Response:
Some people say, “The second coming of the Lord Jesus will
be in the form of His Spirit, and cannot possibly be in the flesh.”
Does this kind of statement stand? Is it based on the Lord’s words?
People who understand the Bible all know that the Spirit
does not come or not come.
The Spirit is formless and amorphous and
cannot be seen or touched; He is filled with all things in the
universe. He is big in that He is filled with all things in the
universe. He is small in that He is in the heart of every person
who truly believes in Him. There is a lot of Him in that He exists in
the heart of every person who truly believes in Him. There is very
little of Him in that there is only one. It is just as the Bible
says: “There is … one Spirit…. One God and Father of all, who
is above all, and through all, and in you all” (Eph 4:4, 6).
The Lord Jesus also said: “For
where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in
the middle of them”
(Mat 18:20). Therefore, as long as we genuinely believe in God and are intimate with God, the
Holy Spirit will be with us anyway. Accordingly, the Spirit
does not come or not come. In references to the secondcoming of Jesus, Jesus being the
Son of man and Christ, this means He must surely come in a
form that we can see and touch.
As
for why the Lord Jesus comes in the flesh, let’s take a look at the
scriptures. In Luke 21:8 the Lord Jesus said: “Take
heed that you be not deceived: for many shall come in my name,
saying, I am Christ; and the time draws near: go you not therefore
after them.”
In Luke 17:24-25 He said: “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.”
Revelation 11:15 states: “The
kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of
his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever.”
These passages refer to “Christ” and “the Son of man.” Just
what is meant by “Christ” and “the Son of man”? Some people
say “Christ” refers to “the anointed,” but King Saul, King
David, Samuel, Elijah, and many high priests and great prophets have
also been anointed and are called sons of man, so why can’t they
also be called Christ? It is because they only have a normal humanity
and not complete divinity. Jehovah and
Jesus are both God Himself, so why is Jesus Christ and the Son of
man, but Jehovah isn’t? This is because Jehovah is the Spirit and
only has complete divinity but does not possess a normal humanity.
Jesus can be called Christ because He is God’s Spirit made flesh,
born from a human being, with a normal humanity, and moreover
complete divinity. Jesus can only be called Christ because of the
combination of these two aspects. Therefore, “Christ” is the
inherent name of the incarnate God. The Bible prophesies that the
returned Lord Jesus will be called Christ and the Son of man, which
means that He comes in the flesh. Could He be called that if He comes
in the Spirit or a spiritual body? Luke 17:24-25 states: “So
shall also the Son of man be in his day. But first must he suffer
many things, and be rejected of this generation.”
Doesn’t this also refer to the second coming of the Lord being in
the flesh? How could He suffer as a Spirit or a spiritual body? Could
He still be rejected by people? The Bible also says that false
Christs will appear in the last days to deceive people. We
all know that false Christs will surely be human beings. If Christ
came not in the flesh but as a spiritual body, then how could false
Christs imitate Him? Could they still imposter Him? Could they still
deceive people? Then why would Jesus need to say that there are false
Christs in the last days? Isn’t this even more a hint to His
disciples that His return will be in the flesh? Why can’t people
think of this? It’s not that people can’t think of it, it’s
that they have delimited God and are not willing to seek. Didn’t
Jesus say “seek,
and you shall find”?
Didn’t He say “Blessed
are the poor in spirit”
and “Blessed
are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness”?
How can people receive the Lord’s enlightenment and guidance if
they don’t seek, are not poor in spirit, and don’t hunger and
thirst after righteousness?
So
why does the Lord have to return in the flesh? To understand this
aspect of the truth, we must first understand why the Lord Jesus
had to become flesh. After we understand this, we will better
understand why the second coming of the Lord has to be in the flesh.
We all know that in the Age of Law, Jehovah God promulgated laws
through Moses for people to obey; if they violated the law, they
shall suffer God’s punishment. In the latter stages of the Age of
Law, mankind’s sin increased and they gradually lost their
reverence for Jehovah, actually putting lame, blind, and sick
offerings on Jehovah’s sacrificial altar and thus committing deeds
Jehovah God saw as evil. Accordingly, some people were burned to
death by fires from heaven while others were stoned to death. If this
situation continued, wouldn’t everyone be smitten by God for
violating His laws? Then wouldn’t the meaning of God’s creation
of man in the beginning be lost? Therefore, it was against this
backdrop that God, in accordance with the needs of corrupt mankind,
personally became flesh and came to earth to be nailed on the cross
for mankind to be their sin offering in order to give them redemption
from sin. Mankind was hence pardoned and no longer condemned for not
abiding by God’s laws. Then why did the Lord Jesus choose to do His
redemption work in the flesh and not directly by the Spirit? This is
because the redemption work is completed through His crucifixion,
which cannot be achieved by God’s Spirit. The Spirit is without
shape or form and cannot be seen or touched, so He cannot be nailed
to the cross. God’s Spirit also cannot bleed for man, so of course
He cannot be mankind’s sin offering. Thus, only God in the flesh, a
tangible God, can be nailed to the cross and bleed His precious blood
for mankind and redeem mankind from sin, allowing them to be forgiven
of their sins, escape death, and live in God’s blessings. Hence,
the Lord Jesus became flesh for two main reasons: On the one hand, it
is because of the needs of corrupt mankind; on the other, it is to
accord with the needs of His work of being nailed to the cross to
redeem mankind.
In
that case, let’s then compare whether God’s work of the last days
is more beneficial to saving corrupt mankind when done directly by
God’s Spirit or in the flesh.
Let’s
first discuss an example. 2 Samuel 6:6-7 documents an incident: When
David led the Israelites to bring back the ark of God from Baale of
Judah, Uzzah reached out his hand and took hold of the ark because
the oxen shook it, and he was thus struck down by God’s Spirit. Why
was Uzzah smitten by God? All those familiar with the Bible
understand that in the Old Testament, the ark represented the God of
the Israelites. Since God is holy, how could filthy humans use their
hand to hold it? Even though Uzzah did it out of good intentions, he
offended God and was hence killed. Let’s talk about another example
everyone is familiar with. In John 8:3-11, an adulterous woman was
brought by the people before Jesus to see how He would deal with her.
At the time, Jesus not only did not condemn her, but He pardoned her
sin and told her to confess and repent, and sin no more. It can be
said for certain that, if God’s Spirit had been working directly,
this woman would have been stoned to death in accordance with the
law. It is precisely because the Lord Jesus was working in the flesh
that there was a chance for this woman’s sins to be pardoned and
for her to be saved by grace. Through the above two examples we can
see: In the Age of Law, God worked in the Spirit. The Spirit did not
permit anyone to be tainted or offend Him, and those who offended Him
had to die. But the work style of God in the flesh during the Age of
Grace was different. He treated people differently based on their
real situations and actual backgrounds. In other words, God in the
flesh has sympathy for mankind’s weakness and gives them a chance
to repent. Therefore, the work of the incarnate God is more
beneficial to corrupt mankind than God’s Spirit working directly.
According to the state of people in the last days, is the direct work
of God’s Spirit or the work of God in the flesh more beneficial to
corrupt mankind? As everyone knows, mankind’s present sins have
long exceeded those of people from the latter stages of the Age of
Law and also those of the people of Sodom. Debauchery, evil, and
rebellion against God has reached a peak. Even brothers and sisters
under the name of Jesus cannot break away from sin. Although they
have been redeemed by Jesus, mankind’s sinful nature still takes
root deep inside them. They continue to live by sinning in the day
and confessing at night. Some people appear humble and patient from
the outside, but are actually scheming, have jealousy and strife, and
try to deceive others. Many brothers and sisters are passive and
weak, their confidence and love gradually waning, and their sins
spreading. Some lust after money. Some live like unbelievers—the
only difference is that they have a Bible. Isn’t this a fact for
all to see? God’s Spirit does not permit man’s offense or allow
humans to be tainted. Wouldn’t such a corrupt mankind have been
destroyed long ago if it was God’s Spirit that directly performed
His judgment and cleansing work in the last days? Isn’t that right?
Therefore, in accordance with the needs of corrupt mankind and the
extent to which they have been corrupted by Satan, God once again
became flesh to work among us. This is because only through working
in the flesh can God sympathize with man’s weakness, give them a
chance to repent, and thoroughly save them. Almighty God says:
“If
God did not become flesh, no fleshly man would receive such
great salvation, nor would a single man be saved. If the Spirit
of God worked directly among man, man would be smitten or completely
carried away captive by Satan because man is unable to associate with
God”
(“The Mystery of the Incarnation (4)” in The Word Appears in the
Flesh). “Thus
God began the second round of plans to continue the work of the
incarnation. God’s ultimate intention is to perfect and gain
everyone rescued from Satan’s hands…”
(“Work and Entry (6)” in The Word Appears in the Flesh). “Man
has been corrupted by Satan, and he is the highest of all God’s
creatures, so man is in need of God’s salvation. The object of
God’s salvation is man, not Satan, and that which shall be saved is
the flesh of man, and the soul of man, and not the devil. Satan is
the object of God’s annihilation, man is the object of God’s
salvation, and the flesh of man has been corrupted by Satan, so the
first to be saved must be the flesh of man. The flesh of man has been
most profoundly corrupted, and it has become something which opposes
God, which even openly opposes and denies the existence of God. This
corrupt flesh is simply too intractable, and nothing is more
difficult to deal with or change than the corrupt disposition of the
flesh. Satan comes into the flesh of man to stir up disturbance, and
uses the flesh of man to disturb the work of God, and impair the plan
of God, and thus man has become Satan, and the enemy of God. For man
to be saved, he must first be conquered. It is because of this that
God rises to the challenge and comes into the flesh to do the work He
intends to do, and do battle with Satan. His aim is the salvation of
mankind, who has been corrupted, and the defeat and annihilation of
Satan, which rebels against Him. He defeats Satan through His work of
conquering man, and simultaneously saves corrupt mankind. Thus, God
solves two problems at once.” “The only reason that the incarnate
God has come into the flesh is because of the needs of corrupt man.
It is because of the needs of man but not of God, and all His
sacrifices and sufferings are for the sake of mankind…”
(“Corrupt Mankind Is More in Need of the Salvation of God Become
Flesh” in The Word Appears in the Flesh). Through Almighty God’s
words we can sufficiently understand that God became flesh all
because of the needs of corrupt mankind. It is because even though
mankind was redeemed by Jesus and their sins pardoned, their sinful
nature was not eradicated and continues to take root in their flesh,
and man does not have the power to overcome sin and forsake the
flesh. Man’s flesh was corrupted by Satan and used to disrupt and
damage God’s work. Man thus became Satan and God’s enemy. If
God’s Spirit worked directly, not one person would be able to be
saved. Everyone shall be smitten by God because of their filth and
corruption. No one person would survive. Therefore, God became flesh
for the second time all because of the needs of corrupt mankind, and
not because of the needs of God. Accordingly, the work of God’s
incarnation is more beneficial to corrupt mankind than God’s Spirit
working directly.
Next,
let’s discuss the necessity of God’s incarnation through the work
God does. This is because God is performing the work of judgment
through His words in the last days. That is to say, in the last days,
Almighty God will open the scroll, open the seven seals, open up the
sealed-up utterances of the seven thunders, publicly reveal to
mankind all the truths and mysteries that have been hidden away for
6,000 years, and reveal all the innermost secrets inside mankind.
Through the truths expressed by Him, God will judge mankind, expose
mankind, supply mankind, and point out the proper path for mankind,
so that they have true knowledge of themselves, attain changes in
their life disposition, and can be cleansed in the end. However, if
the work of judgment through His words was done directly by God’s
Spirit, the desired results could not be achieved. Why is that so?
You will understand after reading the next passage of the scriptures.
In John 12:28-29 it records: “Father,
glorify your name.
Then came there a voice from heaven, saying, I
have both glorified it, and will glorify it again. The
people therefore, that stood by, and heard it, said that it
thundered: others said, An angel spoke to him.” Please pay
attention. This part clearly mentions a voice from heaven saying, “I
have both glorified it, and will glorify it again.”
So why did the people that stood by say that “it thundered,” and
why did others say, “An angel spoke to him”? Could all the
bystanders have heard wrong? Of course not. It is because the work
and words of God’s Spirit gives people a sense of the supernatural
and the mysterious, so it is very difficult for people to accurately
feel out God’s intentions. But the work of God in the flesh is
different. He can provide people with precise words to guide them,
and clear goals to pursue; they don’t need to explore and speculate
for them to understand how to practice in order to conform with God’s
intentions. Matthew 18 states: “Then came Peter to him, and said,
Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him?
Till seven times? Jesus said to him, I
say not to you, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven.”
From this example, we can see that, during the period God works in
the flesh, the incarnate God can clearly tell people the proper path
when they don’t understand God’s intentions. People don’t need
to explore and speculate and can directly act in accordance with
God’s intentions. This enables us to understand that God’s
requirements of man are very precise and clear when He works in the
flesh. Just this point alone far exceeds what working in the Spirit
can achieve. It is more effective for God to do His judgment work
through His words in the flesh than directly in the Spirit. God
becoming flesh in the last days makes it easier for Him to interact
with people. This is something the God’s Spirit working directly
cannot achieve, because human beings cannot come into direct contact
with God’s Spirit, and nor is it easy for them to understand and
know Him. Just as Exodus 20:18-19 states: “And all the people saw
the thunder, and the lightning, and the noise of the trumpet, and the
mountain smoking: and when the people saw it, they removed, and stood
afar off. And they said to Moses, Speak you with us, and we will
hear: but let not God speak with us, lest we die.” When the people
heard Jehovah’s voice, they were not happy, but instead shook in
fear. They did not want God to speak to them, which shows that
the voice
of God’s Spirit is like thunder. Human beings cannot come into
direct contact with God’s Spirit, nor can they actually understand
God’s words. How could the work of the Spirit achieve results this
way? But the work of God in the flesh is very different. It’s like
when the Lord Jesus became flesh and actually lived on earth among
mankind, living with and residing together with man, working and
speaking using man’s language, speaking to us face to face, and
expressing truths to supply us. People could really interact and have
a heart-to-heart talk with God in the flesh, and through His work,
words, and every deed, know God’s disposition and all that He has
and is. This way, it became easier for people to understand God’s
intentions, what He requires of man, and know God’s dearness and
loveliness, making it more conducive for mankind to become intimate
with God and look up to God. People’s belief in and worship of God
became no longer vague but especially practical and real. Therefore,
only if God becomes flesh can He actually come into contact with
mankind, and can mankind actually receive God’s watering,
shepherding, and support, and gain true knowledge of God. God’s
work in the last days of using His words to judge and cleanse mankind
moreover needs to be done through the incarnate God, because the
effects achieved by the work and words of the Spirit are far less
than those of God in the flesh. Almighty God says: “God’s
saving of man is not done directly through the means of the Spirit or
as the Spirit, for His Spirit can neither be touched nor seen by man,
and cannot be approached by man. If He tried to save man directly in
the manner of the Spirit, man would be unable to receive His
salvation. And if not for God putting on the outward form of a
created man, they would be unable to receive this salvation. For man
can in no way approach Him, much like how none could go near the
cloud of Jehovah. Only by becoming a man of creation, that is,
putting His word into the flesh He will become, can He personally
work the word into all who follow Him. Only then can man hear for
himself His word, see His word, and receive His word, then through
this be fully saved.” “If God does not become flesh, He remains
the Spirit both invisible and intangible to man. Man is a creature of
flesh, and man and God belong to two different worlds and are
different in nature. The Spirit of God is incompatible with man of
flesh, and no relations can be established between them; moreover,
man cannot become a spirit. As such, the Spirit of God must become
one of the creatures and do His original work. God can both ascend to
the highest place and humble Himself by becoming a man of creation,
doing work and living among man, but man cannot ascend to the highest
place and become a spirit and much less can he descend to the lowest
place. Therefore, God must become flesh to carry out His work”
(“The Mystery of the Incarnation (4)” in The Word Appears in the
Flesh). “The
work of the flesh more effectively relates to every person with whom
He has contact. What’s more, God’s flesh with tangible form can
better be understood and trusted by man, and can further deepen man’s
knowledge of God, and can leave upon man a more profound impression
of the actual deeds of God. The work of the Spirit is shrouded in
mystery, it is difficult for mortal beings to fathom, and even harder
for them to see, and so they can only rely on hollow imaginings. The
work of the flesh, however, is normal, and based on reality, and
possessed of rich wisdom, and is a fact that can be beheld by the
physical eye of man; man can personally experience the wisdom of the
work of God, and has no need to employ his bountiful imagination.
This is the accuracy and real value of the work of God in the flesh.
The Spirit can only do things that are invisible to man and difficult
for him to imagine, for example the enlightenment of the Spirit, the
moving of the Spirit, and the guidance of the Spirit, but for man who
has a mind, these do not provide any clear meaning. They only provide
a moving, or a broad meaning, and cannot give an instruction with
words. The work of God in the flesh, however, is greatly different:
It has accurate guidance of words, has clear will, and has clear
required goals. And so man does not need to grope around, or employ
his imagination, much less make guesses. This is the clarity of the
work in the flesh, and its great difference from the work of the
Spirit. The work of the Spirit is only suitable for a limited scope,
and cannot replace the work of the flesh. The work of the flesh gives
man far more exact and necessary goals and far more real, valuable
knowledge than the work of the Spirit. The work that is of greatest
value to corrupt man is that which provides accurate words, clear
goals to pursue, and which can be seen and touched. Only realistic
work and timely guidance are suited to man’s tastes, and only real
work can save man from his corrupt and depraved disposition. This can
only be achieved by the incarnate God; only the incarnate God can
save man from his formerly corrupt and depraved disposition”
(“Corrupt Mankind Is More in Need of the Salvation of God Become
Flesh” in The Word Appears in the Flesh). The words of Almighty God
are very clear. God’s work of judgment using His words in the last
days could not achieve the results it ought to if done directly
through the Spirit. This is because God’s Spirit cannot be touched
or seen; He is hidden, unpredictable, and strikes fear into people’s
hearts, making Him difficult to approach and unsuitable to the work
of directly saving mankind in the last days and being the direct life
supply of mankind. Accordingly, God working in the flesh as opposed
to through the means of His Spirit is the most suitable method for
mankind. God working in the flesh is more conducive to making contact
with and interacting with mankind, and can practically supply mankind
based on what they are actually missing and lacking. God working in
the flesh can bring mankind precise words, and can also point out to
them a clear direction to pursue. At the same time, it can also
reverse the deviations in people’s experiences, deepening their
understanding of God and eliminating their notions of God. Therefore,
God working in the flesh is more conducive to the work of judgment
using His words in the last days than working directly through His
Spirit.
There
is one more aspect. God’s judgment work in the last days is the
work of conquering and saving mankind, and it is also the work of
classing each according to their kind and rewarding good and
punishing evil. God’s judgment work can only achieve the desired
results through thoroughly revealing mankind’s disobedience and
resistance to capture the truth and distinguish good and evil. In
that case, does God working in the manner of the Spirit or working in
the flesh better reveal mankind? Matthew 13:54-57 states: “And when
he was come into his own country, he taught them in their synagogue,
so that they were astonished, and said, From where has this man this
wisdom, and these mighty works? Is not this the carpenter’s
son? is not his mother called Mary? and his brothers, James, and
Joses, and Simon, and Judas? And his sisters, are they not all
with us? From where then has this man all these things? And they
were offended in him. But Jesus said to them, A
prophet is not without honor, save in his own country, and in his own
house.”
We can see from this passage of the scriptures that, because the Jews
did not know that Jesus was the Messiah and that He was the incarnate
God who came to be among mankind, their truth-loathing, truth-hating
nature was exposed. They were full of notions and imaginings about
the Lord Jesus, thinking that He was merely a normal man who does not
appear any different from the outside and that He, like a normal
person, ate, clothed, lived, and walked, and even had parents and
siblings. It is precisely because the flesh of the incarnate Lord
Jesus was normal and real that the Jews’ notions and imaginings,
rebellion and resistance and their arrogant, truth-detesting essence
and nature were all exposed. At the time, if it had been God’s
Spirit working directly, unable to be seen or touched, people would
have been able to speculate and imagine at will. Such work would
conform with people’s notions and would not have been able to
reveal the disobedience and resistance of the Jews at all. It is only
because Jesus was God incarnate that the notions and resistance of
the Jewish people were completely exposed. Accordingly, those people
who held on to their own notions and resisted to the end were
condemned by the Lord Jesus, while those who obeyed and followed the
Lord Jesus received His blessings. This shows us only God’s
incarnation could sufficiently reveal mankind’s disobedience and
resistance, imaginings and conceptions, and reveal the essence and
nature of each type of person, classifying them according to their
own kind. As God’s Spirit is great, honorable, and possessed of
authority, who would dare to reveal disobedience and resist God if He
were doing His judgment work through the manner of the Spirit in the
last days? How could good and evil be distinguished? How would His
judgment work achieve results? Therefore, God working through the
manner of the Spirit cannot reveal people’s notions and their
disobedience and resistance, nor can it reveal the essence and nature
of each type of person to separate them according to their own kind.
Only by God personally coming to earth and becoming an ordinary flesh
can the notions, disobedience and resistance inside man all be
revealed. Only by judging and chastising mankind in this way can they
be utterly convinced, so that those who obey and accept can be saved
and those who disobey and resist can be punished. If not for the
incarnate God of the last days, everyone would think they are the
most loyal to God, love God the most, and are the most worthy of
God’s blessings. Only through God being incarnated into a normal
and real flesh, which does not conform with mankind’s notions, can
their disobedience and resistance all be revealed. It is through this
that God captures the truth, separates good and evil, and ultimately
achieves the goal of dividing each according to their kind and
rewarding good and punishing evil. This is the wisdom in God’s work
and also His righteousness. Accordingly, only by God appearing and
working in the flesh can mankind be revealed more completely and
thoroughly, and can the goal of conquering and saving mankind be
achieved. God working in the flesh is more conducive to His judgment
work of the last days than working through the Spirit. Almighty God
says: “The
original conceptions of man can only be revealed through their
contrast to the incarnate God. Without the comparison to the
incarnate God, the conceptions of man could not be revealed…”
(“Corrupt Mankind Is More in Need of the Salvation of God Become
Flesh” in The Word Appears in the Flesh). “The
corrupt disposition and rebellion and resistance of man are exposed
when he sees Christ, and the rebellion and resistance exposed on such
occasion are more absolute and complete than on any other. It is
because Christ is the Son of man and possesses normal humanity that
man neither honors nor respects Him. It is because God lives in the
flesh that the rebellion of man is brought to light thoroughly and
vividly. So I say that the coming of Christ has unearthed all the
rebellion of mankind and has thrown the nature of mankind into sharp
relief. This is called ‘luring a tiger down the mountain’ and
‘luring a wolf out of the cave’”
(“Those Incompatible With Christ Are Surely Opponents of God” in
The Word Appears in the Flesh). “For
the work of judgment is also carried out through man’s conceptions
of God, and man has never had any conceptions of the Spirit, and so
the Spirit is incapable of better revealing the unrighteousness of
man, much less of completely disclosing such unrighteousness. The
incarnate God is the enemy of all those who do not know Him. Through
judging man’s conceptions and opposition to Him, He discloses all
the disobedience of mankind. The effects of His work in the flesh are
more apparent than those of the work of the Spirit. And so, the
judgment of all mankind is not carried out directly by the Spirit,
but is the work of the incarnate God. God in the flesh can be seen
and touched by man, and God in the flesh can completely conquer man.
In his relationship with God in the flesh, man progresses from
opposition to obedience, from persecution to acceptance, from
conception to knowledge, and from rejection to love. These are the
effects of the work of the incarnate God”
(“Corrupt Mankind Is More in Need of the Salvation of God Become
Flesh” in The Word Appears in the Flesh). “Many
have a bad feeling about the second incarnation of God, for man finds
it difficult to believe that God would become flesh to do the work of
judgment. Nevertheless, I must tell you that often the work of God
greatly exceeds man’s expectations and is difficult for the minds
of men to accept. For men are merely maggots upon the earth, while
God is the supreme One that fills the universe … whereas each stage
of the work directed by the thoughts of God is the distillation of
God’s wisdom. Man constantly wishes to contend with God, to which I
say it is self-evident who will suffer loss in the end”
(“Christ Does the Work of Judgment With the Truth” in The Word
Appears in the Flesh).
God’s
words have made us understand that God became flesh in the last days
for the sake of the needs of corrupt mankind and His judgment work of
the last days. We all know that people under the law needed sin
offerings. Without Jesus’ incarnation, people would die under the
law. In the last days, people redeemed by God need to be thoroughly
cleansed and saved. Without God’s incarnation in the last days, we
can only live in the situation of sinning and confessing, never being
able to achieve holiness and enter God’s kingdom. Only through God
becoming flesh to do His work of judging and cleansing mankind can
mankind have a clear goal to pursue and accurately feel out God’s
intentions, such that corrupt mankind can be thoroughly cleansed and
saved. Only the practical work of God in the flesh can reveal
mankind’s disobedience, corruption and resistance; only it can
conquer man and make man fall down before God. Therefore, God’s
incarnation is too crucial for corrupt mankind in the last days. Now
that all this has been said, can we still say that God cannot
possibly come in the flesh in the last days? Can we still refuse this
great salvation just because God’s reincarnation does not conform
with our notions? God’s incarnation in the last days is imperative
to mankind being saved, and a major event that determines mankind’s
future. Almighty God says: “Did
you not desire greatly to see the God in heaven? Did you not desire
greatly to understand the God in heaven? Did you not desire greatly
to see the destination of mankind? He will tell you all these secrets
that no man has been able to tell you, and He will even tell you of
the truths that you do not understand. He is your gate into the
kingdom, and your guide into the new age.” “Because it is He who
has brought the truth, the life, and the way to save all mankind,
ease the conflict between God and man, bring God and man closer
together, and communicate thoughts between God and man. It is also He
who has brought even greater glory to God. Is not an ordinary man
such as this worthy of your trust and adoration? Is such an ordinary
flesh not fit to be called Christ? Can such an ordinary man not be
the expression of God among men? Is not such a man who helps mankind
be spared disaster worthy of your love and for you to hold?” “Such
an ordinary flesh holds many unfathomable mysteries. His deeds may be
inscrutable to you, but the goal of all the work He does is
sufficient for you to see that He is not a simple flesh as man
believes. For He represents the will of God as well as the care shown
by God toward mankind in the last days. Though you cannot hear the
words He speaks that seem to shake the heavens and earth or see His
eyes like blazing flames, and though you cannot feel the discipline
of His iron rod, you can hear from His words the fury of God and know
that God shows compassion for mankind; you can see the righteous
disposition of God and His wisdom, and moreover, realize the concern
and care that God has for all mankind. The work of God in the last
days is to allow man to see the God in heaven live among men on
earth, and to enable man to come to know, obey, revere, and love God.
This is why He has returned to flesh for a second time. Though what
man sees this day is a God that is the same as man, a God with a nose
and two eyes, and an unremarkable God, in the end God will show you
that without the existence of this man, the heaven and earth will
undergo a tremendous change; without the existence of this man, the
heaven will grow dim, the earth will become chaos, and all mankind
will live in famine and plagues. He will show you that without the
salvation of God incarnate in the last days, then God would have long
ago destroyed all mankind in hell; without the existence of this
flesh, then you would forever be chief of sinners and corpses
evermore. You should know that without the existence of this flesh,
all mankind would face an inevitable calamity and find it difficult
to escape God’s more severe punishment of mankind in the last days.
Without the birth of this ordinary flesh, you would all be in a state
where neither life nor death will come no matter how you seek it;
without the existence of this flesh, then this day you would not be
able to receive the truth and come before the throne of God. Rather,
you would be punished by God because of your grievous sins. Do you
know? If not for the return of God to the flesh, none would have a
chance at salvation; and if not for the coming of this flesh, God
would have long ago ended the age of old. As such, can you still
reject the second incarnation of God? Since you can so greatly profit
from this ordinary man, then why would you not accept Him readily?”
(“Do You Know? God Has Done a Great Thing Among Men” in The Word
Appears in the Flesh).
Dear
brothers and sisters, aren’t we all looking forward to welcoming
the return of the Lord Jesus? Aren’t we all anticipating attending
the wedding feast of the Lamb with the Lord and gain God’s
salvation in the last days? Only if we put aside our own notions,
come before God, and seek and accept the truths expressed by Almighty
God, will we be able to hear God’s voice, see God’s appearance.
Only then can we receive the way of eternal life bestowed by God in
the last days, gain God’s cleansing, saving, and perfecting, be
brought into God’s kingdom, and enter the beautiful destination of
mankind. If we hold on to our notions and imaginings, refusing to
accept the fact of God’s incarnation in the last days, we will then
lose our last chance to be saved and regret it for the rest of our
lives!
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