Meaning of Advent

“As to this salvation, the prophets who prophesied of the grace that would come to you made careful search and inquiry, 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” (1 Pet. 1:10-11).

These Old Testament men yearned to know something about the Messiah and the time of His coming. They yearned for the day when Israel’s glory would return like in the time of King David. Just like their ancestors in the land of Egypt, they cried out for a deliverer to come to free them from their enemies and for Him to reign in righteousness. They did not know what that would look like or what timetable God was on. They just longed for it.

You see the same spirit of anticipation and longing in the NT in the hearts of Simeon and Anna, the two elderly saints who were simply waiting, longing, praying, and fasting for the appearance of the Messiah. Simeon was promised by the Spirit that he would not see death until he had beheld the Messiah. Think of the yearning in his heart that was set ablaze by this. Anna was a woman who never left the temple but continued in serving night and day with fastings and prayers. Look at verse 38. “And at that very moment she came up and began giving thanks to God, and continued to speak of Him to all those who were looking for the redemption of Jerusalem.” There were many who were looking for the redemption of Jerusalem, the advent of the Lord.

That is what advent means - coming. Advent means the Lord’s coming. Throughout church history, the celebration of Advent spanned the four Sundays leading up to Christmas in which we look back to the OT in order to relive the anticipation for a deliverer. Why? To stir afresh a heart of gratitude for the blessings received in Jesus. It calls to mind the longings in our heart before we were brought to Jesus to find deliverance from sin.

There is another reason to celebrate advent. We, like Israel in the OT, await the Lord’s coming. All is not right. There are many things still left undone and we await the Lord’s return to set things in order and for righteousness to reign.