The Lord's Second Advent will be realized by his birth on the earth

Chapter Second Advent

Jesus clearly spoke about the Second Advent (Matt. 16:27). But he said that no one knew of that day and hour, not even the angels of heaven (Matt. 24:36). Therefore, up to the present, it has been thought reckless even to try to know when, where and how the Lord would come.

By examining the words of Jesus, "Only the Father knows." (Matt 24:36), and the verse, "Surely the Lord God does nothing without revealing his secret to his servants the prophets." (Amos 3:7), we can understand that God, who knows of the day and hour, will surely let His prophets know all the secrets concerning the Second Advent of the Lord before actualizing it.

Therefore, Jesus said that Lord would come like a thief (Rev. 3:3), while, on another occasion, he said that, for those in the light, the Lord would not come as a thief (I. Thess. 5:4). It was true that Jesus came as thief to the chief priests and scribes, who were in darkness, but, to the home of John the Baptist, which was in light, God revealed Jesus' birth beforehand. At the time of his birth He revealed the fact to the wise men of the east, Simon, Anna, and the shepherds. Again, Jesus warned the people, telling them to watch at all times, praying that they might have the strength to escape all those things that would take place, because the day of the Second Advent would come upon them suddenly like a snare; so, it is evident that He will reveal it beforehand to the saints who are in the light, so that they may prepare for the coming day of the Lord.

From the examples appearing in the course of the providence of restoration, we can see that God always did things after having revealed the facts to His prophets beforehand; for example: the judgment in Noah's time, His destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, and the Messiah's coming. Therefore, it is evident that, at the Second Coming of the Lord, God will speak to those who have ears to hear and eyes to see so that they may be enlightened by the saints about what would take place, as He promised that in the Last Days He would pour out His Spirit (Acts 2:17).

Section II

In what manner will Christ come again?

2. The Lord's Second Advent will be realized by his birth on the earth

We read in the Bible (Luke 17:25) that Jesus, anticipating what was going to happen at the Lord's Second Coming, said, "But first he must suffer many things and be rejected by this generation.". If the Lord should come again, as the Bible literally says, on clouds from heaven, in the glory of God, with the trumpet call of the archangel (Matt. 24:30-32), would there be any man who would not serve and exalt the Lord coming in such a manner, not matter how sinful a generation this may be? Therefore, if the Lord should come on the clouds, it could never happen that he would suffer many things and be rejected by this generation.

Why, then, did Jesus said that the Lord would become so miserable at the time of the Second Advent? The Jewish people of Jesus' day were looking forward to the day when Elijah would come again from heaven before the Messiah. Consequently, Jesus, who was seemingly insignificant, suddenly appeared as the Messiah, like a thief, when the Jewish people had not yet heard of the news of Elijah's coming. Therefore, they despised Jesus and treated him badly (cf. Part I, Ch. 4, Sec. II, 2--155).

Jesus, who knew he was in a such a situation, anticipated that if, at the Second Advent, the Lord is born as a man and appears like a thief to the Christians, who, waiting for the Messiah, would be looking at the sky alone, just as the Jews did at the coming of Jesus, the Son of man would again be condemned as a heretic and suffer many trials. Therefore, Jesus said that the Lord would be rejected by that generation. Accordingly, we must know that this Biblical verse would only be fulfilled when Christ would come again in the flesh, and never if he should come on the clouds.

Again we read in Luke 18:8 that Jesus said:

I tell you, he will vindicate them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of man comes, will he find faith on earth?

Why should the saints fall into such faithlessness where no faith could even be found when the Lord would appear on the clouds, in the glory of God, with the archangel's trumpet call? This verse, too, can never be fulfilled if the Lord comes on the clouds. Let us recall the situation in Jesus' day. The Jewish people believed that the Messiah would be born as their King in Bethlehem (Matt. 2:6) only after Elijah would come down from heaven. Meanwhile, though Elijah had not yet come, a young man, born and raised as the son of a carpenter in Nazareth, suddenly appeared, calling himself the Messiah. It is understandable that there was not to be found among the Jews any so devout that they would follow him at the risk of their lives. Jesus, who grieved over the situation, lamented in such a manner, anticipating that when the Lord would again appear on the earth in the flesh, the people would also fall into faithlessness to such a degree that nothing like faith would be found, as in the case of the Jewish people, because at the Second Advent all the saints would also be looking up at the sky alone, believing that Christ would come again on the clouds. Therefore, Jesus' words in Luke 18:8 could never be fulfilled unless Christ is born on the earth.

Meanwhile, there are some scholars who interpret the verse to mean that this situation is going to occur because the tribulations for the latter day saints to suffer will be so bitter as to cause them all to fall into faithlessness. But, in the course of restoration, no tribulation could ever block the way of the saints' faith. Then, how much less will it be in the Last Days, when the saints will go through the last barrier of faith? We must understand that it is the reality of our life in faith that the more bitter our tribulations and trials become, the greater the ardor of our search for God and for the saving grace of heaven.

We again read (Matt. 7:22-23) that Jesus said:

On that day many will say to me, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?'. And then will I declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from me, you evildoers.'.

For the saints with such good faith as to be able to perform miracles and signs in the name of the Lord, would it not be that they would follow and serve the Lord as well when he comes on the clouds in the great glory? Why, then, did Jesus say that they would be rejected by the Lord in such a way? If saints of such devout faith should be rejected by the Lord, there will not be a single saint in the Last Days that can be saved. Consequently, this too will never be fulfilled if the Lord should come on the clouds.

Even in Jesus' day, there must have been many saints whose faith was so ardent as to be able to perform miracles and signs. However, the people who believed that Elijah would first come from heaven before the Messiah did not recognize John the Baptist as the Elijah whom they had long awaited (John 1:21); they even rejected the Messiah, who had already come. Therefore, Jesus also had to reject them, in tears. In like manner, at the time of the Second Advent, the saints with the faith that the Lord would come on the clouds would also certainly reject the Lord born on earth. Therefore, Jesus said that however ardent the saints might have been in faith, they would be rejected as evildoers by the Lord.

The view on the consummation recorded in Luke 17:20 also could not be fulfilled if Christ would come again on the clouds. Consequently, only under the premise that the Lord will be born on earth could the following Biblical verses be interpreted fully. Let us then closely study the contents of these verses.

"The Kingdom of God is not coming with signs to be observed." (Luke 17:20). If the Lord comes on the clouds, the Kingdom of God would come with signs to be observed. However, even at the time of Jesus, it was true that the Kingdom had already come with the birth of Jesus, it was true that the Kingdom had already come with the birth of Jesus, but the Jewish people, who had believed and waited for Elijah to come again from heaven, were unable to believe in Jesus and failed to see the Kingdom that came at long last. Likewise, at the time of the Second Advent, the Kingdom of God will come with the birth of the lord on earth, but the Christians who believe that he will come again on the clouds will not believe in the Lord, who will have come again in the flesh on earth, and thus they will not be able to see the Kingdom.

"The Kingdom of God is in the midst of you." (Luke 17:21). At the time of Jesus, those who believed him to be the Messiah and who followed and served him had already realized the Kingdom of God in their hearts. In the same manner, at the Second Advent, the Lord will be born on earth. Therefore, centering on those saints who will recognize and serve him first, the Kingdom of heaven will first be realized in their hearts, and when such individuals increase in number, forming societies and nations, the Kingdom of God will gradually appear as a world with signs to be observed. Therefore, we must know that the Lord will not come on the clouds, realizing a Kingdom of God to be observed all of a sudden.

"You will desire to see one of the days of the Son of man and you will not see it." (Luke 17:22). If the Lord comes on the clouds, with the trumpet call of the archangel, everybody will see him, so there will be no reason why they will not see the day of the Son of man. Why then did Jesus say that they would not see the day of the son of man? At Jesus' coming, the day of the Son of man had already come with his birth on earth, but the Jewish people, who fell into faithlessness, failed to see the day.

In the same manner, at the time of the Second Advent, the day of the Son of man will come with his birth on earth, but the Christians, who believed that the Lord will come on the clouds, will not believe in and follow him as the Messiah, even though they may see the Lord. Therefore, it is true that, though the day of the Son of man may have already come, they will not be able to see that day as "the day".

"And they will say to you, 'Lo, there!' or 'Lo, here!'. Do not go, do not follow them." (Luke 17:23). As we have already discussed in "Resurrection", the latter day saints whose spiritual standards have reached a certain point may receive a revelation saying "you are the Lord", but, if they don't know the principle of how they came to receive such a revelation, each would call himself the "Lord of the Second Advent", thus becoming an antichrist before the Lore to come. Therefore, Jesus warned the people with these words in order that they might not be tempted by such people.

"As the lightning flashes and lights up the sky from one side to the other, so will the Son of man be in his day." (Luke 17:24). When Jesus was born, the news that the King of the Jews was born reached even to King Herod in the Satanic world, and the whole of Jerusalem was troubled, as the Bible says (Matt. 2:2-3). At the time of the Second Advent, the news of Christ's coming will be transmitted between East and West as rapidly as a flash of lightning, because, at that time, the means of transportation and communication will be highly developed.

We have previously discussed the verse, Luke 17:25. "As it was in the days of Noah, so will it be in the days of the Son of man." (Luke 17:26). Noah, who knew that the flood judgment was coming, called to the people to repent, but they would not listen to him, and finally all were destroyed. In the same manner, Christ will come again in the flesh on earth and call to the people to come into the ark of truth. Nevertheless, the saints who are looking up at the heavens alone for the Lord to come on the clouds will not listen to the words coming from him on the earth; by repelling him as a heretic, they will all fall into the position of having failed to serve the will of God's providence, just as the people in the days of Noah failed.

"Whoever seeks to gain his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life will preserve it." (Luke 17:33). There would be no reason to risk our lives if the Lord were coming again on the clouds of glory, with the trumpet call of the archangel. Since Christ will come again, born in flesh on the earth, he will look like a heretic to the saints who believe in his coming again on the clouds. Therefore, anyone believing and following him will have to risk his life. When anyone is ready to believe in and follow him with such resolution, he will preserve his life, but those who repel him as a heretic, in cooperation with unfavorable circumstances, turning their backs to him in search of present life, will fall into the darkness of death.

"Where the body is, there the eagles will be gathered together." (Luke 17:37). Thus Jesus answered the Pharisees who asked him about the place of the Second Advent. We recall that a bird of prey alighted on the pigeon not cut in two on Abraham's altar (Gen. 15:11). This indicates that Satan is always looking for an opportunity to take anything that is not sanctified. Therefore, this last answer of Jesus signifies that, just as the evil spirits will be gathered where there is a body of death, the Lord who is the source of life, will come where there is life. This means that the Lord will appear among the devout saints. As already discussed in the "resurrection", at the time of the Lord's Second Advent many devout saints will be gathered together in one place through the cooperation of many spirit men. This will be the place of life where the Lord will appear. At the First Advent, Jesus was born among the chosen people who had best served God, and he appeared as the Messiah especially to his disciples, who believed in him and followed him.

Concerning the fact that Christ will come again, born in the flesh on the earth, the Bible says, "She brought forth a male child, one who was to rule all the nations with a rod of iron, but her child was caught up to God and to his throne." (Rev. 12:5). A rod of iron here signifies the Word of God, with which to judge the sinful world and to restore the Kingdom of God on earth. As we have stated in detail in the "Consummation of Human History", judgment by fire is judgment by the tongue; that is, the judgment with words (James 3:6). Therefore, it is said that the words Jesus has spoken will be man's judge in the Last Days (John 12:48), that by the same Word, the heavens and earth that now exist have been reserved unto fire (II Peter 3:7), and that the Lord Jesus will slay the lawless one with the breath of his mouth (II Thess. 2:8).

Therefore, the rod of iron is veritably the rod of Jesus' mouth. It is the breath of his lips and tongue, or the very word Jesus speaks (Is. 11:4). That is why it is said, "He shall rule them with a rod of iron, as when earthen pots are broken in pieces." (Rev. 2:27). It is clearly said that this male child is born of a woman and is caught up to God and to His throne. Then, who could be the male child who is born of a woman with the qualification of sitting on the throne of God and who will rule all the nations with the words of God? This can be none other than the Lord of the Second Advent who is to be born on the earth as the King of Kings, and who will realize the Kingdom of God on earth.

Up to the present, there have been many people interpreting the woman in the above-mentioned Biblical verse (Rev. 12:5) as the "Church". They could not but interpret it as the church, trying to interpret this Biblical verse under the premise that Christ would come on the clouds. In a following passage, "The rest of her offspring" (Rev. 12:17) means those who bear testimony to the Lord by believing in him; that is, the saints in the capacity of adopted sons (Rom. 8:23).

As for the Second Advent of the Lord, some scholars believe that his Second Advent is when Jesus comes through the Holy Spirit (Acts 8:16-17), to live in our individual hearts (John 14:20). In that case, since Jesus would be present in the heart of any faithful believer from the time of the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost to the present, we must believe that if this is really the Second Advent, then it has already taken place in the remote past, some 2000 years ago.

Some Christian denominations believe that Jesus will come again in a spiritual body. However, immediately after his resurrection from the tomb three days after his death, he visited his disciples, assuming the same appearance without a bit of difference from that of his lifetime (Matt. 28:9); and from that time until the present date, he has freely visited and taught, at any moment, any believer with a high spiritual standard. Therefore, we must think that this type of Second Advent also took place 2000 years ago. If this was the Second Advent, it would not be necessary for us now to look forward anew to the day of the Second Advent of the Lord as the historical day of our utmost desire.

From the fact that the disciples of Jesus were waiting for the day of the Second Coming even though they could meet him in spirit at any moment, we know that they did not envision the Second Advent which they were so eagerly looking forward to as his return in the spiritual body. Jesus said, "Surely I am coming soon." (Rev. 22:20), to the apostle John, whom he often met in spirit. John, who heard this, answered him saying, "Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!". Here, we find that Jesus, himself, well expressed that his coming in a spiritual body was not the Second Advent, and it is evident that the apostle John also did not regard his appearing in spirit as the Second Advent. Therefore, if the Second Advent is not Jesus' coming again in a spiritual body, it is an undeniable fact that Christ must come again in the flesh, just as in the first coming.

As stated in detail in the "Principle of Creation", God created both the invisible and the visible worlds, and created man to have both spirit and body, in order to have him dominate the two worlds, according to His words of blessing. Nevertheless, due to Adam's fall, man failed to enjoy dominion over these two worlds. Therefore, the creation, which had lost the dominator, came to wait in lamentation for the revealing of the sons of God, who could dominate it (Rom. 8:19-22). Therefore, Jesus, having come as a perfect dominator of these two worlds, in the capacity of a perfected Adam (I Cor. 15:27), intended to make all his saints (believers) the dominators over the whole creation, making them one body with himself by engrafting them to his body (Rom. 11:17). Nevertheless, due to the Jewish people's rebellion against him, the physical body of Jesus was delivered into the hands of Satan as the condition of ransom for the restoration of the Jews and the whole of mankind back to God's bosom; his body was invaded by Satan. Naturally, the physical salvation of mankind was left unfulfilled, and Jesus died, promising it would be realized when the Lord would come again (cf. Part I, Ch. 4, Sec. I, 4--147). Therefore, up to the present there has not been a single man who, having become perfect both spiritually and physically on the earth, could help harmonize the invisible world and the visible world by dominating both.

In consequence, that Lord, who is to come as a perfect substantial being on that standard, will not come in a spiritual body alone. As in Jesus' coming, he must come as a man perfected both spiritually and physically. Making the whole of mankind become one body with him by engrafting them to him both spiritually and physically (Rom. 11:17), he must make them become perfect both spiritually and physically, thus making them able to dominate both the invisible and the visible worlds.

Jesus, by restoring the Kingdom of God on earth, should have become the True Parent of restored mankind and the King of the Kingdom on earth (Is. 9:6, Luke 1:31-33). Nevertheless, he failed to fulfill this will due to the faithlessness of the people; he died on the cross, promising the Lord would come again later and surely fulfill it. Consequently, at the Second Advent, he must realize the Kingdom of God on earth as intended at Jesus' coming and become the True Parent of mankind and the King of the Kingdom as well. Naturally, even at the Second Advent, the Lord must be born in the flesh on the earth, as in the First Advent.

Besides, the redemption of man's sin is possible only through man's life on earth (cf. Part I, Ch. 1, Sec. VI, 3.2--60). In order to fulfill the purpose of redemption, Jesus had come as a man. However, since the salvation through Jesus' cross is only spiritual, the original sin still remains inherent in our physical body. Therefore, Christ must come again in order to complete the physical salvation. Accordingly, the Lord will come in the flesh as in Jesus' coming because he would not be able to attain this purpose if he would come again in a spiritual body alone. We have previously clarified, in many ways, that the Lord should come at the Second Advent in the flesh, as in Jesus' coming, and not in a spiritual body.

If the Lord would come again in a spiritual body, it would be illogical that the spiritual body, which can be seen only by spiritual eyes, transcendent of time and space, should come on the clouds, which is a kind of material. Moreover, if the Second Advent will surely be realized not in a spiritual body but in the flesh, where has the Lord been staying in the air as a physical body and how can he come on the clouds? About this question, one may ask what miracle would be impossible for God, almighty and omnipresent, to perform. However, God cannot ignore the laws which He has set up. Consequently, God need not and cannot work His providence in such a non-principled way that Christ, coming again in flesh the same as ours, should come on the clouds, after having waited in the air among some worlds other than the earth. Based on the proof that we have hitherto dealt with, we can admit with no doubt that the Lord's Second Advent will be realized by his birth in the flesh on earth.