Today is the lighting of the first candle of Advent. Though I am in no way a Catholic (which is non-Christian), nor am I apart of a Christian denomination like Christian Reformed nor Lutheran, and have never celebrated Advent nor am interested in man-made traditions, something touched my heart today regarding the Biblical and profound meaning behind the first Advent candle. The meaning has nothing to do with anything man-made nor with empty tradition, for upon reflection, this candle is all about the indescribable hope of the first coming of Christ and the incredible, undying, relentless hope of Jesus’ soon return.

Hebrews chapter 11 speaks of the indefatigable faithful hope of the Old Testament saints like Abraham, Sarah, Moses, and nameless others who though persecuted heavily, killed mercilessly, and who also lived through countless miracles, looked forward with undimmed eyes to behold the glory of the hope of God incarnate come – Emmanuel, God with us. They pressed on fervently and purposefully, with relentless hope that God would fulfill His promise to be their Salvation.

And then… in a breathless, indescribable moment, a hushed and incredibly powerful moment… He came! The One for whom all prophets and kings and saints of old had longed had indeed come. And the light of the world shined in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend Him (John 1). But, He had not come as a physically conquering king who would set up a worldwide tangible kingdom. Rather, He came as the Lamb of God slain before the foundation of the world (Revelation 13:8), “…despised and rejected by men, A Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him; He was despised, and we did not esteem Him. 4Surely He has borne our griefs And carried our sorrows; Yet we esteemed Him stricken, Smitten by God, and afflicted. 5But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes we are healed. 6All we like sheep have gone astray; We have turned, every one, to his own way; And the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all. 7He was oppressed and He was afflicted, Yet He opened not His mouth; He was led as a lamb to the slaughter, And as a sheep before its shearers is silent, So He opened not His mouth.” (Isaiah 53:3-7).

And His kingdom was and still is not of this world, as Jesus said to Pilate in Matthew 18:36, ““My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, My servants would fight, so that I should not be delivered to the Jews; but now My kingdom is not from here.”” This same Jesus clarified further in Luke 17:21 when He said, ““The kingdom of God does not come with observation; 21nor will they say,‘See here!’ or ‘See there!’ For indeed, the kingdom of God is within you.” And Christ’s kingdom is still within us and not of this world. And our citizenship is in heaven with Christ our heavenly King, and we are His ambassadors here on earth. Don’t let anyone fool you into believing anything else!!

This was the first advent – God incarnate come as spiritual Savior of a spiritual kingdom for a spiritual people with a relentless hope.

But there is yet a promise and a hope of a second Advent which is twofold – the blessed hope of Christ’s soon return for His Bride and that of His Millennial reign.

Jesus says in John 14, “1“Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. 2In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. 3And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.”” And He is coming for a Bride washed by the water of the word Ephesians 5), without spot and without wrinkle, whom He will one day aggressively take to His side (as the word “receive you to Myself” implies), even snatching the Bride away to Himself. “16For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. 17Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord. 18Therefore comfort one another with these words.” (1 Thessalonians 4). For “50…flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; nor does corruption inherit incorruption. 51Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed— 52in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.” (1 Corinthians 15).

For the blessed hope is not simply to be snatched away to into the presence of our great King Jesus (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17), but that He also will set His foot upon the Mount of Olives (Zechariah 14:4), rule the nations with an iron scepter (Revelation 2:27), and then give the kingdom back to the Father (1 Corinthians 15:24).

Daniel 7 states, “13“I was watching in the night visions, And behold, One like the Son of Man, Coming with the clouds of heaven! He came to the Ancient of Days, And they brought Him near before Him. 14Then to Him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, That all peoples, nations, and languages should serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion, Which shall not pass away, And His kingdom the one Which shall not be destroyed.” (Daniel 7). Even so, Psalm 96 proclaims, “10Say among the nations, “The Lord reigns; The world also is firmly established, It shall not be moved; He shall judge the peoples righteously.” 11Let the heavens rejoice, and let the earth be glad; Let the sea roar, and all its fullness; 12Let the field be joyful, and all that is in it. Then all the trees of the woods will rejoice 13 before the Lord. For He is coming, for He is coming to judge the earth. He shall judge the world with righteousness, And the peoples with His truth.”

“24Then comes the end, when He delivers the kingdom to God the Father, when He puts an end to all rule and all authority and power. 25For He must reign till He has put all enemies under His feet. 26The last enemy that will be destroyed is death. 27For “He has put all things under His feet.” But when He says “all things are put under Him,” it is evident that He who put all things under Him is excepted. 28Now when all things are made subject to Him, then the Son Himself will also be subject to Him who put all things under Him, that God may be all in all.” (1 Corinthians 15). For truly, according to Revelation 20, “6Blessed and holy is he who has part in the first resurrection. Over such the second death has no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with Him a thousand years.”

As the first candle of Advent is lit in some of your churches this holiday season, may we reflect upon this – that just as Messiah came the first time as the hope of the prophets and saints of old, the hope of the world (Matthew 12:21), and lay down His life for us as the Lamb of God and a ransom for many (Mark 10:45), He is coming again soon, a second time. Only instead of being the sacrificial Lamb, He is returning as the King of king and Lord of lords, the Lion of the Tribe of Judah. This is indeed our present, blessed Hope, as Titus 2:13-14 boldly states, “…13looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, 14who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good works.”

Thus, while we are presently hoping in our soon returning Christ, may we truly be a people “zealous for good works”, for we are His workmanship created for good works in Christ (Ephesians 2:10). What are these good works? Jesus says, “If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love. 11I have told you these things so that My joy may be in you and your joy may be complete. 12This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. 13Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends. 14You are My friends if you do what I command you.” (John 15:10-14). These good works begin and end with love – loving God with all of our heart, soul, mind and strength, and loving our fellow Christians tenderly and selflessly as Christ loved us and gave Himself for us, for “By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.” (John 13:35).

All those prophets, priests, kings and saints who looked ahead to Christ’s first Advent coupled with Christians who both looked backward to Christ’s first and forward to Christ’s second Advent compose an all-encompassing great cloud of witnesses, whose testimonies beckon us ever forward like a roaring crowd at the end of a long and exhausting marathon. “1Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” (Hebrews 12).

Are you running your spiritual race with purpose? When you are afflicted, when life is dark, when evil surrounds you, when all hope seems gone…. Is your hope relentless? Are you focusing on and hoping in Jesus and no other?

Hebrews 12 expresses the power of inexhaustible hope that against all odds prevails because we are “looking unto Jesus”, and holding steadfast in our minds and hearts the treasured remembrance that Christ Himself endured the cross for the sake of the hope of great joy on the other side of the pain.

Are you enduring with hope today? Are you looking unto Jesus? May you this Advent season strengthen yourself in the LORD your God, even as David did (1 Samuel 30:6), and stir up some hope in your souls. For we have been begotten by God “3…again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, 5who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. 6In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials, 7that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ, 8whom having not seen you love. Though now you do not see Him, yet believing, you rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, 9receiving the end of your faith – the salvation of your souls.”

This truly is our blessed hope! Jesus is coming soon! Let’s be ready!!

Looking unto Jesus,

Holy Light Ministries

Advent’s Second Candle: Prince of Peace

Advent’s Third Candle: Calm, Undimmed Joy

Advent’s Fourth Candle: True Love

Thoughts on Christmas Eve