We believe in the Lord and we spread the gospel as the Lord requires. We frequently give financial aid to deprived areas or to help the disabled, we donate money and items to the church, we do well at our jobs and with our children’s education and we conduct ourselves well. This way, we have glorified the Lord and been approved by Him, and when the Lord returns we will be raptured up into the kingdom of heaven. Why then do we also have to experience God’s work of judgment in the last days?

Bible Verses for Reference:

Not every one that said to me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that does the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in your name? and in your name have cast out devils? and in your name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess to them, I never knew you: depart from me, you that work iniquity (Mat 7:21-23).

Living abroad, we are quite busy with our work and with things at home and sometimes we don’t have time to read God’s words or attend meetings. I feel that this is not putting God first, however, and I feel in my heart that I owe God. I’d like to ask how we can find a better balance between our work, our families and seeking the truth?

Bible Verses for Reference:

For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul? (Mak 8:36-37).

And he said to his disciples, Therefore I say to you, Take no thought for your life, what you shall eat; neither for the body, what you shall put on. The life is more than meat, and the body is more than raiment (Luk 12:22-23).

Without Holiness, No One Will See the Lord

By Hemiao
    The sky was dull and the clouds were hanging low, the thunder blaring dimly out from a distance. A storm was striking soon. These days, people were all baked like the cracked land due to the dryness and fervor. At the moment, the cool wind accompanied the drizzle took away the dryness of these days, bringing coolness to people. It was the time for the rain to come. Heyu hurried to fetch the washing in, and then she gazed to the sky while waiting for the arrival of Tao Yun and Zhang Ruirui. Recently they were all busy sustaining the church they each led and hadn’t met for days. So Heyu invited them to her house to have a chat and have an understanding of the situations of the brothers and sisters.

The Four Criteria for Salvation and the True State of Those Who Have Been Saved

The Four Criteria for Salvation

Below we will be fellowshiping about the four criteria for salvation. First, you must have true faith in God and reverence for God in your heart, and you must be someone who has truly returned to God.

The Way in Which Jesus Returns Is Different From What Pastors Said

By Yongyi, Hong Kong

The church became desolate and I was withered in spirit.

When I first began going to church, the brothers and sisters were all full of love. We often shared the grace of the Lord together, and supported and helped each other, living in the love of the Lord. After a few years, however, the situation in the church became worse and worse. The believers either made small talk or talked about eating, drinking, and having fun, and some of them even did not attend meetings. Faced with such a situation, I also lost faith in my pursuit and started following the trends of the world. I was busy with making money every day, and except for attending services each week, I seldom prayed or read the Bible at home. I felt darker and darker in spirit.

Questions and Answers on the Way of the Lord’s Arrival (Secret and Open)

  Question (2): We have long heard that the Church of Almighty God has already testified to the return of the Lord Jesus. And He is Almighty God! He expresses truths and performs His judgment work of the last days, but the majority of people in religious circles all believe that the Lord will return by descending with the clouds. This is because the Lord Jesus clearly said: “And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory” (Mat 24:30). The Book of Revelation also prophesied: “Behold, he comes with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him” (Rev 1:7). I also maintain the belief that the Lord will return by descending with the clouds to directly take us up into the kingdom of heaven. We refuse to accept the Lord Jesus who does not descend with the clouds. You say that the Lord's return is returning to the flesh and descending in secret. But nobody knows about this. However, the Lord openly descending with the clouds is absolute! That's why we are waiting for the Lord to descend with the clouds and appear openly to take us directly up into the kingdom of heaven. Is our understanding correct or not?

Question: Through your fellowship, we see that our thoughts about the Lord’s return and the rapture really did just come from our own conceptions. We have already seriously gone against the Lord’s words. That being said, how should we wait for the Lord’s return and the rapture now? Can you talk about this in a bit more detail?

Answer: Studying how Almighty God does His work of judgment in the last days is very important to our ability to obtain salvation by pursuing the truth. Almighty God works in the last days by expressing truths to judge and cleanse people. He does this solely to lift His saints into the kingdom of heaven. However, many believers in the religious community do not understand God’s will. They think the Lord will return and directly raise all of the saints into the heavenly kingdom.

Chapter 7 Several Other Aspects of the Truths That Are the Minimum That Should Be Understood by New Believers

5. Faith in God Should Not Only Be for Seeking Peace and Blessings.

Relevant Words of God:

Today, you must set on the right track since you believe in the practical God. Having faith in God, you should not solely seek blessings, but seek to love God and know God. Through His enlightenment and your own pursuit, you can eat and drink His word, develop a true understanding of God, and have a true love of God that comes from your heart. In other words, your love for God is most genuine, such that none can destroy or stand in the way of your love for Him. Then you are on the right track of faith in God. It proves that you belong to God, for your heart has been taken possession of by God and you can then be possessed by nothing else. Owing to your experience, the price you paid, and the work of God, you are able to develop an unbidden love for God. Then you are freed from the influence of Satan and live in the light of God’s word. Only when you have broken free from the influence of darkness can you be deemed to have gained God. In your belief of God, you must seek this goal. This is the duty of each of you.

from “You Ought to Live for the Truth Since You Believe in God” in The Word Appears in the Flesh

One Must Fellowship Clearly What Is Rapture and the True Meaning of Being Raised Up Before the Throne of God

2. What is true rapture?

Bible Verses for Reference:

“And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom comes; go you out to meet him” (Mat 25:6).

“Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me” (Rev 3:20).

“Write, Blessed are they which are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb” (Rev 19:9).

Relevant Words of God:

“Being caught up” is not being taken from a low place to a high place as people imagine. This is a huge mistake. Being caught up is referring to My predetermining and selecting. It is targeted at all those I have preordained and chosen. … This is most incompatible with people’s notions. Those who have a share in My house in the future are all people who have been caught up before Me. This is absolutely true, never-changing, and cannot be refuted by anybody. This is the counterattack against Satan. Anyone I preordained shall be caught up before Me.

from “The One Hundred and Fourth Utterance” in The Word Appears in the Flesh

The Philadelphia church has taken shape, and this has been entirely due to the grace and mercy of God. The saints have brought forth their love for God and never wavered from their spiritual path. Be firm in the belief that the one true God has become flesh, that He is the Head of the universe who commands all things—this is confirmed by the Holy Spirit and is ironclad proof! It can never change!

…………

Today You have made complete all churches—the Philadelphia church—which is the realization of Your 6,000-year management plan. The saints can now humbly be obedient in front of You; they are connected to each other in spirit and accompany each other in love. They are connected to the source of the fountain. The living water of life runs ceaselessly and it washes away and purges all the filth and sludge in the church, once again purifying Your temple. We have known the practical true God, walked within His words, recognized our own functions and duties, and done everything that we can to expend ourselves for the church. We should take every moment to be quiet in front of You and heed the work of the Holy Spirit so that Your will is not blocked in us. Among saints there is mutual love, and the strengths of some will compensate for the failings of others. Walk in the spirit at every moment and gain the enlightenment and illumination of the Holy Spirit; understand the truth and put it into practice immediately; keep up with new light and follow God’s footsteps.

…………

Actively cooperate with God, serve in coordination and become one, satisfy Almighty God’s will, hasten to become a holy spiritual body, trample on Satan, and end its destiny. The Philadelphia church has been raptured in front of God and manifests itself in the glory of God.

from “The Second Utterance” in The Word Appears in the Flesh

Like hundreds of millions of other followers of the Lord Jesus Christ, we abide by the laws and commandments of the Bible, enjoy the abundant grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and gather together, pray, praise, and serve in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ—and all this we do under the care and protection of the Lord. We are often weak, and often strong. We believe that all of our actions are in accordance with the teachings of the Lord. It goes without saying, then, that we also believe ourselves to walk the path of obedience to the will of the Father in heaven. We long for the return of the Lord Jesus, for the glorious arrival of the Lord Jesus, for the end of our life on earth, for the appearance of the kingdom, and for everything as it was foretold in the Book of Revelation: The Lord arrives, and brings disaster, and rewards the good and punishes the wicked, and takes all those who follow Him and welcome His return into the air to meet Him. Every time we think of this, we can’t help but be overcome with emotion. We are thankful that we were born in the last days and are lucky enough to witness the coming of the Lord. Though we have suffered persecution, it is in return for “a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory”; what a blessing that is! All of this longing and the grace bestowed by the Lord make us often sober unto prayer, and bring us together more often. Maybe next year, maybe tomorrow, or maybe even sooner when man does not expect it, the Lord shall suddenly arrive, and shall appear among a group of people who have been attentively waiting for Him. We are all contending with each other, none wanting to fall behind, in order to be the first group to behold the appearance of the Lord, to become one of those who shall be raptured. …

…………

God is silent, and has never appeared to us, yet His work has never stopped. He looks upon all lands, and commands all things, and beholds all the words and deeds of man. His management is conducted in steps and according to His plan. It proceeds silently, without dramatic effect, yet His footsteps advance ever closer to mankind, and His judgment seat is deployed in the universe at the speed of lightning, immediately followed by the descent of His throne among us. What a majestic scene that is, what a stately and solemn tableau. Like a dove, and like a roaring lion, the Spirit arrives among us all. He is wise, He is righteous and majestic, He quietly arrives among us possessed of authority and filled with love and compassion. No one is aware of His arrival, no one welcomes His arrival, and, moreover, no one knows all that He will do. Man’s life remains unchanged; his heart is no different, and the days go by as usual. God lives among us like an ordinary person, as a most insignificant follower and an ordinary believer. He has His own pursuits, His own goals, and, moreover, He has divinity not possessed by ordinary men. No one has noticed the existence of His divinity, and no one has perceived the difference between His substance and that of man. …

…………

And yet it is this ordinary person hidden among people who is doing the new work of saving us. He does not clarify anything for us, nor does He tell us why He has come. He merely does the work He intends to do in steps, and according to His plan. His words and utterances become ever more frequent. From consoling, exhorting, reminding, and warning, to reproaching and disciplining; from a tone that is gentle and kind, to words that are fierce and majestic—they all instill both compassion and trepidation in man. Everything that He says hits home at the secrets hidden deep within us, His words sting our hearts, sting our spirits, and leave us ashamed and humiliated. …

Unbeknownst to us, this insignificant man has led us into step after step of God’s work. We undergo countless trials, are subjected to innumerable chastenings, and tested by death. We learn of God’s righteous and majestic disposition, enjoy, too, His love and compassion, come to appreciate God’s great power and wisdom, witness the loveliness of God, and behold God’s eager desire to save man. In the words of this ordinary person, we come to know the disposition and substance of God, come to understand God’s will, come to know the nature and substance of man, and see the way of salvation and perfection. His words cause us to die, and cause us to be reborn; His words bring us comfort, yet also leave us wracked with guilt and a sense of indebtedness; His words bring us joy and peace, but also great pain. Sometimes we are as lambs to the slaughter in His hands; sometimes we are like the apple of His eye, and enjoy His love and affection; sometimes we are like His enemy, turned to ashes by His wrath in His eyes. We are the mankind saved by Him, we are the maggots in His eyes, and we are the lost lambs that He thinks of finding day and night. He is merciful toward us, He despises us, He raises us up, He comforts and exhorts us, He guides us, He enlightens us, He chastens and disciplines us, and He even curses us. He worries for us night and day, He protects and cares for us night and day, He never leaves our side, and He devotes all His care to us and pays any price for us. Among the words of this small and ordinary flesh, we have enjoyed the entirety of God, and beheld the destination that God has bestowed upon us. …

The utterance of God continues, and He employs various methods and perspectives to admonish us what to do and express His heart’s voice. His words carry life power, and show us the way we should walk, and allow us to understand what the truth is. We start to be drawn to His words, we begin to focus on the tone and manner of His speaking, and subconsciously begin to take an interest in the heart’s voice of this unremarkable person. He makes painstaking efforts for us, loses sleep and appetite for us, weeps for us, sighs for us, groans in sickness for us, suffers humiliation for the sake of our destination and salvation, and His heart bleeds and sheds tears for our numbness and rebelliousness. Such being and possessions of His are beyond an ordinary person, and cannot be possessed or attained by any of the corrupted. He has tolerance and patience possessed by no ordinary person, and His love is not possessed by any created being. No one apart from Him can know all of our thoughts, or have such a grasp of our nature and substance, or judge the rebelliousness and corruption of mankind, or speak to us and work among us like this on behalf of the God of heaven. No one except for Him can possess the authority, wisdom, and dignity of God; the disposition of God and what He has and is are issued forth, in their entirety, from Him. No one apart from Him can show us the way and bring us light. No one apart from Him can reveal the mysteries God has not disclosed from creation until today. No one apart from Him can save us from Satan’s bondage and our corrupt disposition. He represents God, and expresses the heart’s voice of God, the exhortations of God, and the words of judgment of God toward all mankind. He has begun a new age, a new era, and brought a new heaven and earth, new work, and He has brought us hope, and ended the life we led in vagueness, and allowed us to fully behold the path of salvation. He has conquered our whole being, and gained our hearts. From that moment onward, our minds become conscious, and our spirits seem to be revived: This ordinary, insignificant person, who lives among us and has long been rejected by us—is He not the Lord Jesus, who is ever in our thoughts, and whom we long for night and day? It is He! It’s really Him! He is our God! He is the truth, the way, and the life! He has allowed us to live again, to see the light, and has stopped our hearts from wandering. We have returned to the home of God, we have returned before His throne, we are face-to-face with Him, we have witnessed His countenance, and have seen the road ahead. At the time, our hearts have been completely conquered by Him; we no longer doubt who He is, and no longer oppose His work and word, and we fall down, completely, before Him. We wish for nothing except to follow the footprints of God for the rest of our lives, and to be made perfect by Him, and to repay His grace, and repay His love for us, and to obey His orchestrations and arrangements, and to cooperate with His work, and to do everything we can to complete what He entrusts to us.

…………

We are just such an ordinary group of people possessed of corrupt satanic disposition, we are the ones predestined by God before the ages, and we are the needy whom God has lifted from the dunghill. We once rejected and condemned God, yet now we have been conquered by Him. We have received life and have received the way of eternal life from God. No matter where we are on earth, despite persecution and tribulation, we cannot be apart from the salvation by Almighty God. For He is our Creator, and our only redemption!

from “Beholding the Appearance of God in His Judgment and Chastisement” in The Word Appears in the Flesh

Is All of God’s Word Really in the Bible?

All these years, I’ve been rushing around to defend the Bible and protect the flock. Unexpectedly, however, my wife, my mother and my father-in-law were gradually stolen by the Eastern Lightning, which made me lose face completely before the brothers and sisters.
My wife preached God’s work in the last days to me, but I flatly refused to accept it to show my loyalty to the Lord and to show that I was fighting the good fight for safeguarding the Bible. I made an oath in front of the brothers and sisters, “I am the believer who only believes in the Bible. The Bible is my Lord. Never will I follow the Eastern Lightning as my family do!”

You have said that the Lord Jesus has already come, but we don’t believe it. We have had faith in the Lord for many years and have always toiled tirelessly for Him. When the Lord comes He should first reveal it to us. Since the Lord has not revealed it to us, that just shows us that He hasn’t returned. What is wrong with this belief?

The Answer from God’s Word:

The work of God continues to advance, and though the purpose of His work remains unchanging, the means by which He works are constantly changing, and thereby so are those who follow God. … All men wish to gain God yet are unable to tolerate any changes in God’s work. Those who do not accept the new work of God believe that the work of God is changeless, and that the work of God forever remains at a standstill. In their belief, all that is needed to gain eternal salvation from God is to keep the law, and as long as they repent and confess their sins, the heart of God will be forever satisfied. They are of the opinion that God can only be the God under the law and the God who was nailed on the cross for man; it is their opinion too that God should not and cannot exceed the Bible. It is precisely these opinions that have shackled them firmly to the law of old and kept them fettered by rigid regulations. Even more believe that whatever the new work of God, it must be substantiated by prophecies, and that in each stage of such work, all those who follow Him with a true heart must also be shown revelations, else that work could not be that of God. It is already no easy task for man to come to know God. Taken in addition to man’s absurd heart and his rebellious nature of self-importance and conceit, then it is all the more difficult for man to accept the new work of God. Man neither studies the new work of God with care nor accepts it with humility; rather, man adopts an attitude of contempt, waiting for the revelations and guidance of God. Is this not the behavior of a man who rebels against and opposes God? How can such men gain the approval of God?

God's Utterance "God's Work, God's Disposition, and God Himself III" (Part Two)

God's words in this video are from the book "Continuation of The Word Appears in the Flesh".

The content of this video:

1. (Matt 12:1) At that time Jesus went on the sabbath day through the corn; and his disciples were an hungered, and began to pluck the ears of corn and to eat.

2. (Matt 12:6-8) But I say to you, That in this place is one greater than the temple. But if you had known what this means, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice, you would not have condemned the guiltless. For the Son of man is Lord even of the sabbath day.

Recommend : Almighty God Is the One True God Who Rules Over All Things.

The Church of Almighty God | God Is God | Bless God | Christian Music Video "All People Live in God's Light" | Praise and Worship

God Is God | Bless God | Christian Music Video "All People Live in God’s Light" | Praise and Worship

Now in exultation, God’s holiness and righteousness thrive through the universe, exalting among all mankind. Cities of heaven laugh. The kingdoms of earth dance. Who doesn’t jubilate? Who doesn’t shed tears? Men do not quarrel nor come to blows. They do not disgrace God’s name, living in the light of God, being in peace with each other.

The Church of Almighty God | "The Mystery of Godliness: The Sequel" (6) - Is the Lord Jesus the Son of God or God Himself?

     It is recorded clearly in the Bible that the Lord Jesus is Christ, that He is the Son of God. Yet the Eastern Lightning testifies that the incarnate Christ is the manifestation of God, that He is God Himself. So is the incarnate Christ the Son of God? Or is He God Himself? Almighty God says, "'Jesus is the beloved Son of God, in whom He is well pleased'.... That was God bearing witness to Himself, but merely from a different perspective, that of the Spirit in heaven bearing witness to His own incarnation.

The Church of Almighty God | Almighty God's Word "Man Can Only Be Saved Amidst the Management of God"

Almighty God says, "Mankind does not know who is the Sovereign of all things in the universe, much less does he know the beginning and future of mankind. Mankind merely lives, perforce, amidst this law. None can escape it and none can change it, for among all things and in the heavens there is but One from everlasting to everlasting who holds sovereignty over everything.

The Church of Almighty God | The Appearance of God | The Origin and Development of the Church of Almighty God

    The Church of Almighty God came into being because of the appearance and work of the returned Lord Jesus—Almighty God, Christ of the last days, and also under His righteous judgment and chastisement. The church is comprised of all those who truly accept Almighty God’s work of the last days and are conquered and saved by God’s word. It was entirely founded by Almighty God personally, and is personally led and shepherded by Him, and it was by no means set up by any man.

The Church of Almighty God | Musical Drama "Xiaozhen's Story" (6) - Return

    Almighty God says, "Mankind, who left the supply of life from the Almighty, does not know why they exist, and yet fears death. There is no support, no help, but mankind is still reluctant to close their eyes, braving it all, drags out an ignoble existence in this world in bodies without the consciousness of souls. You live like such, with no hope; he exists like such, with no aim. There is only the Holy One in the legend who will come to save those who moan in suffering and long desperately for His arrival.

The Church of Almighty God | Almighty God’s Word “It Is Very Important to Understand God’s Disposition”

    Almighty God says, “If you do not understand the disposition of God, then it will be impossible for you to do the work you should do for Him. If you do not know the substance of God, so too shall it be impossible to retain reverence and fear of Him, only heedless perfunctoriness and prevarication, and moreover, incorrigible blasphemy.

The Church of Almighty God | Chronicles of Religious Persecution in China (Trailer)

    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.

The Church of Almighty God | Experience God’s True Love | Praise and Worship "Song of Sweet Love"

    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.