Eastern Lightning | The Gospel of the Kingdom of Heaven | Notions and Truths | Question 22

Question 22: The Lord Jesus said: “But whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life” (Jhn 4:14). Most people think that the Lord Jesus has already bestowed on us the way of eternal life, but I have read these words of Almighty God: “Only Christ of the Last Days Can Give Man the Way of Eternal Life.” What’s all this about? Why does it say that only Christ of the last days can give man the way of eternal life?

Answer:

In order to actually know what is the way of eternal life, we should first know where the way of eternal life comes from. We all know that whenever God became flesh He bore witness that He is the truth, the way, and the life. This is sufficient evidence to prove that only Christ can express the way of eternal life. Since Christ is the appearance of God incarnate, since He is the flesh that God’s Spirit is clothed in, that means that the substance of Christ is the substance of God, and that Christ Himself is the truth, the way, and the life. So, only Christ can express the truth, only He is able to carry out the work of redeeming and saving mankind.

Eastern Lightning | Documentary Trailer "The One Who Holds Sovereignty Over Everything" | Reflections on Disaster

    Many people think that their fate is in their own hands. But when disaster comes, all we feel is helplessness, fear, and horror, and we sense our insignificance and the fragility of life…. Who is our only salvation? The Christian musical documentary—The One Who Holds Sovereignty Over Everything—will soon reveal the answer! 

    Eastern Lightning, The Church of Almighty God was created because of the appearance and work of Almighty God, the second coming of the Lord Jesus, Christ of the last days. It is made up of all those who accept Almighty God's work in the last days and are conquered and saved by His words. It was entirely founded by Almighty God personally and is led by Him as the Shepherd. It was definitely not created by a person. Christ is the truth, the way, and the life. God's sheep hear God's voice. As long as you read the words of Almighty God, you will see God has appeared.

The Church of Almighty God | Wise Virgins Hear the Voice of God

I. The Lord has appeared in the last days and uttered words to do the work of judgment that begins with the house of God. This completely fulfills the biblical prophecies: “He that has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches” (Rev 2:7). “For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God” (1Pe 4:17). Only wise virgins can hear the voice of the Lord and welcome Him.

Bible Verses for Reference:

“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” (Rev 3:20).

“He that has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches” (Rev 2:7).

“My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me” (Jhn 10:27).

“For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God” (1Pe 4:17).

Classic Words of God:

God’s six-thousand-year management plan is coming to an end, and the gate of the kingdom has been opened to all those who seek the appearance of God. Dear brothers and sisters, what are you waiting for? What is it that you seek? Do you await the appearance of God? Are you searching for the footprints of God? How the appearance of God is yearned for! And how difficult it is to find God’s footprints! In an age such as this, in a world such as this, what must we do to witness the day of God’s appearance? What must we do to follow the footprints of God?

Eastern Lightning | Who is the One that commands the universe and all things?

    The laws of orbit of the huge stars in the universe are precise! All living beings multiply over and over again! Who ordains the rules and principles of the universe and all things? Who is the One that has such unique authority and power?

Eastern Lightning | Best Christian Movie | "Yearning" | God Reveals the Mystery of Kingdom of Heaven (English Dubbed)

Best Christian Movie | "Yearning" | God Reveals the Mystery of Kingdom of Heaven (English Dubbed)

Eastern Lightning | The “Rural” Mom Meets the “Urban” Daughter-in-Law

Liu Jie, Hunan

Different Viewpoints, Constant Conflicts

I am a typical housewife, a good wife and a loving mother, I take good care of my husband and children, I’m hardworking and thrifty in running my household, and I’ve never recklessly spent my money. But something unimaginable happened to me. My son married a fashionable girl who really loved to have fun and dress up and follow the trends of the world. She pursued and purchased whatever was popular in the world, she threw away money by the handful, and however much she made each month was however much she spent. Since there was such a huge difference in our ways of thinking and living, my daughter-in-law and I often would be at loggerheads, we got into angry arguments, and our problems continued to get more and more intense.

Eastern Lightning | The Gospel of the Kingdom of Heaven | Notions and Truths | Question 20

Question 20: It’s written right there in the Bible: “Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever” (Heb 13:8). So the name of the Lord never changes! But you say that when the Lord comes again in the last days He will take a new name and will be called Almighty God. How do you explain it?

Answer:

Ever since we started believing in the Lord Jesus, we began to pray and to heal disease and cast out demons in His name. Also, because of His name, we gained peace and blessings, and moreover because of His name we gained countless graces. That is why the name of the Lord Jesus has been deeply imprinted on our hearts and we also treasure His name very much, just like how the people of Israel treasured the name of Jehovah. Accordingly, when some brothers and sisters hear that the Lord has already returned in the flesh as Almighty God, they are unable to accept it, saying: “It says in Acts 4:12: ‘Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.’ Hebrews 13:8 states: ‘Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever.’ Therefore, when the Lord returns His name should still be Jesus. How could He be called Almighty God?” Brothers and sisters, what do you think of this question? Could the Lord only be called Jesus when He returns?

Eastern Lightning | Exactly how should one approach and use the Bible in a way that conforms to God’s will? What is the Bible’s original value?

Exactly how should one approach and use the Bible in a way that conforms to God’s will? What is the Bible’s original value?

Relevant Words of God:

Today, I am dissecting the Bible in this way and it does not mean that I hate it, or deny its value for reference. I am explaining the inherent value and origins of the Bible to you to stop you being kept in the dark. For people have so many views about the Bible, and most of them are wrong; reading the Bible in this way not only prevents them from gaining what they ought to, but, more important, it hinders the work I intend to do.

Eastern Lightning | The Gospel of the Kingdom of Heaven | Notions and Truths | Question 19

Question 19: One aspect of the Lord Jesus’ work of redemption was to forgive and absolve our sins, while the other aspect was to bestow on us peace and joy and bountiful grace. This allows us to see that God is a merciful and loving God. But you testify that Almighty God does the work of judgment in the last days, that He expresses the truth and judges and chastises man, prunes and deals with man, exposes man and eliminates all kinds of evil men, evil spirits and antichrists, which allows people to see that God’s righteous disposition does not tolerate any offense. Why is the disposition revealed in the Lord Jesus’ work so completely different from the disposition revealed in the work of Almighty God? How exactly should we understand God’s disposition?

Answer:

Since the Lord Jesus carried out His redemptive work in the Age of Grace, we have witnessed how the Lord Jesus is full of forgiveness and patience, and how He is full of love and mercy. So long as we believe in the Lord Jesus then our sins will be absolved and we will be able to enjoy the grace of God. As a result, we have determined that God is a loving and merciful God, that He always forgives man and absolves man from all the sins he commits, that God always treats us in the same way a mother treats her children, with meticulous care, without ever showing anger. Therefore, many people don’t understand it when they see Almighty God in the last days expressing truths and judging man in harsh language that reveals man’s corruption so directly and without mercy, they don’t understand it when He condemns and curses evil people, antichrists and the Pharisees, they feel that God should not use such harsh language to judge man.

Eastern Lightning | The CCP Government's Suppression and Persecution of Christians in House Churches: Ironclad Proof

The CCP Government's Suppression and Persecution of Christians in House Churches: Ironclad Proof

Since the atheist Chinese Communist Party has come to power, it has continued to madly resist God and be an enemy to Him. They have not only branded Christianity and Catholicism as "cults," but they have defined the Bible as cult literature, confiscating and destroying countless copies. They also wantonly detain Christians, which has led to the arrests and imprisonment of over a million believers. Among them, over 10,000 people at the least have been persecuted to the point of death.

Eastern Lightning | The Gospel of the Kingdom of Heaven | Notions and Truths | Question 18

Question 18: You testify that in the last days God does His work of judgment in order to utterly purify and save man, but after reading the words expressed by Almighty God, I find that some of them condemn and curse man. If God condemns and curses man, isn’t man then to suffer punishment? And how can you still say that this kind of judgment purifies and saves mankind?

Answer:

God’s work of judgment in the last days is primarily in order to make a group of overcomers, a group of people who are of the same mind with God. This is what God preordained during the creation of the world. You could say that God has already created a group of overcomers, that they have been perfected through God’s judgment and chastisement, that they have come out of the tribulations of the cruel persecution of the Chinese Communist Party. It is a fact that God has already done this, no one can deny it. Some people say that some of God’s words are words that condemn and curse man, and they give rise to conceptions. This is absurd.

Eastern Lightning | The Gospel of the Kingdom of Heaven | Notions and Truths | Question 17

Question 17: You testify that in the last days God expresses the truth and does the work of judging and purifying man, so how exactly does God judge, purify and save man?

    Relevant Words of God:

Though many people believe in God, few understand what faith in God means, and what they must do to be after God’s heart. This is because, though people are familiar with the word “God” and phrases such as “the work of God,” they do not know God, much less do they know His work. No wonder, then, that all those who do not know God are possessed of a muddled belief. People do not take belief in God seriously because believing in God is too unfamiliar, too strange for them. In this way, they fall short of the demands of God. In other words, if people do not know God, do not know His work, then they are not fit for God’s use, much less can they fulfill the desire of God. “Belief in God” means believing that there is a God; this is the simplest concept of faith in God. What’s more, believing that there is a God is not the same as truly believing in God; rather, it is a kind of simple faith with strong religious overtones. True faith in God means experiencing the words and work of God based on a belief that God holds sovereignty over all things. So you shall be freed of your corrupt disposition, shall fulfill the desire of God, and shall come to know God. Only through such a journey can you be said to believe in God. Yet people often see belief in God as something very simple and frivolous. The belief of such people is meaningless and shall never gain the approval of God, because they tread the wrong path. Today, there are still those who believe in God in letters, in hollow doctrines. They are unaware that their belief in God has no substance, and that they are unable to gain the approval of God, and they still pray for peace and sufficient grace from God. We should stop and ask ourselves: Could believing in God really be the easiest thing on earth? Does believing in God mean nothing more than receiving much grace from God? Can people who believe in God but do not know Him, and believe in God yet oppose Him, really fulfill the desire of God?

from Preface to The Word Appears in the Flesh

A true belief in God is not about believing in Him in order to be saved and is even less about being a good person. It is also not just about believing in God in order to have human likeness. Actually, people should not view their belief in God as just a belief that there is a God, and then nothing more; it is not that you should merely believe that God is the truth, the way, the life, and then nothing more. Nor is it just so you acknowledge God, much less is it merely to believe that God is the Ruler over all things, that God is almighty, that God created all things in the world, that God is unique and that God is supreme. It is not merely so that you believe this; rather it is that you—your whole being and your whole heart—should follow God, allow God to employ you, allow God to use you in His service, and that you should do anything for God. It is not that only those predestined and chosen by God should believe in Him. Actually, all of mankind should worship God, heed Him and obey Him, because mankind was made by God.

        from “Only the Pursuit of the Truth Is the True Belief in God” in Records of Christ’s Talks

Today, what is real belief in God? It is the acceptance of God’s word as the reality of your life and the knowing of God from His word in order to achieve a true love of Him. To be clear: It is the belief in God so that you may obey God, love God, and perform the duty that should be performed by a creature of God. This is the aim of believing in God. You must achieve a knowledge of the loveliness of God, of how worthy God is of reverence, of how, in His creatures, God does the work of salvation and making them perfect—this is the minimum that you should possess in your belief in God. Belief in God is principally the switch from a life in the flesh to a life of loving God, from a life within naturalness to a life within the being of God, it is coming out from under the domain of Satan and living under the care and protection of God, it is being able to achieve obedience to God and not obedience to the flesh, it is allowing God to gain your entire heart, allowing God to make you perfect, and freeing yourself from the corrupt satanic disposition. Belief in God is principally so that the power and glory of God may be manifested in you, so that you may carry out God’s will, and accomplish God’s plan, and be able to bear testimony to God before Satan. Belief in God should not be in order to behold signs and wonders, nor should it be for the sake of your personal flesh. It should be for the pursuit of knowing God, and being able to obey God, and like Peter, obeying Him until death. This is what it is mainly in order to achieve. Eating and drinking the word of God is in order to know God and in order to satisfy God. Eating and drinking the word of God gives you a greater knowledge of God, only after which can you obey God. Only if you know God can you love Him, and the attainment of this aim is the only aim man should have in his belief in God. If, in your belief in God, you always try to behold signs and wonders, then the viewpoint of this belief in God is wrong. Belief in God is principally the acceptance of the word of God as the reality of life. Only putting into practice the words of God from His mouth and carrying them out within yourself is the attainment of the aim of God. In believing in God, man should pursue being made perfect by God, being able to submit to God, and the complete obedience to God. If you can obey God without complaint, be mindful of God’s desires, achieve the stature of Peter, and possess the style of Peter spoken of by God, then that will be when you have achieved success in belief in God, and it will signify that you have been gained by God.

                                      from “All Is Achieved by the Word of God” in The Word Appears in the Flesh

Since you believe in God, you must eat and drink of His word, experience His word, and live out His word. Only this is belief in God! If you say you believe in God yet cannot speak out any of His words or put them into practice, you are not considered to believe in God. This is “seeking bread to satisfy hunger.” Speaking only of trivial testimony, useless matters, and superficial matters, and not having even the slightest bit of reality do not constitute belief in God. As such,[a] you have not grasped the right way of believing in God. Why must you eat and drink more of God’s words? Is it considered belief if you do not eat and drink of His words and seek only to ascend to heaven? What is the first step for one who believes in God? By what path does God perfect man? Can you be perfected without eating and drinking of the word of God? Can you be considered a person of the kingdom without the word of God as your reality? What exactly is belief in God? Believers in God should be possessed of good behavior externally, at the very least, and of utmost importance is to have the word of God. No matter what, you can never turn away from His word. Your knowledge of God and fulfillment of His will are all achieved through His word. All nations, sects, denominations, and sectors will be conquered through the word in the future. God will speak directly, and all people will hold the word of God in their hands; through this will people be perfected. The word of God pervades throughout: People speak of God’s word and practice according to God’s word, while kept within is still the word of God. Both within and without, they are steeped in the word of God, and thus are they perfected. Those who fulfill the will of God and are able to bear witness to Him are those who have the word of God as reality.

                               from “The Age of Kingdom Is the Age of Word” in The Word Appears in the Flesh

You may think believing in God is about suffering, or doing many things for Him, or for the peace of your flesh, or for everything to go well for you, for everything to be comfortable—but none of these are purposes people should have for believing in God. If that is what you believe, then your perspective is incorrect and you simply cannot be perfected. God’s actions, God’s righteous disposition, His wisdom, His words, and His wondrousness and unfathomableness are all things people ought to understand. Use this understanding to get rid of the personal requests as well as the individual hopes and notions in your heart. Only by eliminating these can you meet the conditions demanded by God. Only through this can you have life and satisfy God. Believing in God is for the sake of satisfying Him and for living out the disposition He requires, so that His actions and glory may be manifested through this group of unworthy people. That is the correct perspective for believing in God, and also the goal you should seek. You should have the right viewpoint of believing in God and seek to obtain God’s words. You need to eat and drink God’s words, and be able to live out the truth, and especially see His practical deeds, see His wonderful deeds throughout the entire universe, as well as the practical work He does in the flesh. Through their actual experiences, people can appreciate just how God does His work on them and what His will is toward them. All of this is to eliminate their corrupt satanic disposition. Rid yourself of the unclean and unrighteous inside of you, strip away your wrong intentions, and you can develop true faith in God. Only by having true faith can you truly love God. You can only genuinely love God on the foundation of your belief in Him. Can you achieve loving God without believing in Him? Since you believe in God, you cannot be muddle-headed about it. Some people become full of vigor as soon as they see that faith in God will bring them blessings, but lose all energy as soon as they see they have to suffer refinements. Is that believing in God? In the end, faith in God is about complete and utter obedience before Him. You believe in God but still have demands of Him, have many religious notions you cannot put down, personal interests you cannot let go of, and still seek blessings of the flesh and want God to rescue your flesh, to save your soul—these are all expressions of people with the wrong perspective. Even though people with religious beliefs have faith in God, they don’t seek dispositional change, don’t pursue knowledge of God, and only seek the interests of their flesh. Many among you have faiths that belong in the category of religious convictions. That is not true faith in God. To believe in God people must possess a heart to suffer for Him and the will to give themselves up. Unless they meet these two conditions it does not count as faith in God, and they will not be able to achieve dispositional change. Only people who genuinely seek the truth, seek knowledge of God, and pursue life are those who truly believe in God.

from “Those Who Are to Be Made Perfect Must Undergo Refinement” in The Word Appears in the Flesh

In his belief in God, Peter sought to satisfy God in everything, and sought to obey all that came from God. Without the slightest complaint, he was able to accept chastisement and judgment, as well as refinement, tribulation and lack in his life, none of which could alter his love of God. Is this not the ultimate love of God? Is this not the fulfillment of the duty of a creature of God? Chastisement, judgment, tribulation—you are capable of achieving obedience unto death, and this is what should be achieved by a creature of God, this is the purity of the love of God. If man can achieve this much, then he is a qualified creature of God, and there is nothing which better satisfies the desire of the Creator. Imagine that you are able to work for God, yet you do not obey God, and are incapable of truly loving God. In this way, not only will you not have fulfilled the duty of a creature of God, but will also be condemned by God, for you are someone who does not possess the truth, who is incapable of obeying God, and who is disobedient to God. You only care about working for God, and do not care about putting the truth into practice, or knowing yourself. You do not understand or know the Creator, and do not obey or love the Creator. You are someone who is innately disobedient to God, and so such people are not beloved by the Creator.

        from “Success or Failure Depends on the Path That Man Walks” in The Word Appears in the Flesh

To summarize taking the path of Peter, it is to take the path of pursuing the truth, which is also the path of truly knowing oneself and changing one’s disposition. Only by going the way of Peter will one be going the way of being perfected by God. One must be clear on specifically how to take the way of Peter and how to put it into practice. First, one must put aside his own intentions, improper pursuits, and even his family and all things of his own flesh. He must be wholeheartedly devoted, that is, completely devote himself to the word of God, focus on eating and drinking the word of God, focus on the search for the truth, the search for God’s intention in His words, and try to grasp the will of God in everything. This is the most fundamental and the most critical method of practice. This is what Peter did after seeing Jesus, and it is only by practicing in this way that one obtains the best results. Wholehearted devotion to the words of God mainly means seeking the truth, seeking God’s intention within His words, focusing on grasping the will of God, and understanding and obtaining more truth from the words of God. When reading His words, Peter was not focused on understanding doctrines and he was even less focused on obtaining theological knowledge; instead, he was focused on understanding the truth and grasping God’s will, and achieving an understanding of His disposition and His loveliness. He also tried to understand the various corrupt states of man from God’s words, and understand the corrupt nature of man and man’s true shortcomings, achieving all aspects of the demands God makes of man in order to satisfy Him. He had so many correct practices within the words of God; this is most in line with God’s will, and it is mankind’s best cooperation in his experience of the work of God. … If one could truly enter into the reality of God’s words from the matters and the words required by Him, then he would be a person perfected by God. It could be said that the work and the words of God were completely effective for this person, that God’s words became his life, he obtained truth, and he could live according to God’s words. After this the nature of his flesh, that is, the foundation of his original existence, would shake and collapse. After one has the words of God as their life they become a new person. The words of God became his life; the vision of God’s work, His requirements of man, His revelation of man, and the standards for a true life that God requires man to achieve became his life—he lived according to these words and these truths, and this person became perfected by the words of God. He experienced rebirth and became a new man through His words. This is the path by which Peter pursued the truth; it was the path of being perfected, perfected by God’s words, and gaining life from the words of God. The truth expressed by God’s words became his life, and only then did he become a person who obtained the truth.

from “How to Take the Path of Peter” in Records of Christ’s Talks

Belief in God is the first step to knowing God. The process of advancing from the initial belief in God to the most profound belief in God is the process of knowing God, and the process of experiencing the work of God. If you only believe in God for the sake of believing in God, and do not believe in God in order to know God, then there is no reality to your belief, and it cannot become pure—of this there is no doubt. If, during the process by which he experiences God, man gradually comes to know God, then his disposition will gradually change, and his belief will become increasingly true. In this way, when man achieves success in belief in God, he will completely gain God. God went to such great lengths to become flesh for the second time and personally do His work so that man would be able to know Him, and would be able to see Him. Knowing God[b] is the final effect to be achieved at the end of God’s work; it is God’s final requirement of mankind. He does this for the sake of His final testimony, and so that man may finally and completely turn to Him. Man can only love God by knowing God, and to love God he must know God. No matter how he seeks, or what he seeks to gain, he must be able to achieve the knowledge of God. Only in this way can man satisfy God’s heart.

         from “Only Those Who Know God Can Bear Testimony to God” in The Word Appears in the Flesh

Footnotes:

a. The original text omits “As such.”

b. The original text reads “The work of knowing God.”

Eastern Lightning | The Gospel of the Kingdom of Heaven | Notions and Truths | Question 16

Question 16： Some people go by Paul’s word, believing that our image will be changed instantly to become holy when the Lord returns. So why does God still need to become flesh to express the truth and do a stage of work of judgment and purification of man in the last days.

Answers:

Each stage of God’s work is unfathomable to us humans. Nor could humanity decipher God’s prophecies until they are fulfilled. What does it mean to us? It means that God’s wisdom and almightiness is unfathomable. In the Age of Grace when the Lord Jesus appeared to work, no one of us humans could fathom it. In the Age of Kingdom when Almighty God does judgment work in the last days, no one could predict it either. Therefore, God being incarnated to express the truth and do judgment work in the last days is inconceivable to mankind. After the work of God is completed and the great disasters arrive, mankind will feel that God’s words are fulfilled. It will be too late for regrets. They can only mourn and grind their teeth in disasters. Pertaining to how God does the work of judgment in the last days to cleanse and save people, how to make a group of overcomers—the firstfruits, we will understand it much better after reading these passages of the words of Almighty God:

“You should see that the will and the work of God are not as simple as the creation of the heavens and earth and all things. For the work of today is to transform those who have been corrupted, who have grown extremely numb, and to purify those who were created then worked on by Satan, not to create Adam or Eve, much less to make the light or create all manner of plants and animals. His work now is to make pure all that has been corrupted by Satan so that they may be regained and become His possession and become His glory. Such work is not as simple as man imagines the creation of the heavens and earth and all things to be, and it is not akin to the work of cursing Satan to the bottomless pit as man imagines. Rather, it is to transform man, to turn that which is negative into the positive and to take into His possession that which does not belong to Him. This is the inside story of this stage of God’s work. You must realize it, and should not oversimplify matters. The work of God is unlike any ordinary work. Its marvel cannot be conceived by the mind of man, and its wisdom cannot be attained by such. God is not creating all things, and He is not destroying them. Rather, He is changing all of His creation and purifying all things that have been defiled by Satan. Therefore, God shall commence work of great magnitude, and this is the total significance of the work of God. After reading these words, do you believe that the work of God is so simple?” 

from “Is the Work of God So Simple as Man Imagines?” in The Word Appears in the Flesh

“The flesh of man has been corrupted by Satan, and most deeply blinded, and profoundly harmed. The most fundamental reason why God works personally in the flesh is because the object of His salvation is man, who is of the flesh, and because Satan also uses the flesh of man to disturb the work of God. The battle with Satan is actually the work of conquering man, and at the same time, man is also the object of God’s salvation. In this way, the work of God incarnate is essential. Satan corrupted the flesh of man, and man became the embodiment of Satan, and became the object to be defeated by God. In this way, the work of doing battle with Satan and saving mankind occurs on earth, and God must become human in order to do battle with Satan. This is work of the utmost practicality.” 

from “Corrupt Mankind Is More in Need of the Salvation of God Become Flesh” in The Word Appears in the Flesh

“Earliest mankind was in the hands of God, but because of Satan’s temptation and corruption, man was bound up by Satan and fell in the hands of the evil one. Thus, Satan became the object to be defeated in the work of God’s management. Because Satan took possession of man, and because man is the stock of all God’s management, if man is to be saved, then he must be snatched back from the hands of Satan, which is to say that man must be taken back after having been held captive by Satan. Satan is defeated through changes in man’s old disposition that restore his original sense, and in this way, man, who has been taken captive, can be snatched back from the hands of Satan. If man is freed from the influence and bondage of Satan, Satan will be shamed, man will ultimately be taken back, and Satan will be defeated. And because man has been freed from the dark influence of Satan, man will become the spoils of all of this battle, and Satan will become the object that will be punished once this battle has finished, after which the entire work of mankind’s salvation will have been completed.” 

from “Restoring the Normal Life of Man and Taking Him to a Wonderful Destination” in The Word Appears in the Flesh

“In the work of the last days, the word is mightier than the manifestation of signs and wonders, and the authority of the word surpasses that of signs and wonders. The word reveals all the corrupt dispositions in the heart of man. You are unable to recognize them on your own. When they are revealed to you through the word, you will naturally come to the realization; you will not be able to deny them, and you will be utterly convinced. Is this not the authority of the word? This is the result achieved by the present work of the word. Therefore, man cannot be fully saved from his sins by the healing of sickness and casting out of demons and cannot be fully made complete by the manifestation of signs and wonders. The authority to heal sickness and cast out demons only gives man grace, but the flesh of man still belongs to Satan and the corrupt satanic disposition still remains within man. In other words, that which has not been made clean still belongs to sin and filth. Only after man has been made clean through words can he be gained by God and become sanctified. … Through this work of judgment and chastisement, man will fully come to know the filthy and corrupt substance within him, and he will be able to completely change and become clean. Only in this way can man be worthy to return before the throne of God. All the work done this day is so that man can be made clean and be changed; through judgment and chastisement by the word, as well as refinement, man can cast away his corruption and be made pure.” 

from “The Mystery of the Incarnation (4)” in The Word Appears in the Flesh

After reading the words of Almighty God, how do you feel? Is there any truth or mystery behind God’s incarnation in the last days in expressing the truth and doing judgment work to cleanse and perfect man instead of transforming us with one phrase? After reading those passages of Almighty God’s words, what do you understand? The way that God cleanses and makes man perfect through His work of judgment in the last days is absolutely not as simple as we imagine. The Lord Jesus was able to raise Lazarus from death with a word. But for God to cleanse and transform mankind that has been utterly corrupted by Satan to resist and act against God into a mankind that understands, obeys and worships God, a mankind that has been corrupted into living devils for millennia, into a mankind with the truth and humanity in twenty or thirty years, it is a process of battling Satan. Is this a simple matter? If God raised the dead and transformed our flesh with one word, could it humiliate Satan? In the last days, since mankind has been corrupted by Satan for thousands of years, satanic nature and disposition is deep-rooted in us. We are particularly arrogant, selfish, deceitful, evil and greedy.   By loathing and detesting the truth, we have long become the enemy of God, the breeds of Satan that resist and betray God. God’s salvation of mankind is in fact a war with Satan. Just as Almighty God says, “The flesh of man has been most profoundly corrupted, and it has become something which opposes God, which even openly opposes and denies the existence of God. This corrupt flesh is simply too intractable, and nothing is more difficult to deal with or change than the corrupt disposition of the flesh. Satan comes into the flesh of man to stir up disturbance, and uses the flesh of man to disturb the work of God, and impair the plan of God, and thus man has become Satan, and the enemy of God. For man to be saved, he must first be conquered. It is because of this that God rises to the challenge and comes into the flesh to do the work He intends to do, and do battle with Satan. His aim is the salvation of mankind, who has been corrupted, and the defeat and annihilation of Satan, which rebels against Him. He defeats Satan through His work of conquering man, and simultaneously saves corrupt mankind. Thus, God solves two problems at once.” 

from “Corrupt Mankind Is More in Need of the Salvation of God Become Flesh” in The Word Appears in the Flesh

The degree of difficulty is quite great for God to transform mankind that has been corrupted by Satan to turn against God, into a mankind that truly obeys and is compatible with God. It is much harder than God’s creation of the heavens and earth and all things. God created all things from scratch. Everything was accomplished in a word. But for the cleansing and transforming of mankind that has been utterly corrupted by Satan, God must express many truths as an incarnate flesh to judge and cleanse man. It requires a long process for us to experience the judgment and chastisement of God to purge ourselves of the corruption and be cleansed. This is also the process of war between God and Satan. According to Satan’s original intention, mankind has been corrupted into living devils. Only if God can turn these living devils into men again will Satan be convinced. Therefore, God goes by His original plan as an incarnate flesh to fight with Satan’s kind, first by expressing the truth to conquer man, followed by cleansing and making man perfect with the truth. When we understand the truth and have knowledge of God, we will discern the fact of our corruption by Satan. We will then begin to hate Satan, forsake and curse Satan, and completely rebel against Satan and return to God in the end. This way, we will have been wrested back from Satan’s grip by God. We, the mankind that has been saved, are the spoil of God’s victory over Satan. Only through this kind of work can God truly defeat and humiliate Satan, which is also the inside story of God’s judgment work in the last days. Does everyone understand the reality of God’s work in the last days? Although God works in the last days for only two to three decades, God has made a group of overcomers who are firstfruits gained and enjoyed by God. Compared to the history of mankind, can we say these two to three decades are just a blink of an eye? It is said in the Bible that “one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day” (2 Pe 3:8). If the Lord’s return in the last days is likened to a blink of an eye in which we are transformed, the same can be most suitably said of the results of God’s work in the last days, which is also how it can be so received. But Paul said, “For our conversation is in heaven; from where also we look for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ: Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like to his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things to himself” (Phl 3:20-21), which we can easily interpret as those who believe in the Lord will be instantly transformed and lifted into the air to meet the Lord when He returns. So many people idly wait for the Lord to descend on a cloud to transform and rapture us. Isn’t such a saying misleading to us? We cannot be so full of conceptions and imaginations about God’s work. Each step of God’s work is practical, tangible and visible to man. The incarnate Almighty God is the practical God who comes to the world to save man by expressing the truth. If we fail to accept Him, don’t we become the ones who rebel against and resist God? How can such people receive the praise and blessings of God? Does everyone agree?

from Answers to Screenplay Questions

Eastern Lightning | God’s Words Guide Me to Learn How to Educate My Children (I)

Xiaoxue, Malaysia

I have two sons and they are one year apart. In order to raise them to be cultured, well mannered, good people who will be able to establish themselves in society and succeed, when they were two years old, I discussed finding a good kindergarten for them with my husband. After some visits, inquiries and comparison, we selected an English kindergarten because they placed importance on children’s caliber and ability, which matched my view on educating children. Although the tuition fees were a bit high, as long as the children were able to develop better and get a better education, it was worth spending a little more money.

Eastern Lightning | The Gospel of the Kingdom of Heaven | Notions and Truths | Question 15

Question 15: Some people ask: After believing in the Lord, we practice humility and patience, love our enemies, bear our crosses, abandon worldly things and we work and preach for the Lord and so on. We have achieved a little change. So why must we accept God’s work of judgment in the last days before being able to be cleansed and saved?

   Answers:

We can love our enemy, bear the cross, overcome our body, and spread the gospel of the Lord. These are positive behaviors coming from our belief in the Lord. Our exhibition of such good behaviors signifies that our faith in the Lord is true. These good behaviors may appear correct to people, as if these are in line with the word of God, but it does not mean that we are practicing God’s word and following the will of the heavenly Father, it doesn’t mean that we have quit our sinful nature and become sanctified. There is a reason why we cannot just look at people’s good behaviors by appearance. We also need to look at their intentions and ultimate purposes. If our intention is to obey God, love God, and satisfy God, this kind of good behavior is practicing the truth and obeying the will of the heavenly Father. On the other hand, if our good behavior is solely for the solicitation of blessing and reward, for the reward of a crown, but not from a loving heart for God, then this kind of good behavior is the hypocritical behavior of the Pharisees instead of doing the heavenly Father’s will.

Eastern Lightning | The Gospel of the Kingdom of Heaven | Notions and Truths | Question 14

Question 14: We follow the example of Paul and we work very hard for the Lord, spreading the gospel and bearing witness to the Lord, and shepherding the Lord’s churches, just like Paul: “I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith.” Is this not following the will of God? Practicing in this way should mean that we are qualified to be raptured and to enter into the kingdom of heaven, so why must we accept God’s work of judgment and purification in the last days before we can be brought into the kingdom of heaven?

Answer:

The question you raised is critical. It involves whether we can be brought into the kingdom of heaven. Most believers of the Lord think that emulating Paul by sacrificing everything and working hard for the Lord is tantamount to following the way of the Lord and the eligibility to be brought into the kingdom of heaven when the Lord returns. This opinion has become the conception of most believers in the Lord. But is this opinion based on the Lord’s words? Is this pursuit of ours consistent with the Lord’s intention?

Eastern Lightning | The Gospel of the Kingdom of Heaven | Notions and Truths | Question 13

Question 13: Some people ask: We believe that the Lord has absolved our sins, and that if someone is saved once, then they are forever saved. Why must we accept God’s work of judgment in the last days before being able to be saved and brought into the kingdom of heaven?

Answers:

All believers think: The Lord Jesus redeemed us when He died on the cross, so we have already been absolved of all sin. The Lord no longer sees us as sinners. We have become righteous through our faith, and once saved, we are saved forever. As long as we endure until the end, when the Lord returns, we will be directly raptured into the heavenly kingdom. Well, is that the truth? Did God ever give any evidence in His words to back up this claim? If this viewpoint is not in line with the truth, what will the consequences be? We who believe in the Lord should use His own words as our basis for all things. This is especially true when it comes to the question of how to treat the Lord’s return.

Eastern Lightning | The CCP Slanders The Church of Almighty God as a “Human Organization.” What’s Their Motive?

Zheng Weiguo (Minister of a municipal United Front Work Department): I want to talk about your belief in God again. Do you know clearly who created The Church of Almighty God? I have worked half a lifetime for the United Front, studying religions for decades. It’s fair to say that I understand various kinds of religions rather well. For more than two decades, we have mainly studied The Church of Almighty God. According to the government’s propaganda materials, The Church of Almighty God was founded by someone named Zhao in northeastern China. This man is the high priest of The Church of Almighty God. He is leading the Church. Believers of The Church of Almighty God claim that he is someone used by the Holy Spirit. They often listen to the preaching of this person who is used by the Holy Spirit, and they listen to him in the administrative work of the church. Although you believers of Almighty God read the word of Almighty God, pray in the name of Almighty God, regard The Word Appears in the Flesh expressed by Almighty God as canonical doctrine, and communicate the word of Almighty God in your congregation, in any case, this person is the one who has the final say in The Church of Almighty God. So we are certain that The Church of Almighty God was created by this person. Both the CCP and the religious community characterize The Church of Almighty God as an organization of man. I think it is true. Do you understand this?

Zheng Yi (A Christian): Dad, the CCP has studied The Church of Almighty God for more than 20 years, do you mean that is the result of such a study? Then tell me, who founded Christianity and Catholicism? Could it be Paul or Peter who was the founder? Who founded Judaism? Could it be Moses? Isn’t it absurd? Dad, you atheists have never acknowledged the existence of God, not to mention the fact of God’s incarnation. No matter the incarnate Christ has expressed how much truth, accomplished how much work, and brought how much salvation to mankind, don’t you all endeavor to deny, cover up and condemn Him? Dad, do you think that Christianity and Catholicism were founded by man, so these are organizations of man? This is your greatest absurdity. Had the Lord Jesus not appeared to work, no believers or followers of the Lord would have been engendered, let alone the creation of Christianity. Isn’t this the fact? How could the apostles have created a church on the merit of their own giftedness alone? Dad, can you go by people’s reception of the leadership and shepherding of Peter, John and other apostles and say that Christianity was founded by the apostles, hence it is an organization of man? Dad, The Church of Almighty God was begotten entirely by the appearance and work of Almighty God. It was because people heard the voice of God from many truths expressed by Almighty God that they returned before God and coalesced into the church. Upon appearing to work, Almighty God personally witnessed the man used by the Holy Spirit, who is the leader of The Church of Almighty God. Just as Moses in the Age of Law and the apostles in the Age of Grace, he is the man used by God to do his duty to water, shepherd and lead the chosen people of God. Dad, your Communist Party denies God’s work and all the truths expressed by God, even denying that the One believed in and followed by the chosen people of God is the incarnate God. Isn’t there an ulterior motive? Had it not been the appearance and work of Almighty God, The Church of Almighty God would not have been begotten, and it would not exist. This is an undeniable fact. The CCP is consciously aware that the Christians of The Church of Almighty God pray in the name of Almighty God. What they read and communicate in congregation is the word of Almighty God. Why does the CCP still tell such glaring lies? The One God’s chosen people of The Church of Almighty God believe in is Almighty God. God’s chosen people follow the leadership of the man who is used by the Holy Spirit according to the word of Almighty God. This is a fact.

Zheng Rui (A Christian): Dad, you will know clearly when I read two passages of Almighty God’s word to you. Almighty God says, “The work carried out by the one who is used by God is in order to cooperate with the work of Christ or the Holy Spirit. This man is raised up by God among man, he is there to lead all of God’s chosen ones, and he is also raised up by God in order to do the work of human cooperation. … He who is used by God, on the other hand, is someone who has been prepared by God, and who possesses a certain caliber, and has humanity. He has been prepared and made perfect in advance by the Holy Spirit, and is completely led by the Holy Spirit, and, particularly when it comes to his work, he is directed and commanded by the Holy Spirit—as a result of which there is no deviation on the path of leading God’s chosen ones, for God surely takes responsibility for His own work, and God does His own work at all times” (The Word Appears in the Flesh). Dad, in “The Ten Administrative Decrees That Must Be Obeyed by God’s Chosen People in the Age of Kingdom,” the seventh administrative decree also states clearly: “In work and matters of the church, apart from obeying God, in everything you should follow the instructions of the man who is used by the Holy Spirit. Even the slightest infraction is unacceptable. You must be absolute in your compliance, and must not analyze right or wrong; what’s right or wrong has nothing to do with you. You must only concern yourself with total obedience” (The Word Appears in the Flesh).

Zheng Rui: Dad, God’s chosen people’s acceptance of the leadership and watering of the man used by the Holy Spirit is practicing God’s word and obeying God. When your CCP studied The Church of Almighty God, why didn’t it take the time to read Almighty God’s word? Why hasn’t it seen the ten administrative decrees of Almighty God? Why didn’t you seek from God’s chosen people of The Church of Almighty God and let them communicate the truth to you? You merely studied The Church of Almighty God from the outside without reading Almighty God’s word and understanding God’s work, how could you really understand The Church of Almighty God？

Zheng Yi: Dad, why does the CCP government keep saying that The Church of Almighty God is an organization of man? Why hasn’t it said a word about the incarnate God? Why hasn’t it mentioned a word about the book The Word Appears in the Flesh? Actually, what the CCP fears most is the truth expressed by Almighty God, because the CCP knows deep down that all the believers of Almighty God have accepted Almighty God after reading the book The Word Appears in the Flesh. So the CCP distracts people’s attention by saying that The Church of Almighty God is an organization of man created by man to intentionally conceal the fact of Almighty God, Christ of the last days, appearing to work, so people will pay attention to this person. The CCP does this in order to stop people from believing in and following God. This is its real purpose. The CCP distorts the facts and asserts that the church where God appears to work is an organization of man. This is the CCP’s excuse for suppressing and persecuting God’s church. The CCP is too cunning and vicious! Dad, isn’t what I said the truth? You have to distinguish between them. You must not listen to the rumors of the CCP anymore!

from the movie script of Red Re-Education at Home

Eastern Lightning | After Listening with My Heart, I Have Welcomed the Lord’s Return (Audio Article)

Max, United States

In 1994, I was born in the United States. My parents are both Chinese. My mother was the classic example of a successful career woman. She is able to think for herself and is very competent. I love my mother very much. When I was in Grade 2, my parents brought me back to China to study so that I would be able to learn Chinese. It was also at that time that I started to get acquainted with the Lord Jesus. I remember one day in 2004, after I got home from school, there was a guest at our house. My mother introduced her and told me that she was a pastor from the United States. I was very happy because that was when I found out that my mother had believed in the Lord Jesus for some time. Before, she did not believe. Every Chinese New Year, she would burn incense and worship Buddha. However, after my mother started to believe in the Lord Jesus, I no longer had to smell the whiff of burnt Joss paper and incense. That day, the American pastor told me a story about the Lord Jesus. Soon after, I was brought to the bathroom and before I could react, “plop,” the pastor had dunked my head into the bathtub and after a moment, pulled my head out. All I heard was my mother and the pastor telling me, “Welcome to the embrace of the Lord Jesus. We are all lost sheep.” In this way, I started a new life journey before I knew it. However, because the Lord was with me, my heart was very happy. Afterward, each Sunday, I would go to church to worship and listen to the pastor talk about Bible stories and read from the scriptures. I was very happy all along. My heart was steadfast and I felt that believing in the Lord Jesus was truly a good thing.

In 2008, my father accompanied me to the United States so that I could study here. During this time, I went to church and participated in fellowships. In 2012, after I graduated from high school, my father bought me a plane ticket so that I could go back to China to visit my mother. Right before leaving, my father sat down with me and spoke many heartfelt words to me. He told me that in China, my mother had started to believe in Eastern Lightning. He hoped that on my return, I would be able to talk to my mother and get her to abandon her faith in Eastern Lightning. As a student who was about to enter into university, of course, I would not only listen to my father’s side of the story. Soon afterward, I went on the internet and searched for information related to Eastern Lightning. I wanted to have more of a realistic understanding of them. The result was that I found some opinions originating from the CCP government and pastors and elders from the religious world that condemned and slandered Eastern Lightning. I started feeling worried for my mother. I decided to go home and see how my mother was doing. After I got back home, I found that everything was normal with my mother. Her concern and love for me had not changed. Her faith and love for God had grown greater and she was more devout than before. I was a little less worried about my mother then.

During the time I was back in China, my mother, as expected spoke to me about Eastern Lightning. She said, “The Lord Jesus has already returned and He has started doing a stage of judgment work beginning with the house of God….” From my mother’s words, I understood that when the Lord Jesus incarnated this time, He had come as a female to do His work. I just remember that at that time, I stared blankly because this was completely different from what I had been told about the Lord Jesus when I was in the States. My pastor always emphasized in the sermons that Jehovah God is the Holy Father and the Lord Jesus is the Holy Son. Since They were Father and Son, both of them were male. Moreover, all the portraits of the Lord Jesus that were hung in the church and all the crosses that had the Lord Jesus on them indicated that the Lord Jesus was a male. However, my mother said that this time, the Lord Jesus has returned as a female. This completely exceeded my knowledge of the Lord Jesus. My heart could not take it and I told my mother, “The Lord Jesus is a male. When the Lord returns, how could it be that He would return as a female?” My mother replied, “God is Spirit in essence. God does not have a gender. It is only because He has incarnated to do the work of salvation that He chose a different gender….” However, since the viewpoint that my pastor had inculcated me with was the first and strongest impression, regardless of what my mother said, I would not believe it.

A few days later, my mother wanted to take me to attend a gathering with her. Even though I did not want to, because I respected my mother, I went with her. At the time, I remember that there was an aunty from Northeast China that said, “The last days have already arrived. The Lord Jesus has already come back in the flesh and lives amongst us. He is doing the work of the Age of Kingdom. Presently, the churches of the Age of Grace no longer have the Holy Spirit’s work and they are all completely desolated….” However, since my heart was already closed, I still maintained that the Lord Jesus is a male and that when He returns, He would surely return as a male. That is why I basically did not believe in what this aunty was talking about. All the way until I left China, I was still very bewildered: Why would the Lord Jesus return as a female? I was worried that my mother was walking on the wrong path. All I could do was pray for my mother, “Lord Jesus! Please keep my mother and make sure she does not walk on the wrong path. Guide her back into Your embrace….”

After I returned to the United States, I continued attending worship at my church. However, gradually, I discovered that the majority of what my pastor was saying was outdated and repetitious. Otherwise, it was specifically about donating to the church. As a believer, we were not able to obtain genuine shepherding. Many people would doze off during the gatherings and the number of people that attended gradually diminished. In 2014, the church I went to encountered a significant misfortune. The pastor had used public money to buy a house for himself in another state and as a result, our church went bankrupt. When I saw all these things, I felt very disappointed. At this time, my classmates brought me to their church to participate in worship. This church was a lot bigger than the previous church I went to. Each Sunday, when the pastor was giving his sermon, I would sit in the upper row of seats to listen. However, as before, I saw many people dozing off. Sometimes, even I started to doze off. Frequently, the pastor would deliberately raise his voice in an attempt to wake up the brothers and sisters. However, his attempts to get us to listen to his sermons failed. I thought back to the previous church I attended where the pastor misappropriated the church’s money to buy himself a house. His sermons were unable to provide for the spiritual life needs of the brothers and sisters. Instead, they basically came to church to sleep! The church that I was going to at that time was also like this. I asked myself, “Could it be that all churches are desolate?” Suddenly, I thought back to 2012 when I went back to China and the things that my mother and that aunty from Northeast China said. They told me: God has started the work of the Age of Kingdom. The Age of Grace has concluded. God no longer works in the churches belonging to the Age of Grace. Only by following God’s work in the Age of Kingdom can one be able to obtain the Holy Spirit’s work. This was the first time that I asked myself, “Could it be that the Lord Jesus has really returned?”

In a blink of the eye, it was the end of 2015. I received news that my mother went to San Francisco to visit my elder brother. I bought a plane ticket so I could go and see her. Once again, my mother mentioned Eastern Lightning—the second coming of the Lord Jesus. She also got me to watch many gospel videos from The Church of Almighty God as well as read many of Almighty God’s words. This time, I did not resist in the way I did before because in the past two years, I saw many scenes of desolation in the churches that I went to. This confirmed for me what they were telling me about the desolation in the churches. It is indeed the truth! I started to quiet my heart and listen to what my mother was saying, so that I could unlock the shackles that were within my heart. At that time, my mother targeted my notions. She read to me God’s words concerning the aspect of God’s gender. This left a very deep impression on me. It also explained the confusion I had all along regard the gender of the Lord who has returned. Almighty God says, “Each stage of work done by God has a real significance. When Jesus arrived, He was male, and this time He is female. From this, you can see that God created both male and female for His work and with Him there is no distinction of gender. When His Spirit arrives, He can take on any flesh at will and the flesh represents Him. Be it male or female, both represent God as long as it is His incarnate flesh. If Jesus arrived and appeared as a female, in other words, if an infant girl, not a boy, was to be conceived by the Holy Spirit, that stage of work would have been completed all the same. If so, this stage of work would have to be completed instead by a male and the work would then be completed all the same. The work done in both stages is significant; no work is repeated or conflicts with each other. … If in this stage He did not become flesh to personally do work for man to witness, man would forever hold on to the notion that God is only male, not female” (“The Two Incarnations Complete the Significance of the Incarnation” in The Word Appears in the Flesh). “God’s wisdom, God’s wondrousness, God’s righteousness, and God’s majesty shall never change. His essence and what He has and is shall never change. His work, however, is always progressing forward and always going deeper, for He is always new and never old. … If He were only incarnated as a male, people would define Him as male, as the God of men, and would never believe Him to be the God of women. Then, men would believe that God is of the same gender as men, that God is the head of men—and what of women? This is unfair; is it not preferential treatment? If this were the case, then all those whom God saved would be men like Him, and there would be no salvation for women. When God created mankind, He created Adam and He created Eve. He did not only create Adam, but made both male and female in His image. God is not only the God of men—He is also the God of women” (“The Vision of God’s Work (3)” in The Word Appears in the Flesh). After I finished reading God’s words, this matter which was gnawing at my mind disappeared almost instantly. In my heart, I felt that these words are correct. In the beginning, God created Adam and Eve. Originally, male and female were equal. If that’s the case, why can’t God return as a female?! God’s essence is Spirit. Of course He can assume either gender identity when He comes amongst us to do His work. Regardless of whether God incarnates as a male or a female, it is God’s choice. God has the right to choose what gender to incarnate into because God is the Ruler of all things and He is the Creator. Is God’s work restricted by people? What is man when compared to God? Isn’t man just dust? How can man fathom God’s wisdom? Before, I believed that God could only be a male. I truly defined God and it reveals that I did not have any knowledge of God. I was too arrogant and foolish.