Homily, 12-4-23; Monday of the 1st Week of Advent:
Although we associate Advent with preparation for celebrating Jesus’ first coming at Christmas, in the beginning of Advent we think about preparing for His return, His second coming. But how will things be when He returns? Many Protestants believe in the idea of millennialism, that there will be an extended time, a thousand years, of great peace on earth in which the whole world has come to believe in Christ.
Postmillennialists believe that Jesus will return after this period. This concept was in vogue when Christianity was growing and thriving across the world. But now with much of the world becoming less Christian and less religious, it has fallen out of favor. If the world has to be completely Christian before Jesus returns, it is hard to believe He would ever return. And so, many now believe in premillennialism, that Jesus will come again followed by an extended period of peace. And this has led to belief in the concept of the Rapture which was the topic of my article in yesterday’s bulletin.
The people who believe in the Rapture are premillennialists. They contend that the believers will be taken from the earth and Jesus will subject the rest to a tribulation. After the tribulation, Jesus will come again and only then there will there be a thousand years of earthly peace before the end of the world as we know it.
The Church rejects belief in millennialism. The Church teaches that there will be a time of tribulation followed by Jesus’ return when all the dead will be resurrected and we will all face Final Judgement. Then there will be the end of the world as we know it. And then there will be a new heaven and a new earth for those who have attained their eternal salvation. And it is in this context that we can consider today’s passage from the prophet Isaiah.
“The mountain of the LORD’s house shall be established as the highest mountain and raised above the hills.” This can be interpreted as the new heavenly kingdom where there will be no war where all will walk in God’s paths. True peace will not be found on our current earth. It will only be found when we climb the mountain of the Lord in our resurrected bodies. This is the hope we have for what is in store for us. This is why we prepare. This is why we stay vigilant, so that we will enter Heaven with our resurrected body when Jesus comes again.