The Church of Almighty God | The Testimony of a Christian | 28. Experiencing the Suffering of Persecution, I Know More Clearly What to Love or Hate

28. Experiencing the Suffering of Persecution, I Know More Clearly What to Love or Hate

Gao Jun    Hebei Province

    My name is Gao Jun. I’m 52 years old. I’ve followed Almighty God for fourteen years. Before I believed in God, I did business in the world and was often busy giving dinners or sending gifts and socializing. Every day I went in and out of places of entertainment such as the KTVs and the gambling houses…. My wife quarreled with me constantly because of that, and finally she was so angry that she would divorce me and left home. However, I had sunk in the mire and was unable to extricate myself at that time. I tried hard to maintain my family but couldn’t make it, feeling it very miserable and tiring to live. In June, 1999, Almighty God’s salvation came upon us. Through the fellowship of the brothers and sisters and the revelation of God’s word, my wife got to know the root of the world’s darkness and mankind’s corruption, and then she showed understanding for my situation and fellowshipped with me with an open heart. Led by God’s word, I saw that I indulged in the sinful dye vat and was loathed and hated by God, and even more saw that I completely had no human likeness in my doings. I felt regretful and guilty, so I made a resolution to start a new life before God. From then on, my wife and I prayed and read God’s word every day, and we often had meetings and fellowshipped with the brothers and sisters together. The conflict between us and our distress disappeared unconsciously. Our life was full of peace and joy. I deeply knew that it was Almighty God who saved our family from the verge of breaking and brought us a new life. In gratitude, I made a resolution inwardly: I’ll consecrate my whole being to repay God’s grace. From then on, I began to perform duty and preach the gospel actively, so that more people could receive the salvation brought by God in the end time. However, the CCP government didn’t allow people to worship God and walk the right way…. 

The Church of Almighty God | God's Utterance | The Mystery of the Incarnation (1)

    In the Age of Grace, John paved the way for Jesus. He could not do the work of God Himself and merely fulfilled the duty of man. Though John was the forerunner of the Lord, he could not represent God; he was only a man used by the Holy Spirit. Following the baptism of Jesus, “the Holy Spirit descended upon Him like a dove.” He then began His work, that is, He began to perform the ministry of Christ. That is why He assumed the identity of God, for He came from God. No matter the manner of His faith before this—perhaps sometimes it was weak, or sometimes it was strong—that was all His normal human life before He performed His ministry. After He was baptized (anointed), He immediately had the power and the glory of God with Him, and thus began to perform His ministry. He could work signs and wonders, perform miracles, He had power and authority, as He worked directly on behalf of God Himself; He did the work of the Spirit in His stead and expressed the voice of the Spirit; therefore He was God Himself. This is indisputable. John was used by the Holy Spirit. He could not represent God, and it was not possible for him to represent God. If he had wished to do so, the Holy Spirit would not have allowed it, for he could not do the work that God Himself intended to accomplish. Perhaps there was much in him that was of man’s will, or there was something deviant in him; under no circumstances could he directly represent God. His mistakes and erroneousness represented only himself, but his work was representative of the Holy Spirit. Yet, you cannot say that all of him represented God. Could his deviation and erroneousness represent God as well? To be erroneous in representing man is normal, but if he had deviation in representing God, then would that not be a dishonor to God? Would that not be blasphemy against the Holy Spirit? The Holy Spirit does not allow man to stand in God’s place at will, even if he is exalted by others. If he is not God, then he would be unable to remain standing in the end. The Holy Spirit does not allow man to represent God as man pleases! For instance, the Holy Spirit bore witness to John and also revealed him to be the one to pave the way for Jesus, but the work done in him by the Holy Spirit was well measured. All that was asked of John was to be the way-paver for Jesus, to prepare the way for Him. That is to say, the Holy Spirit only upheld his work in paving the way and allowed him only to do such work, no other. John represented Elijah, the prophet who paved the way. This was upheld by the Holy Spirit; as long as his work was to pave the way, the Holy Spirit upheld it. However, if he had laid claim to be God Himself and come to finish the work of redemption, the Holy Spirit must discipline him. However great the work of John, and be it upheld by the Holy Spirit, his work remained within boundaries. It is indeed true that his work was upheld by the Holy Spirit, but the power given him at the time was limited to his paving the way. He could not, at all, do any other work, for he was only John who paved the way, and not Jesus. Therefore, the testimony of the Holy Spirit is key, but the work man is permitted to do by the Holy Spirit is even more crucial. Was John not greatly witnessed of? Was not his work also great? But the work he did could not surpass that of Jesus, for he was no more than a man used by the Holy Spirit and could not directly represent God, and thus the work he did was limited. After he finished the work of paving the way, none continued to uphold his testimony, no new work again followed him, and he departed as the work of God Himself began. 

God's word | Concerning the Bible (4) | The Church of Almighty God

God's word | Concerning the Bible (4) | The Church of Almighty God

    Many people believe that understanding and being able to interpret the Bible is the same as finding the true way—but in fact, are things really so simple? No one knows the reality of the Bible: that it is nothing more than a historical record of God’s work, and a testament to the previous two stages of God’s work, and offers you no understanding of the aims of God’s work. Everyone who has read the Bible knows that it documents the two stages of God’s work during the Age of Law and the Age of Grace. The Old Testament chronicles the history of Israel and Jehovah’s work from the time of creation until the end of the Age of Law. The New Testament records Jesus’ work on earth, which is in the Four Gospels, as well as the work of Paul; are they not historical records? Bringing up the things of the past today makes them history, and no matter how true or real they might be, they are still history—and history cannot address the present. For God does not look back on history! And so, if you only understand the Bible, and understand nothing of the work God intends to do today, and if you believe in God but do not seek the work of the Holy Spirit, then you do not understand what it means to seek God. If you read the Bible in order to study the history of Israel, to research the history of God’s creation of all the heavens and earth, then you do not believe in God. But today, since you believe in God, and pursue life, since you pursue the knowledge of God, and do not pursue dead letters and doctrines, or an understanding of history, you must seek God’s will of today, and must look for the direction of the Holy Spirit’s work. If you were an archeologist you could read the Bible—but you are not, you are one of those who believe in God, and you’d best seek God’s will of today. By reading the Bible, at most you’ll understand a little of the history of Israel, you’ll learn about the lives of Abraham, David, and Moses, you’ll find out about how they revered Jehovah, how Jehovah burned those who opposed Him, and how He spoke to the people of that age. You’ll only find out about God’s work in the past. The records of the Bible relate to how the early people of Israel revered God and lived under the guidance of Jehovah. Because the Israelites were God’s chosen people, in the Old Testament you can see all the people of Israel’s loyalty to Jehovah, how all those who obeyed Jehovah were cared for and blessed by Him, you can learn that when God worked in Israel He was full of mercy and love, as well as possessed of consuming flames, and that all the Israelites, from the lowly to the mighty, revered Jehovah, and so the whole country was blessed by God. Such is the history of Israel recorded in the Old Testament.

The Church of Almighty God | God's voice | Concerning the Bible (3)

God's voice | Concerning the Bible (3) | The Church of Almighty God

    Not everything in the Bible is a record of the words personally spoken by God. The Bible simply documents the previous two stages of God’s work, of which one part is a record of the foretellings of the prophets, and one part is the experiences and knowledge written by people used by God throughout the ages. Human experiences are tainted with human opinions and knowledge, which is unavoidable. In many of the books of the Bible are human conceptions, human biases, and human absurd interpretations. Of course, most of the words are the result of the enlightenment and illumination of the Holy Spirit, and they are correct interpretations—yet it still cannot be said that they are entirely accurate expressions of the truth. Their views on certain things are nothing more than the knowledge of personal experience, or the enlightenment of the Holy Spirit. The foretellings of the prophets were personally instructed by God: The prophecies of Isaiah, Daniel, Ezra, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel came from the direct instruction of the Holy Spirit, these people were seers, they had received the Spirit of prophecy, they were all prophets of the Old Testament. During the Age of Law these people, who had received the inspirations of Jehovah, spoke many prophecies, which were directly instructed by Jehovah. And why did Jehovah work in them? Because the people of Israel were God’s chosen people: The work of prophets had to be done among them, and they were qualified to receive such revelations. In fact, they themselves didn’t understand God’s revelations to them. The Holy Spirit spoke those words through their mouths so that the people of the future could comprehend those things, and see that they really were the work of the Spirit of God, of the Holy Spirit, and did not come from man, and to give them confirmation of the Holy Spirit’s work. During the Age of Grace, Jesus Himself did all this work in their stead, and so people no longer spoke prophecy. So was Jesus a prophet? Jesus was, of course, a prophet, but He was also able to do the work of the apostles: He could both speak prophecy and preach and teach people across the land. Yet the work He did and the identity He represented were not the same. He came to redeem all mankind, to redeem man from sin; He was a prophet, and an apostle, but more than that He was Christ. A prophet can speak prophecy, but it cannot be said that he is Christ. At that time, Jesus spoke much prophecy, and so it can be said that He was a prophet, but it cannot be said that He was a prophet and so not Christ. That is because He represented God Himself in carrying out a stage of work, and His identity was different from that of Isaiah: He came to complete the work of redemption, and He also provided the life of man, and the Spirit of God came unto Him directly. In the work He did, there were no inspirations from the Spirit of God or instructions from Jehovah. Instead, the Spirit came to work directly—which is enough to prove that Jesus was not the same as a prophet. The work He did was the work of redemption, second to which came the speaking of prophecy. He was a prophet, an apostle, and more than that He was the Redeemer. The foretellers, meanwhile, could only speak prophecy, and were incapable of representing God’s Spirit in doing any other work. Because Jesus did much work that had never before been done by man, and did the work of redeeming mankind, He was thus different from the likes of Isaiah. That some people don’t accept the stream of today is because this has created an obstacle for them. They say: “In the Old Testament many prophets also spoke many words—so why weren’t they God become flesh? The God of today speaks words—is that enough to prove that He is God incarnate? You do not hold the Bible up high, nor do you study it—so what basis do you have for saying that He is the incarnation of God? You say that they are instructed by the Holy Spirit, and you believe that this stage of work is work personally done by God—but what is your basis for this?” You focus your attention to the words of God today, it seems as if you have denied the Bible, and put it to one side, and so they say that you believe in heresy, that you are part of an evil cult. 

The Church of Almighty God | God's voice | Concerning the Bible (2)

The Church of Almighty God | God's voice | Concerning the Bible (2)

    The Bible is also called the Old and New Testament. Do you know what “testament” refers to? The “testament” in the Old Testament comes from Jehovah’s covenant with the people of Israel when He killed the Egyptians and saved the Israelites from the Pharaoh. Of course, the proof of this covenant was the lamb’s blood daubed on lintels, through which God established a covenant with man, one in which it was said that all those who had lamb’s blood on the top and sides of the doorframe were Israelites, they were God’s chosen people, and they would all be spared by Jehovah (for Jehovah was then about to kill all the firstborn sons of Egypt and firstborn sheep and cattle). This covenant has two levels of meaning. None of the people or livestock of Egypt would be delivered by Jehovah; He would kill all of their firstborn sons and firstborn sheep and cattle. Thus, in many books of prophecy it was foretold that the Egyptians would be severely chastised as a result of the covenant of Jehovah. This is the first level of meaning. Jehovah killed the firstborn sons of Egypt and all its firstborn livestock, and He spared all the Israelites, which meant that all those who were of the land of Israel were cherished by Jehovah, and would all be spared; He wished to do long-term work in them, and established the covenant with them using lamb’s blood. From then onward, Jehovah would not kill the Israelites, and said that they would forever be His chosen ones. Among the twelve tribes of Israel, He would embark upon His work for the entire Age of Law, He would open up all His laws to the Israelites, and choose among them prophets and judges, and they would be at the center of His work. He made a covenant with them: Unless the age changed, He would work only among the chosen ones. Jehovah’s covenant was immutable, for it was made in blood, and was established with His chosen people. More important, He had chosen an appropriate scope and target through which to embark upon His work for the whole age, and so people saw the covenant as especially important. This is the covenant’s second level of meaning. With the exception of Genesis, which was before the establishment of the covenant, all the other books in the Old Testament record the work among the Israelites after the establishment of the covenant. Of course, there are occasional accounts of the Gentiles, but overall, the Old Testament documents God’s work in Israel. Because of Jehovah’s covenant with the Israelites, the books written during the Age of Law are called the “Old Testament.” They are named after Jehovah’s covenant with the Israelites. 

God's Utterance | Concerning the Bible (1)

The Church of Almighty God | God's Utterance | Concerning the Bible (1)

    How should the Bible be approached in the belief in God? This is a question of principle. Why are we communing this question? Because in the future you will spread the gospel and widen the work of the Age of Kingdom, and it’s not enough to merely be able to talk of God’s work today. To broaden His work, it is more important that you are able to resolve people’s old religious conceptions and old means of belief, and leave them utterly convinced—and getting to that point involves the Bible. For many years, people’s traditional means of belief (that of Christianity, one of the world’s three major religions) has been to read the Bible; departure from the Bible is not the belief in the Lord, departure from the Bible is an evil cult, and heresy, and even when people read other books, the foundation of these books must be the explanation of the Bible. Which is to say, if you say you believe in the Lord, then you must read the Bible, you must eat and drink the Bible, and outside the Bible you must not worship any book that does not involve the Bible. If you do, then you are betraying God. From the time when there was the Bible, people’s belief in the Lord has been the belief in the Bible. Instead of saying people believe in the Lord, it is better to say they believe in the Bible; rather than saying they have begun reading the Bible, it is better to say they have begun believing in the Bible; and rather than saying they have returned before the Lord, it would be better to say they have returned before the Bible. In this way, people worship the Bible as if it were God, as if it were their lifeblood and losing it would be the same as losing their life. People see the Bible as being as high as God, and there are even those who see it as higher than God. If people are without the work of the Holy Spirit, if they cannot feel God, they can carry on living—but as soon as they lose the Bible, or lose the famous chapters and sayings from the Bible, then it is as if they have lost their life. And so, as soon as people believe in the Lord they begin reading the Bible, and memorizing the Bible, and the more of the Bible they are able to memorize, the more this proves that they love the Lord and are of great faith. Those who have read the Bible and can speak of it to others are all good brothers and sisters. For all these years, people’s faith and loyalty to the Lord has been measured according to the extent of their understanding of the Bible. Most people simply don’t understand why they should believe in God, nor how to believe in God, and do nothing but search blindly for clues to decipher the chapters of the Bible. They have never pursued the direction of the work of the Holy Spirit; all along, they have done nothing but desperately study and investigate the Bible, and no one has ever found newer work of the Holy Spirit outside of the Bible, no one has ever departed from the Bible, nor have they ever dared to depart from the Bible. People have studied the Bible for all these years, they have come up with so many explanations, and put in so much work; they also have many differences of opinion about the Bible, which they debate endlessly, such that over two thousand different denominations have been formed today. They all want to find some special explanations, or more profound mysteries in the Bible, they want to explore it, and to find in it the background to Jehovah’s work in Israel, or the background to Jesus’ work in Judea, or more mysteries that no one else knows. People’s approach to the Bible is one of obsession and faith, and no one can be completely clear about the inside story or substance of the Bible. Thus, the result is that today, people still have an indescribable sense of magicalness when it comes to the Bible; even more than that, they are obsessed with it, and have faith in it. Today, everyone wants to find the prophecies of the work of the last days in the Bible, they want to discover what work God does during the last days, and what signs there are for the last days. In this way, their worship of the Bible becomes more fervent, and the closer it gets to the last days, the more credence they give to the prophecies of the Bible, particularly those about the last days. With such blind belief in the Bible, with such trust in the Bible, they have no desire to seek the work of the Holy Spirit. In people’s conceptions, they think that only the Bible can bring the work of the Holy Spirit; only in the Bible can they find the footsteps of God; only in the Bible are hidden the mysteries of God’s work; only the Bible—not other books or people—can clarify everything of God and the entirety of His work; the Bible can bring the work of heaven to earth; and the Bible can both begin and conclude the ages. With these conceptions, people have no inclination to search for the work of the Holy Spirit. So, regardless of how much of a help the Bible was to people in the past, it has become an obstacle to God’s latest work. Without the Bible, people can search for the footsteps of God elsewhere, yet today, His footsteps have been contained by the Bible, and extending His latest work has become double difficult, and an uphill struggle. This is all because of the famous chapters and sayings from the Bible, as well as the various prophecies of the Bible. The Bible has become an idol in people’s minds, it has become a puzzle in their brains, and they are simply incapable of believing that God can work exclusive of the Bible, they are incapable of believing that people can find God outside of the Bible, much less are they able to believe that God could depart from the Bible during the final work and start anew. This is unthinkable to people; they can’t believe it, and neither can they imagine it. The Bible has become a great obstacle to people’s acceptance of God’s new work, and has made it difficult to broaden this new work. Thus, if you don’t understand the inside story of the Bible, you will be unable to successfully spread the gospel, nor will you be able to bear testimony to the new work. Although, today, you do not read the Bible, you are still extremely amiable toward it, which is to say, the Bible might not be in your hands, but many of your conceptions come from it. You don’t understand the origins of the Bible or the inside story about the previous two stages of God’s work. Although you do not eat and drink the Bible, you must understand the Bible, you must achieve the correct knowledge of the Bible, and only in this way will you be able to know what God’s 6,000-year management plan is all about. You will use these things to win people over, to make them acknowledge that this stream is the true way, to make them acknowledge that the path you walk today is the path of truth, that it is guided by the Holy Spirit, and has not been opened up by any human. 

The Church of Almighty God | The Testimony of a Christian | Experiencing the Tribulations, I Was Accompanied by God’s Love

The Testimony of a Christian | Experiencing the Tribulations, I Was Accompanied by God’s Love | The Church of Almighty God

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.

The Church of Almighty God | The Testimony of a Christian | Rise Up in the Dark Oppression

The Church of Almighty God | The Testimony of a Christian | Rise Up in the Dark Oppression

Mo Zhijian    Guangdong Province

    I was born in a poor remote mountain village. People there burned incense and worshiped Buddha for generations. Temples were everywhere, and each household burned incense. No one believed in God. In 1995, my wife and I believed in the Lord Jesus in another place. After returning home, we began to preach the gospel. Later, the number of the believers gradually increased to over one hundred. Because more and more people believed in God, the local government was alarmed. One day in 1997, the police asked me to go to the local police station. The director of the County Public Security Bureau, the director of the County Bureau for State Security, the director of the County Administration of Religious Affairs, the chief of the local police station, and some policemen had already been waiting there. The director of the County Public Security Bureau questioned me, “Why do you believe in God? Who do you get in touch with? Where do you get the Bibles? Why don’t you go to the church to have meetings?” I answered, “The constitution stipulates explicitly that the citizens enjoy freedom of belief. Why don’t you allow us to believe in God freely?” The director of the County Administration of Religious Affairs said, “There is a scope for the freedom of religious belief. It’s just like a bird in a cage. Although its wings and feet are not bound, it can only move around in the cage.” Hearing his fallacy, I was very indignant. I said angrily, “Then the government is deceiving the common people!” Hearing my word, they knew they were in the wrong, so they had nothing to say and could only let me go home. At that time I had no knowledge of the CCP government’s substance of persecuting people in believing in God. In 1999, I accepted Almighty God’s end-time work. Only through reading God’s word and experiencing the crueler persecution of the CCP government did I see clearly that it is exactly the embodiment of satan the evil spirit and is God’s enemy. It is just as the Bible says, “And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceives the whole world.” (Revelation 12:9) 

God's word | God Is the Lord of All Creation

The Church of Almighty God | God's word | God Is the Lord of All Creation

    One stage of the work of the two previous ages took place in Israel; another took place in Judea. Generally speaking, neither stage of this work left Israel; they were the stages of work carried out among the initial chosen people. Thus, in the view of the Israelites, Jehovah God is only the God of the Israelites. Because of Jesus’ work in Judea, and because of His completion of the work of the crucifixion, from the perspective of the Jews, Jesus is the Redeemer of the Jewish people. He is solely the King of the Jews, not of any other people; He is not the Lord who redeems the English, nor the Lord who redeems the Americans, but He is the Lord who redeems the Israelites, and in Israel it is the Jews that He redeems. Actually, God is the Master of all things. He is the God of all creation. He is not only the God of the Israelites, and He is not only the God of the Jews; He is the God of all creation. The previous two stages of His work took place in Israel, and in this way, some conceptions have taken shape within people. People think that Jehovah was at work in Israel and Jesus Himself carried out His work in Judea—additionally, it was through incarnation that He was at work in Judea—and whatever the case, this work did not extend beyond Israel. He was not at work with the Egyptians; He was not at work with the Indians; He was only at work with the Israelites. People thus form various conceptions; additionally, they plan out God’s work within a certain scope. They say that when God is at work, it must be carried out among the chosen people and in Israel; save for the Israelites, God has no other recipient for His work, nor does He have any other scope for His work; they are particularly strict in “disciplining” the God incarnate, not permitting Him to move beyond the scope of Israel. Are these not all human conceptions? God made all of the heavens and earth and all things, and made all of creation; how could He restrict His work to only Israel? In that case, what use would there be for Him to make the entirety of His creation? He created the whole world; He has carried out His six-thousand-year management plan not only in Israel but also with every person in the universe. Regardless of whether they live in China, the United States, the United Kingdom or Russia, every person is a descendant of Adam; they have all been made by God. Not a single person can break away from the scope of God’s creation, and not a single person can escape the label of “descendant of Adam.” They are all God’s creation, and they are all Adam’s descendants; they are also the descendants of the corrupted Adam and Eve. It is not only the Israelites who are God’s creation, but all people; nevertheless, some among creation have been cursed, and some have been blessed. There are many desirable things about the Israelites; God was initially at work with them because they were the least corrupt people. The Chinese pale in comparison to them, and cannot even hope to match them; thus, God initially worked among the people of Israel, and the second stage of His work was only carried out in Judea. As a result of this, people form many conceptions and many rules. Actually, if He were to act according to human conceptions, God would only be the God of the Israelites; in this manner He would be unable to expand His work into Gentile nations, because He would only be the God of the Israelites rather than the God of all creation. The prophecies said that Jehovah’s name would be great in the Gentile nations and that Jehovah’s name would be spread to the Gentile nations—why would they say this? If God were only the God of the Israelites, then He would only be at work in Israel. Furthermore, He would not expand this work, and He would not make this prophecy. Since He made this prophecy, He would need to expand His work into Gentile nations and into every nation and place. Since He stated this, He would thus do so. This is His plan, for He is the Lord who created the heavens and earth and all things, and the God of all creation. Regardless of whether He is at work with the Israelites or in all Judea, the work He does is the work of the entire universe and the work of all humanity. The work He does today in the nation of the great red dragon—in a Gentile nation—is still the work of all humanity. Israel can be the base for His work on earth; likewise, China can also become the base for His work among the Gentile nations. Has He not now fulfilled the prophecy that “the name of Jehovah will be great in the Gentile nations”? The first step of His work among the Gentile nations refers to this work He is doing in the nation of the great red dragon. For the God incarnate to be at work in this land and to be at work among these cursed people runs particularly contrary to human conceptions; these people are the most lowly and without any worth. These are all people whom Jehovah initially abandoned. People can be abandoned by other people, but if they are abandoned by God, these people will have no status, and they will have the lowest amount of worth. As a part of creation, being occupied by Satan or abandoned by other people are both painful things, but if a part of creation is abandoned by the Lord of creation, this signifies that his or her status is at an absolute low. The descendants of Moab were cursed, and they were born within this underdeveloped country; without a doubt, the descendants of Moab are the people with the lowest status under the influence of darkness. Because these people possessed the lowest status in the past, the work done among them is most capable of shattering human conceptions, and it is also the work most beneficial to His entire six-thousand-year management plan. For Him to work among these people is the action most capable of shattering human conceptions; with this He launches an era; with this He shatters all human conceptions; with this He ends the work of the entire Age of Grace. His initial work was carried out in Judea, within the scope of Israel; in Gentile nations He did not do any era-launching work whatsoever. The final stage of His work is not only carried out among the people of Gentile nations; even more so, it is carried out among those cursed people. This one point is the evidence most capable of humiliating Satan; thus, God “becomes” the God of all creation in the universe and becomes the Lord of all things, the object of worship for everything with life. 

Through the Great Tribulation, I Have Reaped Great Benefits

Experience Testimonies of the Church of Almighty God | Through the Great Tribulation, I Have Reaped Great Benefits

Rongguang    Zhengzhou City, Henan Province

After following Almighty God, I was put in prison because I believed in God. At that time I was a new believer and God had given me strength so that I could stand firm in my testimony. However, I mistakenly believed that I had the stature; I thought that I had a great amount of faith, love and loyalty for God, therefore I didn’t pay particular attention to eating and drinking God’s words of judgment and chastisement. Even though I read, I compared the word by which God exposes man with other people and excluded myself from God’s judging words. I was only willing to read about the mysteries God has revealed and prophecies as well as words concerning obtaining blessings; these are the words I was most interested in. I read God’s words: “Based on their different functions and testimonies, the overcomers within the kingdom will serve as priests or followers, and all those who are victorious amid tribulation will become the body of priests within the kingdom. … In the body of priests there will be chief priests and priests, and the remainder will be the sons and people of God. This is all determined by their testimonies to God during tribulation; they are not titles that are given at whim” (“God’s Work and Man’s Practice” in The Word Appears in the Flesh). “The time of the tribulation will not be too protracted—it will not even be a year. If it were to last for a year it would delay the next step of work, and people’s stature would be inadequate. If it were too long they wouldn’t be able to withstand it—their stature has its limitations” (“How You Should Walk the Last Leg of the Path” in The Word Appears in the Flesh). I thought: Position in the kingdom will be determined based on how people testify during the tribulation; these testimonies could influence someone’s fate. When the tribulation comes upon me, I will have to grit my teeth and put forth enough energy, and I will certainly offer a beautiful testimony. That way I will be able to obtain great blessings; besides, the tribulation won’t last too long–it will be less than a year. No matter what happens, I’ll be able to endure this period of hardship. By being dominated by thoughts of obtaining blessings I made up my mind to get ready for battle; I thought that by relying on my own “faith” and “will,” I would be able to be an overcomer in the tribulation.

Embarking on the Path of Belief in God

Experience Testimonies of the Church of Almighty God | Embarking on the Path of Belief in God

Rongguang    Harbin City, Heilongjiang Province

In 1991, by the grace of God, I began to follow Almighty God because of an illness. At that time I didn’t know anything about believing in God, but the interesting thing is that, when eating and drinking of the words expressed by Almighty God, I enjoyed it. I felt that His words were so good, and when I sang or prayed I was frequently moved by the Holy Spirit to the point of weeping. That sweetness in my heart, that enjoyment was as if a joyous event had come upon me. Particularly in get-togethers during the great work of the Holy Spirit, I felt as if I had transcended the flesh and I was living in the third heaven, that everything belonging to the world had been cast to the winds. I can’t say how joyful, how happy I was in my heart. I felt that I was the happiest person in the world. So at that time I believed that believing in God was just enjoying His grace.

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

The Church of Almighty God | 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. My six-thousand-year management plan is divided into three stages in order to achieve the following effect: to allow My creations to be My witnesses, to know My will, to see that I am the truth.

The Church of Almighty God | Sermons and Fellowship About God’s Word “Christ Does the Work of Judgment With the Truth” (V)

The Church of Almighty God | Sermons and Fellowship About God’s Word “Christ Does the Work of Judgment With the Truth” (V)

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　　“Christ Does the Work of Judgment With the Truth

　　The work of the last days is to separate all according to their kind, to conclude the management plan of God, for the time is near and the day of God has come. God brings all who have entered His kingdom, that is, all those who have been loyal to Him to the end, into the age of God Himself. However, before the coming of the age of God Himself, the work that God desires to do is not to observe the deeds of man or to inquire about the lives of man, but to judge his rebellion, for God shall purify all those who come before His throne. All those who have followed the footsteps of God to this day are those who have come before the throne of God, hence all who accept the last of God’s work are those to be purified by God. In other words, all those who accept the last of God’s work are those who will be judged by God.

Sermons and Fellowship About God’s Word “How to Know the God on Earth”（V）

The Church of Almighty God | Sermons and Fellowship About God’s Word “How to Know the God on Earth”（V）

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“How to Know the God on Earth

All of you are glad to receive rewards before God and to be recognized by God. This is everyone’s wish after he begins to have faith in God, for man wholeheartedly seeks higher things and none are willing to fall behind others. This is the way of man. For this reason, many among you always try to gain the favor of the God in heaven, yet in truth, your loyalty and sincerity to God are far less than your loyalty and sincerity to yourselves. Why do I say this? Because I do not acknowledge your loyalty to God at all, and I further deny the existence of the God that is within your hearts. That is to say, the God that you worship, the vague God that you admire, does not exist at all. The reason I can say this so definitively is that you are too far away from the true God. The loyalty you possess comes from the existence of another idol within your hearts, and as for Me, the God regarded as neither great nor small in your eyes, you acknowledge Me with nothing but words. When I speak of your great distance from God, I am referring to how far away you are from the true God, while the vague God seems to be near at hand. When I say “not great,” it is in reference to how the God that you have faith in this day appears to merely be a man without powerful abilities; a man that is not very lofty. And when I say “not small,” this means that though this man cannot summon the wind and command the rain, He is able to call upon the Spirit of God to do work that shakes the heavens and earth, thus baffling man. Outwardly, you all appear to be very obedient to this Christ on earth, yet in substance you neither have faith in Him nor love Him. What I mean is that the one you truly have faith in is that vague God in your feelings, and the one you truly love is the God you yearn for night and day, yet have never seen in person. As for this Christ, your faith is merely a fraction, and your love for Him is nothing. Faith means belief and trust; love means adoration and admiration in the heart, never parting. Yet your faith in and love of the Christ of this day fall far short of this. When it comes to faith, how do you have faith in Him? When it comes to love, how is it that you love Him? You know not at all of His disposition, much less His substance, so how is it that you have faith in Him? Where is the reality of your faith in Him? How do you love Him? Where is the reality of your love for Him?

Believing in God Should Focus on Reality, Not Religious Rituals

The Church of Almighty God | Believing in God Should Focus on Reality, Not Religious Rituals

　　How many religious customs do you observe? How many times have you rebelled against the word of God and gone your own way? How many times have you put into practice the word of God because you are truly considerate of His burdens and seek to fulfill His desire? Understand the word of God and put it into action. Be principled in your actions and deeds; this is not abiding by rules or to do so grudgingly just for show. Rather, this is the practice of truth and living by the word of God. Only practice such as this satisfies God. Any custom that pleases God is not a rule but the practice of truth.

You Ought to Live for the Truth Since You Believe in God

The Church of Almighty God | You Ought to Live for the Truth Since You Believe in God

　　The common problem that exists in all men is that they understand the truth but cannot put it into practice. One factor is that man is unwilling to pay the price, and the other is that man’s discernment is too inadequate; he is unable to see past many of the difficulties that exist in real life and knows not how to appropriately practice. As man has too little experience, poor caliber, and limited understanding of the truth, he is unable to resolve the difficulties he encounters in life. He can only pay lip service to his faith in God, yet is unable to bring God into his everyday life. In other words, God is God, and life is life, as if man has no relationship with God in his life. That is what all men believe. Such manner of faith in God will not allow man to be gained and perfected by Him in reality. In truth, it is not that the word of God is incomplete, but rather that the ability of man to receive His word is simply inadequate. It can be said that almost no man acts as originally required by God. Rather, their faith in God is in accordance with their own intentions, established religious notions, and customs. Few are those who undergo a transformation following the acceptance of God’s word and begin to act in accordance with His will. Rather, they persist in their mistaken beliefs. When man begins to believe in God, he does so based on the conventional rules of religion, and lives and interacts with others entirely on the basis of his own philosophy of life. Such is the case for nine out of every ten people. Very few are those who formulate another plan and turn over a new leaf after beginning to believe in God. None regard or put into practice the word of God as the truth.

The Church of Almighty God | You Should Know That the Practical God Is God Himself

The Church of Almighty God | You Should Know That the Practical God Is God Himself

　　What should you know about the practical God? The Spirit, the Person, and the Word make up the practical God Himself, and this is the true meaning of the practical God Himself. If you only know the Person—if you know His habits and personality—but do not know the work of the Spirit, or what the Spirit does in the flesh, and only pay attention to the Spirit, and the Word, and only pray before the Spirit, unknowing of the work of God’s Spirit in the practical God, then this yet proves that you do not know the practical God. Knowledge of the practical God includes knowing and experiencing His words, and grasping the rules and principles of the work of the Holy Spirit, and how the Spirit of God works in the flesh. So, too, does it include knowing that every action of God in the flesh is governed by the Spirit, and that the words He speaks are the direct expression of the Spirit. Thus, if you wish to know the practical God, you must primarily know how God works in humanity and in divinity; this, in turn, concerns the expressions of the Spirit, which all people engage with.

The Church of Almighty God| The Fifth Utterance

 

The Church of Almighty God | The Fifth Utterance

       When My Spirit gives voice, it expresses the whole of My disposition. Are you clear on this? To be unclear on this point would be tantamount to opposing Me directly. Have you truly seen the importance that lies herein? Do you really know how much effort, how much energy, I expend on you? Do you really dare to lay bare what you have done before Me? And you have the nerve to call yourselves My people to My face—you have no sense of shame, still less any reason! Sooner or later, people like this will be expelled from My house. Don’t you come the old soldier with Me, thinking that you have stood for My testimony! Is this something that humanity is capable of doing? If nothing remained of your intentions and your goals, you would long since have struck out on a different path. Do you think I don’t know how much the human heart can hold? From this time forth, in all things you must enter into the reality of practice; merely flapping your gums, as you used to do, will no longer get you by. In the past, most of you managed to sponge under My roof; the fact that you are able to stand firm today is entirely due to the severity of My words. Do you think that My words are randomly spoken without an object? Impossible! I look down upon all things from on high, and exercise dominion over all things from on high. In the same way, I have sent forth My salvation over the earth. There is never a moment when I am not watching, from My secret place, humanity’s every move, everything they say and do. Humanity is to Me an open book: I see and know them one and all. The secret place is My abode, and the empyrean the bed on which I lie. Satan’s forces cannot reach unto Me, for I am overflowing with majesty, righteousness, and judgment. An ineffable mystery resides in My words. When I am speaking, you become like fowls that have just been cast into water, overwhelmed with confusion, or babies who have just had a fright, seeming to know nothing, because your spirit has fallen into a state of stupefaction. Why do I say that the secret place is My abode? Do you know the deeper meaning of what I say? Who in all humanity is capable of knowing Me? Who is capable of knowing Me as they know their own father and mother? Resting in My abode, I observe closely: All the people on earth bustle about, “traveling around the world” and rushing back and forth, all for the sake of their destiny, their future. But not a single one has energy to spare for building My kingdom, not even so much as the strength one might use in drawing breath. I created the human race, and I have rescued them many times from tribulation, but these humans are all ingrates: Not a single one among them is able to enumerate all the instances of My salvation. How many years, how many centuries has it been from the creation of the world down to the present day, and how many miracles have I worked, how many times made manifest My wisdom? But man, like a lunatic afflicted with dementia and torpor or, even worse, sometimes like a wild beast flailing about in the forest, has not the slightest intention of paying heed to My affairs. Many times I have given man the death sentence and condemned him to die, but the plan of My management cannot be altered by anyone. And so man is, still in My hands, strutting the old things he clings to. Because of the steps of My work, I have, once again, rescued you, you beings born into the corrupt, decadent, filthy, and sordid big family.

The Church of Almighty God| The Fourth Utterance

The Church of Almighty God| The Fourth Utterance

All of My people who serve before Me should think back on the past: Was your love for Me tainted by impurity? Was your loyalty to Me pure and wholehearted? Was your knowledge of Me true? How much of a place did I hold within your hearts? Did I fill their entirety? How much did My words accomplish within you? Don’t take Me for a fool! These things are perfectly clear to Me! Today, as the voice of My salvation is uttered forth, has there been some increase in your love for Me? Has part of your loyalty to Me become pure? Has your knowledge of Me deepened? Did the praise of the past lay a solid foundation for your knowledge today? How much of your inside is occupied by My Spirit? How much of a place does My image hold within you? Have My utterances struck you at your Achilles’ heel? Do you truly feel that you have nowhere to hide your shame? Do you truly believe that you are unqualified to be My people? If you are completely oblivious to the questions above, then this shows that you are fishing in murky waters, that you are only there to make up the numbers, and at the time preordained by Me, you will surely be eliminated and cast into the bottomless pit for a second time. These are My words of warning, and any who take them lightly will be struck by My judgment, and, at the appointed time, will be assailed by disaster. Is this not so? Do I still need to provide examples to illustrate this? Must I speak more plainly to provide a benchmark for you? From the time of creation until today, many people have disobeyed My words and thus been cast out and eliminated from My stream of recovery; ultimately, their bodies perish and their spirits are cast into Hades, and even today they are still subjected to grievous punishment. Many people have followed My words, but they have gone against My enlightenment and illumination, and have thus been kicked aside by Me, falling under the domain of Satan and becoming those who oppose Me. (Today all those who directly oppose Me obey only the superficialities of My words, and disobey the substance of My words.) There have been many, too, who have merely listened to the words I spoke yesterday, who have held on to the junk of the past and not treasured the produce of the present day. These people have not only been taken captive by Satan, but have become eternal sinners and become My enemies, and they directly oppose Me. Such people are the objects of My judgment at the height of My wrath, and today they are still blind, still within the dark dungeons (which is to say, such people are rotten, benumbed corpses that are controlled by Satan; because their eyes have been veiled by Me, I say that they are blind). It would be well to provide an example for your reference, so that you can learn from it:

Expression of Almighty God |The Third Utterance

Expression of Almighty God |The Third Utterance

Since you are called My people, things are not as they used to be; you should listen to and obey the utterances of My Spirit, closely follow My work, and may not separate My Spirit and My flesh, for We are inherently one, and are not apart. Whosoever divides the Spirit and the man, cherishing either the man or the Spirit, shall suffer loss, and will only be able to drink from their own bitter cup—and that’s all there is to say. Only those who are able to look upon the Spirit and the man as an inseparable whole shall have an ample knowledge of Me, and only then can changes gradually occur in the life contained within them. So that the next step of My work may proceed smoothly and without hindrance, I employ the refinement of words to test all those who are in My house, using the method of working to test those who follow Me. Under these circumstances, it is fair to say that they all lose hope; as people, there is not one among them whose conditions are not negative and passive, as if their entire space has changed. Some people rail against Heaven and earth; some, in their despair, still bite the bullet and accept the test of My words; some look to the skies and sigh deeply, tears filling their eyes, as if distraught by the untimely demise of a newborn infant; some even feel there is shame in living thus, and pray for God to take them away soon; some spend all day in a daze, as if they’ve just been seriously ill and have yet to come to their senses; some, after complaining, quietly leave; and some still praise Me from their own place, yet are still a little negative. Today, when all has been revealed, I need speak no more of the past; of greater importance is that you should still be capable of the utmost loyalty from the place I give you today, so that all you do meets My approval, and all you say is the product of My enlightenment and illumination, and ultimately what you live out is My image, is completely the manifestation of Me.