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One of my best friends in seminary was a guy named Patrick who grew up in small town Mississippi. Patrick is loud, charismatic, and always funny, especially when telling stories about his childhood. He had lots of good stories, but the best ones were about his grandmother. I don’t remember exactly, but his grandmother was Southern Baptist or Pentecostal. Patrick loved to tell us about riding in the car with her when he was a kid. She always let him ride in the front seat and she never wore her seatbelt. But, she wouldn’t start driving until Patrick had his seatbelt buckled. And every time, she would look over at him and say with great earnest, “Patrick, you better put your seatbelt on just in case. If the Rapture happens, I will be taken up to Jesus and this car will crash.”
This story sounds terrible. But I promise, the way Patrick delivered it always got eye rolls and lots of laughter. Patrick’s grandma was implying that “the Rapture” could happen at any unexpected moment. And for some reason, she seemed to believe that she would be taken and 13 year old Patrick would not.
It is a common misconception that the Second Coming will result in some kind of cosmic upheaval when the righteous will be snatched up into some kind of ethereal heaven leaving those who are left behind to deal with chaos and disruption. This way of thinking was sensationalized in the Left Behind franchise thirty years ago; with a book series, movies, and even a video game.
This way of thinking is antithetical to scripture. It springs from literal readings of the text which don’t take into consideration the context of the time in which it was written, historical events, or the genre of apocalyptic writings.
In short, apocalyptic literature uses metaphor to pull back the curtain on divine reality. It speaks truth through symbols. It can be fun to decipher the meaning of the symbols, like the Friday Bible Study group did with the Book of Revelation last spring. But ultimately, the point isn’t to decode the imagery, but to let it move us, to open our imagination, strengthen our courage, and remind us that even when the world shakes, God’s love still holds everything together.
Today’s reading from Matthew’s gospel is apocalyptic literature. It is not about an unknown future in which the righteous will be snatched bodily into the sky. “One will be taken and one will be left” refers to the devastation and violence of the Jewish Uprising in 70 CE and the Roman forces retaliating with brute strength and violence. Written at the end of the 1st century, after the fall of Jerusalem in 70 CE, the author of this gospel intended this as a prophecy foretelling the fall of the great city. Does that make sense? This would be like someone writing historical fiction about WWII today and prophesying about the Cold War in its pages. The author was looking back on the fall of the great city and its utter destruction in 70 CE as they wrote about the stories of Jesus from 50 years prior.
The Second Coming of Christ is Jesus coming back to rule and reign on earth, not to take us away. The Second Coming of Christ is “thy kingdom come on earth as it is in heaven.” We say it every week. We say it every time we pray Hour by Hour.
This isn’t a great mystery. It is the simplicity stated in the Lord’s Prayer. Heaven is coming to earth. And when heaven touches earth, everything changes.
Advent begins with apocalyptic words not to frighten but to wake us up. That is the Advent Awakening. Jesus’ “Keep awake” (Matt 24:42) and Isaiah’s “Come, let us walk in the light of the Lord” (Isa 2:5) are invitations to live alertly in God’s story. Advent is about expectant participation, not passive waiting.
In today’s words from the Prophet Isaiah, he casts a vision of a Mountain of Peace. Isaiah imagines Jerusalem lifted up, not in triumph, but rather as a center of peace. The nations stream towards God’s teaching and swords become plowshares. This vision is not an escape from this world. It is God’s creation being healed. The prophets don’t foresee heaven replacing earth.
Again, this is not about escaping this world and going somewhere else up in the clouds with God and the angels playing harps. That is not what scripture tells us.
The prophets foresee heaven renewing earth, God’s justice and peace filling the earth. The old creation made new.
Advent readiness means living now in the shape of God’s future. That’s what Doyt was preaching about last Sunday when he talked about God remembering forward.
Jesus describes the Son of Man coming when least expected. It isn’t rapture, but revelation, the unveiling of what’s already true. Jesus is talking about God’s reign drawing near. This is a paradox, the “now” and “not-yet” of God’s Kingdom. While we await the coming of heaven on earth, we catch glimpses of it. Advent urges us to “Keep Awake!” Pay attention!
Notice what is right in front of you and live as if God’s Kingdom is right here, right now. “Keeping awake” means living as citizens of the world that is coming, not asleep in the world that is passing.
As N.T. Wright talks about in his book, Surprised by Hope, heaven and earth are overlapping dimensions of one reality.
The Second Coming completes what began with the Incarnation and was sealed at the Resurrection, God dwelling with creation again. The Christian hope is not evacuation but resurrection. If you want an image for this, imagine “the veil lifts, and heaven touches earth.” This is the moment Isaiah foresaw, the world transformed by divine presence.
As we so often say, the neighborhood church is the hope of the world, especially in a time of expectant waiting. Epiphany exists as a signpost, pointing toward the renewed creation. When we worship God, it is heaven and earth meeting. It is a preview of what will be.
Every act of mercy, justice, reconciliation, and beauty becomes a thin place where heaven’s light breaks through. The church is not a waiting room for heaven, but a workshop of new creation.
“Okay, what do we do with this?” You might be wondering. Keep awake! Pray as if you believe it to be so, “thy kingdom come on earth as it is in heaven.” Practice reconciliation and peace; beat your “swords” into “plowshares” in your daily life. Attend to wonder and beauty; for creation itself is a sacrament of renewal.
The Advent Season is a rehearsal for the resurrection, with its practices and disciplines shaping us into people ready to receive God’s touch. When heaven touches earth, everything changes.
As we close, I want to invite you to do something a little bit risky. Close your eyes for a moment if you’re comfortable or fix your gaze on the stained glass or the altar and imagine with me: imagine…Isaiah’s mountain as a center of peace, imagine…The act of receiving communion, imagine…Every tender moment of love, The feeling when you are in this space worshipping God with your community, This is heaven brushing earth. As you open your eyes, consider the Second Coming that will finish what began in Christ’s birth, heaven fully joined to earth, God all in all. Here. Present. With us.
When heaven touches earth, everything changes.
And God is still touching the world, through your hands, your prayers, your courage, your love. Go and be signposts of the new creation, until every corner of this earth shines with heaven’s light.