One Step Forward and You Will See a Brand-New World

One Step Forward and You Will See a Brand-New WorldXiaofang

In 2012, my husband’s sister came to visit us with the sisters from the Church of Almighty God. They witnessed to the work of Almighty God—the Lord Jesus’ second coming—in the last days, and communicated with us why believers in the churches became cold in their faith and why preachers had nothing to preach. They said that God has done a new work and ceased working in the churches of the Age of Grace and that only by following God’s new work could we gain God’s leadership and the Holy Spirit’s work…. What they conveyed sounded reasonable and supplied me with much strength. I couldn’t help recollecting the scenes of my attending meetings in our church: Each time I went out full of faith and yet came back discouraged and disappointed, because the preachers were unable to deliver new light, there was no enjoyment in the meetings, and I couldn’t receive any supply in the spirit. I always felt as if we had been abandoned by the Lord. I thought to myself: Can it be that God has done a new work, just as they say? If so, I must seek actively. Therefore, after their first communication and witness, I decided to listen carefully to them when they came again.

One morning several days later, my husband and I went to plant beans in the field after breakfast. While working I told my husband, “After listening to the fellowship of the sisters in the Church of Almighty God, I feel what they said was full of enlightenment and far better than the sermons given by the priests in our church. We’d better listen again if we can.” He nodded in agreement. Just then, I caught sight of co-workers Wang and Li of our church hastily approaching our field. Facing us, co-worker Li said not nicely, “You two haven’t attended meetings quite a few times. I heard you had listened to the messages of the Eastern Lightning.” I looked at them and said nothing. My acknowledgment in silence set co-worker Wang saying in astonishment, “It seems that you’ve really believed in the Eastern Lightning!” I said earnestly, “Sister Li, Sister Wang, you’d better make an investigation. I feel it’s of great benefit and enjoyment to listen to the sermon given by the sisters in the Church of Almighty God. They are unlike the preachers in our church, who are always long-winded and repeating themselves and whose sermons can’t offer me any enjoyment other than drowsiness.” I standing on the side of the Church of Almighty God, co-worker Wang glared at me and said, “Who was it that saved you when your illness was at its worst? It was the Lord Jesus! But now, you are leaving the Lord and turning to Almighty God. It’s ungrateful of you to do so.” Hearing what she said, I somewhat hesitated: Yeah, it was the Lord Jesus who saved me and gave me a second life when I was haunted by diseases and dying. If I leave the Lord, am I not an ingrate without conscience? Nonetheless, I indeed feel it good to listen to what the sisters in the Church of Almighty God preached. If I don’t follow, what if I miss the salvation of the Lord’s second coming? While I was thinking, co-worker Li went on saying, “Sister Fang, we are both believers in the Lord. I will never harm you. You can’t forget the Lord’s grace and turn to believing in another God. That will disappoint our Lord! …” Their persistent persuasion made me change my mind: Such great grace has the Lord given me that I really can’t leave Him! Thus my husband and I promised them to attend meetings in our church. After that, the brothers and sisters in the Church of Almighty God came to find me several times but I kept refusing to communicate with them.

During that time when I had meetings in our church, I had no strength when listening to brothers and sisters singing and I just couldn’t listen to what the preachers said. So I always missed the presence of the sisters in the Church of Almighty God. Their sermon was beneficial and nourished my spirit, inspiring me with faith. Although I first met them, I felt as if they were my family. When having dinner, I said to my husband, “We’d better go to find the sisters in the Church of Almighty God. Their sermon sounded enjoyable. You see, there are some talking about domestic trivia and some dozing off during meetings in our church. We can’t draw any enjoyment from the preachers’ preaching. Such a church is without the work of the Holy Spirit.” Nevertheless, my husband said, “There is no difference in where to believe in the Lord. Besides, we can’t leave the Lord Jesus.” Our views were divided and I was torn, not knowing which was right. During that time, I often saw my sister-in-law had meetings with brothers and sisters in the Church of Almighty God and that she hummed songs daily, looking quite happy. In contrast, I just couldn’t cheer up but felt listless all day long. I thought: We both believe in God, but why is my sister-in-law so happy while I seem to live in the darkness of being forsaken by the Holy Spirit? The more I possessed such feeling, the more I fancied going to their church to listen again. However, I was too embarrassed to express myself to her, fearing that she might have an opinion of me. Consequently, I didn’t go and engage with her all along.

One day, wanting to listen to hymns, I switched on the recorder and accidentally heard the hymn “Grace in Grace,” whose lyrics went like this, “Lord, You have delivered me out of so great a death, sending me onto the road of life. Lord, You will deliver me from myself, free me from the control of sin, and save my soul-life. Walking a humble path, dying to myself, and possessing resurrection, freedom and relief. In the past, I went for special gifts and grace. Today, I will gain You. …” Hearing out the hymn, I felt much brightened. Thinking back to the past, I gained the Lord’s grace. Nowadays, the sermon that the sisters in the Church of Almighty God preached gave much enjoyment to me. It’s probable that Almighty God is the returned Lord Jesus. They might be preaching the true way. Why not seek? If by any chance it’s the work done by the returned Lord Jesus, won’t I miss the chance of gaining God since I don’t seek? Thereupon, I prayed to God day after day, “Lord! People from the Church of Almighty God preached the gospel to me and I took enjoyment in their sermon. They saidAlmighty God is Your second coming. Without discernment, I’m afraid of walking the wrong path and departing from You, but I don’t want to miss the work of Your return, either. May You guide me!” One day, it leaped into my mind that there was a book of God’s word left to me by the sisters in the Church of Almighty God. I found it straight away and read a passage of God’s word, “Since man believes in God, he must closely follow the footsteps of God, step-by-step; he should ‘follow the Lamb wherever He goes.’ Only these are the people who seek the true way, only they are the ones who know the work of the Holy Spirit. People who slavishly follow letters and doctrines are those who have been eliminated by the work of the Holy Spirit” (“God’s Work and Man’s Practice” in The Word Appears in the Flesh). God’s words set me pondering: Believers in God must closely follow the footsteps of the Lamb, or they are probable to be eliminated at any time. The sermon from the Church of Almighty God furnished me with enjoyment. And have a look at my sister-in-law: Ever since she began to attend meetings in the Church of Almighty God, she has beendelighted every day. By comparison, she is likely to have followed the footsteps of God. At that moment, I recalled what the Bible says, “These are they which follow the Lamb wherever he goes” (Revelation 14:4). Aren’t Almighty God’s words in line with the words in the Bible? Almighty God may be really the returned Lord Jesus.

After rumination, I eventually determined on stepping forward to visit my sister-in-law. Seeing my arrival, she received me with pleasure and hospitality, saying, “Thank God indeed! Here you come. In this period of time, my brothers and sisters and I all pray for you every day.” Knowing that they cared about me so much, I felt sort of self-reproach and said embarrassedly, “There remains confusion in my mind these days and today I want to talk about it with you.” My sister-in-law smiled, “Don’t hesitate to speak out whatever you have in mind. Almighty God’s words can solve all our difficulties.” I said, “I have thought a lot these days. I think your fellowship has enlightenment, unlike that of our church, which provides no enjoyment. But I have enjoyed too much grace from the Lord Jesus. He is the One who healed me of my diseases. Isn’t it departure from the Lord Jesus if I believe in Almighty God? Doesn’t it mean I have no conscience? And I will feel sorry toward the Lord.” She fellowshiped with me, “Accepting the work of Almighty God in the last days is not departure from the Lord Jesus but following the footsteps of the Lamb. As we all know, when the Lord Jesus came to work, those who accepted Him not only didn’t betray Jehovah but kept up with God’s new work and gained Hisapproval. For the work of the Holy Spirit went to a higher stage upon the arrival of the Lord Jesus Christ, His work differed from that of the past, and He made new requirements for man. Jehovah and the Lord Jesus are one God. Just as the Lord Jesus once said, ‘I and my Father are one’ (John 10:30). God’s work is always new and never old. As the age moves forward, God’s work also rises higher with each stage, grounded on the needs of man. We’ll understand more after reading several passages of Almighty God’s words. Almighty God says, ‘It could be said that this stage of work is built on the foundation of the Age of Law and the rock of the work of Jesus. The work is built stage by stage, and this stage is not a new beginning. Only the combination of the three stages of work can be deemed the six-thousand-year management plan. … This stage of work builds entirely on the previous stage. This is why only such work can bring man to salvation stage by stage. Jesus and I come from the same Spirit. Though Our fleshes have no relationship, Our Spirits are one; though what We do and the work We bear are not the same, We are alike in essence; Our fleshes take different forms, and this is because of the change in era and the need of Our work; Our ministries are not alike, so the work We bring forth and the disposition We reveal to man are also different. That is why what man sees and receives this day is unlike that of the past; this is so because of the change in era’ (‘The Two Incarnations Complete the Significance of the Incarnation’ in The Word Appears in the Flesh). ‘Because the visions of man are unclear, and man only knows Jehovah as God, and Jesus as the Lord, and is in two minds about the God incarnate of today, many people remain devoted to the work of Jehovah and Jesus, and are beset by conceptions about the work of today, most people are always doubtful, and do not take the work of today seriously’ (‘Knowing the Three Stages of God’s Work Is the Path to Knowing God’ in The Word Appears in the Flesh). ‘The work done by God differs across periods of time. If you show great obedience in one phase, yet in the next phase show less or none at all, then God shall desert you. If you keep pace with God as He ascends this step, then you must continue to keep pace when He ascends the next. Only such men are obedient to the Holy Spirit’ (‘The Truly Obedient Shall Surely Be Gained by God’ in The Word Appears in the Flesh).”

After reading God’s words, my sister-in-law communicated, “The work of the Age of Law done by Jehovah God, the work of the Age of Grace done by the Lord Jesus and the work of the Age of Kingdom done by Almighty God at present share the same origin, though God works in different ways by different names. What’s more, each stage of work continues on from the foundation of the last. In the Age of Grace, the Lord Jesus did the work of redemption. God redeemed man from sin and no longer would man be condemned to death by the law. However, the root of man’s sin still exists, and man still lives in the circle of sinning by day and confessing by night without breaking free from the bondage of sin. God still hasn’t completely gained man. Under this circumstance, God has to do the work of removing sin and saving man from sin thoroughly. Only in this way can man eventually be taken into God’skingdom. From that we can see: No matter how God does His work, the purpose of His work is to save man. Today, it’s not ungrateful or conscienceless that we accept the work of Almighty God. Rather, we are following the Lamb’s footsteps! It’s approved by God!”

Having listened to God’s words and the fellowship of my sister-in-law, I beat my forehead and sighed, “Oh! What a fool I am! Jehovah, the Lord Jesus and Almighty God are one God. Belief in Almighty God is not departure from the Lord. I had no enjoyment when listening to sermons in our church these days. Seeing you happy every day, I really envied you at heart but I daren’t contact you, for fear of offending the Lord. I felt dark inside and had nowhere to turn. Thank God for His leadership. I fully understand that Almighty God is the returned Lord Jesus through your fellowship.” Hearing me say this, my sister-in-law smiled.

Later on, my sister-in-law taught me some hymns of the Church of Almighty God. The more I sang, the more my strength increased. I learned several hymns quickly and felt heartily glad. I was completely certain that Almighty God is the returned Lord Jesus, and vowed never to leave Him. May all the glory be to Almighty God!

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Letters I

Letters I

Su Xing

One day in 1999, my pastor said to me after a gathering, “Su Xing, here is a letter for you.” I took a look and found it was from a church that I established in Shandong Province. On my way home with that letter, I thought to myself: The letter is thick. Are they facing some difficulties?

After I went home, I could not wait to open the letter.It read, “Sister Su, peace to you in the Lord! We’re writing to tell you a piece of fantastic news: Our Savior Jesus, for whom we’ve been yearning night and day, has returned! He has returned to flesh in China and done a stage of work to purify man with the word, bringing an end to the Age of Grace and ushering in the Age of Kingdom…. We hope that you can accept God’s new work, follow His footprints, and never miss the opportunity for God to save you….” Seeing this, I thought: It’s over. So they didn’t encounter any problem, but accepted the Eastern Lightning. I was eager to know who on earth wrote it. When I turned to the last page, however, I found that all the brothers and sisters of this church had signed their names, though it was written by Brother Meng alone. I was left dumbfounded. They were so far away, and I could not go there for the moment. What should I do? In tears, I prayed to the Lord, “Oh Lord! These brothers and sisters have believed in You for a short time. They have not taken root. May you keep them….”

Then, I wrote the first rebuttal letter after studying the Bible. I wrote, “Brothers and sisters, in Jesus Christ I exhort you to be cautious and prudent. Paul said, ‘I marvel that you are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ to another gospel: Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ. But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you than that which we have preached to you, let him be accursed. As we said before, so say I now again, if any man preach any other gospel to you than that you have received, let him be accursed’ (Galatians 1:6-9). Brothers and sisters, I took painstaking efforts to bring you before the Lord, yet you actually betrayed Him so quickly. Your statures are too small. You cannot easily believe others! You must listen to me, for what I preached to you is the true way. The Lord Jesus Christ is our only Savior, so you must hold on to His name forever….” After I finished the letter of eight pages, I felt grounded, thinking: I’ve written all I should write, studied all the verses I should study, and exhorted all I should exhort. I’m sure that they will realize they’ve taken the wrong way after reading the letter, and apologize to me in their reply. Then I mailed the letter with full confidence.

Half a month later, I got the reply. The brothers and sisters said, “… Sister Su, we cannot keep silent about what we see and what we hear, for what we believe in is exactly the return of the Lord Jesus, we are holding to the true path and going forward, and we have kept up with the Lord’s footsteps instead of betraying Him. ‘I marvel that you are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ to another gospel: Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ’ (Galatians 1:6-7). These are Paul’s words, which have a background. The ‘another gospel’ in Paul’s words refers to the Pharisees asking man to keep Jehovah’s laws at that time, not the work of judgment beginning at God’s house done in the last days when the Lord Jesus returns to flesh. Today, the Lord coming to do this stage of work just fulfills the prophecy in the Book of Revelation, ‘And I saw another angel fly in the middle of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach to them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people, Saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come …’ (Revelation 14:6-7). ‘The everlasting gospel’ in Revelation refers to the work of judgment beginning with the house of God done by the second coming of the Lord Jesus. When Paul wrote that letter to the Galatian churches, there was not the Book of Revelation, let alone people who preached the kingdom gospel of God. Therefore, the ‘another gospel’ mentioned by Paul cannot possibly refer to the work of judgment beginning at God’s house that the Lord comes to do in the last days. The salvation in the last days not only fulfills the prophecy in Revelation, but has already been revealed to the Lord Jesus’ disciples by the Holy Spirit. Just as Peter said, ‘Who are kept by the power of God through faith to salvation ready to be revealed in the last time’ (1 Peter 1:5). Sister Su, are we not longing for the Lord’s return as we believe in the Lord? Now the Lord has really come back. We should be the ones who seek humbly, and never be like the Pharisees who measured God’s new work with their biblical knowledge, defined God’s work by their notions and imaginations, and at last nailed the Lord Jesus to the cross, being cursed by God. Does the lesson of the Pharisees not deserve our reflection? Moreover, Sister Su, we cannot listen to you just because you preached the gospel to us, for what we believe in is God. Peter and the other apostles once said, ‘… We ought to obey God rather than men’ (Acts 5:29). Sister Su, if we listen to you rather than God, do you think it is reasonable? You may think it over since you have believed in the Lord for so many years….”

I was rendered speechless by those words, but not won over. I hurried to take out the Reference Bible and turned to the introduction to the Book of Galatians. After reading it carefully, I was surprised, thinking: What they said is true! Why did I never notice that this verse had such a background? No wonder they were not convinced. On second thought, however, even if that was really the case, it could not prove that their preaching about the Lord’s return was true. I then read the letter through once again, getting more and more angry. I thought: You have known much more biblical verses in such a short period. That really surprises me. How dare you talk back to me with such severe words, and even say I am like the Pharisees? I hate most the Pharisees. I’ve believed in the Lord for so many years, working hard and laboring night and day for the believers. Don’t you know that? The more I thought about it, the more awful I felt. I thought to myself: No. How can I be taken down by these new believers? I’ve read the Bible so many times, and I refuse to believe that I’m unable to refute you.

So, I lifted my pen and wrote the second letter, saying, “Brothers and sisters, peace to you in the Lord! I feel so uncomfortable seeing your reply. I was not to have you listen to me, nor believe in me. You just have no understanding of my heart. I’m afraid that you have no discernment and thus turn away from the way of the Lord Jesus. For the Lord Jesus said, ‘Then if any man shall say to you, See, here is Christ, or there; believe it not. For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall show great signs and wonders; so that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect’ (Matthew 24:23-24). Paul also said, ‘Now we beseech you, brothers, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together to him, That you be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand. Let no man deceive you by any means …’ (2 Thessalonians 2:1-3). Dear brothers and sisters, I beseech you in the name of the Lord Jesus: There will be terrible times in the last days. We should memorize the Lord’s words. Do not believe any news preaching the Lord’s coming. Now various sects are springing up, so you should be very vigilant to avoid taking the wrong path and offending the Lord.”

Half a month later, they replied to me again, saying, “Sister Su, the verses you found for us are not wrong, but we should be clear about the true meaning of those words of the Lord Jesus. The Lord Jesus told us clearly: When He comes in the last days, there shall arise false Christs who perform signs and wonders to deceive man. He urged us to have discernment, but He did not say that any news preaching His coming would be false. In terms of how to distinguish the true Christ from false Christs, we copy a passage of Almighty God’s words for you, hoping that you can read it carefully. Almighty God says, ‘If, during the present day, there is to emerge a person who is able to display signs and wonders, and can cast out demons, and heal, and perform many miracles, and if this person claims that they are the coming of Jesus, then this would be the counterfeit of evil spirits, and their imitation of Jesus. Remember this! God does not repeat the same work. Jesus’ stage of work has already been completed, and God will never again undertake that stage of work’ (“Knowing God’s Work Today” in The Word Appears in the Flesh). Almighty God’s words have made it very clear that God’s work is always new and never old without any repetition, while false Christs possessed by evil spirits can only imitate the work of the Lord Jesus, such as healing and casting out demons, displaying signs and wonders. Nonetheless, however evil spirits falsely pretend, they cannot do the work of God Himself for their absence of God’s substance. Furthermore, we should not blindly deny the Lord’s return just because of the appearance of false Christs in the last days….”

Seeing those words from Almighty God they quoted, I just had no mind to read carefully or ponder, for what I cared about was whether they could turn to the Lord after seeing the verses I found for them. We went back and forth to debate, but I did not manage to persuade them; instead, they refuted me through and through. I immediately prayed to the Lord, and then laid the Bible and all spiritual books on my bed, flipping unceasingly with a view to finding evidence that could take them down. At that moment, the room was silent except for the sound of pages turning.

Unknowingly, it was night. I was tired out and sighed deeply: It does take a lot to reply to them. Then I picked up my pen and wrote the third letter to them, “Brother and sisters, having read your letter, I think you are no longer the original lovely lambs. You not only deviated from the Lord’s way, but even refused to listen to me and refuted me like that. I think what you have done has hurt the Lord’s heart. I’m grieved, too. May the Lord Jesus move you, so that you can turn around soon by perusing this letter. Amen!”

Another half month passed. I got their reply. To my disappointment, they did not turn around after my exhortation out of love, but responded in a severer tone, “Sister Su, it is true that you preached the gospel to us. We also remember how you have suffered for the Lord. However, we even more give our thanks to the Lord, for it was God who found us, the lost lambs, through you. We believe that you are only a servant in charge of watching over the flock, while the Lord Jesus is our real shepherd. Just as the Lord Jesus said, ‘I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine. As the Father knows me, even so know I the Father: and I lay down my life for the sheep. And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd. … My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: And I give to them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand’ (John 10:14-16, 27-28). God entrusts His sheep to every one who works for Him, and their duty is only to keep watch on the flock. When God comes, they are supposed to return the flock to God. Sister Su, we all know the Parable of the Wicked Tenants in the Bible, which was given by the Lord Jesus. In order to seize on the inheritance of the householder, those wicked farmers beat the servants who went to receive the fruits, and even killed the son of the householder when he was sent to them. What would the householder do to those farmers when he returned? We can absolutely not act as the wicked servants. Now God has come back, so we should give His sheep to Him. This is the sense we ought to have. You should ponder it through….”

This letter left me astounded indeed. I thought: How come they’ve understood so much in such a short time? It’s been just two years since I established this church in Shandong Province. When I left the church, they were still at the infant stage. I didn’t expect that a few months after their acceptance of the Eastern Lightning, their speech would become so forceful, nor that the biblical verses they found to refute me could be so appropriate that I just had no words to counter. At this point, I felt particularly disappointed, with a sense that these brothers and sisters were steadfast in following the Eastern Lightning. They seemed to have written me off since they did not turn around despite my exhortation out of love. I realized I was unable to have them turn back. Feeling weak and limp all over, I wrote the fourth letter in helplessness, “Have it your own way. The Bible says that what is of God will increase while what is of man will decrease, which has been acknowledged throughout the ages…. Do not write to me anymore. May you hold on to your faith and love in Jesus Christ.”

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Will the Lord Jesus Come Again in a Jewish Image?

Will the Lord Jesus Come Again in a Jewish Image?

In 1994, I accepted the gospel of the Lord Jesus. At that time, my third elder sister gave me a Bible, and we made an appointment to attend a meeting on Sunday. That day, as soon as I entered the church, a rectangular stereoscopic oil portrait of the Lord Jesus Christ came into my view: He bears the image of a Jew and wears a white robe, with long curly blond hair spilling over His shoulders, with blue eyes, a high nose, and a kindly face…. I was quite amazed and thought within: actually the God I believe in bears a Jewish image…. Due to my zealous pursuit, I became a preacher soon. On a Sabbath day, when it was my turn to give a sermon, I looked at the believers down there and said gently, “Brothers and sisters, it is because of the Lord’s great love that we poor people are chosen from different places. The Lord Jesus is full of lovingkindness and mercy, and He promised us that He would come again. Please turn to Acts 1:11, ‘Which also said, 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.’ As we all know, the Lord Jesus ascended to heaven in a Jewish image. So, when He returns, He shall still descend among His sincere believers in the image and clothes of a Jew. We must hold on to the Lord’s way firmly to welcome His return.” After hearing that, the believers all nodded in agreement. With such an expectation, I was more zealous in my pursuit and service. However, I had never seen the return of the Lord Jesus….

Later, Sister Yang, at her old age, came to our church. During my contact with her, I found she was quite spiritual. So, I often fellowshipped with her about the verses in the Bible. One day, she said to me, “I have a good news for you. The Lord Jesus has come back, and He has returned to flesh and is doing a new work in China.” I was absolutely shaken and asked, “You said that the Lord Jesus has come back and is doing a new work in China. Then, what does He look like?” She answered with a smile, “Of course He takes the image of a Chinese.” I said, “Acts 1:11 says, ‘…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.’ The Lord Jesus went away in a Jewish image, so He shall still appear to all peoples in a Jewish image when He returns. How can He come in the image of a Chinese? It’s impossible.” Sister Yang said, “As to this question, we may look back on what kind of images God took when He appeared to man. As a matter of fact, in God’s work, God never appeared to man in a fixed image. In the Age of Law, God appeared to Abraham in the image of a man (referring to Genesis 18); and He also appeared to Moses in the brambles and fire (referring to Exodus 3:1-4). In the Age of Grace, although God became flesh in the image of the Lord Jesus and did His work in Judea for several years, He didn’t ask man to memorize His Jewish image. For instance, the Lord Jesus was once transfigured before His disciples, with His face shining as the sun, which was definitely not a Jewish image; after He was nailed to the cross and resurrected, His image was not the previous image, so that the two disciples on their way to Emmaus and Mary Magdalene didn’t recognize Him. From these, we know that the image of God is beyond man’s definition. Let’s read a passage of Almighty God’s words, ‘God is the greatest in the entire universe, so could He fully explain Himself using the image of a flesh? God puts on the flesh in order to do a stage of His work. There is no significance to the image of the flesh, and it bears no relation to the passing of ages, and has nothing to do with God’s disposition. … Although the image of man was created in the image of God, how could the appearance of man represent the exalted image of God? When God becomes flesh, He merely descends from heaven into a particular flesh. His Spirit descends into a flesh, through which He does the work of the Spirit. The Spirit is expressed in the flesh, and the Spirit does His work in the flesh. The work done in the flesh fully represents the Spirit, and the flesh is for the sake of work, but that does not make the image of the flesh a substitute for the true image of God Himself; this is not the purpose and significance of God become flesh. He becomes flesh only so that the Spirit can have somewhere appropriate to reside when doing His work, so that He can 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 name represents His disposition, His work represents His identity, but He has never said that His appearance in the flesh represents His image; that is merely a notion of man. … The portrait of Jesus was painted by man so that man could worship Him. At the time, no special instructions were provided by the Holy Spirit, and so man passed the portrait on until today. In fact, according to the original intention of God, man should not have done this. It is only the zeal of man which has caused the portrait of Jesus to remain until this day. God is Spirit, and man will never be capable of summing up exactly what His image is. His image can only be represented by His disposition.’ (“The Vision of God’s Work (3)”) From Almighty God’s words, we know that God is the supreme Ruler. He is the invisible Spirit, who is formless and imageless. God can ascend to the highest place and humble Himself to be a man. No matter which image He appears in, His substance is still God Himself. When God becomes flesh to carry out His work, it is totally because of the needs of His work, not for the purpose of replacing the true image of God Himself with the image of His flesh. The appearance of His flesh can’t represent God’s disposition or God’s true identity. The image of God incarnate has nothing to do with God’s substance or God’s true image. Only from His work and word can we know God’s disposition, substance, and identity, and that God is the truth, the way, and the life. Man must not regard the appearance of God’s flesh as God’s true image or make such a conclusion that ‘God took the image of a Jew, so God will look like this forever.’ It is a blasphemy and slander against God. Whatever image God takes to do His work, it is meaningful. When God becomes flesh, He will take the image of people in the country where He does His work, for it is advantageous to people’s contact with Him and the smooth progress of His work in the flesh. For example, in the Age of Grace, God became flesh in Judea and did His work among the Jews, so He bore a Jewish image, wore the clothes of the Jews, and spoke Hebrew. In this way, it was relatively easy for the Jews to contact Him and know more about His word and work and thus receive His salvation. Similarly, God becomes flesh in China in the last days, and so He appears in the image of a Chinese and speaks Chinese. In this way, it is convenient for the chosen people of China to accept God’s work and receive the truth expressed by God. If God, when incarnated in China, still took a Jewish image and spoke Hebrew, the Chinese wouldn’t be able to understand His word, much less would they understand the truth expressed by Christ. In that case, wouldn’t God’s work of salvation yield no effects? Thus, it is so logical that wherever God becomes flesh to do His work, He will take the image of people there. But we should know that no matter which country’s people God incarnate resembles in looks, His substance is still God Himself, which is beyond all doubt. As Almighty God says, ‘Although the image God’s flesh takes in the work of today is totally different from Jesus, Their substance and origin are one after all, and They are from one source. Maybe They have many differences in Their outer shells, but the inside truth of Their works is not in the least different. After all, the ages are completely different. How could God’s works be completely the same or be contradictory to each other?’”

Hearing that, I realized such fellowship was very reasonable and irrefutable, and found the viewpoint baseless that the Lord Jesus would return in a Jewish image, which I had preached for many years…. At that time, Sister Yang continued, “No matter what image God takes, where He appears, or in which way He appears to man, God can accomplish His own work. Man shouldn’t confine God within a limited scope or within his notions and imaginations, thinking that God will surely reappear in the image of the Lord Jesus. We shall come out of our own notions and imaginations to seek and investigate the truth, and only in this way will we see the appearance of God and truly welcome the return of the Lord. Let’s read another passage of Almighty God’s words, ‘The objective of God’s appearance free from the constraints of any form or country is for Him to be able to complete the work in His plan. For example, when God became flesh in Judea, His aim was to complete the work of crucifixion to redeem all mankind. Yet the Jews believed that it was impossible for God to do this, and they thought it impossible that God could become flesh and assume the form of the Lord Jesus. Their “impossible” became the basis by which they condemned and opposed God, and ultimately led to the destruction of Israel. Today, many people have committed a similar error. They wantonly proclaim the imminent appearance of God, yet also condemn His appearance; their “impossible” once more confines the appearance of God within the limits of their imagination. … Put your conceptions to one side! Stop and carefully read these words. If you yearn for the truth, God will enlighten you to understand His will and His words. Put aside your view of “impossible”! The more that people believe something is “impossible,” the more likely it is to occur, for the wisdom of God soars higher than the heavens, God’s thoughts are higher than man’s thoughts, and the work of God transcends the limits of man’s thinking and conception. The more that something is impossible, the more there is the truth to be sought; the more that something is beyond the conception and imagination of man, the more it contains the will of God.’” Almighty God’s words shook my heart. I would no longer hold on to the notion that the Lord Jesus would return in a Jewish image….

Later, Sister Yang fellowshipped with me about several pieces of words expressed by Almighty God: The Substance of the “Flesh” God Is In, The Two Incarnations Complete the Significance of Incarnation, God Is the Lord of All Created Beings, The Age of Kingdom Is the Age of the Word, and so on. Under the unending supply of Almighty God’s word, I understand more and more truths and increasingly feel that what God has and is is so rich. Before God, man is only a handful of dust. As a created being, man can never fathom the wisdom and wonderfulness of God’s work, much less define God’s true image. So, we should seek and investigate more about God’s return to flesh.

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A Lost Man Has Returned

A Lost Man Has Returned

Xieli    United States

In order to live a life of the greatest of the great, I came to U.S. to make my way. Although I suffered a lot over years, gradually I started up a company and possessed a car and a house, living an ideal “happy” life. Meanwhile, I made some friends. In the leisure time, we ate and drank and had fun together and we got along with each other well. I thought I had a group of buddies and close friends but it turned out that they were all fair-weather friends. They were unctuously, either adulating me or flattering me, without an honest word. In sorrow and distress, I even couldn’t find one to whom I could confide. Not only that, they sought every means to plot against me and cheat me out of my money. A friend swindled the money out of me by telling a lie that his mother in Mainland China was seriously ill and then vanished without a trace. A man who was from the same region with me falsely claiming to have an investment project tricked me out of my money. Even my intimate girlfriend also betrayed me and cheated me out of my hard-earned money which took me years to save up. The fickleness of the world made me disheartened and lose the faith in life, with empty, distressed and helpless feeling. Afterward, I often ate and drank and pursued pleasure to fill the emptiness in my heart. But the temporary comfort couldn’t solve my spiritual suffering.

In autumn of 2015, I met my wife by chance who had accepted Almighty God’s work in the last days. So, she began to preach the kingdom gospel to me. I said to her, “I’m too busy to believe in God. If you’re willing to believe, just do it. It’s enough for me to believe that there’s a God in my heart.” I held such a view until one day half a year later when my wife asked me to watch the video of the Church of Almighty God The Days of Noah Have Come with her. The pictures in the video shocked me. I saw that man is very small before the disaster and that the fleshly enjoyments and fame and position man pursues are worthless and are empty in the end. In this video, I saw Almighty God’s words, “However, I must tell you that in the time of Noah, men had been eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage to such a point that it was unbearable for God to witness, so He sent down a great flood to destroy mankind and left behind only Noah’s family of eight and all kinds of birds and beasts. In the last days, however, those kept by God are all those who have been loyal to Him until the end” (“Do You Know? God Has Done a Great Thing Among Men” in The Word Appears in the Flesh). “Then look upon the present age: Such righteous men as Noah, who could worship God and shun evil, have ceased to exist. Yet God is still gracious toward this mankind, and absolves mankind during this final era. God seeks those who long for Him to appear. He seeks those who are able to hear His words, those who have not forgotten His commission and offer up their heart and body to Him. He seeks those who are as obedient as babes before Him, and do not resist Him” (“God Presides Over the Fate of All Mankind” in The Word Appears in the Flesh). I felt God’s urgent desire to save mankind in God’s words. I thought about the present age. No one loves positive things and thirsts for God’s coming. Man brims with selfishness, arrogance, deception and so on; man schemes against and outwits each other for fame and gain, desires lust and violates morals and ethics…. They are indeed more corrupt than people in Noah’s days. But God doesn’t destroy man directly because of their evil and corruption yet send down various disasters to warn them and gives them the opportunities to turn to Him. Actually, God is so tolerant and kind. I pondered God’s words and thought of the fact that the world is becoming more and more corrupt and evil and disasters are getting greater and greater. When God hurls forth His rage upon this evil mankind, position and money can’t save me. Only if I come before God will I be saved. Thinking of that, I seemed to wake up from the dream. If I lose the opportunity to be saved by God for the temporary fleshly enjoyments, won’t it be a pity? So, in May of 2016, I started to believe in Almighty God and attend meetings.

Not long after I believed in God, I happened to see the online rumors. Those words condemning and blaspheming Almighty God shocked me all at once: asking man to offer money, not observing the boundaries between men and women, etc.. As those words appeared to be precise, I couldn’t discern fact and fiction and fell into puzzlement and confusion. The enthusiasm to believe in God well was dampened by the rumors at once. At that time, I accidentally heard my mother-in-law telling my wife that she would offer money on the phone, which made me believe in the online rumors. Later, I tried to stop my mother-in-law from offering money, lest she be deceived. At the same time, I exhorted my wife not to continue her belief, for fear that she would be cheated. But, she didn’t listen to me but said to me firmly, “The fact is not as the rumors say. What you saw on the internet are rumors and false testimonies. …” She fellowshiped with me about God’s words but I couldn’t hear anything she said. Later, brothers and sisters came to my home but I wasn’t inclined to conversation with them. Those days, I lived in darkness and was on edge, fearing that my wife and her mother would be cheated, not eating well or sleeping soundly. One day, at the sight of my distress, my wife fellowshiped with me about God’s words again. She showed me some of Almighty God’s words, “What I desire is not man’s conceptions and thoughts, much less your money and belongings, but your heart. Do you understand? This is My will, and even more what I set out to gain” (“The Sixty-first Utterance” in The Word Appears in the Flesh). Immediately after that, she made me read some words in the Management Principles for the Church Life, “The Church doesn’t allow anyone to call on believers to give offerings by a special sermon about offerings or by any other reasons” (The Principles to Establish the Church and the Management Principles for the Church Life in Annals of the Fellowship and Arrangements of the Work of the Church (I)). She continued, “Believers in the Church all practice strictly according to the principles. Since I followed Almighty God, the Church has never required us to offer money. Not only that, the Church even delivers a variety of books and CDs to every true believer in God for free. Today, my mother wants to aid those brothers and sisters in difficulty with some money. It’s out of her willingness and no one forced her. Moreover, helping people in need is a good deed. Is there anything to be criticized?”

Almighty God’s words and my wife’s fellowship made me suddenly think of the fellowship given by a sister: The Church of Almighty God doesn’t accept the offerings of the new believers. Whoever attempts to give offerings must pray for several times to make sure that it is truly voluntary and he will never regret it. Only those believers are allowed to offer money. The Church will absolutely not accept the unwilling offerings. Thinking of that, my heart was relieved somewhat, but my doubt hadn’t been fully dispelled. As I frowned, my wife knew what I thought and said, “Don’t believe in those rumors. In order to disturb and destroy God’s work of saving man, Satan can speak any kind of lies and give any kind of false testimonies…. God is a holy God and He loathes man’s evil most. Those with bad reputation and those not observing boundaries between men and women in the world will not be admitted into the Church. If believers commit adultery to shame God’s name, they will be cast into hell. God’s words have made it plain.” Then, she opened the book of God’s word and read those words, “Because of the pealing of seven thunders, many people kneel down to beg for mercy and forgiveness. However, it is not the Age of Grace but the time of wrath. I will not spare or forgive anyone who does evil (one committing adultery, one being not clean in money, one not keeping boundaries between men and women, one disrupting and destroying My management, one not understanding the spirit, one being occupied by an evil spirit, etc. other than God’s chosen people). I will cast them all into Hades and they will perish forever” (“The Ninety-fourth Utterance” in The Word Appears in the Flesh). Almighty God’s words with majesty and wrath awed me. I felt that God’s righteous, holy disposition which does not allow man’s offense and that God extremely hates those who commit adultery. At that point, some of my misgivings were removed naturally. Then, my wife fellowshiped, “In the Age of Law, God revealed His majestic and wrathful disposition to man. If man committed adultery at that time, they would be stoned to death. As God intends to destroy and end this evil and licentious age in the last days, He reveals His righteous and holy disposition to man and all the filth and evil will be burnt by His wrath. Before God sends down disasters to destroy this age, He uses His word to show His intention, what kind of people He likes, what kind of people He loathes, what kind of people will be destroyed, and what kind of people will remain. Today, God calls those who can be saved into His family and uses His word to judge and purify them. Meanwhile, in light of man’s corrupt disposition, He issues the administrative decrees for them to cling to. As for two members of the opposite sex working together, there’s a strict regulation in the administrative decrees.” Then, she opened the book of God’s word and read, “Man has corrupt disposition and, moreover, he is possessed of emotions. As such, it is absolutely prohibited for two members of the opposite sex to work together when serving God. Any who are discovered doing so will be expelled, without exception—and no one is exempt” (“The Ten Administrative Decrees That Must Be Obeyed by God’s Chosen People in the Age of Kingdom” in The Word Appears in the Flesh).

After my wife finished those words, I thought of the matter happened one day in the spring of 2016. It was before my formal investigation on Almighty God’s work in the last days. I drove to another state with my wife and a sister. On the midway, my wife got off the car due to something and the sister followed her off the car. At that time, the wind was blowing and it was freezing cold. The sister stood outside the car, stomping constantly to warm herself. I asked her to get into the car but she said with a smile, “It doesn’t matter. I want to stand outside for a while.” A long time later, my wife came back and only then did the sister get into the car with her. Seeing her shiver with cold, my wife said, “It’s so cold outside. Why did you not stay in the car?” She answered, “There’s an administrative decree in our Church that two members of the opposite sex are prohibited to work together. This is God’s requirement for all His chosen people. We should observe it strictly.” Her words deeply moved me, with the feeling that this group of people were different from worldly people. Thinking of that, I couldn’t help but pat my head. In retrospect, since I engaged with the brothers and sisters in the Church of Almighty God, I had seen that they kept boundaries between men and women, spoke in a dignified and decent way, and dealt with people with a strong sense of propriety. Those rumors betray themselves before the fact. At that moment, I felt ashamed. Actually, the online rumors were all fabricated slanders and blasphemies which were careless and out of nothing. But I even harbored doubts about Almighty God and His Church on account of them. I believed in them blindly and listened to hearsay. I was really muddle-headed! My wife continued her fellowship, “This is God’s protection to man that He issued such an administrative decree. As God knows that mankind is corrupted by Satan too deeply and has no ability to overcome sins, He uses it to constrain man and makes them avoid many temptations. This is God’s love.” I nodded involuntarily. In that way, the shackles in my heart were opened and I was released from doubt, distress and depression.

So, I started to attend meetings again. When I think about this experience, I have palpitations. These rumors are really harmful. Once man is swayed by them, they will be in distress and darkness. What makes me feel very puzzled about is that: Why are these rumors on the Church of Almighty God put on the website since it is so good? Thus, in a meeting, I opened my heart to my brothers and sisters and told them my thought to seek the truth. They had me watch the gospel movie shot by the Church Break Through the Snare. It resolved all my doubts. What’s more, I had a clearer understanding after the fellowship by my brothers and sisters. It’s Satan’s constant ploy to use rumors to disturb and destroy God’s work. When the Lord Jesus worked, to control God’s people forever, the Jewish religious leaders—the chief priests, scribes and Pharisees crafted many rumors about the Lord Jesus. They blasphemed and framed the Lord Jesus, by saying that He drove out demons by the prince of the devils and that He perverted the nation and forbade to give tribute to Caesar. They gave a false testimony that His body was stolen by His disciples and He was not resurrected, and so on. If there had been the internet, I think those religious leaders would upload the rumors and false testimonies about the Lord Jesus to the internet to judge, attack, condemn and blaspheme Him. Rumor is the great hindrance to man’s acceptance of the true way. Deceived by the rumors, the Israelites didn’t acknowledge that the Lord Jesus is Messiah and thus lost God’s salvation. Today, in the Age of Kingdom, Almighty God comes to do the work of judging and purifying man with the word. The Chinese government and the religious pastors and elders acted as Satan’s tools. For the purpose of caging and controlling man, they unrestrainedly created rumors and gave false testimonies on the Church of Almighty God to smear it. Satan is too evil and contemptible!

Following that, my brothers and sisters read God’s words for me, “On earth, all manner of evil spirits are endlessly on the prowl for a place to rest, are ceaselessly searching for the corpses of men to eat up” (“The Tenth Utterance” of God’s Utterances to the Entire Universe in The Word Appears in the Flesh). “Satan is constantly devouring the knowledge that men hold of Me in their hearts, and constantly, with teeth bared and claws unsheathed, engaged in the last throes of its death struggle. Do you wish to be captured by its deceitful stratagems at this moment? Do you wish, at the moment that the last phase of My work is completed, to cut off your own life?” (“The Sixth Utterance” of God’s Utterances to the Entire Universe in The Word Appears in the Flesh). Almighty God’s words tell us the truth of the spiritual war. It turns out that these rumors are Satan’s schemes to devour man. If man believes in those rumors, they will eventually lose the opportunity to be saved by God and will perish and be destroyed with Satan. Thank God for His leadership. The Church’s gospel movie and my brothers and sisters’ fellowship and help caused me to see Satan’s evilness and contemptibleness more clearly. Then, I was enlightened and was at ease within. I set up my mind to follow Almighty God and walk the way to salvation. After following Almighty God, I get the true freedom and release. As I experience more, I see that there’s plenty of love and help among brothers and sisters, and that everyone pursues to be an honest person according to Almighty God’s requirements and doesn’t need to worry or fear that they will be fixed, cheated, and harmed. I have felt the true happiness in the Church of Almighty God, which is the life I have always desired.

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