Question (2): We have long heard that the Church of Almighty God has already testified to the return of the Lord Jesus. And He is Almighty God! He expresses truths and performs His judgment work of the last days, but the majority of people in religious circles all believe that the Lord will return by descending with the clouds. This is because the Lord Jesus clearly said: “And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory” (Mat 24:30). The Book of Revelation also prophesied: “Behold, he comes with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him” (Rev 1:7). I also maintain the belief that the Lord will return by descending with the clouds to directly take us up into the kingdom of heaven. We refuse to accept the Lord Jesus who does not descend with the clouds. You say that the Lord's return is returning to the flesh and descending in secret. But nobody knows about this. However, the Lord openly descending with the clouds is absolute! That's why we are waiting for the Lord to descend with the clouds and appear openly to take us directly up into the kingdom of heaven. Is our understanding correct or not?
Answer: When it comes to waiting for the Lord to descend with the clouds, we must not rely on man’s notions and imaginations! The Pharisees committed a huge mistake in waiting for the arrival of the Messiah. They precisely used man’s notions and imaginations to measure the Lord Jesus who had already arrived. In the end, they nailed the Lord Jesus to the cross. Is this not a fact? Is waiting for the Lord’s arrival as simple as we think? If the Lord returns and works among mankind like the way the Lord Jesus in the flesh had done, and we don’t recognize Him, then would we also judge and condemn Him as the Pharisees had done and crucify Him once again? Is this a possibility? The Lord Jesus prophesied that He shall return and said many words about it, but you only hold on to the prophecy that the Lord will descend with the clouds and don’t seek or investigate other more important prophecies spoken by the Lord. This makes it easy to walk down the wrong path and be abandoned by the Lord! There is actually not just the “descend with the clouds” prophecy in the Bible. There are also many prophecies like that the Lord will come as a thief and descend secretly. For instance, Revelation 16:15, “Behold, I come as a thief.” Matthew 25:6, “And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom comes; go you out to meet him.” And Revelation 3:20: “Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.” All these prophecies refer to God becoming flesh as the Son of man and descending in secret. “As a thief” means coming quietly, secretly. People won’t know He is God even if they see or hear Him, just as it was back when the Lord Jesus appeared and performed His work. From the outside, the Lord Jesus was just an ordinary Son of man and nobody knew He is God, which is why the Lord Jesus used “as a thief” as an analogy for the Son of man’s appearance and work. This is too befitting! Those who do not love the truth, no matter how God in the flesh speaks or works, or how many truths He expresses, they do not accept. Instead, they treat God in the flesh as a normal person and condemn and abandon Him. That is why the Lord Jesus prophesied that when He returns: “For as the lightning, that lightens out of the one part under heaven, shines to the other part under heaven; so shall also the Son of man be in his day. But first must he suffer many things, and be rejected of this generation” (Luk 17:24-25). Based on the Lord’s prophecy, His return shall be “the coming of the Son of man.” “Son of man” refers to God in the flesh, not the spiritual body of the resurrected Lord Jesus descending with the clouds to openly appear before all people. Why is that the case? Let’s think about it. If it were the spiritual body of the resurrected Lord Jesus descending publicly with the clouds, it would be incredibly powerful and shock the world. Everyone would drop to the ground and no one would dare resist. In that case, would the returned Lord Jesus still endure a lot of suffering and be rejected by this generation? Definitely not！That is why the Lord Jesus prophesied that His return shall be “the coming of the Son of man” and “as a thief.” In actuality, it is referring to God incarnated as the Son of man arriving in secret.
So what is the relationship between the Son of man descending in secret to appear and perform His work and God openly appearing by descending with the clouds? What does this process involve? Let’s communicate about that simply. In the last days, God is incarnated and descends secretly among men to utter and speak, performing the work of judgment beginning from the house of God, purifying and perfecting all those who hear His voice and return before His throne and making them into a group of overcomers. Then God brings about the great disaster, refining and chastising all those who don't accept God’s judgment of the last days. Afterward, God shall descend with the clouds to openly appear before all men. That would then completely fulfill the prophecy in Revelation 1:7: “Behold, he comes with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him.” when the Lord descends with the clouds, those who pierced Him can still see Him? Just who are the people who pierced Him? Some say it’s those who nailed the Lord Jesus to the cross. Is that really the case? Weren’t the people who crucified the Lord Jesus cursed and destroyed by God long ago? In reality, those who pierced Him are those who, during the period in which God incarnate has descended in secret in the last days to work, do not seek God's voice and condemn and resist Almighty God. At that time, they will see the Almighty God that they have resisted and condemned is precisely the Savior Jesus they have been bitterly awaiting all these years. They shall beat their chests, weep and gnash their teeth, and their outcome can only be punishment. The Book of Revelation does not say whether such people live or die in the end, so we cannot possibly know. Only God knows. Only the wise virgins who hear God’s voice can have the opportunity to welcome the return of the Lord, be brought before God’s throne to attend the marriage supper of the Lamb, and be perfected by God into an overcomer. This fulfills the prophecy in Revelation: “These are they which were not defiled with women; for they are virgins. These are they which follow the Lamb wherever he goes. These were redeemed from among men, being the first fruits to God and to the Lamb” (Rev 14:4). As for those who only hold on to the notion that the Lord will descend with the clouds but don’t seek and investigate God’s work of the last days, they are considered the foolish virgins. Especially those who furiously resist and condemn Almighty God, they are the Pharisees and antichrists exposed by God’s work in the last days. They are all people who have re-crucified God. All these people shall fall into the great disasters and receive punishment. Therefore, just what mistake people who only welcome the Lord that descends with the clouds have committed, what type of people they are, and what their outcome will be, are obvious once we think about it.
No comments:
Post a Comment