The Book of Revelation prophesies that the Lord will return coming with clouds. The Lord Jesus prophesied, “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). From this, we can know that when the Lord returns, He will not only come with clouds, but come as the Son of man. But what does “the Son of man” refer to? How exactly will the Lord appear to us?
Regarding how the Lord Jesus will return in the last days, many brothers and sisters believe that the Lord will come with clouds when He returns, for it says in the Bible, “You men of Galilee, why stand you gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as you have seen Him go into heaven” (Acts 1:11). “Behold, He comes with clouds” (Revelation 1:7). However, some brothers and sisters feel confused about the way of the Lord’s return, because besides the prophecies about the Lord coming openly, there are also Bible prophecies about the Lord returning as the Son of man. For instance, the Lord Jesus said, “Be you therefore ready also: for the Son of man comes at an hour when you think not” (Luke 12:40), “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 mentioned several times that His return would be as the coming of the Son of man. The Son of man refers to being born of man and a person with normal humanity. If He is a Spirit, or the spiritual body of the resurrected Lord Jesus, then He cannot be called the Son of man. The incarnate Lord Jesus was called the Son of man because He was the incarnate flesh of God’s Spirit and so became an ordinary and normal man, living amongst people. So when the Lord Jesus said “the Son of man” and “the Son of man comes,” He was referring to God’s coming through incarnation in the last days. Especially when He said, “first must He suffer many things, and be rejected of this generation,” this proves even more explicitly that when the Lord comes again, He comes by becoming flesh. If He didn’t come in fleshly form but came with clouds and appeared to all peoples as a spiritual body, He certainly wouldn’t experience any suffering and certainly wouldn’t be rejected by this generation. It is because the spiritual body suffers no spatial or geographical restriction, people would fear Him, and no man would dare to resist Him and thus only the incarnated Son of man can experience suffering.
If the Lord returns and appears in the form of the incarnation, then how should the prophecies of Him coming with clouds be fulfilled? We all know that the Lord’s prophecies will surely be fulfilled and each of His words will be fulfilled. In the Bible there are several prophecies which state that the Lord will come upon clouds with His power and great glory. This is true. But, there are even more passages in the Bible that prophesy that the Lord will come secretly. For instance: “I come as a thief” (Revelation 16:15). “Be you therefore ready also: for the Son of man comes at an hour when you think not” (Luke 12:40). “But of that day and that hour knows no man, no, not the angels which are in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father” (Mark 13:32). As you see, there are two ways in which the Lord returns: one way is in secret; the other is out in the open. That is to say, when the Lord returns, He will first become flesh and come in secret, and then come in clouds and reveal Himself publicly to all. This way, the Lord’s prophecies will all be fulfilled. It will be like when Jesus came to work: He first became flesh as the Son of man and descended in secret. After completing His work, He was nailed to the cross, after which He was raised from the dead. He publicly appeared to people for forty days, and then ascended to heaven.
Those familiar with the Bible all know that when the Lord returns in the last days, He will do the work of rewarding good and punishing evil to save all those who belong to God and to punish all the evil, as well as the work of separating people according to their kind, such as separating the sheep from the goats, the wheat from the tares, the good servants from the evil servants. If God first descends on a cloud and makes Himself manifest to all people, no man would dare to resist Him, and good people and evil people would all believe in God. That way, the sheep and the goats, and the good servants and the evil servants couldn’t be differentiated. Instead, if the Lord first becomes flesh and arrives in secret, only those who love the truth and accept God’s work can be raptured before God’s throne and the evil people who reject God, slander God and resist and condemn God’s work will be revealed. After the work of God’s incarnation and secret descent among man is complete, at which time the calamities will visit upon earth and God will punish the wicked while rewarding the good, appearing openly before all the nations of earth. All those, who refuse to accept the work of God’s incarnation and secret descent among man, will completely lose the chance to gain salvation, and will be doomed to weep and gnash their teeth during the great disasters. So that’s how the scene of “shall all the tribes of the earth mourn” will appear. This is the fulfillment of this biblical prophecy: “Behold, He comes with clouds; and every eye shall see Him, and they also which pierced Him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of Him” (Revelation 1:7).
Therefore, whether we can welcome the Lord during the period of His hidden arrival is of utmost importance. The Lord Jesus said, “And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom comes; go you out to meet him” (Matthew 25:6). “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me” (John 10:27). Revelation also prophesies, “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). What is most critical to welcome the Lord is heeding God’s voice. God’s sheep hear God’s voice, so only those who can recognize God’s voice are the wise virgins. When we hear there are testimonies of the Lord’s coming in the flesh, we should focus on humbly seeking and investigating, and hearing God’s voice to determine whether or not this way has the truth and whether the words are the voice of God. Only in this way can we welcome the Lord and have the chance to be raptured before God’s throne.
