Question 1: You bear witness that God has become flesh as the Son of man to do the work of judgment in the last days, and yet the majority of religious pastors and elders maintain that the Lord will return coming with clouds. They base this primarily on the Bible verses: “This same Jesus … shall so come in like manner as you have seen Him go into heaven” (Act 1:11). “Behold, He comes with clouds; and every eye shall see Him” (Rev 1:7). And furthermore, the religious pastors and elders also teach us that any Lord Jesus who does not come with clouds is false and must be rejected. So, we’re not sure whether or not this view is in line with the Bible; is this kind of understanding correct or not?
Answer:
It is clearly prophesied in the Bible that the Lord will come incarnate as the Son of man in the last days. And there are many more prophecies in the Bible about this. For instance: “Be you therefore ready also: for the Son of man comes at an hour when you think not” (Luk 12:40). “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). All of these prophecies speak of “the Son of man” or “the Son of man comes.” This phrase “the Son of man” refers to One who is born to a human and has normal humanity. So the Spirit can’t be called the Son of man. For instance, because Jehovah God is Spirit, He cannot be called the Son of man. Some people have seen angels, angels are also spiritual beings, so they cannot be called the Son of man. All those that have the appearance of man but are composed of spiritual bodies cannot be called the Son of man. The incarnate Lord Jesus was called the Son of man and Christ because He was the incarnate flesh of God’s Spirit and so became an ordinary and normal man, living in the company of other men. So when the Lord Jesus said “the Son of man” and “the Son of man comes,” He was referring to God’s coming through incarnation in the last days.
—Essential Questions and Answers on the Gospel of the Kingdom
The Lord Jesus repeatedly prophesied that He would come again as the Son of man. The Son of man refers to God incarnate, such as the Lord Jesus in the flesh who on the outside appeared to be an ordinary, normal person. He ate, drank, slept, and walked like a normal man. But the spiritual body of the Lord Jesus after He resurrected was different—it could penetrate walls, it could fade in and back out. It was particularly supernatural. So, He could no longer be called the Son of man. When the Lord Jesus prophesied the Son of man’s return, He said, “But first must He suffer many things, and be rejected of this generation” (Luk 17:25). But if the Lord were to return as a spiritual body descending on a cloud and appearing publicly with great glory, all people would prostrate themselves and worship Him; who would dare to resist and condemn Him? The Lord Jesus said, “But first must He suffer many things, and be rejected of this generation.” How will these words be fulfilled? Only when God incarnate appears to work as the Son of man, when people do not recognize that He is Christ incarnate would they dare to condemn and reject Christ according to their notions and imagination. Wouldn’t you say that is the case? In addition, the Lord Jesus also prophesied, “But of that day and hour knows no man, not the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but My Father only” (Mat 24:36). “If therefore you shall not watch, I will come on you as a thief, and you shall not know what hour I will come on you” (Rev 3:3). If the Lord were to descend on a cloud in a spiritual body, then everyone would know about it and be able to see it. Yet the Lord Jesus’ prophecies about His return included “knows no man,” “nor the Son,” and “as a thief.” How will these words be fulfilled? If the Lord Jesus were to appear in a spiritual body, how would He not know about it Himself? Only when God becomes flesh as the Son of man in the last days, becoming an ordinary, normal person, will the words “nor the Son” be fulfilled. Just like the Lord Jesus; before performing His ministry, even He did not know about His identity as Christ who came to perform the work of redemption. So, the Lord Jesus often prayed to God the Father. It wasn’t until the Lord Jesus began to fulfill His ministry that He became aware of His identity.
—Essential Questions and Answers on the Gospel of the Kingdom
The Lord Jesus prophesied that He shall return and said many words about it, but we 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. We won’t know He is God even if we see or hear Him, just as it was back when the Lord Jesus appeared and performed His work during His incarnation as the Son of man. 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? 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.
—Essential Questions and Answers on the Gospel of the Kingdom
Now, Almighty God’s kingdom gospel has been spreading throughout Mainland China for more than 20 years. It has long spread to various religions and denominations. During this period, due to the CCP government’s furious suppression and crackdown, coupled with the propaganda campaign of the CCP’s media, Almighty God is already a household name that everybody knows about. Later, all the truths expressed by Almighty God and the various videos and films produced by The Church of Almighty God have been gradually released online, spreading across the world. People in religious circles have all heard about the various testimony methods of The Church of Almighty God. So many people have testified that God has come. This completely fulfills the prophecy of the Lord Jesus: “And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom comes; go you out to meet him” (Mat 25:6). Then why do religious pastors and elders still furiously condemn and resist Almighty God’s work in the last days? There are so many prophecies about the return of the Lord in the Bible, so why are they so fixated on the prophecy about the Lord descending with the clouds? Why don’t they seek at all when they hear there are testimonies of the Lord’s coming? Why, when they know that Almighty God has expressed many truths and have seen the reality of God’s work, do they still stubbornly hold on to their notions and imaginations in resisting and condemning God’s work of the last days? Do these people love the truth and genuinely look forward to the Lord’s arrival or not? Are they wise virgins or foolish virgins? If they are wise virgins and genuinely look forward to the Lord’s return, then why, when they hear God’s voice and see the kingdom gospel flourishing, do they still have to stubbornly condemn and resist? Could this be their sincerity in longing for and hoping for the Lord to appear? Could this be their true expression in rejoicing the Lord’s return? Ultimately, to be frank, their belief in the Lord and longing for the return of the Lord Jesus are fake, but their longing to be blessed and enter the kingdom of heaven is real! They believe in the Lord not so they can pursue the truth and gain life, not so they can gain the truth and get away from sin. What do they care about the most? It’s when the Lord will descend to take them directly up into the kingdom of heaven and make them escape the suffering of the flesh and enjoy the blessings of the kingdom of heaven. This is their true purpose of believing in God! Apart from this reason, what reason do they have for rejecting Almighty God, who expresses truths to save mankind? We can think about it. If someone loves the truth and genuinely longs for God to appear, how will they act when they hear that the Lord has come? Will they not listen, not look, not get in touch with it? Will they blindly deny, condemn and resist? Definitely not! Because a person who sincerely longs for God’s appearance and welcomes God’s arrival looks forward to true light appearing, truth and righteousness ruling in their heart. They look forward to God coming to save mankind and help people thoroughly escape sin to be purified and gained by God. But those who only wait for the Lord to descend with the clouds yet deny and reject Almighty God, especially those religious leaders who furiously condemn and resist Almighty God for the sake of protecting their status and livelihood—these are all people who despise the truth and hate the truth. They are all non-believers and antichrists exposed by God’s work of the last days. After God in the flesh completes His salvation work, these people will fall into the once-in-a-million-year disaster, weeping and gnashing their teeth. Then the prophecy of the Lord descending with the clouds to appear publicly will be completely fulfilled: “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).
—Essential Questions and Answers on the Gospel of the Kingdom
