Where Is Our Refuge From the Widespread Terror Attacks?

Xiao Yang

Following the Manchester Arena bombing on May 22 which killed 22 people, another terror attack took place at London Bridge and Borough Market at around 10 P.M. Saturday. A white van veered on and off the bridge sidewalk, running over pedestrians, and then three men jumped out of the vehicle and stabbed patrons indiscriminately at the bars and restaurants of Borough Market. 8 people were killed and 48 others injured at the scene.

Reading the news, I suddenly felt that the epidemic of terrorist attacks nowadays is actually another order of catastrophe. Since December there have been four terrorist attacks against the Christian minority in Egypt. And recently, a suicide bombing was carried out at Manchester Arena in England. Before the families of the victims of the Manchester attack were able to deal with their shock and grief, the tragedy was unfolded at London Bridge. The world is really tumultuous and fraught with peril. During these years, wars, terrorist attacks, earthquakes, plagues, floods, droughts, hail and other disasters have struck frequently and endangered our lives. It says in the Bible: “For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be earthquakes in divers places, and there shall be famines and troubles: these are the beginnings of sorrows” (Mark 13:8). The prophecy has been fulfilled. In recent years, as disasters are all around and terrorist incidents keep happening, where is our refuge? Are these natural and man-made disasters giving us the sign that the Lord Jesus has already come?

Yesterday when I was looking up some information on a website, I typed the keyword “refuge” into the search bar and hit Enter, and saw some words among the search results:

“You should know that it is the last days now. The devil Satan, like a roaring lion, walks about, searching for people to devour. All manner of plagues are now breaking out and there are many different kinds of evil spirits. Only I am the true God; only I am your refuge. You can only now hide in My secret place, only within Me, and the disasters will not befall you and no calamity will come near to your tent.”

“I am amongst you, I support you and I am your refuge.”

Having read these words, I was surprised, thinking: Men are unable to say this. Only God is our refuge. These words must come from the Holy Spirit! Then I thought of the scriptures: “O LORD, my strength, and my fortress, and my refuge in the day of affliction” (Jeremiah 16:19). “The God of my rock; in him will I trust: he is my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my high tower, and my refuge, my savior; you save me from violence” (2 Samuel 22:3). The prophets and saints in ages past as well as we Christians today who follow the Lord, have all realized that only God is our refuge. It is true that now is the last days when various disasters are plaguing the world. Every time when calamity or danger comes upon us, it is also the time when we need God’s rescue. The arrival of the disaster will make us hurriedly come before God, because we know that only by depending on God can we receive God’s care and protection. In this light, the repeated disasters are exactly one of God’s methods of saving us. However, we are simply too numb and insentient to realize this salvation. In many cases, we feel afraid and anxious amidst the calamities and earnestly pray to God, asking for His help, care and protection. Yet once the calamities have passed and we live in peace and comfort again, we will put God to the back of our mind and all day think of how to eat and enjoy ourselves in a better way and how to lead a happy and joyful life. We like to stray from God and live freely, doing whatever we want. We believe that we are already worshiping God by going to church on Sundays with our family. But could this really allow us to be protected by God in the disaster? The prophecies about the Second Coming of the Lord Jesus have basically all come true, which shows that the Lord is very likely to have come. Our utmost priority is to seek where the Lord has appeared to do His work. Only if we keep up with God’s footsteps and meet the Lord’s second coming can we enter the refuge truly and be cared for and protected by God.

If you have other understanding and new light, you’re welcome to have a real-time chat with us via the online chat window at the bottom of the website or send an email to info@findshepherd.com. We’re all ears to your experience and knowledge of belief in the Lord. Looking forward to exchanging our sharing and welcoming the Lord’s second coming together.

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Reflections on Frequent Extreme Weather in Mainland China – Biblical Prophecies Fulfilled

Reflections on Frequent Extreme Weather in Mainland China – Biblical Prophecies Fulfilled

Chen Ai

Since the beginning of this summer, the extreme weather has happened frequently in Mainland China. In May, abnormal weather appeared in Beijing. That heat struck Beijing was succeeded by large-area rare evening glow in the sky. In June, sixty-one cities of eleven provinces in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River in the south of China suffered floods, and the casualties and economic losses caused by the floods couldn’t be estimated. Most surprisingly, People’s Daily Online, one of the official media organizations, reported that it unexpectedly drifted snow in a few areas of Heilongjiang Province in June. At about six o’clock a.m. on June 9, Fenghuangshan scenic spot under the charge of Shanhetun Forestry Bureau in Heilongjiang Province had snowfall; at about ten o’clock in the morning, it drifted light snow in Yaxue posthouse of Xuexiang, Heilongjiang, and the snow lasted for about one hour; hailstones also fell in Xuexiang. Since July, the hot weather has yet continued. In the evening of July 7, squall line weather hit Beijing suddenly, with high wind, rain and hail coming together. This was another unusual weather, in which it had a fall of hail in summer, and which followed the hail weather happening in June in FengTai District. On the evening of July 13, Beijing was attacked by the violent storm again accompanied by hail stones, lightning flashing and thunder pealing in the skies over Beijing. To avoid being struck by thunderbolt, the Capital Airport suspended all the incoming and outgoing flights. On July 14, in Shanghai, it hailed in Pudong New Area, while the temperature approached 40°C in Xuhui District. Within a day, the devil capital had a total different world. …

So much strange weather seemed to indicate something. However, after these disasters and curious phenomena occurred, news media hardly focused on them. Some net friends even posted and said, “The media doesn’t report these disasters but reports show-business news items violently, and has made the news up on the lead stories, while the disaster news is paid little attention to.” Others also posted and said, “Now there are too many disasters, so we have become inured to the unusual.”

However, there is one point that has to be mentioned. As is well known to the people who believe in the Lord Jesus, the Bible prophesies, “And great earthquakes shall be in divers places, and famines, and pestilences; and fearful sights and great signs shall there be from heaven” (Luke 21:11). “For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be earthquakes in divers places, and there shall be famines and troubles: these are the beginnings of sorrows” (Mark 13:8). Hail, snow in June, rare evening glow emerged in the sky, the terrible floods and so on, all of these disasters are warning us that the prophecies related to the last days in the Bible have been fulfilled.

Some people will say, “So what is it even if these prophecies have been fulfilled? A little more disasters though there are, don’t we live all the same?”

The Bible records, “And as it was in the days of Noe, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man. They did eat, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, and the flood came, and destroyed them all. Likewise also as it was in the days of Lot; they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they built; But the same day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all” (Luke 17:26-29). In the times of Noah, before God destroyed the world with flood, He commanded Noah to make an ark. Noah believed God’s word. He made the ark as he spread the gospel. People then ate and drank, they married wives, and they were given in marriage, living in the licentious and corrupt situation and remaining impenitent. Until the day when the world was destroyed by flood, God sent a forty-day-and-night torrential rain and destroyed the whole world; in the days before God destroyed Sodom, it was filled with music and dancing night after night, alluring and bewitching. The people of Sodom, like those in Noah’s time, ate, drank, and feasted. Nevertheless, when the day of God came, fire and brimstone came down from heaven, and burned Sodom into ashes… How about us, the present people? Compared with the people in the times of Noah and Sodom, people in this age are ever more evil and corrupt than them in every way. We live in fleshly enjoyment of eating, drinking and pleasure-seeking, advocate the evil trends, and don’t worship God… Although we are able to live as usual, if we remain impenitent, when God’s day comes, won’t we have the same outcome as that of the people in those two ages?

It is recorded in the third and fourth chapter of the Book of Jonah in the Bible that the Ninevites wore sackcloth and ashes, confessed and repented their sins before God. The people of Nineveh and the people of Sodom alike, esteemed evil, degenerated, worshiped idols, and didn’t worship God, but all the Ninevites, from the king to his subjects, with the beast wore sackcloth and ashes, confessed and repented their sins before God when they heard Jonah convey God’s word that He would send down the catastrophe to destroy them. Due to their sincere repentance, God spared them from the catastrophe that He had said. From the historical facts we can see: The catastrophe is in the hand of God. God allows the catastrophe to come upon us not to destroy us but to warn us. He hopes that we can revive in the frequent disasters, understand the earnest intentions with which God works to save us, and come before God to repent like the people of Nineveh. God doesn’t have the heart to see us fall into the catastrophe.

God says, “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”. This passage let me see God’s thoughtful kind intention. God is waiting for us to turn to Him. No matter how great the catastrophe is in the last days, only if we truly repent to Him, are willing to rely on and look onto Him, and come before Him, can we get His care and protection!

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What Is the “Hidden Manna”?

What Is the “Hidden Manna”?

Li Lan

The word “manna” is familiar to all believers in the Lord, and each of us has some knowledge of it. Here I want to share with you my understanding of “manna.”

The Bible records: After Moses led the Israelites out of Egypt, they stayed in the wilderness for forty years. During that time, God sent manna from heaven to feed them every day. Although the Israelites misunderstood and blamed God at the time, He didn’t treat them according to their ignorance, but still granted them His mercy and graced them—sending down manna to feed them. This makes me see God’s almightiness as well as His great tolerance and love for mankind. If not for God’s mercy and grace, at that time none of the Israelites in the wilderness would have survived. In those days, the manna sent by God from heaven was material food and also what the Israelites needed most to survive.

When the Lord Jesus came to do the work of redeeming mankind, He said: “I am the living bread which came down from heaven” (John 6:51), and “I am the way, the truth, and the life” (John 14:6). The Lord Jesus said that what He brought to man was the living bread, from which we can see what God supplies to man is not only his material needs but even more the life in the spirit. During the Lord Jesus’ three and a half years of working among man, He spoke many words in accordance with the needs of man in that age. And “the living bread which came down from heaven” at that time no longer meant material food; it meant the Lord’s word.

Jehovah God also said: “And he humbled you, and suffered you to hunger, and fed you with manna, which you knew not, neither did your fathers know; that he might make you know that man does not live by bread only, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of the LORD does man live” (Deuteronomy 8:3). These words clearly tell us that God’s words are vitally important to us mankind. We do not live by the material food alone, but are in more need of the provision of God’s words. However, when we are following the Lord, we mostly enjoy His grace, yet have no true experience of these words of God: “man does not live by bread only, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of the LORD does man live.”

I noticed these words in Revelation: “He that has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit said to the churches; To him that overcomes will I give to eat of the hidden manna …” (Revelation 2:17). And the words “He that has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit said to the churches” are said seven times. Since they are especially emphasized in Revelation, that means what the Spirit said to the churches must be very important, and that God wants everyone to hear His utterances. But here it is said: “To him that overcomes will I give to eat of the hidden manna.” Now that the Lord Jesus’ words have been revealed to all of mankind, they cannot be the “hidden manna.” Then what does the “hidden manna” refer to?

In John 16:12-13, the Lord Jesus said: “I have yet many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. However, when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will show you things to come.” After reading these two verses, I realized: When the Lord returns, He will speak again, bestow more truths to us mankind, and reveal all the truths and mysteries we don’t understand in the Bible. And these truths are exactly what we need in our spirit and will allow us to genuinely appreciate that the words “man does not live by bread only, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of the LORD does man live” are real.

Now the church is in desolation. We feel very thirsty and hungry like being in the wilderness. Yet we are not physically hungry like the Israelites but thirsty in spirit, and what we need is the work of the Holy Spirit. Even though we have prayed to the Lord many times, it is to no avail. If this keeps up, we will have no way to go and end up dying of hunger. Now we are in this kind of circumstance. So, what is God’s will? Is He using the desolation in the church to warn us that we should not sit and passively await destruction anymore but should actively search for His new words—the hidden manna, so that we can receive the supply in our spirit?

If you have any question, please click the online chat button to chat with us. We look forward to your message.

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Once Saved Always Saved? – Daily Bible Reading

Zhang Ying

Meditations on Being Saved

Every brother and sister who genuinely believes in the Lord thinks they have been saved through their belief in the Lord Jesus, because the Bible records, “For with the heart man believes to righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made to salvation” (Romans 10:10). So, many brothers and sisters in the Lord believe that “saved by faith” means they are saved forever. Then, does this view agree with God’s words and with truth? Next, let’s fellowship about what exactly the real being saved means.

We all know, in the Age of Law, before God asked Moses to lead the Israelites out of Egypt, all Israelites were slaves to the Pharaoh of Egypt and suffered great torture, living a life of no freedom, to the extent that their painful cry reached Jehovah God’s ears. Jehovah God didn’t have the heart to let them be mistreated by the Pharaoh. Thereupon He called Moses to lead them out of Egypt and enter Canaan. As for the Israelites, when they were saved by God from the Pharaoh and broke free from the tyranny of the Pharaoh, they were saved. But it cannot be said that they no longer need the salvation of Jehovah God. Hence before they entered Canaan, Jehovah God issued the law through Moses, making them know how to fear Him, how to serve Him and know how to practice righteousness, how to gain His blessings, what the evil deeds were, and what’s behavior would be cursed by Him, as well as how to get along with others and how to live and so on. God’s work in the Age of Law put the life of the Israelites onto the right path gradually. Their life was not chaotic any more. Especially with the law, the Israelites knew what sins were and how to offer sacrifices to God to be free of their own sins. As for the Israelites, they were saved again.

Does “Once Saved” Really Mean “Always Saved”？

However, at the end of the Age of Law, people failed to keep the law and lost their reverence for God, to the extent that they sacrificed the blind or lame animals on Jehovah God’s altar. If that continued, they would face the danger of being condemned and executed by the law. In order to free man from the threat of death, God was incarnated on earth to do the work of redemption and was crucified as a sin offering for man. As long as man prayed to the Lord Jesus to confess and repent, they would be forgiven of their sins. As such, the sinners under the law were redeemed from Satan’s hand and would not be condemned and executed by the law, living in the grace bestowed by the Lord Jesus. For people under the law, this meant that they were saved again. Just as the Bible says, “There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:1). “That if you shall confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus, and shall believe in your heart that God has raised him from the dead, you shall be saved” (Romans 10:9). Here, “no condemnation” refers to not being condemned by the law; “you shall confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus, and shall believe in your heart, you shall be saved” here means that when people believe in the Lord Jesus and accept His salvation of the cross, they won’t be executed by the law anymore for being unable to keep the law. That is, we won’t be condemned because of believing in the Lord Jesus and God doesn’t remember our transgressions. This is what it means to be saved. However, we should know that although our sins have been forgiven, yet it does not prove that we have no sins. All believers still live in the cycle of sinning each day and confessing each night. Our deep-seated root of sin within our nature has not been resolved. Satan’s poisons such as arrogance, self-righteousness, greed, jealousness, hate, evil and selfishness still accompany us every day, so that we live in sin in spite of ourselves. Even though we often confess our sins to the Lord, our sins have not been reduced but constantly increased. And most Christians cannot live out the glory of the Lord even at home and they make a fuss with relatives owing to some trivial matter. Furthermore, in the church, the co-workers always raise jealousy and strife among themselves. Meanwhile, the believers are often lured by the world and then pursue the evil worldly trends and hanker after fleshly enjoyment, living in sin. These phenomena suffice to show that we have not been saved completely. That is to say, we’re only forgiven of our sins by the Lord Jesus. But He never did the work of thorough rooting out man’s sinful nature, therefore, we have not achieved true sanctity.

Thus, “Once saved, always saved” is people’s notion and imagination and does not conform with the truth at all. What’s more, never did the Lord Jesus say that. His work of redemption is only to teach man how to be patient and humble and how to confess and repent, which only involves some change in man’s outward behavior but not the transformation of man’s nature. So we have not been truly saved according to our current condition.

How Can We Be Truly Saved?

With regard to this issue, I’ve studied many verses. Thank the Lord. I finally found out the answer in the Bible. The verses record, “Who are kept by the power of God through faith to salvation ready to be revealed in the last time” (1 Peter 1:5). “So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and to them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin to salvation” (Hebrews 9:28). “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” (John 12:48). The Book of Revelation prophesied, “And I looked, and, see, a Lamb stood on the mount Sion, and with him an hundred forty and four thousand, having his Father’s name written in their foreheads. And I heard a voice from heaven, as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of a great thunder: and I heard the voice of harpers harping with their harps: And they sung as it were a new song before the throne, and before the four beasts, and the elders: and no man could learn that song but the hundred and forty and four thousand, which were redeemed from the earth. These are they which were not defiled with women; for they are virgins. These are they which follow the Lamb wherever he goes. These were redeemed from among men, being the first fruits to God and to the Lamb. And in their mouth was found no guile: for they are without fault before the throne of God” (Revelation 14:1-5).

From these verses above, we can see God will do a new work in the last days. Moreover, this work is different from the Lord Jesus’ work of redemption and probably refers to the work of judgment mentioned in the Bible. Through the judgment, man’s sins will be cleansed and eventually they will break free from the bondage of sins. Just as the prophecy says, “And in their mouth was found no guile: for they are without fault before the throne of God.” Is it not the symbol of man’s being purified? We can possibly get rid of sinful nature thoroughly at that time. It seems that whether our sinful nature can be purified is related to the work God does. The work Jehovah God and the Lord Jesus did is not the work of removing our sins, but is only the work of knowing our sins and confessing sins. So no matter how we practice, we are unable to escape the bondage of sins. Therefore, we cannot be fully saved. Only if God does the work of purifying man in the last days can we have the opportunity of fully being saved. Just like the Bible prophesies, “Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city” (Revelation 22:14). Thank the Lord for His enlightenment. I understand what the real being saved is and the way to be ultimately purified.

Brothers and sisters, that’s all for today’s fellowship. If you have any different understanding or suggestion, please contact us at any time. May all the glory and praise be to God! Amen!

Since the concept that “once saved, always saved” is wrong, how could we be saved forever and attain the way of eternal life? Where should we go to look for the path of salvation? For more recommendation of articles, please click:

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What Does the Name “Jesus” Mean?

What Does the Name “Jesus” Mean?

Focus on God’s Names: Mystery Series of Jehovah, Jesus and the Almighty:
Episode II—What Does the Name “Jesus” Mean?

In the last fellowship, we shared the origin and meaning of God’s name “Jehovah.” Afterward, we received letters from some brothers and sisters in the Lord enquiring: “Since the name of Jehovah God will endure forever, it should be perpetuated onward. But, why did God’s name change to ‘Jesus’ in the Age of Grace? Is there any deeper significance that lies herein?” Presumably most brothers and sisters want to seek the truth of this question. So, today let’s fellowship about the reason why God took the name of Jesus instead of Jehovah in the Age of Grace and the meaning of the name of Jesus.

As is known to all, God’s deeds are immeasurable. Neither any of God’s names can represent God fully, nor can it express what God has and is. God originally has no name and He is called God. It is because God needs to guide, redeem and rescue mankind and He does different works that He takes different names in different ages. As we all know, the Old Testament of the Bible records that Jehovah God decreed the laws and commandments to lead man in their lives. So that they realized that God would bless them if they abided by the laws and commandments, or they would be condemned and cursed by God. Jehovah God expressed the disposition of wrath and curse. At the end of the Age of Law, people couldn’t keep the law, so they were in the danger of being condemned and executed under the law. In order to redeem the entire human race, God was incarnated for the first time to do the work of redemption under the name of the Lord Jesus. Provided that man prayed to Him to confess their sins and repent, they could be forgiven of their sins and enjoy the abundant grace bestowed upon them by God. The New Testament of the Bible records that the Lord Jesus was full of love and mercy, which precisely represents the disposition God expressed in the Age of Grace. It can be seen that when doing different works, God expresses His different dispositions and His names change accordingly, which is the principle of His work that is always new and never old.

For example, when someone works as a teacher in a school, people call him teacher. When he has a new job in a factory one day, others will be unfit to call him teacher when they encounter him. For teaching is his former work and teacher is his former Appellation. So it is most suitable to call him a master worker in accordance with his present work. Therefore, with God’s work always progressing forward, His disposition and what He has and is are unceasingly revealed to us. At the same time, God’s name changes according to the needs of His work.

However, no matter how God’s name alters, His disposition and substance will never change, much less the aims of His work. Like a passage of God’s words says: “‘Jehovah’ is the name that I took during My work in Israel, and it means the God of the Israelites (God’s chosen people) who can take pity on man, curse man, and guide the life of man. It means the God who possesses great power and is full of wisdom. ‘Jesus’ is Emmanuel, and it means the sin offering that is full of love, full of compassion, and redeems man. He did the work of the Age of Grace, and represents the Age of Grace, and can only represent one part of the management plan. That is to say, only Jehovah is the God of the chosen people of Israel, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob, the God of Moses, and the God of all the people of Israel. And so in the current age, all the Israelites apart from the tribe of Judah worship Jehovah. They make sacrifices to Him on the altar, and serve Him wearing priests’ robes in the temple. What they hope for is the reappearance of Jehovah. Only Jesus is the Redeemer of mankind. He is the sin offering that redeemed mankind from sin. Which is to say, the name of Jesus came from the Age of Grace, and existed because of the work of redemption in the Age of Grace. The name of Jesus existed to allow the people of the Age of Grace to be reborn and saved, and is a particular name for the redemption of the whole of mankind. And so the name Jesus represents the work of redemption, and denotes the Age of Grace. The name Jehovah is a particular name for the people of Israel who lived under the law. In each age and each stage of work, My name is not baseless, but holds representative significance: Each name represents one age. ‘Jehovah’ represents the Age of Law, and is the honorific for the God worshiped by the people of Israel. ‘Jesus’ represents the Age of Grace, and is the name of the God of all those who were redeemed during the Age of Grace” (“The Savior Has Already Returned Upon a ‘White Cloud’” in the Word Appears in the Flesh).

Now we are more able to comprehend that God’s name in each age has the extraordinary significance, containing His disposition, the principle of His work and the work He does in that age. If people cannot understand the meaning of God’s names, they will be unlikely to have a knowledge of God, and then they will merely have a confused kind of faith. Belief in God means neither receiving grace and blessings from the Lord nor sacrificing and giving up things for God. What is important is that man should have a knowledge of God, knowing how God has led and saved us step by step since His creation of the world. Only in this way can we somewhat read God’s intention of saving mankind and better welcome the return of the Lord Jesus. When people know that God’s name in one age represents His work and disposition in that age, do they still have any misgiving about what name the returned Lord Jesus will use?

Please watch the next episode—What is the Name of the Returned Lord Jesus in the Last Days?

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Echoes and Reflections on Storms: Typhoon Pakhar Makes Landfall Closely after Hato

Echoes and Reflections on Storms: Typhoon Pakhar Makes Landfall Closely after Hato

Shi Lei

On 23rd August, a terrifying video clips have emerged on social media showing that in some place in Zhongshan city, Guangdong province, a male truck driver tried to hold up the truck with his hands as Typhoon Hato struck. Unexpectedly, the truck was overturned by strong wind and the driver was crushed and killed instantly.

Yes, it is Hato, the 13th Typhoon which caused this tragic event. After US in the Western Hemisphere experienced the total solar eclipse on August 21st, witnessing the fulfillment of the biblical prophecy of the last days one more time, China has suffered a new disaster struck. At noon on 23rd, Typhoon Hato slammed into Macau and Hong Kong, continued to make landfall in the city of Zhuhai in southern China, widespread devastations have been made in its path. Only 3 days and 12 hours later, Typhoon Pakhar came, tracking a quite similar path to Typhoon Hato, which is the shortest interval of two tropical cyclone signals no. 8 since July 1966 in Hong Kong.

Macau’s Chief Executive Fernando Chui spoke on August 24th, said Hato is the strongest typhoon in 53 years. There have been at least 10 victims and more than 200 injured in Macau, whose population is only 648 thousand. Fong Soi-kun, director of the Meteorological and Geophysical Bureau had resigned over the delay and error of prediction. Typhoon caused citywide serious flooding, a massive blackout of power and lack of water supply in Macau.

Hong Kong issues the first Hurricane Signal No.10 in 5 years, which is the highest level of tropical cyclone warning signals. In the wake of two typhoons within one week, battered Hong Kong suffered significant economic losses, leaving 1 people dead and more than 100 people injured.

5 coastal provinces of southeastern China wreaked havoc as the same. As of August 26th, overall, more than 700,000 people were affected, 15 people were killed, 1 was missing, and the direct economic losses amounted up to CN¥12.18 billion (US$1.83 billion).

As time goes by, death toll may continue to climb.

It always arouses curiosity because every typhoon has a special name, sometimes it is beautiful. But as shown in the media, when the gales sweep the cities and villages, cars, trees, houses, and people all become a mess and no aesthetic beauty can be felt at the very least. The chaotic situation and sudden lost of lives are all telling the intrinsic characteristic of the last days: There are more disasters and fears, and the fate of humanity is more precarious. Just like the truck driver, he may have been a driver for many years and have never met any fatal danger in his driving, but was crushed and killed by his own overturned car in the typhoon which occurred suddenly. Such a misfortune is not expected by anyone, however, who can rid himself from the attack of the disasters?

According to the prophecies in the Bible, today of the last days, the increasing of disasters in frequency and ferocity has been an inevitable trend. Then, what information does God convey to us through the disasters? Death is not the ultimate goal, because those wicked ones who never repent can never escape from the disasters, but for the survivors, the increasing number of disasters are worthy of reflection.

Nowadays, the disasters ensue one after another as if they have been numbered. Storm Pakhar’s arrival comes as the cities are still reeling from Hato. It is unpredictable how many disasters will follow up frequently. Meanwhile, those who don’t come before God lose their lives in the disaster like to be numbered also. … Would we bow our head, no longer craving physical enjoyment and indulgence of desires, seeking for fortune and fame, or scheming and cheating, only when the devastating catastrophe completely befalls as prophesied in the Revelation and no leeway is left for repentance at all? But will it be so late then? Just like in Noah’s days, when the Deluge came and was about to engulf all the people, they just recalled Noah’s message and began to seek for God’s caring. But the ark had closed the door. What would be the significance of waking up so late? Their fate had been destined when they rejected the gospel during the days when Noah was instructed to build the ark by God. Therefore, it is not that God had not given people chances, but people at that time didn’t cherish them.

The Lord Jesus prophesied, “But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be” (Mat 24:37). “And great earthquakes shall be in divers places, and famines, and pestilences; and fearful sights and great signs shall there be from heaven” (Luk 21:11). History always repeats itself in an amazing way: mankind in both ages was identically corrupt, and both were times of the approaching of great disasters, it has revealed that the day of God judging the world publicly is imminent.

Now there are only various frequent local disasters, like earthquakes, floods, typhoons, and plagues, and also the fulfillment of astronomical phenomena, like four blood moons and total solar eclipse. Once the great disaster befalls entirely, it will be the time of God’s public judgment of the world, also the time limit that God gives man for repentance has reached the deadline. The door of grace will be closed. How many people will repeat the tragedy of history of sorely regretting losing such a good opportunity like those people who did not enter the ark? Hence, the disasters of today are more warning and exhortation than punishment. God hopes those unrepentant people who are trapped in sin can turn toward God as soon as possible. God will protect all those who believe in Him sincerely and love the truth, letting us survive the disaster and living forever in His kingdom.

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The Difference Between Worshiping God and Worshiping Idols

The Difference Between Worshiping God and Worshiping Idols

Now, a statement circulating online says that putting illustrations of the Lord Jesus on the Internet or sharing them with brothers and sisters is worshiping idols, not worshiping God. Does it conform to the truth? How can we tell the difference between worshiping God and worshiping idols?

The Lord Jesus said, “when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeks such to worship him” (John 4:23). Based on these words from the Lord Jesus, many thoughtful, savvy people will acknowledge such a fact: To judge whether or not one truly worships God depends not fully on his outward behavior, but on whether he truly believes in God and thirsts for the truth, and whether he is an honest man who shows a true representation of himself before God. That is to say, a man who appears devout on the outside is not necessarily a true worshiper of God, while a true worshiper of God focuses on worshiping God in spirit and in truth, not outward practices. So, my brothers and sisters and I all believe illustrations of the Lord Jesus are merely a symbol and metaphor which represents God is with us. We are not worshiping idols by using these pictures. What does worshiping idols truly refer to? It means to regard the illustrations or the Bible as God, and prostrate and kneel before them. That is truly worshiping idols. Let us put forward some examples. Some people must pray with a Bible in front of them, and some always take a Bible with them wherever they go and even hold it as they sleep. Still, there are some believers who must pray with their faces to a portrait of the Lord Jesus, and some others who make long prayers laying their hands on the Bible. These people all believe what they do is worshiping God. Yet, in fact, they have been unable to feel the presence of the Lord and the work of the Holy Spirit long ago. Some preachers in the churches cannot communicate any true knowledge of God, or reveal the real road for the believers to practice the truth and follow God’s will. Those who listen to the messages in a muddled way don’t know to actively search for the footsteps of the work of the Holy Spirit and only hold to various religious rituals, even though they cannot obtain the supply of life. Is this type of belief really worshiping God? If one cannot gain the work of the Holy Spirit and worships the illustrations and the Bible as God, then the object of his worship is actually empty air or a vague God in his notions and imagination, and in essence he is worshiping idols. By contrast, some people who have a picture of the Lord Jesus hanging in their homes are very pious as they pray to Him, and in their prayers, they often speak from their hearts, give thought to the Lord’s love, and are moved to tears. They normally focus on practicing and experiencing the Lord’s words, frequently receive enlightenment from the Holy Spirit and reap knowledge about the reality of the truth. This is the result reached through the work of the Holy Spirit. For such people, who can say they are worshiping idols?

Second of all, some people do not honor God as great as they believe in God, but blindly believe in and worship their pastors and elders. They believe and obey whatever their pastors and elders say, and never rely on God’s words to discern whether their words are in accordance with the truth and whether their deeds are after God’s heart. With regard to receiving the Lord’s second coming, many people are especially obedient to their pastors and elders. If their pastors and elders condemn and oppose something, they will follow them without discernment. When the pastors and elders claim that the Lord has not returned or define the way in which He shall come, they put blind faith in it, rather than discern it according to God’s words or seek a way of practice that is after God’s heart in God’s words. In their eyes, belief in God means to listen to the pastors and elders in all things. They worship and have blind faith in man so much that they even obey man as God. This is truly worshiping idols, and the men they worship are precisely their idols.

The Lord Jesus said, “Not every one that said to me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that does the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in your name? and in your name have cast out devils? and in your name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess to them, I never knew you: depart from me, you that work iniquity” (Matthew 7:21-23). As we believe in God, we should have a place for God in our hearts, often exalt and testify to God, seek truth in all things, submit to God’s word and put it into practice. This is following the will of God, and through this we can certainly obtain the work of the Holy Spirit. In this way, no matter how many illustrations of the Lord Jesus we place in our homes and churches, or on the websites, it is completely right, because it is for the sake of spreading the gospel and bearing testimony to God, and it is regarded as a positive thing commended by God, which is beyond doubt. Conversely, those who believe in God in name only and worship status and power in reality, blindly believe in and follow the pastors and elders and treat man as God, hold to letters and doctrines as the truth—such people cannot possibly have the work of the Holy Spirit. No matter how many religious ceremonies they follow, God will not like them, but instead detest and reject them, for they never take exalting and bearing witness to God as their duty, or consider implementing and experiencing God’s words as important. These people are the chaff and false believers without life. Their faith is genuinely worshiping idols.

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