After the Lord Jesus’ Resurrection, Why Did He Appear to Man?

By Cheng Hang

In the Bible, it is recorded: “And as they thus spoke, Jesus Himself stood in the middle of them, and said to them, Peace be to you. But they were terrified and affrighted, and supposed that they had seen a spirit. And He said to them, Why are you troubled? and why do thoughts arise in your hearts? Behold My hands and My feet, that it is I Myself: handle Me, and see; for a spirit has not flesh and bones, as you see Me have. And when He had thus spoken, He showed them His hands and His feet. And while they yet believed not for joy, and wondered, He said to them, Have you here any meat? And they gave Him a piece of a broiled fish, and of an honeycomb. And He took it, and did eat before them” (Luke 24:36–43). Whenever I read these verses, I feel envious of Peter, John and the others. While Jesus was performing His work in Judea, He was always with His disciples day and night and, after He was resurrected, He took care of them just as He had before, and He appeared to them, expounded on the scriptures to them and gave them teachings. Peter and the others were fortunate to have been chosen by the Lord to be His disciples and they were able to hear the teachings of the Lord Jesus with their very own ears—they were so blessed! Afterward, I read God’s words, and I came to understand that the Lord Jesus’ will was actually behind His appearance to man after His resurrection, and that this deed encapsulated God’s almightiness and wisdom even more. I truly came to see that the Lord Jesus’ appearance to man after His resurrection really was so meaningful!

Question: How does Almighty God do His work of judgment in the last days? How does He express His words to judge, cleanse and perfect man? This is the truth that we desperately need to know now. If we realize Almighty God’s work, then we can really hear God’s voice and be raised up before God’s throne. Please tell us in more detail!

Answer: Studying how Almighty God does His work of judgment in the last days is very important to our ability to obtain salvation by pursuing the truth. Almighty God works in the last days by expressing truths to judge and cleanse people. He does this solely to lift His saints into the kingdom of heaven. However, many believers in the religious community do not understand God’s will. They think the Lord will return and directly raise all of the saints into the heavenly kingdom. They don’t believe He will conduct the work of judgment and chastisement because, well, if He judged and chastised people, wouldn't He be condemning and punishing them too? Therefore, they refuse to accept God’s work of judgment in the last days; they only wait for the Lord to descend on a cloud and raise them into the heavenly kingdom. In truth, this is a complete misunderstanding of God’s will. The Lord Jesus did His work of redemption to pave the way for the work of judgment in the last days. God’s final objective is to cleanse and save humanity, allowing them to rest in the heavenly kingdom. However, God’s work of redeeming and saving man is planned; it proceeds in steps. It doesn’t all just happen at once. The Lord Jesus has completed His work of redemption and has promised to come back and receive the saints. However, no one really knows how God takes the saints in the last days. In reality, when God comes to receive His saints in the last days, He brings them to His throne first to judge them, cleanse them and perfect them into overcomers. Isn’t this how saints are raised into the kingdom of heaven? Still, this isn’t something that's easy for people to understand. Before they can go before God’s throne, they must experience judgment, chastisement and cleansing. That’s why people have formed their own conceptions about God’s work of judgment in the last days. Then tell me, is God’s chastisement and judgment really a blessing? Or is it condemnation and punishment? Many people don’t understand this. Let’s see what Almighty God says about it.

Hardship Is the Greatest Blessing God Can Bestow on Us

By Xiang Yang

One day, I read a fable. There was once a farmer who hoped that his wheat would not be affected by any terrible weather while it was growing, but would grow tall and strong in light winds and sunshine. But when his wish was realized and the time came to collect the harvest, the wheat held no grain. As it happens, if wheat is not baptized through all kinds of hard weather as it grows, it will not bear a rich harvest.

Spiritual Warfare: Two Months Spent “Imprisoned” by My Husband

By Baituo, South Korea

“My wife, you’d better keep the bank cards. It’s my fault for having blindly believed the CCP’s rumors and for trying to obstruct your belief in God, and even taking the bank cards away from you. Oh, let’s not talk about it anymore. Belief in God is a good thing. You keep on believing in God, and I won’t bother you anymore.” Hearing my husband say this, I kept offering up my thanks and praise to God in my heart. Thinking back over these past two months, if it hadn’t been for God’s guidance, I’d still be living “imprisoned” by my husband …

Finally Seeing Who Are the Pharisees Today on My Path of Welcoming the Lord

By Hanmei, Myanmar

 

The Wonderful Surprise of the Lord’s Return 

In June 2017, I got to know Sister Liu and Brother Duan, both in Germany on Facebook, and through my communication with them I saw that they were genuine and modest people. They had a very pure understanding of the scripture and the content they shared in fellowship really contained light and was very beneficial for me. After joining them for a few gatherings, I understood a number of truths I never had before. My heart was really brightened; I loved meeting with them. During one gathering, Brother Duan referenced this passage of scripture: “For as the lightning comes out of the east, and shines even to the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be” (Matthew 24:27). In his fellowship, he said that God would once again appear and work in the flesh in the last days, and that He had already come to the East, to China. He said that this prophecy had already been fulfilled. Hearing this, I felt a bit shocked, thinking, “The Lord Jesus has already returned?” In this state, I thought of what I had heard the pastors and elders say, that only the people of Eastern Lightning bore witness that the Lord Jesus has already returned in the flesh. They told us we couldn’t believe in this, because only the Lord Jesus is Christ. I then felt really unsettled and no longer took heed of Brother Duan’s fellowship, thinking, “The pastors and elders are all people who serve God. They understand a lot about the Bible and they should have clarity on something as important as the Lord’s coming. I’ll ask them and then see!”

I Am Unfit to See Christ

By Huanbao, Liaoning Province

Since I first began believing in Almighty God, end-time Christ, I really admired those brothers and sisters who were following along at Christ’s side, who could personally receive Christ’s shepherding and hear His utterances with their own ears. I felt that it would be wonderful if I were able to hear Christ speak myself one day, and it would be even more glorious if I could see Him with my own eyes. But lately, through listening to Christ’s fellowship, I have come to feel deeply in my heart that I am not fit to see Christ.

God’s Words Have Awakened Me

By Miao Xiao, Shandong Province

In the past, I used to always think that God’s words “a puppet and traitor who flees from the great white throne” were referring to those who accept God’s work in the last days but who then retreat; to me, they were all people who weren’t willing to endure the pain of being judged and chastised. Therefore, whenever I saw brothers and sisters retreat for whatever reason, my heart would be filled with contempt toward them, thinking: “There goes another puppet and traitor fleeing from the great white throne who shall receive God’s punishment!” Each time this happened, I felt I was behaving properly in accepting God’s judgment and was not far from receiving God’s salvation.