Letters

Su Xing

One day in 1999, my pastor said to me after a gathering, “Su Xing, here is a letter for you.” I took a look and found it was from a church that I established in Shandong Province. On my way home with that letter, I thought to myself: The letter is thick. Are they facing some difficulties?

After I went home, I could not wait to open the letter. It read, “Sister Su, peace to you in the Lord! We’re writing to tell you a piece of fantastic news: Our Savior Jesus, for whom we’ve been yearning night and day, has returned! He has returned to flesh in China and done a stage of work to purify man with the word, bringing an end to the Age of Grace and ushering in the Age of Kingdom…. We hope that you can accept God’s new work, follow His footprints, and never miss the opportunity for God to save you….” Seeing this, I thought: It’s over. So they didn’t encounter any problem, but accepted the “Eastern Lightning.” I was eager to know who on earth wrote it. When I turned to the last page, however, I found that all the brothers and sisters of this church had signed their names, though it was written by Brother Meng alone. I was left dumbfounded. They were so far away, and I could not go there for the moment. What should I do? In tears, I prayed to the Lord, “Oh Lord! These brothers and sisters have believed in You for a short time. They have not taken root. May you keep them….”

Then, I wrote the first rebuttal letter after studying the Bible. I wrote, “Brothers and sisters, in Jesus Christ I exhort you to be cautious and prudent. Paul said, ‘I marvel that you are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ to another gospel: Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ. But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you than that which we have preached to you, let him be accursed. As we said before, so say I now again, if any man preach any other gospel to you than that you have received, let him be accursed’ (Galatians 1:6-9). Brothers and sisters, I took painstaking efforts to bring you before the Lord, yet you actually betrayed Him so quickly. Your statures are too small. You cannot easily believe others! You must listen to me, for what I preached to you is the true way. The Lord JesusChrist is our only Savior, so you must hold on to His name forever….” After I finished the letter of eight pages, I felt grounded, thinking: I’ve written all I should write, studied all the verses I should study, and exhorted all I should exhort. I’m sure that they will realize they’ve taken the wrong way after reading the letter, and apologize to me in their reply. Then I mailed the letter with full confidence.

Half a month later, I got the reply. The brothers and sisters said, “… Sister Su, we cannot keep silent about what we see and what we hear, for what we believe in is exactly the return of the Lord Jesus, we are holding to the true path and going forward, and we have kept up with the Lord’s footsteps instead of betraying Him. ‘I marvel that you are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ to another gospel: Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ’ (Galatians 1:6-7). These are Paul’s words, which have a background. The ‘another gospel’ in Paul’s words refers to the Pharisees asking man to keep Jehovah’s laws at that time, not the work of judgment beginning at God’s house done in the last days when the Lord Jesus returns to flesh. Today, the Lord coming to do this stage of work just fulfills the prophecy in the Book of Revelation, ‘And I saw another angel fly in the middle of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach to them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people, Saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come …’ (Revelation 14:6-7). ‘The everlasting gospel’ in Revelation refers to the work of judgment beginning with the house of God done by the second coming of the Lord Jesus. When Paul wrote that letter to the Galatian churches, there was not the Book of Revelation, let alone people who preached the kingdom gospel of God. Therefore, the ‘another gospel’ mentioned by Paul cannot possibly refer to the work of judgment beginning at God’s house that the Lord comes to do in the last days. The salvation in the last days not only fulfills the prophecy in Revelation, but has already been revealed to the Lord Jesus’ disciples by the Holy Spirit. Just as Peter said, ‘Who are kept by the power of God through faith to salvation ready to be revealed in the last time’ (1 Peter 1:5). Sister Su, are we not longing for the Lord’s return as we believe in the Lord? Now the Lord has really come back. We should be the ones who seek humbly, and never be like the Pharisees who measured God’s new work with their biblical knowledge, defined God’s work by their notions and imaginations, and at last nailed the Lord Jesus to the cross, being cursed by God. Does the lesson of the Pharisees not deserve our reflection? Moreover, Sister Su, we cannot listen to you just because you preached the gospel to us, for what we believe in is God. Peter and the other apostles once said, ‘… We ought to obey God rather than men’ (Acts 5:29). Sister Su, if we listen to you rather than God, do you think it is reasonable? You may think it over since you have believed in the Lord for so many years….”

I was rendered speechless by those words, but not won over. I hurried to take out the Reference Bible and turned to the introduction to the Book of Galatians. After reading it carefully, I was surprised, thinking: What they said is true! Why did I never notice that this verse had such a background? No wonder they were not convinced. On second thought, however, even if that was really the case, it could not prove that their preaching about the Lord’s return was true. I then read the letter through once again, getting more and more angry. I thought: You have known much more biblical verses in such a short period. That really surprises me. How dare you talk back to me with such severe words, and even say I am like the Pharisees? I hate most the Pharisees. I’ve believed in the Lord for so many years, working hard and laboring night and day for the believers. Don’t you know that? The more I thought about it, the more awful I felt. I thought to myself: No. How can I be taken down by these new believers? I’ve read the Bible so many times, and I refuse to believe that I’m unable to refute you.

So, I lifted my pen and wrote the second letter, saying, “Brothers and sisters, peace to you in the Lord! I feel so uncomfortable seeing your reply. I was not to have you listen to me, nor believe in me. You just have no understanding of my heart. I’m afraid that you have no discernment and thus turn away from the way of the Lord Jesus. For the Lord Jesus said, ‘Then if any man shall say to you, See, here is Christ, or there; believe it not. For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall show great signs and wonders; so that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect’ (Matthew 24:23-24). Paul also said, ‘Now we beseech you, brothers, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together to him, That you be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand. Let no man deceive you by any means …’ (2 Thessalonians 2:1-3). Dear brothers and sisters, I beseech you in the name of the Lord Jesus: There will be terrible times in the last days. We should memorize the Lord’s words. Do not believe any news preaching the Lord’s coming. Now various sects are springing up, so you should be very vigilant to avoid taking the wrong path and offending the Lord.”

Half a month later, they replied to me again, saying, “Sister Su, the verses you found for us are not wrong, but we should be clear about the true meaning of those words of the Lord Jesus. The Lord Jesus told us clearly: When He comes in the last days, there shall arise false Christs who perform signs and wonders to deceive man. He urged us to have discernment, but He did not say that any news preaching His coming would be false. In terms of how to distinguish the true Christ from false Christs, we copy a passage of Almighty God’s words for you, hoping that you can read it carefully. Almighty God says, ‘If, during the present day, there is to emerge a person who is able to display signs and wonders, and can cast out demons, and heal, and perform many miracles, and if this person claims that they are the coming of Jesus, then this would be the counterfeit of evil spirits, and their imitation of Jesus. Remember this! God does not repeat the same work. Jesus’ stage of work has already been completed, and God will never again undertake that stage of work’ (“Knowing God’s Work Today” in The Word Appears in the Flesh). Almighty God’s words have made it very clear that God’s work is always new and never old without any repetition, while false Christs possessed by evil spirits can only imitate the work of the Lord Jesus, such as healing and casting out demons, displaying signs and wonders. Nonetheless, however evil spirits falsely pretend, they cannot do the work of God Himself for their absence of God’s substance. Furthermore, we should not blindly deny the Lord’s return just because of the appearance of false Christs in the last days….”

Seeing those words from Almighty God they quoted, I just had no mind to read carefully or ponder, for what I cared about was whether they could turn to the Lord after seeing the verses I found for them. We went back and forth to debate, but I did not manage to persuade them; instead, they refuted me through and through. I immediately prayed to the Lord, and then laid the Bible and all spiritual books on my bed, flipping unceasingly with a view to finding evidence that could take them down. At that moment, the room was silent except for the sound of pages turning.

Unknowingly, it was night. I was tired out and sighed deeply: It does take a lot to reply to them. Then I picked up my pen and wrote the third letter to them, “Brother and sisters, having read your letter, I think you are no longer the original lovely lambs. You not only deviated from the Lord’s way, but even refused to listen to me and refuted me like that. I think what you have done has hurt the Lord’s heart. I’m grieved, too. May the Lord Jesus move you, so that you can turn around soon by perusing this letter. Amen!”

Another half month passed. I got their reply. To my disappointment, they did not turn around after my exhortation out of love, but responded in a severer tone, “Sister Su, it is true that you preached the gospel to us. We also remember how you have suffered for the Lord. However, we even more give our thanks to the Lord, for it was God who found us, the lost lambs, through you. We believe that you are only a servant in charge of watching over the flock, while the Lord Jesus is our real shepherd. Just as the Lord Jesus said, ‘I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine.As the Father knows me, even so know I the Father: and I lay down my life for the sheep.And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd. … My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: And I give to them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand’ (John 10:14-16, 27-28). God entrusts His sheep to every one who works for Him, and their duty is only to keep watch on the flock. When God comes, they are supposed to return the flock to God. Sister Su, we all know the Parable of the Wicked Tenants in the Bible, which was given by the Lord Jesus. In order to seize on the inheritance of the householder, those wicked farmers beat the servants who went to receive the fruits, and even killed the son of the householder when he was sent to them. What would the householder do to those farmers when he returned? We can absolutely not act as the wicked servants. Now God has come back, so we should give His sheep to Him. This is the sense we ought to have. You should ponder it through….”

This letter left me astounded indeed. I thought: How come they’ve understood so much in such a short time? It’s been just two years since I established this church in Shandong Province. When I left the church, they were still at the infant stage. I didn’t expect that a few months after their acceptance of the “Eastern Lightning,” their speech would become so forceful, nor that the biblical verses they found to refute me could be so appropriate that I just had no words to counter. At this point, I felt particularly disappointed, with a sense that these brothers and sisters were steadfast in following the “Eastern Lightning.” They seemed to have written me off since they did not turn around despite my exhortation out of love. I realized I was unable to have them turn back. Feeling weak and limp all over, I wrote the fourth letter in helplessness, “Have it your own way. The Bible says that what is of God will increase while what is of man will decrease, which has been acknowledged throughout the ages…. Do not write to me anymore. May you hold on to your faith and love in Jesus Christ.”

Since I rejected God’s kingdom gospel preached by the brothers and sisters from the church in Shandong Province, my spiritual circumstances had gotten ever worse. Meanwhile, my pastors and elders framed me and excluded me from the church in order to fight for the church offerings. I felt extreme pain, and had no idea of what course to take. I often went to the bank of a big river, and sang the song in tears “Lord, You Are My Most Intimate Friend” to the river. I expected the Lord to come soon, saving me from this miserable situation….

Half a year passed. One day, I heard my mother-in-law calling my name from the outside when I was cooking lunch. I made a response, and then saw her come in followed by a quiet, slim, young woman. My mother-in-law said, “This young sister comes here for you. She could not find you according to the address at her hands, so she went to your church, and was then referred to your former neighbor by a sister in your church who didn’t know your new address. The neighbor told me that this young sister was very eager to see you. I guessed she might have something very important to tell you, so I took her here at once.” I looked her up and down, thinking: Who is she? It’s like I didn’t know her. On seeing me, however, the young sister hurried to me and held my hands, saying excitedly, “So you’re Sister Su Xing! I finally found you.” Disorientated by her action, I looked at her with confusion, asking, “Who are you? It seems that I didn’t see you before.” She replied with emotion, “Sister, my family name is Wang. It was Brother Meng and Sister Zhao who introduced you to us. They wrote a letter to our church, the Church of Almighty God in the northeastern region, urging us to do everything we could to find you. They’re too busy to come here personally, so they told us to preach God’s kingdom gospel to you face to face. This letter had been transferred many times before reaching our church. I’ve asked around, finally finding your home….” With that, the young sister was choked up, and passed the letter to me. I took it and saw the following, “Sister Su Xing truly believes in the Lord. Please make sure to find her and preach God’s kingdom gospel to her….” Looking at this letter, I felt a wave of warmth in my heart with tears involuntarily falling. My mother-in-law was also moved, and said, “Thanks be to God! This truly is God’s love!” Then I said to Sister Wang warmly, “Come in, sister.” Her sincerity and kindness really impressed me, and I was not at all defensive.

After lunch, I fetched my co-worker Sister Zhang. Hearing we were going to have a fellowship, my husband decided to join us instead of going to work. Sister Wang asked me with concern, “Sister, Brother Meng mentioned in the letter that they had written many times to you preaching God’s kingdom gospel, but you didn’t accept it. Do you have some misgivings inside? If you have any difficulties, you may bring them up, and we can fellowship together.”

I said, “Since you say that, I’ll speak frankly. I do have some misgivings after reading their letters. Now we are in the last days when various false Christs and prophets have emerged, so we should be quite watchful. Besides, every Sunday our pastors and elders read chapter 24, verses 23-24 of the Gospel of Matthew: The Lord Jesus said, ‘Then if any man shall say to you, See, here is Christ, or there; believe it not. For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall show great signs and wonders; so that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect.’ They strictly forbid us to listen to sermons elsewhere or contact strangers in case we get deceived and take the wrong way. In that case, our belief will end up in vain.” Sister Zhang, my mother-in-law and husband all expressed the same misgivings.

Then Sister Wang patiently communicated with us the truth of how to distinguish the true Christ from false Christs, and read a passage of God’s words for us. Almighty God says, “If, during the present day, there is to emerge a person who is able to display signs and wonders, and can cast out demons, and heal, and perform many miracles, and if this person claims that they are the coming of Jesus, then this would be the counterfeit of evil spirits, and their imitation of Jesus. Remember this! God does not repeat the same work. Jesus’ stage of work has already been completed, and God will never again undertake that stage of work. … In the conceptions of man, God must always display signs and wonders, must always heal and cast out demons, and must always be just like Jesus, yet this time God is not like that at all. If, during the last days, God still displayed signs and wonders, and still cast out demons and healed—if He did exactly the same as Jesus—then God would be repeating the same work, and the work of Jesus would have no significance or value. Thus, God carries out one stage of work in every age. Once each stage of His work has been completed, it is soon imitated by evil spirits, and after Satan begins to follow on the heels of God, God changes to a different method; once God has completed a stage of His work, it is imitated by evil spirits. You must be clear about these things” (“Knowing God’s Work Today” in The Word Appears in the Flesh). After reading God’s words, Sister Wang fellowshiped, “From Almighty God’s words, we can see that God has a principle in His work, that is, He never repeats the same work and His work is always new and never old with each stage. For example, in the Age of Law, the work of Jehovah was to guide man’s life on earth with the laws. In the Age of Grace, when the Lord Jesus came, He did not repeat the work of Jehovah, but instead did a new stage of work and made new requirements for man, like confessing and repenting, loving their neighbors, forbearing and forgiving each other, worshiping God in spirit and in truth, and so on. Moreover, He bestowed abundant grace upon man, healed the sick and cast out demons. In the last days, when Christ comes again, He will not repeat the Lord Jesus’ work in the Age of Grace, that is, healing and driving out demons, and performing signs and wonders. Rather, He does a stage of work to judge and purify man with the word. These things can be seen clearly from Almighty God’s words. False Christs do not possess God’s substance and thus are unable to do the work of God Himself. In order to interrupt God’s management, they imitate the work of the Lord Jesus and display miracles to deceive God’s chosen people and destroy God’s work in the new age. As such, during the last days, if we see someone heal and cast out demons, perform signs and wonders, and even proclaim themselves to be the return of Christ, they are definitely the false Christs. Now we must have been clear about why the Lord Jesus told us, ‘Then if any man shall say to you, See, here is Christ, or there; believe it not. For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall show great signs and wonders; so that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect’ (Matthew 24:23-24).”

After listening to Sister Wang’s fellowship, I put my hand on my breast, keeping pondering in my heart: Oh Lord! I’ve been claiming to guard against false Christs all day long, but actually I have no idea of how to discern them. If I only guard against false Christs, and thus even reject the true Christ, won’t I miss Your salvation? When I thought about this likely consequence, I felt that I had reached a low point. I could no longer stay there at ease, so I went to the kitchen with an excuse to get some water and tried to calm down. While pouring the water, I thought: I did not expect that such a young sister could fellowship so well. These words are just like a timely rain, watering my thirsty spirit. So God has really come back to do a new work! Then I recalled the scenes of me writing to my brothers and sisters in Shandong Province: I lifted my pen and lectured them in an arrogant tone. I thought that I was striving to defend the true way, yet in reality I was resisting God. Was I not one of the Pharisees of modern times? At that point, I was limp and weak from head to toe, and my hands were shivering in spite of myself, as if a bucket of cold water had been poured on me. The content of the letters kept replaying in my mind like a movie. I had an unrelenting sense that I had overstepped the mark. Thinking of this, I lost control and could not stop the tears from flowing down my face. After a moment, I wiped my tears and went back to the room.

Sister Wang looked at me, and said concernedly, “Sister, how do you feel about what we fellowshiped just now?”

I replied with a sigh, “Your fellowship leaves me deeply reproached. I long for the Lord’s coming every day. However, I didn’t think that when the Lord came, I would actually act like the Pharisees. I’ve committed a heinous sin.” At that time, I was already choked with tears.

After investigating Almighty God’s words for some time, Sister Zhang, my mother-in-law, my husband and I all ascertained that Almighty God is precisely the returned Lord Jesus. Feeling exhilarated, I stood by the mailbox and sent the fifth letter to my brothers and sisters in Shandong Province, and my heart was as if flying there together with the letter, “Dear brothers and sisters, thank God for having you preach God’s kingdom gospel to me time and again. Now I’ve accepted Almighty God’s work in the last days and joined the Church of Almighty God. Though I accepted it later than you, I don’t want to lag behind you. I will do my best to catch you up….”

The End.

Source: Rainbow Covenant

How did the Bible come into being? What kind of book is the Bible?

The answer from God’s word:

“The Old Testament, which describes Jehovah’s work in Israel, and the New Testament, which describes Jesus’ work in the Age of Grace, are both records of God’s work in two different eras. The Old Testament records His work in the Age of Law, and so it is a history book. The New Testament is a product of God’s work in the Age of Grace, and when the new work has begun, both testaments are out of date. So the New Testament is also a history book. Of course, the New Testament is not as systematic as the Old and does not record as many things.”

from “Concerning the Bible (1)” in The Word Appears in the Flesh

“When the Age of Grace arrived, people had already been reading the Bible for generations, though they only had the Old Testament, not the New. People had been reading the Bible for as long as the Old Testament was in existence. After the period of Jehovah’s guidance, Moses wrote Genesis, Exodus, Deuteronomy, and so on, recollecting Jehovah’s work and committing it to paper. The Bible is a history book, and it also contains the words of the prophets, which, of course, are not history. It has several different parts, and is not just prophecies, records of Jehovah’s work, or letters from Paul. You should be familiar with the parts of the Bible. The Old Testament includes Genesis, Exodus … then the books of prophecy, concluding with the Book of Malachi, all of which records the work of the Age of Law under the guidance of Jehovah. From Genesis to the Book of Malachi, the Old Testament is a comprehensive account of Jehovah’s work in the Age of Law. The experiences of the people whom Jehovah led are all recorded there. During the Old Testament Age of Law, Jehovah raised up many prophets to speak His prophecies, instructing the people of all tribes and all nations, foretelling the work that He planned to do. These were people upon whom Jehovah bestowed the Spirit of prophecy. They saw visions and heard voices from Him, thereby receiving revelations to write prophecies. Their work was to express the voice of Jehovah, to prophesy on Jehovah’s behalf. When Jehovah worked then, He only guided people as the Spirit, and He was not incarnated; people could not see His face at all. And so He raised up these prophets to do His work, allowed them to receive oracles and reveal to all the tribes and clans of Israel. Their job was to utter prophecies, and some of them recorded Jehovah’s words for others to read. Jehovah raised them up to foretell the work that He would do or had not yet done, so that the people would see His wondrousness and wisdom. These books of prophecy are quite different from the other books of the Bible; they are words spoken or written by people who received the Spirit of prophecy, those who saw visions or heard voices from Jehovah. All the other books are records of Jehovah’s work written after the fact. These books are no substitute for the words of the prophets raised up by Jehovah; for example, Genesis and Exodus cannot compare with the Book of Isaiah or the Book of Daniel. The prophecies are words spoken before the work was done, and the other books are records of Jehovah’s work written afterward, an act of which human beings are capable. The prophets, receiving revelation from Jehovah, made some prophecies, said many words, foretelling things about the Age of Grace and the destruction of the world in the last days, that is, prophesying the work that Jehovah planned to do; the other books are all records of Jehovah’s work in Israel. So what one reads about in the Bible is mostly the work that Jehovah did in Israel. The Old Testament mostly records how Jehovah guided the Israelites—by means of Moses, He led them out of Egypt free from Pharaoh’s bondage, and into the desert, then into the land of Canaan. Then it describes their lives in Canaan, as well as Jehovah’s work in various parts of Israel. The Old Testament is a record of Jehovah’s work in Israel, where He created Adam and Eve. Beginning with Noah, when Jehovah began formally guiding mankind on earth, the Bible records only the work that He did in Israel. Why is there no record of God’s work outside of Israel? Because Israel is the birthplace of mankind; there were no countries outside of Israel then, and Jehovah did no work there. So the Bible records only God’s work in Israel. The words of the prophets—Isaiah, Daniel, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and so on—foretold other work that would take place on earth, work that Jehovah God would do Himself. They entirely came from God, and they were the work of the Holy Spirit. Except for the books of the prophets, all the other parts of the Bible are records of man’s experiences of Jehovah’s work.”

from “Concerning the Bible (1)” in The Word Appears in the Flesh

“Just what kind of book is the Bible, exactly? The Old Testament concerns God’s work in the Age of Law; it documents the work that Jehovah did in that age as well as Jehovah’s creation of the world. All of it is an account of Jehovah’s work, ending with the Book of Malachi. The two components of God’s work recorded in the Old Testament—the creation of the world and the promulgation of the law—were both done by Jehovah. The Age of Law is the work that represents God’s name, Jehovah, all of the work that was done primarily in the name of Jehovah. So the Old Testament records Jehovah’s work, and the New Testament records the work of Jesus, the work done primarily in Jesus’ name. What Jesus’ name signifies, and what work He did, are for the most part all recorded in the New Testament. In the days of the Old Testament, Jehovah built the temple and altars in Israel and guided the lives of the Israelites on earth, proving that the Israelites were His chosen people, the first group of people He selected on earth who were after His own heart, the first whom He led personally. In other words, the twelve tribes of Israel were His first chosen people, so Jehovah continued to work on them until the end of His work during the Age of Law. The second stage of God’s work—the work of the New Testament Age of Grace—He did in the tribe of Judah, one of the twelve tribes of Israel, thereby narrowing the scope of His work, because Jesus was God incarnate. He worked solely in the land of Judea, and for just three and a half years, which is why the records of the New Testament are so few compared to the Old. Jesus’ work in the Age of Grace is mostly recorded in the Four Gospels. The path walked by the people of that age was that of the most superficial transformation of life disposition; this is mostly documented in the epistles.”

from “Concerning the Bible (1)” in The Word Appears in the Flesh

“At that time, Jesus did much work, but His disciples did not understand, and Jesus did not explain; after He left, the disciples started to work and to preach everywhere, and to write epistles and gospels for the sake of that stage of the work. The Gospels of the New Testament were written twenty to thirty years after Jesus was crucified. Before this, the Israelites read only the Old Testament, which is to say that people in the Age of Grace had only the Old Testament to read. The New Testament did not exist until the Age of Grace; when Jesus was doing His work, there was no New Testament. It was only after His resurrection and ascent to heaven that people began recording His work and the Four Gospels were written, as well as the letters of Paul, the letters of Peter, and the Book of Revelation. Over three hundred years after the Ascension, people collected these writings and assembled them into the New Testament. It was only after Jesus’ work was done that the New Testament came into being, not before. God did much work, and the apostle Paul did much work. Later the letters of Paul and Peter were gathered together into the one book, which concluded with the record of the greatest vision that came to John on the isle of Patmos, because it prophesied the work of the last days. All this was arranged by future generations. This is not so with the words of today. … Their writings are based on their own levels of literacy and their own caliber, and they are a record of human experiences, with each person recording things in a certain way, each person conveying a certain understanding of events, and so each account is different. So, how foolish you are, how utterly ignorant, if you worship the Bible as if it were God!”

from “Concerning the Bible (3)” in The Word Appears in the Flesh

from: Find the Shepherd

How I Accepted Almighty God

Dao Ming

Donghai County, Jiangsu Province

I was formerly a believer in the “Three-Self sect,” and I had followed Jesus for over twenty years. Like other brothers and sisters, I had also been awaiting the day when I would be raptured and meet God in the air. But later, everything I did was against this wish. Thinking back to that now, I really regret very much….

One day in the winter of 1996, Brother Zhao of our sect came to my home in a hurry and said to me, “Brother, someone told me that God has come to China and done a new work. What do you think about it?” At that, I flew into a rage and roared, “Nonsense! Jesus said, ‘But of that day and that hour knows no man, no, not the angels which are in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father.’ They are so bold as to dare to speak such a word by their own will. That is purely a false christ! Don’t listen to them. Believe in theBible, and that won’t be wrong.” Brother Zhao said then, “Right! I think so too. But there is a great dispute about that in the meeting places in the south district and believers there are at a loss what to do. Could you go there with me to give a message? We should keep them from going astray.” At the time, I, angry and worried, agreed without the least hesitation.

On the evening of the third day, three of us, Brother Zhao and I and another brother, hurried to a meeting place. I preached recklessly on the pulpit, “Now the people of the ‘Eastern Lightning’ say that the Lord Jesus has been incarnated the second time and come to China to do his work. This is a deceitful lie. Never believe it. I have asked many pastors and elders about that, and they all said that they didn’t know it. So can the people of the ‘Eastern Lightning’ know it? Do you think my words are reasonable?” The brothers and sisters answered with one voice, “Yes!” At that time I was very pleased with myself: Though I didn’t say much, it produces an immediate effect. A brother declared himself right away, “We mustn’t listen to the message of the ‘Eastern Lightning.’ We must stand firm on our most holy faith….” As the result of my preaching, the meeting was filled with an atmosphere of “fighting for justice”…. I felt that I was so capable of working! But little did I expect that my such faithful devotion would be repaid with disasters one after another….

In February, 1997, my father died of illness, and my mother got hemiplegia. And I myself got arthritis and chronic gastritis. Though I spent more than 800 yuan on the treatment, instead of being healed, they became worse and worse. Immediately following that, a donkey kicked me and injured my left arm, and my eldest son had a traffic accident and broke his right shin, and his medical treatment cost us over 4,000 yuan. … The series of disasters swept away my past “assurance.” I couldn’t withstand anymore, much less did I have any energy to ask about church affairs. However, I still didn’t wake up but considered that Job’s trial had come upon me.

Though I was so foolish, Almighty God didn’t forsake me. On January 8, 1998, two sisters came to my home and said to me, “Brother, shall we go and listen to the messages given by a co-worker of Nanjing Theological College? We heard that he gives wonderful messages, and they are of great benefit to us preachers. Will you go?” Without thinking much then, I answered, “Tomorrow I’ll be there on time.”

The next day the sisters took me to a brother’s home. As soon as I went in, several brothers and sisters greeted me politely. Then they asked me about the situation of my church of that time. As they were humble and spoke kindly, my caution against them gradually disappeared. A brother asked me, “Brother, do you know why the churches are desolate now?” I said, “I’m thinking about that, but I haven’t found the cause.” The brother said, “The churches are desolate because God has done a new work now on the basis of the work of the Age of the Grace. Although Jesus redeemed man and cleansed man of his sins with his precious blood, man’s sinful nature is still within him. So God does a stage of new work in the end time—the work of removing the root of sin. Now God has come to the world and is doing his work on a group of people who are willing to accept his new work. So all the brothers and sisters who have accepted Almighty God have a better and better condition, while in various denominations and sects there is already no working of God and so they become desolate. This is similar to the time of Jesus. When Jesus came at that time, he didn’t work in the temple, so the temple became a ‘den of thieves.’” Although his words sounded perfectly clear to me, as I was sure that they were people of the “Eastern Lightning,” I stopped him before he finished his words. “Aren’t you saying that the Lord has come? That’s impossible. The Lord Jesus said that of the day when he comes, the Father alone knows, and even he himself does not know. Moreover, none of our pastors, elders, or believers here knew it, so how could you know it? You said that God has done a third stage of work. Is it recorded in the Bible? I will never believe it! Because God never changes, both now and forever!” The brother said with a smile, “The Lord Jesus said, ‘But of that day and that hour knows no man, no, not the angels which are in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father.’ This word is absolutely true. But it means that no one knows on which day or at which moment the Lord will come, not the angels in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father (the Spirit). It does not mean that when the Lord has come, no one will know that he has come. That is to say, since God comes to the earth to do his work, certainly there will be people who know it. If when God comes to the earth to do his work, no one knew that, then what would be the point of his doing it? And whom would his work be aimed at? If he came not to save man, then why should he endure the humiliation to come to the world? Jesus said, ‘Seek, and you shall find; knock, and it shall be opened to you.’ If you don’t seek, how can you know that? When Jesus was born in the manger at that time, weren’t there also shepherds telling the good news? Matthew 25:6 says, ‘And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom comes; go you out to meet him.’ This shows that after God comes, there will be a ‘cry’ made and people coming to preach the gospel of God. Today, aren’t there many brothers and sisters preaching the end-time gospel to us? It’s simply that we are not willing to accept this fact. Furthermore, this time God does the work through incarnation in a hidden way, and he comes to steal the ‘treasures,’ so only those who truly believe in him can know it, and only those who truly seek him can gain him. If we don’t have a seeking heart, how can we gain him?” Having said this, the brother picked up the book of Almighty God’s word and read these words, “At that time when Jesus worked in Judea, he did in an open way. Today I work and speak among you in a hidden way. The unbelievers know nothing about it. All the work done among you is sealed. No one knows the words and the chastisement and judgment except you. All the work is done among you and is only open to you. None of the unbelievers knows it, because the time has not come. These people have almost been made complete through undergoing chastisement, but the outsiders know nothing about it. This work is too hidden! The incarnated God is hidden from them, and to people in this stream, it can be said that he is open. Although with God, everything is open, everything is manifest, and everything is released, this is only true with his believers…. When God’s work on earth ends, that is, when the hidden work ends, this stage of work will explode, and all people will know that there are a group of overcomers in China and know that God has been incarnated in China and his work has ended.” After reading God’s words, the brother said to me, “From God’s words we can know that God has come among us today and has brought a new work. We didn’t know it because we failed to keep up with God’s present work and didn’t know the direction of the Holy Spirit’s working. However, we cannot say that God has not yet come because we ourselves haven’t kept up with his work. Brother, as long as we have a seeking heart, God will surely appear to us and not hide from us. If we don’t seek but just wait for the day of God’s appearing to men publicly, I’m afraid that it will be too late to seek then. Almighty God says, ‘When you see with your own physical eyes Jesus descending from heaven on a white cloud, it will already be the time the sun of righteousness appears publicly. At that time, you may be beside yourself with excitement. But have you ever known this: When you see Jesus descending from heaven, it will be the very time you go to hell to receive punishment. That will already be the time God’s management plan is declared concluded and the time God rewards the good and punishes the evil. This is because God’s judgment has ended at the time when people have not seen miraculous signs but only the truth is expressed.’” After hearing the brother’s fellowship and thinking about the words of Almighty God, I wavered, and my attitude became much softened. I thought, “Right! If the Lord has really come but I fail to follow him, won’t it be too great a pity? Won’t I regret to death? Besides, what the brother has fellowshipped about is indeed reasonable and agrees with the Bible, and I have never heard about it before. Why don’t I seek more before I make a conclusion?”

Seeing that my attitude changed for the better, the brother selected some words of God to solve my notions. God says, “Have you obeyed the work Jesus did and the words he spoke at that time? How faithful are you to Jesus? At that time, even in the greatest book of prophecy by Isaiah in the Old Testament, he did not say that one named ‘Jesus’ would be born in the New Testament age. He only said that a baby boy would be born and he would be called Immanuel. Why did he not say that he would be called ‘Jesus’? There is no such word in the Old Testament at all, so why do you still believe in Jesus? Did you believe in Jesus after you saw him? Or did you believe in him after you received a revelation? Could God have been so gracious to you? Could he have given you so great a blessing? By what did you believe in Jesus? Why can you not believe in God incarnate of today? Why do you say that as God has not given you a revelation, it proves that God has not been incarnated? Must God first tell man before he does a work? Must he get man’s permission? Isaiah only said that a baby boy would be born in a manger, but he did not prophesy that Jesus would be born of Mary. By what did you believe in Jesus who was born of Mary? … Aren’t these the works God did long ago? Can God not do a newer work today? Since the work of yesterday could be changed and the work of ‘Jehovah’ could be continued by ‘Jesus,’ can’t the work of ‘Jesus’ be succeeded by another work? Since the name of ‘Jehovah’ could change to ‘Jesus,’ can’t the name of ‘Jesus’ also be changed? These are not strange things. People think so, only because their mind is too simple. God is God after all. No matter how his work changes and how his name changes, his disposition and his wisdom will never change. …” “Some people say that God is ever unchanging. That is also right, but it means that God’s disposition and God’s substance are ever unchanging. When his name and work change, it does not prove that his substance changes. In other words, God is forever God, and this is ever unchanging. If it were as you say that God’s work is ever unchanging, then could God’s six-thousand-year management plan come to an end? You only know that God is ever unchanging, but do you know that God is also ever new and never old? If his work were ever unchanging, could he lead mankind to this day? Since he is ever unchanging, why has he done the works of two ages?” I was utterly convinced by God’s words. “I thought that since the words ‘third stage of work’ are not recorded in the Bible, God wouldn’t do a third stage of work, and that if God does it, it would have been recorded in the Bible, otherwise it isn’t a work done by God. Didn’t I circumscribe God within the Bible by holding such a view? What Almighty God says is right. If my notion were right, then by what did I believe in Jesus? Was Jesus’ work recorded in the Old Testament? Then why could I believe in Jesus? The Bible says that the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life. Isn’t it a terrible thing for me to cling to the letter like this? Thank God that he has inspired me and made me wake up. Thank God that he has given me this opportunity so that I have understood these truths.” By then, my eyes were already full of tears. “O God! Your words have opened my heart and brightened my eyes. Examining myself according to your words, I see that I was ignorant, absurd, and ridiculous. O God! I circumscribed you within my notions and letters, and I thought that you would forever be called Jesus and forever be crucified for mankind because you are ever unchanging. But today you tell me that being ever unchanging means that your substance and your disposition are unchanging, but not that your work is unchanging. O God! I’m clear now. I’m grateful for your salvation. I really need the third stage of your work. I’m willing to accept it and keep up with your footsteps!”

Dear brothers and sisters, what is written above is the course of how I changed from resisting God’s new work to accepting it. I hope that you can learn lessons from my experience and drop your notions and seek. As long as you have a thirsty and seeking heart, I believe that God will surely inspire you, and you will surely receive this greatest blessing and receive this eternal salvation!

                                                                          source from: Find the Shepherd

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