Knock, and It Shall Be Opened to You II

After that, I still went to the meetings with my Bible. When what was talked about was in line with the Bible, I accepted it. If it was not, I turned a deaf ear to it. I waited for the day when my brothers and sisters would wake up. However, their states became ever better and their countenances were full of joy, while I had a heavy heart, and just responded to their greetings with a false smile. One day in the meeting, the brothers and sisters fellowshiped about their understanding and knowledge of the words of Almighty God enthusiastically, and they were joyful as if having received a treasure, but I could hardly understand what they fellowshiped about, just sitting there like a fool without a word. I became more and more sad and distressed and could only cry to the Lord in my heart, “O Lord, You were so gracious to me before. Why don’t You enlighten me now? Have You rejected me? O Lord, my only hope is in You. Please don’t forsake me.” Although I cried to the Lord desperately, I could not feel any response or comfort from Him.

Back home, I could not hold back my sorrow anymore and threw myself down on the bed crying out to God tearfully, “O Lord, You know I love You, and I will not put the Bible aside and depart from You whatever happens. However, I have never felt so dark in my heart throughout the many years of my belief in You. O Lord, please don’t hide Your face from me, and please have mercy on me. My brothers and sisters all say that the words in The Scroll Opened by the Lamb are the utterances of You who have returned, and that they have gained a lot from them. I, however, have fallen into darkness and cannot feel Your presence. O Lord! I am very distressed and bewildered, and don’t know how to face all this. O Lord, are the words in The Scroll Opened by the Lamb really the utterances of You who have returned? If they are, I am also willing to follow You.” When I spoke this, suddenly in my mind appeared a picture of the Lord Jesus standing at the door and knocking, who seemed to have waited for a long time. I was startled at this, and realized that I had shut the Lord outside the door. Immediately tears of self-reproach, remorse, and indebtedness gushed out, and I did not wipe them, but took out the Bible and turned to Revelation 3:20-22, which said, “Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me. To him that overcomes will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne. He that has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit said to the churches.” I was certain that it was the enlightenment of the Holy Spirit, so I knelt before the Lord again with my tears coursing down unceasingly, “My Lord, Almighty God, little did I expect that I would treat Your coming this way … I was so blind and foolish that I did not recognize Your voice and shut You outside the door … I’ve grieved and disappointed You … were it not for Your mercy, I would continue rejecting Your utterances and live in darkness…. O Almighty God! I am willing to return to You and accept Your words. Please hide Your face from my transgressions and continue Your salvation of me.” After the prayer, I felt incomparably released, and my heart was so relieved, as if a big stone weighing upon it had been moved away. From then on, whenever I had time, I would read God’s words, wishing to make up for the time I had lost before. However, I still did not know why God does His work outside of the Bible.

One day, I opened the book of God’s word and read these words: “How should the Bible be approached in the belief in God? This is a question of principle. … For many years, people’s traditional means of belief (that of Christianity, one of the world’s three major religions) has been to read the Bible; departure from the Bible is not the belief in the Lord, departure from the Bible is an evil cult, and heresy, and even when people read other books, the foundation of these books must be the explanation of the Bible. Which is to say, if you say you believe in the Lord, then you must read the Bible, you must eat and drink the Bible, and outside the Bible you must not worship any book that does not involve the Bible. If you do, then you are betraying God. From the time when there was the Bible, people’s belief in the Lord has been the belief in the Bible. Instead of saying people believe in the Lord, it is better to say they believe in the Bible; rather than saying they have begun reading the Bible, it is better to say they have begun believing in the Bible; and rather than saying they have returned before the Lord, it would be better to say they have returned before the Bible” (“Concerning the Bible (1)” in The Word Appears in the Flesh).

While I read this passage of God’s word, I felt as if God was teaching me face to face. I thought, “Yes, this is exactly my former view. I believed that a believer in God must read the Bible and should not read any book except the Bible, otherwise he is a betrayer of God. Now through God’s disclosure, I have realized that my view is indeed wrong. But isn’t the Bible given by inspiration of God? Haven’t we believed in the Lord according to the Bible? Then what’s the difference between returning before the Bible and returning before the Lord?” I wanted to know the answers, so I continued to seek in God’s words. I saw these words: “The Bible is a historical record of God’s work in Israel, and documents many of the foretellings of ancient prophets as well as some of the utterances of Jehovah in His work at that time. Thus, people all look upon this book as ‘holy’ (for God is holy and great). Of course, this is all a result of their reverence for Jehovah and their adoration for God. People refer to this book in this way only because the creatures of God are so adoring of their Creator, and there are even those who call this book a ‘heavenly book.’ In fact, it is merely a human record. It was not personally named by Jehovah, nor did Jehovah personally guide its creation. In other words, the author of this book is not God, but men. The ‘Holy’ Bible is only the respectful title given to it by man. This title was not decided by Jehovah and Jesus after they had a discussion amongst each other; it is nothing more than a human idea. For this book was not written by Jehovah, much less by Jesus. Instead, it is the accounts of many ancient prophets, apostles, and seers, which were compiled by later generations into a book of ancient writings that, to people, seems especially holy, a book that they believe contains many unfathomable and profound mysteries that are waiting to be unlocked by future generations. As such, people are even more disposed to believe that this book is a ‘heavenly book.’ With the addition of the Four Gospels and the Book of Revelation, people’s attitude toward it is particularly different from any other book, and thus no one dares to dissect this ‘heavenly book’—because it is too ‘sacred’” (“Concerning the Bible (4)” in The Word Appears in the Flesh).

The words of Almighty God have unlocked the mystery of ages past. Almighty God says: “The Bible is a historical record of God’s work in Israel….” I pondered over these words carefully and realized they were true. “God is a God who created all things and rules over all mankind; how can it be possible that He only works in Israel? But the Bible only documents the work God did in Israel. This is a fact. The reason why the Bible is called a ‘holy book’ by people is that it documents many words of God. People call it a ‘holy book’ out of their reverence for God. However, the publication of the Bible was actually not decided by Jehovah and man after they had a discussion together; it is nothing more than a human idea. Moreover, the author of the Bible is not God, but those ancient saints, prophets, seers, and apostles.” God’s disclosure left me ashamed and humiliated. Thinking about the view I had held throughout the years of my belief in God, I realized I was too ignorant and foolish. I saw the Bible as important as God, and thought that whoever departs from the Bible is not a believer in God. I was not clear about the substance of the Bible and its value, nor did I ever think about the difference between belief in God and belief in the Bible. I did not know anything about the reality of belief in God, and regarded my conceptions as the truth and talked wildly. However, God did not treat me according to my ignorance. Instead of condemning me, He enlightened and guided me…. From God’s words I saw the Creator’s mercy for corrupt mankind.

Although in God’s words, I felt God’s majesty that I had never felt in my many years of belief in the Lord, I was still fascinated by them and read on. Through reading God’s words, I could treat the Bible correctly and moreover received God’s watering and shepherding, so that I understood some truths gradually. I thank and praise God from the bottom of my heart.

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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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