By Yongyi, Hong Kong
The church became desolate and I was withered in spirit.
When I first began going to church, the brothers and sisters were all full of love. We often shared the grace of the Lord together, and supported and helped each other, living in the love of the Lord. After a few years, however, the situation in the church became worse and worse. The believers either made small talk or talked about eating, drinking, and having fun, and some of them even did not attend meetings. Faced with such a situation, I also lost faith in my pursuit and started following the trends of the world. I was busy with making money every day, and except for attending services each week, I seldom prayed or read the Bible at home. I felt darker and darker in spirit.
I had expected that I could receive some spiritual supply when I went to the church to listen to preaching each week. But the pastor’s sermons were the same old platitudes, which made me not only feel bored, but also become more confused about the words in the Bible. The pastor often said to us that when the Lord came again He would descend with the clouds and raise us up to meet with Him in the air. Every time I heard him speak like this, I would think about the words in Revelation 1:7, “Behold, he comes with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen.” According to the pastor’s interpretation, when the Lord comes again, we should be happy and joyful. But why does the prophecy say that all kindreds of the earth shall wail? Isn’t there a contradiction? The pastor told us that “all kindreds” referred to those who didn’t believe in the Lord, and that when the Lord returned, they would fall into disasters wailing. As to such an explanation, I felt it a little far-fetched, but I found no other answer. I was very helpless and didn’t know whom I should go to seek.
Due to lack of supply for a long time, my spirit felt quite parched. Thereupon, I left my former church. Full of hope, I went to another church. Unexpectedly, the pastors there only fixed their eyes on the money offered by the brothers and sisters. Those who donated a lot would be treated with warmth, while people like me who had little money to offer would be treated as if we were empty air, and they showed not the slightest concern for our lives. For this, I felt particularly sad inside. In helplessness, I could only pray to the Lord earnestly every day, “Dear Lord! Where are you? I feel very weak, but I don’t want to leave You. I beg You to have mercy on me, and to lead and guide me.”
I met a confidant by chance.
I didn’t imagine that the Lord really listened to my prayer. One time, when I took my child to the park, I came across a sister. We talked with each other very congenially, and she enthusiastically invited me to their Bible study meetings.
I remembered that in our first meeting, we studied the scriptures about the Lord’s return, “But of that day and hour knows no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only” (Matthew 24:36). “Remember therefore how you have received and heard, and hold fast, and repent. If therefore you shall not watch, I will come on you as a thief, and you shall not know what hour I will come on you” (Revelation 3:3). The sister asked me, “Sister, how do you think the Lord will come?” I thought to myself: “The pastors always say that the Lord will return descending with the clouds, which I feel is not practical. But I have no idea how the Lord will come.” So I replied, “I don’t know.” The sister fellowshiped, “The majority of the believers in churches think the Lord will come descending on a cloud and appearing to us in great glory. If it were really like our men’s imaginations, then how would the words the Lord Jesus prophesied that no one shall know, the Son shall not know, and it is ‘as a thief’ be fulfilled? If the Lord Jesus were to appear in a spiritual body, why would He not know about it Himself?” After hearing the sister’s words, I thought: “What she said is right. Why did I not notice these scriptures in the past? If the Lord truly arrives on a cloud publicly, all eyes will behold Him. How then will the scripture about the Lord’s coming as a thief be fulfilled? This won’t do. I should ask my pastor and see what he will say.”
When I saw the pastor on Sunday, I immediately asked him about this question. But what made me disappointed was that he didn’t give me any answer.
My confusion was resolved in a Bible study meeting.
After getting home, I immediately invited the sister to study the Bible.
The sister said, “Actually, the words in the scripture that no one shall know and the Son shall not know mean that before publicly descending with the clouds, the Lord will first perform a stage of secret work, that is, the Lord will become flesh as the Son of man to work and utter words.” “Secret work? Becoming flesh as the Son of man?” The sister’s words were beyond my comprehension. Then we continued studying the Bible, “For as the lightning comes out of the east, and shines even to the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be” (Matthew 24:27). “For as the lightning, that lightens out of the one part under heaven, shines to the other part under heaven; so shall also the Son of man be in his day. But first must he suffer many things, and be rejected of this generation” (Luke 17:24-25). After finishing reading these scriptures, the sister said, “These verses of prophecies all mention the Son of man. Then what is the Son of man?” “Does it refer to a person?” I whispered in my heart. But then I felt that what I comprehended in this way was just the literal meaning. So, I honestly said to her, “I have no idea.” “When we speak of the Son of man,” she said, “it refers to being born of man, having the image of man, and engaging in the activities of an ordinary man. The spiritual body cannot be called the Son of man. This is just as the Lord Jesus being called the Son of man; it’s because He is the incarnate flesh of God’s Spirit and is a normal person with tangible form living among people. From this, we can know that when the Lord Jesus said the coming of the Son of man and the Son of man, He was referring to God’s return in the flesh in the last days. Especially, He mentioned ‘first must he suffer many things, and be rejected of this generation,’ which even more proves that the Lord will come by becoming flesh. If the Lord were to arrive descending on a cloud, and appear to man as a spiritual body in great glory, whoever see Him would prostrate and worship. Then who would dare to resist and condemn Him? And how shall He be rejected by man? Because God’s incarnation has come among men in the form of a normal and average person, to man, He appears in secret. No one can recognize that He is God and no one knows His real identity. Only when the Son of man works and speaks, those who can tell His voice are able to recognize Him, while those who can’t hear God’s voice will surely treat Him as an ordinary person and thereby deny Him and reject Him. Just like when the Lord Jesus came to work and speak, people, like Peter, Nathanael and the woman from Samaria, could hear God’s voice, and they, from the Lord Jesus’ words and work, recognized that He is Christ and the appearance of God. As for the Pharisees and Jewish people who only saw the outward appearance of the Lord Jesus but couldn’t recognize God’s voice, they considered the Lord Jesus as an ordinary person, denying Him and rejecting Him, and finally nailed Him to the cross. It was not until the Lord Jesus was resurrected and ascended to heaven and appeared to man that people saw that He is the incarnate Christ, the Messiah, and the appearance of God. Hence, we can be sure that when the Lord returns, He will firstly perform a stage of secret work in the way of incarnation, and that when the work in secret concludes, He will descend with the clouds to openly appear among people, starting the work of rewarding the good and punishing the evil. By that time, all the people who refuse to accept God’s work in secret will completely lose their chance of salvation. How can they not beat their chests, weep, and gnash their teeth?”
After hearing the sister’s communion, I thought: “Her fellowship in this way is well-founded, and is much more practical than my pastor’s. The Lord’s words are the truth. Descending openly with the clouds and descending secretly as a thief are actually not contradictory. It is just that I didn’t understand how the prophecies will be fulfilled. Thank God! Now my heart is bright.”
Visiting a website by chance, I found the truth.
Once, a brother of my former church sent the website of The Church of Almighty God to our chat group and warned us not to visit it. He also said some words of condemnation. But I was very curious about it and wanted to open it to see what there was on the website. I thought in my heart: “I just have a look at it on my cellphone. There won’t be any harm in doing so.” So I clicked on the website. Immediately, I was attracted by the titles “What Is the Incarnation?” and “What Is the Substance of the Incarnation?” I clicked on it and saw the following passage of words: “The meaning of incarnation is that God appears in the flesh, and He comes to work among man of His creation in the image of a flesh. So, for God to be incarnated, He must first be flesh, flesh with normal humanity; this, at the very least, must be true. In fact, the implication of God’s incarnation is that God lives and works in the flesh, God in His very essence becomes flesh, becomes a man.” This passage of words explained what the incarnation is very clearly. It turned out that the incarnation refers to God appearing to man and working among man in the flesh. After reading these words, I suddenly remembered the verses of scriptures that the sister and I had studied those days, many of which all mentioned that God will be incarnated again to come among man. Now, through reading these words, I was even clearer about that. God incarnate, to us human beings, is an ordinary flesh who has normal humanity. So we cannot recognize Him. It’s just like when the Lord Jesus came to work among man. Because He appeared like an ordinary man, people dared to resist and accuse Him. It was only until the Lord appeared to people publicly that they realized that the One they accused is none other than God Himself. But it was too late to regret. At this moment, I seemed to understand what the Scripture says: “Behold, he comes with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen” (Revelation 1:7). “For as the lightning, that lightens out of the one part under heaven, shines to the other part under heaven; so shall also the Son of man be in his day. But first must he suffer many things, and be rejected of this generation” (Luke 17:24-25). Almighty God’s words are truly good. The more I read, the more I was enlightened, and the more I wanted to continue reading. At that moment, I thought: “In the past, I, without reading the words of Almighty God, blindly listened to the pastors’ and elders’ words of condemning The Church of Almighty God. Now I know I was deceived. Almighty God’s words are all the truths and make me think and see clearly, not in the slightest like what the pastors said. I should read more of these words.”
In the next few days, I visited the website of The Church of Almighty God every day. The topics like “Why Must God Be Incarnated in the Flesh to Do His Work?” “Why Is It Said That God’s Two Incarnations Complete the Significance of the Incarnation?” etc. all attracted me. Besides that, I also watched many gospel movies like Disclose the Mystery About the Bible, Exploration of the “Trinity,” and so on. These movies turned around my previous erroneous views about the Bible and allowed me to know the absurdity of the Trinity. The fellowships about these truths were very practical, and I really gained sustenance from them.
Afterward, I sent these videos to the WhatsApp group of my family. Seeing these, my family all advised me: “You’d better not watch them. If you have any questions, you can go ask the pastors.” Hearing the words of my family, I thought: “Almighty God’s words are all the truth. Why can’t I have an investigation? Now the pastors all have nothing to preach. They failed to resolve my questions when I asked them. The fellowships about the truth in these videos are so clear. Why can’t I have a look? If I go to consult the pastors, they will surely hinder me from investigating it. I should first investigate it by myself.” So I said to them: “We can’t blindly listen to the pastors’ and elders’ words to condemn The Church of Almighty God. Have you read Almighty God’s words? Since you haven’t, you’d better watch your tongue, lest you offend God. It is said in the Bible: ‘And whoever speaks a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him: but whoever speaks against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, neither in the world to come’ (Matthew 12:32).” Hearing me say so, my family didn’t say anything more.
Learning that the Lord had returned, I was both shocked and happy.
One day, the sisters came to my home to study the Bible with me. I shared with them what I had gained these days from the website of The Church of Almighty God. After hearing what I said, the sisters looked at each other and smiled, saying: “In fact, we came here today just to witness to you Almighty God’s work in the last days. Sister, do you know that the Lord Jesus, whom we have long expected for has returned? He is the incarnate Almighty God!” Hearing their words, I was both shocked and happy. I asked them with great joy: “Really? Has the Lord really returned?” “Yes!” said the sister. “But now many people doubt, deny, and even reject Almighty God’s work of the last days because of believing the rumors of the CCP government and the religious pastors and elders. And they have missed the chance of welcoming the Lord’s return. This is truly a lamentable thing for a believer in the Lord! Actually, only when we first understand the truth relating to the incarnation, can we not be deceived, and will we be able to welcome the Lord when He knocks on the door.
“Sister, let’s first read two passages of Almighty God’s words: ‘God become flesh is called Christ, and so the Christ that can give people the truth is called God. There is nothing excessive about this, for He possesses the substance of God, and possesses God’s disposition, and wisdom in His work, that are unattainable by man. Those who call themselves Christ, yet cannot do the work of God, are frauds. Christ is not merely the manifestation of God on earth, but instead, the particular flesh assumed by God as He carries out and completes His work among man. This flesh is not one that can be replaced by just any man, but one that can adequately bear God’s work on earth, and express the disposition of God, and well represent God, and provide man with life.’
‘Because He is a man with the essence of God, He is above any of created humans, above any man who can perform God’s work. And so, among all those with a human shell like His, among all those who possess humanity, only He is the incarnate God Himself—all others are created humans. Though they all have humanity, created humans are nothing but human, while God incarnate is different: In His flesh He not only has humanity but more importantly has divinity. His humanity can be seen in the outer appearance of His flesh and in His everyday life, but His divinity is difficult to perceive. Because His divinity is expressed only when He has humanity, and is not as supernatural as people imagine it to be, it is extremely difficult for people to see. … Since God becomes flesh, His essence is a combination of humanity and divinity. This combination is called God Himself, God Himself on earth.’
“From God’s words we can clearly see that the substance of God’s incarnation is a combination of a normal humanity and a complete divinity. Outwardly, the incarnate God is an ordinary man—He has normal human life and emotions, and lives together with man. However, the incarnate God is entirely different from man in essence. Man is nothing but human, while Christ has not only the normal humanity but also the complete divinity. At all times and all places, He can do God’s work, reveal God’s disposition and what God has and is, and express the truths to supply man and save man. All these are not possessed by any created being. We all know that the Lord Jesus is the incarnate God and is Christ. From the outside, He is an ordinary person, but He can express the truths and bestow man the way of repentance, and He has the authority to absolve man’s sins and accomplish the work of crucifixion to redeem all mankind. He also can perform many miracles, such as feeding five thousand people with five loaves of bread and two fish, calming the wind and sea, and making the lame walk, the leper healed, and the dead rise again—all these things are the display of the unique authority of the Creator. Similarly, today the incarnate Almighty God also does His work practically among man, comes face-to-face with man, expresses the truths to supply and guide man, and carries out a stage of judgment work beginning from the house of God. Those who have accepted the judgment and chastisement of God’s words gradually have true understanding and knowledge of God’s righteous disposition that cannot be offended, God’s essence of holiness, as well as God’s authority and sovereignty; meanwhile, they also see clearly the various satanic dispositions of mankind and their nature of resisting God. Their life dispositions are gradually transformed and they develop true obedience and reverence toward God. In the end, they will be qualified to be taken into God’s kingdom. In contrast, those who refuse to accept God’s work in the last days and whose corrupt dispositions are not purified will fall into disasters and be punished by God when God appears publicly. This just fulfills the prophecy of the Lord Jesus that He will do the work of reaping and winnowing, and separating the wheat from the tares, the sheep from the goats in the last days. Besides, while undergoing God’s work, we truly feel that God is silently doing all the work in order to save us; He never flaunts or testifies Himself, and never demands anything from us. He just expresses words to supply the needs of our lives. God’s humbleness and hiddenness, and God’s selflessness—these things that God has and is are His exclusive substances and are not possessed by any created being. From the work God does, the dispositions He reveals as well as what He is, we can ascertain that Almighty God is the returned Lord Jesus.”
Hearing the testimonies of the sister, I was deeply touched in my heart. I had never imagined that I could hear God’s voice in my life. I was really very lucky. The words Almighty God expressed are indeed very practical, from which I received the supply of life. I very much wanted to understand more truths from His words. So I started to investigate Almighty God’s work in the last days.
Being certain about the true way, I welcomed the Lord’s return with joy.
While contacting with the sisters of The Church of Almighty God, I truly felt that their living out is very pious and that their fellowships about the truth are enlightening and very practical. Every time I had questions, they would fellowship with me with love and patience. I could feel that their intention is to bring me before God and let me understand God’s will. Through a period of investigation, I gained some knowledge about the truth of God’s six-thousand-year management plan, the work of judgment done by God in the last days, the final destination of mankind, and other respects. I ascertained from my heart that these words are the expression of the truth, and that the work done by Almighty God is that of God Himself. This is because only God has such authority to cleanse and save man, and bring man to the beautiful destination in the end. I have been certain that Almighty God is the return of the Lord Jesus and is the only true almighty God who created heavens and earth and all things.
Afterword
In fact, I had met the brothers and sisters who preached the gospel of Almighty God several years before. But because of the negative propaganda in the church, I didn’t dare to seek or investigate at that time. Thank God for not forsaking me, but arranging for the sister of The Church of Almighty God to meet me and lead me to return to His side. However, what made me indignant was the pastors and elders who serve the Lord in churches. They not only do not lead the believers to seek and investigate the true way so as to bring before God the sheep belonging to Him, but even slander and condemn God’s appearance, and spread various kinds of rumors to defame, judge, and accuse God’s work in the last days, obstructing the believers from seeking and investigating the true way. At the moment, I couldn’t help remembering the chief priests, scribes, and Pharisees in service of Jehovah God in the temple. They expounded the Scripture to people in the temple teaching them to abide by the laws and doctrines, and said that they longed for the arrival of the Messiah. However, when the Messiah really came, their antichrist nature of hating the truth was revealed thoroughly. They themselves did not seek the truth, but even fabricated rumors relying on their notions and imaginations to slander and blaspheme the Lord Jesus, hindering the believers from accepting the salvation of the Lord Jesus. They became those who serve God but resist Him. It was just as the Lord Jesus said, “But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for you shut up the kingdom of heaven against men: for you neither go in yourselves, neither suffer you them that are entering to go in” (Matthew 23:13).
Through what the pastors and elders have done, I also see God’s authority and sovereignty as well as His true love for mankind. I believe that no matter how they condemn and resist God, or how they hinder people from accepting the true way, God’s sheep can hear God’s voice, and all the people that belong to God will return to His throne in the end. Thank God for letting me keep up with His new work and attend the feast of the Lamb. Afterward, I witnessed Almighty God’s work in the last days to my husband, and brought him before Almighty God. In the future, I will continue to cooperate with God to bring before Him more people who are controlled by the rumors of the pastors and elders, letting them hear God’s voice and return to His house.
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