Knock, and It Shall Be Opened to You I

Knock, and It Shall Be Opened to You I

Zheng Dao

In 1989, I accepted the gospel of the Lord Jesus with my mother. After I believed in the Lord, I often attended meetings and read the Bible, and so I came to know that God created the heavens and earth and all things in them. At that time, our preachers told us, “Whatever difficulties you face, just ask the Lord to help you, for He said, ‘Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and you shall find; knock, and it shall be opened to you: For every one that asks receives; and he that seeks finds; and to him that knocks it shall be opened’ (Matthew 7:7-8). So when we have difficulties, the Lord will speak to us through the Bible if we pray to Him.” Since then, I committed to the Lord everything, whether important events in my life or matters of daily living. The Lord really listened to my prayers and fulfilled everything I had prayed for. So I regarded the Bible as precious all the more, and I took it with me wherever I went, almost unable to be separated from it.

One Sunday in September, 1997, I came to the meeting as usual. Our preacher, an elderly sister, said, “Thank the Lord for His grace in enabling us brothers and sisters to gather before His throne today. I believe that God will give us the rich supply of His living water of life according to what we lack. I invited these two young sisters to fellowship with us today. If you have any questions, please feel free to ask them.” I had been deeply admiring the elderly sister, for she began to believe in the Lord at the age of 18, and she wore out three copies of the Bible during fifty years. But that day she unexpectedly invited two sisters over 20 to give messages. “How many days have they believed in God?” I belittled them in my heart, but I didn’t say anything, for they were invited by the elderly sister. As I was fond of singing, when the young sisters taught us to sing a hymn “A River of Water of Life” composed from Revelation 22:1-5, I felt it was fresh and beautiful, and so my heart became somewhat calm.

Then they taught us to sing a new song “Almighty God Has Appeared in the East of the World.” I felt it was very good too, lively as well as dynamic, and more inspiring than the hymns we had sung before. At the time I was no longer prejudiced against them so much. Suddenly, one of them said that God had personally opened the little scroll and started a stage of work to judge and purify man upon the foundation of the Bible. With that she put the Bible aside and took out a copy of The Scroll Opened by the Lamb. At the sight of that, my thoughts were in a tumult: They are believers in God, but they put the Bible aside. This is absolutely wrong. How can a believer in the Lord not read the Bible? Our senior preacher has worn out three copies of the Bible during her several decades of belief in God. The Bible is the basis of our belief in God. We shall never abandon it! Just when I was about to refute them, I saw the elderly sister frequently nodding her approval of what they said. So I bit the words back, thinking, “Since the elderly sister approves of them, I’m afraid, I can’t confute them by my little knowledge of the Bible; if I try, that will embarrass me. It is better for me to talk with the elderly sister after they leave, and I will tell her it is absolutely wrong to depart from the Bible, for it is written: ‘All scripture is given by inspiration of God …’ (2 Timothy 3:16). Since the Bible is given by inspiration of God, it represents the will of God. Whether we keep to the Bible is an important matter that concerns whether we will be blessed or cursed in the future. We mustn’t be careless in it and be misled by these two young sisters.” I was alarmed and nervous and rather disturbed throughout the meeting. At last the meeting was over. When I looked at the elderly sister, I felt that she seemed to very much approve of what the young sisters had fellowshiped about, for she still looked steady and joyful. So I couldn’t but murmur in my heart, “Why did you keep silent? How could you just allow them to preach those things outside the Bible? Are you still a good steward of the Lord? …”

On my way home, the more I thought about that, the more anxious I became. “I have read the Bible for nearly ten years, but now they asked us to put the Bible aside, and the elderly sister seemed not to mind it at all. Is this according to what the Lord required of us? Now most brothers and sisters in the church have accepted the words of Almighty God. If I refuse, will I miss the opportunity to welcome the return of the Lord?” Then I thought, “I cannot accept the words of Almighty God and put the Bible aside as they did. Then what shall I do?” Confused and worried, I felt as if the path under my feet had become uneven. I came home in a fluster.

Seeing uneasiness on my face, my husband asked me, “Why do you look restless? Is there anything bothering you?” I said anxiously, “Well, you can hardly imagine it. Today two young sisters came to our church and gave messages, and they said that the Lord Jesus has returned and opened the little scroll. Look, this is the book they gave me. They said it is the new word of God, and told us to read it—The Scroll Opened by the Lamb—from now on. As you know, we have been reading and studying the Bible throughout the many years of our belief in the Lord. The Bible has benefited us greatly. We should never give it up.” My husband said with surprise, “Oh? Can there be such a thing?” He thought for a while and said, “I think what you said is right. We should have a conscience toward the Lord, and as a believer in God, we should not depart from the Bible.” His affirmative answer strengthened my faith to hold to the Bible.

In the evening, I knelt before the Bible and prayed to the Lord with eagerness and asked Him to guard His sheep from being stolen. In the days that followed, I still read the Bible. On Sunday, I went to the gathering place early with the Bible. I also put the book The Scroll Opened by the Lamb into my bag, for I did not know how to treat it and wanted to know what the elderly sister and the others thought about it. When I saw the elderly sister, I poured out my opinion about it. At my words, she smiled a calm smile and said, “My young sister, this is indeed not a small matter. We don’t know what will be the consequences if we jump to conclusions. Pray much with an earnest heart before the Lord, and I believe that the Lord will enlighten and illuminate us to understand His will.” (I knew later on that she had begun to examine the way two weeks earlier than that and was convinced that it is the true way.) Little had I expected that she would say such words, but judging by her attitude, she seemed to have reached the final conclusion on this matter. At night, I tossed about in bed, unable to fall asleep. I thought, “The elderly sister has believed in God for many years, and she is a person of discernment. When there was confusion in the Three-Self Church and the religious leaders persecuted her and pushed her aside, she found out the will of God through prayer and determinedly gave up her position and joined the house church. I admire her for what she did, and I believe that she would not jump to conclusions this time without praying and seeking. But the book The Scroll Opened by the Lamb goes beyond the Bible. This is by no means right. O Lord, what shall I do?” At that moment, I thought of the elderly sister’s exhortation to me, so I knelt down before the Lord and prayed to Him, “The gracious Lord Jesus Christ, the Author and Perfecter of our faith, now all my brothers and sisters read The Scroll Opened by the Lamb, and they said it is Your new word. Throughout many years, none of the believers in You have ever departed from the Bible, but the Bible verses are not fellowshiped about in the meetings now. How should I believe in You? O Lord, may You give me directions, for You are a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. I am waiting for You to guide me.”

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God’s love – The Hymn “Pure and Unblemished Love” Has Brought Me to Almighty God

God’s love – The Hymn “Pure and Unblemished Love” Has Brought Me to Almighty God

I was a preacher in a house church. In 1999, because of the church’s desolation, I had nothing to preach and was dry in spirit, much less could I supply brothers and sisters. On a co-worker meeting, almost everyone put forward the problem of how to resolve the church’s desolation. At that time, Sister Wang, who was a preacher, said with a serious expression, “We are in the same situation: Believers are generally weak in spirit. The basic reason is that we have nothing to supply brothers and sisters.” Hearing this, we all felt reproached, and I couldn’t help saying, “I’m so indebted to the Lord.” Then, I turned to Sister Wang and asked her, “Do you know any place holding meetings for co-worker training recently? If we go out and listen more, maybe we can receive some supply and can water brothers and sisters.” Pondering for a while, Sister Wang said, “You remind me that last night, the church leader in a certain County called to tell me they would hold a meeting for training young co-workers, and it would last about one month. Who wants to take part in it?” On hearing the news, I was overjoyed and replied at once, “Me! Maybe it can solve my puzzles and the problems in church.” Because the other co-workers were tied up with their family affairs, they recommended me to attend it as a representative. Seeing the expectation in their eyes, I felt a sense of responsibility. I thought, “Since they have no time for the meeting, I’ll go.” Therefore, I said to them, “All right, I’ll go myself.”

The next day, I took a train to the destination to take part in the co-worker training meeting. On the train, I was full of expectation, hoping the training could help me find out the cause of the church’s desolation. But when I arrived at the meeting place and saw that in such a spacious place there were only 38 brothers and sisters present at the meeting, I could not help but feel a little bleak. During the meeting, the preacher gave us a sermon about “Tenet,” the content of which included God’s creation, the origin of man’s sin, Jesus’ redemption, the return of Jesus Christ, etc. When it came to Jesus’ redemption, Sister Li, who was in charge of teaching hymns in that local church, picked up a piece of chalk and wrote on the blackboard the lyrics of a hymn “Pure and Unblemished Love,” which our hymn book didn’t include:

Refrain: “Love” means a pure and unblemished affection, to love with the heart, and to feel with the heart, and to care with the heart; in “love” there is no condition, no barrier, and no distance; in “love” there is no suspicion, and in “love” there is no cheat, no dealing, and no cunning; in “love” there is no choice and in “love” there is not any mixture.

1. If you have such love, you will not cheat, will not complain, will not betray, will not disobey, will not demand, and will not seek to receive anything or care how much you receive. If you have love, you will be willing to consecrate.

2. If you have such love, you will be willing to suffer and cooperate with God, will give up your all for God, will give up your family and future for God, will give up your youth for God, and will give up your marriage for God. Otherwise, your love is not love but cheat and betrayal!

(from “Pure and Unblemished Love” in The Hymns of God’s Word in Follow the Lamb and Sing New Songs)

After writing it down, Sister Li gave some explanation about the content of this hymn, “What does love mean? It means that God loves us so much that He bestowed His only begotten son to us. God’s love is unblemished. Then, what should we do to repay the Lord’s love? That is to care for the Lord’s will with the heart and honesty. Brothers and sisters, are the lyrics good?” The brothers and sisters answered in chorus with gladness, “Good!” Sister Li went on, “Brothers and sisters, this is a hymn from the Eastern Lightning. Its lyrics are pretty good and touching and can stir up our love for the Lord. However, it is heard that the message they preach has gone beyond the Bible. We should believe in the Lord according to the Bible. Only the Bible is the foundation of our faith. Yet the good points in their church, we should absorb.” With the words, she continued teaching us that hymn, and the brothers and sisters all sang along with her and took some notes. When hearing the hymn, I found the lyrics were really amazing, and I thought, “How can ‘love’ be defined so well? It is for man to love with the heart, feel with the heart, and care with the heart. It is higher and more practical than what is said in the Bible: ‘Charity suffers long.’ Now we only have some superficial good behavior, but in fact, brothers and sisters still live in sin, often having jealousy and strife. As the hymn says, ‘in “love” there is no condition, no barrier, and no distance; in “love” there is no suspicion, and in “love” there is no cheat, no dealing, and no cunning; in “love” there is no choice and in “love” there is not any mixture.’ The love God says is for us to love with the heart, rather than have some good behavior externally.” At that moment, I had some enjoyment in spirit, and thought, “A hymn of the Eastern Lightning alone can even touch our heart and awaken our spirit. What do they preach every day? I really want to hear the message they preach….”

A month later, the commonplace training finally ended. I went back to our church and had a meeting with the co-workers. A sister asked me, “Sister Hemiao, tell us quickly what you heard when you attended the meeting. We are very thirsty in spirit.” I said with a reluctant smile, “Thank the Lord! The content of this training was Tenet, which was the same as before. I put forward the problem in our church, but that leader didn’t solve it. He just asked us to wait patiently and rely on the great power of the Lord.” After hearing this, the brothers and sisters all wore a worried face and sighed in sadness. Looking at their listless manner, I thought of the hymn and said excitedly, “But I have a big unexpected harvest. I’ve learned a hymn, which is very good.” On hearing that, they cheered up again and asked urgently, “Which hymn? Teach us quickly.” And then I sang with emotion, “‘Love’ means a pure and unblemished affection, to love with the heart, and to feel with the heart, and to care with the heart; in ‘love’ there is no condition, no barrier, and no distance; in ‘love’ there is no suspicion, and in ‘love’ there is no cheat, no dealing, and no cunning; in ‘love’ there is no choice and in ‘love’ there is not any mixture. …” (from “Pure and Unblemished Love” in Follow the Lamb and Sing New Songs) Once I finished singing, Sister Zhang said enthusiastically, “Ah, the hymn is really very good. It feels fresh.” Sister Zheng said with a smile, “Love is interpreted so specifically in the lyrics. It can’t be written by someone ordinary. It shows us the way. If we can really love with the heart, there will be no barrier or intrigue among us.” Sister He continued, “This hymn truly moves me. In this moment, there is no more sorrow and worry in my heart. Quickly, please teach us.” I was very excited at seeing the brothers and sisters vigorous in spirit again. It seemed we had come back to the time when the church was flourishing and to the joyful atmosphere in which the Lord was with us. I taught them the hymn twice carefully, and the brothers and sisters learnt it soon. After that, Sister He asked, “The hymn is truly good. Why is it not in our hymn book?” I said smilingly, “This hymn is from the Eastern Lightning.” They were all astounded and said, “How can this be the hymn of the Eastern Lightning?” One sister suddenly changed her face, and asked me seriously, “Hemiao, did you listen to the message of the Eastern Lightning?” On hearing that, I replied solemnly, “What’s wrong with the Eastern Lightning? Now we are dry in spirit and have no message to preach. Yet one hymn of theirs stirs up our faith. It must be of benefit to reviving our church if we can listen to the message of the Eastern Lightning. Sisters, we should not reject it and be on guard blindly.” Before I finished my words, Sister Wang’s face suddenly clouded over and she questioned me with an angry face, “So you heard the message of the Eastern Lightning.” I responded sternly, “I’d like to listen, but I only learnt one hymn. You all sang with enthusiasm and felt that you had the way just now, didn’t you? The One we believe in is the true God. Since we have the truth, what shall we fear?” At that time, Sister Zhang urged, “Quick, stop arguing. Let’s copy the lyrics down quickly.” After hearing what she said, everyone stopped arguing and copied the lyrics while singing.

In the autumn of 2000, I heard that Sister Tian, who had believed in the Lord for many years and pursued actively, was converted to the Eastern Lightning. I thought, “What on earth does the Eastern Lightning preach? It can even have attracted Sister Tian, who had believed in the Lord for more than 30 years and had a solid foundation in believing in God. O Lord, what exactly is this denomination? When can I listen to their message?” Thereafter, every time I passed by the housing estate where Sister Tian lived, I would get off my bike and walk while pushing it slowly. For I didn’t know her specific apartment address, and I hoped I would meet and ask her what the Eastern Lightning preached, and whether there was something attractive which made her so resolute. However, I never met her.

Finally, in 2002, I met brothers and sisters who preached the gospel of the last days. They fellowshipped with me about the causes of the churches’ desolation, “On the one hand, pastors and elders carry out their own ideas without walking in the Lord’s ways, only focus on preaching theological knowledge and Bible doctrines, and walk the Pharisees’ path stubbornly. As a result, they are detested and rejected by God and lose the working of the Holy Spirit. On the other hand, God has done a new work, and He is Almighty God, the returned Lord Jesus. Almighty God, built on the Lord Jesus’ redemptive work, does a work of judging and purifying man with His word, and thereby thoroughly takes people out of the condition of committing and confessing sins and then brings purified people into His kingdom. Only those who accept God’s new work and keep pace with God’s footprints can receive the work of the Holy Spirit and get the supply and watering of living water. However, those who fail to follow God’s new work and who reject and resist God’s new work lose the work of the Holy Spirit, living in the hungry and thirsty situation and becoming more and more desolate and dry. Almighty God says, ‘God will accomplish this fact: All the people of the entire universe will come to meet God and worship the God on earth. God’s work in all other places will cease and people will be forced to search for the true way. It will be as with Joseph. Everyone went to him to get things to eat and bowed down to him, because he had food to eat. To avoid famine people will be forced to search for the true way. The entire religious world will suffer a severe famine. Only today’s God is the fountain of living water and has an ever-flowing spring for people to enjoy. All people will turn to Him.’ (from ‘The Millennial Kingdom Has Arrived’ in The Word Appears in the Flesh) ‘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.’ (from ‘Is the Work of God So Simple as Man Imagines?’ in The Word Appears in the Flesh)” One sister said, “God has reclaimed the work of the Holy Spirit throughout the universe and worked on those who have accepted His work of the last days, making these people receive the watering of living water and be satisfied in their spirit. The religious world, not keeping up with God’s work, is dry in spirit and has no message to preach. Only those who accept the judgment of the last days from the returned Lord Jesus, Almighty God, are the ones to be saved and brought into the kingdom in the end. If one rejects the judgment, chastisement, purification, and salvation of Almighty God’s words, he will be cast away and eliminated forever without further association with God’s kingdom. This has long been predestined by God, which no one can change.” Hearing the brothers’ and sisters’ fellowship, I was clear as if the fog were dispelled and the blue sky showed, and the question that had puzzled me for years was solved.

After several days of fellowship with the brothers and sisters from the Church of Almighty God, I knew the truth concerning the three stages of God’s work, God’s incarnation, the differences between God’s work and man’s work, how Satan corrupts man, how God saves man and so on. I realized that the Eastern Lightning was the returned Lord Jesus I had long thirsted for, and that the hymn “Pure and Unblemished Love,” which touched and attracted my heart, was exactly the truth expressed by Almighty God. When I sang the hymn with the brothers and sisters, I was quite moved in my heart, and I offered a thanksgiving prayer to God in my heart silently, “Thank Almighty God! Thank You for bringing me to You by this hymn. You are my Lord, my God! I’m willing to follow You all my life!”

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Can We Meet the Return of the Lord by Following Blindly?

Can We Meet the Return of the Lord by Following Blindly?

One day, I read a small story: An old man and a kid led a donkey to a fair. At first, the kid rode the donkey, while the old man walked. Then, passers-by saw them and said the kid was naive and that he should let the old man ride the donkey. So the kid dismounted and let the old man ride it. Later on, they encountered a person who said the old man was too selfish to ride the donkey alone. Thus they rode it together. After a while, some people met them and commented that they were cruel for they would exhaust the donkey. For this reason, they got off it and walked the donkey. Again, another passing person said they were silly for they didn’t ride the available donkey. They did not know whom they should listen to. Finally, they pushed the donkey into a well and had nothing left.

I’m deeply affected by this story. People, who have no definite views of their own, think that each statement sounds reasonable and lack the ability to discern. At last, they harm themselves. This reminds me that many people are incapable of distinguishing anything by themselves or thinking for themselves concerning the return of the Lord. They believe whatever pastors and elders say, such as “God’s work and words are all in the Bible, and departure from the Bible is heresy,” “Who comes without riding on a white cloud is not the Lord Jesus,” “When God returns, pastors and elders must be revealed first,” “We believe in the Lord Jesus and have been saved, so we will be raptured into the kingdom of heaven directly when God returns,” “It is impossible that God’s incarnate flesh is female,” “God could not possibly carry out His work in China,” “The word of Almighty God is the voice of God, but people of the Church of Almighty God may cut off others’ ears and gouge out their eyes.” Moreover, they have never discerned but only believed the rumors crafted by CCP about the Church of Almighty God. Deceived by the religious pastors and elders and the CCP, people dare not investigate the true way. Finally, their chances for salvation are ruined.

Almighty God says: “Those who do not understand the truth always follow others: If people say that this is the work of the Holy Spirit, then you, too, say it is the work of the Holy Spirit; if people say it is the work of an evil spirit, then you, too, become doubtful, or also say it is the work of an evil spirit. You always parrot the words of others, and are incapable of distinguishing anything by yourself, nor are you able to think for yourself. This is someone without a position, who is unable to differentiate—such a person is a worthless wretch! Such people always repeat the words of others: Today it is said that this is the work of the Holy Spirit, but chances are one day someone will say it isn’t the work of the Holy Spirit, and nothing but the deeds of man—yet you can’t see through this, and when you witness it said by others, you say the same thing. It is actually the work of the Holy Spirit, but you say it is the work of man; have you not become one of those who blaspheme against the work of the Holy Spirit? In this, have you not opposed God because you cannot differentiate?” (“Only Those Who Know God and His Work Can Satisfy God” in The Word Appears in the Flesh).

From God’s words, we see that those who are without the truth are incapable of differentiating. Thus they have no definite views of their own and always follow and listen to others. However, as long as they have yearning, seeking hearts, God will enlighten them to understand the truth and they will receive God’s salvation. As it is said in the Bible, Nathanael and the Samaritan woman recognized the Lord Jesus is Christ from His words and then followed Him. So how should we welcome the return of the Lord today? Revelation 2:7 says, “He that has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit said to the churches.” Today, Almighty God’s words have shown us the way. He says: “As such, since we are searching for the footprints of God, we must search for God’s will, for the words of God, for the utterances of God—for where there are the new words of God, there is the voice of God, and where there are the footsteps of God, there are the deeds of God. Where there is the expression of God, there is the appearance of God, and where there is the appearance of God, there exists the truth, the way, and the life. While seeking the footprints of God, you ignored the words that ‘God is the truth, the way, and the life.’ So when many people receive the truth, they do not believe that they have found the footprints of God and much less acknowledge the appearance of God. What a serious error that is!” (“The Appearance of God Has Brought a New Age” in The Word Appears in the Flesh).

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Letters II

Letters II

Su Xing

Since I rejected God’s kingdom gospel preached by the brothers and sisters from the church in Shandong Province, my spiritual circumstances had gotten ever worse. Meanwhile, my pastors and elders framed me and excluded me from the church in order to fight for the church offerings. I felt extreme pain, and had no idea of what course to take. I often went to the bank of a big river, and sang the song in tears “Lord, You Are My Most Intimate Friend” to the river. I expected the Lord to come soon, saving me from this miserable situation….

Half a year passed. One day, I heard my mother-in-law calling my name from the outside when I was cooking lunch. I made a response, and then saw her come in followed by a quiet, slim, young woman. My mother-in-law said, “This young sister comes here for you. She could not find you according to the address at her hands, so she went to your church, and was then referred to your former neighbor by a sister in your church who didn’t know your new address. The neighbor told me that this young sister was very eager to see you. I guessed she might have something very important to tell you, so I took her here at once.” I looked her up and down, thinking: Who is she? It’s like I didn’t know her. On seeing me, however, the young sister hurried to me and held my hands, saying excitedly, “So you’re Sister Su Xing! I finally found you.” Disorientated by her action, I looked at her with confusion, asking, “Who are you? It seems that I didn’t see you before.” She replied with emotion, “Sister, my family name is Wang. It was Brother Meng and Sister Zhao who introduced you to us. They wrote a letter to our church, the Church of Almighty God in the northeastern region, urging us to do everything we could to find you. They’re too busy to come here personally, so they told us to preach God’s kingdom gospel to you face to face. This letter had been transferred many times before reaching our church. I’ve asked around, finally finding your home….” With that, the young sister was choked up, and passed the letter to me. I took it and saw the following, “Sister Su Xing truly believes in the Lord. Please make sure to find her and preach God’s kingdom gospel to her….” Looking at this letter, I felt a wave of warmth in my heart with tears involuntarily falling. My mother-in-law was also moved, and said, “Thanks be to God! This truly is God’s love!” Then I said to Sister Wang warmly, “Come in, sister.” Her sincerity and kindness really impressed me, and I was not at all defensive.

After lunch, I fetched my co-worker Sister Zhang. Hearing we were going to have a fellowship, my husband decided to join us instead of going to work. Sister Wang asked me with concern, “Sister, Brother Meng mentioned in the letter that they had written many times to you preaching God’s kingdom gospel, but you didn’t accept it. Do you have some misgivings inside? If you have any difficulties, you may bring them up, and we can fellowship together.”

I said, “Since you say that, I’ll speak frankly. I do have some misgivings after reading their letters. Now we are in the last days when various false Christs and prophets have emerged, so we should be quite watchful. Besides, every Sunday our pastors and elders read chapter 24, verses 23-24 of the Gospel of Matthew: 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.’ They strictly forbid us to listen to sermons elsewhere or contact strangers in case we get deceived and take the wrong way. In that case, our belief will end up in vain.” Sister Zhang, my mother-in-law and husband all expressed the same misgivings.

Then Sister Wang patiently communicated with us the truth of how to distinguish the true Christ from false Christs, and read a passage of God’s words for us.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. … In the conceptions of man, God must always display signs and wonders, must always heal and cast out demons, and must always be just like Jesus, yet this time God is not like that at all. If, during the last days, God still displayed signs and wonders, and still cast out demons and healed—if He did exactly the same as Jesus—then God would be repeating the same work, and the work of Jesus would have no significance or value. Thus, God carries out one stage of work in every age. Once each stage of His work has been completed, it is soon imitated by evil spirits, and after Satan begins to follow on the heels of God, God changes to a different method; once God has completed a stage of His work, it is imitated by evil spirits. You must be clear about these things” (“Knowing God’s Work Today”). After reading God’s words, Sister Wang fellowshiped, “From Almighty God’s words, we can see that God has a principle in His work, that is, He never repeats the same work and His work is always new and never old with each stage. For example, in the Age of Law, the work of Jehovah was to guide man’s life on earth with the laws. In the Age of Grace, when the Lord Jesus came, He did not repeat the work of Jehovah, but instead did a new stage of work and made new requirements for man, like confessing and repenting, loving their neighbors, forbearing and forgiving each other, worshiping God in spirit and in truth, and so on. Moreover, He bestowed abundant grace upon man, healed the sick and cast out demons. In the last days, when Christ comes again, He will not repeat the Lord Jesus’ work in the Age of Grace, that is, healing and driving out demons, and performing signs and wonders. Rather, He does a stage of work to judge and purify man with the word. These things can be seen clearly from Almighty God’s words. False Christs do not possess God’s substance and thus are unable to do the work of God Himself. In order to interrupt God’s management, they imitate the work of the Lord Jesus and display miracles to deceive God’s chosen people and destroy God’s work in the new age. As such, during the last days, if we see someone heal and cast out demons, perform signs and wonders, and even proclaim themselves to be the return of Christ, they are definitely the false Christs. Now we must have been clear about why the Lord Jesus told us, ‘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).”

After listening to Sister Wang’s fellowship, I put my hand on my breast, keeping pondering in my heart: Oh Lord! I’ve been claiming to guard against false Christs all day long, but actually I have no idea of how to discern them. If I only guard against false Christs, and thus even reject the true Christ, won’t I miss Your salvation? When I thought about this likely consequence, I felt that I had reached a low point. I could no longer stay there at ease, so I went to the kitchen with an excuse to get some water and tried to calm down. While pouring the water, I thought: I did not expect that such a young sister could fellowship so well. These words are just like a timely rain, watering my thirsty spirit. So God has really come back to do a new work! Then I recalled the scenes of me writing to my brothers and sisters in Shandong Province: I lifted my pen and lectured them in an arrogant tone. I thought that I was striving to defend the true way, yet in reality I was resisting God. Was I not one of the Pharisees of modern times? At that point, I was limp and weak from head to toe, and my hands were shivering in spite of myself, as if a bucket of cold water had been poured on me. The content of the letters kept replaying in my mind like a movie. I had an unrelenting sense that I had overstepped the mark. Thinking of this, I lost control and could not stop the tears from flowing down my face. After a moment, I wiped my tears and went back to the room.

Sister Wang looked at me, and said concernedly, “Sister, how do you feel about what we fellowshiped just now?”

I replied with a sigh, “Your fellowship leaves me deeply reproached. I long for the Lord’s coming every day. However, I didn’t think that when the Lord came, I would actually act like the Pharisees. I’ve committed a heinous sin.” At that time, I was already choked with tears.

After investigating Almighty God’s words for some time, Sister Zhang, my mother-in-law, my husband and I all ascertained that Almighty God is precisely the returned Lord Jesus. Feeling exhilarated, I stood by the mailbox and sent the fifth letter to my brothers and sisters in Shandong Province, and my heart was as if flying there together with the letter, “Dear brothers and sisters, thank God for having you preach God’s kingdom gospel to me time and again. Now I’ve accepted Almighty God’s work in the last days and joined the Church of Almighty God. Though I accepted it later than you, I don’t want to lag behind you. I will do my best to catch you up….”

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Can Man Define Where God Appears?Yikao, Hunan Province

Can Man Define Where God Appears?Yikao, Hunan Province

One day, in a Bible study meeting, I had a debate with several brothers and sisters because of our different opinions about the Lord’s appearance. I believed that the Lord would appear on the Mount of Olives in Israel when He returned, for the Bible says: “And his feet shall stand in that day on the mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east” (Zechariah 14:4). Israel was the birthplace of God’s work, so the Lord would still descend in Israel when He returned in the last days. As long as we paid close attention to any signs in Israel, we would surely be able to welcome the Lord’s appearance. While a sister raised a query, “Now all sorts of disasters have frequently occurred, and the prophecies of the Lord’s return have already been fulfilled. If the Lord really appears in Israel when He returns, we should have welcomed Him early on. However, we still haven’t met the Lord though we have earnestly expected His return for many years. I feel perhaps the Lord has appeared elsewhere.” At her words, I was just about to refute her, when a brother butted in, “I agree with her. As Matthew 24:27 says, ‘For as the lightning comes out of the east, and shines even to the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.’ I wonder whether it means the Lord’s return is like lightning, coming from the East to the West. If this is true, then it’s very possible that the Lord will first appear in some country in the East!” Other people also played along, “Their words make sense!” “Yes! No wonder we haven’t met the Lord’s return, regardless of how we have focused on Israel. …” At that moment, the brothers and sisters were still discussing about this matter, but I no longer had the heart to participate in it.

That night, the sky was darkly clouded, and I lay awake tossing and turning. When I recalled the words the brothers and sisters said during the day, I fell into confusion. Both prophecies speak of the place where the Lord will appear: One is on the Mount of Olives in Israel, and the other in the East. Why is that? Where on earth will the Lord appear? And how should we welcome the Lord’s appearance? Pondering over these problems, I felt very puzzled …

Several days later, one of my friends came to visit me. When I poured out my confusion to him, he fellowshiped, “The wisdom of God soars higher than the heavens, and God’s thoughts are far higher than our human’s thoughts. How can we freely define where God will appear based on the words in the Bible? In the beginning, when the Lord Jesus came to do His work, didn’t the Pharisees define the Lord Jesus’ new work in accordance with God’s previous work just because they didn’t know the work of the Holy Spirit, and obstinately adhered to the rules and letters of the Old Testament? The Bible records, ‘At that time Jesus went on the sabbath day through the corn; and his disciples were an hungered, and began to pluck the ears of corn and to eat. But when the Pharisees saw it, they said to him, Behold, your disciples do that which is not lawful to do on the sabbath day. But he said to them, Have you not read what David did, when he was an hungered, and they that were with him; How he entered into the house of God, and did eat the show bread, which was not lawful for him to eat, neither for them which were with him, but only for the priests? Or have you not read in the law, how that on the sabbath days the priests in the temple profane the sabbath, and are blameless? But I say to you, That in this place is one greater than the temple. But if you had known what this means, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice, you would not have condemned the guiltless. For the Son of man is Lord even of the sabbath day’ (Matthew 12:1-8). From these verses it can be seen that when the Lord Jesus came to do His work, He didn’t work within the temple according to the law of that time, but worked outside of it with His disciples on the Sabbath, and His disciples even plucked the ears of corn to eat. When the Pharisees accused them of not keeping the Sabbath, the Lord Jesus didn’t rebuke His disciples for not observing the Old Testament; on the contrary, He refuted the Pharisees with the fact that David ate the show bread in the temple when he got hungry. Here, the Lord Jesus also clearly told us ‘That in this place is one greater than the temple,’ ‘For the Son of man is Lord even of the sabbath day.’ From Jesus’ work and His words, we can see that the Lord Jesus wants us to know God is the Master of all things, and He is the God of all creation. He is not restricted by geography, by space, or by people, events, or things. The work brought by Him completely exceeded the Old Testament, exceeded the old laws and rules, and even more exceeded people’s thinking. Those disciples and other people who put aside their own conceptions to follow the Lord Jesus gained the Lord’s blessings and grace; while the Pharisees who lived under the laws and rules of the Old Testament didn’t give up their old notions, delimited God within the words in the Bible, and eventually became the ones of eternal guilt defying God, and were thus eliminated by God’s work. Likewise, if we believe that God’s return will most certainly be on the Mount of Olives in Israel, aren’t we keeping obstinately to the rules and letters of the Bible, defining and resisting God by our notions?”

His words suddenly opened up my minds: Right. At that time the Pharisees adhered to the Old Testament, defined the Lord’s work, and became those who served God yet resisted Him, and eventually suffered God’s punishment. So if I define that the Lord’s return will surely be on the Mount of Olives in Israel, am I not committing the same mistake as the Pharisees? Looking back, since the prophecies of the Lord’s return have already been fulfilled, why have I not witnessed His appearance? Maybe I’m really wrong. I shouldn’t define God’s appearance this way. If I really miss the Lord’s return, then the result … I didn’t dare to think further. Afterward, my friend left me a book before leaving, and said that the words in the book unraveled all mysteries we had never known before, and could relieve all confusion about belief in God.

After he left, I opened up the book, and a passage of words caught my eye: “The appearance of God cannot be reconciled with the conceptions of man, much less can God appear at the behest of man. God makes His own choices and has His own plans when He does His work; moreover, He has His own objectives, and His own methods. It is not necessary for Him to discuss the work He does with man or to seek the advice of man, much less notify each and every person of His work. This is the disposition of God and, moreover, should be recognized by everyone. If you desire to witness the appearance of God, if you wish to follow the footprints of God, then you must first transcend your own conceptions. You must not demand that God do this or that, much less should you place Him within your own confines and limit Him to your own conceptions. Instead, you should ask how you should seek the footprints of God, how you should accept the appearance of God, and how you should submit to the new work of God; that is what should be done by man. Since man is not the truth, and is not possessed of the truth, man should seek, accept, and obey”. As I contemplated this passage, I understood it a little better: God is the Creator, and we are created beings. No matter where God reveals Himself, where He chooses to work, or in what manner He does His work, all of this is up to God Himself, not us humans. God has His precise plans, and no one can fathom them or has any right to interfere, which is determined by God’s disposition. So if we want to seek the true appearance of God, we must put aside all of our imaginations and notions, maintain a heart of yearning for and seeking the truth, and submit to God’s work and His words. Then we can behold God’s appearance. As the Bible says: “Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:3).

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