December 20, 2022

Advent Devotional December 20, 2022

Scripture

Revelation 20:11-21:8

11 Then I saw a great white throne and the one who sat on it; the earth and the heaven fled from his presence, and no place was found for them. 12 And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Also another book was opened, the book of life. And the dead were judged according to their works, as recorded in the books. 13 And the sea gave up the dead who were in it, Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them, and all were judged according to what they had done. 14 Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire, 15 and anyone whose name was not found written in the book of life was thrown into the lake of fire.

21 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. 2 And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying,

“See, the home of God is among mortals.
He will dwell with them;
they will be his peoples,
and God himself will be with them and be their God;
4 he will wipe every tear from their eyes.
Death will be no more;
mourning and crying and pain will be no more,
for the first things have passed away.”

5 And the one who was seated on the throne said, “See, I am making all things new.” Also he said, “Write this, for these words are trustworthy and true.” 6 Then he said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To the thirsty I will give water as a gift from the spring of the water of life. 7 Those who conquer will inherit these things, and I will be their God, and they will be my children. 8 But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the polluted, the murderers, the sexually immoral, the sorcerers, the idolaters, and all liars, their place will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.”

Devotional

Jodie Eckenrod, MTS student

Revelation might not be the most likely book Christians are reading during this joyful season, yet this book is the culmination of the entire message of Scripture and of God’s plan for creation. And in it is a real reason to celebrate.

Human beings love stories. There’s nothing more satisfying than a three-act play or the latest Star Wars trilogy. The Bible tells us an amazing story that is still unfolding; a story that involves God and involves us. We read in Scripture about God’s creative activity and desire to relate to creation. God came to dwell among creation, coming to us in the form of an innocent baby.

The passage from Revelation shows us that the Creator God who spun the universe into existence will bring heaven and earth together and will dwell among us again. We celebrate the humble beginnings of this process during this season of hope and anticipation.

The Son of God has lived among us and will dwell among us once again. Surely that is good news!

Prayer

Dear Lord, we thank you and we praise you—we rejoice that you are working in history to join heaven and earth. We rejoice that you have come to us, and you will live with us again, remaking humanity. We rejoice that we can trust in your promises and that you, oh mighty God, wish to dwell among your creation. Amen.

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