November 30, 2025
"Jesus Is Coming"
Isaiah 2:1-5
We are in the season of Advent. During this season, we focus on the two comings of Jesus Christ. This shouldn’t be something that we have never heard before. Every year around this time, I remind us that this is our focus. Well, the focus hasn’t changed. As we begin this new church year, we once again turn our attention to Jesus’ comings.
Our text from Isaiah fits the theme of Advent. Does it have to do with Jesus’ first coming or with His second coming? Or, does it have to do with both? It seems that the passage has to do with both. At times, Old Testament prophecies can be difficult to interpret. Not enough specifics are given for us to make an absolute determination of what the text is referring to.
In the case of this text, we see that it refers to the “last days.” Well, what does that mean? Most likely, it is referring to the last days on earth. But when do the last days begin? That question isn’t answered in our text, specifically.
One source I looked at said that “last days” has in mind the Messianic Age. The Messianic Age began when Jesus came the first time and will reach its conclusion when He comes again. According to this interpretation, we are living in the last days. Jesus has come, and we are waiting for Him to come again. This might be the best interpretation of this text.
Now, I’m sure some of us might be thinking this is great information, but what does it really mean for us? To put it bluntly, it means, as Paul says in verse 11 of our epistle lesson, that the hour has come for us to wake up from our slumber because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed. We are getting closer to the end. And so, we need to think about being ready for our Lord’s second coming.
We get ready to celebrate the first coming of Jesus. Every year we decorate the church. I’m sure we decorate our homes as well. Gifts are a big part of our preparation for Jesus’ first coming. We shop around for the right gifts and wrap them in nice wrapping paper. This takes us some time to do. We might bake cookies as we prepare. These are just some of the things we do to prepare for our celebration of Jesus’ first coming.
Do we need to prepare for Jesus’ second coming? Of course we do. We are living in the last days, but we don’t know when the very last day will happen. We don’t know when Jesus will appear again. But don’t we want to be ready for when He does? I certainly hope we do. We make it a point to be ready for Jesus’ first coming. I hope we have the same desire to be ready for Jesus’ second coming which is going to be far more spectacular than His first coming.
Being ready for Jesus’ second coming means being morally pure. In the last couple of verses of our epistle lesson, Paul makes this abundantly clear. He stresses that no sexual immorality ought to be found among us. Living a sexually immoral life means we aren’t ready for Jesus’ second coming.
This was a problem in Paul’s day, just as it is a problem in our day. If it hadn’t been a problem, he wouldn’t have needed to write about it. And it might have been a problem in the church. Paul felt it was necessary to remind them that they were children of the day and not of the night. Engaging in sexual immorality was no way to wait for Christ’s return. The same goes for us. Engaging in sin of any kind is no way to prepare for Jesus’ second coming.
In the last verse of our epistle reading, Paul says we shouldn’t seek ways to gratify the sinful desires of the flesh. This could include sins other than those of a sexual nature. Spending time gratifying our sinful nature is not spending time preparing for the Lord’s second coming.
I hope we give this serious thought. How are we spending our time on earth? What are we living for? What are we preparing and getting ready for? And when I bring up these questions, I’m not taking this religious stuff too far. I’m encouraging us to think about what matters most on life. Too many people run around in this world with their heads cut off, thinking only about today when it comes to spiritual matters.
If we look at our readings, we get a sense that they are intended to get us to think about being proactive instead of reactive. Most people are reactive when it comes to talk about the last days. For example, they plan to turn their attention to their spiritual life when they will be forced to.
Being proactive means, “I will prepare myself now for Christ’s return so that I will be ready when He comes.” A person who does this won’t have to scramble around in the end, when it will be too late. The difference between proactive and reactive is taking action now as opposed to later. When it comes to preparing for Christ’s second coming, it is better to be proactive. Reacting to it when it happens will do nothing for us. The reaction is too late.
If we prefer a reactive approach to spiritual matters, then react to the Gospel when it is preached. React to God’s word now. React to God’s commandments now. Don’t wait to react. If we react now to the Lord’s word, we are being proactive when it comes to our long-term spiritual welfare. We are taking steps to be ready for Christ’s return.
Earlier, I said that the “last days” is associated with the Messianic Age. When Jesus came into our world, the Messianic Age began. When He first came, He didn’t come to judge. Instead, He came to save. While on earth, He healed people of their diseases and infirmities. He saved them from the pain and stigma their diseases caused them. He preached salvation for the sake of people’s souls. He fed people with bread and fish, and the word of God. These were acts of love on the part of Jesus. These acts proved that Jesus came to save, not destroy.
And then, Jesus gave Himself for us. He gave up His life so that we can live eternally. He took all of our sins to the cross. We’ve heard this thousands of times before. Maybe for some of us it has gotten old and stale. It happened so long ago. But others of us let out a sigh of relief when we hear that Jesus died for us. We know what that means for us now and in the future. It means a clear conscience for us now, a removal of guilt. When we are burdened by sin, we look to the cross of Jesus. And we are healed. That is why we let out a sigh of relief.
We let out a sigh of relief when we hear that Jesus died and rose from the dead because it means that our future is sealed. When Jesus comes again, He will take us with Him to live forever. We have a certain future, one where, as Isaiah says, swords will be beaten into plowshares, and spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not take up sword against nation, nor will they train for war anymore. This is only part of the wonderful future in store for us. Jesus has made this possible for us by coming into our world to die on the cross and rise from the dead for our salvation.
For me, this never gets old. Every time I hear this Gospel, I am thankful. I hope all of us are. If we really understand what Jesus’ first coming means, how can we not be thankful.
The Messianic Age will come to its fulfillment when Jesus comes again. We certainly look forward to that time. We don't know when it will happen, but it will.
I suppose it will happen in a way like Jesus’ first coming. No one really knew the exact time. We’re told in the Bible that when the time had come, Jesus came into the world. God had promised many times to send His Son into the world. But He gave us no specifics in terms of date and time. Jesus simply was born.
It will be the same with Jesus’ second coming. Jesus has promised to come again, but He hasn’t given us specifics in terms of date and time. The important thing here, though, is that we must be ready.
May the Holy Spirit keep us and preserve us until that day.