Lord Jesus Has Returned

Christian Music "The One Who Holds Sovereignty Over Everything" (Musical Documentary) | Power of God
Throughout the vast universe, all celestial bodies move precisely within their own orbits. Under the heavens, mountains, rivers, and lakes all have their boundaries, and all creatures live and reproduce throughout the four seasons in accordance with the laws of life…. This is all so exquisitely designed—is there a Mighty One ruling and arranging all this? Since coming into this world crying we have begun playing different roles in life. We move from birth to old age to illness to death, we go between joy and sorrow…. Where does mankind really come from, and where will we really go? Who is ruling our fates? From ancient times to modern days, great nations have risen up, dynasties have come and gone, and countries and peoples have flourished and perished in the tides of history…. Just like the laws of nature, the laws of humanity's development contain infinite mysteries. Would you like to know the answers to them? The Christian musical documentary The One Who Holds Sovereignty Over Everything will guide you to get to the root of this, to unveil all of these mysteries!

By Mei Ling

Dear Dad,
It’s been a long time since I wrote to you last time. How are you going lately? I think you also desire greatly to know my current situation in Canada. Thank God! My job is very stable, and all aspects of my life are very good. Please be reassured.

the Great White Throne

How is your church recently? Are the brothers and sisters still weak? Dad, I often heard you moan and groan when I was at home. Since you have preached for more than 20 years, working hard for the Lord and supporting the church wholeheartedly, the Lord should approve you and bless your church. Why has your church become more and more bleak? Have you discovered the reason? You often say that the Lord will come back soon and He will judge all nations and all peoples at His coming, punishing the wicked and rewarding the good. You told us to adhere to the way of the Lord, run about more, spend and dedicate more, and do more good deeds and volunteer work so that we could enter the kingdom of heaven because of our righteous conduct when the Lord comes to do the work of judgment. I asked you, “How will the Lord judge people when He returns?” You turned to the Book of Revelation and said, “‘And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works’ (Revelation 20:11-12). When the Lord comes a second time, He will sit upon a great white throne in the sky, and judge people according to all they have done one by one; the believers in the Lord will be taken up into heaven; subsequently He will send disaster to destroy the unbelievers. This is the judgment before the great white throne.” The brothers and sisters were all confident that they would be taken up into heaven; nevertheless, I felt it was unbelievable and questioned it, “How will the Lord judge us one by one when He comes to take us up into heaven?” Nobody was capable of saying clearly how God will judge man specifically when He comes. Dad, do you have any new understandings about the judgment? It can be seen from the various signs of today that the prophecies of the Lord’s return have already been fulfilled. Then, why haven’t we seen the judgment? Isn’t it worth thinking deeply about?

One day, Zhang Yue, a friend of mine, gave me a newspaper. When I read it, the bold headline “Christ Does the Work of Judgment With the Truth” caught my attention. The work of judgment, isn’t it what has puzzled me for so many years? I eagerly read on and saw these words, “The ‘judgment’ in the words previously spoken—judgment will begin at the house of God—refers to the judgment God passes today on those who come before His throne in the last days. Perhaps there are those who believe in such supernatural imaginings as that, when the last days have arrived, God will erect a big table in the heavens, upon which a white tablecloth will be spread, and then, sitting upon a great throne with all men kneeling on the ground, He will reveal the sins of each man and thereby determine whether they are to ascend to heaven or be sent down to the lake of fire and brimstone. No matter what the imaginings of man, the substance of God’s work cannot be altered. The imaginings of man are nothing but the constructs of man’s thoughts and come from the brain of man, summed up and pieced together from what man has seen and heard. Therefore I say, however brilliant the images conceived, they are still no more than a drawing and are not able to substitute for the plan of God’s work. After all, man has been corrupted by Satan, so how can he then fathom the thoughts of God? Man conceives the work of judgment by God to be particularly fantastic. He believes that since it is God Himself doing the work of judgment, then it must be of the most tremendous scale and incomprehensible to mortals, and it must resound through the heavens and shake the earth; otherwise how could it be the work of judgment by God? He believes that, as this is the work of judgment, then God must be particularly imposing and majestic as He works, and those being judged must be howling with tears and on their knees begging for mercy. Such a scene must be a grand spectacular and be deeply rousing….” These words are absolutely true! We have always thought that God will erect a big table in the heavens and sit upon the throne, judging man’s sins one by one when He does the judgment work. Isn’t it the true judgment work? I asked eagerly, “How exactly will God do His work of judgment?”

Zhang Yue said, “There are over two hundred references to the judgment in the Bible, such as ‘For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God’ (1 Peter 4:17), ‘He that rejects me, and receives not my words, has one that judges him: the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day’ (John 12:48), ‘However, when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will show you things to come’ (John 16:13), etc. All these verses refer to the judgment. In regard to how to judge people, God will come and do the work of judgment with the truth in the last days, that is, He will judge man with His words. The Lord Jesus said, ‘For the Father judges no man, but has committed all judgment to the Son’ (John 5:22). ‘And has given him authority to execute judgment also, because he is the Son of man’ (John 5:27). The Lord Jesus’ words directly prophesied that God would return to earth as the Son of man to carry out the work of judgment in the last days, Christ will personally come among man to express His words to judge man. the Great White ThroneIf God spoke in heaven, which is like a thunderclap and incomprehensible to people, the work of judgment couldn’t achieve better results. Only if God becomes flesh and speaks utterances among man can man easily understand His words. For example, the Lord Jesus taught people among them, asking them to be tolerant and patient, and asking them to love others as themselves. He lived and spoke with people, so that they clearly knew how to practice. But the Lord Jesus only did a stage of work of redeeming mankind through the crucifixion, and He will come a second time to do the judgment work. Almighty God is indeed the Lord Jesus returned, and has expressed millions of words to judge and purify man—this is beyond all doubt. Let’s take a look at more of His word. Almighty God says, ‘In the last days, Christ uses a variety of truths to teach man, expose the essence of man, and dissect his words and deeds. These words comprise various truths, such as man’s duty, how man should obey God, how man should be loyal to God, how man ought to live out the normal humanity, as well as the wisdom and the disposition of God, and so on. These words are all directed at the essence of man and his corrupt disposition. In particular, those words that expose how man spurns God are spoken in regard to how man is an embodiment of Satan and an enemy force against God. In undertaking His work of judgment, God does not simply make clear the nature of man with just a few words; He exposes, deals with, and prunes it over the long term. These methods of exposure, dealing, and pruning cannot be substituted with ordinary words, but with the truth that man does not possess at all. Only methods of this kind are deemed judgment; only through judgment of this kind can man be subdued and thoroughly convinced into submission to God, and moreover gain true knowledge of God’ (‘Christ Does the Work of Judgment With the Truth’). ‘The work of judgment is representative, and is not carried out especially for a certain person. Rather, it is work in which a group of people are judged in order to represent the judgment of all of mankind. By personally carrying out His work on a group of people, God in the flesh uses His work to represent the work of the whole of mankind, after which it is gradually spread. The work of judgment is also thus. God does not judge a certain kind of person or a certain group of people, but judges the unrighteousness of the whole of mankind—man’s opposition to God, for example, or man’s irreverence against Him, or disturbance of the work of God, and so on. What is judged is mankind’s substance of opposition to God, and this work is the work of conquest of the last days. The work and word of the incarnate God witnessed by man are the work of judgment before the great white throne during the last days, which was conceived by man during times past. The work that is currently being done by the incarnate God is exactly the judgment before the great white throne. The incarnate God of today is the God who judges the whole of mankind during the last days’ (‘Corrupt Mankind Is More in Need of the Salvation of God Become Flesh’ in The Word Appears in the Flesh). Almighty God incarnate does the work of judgment with the truth; He expresses the truth to expose our substance of opposition to and betraying God, reveal our words and deeds that do not conform to truth, and deal with and prune our satanic nature, such as arrogance and conceit, selfishness and baseness, and crookedness and craftiness, which fully convinces us. This is the judgment before the great white throne. When God does His judgment work, He first expresses the truth to judge those who come before His throne and conquer and perfect them, and then takes those who have been conquered and made perfect into the kingdom of heaven and punishes and destroys all the wicked. If we only wait for God to appear publicly to man, we will miss the opportunity for God to purify and perfect us; consequently we will not be able to be saved and taken into the kingdom of heaven. God has been carrying out the judgment work in the last days for more than 20 years, and several million people have accepted His work of judgment and chastisement. God has already made a group of overcomers. Now, all people are being classified according to kind, and the great disaster is coming down soon to destroy the filthy old world. God will appear publicly to all nations and peoples, rewarding good and punishing evil, and the new heaven and new earth will appear. The work of judgment starting from the house of God is directed at all those who accept God’s work of the last days. The group of people who have become clean can receive God’s promises and enter the kingdom of heaven, while all the wicked that resist God and deny Him, according to the prophecy in the Book of Revelation, are the objects to be destroyed. God doesn’t do the judgment and purifying work on them; He merely lets the great calamity arrive and destroy them. So we should know clearly that God’s judgment and chastisement, to God’s chosen people, is purifying, saving, and perfecting; but to the wicked that hate the truth and resist God, it is condemnation and destruction. This is absolutely true.”

Hearing these words, I felt astonished. “Wow! You fellowshiped that the judgment work done by Almighty God incarnate is actually the great white throne judgment, and God first judges those who accept the words of Almighty God so as to purify them and make a group of overcomers. This is too practical.”
Zhang Yue said, “So it is! When we see God reveal Himself openly to do the judgment work, it will be the time when God punishes the wicked and rewards the good. Those who haven’t received cleansing as a result of not accepting God’s work of judgment by the word are the objects to be eliminated and punished.” I approved with a nod.

The Judgment Before the Great White

Dad, now I go to the website of the Church of Almighty God and read the words expressed by Almighty God every day. Therefore I have a normal spiritual life and have regained the delight of the work of the Holy Spirit. Through reading Almighty God’s words, I am certain that Almighty God is the second coming of the Lord Jesus. Dad, please search for the Church of Almighty God hurriedly and accept God’s judgment work of the last days. Do not miss the opportunity to be judged and purified by God. Almighty God says, “God’s work has an unstoppable momentum. He will not repeat the work of judgment again for the sake of your ‘merit,’ and you will be filled with boundless regret at letting such a good opportunity slip. If you do not believe My words, then just wait for that great white throne in the sky to pass judgment upon you! You must know that all of the Israelites spurned and denied Jesus, and yet the fact of Jesus’ redemption of mankind still spread to the ends of the universe. Isn’t this a reality that God made long ago?” (“Christ Does the Work of Judgment With the Truth”). It’s true! The judgment before the great white throne has already begun! The Lord Jesus we have expected for so many years has already returned and carried out a stage of judgment work. We have never expected that the Lord would do the judgment work with the truth. If we don’t listen to the fellowship of the brothers and sisters, don’t accept God’s judgment work until He appears publicly to man, isn’t it too late then?

Your daughter,
Mei Ling
July 16, 2016 in Canada

By Zhangxian
In 1990, I believed in the Lord Jesus in the stream of recovery. When I first believed in the Lord, I was full of confidence and had never missed each meeting. Owing to my enthusiastic pursuit, the leader promoted me to be a co-worker of the church. In a co-workers meeting, the leader said, “Now there appears a denomination called the Eastern Lightning. They say the Lord has returned. As co-workers of the church, we must fulfill our duty, watch our lambs and prevent the followers of the Eastern Lightning from stealing them.” I kept what the leader said in mind and made a resolution inwardly: I must take good care of the lambs and be a man loyal to the Lord.

One summer afternoon in 1993, I received a call from a sister. She said she had seen a follower of the Eastern Lightning go to Sister Xu’s house to spread the gospel, and she let me go and see quickly. After laying down my cell phone, I went to Sister Xu’s house immediately. When I arrived, I saw my co-workers had already been there. The one who spread the Eastern Lightning was an old sister in her sixties. I said furiously to her, “Don’t spread the gospel here. Go away!” Sister Xu was scared and dared not say anything, just standing aside. Hardly had the old sister begun to speak when we all shouted at her and didn’t allow her to speak. Finally, we hounded her out. Afterward, as soon as I heard that strangers went to believers’ homes, I would bind and hinder believers from listening to sermons. However, two co-workers in the church still believed in the Eastern Lightning successively later. I felt puzzled: They have strong faith. How could they both believe in the Eastern Lightning? What exactly does the Eastern Lightning preach? Why do people believe in it once they listen to its preaching?

In a co-worker meeting in 1997, Leader Xie, on the platform, led us to read 1 Thessalonians 4:17, “Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.” Then he said, “Thank the Lord for making us be born in the last days. We are really so blessed! In the future, the disasters on the earth will be extremely serious. Whoever in the name of the Lord Jesus will be guarded by the Lord, be lifted up into the air to meet the Lord, and avoid the three-and-a-half-year disaster on earth. Then we’ll never taste death and our spirit, soul, and body will remain. …” The audience all shouted out, “Hallelujah! Glory be to the Lord!”

In the autumn of 2002, a sister who had a good relationship with me came to testify God’s work during the last days to me. She said, “The Lord has come back and He is Almighty God incarnate. He has secretly descended in China and expressed the truth to do the work of judgment in the last days. Hurry and listen to God’s word.” I said in an arrogant tone, “How do you know the Lord Jesus has come back?” Treated by me with such an attitude, she still said to me patiently, “You see, that we believe in the Lord Jesus is not because of seeing Him, but because of His words and work. God became flesh this time to speak and work, and He has expressed many truths. We were certain that Almighty God is the returned Lord Jesus by reading His word. In fact, we believe in the same God. Almighty God is the incarnate God Himself. He has done a higher stage of work on the foundation of the redemptive work of the Lord Jesus in the Age of Grace. God’s management plan to save mankind is divided into three stages. In the beginning, Jehovah God did the work of setting forth the laws and commandments to lead man in their lives upon earth in the Age of Law. During the later stages of the Age of Law, people would be condemned and executed under the law because of failing to keep the laws. Therefore, God was incarnated for the first time and did the work of redeeming mankind under the name of Jesus in the Age of Grace. As long as man repented and confessed sins to the Lord, and then he would be forgiven of his sins and avoid being cursed to death by the law. This is the true meaning of being saved. Although we humans are forgiven of our sins and are saved, we still live in the cycle of sinning each day and confessing each night. This proves our sinful nature hasn’t been resolved, and that the root of sin hasn’t been removed yet, so we can still sin and resist God. Thereupon, in order to purify and gain man completely, God is incarnated for the second time and has performed the work of judging and purifying man in the last days under the name of Almighty God to end His six-thousand-year management plan. Hence, Jehovah, Jesus, and Almighty God are one God. Today, the Lord Jesus has returned and expressed many truths. Only if you dare to seek can you confirm that this is the true way.”

Hearing this, I hastened to poke my head round the door to see if there were people around. Seeing no one outside, I said to her hastily, “Our leader repetitively stresses that we cannot contact followers of the Eastern Lightning. You’ll never come again. If our leader knows this thing, he’ll surely dismiss me.” She said, “Sister, today we believe in God rather than leaders. Almighty God is incarnated to do the work of judgment. He has loosed the seven seals, opened the scroll, and unlocked all truths and mysteries that people of ages past didn’t understand. No matter what problem you have, as long as you read more of God’s words, you’ll understand.” Hearing her say that Almighty God has unlocked all the mysteries, my heart wavered. I then put forward the questions that had puzzled me for so long, “Can you explain to me what is being raptured recorded in the Bible? Can people really ascend to heaven?” She said with a smile, “How can a living man ascend to heaven? Rapture doesn’t mean, as man imagines, being taken from a low place to a high place, or being caught up from earth to heaven, much less mean that a living man disappears in a very short time and ascends to the air to avoid disasters. Sister, let’s make an analogy and then you’ll understand. For example, a person works as a cadre in the township; later he is promoted to work at the county. When people see him, they’ll say, ‘You’ve been advanced. Your treat.’ Today, we believe in the Lord Jesus in the Age of Grace. If we can keep pace with God’s new work in the Age of Kingdom, a higher stage of work, this means that we’ve been raptured before God.” At her word, I felt it was practical and kind of reasonable. I asked again, “Paul said, ‘be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air.’ What’s this?” She said to me, “Paul was just an apostle preaching the gospel. His words couldn’t represent the Lord Jesus’ word. We should believe in God on the basis of God’s word. The Lord Jesus didn’t say that we humans can be raptured into the air. On the contrary, He said, ‘And no man has ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven’ (John 3:13). It means that since ancient times until today, no man has ever ascended up to heaven. God’s dwelling place is in heaven. Man is of flesh and blood and cannot ascend to heaven. Our imagination is too naive. We don’t want to stay on earth to carry out God’s will faithfully but want to ascend to heaven and become glorified together with God. Aren’t we humans too irrational?” I thought what she talked about was really practical. At the time, I thought of the Lord Jesus’ word in the Lord’s Prayer, “Your kingdom come, Your will be done in earth, as it is in heaven” (Luk 6:10). And Revelation prophesies, ‘And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven …” (Rev 21:2). I thought: It is spoken plainly in these verses that God’s kingdom will come down to earth. Since it says ‘coming down,’ God’s kingdom is surely on earth and His will will be done on earth as well. God will establish His kingdom on earth and live with man. Thus God’s kingdom is on earth. If all the people want to be caught up into the air, won’t God’s words be in vain? As can be seen, what she fellowshiped conforms to the Bible and is not vague at all.

She continued, “Genesis 2:7-8 says, ‘And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul. And the LORD God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there he put the man whom he had formed.’ From these two verses, we can see that the first man that God created in the beginning was on earth. God didn’t put him in heaven but let him live on earth. After we humans committed sin, God also came to earth to save us. In the Age of Law, God did all of His work on earth. In the Age of Grace, to redeem mankind, God incarnate came to earth to do His work as well. In the Age of Kingdom, God’s work of judgment and chastisement is still carried out on earth. As a matter of fact, God does all His work of managing man on earth and mankind also lives on earth. The final destination of mankind is still on earth instead of in heaven. This has been predestined by God.” At this time, she brought out a copy of the book The Word Appears in the Flesh and said to me, “Let’s read Almighty God’s word. Almighty God says, ‘God entering into rest means that He will no longer carry out His work of humanity’s salvation. Humanity entering into rest means that all of humanity will live within God’s light and under His blessings; there will be none of Satan’s corruption, nor will any unrighteous things occur. Humanity will live normally upon earth, and they will live under God’s care. When God and man enter into rest together, it will mean that humanity has been saved and that Satan has been destroyed, that God’s work among man has finished entirely. God will no longer continue to work among man, and man will no longer live under Satan’s domain. Therefore, God will no longer be busy, and man will no longer rush about; God and man will enter into rest simultaneously. God will return to His original position, and each person will return to his or her respective place. These are the destinations that God and man will respectively reside in after the end of God’s entire management. God has God’s destination, and man has man’s destination. While resting, God will continue to guide all of humanity in their lives upon earth. While in God’s light, man will worship the one true God in heaven. God will no longer live among humanity, and man will also be unable to live with God in God’s destination. God and man cannot live within the same realm; rather, both have their own respective manners of living. …’” (“God and Man Will Enter Into Rest Together”). She continued to fellowship, “God originally created man and made them live on earth. After man was corrupted by Satan, God set forth laws and commandments to lead man in their lives on earth to worship Him. When man has been deeply corrupted by Satan, God incarnate came to earth to make a sin offering for mankind, redeeming us humans from sin. According to the needs of the corrupt mankind, God has incarnated once again and come among men to do a stage of the work of conquest and salvation in the last days. He expresses the truth to judge and purify man, enabling man to free them from sin and be saved, and making man fear God and shun evil and live out the likeness of a true man, so that man can be protected by God and survive in God’s kingdom after the disasters in the last days. When God’s work concludes, those enemies who have resisted and persecuted God will have been destroyed by the disasters. Afterward, God will live with man and rest with man. God’s kingdom has already descended on earth. The purified people will enjoy a life on earth that is akin to that in heaven in the future. This is the fact that is to be accomplished by God. So, is it God’s will to rapture us humans up to heaven?” At these words, I thought they were very realistic and also made sense. It is really not God’s will that we humans ascend to heaven. I wanted to continue seeking, so I said, “What you said is very practical. I think it’s in line with the truth. Nevertheless, I cannot accept it blindly. Could you leave me a book? I want to seek and investigate. I’ll believe after I’m certain of it.” She said in a cheerful mood, “OK! This time God has opened up all the thousand-year-old mysteries. This is His personal utterance. You need to read it carefully. If there is something that you are not clear about, we’ll fellowship together when I come next time.”

In the evening, I took up the book The Word Appears in the Flesh, and after I prayed to God, I saw such a passage of God’s words, “‘Being caught up’ is not being taken from a low place to a high place as people imagine. This is a huge mistake. Being caught up is referring to My predetermining and selecting. It is targeted at all those I have preordained and chosen. … This is most incompatible with people’s notions. Those who have a share in My house in the future are all people who have been caught up before Me. This is absolutely true, never-changing, and cannot be refuted by anybody. This is the counterattack against Satan. Anyone I preordained shall be caught up before Me” (“The One Hundred and Fourth Utterance”). After reading this passage, I thought: These words are very true and can’t be spoken by any person. Being caught up mentioned here is also practical. It turns out that being caught up refers to man’s entering into the Age of Kingdom from the Age of Grace, keeping up with God’s new work, coming before God’s throne and having a higher knowledge of God. This is the true meaning of rapture.

Subsequently, through fellowshiping with the sister many times, at last I became certain about Almighty God’s work in the last days, so that I could met the coming of the Lord Jesus and was raptured before God’s throne, enjoying God’s word every day as I was face to face with God. Recalling that I had resisted God for almost ten years by my conceptions and imaginations, and hindered many brothers and sisters from returning before God, I was really a great sinner. However, God didn’t wreak retribution upon me according to what I had done, but waited for me to return to Him and gave me the opportunity to be saved. I was so regretful that I cried loudly, hating myself for opposing God too many times. Simultaneously, I also regretted that I started believing in Almighty God late. Now, God’s work is already of unprecedented magnificence. People who are willing to seek and investigate in various denominations and sects have all returned before the throne. This has fulfilled the gratifying scene of “all nations shall flow to it” in Isaiah. Yet there is a portion of people who still insist on waiting for the Lord Jesus who rides upon a white cloud to rapture them. They hold onto their conceptions and imaginations of the past, and shut the door on the true God. Such people will lose the chance to be saved and their outcome can only be punishment in the end. Nowadays, I can keep up with God’s work and come before God’s throne, which is God’s grace. It is the practical work of God that smashes men’s notions and imagination. And it is God who raptured me from the Age of Grace to the Age of Kingdom, made me keep pace with the footsteps of the Lamb, and made my rapture become a reality. All the glory be to God!

Yanping, Japan
I was born in the 1980s. Because of China’s one-child family policy, my parents were fined after my arrival, so they particularly hated me. And influenced by the Chinese custom of preferring boys to girls, they were unwilling to expend anything on me. Sometimes they even would argue over a dress bought for me which cost more than 10 yuan. So I felt subdued and sad, and thought I was superfluous. One day, when my parents were not at home, I drank pesticide to end my life. But it tasted so bad that I just took a little sip, so it didn’t kill me. My parents have never known about this. When I was 13, my parents were not willing to pay for my tuition fees anymore, so in order to make the money, I could only spend my summer vacation selling ice creams in a scenic spot, which was scores of miles away from my home. One day after rain, when I was riding on the mountain road, I slid down into the river along with my bicycle, and my mind went blank at once. Not until I came to myself did I find that I was not injured at all, and only my clothes were snagged. When the passers-by saw me climbing out of the water safe and sound, they all said that I was so lucky, because the river was full of stones, and if one fell down into it, he would either die or get seriously injured. And they all tried to persuade me, “You are too young. Don’t come out selling ice creams anymore. It’s too dangerous.” I said nothing, and directly walked my bicycle and left. On the way home, I felt sick at heart: Don’t I know the danger? I have no other choice but to sell ice creams to earn some money to pay my tuition, or I’ll have to abandon my studies. But at last, I still discontinued my schooling after graduation from middle school.

Three years later, some classmates of mine and I found a job in a clothing factory. It was a dirty and heavy job. Sometimes we needed to pull an all-nighter, and I still remembered that the longest time we didn’t have a wink of sleep was three days and two nights. Because of long working hours, one of my workmates was so tired that her hair was accidentally sucked into the machine when she was cutting the clothes. That almost killed her. Later, my classmates all left the factory one after another. Facing all of this, I hesitated for a long time: They have their relatives or friends to help them find another job, but I don’t have anyone to help me. If I leave here, I would have to sell the ice cream again. This job is the only hope for me and I can’t give it up. So I steeled myself to persevere. In the next few years, I changed some jobs. Except for the holidays arranged by the company, I never had a day off. I kept working and working because I knew that there was no guarantee for my future. Later, after a constant struggle, I had earned some money. But when I was living in hopes of a better life, one thing that I had never expected happened.

One day in 2005, I suddenly received the call from my cousin. She told me to go to the hospital immediately. I got there hurriedly, and the moment I walked into the ward, I was petrified by what I saw: My brother was lying in the sick bed, his head was wrapped up in a white cloth, and pipes were being inserted into his mouth and nose. Right then, my tears ran down uncontrollably. My father told me that my brother had fallen off from the upstairs and he had not come round yet. Later, the doctor performed an operation on his head and after a period of treatment, he could move his hands and arms. My parents and I were very excited to see this, and felt that we had finally seen the hope. But the doctor told us that my brother was severely injured, and that once he sat up, the water on his brain would flow, and he advised that my brother should have another operation. When I heard this news, it felt like I had been struck by a lightning bolt. The first operation had almost swallowed up all our savings, we would not be able to afford another one. Watching my brother in the sick bed and my white-haired father, I felt extremely distressed, but I thought: No matter how they treated me in my childhood, I am the only one they can rely on now, and I shall take on this burden. That year, I was only 25 years old.

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Therefore, I exerted myself tirelessly to make money. Every day I only slept four or five hours, and after several years of hard work, I had finally made some money. During the time, my brother had another operation and was gradually able to take care of himself. With my help, he bought a house and got married. At that point, I thought that I could finally live a peaceful life. But it never occurred to me that his wife, who spent only three years with him, got away with tens of thousands yuan of the family. This blow was unbearable for him so that he had a bad turn and lost consciousness. Facing this, I felt as if the sky was going to fall: Why do these misfortunes come one after another? When is all this going to end? Afterward, I continued my life of making money like automatons. Every phone call I received from my parents was either asking for money, or saying my brother got injured and was in hospital, and I had to look after him. Under such pressure, I really wanted to have a good cry: I’m only an ordinary person. There is a limit to my endurance. Later, due to overwork, my mom was out of condition. I was more depressed and began to worry: If my parents passed away, what should I do with my brother? I’m already in my late 20s, but I do not dare to find a partner or get married. With such a family, do I still have my own future? I could not tell my depression in my heart to anyone, feeling that I was on the verge of collapse.

In May, 2015, in order to solve the financial problem of my family, I left for Japan alone with concern for my parents and brother. Here my destiny was changed quietly.

Not long after I came to Japan, I knew Xiaosu. She worked in a company, while I worked at her boss’ home. We often met each other. As both of us are Chinese, we gave our telephone numbers to each other. In the Spring Festival of 2016, I went home to visit my relatives, and Xiaosu and I happened to meet on the same plane. During our chat, she asked me, “Where does man come from?” Without thinking, I answered her, “Man evolved from apes.” She said to me smilingly, “Man was created by God, so were the heaven and earth and all things.” Then she gave me some examples to illustrate the absurdity in the theory of evolution and also told me how God created the heaven and earth and all things, and so on. Because this was the first time that I had heard we were created by God, I felt amazed, and didn’t fully understand it or believe it. But I thought I had always been living in depression and pain, and that it might make me happier to contact more people of faith. So I promised her that I would go to their meetings after I came back.

A week later, I returned to Japan, and Xiaosu invited me to attend their meetings. We listened to a hymn of God’s word “God’s Wondrous Deeds of Governing All Things” together: “For thousands of years, the creek flows in such a quiet, quiet way at the foot of the mountain. Directed by the mountain, the creek returns to its hometown. It merges into a river, and then into a sea, into a sea. Thanks to the watching of the mountain, the creek has never got lost. The creek and the mountain reinforce, neutralize, and depend on each other.” I was deeply attracted by the lyrics. I was so surprised that this song told us the mountain, stream, ocean, and so on, which we seldom paid attention to, have their own value and significance. The song was so heartwarming that my heart gradually relaxed along with it, feeling happy and released. Then we read a piece of God’s word “God Is the Source of Life for All Things.” And through reading this piece of God’s word and listening to the sister’s fellowship, I knew: God spent six days to create the heaven and earth and all things, and created man. In order to nurture man, He gave them a stable environment for survival, and established boundaries for all things. The scope of the desert, grass, ocean, the living environment for birds and beasts, why beasts only stay in the forests while poultry can be reared and so on—it turns out that these common enough phenomena are all controlled by God and predestined by God. The more I listened, the more I felt a thirst for it. Later I often attended meetings, and read God’s words with them. Gradually, I knew more about the miraculous deeds of God’s creation of all things, and began to believe from the bottom of my heart that all things are created and managed by God. And I also began to rely on God.

to be continued …

One day in January 2016, Xiaosu sent me a web link. I clicked it and saw several passages of God’s words about the six junctures in a human life. God said, “The circumstances of one’s birth and death are both predetermined by the Creator; this is a person’s destiny, a person’s fate. Just as much can be said about one’s birth, every person’s death will occur under a different set of special circumstances, hence people’s varying lifespans and the different manners and times of their deaths. Some people are strong and hale and yet die early; others are weak and sickly yet live to an old age, and pass away peacefully. Some perish of unnatural causes, others of natural ones. Some end their lives far from home, others shut their eyes with their loved ones by their side. Some people die in midair, others beneath the earth. Some sink beneath the water, others are lost in disasters. Some die in the morning, others at night. … Everyone wants an illustrious birth, a brilliant life, and a glorious death, but no one can overstep their own destiny, no one can escape the Creator’s sovereignty. This is human fate. Man can make all kinds of plans for his future, but no one can plan the manner and time of their birth and of their departure from the world. Though people do their best to avoid and resist the coming of death, yet still, unbeknownst to them, death silently draws near. No one knows when they will perish or how they will do so, much less where it will happen. Obviously, it is not humanity that holds the power of life and death, not some being in the natural world, but the Creator, whose authority is unique. Mankind’s life and death are not the product of some law of the natural world, but a consequence of the sovereignty of the Creator’s authority.” After reading these words, my heart suddenly brightened. I had heard the older generation say that life and death are decreed by fate, but I had never known what the mystery was in it. Now God’s words made me truly understand that when and where one dies is not determined by any man. I had always been worried about my parents and my brother, fearing that my brother would die of an accidental fall or injury if he was not carefully watched, and that then my parents would die of grief for the loss of my brother. I had often lived in all kinds of worries, afflicted with depression and pain. Not until then did I understand that my brother’s health and future, and my parents’ lifespan and health were all under God’s sovereignty, and that I could do nothing for them. Even if I had stayed with them every day, I could not change their destiny. After understanding this mystery, I felt relaxed as never before. I thought that if I had seen this passage of God’s words earlier, I would not have lived such a tiring life.

Returned to God's Family
From the Internet

Afterward, whenever I had time, I would attend the gatherings with my sisters. Gradually, I had more understanding of God. I came to realize: We mankind were created by God, and should have lived happily under the guidance of God. However, because we were tempted by Satan and left God, we have lived in various pains. Once in a gathering, I saw God’s words say, “When one has no God, when one cannot see Him, when one cannot clearly recognize God’s sovereignty, every day is meaningless, worthless, miserable. Wherever one is, whatever one’s job is, one’s means of living and the pursuit of one’s goals bring one nothing but endless heartbreak and irrelievable suffering, such that one cannot bear to look back.” I recalled: Since childhood, I had never known there is God, so I had no one to pour out my difficulties to, had no one to rely on, and could only take all the pressure and bear all the pain by myself. When all my efforts to change the fate of my family failed and instead unpredicted adversities came upon us one after another, I felt increasing despair. The pain in my heart was more than I could bear, so that I lived in agony. Today because I have accepted Almighty God’s work, I have known that all our pain is caused by Satan and by our ignorance of God’s sovereignty and our straying away from God’s protection and care. I have known our lives come from God, and that our everything is dominated by God. I should unload the heavy burden in my heart and commit myself and my family to God, and let God lead us the way ahead.

In the Spring Festival in 2017, when I came back home, my mom told me excitedly, “Your brother is in better health than before. In the past, he relapsed twice a month; this year, he has only relapsed about three times in total, and besides, his illness isn’t as severe as before.” I believed from my heart that it was God’s deed, and I was full of gratitude to Him.

Once during my spiritual devotions, I saw a passage of God’s words: “Throughout your long lives, basically every individual has encountered many dangerous situations and undergone many temptations. This is because Satan is right there beside you, its eyes fixed on you constantly. It likes it when disaster strikes you, when calamities befall you, when nothing goes right for you, and likes it when you are caught in Satan’s net. As for God, He is protecting you constantly, keeping you from one misfortune after another and from one disaster after another. This is why I say that everything man has—peace and joy, blessings and personal safety—is in fact all under God’s control, and He guides and decides the life and fate of every individual. … There is no craftiness in God, no falsity. God is faithful and everything He does is both true and real. He is the only thing that people can count on and the only thing that people can entrust their lives and their all to.” After reading these words, I could not control my emotions and burst into tears. “Ever since I could remember, I have never enjoyed the warmth of my family or my parents’ love, but instead my days were full of endless scolding. I hated it that I came to this world, and I had no courage to face the miserable future, so I chose to end my young life by drinking pesticide. When I grew a little older, I went to sell ice creams, but I nearly dropped to my death or drowned. Later, I left home and found a job. I worked day and night, starved, wandered the streets, slept in the broken factory, and for several times I almost lost my life…. I have never told anyone my hardships, for I always thought it was because I was born unlucky. Not until today do I know that all of these resulted from Satan’s affliction. It was Satan that made me encounter many dangers, so that I couldn’t go on in this world and chose to end my life before knowing what my future would be like. But under God’s protection, I escaped the danger again and again. It was God that had guaranteed my safety and removed Satan’s affliction from me. Then God arranged many environments to bring me back to His home, letting me know that I was the lost one from Him and had suffered too much outside, and should now come back home.” In thinking about this, I felt very warm and happy in my heart. “God has been silently doing everything for me, accompanying me every day in my life. Now I have finally realized God’s true love for me. Thank Almighty God!”

After that, I read Almighty God’s words carefully every day. Sometimes, I listened to hymns while working and felt great enjoyment. Particularly when I watched videos of hymns made by brothers and sisters, my heart also danced happily with them. The lyrics of the hymn “My Life Is Free and Released” moved my heart: “My heart is flying out, is flying out. I will repay God’s love, passive no more. Once I misread God’s will and ignored Him. But now I’ve seen that God is waiting for my love. I’ll try hard to satisfy God, and let Him gain my heart. Look, all flowers are in bloom everywhere; and music is ringing in my mind. I’ll try hard to satisfy God, and let Him gain my heart. Look, all flowers are in bloom everywhere; and music is ringing in my mind. I sing out my heart’s love for God. My heart happy, my soul joyful, inspired by God’s love. Practicing God’s words fills me with praise and joy. I’m so happy to eat, drink and fellowship God’s words. I feel at ease to sing a song of love from my heart. I’m no longer weak and passive; I will comfort God’s heart. I’m so joyful to enjoy God’s love; I’m the happiest one. I’m no longer weak and passive; I will comfort God’s heart. I’m so joyful to enjoy God’s love; I’m the happiest one. God’s love fills my heart.” Watching brothers and sisters dancing freely to praise God, I felt unspeakably excited. Thank God for saving me, so that I can gather with brothers and sisters and read His words and enjoy His love. The time I spend with brothers and sisters is the happiest of my life. They often call to ask whether I have any troubles and how my life is, and they tell me that if I have any difficulty, don’t hesitate to tell them. This love and care of brothers and sisters toward me is brought by God’s love. Now my life has changed a lot; my brother’s condition is much better and thus less money is needed for his treatment; my parents are in better health; I also have my own family; and my job is light and pleasant. All my pain has gone. I give thanks to Almighty God. All I have are His blessings for me. I’m willing to follow Him for a lifetime.

The End.

By Dingzhen, United States
The Beginning of My Dream

In my childhood, my family was very poor, and my mother was always in bad health. Every time when I saw others wear pretty dresses, I would envy them. Because my family didn’t have spare money to buy clothes for me, I had to wear what my older sister used to wear. In those days, I always felt too ashamed to lift up my head before my classmates. Thus I secretly resolved: When I grow up, I must come to the top, leading a rich life.

After my marriage, in order to lead a wealthy life as soon as possible, I borrowed some money and came to America to work in 1995. In August 1998, my husband and I rented a storefront and started a restaurant business. After we had run it for some time, the business increased rapidly. Sometimes I would work until 2:00 a.m., always getting exhausted physically and mentally, but as long as I saw the money I earned, the feeling of fatigue was gone. As my husband’s cooking got better and better, guests returned in increasing numbers, and on top of that my children had grown up by that time, so in September 2000, I rented another storefront to open another restaurant. After we operated it for a while, the business was doing well too. At this time, some of my relatives and friends in America all came to my restaurants to work, and they really admired me. Seeing them look at me admiringly, I could finally draw myself up to my full height and raise my head before them.

Because I was busy with the business of the restaurants every day, gradually, I rarely went to church for Mass, and became more and more distant from the Lord. In 2004, I opened two takeouts. Although I had already had four restaurants then, I was still unsatisfied. Later I bought a piece of land of more than 8000 square feet, built some buildings with storefronts on it, and then rented the storefronts out after having them decorated. And after that, I opened a 5000-square-foot cafeteria. At that time, I firmly believed: My fate is in my hands, and as long as I work hard, I will obtain the wonderful life I want.

The Shattering of My Dream

In the blink of an eye, it was 2008. America was then faced with financial crisis, and the economy was declining. The business of my restaurants was also affected. Because of the difficulties in money operation, I had to reduce the staff, trying to save as many of the restaurants as possible. At that time, our whole family was occupied with the affairs of the restaurants, going out early and returning home late, and what’s more, we all wished that we could be in two places at once. Every day I was completely exhausted. Such a life continued until 2011. By then we were still not able to rent out the storefronts, the restaurants still failed to be transferred, and our whole family had been completely done in. I had no choice but to shut up three restaurants.

Faced with the failure of my business, I considered there were reasons for it: On the one hand, I encountered the economic crisis; on the other hand, I didn’t manage the business well. In spite of my failure, I refused to resign myself to defeat, believing that as long as our whole family worked hard, we would surely change the status quo and revive the business, just as the sayings go, “By doing we learn,” and “Failure teaches success.” Afterward, we started a takeout in which we invested about 100 thousand dollars. I thought: This store is situated in the town with a large popularity. Besides, my husband’s cooking is good, and we have advertised. So the business must be good in the future. Even if we can’t make much money, at least what we earn will be adequate to support our family, and there is no way we can make a loss. But finally, this store still ended in failure. On top of that, once I fell down in the restaurant due to overwork, causing me to suffer a hairline fracture in my back, and since then my health had not been good. I had thought that I might regain past success through running this store based on my own efforts, but now all my hopes were destroyed. Faced with this situation, I felt very painful and completely collapsed.

In those days, my husband drowned his sorrows in drink frequently. At the sight of this, my heart was aching, and I often washed my face with tears. I could not help but ask myself: Is it wrong to struggle with my own hands? Is this my fate? I felt completely helpless, just as if I had fallen into a deep hole, unable to see the way ahead. In the midst of my suffering, I came before the Lord and prayed, “O Lord! Because I occupied myself with my business, I have become further and further away from You. Please forgive me! Now I fail completely, feeling very painful. Lord, I don’t understand Your will, nor can I feel You are with me. I don’t know how to walk the path before me. O Lord! Please guide me. …” Like this, I frequently came into the presence of the Lord and prayed to Him. Eventually, in the autumn of 2013, I finally sold out all my stores and land, and the money I got was just enough for me to repay all my debts. In my heart, I knew it was the Lord who was helping me. Right after all debts were cleared, we moved to New York.

Waking Up as if From a Dream

After arriving at New York, I would go to church every Sunday. One day in April 2015, a sister preached to me the gospel of the Lord’s return. And she also fellowshiped with me about the mystery of the incarnation and of God’s name, and the truth concerning the three-stage work of God’s management plan, and so on. Through a period of investigation, I confirmed that Almighty God is precisely the return of the Lord.

One day, I read God’s words, “Because people do not recognize God’s orchestrations and God’s sovereignty, they always face fate defiantly, with a rebellious attitude, and always want to cast off God’s authority and sovereignty and the things fate has in store, hoping in vain to change their current circumstances and alter their fate. But they can never succeed; they are thwarted at every turn. This struggle, which takes place deep in one’s soul, is painful; the pain is unforgettable; and all the while one is frittering away one’s life. What is the cause of this pain? Is it because of God’s sovereignty, or because a person was born unlucky? Obviously neither is true. At bottom, it is because of the paths people take, the ways people choose to live their lives.”

After reading these words of God, I came to know the reason why I felt so much pain: Isn’t it because I don’t know God’s sovereignty, am not willing to obey it, and always try to rely on my own effort to obtain the life I desire? Thinking back over the years, in order to make more money to live a life where I am above others, I was never content with my present fortune, and continuously expanded my business, believing “one’s destiny is in his own hand,” always trying to “build a beautiful family by my hands.” From starting my own restaurant to buying land and building storefronts for rent, my business could be said to have reached its height. Yet my ambitions and desires were so strong that I wasn’t satisfied with that, and instead continued purchasing land and opening restaurants. And even though the financial crisis brought me economic loss, I didn’t wake up, but tried to learn from the failure and then to make a comeback. In this way, I expended a lot of effort and paid much price for the sake of living a life where I am above others. In the end, not only did I not obtain the good life I wanted, but instead, I got many illnesses. Now, only through God’s words did I understand: Whether I am poor or rich is ordained by God. If God destined me to be a common person, then no matter how hard I strive, I will not lead an affluent life. This is dictated and arranged by God and is also a reflection of God’s authority. Thinking back on these years, I felt as if I had been in a dream, and it was God’s words that awakened me from it. I then made up my mind: I am willing to let go of my wrong pursuit, and to obey God’s sovereignty, calmly facing my life.

True Awakening

After accepting God’s work of the last days, by reading the words of God and leading a church life I understood some truths. However, because I was deeply corrupted by Satan, once there was a suitable opportunity, I still wanted to give another try. One day in September 2015, my daughter said to me that she wanted to start a nail salon. My husband who was by our side also said, “Since our economic conditions still permit, and our daughter is talented in this respect, then let’s set her up in a nail salon. Being her own boss, she will not have to dance to others’ tune.” Hearing my husband’s words, I thought: That is right. Now that my daughter has such a skill, it should be profitable to open a nail salon. At least, it can offer our family a good life. If the business is busy, I can give her a hand, and this will not hinder me from believing in God. So, I invested fifty thousand dollars to set my daughter up in a nail salon.

At the beginning, the business of the shop was not bad, and thus my heart started to leap in anticipation again. I thought: Since my daughter’s shop is profitable, I will not have to worry about her in the future, and the money I invested in her shop should soon be returned to me. Then I can buy a house nearby and settle down. In the past I didn’t succeed in running the restaurants; now perhaps I can struggle again by running this nail salon. And if it goes smoothly, then I can gain a foothold in this trade and realize my dream. Unexpectedly, the good times did not last for long. Several months later, the business of the nail salon began to decline slowly, and it folded up in less than two years. After my daughter’s shop closed down, I felt disappointed and discouraged in my heart, and my state was also not good.

One day, I saw God’s words saying, “Don’t you feel that you couldn’t survive one day in this world without any money, that even one day would just be impossible? (Yes.) People’s status is based on how much money they have as is their respectability. The backs of the poor are bent in shame, while the rich enjoy their high status. They stand tall and proud, speaking loudly and living arrogantly. What does this saying and trend bring to people? Don’t many people see getting money as being worth any cost? Don’t many people sacrifice their dignity and integrity in the pursuit of more money? Don’t many more people lose the opportunity to perform their duty and follow God for the sake of money? Isn’t this a loss for people? (Yes.) Isn’t Satan sinister to use this method and this saying to corrupt man to such a degree? Isn’t this a malicious trick? As you progress from objecting to this popular saying to finally accepting it as truth, your heart falls completely under Satan’s grasp, and therefore you unwittingly come to live by it.”

God’s words revealed the source of my corruption. Under the influence of the satanic philosophies such as “money is first,” “money makes the world go round,” and so on, I believed that in this world only the people who had great power and wealth could live with dignity and be looked up to by others. So, for the sake of money, I worked hard and expended half a lifetime of efforts and energy. These philosophies of Satan have already rooted deep in my heart and become a part of my life. As a result, though I followed the work of God in the last days, because I understood too little of the truth and still was unable to shake off the temptation of money, I fell into Satan’s temptation again. Only now did I see clearly that Satan uses these philosophies to deceive and seduce me, making me have no inclination to seek the truths, drift further and further away from God, and finally end up in the clutches of Satan. This is Satan’s sinister motive. Thinking about it now, through my own experience I deeply understood that our fate is in God’s hands, and our struggles and toil can only bring us harm and pain. I recalled a fellow townsman of mine. In order to make more money, even though he knew that he was sick, he didn’t receive timely treatment. Eventually, his illness deteriorated into late-stage cancer, and he died in his forties. Then I thought about myself: Even if I possessed a great fortune, this can’t prolong my life when I am faced with death. Just as the Lord Jesus said, “For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?” (Matthew 16:26). It can be seen that it is empty and meaningless for us to pursue money and wealth.

Later I also read these words of God, “After you recognize this, your task is to lay aside your old view of life, stay far from various traps, let God take charge of your life and make arrangements for you, try only to submit to God’s orchestrations and guidance, to have no choice, and to become a person who worships God.” These words of God showed me the way of practice and the direction I ought to seek: I should let God take charge of my life and make arrangements for me. Only in this way will I be able to live an easy and liberated life. After understanding these, I was willing to abandon my previous wrongful pursuits, to accept and obey God’s sovereignty and arrangements, and to seek to become a person who knows and worships God.

Gaining Happiness and Joy

Thinking back on the road I’ve taken, if I hadn’t experienced the failure in business, I would still keep struggling on the wrong way, living an exhausting and painful life. If without such a failure, I would not have returned before God again and received God’s salvation. Now I have truly experienced God’s salvation to me, and understood that as one of God’s creations, I should submit to the arrangements of God. I feel that living in this way is how one can live a true life with ease and happiness.

Now my family also has given up the idea of setting up their own shops. My daughter posted her resume on the internet, and many nail salons want to engage her as a manager. I know this is all God’s blessing. Although now I am not living a wealthy life, my family and I have more time to spend together, and our life is very easy and happy. What is more, I also have more time to read God’s words and to fulfill my duty. I feel that such a life is happier and more meaningful. Thank Almighty God for saving me! All the glory be to Almighty God!

Zhuiqiu United States
Love of the Lord Came Upon Me in My Bottom-of-the-well Moment
Because my husband died so early, I was deep in debt. Out of the stress of life, I brought my children to America for work in early December 1998. In order to earn money to pay the debts, I didn’t even spare a moment to have a rest. As time passed by, my health broke down and I suffered uterine fibroid and hypertension and had to stay in the hospital for treatment. After the operation, I went to hunt job hurriedly before I recovered well. However, no matter which unit I went to, they did not hire me when they noticed my pale face. Just then, I felt the pressure was so great and did not have any reliance.

Two days before Easter Day in 2011, when I was walking in the Chinatown helplessly, I saw somebody preaching Falun Gong and I stopped to take a look. At that time, all of a sudden, a sister went up to me and said: “Don’t believe in Falun Gong. Go to the church to believe in Jesus, please.” Hearing the name of Jesus, I felt it very fresh. Then she told me many deeds about Jesus. Later, she took me to Kangzhou to attend a spiritual meeting, which lasted for three days and three nights. During the meeting, the pastor told us many Bible stories, which I enjoyed very much. Especially, when hearing the verse that the pastor explained: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16), I was attracted deeply by it and pondered it over and over again. I felt that God loves man so greatly and even gave his beloved Son to us. The Lord Jesus was nailed on the cross as a sin offering and shed His last drop of blood. He did so in order that He could save man from the clutches of Satan, and make man not die under the law due to their sins. What’s more, He wished man to be saved and get everlasting life by the grace of Jesus’ precious blood. The love of the Lord is really too great and nobody possesses it. I made certain in my heart that the Lord Jesus is the true God and determined to follow Him faithfully. Because the Lord Jesus entered my life, I had reliance from then on.

cross
Committing Sins and Making Confession Cause Trouble in My Heart
My landlord was a believer in the Lord as well and she often said: “As long as we believe in the Lord, we can be saved.” But her behaviors made me doubt it. I saw that she committed no big sins but small ones ceaselessly. Every day she committed sins in the day and made confession at night. From her, I learned that the pastors in her church had jealous disputes with each other. When I heard that, I thought: Why do the pastors have jealous disputes? Aren’t they the same as the unbelievers? It is too easy if we can be saved after believing in the Lord like this.

Gradually, I found that I myself was just like them. Although I read the Bible every day, I lived in sin without any change at all, producing contradictions with the landlord very often. Because she always found faults with me, complaining that I used too much water and electricity. I said nothing to her outwardly, but my complaints within came out in spite of myself. Then I thought the Bible says: “Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord” (Hebrews 12:14). The Lord required us to follow peace with all men and pursue to be clean. Although I didn’t reason with the landlord outwardly, I harbored many complaints in my heart. The Bible says: “Whoever hates his brother is a murderer” (1 John 3:15). Then can I be said to be clean while always acting like this? How can I gain the Lord Jesus’ approval? What should I do on earth to attain sanctity? I was always troubled by the problem in my heart and didn’t know how to solve the problem of my making sins, for which I had been praying to and seeking the Lord.

God’s Love Came Upon Me When I Was Alone Without Reliance
At the end of 2012, I went to another city to run a laundry, so I couldn’t go to the former church for meetings (not in the same state). I could only spare some time to go to the church nearby occasionally. However, I felt that I could not gain anything at every gathering. The pastor always gave us some repeated sermons or showed himself off simply. So not only did I not find the way to solve sinning, but also I became more and more negative. With the lapse of time, I didn’t want to attend meetings any more, and just read the Bible at home. It lasted until September 2016, when I had a sudden desire in my heart that I could see the sisters in the church. If only I could find a church in which I could enjoy listening to sermons!

Two weeks later, a stranger, Sister Liang suddenly came to my laundry, saying to me: “Sister, I heard that you are a believer in the Lord. I’m a Christian, too. We can have meetings together and talk about our experiences with each other.” The moment I heard what she said, I agreed to her at once happily and thanked God repeatedly in my heart, feeling God is too wondrous. For during that time, I was expecting to see sisters. Unexpectedly, two weeks later, a sister came to see me. The sister told me it was due to the Lord’s love and arrangement that she could come to see me. Hearing her words, I felt very warm in my heart. Then she told me about her understanding and knowledge about biblical verses. I felt what she said was fresh and sounded wonderful and she was a true believer in the Lord. So I thought I must treasure the opportunity and fellowship with her more. But after a while, I heard her saying: “It is the third stage of work of God that reveals the mysteries in the Bible.” After hearing her words, my heart didn’t calm down any more and I thought of what the pastor said: “Only believers of the Eastern Lightning testify to people about the third stage of work of God. They have already deviated from the Lord’s way.” So I refuted her immediately: “What you believe is quite different from what we believe. I can’t, without facts, say randomly your belief is not right. I have been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus, so I can’t betray Him and believe in other ways.” I refused her politely.

The next day, Sister Liang came again. As she helped me with my work, she told me she would fellowship with me after the work was finished. I rejected her in my heart and made an excuse: “You go first. If I’m free, I’ll call you.” But the sister patiently asked me to sit down to listen, saying: “The Lord Jesus has already returned. He has done a stage of new work, the third stage of work of saving man thoroughly. …” Before she finished it, I brushed her off by all kinds of excuses.

to be continued …

Two days later, she along with another sister (Sister Liu) came again and helped me with my work as usual. When I was free, Sister Liang said to me: “Aunt, as you have been believing in God for so many years, you’d better listen to God’s voice. Don’t miss the opportunity of accepting the Lord’s second coming.” I recalled that the sister had come several times before, but I always found some excuses to put off. However, she didn’t get angry but waited for me patiently until my work was finished and then fellowshiped with me. I thought: “In order to preach God’s gospel, they have spent so much effort and price, and fellowshiped with me time and time again. They just want me to listen to Almighty God’s word. Am I not willing to spare any time for them?” So I asked the sisters: “Why do you have so great patience to preach the gospel to me?” Sister Liu said: “This is all due to God’s will of saving man. God wishes more true believers to come to accept His salvation in the last days, for it is the last stage of work that He does.” Then Sister Liu testified to me her experiences where God has saved her. Hearing her fellowship, my heart was touched. I thought: The sister had served as a teacher, run a factory in the past. All of her status, her education and her understanding are better than mine. But she could be conquered by the work of Almighty God. Moreover, her experiences sounded true and moving. It seemed there is truth to be sought in the way they preach. My heart calmed down little by little. Sister Liang said to me: “Aunt, I heard you say last time you were afraid that you are betraying the Lord if you accept Almighty God. Let’s fellowship this issue together.” I agreed. She said: “Actually, that we accept the work of Almighty God in the last days doesn’t mean that we betray the Lord Jesus but keep up with the Lord Jesus’ new work. Almighty God says: ‘This incarnation is God’s second incarnation following the completion of Jesus’ work. Of course, this incarnation does not occur independently, but is the third stage of work after the Age of Law and the Age of Grace. Each new stage of God’s work always brings a new beginning and a new age. So too are there corresponding changes in the disposition of God, in His way of working, in the location of His work, and in His name’ (“Preface”). Almighty God is the second coming of Jesus Christ. He became flesh for the second time and has expressed millions of words and done the work of judgment beginning with God’s family upon the foundation of the work in the Age of Grace. Just as the Lord Jesus incarnate did the redemptive work upon the foundation of the work in the Age of Law. As ages are developing, the work of God has always been rising higher increasingly. Today, the work of judgment that Almighty God does is a stage of work of purifying and perfecting man thoroughly and is the last stage of work in God’s six-thousand-year management work. This just fulfilled the Lord Jesus’ word in John 12: 47-48: ‘And if any man hear my words, and believe not, I judge him not: for I came not to judge the world, but to save the world. He that rejects me, and receives not my words, has one that judges him: the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day.’ Therefore, we have to let go of our notions quickly to accept the work of judgment that Almighty God does so as to cast away the filth and corruption within us, become a man who is purified and perfected by God and be saved by Him in the end. …” Listening to her fellowship, I felt what she said was quite right. But I was not quite sure, so I didn’t promise her to accept Almighty God’s work at once.

Deeply Touched by a Little Comprehension
fellowship God's words

After the two sisters left, a sister in Jehovah’s Witnesses, who I knew before, came and talked about the Bible with me. It was strange that when my grandson who was only one and a half years old saw her, he did not stop crying. While as soon as the two sisters in the Church of Almighty God arrived, he acted pretty quietly, loved them very much, and liked watching the videos of the Church. Such things happened five or six times. I found it amazing for I have known the sister in Jehovah’s Witnesses for three years, but the sisters in the Church of Almighty God came to my home merely several times. Why did my grandson behave completely differently? Did the child have feeling in his spirit? Was Almighty God who Sister Liang believes in really the the second coming of Jesus Christ? I remembered they once said the work that Almighty God does can purify man. How can He purify man? When they come to see me next time, I will ask them about it.

Making Sure It Is the True Way after Listening Carefully
When the two sisters came again, I asked them about the question. Regarding my question, they read me two passages of Almighty God’s words: “The work done by God during this age is chiefly the provision of the words for the life of man, the disclosure of the substance of the nature of man and the corrupt disposition of man, the elimination of religious conceptions, feudal thinking, outdated thinking, as well as the knowledge and culture of man. This must all be laid bare and cleansed away through the words of God. In the last days, God uses words, and not signs and wonders, to make man perfect. He uses His words to expose man, to judge man, to chastise man, and to make man perfect …” (“Knowing God’s Work Today” ). “Through what is God’s perfection of man accomplished? Through His righteous disposition. God’s disposition primarily consists of righteousness, wrath, majesty, judgment, and imprecation, and His perfection of man is primarily through judgment. … Although He speaks harshly, and without the slightest sensitivity, He reveals all that is within man, and through these stern words He reveals that which is essential within man, yet through such judgment, He gives man a profound knowledge of the essence of the flesh, and thus man submits to obedience before God. The flesh of man is of sin, and of Satan, it is disobedient, and the object of God’s chastisement—and so, to allow man to know himself, the words of God’s judgment must befall him and there must be employed every kind of refinement; only then can God’s work be effective” (“Only by Experiencing Painful Trials Can You Know the Loveliness of God”). After I heard the words of Almighty God, I felt very shocked in my heart, thinking the words contain authority and power. Except for God, nobody can speak out such words with powerfulness. At that moment, Sister Liu fellowshiped: “Since we mankind were corrupted by Satan, all kinds of corrupt satanic dispositions have become our life, which is the sinful nature just as we say. Controlled by the sinful nature, we can’t help committing sins. Although the Lord Jesus was nailed on the cross personally and redeemed mankind, man who lived under the law only wasn’t condemned by the law any more. But the root of man’s sinning wasn’t solved at all, thus, man can’t enter the kingdom of heaven. So in the last days, God has expressed all the truths to judge and chastise man, and revealed all of our corrupt nature so as to make us have an understanding and distinguish the negative things which are from Satan. Meanwhile, God has told us the reality of the positive things. When we practice according to His demands, our corrupt satanic dispositions can be solved gradually. By doing so, the effect of our purification will be achieved.” Through reading God’s words and listening to the fellowship, I gradually know that it is Satan that corrupted man, making man lose the likeness of human beings, live in sin, often disobey God, and have no awareness after resisting God. Almighty God uses words to reveal and judge our sins, making us know our nature of Satan and finally hate Satan, rebel against our satanic nature, and be purified by Him. I also realize that the reason why I could not get along well with my landlord and lived in the situation: sinning in the day and confessing in the evening, is that our sinful nature hasn’t been cast off. And we will not be saved at all if we believe in God like that. We can be saved and perfected only by experiencing the judgment work of God in the last days. Although I cannot understand God’s words completely, I have seen the way and hope to be purified and to be saved from such fellowship.

Gradually, I began to expect to listen to the fellowship of the two sisters. Whenever they came, I would finish the work in my laundry in advance, so that I could calm down and fellowship with them altogether. Afterward, we fellowshiped a variety of truths such as the inner truth of God’s three stages of work, the mysteries of the incarnation, the Holy Spirit’s work and Satan’s work and so on. The more we fellowshiped, the more clearly I understood. I knew many truths that I did not understand before and made certain that Almighty God is the Lord Jesus’ return. What’s more, I knew firmly that the word of judgment and chastisement of Almighty God can indeed save man and perfect man.

Counting God’s Graces, I Was Remorseful and Guilty
Recalling the scenes where I cast the sisters preaching the gospel outside time and time again, I felt ashamed and guilty. Meanwhile, I also experienced that I would never comprehend fully the effort and price that God had expended on me. It is God’s mercy that brought me before Him. Now I am fond of watching the videos made by the Church of Almighty God. Every time I watch them, I will ponder the words that Almighty God has expressed carefully, and feel moved in my heart. I thank Almighty God sincerely for giving me this opportunity to be saved. I will follow Almighty God resolutely to the very end!