Populus Zion
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The final weeks of the Church Year have a strong focus on the End Times and the Return of Christ. But as the Church Year begins anew with the Season of Advent, we find that this focus on the end of the world continues. Just as the beginning of the year is closest to its end, so the theme of Advent encompasses both the First and Second Comings of Christ.
God is, after all, outside of time. The thousands of years that we are experiencing between our Lord’s humble birth and his triumphant return are but a moment in God’s eyes. In fact, Scripture often speaks of these two events as though they are indistinguishable. This is what we call the prophetic perspective: where the writers of Holy Scripture look forward and describe the approaching Day of the Lord as one might describe the distant mountain ranges. From the valley it looks as though the layers of mountain peaks are stacked immediately upon each other, while from the perspective of one climbing them by foot, one peak is separated from the next by a vast distance. Our whole lives will be lived within this gap between the First and Second Advent, but from God’s perspective, these are almost a single event: The Son of God enters His broken creation in order to redeem it and save his people.
Today, on the Second Sunday of Advent, the focus is decidedly on the Second Advent of Christ. As that day nears, Jesus tells us, “There will be signs in sun and moon and stars, and on the earth distress of nations in perplexity… people fainting with fear and with foreboding of what is coming on the world” (Lk 21:25–26). Turn on the news and you’ll see that the Day of our Lord has never been closer. Are all of the nations in perplexity? Yes, they are. Are people fainting with fear and foreboding? Like never before. In my forty-five years on earth, I have never seen such irrational terror as what now grips the nations of the world. We’re no longer waiting, it would appear, for the signs in sun and moon and stars to unleash terror upon the world. The news that a new microscopic variant has been discovered in South Africa has people fainting with fear and foreboding. Christians too? Sadly, yes. But we shouldn’t be living in fear.
Instead, Jesus tells us, “When these things begin to take place, straighten up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near” (Lk 21:28). In other words, Jesus says that the worse things get in this world, the more cause we have for rejoicing because his return is even nearer than before. The night grows ever darker, but the glorious day of Christ is approaching. Soon He will return to take his bride home, to right every wrong, heal every harm. Soon He will make all things news. Do not fear what is coming on the world. Instead, rejoice! Our salvation is nearer today than when we first believed!
Since this is true, why do so many Christians live in fear of what is to come? If you have lived in fear for the last year or two, why is that? Perhaps it has something to do with the warning Jesus gives, “Take heed to yourselves, lest your hearts be weighed down with carousing, drunkenness, and cares of this life, and that Day come on you unexpectedly” (Lk 21:34). The greatest danger of this life is that we become so weighed down by its cares, that we no longer look with joyful expectation for the life that is to come. And there are many things that can weigh our hearts down, legitimate cares even.
When my family was preparing to go to seminary, we had to give away half of our possessions. Only one moving truck was going across the country, not two. I discovered something very curious: The more stuff we gave away, the freer I felt. Has this ever happened to you? It was as though all this stuff had been weighing me down. Possessions can become a burden. First you have to get them. And then you have to protect them, maintain them, and probably, worry about them. “Be careful,” Jesus says, “lest your hearts be weighed down with the cares of this life.”
Of all the cares in this life, which one is are we often most concerned with? How about with life itself? The Bible says that the fear of death enslaves the whole world. Christians too are enslaved by this, though we have no reason to fear death. All the fainting with fear that we seen, and perhaps been party to, stems from the fear of death. This is the greatest care of all. But why? It’s understandable for unbelievers. They have no promise of a better life to come. This world is all they have. They must fight to hold on to it no matter the cost. But it should not be so among us.
When we leave this life and this world behind, what do we lose? Nothing worth keeping. The sorrows of this life will become like a fading dream. And everything that is good and dear will be restored a hundredfold. So do not fear. Trust in Christ and His promises. Heaven and earth will pass away, but the words of Jesus will never pass away. So do not let your heart be weighed down by cares that will soon be forgotten. Instead, look with hope and joyful expectation for the coming of our Lord. This fallen world is going mad, and it will grow madder still before the end. After this latest cause for fear there will be a thousand more. This present age will only grow darker. But for believers in Christ, this is cause for rejoicing. Straighten up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near. Very soon now, we will see the Son of Man lifted up in glory, not this time upon a cross, but in the clouds with power. The night may be dark, but the day of our Lord’s return is close at hand. Come, Lord Jesus! Amen.