We have seen online many speeches by the Chinese Communist government and the religious world that malign, slander, attack and discredit the Church of Almighty God (such as the “5.28” incident in Zhaoyuan, Shandong province). We also know that the CCP is best at telling lies and falsehoods and skewing facts to deceive the people, as well as being best at maligning, attacking and judging those nations it is hostile to, so any word the CCP says must absolutely not be believed. But many of the things said by religious pastors and elders are the same as the things the CCP says, so exactly how should we discern the slanderous, discrediting words that come from the CCP and the religious world?

Answer:

Why are Satan’s evil forces attacking God’s work in such a way, judging God’s work so? Why are the evil forces of the great red dragon frenziedly attacking and condemning God, and oppressing the church of God? Why do all evil forces belonging to Satan, including the antichrist communities within the religious circle, condemn Almighty God? That is because Satan knows that its end is near, that God has already secured His kingdom and has arrived, and that Satan shall immediately perish if it does not engage in a decisive battle with God. Have you grasped this fact? (Yes.) Once they have heard the frenzied condemnations from the Chinese Communist Party government, many confused people decide that this is not the true way; once they have seen the widespread condemnation from the pastors and elders of the religious circle, they decide that this is not the true way. In what ways are these people confused? Are they able to see through the dark and evil essence of the world? The Bible said, “And the light shines in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not” (Jhn 1:5). Do they truly understand these words? “The whole world lies in wickedness” (1Jn 5:19). Can they comprehend the true meaning of these words? They are unable to see through anything. They think that if it should be the true way, if God has arrived, then the Chinese government should be welcoming it, the religious circle should be welcoming it, and that would make it the true way. What kind of logic is this? Is this not the Satan’s logic? (Yes, it is.) When some people study the work of God, they first look at whether the world welcomes and agrees with The Church of Almighty God, the Eastern Lightning, whether the religious circle welcomes and agrees with it. “If the world welcomes it, and especially, if the CCP government declares that it is the true way, only then can we believe in it. If all the pastors and elders from the religious circle declare that this is the true way, that this is the return of the Lord Jesus, only then can we accept it.” Are there many confused people like this? (Yes, there are.) Some people, just as they are going to spend for God, the great red dragon, Satan, comes to test them: “The Church of Almighty God kidnaps people. If you believe in Almighty God, then you won’t be able to leave, otherwise they would gouge out your eyes, cut off your ears, and break your legs.” Tell me, if this is truly the case, how many people in this world would already have their eyes gouged out and their ears cut off? Have you seen one such case? (No.) Tell me, of all the people who have spent for God, have you seen any one of them who has been kidnapped, who was forced to spend for God because they would not be able to return otherwise? If they were truly kidnapped, would their work and their preaching be effective? (No.) Once someone with a clear head ponders this matter, they would come to the conclusion: “This is the case, this is a rumor made up by the CCP, this is a lie told by the CCP. The devil Satan is really good at spreading rumors, how come I didn’t see the truth?” Some people do not believe these words, while others do. Some people, just when they want to spend for God, they hear that “The Church of Almighty God kidnaps people. If you get kidnapped by them, do not have any hope that you can come back. Even if you should come back, at the very least, you will have your eyes gouged out, your ears cut off.” Once they hear this, they no longer dare to spend for God. “I cannot dedicate myself. This is dangerous, I might lose my life!” and they leave. Do these people have the ability to understand? (No.) Some people also say: “I see that the words of Almighty God are the words of God, they are the voice of God. I have basically determined that the words of Almighty God are true, but what is this organization, The Church of Almighty God? I still have not thoroughly studied this. I have no understanding of The Church of Almighty God. Are they actually capable of kidnapping people? If they should kidnap me, are they capable of gouging out my eyes and cutting off my ears?” This is where they get confused. They say: “I cannot go. If they should gouge out my eyes and cut off my ears, then I would become disabled for the rest of my life. I still have a question mark hanging over The Church of Almighty God, I do not understand it; regarding the utterances of God, I have basically determined them to be true, that they are the voice of God, that they have the truth.” They are very careful in their examination, doing so in two steps: First they examine the words of Almighty God, and see if they are the words of God. If they have accepted that these are truly the words of God, then they further examine if The Church of Almighty God is a real church. If The Church of Almighty God should be a criminal organization, while the words of Almighty God are real, doesn’t that still spell trouble for them? Is this possible? (No.) If this should be the case, then The Church of Almighty God is not a real church, but a criminal organization. Then who is preaching and bearing witness to God’s words? Who is bearing witness for Almighty God? If things are as they imagined, that The Church of Almighty God that is preaching God’s words and bearing witness for Almighty God is an organization of men, who are not of God, then isn’t the work of Almighty God just a sham? How could God allow people from a criminal organization, an organization of man, to exalt Him and bear witness for Him? Is this not a humiliation of God? Can God humiliate Himself? (No.) Some people are unable to see through this matter. They have acknowledged the words of God, yet they are unable to see clearly what type of a church The Church of Almighty God is, and they do not dare to believe in it. People from The Church of Almighty God say: “Can we meet and talk with you? Let us fellowship.” “No, I am busy at the moment, I do not have time,” while they are thinking: “I do not want to come into contact with you. What am I going to do if the people from your church should kidnap me after I come into contact with you?” These people cannot come close to compare with those saints who have martyred themselves for the Lord through the ages. When the Lord Jesus sent them to preach, it was as if throwing lambs into the midst of wolves, and those people dared to martyr themselves for the Lord. Now these people view The Church of Almighty God as a criminal organization. They have become timid and afraid. Is God disappointed by this? People are of little belief and they listen to the devil Satan, this is a tragedy of man.

Most people in our church cannot tell the difference between being discerning with people and judging people. I’d like to ask, with regard to dissecting and discerning the God-defying essence of the pastors and elders, and calling them the Pharisees of the present age, is this not judging people?

Bible Verses for Reference:

Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his lord has made ruler over his household, to give them meat in due season? Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he comes shall find so doing. Truly I say to you, That he shall make him ruler over all his goods. But and if that evil servant shall say in his heart, My lord delays his coming; And shall begin to smite his fellow servants, and to eat and drink with the drunken; The lord of that servant shall come in a day when he looks not for him, and in an hour that he is not aware of, And shall cut him asunder, and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth (Mat 24:45-51).

Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves (Mat 7:15).

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 (Mat 23:13).

I know that Eastern Lightning is the true way, but if I accept Almighty God’s work of the last days I shall be subjected to rejection and slander by the brothers and sisters belonging to my previous denomination. I really don’t have the courage to face that, so what should I do?

Bible Verses for Reference:

Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walks about, seeking whom he may devour (1Pe 5:8).

Enter you in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leads to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leads to life, and few there be that find it (Mat 7:13-14).

Nevertheless among the chief rulers also many believed on him; but because of the Pharisees they did not confess him, lest they should be put out of the synagogue: For they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God (Jhn 12:42-43).

The Road to Purification

Christopher, Philippines

My name is Christopher and I am a pastor from a family church in the Philippines. In 1987, I was baptized and returned to the Lord Jesus. By the Lord’s grace, in 1996 I became a pastor of the local church. At that time, apart from preaching in many places around the Philippines, I also preached in places like Hong Kong and Malaysia. Because of the work and the guidance of the Holy Spirit, I felt that I had inexhaustible energy in my work for the Lord and an unceasing flow of words in my sermons. I would often go to support brothers and sisters when they were negative and weak. Sometimes members of their family who did not believe in the Lord were unfriendly toward me, yet I could be tolerant and patient and not lose faith in the Lord and I believed that the Lord could change them. So I felt like I had changed a great deal since believing in the Lord. However, since 2011, I have not felt the work of the Holy Spirit as strongly as before. Slowly, I have had no new enlightenment for my sermons and have not had the strength to break free from living in sin. I could not help getting angry at my wife and daughter and teaching them a lesson through my temper when I saw that they were not doing as I desired. I knew that this was not in keeping with the will of the Lord, but often I could not help myself. I felt particularly distressed about this. In order to free myself from a life of sin and confession, I put more effort into reading the Bible, fasting and praying and found spiritual pastors everywhere to seek and explore this together. But all of my efforts were useless and made no difference to me living in sin and to the darkness in my soul.

I don’t think believing in God is that complicated and that one doesn’t need to be too focused or too invested in it. So long as I keep going to church every week, do my devotions and give alms, and in the normal course of events also attend some activities organized by the church, then this is believing in God and I can be saved. I’d like to ask whether this conception I have is correct or not?

Bible Verses for Reference:

The kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent take it by force (Mat 11:12).

Not every one that said to me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that does the will of my Father which is in heaven (Mat 7:21).

Sermons and Fellowship: Experience Persecution and Suffering to Become a True Overcomer

Today, because we believe in God, seek the truth and walk the right path of life, we face the CCP’s furious oppression and persecution. This is a meaningful thing! This is because God is using the CCP satanic regime to do service for perfecting a group of overcomers, while at the same time revealing and eliminating those who don’t sincerely believe in God and don’t love the truth. The true overcomers are those who, living under the authoritarian regime of the CCP, can experience God’s word with true faith, and through experiencing the CCP’s wild suppression and cruel persecution, thoroughly see the true colors of the devil Satan, and can then hate Satan, forsake it, and sincerely turn to God, achieving salvation and being perfected! Overcomers are made in the special environment of the CCP satanic regime’s resistance against God and persecution of God’s chosen people. Without the harsh environment created by the devil CCP’s oppression and persecution, true overcomers cannot be created. For those who sincerely want God, no matter how the CCP persecutes, or how harsh the environment gets, they will still follow God, perform their duty, risk everything to pursue the truth, and have more and more faith in God! They see through the CCP’s crackdown of justice, support of evil, and its lawless, perverse and evil, reactionary essence. They see clearly that the CCP is the demon that corrupts, afflicts, and devours mankind, thus they hate it even more, rebel against it, and genuinely turn to God. Through the contrast brought out by the CCP satanic regime, they have also gotten to know God’s righteousness and holiness, His beauty and goodness. All God does is love and salvation to mankind! The faith and love they have in God have grown greater, and their hearts have become even closer to God. These people have thoroughly broken through the CCP satanic regime’s dark influence and have borne overcoming testimony. They are the overcomers made by God amid the great tribulation, and also the group of people who have a part in Christ’s tribulation, kingdom, and patience. They are Christ’s true witnesses, the 144,000 overcomers stated in the Book of Revelation, the ones who will enter God’s kingdom and receive eternal life! That is why our experiencing the CCP’s persecution for belief and pursuit of truth is so meaningful! As the Lord Jesus said: “Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness’ sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake” (Matthew 5:10-11). It’s just as what Almighty God says: “Perhaps you all remember these words: ‘For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, works for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory.’ In the past, you have all heard this saying, yet none understood the true meaning of the words. Today, you know well the real significance they hold. These words are what God will accomplish in the last days. And they will be accomplished upon those cruelly afflicted by the great red dragon in the land where it lies. The great red dragon persecutes God and is the enemy of God, so in this land, those who believe in God are subjected to humiliation and persecution. That is why these words will become reality in you group of people” (“Is the Work of God So Simple as Man Imagines?” in The Word Appears in the Flesh). Now is the golden time for God to perfect the overcomers. When the CCP collapses, these overcomers will rise up among the masses to bear witness to God’s victory! When their witness to God reaches the peak, the kingdom of God will officially be realized on earth! God’s work of saving mankind will be concluded by then. Those who will be saved and be perfected will already be set. If we wait until then to believe, we will miss out on the opportunity to be made overcomers by God. Such people will not have borne the overcoming testimony and cannot enter God’s kingdom. Even if they survive, they merely count as a “service-doer,” and cannot be a member of God’s kingdom.

from the movie script of Song of Victory

During the last days, God carries out the work of judgment beginning from the house of God, making a group of overcomers in China.

Bible Verses for Reference:

“For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God” (1 Peter 4:17).

“For as the lightning comes out of the east, and shines even to the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be” (Matthew 24:27).

“And I looked, and, see, a Lamb stood on the mount Sion, and with him an hundred forty and four thousand, having his Father’s name written in their foreheads. … These are they which were not defiled with women; for they are virgins. These are they which follow the Lamb wherever he goes. These were redeemed from among men, being the first fruits to God and to the Lamb. And in their mouth was found no guile: for they are without fault before the throne of God”(Revelation 14:1, 4-5).

“I know your works: behold, I have set before you an open door, and no man can shut it: for you have a little strength, and have kept my word, and have not denied my name” (Revelation 3:8).

“And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives to the death”(Revelation 12:11).

“These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb” (Revelation 7:14).