Waiting for Jesus’ Return

By Li Min The Bible says, “And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom comes; go you out to meet him” (Mat 25:6). “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” (Rev 3:20). “And he said to me, Write, Blessed are they which are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he said to me, These are the true sayings of God” (Rev 19:9). These prophecies show us that when the Lord returns in the last days, if we are able to welcome Him, that means we are attending the marriage supper of the Lamb. We all know that when the Lord comes back, those who can attend the marriage feast of the Lamb are wise virgins who are the blessed and have hope to enter into heaven, while those foolish virgins who can’t attend the marriage feast of the Lamb will be abandoned by God. It can be seen that whether we are able to attend the marriage supper of the Lamb is critical in regard to whether we believers in God will be able to enter into the kingdom of heaven. As Christians, we all hope that we can be wise virgins, attend the wedding feast of the Lamb and be raptured up into the heavenly kingdom when the Lord comes again, yet many of us don’t understand how to welcome the Lord’s return and attend the wedding feast of the Lamb. On this issue, I will talk a little bit about my understanding from three aspects. First, when it comes to the Lord’s return, we should have an attitude of humbly seeking and must not define God’s work based upon our own conceptions and imaginations. The Lord Jesus once taught us, “Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (Mat 5:3). So, when hearing someone preaching the Lord’s return, we should humbly seek the truth, put aside our own conceptions and imaginations, and seek and investigate actively. Just as the Lord Jesus said, “Behold, the bridegroom comes; go you out to meet him” (Mat 25:6). Why is it only through putting aside our notions and imaginations and seeking with an open mind that we can welcome the Lord’s return and attend the wedding feast of the Lamb? There is some truth to be sought here. As everyone knows, it was prophesied in the Bible that Christ would come and be called the Messiah, yet when Christ came, He was named Jesus; it was prophesied that the King of the Jews would be born, and then the Jewish people at that time imagined that the King would certainly be born in a palace, yet in fact the Lord Jesus was born in a manger in Bethlehem; it was prophesied that the King of the Jews would come to power, yet when the Lord Jesus came He didn’t assume power as they had imagined, but instead He taught man to be tolerant and patient and was even nailed to the cross in the end. In the face of the appearance and work of the Lord Jesus that didn’t conform with man’s conceptions and imaginations, the Jews had no shred of a seeking heart, but instead abandoned the Lord Jesus and didn’t believe that He was the coming Messiah. As a result, they lost the salvation of the Lord Jesus and moreover, because they resisted and condemned Him and crucified Him, they offended God’s disposition and suffered His punishment—the nation of Israel being subjugated for almost two thousand years. From this we can see that though the Jews of that time all longed for the arrival of the Messiah, when the Messiah really came, they lived in their conceptions and imaginings, didn’t humbly seek but even resisted and condemned God’s work, which caused the tragedy finally. Their failure gives us a warning and reminds us that we must not rely on our conceptions to measure and define God’s appearance and work, but instead be people who possess sense and seek humbly. Only in this way will we be able to see God’s appearance and attend the wedding feast of the Lamb. Second, we must have discernment and think for ourselves with regard to the Lord’s arrival. The Lord Jesus reminded us, “Take heed, beware of the leaven of the Pharisees” (Mak 8:15). These words tell us that we should have discernment, see through Satan’s schemes and prevent ourselves from deception. When we hear someone spreading the good news of the Lord’s arrival and want to seek and investigate, the pastors and elders often say to us, “You have small statures and you are lacking in discernment. So if someone says that the Lord has returned, you must not listen, see or study it, in case you start believing wrongly.” Is this really how it is? In the Book of Romans, chapter 10, verse 17, it says, “So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” Our belief in the Lord Jesus comes from hearing about the way, and if we don’t listen to sermons, we won’t believe in God. If we don’t listen and investigate for fear of being deceived, then how will we be able to welcome the Lord’s return and attend the marriage supper of the Lamb? So we should have discernment on the things said by others that block us from listening to sermons. Besides, we must not be like the Jews back in those days who lacked discernment. At that time, they blindly believed in what the Pharisees and the chief priests said, and had no discernment about the essence of them protecting their status and livelihoods and keeping control over people. In the end, because of believing the rumors from the Pharisees, they lost the salvation of the Lord Jesus. We must learn from their…

Every Christian is waiting for the Lord’s return. However, if we don’t know how to welcome His return, we will easily lose the opportunity to welcome Him.

Gao Huimin: Hello, brothers and sisters! Acts 1:11 says: “You men of Galilee, why stand you gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as you have seen him go into heaven.” The Lord left on a white cloud after His resurrection, and so He will return on a white cloud. Holding fast to this viewpoint, I’ve been on constant lookout for the Lord’s descent on a cloud. However, some time ago, I heard from my classmate that the Lord has returned, and that He has become flesh and come down to the earth as the Son of man to do His work and speak. I can’t see through this matter clearly. It’s true that the prophecies of the Lord’s second coming have basically been fulfilled. But I still haven’t seen the Lord coming with a cloud to take us. I feel confused: Am I right to await the Lord’s coming on a cloud? I’d like to discuss this with you and hope you can give me some help. Posted by Gao Huimin Response: Sister Yu: I’ve just seen your post, and I feel the same way. In 2000, the pastors said that the Lord would return and would take us to the heavenly home. But it’s 2018 now, and yet we haven’t seen the Lord coming with clouds to take us. Nowadays, disasters are frequently happening all over the world, such as floods, drought, earthquakes and wars, which exactly fulfills the prophecies of the last days the Lord Jesus said to His disciples. Judging from the signs, we can see that the time of the Lord’s return seems to have come. What your classmate said may be a fact. I think the Lord’s coming is an important thing and you should make an investigation. Sister Zhu: Sister Gao and Sister Yu, we can’t lose faith in the Lord, because He is trustworthy. The Bible clearly says: “And then shall they see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory” (Luke 21:27). It was said by the Lord Himself that He will come with clouds when He returns, and that every eye will see Him. The Lord’s words won’t be in vain. So there is no need to worry, and we just continue to wait for the Lord to come on a cloud to take us. Sister Li: God is faithful. When heaven and earth are no more, not even one letter or dot will be removed from the word of God. This is an undeniable fact. The point is that it is the last days now, and yet we haven’t seen the Lord coming with clouds; rather, we feel that the Lord is getting further and further away from us: We can’t grasp the Lord’s intentions when encountering things, and the faith of the brothers and sisters becomes colder and colder. It seems that we have been abandoned by the Lord. Now your words make me think: Could it be that the Lord has already returned? Gao Huimin: Brothers and sisters, thanks for your help. You guys all have your own understandings on the subject of the Lord’s return, and all you said makes sense. But I’m still not quite clear on this issue. Is there any other brother or sister who holds a different opinion? Please share with us. Liu Enming: Brothers and sisters, what you are talking about is truly important, because it determines whether we can welcome the arrival of the Lord; moreover, it determines whether our belief in the Lord will be a success or not. So we must treat it prudently and find the answer in the Lord’s words, instead of blindly drawing conclusions. As to this matter, I used to hold the same viewpoint as Sister Gao, and just waited for the Lord’s coming with clouds. But recently, by studying the scriptures together with my brothers and sisters, I found some mysteries. Let’s first read some passages of the prophecies about the Lord’s return. The Lord said: “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. Even so, Amen” (Revelation 1:7). “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” (Matthew 24:30). “Behold, I come as a thief” (Revelation 16:15). “And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom comes; go you out to meet him” (Matthew 25:6). “But of that day and that hour knows no man, no, not the angels which are in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father” (Mark 13:32). “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” (Luke 17:24-25). From these scriptures we can see that there are two ways in which the Lord shall return. One is to publicly descend with the clouds, which can be seen by all people. The other is to come as the Son of man, and no one will know it. It is obvious that the Lord won’t return in just one form. So if we blindly hold on to the view that the Lord will only return in one way, then we might miss the chance of welcoming the Lord’s return. Sister Yu: Thank the Lord! After hearing your communication, I finally know the Lord will return in two ways. We have read the Bible so many times, but why haven’t we found this point? Gao Huimin: Well, what you said is reasonable and truly matches the Bible. The Lord will not…

How should we watch and wait to welcome the coming of the Lord? First, we should not rely on notions and imaginations, but should have reverence for God; second, we should take the initiative to seek and investigate the true way; third, we should pay attention to seeking the voice of God.

He believed he had labored and worked for the Lord for many years, so the Lord should first give revelations to him when He comes. After fellowshiping with his son, he let go of his viewpoint and found the true way to welcome the Lord.

4 ways to recognize the voice of God. First, The word expressed by God is the truth. It can be man’s life, supply their needs and give man a path to follow…

If we close our door and wait alone for fear of being deceived, we will miss Jesus’ second coming. The key is to learn how to distinguish the true way from false ways.

We’ll clearly show you what are wise virgins, how to prepare oil to welcome the second coming of Jesus. It helps you examine anew whether you are a wise virgin.

Can we judge whether the Lord has returned or not by banking on the religious world? When we hear the message of Jesus coming, we should do this way …

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Christians yearn for the second coming of the Lord. Some people think the Lord will give revelations to pastors and elders first when He returns. In fact, this is a myth.