December 7
Revelation 1:7-8
7 “Look, he is coming with the clouds,”
and “every eye will see him,
even those who pierced him”;
and all peoples on earth “will mourn because of him.”
So shall it be! Amen.
8 “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty.”
Embracing Hope
by Elizabeth Shively, Ph.D.
Advent is a season of hope, when the Church anticipates Christ’s Second Coming. While we prefer to talk about the First Coming—the tame and tangible image of a mother and her baby—this season invites us to reflect on the hope that shapes our living, our worship, and our mission.
Hope is on display in Revelation 1:7-8. These verses follow the opening lines of the book, which starts with a greeting (vv. 1-3) and moves to a hymn of redemption (vv.4-6). The hymn of redemption celebrates how Christ freed us from sin, once for all, and transformed us into priests of God’s kingdom. It’s a kingdom unlike any other, established not by brute force but by Christ’s self-sacrificial love. Yet this image is opaque because it doesn’t match our current experience. The darkness of Advent reminds us of our longing to see clearly Jesus as He is, ourselves as He’s made us, and the world as it should be.
It’s no wonder that John says, “Pay attention!” to introduce another hymn, the hymn of hope that we reflect on today (Rev. 1:7). This hymn builds the “kingdom” theme. It proclaims that Christ will come with the clouds, echoing Daniel 7:13-14, where “one like a son of man” comes to deliver an everlasting kingdom to God’s suffering people. Jesus, the Son of Man, once came hiddenly and humbly to give us a taste of God’s kingdom; but He’ll come again publicly and powerfully, to restore justice and give us the kingdom’s fullness.
Human voices affirm this hope with a “Yes!” and “Amen!” Then the divine voice affirms it with a proclamation of sovereignty (Rev 1:8). God speaks only twice in Revelation, once here at the beginning and once (as Christ) at the end (Rev. 22:13). Both times, God confirms the certainty of Christ’s return by calling Himself the Alpha and Omega, the eternal Lord who encompasses creation and time and everything in between.
The in-between is where we live, where apocalyptic writings like Revelation reveal a reality beyond what we can see. While we witness evil, sin, violence, and disease, the hymn of hope assures us that Christ is coming to set aright a world gone awry. This perspective doesn’t dismiss our current pain but offers a faithful reframing by reminding us that the forces of evil have no lasting power because God has fixed their end. As Samwise asks in Tolkien’s The Return of the King, “Is everything sad going to come untrue?” Yes, the King is coming!
C.S. Lewis, in Mere Christianity, writes that hope is a theological virtue, and “this means that a continual looking forward to the eternal world is not (as some modern people think) a form of escapism or wishful thinking, but one of the things a Christian is meant to do” (Chapter 3, book 10). This Advent season, let’s embrace the virtue of hope, echoing our own “Yes!” and “Amen!” as we anticipate Christ’s return.
About the Author
Elizabeth Shively, Ph.D.
Elizabeth E. Shively is professor of Christian Scriptures at Baylor University’s George W. Truett Theological Seminary. Before coming to Truett, Dr. Shively taught New Testament at the University of St Andrews in Scotland. A trained musician, Dr. Shively's career pivoted after taking a summer Greek course which strengthened a desire to serve the Church. Prior to doctoral studies, she was on the pastoral staff of Park Street Church in Boston. There, she learned to connect biblical interpretation more concretely to life and ministry. Dr Shively's ministerial service prompted her study of the New Testament with a secondary concentration in Homiletics during her doctoral studies, deeply shaping her commitment to research-led teaching in service to the church. At Truett, she is thrilled to help students discover for themselves the wonder, depth, and truth of God's Word, and to make the kind of text-to-life-and-ministry connections that were so meaningful to her.
Dr. Shively is co-creator and editor of the blog website Diegesis in Mind and the accompanying monograph series, Diegesis in Mind: Cognitive Disciplines and Ancient Narrative in Dialogue with Brill/Bonn University Press. She is also co-editor for the Routledge Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Biblical Criticism monograph series. She is a member of several academic societies, and, given her commitment to contribute to the academy, church, and society, Dr. Shively frequently preaches and teaches in churches and conference settings. Dr. Shively and her husband, Todd, have two adult children, Evan and Jack. In her spare time, she enjoys cooking, singing, running, CrossFit-ting, and trying to improve her golf game.