It’s Christmas Day, but Advent Isn’t Over!

He came, he lived a perfect life, he died on the cross in our place, he rose again, and he ascended into heaven. But that’s not the end!

For many, today is the final day of Advent—the waiting is over, the Savior is here. But really, the wait isn’t yet over! Yes, Jesus has come. He came, he lived a perfect life, he died on the cross in our place, he rose again, and he ascended into heaven. But that’s not the end! He’s coming again! So we’re waiting . . . waiting for the return of the Messiah when he will set all things right and when all who’ve trusted in him will dwell with him forever.

And that’s the theme of one of the devotions from AiG writer Lita Sanders, who wrote a 30-day Advent devotional for us to hand out for free to our Ark Encounter and Creation Museum guests this year during ChristmasTown and ChristmasTime. I thought you would enjoy this short reading today as we not only celebrate that Christ has come but that Christ is also coming!

We Are Still Waiting Today

He who testifies to these things says, “Surely I am coming soon.” Amen. Come, Lord Jesus! Revelation 22:20

Advent is traditionally when we remember the time people were waiting for the Messiah’s first coming. This month’s devotions have highlighted different points of history during that period of waiting. Today, we are waiting for Christ’s second coming.

Like those in the Old Testament, we have a promise that Christ will come. Also like those in the Old Testament, we’ve been waiting for a long time.

Eve may have believed her firstborn son was the promised serpent crusher, and Lamech hoped Noah would be the one to overturn the curse. They would have probably been surprised that it would take about 4,000 years for Jesus to come and die for our sins. They might have been equally surprised that he would rise into heaven, leaving us waiting for another 2,000 years and counting for the ultimate fulfillment of those promises at the time of the resurrection.

Christians in the generation right after Jesus ascended into heaven expected Jesus to return before they died. Many may have been disappointed and even started to doubt when it became apparent that we were going to have to wait much longer than they anticipated.

Peter addressed the question of the seeming delay of Christ’s return in 2 Peter 3. He made it clear that God was giving more time for people to repent, and that is why it seemed like Christ was slow to return. However, just as Noah was warned in advance with enough time to build the huge ark—yet the world was suddenly flooded—Christ will return suddenly with a catastrophic judgment that will culminate in the new heaven and earth.

While the church collectively has been waiting for Jesus’ second coming for 2,000 years, no individual Christian waits longer than about 100 years, if they live long—some have a substantially shorter wait until they enter the presence of Christ to await their resurrection. And the only thing we know for certain about the timing of Christ’s return is that it’s nearer now than it has ever been in history!

Since we know that God is delaying the return of Christ to give people the chance to come to faith, we should be engaged in evangelism and sharing the good news of Christ with everyone as God gives the opportunity to do so.

Questions for Discussion/Reflection: How is our waiting for Christ today different than it was for people in the Old Testament waiting for the Messiah to be born? What advantages do we have?

Suggestion for Prayer: Thank God for the promise of the second coming, and ask that it might be soon!

Merry Christmas from Answers in Genesis, the Creation Museum, and the Ark Encounter!

Thanks for stopping by and thanks for praying,
Ken

This item was written with the assistance of AiG’s research team.