A Merry Christmas for the Future
Merry Christmas from Mill House Ministries!
Many people have written about the first Christmas and how Jesus being born of a virgin came to earth to rescue us from our sins. But what about the future Christmas? For the sake of the discussion let us call it, “Second Christmas”. This Christmas has not happened, but will happen one day. I want to talk about a day when followers of Jesus Christ from all of human history will be able to be with Jesus and celebrate in memorial what He did with His humble birth.
Second Christmas will happen the first year of the thousand-year reign of Jesus in Jerusalem.
Revelation 20:1-6 “Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, holding the key of the abyss and a great chain in his hand. 2 And he laid hold of the dragon, the serpent of old, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years; 3 and he threw him into the abyss, and shut it and sealed it over him, so that he would not deceive the nations any longer, until the thousand years were completed; after these things he must be released for a short time. 4 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 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.”
This thousand-year reign in the scholarly world has been called the “Millennium Reign”. For those who doubt it will happen, I would encourage you to follow our study on Eschatology 101.
Second Christmas will happen the first year after Satan is imprisoned. This year, Jesus will reign a very real and physical reign in Jerusalem. A perfect government from a perfect King and God. But what happens to Christmas? As you all know, there is undoubtedly traditions in Christmas today that have no Biblical basis and do not point to Christ. However, I think there is still room for Christmas. The Feast of Dedication (Hannukah) was a feast which celebrated what God did for the Jewish people. We know from the New Testament that Jesus celebrated the festival.
John 10:22-23 “At that time the Feast of the Dedication took place at Jerusalem; 23 it was winter, and Jesus was walking in the temple in the portico of Solomon.”
This points to God in His sovereignty has created the free will in man to find new Biblical ways to celebrate what God has done in their life. Hannukah is a celebration of lights, ironically it ends right before Christmas which is the ultimate celebration of light coming to man.
John 1:4-5 “In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men. 5 The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.”
Just look at what the three wise men brought Jesus. No one told them to bring those specific gifts and yet they came and worshiped Him with the free will provided by God.
Matthew 2:11 “After coming into the house they saw the Child with Mary His mother; and they fell to the ground and worshiped Him. Then, opening their treasures, they presented to Him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.”
It is clear that God has given us the freedom to worship Him!
There are arguments that Christmas is even celebrated on the wrong day, and that could very well be the case. However, I will let the Lord Jesus identify the day of His official arrival in the manger. Nevertheless, Christmas being the resounding end of the Hanukkah season exclaims the light of the world has arrived to man. In the thousand years, we will have the light of man once again living physically with us. Christ will once again have rescued the world. This time instead of sin on the individual level, God will rescue in a very different way.
Only a few months later, Jesus Christ and us, will celebrate together the actions He has done. We will celebrate the light of the world coming down and living with man once again. Dare I say, the Christmas we celebrate now is only a shadow of the amazing Christmas we will celebrate in the future. But what does that mean for us today? Well take a moment and reflect on Christmas and recognize how it points to a future with Christ. Just look at the following two carols and see how they are pointing not to the present Christmas, but to the Second Christmas.
Joy to the world, the Lord is come
Let Earth receive her King
Let every heart prepare Him room
And Heaven and nature sing
And Heaven and nature sing
And Heaven, and Heaven, and nature sing
Joy to the Earth, the Savior reigns
Let all their songs employ
While fields and floods, rocks, hills, and plains
Repeat the sounding joy
Repeat the sounding joy
Repeat, repeat the sounding joy
He rules the world with truth and grace
And makes the nations prove
The glories of His righteousness
And wonders of His love (and wonders of His love)
And wonders of His love (and wonders of His love)
And wonders, wonders of His love
Joy to the world, the Lord is come
Let Earth receive her King
Let every heart prepare Him room
And Heaven and nature sing (and Heaven and nature sing)
And Heaven and nature sing (and Heaven and nature sing)
And Heaven, and Heaven, and nature sing
And Heaven, and Heaven, and nature sing
Joy to the world, the Lord is come
Let Earth receive her King
Let every heart prepare Him room
And Heaven and nature sing (and Heaven and nature sing)
And Heaven and nature sing (and Heaven and nature sing)
And Heaven, and Heaven, and nature sing
And Heaven, and Heaven, and nature sing
And the second carol:
O come, O come, Emmanuel,
And ransom captive Israel,
That mourns in lonely exile here,
Until the Son of God appear.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel.
O come, Thou Rod of Jesse, free
Thine own from Satan's tyranny;
From depths of hell Thy people save,
And give them victory o'er the grave.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel.
O come, Thou Dayspring, from on high,
And cheer us by Thy drawing nigh;
Disperse the gloomy clouds of night,
And death's dark shadows put to flight.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel.
O come, Thou Key of David, come
And open wide our heav'nly home;
Make safe the way that leads on high,
And close the path to misery.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel.
O come, Adonai, Lord of might,
Who to Thy tribes, on Sinai's height,
In ancient times didst give the law
In cloud and majesty and awe.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel.
So while we can have a Merry Christmas today, let us not forget of the coming Christmas and how merry and bright it will be. So from all of us at Mill House Ministries we want to wish you all a very happy and special Merry Christmas. Let us celebrate what God has done and has promised to do.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
JL