What Kind of Repentance Can Gain God’s Mercy

By Liu Shuo

Wang Wei and three other co-workers, Xiaoliu, Ma Tao, and Hu Zhi, sat together studying the Bible.
Then Wang Wei said to them with a smile, “My fellow co-workers, the Lord Jesus said, ‘Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand’ (Matthew 4:17). ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent you, and believe the gospel’ (Mark 1:15). The Lord told us in order to enter God’s kingdom, we must confess and repent to Him. Therefore, we must clearly know what true repentance is. It is very important for us.”

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God’s Mercy and Tolerance Toward Humanity Are Flawless — Jonah 4:11

“And should not I spare Nineveh, that great city, wherein are more then six score thousand persons that cannot discern between their right hand and their left hand; and also much cattle?” (Jonah 4:11).

Now disasters are becoming more and more serious. Only if we truly repent to God can we gain God’s guidance during disasters so that we can have a way forward and be raptured into the heavenly kingdom.Many believers in the Lord have such confusions: We often confess our sins and repent to the Lord in tears, but we still live in a cycle of sinning and confessing, unable to extricate ourselves. Is this true repentance? Can we who often sin and do not truly repent be qualified to enter the kingdom of heaven? Here we select Bible verses about repentance and related content to help brothers and sisters who are truly waiting for the Lord’s return find the way to escape sin, achieve true repentance, and enter the kingdom of heaven.

Belief in the Lord Does Not Mean the Lord Approves of You!

Seeing disasters occurring more and more frequently around the world, many believers in the Lord think: These disasters will punish those who don’t believe in God and do evil, while believers in the Lord are cared for and protected by the Lord and thus they can survive all kinds of disasters. However, seeing some believers die in the plague, we begin to feel confused: Why were they not protected by the Lord? The fact is that by believing in the Lord doesn’t mean we are the ones approved by the Lord. Since we are not approved of by the Lord, how come we are protected by God? Then what kind of people will be commended by God?

The Lord Jesus said, “Not every one that said to Me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that does the will of My Father which is in heaven” (Matthew 7:21). Seen from this, only those who do the will of God are the ones the Lord approves of. Just like Noah, he listened to God’s command to build the Ark. No matter how many years it would take and how people ridiculed him, he accomplished God’s commission without hesitation. Only in this way can it be counted as doing the will of God and only such people can be protected by God and survive disasters. We are now in the last days and the Lord has already returned. Only if we follow God’s footsteps, welcome the Lord’s return, and listen to the words expressed by God in the last days, can we have a chance to be protected by God in disasters. Then how should we look for God’s footsteps? “The Appearance of God Has Ushered in a New Age” will bring us a path.

Do you want to learn more gospel messages about Jesus Christ’s return? Don’t hesitate to visit the website—Grow in Christ.

What the Prophecy “the Coming of the Son of Man” Refers To

Question:

Many Christians are hoping for the Lord Jesus to descend on a cloud and take them up into the kingdom of heaven. When studying the Bible carefully, we can find there are many prophecies about the Lord’s descent. For example, “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). These prophecies mention “the Son of man comes” or “the coming of the Son of man”, so what exactly is meant by “the coming of the Son of man”? In what way will the Lord Jesus make His return?

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What Do You Know of Faith – True Faith in God

In man exists only the uncertain word of faith, yet man knows not what constitutes faith, much less why he has faith. Man understands too little and man himself is too lacking; he merely has faith in Me mindlessly and ignorantly. Though he knows not what faith is nor why he has faith in Me, he continues to do so obsessively. What I ask of man is not merely for him to obsessively call upon Me in this way or to believe in Me in a desultory fashion. For the work I do is for man to see Me and come to know Me, not for man to be impressed and look at Me in a new light because of My work. I previously manifested many signs and wonders and performed many miracles. The Israelites at the time showed Me great admiration and greatly revered My exceptional ability to heal the sick and exorcise demons. At the time, the Jews thought My healing powers to be masterly and extraordinary. For My many such deeds, they all regarded Me with respect; they felt great admiration for all of My powers. So any who saw Me perform miracles followed Me closely, such that thousands surrounded Me to watch Me heal the sick. I manifested so many signs and wonders, yet man merely regarded Me as a masterly physician; I also spoke many words of teaching to those people at the time, yet they merely regarded Me as a teacher superior to his disciples! Even to this day, after men have seen the historical records of My work, their interpretation continues to be that I am a great physician who heals the sick and a teacher to the ignorant. And they have determined Me to be the merciful Lord Jesus Christ. Those who interpret scripture may have surpassed My skills in healing, or may even be disciples who have now surpassed their teacher, yet such men of great renown, whose names are known around the world, regard Me so lowly as a mere physician! My deeds are greater in number than the grains of sand on the beaches, and My wisdom greater than that of all those sons of Solomon, yet men merely think of Me as a physician of little account and an unknown teacher of man! How many believe in Me only so I would heal them? How many believe in Me only so I would use My powers to drive unclean spirits out of their bodies? And how many believe in Me simply to receive peace and joy from Me? How many believe in Me only to demand from Me more material wealth, and how many believe in Me just to spend this life in safety and to be safe and sound in the world to come? How many believe in Me only to avoid the suffering of hell and to receive the blessings of heaven? How many believe in Me only for temporary comfort but do not seek to gain anything in the world to come? When I brought down My fury upon man and seized all the joy and peace he originally possessed, man became doubtful. When I gave unto man the suffering of hell and reclaimed the blessings of heaven, man’s shame turned into anger. When man asked Me to heal him, yet I acknowledged him not and felt abhorrence for him, man went far away from Me and sought the way of witch doctors and sorcery. When I took away all that man had demanded from Me, then all disappeared without a trace. Therefore, I say that man has faith in Me because I give too much grace, and there is far too much to gain. The Jews believed in Me for My grace, and followed Me wherever I went. These ignorant men of limited knowledge and experience only sought to see the signs and wonders I manifested. They regarded Me as the head of the house of the Jews who could perform the greatest miracles. Therefore, when I exorcised demons from men, they talked amongst themselves in great confusion, saying that I am Elijah, that I am Moses, that I am the most ancient of all prophets, that I am the greatest of all physicians. Apart from Myself saying that I am the life, the way, and the truth, none could know My being or My identity. Apart from Myself saying that heaven is the place where My Father lives, none knew that I am the Son of God, and God Himself. Apart from Myself saying that I shall bring redemption to all mankind and ransom mankind, none knew that I am the Redeemer of mankind; men only knew Me as a benevolent and compassionate man. And apart from Myself being able to explain all there is of Me, none recognized Me, and none believed that I am the Son of the living God. Man only has such manner of faith in Me, and fools Me in this way. How can man bear Me witness when he holds such views of Me?

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Bible Verses About How to Distinguish True and False Prophets

As we all know, if we want to welcome the appearance of Jesus in the last days, we need to watch at any moment and beware of false Christs and false prophets, for on one hand, at that time false Christs will appear and perform the signs and wonders to deceive us; on the other hand, we should listen to God’s voice with a heart of humble seeking, then we will be able to truly discern the true Christ from the false ones. Here we select 7 Bible verses about how to distinguish the true Christ from the false ones, and hope you will find them helpful.

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What Is True Repentance?

true repentance

It’s recorded in the Old Testament when the Ninevites learned that God had decided to bring down disaster to destroy the city of Nineveh, they truly confessed their sins and repented to God, and thus received God’s mercy and tolerance—God no longer destroyed the city and they survived. Nowadays, the various manifestations of people’s evil, depravity, and resistance to God are worse than those of the Ninevites before repentance. All kinds of disasters are now warning us to hurry to come to God and truly repent as the Ninevites did. Only thus can we win God’s mercy and tolerance. Then, what is true repentance?

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How Should I Recognize Jesus When He Returns?

By Xiaohua

Brother Li felt puzzled about whether he will recognize the Lord according to the Lord Jesus’ form when he welcomes His return, so he went to Brother Zhao to seek and explore it. On seeing Brother Zhao, he said without preamble, “The Bible says, ‘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). All along, most believers in the Lord think that the Lord Jesus will certainly descend in the image of a Jew when He returns, because He rose to heaven in the form of a Jewish person. And I also think so. But why did some brothers and sisters recently say that it was wrong and was delimiting God to have such understanding? So, will the Lord Jesus really arrive among us in the image of a Jew? If it is really not like this, then how can we recognize Him when He returns? I’m having difficulty seeing into these questions. Brother Zhao, you’ve been a believer for many years and are familiar with the Bible. Can you talk about your understanding?”

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Six Prophecies of the Lord Jesus’ Second Coming

By Zheng Xun

Now, it is the end of the last days. Many brothers and sisters, who truly believe in the Lord and wait for His return, must have such questions: The Lord Jesus has said, “And, behold, I come quickly” (Revelation 22:12). He has promised us to return, so has He come back yet? How can we know whether He has returned or not?

Six Prophecies of the Lord Jesus’ Second Coming – Bible Verses About Jesus’ Return

1. The Occurrence of All Sorts of Disasters

One of the signs of the Lord’s return is that disasters will occur all over the world. Just as Matthew 24:6–8 say: “And you shall hear of wars and rumors of wars: see that you be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places. All these are the beginning of sorrows.

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How Can We Escape the Bondage of Sin and Enter the Kingdom of Heaven?

By Zhang Rui

Can we enter the kingdom of heaven if our sins are forgiven?

Sin, as a Christian, is something I couldn’t be more familiar with. It hovers around me every day, it’s always close, and I can’t get rid of it! The constant cycle of sinning and confessing had always troubled me, because if the Lord ever returned, could I enter the kingdom of heaven like this? In my torment, I thought of Paul’s words, “Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God’s elect? It is God that justifies. Who is he that condemns?” (Romans 8:33–34). “There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:1). Yes, I am one of the Lord’s elect, the Lord has already forgiven all my sins, and no matter whether they are past, present, or future sins, He forgives them all. He no longer sees me as a sinner, and when the Lord comes, I will be able to enter the kingdom of heaven!

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