How Will Prophecies About the Second Coming of Jesus Christ in the Bible Come True?
Each
genuine follower of the Lord Jesus is
expecting Him to come back soon so that his wish for years could be
realized. And he can receive the Lord’s promise and enjoy His
blessings. Especially in the end-time, our heart of longing for the
Second Coming of Jesus
Christ becomes
more eager. It is written in Acts 1:11, “this
same Jesus … shall so come in like manner as you have seen him
go into heaven.”
And it says in John 14:3, “And
if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive
you to myself; that where I am, there you may be also.”
Therefore, the brothers and sisters firmly believe that the Lord
Jesus will
come again. Then, in what manner will the Lord Jesus come? Will He
really come on a cloud as we imagine? Will the prophecies be
fulfilled in the same way as we think? In what manner should we
welcome His return? This is a question that each of us who follow the
Lord Jesus must consider seriously. If we are careless, we’ll
probably lose His salvation.
Referring
to “prophecy,” we should first know this clearly: Prophecies are
what will occur in the future. Before they come true, none of us
knows what they really mean. In prophecies, there are God’s
wonderfulness and wisdom as well as mysteries. Man can neither fathom
nor understand how they will come true. Why can’t man fathom it?
Because God’s thoughts shall always be higher than man’s
thoughts. The gulf between heaven and earth is like that between the
thoughts of God and man. Just as it is written in Romans 11:33-34, “O
the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how
unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out! For
who has known the mind of the Lord? or who has been his counselor?”
And it says in 2 Corinthians 3:6, “…for the letter kills, but the
spirit gives life.” So, the fulfillment of prophecies is not as
simple as we imagine, much less will it occur according to the words
of the Bible.
Why do we say so? Let’s look back to how the prophecies about the
Messiah’s coming were fulfilled. Then, we shall see that prophecies
don’t come true according to the letters of the scriptures or man’s
imagination. The Israelites at that time all expected the Messiah to
come earlier. Especially in the later period of the Age of Law, their
heart of longing was even more eager. However, when the Messiah did
come, they did not recognize Him but resisted and forsook Him. Why
was it so? It was clearly written in the Bible, “…a
virgin shall conceive, and bear a son….”
(Isaiah 7:14) But in their eyes, Marry had a husband. How could the
prophecy that “a
virgin shall conceive, and bear a son”
be fulfilled on her? Although the Lord Jesus was actually born by
virgin Marry, how many people believed this fact? Obviously, what
people saw was discordant with the fact.
Let
us read another prophecy in Isaiah 9:6-7, “For
to us a child is born, to us a son is given: and the government shall
be on his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful,
Counselor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of
Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no
end, on the throne of David, and on his kingdom, to order it, and to
establish it with judgment and with justice from now on even for
ever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this.”
According to this prophecy, the Israelites gave the rein to their
lively imagination, thinking that the Messiah who would take power
must be born in a palace. He must be majestic-looking and have an
impressive appearance, and would lead them to overthrow the rule of
the Roman government. What was the result then? When the prophecy
came true, Jesus was not born in a palace, but in a manger. He was
not majestic-looking like a king in their imagination but was a very
common carpenter. He did not lead the army to overthrow the rule of
the Roman government, but instead taught man to be tolerant and
patient, love enemies, and forgive others until seventy times seven.
None of these conformed to the imagination of the Israelites. From
what is stated above, we see that man’s imagination completely
contradicts the fulfillment of the prophecies. Pharisees eagerly
looked forward to the coming of the Messiah, but at the same time
forsook and resisted His coming. Why was that? Because they were full
of the illusions about the coming of the Messiah. They were filled
with imaginations and notions about the fulfillment of the
prophecies. Therefore, when the prophecies came true in a way not
conforming to their notions and imaginations, they resisted and
condemned Jesus to the utmost. This fully showed their nature of
stubbornness, arrogance, and not seeking the truth, which was the
cause of their failure. Pharisees held onto the prophecies in the Old
Testament, but they resisted the coming of the Messiah. Were the
prophecies wrong? Certainly not. It was simply because they paid too
much attention to the letters of the scriptures but neglected the
substance of the fulfillment of the prophecies. These prophecies
didn’t enable them to recognize and accept the Messiah. Instead,
they became the cause of their resistance to the Messiah and the
foundation for them to forsake Him. In the end, they nailed the
merciful Lord Jesus onto the cross, committing a monstrous sin, which
led to the destruction of their nation. Now it is already the end
time. How should we deal with the prophecies about the Lord’s
return? If the Lord returns in a way that is discordant with our
expectation and imagination, how shall we face it? Shall we hold on
to the letters of the scriptures and welcome the return of the Lord
according to our imagination, or be a humble man who seeks the truth?
Will we shut the door against the returned Lord Jesus like the
Pharisees? Don’t we need to think it over?
In
fact, the Lord Jesus has already descended in a hidden way, the
Spirit of truth has already come to the world. He is Almighty
God who
became flesh in the end time. Almighty God expressed millions of
words. He has opened the Little Scroll and revealed all the mysteries
of God’s six-thousand-year management plan to the whole mankind. It
has been over twenty years since Almighty God embarked upon the
end-time work in China. Every denomination and sect seem to have been
cleared up. All those who truly believe in Godand thirst for the
truth have come out of their denominations and sects to accept
Almighty God’s end-time work of judgment and chastisement. However,
when Almighty God’s kingdom gospel is
spreading on a grand scale in the religious world, few of the
unbelievers are aware of it. This fulfills all the prophecies in the
Bible that the Lord will come as a thief. The reason why this period
is called the hidden advent is that during this period God only does
work on those believers who await His coming. For those unbelievers,
the work is hidden. It fulfills the prophecies in 1Peter 4:17 and
Hebrews 9:28. The verses go like this, “For the time is come
that judgment must begin at the house of God.” “So Christ was
once offered to bear the sins of many; and to them that look for him
shall he appear the second time without sin to salvation.” When the
Lord Jesus comes back, some know it first, some know it later, and
some don’t know. Some investigate and accept the gospel after
hearing upon the Lord’s advent, while some condemn it hastily or
ignore it. As Almighty God’s kingdom gospel continuously spreads,
the prophesies gradually come true that the Lord will reap and
winnow, separate the wheat from the tares, reunite all denominations
into one, and so on when He comes again.
Since
the Lord has descended in a hidden way, then how to explain that the
Lord will descend on a cloud? Almighty God says, “For
several thousand years, man has longed to be able to witness the
arrival of the Savior. Man has longed to behold Jesus the Savior on a
white cloud as He descends, in person, among those who have pined and
yearned for Him for thousands of years. Man has longed for the Savior
to return and be reunited with the people, that is, for Jesus the
Savior to come back to the people from whom He has been apart for
thousands of years. And man hopes that He will once again carry out
the work of redemption that He did among the Jews, will be
compassionate and loving towards man, will forgive the sins of man,
bear the sins of man, and even bear all of man’s transgressions and
deliver man from sin. They long for Jesus the Savior to be the same
as before—a Savior who is lovable, amiable and venerable, who is
never wrathful towards man, and who never reproaches man. This Savior
shall forgive and bear all of man’s sins, and even die upon the
cross for man once more. Since Jesus departed, the disciples who
followed Him, and all of the saints who were saved thanks to His
name, have been desperately pining for Him and awaiting Him. All
those who were saved by the grace of Jesus Christ during the Age of
Grace have been longing for that joyful day during the last days,
when Jesus the Savior arrives on a white cloud and appears to all
men. Of course, this is also the collective wish of all those who
accept the name of Jesus the Savior today. Throughout the universe,
all those who know of the salvation of Jesus the Savior have been
‘desperately yearning for’ the sudden arrival of Jesus Christ, to
‘fulfill’ the words of Jesus when on earth: ‘I shall arrive
just as I departed.’ Man believes that, following the crucifixion
and resurrection, Jesus went back to heaven upon a white cloud, and
took His place at the Most High’s right hand. Similarly, man
conceives that Jesus shall descend, again upon a white cloud (this
cloud refers to the cloud that Jesus rode upon when He returned to
heaven), among the mankind who has desperately yearned for Him for
thousands of years, and that He shall bear the image and clothes of
the Jews. After appearing to man, He shall bestow food upon them, and
cause living water to gush forth for them, and shall live among man,
full of grace and love, living and real. And so on. Yet Jesus the
Savior did not do this; He did the opposite of what man conceived. He
did not arrive among those who had yearned for His return, and did
not appear to all men while riding upon the ‘white cloud.’ He has
already arrived, but man does not know Him, and remains ignorant of
His arrival. Man is only aimlessly awaiting Him, unaware that He has
already descended upon a white cloud (the cloud which is His Spirit,
His words, and His entire disposition and all that He is), and is now
among a group of overcomers that He will make during the last days.
How can man know that, although the Holy Savior Jesus is full of
affection and love towards man, He would never do His work in the
‘temples’ inhabited by filth and impure spirits? Though man has
been awaiting His arrival, how could He appear to those who eat the
flesh of the unrighteous, drink the blood of the unrighteous, wear
the clothes of the unrighteous, who believe in Him but do not know
Him, and who constantly extort Him? Man knows only that Jesus the
Savior is full of love and compassion, and is the sin offering filled
with redemption. But man has no idea that He is also God Himself, who
is brimming with righteousness, majesty, wrath, and judgment, and
possessed of authority and full of dignity. And so even though man
eagerly yearns for and craves the return of the Redeemer, and
even ‘Heaven’ is moved by the prayers of man, Jesus the Savior
does not appear to those who believe in Him but do not know
Him.” (from
The Word Appears in the Flesh)
When
God does His work in a hidden way, all of those who seek humbly and
can accept the truth have returned to the throne of God by accepting
His end-time work. Those who don’t accept it condemn and blaspheme
God out of their arrogance. So they are numbered among the wicked by
God and will be subjected to His righteous punishment. Almighty God
says, “The return
of Jesus is
a great salvation for those who are capable of accepting the truth,
but for those who are unable to accept the truth it is a sign of
condemnation. You should choose your own path, and should not
blaspheme against the Holy
Spirit and
reject the truth. You should not be an ignorant and arrogant person,
but someone who obeys the guidance of the Holy Spirit and longs for
and seeks the truth; only in this way will you benefit. I advise you
to tread the path of belief in God with care. Do not jump to
conclusions; what’s more, do not be casual and carefree in your
belief in God. You should know that, at the very least, those who
believe in God should be humble and reverential. Those who have heard
the truth and yet turn their nose up at it are foolish and ignorant.
Those who have heard the truth and yet carelessly jump to conclusions
or condemn it are beset by arrogance. No-one who believes in Jesus is
qualified to curse or condemn others. You should all be someone who
is rational and accepts the truth. Perhaps, having heard the way of
truth and read the word of life, you believe that only one in 10,000
of these words are in line with your convictions and the Bible, and
then you should continue to seek in that 10,000th of these words. I
still advise you to be humble, to not be over-confident, and to not
exalt yourself too highly. With your heart holding such meager
reverence for God, you will gain greater light. If you carefully
examine and repeatedly contemplate these words, you shall understand
whether or not they are the truth, and whether or not they are life.
Perhaps, having only read a few sentences, some people will blindly
condemn these words, saying, ‘This is nothing more than some
inspiration of the Holy Spirit,’ or, ‘This is a false Christ come
to deceive people.’ Those who say such things are blinded by
ignorance! You understand too little of the work and wisdom of God,
and I advise you to start again from scratch! You must not blindly
condemn the words expressed by God because of the appearance of false
Christs during the last days, and must not be someone who blasphemes
against the Holy Spirit because you fear deception. Would that not be
a great pity?”
(from The Word Appears in the Flesh)
God’s
sheep listen to God’s voice. As long as you read Almighty God’s
word,
you will see that God has appeared!
Source
The Rainbow Covenant
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