In the last days, it is our greatest hope to receive the return of the Lord Jesus Christ. To help all the people who yearn for God’s appearance to welcome the return of the Lord Jesus Christ soon, our blog will update the latest message on the return of the Lord.
Long ago, I saw many pastors say online, “We are in the last days, and many biblical prophecies have been fulfilled, such as the blood moons, earthquakes, tsunamis, plagues, famines, and the restoration of Israel—the Lord is coming very soon. Only by being like the wise virgins and preparing oil can we welcome the Lord’s return. This requires us to fast and pray more, frequently attend Holy Communion, read the Bible more, diligently do the Lord’s work, and wait watchfully.” Then I started practicing according to what the pastors said. But after a few years of this, no matter how I read the Bible, prayed, and attended meetings, there was no steadiness in my heart; and I kept wondering, “Can carrying on like this really make me a wise virgin and welcome the Lord’s return?”
That year, when my family was building a house, there happened an accident which caused two people to be killed and two people to be injured. The sudden disaster made me unbearable and the high compensation also worsened the situation of us who were short of money. When I was at my hardest time and needed help most, my neighbor spread the gospel of the Lord Jesus to me and told me the story of the Lord Jesus’ crucifixion. I was deeply touched by the Lord’s love and I felt that only the Lord is my only reliance. To return the Lord’s love, I actively attended the gatherings and spread the gospel.
My parents are both Christians and from an early age I started going with them to church to attend services. At the age of 12 I attended a grand Christian camp in Myanmar, and while I was there a pastor told me: “The only way to avoid death and enter the kingdom of heaven is to be baptized.” And so in order to enter the kingdom of heaven I decided to get baptized while I was at the camp. From that time on, I became a genuine Christian.
I was born in a Catholic family. Since I was little, I attended Mass at church with my grandparents. Due to the influence of my environment and my belief in God, I learned to chant many different scriptures and practice various rituals.
In 2009, I arrived in Japan to study. One time, in a fellow student’s dorm room, I met by chance a Christian small group leader who had come to spread the gospel. I thought: Protestants and Catholics believe in the same God. They both believe in the Lord Jesus. As a result, I accepted the small group leader’s invitation to join him at the church. After listening to the pastors preach and hearing some brothers and sisters talk about the Bible, I had some understanding about the Lord Jesus’ life. This caused me to have more faith in the Lord. However, after a few months, the pastors and the preachers asked us to donate tithe every week. Also, each week, we were to hand out pamphlets to spread the gospel. Sometimes, we were so tired that we would snooze during Sunday service. We no longer had a normal routine in our life. At that time, some of us were both working and studying. Not only did we have to make money to pay for our studies, but we also needed money for our everyday expenses. Our lives were already quite difficult, but they still wanted us to give them our money and our energy. We were under a lot of stress and pain. Gradually, I discovered that the pastors and the preachers were not truly people that served the Lord. Normally, since they were those who shepherded the church, they should have been helping us grow in our spiritual lives. However, they did not care about our lives. They did not think at all about our practical problems. Instead, they wanted our energy and our money. Everything they did was to help expand their church and consolidate their status and their influence. At this time, we felt like we had been deceived. Consequently, a few of my brothers and I left the church.
On a Sunday in March 2017, a sister of our church dragged an aunt passing by the church to attend our meeting, and I happened to know that she was my fellow villager through her introduction. It was the first time that I met a person from my hometown since I came to America three years ago, and moreover, she was a sister in the Lord. I fell into her arms and cried at once. After that, we always spent time together and we treated each other as family. And later the aunt recommended Brother Liu to study the Bible with us.
When I was small, I went with my grandmother to gatherings at church. Our neighbors would also come to our home often to tell me stories from the Bible, and they told me that God’s name was Jehovah, and that I could call on the name Jehovah God whenever I had a problem. In my childish ignorance, I therefore became aware that God’s name was Jehovah. My kindergarten was a Christian school, and the teacher there said that God’s name was Jesus, and she told us that we could pray to the name of the Lord Jesus whenever we had any problem. At that point, I thought to myself: Is God’s name not Jehovah? How come He is now called Jesus? What’s the connection between Jehovah and Jesus? As I grew up, I read in the Old Testament: “Jehovah is My name for ever, and this is My memorial to all generations” (Exodus 3:15). However, the New Testament records, “Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved” (Acts 4:12). I therefore felt perplexed and thought: The Old Testament says that we must hold to the name Jehovah God forever, so why then does it say in the New Testament that we can only be saved through the name of the Lord Jesus? I felt very confused and didn’t know whether to pray to the name Jehovah God or to the name of the Lord Jesus when I said my prayers. After this period of confusion, I decided that I would pray to the name Jehovah God first, and then I would thank the Lord Jesus for the grace He bestowed on me, and finally I would ask the Holy Spirit to guide me. I thought: If I use all these names in my prayers, then at least one of them will be right. After a while of doing this, however, I still felt confused. I thought: There is only one God, so why was God’s name Jehovah one minute and Jesus the next? Which one is God’s true name?
Editor’s Note: She’d believed in the Lord for over 50 years and, for all that time, she believed that the Lord Jesus was the one and only Redeemer of mankind, and she looked forward to the Lord returning to receive her up into the kingdom of heaven. When someone preached to her that the Lord had returned and was performing a new work, she couldn’t accept it and believed that to accept this new work would be to betray the Lord. But was she right to believe this? This article, “After More Than 50 Years, I Live to Witness the Lord’s Return,” will give you the answer.
Some Christians believe “When the Lord returns, He will certainly appear to all of humanity on a cloud in a spiritual body. Any testimony about the Lord’s return as incarnate is false.” The author also held this belief, and so put her guard up when hearing that the Lord has become flesh to appear and work. How did she finally relax her guard and welcome the Lord’s return?
“God’s overflowing love is freely bestowed upon man and surrounds man; man is innocent and pure, unencumbered and carefree, blissfully living under God’s eye. … But as a person with a conscience and sense of humanity, you would feel differently. You would feel warmth, you would feel cared for and loved, and you would feel happiness” (“How Important God’s Love for Man Is” in Follow the Lamb and Sing New Songs). Every time when I hear this hymn of God’s words, I’m always touched by it. I once strayed from God and resisted God. I, just like a lost lamb, couldn’t find the way home. It is God’s great love that has brought me back to His family. I would like to share my experience of returning to God’s family with brothers and sisters in the Lord and friends who have yet to return to God.
Editor’s note: Where will the Lord appear when He returns in the last days? Many people think that the Lord will appear in Israel. However, the facts strike back at people’s notions. Celeste got the news that God has appeared and worked in China. After seeking, he understood the significance of God’s appearance and work in China.
By Celeste, Philippines
I was very surprised at the news online that God has appeared and worked in China, for the pastors and elders said that the Israelites were chosen by God, and they were God’s chosen people, so God should work in Israel when He returns. I wondered: China is a nation that doesn’t worship God, and the Chinese government has a bad reputation in the world, so why does God choose to work in China instead of Israel or any other nation that worships God when He returns? Therefore, I sought the answer to this issue from Sister Anna.
Welcome the Lord Jesus Christ's Return 