Fellowship From the Brother Above – April 15, 2025 (Part One)

In today’s gathering, let’s concentrate on answering the various questions encountered by gospel teams from around the world when preaching the gospel.

Question 1: Some potential gospel recipients say, “You testify that the Lord Jesus has returned, but we don’t believe it. If the Lord has truly returned, why have we not been caught up? The Bible records that when the Lord returns, the saints will meet the Lord in the air, that the Lord will return to receive His church, and that the Lord will also take control of the earth for a thousand years. None of these things have happened yet, so how can you say that the Lord has already returned?” How should we fellowship to refute them?

Answer: The first question raised by religious people here is: “If the Lord has truly returned, why have we not been caught up?” This statement of theirs goes against the Bible. The Bible never says that all believers will be caught up after the Lord returns; you cannot find this statement in the Bible. Then what does the Bible say? Only the wise virgins can welcome the Lord, while the foolish virgins are abandoned—they fall into darkness, weeping and gnashing their teeth. Therefore, by saying, “If the Lord has truly returned, why have we not been caught up?” they are making an error in principle. They are not clear at all about who will be caught up and who will not be caught up after the Lord returns. They think that if the Lord has returned, they would have been caught up already. This is a grave mistake. In response to this question, you should answer by saying, “God did not promise people that everyone who believes in the Lord will be caught up when He returns. God only said that the wise virgins are caught up when they welcome the Lord. Can you be certain that you are a wise virgin? You cannot. Therefore, you cannot use whether or not you personally have been caught up as the basis for judging whether the Lord has returned. If you weigh it up in this way, you will never be caught up.” This is how the first question should be answered.

The second question here is: “The Bible records that when the Lord returns, the saints will meet the Lord in the air, that the Lord will return to receive His church, and that the Lord will also take control of the earth for a thousand years. None of these things have happened yet, so how can you say that the Lord has returned?” Whether or not these things have happened cannot serve as a basis for judging whether the Lord has returned, because there are two stages to the Lord’s return. The Lord first becomes flesh and descends in secret before the catastrophes to make a group of overcomers, and then publicly descends on a cloud after the catastrophes to reward the good and punish the evil. His descent in secret before the catastrophes and His descent in public after the catastrophes are two different occurrences; at the very least, they are separated by decades in time. Although the Bible does record that the believers will meet the Lord in the air, just because words are in the Bible doesn’t mean they were spoken by the Lord Himself. There are also many words of man in the Bible—they even outnumber the words of God. Therefore, the words of man in the Bible cannot be used as the basis for judging whether the Lord has returned. The only way to accurately welcome the Lord is to base your welcome on the words of the Lord Jesus. This time, the Lord first descends in secret, coming as a thief. This is evidenced by the Lord Jesus’ prophecies. For example: “Behold, I come as a thief” (Revelation 16:15). “Watch therefore: for you know not what hour your Lord does come” (Matthew 24:42). “But of that day and that hour knows no man, not the angels which are in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father” (Mark 13:32). You see, the time of the Lord’s coming is not known by any man, nor by angels, nor even by the Son; only the Father knows, which means only the Holy Spirit knows. Therefore, the Lord’s prophecies are telling people that when the Lord returns in the last days, He first descends in secret. So what does the Bible say about meeting the Lord in the air? “Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord” (1 Thessalonians 4:17). Who said these words? These are the words of Paul. Paul was a man; the words he spoke only represent man and do not represent the Lord. Furthermore, this statement of his goes against the words of the Lord. If you base your welcome of the Lord on this statement, you will certainly fail to welcome Him. Therefore, you cannot base your welcome of the Lord’s coming on the words of man, and especially not on the words of Paul in the Bible. Not a single word of Paul’s is accurate. Paul was the greatest antichrist in the Age of Grace. The Holy Spirit absolutely would not prophesy the matter of the Lord’s return through Paul; he was not qualified to prophesy the Lord’s return. If you insist on basing your welcome of the Lord on the words of man in the Bible, and insist on basing it on Paul’s words, then you have made a mistake, and you will be at risk of deviating and being unable to welcome the Lord. The only accurate path to welcoming the Lord is to base your welcome on the words spoken by the Lord Jesus Himself. So, when the Lord Jesus prophesied His return, did He say that people would meet the Lord in the air? The Lord did not say this. So, if you base your welcome of the Lord on this statement, you are wrong. In addition, they believe that “the Lord Jesus will return to receive His church.” Is there any basis for this statement? Did the Lord say that when He returns, all churches that believe in the Lord Jesus will be caught up? The Lord did not say this either. Then which church does Revelation say will be caught up? “He that has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches; To him that overcomes will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the middle of the paradise of God” (Revelation 2:7). You see, what did the Holy Spirit prophesy? That only the overcomers in the seven churches can be caught up, and the rest will not be. Therefore, when the Lord returns in secret in the last days, only a small number of overcomers approved of by God are caught up out of all the churches; the majority of people cannot be caught up. This is what we see from the prophecies in Revelation. So if some people say, “The things recorded in the Bible—meeting the Lord in the air, the Lord coming to receive His church—have not happened yet, so how can you say the Lord has returned?” is their statement valid? They base their welcome of the Lord on what things have happened and what prophecies have been fulfilled; they believe that only in this way can they be certain that the Lord has returned. Are they correct? (No.) This statement is completely wrong, because when the Lord descended in secret, many prophecies concerning the last days had not yet been fulfilled. If you wait until all these things have been fulfilled to be certain that the Lord has returned, then you will have missed your opportunity to welcome the Lord. Tell me, how will the statement about people meeting the Lord in the air be fulfilled? It cannot be fulfilled. If interpreted literally, we are meeting the Lord in the air today when we listen to God’s sermons and fellowship on the internet; this interpretation is acceptable. Then how will the statement, “The Lord Jesus will return to receive His church,” be fulfilled? Right now, the wise virgins are hearing God’s voice and returning to God. The fact that these people have welcomed the Lord means they have been caught up, and so this statement has been fulfilled. Is this not the case? (It is.) Are there not some Christians in every country who have now returned to Almighty God? In over a hundred countries, there are some people who have accepted Almighty God. None of these people saw with their own eyes how the Lord came; after hearing the words of Almighty God, they simply recognized that these words are the voice of God and the truth, and that these truths can only be expressed by God. Thus, they determined that Almighty God is the returned Lord Jesus and that this is the work of the Lord who has descended in secret, and so they accepted Almighty God’s appearance and work. These people are the ones who have been caught up before God, and they are the most blessed. Why do we say these people are the most blessed? It is because they accepted God’s appearance and work when they had not seen God’s spiritual body, but had only seen the incarnate God expressing the truth. We can say that these people determined that the Lord had already returned solely by hearing God’s voice and seeing the truths expressed by God, and they are the most blessed. Which of the Lord Jesus’ statements does this fulfill to the letter? The words the Lord Jesus said to Thomas: “Because you have seen Me, you have believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed” (John 20:29). Now, when many people are preaching the gospel, potential gospel recipients ask, “You have welcomed the Lord, so have you seen the Lord? If you haven’t seen God, how can you believe in Him?” Is this question easy to answer? The Lord Jesus said: “Because you have seen Me, you have believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed.” These words are telling us that belief in God should not be based on what we see with our eyes, but on our faith. If you only believe once you have seen, will the Lord approve of you? The Lord will not approve. Take Thomas, for example; he only prostrated himself before the Lord and said, “My Lord and my God!” after he saw the spiritual body of the resurrected Lord Jesus. Therefore, the Lord did not approve of him. Then what kind of people does the Lord approve of? The Lord said: “Blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed.” That is, those who have not seen God’s spiritual body and believe just upon seeing the incarnate God’s appearance and His work are the ones who are blessed. Then are you clear on what kind of people are blessed? It is those who, when the incarnate God expresses the truth, acknowledge that God has come merely through hearing God’s voice and seeing the truths expressed by God. These are the only people who have true faith, and the only people who are approved of by God.

Then, don’t the words spoken by the potential gospel recipients in this question represent a distorted view? They said, “The Bible records that when the Lord returns, the saints will meet the Lord in the air.” This is the first absurd statement. Who exactly said the phrase “meet the Lord in the air”? Without even clarifying whether this is the word of God or whether it can represent the word of God, they blindly use this statement as a basis to judge and determine whether the Lord has truly returned. What mistake have they made? They have made an error of principle. They do not accurately determine whether the Lord has returned based on the Lord’s words, but rather attempt to determine this based on the words of man in the Bible. These people have no ability to comprehend the truth; they are absurd. They make another absurd statement: “The Lord Jesus has not yet returned to receive His church either, so how can you say the Lord has returned?” They think that only once all the churches are caught up can it be proven that the Lord has returned. In what ways is this statement absurd? First, the Lord Jesus never said that He would receive all the churches when He returns; Revelation only prophesies that the overcomers in the seven churches will be caught up. Therefore, anyone who thinks that all churches that believe in the Lord Jesus will be caught up when He returns is absurd. The Lord absolutely did not say this, so why do they think this way? Is there any basis in the Lord’s words for what they think? Not in the slightest. Then this is the erroneous comprehension and erroneous view of man. There is another absurdity in this kind of person’s view. They say, “The Lord will also return to take control of the earth for a thousand years.” Is the Lord returning to take control of the earth for a thousand years? What does “take control” refer to? An external invading force taking power—that’s what you’d call “taking control.” So when they say the Lord is coming to take control of the earth, it is as if the earth was not created by God and does not belong to God. Is this statement not completely wrong? (It is.) When the Lord comes to earth to reign and wield power, that means that the Age of Millennial Kingdom has been realized; He is not “taking control of” the earth! In addition, the Age of Millennial Kingdom will only be realized when the great catastrophes end, so for them to think that the millennial kingdom will first be realized on earth before the Lord can return is, again, completely wrong. Therefore, all the words spoken by the potential gospel recipients who asked this question are absurd and without any basis.

Question 2: You say that God has returned, but I believe that before Jesus Christ returns, the Jews must build the temple in Jerusalem, the angels must blow their trumpets, and a world war must also begin. None of these signs have appeared yet, so how can you say that God has already returned?

Answer: This potential gospel recipient believes that these signs must appear for God to return, and that if these signs have not happened, it proves God has not returned. Is this view correct? Is it not quite distorted? Is God’s return really as simple as people imagine? There are two stages to God’s return. The first stage is becoming flesh and descending in secret, and the second stage is publicly descending on a cloud. God first becomes flesh and descends in secret to make a group of overcomers, and only after the gospel of the kingdom has spread will the great catastrophes descend. After the great catastrophes descend, God perfects people into overcomers around the world amid the catastrophes. So, it is during the catastrophes that the overcomers around the world are made. Right now, most of God’s chosen people from around the world have accepted God’s work amid the catastrophes. When did these catastrophes begin? It can be said that the great catastrophes worldwide began with the global outbreak and spread of the pandemic triggered by the COVID-19 virus in 2020. From that time on, everyone in the world has been living amid trials. Right now, most of God’s chosen people from around the world have accepted God’s work since 2020. In the five years from then to where we are in 2025, the gospel of the kingdom has basically spread to every country in the world. There are people who have accepted Almighty God in more than a hundred countries around the world, and they have all established churches. Now we see that God has already gained a group of people amid the catastrophes. These people have been caught up before God, and God is doing the work of perfecting them. God’s chosen people from various countries are all perfected into overcomers amid the catastrophes. God first made a group of overcomers in China, then spread the gospel to countries all over the world through these people, and then went on to make the overcomers from around the world amid the catastrophes. When the overcomers from around the world are made, the great catastrophes that destroy mankind will begin to descend. Tell me, in what year will the great catastrophes begin to descend? They will begin very soon, within the next two years. After the great catastrophes are over, the Lord will descend on a cloud, publicly appear, and begin to reward the good and punish the evil. Therefore, it is particularly urgent to preach the gospel right now. We must preach the gospel as quickly as possible—when the catastrophes descend, God will wait for no one. It doesn’t matter what country a person is from, how high their status is, or how great their reputation is—God will not hold back the catastrophes just because they haven’t yet come to believe in God. That simply would not happen. God’s work is not constrained by any people, events, or things. When it is time for a certain stage of work to be done, it begins immediately. If the great catastrophes that destroy mankind begin to descend now, then all those who have not accepted God’s work will perish. Some people don’t believe this, and say, “Would God do that?” Look at the time when the flood destroyed the world. After Noah’s family of eight entered the ark, the heavy rain began to fall. Did God wait for the other people of the world who hadn’t entered the ark? Did He give them another deadline, telling them that if they still hadn’t entered the ark after a certain amount of time, He would send down the flood to destroy them? God did not wait for anyone, nor did He give people another deadline. The day the ark was completed was the beginning of the flood that destroyed the world; it was the arrival of the day when the nonbelievers were destroyed. You see, how God does things is just this simple. God waits for nobody, and He has a time for everything. Do you see this fact clearly? (We do.)

Then what mistake has the person who raised this question made? He has no knowledge of the Lord’s return, and he does not know anything about the manner of the Lord’s return. In his notions, he believes that the first thing that must be fulfilled for the Lord to return is that the temple in Jerusalem must be built, the second is that the angels must blow their trumpets, and the third is that World War III must break out—he thinks that if these things are not fulfilled, then it cannot be said that God has returned. Even if you testify to him that God has returned, he will not believe it, and he will think you have made a mistake. So, he delimits the Lord’s return as something that can take place only after all these things have happened, believing that only the occurrence of these things can show that the Lord has returned. Is this view correct? (No.) This view clearly goes against the prophecies in Revelation, and even more clearly goes against the prophecies of the Lord Jesus. Revelation prophesies: “He that has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches” (Revelation 2:7). The Lord Jesus Himself said: “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” (John 16:12–13). What do these prophecies mean? They mean that God will express all truths before the catastrophes to make a group of overcomers. You see, many people who believe in the Lord Jesus cannot understand this matter. Their comprehension of the Lord’s coming is too superficial and one-sided, and it is even somewhat absurd and fallacious. They do not have the slightest knowledge of the prophecies in Revelation or the prophecies of the Lord Jesus, and they blindly delimit the timing of the Lord’s return, believing He will only return after those signs happen. In this, they are making a grave mistake. If all these things have happened, and you see the scene prophesied in the Bible, “He comes with clouds; and every eye shall see Him, and they also which pierced Him,” what will your end be then? You will have missed the opportunity to welcome the Lord, which means you will be directly condemned. Therefore, the questions of these potential gospel recipients show us a simple fact: Most people in the religious world do not understand the Bible, and they do not understand the prophecies of the Lord Jesus. They do not understand what the Lord’s return is in the slightest, yet they blindly delimit the Lord’s return. Tell me, are these people not pitiful? (They are.) What do you think of this answer to the question? (It is good.)