Rains Flood Many Areas in US: Seeing God’s Warnings

Rains Flood Many Areas in US: Seeing God’s Warnings

Recently, days of heavy rain have hit the central and southeastern United States, where in some parts the rainfall has reached up to 10 inches and will continue to increase. The torrential rain flooded hundreds of highways in eastern Tennessee. Water was flowing into a school’s cafeteria Sunday near Knoxville. Many schools in southwest Virginia and eastern Tennessee cancelled classes on Monday. What’s more, the Virginia Department of Transportation said that at least a hundred county roads were closed early Monday due to the high rising water in southwest Virginia. Presently, the casualties and property loss caused by the floods are still being counted.

The National Weather Service said that Charleston in South Carolina has been hit by a great flood by the morning of April 24. Evacuation of local residents and emergency measures are being carried out. The weather forecast indicated that nearly 6 million people are expected to be affected as the storm will slowly move northeast from the 25th. The government warned people that the bad storm may cause a power failure.

As Easter had just passed, people were still enjoying the festive atmosphere. Yet, contrary to all expectations, the continual heavy downpour destroyed their homes abruptly and put their life in danger. In recent years, there are more and more such sudden local disasters, which spread increasingly widely and caused ever severer casualties and losses. The Bible mentions that there will be great disasters in the last days, during which the Lord will return. But, has mankind really been prepared to welcome the Lord’s return? Is mankind in today’s situation really worthy to see the Lord’s face?

Think back to the days when God destroyed the world with flood. Except for Noah, who had a God-revering heart, the entire mankind was corrupted by Satan to such degree that they only knew to hanker after carnal pleasures. To eat and drink and have fun and to satisfy the fleshly lust, man all forgot the right way of fearing God and shunning evil. When Noah spread the news that God would unleash the destruction upon the world with flood, not only did no one believe him, but instead people all ridiculed him, saying that he was insane. Consequently, when the flood poured down, only Noah’s family of eight boarded the ark which was built ahead of time, and no one else was spared from the destruction.

Compared with the people of Noah’s time, what about the people of the last days? For the sake of their own interests, countries fight for every inch of territory. Local conflicts and wars have never ceased and a world-wide war can be triggered off at any time. And men also fight against each other for their private interests. Politicians jostle for position and trade power for cash. Businessmen seek nothing but money and plot against each other. Furthermore, an extramarital affair has become a common social phenomenon, which is given a beautiful name of pursuing personal freedom. Many people turn to drugs as an outlet for their frustration and unbearable emptiness. Even homosexuality, this unethical evil thing, has been under the protection of the law in many nations which claim to advocate civilization and democracy. … It can be seen that the evil of mankind in the last days is even worse than that in the time of Noah.

The Lord Jesus prophesied, “But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be”(Matthew 24:37-39). Before the great flood, people had been craving for the pleasure of sin without repentance. It was not until the great flood rained down that they scrambled to go into the ark, but God had closed the door of grace personally. Because when God gives man opportunities to repent, if they do not cherish them, it will be too late to repent when God hurls His wrath to punish Satan and all the wicked who follow Satan. Now is the crucial time once again when the life and death of mankind is decided. From now till the great disasters prophesied in Revelation come, it is the very period when God gives man opportunities to repent. At the present time, God uses some local disasters such as earthquakes, floods and plagues to warn man to turn away from their evil ways and forsake the violence in their hands quickly, confess and repent before Him soon and carefully examine what they have done. Shall we still consider eating, drinking and pleasures and the indulgence of fleshly lust as the proper pursuits of life? Or shall we quiet down before God more to carefully ponder over and comply with His words, and seek to walk the right path of life of fearing God and shunning evil? Different attitudes and practices will inevitably bring about different outcomes and destinations. Have you perceived God’s warnings sent to us by the disasters now?

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Hardship Is the Best Blessing God Bestows on Us

Hardship Is the Best Blessing God Bestows on Us

Xiang Yang

One day, by chance, I read such a parable: There once was a farmer whose wheat was ravaged by a plague of locusts and then by flooding. He entreated God to let there be enough sunshine and sunny days so that his wheat would not be exposed to cruel winds or deep cold. Moreover, he pled with God to protect his wheat from insect attacks. Afterward, everything went the way he hoped. The wheat grew tall and ripened into golden grain. The farmer couldn’t help but express his gratitude to God. Just then, however, his wife wailed in the distance: She separated the wheat berries from the husks, only to find they were totally empty. As it turns out, if the wheat only experiences sunny, breezy days as it grows and lacks the tempering of harsh environments like extreme cold weather and strong winds, there cannot be a bumper wheat harvest.

The growth of the wheat triggered this thought in me: We also need to temper ourselves through hardships as we grow, or we will be as vulnerable as hothouse flowers, unable to adapt to various tough circumstances and grim realities. The Bible says, “the prosperity of fools shall destroy them” (Proverbs 1:32). For one to mature, he has to suffer some frustrations and tribulations. As he undergoes more hardships and solves more problems, he will become stronger, more mature and resilient, with greater will and perseverance, and his ability to see through things and deal with difficulties will improve. So, only suffering and ordeals are beneficial to our growth; if everything goes smoothly for us, it’s not a good thing.

As far as we Christians are concerned, hardship and refinement are the best blessings from God, for they are essential for us to gain life. It is written in the Bible, “Many shall be purified, and made white, and tried” (Daniel 12:10). “My brothers, count it all joy when you fall into divers temptations; Knowing this, that the trying of your faith works patience. But let patience have her perfect work, that you may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing” (James 1:2-4). There are many other similar scriptures in the Bible. These scriptures tell us that only through hardship and refinement can we be made complete by God. For example, throughout the ages, the saints and prophets who are after God’s heart have all suffered hardships before they are fit for God’s use and receive God’s blessing. When asked to offer Isaac, Abraham was trapped in refinement, but he finally chose to satisfy God and sacrifice his beloved only son. Only then did God bless him with the promise of making his offspring as numerous as the stars of heaven and as the sand on the sea shore. Moses experienced forty years of hardship in the wilderness and then cast off his naturalness. After that, he was obedient to God and suitable for God’s use, and hence undertook the heavy responsibility of leading the Israelites out of Egypt. In the misery of his property and children being taken, Job maintained true faith in God and was thus perfected into a righteous man who feared God and shunned evil. As Peter followed the Lord, he experienced tribulations and refinement hundreds of times, and in the end was nailed upside down on the cross, achieving obedience unto death and love for God to the utmost. The Lord Jesus said, “Whoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me” (Mark 8:34). For thousands of years, the path of faith in God has been fraught with difficulty and hardship. We all have truly come to this realization: Hardship is the best blessing God bestows on us! Only by experiencing hardships and ordeals can we have a change in life disposition; only after there is a change in our life disposition can we be qualified to receive God’s inheritance and His promise.

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What Is the True Way to Prepare Oil for Second Coming of Jesus?

What Is the True Way to Prepare Oil for Second Coming of Jesus?

Tong Tong

The Jesus Christ said: “Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened to ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom. And five of them were wise, and five were foolish. They that were foolish took their lamps, and took no oil with them: But the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept. And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom comes; go you out to meet him. Then all those virgins arose, and trimmed their lamps. And the foolish said to the wise, Give us of your oil; for our lamps are gone out. But the wise answered, saying, Not so; lest there be not enough for us and you: but go you rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves. And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came; and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage: and the door was shut” (Matthew 25:1-10). Two thousand years ago, the Jesus Christ once told us a very vivid parable about who can enter the kingdom of heaven. He said that only the wise virgins can welcome the bridegroom, and the foolish virgins who haven’t taken oil with them cannot. When I read this parable, I was determined to be a wise virgin to welcome the Lord’s return, and feast with Him.

In the few decades of faith in the Lord, I have always been yearning for the Lord to welcome me to the heavenly home and deliver me from this hard and sinful place, so that I will receive His beautiful promise. I often worked hard at reading the Bible and prayed to the Lord earnestly; I looked for the famous preachers who knew the Bible well and listened to them expounding the Bible; I tolerated the ridicule and sarcasm of the worldly people; when sickness or adverse things came upon me, I tried to keep myself from following Satan and complaining, for I believed that “he who endures to the end will be saved.” I thought my doing so was preparing oil. However, all these I did never brought any comfort to my heart, and I felt far away from the Lord. I was unable to feel the presence of the Lord even though I often prayed to Him.

Was my preparing oil this way not in accordance with the Lord’s will? I fell into confusion. One day, I heard a brother’s sermon, and he said: “In the Age of Grace the Jesus Christ mentioned the wise virgins. What is this mystery? Why is it said that they are the wise virgins? It is primarily because they can recognize God’s voice. As soon as they listen, they realize, ‘I felt this man’s words are God’s words, are God’s voice. There’s no way that a person could speak these words; this is the voice of God. So I believe in Him. He is Christ, that is, God has become flesh.’ You see, such is their wisdom. How are the foolish people so foolish? They think, “Isn’t this a man? Isn’t this Jesus of Nazareth? Isn’t this just an ordinary person? How can He be God? We won’t believe in Him, and we only believe in the God in heaven.’ Look, doesn’t it show that they do not have spiritual understanding? Yet they believe that their words are right and very reasonable. The result is that God allows these ‘smart’ people to fall prey to their own crafty schemes” (Sermons and Fellowship on Entry Into Life (IX)). His fellowships resolved my confusion. I understood that preparing oil means to be able to listen out for God’s voice, understand God’s words, and accept the truth and submit to God. Only those who can do so are wise virgins.

I was reminded of the fisherman Peter. After hearing the gospel of the kingdom of heaven preached by the Jesus Christ, he realized that what the Jesus Christ had spoken was the mystery about the kingdom of heaven, and that the Jesus Christ was sent by God, so he followed Him. While staying with the Jesus Christ, Peter saw that His words could not have been spoken by man, and that the work He did could not have been done by man. From the Lord’s speech and behavior, Peter recognized that He was the Son of the living God. I also thought of the woman of Samaria. When she heard the Lord Jesus say the inmost secrets of her heart, she recognized the Lord, for she knew that only God can know man’s innermost secrets. So she left her water pot and went to tell the people: “Come, see a man, which told me all things that ever I did: is not this the Christ?” (John 4:29). Facing the appearance of God, the disciples and followers of the Lord Jesus could understand that the words He had spoken were the truth and were from God, which could not have been spoken by man. And after hearing God’s voice, they could accept, submit to and follow the Lord. That’s how they prepared oil.

In contrast, those foolish virgins didn’t have a seeking and yearning heart, and they neither sought nor investigated the truth expressed by Christ to see if it was the voice of God. On the contrary, they always defined God’s work by their notions, treated the incarnate Jesus Christ as an ordinary person, and said that the utterance of God was actually the word of man. As a result, they were rejected by God and lost His salvation. Just like the Pharisees at that time, they didn’t listen carefully to the Lord’s words, blindly judged God to be a man by their conceptions, and even fanatically condemned that the Lord spoke words of blasphemy. Eventually, they were cursed and punished by God because of defying the new work of the Lord.

Then I read these words of the Lord: “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). “And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom comes; go you out to meet him. Then all those virgins arose, and trimmed their lamps” (Matthew 25: 6-7). The scriptures show us that in the future God will come again to speak many more words and tell us the future work of Him. So, when the Lord comes again, I should be a wise virgin. If someone preaches the message on the Lord’s return, I should be watchful to listen to the voice of God, and pray to the Lord more to receive His guidance. I believe that the Lord will guide me to welcome His coming, for the Lord promised: “And I say to you, Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and you shall find; knock, and it shall be opened to you. For every one that asks receives; and he that seeks finds; and to him that knocks it shall be opened” (Luke 11:9-10). “Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me” (Revelation 3:20). Thanks be to the Lord! May the Lord’s kingdom come soon. Hope we can be the wise virgins and welcome the return of the Jesus Christ.

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A Trader’s Regret

A Trader’s Regret

Xingwu

I once heard a thought-provoking story:

A trader who had been away from home for many years decided to return home, and he would walk through a vast desert on the way. With the gold coins earned through years of hard work and enough food and water, he set out on the journey happily. However, soon the blistering heat of the desert was unbearable for him. He must lighten the load so as to walk out of the desert as soon as possible. He was hesitant to make a choice among the coins, food and water. Thinking that he had spent most of his life accumulating the wealth, he was too loath to throw a single coin away. Hence, he discarded most of the food and water and was on his way again.

He had not walked far when there was little food and water left. Just then, he heard the sound of camel bells: A camel caravan was coming towards him. The trader was overjoyed and hurriedly went forward seeking for help.Unexpectedly, after learning the trader’s situation, the caravan asked him for a large sum of gold coins in exchange for food and water. The trader, hungry and thirsty, touched his money bag and said to himself: “To exchange the gold coins for food and water can support me to walk out of the desert as quickly as possible. But, if so, little of my wealth will remain.” Finally, the trader gritted his teeth and said: “I won’t buy your food and water. As long as I hold on a little longer, I can walk out of the desert.” The members of the caravan all laughed at him: “What a miser! He prefers money to life!” Yet the trader ignored their derision and resumed his journey.

Without water, the trader could scarcely move his dragging limbs and flaked out before he got much farther. He touched his gold coins and thought: How I wish these gold coins could be drunk as water! Just at this moment, another caravan passed by. The trader begged them for water, but they also asked him to trade many gold coins for food and water. Still, he was too stubborn to do that. Then he picked himself up with difficulty and stumbled forward. The people of the caravan shouted behind him: “Which is more important, coins or life?” However, the trader was indifferent to their words.

The following day, the trader trudged to the edge of the desert, and he even dimly saw the smoke from the village in the distance. Nevertheless, he had already been exhausted. Eventually, he toppled down. Before he died, he sighed: “If I had given up my gold coins earlier, I would not be dying now. It’s late, too late …”

At this point of the story, many of us may feel sorry for the trader’s greed and ignorance. However, we might as well put ourselves in his shoes and reflect upon ourselves, or pay attention to the people around us. Are we not the same as him most of the time? Being beguiled by Satan, so many people bustle about struggling for fame and fortune with every effort all their lives. Not content with living comfortably, some people try their best to obtain better material enjoyments throughout their lives and are unwilling to give up their pursuit even when they are full of illnesses. Not satisfied with being rich only, some fight for status to stand out and be distinguished. Some spend their lifetime striving for fame and profit, and when they fall ill lying in bed they still worry about their gains and losses. Tempted by fame and fortune, people expose various follies, which forces us to reflect: Does man live only for fame and fortune? What exactly is the value of man’s existence? Almighty God says: “People spend their lives chasing after money and fame; they clutch at these straws, thinking they are their only means of support, as if by having them they could keep on living, could exempt themselves from death. But only when they are close to dying do they realize how distant these things are from them, how weak they are in the face of death, how easily they shatter, how lonely and helpless they are, with nowhere to turn. They realize that life cannot be bought with money or fame, that no matter how wealthy a person is, no matter how lofty his or her position is, all people are equally poor and inconsequential in the face of death. They realize that money cannot buy life, that fame cannot erase death, that neither money nor fame can lengthen a person’s life by a single minute, a single second.” “The Creator treats everyone fairly, giving everyone a lifetime’s worth of opportunities to experience and know His sovereignty, yet it is only when death draws near, when the specter of death hangs over one, that one begins to see the light—and then it is too late” (“God Himself, the Unique III” in Continuation of The Word Appears in the Flesh).

God’s words warn every one of us that fame and money cannot bring man life because they are the tools used by Satan to deceive and harm man. If man becomes obsessed with them, they will only stray further and further from God. Without God’s care and protection, mankind will be fooled by Satan like a plaything in its hands, blinded by fame and fortune and incapable of distinguishing between good and evil. People spend a lifetime’s worth of energy pursuing fame and gain. What’s more, when faced with the threats of disaster, disease, and death, they still think how to preserve their hard-earned money and fame, just like the trader in the desert. They do not awaken until the last minute of their lives. But it is too late to regret then. In fact, man was created by God personally, so his life and fate are controlled by God’s hands. It is God’s will that man should worship Him, obey His sovereignty and arrangement, and commit everything to Him, so God will protect man from Satan’s test. Only by living before God and obtaining the truth as life can man live out a most meaningful life.

During the last days, Almighty God bestows upon mankind all the truth of pursuing salvation and gaining eternal life. If man is able to not be restrained by fame, money and position and come before God to receive His salvation, he will obtain God’s guidance and blessings and live out the value a created being is supposed to. As God’s word says: “If one views life as an opportunity to experience the Creator’s sovereignty and come to know His authority, if one sees one’s life as a rare chance to perform one’s duty as a created human being and to fulfill one’s mission, then one will necessarily have the correct outlook on life, will live a life blessed and guided by the Creator, will walk in the light of the Creator, know the Creator’s sovereignty, come under His dominion, become a witness to His miraculous deeds and to His authority” (“God Himself, the Unique III” in Continuation of The Word Appears in the Flesh).

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Finding the Salvation of the Last Days on Facebook III

Finding the Salvation of the Last Days on Facebook III

Only through Almighty God’s words and Sister Lin’s fellowship did I understand a little about how the Lord does the work of judging man and purifying man when He comes. Sister Lin sent me some of Almighty God’s words, “…when God becomes flesh this time, His work is to express His disposition, primarily through chastisement and judgment. Using this as the foundation, He brings more truth to man, shows more ways of practice, and so achieves His objective of conquering man and saving man from his corrupt disposition. This is what lies behind the work of God in the Age of Kingdom” (Preface to The Word Appears in the Flesh). “In the last days, Christ uses a variety of truths to teach man, reveal the essence of man, and dissect his words and deeds. These words comprise various truths, such as man’s duty, how man should obey God, how man should be loyal to God, how man ought to live out the normal humanity, as well as the wisdom and disposition of God, and so on. These words are all focused on the essence of man and his corrupt disposition. In particular, those words that reveal how man spurns God are spoken in regards to how man is an embodiment of Satan and an enemy force against God. When God does the work of judgment, He does not simply make clear the nature of man with just a few words, but carries out revelation, dealing, and pruning over the long term. Such manner of revelation, dealing, and pruning cannot be substituted with ordinary words but with the truth that man does not possess at all. Only such manner of work is deemed judgment; only through such judgment can man be persuaded, be thoroughly convinced into submission to God, and gain true knowledge of God. What the work of judgment brings about is man’s understanding of the true face of God and the truth about his rebelliousness. The work of judgment allows man to gain much understanding of the will of God, of the purpose of God’s work, and of the mysteries that could not be understood by man. It also allows man to recognize and know his corrupt substance and the roots of his corruption, as well as to discover the ugliness of man. These effects are all brought about by the work of judgment, for the substance of such work is actually the work of opening up the truth, way, and life of God to all those who have faith in Him. This work is the work of judgment done by God” (“Christ Does the Work of Judgment With the Truth” in The Word Appears in the Flesh). Sister Lin fellowshiped, “From Almighty God’s words, we can see that in the last days, God becomes flesh and expresses the words to do the work of judgment and chastisement to purify man. He discloses and dissects man’s corrupt nature and the root of man’s sinning from different perspectives, so that man can have a knowledge of them and get purified. This stage of work of judgment and chastisement with the word is to remove everything that is not clean within man, so that he can completely break free from the bondage of sinful nature, have a knowledge of God’s inherent righteous disposition, and thus can obey God and worship God. Though we’ve been redeemed by the Lord Jesus, the root of our sin within hasn’t been removed yet. We truly need God’s further work of judgment and purification. Now, Almighty God has come and does the work of removing sins, which follows on from that of the Lord Jesus. Only those who accept God’s judgment and chastisement can have a knowledge of their corrupt nature, understand the ways to be transformed in their disposition and be saved and gradually get purified, live out the likeness of a real man to be saved by God, and have the qualification to enter the kingdom of heaven. However, those who don’t love the truth, reject the judgment and chastisement of God, and even openly judge, resist, condemn God’s work in the last days, and who cling to the notion that whoever does not ride upon a white cloud is not the returned Lord Jesus, are right antichrists, false believers, and unbelievers who are revealed by God and who detest the truth and hate the truth. They have long ago lost the work of the Holy Spirit, fallen into darkness, and become the objects condemned and eliminated by God. In the end, God will take those who have experienced His judgment and get purified into a wonderful destination. And He will destroy all those broods of Satan that are revealed to be resistant to God. This is the final result of God’s expressing the truth to do the work of judgment and is the full salvation God prepares for man in the last days.”

After listening to their fellowship, I felt especially brightened and liberated in my heart. Almighty God’s word is very practical. I understand that in the last days, God’s work of judgment and chastisement with the word is to change and purify man. Only if we accept Almighty God’s work of judgment can we gain the truth, know the fact of how we’ve been corrupted by Satan, know God’s disposition, and truly obey and worship God. I should read Almighty God’s word carefully. Almighty God’s word has mysteries and is from God. Xinyi also said, “It is really meaningful that God does the hidden work of judgment with the word.”

Later, Sister Lin fellowshiped with us about many more truths, including the inside story of the Bible, how to tell the true Christ from the false ones, the difference between God’s work and man’s work, and that knowing the three stages of God’s work is the path to knowing God. Having understood these truths, Xinyi and I both ascertained that Almighty God is the returned Lord Jesus, and we gladly accepted His kingdom gospel. We had meetings with the sisters and brothers of the Church of Almighty God on the Internet. From Almighty God’s words, I have understood that only those who listen to His words carefully, and accept the judgment and chastisement of the last days to get purified can enter God’s kingdom. Almighty God is the returned Lord Jesus and is the Almighty who is, who was, and who is to come, and who is prophesied in Revelation. I have also truly felt the presence and work of the Holy Spirit. Later, two sisters near me visited me and fellowshiped about Almighty God’s words with me, making me truly supplied in my spirit. Now, I have the watering and supplying of the living water of life every day, feel that I am face to face with God, and live in a very released and free way.

From Almighty God’s words, I have found the true way to enter the kingdom of heaven: accepting God’s judgment and chastisement with the word and having my corrupt disposition purified and transformed little by little. I really thanked God for His salvation. When I see again the messages slandering the Church of Almighty God on Facebook, I’ve already learned how to discern them, and I’ll no longer waver. Those who spread these messages are all antichrists, devils, and Satan who hinder people from being saved and entering the kingdom of heaven. The CCP, the atheistic party spread various lies and rumors in order to abolish Almighty God’s work of the last days, have people stand in their side to resist and blaspheme God, and thus lose God’s salvation of the last days and go to hell to be punished. This is the sinister intention of the CCP, the devil. Praise God! Only after I have experienced God’s work personally did I understand God’s thoughtful intention to save man and His love toward man. Now I do cherish this salvation from Facebook. Whenever I have time, I read Almighty God’s word and cooperate in the gospel work. I wish to lead my relatives, friends and the fellow believers in my former church to God’s family, and want to keep up with God’s footprints and attend the feast of kingdom of heaven together with them. (The End)

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Finding the Salvation of the Last Days on Facebook II

Finding the Salvation of the Last Days on Facebook II

Later, when I fellowshiped with Chen Xin and Sister Lin, I told them my worries, which were caused by my FB friend’s negative reminder, to see how they would explain. With smile, Sister Lin said confidently, “God’s sheep can hear God’s voice and God will surely recognize His sheep. Almighty God says, ‘What I desire is not man’s conceptions and thoughts, much less your money and belongings, but your heart. Do you understand? This is My will, and even more what I set out to gain’ (“The Sixty-first Utterance” of Christ’s Initial Expressions and Testimonies in The Word Appears in the Flesh). Almighty God’s words allow us to understand that what God desires is man’s sincerity, not man’s money and belongings. The Lord Jesus also taught us to worship Him in spirit and in truth, not by our wrong notions and thought. The whole world was created by God. No person or no thing does not belong to Him. God doesn’t need our worship of money and belongings, because our whole being is from God and everything we have is bestowed by Him. The website of the Church of Almighty God is open. The words expressed by Almighty God and the films and videos produced by the Church of Almighty God are all concerned with the truth fellowship, God’s work, how God saves mankind and how man can live out a meaningful life. There is not a single place mentioning that one has to offer money to be admitted to the Church. Furthermore, a great many people have accepted Almighty God’s work across the world, but none of them are said to have been charged when joining the Church of Almighty God. This is because the water of the river of life is freely bestowed to those who are thirsty. God’s words are freely bestowed to those who thirst for the truth. Not only the Church of Almighty God does not demand money from people, but on the contrary sends all kinds of books to them freely. In God, all is open, all is clear, and nothing is hidden. So, that allegation is all the more unfounded that people have to swear not to leak any secrets of the Church before their admission. Obviously, anyone with normal conscience and sense can never spread such messages on the Internet to slander and defame the Church of Almighty God, but only those with ulterior motives could do that. This carries Satan’s schemes. Satan tries to find every possible way to disturb and impair God’s work, and hinder people from accepting the true way. Don’t be confused by merely a rumor, a lie and thus afraid to investigate Almighty God’s work of the last days. In that case, you may easily miss God’s salvation of the last days. By then, it will be too late to regret. God does all He can to save man, and He gives everyone the opportunity to be saved. We should follow God’s footsteps and listen to God’s voice. Whether Almighty God is the returned Lord Jesus is not decided by man, but is answered by God Himself. Almighty God has expressed millions of words. As long as we have a seeking heart to read Almighty God’s words, we can ascertain that Almighty God is the returned Lord Jesus.”

After hearing her fellowship, I became much more grounded. As a believer in the Lord for several decades, haven’t I been expecting the return of the Lord? Both Xinyi and I considered what they said reasonable. Then we dropped our worries to investigate Almighty God’s work of the last days.

In the following day, Sister Lin fellowshiped with us about the truth concerning the way of the Lord’s coming. Sister Lin said, “Apart from the verses concerning the Lord’s descending upon a cloud in public, there are still those mentioning the Lord will come in secret. For example, ‘I come as a thief’ (Revelation 16:15), ‘… for in such an hour as you think not the Son of man comes’ (Matthew 24:44), and ‘But of that day and that hour knows no man, no, not the angels which are in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father’ (Mark 13:32). Apparently, the Lord’s return will be in two different ways. One way will be in secret. The other will be in public: Just as what you said, the Lord will arrive on a cloud and every single eye shall witness Him. However, before God publicly descends on a cloud, He will come in a hidden way through incarnation to do the work of judging, purifying, and saving man. Almighty God’s work of judgment in the last days through incarnation, which we testify today, is the Lord’s work when He comes in secret. Because the incarnate God comes to the world as a man, looking ordinary and normal. It is secret for all humanity. No one recognizes Him as God, nor does anyone know His true identity. So,  “come as a thief” is a very appropriate metaphor for the appearing of the Son of man.  After the Son of man works and speaks, only those capable of recognizing His voice start to know Him. Yet those who can’t discern His voice will treat Him as just an ordinary man so as to deny and reject Him. For example, when the Lord Jesus did His work in the flesh, He was like an ordinary man outwardly. So people denied, resisted, and condemned Him. But some people, through the Lord Jesus’ work and word, recognized Him as the Christ in the flesh, the appearance of God. Now is when Almighty God is working in secret to save man. He is expressing His words to judge, purify, and perfect us. During this time, people can’t see the scene of the Lord coming on a cloud in public. Not until He has made a group of overcomers will His hidden work of incarnation come to an end. And then the great disasters fall down. The good is rewarded, and the evil is punished. He will openly appear to all nations. At that point, it is the scene of the Lord’s descending upon a cloud as we think. Just as what Almighty God says, ‘Many people may not care what I say, but I still want to tell every so-called saint who follows Jesus that, when you see Jesus descend from the heaven upon a white cloud with your own eyes, this will be the public appearance of the sun of righteousness. Perhaps that will be a time of great excitement for you, yet you should know that the time when you witness Jesus descend from the heaven is also the time when you go down to hell to be punished. It will herald the end of God’s management plan, and will be when God rewards the good and punishes the wicked. For the judgment of God will have ended before man sees signs, when there is only the expression of truth. Those who accept the truth and do not seek signs, and thus have been purified, shall have returned before the throne of God and entered the Creator’s embrace. Only those who persist in the belief that “The Jesus who does not ride upon a white cloud is a false Christ” shall be subjected to everlasting punishment, for they only believe in the Jesus who exhibits signs, but do not acknowledge the Jesus who proclaims severe judgment and releases the true way of life. And so it can only be that Jesus deals with them when He openly returns upon a white cloud. … The return of Jesus is a great salvation for those who are capable of accepting the truth, but for those who are unable to accept the truth it is a sign of condemnation. You should choose your own path, and should not blaspheme against the Holy Spirit and reject the truth. You should not be an ignorant and arrogant person, but someone who obeys the guidance of the Holy Spirit and longs for and seeks the truth; only in this way will you benefit’ (“When You Behold the Spiritual Body of Jesus Will Be When God Has Made Anew Heaven and Earth” in The Word Appears in the Flesh). Today, God becomes flesh and expresses the words to judge, chastise and purify man. Only by accepting God’s hidden work of judgment and achieving purity at last can we enter His kingdom. If we live in our own imagined notion—the Jesus who does not ride upon a white cloud is a false Christ, and reject God’s work of judgment, we will lose God’s salvation of the last days and in the end we will only be subjected to God’s punishment because our sinful nature has not been purified and changed.”

Their fellowship was in complete accord with the Bible. I suddenly came to my senses and understood how these biblical verses fulfilled. “…this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as you have seen him go into heaven” (Act 1:11), “Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watches, and keeps his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame” (Revelation 16:15), and “And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom comes; go you out to meet him” (Matthew 25:6). Actually, the ways of the Lord’s coming are in a hidden way and in a public way. These are the signs concerning the two different ways of the Lord’s appearance. I had asked so many pastors from seminaries and read so many spiritual books but failed to understand them. I only knew that the Lord would come upon a white cloud but didn’t know the Lord would come in different ways. Now I have understood it. It’s so great! Has the Lord Jesus really come to unlock the mysteries? If not, how could they know so much and speak so clearly? Thank the Lord for His leadership. Today, I have gained a lot.

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