Word of God | You Ought to Live for the Truth Since You Believe in God

   The common problem that exists in all people is that they understand the truth but fail to put it into practice. This is because, on the one hand, they are unwilling to pay the price, and on the other, because their discernment is too inadequate; they are unable to see many of the difficulties of everyday lives for what they are, and do not know how to practice properly. Because people’s experiences are too shallow, their caliber too poor, and the degree to which they understand the truth limited, they have no way of resolving the difficulties they encounter in their everyday lives. They believe in God in word only, and are incapable of bringing God into their everyday lives. That is to say, God is God, life is life, and it is as if people have no relationship with God in their lives. That is what everyone thinks. Believing in God thus, people will not, in reality, be gained and perfected by Him. In fact, it is not that the word of God has not found complete expression, but rather that people’s ability to receive His word is simply too inadequate. One could say that almost no one acts according to God’s original intentions; rather, their faith in God is according to their own intentions, the religious notions they held in the past, and their own way of doing things. Few are those who undergo a transformation following the acceptance of God’s word and begin to act in accordance with His will. Instead, they persist in their mistaken beliefs. When people begin to believe in God, they do so based on the conventional rules of religion, and they live and interact with others entirely on the basis of their own life philosophy. One could say that this is the case for nine out of every ten people. There are very few who formulate another plan and turn over a new leaf after beginning to believe in God. Humanity has failed to regard the word of God as truth, or, taking it as truth, to put it into practice.

Only Those Who Know the Work of God Today Can Serve God

    To bear testimony to God and shame the great red dragon you must have a principle, and a condition: In your heart you must love God, and enter into the words of God. If you do not enter into the words of God, then you will have no way of shaming Satan. Through the growth of your life, you renounce the great red dragon and bring utter humiliation upon it, and only then is the great red dragon truly shamed. The more you are willing to put the words of God into practice, the greater the proof of your love of God and loathing of the great red dragon; the more you obey the words of God, the greater the proof of your longing for the truth. People who do not long for the words of God are people who are without life. Such people are those who are outside the words of God, and who belong to religion. People who truly believe in God have a more profound knowledge of God’s words through eating and drinking the words of God. If you do not long for the words of God, then you cannot truly eat and drink the words of God, and if you have no knowledge of the words of God, then you have no means of testifying to God or satisfying God.

Those Who Obey God With a True Heart Shall Surely Be Gained by God

    The work of the Holy Spirit changes from day to day. It rises higher with each step, the revelation of tomorrow higher than today’s, climbing ever higher, step after step. Such is the work by which God perfects man. If people cannot keep pace, then they could be cast out at any time. If they do not have a heart of obedience, they will be unable to follow to the very end. The former age has passed; this is a new age. And in a new age, new work must be done. Particularly in the final age in which people are perfected, God will perform newer work, more quickly, so without obedience in their hearts, people will find it difficult to follow the footsteps of God. God does not abide by any rules, nor does He treat any stage of His work as unchanging. Instead, the work He does is ever newer and ever higher. With each stage, His work becomes more and more practical, and increasingly in line with the actual needs of man. Only after people experience such work can they attain the final transformation of their disposition. Man’s knowledge of life reaches ever higher levels, and so, likewise, the work of God reaches ever higher levels. Only thus can man be made perfect and become fit for God’s use. God works in this way on the one hand to counter and reverse the notions of man, and on the other to lead man into a higher and more realistic state, into the highest realm of belief in God, so that in the end, the will of God can be done. All those of a disobedient nature who willfully oppose shall be cast out by this stage of God’s swift and furiously advancing work; only those who willingly obey and who gladly humble themselves can progress to the end of the road. In this kind of work, all of you should learn how to submit and how to put aside your notions. You should be cautious in every step you take. If you are careless, you will surely become one who is spurned by the Holy Spirit, one who disrupts God’s work. Prior to undergoing this stage of work, man’s rules and laws of old were so innumerable that he got carried away, and as a result, he became conceited and forgot himself. These are all obstacles that keep man from accepting the new work of God; they are the enemies of man’s knowledge of God. It is dangerous for people to have neither obedience in their hearts nor a yearning for the truth. If you submit only to work and words that are simple, and are incapable of accepting anything more profound, then you are one who clings to old ways and cannot keep pace with the work of the Holy Spirit. The work done by God differs from period to period. If you are of great obedience to God’s work in one phase, but in the next phase your obedience toward His work is poor, or you are incapable of obedience, then God shall desert you. If you keep pace with God as He takes this step, then you must continue to keep pace when He ascends the next; only then will you be someone who is obedient to the Holy Spirit. Since you believe in God, you must remain constant in your obedience. You cannot simply obey when you please and disobey when you do not. This kind of obedience is not praised by God. If you cannot keep pace with the new work I fellowship, and continue to hold on to the former sayings, then how can there be progress in your life? God’s work is to supply you through His words. When you obey and accept His words, the Holy Spirit shall surely work in you. The Holy Spirit works exactly as I speak; do as I have said, and the Holy Spirit will promptly work in you. I release a new light for you to behold, bringing you into the light of the present, and when you walk into this light, the Holy Spirit shall immediately work in you. There are some who may be recalcitrant, saying, “I simply will not carry out what You say.” In which case, I tell you that you have now come to the end of the road; you are dried up, and have no more life. Thus, in experiencing the transformation of your disposition, nothing is more crucial than keeping pace with the present light. The Holy Spirit not only works in certain people who are used by God, but, furthermore, in the church. He could be working in anyone. He may work in you during the present time, and you will experience this work. During the next period, He may work in someone else, in which case you must haste to follow; the more closely you follow the present light, the more your life can grow. No matter what manner of person someone is, if the Holy Spirit works in them, then you must follow. Take in their experiences through your own, and you will receive even higher things. In so doing you will progress more quickly. This is the path of perfection for man and the means by which life grows. The path to being made perfect is reached through your obedience to the work of the Holy Spirit. You do not know through what kind of person God will work to perfect you, nor through what person, occurrence, or thing He will allow you to gain or see things. If you can set foot upon this right track, it shows that there is great hope for you to be perfected by God. If you cannot, it shows that your future is bleak, devoid of light. Once you embark upon the right track, you will gain revelation in all things. No matter what the Holy Spirit reveals to others, if you proceed on the basis of their knowledge to experience things on your own, then this experience will become a part of your life, and you will be able to supply others out of this experience. Those who supply others by parroting words are people who have not had any experiences; you must learn to find, through the enlightenment and illumination of others, a way of practice before you can begin to speak of your own actual experience and knowledge. This will be of greater benefit to your own life. You should experience thus, obeying all that comes from God. You should seek the will of God in all things and learn the lessons in all things, that your life may grow. Such practice affords the fastest progress.

The True Story Behind the Work of the Age of Redemption

   My entire management plan, the six-thousand-year management plan, consists of three stages, or three ages: the Age of Law of the beginning; the Age of Grace (which is also the Age of Redemption); and the Age of Kingdom of the last days. My work in these three ages differs in content according to the nature of each age, but at each stage this work befits the needs of man—or, to be more precise, is done according to the tricks that Satan employs in the war that I wage against it. The purpose of My work is to defeat Satan, to make manifest My wisdom and omnipotence, to expose all of Satan’s tricks, and thereby to save the entire human race, which lives under Satan’s domain. It is to show My wisdom and omnipotence, and to reveal the unbearable hideousness of Satan; even more than that, it is to allow created beings to discriminate between good and evil, to know that I am the Ruler of all things, to see clearly that Satan is the enemy of humanity, a degenerate, the evil one, and to allow them to tell, with absolute certainty, the difference between good and evil, truth and falsehood, holiness and filth, and what is great and what is ignoble. Thus will ignorant humanity become able to bear witness to Me that it is not I who corrupt humanity, and only I—the Creator—can save humanity, can bestow upon people the things that they can enjoy; and they will come to know that I am the Ruler of all things and Satan is merely one of the beings that I created and that later turned against Me. My six-thousand-year management plan is divided into three stages, and I work thus to achieve the effect of enabling created beings to bear witness to Me, and comprehend My will, and know that I am the truth. Thus, during the early work of My six-thousand-year management plan, I performed the work of the law, which was the work in which Jehovah led the people. The second stage ushered in the work of the Age of Grace in the villages of Judea. Jesus represents all the work of the Age of Grace; He was incarnated in the flesh, and nailed to the cross, and He also began the Age of Grace. He was crucified in order to complete the work of redemption, to end the Age of Law and begin the Age of Grace, and so He was called the “Supreme Commander,” the “Sin Offering,” and the “Redeemer.” As a result, the work of Jesus differed in content from the work of Jehovah, although they were the same in principle. Jehovah began the Age of Law, establishing the base—the point of origin—for God’s work on earth, and issuing the commandments. These are the two pieces of work He carried out, and they represent the Age of Law. The work Jesus did in the Age of Grace was not to issue commandments, but to fulfill them, thereby ushering in the Age of Grace and concluding the Age of Law that had lasted two thousand years. He was the trailblazer, who came in order to begin the Age of Grace, yet the main part of His work lay in redemption. And so His work was also twofold: opening up a new age, and completing the work of redemption through His crucifixion, after which He departed. At that point, the Age of Law came to an end and mankind entered the Age of Grace.

To Have an Unchanged Disposition Is to Be in Enmity to God

  After several thousand years of corruption, man has become numb and dull-witted, a demon that opposes God, to the extent that man’s rebelliousness toward God has been documented in the books of history, and even man himself is incapable of giving a full account of his rebellious behavior—for man has been profoundly corrupted by Satan, and has been led astray by Satan that he knows not where to turn. Even today, man still betrays God: When man sees God, he betrays Him, and when he cannot see God, so too does he betray Him. There are even those who, having witnessed God’s curses and God’s wrath, still betray Him. And so I say that man’s sense has lost its original function, and that man’s conscience, too, has lost its original function. The man that I look upon is a beast in human attire, he is a venomous snake, and no matter how pitiable he tries to appear before My eyes, I will never be merciful toward him, for man has no grasp of the difference between black and white, of the difference between truth and non-truth. Man’s sense is so benumbed, yet he still wishes to gain blessings; his humanity is so ignoble yet he still wishes to possess the sovereignty of a king. Who could he be the king of, with sense such as that? How could he with such a humanity sit atop a throne? Man truly has no shame! He is a conceited wretch! For those of you who wish to gain blessings, I suggest you first find a mirror and look at your own ugly reflection—do you have what it takes to be a king? Do you have the face of one who could gain blessings? There has not been the slightest change in your disposition and you have not put any of the truth into practice, yet you still wish for a wonderful tomorrow. You’re deluding yourself! 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. Man’s disposition becomes more vicious by the day, and there is not a single person who will willingly give up anything for God, not a single person who will willingly obey God, nor, moreover, a single person who will willingly seek the appearance of God. Instead, under the domain of Satan, man does nothing but pursue pleasure, giving himself over to the corruption of the flesh in the land of mud. Even when they hear the truth, those who live in darkness give no thought to putting it into practice, nor are they inclined to seek out God even if they have beheld His appearance. How could a mankind so depraved have any chance of salvation? How could a mankind so decadent live in the light?

Beholding the Appearance of God in His Judgment and Chastisement

    Like the hundreds of millions of others who follow the Lord Jesus Christ, we abide by the laws and commandments of the Bible, enjoy the abundant grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and gather together, pray, praise, and serve in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ—and all this we do under the care and protection of the Lord.  We are often weak, and we are also often strong. We believe that all of our actions are in accordance with the teachings of the Lord. It goes without saying, then, that we also believe ourselves to be on the path of obedience to the will of the Father in heaven. We long for the return of the Lord Jesus, for His glorious descent, for the end of our life on earth, for the appearance of the kingdom, and for everything as it was foretold in the Book of Revelation: The Lord arrives, He brings disaster, He rewards the good and punishes the wicked, and He takes all those who follow Him and welcome His return up to meet Him in the air. Whenever we think of this, we cannot but be overcome with emotion and filled with gratitude that we were born in the last days and have the good fortune to witness the coming of the Lord. Though we have suffered persecution, we have got in return “a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory.” What a blessing! All of this longing, and the grace bestowed by the Lord, render us constantly sober unto prayer, and make us more diligent in gathering together. Maybe next year, maybe tomorrow, and again, maybe within a space of time shorter than man can conceive, the Lord shall suddenly descend, appearing among a group of people who have been waiting for Him with eager solicitude. We rush to get ahead of each other, none willing to fall behind, all for the sake of being in the first group to behold the appearance of the Lord, of being among those who are raptured. We have given everything, heedless of the cost, for the coming of this day, some leaving their jobs, some abandoning their families, some renouncing marriage, and some even donating all of their savings. What selfless acts of devotion! Such sincerity and loyalty is surely beyond even the saints of ages past! As the Lord bestows grace upon whomever He pleases, and shows mercy to whomever He pleases, our acts of devotion and of expending, we believe, have long since been beheld by His eyes. So, too, have our heartfelt prayers reached His ears, and we trust that the Lord will give us recompense for our dedication. Moreover, God had been gracious toward us before He created the world, and the blessings and promises He has given to us no one can take away. We are all planning for the future, and as a matter of course have made our dedication and expending into counter chips or capital to exchange for being raptured to meet the Lord in the air. What is more, we have, without the slightest hesitation, placed ourselves on the throne of the future, to preside over all nations and all peoples, or to reign as kings. All this we take as a given, as something to be expected.

The Commandments of the New Age

   You have been told to equip yourselves with the words of God, that regardless of what is arranged for you, all is orchestrated by God’s own hand, and that there is no need for your earnest prayer or supplication—they are useless. Yet in terms of the present situation, the practical problems facing you are unimaginable to you. If you merely await the arrangements of God, your progress will be too slow, and for those who don’t know how to experience there will be much passivity. Thus, if you are unable to completely see through to these things, then you are muddled and silly in your experiencing. If you have no reality but only words, is this not a sign of erroneousness? Much erroneousness is visible in you, this group. Today, you’re incapable of achieving such trials as “service-doers,” or else are incapable of imagining or achieving other refinement related to the words of God, but you must adhere to the many things you are required to put into practice. Which is to say, people must adhere to the many duties that they should perform. This is what people should adhere to, and what they must carry out. Let the Holy Spirit do what must be done by the Holy Spirit; man can play no part in it. Man should adhere to what ought to be done by man, which bears no relation to the Holy Spirit. It is nothing but that which ought to be done by man, and should be adhered to as commandment, just like adherence to the law of the Old Testament. Although now is not the Age of Law, there are still many words of a kind with the Age of Law that should be adhered to, and they are not carried out merely by relying on being touched by the Holy Spirit, but are what should be adhered to by man. For example: You shall not pass judgment on the work of the practical God. You shall not oppose the man who is testified to by God. Before God, you shall keep your place and shall not be dissolute. You should be moderate in speech, and your words and actions must follow the arrangements of the man testified to by God. You should revere the testimony of God. You shall not ignore the work of God and the words from His mouth. You shall not imitate the tone and aims of God’s utterances. Externally, you shall not do anything that manifestly opposes the man who is testified to by God. And so on. These are what each person should adhere to. In each age, God specifies many rules that are akin to the laws and are to be adhered to by man. Through this, He constrains man’s disposition, and detects his sincerity. Take the words “Honor your father and your mother” of the Old Testament age, for example. These words do not apply today; at the time, they merely constrained some of man’s external disposition, they were used to demonstrate the sincerity of man’s belief in God, and were a mark of those who believed in God. Although now is the Age of Kingdom, there are still many rules that man must adhere to. The rules of the past don’t apply; today, there are many, more fitting practices for man to carry out, and which are necessary. They do not involve the work of the Holy Spirit and must be done by man.

God's Utterance | Three Admonitions

   As a believer in God, you should be loyal to none other than Him in all things, and be able to conform with His will in all things. Nevertheless, though everyone understands this message, because of the sundry difficulties of man—because of his ignorance, absurdity, and corruption, for example—these truth, which are the most apparent and basic of all, are not wholly evident in him, and so, before your end becomes set in stone, I ought first to tell you a few things that are of the utmost importance to you. Before I continue, you should first understand this: The words I speak are truths directed at all mankind; they are not addressed only to a specific person or type of person. Therefore, you should concentrate on understanding My words from the standpoint of the truth, and must have an attitude of undivided attention and sincerity; do not ignore a single word or truth that I speak, and do not treat all of the words I speak lightly. In your lives, I see that you have done much that is irrelevant to the truth, and so I expressly ask that you become servants of the truth, that you not be enslaved by wickedness and ugliness, and that you do not trample on the truth or defile any corner of the house of God. This is My admonition to you. Now I shall speak of the topic at hand.

God's Utterance "God Himself, the Unique (III) God's Authority (II)" (Part Four)

God's words in this video are from The Word Appears in the Flesh.

The content of this video:
Death: The Sixth Juncture    

2. One Who Does Not Know the Creator’s Sovereignty Will Be
1. Only the Creator Holds the Power of Life and Death Over Man   

4. Come Under the Creator’s Dominion and Face Death Calmly   

3. A Life Spent Seeking Fame and Fortune Will Leave One at a Loss in the Face of Death     

6. Only by Accepting the Creator’s Sovereignty Can One Return to His Side

5. Job's Pursuits and Gains in Life Allow Him to Calmly Face Death    

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The Appearance of God Has Brought a New Age

　　God’s six-thousand-year management plan is coming to an end, and the gate of the kingdom has been opened to all those who seek the appearance of God. Dear brothers and sisters, what are you waiting for? What is it that you seek? Do you await the appearance of God? Are you searching for the footprints of God? How the appearance of God is yearned for! And how difficult it is to find God’s footprints! In an age such as this, in a world such as this, what must we do to witness the day of God’s appearance? What must we do to follow the footprints of God? Such questions are faced by all those who await the appearance of God. You have all considered them on more than one occasion—but with what outcome? Where does God appear? Where are the footprints of God? Have you gained the answers? Many people’s reply would be this: God appears among those who follow Him and His footprints are among us; it’s that simple! Anyone can provide a formulaic answer, but do you understand what the appearance of God is, and what the footprints of God are? The appearance of God refers to His personal arrival on earth to do His work. With His own identity and disposition, and in His inherent method, He descends among man to conduct the work of initiating an age and ending an age. This kind of appearance is not a form of ceremony. It is not a sign, a picture, a miracle, or a grand vision, and even less is it a kind of religious process. It is a real and actual fact that can be touched and beheld. This kind of appearance is not for the sake of following a process, or for the sake of a short-term undertaking; it is, rather, for the sake of a stage of work in His management plan. The appearance of God is always meaningful, and is always connected to His management plan. This appearance is completely different from the appearance of God’s guidance, leadership, and enlightenment of man. God carries out a stage of great work each time He reveals Himself. This work is different from that of any other age. It is unimaginable to man, and has never been experienced by man. It is work that starts a new age and concludes the old age, and it is a new and improved form of work for the salvation of mankind; moreover, it is work of bringing mankind into the new age. That is the significance of the appearance of God.

God Presides Over the Fate of All Mankind

    As members of the human race and devout Christians, it is the responsibility and obligation of us all to offer up our mind and body for the fulfillment of God’s commission, for our entire being came from God, and it exists thanks to the sovereignty of God. If our minds and bodies are not for God’s commission and not for the righteous cause of mankind, then our souls will be unworthy of those who were martyred for God’s commission, much more unworthy of God, who has provided us with everything.

    God created this world, He created this mankind, and moreover He was the architect of ancient Greek culture and human civilization. Only God consoles this mankind, and only God cares for this mankind night and day. Human development and progress is inseparable from the sovereignty of God, and the history and future of mankind are inextricable from the designs of God. If you are a true Christian, then you will surely believe that the rise and fall of any country or nation occurs according to the designs of God. God alone knows the fate of a country or nation, and God alone controls the course of this mankind. If mankind wishes to have a good fate, if a country wishes to have a good fate, then man must bow down to God in worship, repent and confess before God, or else the fate and destination of man will unavoidably end in catastrophe.

Why God Calls the First Age the Age of Law

Harvest after reading:

　　God Is the Truth, the Way, and the Life. The Israelites at that time keep the commandments, God blessed them for a thousand generations. When they violated the Ten Commandments, they will be stoned to death or be burnt to death. From it, I see that God’s almightiness and wisdom is not just about issuing commandments to the Israelites, but also bringing mankind to the present day. The laws of the nations in the world nowadays have the commandments of the Lord as the foundation. For example, murder is a crime, if one breaks the law, he will go to jail. People constrain their behaviors because of the law, and so crime is controlled. The people on earth can lead serene and contented lives.God! I’ve felt your love and seen how wonderful your work is! God's Words Bestows on Men Are the Ways They Should Keep.

　　During the Age of Law, Jehovah laid down many commandments for Moses to pass on to the Israelites who followed him out of Egypt. These commandments were given by Jehovah to the Israelites, and bore no relation to the Egyptians; they were meant to restrain the Israelites. God used the commandments to demand of them. Whether they observed the Sabbath, whether they respected their parents, whether they worshiped idols, and so forth: these were the principles by which they were judged sinful or righteous. Among them, there were some who were stricken by Jehovah’s fire, some who were stoned to death, and some who received Jehovah’s blessing, and this was determined according to whether or not they obeyed these commandments. Those who did not observe the Sabbath would be stoned to death. Those priests who did not observe the Sabbath would be stricken by Jehovah’s fire. Those who did not show respect to their parents would also be stoned to death. This was all commended by Jehovah. Jehovah established His commandments and laws so that, as He led them in their lives, the people would listen to and obey His word and not rebel against Him. He used these laws to keep the newborn human race under control, the better to lay the foundation for His future work. And so, based on the work that Jehovah did, the first age was called the Age of Law.

from “The Work in the Age of Law” in The Word Appears in the Flesh

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Only Christ of the Last Days Can Give Man the Way of Eternal Life

The way of life is not something that can be possessed by just anyone, nor is it easily obtainable by all. That is because life can only come from God, which is to say, only God Himself possesses the substance of life, there is no way of life without God Himself, and so only God is the source of life, and the ever-flowing wellspring of living water of life. From when He created the world, God has done much work involving the vitality of life, has done much work that brings life to man, and has paid a great price so that man might gain life, for God Himself is eternal life, and God Himself is the way by which man is resurrected. God is never absent from the heart of man, and lives among man at all times. He has been the driving force of man’s living, the fundament of man’s existence, and a rich deposit for man’s existence after birth. He causes man to be reborn, and enables him to tenaciously live in his every role. Thanks to His power, and His inextinguishable life force, man has lived for generation after generation, throughout which the power of God’s life has been the mainstay of man’s existence, and for which God has paid a price that no ordinary man has ever paid. God’s life force can prevail over any power; moreover, it exceeds any power. His life is eternal, His power extraordinary, and His life force not easily overwhelmed by any created being or enemy force. The life force of God exists, and shines its brilliant radiance, regardless of time or place. God’s life remains forever unchanged throughout the upheavals of heaven and earth. All things pass away, but God’s life still remains, for God is the source of the existence of all things, and the root of their existence. Man’s life originates from God, the existence of the heaven is because of God, and the existence of the earth stems from the power of God’s life. No object possessed of vitality can transcend the sovereignty of God, and no thing with vigor can break away from the ambit of God’s authority. In this way, regardless of who they are, everyone must submit under the dominion of God, everyone must live under God’s command, and no one can escape from His control.

God's voice | Is the Work of God So Simple as Man Imagines?

As one who believes in God, you should understand that, today, in receiving the work of God in the last days and all the work of God’s plan in you, you have really received great exaltation and salvation from God. All of God’s work in the entire universe has focused on this group of people. He has devoted all His efforts to you and sacrificed all for you; He has reclaimed and given to you all the work of the Spirit throughout the universe. That is why I say, you are the fortunate. Moreover, He has shifted His glory from Israel, His chosen people, to you, in order to make the purpose of His plan fully manifest through you group of people. Therefore, you are those who will receive the inheritance of God, and even more the heirs of God’s glory. Perhaps you all remember these words: “For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, works for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory.” In the past, you have all heard this saying, yet none understood the true meaning of the words. Today, you know well the real significance they hold. These words are what God will accomplish in the last days. And they will be accomplished upon those cruelly afflicted by the great red dragon in the land where it lies. The great red dragon persecutes God and is the enemy of God, so in this land, those who believe in God are subjected to humiliation and persecution. That is why these words will become reality in you group of people. As the work is carried out in a land that opposes God, all of His work is met with inordinate hindrance, and many of His words cannot be accomplished in good time; hence, people are refined because of the words of God. This too is an element of suffering. It is greatly arduous for God to carry out His work in the land of the great red dragon, but it is through such difficulty that God does a stage of His work to make manifest His wisdom and wondrous deeds. God takes this opportunity to make this group of people complete. Because of people’s suffering, their caliber, and all the satanic disposition of people in this unclean land, God does His work of purification and conquest so that, from this, He may gain glory and gain those who stand witness to His deeds. This is the full significance of all the sacrifices that God has made for this group of people. That is to say, God does the work of conquest just through those who oppose Him. Therefore, only doing so can manifest the great power of God. In other words, only those in the unclean land are worthy to inherit the glory of God, and only this can give prominence to the great power of God. That is why I say the glory of God is gained in the unclean land and from those who live within. This is the will of God. This is just as in the stage of Jesus’ work; He could only be glorified among those Pharisees who persecuted Him. If not for such persecution and the betrayal of Judas, Jesus would not have been ridiculed or slandered, much less crucified, and thus could never have gained glory. Wherever God works in each age and wherever He does His work in the flesh, He gains glory there and there gains those He intends to gain. This is the plan of God’s work, and this is His management.

Eastern Lightning | Principles of Prayer to God

　　1. The true significance of prayer to God is to understand the truth and attain obedience to God and worship of God. You must not, under any circumstances, engage in religious ceremony.

　　2. You must draw upon your practical difficulties and problems when praying to God. You must not depart from reality and speak empty words, or talk of letters and doctrines.

　　3. You must frequently pray to God about the problems of performing your duty and entering into life, seeking to understand the truth and enter reality.

　　4. There must be reverence for God in your prayers, and you must be reasonable. You may not make demands of God, coerce God, or take advantage of God, much less may you make trades with God.

　　 

Relevant the utterances of Almighty God

　　Prayer is not a case of going through the formalities, or following procedure, or reciting the words of God, which is to say, prayer does not mean parroting words and copying others. In prayer, you must give your heart to God, sharing the words in your heart with God so that you may be touched by God. If your prayers are to be effective, then they must be based on your reading of God’s words. Only by praying amid God’s words will you be able to receive more enlightenment and illumination. A true prayer is shown by having a heart that yearns for the requirements made by God, and being willing to fulfill these requirements; you will be able to hate all that God hates, upon the basis of which you will have knowledge, and will know and be clear about the truths explained by God. Having the resolution, and faith, and knowledge, and a path by which to practice after praying—only this is truly praying, and only prayer such as this can be effective. Yet prayer must be built upon the foundation of enjoying God’s words and communing with God in His words, your heart being able to seek God and being at peace before God. Such prayer has already reached the point of true communion with God.

from “Concerning the Practice of Prayer” in The Word Appears in the Flesh

God's will | The Significance of God’s Work of Words.

The Church of Almighty God | God's will | The Significance of God’s Work of Words.

　　 Relevant Words of God:

　　In the Age of Kingdom, God uses the word to usher in a new age, to change the means of His work, and to do the work for the entire age. This is the principle by which God works in the Age of Word. He became flesh to speak from different perspectives, enabling man to truly see God, who is the Word appearing in the flesh, and His wisdom and wonder. Such work is done to better achieve the goals of conquering man, perfecting man, and eliminating man. This is the true meaning of using the word to work in the Age of Word. Through the word, man comes to know the work of God, the disposition of God, the essence of man, and what man ought to enter into. Through the word, all the work God wishes to do in the Age of Word is accomplished. Through the word, man is revealed, eliminated, and tried. Man has seen the word, heard the word, and become aware of the existence of the word. As a result, man believes in the existence of God; man believes the almightiness and wisdom of God, as well as God’s heart of love for man and His desire to save man. Though the word “word” is simple and ordinary, the word from the mouth of God become flesh shakes the entire universe; His word transforms the heart of man, the notions and the old disposition of man, and the old appearance of the entire world. Through the ages, only the God of this day works in such a manner, and only He speaks and saves man thus. Thereafter, man lives under the guidance of the word, shepherded and supplied by the word; they live in the world of the word, live within the curses and blessings of God’s word, and even more live under the judgment and chastisement of the word. These words and this work are all for the sake of man’s salvation, achieving God’s will, and changing the original appearance of the world of old creation. God created the world with the word, leads men throughout the universe with the word, conquers and saves them with the word. Finally, He shall use the word to bring the entire world of old to an end. Only then is the management plan wholly complete. Throughout the Age of Kingdom, God uses the word to do His work and achieve the results of His work; He does not work wonders or perform miracles; He merely does His work through the word. Because of the word, man is nourished and supplied; because of the word, man gains knowledge and true experience. Man in the Age of Word has truly received exceptional blessings. Man suffers no pain of the flesh and simply enjoys the bountiful supply of the word of God; they need not seek or journey forth, and at ease they see the appearance of God, hear Him speak personally, receive His supply, and see Him personally do His work. Man in ages past was unable to enjoy such things, and these are blessings that they could never receive.

from “The Age of Kingdom Is the Age of Word” in The Word Appears in the Flesh

God's word | The Work in the Age of Law

Eastern Lightning | God's word | The Work in the Age of Law

The work that Jehovah did in the Israelites established among humanity God’s earthly place of origin, His sacred place where He was present. He confined His work to the Israelite people. At first, He did not work outside of Israel; instead, He chose a people He found suitable in order to restrict the scope of His work. Israel is the place where God created Adam and Eve, and out of the dust of that place Jehovah made man; it is the base of His work on earth. The Israelites, who are the descendants of Noah and of Adam, were the foundation of Jehovah’s work on earth.

The Savior Has Already Returned Upon a “White Cloud”

Eastern Lightning | God's word | The Savior Has Already Returned Upon a “White Cloud”

For several thousand years, man has longed to be able to witness the arrival of the Savior. Man has longed to behold Jesus the Savior on a white cloud as He descends, in person, among those who have pined and yearned for Him for thousands of years. Man has longed for the Savior to return and be reunited with the people, that is, for Jesus the Savior to come back to the people from whom He has been apart for thousands of years. And man hopes that He will once again carry out the work of redemption that He did among the Jews, will be compassionate and loving toward man, will forgive the sins of man, bear the sins of man, and even bear all of man’s transgressions and deliver man from sin. They long for Jesus the Savior to be the same as before—a Savior who is lovable, amiable and venerable, who is never wrathful toward man, and who never reproaches man. This Savior forgives and bears all of man’s sins, and even dies upon the cross for man once more. Since Jesus departed, the disciples who followed Him, and all of the saints who were saved thanks to His name, have been desperately pining for Him and awaiting Him. All those who were saved by the grace of Jesus Christ during the Age of Grace have been longing for that joyful day during the last days, when Jesus the Savior arrives on a white cloud and appears among man. Of course, this is also the collective wish of all those who accept the name of Jesus the Savior today. Throughout the universe, all those who know of the salvation of Jesus the Savior have been desperately yearning for the sudden arrival of Jesus Christ, to fulfill the words of Jesus when on earth: “I shall arrive just as I departed.” Man believes that, following the crucifixion and resurrection, Jesus went back to heaven upon a white cloud, and took His place at the Most High’s right hand. Similarly, man conceives that Jesus shall descend, again upon a white cloud (this cloud refers to the cloud that Jesus rode upon when He returned to heaven), among those who have desperately yearned for Him for thousands of years, and that He shall bear the image and clothes of the Jews. After appearing to man, He shall bestow food upon them, and cause living water to gush forth for them, and shall live among man, full of grace and love, living and real. And so on. Yet Jesus the Savior did not do this; He did the opposite of what man conceived. He did not arrive among those who had yearned for His return, and did not appear to all men while riding upon the white cloud. He has already arrived, but man does not know Him, and remains ignorant of His arrival. Man is only aimlessly awaiting Him, unaware that He has already descended upon a white cloud (the cloud which is His Spirit, His words, and His entire disposition and all that He is), and is now among a group of overcomers that He will make during the last days. Man does not know this: Although the holy Savior Jesus is full of affection and love toward man, how could He work in “temples” inhabited by filth and impure spirits? Though man has been awaiting His arrival, how could He appear to those who eat the flesh of the unrighteous, drink the blood of the unrighteous, wear the clothes of the unrighteous, who believe in Him but do not know Him, and who constantly extort Him? Man knows only that Jesus the Savior is full of love and compassion, and is the sin offering filled with redemption. But man has no idea that He is also God Himself, who is brimming with righteousness, majesty, wrath, and judgment, and possessed of authority and full of dignity. And so even though man eagerly yearns for and craves the return of the Redeemer, and even Heaven is moved by the prayers of man, Jesus the Savior does not appear to those who believe in Him but do not know Him.

God's will | None Who Are of the Flesh Can Escape the Day of Wrath

Eastern Lightning | God's will | None Who Are of the Flesh Can Escape the Day of Wrath

Today, I admonish you thus for the sake of your own survival, in order for My work to progress smoothly, and so that My inaugural work throughout the entire universe may be carried out more appropriately and perfectly, revealing My words, authority, majesty and judgment to the people of all countries and nations. The work I do among you is the beginning of My work throughout the whole universe. Although now is already the last days, know that the “last days” is but a name for an age: Just like the Age of Law and the Age of Grace, it refers to an age, and it indicates an entire age, rather than the final few years or months. Yet the last days are quite unlike the Age of Grace and the Age of Law. The work of the last days is not carried out in Israel, but among the Gentiles; it is the conquest before My throne of people from all nations and tribes outside of Israel, so that My glory throughout the universe can fill the entire cosmos. It is so that I can gain greater glory, so that all creatures on earth can pass on My glory to every nation, forever down the generations, and all creatures in heaven and on earth can see all the glory that I have gained on earth. The work carried out during the last days is the work of conquest. It is not the guidance of the lives of all the people on earth, but the conclusion of mankind’s imperishable, millennia-long life of suffering on earth. As a consequence, the work of the last days cannot be like the several thousand years of work in Israel, nor like the decade of work in Judea which then continued for several thousand years until the second incarnation of God. The people of the last days encounter only the reappearance of the Redeemer in the flesh, and they receive the personal work and words of God. It will not be two thousand years before the last days come to an end; they are brief, like the time when Jesus carried out the work of the Age of Grace in Judea. This is because the last days are the conclusion of the entire era. They are the completion and the ending of God’s six-thousand-year management plan, and they conclude mankind’s life journey of suffering. They do not take the whole of mankind into a new age or allow mankind’s life to continue. That would hold no significance for My management plan or the existence of man. If mankind carried on like this, then sooner or later they would be entirely devoured by the devil, and those souls that belong to Me would ultimately be forfeited by its hands. My work lasts for but six thousand years, and I promised that the evil one’s control over the whole of mankind would also be for no more than six thousand years. And so, the time is up. I will neither continue nor delay any longer: During the last days I will vanquish Satan, I will take back all My glory, and I will reclaim all the souls that belong to Me on earth so that these distressed souls may escape from the sea of suffering, and thus will be concluded My entire work on earth. From this day onward, never again will I become flesh on earth, and never again will My all-controlling Spirit work upon the earth. I will do but one thing on earth: I will remake mankind, a mankind that is holy, and which is My faithful city on earth. But know that I will not annihilate the entire world, nor will I annihilate the whole of mankind. I will keep that remaining third—the third that loves Me and has been thoroughly conquered by Me, and I will cause this third to be fruitful and multiply on earth just as the Israelites did under the law, nourishing them with copious sheep and cattle and all the riches of earth. This mankind will remain with Me forever, yet it is not the deplorably filthy mankind of today, but a mankind that is an assembly of all those who have been gained by Me. Such a mankind will not be damaged, disturbed, or besieged by Satan, and will be the only mankind that exists on earth after I have triumphed over Satan. It is the mankind that has today been conquered by Me and has gained My promise. And so, the mankind that has been conquered during the last days is also the mankind that will be spared and will gain My everlasting blessings. It will be the only evidence of My triumph over Satan, and the only spoils of My battle with Satan. These spoils of war are saved by Me from the domain of Satan, and are the only crystallization and fruit of My six-thousand-year management plan. They come from every nation and denomination, and every place and country throughout the universe. They are of different races, have different languages, customs and skin colors, and they are spread across every nation and denomination of the globe, and even every corner of the world. Eventually, they will come together to form a complete mankind, an assembly of man that is unreachable by the forces of Satan. Those among mankind who have not been saved and conquered by Me will sink silent to the depths of the sea, and will be burned by My consuming flames for all eternity. I will annihilate this old, supremely filthy mankind, just as I annihilated the firstborn sons and cattle of Egypt, leaving only the Israelites, who ate lamb’s meat, drank lamb’s blood, and marked their door lintels with lamb’s blood. Are the people who have been conquered by Me and are of My family not also the people who eat the meat of Me the Lamb and drink the blood of Me the Lamb, and have been redeemed by Me and worship Me? Are such people not always accompanied by My glory? Have not those who are without the meat of Me the Lamb already sunk silent to the depths of the sea? Today they oppose Me, and today My words are just like those spoken by Jehovah to the sons and grandsons of Israel. Yet the hardness in the depths of your hearts is storing up My wrath, bringing more suffering upon your flesh, more judgment upon your sins, and more wrath upon your unrighteousness. Who could be spared on My day of wrath, when you treat Me like this today? Whose unrighteousness could escape My eyes of chastisement? Whose sins could elude the hands of Me, the Almighty? Whose defiance could receive the judgment of Me, the Almighty? I, Jehovah, speak thus unto you, the descendants of the Gentile family, and the words I speak to you surpass all the utterances of the Age of Law and the Age of Grace, yet you are harder than all the people of Egypt. Do you not store up My wrath as I work in repose? How could you escape unharmed from the day of Me, the Almighty?

God's will | What Do You Know of Faith?

Eastern Lightning | God's will | What Do You Know of Faith?

In man exists only the uncertain word of faith, yet man knows not what constitutes faith, much less why he has faith. Man understands too little, and man himself is too lacking; his faith in Me is but mindless and ignorant. Though he knows not what faith is, nor why he has faith in Me, he continues to believe in Me obsessively. What I ask of man is not merely for him to obsessively call upon Me in this way or to believe in Me in a desultory fashion, for the work I do is so that man may see Me, and know Me, not so that man is impressed and looks at Me in a new light. I once manifested many signs and wonders and performed many miracles, and the Israelites of the time showed Me great admiration and greatly revered My exceptional ability to heal the sick and exorcise demons. At the time, the Jews thought My healing powers to be masterly, extraordinary—and because of My many deeds, they all venerated Me, and felt great admiration for all of My powers. Thus, all who saw Me perform miracles followed Me closely, such that thousands surrounded Me to watch Me heal the sick. I manifested so many signs and wonders, yet people merely looked upon Me as a masterly physician; so, too, did I speak many words of teaching to people at the time, yet they merely regarded Me as a teacher superior to his disciples. Even today, after men have seen the historical records of My work, their interpretation continues to be that I am a great physician who heals the sick and a teacher to the ignorant, and they have defined Me as the merciful Lord Jesus Christ. Those who interpret the scriptures may have surpassed My skills in healing, or may even be disciples who have now surpassed their teacher, yet such men of great renown, whose names are known around the world, consider Me so lowly to be a mere physician. My deeds are greater in number than the grains of sand on the beaches, and My wisdom surpasses all the sons of Solomon, yet people merely think of Me as a physician of little account and an unknown teacher of man. How many believe in Me only so that I might heal them? How many believe in Me only so that I might use My powers to drive unclean spirits out from their bodies? And how many believe in Me simply to receive peace and joy from Me? How many believe in Me only to demand from Me greater material wealth? How many believe in Me just to spend this life in peace and to be safe and sound in the world to come? How many believe in Me to avoid the suffering of hell and to receive the blessings of heaven? How many believe in Me only for temporary comfort but do not seek to gain anything in the world to come? When I brought down My fury upon man and seized all the joy and peace he once possessed, man became doubtful. When I gave unto man the suffering of hell and reclaimed the blessings of heaven, man’s shame turned into anger. When man asked Me to heal him, I paid him no heed and felt abhorrence toward him; man departed from Me to instead seek the way of evil medicine and sorcery. When I took away all that man had demanded from Me, everyone disappeared without a trace. Thus, I say that man has faith in Me because I give too much grace, and there is far too much to gain. The Jews believed in Me for My grace and followed Me wherever I went. These ignorant men of limited knowledge and experience sought only to behold the signs and wonders I manifested. They regarded Me as the head of the house of the Jews who could perform the greatest miracles. And so when I exorcised demons from men, it caused much discussion among them: They said that I was Elijah, that I was Moses, that I was the most ancient of all prophets, that I was the greatest of all physicians. Apart from Myself saying that I am the life, the way, and the truth, none could know My being or My identity. Apart from Myself saying that heaven is the place where My Father lives, none knew that I am the Son of God, and also God Himself. Apart from Myself saying that I shall bring redemption to all mankind and ransom mankind, none knew that I am the Redeemer of mankind, and men only knew Me as a benevolent and compassionate man. And apart from Myself being able to explain all there is of Me, none knew Me, and none believed that I am the Son of the living God. Such is people’s faith in Me, and the way they try to fool Me. How could they bear witness to Me when they hold such views of Me?