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Showing posts with label The-Bible. Show all posts
Showing posts with label The-Bible. Show all posts

1/18/2018

The Church of Almighty God, Eastern Lightning, the Bible,

Who Wrote the Bible? How Well Do You Know the Bible?

By Liu Xin
Like most of the brothers and sisters in the Lord, I have read the Bible over and over again all these years and already loved the Bible. Reading the Bible, memorizing the Bible, and copying the Bible has already become an indispensable part of my life of believing in the Lord. Like many believers in the Lord, I also believe that belief in the Lord is belief in the Bible, that if one strays from the Bible then he cannot be called a believer in the Lord, and that all scripture is the word of God and is inspired by God. The Bible has become the holy book in our hearts, which is absolutely without blemish or error. We don’t care whether we have the work of the Holy Spirit, and can still carry on living even if we cannot touch the presence of the Lord, but as soon as we lose the Bible, then it is as if we have lost our life. However, we have no idea what the origins of the Bible are, what exactly kind of book the Bible is, and who is the author of the Bible.
One day, on a famous website I saw many books of truth which revealed lots of mysteries rarely known by people, including the mystery of the Bible. There was a passage saying: “The Bible is a historical record of God’s work in Israel, and documents many of the foretellings of ancient prophets as well as some of the utterances of Jehovah in His work at that time. Thus, people all look upon this book as holy (for God is holy and great). Of course, this is all a result of their reverence for Jehovah and their adoration for God. People refer to this book in this way only because the creatures of God are so adoring of their Creator, and there are even those who call this book a heavenly book. In fact, it is merely a human record. It was not personally named by Jehovah, nor did Jehovah personally guide its creation. In other words, the author of this book is not God, but men. The Holy Bible is only the respectful title given to it by man. This title was not decided by Jehovah and Jesus after they had a discussion amongst each other; it is nothing more than a human idea. For this book was not written by Jehovah, much less by Jesus. Instead, it is the accounts of many ancient prophets, apostles, and seers, which were compiled by later generations into a book of ancient writings that, to people, seems especially holy, a book that they believe contains many unfathomable and profound mysteries that are waiting to be unlocked by future generations. As such, people are even more disposed to believe that this book is a heavenly book. With the addition of the Four Gospels and the Book of Revelation, people’s attitude toward it is particularly different from any other book, and thus no one dares to dissect this heavenly book—because it is too sacred” (“Concerning the Bible (4)”).
From this passage of words I understood that the Bible contains not only God’s words but also many words of man, and that only when we differentiate between God’s words and man’s words in the Bible can we treat the Bible properly. In fact, God’s words in the Bible include the word God spoke to Moses, the revelation of God to the prophets, the word of the Lord Jesus, and the prophecies in the Book of Revelation. Most of the other words in the Bible are actually man’s words, among which, some are the experiences and understandings originating from the enlightenment and illumination of God, and some are the records of the historical figures and events. Besides, the Bible also documents some words of Satan, such as the words the serpent said to entice Eve, and the words Satan spoke to tempt the Lord Jesus.
Moreover, from the formation of the Bible I saw that God’s work is always performed before it is compiled by man. For example, the New Testament came into existence after A.D. 300. Later generations compiled the records of the Lord Jesus’ work and words kept by the apostles and disciples during the period of their following the Lord Jesus into the Four Gospels; meanwhile they also compiled some of the apostles’ and disciples’ experiences and understandings including Paul’s letters into the Bible, regardless of whether they came from the enlightenment and guidance of the Holy Spirit or from the notions and imaginations of man. After the Bible became a book, generation after generation of believers in God have been regarding it as precious treasure, exalting and preaching it till today. However, it cannot be denied that, no matter how people treasure this book, the letters, experiences, and understandings of the apostles in it are not the words of God; even though some of them accord with the truth, they can only be taken as words inspired by the Holy Spirit, and can never be confused with the words of God.
Actually every chapter of the Bible has its author, and was recorded and compiled by man. The human records are always mixed with human will and imaginations and have errors. For example, the Old Testament records, “And again the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel, and he moved David against them to say, Go, number Israel and Judah” (2 Samuel 24:1). “And Satan stood up against Israel, and provoked David to number Israel” (1 Chronicles 21:1). From these two verses we can see that one verse says the LORD God moved David to number Israel while the other records it was Satan that provoked David to number Israel. In addition, regarding the death of Judas, one verse says, “And he cast down the pieces of silver in the temple, and departed, and went and hanged himself” (Matthew 27:5), and another says, “Now this man purchased a field with the reward of iniquity; and falling headlong, he burst asunder in the middle, and all his bowels gushed out” (Acts 1:18). It can be seen that the same thing is recorded differently in these two verses. If they were the words given by inspiration of God, there wouldn’t be these discrepancies. From this, I came to realize that the author of the Bible is man rather than God. So the records concerning God and God’s work, which are compiled by corrupt people, will inevitably be mixed with man’s imaginations, notions, and definitions, and even have many absurd sayings and conclusions. The well-known Jesus’ genealogy written by Matthew is a most typical example. This book of truth says: “At the start, it says that Jesus was a descendant of Abraham, the son of David, and the son of Joseph; next it says that Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit, and born of a virgin—which would mean He was not the son of Joseph or the descendant of Abraham, that He was not the son of David. The genealogy, though, insists on associating Jesus with Joseph. Next, the genealogy begins to record the process by which Jesus was born. It says Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit, that He was born of a virgin, and not the son of Joseph. Yet in the genealogy it is clearly written that Jesus was the son of Joseph, and because the genealogy is written for Jesus, it records forty-two generations. When it goes to the generation of Joseph, it hurriedly says that Joseph was the husband of Mary, words which are in order to prove that Jesus was the descendant of Abraham. Is this not a contradiction? The genealogy clearly documents Joseph’s ancestry, it is obviously the genealogy of Joseph, but Matthew insists that it is the genealogy of Jesus. Does this not deny the fact of Jesus’ conception by the Holy Spirit?” (“Concerning the Bible (3)”). Therefore, it is entirely because Matthew didn’t understand the truth that he created the genealogy for Jesus; it actually came from his enthusiasm and betrayed God’s will. This proves that the Bible isn’t given by inspiration of God, and that the author of the Bible is man and not God.
Since the author of the Bible is not God Himself but man, it is erroneous and extremely preposterous that we take all the words in the Bible as the words of God and think the Bible is given by inspiration of God. I saw the words in the book of truth: “Today, people believe the Bible is God, and that God is the Bible. So, too, do they believe that all the words of the Bible were the only words God spoke, and that they were all said by God. Those who believe in God even think that although all of the sixty-six books of the Old and New Testament were written by people, they were all given by inspiration of God, and a record of the utterances of the Holy Spirit. This is the erroneous interpretation of people, and it does not completely accord with the facts. In fact, apart from the books of prophecy, most of the Old Testament is historical record. Some of the epistles of the New Testament come from people’s experiences, and some come from the enlightenment of the Holy Spirit; the Pauline epistles, for example, arose from the work of a man, they were all the result of the Holy Spirit’s enlightenment, and they were written for the churches, were words of exhortation and encouragement for the brothers and sisters of the churches. They were not words spoken by the Holy Spirit—Paul could not speak on behalf of the Holy Spirit, and neither was he a prophet, much less did he see visions. … and because of this, he wrote epistles for all of the brothers and sisters in the Lord. All he said that was edifying and positive to people was right, but it did not represent the utterances of the Holy Spirit, and he could not represent God. It is an egregious understanding, and a tremendous blasphemy, for people to treat the records of a man’s experiences and a man’s epistles as the words spoken by the Holy Spirit to the churches! … Thus, he could not speak on behalf of the Holy Spirit. His words were not the words of the Holy Spirit, much less could they be said to be the words of God, for Paul was nothing more than a creature of God, and was certainly not the incarnation of God” (“Concerning the Bible (3)”).
If it were not for this book of truth revealing to us the mysteries of the Bible, we would never understand them or see through the root and essence of the problems even if we experience for a lifetime. This is absolutely true. Actually none of the authors of the Bible, except Moses and prophets who were directly instructed by God to convey the word of Him, dared say their words were inspired or revealed by God. The Lord Jesus never said such thing, nor did the Holy Spirit. If any of the authors of the Bible dared say that, it is blasphemy against God. As those who compiled the Bible didn’t tell people how to treat the Bible correctly, later generations formed a wrong view on it. They can’t distinguish between God’s words and man’s words in the Bible, and as a result, they treat man’s words as God’s words to adhere to and follow, and nullify God’s words, which completely stray from God’s will. In fact, prophets just convey God’s words. People used by the Holy Spirit are also unable to express God’s words, because they don’t possess what God has and is. They can only speak of their own experiences and testimonies under the enlightenment and illumination of the Holy Spirit to provide and support people, which conforms to the truth and God’s will but can never be compared to God’s words. The Bible documents some words that Paul and other apostles spoke according to the actual situation of the churches of the time, and some of Paul’s words were compiled into the thirteen epistles. However, these words were spoken for the sake of building the churches and establishing the believers’ faith, and some of them were inspired by the Holy Spirit when they bore a burden for the church. It can’t be said that these words were inspired by God. But we not only worship the Bible, but even treat man’s words in the Bible as God’s words, holding on to the view that all scripture was given by the inspiration of God. We are so foolish. Isn’t it opposing and blaspheming God?
At this point, we should understand that the Bible is a historical record of the work of Jehovah God in the Age of Law and the work of the Lord Jesus in the Age of Grace, and was written by man; the words of the Bible are not completely the words of God, nor are they inspired by God. Therefore, the notion that “belief in God is belief in the Bible” is wrong, because the author of the Bible is man and not God!
Read more: Is Eastern Lightning the Return of the Lord Jesus?
                   The Church of Almighty God was founded by Almighty God personally

1/02/2018

12/28/2017



Introduction
Most people in the religious world believe that the Bible is the canon of Christianity, that one must hold on to the Bible and base one's belief in the Lord entirely on the Bible, and that one cannot be called a believer if one departs from the Bible. So is a belief in the Lord and a belief in the Bible one and the same? What exactly is the relationship between the Bible and the Lord? The Lord Jesus once reprimanded the Pharisees with these words, "Search the scriptures; for in them you think you have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me. And you will not come to me, that you might have life" (John 5:39-40). The Bible is merely a testimony of God, but it does not contain eternal life. Only God is the truth, the way and the life. In that case, how do we look at the Bible in a way that accords with the Lord's will?
The Church of Almighty God, Eastern Lightning, Almighty God,

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

12/24/2017

The Church of Almighty God, Eastern Lightning,
Raising of Lazarus

The Meaning of “the Resurrection of the Dead”

Li An
Whenever I read the scripture: “For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:” (I Thessalonians 4:16), I will think of the miracle of the resurrection of Lazarus. The Lord Jesus just said one word, and Lazarus immediately came out of the tomb. From this, I can see: The Lord Jesus speaks, and it will be accomplished; He commands, and it will stand fast.

12/21/2017

The Church of Almighty God, Eastern Lightning, Lord Jesus,

Is the Lord Jesus the Son of God?

We all think that the Lord Jesus is the Son of God. However, if it’s really the case, how can we explain the Lord Jesus’ words “I am in the Father, and the Father in me” (John 14:10) and “I and my Father are one” (John 10:30)?
By Xiaoxiao, France
The sky was clear, and the sun’s golden rays lit up the earth. Green grass was waving in the breeze; flowers were in bloom; twittering birds were scampering in the trees. On such a beautiful morning, Tian Lu, wearing earplugs, listened to hymns as she swept the floor.

12/08/2017

the Bible, The Church of Almighty God, Eastern Lightning,

Is the Bible Really All Inspired by God?

By Si yuan
The moonlight was hazy and the stars were shining faintly. Under the dark blue night sky, the grounds were perfectly still. The chirping of the crickets and the occasional bark of the dogs made the streets even more quiet. It was already late in the night, but Siyuan was not sleepy. He was attentively preparing the sermon for the second day. While thinking of preaching on “faith,” he intended to fellowship Job’s testimony with his brothers and sisters.
The Church of Almighty God, Eastern Lightning, Kingdom of Heaven,

Wu Ming
One day on my return flight to America, I felt bored, so I opened the Bible to read. A lady next to me asked, “Are you a believer in the Lord?”I said, “Yes. All four generations of my family areairplane believers in the Lord. Do you also believe in the Lord?” She replied, “Right!” “What a coincidence!” I said, “Thanks be to the Lord!” Learning that she also believed in the Lord Jesus, I was very glad. Then we launched into a talk about the condition of the churches. The sister asked me, “How about the condition of your church?” I answered, “Alas! I don’t know what’s wrong with me these years.

12/01/2017

The Church of Almighty God, Eastern Lightning, Almighty God,

X. Christ of the Last Days Is the Lord of Judgment and the One Who Opens the Scroll

1. Almighty God is all-powerful, all-achieving and utterly complete true God! He not only carries the seven stars, bears the seven Spirits, has seven eyes, opens the seven seals and opens the scroll, but more than that He administers the seven plagues and the seven bowls and opens the seven thunders; long ago He has sounded the seven trumpets! All things created and made complete by Him should praise Him, give glory to Him and exalt His throne.

11/30/2017

The Church of Almighty God, Eastern Lightning, The Bible,

I. Which Is Greater: God, or the Bible? On the Relationship Between God and the Bible

1. For many years, people’s traditional means of belief (that of Christianity, one of the world’s three major religions) has been to read the Bible; departure from the Bible is not the belief in the Lord, departure from the Bible is an evil cult, and heresy, and even when people read other books, the foundation of these books must be the explanation of the Bible. Which is to say, if you say you believe in the Lord, then you must read the Bible, you must eat and drink the Bible, and outside the Bible you must not worship any book that does not involve the Bible.

11/20/2017

The Church of Almighty God, Eastern Lightning, Almighty God,

The Mystery of the Incarnation (4)

You should know of the inside story and the creation of the Bible. This knowledge is not held by those who have not accepted the new work of God. They do not know. Explain to them these matters of substance, and they will not be pedantic with you about the Bible. They constantly scrutinize what has been prophesied: Has this statement come to pass? Has that statement come to pass?

11/15/2017

The Church of Almighty God, Eastern Lightning, Christian,

It Is Almighty God Who Saved Me

Li Tianhong
Lingbao City, Henan Province
I believe that every brother and sister in the Lord is expecting the Lord’s coming and is expecting the Lord to take us to heaven and into the glorious and beautiful home soon. Like you all, I also expected that all along. I remember that as early as March 1999, I had heard that there were a group of people of “the Eastern Lightning” preaching that the Lord had already returned, yet our leader said that that band of people were wrong and were cultists and antichrists…. He did not allow us to contact them lest we be deceived. So I, as an instructor of the Praise Church, actively cooperated with the leader and spread his words wherever I went. Moreover, I kept myself on full alert, always afraid that the brothers and sisters would be deceived by them.

11/12/2017

The Church of Almighty God, Eastern Lightning, Christ,

52. You have said that God has come, but we don’t dare believe it because the Bible says, “Then if any man shall say to you, See, here is Christ, or there; believe it not. For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall show great signs and wonders; so that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect” (Mat 24:23-24). How do we actually distinguish the true Christ from false Christs?

The Answer from God’s Word:
To study such a thing is not difficult, but requires each of us to know this truth: He who is God’s incarnation shall hold the substance of God, and He who is God’s incarnation shall hold the expression of God. Since God becomes flesh, He shall bring forth the work He must do, and since God becomes flesh, He shall express what He is, and shall be able to bring the truth to man, bestow life upon man, and show man the way. Flesh that does not contain the substance of God is surely not the incarnate God; of this there is no doubt. To investigate whether it is God’s incarnate flesh, man must determine this from the disposition He expresses and the words He speaks. Which is to say, whether or not it is God’s incarnate flesh, and whether or not it is the true way, must be judged from His substance.

11/11/2017

1. What is the truth? What is Bible knowledge and doctrine?

Bible Verses for Reference:
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” “And the Word was made flesh, and dwelled among us, … full of grace and truth” (Jhn 1:1, 14).
I am the way, the truth, and the life” (Jhn 14:6).
Sanctify them through your truth: your word is truth” (Jhn 17:17).
“He answered and said to them, Well has Esaias prophesied of you hypocrites, as it is written, This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me. However, in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men. For laying aside the commandment of God, you hold the tradition of men, as the washing of pots and cups: and many other such like things you do. And he said to them, Full well you reject the commandment of God, that you may keep your own tradition. … Making the word of God of none effect through your tradition, which you have delivered: and many such like things do you” (Mak 7:6-9, 13).
The Church of Almighty God, Eastern Lightning, Almighty God, Relevant Words of God:
God is the truth, the way, and the life.
from “The Appearance of God Has Brought a New Age” in The Word Appears in the Flesh
The truth put into human language is man’s aphorism; humanity will never experience it fully, and humanity should live in reliance on it. A piece of truth can let all of humanity survive for thousands of years, and truth is the life of God Himself, representing His own disposition, representing His own substance, representing everything within Him.
from “Do You Know What Truth Really Is?” in Records of Christ’s Talks

2. What will the consequence be if one believes in God by relying on the theological knowledge in the Bible?

Bible Verses for Reference:
This people draws near to me with their mouth, and honors me with their lips; but their heart is far from me. But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men” (Mat 15:8-9).
“For the letter kills, but the spirit gives life” (2Co 3:6).
The Church of Almighty God, Eastern Lightning, Almighty God,Relevant Words of God:
The more people speak words and doctrines, the further they stray from God, and the more incapable they become of knowing the essence of man, and the more they disobey God, and the further they depart from God’s requirements.
from “Interpretation of the Sixteenth Utterance” in The Word Appears in the Flesh
Why is it that most people have spent much effort reading God’s words but only have knowledge and cannot say anything about a real path afterward? Do you think that having knowledge amounts to having the truth? Isn’t that a confused point of view? You are able to speak as much knowledge as there is sand on a beach, yet none of it contains any real path. In this, are you not fooling people? Are you not all hat and no cattle? Acting in this way is harmful to people! The higher the theory, the more it is devoid of reality, and the more it is incapable of taking people into reality; the higher the theory, the more it makes you defy and oppose God. Do not treat the most lofty theories like precious treasure; they are pernicious, and serve no use! Maybe some people are able to talk of the most lofty theories—but such theories contain nothing of reality, for these people have not personally experienced them, and thus they have no path to practice. Such people are incapable of taking man onto the right track, and will only lead people astray. Is this not harmful to people? At the very least, you must be able to solve the present troubles and allow people to achieve entry; only this counts as devotion, and only then will you be qualified to work for God. Do not always speak grandiose, fanciful words, and do not bind people and make them obey you with your many unsuitable practices. Doing so will have no effect, and can only increase people’s confusion. Leading people this way will produce many pieces of regulation, which will make people loathe you. This is man’s shortcoming, and it is really insufferable.
from “Focus More on Reality” in The Word Appears in the Flesh

11/05/2017

The Church of Almighty God, Eastern Lightning, The Bible,

For Christians, What Does It Mean to Be Born Again?

Speaking of born again, I believe that all the brothers and sisters in the Lord know it and may think of the dialogue between Jesus Christ and Nicodemus recorded in the Bible, “Jesus answered and said to him, Truly, truly, I say to you, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. Nicodemus said to him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother’s womb, and be born? Jesus answered, Truly, truly, I say to you, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Marvel not that I said to you, You must be born again” (John 3:3-7). Jesus Christ told us that a man cannot enter into the kingdom of God unless he is born again, and that anyone who is not born again will be eliminated by God. As can be seen, this requirement of Jesus Christ is of great concern for every one of us that believes in and follows God.

11/03/2017

The Church of Almighty God, Eastern Lightning, Almighty God,

When You Behold the Spiritual Body of Jesus Will Be When God Has Made Anew Heaven and Earth

Do you wish to see Jesus? Do you wish to live with Jesus? Do you wish to hear the words spoken by Jesus? If so, then how will you welcome the return of Jesus? Are you fully prepared? In what manner will you welcome Jesus’ return? I think that every brother and sister who follows Jesus would like to give Jesus a good welcome. But have you considered whether you will truly know Jesus when He returns? Will you truly comprehend everything that He says? Will you truly accept, unconditionally, all of the work that He does? All those who have read the Bible know of Jesus’ return, and all those who have read the Bible intently await His coming. You are all fixated upon the arrival of that moment, and your sincerity is laudable, your faith is truly enviable, but do you realize you’ve committed a grave error? In what manner will Jesus return? You believe that Jesus will return upon a white cloud, but I ask you: To what does this white cloud refer? With so many followers of Jesus awaiting His return, among which people shall He descend? If you are the first among whom Jesus descends, will others not see this as grossly unfair? I know that you are of great sincerity and loyalty toward Jesus, but have you ever met Jesus? Do you know His disposition? Have you ever lived with Him? How much do you really understand about Him? Some will say that these words put them in an awkward predicament. They will say, “I’ve read the Bible from cover to cover so many times. How could I not understand Jesus? Never mind Jesus’ disposition—I even know the color of the clothes He liked to wear. Do You not belittle me when You say I don’t understand Him?” I suggest that you do not dispute these issues; it is better to calm down and fellowship about the following questions: Firstly, do you know what is reality, and what is theory? Secondly, do you know what is conception, and what is truth? Thirdly, do you know what is imagined, and what is real?
Some people deny the fact that they don’t understand Jesus. And yet I say you do not understand Him in the slightest, and do not comprehend a single word of Jesus. That is because each one of you follows Him because of the accounts of the Bible, because of what was said by others. You have never seen Jesus, much less lived with Him, and haven’t even kept His company for a short time. As such, isn’t your understanding of Jesus nothing but theory? Isn’t it devoid of reality? Perhaps some people have seen the portrait of Jesus, or some have personally visited the home of Jesus. Maybe some have touched the clothes of Jesus. Yet your understanding of Him is still theoretical and not practical, even if you have personally tasted the food eaten by Jesus. Whatever the case, you have never seen Jesus, and have never kept company with Him in fleshly form, and so your understanding of Jesus shall always be empty theory that is devoid of reality. Perhaps My words hold little interest to you, but I ask you this: Though you may have read many works by your favorite author, can you fully understand him without ever having spent time with him? Do you know what his personality is like? Do you know what kind of life he leads? Do you know anything of his emotional state? You can’t even fully understand a man whom you admire, so how could you possibly understand Jesus Christ? Everything you understand of Jesus is full of imagination and conception, and holds no truth or reality. It stinks, and is full of flesh. How could such an understanding qualify you to welcome the return of Jesus? Jesus will not receive those who are full of fantasies and the conceptions of the flesh. How are those who do not understand Jesus fit to be His believers?
Do you wish to know the root of why the Pharisees opposed Jesus? Do you wish to know the substance of the Pharisees? They were full of fantasies about the Messiah. What’s more, they believed only that the Messiah would come, yet did not seek the truth of life. And so, even today they still await the Messiah, for they have no knowledge of the way of life, and do not know what the way of truth is. How, say you, could such foolish, stubborn and ignorant people gain God’s blessing? How could they behold the Messiah? They opposed Jesus because they did not know the direction of the Holy Spirit’s work, because they did not know the way of truth spoken by Jesus, and, furthermore, because they did not understand the Messiah. And since they had never seen the Messiah, and had never been in the company of the Messiah, they made the mistake of paying empty tribute to the name of the Messiah while opposing the substance of the Messiah by any means. These Pharisees in substance were stubborn, arrogant, and did not obey the truth. The principle of their belief in God is: No matter how profound Your preaching, no matter how high Your authority, You are not Christ unless You are called the Messiah. Are these views not preposterous and ridiculous? I ask you again: Is it not extremely easy for you to commit the mistakes of the earliest Pharisees, given that you have not the slightest understanding of Jesus? Are you able to discern the way of truth? Can you truly guarantee that you will not oppose Christ? Are you able to follow the work of the Holy Spirit? If you do not know whether you will oppose Christ, then I say that you are already living on the brink of death. Those who did not know the Messiah were all capable of opposing Jesus, of rejecting Jesus, of slandering Him. People who do not understand Jesus are all capable of denying Him, and reviling Him. Moreover, they are capable of seeing the return of Jesus as the deceit of Satan, and more people shall condemn Jesus returning to flesh. Does not all of this make you afraid? What you face shall be blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, the ruination of the words of the Holy Spirit to the churches, and the spurning of all that is expressed by Jesus. What can you gain from Jesus if you are so befuddled? How can you understand the work of Jesus when He returns to flesh on a white cloud, if you obstinately refuse to realize your errors? I tell you this: People who do not accept the truth, yet blindly await the arrival of Jesus upon white clouds, will surely blaspheme against the Holy Spirit, and they are the race that shall be destroyed. You merely wish for the grace of Jesus, and merely want to enjoy the blissful realm of heaven, yet you have never obeyed the words spoken by Jesus, and have never received the truth expressed by Jesus when He returns to flesh. What will you hold up in exchange for the fact of Jesus’ return upon a white cloud? Is it the sincerity in which you repeatedly commit sins, and then confess them, over and over? What will you offer in sacrifice to Jesus who returns upon a white cloud? Is it the years of work with which you exalt yourselves? What will you hold up to make the returned Jesus trust you? Is it that arrogant nature of yours, which does not obey any truth?
Your loyalty is in word only, your knowledge is merely intellectual and conceptual, your labors are for the sake of gaining the blessings of heaven, and so what must your faith be like? Even today, you still turn a deaf ear to each and every word of truth. You do not know what God is, you do not know what Christ is, you do not know how to revere Jehovah, you do not know how to enter into the work of the Holy Spirit, and you do not know how to distinguish between the work of God Himself and the deceptions of man. You know only to condemn any word of truth expressed by God that does not conform to your thought. Where is your humility? Where is your obedience? Where is your loyalty? Where is your desire to seek the truth? Where is your reverence of God? I tell you, those who believe in God because of the signs are surely the category that shall suffer destruction. Those who are incapable of accepting the words of Jesus who has returned to flesh are surely the progeny of hell, the descendants of the archangel, the category that shall be subjected to everlasting destruction. Many people may not care what I say, but I still want to tell every so-called saint who follows Jesus that, when you see Jesus descend from the heaven upon a white cloud with your own eyes, this will be the public appearance of the Sun of righteousness. Perhaps that will be a time of great excitement for you, yet you should know that the time when you witness Jesus descend from the heaven is also the time when you go down to hell to be punished. It will herald the end of God’s management plan, and will be when God rewards the good and punishes the wicked. For the judgment of God will have ended before man sees signs, when there is only the expression of truth. Those who accept the truth and do not seek signs, and thus have been purified, shall have returned before the throne of God and entered the Creator’s embrace. Only those who persist in the belief that “The Jesus who does not ride upon a white cloud is a false Christ” shall be subjected to everlasting punishment, for they only believe in the Jesus who exhibits signs, but do not acknowledge the Jesus who proclaims severe judgment and releases the true way of life. And so it can only be that Jesus deals with them when He openly returns upon a white cloud. They are too stubborn, too confident in themselves, too arrogant. How could such degenerates be rewarded by Jesus? The return of Jesus is a great salvation for those who are capable of accepting the truth, but for those who are unable to accept the truth it is a sign of condemnation. You should choose your own path, and should not blaspheme against the Holy Spirit and reject the truth. You should not be an ignorant and arrogant person, but someone who obeys the guidance of the Holy Spirit and longs for and seeks the truth; only in this way will you benefit. I advise you to tread the path of belief in God with care. Do not jump to conclusions; what’s more, do not be casual and carefree in your belief in God. You should know that, at the very least, those who believe in God should be humble and reverential. Those who have heard the truth and yet turn their nose up at it are foolish and ignorant. Those who have heard the truth and yet carelessly jump to conclusions or condemn it are beset by arrogance. No one who believes in Jesus is qualified to curse or condemn others. You should all be someone who is rational and accepts the truth. Perhaps, having heard the way of truth and read the word of life, you believe that only one in 10,000 of these words are in line with your convictions and the Bible, and then you should continue to seek in that 10,000th of these words. I still advise you to be humble, to not be over-confident, and to not exalt yourself too highly. With your heart holding such meager reverence for God, you will gain greater light. If you carefully examine and repeatedly contemplate these words, you shall understand whether or not they are the truth, and whether or not they are life. Perhaps, having only read a few sentences, some people will blindly condemn these words, saying, “This is nothing more than some enlightenment of the Holy Spirit,” or, “This is a false Christ come to deceive people.” Those who say such things are blinded by ignorance! You understand too little of the work and wisdom of God, and I advise you to start again from scratch! You must not blindly condemn the words expressed by God because of the appearance of false Christs during the last days, and must not be someone who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit because you fear deception. Would that not be a great pity? If, after much examination, you still believe that these words are not the truth, are not the way, and are not the expression of God, then you shall ultimately be punished, and be without blessings. If you cannot accept such truth spoken so plainly and so clearly, then are you not unfit for God’s salvation? Are you not someone who is not fortunate enough to return before the throne of God? Think about it! Do not be rash and impetuous, and do not treat belief in God as a game. Think for the sake of your destination, for the sake of your prospects, for the sake of your life, and do not play around with yourself. Can you accept these words?
from The Word Appears in the Flesh
Read more: Is Eastern Lightning the Return of the Lord Jesus?
                         The Church of Almighty God was founded by Almighty God personally

10/31/2017

What Is the Difference Between Christianity and the Church of Almighty God?


The Church of Almighty God, Eastern Lightning, Church,Christianity and the Church of Almighty God believe in the same God. People who understand the history of religion know that Judaism in Israel was born of the work that Jehovah God did in the Age of Law. Christianity, Catholicism, and Eastern Orthodoxy were all churches that emerged after the incarnate Lord Jesus did the work of redemption. The Church of Almighty God came to be when God became flesh during the last days to do the work of judgment. Christians in the Age of Grace read the Old and New Testament of the Bible, and Christians of the Church of Almighty God in the Age of Kingdom now read The Word Appears in the Flesh, which was personally spoken by God in the last days. Christianity abides by the work of redemption that the Lord Jesus did in the Age of Grace, and the Church of Almighty God accepts the work of judgment of the last days of the returned Lord Jesus, Almighty God. The difference between Christianity and the Church of Almighty God is that Christianity abides by the work that God did during the Age of Law and the Age of Grace, whereas the Church of Almighty God abides by the work of judgment beginning from the house of God that God has carried out during the last days. The differences between Christianity and the Church of Almighty God are akin to the differences between Christianity and Judaism: During the Age of Grace, the Lord Jesus carried out the work of mankind’s redemption upon the foundation of the work of the Old Testament Age of Law. But the chief priests, scribes, and Pharisees of Judaism did not recognize that the Lord Jesus was the incarnation of Jehovah, that He was the Messiah they were waiting for. They stubbornly clung to the laws and commandments of the Old Testament proclaimed by Jehovah God. They also crucified the merciful Lord Jesus, who had saved mankind, thus offending God’s disposition. God then discarded the whole of Judaism, which clung to the laws of the Old Testament, and turned His salvation to the Gentiles—who, after accepting and following the Lord Jesus, formed the churches of the New Testament, which were also called Christianity. Meanwhile, the Jews, who clung only to the work of Jehovah God of the Old Testament Age of Law and rejected the work of redemption of the Lord Jesus, formed what is called Judaism. From this it can be seen that Christianity and the Church of Almighty God believe in the same God—the Lord who created the heavens and the earth and all things. It’s just that the name and work of God people hold to are different: The Church of Almighty God abides by the new name of God during the Age of Kingdom, and accepts the new work carried out by God during the last days, while Christianity holds to the name of God during the Age of Grace, and accepts the old work that God did during previous ages. This is the most important difference between Christianity and the Church of Almighty God. The God that both believe in, however, is the same: The only true God who created the heavens and the earth and all things. This is a fact that no one can distort or deny!
Many Christians believe that they need only accept the Lord Jesus’ work of redemption to enter the kingdom of heaven, and need not also accept the work of judgment of Almighty God of the last days. Such conceptions are completely wrong. During the Age of Grace, the Lord Jesus did the work of redemption. People were saved because of their faith, and were no longer condemned by the law and put to death because of their transgressions. Yet the Lord Jesus only forgave man’s sins, and did not pardon or resolve man’s sinful nature. The satanic dispositions within people—the arrogance and conceitedness, selfishness and greed, crookedness and deceitfulness, and rebelliousness and opposition against God—still existed. People had yet to be completely cleansed, saved, and gained by God. Thus, the Lord Jesus said many times that He must return. In many places in the Bible is it prophesied that God shall return and perform judgment, bringing the saints into the kingdom of heaven. The incarnate Almighty God of the last days has expressed all truths for the purification and salvation of mankind, and has carried out the new work of judgment beginning from the house of God upon the foundation of the work of redemption of the Lord Jesus. It is in order to resolve mankind’s sinful nature, and to allow mankind to completely free himself from the bondage and constraints of sin, live out the likeness of the real man and be gained by God, and enter the beautiful destination prepared for mankind by God. It can be said that the work of redemption carried out by the Lord Jesus is the foundation of the work of salvation of God of the last days, while the work of judgment of the last days is the core and the focus of the work of salvation of God. This is the stage of work that is most crucial and important to the salvation of mankind. Only those who accept Almighty God’s work of judgment of the last days shall have the chance to be saved and enter the kingdom of heaven and become those who are caught up before God. Today, some people in the various sects and denominations of the religious world have seen that Almighty God is the return of the Lord Jesus during the last days, and thus they have accepted and begun to follow Almighty God. Some unbelievers have also accepted Almighty God because of the truths expressed by Almighty God. These people who believe in Almighty God make up the Church of Almighty God. Under the guidance and shepherding of Christ of the last days, Almighty God, the Christians of the Church of Almighty God have, through experiencing and putting into practice the words of Almighty God, gradually come to understand many truths, and have clearly seen the source and substance of mankind’s corruption. Under the judgment and chastisement of God’s words, people have really and actually tasted God’s righteous and unoffendable disposition. Because they know God, they have gradually come to fear God and shun evil, and live according to God’s words. With their understanding of the truth, people’s knowledge of God has gradually deepened, their obedience to God has become ever greater, and they have put more and more truths into practice. Without realizing it, these people will have completely freed themselves from sin and attained holiness. The Christians who do not accept the new work of Almighty God, meanwhile, still believe in Christianity. They hold to the name of the Lord Jesus, abide by the teachings of the Bible, and have long since been cast into darkness by God, losing the care and protection of God. This is a recognized fact. If people insist on not repenting, and blindly condemn and oppose the Lord Jesus returned during the last days, Almighty God, and refuse to accept Almighty God’s work of judgment of the last days, then ultimately, they shall all be eliminated by God’s work.
Read more: Where Does Eastern Lightning Come From?

10/30/2017

The Church of Almighty God, Eastern Lightning, Almighty God,
Pictures of the Church of Almighty God

Does the Trinity Exist?

It was only after the truth of Jesus become flesh came to be that man realized this: It is not only the Father in heaven, but also the Son, and even the Spirit. This is the conventional notion man holds, that there is a God such as this in heaven: a Trinity that is the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, all in one. All mankind has these notions: God is one God, but comprises three parts, what all those grievously entrenched in conventional notions deem to be the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Only those three parts made one is all of God. Without the Holy Father, God would not be whole. Similarly, neither would God be whole without the Son or the Holy Spirit. In their notions, they believe that neither the Father alone nor the Son alone can be deemed God. Only the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit together can be deemed God Himself. Now, all religious believers, including each and every follower among you, hold this belief. Yet, as for whether this belief is correct, none can explain, for you are always in a fog of confusion about the matters of God Himself. Though these are notions, you do not know whether they are right or wrong, for you have become too grievously infected by religious notions. You have accepted too deeply these conventional notions of religion, and this poison has seeped too deep within you. Therefore, so too in this matter have you succumbed to this pernicious influence, for the Trinity simply does not exist. That is, the Trinity of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit simply does not exist. These are all conventional notions of man, and the fallacious beliefs of man. Throughout many centuries, man has believed in this Trinity, conjured up by notions in the mind of man, fabricated by man, and never before seen by man. Throughout these many years, there have been many spiritual greats who have explained the “true meaning” of the Trinity, but such explanations of the Trinity as three distinct consubstantial persons have been vague and unclear, and all are befuddled by the “construct” of God. No great man has ever been able to offer a thorough explanation; most explanations pass muster in terms of reasoning and on paper, but not a single man has a fully clear understanding of its meaning. This is because this great Trinity man holds in the heart simply does not exist. For none have ever seen the true countenance of God or have any been fortunate enough to ascend to the abode of God for a visit so as to examine what items are present in the place where God lies, to determine exactly how many tens of thousands or hundreds of millions of generations are in the “house of God” or to investigate just how many parts compose the inherent construct of God. What mainly needs to be examined is: the age of the Father and the Son, as well as the Holy Spirit; the respective appearances of each person; exactly how is it that They split up, and how is it that They are made one. Unfortunately, in all these many years, not a single man has been able to determine the truth of these matters. They all simply conjecture, for not a single man has ever ascended to heaven for a visit and returned with an “investigative report” for all mankind in order to report on the truth of the matter to all those fervent and devout religious believers concerned about the Trinity. Of course, the blame cannot be put on man for forming such notions, for why did Jehovah the Father not have Jesus the Son accompany Him when He created mankind? If, in the beginning, all had gone by the name of Jehovah, it would have been better. If blame must be put, let it be put on the momentary lapse of Jehovah God, who did not call the Son and the Holy Spirit before Him in the time of creation, but rather carried out His work alone. If They had all worked simultaneously, then would They not have become one? If, from the very beginning until the end, there was only the name Jehovah and not the name of Jesus from the Age of Grace, or if He had then still been called Jehovah, then would God not have been spared the suffering of this division by mankind? To be sure, Jehovah cannot be lamented for this all; if blame must be put, let it be put on the Holy Spirit, who for thousands of years continued His work by the name of Jehovah, of Jesus, and even of the Holy Spirit, befuddling and confusing man such that man could not know who exactly is God. If the Holy Spirit Himself had worked without form or image, and moreover, without a name such as Jesus, and man could neither touch nor see Him, only hearing the sounds of thunder, then would not this kind of work have been of more benefit to mankind? So what can be done now? The notions of man have amassed high as a mountain and wide as the sea, to the extent that the God of present day can no longer endure them and is at a complete loss. In the past when it was only Jehovah, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit in between the two, man was already at a loss as to how to cope, and now there is the addition of the Almighty, who is even said to also be a part of God. Who knows who He is and in which person of the Trinity He has been intermingled with or hidden within for however many years? How can man bear this? The Trinity alone was enough to take man a lifetime to explain, but now there is “one God in four persons.” How can this be explained? Can you explain it? Brothers and sisters! How have you believed in such a God until this day? I take My hat off to you. The Trinity was already enough to bear, and yet now you continue to have such unshakable faith in this one God in four persons. You’ve been urged to get out, yet you refuse. How inconceivable! You are really something! A person can actually go so far as to believe in four Gods and make nothing of it; do you not think this is a miracle? I could not tell that you are able to work such a great miracle! Let Me tell you that, in truth, the Trinity does not exist anywhere in this universe. God has no Father and no Son, much less is there the concept of an instrument jointly used by the Father and the Son: the Holy Spirit. All of this is the greatest fallacy and simply does not exist in this world! Yet even such a fallacy has its origin and is not entirely without basis, for your minds are not so simple, and your thoughts are not without reason. Rather, they are quite appropriate and ingenious, so much so that they are impregnable even to any Satan. The pity is that these thoughts are all fallacies and simply do not exist! You have not seen the real truth at all; you are merely making conjectures and conceptions, then fabricating it all into a story to deceitfully gain others’ trust and to gain dominance over those most foolish of men without wit or reason, so that they believe in your great and renowned “expert teachings.” Is this truth? Is this the way of life that man should receive? It is all nonsense! Not a single word is appropriate! Throughout these many years, God has been split by you in this way, being split finer and finer with each generation, to the extent that one God has been openly split into three Gods. And now it is simply impossible for man to rejoin God as one, for you have split Him up too finely! If not for My prompt work before it was too late, it is hard to say how long you would have brazenly continued this way! To continue splitting God in this way, how can He still be your God? Would you still recognize God? Would you still return to Him? If I had arrived any later, it is likely that you would have sent the “Father and Son,” Jehovah and Jesus back to Israel and claimed that you yourselves are a part of God. Fortunately, it is now the last days. Finally, this day I have long awaited has come, and only after I carried out this stage of work by My own hand has your splitting of God Himself been halted. If not for this, you would have escalated, even placing all the Satans among you onto altars for worship. This is your artifice! Your means of splitting God! Will you continue to do so now? Let Me ask you: How many Gods are there? Which God will bring you salvation? Is it the first God, the second, or the third that you always pray to? Which of Them do you always believe in? Is it the Father? Or the Son? Or is it the Spirit? Tell Me who it is that you believe in. Though with every word you say you believe in God, what you actually believe is your own brain! You simply do not have God in your heart! And yet in your minds are a number of such “Trinities”! Do you not agree?
If the three stages of work are assessed in accordance with this concept of the Trinity, then there must be three Gods as the work carried out by each is not the same. If any among you says that the Trinity indeed exists, then explain what exactly is this one God in three persons. What is the Holy Father? What is the Son? What is the Holy Spirit? Is Jehovah the Holy Father? Is Jesus the Son? Then what of the Holy Spirit? Is not the Father a Spirit? Is not the substance of the Son also a Spirit? Was not the work of Jesus the work of the Holy Spirit? Was not the work of Jehovah at the time carried out by a Spirit the same as Jesus’? How many Spirits can God have? According to your explanation, the three persons of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are one; if so, there are three Spirits, but to have three Spirits means there are three Gods. This means that there is no one true God; how can this kind of God still have the inherent substance of God? If you accept that there is only one God, then how can He have a son and be a father? Are these not all simply your notions? There is only one God, only one person in this God, and only one Spirit of God, much as it is written down in the Bible that “There is only one Holy Spirit and only one God.” Regardless of whether the Father and the Son of which you speak exist, there is only one God after all, and the substance of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit you believe in is the substance of the Holy Spirit. In other words, God is a Spirit, but He is able to become flesh and live among men, as well as to be above all things. His Spirit is all-inclusive and omnipresent. He can simultaneously be in the flesh and throughout the universe. Since all people say that God is the only one true God, then there is a single God, divisible at will by none! God is only one Spirit, and only one person; and that is the Spirit of God. If it is as you say, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, then are They not three Gods? The Holy Spirit is one matter, the Son another, and the Father yet another. They are distinct persons of different substances, so how then can They each be part of a single God? The Holy Spirit is a Spirit; this is easy for man to understand. If so, then the Father is even more so a Spirit. He has never descended onto earth and has never become flesh; He is Jehovah God in the heart of man, and He is certainly a Spirit as well. Then what is the relationship between Him and the Holy Spirit? Is it the relationship between Father and Son? Or is it the relationship between the Holy Spirit and the Spirit of the Father? Is the substance of each Spirit the same? Or is the Holy Spirit an instrument of the Father? How can this be explained? And then what is the relationship between the Son and the Holy Spirit? Is it a relationship between two Spirits or the relationship between a man and a Spirit? These are all matters that can have no explanation! If They are all one Spirit, then there can be no talk of three persons, for They are possessed of a single Spirit. If They were distinct persons, then Their Spirits would vary in strength, and simply They could not be one single Spirit. This concept of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit is most absurd! This segments God and splits Him into three persons, each with a status and Spirit; how then can He still be one Spirit and one God? Tell Me, were the heavens and earth, and all things within it created by the Father, the Son, or the Holy Spirit? Some say that They created it all together. Then who redeemed mankind? Was it the Holy Spirit, the Son, or the Father? Some say it was the Son who redeemed mankind. Then who is the Son in substance? Is He not the incarnation of the Spirit of God? The incarnation calls God in heaven by the name of Father from the perspective of a created man. Are you not aware that Jesus was born from the conception through the Holy Spirit? Within Him is the Holy Spirit; whatever you say, He is still one with God in heaven, for He is the incarnation of the Spirit of God. This idea of the Son simply is untrue. It is one Spirit who carries out all of the work; only God Himself, that is, the Spirit of God carries out His work. Who is the Spirit of God? Is it not the Holy Spirit? Is it not the Holy Spirit who works in Jesus? If the work had not been carried out by the Holy Spirit (that is, the Spirit of God), then could His work represent God Himself? When Jesus called God in heaven by the name of Father as He prayed, this was done only from the perspective of a created man, only because the Spirit of God had clothed Himself as an ordinary and normal man and had the exterior cover of a created being. Even if within Him was the Spirit of God, His exterior appearance was still that of an ordinary man; in other words, He had become the “Son of man” of which all men, including Jesus Himself, spoke. Given that He is called the Son of man, He is a person (whether man or woman, in any case one with the exterior shell of a human being) born into a normal family of ordinary people. Therefore, Jesus calling God in heaven by the name of Father was the same as how you at first called Him Father; He did so from the perspective of a man of creation. Do you still remember the Lord’s Prayer that Jesus taught you to memorize? “Our Father in heaven….” He asked all man to call God in heaven by the name of Father. And since He too called Him Father, He did so from the perspective of one who stands on an equal footing with you all. Since you called God in heaven by the name of Father, this shows that Jesus saw Himself to be on equal footing with you, and as a man on earth chosen by God (that is, the Son of God). If you call God “Father,” is this not because you are a created being? However great the authority of Jesus on earth, prior to the crucifixion, He was merely a Son of man, governed by the Holy Spirit (that is, God), and one of the earth’s created beings, for He had yet to complete His work. Therefore, His calling God in heaven Father was solely His humility and obedience. His addressing God (that is, the Spirit in heaven) in such a manner, however, does not prove that He is the Son of the Spirit of God in heaven. Rather, it is simply that His perspective is different, not that He is a different person. The existence of distinct persons is a fallacy! Prior to His crucifixion, Jesus was a Son of man bound by the limitations of the flesh, and He did not fully possess the authority of the Spirit. That is why He could only seek the will of God the Father from the perspective of a created being. It is as He thrice prayed in Gethsemane: “Not as I will, but as you will.” Before He was laid on the cross, He was but the King of the Jews; He was Christ, the Son of man, and not a body of glory. That is why, from the standpoint of a created being, He called God Father. Now, you cannot say that all who call God Father are the Son. If this were so, then would you not have all become the Son once Jesus taught you the Lord’s Prayer? If you are still not convinced, then tell Me, who is the one that you call Father? If you are referring to Jesus, then who is the Father of Jesus to you? After Jesus went away, this idea of the Father and the Son was no longer. This idea was only appropriate for the years when Jesus became flesh; under all other circumstances, the relationship is one between the Lord of creation and a created being when you call God Father. There is no time at which this idea of the Trinity of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit can stand; it is a fallacy rarely seen through the ages and does not exist!
This may call to mind for most people the words of God from Genesis: “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness.” Given that God says let “us” make man in “our” image, then “us” indicates two or more; since He stated “us,” then there is not just one God. In this way, man began to think in the abstract of distinct persons, and from these words arose the idea of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. What then is the Father like? What is the Son like? And what is the Holy Spirit like? Could it possibly be that the mankind of today was made in the image of one joined together from three? Then is the image of man like that of the Father, the Son, or the Holy Spirit? Which of the persons of God is man in the image of? This idea of man’s is simply incorrect and nonsensical! It can only split one God into several Gods. At the time that Moses wrote Genesis, it was after mankind was created following the creation of the world. In the very beginning, when the world began, Moses did not exist. And it was not until much later that Moses wrote the Bible, so how could he have possibly known what it was that God in heaven spoke? He had not an inkling of how God created the world. In the Old Testament of the Bible, there is no mention of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, only of the one true God, Jehovah, carrying out His work in Israel. He is called by different names as the age changes, but this cannot prove that each name refers to a different person. If this were so, then would there not be innumerable persons in God? What is written in the Old Testament is the work of Jehovah, a stage of work of God Himself for commencement in the Age of Law. It was the work of God, where as He spoke, it was, and as He commanded, it stood. At no time did Jehovah say that He was the Father come to carry out work, or did He ever prophesy the Son coming to redeem mankind. When it came to the time of Jesus, it was only said that God had become flesh to redeem all mankind, not that it was the Son who had come. Because the ages are not alike and the work that God Himself does also differs, He needs to carry out His work within different realms. In this way, the identity He represents also differs. Man believes that Jehovah is the Father of Jesus, but this was actually not acknowledged by Jesus, who said: “We were never distinguished as Father and Son; I and the Father in heaven are one. The Father is in Me and I am in the Father; when man sees the Son, they are seeing the heavenly Father.” When all has been said, be it the Father or the Son, They are one Spirit, not divided into separate persons. Once man attempts to explain, matters are complicated with the idea of distinct persons, as well as the relationship between Father, Son, and Spirit. When man speaks of separate persons, does this not materialize God? Man even ranks the persons as first, second, and third; these are all but the conceptions of man, not worthy of reference, and utterly unrealistic! If you asked him: “How many Gods are there?” he would say that God is the Trinity of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit: the one true God. If you asked again: “Who is the Father?” he would say: “The Father is the Spirit of God in heaven; He is in charge of all, and is the Master of heaven.” “Then is Jehovah the Spirit?” He would say: “Yes!” If you then asked him, “Who is the Son?” he would say that Jesus is the Son, of course. “Then what is the story of Jesus? From whence did He come?” He would say: “Jesus was born to Mary through the conception of the Holy Spirit.” “Then is His substance not the Spirit as well? Is not His work also representative of the Holy Spirit? Jehovah is the Spirit, and so too is the substance of Jesus. Now in the last days, needless to say it is still the Spirit at work;[a] how could They be different persons? Is it not simply the Spirit of God carrying out the work of the Spirit from different perspectives?” As such, there is no distinction between persons. Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit, and indubitably, His work was precisely that of the Holy Spirit. In the first stage of work carried out by Jehovah, He neither became flesh nor appeared to man. So man never saw His appearance. No matter how great and how tall He was, He was still the Spirit, God Himself who first created man. That is, He was the Spirit of God. When He spoke to man from among the clouds, He was merely a Spirit. None witnessed His appearance; only in the Age of Grace when the Spirit of God came into the flesh and was incarnated in Judea did man see for the first time the image of the incarnation as a Jew. The feeling of Jehovah could not be sensed. However, He was conceived by the Holy Spirit, that is, conceived by the Spirit of Jehovah Himself, and Jesus was still born as the embodiment of the Spirit of God. What man first saw was the Holy Spirit descending like a dove upon Jesus; it was not the Spirit exclusive to Jesus, but rather the Holy Spirit. Then can the Spirit of Jesus be separated from the Holy Spirit? If Jesus is Jesus, the Son, and the Holy Spirit is the Holy Spirit, then how could They be one? The work could not be carried out if so. The Spirit within Jesus, the Spirit in heaven, and the Spirit of Jehovah are all one. It can be called the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of God, the sevenfold intensified Spirit, and the all-inclusive Spirit. The Spirit of God alone can carry out much work. He is able to create the world and destroy it by flooding the earth; He can redeem all mankind, and moreover, conquer and destroy all mankind. This work is all carried out by God Himself and cannot have been done by any other of the persons of God in His stead. His Spirit can be called by the name of Jehovah and Jesus, as well as the Almighty. He is the Lord, and Christ. He can also become the Son of man. He is in the heavens and also on the earth; He is on high above the universes and among the multitude. He is the only Master of the heavens and earth! From the time of creation until now, this work has been carried out by the Spirit of God Himself. Be it the work in the heavens or in the flesh, all is carried out by His own Spirit. All creatures, whether in heaven or on earth, are in the palm of His almighty hand; all of this is the work of God Himself and can be done by no other in His stead. In the heavens, He is the Spirit but also God Himself; among men, He is flesh but remains God Himself. Though He may be called by hundreds of thousands of names, He is still Himself, and all the work[b] is the direct expression of His Spirit. The redemption of all mankind through His crucifixion was the direct work of His Spirit, and so too is the proclamation unto all nations and all lands during the last days. At all times, God can only be called the almighty and one true God, the all-inclusive God Himself. The distinct persons do not exist, much less this idea of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit! There is only one God in heaven and on earth!
The management plan of God spans six thousand years and is divided into three ages based on the differences in His work: The first age is the Old Testament Age of Law; the second is the Age of Grace; and the third is that which belongs to the last days—the Age of Kingdom. In each age a different identity is represented. This is only because of the difference in the work, that is, the requirements of the work. The first stage of work was carried out in Israel, and the second stage of concluding the work of redemption was carried out in Judea. For the work of redemption, Jesus was born from the conception through the Holy Spirit and as the only Son. All of this was owing to the requirements of the work. In the last days, God wishes to expand His work into the Gentile nations and conquer the people there, so that His name may be great among them. He wishes to guide man in understanding all the right ways of human life, as well as all truth and the way of life. All of this work is carried out by one Spirit. Though He may do so from different standpoints, the nature and principles of the work remain the same. Once you observe the principles and nature of the work They have carried out, then you will know that it is all by the hand of a single Spirit. Still some may say: The Father is the Father; the Son is the Son; the Holy Spirit is the Holy Spirit, and in the end, They will be made one. Then how should you make Them one? How can the Father and the Holy Spirit be made one? If They were inherently two, then no matter how They are joined together, would They not remain two parts? When you say making Them one, isn’t that simply joining two separate parts to make one whole? But were They not two parts before being made whole? Each Spirit has a distinct substance, and two Spirits cannot be made into a single one. The Spirit is not a material object and is unlike anything else in the material world. As men see it, the Father is one Spirit, the Son another, and the Holy Spirit yet another, then the three Spirits mix like three glasses of water into one whole. Is not that then the three made one? This is an erroneous explanation! Is this not splitting up God? How can the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit all be made one? Are They not three parts each of different natures? There are still those who say, did not God expressly state that Jesus was His beloved Son? “Jesus is the beloved Son of God, in whom He is well pleased” was certainly spoken by God Himself. That was God bearing witness to Himself, but merely from a different perspective, that of the Spirit in heaven bearing witness to His own incarnation. Jesus is His incarnation, not His Son in heaven. Do you understand? Do not the words of Jesus, “The Father is in Me and I am in the Father,” indicate that They are one Spirit? And is it not because of the incarnation that They were separated between heaven and earth? In reality, They are still one; no matter what, it is simply God bearing witness to Himself. Owing to the change in ages, requirements of the work, and the differing stages of His management plan, the name by which man calls Him also differs. When He came to carry out the first stage of work, He could only be called Jehovah, shepherd of the Israelites. In the second stage, the incarnate God could only be called Lord, and Christ. But at that time, the Spirit in heaven stated only that He was the beloved Son of God, and made no mention of His being the only Son of God. This simply did not happen. How could God have an only child? Then would God not have become man? Because He was the incarnation, He was called the beloved Son of God, and, from this, came the relationship between Father and Son. It was simply because of the separation between heaven and earth. Jesus prayed from the perspective of the flesh. Since He had put on a flesh of such normal humanity, it is from the perspective of the flesh that He said: My outer shell is that of a created being. Since I put on a flesh to come to this earth, I am now a long, long way from heaven. For this reason, He could only pray to God the Father from the perspective of the flesh. This was His duty, and that which the incarnate Spirit of God should be furnished with. It cannot be said that He is not God simply because He prays to the Father from the perspective of the flesh. Though He is called the beloved Son of God, He is still God Himself, for He is but the incarnation of the Spirit, and His substance is still the Spirit. As man sees it, they wonder why He prays if He is God Himself. This is because He is the incarnate God, God living within the flesh, and not the Spirit in heaven. As man sees it, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are all God. Only the three all made as one can be deemed the one true God, and, in this way, is His power exceptionally great. There are still those who say that only in this way is He the sevenfold intensified Spirit. When the Son prayed after His coming, that is the Spirit to whom He prayed. In reality, He was praying from the perspective of a created being. For the flesh is not whole, and He was not whole and had many weaknesses when He came into the flesh. Thus was He much troubled as He carried out His work in the flesh. That is why He thrice prayed to God the Father prior to His crucifixion, as well as many times even before that. He prayed among His disciples; He prayed alone upon a mountain; He prayed aboard the fishing boat; He prayed among a multitude of people; He prayed when breaking bread; and He prayed when blessing others. Why did He do so? It was the Spirit to whom He prayed; He was praying to the Spirit, to God in heaven, from the perspective of the flesh. Therefore, from man’s standpoint, Jesus became the Son in that stage of work. In this stage, however, He does not pray. Why is this? This is because what He brings forth is the work of the word, and the judgment and chastisement of the word. He has no need for prayers, for His ministry is to speak. He is not put upon the cross, and He is not turned over by man to those in power. He simply carries out His work and all is set. At the time when Jesus prayed, He was praying to God the Father for the descent of the kingdom of heaven, for the will of the Father to be done, and for the work to come. In this stage, the kingdom of heaven has already descended, so does He still have need to pray? His work is to bring the age to an end, and there are no more new ages, so is there a need to pray for the next stage? I’m afraid there is not!
There are many contradictions in the explanations of man. Indeed, these are all the notions of man; without further scrutiny, you would all believe they are correct. Do you not know that this idea of God as a Trinity is but the notion of man? No knowledge of man is full and thorough. There are always impurities, and man has too many ideas; this demonstrates that a created being simply cannot explain the work of God. There is too much in the mind of man, all coming from logic and thought, that conflicts with the truth. Can your logic thoroughly dissect the work of God? Can you gain an insight into all the work of Jehovah? Is it you as a man who can see through it all, or is it God Himself who is able to see from everlasting to everlasting? Is it you who can see from everlasting long ago to the everlasting to come, or is it God who can do so? What do you say? How are you worthy to explain God? On what basis is your explanation? Are you God? The heavens and earth, and all things in it were created by God Himself. It was not you who did this, so why are you giving incorrect explanations? Now, do you continue to believe in the Trinity? Do you not think it is too burdensome this way? It would be best for you to believe in one God, not in three. It is best to be light, for “the burden of the Lord is light.”
Footnotes:
a. The original text omits “at work.”
b. The original text omits “the work.”
May 28, 2003
from The Word Appears in the Flesh
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