Now that disasters are constantly happening all over the world, the prophecies of the Lord’s return have been basically fulfilled. This is the critical moment when we ought to welcome the Lord’s coming. But when some people hear the news of the Lord’s coming, they raise this question: You say that the Lord has come back, but why haven’t we seen the scene of the Lord returning in the cloud? We wouldn’t believe rashly without seeing it with our own eyes … Isn’t this argument the same as Thomas’? Thomas was of a suspicious nature and did not believe the Lord Jesus’ resurrection until he saw the scars from the nails on His hands. But the Lord Jesus said: “Because you have seen Me, you have believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed” (John 20:29). Due to Thomas’ suspicion, he was eventually abandoned and eliminated by God. What warning, then, does Thomas’ failure in his belief in God bring us?
Almighty God says, “Before the Lord Jesus was nailed to the cross, Thomas always doubted that He was Christ, and was incapable of belief. His faith in God was established only on the basis of what he could see with his own eyes, what he could touch with his own hands. The Lord Jesus had a good understanding of the faith of this type of person. They only believed in God in heaven, and did not believe at all in the One sent by God, or the Christ in the flesh, and nor would they accept Him. In order for Thomas to acknowledge and believe in the existence of the Lord Jesus and that He truly was God incarnate, He allowed Thomas to reach out his hand and touch His rib. Was Thomas’ doubting any different before and after the Lord Jesus’ resurrection? He was always doubting, and except by the Lord Jesus’ spiritual body personally appearing to him and allowing him to touch the nail marks on His body, there was no way that anyone could resolve his doubts and make him let go of them. So, from the time the Lord Jesus allowed Thomas to touch His rib and let him really feel the existence of the nail marks, Thomas’ doubt disappeared, and he truly knew that the Lord Jesus had been resurrected, and he acknowledged and believed that the Lord Jesus was the true Christ and God incarnate. Although at this time Thomas no longer doubted, he had lost forever the chance to meet with Christ. He had lost forever the chance to be together with Him, to follow Him, to know Him. He had lost the chance for Christ to perfect him. The Lord Jesus’ appearance and His words provided a conclusion and a verdict on the faith of those who were full of doubts. He used His actual words and actions to tell the doubters, to tell those who only believed in God in heaven but did not believe in Christ: God did not commend their belief, nor did He commend them for following Him while doubting Him. The day when they fully believed in God and Christ could only be the day that God completed His great work. Of course, that day was also the day that a verdict was made upon their doubt. Their attitude toward Christ determined their fate, and their stubborn doubt meant that their faith bore them no fruit, and their hardness meant that their hopes were in vain. Because their belief in God in heaven was fed on illusions, and their doubt toward Christ was actually their true attitude toward God, even though they touched the nail marks on the Lord Jesus’ body, their faith was still useless and their outcome could only be described as drawing water with a bamboo basket—all in vain.…The Lord Jesus also wanted to use the case of Thomas as a warning for future people: Although you can neither see nor touch the Lord Jesus in your faith in Him, you are blessed because of your true faith, and you can see the Lord Jesus because of your true faith, and this kind of person is blessed.”
From the words of God, we know that for those who believe in God by sight, such as Thomas, God does not recognize them as God’s followers. Such people will be eliminated by God even if they believe in God and follow God to the end. Those who treat God with a simple and honest heart who obey God and truly believe in God, however, can truly see God’s appearance and receive God’s blessings. So, if we hold the view that any Lord Jesus who doesn’t come in the cloud is not the returned Lord Jesus, then will we be able to welcome the Lord? Thomas was suspicious by nature. Only when he saw the scars from the nails on the Lord Jesus’ body with his own eyes, was he convinced that the Lord was resurrected. But the Lord Jesus said: “Because you have seen Me, you have believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed” (John 20:29). Thomas ruined himself by his little faith. However, living in the last days, have we realized that many people today are walking along Thomas’ road to failure? All of us, born in the last days, firmly believe: “Our generation is the last generation, and we will surely welcome the Lord’s coming.” But while waiting for the Lord to return, some people think that he who claims to be the Lord Jesus but does not come upon a cloud is a false Christ, so when they hear the news of the Lord’s return, they don’t take heed to listen to the voice of God, nor do they seek and investigate it. They won’t believe it unless they personally see the Lord Jesus coming in the cloud. Aren’t they repeating the failure of Thomas? Even if they really saw the Lord coming in the cloud, how could they get the approval of God and be raptured into the kingdom of heaven?
Almighty God says, “The return of Jesus is a great salvation for those who are capable of accepting the truth, but for those who are unable to accept the truth it is a sign of condemnation. You should choose your own path, and should not blaspheme against the Holy Spirit and reject the truth. You should not be an ignorant and arrogant person, but someone who obeys the guidance of the Holy Spirit and longs for and seeks the truth; only in this way will you benefit. I advise you to tread the path of belief in God with care. Do not jump to conclusions; what is more, do not be casual and thoughtless in your belief in God. You should know that, at the very least, those who believe in God should be humble and reverential. Those who have heard the truth and yet turn their nose up at it are foolish and ignorant. Those who have heard the truth and yet carelessly jump to conclusions or condemn it are beset by arrogance. No one who believes in Jesus is qualified to curse or condemn others. You should all be someone with sense and who accepts the truth. Perhaps, having heard the way of truth and having read the word of life, you believe that only one in 10,000 of these words are in line with your convictions and the Bible, and then you should continue to seek in that 10,000th of these words. I still advise you to be humble, to not be over-confident, and to not exalt yourself too highly. With your heart holding such meager reverence for God, you will gain greater light. If you carefully examine and repeatedly contemplate these words, you shall understand whether or not they are the truth, and whether or not they are life.”
“I tell you, those who believe in God because of the signs are surely the category that shall be destroyed. Those who are incapable of receiving the words of Jesus who has returned to flesh are surely the progeny of hell, the descendants of the archangel, the category that shall be subjected to everlasting destruction. Many people may not care what I say, but I still want to tell every so-called saint who follows Jesus that, when you see Jesus descend from the heaven upon a white cloud with your own eyes, this will be the public appearance of the Sun of righteousness. Perhaps that will be a time of great excitement for you, yet you should know that the time when you witness Jesus descend from the heaven is also the time when you go down to hell to be punished. That will be the time of the end of God’s management plan and it will be when God rewards the good and punishes the wicked. For the judgment of God will have ended before man sees signs, when there is only the expression of truth. Those who accept the truth and do not seek signs, and thus have been purified, shall have returned before the throne of God and entered the Creator’s embrace. Only those who persist in the belief that “The Jesus who does not ride upon a white cloud is a false Christ” shall be subjected to everlasting punishment, for they only believe in the Jesus who exhibits signs, but do not acknowledge the Jesus who proclaims severe judgment and releases the true way of life. And so it can only be that Jesus deals with them when He openly returns upon a white cloud.”
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