VI Questions and Answers About Salvation and Final Salvation —The Church of Almighty God

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Question 5: You say only by accepting God’s work of judgment in the last days can man’s corrupt satanic disposition be transformed. We practice patience and humility as required by the Lord, we love our enemy, bear our cross, subdue our body, abandon the secular world, work and preach for the Lord, and so on. Aren’t they all our changes? Can’t they be seen as the credentials for our entry into the kingdom of heaven? I believe only if we continue our pursuit like this can we become holy and enter into the kingdom of heaven.

Question 4: People are sinful, but the sin offering of the Lord Jesus is forever effective. As long as we confess, the Lord will forgive us. We are sinless in the Lord’s eyes, so we will enter the kingdom of heaven!—The Church of Almighty God

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Question 4: People are sinful, but the sin offering of the Lord Jesus is forever effective. As long as we confess, the Lord will forgive us. We are sinless in the Lord’s eyes, so we will enter the kingdom of heaven!

God’s Love Is Boundless——The Church of Almighty God

 God’s Love Is Boundless

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Li Qing    Shandong Province

I suffered many hardships in the world. My husband died a few years after we married, and since then, the family burden completely fell on me. I lived a hard life with my young child and was always cold-shouldered and bullied by others. Weak and helpless, I was in tears every day, feeling it so hard to live in the world…. Just when I was in depression and despair, a sister preached Almighty God’s end-time work to me. Almighty God says, “When you feel tired and when you slightly feel a sense of desolation of this world, do not feel perplexed and do not weep. Almighty God, the Watcher, is ready to embrace your coming at any time.” (from “The Sighs of the Almighty” in The Word Appears in the Flesh) When I read it, I felt very warm in my heart. God’s motherly calling gave me the feeling that I had finally found my home, found my reliance, and found the destination of my heart. From then on, I read God’s word every day. From it, I knew that God is the source of the life of all things, and God is sovereign over everyone’s destiny, and Almighty God is the only reliance and salvation of mankind. In order to understand more truths, I actively attended meetings. In the Church of Almighty God, I saw that all the brothers and sisters were simple and open. Being together with them, I felt very secure and released in my heart and enjoyed the happiness and joy I had never had in the world. Thus, I was full of confidence and hope in my future life. To repay God’s love, I began to perform duty in the church. Unexpectedly, the CCP government simply didn’t allow people to believe in the true God and walk the right way, and I was arrested and persecuted inhumanly by the CCP government because of believing in God.

One afternoon in the twelfth lunar month of 2009, I was washing clothes at home. Suddenly, five or six undercover cops rushed into my yard. One of them roared, “We’re the criminal police. We specially crack down on believers in Almighty God!” Before I knew what was happening, they began to rummage everywhere like bandits and robbers. They had a thorough search inside and outside the house and confiscated the books on believing in God, a DVD player, and two CD players. Then, they pushed me into a police car and took me to the police station. On the way, I thought of the scene of one who was cruelly tortured after being arrested by the evil cops the brothers and sisters described before. I was very scared and felt as if my heart flew into my mouth. In anxiety, I prayed to God urgently, “Almighty God! Now I’m very weak. I feel scared at the thought of cruel tortures. May you give me faith and strength and remove my fear.” After the prayer, I thought of two passages of God’s words, “Those in power look ferocious in appearance, but do not be afraid. That is because you have little faith. As long as your faith rises, nothing will be difficult.” (from “The Seventy-fifth Piece of Word” in The Word Appears in the Flesh) “In all my plan, the great red dragon serves as a setoff to me and becomes my ‘enemy,’ but it is also my ‘servant.’ Thus, I am never loose in my ‘requirements’ for it.” (from “The Twenty-ninth Piece of Word” of God’s Utterance to the Entire Universe in The Word Appears in the Flesh) Pondering God’s words, I understood: I’m afraid of satan’s torture, which means that I don’t have true faith in God. Satan is a setoff in God’s work. No matter how ferocious it is, it is in God’s hand. Moreover, the more ferocious satan is, the more I need to bear testimony for God by faith. At the crucial moment, I shall never be frightened by satan’s despotic power. I’ll overcome satan by the faith and strength God gives me. Thinking of that, I was not so afraid in my heart.

After arriving at the police station, without a word, two evil cops handcuffed me and kicked and pushed me to the second floor. Then, they said venomously, “A person like you deserves ‘superior treatment’!” I knew in my heart that the “superior treatment” they mentioned referred to cruel tortures. At that time, I kept praying to God inwardly and dared not leave God for a single moment, fearing that I might lose God’s care and keeping and thus be taken captive by satan the devil. As soon as I entered the interrogation room, an evil cop forced me to kneel down. Seeing that I refused, he suddenly kicked me in the bends of my legs. I flopped down on my knees despite myself. After that, they gathered around me punching and kicking me, and I got dizzy and my mouth and nose bled. They still thought it wasn’t enough and ordered me to sit on the floor and put a chair in front of me. An evil cop beat my back violently. Every blow knocked my head and face on the chair heavily. My head buzzed and ached unbearably. One evil cop laughed viciously, saying, “Someone has already sold you out. If you still don’t tell me, I’ll beat you to death.” As he said that, he punched my chest hard. It ached so much that I was short of breath for a long time. Then, another evil cop roared, “Do you really think you’re Liu Hulan? Sooner or later, I’ll beat the truth out of you.” Those devils tortured me by various means and they didn’t stop until they were tired. When I just wanted to take a breath, an evil cop over fifty years old came and used soft tactics to coax me, “Now someone has confessed that you’re a church leader. Do you think we won’t convict you if you don’t tell us? We’ve followed you for a long time. Since we had evidence, we arrested you. Speak quickly!” Hearing his words, I was astounded: Is it true? If someone really became a Judas and sold me out, wouldn’t they have known everything about me? Is it possible that I keep silent? What should I do? At the critical moment, Almighty God’s words guided me, “Think about so much grace you have received. You have heard so many words; can you hear them in vain? Even if others run away, you cannot run away. Even if others give up believing, you should still believe. If others reject God, you should safeguard God and testify God. If others slander God, you cannot slander God. However unkind God is to you, you should be worthy of him. You should repay his love. You should have conscience, for God is innocent. When he comes to earth from heaven and works among men, he has suffered great humiliations. He is holy, without any filthiness, but comes to the filthy land. How great humiliations does he have to endure? He works on you still for you. …” (from “The Significance of Saving the Descendants of Moab” in The Word Appears in the Flesh) Every word of God knocked my numb heart, and I was sharply rebuked in my conscience. Having followed Almighty God for years, I’ve enjoyed God’s infinite love and warmth, gained God’s rich supply of life, understood the truth that no one in the past ages could understand, known the meaning and value of man’s existence, and broken away from the painful, desolate, and helpless dark life of the past. God has given me so great love and grace; how could I forget it? How could I be at a loss and even want to betray God on hearing that someone has betrayed God? Thinking of that, I was already tearful. I hated myself for having no conscience and humanity. When a person grants me a favor, I even try my best to repay him. God has given me so much grace and blessing and bestowed upon me so great salvation, but I’m numb in conscience, not only not knowing to repay him but instead wanting to betray him at the time of danger. Don’t I grieve God too much? Then, I felt extremely miserable for my hesitation just now. If someone has truly betrayed God, it is exactly the time God is saddest and most painful. At that moment I should comfort God with my faithfulness. However, the selfish and base me not only didn’t stand on God’s side, but instead wanted to forsake God for an ignoble existence. I simply lost my conscience and sense and my thoughts were all for myself. I’ve grieved God too much and I’m so loathsome to God! In self-reproach and remorse, I prayed to God silently, “Almighty God! I’m too devoid of conscience and humanity. What I bring you in return is always hurt and pain, but what you give me is all mercy and love. O God! Thank you for letting me know what I should do. Now I’m willing to satisfy you once with my actual actions. No matter how satan may torture me, I’ll stand testimony for you even at the cost of my life and never betray you.” Seeing my tearful face, an evil cop thought that I wavered, so he walked up to me and said “gently,” “Speak quickly! If you tell me, I’ll release you.” I gave him a glare and said indignantly, “Want me to betray God? No way!” Hearing it, he was hopping mad. While slapping my face wildly, he roared hysterically, “You refuse a toast only to drink a forfeit. What a cheek! Do you think we are good-for-nothings? If you don’t confess honestly, we’ll sentence you to five years of imprisonment and won’t allow your child to attend school….” Then, they forced me to sit on the floor with my legs stretched. One evil cop stomped on one of my legs, while the other held my back with his knee, and seized my arms firmly and pulled them back forcefully. Immediately, my arms ached unbearably as if they were broken. My head involuntarily bent forward and banged against the desk. Then, I got a bump. At that time, it was a severe winter. The wind was so piercing and it was freezing cold. However, I was tortured by those evil cops so severely that I sweat all over and my clothes were drenched through. Seeing that I still didn’t yield, they forcibly stripped off my winter jacket, had me lie face up on the cold floor with thin clothes, and continued to interrogate me. Since I didn’t answer their questions, they kicked me wildly. Torturing me until evening, the evil cops were all exhausted, but they still got nothing. When they went for supper, they threatened me, “If tonight you still refuse to speak, you’ll be handcuffed onto the torture-rack and be frozen into the ice or even to death.” With that word, they left in anger. Then, I felt a thrill of fear: What other means will these devils use to torture me? Can I hold on? Especially when I thought of the evil cops’ ferocious faces and the scenes of their torturing me, I even more felt painful and helpless, deeply fearing that I would betray God because of being unable to endure the cruel tortures. So I prayed to God unceasingly. Just at that time, God’s words reminded me, “When man has the thought of timidity and fear, it is just the fooling of satan. It fears that we might pass the bridge of faith into God.” (from “The Sixth Piece of Word” in The Word Appears in the Flesh) God’s words made me clear-minded. I knew that I was fooled by satan and lost faith in God. I also came to know that in this environment of suffering, I wasn’t warring alone, and I had Almighty God as my strong rear guard. Thus, I became strong in my heart and was no longer so timid and scared. Besides, I realized that I had too little faith in God and really needed to experience such an environment to be tempered and edified. Otherwise, I would never have true faith in God. Then, I remembered that when the Israelites came out of Egypt, they were chased by the Egyptian soldiers to the Red Sea and had no retreat. They followed God’s word to cross the Red Sea by faith. Out of their expectation, the Red Sea became a dry land, and they got out of the danger and escaped from the chase of the Egyptian soldiers. Today, as long as I have faith, I can also defeat satan by relying on God. Then, I prayed to God in my heart, “Almighty God! I’ll war against satan by relying on you and never be intimidated by the devil’s despotic power! I’ll stand testimony for you.” At the time of danger, Almighty God not only became my strong and powerful rear guard, but sympathized with my weakness. That night, the evil cops didn’t come to interrogate me. I passed through the night securely.

The next morning, several ferocious cops came. They threatened me, “If you still don’t confess, there’ll be a lot for you! We’ll let you taste death! Today even the almighty God can’t save you. Even if you’re Liu Hulan, it’s of no use. If you don’t speak, never expect to get out alive….” After that, they forced me to take off my winter jacket and lie on the freezing cold floor and interrogated me. Looking at their evil eyes, I could only call to God desperately, asking God to keep me so that I could stand testimony. Seeing that I kept silent all along, they became furious. One of them struck the top of my head with a folder so hard that my head spinned. While beating me, he shouted abuses and threatened me, “Let her have a taste of being beheaded today. Where does her child study? Inform the headmaster to bring him here. Let him know how it feels to be worse than death….” After that, they interrogated me about the things they searched out. As they were dissatisfied with my answer, they again used the folder to hit my mouth violently so that the corners of my mouth split and bled. Then, they beat me all over wildly and didn’t stop until they were tired. At that time, an evil cop came in from outside. As I didn’t confess, four or five guys including him came over together, unlocked my handcuffs, and then handcuffed my hands behind my back. They had me sit in front of a big desk, with my face parallel with the edge of the desk and my legs straightened. When my legs were not straightened, they trod on them, held my shoulders, and lifted up my arms and handcuffs for a long time. I was forced to sit still as they required. If I moved forward, I would hit my face. If I moved to the sides or backward, I would be severely tortured. Due to their base means, I felt extremely miserable and screamed incessantly. Seeing that I was dying, they put me down slowly and let me lie on the floor. After a while, those inhuman devils continued to torture and afflict me. Four or five evil cops stomped on my legs and arms so that I couldn’t move. Then they pinched my nose and cheeks and poured cold water into my mouth without stop. I was suffocated and struggled hard, yet they still didn’t let go. Gradually, I lost consciousness…. Not knowing how long had passed, I suddenly woke up because of being choked by water and I coughed violently. Water flowed out from my mouth, nose, and ears, and my chest ached sharply. I felt it was murky around and my eyeballs seemed to burst. Due to choking, I could only exhale but not inhale with my eyes fixed, and I felt as if I would die immediately…. Just when my life was at stake, suddenly I coughed and twitched violently and spat some more water. Afterward, I didn’t feel so awful. At that time, an evil cop seized my hair and sat me up, and he swayed my handcuffs wildly. Also, he ordered a lackey to get an electric baton to shock me. Unexpectedly, that lackey came back in a short time. He said, “I only found four electric batons. Two of them don’t work, and the other two have dead batteries….” On hearing that, the devil roared furiously, “You rubbish. Bring chili water!” I kept praying to God in my heart, asking him to keep me so that I could overcome the devil’s various tortures. Just then, an unexpected thing happened. One evil cop said, “That thing is too strong. We’ve tortured her so badly. Don’t use it.” At his words, the devil had to give it up. At that time, I truly felt that God is sovereign over everything and rules over everything and that it was God who kept me from the affliction. However, those devils still didn’t let me off. They handcuffed my hands behind my back, stomped on my legs, and forcefully lifted the handcuffs. I felt that my arms ached as if they were broken, and I screamed on and on. I kept calling to Almighty God in my heart, and involuntarily I cried out, “Al…” At once, I softened my tone and said, “All things, I’ll tell you….” Those devils thought that I would really tell them everything, so they stopped and roared at me, “We’re specialized in handling cases. Never expect to deceive us. Today if you don’t confess honestly, don’t expect to get out of here alive. We give you some time to think it over!” Facing the devils’ torture and threat, I was very distressed: I don’t want to die here, much less betray God or sell out the church. What should I do? How about telling a brother or a sister? Immediately, I realized that I couldn’t do it. If I said it, it would mean that I betrayed God and became a Judas. In agony, I prayed to God, “God, what should I do? May you inspire and lead me and give me strength.” After the prayer, God’s words appeared to me, “The church is my heart. … Safeguard my testimony at any cost; this should be the principle of your doing things. Don’t forget.” (from “The Forty-first Piece of Word” in The Word Appears in the Flesh) Right! The church is God’s heart. If I sell out the brothers and sisters, it means that I disturb the church, which grieves and hurts God most. I should never do anything that demolishes the church. God comes from heaven to earth and does the work to save us. Satan is always fiercely looking at this group of people God has chosen, attempting to exterminate all of them and demolish God’s church. If I sell out the brothers and sisters, won’t I allow satan’s scheme to succeed? God is so beautiful and good, and what he does on man is all love. I can’t grieve God’s heart. Today, I can do nothing for God. I only wish to stand testimony to repay God’s love, and this is the only thing I can do now. After understanding God’s will, I prayed to God, “God, I don’t know how they will torture me. You know my stature is too small and I’m always timid and afraid, but I believe everything is in your hand. I’m willing to make a resolution before you that I’ll stand testimony even if I have to give up my life….” Right then, a devil roared angrily, “Have you thought it over? If you still don’t confess honestly, I’ll let you die here today! Even the almighty God can’t save you!” I kept my eyes closed and said nothing, with the resolution that I would stand testimony even if I had to die. Gnashing their teeth in anger, the devils rushed forward and kept insulting and torturing me by stomping, beating, and so on like before. They beat my head wildly until I felt dizzy and blacked out, feeling as if my head split. Gradually, I felt that my eyeballs couldn’t move. I couldn’t feel pain or hear anything clearly, only feeling that their voices seemed to come from afar. But I was very clear in my heart and kept repeating a word silently: I won’t be a Judas even if I die…. Not knowing how long had passed, I woke up. I found myself wet all over. Four or five evil cops were crouching around me, seemingly checking whether I was alive or dead. Looking at those evil cops worse than beasts, I was very indignant: Are they the “people’s police” who “love the people as if they were their children”? Are they the law enforcement officials “upholding justice and punishing evil and promoting good”? They are a gang of evil demons and beasts from hell! Then, I remembered these words in Fellowship and Preaching About Life Entering In, “… The great red dragon is most malicious and frenzied in resisting and attacking God. It is most cruel and severe in afflicting God’s chosen people. This is the fact. What is the great red dragon’s purpose to oppress and persecute God’s chosen people? It wants to abolish God’s end-time work and God’s coming again. This is its maliciousness and is also satan’s scheme.” Checking against the facts before my eyes, I saw clearly that the CCP government is the embodiment of satan and is the evil one that has been hostile to God from the beginning. It is because only satan the devil hates the truth and fears the true light, banishes the coming of the true God, and can so inhumanly afflict and torture people who follow God to walk the right way of human life. Today, God is incarnated and comes to its nest to work, so that I, most deeply blinded by it, know that it is satan the devil that afflicts and devours man, and that outside its dark rule, there is light and there is a true God who cares for and supplies us day and night. It is Almighty God’s coming that brings me the truth and the light, so that I can finally see clearly the devilish face of the CCP government which claims itself to be “great, glorious, and correct” every day, have bitter hatred of it, and know the meaning and value of man’s pursuing the truth. The more I pondered, the brighter I became. I felt a strength supporting me within, and I didn’t feel so painful when tortured by the evil cops. I deeply knew that God kept me so that I overcame the cruel tortures in that interrogation.

In the end, failing to get any result, they imposed on me the charge of “disturbing the social order” and took me to the detention house. There, the CCP government took the prisoners as working machines, forcing them to work without stop from morning till night. Every day, I rested for less than five hours and was exhausted all day as if torn apart. Even so, the prison guards didn’t give me enough food. For each meal, they only gave me two small steamed buns, and there wasn’t any oil in the food. During my detention, the evil cops interrogated me several times. In the last interrogation, they said that they would sentence me to two years of hard labor. I questioned them justly, “Don’t I have freedom of belief? Why do you sentence me to two years of hard labor? I have sickness. If I die here, how can my children and parents live? They will starve to death without anyone’s care.” An evil cop around fifty years old said harshly, “Because you have broken the law and we have conclusive evidence!” I refuted, “It is a good thing for me to believe in God. I don’t murder or commit arson, nor do bad things, but pursue to be a good person. Why don’t you allow me to believe?” Seeing me refute them, they got furious. One of them came forward and slapped me, and then he knocked me down with one punch. They forced me to lie on the floor. One of them held my shoulders, another one held my legs, and the third one trod on my face forcefully with his leather shoe. And he said shamelessly, “Today is the time for a market fair. We can strip you naked and parade you through the streets!” As he said, he stomped and rubbed my private parts and breasts with force. Additionally, he stomped one of his feet on my breast and lifted the other suddenly, and repeatedly did so. Also, he stomped and ground my thighs every now and then. My trousers were thus torn, and the crotch was also split. My tears of humiliation kept flowing, and I felt that I would break down: O God, I really can’t stand such humiliation of the devils. It’s too miserable to live like this. May you let me die soon. Just when I felt so miserable and couldn’t restrain myself, I remembered God’s words, “Now is the time for us to repay God’s love. Although we have suffered much ridicule, slander, and persecution because of walking the way of believing in God, I think this is a meaningful thing, and it is glory, not humiliation. And anyway, we have enjoyed much blessing.” (from “The Way… (2)” in The Word Appears in the Flesh) Then, I thought of the words of the Lord Jesus, “Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness’ sake…. Blessed are you, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven….” (Matthew 5:10-12) God’s words corrected my erroneous viewpoint. I realized: These sufferings and humiliations I undergo today are most valuable and meaningful. I suffer for believing in God and walking the right way of human life and for gaining the truth and the life. Such suffering is not humiliation but God’s blessing. I should feel happy and proud for it. As I’m too disobedient and my heart is too hardened, I always regard my own gain or loss and honor or disgrace so important. Once I’m mistreated, I will make complaints and want to resist God with death, so I can’t see God’s love and blessing at all. Then, how can I not grieve God? In remorse and self-rebuke, I thought about my experience in those days. Gradually, I understood: My experiencing such a tribulation of persecution is God’s deeper love and salvation for me. God wants to remove my fragility through this environment and work true faith and love into me, so that I can learn to obey in adverse circumstances, become strong in spirit, withstand storms, and be of one heart and one mind with God unswervingly in any cases, and thus inherit God’s blessing and promises in the end. Facing God’s love and reflecting on my disobedience, I came before God to repent deeply, “Almighty God, I’m too blind and ignorant. I didn’t know your love and blessing but always thought that suffering wasn’t a good thing. Now I’ve known that everything that comes upon me today is your blessing. Although this blessing is discordant with my notion and outwardly my flesh is humiliated and suffering, actually all this is the most precious treasure of life you’ve bestowed to me, is the evidence of overcoming satan, and is even more your most true and real love for me. O God! I really hate myself for being too absurd. Instead of purely understanding the work you do on me, I always misunderstand and complain against you, bringing too great hurt to you. Now facing your love and salvation, I have nothing to repay you. The only thing I can do is to hand over my heart to you, obey this environment with a heart of loving you, and endure all sufferings and humiliations to stand testimony for you.”

When I was prepared for imprisonment and made a firm resolution to satisfy God, God’s love surpassed what I asked and thought and God made a way out for me. Unexpectedly, on the thirteenth day of my detention, God raised up my brother-in-law to rescue me. After spending 3,000 yuan greasing the wheels and handing over 5,000 yuan to the police, he bailed me out, and my sentence would be executed outside the prison. After I went back home, I found that the flesh on my legs was stomped so hard that it became dead, hard and black. It didn’t recover until over three months later. The evil cops’ torture damaged my brain and heart seriously. Even now, I’m still suffering from sickness. If not for God’s keeping, I would have long been paralyzed in bed. Today, it is all because of God’s great love and keeping that I can live like a normal person.

Having experienced that tribulation of persecution, I’ve truly seen clearly the CCP government’s devilish substance of resisting God, and seen clearly that it is the enemy and the evil one irreconcilable with God, thus having a bitter hatred for it. Meanwhile, I have a deeper knowledge of God’s love than before. I’ve understood that all the work God does on man is salvation and love for man, and that not only grace and blessing are God’s love, but suffering and tribulation are even more God’s love. Moreover, I’ve truly experienced that I could still stand firm when cruelly tortured and humiliated by swarms of devils and walk out of the devil’s den, and it was all because Almighty God’s words gave me faith and strength, and even more because Almighty God’s love encouraged me, so that I could overcome satan and walk out of the devils’ den step by step. Thank God for his love and salvation for me. I’ll give the glory and praise to Almighty God!

From in :The Overcomers’ Testimonies

Recommendation: Eastern Lightning

Regenerated in God’s Word——The Church of Almighty God

 Regenerated in God’s Word

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Wang Gang    Shandong Province

I was a peasant. As my family was poor, I kept working everywhere to make money, just wanting to live a better life through my own labor. However, in real life I saw that the lawful rights and interests of a rural worker like me couldn’t be guaranteed at all. My wages were often withheld for no reason. Deceived and exploited by others again and again, I couldn’t get the payment I deserved for a year’s hard work. I felt that the world was too dark! People lived by the law of the jungle like animals and contended with and fought against each other. There was simply no place for me to live. When I was extremely distressed and depressed in my heart and lost confidence in life, a friend preached Almighty God’s end-time salvation to me. From then on, I often had meetings with the brothers and sisters, and we prayed, sang, and fellowshipped about the truth together. We learned from each other and made up for each other’s deficiencies, and I felt especially happy and released. In the Church of Almighty God, I saw that there was no deception or distinction of position among the brothers and sisters. We were all simple and open and lived in harmony. In order to cast off the corrupt disposition and live out the likeness of a man and thus be saved, all of us were striving to pursue the truth, which let me taste the happiness of life and understand the value and meaning of life. Therefore, I always felt that I should preach the gospel so that more people who lived in darkness could come before God to be saved by God and see the light again. So, I joined in preaching the gospel to testify God. However, I never expected that I would be arrested by the CCP government for preaching the gospel and suffer the extremely cruel tortures and imprisonment.

After Undergoing the Devil’s Affliction, I Knew More Clearly God’s Grace Is Precious——The Church of Almighty God

After Undergoing the Devil’s Affliction, I Knew More Clearly God’s Grace Is Precious

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Xu Qiang    Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region

My name is Xu Qiang. I was once a project contractor. I led many people to undertake contracted projects every year and had a good income. In the eyes of my contemporaries, I had a happy family and smooth career and had a great future, so I should be the happiest man. However, while enjoying the material life, I felt an unexplainable emptiness in my heart. Especially in order to undertake contracted projects, I had to ingratiate myself with the leaders of the relevant departments all day, observing their speech and behavior and fawning and flattering them. All those had to be handled extremely well, or I couldn’t earn money. Moreover, people of the same trade intrigued against one another and guarded and schemed against one another, which made me exhaust all mental efforts…. Thus, I felt very bitter and tired and felt as if I became a puppet and a moneymaking machine, losing my dignity and integrity completely. In 1999, I accepted Almighty God’s end-time work. The feeling of release in the church life and the simplicity and honesty of the brothers and sisters made me deeply moved. I liked very much to live the church life and even more liked to stay with the brothers and sisters, and I treasured such time very much. As I read God’s word and attended meetings constantly, I understood many truths and was greatly released in my heart. I felt very thankful that I had found the true human life and the true happiness. And my heart was full of gratitude to God. If God didn’t save me from the sea of misery of the world, I would never have hope in my life. Later, I began to preach the gospel, running joyfully and tirelessly among the people who investigated the true way, so that they could receive Almighty God’s salvation earlier.

Almighty God’s Word Has Conquered the Arrogant Me

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Zhao Kun
Tongchuan City, Shaanxi Province
I was born into a Christian family. I’m 50 years old. Since the 1970s, I had begun to serve God fervently. At that time, there weren’t many believers, so I became a leader in my twenties. I had joined several denominations, and in the end, I joined the “Shouters.” I thought that the messages of Witness Lee were the highest and best, and no one else could compare with him in the religious world. I treated his spiritual books as treasures. Whenever I got those books, I was very proud as no one else around me had them. Because I had some biblical knowledge, others all spoke highly of my preachings. Everyone said that I had love for the Lord and was a good “shepherd.” I thought that I would certainly be an elder in the “Shouters,” and would certainly be raptured in the future. I spent more than thirty years in a life of “enjoying the respect and support of others” and became more and more arrogant. I especially looked down upon people of other denominations and didn’t even want to talk to them. I always thought, “What do they know? They have nothing but the Bible. Can they unlock it by their mind? They are all ignorant peasants.”

Returning Justice to the Truth——The Church of Almighty God

Picture of the Church of Almighty God


Pan Jie
Taiyuan City, Shaanxi Province

    I was formerly an elder of the Local Church. Because I held on to my arrogant and erroneous views and because I was deceived by the rumors, I developed a great hatred for the Almighty God and collected materials to attack the work of God many times. However, God did not remember my monstrous sins, but spared me with his great patience and love and led me onto the right path of human life. Thinking back to what I did in the past, I feel extremely ashamed, regretful, and grieved, and abhor myself for being so conscienceless and treasonous. Even if I dedicate my life today, I cannot repay the almighty true God’s salvation. In order that more brothers and sisters who are deceived by the rumors can turn to the Almighty God as soon as possible, here I am willing to truly “expose” my evil deeds of resisting God, so as to return justice to the truth.

    In December 1997, when I was in Taiyuan City, Shanxi Province, I received a letter from my family unexpectedly. It said, “On the evening of the fourteenth when we were having a meeting, in came old Sister Wang of our church together with several unfamiliar sisters. At first we didn’t know they were of ‘the Eastern Lightning,’ but when they spoke, they showed their true colors. They said that Jesus had already returned on the white cloud, with the name of the Almighty God and as a female. They also said that the Bible was outdated and asked us to read their book, The Word Appears in the Flesh. …” After I read the letter, a wave of anger surged up in my heart. “I have heard that this ‘cult’ is best at deceiving people. If anyone doesn’t believe in their God, they will cut off his ears, gouge out his eyes, or break his legs. I have never thought that this heresy or cult should have been preached to our church today. ‘When a wolf comes, the shepherd has the duty to protect the flock.’ I have to hurry home to seal the church, set it in order, and eliminate the poisonous influences of ‘the Eastern Lightning.’ This is the crucial time the Lord Jesus tests me and is also the time for me to be faithful to him and dedicate my love to him!” Thinking of that, I “devoutly” bowed my head and prayed to Jesus Christ, “O loving Savior! We expect you to come on the white cloud every day, but why does there appear a female christ who comes not on the white cloud? He who comes not on the white cloud is false and is counterfeit. Lord! Curse those people of ‘the Eastern Lightning’ and protect your pure church. …”

    On the morning of December 17, I could not wait to take a train back home. When I got home, the first thing I did was to find out the details of “the Eastern Lightning” disturbing our church and ask for the whereabouts of those three women who were driven out of the church that night. I was determined to investigate “the Eastern Lightning” thoroughly and destroy its “base.” At that time, Sister Li of our church vividly told me in detail about what had happened after those three were driven out of the church. She said, “After they were driven out of the church by us, they sneaked into Sister Xiao’s home. Learning that, we got very angry. So we seven or eight people went to Xiao’s home together. At that time, it was about twelve o’clock at night. They had all gone to bed, and the door was propped shut with a stick. Brother Jiao ‘loved’ the Lord very much. Even though he was over seventy, he kicked the door open with a crash. Then we swarmed into the room. I turned on the light, and saw the three in their underwear. We rushed at them recklessly and pulled them off the kang. But they were quite obstinate and did not beg us for mercy. Brother Jiao poked their noses with his finger and burst out, ‘Cheek! You are satans and devils. What you preach is heresy. You are fierce wolves in sheep’s clothing.’ They were all thick-skinned and simply refused to say a word. However, I saw that their eyes reddened a bit and their tears almost fell. Pooh! Satans also could cry. Who would pity them? Who would feel sympathy for them? They got what they deserved. They shouldn’t have preached ‘the Eastern Lightning’ at such a young age. …” At this, I sighed with emotion: “I really admire Brother Jiao for his ‘absolute sincerity’ and ‘faithfulness’ to Jesus and his being able to stand the testimony for the Lord at the crucial moment. It’s really hard to find such a person who loves the Lord so much. Our church needs more people like him.” At this moment, I could not but feel very proud that our church had such a person.

“What happened then?” I asked eagerly.

“Brother Jiao’s anger was still not slaked after he cursed them. Thus he roared at them, ‘Get out! You satans and devils, get out!’ We echoed his words loudly. So, they had no choice but to leave in tears. …”

    Hearing that those three preachers of “the Eastern Lightning” came to such an end, I felt very pleased and satisfied. I also asked the Lord to curse them, so that they would get out of our church and never come to disturb us again.

    After New Year’s Day in 1998, I sped up sealing the churches. Whenever I went to a church to preach, I emphasized these five steps: Jesus’ birth, death, resurrection, ascension, and coming again. And I especially stressed that when the Lord came the second time, he would come down from heaven on a white cloud and that the believers would be caught up in the air to meet him. I proclaimed, “‘The Eastern Lightning’ says that Jesus has returned in the flesh and has published a book to judge the churches. Obviously, it runs counter to the Bible, denies Jesus’ coming again, and rebels against Jesus. We can never accept these ridiculous arguments outside the Bible. …” I also frightened the brothers and sisters by saying, “Do not listen to that stuff of ‘the Eastern Lightning’ or fellowship with them. If you don’t believe me, you can have a try. After you fellowship with them or listen to their preaching for an hour, you will forget the Bible, hymns, and Jesus completely. Just as an ET alien brainwashes the people on earth, so they will make you forget everything and even become a vegetable. Because this is the ‘work of an evil spirit,’ you will then believe in their God in spite of yourself.”

    In March 1998, I went to Chengdu City with a brother, but I still did not forget to attack “the Eastern Lightning” there. One day, I found in Heavenly Wind an article that attacked “the Eastern Lightning.” Although I did not like the publications from China Christian Council and Three-Self Patriotic Committee, this article was quite to my liking. It said that the little scroll of “the Eastern Lightning” was full of wrong characters, which even ran to over four hundred in one piece. That surprised me very much and even more strengthened my confidence to resist “the Eastern Lightning.” From then on, I was convinced that the people of “the Eastern Lightning” must be some uneducated inferiors and that “the Eastern Lightning” could only deceive those vulgar and ignorant ones.

    Several days later, I got acquainted with old Brother Hatch, an American who was teaching in Chengdu City. He served as a temporary elder in a church there. In our conversation, we spoke of the issue about Jesus’ return. Because I was certain about the conclusion that “Jesus will definitely come on the cloud when he returns,” I talked an awful lot about it. However, Brother Hatch just looked at me, shook his head contemptuously, and smiled. I was very surprised. “Doesn’t he believe in the Bible? Could he also be of ‘the Eastern Lightning’?” He seemed to have read my mind. He said calmly and seriously, “In the U.S., our pastor told us that when Jesus returned, he would come down from heaven on a big white horse together with the armies of heaven.” I was unconvinced and asked in return, “Is there any biblical basis for it?” “Yes!” he said unhurriedly. “It’s recorded clearly in Revelation 19:11-16. We Americans believe it and are waiting for Jesus to come the second time on a big white horse. …” Only then did I remember those verses in Revelation. For a moment, I did not know how to answer him. I involuntarily sighed with feeling, “With such a little Bible knowledge and so few ideas which I considered ‘brilliant,’ I even want to journey north and south.” I couldn’t help blushing up to my ears. That conversation left a deep impression on my mind and also taught me a lesson. After that, the final conclusion that “Jesus will definitely come on the cloud when he returns” began to sway in my heart.

    After I went back home, I paid special attention to collecting the picture books on Jesus’ second coming and also studied the Bible in detail, trying to get from them the right answer to in what way Jesus would come again. Shortly afterward, I saw in a “picture-story book” a colored picture of Jesus’ second coming. In the picture, Jesus sat on the throne with a golden crown on his head and came in blazing fire. On the bottom were some small words: “This will happen when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven in blazing fire with his powerful angels. 2 Thessalonians 1:7…” Then, I became even more confused. “When Jesus comes the second time, will he come on the cloud, return on a white horse, or appear in blazing fire? There is only one Jesus; how could there be so many different ways in which he will come? Every believer has the same Bible, and every way has its biblical basis. Which way is correct? Which viewpoint should I hold on to?” The more I studied, the more confused I became. I fell into a dilemma and seemed to have entered into a maze. I tried to free myself from this distress through studying the Bible, but such distress was exactly caused by the several different statements in the Bible. How could the Bible console me? Although I did not give up the hope of seeing the white cloud, the belief that “Jesus will definitely come on the cloud when he returns,” which had been unassailable in my heart for more than twenty years, was very shaky now. However, I did not give up resisting and counterattacking “the Eastern Lightning” because of that. Although I did not know what was written in the little scroll of “the Eastern Lightning,” I firmly believed that they were purely a “cult” and were Jesus’ “enemies” and “betrayers.”

    During the two years between 1998 and 2000, I not only resisted and excluded “the Eastern Lightning” in the churches, but also collected the materials everywhere that slandered “the Eastern Lightning.” I thought that once I had those materials, I would gain an insight into that “cult” through them. Of the materials I collected, some refuted “the Eastern Lightning” from the angle of the Bible, and some were written by those who had withdrawn from “the Eastern Lightning.” However, after I finished reading and examining those materials, I was disappointed, because I found that the adverse material written by one who had withdrawn from “the Eastern Lightning” was a sheer “counterfeit.” It simply put the instances of sin and the doctrines of the false christ “the Established King” on “the Eastern Lightning.” Those various slanderous materials contradicted each other, gave different versions of events, and were full of holes. For example, of the two materials brought by Wang X from Chendu City, one said that so-and-so was in Shandong Province, and the other said in Henan Province. Besides, of another two materials, one said that this way was spread to China from the U.S. and was a trick with an ulterior motive, and that there was no such a person at all, and the other said that The Word Appears in the Flesh was concocted by over ten authors who lived in different countries in the world and that their purpose was to play to the gallery and to fool Chinese people. Of these materials that gave different versions of events and that contradicted each other, which one should I believe? I blamed in my heart those who printed and distributed the materials, thinking, “How can they treat the ‘cult’ so lightly and carelessly?” I really hoped that one day I could read a material that exposed the true face of “the Eastern Lightning.”

    In August 2000, I went to Xi’an to preach the “sound truth” of our Local Church to the Holy Spirit Work Church. Elder Yu there together with other eight co-workers listened to my preaching. I preached mainly on how to build up the “Local Church,” and it lasted for two days altogether. Those brothers and sisters all listened very carefully and also took detailed notes. I felt very satisfied. On that day, there came a sister surnamed Zhang. She was the relative of one of the co-workers and often preached and shepherded the churches in other places. She was willing to attend our meeting at that time. We were all very happy, and I in particular was more than happy. Because I had finished what I wanted to preach, I pushed the boat with the current and asked this new comer Sister Zhang to preach about something. The brothers and sisters agreed with me and kept asking her to fellowship a little about her new light. Then she began to preach. To my surprise, her interpretation of the Bible was so specific, clear, and accurate, and included some rare originalities. For example, she summarized what was called “Christ” in just one sentence. I remembered that when teacher Kim from Korea (who had graduated from a theological school in the U.S., studied theology for seven years, and obtained a master’s degree in theology) gave lectures to us in Xi’an, he quoted over ten verses from the New and Old Testaments and fellowshipped for quite a while but still did not make clear what was called “Christ.” But the sister made it clear in just one sentence. She said, “God’s incarnated flesh is called Christ.” For another example, when the power of God, that of satan, and that of man were spoken of, my interpretation of them was lengthy though I had some knowledge of them, but she summarized them in just one sentence again. She said, “God is almighty, satan is mighty, and man is powerless.” She preached far better than I did. I admired her, but also envied her. I really wondered who her teacher was.

    The more she preached, the deeper her preaching went. A string of new words came out of her mouth: the direction of the Holy Spirit’s working, man is the embodiment of satan, God’s six-thousand-year management plan, God has laid bare his holy arms to mankind, and corrupt mankind needs the salvation of God…. These words and sentences were what I had never heard before and were so exciting. As she preached, my heart leaped, rejoiced, or thrilled. Even the “soundest theology” was much inferior to the way she preached, and it was something that could not be found in any ancient and modern theological textbook.

    However, on the third day of her preaching, I suddenly realized that she was of “the Eastern Lightning,” because she said that Jesus had returned in the flesh the second time and had judged the churches, opened the little scroll, and started the third stage of God’s work. It was really that enemies were bound to meet on a narrow road! I had never thought that I would meet “the Eastern Lightning” I hated most on such an occasion. I could by no means believe that such a high way and such incisive views came from “the Eastern Lightning.” How could the low and vulgar “little scroll,” which was full of wrong characters, have such high-level words? I doubted if there was something wrong with my auditory nerves. “Have I heard wrong? No, I haven’t. She clearly repeats that God has been incarnated the second time as a female and has begun his work of judgment in Mainland China.” Instantly, all those most powerful “weapons” that were used to resist “the Eastern Lightning” in ordinary days, such as those “well-rounded” materials that refuted “the Eastern Lightning,” those rumors that said “the Eastern Lightning” was vulgar and coarse, and my notion that “the Eastern Lightning” could only fool those ignorant and uneducated people, and so on, turned into a pile of rubbish. I realized that it was no easy task to confute “the Eastern Lightning.” I had to give it further consideration. Otherwise, I would only end up with a fiasco. Without broad and profound theological theory, Bible knowledge, and literary attainments, I could not confute “the Eastern Lightning.” At this time, I saw that other brothers and sisters had every intention of accepting “the Eastern Lightning,” because they listened attentively and raised questions from time to time, and Sister Zhang answered them all. “Alas! They shouldn’t be blamed. On such an occasion, even the heart of a stone man will be melted somewhat, and even I myself have been attracted by what she has preached. I should blame myself for not listening to Brother Li of the Praise Church in Zhengzhou City, Henan Province. He said that at no time should we listen to the way of ‘the Eastern Lightning,’ and that if we did so, we would become vegetables and believe in their God. To say that we would become vegetables is a lie, but to say that we would believe in their God is a fact.” Seeing that those brothers and sisters were about to be drawn in by “the Eastern Lightning,” I felt extremely grieved and prayed to the Lord Jesus secretly in tears, asking him to keep them. If it had been in the past, I would have called Sister Zhang a devil or a satan, but now I found it so hard to open my mouth. And I knew that to do so could only court defeat, because the brothers and sisters would not take sides with me, but would say that I was an unreasonable barbarian. Thus, I not only could not save their lives, but on the contrary, I would do them harm and cause them to be better disposed to “the Eastern Lightning” and accept this “cult.” “Since ‘the Eastern Lightning’ can preach such a high doctrine, I absolutely cannot look down upon them. Now I should be refined in manner and convince them by reasoning. I have to wait until I find some mistakes in Sister Zhang’s preaching before I retort upon her on just grounds. Then I can succeed at one stroke and rescue these brothers and sisters so that they will follow the Lord Jesus Christ with conviction in heart and in mouth and not be taken in by ‘the Eastern Lightning’ anymore.”

    However, my plan came to nothing. Sister Zhang’s preaching was simply perfect and unassailable, without any hole or handle for me to grasp. And she asked me from time to time whether there was anything in her preaching that needed to be corrected or supplemented. I hemmed and hawed and could not give anything, yet I was still unconvinced and my face looked very unpleasant. However, she did not mind my reaction in the slightest and just continued her preaching. As she preached, my heart went up and down. Sometimes I was extremely moved, and sometimes I shed tears of sorrow…. Suddenly, I woke up and caught my breath. “How can I sit here meekly and listen to her preaching without saying a word? What she preaches is ‘the Eastern Lightning,’ purely a ‘cult’! Besides, how can I, a dignified man, allow myself to be defeated by a weak woman?” I was unwilling to be defeated in this way, but I found it hard to refute her, because she had more and richer knowledge than me. The way she preached was not somewhat higher than the “way” I preached, but they were as far apart as heaven and earth. Seeing that other brothers and sisters had all been “bewitched” by her preaching and had turned to “the Eastern Lightning,” I hit upon a plan: “Why not pretend to accept the way and cheat her out of the little scroll—The Word Appears in the Flesh—which she mentioned in her preaching? Then I can follow the vine to get the melon. I will from this book know more about “the Eastern Lightning,” and search for contradictions, grasp handles, and use them as breakthrough points in refuting ‘the Eastern Lightning.’ I can certainly gain more conclusive and reliable evidence by doing so than by reading those false materials attacking ‘the Eastern Lightning,’ which are full of holes and in which one thing is confused with another. Perhaps one day I can write a ‘true material’ that exposes the true face of ‘the Eastern Lightning’ through my on-site investigation, so as to save those who have been ‘deceived’ and arouse the churches.” Thinking of that, I was even more eager to get The Word Appears in the Flesh. I thought to myself, “It is this book that has taken so many souls and lives. Now I’d like to see what ‘treasures’ are hidden in this book.” At this time, the conversation I had with old Brother Hatch in Chengdu City, the rumors and slanders that attacked “the Eastern Lightning” from various sects and denominations, a pile of materials that confusingly attacked “the Eastern Lightning,” in which way Jesus would come the second time, and so on, flashed before my eyes. I had not found the answers to them in three years. Although I was “fascinated” by the Bible, I was still like a lost sheep and could not find a practical way. Now three years had passed; these problems should be brought to an end. So, I pretended to accept the way Sister Zhang preached with other brothers and sisters. I thought to myself, “When the time is ripe, I will make use of the mistakes of ‘the Eastern Lightning’ to strike back at her, so that ‘the Eastern Lightning’ will fall into my trap.” But Sister Zhang in no way knew that I was “playacting.” After her preaching, she handed to me with both hands a book called The Word Appears in the Flesh. Then, she left.

    I looked at the book with scornful eyes. For my own purpose, I opened the book casually, turned to the table of contents, and found a piece of word that I wanted to read: “The ‘Savior’ Has Already Returned on the ‘White Cloud.’” I read it through carefully. Immediately, the doubts in my mind were dispelled by the words in it. God’s word says: “Over thousands of years, people have been expecting that they can see the coming of the Savior, expecting that they can see the Savior Jesus himself come on the white cloud to be among them who have been thirsting after and expecting him for thousands of years. And people have been expecting that the Savior will return and meet with them again, expecting that the Savior Jesus who has been parted with them for thousands of years will return again and still do the redemptive work he did among the Jews, having mercy on man, loving man, forgiving and bearing man’s sins, and even bearing all man’s transgressions and saving man from sins. What people have been expecting is that the Savior Jesus will still be man’s lovable and dear and venerable Savior, never getting angry with man or rebuking man but forgiving and bearing all man’s sins, and even dying on the cross again for man. Since Jesus left, his disciples and all the saints saved through his name have been eagerly longing for him and expecting him like this. All those who are saved by Jesus Christ through grace in the Age of the Grace have been expecting that the Savior Jesus will come among men on the white cloud and appear to all men on a day of great joy in the end time. Of course, this is also what all those who accept the name of Jesus the Savior today are expecting. All those in the entire universe who know the salvation of Jesus the Savior are ‘eagerly expecting’ that Jesus Christ will suddenly come, ‘fulfilling’ the word he said when he was on earth: ‘As I will go, so will I come.’ People all believe this: After Jesus was crucified and resurrected, he returned to the right hand of the Most High in heaven on a white cloud. Likewise, he will come still on the white cloud (the white cloud refers to the cloud on which he returned to heaven), in the Jewish image and in Jewish garment, to be among mankind who have been eagerly expecting him for thousands of years, and after appearing to them he will bestow food to them, pour out the living water to them, and live among them full of grace and love, true and real, all of which are what they believe in their notions. However, Jesus the Savior did not do so. What he did was just contrary to man’s notions. He did not come among those who had been eagerly expecting him to return and did not appear to all men on the ‘white cloud.’ He has already come, but people do not recognize him and do not know that. They are just waiting for him aimlessly. Little do they know that he has already come on the white cloud (the white cloud refers to his Spirit, his word, all his nature, and all that he is) to be among a group of people whom he will make overcomers in the end time!” Then I understood that when Jesus returned the second time, he did not come on the physical white cloud in the sky, nor return on a white horse, even less appear in blazing fire, but returned in the flesh with the words expressed by him, all his nature, and all that he is to judge the churches. My heart was deeply moved by this piece of word. In the book I not only did not find a hole that I wanted to find, but did not even find a wrong character. Instead, I found the answers to many unresolved questions that had hidden in my heart for many years. Then I realized that it was an unusual book. I could hardly believe that even I myself was also “taken in” by “the Eastern Lightning.” The plan that I would wait for the opportunity to turn against it fell through before this piece of word.

    Then I turned to the piece of word “Knowing the Three Stages of Works Is the Way to Know God.” The radiance of life that it emitted lighted up my heart, so that I came out of my limited knowledge area, knew the three stages of works of God’s managing mankind for six thousand years, and knew the mysteries of God’s saving mankind. God’s word says: “The three stages of works are the center of the entire management. God’s nature and God’s being are expressed in the three stages of works. Those who do not know the three stages of God’s work cannot know the ways of God’s expressing his nature, will not know God’s wisdom in working, and will not know the many different ways of his saving man and his intention for all mankind. The three stages of works are a complete expression of the work of saving mankind. Those who do not know the three stages of works will not know the various ways and principles of the Holy Spirit’s working. Those who can only rigidly observe the regulations left from one stage of work are all the ones who restrict God to regulations and who believe in vagueness. Such people are all the ones who cannot receive God’s salvation. Only the three stages of God’s works can fully express all God’s nature, fully express God’s intention of saving all mankind, and express the whole course of saving all mankind. These are the evidence of defeating satan and gaining mankind, the evidence of God’s triumphing, and the expression of all God’s nature. Those who know one of the three stages of works will only know a part of God’s nature. Knowing this only one stage of work, people will easily form regulations in their notions and will easily limit God, replacing all God’s nature with one part of God’s nature and having a lot of human imaginations and rigidly restricting God’s nature, his being, his wisdom, and his principles of working to a limited scope, thinking that God will forever be the same as he was once and can never change for eternity.” “The center of the three stages of works is God’s salvation of man, but the work of salvation includes several ways of working and ways of God’s expressing his nature. This is hardest for people to discover and difficult for them to understand. Such things as the divisions of the ages, the changes in the works, the changes in the places to work in, and the changes in the people to work on are all included in the three stages of works. Especially the different ways of the Holy Spirit’s working and the changes in God’s nature, image, name, and identity, or in other aspects are all in the three stages of works. One stage of work can only represent one part and can only be limited to one scope, and there cannot be the divisions of the ages or the changes in the works, to say nothing of the other aspects. This is a very obvious fact.” After I read those words, I bowed my head. Recalling that I always, from the angle of the work of the Age of the Grace, measured and circumscribed God’s entire work according to one stage of God’s work, I felt that I was really a shortsighted arrogant person. However, I had thought of myself as a profoundly learned, erudite, and well-informed person and thus criticized, judged, attacked, and slandered God’s new work. How foolish and detestable I was! How treasonous I was!

    In the following days, I ate and drank God’s word with great eagerness. I particularly reread through “The Disclosure of Mysteries” twice. God’s word made me convinced in heart and in mouth, and I came to know my vileness and insignificance. It also caused me to involuntarily praise God’s wonderful deeds and unfathomable abundance. My heart was convinced by the truth expressed by the Almighty God, and even I myself could hardly believe that. I read this book originally for the purpose of knowing more about the inside of “the Eastern Lightning” and preparing to write a material to attack it, yet to my great surprise, I not only did not get anything on it, but the truth of life expressed in the book deeply attracted me like a strong magnetic field. Only then did I realize that this book was not written by a human being but was God’s judgment on us in the end time and was what the Holy Spirit said to the churches, because no man could do God’s work in his stead and no man could speak such words. Those words were not miracles but surpassed miracles. I felt extremely excited. “I have never dreamt that my long-expected wish should have finally come true today: Jesus has already returned in the flesh on the white cloud and has sat on the glorious throne, the judgment has begun with the family of God, and God has already begun the third stage of his work of saving mankind!” Then, my hands with which I held the book could not help trembling, and I began to feel how weighty this book was.

    From then on, I loved The Word Appears in the Flesh, the book of the Holy Spirit’s utterance and word, so much that I could not bear to part with it. It took me three months to finish reading it. Every word of God, like a sharp two-edged sword, pierced me to the heart. My corrupt nature of disobedience, that of arrogance, and that of self-rightness were disclosed thoroughly by God’s righteous and majestic words one by one, which made me feel too ashamed to show my face. In the judging and disclosing of God’s word, I saw that this was God’s love for all mankind. After I followed the Almighty God, through three years of my personal experiences, I have not only given up the counterattack dagger-axe completely, but also taken up the “weapon” of the truth to fight the “spiritual warfare” against various rumors and fallacies, because I have seen that God has indeed come to the world and it is only that people do not know him nor accept him. The wish that I wanted to write some materials that reflected the true face of “the Eastern Lightning” three years ago has come true today after my on-site investigation. Here, I only wish to use the facts that I have personally experienced to let those brothers and sisters who have no knowledge of “the Eastern Lightning” know it afresh and see through the shamefulness of those rumors, and to return justice to the truth!

From in:Ironclad Proofs of God’s Words Conquering Denominations’ and Sects’ Leaders

The Origin and Development of the Church of Almighty God

In the Age of Grace, the Lord Jesus promised to His followers, “And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you to myself; that where I am, there you may be also.” (John 14:3) He also prophesied, “For as the lightning comes out of the east, and shines even to the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.” (Matthew 24:27) In the last days, as promised and foretold by Himself, God has again become flesh and descended to the East of the world—China—to do the work of judgment, chastisement, conquest, and salvation using the word, on the foundation of the redemption work of the Lord Jesus. In this, the prophecies of the Bible that “Judgment begins with the house of God” and “He that has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit said to the churches!” have also been fulfilled. God’s work of the last days has ended the Age of Grace and ushered in the Age of Kingdom. As the gospel of the kingdom of Almighty God spread rapidly in Mainland China, the Church of Almighty God came into being. As proven by facts, the Church of Almighty God came into being entirely as a result of God’s work of the last days, and was not established by any man. This is because the chosen people in the Church of Almighty God pray in the name of Almighty God, obey His work, and accept all the truths expressed by Him. Thus it is evident that these chosen people believe in Christ who is incarnated in the last days, the practical God who is the Spirit realized in the flesh, instead of believing in a man. Outwardly, Almighty God is nothing more than an ordinary Son of man, but in substance He is the embodiment of God’s Spirit and is the truth, the way, and the life. His work and word are the direct expression of the Spirit of God and are the appearance of God in person. Therefore, He is the practical God who is incarnated.

5. God’s Discipline Made Me Examine Myself; God’s Word Conquered Me——The Church of Almighty God

5. God’s Discipline Made Me Examine Myself; God’s Word Conquered Me

The picture is from The Church of Almighty God

Zhang Congxian

Fuyang City, Anhui Province

I was formerly a leader in the Born Again Church. Since 1997, the believers in the Almighty God had been constantly preaching the gospel to me, no matter whether it was windy or rainy, extremely hot or bitterly cold, daytime or nighttime. However, I always retorted upon them, saying, “‘The Eastern Lightning’ you preach is a female Christ. Don’t deceive me. Moreover, you cannot deceive me. I have searched the whole Bible. It never says that God will be incarnated the second time, much less as a female Christ. You say that God has been incarnated the second time. It is a deceitful lie and is purely a heresy, a cult! Believers in God should take the Bible as the standard. Anything apart from the Bible is not to be believed. Even if you come ten thousand times, I absolutely will not accept!” And I often used Alarm Bell (a handbook printed by our Born Again Church specially for blaspheming and resisting the Almighty God’s end-time work) to seal the churches and said to the brothers and sisters many times, “‘The Eastern Lightning’ is a heresy, a cult. Take strict precautions against it! None of you can receive them or dispute with them, because you cannot match them in dispute. Even less should you listen to them. Once you listen, you will be deceived, and once you go in, you cannot get out. They even cut off others’ noses, gouge out others’ eyes, and commit sexual immorality. They are the ones who drag people into hell and into the lake of fire. … Only our Born Again Church is the true way. The Lord has promised us that once saved always saved, and he will definitely come and take us to heaven. We absolutely cannot accept ‘the Eastern Lightning’!” In this way, I condemned and resisted the Almighty God’s end-time work all along.

A Person Who Attains Salvation Is One Who Is Willing to Practice the Truth——The Church of Almighty God

A Person Who Attains Salvation Is One Who Is Willing to Practice the Truth

A Person Who Attains Salvation Is One Who Is Willing to Practice the Truth——The Church of Almighty God

Very early on, the necessity of having a proper church life was mentioned in the sermons. So why is it that the life of the church has not yet improved, and is still just the same old thing? Why is there not a completely new and different way of life? Could it be proper for a person of the nineties to live like an emperor of a bygone era? Although the food and drink may be delicacies rarely tasted in previous ages, there have been no major turnarounds in conditions in the church. It has been like putting old wine in a new bottle. What then is the use of God saying so much? The churches in most places have not changed at all. I have seen it with My eyes and it is clear in My heart; even though I have not experienced the life of the church for Myself, I know the conditions of church gatherings like the back of My hand. They have not made much progress. It goes back to that saying—it’s like putting old wine in a new bottle. Nothing has changed, not in the least bit! When someone is shepherding them they burn like fire, but when no one is there to support them, they are like a block of ice. Not many can talk of practical things, and very rarely can anyone take the helm. Although the sermons are lofty, seldom has anyone had any entry. Few people cherish the word of God. They become tearful when they take up God’s word and become cheerful when they set it aside; they turn gloomy and morose when they depart from it. Speaking frankly, you simply do not cherish the word of God, and you never see the words from His own mouth today as a treasure. You just become anxious when reading His word, and feel it is very strenuous when memorizing it, and when it comes to putting His word into practice, it is like facing a Sisyphean task—you are unmotivated. You are always energized when reading God’s word, yet forgetful when practicing it. In fact, these words need not be spoken so painstakingly and repeated so patiently; people just listen but do not put them into practice, therefore it has become an obstacle for God’s work. I cannot not bring it up, I cannot not talk about it. I am compelled to do so; it is not that I enjoy exposing the weaknesses of others. You think that your practice is just about adequate and you think that when revelations are at a peak, that you have also entered into that peak? Is it so simple? You never examine the foundation upon which your experiences are ultimately built. As of this moment, your gatherings absolutely cannot be called a proper life of the church, nor is it a proper spiritual life at all. It is the gathering of a bunch of people who enjoy chatting and singing. Strictly speaking, there is not much reality in it. Saying it a little more clearly, if you do not practice, where is the reality? Is it not boasting to say that you have reality? Those who always perform work are arrogant and conceited, while those who always obey keep quiet and keep their heads down, without any opportunity for practice. People who do the work do nothing but talk, going on and on with their high-sounding speeches, and the followers only listen. There is no transformation to speak of; these are just ways of the past! Today, your being able to submit and not daring to interfere or behave willfully is due to the arrival of the administrative decrees of God; it is not change you have undergone through experiences. The fact that there are many things you would not do today that you would have done yesterday is because God’s work is so apparent that it has conquered people. Let Me ask someone, how much of your accomplishment today was earned with the sweat of your own hard work? How much of it was told to you directly by God? How would you answer? Would you be dumbfounded and speechless? Would you stick out your tongue? Why is it that others are able to speak out about many of their experiences to provide you with sustenance, while you simply enjoy the meals that others have cooked? Do you not feel ashamed? Aren’t you embarrassed?