Breaking Out of the Cocoon II

Unexpectedly, my husband found that I went to the meetings of the Church of Almighty God, and he told it to my father. One evening, when I was upstairs, I suddenly heard noises down in the yard. I opened the curtains and looked out, only to find that my father had burst into the yard angrily with four or five co-workers in his church, the sight of which brought me out in a cold sweat. My heart thudded, and I immediately knelt down on the floor and cried out to God for help, “O Almighty God! My father comes again to disturb me with some people in religion. I am timid and afraid. O God! You know I am of little stature. May You give me faith and courage….” Then God’s words suddenly occurred to me: “You should have My courage within you. Hold to the principles before your unbelieving relatives as well. But for My sake you should not yield to any force of darkness. Walk in the perfect way by My wisdom. Don’t let Satan’s schemes succeed. Lay your heart before Me as best you can, and I will comfort you and fill your heart with peace and joy” (“The Tenth Utterance” in The Word Appears in the Flesh). God’s words gave me strength. As I had God’s words in my heart, I was no longer timid and fearful. I thought, “No matter how they disturb me, I will never again let myself be fooled by Satan and deceived by them. It is heaven’s law and earth’s principle for me to believe in and follow God; no one has the right to interfere in it, not even my most loved ones.” So, I went downstairs composedly and greeted them. They all started speaking. A co-worker, looking with wonder at me, said, “Fangfang, I never expected that an intelligent person like you would believe in the Eastern Lightning. It is a false way! You’d better repent before the Lord Jesus….” I said with calmness, “You have never listened to the messages of the Eastern Lightning, nor have you ever read the words of Almighty God; how can you say that the way I put my faith in is a false way?” She said, “We don’t dare to read that book. It is terribly fascinating. If anyone reads it, he will be fascinated by it.” I said, “The words of Almighty God can convince people because they are God’s words and are the truth. Only God’s words have such authority and power.” But they spoke many blasphemies, and they also asked me to go to their leader to confess my sin and repent. They said that if I didn’t do so, I would be cast into hell and be judged. I said firmly, “I have attended the meetings of the Church of Almighty God and seen clearly that your defamation of it is totally groundless. There is no truth in your slander and rumor! If you cannot give proof, it shows that you are all liars, deceivers from Satan. Now the kingdom gospel of Almighty God has spread all over the China mainland, known to every household, and there are several millions of people who have accepted it. But there are also some people who hate the truth, and they have rejected the gospel. Isn’t it because of your disturbance that my youngest sister and I dared not believe in Almighty God anymore in the beginning? Aren’t we both safe and sound now? So you are telling lies and cheating people! Today I am dead set on believing in Almighty God. Don’t try to stop me since you refuse to believe. It is none of your business whether my soul will go to heaven or be cast into hell. Moreover, my fate is controlled by God’s hands, not determined by any man. Don’t come to disturb me anymore.” At that point, my father stood up and threatened me, saying, “If you insist on believing in Almighty God, I will break with you.”

When I heard such cruel words, I felt somewhat hurt, thinking, “You don’t seek or examine the true way, but listen to whatever your leader said. You choose to believe the rumors and lies made up by him rather than to believe me. You brought so many people to disturb and attack me and even said to break with me in front of them.” The more I thought about it, the sadder I felt. At that moment, these words of God came to my mind: “God created this world and brought man, a living being unto which He bestowed life, into it. In turn, man came to have parents and kin and was no longer alone. Ever since man first laid eyes on this material world, he was destined to exist within the ordination of God. It is the breath of life from God that supports each living being throughout his growth into adulthood. During this process, none believes that he lives and grows up under the care of God. Rather, man holds that he grows up under the love and care of his parents, and that his growth is governed by the instinct of life. This is because man knows not who bestowed life or from whence it came, much less how the instinct of life creates miracles” (“God Is the Source of Man’s Life” in The Word Appears in the Flesh). These words of God made me understand: Although my flesh was born of my parents, my life came from God. Had God not bestowed life upon me, my flesh would be an entity of corruption and a walking corpse. It is because of the care and keeping of God that I have survived until today; without God’s care and keeping, I would have long been devoured by Satan. Today I should repay God, not my parents. Although I have a physical relationship with my parents, we are incompatible in the spirit, for their essence is one of resistance to God. I should not join in their opposition to God, but should stand on God’s side. Even if my father disowns me, I should follow God to the end and stand firm in my testimony to God. So I said to my father, “Dad, in belief in God, I must obey God rather than man, and I can’t act by my emotion. If what you say corresponds to the truth and God’s will, I will obey you; if you want me to betray God, that’s impossible!” When they saw I was so determined, they shook their heads and stood up, and went away in dejection. Seeing the sorry figure they cut, I could not but shout for joy in my heart, “O God, You are so almighty! It is Your words that have given me the faith and courage to shame and defeat Satan thoroughly.”

Though the people in religion stopped coming to disturb me, my parents, instigated by their leader, often came to my home to persuade me, insisting that I should go to their leader and repent before him. One day, they came again. They attempted to mislead me with some Bible verses but failed. And then my mother wept uncontrollably, beseeching me to quickly go to their leader and repent before him. Looking at her tearful face, I felt distressed in my heart. “She lost her mother when she was three. Her stepmother ill-treated her, and she suffered a lot. Now she is getting old, but, instead of fulfilling my filial duty to her, I made her worry so much about me.” Thinking of this, I turned to my father and saw him looking at me with expectant eyes. My heart ached, and tears welled up in my eyes. But at that moment, these words of God occurred to my mind: “In every step of work that God does within people, externally it appears to be interactions between people, as if born of human arrangements, or from human interference. But behind the scenes, every step of work, and everything that happens, is a wager made by Satan before God, and requires people to stand firm in their testimony to God. Take when Job was tried, for example: Behind the scenes, Satan was making a bet with God, and what happened to Job was the deeds of men, and the interference of men. Behind every step that God does in you is Satan’s wager with God—behind it all is a battle” (“Only Loving God Is Truly Believing in God” in The Word Appears in the Flesh). God’s words made me realize that on the surface I was confronted with my parents’ interference, but behind that was Satan’s wager with God in the spiritual realm: Satan attempted to deceive me using my emotions, to make me take pity on my parents, stand on their side, and obey them and thus deny and betray God. I must see through Satan’s trick, and should not grieve or disappoint God. I must stand on God’s side firmly and never betray God. So regardless of what they said and how hard they tried to persuade me, my heart remained unshaken. They had no choice but to leave in low spirits.

Afterward, as I didn’t go to my former leader to repent, he asked my father to announce to all the believers that I was expelled from the church, and he also told my parents to draw a clear line with me. Because of the interference of my former leader and my parents, my husband began to persecute me frenziedly. Every time after I came back home from performing my duty, he would curse or beat me, shut me out of the house, or break my electric scooter or my bicycle. Once he even sent me to the local police station. I was worn out and pined away with such tortures from him. The people of our village also ridiculed and slandered me. Faced with such adverse environments, I felt very weak within, thinking that believing in God was too difficult. I was at a loss how to walk the way ahead. Many a time I knelt down before God and prayed tearfully to ask Him to give me faith and strength.

Later, I saw these words of God: “The ‘overcomers’ that God speaks of are those, who, under the siege and influence of Satan, that is, under the forces of darkness, still stand witness and maintain their original faith and their loyalty to God. Regardless of anything else, your chaste heart remains steadfast before God, and your true love of God stays unchanging. This means that you stand witness before God, and you are the ‘overcomer’ of which God speaks. When God blesses you, you pursue well. When God does not bless you, you draw back. Is this chastity? Since you are certain this is the true way, you should walk to the end and keep your loyalty to God. Since you see that God has come to earth to personally perfect you, you should give your heart to Him completely. No matter what God does—He may give you a bad outcome in the end—you can still follow Him. This means that you have kept your chastity before God” (“You Ought to Maintain Your Devotion to God” in The Word Appears in the Flesh).

From God’s words, I came to understand: In the last days, God will make a group of overcomers, and His followers therefore have to undergo many temptations both great and small from Satan. They have to actually experience the persecution from the CCP, the disturbance of the religious world, the rejection of their relatives, and the ridicule and insults of the worldly people. Those who can obey God and be faithful to God and do not betray God in any environment, who can stand firm in his testimony to God, will be the overcomers made by God. They will also be the ones who will receive God’s promises and survive the great disasters. Today God has arranged such environments in order to make me perfect and to see whether I will have a complaining heart, whether I have faith in God, and whether I am one who truly believes and obeys God. After I was clear about God’s will, I made a resolution before God: No matter what persecution or tribulation I may encounter, I will fulfill the duty of a creature to satisfy God. Although Satan frantically hindered and disturbed me, in an attempt to force me to deny and betray God, I prayed and looked to God at every time and equipped myself with God’s words every day. So God opened up a way out for me, which allowed me to see God’s almightiness and wondrous deeds. The more my husband persecuted me, the more God disciplined him. Later he didn’t dare to beat me or break my bike anymore. So my faith in God became greater.

One year later, I went to my youngest sister’s company with Sister Zhang to preach God’s work of the last days to her again, and she accepted it. When I saw her accepting the book of God’s word with both hands, I thought, “It is really difficult for God to save man!” At that moment, my tears streamed down my face uncontrollably, and I kept giving thanks and praises to God in my heart. In 2006, my youngest sister and I went to my younger sister to preach the gospel to her, and she also accepted it. After that, we brought several other relatives of ours to Almighty God as well. This allowed me to see that no matter how desperately the religious leaders try to hinder God’s work, it is to no avail. No force of Satan can halt God’s footsteps, and all God’s sheep will surely recognize His voice and return to Him. Just as Almighty God says: “The kingdom is expanding in humanity’s midst, it is forming in humanity’s midst, it is standing up in humanity’s midst; there is no force that can destroy My kingdom” (“The Nineteenth Utterance” of God’s Utterances to the Entire Universe in The Word Appears in the Flesh).

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Breaking Out of the Cocoon I

Fangfang

My whole family believed in the Lord in the Head Covering Church. I was an ordinary believer, and my father was a junior leader. In February 2004, I accepted Almighty God’s work of the last days, and then I took Sister Zhang of the Church of Almighty God to preach the kingdom gospel to my youngest sister. I had planned to preach it to my father after I equipped myself with enough words of God. But unexpectedly, he soon learned that I had accepted the kingdom gospel, and started to disturb me frantically.

One late afternoon, my father rushed to my house and said to me angrily, “I never expected that you would believe in the Eastern Lightning. You’ve taken the wrong way. … Go to the church quickly and repent before the leader, and ask the Lord Jesus to forgive your sin.” I said, “Dad, I’m not on the wrong way. I have read many of Almighty God’s words and recognized they are truly God’s voice. Almighty God is exactly the returned Lord Jesus. The Age of Grace has passed. Now is the Age of Kingdom, and God has come to do new work. Doesn’t the Bible say, ‘These are they which follow the Lamb wherever he goes’ (Revelation 14:4)? I have kept pace with the Lord’s footsteps….” Whatever I said, however, my father just wouldn’t listen. He insisted on me going to the leader to explain myself, and my husband stood beside him stoking the tension. I thought to myself, “It seems that my father won’t be satisfied until I go to the church.” I prayed in my heart, asking God to protect me. Then my husband drove me together with my father to a meeting place on his instructions. About sixty or seventy people were there, including my youngest sister, who was brought there by her mother-in-law. A senior leader came to my sister and me, spoke many blasphemies against Almighty God and slandered His Church. His words, so horrible, hit me like a ton of bricks and sent a chill down my spine. I got confused and thought, “I haven’t attended meetings for a few years, and I’m certainly ill-informed. Since the leader is a servant of the Lord who shepherds the church, he is unlikely to cheat us. Have I really been deceived?” Finally, my father and my sister’s mother-in-law forced my sister and me to close our eyes and asked the leader to pray for the Lord Jesus to forgive our sin. While the leader was praying, my sister and I didn’t pray and remained silent. …

After I returned home that evening, I considered the words of the leader and recalled the days of my contact with Sister Zhang, who was not at all like what the leader said. I also turned over the words of Almighty God in my mind, feeling that they indeed couldn’t be spoken by man. The positive and negative thoughts kept recurring to me, and I tossed and turned in bed, unable to fall asleep. When I got up next morning, I felt dazed and distressed. I didn’t feel like eating breakfast and had no heart to do anything. Owing to my poor sleep the night before, I got into bed after lunch, and my youngest sister came when I had just lain down. She said, “We’ve been deceived. We are believing in a wrong way. So just back out.” I said, “I have read through The Scroll Opened by the Lamb several times. The word of Almighty God is indeed God’s voice, and Almighty God is really the Lord Jesus we’ve been yearning for. I don’t think we are on the wrong path.” Then my sister left as she couldn’t persuade me. I thought, “It is absolutely true that Almighty God is the returned Lord Jesus. But what explains those things the leader said about the Eastern Lightning?” While I was thinking of this, my husband told me that my father called and asked me to go to meet him at once. I knew he would interfere with me again, so I didn’t want to go, but my husband pushed me into his car forcefully. When I got to my parents’ home, I found my youngest sister and her mother-in-law were also there. Upon seeing me, my father said sulkily, “… Yesterday evening the leader prayed to the Lord Jesus for the forgiveness of your sin, but you haven’t confessed and repented for your own. Today you are invited here to pray and fully repent before the Lord and promise Him that you will no longer believe in Almighty God. Only in this way will the Lord forgive your sin.” I thought to myself, “I’ve kept up with God’s work by accepting Almighty God. What sin have I committed?” I refused to pray and repent. Then my father, my sister’s mother-in-law, and my mother all jumped at me. They also exaggerated those dreadful rumors about the Eastern Lightning and slandered and blasphemed Almighty God. My head was already groggy due to the poor sleep in the night, and their threats left it even more so. I felt tired out, and gradually didn’t know my own mind. I thought, “It seems that if I don’t make a prayer of repentance, they simply won’t give over. Their continuous disturbance is just killing me. Oh! I’d better continue to believe in the Lord Jesus lest I suffer this.” When they saw I still didn’t pray, they assailed me again and even forced my sister and me to close our eyes and pray and repent. Facing their aggressive behavior, I couldn’t restrain my tears any longer. I closed my eyes and prayed to the Lord Jesus in tears, “O Lord Jesus! I know Almighty God is You who have come back, but now I don’t dare to believe in Almighty God. I beg You to pardon me and forgive my sin …” I choked and couldn’t go on. After the prayer, I suddenly felt so weak that I didn’t have any strength or faith within. I said to my sister, “Before I prayed, I still had some strength, but after the prayer, I felt all my strength was gone abruptly, as if the Holy Spirit forsook me. Actually, Almighty God is our longed-for Lord Jesus. We shouldn’t have prayed and repented; that is betraying God.”

Although I had prayed the prayer of repentance, in my heart the struggle never stopped. I thought, “I have read so many words from Almighty God, and I am certain they are the utterances of God and that the Lord Jesus has truly come back. If I reject Almighty God, I will not only miss the salvation but even be condemned by the Lord. But if I insist on believing in Almighty God, the leader and my parents won’t let me go, and I won’t have a peaceful life.” I was also afraid that the rumors my parents and the leader spread about the Eastern Lightning were true. I was terribly upset and in a quandary about what to do, and my head ringing. I really couldn’t bear it and my nerves were almost in shreds. I said to myself, “I might as well return the book of God’s word and the hymn book to Sister Zhang when she comes next time, and then I will be free from such pain and trouble.”

A few days later, Sister Zhang came to water me at my shop. I was nervous, dreading that my husband would see her and tell it to my father. I poured out to her all that had happened to me during those few days, and then quickly took out the book of God’s word and the hymn book from under the goods and gave them to her, saying, “Sister, the disturbance of my parents and husband and the rumors they spread about the Eastern Lightning have torn my hair out and overwhelmed me. It’s better for me to continue my belief in the Lord Jesus. Take away the books, please.” Sister Zhang said to me earnestly, “Sister, each time God carries out His work, the religious leaders use rumors to deceive and control God’s chosen people and oppose God’s work. At that time when the Lord Jesus worked, the Jewish chief priests, the scribes, and the Pharisees used the rumors to deceive people. They said that the Lord Jesus drove out demons by Beelzebub, the prince of the devils, and was a glutton and drunkard. After the Lord Jesus was resurrected, they bought off the soldiers and asked them to spread the word that His body had been stolen by His disciples. Their very purpose was to prevent the Jews from coming before the Lord Jesus. Similarly, today the religious leaders purposely use the rumors to deceive and control people, prevent the believers from receiving God’s salvation, and disturb and impair God’s work. Your parents and husband disturbed you because of the rumors spread by the leader, and they are victims too….” I knew what Sister Zhang said was all true, but I hung back and didn’t dare to keep the books in case my father kicked up turmoil at my home. Seeing me in a dilemma, Sister Zhang gave me a phone number and said, “All right, sister, I’ll take the books away and keep them for you. When you want to read them, call me, and I will bring them back to you right away.” I agreed and walked her to the door. Then my husband came bowling over and pointed at Sister Zhang shouting, “Go away quickly with the books. Never come again, or I won’t be easy on you!” Sister Zhang left with the books reluctantly. Looking at her receding figure, I felt an inexplicable poignancy.

I had imagined that after I returned the books, I could resume my former peaceful life since my father wouldn’t come to disturb me. But, on the contrary, I felt a nameless emptiness inside and didn’t have a clue how to deal with things properly. God’s words and the hymns recurred to me now and then, and the leader’s words and the scenes of my father and others disturbing and besieging me also often flashed in my mind. I struggled in agony, as if I had fallen into an abyss and were unable to climb out of it no matter how hard I tried. I was in a daze all day, my head almost splitting. I had no appetite, slept badly and couldn’t bear the mental stress, so that I wasted away. In agony, I thought of praying. I knelt down and called out to God, “The only true God who created the heavens and earth and all things, I’m suffering terribly in my heart and feel perplexed now. I know Almighty God is the returned Lord Jesus, but my stature is too small, and I am timid and fearful at the thought of my father and others’ disturbance and siege. O God, I am at a crossroads, not knowing what course to take. I ask You to guide and lead me….” During prayer, I unknowingly thought of God’s words: “Do not fear this or that. No matter how many difficulties and dangers there are, you should be stable before Me and not be hindered by anything, letting My will be carried out smoothly. … Remove your fear. I am your rear guard, so who can block the way? Remember! Remember!” (“The Tenth Utterance” in The Word Appears in the Flesh). These words of God gave me strength. “That’s right! With God as my rear guard, what do I have to fear? Since I am certain that this is the true way, I should not be restrained by anyone; I should break through the forces of darkness and follow God unflinchingly.” Thinking of this, I immediately took out Sister Zhang’s phone number from the drawer and called her. She agreed to bring the books to me at a certain place.

After I got the books back, I read God’s words and sang hymns with avidity when my husband was out. The more I read, the more I felt gratified, and the more I sang, the more I felt joyful. I was very happy. My former faith returned to me, and my distress disappeared completely. Three months later, Sister Zhang took me to the meetings of the Church of Almighty God.

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Breaking Through Encirclements II

Then my wife let the two sisters know that Brother Guan had come and spoken something. Sister Zhang asked me what I thought when I came face-to-face with this matter. Then I told her my weakness in my heart and my understanding a moment ago. She smiled and said, “Thanks be to God! Your understanding is pure. This is God’s guidance to you.” My wife said in disbelief, “Given that we don’t take the wrong way, why did Brother Guan say that? He is a great leader who has believed in the Lord for many years.” I looked at her and said, “Oh, he just wanted us to return to the former church.” Sister Zhang said to us with a smile, “All that we see today is their external appearance. But we haven’t seen through their nature and essence. The Lord Jesus once said, ‘But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for you shut up the kingdom of heaven against men: for you neither go in yourselves, neither suffer you them that are entering to go in’ (Matthew 23:13). And ‘Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for you are like to white washed sepulchers, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men’s bones, and of all uncleanness’ (Matthew 23:27). Externally, the Pharisees served God with loyalty. However, when the Lord Jesus came to do His work, their nature in resisting God was revealed. They wildly opposed and condemned the work of the Lord Jesus, releasing various fallacies to deceive the Jewish people, and using many sorts of methods to hinder people from seeking and investigating the true way. Their intent and purpose was to ban God’s work and appropriate God’s chosen people forever. Let’s take a look at what are the differences between religious leaders nowadays and them.” Then she asked me to read some text of Almighty God’s word, “Those who read the Bible in grand churches recite the Bible every day, yet not one understands the purpose of God’s work. Not one is able to know God; moreover, not one is in accord with the heart of God. They are all worthless, vile men, each standing on high to teach God. Though they brandish the name of God, they willfully oppose Him. Though they label themselves believers of God, they are ones who eat the flesh and drink the blood of man. All such men are devils who devour the soul of man, demons who purposefully disturb those who try to step onto the right path, and stumbling blocks that impede the path of those who seek God. Though they are of ‘robust flesh,’ how are their followers to know that they are antichrists who lead man in opposition to God? How are they to know that they are living devils who specially seek souls to devour?” (“All Who Do Not Know God Are Those Who Oppose God” in The Word Appears in the Flesh). Through God’s words and the sister’s fellowship, I came to understand in my heart that the reason these leaders persistently disturbed and obstructed our belief in Almighty God was because they were antichrists in nature who opposed God. God wishes to save us today, but they did everything they could to drag us into hell. If their substance had not been revealed by God’s words, I had nearly been cheated by them. At that time, my wife said in surprise, “It turns out they came to harm us. Well, they won’t stop until they drag man to hell. From today forward, I won’t believe in their words.”

Then Sister Mu read another passage of God’s words for us, “In every step of work that God does within people, externally it appears to be interactions between people, as if born of human arrangements, or from human interference. But behind the scenes, every step of work, and everything that happens, is a wager made by Satan before God, and requires people to stand firm in their testimony to God. Take when Job was tried, for example: Behind the scenes, Satan was making a bet with God, and what happened to Job was the deeds of men, and the interference of men. Behind every step that God does in you is Satan’s wager with God—behind it all is a battle” (“Only Loving God Is Truly Believing in God” in The Word Appears in the Flesh). Sister Zhang fellowshiped, “From God’s words, we see that when anything crops up, externally it appears to be the deeds of men. In fact, Satan is making a bet with God behind the scenes. For instance, when Satan tempted Job, although his wife advised him to curse Jehovah God, he penetrated Satan’s deception and stood witness for God by his confidence in Him. Moreover, he reprimanded his wife that she was a foolish woman. Through Job’s experience, we should know that, for each man that God looks upon with favor and wants to save, Satan will test and disturb him frenziedly, as well as attack him by all sorts of methods so as to cause him to forsake and betray God, losing the chance of salvation finally.”

Sister Mu also fellowshiped, “Right. Satan used these leaders to attack and threaten you over and over again, that was meant to cause you to deny God and betray Him and forsake the true way, which is exactly Satan’s plot. We must see clearly the battle in the spiritual realm.” After hearing the two sisters’ communication, I thought it over and said, “Actually, Satan is making a wager with God. Satan attacked our weakness through the words of these leaders with the intention of letting us forsake the true way and leave God out of timidness. Satan is too insidious.” My wife added, “Satan is purely evil! If it were not for God’s words and your fellowship, how could we know it is Satan’s trick?” I said happily, “Since we have learned about it, we should break through Satan’s encirclement by depending on God, stand witness for Him and take practical action to shame Satan.” Sister Zhang was also pleased to say, “Brother, sister, shall we get together to communicate about God’s words more in the future? It is only through this way that we can equip ourselves with more truths and be confident in God’s work in the last days soon.” I responded, “Great. How much better it would be if you could come to communicate with us every day.” Sister Mu said with smile, “Then this is it.”

One morning several days later, when I got up and went to the window, I found everything outside covered in heavy snow, and could not help rubbing my hands. Then I put on my lambskin hat and cotton gloves, went straight to the courtyard, and began to sweep the snow to the gate. After the snow removal, I walked into the room, lighted the coal stove and made the fire burn up, while my wife was cleaning our home. Just at that moment, my brother-in-law came with his wife. His wife said impatiently as soon as she got indoors, “How could you behave like that? Leader Wang and Co-worker Guan have spoken so much to you; why did you not listen to them? Today they especially asked us to come and advise you against believing in the Eastern Lightning. This shows that they take care of our life.” Hearing her words, I firmly said, “If they were really responsible for our life, they should lead us to investigate the work of Almighty God and meet the return of the Lord.” My wife then said frankly, “How could they possibly do us a good turn? They only fear that we won’t listen to them after believing in Almighty God.” Upon hearing this, the wife of my brother-in-law said in an irritable voice, “What makes you say so? Actually, they simply ask you to return to the church, nothing else. Just take my advice. With our relationship, never will I harm you.” My brother-in-law added, “Think about how we treated you these years. Don’t you cherish our kinship just for believing in Almighty God? Do you know how much we have given to you? Do you have the heart to separate yourselves from us now? Does your conscience allow you to do so?” After hearing what they said, I felt awful sorry, thinking: The couple indeed helped us a lot. They must be particularly bitter right now. What would I do? Anyway, they will absolutely not make me give up the true way, for I’m sure that Almighty God is the coming of the Lord Jesus. But how will they see me if I insist on believing in Almighty God? Will they say I am ungrateful? At that point, there was a seesaw battle in my heart, making me feel miserable. I silently prayed for God to give me a way out. Suddenly, one of God’s phrases came across my mind, “Everything that happens to people is when God needs them to stand firm in their testimony to Him” (“Only Loving God Is Truly Believing in God” in The Word Appears in the Flesh). Then I thought back to the communications of Sister Zhang and Sister Mu a few days ago. Whenever we are faced with something, it bears a relationship to the spiritual battle, that is, Satan is making a bet with God and we should stand firm in our testimony to God. Thinking about this, my heart suddenly brightened. I said, “Brother, sister, I understand you are doing for our good. Just for this reason, I even more need to tell you that Almighty God is the very return of the Lord Jesus. Only when we keep pace with the work of Almighty God in the last days can we be saved by God. How about I read a passage of God’s words for you? You will know whether it is the utterance from the return of the Lord Jesus.” Then I took up the book of God’s words to read, but my sister-in-law suddenly got to her feet, saying gruffly, “We come here to persuade you. You don’t turn back but preach the gospel to us. We won’t listen to you.” With this said, she left in anger holding her husband’s hand.

Behind them, I went out to close the door. Then I walked to the courtyard and saw the sky had cleared up. With the beautiful sunlight shining on the pines outside the courtyard, the snow on the trees began to melt. The pines seemed to have just undergone a baptism, looking exceptionally green tall and straight in sharp relief against the snow-covered ground. I felt very glad in my heart and knew it was God’s word that led me to break through the encirclement and stand firm in my testimony. I give thanks to Almighty God! All the glory goes to Him!

The End.

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Breaking Through Encirclements I

Zhao Gang

The northeastern China was freezing cold in November. The snow even did not melt when it touched the ground. Hunched and tucking their hands under the armpits because of cold, many pedestrians walked forward with caution. One morning, with the northwesterly wind howling, there were me, my brother-in-law and his wife, and more than a dozen brothers and sisters in my home, sitting on the warm kang. Every one of us was holding a book titled Judgment Begins With the House of God, with the Bible laid alongside. Two sisters from the Church of Almighty God were communicating with us about the truth of the three stages of God’s work. While drawing the picture of the three stages of God’s work they fellowshiped, “God’s work is from the Age of Law to the Age of Grace, and then to the Age of Kingdom, rising higher and deeper with each stage. During the last stage God expresses His words to judge, chastise and purify man….” I listened and nodded. My heart was so enlightened: It turns out that there are many mysteries about God’s management plan to save mankind. Who can illustrate them so clearly other than God Himself? So it must be the work of the true God. At the sunset of the next day, we all agreed to seek and investigate Almighty God’s work in the last days.

Later, they two communicated about the truth concerning the significance of God’s incarnation. As we were listening with keen attention, our church leader, Wang Ping, dropped by suddenly. She pointed at the two sisters from the Church of Almighty God the moment she stepped in and asked me, “What are they doing here?” I replied frankly, “They are Sister Zhang and Sister Mu….” Before I could finish my words, she became flustered, saying, “Sister Zhang? Sister Mu? I think they are just the preachers of the Eastern Lightning, just thieves of stealing sheep, just robbers….” What she said totally shocked everyone present. I thought: Sister Wang Ping always talks about loving your neighbor as yourself and loving your enemies. How could she make such far-fetched remarks just after entering the room and even judge and condemn the two sisters? As I thought of this, I heard Sister Zhang calmly talk to Wang Ping, “Sister, today we come only for preaching the gospel of the Lord’s return to you, nothing else….” But Wang Ping interrupted her, saying, “The Lord has come back? The leaders like me don’t even know; how could you know it? That’s impossible. The Lord Jesus has said, ‘All that ever came before me are thieves and robbers: but the sheep did not hear them’ (John 10:8). You two get away immediately and never set foot here again.” Hearing Wang Ping’s words, I felt an aversion to her. How could she have no compassion? Then I said to her, “Sister Wang, it’s so late today. How could you let them go? The Lord taught us to even love our enemies, not to mention the two sisters who are also believers in God. If we treat them like that, do we still count as believers in God? …” Wang Ping became angry before I could get my words out. She pulled the hand of my brother-in-law’s wife and said to them, “Zhao Gang doesn’t tell them to go away, then let’s go. Stop listening to them.” Then, she left in a rage with the couple.

After they left, Sister Mu asked us, “Brothers and sisters, what do you think about what just happened? Let’s talk about it.” They all glanced over their shoulders and looked at me, without saying a word. I said directly, “Through reading Almighty God’s words and listening to your fellowship in these two days, I can recognize that the words of Almighty God are all the truth and He is the second coming of the Lord Jesus. But there is something in what Wang Ping said. She is our leader after all. She has believed in the Lord for years, knows the Bible very well and has always run around and spent for the Lord. When the Lord comes back, she should have known it first.” Sister Zhang replied graciously, “Brothers and sisters, man has the notion that the Lord should first give revelation to the leaders when He comes again and then make it known to ordinary believers. Does this conception accord with the truth or the fact? Let’s recall the time that the Lord Jesus came to do His work. Those Jewish Pharisees believed that when the Messiah came, He would surely appear to them first. However, they never would have thought in a million years that the Lord Jesus did not inform them first when He came. Rather, He first let the fisher men and the tax collectors whom people looked down upon hear the gospel. This shows us that God does not give revelations to the leaders alone and He also enlightens those ordinary believers who follow Him. For God is righteous and absolutely impartial toward all men. The people that bring God joy are those who are good-hearted and who long for and seek the truth. God will enlighten and guide this type of people regardless of whether they have status. Just as the Lord Jesus said, ‘Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled’ (Matthew 5:6) and ‘Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God’ (Matthew 5:8). As long as man yearns after the truth, God will enlighten and lead him to come before Him. If any leader claims to be given revelation first when the Lord comes back, his nature is too arrogant. Just as Almighty God says, ‘And so I say that those who have “seen through” God and His work are ineffectual, they are all arrogant and ignorant. Man should not define the work of God; moreover, man cannot define the work of God. In the eyes of God, man is smaller than an ant, so how can man fathom God’s work? Those who are constantly saying, “God does not work in this or that way” or “God is like this or that”—are they not all arrogant?’ (Preface to The Word Appears in the Flesh). From God’s words, we can see that His almightiness and wisdom are unfathomable. Man is only a tiny creature with limited mind and intellect. How can he then fathom the work of the Creator? Therefore, we should maintain a heart of reverence on the matter of waiting for the Lord’s second coming and seek and investigate it carefully. We should not casually define or judge God by our notions and imaginations, which will offend God’s disposition.” Hearing her fellowship, I realized that man is so insignificant before God, even less than an ant. Moreover, corrupted by Satan, full of arrogant corrupt disposition, man always defines God according to his notions and imaginations. And when God’s work conflicts with the conceptions of man, man will even deny and condemn God. It turns out that man dares to do anything without the knowledge of the truth or the heart that fears God. It is really too dangerous. I then thought that the Lord Jesus once said, “I thank you, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hid these things from the wise and prudent, and have revealed them to babes. Even so, Father: for so it seemed good in your sight” (Matthew 11:25-26). I now finally saw that it was indeed the fact. Sister Zhang’s fellowship made me realize that the viewpoint that the Lord should give revelation to leaders first when He comes back was wrong and ridiculous. Meanwhile, I have gained a new knowledge of God’s fairness and righteousness.

The next morning after Sister Zhang and Sister Mu left, Brother Guan, who was the high-level co-worker of our church, came to my home. He asked me, “Brother Zhao, I heard that you had accepted the Eastern Lightning.” I said seriously, “Yes, I have. Because from Almighty God’s words I come to understand many truths I did not understand before, such as the mystery of God’s three stages of work, the significance of God’s incarnation and so on. From them I see that Almighty God’s words are indeed what the Spirit said to the churches prophesied in Revelation.” He cast a glance at me, saying, “Brother Zhao, do you just convert to their belief? Do you know who they are?” I replied, “I think they are quite humane, and their communication of the truth is clear and illuminating. What they talked about were the truths regarding God’s work. I have gained a lot these two days.” He said angrily, “Why are you so stubborn? It is said in Hebrews 6:6-8, ‘If they shall fall away, to renew them again to repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame. For the earth which drinks in the rain that comes oft on it, and brings forth herbs meet for them by whom it is dressed, receives blessing from God: But that which bears thorns and briers is rejected, and is near to cursing; whose end is to be burned.’ As a preacher, you have enjoyed so much grace from the Lord. Instead of leading brothers and sisters to believe in the Lord properly, you actually led them to leave the church. Aren’t you afraid of being punished? If you still don’t turn around, you will lose the Lord’s keeping. Your good life will be over, your former illness will recur and your two children won’t find good jobs….”

After Brother Guan went away, I became a little uncertain, thinking: What he said seems somewhat reasonable. I have believed in Almighty God; what if I lose the Lord’s grace? Thinking of this, I had some weakness in my heart. So I quickly knelt down and prayed to God: “Almighty God! Brother Guan’s words made me feel a bit weak. O God! I am wondering if what he said is true. I really don’t know what to do next….” In the middle of my prayer, my wife came back. Then I told her what had passed. After listening to me, she asked nervously, “Did he really say this?” I nodded. My wife said with a little worry, “He is a great leader who believes in the Lord for many years. Besides, he is familiar with the Bible very well. I think he is truthful. What will we do then if something happens as he said?” At that point, I suddenly remembered the truth of the three stages of God’s work which Sister Zhang and Sister Mu had communicated with us. Then I said to my wife, “Nevertheless, there is something wrong with Brother Guan’s viewpoint. He said that we had departed from the Lord’s way and betrayed the Lord Jesus. In fact, when we have followed Almighty God, we have kept pace with the footsteps of the Lamb. We are wise virgins. How could the Lord punish us? …” During our communication, Sister Zhang and Sister Mu showed up….

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