The Stone That Causes Men to Stumble

According to the Bible prophecies, God will come to this earth in the flesh. However, His coming has always been a mystery or an obstacle for many. There are two groups of people: those who believe that God came as a man, and those who do not believe in Christ.

The Bible prophesies that God will come as a man, and for those who do not believe, He becomes a stumbling stone. Only the one who believes the prophecy can receive Christ.

The Mystery of God: Christ

When we read the scriptures, many passages testify about Christ. All these scriptures teach that God, who was in Heaven, was born on the earth as a man.

Philippians 2:6-8 “Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his advantage; rather he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death, even death on a cross!”

Apostle Paul was teaching the early church to have the same mindset as Jesus Christ because Christ Jesus, although He is God, humbled Himself and lived as a man, and even faced death.

John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

John 1:14 The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.

In the book of John, it is written that the Word was God and the Word became flesh, meaning that God came to this earth and was born as a man. Therefore, Jesus Christ is God who came as man. In the book of Isaiah, there is a direct prophecy that God will be born as a son; that son was Jesus Christ.

Isaiah 9:6 “For to us a son is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.”

The titles of Mighty God and Everlasting Father belong to God the Father, Jehovah. This verse states that God the Father, Jehovah, would be born as a son. According to Matthew 1:18-23, Jesus Christ was the one to fulfil this prophecy.

When we read these verses together, it is clear that Jesus must be the Christ, God who came in the flesh. Yet many still refuse to believe. Why are some unable to believe in Christ?

Colossians 2:2 “My goal is that they may be encouraged in heart and united in love, so that they may have the full riches of complete understanding, in order that they may know the mystery of God, namely, Christ. “

The mystery of God is Christ; therefore, those who believe in the Bible and its prophecies can understand this mystery. That is why the Bible writes that Christ becomes a stumbling stone for those who reject Him.

God Who Becomes a Stumbling Stone

Jesus Christ is God who came to earth as a man to save mankind from their sins, according to Luke 19:10 and Matthew 9:13. However, at the time of Jesus’ first coming, many of the Israelites did not believe in God who came as a man.

1 Peter 2:4 “As you come to him, the living stone rejected by humans but chosen by God and precious to him. “

1 Peter 2:7-8 Now to you who believe, this stone is precious, but to those who do not believe, “The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone,” and, “A stone that causes people to stumble and a rock that makes them fall.”

The living stone refers to Jesus Christ and says that to those who rejected it, the stone will become a rock that makes them fall. They fall because they do not believe in Christ Jesus as God, the Messiah.

John 10:33 “We are not stoning you for any good work,” they replied, “but for blasphemy, because you, a mere man, claim to be God.”

Although they witnessed Jesus Christ perform many miracles and fulfil the prophecies before their eyes, they still stoned him. Why? They believed He was only a man claiming to be God. This was because of their unbelief.

John 5:39 You study the Scriptures diligently because you think that in them you have eternal life. These are the very Scriptures that testify about me.

One of the duties of the Pharisees and the Teachers of the Law was to study the Scriptures, yet they did not believe in Jesus.

John 5:46-47 “If you believed Moses, you would believe me, for he wrote about me. But since you do not believe what he wrote, how are you going to believe what I say? “

When Jesus Christ spoke to the Pharisees, He said, “If you believed Moses”, what was Jesus referring to? Moses wrote the Pentateuch, the first five books of the Bible. So, when referring to Moses, it is the Bible, the Old Testament scriptures, that He is mentioning. Therefore, if the Pharisees believed in the Bible and what was written, they could believe in Jesus as the Christ. However, since they did not believe the Bible, they could not believe in Him.

The Difference Between Those Who Believed and Those Who Did Not

The Pharisees and the Teachers of the Law had their own understanding of who God was and who God should be. They knew God as the Almighty One seated on the throne of heaven, at whose voice the skies trembled and thundered. They put God Almighty in this box and could only imagine Him as this glorified figure. Moreover, they thought that when He comes to the earth, He should come in glory. They could never imagine or believe that God came in the humble human likeness, and grew up as a carpenter’s son. Their expectation of God and the reality of who God really is did not match, which led them to reject the Messiah whom they had been waiting for and eventually crucify Him.

John 10:24-25 The Jews who were there gathered around him, saying, “How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly.” Jesus answered, “I did tell you, but you do not believe. The works I do in my Father’s name testify about me,

John 1:10-11 “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.

1 Corinthians 2:8 None of the rulers of this age understood it, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.

On the other hand, the disciples who followed Jesus and were with Him saw Jesus Christ for who he really was. It was because they did not view him through their own lens, that is the physical perspective. The disciples viewed Jesus Christ through the Bible prophecy, that is the spiritual lens. As they saw him fulfil each prophecy one by one, their conviction in God who came as man grew stronger.

John 1:12-13 “Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.”

John 6:68-69 “Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the word of eternal life. We have come to believe and to know that you are the Holy One of God.”

Matthew 16:15-17 ” “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?”Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” Jesus replied “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven.”

Those who realise that God came in the flesh and recognise the Christ are blessed by God and become the children of God.

All of this written history is not only a story of the past but is a valuable lesson for us living in this age. The Bible prophesies that God will come again in the flesh in the last days.

Hebrews 9:28 “so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many: and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him.”

God will come again in the flesh, and when He appears, He will not come alone; He will also reveal God the Mother, the mystery of the Bible, who has been hidden until the appointed time.

Colossians 1:26 “the mystery that has been kept hidden for ages and generations, but is now disclosed to the Lord’s people”

How can we become those who know about God who comes in the flesh and believe in Him? We must study Bible prophecy. It is through understanding scriptures and by keeping God’s commandments, like the Passover of the New Covenant, that we receive the Holy Spirit and understand the deep things of God.

1 Corinthians 2:10 “These are the things God has revealed to us by his Spirit. The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. “

Then, on the day we meet God, who came in the flesh, will we become those who reject Him or those who believe what the Bible testifies? When we receive the Holy Spirit from God, we will be able to recognise Christ. We will also become the children of God who keep His commands.

Christ Ahnsahnghong and Heavenly Mother New Jerusalem are God who have come in the flesh in these last days. We should believe in them as the Bible testifies, so we may not become the one who stumbles on the stone that is Christ.