Preparing for an Advent / 1 Peter 1:10-12 / Hebrews 9:28
The Counter-Cultural Discipline of Waiting
Contemporary Western culture is fundamentally characterized by hurry and immediacy. In an age dominated by instant gratification, the capacity to endure waiting has eroded. This restlessness is particularly pronounced during the winter holiday season, where consumerism propels society from one holiday to the next in a frantic race toward December twenty-fifth. The cultural current treats preparation not as a holy space of contemplation, but as an exhaustive checklist of commercial transactions and social obligations.
Historically, the Christian church introduced the season of Advent as a sanctified disruption to this unyielding pace. Derived from the Latin term adventus, meaning “coming” or “arrival,” Advent offers an intentional rhythm of stillness, reflection, and anticipation. While often relegated to high liturgical traditions, the recovery of Advent provides a vital corrective for the broader church. It creates an essential theological framework to comprehend both historical longing and future expectation, inviting believers to enter into the holy discipline of waiting.
The Origin of the Promise: Darkness in the Garden
To understand the significance of Christ’s arrival, one must first reckon with the depth of the world’s brokenness. The scriptures present human history not as a trajectory of autonomous moral progress, but as a condition fractured by rebellion. The pervasive darkness in the world is not merely a structural or sociological flaw; it is an internal spiritual alienation resulting from humanity’s fall into sin. Estranged from their Creator, human beings are entirely incapable of self-redemption through ingenuity or moral effort.
The genesis of Christmas, therefore, lies not in the manger of Bethlehem, but in the garden of Eden. Immediately following humanity’s catastrophic fall, God initiated a covenant of redemption. He promised that a descendant of the woman would ultimately crush the head of the serpent, repairing the cosmic ruin wrought by sin. Throughout the centuries that followed, God progressively unveiled this redemptive plan, revealing details of this coming Deliverer layer by layer through the covenants and the prophets.
Prophetic Inquiry and the First Coming
For generations, Israel endured long periods of silence, foreign oppression, and spiritual exile, clinging tenaciously to the promises of God. The Old Testament prophets operated under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, yet they wrestled to fully understand the timeline and nature of the salvation they foretold. They peered into the future, discerning glimpses of a suffering servant who would bear the sins of many, alongside prophecies of a reigning Davidic monarch.
The Apostle Peter reflects on this profound prophetic tension, noting that these ancient messengers were ministering for a future generation that would witness the dawn of fulfillment.
1 Peter 1:10-12 (NASB)
As to this salvation, the prophets who prophesied of the grace that [would come] to you made careful searches and inquiries, seeking to know what person or time the Spirit of Christ within them was indicating as He predicted the sufferings of Christ and the glories to follow. It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves, but you, in these things which now have been announced to you through those who preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven– things into which angels long to look.
Even the angelic host looked upon this unfolding drama of redemptive history with reverent awe. The mystery of the incarnation—the Creator taking on human flesh to redeem His rebellious creatures—stood as the focal point toward which all ancient history strained. When Christ was born in Bethlehem, the long night of anticipation met its dawn. The Light of the World pierced the darkness, fulfilling the ancient promises through His sinless life, substitutionary death, and triumphant resurrection.
Living Between the Two Advents
The arrival of the Messiah, however, introduced a theological paradox for His early followers. Israel had largely envisioned the Messiah’s coming as a singular, climactic event wherein He would simultaneously atone for sin, overthrow imperial powers, and establish an everlasting kingdom. When Jesus ascended into heaven without immediately instituting a geopolitical throne, it created profound confusion.
This dynamic is best understood through the lens of prophetic foreshortening—a phenomenon often compared to looking at two distant mountain peaks. From a distance, the two summits appear as a single continuous mountain; only upon drawing nearer does the vast valley separating them become visible. The Old Testament prophecies encompassed two distinct arrivals. In His first Advent, Christ came in humility as a suffering servant to deal with the guilt of sin. In His second Advent, He will return in glory as the reigning King to consummate His kingdom.
The author of Hebrews articulates this precise distinction between the two appearances of Christ.
Hebrews 9:28 (NASB)
so Christ also, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time for salvation without [reference to] sin, to those who eagerly await Him.
The contemporary church resides within this intermediate valley, positioned between the cross and the crown. While believers rejoice in the decisive victory won at Calvary, they simultaneously experience the grief of living in a world not yet fully consummated. The groaning of creation and the persistence of suffering serve as daily reminders that the second Advent is still to come.
Cultivating Steadfastness in the Present Age
Because the church exists between these two mountain peaks, the season of Advent carries a dual orientation: it looks backward with gratitude to the incarnation, and forward with eager longing to the Parousia. Practicing Advent means resisting the frantic escapism of the surrounding culture by intentionally cultivating spiritual sobriety, patient waiting, and doctrinal meditation.
The New Testament consistently links the Christian posture of waiting to the endurance of a farmer awaiting a harvest, grounding present patience in the certainty of the Lord’s return.
James 5:7-8 (NASB)
Therefore be patient, brethren, until the coming of the Lord. The farmer waits for the precious produce of the soil, being patient about it, until it gets the early and late rains. You too be patient; strengthen your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is near.
Waiting is not a passive surrender to delay, but an active spiritual discipline that purifies the soul’s desires. In the waiting, God tests, refines, and deepens the faith of His people, teaching them to treasure the Giver above the gifts. By slowing down to meditate upon the scriptures, gathering in corporate worship, and engaging in deliberate contemplation, believers realign their affections with the eternal reality of God’s redemptive timeline.
Conclusion
Advent is ultimately an invitation to hope. It reminds a weary world that God is not merely a promise maker, but an unfailing promise keeper. Just as centuries of prophetic anticipation culminated in the precise arrival of the infant King in Bethlehem, so too will the promises concerning His glorious return be entirely fulfilled. As the church journeys through seasons of cultural hurry and existential darkness, it anchors its soul in this unchanging truth: the King has come, and the King will come again.