How I Nearly Became a Foolish Virgin | Eastern Lightning

How I Nearly Became a Foolish Virgin

Li Fang, China

In the fall of 2002, Sister Zhao from my denomination, the Church of Truth, brought her niece, Sister Wang, to my home to tell me some great news that the Lord has come back. After a few days of reading the words of Almighty God and listening to the sister's detailed fellowship, I understood that from the creation of the world until now God has performed three stages of work in order to save mankind. Other truths that I also came to know were God’s adoption of a different name during each stage of the work, the significance of God’s name for each age, and the mystery of God’s incarnation, etc. These truths really allowed me to open my eyes wide and see my fill. I said to myself: “It all sounds crystal clear, and Almighty God very probably is the returned Lord Jesus so I’d better make sure I grasp this chance and read more of Almighty God’s words.” Before leaving, Sister Wang left some books of God’s words for me. Whenever I had time during the day, I read God’s words. The more I read the more I loved reading them and the more I felt that they were the words of God. After three days I became anxious. I thought: “My son, who is also a believer, and many brothers and sisters in our church still don’t know this great news about the return of the Lord. I’d better hurry up and tell them.”

The next day early in the morning I went to my son’s home. I said happily to him: “This is such a great book. You should read it as soon as possible.” My son glanced at me and asked: “What book? You seem pretty delighted. Just put it down there and I’ll take a look at it when I have time.” I thought that as all believers were looking forward to the Lord’s return my son would be happy to learn that the Lord has already returned.

Why Does the Chinese Communist Party Force Christians to Join the Three-Self Church?

Why Does the Chinese Communist Party Force Christians to Join the Three-Self Church?

Hou Xiangke: (Chief of the Public Security Bureau): Han Lu, you must know that the Communist Party is an atheist party and started out from revolution. The Communist Party is most inimical to God and God's word. The truth that you accept and the path that you walk are hated the most by the Communist Party. You are an eyesore and a thorn in the side for the Communist Party. Therefore, the Communist Party will severely repress you, punish you, and ban you! In China, you must follow the leadership of the Communist Party when you believe in God, accept the Communist Party's United Front, join the Three-Self Church, and take the path of love for country and religion. Aside from this, there is no way out! Have you seen through these matters?

Farewell to Those Days of Wrestling With Fate | Eastern Lightning

 Farewell to Those Days of Wrestling With Fate

Yixin

A rustic village fallen behind, my parents exhausted from their work, a life in financial straits … these gloomy memories were branded on to my young mind, they were my first impression of “fate.” After I started attending school, the first time I heard my teacher say that “You control your fate in your own hands,” I kept these words firmly in my mind. I believed that although I could not change the fact that I was born into poverty, I could still change my own fate through hard work. As a result, I exerted my full strength to wrestle with my “fate,” and gain a slice of heaven to call my own.

The Church of Almighty God | With Life Hanging by a Thread, the Hand of God Came to the Rescue (Audio Article)

With Life Hanging by a Thread, the Hand of God Came to the Rescue (Audio Article)

   “If I were not saved by God, I would still be drifting in this world,

 struggling hard and painfully in sin, every day bleak and hopeless.

 If I were not saved by God, I'd still be crushed below the devil's feet,

 snared in sin and its enjoyments, ignorant of what my life would be.

 It's Almighty God who saves me; all God's words have purified my heart.

 Through God's judgment and His chastisement, my corrupted
         
disposition's  changed.

    All the word and truth God expresses, it has all given me new life.

 I have seen my God face to face and have tasted God's true love.

 Finally I've understood God's loving hand holds mine as we go.

 Now I have heard the voice of God and been raised before God's throne.

 The feast of my Christ I attend, to be perfected and purified by Him.

 What I'd hoped for is finally realized, I have now been saved by God.”

The Church of Almighty God | What is the nature of the problem of man not knowing the significance of God’s name and not accepting God’s new name?

What is the nature of the problem of man not knowing the significance of God's name and not accepting God's new name?

Relevant Words of God:

In each period of time, God will begin new work, and in each period, there will be a new beginning among man. If man only abides by the truths that “Jehovah is God" and "Jesus is Christ,” which are truths that only apply to a single age, then man will never keep up with the work of the Holy Spirit, and will forever be incapable of gaining the work of the Holy Spirit. Regardless of how God works, man follows without the slightest doubt, and he follows closely. In this way, how could man be eliminated by the Holy Spirit? Regardless of what God does, as long as man is certain that it is the work of the Holy Spirit, and cooperates in the work of the Holy Spirit without any misgivings, and tries to meet the requirements of God, then how could he be punished? The work of God has never ceased, His footsteps have never halted, and prior to the completion of His work of management, He has always been busy, and never stops. But man is different: Having gained but a modicum of the Holy Spirit's work, he treats it as if it will never change; having gained a little knowledge, he does not go forth to follow the footsteps of God's newer work; having seen but a bit of God's work, he immediately prescribes God as a particular wooden figure, and believes that God will always remain in this form that he sees before him, that it was like this in the past and will always be thus in the future; having gained but a superficial knowledge, man is so proud that he forgets himself and begins to wantonly proclaim the disposition and being of God that simply do not exist; and having fastened upon one stage of the Holy Spirit's work, no matter what kind of person it is that proclaims the new work of God, man does not accept it. These are people who cannot accept the new work of the Holy Spirit; they are too conservative, and incapable of accepting new things. Such people are those who believe in God but also reject God. Man believes that the Israelites were wrong to “only believe in Jehovah and not believe in Jesus,” yet the majority of people act out a role in which they “only believe in Jehovah and reject Jesus” and “long for the return of the Messiah, but oppose the Messiah who is called Jesus.” No wonder, then, that people still live under the domain of Satan after accepting one stage of the work of the Holy Spirit, and still do not receive God's blessings. Is this not the result of man's rebelliousness? … Even though they have the “utmost loyalty" toward the words spoken by God, their words and actions still feel so disgusting because they oppose the work of the Holy Spirit, and commit deceit and evil. Those who do not follow to the very end, who do not keep up with the work of the Holy Spirit, and who only cleave to the old work have not only failed to achieve loyalty to God, but on the contrary, have become those who oppose God, have become those who are rejected by the new age, and who will be punished. Are there any more pitiable than them?

from “God's Work and Man's Practice” in The Word Appears in the Flesh

If man always calls Me Jesus Christ, but does not know that I have begun a new age during the last days and have embarked upon new work, and if man always obsessively awaits the arrival of Jesus the Savior, then I shall call people such as this the ones who do not believe in Me. They are people who do not know Me, and their belief in Me is a sham. Could such people witness the arrival of Jesus the Savior from heaven? What they await is not My arrival, but the arrival of the King of the Jews. They do not yearn for My annihilation of this impure old world, but instead long for the second coming of Jesus, whereupon they will be redeemed; they look forward to Jesus once more redeeming all of mankind from this defiled and unrighteous land. How can such people become those who complete My work during the last days? The desires of man are incapable of achieving My wishes or accomplishing My work, for man merely admires or cherishes the work that I have done before, and has no idea that I am the God Himself who is always new and never old. Man only knows that I am Jehovah, and Jesus, and has no inkling that I am the Last, the One who shall bring mankind to an end. All that man yearns for and knows is of his own conception, and is merely that which he can see with his own eyes. It is not in line with the work I do, but in disharmony with it.

from “The Savior Has Already Returned Upon a ‘White Cloud’” in The Word Appears in the Flesh

If you use conceptions to measure and delineate God, as if God were an unchanging clay statue, and if you delimit God within the Bible, and contain Him within a limited scope of work, then this proves that you have condemned God. Because, in their hearts, the Jews of the age of the Old Testament cast God in the mold of idol, as if God could only be called the Messiah, and only He who was called the Messiah was God, and because they served and worshiped God as if He were a (lifeless) clay statue, they nailed the Jesus of that time to the cross, sentencing Him to death—condemning innocent Jesus to death. God had committed no crime, yet man did not spare God, and unwaveringly sentenced Him to death. Thus, Jesus was crucified. Man always believes that God is unchanging, and defines Him according to the Bible, as though man has seen through to God's management, as though all that God does is in the hands of man. People are ridiculous to the extreme, they are possessed of the utmost arrogance, and they all have a flair for turgid eloquence. Regardless of how great your knowledge of God, still I say that you do not know God, that there are none who are more opposed to God, and that you condemn God, for you are utterly incapable of obeying the work of God and walking the path of being made perfect by God. Why is God never satisfied with the actions of man? Because man does not know God, because he has so many conceptions, and because, instead of complying with reality, all of his knowledge of God is cut from the same cloth, and rigid and inflexible. Thus, having come to earth today, God has once more been nailed to the cross by man.

from “The Wicked Must Be Punished” in The Word Appears in the Flesh

Do you wish to know the root of why the Pharisees opposed Jesus? Do you wish to know the substance of the Pharisees? They were full of fantasies about the Messiah. What’s more, they believed only that the Messiah would come, yet did not seek the truth of life. And so, even today they still await the Messiah, for they have no knowledge of the way of life, and do not know what the way of truth is. How, say you, could such foolish, stubborn and ignorant people gain God's blessing? How could they behold the Messiah? They opposed Jesus because they did not know the direction of the Holy Spirit's work, because they did not know the way of truth spoken by Jesus, and, furthermore, because they did not understand the Messiah. And since they had never seen the Messiah, and had never been in the company of the Messiah, they made the mistake of paying empty tribute to the name of the Messiah while opposing the substance of the Messiah by any means. These Pharisees in substance were stubborn, arrogant, and did not obey the truth. The principle of their belief in God is: No matter how profound Your preaching, no matter how high Your authority, You are not Christ unless You are called the Messiah. Are these views not preposterous and ridiculous? I ask you again: Is it not extremely easy for you to commit the mistakes of the earliest Pharisees, given that you have not the slightest understanding of Jesus? Are you able to discern the way of truth? Can you truly guarantee that you will not oppose Christ? Are you able to follow the work of the Holy Spirit? If you do not know whether you will oppose Christ, then I say that you are already living on the brink of death. Those who did not know the Messiah were all capable of opposing Jesus, of rejecting Jesus, of slandering Him. People who do not understand Jesus are all capable of denying Him, and reviling Him. Moreover, they are capable of seeing the return of Jesus as the deceit of Satan, and more people shall condemn Jesus returning to flesh. Does not all of this make you afraid? What you face shall be blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, the ruination of the words of the Holy Spirit to the churches, and the spurning of all that is expressed by Jesus. What can you gain from Jesus if you are so befuddled? How can you understand the work of Jesus when He returns to flesh on a white cloud, if you obstinately refuse to realize your errors? I tell you this: People who do not accept the truth, yet blindly await the arrival of Jesus upon white clouds, will surely blaspheme against the Holy Spirit, and they are the race that shall be destroyed. You merely wish for the grace of Jesus, and merely want to enjoy the blissful realm of heaven, yet you have never obeyed the words spoken by Jesus, and have never received the truth expressed by Jesus when He returns to flesh. What will you hold up in exchange for the fact of Jesus’ return upon a white cloud? Is it the sincerity in which you repeatedly commit sins, and then confess them, over and over? What will you offer in sacrifice to Jesus who returns upon a white cloud? Is it the years of work with which you exalt yourselves? What will you hold up to make the returned Jesus trust you? Is it that arrogant nature of yours, which does not obey any truth?

from “When You Behold the Spiritual Body of Jesus Will Be When God Has Made Anew Heaven and Earth” in The Word Appears in the Flesh

                                                                                                        Source The Internet

The Church of Almighty God | God redeemed mankind in the Age of Grace, so why does He still last daneed to do His work of judgment in theys?

God redeemed mankind in the Age of Grace, so why does He still  last daneed to do His work of judgment in theys?

Bible Verses for Reference:

“You shall therefore be holy, for I am holy”(Lev 11:45).

“Holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord” (Heb 12:14).

 “And if any man hear my words, and believe not, I judge him not: for I came not to judge the world, but to save the world. He that rejects me, and receives not my words, has one that judges him: the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day” (Jhn 12:47-48).

Relevant Words of God:

 At the time Jesus’ work was the redemption of all mankind. The sins of all who believed in Him were forgiven; as long as you believed in Him, He would redeem you; if you believed in Him, you were no longer a sinner, you were relieved of your sins. This is what it meant to be saved, and to be justified by faith. Yet in those who believed, there remained that which was rebellious and opposed God, and which still had to be slowly removed. Salvation did not mean man had been completely gained by Jesus, but that man was no longer of sin, that he had been forgiven his sins: Provided you believed, you would never more be of sin.

The Church of Almighty God | Knowing the Purpose and Significance of Each of the Three Stages of God’s Work.

Knowing the Purpose and Significance of Each of the Three Stages of God's Work.

 Three Stages of God's Work

(1) The aim and significance of God's work in the Age of Law

Relevant Words of God:

He confined His work to the Israelite people. At first, He did not work outside of Israel; instead, He chose a people He found suitable in order to restrict the scope of His work. Israel is the place where God created Adam and Eve, and out of the dust of that place Jehovah made man; it is the base of His work on earth. The Israelites, who are the descendants of Noah and of Adam, were the foundation of Jehovah's work on earth.

The Church of Almighty God | Know the purpose of the three stages of work of God’s management of mankind

Know the purpose of the three stages of work of God's management of mankind

Know the purpose of the three stages of work of God's management of mankind 

Relevant Words of God:

 My entire management plan, which spans six thousand years, consists of three phases, or three ages: first, the Age of Law; second, the Age of Grace (which is also the Age of Redemption); and finally, the Age of Kingdom. My work in these three ages differs according to the nature of each age, but at each stage it accords with man’s needs—or rather, it varies according to the tricks that Satan employs in My war against it. The purpose of My work is to defeat Satan, to make manifest My wisdom and omnipotence, to expose all Satan’s tricks and thereby to save all of humanity, which lives under its domain. It is to show My wisdom and omnipotence while at the same time revealing the hideousness of Satan. Moreover, it is to teach My creations to discriminate between good and evil, to recognize that I am the Ruler of all things, to see clearly that Satan is humanity's foe, the lowest of the low, the evil one, and to make the difference between good and evil, truth and falsehood, holiness and filth, greatness and baseness, as clear as day. This way, ignorant humanity may bear witness to Me that it is not I who corrupt humanity, and only I—the Creator—can save humanity, can bestow upon them things for enjoyment; and they may come to know that I am the Ruler of all things and Satan is merely one of My creations, which later turned against Me. My six-thousand-year management plan is divided into three stages in order to achieve the following effect: to allow My creations to be My witnesses, to know My will, to see that I am the truth.

Eastern Lightning | What is the difference between the work of God incarnate and the work of the Spirit?

What is the difference between the work of God incarnate and the work of the Spirit?

Bible Verses for Reference:

“And he said, I beseech you, show me your glory. And he said, … You can not see my face: for there shall no man see me, and live” (Exo 33:18-20).

“And the LORD came down on mount Sinai, on the top of the mount: and the LORD called Moses up to the top of the mount; and Moses went up. And the LORD said to Moses, Go down, charge the people, lest they break through to the LORD to gaze, and many of them perish” (Exo 19:20-21).

“And all the people saw the thunder, and the lightning, and the noise of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking: and when the people saw it, they removed, and stood afar off. And they said to Moses, Speak you with us, and we will hear: but let not God speak with us, lest we die” (Exo 20:18-19).

“Then came there a voice from heaven, saying, I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again. The people therefore, that stood by, and heard it, said that it thundered: others said, An angel spoke to him” (Jhn 12:28-29).

The Church of Almighty God | The Transformation of an Only Child

The Transformation of an Only Child

—Only Almighty God Can Save the Degenerate Youth of Today

Bian Hua,    Yunnan Province

I started following Almighty God when I was 19 years old: As soon as I left school I joined The Church of Almighty God. I had had very little to do with society, and didn't really know much about what was going on in it. But I did know that I totally represented one of the special characteristics of Chinese society in that I was a selfish only child.

The Transformation of an Only Child 

Fallacy (24): Someone said, “ The Bible is absolutely not tainted by man’s will and is entirely the word of God.

Fallacy (24): Someone said, “The Bible is absolutely not tainted by man's will and is entirely the word of God. All the words in the Bible are multi-faceted and foreshadowing. The Bible is absolutely authoritative. There is no other book that can compare. Everyone must admit that the Bible is inerrant. Anyone who says the Bible is tainted by man’s will or contains errors is attacking and denying the Bible, and all such people shall be cursed.”

 The Bible is absolutely not tainted by man's will and is entirely the word of God. 

   Response: People believe that everything recorded in the Bible is the word of God, completely unadulterated by man's will and absolutely authoritative. Everyone must admit the inerrancy of the Bible, and anyone who says the Bible is adulterated by man's will is attacking and denying the Bible, and shall be cursed. Is this view correct? Does it have any basis in God's words? As we all know, the Bible was entirely written by man and recorded by many ancient prophets, disciples and apostles after experiencing God's work. It's a historically factual book compiled by later generations that records the work of God. Even though it contains details of the work and utterances of Jehovah and Jesus at the time, it was not personally documented by Jehovah and Jesus, and the words were not all personally uttered by Jehovah and Jesus; much of it was testimonies of people's experiences.

The Church of Almighty God | How Can My Young, Brash, and Arrogant Self Get Along With My Grandmother?

How Can My Young, Brash, and Arrogant Self Get Along With My Grandmother?

                                                          An Qi

How Can My Young, Brash, and Arrogant Self Get Along With My Grandmother?

 

My name is An Qi. Before the age of six, I was living at my grandmother's house. At the time, my grandmother was the person with whom I felt closest to. Each day when I went to the kindergarten, my grandmother decided which clothes I would wear and how I would comb my hair. I felt that my grandmother did these things the best. Gradually, I grew up and I started to disapprove of some of the things that my grandmother did. My grandmother also started to disapprove of me as well. Each time I went to her house, she would scold me. If she wasn't nagging me on one thing, she would be nagging me about something else. I felt very upset.

The Church of Almighty God | Spiritual Awakening of “White Angels” (Part 1)

Spiritual Awakening of “White Angels” (Part 1)

Spiritual Awakening of “White Angels” (Part 1) 

Miaoxiao

Introduction

I am a retired obstetrics and gynecology attending physician. Most of my life was spent in an overworked void. I racked my brains to pursue status, fame and fortune and was unscrupulous in my efforts to make money, busy rushing around for several decades. I even betrayed my own conscience and personality and lost my humanity and rationality, living without any meaning. Until one day when I read the word of Almighty God and saw the truth that I had been corrupted by Satan I gradually had a spiritual awakening….

The Church of Almighty God | Judgment Before the Seat of Christ | What Is the Nature of God’s Love?

What Is the Nature of God’s Love?

 What Is the Nature of God’s Love?

Siqiu    Suihua City, Heilongjiang Province

Whenever I see the following passage of God’s word, “If you’ve always been very loyal and loving toward Me, yet you suffer the torment of illness, the constraints of life, and the abandonment of your friends and relatives or endure any other misfortunes in life, then will your loyalty and love for Me still continue?” (“A Very Serious Problem: Betrayal (2)” in The Word Appears in the Flesh). I feel particularly unhappy—a sense of misery creeps up within me and my heart speaks its voiceless grievance: Dear God, how can You allow those that are loyal to You and love You to meet with such misfortune? As a result, I’ve had a hard time understanding the meaning of the man used by the Holy Spirit who said, “God’s last demand of man is loving and sincere.”

Nine International NGOs Issued a Joint Statement Condemning the CCP’s Persecution of The Church of Almighty God

Since it took power in 1949, the Chinese Communist Party has been carrying out atheistic education throughout the country. Christianity has been designated as a tool of imperial “cultural invasion,” with Western missionaries expelled and Chinese preachers subjected to “thought reform.” All religions, including Christianity, have been regarded as “feudal superstition” and suffered severe suppression and banning. Over the past more than sixty years, The Chinese Communist Party has never ceased its persecution of religious beliefs; instead, it has step by step “legitimized” its crackdown and persecution of Christianity through legislation, and The Church of Almighty God suffered the most serious suppression.

The Church of Almighty God | Breaking Off the Shackles

Breaking Off the Shackles

The Church of  Almighty God  Pictures 

Zhenxi    Zhengzhou City, Henan Province

Ten years ago, driven by my arrogant nature, I was never able to completely obey the church’s arrangements. I would obey if it suited me, but if it didn’t I would choose whether or not to obey. This resulted in seriously violating work arrangements during the fulfilling of my duty. I did my own thing and offended God’s disposition, and was subsequently sent home. After several years of self-reflection, I had more or less some knowledge of my own nature, but regarding the aspect of the truth that is God’s essence I still did not have much knowledge. Later, the church gave me another chance, but when I was in charge of gospel work, I began to have suspicions about God: I’m so corrupted and had also offended God’s disposition. Why would God use me? Is He taking advantage of me? Will I be eliminated after being taken advantage of? Ah! Since the church gave me a chance I am going to cherish it, even if I have to become a service-doer. From then on, I fulfilled my duty carrying such a mentality, but without seeking a higher goal—being made perfect by God.

The Church of Almighty God | God Led Me to Overcome the Devil’s Affliction

          God Led Me to Overcome the Devil’s Affliction

 The Church of Almighty God pictures

                                     Wang Hua    Henan Province

My daughter and I are the Christians of the Church of Almighty God. In following God, we two were arrested together and sentenced to hard labor by the CCP government. I was sentenced to three years and my daughter was sentenced to one year. Although I underwent the brutal and inhuman persecution and affliction of the CCP government, every time I was in despair and danger, it was Almighty God’s word that gave me the courage and power to live on and led me to go through the cruel tortures and the three-year hellish prison life victoriously.

The Church of Almighty God | Don’t Find New Tricks When Serving God

Don’t Find New Tricks When Serving God

Don’t Find New Tricks When Serving God

Heyi    Zhuanghe City, Liaoning Province

I had just been promoted to take on the responsibility of church leader. But after a period of hard work, not only was the church’s evangelical work fairly lackluster, but my brothers and sisters in the evangelical team were all also living in negativity and weakness. Faced with this situation, I could no longer contain my feelings. How on earth could I work to revitalize the evangelical work? After racking my brains, I finally thought of a good solution: If I held a monthly awards ceremony for the evangelical team and selected outstanding individuals and model preachers, whoever won more souls for God would be rewarded, and whoever won fewer souls would be admonished. This would not only excite their enthusiasm, but it would lift up the negative and weak brothers and sisters. When I thought of this, I was very excited for this “clever move” of mine. I thought: “This time I’ll really amaze everyone.”

The Church of Almighty God | The Supernaturalness and Greatness of God’s Life Power

The Supernaturalness and Greatness of God’s Life Power

The  Supernaturalness  and Greatness of God’s Life Power

                                        Lin Ling    Shandong Province

I was born in a poor peasant family. Because my family didn’t have power or influence, I was looked down upon and often bullied by others from my childhood. At such times, I felt especially aggrieved and distressed and expected from my heart that a savior could come to change my destiny. After marriage, my life was tough and my child often got ill, so a neighbor preached Jesus to me. Learning that the Lord Jesus could save those who suffered hardships and afflictions from the sea of misery, I was very excited in my heart, feeling that I finally found the savior. From then on, I believed in Jesus and was very zealous, often going to different places to attend meetings and listen to preachings. Later, however, I found that the church became more and more desolate and the phenomenon of jealousy and strife and scheming against one another became more and more serious, which was no better than the world. I was very disappointed and my faith grew cold gradually, and I didn’t attend meetings any more.

The Church Of Almighty God | The Youth With No Regrets

     The Youth With No Regrets

 The Youth With No Regrets 

Xiaowen    Chongqing City

“Love is a pure emotion, pure without a blemish. Use your heart, use your heart to love and feel and care. Love doesn’t set conditions or barriers or distance. … In love there’s no suspicion,no cunning, no deceit. Use your heart, use your heart to love and feel and care. In love there is no distance and nothing that’s not pure” (“Pure Love Without Blemish” in Follow the Lamb and Sing New Songs). This hymn of God’s word once helped me get through the pain of a long and drawn-out life in prison that lasted 7 years and 4 months. Even though the CCP government deprived me of the most beautiful years of my youth, I have obtained the most precious and real truth from Almighty God and therefore have no complaints or regrets.