Eastern Lightning | I Shed Remorseful Tears Before the Almighty God

I Shed Remorseful Tears Before the Almighty God

I. Having Listened to the Rumors and Believed the Lies, I Blindly Resisted God;

For “Guarding the Church” and “Defending the Way,” I Shut Out the Lord.

Wang Haijun

Shenyang City, Liaoning Province

I am Wang Haijun, formerly a preacher in the “Justification by Faith Church.” Like other brothers and sisters, I believed in God for the purpose of going to heaven and gaining eternal life, and I served God for the purpose of gaining the crown of righteousness. While I was earnestly expecting the Lord to return to reward me, I actually shut the door on the Lord and became one who resisted God, because I was foolish and ignorant and believed the rumors.

In 1999, a copy of the material called The Inside Story of the Eastern Lightning was circulated from some other church to our church. It said that “the Eastern Lightning” was a cult and a heresy, that their book contained a magic drug, and that once one read it, he would be bewitched. It said that those people had evil spirits in them, and that once one listened to their fellowship, he would be deceived into joining them. It also said that “the Eastern Lightning” was an underworld organization, that if one joined it, he couldn’t withdraw, and that those who had withdrawn either had their legs broken or their noses cut off. I swallowed everything in that material without thinking and publicized it wildly. Besides, I established in the church the rules to guard against “the Lightning”: No one is allowed to have contact with “the Eastern Lightning,” or listen to their fellowship, or read their books. If any outside believer comes, bring him to the church, and no one is allowed to receive him privately. Any violator must offer a sincere prayer of repentance. He will be disciplined or excommunicated according to how deeply he has been “poisoned.” The outside believers can only listen and not preach.

At that time, Sister Wang in our church accepted “the Eastern Lightning.” I forced her to offer a prayer of repentance, but she refused. So, I drove her out of the church and did not allow her to attend meetings anymore. Under my pressure, Sister Zhang, when her elder sister traveled more than forty li to preach God’s end-time gospel to her, was so frightened that she hid herself and did not dare to serve her sister even a meal. Afterward, I still forced her to offer a prayer of repentance. This made her feel so wronged that she could not speak but only shed tears silently. Later, two out-of-town sisters came to my home and said to me, “The Lord has come. Woe to those who do not accept…” I said contemptuously, “The Lord has come? Have you seen him? Woe to whom? I think that a great disaster is hanging over your head!” With these words, I drove them out. After that, of nearly one hundred people who preached the end-time gospel to me, some were brushed aside by me, some were angrily rebuked by me, some received violent pushes, mockeries, and taunts, even teases and humiliations from me, and still some were driven away by my threat to call the police.

By 2000, our church had completely lost the normal church life. Guarding against “the Lightning” and talking about the “rumors about the Lightning” occupied most of the meeting time, and there was no supply of the word of life at all. The more we guarded against “the Lightning,” the smaller the number in the church became. The brothers and sisters became weaker and weaker, and there were more and more people who dozed during sermons. The leaders committed sexual immorality and were engaged in disputes, and the brothers and sisters intrigued against one another and formed factions among themselves. The church had already fallen apart. In the autumn of 2001, though I frenziedly resisted “the Eastern Lightning” and stepped up efforts to seal the church, more than half of the people in our church, including my wife and my sister-in-law, accepted “the Eastern Lightning” behind my back. Only I was kept in the dark. When I knew the truth, “flowers had fallen off” and I could do nothing. Even so, I still frenziedly shouted a slogan: “Even if I am the only one left, I will not accept ‘the Eastern Lightning’!” At that time, I knew that the church had completely lost the working of the Holy Spirit. When preaching, we depended solely on the strength of the flesh, and when singing, we only sang sad songs like “The Desolation of God’s Temple.” The atmosphere was so dead. Many times, I knelt down before the Lord, wept bitterly, and prayed to him to revive the church, but I got no “answer.” Then, I fell into deep thinking: “What is ‘Lightning’? Is it really like what is said in the rumors? Wherein is it ‘cultish’? Wherein is it ‘heretical’? It doesn’t matter that I cannot go to heaven, but what about so many brothers and sisters? The Lord says that the good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. Now, of the Lord’s sheep, some have returned to the world, some have joined ‘the Lightning,’ and the rest have become so passive and weak that they cannot pick themselves up. If this continues, how can I give an account to the Lord when he comes? To get the Lord’s sheep back and to stop the brothers and sisters from being ‘deceived,’ even if I have to climb up the mountain of swords or plunge into the sea of flames, I will venture into it. I must ‘personally go into the tiger’s den’ to bring the whole thing to light.”

II. By Listening to the Fellowship and Asking for Evidence, I Saw Through the Trick; Through Reading God’s Word, I Solved the Riddle and Regained the Salvation.

In April 2002, I took the initiative to greet the people of “the Eastern Lightning” and invited them to my home for a fellowship. The one who fellowshipped with me was Sister Jiao, who was once in our church. She fellowshipped about the three stages of God’s work, beginning with the fact that God’s six-thousand-year management plan is divided into three ages. And she said, “In each age, the place God works in, the people God works on, the way of God’s working, and the nature God expresses are all different, but no matter how God works, the purpose of his work does not change, and it is always for saving mankind….” Honestly speaking, Sister Jiao fellowshipped for more than two hours, yet my mind was almost a blank and I did not take her words to heart at all. In the end, before she finished her fellowship, I said, “Stop here. I accept! Just give me the book.” In fact, I wanted to read the book not for the purpose of seeking the truth but to see whether it contained a magic drug. Sister Jiao gave me a book called Judgment Begins from the House of God. I read several pages, and she asked me what I felt about it. To be honest, at that time I was neither moved nor shocked but thought to myself, “It doesn’t seem to be God’s word at all!” So I squeezed out a word: “It does not seem to be as enjoyable as the Bible.” Sister Jiao said, “You still have many notions inside. You have to drop yourself and sincerely ask God to inspire you and enlighten you. God searches minds and hearts. If you don’t have a right attitude and intent when reading God’s word, the Holy Spirit will not move you.” I did not take her words to heart but only nodded mindlessly. However, although I did not take in much of the content of that fellowship, I found a big issue—the facts did not agree with the publicity material. So I started to doubt that material, The Inside Story of the Eastern Lightning. “The material says: The book of ‘the Eastern Lightning’ contains a magic drug, and once one reads it, he will be bewitched. Those people have evil spirits in them, and once one listens to their fellowship, he will be deceived into joining them. Well, today I personally listen to their fellowship and personally read the book of ‘the Eastern Lightning,’ but how come I’m not bewitched? How come I’m not controlled by them or deceived into joining them once I listen? The material also says: ‘The Eastern Lightning’ is an underworld organization. If one joins it, he cannot withdraw. Those who have withdrawn either have their legs broken or their noses cut off. However, there are also some brothers and sisters around me who once accepted ‘the Eastern Lightning’ and were won back by me afterward, and I have not seen that they lost their limbs or noses because of leaving ‘the Eastern Lightning.’ Besides, ‘the Eastern Lightning’ has been preached in China for many years. If what the material says were true, wouldn’t there be thousands upon thousands of ‘victims’ throughout China? If that were the case, could they not report them to the police? Then how could the news media ignore such major appalling cases? How come we have never heard or seen the radio or TV coverage of them?” After much thought, I gradually realized that what the material said were all lies of cheats, words of demons. Today, as I look back to those lies, I find that they are not very clever and can be seen through as long as one gives them some thoughts and pays more attention to realities. However, the small inferior tricks that the cheats performed cheated me for as long as four years, so that I almost went to hell with the cheats and became fuel in the lake of fire.

The fact I had personally experienced made me much more awake. The three-stage work that Sister Jiao fellowshipped about recurred to me, scene after scene. I began to feel that her fellowship was reasonable, yet I still felt unassured. So, I asked the Lord for evidence. I prayed, “O Lord Jesus! I am an ordinary mortal like a maggot or a worm. I don’t know you, much less understand your intention; but I do not dare to resist you anymore. Today I accept the third stage of your work and your new name the Almighty. If it is wrong for me to accept, then let me die within three days with my body bursting open like Judas, so that my death can prove that this is not your work, and can also make those ‘deceived’ turn back.” After the prayer, I wrote a note to state this matter. However, three days passed, and nothing happened. Then, I started to read God’s word seriously.

I righted my mentality and came before God to enjoy God’s word with fear and admiration. When I read this piece of God’s word, “The ‘Savior’ Has Already Returned on the ‘White Cloud,’” tears blurred my eyes. God says: “I was once called Jehovah, and I was once called Messiah by people. And people once called me the Savior Jesus out of love for me. Today, I am no longer Jehovah or Jesus whom people knew before but the God who has returned in the end time and who will end the age and the God Godself who arises from the ends of the earth filled with all my nature and full of authority, honor, and glory. People have never contacted or known me and never known my nature. From the creation of the world until today, no one has ever seen me. This is the God who appears to people in the end time and yet who is hidden among them, living among them true and real, like the burning sun and the flaming fire, full of power and filled with authority. No one and no thing will not be judged in my word. No one and no thing will not be purified by the burning fire. In the end, all nations will be blessed because of my word and will be crushed because of my word. I will make all people in the end time see that I am the returned Savior and I am the Almighty God who conquers all mankind. And I will make all people see that I was once man’s sin offering, but in the end time I become the fire of the burning sun that burns all things and the Sun of righteousness that reveals all things. This is my work in the end time.” Later, I also read these words of God: “‘God’ and ‘man’ cannot be mentioned in the same breath. His substance and his work are most unfathomable to man and most incomprehensible to man. If God does not personally work and speak among men, man can by no means understand God’s will. In that case, even those who dedicate their whole life to God cannot receive God’s approval. If God does not work, no matter how well man may work, it is in vain, because God’s thoughts are always higher than man’s thoughts and God’s wisdom cannot be fathomed by any man. So, I say that all those who ‘see through’ God and God’s work are incapable ones and arrogant and ignorant men. Man should not limit God’s work. Besides, man cannot limit God’s work. Man is even smaller than an ant in God’s eyes. How could he fathom God’s work? Aren’t all those who repeatedly say, ‘God does not work like this. God does not work like that’ and ‘God is like this. God is like that,’ the ones who speak arrogant words? We all should know that fleshly men are all ones corrupted by satan and they resist God by nature and cannot be equal with God, much less give counsel on God’s work. It is God’s own work how he leads man. Man should just obey and should not have this or that kind of opinion, because man is only dust.” “Yes! How can man fathom the things of God? How can man see through God’s work? Who can be God’s counselor? But today, I, a person smaller than an ant, have the audacity to condemn God’s work at will. I am too devoid of self-knowledge!” God’s words made me feel too ashamed to show my face.

The Almighty God is precisely the returned Jesus. Only after reading God’s word and personally experiencing these facts was I convinced in heart and in mouth.

When I came before God and recalled my past, I hated myself all the more. I asked myself why I blindly condemned God’s end-time work without seeking, why I expected God’s return every day but was so blind and foolish, why I believed in God yet resisted God, why I trusted in myself so much and was so arrogant, and why I, who had believed in God and served God for many years, became a Pharisee infamous throughout history. I felt grief-stricken and extremely remorseful, but I could not get the answers. Later, God’s word untied the knot in my heart and caused me to know myself. God’s word says: “Do you want to know the root of the Pharisees’ resisting Jesus? Do you want to know the substance of the Pharisees? They were full of fancies about Messiah. And they only believed that Messiah would come but did not pursue the truth of life. So they are still waiting for Messiah today, because they do not know the way of life and do not know what is the way of truth. As they are so foolish and so ignorant, do you think that they will receive God’s blessing? Can they see Messiah? They resisted Jesus, because they did not know the direction of the Holy Spirit’s working, because they did not know the way of truth from Jesus’ mouth, and even more because they did not know Messiah. Because they had never seen Messiah or stayed with Messiah, they all made the mistake of holding onto the name of Messiah vainly but resisting the substance of Messiah unscrupulously. And the substance of these Pharisees is stubborn, arrogant, and disobedient to the truth. The principle of their believing in God is: Regardless of how high is the way you preach or how great is your authority, as long as you are not called Messiah, you are not Christ. Isn’t their such viewpoint very absurd and very ridiculous? Let me ask you again, ‘You do not have any knowledge about Jesus, so won’t you very easily repeat the mistake the Pharisees made at that time? …’” Yes, I frenziedly resisted God’s end-time work without seeking or investigating it. I readily believed the lies of cheats without fellowshipping with any believer in the Almighty God face to face. I held on to “justification through faith” and did not seek the direction of the Holy Spirit’s working although our church had become so desolate, disunited, and devoid of the working of the Holy Spirit. I firmly believed “as long as you are not called Jesus, you are not Christ,” but I never knew God’s substance and even regarded myself as one who was most after God’s heart and most worthy of being taken up to the third heaven by God to receive the reward. I was so foolish, stubborn, arrogant, and disobedient to the truth; how could I not resist God? How could I know God’s present work? God! In the past, I spoke at random and condemned your work at will on the platform. I was so poor and blind that I did not know you are the returned Jesus and thus slandered and blasphemed you. God! I abused, mocked, and humiliated the brothers and sisters who preached the end-time salvation, but they bore it silently. They were the Abel who was killed, the Jacob who was persecuted, and the Isaac who was offered up, while I was the Cain who killed, the Esau who persecuted his brother, and the Ishmael who was like a wild donkey. I bitterly hate my past but cannot make up for it. I only hope that brothers and sisters can gain revelation from my personal experience. May brothers and sisters take warning from my past and not repeat my mistake anymore. God’s word says: “Jesus’ coming again is a great salvation to those who can accept the truth, but it is a mark of being condemned to those who cannot accept the truth. You should choose your own path. Do not do things of blaspheming the Holy Spirit and rejecting the truth. Do not be ignorant and arrogant people. You should be ones who obey the guidance of the Holy Spirit and thirst for and seek the truth. Only this will be good to you. I advise that you should walk the path of believing in God carefully and cautiously. Do not make judgments casually, much less believe in God casually and carelessly. You should know that a believer in God should at least have a meek heart and a heart of fearing God. Those who hear the truth but sneer at it are all foolish and ignorant people. Those who hear the truth but casually make judgments about it or condemn it are all arrogant people. Every believer in Jesus is not qualified to curse or condemn others. You all should be ones who have sense and accept the truth.”

Dear brothers and sisters, I once went into “the Eastern Lightning” to taste personally, for fear that I would take the wrong way and lead the brothers and sisters into a ditch, and thus be unable to give an account to the Lord. I also once asked the Lord for evidence. Before the facts I personally experienced and before the Almighty God’s word like a sharp two-edged sword, I saw clearly that “the Eastern Lightning” I had frenziedly resisted for four years was actually my long-expected Savior Jesus. Coming out of notions and deceptions, I am desperately anxious to tell all the brothers and sisters who are sincerely expecting the Lord’s return this real fact, this great good news: The Savior Jesus has indeed come to the world! My dearly beloved brothers and sisters! Do not believe those lies of cheats anymore. If we hand our lives over to the makers of lies and rumors, won’t we ruin our lives? If we do not drop our notions immediately, won’t we fall right into the scheme of the evil one and fall into the darkness and thus miss the last chance to be saved by God? Brothers and sisters, time is so short. There is only a little left. Wake up quickly! How pitiful it is to be cast away!

Source by: Ironclad Proofs of God’s Words Conquering Denominations’ and Sects’ Leaders

Eastern Lightning | I Was Saved by Almighty God During My Opposition to Him

Eastern Lightning | I Was Saved by Almighty God During My Opposition to Him

Shang Hui

Handan City, Hebei Province

I was formerly a worker of the Way of Life Church, and was often sent to various places to preach. Later, I strayed into the way of the Pharisees, the way of opposing God. It was Almighty God who awakened my heart and so I was saved.

When I worked as a sent one in Datong City, Shanxi Province, I remember, whichever church I went to, the brothers and sisters there would tell me that some people had come to preach that God had done a new work, and they had also given them a book entitled The Lightning Shining from the East. After hearing it, I hated those people with all my soul, and thought, “The last days have truly come, as false Christs have come to deceive people. I must be a good ‘steward,’ and never let the flock be deceived.” Then, I began to seal off the churches by saying these words in them: “Brothers and sisters, none of you shall receive strangers. If anyone disobeys, he shall be expelled from the church.” In a co-workers’ meeting, our leader told us, “The most serious problem we are facing now is that there are people coming to our churches everywhere to preach Almighty God. They are heretics, cultists, and mafiosi, and they beat and harm people. They have a poisonous book. Once you read it, you’ll lose control of your mind and be hooked by it.” At these words, my heart throbbed with fear, because I had learned that my parents had accepted Almighty God and read that book. The more I thought about that, the more I was frightened, and I felt my heart so heavy, as if a big stone lay on it. Because of the rumors and my imaginations, I had more hatred for the work of Almighty God and felt more disgusted with those who preached it. Every day, in my prayers I asked the Lord Jesus to curse them. When I preached in the churches, I said many blasphemies against Almighty God. At that time, I could never figure out why my parents also accepted Almighty God, because they had believed in Jesus for many years, read through the Bible many times, led churches, and preached to others. In anger, I picked up a pen and wrote a letter to them: “Dad and Mom, you have believed in Jesus and read the Bible for so many years in vain. …” In the letter, I quoted Bible verses out of context and without considering the backgrounds of the ages to persuade them to turn back, and I also wrote many words of “admonition.” But they did not appreciate my “kindness” at all. I was so annoyed with them that I didn’t go home for over a year, during which I opposed God’s work of the last days all the time. Whenever I learned that someone had come to our Church preach the work of the last days, I wished he would die so that the hatred in my heart might be relieved. Such hatred all resulted from the rumors and my imaginations. In fact, I had never witnessed what was rumored, and even many of the rumors were fabricated by me according to what I imagined. For example, the “Eastern Lightning” will give you whatever you ask for; they will give you money if you ask for it, they will find a mate for you if you do not have one, and so on. I just spread the rumors against my conscience like this.

Later, I was transferred back to Hebei Province to work. There I also often heard some people in the church talk about my parents’ conversion to Almighty God. So, whenever the church talked about the “Eastern Lightening,” I was red-faced and upset, and I felt disgraced before the brothers and sisters. As my letter was to no avail, I was very angry and decided to go home to persuade my parents personally. I thought, “After I get home, first I will burn up all the books my parents are reading. Secondly, I will fellowship about the Bible with them and bring them round. Thirdly, I will try to win back all those who were in the church near my home but who now follow Almighty God, so that they will return to the Lord Jesus.”

Filled with boiling anger, I set off home with one of my co-workers. We first went to the Way of Life Church in my hometown and asked the brothers and sisters about my family. They told me, “Your parents are quite zealous in following Almighty God. They go out every day…” At those words, I felt both happy and sad. I was happy because my parents hadn’t been harmed as I had imagined and I could still see them, and I was sad because they were so deeply deceived by those people, which, like a knife, pierced my heart. I thought then, “Anyway, that isn’t my parents’ fault; it is all caused by those believers in Almighty God!” Then the misunderstandings in my heart intensified my inner opposition to Almighty God as fuel was added to the flames. So I was more determined to burn up all the books concerning Almighty God in my home to appease the hatred in my heart.

After I reached home with my co-worker, without saying anything, I immediately began to ransack the rooms for the book The Lightning Shining from the East, but I failed to find it. In angry frustration, I discussed with my co-worker what to do next. We decided to fellowship with my father first (my mother was not at home then). But before we spoke, my father asked a question: “What is God’s name?” Without hesitation, I answered, “Need you ask? It is written in Acts 4:12: ‘Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.’ So God’s name is, of course, Jesus Christ.” My father asked another question: “Then, in Exodus 3:15 God said: ‘The LORD God … is my name for ever, and this is my memorial to all generations.’ And, in Hosea 13:4, God also said, ‘Yet I am the LORD your God from the land of Egypt, and you shall know no god but me: for there is no savior beside me.’ How do you explain this?” This question left me at a loss for words, as I had never thought of such a question. But I said, “I don’t care about God’s name. Anyway, it’s wrong to depart from the Bible!” Following that, my father asked me many more questions, none of which I had ever considered. “How could he have so many ‘strange’ questions?” I thought. And so we two began to argue with him unreasonably. In the argument, I felt myself so powerless and indebted to the Lord Jesus. Even so, I resolutely held fast the way of life I had kept, and was determined not to forsake the true way. I believed that my father had been “entrapped” too deeply and was beyond salvation. “Let them die! Let them go to hell! I can do nothing more but to keep myself from abandoning the true way,” I thought. So I decided that my co-worker should go back first and I would wait for my mother to come back, and after seeing her, I would leave. Thanks to God’s wonderful arrangement, I stayed.

A few days later, my mother came back from performing her duty, but she would not hear of my leaving. She invited many brothers and sisters to our house to fellowship with me about the work of Almighty God during the last days, but because the rumors and my imaginations fully occupied my mind, I couldn’t take it in. I was indifferent to what they fellowshipped about, and did not make any response like a wood. However, they still patiently fellowshipped with me about the work of Almighty God in detail. They read me a passage of His word: “Some say that the name of God does not change, so why then did the name of Jehovah become Jesus? It was prophesied of the coming of the Messiah, so why then did a man by the name of Jesus come? Why did the name of God change? Was not such work carried out long ago? Cannot God this day do a new work? The work of yesterday can be altered, and the work of ‘Jesus’ can follow on from that of ‘Jehovah.’ Cannot then the work of ‘Jesus’ be succeeded by another work? If the name of ‘Jehovah’ can be changed to ‘Jesus,’ then cannot the name of ‘Jesus’ also be changed? This is not unusual, and people think so[a] only due to their simple-mindedness. God will always be God. Regardless of the changes to His work and His name, His disposition and wisdom remain forever unchanged. If you believe that God can only be called by the name of Jesus, then you know too little. Do you dare assert that Jesus is forever the name of God, that God will forever and always go by the name of Jesus, and that this will never change? Dare you assert with certainty it is the name of ‘Jesus’ that concluded the Age of Law and also concludes the final age? Who can say that the grace of ‘Jesus’ can conclude the age?” Hearing these words, I suddenly became clear about the answer to the question my father had asked. “Yes, since the name of Jehovah could be changed to Jesus, the name of Jesus can also be changed to Almighty God. Is this really God’s word?” A battle started in my heart. I said nothing to my parents that day. At night, after they went to sleep, I knelt before the Lord Jesus and prayed in tears, “O Lord! What shall I do? I am confused. Which way shall I take? Please guide me quickly! …” But on the following day, I remembered the “resolution” I had made before I came home, and I thought to myself, “I mustn’t be deceived by them.” So, I pondered how to leave my home. I thought, “Although I was born of my mother, we are not members of one family in spirit, and it is time for us to part.” So I secretly packed up all my belongings, for I thought that from then on the church would be my home and the brothers and sisters would be my family members. In the evening, I told my mother I was leaving tomorrow. At that, she said to me in tears, “Why do you believe in God? And why do you serve God? For what have you forsaken everything? Why can’t you seek, listen, and read before you make a decision? Are you willing to die ignorant like this? Think about it! …”

The series of questions of my mother touched my heart. At night, I tossed about in bed, and asked myself, “Why do I believe in God? Why do I serve God? Have I truly served God to His will? Revelation 14:4 says, ‘These are they which follow the Lamb wherever he goes.’ Am I a person who follows the Lamb? Others say that God has done a new work. Is this hearsay or a fact? My leader said that the book The Lightning Shining from the East contains poison, but why haven’t my parents been poisoned to death? He also said that those from the ‘Eastern Lightning’ strike and abuse people, but aren’t both of my parents safe and sound? And aren’t those people of our village who follow Almighty God also safe and well? Were what my leader spoke about things he had witnessed or hearsay? The believers in the churches I have visited become ever fewer, and the churches become desolate. What is this all about? The signs (the occurence of pestilences, wars, earthquakes, and so on) prophesied by Jesus in the Bible concerning His second coming have all appeared. Could it be that the Lord Jesus has really returned? Or perhaps, I should seek before I leave.” That night, God worked in me greatly to enlighten me. The next morning, after I got up, I picked up the book of Almighty God’s word in spite of myself. “Is this the book that our church condemned and I wanted to burn up?” I sniffed at it to see if it contained poison, but I smelled nothing. When I opened the book, I saw “Preface,” which says: “Though many people believe in God, few understand what faith in God means, and what they must do to be after God’s heart. This is because, though people are familiar with the word ‘God’ and phrases such as ‘the work of God,’ they do not know God, much less do they know His work. No wonder, then, that all those who do not know God are possessed of a muddled belief. People do not take belief in God seriously because believing in God is too unfamiliar, too strange for them. In this way, they are far from the demands of God. In other words, if people do not know God, do not know His work, then they are not fit for God’s use, much less can they fulfill the desire of God. ‘Belief in God’ means believing that there is a God; this is the simplest concept of ‘faith in God.’ What’s more, believing that there is a God is not the same as truly believing in God; rather, it is a kind of simple faith with strong religious overtones. True ‘faith in God’ means experiencing the words and work of God based on a belief that God holds sovereignty over all things. So you shall be freed of your corrupt disposition, shall fulfill the desire of God, and shall come to know God. Only through such a journey can you be said to believe in God. Yet people often see belief in God as something very simple and frivolous. The belief of such people is meaningless and shall never gain the approval of God, because they tread the wrong path. Today, there are still those who believe in God in letters, in hollow doctrines. They are unaware that their belief in God has no substance, and that they are unable to gain the approval of God, and they still pray for peace and sufficient grace from God. We should stop and ask ourselves: Could believing in God really be the easiest thing on earth? Does believing in God mean nothing more than receiving much grace from God? Can people who believe in God but do not know Him, and believe in God yet oppose Him, really fulfill the desire of God?” Upon reading this passage, I knew what true faith in God means. The words of Almighty God make it so clear! Then I turned to “Those Who Believe in God Should Submit to Him,” and read on. Almighty God says: “Just why does one believe in God? Most people are confused about this question. They have two entirely different viewpoints regarding the practical God and the God in heaven. This shows that when man believes in God, it is not to submit to God, but to seek a particular benefit, or to escape from disaster. Only then does man show a little bit of submission. Such submission is based on certain conditions, with one’s own future as a prerequisite, and is not self-motivated. What is the root cause of your believing? If it is solely for your future or fate, then it is best that you do not believe; such ‘belief’ is just fooling oneself, nothing more than a way of self-comfort and self-appreciation. If your belief in God is not built upon the foundation of submission to God, you will eventually be punished for your resistance to God.” “If you cannot accept the new light that comes from God, do not understand or seek what God does today, and you suspect, judge, or research and analyze it, then such people do not have a submissive heart. When the present light comes forth, yet you still treasure yesterday’s and resist the new work, then you are a purely absurd person, someone who deliberately resists God. The key to submission to God is the capacity to receive the newest light, accept it and put into practice; that is true submission. If one does not have such will to thirst for God, one cannot attain submission to God in his heart; instead one will resist God due to his satisfaction with his current status. One cannot submit to God because one is preoccupied by what one originally has, which has molded various conceptions within, leading to different imaginations of God. These have become images of God in human mind. Therefore, one believes in one’s own conceptions, one’s own imagined standard. If you measure the God who performs actual work today with your own imaginary God, then your faith comes from Satan; such faith is colored by your personal preference, and God does not want such faith. One who believes in God in this manner will not receive commendation from God, no matter how senior he is, how much he has spent, even if he has exerted his entire life to do God’s work, to the point of martyrdom. God only gives him a little grace for his temporary enjoyment.” These words are so clear! So, my service in the past is loathed by God! The more I read it, the more I was absorbed in it, as if a thirsty person had found a stream. Following that, I read “Concerning the Bible (1)”, “Concerning the Bible (2)”, “Concerning the Bible (3)”, and “Concerning the Bible (4).” After I finished reading them, I was stunned. Almighty God says: “Many people believe that if they understand the Bible and can interpret it, then they have found the true way. But is it really that simple? No one knows the truth about the Bible. It is merely a historical record of God’s work, and a testimony to the first two stages of God’s work, and you cannot understand the purpose of God’s work from it. Everyone who has read the Bible knows that it is an account of the work God did during the Age of Law and the Age of Grace. The Old Testament of the Bible records the history of Israel and shows how Jehovah did His work from the creation of the world to the end of the Age of Law. The New Testament records Jesus’ work on earth, which is in the Four Gospels, as well as the work of Paul. Are these not all historical records? Anything that happened in the past is history today, no matter how true, how real; and history cannot address the present. For God does not look back! So if you understand only the Bible but not the work that God plans to do now, if you believe in God but do not seek out the work of the Holy Spirit, then you do not know what it means to seek after God.” “You cannot merely understand the Bible and history but not understand what the Holy Spirit is doing today! If you have a stellar grasp of ‘history’ but no understanding of the Holy Spirit’s work today, won’t you be silly? People ask you, ‘What is God doing right now? What should you enter now? Where do you stand in your pursuit of life? Do you know God’s will?’ You have no answer to these questions. ‘So what do you know, then?’” The Bible is only a lock. It was not until that day that I found the key—the word of Almighty God—to open it. The word of Almighty God not only solved many puzzles in my heart, but also resolved many difficulties in my service. At last I came to understand that the word of Almighty God is the truth! I was grateful to Almighty God for enlightening and illuminating me to recognize Him. Holding the book of His word in my hands, I felt that I was really unworthy to read it, and that I only deserved death, for I had opposed Him too seriously. But He didn’t mind my past and still gave me opportunity. I had nothing to say but just wanted to fulfill my duty as a created being and preach the gospel of the Age of Kingdom to those who were still awaiting the return of Jesus, so as to repay God for His grace of salvation. When I faced the choice between life and death, it was the word of Almighty God that saved me and led me to the bright way.

In the past, I deeply admired the Way of Life Church, and I stayed there over seven years but didn’t gain any knowledge of God. After I accepted the work of Almighty God, I came to know that only God is the way of life, and one must accept Almighty God to receive the life supply. Almighty God says: “The way of life is not something that can be possessed by just anyone, nor is it easily obtainable by all. That is because life can only come from God, which is to say, only God Himself possesses the substance of life, there is no way of life without God Himself, and so only God is the source of life, and the ever-flowing wellspring of living water of life. From when He created the world, God has done much work involving the vitality of life, has done much work that brings life to man, and has paid a great price so that man might gain life, for God Himself is eternal life, and God Himself is the way by which man is resurrected.” “God Himself is life, and the truth, and His life and truth coexist. Those who are incapable of gaining the truth shall never gain life. Without the guidance, support, and provision of the truth, you shall only gain letters, doctrines, and, moreover, death. God’s life is ever-present, and His truth and life coexist. If you cannot find the source of truth, then you will not gain the nourishment of life; if you cannot gain the provision of life, then you will surely have no truth, and so apart from imaginations and conceptions, the entirety of your body shall be nothing but flesh, your stinking flesh. Know that the words of books do not count as life, the records of history cannot be feted as the truth, and the doctrines of the past cannot serve as an account of words presently spoken by God. Only that which is expressed by God when He comes to earth and lives among man is the truth, life, God’s will, and His actual manner of working.” “Christ of the last days brings life, and brings the enduring and everlasting way of truth. This truth is the path through which man shall gain life, and the only path by which man shall know God and be approved by God. If you do not seek the way of life provided by Christ of the last days, then you shall never gain the approval of Jesus, and shall never be qualified to enter the gate of the kingdom of heaven, for you are both a puppet and prisoner of history. Those who are controlled by regulations, by letters, and shackled by history will never be able to gain life, and will never be able to gain the perpetual way of life. That is because all they have is turbid water that has lain stagnant for thousands of years, instead of the water of life that flows from the throne. Those who are not supplied with the water of life will forever remain corpses, playthings of Satan, and sons of hell. How, then, can they behold God? If you only try to hold on to the past, only try to keep things as they are by standing still, and do not try to change the status quo and discard history, then will you not always be against God? The steps of God’s work are vast and mighty, like surging waves and rolling thunders—yet you sit and passively await destruction, sticking to your folly and doing nothing. In this way, how can you be considered someone who follows in the footsteps of the Lamb? How can you justify the God that you hold on to as a God who is always new and never old? And how can the words of your yellowed books carry you across the threshold of the new age? How can they lead you to seek the steps of God’s work? And how can they take you up to heaven? What you hold in your hands is the letters that can provide but temporary solace, not the truths that are capable of giving life. The scriptures you read are that which can only enrich your tongue, not words of wisdom that can help you know human life, much less the ways that can lead you to perfection. Does this discrepancy not give you cause for reflection? Does it not allow you to understand the mysteries contained within? Are you capable of delivering yourself to heaven to meet God on your own? Without the coming of God, can you take yourself into heaven to enjoy family happiness with God? Are you still dreaming now? I suggest, then, that you stop dreaming, and look at who is working now, at who is now carrying out the work of saving man during the last days. If you do not, you shall never gain the truth, and shall never gain life.” (from “Only Christ of the Last Days Can Give Man the Way of Eternal Life” in The Word Appears in the Flesh)

I was saved by Almighty God during my opposition to Him. If it had not been for His salvation, I would also be dry in spirit and have no way to go on, and would just fool myself and be a blind guide. I thank Almighty God for saving me so that I receive the supply of the living water from the throne. Glory and praise be to Almighty God, my Savior!

Footnotes:

a. The original text does not have “People think so”.

Source: Eastern Lightning | Ironclad Proofs of God’s Words Conquering Denominations’ and Sects’ Leaders

Eastern Lightning | Almighty God Has Given Me a Second Life

Eastern Lightning | Almighty God Has Given Me a Second Life

Xie Surong

Tangshan City, Hebei Province

For years, life has been continuing in this world through generation after generation. Everyone live a life in their respective roles, smooth or rough, poor or rich. No matter what kind of life they live, very few have found the real life. Before the age of 28, I had lived my life as most people do.

On a very common day, I was chosen by God from among the vast sea of people. It was then that I came to know the source of all things, the source of man’s life, and the two different destinations for man, heaven or hell, and I also knew that God, because of mankind’s sin, was incarnated personally and laid down His life for them through His crucifixion, thereby bringing them grace, peace, and joy. This was the first turning point in my life. From then on, I began to preach the gospel and build up the church, and healed the sick and cast out demons in the Lord’s name; I also attended service and studied the Bible. All that almost became my entire life, and I no longer felt empty. The church gradually revived because of God’s favor. The brothers and sisters loved one another and shared everything together. They helped anyone in the church who needed help. As the number in the church increased, the church selected co-workers at different levels, and I became the most senior leader. Everything in the church must be approved by me, and the brothers and sisters also submitted to whatever I said. Later, some puzzling things happened in the church. The sick could not be healed, and the demon-possessed could not be released. The brothers and sisters asked me the reason, and I said, “It is because you lack faith in prayers. You should fast when necessary.” Actually, I myself didn’t know the reason either. Later, such things happened more often. And what’s more, I obviously felt that I had nothing to say in preaching. My sermon was becoming dry as dust, and I was often incoherent with lack of words. The co-workers in the church often raised such question, “What should we preach in the meetings?” I answered them, “I don’t know either. Just read the Bible if you really have no idea what to preach.” But this was only a temporary remedy. Because there was no supply of the living water, the number in the church, which could be maintained in the beginning, began to drop later. Faced with this, I burned with anxiety but did not know why it happened. I could do nothing but pray to God, “Lord, You know best what is happening in our church. In the past, whatever we asked in Your name, You granted it to us, and we often witnessed the signs and wonders. Now, we do the same, calling on Your name, reading the Bible, and praying to You, but why does it not work today? We pray but receive no answer; we preach the gospel but gain no fruit; the number of the believers is decreasing; and some co-workers even want to return to the world to find another way out. Lord! Why so? Please help us!” Later, to recover the love of the brothers and sisters, I asked all in the church to pray in shifts around the clock and to fast on the 21st day every month. I wanted to revive the church by doing so, but I didn’t expect that after practicing for some time, all the brothers and sisters said, “We have no desire to eat in ordinary days, but on the fasting days we feel extremely hungry and can’t hold on.” Having no choice, I came before the Lord again, “O Lord! Please help us! If it goes on like this, we will all be finished! I really don’t know what to do…” Yet the church was still in such condition.

At the end of 1997, a leader from Henan Province said at a meeting, “I tell you one thing. Now a sect, the ‘Eastern Lightning,’ preaches that the Lord has already come, and that He is in China, and is a female. They are very aggressive. They preach especially among the churches of Jesus. You must be wary of them…” From then on, how to resist the “Eastern Lightning” became a necessary topic of our every meeting. And we constantly heard that people from such and such a church had joined the “Eastern Lightning.” We even heard that many key co-workers who had believed in the Lord for years and pursued eagerly had joined it too. I thought to myself: Now the church is in a slump and the number of the believers is on the decline. I must keep a close watch on the church and prevent the brothers and sisters from being deceived. As such, I blindly believed what the leader said without any investigation and began to seal off the church. I told the believers, “You mustn’t receive any strangers, much less the believers in Jesus. Even if they are your relatives, you shall not bring them to the church without my permission. Everyone, whoever he is, must comply. He who disobeys will be expelled!” I also said, “This is all for your good, because your spiritual life is immature and you are lack of discernment. We do so to keep you from being deceived.” I have ever seen anyone of the “Eastern Lightning.” However, in order to prevent these “sheep” from falling into others’ hands and preserve my position, I fabricated rumors to incite people to resist the “Eastern Lightning.” Just as Matthew 23:13 says, “But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for you shut up the kingdom of heaven against men: for you neither go in yourselves, neither suffer you them that are entering to go in.” I, like the “evil tenant,” resisted God but was unaware of it. In 1998, the condition of the church was even worse. The co-workers not only had nothing fresh to preach, but they came into conflicts with each other. They judged one another and tried to exclude one another. What worried me most was that opening the Bible, I didn’t know what to preach. The brothers and sisters received no supply of the living water from the meetings, so they would rather rest at home. The whole church came to a dead end. At that time, my only hope was that Jesus could come to take us sooner. It never occurred to me whether God would want a person like me or not. I only wanted to extricate myself from these difficulties as soon as possible.

Troubles came one after another. In July, 1999, my body began to swell. Sometimes it got so serious that I couldn’t stand up after I squatted down. The brothers and sisters fasted and prayed for me, but it didn’t get any better. Later, I went to the hospital for an examination. The doctor told me that a tumor about the size of an egg was in my womb. I was greatly shocked at this. I swallowed my tears and returned home. On the way home, I thought back to the things that had happened in our church: The gospel preaching is ineffective; the attendance gradually drops off; the brothers and sisters are passive and indifferent, and no love is found among them; the co-workers act in envy and strife, and some of them even want to return to the world; the flock is in misery with no supply of grass and living water. I myself have nothing new to provide the brothers and sisters, and now, such illness comes upon me. I was seized with feebleness, both physically and spiritually. Facing the fact that there was no way out for the church and me, I felt very distressed. But what troubled me most was that I didn’t know why these problems happened, much less know how to solve them. At that point, a sense of loneliness ran through me, and I felt helpless and far distant from God, tears flowing down my cheeks. I cried out to God, “Lord! I miss You very much. Only You know my miseries, and only You are my help. But I don’t know where You are now. Lord, where are You? Have You really left me? How can I meet You again? How can I return to the days You were with me? O Lord, I’m almost dying in spirit now. Please appear to me. Please save me! …” I didn’t know how long I prayed and wept bitter tears before God that day.

Almighty God says: “When the waters swallow men whole, I save them from the stagnant waters and give them a chance to have life anew. When men lose their confidence to live, I pull them up from the brink of death, granting them the courage to live, that they take Me as the foundation of their existence. When men disobey Me, I cause them to know Me in their disobedience. In light of humanity’s old nature and in light of My mercy, rather than putting humans to death, I allow them to repent and make a fresh start. When men suffer famine, I wrest them from death so long as they have one breath left….” (from “The Fourteenth Utterance” of God’s Utterance to the Entire Universe in The Word Appears in the Flesh) That’s right! God is love. God is the truth, the way, and the life. Man’s end is God’s beginning. God does not give up anyone whom He has bought at a high price, much less want to see any lamb left with no supply of grass, water, or way to go.

On October 8, 1999, God stretched out His saving hand to me again and pulled me back from the brink of death. That was the second turning point in my life. Almighty God gave me a second life on that day and I could never forget it.

That day, I met two brothers thanks to God’s arrangement. As believers in God, we naturally centered our topic on the church. I told them about the desolation of our church, my illness, and my spiritual weakness. One brother said, “Now the churches are all in such condition. To free the church from the desolation, we should find out the cause of it.” At this, I was very glad. I thought to myself, “I don’t care who they are. If they can help us revive the church, I will listen to them.” But I actually didn’t have much hope on them. They asked me, “Why does man believe in God?” “To go to heaven, to gain eternal life.” I answered. “Should man believe in God if there is no heaven?” they went on. “If so, who will believe?” I replied. Then a brother said, “As a created being, it is only right and proper to serve the Creator. A human being should believe in God and love God, and his faith in God should not be for the purpose of going to heaven.” These few short words pierced into my heart like a knife. I had never heard such words during my years of belief in God, even less had I found anyone pursue in this way. I kept nodding my head, in agreement with every word they said. Frankly speaking, I had met many senior leaders, co-workers of other denominations, and even overseas brothers and sisters, but none of them had talked about such simple yet incisive question. At that time, I seemed to see hope and light. Then, the brother continued, “Man is incapable of freeing the church from the desolation. Do you know how the book of Malachi describes the condition of the holy temple before the coming of Jesus? Malachi 1:8 says, ‘And if you offer the blind for sacrifice, is it not evil? and if you offer the lame and sick, is it not evil? …’ The Israelites under the law lost their fear for God, and they sacrificed blind, crippled, and diseased animals on the altar. This goes to show that the temple was desolate at that time. Matthew 21:12-13 says, ‘And Jesus went into the temple of God, and cast out all them that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the moneychangers, and the seats of them that sold doves, And said to them, It is written, My house shall be called the house of prayer; but you have made it a den of thieves.’ Just consider this: If the temple hadn’t been in desolation and men had had the way to go, who would have gone outside the temple to follow the Savior Jesus? As the Age of Grace came, the Holy Spirit began to uphold the work of Jesus Christ instead of the work of the Age of Law. Whoever followed Jesus Christ and entered the Age of Grace had the way to go and could receive the supply of life. Those who failed to follow Him was left in desolation and ended up being eliminated by God’s work. Each time God does His work, He will discard many people who cannot keep pace with His work. Some people under the law would rather die in the temple and not ‘betray’ Jehovah than follow Jesus, yet they did not know that Jehovah and Jesus were one God. Because it was a different age, God took a different name and did a different work; however, God’s substance remained unchanged. All those who resisted Jesus at that time thought they were most ‘faithful’ to Jehovah, but they didn’t know they had resisted the latest work of God. The cause of the desolation of the church today is the same as it was. It is also because God has new work and wants to bring people to another different age that He no longer upholds His former work, and thus the church becomes desolate.” So saying, he picked up the book of God’s word and read: “After the work of Jehovah, Jesus became flesh to do His work amongst man. His work was not carried out in isolation, but built upon the work of Jehovah. It was work for a new age after God had concluded the Age of Law. Similarly, after the work of Jesus ended, God still continued His work for the next age, because the entire management of God is always progressing forward. When the old age passes, it will be replaced by a new age, and once the old work has been completed, a new work will continue the management of God. This incarnation is God’s second incarnation following the completion of Jesus’ work. Of course, this incarnation does not occur independently, but is the third stage of work after the Age of Law and the Age of Grace. Each new stage of God’s work always brings a new beginning and a new age. So too are there corresponding changes in the disposition of God, in His way of working, in the location of His work, and in His name. No wonder, then, that it is difficult for man to accept the work of God in the new age. But regardless of how He is opposed by man, God is always doing His work, and is always leading the whole of mankind forward. When Jesus came into the world of man, He brought the Age of Grace and ended the Age of Law. During the last days, God once more became flesh, and when He became flesh this time, the Age of Grace ended and the Age of Kingdom began. All those who accept the second incarnation of God will be led into the Age of Kingdom, and be able to personally accept the guidance of God.” (from “Preface” to The Word Appears in the Flesh) Then he said, “This stage of God’s work has been carried out dramatically for many years. God is no longer the Jehovah of the Age of Law nor the Jesus of the Age of Grace, but the lion of the tribe of Juda, the Almighty God who is laden with authority. Only when people follow Almighty God and enter into the Age of Kingdom can they receive rich supply, because wherever God is, there is the truth, the way, and the life, and wherever God is, there is a living church life. If people cannot keep pace with God’s latest work, they will naturally have no way to go. This is just as the Bible says: ‘…not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the LORD.’ Our church was just like yours in the past, but now we have found the spring of living water—Almighty God. The brothers and sisters are all guided by Almighty God and pursue to satisfy God and love God. They are no longer passive, indifferent, or slack as before!” Hearing what the brother was saying, I felt much more clear. The brother then read me another passage of God’s word: “Only when I pass into the new heaven and earth shall I reveal the other part of My glory first in the land of Canaan, allowing a glimmer of light to shine in the whole earth as dark as night, so that the whole earth will come to it. Let all men across the earth come to draw from the power of the light, allowing My glory to increase and appear anew to all nations. Let all men realize that I have long ago come to the earth and long ago brought My glory from Israel to the East; for My glory shines from the East, where it was brought over from the Age of Grace to this day. But it was from Israel that I departed and from there arrived in the East. Only when the light of the East gradually turns white will the darkness across the earth begin to turn to light, and only then will men find that I have long ago gone from Israel and am rising anew in the East. I cannot still be ‘born’ in Israel after I have ‘descended’ to Israel and then left from Israel, for My work leads all of the universe and the lightning flashes from the East to the West. This is the reason I have descended in the East and brought Canaan to the people of the East. I wish to bring people from all the earth to the land of Canaan, hence I continue to utter My voice in the land of Canaan to control the entire universe. At this time, there is not light in all the earth apart from Canaan, and all men are imperiled by hunger and cold.” (from “The Seven Thunders Peal—Prophesying That the Kingdom Gospel Shall Spread Throughout the Universe” in The Word Appears in the Flesh) After hearing these words, I came to realize why the church became desolate and why I could not find God. “Actually, God has already taken the light to the land of Canaan—the Church of Almighty God. God’s work has progressed forward, yet I fail to keep up with it and still stay where I am, crying to seek God. So, of course, I cannot find Him.” Having known the reason for all of this, I felt much more relaxed. It was then that I knew the real meaning of God’s word, “God is the truth, the way, and the life.” Where there is God, there is the way to go; where there is God, there is the supply of life. I was both guilty and joyful. I felt guilty because I was so blind and ignorant that I didn’t know God’s work and resisted it for so many years; I felt joyful because God didn’t condemn me according to what I had done but stretched out His saving hand to me time and time again. I was bathed in tears for all the day and the night. “O Almighty God! I truly thank You. According to what I have done, I don’t deserve to live in this world. You saved me and gave me a second life. I have no reason to ask anything from You, and even more, I’m not qualified to ask You to forgive the sins I have committed. I only ask You to give me an opportunity to expiate my sins so as to make up for my past transgressions. I’m willing to pay any price to cooperate with Your work and bring those lost lambs back to Your family, so that they will return to You and not live in the darkness any longer. O Almighty God! Please have mercy and compassion on those brothers and sisters who are blinded by deception. May Your Spirit move them to come to You as soon as possible!”

Since then, I have been following Almighty God and walking on the path toward the kingdom. I have been with God once again. Every day I am watered by God’s word and receive new light. With God’s personal guidance every day, I’m growing in life constantly. It is Almighty God who gives me a second life. Brothers and sisters, how is your church now? How is your spiritual state? Do you also desire to receive the spring of living water? Have you found it now? If not, please drop your imaginations and notions and come to investigate the word expressed by Him. Then you will know that Almighty God’s word is the truth, the way, and the life. As Almighty God says: “When you have finished reading this book, when you have experienced each step of the work of God incarnate in the Age of Kingdom, you will feel that the hopes of many years have finally been realized. You will feel that only now have you truly seen God face-to-face; only now have you gazed upon the face of God, heard the personal utterance of God, appreciated the wisdom of God’s work, and truly sensed how real and almighty God is. You will sense that you have gained many things that people of times past have never seen or possessed. At this time, you will clearly know what it is to believe in God, and what it is to be after God’s heart. Of course, if you cling to views of the past, and reject or deny the fact of the second incarnation of God, then you shall remain empty-handed and acquire nothing, and ultimately be guilty of opposing God. Those who obey the truth and submit to the work of God shall come under the name of the second incarnate God—the Almighty. They will be able to accept the personal guidance of God, and shall acquire more and higher truths and receive the real human life. They shall behold the vision that people of the past have never seen: ‘And I turned to see the voice that spoke with me. And being turned, I saw seven golden candlesticks; And in the middle of the seven candlesticks one like to the Son of man, clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about the breasts with a golden girdle. His head and his hairs were white like wool, as white as snow; and his eyes were as a flame of fire; And his feet like to fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace; and his voice as the sound of many waters. And he had in his right hand seven stars: and out of his mouth went a sharp two edged sword: and his countenance was as the sun shines in his strength.’ (Revelation 1:12-16) This vision is the expression of God’s entire disposition, and such an expression of His entire disposition is also the expression of the work of God when He becomes flesh this time. In the torrents of chastisements and judgments, the Son of man expresses His inherent disposition through the speaking of words, allowing all those who accept His chastisement and judgment to see the true face of the Son of man, a face that is a faithful depiction of the face of the Son of man seen by John. (Of course, all this will be invisible to those who do not accept the work of God in the Age of Kingdom.) The true face of God cannot be fully articulated using the words of man, and so God used the expression of His inherent disposition to show His true face to man. Which is to say that all those who have experienced the inherent disposition of the Son of man have seen the true face of the Son of man, for God is too great and cannot be fully articulated using the words of man. Once man has experienced each step of God’s work in the Age of Kingdom, then he shall know the true meaning of John’s words when he spoke of the Son of man among the lampstands: ‘His head and his hairs were white like wool, as white as snow; and his eyes were as a flame of fire; And his feet like to fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace; and his voice as the sound of many waters. And he had in his right hand seven stars: and out of his mouth went a sharp two edged sword: and his countenance was as the sun shines in his strength.’ At that time, you shall know beyond all doubt that this ordinary flesh that has spoken so many words is really the second incarnate God. And you shall truly sense how blessed you are, and feel yourself the most fortunate. Would you be unwilling to accept this blessing?” (from “Preface” to The Word Appears in the Flesh)

Source: Eastern Lightning | Almighty God Has Given Me a Second Life

The Hymn of Life Experience "Through Thick and Thin, Faithful Till Death"

The Hymn of Life Experience "Through Thick and Thin, Faithful Till Death"  

 I From heaven to the earth, hiding in the flesh. Working among men, through winds and rains. Taking a rough path, open a new age. To redeem mankind, lay down Your life and shed blood. Wind and rain, so many years. Forsaken by every man. Humble and hidden, enduring all along. Humble and hidden, enduring all along. 

       II Sacrifice for Your will; this is my wish. Though flesh's in trials, stronger is my will. Love You more intensely; bitterness most sweet. Eyes blurred by tears, but my life is so bright. Broken and smashed time after time, care about Your will even more. Faithful till death, through thick and thin. Faithful till death, thick and thin.
      III Going through pains, tasting hardships. Chastened and disciplined, reviving from death. Under Your care again, adore You all the more. Thinking of the past, great regrets in my heart. Broken and smashed time after time, care about Your will even more. Faithful till death, through thick and thin. Faithful till death, thick and thin.
       IV Heavy burden on, hesitate no more. Small stature as mine; thanks to Your love, my journey till today, experienced Your great love. Bitter and sweet, happiness with sorrows. Broken and smashed time after time, care about Your will even more. Faithful till death, through thick and thin. Faithful till death, thick and thin.
     V Bestow Your mercy, pity my weakness. Unleash Your anger, curse my disobedience. Abundantly merciful, profoundly wrathful. Seen Your majesty, experienced Your wisdom. Broken and smashed time after time, care about Your will even more. Faithful till death, through thick and thin. Faithful till death, thick and thin.
       VI Live in Your love, offer myself up. Painful refining, all You predestined. To be perfected, fulfill Your commission, and satisfy Your heart; it's the life of mine. Sweets and bitters, I've tasted much. Hardships fill in my life. Suffering or bitterness, I won't complain. I won't complain till my life's end.

 from Follow the Lamb and Sing New Songs

Recommendation：Eastern Lightning, The Church of Almighty God was created because of the appearance and work of Almighty God, the second coming of the Lord Jesus, Christ of the last days. It is made up of all those who accept Almighty God's work in the last days and are conquered and saved by His words. It was entirely founded by Almighty God personally and is led by Him as the Shepherd. It was definitely not created by a person. Christ is the truth, the way, and the life. God's sheep hear God's voice. As long as you read the words of Almighty God, you will see God has appeared.

The Savior Has Already Returned Upon a “White Cloud” | Eastern Lightning

For several thousand years, man has longed to be able to witness the arrival of the Savior. Man has longed to behold Jesus the Savior on a white cloud as He descends, in person, among those who have pined and yearned for Him for thousands of years. Man has longed for the Savior to return and be reunited with the people, that is, for Jesus the Savior to come back to the people from whom He has been apart for thousands of years. And man hopes that He will once again carry out the work of redemption that He did among the Jews, will be compassionate and loving toward man, will forgive the sins of man, bear the sins of man, and even bear all of man’s transgressions and deliver man from sin.

The Sighing of the Almighty | Eastern Lightning

The picture comes from  the Church of Almighty God 

The Sighing of the Almighty

There is an enormous secret in your heart. You never know it there because you have been living in a world without light shining. Your heart and your spirit have been taken away by the evil one. Your eyes are covered by darkness; you cannot see the sun in the sky, nor the twinkling star in the night. Your ears are clogged with deceptive words and you hear not the thunderous voice of Jehovah, nor the sound of the rushing waters from the throne. You have lost everything that should have belonged to you and everything that the Almighty bestowed upon you. You have entered an endless sea of bitterness, with no strength of a rescue, no hope of survival, left only to struggle and to bustle about. … From that moment, you are doomed to be afflicted by the evil one, kept far away from the blessings of the Almighty, out of reach of the provisions of the Almighty, and you embark on a road of no return. A million calls can hardly rouse your heart and your spirit. You sleep deeply in the hands of the evil one, who has lured you into the boundless realm, with no direction, with no road signs. Henceforth, you have lost your original purity, innocence, and started to hide from the care of the Almighty. The evil one steers your heart in every matter and becomes your life. You no longer fear him, no longer avoid him, no longer doubt him. Instead, you treat him as the God in your heart. You begin to enshrine him, worship him, be inseparable like a shadow of his, and mutually commit to each other in life and death. You have no idea at all from where you originate, why you exist, or why you die. You view the Almighty as a stranger; you don’t know His origin, let alone all that He has done for you. Everything from Him has become hateful to you. You neither cherish them nor know their value. You walk with the evil one, from the same day you started to receive provisions from the Almighty. You and the evil one walk through thousands of years of tempest and storm. Together with him, you counter God, who was the source of your life. You do not repent, let alone know that you have come to the point of perishment. You forget that the evil one has tempted you, afflicted you; you forget your origin. Just like that, the evil one has been damaging you step by step, even to now. Your heart and your spirit are desensitized and decayed. You no longer complain about the distress of the world, no longer believe the world is unjust. You don’t even care about the existence of the Almighty. This is because you have deemed the evil one as your true father, and you no longer can be apart from him. This is the secret in your heart.

As dawn arrives, a morning star arises from the east. It is a star never there before. It lights up the still starry skies and ignites the extinguished light in the hearts of people. People are no longer lonely, because of this light, the light that shines upon you and upon others. But only you remain soundly asleep in the dark night. You are unable to hear the sound, nor see the light, unable to notice the advent of a new heaven and a new earth, a new age. Because your father tells you, “My child, do not get up, it is still early. The outdoors are cold, stay inside, lest the sword and spear pierce your eyes.” You believe only in your father’s exhortation, because you believe that father is correct as father is older than you, and that father truly loves you. Such exhortation and such love cause you to no longer believe the legend that there is light in the world, and no longer care whether the world has truth. You no longer dare to hope for rescue from the Almighty. You are content with the status quo, no longer hope for the advent of light, and no longer keep an eye out for the coming of the legendary Almighty. In your eyes, all that is beautiful can no longer be resurrected, nor continue to exist. In your eyes, the tomorrow and the future of mankind disappears and dooms. You clench tightly to your father’s clothes, willing to suffer together, fearing the loss of your travel partner and the direction of your distant journey. The vast and hazy world has made many of you, unflinching and dauntless in filling the different roles of this world. It has formed many “warriors” that do not fear death at all. More than that, it has created batches of desensitized and paralyzed humans who do not understand the purpose of their creation. The eyes of the Almighty look around the severely afflicted mankind, hearing the wailing of those suffering, seeing the shamelessness of those afflicted, and feeling the helplessness and dread of the mankind who has lost salvation. Mankind rejects His care, walks their own path, and avoids the searching of His eyes. They would rather taste all the bitterness of the deep sea, along with the enemy. The sighing of the Almighty can no longer be heard. The hands of the Almighty are no longer willing to touch the tragic mankind. He repeats His work, regaining and losing, time and again. From that moment, He grows tired, and feels weary, so He stops the work in His hand, and no longer wanders among the people. … People are not at all aware of these changes, not aware of the coming and going, the sorrow and disappointment of the Almighty.

All that is in this world is fast changing with the Almighty’s thoughts, under His eyes. Things mankind has never heard of can abruptly arrive. And yet, what mankind has always owned can unknowingly slip away. No one can fathom the Almighty’s whereabouts, and further, no one can feel the transcendence and greatness of the Almighty’s life power. His transcendence lies in how He can perceive what humans cannot. His greatness lies in how He is the One who is renounced by mankind yet saves mankind. He knows the meaning of life and death. Moreover, He knows the rules of living for mankind, whom He created. He is the basis for human existence and the Redeemer for mankind to resurrect again. He weighs down happy hearts with distress and lifts up sorrowful hearts with happiness. This is all for His work, and His plan.

Mankind, who left the supply of life from the Almighty, does not know why they exist, and yet fears death. There is no support, no help, but mankind is still reluctant to close their eyes, braving it all, drags out an ignoble existence in this world in bodies without the consciousness of souls. You live like such, with no hope; he exists like such, with no aim. There is only the Holy One in the legend who will come to save those who moan in suffering and long desperately for His arrival. This belief cannot be realized so far in the people who are unconscious. However, the people still yearn for it so. The Almighty has mercy on these people who suffer deeply. At the same time, He is fed up with these people who have no consciousness, because He has to wait too long for the answer from humans. He desires to seek, seek your heart and your spirit. He wants to bring you food and water and to awaken you, so you are no longer thirsty, no longer hungry. When you are weary and when you begin to feel the desolation of this world, do not be perplexed, do not cry. Almighty God, the Watcher, will embrace your arrival any time. He is watching by your side, waiting for you to turn back. He is waiting for the day your memory suddenly recovers: becoming conscious of the fact that you came from God, somehow and somewhere once lost, falling unconscious on the roadside, and then, unknowingly having a “father.” You further realize that the Almighty has been watching there, awaiting your return all along. He longs bitterly, waiting for a response without an answer. His watching is priceless and is for the heart and the spirit of humans. Perhaps this watching is indefinite, and perhaps this watching is at its end. But you should know exactly where your heart and spirit are now.

May 28, 2003

Source: The Sighing of the Almighty

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