Advent 2021: He Shall Reign Forever

…then a throne will be established in steadfast love, and on it will sit in faithfulness in the tent of David one who judges and seeks justice and is swift to do righteousness." – Isaiah 16:5

Advent is not only remembering what has happened but also the celebration of what is coming. We keep Advent because there is still an unfulfilled promise to Adam, to Eve, to Abraham, and to King David. After the fall, God prophesied of a coming King who would crush the powers of darkness and restore mankind to the dignity of originally intended creation.

“And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel." – Genesis 3:15

This is the first Messianic promise of the Scriptures. From this point on, men would be seeking and waiting for this King who would come and reconcile created order to its Creator, restore the image-bearers, remove the kingdom of darkness, and restore the earth. He would bring heaven and earth back together again. The very ones whom Satan deceived, Adam and Eve; through their offspring would come the promise. He will restore the dignity of mankind and with Him, we would participate in the crushing of the head of the Serpent. This began in the manger and will culminate in the Second Coming of Jesus. All of the promises concerning this King coming find their “yes” in Jesus, and we add our “Amen” or “so be it!”.

For all the promises of God find their Yes in him. That is why it is through him that we utter our Amen to God for his glory. - 2 Corinthians 1:20

Jesus is not only returning as Savior but as Judge of the whole earth. This was Peter’s first message to the Gentiles. Jesus has been appointed as the “judge of the living and the dead” (Acts 10:42-43). Because He was the only man who never has and will never break agreement with the Father, He has the right to hold all men and all nations accountable. The standards by which He holds them to are called His commandments. His judgments are simply His perfect evaluation of our obedience to His commandments and His actions towards us based on that evaluation. To those who are washed in His blood and by grace are walking in obedience to His commandments, weak but sincere before Him, His judgments are unto great reward, in this life and in the age to come. To those who have refused His mercy, His judgments are a heavy stone that will fall upon them. (Matt 21:44)

Because Jesus is a judge, He has decided what is beautiful and what is not. He is the one who gets to judge what will remain in His economy and consequently on the earth forever. Because He is perfectly righteous, He is the only one who can execute perfect justice on the earth. He executes it on earth in perfect humility and love. He decides with perfect equity and no one can manipulate the man Christ Jesus.

This means that there is an appointed end to the operation of demons and oppression within the human existence because there is a Judge who has pronounced their sentence. Jesus doesn’t merely have an aversion to sin, pride, lawlessness, oppression, injustice, and wickedness. He is actively opposing it and will eventually eradicate it from the earth. He is the Lion that moves with strength against all that defiles beauty and love.

For a moment Jesus is allowing the nations to mature in wickedness until He returns to execute justice, giving all men the chance to come to repentance. But when He returns, a throne will be established. The throne He will sit on is one of righteousness and justice. Jesus is eagerly awaiting the day when He will return, cleanse the earth of evil empires, crush injustice, and restore all things. And we are eagerly awaiting this great salvation and judgment to come.

And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment, so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him. - Hebrews 9:27-28

Isaiah saw the Son born, the Suffering Servant, the Anointed Messenger, but when He saw Jesus returning as King and Judge, he could not but help ask, “Who is this?!”.

Who is this who comes from Edom, in crimsoned garments from Bozrah, he who is splendid in his apparel, marching in the greatness of his strength? "It is I, speaking in righteousness, mighty to save." Why is your apparel red, and your garments like his who treads in the winepress? "I have trodden the winepress alone, and from the peoples no one was with me; I trod them in my anger and trampled them in my wrath; their lifeblood spattered on my garments, and stained all my apparel. For the day of vengeance was in my heart, and my year of redemption had come. - Isaiah 63:1-4

There is a day of vengeance in the heart of Jesus because He loves justice. He is longing to bring heaven and earth back together again. Isaiah sees the King returning to the earth, marching across the earth, trampling the nations, and his response is two-fold. Isaiah’s response is a Marantha cry, “Oh that you would rend the heavens and come down, that the mountains might quake at your presence” (Is 64:1). Jesus will return in the same way He came. He will come a second time, not to be the sacrifice for sin, but to judge the earth in righteousness. There is an appointed end to oppression on the earth. When He sits as Judge, the poor will be treated with equity (Is 11:4), the nations will lay down their arms and learn righteousness (Is 2:4), slavery will be abolished across the globe (Is 61:1-2), corruption will be exposed and uprooted from every government, the environment will be restored and will result in the earth rejoicing, rivers clapping their hands, and forests and hills singing for joy. (Ps 96:11-13;Ps 98:7-9) Rivers will break out in the deserts and springs in the wastelands (Is 41:18) and the enmity between every living creature will be removed. Isaiah saw predator and prey living in harmony, “The wolf shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the young goat… and the calf and the lion and the fattened calf together… The cow and the bear shall graze; their young shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox.” (Is 11:6-7) Fear will be removed from the human experience, so much so that a little child will play near what used to be a venomous snake. A day is coming when there will be no more disease and no more sickness. We will search the earth and not find one report of cancer, domestic violence, or poverty. Enmity between races will be healed, racism will be a distant memory of a time before the King returned to Jerusalem. Wars will cease under His leadership (Zech 9:10) and peace will rule across the whole earth.

The nursing child shall play over the hole of the cobra, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the adder's den. They shall not hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain; for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD as the waters cover the sea. - Isaiah 11:8-9

Jesus will throw Satan into the lake of fire forever and sit on His throne as the rightful Son of David. God gave a man dominion over the earth, a man gave it to Satan, a Divine Man bought it back, and He shall reign forever. What began in a manger in Bethlehem will end on a throne in Jerusalem. The One who rode on the back of a donkey will ride on the back of a white horse. The One who did not open His mouth will shout aloud and prevail against His enemies. He will come again and make everything right, make everything new, and make everything beautiful. So this Advent, we groan with all of creation, “Maranatha, Come Lord Jesus”.

Then I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse! The one sitting on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and makes war. His eyes are like a flame of fire, and on his head are many diadems, and he has a name written that no one knows but himself. He is clothed in a robe dipped in blood, and the name by which he is called is The Word of God. And the armies of heaven, arrayed in fine linen, white and pure, were following him on white horses. From his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron. He will tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty. On his robe and on his thigh he has a name written, King of kings and Lord of lords. - Revelation 19:11-16

“The Advent season is a season of waiting, but our whole life is an Advent season, that is, a season of waiting for the last Advent, for the time when there will be a new heaven and a new earth.” ― Dietrich Bonhoeffer, God Is In the Manger

Prayer:

Jesus, I come before you. You are my King and my Judge. You are the rock and all Your ways are perfect. I rejoice in Your judgements and in Your leadership. You make all things beautiful. Father, help me align my life today with Your commandments. Forgive me where I have fallen short. I want to live before You sincerely and humbly in obedience that I may receive the reward on the day I stand before my righteous judge, Jesus. Holy Spirit, fill me with hope and eager expectation for the day when Jesus restores all things. As this Advent season comes to a close, give me the grace I need to walk out all that You have spoken to me and revealed through Your Word. Let my worship deepen and my adoration increase as I step into the next year. I surrender my whole life to You again, commit my ways to You, and give You my whole heart. As I think about all You’ve done for me this year, all the things You worked together for my good, all the trials You led me through and all the pain You comforted, all the words You spoke to me, I want to tell You from the bottom of my heart; Jesus, I love You.