The entirety of scripture is the story of Advent. The term from which we get the word advent is the Latin word “adventus”, which means a “coming or arrival”. Children often think of Advent as waiting on the excitement of Christmas morning. And while that can be technically true, as we could be awaiting any number of people or events to arrive, the real meaning of Advent starts at the very beginning. Well not quite the beginning, but really close to it. Adam and Eve had directly disobeyed God and they ran. This symbolized and epitomized the broken relationship between man and God that had just occurred. Sin had entered the world through Adam and created a chasm that Adam, Eve, nor any of us could bridge. Sin also brought separation between people as Adam blamed Eve and Eve blamed the serpent. The damage of sin was, and still is, complete in our lives. But there in the midst of creation being ruined, permanently damaged by pride and disobedience, God offered hope. It’s the first appearance of the gospel in scripture just a little bit into the story. Someday, eventually, a descendant will have a clash with the serpent. The serpent will get a bite in, but it won’t be the end of the story, as the serpent will face a much greater wound. By what we now know, this is an allusion to the cross. Adam & Eve 4
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