What Is the Meaning of Christmas, and Are You Truly Worshiping the Lord Jesus?

What Is the Meaning of Christmas, and Are You Truly Worshiping the Lord Jesus?

December 8, 2018

By Siyuan

The Origins of Christmas

Every year, as Christmas approaches, shops on the street arrange a dazzling display of Christmas presents, with Santa Claus and Christmas trees, and so on. Festooned in trees and on buildings there are many-colored lights, and whole cities are decorated with lanterns and colored hangings, and everywhere there is joy and excitement. To Christianity, Christmas is a very special holiday, and several months before Christmas, many churches will begin to busy themselves preparing everything necessary for the Christmas holiday. On Christmas Day, the churches are filled, and brothers and sisters get involved in the celebrations, eating Christmas dinner, putting on performances and worshiping the Lord Jesus, and so on. Everyone’s face is flushed with happiness. However, when we get together in joyous gatherings to celebrate the Lord Jesus’ birth, do we understand the meaning of Christmas? Perhaps brothers and sisters will say, “The Lord Jesus was nailed upon the cross to redeem all mankind, and so as to remember and celebrate the Lord Jesus’ birth, Christians established Christmas. Though the specific day on which the Lord Jesus was born is not recorded in the Bible, Christmas gradually became a universal holiday in the wake of the expansion of Jesus Christ’s gospel.” We may have known this, but do we know God’s love and His will for us that was actually hidden behind the birth of the Lord Jesus? And how should we approach Christmas in a way that is after the Lord’s heart?

The Word of God Guides Me Through the Snares

The Word of God Guides Me Through the Snares

By Tian’na, Hong Kong

As I go through the passage of God’s words, “Do You Know? God Has Done a Great Thing Among Men,” I cannot help but recall my experience two years ago of breaking free from the binds of rumors and returning before God.

God’s Attitude Toward Sinners

God’s Attitude Toward Sinners

October 13, 2018

Wang Yan

The last days are here, the prophecies in the Bible have basically all been fulfilled, and brothers and sisters all look forward to the Lord coming to receive us into the kingdom of heaven. But many brothers and sisters in the Lord are asking: Although we go to church every week to give worship, and we often read the Bible and we expend ourselves and work for the Lord, we are always committing sins in the daytime and then confessing in the evening, living in this vicious spiral, and we can never free ourselves from the bonds of sin. If things carry on this way, will the Lord really forgive us, and receive us into the kingdom of heaven? How exactly does the Lord treat sinners?

When we talk about God’s attitude toward sinners, brothers and sisters all understand this subject differently. For example, some believe that when the Lord Jesus was crucified, He absolved us of all our sins. They believe that, whether they are previous sins or sins that we will commit in the future, they have all already been absolved, the Lord doesn’t see us as sinners anymore and we will surely enter into the kingdom of heaven; some brothers and sisters believe that if we believe in the Lord Jesus in our hearts and acknowledge Him with our mouths, then we have been justified by faith, and we are forever saved, and that when the Lord returns we will surely be raptured up into the kingdom of heaven; then there are those brothers and sisters who believe that the Lord is merciful and loving, and that no matter how great our sins, the Lord will forgive us and absolve us of them, that ultimately the Lord will surely lead us into the kingdom of heaven, and on that day we will enjoy the blessings of the heavenly kingdom together with the Lord. I also used to believe that the Lord had taken all our sins upon Himself, that we were no longer sinful, and that the Lord would absolve us of any sin we committed. Because I took this view, I didn’t think much of the sins I committed every day, to the point where I even indulged myself, and my sins grew apace. But when I saw God says, “You shall therefore be holy, for I am holy” (Lev 11:45), and these words in the Bible: “Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord” (Heb 12:14), I felt very uneasy, and I thought: Yes, God is holy, and how can I, the sinner that I am, who commits sins every day and displeases the Lord, earn the Lord’s praise? How will the Lord treat such a sinner as me? Later, through an investigation of the Bible, I came to some new light which I’d like to share with you.

I saw that the Lord Jesus said: “Truly, truly, I say to you, Whoever commits sin is the servant of sin. And the servant stays not in the house for ever: but the Son stays ever” (Jhn 8:34-35). And Hebrews 10:26-27 says: “For if we sin willfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remains no more sacrifice for sins, But a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries.” When I read these verses of scripture, I then knew what God’s attitude toward sinners is. To God, whether people believe in Him or not, all who commit sin are the slaves of sin, they all belong to Satan and are the enemies of God, and people like this can never enter into the kingdom of heaven. Moreover, if someone intentionally commits sin after they’ve come to believe in God, there is no longer any sin offering they can make and their sins will not be absolved by God. People like this are not only unable to enter into the kingdom of heaven, but they will also be destroyed by God for their sins, and will suffer the appropriate punishment. This made me think of these words in Revelation: “He that is unjust, let him be unjust still: and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still: and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still: and he that is holy, let him be holy still. And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be” (Rev 22:11-12). From these words, we can see that God determines people’s ends according to their deeds; those who do righteous deeds are rewarded, and those who do evil are punished. Thinking of how we believe in the Lord, although our sins were absolved, we still commit sins despite ourselves, we often lie and cheat for the sake of fame, fortune and status, we make excuses and quibble when we encounter issues and, so as to avoid taking responsibility, we can even frame others and shift the blame onto others; when we encounter natural or man-made disasters, trials and tribulations, we blame God and betray Him; in particular, when God’s work is at odds with our own conceptions, we deny God, condemn God and defy God; though we may nominally believe in God, we still worship and follow people; if we come to have status, then we exalt ourselves and bear witness to ourselves like the chief priests, scribes and Pharisees of old, and we take God’s place and make others worship us and look to us, we envy those who are good and able, and we act on our own personal preferences; some also covet the pleasures of sin and follow the evil trends of the world, and so on. We are still living out the image of a sinner, and we are still the servants of sin, so how can we possibly enter into the kingdom of heaven? Especially over the past few years, we are all able to perceive that the church has lost the work and guidance of the Holy Spirit, and our God-fearing hearts have become weaker and weaker. We can clearly feel that we are keeping the Lord Jesus’ words less and less, our dispositions are becoming increasingly arrogant and conceited, crooked and deceitful, selfish and greedy, haughty and capricious, we are unable to put the Lord’s teachings into practice, and we can’t even stop ourselves from doing things we know to be sinful. As we all know, God is holy and God’s disposition is righteous and unoffendable! The kingdom of heaven is the holy land that permits no filth or stain—this is determined by God’s disposition and essence! As for us, who are mired so deeply in sin that we cannot extricate ourselves, if we are incapable of casting off our corrupt dispositions and being cleansed, then how will we obtain God’s praise and be led into the kingdom of heaven? Isn’t that just a pipe dream? What’s more, the Lord Jesus never said that man could enter into the kingdom of heaven because their sins had been absolved and they had been justified by faith, but instead He demanded that we confess and repent, and take on the likeness of new people. Therefore, the God we believe in, who will forever pardon our sins, who will not remember any of our sins no matter how many we commit, and our belief that when the Lord returns we will be able to enter into the kingdom of heaven, are just our own conceptions and imagination, and simply do not tally with the Lord’s will.

Some brothers and sisters may raise questions, and will say: “We’ve believed in the Lord for many years and have worked very hard for Him. We can’t count how many churches we’ve established, and we’ve even been sent to prison. So even if we do commit sin, God will surely not abandon us!” If this was truly the case, then wouldn’t those Jewish Pharisees who traveled all over the lands and seas to spread the gospel, and yet defied and condemned the Lord Jesus, all have been able to enter into the kingdom of heaven? Why were they still condemned and cursed by the Lord Jesus? Wasn’t the Lord Jesus the loving and merciful God? How was He still able to condemn and curse them? Moreover, these people worked hard for God, so why didn’t the Lord Jesus pardon their sins? Regarding this question, these words of the Lord Jesus come to mind: “Not every one that said to me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that does the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in your name? and in your name have cast out devils? and in your name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess to them, I never knew you: depart from me, you that work iniquity” (Mat 7:21-23). And a book of truth also says: “Some people will end up saying, ‘I’ve done so much work for You, and though there may not have been celebrated achievements, still I have been diligent in my efforts. Can’t You just let me into heaven to eat the fruit of life?’ You must know what kind of people I desire; those who are impure are not permitted to enter into the kingdom, those who are impure are not permitted to besmirch the holy ground. Though you may have done much work, and have worked for many years, in the end if you are still deplorably filthy—it is intolerable to the law of Heaven that you wish to enter My kingdom!” (“Success or Failure Depends on the Path That Man Walks” in The Word Appears in the Flesh). Reading these words, I suddenly saw the light. It turns out that those who will enter the kingdom of heaven must indeed be those who cast off sin and are cleansed, who follow God’s way, and who obey God, worship God and love God. Those who spread the gospel and cast out demons in the Lord’s name but who don’t follow God’s way are evil-doers in the eyes of God. Just like those Jewish Pharisees—although they appeared pious on the outside, and they worked for God and suffered greatly all their lives, and paid much price, yet when the Lord Jesus incarnated to perform His work of redemption, they refused to accept it, much less submit to or practice the Lord Jesus’ words. Instead, they judged and condemned the Lord Jesus’ work, frantically resisted the Lord, and they even spread notions and rumors to deceive people and obstruct them from accepting the Lord Jesus’ work, and they nailed the Lord Jesus to the cross—by doing this, were they not openly opposing and contesting God? People like this, who simply will not repent, are truly Satan’s partners in crime and are Satan’s lackeys. They worm their way into the church especially to disrupt and demolish God’s work, and people like this have a God-defying essence, they are the enemies of God, and God will never allow hated enemies or the wicked to enter into His kingdom. From this, we are able to see that all who are incapable of practicing God’s words or of obeying God’s work are all unclean and unrighteous; if someone is unable to repent or to cast off their God-defying corrupt disposition, and they go on living in sin, then they are unclean, they are not a righteous person praised by God, but instead they are condemned. The kingdom of heaven is God’s kingdom, and God is holy, so if someone is unclean then how could they be qualified to enter into God’s kingdom and live together with Him? God is merciful and loving to man, but God is also righteous, and will never lead filthy and corrupt people into His kingdom. That is to say, whether or not we can enter into the kingdom of heaven in the end does not depend on how much work we do or how much we suffer, but most importantly it depends on whether or not our corrupt dispositions are changed and cleansed, whether or not we can practice God’s words, do God’s will, and whether or not we are people who love God, obey God and fear God. If we only rely on our own ardor to give things up, expend ourselves, spread the gospel, build churches and support other believers, but our own corrupt dispositions are not changed in the slightest, we still frequently commit sin, defy God and rebel against God, and we are unable to follow God’s way, then we will be evil-doers, and will be unable to enter into the kingdom of heaven.

Thinking more about it, although we run all around expending ourselves, and we suffer and give everything up so as to spread the Lord’s name, yet we still conceal our own ulterior motives within us, and we don’t do these things to satisfy God or out of consideration for God’s will, but rather we wish to exchange our hard work for a beautiful destination in the future, to enter into the kingdom of heaven and be rewarded and given crowns. This kind of expending carries with it a deceptive nature, and is entirely us making deals with the Lord; in God’s eyes, this is us doing evil, and however much we suffer, God will not commend it. Furthermore, we don’t know God, and we don’t have God-fearing hearts. When God’s work is at odds with our conceptions, we act like those Jewish Pharisees, we arbitrarily judge and condemn God’s work, and we stubbornly cling to our own notions, deny God’s work and defy God. It can therefore be seen that, if we do not resolve our sinful natures, then we will be capable of committing sin, and defying and betraying God at any time and in any place. Our deeds can then only be condemned by God, so how could we possibly then enter into the kingdom of heaven? Only those who love the truth and can pursue the truth, whose belief in God no longer relies on their satanic dispositions or on their conceptions and imaginations, who can seek the truth and practice in accordance with God’s words in all things, who have achieved true obedience to and love for God, and who truly know God, can earn the Lord’s praise and be led by God into the kingdom of heaven. For example, those whom we know well—Abraham, Job and Peter—who had true faith in God, who sought to love and satisfy God, and who submitted absolutely to God’s orchestrations and arrangements, even though trials and tribulations befell them, they still didn’t blame or betray God. Moreover, they sought God’s will and practiced in accordance with God’s words in all things, and they bore beautiful and resounding witness to God—they were the ones most in keeping with God’s will.

Now we know God’s attitude toward sinners, and therefore we also naturally come to know how God sees us. So from now on, we should pursue the truth, cast off our corrupt dispositions and be cleansed, for only then can we win God’s blessings and be led by Him into the kingdom of heaven. So how can we free ourselves from the bonds of sin? I recommend everyone watch the movie The Moment of Change, and you will be shown the way.

Unveiled: The True Meaning of “It Is Finished” Spoken by the Lord Jesus on the Cross

Unveiled: The True Meaning of “It Is Finished” Spoken by the Lord Jesus on the Cross

November 9, 2018

By Xiang’ai, Heilongjiang Province

Many brothers and sisters believe that what Jesus meant by saying “It is finished” when He was on the cross was that God’s work to save mankind was completed. But was this really the case? What exactly did He mean by saying “It is finished”? The following article will uncover the true meaning of the words “It is finished” that the Lord Jesus spoke upon the cross. Please read on …

At seven o’clock in the morning, Wang Xue was hurrying to her daughter Hui Min’s house. Half an hour before, Pastor Zhang had come to Wang Xue’s house to tell her that her daughter and son-in-law had accepted Eastern Lightning. This came as a great surprise to Wang Xue, and she thought to herself: “The members of Eastern Lightning testify that the Lord Jesus has returned and that He is expressing His words and performing a stage of work to judge and purify man. And yet the Lord Jesus clearly said ‘It is finished’ when He was upon the cross, and this shows that God’s work to save mankind has already finished. How can the Lord possibly return to do a new stage of work? My daughter and her husband are quite familiar with the Bible, and they pursue the truth quite diligently; they are thoughtful and insightful people, so they won’t have made this decision blindly. How could they have accepted Eastern Lightning? What’s going on here?” Wang Xue was extremely baffled and she wanted to understand the reasons behind this as soon as she could, and so she hurriedly set off for Hui Min’s house.

30 minutes later, Wang Xue arrived at her daughter’s home. As soon as she was inside, Wang Xue got straight to the point, and she said to her daughter, “Pastor Zhang came to find me at the crack of dawn this morning and said the two of you had accepted Eastern Lightning. Is this true?”

Li Jun, who had been reading in the study, overheard his mother-in-law and came out of the room. Hui Min saw her mother wearing a rather stern expression, so she took her mother’s hand and sat down. Smiling, she said, “Yes, mom, we’ve accepted Eastern Lightning. Lately, Li Jun and I have been reading the words of Almighty God and we’ve seen Almighty God’s words reveal all the truths and mysteries of God’s salvation of mankind, such as the mystery of God’s six-thousand-year management plan, the mystery of God’s incarnation, the mystery of God’s three stages of work, how God performs His work of judgment to purify and save man in the last days, and the end and final destination for mankind, and so on. The more we read Almighty God’s words, the more we feel that these words are the truth, that they have power and authority and that they are the voice of God! Mom, the Lord Jesus whom we’ve yearned for for so long really has returned as the incarnated Almighty God. Why don’t you investigate it yourself!”

Wang Xue listened to her daughter and her expression softened a little. She said, “Hui Min, our church is now desolate, so if you go looking for a church which has the work of the Holy Spirit, then I won’t stop you. But Eastern Lightning preaches that the Lord has returned and is performing a stage of work to judge and purify man. How is this possible? When He was on the cross, the Lord Jesus very clearly said ‘It is finished.’ This shows that God’s work to save mankind is over, and so long as we confess and repent to the Lord then our sins can be forgiven, and when the Lord returns, He will immediately raise us up into the heavenly kingdom. He won’t be performing any new work. This is often preached by pastors and elders, so how could you have forgotten it? How could you have accepted the way of Eastern Lightning?”

Li Jun smiled and said, “Mom, we’ve always followed the pastors and elders of the religious world, and believed that what the Lord Jesus meant by saying ‘It is finished’ when He was on the cross was that God’s work to save mankind was finished, and that when the Lord came again He would immediately raise us up into the heavenly kingdom and would not perform any new work. But does this view accord with the original meaning of the Lord’s words? Does it accord with the facts of God’s work? When the Lord Jesus was on the cross, He only said these three words, ‘It is finished.’ He did not say that God’s work to save mankind was totally finished, and yet pastors and elders just go by these words spoken by the Lord Jesus to decide that God’s work is now over and that when the Lord returns He will not perform any new work. By saying this, aren’t they making too much of a subjective assertion? Aren’t they just interpreting the Lord’s words by what they themselves wish? Mom, think about it. If the Lord Jesus saying ‘It is finished’ meant that God’s work to save mankind was over, then how would the Lord Jesus accomplish the work in fulfillment of His prophecy, that when He returned He would separate the goats from the sheep, the wheat from the tares, and the good servants from the wicked servants? The Lord Jesus also prophesied: ‘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). ‘He that rejects me, and receives not my words, has one that judges him: the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day’ (John 12:48). And it is recorded in 1 Peter 4:17, ‘For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God.’ These words tell us clearly that when the Lord returns He will express the truth and perform His work of judgment. If we go by the understanding of the pastors and elders, that the Lord Jesus saying ‘It is finished’ on the cross meant that He had then completed His work to save mankind and that He had no need to perform any further work, then how would these prophecies ever be fulfilled? Wouldn’t the Lord’s prophecy that He would return to express the truth and perform His work of judgment then just come to nothing? Looking at it this way, wouldn’t it seem that the religious world’s interpretation is negating the Lord’s words and negating the Lord’s salvation in the last days? Therefore, we cannot determine that God’s work to save mankind is finished on the basis that the Lord Jesus said ‘It is finished’ when He was on the cross; this is our imaginations and it does not accord with what the Lord meant. If we delimit God’s work in accordance with our own wishes, then we will be apt to defy God!”

Wang Xue pondered the verses Li Jun had talked about, and she fell into deep thought: “Yes! All these years, I’ve listened only to what the pastors and elders have said, believing that what the Lord Jesus meant when He said ‘It is finished’ on the cross was that God’s work to save mankind was completed, and that He would never again perform any new work. But the prophecies of the Lord that my child and her husband have just mentioned do indeed say that when the Lord returns He will express the truth and perform His work of judgment. So what exactly did the Lord mean when He said ‘It is finished’ on the cross?” Thinking these thoughts, Wang Xue told them of her puzzlement.

Seeing Wang Xue begin to seek the truth, Hui Min and Li Jun smiled cheerfully, and Hui Min said patiently, “Mom, when the Lord Jesus said ‘It is finished’ on the cross, He was actually saying that His work of redemption in the Age of Grace was finished. As long as we accept the Lord Jesus’ work and confess and repent to the Lord, then our sins can be forgiven, and we are then qualified to pray to the Lord and enjoy the abundant grace and truth the Lord bestows on us—this is the result achieved by the Lord Jesus performing the work of redemption. But God’s work to save mankind did not come to an end because the Lord Jesus’ work of redemption was finished. Let’s read a couple of passages of Almighty God’s words together, and after we’ve read them, we will have a better understanding.” Saying this, Hui Min then brought from her bedroom a book entitled The Word Appears in The Flesh. Opening it, she read: “To man, God’s crucifixion concluded the work of God’s incarnation, redeemed all of mankind, and allowed Him to seize the key to Hades. Everyone thinks God’s work has been fully accomplished. In actuality, to God, only a small part of His work has been accomplished. He has only redeemed mankind; He has not conquered mankind, let alone changed the ugliness of Satan in man. That is why God says, ‘Although My incarnate flesh went through the pain of death, that was not the whole goal of My incarnation. Jesus is My beloved Son and was nailed to the cross for Me, but He did not fully conclude My work. He only did a portion of it’” (“Work and Entry (6)” in The Word Appears in the Flesh). “For all that man may have been redeemed and forgiven of his sins, it can only be considered as God not remembering the transgressions of man and not treating man in accordance with his transgressions. However, when man, who lives in a body of flesh, has not been set free from sin, he can only continue to sin, endlessly revealing his corrupt satanic disposition. This is the life that man leads, an endless cycle of sinning and being forgiven. The majority of men sin in the day only to confess in the evening. This way, even if the sin offering is forever effective for man, it will not be able to save man from sin. Only half the work of salvation has been completed, for man still has a corrupt disposition” (“The Mystery of the Incarnation (4)” in The Word Appears in the Flesh).

When she’d finished reading, Hui Min gave fellowship, saying, “The words of Almighty God are very clear. The work of redemption performed by the Lord Jesus only completed one half of God’s work to save mankind. Although our sins were forgiven after undergoing the Lord Jesus’ redemption, we no longer committed obvious sins and we had some good external behaviors, we had not totally cast off the bonds of sin; we are dominated by corrupt dispositions such as being arrogant and conceited, selfish and contemptible, crooked and deceitful, and we often tell lies and cheat others for the sake of protecting our own interests and prestige. When we see someone who is better than us, we feel jealous and we don’t want to listen to them; if someone threatens our interests then we hate them, to the point of wanting to exact retribution on them; we also follow the evil trends of the world, we cling to wealth, covet vanity and we adore fame and fortune; when natural disasters or man-made calamities befall us, or if something unfortunate happens, we misunderstand and blame God, and we even judge and condemn God’s work based on our own conceptions and imaginings, and so on. Behaving in this way is enough to prove that only our sins are forgiven in our belief in the Lord, yet the satanic nature and corrupt dispositions within us remain deeply rooted. These are the root cause of us committing sins and defying God. If we do not solve our sinful nature, then we will be unable to control ourselves from sinning and defying God, or from betraying God and opposing God. God’s words in the Bible clearly state: ‘You shall therefore be holy, for I am holy’ (Leviticus 11:45). Also, chapter 12, verse 14 in Hebrews says ‘holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord.’ God is holy, and the heavenly kingdom permits no stained human being to enter. So how could we who so often commit sins and defy God ever be worthy to see God’s face? How could we ever be worthy for God to lead us into the heavenly kingdom? Therefore, we still need God to return in the last days to perform a stage of new work and to solve the problem of the root cause of our sins. Only in this way will we be able to cast off our satanic and corrupt dispositions and attain God’s purification and salvation. This is also the fulfillment of the prophecy in the Bible that says, ‘Who are kept by the power of God through faith to salvation ready to be revealed in the last time’ (1 Peter 1:5).”

When she had spoken, Hui Min flipped to a page in The Word Appears in the Flesh and said to Wang Xue, “Mom, we will understand better once we’ve read two passages of Almighty God’s words. God’s words say: ‘A sinner such as you, who has just been redeemed, and has not been changed, or been perfected by God, can you be after God’s heart? For you, you who are still of your old self, it is true that you were saved by Jesus, and that you are not counted as a sinner because of the salvation of God, but this does not prove that you are not sinful, and are not impure. How can you be saintly if you have not been changed? Within, you are beset by impurity, selfish and mean, yet you still wish to descend with Jesus—you should be so lucky! You have missed a step in your belief in God: You have merely been redeemed, but have not been changed. For you to be after God’s heart, God must personally do the work of changing and cleansing you; if you are only redeemed, you will be incapable of attaining sanctity. In this way you will be unqualified to share in the good blessings of God, for you have missed out a step in God’s work of managing man, which is the key step of changing and perfecting. And so you, a sinner who has just been redeemed, are incapable of directly inheriting God’s inheritance’ (‘Concerning Appellations and Identity’ in The Word Appears in the Flesh). ‘Though Jesus did much work among man, He only completed the redemption of all mankind and became man’s sin offering, and did not rid man of all his corrupt disposition. Fully saving man from the influence of Satan not only required Jesus to take on the sins of man as the sin offering, but also required God to do greater work to completely rid man of his disposition, which has been corrupted by Satan. And so, after man was forgiven his sins, God has returned to flesh to lead man into the new age, and begun the work of chastisement and judgment, and this work has brought man into a higher realm. All those who submit under His dominion shall enjoy higher truth and receive greater blessings. They shall truly live in the light, and shall gain the truth, the way, and the life’” (Preface to The Word Appears in the Flesh).

Having listened to her daughter, Wang Xue unconsciously nodded her head and thought to herself: “These words possess authority! It turns out that the Lord Jesus only performed the work of redemption, and even though our sins were forgiven, our sinful nature was not purged, so no wonder we live in sin all day long. Even though we want to cast off the bonds of sin, we can’t do it no matter how much we pray or try to exercise self-restraint. It seems that if we want to cast off the bonds of sin, then we truly need God to perform another stage of work!”

Li Jun got up and poured Wang Xue some water, saying, “Mom, Almighty God’s words explain very clearly why God is to perform His work of judgment in the last days and the results achieved by this work. Having been through the Lord Jesus’ redemption, only our sins have been forgiven, and yet our satanic nature was still deeply rooted within us and we are not yet qualified to inherit God’s blessings. Therefore, according to our needs as corrupt humanity, God will perform in the last days a stage of work upon the foundation of the Lord Jesus’ work of redemption, whereby God uses words to judge and chastise man, so that our sinful nature can be resolved and so that we are utterly saved from sin. Only by accepting God’s work of judgment in the last days can we see clearly the truth about our corruption by Satan, know our own God-defying satanic nature, experience God’s righteous and inviolable disposition and generate a God-fearing heart. We can thereby prostrate ourselves before God, hate ourselves and become willing to forsake our flesh and practice the truth. In this way, we will gradually be able to cast off the bonds of our satanic dispositions, be cleansed and changed, attain salvation and perfection, and become people who truly obey God and love God. Only then will God’s management plan to save mankind be totally finished, and God’s great work shall be accomplished. This precisely fulfills the words in Revelation which say: ‘And he that sat on the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said to me, Write: for these words are true and faithful. And he said to me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give to him that is thirsty of the fountain of the water of life freely’ (Revelation 21:5–6).”

Li Jun and Hui Min’s fellowship surprised Wang Xue and sounded new and fresh to her ears. She thought: “What they are fellowshiping accords with the Bible and with the Lord’s words, and it sounds perfectly clear to me. It turns out that the Lord returning to express the truth and perform His work of judgment is precisely what we need, and it is done to save us utterly from sin, to enable us to attain God’s salvation and be perfected, and to become people who truly love and obey God …”

Hui Min saw her mother with her head lowered and not saying anything, and she gently shook her arm and asked, “What are you thinking, mom?”

Wang Xue relaxed her expression, raised her head and looked at Li Jun and Hui Min, and with a smile on her face she said, “Well, I never! You haven’t long accepted Almighty God’s work of the last days and you understand so many truths already. Listening to you both give fellowship today, I’ve come to understand a little too. The Lord Jesus only performed the work to redeem mankind, which was a part of God’s work to save mankind. By accepting the Lord Jesus’ work, we can only have our sins forgiven, but our sinful nature is not yet resolved, and we still cannot control ourselves from committing sins and defying God. We are simply unqualified to see God’s face or to be led by the Lord into the heavenly kingdom. If we want to cast off the bonds of sin, we still need God to come again and perform another stage of work, that of judgment and purification!”

Hui Min and Li Jun were thrilled to hear Wang Xue say this, and they kept thanking God!

Seeing her daughter and son-in-law’s happiness, Wang Xue spoke reproaching herself: “Ah, all these years I’ve listened to what the pastors and elders said, believing that what the Lord Jesus meant when He said ‘It is finished’ on the cross was that God’s work to save mankind was completed, and I’ve been longing with all my heart for the Lord to return and raise us up into the heavenly kingdom. In the end, I heard The Church of Almighty God testifying that the Lord had returned, but I didn’t seek or investigate it, and instead I clung to my own conceptions and imaginings, trying to advise you to keep to the Lord’s way, almost making a big mistake and losing God’s salvation of the last days. It seems that by understanding God’s words and approaching God’s work based on one’s own conceptions and imaginings, one is then capable of defying God at any moment and destroying one’s chances to attain God’s salvation! I now understand that if we want to be thoroughly cleansed and enter into the kingdom of heaven, then we must accept God’s work of judgment in the last days! But I’m not so clear on how God’s work of judgment in the last days purifies and changes people, so I want to keep seeking and investigating Almighty God’s work of the last days and read more of His words!”

“Thanks be to God! It just so happens that tomorrow the brothers and sisters of The Church of Almighty God are holding a gathering with us, so why don’t you come with us and hear them fellowship?” said Hui Min.

“OK.”

“Thanks be to God!”

The sun shone bright and beautiful outside and, from time to time, the joyful sound of Wang Xue’s family talking together drifted out through the window …

If I already have faith in the Lord Jesus, why do I have to have faith in Almighty God to achieve salvation?

The picture comes from  the Church of Almighty God

If I already have faith in the Lord Jesus, why do I have to have faith in Almighty God to achieve salvation?

The Answer from God’s Word:

Though Jesus did much work among man, He only completed the redemption of all mankind and became man’s sin offering, and did not rid man of all his corrupt disposition. Fully saving man from the influence of Satan not only required Jesus to take on the sins of man as the sin offering, but also required God to do greater work to completely rid man of his disposition, which has been corrupted by Satan. And so, after man was forgiven his sins, God has returned to flesh to lead man into the new age, and begun the work of chastisement and judgment, and this work has brought man into a higher realm. All those who submit under His dominion shall enjoy higher truth and receive greater blessings. They shall truly live in the light, and shall gain the truth, the way, and the life.

Best Christian Movie | "Yearning" | God Reveals the Mystery of Kingdom of Heaven

Best Christian Movie | "Yearning"
God Reveals the Mystery of Kingdom of Heaven

Introduction

Two thousand years ago, the Lord Jesus promised His followers: "I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you to myself; that where I am, there you may be also" (John 14:2-3). Because of this, generations of believers have continued to obsessively hope and pray for the fulfillment of the Lord's promise, and hope and pray that they are raptured into the heavens to meet the Lord and enter into the kingdom of heaven when the Lord comes.

This also describes this film's protagonist, Chen Xiangguang. He is an enthusiastic seeker, spreads the gospel, and bears witness to the Lord in order to welcome the Lord's coming. In spite of being dismissed from his position in a school and failing to gain understanding from his family members, he never gives up the hope in his heart. One day while in a gathering, Chen Xiangguang is arrested and thrown in jail by the Chinese Communist government. Under God's wondrous rule and arrangements, he encounters Zhao Zhiming, a Christian from The Church of Almighty God. Zhao Zhiming gives him testimony on God's appearance and work in the last days, resolving his years of notions and imagination in hoping and praying for the Lord's return. After getting out of prison, Chen Xiangguang leads his brothers and sisters to look into Almighty God's work in the last days. Everyone finally comes to understand what it is to be raptured into the kingdom of heaven, whether the kingdom is really on earth or in heaven, and how people should welcome the Lord's return ...

The Mystery of the “Resurrection of a Dead Man”

The Mystery of the “Resurrection of a Dead Man”

Li Cheng

Brothers and sisters, peace be upon to you! Thank the Lord for His preparations that have allowed us to communicate the truths of the Scripture here. May the Lord guide us. Today, I want to talk to everybody about the topic “resurrection of a dead man.”

As people who believe in the Lord all know, the “resurrection of a dead man” refers to the time when Jesus returns. This is also a situation we as Christians are looking forward to seeing. Now, just how can a “dead man” be resurrected? Many people would think of chapter 37, verses 5-6 in the Book of Ezekiel: “Thus said the Lord Jehovah to these bones; Behold, I will cause breath to enter into you, and you shall live: And I will lay sinews on you, and will bring up flesh on you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and you shall live; and you shall know that I am Jehovah.” In the Gospel of John chapter 6, verse 39, Jesus said: “And this is the Father’s will which has sent me, that of all which he has given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day.” In chapter 15, verses 52-53 in the Book of 1 Corinthians, they read: “In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.” Furthermore, if people read the literal meaning of the Bible, they will believe: In the last days, when the Lord is about to descend, there will be many great and miraculous things that will occur. With His almightiness, He will resurrect the bodies of the saints that have been sleeping for generations. He will raise them up from their graves, from underneath the earth or underneath the sea. The thousands of skeletons that have already rotted beneath the ground or under the sea will instantly be given new life. The rot will magically disappear and they will enter into the glory. How spectacular this scene would be! … These are also our perspectives and imaginings about the “resurrection of a dead man.” Just how will this prophecy be fulfilled? Is it really going to be as miraculous as we imagine it is going to be? Will the Lord accomplish this matter in accordance with our imaginations?

We all know, God’s wisdom is higher than the heavens. What God does exceeds our thoughts and imaginations. In the Bible, it has been recorded: “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, said Jehovah. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts” (Isa 55:8-9). As creations before God, we are as insignificant and lowly as dust. We will never be able to fathom God’s work. This is similar to the recordings in the Bible of Jesus talking to Nicodemus about the truth of rebirth: “Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God” (Jhn 3:3). Nicodemus understood the words of Jesus in a literal sense. He believed “rebirth” meant emerging once again from one’s mother’s womb. Using his brain and imagination, he understood a spiritual matter as if it were a matter of the material world. This sort of acceptance is very wrong. Additionally, when Jesus was talking with woman from Samaria, He said, “But whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst” (Jhn 4:14). At that time, the woman from Samaria did not understand what the Lord was saying. She thought that the water the Lord was offering was the same water that men drank. As a result, she said, “Sir, give me this water, that I thirst not, neither come here to draw” (Jhn 4:15). Actually, the “water” that Jesus was referring to was the Lord’s word. He was referring to the water of life. The woman from Samaria only understood the literal meaning of what Jesus said and thus, misunderstood the meaning. From this we can see that God’s word is the truth. It conceals the mystery of God’s work. If God does not reveal these mysteries, our understanding would be very limited. Likewise, if we only understand the literal meaning of the prophecy “resurrection of a dead man,” wouldn’t we be making the same mistake that Nicodemus and the woman from Samaria made? Therefore, when it comes to prophecies, we must maintain reverence, seek more, not interpret the text literally, not rely on our imaginations and notions to decide and furthermore, not rely on our own personal meaning to explain it.

Now, just what does “resurrection of a dead man” refer to? What do “dead man” and “living man” refer to? For thousands of years, not a single person has been able to clearly answer this question. Only God is able to open up these mysteries. Now, God has already returned in the form of the incarnate Almighty God. He has expressed millions of words and uncovered all the mysteries that are within the Bible. Let’s all take a look together at the words of Almighty God. Almighty God says: “God created man, after which man was corrupted by Satan, and this corruption has made people into dead bodies—and thus, after you have changed, you will be different from these dead bodies. It is the words of God that give life to people’s spirits and cause them to be reborn, and when people’s spirits are reborn they will have come alive. Mention of the ‘dead’ refers to corpses that have no spirit, to people in whom their spirit has died. When people’s spirits are given life, they come alive. The saints that were spoken of before refer to people who have come alive, those who were under Satan’s influence but defeated Satan. … Originally the man made by God was alive, but because of Satan’s corruption man lives amid death, and lives under the influence of Satan, and so these people have become the dead who are without a spirit, they have become enemies who oppose God, they have become the tools of Satan, and they have become the captives of Satan. … The dead are those who have no spirit, those who are numb in the extreme, and who oppose God. Moreover, they are those who do not know God. These people have not the slightest intention of obeying God, they only rebel against Him and oppose Him, and have not the slightest loyalty. The living are those whose spirits have been reborn, who know to obey God, and who are loyal to God. They are possessed of the truth, and of testimony, and only these people are pleasing to God in His house. God saves those who can come alive, who can see God’s salvation, who can be loyal to God, and willing to seek God. He saves those who believe in God’s incarnation, and believe in His appearance” (“Have You Come Alive?” in The Word Appears in the Flesh).

GOSPEL MOVIE CLIP | EXPOSING THE ERROR OF THE CHINESE COMMUNIST PARTY CALLING CHRIST AN ORDINARY HUMAN

GOSPEL MOVIE CLIP

EXPOSING THE ERROR OF THE CHINESE COMMUNIST

 PARTY CALLING CHRIST AN ORDINARY HUMAN

During the Age of Grace, the incarnate Lord Jesus appeared to be an ordinary, normal human from the outside, but Lord Jesus brought the way of repentance, "Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand," and did the work of redeeming humanity through the crucifixion. This is sufficient to prove that Lord Jesus was God incarnate. Christ of the last days, Almighty God, similar to Lord Jesus, appears from the outside to be an ordinary person. He can express the truth and do the work of purifying and saving humanity, however. This proves that He is the incarnate God. The Chinese Communist Party, on the other hand, does its utmost to deny Christ and to condemnChrist, saying the incarnate Christ is an ordinary human. Why is the Chinese Communist Party so absurd and preposterous?

Why Does Eastern Lightning Surge Forward With Unstoppable Progress?

Why Does Eastern Lightning Surge Forward With Unstoppable Progress?

Christ of the last days has been doing His work in mainland China for over 20 years, work which has shaken the various religious sects to their core. The most perplexing question for the religious community during this time has been: Most pastors and elders in the religious community have done their utmost to judge and attack the Eastern Lightning through various means such as spreading rumors about and defaming the Eastern Lightning. Furthermore, they have even sealed off their churches and even gone so far as colluding with the CCP government to arrest and persecute the Christians in the Church of Almighty God. But while under the frantic condemnation, resistance, and persecution by the CCP government and the religious world acting as two arms of Satan’s forces, why are there more and more believers from various denominations and sects accepting and following Almighty God? Why is it those who have good humanity and used to have sincere belief in the Lord are willing to follow Almighty God to the very end? Why do they continue to do so despite enduring endless condemnation, defamation, coercion, and persecution by the CCP government and the religious world? The CCP imprisons them and yet they don’t look back. How is it that the Eastern Lightning surges forward, unbeaten and unbroken by Satan’s forces, to bloom with new prosperity and growth day by day? How has it spread so far and wide to every corner of China to be accepted and followed by millions? Why has it also spread throughout the world to many different countries and regions?

In fact, religious people who are familiar with the Bible have overlooked a crucial truth, which is: Anything that comes from God will thrive and anything that comes from man will surely decay. Think about this for a moment: If the Eastern Lightning wasn’t the appearance and work of the one and only true God, would it have been able to break through the fortress of obstruction, resistance, and persecution put up by the religious world and the atheistic CCP government and spread so quickly? If it was not guided by the work of the Holy Spirit, would it have the authority and power to make all nations flow to this mountain and for all denominations to become one? If the Eastern Lightning wasn’t the appearance and work of God, would it have brought the truth that allows people to understand God? Would it have pointed the way to salvation? Would it have been able to judge and conquer the true believers of the various faiths, those good sheep and leading sheep, to submit and follow with resolute hearts? Those in the various religious sects had no way to expect that the Almighty God whom they are self-assured and bold enough to condemn, resist, and persecute is in fact the return of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, for whom they had so anxiously and persistently waited.

The Book of Revelation records that only the Lamb is able to open the scroll and break the seven seals. Christ of the last days, Almighty God, has issued forth millions of words that not only reveal all mysteries of God’s 6,000-year management plan, reveal God’s purpose in His three stages of work to save humanity, as well as provide the background, behind-the-scenes information, and the substance behind each of the stages in His work, but moreover His words also unfold the judgment and cleansing work that is directed at mankind’s satanic nature and the truth of their corruption. In addition, His numerous words cover multiple subjects involving the inside story of the Bible, the mystery of God’s incarnation, God’s clear intentions and specific requirements for mankind, mankind’s process of development and mankind’s future destination, etc. These are not only a feast for mankind’s eyes so that they may broaden their horizons, but also allow people to understand God’s work, God’s disposition and essence. Moreover, His words allow us corrupt humans to attain a change in disposition and be purified. His words contain all the truths that we corrupt people need in order to be saved and perfected. The sheep of God hear His voice and the believers who humbly submit have been thoroughly conquered by God’s words as they seek and study the true way; they have truly and clearly seen that God’s real work and words are incomparable and cannot be substituted by any theories or knowledge wrought by mankind. His words and work verify to those who humbly submit that the incarnate Almighty God is precisely the Son of man returning in the last days and the appearance of the one true God. They see that the kingdom has descended to the realm of man and they also clearly observe that the three stages of work in the Age of Law, Age of Grace, and Age of Kingdom are the work of one God and that they are the work of God Himself, there is absolutely no doubt about it. Only if they are equipped with the truths issued forth from Almighty God and experience God’s work of the last days will they know God and enter the right track of faith in Him to achieve salvation. Therefore, they prostrate before God and acknowledge that He is their God and they return to Him and pledge their lives to Him. This is why there are more and more truly faithful people who no longer fear the unknown and follow the Eastern Lightning with unshakeable determination.

In fact, there is no “right” or “wrong” in God’s work, there is only “new” and “old” or “early” and “later” because the inherent principle behind God’s work is that it is always new and never old and He adheres to no regulations and there are no contradictions between His new and old work. Instead, they complement one another with each stage building upon the other; like links in a chain forged together. If we seek and study with a quiet heart, if we can understand the three stages of work in God’s entire 6,000-year management plan, then it’s easy to see that the work of Christ of the last days—Almighty God—has been built upon the foundation of God’s work done in the Age of Grace and it flows as one with the Lord Jesus’ work; it is not independent and not in any way separate. Moreover, we will understand why only Almighty God’s work of the last days can cleanse and change mankind, as well as completely allow mankind to break away the shackles of Satan’s dark influence to achieve God’s salvation.

Looking back on the later period of the Age of Law, mankind all knew what sin was, but in spite of themselves they all kept sinning constantly, and they were incapable of adhering to the laws and decrees. As mankind’s sins increased, their sacrifices became fewer and fewer and they fell into an inescapable trap of sin. Gradually, mankind lost its reverence for God and they went so far as sacrificing blind and lame livestock at the holy altar of Jehovah God. In this way, they faced death by the law and God’s curse. It was against this backdrop that for God to save man, a new stage of work was needed. This is because only God Himself—the Creator—could save the corrupted and depraved mankind. For this reason, God became flesh and appeared in the form of the Lord Jesus to begin the work of the Age of Grace. He took the sins of mankind upon Himself and was crucified on the cross to complete the work of redemption. The Lord Jesus taught His followers that they should forgive and be patient, love their neighbors as themselves, and to bear the cross to follow Him. He also taught people to break bread, drink wine, wash the feet of others and to cover their heads. He asked people to put more truth into practice and He elevated the requirements of mankind higher than they had been during the Age of Law. The Lord Jesus brought man a new age and a new direction to travel and He gave people a path to travel so that they could enjoy the ample grace of God and obtain His redemption. The work of the Lord Jesus in the Age of Grace concluded the Age of Law that had extended for over 2,000 years in a way that fulfilled the law. It is a new and higher work carried out on the foundation of Jehovah God’s work.

The Lord Jesus Christ in the flesh redeems all of mankind. If we believe in the Lord and are forgiven our sins, then we will be justified by faith and saved. Even though we have our sins forgiven, the root cause behind these sins, namely the satanic nature of us which resists and betrays God, has not been completely resolved. In this manner, even if God does forget our sins and doesn’t treat us based on our sins, nonetheless we live in the flesh and have no way to break the bonds and control of sin. We are merely stuck in a vicious cycle of constant sinning and confession and repentance and we have not escaped sin to become holy people. In the right circumstances, our corrupt satanic disposition will be exposed in spite of ourselves; which includes arrogance, greed, treachery, deceit, and our sins and offenses against the Lord that we cannot control, which is just as Paul says here: “for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not” (Rom 7:18). Clearly, “being saved” does not represent that we have been fully gained by God. In other words, with only the redemption that we received in the Age of Grace, we still cannot triumph over Satan’s influence to be gained by God because God did not engage in the work of casting off the corrupt satanic disposition that dwells in man in the Age of Grace. If we merely linger in the stage of work done in the Age of Grace and hold on to some simple and outdated methods and practices, even the passage of 1,000 years would produce no changes in us; we could not achieve holiness, and we also could not gain a greater understanding of God. We are merely stuck in a rut with no hope of ever maturing in our lives. We will gradually drift further and further away from God and finally end up in the clutches of Satan. So for corrupt mankind to be fully saved from Satan’s influence, God must personally perform another stage of work, one which is more deep and thoroughgoing, to save mankind. God supplies mankind with the words it needs for life so that mankind may: understand God’s work and His management; know God’s almightiness, wisdom, substance, disposition, and all that He has and is; know all truths; and be guided on the right path of life. Thus mankind’s old notions and old disposition will be changed, and mankind’s sinful nature will be thoroughly removed, which is to say, mankind will break free from the satanic philosophies and rules as well as the satanic poisons that dwell deep inside its nature. Mankind can then become humane and a possessor of the truth and thereby become someone who truly submits to God. Currently, all Almighty God’s work is exactly this stage of work where the thorough cleansing and salvation of man is occurring. Almighty God is not only giving more truths to humanity based on the foundation of the Lord Jesus’ work in the Age of Grace, but He is also proclaiming the commandments and administrative decrees for the Age of Kingdom. He has raised His requirements for mankind so that: Mankind is supposed to seek and understand the truth in God’s word; know God’s disposition and all that He has and is; and know mankind’s own satanic nature that disobeys and resists God. Mankind should practice the truth and live by God’s word under the precondition of understanding the truth so that mankind can attain the transformation of its disposition, regain a normal life where it worships God, become holy, and enter the wonderful destination that God has prepared for mankind.

The Bible contains prophecies about God’s salvation in the last days where the First Epistle of Peter chapter 1 verse 5 says, “Who are kept by the power of God through faith to salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.” This piece of scripture clearly foretells: For we who follow the Lord Jesus, God has prepared salvation for us in the last days. So, what will this salvation in the last days actually be? The Bible says: “For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God” (1Pe 4:17). “And he had in his right hand seven stars: and out of his mouth went a sharp two edged sword: and his countenance was as the sun shines in his strength” (Rev 1:16). “And I saw another angel fly in the middle of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach to them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people, Saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters” (Rev 14:6-7). We can see from the scriptures that the everlasting gospel refers to God’s judgment work in the last days, where God uses words as sharp as swords to judge and cleanse man. This is exactly the judgment before the great white throne mentioned in the Book of Revelation, which is the work that shall decide the outcome of mankind and their destination. Almighty God says, “When it comes to the word ‘judgment,’ you will think of the words that Jehovah spoke to all the places and the words of rebuke that Jesus spoke to the Pharisees. Though these words are stern, they are not God’s judgment of man; these words are only those spoken by God within different environments, that is, different settings, and they are unlike the words spoken by Christ as He judges man in the last days. In the last days, Christ uses a variety of truths to teach man, reveal the essence of man, and dissect his words and deeds. These words comprise various truths, such as man’s duty, how man should obey God, how man should be loyal to God, how man ought to live out the normal humanity, as well as the wisdom and disposition of God, and so on. These words are all focused on the essence of man and his corrupt disposition. In particular, those words that reveal how man spurns God are spoken in regard to how man is an embodiment of Satan and an enemy force against God. When God does the work of judgment, He does not simply make clear the nature of man with just a few words, but carries out revelation, dealing, and pruning over the long term. Such manner of revelation, dealing, and pruning cannot be substituted with ordinary words but with the truth that man does not possess at all. Only such manner of work is deemed judgment; only through such judgment can man be persuaded, be thoroughly convinced into submission to God, and gain true knowledge of God. What the work of judgment brings about is man’s understanding of the true face of God and the truth about his rebelliousness. The work of judgment allows man to gain much understanding of the will of God, of the purpose of God’s work, and of the mysteries that could not be understood by man. It also allows man to recognize and know his corrupt substance and the roots of his corruption, as well as to discover the ugliness of man. These effects are all brought about by the work of judgment, for the substance of such work is actually the work of opening up the truth, way, and life of God to all those who have faith in Him. This work is the work of judgment done by God” (“Christ Does the Work of Judgment With the Truth” in The Word Appears in the Flesh). We can understand from God’s words that: In the last days, God uses truth to do His judgment work so that mankind can better understand His will, have true knowledge of Him, and understand the source and substance of man’s corruption by Satan. Furthermore, the work of judgment also allows mankind to truly gain the truth, the way, and the life bestowed by Christ of the last days so that it may be completely gained by God and attain His salvation. This is the more thoroughgoing salvation that is built upon the foundation of the Lord Jesus’ redemption work and it is also the final stage of work in the 6,000-year management plan, which is to conquer and perfect man; this is the salvation that appears in the last days.

Brothers and sisters, despite mankind’s lack of understanding about the work God does, and despite much of mankind not understanding all that God does and not knowing His intentions and being evasive and reluctant toward God’s new work, nonetheless, the true followers of God do have a place for Him in their hearts. They set aside their own notions and seek and study the true way with a quiet heart and listen to God’s voice, thereby gaining His enlightenment and a genuine recognition of God’s voice. These true followers move from their notions to actual knowledge about the second incarnate God. These true believers move from resisting God to submitting to Him, they move from persecuting God to accepting Him, and they move from forsaking God to loving Him. This is akin to the past where the disciples and some Jewish common people recognized that the Lord Jesus is the One of heaven. Although they confronted a heavy blockade, obstruction, confinement, oppression and persecution by the religious community and the satanic regime, once they recognized the true way they were firmly convinced and knew no doubt and they followed God closely. Such is the formidable power of the work of the true God. Now, the gospel of the kingdom of Almighty God has been spreading at blazing speed throughout all of mainland China. Now it expands to every country and nation; are you truly unwilling to obtain the full truth that God bestows upon mankind and live in the light? Have you truly not understood the content and intent behind the Lord Jesus’ constant reminders for mankind in the last days to watch? Are you not worried about missing out on this opportunity for complete salvation from God? Are you not concerned about your heartbreaking regret? Could it be that you still don’t understand the reason behind the Eastern Lightning’s boundless and unstoppable progress? If you do understand, then what are you waiting for?

What Does Christ Mean? Why Is the Lord Jesus Called Christ?

What Does Christ Mean? 

Why Is the Lord Jesus Called Christ?

What Does Christ Mean? Why Is the Lord Jesus Called Christ?

by Xie Shang

As Christians, we are all familiar with the word “Christ.” Because we pray in the holy name of Jesus Christ every day, we believe the Lord Jesus is Christ. Some people may say, “Christ means the anointed One.” Some say, “Christ is the Messiah, the Son of God.” Some say, “Christ is the incarnate Lord Jesus.” Others say, “Christ is the Lord Jesus, the Son of man.” Everyone has his own opinion. For these opinions, other people raise questions. Some of them say, “Jesus Christ is the Son of man. Then, according to the record of the Old Testament, Jehovah God called those who were used by Him the son of man. Are those who were used and called the son of man by God Christ? Just as the Bible says, ‘And he said to me, Son of man, stand on your feet, and I will speak to you’ (Ezekiel 2:1). ‘And he said to me, Son of man, have you seen this?’ (Ezekiel 47:6). Here, Jehovah God called Ezekiel the son of man. Then was he Christ? In the Old Testament, those who were used by Jehovah God to do work were prophets, priests and other people. God called them the son of man. So, were they Christ?” Some say, “Christ means the anointed One. In the Old Testament, the kings and priests were all the anointed ones. Why weren’t they Christ?” Some say, “Christ is the Messiah; then why do we pray to Jesus Christ, not Messiah Christ?” They all hold to their opinions, and it makes us confused: What on earth is Christ?

How can one know the divine essence of Christ?

How can one know the divine essence of Christ?

Bible Verses for Reference:

“Jesus said to him, I am the way, the truth, and the life” “The words that I speak to you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwells in me, he does the works. Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father in me: or else believe me for the very works’ sake” (Jhn 14:6, 10-11).

Relevant Words of God:

To study such a thing is not difficult, but requires each of us to know this truth: He who is God’s incarnation shall hold the substance of God, and He who is God’s incarnation shall hold the expression of God. Since God becomes flesh, He shall bring forth the work He must do, and since God becomes flesh, He shall express what He is, and shall be able to bring the truth to man, bestow life upon man, and show man the way. Flesh that does not contain the substance of God is surely not the incarnateGod; of this there is no doubt. To investigate whether it is God’s incarnate flesh, man must determine this from the disposition He expresses and the words He speaks. Which is to say, whether or not it is God’s incarnate flesh, and whether or not it is the true way, must be judged from His substance. And so, in determining[a] whether it is the flesh of God incarnate, the key is to pay attention to His substance (His work, His words, His disposition, and many more), rather than external appearance. If man sees only His external appearance, and overlooks His substance, then that shows the ignorance and naivety of man.