Question 1: It is clearly written in the Bible: “Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever” (Heb 13:8). So the name of the Lord does not change, but you say that the name of the Lord Jesus will change in the last days. How can you explain that?

Answer: Brothers and sisters, the Bible says, “Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever” (Heb 13:8). This refers to the fact that God’s disposition and His essence are eternal and unchanging. It does not mean that His name will not change. Let’s take a look at the words of Almighty God.

Question 1: The Bible says, “For with the heart man believes to righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made to salvation” (Rom 10:10). We have already been saved through our faith in Jesus. Once we’re saved, we’re eternally saved. When the Lord arrives we will definitely be able to enter the kingdom of heaven

Answer: “Once we’re saved, we’re forever saved and can enter the kingdom of heaven,” this is just man’s conception and imagining. This is not at all in accordance with God’s words. The Lord Jesus never said that people could enter the kingdom of heaven just by being saved through faith. The Lord Jesus said that only those who do the heavenly Father’s will can enter the kingdom of heaven. Only the Lord Jesus’ words have authority and are the truth.

Question 2: All of the apostles’ letters in the Bible were things that God had inspired, but I’m not clear on whether or not they really are His words. How would you explain this? And outside of the Bible, through the ages there have been many people who have been utilized by God as well as many spiritual people who have written books. In man’s eyes the things that they’ve said have all been in line with the truth and are edifying for mankind, so what really is the difference between these things they’ve said that are in line with the truth, and the words of God?

Answer: Are the apostles’ letters recorded in the Bible the word of God? Actually, the authors of the apostles’ letters have been written clearly in the Bible. They were mortals used by God, not God incarnate. Therefore, what they said were human words and absolutely not the words of God, let alone the voice of God. This is beyond any doubt. The same is true of history! 

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.

God Himself, the Unique I

Now let us begin to read the following scriptures from the Bible.

1. God Uses Words to Create All Things

Gen 1:3–5 And God said, Let there be light: and there was light. And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness. And God called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day.

Christian Reflection: Can We Really Receive the Returned Lord by Waiting for Him to Reveal Himself?

By Tian Yuan

Editor’s Note: In chapter 22 of Revelation, the Lord Jesus prophesies a few times, “I come quickly.” It’s certain that every brother and sister who sincerely believes in the Lord hopes to be able to receive the returned Lord Jesus and dine with Him at the wedding banquet. So, what should we do to be ready to receive the returned Lord? Read the following to discover the answer.

Main Paths for Reading the Bible to Gain the Guidance of the Holy Spirit

By Xiao Xiao, France

Reading the Bible is a daily must for Christians, and it’s also indispensable on the path to gaining the truth and growing in our spiritual lives. The Lord Jesus said, “It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God” (Matthew 4:4). Clearly, frequently reading God’s words and holding them firmly in our hearts is something that every Christian ought to do, but how should we read the Bible so that we can gain the Holy Spirit’s guidance and achieve good results? This is an extremely important question for us. Probably every one of us has had the following experience in our Scripture reading. Sometimes we’re able to gain God’s enlightenment and guidance, and understand God’s will and requirements; our spirit is moved, and we have the faith and resolve to put God’s words into practice in our daily lives. We love attending gatherings, praying, and reading the Scripture more and more, and for that period of time we also grow in our spiritual lives. But then at times, we lack enjoyment in our Bible reading and can’t feel the Holy Spirit’s enlightenment or illumination. We only understand the literal meanings of the Bible passages and don’t have a sense of God’s will and requirements; we don’t know how we should uphold God’s words in our day-to-day lives and we experience no spiritual growth. Sometimes we might even get sleepy while reading the Bible and become less and less willing to read the Scripture, attending gatherings, and pray. This can be very confusing. We’re reading the Bible just like always, so why are there two totally different outcomes? How can we read the Bible to achieve good results? In order to gain light from our Bible reading, by grasping three principles we can easily grow closer to God and attain God’s enlightenment and guidance.

Daily Bible Study: Is All Scripture Given by Inspiration of God?

Dear brothers and sisters, may you find peace in the Lord! Thanks be to the grace of God that we have been brought together today, and the question we will be fellowshiping is: Is all Scripture given by inspiration of God?

Is All Scripture Given by Inspiration of God?

When we talk about this issue, there are perhaps some brothers and sisters who will say, “Do you really need to ask this question? In 2 Timothy 3:16, it tells us clearly that ‘All scripture is given by inspiration of God.’ It is therefore clear that the Bible contains only the words of God, so what more could one wish to know?” Brothers and sisters, we conclude that all Scripture is given by inspiration of God and that the Bible contains only the words of God only on the basis of this one statement from Paul, but is there a foundation in God’s words for this view? Did the Lord Jesus ever say such a thing? Did the Holy Spirit ever say such a thing? If there is no foundation in God’s words for this view, what will the consequences be if we continue to cling to it? The Lord Jesus said, “He that is not with Me is against Me; and he that gathers not with Me scatters abroad” (Matthew 12:30). As believers in God, we should always speak and act on the basis of God’s words and the facts of His works. If our views are at odds with God’s words and the facts of His works to the point where they run contrary to them, then in God’s eyes we become people who are opposed to Him, and we will certainly not earn His praise. Understanding the question, “Is all Scripture given by inspiration of God?” is therefore crucial to each and every one of us.

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.

Question 1: The Bible is a testimony to God's work, it has been of inestimable benefit to mankind. Through reading the Bible, we come to understand that God is the Creator of all things, we come to see the wondrous and mighty deeds, and omnipotence of God. Since the Bible is a record of God's word and man's testimony to God, then why can one not receive eternal life from reading the Bible? Is there no way of eternal life in the Bible?

Answer: Through reading the Bible we come to understand that God is the Creator of all things and we begin to recognize His wondrous deeds. This is because the Bible is a testimony to the first two stages of God’s work. It is a record of the words and work of God and the testimony of man during the Age of Law and the Age of Grace. So, the Bible is very important to our faith. Think about it, if not for the Bible, how would we come to understand the Lord’s word and know the Lord? How else would we witness God’s deeds and begin to develop true faith in God? If we do not read the Bible, how else will we witness the real testimony of all the saints throughout the ages obeying God? So, reading the Bible is essential to the practice of faith, and no believer of the Lord should ever go astray from the Bible. You could say, if we go astray from the Bible, we could not believe in the Lord. This is verified in the experiences of saints throughout the ages. No one dares deny the value and meaning of reading the Bible in the practice of faith. So, saints throughout the ages and believers all view reading the Bible as a very important matter. Some would even go so far as to say that, reading the Bible and prayer are as essential as our two legs are for walking, without either we fail to move forward. But the Lord Jesus has said, “Search the scriptures; for in them you think you have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me. And you will not come to me, that you might have life” (Jhn 5:39-40). Some people are confused, they think, given that the Bible is a record of God’s word and man’s testimony, reading the Bible should give man eternal life! Then why is it that the Lord Jesus said there is no eternal life in the Bible? Actually, this is not such a difficult idea. As long as we understand the inside story and the substance of God’s words and work during the Age of Law and the Age of Grace as well as the effect achieved through them, then we’ll naturally come to realize why it is that one cannot receive eternal life through the reading of the Bible. First off, ‘we should know that during the Age of Law, Jehovah God was chiefly concerned with promulgating laws, the commandments and ordinances for man to follow. His words were mostly a kind of guide for humanity, which was still in their infancy, to live on earth. These words did not involve changing man’s life disposition. So God’s words during the Age of Law were all aimed at making people abide by the laws and the commandments. Though these words were truth, they represent the very rudimentary truth. During the Age of Grace, The Lord Jesus’ words and work were focused on the work of redemption. The words He issued were about the truth of redemption and taught people that they ought to confess their sins and repent and refrain from sinning and evildoing. These words also taught people the proper way to pray to the Lord and demanded that man must love the Lord with all their heart and soul, love their neighbor as themselves, be tolerant and patient, and forgive others seventy times seven times, etc. These are all included in the way of repentance. So, through reading the Bible, we can only understand the work of God during the Age of Law and the Age of Grace. We come to realize that all things are created by God and learn how to live on earth and how to worship God. We understand what is sin, who are God’s blessed and who are cursed by God. We come to know how to confess our sins and repent to God. We learn humility, forbearance and forgiveness, and know we ought to take up the cross to follow the Lord. We see for ourselves the unlimited mercy and compassion of the Lord Jesus, and realize that only by coming before the Lord Jesus in faith will we enjoy His abundant grace and the truth. The words and work of God during the Age of Law and the Age of Grace as recorded in the Bible were the truth spoken by God according to the plan of saving mankind and the needs of mankind at that time. These truths were only capable of causing man to adopt some superficially good behaviors but were completely incapable of resolving the roots of man’s sinfulness, changing man’s life disposition, and allowing man to attain purification, salvation and perfection. Thus, the words issued by the Lord Jesus during the Age of Grace can only be called the way of repentance, but not the way of eternal life. Then what is the way of eternal life? The way of eternal life is the way of truth which allows man to live forever, which is to say, it is the way which allows man to cast off the binds and restraints of his sinful nature, change his life disposition, and allows him to gain the truth as life, thoroughly break free of Satan’s influence and become compatible with Christ. It allows man to know, obey and revere God so as to never again sin to oppose or betray God. Only the way which can achieve this effect may be called the way of eternal life. Man dies as a result of sin. If man attains the truth as life and resolves all the sin that plagues him, God will bless him with eternal life. So, only by receiving the salvation of God in the last days can we enjoy the way of eternal life which God grants to humankind.

from the movie script of Who Is My Lord