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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