After Listening with My Heart, I Have Welcomed the Lord’s Return

Eastern Lightning- Breaking Through the Fog to See the Light

Faith    China

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

　When I had just retired in February of 2014, my daughter in law got us two elderly folks to travel to Sichuan to babysit our grandson. I prayed to God: “Almighty God! My daughter in law has asked me to babysit our grandson, but I’m not used to life in that place, and it’s not convenient to believe in God or read the word of God in that place. I hope You will open up a way out for us….” Not long after that, my daughter in law called me again to say that she would bring my grandson to us. When I heard this news I was overjoyed, and felt how almighty God is. God heard my prayer and opened up a way out for me. Before too many days had passed, my daughter in law and her parents brought over my grandson. As it happened, the day after that I was going to a gathering, and I told them that I believed in Almighty God. After hearing this, my daughter in law said unhappily, “Dad, how can you believe in Almighty God? I’m sure you know that the government doesn’t allow people to believe in Almighty God, and in recent years they have been arresting believers in Almighty God. You can’t continue to believe in Him.” I refuted her by saying, “When we believe in God, we don’t do it out of opposition to the government. We just attend gatherings, read the word of God, pursue the truth, and follow the right path. How can they not let us believe?” My daughter in law said, “No matter what you say, and even if believing in God is the right path, as long as the government opposes it, you can’t believe in Him!” I thought to myself, “No matter what you say, it is the true God who I believe in. Even if the CCP government doesn’t allow it, I will still believe.” Later, my daughter in law went and found my wife and urged her that we shouldn’t believe in God…. Afterward, my son in faraway Sichuan called me up and said, “Dad, I heard you believe in Almighty God. That’s something the CCP opposes, so you can’t believe in Him anymore.” When I heard my son say this, I felt perturbed in my heart: Believing in God is the law of heaven for me, so why are you all trying to block me from it over and over? It’s so hard to believe in God and follow the correct path! I then prayed silently to God to guard me so I could resist the disturbances of my son and daughter in law. After praying, my heart gradually became tranquil. Although my son and daughter in law did not understand, I was clear that my faith in God and following the correct path was not mistaken, and that I could not be influenced by them. After three days, my daughter in law hurriedly came running home, and I saw that she had two stacks of something printed in her hands. She urged me to look at them quickly, and when I looked I saw that they were filled with rumors and falsehoods of the CCP government vilifying, condemning, and defaming the Church of Almighty God. For a moment I felt some confusion in my heart, and I thought: It can’t be, I’ve been attending meetings for several months and I’ve never seen any brothers or sisters missing arms or legs! Why does the CCP government want to spread rumors and defamation about the Church of Almighty God? What is really going on here? In the evening that day, I couldn’t sleep because I kept turning this over in my mind. “Alas! My son and daughter in law are trying so forcefully to block me, and the CCP government is also trying to persecute me, so what should I do?”

Why has the religious world always denied Christ, rejected Him and condemned Him, thereby suffering the curses of God?

Eastern Lightning-Why has the religious world always denied Christ, rejected Him and condemned Him, thereby suffering the curses of God?

Bible Verses for Reference:

　　“Hear another parable: There was a certain householder, which planted a vineyard, and hedged it round about, and dig a wine press in it, and built a tower, and let it out to farmers, and went into a far country: And when the time of the fruit drew near, he sent his servants to the farmers, that they might receive the fruits of it. And the farmers took his servants, and beat one, and killed another, and stoned another. Again, he sent other servants more than the first: and they did to them likewise. But last of all he sent to them his son, saying, They will reverence my son. But when the farmers saw the son, they said among themselves, This is the heir; come, let us kill him, and let us seize on his inheritance. And they caught him, and cast him out of the vineyard, and slew him” (Mat 21:33-39).

Eastern Lightning | Kingdom Praise Musical Drama—Every Nation Worships the Practical God

The Way the Lord Arrives

In a spiritual body, or in the flesh? “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 comes out of the east, and shines even to the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be” (Matthew 24:27). “This time, God comes to do work not in a spiritual body but in a very ordinary one. Not only is it the body of God’s second incarnation, but also the body in which God returns” (The Word Appears in the Flesh). Please stay tuned for the musical drama of the Church of Almighty God—Every Nation Worships the Practical God!

Eastern Lightning-Books-Rise Up in the Dark Oppression

Eastern Lightning-Books-Rise Up in the Dark Oppression

Mo Zhijian    Guangdong Province

I was born in a poor remote mountain village. People there burned incense and worshiped Buddha for generations. Temples were everywhere, and each household burned incense. No one believed in God. In 1995, my wife and I believed in the Lord Jesus in another place. After returning home, we began to preach the gospel. Later, the number of the believers gradually increased to over one hundred. Because more and more people believed in God, the local government was alarmed. One day in 1997, the police asked me to go to the local police station. The director of the County Public Security Bureau, the director of the County Bureau for State Security, the director of the County Administration of Religious Affairs, the chief of the local police station, and some policemen had already been waiting there. The director of the County Public Security Bureau questioned me, “Why do you believe in God? Who do you get in touch with? Where do you get the Bibles? Why don’t you go to the church to have meetings?” I answered, “The constitution stipulates explicitly that the citizens enjoy freedom of belief. Why don’t you allow us to believe in God freely?” The director of the County Administration of Religious Affairs said, “There is a scope for the freedom of religious belief.

The Seven Thunders Peal—Prophesying That the Kingdom Gospel Shall Spread Throughout the Universe

Eastern Lightning | The Seven Thunders Peal—Prophesying That the Kingdom Gospel Shall Spread Throughout the Universe 

Almighty God says, "Only when the light of the East gradually turns white will the darkness across the earth begin to turn to light, and only then will man discover that I have long ago gone from Israel and am rising anew in the East. Having once descended into Israel and later departed from it, I cannot again be born into Israel, because My work leads all of the universe and, what is more, the lightning flashes straight from East to West. For this reason I have descended in the East and brought Canaan to the people of the East. I wish to bring people from all over the earth to the land of Canaan, and so I continue to issue forth utterances in the land of Canaan to control the entire universe. At this time, there is no light in all the earth apart from Canaan, and all men are imperiled by hunger and cold. I gave My glory to Israel and then took it away, and afterward I brought the Israelites to the East, and all of humanity to the East. I have brought them all to the light so that they may be reunited with it, and be in association with it, and no longer have to search for it."

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The Returned Lord Jesus’ Words

How does the Church of Almighty God develop?

The Church of Almighty God | The Light of Life Shining in the Devil’s Dark Den

the Church of Almighty God | The Light of Life Shining in the Devil’s Dark Den

Lin Ying    Shandong Province

My name is Lin Ying. I’m a Christian in the Church of Almighty God. Before I believed in Almighty God, I always tried to work with my own ability for a better life. But things ran counter to my wish; I got into trouble and was frustrated everywhere. Having fully experienced life’s hardships, I felt exhausted mentally and physically and felt extremely miserable. Just when I was distressed and helpless, a sister preached Almighty God’s end-time gospel to me. I read God’s words, “When you feel tired and when you slightly feel a sense of desolation of this world, do not feel perplexed and do not weep. Almighty God, the Watcher, is ready to embrace your coming at any time.” (from “The Sighs of the Almighty” in The Word Appears in the Flesh) I couldn’t help shedding tears. The motherly words of Almighty God greatly comforted me. I felt that I, like an orphan wandering for years, returned to the bosom of my family and was no longer lonely and helpless. From then on, I thirstily read God’s word every day. Through having meetings and fellowshipping with the brothers and sisters in the Church of Almighty God, I saw that they were so kind and honest. There was no jealousy, dispute, or intrigue among them. No matter who met any difficulty, others would sincerely fellowship about the truth and help him solve it, without making bargains or seeking rewards. What they lived out was God’s love. There, I received the release and happiness that I had never had. I deeply felt that the Church of Almighty God is a holy pure land and became certain that Almighty God is the only true God who can save men from the abyss of misery. Just when I was enjoying God’s love, the CCP government arrested and persecuted me illegally, breaking my joyful and pleasant life.

Experience Testimonies of Eastern Lightning | The Bitter Fruit of Arrogance

Hu Qing    Suzhou City, Anhui Province

When I saw God’s words saying: “Those of you who serve as leaders always want to have greater ingenuity, to be head and shoulders above the rest, to find new tricks so that God can see how great a leader you really are. … You always want to show off; isn’t this precisely the revelation of an arrogant nature?” (“Without the Truth It Is Easy to Offend God” in Records of Christ’s Talks), I thought to myself: Who has such nerve to try to find ingenious new tricks? Who doesn’t know that God’s disposition does not tolerate man’s offense? I certainly wouldn’t dare! I personally believed that I had a heart of reverence for God, and in my work I didn’t dare to try to find tricks. However, it was only in God’s revelation of the facts that I realized that trying to find new tricks wasn’t what someone dares or doesn’t dare to do—it is entirely determined by an arrogant nature.

Experience Testimonies of Eastern Lightning | God Is the Power of My Life

Experience Testimonies of 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.

Eastern Lightning | Experience Testimonies | God’s Word Led Me to Forge Testimony

Eastern Lightning | Experience Testimonies | God’s Word Led Me to Forge Testimony

I was born in a poor and backward village, and lived in poverty from childhood. After I got married, to make my little life become rich as soon as possible, I worked and labored like crazy. In the end, I fell sick from overwork. The previously healthy me got many illnesses. Since then, I lived in the affliction of illnesses and began to see doctors and seek remedies everywhere. I spent a lot of money, but my illnesses never got better. In the spring of 1999, two sisters preached Almighty God’s end-time work to me. Through reading Almighty God’s word, I knew that Almighty God is the returned Savior Jesus and he can save man from all the miseries. As I read more and more of God’s words, I understood some truths, my outlook on life and my values changed somewhat, and my distressed and oppressed heart was released. Gradually, I recovered from my illnesses. I was deeply grateful to God, so I preached the gospel to testify God’s end-time work actively.

Eastern Lightning | God’s Word Created Miracles of Life

Yang Li    Jiangxi Province

When I was a child, my mother died. I shouldered the family burden at a young age. After getting married, I was even more loaded down with the burden of life. Having fully tasted the hardship and misery of life, I gradually became depressed and silent and fiddled my life away day by day. In 2002, when the brothers and sisters preached Almighty God’s end-time work to me, I accepted it readily and also brought my husband and children before Almighty God. From then on, the brothers and sisters often came to my home to have meetings. We fellowshipped about God’s word and sang hymns and danced to praise God together. I felt great enjoyment in my heart and no longer felt distressed or worried. My children said that I was getting younger and younger and more and more cheerful. My family often read God’s word together. From God’s word, we understood many truths and also knew that God’s eager intention is to save man. To repay God’s love and bring those who had been afflicted by satan like me before God earlier to be saved, I went out to preach the gospel. Unexpectedly, I suffered the CCP government’s cruel persecution because of that….

Eastern Lightning | The Hymn of God's Word "God's Disposition is Lofty and Grand"

God's Disposition is Lofty and Grand

I

God's wrath is that unrighteous things are here to harass mankind, that darkness and evil have their being, as do the things that chase away the truth, and that there are things against the good. His wrath is the symbol of the end of all bad things, and even more the symbol of His holiness, the symbol of His holiness. God's delight is righteousness and light coming into the world, is the destruction of darkness and evil. His delight is bringing light to mankind, and beauty into their life. His delight is righteous; it is the symbol of all things positive, and the symbol of the auspicious, and the symbol of the auspicious.

Eastern Lightning| When You Behold the Spiritual Body of Jesus Will Be When God Has Made Anew Heaven and Earth

　　Almighty God says, "The return of Jesus is a great salvation for those who are capable of accepting the truth, but for those who are unable to accept the truth it is a sign of condemnation. You should choose your own path, and should not blaspheme against the Holy Spirit and reject the truth. You should not be an ignorant and arrogant person, but someone who obeys the guidance of the Holy Spirit and longs for and seeks the truth; only in this way will you benefit. I advise you to tread the path of belief in God with care. Do not jump to conclusions; what’s more, do not be casual and carefree in your belief in God. You should know that, at the very least, those who believe in God should be humble and reverential. Those who have heard the truth and yet turn their nose up at it are foolish and ignorant. Those who have heard the truth and yet carelessly jump to conclusions or condemn it are beset by arrogance. No one who believes in Jesus is qualified to curse or condemn others. You should all be someone who is rational and accepts the truth. Perhaps, having heard the way of truth and read the word of life, you believe that only one in 10,000 of these words are in line with your convictions and the Bible, and then you should continue to seek in that 10,000th of these words. I still advise you to be humble, to not be over-confident, and to not exalt yourself too highly. With your heart holding such meager reverence for God, you will gain greater light. If you carefully examine and repeatedly contemplate these words, you shall understand whether or not they are the truth, and whether or not they are life."

Eastern Lightning| The Kingdom of God on the Earth | Official Trailer "Chinese Choir Episode 13"| Satan vainly hopes to be God. In the spiritual realm, it competes for status with God; on earth, it attacks and afflicts those whom God intends to save through different things. However, God's wisdom is exercised based on Satan's schemes. God allows Satan to afflict man, on the one hand, through which man can know Satan's evil nature, and reject it; on the other hand, whether man has a true faith can be tested. From it, I learned God's unique authority.

　　The Chinese Choir Episode 13 of the Church of Almighty God comprises various performances like Peking Opera, rock, Haozi, Latin dance, and animation. It vividly presents the journey where man, though corrupted and deceived by Satan, receives God’s salvation and returns to Him after rejecting Satan.

Eastern Lightning | The Hymn of God's Word "God Has Appeared in the East of the World With Glory"

God Has Appeared in the East of the World With Glory

I

God is doing work throughout the universe. Thunderous noises in the East do not relent, shaking all denominations and all sects. It's God's voice that brought all to the present. It's His voice that will have all conquered. They fall in this stream, and submit to Him. God has long ago reclaimed glory from the earth, and from the East He has reissued it. Who doesn't long to see the glory of God? Who doesn't await His return with eagerness? Who doesn't thirst for Him to reappear? Who doesn't miss His loveliness? Who would not come toward the light? Who wouldn't see the wealth of Canaan? Who doesn't long for the Redeemer's return? Who doesn't admire the One with omnipotence?

Eastern Lightning| The Twenty-seventh Utterance

Human behavior has never touched My heart, nor has it ever struck Me as precious. In the eyes of man, I am always treating him very strictly, and I am always exercising authority over him. In all of man’s actions, there is scarcely anything done for Me, scarcely anything standing firm before My eyes. Ultimately, everything pertaining to man has imperceptibly crumbled before Me, and only in such a time do My actions become apparent, letting everyone, in their own failure, come to know Me. Human nature remains unchanged. What is in their hearts is not in accordance with My will—it is not what I need. What I detest the most is man’s stubbornness and recidivism, but what force would there be provoking them to continue being a stranger to Me, to always keep a distance, to never act in accordance to My will before Me and oppose Me behind My back instead? Is this their loyalty? Is this their love for Me? Why can’t they repent and be born again? Why are people forever willing to live in the swamp instead of a place free of mud? Could it be that I have mistreated them? Could it be that I have led them astray? Could it be that I lead them to hell? Everyone is willing to live in “hell.” When the light comes, their eyes go instantly blind, as everything they have stored up in them comes from hell. However, they are ignorant of this, and they are just enjoying “infernal pleasures.” They even hold them as treasures close to their chests with an intense fear that I will steal them away, leaving them without “the source of existence.” People fear Me, which is why they stay far away from Me and hate to draw near to Me when I come to earth, for they are unwilling to “cause trouble for themselves,” wishing instead to maintain a peaceful family life so that they might enjoy “happiness on earth.” However I cannot allow them to fulfill their wishes, as destroying their families is precisely what I am here to do. From the moment of My arrival the peace in their homes will be disturbed. I will shatter all the nations, not to mention the families. Who could ever escape My grasp? How could it be that those who receive blessings could escape by virtue of their unwillingness? How could it ever be that those who suffer chastisement could gain My sympathy by virtue of their fear? In all of My words, people have seen My will and seen My actions, but who could ever break free of the entanglement of his own thoughts? Who could ever find a way out from within or without My words?

Eastern Lightning| The Twenty-fifth Utterance

Times passes, and in the blink of an eye today has arrived. Under the guidance of My Spirit, all people live amid My light, and no longer does anyone think of the past or pay heed to yesterday. Who has not ever lived in the present day? Who has not spent wonderful days and months in the kingdom? Who has not lived beneath the sun? Though the kingdom has descended among man, no one has truly experienced its warmth; man only regards it from the outside, uncomprehending of its substance. During the time that My kingdom is formed, who does not rejoice because of it? Can the countries on earth really escape? Is the great red dragon really able to escape thanks to its cunning? My administrative decrees are announced throughout the universe, they institute My authority among all people, and come into effect across the cosmos; nevertheless, man has never truly known this. When My administrative decrees are revealed to the universe is also when My work on earth is about to be completed. When I rule and wield power among all men and when I am recognized as the one God Himself, My kingdom will fully descend to earth. Today, all people have a new beginning upon a new path. They have begun a new life, yet no one has ever truly experienced a life on earth akin to heaven. Do you truly live amid My light? Do you truly live among My words? Who does not give thought to their own prospects? Who is not distressed by their own fate? Who does not struggle amid the sea of affliction? Who does not wish to free themselves? Are the blessings of the kingdom in exchange for man’s hard work on earth? Could all of man’s desires be fulfilled just as he wishes? I once presented the beautiful sight of the kingdom before man, yet he merely stared at it with greedy eyes and there were none who truly aspired to enter it. I once “reported” the true situation on earth to man, but he did no more than listen, and did not face the words that came from My mouth with his heart; I once told man of the circumstances in heaven, yet he treated My words as wonderful tales, and did not truly accept that which My mouth described. Today, scenes of the kingdom flash among man, but has anyone ever “crossed peak and vale” in search of it? Without My urging, man would still not have awoken from his dreams. Is really he so enthralled by his life on earth? Are there really no high standards in his heart?

Eastern Lightning | Almighty God's Word "The Work in the Age of Law"

　　Almighty God says, "During the Age of Law, Jehovah laid down many commandments for Moses to pass on to the Israelites who followed him out of Egypt. Jehovah gave these commandments to the Israelites, which were unrelated to the Egyptians, and they were meant to restrain the Israelites, and were His requirements for them. Whether one observed the Sabbath, whether one respected one’s parents, whether one worshiped idols, and so forth, these were the principles by which one was judged sinful or righteous. Whether one was struck by Jehovah’s fire, or stoned to death, or received Jehovah’s blessing, was determined according to whether one obeyed these commandments. Those who did not observe the Sabbath were stoned to death. Those priests who did not observe the Sabbath were smitten by Jehovah’s fire. Those who did not respect their parents were also stoned to death. This was all commended by Jehovah. Jehovah established His commandments and laws so that as He led their lives, the people would listen to and obey His word and not rebel against Him. He used these laws to control the newborn human race, to lay the foundation for His work to come. And so, because of the work that Jehovah did, the first age was called the Age of Law."

Eastern Lightning| The Twenty-second Utterance

Man lives amid the light, yet he is unaware of the preciousness of the light. He is ignorant of the substance of the light, and of the source of the light, and, moreover, of to whom it belongs. When I conferred the light among man, I immediately examine the conditions among man: Because of the light, all people are changing, and growing, and have left the darkness. I look upon every corner of the universe, and see that the mountains are engulfed in fog, that the waters have frozen amid the cold, and that, because of the coming of the light, people look to the East in order that they might discover something more precious—yet man remains incapable of discerning a clear direction among the mist. Because the whole world is blanketed by fog, when I look on from among the clouds, My existence is never discovered by man; man is searching on earth for something, he seems to be foraging, he intends, it seems, to await My arrival—yet he does not know My day, and can only often look to the glimmer of light in the East. Among all peoples, I seek those who are truly after My own heart. I walk among all peoples, and live among all peoples, but man is safe and sound on earth, and so there are none who are truly after My own heart. People do not know how to care for My will, they cannot see My actions, and they cannot move among the light and be shined upon by the light. Although man ever treasures My words, he is incapable of seeing through the deceitful schemes of Satan; because man’s stature is too small, he is unable to do as his heart wishes. Man has never loved Me sincerely. When I exalt him, he feels himself unworthy, but this does not make him try to satisfy Me. He merely holds the station I have given him in his hands and scrutinizes it; insensible to My loveliness, he instead persists in engorging himself on the blessings of his station. Is this not the deficiency of man? When the mountains move, could they make a detour for the sake of your station? When the waters flow, could they cease before your station? Could the heavens and the earth be reversed by your station? I was once merciful toward man, over and over again—yet no one cherishes or treasures this, they merely listened to it as a story, or read it as a novel. Do My words really not touch the heart of man? Do My utterances really have no effect? Could it be that no one believes in My existence? Man does not love himself; instead, he unites with Satan to attack Me, and uses Satan as an “asset” by which to serve Me. I will penetrate all the deceitful schemes of Satan, and stop the people from earth accepting the deceptions of Satan, so that they do not oppose Me because of Satan’s existence.

Eastern Lightning| The Twenty-first Utterance

Man falls in the midst of My light, and stands fast because of My salvation. When I bring salvation to the entire universe, man tries to find ways to enter among the flow of My restoration, yet there are many who are washed away without trace by this torrent of restoration; there are many who are drowned and engulfed by the torrential waters; and there are many, too, who stand fast amid the torrent, who have never lost their sense of direction, and who have thus followed the torrent until today. I advance in step with man, yet he has still never known Me; he knows only clothes that I wear on the outside, and is ignorant of the riches hidden within Me. Though I provide to man and give to him each day, he is incapable of true acceptance, is unable to receive all the riches given by Me. Nothing of man’s corruption escapes My notice; to Me, his inner world is like the bright moon on the water. I am not playing around with man, nor going through the motions with him; it is just that man is unable to take responsibility for himself, and thus the whole of mankind has always been depraved, and even today remains incapable of extricating itself from such depravity. Poor, pitiable mankind! Why is it that man loves Me, but is unable to follow the intentions of My Spirit? Have I really not revealed Myself to mankind? Has mankind really never seen My face? Could it be that I have shown too little mercy toward mankind? O the rebels of all mankind! They must be destroyed beneath My feet, they must vanish amid My chastisement, and they must, on the day on which My great enterprise is completed, be cast out from among mankind, so that the whole of mankind knows their ugly face. That man rarely sees My face or hears My voice is because the whole world is too turbid, and its clamor is too great, and thus man is too lazy to search for My face and try to understand My heart. Is this not the cause of man’s corruption? Is this not why man is in need? The whole of mankind has always been among My provision; if it were not so, if I were not merciful, who would have survived until today? The riches in Me are without equal, yet all disaster is also held within My hands—and who is able to escape from disaster whenever they please? Do the prayers of man allow him to do so? Or the tears in man’s heart? Man has never truly prayed to Me, and so among the whole of mankind no one has ever lived their entire life amid the light of truth, and people only live amid the fitful appearance of the light. It is this that has led to mankind’s need today.

Eastern Lightning| The Twentieth Utterance

The riches of My household are without number and unfathomable, yet man has never come to Me to enjoy them. He is incapable of enjoying them on his own, nor of protecting himself using his own efforts; instead, he has always placed his trust in others. Of all those I look upon, no one has ever sought Me deliberately and directly. They all come before Me at the urging of others, following the majority, and they are unwilling to pay the price or spend the time to enrich their lives. Hence, among man, no one has ever lived in reality, and all people live lives that are without meaning. Because of the long-established ways and customs of man, the bodies of all people are suffused with the odor of earthly soil. As a result, man has grown callous; insensible to the world’s desolation, he instead busies himself with the work of enjoying himself on this frozen earth. Man’s life has not the slightest warmth, and is devoid of any human flavor or light—yet he has ever inured himself to it, abiding a lifetime bereft of worth in which he rushes about without achieving anything. In the blink of an eye, the day of death draws near, and man dies a bitter death. In this world, he has never accomplished anything, or gained anything—he only hurriedly arrives, and hurriedly departs. None of those in My eyes have ever brought anything, or taken anything away, and so man feels that the world is unfair. Yet none are willing to hurry away. They merely await the day when My promise from heaven will suddenly come among man, allowing them, at the time when they have gone astray, to once more behold the way of eternal life. Thus, man fixates upon My every deed and action to see whether I have really kept My promise to him. When he is in the midst of affliction, or in extreme pain, or beset by trials and about to fall, man curses the day of his birth so that he may sooner escape his troubles and move to another ideal place. But when the trials have passed, man is filled with joy. He celebrates the day of his birth on earth and asks that I bless his day of birth; at this time, man no longer mentions the oaths of the past, deeply fearful that death will come upon him a second time. When My hands raise up the world, people dance with joy, they are no longer sorrowful, and they all depend on Me. When I cover My face with My hands, and press people beneath the ground, they immediately feel short of breath, and are barely able to survive. They all cry out to Me, terrified that I will destroy them, for they all wish to behold the day when I am glorified. Man takes My day as the principal of his existence, and it is only because people long for the day when My glory will arrive that mankind has survived until today. The blessing decreed by My mouth is that those who are born during the last days are fortunate enough to behold all of My glory.