This is the season of "Advent," the four Sundays before Christmas. Christians celebrate these four Sundays by lighting candles and remembering every facet of the first coming of Jesus Christ.

            Advent carries with it anticipation, longing, and hope. The Jewish people longed for justice and liberation from the tyranny of Rome. They looked for the promised return of Israel to glory and power among the nations.

            Both the first and second advents of Jesus Christ are well documented in biblical prophecy. The prophet Micah spoke of the coming of Christ in Micah 5:2-5. The prophecy declared that Bethlehem would be the birthplace of Jesus, but the prophecy also declared the reign of Christ in power and security.

            Isaiah 53 speaks of the sufferings of Christ, but the Jewish people were not able to comprehend the complexity and glory of God's plan. God's plan was for Christ to come first as the Savior and second as the King.

            The mission as Savior was in obscurity. Jesus was born of a young virgin from Nazareth. She was nondescript and certainly not desiring to be well known in the details of her pregnancy and the coming birthing of Jesus Christ. The child was conceived by the Holy Spirit, but the only people who knew this were Mary, Joseph, Zechariah, Elizabeth, and of course, God Himself.

            The celebrations of this first advent were somewhat private: angels with some shepherds in a remote pasture outside Bethlehem, and some Magi traveling from the East who found Jesus, worshipped Him, and slipped away quietly.

            Mary and Joseph certainly did not make a big deal of the event, even though both Simeon and Anna met them in the temple and confirmed the holiness and deity of the Christ child as they presented Jesus for circumcision in accordance with the Law of Moses (Luke 2:21-40).

            The first advent of Jesus Christ was obscure. The religious people with learning missed it. Jesus lived and ministered for thirty-three years on earth. His mission was so misunderstood by the establishment that they condemned Him to death as a blasphemer and had Him crucified.

            God raised Jesus from the dead, took Him back to heaven, and is waiting now for the second advent of Christ, which will not be obscure.

            We live in a fallen world. The effects of sin ravage every person physically and emotionally. Many people live with persecution and the prospect of imminent death. The followers of Christ are not exempt from these terrors, but they are not destroyed so long as they keep their eyes on Jesus and recognize that this world is not their home; they are just passing through (2 Corinthians 4:8-9).

            Since the time that Jesus was crucified and resurrected, there has been an open invitation to every person to give their life to Jesus Christ, become God's adopted child, and have the promise of eternal life with God. The gospel, or good news, of the kingdom of God has been available from the first advent of Christ and will be available until Jesus comes again.

            Jesus is coming again-soon. When He comes the second time, He will close the invitation for people to respond to the gospel. Those Jewish people who missed the first advent of Christ could repent, give their lives to Christ, and follow Him. People who neglect the Second Advent, or coming of Christ, will find themselves on the outside looking in.

            In John 3:16-18, the promise of the gospel of Christ is clearly stated, but the result of not believing the gospel of Christ is also clearly stated: "Whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God's one and only Son."

            As we enjoy the celebration of the first advent of Christ, we must be sure we are prepared for His second advent.