As the great catastrophes draw ever closer, many believers are eagerly hoping to welcome the Lord so they can escape disasters and enter the kingdom of heaven. But when it comes to waiting to welcome the Lord’s return, people’s attitudes vary. Some follow the Lord’s teachings. They watch and pray, actively seek and investigate, and focus on listening for the bridegroom’s voice. Others, however, remain in their churches, waiting only for the Lord to descend on a cloud. They do this based on what the Lord Jesus said: “Immediately after the tribulation (catastrophes) of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken: And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory” (Matthew 24:29–30). They think, “This prophecy was spoken by the Lord Himself. We are waiting to welcome the Lord by watching for Him to descend on a cloud. What’s wrong with that?”

There is nothing wrong with welcoming the Lord based on the prophecies in the Bible, but it’s hard to say whether waiting for the Lord to descend on a cloud truly accords with God’s intention, because the Lord Jesus mainly prophesied that His return would be as the Son of man, coming in secret. For instance, the Lord Jesus prophesied: “For as the lightning comes out of the east, and shines even to the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be” (Matthew 24:27). “As the days of Noah were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be” (Matthew 24:37). “For as the lightning, that lightens out of the one part under heaven, shines to the other part under heaven; so shall also the Son of man be in His day. But first must He suffer many things, and be rejected of this generation” (Luke 17:24–25). The Lord Jesus also prophesied: “Therefore be you also ready: for in such an hour as you think not the Son of man comes” (Matthew 24:44). “And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom comes; go you out to meet him” (Matthew 25:6). These prophecies mention “the Son of man comes” or “the coming of the Son of man.” The term “Son of man” refers to One born of a human being. In other words, God will clothe Himself in flesh and become an ordinary, normal person, secretly descending among mankind to speak and work. This is completely different from publicly appearing on a cloud. With so many prophecies about the Lord returning as the Son of man, why does the religious world choose to focus only on the prophecies of Him descending on a cloud? Why don’t they pay any heed to the prophecies about the Son of man coming, about the Son of man’s descent? There’s much more to this than meets the eye.

First, we must understand the biggest difference between the Lord’s prophecies of “the Son of man comes” and “the bridegroom comes,” and the prophecy about His descent on a cloud. We must see clearly that the timing and context of these two types of prophecies are completely different. What is the context for the coming of the Son of man? The Lord Jesus prophesied: “As the days of Noah were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be” (Matthew 24:37). In the days of Noah, people were eating, drinking, marrying, and giving in marriage. The context of the coming of the Son of man is clearly not during the period of the great catastrophes, but rather during a period when life was normal before they arrived. The descent on a cloud, however, will happen after the great catastrophes. Therefore, the Lord Jesus often said, “You must be watchful and prepare your oil to welcome the Lord.” This means welcoming the incarnate Son of man before the catastrophes. He also prophesied different outcomes for the wise and foolish virgins. Those who welcome the incarnate Son of man before the catastrophes are the wise virgins. These wise virgins attend the feast of the kingdom of heaven and can experience judgment before the seat of Christ to be purified. They are made into overcomers and enter God’s kingdom. But the religious people who insist on waiting for the Lord to descend on a cloud to welcome Him are the foolish virgins. What will the consequences be for those who wait to see the Lord descending on a cloud? It is the outcome in which “all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of Him.” This clearly means that they missed the chance to welcome the incarnate Son of man and are judged, condemned, and punished. It is just like Thomas, who only acknowledged the Lord Jesus as the Lord and Christ when he saw His spiritual body appear. For this, he was condemned by the Lord. As 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). From this, we can see that the outcomes of those who welcome the Lord before the catastrophes and those who welcome Him after are completely different. The Lord’s intention is for people to welcome Him before the catastrophes, and absolutely not after the great catastrophes have ended.

Now let’s talk about the significance of welcoming the Lord before the catastrophes. The Lord Jesus 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). The Book of Revelation also prophesies: “Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hears My voice, and opens the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with Me” (Revelation 3:20). “To him that overcomes will I grant to sit with Me in My throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with My Father in His throne” (Revelation 3:21). From these prophecies, we can see that before the catastrophes, the Lord will carry out a stage of work: the work of judgment beginning with the house of God. This means that before the catastrophes, the Lord will express the truth and do the work of judgment to purify and save a group of people and make them into overcomers. The overcomers prophesied in Revelation are, without a doubt, those who are made perfect before or during the catastrophes. We have all heard in the past that when the great catastrophes begin, the gate of salvation will be closed. That is, God’s work of salvation will be fully completed. So, if we wait for the Lord to descend on a cloud, which will happen at the end of the catastrophes, can God still be doing the work of salvation? That would be impossible. Just as the words of Almighty God say: “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 time of the public appearance of the Sun of righteousness. Perhaps that will be a time of great excitement for you. However, you should know that the time when you witness Jesus descend from the heaven will also be the time when you go down to hell to be punished, the time when the end of God’s management plan has been proclaimed, and when God rewards the good and punishes the evil. 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 been brought 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 performs signs, but do not acknowledge the Jesus who expresses severe judgment and releases the life and the true way. And so it can only be that Jesus deals with them when He openly returns upon a white cloud” (The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. By the Time You Behold the Spiritual Body of Jesus, God Will Have Made Heaven and Earth Anew). Almighty God’s words are exceptionally clear. We can say with certainty that all who insist on welcoming the Lord only when He descends on a cloud after the catastrophes will face woe, because they will have lost the opportunity to accept judgment, be purified, and be saved. They will have lost the opportunity to accept the truths expressed and the work of judgment done by the Spirit of truth. They will never have the chance to see God’s face.

The disasters have already begun. God’s work of saving man will soon be over, and then we will enter the last three and a half years of the great catastrophes. That will be the great catastrophes that will utterly destroy mankind. It is extremely dangerous not to have welcomed the Lord by now; you could lose your life at any moment. It is incredibly foolish not to seek and investigate the true way and accept all the truths expressed by the “Son of man.” These people are definitely the foolish virgins and can only be abandoned and eliminated by the Lord. We can say that welcoming the Lord now is a matter of utmost urgency. Whether you can welcome the Lord before the great catastrophes that will destroy mankind and accept God’s judgment of the last days to be purified will directly determine your outcome in the great catastrophes: life or death!