reaching out with a redemptive plan–a plan to reconcile fallen man, individually, with Himself?
Heaven’s announcement of that stupendous act of God was sensational, to be sure. But, it was muted in comparison to the announcement that is even now being sounded for an equally astonishing event.
We term that coming event the “Second Advent.”
The heavenly alert is sounding in siren-like fashion through hourly, even minute-by-minute, pronouncements. The alert resounds throughout the whole earth, not just in the eyes and ears of a few, like that given to the shepherds in that first Advent of more than two thousand years ago. This alert is declaring that the same baby who came to seek and save those separated from their Creator by sin is, as King of Kings, about to come again. This coming will not be secretive. It will be the most spectacular event ever to be witnessed in the history of man.
We help sound that alert in these commentaries. Our Christian brothers and sisters who are spiritually attuned to God’s heavenly siren of alert do the same with their various ministries, or just through individual witness. Again, sadly, only a few choose to hear and believe the forewarnings of Christ’s Second Advent. In that respect, God’s alert that Christ is about to return to forever reign on earth is as ignored, as was the announcement to the world during Christ’s First Advent. The alert is treated as mythology by most of the world at best, and as lies by Christian fundamentalist haters at worst.
Some of those signals making up the announcement of the Second Advent are as follows:
- Paul’s “perilous times” indicators of 2 Timothy 3 in our face each and every hour
- Second Thessalonians 2 forewarning of deception and apostasy, which is now growing at a phenomenal rate as witnessed by the Catholic pope’s false proclamations and even some evangelical apostates chiming in with agreement
- The globalist cabal raging in Psalm 2 fashion to create a one-world order that excludes anything to do with the God of Heaven
- The God-Magog coalition gathering north of Israel in precise alignment for the Ezekiel 38-39 assault
- Hatred for Israel and for Jews metastasizing throughout the world as given in Zechariah 12.
Our hourly, even minute-by-minute, reports on the many news outlets issue the warning for the spiritually attuned. Jesus Christ is on the very cusp of stepping out on the clouds of glory to reclaim planet earth.
Again, we call Christ’s return at Armageddon the Second Advent. He came in the First Advent as a baby in Bethlehem. He comes the second time as the King of all Kings and Lord of all Lords.
The first phase of that Second Advent will be the Rapture of all born-again believers–that is all who believe in Christ, based on Romans 10:9-10.
Jesus will shout “Come up here!” (Revelation 4:1). Paul the apostle prophesied that then we who are alive and remain will be changed in a millisecond into immortal bodies suited for eternal existence. We will live forever with our Savior and Lord.
Those who have died in Christ (saved) will go into Christ’s presence at that shout, even preceding those alive at the time Christ calls. They, too, will have immortal bodies and will live with Him forever.
Since we see a tremendous number of signals alerting that the Second Advent is plainly in view, we know Christ’s shout for Christians to come to Him is indeed imminent–it can happen at any moment! The Second Advent (Revelation 19:11) will occur at least seven years following the Rapture of believers. A time of great trouble unlike any ever experienced, Jesus said, will fill those seven years.
An Advent even greater, perhaps, then the first one will occur. The clouds will scroll apart, as will the very heavens. Jesus will return to the planet raging with life-ending violence. Only He can calm this earthly storm.
I, personally, believe the Lord of Lords and King of Kings will calm the raging armies at Armageddon just as He calmed the storm on Galilee those millennia ago.
I believe He will simply say, “Peace…Be still.”
With that as biblically prophetic perspective, we, as believers, should have a very Merry Christmas!
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