By Pastor Keith Shubert
This is the time of the year when we begin to reflect on God’s most wonderful Gift to us – The birth of His Messiah. We meditate on this astonishing event, where God humbled Himself and became human. God actually revealed Himself in human form! This is an extremely special Revelation. This is the idea of Hebrews 1:1-2 (NASB) which reads "God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers [Jewish ancestors] in the prophets [Old Testament] in many portions [Scripture came to us in books and psalms spread out over a long period of time] and in many ways [God’s Thoughts were given to us through many mediums such as visions, dreams, direct conversation, & even God writing with His finger on stone], has in these last days [of Revelation] spoken to us in His Son."
As wonderful as this is, the best is yet to come! Of the nearly one thousand Old Testament prophecies concerning the future Messiah, about one-third of them detail Jesus’ First Coming – What we call Christmas. The remaining two-thirds refer to His Second Coming, which is still to come. References to both are often found in the same passage/s. For instance:
For a child will be born to us,
A son will be given to us; [First Coming]
And the Government will rest on His shoulders;
And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.
There will be no end to the increase of His government or of peace,
On the throne of David and over his kingdom,
To establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness
From then on and forevermore
The zeal of the Lord of hosts will accomplish this.
(Isaiah 9:6-7 NASB)
Notice that while the first two lines obviously refer to His First Coming, there is much more to be said about His Second Coming. This is a pattern often found throughout the Old Testament Scriptures. In this light, we can view Christmas much like the first half of a basketball game. There is much more to come. We find ourselves at half-time, watching events unfold before our eyes. We wait with great expectation for the coming drama of the second half (His Second Coming), which will be much more glorious than His First Coming, given the descriptions found in the Bible.
These two halves are also found in our Christmas music. Psalm 98, a messianic psalm, inspired Isaac Watts to write a Christmas carol very familiar to us. We sing "Joy to the World! The Lord is come." This, of course, reflects our excitement as we celebrate His birth in Bethlehem. But then we sing "Joy to the world! The Saviour reigns" in verse two, "No more let sins and sorrow grow" in verse three and "He rules the world in truth and grace" in verse four. While the first verse sings of His First Coming, the remaining three verses point us in anticipation to His Second Coming.
As we rightly celebrate what God has done for us two thousand years ago, let us not forget that the best is yet to come. We joyfully await the "second half," when our Saviour will return in all His glory. He is coming back. Not as a carpenter, but as a King. Not in humility, but in glory. Not to die, but to reign. So this season, let us meditate on His Word, and look at both His First and Second Coming.
Joy to the world!
Verse 1
Joy to the world, the Lord is come!
Let earth receive her King;
Let every heart prepare him room,
And heaven and nature sing,
And heaven and nature sing,
And heaven, and heaven, and nature sing.
Verse 2
Joy to the world, the Saviour reigns!
Let men their songs employ;
While fields and floods, rocks, hills, and plains
Repeat the sounding joy,
Repeat the sounding joy,
Repeat, repeat the sounding joy.
Verse 3
No more let sins and sorrows grow,
Nor thorns infest the ground;
He comes to make His blessings flow
Far as the curse is found,
Far as the curse is found,
Far as, far as, the curse is found.
Verse 4
He rules the world with truth and grace,
And makes the nations prove
The glories of His righteousness,
And wonders of His love,
And wonders of His love,
And wonders, wonders, of His love.
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.