The Awakening of a Deceived Spirit

The Awakening of a Deceived Spirit

By Yuan zhi, Brazil 

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 understood that man was actually created by God and that God had created all things, and 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. Suddenly, I felt that, for more than twenty years, I had been deceived. Only after reading the Bible did I completely awaken. From that point on, I believed in the Lord Jesus.

Listen! Who Is This Who Speaks?

Listen! Who Is This Who Speaks?

Feb 25, 2018

Zhou Li, China

As a church preacher, the greatest affliction is no more than spiritual dryness and having nothing to preach. I felt helpless seeing fewer and fewer brothers and sisters coming to meetings and I came before the Lord many times to pray earnestly and ask the Lord to strengthen brothers and sisters’ faith. But the desolation of the church had not improved at all and even I lived in weakness and negativity …

Almighty God’s Work Has Caused Us to Walk the Same Path as Husband and Wife

Almighty God’s Work Has Caused Us to Walk the Same Path as 

Husband and Wife

Jan 11, 2018

Liu Xue, Henan Province

In 1991, since we were enduring the hardships of family conflict, my husband and I believed in the Lord Jesus together. From then on, we no longer quarreled. We read the Bible and attended gatherings together very zealously. Not long afterward, my husband left the Three-Self Church and switched over to the Stream of Recovery. In regards to the matter of my husband switching denominations, I did not mind. I believed that as long as we believed in one God, it did not matter which denomination we belonged to.

"God Himself, the Unique IX God Is the Source of Life for All Things (III)" (Part Three)

"God Himself, the Unique IX God Is the Source of Life for All 

Things (III)" (Part Three)

The Church of Almighty God

"God Himself, the Unique IX God Is the Source of Life for All Things (III)" (Part Three) Almighty God says, "When God created all things, He used all sorts of methods and ways to balance them, to balance the living conditions for the mountains and lakes, to balance the living conditions for the plants and all kinds of animals, birds, insects—His goal was to allow all kinds of living beings to live and multiply within the laws that He had established. All beings cannot go outside of these laws and they cannot be broken. Only within this type of basic environment can humans safely survive and multiply, generation after generation."

Breaking Free From Shackles and Returning to the Presence of God

Breaking Free From Shackles and Returning to the Presence of God

Feb 26, 2018

By Yongyuan, USA

In November of 1982, our whole family emigrated to the USA. Because our family had been faithful to the Lord since the generation of my grandfather, we quickly found a Chinese church in Chinatown, New York where we could attend mass after we arrived in the United States. We never missed a single mass since we started attending, and my mother and elder sister were especially good about reading the scriptures whenever they had time to seek the Lord’s blessing. At that time, the priest would often say: “When the Lord comes, He will judge people publicly and divide people into categories: Those who truly repent and confess, and who are of good faith in Him, will be able to go to heaven; those who commit sins but not grave ones will suffer the torment of purgatory but are still able to be saved and ascend to heaven; those who do not believe in the Lord or commit sins that are too grave will suffer the punishment of hell.” These words left an impression on my heart as if they had been branded there. They caused me to believe in the Lord with enthusiasm, and even if I was busy with work, I never stopped going to mass.

Who Is the Obstacle on the Road to the Heavenly Kingdom (Part 2)

Who Is the Obstacle on the Road to the Heavenly 

Kingdom  (Part 2)

February 26, 2018

Bearing this question in mind, I went to find the brothers and sisters of The Church of Almighty God. Sister Lin fellowshiped to me, saying: “As for why it is that the elder and the pastor did not seek or investigate Almighty God’s work in the last days, but instead frantically accused and resisted Him, Almighty God has already made clear the essence and origin of this problem. Almighty God says: ‘Do you wish to know the root of why the Pharisees opposed Jesus? Do you wish to know the substance of the Pharisees? They were full of fantasies about the Messiah. What’s more, they believed only that the Messiah would come, yet did not seek the truth of life. And so, even today they still await the Messiah, for they have no knowledge of the way of life, and do not know what the way of truth is. How, say you, could such foolish, stubborn and ignorant people gain God’s blessing? How could they behold the Messiah? They opposed Jesus because they did not know the direction of the Holy Spirit’s work, because they did not know the way of truth spoken by Jesus, and, furthermore, because they did not understand the Messiah. And since they had never seen the Messiah, and had never been in the company of the Messiah, they made the mistake of paying empty tribute to the name of the Messiah while opposing the substance of the Messiah by any means. These Pharisees in substance were stubborn, arrogant, and did not obey the truth. The principle of their belief in God is: No matter how profound Your preaching, no matter how high Your authority, You are not Christ unless You are called the Messiah. Are these views not preposterous and ridiculous?’ (‘When You Behold the Spiritual Body of Jesus Will Be When God Has Made Anew Heaven and Earth’ in The Word Appears in the Flesh). ‘Look at the leaders of every denomination. They are all arrogant and self-right, and they interpret the Bible out of context and according to their own imagination. They all rely on gifts and erudition to do their work. If they were incapable of preaching anything, would those people follow them? They do, after all, possess some learning, and can speak a little of doctrine, or know how to win over others and how to use some artifices, through which they have brought people before themselves and have deceived them. Nominally, those people believe in God—but in reality they follow their leaders. If they encounter those who preach the true way, some of them would say, “We have to consult our leader about our belief in God.” They require someone’s consent to believe in God; is that not a problem? What have those leaders become, then? Have they not become Pharisees, false shepherds, antichrists, and stumbling blocks to people’s acceptance of the true way?’ (‘Only the Pursuit of the Truth Is the True Belief in God’ in Records of Christ’s Talks). When the Lord Jesus had first come to do His work, He was beset by the frantic accusations and resistance of the Jewish leaders—the chief priests, scribes, and Pharisees. In the end, they crucified the Lord Jesus. The ancestors of the Pharisees believed in God and were expert in the law. So why would they resist and accuse the Lord Jesus, and nail Him to the cross? We can see from the word of God that this was brought about by their satanic nature of being obstinate, arrogant, and not submitting to the truth. The Lord Jesus expressed so much truth, and they did not seek after or investigate it, but rather adhered to their own viewpoints. Their belief in God relied only on their own notions and imaginations, and they interpreted the Bible by taking verses out of context. This caused them to be blind, and not to obtain enlightenment from God. They did not know the work of the Holy Spirit, and did not understand the truth, nor could they understand God’s voice. This truly caused the words of the Bible to come true: ‘By hearing you shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing you shall see, and shall not perceive: For this people’s heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed’ (Mat 13:14–15). The pastors and elders in religious circles in the last days are the same as the Pharisees of that time, as what they place importance on is knowledge of the Bible and theoretical study of theology. They rely on their own thinking and imaginings to interpret the word of the Lord, and to delimit the way the Lord will return. They stubbornly cling to their own notions and imagination, and they do not seek the truth whatsoever. Not only do they not investigate the work of God in the last days, but they blindly resist and accuse Him, exposing their satanic nature of stubbornness, arrogance, and hostility to the truth. They study theology, equipping themselves with knowledge of the Bible, but that does not mean that they have any love for the truth, nor does it mean that they are able to accept and obey the truth. They explain Bible knowledge and theological theory, their only goal being to increase their own renown and reputation. They do so to safeguard their own status, and make believers look up to them reverently, adore them, and follow them. They see that the words which Almighty God expresses are the truth, and that they are able to conquer and save people, and that many people who have a love for the truth and who yearn for God’s appearance have read the word of Almighty God and have turned to Almighty God. They believe that the work of Almighty God is a threat to their status and livelihood, and so they fight back frantically and do their utmost to accuse and resist Almighty God. They take whatever means necessary to obstruct and disrupt believers from turning to Almighty God in an attempt to dominate God’s chosen people for all time. This is the root of why elders and preachers do not seek or investigate the work of Almighty God and why they frantically resist and accuse Almighty God. It can be seen in the evil deeds of the preachers and elders who resist God that they are the Pharisees of our time, and that they are the obstacle preventing believers from accepting the truth and being raised up into the heavenly kingdom. They are the antichrists, who resist God and make God their enemy, and have been revealed by God’s work in the last days.”

Who Is the Obstacle on the Road to the Heavenly Kingdom (Part 1)

Who Is the Obstacle on the Road to the Heavenly Kingdom 

 (Part 1)

February 26, 2018

By Meng’ai, Malaysia

The year my husband died, I was deep in despair, and on top of that I had the added burden of raising my children. Hardship had suddenly befallen my life, but I had the love of the Lord with me all along, and with the help of my brothers and sisters I got through this difficult time. To recompense the love of the Lord, I continued to make donations and serve the church, and have been doing so for over thirty years. In this time, I have experienced the thriving of the church and seen the glorious occasion of the spread of the gospel of the Lord Jesus. I’ve also witnessed desolation and helplessness in the church. I thought back to when the Holy Spirit first began to do the great work in the church, when we experienced enjoyment and gained much from listening to the pastor’s preaching. There was mutual love among the brothers and sisters just as if we were all one family, and everyone was united in spreading the gospel and bearing witness to the Lord. Later, without knowing what had happened, there was no longer any light in what the pastor preached. It was like everything was just the same old story repeated again and again, and the believers simply could not get anything to nourish them. Their faith and love gradually waned, and there were fewer and fewer people coming to gatherings. Those of us who participated in service were also just going through the motions. We all acted according to the wishes of the people in the ministry and not at all in the service of God, but rather we just exerted ourselves in front of other people and tried to win their admiration. I knew that this kind of service was not in line with God’s will, and so it was very painful for me. I also felt helpless, with no idea how to walk the path ahead of me. I hoped all the more for the Lord to return as soon as possible, so that all these problems would be solved.

Western Scholars Gather in Seoul for The Church of Almighty God’s Premiering Photo Exhibit

Western Scholars Gather in Seoul for The Church of Almighty 

God’s Premiering Photo Exhibit

Dec 21, 2018

October 24, 2018, The Church of Almighty God held its first photo exhibition in Seoul, South Korea with the theme of “The birth and development of The Church of Almighty God,” drawing eleven experts and scholars from seven countries including the USA, Canada, England, France, and Italy to attend and explore the exhibit. Massimo Introvigne, who is an Italian sociologist and the founder and managing director of the Center for Studies on New Religions (CESNUR), France’s Bernadette Rigal-Cellard, professor of North American Studies at the University of Bordeaux Montaigne, Canadian sociologist and author Susan Jean Palmer, and others raised questions on Almighty God’s work of the last days, and several Christians who accepted Almighty God’s work of the last days in its early period provided detailed answers to each one of them. They also shared their feelings and understandings from undergoing Almighty God’s work and words with the guests.

The Word of God in the Last Days | "God Himself, the Unique (VI) God's Holiness (III)" (Part Three)

The Word of God in the Last Days | "God Himself, the Unique (VI) God's Holiness (III)" (Part Three)

      Almighty God says, "As God has none of the corruption of mankind and has nothing even remotely like the corrupt disposition of mankind or the essence of Satan, from this point of view we can say that God is holy. God reveals no corruption, and the revelation of His own essence in His work is all the confirmation we need that God Himself is holy. Do you see this now? That is to say, to know God’s holy essence, for the time being let us look at these two aspects: 1) There is no corrupt disposition in God; 2) the essence of God’s work on man allows man to see God’s own essence and this essence is both entirely positive and entirely real. For what are the things that every manner of God’s work brings to man? They are all positive things, they are all love, all truth and all reality."

Christian Marriage: The Secret to Marital Harmony

Christian Marriage: The Secret to Marital Harmony

December 18, 2018

By Wang Ran, Singapore

A Beautiful Dream

When she was single, Wang Ran always held on to a beautiful dream—the hope that after getting married, she and her husband would get along harmoniously, show mutual tolerance, be by each other’s sides for life, and grow old together. At that time Wang Ran had a great deal of confidence in herself; she felt that she was a person of good character who got along well with others. But reality did not play out as Wang Ran wished—after getting married, the myriad conflicts that cropped up in her life with her husband slowly ate away at her dream …

I Have Come Home (Part 2)

I Have Come Home (Part 2)

December 16, 2018

By Chu Keen Pong, Malaysia

The next day, March 12, I felt a kind of indistinct hope and ineffable excitement. This was because I had mostly discussed the “Son of man” with Susan the night before, and had talked about the “incarnation” as well. Even though I could draw a connection between the ‘Son of man’ and the ‘incarnation,’ and could know in theory that the Lord Jesus is none other than the incarnate Christ, I still wanted to know the answers to questions such as what the incarnation truly is, what Christ is, on what basis one could say with certainty that God has become incarnate, and so on. But since Susan and I both had work during the day and were only free in the evening, I just hoped that time would move a bit more quickly.

Christian Marriage | The Aftermath of My Husband’s Affair (Audio Essay)

Christian Marriage | The Aftermath of My Husband’s Affair (Audio Essay)

December 12, 2018

Lu Lu Anhui Province

In the middle of the night around 12:00 a.m., Lu Lu was staring at the computer screen, not daring to believe that what it displayed was a list of her husband’s expenses from the last few months: a few hundred yuan on women’s clothing at a department store, over a thousand yuan on a bottle of imported alcohol from a high-end liquor store … Seeing this list of numbers, Lu Lu collapsed into the chair and felt a taste of despair for the first time in her life. She never could have imagined that her husband who had been through thick and thin with her would suddenly betray her. Her sister-in-law’s kind warning came to mind: “Lu Lu, aren’t you afraid that my brother will do something disrespectful to you while he’s away?” Her response was, “I couldn’t say what others might do, but your brother isn’t that kind of person.” Her air of confidence at that time surfaced in her memory—faced with the bitter truth in that moment, it really felt like a mockery. The truth, hard as nails, completely obliterated the last line of defense in Lu Lu’s heart, and tears rolled down her cheek one after another, like a string of pearls. She hoped so fervently that this was a delusion and so longed to return to the wonderful times of the past, to the nostalgia of their innocent love. …

The Word of God in the Last Days | "God Himself, the Unique VIII" (Part Four)

Introduction

Almighty God says, "God’s supply of all things is sufficient to show that God is the source of life for all things, because He is the source of supply that has enabled all things to exist, live, reproduce, and continue on. Apart from God there is no other. He supplies all needs of all things and all needs of mankind, regardless of whether it is the most basic needs, what people need daily, or the supply of the truth to people’s spirits. From all perspectives, when it comes to God’s identity and His status for mankind, only God Himself is the source of life for all things. This is absolutely certain."

I Have Finally Seen the Way of Being a True Person （2）

I Have Finally Seen the Way of Being a True Person （2）

October 29, 2017

Xiao li    Henan Province

Even though I am willing to pursue being an honest person, as I have been too deeply corrupted by Satan, putting it into practice is still quite difficult; especially the moment it has to do with my reputation or status, I just lie and cheat in spite of myself. I remember when I was preaching the gospel and I saw that my brothers and sisters really threw themselves into their evangelism, and were winning many people for God, but my results were never very good. I felt ashamed, and I was worried that other people would look down on me because of that. During those few days I had just borne witness to a new member about God’s work in the last days, and she brought two more friends to her house so that I could chat with them as well. But because some other things came up that day, I never made it. In the evening a sister asked me how many people I had converted, and without thinking I told her: “Three people.” After she left, I started to reproach myself: I clearly just converted one person, so why did I say three? Wasn’t it just for my own vanity, my own face? Before, when I didn’t focus on being an honest person, I told many lies without being conscious of them, but when I started focusing on it I discovered that I lied quite a lot and that these lies just fell out of my mouth. It seemed that I was killing myself with these lies. I was subject to a lot of refinement on this, and I was concerned that I was so difficult to deal with. I questioned myself: Will it kill you to tell the truth? Why don’t you just remember things? I was disheartened because I had never been able to truly enter into the truth of being an honest person. I felt that I was an utter failure as a human being and I even believed that God didn’t want to see me, this deceitful person, anymore. It was so difficult for me to tell the truth, and I had so many corrupt dispositions, how could I possibly change? It turned out that my essence was as the devil’s and I could not be saved by God. Sooner or later He’ll get rid of me. When my thoughts went there, I lost all confidence in myself and began to give up.

Coming Home (Part 2)

Coming Home (Part 2)

December 3, 2018

By Muyi, South Korea

In this period, there was another brother named Yang who also investigated Almighty God’s work in the last days together with me. I had always had a careless and absent-minded attitude, but Brother Yang was earnest in his studies. Brother Yang said that he had rejected the gospelof Almighty God when people had preached it to him before but that hearing it again today must be an opportunity granted by God! He wanted to investigate it. Brother Yang saw that I was only interested in listening to the pastor’s words and not investigating with an open mind. He found a passage for me, which was Matthew 5:3–6: “Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. … Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.” Reading the word of the Lord, I wondered: Why is it that I can’t seek tranquilly in the presence of the Lord? If the Lord were really to return by some chance, and I did not listen to Him or investigate it, would I not be left behind? I should also learn some humility, and I must not blindly come to conclusions based on my own imagination. Just when I had decided to settle my heart to investigate it sincerely, a missionary of the church gave me a call out of the blue and asked me if I were still with the people from The Church of Almighty God. I said that yes, the missionary again reminded me to cease contact with them. The missionary’s words dispelled the thought that I had just been wanting to investigate. I thought, “The pastor and missionary have a much better understanding of the Bible than I do, and none of them acknowledges that the Lord has returned. I had too little understanding of the Bible and had no ability to discriminate for myself, so I had better just listen to what the pastor and missionary were saying.” When I hung up the phone, I said to Brother Cheng: “If Brother Yang wants to investigate, then you two go on speaking. I don’t want to hear it.” Just like that, I had once again stiffly rejected the salvation of God.

The Tabernacle of God Is With Men

The Tabernacle of God Is With Men

February 25, 2018

Editors’ Note: Many brothers and sisters long for the day when they can be raised up into heaven and can meet the Lord, and this is the greatest dream of everyone who believes in the Lord. But it is prophesied in Revelation: “The tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them….” This passage of scripture says that the kingdom of God will come on earth, so will we go up to heaven in the future, or will we be reunited with the Lord on earth? We trust you would all like to know the answer to this question. Today, we recommend a sister’s experiences for you to read, and we believe that, when you have finished reading it, you will all reap the harvest.

Back From the Brink

Back From the Brink

February 27, 2018

By Zhao Guangming, China

At the beginning of the 1980s, I was in my 30s and was working for an architectural design company. I considered myself to be young and fit, treated people with loyalty and respect, and did my work responsibly. My architect skills were also top-notch, and I was sure that I was going places in the company and that once my career really took off I would be living like a prince. This was my goal and so I stayed with the company and worked hard for many years. But despite my impeccable caliber, in both character and professional skills, my efforts never seemed to be recognized by the company, which is something I never understood. The top salary grade in our company was grade 6, but my salary never got above grade 3. I watched a number of colleagues, who had neither my skills nor my time served in the company, get pay raises, but it never happened to me. I was puzzled and resentful about why they got raises and I didn’t. Finally, one of the colleagues who I got along with quite well gave me a tip: “In this company, the most important thing is to butter up the manager by giving him gifts at Chinese New Year and other festivals.” On hearing this, I finally understood the real reason why I had been overlooked by the company, and the injustice of it made me furious. But although I hated those ass kissers in the company, and had even less time for the colleagues who did little work but still got ahead by using underhand methods, I needed to firm up my standing and so I had to adapt to these unwritten rules. So the next time Chinese New Year came along I “expressed my heartfelt good wishes” to the manager and was immediately promoted to team leader.

To Be an Honest Person Is Truly Great! (Audio Essay)

July 3, 2018

Wu Ming, China

One day in 2004 a friend said to me: “Every day you get up early and are busy all day cutting cloth, you exhaust yourself, yet you still don’t make money. Today’s society relies on the tongue to make money, like the popular saying goes: ‘It is better to have a slick tongue than to have strong arms and legs.’ You know that I’m now engaging in the direct sales business selling makeup products, not only does it make me beautiful, I also don’t need to exert too much effort each day, I just need to speak a few words with my customers and sell my products in order to make a lot of money. Why don’t you change jobs and come sell makeup products with me?” I looked my friend over, she really was prettier than before, and then I thought about how I had been a dressmaker for over 10 years, how I hadn’t really made any money at it, and how I wasn’t getting any younger. If it really was like what my friend was saying, if by switching to a job where I sold makeup products I could make easy money, and could even become younger and prettier and win the high praises of others, then that would be much better! As I thought about this, I told her right then and there that I was willing to become a part of the company. Later, after my inspection, I ordered over 3,000 yuan worth of products, and I started my job in the cosmetics industry as a beauty consultant for this company.

The Secret Tip to Resolving Hatred (Audio Essay)

The Secret Tip to Resolving Hatred (Audio Essay)

December 28, 2017

Xiao Wu

I was self-employed. Mainly I sold all kinds of textiles, and I also made clothes for my customers part-time. After a few years, my business became more and more popular, and people around me were all very envious. Later, a neighboring household opened the same kind of shop as mine and became my competitor. Naturally, the business in my shop was affected. The popular proverb says two of a trade never agree, but my peer was not just anyone, but my most trusted pupil, Xiaochen.

God’s Love Guided Me Through the Trial of Illness

God’s Love Guided Me Through the Trial of Illness

November 16, 2018

By Yiming, Hubei Province

I Rejoice to Be Reunited With the Lord

I’m 78 this year and I have always suffered from headaches and diabetes. After I began to believe in the Lord in 2005, the illnesses that had beset me for years were eased; I perceived God’s love and thanked the Lord from the bottom of my heart. Two years later, a relative preached God’s work of the last days to me and he said that the Lord Jesus had returned as the incarnated Almighty God. He said that Almighty God was now performing a newer, higher stage of work on the foundation of the Lord Jesus’ work of redemption, and that Almighty God was using the truth to judge and chastise man, to cleanse our corruption, and God would lead those who ultimately attained salvation into His kingdom. I was thrilled to hear this news, and I thought to myself, “I never imagined that I would actually be able to welcome the Lord in my lifetime. If in the future I could be led by God into His kingdom, that would be wonderful indeed!” Thinking this, my heart became filled with a joy I couldn’t express, and I thanked God’s love and salvation. After a period of seeking and investigating, I became certain from reading God’s words that Almighty God was indeed the Lord Jesus returned, and very soon after I was living the church life and doing all I could to perform my duty within the church.