The Church of Almighty God | Know the purpose of the three stages of work of God’s management of mankind.

II. One Must Bear Witness to the Aspect of Truth Concerning the Three Stages of Work of God’s Salvation of Mankind

1. Know the purpose of the three stages of work of God’s management of mankind.

Relevant Words of God:

My entire management plan, which spans six thousand years, consists of three phases, or three ages: first, the Age of Law; second, the Age of Grace (which is also the Age of Redemption); and finally, the Age of Kingdom. My work in these three ages differs according to the nature of each age, but at each stage it accords with man’s needs—or rather, it varies according to the tricks that Satan employs in My war against it. The purpose of My work is to defeat Satan, to make manifest My wisdom and omnipotence, to expose all Satan’s tricks and thereby to save all of humanity, which lives under its domain. It is to show My wisdom and omnipotence while at the same time revealing the hideousness of Satan. Moreover, it is to teach My creations to discriminate between good and evil, to recognize that I am the Ruler of all things, to see clearly that Satan is humanity’s foe, the lowest of the low, the evil one, and to make the difference between good and evil, truth and falsehood, holiness and filth, greatness and baseness, as clear as day. This way, ignorant humanity may bear witness to Me that it is not I who corrupt humanity, and only I—the Creator—can save humanity, can bestow upon them things for enjoyment; and they may come to know that I am the Ruler of all things and Satan is merely one of My creations, which later turned against Me.

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The Mystery of the Incarnation (4)

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?

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God Is Come, God Is King | "Chinese Gospel Choir 18th Performance"

Chinese Gospel Choir 18th Performance

"God is the Beginning and the End." Only God can begin a new age, and end an old one. Since the Lord Jesus began the Age of Grace, ending the Age of Law, for two thousand years, people have lived in God's grace, enjoying the Lord's love and mercy. It was not until Almighty God came in the last days that the Age of Grace ended. He brought the Age of Kingdom, raising the curtain on the judgment of the great white throne. Then humanity entered a new era.

Almighty God descended with judgment. Under the majesty of God's judgment, all evil forces, the filthy old world, collapse under God's wrath, and come to naught. Those who yearn for the light, who thirst for the truth, are purified in God's judgment and receive God's salvation. The whole world is renewed! Almighty God has completed God's six-thousand-year management plan. What an inspiring moment! All the people sing and celebrate the accomplishment of God's plan, praising the one true God.

1. God is the Beginning and the End

God is the Beginning,

God is the Beginning,

God is the Beginning,

and the End,

and the End,

and the End.

God is the Sower,

God is the Sower,

God is the Sower,

and the Reaper (the Reaper).

God is the Beginning and the End; God is the Sower and the Reaper.

God is the Beginning and the End; God is the Sower and the Reaper.

God is the Beginning and the End; God is the Sower and the Reaper.

God becomes flesh expressly for the purpose of ushering in a new age,

and, of course, when He ushers in a new age, He has concluded the former age at the same time.

God is the Beginning (God is the Beginning) and the End (and the End);

it is He Himself who carries out His work and so it must be He Himself who concludes the former age.

That is the proof that He defeats Satan (defeats Satan) and conquers the world,

the proof that He conquers the world. Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha!

Each time He Himself works among man, it is the beginning of a new battle.

Without the beginning of new work, there would naturally be no conclusion of the old.

And no conclusion of the old is proof that the battle with Satan,

the battle with Satan has yet to come to a close. (Ha!)

Only if God Himself comes among man and carries out new work

can man fully break free of the domain of Satan, the domain of Satan,

and gain a new life, a new life and new beginning.

Otherwise, man shall forever live in the old age

and forever live under the old influence of Satan,

under the old influence of Satan. Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha!

With every age led by God, a part of man is set free,

and thus man advances along with the work of God toward the new age.

The victory of God is a victory for all those who follow Him.

The victory of God is a victory, a victory for all those who follow Him.

With every age led by God, a part of man is set free,

and thus man advances along with the work of God toward the new age.

The victory of God is a victory for all those who follow Him.

The victory of God is a victory for all those who follow Him.

God is the Beginning and the End

God is the Sower and the Reaper

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

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

The work of managing mankind is divided into three stages, which means that the work of saving mankind is divided into three stages. These three stages do not include the work of creating the world, but are rather the three stages of the work of the Age of Law, the Age of Grace, and the Age of Kingdom. The work of creating the world was the work of producing the whole of mankind.

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The Church of Almighty God | What is true rapture?

XX. One Must Fellowship Clearly What Is Rapture and the True Meaning of Being Raised Up Before the Throne of God

2. What is true rapture?

Bible Verses for Reference:

“And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom comes; go you out to meet him” (Mat 25:6).

“Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me” (Rev 3:20).

“Write, Blessed are they which are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb” (Rev 19:9).

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Almighty God's Word "Restoring the Normal Life of Man and Taking Him to a Wonderful Destination" Part Two

Once Satan has been defeated, that is to say, once man has been completely conquered, man will comprehend that all of this work is for the sake of salvation, and that the means of this salvation is to regain from the hands of Satan. The 6,000 years of work of God’s management are divided into three stages: the Age of Law, the Age of Grace, and the Age of Kingdom. These three stages of work are all for the sake of mankind’s salvation, which is to say, they are for the salvation of a mankind that has been severely corrupted by Satan. At the same time, however, they are also so that God may do battle with Satan. Thus, just as the work of salvation is divided into three stages, so the battle with Satan is also divided into three stages, and these two aspects of God’s work are conducted simultaneously. The battle with Satan is actually for the sake of mankind’s salvation, and because the work of mankind’s salvation is not something that can be successfully completed in a single stage, the battle with Satan is also divided into phases and periods, and war is waged upon Satan in accordance with the needs of man and the extent of Satan’s corruption of him. Perhaps, in man’s imagination, he believes that in this battle God will take up arms against Satan, in the same way that two armies would fight each other. This is only something that man’s intellect is capable of imagining, and is a supremely vague and unrealistic idea, yet it is what man believes. And because I say here that the means of man’s salvation is through the battle with Satan, man imagines that this is how the battle is conducted. In the work of man’s salvation, three stages have been carried out, which is to say that the battle with Satan has been split into three stages prior to the complete defeat of Satan. Yet the inner truth of the entire work of the battle with Satan is that its effects are achieved through bestowing grace upon man, and becoming a sin offering of man, forgiving the sins of man, conquering man, and making man perfect. As a matter of fact, the battle with Satan is not the taking up of arms against Satan, but the salvation of man, the working of the life of man, and the changing of man’s disposition so that he may bear testimony to God. This is how Satan is defeated. Satan is defeated through changing the corrupt disposition of man. When Satan has been defeated, that is, when man has been completely saved, then the ashamed Satan will be completely bound, and in this way, man will have been completely saved. And so, the substance of man’s salvation is the battle with Satan, and the war with Satan is primarily reflected in the salvation of man. The stage of the last days, in which man is to be conquered, is the last stage in the battle with Satan, and also the work of man’s complete salvation from the domain of Satan. The inner meaning of man’s conquest is the return of the embodiment of Satan, man who has been corrupted by Satan, to the Creator following his conquest, through which he will forsake Satan and completely return to God. In this way, man will have been completely saved. And so, the work of conquest is the last work in the battle against Satan, and the final stage in God’s management for the sake of Satan’s defeat. Without this work, the full salvation of man would ultimately be impossible, the utter defeat of Satan would also be impossible, and mankind would never be able to enter the wonderful destination, or get free from Satan’s influence. Consequently, the work of salvation of man cannot be concluded before the battle with Satan is concluded, for the core of the work of God’s management is for the sake of mankind’s salvation. Earliest mankind was in the hands of God, but because of Satan’s temptation and corruption, man was bound up by Satan and fell in the hands of the evil one. Thus, Satan became the object to be defeated in the work of God’s management. Because Satan took possession of man, and because man is the stock of all God’s management, if man is to be saved, then he must be snatched back from the hands of Satan, which is to say that man must be taken back after having been held captive by Satan. Satan is defeated through changes in man’s old disposition that restore his original sense, and in this way, man, who has been taken captive, can be snatched back from the hands of Satan. If man is freed from the influence and bondage of Satan, Satan will be shamed, man will ultimately be taken back, and Satan will be defeated. And because man has been freed from the dark influence of Satan, man will become the spoils of all of this battle, and Satan will become the object that will be punished once this battle has finished, after which the entire work of mankind’s salvation will have been completed.

God has no malice toward the creatures and wishes only to defeat Satan. All of His work—whether it be chastisement or judgment—is directed at Satan; it is carried out for the sake of mankind’s salvation, is all in order to defeat Satan, and it has one objective: doing battle with Satan to the very end! And God will never rest before He has been victorious over Satan! He will rest only once He has defeated Satan. Because all of the work done by God is directed at Satan, and because those who have been corrupted by Satan are all under the control of Satan’s domain and all live under Satan’s domain, if God did not battle against Satan or cause them to break with it, Satan would not relax its hold on these people, and they could not be gained. If they were not gained, it would prove that Satan has not been defeated, that it has not been vanquished. And so, in God’s 6,000-year management plan, during the first stage He did the work of the law, during the second stage He did the work of the Age of Grace, that is, the work of crucifixion, and during the third stage He did the work of conquering mankind. All this work is directed at the extent to which Satan has corrupted mankind, it is all in order to defeat Satan, and not one of the stages is not for the sake of defeating Satan. The substance of the 6,000-year work of God’s management is the battle against the great red dragon, and the work of managing mankind is also the work of defeating Satan, and the work of doing battle with Satan. God has battled for 6,000 years, and thus worked for 6,000 years, to ultimately bring man into the new realm. When Satan is defeated, man will be completely liberated. Is this not the direction of God’s work today? This is precisely the direction of the work of today: the complete liberation and freeing of man, so that he is not subject to any rules, nor limited by any binds or restrictions. All this work is done in accordance with your stature and in accordance with your needs, meaning that you are provided with whatever you can accomplish. It is not a case of “driving a duck onto a perch,” of forcing you to do things beyond your ability; instead, all this work is carried out in accordance with your actual needs. Each stage of work is in accordance with the actual needs and requirements of man, and is for the sake of defeating Satan. In fact, at the beginning there were no barriers between the Creator and His creatures. They are all caused by Satan. Man has become unable to see or touch anything because of Satan’s disturbance and its corruption. Man is the victim, the one who has been deceived. Once Satan has been defeated, the creatures will behold the Creator, and the Creator will look upon the creatures and be able to personally lead them. Only this is the life that man should have on earth. And so, God’s work is primarily in order to defeat Satan, and once Satan has been defeated, everything will be solved. Today, you have seen that it really is something for God to come among man. He has not come to spend each day finding fault in you, to say this and that, or to simply allow you to see what He looks like, and how He speaks and lives. God has not become flesh merely to allow you to look upon Him, or to open your eyes, or to allow you to hear the mysteries He has spoken of and the seven seals that He has opened. Rather, He has become flesh to defeat Satan. He has personally come among man in the flesh to save man, to do battle with Satan, and this is the significance of His incarnation. If it were not in order to defeat Satan, then He would not personally do this work. God has come to earth to do His work among man, to personally reveal Himself to man and allow man to behold Him; is this a small matter? It really is something! It is not as man imagines that God has come so that man may look upon Him, so that man may understand that God is real and not vague or hollow, and that God is lofty but also humble. Could it be that simple? It is precisely because Satan has corrupted the flesh of man, and man is the one who God intends to save, that God must assume the flesh to do battle with Satan and to personally shepherd man. Only this is beneficial to His work. The two incarnate fleshes of God have existed in order to defeat Satan, and have also existed in order to better save man. That is because the one doing the battle with Satan can only be God, whether it be the Spirit of God or the incarnate flesh of God. In short, the one doing the battle with Satan cannot be the angels, much less can it be man, who has been corrupted by Satan. The angels are powerless to do it, and man is even more impotent. As such, if God wishes to work the life of man, if He wishes to personally come to earth to work man, then He must personally become flesh, that is, He must personally put on the flesh, and with His inherent identity and the work that He must do, come among man and personally save man. If not, if it were the Spirit of God or man that did this work, then this battle would forever fail to achieve its effect, and would never end. Only when God becomes flesh to personally go to war against Satan among man does man have a chance of salvation. Furthermore, only then is Satan shamed, and left without any opportunities to exploit or any plans to execute. The work done by God incarnate is unachievable by the Spirit of God, and even more incapable of being done on God’s behalf by any fleshly man, for the work that He does is for the sake of the life of man, and in order to change the corrupt disposition of man. Were man to participate in this battle, he would only flee in woeful disarray, and would simply be incapable of changing the corrupt disposition of man. He would be incapable of saving man from the cross, or of conquering all of rebellious mankind, but only be able to do a little old work according to principle, or else work that is unrelated to the defeat of Satan. So why bother? What is the significance of work that cannot gain mankind, much less defeat Satan? And so, the battle with Satan can only be carried out by God Himself, and is simply incapable of being done by man. Man’s duty is to obey and to follow, for man is unable to do the work of opening up a new epoch, nor, moreover, can he carry out the work of battling Satan. Man can only satisfy the Creator under the leadership of God Himself, through which Satan is defeated; this is the only thing that man can do. And so, every time a new battle commences, which is to say, every time the work of the new age begins, this work is personally done by God Himself, through which He leads the entire age, and opens up a new path for the whole of mankind. The dawn of each new age is a new start in the battle with Satan, through which man enters a newer, more beautiful realm and a new age that is personally led by God Himself. Man is the master of all things, but those who have been gained will become the fruits of all battles with Satan. Satan is the corrupter of all things, it is the loser at the end of all battles, and is also the one which will be punished following these battles. Among God, man and Satan, only Satan is the one which will be detested and rejected. Those who were gained by Satan but are not taken back by God, meanwhile, become the ones who will receive punishment in behalf of Satan. Of these three, only God should be worshiped by all things. Those who were corrupted by Satan but are taken back by God and who follow the way of God, meanwhile, become the ones who will receive God’s promise and judge the evil ones for God. God will surely be victorious and Satan will surely be defeated, but among man there are those who will win and those who will lose. Those who win will belong to the Victor, and those who lose will belong to the loser; this is the classification of each according to kind, it is the final outcome of all God’s work, it is also the aim of all God’s work, and it will never change. The core of the main work of God’s management plan is focused on the salvation of man, and God becomes flesh primarily for the sake of this core, for the sake of this work, and in order to defeat Satan. The first time God became flesh was also in order to defeat Satan: He personally became flesh, and was personally nailed to the cross, in order to complete the work of the first battle, which was the work of mankind’s redemption. Likewise, this stage of work is also personally done by God, who has become flesh to do His work among man, to personally speak His word and allow man to see Him. Of course, it is inevitable that He also does some other work along the way, but the main reason He carries out His work personally is in order to defeat Satan, to conquer the whole of mankind, and to gain these people. And so, the work of God’s incarnation really is something. If His purpose were only to show man that God is humble and hidden, and that God is real, if it were only for the sake of doing this work, then there would be no need to become flesh. Even if God did not become flesh, He could reveal His humbleness and hiddenness, His greatness and holiness, to man directly, but such things have nothing to do with the work of managing mankind. They are incapable of saving man or making him complete, much less can they defeat Satan. If the defeat of Satan only involved the Spirit doing battle against a spirit, then such work would have even less practical value; it would be incapable of gaining man and would ruin the fate and prospects of man. As such, God’s work today is of profound significance. It is not only so that man may see Him, or so that man’s eyes may be opened, or in order to provide him with a little moving and encouragement; such work has no significance. If you can only speak of this kind of knowledge, then it proves that you do not know the true significance of God’s incarnation.

The work of God’s entire management plan is personally done by God Himself. The first stage—the creation of the world—was personally done by God Himself, and if it had not been, then no one would have been capable of creating mankind; the second stage was the redemption of all mankind, and it was also personally done by God Himself; the third stage goes without saying: There is an even greater need for the end of all God’s work to be done by God Himself. The work of redeeming, conquering, gaining, and perfecting the whole of mankind is all personally carried out by God Himself. If He did not personally do this work, then His identity could not be represented by man, or His work done by man. In order to defeat Satan, in order to gain mankind, and in order to give man a normal life on earth, He personally leads man and personally works among man; for the sake of His entire management plan, and for all of His work, He must personally do this work. If man only believes that God came to be seen by him and make him happy, then such beliefs hold no value, they have no significance. Man’s knowledge is too superficial! Only by carrying it out Himself can God do this work thoroughly and completely. Man is incapable of doing it on behalf of God. As he does not have God’s identity or His substance, he is incapable of doing His work, and even if man did, it would not have any effect. The first time God became flesh was for the sake of redemption, to redeem all mankind from sin, to make man capable of being cleansed and of being forgiven for his sins. The work of conquest is also personally done by God among man. If, during this stage, God were only to speak prophecy, then a prophet or someone gifted could be found to take His place; if only prophecy were spoken, man could stand in for God. Yet if man were to personally do the work of God Himself and were to work the life of man, it would be impossible for him to do this work. It must be personally done by God Himself: God must personally become flesh to do this work. In the Age of Word, if only prophecy were spoken, then Isaiah or Elijah the prophet could be found to do this work, and there would be no need for God Himself to do it personally. Because the work done in this stage is not merely the speaking of prophecy, and because it is of greater importance that the work of words is used to conquer man and defeat Satan, this work cannot be done by man, and must be personally done by God Himself. In the Age of Law Jehovah did part of God’s work, after which He spoke some words and did some work through the prophets. That is because man could stand in for the work of Jehovah, and the seers could foretell things and interpret some dreams on His behalf. The work done in the beginning was not the work of directly changing man’s disposition, and was unrelated to the sin of man, and man was required only to abide by the law. So Jehovah did not become flesh and reveal Himself to man; instead He spoke directly to Moses and others, made them speak and work on His behalf, and caused them to work directly among mankind. The first stage of God’s work was the leadership of man. It was the start of the battle with Satan, but this battle had yet to officially begin. The official war with Satan began with the first incarnation of God, and it has continued right up until today. The first instance of this war was when God incarnate was nailed to the cross. The crucifixion of God incarnate defeated Satan, and it was the first successful stage in the war. When God incarnate begins to directly work the life of man, this is the official start of the work of regaining man, and because this is the work of changing man’s old disposition, it is the work of doing battle with Satan. The stage of work done by Jehovah in the beginning was merely the leadership of man’s life on earth. It was the beginning of God’s work, and although it had yet to involve any battle, or any major work, it laid the foundation for the work of the battle to come. Later, the second stage of work during the Age of Grace involved changing man’s old disposition, which means that God Himself wrought the life of man. This had to be personally done by God: It required that God personally become flesh, and if He had not become flesh, no one else could have replaced Him in this stage of work, for it represented the work of fighting directly against Satan. If man had done this work on God’s behalf, when man stood before Satan, Satan would not have submitted and it would have been impossible to defeat it. It had to be God incarnate who came to defeat it, for the substance of God incarnate is still God, He is still the life of man, and He is still the Creator; whatever happens, His identity and substance will not change. And so, He put on the flesh and did the work to cause the complete submission of Satan. During the stage of work of the last days, if man were to do this work and were made to speak the words directly, then he would be unable to speak them, and if prophecy were spoken, then it would be incapable of conquering man. By assuming the flesh, God comes to defeat Satan and cause its complete submission. He utterly defeats Satan, fully conquers man, and completely gains man, after which this stage of work is completed, and success achieved. In God’s management, man cannot stand in for God. In particular, the work of leading the age and launching new work is in even greater need of being personally done by God Himself. Giving man revelation and providing him with prophecy can be done by man, but if it is work that must be personally done by God, work of the battle between God Himself and Satan, then this work cannot be done by man. During the first stage of work, when there was no battle with Satan, Jehovah personally led the people of Israel using the prophecy spoken by the prophets. Afterward, the second stage of work was the battle with Satan, and God Himself personally became flesh, coming into the flesh, to do this work. Anything that involves the battle with Satan also involves the incarnation of God, which means that this battle cannot be waged by man. If man were to do battle, he would be incapable of defeating Satan. How could he have the strength to fight against it whilst still under its domain? Man is in the middle: If you lean toward Satan you belong to Satan, but if you satisfy God you belong to God. Were man to stand in for God in the work of this battle, would he be able to? If he did, would he not have perished long ago? Would he not have entered into the netherworld long ago? And so, man is unable to replace God in His work, which is to say that man does not have the substance of God, and if you did battle with Satan you would be incapable of defeating it. Man can only do some work; he can win some people over, but he cannot stand in for God in the work of God Himself. How could man do battle with Satan? Satan would take you captive before you’d even started. Only God Himself can do battle with Satan, and upon this basis man can follow God and obey Him. Only in this way can man be gained by God and escape from the bonds of Satan. What man can achieve with his own wisdom, authority and abilities is too limited; he is incapable of making man complete, of leading him, and, moreover, of defeating Satan. Man’s intelligence and wisdom are unable to thwart the schemes of Satan, so how could man do battle with it?

All those who are willing to be made perfect have the chance to be made perfect, so everyone must relax: In the future you will all enter the destination. But if you are unwilling to be made perfect, and are unwilling to enter the wonderful realm, then that is your own problem. All those who are willing to be made perfect and are loyal to God, all those who obey, and all those who faithfully perform their function—all such people can be made perfect. Today, all those who do not loyally perform their duty, all those who are not loyal to God, all those who do not submit to God, particularly those who have received the enlightenment and illumination of the Holy Spirit but do not put it into practice—all such people are unable to be made perfect. All those who are willing to be loyal and obey God can be made perfect, even if they are a little ignorant; all those who are willing to pursue can be made perfect. There is no need to worry about this. As long as you are willing to pursue in this direction, you can be made perfect. I am unwilling to forsake or eliminate any of those among you, but if man does not strive to do well, then you are only ruining yourself; it is not Me that eliminates you, but you yourself. If you yourself do not strive to do well—if you are lazy, or do not perform your duty, or are not loyal, or do not pursue the truth, and always do as you please, spending money and having sexual liaisons, then you condemn yourself, and are unworthy of anyone’s pity. My purpose is for all of you to be made perfect, and at the very least be conquered, so that this stage of work may be successfully completed. God’s wish is for every person to be made perfect, to be ultimately gained by Him, to be completely cleansed by Him, and to become one He loves. It matters not whether I say you are backward or of poor caliber—this is all fact. My saying this does not prove that I intend to forsake you, that I have lost hope in you, much less that I am unwilling to save you. Today I have come to do the work of your salvation, which is to say that the work I do is a continuation of the work of salvation. Every person has the chance to be made perfect: Provided that you are willing, provided that you pursue, in the end you will be able to achieve the effects, and not one of you will be forsaken. If you are of poor caliber, My requirements of you will be in accordance with your poor caliber; if you are of high caliber, My requirements of you will be in accordance with your high caliber; if you are ignorant and illiterate, My requirements of you will be in accordance with your illiteracy; if you are literate, My requirements of you will be in accordance with your level of literacy; if you are elderly, My requirements of you will be in accordance with your age; if you are capable of providing hospitality, My requirements of you will be in accordance with this; if you say you cannot offer hospitality, and can only perform a certain function, whether it be spreading the gospel, or taking care of the church, or attending to other general affairs, My perfection of you will be in accordance with the function that you perform. Being loyal, obeying to the very end, and pursuing the supreme love of God—this is what you must accomplish, and there are no better practices than these three things. Ultimately, man is required to achieve these three things, and if he can achieve them he will be made perfect. But, above all, you must truly pursue, you must actively press onward and upward, and not be passive toward that. I have said that every person has the chance to be made perfect, and is capable of being made perfect, and this counts, but if you do not try to be better in your pursuit, if you do not achieve these three criteria, then in the end you must be eliminated. I want everyone to catch up, want everyone to have the work and the enlightenment of the Holy Spirit, and be able to obey to the very end, because this is the duty that each of you should perform. When you have all performed your duty, you will all have been made perfect, you will also have resounding testimony. All those who have testimony are those who have been victorious over Satan and gained God’s promise, and they are the ones who will remain to live in the wonderful destination.

Footnotes:

a. The original text reads “today, it is because.”

Recommendation: Eastern Lightning,  About the Church of Almighty God

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Almighty God Is the Returned Jesus.

Pictures of the Church of Almighty God

Chapter 1 You Must Know That Only Almighty God Is the One True God Who Created the Heavens and the Earth and Everything in Them

2. Almighty God Is the Returned Jesus.

Relevant Words of God:

God is incarnated in the Chinese mainland, what the compatriots in Hong Kong and Taiwan call the inland. When God came from above to the earth, no one in heaven and earth knew about it, for this is the true meaning of God returning in a concealed fashion. He has been in the flesh working and living for a long time, yet no one has known about it. Even to this day, no one recognizes it. Perhaps this will remain an eternal riddle. God’s coming into flesh this time is not something anyone is able to be aware of. No matter how large-scale and powerful the Spirit’s work, God always stays composed, never giving Himself away. One can say that it is as if this stage of His work is taking place in the heavenly realm. Even though it is perfectly obvious to everyone, no one recognizes it. When God finishes this stage of His work, everyone will awake from their long dream and reverse their past attitude.[a] I remember God once saying, “Coming into flesh this time is like falling into the tiger’s den.” What this means is that because this round of God’s work has God coming into flesh and being born in the dwelling place of the great red dragon, His coming to earth this time is accompanied even more so with extreme dangers. What He faces are knives and guns and clubs; what He faces is temptation; what He faces are crowds wearing murderous looks. He risks being killed at any moment. God did come with wrath. However, He came in order to do the work of perfection, meaning to do the second part of His work that continues after redemption work. For the sake of this stage of His work, God has devoted utmost thought and care and is using every conceivable means to avoid the assaults of temptation, concealing Himself humbly and never flaunting His identity. In rescuing man off the cross, Jesus was only completing redemption work; He was not doing perfection work. Thus only half of God’s work was being done, and finishing the redemption work was only half of His whole plan. As the new age was about to begin and the old one about to recede, God the Father began to deliberate the second part of His work and started preparing for it. In the past, this incarnation in the last days may not have been prophesied, and therefore that laid a foundation for the increased secrecy surrounding God’s coming into flesh this time. At the break of dawn, unbeknownst to any, God came to earth and began His life in the flesh. People were unaware of this moment. Maybe they were all fast asleep, maybe many who were watchfully awake were waiting, and maybe many were praying silently to God in heaven. Yet among all these many people, not one knew that God had already arrived on earth. God worked like this so as to more smoothly carry out His work and achieve better results, and it was also to avoid more temptations. As man’s spring slumber breaks, God’s work will have long been finished and He shall depart, bringing to a close His life of roaming and sojourning on earth. Because God’s work requires God to act and speak personally, and because there is no way for man to help, God has endured extreme pain to come to earth to do the work Himself. Man is unable to stand in for God’s work. Therefore God risked dangers several thousand times greater than those during the Age of Grace to come down to where the great red dragon dwells to do His own work, to put all His thinking and care into redeeming this group of impoverished people, redeeming this group of people mired in a heap of manure. Even though no one knows of God’s existence, God is not troubled because it greatly benefits God’s work. Everyone is atrociously evil, so how can anyone tolerate God’s existence? That is why on earth God is always silent. No matter how excessively cruel man is, God does not take any of it to heart, but just keeps doing the work He needs to do so as to fulfill the greater commission that the heavenly Father gave Him. Who among you has recognized God’s loveliness? Who shows more consideration for God the Father’s burden than His Son does? Who is able to understand the will of God the Father? God the Father’s Spirit in heaven is often troubled, and His Son on earth prays frequently over God the Father’s will, worrying His heart to pieces. Is there anyone who knows of God the Father’s love for His Son? Is there anyone who knows how the beloved Son misses God the Father? Torn between heaven and earth, the two are constantly gazing after each other from afar, side by side in Spirit. O mankind! When will you be considerate of God’s heart? When will you understand God’s intention? Father and Son have always depended on each other. Why then should They be separated, one in heaven above and one on earth below? The Father loves His Son as the Son loves His Father. Why then should He have to wait with such longing and long with such anxiety? Although They have not been separated for long, does anyone know that the Father has already been anxiously yearning for so many days and nights and has long been looking forward to His beloved Son’s quick return? He observes, He sits in silence, He waits. It is all for His beloved Son’s quick return. When will He again be with the Son who is wandering on earth? Even though once together, They will be together for eternity, how can He endure the thousands of days and nights of separation, one in heaven above and one on earth below? Tens of years on earth are like thousands of years in heaven. How could God the Father not worry? When God comes to earth, He experiences the many vicissitudes of the human world just as man does. God Himself is innocent, so why let God suffer the same pain as man? No wonder God the Father longs so urgently for His Son; who can understand God’s heart? God gives man too much; how can man adequately repay God’s heart? Yet man gives God too little; how could God not therefore be worried?

Scarcely one among men understands God’s urgent heart because people’s caliber is too low and their spiritual sensitivity quite dull, and because they all neither notice nor heed what God is doing. So God keeps worrying about man, as if man’s beastly nature could break out at any moment. This further shows that God’s coming to earth is accompanied by great temptations. But for the sake of completing a group of people, God, laden with glory, told man of His every intention, hiding nothing. He has firmly resolved to complete this group of people. Therefore, come hardship or temptation, He looks away and ignores it all. He only quietly does His own work, firmly believing that one day when God has gained glory, man will know God, and believing that when man has been completed by God, he will fully understand God’s heart. Right now there may be people tempting God or misunderstanding God or blaming God; God takes none of that to heart. When God descends into glory, people will all understand that everything God does is for the well-being of mankind, and people will all understand that everything God does is so that mankind can better survive. God’s coming is accompanied by temptations, and God also comes with majesty and wrath. By the time God leaves man, He will have already gained glory, and He will leave fully laden with glory and with the joy of return. The God working on earth does not take things to heart no matter how people reject Him. He is just doing His work. God’s creation of the world goes back thousands of years, He has come to earth to do an immeasurable amount of work, and He has fully experienced the human world’s rejection and slander. No one welcomes God’s arrival; everyone merely regards Him with a cold eye. In the course of these several thousand years’ worth of hardships, man’s conduct has long ago shattered God’s heart. He no longer pays attention to people’s rebellion, but is instead making a separate plan to transform and cleanse man. The derision, the slander, the persecution, the tribulation, the suffering of crucifixion, the exclusion by man, and so on that God has experienced in the flesh—God has tasted enough of these. God in the flesh has thoroughly suffered the miseries of the human world. The Spirit of God the Father in heaven long ago found such sights unbearable and threw His head back and shut His eyes, waiting for His beloved Son to return. All He wishes for is that people all listen and obey, are able to feel great shame before His flesh, and not rebel against Him. All He wishes for is that people all believe that God exists. He long ago stopped making greater demands of man because God has paid too high a price, yet man is resting easy,[b] not at all taking God’s work to heart.

from “Work and Entry (4)” in The Word Appears in the Flesh

The first time that God became flesh was through conception by the Holy Spirit, and it was related to the work He intended to do. Jesus’ name marked the start of the Age of Grace. When Jesus began to perform His ministry, the Holy Spirit began to testify to the name of Jesus, and the name of Jehovah was no longer spoken of, and instead the Holy Spirit began the new work principally under the name of Jesus. The testimony of those who believed in Him was borne for Jesus Christ, and the work they did was also for Jesus Christ. The conclusion of the Old Testament Age of Law meant that the work principally conducted under the name of Jehovah had come to an end. After this, the name of God was no longer Jehovah; instead He was called Jesus, and from here on the Holy Spirit began the work principally under the name of Jesus. So today, when you still eat and drink the words of Jehovah, and still apply the work of the Age of Law, are you not following regulation? Are you not stuck in the past? Today, you know that the last days have arrived. When Jesus comes, will He still be called Jesus? Jehovah told the people of Israel that a Messiah would come, yet when He arrived, He was not called Messiah but Jesus. Jesus said that He would come again, and that He would arrive as He had departed. These were the words of Jesus, but did you witness how Jesus departed? Jesus left on a white cloud, but would He really personally return among man on a white cloud? If that were so, would He not still be called Jesus? When Jesus comes again, the age will have already changed, so could He still be called Jesus? Is God only known by the name of Jesus? Could He not be called by a new name in a new age? Can the image of one person and one particular name represent God in His entirety? In each age, God does new work and is called by a new name; how could He do the same work in different ages? How could He cling to the old? The name of Jesus was taken for the work of redemption, so would He still be called by the same name when He returns in the last days? Would He still do the work of redemption? Why is it that Jehovah and Jesus are one, yet They are called by different names in different ages? Is it not because Their work in these ages is different? Could a single name represent God in His entirety? In this way, God must be called by a different name in a different age, must use the name to change the age and represent the age, for no one name can fully represent God Himself. And each name can only represent God’s disposition during a certain age and needs only to represent His work. Therefore, God can choose whatever name befits His disposition to represent the entire age. Regardless of whether it is the age of Jehovah, or the age of Jesus, each age is represented by a name. After the Age of Grace, the final age has arrived and Jesus has already come. How could He still be called Jesus? How could He still assume the form of Jesus among man? Have you forgotten that Jesus was just the image of a Nazarene? Have you forgotten that Jesus was only the Redeemer of mankind? How could He take on the work of conquering and perfecting man in the last days? Jesus left on a white cloud, this is fact, but how could He return on a white cloud among man and still be called Jesus? If He really did arrive on a cloud, wouldn’t He be recognized by man? Wouldn’t people all over the world recognize Him? In that case, wouldn’t Jesus alone be God? In that case, the image of God would be the appearance of a Jew, and would be the same forever. Jesus said that He would arrive as He had departed, but do you know the true meaning of His words? Could He really have told you? You only know He will arrive as He left on a cloud, but do you know exactly how God Himself does His work? If you were truly able to see, then how are the words of Jesus to be explained? He said, “When the Son of man comes in the last days, He Himself will not know, the angels will not know, the messengers in heaven will not know, and all of the people will not know. Only the Father will know, that is, only the Spirit shall know.” If you are capable of knowing and seeing, then are these not empty words? Even the Son of man Himself does not know, yet you are able to see and know? If you have seen with your own eyes, were those words not said in vain? And what did Jesus say at the time? “But of that day and hour knows no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only. But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. … Therefore be you also ready: for in such an hour as you think not the Son of man comes.” When that day comes, the Son of man Himself will not know it. The Son of man refers to the incarnate flesh of God, who shall be a normal and ordinary person. Even He Himself does not know, so how could you know? Jesus said that He would arrive as He had departed. When He arrives, even He Himself does not know, so could He inform you in advance? Are you able to see His arrival? Is that not a joke? Each time God arrives on earth, He shall change His name, His gender, His image, and His work; He does not repeat His work, and He is always new and never old. When He came before, He was called Jesus; could He still be called Jesus when He comes again this time? When He came before, He was male; could He be male again this time? His work when He came during the Age of Grace was to be nailed to the cross; when He comes again will He still redeem mankind from sin? Will He still be nailed to a cross? Would that not be a repetition of His work? Did you not know that God is always new and never old? There are those who say that God is immutable. That is correct, but it refers to the immutability of God’s disposition and substance. Changes in His name and work do not prove that His substance has altered; in other words, God will always be God, and this will never change. If you say that the work of God always stays the same, then would He be able to finish His six-thousand-year management plan? You merely know that God is forever unchanging, but do you know that God is always new and never old? If the work of God never changed, then could He have brought mankind to today? If God is immutable, then why is it that He has already done the work of two ages? His work is always progressing forward, and so His disposition is gradually revealed to man, and what is revealed is His inherent disposition. In the beginning, God’s disposition was hidden from man, He never openly revealed His disposition to man, and man had no knowledge of Him, so He used His work to gradually reveal His disposition to man, but this does not mean that His disposition changes in each age. It is not the case that God’s disposition is constantly changing because His will is always changing. Rather, because the work of God is carried out in different ages, His inherent disposition in its entirety is gradually revealed to man, so that man is able to know Him. But this is by no means proof that God originally has no particular disposition and His disposition has gradually changed with the passing of the ages—such belief is nonsense. God reveals to man His inherent, particular disposition, what He is, according to the passing of the ages. The work of a single age cannot express the entire disposition of God. And so, the words “God is always new and never old” are in reference to His work, and the words “God is immutable” are in regard to what God inherently has and is. Regardless, you cannot define the six-thousand-year work in one point, or portray it with mere static words. Such is the stupidity of man. God is not as simple as man imagines, and His work will not stop in one age. Jehovah, for example, will not always stand for the name of God; God also does His work under the name of Jesus, which is a symbol of how God’s work is always progressing forward.

God will always be God, and will never become Satan; Satan will always be Satan, and will never become God. God’s wisdom, God’s wondrousness, God’s righteousness, and God’s majesty shall never change. His substance and what He has and is shall never change. His work, however, is always progressing forward, always going deeper, for God is always new and never old. In every age God assumes a new name, in every age He does new work, and in every age He allows the creatures to see His new will and His new disposition. If people do not see the expression of God’s new disposition in the new age, would they not forever nail Him to the cross? And by doing so, would they not define God? If God was only incarnated as a male, people would define Him as male, as the God of men, and would never believe Him to be the God of women. Then, men would believe that God is of the same gender as men, that God is the head of men—and what of women? This is unfair; is it not preferential treatment? If this were the case, then all those whom God saved would be men like Him, and there would be no salvation for women. When God created mankind, He created Adam and He created Eve. He did not create only Adam, but made both male and female in His image. God is not only the God of men, He is also the God of women. God has new work to do during the last days. He shall reveal more of His disposition, and it shall not be the compassion and love of the time of Jesus. Since He has new work, this new work shall be accompanied by new disposition. So if this work is done by the Spirit—if God does not become flesh, and instead the Spirit speaks directly through thunder, so that man has no contact with Him, would man know His disposition? If only the Spirit does the work, then man would have no way of knowing His disposition. People can only behold God’s disposition with their own eyes when He becomes flesh, and reveals His words in the flesh, and expresses His entire disposition through the flesh. God truly lives among man. He is tangible; man can truly engage with His disposition and what He has and is; only in this way can man truly know Him. At the same time, God has also completed the work of God being the God of both men and women, and has achieved the entirety of His work in the flesh. God does not duplicate His work in each new age. Since the last days have arrived, He will do the work of the last days, and reveal His entire disposition in the last days. The last days are a separate age, one in which Jesus said you must suffer disaster, and be subjected to earthquakes, famines, and plagues, which will show that this is a new age, and is no longer the old Age of Grace. If, as people say, God is forever unchanging, His disposition is always compassionate and loving, and He loves man as Himself, and He offers every man salvation and never hates man, then would He ever be able to complete His work? When Jesus came, He was nailed to the cross, and He sacrificed Himself for all sinners by offering Himself upon the altar. He had already completed the work of redemption and already brought the Age of Grace to an end, so what would be the point of repeating the work of that age in the last days? Wouldn’t doing the same thing be a denial of the work of Jesus? If God does not do the work of crucifixion when He comes in this stage, but He remains loving and compassionate, then would He be able to bring the age to an end? Could a loving and compassionate God conclude the age? In His final work of concluding the age, God’s disposition is one of chastisement and judgment, which reveals all that is unrighteous, and publicly judges all peoples, and perfects those who truly love Him. Only a disposition such as this can bring the age to an end. The last days have already arrived. All things will be classed according to kind, and will be divided into different categories based on their nature. This is the time in which God reveals the end and the destination of man. If man does not undergo chastisement and judgment, then there will be no way of revealing the disobedience and unrighteousness of man. Only through chastisement and judgment can the end of all things be revealed. Man only shows his true colors when he is chastised and judged. Evil shall return to evil, good shall return to good, and man shall be classified according to kind. Through chastisement and judgment, the end of all things shall be revealed, so that the evil shall be punished and the good shall be rewarded, and all people shall become subject under the dominion of God. All the work requires righteous chastisement and judgment to be achieved. Because man’s corruption has reached its peak and his disobedience has been too serious, only God’s righteous disposition, which is principally one of chastisement and judgment, and is revealed during the last days, can fully transform and complete man. Only this disposition can expose evil and thus severely punish all the unrighteous. Therefore, a disposition such as this possesses the significance of the age, and the revelation and exhibition of His disposition is for the sake of the work of each new age. God does not reveal His disposition arbitrarily and without significance. If, when the end of man is revealed during the last days, God still bestows upon man inexhaustible compassion and love, if He is still loving toward man, and He does not subject man to righteous judgment, but shows him tolerance, patience, and forgiveness, if He still pardons man no matter what serious sins he commits, without any righteous judgment, then would there ever be an end to all of God’s management? When would a disposition such as this be able to lead mankind into the right destination? Take, for example, a judge who is always loving, kindhearted and gentle. He loves people irrespective of the sins they have committed, and he is loving and tolerant of people whoever they are. Then when will he be able to reach a just verdict? During the last days, only righteous judgment can classify man and bring man into a new realm. In this way, the entire age is brought to an end through God’s righteous disposition of judgment and chastisement.

from “The Vision of God’s Work (3)” in The Word Appears in the Flesh

In each age and each stage of work, My name is not baseless, but holds representative significance: Each name represents one age. “Jehovah” represents the Age of Law, and is the honorific for the God worshiped by the people of Israel. “Jesus” represents the Age of Grace, and is the name of the God of all those who were redeemed during the Age of Grace. If man still longs for the arrival of Jesus the Savior during the last days, and still expects Him to arrive in the image He bore in Judea, then the entire six-thousand-year management plan would stop in the Age of Redemption, and would be incapable of progressing any further. The last days, furthermore, would never arrive, and the age would never be brought to an end. That is because Jesus the Savior is only for the redemption and salvation of mankind. I took the name of Jesus for the sake of all the sinners in the Age of Grace, and it is not the name by which I shall bring the whole of mankind to an end. Although Jehovah, Jesus, and the Messiah all represent My Spirit, these names only denote the different ages in My management plan, and do not represent Me in My entirety. The names by which people on earth call Me cannot articulate My entire disposition and all that I am. They are merely different names by which I am called during different ages. And so, when the final age—the age of the last days—arrives, My name shall change again. I shall not be called Jehovah, or Jesus, much less the Messiah, but shall be called the powerful Almighty God Himself, and under this name I shall bring the entire age to an end. I was once known as Jehovah. I was also called the Messiah, and people once called Me Jesus the Savior because they loved and respected Me. But today I am not the Jehovah or Jesus that people knew in times past—I am the God who has returned in the last days, the God who shall bring the age to an end. I am the God Himself that rises up at the ends of the earth, replete with My entire disposition, and full of authority, honor and glory. People have never engaged with Me, have never known Me, and have always been ignorant of My disposition. From the creation of the world until today, not one person has seen Me. This is the God who appears to man during the last days but is hidden among man. He resides among man, true and real, like the burning sun and the flaming fire, filled with power and brimming with authority. There is not a single person or thing that shall not be judged by My words, and not a single person or thing that shall not be purified through the burning of fire. Eventually, all nations shall be blessed because of My words, and also smashed to pieces because of My words. In this way, all people during the last days shall see that I am the Savior returned, I am the Almighty God that conquers all of mankind, and I was once the sin offering for man, but in the last days I also become the flames of the sun that burn all things, as well as the sun of righteousness that reveals all things. Such is My work of the last days. I took this name and am possessed of this disposition so that all people may see that I am a righteous God, and am the burning sun, and the flaming fire. It is so that all may worship Me, the only true God, and so that they may see My true face: I am not only the God of the Israelites, and am not just the Redeemer—I am the God of all creatures throughout heavens and earth and seas.

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

The work done at present has pushed forward the work of the Age of Grace; that is, the work in the entire six-thousand-year management plan has moved forward. Though the Age of Grace has ended, the work of God has progressed further. Why do I say time and again that this stage of work builds upon the Age of Grace and the Age of Law? This means that the work of this day is a continuation of the work done in the Age of Grace and an uplifting of that done in the Age of Law. The three stages are closely interconnected and linked one to the next. Why do I also say that this stage of work builds on that done by Jesus? If this stage did not build on the work done by Jesus, then in this stage the crucifixion, the work of redemption done previously, would still need to be carried out. This would be meaningless. Therefore, it is not that the work has completely finished, but that the age has moved forward, and the work has become even higher than before. It could be said that this stage of work is built on the foundation of the Age of Law and the rock of the work of Jesus. The work is built stage by stage, and this stage is not a new beginning. Only the combination of the three stages of work can be deemed the six-thousand-year management plan. This stage is done on the foundation of the work of the Age of Grace. If these two stages of work are unrelated, why is there no crucifixion in this stage? Why do I not bear the sins of man? I do not come through the conception by the Holy Spirit nor will I be crucified to bear the sins of man. Rather, I am here to directly chastise man. If I did not chastise man following the crucifixion, and now I do not come through the conception by the Holy Spirit, then I would not be qualified to chastise man. It is precisely because I am one with Jesus that I come directly to chastise and judge man. This stage of work builds entirely on the previous stage. This is why only such work can bring man to salvation stage by stage. Jesus and I come from the same Spirit. Though Our fleshes have no relationship, Our Spirits are one; though what We do and the work We bear are not the same, We are alike in essence; Our fleshes take different forms, and this is because of the change in era and the need of Our work; Our ministries are not alike, so the work We bring forth and the disposition We reveal to man are also different. That is why what man sees and receives this day is unlike that of the past; this is so because of the change in era. Though the gender and form of Their fleshes are different, and though They were not born of the same family, much less in the same time period, Their Spirits are one. Though Their fleshes share no blood or physical relationship in any way, this does not deny that They are the incarnate fleshes of God in two different time periods. It is an undeniable truth that They are the incarnate fleshes of God, though They do not share the same bloodline or a common human language (one was a male who spoke the language of the Jews and the other is a female who speaks only Chinese). It is for these reasons that They do the work They ought in different countries, and in different time periods as well. Despite the fact that They are the same Spirit, possessed of the same essence, there are no absolute similarities at all between the outward shells of Their fleshes. They merely share the same humanity, but the appearance and birth of Their fleshes are not alike. These have no impact on Their respective work or the knowledge that man has of Them, for, after all, They are the same Spirit and none can separate Them. Though They are not related by blood, Their entire beings are directed by Their Spirits, so that They undertake different work in different time periods, with Their fleshes not sharing a bloodline. Similarly, the Spirit of Jehovah is not the father of the Spirit of Jesus, much as the Spirit of Jesus is not the son of the Spirit of Jehovah. They are the same Spirit. Just like the incarnate God of this day and Jesus. Though They are not related by blood, They are one; this is because Their Spirits are one.

from “The Two Incarnations Complete the Significance of the Incarnation” in The Word Appears in the Flesh

Though the work of the two incarnate fleshes is different, the essence of the fleshes, and the source of Their work, are identical; it is just that They exist to perform two different stages of the work, and arise in two different ages. No matter what, God’s incarnate fleshes share the same essence and the same origin—this is a truth no one can deny.

from “The Essence of the Flesh Inhabited by God” in The Word Appears in the Flesh

The first time I came among men was during the Age of Redemption. Of course I came among the Jewish family; therefore the first to see God coming to earth were the Jewish people. The reason I did this work personally was because I wanted to use My incarnate flesh as a sin offering in My redemption work. So the first to see Me were the Jews of the Age of Grace. That was the first time I worked in the flesh. In the Age of Kingdom, My work is to conquer and perfect, so I again do shepherding work in the flesh. This is My second time working in the flesh. In the last two stages of work, what people come into contact with is no longer the invisible, untouchable Spirit, but a person who is the Spirit actualized as flesh. Thus in the eyes of man, I again become a person with none of the look and feel of God. Moreover, the God that people see is not only male, but also female, which is most astounding and puzzling to them. Time and time again, My extraordinary work shatters old beliefs held for many, many years. People are stunned! The so-called God is not only the Holy Spirit, that Spirit, the sevenfold intensified Spirit, the all-encompassing Spirit, but also a person, an ordinary person, an exceptionally common person. He is not only male, but also female. They are similar in that They are both born to humans, and dissimilar in that one is conceived by the Holy Spirit and the other is born to a human but derived directly from the Spirit. They are similar in that both incarnate fleshes of God carry out God the Father’s work, and dissimilar in that one does the work of redemption and the other does the work of conquering. Both represent God the Father, but one is the Lord of redemption filled with lovingkindness and mercy, and the other is the God of righteousness filled with wrath and judgment. One is the Supreme Commander to launch the redemption work, and the other is the righteous God to accomplish the work of conquering. One is the Beginning, the other the End. One is sinless flesh, the other is flesh that completes the redemption, continues the work, and is never of sin. Both are the same Spirit, but They dwell in different fleshes and are born in different places. And They are separated by several thousand years. Yet all Their work is mutually complementary, never conflictual, and can be spoken of in the same breath. Both are people, but one is a baby boy and the other is an infant girl.

from “When It Comes to God, What Is Your Understanding” in The Word Appears in the Flesh

Not only is God a Spirit but He can also become flesh; moreover, He is a body of glory. Jesus, though you have not seen Him, was witnessed by the Israelites, that is, the Jews at the time. He was at first a flesh, but after He was crucified, He became the body of glory. He is the all-encompassing Spirit and can do work in all places. He could be Jehovah, Jesus and the Messiah; in the end, He can become Almighty God. He is righteousness, judgment, and chastisement, is curse and wrath, but also mercy and lovingkindness. All the work done by Him can represent Him.

from “The Two Incarnations Complete the Significance of the Incarnation” in The Word Appears in the Flesh

From the work of Jehovah to that of Jesus, and from the work of Jesus to that of this current stage, these three stages cover the entire breadth of God’s management, and are all the work of one Spirit. From when He created the world, God has always been managing mankind. He is the Beginning and the End, He is the First and the Last, and He is the One who begins an age and the One who brings the age to an end. The three stages of work, in different ages and different locations, are surely carried out by one Spirit. All those who separate these three stages oppose God. Now, you must understand that all the work from the first stage until today is the work of one God, the work of one Spirit, of which there is no doubt.

from “The Vision of God’s Work (3)” in The Word Appears in the Flesh

I believe that our generation is blessed to be able to take up the path unfinished by the people of previous generations, and to be able to behold the reappearance of God from several thousand years ago—God who is here among us, and also fills all things. You would never have thought that you could walk upon this path: Can you do it? This path is led directly by the Holy Spirit, it is led by the sevenfold intensified Spirit of the Lord Jesus Christ, and it is the path that has been opened up for you by the God of today. Even in your wildest dream you couldn’t have imagined that the Jesus of several thousand years ago would appear once again before you. Do you not feel gratified? Who is able to come face-to-face with God? I often pray for our group to receive greater blessings from God that we might be favored by God and gained by Him, but there have also been countless times when I have shed bitter tears for us, asking that God enlighten us, and allow us to behold greater revelations.

from “The Path… (7)” in The Word Appears in the Flesh

Footnotes:

a. “Reverse their past attitude” refers to how people’s conceptions and views about God change once they know God.

b. “Resting easy” indicates that people are unconcerned about God’s work and don’t see it as important.

Recommendation: Eastern Lightning

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