Seeing this heading, many people might be confused: The Pharisees did not acknowledge that the Lord Jesus is the coming Messiah; they resisted the Lord and nailed Him to the cross. But does it have anything to do with our welcoming the Lord in the last days? Well, the relationship is strong! Let’s look back to the time when the incarnate Lord Jesus came to do His redemptive work. Based on the words of the Bible prophecies, the Pharisees determined that the Lord would definitely be called Messiah and would certainly emerge from the palace. Further, He would be like David and become the King of Israel, leading them to break away from the rule of the Roman government. When the Pharisees saw the Lord Jesus’ work was not in line with the literal meaning of Bible prophecies, not only did they not humbly seek, but also did they try to find all kinds of accusations against the Lord Jesus and judge, condemn and blaspheme the Lord Jesus. In the end, they nailed the Lord Jesus to the cross, committing a heinous sin. Today, many people are testifying that the Lord has already returned to express the truths and done new work. However, some people cling to the idea that the Lord Jesus will surely come on a white cloud in the sky based on the literal meaning of Bible verses. If the Lord Jesus does not come with clouds, they will never accept Him. They don’t seek and investigate God’s word and work of the last days at all, more than that, they even resist and condemn the returned Lord. Aren’t they repeating the mistake of the Pharisees? Let’s read a passage of God’s words, and you’ll understand it.
God says, “Do you wish to know the root of why the Pharisees opposed Jesus? Do you wish to know the essence of the Pharisees? They were full of fantasies about the Messiah. What is more, they believed only that the Messiah would come, yet did not pursue the life truth. And so, even today they still await the Messiah, for they have no knowledge of the way of life, and do not know what the way of truth is. How, say you, could such foolish, stubborn and ignorant people gain God’s blessing? How could they behold the Messiah? They opposed Jesus because they did not know the direction of the Holy Spirit’s work, because they did not know the way of truth spoken by Jesus, and, furthermore, because they did not understand the Messiah. And since they had never seen the Messiah and had never been in the company of the Messiah, they made the mistake of clinging to the mere name of the Messiah while opposing the essence of the Messiah by any means possible. These Pharisees in essence were stubborn, arrogant, and did not obey the truth. The principle of their belief in God was: No matter how profound Your preaching, no matter how high Your authority, You are not Christ unless You are called the Messiah. Is this belief not preposterous and ridiculous? I ask you further: Is it not extremely easy for you to commit the mistakes of the earliest Pharisees, given that you have not the slightest understanding of Jesus? Are you able to discern the way of truth? Can you truly guarantee that you will not oppose Christ? Are you able to follow the work of the Holy Spirit? If you do not know whether you will oppose Christ, then I say that you are already living on the brink of death. Those who did not know the Messiah were all capable of opposing Jesus, of rejecting Jesus, of slandering Him. People who do not understand Jesus are all capable of rejecting Him and reviling Him. Moreover, they are capable of seeing the return of Jesus as the deceit of Satan, and more people shall condemn Jesus returned to flesh. Does not all of this make you afraid? What you face shall be blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, the ruination of the words of the Holy Spirit to the churches, and the spurning of all that is expressed by Jesus. What can you gain from Jesus if you are so befuddled? How can you understand the work of Jesus when He returns to flesh on a white cloud, if you obstinately refuse to realize your errors? I tell you this: People who do not receive the truth, yet blindly await the arrival of Jesus upon white clouds, will surely blaspheme against the Holy Spirit, and they are the category that shall be destroyed.”
From these words of God, we see God’s judgment of and warning to us, and also His anticipation. God hopes us to learn a lesson from the failure of the Pharisees, put aside our notions and carefully seek and investigate the truth expressed by the Lord returned with a God-fearing heart. Only if we possess this attitude can we gain God’s enlightenment and guidance, and thus recognize the Lord and welcome His return.
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