From Bethlehem to Glory: An Advent Series
[NOTE: During the last Advent Mom and I observed together before her death, we added one more candle to our Advent celebration. The candle of “His Glorious Return” represented the hope Christ‑followers have of Christ’s glorious return—the Second Coming.]
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. Yes, amen. – Revelation 1:7
Reflection
Advent does not end at the manger. It stretches forward, beyond Bethlehem, beyond the cross, beyond the empty tomb, and toward the promised return of Christ in glory. The sixth flame reminds us that the story of redemption is still unfolding. The Child who came in humility will come again in majesty.
The first Advent was quiet, hidden, and small. The second Advent will be unmistakable. The One who once slept in a manger will return with the trumpet call of God. The Savior who came to bear our sin will come again to banish sin forever. The King who wore a crown of thorns will return wearing the crown of all creation.
This final flame burns with hope. Not wishful thinking, but the confident expectation that Christ will finish what He began. His return is not a distant idea. It is the anchor of Christian hope, the promise that every tear will be wiped away and there will be no more sorrow.
Lo! He Comes with Clouds Descending
Charles Wesley’s hymn Lo! He Comes with Clouds Descending gives voice to this triumphant hope. With soaring imagery, it lifts our eyes from the manger to the sky, reminding us that the story of Christ is not complete until He comes again.
Lo! He comes with clouds descending,
Once for favored sinners slain;
Thousand, thousand saints attending,
Swell the triumph of His train:
Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah!
God appears on earth to reign.
Yea, Amen! let all adore Thee,
High on Thine eternal throne;
Savior, take the power and glory,
Claim the kingdom for Thine own;
O come quickly! O come quickly!
O come quickly!
Everlasting God, come down!
The hymn opens with the powerful line: “Lo! He comes with clouds descending…”
In these words, we hear the echo of Scripture’s promise—the same Jesus who ascended to Heaven will return in glory. The hymn envisions the moment when every eye will see Him, when the nations will behold the King they long ignored, and when the redeemed will lift their voices in unending praise.
Another line captures the joy of the redeemed: “God appears on earth to reign.”
This is the heartbeat of the sixth flame. Christ will return not as a suffering servant, but as the reigning King. Not to be rejected, but to be revealed. Not to bear sin, but to bring salvation in its fullness.
When we sing this hymn, we join the church across centuries in longing for the day when faith becomes sight and hope becomes reality.
Flame Imagery
The sixth flame of Advent burns with a different kind of light—one that looks forward rather than back. It is the flame of expectation, the flame of promise, the flame of glory yet to come.
This flame does not flicker with uncertainty. It burns with the certainty of God’s Word. It is the light that reminds us that history is moving toward a glorious conclusion. It is the radiance of Christ’s promised return shining into our present moment.
Lighting this final candle is a declaration: Christ will come again. The King will return. The story is not over.
Each glow of this flame reminds us that our hope is not rooted in this world’s stability but in Christ’s sovereignty. His return is the light that guides us through suffering, strengthens us in waiting, and steadies us in grief.
Carrying the Flame
As you reflect on Christ’s glorious return, consider where you need this hope to shine most brightly.
Where do you long for His return to break in?
- Into a place of grief where you long for resurrection
- Into a season of waiting where you need endurance
- Into a world marked by injustice where you long for His reign
- Into your own heart where you yearn for renewal
- Into the ache of missing loved ones who now rest in His presence
Let the flame of His return remind you that every sorrow will be healed, every injustice overturned, every broken thing restored. Christ will return, and when He does, all things will be made new.
This hope is not escapism. It is the fuel that empowers faithfulness. It is the promise that strengthens weary hearts. It is the assurance that death does not have the final word.
The Flame’s Testimony
The sixth flame proclaims the future of the gospel: Christ has come. Christ is here. Christ will come again.
This is the hope that carried the early church. This is the hope that sustained the saints. This is the hope that comforts us in our grief and strengthens us in our waiting.
The sixth flame declares that the King who came in humility will return in glory, and we will be with Him forever.
Prayer
Father, thank You for the promise of Christ’s glorious return. As we light this final flame, fill our hearts with hope that looks beyond this world to the day when Jesus will come again. Strengthen us as we wait. Comfort us in our grief. Anchor us in Your promise that we will be raised with Christ and made new. Let this flame burn brightly in our lives until the day we see Him face to face. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
Read the Introduction: From Bethlehem to Glory: An Advent Series
Read: The First Flame: Hope in Darkness
Read: The Second Flame: Peace in the Turmoil
Read: The Third Flame: Joy to the World
Read: The Fourth Flame: Love Divine
Read: The Fifth Flame: Christ the Savior is Born
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