Our Sacred Roots: The Priesthood of All Believers

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T he S eason after P entecost

At the Coming of Christ, GodWill Make an End of War and Sin, and Restore His Creation to Himself

The rhythms of time, of all time, will consummate with the coming of Jesus Christ at his return. Christians throughout the ages have yearned for the time when God will consummate his plan of salvation with the revelation of his Son at the end of this age. The darkness and shadow of this tragic human story, the Fall’s dread and ugly curse, the costly punishment for our original foreparents’ and our own willful disobedience – death – will finally be overcome. The glory of God is destined to fill all heaven and earth, and God’s own dear warrior-Son will put all enemies of the Father under his feet. This is our hope and our future! Nothing could be more encouraging to us in the midst of a dark, foreboding, and confused world system than knowing that God the Father has set a time in his own sovereign will to shine his light into every dark crack of this world, and bring an end to this long, hard night of sin and sorrow and death. Truly, as the dawn follows night, so our Lord will surely appear in power and glory to gather his own to himself, to make an end of war and sin, and to restore creation under God’s will. The Season after Pentecost is a season of hope, the hope of a restored earth, a new humanity, and a consummated Kingdom. Only Christ can restore this creation, and we recall and remember this during this season, the season of hope of Christ’s soon return. At the end of this remarkable time of expectation, we celebrate two feast days which underscore the remarkable character of our hope in the soon return of Christ. All Saints Day is our time as believers to remember those martyrs and saints, those heroes of the faith who came before us. It is also a time to especially recall and remember those who gave up their lives for the sake of Christ and the Gospel. We affirm that the Church is the body of Christ, and that the living