The Church of Almighty God | Is the true God that created the heavens and earth and all things one or three?

Is the true God that created the heavens and earth and all things one or three?

Bible Verses for Reference:

“Philip said to him, Lord, show us the Father, and it suffices us. Jesus said to him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet have you not known me, Philip? he that has seen me has seen the Father; and how say you then, Show us the Father? Believe you not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? the words that I speak to you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwells in me, he does the works” (Jhn 14:8-10).

“I and my Father are one” (Jhn 10:30).

Why is it that the church of Almighty God has become more and more prosperous while the churches of the Age of Grace are all so desolate?

The answer from God’s word:

“The clearest expression of the Holy Spirit’s work is in embracing the here and now, not clinging to the past. Those who have not kept up with the work of today, and who have become separated from the practice of today, are those who oppose and do not accept the work of the Holy Spirit. Such people defy the present work of God. Though they hold onto the light of the past, this does not mean it is possible to deny that they do not know the work of the Holy Spirit. … If man remains stuck in one stage, then this proves that he is incapable of keeping up with God’s work and the new light; it does not prove that God’s plan of management has not changed. Those who are outside the stream of the Holy Spirit always think they are right, but in fact, God’s work in them ceased long ago, and the work of the Holy Spirit is absent from them. The work of God was long since transferred to another group of people, a group on whom He intends to complete His new work. Because those in religion are incapable of accepting God’s new work, and only hold to the old work of the past, thus God has forsaken these people, and does His new work on the people who accept this new work. These are people who cooperate in His new work, and only in this way can His management be accomplished. The management of God is always moving forward, and the practice of man is always ascending higher. God is always working, and man is always in need, such that both reach their zenith, God and man are in complete union. This is the expression of the accomplishment of God’s work, and is the final outcome of God’s entire management.

Eastern Lightning | What is God’s church? What is a religious organization?

What is God’s church? What is a religious organization?

What is God’s church? What is a religious organization?

Bible Verses for Reference:

“And Jesus went into the temple of God, and cast out all them that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the moneychangers, and the seats of them that sold doves, And said to them, It is written, My house shall be called the house of prayer; but you have made it a den of thieves” (Mat 21:12-13).

“And he cried mightily with a strong voice, saying, Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird. For all nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, and the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth are waxed rich through the abundance of her delicacies” (Rev 18:2-3).

Relevant Words of God:

Today, all those who follow the present words of God are in the stream of the Holy Spirit; those who are strangers to the words of God today are outside of the stream of the Holy Spirit, and such people are not commended by God. Service that is divorced from the present utterances of the Holy Spirit is service that is of the flesh, and of conceptions, and it is incapable of being in accordance with God’s will. … “Following the work of the Holy Spirit” means understanding the will of God today, being able to act in accordance with the present requirements of God, being able to obey and follow the God of today, and entering in accordance with the newest utterances of God. Only this is someone who follows the work of the Holy Spirit and is in the stream of the Holy Spirit.

from “Know the Newest Work of God and Follow the Footsteps of God” in The Word Appears in the Flesh

IX. One Must Fellowship Clearly That Christ Is the Manifestation of God Himself | Eastern Lightning

2. Is Christ really the Son of God or is He God Himself?

Bible Verse(s) for Reference:

“Philip said to him, Lord, show us the Father, and it suffises us. Jesus said to him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet have you not known me, Philip? he that has seen me has seen the Father; and how say you then, Show us the Father? Believe you not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? the words that I speak to you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwells in me, he does the works. Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father in me: or else believe me for the very works’ sake” (Jhn 14:8-11).

“I and my Father are one” (Jhn 10:30).

Eastern Lightning | Why is it said that “the Trinity” is the most absurd statement?

Why is it said that “the Trinity” is the most absurd statement?

Relevant Words of God:

It was only after the truth of Jesus become flesh came to be that man realized this: It is not only the Father in heaven, but also the Son, and even the Spirit. This is the conventional notion man holds, that there is a God such as this in heaven: a Trinity that is the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, all in one.

Know the Newest Work of God and Follow the Footsteps of God | Eastern Lightning

Now, you are to pursue becoming the people of God, and shall begin the entire entry onto the right track. To be the people of God means entry into the Age of Kingdom. Today, you officially begin to enter into the training of the kingdom, and your future lives shall cease to be as slack and sloppy as they were before; such lives are incapable of attaining the standards required by God. If you do not feel any urgency, then this shows that you have no desire to improve yourself, that your pursuit is muddled and confused, and you are incapable of fulfilling God’s will. Entry into the training of the kingdom means beginning the life of the people of God—are you willing to accept such training? Are you willing to feel a sense of urgency? Are you willing to live under God’s discipline? Are you willing to live under God’s chastisement? When God’s words come upon you and test you, how will you act? And what will you do when faced with all manner of facts? In the past, your focus was not on life; today, you must enter into the reality of life, and pursue changes in your life disposition. This is what must be achieved by the people of the kingdom. All those who are the people of God must possess life, they must accept the training of the kingdom, and pursue changes in their life disposition. This is what God requires of the people of the kingdom.

Eastern Lightning | Why does God only bless the church that accepts and obeys His work? Why does He curse religious organizations?

Why does God only bless the church that accepts and obeys His work? Why does He curse religious organizations?

Relevant Words of God: 

Because those in religion are incapable of accepting God’s new work, and only hold to the old work of the past, thus God has forsaken these people, and does His new work on the people who accept this new work. These are people who cooperate in His new work, and only in this way can His management be accomplished.

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

All those who are within the stream of the Holy Spirit are possessed of the presence and discipline of the Holy Spirit, and those who are not within the stream of the Holy Spirit are under the command of Satan, and without any of the work of the Holy Spirit. People who are in the stream of the Holy Spirit are those who accept the new work of God, the ones who cooperate in the new work of God. … Those who accept the new work of the Holy Spirit, will live within the stream of the Holy Spirit, receive the care and protection of the Holy Spirit. Those who are willing to put the truth into practice are enlightened by the Holy Spirit, and those who are unwilling to put the truth into practice are disciplined by the Holy Spirit, and may even be punished.

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

What is the difference between the words of people used by God throughout the ages which conform to the truth and the words of God?

What is the difference between the words of people used by God throughout the ages which conform to the truth and the words of God?

Relevant Words of God:

The truth comes from the world of man, yet the truth among man is passed on by Christ. It originates from Christ, that is, from God Himself, and is unattainable by man.

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

The truth is the most real of life’s aphorisms, and the highest of such aphorisms among all mankind. Because it is the requirement that God makes of man, and is the work personally done by God, thus it is called life’s aphorism. It is not an aphorism summed up from something, nor is it a famous quote from a great figure; instead, it is the utterance to mankind from the Master of the heavens and earth and all things, and not some words summed up by man, but the inherent life of God. And so it is called the highest of all life’s aphorisms.

from “Only Those Who Know God and His Work Can Satisfy God” in The Word Appears in the Flesh

VIII Questions and Answers About the Inside Story of the Bible | The Church of Almighty God

Question 7: I’ve studied the Bible for more than 20 years. I found that although the Bible had more than 40 authors in different times, what they wrote has no mistake. This shows that God is the true author of the Bible. The Bible is from the Holy Spirit.

Answer: You mentioned the Bible had more than 40 authors. And you think there is no mistake. Is there really no mistake? Let’s fellowship about this issue. Actually, Christ of the last days, Almighty God, has disclosed these mysteries to us. Almighty God’s words say, “The genealogy of Jesus recorded in the Gospel of Matthew in the New Testament begins by saying that Jesus was a descendant of Abraham and David, and the son of Joseph. The Gospel goes on to say that Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born to a virgin; in other words, Jesus was not Joseph’s son and was not descended from Abraham and David. But the record in the genealogy forcedly relates Jesus to Joseph. It goes on to describe the birth of Jesus, saying that He was conceived by the Holy Spirit and that His mother was a virgin, and so He was not Joseph’s son. But the genealogy clearly states that Jesus was the son of Joseph. Because it was meant to be Jesus’ genealogy, the Gospel lists forty-two generations. When it goes to the generation of Joseph, it hurriedly adds that Joseph was Mary’s husband in order to establish Jesus’ descent from Abraham. Isn’t this a contradiction? The genealogy, with a list of Joseph’s ancestors, is clearly Joseph’s, but Matthew insists that it is Jesus’; doesn’t that therefore deny the fact of Jesus’ conception by the Holy Spirit? So, isn’t the genealogy written by Matthew from human mind? It is even something ridiculous! From this it is obvious that the book was not at all wholly from the Holy Spirit” (“Concerning the Bible (3)” in The Word Appears in the Flesh). From God’s words, we know that the genealogy written by Matthew wasn’t something of God’s will. How can God have a genealogy? Matthew knew that Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit but still wrote a genealogy for Him, saying that He was the offspring of David and the son of Joseph. Wasn’t he denying that Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit? Jesus had nothing to do with Joseph. Matthew’s words are contradictory. Obviously, writing this genealogy is not from the Holy Spirit but from man’s will. Let’s have a look at John 8:58, “Jesus said to them, Truly, truly, I say to you, Before Abraham was, I am.” How can we explain this? Here we see that Jesus’ genealogy is from man’s will. It was written by Matthew after 50 A.D. The Holy Spirit didn’t directly instruct Matthew to write it.

The Church of Almighty God | How a Fierce Resister Was Saved by Almighty God

I Acted as Satan’s Servant Ignorantly

Wangli

Haicheng city, Liaoning Province

My name is Wangli. At the age of eleven, I believed in the Lord Jesus with my mother. After graduating from high school, I gave up the opportunity to go to a college or a seminary, and worked as an important co-worker in the Praise Church. I shepherded the churches in Haicheng, Yingkou, and Panjin in Liaoning Province, and in Qian’an, Funing, Qinglong, and other places in Hebei Province. And I had been invited to preach and attend the youth meetings by some religious groups in Beijing, Qinhuangdao (Hebei Province), and Ningbo (Zhejiang Province). During that time, I ran about busying myself with the church work all day, feeling very proud of myself.

Eastern Lightning | Are religious pastors and elders really all established by God? Can an acceptance of and obedience to religious pastors and elders represent one’s obedience to and following of God?

Are religious pastors and elders really all established by God? Can an acceptance of and obedience to religious pastors and elders represent one’s obedience to and following of God?

Bible Verses for Reference:

“Now therefore, behold, the cry of the children of Israel is come to me: and I have also seen the oppression with which the Egyptians oppress them. Come now therefore, and I will send you to Pharaoh, that you may bring forth my people the children of Israel out of Egypt” (Exo 3:9-10).

“Jesus said to Simon Peter, Simon, son of Jonas, love you me more than these? … He said to him, Feed my lambs. He said to him again the second time, Simon, son of Jonas, love you me? … He said to him, Feed my sheep” (Jhn 21:15-16).

“And I will give to you the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatever you shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatever you shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven” (Mat 16:19).

“We ought to obey God rather than men” (Act 5:29).

Relevant Words of God:

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. With someone such as this, who is able to do the work of human cooperation, more of God’s requirements toward man and the work that the Holy Spirit must do among man can be achieved through him. Another way of putting it is like this: God’s aim in using this man is so that all those who follow God can better understand God’s will, and can attain more of God’s requirements.

Eastern Lightning | What are the wise virgins? What are the foolish virgins?

Relevant Words of God:

In the past, people have made predictions of “five wise virgins, five foolish virgins”; although the prediction is not accurate, it is not entirely wrong, so I can give you some explanation. Five wise virgins and five foolish virgins certainly do not both represent the number of people, nor do they represent one type of people respectively. Five wise virgins mean the number of people, five foolish virgins represent one type of people, but these two things are not the firstborn sons, they represent creation. This is the reason why they have been asked to prepare oil in the last days. (The creation does not possess My quality; if they want to make wise ones then they need to prepare oil, and thus they need to be equipped with My words.) The five wise virgins represent My sons and My people among the humans that I created. Addressing them[a] “virgins” is because although they are born on earth, they are still gained by Me; one can say they have become holy, so they are called “virgins.” The aforementioned “five” represents the number of My sons and My people that I have predestined. “Five foolish virgins” refers to the service-doers. They do service for Me without placing the slightest degree of importance on life, only pursuing external things (because they do not have My quality, no matter what they do it is an external thing), and they are unable to be My capable helpers, so they are called “foolish virgins.” The aforementioned “five” represents Satan, and their being called[b] “virgins” means that they have been conquered by Me and are able to do service for Me, but this kind of person is not holy, so they are called service-doers.

from Utterances and Testimonies of Christ in the Beginning

Today, all those who follow the present words of God are in the stream of the Holy Spirit; those who are strangers to the words of God today are outside of the stream of the Holy Spirit, and such people are not commended by God. … “Following the work of the Holy Spirit” means understanding the will of God today, being able to act in accordance with the present requirements of God, being able to obey and follow the God of today, and entering in accordance with the newest utterances of God. Only this is someone who follows the work of the Holy Spirit and is in the stream of the Holy Spirit. Such people are not only capable of receiving God’s praise and seeing God, but can also know God’s disposition from the latest work of God, and can know man’s conceptions and disobedience, and man’s nature and substance, from His latest work; furthermore, they are able to gradually achieve changes in their disposition during their service. Only people such as this are those who are able to gain God, and who have genuinely found the true way. Those who are eliminated by the work of the Holy Spirit are people who are incapable of following the latest work of God, and who rebel against the latest work of God. That such people openly oppose God is because God has done new work, and because the image of God is not the same as that in their conceptions—as a result of which they openly oppose God and pass judgment upon God, leading to their loathing and rejection by God. Possessing the knowledge of the latest work of God is no easy matter, but if people can intentionally obey the work of God and seek the work of God, then they will have the chance to see God, and will have the chance to gain the newest guidance of the Holy Spirit. Those who intentionally oppose the work of God cannot receive the enlightenment of the Holy Spirit or the guidance of God; thus, whether or not people can receive the latest work of God depends on the grace of God, it depends on their pursuit, and it depends on their intentions.

All who are able to obey the present utterances of the Holy Spirit are blessed. It does not matter how they used to be, or how the Holy Spirit used to work within them—those who have gained the latest work are the most blessed, and those who are unable to follow the latest work today are eliminated. God wants those who are able to accept the new light, and He wants those who accept and know His latest work. Why is it said that you must be a chaste virgin? A chaste virgin is able to seek the work of the Holy Spirit and understand the new things, and moreover, able to put aside old conceptions, and obey the work of God today. This group of people, who accept the newest work of today, were predestined by God before the ages, and are the most blessed of people. You hear the voice of God directly, and behold the appearance of God, and so, throughout heaven and earth, and throughout the ages, none have been more blessed than you, this group of people.

from “Know the Newest Work of God and Follow the Footsteps of God” 

in The Word Appears in the Flesh

Those who belong to Satan do not understand the words of God, and those who belong to God can hear the voice of God. All those who realize and understand the words I speak are the ones who will be saved, and bear testimony to God; all those who do not understand the words that I speak cannot bear testimony to God, and are the ones who will be eliminated.

from “Knowing the Three Stages of God’s Work Is the Path to Knowing God”

 in The Word Appears in the Flesh

You are not devout in facing the truth, much less do you yearn for the truth. You merely study blindly and wait nonchalantly. What can you gain from studying and waiting like this? Can you receive the personal guidance of God? If you cannot discern the utterances of God, how are you qualified to witness the appearance of God? Where God appears, there is the expression of the truth, and there is the voice of God. Only those who can accept the truth can hear the voice of God, and only such people are qualified to witness the appearance of God.

from “The Appearance of God Has Brought a New Age”

 in The Word Appears in the Flesh

The return of Jesus is a great salvation for those who are capable of accepting the truth, but for those who are unable to accept the truth it is a sign of condemnation. You should choose your own path, and should not blaspheme against the Holy Spirit and reject the truth. You should not be an ignorant and arrogant person, but someone who obeys the guidance of the Holy Spirit and longs for and seeks the truth; only in this way will you benefit. I advise you to tread the path of belief in God with care. Do not jump to conclusions; what’s more, do not be casual and carefree in your belief in God. You should know that, at the very least, those who believe in God should be humble and reverential. Those who have heard the truth and yet turn their nose up at it are foolish and ignorant. Those who have heard the truth and yet carelessly jump to conclusions or condemn it are beset by arrogance. No one who believes in Jesus is qualified to curse or condemn others. You should all be someone who is rational and accepts the truth. Perhaps, having heard the way of truth and read the word of life, you believe that only one in 10,000 of these words are in line with your convictions and the Bible, and then you should continue to seek in that 10,000th of these words. I still advise you to be humble, to not be over-confident, and to not exalt yourself too highly. With your heart holding such meager reverence for God, you will gain greater light. If you carefully examine and repeatedly contemplate these words, you shall understand whether or not they are the truth, and whether or not they are life. Perhaps, having only read a few sentences, some people will blindly condemn these words, saying, “This is nothing more than some enlightenment of the Holy Spirit,” or, “This is a false Christ come to deceive people.” Those who say such things are blinded by ignorance! You understand too little of the work and wisdom of God, and I advise you to start again from scratch! You must not blindly condemn the words expressed by God because of the appearance of false Christs during the last days, and must not be someone who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit because you fear deception. Would that not be a great pity? If, after much examination, you still believe that these words are not the truth, are not the way, and are not the expression of God, then you shall ultimately be punished, and be without blessings. If you cannot accept such truth spoken so plainly and so clearly, then are you not unfit for God’s salvation? Are you not someone who is not fortunate enough to return before the throne of God?

from “When You Behold the Spiritual Body of Jesus Will Be When God Has Made Anew Heaven and Earth” in The Word Appears in the Flesh

The Man’s Fellowship:

The so-called “wise virgins” represent those that can recognize God’s voice and hear the voice of the “Bridegroom” and who can therefore accept and submit to Christ, thereby taking home the practical God. And because the “foolish virgins” do not know the voice of the “Bridegroom” and cannot recognize God’s voice, they reject Christ. They still hope for the vague God, so they are abandoned and eliminated. So we can see that it is very difficult to accept Christ without real faith in believing in God. Those that refuse to accept Christ will miss the “wedding feast of the Beloved,” and they cannot be taken by the Lord back into their home in the kingdom of heaven, and they cannot enter the place that God has prepared for mankind. So, whether people can accept Christ of the last days and submit to His work is a crucial factor in deciding whether people succeed or fail in their faith in God.

from “Why the Religious World Has Always Resisted God While Serving Him” 

in Collection of Sermons—Supply for Life

The Lord Jesus predicted in the Bible that at the time of His return there would be two types of people, He used wise virgins and foolish virgins as a parable for all of the believers in the Age of Grace: All who are able to hear the voice of God are wise virgins; all who are not able to hear the voice of God, who listen and still deny and do not believe it, these are the foolish virgins. Do you all think that the foolish virgins can be raptured? (No, they can’t.) So how can these foolish and wise virgins be revealed? By using the word of God. “There’s a book called The Word Appears in the Flesh, look at these words and see what you think, look over it.” After some ordinary believers finish reading it, they say, “Wow, such deep words, these words contain the truth.” “Read it again carefully.” “This is not something that a normal person can talk about, it seems like this has come from God.” “Read it again carefully.” “Wow, this is the voice of God, there’s no way these words come from a man!” You see, this person is blessed, they are a wise virgin. As for the foolish virgins, some are pastors, some are elders, some are preachers, and some are confused believers that only want to eat their fill. How do they feel after they finish reading the word of God? “Hmm, these words do not conform to my conceptions and imagination, I do not accept them.” And after carefully reading over them again: “Hmm, some of the words seem as if they are the truth, but that’s not possible, this could not be the work of God.” So once again it does not conform to their conceptions and imagination. After saying “Hmm” a few more times, they will say: “This is not the word of God, I cannot accept it. This is a counterfeit. A false Christ is trying to confuse people, do not believe it!” What kind of person is this? This is a Pharisee, a foolish virgin, right? How do the wise and foolish virgins get brought to the light? It is the word of God that brings them to light. It is the word of God in the last days that classifies and divides them into the categories they belong to, and then God will start to reward the good and punish the wicked.

from Sermons and Fellowship on Entry Into Life (Series 133)

Is it realistic or not for God to act like this today? It is realistic, as it confirms that which the Lord Jesus said in His parable about sheep and goats. How can sheep be separated from goats? This depends upon who recognizes the voice of God and accepts the return of the Lord Jesus. The Lord said, “For I was an hungered, and you gave me meat: I was thirsty, and you gave me drink: I was a stranger, and you took me in: Naked, and you clothed me: I was sick, and you visited me: I was in prison, and you came to me.” These people are saved in the end while those who do not receive the Lord, who believe in the Lord but do not acknowledge Him, will be eliminated. Does this not point to the fact that today the whole religious world is not receiving God’s return? We who have received stand on one side, they stand on the other side. This is how the true believers are separated from the false believers, those who have received the Lord from those who have not, those who acknowledge the voice of God from those who do not. There is great wisdom behind God’s revealing men through the fact of His incarnation and this is what is called God’s omnipotence and His wisdom. One day when these people are protected and enter into the kingdom, if those religious personages and religious pastors make their accusations, how will God respond? He may reply by using the Lord Jesus’ prophetic parable of the five wise virgins and the five foolish virgins; well, how were they set apart? Those who heard the voice of the Bridegroom at midnight were wise, while those who did not hear Him were foolish. Therefore, when God incarnate expresses the word of God in the last days, the wise virgins will be those who hear the voice of God and acknowledge it, and the foolish virgins, those who will be eliminated, will be those who hear the voice of God but do not acknowledge it as the voice of God, as the word of God and refuse to accept. Does this not fulfill what the Lord Jesus said in these prophetic parables? The work of God reveals men to the utmost, the method of God’s work is the wisest. It is only through such work that God’s righteousness is revealed, God’s holiness is revealed, and God’s omnipotence is revealed.

from “Answers to Questions From Various Places About Spreading the Gospel” in Only by Believing in Almighty God Can One Be Saved

Wise virgins can recognize the voice of the Lord, mainly because wise virgins are people that love the truth and seek the truth. They thirst for the appearance of God, that is why they are able to seek and investigate the coming of the Lord. They are able to distinguish the voice of the Lord. Since foolish virgins do not love the truth, they do not seek or investigate the coming of the Lord. All they can do is obstinately cling to the rules. Some of these people do not accept or investigate unless He is the Lord coming upon a cloud. Other people completely submit to the manipulations of the religious world’s pastors and elders. Whatever the pastors and elders say, they will listen and obey. They only believe in the Lord nominally, but actually, they follow and obey these pastors and elders. They themselves do not investigate the true way and they cannot distinguish the Lord’s voice. Some people are even more foolish. Since there are false Christs that appear in the last days, they do not seek the true Christ. Instead, they deny and condemn Him. Isn’t this not eating for fear of choking? This is also a manifestation of a foolish virgin.

from Answers to Screenplay Questions

 Footnotes:

a. The original text omits “Addressing them.”

b. The original text omits “their being called.”

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

What is the nature of the problem of man not knowing the significance of God’s name and not accepting God’s new name? | Eastern Lightning

god-name-4  the church of Almighty God

Relevant Words of God:

In each period of time, God will begin new work, and in each period, there will be a new beginning among man. If man only abides by the truths that “Jehovah is God” and “Jesus is Christ,” which are truths that only apply to a single age, then man will never keep up with the work of the Holy Spirit, and will forever be incapable of gaining the work of the Holy Spirit. Regardless of how God works, man follows without the slightest doubt, and he follows closely. In this way, how could man be eliminated by the Holy Spirit?

The Origin of the Eastern Lightning’s Prosperity

The Origin of the Eastern Lightning’s Prosperity

The Origin of the Eastern Lightning’s Prosperity

Each and every time the Eastern Lightning is mentioned, many brothers and sisters in the Lord feel perplexed: Why is it that as the religious community as a whole becomes increasingly desolate and degenerate, as each denomination becomes increasingly guarded and conservative in condemning and banishing the Eastern Lightning, not only is the Eastern Lightning not becoming desolate and ebbing, but surging like unstoppable billows, sweeping across mainland China? Now that it has even expanded beyond China’s borders to foreign countries and regions, as it is being accepted by more and more people worldwide? 

A Selection From the Four Passages of God’s Word on “Concerning the Bible” | The Church of Almighty God

1. For many years, people’s traditional means of belief (that of Christianity, one of the world’s three major religions) has been to read the Bible; departure from the Bible is not the belief in the Lord, departure from the Bible is an evil cult, and heresy, and even when people read other books, the foundation of these books must be the explanation of the Bible. Which is to say, if you say you believe in the Lord, then you must read the Bible, you must eat and drink the Bible, and outside the Bible you must not worship any book that does not involve the Bible. If you do, then you are betraying God. From the time when there was the Bible, people’s belief in the Lord has been the belief in the Bible. Instead of saying people believe in the Lord, it is better to say they believe in the Bible; rather than saying they have begun reading the Bible, it is better to say they have begun believing in the Bible; and rather than saying they have returned before the Lord, it would be better to say they have returned before the Bible. In this way, people worship the Bible as if it were God, as if it were their lifeblood and losing it would be the same as losing their life. People see the Bible as being as high as God, and there are even those who see it as higher than God. If people are without the work of the Holy Spirit, if they cannot feel God, they can carry on living—but as soon as they lose the Bible, or lose the famous chapters and sayings from the Bible, then it is as if they have lost their life. And so, as soon as people believe in the Lord they begin reading the Bible, and memorizing the Bible, and the more of the Bible they are able to memorize, the more this proves that they love the Lord and are of great faith. Those who have read the Bible and can speak of it to others are all good brothers and sisters. For all these years, people’s faith and loyalty to the Lord has been measured according to the extent of their understanding of the Bible. Most people simply don’t understand why they should believe in God, nor how to believe in God, and do nothing but search blindly for clues to decipher the chapters of the Bible. They have never pursued the direction of the work of the Holy Spirit; all along, they have done nothing but desperately study and investigate the Bible, and no one has ever found newer work of the Holy Spirit outside of the Bible, no one has ever departed from the Bible, nor have they ever dared to depart from the Bible. People have studied the Bible for all these years, they have come up with so many explanations, and put in so much work; they also have many differences of opinion about the Bible, which they debate endlessly, such that over two thousand different denominations have been formed today. They all want to find some special explanations, or more profound mysteries in the Bible, they want to explore it, and to find in it the background to Jehovah’s work in Israel, or the background to Jesus’ work in Judea, or more mysteries that no one else knows. People’s approach to the Bible is one of obsession and faith, and no one can be completely clear about the inside story or substance of the Bible. Thus, the result is that today, people still have an indescribable sense of magicalness when it comes to the Bible; even more than that, they are obsessed with it, and have faith in it. Today, everyone wants to find the prophecies of the work of the last days in the Bible, they want to discover what work God does during the last days, and what omens there are for the last days. In this way, their worship of the Bible becomes more fervent, and the closer it gets to the last days, the more credence they give to the prophecies of the Bible, particularly those about the last days. With such blind belief in the Bible, with such trust in the Bible, they have no desire to seek the work of the Holy Spirit. In people’s conceptions, they think that only the Bible can bring the work of the Holy Spirit; only in the Bible can they find the footsteps of God; only in the Bible are hidden the mysteries of God’s work; only the Bible—not other books or people—can clarify everything of God and the entirety of His work; the Bible can bring the work of heaven to earth; and the Bible can both begin and conclude the ages. With these conceptions, people have no inclination to search for the work of the Holy Spirit. So, regardless of how much of a help the Bible was to people in the past, it has become an obstacle to God’s latest work. Without the Bible, people can search for the footsteps of God elsewhere, yet today, His footsteps have been “contained” by the Bible, and extending His latest work has become double difficult, and an uphill struggle. This is all because of the famous chapters and sayings from the Bible, as well as the various prophecies of the Bible. The Bible has become an idol in people’s minds, it has become a puzzle in their brains, and they are simply incapable of believing that God can work exclusive of the Bible, they are incapable of believing that people can find God outside of the Bible, much less are they able to believe that God could depart from the Bible during the final work and start anew. This is unthinkable to people; they can’t believe it, and neither can they imagine it. The Bible has become a great obstacle to people’s acceptance of God’s new work, and has made it difficult to broaden this new work.

from “Concerning the Bible (1)” in The Word Appears in the Flesh

A Selection From the Four Passages of God’s Word on “Concerning the Bible”

1. For many years, people’s traditional means of belief (that of Christianity, one of the world’s three major religions) has been to read the Bible; departure from the Bible is not the belief in the Lord, departure from the Bible is an evil cult, and heresy, and even when people read other books, the foundation of these books must be the explanation of the Bible. Which is to say, if you say you believe in the Lord, then you must read the Bible, you must eat and drink the Bible, and outside the Bible you must not worship any book that does not involve the Bible. If you do, then you are betraying God. From the time when there was the Bible, people’s belief in the Lord has been the belief in the Bible. Instead of saying people believe in the Lord, it is better to say they believe in the Bible; rather than saying they have begun reading the Bible, it is better to say they have begun believing in the Bible; and rather than saying they have returned before the Lord, it would be better to say they have returned before the Bible. In this way, people worship the Bible as if it were God, as if it were their lifeblood and losing it would be the same as losing their life. People see the Bible as being as high as God, and there are even those who see it as higher than God. If people are without the work of the Holy Spirit, if they cannot feel God, they can carry on living—but as soon as they lose the Bible, or lose the famous chapters and sayings from the Bible, then it is as if they have lost their life. And so, as soon as people believe in the Lord they begin reading the Bible, and memorizing the Bible, and the more of the Bible they are able to memorize, the more this proves that they love the Lord and are of great faith. Those who have read the Bible and can speak of it to others are all good brothers and sisters. For all these years, people’s faith and loyalty to the Lord has been measured according to the extent of their understanding of the Bible. Most people simply don’t understand why they should believe in God, nor how to believe in God, and do nothing but search blindly for clues to decipher the chapters of the Bible. They have never pursued the direction of the work of the Holy Spirit; all along, they have done nothing but desperately study and investigate the Bible, and no one has ever found newer work of the Holy Spirit outside of the Bible, no one has ever departed from the Bible, nor have they ever dared to depart from the Bible. People have studied the Bible for all these years, they have come up with so many explanations, and put in so much work; they also have many differences of opinion about the Bible, which they debate endlessly, such that over two thousand different denominations have been formed today. They all want to find some special explanations, or more profound mysteries in the Bible, they want to explore it, and to find in it the background to Jehovah’s work in Israel, or the background to Jesus’ work in Judea, or more mysteries that no one else knows. People’s approach to the Bible is one of obsession and faith, and no one can be completely clear about the inside story or substance of the Bible. Thus, the result is that today, people still have an indescribable sense of magicalness when it comes to the Bible; even more than that, they are obsessed with it, and have faith in it. Today, everyone wants to find the prophecies of the work of the last days in the Bible, they want to discover what work God does during the last days, and what omens there are for the last days. In this way, their worship of the Bible becomes more fervent, and the closer it gets to the last days, the more credence they give to the prophecies of the Bible, particularly those about the last days. With such blind belief in the Bible, with such trust in the Bible, they have no desire to seek the work of the Holy Spirit. In people’s conceptions, they think that only the Bible can bring the work of the Holy Spirit; only in the Bible can they find the footsteps of God; only in the Bible are hidden the mysteries of God’s work; only the Bible—not other books or people—can clarify everything of God and the entirety of His work; the Bible can bring the work of heaven to earth; and the Bible can both begin and conclude the ages. With these conceptions, people have no inclination to search for the work of the Holy Spirit. So, regardless of how much of a help the Bible was to people in the past, it has become an obstacle to God’s latest work. Without the Bible, people can search for the footsteps of God elsewhere, yet today, His footsteps have been “contained” by the Bible, and extending His latest work has become double difficult, and an uphill struggle. This is all because of the famous chapters and sayings from the Bible, as well as the various prophecies of the Bible. The Bible has become an idol in people’s minds, it has become a puzzle in their brains, and they are simply incapable of believing that God can work exclusive of the Bible, they are incapable of believing that people can find God outside of the Bible, much less are they able to believe that God could depart from the Bible during the final work and start anew. This is unthinkable to people; they can’t believe it, and neither can they imagine it. The Bible has become a great obstacle to people’s acceptance of God’s new work, and has made it difficult to broaden this new work.

from “Concerning the Bible (1)” in The Word Appears in the Flesh

In the Bible, there are indeed many prophecies about God’s work of the last days. But which words of God can confirm the fulfillment of these prophecies?

        The answer from God’s word:

“In the last days, when I open My scroll (the scroll refers to all the words of My mouth, the words I speak in the last time, which are all the content of My scroll), I will tell you this.”

from “The One Hundred and Tenth Utterance” in The Word Appears in the Flesh

“Man believes that, following the crucifixion and resurrection, Jesus went back to heaven upon a white cloud, and took His place at the Most High’s right hand. Similarly, man conceives that Jesus shall descend, again upon a white cloud (this cloud refers to the cloud that Jesus rode upon when He returned to heaven), among those who have desperately yearned for Him for thousands of years, and that He shall bear the image and clothes of the Jews. After appearing to man, He shall bestow food upon them, and cause living water to gush forth for them, and shall live among man, full of grace and love, living and real. And so on. Yet Jesus the Savior did not do this; He did the opposite of what man conceived. He did not arrive among those who had yearned for His return, and did not appear to all men while riding upon the white cloud. He has already arrived, but man does not know Him, and remains ignorant of His arrival. Man is only aimlessly awaiting Him, unaware that He has already descended upon a white cloud (the cloud which is His Spirit, His words, and His entire disposition and all that He is), and is now among a group of overcomers that He will make during the last days.”

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

5. What are the essential differences between the incarnate God and those people who are used by God? | Eastern Lightning

    Bible Verses for Reference:

   “I indeed baptize you with water to repentance. but he that comes after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire” (Mat 3:11).

   Relevant Words of God:

  Christ is the flesh donned by the Spirit of God. This flesh is unlike any man that is of the flesh. This difference is because Christ is not of flesh and blood but is the incarnation of the Spirit. He has both a normal humanity and a complete divinity. His divinity is not possessed by any man. His normal humanity sustains all His normal activities in the flesh, while His divinity carries out the work of God Himself. Be it His humanity or divinity, both submit to the will of the heavenly Father. The substance of Christ is the Spirit, that is, the divinity. Therefore, His substance is that of God Himself; this substance will not interrupt His own work, and He could not possibly do anything that destroys His own work, nor would He ever utter any words that go against His own will. …
   … All that disobeys God comes from Satan; Satan is the source of all ugliness and wickedness. The reason that man has qualities alike those of Satan is because man has been corrupted and worked on by Satan. Christ has not been corrupted by Satan, hence He has only the characteristics of God and none of those of Satan.

from “The Substance of Christ Is Obedience to the Will of the Heavenly 

Father” in The Word Appears in the Flesh

  Because He is a man with the essence of God, He is above any of created humans, above any man who can perform God’s work. And so, among all those with a human shell like His, among all those who possess humanity, only He is the incarnate God Himself—all others are created humans. Though they all have humanity, created humans are nothing but human, while God incarnate is different: In His flesh He not only has humanity but more importantly has divinity.

from “The Essence of the Flesh Inhabited by God” 

in The Word Appears in the Flesh

   The divinity of Christ is above all men, therefore He is the highest authority of all created beings. This authority is His divinity, that is, the disposition and being of God Himself, which determines His identity.

from “The Substance of Christ Is Obedience to the Will of the Heavenly 

Father” in The Word Appears in the Flesh

   Because God is holy and pure, and real and actual, His flesh comes from the Spirit. This is definite, and beyond doubt. Not only being able to bear testimony to God Himself, but also being able to completely carry out God’s will: this is one side of God’s substance. That the flesh comes from the Spirit with an image means that the flesh with which the Spirit clothes Himself is essentially different to the flesh of man, and this difference primarily lies in their spirit.

from “Interpretation of the Ninth Utterance” 

in The Word Appears in the Flesh

   The flesh worn by the Spirit of God is God’s own flesh. The Spirit of God is supreme; He is almighty, holy, and righteous. So likewise, His flesh is also supreme, almighty, holy, and righteous. Flesh such as that is only able to do that which is righteous and beneficial to mankind, that which is holy, glorious, and mighty, and is incapable of doing anything that violates the truth or morality and justice, much less anything that betrays God’s Spirit. The Spirit of God is holy, and thus His flesh is incorruptible by Satan; His flesh is of a different essence than the flesh of man. For it is man, not God, who is corrupted by Satan; Satan could not possibly corrupt the flesh of God. Thus, despite the fact that man and Christ dwell within the same space, it is only man who is dominated, used, and entrapped by Satan. By contrast, Christ is eternally impervious to Satan’s corruption, because Satan will never be capable of ascending to the place of the most high, and will never be able to draw near to God. Today, you should all understand that it is only mankind, which has been corrupted by Satan, who betrays Me, and that this problem will always be irrelevant for Christ.

from “A Very Serious Problem: Betrayal (2)” 

in The Word Appears in the Flesh

   Because humans are, after all, humans, and they can only look at everything from the perspective and from the height of a person. However, God incarnate is entirely different from a corrupt person. No matter how ordinary, how normal, how lowly God’s incarnate flesh is, or even how much people look down on Him, His thoughts and His attitude toward mankind are things that no man could possess, and no man could imitate. He will always observe mankind from the perspective of divinity, from the height of His position as the Creator. He will always see mankind through the essence and the mindset of God. He absolutely cannot see mankind from the height of an average person, and from the perspective of a corrupt person. When people look at mankind, they look with human vision, and they use things such as human knowledge and human rules and theories as a measure. This is within the scope of what people can see with their eyes; it’s within the scope that corrupt people can achieve. When God looks at mankind, He looks with divine vision, and He uses His essence and what He has and is as a measure. This scope includes things that people cannot see, and this is where God incarnate and corrupt humans are entirely different. This difference is determined by humans’ and God’s different essences, and it is these different essences that determine their identities and positions as well as the perspective and height from which they see things.

from “God’s Work, God’s Disposition, and God Himself III” 

in Continuation of The Word Appears in the Flesh

   He who works in divinity represents God, while those who work in humanity are people used by God. That is, the incarnate God is substantively different from the people used by God. The incarnate God can do the work of divinity, but the people used by God cannot. At the beginning of each age, God’s Spirit speaks personally to launch the new era and bring man to a new beginning. When He finishes His speaking, it signifies that God’s work in divinity is done. Thereafter, people all follow the lead of those used by God to enter life experience.

from “The Essential Difference Between the Incarnate God and 

People Used by God” in The Word Appears in the Flesh

   Though the incarnate God possesses a normal human mind, His work is not adulterated by human thought; He undertakes the work in the humanity with a normal mind, under the precondition that He possesses the humanity with a mind, not by the exercise of normal human thought. No matter how lofty the thoughts of His flesh are, His work does not bear the stamp of logic or thinking. In other words, His work is not conceived by the mind of His flesh, but is a direct expression of the divine work in His humanity. All of His work is the ministry He needs to fulfill, and none of it is conceived by His brain. For example, healing the sick, casting out demons, and the crucifixion were not products of His human mind, could not have been achieved by any man with a human mind. Likewise, the conquering work of today is a ministry that must be performed by the incarnate God, but it is not the work of a human will, it is the work His divinity should do, work of which no fleshly human is capable.

from “The Essence of the Flesh Inhabited by God” 

in The Word Appears in the Flesh

 Throughout time, the people whom God has used all have normal thought and reason. They all know how to conduct themselves and handle life’s affairs. They hold normal human ideology and have all the things normal people should have. Most of them have exceptional talent and innate intelligence. In working through these people, God’s Spirit harnesses their talents, which are their God-given gifts. It is God’s Spirit that brings their talents into play, using their strengths to serve God. However, God’s essence is ideology-free and thought-free. It does not incorporate human ideas and even lacks what humans normally have. That is, God does not even comprehend the principles of human conduct. This is how it is when today’s God comes to the earth. He works and speaks without incorporating human ideas or human thought, but directly reveals the original intentions of the Spirit and directly works on behalf of God. This means the Spirit comes forth to work, which brings in not even a bit of man’s ideas. That is, the incarnate God embodies divinity directly, is without human thought or ideology, and has no understanding of the principles of human conduct. If there were only divine work (meaning if it were only God Himself doing the work), God’s work could not be carried out on earth. So when God comes to earth, He has to have a few people He uses to work in humanity in conjunction with His work in divinity. In other words, He uses human work to support His divine work. Otherwise, man would be unable to come into direct contact with the divine work.

from “The Essential Difference Between the Incarnate God and

People Used by God” in The Word Appears in the Flesh

   The work of men who are used is also the work of the Holy Spirit. It is only that the work of God is the complete expression of the Holy Spirit, and there is no difference, whereas the work of men being used is mixed with many human things, and it is not the direct expression of the Holy Spirit, let alone the complete expression. … When the Holy Spirit works on men being used, both their gifts and actual caliber are brought into play and are not reserved. Their actual caliber is all exerted to serve the work. It can be said that He works by using the available parts of men in order to achieve the working results. By contrast, work done in the incarnate flesh is to directly express the work of the Spirit and is not mixed with the human mind and thoughts, unreachable by man’s gifts, man’s experience or man’s innate condition.

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

   No one who lives in the flesh can directly represent God unless he is a man used by the Holy Spirit. However, even such a person’s disposition and what he lives out cannot be said to completely represent God; it can only be said that what he lives out is governed by the Holy Spirit. The disposition of such a man cannot represent God.
    …………
   … Man is the embodiment of Satan, and the disposition of man does not represent the disposition of God. Some men are of a good character; God may do some work through it and their work is governed by the Holy Spirit, yet their disposition cannot represent God. The work God does in them is just working with and expanding on what already exists within. Be it prophets from ages past or men used by God, none can directly represent Him. … any man with a sinful nature cannot represent God, and the sin of man represents Satan. That is to say, sin does not represent God and God is sinless. Even the work done in man by the Holy Spirit can only be considered to have been governed by the Holy Spirit and cannot be said to be done by man on behalf of God. As far as man is concerned, neither his sin nor his disposition represents God.

  from “Corrupt Man Cannot Represent God” in The Word Appears in the Flesh

  Introduction：
       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.

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