By Chen Hui
The breeze of spring gently blew. Zhong Hui sat at her desk holding the Bible, deep in thought: “Nowadays disasters are growing ever worse, the world is in a state of constant upheaval and turmoil with wars on the rise, and the four blood moons have already appeared—many of the prophecies about the Lord’s return have been fulfilled. It seems that the Lord’s day is upon us. Yet not only haven’t I received the Lord, but my spirit is becoming ever darker and the church is growing more and more desolate.” Thinking of this, she became even more anxious, so she prayed earnestly to the Lord …
Surprised to Hear That the Lord Has Come Back in China to Do His Work
One day, Zhong Hui heard someone knocking at the door and she hastily went to open it. It turned out to be Sister Wang, whom she hadn’t seen in years. “Sister Wang?” asked Zhong Hui in surprise. “When did you come to Hong Kong?”
Smilingly, Sister Wang replied, “I moved here two years ago with my husband. A couple of days ago, I heard from Sister Zhang that you had also come here from the inland, so I came to visit you today.” They talked and talked, and soon came around to the topic of the return of the Lord.
Sister Wang said excitedly, “Sister Zhong, today I came here to tell you some good news. The Lord Jesus whom we have longed for for so long has returned as the incarnated Almighty God. He is expressing the truth and performing a stage of work of judging and purifying people in China. This just fulfills what is written in the Bible: ‘Judgment must begin at the house of God’ (1 Peter 4:17). Now the kingdom gospel has already spread to many nations of the world. You can visit The Church of Almighty God’s website to seek and investigate.”
Zhong Hui was shocked by this news. She immediately turned on her computer and found there was actually the website of The Church of Almighty God. They then watched the musical Every Nation Worships the Practical God produced by The Church of Almighty God together, and as she saw all the brothers and sisters praising and worshiping God, Zhong Hui felt incomparable excitement. The bridegroom has come? The Lord Jesus has really returned?
God Not Doing His Work of the Last Days in Israel Is to Prevent People From Delimiting Him Based on Their Notions
But when she thought of what Sister Wang said, that God was doing His work of the last days in China, Zhong Hui felt it inconceivable. Confused, she asked, “How could the Lord Jesus come back in China to do His work? Only the Israelites are God’s chosen people, and both Jehovah God and the Lord Jesus performed their work in Israel, so the Lord’s return in the last days should also be in Israel. Besides, it was long ago prophesied in the Bible: ‘And His feet shall stand in that day on the mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east, and the mount of Olives shall split in the middle thereof toward the east and toward the west, and there shall be a very great valley; and half of the mountain shall remove toward the north, and half of it toward the south’ (Zechariah 14:4). Based on this verse, when the Lord Jesus comes back, He should descend on Israel’s Mount of Olives. He cannot come to China!”
Sister Wang replied calmly, “There are mysteries hidden within the prophecies, so we cannot rely on our notions or the literal meaning of the scriptures to understand them. Only when the prophecies are fulfilled and accomplished through the facts of God’s work can we understand the true meaning of them. When the Lord Jesus came to do His work, for example, this was actually the fulfillment of the prophecies in Scriptures, but the Pharisees relied on their own will and imaginings as well as the literal meaning of the prophecies to delimit God, believing that when God came His name would be Messiah and He would be born of a virgin. As a result, when they saw that the Lord Jesus wasn’t called Messiah and that He had a mother and a father, they didn’t admit that the Lord Jesus was God, and even condemned and blasphemed Him, and in the end nailed Him to the cross, ending up being cursed by God. Today, in the great matter of the Lord’s return, we should learn a lesson from the Pharisees, seek and investigate more, and not blindly pass judgment.
“In fact, the Bible does have prophecies about God doing His work in China in the last days. For example, ‘Who raised up the righteous man from the east, called him to His foot, gave the nations before him, and made him rule over kings?’ (Isaiah 41:2). ‘For as the lightning comes out of the east, and shines even to the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be’ (Matthew 24:27). ‘For from the rising of the sun even to the going down of the same My name shall be great among the Gentiles; … said Jehovah of hosts’ (Malachi 1:11). These verses clearly tell us that the Son of man will descend in the East when He returns. We all know that the sun rises in the east, and that China is the East of the world and also an atheist nation. Therefore, God doing His work of the last days in China just fulfills His prophecy that ‘My name shall be great among the Gentiles.’”
Zhong Hui paged through the Bible as she listened to Sister Wang’s fellowship, and she thought: “What the sister said is very reasonable. We cannot only rely on the literal interpretations of the Bible to welcome the Lord, but should also look at the fact of God’s work. The Bible indeed says the coming of the Son of man is in the East and that God’s name will be great among Gentile nations, so it is possible that God is appearing and doing His work in China in the last days. How come I never realized this?”
Sister Wang continued, “God is the Lord of creation. He is not the God of the Israelites only, but also the God of Gentiles, and the whole of mankind is His creation. Therefore, both the Israelites and Gentiles are the object of God’s salvation. Let’s read two passages of Almighty God’s words together.
“God’s words say: ‘When the Savior arrives during the last days, if He were still called Jesus, and were once again born in Judea, and did His work in Judea, then this would prove that I only created the people of Israel and only redeemed the people of Israel, and that I have nothing to do with the Gentiles. Would this not contradict My words that “I am the Lord who created the heavens and earth and all things”? I left Judea and do My work among the Gentiles because I am not merely the God of the people of Israel, but the God of all creatures. I appear among the Gentiles during the last days because I am not only Jehovah, the God of the people of Israel, but, moreover, because I am the Creator of all My chosen ones among the Gentiles. I not only created Israel, Egypt, and Lebanon, but also created all the Gentile nations beyond Israel. And because of this, I am the Lord of all creatures. I merely used Israel as the starting point for My work, employed Judea and Galilee as the strongholds of My work of redemption, and use the Gentile nations as the base from which I will bring the entire age to an end.’
“‘It is so that, in this final era, My name may be magnified among the Gentile nations, so that My deeds may be seen by the Gentiles and they will call Me the Almighty on account of My deeds, and so that My words may soon come to pass. I will make all people know that I am not only the God of the Israelites, but also the God of all the nations of the Gentiles, even those that I have cursed. I will let all people see that I am the God of all creation. This is My greatest work, the purpose of My work plan for the last days, and the only work to be fulfilled in the last days.’
“God’s words make it clear. God not only created the Israelites, He also created the Gentiles. He is not only God of the Israelites, but also God of the Gentiles, God of all created beings. Israel is the birthplace of God’s work, where God carried out His work, and He then did the work of redemption in Judea and Galilee, but in the last days, God has chosen a Gentile nation to perform the work of concluding the age. From this we can see that God choosing different places to do His work contains His wisdom, that is, He wants to prevent us from forming the notions that ‘God is just God of the Israelites,’ or ‘God can only do work in Israel.’ In our minds we think that God is God of the Israelites, not God of the Gentiles, because He did His two stages of the work of the Age of Law and the Age of Grace in Israel. This is our delineation about God. If, in the last days, God is still working in Israel according to our notions, then the prophecies about God’s name being magnified among Gentile nations won’t be able to come to pass, and moreover, the Israelites will even more think that God is only their God and the Gentiles will think that God is not their God. Wouldn’t that be denying the fact that ‘God is the God of all creation’? God is the God of all mankind. He not only created the Israelites, but also created people in all other nations. Both the Israelites and the Gentiles are the descendants of Adam and Eve, and God treats them equally. As long as we are willing to seek the truth, God won’t give up salvation on us because of our identity as Gentiles or cursed people. Instead, God does the utmost to save people, which is decided by His righteous disposition. This time God chooses to do work in China, which just fulfills what Jehovah God said that ‘My name shall be great among the Gentiles,’ allowing all people to know that God is the God of all creation, so that all of the created beings will come to worship God, submit before Him and exalt His name. This is the plan God shall accomplish in the last days.”
Zhong Hui suddenly had a realization and said, “That’s right! Just because the first two stages of God’s work were done in Israel, I believed that God only likes Israelites and doesn’t like Gentiles. If, in the last days, God again carried out His work in Israel, I really would think that God is just God of the Israelites, not God of Gentiles, and that God only saves the Israelites while cursing the Gentiles forever. This way, I would delimit God’s work and not be able to see God’s righteous and good substance. God not working in Israel in the last days is to tell us that God is the God of all mankind. This is so meaningful!”
God Chose to Work in Israel Based on the Needs of His Work
After understanding this, Zhong Hui continued to ask, “We can indeed see God’s love for all mankind from His leaving Israel to spread His work among the Gentile nations. But the Chinese people are low-born and of poor caliber and the CCP government is doing its utmost to persecute those who have faith in God. Back then, when the Lord Jesus’ gospel came to China, it was met with lots of difficulties and obstacles. So why didn’t God choose a nation that is less resistant to Him to perform His work? Wouldn’t that be more beneficial to the unfolding of His work? Sister Wang, I don’t understand this aspect of the truth. Can you give me a detailed fellowship on this?”
Sister Wang nodded her head and said, “OK! In fact, God chooses which country to do His work not based on whether this country defies God or worships God, or whether it is rich or poor, or whether its people are of high or low caliber, but according to the needs of His work of managing mankind. To clarify this issue, let’s first talk about why the Lord Jesus did His work in Israel.”
Zhong Hui listened in all earnestness.
Sister Wang continued, “As we all know, the Lord Jesus did the work of redeeming mankind through crucifixion in Israel. The Israelites were God’s chosen people, who were the least corrupt of all mankind at that time. They had a heart that revered and feared God and knew to make sin offerings after committing sins, fearing being punished by God, so they yearned for the coming of the Messiah most. Clearly, doing work amongst them, it was easiest for God to create a group of models and specimens to worship God. God first performed His work in one place and then broadened it to the entire universe. In other words, first the Lord Jesus redeemed the people of Israel, then the Lord’s gospel was spread by them to other nations, finally reaching all nations (and people) throughout the world, thus all of mankind received His redemption. Therefore, it was based on the needs of managing mankind and the results His work aimed to achieve that God chose to do His work in Judea.”
“With this fellowship, now I understand,” said Zhong Hui. “The Lord Jesus chose to perform the work of redemption in Israel because the Israelites were the least corrupted, who, after committing sins, were eagerly yearning for the Messiah to lead them to break free from the condemnation of the law. Therefore, the Lord Jesus working among them could achieve good results and was more beneficial to the gospel spreading to the Gentile nations. God performing His work in Israel is truly meaningful. Sister Wang, now please fellowship with me about why God is working in China, a country that resists Him.”
It Is Based on the Needs of the Work of Conquest That God Performs His Work in China, a Country That Resists Him the Most
Sister Wang replied, “OK. To figure out this question, we should first be clear on what kind of work the returned Lord is doing in the last days. Just now we mentioned that when the Lord returns He mainly expresses the truth to do the work of judging and purifying man, thoroughly saving us from Satan’s dominion, freeing us from the binds and restrictions of sin and ultimately bringing us into a beautiful destination. Chinese people are the archetype of people who are the most filthy and the most rebellious to God in the world. By conquering and making complete these people who are rebellious and resistant, God is better able to thoroughly defeat Satan and shame Satan—this is God’s almightiness and wisdom. In regard to this aspect, let’s see what God’s words say. Almighty God says, ‘Working now on the descendants of Moab is saving those who have fallen into the most darkness. Although they were cursed, God is willing to gain glory from them. This is because initially, they were all people who lacked God in their hearts—only making them into those who obey and love Him is true conquest, and such fruit of work is the most valuable and the most convincing. Only this is gaining glory—this is the glory that God wants to gain in the last days.’
“‘China embodies all forces of darkness, and the people of China represent all those who are of the flesh, of Satan, and of flesh and blood. It is the Chinese people who have been most corrupted by the great red dragon, who have the strongest opposition to God, whose humanity is most base and impure, and so they are the archetype of all corrupt humanity. … Why have I always said that you are an adjunct to My management plan? It is in the people of China that corruption, impurity, unrighteousness, opposition, and rebelliousness are manifested most completely and revealed in all their varied forms. On the one hand, they are of poor caliber, and on the other, their lives and mindset are backward, and their habits, social environment, family of birth—all are poor and the most backward. Their status, too, is low. The work in this place is symbolic, and after this test work has been carried out in its entirety, His subsequent work will go much better. If this step of work can be completed, then the subsequent work goes without saying. Once this step of work has been accomplished, great success will have been fully achieved, and the work of conquest throughout the entire universe will have come to a complete end. In fact, once the work among you has been successful, this will be equivalent to the success throughout the entire universe.’
“From God’s words, we can see that the work God is doing in the last days is the work of judging, purifying and perfecting man, and is also the final work of His management plan to save mankind. By working in a place that is most backward and dark, and by gaining a group of people who are of one heart and one mind with Him, who can testify Him, obey Him and love Him among those who most resist Him, God is better able to attain glory. We all know that Chinese people are the descendants of Moab, who are born lowly and of promiscuity; we are the typical representatives of the atheists, who are deeply influenced by the atheistic education and don’t acknowledge the existence of God; inundated with the poisons of the great red dragon, we uphold satanic views like ‘I am my own lord throughout heaven and earth,’ and ‘I am lawless, and I am a law onto myself’ and lack all humanity and reason, we do not yearn for light and refuse to accept the truth even if we clearly know it; besides, with feudal thoughts deeply rooted in our hearts, our thoughts are rotten and backward and we are tightly bound by the feudal ethics and don’t have a shred of human likeness…. It can be said that China is a country that is most filthy and dark in the world and that Chinese people have become the embodiment of Satan, in whom all of mankind’s corruption and impurity are manifested most completely. We are the archetype of all corrupt humanity, in whom all of the opposition, rebelliousness, and unrighteousness can be found. Therefore, once we, who are saturated with atheist thoughts are made into those who obey and love God, who cast off all kinds of corrupt dispositions and become new people, God’s great work will be accomplished, and by then, God will gain full glory and Satan will utterly admit defeat. After God’s test work in China has been accomplished, the next step of spreading the work to the entire universe will go much better. It can be seen that, God chose to work in China in the last days not because China is good, but because of the needs of His management work. The fact that God perfects a group of people in a country that is most resistant to Him will make more people see His almightiness and wisdom, appreciate that He won’t easily give up on any deeply corrupted human being but rather hopes that all people could gain His salvation in the last days—this even more reveals God’s righteous and good essence.”
Sister Wang’s fellowship brightened Zhong Hui’s heart, who said excitedly, “Turns out that God choosing to work in China in the last days is to carry out a step of work of judgment and purification through the darkness and filth of this country. Conquering and gaining a group of people among those who are most resistant to God can even more glorify God and allow people to see God’s might and authority. God is truly so wise!”
“Yes,” said Sister Wang as she nodded. “Jehovah God once said, ‘For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways, said Jehovah. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts’ (Isaiah 55:8–9). God is an omnipotent and wise God. His thoughts are higher than man’s thoughts and His wisdom is unfathomable to us. God chooses where to perform His work completely according to His management plan, and it all contains His wisdom. God choosing to do work in the last days in China is indeed so meaningful!”
After hearing Sister Wang’s fellowship, Zhong Hui was filled with excitement and she said, “Thank God for His mercy so that I was fortunate to hear the utterances of the returned Lord and understand the significance of God performing His work in China. I’m willing to let go of my notions and seek and investigate God’s work in the last days.”
“Thanks be to God!” said Sister Wang happily.
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