Testimonies of Returning to God | That Day the Sky Was Especially Clear and Sunny (Part 2) | Eastern Lightning

That Day the Sky Was Especially Clear and Sunny (Part 2)

Tian Ying

The sister continued talking: “The word of Almighty God has already opened up the mystery of ‘being saved’ and ‘attaining full salvation,’ so let’s take a look at the word of Almighty God and see what He has to say about this. Almighty God says: ‘At the time Jesus’ work was the redemption of all mankind. The sins of all who believed in Him were forgiven; as long as you believed in Him, He would redeem you; if you believed in Him, you were no longer a sinner, you were relieved of your sins. This is what it meant to be saved, and to be justified by faith. Yet in those who believed, there remained that which was rebellious and opposed God, and which still had to be slowly removed. Salvation did not mean man had been completely gained by Jesus, but that man was no longer of sin, that he had been forgiven his sins: Provided you believed, you would never more be of sin’ (‘The Vision of God’s Work (2)’ in The Word Appears in the Flesh).

‘Before man was redeemed, many of Satan’s poisons were already planted within him. After thousands of years of Satan’s corruption, man already has within him a nature that resists God. Therefore, when man has been redeemed, it is nothing more than redemption, where man is bought at a high price, but the poisonous nature within has not been eliminated. Man that is so defiled must undergo a change before being worthy to serve God. Through this work of judgment and chastisement, man will fully come to know the filthy and corrupt substance within him, and he will be able to completely change and become clean. Only in this way can man be worthy to return before the throne of God. … Though man has been redeemed and forgiven of his sins, it is only considered as God not remembering the transgressions of man and not treating man in accordance with man’s transgressions. However, when man lives in the flesh and he has not been set free from sin, he can only continue to sin, endlessly revealing the corrupt satanic disposition. This is the life that man leads, an endless cycle of sin and forgiveness. The majority of men sin in the day only to confess in the evening. As such, even if the sin offering is forever effective for man, it would not be able to save man from sin. Only half the work of salvation has been completed, for man still has corrupt disposition. … it runs deeper than sin, planted by Satan and deeply rooted within man. It is not easy for man to become aware of his sins; man is unable to recognize his own deeply rooted nature. Only through judgment by the word can such effects be achieved. Only thus can man gradually be changed from that point onward’ (‘The Mystery of the Incarnation (4)’ in The Word Appears in the Flesh).

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‘You only know that Jesus shall descend during the last days, but how exactly will He descend? A sinner such as you, who has just been redeemed, and has not been changed, or been perfected by God, can you be after God’s heart? For you, you who are still of your old self, it is true that you were saved by Jesus, and that you are not counted as a sinner because of the salvation of God, but this does not prove that you are not sinful, and are not impure. How can you be saintly if you have not been changed? Within, you are beset by impurity, selfish and mean, yet you still wish to descend with Jesus—you should be so lucky! You have missed a step in your belief in God: You have merely been redeemed, but have not been changed. For you to be after God’s heart, God must personally do the work of changing and cleansing you; if you are only redeemed, you will be incapable of attaining sanctity. In this way you will be unqualified to share in the good blessings of God, for you have missed out a step in God’s work of managing man, which is the key step of changing and perfecting. And so you, a sinner who has just been redeemed, are incapable of directly inheriting God’s inheritance’ (‘Concerning Appellations and Identity’ in The Word Appears in the Flesh).”

Testimonies of Returning to God | That Day the Sky Was Especially Clear and Sunny (Part 1) | Eastern Lightning

That Day the Sky Was Especially Clear and Sunny (Part 1)

Tian Ying

Note: The author was deceived and bound by the ideas of “sola fide” and “to be saved once is to be saved forever” that were disseminated by pastors, and refused to contact brothers and sisters who were spreading the gospel of God in the last days. However, later on when she witnessed a sister spreading the gospel of God’s kingdom in her elder sister’s house, and through fellowshiping, the author came to understand God’s work of judgment in the last days, and started to see clearly the absurdity of religious notions. She broke through the pastor’s control and accepted God’s work in the last days, returning before God.

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I used to be a believer in the Three-Self Church in China. When I first started participating in gatherings there, the pastors would often say to us: “Brothers and sisters, it is recorded in the Bible that: ‘For with the heart man believes to righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made to salvation’ (Rom 10:10). We’ve been justified due to our faith. Since we believe in Jesus, we have been saved. If we believed in any other, then we wouldn’t have been saved….” I held on to these words of the pastors. As a result, I ardently pursued and actively attended gatherings as I waited for the Lord to come and let me into the kingdom of heaven. Later on, as unlawful deeds kept occurring in the church, it made me feel fed up with the gatherings there. First of all, among the pastors they were divided and partitioned, each trying to establish themselves at the top of the faction and set up independent kingdoms. Secondly, the sermons from the pastors needed to obey the United Front Work Department (UFWD). It was up to them to decide what could be talked about, and no one dared to go against them. The UFWD didn’t allow them to discuss the Book of Revelation out of fear that it would disturb popular sentiment, so the pastors didn’t preach it. The pastors would often preach about donation, saying that the more one donated then the more blessings they would receive from God…. So when I saw that these were the circumstances in the church I felt quite bewildered: Why did the church change into this current form? Do the pastors not believe in the Lord? Why do they not fear the Lord? Why do they not follow the Lord’s word? From that point on I no longer wanted to go to gatherings at the Three-Self Church, for I felt that they did not truly believe in God, that they acted in the name of believing in God in order to obtain the hard-earned money from brothers and sisters.

Testimonies of Returning to God | Breaking Through the Fog to See the Light | Eastern Lightning

Breaking Through the Fog to See the Light

Faith, China

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I am an ordinary worker. At the end of November, 2013, a coworker saw that my wife and I would always make a lot of noise about little things, that every day we were worried and distressed, so he passed on the work of Almighty God in the last days to us. From the word of Almighty God, we have learned that the heavens and earth and all things were created by God, and that man’s life is bestowed on him by God. We have also understood the truth of the mystery of the six-thousand-year management plan, the mystery of the incarnation, God’s three stages of work in saving mankind, the significance of God’s work of judgment in the last days, and other respects. My wife and I thought that happening upon God having come to save mankind during our lifetimes was a great blessing. We happily accepted God’s work in the last days, and led a church life. Under the guidance of the word of God, we both pursued the truth and to transform ourselves, and whenever something happened and we started to argue, we wouldn’t just find fault with each other like we used to, but rather we would reflect on ourselves and try to know ourselves. After that, we acted in a way that forsook the flesh in accordance with God’s demands, and our marital relations became better and better, and our hearts became peaceful and steady. We felt that believing in God was truly good. However, while we were joyous and happy to follow God, when we were enjoying the blessed life, we were faced with a violent attack coming from our families…. Just when I was losing my way, it was the word of God that guided me to see through Satan’s scheme, and to break through the fog and enter onto the radiant and correct path for life.

Testimonies of Returning to God | The Light Is Warm When Passing Through the Tunnel | Eastern Lightning

The Light Is Warm When Passing Through the Tunnel

Wang Yuping

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Just like all the other brothers and sisters who thirst for the return of the Lord Jesus, I too continuously long for our Lord eagerly to return to receive us into the kingdom of heaven soon so that we can enjoy its blessings. One day in November of 2006 I finally heard the news of the Lord’s return. Through reading the words expressed by Almighty God and through the patient fellowshiping about and bearing witness to God’s work in the last days from my brothers and sisters, I finally recognized that Almighty God incarnate is the return of the Lord Jesus. Thereupon, I willingly accepted Almighty God’s work in the last days.

The Hymn of God's Word | The Purpose of God's Management Work | Eastern Lightning

The Hymn of God's Word
The Purpose
of God's Management Work
I
God has a 6,000-year
management plan,
split into three phases,
each called an age.
Age of Law first, then Age of Grace,
and the Age of Kingdom
is the final phase.
While God's work differs in each,
it all accords to what mankind needs,
or to be more precise,
it accords to the tricks used by Satan
while battling Him.
The purpose of God's work
is Satan's defeat,
to reveal God's wisdom
and almightiness,
and to expose all of Satan's tricks,
thereby saving man from its domain,
thereby saving man from its domain.
Woo … woo …

Testimonies of Returning to God | The Awakening of a Deceived Spirit (Part 2) | Eastern Lightning

The Awakening of a Deceived Spirit (Part 2)

Yuan Zhi, Brazil

Opening Up My Heart and Seeing the Lord’s Face

At night, while I am tossing and turning restlessly in bed, I think, “I must find Sister Yang, whom I have blacklisted. If I can find her, I would definitely be able to find Brother Zhang from The Church of Almighty God. I recall that Sister Yang is someone who truly believes in God. All along, she has investigated the work of Almighty God in the last days. Right now, she should have already understood a lot. I want to know how her investigation is coming along. Through the help of some friends, two days later, with difficulty, I found Sister Yang’s Facebook account. I was glad that she was not angry at me for blocking her. After I contacted her, she told me that she had already investigated things quite clearly. Almighty God is the return of Jesus. She also happily connected me with Brother Zhang.

Through the internet, I contacted Brother Zhang and Sister Yang. I said, “After this period of experience, I can see that the Lord is guiding me. I am also willing to seek and investigate the work of Almighty God of the last days. However, I have many questions to ask you two. The thing I do not understand the most is that Jesus incarnated as a man to do His work. However, today, why can Jesus incarnate as a woman to do the work? This is a mystery. Brother Zhang, can you explain this to me?

Testimonies of Returning to God | The Awakening of a Deceived Spirit (Part 1) | Eastern Lightning

The Awakening of a Deceived Spirit (Part 1)

Yuan Zhi, Brazil

Summoned by the Lord’s Grace Tasting the Lord’s Love

I was born in a small city in Northern China. In 2010, I followed my relatives to Brazil. In Brazil, I got acquainted with a Christian friend. He brought me to church to listen to sermons. But though I went three times, I never absorbed it. Afterward, because my job was keeping me busy, I didn’t go to church again until one day in June, 2015, when my friend brought me to church once more. This time, through what brothers and sisters shared, I had some understanding that the Lord Jesus is the Redeemer. Especially, when I first read Genesis, I felt that the Creator is truly wondrous. In school, the textbooks had taught me that man evolved from apes and monkeys and all the things in the world were formed naturally. That day, when I read Genesis, I understood that in fact, man was created by God and that God had created all things. Suddenly, I felt that, for more than twenty years, I had been deceived. That day, I suddenly and completely awakened. From that point on, I believed in the Lord Jesus.

The Judgement Day Is Come | Christian Song | "God Descends With Judgment" | The Church of Almighty God

I

While coming down to the nation of the great red dragon, God turns to face the universe and it starts shaking. Is there any place that doesn't face His judgment? Or live in the scourge that He unleashes? Everywhere He goes He scatters seeds of disaster, but through it gives salvation and shows His love. God wishes to make more people know Him, see Him and then revere Him. They've not seen Him for so long, but now He's so real.

II

While coming down to the nation of the great red dragon, God turns to face the universe and it starts shaking. Is there any place that doesn't face His judgment? Or live in the scourge that He unleashes? Everywhere He goes He scatters seeds of disaster, but through it gives salvation and shows His love. God wishes to make more people know Him, see Him and then revere Him. They've not seen Him for so long, but now He's so real.

from "The Tenth Utterance" of God's Utterances to the Entire Universe in The Word Appears in the Flesh

Testimonies of Experience of Christ’s Judgment | God’s Best Protection for Mankind | The Church of Almighty God

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5. God’s Best Protection for Mankind

Kuiqian    Rizhao City, Shandong Province

My station in life, or status, was something I could never let go of, and when God created an environment that exposed me, I was only negative, complaining, and despairing. Only through refinement after refinement did I come to understand God’s good intentions, and that His testing of me was not to torment me. Rather, it was to cleanse me and make me perfect, to allow me to understand that believing in God for the sake of a station can only ruin me, thus allowing me to let go of improper views of pursuit, and to have a proper goal to pursue.

God Is Good | Best Christian Movie "Where Is My Home" | God Gave Me a Happy Family | The Church of Almighty God

Introduction

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Wenya's parents separated when she was two, and after that she lived with her father and stepmother. Her stepmother couldn't stand her and was always arguing with her father. He had little choice—he had to send Wenya to her mother's house, but her mother was fully focused on running her business and didn't have any time to take care of Wenya, so she was often shuttled off to her relatives' and friends' homes to be fostered. After so many years of a life of foster care, young Wenya felt lonely and helpless, and longed for the warmth of a home. Only when her father and stepmother divorced did she return to her father's side, and from then on had a home, for better or for worse.

A Hundred Questions and Answers on Investigating the True Way | How to Know the God on Earth | The Church of Almighty God

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How to Know the God on Earth

All of you are glad to receive rewards before God and to be recognized by God. This is everyone’s wish after he begins to have faith in God, for man wholeheartedly seeks higher things and none are willing to fall behind others. This is the way of man. For this reason, many among you always try to gain the favor of the God in heaven, yet in truth, your loyalty and sincerity to God are far less than your loyalty and sincerity to yourselves. Why do I say this? Because I do not acknowledge your loyalty to God at all, and I further deny the existence of the God that is within your hearts. That is to say, the God that you worship, the vague God that you admire, does not exist at all. The reason I can say this so definitively is that you are too far away from the true God. The loyalty you possess comes from the existence of another idol within your hearts, and as for Me, the God regarded as neither great nor small in your eyes, you acknowledge Me with nothing but words. When I speak of your great distance from God, I am referring to how far away you are from the true God, while the vague God seems to be near at hand. When I say “not great,” it is in reference to how the God that you have faith in this day appears to merely be a man without powerful abilities; a man that is not very lofty. And when I say “not small,” this means that though this man cannot summon the wind and command the rain, He is able to call upon the Spirit of God to do work that shakes the heavens and earth, thus baffling man. Outwardly, you all appear to be very obedient to this Christ on earth, yet in substance you neither have faith in Him nor love Him. What I mean is that the one you truly have faith in is that vague God in your feelings, and the one you truly love is the God you yearn for night and day, yet have never seen in person. As for this Christ, your faith is merely a fraction, and your love for Him is nothing. Faith means belief and trust; love means adoration and admiration in the heart, never parting. Yet your faith in and love of the Christ of this day fall far short of this. When it comes to faith, how do you have faith in Him? When it comes to love, how is it that you love Him? You know not at all of His disposition, much less His substance, so how is it that you have faith in Him? Where is the reality of your faith in Him? How do you love Him? Where is the reality of your love for Him?

Testimonies of Experience of Christ’s Judgment | Return of a Prodigal Son | The Church of Almighty God

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4. Return of a Prodigal Son

Wang Xin    Harbin City

In 1999, I became a leader due to the requirements of the work of the church. Although I felt deeply that I was not worthy of the job when I first started, after a while, due to my arrogant and self-righteous nature, my initial cautiousness gradually turned into exalting myself and testifying about myself. I cared about food, clothes, and enjoyment, greedily indulging in the blessings of my status. I even wanted to be on an equal footing with God. In the end, I was finally dismissed and sent home. It was only after this that I had an awakening and realized that “status” had made me give up on God and the truth; “status” had made me set up my individual kingdom; “status” had turned me into an antichrist; “status” made me embark on the road to death. It was only then that I discovered that I had strayed so very far from the right path and already fallen too deep.

A Hymn of God's Words The Seven Thunders Roll | The Church of Almighty God

A Hymn of God's Words

The Seven Thunders Roll

I

The seven thunders roll,

shaking up the world,

rending through the sky,

changing heaven and earth.

Piercing is the sound.

Where can man run and hide?

Heaven and earth are changed

by thunder and lightning.

Man lies dying.