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Studying Eastern Lightning and Welcoming the Return of the Lord

By Jianchi, Taiwan

 

I’d believed in the Lord for 28 years as a member of a local church, and because I believed the negative publicity of the church, I almost missed my chance to welcome the return of the Lord Jesus. If it hadn’t been for God’s mercy, then I would have lost my one and only chance to attain true salvation. My experiences brought me to earnestly appreciate that, only by being a wise virgin, taking the initiative to seek the truth and focusing on listening to God’s voice can we welcome the appearance of God.

 

I First Hear About Eastern Lightning

 

Two years ago, a sister from my church returned to her hometown to preach the gospel there and, two weeks later, she returned. When she had gathered us together at a church meeting, she said, “Eastern Lightning testifies that the Lord Jesus has now returned in the flesh, and that He is expressing truths and performing the work of judgment. I don’t think this can be possible, for it says clearly in the Bible that ‘this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as you have seen Him go into heaven’ (Acts 1:11). After the Lord Jesus resurrected, He ascended to heaven in a spiritual body, and so when He returns, He should likewise appear to us coming on a cloud in a spiritual body, and He will immediately rapture us up into the heavenly kingdom. He can’t possibly appear to us in the form of an incarnation. Moreover, the elders often say that anyone who testifies that the Lord has returned in the flesh is false and that we must stay away from them at all costs. There are many brothers and sisters in China who believe sincerely in the Lord and who have begun to believe in Eastern Lightning. We must be careful, and we absolutely must not make contact with them.” I nodded and thought to myself: “When the Lord returns, He shall appear in the resurrected spiritual body to all nations and all peoples. How could He possibly appear and work in the flesh?” At that point, I didn’t look into this matter any further, but just let it go. Later, at another meeting, one of our church elders said many things to condemn Eastern Lightning. He also said to us, “Eastern Lightning has been growing rapidly in recent years and Almighty God’s work in the last days has now extended to all nations across the world, including Taiwan. You must all keep your eyes open and stay away from them, and you really must not read the words expressed by Almighty God. Stealing good sheep from other churches is their specialty.” Their warnings had the opposite effect on me, however, and my curiosity was piqued. I thought to myself: “What kind of church is Eastern Lightning? Why would so many brothers and sisters who sincerely believe in the Lord start believing in Eastern Lightning?” But because the elders in our church wouldn’t let us have anything to do with Eastern Lightning, I just kept reminding myself to be careful and cautious.

 

A Conversation Brings Me Into Contact With Eastern Lightning

 

In February this year, I made a friend from France who is a Christian too. My new friend had unique opinions on the Bible and, from her experiences, I saw that she was very good at seeking the Lord and experiencing the Lord’s words in her life. The understanding she showed in each of her fellowships was greatly beneficial to me, they gave me a fresh understanding of many verses in the Bible, and we would often read the Bible together. One time, this sister asked me, “Have you ever heard of Eastern Lightning?” I said, “Yes, I have. The elders in our church tell us not to have anything to do with it, and they’ve said many things to condemn Eastern Lightning.” She then asked, “But do you really comprehend it?” And I replied, “No, I don’t.” She went on: “This is not a fair outlook to take on things. If you haven’t personally come into contact with their church, then you shouldn’t condemn them so lightly. As Christians, we must have God-fearing hearts, and we must learn how to seek the truth in all things and speak according to the facts—this is the principle of action for Christians. Sister, if you had the opportunity to understand Eastern Lightning, would you be willing to seek and investigate it?” After listening to her speak, I thought to myself: “She speaks so reasonably. I’ve never come into contact with Eastern Lightning but instead have believed the words of elders and parroted the words of others. This really isn’t a responsible way to go about things, and if I speak carelessly without any factual basis, wouldn’t that mean that I’m telling lies and bearing false witness? But the elders all say that we must not have anything to do with people from The Church of Almighty God and that we must not listen to the words expressed by Almighty God. So should I make contact with them or not?” But then I thought that the Lord Jesus was the one true God and that I had already laid my foundations on the true way, and therefore Eastern Lightning couldn’t possibly shake my resolve to follow the Lord. And so, I said to the sister, “I can listen to what they have to say, but I won’t accept it.”

 

After I Make Real Contact With Eastern Lightning

 

By the sister’s arrangement, I began to come into contact with brothers and sisters from The Church of Almighty God. We discussed the Bible together and fellowshiped about the truths concerning faith in God. Through this contact, I discovered that their understanding of the Bible was enlightened, and they fellowshiped very clearly on such truths as the kinds of people the Lord loves, the kinds of people He detests, what doing God’s will means and what kinds of people can enter the heavenly kingdom. In particular, the words of Almighty God they shared with me fellowshiped so clearly about matters concerning faith in God, and they shared with me music videos produced by The Church of Almighty God. In each video, brothers and sisters would happily sing and dance in praise of God, and after I watched them, I felt really inspired. The truths in gospel films were also fellowshiped really clearly and I had great enjoyment from watching them. I thought to myself: “The Church of Almighty God is not like the elders say. Their fellowships all tally with the Bible, and yet the elders have warned us many times not to listen to Almighty God’s words and not to have anything to do with people from The Church of Almighty God. Should I really continue to look into Eastern Lightning?” I pondered this question repeatedly, and I sought the answer and prayed to the Lord over and over, asking the Lord to guide me. I realized that one has to have an independent mind to believe in God and that one cannot be restricted by others—“I believe in God, not man,” I thought. I then thought of something the brothers and sisters had given fellowship on in a gospel film of the Church of Almighty God: The Lord Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life” (John 14:6). One’s judgment of whether or not something really is God’s work has to be based on God’s words and based on whether or not this way has expressions of truth, for only by doing that can one hear God’s voice. Take Peter and John, for example. Didn’t they follow the Lord Jesus because they took heed to listen to God’s voice and ascertained from the truths He expressed that He was indeed the Messiah who was prophesied? As I wondered about this, I thought: “Yes, Peter and the other disciples at that time recognized the Lord Jesus as God Himself through His words and through His work. If I don’t listen to the words of Almighty God and I don’t seek or study this way, how then will I ever know whether or not Almighty God’s words are the truth and whether or not they are the voice of God?” Thinking this, I therefore decided to attend meetings together with the brothers and sisters from The Church of Almighty God, and to continue to investigate Almighty God’s work of the last days.

 

When Fact and Conception Collide

 

At every meeting, brothers and sisters from The Church of Almighty God gave such novel and clear fellowship, and their fellowships were enlightened by the Holy Spirit. They enabled me to understand many truths I had not understood over many years of belief in the Lord, such as the mystery of God’s six-thousand-year management plan, the significance of God’s three stages of work, the mystery of God’s name and so on. At one meeting, the brothers and sisters showed the film The Mystery of Godliness. After watching the film, I understood that the Lord Jesus was the incarnated Christ. But when it spoke about the Lord Jesus returning in the flesh to work and save man, I didn’t quite understand it, and I thought: “The elders used to preach that, after the Lord Jesus resurrected, His spiritual body ascended up to heaven and that, when He returns, He shall appear to all nations on a cloud in the resurrected spiritual body, so how could He possibly appear and work in the flesh?” I therefore voiced my perplexity, and a brother read to me a passage of Almighty God’s words: “If you desire to witness the appearance of God, to follow God’s footsteps, then you must first walk away from your own conceptions. You must not demand that God do this or that, much less should you place Him within your own confines and limit Him to your own conceptions. Instead, you should ask how you are to seek God’s footprints, how you are to accept God’s appearance, and how you are to submit to the new work of God; this is what man should do. Since man is not the truth, and is not possessed of the truth, he should seek, accept, and obey” (“The Appearance of God Has Ushered in a New Age” in The Word Appears in the Flesh). The brother then gave fellowship, saying, “God is the Lord of creation, He is supreme, and no one can fathom His almightiness and wisdom. We human beings are just creations. We must not judge God’s work by our own conceptions and imaginings, and we must not demand that God perform His work according to our own ideas. Instead, no matter how God works or whether or not His work accords with our own notions, we should always seek, accept and obey it—this is the sense of reason a created being should possess. As Isaiah 55:9 says, ‘For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts.’ We are just tiny created beings, so how could we possibly fathom God’s work? The Lord Jesus prophesied that He would return in the last days, and whether or not we can welcome the Lord’s return is related to our individual end and destination. We should let go of our conceptions and imaginings and seek God’s new work with humble hearts, for only those who do this are the ones who accept the truth and can obtain the work of the Holy Spirit. Sister, if there is any issue you don’t understand, we can pray, seek and fellowship about the truth together. God will then enlighten and illuminate us so that we can understand His words and come to know His work.” After listening to Almighty God’s words and this brother’s fellowship, I perceived that there was indeed truth to be sought here, and I thought about how God’s work couldn’t possibly be fathomed by any human being. If it so happened that Almighty God was truly the Lord Jesus returned and I didn’t look into it in earnest, wouldn’t I then miss my chance to welcome the Lord’s coming? I decided then and there to let go of my conceptions and continue to investigate this way.

 

The Lord Returns to Appear and Work in the Flesh

 

The brother went on with his fellowship, saying, “Actually, there are many verses in the Bible that clearly prophesy that the Lord shall appear in the flesh when He returns, as it says in Matthew 24:44: ‘Therefore be you also ready: for in such an hour as you think not the Son of man comes.’ And in Luke 17:24–25: ‘For as the lightning, that lightens out of the one part under heaven, shines to the other part under heaven; so shall also the Son of man be in His day. But first must He suffer many things, and be rejected of this generation.’ These prophecies all mention the coming of the Son of man, and Son of man means someone who was born of man and who possessed normal humanity, such as the Lord Jesus who appeared normal and ordinary from the outside, who possessed normal humanity and was not supernatural in the slightest. His spiritual body, however, was not restricted by the physical world, now appearing, now disappearing, and was incredibly transcendent, and therefore could not be called the Son of man. Therefore ‘the Son of man be in His day’ and ‘the Son of man comes’ as spoken by the Lord Jesus referred to God returning in the flesh in the last days. In particular, the words ‘first must He suffer many things, and be rejected of this generation’ stated in the Scriptures are further proof that the Lord will appear in the flesh when He returns. If God came in a spiritual body riding on a cloud, then that would be a great and powerful scene, and everyone would tremble and quake and would fall to the ground to worship God, and who then would still dare to reject, condemn or resist God? And how then would these prophecies be fulfilled? Only by God incarnating as the Son of man and coming to the earth to perform His work, and by people seeing Him as normal and ordinary and not knowing that He is God Himself, can they then resist, condemn and reject Him relying on their conceptions and imaginings. Therefore, when the Lord returns, He first appears and works in the flesh, and this is beyond all doubt.”

 

The brother’s fellowship was reasonable and based on evidence, and through his fellowship I came to understand the meaning of the Lord’s words when He said, “But first must He suffer many things, and be rejected of this generation.” Only by God incarnating as a normal, ordinary person that is at odds with people’s conceptions, and by people not recognizing Him as the incarnate God can people then condemn and reject Him. If God appeared openly in a spiritual body to all nations and peoples, everyone would fall to the ground to worship Him and no one would dare resist Him, and then He would not be able to suffer many things or be rejected. I also came to understand that it is precisely because God appears and works in the flesh when He returns in the last days and because He appears so normal and ordinary, that the whole religious world can go by their conceptions and imaginings to reject and resist the incarnate God. I had often read this verse before, but I had never understood it to this level of meaning. It looked as though the views I had always clung to before did not really tally with the Lord Jesus’ prophecies.

 

Why Has God Become Flesh to Perform His Work in the Last Days?

 

The brother went on, saying, “So then, why does the Lord have to appear and work in the flesh when He returns in the last days, and not appear and work directly in the resurrected spiritual body? In the Age of Grace, the Lord Jesus performed the work of redemption. Though our sins have been forgiven, our sinful nature remains deeply rooted within us, we are filled with such satanic dispositions as arrogance and conceit, selfishness and meanness and wickedness and deceitfulness, and we are still capable of involuntarily sinning and resisting God. If this carries on, then we will never be made clean, and we will be simply unworthy to enter into the heavenly kingdom. God is the Lord of creation and He is perfectly aware of the extent to which we have been corrupted by Satan. More than this, He knows what kind of work we need in order to thoroughly cast off the bonds of our sinful nature. The Lord Jesus therefore prophesied long ago: ‘I have yet many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. However, when He, the Spirit of truth, is come, He will guide you into all truth: for He shall not speak of Himself; but whatever He shall hear, that shall He speak: and He will show you things to come’ (John 16:12–13). ‘For the Father judges no man, but has committed all judgment to the Son’ (John 5:22). ‘And has given Him authority to execute judgment also, because He is the Son of man’ (John 5:27). The Lord Jesus tells us clearly that, when He returns in the last days, He shall speak His words and perform the work of judgment in order to change and cleanse our sinful nature, enable us to understand all truths and, from within these truths, find the path to change our dispositions until we are ultimately able to thoroughly cast off the bonds of sin and achieve purification. Because God will speak His words in the last days to judge and cleanse our corrupt dispositions, only by God becoming flesh can this work achieve the best results. Therefore, God does not perform His work in a spiritual body in the last days, but instead must become flesh to do it.”

 

After hearing this, I said, “Now I understood that God will speak His words in the last days to judge and cleanse our sinful nature. This is exactly what we need. But I am still confused about one thing: After His resurrection, the Lord Jesus’ spiritual body appeared to His disciples for 40 days. Could not the Lord Jesus’ spiritual body after His resurrection also express the truth and perform the work of judging and purifying man?”

 

The brother continued his fellowship, saying, “We believe that the Lord Jesus’ spiritual body after His resurrection could also express the truth and perform the work of judging and purifying man, but have we ever considered whether or not the spiritual body of the Lord Jesus after His resurrection from death is able to have normal contact with man and carry out work in a practical manner? As we all know, the Lord Jesus’ spiritual body after He was resurrected from the dead appeared on the surface to be exactly the same as the flesh of Jesus had appeared before. His resurrected spiritual body, however, was not subject to any limitation of the material world, of geography or of space; He was able to pass through walls, He could appear to man at will and then disappear at will, much to the astonishment of those who witnessed it. For example, after the Lord Jesus was resurrected, though all doors were closed, He was able to suddenly appear standing in the midst of His disciples to speak to them, and they were both amazed and afraid, feeling that the Lord Jesus had become shrouded in mystery and unapproachable. If the Lord Jesus were to return in this kind of spiritual body to perform the work of judgment, then not only would people be afraid to draw near Him, but the world would be thrown into chaos, and then God’s work of judgment in the last days would be unable to proceed properly. Back then, the Lord Jesus was resurrected from the dead and appeared to man for 40 days. He ate with them and spoke with them, and He allowed Thomas to touch His wounds that had been caused by the nails. This was all done to verify that the Lord truly had returned from the dead and so that people could all accept and confirm from the bottom of their hearts that the Lord Jesus was the incarnated Christ, that He was God Himself, and thereby strengthen their faith. In the last days, however, God performs the work of judgment and purification—He exposes the goats, the sheep, the wheat and the tares. If He were to work in the spiritual body of the resurrected Lord Jesus, everyone would bow down trembling in great fear to worship God, no one would dare reveal any corruption, no one would have any conceptions about God or any rebelliousness or resistance to God, and all would acknowledge that He is God. In that case, there would be no way to expose people and no way to separate the good from the wicked. In the last days, God expresses the truth to judge and purify man, and only by God incarnate performing this kind of work can optimum results be achieved. Because God incarnate possesses normal humanity, man treats Christ as an ordinary person, so much so that they may even have no respect for Christ, and will reveal all manner of conceptions, rebelliousness and resistance to Christ. It is in this way that God judges and exposes man according to the truth of mankind’s corruption and, when faced with the facts, man can only become wholly and utterly convinced and dutifully accept the judgment and chastisement of God’s words. Otherwise, though God may expose mankind’s rebelliousness and corruption, man would only acknowledge them verbally at most, we would not accept them in our hearts and our corrupt dispositions would remain rooted within us. In that case, the results of the work of judging and purifying man would not be achieved. Therefore, God’s work of judgment in the last days must be done by God incarnating and performing the work in a body which possesses normal humanity in order for the optimum results to be achieved. If God worked in a spiritual body, then people would find it hard to draw close to Him and it would not facilitate the work of exposing man’s corruption. This is a fact we must understand. Let’s read several more passages of God’s words and then it’ll be a lot clearer. Sister Jianchi, why don’t you read?”

 

I nodded happily, and read: “The reason why He becomes flesh is because the flesh can also possess authority, and He is capable of carrying out work in a practical manner among mankind, in such a way that it is visible and tangible to man. This work is much more realistic than the work done directly by the Spirit of God, who possesses all authority, and its results are also apparent. This is because God’s incarnate flesh can speak and work in a practical way. The outward form of His flesh holds no authority, and can be approached by man, whereas His substance does carry authority, but His authority is visible to none. When He speaks and works, man is unable to detect the existence of His authority; this facilitates Him in doing work of a practical nature. … If God did not become flesh, He would remain the Spirit who is both invisible and intangible to man. Man being a creature of flesh, he and God belong to two different worlds and are endowed with different natures. The Spirit of God is incompatible with man, who is of flesh, and there is simply no way of establishing relations between them, not to mention that man is incapable of turning into a spirit. This being so, the Spirit of God must become a created being in order to do His original work. God can both ascend to the highest place and humble Himself to become a human creature, doing work among men and living in their midst, but man cannot ascend to the highest place and become a spirit, and even less can he descend to the lowest place. This is why God must become flesh to carry out His work” (“The Mystery of the Incarnation (4)” in The Word Appears in the Flesh).

 

Because the one who is judged is man, man who is of the flesh and has been corrupted, and it is not the spirit of Satan that is judged directly, the work of judgment is not carried out in the spiritual world, but among man. No one is more suitable, and qualified, than God in the flesh for the work of judging the corruption of man’s flesh. If judgment were carried out directly by the Spirit of God, then it would not be all-embracing. Furthermore, such work would be difficult for man to accept, for the Spirit is unable to come face-to-face with man, and because of this, the effects would not be immediate, much less would man be able to behold the unoffendable disposition of God more clearly. Satan can only be fully defeated if God in the flesh judges the corruption of mankind. … If this work were done by the Spirit of God, then it would not be victory over Satan. The Spirit is inherently more exalted than mortal beings, and the Spirit of God is inherently holy, and triumphant over the flesh. If the Spirit did this work directly, He would not be able to judge all of man’s disobedience, and could not reveal all of man’s unrighteousness. For the work of judgment is also carried out through man’s conceptions of God, and man has never had any conceptions of the Spirit, and so the Spirit is incapable of better revealing the unrighteousness of man, much less of completely disclosing such unrighteousness. The incarnate God is the enemy of all those who do not know Him. Through judging man’s conceptions and opposition to Him, He discloses all the disobedience of mankind. The effects of His work in the flesh are more apparent than those of the work of the Spirit. And so, the judgment of all mankind is not carried out directly by the Spirit, but is the work of the incarnate God” (“Corrupt Mankind Is More in Need of the Salvation of God Become Flesh” in The Word Appears in the Flesh).

 

Only through becoming flesh can He personally deliver His words into the ears of each and every human being, so that all who have ears may hear His words and receive His work of judgment by the word. Only this is the result achieved by His word, rather than the Spirit becoming manifest to frighten man into submission. It is only through this practical and yet extraordinary work that the old disposition of man, hidden deep within for many years, can be fully exposed, so that man may recognize it and have it changed. These things are all the practical work of God incarnate, in which, speaking and executing judgment in a practical manner, He achieves the results of judgment upon man by the word. This is the authority of God incarnate and the significance of God’s incarnation” (“The Mystery of the Incarnation (4)” in The Word Appears in the Flesh).

 

The brother continued with his fellowship, saying, “The words of Almighty God clearly explain why God incarnates in the last days to perform His work, as well as explaining the necessity of the incarnation. God incarnate can not only sympathize with the weaknesses of man, but He can also express the truth using human language; He can also tell man His will, His requirements and His attitude toward man, thus allowing us to better understand His will. At the same time, God exposes and dissects the truth of our corruption at the hands of Satan as well as the essence of our God-resisting nature, and He also shows us the path to changing our dispositions. This is much more beneficial to us understanding the truth, knowing God and to casting off our corrupt dispositions and achieving purification. When the Lord Jesus incarnated to perform His work, for example, people could see and touch Him, and they no longer felt that God was so distant from them and so unreachable, and therefore man’s relationship with God became closer and closer. Furthermore, when we don’t understand God’s will, God expresses His words to tell us clearly the path we should take and to make us understand correctly His intentions, so that we do not need to grope blindly or make guesses. As recorded in Matthew 18:21–22, Peter asked the Lord Jesus, ‘Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times?’ Jesus said to him, ‘I say not to you, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven.’ It can be seen that God appearing and working in the flesh is much more beneficial to our understanding of His will and requirements than if God worked in the spiritual body, and it is much more beneficial to us being purified and attaining God’s true salvation.

 

“Therefore, if God wants to cleanse us of our satanic corrupt dispositions and save us utterly from the domain of Satan, the best way to do this is to have real contact with us, to express the truth face to face with us and judge and reveal our rebelliousness and corruption. In this way, we are better able to understand the truth. At the same time, we are then able to know God’s righteous disposition that brooks no offense, as well as His almightiness and wisdom, thus enabling us to generate a God-fearing heart, to truly repent to God and to achieve true obedience to God. Only by doing this can we gradually be purified and attain God’s true salvation. These kinds of results can only be achieved by God becoming flesh to perform His work, and they simply cannot be achieved by the work of the spiritual body. This is the reason why God must appear and perform His work in the flesh in the last days.”

 

My Conceptions Vanish and I Joyfully Welcome the Lord’s Return

 

Through reading Almighty God’s words and listening to the brother’s fellowship, I came to understand that the Lord appearing and working in the flesh when He returns is entirely what is needed by us as corrupt mankind, and it is done to better cleanse and save us. Although our sins have been forgiven by the Lord, our sinful nature certainly remains; we are still frequently able to commit sins and resist the Lord involuntarily, and we are simply unworthy to see the Lord’s face. Only by God incarnate speaking His words and exposing our corrupt dispositions can we come to know ourselves, cast off our sinful nature and be cleansed, and attain true salvation and enter into the heavenly kingdom. God becoming flesh to speak His words and perform His work of judgment is so very necessary! What’s more, I also saw that God’s love for man is earnest and sincere, and His coming down to earth from heaven and becoming flesh to perform His work is all done the better to save us. Yet I had always clung to the ideas and interpretations of my local church, believing that the Lord Jesus would appear to all nations in the resurrected spiritual body when He returns and that He could not possibly appear and work in the flesh. Even when I heard people testifying that the Lord Jesus had returned and had come again in the flesh to express the truth and perform the work of judgment, I still didn’t seek or investigate it—I had been so arrogant! Now that I was hearing the words expressed by Almighty God, my heart had become filled with light, and I felt that, by letting go of my conceptions and imaginings, and by harboring a humble, seeking heart, I would truly be able to obtain the work and the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Almighty God’s words had conquered me and remedied my conceptions, and I accepted God’s work of the last days with joy.

 

Afterward, I often gathered with my brothers and sisters to fellowship about Almighty God’s words. No matter what difficulty I came across or what conception or idea arose within me, I would always pray to Almighty God and look for the path within Almighty God’s words. I would also seek with my brothers and sisters, and they would fellowship patiently with me about God’s words, and all my many questions were resolved. The more I read the words expressed by Almighty God, the more I discovered that God’s words carried authority and power—they are the expressions of the disposition of God, they are the utterances of the Holy Spirit, they are the voice of God, and they have the power to resolve all our confusion and problems.

 

Thanks be to God for saving me. Through the brothers and sisters patiently fellowshiping about Almighty God’s words with me time and time again, God had enabled me to hear His voice and had raised me up before His throne. This experience gave me a deep appreciation that, only by being wise virgins and taking the initiative to seek, and by not clinging to our own conceptions, can we see the appearance of God and attain His salvation, just as the Lord Jesus said, “Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and you shall find; knock, and it shall be opened to you” (Matthew 7:7).

 

I Perceive the Difficulty of God’s Work and See the Essence of the Pastors and Elders

 

Later, I began to preach the gospel and bear witness to God’s work in the last days along with my brothers and sisters. As I preached the gospel, I came across many people who refused to investigate the true way because they had been obstructed by the pastors and elders and had been deceived by their lies, so much so that they even went along with the pastors and elders to condemn and forsake God’s work in the last days. This allowed me to perceive the difficulty of the work of God incarnate even more. In order to save mankind—we who have been corrupted so deeply—He endures our slander and rejection and just carries on doing His work in complete obscurity, never abandoning His salvation for us. At the same time, I also saw the God-resisting, truth-hating essence of the pastors and elders in the religious world. In their approach to the matter of the Lord’s return, they do not have a God-fearing heart, nor any desire to seek the truth. They can see clearly that the words expressed by Almighty God carry authority and power, and yet they continue to cling stubbornly to the fallacious idea that “Anyone who does not come in the resurrected spiritual body to raise us up into heaven is not the returned Lord Jesus, and anyone who testifies that the Lord has returned in the flesh is false,” and so they do all they can to resist and condemn the appearance and the work of Almighty God and fabricate all sorts of rumors to vilify, condemn and blaspheme God’s work in the last days. They do this in an attempt to hoodwink and deceive the faithful and to make them join the pastors and elders in their rejection of God’s work in the last days, and thereby lose God’s salvation of the last days. The pastors and elders of the religious world follow the Lord Jesus in name only, and they frantically condemn and resist Almighty God, and how is that any different from when the Pharisees kept the name of Messiah, and resisted and condemned the Lord Jesus? They believe only in a vague God in heaven, and yet they deny, resist and condemn Christ incarnate—does this not precisely make them antichrists who deny and resist Christ? The Bible says, “And as you have heard that antichrist shall come, even now are there many antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last time” (1 John 2:18). “For many deceivers are entered into the world, who confess not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist” (2 John 1:7). All who refuse to acknowledge God incarnate are antichrists, as are all who condemn and resist Christ. The Jewish chief priests, scribes and Pharisees were antichrists who were exposed by the work of the Lord Jesus. Now in the last days, the leaders of the religious world are the antichrists who are exposed by the work of Almighty God—Christ of the last days. All the truths expressed by Almighty God not only expose both the wise virgins and the foolish virgins, but they also totally expose all manner of antichrists and unbelievers. Only now do I see that God is so wise, and God incarnate’s work is so good at exposing people. After coming to this understanding, I have become even more determined to be considerate toward God’s will, and to bring before God those brothers and sisters who sincerely look forward to the Lord’s coming, so that I may repay God’s love and bring comfort to His heart.

 

 Source From: Gospel of The Descent of The Kingdom