How Come Those Giving up on Food for Fear of Choking Welcome the Second Coming of Jesus Christ
I want to ask a question: It is said in the Bible, “Then if any man shall say to you, See, here is Christ, or there; believe it not. For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall show great signs and wonders; so that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect” (Matthew 24:23-24). As mentioned above, false Christs and false prophets will deceive believers in the last days when Jesus Christ comes again. We believers in God are longing for the return of Jesus Christ. However, when hearing someone preaching the second coming of Jesus Christ, we dare not to come into contact with them or investigate for fear of being deceived by false Christs and false prophets. Then, how can we solve this problem exactly?
All Christians pay close attention to the topic of God’s second coming, for it was a major event concerning whether their beliefs can be approved by the Lord. Today, in the last days, we all know it is the time when God will come again. Therefore, many people are eagerly expecting to welcome the Lord’s return earlier and see His appearance. But at the same time, because of the Lord Jesus’ admonitions to man, “For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets,” they guard against whatever concerning the news of the Lord’s return with cautious and prudent heart for fear of being deceived. Many brothers and sisters in the Lord are puzzled by such conflicted feeling. Then, how could we solve the question of hoping to follow God’s footsteps, but worrying about being deceived?
In fact, the crux of the matter is to have a correct understanding of the Lord’s words. The Lord Jesus said, “Then if any man shall say to you, See, here is Christ, or there; believe it not. For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall show great signs and wonders; so that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect” (Matthew 24:23-24). By saying so, the Lord meant us to be cautious and discriminating in the matter of His return, and didn’t mean us not to seek His appearance as there would arise false Christs in the last days. If we avoid and refuse any news about the Lord’s return for fear of being deceived, we will never meet the return of the Lord Jesus. That’s because when we are blindly guarding against false Christs, the Lord has long ago returned and raptured those believers who seek and investigate the true way into the kingdom of God. We should not give up eating for fear of choking. Many people considering themselves wise are often plunged into it. However, the wise virgins are watching and waiting, as well as seeking with a humble heart, just fulfilling the Lord’s word “My sheep hear my voice” (John 10:27). Only those who can recognize God’s voice can keep pace with the Lamb’s footsteps and be the ones blessed by God.
If we want to keep ourselves from being deceived by false Christs, we must acquire the power of discernment. As long as we grasp the truths about discerning the true Christ from false Christs, we can distinguish true from false regardless of how false Christs impersonate Christ. Then how do we discern the true Christ from false Christs?
God says, “He who is God’s incarnation shall hold the substance of God, and He who is God’s incarnation shall hold the expression of God. Since God becomes flesh, He shall bring forth the work He must do, and since God becomes flesh, He shall express what He is, and shall be able to bring the truth to man, bestow life upon man, and show man the way. Flesh that does not contain the substance of God is surely not the incarnate God; of this there is no doubt. To investigate whether it is God’s incarnate flesh, man must determine this from the disposition He expresses and the words He speaks. Which is to say, whether or not it is God’s incarnate flesh, and whether or not it is the true way, must be judged from His substance. And so, in determining whether it is the flesh of God incarnate, the key is to pay attention to His substance (His work, His words, His disposition, and many more), rather than external appearance. If man sees only His external appearance, and overlooks His substance, then that shows the ignorance and naivety of man” (“Preface”).
“God become flesh is called Christ, and so the Christ that can give people the truth is called God. There is nothing excessive about this, for He possesses the substance of God, and possesses God’s disposition, and wisdom in His work, that are unattainable by man. Those who call themselves Christ, yet cannot do the work of God, are frauds” (“Only Christ of the Last Days Can Give Man the Way of Eternal Life”).
“Apart from Christ, those who falsely claim to be Christ do not have His qualities. When juxtaposed against the arrogant and self-exalting disposition of those false Christs, it becomes apparent what manner of flesh is truly Christ. The more false they are, the more such false Christs show off themselves, and the more capable they are of working signs and wonders to deceive man. False Christs do not have the qualities of God; Christ is not tainted by any element belonging to false Christs” (“The Substance of Christ Is Obedience to the Will of the Heavenly Father”).
“You cannot bring forth new paths or represent the Spirit. You cannot express the work of the Spirit or the words that He speaks. You cannot do the work of God Himself or that of the Spirit. You cannot express the wisdom, wonder, and unfathomableness of God, or all the disposition by which God chastises man. So your repeated claims to be God do not matter; you have only the name and none of the substance. … You cannot make way for a new age, and you cannot bring the old to an end and cannot usher in a new age or do new work. Therefore, you cannot be called God!” (“The Mystery of the Incarnation (1)”).
From God’s words, we know that Christ is able to usher in a new age, end the old age, bring the new work and bestow the truth, the way and the life upon us. The Lord Jesus ended the Age of Law and brought the Age of Grace. He did the redemptive work based on the Age of Law, and brought the new ways of practicing to us, teaching us to confess our sins, repent and love each other, etc. In the last days, Almighty God’s arrival ends the Age of Grace and brings the Age of Kingdom. He does a stage of work of judgment and purification on the basis of the redemptive work. In this stage of work, He speaks words to judge man and thereby bestows upon us all the truths of pursuing salvation, and the way to change our disposition and then cast off our corrupt satanic disposition. And eventually we can be brought into good destination. False Christs, however, can neither begin a new age nor do a new work. They can only follow and imitate the work of God after the completion of God’s work and work some signs and wonders to deceive man. They cannot express the truths at all, much less bring us the path of transformation in our disposition. The false Christs are incapable of doing the work of God, for they do not definitely possess divine substance. So it is said in the Bible, “Then if any man shall say to you, See, here is Christ, or there; believe it not. For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall show great signs and wonders; so that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect” (Matthew 24:23-24). It can be seen that the Lord Jesus told us to guard against false Christs and false prophets, who will deceive man by imitating the Lord Jesus by performing some signs and wonders, and learn to discern the manifestation of false Christs and false prophets. Meanwhile, He wanted to let us know that He will not do the work Jesus did when He comes again in the last days, for He is always new and never old. If we cannot properly understand His words, but use His own words to reject His return and His new work, aren’t we too foolish?
Refusing to investigate the return of the Lord Jesus for fear of being deceived by false Christs is exactly the tragedy of us caused by not understanding the truth. If we seek humbly and understand this aspect of truth from the words of Almighty God, could we refuse the Christ who has returned to flesh? Nowadays, Christ is standing at the door, and knocking. Those who close their heart and hold on to their own notions will miss the last opportunity to be saved, and regret for the rest of their lives.
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