Why Is the Religious World Always Frantically Resisting and Condemning God’s New Work? | The Church of Almighty God

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The two times that God has become flesh to walk the earth and carry out the work of saving man He has been met with the utmost resistance, condemnation and frantic persecution from leaders in the religious world, a fact that has puzzled and even shocked people: Why is it that every time God unfolds a stage of new work He is always met with this kind of treatment? Why is it that those who most frantically and aggressively resist God are the religious leaders who read the Bible over and over again and who have served God for many years? Why is it that those religious leaders that people see as being the most devout, the most faithful and the most obedient to God are actually unable to be compatible with God, and instead are always acting perverse and being enemies of God? Could it be that God made a mistake in His work? Could it be that God’s actions are not amenable to reason? Certainly that is not the case! There are two fundamental reasons that various denominations and sects have people who are able to play the role of resisting God, turning into enemies of God, and these are: First, along with these people not possessing the truth and not having knowledge of the work of the Holy Spirit, they also do not have knowledge of God, they always rely on their limited knowledge of the Bible, theological theories and people’s conceptions and imaginations to delineate God’s work that is always new and never old; Second, since mankind is deeply corrupted by Satan, its nature is arrogant and self-conceited, it is unable to obey the truth, and it especially values status. The combination of these two aspects leads to the tragedy of mankind forsaking and condemning the true way time and again throughout history.

Look back to two thousand years ago, when the Lord Jesus was among the Jewish people He performed many miracles, He helped man by healing the sick and casting out demons, He preached the gospel of the kingdom of heaven, taught people about repenting, and absolved them for their sins. These are all things that were not recorded in the Old Testament, and it was also work that no one had ever carried out before. Of course, it was also something that nobody could carry out, because besides God there is no person with the authority and power to do such things. What the Lord Jesus accomplished at that time was personally assuming the sins of man by being nailed to the cross so that man could be rescued and redeemed from sin, bestowing upon man plentiful and abundant grace and peace and joy, and bringing man out from the rules of the law through the work of the new age, where man no longer is punished because he is unable to abide by the law. Those people under the law can only attain God’s salvation and not be destroyed by following the work of the Lord Jesus. But the chief priests, scribes and Pharisees of Judaism do not recognize the work of the Holy Spirit, they don’t understand what kind of work the Lord Jesus carries out, in their minds they believe: Not following the law, not praying in the name of Jehovah God is the same as betraying God, which is simply outrageous. In addition, they flaunt themselves as ardent readers of the Bible and servants of Jehovah God in the temple for many years, and they believe that what they are holding on to is the truth and the purest way, and so as far as they are concerned, the work of the Lord Jesus goes against the Bible and violates the law, it is a way apart from the Bible, and because of this they would rather die than accept the way that is spread by the Lord Jesus. They even regard the work of the Lord Jesus as “heresy,” an “evil cult” and as “deceiving man.” Even though the work and the word of the Lord Jesus have authority, power and wisdom, even though the miracles that the Lord Jesus manifested are unprecedented in history, even though more and more people come to bear witness to the deeds of the Lord Jesus and bear witness to the fact that the Lord Jesus is the Messiah that will come, they still are unwilling to look into and search for the higher way, instead they persist in their views, and with stiff necks they flatly deny that the Lord Jesus is Christ, that the Lord Jesus is the Messiah that will come. It’s just as Almighty God has revealed: “Man is only able to accept one kind of work, or one way of practice. It is difficult for man to accept work, or ways of practice, that are at odds with them, or higher than them—but the Holy Spirit is always doing new work, and so there appear group after group of religious experts that oppose the new work of God. These people have become experts precisely because man has no knowledge of how God is always new and never old, and has no knowledge of the principles of God’s work, and, what’s more, has no knowledge of the many ways in which God saves man. As such, man is utterly unable to tell if it is work that comes from the Holy Spirit, and if it is the work of God Himself. Many people cling to an attitude in which, if it corresponds with the words that came before, then they accept it, and if there are differences with the work of before, then they oppose and reject it” (“Knowing the Three Stages of God’s Work Is the Path to Knowing God” in The Word Appears in the Flesh). To act as someone who believes in God, at the very least we ought to possess a heart that reveres God and have a hunger and a thirst for righteousness, only in this way will we be able to obtain enlightenment from the Holy Spirit, achieve an understanding of God’s new work and follow closely the footsteps of God. But those chief priests, scribes and Pharisees from Judaism have come into contact with the Lord Jesus many times, yet it is simply never in pursuit of the truth. Every time they are devising ways and means to test the Lord Jesus, to get a hold of something to use against the Lord Jesus. They’re all the same in that they have no knowledge of God, and that they hold notions about God’s new work, whereas Nathanael and the Samaritan woman and the disciples and common people who follow the Lord Jesus are able to set aside their notions to seek the truth. In this way they are able to know Christ’s identity, recognize the voice of God, obey and accept the truth, and return before the face of God. Through this comparison we can clearly see that the higher level figures in the religious world of Judaism are not only stubbornly conservative, but also arrogant and self-conceited, for they fundamentally do not accept the truth, and they definitely do not obey the truth. Therein lies one of the reasons for their resistance to God.

In addition, as more ordinary Jewish people start following the Lord Jesus, the chief priests, scribes and Pharisees grow concerned about losing their place in the hearts of the common people. With people no longer worshiping them or following them they become increasingly anxious, because the authority and power of the words and work of the Lord Jesus are far beyond their reach, it makes them pale by comparison, making them feel ashamed of themselves, and in this way they increasingly feel a sense of crisis: All it would take is for the Lord Jesus to live for one day, and then even more common people would leave them and go follow the Lord Jesus, and there would be fewer people in the temple, causing them to be unable to continue enjoying a life where they are supported and provided for by others in a way that is unsurpassed by anyone else. This makes the Lord Jesus like a needle in their eye or a thorn in their flesh, it turns Him into an enemy that cannot live in the same world as them. In order to safeguard their place, they think of everything they can do and use all kinds of despicable methods to bring false charges against the Lord Jesus. They blaspheme and condemn the Lord Jesus’ work, they vilify and slander the Lord Jesus, saying that He relies on Beelzebub to cast out demons, and they bring false witness accusing the Lord Jesus of speaking against the holy place and against the law (For reference see Act 6:10-14). Whatever it took they were going to eradicate the Lord Jesus from the Jewish people, and in the end they ruthlessly nailed Him to the cross. When the Lord Jesus was resurrected, He appeared before His disciples, and together with their spreading of the gospel there was power and miracles, facts that are sufficient to verify that this way contains the work of the Holy Spirit, that it is upheld by the Holy Spirit, and that it is the true way! Under these circumstances, those chief priests, scribes and Pharisees still did not reflect on this: How can the Lord Jesus’ gospel be so prosperous? Actually, those people who are proficient in the Bible and who deem themselves as “respectable” simply feel that it is beneath them to seek out and look study such things with those village fishermen and ignorant commoners who are without knowledge or status, and they even hypocritically act in the name of “upholding the law and defending the true way” while they continue to exploit the power at their fingertips by colluding with rulers to intensify their frantic suppression, persecution and slaughtering of the apostles and the Jewish commoners who are followers of the Lord Jesus. They do everything in their power to stop people from following the Lord Jesus, they even strictly prohibit anyone from spreading the name of the Lord Jesus. … In order to safeguard their own positions and their livelihoods, there truly is no crime they will not commit, which is the other reason for their frantic resistance and condemnation of the Lord Jesus. Of course, their evil deeds have stirred up the intense rage of God, they have suffered God’s punishments. The entire Jewish race has been a vanquished nation for almost 2,000 years, which is the painful price they have paid for resisting God and condemning God.

Let’s get back to the present where we are in the last days. God has prepared a greater salvation for those who have been redeemed by Him. This salvation is God using words to judge and cleanse man. It is a new, higher work. This stage of work shall thoroughly rid man of his satanic corrupt disposition. It will free man from the dark influence of Satan and turn mankind into a race that knows God, is compatible with God and truly belongs to God, where it will thereby attain salvation and be perfected. This is the final stage of work in God’s six-thousand-year management plan. In God’s work in the last days, Christ incarnate expresses all of the truths that cleanse man and save man, He exposes and judges man’s corrupt substance and nature, and He points out the path that man can go down to break away from his corruption. He also reveals all kinds of heavenly mysteries. Furthermore, God uses His wisdom, power and authority to spread the gospel of the last days to every family all over the world, and the millions of people who seek and thirst for the truth have returned one by one from various denominations and sects to the presence of Almighty God. The unprecedented sight of all nations flowing to this mountain has appeared, and the gospel of the last days is currently extending across every nation and every place all over the world. However, when facing all these truths, this big of a wonder and the testimony of the Holy Spirit’s work, leaders in the religious world have turned a blind eye and are not moved by them in the slightest, they aren’t carefully studying them, and they certainly are not accepting them with humility. These people are the same as the Pharisees, they do not recognize that the work of the Holy Spirit is continuously moving forward, they do not recognize that the principle of the work of the Holy Spirit is that it is always new and never old, they do not have the least bit of knowledge about Almighty God’s work in the last days, and they even believe with extreme self-confidence that: Since they already enjoy a way that is higher than that from the Age of Law, since they are proficient in the Old and New Testaments in their entirety and have worked and preached sermons for many years, they have already obtained the truth and known God. Moreover, they stubbornly believe in an erroneous concept that they believe to be true: That all of the Lord’s words are contained in the Bible, that if it goes beyond the scope of the Lord Jesus’ work, if it goes beyond the Bible, then it is not the true way. To stray from God’s requirements of man in the Age of Grace would be to transgress the teachings of Christ, only the things that they accept, have knowledge of and hold onto are the true way, anything beyond this is heresy or an evil cult. These people have firmly delineated God within the Bible, they have delineated Him within the notions and imagination of man. No matter how high the work brought by Almighty God is, how much work of the Holy Spirit it has, how many ways of practice it brings, and how many facts there are to verify it, they do not acknowledge that it is from God, and therefore they all maintain hostile views and a sceptical attitude towards the return of the Lord Jesus, so much so that they blaspheme the incarnate flesh of God and disparage and condemn the work and the word of Christ in the last days. Are they not the same as the Pharisees who in their time were stubborn and conservative and arrogant and self-conceited, looking down on the truth and blaspheming the Holy Spirit? It’s just like what Almighty God said: “If you only come to know God from one stage of His work, then your knowledge is too, too little. Your knowledge is but a drop in the ocean. If not, why would many of the religious old guard nail God to the cross alive? Is it not because man confines God within certain parameters? Do many people not oppose God and obstruct the work of the Holy Spirit because they do not know the varied and diverse work of God, and, furthermore, because they possess but a smidgeon of knowledge and doctrine with which to measure the work of the Holy Spirit? Though the experiences of such people are superficial, they are arrogant and indulgent in nature, and they regard the work of the Holy Spirit with contempt, ignore the disciplines of the Holy Spirit and, moreover, use their trivial old arguments to confirm the work of the Holy Spirit. They also put on an act, and are wholly convinced of their own learning and erudition, and that they are able to travel across the world. Are such people not those who are despised and rejected by the Holy Spirit, and will they not be eliminated by the new age? Are not those who come before God and openly oppose Him myopic little people, who are merely trying to show how clever they are? With but a meager knowledge of the Bible, they try to straddle the world’s ‘academia,’ with but a superficial doctrine to teach people, they try to reverse the work of the Holy Spirit, and attempt to make it revolve around their own thought process, and short-sighted as they are, they try to behold in one glance 6,000 years of God’s work. Do these people have any reason to speak of? In fact, the greater people’s knowledge of God, the slower they are to judge His work. Furthermore, they only talk a little of their knowledge of God’s work today, but they are not rash in their judgments. The less people know of God, the more arrogant and overconfident they are, and the more wantonly they proclaim God’s being—yet they only talk of theory, and offer no real evidence. Such people are of no value whatsoever. Those who see the work of the Holy Spirit as a game are frivolous! Those who are not cautious when they encounter the new work of the Holy Spirit, who run their mouths off, are quick to judge, who give free rein to their natural instinct to deny the rightness of the Holy Spirit’s work, and also insult and blaspheme it—are such disrespectful people not ignorant of the Holy Spirit’s work? Are they not, furthermore, the ones of arrogance, inherently proud and ungovernable?” (“Knowing the Three Stages of God’s Work Is the Path to Knowing God” in The Word Appears in the Flesh).

As people who truly believe in the Lord return in large quantities to the house of God, the gradual expansion of God’s work in the last days has achieved its climax, but even with the work of the Holy Spirit flourishing so much, the religious leaders who are used to being high and mighty and the religious experts who direct others are not reflecting on themselves, nor do they lower their arrogant heads to search and study. On the contrary, these people realize that their positions are becoming more and more precarious, that they are unstable all the time, and they start to fear that everyone else will turn to Almighty God and will reject them with cold shoulders. As a result, in order to “redeem the current situation,” pastors, elders, leaders and fellow workers from various denominations and sects act in the name of “watching over the flock for the Lord and upholding the true way.” They have started adopting measures such as fabricating and distributing propaganda materials, using the internet to disseminate rumors and other despicable methods to wantonly blaspheme and attack Almighty God. They spread disparaging rumors, claiming that the words of Almighty God are not the word of God, that they are written by man, and they even say such nonsense as “this book is like a drug that puts a spell on you, if you read it you will be brainwashed,” and other things that distort and misrepresent facts and vilify the Church of Almighty God as a “faction of Eastern Lightning,” which is a criminal organization. By deceiving and threatening believers in this way, they cause foolish and ignorant people to not dare approach and get in contact with God’s gospel, sealing off various denominations and sects to the point that a needle couldn’t even poke through, nor water seep in. These religious leaders strictly prohibit their believers from reading the Eastern Lightning books or listening to the Eastern Lightning sermons, they do not permit believers to receive people who preach God’s salvation in the last days or even any strangers, and they absolutely go against the teachings of God in the Age of Grace where He asks man to entertain strangers. The thing that is most shocking to people is that, in spite of being believers in God, these people collude with the satanic regime of the CCP, abetting them in their shady and evil business by tracking, monitoring and reporting on brothers and sisters who spread the gospel of the last days, and they even serve as undiscovered traitors within the church to gather information for the CCP’s clandestine capture of Christians. It seems that they can only feel relief from the hatred in their hearts by eliminating those who bear witness to God in one stroke and abolishing God’s new work. These people are fully aware that those who follow Almighty God are good-natured folks who truly believe in God, and they’re even more aware that there is no evil intent whatsoever in these people preaching about God’s salvation in the last days, yet they still insult them in an uncivilized and cruel manner, chasing away and even physically attacking brothers and sisters who spread the gospel. It’s clear that these religious leaders long ago stopped possessing the work of the Holy Spirit, and it’s also clear that they do not accept the truth, that they detest the truth, and that they hate truth in nature and substance. On the outside these people run around exerting themselves to carry out work, but on the inside they are mixed up with wild ambitions and disobedience. Really they are just trying to conspire for status, rushing about for their own benefit, and doing everything they can to satisfy their selfish desires.

It’s clear to see that regardless of whether it is the religious world of Judaism in its time or the religious figures from the various denominations and sects of today, the reason that they are able to time and again resist God, the truth and the true way, the reason they would “rather die than submit” and “face death with equanimity” is ultimately because they do not recognize the principle that God’s work is always new and never old, nor do they have knowledge of God’s new work, and furthermore they don’t pursue the truth at all, they are stubborn and conservative, they are haughty and self-conceited. It also has everything to do with them being excessively worried about their status and being of very poor quality. Nowadays, in this pivotal point when a new age is replacing an old one, the fight in the spiritual world has reached its peak. If people still believe the rumors and false testimonies spread by religious figures and suffer themselves to be manipulated by them, if they pay no heed to or even disdain and hold in contempt the work carried out and the words spoken by God in the last days, if they do not take responsibility for their own lives and just follow the herd and go with the flow while being over-critical of the work of the Holy Spirit with unrestrained irreverence, if they do not concern themselves with discernment and just blindly worship, listen to and obey the rumors and deceptions of pastors and elders, if they are not able to turn towards righteousness and break away from the control of the forces of Satan and seek out the true way and listen to God’s voice, if they cannot do these things, then they will never be able to welcome the Lord’s return, they will never be able to witness the countenance of the Creator, they will never get an opportunity to know God, they will just be reduced to a puppet in history, a sacrificial object for Satan, and they will sink into darkness where they will weep and gnash their teeth until they perish, just as it has been predicted in Scripture: “Therefore the LORD will cut off from Israel head and tail, branch and rush, in one day. The ancient and honorable, he is the head; and the prophet that teaches lies, he is the tail. For the leaders of this people cause them to err; and they that are led of them are destroyed” (Isa 9:14-16). We must know that God will not select anyone who does not thirst for the truth, who is not clear about their faith in God, who does not have a definitive stance on their viewpoints, who adores power and influence or who takes advantage of situations. On the contrary, God seeks out, perfects and gains the chaste virgins who honor God as great, who are of clear minds, who have pure obedience, who truly thirst for and seek God. This is a manifold fact! Could it be that the blood spilt by the Israelites was not enough to make you aware of this lesson?

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"The City Will be Overthrown" (2) - Why Has Woe Befallen the Hypocritical Pharisees?

It is recorded in the Bible that the Lord Jesus condemned the Pharisees with the seven woes. Nowadays, the path walked by the pastors and elders of the religious world is that of the Pharisees and they similarly suffer God's detestation and rejection. So why did the Lord Jesus condemn and curse the Pharisees? It was primarily because they had a hypocritical essence that defied God, because they only paid attention to performing religious rituals and keeping rules, they only explained the rules and doctrines in the Bible and did not put God's words into practice or follow God's commandments whatsoever, and they even discarded God's commandments. Everything they did completely ran counter to God's will and requirements. This was the hypocritical essence of the Pharisees and it was the primary reason for the Lord Jesus hating and cursing them.



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Read more: Eastern Lightning

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To Give Credence to Rumor Is to Lose God’s Salvation of the Last Days

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To Give Credence to Rumor Is to Lose God’s Salvation of the Last Days

Whenever they hear someone talking about Almighty God’s gospel of the last days, many brothers and sisters within the church are unable to listen and don’t dare accept what is said because they have been startled by sensationalized rumor. They might hear someone say: “Those who believe in Almighty God are really something, you’ll be deceived if you get in contact with them. There are many true believers among every religious sect and they have good inner qualities, they are lambs who love the truth but they are being stolen by believers in Almighty God …” Or someone has said: “The believers in Almighty God are really enthusiastic about spreading the gospel. If they convert a believer they receive a prize of 2,000 RMB (about 300 dollars), if they convert a church leader they can get 10,000 to 20,000 RMB (about 1,500 to 3,000 dollars) …” And still others have said: “They don’t have very good boundaries between men and women and they are all very promiscuous …” And still others have said: “The Eastern Lightning is a criminal organization. If you get involved with them you’ll never escape. If you do, they’ll gouge out your eyes and cut off your ears, or they’ll break your legs …” etc., etc. It is rumors like these that make some brothers and sisters who are not clear on the facts delay or even refuse God’s salvation of the last days. I do not know if any brothers or sisters within the church have earnestly thought about or studied whether or not these things that are said match up with the facts; is there any factual basis? Have you ever thought about what sort of dire consequences there will be if you believe all the rumors you hear and persist in doing things the wrong way? For now, we need not discuss who the source of these rumors is or why they would deliberately fabricate these things. Instead, we will first have a simple fellowship about these rumors so we can enable our brothers and sisters to clearly see the substance of these rumors.

The rumor goes: “Those who believe in Almighty God are really something, you’ll be deceived if you get in contact with them. There are many true believers among every religious sect and they have good inner qualities, they are lambs who love the truth but they are being stolen by believers in Almighty God …” Today, most of the believers in Almighty God do indeed come from many different religious sects and among them, a great many are very dedicated people, but to say that they are all deceived is malicious slander, pure and simple. Just think about it: Could so many devout people coming from so many different religious sects to accept Almighty God’s work of the last days all be deceived? Does it make sense that they’d be believers for so many years without having some discernment? Even if there is some deception, it could only be those who are not seekers and who are muddled in their faith who get deceived. How is it even possible that so many seekers and so many with sincere faith in God could be deceived? As everyone knows, our faith is in the almighty God—the Holy Spirit who is the sevenfold intensified Spirit—and only the work of the Holy Spirit can encourage the seekers and truly faithful to return to God. Today, there are many sincere seekers from various religious sects who have read and re-read the Bible and who have now come to accept Almighty God’s work of the last days, so what does that indicate? All brothers and sisters with spiritual acuity know the answer, which is this: The Church of Almighty God contains the work of the Holy Spirit and it contains the truth! If it were not the work of God Himself, then who would have brought these brothers and sisters from so many different religious sects together? Could such a great miracle be the work of man? Almighty God is indeed the return of the Lord Jesus; He is the appearance of the one true God! He shall reap and winnow in the last days and do the work where all religious denominations return to one and He will bring all true believers into His kingdom. Therefore, the brothers and sisters who are true believers from all religious sects have one by one returned to stand before Almighty God’s throne after hearing God’s voice. Almighty God has brought the truth, the way, and the life and He reveals the mysteries of God’s 6,000-year management plan. He tells us all the mysteries in the Bible that we didn’t understand and when the true seekers of God hear these truths and see God’s appearance, how could they not accept the work of Almighty God in the last days? Who wouldn’t want to follow the footsteps of the Lamb? This is the reason so many seekers from different religious sects have accepted Almighty God’s work of the last days. The idea that people who have accepted Almighty God’s work of the last days are deceived is clearly an outright lie, it is defamatory, and it is blasphemous to God.

Some people have said: “The believers in Almighty God are really enthusiastic about spreading the gospel. If they convert a believer they receive a prize of 2,000 RMB (about 300 dollars), if they convert a church leader they can get 10,000 to 20,000 RMB (about 1,500 to 3,000 dollars) …” Within this lie, it is mentioned that believers in Almighty God are very enthusiastic about spreading the gospel of Almighty God. While this part is indeed factual, the rest about believers in Almighty God being bribed with money to spread His gospel is purely fabricated nonsense and a defamatory rumor. The fact is, believers in Almighty God who spread His gospel do not receive an award of any kind. Instead, they spend their own savings to do so, and sometimes all they have. The reason they are so enthusiastic is not because they are bribed with money, rather, it’s because they have truly seen the appearance of God, heard God’s word, received His great salvation, and experienced God’s love. Therefore, they are willing to spend all they have and endure any hardship or humiliation to spread the gospel of God’s kingdom. They are just like the original disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ; they have seen God’s appearance and they have gained God’s love. They have given up their homes and careers to bear witness for God; it’s true! Perhaps some brothers and sisters have personally witnessed how believers in Almighty God are treated when they spread the gospel: Some are humiliated, others are beaten with clubs, some are chased off, and others have even been sentenced and imprisoned at the hands of people in power; they suffer all manner of persecution. … I urge everyone to consider this: Who would willingly submit themselves to curses, beatings, and humiliation to spread God’s gospel of the last days if it were not for God’s great love and the work of the Holy Spirit? Who would risk the dangers of prison to spread the gospel of God’s salvation in the last days if they hadn’t seen the appearance of God? If it really was about money, wouldn’t it be easier to go out into the world and work for it? Why endure humiliation and suffering like that to spread the gospel? If we take another look at the brothers and sisters who spread the gospel of the last days, how many of them are wearing or using famous brands or high-end products? If this rumor were true that bringing in a believer gets them 2,000 RMB and bringing in a church leader gets them 10,000 to 20,000 RMB, then wouldn’t there be masses of brothers and sisters in China getting rich every day by spreading Almighty God’s gospel of the last days? There’s no harm in doing a quick survey: Let’s see exactly who among the brothers and sisters in the Church of Almighty God has gotten rich from spreading the gospel. Thus “converting a believer gets a prize of 2,000 RMB, and converting a church leader gets them 10,000 to 20,000 RMB” is clearly a lie and is defamatory.

There are still others who have said: “They don’t have very good boundaries between men and women and they are all very promiscuous …” Regarding this point, let’s take a look at Almighty God’s words: “I am the holy God Himself, I cannot be sullied, and I cannot possess an unclean temple” (The Word Appears in the Flesh). And the regulation is very clear in “The Ten Administrative Decrees That Must Be Obeyed by God’s Chosen People in the Age of Kingdom”: “Man has corrupt disposition and, moreover, he is possessed of emotions. As such, it is absolutely prohibited for two members of the opposite sex to work together when serving God. Any who are discovered doing so will be expelled, without exception—and no one is exempt.” We can see from Almighty God’s words that He is holy and does not live in an unclean temple. His righteous disposition does not tolerate any offense from mankind and anyone who is a follower of Almighty God must strictly adhere to God’s administrative decrees or they will be expelled from the church; no exceptions. The kingdom gospel of Almighty God has spread throughout mainland China and there are believers in Him in every place. You may have seen them yourself and the believers in Almighty God are all dignified and upright, their words and mannerisms are appropriate and in good taste, they conduct themselves in a principled manner, they speak and work rationally, possess humanity, and their living out is worthy of admiration. They are outstanding among other members of society; it’s a fact! Again, the brothers and sisters who are believers in Almighty God are primarily drawn from very genuine seekers from various religious sects and many are leaders and co-workers from different denominations. They have known from the Age of Grace that God hates promiscuous activity and they have always maintained the Lord Jesus’ commandments, something which truly reverent people have always done in the past. Would someone like this intentionally violate the administrative decrees of God’s kingdom today? In the past they traveled about for the Lord, gave up everything they had, and bore the cross and suffered for many years, does it make sense that they do not understand such a simple and basic rule? So you can see, the root of this rumor is simply nonsensical and purely meant as a smear campaign.

Some people have said that “The Eastern Lightning is a criminal organization. If you get involved with them you’ll never escape. If you do, they’ll cut out your eyes and cut off your ears, or they’ll break your legs …” When they bring up criminal organizations, we all know that those involve murderers, arsonists, and very vindictive people who do all manner of evil things. No one wants to provoke those sorts of people. Even the Chinese Communist Party and its police won’t dare mess with them, isn’t that right? So let’s take a look at the brothers and sisters who spread the gospel of the last days. When they go out to bring people before the throne of God, they endure being thrown out, insulted, beaten, attacked by dogs, arrested, imprisoned, and tortured. They suffer all kinds of cruel treatment. If these brothers and sisters were really criminals, would anyone really dare treat them that way? Who would hit them? Who would set their dogs on them to attack them? Who would dare try to arrest them? No one would do that! Would a criminal endure verbal abuse and not respond? Would a criminal be beaten and not fight back? Do you know of any criminals like that? If these brothers and sisters really were criminals, why would they be specifically trying to convert true believers in God who are relatively dedicated seekers? Furthermore, there are many brothers and sisters from various religious sects who have heard God’s gospel of the last days. Whether they accepted the gospel and then withdrew from the church or if they never accepted it in the first place, who among them has had their eyes gouged out, ears cut off, or legs broken? Is there any factual basis for anything these rumor spreaders have said? There is also no factual basis when they say things like: “If you get involved with believing in Almighty God you’ll never escape.” In fact, all of the true believers and those who are truly certain about God’s work in the last days who do decide to never leave, do so because they do not want to leave. Why is this? Almighty God says, “The incarnation of God has sent shockwaves through all sects and denominations, it has ‘thrown into disarray’ their original order, and it has shaken the hearts of all of those who yearn for the appearance of God. Who is not adoring? Who doesn’t long to see God? God has personally been among man for many years, yet man has never realized it. Today, God Himself has appeared, and shown forth His identity to the masses—how could this not bring delight to man’s heart?” (“Work and Entry (10)” in The Word Appears in the Flesh). “During the last days, God once more became flesh, and when He became flesh this time, He ended the Age of Grace and brought the Age of Kingdom. All those who accept the second incarnation of God will be led into the Age of Kingdom, and be able to personally accept the guidance of God. … All those who submit under His dominion shall enjoy higher truth and receive greater blessings. They shall truly live in the light, and shall gain the truth, the way, and the life” (Preface to The Word Appears in the Flesh). The incarnation of God in the last days has indeed sent shockwaves through various sects of the religious world and it has shaken the hearts of those who thirst for God’s appearance. The reason brothers and sisters from various sects have returned to stand before God is because they have seen the appearance of God, heard His word, understood Christ of the last days is the truth, the way, and the life, and that only belief in Almighty God will allow them to achieve salvation and entry into the kingdom of heaven. Who would want to leave after receiving salvation like this? Therefore, it’s easy to see that rumors about people not wanting to leave due to being afraid of having their eyes gouged out, ears cut off, or legs broken are just being fabricated by people with ulterior motives.

From what we fellowshiped about above, we can see that the slanderous comments about God’s work in the last days are nothing but lies that are complete fabrications with no basis in the truth. To be a believer who concocts lies and bears false witness is behavior that God hates the most and is deemed as sinful behavior by God, just like the Bible says here: “He that speaks truth shows forth righteousness: but a false witness deceit” (Pro 12:17). “Lying lips are abomination to the LORD: but they that deal truly are his delight” (Pro 12:22). The Lord Jesus said: “You are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father you will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and stayed not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it” (Jhn 8:44). Considering that this is something God doesn’t like, why do they persist in doing this? In John chapter 11 verses 47-48 it says: “Then gathered the chief priests and the Pharisees a council, and said, What do we? for this man does many miracles. If we let him thus alone, all men will believe on him: and the Romans shall come and take away both our place and nation.” Matthew chapter 28 notes this fact: After the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, the chief priests and the elders were afraid that everyone would go to believe in the Lord Jesus and that they would thereby lose their status and income. They then colluded to cover up the fact that the Lord Jesus was resurrected. They bribed the soldiers with silver and made up lies to persuade people that the Lord Jesus never resurrected, saying that disciples took the body of Christ away when the soldiers were sleeping. We see from this that people can fabricate lies and slander as well as blaspheme God, which indicates their evil nature, that they hate the truth and that they are enemies of God. They do this to protect their own reputations, statuses, profits, and physical pleasures. It’s just the same today. As Almighty God has expanded His work of the last days in mainland China, great swaths of believers from many different religious sects have come to accept God’s new work. When some leaders of these sects see more and more people accept Almighty God’s work of the last days while their churches dwindle, they fabricate all sorts of lies and slander to condemn Almighty God’s work of the last days so that they can protect their own status and income. This is how they deceive and frighten brothers and sisters to make them afraid to accept God’s work in the last days; their purpose is to trap and control their congregations. These people treat Almighty God in the exact same way that the Pharisees treated the Lord Jesus; they are the modern-day Pharisees! From this we can see that people intentionally and purposefully spread lies.

If we are unable to discern these lies and blindly follow them, then we stand on the side of those who slander, resist, and disturb God’s work. This not only causes one to lose God’s salvation in the last days, it also turns one into a target for God’s detestation and rejection and punishment. This is just like the Lord Jesus’ work among the Jewish people, where the Pharisees made up all kinds of lies and slander against Him, such as saying the Lord Jesus’ ability to cast out demons was only because He was conjuring the prince of demons, Beelzebub, as well as other blasphemous things. So, many Jewish people took the evil path of resisting God when they blindly accepted the lies of the Pharisees due to lacking the discernment and not carefully studying what they saw and thereby followed the Pharisees to abandon and murder the Lord Jesus. The Pharisees spread falsehoods and slander about God, and we all know what ending they met, but what about those Jewish people who took those lies and slander as truth, wasn’t their ending just as tragic? The Jewish state was destroyed and the Jewish people were scattered in all directions. They had no home to return to for 2,000 years and they were punished by God just like the Pharisees were. Aren’t these the consequences of taking the lies of the Pharisees as truth and resisting God? We can see then, that those that believe in God without a reverent heart and who do not seek to investigate God’s new work and those who easily believe lies become accomplices to Satan and become evildoers who resist God. In the end, they will lose God’s salvation. It is the same today as it was back then. As believers and followers of God, when facing God’s work in the last days, we must seek and study it with reverent hearts. This is the only way to approach this if we want to keep pace with God’s work and obtain God’s salvation of the last days. Otherwise we will become like the Jewish people in the past who became tools exploited by Satan, who resisted God, and who became God’s bitter enemies and thereby became subject to God’s punishment.

We should know that rumors are one of Satan’s tricks and that rumors are one of its methods to resist God’s work. However, God’s wisdom is always a step ahead of Satan’s tricks. Satan is not only incapable of messing up God’s work, but instead just makes God’s work more effective. Just like when the Jewish scribes and Pharisees tried so hard to resist and condemn the Lord Jesus’ work; they colluded with Rome to have the Lord Jesus crucified, but they had no way of knowing the true significance of when the Lord Jesus said: “It is finished.” This shows us that God used Satan’s trick to achieve His own plan and to complete His redemption of mankind. Today is no different. Even though there are leaders and co-workers in various religious sects who use their own deliberate and despicable means to create lies and rumors to resist Almighty God’s work of the last days, however, none of these tricks are capable of harming God’s work. Instead, they are beneficial to the accomplishment of God’s work of the last days to classify man according to their kind and to reward the good and punish the evil. Although their lies have deceived some brothers and sisters, people who sincerely seek God’s appearance have ultimately returned to stand before God’s throne. Lies may tightly bind together the “tares,” but these lies do not do the same to “grains of wheat.” The wind blows the chaff away, while the plump seeds shall be gathered into the granary in the end. To put it another way, lies will reveal and eliminate those who do not belong to God, who lack reverence for God, and the conformists. But for the genuine seekers of truth who thirst for God’s appearance, they shall be taken by God to a beautiful destination. In this manner, Satan’s tricks end up only helping to complete God’s work in the last days of classifying man according to their kind, as well as rewarding the good and punishing the evil, doesn’t this serve as a great example of God’s almightiness and wisdom?

We will end our fellowship here. I believe that when you are all confronted with rumors you will understand their cause, their substance, and their harmfulness! And now, Almighty God’s work in the last days has reached unprecedented new heights and approaches its glorious end and Almighty God will reveal Himself for all nations and all peoples to see. At such a crucial time, are you willing to lose your life and forsake God’s salvation of the last days just to believe in some rumors? I know that you will make the wise choice.

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God Treats Man as His Dearest One | The Church of Almighty God

Almighty God says, "God created mankind; regardless of whether they have been corrupted or whether they follow Him, God treats human beings as His loved ones—or as human beings would say, the people dearest to Him—and not His playthings. Although God says He is the Creator and that man is His creation, which may sound like there is a bit of a difference in rank, the reality is that everything God has done for mankind far exceeds a relationship of this nature. God loves mankind, cares for mankind, and shows concern for mankind, as well as constantly and unceasingly provides for mankind. He never feels in His heart that this is additional work or something that deserves a lot of credit. Nor does He feel that saving humanity, supplying them, and granting them everything, is making a huge contribution to mankind. He simply provides for mankind quietly and silently, in His own way and through His own essence and what He has and is. No matter how much provision and how much help mankind receives from Him, God never thinks about nor tries to take credit. This is determined by the essence of God, and is also precisely a true expression of God’s disposition."

from "God’s Work, God’s Disposition, and God Himself I (Selection)" in The Word Appears in the Flesh


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This video is the public-use product made independently by the Church of Almighty God. We publish this video product without charging third parties any fees, and welcome everyone to share it. Without the approval of the Church of Almighty God, any organization, social group or person are forbidden to falsify or distort this video.

Recommendation: Eastern Lightning

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The Church of Almighty God | The Days of Noah Have Come

Two thousand years ago, the Lord Jesus predicted, “But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be” (Mat 24:37). God says, “In the time of Noah, men had been eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage to such a point that it was unbearable for God to witness, so He sent down a great flood to destroy mankind and left behind only Noah’s family of eight and all kinds of birds and beasts. In the last days, however, those kept by God are all those who have been loyal to Him until the end. Though both were times of great corruption unbearable for God to witness, and mankind in both ages was so corrupt that he denied God as the Lord, all men in the time of Noah were destroyed by God. Mankind in both ages has grieved God greatly, yet God has remained patient with men in the last days until now. Why is this?” (“Do You Know? God Has Done a Great Thing Among Men” in The Word Appears in the Flesh). Presently, we are already in the late period of the last days. Man’s corruption has reached its peak, and all sorts of disasters are happening with increasing frequency. The days of Noah have come long ago. Do you know what work God does in the last days in order to save us? Do you know the will of God toward mankind in these continuous disasters? Do you know the revelation and manifestation of God’s righteous disposition? Do you know what we should do in order to gain the protection of God in all these disasters? You will get the answers from today’s program. Please stay tuned!

Special statement: This video production was produced as a not-for-profit piece by the Church of Almighty God. The actors that appear in this production are performing on a not-for-profit basis, and have not been paid in any way. This video may not be distributed for profit to any third party, and we hope that everyone will share it and distribute it openly. When you distribute it, please note the source. Without the consent of the Church of Almighty God, no organization, social group, or individual may tamper with or misrepresent the contents of this video.

Recommendation: Eastern Lightning,  Know more of the Church of Almighty God

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How Can You Tell the Difference Between the True and False Ways, and True and False Churches?

What is the most basic principle in seeking the true way? You have to look at whether or not there is the work of the Holy Spirit, whether or not these words are the expression of the truth, who is testified to, and what it can bring you. Distinguishing between the true way and the false way requires several aspects of basic knowledge, the most fundamental of which is to tell whether or not there is the work of the Holy Spirit. For the substance of man’s belief in God is the belief in the Spirit of God. Even his belief in God incarnate is because this flesh is the embodiment of the Spirit of God, which means that such belief is still the belief in the Spirit. There are differences between the Spirit and the flesh, but because this flesh comes from the Spirit, and is the Word become flesh, thus what man believes in is still the inherent substance of God. And so, in distinguishing whether or not it is the true way, above all you must look at whether or not there is the work of the Holy Spirit, after which you must look at whether or not there is the truth in this way. This truth is the life disposition of normal humanity, which is to say, that which was required of man when God created him in the beginning, namely, all of normal humanity (including human sense, insight, wisdom, and the basic knowledge of being man). That is, you need to look at whether or not this way takes man into a life of normal humanity, whether or not the truth that is spoken of is required according to the reality of normal humanity, whether or not this truth is practical and real, and whether or not it is most timely. If there is truth, then it is able to take man into normal and real experiences; man, furthermore, becomes ever more normal, man’s human sense becomes ever more complete, man’s life in the flesh and the spiritual life become ever more orderly, and man’s emotions become ever more normal. This is the second principle. There is one other principle, which is whether or not man has an increasing knowledge of God, whether or not experiencing such work and truth can inspire a love of God in him, and bring him ever closer to God. In this can be measured whether or not it is the true way. Most fundamental is whether this way is realistic rather than supernatural, and whether or not it is able to provide the life of man. If it conforms to these principles, the conclusion can be drawn that this way is the true way. … If it is the work of the Holy Spirit, man becomes ever more normal, and his humanity becomes ever more normal. Man has an increasing knowledge of his disposition, which has been corrupted by Satan, and of the essence of man, and he has an ever greater longing for the truth. That is to say, the life of man grows and grows, and the corrupt disposition of man becomes capable of more and more changes—all of which is the meaning of God becoming the life of man. If a way is incapable of revealing those things that are the essence of man, is incapable of changing the disposition of man, and, moreover, is incapable of bringing him before God or giving him a true understanding of God, and even causes his humanity to become ever more lowly and his sense ever more abnormal, then this way must not be the true way, and it may be the work of an evil spirit, or the old way. In short, it cannot be the present work of the Holy Spirit. You have believed in God for all these years, yet you have no inkling of the principles for differentiating between the true way and the false way or for seeking the true way. Most people aren’t even interested in these matters; they merely go where the majority go, and repeat what the majority say. How is this someone who seeks the true way? And how can such people find the true way? If you grasp these several key principles, then whatever happens you will not be deceived.

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Recommendation: Eastern Lightning,  About the Church of Almighty God

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The Words of The Returned Christ Have Overturned The Tables of My Own Self Idolatry

My name is Brett Jones.  I live in Alpine, Utah.  And this is a testimony of how I came to recognize and to accept the current work of Almighty God in my life.  I hope that this testimony will be of inspiration to you.

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The Church of Almighty God | Regenerated in God’s Word

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8. Regenerated in God’s Word

Wang Gang    Shandong Province

I was a peasant. As my family was poor, I kept working everywhere to make money, just wanting to live a better life through my own labor. However, in real life I saw that the lawful rights and interests of a rural worker like me couldn’t be guaranteed at all. My wages were often withheld for no reason. Deceived and exploited by others again and again, I couldn’t get the payment I deserved for a year’s hard work. I felt that the world was too dark! People lived by the law of the jungle like animals and contended with and fought against each other. There was simply no place for me to live. When I was extremely distressed and depressed in my heart and lost confidence in life, a friend preached Almighty God’s end-time salvation to me. From then on, I often had meetings with the brothers and sisters, and we prayed, sang, and fellowshipped about the truth together. We learned from each other and made up for each other’s deficiencies, and I felt especially happy and released. In the Church of Almighty God, I saw that there was no deception or distinction of position among the brothers and sisters. We were all simple and open and lived in harmony. In order to cast off the corrupt disposition and live out the likeness of a man and thus be saved, all of us were striving to pursue the truth, which let me taste the happiness of life and understand the value and meaning of life. Therefore, I always felt that I should preach the gospel so that more people who lived in darkness could come before God to be saved by God and see the light again. So, I joined in preaching the gospel to testify God. However, I never expected that I would be arrested by the CCP government for preaching the gospel and suffer the extremely cruel tortures and imprisonment.

It was at noon in the winter of 2008. When I was testifying God’s end-time work to a gospel friend with two sisters, we were reported by an evil person. Six policemen suddenly rushed into the house of the gospel friend on the excuse of checking residence cards. As soon as they entered the house, they roared loudly, “Freeze!” Two of them rushed at me madly. One seized the clothes on my chest. The other grabbed my arms and twisted them backward with force, shouting venomously, “What are you doing? Where are you from? What’s your name?” I asked in reply, “Who are you? Why do you arrest me?” Hearing that, they flared up into a fury and said aggressively, “Don’t ask why! You’re the one we are catching! Come with us!” After that, the vicious policemen pushed the two sisters and me into a police car and took us to the local police station.

After arriving there, they put me into a small room, ordered me to squat down, and arranged for four guys to watch me. Having squatted for a long time, I was really tired and couldn’t bear it. Just when I wanted to stand up, the vicious policemen came over to press my head down, not allowing me to stand up. They didn’t allow me to get up until they came to search me in the evening. Since they got nothing, they all left later. Soon after, I heard the cry of someone who was tortured in the next room. At that time, I was very afraid in my heart: What cruel means will they use to torture me next? I prayed to God desperately in my heart, “Almighty God! Now I feel scared in my heart. May you give me faith and strength so that I will be strong and courageous and can stand testimony for you. If I can’t withstand their cruel tortures, I’d rather commit suicide by biting off my own tongue than be a Judas to betray God!” After the prayer, I thought of God’s words, “Do not fear this or that. The Almighty God of hosts will surely be with you. He will be your rear guard and shield.” (from “The Twenty-sixth Piece of Word” in The Word Appears in the Flesh) Right! With Almighty God being my rear guard and being with me, what shall I fear? I’ll rely on God to war against satan. God’s words removed the timidity in my heart and my tightened heart was released.

That night, another four ferocious-looking policemen came. One of them pointed at me, shouting, “We’ve finally got you this big fish. Your believing in Almighty God is disturbing the social order and disrupting the state law….” As he roared, he pushed me into an interrogation room on the second floor and ordered me to squat down. In the room, there were various kinds of torture devices, such as ropes, sticks, batons, steel whips, guns, and so on, which were placed disorderedly on the floor. A vicious policeman with angry eyes grabbed my hair with one hand and made an electric baton sputter with the other hand. He threatened and questioned me, “How many people are there in your church? Where is your meeting place? Who is your leader? How many of you preach in our area? Speak up! Otherwise, there will be a lot for you to suffer.” Looking at the electric baton with a blue light and the torture devices in the room, I couldn’t help feeling kind of nervous and afraid and didn’t know whether I could overcome the following cruel torture. Just at the critical moment, I thought of Almighty God’s words, “The bitter cup I drank you must drink (Jesus said this after his resurrection), and the way I walked you will have to walk. …” (from “The Course of Peter’s Knowing ‘Jesus’” in The Word Appears in the Flesh) I realized: This is God’s charge and is the way of life that God personally opens up for us. In walking the way of believing in God and pursuing the truth, we are bound to experience some tribulations and frustrations, which is inevitable. What the suffering accomplishes is God’s blessing. Only in tribulations can we gain the way of truth God bestows. The truth is the eternal life that God bestows to us. I should follow God’s footsteps to go forward and confront all these bravely instead of being timid or afraid. When I thought of that, a burst of strength welled up in my heart immediately. Then I said loudly, “I only believe in Almighty God! I know nothing else!” Hearing that, the vicious policeman was so exasperated that he jabbed my left breast wildly with the electric baton for nearly a minute. Immediately, I felt as if the blood in my body were boiling. Unbearably painful all over, I writhed on the floor and kept screaming. Still unwilling to give up, he suddenly dragged me up and lifted my chin with the baton, roaring, “Speak up! You don’t confess, eh?” While roaring, he jabbed my right breast with the electric baton. I shivered all over and then fainted from pain, lying motionless on the floor…. I didn’t know how long had passed when I woke up. I heard them saying, “Playing dead? You pretend! How dare you pretend!” Then they jabbed my face with the baton and kicked my thighs. After that, they dragged me up from the floor, saying venomously, “Speak up or not?” I still didn’t answer. They fiercely punched my face. One of my teeth was knocked out, and another one became loose. Immediately, blood flowed from my mouth. Facing such torments of those frenzied demons, I was really afraid that I couldn’t stand their cruel torture and would betray God. At that time, I thought of God’s words, “Those in power look ferocious in appearance, but do not be afraid. That is because you have little faith. As long as your faith rises, nothing will be difficult.” (from “The Seventy-fifth Piece of Word” in The Word Appears in the Flesh) God’s words gave me faith and strength once again. I realized: Although those vicious policemen before my eyes are crazy and aggressive, they are manipulated in God’s hand. Now, God is using them to test my faith. As long as I rely on God by faith and don’t give in to them, they will surely be put to shame and defeated. Thinking of that, I exerted all my strength and asked them in reply loudly, “Why did you arrest me and take me here? Why did you shock me with the electric baton? What crime have I committed?” With a guilty conscience, the vicious policemen, who were stumped by my questions, stuttered, “Shouldn’t I… I… I arrest you and take you here? …” With the word, they went away in dejection. Seeing satans’ awkward and ugly manner, I shed tears with excitement. In such adversity, I truly experienced the authority and power of Almighty God’s words. As long as I practiced and cooperated according to God’s words, I would have God’s care and keeping and have God’s power as company. At the same time, I felt indebted to God for my little faith. After that, a tall policeman came in and walked to me, saying, “As long as you tell us where you live and how many people there are in your family, we’ll release you at once.” Seeing that I still said nothing, he exasperatedly grabbed my hand and forcefully put my fingerprint on the statement they fabricated beforehand. Seeing that the statement simply wasn’t what I said but was all their lies and framings, I was so indignant that I snatched it and tore it up. Immediately, the vicious policeman flew into a rage. He violently punched my left cheek and slapped my face hard twice, so I became disoriented. Then, they locked me up in the small room again.

In the small room, covered with bruises and unbearably painful from the tortures, I couldn’t help feeling weak and sad: Why do I have to undergo such suffering in believing in God? I preach the gospel to others with good intentions, letting them pursue the truth to be saved. However, I suffer such torture…. When I thought of that, I felt even more wronged and distressed. In anguish, I thought of God’s words, “Since you are a man, you should spend for God and endure all sufferings! As for the little suffering you are undergoing now, you should accept it gladly and readily in your heart. You should live out a meaningful life, like Job and Peter. … You people are the ones who pursue the right way and pursue to make progress. You stand up in the country of the great red dragon and are the ones called righteous by God. Isn’t this the most meaningful life?” (from “Practice (2)” in The Word Appears in the Flesh) Every word of Almighty God struck my heart. Yes! Almighty God has watered and supplied me with his abundant words of life, so I have enjoyed so much grace from him freely, known the mysteries no one could know throughout the past generations, and understood the truths no one could understand throughout the past generations. This is God’s special blessing for me. I should bear testimony for God and endure all sufferings for God. No matter how much I suffer, it is worthwhile, because this is the most valuable and meaningful thing. However, today I’m persecuted and suffer a little physically because of preaching the gospel, and then I feel reluctant and mistreated. Don’t I grieve God too much? Am I not too conscienceless? How can I be worthy of God’s grace and blessing and God’s supply of life? The saints in the past generations, because of walking in God’s way, had borne strong and resounding testimonies for God and lived out a meaningful life. Having gained so much supply of words from God today, shouldn’t I even more bear a good testimony for God? … As I thought of that, I felt less pain in my body. I deeply knew that it was Almighty God’s words that gave me the power of life and made me overcome the weakness of my flesh.

On the second day, the vicious policemen were already at the end of their schemes. They threatened me, “You won’t say, right? Then we’ll put you in prison!” After that, they took me to the detention house. In the detention house, the vicious policemen continued to torture me in various ways. Moreover, they often instigated the prisoners to beat me. In the severe winter, they incited the prisoners to pour basins of cold water on me, forcing me to wash in cold water. I felt so cold that I shivered all over. There, the prisoners were the machines to make money for the government. We didn’t have any lawful right and had to endure the prison guards’ squeezing and exploiting like slaves. They forced me to print thermal paper unceasingly in the daytime and work overtime at night. If I took a break, someone would come over to beat me violently. At the beginning, they required me to print 2,000 sheets a day, and then the quota increased to 2,800, and finally to 3,000. Even the veterans couldn’t finish that amount of work, let alone a newcomer like me. Actually, they intentionally made me unable to finish it so that they could find excuses to torture and afflict me. When I failed to meet the quota, the vicious policemen would put shackles weighing over five kilograms on me and had my hands and feet shackled together. I would have to sit there motionless, bending with my head downward. The gang of inhuman vicious policemen didn’t care about my eating, drinking, defecating, and urinating. Although the commode was in the cell, I couldn’t walk there to use it. So I had to beg the cellmates to pull me onto the commode. If they were kind, they would pull me there. If no one helped me, I had to relieve myself in my pants. The most painful thing was eating. As my hands and feet were shackled together, I could only force my head down and lift up my feet and hands at the same time. Only thus could I put the steamed bun into my mouth. Every bite cost me great strength and the handcuffs and shackles hurt me sharply. After a long time, my wrists and ankles had hard, black, and shiny calluses. When I was shackled, I often got nothing to eat. On occasion, the prisoners gave me two small steamed buns. But most of the time, they ate my share and I had to suffer hunger. As for water, it was even less. Actually, everyone was given only two bowls of water every day. However, I was shackled and unable to move, so I seldom drank water and I couldn’t drink it. I went through such unspeakable inhuman tortures four times, and each time I was shackled three days at least and eight days at most. Whenever I was unbearably hungry, I thought of what God ever said, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.” (Matthew 4:4) Gradually, I realized that God wanted to accomplish in me the fact that “the word becomes life” through satan’s affliction on me. After understanding God’s will, I got released in my heart. Then I quieted myself before God and prayed to God and pondered God’s words. Unknowingly, I no longer felt so painful and didn’t feel hungry. It made me truly experience that God’s word is the truth, the way, and the life and is indeed the foundation for my existence. Therefore, I had more faith in God unconsciously. I remembered that once the prison guards tortured me on purpose again. I was shackled there and had nothing to eat or drink three days and nights. The prisoner who was shackled beside me said, “Before, a young man was starved to death because of being shackled like this. You haven’t eaten anything for several days yet still look energetic.” At his words, thinking that I didn’t eat or drink anything for three days and nights yet didn’t feel that hungry, I deeply felt that the life force of God’s word was supporting me and truly saw that God appeared to me in the word. I was very excited in my heart. In such an environment of suffering, I could truly experience the reality of the truth that “man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God,” which was really the most precious wealth of life God bestowed to me, was my special gain, and was even more what I could never gain in an easy environment without worrying about food and clothing. It was so meaningful and worthwhile to undergo such suffering today! At that time, I couldn’t help remembering God’s words, “What you inherit today is higher than what the apostles and prophets in the past generations inherited, even higher than what Moses and Peter inherited. Blessings cannot be gained in one or two days. You have to pay much price. That is, you have to have a refined love, have a great faith, and have the many truths God requires you to live up to, you have to be able to stand with justice, not bending or swerving, and have to have a heart that loves God without change even unto death, and you need to have the will, have your life disposition transformed and your corruptions cured, and accept all God’s manipulations without complaint and even be able to obey unto death. These are what you should achieve, are God’s ultimate purpose, and are God’s requirements for this group of people.” (from “Is God’s Work So Simple as People Imagine?” in The Word Appears in the Flesh) Pondering God’s words, I realized: What sufferings and trials accomplish is indeed God’s blessing and is God’s most practical life supply and watering to me. Now, although the words God bestows to me surpass those to the saints in the past generations, I still need to have faith and perseverance to inherit them, and should never bend or swerve in the tribulation but obey God’s manipulation and arrangement and accept God’s salvation. Only thus can I enter into the reality of God’s words and see God’s wonderful deeds. Without the price of suffering, I’m not qualified to inherit the promise and blessing God bestows to me. The revelation and guidance of God’s words made me stronger and have more strength within. I made a firm resolution: I will try my best to cooperate with God and satisfy God’s requirement and bear testimony for God in such an environment of suffering, so that I can gain the most.

One month later, the CCP police sentenced me to one year of hard labor on the charge of “being suspected of disturbing the social order and damaging the implementation of the law.” Just after I entered the labor camp, the vicious policemen spread rumors and lies among prisoners, saying that I, a believer in Almighty God, was worse than murderers and robbers, and instigated the prisoners to torture me, so they often beat and kicked me without cause and created all manner of difficulties for me. It made me truly see that China is the living hell firmly controlled by satan the devil, its every corner is dark, it doesn’t allow the existence of light, and there’s no living space for the believers in Almighty God at all. In the daytime, the vicious policemen forced me to work in the workshop. If I didn’t finish the quota, they would ask the prisoners to beat me after I returned to the cell, and they called it “killing the chicken to frighten the monkey.” When I counted bags in the workshop, the prisoners always deliberately took one or some from the bags which I had counted in bundles of 100. Then, they said that I didn’t count correctly and took the opportunity to beat and kick me. Seeing that I had been beaten enough, the prison governor would come over and hypocritically asked what had happened. Then, the prisoners would frame me, saying that I didn’t count enough bags, so I would be scolded by the prison governor. Moreover, every morning, the prisoners ordered me to recite the “code of conduct.” If I refused, I would be beaten. They also forced me to sing the songs of praising the Communist Party. If they saw that I didn’t sing or my lips didn’t move, I couldn’t escape being beaten up at night. Besides, they made me mop the floor. Whenever I didn’t do it to their satisfaction, I would suffer a fierce beating. Once, a gang of prisoners suddenly beat me with fists and feet. After that, they asked me, “Boy, do you know why you were beaten? It’s because you didn’t stand up to say hello to the prison governor when he came here!” Each time after being beaten, I dared not speak out my indignation within, but could only pray to God silently in tears and pour out my resentment and grievance to God. This was because it was a lawless place where people had no way to reason. There was no justice, but only violence. There were no men, but only the frenzied devils and scorpions! I felt it distressing and depressing to live in such an adverse environment, not wanting to stay even one more minute…. Whenever I was weak and distressed to a degree, I would think of Almighty God’s words, “The God in heaven comes to the filthiest licentious land, and he never expresses his grievances or complains against men but silently endures men’s tortures and oppression. Yet he never opposes men’s unreasonable demands, never makes excessive requirements of men, and never has unreasonable requirements for men, but only wholeheartedly and uncomplainingly does for men all the works they need: teaching, inspiring, rebuking, refining with words, warning, exhorting, comforting, judging, and disclosing. Which step is not for men’s life? Although God takes away men’s future and destiny, which step of his work is not for men’s destiny? Which step is not for men’s existence? Which step is not for men to break free from the suppression of the afflicting and pitch-dark force of darkness? Which step is not for men? Who can know God’s motherly heart? Who can understand God’s anxious heart?” (from “Work and Entering In (9)” in The Word Appears in the Flesh) God’s words encouraged me. Yes! Enduring great humiliations and sufferings, God comes to the world to work through being incarnated this time just for the purpose of saving us, the most deeply corrupt people, out of satan’s abyss of misery, so that we can live in God’s light and live in the pleasant destination where there is no satan’s affliction, no sorrow, no grief, and no tears. What God works on me, whether grace and blessing or trial and refining, is all for supplying me and saving me and for working the truth into me, so that the truth can become my life. Today, God permits the persecution and tribulation to come upon me. Although I suffer a lot, I practically experience God’s presence, and practically taste that God’s word becomes the bread of life for me and becomes a lamp to my feet and a light to my path, guiding me to go forward step by step in the devil’s dark den. All this is God’s love and God’s keeping that I’ve enjoyed and received in suffering. At that time, I realized: I’m too blind, too selfish, and too greedy; in believing in God, I only know to enjoy God’s grace and blessing, but don’t pursue the truth and life in the least; when my flesh suffers a little, I complain incessantly and don’t try to sense God’s will or seek to know God’s work at all, always making God grieved and distressed for me; I’m so conscienceless! In remorse and self-reproach, I prayed to God silently, “O Almighty God! I see that everything you’ve done is for saving me and gaining me. I hate myself for being too disobedient and too blind and having no humanity and thus always misunderstanding you and never caring for your will. O God! Today, it is your words that arouse my numb heart and spirit and make me understand your will. I don’t want to have my own desire and requirement any more, but only wish to obey your manipulation and arrangement. Even if I have to undergo all kinds of sufferings, I’ll try my best to cooperate with you and bear a resounding testimony for you in satan’s persecution, pursue to break away from satan’s influence, and live out the likeness of a real man to satisfy you.” After the prayer, I understood God’s thoughtful kind intention and knew that every environment God permitted me to experience was God’s greatest love and salvation to me. Therefore, I no longer had a thought of withdrawal and no longer misunderstood God. Although the environment was still the same, I was full of joy and enjoyment within. I always felt that it was my honor and pride, was a special favor to me, a corrupt man, and was God’s special grace and blessing that I could suffer pains and persecutions for believing in Almighty God today.

After experiencing one year of affliction in prison, I saw that my stature was too small and I lacked too many truths. Just through such a special environment, Almighty God made up for my lacking and made me grow up in stature, so that in adversity I gained the most valuable wealth of life, understood many truths I hadn’t understood before, saw clearly the ugly face of satan the devil and its reactionary substance of resisting God, and knew its monstrous sin of persecuting Almighty God and afflicting Christians. I truly experienced Almighty God’s great mercy and salvation to me, a corrupt man, and felt that Almighty God’s words are indeed with authority and life power and can bring me light, be my life, and lead me to overcome satan and tenaciously walk out of the valley of the shadow of death. Meanwhile, I also knew that the way Almighty God leads me to walk is exactly a right way of human life and a bright way of gaining the truth and life! From now on, no matter how many persecutions and tribulations as well as dangers and temptations I’ll encounter, I’m willing to do my best to pursue the truth and gain the way of eternal life Almighty God bestows on me.

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