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.
Whenever we talk of the Lord Jesus, we all think of His abundant love for us; He personally came into the world to redeem mankind and was an innocent Man who was crucified upon the cross, and this act completely manifests His love for all mankind. The Bible says, “Through the tender mercy of our God; whereby the dayspring from on high has visited us, To give light to them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace” (Luke 1:78–79). Every Christian who accepts the Lord’s salvation enjoys the plentiful grace which He bestows on us and we experience the peace and joy He brings to us. Many people therefore believe that the Lord Jesus’ disposition is eternally loving and merciful.
None of the Created and Non-created Beings Can Replace the Identity of the Creator
Mountain cloudFrom when He commenced the creation of all things, the power of God began to be expressed, and began to be revealed, for God used words to create all things. Regardless of in what manner He created them, regardless of why He created them, all things came into being and stood fast and existed because of the words of God, and this is the unique authority of the Creator. In the time before mankind appeared in the world, the Creator used His power and authority to create all things for mankind, and employed His unique methods to prepare a suitable living environment for mankind. All that He did was in preparation for mankind, who would soon receive His breath.
Next, let us speak of the cycle of life and death of those who follow God. This concerns you, so pay attention: First, think about how God’s followers can be categorized. (God’s chosen ones, and the service-doers.) There are indeed two: God’s chosen ones, and the service-doers. First, let us talk about God’s chosen ones, of whom there are but a few. Whom does “God’s chosen ones” refer to? After God created all things and mankind came into existence, God selected a group of people who would follow Him; these are simply referred to as “God’s chosen.” There was a special scope and significance to God’s selection of these people. The scope is special in that it was limited to a select few, who must come when He does important work. And what is the significance? Since they were a group selected by God, the significance is great. That is, God wishes to complete these people, and perfect them, and once His work of management is finished, He will gain these people. Is this significance not great? Thus, these chosen ones are of great importance to God, for they are the ones whom God intends to gain. As for the service-doers, well, let us take a break for a moment from the subject of God’s predestination, and first talk of their origins. A “service-doer” is literally one who serves. Those who serve are transient; they do not do so long-term or forever, but are hired or recruited temporarily. The origin of most of them is that they were selected from among the unbelievers. They came to earth when it was decreed that they would assume the role of service-doers in God’s work. They may have been animals in the previous lifetime, but they may also have been unbelievers. Such are the origins of the service-doers.
Sodom’s Corruption: Infuriating to Man, Enraging to God
On that night, Lot received two messengers from God and prepared a feast for them. After dining, before they had lain down, people from all over the city surrounded Lot’s residence and called out to Lot. The Scripture records them as saying, “Where are the men which came in to you this night? bring them out to us, that we may know them.” Who said these words? To whom were they spoken? These were the words of the people of Sodom, yelled outside Lot’s residence and meant for Lot. How does it feel to hear these words? Are you furious? Do these words sicken you? Are you simmering with rage? Do these words not reek of Satan? Through them, can you sense the evil and darkness in this city? Can you sense the cruelty and barbarity of these people’s behavior through their words? Can you sense the depth of their corruption through their behavior? Through the content of their speech, it is not difficult to see that their iniquitous nature and savage disposition had reached a level beyond their own control. Save for Lot, every last person in this city was no different from Satan; the mere sight of another person made these people want to harm and devour them…. These things not only give one a sense of the city’s ghastly and terrifying nature, as well as the aura of death around it; they also give one a sense of its iniquity and bloodiness.
Another Manifestation of Job’s Fear of God and Shunning of Evil Is His Extolling of God’s Name in All Things
Job had suffered the ravages of Satan, yet still he did not forsake the name of Jehovah God. His wife was the first to step out and play the role of Satan that can be seen by attacking Job. The original text describes it thus: “Then said his wife to him, Do you still retain your integrity? curse God, and die” (Job 2:9). These were the words spoken by Satan in the guise of man. They were an attack, and an accusation, as well as enticement, a temptation, and slander. Having failed in attacking Job’s flesh, Satan then directly attacked Job’s integrity, wishing to use this to make Job give up his integrity, renounce God, and stop living. So, too, did Satan wish to use such words to tempt Job: If Job forsook the name of Jehovah, he need not endure such torment, could free himself from the torment of the flesh. Faced with the advice of his wife, Job reprimanded her by saying, “You speak as one of the foolish women speaks. What? shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil?” (Job 2:10). Job had long known these words, but at this time the truth of Job’s knowledge of them was proven.
God’s Mercy and Tolerance Are Not Rare—Man’s True Repentance Is
Regardless of how angry God had been with the Ninevites, as soon as they declared a fast and wore sackcloth and ashes, His heart gradually softened, and He began to change His heart. When He proclaimed to them that He would destroy their city—the moment prior to their confession and repentance for their sins—God was still angry with them. Once they had gone through a series of acts of repentance, God’s anger for the people of Nineveh gradually transformed into mercy and tolerance for them. There is nothing contradictory about the coinciding revelation of these two aspects of God’s disposition in the same event. How should one understand and know this lack of contradiction? God successively expressed and revealed these two polar-opposite substances as the people of Nineveh repented, allowing people to see the realness and the unoffendableness of God’s substance. God used His attitude to tell people the following: It is not that God does not tolerate people, or He does not want to show mercy to them; it is that they rarely truly repent toward God, and it is rare that people truly turn away from their evil ways and abandon the violence in their hands. In other words, when God is angry with man, He hopes that man will be able to truly repent, and He hopes to see man’s true repentance, in which case He will then liberally continue to bestow His mercy and tolerance upon man. This is to say that man’s evil conduct incurs God’s wrath, whereas God’s mercy and tolerance are bestowed upon those who listen to God and truly repent before Him, upon those who can turn away from their evil ways and abandon the violence in their hands. God’s attitude was very clearly revealed in His treatment of the Ninevites: God’s mercy and tolerance are not at all difficult to obtain; He requires one’s true repentance. As long as people turn away from their evil ways and abandon the violence in their hands, God will change His heart and change His attitude toward them.
Welcome the Lord Jesus Christ's Return 