Adventus: Advent and It's Meaning

Advent or Adventus, is a celebration of Christ's Birth. Advent means "Coming." It comes from the Greek word, parousia, which commonly is a reference to the Second Coming of Christ. Thus Adventus or Advent is not only a celebration of the First Coming of Jesus, when He came as babe, a child to the little town of Bethlehem, but in actuality it is preparation time for the Second Coming, Return, and Appearing of Christ on the clouds of heaven (Matthew 24:29-41). While already two Sundays of Advent have passed, I believe that we Christians can celebrate Advent in this proper sense, to remember Christ's Birth two thousand and seventeen years ago, and at same time set our minds and hearts on the Second Coming of Christ! 

It so happens this year that the final Adventus Sunday will be on Christmas Eve. This year I urge you in addition to the normal festivities, and church services, or however you intend to honor Christ; that you consider adding a moment of reading and reflection on Christ's First Advent: His Birth, and the Second Advent: The Second Coming and The Return of Christ. The best way to do this is to open the Holy Bible to the New Testament. Start with Matthew 1, "¹⁸ Now the birth of Jesus ^[r]Christ was as follows: when His mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child by the Holy Spirit. ¹⁹ And Joseph her husband, being a righteous man and not wanting to disgrace her, planned ^[t]to send her away secretly. ²⁰ But when he had considered this, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife; for ^[u]the Child who has been ^[v]conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. ²¹ She will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for ^[w]He will save His people from their sins.” ²² Now all this ^[x]took place to fulfill what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet: ²³ “Behold, the virgin shall be with child and shall bear a Son, and they shall call His name ^[y]Immanuel,” which translated means, “God with us.” ²⁴ And Joseph ^[z]awoke from his sleep and did as the angel of the Lord commanded him, and took Mary as his wife, ^25 [aa]but kept her a virgin until she gave birth to a Son; and he called His name Jesus." (Matthew 1:18-24 NASB, Holy Bible),

"Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, ^[a]magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem, saying, ² “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we saw His star in the east and have come to worship Him.” ³ When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. ⁴ Gathering together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Messiah [Christ] was to be born. ⁵ They said to him, “In Bethlehem of Judea; for this is what has been written by the prophet:

⁶ ‘And you, Bethlehem, land of Judah,
Are by no means least among the leaders of Judah;
For out of you shall come forth a Ruler
Who will shepherd My people Israel.’”

⁷ Then Herod secretly called the magi and determined from them the exact time the star appeared. ⁸ And he sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the Child; and when you have found Him, report to me, so that I too may come and worship Him.” ⁹ After hearing the king, they went their way; and the star, which they had seen in the east, went on before them until it came and stood over the place where the Child was. ¹⁰ When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy. ¹¹ After coming into the house they saw the Child with Mary His mother; and they ^[e]fell to the ground and worshiped Him. Then, opening their treasures, they presented to Him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. ¹² And having been warned by God in a dream not to return to Herod, the magi left for their own country by another way," (Matthew 2:1-12, NASB, Holy Bible),

"Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city in Galilee called Nazareth, ²⁷ to a virgin ^[r]engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the ^[s]descendants of David; and the virgin’s name was ^[t]Mary. ²⁸ And coming in, he said to her, “Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you.” ²⁹ But she was very perplexed at this statement, and kept pondering what kind of salutation this was. ³⁰ The angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; for you have found favor with God. ³¹ And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name Him Jesus. ³² He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David; ³³ and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and His kingdom will have no end.” ³⁴ Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I ^[x]am a virgin?” ³⁵ The angel answered and said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; and for that reason the holy Child shall be called the Son of God. ³⁶ And behold, even your relative Elizabeth has also conceived a son in her old age; and she who was called barren is now in her sixth month. ³⁷ For ^[nothing will be impossible with God.” ³⁸ And Mary said, “Behold, the bondslave of the Lord; may it be done to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her," (Luke 1:26-38, NASB, Holy Bible),

"Now at this time Mary arose and went in a hurry to the hill country, to a city of Judah, ⁴⁰ and entered the house of Zacharias and greeted Elizabeth. ⁴¹ When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb; and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. ⁴² And she cried out with a loud voice and said, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! ⁴³ And ^[ad]how has it happened to me, that the mother of my Lord would come to me? ⁴⁴ For behold, when the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby leaped in my womb for joy. ⁴⁵ And blessed is she who ^[ae]believed that there would be a fulfillment of what had been spoken to her ^[af]by the Lord.”

The Magnificat

⁴⁶ And Mary said:

“My soul ^[ag]exalts the Lord,
⁴⁷ And my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior.
⁴⁸ “For He has had regard for the humble state of His bondslave;
For behold, from this time on all generations will count me blessed.
⁴⁹ “For the Mighty One has done great things for me;
And holy is His name.
⁵⁰ “And His mercy is upon generation after generation
Toward those who fear Him.
⁵¹ “He has done ^[aj]mighty deeds with His arm;
He has scattered those who were proud in the thoughts of their heart.
⁵² “He has brought down rulers from their thrones,
And has exalted those who were humble.
⁵³ “He has filled the hungry with good things;
And sent away the rich empty-handed.
⁵⁴ “He has given help to Israel His servant,
In remembrance of His mercy,
⁵⁵ As He spoke to our fathers,
To Abraham and his descendants forever.”

⁵⁶ And Mary stayed with her about three months, and then returned to her home," (Luke 1:39-56),

"Now in those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus, that a census be taken of all ^[a]the inhabited earth. ² This was the first census taken while Quirinius was governor of Syria. ³ And everyone was on his way to register for the census, each to his own city. ⁴ Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the city of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and family of David, ⁵ in order to register along with Mary, who was engaged to him, and was with child. ⁶ While they were there, the days were completed for her to give birth. ⁷ And she gave birth to her firstborn son; and she wrapped Him in cloths, and laid Him in a ^[d]manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.

⁸ In the same region there were some shepherds staying out in the fields and keeping watch over their flock by night. ⁹ And an angel of the Lord suddenly stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them; and they were terribly frightened. ¹⁰ But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all the people; ¹¹ for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is ^[e]Christ the Lord. ¹² This will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a ^[f]manger.” ¹³ And suddenly there appeared with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying,

¹⁴ “Glory to God in the highest,
And on earth peace among men ^[g]with whom He is pleased.”

¹⁵ When the angels had gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds began saying to one another, “Let us go straight to Bethlehem then, and see this thing that has happened which the Lord has made known to us.” ¹⁶ So they came in a hurry and found their way to Mary and Joseph, and the baby as He lay in the ^[h]manger. ¹⁷ When they had seen this, they made known the statement which had been told them about this Child. ¹⁸ And all who heard it wondered at the things which were told them by the shepherds. ¹⁹ But Mary treasured all these things, pondering them in her heart. ²⁰ The shepherds went back, glorifying and praising God for all that they had heard and seen, just as had been told them." (Luke 2:1-20, NASB, Holy Bible), and 

"The Deity of Jesus Christ

1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. ^2 [a]He was in the beginning with God. ³ All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being. ⁴ In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men. ⁵ The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not ^[b]comprehend it.  There was the true Light ^[g]which, coming into the world, enlightens every man. ¹⁰ He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. ¹¹ He came to His own, and those who were His own did not receive Him. ¹² But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name, ¹³ who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God [Born Again, John Chapter 3). ⁴ And the Word became flesh (body, see 1 John 4:1-3), and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten [not made, begotten meant "come forth from" or "sent", see John 3:16] from the Father, full of grace and truth. ¹⁵ John *testified about Him and cried out, saying, “This was He of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me ^[m]has a higher rank than I, for He existed before me.’” ¹⁶ For of His fullness ^[n]we have all received, and ^[o]grace upon grace. ¹⁷ For the Law was given through Moses; grace and truth ^[p]were realized through Jesus Christ. ¹⁸ No one has seen God at any time; the only begotten God who is in the bosom of the Father, He has explained Him." (John 1:1-4, 9-13, 14-18). 

From the First Advent turn to the Return of Christ chapters, "But immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken.  And then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky with power and great glory.

³¹ And He will send forth His angels with a great trumpet and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of the sky to the other," (Matthew 24:29-41),

"The Coming of Christ. ¹¹ And I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse, and He who sat on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and wages war. ¹² His eyes are a flame of fire, and on His head are many diadems; and He has a name written on Him which no one knows except Himself. ¹³ He is clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God. ¹⁴ And the armies which are in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, were following Him on white horses. ¹⁵ From His mouth comes a sharp sword, so that with it He may strike down the nations, and He will rule them with a rod of iron; and He treads the wine press of the fierce wrath of God, the Almighty. ¹⁶ And on His robe and on His thigh He has a name written, “KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS," (Revelation 19:11-16),

"⁵ For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the [second] coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep (died, they shall be raised from dead first). ¹⁶ For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. ¹⁷ Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord. ¹⁸ Therefore comfort one another with these words," (1 Thessalonians 4:15-17),

" Then I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was given to them. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of ^[b]their testimony of Jesus and because of the word of God, and those who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received the mark on their forehead and on their hand; and they came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. ⁵ The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were completed. This is the first resurrection. ⁶ Blessed and holy is the one who has a part in the first resurrection; over these the second death has no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with Him for a thousand years," (Revelation 20:4-6),

"Second Coming Foretold. ²² And He said to the disciples, “The days will come when you will long to see one of the days of the Son of Man, and you will not see it. ²³ They will say to you, ‘Look there! Look here!’ Do not go away, and do not run after them. ²⁴ For just like the lightning, when it flashes out of one part of the sky, shines to the other part of the sky, so will the Son of Man be in His day. ²⁵ But first He must suffer many things and be rejected by this generation. ²⁶ And just as it happened in the days of Noah, so it will be also in the days of the Son of Man: ²⁷ they were eating, they were drinking, they were marrying, they were being given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all. ^28 [r]It was the same as happened in the days of Lot: they were eating, they were drinking, they were buying, they were selling, they were planting, they were building; ²⁹ but on the day that Lot went out from Sodom it rained fire and ^[s]brimstone from heaven and destroyed them all. ³⁰ It will be ^[t]just the same on the day that the Son of Man is revealed. ³¹ On that day, the one who is on the housetop and whose goods are in the house must not go down to take them out; and likewise the one who is in the field must not turn back. ³² Remember Lot’s wife. ³³ Whoever seeks to keep his ^[u]life will lose it, and whoever loses his life will preserve it. ³⁴ I tell you, on that night there will be two in one bed; one will be taken and the other will be left. ³⁵ There will be two women grinding at the same place; one will be taken and the other will be left. ³⁶ [^[v]Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other will be left.”]

³⁷ And answering they *said to Him, “Where, Lord?” And He said to them,

“Where the body is, there also the vultures will be gathered," (Luke 17:22-37),

"Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete, without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ," (1 Thessalonians 5:23), 

"And after He had said these things, He was lifted up while they were looking on, and a cloud received Him out of their sight. And as they were gazing intently into the sky while He was going, behold, two men in white clothing stood beside them. They also said, "Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into the sky? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in just the same way as you have watched Him go into heaven," (Acts 1:9-11), "

"BEHOLD, HE IS COMING WITH THE CLOUDS, and every eye will see Him, even those who pierced Him; and all the tribes of the earth will mourn over Him. So it is to be. Amen," (Revelation 1:7), 

"Therefore be on the alert, for you do not know which day your Lord is coming," (Matthew 24:42), 

"looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus," (Titus 2:13), 

"For the Son of Man is going to come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and WILL THEN REPAY EVERY MAN ACCORDING TO HIS DEEDS," (Matthew 16:27), "

"But when the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on His glorious throne," (Matthew 25:31), 

"For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will also be ashamed of him when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels," (Mark 8:38), 

"For our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ," (Philippians 3:20),

"so also Christ died once for all time as a sacrifice to take away the sins of many people. He will come again, not to deal with our sins, but to bring salvation to all who are eagerly waiting for him," (Hebrews 9;28),

"And now the prize awaits me--the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give me on the day of his return. And the prize is not just for me but for all who eagerly look forward to his appearing," (2 Timothy 4:8),

"The Coming Day of the Lord.³ Know this first of all, that in the last days mockers will come with their mocking, following after their own lusts, ⁴ and saying, “Where is the promise of His coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all continues just as it was from the beginning of creation.” ⁵ For ^[a]when they maintain this, it escapes their notice that by the word of God the heavens existed long ago and the earth was formed out of water and by water, ⁶ through which the world at that time was destroyed, being flooded with water. ⁷ But by His word the present heavens and earth are being reserved for fire, kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men.⁸ But do not let this one fact escape your notice, beloved, that with the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years like one day. ⁹ The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance. A New Heaven and Earth. ¹⁰ But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, in which the heavens will pass away with a roar and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and the earth and ^[b]its works will be ^[c]burned up.¹¹ Since all these things are to be destroyed in this way, what sort of people ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, ¹² looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be destroyed by burning, and the elements will melt with intense heat! ¹³ But according to His promise we are looking for new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness dwells.¹⁴ Therefore, beloved, since you look for these things, be diligent to be found by Him in peace, spotless and blameless, ¹⁵ and regard the patience of our Lord as salvation; just as also our beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given him, wrote to you, ¹⁶ as also in all his letters, speaking in them of these things, in which are some things hard to understand, which the untaught and unstable distort, as they do also the rest of the Scriptures, to their own destruction. ¹⁷ You therefore, beloved, knowing this beforehand, be on your guard so that you are not carried away by the error of unprincipled men and fall from your own steadfastness, ¹⁸ but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory, both now and to the day of eternity. Amen," (2 Peter 3:3-18),

"Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth passed away, and there is no longer any sea. ² And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, made ready as a bride adorned for her husband. ³ And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He will dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them, ⁴ and He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away.”⁵ And He who sits on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” And He *said, “Write, for these words are faithful and true.” ⁶ Then He said to me, “^[c]It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give to the one who thirsts from the spring of the water of life without cost. ⁷ He who overcomes will inherit these things, and I will be his God and he will be My son. ⁸ But for the cowardly and ^[d]unbelieving and abominable and murderers and immoral persons and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars, their part will be in the lake that burns with fire and ^[e]brimstone, which is the second death.”⁹ Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls ^[f]full of the seven last plagues came and spoke with me, saying, “Come here, I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb.”The New Jerusalem ¹⁰ And he carried me away ^[g]in the Spirit to a great and high mountain, and showed me the holy city, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, ¹¹ having the glory of God. Her ^[h]brilliance was like a very costly stone, as a stone of crystal-clear jasper. ^12 [i]It had a great and high wall, ^[j]with twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels; and names were written on them, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the sons of Israel. ¹³ There were three gates on the east and three gates on the north and three gates on the south and three gates on the west. ¹⁴ And the wall of the city had twelve foundation stones, and on them were the twelve names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.¹⁵ The one who spoke with me had a gold measuring rod to measure the city, and its gates and its wall. ¹⁶ The city is laid out as a square, and its length is as great as the width; and he measured the city with the ^[l]rod, fifteen hundred miles; its length and width and height are equal. ¹⁷ And he measured its wall, seventy-two yards, according to human ^[o]measurements, which are also angelic measurements. ¹⁸ The material of the wall was jasper; and the city was pure gold, like ^[p]clear glass. ¹⁹ The foundation stones of the city wall were adorned with every kind of precious stone. The first foundation stone was jasper; the second, sapphire; the third, chalcedony; the fourth, emerald; ²⁰ the fifth, sardonyx; the sixth, sardius; the seventh, chrysolite; the eighth, beryl; the ninth, topaz; the tenth, chrysoprase; the eleventh, jacinth; the twelfth, amethyst. ²¹ And the twelve gates were twelve pearls; each one of the gates was a single pearl. And the street of the city was pure gold, like transparent glass. ²² I saw no temple in it, for the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. ²³ And the city has no need of the sun or of the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God has illumined it, and its lamp is the Lamb. ²⁴ The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth ^[s]will bring their glory into it. ²⁵ In the daytime (for there will be no night there) its gates will never be closed; ²⁶ and they will bring the glory and the honor of the nations into it; ²⁷ and nothing unclean, and no one who practices abomination and lying, shall ever come into it, but only those ^[whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life," (Revelation 21:1-26),  and, 

"The Final Message

¹⁰ And he *said to me, “Do not seal up the words of the prophecy of this book, for the time is near. ¹¹ Let the one who does wrong, still do wrong; and the one who is filthy, still be filthy; and let the one who is righteous, still practice righteousness; and the one who is holy, still keep himself holy.”

¹² “Behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to render to every man according to what he has done. ¹³ I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.”

¹⁴ Blessed are those who wash their robes, so that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter by the gates into the city. ¹⁵ Outside are the dogs and the sorcerers and the immoral persons and the murderers and the idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices lying.

¹⁶ “I, Jesus, have sent My angel to testify to you these things for the churches. I am the root and the descendant of David, the bright morning star.”

¹⁷ The Spirit and the bride say, “Come.” And let the one who hears say, “Come.” And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who wishes take the water of life without cost.

¹⁸ I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues which are written in this book; ¹⁹ and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his part from the tree of life and from the holy city, which are written in this book.

²⁰ He who testifies to these things says, “Yes, I am coming quickly.” Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.

²¹ The grace of the Lord Jesus be with ^]all. Amen." (Revelation 22:10-21). 
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X X XTo be saved, to gain eternal life, to have your robes washed, to go to heaven, to enter the New Jerusalem, and be written in Lamb's (Jesus') Book of Life, you must:

1. Repent of your sins, wicked deeds, and the evils in your heart. Ask Jesus Christ who died for all of these on cross to forgive you all your sins. 
2. Confess Jesus as Lord God (Jehovah God of Israel, Christos Kyrion, I AM that I AM), Savior, Christ (Messiah), and believe in Him in your heart, Believe in Your Heart He died for your sins on cross and rose from dead by the power of God. "Because if you acknowledge and confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord [recognizing His power, authority, majesty, and person as God], and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart a person believes [in Christ as Savior] resulting in his justification [that is, being made righteous—being freed of the guilt of sin and made acceptable to God]; and with the mouth he acknowledges and confesses [his faith openly], resulting in and confirming [his] salvation.  (Romans 10:9-10). 
3. Keep confessing and believing in Jesus Christ to the end (death or His Return on the Clouds), standing firm in your faith, hope, and trust in Jesus, and know Him in personal relationship (Revelation 14:12, Matthew 24:13, John 17:3, see my post to Know Christ). 
4. Believe that Jesus is part of The Holy Trinity, One God in Three Persons who is The Father, Son (Jesus Christ), and Holy Spirit. (see Matthew 28:19, John 10:30, John 17:20-22, John 20:20-22, see my posts on the Holy Trinity, type Trinity in search). He is One God, in Three Persons. Jesus is One Essence with Father. The Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father and Son. (John 15:26, John 14:26, John 20:21-22). 

Verses: Matthew 24:13, John 6:40, 1 John 4:15, John 3:16-18, Romans 10:9-10, Matthew 10:32-33, John 17:3. 

Believe. X X X

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With the early chapters of Luke and Matthew we contemplate and give thanks for Christ's First Advent, that He came as child, born into this world so that He could bear the sins of mankind (Romans 5:6-11, 1 John 2:1-9, 1 Peter 2:24), and then prepare your heart and spirit in presence of Holy Spirit for the Return of Christ as you read the passages pertaining to His Second Coming. This can be a time to repent even, to ask Jesus as New Year is about to dawn to be made spiritually ready for Christ's Return, "Behold, I am coming like a thief. Blessed is he who stays awake and who keeps his clothes [that is, stays spiritually ready for the Lord’s return], so that he will not be naked—spiritually unprepared—and men will not see his shame." (Revelation 16:15 AMP Holy Bible).  While we remember Christ's Birth, it is helpful to participate in the Communion, and remember Christ's Death, for the Apostle Paul said, "For every time you eat this bread and drink this cup, you are announcing the Lord's death until he comes again." (1 Corinthians 11:26). Then we may have in our hearts and minds during Advent the Birth, Death, Resurrection, Ascension, and Return of our Lord Jesus Christ! We can give thanks with songs of joy, hymns of "peace on earth, and goodwill towards men," for the First Advent, take Communion to remember the Sacrifice and death of Christ on cross for our sins, let His Resurrection power revive us as It raised Him from dead and as we shall be raised when He returns on clouds of heaven! Adventus is an advantageous time of year to remember and to look forward and prepare spiritually for the Return of Christ! Let us look longingly and with excited anticipation the Great Appearing of our God and Savior Jesus Christ on Clouds of Glory Amen! 

I believe we need to be ready, for Christ as He said is "Coming Soon," and at any moment He may come as thief in night. May we not be caught "naked" (spiritually unprepared, see Revelation 16:15 AMP Bible), and may we instead be an eager Bride ready to receive the Bridegroom Jesus Christ! Let's make This Advent more than Christmas holly, may we cry, "Holy, Holy, Holy! Is the Lord God Almighty, Who Was and Is and Is to Come!" For Jesus is returning soon, and we should be elated, and singing "joy to world," and "hallelujah!". For on the First Advent Jesus was in Crib (Manger), and the coming Second Advent He shall come on Clouds of Glory! Amen.