Question 1: The Lord’s promise is that He will come again to take us into the kingdom of heaven, and yet you testify that the Lord has already been incarnated to do the work of judgment in the last days. The Bible clearly prophesies that the Lord will descend with power and great glory on clouds. This is quite different from what you’ve testified, that the Lord has already been incarnated and secretly descended among men.

Answer: You say that the Lord promised man that He would come again to take man into the kingdom of heaven, that is for sure, because the Lord is faithful, He will invariably make good on His promises. But we need to first be clear that the Lord's coming again through incarnation in the last days to do the work of judgment is directly related to how we are raptured into the kingdom of heaven.

Question 3: Right now, desolate churches are widespread throughout the entire religious world, but we have never fully understood the primary cause. That’s why we’ve been earnestly reading the Old Testament and have focused on how the actions of the Jewish chief priests, scribes and Pharisees in the late Age of Law led to such desolation in religion. Although some problems have been discovered, it’s never been entirely clear. We’ve also gone to churches in many different places and from different denominations, but we haven’t seen the work of the Holy Spirit. We’re not very clear on why the entire religious world is so desolate. What’s the real reason for this?

Answer: Now, the whole of the world of religion is a widespread desolation, devoid of the work of the Holy Spirit, and many people’s faith and love have cooled—this has already become an accepted fact. What exactly is the primary cause of the desolation in the world of religion is a question that all of us must thoroughly understand. First let us look back a moment at why the temple became desolate in the latter days of the Age of Law, and we will then be able to understand thoroughly the cause of the religious world’s desolation in the last days.

Question 2: You just talked about some lawless acts, so what specific acts do you mean when you say lawlessness is increasing?

Answer: The increase in lawlessness means mostly that those religious leaders, pastors, and elders go against God’s will and go their own way instead. They don’t follow God’s commandments, and they misinterpret the Bible to shackle, control, and deceive people, drowning them in biblical theology, and taking them away from God, turning churches into places of religious ritual, and they treat their responsibilities and duties as access to status and income, which leads to many hypocritical acts that resist God in the church.

Question 1: The last few years we’ve felt a growing desolation in our church. We’ve lost the faith and love we had at the start, and become weaker and more negative. Even we preachers sometimes feel darkened, and don’t know what to talk about. We feel like we’ve lost the work of the Holy Spirit. We’ve also looked everywhere for a church with the Holy Spirit’s work, but every church we see is as desolate as our own. Why are all denominations suffering famine?

Answer:The question you’ve asked is an important one. We all know that we live in the late period of the last days. The Lord Jesus once prophesied: “And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold” (Mat 24:12). 

Seeing Through the CCP’s Lies, God’s Love Draws Me Back to Him (Part 2)

By Kemu, South Korea

After Seeing the Truth I No Longer Stand in the Way of My Wife’s Faith

The brothers and sisters then played a video for me, The Truth Exposed Behind the May 28 Zhaoyuan Case. It revealed several major suspicious aspects of the case and then dissected them layer by layer. I was really engrossed in it and did my own analysis of the case along with the video to ferret out the truth, and the furrow in my brow gradually relaxed as the video went on. As I saw layer after layer of the lies exposed I let out a long breath. I realized that the May 28 Zhaoyuan Case was single-handedly concocted by the CCP to stifle religious beliefs and eradicate The Church of Almighty God. The offenders in the case, Zhang Lidong, Zhang Fan and others, denied with their own mouths that they were members of The Church of Almighty God, and said that they were completely unaffiliated with the church. But the CCP completely disregarded the suspects’ testimonies and flagrantly went against the facts, insisting that was done by people with The Church of Almighty God. What was even more outlandish was that even without a court trial or verdict, the CCP didn’t wait to publicly, definitively plant the case on The Church of Almighty God through TV and Internet media, and that was all to create a public uproar to suppress it and wipe it out. The CCP framed the church and created that kind of false case so that it could start madly suppressing and arresting Christians with the church without a hitch. It’s just like how they suppressed the June 4 students’ movement in 1989—the CCP first fabricated rumors to portray the students’ patriotic movement as revolutionary violence, and then they started carrying out arrests and murdering people. Faced with the facts, I finally saw with complete clarity that the CCP’s tactic for eradicating any dissenters has been to first fabricate rumors and distort the facts, then frame them, and then violently suppress them. Turning the truth on its head and distorting reality and framing The Church of Almighty God so that the people, who don’t know the truth, are taken in by their lies and will misunderstand the church is detestable! But something I still didn’t understand was that the brothers and sisters in The Church of Almighty God are upright people who are nothing like they say online, so why would the CCP so madly persecute the church and go to great pains to plant that murder case on The Church of Almighty God, and arrest its members? What was really going on?

Seeing Through the CCP’s Lies, God’s Love Draws Me Back to Him (Part 1)

By Kemu, South Korea

Deceived by CCP Lies I Stand in the Way of My Wife’s Faith

“I’m telling you one more time—don’t keep talking to me about that God stuff, and you’re not allowed to have anything to do with those religious people anymore. If I see that you’ve been in touch with them again, I’ll smash your phone to pieces!”

Knowing the Lord Jesus: Why Did the Lord Jesus Work Amongst Man in an Ordinary Form?

By Li Qian

I am a pastor and I’ve worked and preached for the Lord for many years. Each time I opened up the Bible, I saw the words written in Matthew 13:53–57 which say: “When Jesus had finished these parables, He departed there. And when He was come into His own country, He taught them in their synagogue, so that they were astonished, and said, From where has this man this wisdom, and these mighty works? Is not this the carpenter’s son? is not His mother called Mary? and His brothers, James, and Joses, and Simon, and Judas? And His sisters, are they not all with us? From where then has this man all these things? And they were offended in Him.” And also John 19:6–7 which say: “When the chief priests therefore and officers saw Him, they cried out, saying, Crucify Him, crucify Him. Pilate said to them, Take you Him, and crucify Him: for I find no fault in Him. The Jews answered him, We have a law, and by our law He ought to die, because He made Himself the Son of God.” Each time I read these words, I couldn’t help but think: “When the Lord Jesus was performing His work, many people denied His identity and essence because He appeared normal and ordinary, and they treated Him as an ordinary man. The Jewish chief priests, scribes and Pharisees in particular knew perfectly well that the miracles performed and the way preached by the Lord came from God, but not only did they not seek or investigate this way with a God-fearing heart, on the contrary, they relied on their conceptions and imaginings to judge the Lord Jesus as being nothing more than a carpenter’s son, and they blasphemed against the Lord, saying that He cast out demons by the prince of the devils. In the end, they colluded with the Roman authorities and crucified the Lord Jesus upon the cross. God is so supreme, so why would He deliberately choose such a normal, ordinary form to come amongst man and perform His work? If God had been born into a king’s family in a high and noble form and after the manner of a great man, then not just the Pharisees but all the people of Israel would have easily accepted the Lord Jesus’ gospel.” This issue perplexed me for a long time.

How to Have True Faith in God

By Huafei

What God requires of each of us as Christians is to possess genuine faith. There are many examples recorded in the Bible of people who were able to see God’s wondrous deeds and be blessed by Him because of their faith. Moses had faith in God and through His guidance, was able to overcome the myriad obstructions and limitations of the Pharaoh, successfully leading the Israelites in their exodus from Egypt. Abraham had faith in God and was willing to sacrifice his only son Isaac to God, and ultimately God blessed him, allowing his descendants to multiply and become great nations. Job had faith in God and was able to stand witness for God through two trials; God blessed Him even more, and appeared to him and spoke to him from a storm. The Canaanite woman in Matthew had faith in the Lord Jesus and believed that He could drive out the evil spirit from her daughter; she made her plea to the Lord Jesus and her daughter’s sickness was cured. As Christians, it is imperative that we understand the truth pertaining to what true faith is so that no matter what hardships we encounter in our lives—failures in business, setbacks in life, unfortunate family events—we are able to rely on our faith and unwaveringly follow God, being resounding witnesses for Him and ultimately gaining His approval.

Is Forgiveness of Sins Gaining the Way of Eternal Life?

By Chenchen

Very early one morning, a ray of sun came through the window blinds and landed on the bamboo plant on my desk. It seemed to glow with vitality in the sun. Finishing up my spiritual devotionals, I turned on my computer and browsed to a gospel website where I happened to see someone had posted a question about if we have gained the way of eternal life on a discussion board. Everyone was really actively and enthusiastically posting their own opinions, of which there were many. Some brothers and sisters said that as long as we’ve accepted the Lord Jesus’ redemption, we have already gained the way of eternal life. Others said that we are always living in sin and cannot keep fast to the Lord’s way, so when living in such a state, is that really gaining the way of eternal life? …

How Can We Dine at the Marriage Supper of the Lamb?

By Li Min

It is recorded in Revelation 19:9, “And he said to me, Write, Blessed are they which are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he said to me, These are the true sayings of God.”

3 Great Masterstrokes for Overcoming Temptations in Spiritual Warfare

Jingxing, South Korea

Brothers and sisters,

I wish you peace in the Lord! Not infrequently, all sorts of spiritual warfare will occur throughout our time of faith in and following God. There are temptations regarding money, status and name, and temptations between men and women, as well as slander by unbelievers, obstruction and suppression from loved ones, as well as being hunted down and persecuted by a satanic regime. Sometimes completely unexpected calamities befall us. The Bible says: “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walks about, seeking whom he may devour” (1 Peter 5:8). God’s words say: “On earth, all manner of evil spirits are endlessly on the prowl for a place to rest, are ceaselessly searching for the corpses of men to eat up” (“The Tenth Utterance” of God’s Utterances to the Entire Universe in The Word Appears in the Flesh). There isn’t a single moment that Satan is not by our side, racking its brains to use any person, event, or thing to tempt, test, and persecute us, trying to get us to sink into evil, into disaster and to distance ourselves from God, to betray Him so that in the end we may be swallowed whole by it. If we lack the truth, we also lack discernment; if we cannot clearly see spiritual warfare, if we cannot remain firm in God’s words, we will be likely to go after fleshly benefits and preferences, falling into Satan’s web and losing our testimony. As Christians, learning how to recognize Satan’s trickery is critical. So what can we do to enable ourselves to see through Satan’s trickery in the midst of spiritual warfare and stand witness for God? I’d like to share some fellowship with you on three paths of practice for triumphing over Satan’s temptations.

If Eastern Lightning Is the True Way, Why Is It Oppressed?

Hello, brothers and sisters of Spiritual Q&A,

I’ve been looking into the way of Eastern Lightning for some time now. By reading Almighty God’s words and watching The Church of Almighty God’s gospel films and videos, I’ve learned about the purpose of God’s three stages of work, the mysteries of God’s incarnations, the significance of God taking on a different name in each age, the inside story of the Bible, what a wise virgin is and what a foolish virgin is, what truly being raptured is, how God’s judgment of the last days cleanses, transforms, and perfects people, plus what people’s destinations and outcomes will be. I’ve come to understand so many truths I never did before and my faith and love for God have been restored. I’ve had a lot of spiritual enjoyment. I’ve seen that Almighty God’s words are the truth; they possess authority and might and couldn’t be uttered by a human being. They are utterances that come from the Holy Spirit. I feel that Eastern Lightning must be the true way. However, some of the pastors and elders in religious circles say that if it were the true way, why would it be so suppressed, persecuted, and condemned by the CCP? I’m not clear on this and want to do more seeking.

Yang Guang

The Story of Job: Why Did Job Curse the Day of His Birth?

By Mu Cheng

It is dusk, and a grey-haired old man was sitting by the ashes of his fire, his exposed skin densely covered in painful boils, the surface of the boils broken and suppurating in a horrifying scene.

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.

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!”

Do You Know How Important God’s Law and His 10 Commandments Are to Mankind?

By Cheng Xin

I trust that every one of us who believes in the Lord will be familiar with the Ten Commandments and the Law. But are we aware of how important the Ten Commandments and the Law are to mankind, and what profound significance they have for us? Today, let’s investigate and fellowship this topic together.

Reflection for Today: Does a Church Appearing Fervent Mean That It Has the Work of the Holy Spirit?

Hello brothers and sisters of Spiritual Q&A,

Several months ago, I witnessed the pastors in our church vying with each other for the sake of fame and gain and jockeying for position, so much so that they even verbally attacked and disparaged each other during sermons. Their sermons were not enjoyable to listen to, and our spirits went unnourished. Furthermore, there was widespread cooling of the faith of brothers and sisters; they pursued wealth, they coveted physical pleasures and they followed worldly trends, giving all their attention to eating, drinking and having fun. Most of the time, some brothers and sisters simply did not attend gatherings, but instead only came when a disaster occurred in their lives or when there was some important holiday … Faced with this situation in our church, I left to look for a church that had the work of the Holy Spirit. I searched in many places, however, and discovered that most churches were just the same, and I began to lose hope. I recently found a church, however, which often put on shows and held events, and it even had pastors come from overseas to give sermons. The atmosphere in this church was very warm and enthusiastic, and many people attended each gathering. Looking at this church that was so ardent and at the brothers and sisters who attended gatherings so enthusiastically, I thought this must be a church that had the work of the Holy Spirit. It wasn’t long, however, before I discovered that, although the church appeared ardent, the sermons preached by the pastors were unable to provide benefits for the lives of brothers and sisters and were unable to satisfy our spirits. The singing and dancing that went on only had the effect of changing the atmosphere in the church—while it was going on, we all felt very energetic, but as soon as we sat down to listen to a pastor give a sermon, we would begin to doze off. Moreover, brothers and sisters were always trying to outdo each other with donations and prayers. Whoever donated a lot was considered to be someone who loved the Lord, and whoever prayed for a long time and said nice words in their prayers was considered to be a spiritual person…. In this kind of church, the brothers and sisters not only had no honesty or humility but, on the contrary, their vanity just got stronger and stronger and they became more and more hypocritical. They focused on expressing themselves and showing off in front of others and were exceedingly self-righteous and arrogant. Whenever they encountered an issue, they just dealt with it however they wanted, and they didn’t listen to anyone else—they were just not keeping to the Lord’s teachings at all. Faced with this kind of situation in the church, I couldn’t help but wonder: Could such a church that appears to be so fervent from the outside have the work of the Holy Spirit? This question has always perplexed me, so I’d like to ask if you could answer it for me.

Wenxi

Do You Know the Real Meaning of Easter?

By Hanxiao

What Is Easter? The Origins of Easter

Easter, or Resurrection Sunday as it is also called, is a holiday which celebrates the Lord Jesus’ resurrection that occurred three days after He was crucified upon the cross. Its exact time falls on the first Sunday following the first full moon after the vernal equinox every year. In order to commemorate the resurrection of Jesus and to remember the salvation and hope Jesus brought to mankind, each year from March to April, Christians all over the world hold celebrations on the day of Easter. So while us Christians are commemorating the resurrection of Jesus, do we know why He returned from the dead and appeared to man despite having already finished His work of redemption? And what is the meaning behind His resurrection and His appearance to man?