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Showing posts with label True Faith. Show all posts
Showing posts with label True Faith. Show all posts

12/13/2017

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

What Viewpoint Believers Ought to Hold

What is it that man has received since he first believed in God? What have you known about God? How much have you changed because of your belief in God? Now you all know that man’s belief in God is not solely for salvation of the soul and welfare of the flesh, nor is it to enrich his life through love of God, and so on. As it stands, if you love God for the sake of welfare of the flesh or momentary pleasure, then even if, in the end, your love for God reaches its peak and you ask for nothing, this love you seek is still an impure love and not pleasing to God.

11/14/2017

The Church of Almighty God, Eastern Lightning, gospel,

Only God’s Love Is Real
Xiaodong    Sichuan Province
God said, “The Chinese nation which has been corrupted for thousands of years has continued on until today. All sorts of viruses continue to expand and are spreading everywhere like the plague; just looking at people’s relationships is enough to see how many viruses are in people. It’s extremely difficult for God to develop His work in such a tightly closed and virus-infected area. People’s personalities, habits, the way they do things, everything they express in their lives and their interpersonal relationships are all broken beyond belief …” (“The Path … (6)” in The Word Appears in the Flesh).

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
Read more: Is Eastern Lightning the Return of the Lord Jesus?
                   The Church of Almighty God was founded by Almighty God personally

10/28/2017

The Church of Almighty God, Eastern Lightning, salvation,
God Is My Life and My Hope
Her name is Xiao Li. She has believed in God for more than a decade. In the winter of 2012, she was arrested by the Chinese Communist police at a congregation. During interrogation, the police repeatedly coaxed, threatened, battered and tortured her in their attempts to seduce her to betray God by disclosing the whereabouts of the leaders and money of the church. Particularly in one frozen night when the temperature was twenty degrees below zero, she was forcibly stripped naked, drenched with icy water, electrically shocked on her genital, and force-fed mustard water by the police…. She had suffered brutal torture and unimaginable humiliation. During the interrogation, she felt hurt and humiliated. She desperately prayed to God time after time. The word of God gave her timely enlightenment and guidance. With the faith and strength she received from God's word, she overcame the savage torture and demonic ravage and gave wonderfully resounding witness. Like a winter plum blossom, she exhibited resilient vitality by proudly blooming amid severe adversity, emanating delightful redolence …
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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.

Question 3: The Lord Jesus personally said that the Bible testified of Him. So, we must believe in the Lord according to the Bible. The Bible is the only path for us to know the Lord.

 the Bible, The Church of Almighty God, Eastern Lightning, Answer: Let’s see whether we can really know the Lord according to the Bible. This question is answered in Almighty God’s word. Almighty God tells us, “The Jews of the time all read from the Old Testament and knew of Isaiah’s prophecy that a male infant would be born in a manger. Why then, with this knowledge, did they still persecute Jesus? Is this not because of their rebellious nature and ignorance of the work of the Holy Spirit? At that time, the Pharisees believed that the work of Jesus was unlike what they knew of the prophesied male infant; man of today rejects God because the work of the incarnate God does not conform to the Bible. Is not the substance of their rebelliousness against God one and the same? … What you ought to do is acceptance of, without the need for further substantiation from the Bible, any work so long as it is that of the Holy Spirit, for you believe in God to follow God, not to investigate Him. You should not search out further proof for Me to show that I am your God. Rather, you ought to discern whether I am of benefit to you; that is the key. Even if you have found out much irrefutable proof within the Bible, it cannot bring you fully before Me. You are one who lives within the confines of the Bible, and not before Me; the Bible cannot help you know Me, nor can it deepen your love for Me. Though the Bible prophesied that a male infant would be born, none could fathom upon whom the prophecy would come to pass, for man did not know the work of God, and this is what caused the Pharisees to stand against Jesus” (“How Can Man Who Has Defined God in His Conceptions Receive the Revelations of God?” in The Word Appears in the Flesh). The people in the Age of Law held on to the Bible, and they didn’t seek or investigate God’s new work. In the end, they nailed the Lord Jesus onto the cross. From this fact, we can see that we can’t know God or God’s work from the Bible alone. We all know the followers of the Lord Jesus could recognize Him all because of His present work and word and the guidance and enlightenment of the Holy Spirit. None of them recognized Him according to the Bible. This is the fact. Brothers and sisters, today, when facing Almighty God’s work, we also couldn’t judge only according to the Bible. The Bible is only for reference. We should confirm it mainly according to whether it has the truth and the work of the Holy Spirit. Only in this way, can we make a correct choice.
Almighty God has already made this clear. “Now people look to the Bible for predictions of the work of the last days, wanting to discover what work God will perform in the last days and what signs of the last days will be. And so people’s veneration of the Bible grows ever more intense, and as the last days draw nearer, people give more credence to the biblical predictions, particularly those concerning the last days. Because they put so much blind faith and trust in the Bible, people have no heart to seek out the work of the Holy Spirit. People have the notion that only the Bible can bring forth the work of the Holy Spirit, that only in the Bible can one find the footprints of God, that only the Bible hides the mysteries of God’s work. They believe that only the Bible can lay bare everything of God and the entirety of His work, and that no other books, no other men, can do so. They think that the Bible can bring the work of heaven onto earth, can begin and end eras. Having settled upon these notions, people have no interest in seeking out the work of the Holy Spirit. And so, though the Bible was of great help to people in the past, for God’s latest work it has become an obstacle. If it were not for the Bible, people could look elsewhere for God’s footprints. But today, the Bible has ‘control’ over God’s footprints, and the broadening of God’s latest work has come to an extremely difficult pass and can proceed no further, thanks to its well-known chapters and verses and many of its prophecies” (“Concerning the Bible (1)” in The Word Appears in the Flesh). “… since we are searching for the footprints of God, we must search for God’s will, for the words of God, for the utterances of God—for where there are the new words of God, there is the voice of God, and where there are the footsteps of God, there are the deeds of God. Where there is the expression of God, there is the appearance of God, and where there is the appearance of God, there exists the truth, the way, and the life” (“The Appearance of God Has Brought a New Age” in The Word Appears in the Flesh). Brothers and sisters, Almighty God’s words have told us clearly that man shouldn’t restrict himself to the Bible but should keep up with the pace of the Holy Spirit’s work and seek God’s footsteps in His new work and new word. To make sure whether it is God’s work or the true way, we should see whether this way has the work of the Holy Spirit or the expression of the truth and whether it can be man’s life supply. If there is the expression of the truth and life, undoubtedly this is God’s work and there must be the confirmation of the Holy Spirit. If we want to know God’s work in the last days, we need to seek and investigate in God’s word and utterance, to see whether these words are the expression in the new age, whether they can bring man the direction in the new age, whether they contain the truth, and whether they can be man’s life supply, transform man’s corrupt disposition and purify him. These are the standards to confirm whether it’s the true way. Brothers and sisters, we should read God’s utterance and word in the new age.
from the movie script of Disclose the Mystery About the Bible
Read more: Is Eastern Lightning the Return of the Lord Jesus?
                   The brief introduction of the Church of Almighty God

10/02/2017

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

Are There Any Errors in the Bible?


Xiao jing

I began to read the Bible since I believed in the Lord. From the Bible, I knew a lot of work that God had done before, such as Jehovah God’s creating the heavens and earth and all things destroying the world with a flood, and burning Sodom, the Lord Jesus’ healing the sick and casting out the demons, feeding the five thousand with five loaves and two fish, and so on. Through reading the Bible, I was convinced that the Lord Jesus is the one true God who created the heavens and earth and all things. Since then, the Bible became the basis of my belief in God.

8/24/2017

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

29 Experiencing the Tribulations, I Was Accompanied by God’s Love

Wang Yu    Henan Province
My name is Wang Yu. I’m 76 years old. In 1978, I believed in the Lord Jesus because of illness. I received much grace during my believing. Because of that, I was very zealous in working for the Lord, giving messages and preaching the gospel everywhere and also hosting the brothers and sisters. Very soon, the believers in our church increased to over 2000. Then, the persecution of the CCP government also came. In order to stop me from believing in God and preaching the gospel, the policemen searched my house many times. Each time, they would take away anything that was worth some money and could be moved at my home, and they even unscrewed the light bulbs and took them away. Moreover, I was arrested and imprisoned by the Public Security Bureau a dozen times. In 1996, I accepted Almighty God’s end-time work. Two years later, I experienced more frenzied arrest and persecution of the CCP government. Although having undergone a great many afflictions, I felt God’s salvation and love for me.
At past 2 a.m. one day in May 1998, I was woken up by a violent knocking. I couldn’t help feeling nervous, thinking: It must be the police! There are five brothers and sisters who came from other places to preach the gospel staying at my home. What should I do to protect them? I got into a panic. Before I went to open the door, the evil policemen kicked it open with a “bam.” The Chief of the Political Protection Section of the Public Security Bureau, holding a gun, fiercely rushed in with a dozen of evil policemen who carried electric batons. One of the evil policemen kicked me violently as soon as he came in, and shouted abuses at me, “Shit! How dare you still believe in God after having been arrested so many times! I’ll reduce your family to poverty and ruin.” That gang of evil policemen shouted loudly in the house, “We’re the police. Get up quickly!” Before the brothers and sisters got dressed, they forcibly handcuffed the six of us in twos and searched us, and they also snatched the ring off my finger. Then they rummaged through boxes and chests in the house. Even the vat that held the flour was stirred so that the flour was scattered all over the ground, and other things were thrown everywhere. In all, they confiscated 11 recorders, a TV set, an electric fan, a typewriter, and more than 200 books of God’s word. They also pried open my son’s drawer and took away his wages of over 1000 yuan which was just paid. When they were about to take us to the police station, my son came back from work. When he saw his wages missing, he ran out to ask the evil policemen for the money. The evil policemen played a trick, saying, “We’ll go back and check it out. If it’s your money, we’ll return it to you.” However, they came to arrest my son on the charge of “disrupting public service” that night. Fortunately my son went out to escape it beforehand; otherwise, he would also have been arrested.
After the evil policemen took the confiscated books and things to the police station and unloaded them, they escorted the six of us to the County Public Security Bureau that night and locked us up separately there. In the cell, my heart couldn’t quiet down for a long time. I thought back to the scene of my being arrested in 1987. At that time, I was beaten and abused by the evil policemen and was nearly tortured to death. I also witnessed that a young man in his twenties was beaten to death by the evil policemen within two hours. A woman went back from the interrogation and said that she was raped by two evil policemen. The evil policemen also forced people to be seated on the torture-rack, burned them with searing-iron, and shocked their tongue with the electric baton so that it festered, and even shocked it until its thin blood became dry, and so on. They used all kinds of base and malicious means to torture men. Through the dozen times of arrests, I saw with my own eyes and personally experienced that these wicked and merciless devils could do anything lawless. Now I entered the “gate of hell” again, and the evil policemen said that since I came here, I would be “skinned.” Thinking of that, I felt very anxious and afraid: Today, they have searched out so many things in my home and arrested several brothers and sisters. The devils won’t let me off easily. Thus, I prayed to God in my heart, “O God! Today we fall into the hands of the devils out of your permission. These devils are all wild wolves without any humanity, so I’m very weak within. May you give me courage and wisdom and the proper words to say. I’m willing to stand testimony for you. I’ll never be a Judas and betray you! Moreover, I beseech you to keep the arrested brothers and sisters so that they can all stand firm in this environment! O God! You are the great King of the universe. All matters and all things are under your sovereignty and arrangement. I believe that you will surely lead us to overcome satan’s influence of darkness as long as we truly rely on you!” In prayer, God inspired me to remember his words, “Now the transcendent life of Christ has appeared. There is nothing you should fear. Satans are under our feet, and their end is not so distant. … In any circumstance, you should be faithful to me and go forward bravely. I am your solid Rock. Rely on me!” (from “The Tenth Piece of Word” in The Word Appears in the Flesh) God’s words gave me great faith: Yes! God is almighty. Satan is forever the loser in God’s hand. Without God’s permission, it can do nothing to me. I have been arrested by the CCP government a dozen times since I believed in God. Haven’t I overcome them under God’s keeping time after time? I also thought of the prophet Daniel and his three friends. Because they held on to Jehovah’s name and worshiped Jehovah, they were framed by the wicked and were thrown into the lion’s den and the burning fiery furnace. However, because of God’s keeping, they came out safe and sound. I apprehended God’s authority and great power, and then my timidity disappeared immediately and I was full of strength all over: No matter how satan persecutes and afflicts me, I fear nothing with God as my strong rear guard. I’m willing to cooperate with God by faith and bear testimony for God before satan.
The next morning, the evil policemen began to interrogate me. The evil policeman who had interrogated me many times before stared at me and struck the table, roaring, “It’s still you old woman. Today you fall into my hands again. If you still don’t confess honestly this time, I’ll let you suffer enough! Speak quickly! Where do those people who stayed at your home come from? Who is the church leader? Where did you get the books? Whom does the typewriter belong to?” At that time, I got nervous in spite of myself, because that evil policeman was so ferocious and savage that he even tried to fix men to death. I timidly kept silent with my head down and prayed to God inwardly to keep my heart. Seeing that I said nothing, the evil policeman hurled abuses at me, “You damned old woman. You’re really a dead mouse that feels no cold!” While cursing, he rushed toward me and swiftly kicked me on the heart. I was thrown several meters away and then heavily fell flat on my back, which made me so painful that I could hardly breathe. The devil still didn’t let me off. He rushed at me again, seized my collar, and dragged me up from the ground, saying, “Old woman! Today I’ll make you neither die nor live but suffer alive!” Saying this, he brought an electric baton and wanted to jab me. Seeing the electric baton giving off a blue light, I was very afraid, so I kept praying to God in my heart. Then God’s words resounded in my ears, “You should endure everything, be willing to give up everything for me and follow me with all your might, and pay all the price. This is the time to test you. Can you offer up your faithfulness? Can you follow me to the end faithfully? Remove your fear. With me as your rear guard, who can block the way? Remember! Remember! In everything there is my good purpose, and it is I who search in it. Can you walk in my word in your every word and deed? When fiery tests come, will you bow your knees and shout or flinch and be unable to go forward?” (from “The Tenth Piece of Word” in The Word Appears in the Flesh) God’s words made me strong and courageous and also made me know God’s will: Today I encounter this fiery trial, and it is just the time when God tests me. The devils torture my flesh in order to make me betray God, but God wants me to offer up my faithfulness and love to him at this time. God has an expectation of me. I can’t care for my flesh and yield to satan’s forces. I’ll stand on God’s side firmly and bear a good testimony for God. The evil policeman jabbed me wildly with the electric baton. The powerful electricity flowed through my whole body. My whole body twitched and huddled up. While jabbing me, he roared, “Speak quickly! If you still don’t confess, I’ll shock you to death!” I clenched my teeth and still said nothing. The evil policeman was mad with anger. At that time, I bitterly hated that gang of frenzied devils. Man is created by God, and it is right and proper for man to believe in and worship God. However, the CCP devil resists God and brutally persecutes the followers of God. They even didn’t let me a 60-year-old woman off and tried to fix me to death! The more the devil afflicted me, the more bitter hatred I had for it. Thus I swore in my heart: Even if I have to die, I’ll stand testimony for God and never be a betrayer for an ignoble existence to be ridiculed by satan. The evil policemen got tired from beating and cursing, and found that I still said nothing, so they could only drag me back to the interrogation room.
Lying on the ground, I couldn’t move at all, and I ached unbearably all over. At that time, a head of the evil policemen took the opportunity to coax me, “You’re old. What do you suffer all this for? As long as you confess honestly, telling us who sent you the stuff and where he lives, we’ll let you go home.” God inspired me to see through satan’s scheme, and I still didn’t say anything. Seeing me keep silent, he changed his countenance at once and threatened me, “We’re lenient to those who confess and harsh to those who resist. If you don’t tell, you’ll be sentenced to twelve years! So you can never go out!” When I heard that they would sentence me to twelve years, my head seemed to burst open with “buzzing.” I thought: I have a poor health. Not to mention twelve years, I can’t even hold on for one year and will die in the prison. Thinking that I would spend the rest of my life in the dark prison, I felt very sorrowful in my heart. Leaving the church life and losing the supply of God’s word, can I hold on? In perplexity, I prayed to God silently. Suddenly God inspired me to remember his words, “Everything in the whole universe, without exception, is decided by me. Is there anything that is not in my hand?” (from “The First Piece of Word” of God’s Utterance to the Entire Universe in The Word Appears in the Flesh) Right! Man’s destiny is in God’s hand. All matters and all things are under God’s sovereignty and arrangement and are decided by God without exception. If God doesn’t permit me to be imprisoned, it won’t count no matter what the evil policemen say. If God permits me to be imprisoned, I’ll obey and make no complaint. Peter could obey God’s chastisement and judgment and tribulation and refining, had no choice of his own, and committed himself completely into God’s hand and submitted to God’s manipulation. At last, he was crucified upside down for God and obeyed unto death, thus becoming a model of loving God. Today I’ll imitate Peter, committing myself to God. Even if I have to rot in prison, I’ll obey God. In the end, the evil policemen sent me to the detention house on the charge of “believing in a cult.”
When I entered the detention house, I seemed to enter hell on earth. In the cell, there was no window or light. Over 20 prisoners lived in a cell a dozen square meters, where we ate, drank, defecated, and urinated. There were small water-holes everywhere on the ground. Only some pieces of straw mats were scattered around, and there were even no bedclothes. The prisoners just slept on the ground with small water-holes. A commode was put in the corner, and the mosquitoes and flies flew everywhere. It was so stinking and suffocating that the prisoners shoved to lean over a little hole within a foot in the iron door to get some fresh air. Because the temperature was very high in summer and it was crowded in the cell, the prisoners were usually naked with nothing on. They often fought over some trifles, and dirty words could often be heard. What we ate every day was half cooked thin flour soup and thin noodles and vegetables boiled in water without salt or oil. When we finished eating, we could see that the bottom of the bowl was covered with dirt. All of us had diarrhea. One morning, when we were let outside and had roll call, I miscounted carelessly. Hearing that, the evil policeman became furious, cursing, “Look at your stupid appearance. You actually believe in God!” After that, he took a leather shoe and slapped my face ten times in succession. My face became purple-black. The over ten prisoners in my cell were all involved because of me and everyone was slapped ten times. Their faces became purple-black, and they all covered their face and cried. Later, the evil policemen asked me to wash their uniforms and shirts and unpick and wash their quilts every day. A head of the evil policemen ran a hotel, and he brought all the unpicked things and had me wash them. After washing them, I had to sew them up stitch by stitch. After a day’s work, I was so tired that I felt worn out and ached unbearably all over. A few days later, my hands were swollen. Sometimes when I really couldn’t hold on and had a little break, the evil policemen hurled abuses at me. I had no choice but to go on with the work in tears. When I rested at night, I was sleepy and tired and wanted to sleep, but I couldn’t sleep well. My arms were sore and painful, my waist couldn’t straighten up from pain, and my legs and feet went numb. Even now, my arms can only be lifted up at a 45 degree angle and can’t be brought to shoulder height. As the work was heavy and I didn’t have enough to eat, I got severe gastrointestinal problems and often had diarrhea. Besides, the wounds I got from the evil policemen’s beating didn’t heal; my health was declining, and later I had a low-grade fever for a long time, but the prison guards didn’t allow me to have treatment. I couldn’t but feel somewhat weak and thought: I’m so old. If I’m continuously tortured like this, I’ll die here one day. At that time, desolation and helplessness came over me. In misery, I prayed to God, “O God! I’m very weak now and can’t touch your will. O God! May you lead me so that I can stand testimony to satisfy you in such an environment.” I called out to God in my heart again and again. Unknowingly, God inspired me to remember a hymn of God’s word, and I sang it in a low voice, “God is incarnated this time to do the work he has not finished, to judge and end this age, to save men from the sea of misery, to thoroughly conquer them, and to transform their life disposition. For mankind to break free from the afflicting and pitch-dark force of darkness and for the sake of the work of mankind ah, God has had so many sleepless nights ah. He comes to the lowest place from the highest place and lives in hell on earth and spends days with men ah. He never complains about the miserableness of the world ah, and never makes exacting demands of men, but endures great humiliation doing his own work. For the whole mankind to enjoy rest earlier, he endures humiliation and swallows injustice to come to earth, personally coming into the tiger’s den to save mankind.” (from “The Practical God Is Saving Men in Obscurity” in Follow the Lamb and Sing New Songs) As I sang it, my tears kept rolling down. I thought: God is so supreme and great, but he humbled himself and was incarnated twice. In order to save mankind, he has endured infinite sufferings and humiliations. He not only suffers the resistance and condemnation of the corrupt mankind, but also suffers the hunting and persecution of the CCP devil. God is innocent, and he suffers for mankind’s future pleasant life. God has endured too many sufferings and too great humiliations, but he has never complained or poured out to anybody. The suffering I undergo today is God’s blessing coming upon me, and it is all for me to see through the evil substance of the devil and thus betray satan and break away from satan’s influence of darkness and be saved by God. However, I don’t understand God’s thoughtful kind intention, and when suffering a little, I become passive and weak. Compared with God’s love, I’m really too selfish. So, I made a firm resolution: No matter how hard and difficult it is, I’ll satisfy God and no longer grieve God, and I’ll pledge my life to stand testimony for God! When I was obedient, I saw God’s deed. After I was imprisoned by the police, God raised up my unbelieving younger sister to pay a fine of 16,000 yuan and more than 1,000 yuan for my food expense, and then I was released.
Through over three months of affliction in prison, although my flesh underwent all kinds of tortures, I saw clearly the true face of the CCP government, the gang of devils resisting God. Arrested by the CCP government many times, I had some practical knowledge of God’s work, God’s almightiness and wisdom, and God’s love. I saw that God was keeping and caring for me all the time and never left me for a single moment. When I felt extremely miserable from the devils’ various tortures, it was God’s words that led me to overcome satan’s torment and temptation time and again, making me have the faith and courage to transcend the influence of darkness. When I was weak and helpless, it was God’s words that inspired and guided me in time, became my real support, and accompanied me to pass through those difficult days and nights. Experiencing such persecution and tribulation, I gained the wealth of life I could never acquire in an easy environment. Therefore, my resolution to believe in God became firmer. No matter how adverse the environment will be in the future, I’ll pursue the truth and life and turn my heart to God, because God is the Creator and is my only redemption.
from The Overcomers’ Testimonies
Recommendation: The origin of the Church of Almighty God, Eastern Lightning
I
Wasn’t clear for whom man should live. Now I’ve got the answer for it.
I used to live just for myself, seeking only status and fame.
Prayer to God full of fine words, yet holding to my own way in real life.
Faith based upon future and fate, I have no truth or reality.
Rituals and rules, confining my faith; I was left with nothing but emptiness.
Failing to live as a human, I don’t deserve God’s love for me.
II
My heart has been awakened now, telling me I should repay God’s love.
I hate myself for I had no conscience, disobeying God and breaking His heart.
Never have I cared for God’s heart; never was I concerned about His words.
Without conscience, having no sense, how can I be listed as man?
God’s judgment makes me see, I was deeply corrupted by Satan.
Evil, this world, full of traps; truth is what a believer should choose.
O dear God, You love me so, doing all You can to make me saved.
What You’ve done for me, I’ll keep in mind! I will never ever forget.
Care for God’s heart, that’s all my will. I am determined to pursue the truth.
Consuming myself to spend for God, offering myself to repay His love,
offering myself to repay His love.

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Recommendation: Eastern Lightning