Eastern Lightning | The Gospel of the Kingdom of Heaven | Notions and Truths | Question 27

Question 27: The Bible is testimony to God’s work; only through reading the Bible can those who believe in the Lord recognize that God created the heavens and earth and all things and see God’s wonderful deeds, His greatness and almightiness. In the Bible there are lots of God’s words and lots of testimonies of man’s experiences; it can provide for the life of man and be of great benefit to man, so what I’d like to pursue is, can we actually attain eternal life through reading the Bible? Is there really no way of eternal life within the Bible?

Answer:

Through reading the Bible we come to understand that God is the Creator of the heavens and earth and all things and we begin to recognize His wondrous deeds. This is because the Bible is a testimony to the first two stages of God’s work. It is a record of the words and work of God and the testimony of man during the Age of Law and the Age of Grace. So, the Bible is very important to our faith. Think about it, if not for the Bible, how would we come to understand the Lord’s word and know the Lord? How else would we witness God’s deeds and begin to develop true faith in God? If we do not read the Bible, how else will we witness the real testimony of all the saints throughout the ages obeying God? So, reading the Bible is essential to the practice of faith, and no believer of the Lord should ever go astray from the Bible. You could say, he who goes astray from the Bible could not believe in the Lord. This is verified in the experiences of saints throughout the ages. No one dares deny the value and meaning of reading the Bible in the practice of faith. So, saints throughout the ages and believers all view reading the Bible as a very important matter. Some would even go so far as to say that, reading the Bible and prayer are as essential as our two legs are for walking, without either we fail to move forward. But the Lord Jesus has said, “Search the scriptures; for in them you think you have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me. And you will not come to me, that you might have life” (Jhn 5:39-40). Some people are confused. They think: Given that the Bible is a record of God’s word and man’s testimony, reading the Bible should give us eternal life. Then why is it that the Lord Jesus said there is no eternal life in the Bible? Actually, this is not such a difficult idea. As long as we understand the inside story and the substance of God’s words and work during the Age of Law and the Age of Grace as well as the effect achieved through these words and work, then we’ll naturally come to realize why it is that we cannot receive eternal life through the reading of the Bible. During the Age of Law, Jehovah God’s words were chiefly concerned with promulgating laws, the commandments and ordinances for man to follow. His words were mostly a kind of guide for humanity, which was still in their infancy, to live on earth. These words did not involve changing man’s life disposition. So God’s words during the Age of Law were all aimed at making people abide by the laws and the commandments. Though these words were truth, they represent the very rudimentary truth. During the Age of Grace, the Lord Jesus’ words and work were focused on the work of redemption. The words He issued addressed the truth of redemption and taught people that they ought to confess their sins and repent and refrain from sinning and evildoing. These words also taught people the proper way to pray to the Lord and demanded that man should love the Lord with all their heart and soul, love their neighbor as themselves, be tolerant and patient, and forgive others seventy times seven times, etc. These are all included in the way of repentance. So, through reading the Bible, we can only understand the work of God during the Age of Law and the Age of Grace. We come to realize that all things are created by God and learn how to live on earth and how to worship God. We understand what sin is, who are blessed by God and who are cursed by God. We come to know how to confess our sins and repent to God. We learn humility, forbearance, and forgiveness, and know that we ought to take up the cross to follow the Lord. We see for ourselves the unlimited mercy and compassion of the Lord Jesus, and realize that only by coming before the Lord Jesus in faith will we enjoy His abundant grace and truth. The words and work of God during the Age of Law and the Age of Grace as recorded in the Bible were the truth spoken by God according to His plan of saving mankind and the needs of mankind at that point in time. These truths were completely incapable of changing our life disposition and allowing us to attain purification, salvation, and perfection. Thus, the words issued by the Lord Jesus during the Age of Grace can only be called the way of repentance, but not the way of eternal life.

So what is the way of eternal life then? The way of eternal life is the way of truth which allows man to live forever, which is to say, it is the way which allows man to cast off the binds and restraints of his sinful nature, change his life disposition, and allows him to gain the truth as life, thoroughly break free of Satan’s influence, and become compatible with Christ. It allows man to know, obey, and revere God so as to never again sin to oppose or betray God. Only that which can achieve this effect may be called the way of eternal life. Man dies as a result of sin. If man attains the truth as life and solves the problem of sin, God will bless him with eternal life. So, only by receiving the salvation of God in the last days can we enjoy the way of eternal life which God grants to humankind. The Lord Jesus said, “I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believes in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: And whoever lives and believes in me shall never die” (Jhn 11:25-26). This is sufficient to prove that mankind’s life and death is in the hands of God; this is God’s authority and no man can change their own fate. Only those who achieve salvation by accepting the work of God in the last days and gaining truth as their lives can obtain eternal life; this is absolutely certain. Therefore, after the redemptive work of the Lord Jesus in the Age of Grace was completed, He promised to return, and at that time the Lord Jesus said: “I have yet many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. However, when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will show you things to come” (Jhn 16:12-13). The truth expressed by the returned Lord Jesus is the only way of eternal life. This is sufficient to prove that Christ is the truth, the way, and the life. Why doesn’t the Bible contain the way of eternal life? It is primarily because the Bible records God’s previous two stages of work, but it does not contain the truths expressed by God in the last days of cleansing and saving mankind. Therefore, there is no way of eternal life within the Bible. However, this does not diminish the Bible as a testimony to God or the effect the Bible has on its readers. In fact, it is precisely because God who is testified to in the Bible is real, God creating heaven and earth and all living things is true, and testimonies of generations of saints submitting and being loyal to God are true that the position of the Bible in man’s heart has never changed. One could say that generations of saints matured due to the edification they received from the Bible. Even though the corrupt disposition of mankind persists and Satan’s nature still exists and a true cleansing has not yet been gained, nonetheless the saints’ faith in and loyalty to God has never wavered. In fact, many have been martyrs for the Lord, all of whom have borne a beautiful and resounding testimony to the Lord. These are the results of God’s work in the Age of Law and the Age of Grace. We can all clearly see that those with faith in the Lord are countless in number, and even though they have not been cleansed, their life disposition has not changed, and they do not have a true understanding of God, nonetheless their faith is true. God has not forsaken these people and He merely waits for the second coming in the last days where they will be caught up before Him, they will be cleansed by Him, made perfect. In this way, all who have true faith in the Lord and who love truth will gain the way of eternal life that is given by God in the last days. Now we should be clear on the issue of why the Bible cannot grant eternal life, right?

from Answers to Screenplay Questions

Eastern Lightning | Disturbances From the “May 28” Rumor (Part 2)

Xingwu, France

Searching the Truth of the Facts, I Saw Clearly the Root of the CCP Shifting Blame to The Church of Almighty God

After that, I no longer guarded myself against the brothers and sisters of The Church of Almighty God. Whenever I had the time I would read the word of God and look at the videos, movies, music videos, hymns, musicals and other works put out by The Church of Almighty God. The more I looked at all this, the more I felt provided for, and the more pleasure I felt. I affirmed from my heart that Almighty God is the appearance of the Lord Jesus. Now I finally understood why the CCP and pastors and elders from the religious world started the rumor that “once you accept Almighty God’s work of the last days you can’t get out.” As it turns out, it’s not that you can’t get out, rather it’s that the work of the Holy Spirit and the provision and guidance of God’s word is in The Church of Almighty God, so if you are able to enjoy the living water of life that God bestows upon you, and attain the way of eternal life, then why would you want to leave? Now I too am not willing to leave, moreover, I have resolved to properly follow Almighty God, and to accept Almighty God’s judgment and chastisement to attain salvation and be brought by God into His kingdom. Then I thought about how my older sisters were still being deceived and bound by various rumors, failing to follow God’s work of the last days, and I became very worried, so I got two sisters from The Church of Almighty God together to spread the gospel to them. To my surprise, my second eldest sister’s husband, who is a believer of the Three-Self Church, wouldn’t let me near my sister, and he even snarled at me with a face full of rage: “I’m warning you not to come to our home to spread the gospel! Back home CCTV news broadcast the May 28 Murder Case in Zhaoyuan, Shandong. Does this really not worry you? From now on, you must not have us meet people from Eastern Lightning, and you certainly must not bring them to our home.” I could see that my sister’s husband did not see the truth of the facts and that he had been deceived by the rumors, which made me very worried, but I didn’t know how to convince him to listen. Later on, when my husband also knew that I had accepted Almighty God’s work of the last days, he made even more of an effort to stop me, and would even go online constantly to search for videos regarding the May 28 Zhaoyuan Murder Case and make me watch them. Seeing that my family and other relatives were continuing to be deceived by the May 28 Zhaoyuan Case and were unwilling to look into God’s work in the last days, I felt very sad. And, owing to my small stature, whenever my family members came at me, I didn’t know how to refute and expose the lies of the CCP; on the contrary I felt like I was being negative and weak. At the same time I felt perplexed inside: Why would the CCP blame The Church of Almighty God for the May 28 Zhaoyuan Murder? What was the real truth behind the scenes for doing this?

Once the brothers and sisters became aware of my situation they came to help and sustain me. I said to them: “I believe that Almighty God is the appearance of the Lord Jesus, that He is Christ incarnate in the last days, that the words expressed by Almighty God are all the truth, and I also am sure that those rumors are not the truth. But there is one thing that I do not understand. Why did the CCP report on CCTV news that the May 28 Zhaoyuan Case was the doing of The Church of Almighty God? What is the May 28 Zhaoyuan Case really? Can you please fellowship about this with me?”

Brother Chen said: “Thanks be to God! You have raised a great question. If we do not recognize the truth behind the rumor, then we will easily be deceived by the lies and nonsense of the CCP, fall for Satan’s tricks, deny God and betray God, and fail to attain God’s salvation in the last days. Only by understanding the truth of the facts while being able to simultaneously discern the viscous motives of the rumor-starters will we be able to make wise choices and not be duped by Satan. Let us start by talking about what really happened in the McDonald’s Murder Case in Zhaoyuan, Shandong. On May 28, 2014, in a McDonald’s restaurant in Zhaoyuan, Shandong, Zhang Lidong and several other suspects beat a woman to death, and after only three days from when the criminal case started, before a court of law heard and judged the case, CCTV, the CCP’s media mouthpiece, publicly reported on and determined the nature of this case, directly condemning The Church of Almighty God. Let us think about this, can the media judge a case and reach a verdict? Is this reasonable and lawful? Is there a degree of credibility to such findings? Later on, when several criminal suspects were being interviewed by the media, they all repeatedly stated that they were not members of The Church of Almighty God, nor had they ever been in contact with The Church of Almighty God. On August 21, 2014, when the public trial for the case began, Lü Yingchun, one of the perpetrators, also clearly stated: ‘Zhang Fan and I are the unique spokeswomen for the real “Almighty God.” The government has been cracking down on the Almighty God of Zhao Weishan, not our “Almighty God.”’ This is enough to show that these criminal suspects are not affiliated in any way with The Church of Almighty God. However, the CCP judges did not accept this testimony from the criminal suspects, and insisted on saying that they were members of The Church of Almighty God. In addition, the perpetrators Zhang Fan and Lü Yingchun claimed to be ‘God,’ and said things like how they are two fleshly bodies sharing the same soul, that within the span of a few minutes they were able to determine that the victim was a vicious spirit and that they had to beat her to death. And the other suspects all firmly believed these things without any doubt. The testimonies that this group of people provided in court were incoherent, it was a bunch of nonsense, and clearly those who claimed to be ‘God’ and those who followed did not have the thinking and rationality of normal humans, they were a group of psychopaths.

“In ‘The Ten Administrative Decrees That Must Be Obeyed by God’s Chosen People in the Age of Kingdom,’ Almighty God clearly stipulates that: ‘Man should not magnify himself, nor exalt himself. He should worship and exalt God.’ God is the one true God, the Creator of the heavens and earth and all things in them, and no man can replace Him or pretend to be Him. But Zhang Lidong and his gang did not have God within their hearts, their hearts did not have the least bit of reverence for God. They even went so far as to murder someone in a crowded public place while daring to pretend to be God Himself. These are clearly people who have lost the conscience and reason of normal humans, and clearly they themselves have become possessed by evil spirits. The evangelistic principles of The Church of Almighty God clearly stipulate that no one is allowed to preach to those who have the work of evil spirits and who are possessed by evil spirits. There’s no reason to even talk about them being admitted into the church—this is public knowledge! So, all those who are somewhat discerning can see that the Shandong Zhaoyuan Case is totally a legal case fabricated by the CCP in order to frame, blame and discredit The Church of Almighty God.”

I was finally able to have some discernment in what happened in the May 28 Zhaoyuan Case after listening to Brother Chen’s fellowship. It turned out to be a scam put together at the hands of the CCP. I saw how truly mean and shameless the CCP was; it went so far as to fabricate a legal case to make false charges against The Church of Almighty God, and brazenly deceive and make a fool out of the Chinese people and people all over the world! It is too evil!

Sister Liu continued the fellowship, saying: “Now why would the CCP want to brazenly frame and blame The Church of Almighty God for the May 28 McDonald’s Murder Case in Zhaoyuan? We all know that the CCP is an atheistic political party, that it hates the truth and hates God, that ever since it came into power it has always frantically suppressed and persecuted religious belief, that in order to completely outlaw religious belief it has labelled Christianity an evil cult and the Holy Bible as the work of an evil cult, and that it has frantically arrested, suppressed and persecuted Christians. This is a fact that anyone can see! Now God has again come in the flesh to appear in China to carry out His work; that is, Almighty God is carrying out the work of words to judge man, cleanse man and save man. The words expressed by Almighty God have already been published online, for people from all nations and all lands to seek and investigate. Brothers and sisters from all denominations and sects who truly believe in God and even many nonbelievers, after reading the word of Almighty God, all recognize that it is the truth, that it is the voice of God, and one after another they return before Almighty God. The CCP, seeing Almighty God’s gospel of the kingdom expand and flourish like this, became extremely shocked and panicked. It is afraid of people reading the word of Almighty God, because once people realize the truth they will clearly see the CCP’s satanic and demonic essence of deceiving and corrupting the human race and resisting God, and they will forsake it and betray it, thereby coming before God, and in this way they will no longer believe in the CCP or follow it. In order to protect its dictatorial governance, in order to have everlasting control of the Chinese people, and establish China as an atheistic region, the CCP has used the May 28 Zhaoyuan Case to create a large public fuss to bring false charges against and discredit The Church of Almighty God. On the one hand, this deceives those people who do not understand the truth, and brings about in the masses a misunderstanding and malevolence toward The Church of Almighty God, causing them to hate The Church of Almighty God and those who believe in Almighty God, making them dare not to seek and examine the work of Almighty God in the last days; on the other hand, this gives the CCP a reasonable excuse and builds up public opinion for it to suppress and prohibit The Church of Almighty God in the future. As everyone knows, the CCP, before suppressing religious belief, ethnic minorities or college students, will fabricate a violent event to make false charges against these groups, and then it will suppress them with military force. Take, the June 4th student movement for example. The CCP first incited some instigators to mingle among the students, in order to start fights and unrest, then it made up lies and fabricated legal cases to shift the blame onto the college students, and after that it used force to suppress them. This is the strategy that the CCP consistently adopts to root out dissidents and protect its own dictatorial governance. When there were mass protests by the Tibetan people the CCP followed this same set pattern, and the same went for the Shandong Zhaoyuan Case. So, if we clearly see the repulsive satanic and demonic face of the CCP and its deliberate intention in starting rumors, we will not believe the CCP’s rumors, or be deceived by it, or fall for its tricks.”

After listening to the fellowship from the brothers and sisters I suddenly realized: It was the CCP that all along was using its media mouthpiece to disseminate rumors, and it did this to suppress and persecute The Church of Almighty God, and to deceive and block us from examining the true way and returning to God. The CCP, in order to consolidate its own power and protect its own interests, in order to achieve its goal of everlasting control over the people, really did use all the tricks it had at its disposal, it really is so treacherous and so sinister! If it weren’t for the fellowships by these brothers and sisters I wouldn’t have been able to see the truth of the facts, I would have still been deceived by the rumors. I thought back on how in the past I blindly believed the rumors spread because I did not understand the truth of the facts, how I took the rumors and maintained that they were facts, and how I even served as a servant of Satan who time and again tried to stop my mom from believing in Almighty God. I truly was so disobedient to God! I was ashamed to show my face before the brothers and sisters of The Church of Almighty God, and I was even less deserving to come before God. I really just wanted to hide my head in the sand. Thinking back on that time, I wondered how I could have been so foolish. How did I get possessed to believe the rumors of the CCP, without looking to listen to the voice of God? I couldn’t stop tears of remorse from falling down my cheeks, I bowed down before God and prayed: “Almighty God, in the past I was stupid and ignorant and didn’t discern things, I blindly believed rumors and followed Satan in resistance to You, and I even slammed the door shut time and again on Your salvation, I really was so blind! If it weren’t for Your mercy and if You did not move these brothers and sisters to repeatedly preach to me, then I would have lost this great salvation. Dear God, from now on I am willing to cooperate with You in spreading the gospel, to bring those who live in darkness and who have been deceived by rumors to You, so that I can repay You for Your great love. No matter what kind of persecution and tribulations I may face, I am determined to follow You, I will not be swayed!”

  My Family Tried to Stop Me From Spreading the Gospel, but the Word of God Led Me to Victory Over the Siege of Satan

Later on when I was spreading the gospel to my two sisters, I came across a major roadblock. Since my sister’s husband had been deeply deceived by the rumors of the CCP, he not only didn’t let me give my sister testimony of God’s work in the last days, but he also said a lot of offensive things to attack me and threatened to break off our family ties. Since my husband believed the rumors and lies of the CCP, his persecution of me also continued to escalate. Not only would he fight with me at home, but he would also secretly follow me, and even used all kinds of methods to persecute and threaten me, saying that if I continued believing in God then he was going to report me to the embassy. Facing such roadblocks and persecution, I came to bitterly hate the CCP, for it was always the one to start rumors to vilify and discredit The Church of Almighty God, which caused members of my family to be deceived to the point that they tried to stop me and persecute me in this way. I wanted to yell out at the top of my lungs: “I’m just someone who believes in God and is walking down the right path of life, why is this so difficult!” In my time of suffering and weakness, I thought about the word of Lord Jesus where it says: “Blessed are you, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake” (Mat 5:11). The Lord’s word enabled me to realize that those who are persecuted in the name of righteousness are blessed. It is a blessed thing that I am reviled and persecuted today because of my faith in God, I should not grieve over this suffering, it ought to make me happy, because there is value and meaning in this, and it is commended by God to endure such suffering. Later on, some brothers and sisters from The Church of Almighty God gave me more of the word of Almighty God to read, as well as some movies and other videos about brothers and sisters standing witness through persecution and tribulations, and by doing this, they supported and consoled me, and enabled me to understand God’s will. I read the word of Almighty God where it says: “In every step of work that God does within people, externally it appears to be interactions between people, as if born of human arrangements, or from human interference. But behind the scenes, every step of work, and everything that happens, is a wager made by Satan before God, and requires people to stand firm in their testimony to God. Take when Job was tried, for example: Behind the scenes, Satan was making a bet with God, and what happened to Job was the deeds of men, and the interference of men. Behind every step that God does in you is Satan’s wager with God—behind it all is a battle” (“Only Loving God Is Truly Believing in God” in The Word Appears in the Flesh). “Wipe away your tears, feel no pain or sorrow, all is held within My hands and My goal is to make you the overcomers soon and to bring you into glory with Me. You shall be grateful and praise for all that befalls you, and that shall satisfy My heart. … …

“… Be loyal to Me above all else, move forward with bravery; I am your strong rock, rely on Me!” (Utterances and Testimonies of Christ in the Beginning). The guidance of God’s words led me to understand God’s will. Actually, the environment that I’m in appears on the outside to be my family obstructing me from believing in God and spreading the gospel, but, behind the scenes, it is Satan that is creating the disturbance. It is a battle in the spiritual world. Satan wants to make me negative and weak through rumors and my family’s persecution, and it wants me to lose my faith and leave God and betray God, but it is the will of God to test me through this kind of environment, to see whether or not I can view things according to God’s word, see through Satan’s schemes, and take root and stand firm in the true way. Although my stature is small and there are many truths that I do not understand, I cannot cower because of these things. God rules over everything, all things and all beings are in the hands of God. So long as I have God’s support I have nothing to fear, no matter how my husband continues to threaten me he cannot actually harm me if it is not permitted by God. I absolutely must not fall for Satan’s tricks, I must sincerely rely on Almighty God and live by God’s word, and I believe God will certainly guide me to victory over the siege of Satan. Thereupon I prayed to God: “Oh Almighty God, I give You my thanks and my praise! Although this environment I am in now does not conform to my conceptions, I am convinced that Your gracious will lies within it; although I have suffered a great deal and feel weak, I am willing to cooperate with You and hold on to my devotion to You, I am willing to stand witness and bring dishonor upon Satan in the face of persecution, for You I will bear victorious testimony in order to console Your heart!” After praying, I felt a great strength inside me, and I felt confident in facing the challenges and siege of Satan. Later on, when my husband once again was using rumors to try to deceive me, I said to him in a defiant and righteous voice: “You could keep telling me these things ten thousand times and it would still be of no use; even if you bury me in rumors, don’t think that I will be deceived.”

After experiencing these disturbances, I saw that in essence these rumors were lies, that they were pitfalls and traps laid out by Satan for man, and that they were a poison that deceives man, the culprit that split up my family, and a stumbling block on my way to returning to God. Nowadays I see the truth, I am convinced that Almighty God is the appearance of the Lord Jesus, and I will no longer believe rumors, nor will I be deceived and controlled by them. While standing firm in my testimony, I saw God’s wondrous deeds, because after a while, when I was spreading the gospel to my second oldest sister, my husband stopped trying to get in my way, and he even drove me to her home. After she listened to the word of God, she too recognized that it was the voice of God, and she became willing to seek and examine the work of Almighty God in the last days, and she even called up our oldest sister to schedule a meeting for us to get together to examine and accept God’s work in the last days. As I looked at all that had happened, I thanked God from the bottom of my heart, for God guided me through my most difficult days and brought us to Him, receiving His salvation in the last days. May all glory be to Almighty God! Amen!

The Church of Almighty God | Church Life Movie "Salvation" | What is being saved? What is salvation?

Church Life Movie "Salvation" | What is being saved? What is salvation?

What is salvation? Those who believe in the Lord Jesus think that if they sincerely pray to the Lord, confess their sins, and repent, their sins will be forgiven, and they will be granted salvation, and when the Lord comes, they will be directly raised into the kingdom of heaven. But is salvation really that simple?

Eastern Lightning | Disturbances From the “May 28” Rumor (Part 1)

  The First Time I Heard This Rumor a Shadow Was Cast Over My Heart

My mother is a devout Christian. Ever since I was old enough to understand things, she would often tell me stories about the Lord Jesus, telling me that the Lord Jesus is the only true God. When I was 13 years old I went with my mom to church. At that time I really enjoyed listening to the pastors’ sermons, and I had a great deal of faith. I would actively participate in every fellowship. But I gradually discovered that there was no illumination in the sermons preached by the pastors. They always repeated some theories and knowledge of the Bible or some theological theories, and as time went on I didn’t receive the least bit of pleasure from listening to their sermons, nor did I feel I was being provided with life. Therefore, I started going to fellowships less and less frequently.

Eastern Lightning | The Gospel of the Kingdom of Heaven | Notions and Truths | Question 26

Question 26: The Bible is the canon of Christianity and those who believe in the Lord have done so according to the Bible for two thousand years. Furthermore, most people in the religious world believe that the Bible represents the Lord, that belief in the Lord is belief in the Bible, and belief in the Bible is belief in the Lord, and that if one strays from the Bible then they cannot be called a believer. Please may I ask whether or not believing in the Lord in this way conforms to the will of the Lord?

Answer:

Many believe that the Bible represents the Lord, represents God and that belief in the Lord means belief in the Bible, belief in the Bible is the same as belief in the Lord. They afford the same status to the Bible as they do to God. There are even those who acknowledge the Bible without acknowledging God. They think of the Bible as the supreme, and even endeavor to replace God with the Bible. There are even religious leaders who acknowledge the Bible without acknowledging Christ, and claim that those who preach the second coming of the Lord are heretics. Exactly what is the issue here? It’s obvious, the religious world has sunk to the point where they only acknowledge the Bible and fail to believe in the Lord’s return—there’s no saving them. From this it is clear, the religious world has become a group of antichrists, resisting God and taking God as their enemy. It is undeniable that many religious leaders are hypocritical Pharisees. Especially those claiming that “those who preach the second coming of the Lord are heretics,” they are all antichrists and unbelievers. It seems many people don’t know what exactly faith in the Lord is.

Eastern Lightning | The Gospel of the Kingdom of Heaven | Notions and Truths | Question 25

Question 25: Religious pastors and elders hold to the words of Paul in the Bible: “All scripture is given by inspiration of God,” believing that everything in the Bible is God’s words. But you say that the words of the Bible are not completely the words of God, so what is this all about?

Answer:

To begin with, we need to understand how the Bible took shape, and when it was produced. The original book of the Bible refers to the Old Testament. The Israelites, that is, the Jews, only called the Old Testament the Scripture. And then, in the Age of Grace, the Lord Jesus did a stage of work of redemption. More than three hundred years after the Lord, church leaders of the time came together to convene a meeting. They believed that the last days were approaching and that the words the Lord Jesus had spoken, and the epistles that the disciples had written, ought to be summed up together to form a book similar to the Old Testament, and sent to churches in all places.

Eastern Lightning | One who believes in God must be able to discern false shepherds and antichrists to cast off religion and return to God.

One who believes in God must be able to discern false shepherds and antichrists to cast off religion and return to God.

God's Work

Bible Verses for Reference:

“Thus said the Lord GOD to the shepherds; Woe be to the shepherds of Israel that do feed themselves! should not the shepherds feed the flocks? You eat the fat, and you clothe you with the wool, you kill them that are fed: but you feed not the flock. The diseased have you not strengthened, neither have you healed that which was sick, neither have you bound up that which was broken, neither have you brought again that which was driven away, neither have you sought that which was lost; but with force and with cruelty have you ruled them” (Eze 34:2-4).

“Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves” (Mat 7:15).

“They be blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch” (Mat 15:14).

Eastern Lightning | The Gospel of the Kingdom of Heaven | Notions and Truths | Question 24

Question 24: You testify that the Lord Jesus has already returned as Almighty God, that He expresses the entire truth that will allow people to attain purification and to be saved, and that He is currently doing the work of judgment beginning with God’s house, but we don’t dare accept this. This is because the religious pastors and elders frequently instruct us that all of God’s words and work are recorded in the Bible and there can be no other words or work of God outside of the Bible, and that everything that goes against or beyond the Bible is heresy. We cannot discern this problem, so please can you explain it for us.

Answer:

This kind of viewpoint from the religious community is not based in God’s word; it came about entirely as a result of a misinterpretation of the Bible. The Bible bears witness to the first two stages of God’s work; this is true. However, what is recorded in the Bible is limited, and in that it does not include all of the words God spoke in the two stages of His work and all of the testimony regarding that work. Due to omissions and disputes among the Bible compilers, some of the prophets’ predictions, apostles’ experiences, and their testimonies were left out; this is a recognized fact. How, then, can it be said that apart from the Bible, there are no other records or testimonies concerning God’s work? Were those missing prophecies and epistles all mixed with human will? 

Eastern Lightning | Gospel Movie "Who Is He That Has Returned" (2) - How to Differentiate Between the True Christ and False Christs

Gospel Movie "Who Is He That Has Returned" (2) - How to Differentiate Between the True Christ and False Christs

Many people now testify that the Lord Jesus has returned as Almighty God and is currently doing His work of judgment beginning with God's family. At the same time, many people are passing themselves off as the return of the Lord Jesus. They rely on misinterpretations of the Bible, explanations of prophecies and performing miracles and wonders in order to confuse people, and some among them have also written several books. So how should we thoroughly understand the evil essence of false Christs and cast them aside? And how should we know Christ's essence and be as the wise virgins welcoming the groom? This short film will allow you to understand the aspect of truth concerning differentiating between the true Christ and false Christs, that you may welcome the return of the Lord Jesus.

Eastern Lightning | What is the essential difference between the work of God and the work of man?

What is the essential difference between the work of God and the work of man?

The Lord Jesus

Relevant Words of God:

The work of God Himself involves the work of all of mankind, and it also represents the work of the entire era. That is to say, God’s own work represents the movement and trend of all of the work of the Holy Spirit, whereas the work of the apostles follows God’s own work and does not lead the era, nor does it represent the working trend of the Holy Spirit in the entire era. They only do the work man ought to do, which does not at all involve the management work. God’s own work is the project within the management work. Man’s work is only the duty of men being used and bears no relation to the management work. Due to different identities and representations of the work, despite the fact that they are both the work of the Holy Spirit, there are clear and substantive differences between God’s own work and the work of man.

from “God’s Work and Man’s Work” in The Word Appears in the Flesh

Eastern Lightning | The Gospel of the Kingdom of Heaven | Notions and Truths | Question 23

Question 23: You testify that Almighty God is God incarnate who is currently doing His work of judgment in the last days. But the religious pastors and elders say that the work of Almighty God is actually the work of man, and also many people who don’t believe in the Lord Jesus say that Christianity is a belief in a man. We still cannot discern what exactly is the difference between the work of God and the work of man, so please fellowship this for us.

Answer:

The work of God and the work of man are certainly different. If we investigate carefully we will all be able to see it. For instance, if we look at the utterances and work of the Lord Jesus and then take a look at the utterances and work of the apostles, we can say that the difference is too obvious. Every word uttered by the Lord Jesus is the truth and carries authority, and can reveal many mysteries. These are all things mankind can never do. That is why there are so many people who follow the Lord Jesus. However, the apostles can only spread the gospel, bear witness to God, and supply the church. The results are all very limited.

Eastern Lightning | The religious world believes that all scripture is given by the inspiration of God and it is all the words of God; how should one have discernment toward this statement?

The religious world believes that all scripture is given by the inspiration of God and it is all the words of God; how should one have discernment toward this statement?

Relevant Words of God:

Not everything in the Bible is a record of the words personally spoken by God. The Bible simply documents the previous two stages of God’s work, of which one part is a record of the foretellings of the prophets, and one part is the experiences and knowledge written by people used by God throughout the ages. Human experiences are tainted with human opinions and knowledge, which is unavoidable. In many of the books of the Bible are human conceptions, human biases, and human absurd interpretations. Of course, most of the words are the result of the enlightenment and illumination of the Holy Spirit, and they are correct interpretations—yet it still cannot be said that they are entirely accurate expressions of the truth. Their views on certain things are nothing more than the knowledge of personal experience, or the enlightenment of the Holy Spirit. The foretellings of the prophets were personally instructed by God: The prophecies of Isaiah, Daniel, Ezra, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel came from the direct instruction of the Holy Spirit, these people were seers, they had received the Spirit of prophecy, they were all prophets of the Old Testament. During the Age of Law these people, who had received the inspirations of Jehovah, spoke many prophecies, which were directly instructed by Jehovah.

from “Concerning the Bible (3)” in The Word Appears in the Flesh

The Church of Almighty God | Follow God by the Way of the Cross | Gospel Movie "Perilous Is the Road to the Heavenly Kingdom"

Follow God by the Way of the Cross | Gospel Movie "Perilous Is the Road to the Heavenly Kingdom"

Introduction

Zhong Xin is a preacher from a certain house church on the Chinese mainland. He has been a believer in the Lord for many years and has always suffered the arrests and persecution of the CCP. His hatred of the CCP runs deep, and he has long since seen clearly that the CCP is a satanic regime that sets itself against God.

Eastern Lightning | The Bible is only a record of God’s two stages of work in the Age of Law and the Age of Grace; it is not a record of the entirety of God’s work.

The Bible is only a record of God’s two stages of work in the Age of Law and the Age of Grace; it is not a record of the entirety of God’s work.

Bible Verses for Reference:

“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” (Jhn 16:12-13).

“He that has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches” (Rev 2:17).

Eastern Lightning | The Gospel of the Kingdom of Heaven | Notions and Truths | Question 21

Question 21: The Lord Jesus was nailed to the cross as a sin offering for man, thereby redeeming us from sin. If we stray from the Lord Jesus and believe in Almighty God, would this not be a betrayal of the Lord Jesus? Would this not be apostasy?

Answer:

In our years of believing in the Lord, each of us has received from the Lord Jesus much grace and blessing, with hearts full of love and thanks to the Lord. And precisely for this reason, when we hear the gospel of Almighty God of the last days, we can’t help but get a kind of concern in our hearts: If we leave the Lord Jesus and put our faith in Almighty God, isn’t that betraying the Lord Jesus?

Brothers and sisters, let us make an analogy. Suppose we lived in the period when the Age of Law turned into the Age of Grace, and it was the time when the Lord Jesus came to earth to work. What would our hearts be like inside? Would we think the believers in the Lord Jesus were betraying Jehovah God? Actually, all the thoughts in our hearts now are the same as those of the devout believers in Jehovah God. Jews of that time must also have thought: To follow the Lord Jesus would be disloyalty to Jehovah God, departure from the way of Jehovah God, and betrayal of Jehovah God. As they saw it, the work of the Lord Jesus was not the same as the work of Jehovah God, and His name was not Messiah, but Jesus. They did not realize that the Lord Jesus and Jehovah God were one, but thought the Lord Jesus and Jehovah God were unrelated, saying the Lord Jesus was misleading people (see Jhn 7:45-48), saying that to believe in the Lord Jesus was heresy (see Act 24:14), which meant betraying Jehovah God. Clearly, the reason those people condemned the work of the Lord Jesus as heresy, as a cult, and condemned departing from the Old Testament law to believe in the Lord Jesus as apostasy, was that they did not know the working principles of God—always new and never old. They were using God’s previous work to measure God’s new work, and they condemned and resisted the new work which they thought didn’t tally with the previous work. They clung to the old! … We all know, God’s work is not unchanging, but, based on mankind’s needs and God’s own management plan, it keeps developing. Only in this way can mankind be saved step by step from Satan’s influence. In fact, the Lord Jesus is Jehovah God’s Spirit incarnate. His work is the continuation of Jehovah God’s work. That is to say, the work of the Age of Grace is a continuation of the work of the Age of Law, and the work done by the Lord Jesus is a furtherance on the basis of Jehovah God’s work. The two stages of work are two kinds of work done in two different ages by one God. Although due to difference of the ages God’s names were not the same and God’s work was not the same, still Jesus and Jehovah are one (see Jhn 10:30). Both are God Himself. Those who accepted God’s new work, the followers of the Lord Jesus, certainly were not betraying Jehovah God, but were following God’s footsteps, were loyal to God, which was completely after God’s heart. And those who thought themselves to be loyal to Jehovah God refused to accept God’s new work and did not leave the temple to follow the Lord Jesus, were the ones resisting God. They not only did not receive God’s approval, but on the contrary became objects of God’s rejection.

The age keeps moving forward and has developed until the last days, which means the time to end the age that God preordained two thousand years ago has arrived, and God will finish the work of the Age of Grace, and do the work of the Age of Kingdom. This work is a new stage of work God does based on the Lord Jesus’ work in the Age of Grace. Of course, this work is also the work of rewarding good and punishing evil that two thousand years ago the Lord predicted would be done on His second coming in the last days. Since the present age is no longer the Age of Grace, then God must choose a new name (see Rev 3:12) to represent His new work. This name representing His new work is Almighty God (see Rev 1:8, 11:16-17, 15:2-3), and Christ of the last days, Almighty God, no longer does the work of redemption, but does the work of judgment (see Rev 14:6-7; Jhn 12:48). It is a higher stage of work based on the work the Lord Jesus did. Just as at that time the Lord Jesus, on the basis of Jehovah God’s work of making man “know sin,” did a stage of work of “redeeming sin,” today, Almighty God on the foundation of “forgiving sin” does a stage of work of “casting out sin.” Jehovah, Jesus, Almighty God: these three are different names chosen by God in different ages based on different work. Although the names are different, and the work is different, still God is one. Just as Almighty God says: “I was once known as Jehovah. I was also called the Messiah, and people once called Me Jesus the Savior because they loved and respected Me. But today I am not the Jehovah or Jesus that people knew in times past—I am the God who has returned in the last days, the God who shall bring the age to an end. I am the God Himself that rises up at the ends of the earth, replete with My entire disposition, and full of authority, honor and glory. People have never engaged with Me, have never known Me, and have always been ignorant of My disposition. From the creation of the world until today, not one person has seen Me. This is the God who appears to man during the last days but is hidden among man. He resides among man, true and real, like the burning sun and the flaming fire, filled with power and brimming with authority. There is not a single person or thing that shall not be judged by My words, and not a single person or thing that shall not be purified through the burning of fire. Eventually, all nations shall be blessed because of My words, and also smashed to pieces because of My words. In this way, all people during the last days shall see that I am the Savior returned, I am the Almighty God that conquers all of mankind, and I was once the sin offering for man, but in the last days I also become the flames of the sun that burn all things, as well as the Sun of righteousness that reveals all things. Such is My work of the last days. I took this name and am possessed of this disposition so that all people may see that I am a righteous God, and am the burning sun, and the flaming fire. It is so that all may worship Me, the only true God, and so that they may see My true face: I am not only the God of the Israelites, and am not just the Redeemer—I am the God of all creatures throughout heavens and earth and seas.”

from “The Savior Has Already Returned Upon a ‘White Cloud’” in The Word Appears in the Flesh

“The work done at present has pushed forward the work of the Age of Grace; that is, the work in the entire six-thousand-year management plan has moved forward. Though the Age of Grace has ended, the work of God has progressed further. Why do I say time and again that this stage of work builds upon the Age of Grace and the Age of Law? This means that the work of this day is a continuation of the work done in the Age of Grace and an uplifting of that done in the Age of Law. The three stages are closely interconnected and linked one to the next. Why do I also say that this stage of work builds on that done by Jesus? If this stage did not build on the work done by Jesus, then in this stage the crucifixion, the work of redemption done previously, would still need to be carried out. This would be meaningless. Therefore, it is not that the work has completely finished, but that the age has moved forward, and the work has become even higher than before. It could be said that this stage of work is built on the foundation of the Age of Law and the rock of the work of Jesus. The work is built stage by stage, and this stage is not a new beginning. Only the combination of the three stages of work can be deemed the six-thousand-year management plan.” 

from “The Two Incarnations Complete the Significance of the Incarnation” in The Word Appears in the Flesh

“Jesus and I come from the same Spirit. Though Our fleshes have no relationship, Our Spirits are one; though what We do and the work We bear are not the same, We are alike in essence; Our fleshes take different forms, and this is because of the change in era and the need of Our work; Our ministries are not alike, so the work We bring forth and the disposition We reveal to man are also different. That is why what man sees and receives this day is unlike that of the past; this is so because of the change in era.” 

from “The Two Incarnations Complete the Significance of the Incarnation” in The Word Appears in the Flesh

“From the work of Jehovah to that of Jesus, and from the work of Jesus to that of this current stage, these three stages cover the entire breadth of God’s management, and are all the work of one Spirit. From when He created the world, God has always been managing mankind. He is the Beginning and the End, He is the First and the Last, and He is the One who begins an age and the One who brings the age to an end. The three stages of work, in different ages and different locations, are surely carried out by one Spirit. All those who separate these three stages oppose God. Now, you must understand that all the work from the first stage until today is the work of one God, the work of one Spirit, of which there is no doubt.” 

from “The Vision of God’s Work (3)” in The Word Appears in the Flesh

“If man can see in the three stages of work that they were carried out by God Himself at different times, in different places, and in different people, then man will see that,[a] although the work is different, it is all done by one God. Since it is work done by one God, then it must be right, and without error, and though it is at odds with the conceptions of man, there is no denying that it is the work of one God. If man can say for sure that it is the work of one God, then the conceptions of man will become mere trifles, unworthy of mention. Because the visions of man are unclear, and man only knows Jehovah as God, and Jesus as the Lord, and is in two minds about the God incarnate of today, many people remain devoted to the work of Jehovah and Jesus, and are beset by conceptions about the work of today, most people are always doubtful, and do not take the work of today seriously.” 

from “Knowing the Three Stages of God’s Work Is the Path to Knowing God” in The Word Appears in the Flesh

From what Almighty God has said we know, Almighty God is Jehovah God who promulgated the laws to guide man in their lives and is also the Lord Jesus who was crucified to redeem us humans. No matter how the name of God changes, how the work changes, the purpose of God’s work, that is, His intention of saving man, never changes, God’s essence never changes. God’s three stages of work certainly do not contradict; rather, each stage of work is based upon a previous stage; and each stage of work is a deeper, higher stage than the last. The work of God is done according to the development of the times and mankind’s needs, all for the sake of better saving mankind. That is to say, the work of judgment done by Almighty God in the last days and the work of redemption done by the Lord Jesus and the work of law done by Jehovah God all are the work of one God; God according to His own plan, according to mankind’s needs, saves mankind in stages. We must understand, all that was done by Jehovah God, all that was done by the Lord Jesus, all that is done by Almighty God, are three successive stages of God’s whole management to save mankind. Today, our acceptance of Almighty God’s work in the last days is not ingratitude or betrayal of the Lord Jesus; rather, it is our keeping pace with God’s work, following the Lamb’s footsteps; and he who does so truly has conscience, has loyalty, has insight, and earns God’s approval.

Today, the age has changed, God’s work has changed, so man’s practice must change. Loyalty to the law and to the cross no longer satisfies God’s present will and cannot gain God’s approval. Only those who accept Almighty God’s work in the last days, who follow God to the end, can gain God’s ultimate blessing. Just as Almighty God says: “Only those who follow the footsteps of the Lamb to the very end can gain the final blessing, whereas those ‘clever people,’ who are unable to follow to the very end yet believe they have gained all, are incapable of witnessing the appearance of God. They all believe they are the smartest person on earth, and they cut short the continued development of God’s work for no reason at all, and seem to believe with absolute certainty that God will take them up to heaven, they who ‘have the utmost loyalty to God, follow God, and abide by the words of God.’ … Those who do not follow to the very end, who do not keep up with the work of the Holy Spirit, and who only cleave to the old work have not only failed to achieve loyalty to God, but on the contrary, have become those who oppose God, have become those who are rejected by the new age, and who will be punished. Are there any more pitiable than them? Many even believe that all those who reject the old law and accept the new work are without conscience. These people, who only talk of ‘conscience,’ and do not know the work of the Holy Spirit, will ultimately have their prospects cut short by their own consciences. God’s work does not abide by doctrine, and even though it is His own work, still God does not cling to it. That which should be denied is denied, that which should be eliminated is eliminated. Yet man places himself in enmity of God by holding onto but one small part of the work of God’s management. Is this not the absurdity of man? Is this not the ignorance of man? The more that people are timid and overcautious because they are afraid of not gaining God’s blessings, the more that they are incapable of gaining greater blessings, and of receiving the final blessing. Those people who slavishly abide by the law all display the utmost loyalty toward the law, and the more they display such loyalty toward the law, the more they are rebels who oppose God. For now is the Age of Kingdom and not the Age of Law, and the work of today cannot be held up against the work of the past, and the work of the past cannot be compared to the work of today. The work of God has changed, and the practice of man has also changed; it is not to hold onto the law or bear the cross. So, people’s loyalty toward the law and the cross will not gain God’s approval.” 

from “God’s Work and Man’s Practice” in The Word Appears in the Flesh

Brothers and sisters, now do you still think that accepting God’s new work of the last days and following Almighty God means betraying the Lord Jesus? Presumably at this moment you have understood: To believe in Almighty God is to be loyal to the Lord Jesus, is to follow the Lamb’s footsteps, because Almighty God is the second coming of the Lord Jesus.

from Questions and Answers on the Testimony of the Kingdom Gospel

What is the key to believing in God? To believe in God we must accept God’s name and accept His present work. We should experience and obey God’s present work, only then can we be saved by God and receive the praise of God. When the Lord Jesus came, He was given a name, called “Jesus,” and those who believed in the Lord Jesus were saved. This “saved” is what form of salvation? It doesn’t mean to be able to enter into the kingdom of heaven, but rather is to be removed from the condemnation and the curse of the law. If you break the law of Jehovah after believing in Jesus you will not be condemned, and the Lord Jesus can forgive your sins, this is separating yourself from the power of the curse of the law. Your sins will be forgiven. But when your sins have been forgiven by faith in Jesus, can you enter the kingdom of heaven? The Lord Jesus didn’t say that, right? What did the Lord Jesus say? The Lord foretold what type of work He would accomplish when He returns in the last days. When the last days come, if you accept His return, if you can hear His voice and accept His work of the last days, you will be put on the road to the kingdom of heaven. So Almighty God came in the last days and does His work of judgment. What does the work of judgment in the last days bring? It is the perpetual way of life. Why say that Christ of the last days brings us the perpetual way of life? Hasn’t the Lord Jesus also spoken many words when He came to do His work? Why can’t we say that the word of the Lord Jesus is the perpetual way of life? All of those who have believed in the Lord for many years and have experienced the work of the Lord Jesus know that believing in the Lord Jesus can only bring the forgiveness of sins. After being forgiven from our sins, why do we keep sinning? Sinning then confessing our sin and then sinning again? Why can’t we remove ourselves from our fleshly bindings and our sinful nature? Why can’t we detach ourselves from sin, why can’t we live by God’s words, live out the image of the truth? This difficult problem is something that all those who believed in the Lord in the Age of Grace admitted to, isn’t that so? (Yes, it is.) In the last days when the Lord Jesus returns, what work will be done? Does the Lord have any prophecies? The Lord 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” (Jhn 16:12-13). This prophecy has now been fulfilled, fulfilled by the work of Almighty God in the last days. Almighty God has expressed all the truths that believers in God should understand and enter. Then the truth that Almighty God expressed, is it the expression of the Spirit of truth? (Yes.) It is the expression of the Spirit of truth. Almighty God has made known all the truths that God saves man with; these truths are essential to man and they are the perpetual way of life, that is, the way of eternal life.

from Sermons and Fellowship on Entry Into Life (Series 131)

Almighty God is Jehovah God, who once proclaimed the law to mankind by which to lead their lives. He is also the Lord Jesus, who was nailed to the cross to redeem mankind. The judgment of Almighty God, the redemption of the Lord Jesus, and the law of Jehovah God are all the work of the same God; according to His own plan and the needs of mankind, God saves man step by step.

Today we accept the name of Almighty God, which does not mean that we are ungrateful to the Lord Jesus and have betrayed Him. It means that we are following the footsteps of the Lamb, staying true to the way of God, and following Him with loyalty, and only thus will we meet with God’s approval. As it says in Revelation 14:4, “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.” Those who insist on the name of Jesus and refuse to accept that of Almighty God just become the betrayers of God, and will be eliminated by Him. In the time when God came to do His work with the name of Jesus, those disciples who accepted God’s new work and followed the Lord Jesus had not abandoned the true way nor betrayed Jehovah God. In fact, they had kept pace with God’s footsteps and were the ones faithful to God, while the Pharisees, who thought themselves faithful to Jehovah God, and insisted on Jehovah’s name alone, rejected the Lord Jesus. The result is that their loyalty did not meet with Jehovah God’s approval, but rather quite the opposite: They were subject to God’s curses and punishment. We must, therefore, learn from the failure of the Pharisees. We must accept the name of Almighty God and keep pace with the footsteps of God’s work. Only thus can we receive God’s salvation.

from Answers to Screenplay Questions

Footnotes:

a. The original text omits “then man will see that.”