Reflection on John 20:29: Do Not Repeat Thomas’ Mistake in Welcoming the Lord’s Return
In John 20:29, the Lord Jesus gave a verdict on Thomas. What inspiration does this give us in welcoming the Lord’s return?
It is recorded in Matthew 24:24, “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.” According to this verse, some people believe that there will be false Christs deceiving people in the last days, so whenever they hear someone preaching that the Lord has come back, they do not listen to or investigate, lest they be deceived by false Christs. But have we thought about this? The Lord Jesus did foretell that there shall arise false Christs to deceive people in the last days, but He also prophesied many times that He would come back, and clearly told us, “And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom comes; go you out to meet him” (Matthew 25:6). “Seek, and you shall find; knock, and it shall be opened to you” (Matthew 7:7). The Lord required that when we hear some people testify that the Lord has returned, we must rush out to meet Him, actively seek and investigate, so that we can welcome the Lord’s return. If someone testifies that the Lord has come back, but we neither seek nor investigate, then how can we welcome the Lord? It can be seen that, if we, according to Matthew 24:24, do not listen to or investigate anything about the Lord’s return, this goes completely against God’s will. So, what is the true meaning of Matthew 24:24? How should we distinguish between the true and false Christs to welcome the Lord? We will now fellowship about these issues.
To understand the true meaning of Matthew 24:24, we must first know when the false Christs appear. In fact, if there is truth, there will be a fake. If Christ doesn’t come to work, will there arise false Christs? We all know that only God incarnate can be called Christ. The words of the Lord Jesus are to tell us that when He returns in the last days, He will become flesh as Christ to appear and work, and that it is just because of the coming of the true Christ that false Christs appear. So, when we hear someone testifying that the Lord Jesus has returned in the flesh, we must pay attention to seeking and investigating, otherwise we will never welcome the Lord’s return.
Besides, the words of the Lord Jesus in Matthew 24:24 have told us the characteristics and behaviors of how false Christs deceive people, so that we can discern false Christs and won’t be deceived by them when we welcome the Lord’s return. This is another meaning of this verse. The Lord Jesus said, “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 24:24). From His words, we clearly know that the chief characteristic of false Christs of the last days is to deceive people by showing signs and wonders. Because false Christs are evil spirits and have no truth, they can only deceive people by showing some simple signs and wonders. However, as for the great signs and wonders which the Lord Jesus performed, such as bringing the dead back to life, feeding the five thousand with two fish and five loaves of bread, and calming the wind and sea, false Christs are simply unable to imitate these deeds. Therefore, the Lord reminded us that we should be watchful at all times, and learn to discern false Christs. Those who can show simple signs and wonders in the last days and proclaim themselves to be Christ must be false Christs, the frauds, and deceivers of people.
Clearly, there are two meanings behind the Lord Jesus’ words: “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 24:24). One is that when the Lord returns in the last days, He will become flesh as Christ to appear and work. So when we hear someone testifying that the Lord Jesus has returned in the flesh, we must pay attention to seeking and investigating; the other meaning is that false Christs deceive people mainly by showing simple signs and wonders. These are the true meanings of Matthew 24:24.
Now is the last days, and false Christs have appeared. This shows that the Lord has returned, so what is critical to welcome the Lord is distinguishing between the true and false Christs. In addition to understanding that false Christs display simple signs and wonders to deceive people, we should also grasp the most important principle of distinguishing the true and false Christs—only Christ can express the truth, and false Christs cannot express the truth. God says, “He who is God incarnate shall possess the essence of God, and He who is God incarnate shall possess the expression of God. Since God becomes flesh, He shall bring forth the work He intends to 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 him, and point the way for him. Flesh that does not have the essence of God is decidedly not the incarnate God; of this there is no doubt.”
From the words of God, we understand that Christ is the incarnate God, possesses the essence and disposition of God, and is the embodiment of the truth. Only Christ can express truth to provide us humans with what we need in life, and only Christ can do the work of redeeming mankind and saving mankind. Any false Christ cannot imitate this. Just like when the Lord Jesus came to work, He ended the Age of Law, opened up the Age of Grace, expressed many truths, brought the way of repentance, and performed the work of redeeming humanity through the crucifixion. Moreover, the Lord Jesus expressed the truth anytime and anywhere according to people’s needs, teaching people to repent and confess to God, worship God in spirit and in truth, be patient with others, and love others as themselves. People received nourishment of the truth and the life from the words and work of the Lord Jesus, were able to be forgiven of their sins, and saw that the Lord Jesus was the coming Messiah and the incarnate Christ. However, false Christs can only talk about some empty biblical doctrines and spiritual theories, or say fallacious things that sound true to deceive people. Although they proclaim themselves to be God and Christ, they do not possess the disposition and substance of God, cannot express the truth or supply what humans need in life, and are unable to point out the path to life entry. It can be seen that only Christ is the truth, the way, and the life and only Christ can express the truth and supply what people need for their life. False Christs do not possess the essence of God, cannot express the truth or sustain people’s lives, but can only deceive people, bind people, and corrupt people. If we have mastered this important principle for distinguishing the true and false Christs, we will welcome the Lord’s return without being deceived by false Christs.
Today, in the entire world only The Church of Almighty God has publicly testified that the Lord has returned as the incarnate Almighty God who has expressed the truth to do new work. If we want to determine whether Almighty God is the returned Lord Jesus, we should investigate Almighty God’s work and see if the words expressed by Almighty God are the truth and the voice of God. If we become certain that Almighty God’s words are the truth and the expression of God, we should immediately accept God’s new work. This is how wise virgins receive the Lord and attend the Lamb’s wedding feast. If we are afraid of being deceived by false Christs and refuse to listen to, see, or accept God’s appearance and work, then once we lose the opportunity to welcome the Lord, we will become foolish virgins and finally be eliminated by God.
Editor’s Note: Through the above fellowship, I believe you will be able to understand the meaning of Matthew 24:24, and the way to distinguish between the true and false Christs. If this article has been helpful to you, please share it with others. If you have any further questions, please feel free to contact us using the online chat buttons at the bottom. We are online 24 hours a day ready to answer your questions.
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