“Are You the One Who Was to Come?”

God the Almighty knows everything, but man does not. If God comes to this earth in human likeness to save mankind, men will not be able to recognize Him with their own wisdom. So the Bible says that Christ is the secret of God, and that in Him are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.

In order to receive Christ, who is the secret of God, we need to study the Bible, which contains the wisdom of God. Only he who completely trusts in the words of the Bible, written by God who knows everything, is able to recognize God the Redeemer and receive Him.

Doubt of John the Baptist

2,000 years ago, God came to this earth in the name of Jesus, but the world did not recognize Him. To the people who did not believe in Him and asked, “Are You the One who was to come?” Jesus answered as follows:

When John heard in prison what Christ was doing, he sent his disciples to ask him, “Are you the one who was to come, or should we expect someone else?” Jesus replied, “Go back and report to John what you hear and see: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor. Blessed is the man who does not fall away on account of me.” Mt 11:2-6

Just before John the Baptist was put to death in prison, he sent his disciples to Jesus to confirm whether He was the Christ who had been prophesied to come. When they came to Jesus and asked, “Are You the One who was to come?” Jesus showed them part of the prophecies of Isaiah.

… “Be strong, do not fear; your God will come, he will come with vengeance; with divine retribution he will come to save you.” Then will the eyes of the blind be opened and the ears of the deaf unstopped. Then will the lame leap like a deer, and the mute tongue shout for joy. Water will gush forth in the wilderness and streams in the desert. … Isa 35:3-10

The Bible prophesied, “When God comes to this earth, the eyes of the blind will be opened, the ears of the deaf will hear, the mute tongue will sing, and the lame will leap like a deer.” It was Jesus who fulfilled this prophecy. Instead of saying, “I am God,” Jesus showed indirectly that He was God, through some part of the prophecies.

God testified about Himself through the prophecies of the Bible. When people see many of the prophecies being fulfilled today, they have to realize that God has come to this earth. However, they do not realize that. Even though God already prophesied about His coming in the Bible, they do not understand.

The mission of Elijah and John the Baptist

The Bible explains that John the Baptist is the prophet who was sent to prepare the way before Jesus. The prophet Malachi prophesied that God would come to this earth and that the prophet Elijah would come before God to prepare the way for Him.

“See, I will send my messenger, who will prepare the way before me. Then suddenly the Lord you are seeking will come to his temple; the messenger of the covenant, whom you desire, will come,” says the Lord Almighty. Mal 3:1

“… See, I will send you the prophet Elijah before that great and dreadful day of the Lord comes. He will turn the hearts of the fathers to their children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers; or else I will come and strike the land with a curse.” Mal 4:1-6

God said, “I will send my messenger, who will prepare the way before me.” This was a prophecy showing that John the Baptist would prepare the way for Jesus, giving the baptism of repentance to people, before Jesus began to preach the good news.

John the Baptist was the prophet who was sent as a messenger to prepare the way for God. Jesus also testified that Elijah, who was prophesied in the book of Malachi, was John the Baptist.

… The disciples asked him, “Why then do the teachers of the law say that Elijah must come first?” Jesus replied, “To be sure, Elijah comes and will restore all things… . Elijah has already come, and they did not recognize him, but have done to him everything they wished. In the same way the Son of Man is going to suffer at their hands.” Then the disciples understood that he was talking to them about John the Baptist. Mt 17:10-13

John the Baptist also knew well that he came with the mission of Elijah. So, at the moment he witnessed the work of the Holy Spirit, he definitely testified that Jesus is the ‘Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!’ and prepared the way for Jesus.

The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! This is the one I meant when I said, ‘A man who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.’ I myself did not know him, but the reason I came baptizing with water was that he might be revealed to Israel… . I would not have known him, except that the one who sent me to baptize with water told me, ‘The man on whom you see the Spirit come down and remain is he who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.’ I have seen and I testify that this is the Son of God.” Jn 1:29-34

Thus, John the Baptist repeatedly testified that Jesus was Christ, but he had some doubts about Jesus at his last moments on earth. ‘Is He, who was a carpenter, really God?’ ‘Is God really in this human form?’ Jesus looked the same as a human being. He didn’t look like God at all: When He spoke, nothing special happened, such as the shaking of the heavens and the earth. So, John the Baptist, even though he had testified about Jesus until that time, tried to confirm again if Jesus was really the One who was to come. Then Jesus said, “Blessed is the man who does not fall away on account of me.”

Even John the Baptist, who was sent to testify about Jesus, wavered in his faith. Thus, it is not easy to receive God when He comes to the earth in human likeness. Without absolutely believing the prophecies of the Bible, we cannot recognize God in the flesh.

Not believing the prophecies is foolishness, and knowing God is understanding

We need to believe the prophecies just as written in the Bible. It is God’s will for us to believe what the prophets testified about Him.

The chief priests and our rulers handed him over to be sentenced to death, and they crucified him; but we had hoped that he was the one who was going to redeem Israel. And what is more, it is the third day since all this took place. In addition, some of our women amazed us. They went to the tomb early this morning but didn’t find his body. They came and told us that they had seen a vision of angels, who said he was alive… He said to them, “How foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Did not the Christ have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?” And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself. Lk 24:20-27

When Jesus rose from death in three days, the two disciples who were going to Emmaus did not believe that Jesus was resurrected. Although all things were being fulfilled according to the prophecies of the Bible, they did not realize.

People tend to believe only what they can see, hear and judge. However, it is impossible for a man to understand God with his common sense. Jesus showed His disciples the prophecies of the Bible and told them not to focus on His physical, human aspects, but look at what He was doing in accordance with the prophecies. To those who hardly believed what the Bible said, Jesus said, “How foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken!” The Bible defines wisdom as follows:

“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.” Pr 9:10

The Bible tells us that the wise and intelligent are those who recognize God. When we believe the words of God, who is wise and understanding, and receive Christ who is the source of all wisdom and knowledge, we are able to have wisdom.

God has come to the earth in the flesh, and is now distinguishing between those who believe in God correctly and those who do not. In the humble form and likeness of feeble men, He becomes a stone that causes men to stumble, a rock that makes them fall, a trap and a snare.

God does not change, but is viewed differently according to the mindset and faith of people. To those who doubt, He looks too weak to do anything, and it causes them to have more doubts about Him. However, to those who completely believe that He is the Creator who made the heavens, the earth and our souls, and the Almighty God who reigns over the whole universe, He shows His true nature as the Mighty One who has great spiritual power and authority.

The divine nature of Christ recognized by the apostles

There was a great difference between the way Apostles John and Peter viewed Jesus and the way Judas Iscariot viewed Him. Jesus looked totally different to them. So, God said that the fear of God is the beginning of wisdom, and that knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God … The Word [God] became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. Jn 1:1, 14

The book of John was written by John who was one of the twelve disciples of Jesus. While Judas Iscariot doubted Jesus and betrayed Him for thirty pieces of silver, John believed that God, the Word who was in the beginning, was dwelling among them in the flesh, and saw the word of truth and grace welling up from within Jesus every day. John, who received God who came in the flesh with delight, was so blessed that he was able to hear the voice of God correctly, which others just heard as the sound of thunder, and was given a vision of the glory of the heavenly kingdom which would come in the future. Jesus loved him particularly and allowed him to always accompany Him.

John saw the divine nature of Jesus and clearly described it in the first chapter of the Gospel John. While the other Gospels begin with Jesus’ physical birth, the Gospel of John focuses on the divine nature of God. This shows that John had great spiritual realizations and believed that every single thing Jesus did was a fulfillment of prophecy.

the mystery that has been kept hidden for ages and generations, but is now disclosed to the saints. To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. Col 1:26-27

My purpose is that they may be encouraged in heart and united in love, so that they may have the full riches of complete understanding, in order that they may know the mystery of God, namely, Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. Col 2:2-3

The book of Colossians was written by Apostle Paul. Like Apostle John, Paul also saw Christ as the glorious God, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. However, those who doubted couldn’t believe that Jesus was God; they were always doubtful of everything about Him.

Let’s think about how we should view God when He comes in the flesh. Would you look at Him in the same light as John and Paul or Judas Iscariot? Where is each of them now?

God who came, being lower than the angels

When John the Baptist asked Jesus, “Are you the one who was to come?” Jesus said, “Blessed is the man who does not fall away on account of me.” By this He meant that we should look at the invisible divine nature of Christ, not His outer appearance. If we only look at His appearance, we cannot find His deity but just view Him as the one lower than the angels.

… “What is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him? You made him a little lower than the angels; you crowned him with glory and honor and put everything under his feet.” … But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, now crowned with glory and honor because he suffered death … Heb 2:5-9

As prophesied, God came to this earth in the human form, lower than the angels. People, absorbed in their own thoughts, only look at the physical appearance of God, made a little lower than the angels, and fail to believe the words of prophecy. So, God told us to believe all that the prophets had spoken.

Believing in God means acknowledging God in the flesh. 2,000 years ago, the saints of the early Church also preached, “Believe in ‘the man Christ Jesus.’ ”

For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, 1 Ti 2:5

Now we are living in the age of the Holy Spirit. Our Savior in this age is Christ Ahnsahnghong who is the Spirit, and Jerusalem Mother who is the Bride of the Spirit. We must testify about Them.

Not only at Jesus’ first coming but also at His second coming, people do not easily believe in Christ, insisting on their own way of viewing Him. However, men’s thoughts cannot lead us to salvation. We can be saved when we follow God’s thoughts. Even though we do not understand God’s will right now, if we believe the prophecies and obey God’s word, we can gain salvation and eternal life in the end.

God, who has come in the flesh, should be our treasure, not a stone that causes us to stumble or a rock that makes us fall. Let us have firm faith in God, saying, “You are the One who was to come!” rather than doubt, asking, “Are you the One who was to come?” When we have such a confident faith, we can follow the Lamb wherever He goes, as the faithful 144,000.

God said that He would appear a second time for those who were waiting for Him (Heb 9:28). Since God has come in the flesh as prophesied, He may look lower than the angels to the eyes of those who only focus on His physical appearance. However, we, the people of Zion, should find the divine nature of Christ as did Apostles John, Peter and Paul. Let’s firmly believe that God Elohim, the Word that has become flesh and dwells among us, is the Creator and the source of life, who made all things and breathed life into us, and let us follow Them until the end, so that we can all enter the kingdom of heaven.