By Xin jie
Two thousand years ago, the Lord Jesus promised us: “And, behold, I come quickly” (Revelation 22:12). Now, all manner of signs of His return have appeared, and many brothers and sisters have had premonitions that the day of the Lord is near. Has the Lord already returned? What can we do to welcome the Lord? Let’s discuss this now by exploring the prophecies set forth in the Bible.
The First Sign of the Second Coming of Jesus:
Earthquakes, Famines, Plagues and Wars
Matthew 24:6–8 says: “And you shall hear of wars and rumors of wars: see that you be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places. All these are the beginning of sorrows.” War has broken out frequently in recent years, such events as the overthrow of the Taliban regime in Afghanistan, the conflict between India and Pakistan, the United States’ invasion of Iraq, and the continuously escalating war between Israel and Palestine. Plagues, fires, floods, and earthquakes are also to be seen everywhere. Of particular note is the “novel coronavirus,” which broke out in Wuhan, China in 2019 and has since spread throughout the world. There were also severe forest fires in Australia in September 2019, while a severe outbreak of locusts occurred in East Africa on the other side of the planet, with many countries now facing famine. In January 2020, Indonesia suffered a flood, and Newfoundland in Canada was hit by a once-in-a-century snowstorm. Earthquakes have occurred in Elazig in Turkey, southern Cuba in the Caribbean, and elsewhere. From these signs, it can be seen that this prophecy has been fulfilled.
The Second Sign of the Second Coming of Jesus:
The Appearance of Celestial Anomalies
Revelation 6:12 says, “And I beheld when He had opened the sixth seal, and, see, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood.” Joel 2:30–31 says, “And I will show wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke. The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and terrible day of Jehovah comes.” In recent years, there have been many instances of the moon turning blood red. For instance, during the two-year span of 2014 and 2015, a series of four “blood moons” occurred, and on January 31, 2018, there was a “super blue blood moon,” which appears only once every 150 years. Then, a “super blood wolf moon” appeared in January 2019. The prophesied phenomenon of the sun turning black has also appeared, and, indeed, there have been many total solar eclipses, such as the eclipse in Singapore on December 26, 2019 and in Chile on July 2 of the same year. The fulfillment of this prophecy is apparent in these phenomena.
The Third Sign of the Second Coming of Jesus:
Churches Are Desolate and the Love of Believers Is Cold
Matthew 24:12 says, “And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold.” Throughout the entire religious world, desolation is spreading. The preaching of pastors and elders has become tired and cliché, and is failing to provide for believers. In their struggle for status, some pastors are forming cliques and creating factions in the churches, and some have even gone into business by setting up factories to lead believers along the secular path; meanwhile, among the believers, there is a general weakness of confidence and a reluctance to part with the world, and they live in its tiresome entanglements. Some churches look crowded and lively from the outside, but many people come to church merely to expand their network and sell products, using the church as a place of commerce. What is the difference between a church today and the temple toward the end of the Age of Law? In these things, the complete fulfillment of this prophecy of the Lord’s return is apparent.
The Fourth Sign of the Second Coming of Jesus:
The Appearance of False Christs
Matthew 24:4–5 says: “And Jesus answered and said to them, Take heed that no man deceive you. For many shall come in My name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many.” From the prophecy of the Lord, we can see that when the Lord returns, false Christs will emerge and deceive people. In recent years, false Christs have appeared and deceived people in countries such as China, South Korea, and Japan. These false Christs do not possess the essence of Christ, nor can they proclaim the truth, yet they claim themselves to be Christ, and they deceive people by imitating the Lord Jesus to perform some miracles. Herein, the fulfillment of this prophecy is apparent.
The Fifth Sign of the Second Coming of Jesus:
The Restoration of Israel
Matthew 24:32–33 says, “Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When his branch is yet tender, and puts forth leaves, you know that summer is near: So likewise you, when you shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors.” Many who believe in the Lord know that the fig tree’s tender branches and leaves refer to the restoration of Israel. When Israel is restored, the Lord’s day will be near, and Israel was restored on May 14, 1948. Obviously, this prophecy of the Lord’s return has been fulfilled completely.
The Sixth Sign of the Second Coming of Jesus:
The Spread of the Gospel to the Ends of the Earth
Matthew 24:14 records: “And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness to all nations; and then shall the end come.” In Mark 16:15, the Lord Jesus said to His disciples after His resurrection, “Go you into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.” After Jesus was resurrected and ascended to heaven, the Holy Spirit began to lead those who follow the Lord Jesus to witness the Lord Jesus. Today, Christians have spread all over the world and many democratic countries have adopted Christianity as their state religion. Even in China, where the party in power is atheistic, tens of millions of people have accepted the gospel of the Lord Jesus, and so it can be seen that the gospel of mankind’s redemption through the Lord Jesus has spread throughout the world. In this, it is apparent that the prophecy of the Lord’s return has been fulfilled.
How Should We Welcome the Return of the Lord?
From the facts listed above, we can see that six signs of the return of the Lord have already appeared. Now is the critical moment in welcoming the coming of the Lord. What must we do before we are able to welcome the return of the Lord? The Lord Jesus gave us the answer to this question long ago.
In John 16:12–13, the Lord Jesus said, “I have yet many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. However, when He, the Spirit of truth, is come, He will guide you into all truth: for He shall not speak of Himself; but whatever He shall hear, that shall He speak: and He will show you things to come.” Revelation 3:20 says, “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.” There are also many prophecies in chapters 2 and 3 of Revelation: “He that has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.” As you can see from these verses, when the Lord returns, He will issue utterances and speak to the churches, telling us all the truths we did not understand before. Those who, having heard God’s speech and recognized His voice, accept Him and submit to Him will be able to welcome the Lord and attend the feast of the Lamb; those who do not recognize the voice of God, on the other hand, will certainly not be God’s sheep, and they will be exposed and eliminated by God. In this, it is apparent that when we wait for the coming of the Lord, it is critical that we find the Holy Spirit’s words to the churches and learn to listen to the voice of God. As Almighty God says: “[S]ince we are searching for the footprints of God, it behooves us to search for God’s will, for the words of God, for His utterances—because wherever there are new words spoken by God, the voice of God is there, and wherever there are the footsteps of God, God’s deeds are there.Wherever there is the expression of God, there God appears, and wherever God appears, there the truth, the way, and the life exist” (“The Appearance of God Has Ushered in a New Age” in The Word Appears in the Flesh).
Hearing this, some people may ask: “So, where do we go to find the voice of God?” In Matthew 25:6, the Lord Jesus said, “And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom comes; go you out to meet him.” Since the Lord calls His sheep with His utterances and speech, there will certainly be some people who will hear the Lord’s voice first and follow the footsteps of the Lamb, and then call out everywhere, “The bridegroom comes,” which is to spread the news of the Lord’s return and the words of the Lord’s second coming, so that all may have the chance to hear the voice of God. It is therefore said that whether we can keep up with the footsteps of the Lamb depends on whether we have hearts that long to seek Him and whether we can recognize the voice of God. Just as when the Lord Jesus first appeared and began to work, Peter, Mary, and others recognized the Lord Jesus as the Messiah from His work and speech, and they followed Him and began to witness His gospel. Those who hear the work and words of the Lord Jesus and can recognize the voice of God are the wise virgins, while those priests, scribes, and Pharisees who did not love the truth heard the authority and power of the words of the Lord Jesus yet did not investigate them. Instead, they adhered stubbornly to their notions and imaginings, thinking that “one who is not called the Messiah is not God” and waiting for the Messiah to appear to them. They even condemned and blasphemed the work of the Lord Jesus, and, in the end, they lost the salvation of God. There are also the Jewish believers who followed the Pharisees and did not distinguish the voice of God in the work and words of the Lord Jesus, who listened blindly to the priests, scribes, and Pharisees, and rejected the Lord’s salvation. Such people become the foolish virgins who are abandoned by the Lord. Some people may ask: “So how can the voice of God be distinguished?” When in fact, this is not difficult. The utterance and speech of God must be unspeakable by man. It must be particularly authoritative and powerful. It will be able to uncover the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven and reveal man’s corruption, and so on. All these words are truths, and they can all be the life of man. Anyone with a heart and a spirit will feel it when he hears the word of God, and there will be a confirmation in his heart that the Creator is speaking and issuing His utterance to us humans. The sheep of God listen to the voice of God. If we are sure that these words are the voice of God, then we should accept and obey them, no matter how little they conform to our notions. Only in this way can we welcome the return of the Lord.
In the world today, only The Church of Almighty God testifies that the Lord—Almighty God incarnate—has already returned. Almighty God has already expressed millions of words, and these words are published on the Internet for people from all countries and walks of life to inspect. One by one, the many people of each nation who long for truth come in hopes of hearing God’s voice and welcoming the Lord. As it is said in the Bible, “Behold, the bridegroom comes; go you out to meet him.” If we simply read more of the words expressed by Almighty God, listening to discern whether they are God’s voice, we will then be able to determine whether or not the Lord has returned. As the Lord Jesus said in John 10:27: “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.” I believe that as long as we have a heart of humbly seeking, we can recognize the voice of God and welcome the return of the Lord.
Source From: The Church of Almighty God
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