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?
By Li Liang, Japan
In the last days, so many people are vigilantly awaiting the Lord Jesus’ coming, so many people are weeping and calling out to the Lord Jesus, and so many people are seeking signs of Jesus’ second coming, but they are lost without a direction. Are you one of them? Today, let’s discuss five signs of Jesus’ second coming by integrating some verses in Matthew 24, so that you can see clearly the fact of the fulfillment of the prophecies concerning the Lord’s return and find the way to welcome the Lord.
In Matthew 24:4–5 it says: “Take heed that no man deceive you. For many shall come in My name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many.”
From the Lord’s prophecy, we can understand that when the Lord Jesus comes again, there will appear false Christs that try to pass themselves off with the Lord Jesus’ name. Has this omen been seen? Today, in the last days, some false Christs that call themselves Christ have appeared one after another in countries such as South Korea, China and Japan. They take things out of context, misinterpret the Bible, impersonate the Lord Jesus’ name to say some words that bless people and make promises to people, and also try to imitate the Lord Jesus by performing some signs and wonders, healing the sick and casting out demons to deceive people. But no matter what means false Christs employ, none of them can do the works the returned Lord will perform as prophesied in Revelation, such as speaking to the churches, breaking the seven seals and opening the scroll, reaping and uniting all denominations as one, separating the sheep from the goats, and rewarding the good while punishing the evil. Moreover, the Lord Jesus prophesied that the Spirit of truth will come in the last days and tell us all of the truth we do not understand. Only Christ can express the truth; false Christs cannot. False Christs do not possess the essence of God, so they cannot express the truth to provide us with life or do the work of God Himself, but can only rely on showing some simple signs and wonders to deceive people. These are the characteristics of false Christs the Lord Jesus told us 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.” We can see from this that the sign of false Christs appearing in the last days has appeared. All those who are only capable of performing a few simple signs and wonders to deceive people are false Christs without a doubt. And we must know that without the coming of the true Christ there will be no false Christs to speak of. This is the basic knowledge—the true and false exist simultaneously. It is just because of the arrival of the true Christ that false Christs appear.
It says in Matthew 24:6–8: “And you shall hear of wars and rumors of wars: see that you be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places. All these are the beginning of sorrows.”
These prophecies show us that when the Lord comes again, there must be wars, famines and earthquakes. Entering the 21st century, we hear of frequent wars, such as the war in Afghanistan, the war in Iraq, the wars between Israel and its surrounding countries, and the war in Syria. As far as famines go, since 2003, many places have faced a food crisis one after another, such as Darfur of Sudan, the Horn of Africa, Burma, Afghanistan, Kenya, and other countries. In February of 2020, there was also the worst locust infestation in 25 years in eastern Africa: 400 billion locusts consumed the food for almost 35 thousand people in just a single day, with the result that many countries suffered from a serious food crisis. Later, the locusts swarmed India and Pakistan. Besides, earthquakes have been happening: the Indian Ocean tsunami in 2004, the Wenchuan earthquake in China in 2008, the earthquake in Haiti in 2010, the 8.1-magnitude earthquake in Nepal in 2015, the earthquake in Indonesia in 2018, the earthquake in the Caribbean in 2020, and so on. Are these not the beginning of disasters? On top of this, the pandemic has also spread rapidly since 2019, invading many countries in the world. From these facts we can be certain that the Lord Jesus’ prophecy has been fulfilled.
Matthew 24:12 says: “And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold.”
We can see from the Lord’s prophecy that the iniquity in the religious world will increase in the last days. Let’s look at the situation of the religious world right now: Some pastors and elders do not focus on leading their believers in practicing the Lord’s words, but instead follow worldly trends, covet riches, lead the followers to get rich and walk the worldly path; some pastors only care about protecting their own status, vie with co-workers and engage in jealous disputes, so much so that they even form cliques and create factions; some even embezzle offerings to God and engage in sexual misconduct, completely becoming evil-doing resistors of God. Some denominations also judge and condemn each other, and carry out membership schemes to control believers. Because of the increase in iniquity, believers are unable to gain supply, and thus give no thought to worshiping God and working for the Lord and live enmeshed in worldly entanglements. What’s more, when they attend church gatherings, many go just to be a part of the fun, to perform religious ceremonies, to hawk their wares or to find a romantic partner. Think of the end of the Age of Law. The temple that had previously been filled with the glory of Jehovah God appeared desolate, and the priests made poor sacrifices and turned the temple into a marketplace, entirely deviated from God’s way and did not have any reverence toward Him. Is there any difference between the churches of today and the temple at the end of the Age of Law? In these things, the fulfillment of this prophecy of the Lord is apparent.
Matthew 24:14 records: “And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness to all nations; and then shall the end come.”
This prophecy tells us that one of the signs of Jesus’ second coming in the last days is that all the nations of the world will hear the gospel of the Lord Jesus. When the Lord Jesus was nailed to the cross and completed His work of redemption, the Holy Spirit began to guide God’s chosen people to bear witness to the Lord Jesus. The apostles started to spread the name of the Lord Jesus Christ in Syria, Asia, Macedonia, Roma, and elsewhere. Thus Christian churches sprang up, like shoots growing after rain, and established in these areas. After that, Christians suffered persecution from the Roman Empire and had to go into exile all over the world. Consequently, the gospel spread throughout the earth. Today, the Lord Jesus’ gospel has spread across the entire universe, Christians can be found all over the world and many democratic countries have adopted Christianity as their state religion. Even in China, where the party in power is atheistic, many people have accepted the gospel of the Lord Jesus. It is apparent that this prophecy of the Lord has been fulfilled.
It records in Matthew 24:32–33: “Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When his branch is yet tender, and puts forth leaves, you know that summer is near: So likewise you, when you shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors.”
As people who believe in the Lord all know, “the fig tree” refers to Israel, and the fig tree putting forth its leaves refers to the restoration of Israel. Actually, Israel was restored on May 14, 1948 and was formally accepted as a member of the United Nations the next year. It is clear that this prophecy of the Lord Jesus’ second coming has also been fulfilled.
We can determine from the above facts that the prophecies of the Lord Jesus’ second coming have already been fulfilled and that the Lord returned long ago. At this point, some brothers and sisters may ask: “If the Lord has returned, how come we haven’t yet welcomed Him?” If we want to welcome the Lord, we must first know what work the Lord will do upon His return. The Lord Jesus prophesied: “I have yet many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. However, when He, the Spirit of truth, is come, He will guide you into all truth: for He shall not speak of Himself; but whatever He shall hear, that shall He speak: and He will show you things to come” (John 16:12–13). “And if any man hear My words, and believe not, I judge him not: for I came not to judge the world, but to save the world. He that rejects Me, and receives not My words, has one that judges him: the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day” (John 12:47–48). “Sanctify them through Your truth: Your word is truth” (John 17:17). And it says in 1 Peter 4:17: “For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God.” We can understand from these verses that when the Lord returns in the last days, He will carry out the work of judgment beginning from the house of God and express the truth to judge man, pointing out the way for us to be purified of sin. These are the truths never before uttered by the Lord Jesus in the Age of Grace, and the work He had yet to do. Therefore, as long as someone testifies that the Lord has returned, and that He is expressing the truth and performing the work of judgment beginning from the house of God, we should take the initiative to seek and investigate. So long as we are sure this way has the truth and can show us the way to cleanse our sins, is that not welcoming the Lord?
In the world today, only The Church of Almighty God testifies that the Lord has already returned as Almighty God, Christ of the last days. On the foundation of the Lord Jesus’ work of redemption, Almighty God expresses the truth and performs a stage of work to judge and purify mankind, thereby enabling us to fully escape the binds of sin and be brought into the kingdom of heaven. Almighty God’s appearance and work have entirely fulfilled the prophecy of the Lord Jesus performing the work of judgment in the last days. The Lord Jesus said: “Seek, and you shall find; knock, and it shall be opened to you” (Matthew 7:7). As long as we genuinely seek, we will have the chance to reunite with the Lord and dine at the marriage supper of the Lamb.
Editor’s Note: We have seen the signs of Jesus’ second coming, and through this we can be certain that the Lord has returned. So, do you wish to welcome the Lord soon? Do you wish to attend the feast of the Lamb? We invite you to contact us anytime via online chat.
In John 20:29, the Lord Jesus gave a verdict on Thomas. What inspiration does this give us in welcoming the Lord’s return?
Read this explanation of Matthew 24:36 to learn the true meaning of “But of that day and that hour knows no man,” so you can greet the Lord’s return soon.
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