X. One Must Fellowship Clearly on the Truths Concerning How to Know God

2. How can one know God’s disposition and essence?

Relevant Words of God:

People often say that it is not an easy thing to know God. I, however, say that knowing God is not a difficult matter at all, for God frequently allows man to witness His deeds. God has never ceased His dialogue with mankind; He has never concealed Himself from man, nor has He hidden Himself. His thoughts, His ideas, His words and His deeds are all revealed to mankind. Therefore, so long as man wishes to know God, he can come to understand and know Him through all sorts of means and methods. … Truthfully speaking, if one only uses their idle time to focus upon and understand the Creator’s words or deeds, and pay a little attention to the Creator’s thoughts and the voice of His heart, it will not be difficult for them to realize that the Creator’s thoughts, words and deeds are visible and transparent. Likewise, it will take little effort to realize that the Creator is among man at all times, that He is always in conversation with man and the entirety of creation, and that He is performing new deeds every day. His substance and disposition are expressed in His dialogue with man; His thoughts and ideas are revealed completely in His deeds; He accompanies and observes mankind at all times. He speaks quietly to mankind and all of creation with His silent words: I am in the heavens, and I am amongst My creation. I am keeping watch; I am waiting; I am at your side….

from “God Himself, the Unique II” in The Word Appears in the Flesh

The disposition of God is a subject that seems very abstract to everyone and is moreover one that is not easy for everyone to accept, for His disposition is unlike a human being’s personality. God, too, has His own emotions of joy, anger, sorrow, and happiness, but these emotions differ from those of man. God is what He is and He has what He has. All that He expresses and reveals are representations of His substance and of His identity. What He is and what He has, as well as His substance and identity, are things that cannot be replaced by any man. His disposition encompasses His love for mankind, solace of mankind, hatred of mankind, and even more, a thorough understanding of mankind. … The disposition of God is one that belongs to the Ruler of all things and living beings, to the Lord of all creation. His disposition represents honor, power, nobility, greatness, and most of all, supremacy. His disposition is the symbol of authority, the symbol of all that is righteous, the symbol of all that is beautiful and good. More than this, it is a symbol of Him who cannot be[a] overcome or invaded by the darkness and any enemy force, as well as a symbol of Him who cannot be offended (nor will He tolerate being offended)[b] by any created being. His disposition is the symbol of the highest power. No person or persons can or may disturb His work or His disposition.

from “It Is Very Important to Understand God’s Disposition” in The Word Appears in the Flesh

The joy of God is due to the existence and emergence of righteousness and light; because of the destruction of darkness and evil. He takes delight because He has brought the light and a good life to mankind; His joy is a righteous joy, a symbol of the existence of all that is positive and, even more, a symbol of auspiciousness. The anger of God is due to the existence of injustice and the disturbance it causes that are harming His mankind; because of the existence of evil and darkness, because of the existence of things that drive out the truth, and even more because of the existence of things that oppose what is good and beautiful. His anger is a symbol that all things negative no longer exist and, even more, is a symbol of His holiness. His sorrow is due to mankind, for whom He has hopes but who has fallen into darkness, because the work He does on man does not come up to His expectations, and because the mankind He loves cannot all live in the light. He feels sorrow for the innocent mankind, for the honest but ignorant man, and for the man who is good but lacking in his own views. His sorrow is a symbol of His goodness and of His mercy, a symbol of beauty and of kindness. His happiness, of course, comes from defeating His enemies and gaining the good faith of man. More than this, it arises from the expulsion and destruction of all enemy forces, and because mankind receives a good and peaceful life. The happiness of God is unlike the joy of man; rather, it is the feeling of garnering good fruits, a feeling even greater than joy. His happiness is a symbol of mankind breaking free of suffering from this time forth, and a symbol of mankind entering a world of light.

from “It Is Very Important to Understand God’s Disposition” in The Word Appears in the Flesh

Is the truthfulness of God His holiness? Is the faithfulness of God His holiness? Is the selflessness of God His holiness? Is the humility of God His holiness? Is the love of God for man His holiness? God freely bestows truth and life on man—is this His holiness? (Yes.) All this that God reveals is unique; it does not exist within corrupt humanity, nor can it be seen there. Not the slightest trace of it can be seen during the process of Satan’s corruption of man, neither in the corrupt disposition of Satan nor in the essence or nature of Satan. All that God has and is is unique and only God Himself has this kind of essence, only God Himself possesses this kind of essence.

from “God Himself, the Unique VI” in The Word Appears in the Flesh

Knowing God must be done through reading and understanding God’s word. Some say: “I haven’t seen God incarnate, so how could I know God?” In fact, God’s word is an expression of God’s disposition. From God’s word you can see God’s love and salvation for mankind, and His method for saving them…. This is because God’s word is expressed by God Himself as opposed to using man to write it out. It is personally expressed by God—He is expressing His own words and His inner voice. Why do we say that they are heartfelt words? Because they are issued from deep down, expressing His disposition, His will, His thoughts, His love for mankind, His salvation of mankind, and His expectations of mankind…. Sometimes God speaks from a gentle and compassionate perspective, and people see God’s love for mankind; sometimes He speaks from a strict perspective, and people see God’s disposition that will tolerate no offense. Man is deplorably filthy and is not worthy of seeing God’s face or of coming before God. That people can now come before God is purely God’s grace. God’s wisdom can be seen from the way He works and the meaning of His work. People can still see these things in God’s word even without directly contacting Him.

from “How to Know God Incarnate” in Records of Christ’s Talks

The words and disposition issued forth and revealed by God represent His will, and they also represent His substance. When God engages with man, no matter what He says or does, or what disposition He reveals, and no matter what man sees of God’s substance and what He has and is, they all represent God’s will for man. Regardless of how much man is able to realize, comprehend or understand, it all represents God’s will—God’s will for man. This is beyond doubt! God’s will for mankind is how He requires people to be, what He requires them to do, how He requires them to live, and how He requires them to be capable of accomplishing the fulfillment of God’s will. Are these things inseparable from the substance of God? In other words, God issues forth His disposition and all that He has and is at the same time as making demands of man. There is no falsity, no pretense, no concealment, and no embellishment.

from “God’s Work, God’s Disposition, and God Himself II” in The Word Appears in the Flesh

No matter what stage you have arrived at in your experience, you are inseparable from God’s word or the truth, and what you understand of God’s disposition and what you know of what God has and is are all expressed in God’s words; they are inextricably linked with the truth. God’s disposition and what He has and is themselves are the truth; the truth is an authentic manifestation of God’s disposition and what He has and is. It makes what God has and is concrete and expressly states it; it tells you more straightforwardly what God likes, what He doesn’t like, what He wants you to do and what He does not permit you to do, what people He despises and what people He delights in. Behind the truths that God expresses people can see His pleasure, anger, sorrow, and happiness, as well as His essence—this is the revealing of His disposition. Aside from knowing what God has and is, and understanding His disposition from His word, what is most important is the need to reach this understanding through practical experience. If a person removes themselves from real life in order to know God, they will not be able to achieve that. Even if there are people who can gain some understanding from the word of God, it is limited to theories and words, and there is a disparity with what God is really like.

from “God’s Work, God’s Disposition, and God Himself III” in The Word Appears in the Flesh

God’s possessions and being, God’s essence, God’s disposition—all has been made known in His words to humankind. When he experiences God’s words, man will in the process of carrying them out come to understand the purpose behind the words God speaks, and to understand the wellspring and background of God’s words, and to understand and appreciate the intended effect of God’s words. For humanity, these are all things that man must experience, grasp, and access in order to access truth and life, grasp God’s intentions, become transformed in his disposition, and become able to obey God’s sovereignty and arrangements. At the same time that man experiences, grasps, and accesses these things, he will gradually have gained an understanding of God, and at this time he will also have gained different degrees of knowledge about Him. This understanding and knowledge does not come out of something man has imagined or composed, but rather from what he appreciates, experiences, feels, and corroborates within himself. Only after appreciating, experiencing, feeling, and corroborating these things does man’s knowledge of God acquire content, only the knowledge that he obtains at this time is actual, real, and accurate, and this process—of attaining genuine understanding and knowledge of God through appreciating, experiencing, feeling, and corroborating His words—is no other than true communion between man and God. In the midst of this kind of communion, man comes truly to understand and comprehend God’s intentions, comes truly to understand and know God’s possessions and being, comes truly to understand and know God’s essence, comes gradually to understand and know God’s disposition, arrives at real certainty about, and a correct definition of, the fact of God’s dominion over all creation, and gains a substantive bearing on and knowledge of God’s identity and position. In the midst of this kind of communion, man changes, step by step, his ideas about God, no longer imagining Him out of thin air, or giving rein to his own suspicions about Him, or misunderstanding Him, or condemning Him, or passing judgment on Him, or doubting Him. In consequence, man will have fewer debates with God, he will have fewer conflicts with God, and there will be fewer occasions on which he rebels against God. Conversely, man’s caring for and obedience to God will grow greater, and his reverence for God will become more real as well as more profound. In the midst of this kind of communion, man will not only attain the provision of truth and the baptism of life, but he will at the same time also attain true knowledge of God. In the midst of this kind of communion, man will not only be transformed in his disposition and receive salvation, but he will at the same time also garner the true reverence and worship of a created being toward God. Having had this kind of communion, man’s faith in God will no longer be a blank sheet of paper, or a promise offered up in lip service, or a form of blind pursuit and idolization; only with this kind of communion will man’s life grow toward maturity day by day, and only now will his disposition gradually become transformed, and his faith in God will, step by step, pass from a vague and uncertain belief into genuine obedience and caring, into real reverence, and man will also, in his pursuit of God, gradually progress from a passive to an active stance, from one who is acted upon into one who takes positive action; only with this kind of communion will man arrive at true understanding and comprehension of God, at true knowledge of God.

from “Knowing God Is the Path to Fearing God and Shunning Evil” in The Word Appears in the Flesh

Knowledge of God’s authority, God’s power, God’s own identity, and God’s substance cannot be achieved by relying on your imagination. Since you cannot rely on imagination to know the authority of God, then in what way can you achieve a true knowledge of God’s authority? Through eating and drinking the words of God, through fellowship, and through experiencing the words of God, you will have a gradual experience and verification of God’s authority and thus you will gain a gradual understanding and incremental knowledge of it. This is the only way to achieve the knowledge of God’s authority; there are no shortcuts. Asking you not to imagine is not the same as making you sit passively to await destruction, or stopping you from doing anything. Not using your brain to think and imagine means not using logic to infer, not using knowledge to analyze, not using science as the basis, but instead appreciating, verifying, and confirming that the God you believe in has authority, confirming that He holds sovereignty over your fate, and that His power at all times proves Him to be the true God Himself, through the words of God, through the truth, through everything that you encounter in life. This is the only way that anyone can achieve an understanding of God. Some say that they wish to find a simple way of achieving this aim, but can you think of such a way? I tell you, there’s no need to think: There are no other ways! The only way is to conscientiously and steadfastly know and verify what God has and is through every word that He expresses and everything that He does. This is the only way to know God. For what God has and is, and everything of God, is not hollow and empty—but real.

from “God Himself, the Unique I” in The Word Appears in the Flesh

Footnotes:

a. The original text reads “it is a symbol of being unable to be.”

b. The original text reads “as well as a symbol of being unable to be offended (and not tolerating being offended).”

from The Church of Almighty God-X. One Must Fellowship Clearly on the Truths Concerning How to Know God

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💓✬ Christian Testimonies - If I Were Not Saved by God ✬ 💓

❥.•*¨*•.¸¸ღ .•*¨*•.¸¸ ♡.•*¨*•.¸¸♥.•*¨*•.¸¸❥ღ.•*¨*•.¸¸ღ .•*¨*•.¸¸ ღ.•*¨*•.¸¸ღ.•*¨*•.¸¸ღ.•*¨*•.¸¸ღ.•*¨*•.¸¸❥
 Aug 10, 2017

Ling Wu, Japan

“If I were not saved by God, I would still be drifting in this world,

struggling hard and painfully in sin, every day bleak and hopeless.

If I were not saved by God, I’d still be crushed below the devil’s feet,

snared in sin and its enjoyments, ignorant of what my life would be.

It’s Almighty God who saves me; all God’s words have purified my heart.

Through God’s judgment and His chastisement, my corrupted disposition’s changed.

All the word and truth God expresses, it has all given me new life.

I have seen my God face to face and have tasted God’s true love.

Finally I’ve understood God’s loving hand holds mine as we go.

Now I have heard the voice of God and been raised before God’s throne.

The feast of my Christ I attend, to be perfected and purified by Him.

What I’d hoped for is finally realized, I have now been saved by God.”

(“If I Were Not Saved by God” in Follow the Lamb and Sing New Songs). Whenever I hear this hymn of experience, I am always deeply moved. If it weren’t for God saving me, as described in the hymn, I might still be wandering aimlessly in the world, tiring myself out chasing after money, even to the point that I would long since have lost my life and died abroad in a foreign land …

I’m a child of the eighties, and was born in an ordinary farmer household. My older brother was always unwell and sick since he was little. My father was wounded in an accident when I was 10; he was paralyzed two years after that. Our family’s financial situation was poor to begin with, and we went heavily into debt treating my father. Our friends and relatives were afraid that we would never be able to pay back the debt, and weren’t willing to loan us money. Helpless, I was forced to drop out of school at 16 to work away from home. In deep and quiet night, I would often think: When they were young, children the same age as me would play freely after school, while I would have to be in fields doing farming work; now they have grown up as me, and they are still going to school, acting like spoiled children with their parents, but I have to start working at an early age and suffer all kinds of hardships to support my family. … At that time, I complained to my parents about why they gave birth to me, and asked why it was that I came into this world just to suffer and toil. But there was nothing I could do about it, and I could only accept this reality. At the time, my greatest wish was to work hard, earn money, and allow my parents to live comfortably, and no longer be looked down on by others.

At first I worked in a private aluminum alloy factory. Since I was a child laborer, the boss always took good care of me with my food and housing. After one year, I felt that my wages were too low, and chose to go do the lacquer spraying work in a furniture factory that other people didn’t want to do. At that time, no matter what kind of work I was doing, as long as I didn’t break the law, I would go do it if I could make more money. My only goal was that I wanted to become a person with money, so I wouldn’t have to live the life of a poor person again. After that, my relatives introduced me to a company that offered me the opportunity to leave the country for work. I had never thought that after a few years I would go abroad.

In the Spring of 2012, I had my wish granted when I came to Japan and began my new life. I was involved in the shipbuilding industry, and through an apprenticeship I signed a three-year contract with the company. When I started work, I was exhausted and suffering. Because I didn’t know how to cook, I ate instant noodles for a month, until I couldn’t eat them with the feeling like I was going to throw up and was forced to learn to cook. I have no idea how many days I ate half-cooked rice. In Japan, we were foreigners, so it was hard for the company’s workers to keep from having an unfair treatment toward us. They made us do a lot of dirty, tiring, and dangerous tasks. When I was spraying lacquer, I was rather scared, because if the gas came into contact with fire it would ignite, and if I stopped paying attention for a moment it could endanger my life. But no matter if it was suffering in my life or danger in my work, as long as I thought of making more money to send back to my family, and being able to buy a car and a house after I returned home and elevate myself over others and no longer be poor, I felt that my suffering at the time actually wasn’t too bad. Three years of my life passed in the blink of an eye working there, and the time period on my visa was almost up. The company had a policy of renewing contracts, so in order to make more money, I chose to renew my contract and continue to work in Japan. What pleasantly surprised me was that not long after I renewed my contract, I encountered the gospel of the kingdom of Almighty God.

Pictures of the Church of Almighty God

In September of 2015, a friend I had met in Japan told me about God’s work in the last days. When she was telling me about believing in God, I thought this was just a kind of belief, and didn’t think it was interesting. I felt that believing in God wouldn’t be able to change my destiny. Soon after that, I told my friend about my own way of thinking and the hardships I had endured, then asked her, “Can believing in God change my destiny? I’ve suffered so much, I’m just an ill-fated person. If I had money I wouldn’t be suffering, and right now the most real thing for me is to make money. For me, believing in God is something remote.” When my friend heard me speaking like this, she read to me a section of the word of God: “Where you will go every day, what you will do, who or what you will encounter, what you will say, what will happen to you—can any of this be predicted? People cannot foresee all these occurrences, much less control how they develop. In life, these unforeseeable events happen all the time, and they are an everyday occurrence. These daily vicissitudes and the ways they unfold, or the patterns by which they play out, are constant reminders to humanity that nothing happens at random, that these things’ ramifications, and their inevitability, cannot be shifted by human will. Every happening conveys an admonition from the Creator to mankind, and it also sends the message that human beings cannot control their own fates; at the same time every event is a rebuttal to humanity’s wild, futile ambition and desire to take its fate into its own hands. They are like powerful slaps about humanity’s ears one after another, forcing people to reconsider who, in the end, governs and controls their fate. And as their ambitions and desires are repeatedly thwarted and shattered, humans naturally arrive at an unconscious acceptance of what fate has in store, an acceptance of reality, of the will of Heaven and the Creator’s sovereignty. From these daily vicissitudes to the fates of entire human lives, there is nothing that does not reveal the Creator’s plans and His sovereignty; there is nothing that does not send the message that ‘the Creator’s authority cannot be exceeded,’ that does not convey the eternal truth that ‘the Creator’s authority is supreme’” (“God Himself, the Unique III” in The Word Appears in the Flesh). After hearing this, I felt that these words made a lot of sense, and I couldn’t help but think that being able to renew my contract also seemed like something that had been arranged by God. It also made me think about the home I was born into and my life with my family were things I had no choice about. I had the feeling that somewhere out there is a Sovereign in control.

My friend also had me read this section of the word of God “‘God Himself, the Unique III’ in The Word Appears in the Flesh” which talks about six junctures that a person must pass through in life: Birth: The First Juncture; Growing Up: The Second Juncture; Independence: The Third Juncture; Marriage: The Fourth Juncture; Progeny: The Fifth Juncture; Death: The Sixth Juncture. When I had read the word of God, I was amazed. I had never imagined that God had spoken so clearly about man’s destiny, and the facts are indeed as He described. According to ordinary circumstances, a person will experience these six junctures in his life. I thought of how many people there are on earth suffering, and how it wasn’t just me. If destiny were really up to a person’s choice and he were in control of it, then everyone would choose to live in a big, fancy house, and would there be anyone suffering from poverty and hardship? In fact, the family a person is born into is absolutely not up to them to choose, and they can’t choose what kind of parents they have. After they grow up, the kind of husband or wife they have is also not up to them. … The more I pondered them, the more I felt these words were practical, and I then began in my heart to believe what Almighty God had said. Fate is not something that can be changed by oneself. Since then, I began to get more and more interested in believing in God, and I believed that God exists, and believed that a person’s fate is not under his own control. But because I didn’t know much about God, I felt that God was very remote from me. However, in an experience not long after that, I genuinely felt: God is beside me, watching over and protecting me.

It was raining that day, and I got to work as usual, but I had absolutely no idea that there was a disaster sneaking up to strike me. Over 10:00 in the morning, I was at work on the jobsite, when I suddenly heard a “boom.” I didn’t know what it was that had smashed to the ground, and it gave me an icy shudder of terror. When I turned my head to look, I was stunned, and saw a 40 cm diameter and 4 m long iron pipe weighing about half a ton which had fallen from a crane. It smashed to the ground less than half a meter from where I was standing. I was so terrified in that moment that I was totally speechless, and it took a while for me to regain my composure from the shock. In my heart I was yelling nonstop: “Thank You God! Thank You God!” If God hadn’t been there watching over and protecting me, then the iron pipe would have smashed straight down onto me, and my insignificant life would have been over.

After I got off work, when I was talking with the brothers and sisters about what had happened that day, they fellowshiped to me that it had been God’s protection. They also read to me from the word of Almighty God: “Throughout your long lives, basically every individual has encountered many dangerous situations and undergone many temptations. This is because Satan is right there beside you, its eyes fixed on you constantly. It likes it when disaster strikes you, when calamities befall you, when nothing goes right for you, and likes it when you are caught in Satan’s net. As for God, He is protecting you constantly, keeping you from one misfortune after another and from one disaster after another. This is why I say that everything man has—peace and joy, blessings and personal safety—is in fact all under God’s control, and He guides and decides the life and fate of every individual” (“God Himself, the Unique VI” in The Word Appears in the Flesh). After reading the word of God I understood that people live every day in Satan’s net and that they are cruelly harmed. Without God watching over and guarding them, people would have long since been swallowed up by Satan. All these years, I don’t know how many times I enjoyed God watching over and protecting me, but all along I did not know God or worship Him; I truly had no conscience. Starting from that moment, I understood God’s grace of salvation better. That I was able to live up to the present is all thanks to God’s loving hand guarding me, and I thanked God from my heart. I also decided that in the future I would do all I can to follow God. In the days to come, I frequently attended gatherings with brothers and sisters, and went over into leading a regular church life, and there were slowly changes in my life. I no longer had the anxiety, suffering, and emptiness that I once had. We brothers and sisters were reading the word of God together, and fellowshiping about the word of God, singing hymns in praise of God, free and liberated in our hearts, helping each other and assisting one another in the spiritual life. Not one of them looked down on me, nor was there anyone who had disdain for the poor and fawned over the rich, and I felt I was able to live with dignity. Living among this big, warm, and blessed household of The Church of Almighty God, I felt much happier and fulfilled than in the past.

One day, something happened to a Japanese individual in our company. He was a longtime employee there and already had more than ten years of experience in the company. He was strong whether it was safety awareness or technology. That day, when he was at work, he was driving a lifting truck and was doing some work while lifted 20 meters in the air. In the course of operating it, from lack of attention he caused the truck’s liquified gas to leak onto him. There was another worker at the same time above him doing some welding, and suddenly a spark fell down and landed on his clothing. When the gas that had leaked out came into contact with the spark, it rapidly burst into flame, and a fire broke out. Many people just stared blankly at this old worker who was being engulfed in flames on the spot, but they were totally helpless and unable to do anything. It was already too late to go find someone to save him, and in a few minutes, he was burned to death. When we saw this tragedy occur, many people felt sorry for him, and couldn’t help but think about our own lives: What is it, after all, that people are living for? Because of something like this happening right next to me, I truly realized that if a person has departed from God and doesn’t have God watching over and protecting them, then their life is unprotected at all times. People are so insignificant in the face of calamities and can easily collapse, and no matter how high a person’s expertise is or how much more money a person has they are unable to save themselves.

Afterward, I read a passage of the word of God: “Because of the Creator’s sovereignty and predestination, a lonely soul that started out with nothing to its name gains parents and a family, the chance to become a member of the human race, the chance to experience human life and see the world; and it also gains the chance to experience the Creator’s sovereignty, to know the marvelousness of the creation by the Creator, and most of all, to know and become subject to the Creator’s authority. But most people do not really seize this rare and fleeting opportunity. One exhausts a lifetime’s worth of energy fighting against fate, spends all of one’s time bustling about trying to feed one’s family and shuttling back and forth between wealth and status. The things that people treasure are family, money, and fame; they view these as the most valuable things in life. All people complain about their fates, yet still they push to the back of their minds the questions that it is most imperative to examine and understand: why man is alive, how man should live, what the value and meaning of life is. All of their lives, however many years that may be, they just rush about seeking fame and fortune, until their youth has fled, until they become gray and wrinkled; until they see that fame and fortune cannot stop one’s slide toward senility, that money cannot fill the emptiness of the heart; until they understand that no one is exempt from the law of birth, aging, sickness, and death, that no one can escape what fate has in store. Only when they are forced to confront life’s final juncture do they truly grasp that even if one owns millions in property, even if one is privileged and of high rank, no one can escape death, every person will return to his or her original position: a solitary soul, with nothing to its name” (“God Himself, the Unique III” in The Word Appears in the Flesh). After I finished reading the words of God, I was deeply stirred: People’s spirits come from God, and are destined by God to come among the world of men. But people still don’t want to believe in and worship God, and they don’t treasure the opportunity to experience the Creator’s authority, but only know to live for money, fame, and kinship. They are all busy rushing about strenuously trying to throw off the arrangement of their fate, but what can people obtain by seeking after these things? Has anyone ever thought which of these things—relatives, fame, or wealth—can save their lives when death is imminent? Look at my old coworker’s death—isn’t that the best demonstration of this fact? Thinking about the things I have sought in the past, isn’t it the same? When I went abroad to work, I would take on any filthy, tiring, or dangerous job, just to earn some more money, make people look highly upon me, and so I wouldn’t suffer the humiliation of poverty. Even though I went through every kind of suffering, I never thought to change this way of living. I just followed the same road all along. In my heart, I didn’t know if there is a God, nor did I know that man’s fate is in God’s hands. I relied on myself to change my destiny, and I strove to escape from God’s orchestration and arrangement destined in my life. Wasn’t it the road to ruin that I was following? If it weren’t for God’s salvation, or God watching over and protecting me, I’m afraid that my meager life would have long ago been snatched away by Satan. Even further, how could my life become fulfilled and meaningful as I am now? In that moment, I finally saw that the meaning of life isn’t to seek wealth or fame, it isn’t to seek to get ahead of others so they look highly upon you, but rather is to come into the presence of God, to worship God and receive His salvation, and to break free from Satan’s harm. The more I think like this, the more moved I am. I see that I am able to believe in God, and this is God treating me with a special grace. I don’t know how to express the feeling of gratitude toward God in my heart, and so I learned the hymn “If I Were Not Saved by God” to show my praise of God and to thank Almighty God for saving me!

from The Church of Almighty God

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Signs of the End Times: 3 Successive Rare Supermoons of 2019

*★★*。:ﾟ*☆*ﾟ:。:*★*。:ﾟ*☆*ﾟ: *★。:*★*。:ﾟ*☆*ﾟ:。:*★*。:ﾟ*☆*ﾟ:。:*★★*。:ﾟ*☆*ﾟ:。:*★*。:ﾟ*☆*ﾟ: 

Signs of the End Times: 3 Successive Rare Supermoons of 2019

Jan 24, 20192389

 As predicted by relevant experts, two supermoons will appear successively on 19th February and 21st March 2019, being two fantastic astronomical sights that follow on from the “super blood wolf moon” which appeared on 21st January.

      Related information states that the term “supermoon” refers to when the full moon moves to its closest point to the earth, its perigee, at which point the moon’s diameter is 14% larger than normal and its brightness also increases by 30%—it is the largest, roundest moon visible to the naked eye. Three supermoons will appear in succession this year, which is a rarely seen astronomical sight. In actual fact, wonderful sights such as blood moons and supermoons have been making constant appearances over recent years, for example the blood moons of 2011 and 2013, the series of four blood moons that appeared through 2014 and 2015, the super blue blood moon of 2018, which also occurred 152 years ago, and the super blood wolf moon that appeared on 21st January 2019 which perfectly combined the three astronomical sights of a supermoon, a blood moon and a wolf moon, and it was hailed as the most dazzling astronomical wonder.

Rare Supermoons 

Many prophets have prophesied that the appearance of blood moons signify extraordinary and great events to come. There are also many Bible experts who firmly believe that the appearance of blood moons are the fulfillment of the prophecy in the Book of Joel 2:29–31: “And also on the servants and on the handmaids in those days will I pour out My Spirit. And I will show wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke. The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and terrible day of Jehovah comes.” Also, in Revelation 6:12, it states: “And I beheld when He had opened the sixth seal, and, see, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood.” “The great and terrible day” mentioned in the prophecy in the Book of Joel refers to the great disasters. We have all seen disasters growing in scale over the past few years, with frequent occurrences of such disasters as earthquakes, famines, plagues and floods which are horrifying for us to witness; the world situation is in turmoil and constantly changing, there are frequent eruptions of wars, violent incidents and terrorist attacks which continue to escalate; the world’s atmosphere is getting warmer, and extreme weathers and all kinds of astronomical wonders are occurring all the time. As Christians, then, how should we view these disasters? What does God want to inspire in us by means of these disasters? What work will God perform before the great disasters arrive? It says in Joel 2:29: “And also on the servants and on the handmaids in those days will I pour out My Spirit.” According to this prophecy, before the great disasters come, God’s Spirit shall speak His words to water His servants and handmaids. It is prophesied in many places in chapters 2 and 3 of Revelation: “He that has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.” And in Revelation 7:14: “These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.” And in Revelation 14:4: “These are they which follow the Lamb wherever He goes. These were redeemed from among men, being the first fruits to God and to the Lamb.” And in Revelation 2:7, it states: “To him that overcomes will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the middle of the paradise of God.” From these prophecies, we can see that God will perform a new stage of work in the last days, which is that He shall express His words and make a group of overcomers before the disasters. These people shall be the first fruits, and they shall be those who serve God and those whom He leads into His kingdom at the end.

God’s words have uncovered this mystery and told us what work God shall perform before the disasters come. Let’s read together some passages of classic words expressed by God:

Open your eyes and look and you can see My great power everywhere! You can be certain of Me everywhere. The universe and expanse are spreading My great power. The words I have spoken have all come true in the warming of the weather, climate change, people’s anomalies, the disorder of social dynamics, and the deceit of people’s hearts. The sun whitens and the moon reddens; all is in disorder. Do you still not see these?

from “Chapter 39” of Utterances of Christ in the Beginning

In all nations and all places of the world, earthquakes, famines, plagues, all manner of disasters occur frequently. As I do My great work in all nations and all places, these disasters will arise more severely than at any other time since the creation of the world. This is the beginning of My judgment of all peoples.

from “Chapter 92” of Utterances of Christ in the Beginning

Unknowingly, the situation in every country of the world is increasingly tense, day by day crumbling, day by day falling into chaos. The heads of each country all hope to win power in the end. They do not expect it, but My chastisement is already upon them.

from “Chapter 82” of Utterances of Christ in the Beginning

Today, among the nations of the world, I am doing the work that I have set out to accomplish. I move about in the midst of humankind, doing all the work within My plan, and all humanity is breaking up the sundry nations of the world according to My will. The people on the earth have their attention fixed on their own destination, for the day is drawing closer and the angels are sounding their trumpets. There will be no more delays, and all creation will thereupon begin to dance in jubilation. Who can extend My day at their will? An earthling? Or the stars in the sky? Or the angels? When I make an utterance to initiate the salvation of Israel’s people, My day presses in upon all of mankind. Every man fears the return of Israel. When Israel returns, that will be My day of glory, and it will also be the day when everything changes and becomes renewed. As a righteous judgment imminently approaches the whole universe, all men grow timid and fearful, because in the human world, righteousness is unheard of. When the Sun of righteousness appears, the East will be illuminated, and then it will in turn illuminate the whole universe, reaching everyone. If man can really carry out My righteousness, what would there be to fear? My people all await the arrival of My day, they all long for the coming of My day. They wait for Me to bring retribution on all of mankind and to arrange mankind’s destination in My role as the Sun of righteousness. My kingdom is coming into shape above the whole universe, and My throne holds sway in the hearts of hundreds of millions of people. With the angels’ assistance, My great accomplishment will soon be brought to fruition. All My sons and My people await My return with bated breath, longing for Me to reunite with them, never to be separated again. How could the multitudinous populace of My kingdom not race toward one another in joyful celebration because of My being together with them? Can this be a reunion for which no price need be paid? I am honorable in all men’s eyes, I am proclaimed in the words of all. When I return, I will conquer all enemy forces even more. The time has come! I will put My work in motion, I will reign as King among men! I am on the point of return! And I am about to depart! This is what everyone is hoping for, it is what they wish. I shall let the whole of humanity see the arrival of My day, and let them welcome the coming of My day with joy!

from “Chapter 27” of God’s Words to the Entire Universe

    Throughout the universe I am doing My work, and in the East, thunderous crashes issue forth endlessly, shaking all nations and denominations. It is My voice that has led all men into the present. I shall cause all men to be conquered by My voice, to fall into this stream, and submit before Me, for I have long since reclaimed My glory from all the earth and issued it forth anew in the East. Who does not long to see My glory? Who does not anxiously await My return? Who does not thirst for My reappearance? Who does not pine for My loveliness? Who would not come to the light? Who would not look upon the richness of Canaan? Who does not long for the return of the Redeemer? Who does not adore the Great Almighty? My voice shall spread throughout the earth; I wish, facing My chosen people, to speak more words to them. Like the mighty thunders that shake the mountains and rivers, I speak My words to the whole universe and to mankind. Hence the words in My mouth have become man’s treasure, and all men cherish My words. The lightning flashes from the East all the way to the West. My words are such that man is loath to give them up and at the same time finds them unfathomable, but rejoices in them all the more. Like a newborn infant, all men are glad and joyful, celebrating My coming. By means of My voice, I shall bring all men before Me. Thenceforth, I shall formally enter into the race of men so that they will come to worship Me. With the glory that I radiate and the words in My mouth, I shall make it such that all men come before Me and see that the lightning flashes from the East and that I have also descended unto the “Mount of Olives” of the East. They will see that I have already long been on earth, no longer as the Son of the Jews but as the Lightning of the East. For I have long since been resurrected, and have departed from mankind’s midst, and then reappeared with glory among men. I am He who was worshiped countless ages before now, and I am also the infant forsaken by the Israelites countless ages before now. Moreover, I am the all-glorious Almighty God of the present age! Let all come before My throne and see My glorious countenance, hear My voice, and look upon My deeds. This is the entirety of My will; it is the end and the climax of My plan, as well as the purpose of My management. Let every nation worship Me, every tongue acknowledge Me, every man repose his faith in Me, and every people be subject unto Me!

 from “The Seven Thunders Peal—Prophesying That the Gospel of the Kingdom Shall Spread Throughout the Universe”

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Almighty God’s Word - God Himself, the Unique VI God’s Holiness (III)

Almighty God’s Word 

Almighty God’s Word - God Himself, the Unique VI God’s Holiness (III)

    God does much more besides guaranteeing people’s safety, guaranteeing that they will not be devoured by Satan; He also does a great deal of work in preparation for choosing someone and for saving them. Firstly, what kind of character you have, what kind of family you will be born into, who your parents are, how many brothers and sisters you have, what your family situation and economic status are, what the conditions of your family are—this is all painstakingly arranged for you by God. Do you know what kind of family God’s chosen people are mostly born into, as far as most people are concerned? Are they prominent families? There may be some. We cannot say for sure that there are none, but they are very few. Are they families of exceptional wealth, such as billionaires or multimillionaires? They are almost never this kind of family. So what kind of family does God most arrange for people? (Ordinary families.) So which families are ordinary families? They are predominantly working families and farming families. Workers rely on their salary to live and can afford the basic necessities. They will not allow you to go hungry in any case, but you cannot expect to have all your material needs met. Farmers rely on planting crops for their food, they have grain to eat and, come what may, you will not go hungry, but you cannot have very nice clothes. Then there are some families that are engaged in business or who run small businesses, and some where the parents are intellectuals, and these can also be counted as ordinary families. There are also some parents who are office workers or minor government officials at most, who cannot be counted as being prominent families either. More people are born into ordinary families, and this is all arranged by God. That is to say, first of all this environment that you live in is not the family of substantial means that you imagine, but rather this is a family decided on for you by God, and the majority of people will live within the limits of this kind of family; we will not discuss the exceptions here. So what about social status? The economic conditions of the majority of parents are average and they don’t have high social status—for them it is good just to have a job. Are there any who are governors? Are there any who are presidents? (No.) At most they are people such as small business managers or small-time bosses, all with average social status, all living in average economic conditions. Another factor is the family living environment. First of all, there are no parents who would clearly influence their children into walking the path of divination and fortune telling; these are also very few. Most parents are pretty normal and are similar to you. God sets up this kind of environment for people at the same time as choosing them, and it is greatly beneficial to His work in saving people. From the outside, it looks like God has done nothing earthshaking for man; He just does everything secretly, humbly and in silence. But in fact, all that God does is done to lay a foundation for your salvation, to prepare the road ahead and to prepare all necessary conditions for your salvation. Straight away at each person’s specified time, God brings them back before Him—when the time comes for you to hear God’s voice, that is the time you come before Him. At the time this happens, some people have already become parents themselves, whilst others are just somebody’s child. In other words, some people have gotten married and had children whilst some are still single, not yet having started their own families. But regardless of people’s situations, God has already set the times when you will be chosen and when His gospel and words will reach you. God has set the circumstances, decided on a certain person or a certain context through which the gospel will be passed onto you, so that you may hear the words of God. God has already prepared for you all the necessary conditions so that, unknowingly, man comes before Him and is returned to God’s family. Man also unknowingly follows God and enters into His step-by-step work, entering into God’s way of work that He has, step by step, prepared for man. The very least of all that God does and gives to man at this time is first and foremost the care and protection that man enjoys, and this is indeed real. So what kinds of ways does God use? God sets out various people and things so that man may see His existence and His deeds within them. For example, there are some people who believe in God because someone in their family is sick, and they say “One of my family is sick, whatever shall I do?” Some people then say “Believe in Jesus!” So they start believing in God, and this belief in God has come about because of the situation. So who arranged this situation? (God.) By means of this situation they turn to God. There are some families like this where all are believers, young and old, while there are some where belief is individual. So you tell Me, what does the believer obtain from God? Apparently illness befalls, but it is in fact a condition bestowed on him so that he comes before God—this is the kindness of God. Because the family life of some people is tough and they can find no peace, a chance opportunity comes along where someone will pass on the gospel and will say “Your family has it tough. Believe in Jesus. Believe in Jesus and you will have peace.” Unconsciously, this person then comes to believe in God under very natural circumstances, so is this not a type of condition? And is his family not being at peace a grace granted him by God? There are then some who come to believe in God for other reasons, but no matter what reason brings you to believe in Him, it is all actually arranged and guided by God, without a doubt.

A Selected Passage From "God Himself, the Unique VI—God’s Holiness (III)"

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 🎁 🎉Recommendation: The Books from The Church of Almighty God: Help you to know Almighty God.

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Christian Testimonies-With God by My Side I Overcame Satan’s Temptation (Part 1)

Christian Testimonies-With God by My Side I Overcame Satan’s Temptation (Part 1)

Apr 21, 20194

By Cindy

I’m a Christian. If you were to ask me if I’ve encountered any difficulties throughout my journey of faith, I would say that hindrance from family has been the single greatest difficulty that I’ve experienced. This is an issue that many other new believers may be confronted with. Although I experienced weakness and pain in the face of my family’s disruption and suppression, I was able to gain some understanding and discernment of Satan’s evil essence and motives through the enlightenment and guidance of God’s words. I also really deeply experienced that no matter how Satan may hinder or disrupt me, God is always by my side, guiding me and leading me with His words. This allows me to overcome Satan at every turn and live before God.

The First Feud

In March 2015, I very fortunately accepted Almighty God’s gospel of the last days. I gradually came to understand some truths by gathering with other brothers and sisters and reading God’s words; I knew that God has expressed words to do the work of judgment in the last days in order to transform, to cleanse our internal satanic dispositions so that we may fully escape the binds and strictures of sin, thus attaining purification and full salvation from God. In gatherings when I heard brothers’ and sisters’ experiences and understandings of God’s words I particularly saw how, as corrupt human beings, the only way for us to cast off our corrupt dispositions and live out a true human likeness is to accept the judgment, chastisement, pruning, dealing with, trials, and refinement of God’s words and to truly reflect on and know ourselves. In every gathering when we read God’s words I felt such great enjoyment and I determined to really pursue the truth and rid myself of corruption as soon as possible. However, just as I was basking in the watering and sustenance of God’s words and was tasting His love, a temptation from Satan came upon me.

One evening while I was in the kitchen making dinner, my husband came home from work and saw that I was listening to hymns of God’s words. He strode straight into the kitchen and turned off my phone and said heatedly, “Do you realize that you believe in Almighty God?” I was shocked by him suddenly coming at me like that. I had never seen him so upset with me throughout our entire marriage—I quickly asked him what was wrong. With a serious face, he said angrily, “I’ve looked it up online. The CCP government is really cracking down on The Church of Almighty God and there are all sorts of negative comments about the church online. You’re not allowed to go to any more of those gatherings!” I looked at him and thought about how over that period of time, he had seen that since I gained my faith, my relationship with his aunt had become more and more amicable. We weren’t constantly disagreeing with each other over minor things anymore; he had really happily supported my faith. Why the sudden change? Amidst my confusion, these words of God came to mind: “In every step of work that God does within people, externally it appears to be interactions between people, as if born of human arrangements, or from human interference. But behind the scenes, every step of work, and everything that happens, is a wager made by Satan before God, and requires people to stand firm in their testimony to God” (“Only Loving God Is Truly Believing in God” in The Word Appears in the Flesh). God’s words enlightened me, allowing me to see that what I was facing that day was the start of a spiritual battle. On the surface it looked like my husband was standing in the way of my faith, but in fact, it was Satan’s disruptions that were upon me. Satan was using my husband to prevent me from believing in and following God, while God’s will was for me to look at this from the perspective of the spiritual world, see through Satan’s tricks, and be able to stand witness for God in that kind of environment.

Pictures of the Church of Almighty God

Realizing this, I quietly prayed to God, “Oh God! My husband has been taken in by the lies spread by the CCP. How can I fellowship with him so that he gains discernment? God, I beseech You to give me wisdom so that I can expose the CCP’s tricks and be a witness for Your work.” After praying, I tamped down my unsettled feelings and said to my husband, “Don’t be so quick to judge, no matter what sort of negative propaganda you’ve seen online. Over this period of time that I’ve been around the brothers and sisters of The Church of Almighty God, I’ve seen that everyone reads God’s words together and shares fellowship on their own personal understandings. They come to know their own corrupt dispositions and are seeking to be honest people according to God’s requirements. Whenever someone has an issue, a difficulty, everyone finds passages of God’s words to share fellowship with them and resolve the issue. Everyone supports and helps each other, just like a family. They haven’t done any illegal or immoral things. Those of us who believe in Almighty God are on the right path in life—we seek the truth, we aspire to justice and righteousness. Since you haven’t read God’s words, you don’t have a real understanding of the truth. You shouldn’t just blindly listen to the CCP’s rumors.” Seeing I was resolute, he just turned and stormed out of the room.

After dinner my husband had me watch a special report on The Church of Almighty God. It claimed that a lot of believers go travel around to preach the gospel and abandon their families. Angered by these baseless claims, I said to my husband, “They’re turning the truth on its head and planting false information! You know better than anyone whether our home has split apart or has become more harmonious since I started believing in Almighty God. I used to bicker with your aunt over little household things and always made demands of you. But since believing in God, I’ve realized from God’s words that me arguing with the two of you was being controlled by my arrogant disposition; I always wanted you guys to do things my way. I realized that I’ve been lacking the reason one should possess with proper humanity, so I started to act according to the requirements of God’s words, putting myself aside, learning to be respectful and forgiving of others, and to put myself in the other person’s shoes when something comes up. Not only has our family not fallen apart, but it’s actually become more and more harmonious. Isn’t that the case? So why do you think believers like us spread the gospel? We are created beings and we enjoy the love of God, so we want to bear witness to God’s work of the last days for more people who are living in darkness and long for God’s appearance. Isn’t that our bounden duty? Isn’t that an honorable thing? And the brothers and sisters have come to understand God’s urgent will to save mankind through reading God’s words. They’re willing to give up the pleasures of the flesh to fulfill their duties and spread God’s gospel of the last days so that more people may be able to attain God’s salvation. This is the greatest possible good deed. How could anyone say they’re abandoning their families? When the Lord Jesus came to do His work, the apostles and disciples who followed the Lord gave up their homes and jobs to spread the gospel of the Lord Jesus, ultimately spreading God’s gospel to every corner of the world. For Christians, this is a model to be upheld, but people still condemn and slander them saying that they don’t care about their families? Without those apostles and disciples spreading the Lord Jesus’ gospel, how would we have been able to accept the Lord’s salvation? Likewise, if people hadn’t spread and born witness to the Lord Jesus coming and doing new work, how could we today receive God’s salvation of the last days? The CCP government is framing and condemning brothers and sisters of The Church of Almighty God, saying that they’re abandoning their families to spread the gospel. Isn’t that upending right and wrong and distorting the facts?” However, my husband was in such an angry state that he wouldn’t listen to a word I had to say. He warned me that I wasn’t permitted to go to church anymore and even had me return my book to the brothers and sisters.

Negative Propaganda Rears Its Ugly Head Again

After that, seeing that I was not going to give up my faith, my husband stopped going to work and would just sit at home keeping an eye on me. He wouldn’t let me go out to gatherings or read God’s words, and he wouldn’t let me get in touch with the brothers and sisters. He even took my cellphone away. The most overboard thing he did was insist on showing me negative online propaganda every evening, but no matter what sort of evil things or fallacies they contained, I just silently prayed to God and leaned on Him, and with God’s guidance I refuted each and every one of those things. When my husband saw that what I said made sense and there was no way for him to argue with it, his attitude softened up a bit, but he still said, “Since Almighty God is so great, why do you have to keep your faith secret? Why can’t you be open about it like a big cathedral?”

Knowing that he was asking this just to be contrary really angered me and I wanted to argue with him, but I didn’t understand enough of the truth to know what to say. I really wanted to see my brothers and sisters as soon as possible to have fellowship with them, but with my husband never taking his eyes off of me I didn’t have any chance to go. I felt so constrained by him that I wanted to cry, but had no tears. I didn’t know when I’d be able to live a life of the church, plus I had to constantly listen to him repeating that horrible slander he saw online. It was so upsetting, so difficult to bear. I didn’t know how much longer that would last. I went to the bathroom every day just so I could pray and ask God for faith and strength, that my spirit could be strong, and that He would give me wisdom and provide me with the right words so that I could use the truth to strike back at Satan’s tricks and overcome my husband’s hindrances.

The Significance of God Secretly Working in China

God later opened up a path for me. I told my husband that there was a course I wanted to go take, and he agreed; since he thought that I was going to class every day, he went back to work. I lost no time getting in touch with the brothers and sisters, and when they learned about my situation they started holding gatherings for me close to my house. During one of them, I asked why God would secretly work in China in the last days, so all of us sisters prayed to God to seek the truth. One sister shared in fellowship, “God becoming flesh and appearing in China in the last days in a concealed way is what His work requires, and it’s to better save mankind. His wisdom is hidden within this as well as His love for all of humanity. Let’s read a couple passages of His words. Almighty God says, ‘because this round of God’s work has God coming into flesh and being born in the dwelling place of the great red dragon, His coming to earth this time is accompanied even more so with extreme dangers. What He faces are knives and guns and clubs; what He faces is temptation; what He faces are crowds wearing murderous looks. He risks being killed at any moment’ (‘Work and Entry (4)’ in The Word Appears in the Flesh). ‘To them, God become flesh is hidden, but to those in this stream, one can say that He is open. Although in God all is open, all is revealed, and all is set free, this is only true for those who believe in Him; as far as the rest, the unbelievers, are concerned, nothing is made known. The work being carried out here now is strictly closed in order to keep them from knowing. Should they become aware of this work, then all they would do is condemn it and subject it to persecution. They would not believe in it. To work in the nation of the great red dragon, this most backward of places, is no easy task. If this work were to be put out into the open, it would be impossible to continue. This stage of work simply cannot be carried out in this place. If this work were to be carried out in the open, how could they allow it to go forward? Would this not put the work under even greater risk? If this work were not concealed, but rather carried out as in the time of Jesus, when He spectacularly healed the sick and cast out demons, then would it not have long ago been “taken prisoner” by the devils? Would they be able to tolerate the existence of God? If I were to now enter into the halls to preach and lecture man, then would I not have long ago been dashed to pieces? And if this had happened, how could My work have continued to be carried out? The reason that no signs and wonders are openly manifested at all is for the sake of concealment. So, to unbelievers, My work cannot be seen, known, or discovered. If this stage of work were to be done in the same manner as that of Jesus in the Age of Grace, it could not be so steady as it now is. So, to work secretly in this way is of benefit to you and to the work as a whole’” (“The Mystery of the Incarnation (2)” in The Word Appears in the Flesh).

After reading this, the sister went on in fellowship, “The Lord Jesus once said, ‘And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil’ (John 3:19). In 1 John 5:19, it says, ‘The whole world lies in wickedness.’ This is a dark and evil world that was long ago corrupted and controlled by Satan. People all adulate violence and evil; we’ve become more and more corrupt and depraved. No one loves the light or justice, and no one actively seeks God’s appearance. When God became flesh to walk among mankind, no one welcomed His arrival. Instead, many hate the truth and hate God’s work—this is a fact. Just like when the Lord Jesus was working in Judea, no one knew Him or knew His work. They just relied on their notions and imaginations, judging and condemning the Lord Jesus; they resisted the Lord’s work and ultimately colluded with the Roman government to have Him nailed to the cross. Even Judea, a nation of faith, treated God in the flesh that way, so just think of God’s second coming in the flesh in China—wouldn’t He face even greater danger? China is an atheist nation that believes in Marxism-Leninism—it adores violence and advocates taking power by force. Since the People’s Republic of China was established by the Chinese Communist Party they have confiscated and destroyed countless copies of the Bible, and they have arrested and imprisoned countless Christians. Large numbers of Christians have even been brutally tortured to the point of disability or death. With God incarnating in the last days, appearing and working in China, this nation that is madly opposed to God, if He were to openly express the truth to save mankind wouldn’t He be facing the danger of being arrested or murdered at any moment? So, His work requires that He appear and work in China in a hidden way; this is the only way He’ll be more able to save mankind.

“In fact, after the Lord Jesus officially began His work in the Age of Grace, even though He publicly preached the gospel of the kingdom of heaven, He also worked in some secret ways. Just like when the Lord Jesus healed a leper, He told him, ‘See you tell no man; but go your way, show yourself to the priest, and offer the gift that Moses commanded, for a testimony to them’ (Matthew 8:4). Also, after He took His disciples into the territory of Caesarea Philippi, He asked them, ‘Whom do men say that I the Son of man am?’ (Matthew 16:13). When Simon Peter said that He was Christ, the Son of the living God, the Lord Jesus ordered His disciples not to tell others that He was Christ. We can see from these passages of Scripture that the Lord Jesus also used secret methods in His work primarily because of the Pharisees’ truth-hating essence. If the Lord Jesus had openly said that He was the Messiah, that He was Christ, He would have suffered even more intense resistance and condemnation from the Pharisees. He could even have been arrested and framed for something. But since the Lord Jesus was not yet done with His work, and the time for Him to be crucified had not yet come, He urged people not to tell others of what they had seen and heard after performing miracles such as healing the sick and casting out demons so that He could more effectively continue to develop His work. This was to avoid disrupting God’s work. Just the same, in the last days God is working in China in a hidden way, and all followers of God gather in secret to read God’s words and do all of the church’s work. This is what His work requires, and concealed within it is God’s wisdom as well as His love and salvation for us. Sister, God’s thinking far surpasses our own and the significance of Him doing His work of the last days in secret is very profound. We really cannot fathom it!”

Hearing this sister’s fellowship significantly brightened my heart, and I understood the meaning behind God working in secret. As humans, we are so deeply corrupted that we do not recognize God or welcome His coming. When the Lord Jesus appeared and did His work in a nation of faith, He was condemned and slandered by the Roman government and religious circles, so how could God not face even greater barriers working in a country where the atheist CCP is in control? The purpose of God working in secret is to better develop His work and provide more people with the opportunity to come before God and accept His salvation. This fully reflects the wisdom of God’s work and His genuine love for mankind!

Pictures of the Church of Almighty God

God’s Benevolence Hidden Within the Trial

As I mulled over this period of time during which my husband had been trying absolutely everything to get me to give up my faith, a passage of God’s words suddenly occurred to me: “God works, God cares for a person, looks upon a person, and Satan dogs His every step. Whoever God favors, Satan also watches, trailing along behind. If God wants this person, Satan would do everything in its power to obstruct God, using various evil ways to tempt, harass and wreck the work God does in order to achieve its hidden objective” (“God Himself, the Unique IV” in The Word Appears in the Flesh). After pondering these words I understood that Satan was using my husband to tempt me and disrupt me, trying to ruin my relationship with God. It was trying to get me to betray God and depart from Him, to become subject to it again so it could toy with me and trample me. Then I would ultimately be destroyed with it. Satan is so despicable—I absolutely could not fall prey to its tricks! In any case, God allowed Satan’s temptation to come upon me and His benevolence is within that. He is using these circumstances to give me true discernment on Satan’s sinister intentions to swallow people whole, so that I can hate and forsake Satan, and resolutely follow God until the very end.

Thanks to God’s guidance, I was able to see Satan’s tricks a little more clearly and I developed the resolve to forsake it as well as the confidence to undergo whatever was to come. I silently prayed to God, “Oh God! May You give me faith and strength so that when Satan once again disturbs me, I will be able to rely on the truth and do battle with Satan, stand witness, and satisfy Your will.”

from The Church of Almighty God

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