1. Going Astray and Finding the WayXiaobing Xuanzhou City, Anhui Province
“That which you are enjoying today is the very thing which is ruining your future, whereas the pain you are suffering today is the very thing that is protecting you. You must be clearly aware of that so as to keep away from the hook of temptation and to avoid entering the dense fog that blocks out the sun.” Every time I sing this song of God’s word “Enjoying Fleshly Comforts Will Ruin Your Future,” I think of time after time when I tested and betrayed God, and I feel both endless remorse and incredible gratitude. In 1997, I accepted Almighty God’s work of the last days, and before long I had enthusiastically thrown myself into the work of spreading the gospel and had set my determination that in front of God, I would expend myself for Him without constraints in order to satisfy His heart. But as God’s work changed, when God’s work was not in line with my own conceptions and my desires were not fulfilled, my “devotion” to God then disappeared without a trace and my nature of betraying God was fully exposed. There was one day in 1999 when I was returning home after a trip to carry out my duty, and I ran into an old classmate who I hadn’t seen in years. I saw his suit and tie, his cellphone—head to toe, he looked very well-off. I was incredibly envious; by contrast, I looked so shabby. A few days later, something my grandmother said once again hit that sore spot: “You’re not working and earning money now—aren’t you holding yourself back? Who would think anything of you without money? Look at your classmate, going out and earning so much money, buying all sorts of things … but what about you? You have nothing!” Suddenly, I envisioned that particular air my classmate had. I felt miserable and really wanted to crawl into a little hole! Then my grandmother said: “The hanging scroll factory your uncle runs happens to need people and he wanted you to work there.” I blurted out: “Okay! I’ll go!” That night, I lay awake tossing and turning, racked by these thoughts: Am I really going to earn money? What if I fall into temptation and can’t extricate myself? But because of my own vanity and the enticement of money as well as an actual predicament, I began to doubt God’s words. I thought: It can’t be that earning a little money will make it hard for me to extricate myself. … After a struggle, I was still unable to resist the temptation of money, so I comforted myself with this: “It doesn’t matter; after I’ve earned a little money and changed the situation, I’ll definitely put everything into fulfilling my duty. I won’t be like worldly people who can never get enough money.” So, the next day I went to the hanging scroll factory. When I first started, I was working and leading the life of the church. I frequently reminded myself: I cannot turn my back on God! But I gradually sank lower and began to feel bored with eating and drinking the word of God. I didn’t want to see my brothers and sisters. Even though at every gathering I said that money was not as important as life, as soon as I went back to the factory, I became very busy without thinking about it. Sometimes I even numbed myself by working constantly so that I was too preoccupied to think of the extraordinary, once-in-a-millennium calamity that God has prepared. It was thus that I came to prefer leading an empty life like worldly people and was unwilling to seek the true beautiful life in God’s words. Later, at a gathering, I felt a sudden pain in my stomach as if I had been hit by a hammer. I really couldn’t bear it, and I went into the bedroom to lie down. But it didn’t stop—I was rolling around on the bed in pain. When my brothers and sisters saw what was happening, they rushed to take me to the hospital, but the doctor couldn’t find anything wrong with me. My brothers and sisters advised me to look into myself, but not only did I not reflect on myself, but I believed even more that it wasn’t okay to not have money. I thought: “What if one day I get seriously ill, and I die because I don’t have money for treatment?” For that reason, I started to resent that my monthly salary at the hanging scroll factory was only 400 yuan and decided to go back home and throw myself into my career. So I borrowed 6,000 yuan and started a hanging scroll factory. But in order to avoid the calamity of the last days, I held on to my money in one hand and the truth in the other, letting go of neither. Who would have known that six months later, not only had I not made any money, but with interest I owed over 10,000 yuan. I lost my reason then, and complained to God: “Oh God, You won’t bless me with making money, but You shouldn’t let me lose money! Why would I have the will to follow You when You do this? Even if I am wrong, You should be understanding of my weaknesses! …” At that moment, I was dazzled by money and God didn’t have even the smallest place in my heart; I didn’t realize at all that God’s righteous disposition was upon me. I remained unrepentant; I actually betrayed God again, leaving the church to go learn to be a hairstylist. I immersed myself in sin and forgot about God entirely. That was until one day when I was riding my bicycle to go meet my father. I got to the top of a rise, and suddenly a mean dog ran from the side of the road, lunging at me ferociously. I rode as hard as I could, flying down the slope, but the dog was still close behind, baring its teeth and barking. I was so frightened I was trembling from head to toe. I was in a cold sweat and lifted both of my feet up high. With a thud, I came tumbling off the bike onto the road, which was covered in sharp rocks. I rolled and rolled into the ditch next to the road, then finally stopped. I couldn’t move my legs, my hands were numb, and I was in a panic. I thought: What if this makes me disabled? What if something terrible is to happen? I endured the pain and lay in the ditch, hoping my father would return home soon. Finally, my father came back and, seeing me looking so beat up, asked me what had happened. Not knowing if I should laugh or cry, I said: “I was scared by the dog!” “Strange! The dog doesn’t bite anyone else, why would it bite you?” In the end, my father made a Herculean effort and finally got me out of the ditch and onto the bicycle, and pushed me home. Lying in bed, I could not help but think of my father’s words again: “Strange! The dog doesn’t bite anyone else, why would it bite you?” Suddenly, I saw the light and thanked God! I thought: This fall has rolled me into an awakening! If I had rolled to my death today after falling or had been bitten by the dog and died, then no matter how much money I have earned, what use would it be? The more I thought about it, the more scared I was, and all of a sudden, I thought of God’s words: “Is the world really your place of rest? Could you really attain a smile of relief from the world through your avoidance of My chastisement? … I advise you: better to sincerely spend half your life for Me than your whole life in mediocrity and busywork for the flesh, enduring all the suffering a man could hardly bear. What purpose would it serve to treasure yourself so much as to flee from My chastisement? What purpose would it serve to hide yourself from My momentary chastisement only to reap an eternity of embarrassment, an eternity of chastisement? I will not, in fact, bend anyone to My will. If a man is really willing to submit to all My plans, I would not treat him poorly. But I require that all people believe in Me …” (“What a Real Man Means” in The Word Appears in the Flesh). “Maybe you have complained in the past, but no matter how much you have complained God does not remember that about you. Today has come and there is no reason to look into yesterday’s matters” (“Genuine Love for God Is Spontaneous” in The Word Appears in the Flesh). At that time, a feeling of gratitude welled up in my heart. Mankind’s lives are all in God’s hands, and it is Almighty God that has given me life. But at that point how could I have the nerve to return to the church! I was full of regret and hated that I had been possessed to betray God. Not only could I not bear witness for God in the environment He had created for me, but I had also tried to reason with God and complained, and I had followed my flesh into evil-doing with Satan. When I thought of myself testing God’s disposition, disregarding His existence, His searching eyes upon mankind, and His discipline, and time after time that I had brazenly, shamelessly tried to reason with God, I couldn’t help but shed tears of remorse. In spite of the pain, I knelt on the bed and prayed to God: “Almighty God! I am too rebellious. I believed in You but doubted You, believed in You but distanced myself from You. I simply did not treat You as God; I really should be damned! Based on my actions today, I should have been bitten to death by that dog. Because You do not allow one person to serve two Lords, and You particularly do not allow someone to believe in You but not keep You in their heart. Only today did I see that without You I am so pathetic. I was living in filth but did not feel disgust, and didn’t feel that I was being fooled by Satan. Oh God! I am willing to give myself up to You entirely. I beg You to have mercy on me again, to protect my heart, to allow my heart to return to You. After my injuries have healed, I will leave the hair salon and throw myself into the work of the gospel to fulfill the duty of a creation, to repay Your love, to comfort Your heart, and to no longer preoccupy myself for money or rush about for the sake of the flesh.” I thank the love of Almighty God; He used chastisement and judgment to save me once again from sin, to allow me to find my way back from going astray, to pursue a life with meaning, with value. The love of Almighty God truly is broad and profound; it leaves me unable to describe it with words. I am willing to set this determination in front of God: Starting from today, I will no longer turn my back on God; I will follow Him closely until the end to repay the God that loves mankind as His own flesh and blood! source: 1. Going Astray and Finding the Way in Judgment Before the Seat of Christ
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Are God's words all in the Bible? Is there God's word outside the Bible? The film clip will lead you to explore this question.
Eastern Lightning | The Church of Almighty God came into being because of the work of the returned Lord Jesus—the end-time Christ, “Almighty God”—in China, and it isn't established by any person. Christ is the truth, the way, and the life. After reading God’s word, you will see that God has appeared. Human behavior has never touched My heart, nor has it ever struck Me as precious. In the eyes of man, I am always treating him very strictly, and I am always exercising authority over him. In all of man’s actions, there is scarcely anything done for Me, scarcely anything standing firm before My eyes. Ultimately, everything pertaining to man has imperceptibly crumbled before Me, and only in such a time do My actions become apparent, letting everyone, in their own failure, come to know Me. Human nature remains unchanged. What is in their hearts is not in accordance with My will—it is not what I need. What I detest the most is man’s stubbornness and recidivism, but what force would there be provoking them to continue being a stranger to Me, to always keep a distance, to never act in accordance to My will before Me and oppose Me behind My back instead? Is this their loyalty? Is this their love for Me? Why can’t they repent and be born again? Why are people forever willing to live in the swamp instead of a place free of mud? Could it be that I have mistreated them? Could it be that I have led them astray? Could it be that I lead them to hell? Everyone is willing to live in “hell.” When the light comes, their eyes go instantly blind, as everything they have stored up in them comes from hell. However, they are ignorant of this, and they are just enjoying “infernal pleasures.” They even hold them as treasures close to their chests with an intense fear that I will steal them away, leaving them without the source of existence. People fear Me, which is why they stay far away from Me and hate to draw near to Me when I come to earth, for they are unwilling to “cause trouble for themselves,” wishing instead to maintain a peaceful family life so that they might enjoy “happiness on earth.” However I cannot allow them to fulfill their wishes, as destroying their families is precisely what I am here to do. From the moment of My arrival the peace in their homes will be disturbed. I will shatter all the nations, not to mention the families. Who could ever escape My grasp? How could it be that those who receive blessings could escape by virtue of their unwillingness? How could it ever be that those who suffer chastisement could gain My sympathy by virtue of their fear? In all of My words, people have seen My will and seen My actions, but who could ever break free of the entanglement of his own thoughts? Who could ever find a way out from within or without My words?
People experienced My warmth, they sincerely served Me, and they were sincerely obedient to Me and doing everything for Me in My presence. But people today somehow cannot arrive at this way of being, and they can only mourn in their spirits as if stolen away by a ravenous wolf. They can only look at Me with anxiously awaiting eyes, and furthermore they keep crying out to Me for help. But from start to finish, they cannot get themselves out of trouble. I think back to how people in the past made promises in My presence, swore to the end of the world in My presence, to repay My kindness with their affection. They wept sorrowfully before Me, and the sound of their cries was heartbreaking and difficult to tolerate. I often supported them by virtue of their will. People have come before Me countless times to obey Me, and their adorable manners have been memorable. Countless times they have come to love Me with unwavering faith, and their sincere emotion has been admirable. On countless occasions, they have risked their lives to love Me, to love Me more than themselves, and seeing their sincerity, I have accepted their love. On countless occasions, they have offered themselves in My presence, indifferent in the face of death for Me, and I wiped the worry off their faces, and carefully sized up their visages. There have been countless occasions where I have loved them like My own treasure, and there have been countless occasions where I have hated them as My own enemy. Such am I—they can never guess what is on My mind. When people are sad, I come to comfort them, and when they are weak, I come to help them along. When they are lost, I give them direction. When they weep, I wipe away their tears. However, when I am sad, who can comfort Me with their hearts? When I am worried sick, who is considerate of My feelings? When I am sorrowful, who can make up for the hurt I feel? When I need someone, who would offer to cooperate with Me? How could it be that their past attitude toward Me is now lost and never to return? Why is it that there is not a little left in their memories? How is it that people have forgotten all these? Isn’t this because mankind has been corrupted by his enemies? When the angels play music and percussion in praise to Me, I cannot help but have My sympathy evoked for man. I suddenly feel extremely sad in My heart, and it is difficult to rid Myself of this painful emotion. In My joys and sorrows, My separation and being reunited with man, I cannot wax nostalgic. Separated in heaven above and on earth below, we are unable to meet regularly. Who could ever break free from nostalgia? Who could ever stop reminiscing about the past? Who would not eagerly anticipate the continuance of good feelings past? Who would not expect My return? Who would not long for My reunion with man? My heart is deeply troubled, and their spirits are deeply worried. Although we are the same in our spirits, we cannot often be together, and we cannot often see each other. Thus the life of all mankind is deeply aggrieved and lacking in vitality, as they have always yearned for Me. It is as if they were objects knocked out of heaven, crying out My name from the earth, lifting their gaze to Me from the ground—but how can they escape from the mouth of the ravenous wolf? How can they free themselves from its threat and temptation? How could they not sacrifice themselves by way of obedience to the direction of My plan? When they loudly entreat, I turn My face away from them, I can no longer bear to witness it; however, how could I not hear the sound of such weeping people? I want to correct the injustices of the human world. I will do My work personally throughout the entire world, forbidding Satan from harming My people again, forbidding the enemy from doing whatever they please again. I will become King on earth and move My throne there, making all the enemy fall to the ground and confess their crimes before Me. In My sadness mixed with anger, I will overcome the whole universe, sparing no one, and putting all of the enemy in awe. I want to reduce the earth to ruins, among which all the enemy will be, henceforth preventing them from further corrupting mankind. My plan is determined, and no one, no matter who they are, will be able to change it. As I float above the universe swaggering, all people will have a renewed outlook, and everything will be revived. They will no longer weep, and no longer cry out to Me for help. Then My heart will rejoice, and the people will return in celebration to Me. The whole universe, from top to bottom, will roil in jubilation … Today among various countries, I am doing the work I have set out to accomplish. I am moving around everyone, doing all My work as planned, and all the people split the nations according to My will. The people on the ground have their attention fixed on their own destination, as the day is coming closer and the angel’s trumpet has already sounded. There will be no more delays in hours or days, and all things will begin to dance in jubilation. Who could ever extend My day just at their will? Could it be an earthling? Could they be the stars in the sky or the angels? When I make an utterance and start the salvation of Israel’s people, My day approaches all of mankind. Every man fears the return of Israel. When it returns, that will be My day of glory, and the day when everything changes and becomes renewed. As a righteous judgment will be facing the whole universe, all are timid and fearful, because in the human world, righteousness is unheard of. When the Sun of righteousness appears, the East will be illuminated, and then it will illuminate the whole universe, reaching everyone. If man can really do My righteousness, what would there be to fear? All My people await the arrival of My day, anticipating the coming of My day. They await Me to repay all of mankind and determine their destination as the Sun of righteousness. My kingdom is forming over the whole universe, and My throne is seizing the hearts of trillions of people. With the angels’ assistance, My great accomplishment will soon be brought to successful completion. All the masses of My sons and My people, anxiously await My return, anticipating My reuniting with them, never to be separated again. How could all the populace of My kingdom not run around in celebration with each other over My being together with them? Could this be a costless reunion? I am honorable in the eyes of everyone, I am proclaimed in everyone’s words. When I return, I will conquer all enemy forces even more. The time has come! I will put My work in motion, I will reign supreme among man! I am returning! I am leaving! This is what everyone is anticipating, what they are hoping for. I want to let everyone see the arrival of My day and joyfully welcome the coming of My day! April 2, 1992 source: The Twenty-seventh Utterance in The Word Appears in the Flesh Eastern Lightning | The Church of Almighty God came into being because of the work of the returned Lord Jesus--Almighty God, Christ of the last days in China, and it isn't established by any person. Christ is the truth, the way, and the life. After reading God’s word, you will see that God has appeared. People! Rejoice!
In My light, people see the light again. In My word, people find the things for enjoyment. I have come from the East and I hail from there. When My glory shines, all nations are lighted, all is brought to light, not a thing remains in darkness. In the kingdom, the life of God’s people with God is incomparably happy. The waters dance for people’s blessed lives, the mountains enjoy with people My abundance. All men are striving, working hard, showing their loyalty in My kingdom. In the kingdom, there is no more rebellion, no more resistance; the heavens and the earth depend on each other, man and I are close and feel deeply, through life’s felicities, leaning together…. At this time, I formally begin the heavenly life. Satan’s interference is no more, and the people enter into rest. Throughout the universe, My chosen people live in My glory, blessed beyond compare, not as people living among people, but as people living with God. Everyone has experienced Satan’s corruption, tasted life’s bitterness and sweetness. Now living in My light, how can one not rejoice? How can one simply forgo such a beautiful moment and let it pass? People! Now sing the songs in your hearts and dance for Me! Now lift your sincere hearts and offer them to Me! Now beat your drums and play for Me! I shine joy over all the universe! I show the people My glorious face! I shall thunder! I shall transcend the universe! Already I reign among the people! I am exalted by the people! I drift in the blue heavens and the people move with Me. I walk among the people and My people surround Me! The people’s hearts are joyous, their songs shake the universe, cracking the skies! The universe is no longer shrouded in fog; there is no more mud, no more sewage gathering. Holy people of the universe! Under My inspection your true countenance is revealed. You are not men covered in filth, but saints pure as jade, all My beloved, all My delights! All things come back to life! All saints are back in heavens serving Me, entering My warm embrace, no longer weeping, no longer anxious, offering up themselves to Me, returning to My home, and in their homeland they will love Me endlessly! Unchanging! Where is the sorrow! Where are the tears! Where is the flesh! The earth is no longer; the heavens are forever. I appear to all peoples, and all peoples praise Me. This life, this beauty, from time immemorial and forevermore, will not change. This is life in the kingdom. source: People! Rejoice! in The Word Appears in the Flesh Eastern Lightning, The Church of Almighty God was created because of the appearance and work of Almighty God, the second coming of the Lord Jesus, Christ of the last days. It is made up of all those who accept Almighty God's work in the last days and are conquered and saved by His words. It was entirely founded by Almighty God personally and is led by Him as the Shepherd. It was definitely not created by a person. Christ is the truth, the way, and the life. God's sheep hear God's voice. As long as you read the words of Almighty God, you will see God has appeared. Who has abided in My home? Who has stood up for My sake? Who has suffered in My behalf? Who has pledged his word before Me? Who has followed Me to the present and yet has not become indifferent? Why are all human beings cold and unfeeling? Why has mankind abandoned Me? Why has humanity grown weary of Me? Why is there no warmth in the human world? While in Zion, I have tasted the warmth that is in heaven, and while in Zion I have enjoyed the blessing that is in heaven. Again, I have lived in mankind’s midst, I have tasted the bitterness in the human world, I have seen with My own eyes all the different states that exist amongst men. Unawares, man has changed along with My changes, and only in this way has he arrived at the present day. I do not require that man be able to do anything for My sake, nor do I require that he make any increase on My account. I only want him to be able to accord with My plan, neither disobeying Me nor becoming a mark of shame to Me, and to bear resounding witness unto Me. Among men, there have been those who have borne Me good witness and glorified My name, but how can man’s practices, man’s conduct possibly satisfy My heart? How can he possibly meet with My desire or fulfill My will? Of the mountains and waters on the earth, and the flowers, grasses, and trees on the earth, not one but shows the work of My hands, not one but exists for My name. Yet why cannot man attain to the standards of what I demand? Could this be due to his abject lowliness? Could it be due to My elevation of him? Could it be that I am too cruel to him? Why is man always fearful of My demands? Today, among the multitudes in the kingdom, why is it that you only listen to My voice but do not wish to see My face? Why do you only look at My words without trying to match them to My Spirit? Why do you keep Me apart in heaven above and on the earth below? Could it be that I, when I am on earth, am not the same I that I am in heaven? Could it be that I, when I am in heaven, cannot come down onto the earth? Could it be that I, when I am on earth, am unworthy to be borne up to heaven? It is as though I, when I am on earth, am a lowly creature, as though I, when I am in heaven, am an exalted being, and as though there lies between heaven and earth an unbridgeable chasm. But in the world of men they seem to know nothing of the origins of these things, but all along have been going contrary to Me, as though My words have only sound and no meaning. All men spend effort on My words, undertaking investigations of their own into My outward semblance, but they all meet with failure, without any results to show, but instead are struck down by My words and dare not get up again.
When I put mankind’s faith to the test, not one human being has the capacity to bear true witness, not one is capable of offering up his all; rather, man keeps hiding and refuses to open himself up, as if I were going to ravish his heart. Even Job never truly stood up under trial, nor did he emanate sweetness in the midst of suffering. All that humanity is capable of doing is to produce a faint hint of green in the warmth of springtime; he has never stayed evergreen under the cold blasts of winter. Bony and emaciated in stature, man cannot fulfill My intention. In all of humanity, there is no one who can serve as a model for others, because men are basically alike and no different from each other, with little to distinguish them one from another. For this reason, even today men are still unable fully to know My works. Only when My chastisement descends upon all mankind will men, unbeknownst to themselves, become aware of My works, and without My doing anything or compelling anyone, men will come to know Me, and thereby get to see My works. This is My plan, it is the aspect of My works that is manifest, and it is what man should know. In the kingdom, the myriad things of creation begin to revive and regain their life force. Due to changes in the state of the earth, the boundaries between one land and another also begin to shift. Formerly, I have prophesied: When land is divided from land, and land unites with land, this will be the time that I will smash up the nations into smithereens. At this time, I will renew all of creation and repartition the entire universe, thereby putting the universe in order, transforming its old state into a new one. This is My plan. These are My works. When the nations and the peoples of the world all return before My throne, I will thereupon take all the bounty of heaven and confer it upon the human world, so that, thanks to Me, it will brim with matchless bounty. But so long as the old world continues to exist, I will hurl forth My rage upon its nations, openly promulgating My administrative decrees throughout the universe, and visit chastisement on whomever violates them: As I turn My face to the universe to speak, all mankind hears My voice, and thereupon sees all the works I have wrought throughout the universe. Those who go contrary to My will, that is to say, who oppose Me with the deeds of man, will fall down under My chastisement. I will take the multitudinous stars in the heavens and make them anew, and thanks to Me the sun and the moon will be renewed—the skies will no longer be as they were; the myriad things on the earth will be renewed. All will become complete through My words. The many nations within the universe will be partitioned afresh and replaced by My nation, so that the nations upon the earth will disappear forever and become a nation that worships Me; all the nations of the earth will be destroyed, and will cease to exist. Of the human beings within the universe, all those belonging to the devil will be exterminated; all who worship Satan will be laid low by My burning fire—that is, except for those now within the stream, the rest will be turned to ashes. When I chastise the many peoples, those in the religious world will, in differing degrees, return to My kingdom, conquered by My works, because they will have seen the advent of the Holy One riding on a white cloud. All of humanity will follow their own kind, and will receive chastisements varying with what they have done. Those who have stood against Me will all perish; as for those whose deeds on the earth have not involved Me, they will, because of how they have acquitted themselves, continue to exist on the earth under the governance of My sons and My people. I will reveal Myself to the myriad peoples and the myriad nations, sounding forth with My own voice upon the earth to proclaim the completion of My great work for all mankind to see with their own eyes. As My voice deepens in intensity, I am also observing the state of the universe. Through My words, the myriad things of creation are all made new. Heaven changes, and earth too changes. Humanity is exposed in their original form and, slowly, each according to their kind, men find their way unawares back into the bosom of their families. At this, I will be greatly pleased. I am free from disruption, and My great work becomes complete, all unawares, the myriad things of creation are transformed, all unawares. When I created the world, I fashioned all things according to their kind, making everything with a visible form gather together with its kind. As the end of My management plan draws near, I will restore the former state of creation, I will restore everything to the way it originally was, profoundly changing everything, so that everything will return into the bosom of My plan. The time has come! The last stage in My plan is about to be accomplished. Ah, unclean old world! You shall surely fall down under My words! You shall surely be reduced to nothingness by My plan! Ah, the myriad things of creation! You will all gain new life within My words, you now have a Sovereign Lord! Ah, pure and unblemished new world! You shall surely revive within My glory! Ah, Mount Zion! Be silent no more. I have returned in triumph! From the midst of creation, I scrutinize the whole earth. On earth, mankind has begun a new life, has won new hope. Ah, My people! How can you not come back to life within My light? How can you not jump for joy under My guidance? The lands are shouting in jubilation, the waters are cacophonous with gleeful laughter! Ah, the resurrected Israel! How can you not feel pride on account of My predestination? Who has wept? Who has wailed? The Israel of old has ceased to be, and today’s Israel has risen up, erect and towering, in the world, has stood up in the hearts of all humanity. Today’s Israel shall surely attain the source of existence through My people! Ah, hateful Egypt! Surely you do not still stand against Me? How can you take advantage of My mercy and try to escape My chastisement? How can you not exist within My chastisement? All those that I love will surely live for eternity, and all those who stand against Me will surely be chastised by Me for eternity. For I am a jealous God, I will not lightly spare men for all that they have done. I will watch over the whole earth, and, appearing in the East of the world with righteousness, majesty, wrath, and chastisement, I will reveal Myself to the myriad hosts of humanity! March 29, 1992 source: The Twenty-sixth Utterance in The Word Appears in the Flesh Eastern Lightning, The Church of Almighty God was created because of the appearance and work of Almighty God, the second coming of the Lord Jesus, Christ of the last days. It is made up of all those who accept Almighty God's work in the last days and are conquered and saved by His words. It was entirely founded by Almighty God personally and is led by Him as the Shepherd. It was definitely not created by a person. Christ is the truth, the way, and the life. God's sheep hear God's voice. As long as you read the words of Almighty God, you will see God has appeared. Ironclad Proofs—Disclose the Mystery About the Bible (6) - Can't Man Gain Life Without the Bible?10/30/2017 If man departs from the Bible, how could he believe in the Lord and gain life? Do you have the same puzzle?
This film clip will give you a satisfactory answer. She believed in the Lord from childhood. At 18, she entered a theological school. In her 30’s, she became one of the leaders of a house church in Shanxi Province, China. For a long time, the Bible had a holy place and supreme authority in her heart. She thought that one could only know God and find God’s footsteps in the Bible. Thus, she devoted herself to reading and studying the Bible. However, there were still many mysteries in the Bible which puzzled her. Until one day…. Eastern Lightning | The Church of Almighty God came into being because of the work of the returned Lord Jesus—Almighty God, Christ of the last days in China, and it isn't established by any person. Christ is the truth, the way, and the life. After reading God’s word, you will see that God has appeared. 13. In Prison at the Prime of YouthChenxi, Hebei Province
Everyone says the prime of our youth is the most splendid and purest time of life. Perhaps for many, those years are full of beautiful memories, but what I never would have expected was that I spent the prime of my own youth in prison. You might look at me strangely for this, but I do not regret it. Even though that time behind bars was full of bitterness and tears, it was the most precious gift of my life, and I gained a great deal from it. I was born into a happy family, and since childhood have worshiped Jesus along with my mom. When I was fifteen, my family and I, convinced that Almighty God is Jesus come again, gladly accepted His work of the last days. One day in April of 2002, when I was seventeen, a sister and I were at a place fulfilling our duties. At 1:00 in the morning, we were soundly asleep at our host’s house when we were suddenly awakened by some loud, urgent bangs on the door. We heard someone outside yelling, “Open the door! Open the door!” No sooner had the sister who hosted us opened it than a few police officers abruptly pushed inside and said, aggressively, “We’re from the Public Security Bureau.” Hearing these three words, “Public Security Bureau,” made me immediately nervous. Were they here to arrest us for our belief in God? I had heard about some brothers and sisters being arrested and persecuted over their faith; could it be that this was now happening to me? Just then my heart began to beat wildly, thu-thump, thu-thump, and in my panic, I did not know what to do. I therefore hurriedly prayed to God: “God, I implore You to be with me. Give me faith and courage. No matter what happens, I will always be willing to stand testimony for You. I also beseech You to give me Your wisdom and grant me with the words I should speak, so that I will not betray You nor sell out my brothers and sisters.” After praying, my heart gradually calmed down. I saw those four or five evil cops rifling through the room like bandits, searching through the bedding, each cabinet, box, and even what was under the bed until finally they came up with some books of God’s utterances as well as CDs of hymns. The leader said to me in a deadpan voice, “Your possession of these things is evidence that you believe in God. Come with us and you can make a statement.” Shocked, I said, “If there is something to say, I can just say it here; I don’t want to go with you.” He immediately put on a smile and replied, “Don’t be afraid; let’s just take a little trip to make a statement. I’ll bring you back here very soon.” Taking him at his word, I went with them and got into the police car. It never occurred to me that that little trip would be the commencement of my prison life. As soon as we entered the courtyard of the police station, those evil cops started shouting at me to get out of the vehicle. Their facial expressions had changed very quickly, and suddenly they seemed to be completely different people from who they had been before. When we got to the office, several burly officers came in after us and stood to my left and right. Their power over me now secured, the leader of the group of evil cops bellowed at me, “What are you called? Where are you from? How many of you are there in total?” I had just opened my mouth and was in the middle of responding when he lunged at me and slapped me twice in the face—smack, smack! I was stunned into silence. I wondered to myself, Why did he hit me? I wasn’t even finished answering. Why were they being so rough and uncivilized, completely different from what I’d imagined the people’s police to be like? Next, he went on to ask me how old I was, and when I answered honestly that I was seventeen, slap, slap, he smacked my face again and scolded me for telling lies. After that, no matter what I said, he indiscriminately delivered blow after blow to my face to the point that I was seeing stars, my head was spinning, a “weng weng” sound was ringing in my ears, and my face was on fire with pain. It was then that I finally understood: These evil cops had not brought me there to ask me any questions at all; they simply wanted to use violence to force me into submission. I recalled having heard my brothers and sisters say that trying to reason with these vicious policemen would not work, but instead would just cause no end of trouble. Now, having experienced this for myself, from then on I did not utter a word no matter what they asked. When they saw that I would not talk, they screamed at me, “You son of a bitch! I’ll give you something to think about! Otherwise you wouldn’t give us a truthful account!” As this was said, one of them punched me fiercely two times in the chest, causing me to fall heavily on the floor. He then kicked me hard, two times, and pulled me back up from the floor to yell at me to kneel down. I did not obey, so he kicked me a few times in the knees. The wave of intense pain that swept over me forced me to kneel on the floor with a kerthump. He grabbed me by the hair and pulled downward forcefully, and then suddenly yanked my head backward, forcing me to look up. He cursed at me while pummeling my face a couple more times, and my only sensation was that the world was spinning. Presently, I fell to the floor. Just then, the head of the evil cops suddenly spotted the watch on my wrist. Staring at it covetously, he shouted, “What are you wearing there?” Right away, one of the policemen grabbed my wrist and forcefully pulled the watch off it, then gave it to his “master.” Seeing such mean behavior filled me with hate for them. After that, as they asked me more questions, I just glared at them in silence, and that aggravated them even further. One of the vicious cops grabbed me by the collar as if he were picking up a little chicken, and raised me up from the floor to roar at me, “Oh, you’re a big man, aren’t you? I’ll tell you when to keep quiet!” As he said this, he hit me fiercely a couple more times, and I again was beaten to the floor. By then my whole body was aching unbearably, and I no longer had any strength to struggle. I just lay on the floor with my eyes closed, not moving. In my heart, I urgently supplicated to God: “God, I don’t know what further atrocities this gang of wicked cops is going to perpetrate against me. You know I am small in stature, and that I am physically weak. I implore You to protect me. I would rather die than be a Judas and betray You.” As I prayed, God’s words enlightened me within: “You must suffer hardship for the truth, you must give yourself to the truth, you must endure humiliation for the truth, and to gain more of the truth you must undergo more suffering. This is what you should do” (“The Experiences of Peter: His Knowledge of Chastisement and Judgment” in The Word Appears in the Flesh). These words of God gave me infinite power and caused me to recognize that only in a state of suffering could one understand and obtain even more of the truth. I knew that if I had not suffered physically that day, then I would not have seen the true faces of these evil policemen, and would instead have continued to be deceived by their façade. The reason God has come among humans to engage in such arduous work is precisely to allow people to obtain the truth so that they can differentiate between black and white, right and wrong; it is so that they can understand the difference between righteousness and evil, holiness and ugliness. It is so that they can know who should be despised and rejected, and who should be worshiped and looked up to. On that day, I saw clearly the ugly face of Satan. As long as I still had a breath left in me, I would stand testimony for God, and would never give in to the forces of evil. Just then, I heard someone next to me say, “How come she’s not moving anymore? Is she dead?” After that, someone deliberately stepped on my hand and pressed down hard on it with his foot while bellowing ferociously, “Get up! We’re gonna take you somewhere else. If you still won’t talk when we get there, you’ll get what’s coming to you!” Because God’s words had added to my faith and strength, I was not at all frightened by their intimidation. In my heart, I was prepared to fight against Satan. Later, I was escorted to the County Public Security Bureau. When we got to the interrogation room, the leader of those evil cops and his entourage surrounded me and questioned me repeatedly, pacing back and forth in front of me and trying to force me to sell out my church’s leaders and my brothers and sisters. When they saw that I still wasn’t going to give them the answers they wanted to hear, the three of them took turns slapping me in the face over and over. I don’t know how many times I was hit; all I could hear was smack, smack, as they hit my face, a sound that seemed to ring out with particular volume against that quiet night. Their hands now sore, the evil cops began to hit me with books. There was a salty taste in my mouth and blood was dripping on my clothes. They beat me until in the end I couldn’t even feel the pain anymore; my face just felt swollen and numb. Finally, seeing that they weren’t going to get any valuable information out of my mouth, the vicious cops took out a phone book and, pleased with themselves, said, “We found this in your bag. Even if you won’t tell us anything, we still have another trick up our sleeve!” Suddenly, I felt extremely anxious: If any of my brothers or sisters answered the phone, it could lead to their being arrested. It could also link them to the church, and the consequences could be disastrous. Just then, I recalled a passage of God’s words: “Almighty God dominates all things and events! So long as our hearts look up to Him at all times and we enter into the spirit and associate with Him, then He will show us all the things we seek and His will is sure to be revealed to us; our hearts will then be in joy and peace, steady with perfect clarity” (“The Seventh Utterance” in The Word Appears in the Flesh). God’s words showed me the way of practice, and the path I should take. At any given time, God had always been the only One I could rely on as well as my sole salvation. I therefore repeatedly prayed to God, imploring Him to protect these brothers and sisters. As a result, when they dialed through those phone numbers one by one, some of the calls rang out without anyone answering while others could not get through at all. In the end, spitting curses in frustration, the evil cops tossed the phone book on the table and stopped trying. This was truly an example of God’s almightiness and sovereignty and of His wondrous actions; I could not help but express my thanks and praise to God. Nevertheless, they had not given up, and continued to interrogate me about the church’s affairs. I did not answer. Flustered and exasperated, they came up with an even more despicable move to try to make me suffer: One of the evil cops forced me to squat, and I had to hold my arms out even with my shoulders and was not allowed to move at all. Before long, my legs began to tremble and I couldn’t hold my arms out straight anymore, and my body involuntarily began to stand back up. The policeman took an iron bar and glared at me like a tiger watching his prey. No sooner had I stood up than he brutally beat me on the legs, causing so much pain that I nearly fell back to my knees. Over the next half hour, whenever my legs or arms moved even the slightest bit, he would immediately beat me with the bar. I don’t know how many times he hit me. Due to having squatted for such a long period of time, both of my legs grew extremely swollen and felt unbearably painful as though they were fractured. As time went by, my legs were shaking even harder and my teeth were chattering continuously. Just then it felt like my strength was going to give out and that I might faint. However, the evil cops just mocked and ridiculed me from the side, constantly sneering and laughing nastily at me, like people cruelly trying to get a monkey to do tricks. The more I looked at their ugly, despicable faces, the more hatred I felt for these evil cops. I suddenly stood and said to them in a loud voice, “I will not squat anymore. Go ahead and sentence me to death! Today I have nothing to lose! I am not even afraid to die, so how could I be scared of you? Such big men you are, yet all you seem to know how to do is bully a little girl like me!” To my surprise, after I said this, the group of evil cops shouted a few more curse words and then stopped interrogating me. At that point I felt very excited, and I understood that this was God maneuvering all things to perfect me: Once I had extricated fear from my heart, my environment changed accordingly. Deep in my heart I truly realized the significance of God’s words: “Just as it is said, ‘The king’s heart is in the hand of the LORD, as the rivers of water: he turns it wherever he will’; then how much more so with those nobodies?” I understood that today, God had allowed Satan’s persecution to befall me, not to intentionally cause me to suffer; but rather, to use it to allow me to realize the power of God’s words, lead me to break away from the control of Satan’s dark influence, and moreover, to let me learn to rely on God and look up to God while I am in danger. This pack of evil cops had tormented me most of the night; by the time they stopped, it was daylight. They had me sign my name and said they were going to detain me. After that, an elderly policeman, feigning kindness, said to me, “Miss, look; you are so young—in the flower of your youth—so it is best if you hurry up and clearly explain what you know. I guarantee that I will make them release you. If you have any trouble, do not hesitate to tell me. Look; your face has swollen up like a loaf of bread. Haven’t you suffered enough?” Just then, I remembered God’s words: “Why employ various tricks to deceive God’s folk?” (“Work and Entry (8)” in The Word Appears in the Flesh). I also recalled something my brothers and sisters had said during meetings: In order to get what they wanted, evil cops would use both carrot and stick and resort to all manner of tricks to deceive you. Thinking of this, I replied to the elderly policeman, “Don’t act like you are a good person; you’re all part of the same group. What do you want me to confess? What you’re doing is called extorting a confession. This is illegal punishment!” Hearing this, he put on an innocent expression and argued, “But I haven’t hit you once. They are the ones who hit you.” I was grateful for God’s guidance and protection, which allowed me to once again prevail over Satan’s temptation. After leaving the County Public Security Bureau, I was directly locked up in the detention center by them. As soon as we walked in the front gate, I saw the place was surrounded by very tall walls with electrified concertina wires on top of them, and in each of the four corners was what looked like a sentry tower. In them armed policemen stood guard. It all felt very sinister and terrible. After passing through iron gate after iron gate, I arrived at the cell. When I saw the dilapidated, linen-covered quilts atop the icy kang bed, which were both dark and dirty, and smelled the pungent, foul scent coming from them, I could not help but feel a wave of disgust pass through me, quickly followed by a wave of sadness. I thought to myself: How can people live here? This is nothing more than a pigsty. At mealtime, each prisoner was only given a small steamed bun that was sour and half-raw. Even though I hadn’t eaten all day, seeing this food really made me lose my appetite. On top of that, my face was so swollen from being beaten by the cops, and felt taut as though wrapped in tape. It hurt even just opening my mouth to talk, let alone to eat. Under these circumstances, I was in a very gloomy mood and felt much wronged. The thought that I would actually have to stay here and endure such an inhuman existence made me so emotional that I involuntarily shed some tears. Just then, I recalled a hymn of God’s words: “God has come to this filthy land and silently endures as He is savaged and oppressed by humans. Not once has He resisted, nor has He ever made any excessive requests of them. God does all the work humanity needs: teaching, enlightening, reproaching, the refinement of words, reminding, exhorting, consoling, judging, and revealing. He takes every step for the sake of people’s life, as well as to purify them. Though He removes the future and fate of humanity, all of God’s actions are for their sake. His every step is for people’s existence and to provide all of humanity with a wonderful destination on earth” (“The Practical God Subtly Brings Salvation to Humanity” in Follow the Lamb and Sing New Songs). As I tried to fathom God’s words, I felt enormously humiliated and ashamed. God had come from heaven to earth—from up high to the lowest depths—going from the position of the most honorable Being to that of an insignificant man. The holy God came to this filthy, dirty world of humanity and interacted with corrupt humans, yet all these sufferings God endured in silence. Hadn’t God suffered a great deal more than I had? As a human deeply corrupted by Satan and one without any honor worth speaking of, how was I unable to endure even this little bit of suffering? In this evil, dark time, had I not been fortunate enough to be lifted up by God so that I could follow Him, then there was no telling what sort of situation I would have been in, or whether or not I would even have still been alive. That I felt wronged and sad over this little bit of suffering, and unwilling to accept it, showed that I really lacked conscience and rationality. Realizing this, I stopped feeling wronged, and within me I found some willpower with which to endure my hardship. Half a month went by, and the head of those evil cops again came to interrogate me. Seeing me remain calm and composed, and that I had no fear at all, he shouted my name and yelled, “Tell me truthfully: Where else have you been arrested before? This is certainly not your first time inside; otherwise, how could you act so calm and seasoned, as if you’re not afraid in the least?” When I heard him say this, I could not help but thank and praise God in my heart. God had protected me and given me courage, thus allowing me to face these evil policemen with complete fearlessness. Just then, anger welled up from within my heart: You are abusing your power by persecuting people for their religious beliefs, arresting, bullying, and injuring those who believe in God without reason. Your actions are against both legality and the laws of Heaven. I believe in God, and am walking the right path; I have not broken the law. Why should I be afraid of you? I will not succumb to the evil forces of your gang! I then retorted, “Do you think everywhere else is so boring that I’d actually want to come here? You have wronged me and pushed me around! Any further efforts of yours to extort a confession or frame me will be useless!” Upon hearing this, the head of the evil cops grew so angry smoke seemed about to billow out of his ears. He screamed, “You’re too goddamned stubborn to tell us anything. You won’t talk, will you? I’m going to give you a three-year sentence, and then we’ll see whether you’re telling the truth or not. I dare you to keep being stubborn!” By then I felt so indignant I could have exploded. In a loud voice I replied, “I’m still young; what is three years to me? I’ll be out of prison in the blink of an eye.” In his anger, the evil cop stood abruptly and growled at his lackeys, “I quit; you go ahead and interrogate her.” He then slammed the door and left. Seeing what had happened, the two cops did not question me any further; they just finished writing a statement for me to sign and then walked out. Witnessing the evil cops’ defeat made me very happy. In my heart I praised God’s victory over Satan. During the second round of interrogation, they switched tactics. As soon as they walked in the door they pretended to be concerned about me: “You’ve been in here for so long. How come none of your family members have come to see you? They must have given up on you. How about you give them a call yourself, and ask them to come visit you.” Hearing this made me feel unbearably morose. I wondered: Could Mom and Dad really have stopped caring about me? It’s been half a month already, and surely they know about my being arrested; how could they have the heart to let me suffer in here without even coming to see me? The more I thought about this, the lonelier and more helpless I felt. I was homesick and missed my parents, and my desire for freedom was growing more and more intense. Involuntarily, my eyes brimmed with tears, but I did not wish to cry in front of this gang of evil cops. Silently, I prayed to God: God, right now I feel very miserable and in pain, and am very helpless. I beseech You to stop my tears from falling, for I do not want to let Satan see my weakness. However, right now I cannot grasp Your intentions. I beg You to enlighten and guide me. After praying, an idea suddenly flashed through my mind: This was Satan’s ruse; these cops had sown dissension, attempting to twist my view of my parents and stir up hatred of them, with the ultimate goal of taking advantage of my inability to withstand this blow so that I would turn my back on God. Furthermore, their trying to make me contact my family might well be a trick to get them to bring ransom money to fulfill their ulterior motive of raking in some money, or they might know that my family members all believed in God and wished to use this opportunity to arrest them. These evil cops really were full of schemes. Had it not been for God’s enlightenment, I might have telephoned home. Would I not then have indirectly been a Judas? So, I secretly declared to Satan: Vile devil, I simply will not allow you to succeed in your deception. From now on, whether it be blessings or curses that befall me, I will bear them alone; I refuse to involve my family members, and absolutely will not influence my parents’ faith or the fulfillment of their duties. At the same time, I also silently supplicated to God to stop my parents from visiting me, lest they fall into the trap laid by these evil policemen. I then said nonchalantly, “I don’t know why my family members haven’t come to see me. However you want to treat me doesn’t matter to me at all!” The evil cops had no more cards to play. After that, they didn’t interrogate me again. A month went by. One day, my uncle suddenly came to visit me, saying he was in the middle of trying to get me out of there a few days later. When I walked out of the visitation room, I felt extremely happy. I thought I would finally be able to see the light of day again, as well as my brothers, sisters, and loved ones. So I started daydreaming and looking forward to my uncle coming to get me; every day, I kept my ears open for the sound of the guards’ calling to me that it was time to leave. Sure enough, a week later, a guard did come calling. My heart felt about to beat right out of my rib cage as I joyously arrived at the visitation room. However, when I saw my uncle, he hung his head down. It was a long time before he said in a dispirited tone, “They’ve already finalized your case. You’ve been sentenced to three years.” When I heard this, I was stunned. My mind went completely blank. I fought back the tears, and none came out. It was like I couldn’t hear anything my uncle said after that. I stumbled out of the visitation room in a trance, my feet feeling as though they were filled with lead, with each step heavier than the one before. I have no recollection of how I walked back to my cell. When I got there, I froze, completely paralyzed. I thought to myself, Each day of the past month or more of this inhuman existence has dragged by and felt like a year; how will I be able to make it through three long years of this? The more I dwelled on it, the more my anguish grew, and the more indistinct and unfathomable my future began to seem. Unable to keep them back any longer, I burst into tears. In my heart, however, I knew without a doubt that no one could help me anymore; I could only rely on God. In my grief, I again had come before God. I opened up to Him, saying, “God, I know that all things and all events are in Your hands, but right now my heart feels completely empty. I feel like I am about to fall apart; I think it is going to be very difficult for me to endure three years of suffering in prison. God, I beg You to reveal Your will to me, and I implore You to add to my faith and strength so that I can completely submit to You and bravely accept what has befallen me.” Just then, God’s words enlightened me from within: “For all people, refinement is excruciating, and very difficult to accept—yet it is during refinement that God makes plain His righteous disposition to man, and makes public His requirements for man, and provides more enlightenment, and more actual pruning and dealing; through the comparison between the facts and the truth, He gives man a greater knowledge of himself and the truth, and gives man a greater understanding of God’s will, thus allowing man to have a truer and purer love of God. Such are God’s aims in carrying out refinement” (“Only by Experiencing Refinement Can Man Truly Love God” in The Word Appears in the Flesh). “During these last days you must bear testimony to God. No matter how great your suffering, you should go on to the very end, and even at your last breath, still you must be faithful to God, and at the mercy of God; only this is truly loving God, and only this is the strong and resounding testimony” (“Only by Experiencing Painful Trials Can You Know the Loveliness of God” in The Word Appears in the Flesh). Thanks to God’s enlightenment and guidance, I began to reflect upon myself, and gradually discovered my shortcomings. I saw that my love for God was adulterated, and that I had not yet given my absolute submission to God. Ever since I was arrested, and during my struggles against those evil cops, I had shown bravery and fearlessness, and I had not shed a single tear throughout those torture sessions, but that was not my actual stature. It had all been the faith and courage given to me by God’s words that had enabled me to overcome Satan’s temptation and assaults time and time again. I also saw that the evil cops’ essence had been invisible to me. I’d thought the CCP police were law-abiding, and that as a minor I would never be sentenced, or at most would only be locked up for a few months. I’d thought I’d just have to endure a little more pain and hardship and stick it out a bit longer, and then it would pass; it had never even occurred to me that I might actually have to spend three years living this inhuman life in here. Just then, I did not want to continue suffering or submitting to God’s orchestration and arrangements. This was different from the result I had imagined, and just happened to reveal my true stature. Only then did I realize that God really does look deep into people’s hearts, and that His wisdom truly is exercised based on Satan’s schemes. Satan wished to torment me and thoroughly wear me down with this prison sentence, but God had used this opportunity to allow me to discover my shortcomings and recognize my insufficiencies, thereby adding to my actual submission and allowing my life to progress more quickly. God’s enlightenment had guided me out of my predicament and given me infinite power. My heart suddenly felt bright and full, and I understood God’s good intentions and no longer felt miserable. I resolved to follow Peter’s example by allowing God to orchestrate everything, without a single complaint, and to calmly face whatever might come from that day forward. Two months later, I was transported to a labor camp. When I received my verdict papers and signed them, I discovered that the three-year sentence had been commuted to one year. In my heart I thanked and praised God over and over. This was all the result of God’s orchestration, and in it I could see the immense love and protection He had for me. In the labor camp, I saw an even meaner and more brutal side of the evil police. Very early in the morning we would get up and go to work, and were seriously overloaded with tasks to do each day. We had to labor for very long hours every day, and sometimes would work around the clock for several days. Some of the prisoners got sick and needed to be hooked up to an IV, and had to have the drip rate turned up to the fastest notch so that as soon as it was finished they could quickly return to the workshop and get back to work. This led to the majority of convicts subsequently getting some illnesses that were very difficult to cure. Some people, because they worked slowly, were frequently subjected to verbal abuse from the guards; their foul language was simply unthinkable. Some people violated the rules while working, so were punished. For example, they were put on the rope, which meant they had to kneel on the ground and have their hands tied behind their backs, their arms forced to be raised up painfully to neck level. Others were tied to trees with iron chains like dogs, and were flogged mercilessly with a whip. Some people, unable to bear this inhuman torture, would try to starve themselves to death, only to have the evil guards put cuffs on both their ankles and wrists and then hold their bodies down tightly, forcing feeding tubes and fluids into them. They were afraid these prisoners might die, not because they cherished life, but because they were worried about losing the cheap labor they provided. The evil deeds committed by the prison guards really were too many to count, as were the horrendously violent and bloody incidents that happened. This all made me see very clearly that the Chinese Communist Party was the embodiment of Satan that was in the spiritual world; it was the evilest of all devils and the prisons under its regime were hell on earth—not just in name, but in reality. I remember some words on the wall of the office in which I was interrogated caught my eye: “It is forbidden to beat people at will or subject them to illegal punishment, and it is even more forbidden to obtain confessions through torture.” Nevertheless, in reality, their actions were in open opposition to this. They had wantonly beaten me, a girl who was not even an adult yet, and subjected me to illegal punishment; what’s more, they had sentenced me merely because of my belief in God. All of this had caused me to see clearly that the CCP used tricks to hoodwink people while pretending that everything was fine. It was just as God had said: “The devil tightly trusses all of man’s body, it puts out both his eyes, and seals his lips firmly shut. The king of devils has rampaged for several thousand years, right up until today, when it still keeps a close watch on the ghost town, as if it were an impenetrable palace of demons…. Forefathers of the ancient? Beloved leaders? They all oppose God! Their meddling has left all beneath heaven in a state of darkness and chaos! Religious freedom? The legitimate rights and interests of citizens? They are all tricks for covering up sin!” (“Work and Entry (8)” in The Word Appears in the Flesh). After experiencing the evil policemen’s persecution, I was utterly convinced of this passage of words spoken by God, and now had some real knowledge and experience of it. Furthermore, in the labor camp, I had seen with my own eyes the ugliness of all kinds of people: the repulsive faces of those smooth-talking opportunistic snakes who curried favor with the captains, the evil visage of ferociously violent people on a rampage who bullied the weak, and so on. For me, who had not yet set foot into society, during this year of life in prison, I finally saw clearly the corruption of humanity. I witnessed the treachery in people’s hearts, and realized how sinister the human world could be. I also learned to distinguish between positive and negative, black and white, right and wrong, good and evil, and great and despicable; I saw clearly that Satan is ugly, evil, brutal, and that only God is the symbol of holiness and righteousness. Only God symbolizes beauty and goodness; only God is love and salvation. Watched over and safeguarded by God, that unforgettable year passed very quickly for me. Now, looking back on it, although I underwent some physical suffering during that year of prison life, God used His words to lead and guide me, thus causing my life to mature. I am grateful for God’s predestination. That I was able to set foot upon this correct path of life was the greatest grace and blessing bestowed upon me by God. I will follow and worship Him for the rest of my life! source: In Prison at the Prime of Youth in Testimony Articles on Experiencing Persecution Times passes, and in the blink of an eye today has arrived. Under the guidance of My Spirit, all people live amid My light, and no longer does anyone think of the past or pay heed to yesterday. Who has not ever lived in the present day? Who has not spent wonderful days and months in the kingdom? Who has not lived beneath the sun? Though the kingdom has descended among man, no one has truly experienced its warmth; man only regards it from the outside, uncomprehending of its substance. During the time that My kingdom is formed, who does not rejoice because of it? Can the countries on earth really escape? Is the great red dragon really able to escape thanks to its cunning? My administrative decrees are announced throughout the universe, they institute My authority among all people, and come into effect across the cosmos; nevertheless, man has never truly known this. When My administrative decrees are revealed to the universe is also when My work on earth is about to be completed. When I rule and wield power among all men and when I am recognized as the one God Himself, My kingdom will fully descend to earth. Today, all people have a new beginning upon a new path. They have begun a new life, yet no one has ever truly experienced a life on earth akin to heaven. Do you truly live amid My light? Do you truly live among My words? Who does not give thought to their own prospects? Who is not distressed by their own fate? Who does not struggle amid the sea of affliction? Who does not wish to free themselves? Are the blessings of the kingdom in exchange for man’s hard work on earth? Could all of man’s desires be fulfilled just as he wishes? I once presented the beautiful sight of the kingdom before man, yet he merely stared at it with greedy eyes and there were none who truly aspired to enter it. I once “reported” the true situation on earth to man, but he did no more than listen, and did not face the words that came from My mouth with his heart; I once told man of the circumstances in heaven, yet he treated My words as wonderful tales, and did not truly accept that which My mouth described. Today, scenes of the kingdom flash among man, but has anyone ever “crossed peak and vale” in search of it? Without My urging, man would still not have awoken from his dreams. Is really he so enthralled by his life on earth? Are there really no high standards in his heart?
Those whom I predestined as My people are able to dedicate themselves to Me and live in harmony with Me. They are precious in My sight, and shine with love for Me in My kingdom. Among the people of today, who fulfills such conditions? Who is able to make the grade as per My requirements? Do My requirements really cause difficulties for man? Do I deliberately cause him to make mistakes? I am lenient toward all people, and give them preferential treatment. However, this is only toward My people in China. It is not that I underestimate you, nor that I look upon you favorably, but that I am practical and realistic toward you. People inevitably encounter setbacks in their lives, whether in regard to their families or the wider world. Yet whose hardship has been arranged by their own hand? Man is incapable of knowing Me. He has some understanding of My external appearance, yet is ignorant of My substance; he does not know the ingredients of the food he eats. Who is able to carefully perceive My heart? Who is able to truly understand My will before Me? When I come down to earth, it is cloaked in darkness and man is “fast asleep.” I walk among all places, and all that I see is torn and tattered and unbearable to look at. It is as if man is only willing to enjoy, and has no desire to heed “things from the outside world.” Unbeknownst to all people, I survey the entire earth, yet I see nowhere that is filled with life. Straight away, I shine forth the light and heat and look upon the earth from the third heaven. Although the light falls upon the land and the heat spreads over it, only the light and heat seem to be rejoicing; they arouse nothing in man, who is reveling in comfort. Seeing this, I immediately bestow among man the “rod” that I have prepared. As the rod falls, the light and the heat are gradually dispersed and the earth immediately becomes desolate and dark—and because of the darkness, man seizes the opportunity to carry on enjoying. Man has a slight sense of the arrival of My rod, but he does not react, and carries on enjoying his blessings on earth. Next, My mouth proclaims the chastisement of all men, and people throughout the universe are nailed to the cross upside down. When My chastisement comes, man is shaken by the noise of the mountains toppling and the earth tearing apart. Having been startled awake, he is astounded and terrified, and wishes to run away, but it is too late. As My chastisement falls, My kingdom descends upon earth and all countries are smashed to pieces, disappearing without trace and leaving nothing behind. Each day I look upon the face of the universe, and each day I do My new work among man. Yet people are all “working selflessly,” and no one pays attention to the dynamics of My work or takes notice of the state of things beyond themselves. It is as if people live in a new heaven and a new earth of their own making, and don’t want anyone else to interfere. They’re all engaged in the work of enjoying themselves, are all admiring themselves as they do their “physical exercises.” Is there really none of My place in man’s heart? Am I really incapable of being the Ruler of man’s heart? Has man’s spirit really left him? Who has ever carefully pondered the words from My mouth? Who has ever perceived the desire of My heart? Has man’s heart really been taken over by some other thing? Many are the times that I have cried out to man, yet has anyone ever felt compassion? Has anyone ever lived in humanity? Man may live in the flesh, but he is without humanity. Was he born in the animal kingdom? Or was he born in heaven, and is possessed of divinity? I make My requirements of man, yet it is as if he doesn’t understand My words, as if I am an unapproachable monster that is alien to him. So many times have I been disappointed by man, so many times have I become enraged by his poor performance, and so many times have I been aggrieved by his weakness. Why do I not arouse the spiritual feeling in man’s heart? Why do I not inspire love in man’s heart? Why is man unwilling to treat Me as the apple of his eye? Is man’s heart not his own? Has some other thing taken up residence in his spirit? Why does man wail without cease? Why is he miserable? Why, when he is sorrowful, does he ignore My existence? Do I stab him? Have I deliberately abandoned him? In My eyes, man is the ruler of all things. I have given him no small amount of authority, allowing him to manage all things on earth—the grass upon the mountains, the animals among the forests, and the fish in the water. Yet instead of being happy because of this, man is beset by anxiety. His entire life is one of anguish, and rushing about, and fun added to emptiness, and in his whole life there are no new inventions and creations. No one is able to extricate themselves from this hollow life, no one has ever discovered a life of meaning, and no one has ever experienced a real life. Although the people of today all live beneath My shining light, they know nothing of life in heaven. If I am not merciful toward man and do not save mankind, then all people have come in vain, their lives on earth are without meaning, and they will depart in vain, with nothing to be proud of. The people of every sect, sphere of society, nation, and denomination all know the emptiness on earth, and they all seek Me and await My return—yet who is capable of knowing Me when I arrive? I made all things, I created mankind, and today I have descended among man. Man, however, hits back at Me, and takes revenge on Me. Is the work I do upon man of no benefit to him? Am I really incapable of satisfying man? Why does man reject Me? Why is man so cold and indifferent toward Me? Why is earth covered with corpses? Is this really the state of the world I made for man? Why is it that I have given man incomparable riches, yet he offers Me two empty hands in return? Why does man not truly love Me? Why does he never come before Me? Have all My words really been for nothing? Have My words vanished like heat from water? Why is man unwilling to cooperate with Me? Is the arrival of My day really the moment of man’s death? Could I really destroy man at the time when My kingdom is formed? Why, during My entire management plan, has no one ever grasped My intentions? Why, instead of cherishing the utterances from My mouth, does man loathe and reject them? I condemn no one, but merely cause all people to calm down and carry out the work of self-reflection. March 27, 1992 source: The Twenty-fifth Utterance in The Word Appears in the Flesh Eastern Lightning, The Church of Almighty God was created because of the appearance and work of Almighty God, the second coming of the Lord Jesus, Christ of the last days. It is made up of all those who accept Almighty God's work in the last days and are conquered and saved by His words. It was entirely founded by Almighty God personally and is led by Him as the Shepherd. It was definitely not created by a person. Christ is the truth, the way, and the life. God's sheep hear God's voice. As long as you read the words of Almighty God, you will see God has appeared. A Hymn of God's Words
The Kingdom Anthem (III) All People, Shout for Joy All people regain their sight in God's light. All people enjoy good things in God's word. Setting forth from the East, God shines His glorious light and all nations are lit up. I In the kingdom, man and God live in boundless joy. All of mankind toiling hard, faithfully serving God. All people shout for joy. In the kingdom, man and God live in harmony. Heaven and earth so intertwined. A life so honey-sweet. All people shout for joy. Now's the moment, God's begun His life in heaven. Satan disturbs no more, for God's people rest in His kingdom. II In the universe, the chosen ones live in God's glorious light. In His kingdom, they live their lives, happy without compare. All people shout for joy. All people, corrupted, tasted sorrow and joy. Now in God's light, rejoice. People, sing and dance. Lift your heart, offer it to God. All people shout for joy. Among His people, God shows His face. He's become the King. He is exalted amongst all. All the saints reveal their face, as pure and white as jade. III All God's people follow God, as He roams the blue skies. All crowd around with happy hearts. Voices shake the clouds. All people shout for joy. All creation does revive. All saints serve in heaven. In God's embrace, no weeping, no trouble, going home. All people shout for joy. Pain's no more. Tear's no more. Flesh no more too. Earth does cease to exist, but heavens endure. God appears to all. This is life in the kingdom. All people shout for joy. All people shout for joy. All people shout for joy. All people shout for joy. All people shout for joy. All people shout for joy. from "Kingdom Anthem" of God's Utterances to the Entire Universein The Word Appears in the Flesh Eastern Lightning, The Church of Almighty God was created because of the appearance and work of Almighty God, the second coming of the Lord Jesus, Christ of the last days. It is made up of all those who accept Almighty God's work in the last days and are conquered and saved by His words. It was entirely founded by Almighty God personally and is led by Him as the Shepherd. It was definitely not created by a person. Christ is the truth, the way, and the life. God's sheep hear God's voice. As long as you read the words of Almighty God, you will see God has appeared. My chastisement comes upon all people, yet it also remains distant from all people. The whole life of every person is filled with love and hate toward Me, and no one has ever known Me—and so man’s attitude toward Me blows hot and cold, and is incapable of being normal. Yet I have always cared for and protected man, and it is only because of his dull-wittedness that he is incapable of seeing all of My deeds and understanding My eager intentions. I am the leading One among all countries, and the Most High among all people; it is simply that man does not know Me. For many years I have lived among man and experienced life in the world of man, yet he has always ignored Me and treated Me like a being from outer space. In consequence, because of differences in disposition and language, people treat Me like a stranger in the street. My clothing, it seems, is also too idiosyncratic, as a result of which man lacks the confidence to approach Me. Only then do I feel the desolation of life among man, and only then do I sense the injustice of the world of man. I walk among passers-by, observing all of their faces. It is as if they live in the midst of an illness, which fills their faces with melancholy, and among chastisement, which prevents their release. Man shackles himself, and abases himself. Most people create a false impression of themselves before Me so that I might applaud them, most people deliberately make themselves appear pitiable before Me so that they might gain My help. Behind My back, people all deceive Me and disobey Me. Am I not right? Is this not man’s survival strategy? Who has ever lived out Me in their lives? Who has ever exalted Me among others? Who has ever been bound before the Spirit? Who has ever stood firm in their testimony to Me before Satan? Who has ever added the truthfulness to their “loyalty” to Me? Who has ever been eliminated by the great red dragon because of Me? People have cast their lot in with Satan, they are experts at defying Me, they are the inventors of opposition to Me, and they are graduates in paltering with Me. For the sake of his own destiny, man searches here and there on earth; when I beckon him, he remains insensible to My preciousness and continues to have faith in his reliance upon himself, unwilling to be a burden on others. Man’s aspirations are precious, yet never have anyone’s aspirations achieved full marks: They all crumble before Me, toppling without sound.
Each day I speak, and each day I do new things as well. If man does not draw upon all of his strength, then he will have difficulty hearing My voice, and will find it hard to see My face. The beloved may be fine, and His speech gentle, but man is incapable of easily beholding His glorious face and hearing His voice. Throughout the ages, no one has ever easily beheld My face. I once spoke to Peter and appeared to Paul, and no one else—with the exception of the Israelites—has ever truly seen My face. Today, I have personally come among man to live together with him. Does this really not feel rare and precious to you? Do you not wish to make the best use of your time? Do you want to let it pass you by in this way? Could the hands of time in people’s minds suddenly stop? Or could time flow backward? Or could man become young again? Could the blessed life of today ever come again? I do not give man an appropriate “reward” for his “waste.” I merely persist in doing My work, detached from all else, and do not stop the flow of time because man is busy, or because of the sound of his cries. For several thousand years, no one has been able to divide My strength, and no one has been able to upset My original plan. I will transcend space, and span the ages, and embark upon the core of My entire plan both above and among all things. No one has been able to receive special treatment from Me, no one has been able to obtain the “reward” in My hands. And even though people have opened their mouths and prayed to Me, even though, heedless of all else, they have reached out their hands to make demands of Me, none of them have ever affected Me, and they have all been pushed back by My “heartless” voice. Most people still believe that they are “too young,” and so wait for Me to show great mercy, to be compassionate toward them for a second time, and they ask that I allow them to take the back door. Yet how could I casually meddle with My plan? Could I stop the earth rotating for the sake of man’s youth, so that he could live a few more years on earth? Man’s brain is so complex, yet it seems that there are also things it lacks. In consequence, in man’s mind there often appear “wonderful ways” to deliberately interrupt My work. Although many are the times that I have forgiven man his sins, and shown him special favor because of his weakness, many are also the times that I have given him appropriate treatment because of his ignorance. It is simply that man has never known how to appreciate My kindness, such that he has sunk to his present denouement: covered in dust, his clothes in tatters, his hair covering his head like a growth of weeds, his face caked in grime, his feet shod in homemade shoes, his hands like the claws of a dead eagle, hanging weakly at his sides. When I open My eyes and look, it is as if man has just climbed out of the bottomless pit. I can’t help but be angry: I have always been tolerant of man, yet how could I allow the devil to come and go as it pleases from My holy kingdom? How could I allow a beggar to eat for free in My household? How could I tolerate having an unclean spirit as a guest of My household? Man has always been “strict with himself” and “lenient toward others,” yet he has never been the least bit courteous toward Me, for I am the God in heaven, and so he treats Me differently, and has never had the slightest affection for Me. It is as if man’s eyes are especially astute: As soon as he encounters Me, the look on his face immediately changes and he adds a little more expression to his cold, impassive visage. I do not impose appropriate restrictions on man because of his attitude toward Me, but merely look upon the skies from above the universes and thence carry out My work on earth. In the memories of man, I have never shown kindness to any person, but neither have I ever mistreated anyone. Because man does not leave an “empty seat” for Me in his heart, when I fling caution to the wind and reside within him, he unceremoniously forces Me out, and then uses smooth talk and flattery to make excuses, saying he is too lacking and incapable to provide himself for My enjoyment. As he talks, his face frequently becomes overcast with “dark clouds,” as if disaster might fall among man any time. Yet still he asks Me to leave, without any consideration of the dangers involved. Even though I give to man with My words and the warmth of My embrace, he seems to have no hearing organ, and so he pays not the slightest attention to My voice, instead clutching his head as he takes to his heels. I depart from man feeling a little disappointed, but also a little wrathful. Man, meanwhile, immediately vanishes amid the onslaught of great gales and mighty waves. Soon after, he cries out to Me, but how could he affect the movement of the wind and waves? Gradually, all trace of man is lost, until he is nowhere to be found. Before the ages, I looked upon all lands from above the universes. I planned a great undertaking on earth: the creation of a mankind that was after My own heart, and the building of a kingdom on earth like the one in heaven, allowing My power to fill the skies and My wisdom to spread throughout the entire universe. And so today, thousands of years later, I continue with My plan, yet no one knows of My plan or management on earth, much less do they see My kingdom on earth. Hence, man chases shadows, and comes before Me to try to fool Me, wanting to pay a “silent price” for My blessings in heaven. In consequence, he provokes My wrath and I bring judgment upon him, but still he does not awaken. It is as if he is working underground, completely ignorant of that which is above ground as he pursues nothing other than his own prospects. Among all people, I have never seen anyone who lives beneath My shining light. They live in a world of darkness, and seem to have become used to living amid the gloom. When the light comes they stay far away, and it is as if the light has disturbed their work; as a result, they look a little annoyed, as if the light has shattered all their peace and left them unable to sleep soundly. In consequence, man summons all his strength to drive away the light. The light, too, seems to lack awareness, and so rouses man from his sleep, and when man awakens, he closes his eyes, overcome with anger. He is somewhat displeased with Me, yet in My heart I know the score. I gradually intensify the light, causing all people to live amid My light, such that before long they become adept at associating with the light, and, furthermore, all treasure the light. At this time, My kingdom has come among man, all people dance with joy and celebrate, the earth is suddenly filled with jubilation, and several thousand years of silence is broken by the arrival of the light … March 26, 1992 source: The Twenty-fourth Utterance in The Word Appears in the Flesh Eastern Lightning, The Church of Almighty God was created because of the appearance and work of Almighty God, the second coming of the Lord Jesus, Christ of the last days. It is made up of all those who accept Almighty God's work in the last days and are conquered and saved by His words. It was entirely founded by Almighty God personally and is led by Him as the Shepherd. It was definitely not created by a person. Christ is the truth, the way, and the life. God's sheep hear God's voice. As long as you read the words of Almighty God, you will see God has appeared. 10. The Song of Life in Tortures
Gao Jing Henan Province In 1999, I was fortunate to accept Almighty God’s end-time work. Through reading God’s word, I felt God’s holy, honorable, and righteous disposition, and knew that all these words are the expression of God’s life being. I had inexpressible moving in my heart. For the first time I felt the security and joy in the bottom of my heart brought by the working of the Holy Spirit. Since then, I desired more and more to gain these truths. After entering the Church of Almighty God, I saw that it was a new world completely different from the society. The brothers and sisters were all simple, kind-hearted, pure, and lively. Though we were from different places and had different social backgrounds and statuses, we were as dear as a family and loved and sustained each other, happily staying together. That made me truly feel that the life of worshiping God was so happy, joyful, wonderful, and sweet. Later, I read these words of God, “As a member of mankind and as one of the godly Christians, we all have the responsibility and obligation to offer up our body and heart for the accomplishment of God’s commission, because our whole being comes from God and exists because of God’s sovereignty. If our body and heart are not for God’s commission and not for the just cause of mankind, then our soul will be ashamed to face those who were martyred for God’s commission and will be even more ashamed to face God who provides us with everything.” (from “God Is Sovereign over the Destiny of All Mankind” in The Word Appears in the Flesh) From God’s words, I understood that as a created being, I should live for the Creator and consecrate and spend my whole being for God, and only this is the most worthy and meaningful life. Thus, when I heard that in the remote areas there were still many people who hadn’t heard Almighty God’s end-time gospel, I resolutely said goodbye to the brothers and sisters in my hometown and took the train going afar. In 2002, I came to a remote and backward mountain area in Guizhou Province to preach the gospel. There, almost every day we had to walk very long mountain paths, often through wind and snow, to preach the gospel. But with the presence of God, the brothers and sisters and I didn’t feel bitter or tired. Under the leading of the working of the Holy Spirit, the gospel work there spread quickly, more and more people accepted God’s end-time work, and the church life was full of vitality. Whenever I saw that the brothers and sisters read God’s word, sang hymns to praise God, and enjoyed God’s love there, with happiness and satisfaction on their faces, I was greatly comforted in my heart, feeling that it was worthwhile no matter how much I suffered. Though during that period, I was once weak and passive, God’s words had been encouraging me, “Have you ever thought how grieved and anxious God’s heart is? How could he bear to see the innocent mankind he created with his own hands suffering such torment? After all, mankind are the unfortunate who have been poisoned. Although they have survived today, who knows that they have long been poisoned by the evil one? Have you forgotten that you were one of the victims? Are you not willing to try hard to save all these survivors back out of your love for God? And exert all your strength to repay the God who loves man as his own flesh and blood?” (from “As to the Future Mission, How Should You Treat It?” in The Word Appears in the Flesh) Under the leading of God’s words, I spent six enriched and joyful years there until in 2008 a special environment suddenly came upon me. From then on, my happy and good life was broken…. It was around 11 a.m. on March 15, 2008. Two brothers and I were having a meeting. Suddenly four cops broke in and quickly pressed us to the floor. Without saying anything, they handcuffed us and pushed and pulled us into a police car. In the car, they all gave out a hideous and sinister laugh and brandished the electric batons before our eyes. And they struck our heads and bodies now and then with them and abused venomously, “You’re so young. What the fuck can’t you do except believing in God? You’re really looking for trouble!” Facing the sudden arrest, I was very nervous in my heart, not knowing what awaited us next. I could only call to God unceasingly in my heart, “O God! Today we encounter such an environment out of your permission. May you give us faith and keep us, so that we can stand testimony for you.” After the prayer, the words of God appeared in my mind, “In any circumstance, you should be faithful to me and go forward bravely. I am your solid Rock. Rely on me!” (from “The Tenth Piece of Word” in The Word Appears in the Flesh) Yes! God is my reliance and my strong and powerful rear guard. No matter in what circumstances, as long as I can hold on to my faithfulness to God and stand on God’s side, I can surely overcome satan and make it ashamed. The revelation of God’s words made me have faith and strength. I made a resolution inwardly, “I’ll hold on to the true way and stand testimony for God even if I have to die!” After we arrived at the police station, the cops dragged the three of us out of the car roughly and pushed us into a room. Then, they searched us all over from head to foot. From the bags of the two brothers, they searched out some gospel materials and a cell phone. Failing to find money, an evil cop pulled a brother to him and punched and kicked him, and beat him to the floor. After that, we were taken into different rooms and interrogated separately. Having interrogated me for a whole afternoon, they didn’t get any word from my mouth. A little past 8 p.m. that day, they sent the two brothers and me to the local detention house with the identity of “anonymous people.” As soon as I entered the detention house, two female officers stripped off all my clothes, cut all the metal objects on them, and also pulled out my shoelaces and belt. I had to lift my trousers and walk barefoot into the cell fearfully. Seeing me come in, those female prisoners rushed forward like madwomen and surrounded me, asking me this and that. As the light was dim, they drew close to me and looked at me curiously with eyes wide open, and some of them even seized my arms and felt and pinched me here and there. I was stunned by the scene, standing there stiff and not daring to say anything. I was so scared. When thinking that in the future I would live in this demons’ room with these people, I felt so wronged that I just wanted to cry. Then, a prisoner sitting on the kang who was silent the whole time suddenly said loudly, “Knock it off! She has just come here and knows nothing. Don’t frighten her.” And after that, she brought me a quilt. I felt a wave of warmth, and was very clear in my heart that it wasn’t that this prisoner was kind to me, but that God was helping and looking after me through people around me. Actually, God was always with me and I wasn’t alone. In this ghastly and horrible “hell on earth,” with God’s love accompanying me, I felt great comfort. The night gradually grew late. All the other female prisoners slept, but I wasn’t sleepy at all. Thinking that in the morning I was performing duty happily with the brothers and sisters, but at night I lay in this awful tomb-like place, not knowing when I could leave, I felt an unspeakable distress and sadness. Just when I was immersed in my thoughts, suddenly a cold wind blew in, and I couldn’t help shivering. I looked up and found that the cell was open to the sky. Except that the kang where we slept had a roof above, the rest was an iron net made of welded thick steel bars. Cold wind whistled in, and now and then I could hear the footsteps of the cops patrolling on the roof. I felt my blood run cold. Fear, grievance, and helplessness came over me, and my tears flowed down despite myself. Then, a passage of God’s words floated into my mind clearly, “Do you know that all the surrounding circumstances are permitted by me and arranged by me? See this clearly. Satisfy my heart in the circumstances that I have given you. Do not fear this or that. The Almighty God of hosts will surely be with you. He will be your rear guard and shield.” (from “The Twenty-sixth Piece of Word” in The Word Appears in the Flesh) Yes, God is my rear guard, and what shall I fear? I’m ready to give up my life. I’ll commit everything into God’s hand. After understanding God’s will, I was much relaxed in my heart. So I prayed to God silently, “O God! Thank you for your revelation and enlightenment, so that I understand your will. I’m willing to obey your manipulation and arrangement and seek your will in this environment to gain the truth you want to give me. O God! But my stature is too small. May you give me faith and strength and keep the two brothers and me, so that no matter what tortures we may undergo, we’ll never betray you.” After the prayer, I wiped away my tears and pondered God’s words, waiting for the dawn quietly. Early the next morning, with clangs the iron door of the cell was opened. An officer shouted, “The anonymous one, come out!” I was confounded for a moment before I realized that she was calling me. In the interrogation room, the cops asked me again about my name, address, and the things of the church. I kept silent and sat on the chair with my head bowed. They interrogated me for a whole week. Finally an evil cop pointed at me and abused, “Damn you! We’ve accompanied you for so many days, but you didn’t say a word. All right. You just wait, and see what awaits you!” After he finished his words, the two evil cops slammed the door and left. One evening, the evil cops again came to interrogate me. They handcuffed me and stuffed me into a police car. Sitting in the car, I couldn’t help feeling somewhat scared, “Where will they take me? Will they take me to the field and trample me? Or will they just put me into a sack and throw me into the river to feed the fish?” I was so scared. Then, these words of the hymn of life experience “The Kingdom” resounded in my ears, “God is my rear guard; what shall I fear? I will war against satan to the end. God uplifts us, so we should give up everything and have a part in Christ’s sufferings. I will ready my love and offer it all to God to descend with God in glory. …” Immediately, an unfailing strength spontaneously rose in my heart. Raising my head, I looked out of the window, silently pondering the words of the hymn in my heart. Seeing that I was always looking out of the window, an evil cop suddenly drew the curtain and roared at me fiercely, “What are you looking at! Bow your head!” I was so frightened by his sudden shout that I shuddered and then bowed my head. Four evil cops kept smoking in the car. Immediately the car was smoky. I was choked so much that I kept coughing. Then, an evil cop sitting in the front row turned around and seized me by the chin with his hand, blew a puff of smoke into my face, and said with an ill intention, “I tell you. As long as you confess everything, you can go home without suffering. You are a little young girl and look pretty….” While saying that, he felt my face with his hand, winked at me, and said with an obscene smile, “Or let me find a boyfriend for you.” I turned my face aside and warded off his hand with my handcuffed hands. He immediately became exasperated, saying, “Quite tough, ah? You’ll behave well when we arrive there!” The car continued driving on. I didn’t know what I would face and could only call to God silently in my heart, “O God! Today I don’t care what it takes. No matter what ways these devils may use on me, as long as I have one breath, I’ll bear a strong and resounding testimony for you before satan!” Over half an hour later, the car stopped. An evil cop dragged me out of the car. I staggered and then stood firm and looked around. Then, it was already completely dark and there were only several empty houses around, without any light, so it looked especially ghastly and horrible. I was taken into one of the empty houses. There was a desk and a couch in the room, and an incandescent lamp was hung from the ceiling, lighting the surroundings dreadfully pale. Ropes and iron chains were on the floor, and a chair made of thick iron blocks was at a distance. Facing such a ghastly and horrible scene, I couldn’t help feeling flustered and my legs went limp. So I sat on the couch to ease my mind. Then, several cops came in. One of them scolded me loudly, “Where are you sitting? Is it for you to sit on? Stand up!” While saying that, he came up and kicked me several times. Then, he seized the clothes on my chest and pulled me up and dragged me to the iron chair. Another evil cop said to me, “I tell you. This is a good thing. As long as you sit on it for some time, it’ll ‘benefit’ you all your life. This is specially prepared for you believers in Almighty God, and ordinary people aren’t allowed to sit on it. As long as you are obedient and answer our questions honestly, we won’t have you sit there. Speak up! What did you come to Guizhou for? Did you come to preach the gospel?” I said nothing. A sturdy evil cop nearby pointed at my nose and abused, “Don’t you fucking act dumb! If you still don’t tell, we’ll let you sit on it and have a taste of it!” I still kept silent. Then, a woman lasciviously dressed came in. She was sent by the evil cops to be a lobbyist. She tried to persuade me with feigned kindness, “Little sister, you’re a stranger here and have no relatives or friends. Just tell us! If you tell us, I’ll find a job for you, and you can find a boyfriend here and marry him. I assure you that I’ll introduce a good one to you. Or you can be a housekeeper in my house, and I’ll pay you every month. Thus, you can settle down here.” I raised my head and gave her a glance, but didn’t respond to her. I thought, “The devils are the devils. They don’t acknowledge God but can only do bad things unscrupulously for money and interests. Now they want to buy me off with interests and make me betray God. How can I fall into their scheme and become a shameless Judas?” Seeing that her “earnest and patient” words were resultless, she felt that I made her lose face before the evil cops, so she immediately showed her true colors. She took off the belt from her bag and whipped me hard several times. And finally she threw her bag onto the couch fiercely, shook her head, and stood aside resignedly. Seeing that, a fat evil cop came up and seized my hair and knocked me against the wall hard several times, and he roared through gnashing teeth, “How dare you not appreciate our kindness! How dare you not appreciate our kindness! Speak up or not?” I was knocked so badly that I saw stars and my head buzzed, feeling that the sky and the earth were spinning around, and I fell to the floor. Like lifting a chick, he pulled me up and threw me onto the iron chair. I rested for a while and then opened my eyes slightly and saw that there was a strand of my hair in his hand. I was fixed onto the iron chair from head to foot. A thick iron board was stuck before my chest, and my handcuffs were connected to the iron chair. With shackles weighing dozens of kilos around my ankles, my feet were also fixed onto the iron chair. Like a statue, I couldn’t move at all. The ice-cold and heavy iron chains, iron lock, and iron handcuffs stuck me fast onto the iron chair, making me unbearably miserable. Looking at my painful state, the evil cops mocked me smugly, “Isn’t the God you believe in almighty? Why doesn’t he come to save you? Why doesn’t he save you from the torture-rack? You’d better tell us. Your God can’t save you, and only we can save you. If you tell us, we’ll release you. You don’t live your good life but believe in God!” Facing the evil cops’ ridicule and mock, I was very calm in my heart, because God’s words say, “In the end time, God perfects people with the word, not with signs and wonders, and by speaking, he exposes, judges, chastises, and perfects people so that they can see his wisdom and loveliness and know his disposition in his word and see his deeds through his word.” (from “Knowledge About God’s Present Work” in The Word Appears in the Flesh) Today what God does is a practical work, not supernatural. God wants to perfect man with his word, making his word become man’s faith and man’s life, and wants to transform my life disposition with the practical environment. Such practical work can better reveal God’s great power and wisdom, and can defeat satan more thoroughly. I’m willing to obey all the environments God permits to come upon me. My silence irritated that gang of evil cops. Like mad, they gathered around me and beat me violently. Some of them struck my head hard with their fists, some kicked my legs wildly, and some tore my clothes forcefully and felt my face. Facing their indecent acts, I was very angry. If not fixed fast onto the torture-rack, I must fight them to death! I burned with anger and hated the CCP in power, this arch-criminal, to the core. I couldn’t help making a resolution inwardly, “The more it persecutes me, the more I’ll believe in God and believe to the end! The more it persecutes me, the more it proves that Almighty God is the true God and that the way I walk is the true way!” At that time, before the facts, I clearly realized that it was a war between justice and evil and a battle between life and death. And what I should do now is to pledge my life to hold on to God’s name and God’s testimony and shame satan with my actual actions and let God gain glory. The evil cops interrogated me by cruel tortures for several days in succession but still didn’t get any information about the church from me. In the end, they said resignedly, “She is really tight-lipped. Having interrogated her for so many days, we can’t draw a word out of her.” Hearing their talk, I knew it was God’s words that supported me to pass through one gate of hell after another and it was God who kept me to stand testimony. I thanked and praised Almighty God silently in my heart! In the over ten days of interrogation, I sat on the cold torture-rack day and night. I felt as if my whole body were in an icehouse. The cold directly penetrated my marrow, and I felt as if my joints all over had split. Seeing that I kept shivering with cold, a young evil cop seized the opportunity to persuade me, “You’d better speak quickly! No matter how strong one is, he can’t endure sitting on it for too long. If this continues, you’ll be disabled for the rest of your life.” I was somewhat weak and worried, so I called to God silently, asking God to give me strength, so that I could endure the inhuman tortures and wouldn’t do things of betraying God. After the prayer, God inspired me to think of a hymn of life experience I liked to sing most at ordinary times, “I don’t consider what my future path will be. I only take carrying out God’s will as my bounden mission. I even less consider whether my future is to receive blessings or suffer adversities. Since I’ve chosen to love God, I will be faithful to the end. No matter what great dangers and tribulations lurk behind me, and no matter how rough and rugged it is before my eyes, since my goal is the day God gains glory, I will cast everything far behind me.” (from “Marching on the Path of Loving God” in Follow the Lamb and Sing New Songs) Every word of the hymn encouraged me. I hummed it in my heart over and over again, and couldn’t help thinking of the vow I made before God in the past: No matter what sufferings or tribulations I may undergo, I’ll spend for God all my life and be faithful to the end. But now when I undergo such little suffering, I become weak and timid. Do I have any faithfulness? Haven’t I fallen into satan’s scheme? Satan just wants me to care for my flesh and thus betray God. I can never fall into its trap. Today I can suffer for believing in God and this is the most worthy and meaningful thing and is a glorious thing. No matter how hard it is, I can’t be a perfidious mean person and betray God. When I made up my mind to satisfy God, gradually I didn’t feel so cold and the misery in my heart disappeared. Once again I saw God’s wonderful deed and tasted God’s love. Failing to achieve their purpose, the evil cops didn’t give up, so they took turns torturing me and didn’t allow me to sleep all day and all night. As long as I slightly closed my eyes, they would whip me hard with wickers, or jab me forcefully with an electric baton. Every jab sent electricity through my whole body, and I kept twitching, feeling worse than death. While beating me, they abused, “You fucking don’t confess honestly and still want to sleep. See whether I’ll torture you to death today!” They tortured me more and more severely and cruelly. My shrill cries constantly echoed in the room. Because I was stuck fast onto the torture-rack, unable to move, I could only let them trample me as they liked. They became even smugger and laughed wildly now and then. The long-time whipping and shocking left me with wounds all over. My face, neck, arms, and hands were covered with black and blue bruises, and my whole body was swollen. However, my body seemed to be numb and didn’t feel so painful. I knew that God was caring for me, relieving my pain. I kept thanking God in my heart. When it was almost one month, I really couldn’t hold on. How I wanted to sleep soundly, even if for only a little while. However, those devils didn’t have any humanity. As long as they saw that I closed my eyes, they would throw a full glass of water on my face, and I was startled and struggled to open my eyes. I was exhausted and my life seemed to come to its end. But God kept me the whole time, so that I was very clear in my mind, and had a firm faith that I would by no means betray God. Failing to get any information from me and fearing that I might really die, they had to carry me back to the detention house. Five or six days later, before I recovered, they again drove me out and handcuffed me onto the torture-rack, with shackles weighing dozens of kilos on my feet. They again interrogated me by cruel tortures and beat and maltreated me for over ten days. They didn’t send me back to the detention house until I really couldn’t hold on. Five or six days later, they did that again. Just like that, in half a year, I didn’t know how many times they repeated it. I was tortured until I was exhausted and gave up the hope to live from my heart. I began to fast and didn’t eat or drink anything for several days. Then, the evil cops forcibly poured water into me. One of them held my head, and another seized my cheek and pried my mouth open and poured water into it. Water flowed along the corners of my mouth and my neck into my clothes, and my upper clothes were soaked. I felt cold all over and wanted to struggle, but I didn’t even have the strength to move my head. Seeing that fasting didn’t work, I wanted to use the opportunity of going to the restroom to kill myself by hitting my head against the wall. Dragging the shackles weighing dozens of kilos, I went to the restroom step by step with the help of the wall. As I hadn’t eaten anything for a long time, my eyes were blurred and I couldn’t see the way clearly. I didn’t know how many times I fell on the way. I dimly saw that my ankles had been rubbed bloody by the shackles and bled unceasingly. When passing by the window, I raised my head and looked out. Looking at the crowd coming and going in the distance, I suddenly had wonderful moving in my heart, “Among those thousands upon thousands of people, how many of them believe in Almighty God? But I’m one of the fortunate. God chose me, an inconspicuous person, among the numerous people and watered, supplied, and led me until today step by step by his word. I have received the great blessing bestowed by God; why do I seek death? Won’t this grieve God’s heart too much?” At that moment, God’s words resounded in my ears, “…in the last days, you should bear testimony for God. No matter how great the sufferings, you should walk to the end. Even if you have just one breath left, you should be faithful to God and submit to God’s manipulation. This is truly loving God, and this is a strong and resounding testimony.” (from “Only After Experiencing Painful Trials Will One Know that God Is Lovely” in The Word Appears in the Flesh) Every word of God, with encouragement and expectation, warmed and encouraged my heart, making me feel greatly moved and have the courage to live on. I encouraged myself in my heart, “The devils can only torture my flesh, but my heart belongs to God forever. I must be strong and can by no means collapse!” So, I walked back step by step trailing the heavy shackles. In haziness, I thought of the scene that the badly wounded Lord Jesus carried the heavy cross and went to Golgotha with difficulty. I thought of Almighty God’s words, “On his way to Jerusalem, Jesus felt extreme pain as if a knife were being twisted in his heart, but he did not have the slightest intention of turning back in his heart, and there was always a strong power directing him to walk toward the place of crucifixion.” (from “How to Serve Is After God’s Heart” in The Word Appears in the Flesh) At that time, my tears couldn’t be held back any more and streamed down my cheeks. I prayed to God in my heart, “O God! You are so holy and supreme, but for saving us, you were personally incarnated, underwent all kinds of humiliations and sufferings, and were crucified. O God! Who has ever sensed your grief and pain? Who has ever understood and felt the painstaking effort and price you have paid for us? Today my experiencing such a suffering is for me to be saved, and it’s even more your perfecting for me, so that I can see clearly the CCP devil’s evil substance in its tortures and will no longer be deceived and blinded by it and thus break away from its influence of darkness. O God! You are expending and suffering for us mankind at any time, having dedicated all your love to us. O God! Now I can do nothing. I only wish to consecrate my heart completely to you. However great the suffering is, I’ll walk to the end and stand testimony to satisfy you….” Because in over two months, no matter how I was beaten and tortured, I had never shed a drop of tear, therefore, when I went back to the interrogation room, seeing my tearful face, the evil cops thought that I had compromised. That fat evil cop asked with a smug smile, “Have you come around? Confess or not?” I didn’t respond to him. His face became purple at once. He suddenly swung his arm and slapped my face fiercely countless times. I felt hot pain in my face, and blood flowed from the corners of my mouth unceasingly and fell to the floor drop by drop. Another evil cop threw a full glass of water on my face, and roared through gnashing teeth, “We’re not afraid that you don’t confess. Today it’s the world of the CCP. Even if you don’t tell, we can still sentence you!” But no matter how they threatened and intimidated me, I didn’t speak all the time. Although the evil cops couldn’t find the evidence to convict me, they didn’t give up and still interrogated me by tortures constantly. One midnight, several evil cops came to the interrogation room drunk. One of them stared at me with a licentious gaze and gave an advice, saying, “Let’s strip her naked and hang her up and see whether she will come clean.” Hearing his word, I was very frightened, and called to God desperately in my heart to curse those beasts, so that their scheme couldn’t succeed. They freed me from the torture-rack. With heavy shackles on my feet, I couldn’t stand steadily. They surrounded me and kicked me back and forth like kicking a ball. They also spat out the husks of sunflower seeds on my face and shouted unceasingly, “Confess or not? Since you give us a hard time, we won’t let you live! Where is your God? Isn’t he almighty? Ask him to strike us down!” Still someone said, “Or simply give her to Lao Wang for wife! Ha ha….” Seeing their devilish look, I hated them so much that I was already tearless. The only thing I could do was to pray to God, asking God to keep my heart, so that I wouldn’t betray him and could submit to his manipulation whether I would die or live. In the end, that gang of evil cops exhausted their tricks yet didn’t get anything from me. Having no choice, they had to call their superior and report, “This woman is too tough. She is the contemporary Liu Hulan. Even if she is beaten to death, she won’t confess. We indeed can do nothing with her!” Seeing their dejected look, I kept thanking God in my heart. It was the power of God’s word that made me overcome their cruel tortures time after time. All the glory be to Almighty God! Although the numerous interrogations were resultless, in the end the CCP government still sentenced me to seven years on the charge of “disrupting the enforcement of the law.” The two brothers arrested together with me were sentenced to five years on the same charge. After being inhumanly tortured for eight months, when I heard the judgment at that time, I wasn’t tormented or worried because of being sentenced to seven years, but on the contrary, I felt secure and even more felt honored, because during that period, I experienced God’s leading step by step and enjoyed the endless love and keeping of God, which enabled me to miraculously endure the cruel tortures beyond my limits and stand testimony. This was the greatest comfort bestowed to me by God. I thanked and praised God from my heart! On November 3, 2008, I was sent to No.1 Women’s Prison to serve my sentence. From then on, I began my long prison life. The management system there was very strict. We began to work from 6 a.m. when we got up and worked until dark. Even when we had meals and went to the restroom, we were pressed for time, feeling as if going to the battle, and we weren’t allowed to slack in the least. In order to profit more from the prisoners, the prison guards didn’t let go of one second and made the prisoners heavily overloaded with work, and they were especially crueler to believers in God. Living in such an environment, I was in constant fear and felt that days wore on like years. There, every day I did the hardest and heaviest work and ate meals worse than those of pigs and dogs—a small black underdone steamed bun and some dry and yellow vegetable leaves. In order to get extra points for a commutation, I often overworked from dawn to night and even had to work all night to finish the production quota beyond my limit. Every day, I stood in the workshop for fifteen or sixteen hours operating that half-automatic sweater machine without stop. My legs often felt sour, weak, and swollen. Even so, I dared not to slack in the slightest, because the prison guards inspected and supervised us in the workshop with electric batons in their hands all the time. Whoever was seen to slack slightly would be punished and not be given points. The busy, hard, and tiring work made me extremely tired both in body and heart. Though young, I had much grey hair. I didn’t know how many times I almost fainted on the machine. Without God’s care, I would really have died. Finally, under God’s keeping, I got two opportunities to have my sentence reduced and got out of that hell on earth two years in advance. Having experienced eight months of cruel tortures from the CCP government and five years of prison life, I was severely damaged both physically and mentally. For quite some time after getting out of the prison, I was afraid to see strangers. Especially when I encountered the chaotic occasion with many people, the scene that the evil cops tortured me that year would appear in my mind, and I would become fearful and uneasy involuntarily. Because of sitting on the iron chair for a long time, my period was in disorder and I was held up by illness. In those long and painful days, although I underwent sufferings and hardships, I thoroughly saw clearly that the CCP government’s repeated claims that “the religious belief is free” and “citizens’ legal rights and interests are protected by the law” are all tricks to cover up its crimes. This even more made me have a true experience and taste of God’s almightiness, sovereignty, authority, and power. This is the abundant treasure of life God bestowed to me. God’s work is practical and normal. God permitted the persecution of satan the devil to come upon us. However, when the devil tortured us frenziedly, God had been caring for and keeping us silently, inspiring and guiding us with his word full of authority and power, perfecting our faith and love, and conquering and defeating satan the enemy and gaining glory. Now, I’ve come back to the church and the brothers and sisters. Led by God’s love, I live the church life and spread the kingdom gospel with the brothers and sisters in one accord, and my life is full of vitality and vigor. Now, I’m even more full of faith in God’s work, as if I’ve seen the wonderful prospect of God’s kingdom being realized on the earth. I can’t help singing and praising God! “The Millennial Kingdom has descended among men, God’s word has conquered the whole earth, reigning on the whole earth, reigning on the whole earth, and everything has been established and accomplished because of God’s word, because of God’s word, for us to see with our own eyes, for us to see with our own eyes. We shout for joy, and we sing, singing of the Millennial Kingdom having descended to earth. We shout for joy, and we sing, singing of the New Jerusalem descending from heaven. God’s word is among us and lives with, lives with us, accompanying our every act and move and every mind and thought. … The beautiful prospect of the kingdom is bright and even more infinite. All God’s people are beaming with smiles in heart, for what has long been expected has now become a reality. How could we not dance for joy and give glory to God? We shout for joy, and we sing, singing of and praising God’s almightiness and wisdom. We shout for joy, and we sing, singing of God’s work having been crowned with success. We shout for joy, and we sing. The practical God is personally leading us into the good land of Canaan to enjoy God’s riches, to enjoy God’s riches.” (from “Singing of the Millennial Kingdom Descending Among Men” in Follow the Lamb and Sing New Songs) Ironclad Proofs—Disclose the Mystery About the Bible (5) - Are There Mistakes in the Bible?10/29/2017 The Bible was written by more than 40 authors in different times, but there is not any mistake. This shows that God is the true author of the Bible. Does it make sense? She believed in the Lord from childhood. At 18, she entered a theological school. In her 30’s, she became one of the leaders of a house church in Shanxi Province, China. For a long time, the Bible had a holy place and supreme authority in her heart. She thought that one could only know God and find God’s footsteps in the Bible. Thus, she devoted herself to reading and studying the Bible. However, there were still many mysteries in the Bible which puzzled her. Until one day….
Eastern Lightning, The Church of Almighty God was created because of the appearance and work of Almighty God, the second coming of the Lord Jesus, Christ of the last days. It is made up of all those who accept Almighty God's work in the last days and are conquered and saved by His words. It was entirely founded by Almighty God personally and is led by Him as the Shepherd. It was definitely not created by a person. Christ is the truth, the way, and the life. God's sheep hear God's voice. As long as you read the words of Almighty God, you will see God has appeared Hymn
Welcoming Your Smiling Face Appearing Before Me I You raised me from the dust and into Your embrace. You woke my heart from the long and dark night's slumber. Looking through my haze, I see Your smiling face. It draws my heart and my love. Never dreamed I'd see Your face. Such a blessing has caught me by surprise. Such a blessing when I saw Your appearance. For I am from the dust and without any worth. Yet the glorious Almighty God has come to me face to face. Quiet before You, I listen when You talk. Your words are gentle, yet Your words are strong. Judgment and chastisement awaken my heart. A love sincere and beautiful that I'll always hold dear. Your loveliness is beyond words. It's wondrous! Taken my heart, rousing my love too. I've memorized Your every lovely attribute. It's my biggest wish to give all my love to You. Give all my love to You, to You. II Where are You, my dear God? I lay awake all night. Why do You hide from me? No peace till I see Your face. In pain my heart calls out, looks to You with eagerness. Your words guiding me, it's like You're here before my face. With Your words in my heart, it's like You're with me by my side. Your word is my life, overtaking all my heart. Living by Your word gives me peace and joy. I want to live Your word, to glorify and witness You! Quiet before You, I listen when You talk. Your words are gentle, yet Your words are strong. Judgment and chastisement awaken my heart. A love sincere and beautiful that I'll always hold dear. Your loveliness is beyond words. It's wondrous! Taken my heart, rousing my love too. I've memorized Your every lovely attribute. It's my biggest wish to give all my love to You. Give all my love to You, to You. III I'll fulfill my duty to repay Your love and complete Your will. I welcome Your smiling face appearing before me. It's my biggest wish to give all my love to You. I'll fulfill my duty to repay Your love and complete Your will. I welcome Your smiling face appearing before me. It's my biggest wish to give all my love to You. from Follow the Lamb and Sing New Songs Eastern Lightning, The Church of Almighty God was created because of the appearance and work of Almighty God, the second coming of the Lord Jesus, Christ of the last days. It is made up of all those who accept Almighty God's work in the last days and are conquered and saved by His words. It was entirely founded by Almighty God personally and is led by Him as the Shepherd. It was definitely not created by a person. Christ is the truth, the way, and the life. God's sheep hear God's voice. As long as you read the words of Almighty God, you will see God has appeared. As My voice sounds out, as My eyes shoot forth fire, I am watching over the whole earth, I am observing the entire universe. All humanity are praying to Me, turning their gaze up to Me, beseeching Me to cease My anger, and swearing to rebel against Me no more. But this is no longer the past; it is now. Who can turn back My will? Surely not the invocation within men’s hearts, nor the words in their mouths? Who has been able to survive until the present, if not because of Me? Who survives except by the words in My mouth? Who does not lie under My watchful eye? As I carry out My new work on the whole earth, who has ever been able to escape from it? Could it be that the mountains are able to evade it by means of their height? Could it be that the waters, by their multitudinous vastness, are able to fend it off? In My plan, I have never lightly let any thing go, and so there has never been any person, or any thing, that has eluded the grasp of My hands. Today, My holy name is extolled throughout humanity, and again, words of protest rise up against Me throughout humanity, and legends about My being on earth are rife throughout humanity. I do not tolerate men making their judgments about Me, nor do I tolerate their dividing up My body, still less do I tolerate their vituperations against Me. Because he has never truly known Me, man has always resisted and deceived Me, failing to cherish My Spirit or to treasure My words. For his every deed and action, and for the attitude he bears toward Me, I give man the “reward” that is his due. And so, men all act with an eye to their reward, and not a single one has ever done any work involving self-sacrifice. Human beings are unwilling to render selfless dedication, but rather delight in rewards that can be got for nothing. Though Peter consecrated himself before Me, it was not for the sake of tomorrow’s reward, but for the sake of the knowledge of today. Humanity has never entered into a genuine connection with Me, but time and time again has dealt with Me in a superficial manner, thinking thereby effortlessly to win My approval. I have looked deep into man’s heart, so I have unearthed in its innermost recesses “a mine of many riches,” something of which even man himself is not yet aware but that I have discovered anew. And so, only when they have seen the “material evidence,” only then do human beings cease their sanctimonious self-abasement and, with palms outstretched, admit to their own unclean state. Among men, there is much more that is new and fresh waiting for Me to “extract” for the enjoyment of all humanity. Far from stopping My work on account of man’s incapacitation, I carry on mending and maintaining him in accordance with My original plan. Man is like a fruit tree: Without trimming and pruning, the tree will fail to bear fruit and, in the end, all one sees are withered branches and fallen leaves, with no fruit dropping onto the ground.
As I decorate the “inner chamber” of My kingdom day by day, no one has ever suddenly burst into My “workroom” to disrupt My work. All mankind are doing their utmost to cooperate with Me, fearful of “being dismissed” and “losing their position” and thus reaching a dead end in their lives where they may even fall into the “desert” occupied by Satan. Because of man’s fears, I comfort him every day, move him to love every day and furthermore give him instruction in the midst of his daily life. It is as if human beings are all babies who have just been born; unless supplied with milk, they will soon depart this earth, to be seen no more. In the midst of humanity’s supplications, I come into the world of men and, straight away, humanity lives in a world of light, no longer sealed up inside a “room” from which they cry out their prayers to heaven. As soon as they see Me, men insistently make plaint of the “grievances” stored in their hearts, opening their mouths before Me to beg for food to be dropped into them. But afterward, “their fears allayed and composure restored,” they no longer ask anything of Me, but fall soundly asleep, or else, denying My existence, they go off to mind their own affairs. In mankind’s “abandonment” it is clearly evident how human beings, devoid of “feeling,” carry out their “impartial justice” toward Me. Therefore, seeing man in his unlovely aspect, I depart silently and will no longer readily come down again at his earnest supplication. Unbeknownst to him, man’s troubles grow day by day, and so, in the midst of his toil and moil, when he suddenly discovers My existence, he, refusing to take “no” for answer, grabs hold of Me by the lapels and ushers Me into his house as a guest. But, though he may set forth a sumptuous meal for My enjoyment, he has never once considered Me to be one of his own, instead treating Me as a guest in order to obtain a modicum of help from Me. And so, at this time, man unceremoniously presents his sorry condition before Me, hoping to get My “signature,” and, like one in need of a loan for his business, he tackles Me with all his might. In his every gesture and motion, I catch a fleeting glimpse of man’s intent: It is as though, in his view, I do not know how to read the meaning hidden in a person’s facial expression or tucked away behind his words, or how to look deep into a person’s heart. And so man pours out in confidence to Me every single experience in every single encounter he has ever had, without error or omission, and afterward sets out his demands before Me. I hate and despise man’s every deed and action. Among humanity, there has never been a single one who has done work that I love, as if humanity is intentionally antagonizing Me, and purposefully attracting My wrath: They all parade back and forth in front of Me, indulging their own will before My eyes. There is not a single one among humanity who lives for My sake, and in consequence the existence of the entire human race has neither value nor meaning, so that humanity lives in an empty void. Even so, humanity still refuses to awaken, but continues to rebel against Me, persisting in its vanity. In all the trials they have passed through, human beings have never once pleased Me. Because of their cruel iniquity, mankind does not aim to bear witness to My name; rather, he “runs the other way” while relying on Me for sustenance. Man’s heart does not wholly turn to Me, and so Satan lays waste to him till he is a mass of wounds, his body covered in filth. But man still does not realize how repulsive is his countenance: All along he has kept worshiping Satan behind My back. For this reason, with wrath I cast man down into the bottomless pit, making it so that he will never be able to free himself. Even so, in the midst of his piteous wailing, man still refuses to reform his mind, intent on opposing Me to the bitter end, and hoping thereby willfully to stir up My wrath. On account of what he has done, I treat him as the sinner that he is and deny him the warmth of My embrace. From the first, the angels have served Me and obeyed Me without change or surcease, but man has always done the exact opposite, as if he came not from Me, but was born of Satan. The angels in their respective places all give Me their utmost devotion; unswayed by Satan’s forces, they strive only to fulfill their duty. Suckled and nourished by the angels, the multitudes of My sons and My people all grow strong and healthy, not one among them weak or feeble. This is My doing, My miracle. As salvo after salvo of cannon fire inaugurates the founding of My kingdom, the angels, walking to the rhythmic accompaniment, come before My rostrum to submit to My inspection, because their hearts are free of impurity and of idols, and they do not shun My inspection. At the howling of the gale, the heavens come pressing down in an instant, suffocating all mankind so that human beings are no longer able to call upon Me as they wish. Without knowing it, all humanity has collapsed. The trees sway back and forth in the wind, from time to time branches are heard to snap, and all the withered leaves are blown away. The earth feels bleak and desolate all of a sudden, and people hug themselves tight, braced for the disaster following upon the autumn to strike their bodies at any moment. The birds on the hills fly hither and thither, as if crying out their sorrow to someone; in the mountain caves, lions roar, terrifying people with the sound, freezing their marrow and making their hair stand on end, and it is as if there is an ominous feeling presaging the end of mankind. Unwilling to await My pleasure in disposing of them, all men pray silently to the Sovereign Lord in heaven. But how can a gale be blocked by the noise of water flowing in a little brook? How can it suddenly be stopped by the sound of men’s invocations? How can the rage in the heart of the thunderclap be stilled for the sake of man’s timidity? Man sways back and forth in the wind; he runs hither and thither to hide himself from the rain; and under My wrath, human beings quake and tremble, deeply afraid that I will plant My hand on their bodies, as if I am the muzzle of a gun pointed at all times at man’s breast, and again, as if he is My enemy, and yet he is My friend. Man has never discovered My true intentions to him, has never understood My true aims, and so, unawares, he offends against Me, unawares, he opposes Me, and yet, without meaning to, he has also seen My love. It is difficult for man to see My face in the midst of My wrath. I am hidden in the black clouds of My anger, and I stand, amid thunderclaps, above the entire universe to send My mercy down to man. Because man does not know Me, I do not chastise him for failing to understand My intent. In the eyes of men, I vent My wrath from time to time, I show My smile from time to time, but even when he sees Me, man has never seen the whole of My disposition, is still unable to hear the joyful noise of the clarion, because he has grown too numb and insensate. It is as if My image exists in man’s memories, and My form in his thoughts. However, there has never been a single person who has truly seen Me throughout the evolution of the human race, because man’s brain is too impoverished. For all that man has dissected Me, the science of the human race is so primitive that, till now, his scientific research has yielded no conclusive results. And so, the subject of “My image” has always been a complete blank, with no one to fill it in, no one to break a world record, because for mankind even to be able to keep his foothold in the present is already an inestimable consolation in the midst of great misfortune. March 23, 1992 source: The Twenty-third Utterance in The Word Appears in the Flesh Eastern Lightning, The Church of Almighty God was created because of the appearance and work of Almighty God, the second coming of the Lord Jesus, Christ of the last days. It is made up of all those who accept Almighty God's work in the last days and are conquered and saved by His words. It was entirely founded by Almighty God personally and is led by Him as the Shepherd. It was definitely not created by a person. Christ is the truth, the way, and the life. God's sheep hear God's voice. As long as you read the words of Almighty God, you will see God has appeared. Man lives amid the light, yet he is unaware of the preciousness of the light. He is ignorant of the substance of the light, and of the source of the light, and, moreover, of to whom it belongs. When I conferred the light among man, I immediately examine the conditions among man: Because of the light, all people are changing, and growing, and have left the darkness. I look upon every corner of the universe, and see that the mountains are engulfed in fog, that the waters have frozen amid the cold, and that, because of the coming of the light, people look to the East in order that they might discover something more precious—yet man remains incapable of discerning a clear direction among the mist. Because the whole world is blanketed by fog, when I look on from among the clouds, My existence is never discovered by man; man is searching on earth for something, he seems to be foraging, he intends, it seems, to await My arrival—yet he does not know My day, and can only often look to the glimmer of light in the East. Among all peoples, I seek those who are truly after My own heart. I walk among all peoples, and live among all peoples, but man is safe and sound on earth, and so there are none who are truly after My own heart. People do not know how to care for My will, they cannot see My actions, and they cannot move among the light and be shone upon by the light. Although man ever treasures My words, he is incapable of seeing through the deceitful schemes of Satan; because man’s stature is too small, he is unable to do as his heart wishes. Man has never loved Me sincerely. When I exalt him, he feels himself unworthy, but this does not make him try to satisfy Me. He merely holds the station I have given him in his hands and scrutinizes it; insensible to My loveliness, he instead persists in engorging himself on the blessings of his station. Is this not the deficiency of man? When the mountains move, could they make a detour for the sake of your station? When the waters flow, could they cease before your station? Could the heavens and the earth be reversed by your station? I was once merciful toward man, over and over again—yet no one cherishes or treasures this, they merely listened to it as a story, or read it as a novel. Do My words really not touch the heart of man? Do My utterances really have no effect? Could it be that no one believes in My existence? Man does not love himself; instead, he unites with Satan to attack Me, and uses Satan as an “asset” by which to serve Me. I will penetrate all the deceitful schemes of Satan, and stop the people from earth accepting the deceptions of Satan, so that they do not oppose Me because of Satan’s existence.
In the kingdom, I am King—but instead of treating Me as its King, man treats Me as the Savior that has descended from heaven. As a result, he longs for Me to give him alms, and does not pursue the knowledge of Me. So many have cried out before Me like a beggar; so many have opened their “sacks” to Me and implored Me to give them food to survive; so many have fixed greedy eyes upon Me, like hungry wolves, wishing they could gobble Me up and fill their bellies; so many have bowed their heads in silence because of their transgressions and felt ashamed, praying for My clemency, or willingly accepting My chastisement. When I speak, the various follies of man appear preposterous, and his true form is revealed amid the light, and in the shining light, man is unable to forgive himself. Thus, he hurries before Me to bow down and confess his sins. Because of man’s “honesty,” I draw him once more upon the chariot of salvation, and hence man is grateful to Me, and casts Me a loving look. Yet he is still unwilling to truly take refuge in Me, and has not fully given his heart to Me. He merely boasts of Me, yet he does not truly love Me, for he has not turned his mind to Me; his body is before Me, yet his heart is behind Me. Because man’s understanding of rules is too lacking and he has no interest in coming before Me, I provide him with appropriate support, so that he may turn toward Me from amid his pertinacious ignorance. This is precisely the mercy that I give unto man, and is the method by which I strive to save man. People throughout the universe celebrate the arrival of My day, and angels walk among the masses. When Satan causes trouble, the angels, because of their service in heaven, always help My people. They are not deceived by the devil due to human weakness, but gain greater experience of the fog-enshrouded life of man as a result of the onslaught of the forces of darkness. All the people submit beneath My name, and never does anyone rise up to openly oppose Me. Because of the labors of the angels, man accepts My name and all are amid the stream of My work. The world is falling! Babylon is in paralysis! The religious world—how could it not be destroyed by My authority on earth? Who still dares to disobey and oppose Me? The scribes? All religious officials? The rulers and authorities on earth? The angels? Who does not celebrate the perfection and fullness of My body? Among all peoples, who does not sing My praises without cease, who is not unfailingly happy? I live in the land of the great red dragon’s lair, yet this does not cause Me to tremble with fear or run away, for all of its people have already begun to loathe it. Never has the “duty” of any thing been performed before the dragon; instead, all things go about their own business, picking the route that suits them best. How could the countries on earth not perish? How could the countries on earth not fall? How could My people not cheer? How could they not sing with joy? Is this the work of man? Is it the doing of man’s hands? I gave man the root of his existence, and provided him with material things, yet man is dissatisfied with his current circumstances and asks that he enter My kingdom. But how could he enter My kingdom so easily, without having paid a price, and unwilling to offer his selfless devotion? Instead of exacting anything from man, I make requirements of him, so that My kingdom on earth may be filled with glory. Man has been guided by Me into the present age, he exists in this state, and he lives amidst the guidance of My light. If it were not thus, who among the people on earth would know their prospects? Who would understand My will? I add My provisions to the requirements of man; is this not in line with the laws of nature? Yesterday you lived in the midst of wind and rain, today you have entered into My kingdom and become its people, and tomorrow you will enjoy My blessings. Who ever imagined such things? How much adversity and hardship will you experience in your life, do you know? I advance amid wind and rain, and have spent year after year among man, and that is followed by the present day. Are these not the steps of My management plan? Who has ever added to My plan? Who can break away from the steps in My plan? I live in the hearts of hundreds of millions of people, I am King among hundreds of millions of people, and I have been rejected and reviled by hundreds of millions of people. My image is not truly within the heart of man. Man only dimly perceives My glorious countenance in My words, but because of the interference in his thoughts, he does not trust his own feelings; there is only a vague Me in his heart, but it does not remain there long. And so, his love of Me is also thus: His love before Me appears fitfully, as if he loves Me as the urge takes him, as if his love winks in and out of view beneath hazy moonlight. Today, it is only because of My love that man remains and has had the good fortune to survive. If it were not thus, who among man would not, as a result of their emaciated body, be cut down by the laser light? Man still does not know himself. He shows off before Me, and brags about himself behind My back, yet no one dares to “oppose” Me before Me. However, man does not know the meaning of the opposition of which I speak; instead, he keeps trying to fool Me, and keeps exalting himself—and in this, does he not openly oppose Me? I tolerate the weakness of man, but I am not in the slightest bit lenient toward opposition of man’s own making. Although he knows its meaning, he is unwilling to act in accordance with this meaning and merely deceives Me as befits his own preferences. I make plain My disposition in My words at all times, yet man is not reconciled to defeat—at the same time, he reveals his disposition. Amid My judgment man will be utterly convinced, and amid My chastisement he will finally live out My image and become a manifestation of Me on earth! March 22, 1992 source: The Twenty-second Utterance in The Word Appears in the Flesh Eastern Lightning, The Church of Almighty God was created because of the appearance and work of Almighty God, the second coming of the Lord Jesus, Christ of the last days. It is made up of all those who accept Almighty God's work in the last days and are conquered and saved by His words. It was entirely founded by Almighty God personally and is led by Him as the Shepherd. It was definitely not created by a person. Christ is the truth, the way, and the life. God's sheep hear God's voice. As long as you read the words of Almighty God, you will see God has appeared. |
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