Is the Hope of Rapture to meet Jesus Christ Achievable?

Is the Hope of Rapture to meet Jesus Christ Achievable?

Li Huan

Like many brothers and sisters who truly believe in the Lord, I have been longing for the return of the Lord Jesus, holding to the words in the Bible, “Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord” (1 Thessalonians 4:17). Thus, we have been obsessively looking at the sky, yearning that a day will come when the Lord Jesus will take us into the clouds to meet with Him in the air, and then we can enter the kingdom of heaven and gain eternal life. Many years, however, have passed, and the signs of the second coming of the Lord have basically fulfilled, but we never see a believer be caught up to the heavens. It makes me wonder: Is this hope realistic? Does this word of Paul represent God’s will? If not, then aren’t we imaging it out of thin air? I have looked through the Bible, yet nothing of the kind that the Lord Jesus ever said was found. God is faithful, and He has said, “He is as good as His word, and His word shall be accomplished, and that which is accomplished lasts forever.” What God has promised will definitely be accomplished and fulfilled, as His word is the truth, the way. Now that the Lord Jesus never made such a statement, and man’s words cannot represent words of God, the Lord has His own will and plan on how to collect Christians into His kingdom when He comes back. Yet Paul was merely a man, a gospel-preaching apostle who had ever pursued the Lord Jesus and His disciples, and later was conquered after being blinded by the Lord’s great light. Even though Paul’s words were recorded in the Bible, and part of them were inspired by the Holy Spirit conformed to the truth, they were still not the words of God. What’s more, some of them were not the enlightenment of the Holy Spirit and had no basis in God’s words, but mostly originated from man’s notions and imaginations and were colored by the absurdity of man’s mind. That’s why we cannot take man’s words as the basis for receiving the second coming of Jesus Christ. So, when seeking the issue “whether or not we can be caught up into the air,” we should use God’s words and His work in the Bible as the basis, which is in accord with God’s will.

The Lord Jesus once said, “And no man has ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven” (John 3:13). When we try carefully to figure out the words of the Lord Jesus, we can see His great power and His humility. Only God can both ascend to the highest place and descend to the lowest place, while we humans cannot ascend to a high place to meet God. Moreover, God ordains that we human beings live on earth. He made our mankind’s ancestors Adam and Eve out of clay, and then put them in the Garden of Eden on earth and made them live there. They listened to His words and were blessed by Him, ruling over everything in the garden. Instead of in heaven, the humanity that followed still had dominion over all things on the earth. When the mankind on earth were deeply corrupted by Satan, filled with violence, God decided to destroy the earth with a flood and to save Noah, a righteous man who worshiped God. At that time, He didn’t take Noah to the air to escape the flood, but let him build the ark, so that when the flood came, his family of eight could take shelter there. In the Age of Law, God issued the laws through Moses, leading man to live on earth. In addition, when God rescued the Israelites from the hunting of Pharaoh on their way out of Egypt, He didn’t lift them into the air, but carried out His authority on earth, allowing them to see His guidance and know His power and wisdom. Also, in the Age of Grace, man didn’t go to heaven to obtain the sin offering so as to receive the Lord’s redemption, but instead the Lord Jesus personally became flesh on earth, and redeemed all mankind through His crucifixion. By this way, we man received His salvation, knew His love and mercy, and enjoyed the abundant grace God had bestowed upon us. Then, how will God receive us into the kingdom when He comes back in the last days? With the question, I studied the Bible and read the words of the Lord Jesus, “After this manner therefore pray you: Our Father which are in heaven, Hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, Your will be done in earth, as it is in heaven” (Matthew 6:9-10). This is what the Lord said, which contains the will of God: God allows us to worship Him on earth and wait for His kingdom to be established on earth; He will live on earth with man, and make the kingdoms of earth become Christ’s kingdom. Just as Revelation prophesied, “And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God” (Revelation 21:3). So we are completely clear. God never said that man would be taken into heaven both in His previous work and in the Lord’s prophecies. So we always believe that the Lord will take us into the air when He returns; is this not our notions and imaginations? We always want to be raptured into heaven; is this not our extravagant thoughts? This is totally not in line with the Lord’s words and His will.

When I repeatedly pondered over how to understand the words that the Lord would bring us into the air to meet Him when He came, I suddenly recalled a prophecy in Revelation, “And I saw another angel fly in the middle of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach to them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people” (Revelation 14:6). Then I thought: Now messages about the Lord’s return are spreading widely on the Internet. Why is it like the angels transmitting the gospel through the air? If we people really accept the good news of the Lord’s return through the Internet, are we lifted to heaven to meet with the Lord? Clearly, there must be mysteries in our rapture into heaven to meet with the Lord. The Lord Jesus ever 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” (John 16:12-13). From these words, we can easily understand that when the Lord comes, He will tell us what we don’t know and the future things, and guide us to understand the mystery of the truth. So facing the Lord’s second coming, what we should expect is the Spirit of truth and all of the truths He expresses, for He will guide us to understand the truth and come before God. When we meet the Spirit of truth, are we raised up before God? Isn’t this kind of rapture very real? This is worthy of our deep thought.

The Lord Jesus said, “And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom comes; go you out to meet him” (Matthew 25:6). So, at this crucial moment when the Lord comes again in the last days, whether we can keep up with the Lord’s footsteps and be raptured to His presence depend on whether we can spend more time pondering and seeking after His words, whether we can relate the current news of His return to take heed of such issues as where there is the Holy Spirit’s word to the churches and where there are people testifying God’s newest words and utterances, and whether we can recognize the Lord’s voice and thus welcome His arrival when we seek and investigate actively. These are all the key questions for the wise virgins to pay attention to when investigating and welcoming the returned Lord, and are great matters that relate to our rapture and salvation!

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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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Why Only Peter Recognized Jesus As Christ?

Why Only Peter Recognized Jesus As Christ?

Bai Xue

The Bible records, “When Jesus came into the coasts of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I the Son of man am? And they said, Some say that you are John the Baptist: some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets. He said to them, But whom say you that I am? And Simon Peter answered and said, You are the Christ, the Son of the living God. And Jesus answered and said to him, Blessed are you, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood has not revealed it to you, but my Father which is in heaven. And I say also to you, That you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. And I will give to you the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatever you shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatever you shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven” (Matthew 16:13-19). Every time I saw these verses, I would think: The twelve disciples were all the followers of the Lord Jesus, but when the Lord Jesus asked them who they thought He was, their answers were different. And only Peter said the Lord Jesus was the Christ, the Son of the living God. Peter recognized the inherent substance and identity of the Lord Jesus, so his answer was the most accurate, and also satisfactory to the Lord Jesus. Because only Peter had knowledge of God, the Lord gave him the keys of the kingdom of heaven. So, since they were all the Lord Jesus’ disciples, why was it that only Peter recognized Jesus as Christ at that time?

Later, through reading the Bible, communicating with some brothers and sisters, and praying to God, I gained some enlightenment. I came to realize it was no accident that Peter recognized the Lord Jesus as Christ; actually it was closely related to his careful observation of the Lord Jesus’ action and His being and possessions in ordinary life. During the period of the Lord Jesus’ work, Peter lived with the Lord Jesus and ate with Him. He focused on observing every action and word of the Lord Jesus in real life, and from that he appreciated with his heart the disposition and emotions of God that the Lord Jesus revealed. Particularly, Peter paid special attention to the Lord Jesus’ words, in which he often searched for the truth and sought God’s will. He found that every word the Lord Jesus spoke was the truth, and could bring people the supply of truth and life, and that no one could speak such words. He also gradually knew God’s disposition and what God has and is from the Lord Jesus’ utterances and work. And he saw that even though the Lord Jesus looked like a normal human being, and wasn’t physically imposing or born in the palace or in the noble’s family as people imagined, yet what He expressed was the truth that wasn’t possessed by corrupt people, and He was equipped with all that God has and is. His magnanimity was as boundless as the seas and the sky, and His tolerance and mercy for mankind was without limits, yet He was humbly hidden and dined with the sinners. He was not arrogant, not selfish, and He had no trace of any corrupt disposition of human beings. All that was revealed by the Lord Jesus was holiness and righteousness, and His selfless love for us mankind. His emotions of pleasure, anger, sorrow, and happiness were not for Himself. He took pleasure because the truth He expressed had brought the light to mankind, and He felt sorrow because corrupt mankind was living in the sin and being afflicted by Satan. The truth that the Lord Jesus expressed was the reality of all positive things, and such essence and being could only be possessed by God Himself. It was through each and every detail of his contact with the Lord Jesus that Peter recognized the Lord Jesus as the Christ, the Son of the living God. Eventually, because of his knowledge of God, Peter was approved by the Lord, and the Lord gave him the keys of the kingdom of heaven and entrusted him with the mission to shepherd the flock.

I envy and aspire Peter’s experience of knowing the Lord Jesus. And from it, I saw the precious quality of Peter was that he never came to know the Lord Jesus from His appearance, but by gradually experiencing the actual words and work of the Lord Jesus, feeling them with his heart, and pursuing to know God, know God’s substance, God’s disposition, and God’s being and possessions. And eventually he recognized the Lord Jesus as the incarnate Christ. It also has brought me some inspiration: If we want our belief in God to allow us to achieve true knowledge of God, we must focus on God’s word. For it is through His word that God enables us to know His being and possessions, His disposition, His will, His requirements of man, and so on. Besides, only by taking heed of God’s word, can we come to know Him little by little. I am willing to seek the truth and grasp God’s intention more in God’s word like Peter, experience God’s work to gain knowledge of God’s disposition, and pursue to be a person who knows God.

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Why Does the CCP Require Real-Name Registration for Internet and Telephone Users?

Why Does the CCP Require Real-Name Registration for Internet and Telephone Users?

Zhen Yan

Following the implementation of the Cybersecurity Law in mainland China on June 1, the 24th article of which stipulates that network operators must require users to register using their real identity information and, if they refuse to provide it, must not provide them with relevant services, China will fully impose real-identity system on mobile phones. According to the Chinese government, 92 percent of China’s telephone users had been registered under real names by May 2016. Now telecommunications companies are required to make sure that all telephone services will have had real-name registration by June 30, 2017.

Is it good or bad news for people in mainland China? The emergence of the Internet and development of the telecommunications have indeed brought many benefits to our work and lives and broaden our knowledge and understanding of the outside world. However, people in mainland China have never enjoyed Internet freedom due to constant website blockages of the Chinese Communist Party’s cyberpolice. Overseas information cannot come in freely and the truth of major domestic incidents cannot be sent out; people’s posts on social media platforms are often deleted by the authorities, and their calls are also kept under surveillance. Outwardly, the Chinese Communist Party professed that the new cybersecurity law was meant for protecting the legal rights of citizens and upholding national security and society’s public interest. Yet in reality it has been restricting the usage of Internet and telecommunications and monitoring all the Internet and telephone users in mainland China. For example, in the spring of 2011, a group of strange men burst into a Christian’s home and directly took her to the local police station. During the interrogation, she learned that she was arrested because she had called a sister in the church talking about transporting the spiritual books, which attracted the notice of the police from the State Security Bureau during surveillance and led to the apprehension of the several sisters involved in the transport and the shutdown of the printing plant. As another example, after Chinese President Xi Jinping announced a new policy on news media control that all Chinese media had to serve the party in a visit to three state media organizations on Feb. 19, Ren Zhiqiang, an ex-president of Beijing Huayuan Group, a property company, posted statements challenging this policy and saying that the news media should serve the people, not the party. The posts of this outspoken property tycoon were quickly deleted. On Feb. 22, a website managed by the Beijing municipal party committee criticized Mr. Ren, saying that he was acting against the party.

Obviously, the Chinese Communist Party aims to thoroughly limit freedom of speech by fully carrying out real-identity registration of Internet and telephone users. It has always employed the strategy of “Submit to me or perish,” giving no punishment to those obedient people who specially sing praise for it and are at its beck and call, while thinking of every possible way to crack down on those who have discernment of it and dare to speak the truth as well as the Christians. If the latter want to tell the truth, they will be silenced unceremoniously by the party, and any further insistence will make them lose their lives. Wasn’t Zhang Zhixin impaled in the throat and shot for opposing Mao Zedong’s tyranny during the Cultural Revolution? To take another example: In the summer of 2011, a Christian in Xi’an City received a call from her daughter in Yunnan Province, who told her that many Christians had been arrested by the Chinese Communist Party in Kunming City and tried to persuade her out of her belief in God for it would put her at risk of being arrested. Less than an hour after that, the police officers from the local police station came to her, questioning whether she believed in God and repeatedly warning her not to do that. Only then did she realize that the Chinese Communist Party had been wiretapping. … From the facts above, we can see that the Chinese Communist Party has been monitoring people by the Internet and telecommunications. The purpose of real-name registration of all Internet and telephone users required by the party is to gain complete control over the Chinese people and to have them obey it and support it.

Now the Chinese Communist government has developed authenticated identity administration for Internet and telephone users, and every word of the mainland Chinese is monitored and mastered by the party. Once one is found suspected, he will be tracked and located wherever he goes. In this way, the Chinese Communist Party’s aim of controlling people is achieved, while the Chinese people have completely lost their freedom. No one can be brave enough to speak the truth, much less do something against the party’s will. So, the Chinese Communist Party’s rule of real-name registration for all Internet and telephone users undoubtedly shackles the Chinese people. How miserable the mainland Chinese!

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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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What Kind of People Are Considered God’s Followers?

What Kind of People Are Considered God’s Followers?

Yang Min

I believe that like me, all the brothers and sisters in the Lord have received lots of peace and blessings from the Lord, and that we all have ever been resolved to follow the Lord all our life. I remember, at that time I was fervent within. In order to repay the Lord’s great love, I actively spread the gospel for Him and supported the church, and I had confidence about holding on to His way. Moreover, I constantly contemplated His grace, and I was frequently moved to tears when I prayed, feeling so close to the Lord. I prided myself on being a follower of the Lord.

But unknowingly, that feeling was gone. I grew cold in love as well as in faith; and I had no enjoyment in praying, for I received no response from the Lord, feeling like being talking to thin air. I no longer prided myself on being a follower of the Lord; instead, I frequently distressed myself about failing to keep the Lord’s teaching. I committed sins and confessed sins every day, totally shackled without release by sins. In result, I lost my motivation for preaching the gospel, and I even dreaded to have it known that I’m a Christian, for fear that my behaviors couldn’t glorify the Lord, but rather shamed His name. I sometimes felt my belief in the Lord consisted only in paying empty tribute to the name of the Lord Jesus.

At times, I would ask myself: Can I, who vainly grasp to the name of the Lord Jesus, count as a follower of the Lord? Can it be that the Lord has forsaken me? If not, why can’t I feel His presence? And why do I feel that I have lost the lamp to my feet and the light to my path, and sunk into the darkness?

I often studied the Bible, hoping to get the answer in the Scriptures. Later, from the accounts of the Bible, I found that not all the believers in God could be considered as God’s followers. The standard by which God judges whether a person is His follower differs across periods of time. Here, I’d like to share my gain with brothers and sisters, and discuss with you about what kind of people are approved by God and what kind of people are His followers.

In Exodus 6, Jehovah God spoke to Moses, “Why say to the children of Israel, I am the LORD, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will rid you out of their bondage, and I will redeem you with a stretched out arm, and with great judgments: And I will take you to me for a people, and I will be to you a God: and you shall know that I am the LORD your God, which brings you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians” (Exodus 6:6-7). The scriptures show us that in the Old Testament Age of Law, God chose the Israelites as His people and became their God. He raised up Moses to lead the Israelites out of Egypt, used him to issue the laws to the Israelites, and guided their life on earth. The early Israelites accepted Jehovah God’s leadership, and acted strictly according to the laws. If anyone violated the law, those who committed slight sins would have to offer sacrifices as Jehovah God required, while those who sinned grievously would be put to death. All of them were restricted by the laws. And as they had seen the majesty and wrath of Jehovah’s disposition, they were loyal to Him. Thus they received great grace and protection from God, and were allowed to serve Him in the temple for generations. So, they were followers of God in that age.

However, as mankind had been so corrupted by Satan that they became ever more evil and degenerate, the Jews later were not able to observe the law. They often committed sins and violated the law, which put them in danger of being executed by the law at any time. But, as God cared for mankind, He carried out a new stage of work outside the temple in steps and according to His plan. So, the incarnate Lord Jesus came and brought the gospel of the kingdom of heaven to mankind. He hoped that everyone could come to the light and depart from the temple so as to follow the footsteps of God. The Bible records that, when the Lord Jesus spread the gospel of the kingdom of heaven, He said, “Repent you: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matthew 3:2). Besides, He healed the sick and cast out demons, and performed many signs and wonders. Then which people are followers of the Lord Jesus?

At that time, the Lord Jesus called to Peter and his brother Andrew on the shores of the Sea of Galilee. The Bible records, “And he said to them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men” (Matthew 4:19). Likewise, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother too were called by the Lord. And He also called upon the other disciples in this way. For example, He said to Philip, “Follow me” (John 1:43). The Lord said so because He looked deep into man’s hearts, and knew that Peter and the rest of them longed for and sought the truth. And indeed, through His words, Peter and the others recognized that the Lord Jesus had come from God. So, when the Lord Jesus called upon them, they all followed Him without hesitation. Eventually, they obtained the supply of the living water of life from the words of the Lord, took His words as a guideline in all things, and enjoyed the work of the Holy Spirit at that time. Thus, they became genuine followers of God in that age.

But during that time, most of the religious leaders headed by the chief priests, scribes, and Pharisees slavishly abided by the law, refused to come out of the temple to seek the truth that the Lord Jesus spoke, and even blasphemed and condemned Him. They said that the Lord Jesus spoke words of blasphemy, blasphemed that He cast out devils by the prince of the devils, and condemned Him for His not keeping the Sabbath. In the end, these religious leaders joined hands with the Roman government and crucified the Lord Jesus. They were stubborn and arrogant and kept to old ways, and in substance they hated the truth and God. They not only did not at all have a heart of seeking the Lord Jesus’ work, but did their utmost in condemning and blaspheming it. Although they acknowledged Jehovah God’s name as holy, never did they accept the Lord Jesus’ work. They could not be considered as God’s followers anymore. This can be obviously seen from the Lord Jesus’ attitude toward them. Just as it is recorded in the Bible, the Lord Jesus said, “But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!” (Matthew 23:13), and “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 7:22-23). Here, the Lord Jesus condemned them, saying that they would have misfortune, and branding them as evil-doers. So it is clear that when God begins His new work, if we don’t have a seeking heart but rather condemn and blaspheme it and refuse to follow His footsteps, then we will become ones who resist God.

From this we can see that the work of God does not remain unchanging but is always moving forward. He will perform new work according to the needs of us mankind. Therefore, the measure of whether we are God’s followers is based on whether we keep pace with His work. When God does a new work and releases a new light, only those who can put aside their old conceptions, listen and obey, and closely follow the work of the Holy Spirit are God’s followers and approved by Him. This exactly fulfills what the Bible says, “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” (Revelation 14:4). On the contrary, those who hold onto their old means of belief and fail to follow God’s actual work cannot obtain the work of the Holy Spirit, neither can they be regarded as ones who follow God’s work.

Looking at myself, I have fallen into darkness now, at a loss what to do. I feel like I have been forsaken by the Lord, like I’m no longer His follower, and this causes me a sudden pang of sadness. Nevertheless, I’m still yearning for the return of the Lord Jesus day and night, hoping to follow His footsteps. Well, brothers and sisters in the Lord, do you have such desperate hope as I do? Let us pray to the Lord fervently and ask Him to lead us on the path ahead. Many verses in Revelation say, “He that has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit said to the churches” (Revelation 2:17). The prophecies covered in Revelation all concern the future work of God. These words indicate that the Lord will once again speak to the churches and His believers when He comes back. So, we should at all times be careful, pay attention to where there is the preaching about the word of the returned Lord. Like Peter and the other disciples, who recognized God’s voice from the Lord’s word, we should seek so as to recognize God’s voice and keep pace with the Lamb’s footsteps and become God’s followers.

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