First Secretly, and then Openly
- Church of Almighty God (CAG) followers regularly claims that the second coming of Christ has already begun as divided into two-step process, “First secretly and then in public.”[1]
- “Therefore, it is said that when God returns in the last days, “it will be secret first and then open.“[2]
- The above quotes are from CAG’s Chinese web pages. CAG claims that the second coming of Christ began with the first step, i.e., the second incarnation of God which took place in Henan, China, in 1991, and the second step is in the future when Jesus, the Son of man, coming on the clouds. CAG relies on an innovative, yet twisted interpretation of Luke 17:24-25 to make its case. (See the Doctrine of Incarnation and the Doctrine of the End Times for more discussions)
[1] “How Did I Return to Almighty God” (40 A Different Salvation), accessed January 21, 2022.
[2] www.lambsteps.com, “Whether the Lord Jesus will come first “on the clouds” or “in secret”,” accessed January 21, 2022.
- CAG’s evangelists have been misinterpreting the “a thief in the night” passage for years to fit their proselytizing ministry. There are at least six New Testament passages mention the Lord return like a thief in the night.[3] Here is one example from Revelation 3:3, “So remember what you have received and heard; and keep it, and repent. Then if you are not alert, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what hour I will come to you.” (NASB) The context as well as the wordings of all these passages are unequivocally point to the Lord’s return as unexpected; and therefore, Christians are to be alert for no one knows at what hour Christ will return. CAG takes all these passages and claim that the Lord’s return was prophesied as a secretive event; and no one knows the second incarnated Christ, Almighty God in the flesh, had already returned in Henan, China, in 1991. This is also the reason why the female Christ is in seclusion.
[3] Matt. 24:43; Luke 12:39; 1 Thess. 5:2; 2 Peter 3:10; Rev. 3:3; Rev. 16:15.
- The Church of Almighty God teaches its followers that the Lord will come back quietly and secretly like a thief in the night.
- CAG asserts that “to say “like a thief” is to come quietly, secretly.”[4]
- But Jesus says, “…. know this, that if the master of the house had known in what part of the night the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into.” (Matt. 24:43, ESV)
[4] “TheGoodLandofCanaan” Facebook, accessed January 22, 2022.
- CAG in this This Facebook page also claims that Jesus will come back on the clouds in His spiritual body, not His resurrected physical/glorious body. (Philippians 3:21) (You may use Google Chrome browser to translate this referenced Facebook page into English)
- In a CAG web page, the Editor’s notes says, “in addition to prophesying that the Lord will come with clouds, the Bible also prophesies that the Lord will come secretly like a thief.'[5]
[5] “Do you know how the Lord Jesus will come in the last days?” (a Chinese web page), accessed January 22, 2022.
- Jesus will come back unexpectedly, be alert:
- “Remember, then, what you received and heard. Keep it, and repent. If you will not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what hour I will come against you.” (Rev. 3:3, ESV)
- ““Behold, I am coming like a thief! Blessed is the one who stays awake, keeping his garments on, that he may not go about naked and be seen exposed!”” (Rev. 16:15, ESV)
Clear Thinking Exercises
- Does the Bible specifically predict that Christ will come back secretly and quietly in a different body?
- In the Bible, are the warnings related to the return of the Lord about “staying awake” because He will come back “unexpectedly” or “secretly and quietly”?
- Here are additional Bible passages about the warning:
- “But know this, that if the master of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have left his house to be broken into.” (Luke 12:39, ESV)
- “For you yourselves are fully aware that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night.” (1 Thess. 5:2, ESV)
- “But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed.” (2 Peter 3:10, ESV)
- As many Bible passages warn believers that the second coming of Christ will be like a thief in the night, being alert and staying awake would signify the unexpected nature of the event.