{"id":1479,"date":"2016-11-30T16:59:46","date_gmt":"2016-11-30T21:59:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/anglicanconnection.com\/?p=1479"},"modified":"2016-11-30T16:59:46","modified_gmt":"2016-11-30T21:59:46","slug":"the-future-advent-2016","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/anglicanconnection.com\/the-future-advent-2016\/","title":{"rendered":"‘THE FUTURE’…"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/b>W<\/span>riting in\u00a0The Spectator<\/i>\u00a0(UK) last weekend (11\/26\/16), Ysenda Maxtone Graham drew attention to the season of Advent. She spoke of\u00a0Advent as \u2018a season of death, judgment, heaven and hell\u2019<\/b>.<\/span><\/p>\n

Last Sunday, November 27, was Advent Sunday, the first Sunday in the yearly church calendar. The word\u00a0advent,\u00a0<\/i>from the Latin\u00a0advenire<\/i>, means \u2018to arrive at\u2019 or \u2018to reach\u2019 (a destination).\u00a0Advent<\/i><\/b>\u00a0speaks of the arrival of God\u2019s king \u2013 not his first coming, as is usually thought but rather, his second.<\/span><\/p>\n

ADVENT 2016<\/h2>\n

The focus of Advent is on the return of God\u2019s King and a day of reckoning<\/b>. The season of Christmas follows, reminding us that we are currently in the era of God\u2019s mercy. As Jesus himself put it, with his first coming,\u00a0he came not to be served but to serve and give his life as a ransom for many<\/i>\u00a0(Mark 10:45).<\/span><\/p>\n

It is interesting that in our secular, material society, there is a lively interest in the season of Advent. In her article,\u00a0Ysenda Maxtone Graham writes:\u00a0\u2018I relish the frisson of gloom, foreboding and fear of judgment you get at Advent, alongside the hope. \u201cThe Holly and the Ivy\u201d is all very well, but it\u2019s the minor chord at the end of \u201cO Come, O Come, Emmanuel\u201d that I crave.\u2019<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2018So do thousands of others,\u2026\u2019 she observes. \u2018The Advent service at Salisbury Cathedral, for example, is so oversubscribed these days that it\u2019s repeated on three consecutive evenings, starting on the Friday before Advent Sunday\u2026\u2019<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2018More goose-pimples erupt in the naves and transepts of our cathedrals during the Advent service, than at any other in the liturgical year\u2019, she comments. \u2018It\u2019s the mixture of bitterness and sweetness that does it,\u2026\u2019<\/span><\/p>\n

It was Isaiah the prophet, writing in the 8<\/span>th<\/sup><\/span>\u00a0century BC, who was amongst the first of the prophets to speak, not only of the first coming of God\u2019s Messiah (Isaiah 7:14; 9:6-7), but also the second coming, the return of God\u2019s king (Isaiah 11:1-9).<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Isaiah was disappointed with the corruption of the leaders of his day: they took bribes, ignored the poor and were unconcerned about justice. King Ahaz for example, had not only turned his back on God but had even used the Temple gold to pay tribute to Assyria in an attempt to halt its march on Jerusalem.<\/span><\/p>\n

Yet in the midst of his prophecies concerning God\u2019s judgment on Judah, Isaiah has a message of hope:\u00a0A shoot shall come out from the stump of Jesse<\/i>, he says (11:1). Jesse was the father of David, the greatest of the Old Testament kings. Just as David had come from obscurity, so too another king would emerge. He would be even greater than David:\u00a0The spirit of the\u00a0Lord\u00a0shall rest on him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the\u00a0Lord. His delight shall be in the fear of the\u00a0Lord<\/i>\u00a0(11:2-3).<\/span><\/p>\n

This king\u2019s rule would be characterized by wisdom, understanding and knowledge. And central to his rule would be his willingness to learn from God. Corruption would not plague his government. And there would be no broken promises. It sounds too good to be true.<\/span><\/p>\n

Isaiah continues:\u00a0The wolf shall live with the lamb, the leopard shall lie down with the kid, the calf and the lion and the fatling together, and a little child shall lead them<\/i>\u00a0(11:6).\u00a0This king\u2019s rule would also be marked by unprecedented peace.<\/span><\/p>\n

But Isaiah doesn\u2019t stop, for in 11:10-16 he goes on to portray people coming from every corner of the world to rally around this ruler. Centuries before Jesus came, Isaiah was opening a window on features of Jesus\u2019 life. Wise men came from the Far East to pay him homage at his birth. And ever since, people from all over the world have been coming to him.<\/span><\/p>\n

THE FUTURE<\/h2>\n

The numbers of people attending Advent services in London reveal the deceit of a progressive, secular liberalism which insists that life now is all there is.\u00a0Such progressivism is cruel<\/b>. It denies the reality of a day when perfect justice will be done. It also rejects what our hearts tell us \u2013 eternity exists (Ecclesiastes 3:11).<\/span><\/p>\n

As I write, I am praying that we will all have a renewed commitment to shape our priorities, decisions, and relationships in the light of Jesus\u2019 return.\u00a0His return will happen when we least expect it.<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

Today is also St Andrew\u2019s Day<\/b>\u00a0in the church calendar. It is a day when we recall the Apostle Andrew\u2019s outreach \u2013 bringing his brother Peter, as well as others, to meet Jesus.<\/span><\/p>\n

So, will you join me in a commitment to invite five people to meet Jesus this Christmas? If others around us do not hear how can they have a sure hope of an eternal future?<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

\u00a9 John G. Mason<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

riting in\u00a0The Spectator\u00a0(UK) last weekend (11\/26\/16), Ysenda Maxtone Graham drew attention to the season of Advent. She spoke of\u00a0Advent as \u2018a season of death, judgment, heaven and hell\u2019. Last Sunday, November 27, was Advent Sunday, the first Sunday in the yearly church calendar. The word\u00a0advent,\u00a0from the Latin\u00a0advenire, means \u2018to arrive at\u2019 or \u2018to reach\u2019 (a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1480,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1479","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-word-on-wednesday"],"yoast_head":"\n'THE FUTURE'... - The Anglican Connection<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Is the focus of Advent 2016 death, judgment, heaven and hell? 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