Editor’s Notes: Everyone who sincerely believes in the Lord hopes to welcome the Lord’s return, but for fear of being deceived by false Christs, we beware of and do not dare believe anyone who preaches that the Lord has come. In this way, will we not miss the Lord’s coming? The Lord Jesus prophesied, “Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear My voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with Me” (Revelation 3:20). This verse tells us when the Lord Jesus returns, He will stand at the door and knock. Only if we listen to the Lord’s voice and open the door, can we welcome Him.
Have you ever heard of the story of the wolf and the rabbits? Once there lived several little rabbits and a big wolf in a forest. In order to protect her children from being harmed by the wolf, each time the mother rabbit went out, she would warn her babies to close the door firmly and not to open it until she came back. The baby rabbits were very obedient and smart. Afterward, the wolf knocked at the door imitating the singing of the mother rabbit. The baby rabbits saw through its trick by distinguishing its singing from their mother’s voice. In the end, when their mother came back and knocked at the door, they recognized her through listening to her voice and opened the door happily.
It was because warned by their mother before she left home that the little rabbits were cautious and didn’t blindly open the door when they heard the knock. Also, the little rabbits were clever, knowing that they should hear the voice and discern whether the one who knocked at the door was their mother, so they saw through the wolf who disguised as their mother. Thus, they were safe and sound until their mother came back. I think: If the baby rabbits hadn’t listened to their mother’s warning and opened the door for the wolf, the consequences would have been unimaginable. However, if they had foolishly followed their mother’s words, guarding against and not opening the door for whoever knocked at it, they would have shut their mother outside when she really came back.
Then, I can’t help but remember that the Lord Jesus once warned people two thousand years ago: “And then if any man shall say to you, See, here is Christ; or, see, he is there; believe him not: For false Christs and false prophets shall rise, and shall show signs and wonders, to seduce, if it were possible, even the elect. But take you heed: behold, I have foretold you all things” (Mark 13: 21-23).
From this verse, we can see that in the last days, if some people witness that the Lord has returned, we must be careful and can’t blindly listen to them. But this doesn’t mean that we can’t believe anyone who preaches the coming of the Lord. Otherwise we will shut the Christ outside and thus miss the opportunity of welcoming the Lord when He really comes. Moreover, the Lord Jesus has explained it clearly that His intention is to let us guard against false Christs whose main traits are showing signs and performing miracles. We mustn’t believe such people when we meet them. But now there are lots of brothers and sisters who don’t listen to anyone who preaches the second coming of the Lord for fear of being deceived by false Christs. Isn’t this a case of not eating for fear of choking?
It is said in the Book of Revelation: “Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me” (Revelation 3:20). The Lord Jesus also said: “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me” (John 10:27). Moreover, I saw two passages of God’s words on a gospel website: “As such, since we are searching for the footprints of God, we must search for God’s will, for the words of God, for the utterances of God—for where there are the new words of God, there is the voice of God, and where there are the footsteps of God, there are the deeds of God. Where there is the expression of God, there is the appearance of God, and where there is the appearance of God, there exists the truth, the way, and the life.” “So let us seek God’s will and discover His appearance from His utterances, and follow His footprints! God is the truth, the way, and the life. His words and His appearance exist concurrently….”
From God’s words, we can see that when the Lord comes again, He will stand at the door and knock. Whether we can welcome Him mainly depends on whether we are able to hear His voice. If we can recognize God’s voice, we will be able to open our doors to welcome Him so that attend the banquet with Him. So when it comes to the Lord’s second coming, we can’t close our doors to guard against those who preach it because of our fear. It is crucial to pay attention to listening to the voice of God.
Just as in the Age of Grace, it was through listening to the words of the Lord Jesus that those believers recognized that the Lord Jesus was the coming Messiah, followed Him, and then welcomed the Messiah’s arrival. For example, in John 1:47-49 it says: “Jesus saw Nathanael coming to him, and said of him, Behold an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile! Nathanael said to him, From where know you me? Jesus answered and said to him, Before that Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you. Nathanael answered and said to him, Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the King of Israel.” At first, Nathanael didn’t believe that the Lord Jesus was the Messiah. But hearing that the Lord Jesus had known him when he was under the fig tree, he recognized that the Lord Jesus was God Himself and followed Him. Besides, Peter, John and other disciples also recognized God’s voice through listening to the Lord Jesus’ words. Finally, they received God’s salvation.
On the contrary, some other Jewish people also knew that the Messiah would come, but they believed the lies of the chief priests and Pharisees and blindly refused without searching for or listening to the utterances and words of the Lord Jesus for fear of being deceived. Ultimately, they lost the salvation of the Lord.
It can be seen that it is very important for us to be able to hear God’s voice, for it is directly related to whether we can attain God’s salvation. Especially now, it is a critical time for the return of the Lord, we should even more be the ones who listen to God’s voice humbly. Just as Revelation says: “He that has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches” (Revelation 2:7).
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