comebeforegod

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The work of God is always moving forward, and though the purpose of His work does not change, the method by which He works constantly changes, which means that

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Although many people believe in Christianity, many of them don't know how Christianity was formed and what true Christianity is? This article will tell you the answers.

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耶稣在末日回归的地方？

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So, God Has Appeared in the East but Not in Israel

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How Will Jesus Knock on the Door When He Returns?

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Do You Know the Mystery of “the Dead in Christ Shall Rise”?

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Is the Work of God So Simple As Man Imagines?

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What Is God’s Salvation According to the Bible?

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Why Did the Lord Jesus Give Peter the Keys of the Kingdom of Heaven

By Yang Qing

I Was Confused When Reading the Scriptures

This morning, after the morning prayer, I opened the Bible and read chapter 16, verse 19 of the Gospel of Matthew where the Lord Jesus said to Peter, “And I will give to you the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatever you shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatever you shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”

 When reading the verses, I thought: There were twelve disciples of the Lord Jesus, but why did He give the keys to Peter rather than the others? What did Peter do so that the Lord was so pleased with him? If I can figure these questions out and act according to Peter’s actions, then won’t I also earn the Lord’s praise and in the future enter into the kingdom of heaven? However, I still didn’t make them clear after reading these verses several times and then I had to eat breakfast first and go to work.

I Found the Answers After Consulting My Colleague

During the lunch break, I inquired of a colleague who believed in the Lord, and she was glad to help me.

She said, “In the past I was puzzled by the scripture, too. Later, I read Matthew 16: 13-19 several times and contemplated them carefully. Thank God’s enlightenment. I came to understand the Lord’s will.

We can see from Matthew 16:13-16 that when the Lord Jesus asked His several disciples, ‘Whom do men say that I the Son of man am,’ some of them said He was John the Baptist, some said Elijah, some said Jeremiah, and only Peter said, ‘You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.’ From this, we can see that among the twelve disciples, only Peter knew the Lord Jesus is the coming Messiah, Christ. Peter confirmed the Lord Jesus was Christ through His work and words. No matter how the Pharisees condemned, attacked and judged the Lord Jesus, he wasn’t deceived but just obeyed the guidance and will of the Holy Spirit and followed the Lord Jesus all the time. From this, we know Peter had true knowledge of the Lord Jesus. In addition, when the soldiers came to seize the Lord, Peter darted forward to protect the Lord and cut off a soldier’s ear. His action was a result of being hot-blooded and a little rude, which was not in line with the Lord’s will, but from another angle, in the presence of such a danger, that Peter did this showed he truly loved the Lord. Besides, after the Lord rose from the dead and ascended to heaven, Peter shepherded the churches according to the Lord’s commands and finally he was crucified upside down for the Lord, thereby bearing beautiful and resounding witness. From these things, we can also see Peter truly loved the Lord, or he wouldn’t risk his life to protect the Lord, nor would he pledge to follow the Lord till death and spread His gospel, much less bear the testimonies of submitting to God unto his death and loving Him to the extreme.”

I nodded and said, “That’s right. Among the twelve disciples, only Peter recognized the Lord Jesus was Christ. Peter indeed had true knowledge of the Lord.”

My colleague went on talking, “The Lord Jesus said, ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and great commandment’ (Matthew 22:37-38). ‘If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come to him, and make our stayed with him. He that loves me not keeps not my sayings’ (John 14:23-24). ‘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). Peter observed the greatest commandment—loving the Lord, so that he wasn’t afraid of the soldiers protected the Lord. What’s more, he could even lay down his life and be nailed upside down on the cross for the Lord’s sake, obeying God unto death. This was enough to show that he was the person who followed the way of the Lord. That the Lord Jesus gave Peter the keys of the kingdom of heaven allows us to know Peter was a man after the Lord’s heart and his pursuit was approved by the Lord. In order to enter into the kingdom of heaven, we should imitate Peter and be a person who loves and knows the Lord. Only in this way can we receive His promises.”

After hearing her words, I saw the light and said, “It turns out that there are the earnest intentions of the Lord and His expectations of mankind in Him giving Peter the keys of the kingdom of heaven. Then specifically how did Peter pursue to know and love the Lord?”

Only by Imitating the Pursuit of Peter, Will We Receive the Lord’s Approval

Hearing my words, she took out a tablet computer with delight and said to me, “Regarding how Peter pursued to love and know the Lord, I read two passages of words from a gospel website, which explain it very clearly. Allow me to read them to you.

‘Peter followed Jesus for a number of years and he saw many things in Jesus that people do not have. … Jesus’ every move acted as an exemplar for him in his life, and Jesus’ sermons were particularly engraved in his heart. He was very considerate of and dedicated to Jesus, and he never had complaints of Jesus. This is why he became Jesus’ faithful companion everywhere He went. Peter observed Jesus’ teachings, His gentle words, and what He ate, wore, His daily life, and His travels. He followed Jesus’ example in every way. He was not self-righteous, but he cast off all of his previous outdated things and followed Jesus’ example in word and deed. It was then that he felt that the heavens and earth and all things were within the hands of the Almighty, and for this reason he did not have his own choice, but he drew in everything that Jesus was to act as his exemplar’ (‘On the Life of Peter’).

‘After a period of experience, Peter saw in Jesus many of the deeds of God, saw the loveliness of God, and saw much of God’s being in Jesus. So too did he see that the words of Jesus could not have been spoken by man, and that the work Jesus did could not have been done by man. In Jesus’ words and actions, furthermore, Peter saw much of the wisdom of God, and much divine work. During his experiences, he did not merely come to know himself, but also focused on observing the actions of Jesus, from which he discovered many new things; namely, that there were many expressions of the practical God in the work that God did through Jesus, and that Jesus’ words, actions, the ways He shepherded the churches and the work He carried out differed from any ordinary man. Thus, from Jesus he learned many lessons that he was supposed to learn, and by the time Jesus was about to be nailed to the cross, he had gained some knowledge of Jesus—a knowledge which was the basis of his lifelong loyalty to Jesus, and of his crucifixion upside down for the sake of Jesus’” (“Only Those Who Know God Can Bear Testimony to God”).

Having heard these words, I said to her, “It turns out that when Peter lived with the Lord Jesus, he paid great attention to observing His words and the things that He did.”

She said, “Yes, from these two passages we can see Peter desired to know the Lord. When he was in contact with the Lord Jesus, he observed His every word and action. In the Lord Jesus, he saw much of the being of His divinity. For example, His words are full of authority and power; no one is capable of doing His work; no one possesses His mercy, love, patience and tolerance toward man. In addition, from the different ways that the Lord Jesus treated ordinary people and the Pharisees, Peter could see His holiness and righteousness. The Lord’s revelations and living out are all positive things and can bring light to man. Peter saw many adorable sides of God in the Lord Jesus, and these stirred up his love for the Lord. He took the Lord Jesus as an exemplar, was mindful of His will and had the utmost loyalty to Him, shepherding the churches and spreading His gospel. Besides, Peter firmly kept His words in mind, and always contemplated them and put them into practice. And he examined his own words and actions at all times. If he found there was something that he did was not according to the Lord’s words, he would pray to God and despise his rebelliousness. Thus he resolved to practice on the basis of the Lord’s words and follow the example of the Lord Jesus. Moreover, Peter stood as equal to the others when working and he didn’t put himself in a position of one of the Lord Jesus’ disciples, but only loved God and fulfilled his duty as a creature of God. No matter he encountered the derision of the unbelievers or the persecution of the ruling party, he had no complaints against God. No matter how many hardships he suffered and what kind of trials and refinements he faced, his love of God had never changed. Due to his pursuit, finally he could obey God unto death and love God to the utmost, and be nailed upside down on the cross for God’s sake. The Lord Jesus favored his humanity and his pursuit in believing in God, and knew he was the most worthy to be entrusted with everything and the most worthy of trust. Therefore, the Lord Jesus said, ‘Blessed are you, Simon Barjona … and on this rock I will build my church…. And I will give to you the keys of the kingdom of heaven’” (See Matthew 16:17-19).

When my colleague finished her words, I felt a special kind of brightness within and truly felt that God could see deep into the heart of man. It is not causeless that the Lord Jesus praised Peter and gave him the keys of the kingdom of heaven. In the past, because of Peter’s three denials of the Lord, I didn’t understand why the Lord praised him. Now, I realized I was so stupid and ignorant. The Lord considered the essence of a man, but I considered his momentary expressions. If I don’t put my conception aside and seek the Lord’s will, how can I not make mistakes? Through my colleague’s fellowship, I knew Peter was loved by God and he was our exemplar. Though I couldn’t live with the Lord today, I could imitate Peter to pursue to know the Lord, love the Lord and practice His words in real life. Only in this way can I receive the praise of the Lord and have the opportunity to enter into the kingdom of heaven.

I said to my colleague, “Thank the Lord for His guidance that allows me to hear such good preaching and have an abundant harvest. Thanks be to the Lord! Amen!”

She said with a smile, “Thank the Lord! Amen!”

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Catholic Testimony: Rejoicing at Jesus’ Coming

By Amy, USA

Welcoming the Lord is the greatest wish for all who long for His return. By the grace of God, I welcomed His return. My heart is full of gratitude toward Him, scenes of the past appearing in my mind.

The Desolation of the Church

After graduation, I came to work in America. There I was baptized into the faith of the Lord and became a Catholic. In the first several years after that, no matter how tired I was, every Sunday I would go to the church for Mass and focus my attention to listening to the priest’s preaching and feel the Lord’s love with my heart. The church friends were warm-hearted to each other, just like family members coming together.

But later, I gradually found that apart from espousing letters and doctrines and knowledge of history from the Bible, the priest had nothing new to preach. Although I listened to it carefully, I couldn’t get the supply of life or feel the work of the Holy Spirit at all. Moreover, when I had some questions, I dared not to ask the priest, because he always positioned himself high above, only noticing and speaking to those who contributed the most money or had position. As for the common believers like me, he had no regard, much less answered my questions. The thing that disappointed me most was this. He actually argued with an old church friend who helped preach in the catechumen class. He even cursed the old church friend before many church members, so that the old church friend didn’t come to our church since then. I saw that outwardly the priest dressed himself elegantly and was well-mannered, but actually he was as hypocritical as the world’s government officials. Therefore, my enthusiastic heart became cold gradually as if it had been doused by a bucket of cold water. What was more, I found that the church was the same as the world: Relationships between church friends were based on nothing but mutual interest. They became very kind only when they exploited connections to sell products or do business. Other times they came and went in haste and guarded against each other and were indifferent like people in the world. There I couldn’t feel the love between each other.

During those years, in the church I learnt nothing except some religious rules and rituals. During the sermons, many believers dozed off and later I also became drowsy, somehow. And I didn’t want to go to church gradually, even to the extent of going there once every several months. Because I felt empty and had no support, I became unknowingly addicted to TV series. In order to fill the emptiness within my heart, I was obsessed with them every day and had a decadent life. Even after I got married and had kids, I was still given to the soap operas at my leisure and even though I went to the church for Mass sometimes, I was sleepy. I felt very confused about this. Until one day in December 2017, I met one of my old classmates in the park. She also believed in the Lord. Thanks to this encounter, my confusion was resolved and meanwhile I welcomed the Lord.

My Confusion Was Resolved

The weather in December was cold, yet it was a sunny day. With the sun shining on us, we were full of warmth. My classmate and I were invited to her friend’s to listen to the preaching. The preacher was a brother, who was proficient in the Bible. He integrated some characters recorded in the Bible such as Abraham, Job, Peter, the woman of Samaria, and so on, and fellowshiped their experiences of knowing God. I enjoyed very much listening to it. When we had some questions, he was very patient in giving us an answer, and he wouldn’t stop until we understood. Moreover, what he fellowshiped was enlightening, making me feel very brightened. I liked such get-together very much for there was no distinction of class. Instead, everyone sat together face-to-face fellowshiping. I felt very free and released with no restraint.

Later, my classmate told my confusion to the brother and asked, “Why is the church the same as the world? In church, we doze off during the sermons and can’t feel the Lord’s love and the work of the Holy Spirit at all. Could you tell us your views ?”

The brother said, “Thank God! The question you’ve asked is an important one. We all know that we live in the late period of the last days. The Lord Jesus once prophesied: ‘And because iniquity hath abounded, the charity of many shall grow cold.’ (Matthew 24:12). Lawlessness in the world of religion is growing. Religious leaders don’t abide by the Lord’s commandments, but only follow religious ceremonies and ancient traditions, turning churches into places of religious ritual and treating their responsibilities and duties as access to status and income. They appear godly outside but substantively are hypocritical. They don’t at all exalt God or bear witness to God, God’s words, and God’s requirements of man when preaching biblical knowledge, but only show off and bear witness to themselves. This leads to them deviating from the Lord’s way and bringing believers before themselves. They’ve been loathed and rejected by God. Another reason is that the Lord will perform a new stage of work in the last days and personally come to earth and express the truth to save mankind corrupted by Satan. The Bible predicted, ‘Thus saith the Lord God: Behold I myself come upon the shepherds, I will require my flock at their hand, and I will cause them to cease from feeding the flock any more, neither shall the shepherds feed themselves any more: and I will deliver my flock from their mouth, and it shall no more be meat for them. For thus saith the Lord God: Behold I myself will seek my sheep, and will visit them’ (Ezekiel 34:10-11). From these verses, we can see the Lord will personally come to search for, shepherd, and lead His sheep.” Hearing those words “come to earth, express the truth, personally search for and shepherd His sheep,” and his fellowship, I felt the love and care from the Lord and my heart was deeply touched. Unknowingly tears blurred my eyes. A sister was considerate and handed me some tissues with a smile. I took them with a shy smile. Then I listened to his fellowship carefully lest I lose one word.

Reunion With the Lord

The brother went on fellowshiping, “The Lord Jesus once said, ‘I have yet many things to say to you: but you cannot bear them now. But when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will teach you all truth. For he shall not speak of himself; but what things soever he shall hear, he shall speak; and the things that are to come, he shall shew you’ (John 16:12-13). From these verses we can see when the Lord returns, He will express the truth and tell us the things we do not know. Now the Lord has returned to the flesh, expressed all the truths man requires to be saved and begun the work of judgment beginning with the house of God to purify all who accept His work of the last days. And the work of the Holy Spirit turns to God’s work of the last days. Those who accept God’s work of judgment in the last days will receive the work of the Holy Spirit, and receive the watering and provision of the living water of life, while those who stop in religious place and refuse to accept God’s work of the last days are left in dark desolation. This proves a prophecy in the Bible: ‘I also have withholden the rain from you, when there were yet three months to the harvest: and I caused it to rain upon one city, and caused it not to rain upon another city: one piece was rained upon: and the piece whereupon I rained not, withered. And two and three cities went to one city to drink water, and were not filled: yet you returned not to me, saith the Lord’ (Amos 4:7-8). Just as the Old Testament recorded that at the end of the Age of Law, the temple that originally shined with the glory of the Lord fell into desolation—it became a place of trade, a den of thieves. This was because the Lord came and performed a new stage of work. Those who accepted the work of the Lord Jesus were accompanied by the work of the Holy Spirit, while those who rejected His work were eliminated by the work of the Holy Spirit.”

I said, “Now the situation of the churches is almost the same as that of the temple at the end of the Age of Law. They also become a place of trade.” Others all said, “That’s right. It is indeed the same.” The brother nodded and said, “In order to gain the work of the Holy Spirit and watering of the living water of life, we must escape the deception and shackles of pastors and priests in the churches to seek and study the work of God in the last days. Only in this way can we follow the footprints of the Holy Spirit and come out of the spiritual darkness.” Then the brother turned on the computer and read two passages of God’s words, “God will accomplish this fact: He will make all people throughout the universe come before Him, and worship the God on earth, and His work in other places will cease, and people will be forced to seek the true way. It will be like Joseph: Everyone came to him for food, and bowed down to him, for he had things to eat. In order to avoid famine people will be forced to seek the true way. The entire religious community is suffering severe famine, and only the God of today is the wellspring of living water, possessed of the ever-flowing wellspring provided for the enjoyment of man, and people will come and depend on Him.” “All of God’s work in the entire universe has focused on this group of people. He has devoted all His efforts to you and sacrificed all for you; He has reclaimed and given to you all the work of the Spirit throughout the universe. That is why I say, you are the fortunate. Moreover, He has shifted His glory from Israel, His chosen people, to you, in order to make the purpose of His plan fully manifest through you group of people. Therefore, you are those who will receive the inheritance of God, and even more the heirs of God’s glory.”

The brother went on fellowshiping, “God has reclaimed all the work of the Holy Spirit throughout the universe and worked on those who follow His work of the last days, in order that they can hear God’s voice and be raptured before His throne to accept the judgment, purification and perfection of His words. After God makes this group of people into the overcomers, He will send down great disasters to reward good and punish evil. At that time, all those who don’t accept God’s work of judgment in the last days or achieve purification and change will fall into disasters and be punished.” Hearing this, I was very surprised: Is this the truth? The Lord Jesus has truly returned? If we don’t follow God’s work the outcome will be so severe? It’s so sudden. With lots of doubts and confusions, I listened attentively.

Afterward, the brother fellowshiped with us about the truths of the origin of the Bible, the mystery of incarnation, the inside story of three stages of work, the meaning of God’s names, and other aspects. His fellowship was well-grounded and very clear. I thought: The Lord must have returned. Otherwise, how could the brother know so many mysteries? Thank God! By His grace, I welcomed the Lord.

Satan’s Disturbance

One day, I came over to my sister’s with my child and then I asked her whether she knew Eastern Lightning. She stared at me keenly, saying, “I’m telling you. Don’t believe in Eastern Lightning.” And then she said much negative information about it. I said in a tone of anger, “Sister, you should find out about everything before speaking. Don’t follow the herd. You haven’t investigated The Church of Almighty God but blindly judge it. Is it right? We Christians should have a heart that reveres God.” She replied angrily, “I’m reminding you for your good, lest you take the wrong path. You can see for yourself on the Internet.” Her words aroused my curiosity. I thought: Is it really like what she said? I will check it out. And then I searched on the internet and saw many rumors. In particular I saw the May 28 Murder Case in a McDonald’s in Zhaoyuan, Shandong. After seeing it, I was very frightened and became a little wavering. I thought to myself: Are these real? Is the way true or not? What if it is wrong? However, when I recalled the small details of gatherings with the brothers and sisters—everybody was kind and I gained a lot in each meeting—I didn’t want to give up this way. At that moment, there was a fierce battle in my heart. I was afraid of being deceived and took the wrong way, yet I was also afraid of missing the opportunity to welcome the Lord. Therefore, I called my classmate and told her this matter, wanting to find the brother and figure it out.

The Truth Came Out

During the meeting, the brother played for us two videos: “Jia Chunwang Ordered Siege on The Church of Almighty God. Project 807 Caused the Purported McDonald’s Murder” presented by MingjingLive, and “The Truth Exposed Behind the May 28 Zhaoyuan Case,” which allowed me to have some discernment of the rumors online. Then the brother fellowshiped, “The defendants of the Zhaoyuan case of Shandong clearly stated in court that what the state had been cracking down on was not the ‘Almighty God’ that they believed in and that they never had contact with The Church of Almighty God. They themselves didn’t admit they belonged to The Church of Almighty God, but the CCP judges openly contradicted the fact and ruled that these suspects were the followers of The Church of Almighty God. They brazenly framed and blamed The Church of Almighty God for this case. Wasn’t it twisting fact and framing, defaming The Church of Almighty God on purpose?” “Yes, it was.” We replied in chorus. The brother went on saying, “Then why did the CCP do this? What was its purpose? As we all know, the CCP is an atheist party. Since it gained power, it has been frantically suppressing and banning Christianity, Catholicism and other forms of religion. It has labelled Christianity and Catholicism the evil cult and the Holy Bible as the work of an evil cult, confiscating and destroying innumerable copies of the Bible and arresting countless Christians. Now, Almighty God has become flesh and delivered utterances of millions of words. People in all denominations and sects who love the truth and yearn for light, after reading the words of Almighty God, all confirm God’s word is the truth and that Almighty God is the appearance of the Christ of the Last Days, so they have one after another accepted the work of Almighty God in the last days. In recent years, the gospel of the kingdom of Almighty God has spread to many foreign countries and regions. The word of Almighty God is being spread and witnessed by more and more people. The rapid development of The Church of Almighty God has caused the CCP to panic. It fears that after people read God’s word and understand the truth, they will see through its demonic essence and reject it from heart. Therefore, in order to protect its dictatorial regime and turn China into an atheist state, it framed and blamed The Church of Almighty God for Shandong Zhaoyuan Case and wanted to build up public opinion for it to ban The Church of Almighty God. From this we can see the CCP is the devil Satan, the enemy of God.”

One sister said, “That’s right. Concealment and deception are impermanent, and dark clouds cannot block the sunlight. Lies are always lies and they will never turn into the truth.” My classmate also said, “Yes. For so many years, the CCP has become increasingly notorious for its deceits and frauds. The cases adjudicated by the CCP’s courts are not to be trusted.” After seeing clearly the true facts, I felt very indignant. The CCP is too evil, too detestable, and it is capable of any low-down tricks. Meanwhile, I realized that I was so foolish and ignorant, and had no discernment that I almost fell into Satan’s scheme. The brother said, “Sister, this isn’t a bad thing. Through these rumors, we can understand some truths and have some discernment of the CCP. This is a harvest. Thanks be to God.”

Rejoicing at the Lord’s Coming

After experiencing the disturbances of the rumors, I had some knowledge of the nature and essence of the CCP resisting and hating God and saw through the CCP’s sinister intentions of creating rumors. I was not deceived by rumors any longer and returned to God again. From then on, as long as I had time, I would read God’s words and have meetings and fellowship the truth with my brothers and sisters. I was completely sure that Almighty God is the second coming of the Lord Jesus. I no longer felt empty and lonely or lived in the degenerate, decadent life of watching soap operas. I, a lost sheep, finally welcomed the Lord and returned to God’s family. Afterward, I spread the gospel to my husband, and he also returned to God’s family. Now, we have meetings, fellowship God’s words, and fulfill the duty of spreading the gospel together. I enjoy an earnestness and peace and joy in my heart I have never felt before. Thanks be to God!

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Do You Know? God Has a New Name in the Last Days

By Meng’ai

That year, when my family was building a house, there happened an accident which caused two people to be killed and two people to be injured. 

The sudden disaster made me unbearable and the high compensation also worsened the situation of us who were short of money. When I was at my hardest time and needed help most, my neighbor spread the gospel of the Lord Jesus to me and told me the story of the Lord Jesus’ crucifixion. I was deeply touched by the Lord’s love and I felt that only the Lord is my only reliance. To return the Lord’s love, I actively attended the gatherings and spread the gospel.

One day, Brother Li happily came to my house and said to my husband and me, “Brother and sister, I have good news for you: The Lord Jesus for whom we have long yearned has returned. He is Christ of the last days, Almighty God. Nowadays, He is incarnated again and does a stage of work of judging and cleansing man. You can hurry up and investigate it.” At that time, I was reading the Bible. Once I heard his words, I felt very shocked. So I hastily said, “The Lord is called Almighty God when He returns? It’s impossible! The Bible clearly says: ‘Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved’ (Acts 4:12). Only the Lord Jesus is the Savior. Apart from the Lord Jesus, there is none other name through which we can be saved. You have believed in other name, doesn’t this stray from the Lord’s way and betray the Lord? I advise you to confess and repent to the Lord right now.” Hearing my words, Brother Li smiled and said, “Sister, Almighty God is the Lord Jesus’ return. Although God’s name and work have changed, God’s essence is permanent, and He is still complete God Himself. What’s more, about God’s new name, there are also prophecies in the Revelation …” Before Brother Li had finished his words, I refuted him, “The Bible clearly says: ‘Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever’ (Hebrews 13:8). The name of the Lord Jesus will never change. No matter what you say, I must keep the Lord’s name and His way.” My husband, sitting aside, thought over for a while and said, “Meng’ai, Brother Li has brains and thoughts, and he has always actively sought the Lord. Since he has accepted the work of Almighty God in the last days, he surely knows what he is doing. The Bible says: ‘Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven’ (Matthew 5:3). We might as well calm down and listen carefully.” Seeing that my husband wanted to seek, I thought: We must keep the Lord’s name since we believe in the Lord. If we stray away the Lord’s name, are we still the Lord’s believers? Therefore, I said obstinately, “The Lord Jesus is the only Savior who loves us. His name will never change. We must have conscience. We cannot forget the Lord’s great love to us, much less betray the Lord.” Seeing my stubborn attitude, Brother Li left helplessly. Later, Brother Li came many times to testify Almighty God’s work of the last days, but I avoided him in kinds of ways, refusing to accept God’s work in the last days time after time.

Two months later, one night, my husband earnestly advised me, “Meng’ai, Almighty God is indeed the Lord Jesus’ return, and they are the same God. These days, through reading the words that Almighty God expressed, I understand many truths that I didn’t know before, such as concerning God’s name, three stages of God’s work, God’s incarnation etc. The word of Almighty God is very clear, and you can have a listen.” Hearing my husband’s words, I was stunned. I thought: How could he accept Almighty God’s work in the last days so fast? So I angrily said, “In this case, we each go our own way. You don’t need to say this to me. Anyhow I must keep the Lord’s name.” My husband again said hurriedly, “You will know when you seek. Believing in the way comes from hearing of the way. If you don’t listen, you will not believe. Now there are some people preaching Lord’s return. If you don’t listen, how can you welcome the Lord Jesus’ return? …” I simply couldn’t listen to him. Waving my hand, I stiffly said, “Enough! Regardless, I must keep the Lord’s name. Don’t mention it to me anymore.” Feeling helplessly, my husband shook his head. Afterward, when my husband again witnessed Almighty God’s work of the last days, I avoided listening to him. Later, my husband asked an old sister to testify to the Lord’s return to me many times, but I held on to my notions and closed my heart, refusing her in the same words.

In this way, while my husband was gathering in our room with the brothers and sisters in The Church of Almighty God, I was sitting outside reading the Bible. Every time seeing that they fellowshiped in full swing, I was somewhat envious and a sense of loss arose spontaneously. I thought: How can each of them be so zealous? When we attended gatherings in our church, the preachers had nothing to preach that the brothers and sisters couldn’t receive any supply but all chatted. Could it be that The Church of Almighty God has the work of the Holy Spirit? But they testify that the Lord has changed a new name, how is it possible? Thinking over and over, I believed that no matter what, I must keep the Lord’s name and never betray the Lord. But I then had a second thought: Over a month has passed, there is no one in the church telling me to get together. What happened? So, I read the Bible at home every day, waiting for the brothers and sisters to inform me when to have a meeting. However, time passed day by day. Still no one came to inform me.

One day, two months later, I ran into Sister Wang who I hadn’t seen for a long time. Being surprised and happy, I quickly went to her and said, “Why does our church not inform us about when to gather?” Sister Wang said with hesitation, “We are all gathering. Er … Well, tell you the truth, you are isolated from the church.” The news was like a thunderbolt out of a clear sky, and it took a while for me to find myself that not until after a while did I find myself. I asked in a hurry, “You said what? Why?” Sister Wang said, “Our church has a regulation: As long as one person believes in Almighty God, the others in his family must be isolated. The leader especially told us that we cannot contact with you, for fear that you come to our church to steal sheep.” Hearing this, I said angrily, “Is there this stipulation in the Bible? How can they treat me like this? It’s true that my husband believed in Almighty God, but I don’t betray the Lord nor do I accept Almighty God’s work in the last days. Now my spirit is withered and cannot receive supply. However, they not only don’t come to fellowship about the Lord’s will with me, but instead stand aside and separate me from gathering. My situation is serious, but they don’t help me; don’t they hit me when I’m down? Is this what a person who believes in the Lord should do? Are their behaviors after the Lord’s will? The Lord Jesus said, ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like to it, You shall love your neighbor as yourself’ (Matthew 22:37–39). The Lord taught us to love our neighbor as ourselves. Their treating me like this is not in line with the Lord’s teaching!” With saying, I shed tears in spite of myself. Sister Wang said hopelessly, “Let’s pray to the Lord! The Lord will give you a way out.”

On my way home, I thought: How can the leader treat me like this? I once declared my stand in front of him many times, but, unexpectedly, he still isolates me. How should I walk my future path? In the midst of pain, I silently called on the Lord: Lord! You are my only Savior, only God. May You guide me in my future path. At this time, when I, depressed extremely, just entered the gate, I heard a burst of pleasant song. It turned out that my husband and the brothers and sisters were gathering and singing. At this moment, I unavoidably envied them. How I yearned to lead a church life like this! I thought that since my husband believed in Almighty God, his mental outlook had a great change. Especially when he fellowshiped the Bible, I felt his words were very insightful. What’s more, the brothers and sisters in The Church of Almighty God are very kind. No matter how I treated them, they always helped me sincerely. Sometimes when they saw that we were busy doing the farm work, they shook back their sleeves and helped us without another word. At this time, I suddenly thought of the words in the Bible: “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law” (Galatians 5:22–23). Love can only come from God. Could it be that Almighty God really is the Lord Jesus’ return?

At this time, I sat outside the room silently and wanted to listen to what the lyrics that they were singing were. Unintentionally, I heard the names of the Jehovah and the Lord Jesus were mentioned in the lyrics. I thought: What exactly is the song saying? Why is the name of the Lord Jesus mentioned? I must listen carefully. Then I heard the lyrics: “Although Jehovah, Jesus, and the Messiah all represent God’s Spirit, these names only denote the different ages in God’s management plan, and do not represent Him in His entirety. The names by which people on earth call God cannot articulate His entire disposition and all that He is. They are merely different names by which God is called during different ages. And so, when the final age—the age of the last days—arrives, God’s name shall change again. He shall not be called Jehovah, or Jesus, much less the Messiah, but shall be called the powerful Almighty God Himself, and under this name He shall bring the entire age to an end.

God was once known as Jehovah. He was also called the Messiah, and people once called Him Jesus the Savior because they loved and respected Him. But today God is not the Jehovah or Jesus that people knew in times past—He is the God who has returned in the last days, the God who shall bring the age to an end. He is the God Himself that rises up at the ends of the earth, replete with His entire disposition, and full of authority, honor and glory” (“The Significance of God’s Name” in Follow the Lamb and Sing New Songs). I was touched by the song. The words are of authority and power. Could it be that Almighty God is the Lord Jesus’ return? My heart was twisting: Maybe I should put my thoughts aside and ask my husband after the gathering.

At supper, I saw my husband eating heartily and wanted to ask him, but my words died on my lips, and I couldn’t say anything. I thought: He and that old sister communicated with me time after time, but I rejected them all and even spoke some embarrassing words to them. If I ask him of my own accord, how will he think of me? Will he laugh at me? If so, where can I hide my face? Thinking of these, my mouth, which was slightly ajar, closed again. However, that song was so beautiful that I really wanted to listen to it one more time. Looking at my husband again who was eating, I thought: Why does he not communicate with me today? If he speaks first, I will take the thread. Suddenly, my husband looked up at me and seemed to have read my mind, asking: “Is there something on your mind?” I hided my secret delight and immediately answered: “Yes! I overheard that song you sang this afternoon. It sounds good. Can you let me listen once again?” After hearing my words, my husband happily said, “Ok! Wait, I’ll bring you it.” He instantly laid down the chopsticks, went into the room and took out his MP3 player. This moment, I was deeply impressed: He didn’t treat me like the way I thought. My heart was finally released. Soon after, my husband played the hymn of God’s word “The Significance of God’s Name” for me. We couldn’t help listening several times over. Then I said: “It’s really a beautiful song. But there is a point I don’t understand. The Bible very clearly records ‘for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved’ and ‘Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever.’ Yet here it says that God’s name will still change, and no longer be called Jehovah, or Jesus, but be called Almighty God. How is that?”

Then my husband fellowshiped, “In regard to God’s name, before I also considered that God’s name could only be Jesus and never change. Through Almighty God’s words and the fellowships of the brothers and sisters, I came to realize this aspect of the truth. In fact, there are bases in the Bible about this as well. Please bring me the Bible.” As I got the Bible, I thought: “Is there any basis in the Bible? I often read the Bible but I don’t see it, and the leader of the church has never communicated that God’s name will change, either.” After I handed the Bible to my husband, he skillfully turned to the Old Testament and read: “I, even I, am the LORD; and beside me there is no savior” (Isaiah 43:11). “This is my name for ever, and this is my memorial to all generations” (Exodus 3:15). And then he turned to the New Testament and read: “Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved” (Acts 4:12). After reading, he fellowshiped: “The Scriptures say that apart from Jehovah God, there is no Savior, and the name of Jehovah God is into eternity. The New Testament is also written ‘for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved’ and that the Lord Jesus is the only Savior. So, is Jehovah or Jesus the only name of God?”

I turned over and read these verses of scripture, and thought: “It’s right! How did I miss them before? The Bible indeed says that beside Jehovah God and the Lord Jesus, there is no Savior. Then which is God’s eternal name?” My husband told me: “Let’s see the prophecy in the Revelation. Revelation 3:12 states: ‘Him that overcomes will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go no more out: and I will write on him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, which is new Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from my God: and I will write on him my new name.’ It is prophesied here that God will have a new name in the last days. How could you explain it? Since it’s a new name, how could it still be ‘Jesus’? If God’s name is still ‘Jesus,’ then can it be a new name?” I shook my head lightly. My husband looked at me and went on, “Actually, it is not that God’s name never changes. Instead, God can take different names in accordance with the needs of His work. Here what it says ‘never change’ means that God’s substance, God’s disposition and what God has and is never change. About this aspect, Almighty God’s words make it very clear. Let’s take a look at Almighty God’s words.”

Then my husband took out the book The Word Appears in the Flesh and read: “Some say that the name of God does not change, so why then did the name of Jehovah become Jesus? It was prophesied of the coming of the Messiah, so why then did a man by the name of Jesus come? Why did the name of God change? Was not such work carried out long ago? Cannot God this day do a new work? The work of yesterday can be altered, and the work of Jesus can follow on from that of Jehovah. Cannot then the work of Jesus be succeeded by another work? If the name of Jehovah can be changed to Jesus, then cannot the name of Jesus also be changed? This is not unusual, and people think so[a] only due to their simple-mindedness. God will always be God. Regardless of the changes to His work and His name, His disposition and wisdom remain forever unchanged. If you believe that God can only be called by the name of Jesus, then you know too little” (“How Can Man Who Has Defined God in His Conceptions Receive the Revelations of God?”).

“Could the name of Jesus, ‘God with us,’ represent God’s disposition in its entirety? Could it fully articulate God? If man says that God can only be called Jesus, and may not have any other name because God cannot change His disposition, then such words are blasphemy! Do you believe that the name Jesus, God with us, can represent God in His entirety? God can be called many names, but among these many names, there is not one which can encapsulate all that God has, there is not one which can fully represent God. And so God has many names, but these many names cannot fully articulate God’s disposition, for God’s disposition is too rich, and extends beyond the knowledge of man. … And so, for man, God has many names, yet He has no one name, and that is because God’s being is too bountiful, and the language of man is too inadequate. One particular word or name is powerless to represent God in His entirety. So can God take one fixed name? God is so great and holy, so why do you not permit Him to change His name in each new age? As such, in each age that God personally does His own work, He uses a name that befits the age to encapsulate the work that He does. He uses this particular name, one that possesses the significance of the age, to represent His disposition in that age. God uses the language of man to express His own disposition. … You should know that God originally had no name. He only took on one, or two, or many names because He had work to do and had to manage mankind. Whatever name He is called by, isn’t it freely chosen by Him? Does He need you, a creature, to decide it? The name by which God is called is according to what man can apprehend and the language of man, but this name cannot be encapsulated by man. You can only say that there is a God in heaven, that He is called God, that He is God Himself with great power, too wise, too exalted, too wondrous, too mysterious, too almighty, and you can say no more; that is all you know. In this way, can the name of Jesus alone represent God Himself? When the last days come, although it is still God who does His work, His name has to change, for it is a different age” (“The Vision of God’s Work (3)”).

He fellowshiped: “From Almighty God’s words we can know: Originally, God didn’t have a name. Just because He had to do work and manage mankind, He took a name. Moreover, He used the name to change the age, to represent His work of that age and His main disposition expressed in that age. No matter how God’s work and name change, God’s essence will never change. That is to say, the words ‘Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever’ refer to God’s inherent essence and disposition but not His name.” After hearing his words, I said in surprise: “Almighty God’s words have made it so clear! God is Creator, the Ruler of all things in the universe. How can only one name represent Him in His entirety? Our created beings indeed can’t use a name to define God. Regardless of which name God uses to do His work, His essence and what He is never change.”

My husband continued: “Actually, in accordance with His work principles, God changes His name in each age to represent the disposition He expresses and the work He intends to do in that age. It is just as how the name of ‘Jehovah’ was God’s name when God led the Israelites out of Egypt and also He worked during the Age of Law. The name of ‘Jehovah’ originally means the God who can show mercy on man, curse man, and also set forth laws to lead man’s life. It means the God who possesses great power and is full of wisdom. When it came to the later period of the Age of Law, man was corrupted deeper and deeper by Satan. They not only didn’t keep the law but also made improper sacrifices on the altar, which brought them the danger that was executed by the law. However, God couldn’t bear mankind fell into that situation; He was personally incarnated and performed His work of the Age of Grace to save mankind. He took the name of Jesus, expressed the disposition of mercy and love, and bestowed the abundant grace upon those who followed Him. At last, He was nailed to the cross for the whole human beings, became all mankind’s sin offering and accomplished the work of the Age of Grace. The name of ‘Jesus’ represents the work that God did in the Age of Grace. Its original meaning is the God who is full of mercy and love, and redeems man. But although our sins were forgiven, the sinful nature still has taken root inside us and makes us more and more corrupted, to the extent that it has exceeded the corruption of men in the time of Noah. To thoroughly save mankind from the sin, God initiated the Age of Kingdom and began a new work—the work of chastising, judging, purifying and perfecting—expressing the disposition of righteousness, majesty and wrath. He will judge and chastise the whole human beings’ corruption and unrighteousness with such a disposition, to make the mankind recover their original image. Due to the change of the age, God’s name also has to change and He is no longer called ‘Jesus’ but is called ‘Almighty God’ according to the work He performs and the disposition He expresses. It is with this name that He concludes the work of His entire 6000-year management plan. This fulfills the words in the Book of Revelation: ‘And they sing the song of Moses the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, Great and marvelous are your works, Lord God Almighty; just and true are your ways, you King of saints’(Revelation 15:3), ‘And I heard as it were the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of mighty thunder, saying, Alleluia: for the Lord God omnipotent reigns’(Revelation 19:6), and also fulfills Revelation 1:8, 4:8, 11:7, etc. However, regardless of what name God takes, God’s substance won’t change. Jehovah, Jesus and Almighty God are all one and the same, and they are just the different names God takes in different ages.”

Just then, I suddenly realized and said: “The word of Almighty God says clearly about the truth of God’s name. Although in each age God’s name and work changed, God’s essence never changes and the work is still to be done by God Himself. In the past, I always thought the Lord Jesus’ name would never change so that I rejected to receive the Almighty God who took a new name, and said that who believed in Almighty God believed in another God. These knowledge of mine is really too erroneous. Thinking of how I treated the return of the Lord Jesus in such a way, isn’t it being exactly the same as the Pharisees of the time who resisted the Lord Jesus? When God used a new name to change the age and did work to save them, they held the conception that ‘God’s name could only be the Messiah according to the prophecy, couldn’t be ‘Jesus,’ and whoever named Jesus was not God. So they rejected and condemned Jesus and nailed this kind Savior to the cross. In the end, they committed a heinous crime and lost the God’s salvation forever. If I continue to insist on my own notion and reject to accept God’s new name, wouldn’t I repeat the Pharisees’ mistake?”

My husband nodded and said, “Right! God’s essence is unchanging. As for those who truly believe in Him, He is salvation and love forever. As long as we seek in the mystery revealed by God and in the truth expressed by God humbly and sincerely, we can see that Almighty God is the same Jehovah who once led mankind’s lives on earth, and even more the same Lord Jesus who once redeemed us. In addition, He is the One that we have been longing for.” I agreed and said: “Yes! Today, I just realized that ‘Jesus’ and ‘Almighty God’ are the different names that God took in the different ages. Almighty God is indeed the returned Lord Jesus!”

Afterward, my husband also communicated with me about many truths of God’s name. God’s word resolved my notions thoroughly and made me confirm that Almighty God is indeed the returned Lord Jesus. At that moment, I felt both moved and regretful and my tears streamed down my face unceasingly. The past scenes recurred to my mind’s eye like movies: brothers and sisters’ preaching the gospel to me time after time, my husband’s advice for me, the rejection of the religious leader, and the guidance of the song…. Of all these details are full of God’s painstaking effort and price. It turned out that God is always by my side, but I was blind and didn’t know God so that I lost the good opportunities to accept God’s new work time after time. Now, my numb soul is finally awakened and I have recognized that Almighty God is my Lord and He is my God. Thanks be to God!

[comebeforegod]

Why Must We Get Rid of Sin Before Entry Into God’s Kingdom

Dear Sister Zhang Ying:

This is Jiang Li. How time flies! More than a year has slipped by since I came to America. How have you been doing?

 How is the condition of our church? I remember at a co-worker meeting, Brother Zhang said, “We believers of the Lord constantly live in the situation of sinning in the day and confessing at night, and are always bound by sins. If continuing like this, can we be raptured into the heavenly kingdom when the Lord returns?” At that time, I replied without hesitation, “The Bible says, ‘For by one offering he has perfected for ever them that are sanctified’ (Hebrews 10:14). So, although we sin every day, the Lord no longer remembers our sins, let alone sees us as sinners. We have been justified and saved by faith. As long as we work hard, spend and sacrifice for Him, the Lord won’t abandon us and will definitely take us to the kingdom of heaven when He comes.” However, Brother Zhang refuted, by saying, “We humans have received the Lord’s salvation, and He doesn’t remember our sins anymore. Yet the Lord Jesus said, ‘Be you holy; for I am holy’ (1 Peter 1:16). The Bible also says, ‘And holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord’ (Hebrews 12:14). Now, we still often sin and confess, and can’t attain holiness. So, how are we fit to enter the heavenly kingdom and see the Lord’s face? Besides, the Lord Jesus never said that all believers can enter the heavenly kingdom so long as they labor for Him. I think entering the heavenly kingdom is not as easy as we imagine. Though I am uncertain of this, I think there is truth in here to seek.” When having such an argument, all of us were lost in confusion, not knowing how to enter the kingdom of heaven. I thought: The disasters in recent years get greater and greater, and from various signs we can judge that our Lord must have come, but we don’t understand this aspect of truth. In such a case, won’t we be forsaken when the Lord comes? So, in order to understand this aspect of truth, after I came to America, I sought many spiritual pastors and elders, but their understandings were nearly the same as ours. Thus, the puzzle in my heart still couldn’t be solved.

Until one day, on the internet, I came into contact with Sister Wang. During our communication, I found her understanding of the Bible was deep and that her knowledge of God was practical, all of which were the things I had never heard before. Afterward, I told her of our bemusement. Then she fellowshiped with me patiently, “Many believers keep the words of the Bible, ‘For by one offering he has perfected for ever them that are sanctified’ (Hebrews 10:14). Therefore, they think: “The Lord Jesus has redeemed us mankind from the cross and forgiven our sins. He no longer treats us as sinners and we have been justified and saved by faith. As long as we can suffer, pay the price, work hard, sacrifice and endure to the end, we will be raised into the heavenly kingdom when the Lord comes.” Actually, this viewpoint is the conception and imagination of man and it comes from Paul. It isn’t based on God’s words. Sister, we believers in the Lord should use the Lord’s words as our foundation in everything. Paul is just a man, so his words can’t represent God’s words, much less God’s will.” Before she could finish speaking, I couldn’t listen to her anymore, saying, “Sister Wang, I admit that we believers in the Lord should take the Lord’s words as our basis for all things, and that this viewpoint comes from Paul—a man, rather than God. Yet the Lord Jesus was crucified and used His life to save us from Satan’s clutches and absolved us of all sins, making us saved by faith; that’s a fact. So, why can’t we be brought into the heavenly kingdom when the Lord returns?”

Sister Wang smiled and patiently fellowshiped, “The Lord Jesus forgave our sins. What does ‘sins’ refer to? Actually, before the Lord Jesus began His work, the sins people committed were mainly those factual sins that betrayed God’s laws, commandments and words. Because people of that time betrayed God’s laws and commandments, and would be condemned and punished by law, the Lord Jesus came to do the redemptive work. Since then, as long as we pray to Him, confess and repent our sins, He shall absolve us. And we will no longer be condemned and punished by His law. God will no longer count us as sinners. So, we can directly pray to Him, call out to Him and enjoy His abundant grace and blessings. This is the true meaning of being saved, but being saved is not the same thing as entering God’s kingdom. Actually, they’re very different. It can be said that they are two separate things. For the Lord Jesus never said that all those having been saved and absolved can enter the kingdom of heaven. Instead, 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), and ‘Truly I say to you, Except you be converted, and become as little children, you shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven’ (Matthew 18:3). According to His words, we can see that those who can enter the heavenly kingdom must do the heavenly Father’s will and follow God’s words. They are the ones who know God, obey God, become compatible with God, and can dedicate themselves and make sacrifices to do God’s will. Such people can give their whole life to God and are willing to devote it to Him without any transactions, impurities, or extravagant desires. They don’t pursue their personal status, reputation or vanity, either. Even if God doesn’t bless them or takes all their things away, they can still submit to God’s orchestrations and arrangements without their own choices. Only these kinds of people are eligible to enter God’s kingdom. Just like Job, he could truly obey and worship God, even when he was stripped of his priceless family possessions and all his children, and his body was covered with sore boils, he could completely obey God’s orchestrations and arrangements without complaint, and he still extolled Jehovah’s holy name. So, in God’s eyes, he was perfect and upright, and was the one that obeyed God’s will. Peter is yet another example. He was a person who loved and obeyed God. He lived wholly to accomplish God’s commission and carry out God’s will. He worked and expended without any thought of himself. Even when being crucified for God upside down, he was still whole-heartedly willing. So, he was the one who abided by God’s will and was most approved by God. Such people are qualified to enter God’s kingdom and can enjoy His blessings. God is holy, so if we mankind don’t love or obey Him or can’t get rid of corruption to be purified, we won’t be eligible to enter His kingdom. God won’t bring filthy and corrupt ones into His kingdom. This is determined by His righteous and holy disposition. Therefore, our notion that we are capable of entering the heavenly kingdom after our sins have been absolved is wrong. It completely comes from our human conception and imagination. It’s a misunderstanding of God’s will. For the Lord Jesus only said, ‘But he that does the will of my Father which is in heaven’ (Matthew 7:21), and He never said all those whose sins have been pardoned can enter God’s kingdom.”

Sister Wang’s communication sounded reasonable to me. Yet I felt an unspeakable sadness in my heart then: Can our understandings be wrong during all our years of belief in the Lord? How could it be? At that time, I thought of the thing Pastor Li of our church did. As a pastor, he even dared to deceive the brothers and sisters—misappropriating the church’s money that was for building and repairing the church. I pondered: Can people like him really enter the heavenly kingdom? And now each of us still lives in sin, being unable to keep the Lord’s teachings at all. Behaving like this, we don’t bring any glory to the Lord. As for us who personally think we have been saved, can we really have the opportunity to enter God’s kingdom? The Lord is holy; how can He bear the existence of the filthy? The more I thought, the more afraid I felt. It seemed that my pursuit of all these years was not necessarily correct. Then I recalled the Pharisees who resisted the Lord Jesus. All of them served God in the synagogues and knew a lot about the Bible. To people, the Pharisees should have obtained God’s approval. However, they eventually suffered God’s punishment, for they condemned the Lord according to their own imagination and crucified the Lord Jesus on the cross. I thought to myself: It appears that the imagination of us humans is too horrible; unless solved, this can really take us to hell. In fact, I also often sin—envying others, hating others, clinging to wealth and pursuing status and vanity, which usually occupy my heart. And I can’t extricate myself from living in the whirlpool of sin. Indeed, if such dirty and corrupt people like me can enter the heavenly kingdom, then won’t the words said in the Bible, “And holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord” (Hebrews 12:14), be for nothing? Thinking of this, I eagerly asked, “Sister Wang, you communicated that not all those having been saved can enter the kingdom of heaven. I can accept this. The Lord said those who obey the heavenly Father’s will can enter the heavenly kingdom; what exactly should we do, then? Could you please fellowship more with me?”

She replied, “To become those who obey the heavenly Father’s will and can be brought into the heavenly kingdom, we must be freed of our corrupt disposition. This is most crucial. About this question, Almighty God’s words have given us the answer. Let’s read together. God says, ‘It is true that you were saved by Jesus, and that you are not counted as a sinner because of the salvation of God, but this does not prove that you are not sinful, and are not impure. How can you be saintly if you have not been changed? Within, you are beset by impurity, selfish and mean, yet you still wish to descend with Jesus—you should be so lucky! You have missed a step in your belief in God: You have merely been redeemed, but have not been changed. For you to be after God’s heart, God must personally do the work of changing and cleansing you; if you are only redeemed, you will be incapable of attaining sanctity. In this way you will be unqualified to share in the good blessings of God, for you have missed out a step in God’s work of managing man, which is the key step of changing and perfecting. And so you, a sinner who has just been redeemed, are incapable of directly inheriting God’s inheritance’ (‘Concerning Appellations and Identity’ in The Word Appears in the Flesh). ‘But the work for just how the corrupt satanic dispositions within man could be cast away was not done in him. Man was only saved and forgiven his sins for his faith, but the sinful nature of man was not taken away and still remained within him. The sins of man were forgiven through God incarnate, but it does not mean that man has no sin within him. The sins of man could be forgiven through the sin offering, but man has been unable to resolve the issue of just how he can no longer sin and how his sinful nature can be cast away completely and be transformed. The sins of man were forgiven because of the work of God’s crucifixion, but man continued to live in the old, corrupt satanic disposition. As such, man must be completely saved from the corrupt satanic disposition so that the sinful nature of man is completely cast away and never again develops, thus allowing the disposition of man to be changed. This requires man to understand the path of growth in life, the way of life, and the way to change his disposition. It also needs man to act in accordance with this path so that the disposition of man can gradually be changed and he can live under the shining of the light, and that he can do all things in accord with the will of God, cast away the corrupt satanic disposition, and break free from Satan’s influence of darkness, thereby emerging fully from sin. Only then will man receive complete salvation’” (“The Mystery of the Incarnation (4)” in The Word Appears in the Flesh). According to these words of God, Sister Wang fellowshiped, “From Almighty God’s words, we can see that, in the Age of Grace, the Lord Jesus only did the work of redemption, instead of the work of changing and cleansing man. So, if wanting to be purified and completely saved by God, we need God to do a new work. Today, God has come to cleanse man and transform man’s disposition. Only by following His footsteps, accepting His judgment and being cleansed of our corruption, can we be eligible to enter His kingdom.” After listening to her communication, I knew: In order to purify our corrupt disposition, God needs to personally do higher work. The Lord Jesus only redeemed us from our sins, allowing us to have the chance to come before God and accept His salvation, yet we haven’t escaped sin to receive cleansing. Therefore, in the Age of Grace, no matter how well we humans pursued or controlled revelations of our corruption, our corrupt disposition couldn’t be transformed. That’s the reason why we often live in the vicious cycle of sinning in the day and confessing at night. So, to transform our disposition, we must accept Almighty God’s work of judgment in the last days.

Afterward, Sister Wang read another passage of God’s words to me, “Christ of the last days brings life, and brings the enduring and everlasting way of truth. This truth is the path through which man shall gain life, and the only path by which man shall know God and be approved by God. If you do not seek the way of life provided by Christ of the last days, then you shall never gain the approval of Jesus, and shall never be qualified to enter the gate of the kingdom of heaven, for you are both a puppet and prisoner of history. Those who are controlled by regulations, by letters, and shackled by history will never be able to gain life, and will never be able to gain the perpetual way of life. That is because all they have is turbid water that has lain stagnant for thousands of years, instead of the water of life that flows from the throne. Those who are not supplied with the water of life will forever remain corpses, playthings of Satan, and sons of hell. How, then, can they behold God? … Those who wish to gain life without relying on the truth spoken by Christ are the most ridiculous people on earth, and those who do not accept the way of life brought by Christ are lost in fantasy. And so I say that the people who do not accept Christ of the last days shall forever be despised by God. Christ is man’s gateway to the kingdom during the last days, which none may bypass. None may be perfected by God except through Christ. You believe in God, and so you must accept His words and obey His way. You must not just think of gaining blessings without receiving the truth, or accepting the provision of life. Christ comes during the last days so that all those who truly believe in Him may be provided with life. His work is for the sake of concluding the old age and entering the new one, and is the path that must be taken by all those who would enter the new age. If you are incapable of acknowledging Him, and instead condemn, blaspheme or even persecute Him, then you are bound to burn for eternity, and shall never enter the kingdom of God. For this Christ is Himself the expression of the Holy Spirit, the expression of God, the One whom God has entrusted to do His work on earth. And so I say that if you cannot accept all that is done by Christ of the last days, then you blaspheme the Holy Spirit. The retribution that should be suffered by those who blaspheme the Holy Spirit is self-evident to all” (“Only Christ of the Last Days Can Give Man the Way of Eternal Life” in The Word Appears in the Flesh).

After reading God’s words, Sister Wang continued fellowshiping, “Today, God has come to the world and expressed millions of words, and is doing the work of judging, chastising and cleansing man. This fulfills the words of the Bible, ‘I have yet many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. However, when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will show you things to come’ (John 16:12-13). Now, through studying God’s words online and watching the movies on the website of The Church of Almighty God, more and more people accept God’s work of the last days. And people of all countries around the world who sincerely believe in God have accepted His new work, enjoying the nourishment and provision of His words. This exactly fulfills the words in the Book of Revelation 2:29, ‘He that has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’ Only by accepting God’s work of judgment and chastisement in the last days, can we be purified and obtain the way of eternal life.”

Her communication sounded really practical, and these words and understandings were something that I had never heard of. Moreover, her grasp of the scriptures was quite good. This made me fully convinced. I thought: Almighty God could very well be the return of the Lord Jesus. Otherwise, nobody can unveil these mysteries to help man have such pure knowledge. After that, I began to investigate The Church of Almighty God. Through a period of investigation, I found that Almighty God’s words have authority and power. They are directed at our human needs and are very realistic and practical. Now, I visit The Church of Almighty God’s website every day. There is a lot of content—books of God’s words, videos of hymns, videos of readings, all types of movies, videos of testimonies of God’s chosen people about experiencing His work, and so on. Through reading Almighty God’s words, I understand many truths that we must understand in believing in God. I also know some truths I didn’t understand in the past, such as what true faith in God is, what it means to be truly saved, the path to changes in our life disposition, and so on. And I was also aware that if we want to be cleansed and enter the heavenly kingdom, we must accept God’s work of judgment in the last days. It is the path that must be taken in order to enter the heavenly kingdom. Now, I’m writing to tell you this good news, hoping that you can put aside your notions and imaginations, and no longer define God and His work by relying on knowledge and doctrines of the Bible. Quickly, investigate The Church of Almighty God online and accept God’s new work.

[comebeforegod]

I Feel Released in Church Life

By Chaotuo, South Korea

Many Christians don’t understand why they have to attend meetings, nor do they pay attention to meetings. In fact, it’s very important for us Christians to attend meetings. The protagonist of this article once didn’t like attending meetings, but later she became fond of it. What made her have such a change? The following is about her experience.

After believing in God, I began to attend meetings in the church. At that time, I often got loads of stuff to do, such as making dumplings and buns for my children, taking care of my husband, and learning Korean; as I was getting old, these things often tired me and I only wanted to have a rest when I had spare time; besides, the meeting place was far from my home. Gradually, I didn’t want to attend meetings and even felt it a burden. At that time, I didn’t know the meaning of meetings, thinking: “Believing in God is pretty good. But why do I have to attend meetings? I only want to read God’s words at home on my own and attend meetings occasionally.” Every time the sisters called me asking me to attend meetings, I would find reasons and excuses to refuse them. On a baking hot day, a sister came to my home looking for me, but I was out. Then, she waited outside my apartment for me more than an hour. Seeing her patience and love for me, I felt very guilty.

As soon as she saw me, the sister fellowshiped with me, “I know you’re busy and have a lot of stuff to do. But since we have believed in God, we should spend some time practicing our faith in God. Faith in God is not merely acknowledging that there is a God. We need to read God’s words and gather and fellowship with brothers and sisters. Only in this way can we gain more work of the Holy Spirit, gradually understand the truths and know God. Then our lives will progress. When I first started believing in God, I was also reluctant to attend meetings, thinking that it was holding me up. Later, I read these words of God: ‘The Holy Spirit not only works in certain men who are used by God, but even more in the church. He could be working in anyone. He may work in you for the present, and when you have experienced it, He may work in someone else next. Make haste to follow; the more closely you follow the present light, the more your life can mature and grow. No matter what manner of man he may be, so long as the Holy Spirit works in him, make sure to follow. Take in his experiences through your own, and you will receive even higher things. In so doing you will progress more quickly. This is the path of perfection for man and a way through which life grows. The path to being made perfect is reached through your obedience to the work of the Holy Spirit. You do not know through what kind of person God will work to perfect you, nor through what person, occurrence, or thing He will enable you to enter into possession and to gain some insight. If you are able to walk onto this right track, it shows that there is great hope for you to be perfected by God. If you are unable to do so, it shows that your future is bleak and devoid of light.’ ‘Though I may have finished speaking My word, people still don’t completely understand, and this is because they are lacking in quality. This problem can be resolved through the church life and through fellowshiping with each other.’ From God’s words, I knew that if we want to gain the work of the Holy Spirit and make progress in life, we should live the church life and fellowship God’s words with brothers and sisters more. When living the church life, we are no longer bothered by family issues, and we thus can quiet our hearts to ponder God’s words and obtain more work of the Holy Spirit. Our abilities to receive God’s words are poor, so if we don’t attend meetings but just read God’s words at home on our own, we can only understand the literal meaning of God’s words. When it comes to the inner meaning of God’s words, such as what kind of state God’s words refer to, what God’s will is in His words, our understanding about these things will be very limited; sometimes, we could even misinterpret and distort God’s words according to our imagination and form notions about God’s words. However, in meetings, there are many brothers and sisters gathering together and fellowshiping God’s words; through communicating the light we obtain in God’s words and sharing our experiences and knowledge, we can receive a lot of the supply of life and use the strengths of others to make up for our weaknesses; then we will achieve faster growth in life, and our problems and difficulties can also be resolved through such process.”

After listening to God’s words and the sister’s fellowship, I realized how many benefits meetings could bring to us. I also understood that living the church life was a way of worshiping God and also a path by which I kept a normal relationship with God. As a believer in God, if I don’t pray, read God’s words, or attend meetings, I’m not considered a believer in God. At that moment, I felt ashamed of my past behavior and I became determined to attend meetings regularly in future.

However, my resolution to do this didn’t last long. Because my own affairs often clashed with the meetings, every time such a thing happened, I wanted to handle my personal affair and didn’t want to miss the meeting, so, gradually, I was not that active in attending meetings and even felt it was a burden to me. It was not until an incident happened that I truly understood that as a Christian, I couldn’t live without a normal church life and then began to pay attention to it.

One day, before the Spring Festival, I had a video chat with my daughter-in-law. When I learned that my grandson didn’t perform well in the exam, I asked, “How could this happen?” Hearing my words, my daughter-in-law felt I was blaming her, and then she sent a message to my son to pour out her grievance against me. Then, my son complained to my daughter. Seeing my son stood on his wife’s side blaming me, my daughter reasoned with him. Later, he came to quarrel with me in a rage, “Mom, my sister blamed me for your illness. Was it really because of me? Have you ever cared about my wife and me?” Hearing my son, I felt very uncomfortable, thinking: “I’m your mother. How could you talk to me like that? You’re too conscienceless.” I couldn’t hold back my anger and argued with him. In the end, we parted on bad terms.

After my son left, I was filled with grievance and anger while thinking of what had just happened. I didn’t know how to resolve this problem. When I was in agony, I remembered the sister’s words, “When encountering things, we should pray to God and seek God.” But after the prayer, I still felt stuck and angry. The next morning, I sat on the couch, thinking: “Ever since my son came to Korea to work, I’ve tried my best to take care of him. In order to help him buy a house in our hometown, I worked hard to make money. Why is he ungrateful to what I’ve done for him? Just because of a trivial thing, he argues with me. Does he have any regard for me?” The more I thought about it, the more miserable I felt. At that time, I got a call from the sister who invited me to attend meeting. In anguish and helplessness, I thought: “Perhaps my brothers and sisters could help me resolve my difficulties.”

Then, I came to the church to attend meeting. Seeing that I looked awful, a sister asked me with concern, “Sister, is everything OK? You don’t look well.” I poured out my problems to her. Then she read a passage of God’s words to me: “When parents talk down to their child and say, ‘I’m your father (or mother)! You must do as I say!’ the child takes exception to this ‘must’; it’s definitely not an expression of normal humanity. Conversely, if the child’s attitude to their parents is, ‘Ugh, you do nothing but nag me, I hate listening to you! I’m an adult but you’re still trying to control me!’ what is this attitude? Some other children even think, ‘I’m your child, you should do everything for me—you should pay for me, make me food, and look after me when I’m ill.’ What attitude is this? Is this normal humanity? It isn’t right to think that your parents should do everything for you. When they see this, they think to themselves, ‘When I do anything for you, you feel it’s owed to you, that it’s your due. You’re so thoughtless!’ So they feel sad. No matter how much the parents suffer, no matter how much concern they show for their child, the child senses none of it. He thinks that’s what parents should do, that his parents can’t feel upset, pain, hurt or sadness. This is wrong, it is not normal humanity. If both sides lived by normal humanity, and if they were able to reach possession of the truth, with both sides putting themselves in each other’s shoes, and taking into account each other’s difficulties, from the perspective of normal humanity, and both sides standing on an equal footing when they interacted, spoke to each other, and did things, would this stop the estrangement developing between them?”

Finishing reading God’s words, the sister fellowshiped, “After being corrupted by Satan, we all live by satanic disposition, becoming arrogant and self-right as well as selfish and contemptible; there is no patience, tolerance, or understanding between people anymore. For example, when we interact with our children, we always stand in a high position, and sometimes blame them without knowing the actual situation, giving them pressure and constraint; all this is caused by our arrogant disposition. As for the children, they are so selfish that they take our sacrifice for granted, thinking it’s our duty to do everything for them, and they never care about or understand us. As a result, we often have disagreements and quarrels when associating with each other. This is actually caused by our corrupt disposition. Therefore, we should practice God’s words, learn to let go of ourselves, understand and care for others more, and have more tolerance, patience, and love for them. Only when we act in this way can we get along with each other.”

Through God’s words and the sister’s fellowship, I gained some knowledge of myself. That night, I came before God and prayed to Him, “Oh God! I have been so deeply corrupted by Satan that I have no understanding for my children. I’m willing to put aside myself and practice Your words.” After prayer, I thought: “It’s not easy for my daughter-in-law to take care of the child by herself in China. As I seldom cared for her or understood her, it was to be expected that she has complaints about me.” The more I thought, the more relieved I felt, and my anger toward my son and my daughter-in-law disappeared. Later, when I let go of myself to get along with them, I no longer felt miserable or distressed.

Through this experience, I appreciated that the church life was very important for us. If I hadn’t fellowshiped with my brothers and sisters, I would still be controlled by the corrupt disposition and live in complaints; living like this over time would definitely make myself ill. In the past, when I encountered difficulties and was in bad mood, I did nothing but thought wild thoughts, living in depression and pain. After I came to believe in God, whenever I met difficulties, my brothers and sisters would read to me God’s words regarding my situation in meetings, and sometimes share their experiences with me, through which I gained some knowledge of God and my corrupt disposition and also gained some ways of practice. So, I felt very relieved and relaxed. Just as God’s words say: “You are able to eat and drink God’s words as normal, pray as normal, carry on your church life as normal, regardless of the trials that you may face, the circumstances that you may encounter, the sickness of the flesh that you may endure, the estrangement of brothers and sisters, or difficulties in your family—if you can reach this point, then it shows that you are on the right track.”

Thank God! Through this experience, I understood the meaning and importance of attending meetings: The purpose of attending meetings is to understand the truths; in meetings, we lay bare our difficulties to seek the truths, and then fellowship God’s words with our brothers and sisters regarding these actual situations to find the correct ways of practice; such a progress is the best way for us to gain the truth and obtain growth in life. After understanding this, I prayed to God in my heart and made a determination: I will be active in attending meetings and no longer miss any of them for personal matters.

After that, whenever my own affairs clashed with the meetings, I would put the meetings first and my affairs second. I no longer considered the meeting as a burden; instead, I understood that as a believer in God, I should attend meetings regularly. Gradually, I knew more and more truths through having meetings, and felt happy and peaceful in my heart.

Later, God’s test came upon me …

One day, my son, whose Korean wasn’t very good, asked me to help him buy a SIM card the next day. But remembering that I had to attend the meeting that afternoon, I was caught in a dilemma. Neither did I want to miss the meeting nor refuse my son. When I was perplexed, I poured out my difficulty to a sister, hoping to get her understanding of my absence from the meeting. Unexpectedly, after hearing my difficulty, she fellowshiped with me, “God is the Lord of creation. No matter what we encounter, we should honor God as great and learn to rely on and look to Him. Whatever things we are faced with, we shouldn’t reach a verdict hastily or make our own choice. Instead, we should seek how to accord with God’s will and satisfy Him. Only in this way can we see God’s deeds. Today, faced with this matter, you should entrust it to God, because all things and matters are in His hands. As the Bible says, ‘The king’s heart is in the hand of Jehovah, as the rivers of water: he turns it wherever he will’ (Proverbs 21:1). Besides, we should stand witness for God in everything we encounter. Just like when Abraham offered up Isaac, God saw Abraham’s true heart, and then He made a way out for Abraham and prepared a sacrifice for him. Though what we are encountering is just a small thing, we should still accept God’s tests and have faith to stand witness for God. Let’s pray to God, telling Him our difficulties and thoughts and beg Him to lead us. As long as we have faith in God, we’ll see His deeds.” After listening to her fellowship, I found the way to practice.

After returning home I prayed to God, “O God! My son asked me to accompany him to buy a SIM card, but I want to attend the meeting. Faced with this dilemma, I don’t know what to do. O God! I’m willing to entrust all of this to You and satisfy You first. May You lead me and give me a way out.” After prayer, I still couldn’t completely put this matter aside. And I thought to myself, “I might as well urge my son to set out earlier; if he doesn’t agree, then I will attend the meeting first and then handle his affair. Satisfying God is my first priority.” When I thought like this, my daughter suddenly called me, saying, “Mom, I will buy the SIM card for my brother. I can drive there. It won’t take long. Don’t worry.” After hanging up the phone, I was so happy that I almost jumped up, and I kept thanking God in my heart. Since I had the quarrel with my son, my daughter hadn’t spoken to him for a long time. It was amazing that she could offer to help him. At that time not only had their relationship gotten better, but I could attend the meeting. Through this experience, I saw that as long as I was willing to rely on God and satisfy God, He would open up a way for me. As God’s words say, “God does not ask much of man. All that God asks of man is meant to be achieved easily and happily; it is just that man is unwilling to suffer hardships.”

In the past, I was always afraid that it would impede my handling personal affairs to attend meetings. But now, I have experienced that I can understand more truths through gatherings without interfering with my normal life. Before, because I had no truth, I couldn’t see through anything. So, in face of difficulties, I would only complain and live in pain. But now, when encountering things, I would rely on God consciously and ask Him to lead me, after which I would often find a way to resolve my difficulties and feel much more released and free. And through reading and fellowshiping God’s words in meetings, I have gained some understanding of God’s will for the salvation of man, God’s way of working, and my own corruptions. Thank God! I’ve really benefited a lot through leading a church life.

[comebeforegod]

Meet the Lord and Attend the Wedding Feast of the Lamb

By Wuruo, United States

One day when I was browsing the web, I saw a short story The Frog in the Well Knows Nothing of the Great Ocean.

 Although I had read it from the textbook as a child, when reading it again I still couldn’t help laughing: The frog was so shortsighted and ignorant. If it jumped out of the well to broaden its outlook, it would certainly be able to see a vaster sky and a wonderful world. At this thought, it suddenly occurred to me that in the past when I believed in God, I was also shortsighted and lived within my conceptions and imaginations. Thank God for His gracious gift. It was after I attended the feast of the Lamb that I gained a bit of true knowledge of God and His work. Looking out of the window, I thought back to the past unconsciously.

In 2011, I came to America alone. I was quite strange to everything here and felt perplexed about my future. By a chance opportunity, Brother Luo preached the gospel of the Lord Jesus to me. Then I started to go to the church to have meetings. I originally thought that I would understand more and surely be more knowledgeable of God in this way, but never did I expect that the fact was contrary to my imaginations. Although I attended meetings at the church for more than half a year, there was no enjoyment in my heart. What the pastors and elders preached was just empty Bible knowledge, which couldn’t solve my practical problems that I confronted in my life or help me in knowing God. Moreover, while the pastor was preaching on the pulpit, the believers sitting in the congregation would just play on their phones or doze off. The brothers and sisters all talked about a life of pleasure when they gathered. Worse still, many advertisements of letting house and jobs were released in the church … I felt very disappointed to see those, and so I didn’t go to church gradually.

In November of 2017, a friend of mine invited me to Sister Wang’s house to attend the Bible study meetings. There I made the acquaintance of Brother Liu. After communicating with him for a while, I found that he was very devout and familiar with the Bible, and that his fellowship was full of brightness. Later on, we mentioned the present situation of the churches. One sister said that she didn’t feel like she was being provided with anything through meetings in the church, and that her spirit felt dark and parched. Moreover, she didn’t feel moved through prayer, didn’t feel enlightened when reading the Bible, and that she hadn’t felt the presence of the Holy Spirit for a long time. Another sister said, “The pastors and elders of our church are never concerned about the growth in life of the believers at all, but rather only put emphasis on whether the believers are giving donations. In the past, they talked about donations in the church, while now they even made calls to believers and went to their homes to seek offerings.” I was amazed to hear this. To think the situation of the churches should have come to this point.

Brother Liu fellowshiped, “The situation of the churches we just talked about is not rare. At present, the entire religious world has become desolate, which shows it no longer has the work of the Holy Spirit. Just like in the latter period of the Age of Law, the temple originally full of Jehovah’s glory fell into desolation. The Jewish people didn’t hold to God’s laws, improper sacrifices were made, and the temple became a place of trade, a den of thieves. It had long since lost the Holy Spirit’s work. That was because God had been incarnated to do the work of redeeming mankind in the Age of Grace, and accordingly, the work of the Holy Spirit had been transferred into the new work of God. All those who accepted the Lord Jesus’ redemptive work received the work and guidance of the Holy Spirit, while those who still stubbornly stayed at the temple and rejected and resisted the work of the Lord Jesus were eliminated by the work of the Holy Spirit and fell into darkness. Similarly, now the churches are desolate because God has again come in the flesh to do the work of purifying man through words in the Age of Kingdom. The core of the work of the Holy Spirit has been transferred into the new work of God, and those who are incapable of following the latest work of God will fall into darkness. In order to attain the Holy Spirit’s work, we must follow and accept Almighty God’s new work immediately. Only in this way can we receive the provision of the living water of life and get out of the plight of darkness and desolation.”

After I heard Brother Liu’s fellowship, my heart lightened immediately. As it turned out, the reason why the churches are suffering from desolation and have lost the Holy Spirit’s work is that God has returned and is doing new work. I didn’t expect that the Lord Jesus I have yearned for all this time has come back. At that time, I was very happy and excited, but then I thought: Why did the Lord change His name when He returned? Why did the name Jesus turn into Almighty God? I felt slightly confused. Brother Liu seemed to be aware of my confusion and then he fellowshiped, “It is difficult for people to accept the fact that God is now doing new work and so has a new name. That is very normal. We can search the scriptures. It was long ago prophesied in the Bible that God will have a new name when He returns. Revelation 3:12 states: ‘Him that overcomes will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go no more out: and I will write on him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, which is new Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from my God: and I will write on him my new name.’ There’s also Revelation 1:8, ‘I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, said the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.’ These two verses clearly tell us that when God comes again in the last days He will take a new name, so He will no longer be called Jesus. Almighty God is His new name. We will understand more after reading several passages of Almighty God’s word.”

Brother Liu opened the book of God’s word and read: “In each age, God does new work and is called by a new name; how could He do the same work in different ages? How could He cling to the old? The name of Jesus was taken for the sake of the work of redemption, so would He still be called by the same name when He returns in the last days? Would He still be doing the work of redemption? Why is it that Jehovah and Jesus are one, yet They are called by different names in different ages? Is it not because the ages of Their work are different? Could a single name represent God in His entirety? This being so, God must be called by a different name in a different age, and must use the name to change the age and to represent the age. For no one name can fully represent God Himself, and each name is able only to represent the temporal aspect of God’s disposition in a given age; all it needs to do is to represent His work. Therefore, God can choose whatever name befits His disposition to represent the entire age.” “‘Jehovah’ is the name that I took during My work in Israel, and it means the God of the Israelites (God’s chosen people) who can take pity on man, curse man, and guide the life of man. It means the God who possesses great power and is full of wisdom. ‘Jesus’ is Emmanuel, and it means the sin offering that is full of love, full of compassion, and redeems man. He did the work of the Age of Grace, and represents the Age of Grace, and can only represent one part of the management plan. … And so, when the final age—the age of the last days—arrives, My name shall change again. I shall not be called Jehovah, or Jesus, much less the Messiah, but shall be called the powerful Almighty God Himself, and under this name I shall bring the entire age to an end.”

The brother fellowshiped, “God is the almighty, wise God. We human beings have no way to fathom Him. So, we should not delimit God’s name with our conceptions and notions. And a single name is incapable of fully representing God’s work and His disposition. God takes a different name in every age to represent His disposition and His work. In the Age of Law, Jehovah God established the laws and commandments and led man in their lives, making them know how to worship God to receive His blessings, and what punishments they would face after committing sins. In that age, God expressed the disposition of majesty, wrath, curse, and mercy. By the end of the Age of Law, people had become increasingly corrupt, and were unable to keep the law, and everyone was facing the constant danger of being punished for violating the law. Therefore, God was incarnated for the first time. Under the name of Jesus, He ended the Age of Law, did His redemptive work in the Age of Grace, and absolved mankind of sin. In that age, what the Lord Jesus expressed was a disposition of mercy and love. In the last days, people are corrupted deeply. Therefore, in order to deliver man from sin completely, based on the foundation of the work of the Lord Jesus, God becomes flesh again and does the work of judging and purifying man with the name ‘Almighty God.’ He expresses the disposition of righteousness, majesty to bring the entire age to an end. When the age changes, God’s name changes with it. However, no matter how God’s name changes, His substance never changes, neither does the aim of His salvation for mankind. He is still the God Himself who saves us mankind.”

At this moment, my confusion was resolved. It turns out that the name God takes in each age has its representative meaning and is based on the work in that age and the disposition He expresses in that age. Although God’s name changes, His substance never changes. Jehovah, Jesus, and Almighty God are all Him. It is always the same God working for saving man. In the past, I had been completely ignorant of God’s name having such great significance. Without Almighty God revealing the mystery of God’s name, I would never understand it even if I believe in the Lord Jesus all my life. And then I listened more seriously.

Brother Liu also fellowshiped with us about the truth of God’s incarnation. The more I listened to his fellowship, the more I understood. I found lots of mysteries of the Bible were opened. What the brother fellowshiped made a lot of sense. Nevertheless, the matter of the Lord’s coming is of great importance. I needed to investigate it clearly.

After I returned home, I immediately searched the Internet for the information about The Church of Almighty God. Unexpectedly, what I saw was all negative information. In particular there was “Shandong Zhaoyuan Incident.” After seeing that, I had many doubts in my heart and thought: Why is the incident related to The Church of Almighty God? Is the news report true? If it’s true, do I take the wrong path? At that time, I felt a bit uneasy.

Later on, I searched the website of The Church of Almighty God for an answer. I never imagined that after I clicked on the link I accidentally saw a video “The Truth Exposed Behind the Shandong Zhaoyuan Case.” Then I watched it. After watching it, I suddenly saw the light. It turned out that the criminal suspects in this case did not belong to The Church of Almighty God. It was a fabricated case which was schemed up by the CCP, aiming to make up an incident and an excuse to suppress and persecute house churches in China, especially The Church of Almighty God. That was the habitual tactic of the CCP government to crack down on the dissenters. As we all know, some great events in history, such as the June Fourth Tiananmen Movement, the large-scale bloody upheaval in Lhasa Tibet, and so on were all commanded by CCP. How evil and mean the CCP is! I was almost deceived by the lies of CCP. I believed that I had been so ignorant. The CCP is an atheist party, and lies and deception are its habitual tactic. It is quite ridiculous that I measured what is the true way according to their words. Thank God for leading me to watch this video and allowing me to see through Satan’s schemes in time; otherwise, I would miss the opportunity to meet the Lord again and be saved. It would be too late to regret until then.

In the next meeting, I told my brothers and sisters this matter. After hearing this, they all said that it was God who guided and led me. And they fellowshiped with me, “The true way has always faced persecution since ancient times. Think back to the time when the Lord Jesus did His work two thousand years ago, the priests, scribes, and Pharisees in religious circles frenziedly resisted and condemned the work and words of the Lord Jesus, and they even joined forces with the Roman government to nail the Lord Jesus to the cross. Nowadays, the history repeats itself. The CCP government and the religious world spread the negative propaganda on the internet in order to disturb and destroy God’s work and make people deny God and be distanced from Him, and thus lose the chance of being saved by God and go to hell for punishment together with it. This is the evil intention of Satan. We must have discernment toward its schemes. Otherwise, we will lose the opportunity of being saved by God.” Hearing this, I nodded my head a few times and thanked God in my heart unceasingly.

Later, whenever I had time, I read God’s word and watched all sorts of videos and gospel movies on The Church of Almighty God’s website. Through a period of investigation, I saw that Almighty God’s word has revealed all mysteries, and it is full of authority and power and no one could speak such word, so I recognized that it is the Lord’s voice. Besides, after getting into contact with the brothers and sisters of The Church of Almighty God, I saw that they were pious in their words and behaviors. They treated people with love and sincerity, and when they revealed corrupt disposition, they would open their hearts and seek the truth to resolve it. They all pursued to become an honest person and live out the manner of a true person. And they were often concerned about me when I encountered difficulties in my life, and fellowshiped God’s word with me to help me out in time, causing me to learn to experience and know God’s deeds in life. Although we were from all corners of the country, we were like a family. I felt confirmation in my heart that this is a church with the work of the Holy Spirit. Therefore, I accepted God’s new work with great joy and attended the wedding feast of the Lamb.

Now through reading God’s word, I knew that God personally becomes flesh in the last days, living practically among men and proclaiming His word to humankind, expressing His own disposition and all that He has and is to the masses. From God’s word, I came to understand the inner truth in God’s three stages of work and the mysteries of His incarnations, know that which kinds of people God loves and saves, as well as the kinds He detests and punishes. Moreover, through God’s words, I also understood that the root and the truth of man’s corruption, and came to know how to break free from the corrupt disposition and establish a proper relationship with God; I got principles of practice and ways regarding how to be an honest person, how to live out the manner of a true person, and so on. The appearance and the work of God in the flesh enabled me to face to face see and know Him. Just as Almighty God says: “The incarnate God brings to an end the age when only the back of Jehovah appeared to mankind, and also concludes the age of mankind’s belief in the vague God. In particular, the work of the last incarnate God brings all mankind into an age that is more realistic, more practical, and more pleasant. He not only concludes the age of law and doctrine; more importantly, He reveals to mankind a God who is real and normal, who is righteous and holy, who unlocks the work of the management plan and demonstrates the mysteries and destination of mankind, who created mankind and brings to an end the management work, and who has remained hidden for thousands of years. He brings the age of vagueness to a complete end, He concludes the age in which the whole of mankind wished to seek God’s face but was unable to, He ends the age in which the whole of mankind served Satan, and leads the whole of mankind all the way into a completely new era. All this is the outcome of the work of God in the flesh instead of God’s Spirit.”

Thank God for His grace and elevation, allowing me to have the good fortune to come before Him, hear His voice and attend the feast of the Lamb. Thinking back, when I believed in God in the church, I lived within my conceptions and imaginations. Although I called out to the Lord every day, I didn’t have true knowledge of God at that time. Had it not been for coming before Almighty God, I would be just like the frog watching the sky from the bottom of the well, and ultimately be eliminated by God. From now on, I must seek the truth with diligence and pursue knowledge of the most supreme, honorable and unique God. Thank God!

[comebeforegod]

When Jesus Is Coming, How Can We Welcome Him?

Brothers and sisters of Find the Shepherd:

Hello! Now disasters are getting ever bigger. The day of the Lord has already come. We believers in the Lord are all anxiously waiting for Him to be raptured into the heavenly kingdom. 

The Lord Jesus said, “Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened to ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom. … and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage: and the door was shut” (Matthew 25:1, 10). From these verses, we see that when the Lord comes, the foolish virgins will be locked outside on account of not preparing oil, while the wise virgins who have prepared oil will dine with Him. Only by being wise virgins can we welcome the Lord’s return. Then, in the last days, how should we prepare to be the wise virgins to welcome the Lord?

Peace to you in the Lord! You have brought up a very important question. It concerns whether we can welcome the Lord’s return in the last days and be raptured into the heavenly kingdom, and all of the brothers and sisters in the Lord pay close attention to this question. Thank the Lord for His guidance. Recently, through looking to the Lord to seek and communicating with brothers and sisters, I have gained a ray of light. Below I will talk a bit about my personal understanding.

Let’s first study several verses of scripture. The Bible says, “I have yet many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. However, when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will show you things to come” (John 16: 12-13). “He that has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches” (Revelation 2:7). “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me” (John 10:27). From these words of the Bible, we can see that when the Lord comes, He will speak to the churches. Therefore, only by recognizing God’s voice can we welcome the Lord’s return and be raptured into the heavenly kingdom. If we don’t know how to distinguish God’s voice, even though we hear the words of the returned Lord, we are incapable of recognizing He is the Lord. So, in order to welcome the Lord, we must learn to distinguish God’s voice.

Then, how can we distinguish God’s voice? After studying the Bible and looking to the Lord to seek, we have found some ways from God’s word.

Firstly, God’s word can reveal mysteries, and expose man’s corrupt substance, as well as man’s mind and thoughts.

As is known to us all, the incarnate Lord Jesus revealed many mysteries while preaching and doing His work, such as, “Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matthew 4:17). And, “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). Apart from these, the Lord Jesus revealed many other mysteries. For example, when the Lord Jesus did His work, no one knew who John the Baptist was, and even John himself didn’t know. But the Lord Jesus is God and He knew this mystery. He said, “And if you will receive it, this is Elias, which was for to come” (Matthew 11:14). These words revealing mysteries are what man cannot express and beyond the reach of man’s thinking. Just like the Bible says, “The secret things belong to the LORD our God: but those things which are revealed belong to us and to our children for ever …” (Deuteronomy 29:29). Only God knows the secret things. So, we can be sure that the One who is able to uncover mysteries is God. There is a prophecy in Revelation, “Behold, the Lion of the tribe of Juda, the Root of David, has prevailed to open the book, and to loose the seven seals thereof” (Revelation 5:5). As we all know, only the Lamb can open the scroll, that is to say, only the words uttered by God in the last days can uncover the mysteries that are unknown to us.

Additionally, God can see into men’s minds and hearts and has a thorough understanding of man. Only God can reveal the essence of our nature and every thought in our hearts. Take Samaritan woman, Nathanael, and Matthew for example. Samaritan woman believed in the Lord Jesus because Jesus spoke of all that she had done and what she thought about in her heart. Nathanael believed in the Lord Jesus because Jesus, who had not been with him, told him where he had been before he came to see Jesus and what kind of man he was. The tax collector Matthew recognized the Lord Jesus is God because Jesus spoke out the content of his prayers. From these examples above, we find that God’s word can disclose things deep in man’s heart. This is also one way we can distinguish God’s voice.

Secondly, God’s words possess His disposition, and have authority and power; God is as good as His word, and His word shall be accomplished.

Regardless of whether they are the words of God become flesh, or the utterances of the Spirit of God, they are all the words uttered by God to mankind from up high. Such are the tone and characteristics of God’s word. Here, God’s authority and identify are obviously manifested. It can be said that this is the unique means by which the Creator speaks. The utterances of the incarnate Lord Jesus primarily relate to God’s requirements and admonitions of man, the words of God’s administrative decrees and commandments, the words of prophecies and God’s promises to mankind, etc. These words are all the expression of the truth, the way, and the life, as well as the revelation of God’s life and substance. They represent God’s disposition and all that He has and is. From the words expressed by God, we can see that His words are the truth, and they have authority and power.

Let’s read the words of God’s requirements and admonitions of men, “Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matthew 4:17). “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like to it, You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets” (Matthew 22:37-40).

And what the Lord Jesus said about administrative decrees, “Why I say to you, All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven to men: but the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven to men. And whoever speaks a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him: but whoever speaks against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, neither in the world to come” (Matthew 12:31-32).

And the words the Lord Jesus spoke to expose and curse the Pharisees, “But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for you shut up the kingdom of heaven against men: for you neither go in yourselves, neither suffer you them that are entering to go in” (Matthew 23:13).

Apart from these, there are also some words of prophecies and God’s promises. For example, the Lord Jesus said, “I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you to myself; that where I am, there you may be also” (John 14:2-3). “And if any man hear my words, and believe not, I judge him not: for I came not to judge the world, but to save the world. He that rejects me, and receives not my words, has one that judges him: the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day” (John 12:47-48).

For another example, the Lord Jesus brought Lazarus back from the dead. It is written in John 11:43-44: “And when he thus had spoken, he cried with a loud voice, Lazarus, come forth. And he that was dead came forth, bound hand and foot with grave clothes: and his face was bound about with a napkin.”

We can see from these words that the Lord Jesus’ words are God’s utterances to all mankind. He directly expressed God’s disposition and God’s intentions for mankind to lead mankind, provide to mankind, and personally redeem mankind. This completely represents the identity and authority of God Himself. Reading them instantly makes us feel that these words are the truth, with authority and power. They are the voice of God and God speaking to mankind! They could not have been uttered by any man.

Therefore, in the last days, if we want to discern whether the words are the utterances of the returned Lord, we should see whether they possess God’s disposition and have authority and power. If we can see these, we can be sure that they are the voice of the Lord.

Xun’en, the several ways of discerning the Lord’s voice above are some illumination we have gained in our quest. Hope they can bring some help to you. As long as we grasp these truths above and are able to recognize God’s voice, we can welcome the Lord’s return.

May God guide you! If you have any other problems, you are welcome to communicate with us. Let us seek God together to resolve them. All the glory be to God!

Sincerely yours,

Find the Shepherd

[comebeforegod]

Christian Testimony: The True Meaning of God’s Judgment

God’s words say: “In the last days, Christ uses a variety of truths to teach man, expose the essence of man, and dissect his words and deeds. 

These words comprise various truths, such as man’s duty, how man should obey God, how man should be loyal to God, how man ought to live out the normal humanity, as well as the wisdom and the disposition of God, and so on. These words are all directed at the essence of man and his corrupt disposition. In particular, those words that expose how man spurns God are spoken in regard to how man is an embodiment of Satan and an enemy force against God.”

Having accepted God’s work, through having meetings and communications of God’s words, I understood that in the last days God uses words to reveal and judge our corrupt dispositions in order to achieve the results of cleansing and saving humans. However, I didn’t know clearly how God judges and cleanses humans until I had practically experienced the environment that God set up for me.

Tasting the Work of the Holy Spirit and Feeling Pleasure Inside

When I started to participate in church life, I often attended meetings with brothers and sisters and read God’s words. I felt very happy and pleasure inside my heart, and also felt warm in God’s household. Therefore, in meetings I was very active to read God’s words and communicate, leaving a favorable impression on my brothers and sisters. Brother Xiaoyong and Sister Liu who looked after us new believers not only always praised me for my reading God’s words with fluency and good understanding of God’s words but also cared about me very much, always asking about my situation and difficulties. With the care and admiration of my brothers and sisters, I felt very joyful inside and enjoyed the meetings in which I was at the core of my brothers and sisters before two more sisters joined our meeting group.

Competing With Others and Falling Into Darkness

I remember that in the first meeting, the two sisters shared their experiences about how they returned to God. I really benefited greatly from them, especially from the experience of Sister Kemu. Others also regarded her experience as great and practical and Brother Xiaoyong said that her testimony of experience was very good and encouraged her to write it down to testify to God. Seeing everyone praise her, I thought: “Alas! Why don’t I have such experiences?” Because of this I felt very upset. After we had several meetings together, I found Sister Kemu could understand God’s words very well. In every meeting, with the encouragement and guidance of Brother Xiaoyong and Sister Liu, Sister Kemu could share the light she gained from God’s words. What’s more, she pursued the truth with perseverance and resolve. No matter how busy and tiring her work was, she could always keep a normal relationship with God and insist on reading God’s words and watching movies and videos. Seeing these, I thought: Although she is better than me now, as long as I make efforts to pursue the truth I also can catch up with her. In order to gain the approval and admiration of the brothers and sisters who looked after us new believers, I began to pursue the truth tooth and nail. At home, I seized every available opportunity to read God’s words and even sometimes when I was at work, I would wear my headphone to listen to the fellowship from the above and hymns. In the meeting, I became more active than usual. I scrambled to read God’s words and every time after reading God’s words I hurriedly communicated about my own understanding without pondering it. For I thought: I should say my understanding first, otherwise if what I think is said by others, I will be regarded as imitating others when I say it again. Besides, every time I was about to go to the meeting, I would review what we had communicated in the last meeting and read God’s words again to prepare to answer what the brothers and sisters who looked after us new believers would ask. However, they didn’t ask.

Once, I was being confused why Brother Xiaoyong didn’t ask what we had communicated in the last meeting when Sister Liu asked me to pray for others. At that time I was very muddled and didn’t know what to pray so what I prayed was very empty, dull and dry. And I just finished it with several sentences hastily. After prayer I felt very low-spirited. In the meeting, when I saw Brother Xiaoyong looking at Sister Kemu when she communicated, then feeling extremely frustrated, I hurriedly lowered my head and read the words of God, however, I couldn’t get any light and couldn’t memorize what they had said either, my mind being a complete blank. After the meeting, I went back to the dormitory, feeling weak throughout the body. Then I thought of the previous meetings, in which I always felt pleasure and had a lot to say. But now I was afraid of having meetings and didn’t know what to say. Especially when I thought of the look in their eyes when they looked at Sister Kemu, I thought now everyone didn’t like me anymore and I felt more and more uncomfortable, being passive in whatever I did. Those days, I was always absent-minded and always made mistakes during the work. I felt very distressed for this and my heart felt so heavy as if there was a big stone inside. So I came before God and prayed: “O God, recently I haven’t gotten any light when I communicated about Your words and my work didn’t go smoothly either. I don’t know why I meet with these things. O God, may You enlighten me and let me find new light and get some understanding when communicating about Your words in meetings.” At this time, Brother Xiaoyong sent a message to me to ask about my recent situation. Being afraid that he would look down upon me if I was open about my expression of corruption, I just replied to him with a sentence perfunctorily. Then I continued to read God’s words and learn hymns as usual. Also, I copied the words of praising God, summed them up together and memorized them. I thought: Last time I didn’t pray for others well, and I must do well next time.

Accepting the Judgment of God’s Words and Knowing My Own Corruption

A week later, it was time for the meeting again. I thought: If this time I’m asked to pray for others again, I’ll have something to say, using all the God’s words I have memorized. But unexpectedly, at the beginning of the meeting, Sister Kemu raised a question about how to pray. Then Brother Xiaoyong played a hymn “How to Enter Into True Player”: “Whilst praying, your heart must be at peace before God, and it must be sincere. You are truly communing and praying with God; you must not deceive God using nice-sounding words. … and bring your actual state and troubles before God to pray, and make resolution before God. Prayer is not the following of procedure, but the seeking of God using your true heart. Ask that God protect your heart, making it able to often be at peace before God, making you able to know yourself, and despise yourself, and forsake yourself in the environment that God has set for you, thus allowing you to have a normal relationship with God and making you someone who truly loves God.” Hearing this hymn, with tears pooling up in my eyes at that time, I felt guilty inside: God asks us to say our real situations, commune with God and establish a normal relationship with Him in prayer, does not asks us to say nice-sounding words or offer blind praise to deceive God. But these days my preparations were all for gaining my brothers and sisters’ approval and praise after their hearing my prayer, not for communing with God and sharing my innermost thoughts and real situation with Him. Isn’t my prayer a religious one? Knowing God’s will, I knew that I should say what I really thought inside to God, so then I prayed to God about these actions. After prayers, Sister Liu said to me: “Your desire for status is very strong.” At that time I couldn’t understand it. I thought: How come she say that?

In the evening, Sister Liu sent a video The Heart’s Deliverance to me. After watching the movie I cried, thinking that the protagonist was exactly the same as me. Especially when I saw God’s words: “As soon as it involves position, face, or reputation, everyone’s heart leaps in anticipation, and you always want to stand out, to be famous, to be glorified. You are unwilling to yield, always wanting to contend, although contending is embarrassing. However, you are not content not to contend. When you see someone stand out, you are jealous, feel hatred, complain, and feel it is unfair. ‘Why can’t I stand out? Why is it never me? Why is it always he who gets to stand out and it’s never my turn?’ There is some resentment. You try to repress the resentment, but you can’t, so you pray. After praying, you feel better for a little while, but later when you encounter the matter again you cannot overcome it. Is this not a case of immature stature? Is not a person’s falling into these conditions a trap? This is the bondage of a satanically corrupted nature.” Seeing the sister’s experience and God’s words, I realized that I cared too much about my face and status. Under the domination of the competitive nature, I always wanted to compete with others and get admiration and praise whatever I did. In order to be highly thought of by brothers and sisters, I racked my brain all day to memorize God’s words and listen to the fellowship. Even in the meeting I scrambled to communicate first. Weren’t these all for showing off myself? When I saw the sister’s strengths I didn’t learn from her humbly but pondered all the time how to show off myself. When my desire couldn’t be satisfied, I became negative and started to complain about everything. When faced with the fact I saw I was so corrupted by Satan that I was truly inhuman, arrogant and fragile. Thank God for letting me have a little knowledge of my corrupt dispositions. Meanwhile, from the sister’s experience, I found the path of practice—I should dissect and expose my corrupt dispositions and have a heart-to-heart fellowship with my brothers and sisters honestly. Then I came before God and prayed to God, resolving to practice the truth. Later I wrote my experience down and sent it to the messaging group and in the meeting I also opened up my heart to the brothers and sisters, saying all my own real thoughts and expression of corruptions. When I did like this, they didn’t look down on me, but instead, they shared their own experiences with me.

Finding the Path of Practice and Getting Released in My Heart

Later, the sister sent me another passage of God’s words to me: “Ponder this: What kind of changes must a person make if he wants to refrain from falling into these conditions and wants to be able to cast off these conditions and free himself of the vexations of these things? What must a person obtain before he can free himself of the vexations of these things, loosen the bonds of these things, and be able truly to be free and liberated? On one hand, a person must see through things: These fame and fortune and positions are tools and methods for Satan to corrupt people, to entrap them, to harm them, and to cause their degeneration. You must first see clearly this aspect in theory. … You must learn to give up and set aside these things, to yield, to recommend others, to allow them to stand out. Do not struggle furiously and rush to take advantage as soon as you encounter an opportunity to stand out or obtain honor. Learn to back off, but do not delay the performing of your duty. Be a person who performs his duty out of the public eye, and who does not show off before others. The more you give up and set aside, the more peaceful your heart will be and the more space will open up within it, and the more your condition will improve. The more you struggle and compete, the darker will be your condition; try it if you don’t believe it. If you want to turn around this kind of condition, if you want not to be controlled by these things, then you must first set them aside and give them up.”

The sister said to me in fellowship: “From God’s words we can see that it’s our common feature to pursue face and status as the corrupt mankind, and it is also one of the chronic diseases in our corrupt dispositions, which can’t be solved for a while. But as long as we read God’s words more, accept the judgment and chastisement of God’s words and see through the damage and results of pursuing face and status according to the exposure of God’s words, we won’t be bound by it anymore. For example, if we live by the thoughts and viewpoints ‘A wild goose leaves behind a voice; a man leaves behind a reputation’ and ‘A tree lives with its bark; a man lives with his face,’ then we will put our face, dignity and image above all else and we care too much about others’ opinions of us and our images in others’ hearts. We always hope that we can have position in others’ hearts and can be adored by others. In substance, we are competing for status against God.”

Through the sister’s fellowship I knew that Satan uses all kinds of thoughts and viewpoints to corrupt us, which makes us pursue face and status so that we distance ourselves from God and compete for status against God. I thought of God’s words: “I decide the destination of each person not on the basis of age, seniority, amount of suffering, and least of all, the degree to which they invite pity, but according to whether they possess the truth. There is no other choice but this. You must realize that all those who do not follow the will of God will be punished. This is an immutable fact.” Right, God decides our destination according to whether we have the truth. As believers, only through pursuing the truth and the changes of dispositions can we be in line with God’s will. It’s vain to pursue reputation, status and the admiration from others. Others’ admiration can’t mean the approval of God. Understanding God’s intention, I felt released in my heart.

Later I saw God’s words: “Do not do things before men; you should do them before God. By accepting God’s observation and inspection, your heart is set aright. If you are always concerned with acting for people to see, then your heart will never be set aright.” God’s words pointed out the path of practice for me. That is, we should conduct ourselves and do things before God and often accept God’s scrutiny. I should not always live for my own face and status or care about others’ opinions. Later I started to consciously practice God’s words. In the meeting, I prayed to God so that my heart could be at peace before God. Then my heart wasn’t so impetuous anymore, and I could calm down to contemplate God’s words and patiently listened to others’ fellowship. When I did like this, even if sometimes the light which I had gotten was said first by others, I would contemplate it again and then I found that I could get new light on the basis of others’ fellowship. Gradually, I felt closer to God and relied on God more and also I didn’t have so much desire to compete with others anymore. Now every meeting is enjoyable and I feel released in my heart.

Thank God for His guidance. Through the little experience during this period, I understood the inner meaning of God’s work of judgment. Just as God’s words say: “What the work of judgment brings about is man’s understanding of the true face of God and the truth about his own rebelliousness. The work of judgment allows man to gain much understanding of the will of God, of the purpose of God’s work, and of the mysteries that are incomprehensible to him. It also allows man to recognize and know his corrupt substance and the roots of his corruption, as well as to discover the ugliness of man. These effects are all brought about by the work of judgment, for the substance of this work is actually the work of opening up the truth, the way, and the life of God to all those who have faith in Him. This work is the work of judgment done by God.” In the last days God does the work of judgment and chastisement through setting up practical situations to prune and deal with us so that our corruption can be revealed. In these people, events and objects, God also uses His words to lead us to understand the truth and His will so that our corrupt dispositions can be cleansed. Recalling my recent experience, when I lived by the opinions “A wild goose leaves behind a voice; a man leaves behind a reputation” and “A tree lives with its bark; a man lives with his face” and pursued face and status, then God turned His face away from me and also used the people, matters and things around me to deal with me and aroused brothers and sisters to communicate the truth with me. In this way, I could know my corrupt dispositions and the substance of face and status and also know how to pursue is in line with God’s intentions. These were all the results of God’s work of judgment in the last days. During the judgment of God’s words, I have understood God’s righteous and holy substance and at the same time I felt the earnest intention of God’s salvation which is comprised in God’s judgment and chastisement. Thank God, all the glory be to Almighty God!

[comebeforegod]

Forum: Will the Lord Be in a Jewish Image When Coming the Second Time

Several days ago, Preacher Yang Fan was communicating with some brothers and sisters.

 When she asked them what subject they would like to fellowship about, Brother Xiangguang said, “The prophecies about the Lord’s return have been fulfilled. It’s very likely that the Lord has already returned. What about taking this opportunity tonight to discuss the question about how we should welcome the Lord’s return? What do you guys say?”

Nianen said happily, “I agree! We should discuss it. Well, in treating the Lord’s return, this was my opinion: Two thousand years ago, God was incarnated in the image of a Jew to do His work in Israel. So, when the Lord comes again in the last days, He should still descend among us in the same image. As long as we can recognize the image of the Lord Jesus, we can welcome the Lord’s return. However, recently I heard someone say this: ‘God has great power and fills all in all. It’s wrong that we define the image of God as that of a Jew; it’s completely out of man’s conceptions and imagination. If we stubbornly hold on to this viewpoint, we will never be able to welcome the Lord’s return.’ Hearing these words, I felt confused: Is what we hold on to wrong? But this viewpoint is held by many pastors and elders. They are people who serve God in the church, how can they be wrong? But thinking that it’s a problem which involves the matter of whether we can welcome the Lord’s return, I feel uneasy in my heart. So, I want to discuss it with you: Will the Lord Jesus still be in the image of a Jew when He returns?”

Hearing this, Jia Muyi said: “You can’t be confused in this problem. It is recorded in the Bible: ‘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’ (Act 1:11). Since the Lord Jesus left upon a cloud in the image of a Jew, then it is self-evident that He will certainly bear the image of a Jew when he comes again. This is without a doubt!”

Xiangguang refuted: “The Lord will bear the image of a Jew when He returns; otherwise, He cannot be God. Do you dare to confirm that? Can we humans confine this? Hearing you talk like this, I suddenly think of the Pharisees. They decided that when the Lord came, He would certainly be born in a palace, with a heroic bearing and commanding presence, and be called Messiah. However, when the Lord came, He was born in a manger in Bethlehem, He was ordinary in outward appearance, and He was called Jesus. The Pharisees didn’t have reverence for God in their hearts, nor did they seek the truth in the slightest, but just relied on their conceptions and imagination to define and resist the Lord Jesus; at last, they made an alliance with the Roman government to nail the Lord Jesus to the cross. If we arbitrarily define God with our conceptions and imagination, then aren’t we the same as the Pharisees? This question is very important; it is related to whether we can welcome the Lord Jesus and it involves our destination and outcome. We must speak and think about it carefully.”

Nianen said: “Yep. Just think and we will know the consequences are serious. The Bible says: ‘O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out! For who has known the mind of the Lord? or who has been his counselor?’ (Rom 11:33–34). God’s deeds are wondrous and unfathomable. No man can confine God’s work. What image the Lord will bear when He comes again in the last days to work and save mankind is arranged by the Lord Himself. We humans can’t arbitrarily judge or speculate this matter. In truth, if we consult the Bible carefully, it’s not difficult to find that God’s image is not fixed. For example, the Bible says, ‘And Jehovah appeared to him in the plains of Mamre: and he sat in the tent door in the heat of the day; And he lift up his eyes and looked, and, see, three men stood by him: and when he saw them, he ran to meet them from the tent door, and bowed himself toward the ground’ (Gen 18:1–2). Here, Jehovah God appeared to Abraham in the image of man. Exodus 3:2–4 says: ‘And the angel of Jehovah appeared to him in a flame of fire out of the middle of a bush: and he looked, and, behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed. And Moses said, I will now turn aside, and see this great sight, why the bush is not burnt. And when Jehovah God saw that he turned aside to see, He called to him out of the middle of the bush, and said, Moses, Moses. And he said, Here am I.’ We can see here Jehovah God appeared to Moses in the form of fire burning in the bush.”

Xiangguang went on to say: “Now I think of several verses. Ezekiel 1:26–28 says: ‘And above the firmament that was over their heads was the likeness of a throne, as the appearance of a sapphire stone: and on the likeness of the throne was the likeness as the appearance of a man above on it. And I saw as the color of amber, as the appearance of fire round about within it, from the appearance of his loins even upward, and from the appearance of his loins even downward, I saw as it were the appearance of fire, and it had brightness round about. As the appearance of the bow that is in the cloud in the day of rain, so was the appearance of the brightness round about. This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of Jehovah. And when I saw it, I fell on my face, and I heard a voice of one that spoke.’ Obviously, when God appeared to Ezekiel, the image of God he saw was ‘the likeness as the appearance of a man’ with brightness round about above on the throne. And it is recorded in Matthew 17:1–2: ‘And after six days Jesus takes Peter, James, and John his brother, and brings them up into an high mountain apart, And was transfigured before them: and his face did shine as the sun, and his raiment was white as the light.’ From these verses, we can see that when the Lord Jesus brought His disciples up a mountain and was transfigured, He was not in the former appearance but had changed His form.”

Yang Fan gave a glance at them and said: “Yeah. There are still many other verses about this aspect. Let’s see Revelation 1:13–16: ‘And in the middle of the seven candlesticks one like to the Son of man, clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about the breasts with a golden girdle. His head and his hairs were white like wool, as white as snow; and his eyes were as a flame of fire; And his feet like to fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace; and his voice as the sound of many waters. And he had in his right hand seven stars: and out of his mouth went a sharp two edged sword: and his countenance was as the sun shines in his strength.’ The appearance of the Son of man John saw on the island of Patmos is different from the image of the Lord Jesus. God was neither in the image of a Jew nor in the image of the resurrected Lord Jesus. From this, it can be seen that each time God appears to man He is in a different image. This also makes me understand that although the Lord Jesus once appeared and worked among man in the image of a Jew, He can also appear to man in different images. As such, how can we say that the Lord Jesus will still be in the image of a Jew when He comes again? And how can we say that the returned Lord who isn’t in the image of a Jew is not God? I’d like to fellowship a passage of words with everyone: ‘God being the greatest in all the universe, both above and below, could He fully explain Himself using the image of a flesh? God puts on this flesh in order to do one stage of His work. There is no significance in particular in this image of the flesh, it bears no relation to the passing of ages, nor does it have anything to do with God’s disposition. … When God becomes flesh, He merely descends from heaven into a particular flesh. It is His Spirit that descends into a flesh, through which He does the work of the Spirit. It is the Spirit that is expressed in the flesh, and it is the Spirit who does His work in the flesh. The work done in the flesh fully represents the Spirit, and the flesh is for the sake of the work, but that does not mean that the image of the flesh substitutes for the true image of God Himself; this is not the purpose or the significance of God become flesh. He becomes flesh only so that the Spirit may find an appropriate place to reside when doing His work, the better to achieve His work in the flesh—so that people can see His work, come into contact with His disposition, hear His words, and know the wonder of His work. … His appearance in the flesh bears no relation to His management, being merely for the sake of His work at the time. Yet it is impossible for God incarnate to have no particular appearance, and so He chooses the appropriate family to determine His appearance. If the appearance of God were to have representative significance, then all those who possess facial features similar to His would also represent God. Wouldn’t that be an egregious mistake? … God is Spirit, and man will never be capable of encompassing what His image is in the final analysis. His image can only be represented by His disposition. As for the appearance of His nose, of His mouth, of His eyes, and of His hair, these are beyond your capacity to encompass’” (“The Vision of God’s Work (3)”).

After reading these words of God, Yang Fan continued: “This passage of words is very clear. God originally is Spirit, who is formless, fills all in all, and is rich and bountiful. God has no particular image. No matter whether God appears to mankind and does His work in a spiritual body or in a flesh, He will choose an appropriate image based on the needs of the work. God became flesh as the Lord Jesus in the image of a Jew, which is for better working among man and also for man being able to draw close to God, know God’s disposition and work through what God says and does, and understand God’s accurate will and requirements. However, the appearance of the flesh cannot represent God’s original essence. When God’s work ends, this appearance will disappear and God will return to His original position. So, it is completely wrong to believe that since God once appeared to us in the image of a Jew, He will still show Himself in the same image later. God doesn’t hope that we confine Him within a fixed image. As for in what image the Lord will appear to people when He comes again, it’s God’s own business. We humans should obey God’s work with a heart that reveres God, and should not use our conceptions and imagination to define the Lord. Isn’t it right?”

Nianen said: “Thank the Lord. Through the fellowship today, I gained more understanding that God is almighty and wise, wondrous and unfathomable, He has no fixed image, and it’s based on the needs of the work that He takes an appropriate image and works among man. We can’t define God within one image, lest we offend God’s disposition. Alas! It can be seen that if we don’t understand the truth or know God, we will unavoidably define God with our imagination, and walk the path of resisting God. Then, how should we welcome the Lord’s return? Sister, please fellowship some more about this with us.”

Yang Fan said: “OK. Thank the Lord. Then, I’d like to fellowship some more of my understanding. In fact, about how to welcome the Lord’s return, the prophecies in the Bible have given us some directions. The Lord Jesus said: ‘And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom comes; go you out to meet him’ (Mat 25:6). There are also prophecies in Revelation: ‘He that has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches’ (Rev 2, 3). ‘Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me’ (Rev 3:20). The utterances of the Holy Spirit refer to the voice of the Lord, that is, the words said by the Lord when He appears to work in the last days. So, in the matter of welcoming the Lord’s return, we should pay attention to listening to the Lord’s voice, seeking what the Spirit says to the churches, and finding where there is the work of the Holy Spirit and the expression of the truth; this is the most crucial thing. If we don’t seek what the Spirit says to the churches nor turn our preposterous viewpoints around, but just blindly wait for the Lord Jesus to return in the image of a Jew, then we will become foolish virgins and become abandoned by the Lord. This will be a pity.

Xiangguang said: “Right. The more we debate, the clearer our understanding of the truth becomes. When we investigate the true way and welcome the Lord’s return, we should focus on listening to the Lord’s voice; this is the only right way. It makes me think of Peter, John, Matthew, Nathanael, and others. They all recognized, through His words and work, that the Lord Jesus was the Messiah prophesied to come, so they followed Him, gaining the Lord’s salvation. All of them are examples whom we should follow. The Lord Jesus said: ‘Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven’ (Mat 5:3). ‘Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled’ (Mat 5:6). ‘Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God’ (Mat 5:8). We should conduct ourselves according to the Lord Jesus’ requirements, and pay attention to listening to God’s voice like the wise virgins. Only thus can we welcome the Lord’s return.”

They all nodded their agreement. Then they discussed where to seek God’s appearance and work …