Question 12: Most of our brothers and sisters do not understand: Before the arrival of the Lord Jesus, the Pharisees often interpreted the Bible to others in the synagogue; they stood before people and prayed and used the rules of the Bible to condemn people; they looked very reverent on the outside and never seemed to have gone against the Bible, but why were the Pharisees cursed by the Lord Jesus? In what ways did they resist God? How did they display their hypocrisy? Why did they incur God’s wrath?

Answer: People that believe in the Lord know that the Lord Jesus really hated the Pharisees and cursed them and pronounced seven woes upon them. This is very meaningful in allowing believers in the Lord to discern the hypocritical Pharisees, break away from their bondage and control and obtain God’s salvation.

Question 10: Pastor Yuan of our church often expounds on the Bible, teaching us to be humble, patient, and obedient. He speaks very convincingly, and seems quite godly from the outside. Pastor Yuan also listened to your testimony of Almighty God’s work in the last days with us. He also admits Almighty God’s word is the truth, but why does he not accept it? Why is he even spreading rumors everywhere, condemning and resisting God’s work in the last days, and blocking people from turning to Almighty God?

Answer: Religious leaders resisting and condemning the work of Almighty God is not something unusual. When the Lord Jesus came to do His work, didn’t those Jewish leaders also condemn and persecute Him?

Question 3: Most of our brothers and sisters think that God used Brother Lin. Brother Lin wrote so many spiritual books and gave us so many messages. His words were the nourishment and the way of life, and possessed the enlightenment and illumination of the Holy Spirit, like the apostles’ epistles in the Bible. These words are of great benefit to us. They all accord with the truth. But you said that while the words of the men God uses may accord with the truth, they are not actually the truth. Then, what exactly is the truth?

Answer: This is a good question! This is the core truth that all we believers in the Lord must understand. If we want to know why the words that accord with the truth spoken by men that God uses are not the truth, we must first be very clear about what the “truth” actually is. Throughout all of history, no person has ever truly known what the truth is. When the Lord Jesus came to this world in the Age of Grace, He said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life” (Jhn 14:6). Still no one understood the actual meaning of the “truth.” Only when Christ of the last days—Almighty God—arrives are the mysteries of the “truth” completely revealed to mankind. Let’s look at what Almighty God says about this.

God’s Work, God’s Disposition, and God Himself II

Man Gains God’s Blessings Because of His Sincerity and Obedience

Was the blessing given to Abraham by God that we read of here great? Just how great? There is one key sentence here: “And in your seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed,” which shows that Abraham received blessings not given to any who came before or after. When, as asked by God, Abraham returned his only son—his beloved only son—to God (note: Here we cannot use the word “offered”; we should say he returned his son to God), not only did God not allow Abraham to offer Isaac, but He also blessed him. With what promise did He bless Abraham? The promise to multiply his offspring. And by how many were they to be multiplied? The Scriptures provide the following record: “… as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is on the sea shore; and your seed shall possess the gate of his enemies; And in your seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed.”

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?”