The Alarm of the Last Days Has Struck

The Alarm of the Last Days Has Struck

Two thousand years ago, when the disciples of the Lord Jesus asked Him what would be the sign of His coming and of the end of the world, the Lord Jesus answered, “And you shall hear of wars and rumors of wars: see that you be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places. All these are the beginning of sorrows” (Matthew 24:6-8).

Nowadays, both natural and man-made disasters occur frequently all around the world. They spread over more and more regions and grow more and more ferocious. Earthquakes, floods, droughts, famines, and plagues can be seen everywhere; violence, racial conflicts, and terrorist attacks frequently take place; the situation of every country is in turmoil and wars continue…. The Lord Jesus’ prophecies about the end of the world have been fulfilled one after another. Let’s list some disasters that occurred in recent years throughout the world, and it can be proven.

In April 2015, Avian Influenza H5N2 was found in 16 states of the United States. According to experts, it was the most severe avian plague during the last 30 years in the USA.

On April 25, 2015, an 8.1 magnitude earthquake occurring in central Nepal killed about 9,000 people and injured more than 22,000. It was the worst natural disaster to strike Nepal during the last 80 years.

In August 2015, North Korea was hit by its worst drought in a century, and more than 18 million people were put under the threat of famine.

From November 2015 to July 2016, many terrorist attacks took place in Paris, Brussels and Nice of France, killing at least over two hundred people and injuring more than seven hundred.

On February 23, 2016, at least seven tornadoes swept across Louisiana and Mississippi in the USA, leaving a trail of destruction wherever they went.

In April 2016, India suffered its worst drought in 40 years, resulting in 300 million people in shortage of drinking water.

On May 19, 2016, an authoritative report warned that superbugs were threatening human health. According to statistics, the global annual death toll from superbugs ran into 700,000. More frightening was that antibiotics against bacterial invasion had gradually lost their effectiveness, and the medical profession had no other “powerful” antibiotics that could replace them. Experts pointed out that if no action was taken, superbugs could kill one person every three seconds by 2050.

During June 2016, severe flooding occurred in Germany, France, Belgium, Romania, Ukraine, Russia, Mexico and other countries.

Since June 2016, catastrophic flooding hit Hubei Province, China. Till July 14, the heavy rainfall had affected 17 cities, 79 counties, and 9571.4 thousand people in Hubei Province.

On June 12, 2016, the largest shooting in recent years took place in a gay nightclub in Orlando, United States. It killed 50 people, and injured dozens of people.

On July 3, 2016, the deadliest suicide bomb attack in the last 7 years hit southern Baghdad, Iraq, resulting in over 200 deaths.

In the early morning of August 24, 2016, a 6.2-magnitude earthquake struck central Italy, and nearly three quarters of the hardest hit areas were destroyed. By the end of the morning, nearly 250 people were killed and the death toll was expected to continue rising.

In August 2016, according to a global temperature report routinely issued by National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in the United States, in July this year, the global land and ocean surface temperatures were 0.87°C above the 20th century average for the same period. This was the 15th consecutive month of record-breaking high temperatures, which is the longest such streak in the 137-year record.

On September 9, 2016, in defiance of international condemnation, North Korea conducted its fifth nuclear test this year. The UN Security Council held an emergency meeting to discuss it. Both US and South Korean authorities expressed their determination to take strong measures towards North Korea. The North Korean nuclear issue was escalated again.

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(Part of the news above are cited from the Internet media.)

Apart from various frequent disasters and the turbulent international situation, there also appeared unusual celestial events: From April 2014 to September 2015, four consecutive blood moons appeared in the sky, accompanied with the rare phenomenon of the sun becoming black, which was unprecedented in history. Most Bible expositors agreed it boded a most significant event of the world to take place.

Faced with various frequent natural and man-made disasters and rare astronomical phenomena, many people see the fulfillment of the Bible prophecies. The great disasters are drawing closer, and the end of the world is soon to come. Although man can improve their material life through technology, yet when faced with the disasters, man is overwhelmed with fear and worries. They can’t find out any effective measures to resist the strike of the disaster, but only suffer it helplessly or be destroyed by it. In the face of the irresistible disasters today, man has to give serious consideration to the fate and destination of mankind. However, with mere fear towards the befalling of the disasters, man has no idea where these disasters come from and who is in command. Why are there so many disasters for people in the last days? What course should this mankind take?

In the last days, the returned Lord Jesus—Almighty God—expresses millions of words which reveal to man all the mysteries of God’s six-thousand-year management plan. He warns man, “The disaster is brought down by Me and of course orchestrated by Me. If you cannot work for good in My presence, then you will not escape suffering the disaster” (“You Ought to Do Enough Good Deeds to Prepare for Your Destination” in The Word Appears in the Flesh). “When God gets exceedingly angry, the whole world will thus suffer all kinds of disasters, as if volcanoes are being split. From the sky above, it can be well seen that on earth all kinds of disasters are closing in on all mankind day by day. From a high spot, on earth there seem to be various scenes before an earthquake: Fiery water is scurrying everywhere, lava flowing everywhere, mountains moving, and chilling light flashing everywhere, and the whole world is sunk in the fire. This is just the scene when God gets furious and the time when God judges. No flesh can escape” (“The Interpretation of the Eighteenth Piece of Word” in The Word Appears in the Flesh).

Almighty God’s words, with authority and power, brimming with righteousness and majesty, show us the source of disasters, the end of the world, and the fate of mankind. Some can’t help but ask, “Since God created this world, why must He destroy it? Is God not a loving and merciful God? Why does He hurl forth His rage upon man?” To understand these questions, we might as well look back to the time of Noah’s ark. The Bible says, “The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence. And God looked on the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way on the earth. And God said to Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth” (Genesis 6:11-13). At that time, mankind was corrupted to a point. No one listened to God’s words, much less did anyone worship God. Mankind advocated wickedness, followed the worldly trend, and lived amid evil and licentiousness concerning themselves with eating, drinking, and the pursuit of pleasure, enjoying the pleasure of sin. Their wickedness was unbearable for God to witness and infuriated God’s righteous and unoffendable disposition. Thus, God had His plan of destroying the world with a flood. But God cared about mankind’s ignorance and pitifulness, so He still gave man chances to repent. God commanded Noah to build an ark and spread the gospel. Noah preached for 120 years, yet no one believed God’s words, much less did anyone come before God to confess, repent, and return to Him. Then God’s wrath came upon man. After the flood, only Noah’s family of eight survived; others were all swamped and destroyed by the flood. Also it’s known to us all that God razed Sodom with the fire of brimstone. Sodom brimmed with sin and murder then. Not only did people in the city not accept God’s warnings, they also did not fear God’s punishment. To the contrary, they scorned God’s existence, were hostile toward His coming, and harmed His messengers and all righteous people. Their conduct had reached the level of opposition and uproar against God. As for such an evil city, God no longer extended mercy, but directly used the fire to totally destroy them and make them cease to exist. From this, we see in God’s disposition, there are not only loving kindness and mercy, but also righteousness, majesty, and wrath. God is very principled in actions. He will bestow mercy and tolerance upon those listening to His words and obeying Him, and make them live in His care and protection. Instead, to those who don’t believe God’s words but reject God’s calling and salvation, and who even oppose Him and are stubbornly against Him, God will cast out His anger fiercely to the extent that such mankind disappears before God’s eyes. It is just as Almighty God says, “The mercy and tolerance of God do indeed exist, but God’s holiness and righteousness when He unleashes His wrath also show man the side of God that brooks no offense. When man is fully capable of obeying the commands of God and acts in accordance to God’s requirements, God is abundant in His mercy toward man; when man has been filled with corruption, hatred and enmity for Him, God is profoundly angry. And to what extent is He profoundly angry? His wrath will keep on until God no longer sees man’s resistance and evil deeds, until they are no longer before His eyes. Only then will God’s anger disappear” (“God’s Work, God’s Disposition, and God Himself II” in Continuation of The Word Appears in the Flesh).

Nowadays, this mankind has far surpassed people in the time of Noah in the extent of their evil and corruption. And their evil deeds are no different from those of people in Sodom. The world trends are getting more evil: Homosexuality is legalized; pornography, gambling, and narcotics are widespread; divorce rate and crime rate remain high; men all advocate evil, confusing right and wrong. No one stresses conscience and sense anymore. No one thirsts for the truth, or yearns for the appearance of the true light, much less takes the initiative to seek for the arrival of God. More and more people treat God’s previous work and word as just myths and legends. Men have no desire at all to seek the existence of God, and moreover, detest and hate God’s coming. Even the religious world is filled with the voices that condemn Christ, the voices that deny and condemn God, blaspheme God’s work. Religious pastors and elders even cooperate with those in power to condemn and resist Almighty God’s work in the last days, to arrest and persecute those who preach the kingdom gospel. Their opposition against God has reached the frenzied, hysterical extent. Isn’t this a recurrence of the people in Sodom and Gomorrah persecuting angels who conveyed God’s will? God created man so that man would worship God, walk the right path of life, live in God’s blessings and protection, and not be fooled and corrupted by Satan any more. However, man ignores God and rejects God’s exhortation and admonitions. They’d rather be afflicted, trampled, and devoured by Satan than turn from the evil way and follow God. Toward such an evil mankind who is irredeemably corrupted and who hates the truth and God, what is the attitude of God?

Almighty God says, “Then look upon the present age: Such righteous men as Noah, who could worship God and shun evil, have ceased to exist. Yet God is still gracious toward this mankind, and absolves mankind during this final era. God seeks those who long for Him to appear. He seeks those who are able to hear His words, those who have not forgotten His commission and offer up their heart and body to Him. He seeks those who are as obedient as babes before Him, and do not resist Him. If you are unhindered by any force in your devotion to God, then God shall look upon you with favor, and shall bestow His blessings upon you” (“God Presides Over the Fate of All Mankind” in The Word Appears in the Flesh). “God had despised man because man opposed Him, but in His heart, His care, concern, and mercy for humanity remained unchanged. Even when He destroyed mankind, His heart remained unchanged. When humanity was full of corruption and disobedient toward God to a certain extent, God had to, because of His disposition and His essence, and in accordance with His principles, destroy this humanity. But because of God’s essence, He still pitied mankind, and even wanted to use various ways to redeem mankind so they could continue to live. Instead, man opposed God, continued to disobey God, and refused to accept God’s salvation, that is, refused to accept His good intentions. No matter how God called to them, reminded them, supplied them, helped them, or tolerated them, man did not understand or appreciate it, nor did they pay attention. In His pain, God still did not forget to give man His maximum tolerance, waiting for man to turn around. After He reached His limit, He did what He had to do without any hesitation. In other words, there was a specific time period and process from the moment God planned to destroy mankind to the official start of His work in destroying mankind. This process existed for the purpose of enabling man to turn around, and was the last chance God gave to man” (“God’s Work, God’s Disposition, and God Himself I” in Continuation of The Word Appears in the Flesh). From Almighty God’s words, we know that although mankind’s corruption has reached its peak, God still gives man ample opportunities to repent, and uses various ways to redeem mankind so they can continue to live. This is because God’s heart is good. His care, mercy, and salvation for mankind will never change. God doesn’t want to see mankind destroyed, who He created with His own hands. But if man refuses to repent and stubbornly resists God, at a certain point, God would take back His mercy and tolerance, and show His majesty and wrath to man, just like when He burned Sodom. At that time, man could no longer retrieve the lost chance. So now we witness all kinds of disasters coming down upon mankind, such as flood, hail, drought, earthquake, famine, plague, and war. God does this firstly to punish and destroy the wicked among men and to demolish all unrighteous things, and meanwhile to warn and admonish man. God speaks to mankind through various disasters to urge them to reflect, in hope that man could be like the people of Nineveh, abandoning the violence in their hands and turning away from their evil ways, and coming back before God to confess their sins, repent, and gain the salvation from God. Which is just as Almighty God says, “Today, not only am I descending upon the nation of the great red dragon, I am also turning My face toward the entire universe, so that the whole empyrean is quaking. Is there a single place that does not undergo My judgment? Is there a single place that does not exist under the scourges that I hurl down? Everywhere I go I have scattered ‘seeds of disaster’ of all kinds. This is one of the ways in which I work, and is without doubt an act of salvation for man, and what I extend to him is still a kind of love. I wish to make even more people come to know Me, be able to see Me, and in this way come to revere God whom they have not seen for so many years but who, today, is real” (“The Tenth Utterance” of God’s Utterances to the Entire Universe in The Word Appears in the Flesh).

There Is Such a Group of People

In the last days, the disaster prone times, there is such a group of people, who can always come safely out of various unexpected disasters. What power delivers them from the danger-filled disasters and keeps them safe? The following are the true experiences and testimonies of how they were protected by God in disasters. Although their wording is very plain, without any profound theories, every experience is testifying to God’s expectation and salvation of mankind. May every one of us draw some inspiration from these experiences and testimonies.

Case One: My name is Xiang Yi, from Xuancheng City, Anhui Province. In July 2016, my hometown was hit by a flood because of continuous heavy rains. On July 7, our house was surrounded water, and the pigsty was drowned because of its low location, and more than a dozen pigs were stranded in water (our family lives only by raising pigs). My wife and I could do nothing but drive the pigs to a relatively higher place in the yard. Following that, the flood led to a cutoff of water and power in a large area. Besides, with the continuous high temperature for over ten days, on the water in our yard floated all kinds of garbage and pigs’ mess, which was in need of clean-up. At the thought of my heart attack for which I was hospitalized few days ago and my unrestored health, and plus the hot and humid weather then, many mosquitoes, and the polluted environment, I was afraid that I would have a heart attack again if I did such manual labor. If so, how could my wife bear the family burden? I could only keep praying and asking God to give me faith so that I could be obedient to God’s orchestration and arrangement in the disaster, and make no complaints no matter what happens. After the prayer, I felt much more secured in my heart and the labor did not cause me to feel much too tired.

Two days later, I heard from some villagers that in a neighboring village a pig farmer’s dozens of pigs had died in the flood, and that several people were infected with swine fever, one of whom even was amputated. At this news, I became nervous again, for fear that I might be also infected with swine fever. Then I suddenly thought of Almighty God’s words, “The disaster is brought down by Me and of course, orchestrated by Me….” (“You Ought to Do Enough Good Deeds to Prepare for Your Destination” in The Word Appears in the Flesh). Also, I thought of a passage in Fellowship and Preaching About Life Entry, “During the spread of an epidemic, some epidemic victims survive, while some athletic men died. Isn’t this all in God’s hands? There is a saying, ‘Those who are doomed cannot escape calamity.’ What does it mean? It means that’s already decreed by God in the spiritual realm, and no one can escape. If God doesn’t decree he should die, that is, he’s not doomed, then he won’t die even if he gets this disease.” These words gave me faith once more: The disaster is brought down by God, and also orchestrated by God. Whether or not I would be infected is up to God. No matter live or die, I’m willing to submit to God’s orchestration. If God allows me to live, I will perform my duty well to repay His love; if God lets me die, I won’t complain against Him.

In the following several days, my wife and I walked in the water to feed pigs every day. Those unbelievers in our village, after walking in the water, all had their legs infected with some virus and blistered, extremely itchy. However, my skin remained intact, so did my wife’s. More miraculously, this flood knocked down the concrete courtyard wall of my neighbor, while the brick wall of my house which was built with lime and sand 30 years ago still stood, though its lime and sand were all flushed away after it was immersed in the water for five or six days. In this flood, more than twenty pigs of other farmers in our village died, and the remaining all got sick. Nevertheless, none of my pigs died or got sick. Besides, I didn’t have a relapse of heart attack, though I overworked in those days of heat and humidity. Seen from this, I realized it was all God’s wonderful protection. After experiencing this disaster, I practically tasted God’s authority and deeds are everywhere. Meanwhile, I saw that God looks upon the whole earth. He knows who believes in and follows Him. As long as man has true faith in Him, and experiences His work with an obedient heart, they will be kept by God in the disasters. I offer thanks and praises to God from the bottom of my heart. All the glory be to Almighty God!

Case Two: I’m Wang Ming, from Ninghua County, Fujian Province, China. On the evening of July 10, 2016, I was having supper at my home. Suddenly, the wind blew strongly outside, with lightning and thunder, and then there followed a torrential rain. Before I realized what happened, the door had been blown open. I tried to close the door with all my strength, but it still could not be shut tightly. At that time, a cracking sound came from outside and I realized that the roof tiles might be blown off by the wind. I could not help but worry whether the wind would blow over my house. So, I prayed to God immediately, “O God! Whether or not my house will be blown over is in Your hand. I’m willing to obey Your sovereignty and arrangements, and I will not make a complaint even if my house is blown over, for You are righteous. At any time, I will testify to Your righteousness.” After the prayer, I heard my neighbor shouting hastily outside, “Lao Wang! Lao Wang! Open the door quickly! I’m coming to seek help. The roof of my house was blown off by the strong wind!” After she came in, she said to me, “It’s really unbelievable! You didn’t put stones on the roof of asbestos tiles. But under such a strong wind, they still stand there, and are not influenced by the wind. I put lots of bricks on the roof tiles, but the roof tiles were all blown off. It’s beyond understanding!” Then I said to her, “I believe in Almighty God, the only true God who created all things. The disasters are brought down by God and also commanded by Him. Nowadays, mankind admires evil and totally indulges in eating, drinking, and the pursuit of pleasure. Very few are willing to worship God. Instead, they resist God, and some even curse the Heaven once they encounter a small problem. That’s why God sends down the disasters to destroy the wicked mankind. Only if mankind repents before God, accepts Almighty God’s work and truly follows Him, can they be saved in the disasters. Otherwise, they will end up punished and destroyed by God. This is God’s righteous disposition.” Hearing what I said, she nodded continually, saying, “Your God is so powerful.” And there and then, she said she would believe in Almighty God.

The next day, I heard that except my house which was still intact, other houses in our village were all damaged. The villagers heard from my neighbor that I was protected thanks to my faith in Almighty God. They discussed, “It seems that Almighty God who Lao Wang believes in is the true God.” Hearing that, I praised God from my heart! I’ve truly experienced Almighty God’s words, “Almighty God, Practical God! You are our strong tower; You are our shelter. We lie prostrate under Your wings; no disaster will come near us. This is Your divine care and protection” (“The Fifth Utterance” of Christ’s Initial Expressions and Testimonies in The Word Appears in the Flesh).

Case Three: I’m Chen Xia, living in the suburb of Wuhan City, Hubei Province, China. On July 6, 2016, it was raining heavily. That day, I needed to ride a motorcycle to pick up a sister in a church which was about 20 kilometers from my home. Later, it was raining harder and harder. When I drove more than 10 kilometers away from my home, I saw that the water in the farmland had spread to the road. I was anxious in my heart, worrying the water would be too deep so as to block the road. So, I pressed the accelerator and rode forward. In a little while, I was truly shocked at what I saw: the flood covered the road in front of me for about 200 meters long, and over 30 acres of farmland on both sides of the road became a world of waters.

I saw a young couple ahead walking in the water hand in hand. With a look, I estimated that the water was about a foot deep. I thought: Since they can walk through, I can make it too. So, I hurried to dash into the water in third gear. Unexpectedly, the water rose fast as I was driving, and it reached above my knees. The impact force of the flowing water stopped my motorcycle, and my legs could not move any inch as if they were bound to a post. At that time, the engine of my motorcycle died out and couldn’t start anymore. I had to stop there with my legs supporting the motorcycle. I was a small person, and even in normal times it was hard for me to support my motorcycle with my legs. So, I just kept swaying in such rapid water. And not far in front of me was a river. If I failed to support myself, I would be washed into the river and die. In panic, I cried out to Almighty God and asked Him to protect me. After I called to Him for four or five times, suddenly I found the flow of water around me clearly slowed down. More miraculously, when I tried to start my motorcycle, it worked. I put it in third gear and pressed the accelerator slightly. It ran in the water easily as if someone helped me push it from behind. I quickly finished more than 200 meters of the road covered with deep water. When the young couple saw this, they gave me a surprised look. I deeply knew all these were God’s wonderful deeds. I was so touched that my eyes became full of tears. I offered up a grateful prayer to God on my motorcycle. It was His grace and protection that I survived the disaster.

Later, I learned that the place I passed by was a flood-diversion area. That day, many people were washed away when they ventured to cross the water, and even a vehicle loaded with a cattle was carried away. But I, a small and weak girl, could drive a motorcycle in that rapid water and head off danger, which was totally God’s care and protection. I really experienced that God is always at my side watching over and protecting me. God is my reliance and my ever-present help. I make a resolution: I will worship Almighty God forever! All the glory be to Almighty God!

(The stories above are all the real experiences of the authors except their names are aliases.)

These experiences are a microcosm of Christians of the Church of Almighty God being protected by God in disasters. The facts tell us that when God sends down various disasters to punish them, only true followers of God who rely on and obey Him will be saved by God and remain after the disasters. Just as Almighty God says, “If mankind wishes to have a good fate, if a country wishes to have a good fate, then man must bow down to God in worship, repent and confess before God, or else the fate and destination of man will unavoidably end in catastrophe.” “The work of God is like mightily surging waves. No one can detain Him, and no one can halt His footsteps. Only those who listen carefully to His words, and who seek and thirst for Him, can follow His footsteps and receive His promise. Those who do not shall be subjected to overwhelming disaster and deserved punishment” (“God Presides Over the Fate of All Mankind” in The Word Appears in the Flesh). In the last days, only by accepting Almighty God’s work and listening carefully to His words can mankind avoid the suffering in disasters; otherwise, no one can escape the calamity of the last days! Nowadays, what path we should walk and what end we will receive all depend on our own choice.