In the ideal world we are going to build, we will be liberated from sin both on the physical and spiritual levels, under the actual guidance of God as our parent.
The Lord must come again in the flesh to accomplish his mission of saving the physical world.
The fall began by one physical man and woman on earth and can only be rectified through man on earth.
If he comes on the clouds of Heaven, spiritually, he cannot accomplish his mission of restoring the whole world both on the spiritual and physical levels. The problem is the sin and corruption of this world, and not of heaven.
Q. How will the Lord come at the Second Advent?
We can see through the parallels of history repeating itself that Christianity is in the same position as the elders, scribes and priests at the time of Jesus.
At that time, the people were waiting for the return of Elijah in the sky.
Why did they hold onto this kind of belief?
They were simply following the Bible prophecy written down in Daniel 7:13:
"I saw in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven there came one like a son of man, and he came to the Ancient of Days and was presented before him."
Because of the great prophet Daniel, the people of Israel had every reason to expect the arrival of the Messiah to return on clouds of heaven. Christians are expecting the arrival of the Lord in the same way today, in a majestic show on the clouds.
Many people were denying Jesus as this Messiah because he was in the flesh - to them an ordinary man.
John condemened these people as the anti-christ in II John 7 "...many deceivers have gone out into the world, men who will not acknowledge the coming of Jesus Christ in the flesh; such a one is the decevier and the anti-christ."
How, then will Jesus in our day and age if Elijah returned through the works of Jesus? Still today the Jewish people wait for such an arrival and deem this second coming as the first coming of Elijah.
Unless we know the whole truth, we like the people of Jesus' time may fall victim of the words of the Bible by taking them in the literal sense.
In Jesus' time, the people were waiting for the return of Elijah upon the clouds and could not accept Jesus as the Son of God. They would say that he had a mother and father, Joseph and Mary, how could he be the Son of God?
The disciples and the faithful of Israel argued this point all of the time.
Those who believed in the letter of the Old Testament and not the spirit would miss the Messiah.
Q: Then how will the Lord appear in the last days?
Believe it or not, we are in the exact same parallel to that of the time of Jesus Christ. If we become slaves to the letter of the New Testament, we will commit the same crime that the elders, scribes and Pharisees committed 2,000 years ago.
What would you do if the Lord did return in the flesh? If one told you that the Son of Man already returned with flesh and bones? You would say I was a heretic.
It does not matter how one looks at the world, a man's views, or what one thinks, what matters is how God looks at the world.
The Bible states two prophecies: arrival of the Lord on the clouds and another that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night.
What do you do with these two prophecies?
If the Lord comes on the clouds, then he surely can't appear like a thief unseen in the world. There would be a lot of attention around his arrival on the clouds and could not be hidden from anyone's eyes.
When you see the signs of the Last Days, the Bible urges you to go into a dark room and pray. Who can tell you the time of the Last Days?
The angels do not know that day. Jesus said not even the Son of man knew when that day would arrive. Only God knows the time of the Last Days.
"That is why we have our answer from God. I am not saying you must believe me. I am just revealing what I know to be the truth, but you must verify this truth with God."
Christians simply believe in the words of the Bible and that Jesus will return on the clouds and only true Christians will be lifted in the air.
That is horrendous, empty, hollow. Religion is not out there, up in the stratosphere.
I am testifying that the Lord cannot appear in that kind of supernatural fashion. Jesus Christ could not return that way because the work of God is to be done here on earth.
The mission of the Messiah is a physical, realistic one. As a man he must come up from the bottom of human misery just as Jesus had done.
He must come to the most miserable nation and lift the human status from the slave position, to the servant position, to the adopted child position and to the direct child position by physically putting together the Kingdom of Heaven here on earth. That is the mission of the Messiah.
Do not rely on anyone's answer.
In the Last Days, the Bible says, do not just believe anybody. Do not believe me, and do not believe someone just because of his or her official status in church or society.
Famous leaders will not necessarily give you the guidance God would want for you. Heaven is so near, and you can be lifted up by the spirit so high, that you can speak with God and receive the answer directly from Him if you are earnest enough.
Jesus said, "He who has ears to hear, let him hear." (Matt. 11:15) And he said to his disciples, "But blessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear." (Matt. 13:16) He was not referring to physical sense organs.
When you use your spiritual senses and listen for the Word of God, you will find His direction and guidance. But it is not easy to become a citizen of the Kingdom of Heaven.
It is very difficult for a foreigner to go through the process to become a citizen of the United States.
How much more difficult it is to remove ourselves from our corrupt life and transfer ourselves into the Kingdom of Heaven. But we can achieve this very thing.
We know that even after Adam and Eve fell in the garden of Eden, they still were able to communicate directly with God.
The only way we might miss that day is if we look for the Lord to come from one direction, and he appears from another direction in an entirely unexpected manner, just as Elijah did at the time of Jesus.
This is the reason you may not see the Lord at the time of his second coming.
Another mysterious prediction was given by Jesus Christ himself He declared about the Lord at the second coming: "But first he must suffer many things and be rejected by this generation." (Luke 17:25) If Christ at his Second Coming appears in the glory of the clouds of heaven, who would deny him?
Nobody would cause him suffering and pain. The only way this prophecy can be fulfilled is if people expect his return from the clouds and he suddenly appears as a humble man in the flesh.
Do you think that Christian leaders of today would make the same mistake that the priests and scribes and elders committed at the time of Jesus? Yes! They may very well deny him and reject him, because the manner of his coming would be very difficult for Christian leaders to accept. However, in this way the Bible will be fulfilled. He will first suffer and be rejected by this generation.
Jesus once asked a most important question: "When the Son of man comes, will he find faith on earth?" (Luke 18:8)
Although we do have faith today, it may be mistaken faith based on a belief which expects the Lord must come on the clouds of heaven.
There are few men or women on earth with the kind of faith ready to accept the Son of Man appearing in the flesh.
If this were not the situation, the Bible prophecy we are discussing here would not be fulfilled. Please note that Jesus did not say there would be no believers, but he said there would be no FAITH.
Jesus also said: "Not every one who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?' And then will I declare to them. 'I never knew you; depart from me, you evildoers.' " (Matt. 7:21-23)
This prophecy cannot be realized if his second coming is on the clouds of heaven.
At the time of the second advent, people again will be crying out, "Lord, Lord." At the same time they may be in the process of trying to crucify the Messiah if he appears in a manner different from their expectations. They will then be the worst evildoers.
This is the Bible. Those who truly have eyes will see Those who truly have ears will hear. Throughout history God has sent His prophets before the time of fulfillment. He warns the people of His plan. No matter how devout Christian faith is today, no matter how many millions of people are in the Christian churches, they and their churches and their world will decline once they fail to accept the Lord, however he may appear.
This was the tragic fate of Israel and the Roman Empire when they denied Jesus Christ, regardless of their righteousness otherwise.
We must therefore also be open to a new message. Jesus Christ did not come to repeat the Mosaic Law.
Just as Jesus revealed himself with the new expression of truth, the Lord at the second advent will reveal himself with God's truth for our time.
That truth will not be simply a repetition of the New Testament.
I hope that you consider these ideas seriously, and pray to God. He will answer you.
Return for Tomorrow's post: What Truly is Good, What is Evil?
This post was rewritten and derived from the text, Jesus and the Second Coming God's Warning to the World -message from prison
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