Question 1: We believe that the Lord Jesus returns mainly to rapture His believers. He can’t possibly do the work of judgment in the last days to make overcomers. God raised up Brother Lin and used him. He has led us to be renewed, transformed, conformed, and glorified to become overcomers. When the Lord returns, our Local Church will be the first to be raptured. You testified that only God is capable of making overcomers. I want to ask: If we pursue according to the way led by Brother Lin, can’t we be made overcomers?

Answer: You said that Brother Lin’s path would make you into overcomers, that you only need to practice according to Brother Lin’s path to become overcomers, and that the Lord Jesus returns mainly to rapture believers into the kingdom of heaven and can’t possibly do the work of judgment in the last days to make overcomers. Do you have any biblical basis for this? Are there any prophecies where the Lord Jesus testified to this? Are there any prophecies where the Lord Jesus testified to this? 

Question 5: Paul said in 2 Timothy 3:16: “All scripture is given by inspiration of God….” This shows that everything in the Bible is the word of God. But there are actually people who say that not everything in the Bible is the word of God. Isn’t this denying the Bible and deceiving people?

Answer: About the viewpoint “All scripture is given by inspiration of God,” we must understand the context in which Paul said these words. At the time Paul wrote letters to Timothy's church there was only the Old Testament. The New Testament had not been formed yet and there were just dozens of epistles scattered around and kept by various churches. This shows that these words of Paul were referring to the Old Testament.

Question 4: You say the words in the book The Word Appears in the Flesh are God’s new word! But the Revelation clearly states: “For I testify to every man that hears the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add to these things, God shall add to him the plagues that are written in this book” (Rev 22:18). Don’t you add to the Bible?

Answer: “shall not add to the word, nor take away from it” as stated in the scriptures. You think we are adding to the Bible. Then let’s explore this problem.

Question 9: If we accept Almighty God, are we guaranteed to enter the kingdom of heaven?

Answer: Almighty God has spoken very clearly about this problem. Let’s first take a look at what he has said.

Question 5: You say that people who believe in God must accept God’s work of judgment in the last days, and only then can their corrupt disposition be changed. But we, in accordance with the Lord’s requirements, practice humility and patience, love our enemies, bear our crosses, subdue our bodies, abandon worldly things, and we work and preach for the Lord and so on. So aren’t all these our changes? Can’t they become the credentials for our entry into the kingdom of heaven? I believe that as long as we seek in this way, we can attain purification, and enter into the kingdom of heaven?

Answer: We can love our enemy, bear the cross, overcome our body, and spread the gospel of the Lord. These are positive behaviors coming from our belief in the Lord. Our exhibition of such good behaviors signifies that our faith in the Lord is true. 

Question 1: The Lord Jesus died on the cross for us, He forgave all our sins and redeemed us from the hands of Satan. That is to say, He did this to save us and grant us access to the kingdom of heaven. Even after this redemption, we continue to sin and we have yet to be cleansed. Nevertheless, I believe that the Lord’s forgiveness has made us righteous through our faith. As long as we sacrifice everything else to work and spend for God, as long as we are willing to endure suffering and pay the price, we’d be raptured into the kingdom of heaven. I think this is the Lord’s promise to us. However, my brothers and sisters have now questioned this belief. They say that although we labor and work for the Lord, we still sin often and then confess our sins, so we have not yet been cleansed. They have stated that the Lord is holy, so unholy people cannot meet Him. My question is: We who have sacrificed everything else and spend for the Lord, can we really be raised gup into the kingdom of heaven? We really don’t know the answer to this question, so we’d like you to talk to us about it.

Answer: All believers think: The Lord Jesus redeemed us when He died on the cross, so we have already been absolved of all sin. The Lord no longer sees us as sinners. We have become righteous through our faith, and once saved, we are saved forever. As long as we endure until the end, when the Lord returns, we will be directly raptured into the heavenly kingdom. Well, is that the truth? Did God ever give any evidence in His words to back up this claim? If this viewpoint is not in line with the truth, what will the consequences be?

Question 3: The Bible says, “Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord” (1Ts 4:17). How should we interpret that?

Answer: We should hope for the Lord’s return based on the prophecies that He Himself spoke. That is the most standard way of waiting for the Lord’s return. Who are you quoting, really? Are you quoting the Lord’s words or the words of men? “Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air,” who said that? Are those the Lord Jesus’ words?

Sermons and Fellowship About God’s Word “God’s Work and Man’s Practice”

【126-A-4】

There are some people who write false resumés in recommending leaders and workers, extolling a person to such an extent, but in the end God’s family finds, “This person isn’t doing real work, he or she doesn’t have a good disposition; how can there be such a difference from the resumé?” After investigation of the responsibility for this, several leaders and workers were dismissed, weeded out. To lie to God is a serious sin; wasn’t it exposed? At the time of writing the resumé they would have felt good: “I will write it a bit better for him or her, to make God’s family satisfied—look how good it is that we have proposed this person.” But do you think that writing this is the end of the matter? When the person gets here and can’t work, this goes back to your responsibility! Deliberately writing these things well is deception. Can the sin of deception be overlooked? To go into it, who wrote the resumé? Dispense with that person! They are not qualified as leaders or workers and should be eliminated completely. It’s time for retribution, isn’t it? To take the standpoint of the people of the world and lie to God, this just will not work. After this has been exposed, you’re finished. Things will have caught up with you. When you have just finished doing some things you may feel you’ve done very well, but there’s no rush, when the things are exposed one day see if the church can’t investigate you. So no good will come from doing evil, and if now you felt at ease lying to the church and to God, don’t worry, things have still not been resolved; one day you will give yourself away and you will be found to be responsible. Who can be popular in God’s house? Honest people, people who love God. Such people will become popular. God loves this kind of people and blesses them, and others love them too. Truth reigns in the house of God; it is God’s words and God that reign. What is the evidence for God’s reigning? First, the truth is in power; second, God’s word is in power. This means that God reigns. The authority of the Holy Spirit is the authority of the truth, the authority of the word of God. The truth, the Holy Spirit, the word of God, and God are as one—ultimately all these are the authority of God.

4. How Can You Tell the Difference Between the True and False Ways, and Between True and False Churches?

Relevant Words of God:

What is the most basic principle in seeking the true way? You have to look at whether or not there is the work of the Holy Spirit in this way, whether or not these words are the expression of the truth, who is testified to, and what it can bring you. Distinguishing between the true way and the false way requires several aspects of basic knowledge, the most fundamental of which is to tell whether or not there is the work of the Holy Spirit. For the substance of man’s belief in God is the belief in the Spirit of God, and even his belief in God incarnate is because this flesh is the embodiment of the Spirit of God, which means that such belief is still the belief in the Spirit. There are differences between the Spirit and the flesh, but because this flesh comes from the Spirit, and is the Word become flesh, thus what man believes in is still the inherent substance of God. And so, in distinguishing whether or not it is the true way, above all you must look at whether or not there is the work of the Holy Spirit, after which you must look at whether or not there is the truth in this way. This truth is the life disposition of normal humanity, which is to say, that which was required of man when God created him in the beginning, namely, all of normal humanity (including human sense, insight, wisdom, and the basic knowledge of being man). That is, you need to look at whether or not this way can take man into a life of normal humanity, whether or not the truth that is spoken of is required according to the reality of normal humanity, whether or not this truth is practical and real, and whether or not it is most timely. If there is truth, then it is able to take man into normal and real experiences; man, furthermore, becomes ever more normal, man’s human sense becomes ever more complete, man’s life in the flesh and the spiritual life become ever more orderly, and man’s emotions become ever more normal. This is the second principle. There is one other principle, which is whether or not man has an increasing knowledge of God, whether or not experiencing such work and truth can inspire a love of God in him, and bring him ever closer to God. In this can be measured whether or not it is the true way. Most fundamental is whether this way is realistic rather than supernatural, and whether or not it is able to provide the life of man. If it conforms to these principles, the conclusion can be drawn that this way is the true way. … If it is the work of the Holy Spirit, man becomes ever more normal, and his humanity becomes ever more normal. Man has an increasing knowledge of his satanic corrupt disposition, and of the essence of man, and he has an ever greater longing for the truth. That is to say, the life of man grows and grows, and the corrupt disposition of man becomes capable of more and more changes—all of which is the meaning of God becoming the life of man. If a way is incapable of revealing those things that are the essence of man, is incapable of changing the disposition of man, and, moreover, is incapable of bringing him before God or giving him a true understanding of God, and even causes his humanity to become ever more lowly and his sense ever more abnormal, then this way must not be the true way, and it may be the work of an evil spirit, or the old way. In short, it cannot be the present work of the Holy Spirit.

from “Only Those Who Know God and His Work Can Satisfy God” in The Word Appears in the Flesh

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.

25. I Have Seen My True Colors

By Xiaoxiao, Jiangsu Province

Due to the needs of the church’s work, I was transferred to another church, which was in a frail state, to fulfill my duty. At the time, the gospel work at that place was at a low ebb, and the states of brothers and sisters were generally not very good. But because I was touched by the Holy Spirit, I still took on everything that I was entrusted with, full of confidence. I would get up early and stay up late every day, busying myself in the church so that I could do my work well. After a period of time, the church’s work was taking a turn for the better. Seeing this, I couldn’t help but become quite self-satisfied. I felt that I was all right, that I really took on a burden in fulfilling my duty, and that I was full of the enlightenment of the Holy Spirit. I felt that I was full of courage and resolve in my work. I believed myself able to perform the job well. I was living mired in self-satisfaction and self-admiration.

8. The Holy Spirit Works in a Principled Way

By Qin Shuting, Shandong Province

For some time, whenever I read the words of God, I never felt the light. I didn’t reflect on the reason for that, but just continued to pray to God, asking Him to enlighten me. But when I read God’s words after that, I still didn’t have any enlightenment. So I thought, “There is a time for God to enlighten each man, so there is no use in trying to rush it.” After that, I unhurriedly plodded along reading God’s words, patiently awaiting God’s enlightenment.

2. 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.

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.

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.

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.

Mysteries of the Bible: Is It Right to Delimit God’s Words and Work to the Bible?

By Xia Yu

A few days ago, Brother Li, who had returned from working elsewhere, hurried over and said to me that he happened to come across someone who preached to him that the Lord Jesus had already returned, and that the Lord was speaking new words and performing new work beyond those that are recorded in the Bible. He didn’t think this possible, however, because pastors and elders often preached at church assemblies that all of God’s words and works are recorded in the Bible, that there are no words of God beyond the Bible, and that God cannot possibly perform any new work beyond that which is in the Bible. The pastors and elders often said that anyone who preached that God was performing new work and expressing new words beyond recorded in the Bible were sure to be heretics! I didn’t think this was possible, either, when I heard it, because ever since I started believing in the Lord, I often heard the pastors and elders talk like this, and this was a belief held by the whole religious world as well. But then I thought about how important the matter of the Lord’s coming was and that I shouldn’t lightly come to any conclusions. I decided that I must take a pious attitude and have the desire to seek with humility. Moreover, we are now in the last days, and there are many signs that show the Lord will soon return, and any news we hear concerning the return of the Lord must be treated with care! We therefore discussed this matter many times, but still we came to no conclusions. This matter perplexed me greatly: “How can the Lord Jesus who returns in the last days speak words and perform work beyond that which is in the Bible? What exactly is the Lord’s will?” I often prayed to the Lord and sought the answers to these questions until, one day, I met a preacher named Brother Lin. Through seeking and discussion, I came to have a new understanding about whether or not there are words and work of God beyond that which is in the Bible …

Question 3: Paul clearly said in the Bible: “Take heed therefore to yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost has made you overseers, to feed the church of God …” (Act 20:28). This proves that pastors and elders are all anointed by the Holy Spirit. Doesn’t being anointed by the Holy Spirit represent being anointed by God? God anointed pastors and elders as overseers to all the flock. That can’t be wrong!

Answer: Some absurd people in religious circles often misuse words from the Bible to make up rules. They claim that the hypocritical Pharisees and religious pastors are all anointed and used by God. Isn’t this severely resisting and blaspheming God? Many people just don’t know how to distinguish. They believe in the Lord but don’t magnify Him, instead advocating gifts, status and power, and also blindly believe in and worship pastors and elders. They can’t distinguish whether one has the work of the Holy Spirit and the reality of the truth. They simply think as long as one has a pastor certificate and gifts and can analyze the Bible, it means they are approved and anointed by God, and that they should be obeyed. Some people are even more absurd and think obeying pastors and elders is obeying God, and that resisting pastors and elders is resisting God. If we go according to such notions, the Jewish chief priests, scribes, and Pharisees who were all familiar with the Bible and often explained the Bible to others, but resisted and condemned the Lord Jesus when He appeared and worked, and even crucified Him, were they people anointed and used by God? If one followed the Jewish leaders in resisting and condemning the Lord Jesus, does that mean they were obeying God? Would you say those who rejected Jewish leaders and followed the Lord Jesus were resisting God? This shows that the view “Obeying pastors and elders is obeying God, resisting pastors and elders is resisting God” really is too absurd and fallacious! We believers of God should be clear that if religious pastors and elders resist God, and the path they lead betrays the truth and opposes God, then we should stand on the side of God, expose them, and reject them. That is true obedience of God. That is forsaking darkness for light and satisfying God’s intentions. Therefore, when it comes to how to deal with pastors and elders, we should pursue the truth and understand God’s intentions. If pastors and elders are people who love the truth and pursue the truth, then they will surely have the work of the Holy Spirit and be able to lead us to practice and experience God’s words, fear God and depart from evil. Respecting and following such people accords with God’s intentions! If they don’t love the truth and only care about explaining their Bible knowledge and theological theories to show off and build themselves up, to make us worship and obey them, and don’t exalt God, bear witness to God, and don’t lead us to practice and experience God’s words, then they are people who have been condemned and cursed by God and we will be opposing God if we still worship, follow and obey them. This would be completely against God’s intentions.

The Consequence and the Outcome of Rejecting God’s Work of Judgment in the Last Days

All people who have experienced God’s last days work can clearly see that only when deeply corrupted mankind experiences God’s judgment and chastisement will they be able to attain true knowledge of God’s righteous disposition, and obtain changes in life disposition. Only in this way can mankind follow the will of the heavenly Father, exert all their effort for the utmost expansion of the kingdom gospel, and have a share in the adversities, kingdom and patience of Christ.