Some people, in their study of the Lord Jesus’ return, only base their studies on the Bible’s prophecies, but they do not seek to listen to God’s voice. What is the problem with this practice?

 Some people, in their study of the Lord Jesus’ return, only base their studies on the Bible’s prophecies, but they do not seek to listen to God’s voice. What is the problem with this practice?

The Answer from God’s Word:

“First, let us not verify each statement. Instead, let us look at how the Holy Spirit works. Let us compare against the truth to see whether the path we walk is in line with the work of the Holy Spirit, and use the work of the Holy Spirit to check whether such path is correct. As for whether this statement or that statement has come to pass, we humans should not interfere. It is better for us to instead speak of the work of the Holy Spirit and the latest work that God is doing now. The Bible comprises the words of God told by the prophets and the words written by the men God used at the time; only God Himself can explain those words, only the Holy Spirit can make known the meaning of those words, and only God Himself can break the seven seals and open the scroll. You are not God, and neither am I, so who dares to explain at will the words of God? Do you dare explain those words? Even if the prophets Jeremiah, John and Elijah were here, they would not dare to, for they are not the Lamb. Only the Lamb can break the seven seals and open the scroll, and none other can explain His words. …”

… The last days are no more than the last days and no more than the Age of Kingdom, which do not represent the Age of Grace or the Age of Law. The last days are merely the time in which all the work in the six-thousand-year management plan is revealed to you. This is the unveiling of the mystery. Such mystery can be unveiled by no man. No matter how great an understanding man has of the Bible, it remains nothing more than words, for man does not understand the substance of the Bible. When man reads the Bible, he may receive some truths, explain some words or scrutinize some famous passages and quotes, but he will never be able to extricate the meaning contained within those words, for all man sees are dead words, not the scenes of the work of Jehovah and Jesus, and man is unable to unravel the mystery of such work. Therefore, the mystery of the six-thousand-year management plan is the greatest mystery, the one most hidden and utterly inconceivable to man. None can directly understand the will of God, unless He Himself explains and opens up to man, otherwise, they will forever remain riddles to man and forever remain sealed mysteries. Never mind those in the religious world; if you were not told today, neither would you be able to understand. This work of six thousand years is more mysterious than all the prophecies of the prophets. It is the greatest mystery since creation, and no former prophet has ever been able to fathom it, for this mystery is only unraveled in the final age and has never before been revealed. If you understand this mystery and are able to fully receive it, those religious persons will all be conquered by this mystery. Only this is the greatest of visions, that which man most longs to understand but also that which is most unclear to him.

from “The Mystery of the Incarnation (4)” in The Word Appears in the Flesh

The Jews of the time all read from the Old Testament and knew of Isaiah’s prophecy that a male infant would be born in a manger. Why then, with this knowledge, did they still persecute Jesus? Is this not because of their rebellious nature and ignorance of the work of the Holy Spirit? At that time, the Pharisees believed that the work of Jesus was unlike what they knew of the prophesied male infant; man of today rejects God because the work of the incarnate God does not conform to the Bible. Is not the substance of their rebelliousness against God one and the same? Can you be such that you accept without question all the work of the Holy Spirit? If it is the work of the Holy Spirit, then it is the right stream. You should accept it without the slightest misgivings, rather than picking and choosing what to accept. If you gain some knowledge from God and exercise some caution against Him, is this not an act truly uncalled for? What you ought to do is accept, without the need for further substantiation from the Bible, any work so long as it is that of the Holy Spirit, for you believe in God to follow God, not to investigate Him. You should not search out further proof for Me to show that I am your God. Rather, you ought to discern whether I am of benefit to you; that is the key. Even if you have found out much irrefutable proof within the Bible, it cannot bring you fully before Me. You are one who lives within the confines of the Bible, and not before Me…. Though the Bible prophesied that a male infant would be born, none could fathom upon whom the prophecy would come to pass, for man did not know the work of God, and this is what caused the Pharisees to stand against Jesus. Some know that My work is in man’s interests, yet they continue to believe that Jesus and I are two entirely separate beings who are mutually incompatible. At the time, Jesus only spoke to His disciples a series of sermons in the Age of Grace, such as how to practice, how to gather together, how to ask in prayer, how to treat others, and so forth. The work He carried out was that of the Age of Grace, and He expounded only on how the disciples and those who followed Him ought to practice. He did only the work of the Age of Grace and none of the last days. When Jehovah set down Old Testament law in the Age of Law, why did He not then do the work of the Age of Grace? Why did He not make clear in advance the work of the Age of Grace? Would this not have been of benefit to the acceptance of man? He only prophesied that a male infant would be born and come to power, but He did not carry out in advance the work of the Age of Grace. The work of God in each age has clear boundaries; He does only the work of the current age and never does He carry out the next stage of work in advance. Only in this way can His representative work of each age be brought to the fore. Jesus had spoken only of the signs of the last days, of how to be patient and how to be saved, how to repent and confess, as well as how to bear the cross and endure suffering; never did He speak of what man in the last days should enter into or how to seek to satisfy God’s will. As such, would it not be an act of fallacy to search within the Bible for God’s work of the last days? What can you discern merely holding the Bible in your hands? Be it an interpreter of the Bible or a preacher, who can foreknow the work of today?

from “How Can Man Who Has Defined God in His Conceptions Receive the Revelations of God?” in The Word Appears in the Flesh

Each stage of God’s work was not expressly in order to fulfill the predictions of the ancient prophets, and He did not come to abide by doctrine or deliberately realize the predictions of the ancient prophets. Yet His actions did not disrupt the predictions of the ancient prophets, nor did they disturb the work that He had previously done. The salient point of His work was not abiding by any doctrine, and doing the work that He Himself should do. He was not a prophet or a seer, but a doer, who actually came to do the work He was supposed to do, and came to open His new era and carry out His new work. Of course, when Jesus came to do His work, He also fulfilled many of the words spoken by the ancient prophets in the Old Testament. So too has the work of today fulfilled the predictions of the ancient prophets of the Old Testament. It’s just that I don’t hold up that “yellowed old almanac,” that’s all. For there is more work that I must do, there are more words that I must speak to you, and this work and words are of far greater importance than explaining passages from the Bible, because work such as that has no great significance or value for you, and cannot help you, or change you. I intend to do new work not for the sake of fulfilling any passage from the Bible. If God only came to earth to fulfill the words of the ancient prophets of the Bible, then who is greater, God incarnate or those ancient prophets? After all, are the prophets in charge of God, or is God in charge of the prophets? How do you explain these words?

from “Concerning Appellations and Identity” in The Word Appears in the Flesh

Know more: Every Christian in The Church of Almighty God fully recognizes that Almighty God is the return of the Lord Jesus.