God is the King of kings and Lord of lords, so He is worthy to receive glory and honor and praise. God the Almighty came to this earth in the flesh, having left the glory of heaven behind, even a second time, with the single-minded desire to save us, His children. As parents are only concerned about their children, so God only cares about His heavenly children. This time, let us think about the meaning of God’s second coming, and learn the Biblical teachings about the holy and sublime love of God.

God became flesh

The Bible is a book that testifies about God who gives mankind eternal life (Jn 5:39). In regard to the great event that God came from heaven to this earth in the flesh, it is written in the Bible as follows:

Jn 1:1-3 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.

Jn 1:14 The Word 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.

“The Word” mentioned in John 1 refers to God who made the heavens and the earth and created human beings. God the Creator became flesh and made His dwelling among people 2,000 years ago. He is Jesus.

God, who is worthy to receive praise and glory in heaven forever, came to this earth in human form, being made lower than the angels. It was because God wanted to seek and to save the souls who had sinned in heaven and were cast down to the earth.

Lk 19:10 “For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost.”

Mt 9:13 “But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”

We, human beings, were originally the souls who had sinned in heaven and were thrown down to the earth. To redeem His children, sinners, from their sins and to lead them to the eternal kingdom of heaven, God too shared in their humanity and came to this earth (Heb 2:14-15).

To human beings who were groaning under the chain of death because of their sins, the news that God came to this earth as their Savior in the flesh was the good news of great joy (Lk 2:10-11). However, people did not realize this fact and did to Him everything they wished, instead of receiving Him with joy.

Jn 1:10-12 He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God . . .

Those who persecuted and ridiculed God

God came to this earth, went through many hardships, and bore our iniquities. Never­theless, people did not esteem Him. Even the disciples, who believed in Jesus’ name and received Him, were not that different from the people who did not esteem Him, when He was on this earth.

Mt 26:47-56 While he was still speaking, Judas, one of the Twelve, arrived. With him was a large crowd armed with swords and clubs, sent from the chief priests and the elders of the people. Now the betrayer had arranged a signal with them: “The one I kiss is the man; arrest him.” Going at once to Jesus, Judas said, “Greetings, Rabbi!” and kissed him. Jesus replied, “Friend, do what you came for.” Then the men stepped forward, seized Jesus and arrested him. With that, one of Jesus’ companions reached for his sword, drew it out and struck the servant of the high priest, cutting off his ear. “Put your sword back in its place,” Jesus said to him, “for all who draw the sword will die by the sword. Do you think I can­not call on my Father, and he will at once put at my disposal more than twelve legions of angels? But how then would the Scriptures be fulfilled that say it must happen in this way?” . . . Then all the disciples deserted him and fled.

God came to this earth in human form and lived the humble life of a carpenter, and when the prophesied time came, He was baptized and began to preach the gospel at the age of 30. As Jesus finished the three and a half years of His public life, He established the Pass­over—the covenant for human beings for the forgiveness of sins—with bread and wine symbolizing His flesh and blood. On the night of the Passover, Judas Iscariot, one of Jesus’ disciples, betrayed Jesus and sold Him. The other disciples, who had pledged to follow Je­sus even to death, fled away in all directions. Only Peter, who was known to have greater faith than anyone else, tried to protect Jesus by brandishing his sword, but ultimately he disowned Jesus three times before the rooster crowed.

As a result, a regrettable thing occurred; Jesus was eventually arrested by the servants of the high priests. Besides, there are many other examples of those who failed to receive God properly.

Mt 27:1-5 Early in the morning, all the chief priests and the elders of the people came to the decision to put Jesus to death. They bound him, led him away and handed him over to Pilate, the governor. . . .

Mt 27:20-25 But the chief priests and the elders persuaded the crowd to ask for Barabbas and to have Jesus executed. “Which of the two do you want me to release to you?” asked the governor. “Barabbas,” they answered. “What shall I do, then, with Jesus who is called Christ?” Pilate asked. They all answered, “Crucify him!” “Why? What crime has he com­mitted?” asked Pilate. But they shouted all the louder, “Crucify him!” When Pilate saw that he was getting nowhere, but that instead an uproar was starting, he took water and washed his hands in front of the crowd. “I am innocent of this man’s blood,” he said. “It is your responsibility!” All the people answered, “Let his blood be on us and on our chil­dren!”

Those who rejected God, who came in the flesh, more wickedly than anyone else were the people who claimed to believe in God fervently in those days. They plotted together to kill God who came to them. They told Pilate to release Barabbas, a robber, and crucify Jesus without hesitation, shouting, “Let his blood be on us and on our children!”

Thus God, who came to this earth to bring salvation to mankind, was branded as a crim­inal, as someone who was more wicked than the robber, and He was flogged and crucified on the cross. This is recorded very vividly at the end of each of the four Gospels.

Mt 27:38-44 Two robbers were crucified with him, . . . Those who passed by hurled in­sults at him, shaking their heads and saying, “You who are going to destroy the temple and build it in three days, save yourself! Come down from the cross, if you are the Son of God!” In the same way the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the elders mocked him. “He saved others,” they said, “but he can’t save himself! He’s the King of Israel! Let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in him. He trusts in God. Let God rescue him now if he wants him, for he said, ‘I am the Son of God.’ ” In the same way the robbers who were crucified with him also heaped insults on him.

People persecuted God who came to that which was His own, and crucified Him. More­over, they insulted and ridiculed Him in such an extreme way. This was how everyone treated God who came in the flesh.

Nevertheless, Jesus, who was God by nature, humbled Himself and became obedient to death. Even until the moment He died on the cross, He prayed for sinners and never stopped trying to save one more soul. When He ascended into heaven 40 days after His resurrection, He earnestly asked His disciples to preach the gospel to save souls (Php 2:5-8; Lk 23:34-43; Mk 16:15-16).

God who came to the land of suffering again

Suppose that you went to a country and people in that country gathered together to speak ill of you, spit on you and hit you with their fists, and moreover they tried to kill you, flog­ging you and dividing up your clothes by casting lots. You probably would never want to go there again.

Our God suffered those same things when He came to this earth. Let us think about what this planet earth means to God. First, this earth is a place where God was tempted by Satan (Mt 4:1-11). It is also a place where God was ridiculed and rejected by His people who claimed to believe in Him. Moreover, this earth is a place where God was flogged severely, went through inexpressible suffering and persecution, and endured the anguish of death.

Isa 53:1-7 Who has believed our message . . . He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering. Like one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered him stricken by God, smitten by him, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed. We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniq­uity of us all. He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth.

The Bible likens Christ to an afflicted lamb being led to the slaughter. So to the Lamb, the earth is like a place of slaughter.

The place of slaughter filled with the smell of blood and murderous rage . . . Who would go to that place, knowing that the anguish of death is waiting for them there? However, God promised to come to this earth again.

Heb 9:27-28 Just as man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment, so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him.

In order to save us, God chose to come to this earth again. This time, God did not come alone, but the Spirit and the Bride came together. God the Father and God the Mother came to this earth together even though They knew better than anyone else that all kinds of hardships and persecutions were awaiting Them if They went down to the earth (Rev 22:17; 21:9; Gal 4:26). Rather than thinking about Their own safety, Father and Mother wanted to lead Their children to salvation and They came to this earth for the second time to bring salvation to Their children. The reason was that unless They came to this earth in the flesh again, Their children could not come to salvation. So the Bible says that God is love.

1 Jn 4:7-8 Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.

God loves us more than any spiritual beings in the universe, more than any angels in heaven. That is why God came to this earth again, where He had already suffered all sorts of insults and hardships at His first coming. God walked the path of suffering and sacrifice for His lost children from heaven at His second coming, too, as He did at His first coming.

Salvation given through God’s sacrifice

It must not have been an easy decision for God to come to this earth again, where death and betrayal were awaiting Him and there were more people who would reject Him in­stead of accepting Him than those who would believe in Him. However, our God did so. God our Father and Mother came to this earth in the flesh to save us, Their children. For our salvation, They are willing to come even several times.

Salvation and the forgiveness of sins are given to us through the holy and precious sacri­fice and shedding of blood of our Heavenly Father and Mother. Giving thanks to Heavenly Father and Mother for Their saving grace, let us follow Them till the end, so that we, the heavenly children, can all go back to heaven.

Heb 2:1-3 We must pay more careful attention, therefore, to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away. For if the message spoken by angels was binding, and every viola­tion and disobedience received its just punishment, how shall we escape if we ignore such a great salvation? This salvation, which was first announced by the Lord, was confirmed to us by those who heard him.

We must not treat this great salvation lightly. Is it proper for us to regard our salvation as something valueless because we have received it freely, without works? Not at all. God wanted to give us salvation, even leaving the glory of heaven behind.

For our salvation, God chose to come to this planet earth full of suffering, even twice. God loved us so much that He cared about our eternal happiness. So, we must realize the value of our salvation and accept the salvation of God as grace. I truly hope that none of you will fall behind but all of you will reach the eternal kingdom of heaven by following the way of the truth of the new covenant, which Father and Mother have opened for us. Let us hold fast onto the crown of life, promised to us, until the end, so that we will enjoy glory in the everlasting kingdom of heaven forever and ever, as the royal priests of heaven (1 Pe 2:9).