Expert's Comments | How Chinese Regime Persecutes Christians—Lies and Violence

Expert's Comments | How Chinese Regime Persecutes  Christians—Lies and Violence

As is well known, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) seized power through lies and violence, and it relies on lies and violence to maintain its power. The CCP’s rule is nothing but lies, violence, and murder. The CCP propagates atheism, regarding religion as the spiritual opium of the people. Christians preach the gospel and witness for God to carry out God’s will, but the CCP condemns such righteous deeds as abandoning and breaking up their families, and arrests and imprisons Christians on various false charges. In mainland China, Christians from various house churches, particularly from CAG, suffer brutal oppression and persecution for the sake of their religious belief, some of whom were left disabled or died. Many Christians have gone into exile and were rendered homeless with their families scattered. Countless Christian families have been thus broken! In this episode, we have invited Professor Massimo Introvigne, an Italian scholar of new religious movements, founder and managing director of Center for Studies on New Religions, to talk about why the CCP oppresses and persecutes The Church of Almighty God, whether the CCP’s accusations against The Church of Almighty God are true, and who is the main culprit behind the breakdown of Christian families, and so on. The truth will be uncovered, and the CCP’s cruel and evil essence against God that wins fame through deceiving the public and fights against justice will be exposed. Please stay tuned!

Expert's Comments | Analyzing the CCP's Rumors Against The Church of Almighty God

Expert's Comments | Analyzing the CCP's Rumors Against The Church of Almighty God

As is well known, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) seized power through lies and violence, and it relies on lies and violence to maintain its power. The CCP’s rule is nothing but lies, violence, and murder. The CCP propagates atheism, regarding religion as the spiritual opium of the people. Christians preach the gospel and witness for God to carry out God’s will, but the CCP condemns such righteous deeds as abandoning and breaking up their families, and arrests and imprisons Christians on various false charges. In mainland China, Christians from various house churches, particularly from CAG, suffer brutal oppression and persecution for the sake of their religious belief, some of whom were left disabled or died. Many Christians have gone into exile and were rendered homeless with their families scattered. Countless Christian families have been thus broken! In this episode, we have invited Professor Massimo Introvigne, an Italian scholar of new religious movements, founder and managing director of Center for Studies on New Religions, to talk about why the CCP oppresses and persecutes The Church of Almighty God, whether the CCP’s accusations against The Church of Almighty God are true, and who is the main culprit behind the breakdown of Christian families, and so on. The truth will be uncovered, and the CCP’s cruel and evil essence against God that wins fame through deceiving the public and fights against justice will be exposed. Please stay tuned!

Christian Testimonies | The Transformation of a Fallen Man (Part Two)

Christian Testimonies | The Transformation of a Fallen Man 

(Part Two)

October 29, 2017

Tong Xin Fujian Province

After fulfilling my duty in the church for some time, I saw that some of the church leaders were quite young and one of them had been my friend, which made me feel uncomfortable. I thought: None of your positions in the earthly world were as high as mine, but your current positions in the church are higher than mine. If you are capable of being leaders, then I am even more so! So I worked hard in this pursuit; I got up at five every morning to read God’s words, and set goals for myself—listening to at least two hours every day of preaching and fellowship on entering into life, learning three songs every week, and learning all the songs of God’s word. I worked even harder at performing my duty in the church. As long as it was something that I was capable of dealing with in the church, I would rush to do it regardless of how difficult or tiring it was. Meanwhile, I bragged my experience and skills in the army in front of sisters and brothers, turned my nose up at the communications of the church leaders or subtly belittled how they approached issues or dealt with problems. So, I charged straight ahead, struggling to make a name for myself, hoping to get an official position in the church as soon as possible. In 2011, I was finally selected to be a leader in the church as I had expected. I was very excited and I prepared to distinguish myself and accomplish a great many things in order to impress others. However, my wife reminded me many times that I was not suitable to lead others and suggested that I resign. I had no choice but to resign and I recommended a sister as the leader. However, I had not reconciled with this in my heart. After some time, I found that the leader had some shortcomings in how she dealt with problems, and my ambition once again reared its head. I indirectly suggested to her that she take the blame and resign, which would give me the chance to be selected in the next election. However, the sisters and brothers who heard of this analyzed me, saying that I was too crafty and ambitious, and that I always wanted to take control of the church, so they dismissed me from my post of group leader. I simply could not accept it. I was such a capable person; how could it be that I was not even fit to be a group leader! For months, I was very dissatisfied in my heart and I was not happy with my sisters and brothers, so I did not talk much in the meetings. My spirit was full of darkness and I could not find God. In the midst of this pain, I asked God to lead me out of the darkness. And one day, I read God’s words, “Today, in man’s experience, each step of God’s work strikes back at the conceptions of man, and every step is unimaginable by man’s intellect, and beyond his expectations. God provides all that is needed by man, and in every respect it is at odds with the conceptions of man…. By striking back at your conceptions, you come to accept the dealing of God, and only in this way can you get rid of your corruption” (“Only Those Who Know God Can Bear Testimony to God” in The Word Appears in the Flesh). “If you do not obey now, in the end you will be cursed—will you be happy then? You do not pay attention to the way of life but only focus on your status and title; what is your life like? … You don’t focus on pursuing personal transformation and entering in; you always focus on those extravagant desires, and things that constrain your love for God and restrain you from getting close to Him. Can those things transform you? Can they bring you into the kingdom?” (“Why Aren’t You Willing to Be a Foil?” in The Word Appears in the Flesh). God’s words were like a sword cutting into my heart, making rebellious me feel ashamed and embarrassed. Not until then did I realize that all the things that had happened to me recently, while not what I wanted, did not mean that people were just giving me a hard time. Rather, they were the just judgment of me from God, and His timely salvation of me. God’s work that time was meant to change people’s old thoughts and perspectives, to save them from the influence of Satan, and for them to gain the truth and life from God to live a bright life. I did not take the correct path and seek to gain the truth as my life, but pursued status and fame, and I even played tricks and hatched schemes, no different than the pursuit of becoming an official and someone of importance. Wasn’t this against God’s work and His will to save mankind? How could I gain the truth and live a meaningful life if I continued to pursue these? If I had not turned back, wouldn’t it have ruined me and made me a target for punishment by God when He completes His work? Through those around me, God pruned aspects of me and dealt with me “ruthlessly,” took away my status, and shattered my ambitions and desires in order to prevent me from taking the wrong path, to correct my flawed ideas of pursuits, and to make me turn back. I then understood the righteous and holy disposition of God, and that my intentions, motivations, and even every single thought and action were under His observation. God carried out the most genuine salvation of me at the same time that He demonstrated His majesty. After recognizing the grace of God’s salvation, I no longer allowed myself to get entangled in the loss of a position, and I had the will to pursue the truth. God loved me so much that He tried to save me, so I could not let Him down. I had to obey God’s arrangements, and no matter whether I was a leader or a layperson, I should pursue the truth and do my duty as well as possible.

Half a year later, the leader in the church arranged for me to continue my church life at another church. Its church leaders were being selected at that time. When I learned that I had believed in God longer than all the sisters and brothers, I felt very happy and I thought: Now comes my chance. I can finally show my abilities as a leader. After all, I have more life experience and I believed in God earlier than they did. I am the best person for the position. As I was preparing to present myself well to them, one of the sisters from the previous church was transferred to join the election. I was afraid that she would reveal my previous scandal of jostling for position, which would be an embarrassment to me, so I had to give up my initial plan. I decided to try to get elected as a group leader, then work my way up step by step after that. I hadn’t imagined that I would not be elected as a group leader, but I would instead be arranged to carry out some minor work which required delivering books of God’s words to sisters and brothers. I, a dignified battalion commander, was running around doing little errands. I found this difficult to accept. However, after undergoing the judgment and chastisement of God, I understood that this was from the rule of God and His arrangements. God was dealing with my desire to pursue status, so I forsook myself and obeyed. However, before long the place where I attended meetings was spotted by the police, so the church arranged for me to meet with another two old sisters somewhere else. As for the leader of the church, she could not come very often to perform her watering duty for us as she was being persecuted by the Communist Party of China. At that time, I could not bear it any longer: Aside from having me do petty work, I have to meet with those elders with poor caliber. How did I get to this place? The more I thought about it, the worse I felt. I even felt that life was not worth living. In pain, I earnestly prayed unto God and asked for His enlightenment. One day, I read God’s words, saying, “What’s the most appropriate method of pursuit on today’s path? What kind of figure should you see yourself as in your pursuit? You should know how to handle everything that is befalling you now, be it trials or suffering, merciless chastisement or curses—you should give careful consideration to all of this” (“Aren’t Those Who Do Not Learn and Know Nothing but Beasts?” in The Word Appears in the Flesh). From God’s words, I understood that I was driven by my arrogant satanic nature, deviated from God’s will, and walked on the wrong path of pursuing fame and positions. As a result, I only regarded those duties with “official titles” as important and despised other duties, and even detested those sisters and brothers of low caliber in the sense that I felt my status was lowered by being with them. The status, fame and wealth had gone to my head. However, I did not know that in the house of God, all duties were equal, and my sisters and brothers as well as I were all creatures with equal status. My high status in the earthly world could not ever change that fact. Thinking of this, I felt greatly relieved. However, I knew that fame and status were my fatal weaknesses, so I prayed unto God to seek more truth to resolve this issue. Later, I heard some preaching giving fellowship regarding entering into life, saying: “In your opinion, is it meaningful for people to hold positions and cherish them? You should see through status and fame and be indifferent to them. They are empty and meaningless. A high position does not guarantee blessings. If you don’t have a good disposition, a high position may bring you misfortune. If you do not pursue the truth, that position will be a source of great evil for you. Without the truth, you cannot see through things, and might easily be ruined by positions. … You cannot be a leader without pursuing the truth; it can only ruin you. If you pursue the truth, leadership can make you perfect” (“The Differentiations of and Solutions to the False Leaders, Antichrists and the Wicked” in Sermons and Fellowship on Entry Into Life (VII)). “People appear to be good when they don’t have power but as soon as they have it, they will show their true colors. How can power expose the truth in people? When someone is an ordinary person, they seem decent and appear to be dignified and upright. Once they hold some power, they become perverse” (“How People Should Cooperate With God’s Work of Perfecting Man” in Sermons and Fellowship on Entry Into Life (III)). These words suddenly opened my eyes and I saw the void and meaninglessness of pursuing status. Valuing status and failing to pursue the truth can only lead to people’s ruin. Take my experience in the army as an example—I hated those corrupt officials when I was a soldier. However, as my status continued to grow, I started to become perverse and in the end I became a truly corrupt official. Those who were in high positions seemed to be good and honest when they didn’t have high status. However, as soon as they held power, they started to behave tyrannically and commit countless crimes. These facts were enough to illustrate that after people had been corrupted by Satan, they would without exception be subject to its affliction and trickery; if they did not pursue the truth and have a change in disposition, they could only become perverse and do evil once they held power and status, be it in the earthly world or in God’s house, with an end result of being punished justly by God. Thinking of this, I felt both fear and gratitude. It turned out that my repeated frustrations was my salvation, done out of love for me! Because I struggled to ascend in the world of officialdom for many years, I had been sullied with the poisons of Satan. It could be said that I was a combination of arrogance, craftiness, selfishness and greed. After believing in God, I valued status too much and did not really pursue the truth. As a result, even by then I had gained little of the truth, and I had little fear of God. If I had actually been in a high position, I would only have become ambitious and behaved tyrannically as I did in the army, and I would end up being punished for offending God’s disposition. Thanks to God’s enlightenment, I could see clearly the essence and the outcome of pursuing fame and status, and more than that, I could see the importance of pursuing the truth.

After that I started to concentrate my efforts on God’s words. I deeply longed for God’s words to be my life and paid no attention to duties with “official titles,” and never belittled other duties. I felt that every duty had its meaning, and as long as someone worked hard in their duties its value would be apparent. When I longed for God’s words with all of my heart and tried to complete my duties, I not only understood many truths which I had not understood before, but also enjoyed God’s presence quite often. I received the enlightenment and leadership of the Holy Spirit, which made me feel grounded and unspeakably joyful. After a period of time, I found myself keeping a low profile when interacting with others, and I no longer boasted about my old positions in the army or used them to show off. No matter who pointed out my shortcomings, I would obey first and reflect on myself later. I could treat the sisters and brothers in the church with poor education and low caliber equally, and I no longer regarded myself as superior to them. Before I knew it my opinions on pursuit changed a lot, and I became indifferent to status and fame and was not so constrained and controlled by these. When I saw sisters and brothers who had believed in God for less time than me get elected as leaders of the church, I felt a little bit of jealousy. However, I was able to let it go through prayer. I felt embarrassed thinking of the fact that I used to struggle for fame and gain; I felt it was ugly and inhumane. Now, my wife and I fulfill our duties at home together. Though they are not significant, I feel content and I experience enjoyment. My son now also believes in Almighty God, which makes our family a true Christian family where God’s words rule. No matter who speaks in line with the truth, we will listen to that person. Even if there is revelation of corrupt dispositions, we can understand, forbear and forgive each other, and examine ourselves according to God’s words, which has made our family happier and happier. I strongly feel that it is Almighty God who has changed me and my wife, who has saved my marriage and family, and what’s more, has saved me from extreme corruption and transformed me from an arrogant, evil and filthy seeker of fame into a person who pursues light and justice, who has real life goals. When I sing this song of God’s word, all sorts of feelings well up in me: “God has no hatred for man, and all that He does is true love. Even chastisement and judgment are also His love, and are a great salvation for you. It is only because you are too disobedient, and you were born in the licentious and sinful place and have been trampled by Satan. God does not want you to become more depraved and does not have the heart to let you fall into the underworld, so He chastises and judges and refines you again and again. This is a deep love, like a father teaches his son. He does so for the purpose of leading you to the right path. It is also a great protection, and even more a great grace for you. Although you have suffered a lot from the chastisement and judgment, and even become half alive, you receive the most true, most real, and most precious thing. You see the final destination of God’s creations, come to comprehend the origin of mankind’s corruption, see God’s arm, come to fully understand human life, and gain the right path of human life. Because of today’s chastisement and judgment, you know the wondrous deeds of the Almighty and see His righteous disposition and His beautiful, glorious countenance. Without them, your faith would be in vain” (“Chastisement and Judgment Are the Most True and Most Real Love” in Follow the Lamb and Sing New Songs). Yes, without God’s salvation, I would not have taken the right path in life; I would only have become more and more degenerate, and would have become filthy scum who would be cursed by God in the end. It is the just judgment of God that has saved me, and ruthless refinement that has changed me. This allows me to understand what is ugly and what is holy as well as God’s greatness, beauty and goodness, and Satan’s meanness and evilness. I will never follow Satan again, and will only pursue the truth wholeheartedly, rid myself of Satan’s corruption, and live a real human life. Although I have experienced the suffering of many chastisements and refinements, I have gained the most precious path of life, allowing me to be reborn and enter a true path in life.

This year, I went back to my former work unit to take care of some procedural tasks. I saw that my previous colleagues and my previous leaders had all been promoted. When my previous colleagues saw me, they said, “If you had not left the army, you would have been promoted by now.” I remained unmoved, and thought: Of what use is a high position? If you live without any goal, direction or meaning as a person but just churn in that mire of evil, isn’t it the most degrading kind of life? Aren’t you just Satan’s slaves, its toys? You will suffer God’s just punishment and retribution in the end! Though I do not have a high position, I never regret my choice, because I have truly experienced peace and ease in my heart, which is true happiness. Only being the creature you should be, obeying and worshiping God is a true human life, and only through this can you have a bright future!

Christian Testimonies | The Transformation of a Fallen Man (Part One)

Christian Testimonies | The Transformation of a Fallen Man

(Part One)

Tong Xin Fujian Province

I was born in the countryside. I came from a line of humble farmers and on top of that our family was few in number, so we were often bullied. When I was 13 years old, there was a child beaten by someone from outside of our village. The villagers falsely accused my father of instigating it and they said they were going to search our house and confiscate our property, take away our pigs and even beat my father. There was also a time when another villager took our fishing net and kept it as his own. When my father went to get it back, the villager actually hit my father, relying on his own power and influence. My father had to just eat humble pie as he knew that he had neither money nor power. My mother told my brothers and me that we must fight for ourselves in the future, and never live a life of oppression like this. Being young and detesting the injustice in society, I was determined that in the future I would stand out from the crowd and earn their respect, and never be oppressed. So I studied very hard, but I wasn’t smart enough and I couldn’t get into any universities, so I chose to pursue development in the army and joined easily by going through connections.

When I first joined, I scrambled to take on all the difficult and dirty work and to show my proactiveness to impress my leaders and be promoted in the future. However, no matter how hard I tried, I could not even get a position of squad leader. I was also constantly made fun of and bullied by my comrades because of my shabby clothes and thriftiness, which just intensified my desire to stand out. Later, based on advice from my fellow villager, I learned that evaluations and promotion in the army did not depend on hard work, but rather gift-giving. Even though I found this kind of thing was disgusting, I had to take the only path to promotion. Therefore, I determined to take all my savings to give gifts to my leaders and make connections, just like everyone else around me; after that I was finally able to enroll in the military academy. But after I graduated, I was assigned to cook in the canteen because I didn’t have enough money for gift-giving, and later I became a quartermaster, but in name only. After several years of army life, I understood that bureaucrats never discipline gift-givers and you can’t accomplish anything without licking their boots. If you want to keep a foothold, you have to try every means to make money and give gifts, otherwise you won’t achieve anything no matter how great your abilities are. In order to achieve my aspiration, I started to make money and raise funds everywhere: I over quoted and exaggerated the quantity on purpose when buying food, getting a little bit of extra dirty money; seeing other quartermasters selling rice, I secretly sold a truck of rice from the army and made several thousand yuan, and so on. Though I had believed in Jesus since childhood and clearly knew that these things I was doing were crimes, I was also constantly worried about being found out and convicted someday, the desire to be promoted drove me to do those things against my conscience. Once I had saved up some money, I started to flatter my leaders and give them gifts catering to their likes. Every time a leader came to see me I would busy myself going to drink with them, sing, get in touch with prostitutes…. I did every possible thing to curry favor with them. I tried to flatter them with any means possible. Whenever the leaders needed some help, I was happy to offer my services. Whoever had a good relationship with the leaders, I would try to get close to him in order to get a positive recommendation. During those years, I rose quickly to the position of battalion commander by resorting to this kind of worldly philosophy. I finally stood out and I could return home gloriously! After that, every time I went back home, the villagers would crowd around me, flattering and complimenting me, which greatly satisfied my vanity. My ambitions and my desires grew then. As people say, “Some officials are just looking out for number one, not the public,” “Use power when you have it, because after it’s gone, you can’t use it,” and “There’s no such thing as an official who’s not corrupt.” So, I started to enjoy the privileges of an official. I would get things for free wherever I went, and if someone sought help from me, I would ask them for gifts and I wouldn’t help them if the gifts were inadequate. I started to go after fancy food and clothing, and began to put on airs. Relying on the fact that I was like a “golden child” with important leaders such as the commander and political commissar, I even became so arrogant that I would bully people by flaunting my powerful connections, requesting gifts from my subordinates in the names of these leaders. This was how I degenerated from a simple Christian country boy into a greedy, deceitful person of the devil.

Being corrupt and fallen, I even projected my own terrible nature onto others. I often suspected for no good reason that my beautiful wife who worked for a foreign company was having affairs; this led to more conflict between us and growing estrangement. In 2006, my wife was pushed to her limit and initiated divorce; this felt like a great disgrace to me, so I would not agree to it. Late at night I would often think about my life. I thought to myself: I have been determined to stand out since childhood and my wife and I are both successful in our careers. Conditions in our home are good in every way and other people envy us, so why am I living in such pain, and why has it gotten to the point that my wife wants to divorce me? Even our son is suffering along with us. Is my life the way I want it to be? What exactly am I living for? Just as I was feeling lost and confused, my wife accepted Almighty God’s salvation in the last days. Through frequent meetings and fellowship with sisters and brothers, she became more and more optimistic, stopped arguing with me, and never mentioned divorce again. Instead, she was busy preaching the gospel and fulfilling her duty. Later, driven by my wife and mother, I also started to believe in Almighty God.

Because of the life in the church, I understood that God is holy and righteous, and that He most hates the filth and corruption of humans. I thought of the filthy ways I developed in the army and that I could not possibly be saved by God if I didn’t change my old disposition, so I started to hungrily read God’s words, hoping that I could find a solution in them. One day, I read these words from God: “Born into such a filthy land, man has been severely blighted by society, he has been influenced by feudal ethics, and he has been taught at ‘institutes of higher learning.’ The backward thinking, corrupt morality, mean view on life, despicable philosophy, utterly worthless existence, and depraved lifestyle and customs—all of these things have severely intruded upon man’s heart, and severely undermined and attacked his conscience. As a result, man is ever more distant from God, and ever more opposed to Him” (“To Have an Unchanged Disposition Is to Be in Enmity to God” in The Word Appears in the Flesh). God’s words exposed the secrets in the bottom of my heart; I was badly shaken. Over those years of serving in the army, I had followed the “unspoken rules” of the world for the sake of standing out. I had done many things which burdened my conscience. I had become wealthy from ill-gotten gains and lived a dark and corrupted life—I constantly indulged myself in sin but felt no shame. Then, God’s words not only allowed me to distinguish good from evil, but also made me see clearly the origin of my fall and my corruption. It turned out that these scourges came from Satan. It was Satan that turned this country into a morass of evil and viciousness where powerless, honest people were oppressed and struggled to get by while the powerful, influential and tyrannical prospered. In this society was full of heresies and fallacies like “Everyone for himself and the devil take the hindmost,” “Officials do not make things difficult for those who bear gifts,” “You can’t accomplish anything without licking their boots,” “Some officials are just looking out for number one, not the public,” “Use power when you have it, because after it’s gone, you can’t use it,” and so on. I was taken in by these terrible sayings, and because of the oppression around me I lost my way, abandoned human principles, sought high positions unscrupulously, and became entrenched in a mire of sin. I eventually became a filthy demon who sought nothing but wealth, abused power for personal gain, and embezzled public funds. From the judgment in God’s words, I saw the intense rage and holiness of God, and understood that offending His righteous disposition was not permitted. I regretted my evil actions and my heart was filled with fear. I felt that if it had not been for God saving me in time and pulling me from the evil mire, I would have been cursed and punished by God for what I had done. Thank God for letting me see light again, and understand human principles. From then on, I never again did those things that brought shame to God’s name.

As I understood more and more of the truth, I experienced more and deeper salvation from God. In 2009, I had served in the army for 20 years. According to national regulations, I was permitted to go out and look for work on my own. I determined to shun evil and do good, so I left the army and chose to be transferred to civilian work, and put my heart and soul into working for God. However, my leader tried to persuade me to stay and asked me to think it over thoroughly, and another older leader in a high position made me a promise that I would be promoted to deputy regimental commander if I continued to work hard. I hesitated a bit—this was the opportunity that I had longed for day and night! I couldn’t let go of the idea of that position, so I sought help from God and prayed, “Oh, God, being in a high position has always been my dream. Now I have that opportunity and I don’t know how to choose. May You enlighten and lead me!” The following words of God brought me enlightenment, “If you are of high station, of honorable reputation, possessed of abundant knowledge, the owner of plentiful assets, and supported by many people, yet these things do not prevent you from coming before God to accept His calling and His commission, to do what God asks of you, then all that you do shall be the most significant on earth and the most righteous of mankind. If you reject the call of God for the sake of status and your own goals, all that you do shall be cursed and even despised by God” (“God Presides Over the Fate of All Mankind” in The Word Appears in the Flesh). “People come to the earth and it is rare to encounter Me, and it is also rare to have the opportunity to seek and to gain the truth. Why would you not prize this beautiful time as the right path of pursuit in this life?” (“Words to the Young and Old” in The Word Appears in the Flesh). Every word of God struck my conscience, and I was awoken from my hesitation. I had the privilege of encountering the work on the earth of God incarnate and the precious opportunity to seek the truth and work for God. What an exaltation and grace from God! What career in the world could be more meaningful than working for the Creator? Even if you were in the highest position and were the highest official, if you did not know God and had not made any changes in your disposition, you would eventually be punished by God. So many people in prestigious positions had fallen into disaster and died a premature death, and so many high-ranking officials had had an ignominious fall and a terrible end. As for me, I had fought and tried desperately to stand out as an official, resulting in me ruining myself to such an extent that I was tarnished and filthy, and lived the life of someone who was barely human. God had then led me back from the wrong path and clearly showed me the path for a human life. How could I still choose to take those risks and return to my old ways? The first half of my life had been subject to Satan’s affliction and trickery and brought me great pain. I could not be enslaved, exploited, and corrupted by Satan for the latter half. I had to change my way of living, follow God steadily, walk the path of pursuing the truth, and live a meaningful life. So I resolutely determined to find a job on my own and leave the army completely. However, because my corruption from Satan was so profound, its poisonous idea of standing out and being an important person had been deeply rooted in my heart and often hindered me from taking the right path. God had performed even more work of judgment and purifying in me to lead me down the true path in life, and I received even greater salvation from God.

The Mystery of the “Resurrection of a Dead Man”

The Mystery of the “Resurrection of a Dead Man”

Li Cheng

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

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

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

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

A Hymn of God's Word | The Work of the Flesh and the Spirit Are of the Same Substance

A Hymn of God's Word

The Work of the Flesh and the Spirit

Are of the Same Substance

I

God's Spirit holds authority over every single thing.

His flesh with His substance, the power is still the same.

God in flesh can still perform His many works to do.

He simply does His Father's will.

And God is Spirit, 

He can save all mankind, and so can God in flesh.

God does His own work.

II

It's something that could never be dreamed or achieved by any man.

God is, He is authority, but His flesh can submit to it.

This is the real meaning of

"Christ obeys the will of the Father."

And God is Spirit,

He can save all mankind, and so can God in flesh.

God does His own work.

III

God won't disturb His own work, nor will He conflict with it.

Work of the Spirit and the flesh are alike.

They fulfill the same will and the same work.

Despite different qualities,

their substances are identical.

Both have the essence and identity of God.

And God is Spirit,

He can save all mankind, and so can God in flesh.

God does His own work.

And God is Spirit,

He can save all mankind, and so can God in flesh.

God does His own work.

from "The Substance of Christ Is Obedience to the Will of the Heavenly Father" 

in The Word Appears in the Flesh

How to Discern the Voice of God

How to Discern the Voice of God

What is the difference between God’s words conveyed by prophets such as Isaiah, Ezekiel, and Daniel from the Age of Law, and the words expressed by God in the flesh?

Answer: Due to the difference between the essence of the incarnate God and the prophets, the incarnate God comes to do God’s work whereas the prophets only performed the duty of man. So the nature of their work is different. Let’s see how Almighty God says it. Almighty God says,“The prophets of the Old Testament made prophecies, and similarly, so could Jesus. Why is this so? The distinction here is based on the nature of the work. In order to discern this matter, you cannot consider the nature of the flesh and you should not consider the depth or superficiality of one’s words. Always you must first consider his work and the effects his work achieves in man. The prophecies spoken by Isaiah at the time did not supply the life of man, and the messages received by those such as Daniel were merely prophecies and not the way of life. If not for the direct revelation of Jehovah, none could have done that work, for it is not possible for mortals. Jesus, too, spoke much, but such words were the way of life from which man could find a path to practice. That is to say, first, He could supply the life of man, for Jesus is life; second, He could reverse the deviations of man; third, His work could succeed that of Jehovah in order to carry on the age; fourth, He could grasp the needs of man within and understand what man lacks; fifth, He could usher in a new age and conclude the old. That is why He is called God and Christ; not only is He different from Isaiah but also from all other prophets” (“The Difference Between the Ministry of the Incarnate God and the Duty of Man” in The Word Appears in the Flesh). From the word of Almighty God, we realize that the incarnate God performs His own ministry and does the work within the management of God that represents the work of an era, and that the word He expresses is for all mankind. However, the prophets were those used by God to do the duty of man when He worked in the Age of Law. The prophets just conveyed the word of God through the inspiration of Jehovah God by stating some prophecies, giving some warnings to people or doing some sporadic work. If we can distinguish between the prophets’ duties and the incarnate God’s ministry, we can see the difference between the word of God conveyed by the prophets and the word expressed by the incarnate God. We all know that the prophets were people raised up in various periods of the Age of Law to convey God’s word. The main function of the prophets was to state the prophecies while conveying God’s requirements, commands, as well as God’s exhortations, reminders, warnings, and words of punishment to the Israelites or others. For example, when the evil deeds of the Ninevites came up before God, God sent Jonah to Nineveh to proclaim, “Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown” (Jon 3:4). It can be seen that the prophets only conveyed the word of Jehovah in various periods. They did not do the work of any particular age. The words of God conveyed by the prophets were something like prophecies, exhortations, reminders, warnings and so on, not expressing all the truth for the salvation of mankind.

As for the word of God incarnate, He comes to do a stage of work and speaks to all mankind in the identity of God, expressing His management plan for the salvation of mankind, His disposition, what He has and what He is, His requirements of man and the truth that mankind must possess. These words are the work that can open a new age and end an old age, and they are addressed to all mankind. They represent God’s work in this age and are all the truth that God’s chosen people have to experience and enter within this age. These words can supply life to man, make man repent, change man’s disposition, save and cleanse man and make man perfect.

So why is the truth expressed by the incarnate God able to save man and make man perfect? For the incarnate God has God’s essence. He is the Spirit of God in the flesh, that is, the essence of the life of God, what God has and what God is, the authority and wisdom of God, everything that God’s Spirit possesses is in the flesh. So the incarnate God is able to express all the truth to cleanse and save man and make man perfect. It is endless, inexhaustible, anywhere at any time. As we can see from the fact of God’s incarnation twice to do work, the incarnate God can express the truth anytime and anywhere to solve all difficulties and confusion of man in believing in God, doing his duty and entering life. He can rescue man completely from the domain of Satan. But the prophets were just ordinary people who did not have the essence of God. So they could not express the truth. They could only do their duties of conveying the word of God. The words of God conveyed by the prophets were limited. The scopes of what they said were also limited. They could only convey whatever words God inspired them, no more and no less. Without God’s inspiration, their functions of conveying God’s words would cease. Moreover, the prophets just did their duties to convey God’s words. They did not have the truth, nor could they express the truth. This is the difference between the words of God conveyed by the prophets and the words expressed by the incarnate God.

There is another difference between the words of God conveyed by the prophets and the words expressed by the incarnate God. Many of the words expressed by the incarnate God are human languages. The languages are common and easy to understand when they are heard by man. Most words of God conveyed by the prophets were divine languages that were difficult to understand when they were heard by man. Let’s look at two passages of the words of Almighty God.

Almighty God says, “When God had not become flesh, people did not understand much of what He said because it came out of complete divinity. The perspective and context of what He said was invisible and unreachable to mankind; it was expressed from a spiritual realm that people could not see. For people who lived in the flesh, they could not pass through the spiritual realm. But after God became flesh, He spoke to mankind from the perspective of humanity, and He came out of and surpassed the scope of the spiritual realm. He could express His divine disposition, will, and attitude, through things humans could imagine and things they saw and encountered in their lives, and using methods that humans could accept, in a language they could understand, and knowledge they could grasp, to allow mankind to understand and to know God, to comprehend His intention and His required standards within the scope of their capacity, to the degree that they were able. This was the method and principle of God’s work in humanity” (“God’s Work, God’s Disposition, and God Himself III” in Continuation of The Word Appears in the Flesh).

“This was the advantage of God becoming flesh: He could take advantage of mankind’s knowledge and use human language to speak to people, to express His will. He explained or ‘translated’ to man His profound, divine language that people struggled to understand in human language, in a human way. This helped people understand His will and know what He wanted to do. He could also have conversations with people from the human perspective, using human language, and communicate with people in a way they understood. He could even speak and work using human language and knowledge so that people could feel God’s kindness and closeness, so that they could see His heart” (“God’s Work, God’s Disposition, and God Himself III” in Continuation of The Word Appears in the Flesh).

Almighty God’s word makes it very clear. All the words spoken by God before He is incarnated are divine language. After being incarnated, God can transcend the realm of the spiritual world and speak with man in human language from the perspective of humanity. Since the incarnate God can live with man, He personally experiences and witnesses the living of mankind. He comes to understand and master some knowledge, common sense, language or expressions from people by living in humanity. So the incarnate God can use human cognition or man’s personal experience to give examples and make parables, and speak more clearly, thoroughly, and precisely about God’s requirements of mankind, God’s will, essence, disposition, and what God has and what God is. Upon hearing these words, man can accurately understand God’s will, find the way to practice and enter, and at the same time, understand God’s disposition and what God has and what God is. For example, Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times?” Jesus said to him, “I say not to you, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven” (See Mat 18: 21-22). From the words of the Lord Jesus, we can understand that God wants man to learn to forgive others, to be able to forgive others without conditions, without limit on the number, and be able to do it in the spirit of understanding and tolerating others. At the same time, we also see the essence of God’s goodness in the words of the Lord Jesus. Other examples are the Lord Jesus’ sermon on the mount on the beatitudes, on anger, on oaths, on loving one’s enemy, on loving your neighbor as yourself, the Lord Jesus’ parable of the lost sheep, and so on, and they are all in human languages. Upon listening, we can accurately understand God’s will without seeking or exploring, and know God’s disposition from these words. This is an obvious feature of the words of the incarnate God. The prophets just conveyed God’s word or made prophecies from receiving God’s inspiration. These words were all divine languages. People could only understand them roughly but not entirely. This is the distinct difference between the prophets’ language in conveying God’s word and the word expressed by the incarnate God.

from the movie script of Waiting

Church News | Massimo Introvigne Reveals Truth of Zhaoyuan McDonald's Murder and Says the Real Xiejiao Is the CCP

At the international conference on Religious Persecution and the Human Rights of Refugees in Seoul, South Korea on October 23, 2017, Professor Massimo Introvigne made a detailed analysis of the inaccuracies in the Chinese Communist government's definition of a "cult." He also clearly stated that The Church of Almighty God has been the religious group most seriously persecuted by the Chinese Communist government, leading to the incarceration and sentencing of hundreds of thousands of their followers who have committed no crimes. They have only been incarcerated and sentenced because of their affiliation with The Church of Almighty God. Chinese authorities have not denied their suppression of the Church, and they uphold that Church members have committed serious crimes, including the purported May 28 Zhaoyuan City McDonald's murder case. However, as of now, not a single one of the Chinese government's accusations against The Church of Almighty God has been substantiated. Professor Introvigne published in-depth research and analysis on the May 28 Zhaoyuan City McDonald's murder case. His findings were that the brutal perpetrators of that murder absolutely were not members of The Church of Almighty God, and that the May 28 Zhaoyuan City McDonald's murder case is completely unrelated to the Church. Other relevant articles by Professor Introvigne have been published in The Journal of CESNUR, an international academic journal, and the premier encyclopedia of worldwide religions, World Religions and Spirituality Project.

Christian Movie | Who Can Change Your Life ''Unchaining the Heart''

Christian Movie | Who Can Change Your Life 

''Unchaining the Heart''

Introduction

Chen Zhi was born into an impoverished farming family. At school, "Knowledge can change your fate" and "One's destiny is in his own hand" as taught by the school became his mottos. He believed that as long as he constantly worked hard, he would be able to be a cut above the rest, and achieve merit and fame. On graduation from university, Chen Zhi found a quite well-paid job in foreign trade. However, he was not at all satisfied with his current circumstances. In order to realize his ideal of being a cut above others, he quit his job and set up his own trading company. But the good times did not last for long. Because the operation was not well-run, clients became fewer, and the company's business slackened off. In the end, the company could not continue operating. After the firm went out of business, Chen Zhi was most unwilling to accept failure. He believed that by relying on his own intelligence and ability, as long as he persevered he would be able to make a comeback. Later on, Chen Zhi set up a digital marketing website and established a business on the Internet. After rushing about busily for a number of years, he still ended up in failure. Chen Zhi sank into profound distress and hopelessness …

In 2016, Chen Zhi's family went to the United States to live. With the help of his wife, he accepted the last days' work of Almighty God. Through reading the words of God, Chen Zhi eventually understood that God controls the destiny of mankind, and that man simply cannot change his own destiny relying on his own ability. He also knew the source of man's distress during his life, and how Satan has corrupted mankind. He came to know that if man is to live a meaningful life, then he must come before God, accept the judgment and chastisement of God's words to obtain cleansing, and live relying on the words of God, and only then will he obtain God's praise. Chen Zhi understood some truths in the words of Almighty God, established a correct outlook on life, entrusted his whole life to God, obeyed God's control and arrangements, and finally rid himself of the yoke on his soul of "One's destiny is in his own hand," and obtained release and freedom. From then on he walked onto the bright and correct path of life.

Best Christian Video "I Am a Good Person! " (2018 Full Movie)

Introduction

 Best Christian Video "I Am a Good Person! " (2018 Full Movie) 

 Yang Huixin, a Christian, has loved being a good person since she was little. She doesn't like to offend others. She believes herself to be a good person because she is kind and agreeable with others. But only after she accepts God's gospel of the last days and undergoes the judgment and chastisement of God's words does she have an awakening, and realize that she's not a true good person. Rather, she lives based on satanic philosophies, and is a very selfish, cunning "nice guy." She resolves in her heart to seek the truth and become a good person who is honest and upright…. What experiences did Yang Huixin go through that allowed her to undergo such a transformation?

Christian Movie Segment - God Holds Sovereignty Over All Things in the Universe (Gospel Music)

Introduction

Christian Movie Segment - God Holds Sovereignty Over All Things in the Universe (Gospel Music) 

 Mankind has been seeking these answers for several thousand years: How can the celestial bodies in the universe proceed in such perfect order? Why do all living things always move in cycles following immutable rules? Why are people born, and then why do we die? Who has really determined all of these rules and laws? Who really does rule over the universe and all things? This wonderful segment from the Christian movie, The One Who Holds Sovereignty Over Everything, will guide you to get to the root of these questions and unveil all these mysteries.

The Word of God in the Last Days "God's Work, God's Disposition, and God Himself III" (Part Five)

The Word of God in the Last Days "God's Work, God's Disposition, and God Himself III" (Part Five) 

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

The content of this video:

Jesus Performs Miracles

1) Jesus Feeds the Five Thousand 

2) The Resurrection of Lazarus Glorifies God

Almighty God says, "When the Lord Jesus brought Lazarus back from the dead, He used one line: “Lazarus, come forth.” He said nothing aside from this—what do these words represent? They represent that God can accomplish anything through speaking, including resurrecting a dead man. When God created all things, when He created the world, He did so with words. He used spoken commands, words with authority, and just like that all things were created. It was accomplished like that. This single line spoken by the Lord Jesus was just like the words spoken by God when He created the heavens and earth and all things; it equally held the authority of God, the ability of the Creator. All things were formed and stood fast because of words from God’s mouth, and just the same, Lazarus walked out from his tomb because of the words from the Lord Jesus’ mouth. This was the authority of God, demonstrated and realized in His incarnate flesh. This type of authority and ability belonged to the Creator, and to the Son of man in whom the Creator was realized. This is the understanding taught to mankind by God bringing Lazarus back from the dead."

Worship Song "God's Deeds Fill the Vast Expanse of the Universe" | Praise the Return of the Lord

Introduction 

Worship Song "God's Deeds Fill the Vast Expanse of the Universe" | Praise the Return of the Lord 

     1. God looks down upon all things from on high, and dominates all things from on high. At the same time, God has sent His salvation over the earth. God is watching from His secret place all the time, man’s every move, everything they say and do. God knows man like the palm of His hand. The secret place is God’s abode, the firmament is the bed He lies on. Satan’s force cannot reach unto God, for He is full of majesty, righteousness, and judgment.