17. Led by God’s Love in the Tribulation, I Became Stronger in My Heart | The Overcomers’ Testimonies | Eastern Lightning

Led by God’s Love in the Tribulation, I Became Stronger in My Heart | The Overcomers’ Testimonies | Eastern Lightning

Chen Lu    Tonglu City, Zhejiang Province

I was born in the countryside in the 1980s. My family has engaged in farming for a living for generations. To enter the college and break free from the poor and backward rural life, I kept studying hard. When I was in high school, I came into contact with The History of Western Arts and saw many superb paintings such as Genesis, The Garden of Eden, The Last Supper, and so on. Through them, I learned that in heaven there is a God who created all things. Thus, I was filled with yearning for him. After graduating from college, I successfully found a good job and married a satisfactory husband, and finally realized the wish of my forefathers and mine—breaking free from the hard farming life that continued for generations. In 2008, the birth of my child added many joys to my life. Facing everything I owned before my eyes, I thought that I would be very happy and satisfied. However, when I was enjoying the good life that everyone admired and longed for, I could never get free from the unexplainable sense of emptiness in the depth of my heart. I was very perplexed and helpless with it.

16. God Is the Power of My Life | The Overcomers’ Testimonies | Eastern Lightning

God Is the Power of My Life

Xiaohe    Henan Province

How time flies! Fourteen years have flashed by since I followed Almighty God. In these years, although I have undergone various trials and hardships and frustrations, with the company of God’s word and God’s love and mercy, I’ve been especially enriched in my heart. During these fourteen years, what was most deeply engraved on my heart was my being arrested in August, 2003. After I was arrested that time, I was cruelly tortured by the CCP police and was almost disabled. It was Almighty God who cared for and kept me and led me with his word of life time after time, so that I overcame the cruel tortures of the devils and stood testimony. In the experience, I deeply felt that the power of Almighty God’s word is transcendent and Almighty God’s life force is great. I firmly believed that Almighty God is the only true God who rules over everything and controls all things and is even more my only salvation and reliance. No hostile force can take me away from God’s hand or hinder my footsteps of following God.

VI Questions and Answers About Salvation and Final Salvation | Classic Questions and Answers on the Gospel of the Kingdom Selections | Eastern Lightning

 Questions and Answers About Salvation and Final Salvation | Classic Questions and Answers on the Gospel of the Kingdom Selections | Eastern Lightning

Question 4: People are sinful, but the sin offering of the Lord Jesus is forever effective. As long as we confess, the Lord will forgive us. We are sinless in the Lord’s eyes, so we will enter the kingdom of heaven!

Answer: The Lord Jesus did forgive our sins. But it doesn’t mean we aren’t sinful, or we’ve broken free from the shackles of sin and become holy. The Lord Jesus has forgiven our sins. But what does “sin” mean here? We all know things like fornication and theft which are against the law, the commandments, and God’s word, all are sins. Anything that resists God, condemns God, and judges God are also sins, not to mention blasphemy against God, which is unforgivable! In the Age of Grace, the Lord Jesus made Himself the sin offering for mankind.

VI Questions and Answers About Salvation and Final Salvation | Classic Questions and Answers on the Gospel of the Kingdom Selections | Eastern Lightning

Questions and Answers About Salvation and Final Salvation | Classic Questions and Answers on the Gospel of the Kingdom Selections | Eastern Lightning

Question 3: The Bible says, “There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:1). By faith in Jesus Christ, we are no longer condemned and will enter the kingdom of heaven.

Answer: We like to think our belief in Jesus Christ means we are already in Him. This is our notion. “In Christ Jesus” doesn’t refer to all believers in the Lord Jesus. Actually, most of them are not approved by God. Just as the Lord said, “many are called, but few are chosen.” Among those who are not chosen, some of them only eat the loaves and are filled; some never love the truth, much less practice the truth; some even perform evil against God, especially those religious leaders, most of whom walk the path of the Pharisees and are antichrists; and some are just believers in name. So if we say all who believe in the Lord are in Jesus Christ, this is baseless!

VI Questions and Answers About Salvation and Final Salvation | Classic Questions and Answers on the Gospel of the Kingdom Selections | Eastern Lightning

Questions and Answers About Salvation and Final Salvation | Classic Questions and Answers on the Gospel of the Kingdom Selections | Eastern Lightning

Question 2: It is said in the Bible, “Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God’s elect? It is God that justifies. Who is he that condemns?” (Romans 8:33-34). This proves that the Lord Jesus has forgiven all our sins through His crucifixion. The Lord doesn’t regard us as sinful, then who can accuse us?

Answer: The Bible says, “Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God’s elect?” But we must be very clear who are the ones chosen by God? Those habitual sinners, traitors, those who steal from the offering, fornicators, the fearful, and the hypocritical Pharisees, are they the ones chosen by God? If anyone who believes in God is one He has chosen, then how do we explain the words in Revelation 22:15, “For without are dogs, and sorcerers, and fornicators, and murderers, and idolaters, and whoever loves and makes a lie”? Therefore, not everyone who believes in God is chosen by God.

V Questions and Answers About Requirements for Entry Into the Kingdom of Heaven | Classic Questions and Answers on the Gospel of the Kingdom Selections | Eastern Lightning

Questions and Answers About Requirements for Entry Into the Kingdom of Heaven | Classic Questions and Answers on the Gospel of the Kingdom Selections | Eastern Lightning

Question 7: Now we believe in the Lord Jesus, and suffer a lot and sacrifice all to preach His name. We are doing the heavenly Father’s will. That means we’re already holy. Our Lord will surely bring us into the kingdom of heaven!

Answer: Concerning who can enter the kingdom of heaven, the Lord Jesus said, “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” (Matthew 7:21). The Lord Jesus’ words tell us clearly that only those who do the will of the heavenly Father can enter the kingdom of heaven. Brothers and sisters, although people can suffer and sacrifice for spreading the name of the Lord, it’s undeniable that they still often sin. That people sin shows that they still belong to Satan, that they are filthy and corrupt, and that they can still resist and betray God.

V Questions and Answers About Requirements for Entry Into the Kingdom of Heaven | Classic Questions and Answers on the Gospel of the Kingdom Selections | Eastern Lightning

 Questions and Answers About Requirements for Entry Into the Kingdom of Heaven | Classic Questions and Answers on the Gospel of the Kingdom Selections | Eastern Lightning

Question 4: All of us have believed in the Lord for many years, and have always followed the example of Paul in our work for the Lord. We have been faithful to the name and way of the Lord, and the crown of righteousness surely awaits us. Today, we need only focus on working hard for the Lord, and watching for His return. Only thus, can we be taken into the kingdom of heaven. Because it is said in the Bible, “for they shall not be ashamed that wait for me” (Isaiah 49:23). We believe the Lord’s promise: He will take us into the kingdom of heaven at His return. Could there really be anything wrong with practicing in this way?

Answer: In watching for the arrival of the Lord, most people believe that they need only work hard for the Lord, and follow the example of Paul, thus can be directly taken into the kingdom of heaven when the Lord arrives. They think it is quite right to practice in this way, and no one disagrees. Yet we who believe in God should seek the truth in all things. Though practicing in that way is in keeping with people’s conceptions, is it in keeping with God’s wishes? I think we should know: God’s words are the principles of man’s actions, they are the standard by which all people, things, and matters are measured. If people practice according to the words of God, they will surely receive God’s approval.

V Questions and Answers About Requirements for Entry Into the Kingdom of Heaven | Classic Questions and Answers on the Gospel of the Kingdom Selections | Eastern Lightning

 Questions and Answers About Requirements for Entry Into the Kingdom of Heaven | Classic Questions and Answers on the Gospel of the Kingdom Selections | Eastern Lightning

Question 6: We can set aside all things to spread the gospel and shepherd the church. Such toil and labor is doing the will of our heavenly Father. Is there any wrong in the way we carry this out?

Answer: We can spread the Lord’s gospel and toil and labor, but this does not mean we’re doing the will of our heavenly Father. Truly doing the heavenly Father’s will is following His words and commandments, and doing our duty according to His requirements. Just like what the Lord Jesus said, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like to it, You shall love your neighbor as yourself” (Matthew 22:37-39). Doing the heavenly Father’s will means following and practicing what the Lord Jesus currently says. This is the most basic principle. If we do not focus on obeying the Lord Jesus’ words, but on obeying man’s words in the Bible, that is not doing the heavenly Father’s will. Doing the will of God is following the word of God.

IV Questions and Answers About How to Identify the Voice of God | Classic Questions and Answers on the Gospel of the Kingdom Selections | Eastern Lightning

 Questions and Answers About How to Identify the Voice of God | Classic Questions and Answers on the Gospel of the Kingdom Selections | Eastern Lightning

Question 1: The Lord Jesus has already returned and has a new name. He is Almighty God. The Word Appears in the Flesh expressed by Almighty God is the voice of the bridegroom. Yet many brothers and sisters are still unable to discern the voice of God. Today we have invited the preachers from the Church of Almighty God to fellowship with us about how to identify the voice of God. So we’ll know how to ascertain that Almighty God is the return of the Lord Jesus.

Answer: This question is of the utmost importance. To accept God’s work of the last days and behold the appearance of God, we must know how to identify the voice of God. In fact, identifying the voice of God means recognizing the words and utterances of God and recognizing the characteristics of the Creator’s words. Regardless of whether they are the words of God become flesh, or the utterances of the Spirit of God, they are all words spoken by God to mankind from up high. Such are the tone and characteristics of God’s words.

IV Questions and Answers About How to Identify the Voice of God | Classic Questions and Answers on the Gospel of the Kingdom Selections | Eastern Lightning

Questions and Answers About How to Identify the Voice of God | Classic Questions and Answers on the Gospel of the Kingdom Selections | Eastern Lightning

Question 4: The Lord Jesus spoke the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven to the disciples, and as the return of the Lord Jesus, has Almighty God also revealed many mysteries? Could you fellowship with us some of the mysteries revealed by Almighty God? It would be a great help to us in identifying the voice of God.

Answer: Each time God becomes flesh, He reveals many truths and mysteries to us. This is without doubt. God becomes flesh in order to save mankind, and so, He naturally expresses many truths, and reveals many mysteries. In the Age of Grace, the Lord Jesus, God incarnate revealed many mysteries whilst preaching and doing His work, “Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matthew 4:17). “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” (Matthew 7:21), etc. The Lord Jesus also revealed many other mysteries in addition to this, which won’t be gone into now. In the last days, Almighty God has come, and carried out the work of judgment beginning from the house of God, and has expressed all truths for the purification and salvation of mankind.

Ⅱ Questions and Answers About the Way in Which the Lord Returns | Classic Questions and Answers on the Gospel of the Kingdom Selections | Eastern Lightning

Questions and Answers About the Way in Which the Lord Returns | Classic Questions and Answers on the Gospel of the Kingdom Selections | Eastern Lightning

Question 2: I have been a Christian for half of my life. I have worked hard for the Lord all along and waited for His coming again. Why didn’t the Lord reveal to me when He came? The Lord cannot possibly forsake me. I am very confused by that. I would like to know what you think.

Answer: Since people have followed the Lord half of their life, worked hard, and waited for His return watchfully, they believe that when the Lord comes, they will be given a revelation. This is man’s imagination, incompatible with the fact of God’s work. At that time, the Jewish Pharisees travelled sea and land preaching God’s way. Did the Lord give them a revelation when He came? In addition, did any one of the disciples follow the Lord Jesus because they received revelation from Him? None of them did. Although Peter received God’s revelation and recognized Jesus as Christ, the Son of God, it was just after he followed the Lord for a period of time, heard a lot of His preaching, and knew more about Him that he got the Holy Spirit’s revelation and knew the Lord Jesus’ true identity.

Ⅱ Questions and Answers About the Way in Which the Lord Returns | Classic Questions and Answers on the Gospel of the Kingdom Selections | Eastern Lightning

Questions and Answers About the Way in Which the Lord Returns | Classic Questions and Answers on the Gospel of the Kingdom Selections | Eastern Lightning

Question 1: The Lord said He will come back and take us to the kingdom of heaven. However, what you’re saying is that the Lord has become flesh to do the work of judgment in the last days. It is said right in the Bible that the Lord will come upon a cloud all in glory. But you’re saying that the Lord has become flesh in secret. That sounds a lot different.

Answer: The Lord will come and take us to the kingdom of heaven. That is definite. Our Lord is faithful indeed. And so His promises will surely come true. But first we need to know the work of judgment in the last days the Lord does in His second incarnation. It relates directly to how man is raptured into the kingdom of heaven. If we study the Bible carefully, it’s easy to find that the Lord will return through incarnation, as many verses in the Bible have clearly prophesied. For example, “Be you therefore ready also: for the Son of man comes at an hour when you think not” (Luke 12:40). “For as the lightning, that lightens out of the one part under heaven, shines to the other part under heaven; so shall also the Son of man be in his day. But first must he suffer many things, and be rejected of this generation” (Luke 17:24-25). Many have mentioned that “the Son of man comes,” or “the Son of man descends.”

I Questions and Answers About the Church Desolation | Classic Questions and Answers on the Gospel of the Kingdom Selections

Questions and Answers About the Church Desolation | Classic Questions and Answers on the Gospel of the Kingdom Selections

Question 2: Just now we talked about some lawless acts. So, what specific acts are increasing lawlessness?

Answer: More lawlessness means mostly that religious leaders, pastors, and elders go against God’s will, and go their own way. They don’t obey God’s commandments, misinterpret the Bible to shackle, control, and deceive people, drowning them in biblical theology, taking them further away from God, turning churches into places of religious ritual, and they treat their responsibilities and duties as access to status and job, which leads to many hypocritical acts that resist God in the church. Many people have exposed their unbelieving viewpoints. They pursue worldly pleasures, depart from the way of the Lord, and even treat God’s words as mere myth. They do not believe at all that the Lord Jesus will come again to speak and do work. Especially religious leaders without any fear of God in their hearts, and all kinds of evil men and unbelievers who do not love the truth are exposed, openly committing evil acts, denying God’s work of the last days, and rejecting the truth.

IX Questions and Answers About God’s Work of Judgment in the Last Days | Classic Questions and Answers on the Gospel of the Kingdom Selections

IX Questions and Answers About God’s Work of Judgment in the Last Days | Classic Questions and Answers on the Gospel of the Kingdom Selections

Question 1: You say that God becomes flesh in the last days to do the work of judgment. Does this have basis in the Bible, or fulfill biblical prophecies? Without a biblical basis, we shouldn’t be so quick to believe it.

Answer: Any major incidents of God’s work are prophesied in the Bible, and there are quite a few relating to the second coming of the Lord Jesus and God’s work of judgment. But we should understand that prophecies only tell people what will happen. They are reminders for people to be alert and to seek and investigate in the last days, so they won’t be abandoned or eliminated by God. That’s all the prophecies can do. The prophecies themselves can’t help us to know God’s work, nor understand the truth, or help people obey God, or increase people’s love for God. So, our best course is to directly investigate the words expressed by Almighty God and the work done by Him, from which we can be sure whether they are truly God’s voice and expression. That is the most important course of action. This is much more realistic and useful than searching for a basis in biblical prophecies.

Classic Questions and Answers on the Gospel of the Kingdom Selections | XVII Questions and Answers About Why the True Way Is Persecuted

Classic Questions and Answers on the Gospel of the Kingdom Selections | XVII Questions and Answers About Why the True Way Is Persecuted

Question 2: Since you testify the Eastern Lightning is the true way, how can you prove that? Our faith in the Lord Jesus is because the Lord Jesus can redeem us all. What proof do you have to show that the Eastern Lightning is the true way?

Answer: On this point, let’s read two passages of Almighty God’s words and see what Almighty God says. Almighty God says, “What is the most basic principle in seeking the true way? You have to look at whether or not there is the work of the Holy Spirit, whether or not these words are the expression of the truth, who is testified to, and what it can bring you” (“Only Those Who Know God and His Work Can Satisfy God” in The Word Appears in the Flesh).

Classic Examples of Punishment for Resisting Almighty God

Classic Examples of Punishment for Resisting Almighty God

Preface

Since God incarnate formally performed His ministry in China in 1991, He has expressed more than one million words, conquered and saved a group of people, and opened the new age in which judgment begins with the house of God. Now the spreading of God’s work of the last days in Mainland China has reached its peak. Most of the people who pursue the truth in all Christian denominations and sects and Catholic churches have returned before God’s throne, and the entire religious world seems to have been cleaned up. The incarnate God has accomplished the work prophesied in the Bible that the Son of man would come in a hidden way, and it will soon conclude with glory. All the people who thirst after God’s appearing in every country and place will face God’s open manifestation.

Classic Examples of Punishment for Resisting Almighty God

Classic Examples of Punishment for Resisting Almighty God

Typical Cases of People from Christian Denominations and Sects and Catholic Churches in Henan Province Who Were Punished for Resisting Almighty God

1. Guo XX, male, aged 54, from Neixiang County, an elder of the Praise Church. In July 1998, when the end-time work of Almighty God was spread to Neixiang County, he spared no effort to resist it, and he took away from a sister a book of God’s word. On October 16, when the sister went to ask him for the book, it happened that he was having a meeting with more than forty of his co-workers. On seeing the sister, he took up the book of God’s word and condemned recklessly, “The words in this book are all heresies and evil spirits.” While saying this, he opened the book and raised it to let the sister see. The sister saw that there were many circles marked in the book and on each circle there was a “×”, and in some places this word was written: “I bind these words in the name of Jesus.”

A Hundred Questions and Answers on Investigating the True Way | Eastern Lightning

A Hundred Questions and Answers on Investigating the True Way | Eastern Lightning

2. Amidst Disaster, I Saw God’s Hand

Ying Xin, Beijing

August 15, 2012

On July 22, 2012, the day after Beijing’s flood of July 21, I hurried over to visit a sister who had just accepted God’s work of the last days two months previously. No sooner had I entered her village when the scene I saw before me stunned me speechless! I saw that the roads had collapsed, revealing their foundations beneath the asphalt. Everywhere were stone fragments that had tumbled down from the mountain, the larger of them weighing a few tons. Mud had piled up to thirty centimeters deep, and the rainwater running off the mountain slopes had already formed into a small river…. The entire village was in a total mess, completely beyond recognition.

I passed through the village, and halfway up the mountain I saw Sister Li (the new sister). She described to me how the disaster had unfolded.

Ⅶ Questions and Answers About the Name of God | Classic Questions and Answers on the Gospel of the Kingdom Selections

Questions and Answers About the Name of God | Classic Questions and Answers on the Gospel of the Kingdom Selections

Question 2: God’s name in each age doesn’t represent God in His entirety, then what does God’s name in each age mean?

Answer: This question is very important. Today Almighty God has given us the answer to this question. Almighty God says, “‘Jehovah’ is the name that I took during My work in Israel, and it means the God of the Israelites (God’s chosen people) who can take pity on man, curse man, and guide the life of man. It means the God who possesses great power and is full of wisdom. ‘Jesus’ is Emmanuel, and it means the sin offering that is full of love, full of compassion, and redeems man. He did the work of the Age of Grace, and represents the Age of Grace, and can only represent one part of the management plan.

IX Questions and Answers About God’s Work of Judgment in the Last Days | Classic Questions and Answers on the Gospel of the Kingdom Selections

IX Questions and Answers About God’s Work of Judgment in the Last Days | Classic Questions and Answers on the Gospel of the Kingdom Selections

Question 2: The Lord Jesus was crucified as a sin offering to redeem man. We have accepted the Lord and obtained salvation. Why do we still have to accept Almighty God’s work of judgment and purification?

Answer: In the Age of Grace, the Lord Jesus did the work of redemption instead of God’s work of judgment in the last days to fully save all of man. What the work of redemption achieved was a sacrifice to atone for the sins of man through the Lord Jesus’ work. He saved us from the clutches of Satan, made us repent our sins and accept God’s salvation. He qualified us to go before God and enjoy God’s grace and blessing. That was the real significance of the work of redemption. But many people don’t understand. They always think that the Lord Jesus’ work of redemption granted complete salvation to all mankind and so they can enter the kingdom of heaven. That notion comes from man’s imagination.