Question 12: According to the government's propaganda materials, The Church of Almighty God was founded by someone named Zhao in northeastern China. This man is the high priest of The Church of Almighty God. He is leading the Church. Believers of The Church of Almighty God claim that he is someone used by the Holy Spirit. They often listen to the preaching of this person who is used by the Holy Spirit, and they listen to him in the administrative work of the church. Although you believers of Almighty God read the word of Almighty God, pray in the name of Almighty God, regard The Word Appears in the Flesh expressed by Almighty God as canonical doctrine, and communicate the word of Almighty God in your congregation, in any case, this person is the one who has the final say in The Church of Almighty God. So we are certain that The Church of Almighty God was created by this person. Both the CCP and the religious community characterize The Church of Almighty God as an organization of man. I think it is true. Do you understand this?

Answer: The CCP has studied The Church of Almighty God for more than 20 years, do you mean that is the result of such a study? Then tell me, who founded Christianity and Catholicism? Could it be Paul or Peter who was the founder? Who founded Judaism? Could it be Moses? Isn't it absurd? 

Embroiled in a Spiritual Battle, I Relied on God and Overcame the Temptations of Satan (Part 2)

By Hu Yang, France

The CCP’s Lies Are Revealed and I Steadfastly Follow the Path of Belief in God

Through reading God’s words and listening to Sister Feng’s fellowship, I came to have some discernment about the deceitful schemes of Satan that lurked behind my husband’s attempts to stop me from believing in God. Sister Feng then said to me, “Sister, although your husband has promised not to try to force you to give up your belief anymore, this does not mean that he won’t oppose your belief in God again in the future. Because he has no discernment of the essence of these lies, you must help him with love to discern them, make him see the malicious intent behind the CCP’s lies and enable him to see through Satan’s deceitful schemes!”

A German Christian’s Reflections: I Have Found the Path to Victory Over Sin

By Anna, Germany

Editor’s Note: Are you still struggling in the agony of sin? Are you discouraged and disappointed because you live trapped in a cycle of sinning and repentance? What must we do to escape the bondage of sin? I hope reading this article will be of some help to you.

I Overcame Satan’s Temptation by Relying on God’s Strength (Part 1)

By Cindy

I’m a Christian. If you were to ask me if I’ve encountered any difficulties throughout my journey of faith, I would say that hindrance from family has been the single greatest difficulty that I’ve experienced. This is an issue that many other new believers may be confronted with. Although I experienced weakness and pain in the face of my family’s disruption and suppression, I was able to gain some understanding and discernment of Satan’s evil essence and motives through the enlightenment and guidance of God’s words. I also really deeply experienced that no matter how Satan may hinder or disrupt me, God is always by my side, guiding me and leading me with His words. This allows me to overcome Satan at every turn and live before God.

20. Service of This Kind Is Truly Contemptible

By Ding Ning, Shandong Province

A few days ago, the church leader arranged a change in my duty. I felt a little puzzled: I worked hard here at my duty, so why suddenly change me onto another duty? But then I thought: “Seeing as the church has made this arrangement, I should submit to it.” When it came time to hand over my old duty, I thought, “I need to take this final opportunity to call a meeting with my brothers and sisters, fellowship about the truth, and leave them with a good impression.” Therefore, I met with several deacons, and at the close of our time together, I said, “I have been given a different duty to perform. I hope you will do the church work properly together with the new leader with one heart and one mind.” As soon as the sisters heard me say this, their smiles fell from their faces. Some of them grasped my hands, some of them embraced me, and weeping they said, “You cannot leave us! You cannot abandon us.” The host family sister was especially unwilling to let me go. She said, “It is so good that you are here with us. You are someone who can endure hardship, and you are good at fellowshiping about the truth. No matter when we needed you, you were always there to patiently help us. What will we do when you’re gone?” Seeing their reluctance to part from me, my heart was full of joy and satisfaction, and I comforted them with these words: “Depend more on God. When I can, I will come back and visit you.”

6. God’s Words Led Me Out of the Woods

By Xiao Rui, Sichuan Province

When my duty in The Church of Almighty God was preaching the gospel, while doing this I encountered religious leaders who bore false witness to frantically resist, disturb, and block people’s investigation and acceptance of God’s work in the last days. They even called the police to have them arrest those of us sharing the gospel. As a result, those we were preaching to didn’t dare come into contact with us, and those who had just accepted the gospel were subjected to disruptions and became uncertain about God’s work. Our gospel work was greatly hindered. I felt really anxious when I saw so many brothers and sisters with genuine faith who were hoodwinked and disrupted by the pastors and elders. They were unable to return before God and accept His purification and salvation of the last days. I worked hard every day to share fellowship on God’s words with them to resolve the notions they held regarding God’s work, but after doing this for a period of time, our gospel work still hadn’t taken a turn for the better. I thought: “Evangelical work is so difficult to carry out. It would be so wonderful if God just displayed some miracles and punished those who bear false witness as well as those who seriously resist Him to show to those who have been deceived. Then wouldn’t the work of the gospel advance more quickly? It wouldn’t be so difficult for us to preach the gospel.” This is how this hope came up in my heart every time I encountered difficulties. Later, I read the book of Classic Examples of Punishment for Resisting Almighty God and during fellowship heard some testimonies on God’s signs and wonders, and I felt very glad in my heart. I hoped even more that God would do some things in the areas that I worked in so that our gospel work there could be carried out smoothly. But no matter how I hoped, I still didn’t see God perform any miracles there or do anything to punish evil people. The religious people were still fully resisting God, and the difficulties in our evangelical work were still great. I became negative, thinking: “Why doesn’t God open up a way out for us? Could it be that our faith is inadequate?”

There Are Actually Principles for Making Offerings to God

Li Hui

Because of some trouble at home, in 1997 I began to believe in the Lord Jesus. Afterward, through practicing the Lord’s words, there was no longer any arguing at home. The Lord saved my family, saved me from my pain and gave me hope in life.

That Was Close! I Nearly Let the Lord Pass Me By (Part 2)

By Weilian, United States

Seeking Jesus’ Return: Why Would God Incarnate of the Last Days Be a Woman?

After that I reached out to Brother Zhao online and told him the source of my confusion. “The Bible says, ‘He that has the bride is the bridegroom’ (John 3:29). And ‘Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honor to Him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and His wife has made herself ready’ (Revelation 19:7). It’s written that the ‘bridegroom’ will marry the ‘bride’, so doesn’t the ‘bridegroom’ refer to the Lord being male when He returns? However, you testify that the Lord has returned as a woman. This is something I don’t understand. Brother, can you share fellowship on this?” Brother Zhao responded, “I used to think that since the Bible says that the bride will adorn herself to welcome the bridegroom, when the Lord returns He will certainly be male and couldn’t possibly be a woman. So is this understanding of the prophecy actually accurate, or not? If it’s as we take it, when God comes He has to be a man, and only a man can be called the ‘bridegroom’ so the ‘bride’ without a doubt refers to a woman, then which of our brothers, who are male, could become a ‘bride’ and attend the wedding banquet of the Lamb? Wouldn’t they all be cast out by the ‘bridegroom’ into the darkness, weeping? God is the God of all creatures; He is the God of all men and all women, so how could He only save women and not men? That is to say, our concept that the ‘bridegroom’ should be a man comes from looking at things from a worldly viewpoint. It’s just a literal understanding of the Bible, our own notions and imaginations. It is not remotely in line with the true meaning of what was prophesied in the Bible, and it is even less in line with the truth.

That Was Close! I Nearly Let the Lord Pass Me By (Part 1)

By Weilian, United States

Not long after I finished high school, I was tricked into joining a pyramid scheme by a friend. I really wanted to get out of it, but there was just no way for me to do it. I was helpless and in pain and felt that my future was dark, devoid of light—I was totally lost. In July 2016, in the midst of my pain and helplessness a copy of the Bible made its way into my hands; I learned that God created the world and human beings. I was moved by the Lord Jesus’ redemption of mankind and silently said to God, “If you’re really such a loving, merciful God in this universe, in this world, I ask You to help me escape from my pain and lead me to a place where I can change my fate, a place full of hope.” I made this entreaty often, and amazingly, less than one month later I was on my way to the United States.

Man Can Only Be Saved Amidst the Management of God

Everyone feels that the management of God is strange, because people think that the management of God is completely unrelated to man. They think that this management is the work of God alone, is God’s own business, and so mankind is indifferent to the management of God. In this way, the salvation of mankind has become vague and indistinct, and is now nothing but empty rhetoric. Even though man follows God in order to be saved and enter the beautiful destination, man has no concern for how God conducts His work. Man does not care for what God plans to do and the part he must play in order to be saved. How tragic that is! The salvation of man is inseparable from the management of God, much less can it be divorced from the plan of God. Yet man thinks nothing of the management of God, and thus grows ever more distant from God. Consequently, increasing numbers of people are becoming followers of God who don’t know things that are closely related to the salvation of man such as what creation is, what belief in God is, how to worship God, and so on. At this point, then, we must have a talk about the management of God, so that each follower may clearly know the significance of following God and believing in Him. They will also be able to choose the path that they should tread more accurately, instead of following God solely to gain blessings, or avoid disaster, or become successful.

Beholding the Appearance of God in His Judgment and Chastisement

Like the hundreds of millions of others who follow the Lord Jesus Christ, we abide by the laws and commandments of the Bible, enjoy the abundant grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and gather together, pray, praise, and serve in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ—and all this we do under the care and protection of the Lord. We are often weak, and we are also often strong. We believe that all of our actions are in accordance with the teachings of the Lord. It goes without saying, then, that we also believe ourselves to be on the path of obedience to the will of the Father in heaven. We long for the return of the Lord Jesus, for His glorious descent, for the end of our life on earth, for the appearance of the kingdom, and for everything as it was foretold in the Book of Revelation: The Lord arrives, He brings disaster, He rewards the good and punishes the wicked, and He takes all those who follow Him and welcome His return up to meet Him in the air. Whenever we think of this, we cannot but be overcome with emotion and filled with gratitude that we were born in the last days and have the good fortune to witness the coming of the Lord. Though we have suffered persecution, we have got in return “a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory.” What a blessing! All of this longing, and the grace bestowed by the Lord, render us constantly sober unto prayer, and make us more diligent in gathering together. Maybe next year, maybe tomorrow, and again, maybe within a space of time shorter than man can conceive, the Lord shall suddenly descend, appearing among a group of people who have been waiting for Him with eager solicitude. We rush to get ahead of each other, none willing to fall behind, all for the sake of being in the first group to behold the appearance of the Lord, of being among those who are raptured. We have given everything, heedless of the cost, for the coming of this day, some leaving their jobs, some abandoning their families, some renouncing marriage, and some even donating all of their savings. What selfless acts of devotion! Such sincerity and loyalty is surely beyond even the saints of ages past! As the Lord bestows grace upon whomever He pleases, and shows mercy to whomever He pleases, our acts of devotion and of expending, we believe, have long since been beheld by His eyes. So, too, have our heartfelt prayers reached His ears, and we trust that the Lord will give us recompense for our dedication. Moreover, God had been gracious toward us before He created the world, and the blessings and promises He has given to us no one can take away. We are all planning for the future, and as a matter of course have made our dedication and expending into counter chips or capital to exchange for being raptured to meet the Lord in the air. What is more, we have, without the slightest hesitation, placed ourselves on the throne of the future, to preside over all nations and all peoples, or to reign as kings. All this we take as a given, as something to be expected.

The Principles That Must Be Understood for Serving God

People fulfilling their duties of serving God is not doing their own work, but rather they are doing the work that God has commissioned. To do the work that God has commissioned, it must be done in accordance with God’s requirements in order to satisfy God’s will. If it is their own work, then people can do it according to their own will. They can do it however they like, and other people have no right to interfere. For example, if you are an official in the government, then you would have to work according to the country’s laws in order to be retained. If you work in a factory, you would have to work according to the factory’s rules in order to get paid. In the same way, if you work on God’s commissions in the house of God, you have to do it in accordance with God’s requirements and God’s words in order to not be eliminated. This is like the Chinese idiom, “If you do not work according to your employer’s commands, you wouldn’t be rewarded even if you die from exhaustion.” Now, many people who are working as leaders still do not understand this principle. These kinds of people are truly foolish, ignorant, and lacking in knowledge.

Several Principles for Leading Non-Religious New Believers

God’s salvation of people is not limited to those who are already religious or are outsiders. As long as a person is willing to accept God’s work, is able to eat and drink God’s words and seek truth, then they are a suitable target for God’s salvation. God’s will is such that all those who can accept the work of Almighty God and attain purification are those who shall attain God’s salvation. There is no seniority among believers when practicing faith in God. As long as someone seeks truth and accepts God’s judgment and chastisement—thereby achieving transformation in his or her life disposition—then they are someone perfected by God. Therefore, mankind’s conceptions, imaginings or delineations about God are all ridiculous. God is righteous; God does not treat anyone with preference. To nurture and give sustenance to non-religious believers—truly bringing them into God’s words and helping them to enter into all truths—is God’s requirement, and this is also God’s commission to the leaders and workers of God’s house. All those who have prejudice against or exclude non-religious new believers, all those who muddle through the work of nurturing and giving sustenance to non-religious new believers, are all servants of Satan and they are all interrupting and disturbing God’s work. This is entirely the revelation of mankind’s satanic nature that opposes God. This must be clearly discerned.

Principles for Establishing a Church and Managing Church Life

1. Principles for Establishing a Church

The principles for establishing a church are: So long as there is a group of people (around 20) who have truly accepted God’s work, who request to formally join the church, and who are willing to fulfill their duties, then a church can be established. If there are around 10 new believers who ask to have gatherings, a gathering group can first be set up, but a church cannot be established. If the new believers have not formally recognized and accepted the true way while they investigate it, then a church should not be established. The establishment of a church should be done in person by a church leader, a gospel preaching deacon or a nurturing deacon. Before establishing a church, it is most critical to first clearly communicate how church leaders and deacons are elected. After the new believers have all understood the principles for electing leaders and deacons, an election can then be held. After the church leader and deacons have been elected, the person responsible for establishing the church shall preside over and hold a prayer meeting during which they should formally announce the establishment of the church, announce who are to be the church leaders and deacons, and then begin to pray. Everyone shall pray before God and declare that they formally believe in Almighty God and are joining the church. They should also declare that they thoroughly accept and submit to God’s work, will seek truths to attain God’s salvation, will exalt God and bear witness for God to repay God’s love and spend their whole life for God. They may also relate their wishes, aspirations and innermost thoughts to God. After God’s chosen people have finished their prayers, the church will then have been established, and the leaders and deacons may officially begin leading the church life.

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!”

Giving Credence to Rumors Means Losing God’s Salvation of the Last Days

Many brothers and sisters are unable to take heed whenever they hear someone talking about Almighty God’s gospel of the last days, and don’t dare accept what is preached because they have been spooked by the sensationalized rumors fabricated within religious circles. They may hear someone say: “Those who believe in Almighty God are really something—you’ll be taken in as soon as you have contact with them. There are many true believers from every denomination who are good sheep and even bellwethers of good caliber, but they are being stolen by believers in Almighty God….” Or some have said: “The believers in Almighty God are really enthusiastic about spreading the gospel. If they convert a believer they receive a prize of 2,000 RMB, if they convert a church leader they can get 10,000 to 20,000 RMB….” And still others have said: “They don’t maintain good boundaries between men and women—they are all very promiscuous….” Some have even said: “Eastern Lightning is a criminal underworld organization. If you get involved with them, you’ll never escape. If you try, they’ll gouge out your eyes and cut off your ears, or they’ll break your legs….” and so on, and so forth. It is rumors like these that stop some brothers and sisters who are not clear on the facts from seeking and studying Almighty God’s work of the last days. Brothers and sisters who believe the rumors, have you earnestly considered or investigated whether there is any basis for these things, and if they are in line with the facts? Have you ever thought about what sort of dire consequences there will be if you blindly believe all the rumors you hear and miss the opportunity to welcome the Lord’s arrival? For now, we will first have a simple fellowship on these rumors so that our brothers and sisters can clearly see their substance, and have clear discernment regarding who is really spreading them, what the motivations are behind their fabrication, and what goal they want to achieve.

What’s the Origin of Eastern Lightning?

We are now in the last days, the prophecies of the Lord’s return have basically been fulfilled, and thousands upon thousands of pious believers are fervently hoping for the Lord Jesus’ return. At the same time, however, Eastern Lightning has openly given testimony that the Lord Jesus has already returned—that is, Almighty God, the incarnation of the last days—and that He has already done His work of judgment beginning with God’s house. The emergence of Eastern Lightning has shaken the whole religious world as well as all those who sincerely believe in God and thirst for the truth. Through seeking and investigating the words and work of Almighty God, many people confirm that Almighty God is the returned Lord Jesus, and one after another they come before Almighty God. This has thrown pastors and elders of the religious world as well as the CCP government into a panic; they collude together to suppress and outlaw Eastern Lightning, fabricating many rumors and savagely condemning and vilifying Eastern Lightning as heresy. They do all they can to obstruct and harass sincere believers who want to seek and investigate the appearance and work of Almighty God in the last days. The historical tragedy of the Jewish religious world allying itself with the Roman government to cruelly oppress the Lord Jesus is being played out again. Opinions vary as to whether or not Eastern Lightning is the return of the Lord Jesus, and whether or not it is God’s work; some people follow along with the pastors and elders of the religious world in their denial and condemnation, but there are also some who believe Eastern Lightning is related to the Lord Jesus’ prophecy in the Bible that says, “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 that it is connected to the coming of the Son of man in the last days. So what really is the origin of Eastern Lightning? Is it God’s work, and what kind of mysteries does it hold?

Why Does Eastern Lightning Surge Forward With Unstoppable Progress?

The Lord Jesus said, “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). Since Eastern Lightning—Almighty God, Christ of the last days—appeared in China to perform His work, His kingdom gospel has spread across the whole of mainland China in just more than ten years. Now, it has spread to many western countries and regions, and it has shaken the various denominations to their core and sent ripples throughout the entire world. However, the most perplexing question for the leaders of the religious world is: Why is it that, although the pastors and elders in the religious world have done their utmost to resist, defame and condemn Eastern Lightning, stifle their churches and even gone so far as to collude with the CCP government to arrest and persecute the Christians in The Church of Almighty God, those believers from various denominations who have good humanity and who truly believe in the Lord accept and follow Almighty God one after another? Why is it that, though faced with the frantic resistance and persecution by the two arms of Satan’s forces—the CCP government and the religious world—not only has Eastern Lightning not been broken or worn down, but on the contrary it has continued to flourish and go from strength to strength, like shoots growing after rain, and has surged inexorably and irresistibly onward?

Lifting the Veil: The Truth About the Evil Chinese Communist Party’s Show Trial

On August 21, 2014, the public trial for the May 28 Zhaoyuan Murder Case was held in Yantai, Shandong. In an article published on the Internet about the case, “Zhaoyuan Murder Case Defendants Confess in Court: I am God,” news.qq.com presented a relatively objective, thorough, and detailed report of the defendants’ confessions. But in the CCTV News 1+1 report titled “Almighty God, How Is He ‘God’?”, they passed off fraudulent information as real information, insisting that the psychotic perpetrators from the Zhaoyuan Murder Case were members of the Church of Almighty God. Using this false information, the CCP fabricated a public scandal to justify their thorough suppression of the Church of Almighty God and other underground churches, while also diverting the people’s hatred toward the Church of Almighty God and away from their crisis of faith in the CCP. These sinister motives are truly horrifying. If the CCP can hold a public trial for the homicide case committed by psychotic people，then why won’t it conduct a fair public trial for the June 4 Incident in 1989, in which thousands of innocent students were slaughtered? Over the years, the CCP has conducted all kinds of campaigns, resulting in countless deaths. Why won’t the CCP hold fair public trials? The Chinese people are all waiting for the CCP to hold fair public trials for these stacks of homicide cases, to finally give all the victims and their families an explanation. Why does the CCP refuse to uphold justice and conduct a fair public trial? There are sufficient facts to prove that the CCP had a hidden agenda in holding a public trial for the psychotic perpetrators. It had an ulterior motive! And so this article seeks to uncover the CCP’s malicious intent behind the high-profile public trial of the Zhaoyuan homicide, to clear the names of all those who have been slandered, and give the public a chance to know the true nature of the CCP.