#11CCP Intends Western Scholars to Justify Its Persecuting Religion. Backfired! - Massimo Introvigne

#11CCP Intends Western Scholars to Justify Its Persecuting Religion. Backfired! - Massimo Introvigne - Eastern Lightning

Since the CCP took power, it has spared no effort in brutally repressing and eradicating religious belief, and has been creating public scandals for this purpose. In recent years, the CCP has extended its evil hands toward foreign countries. In the red-titled document, The Key Work in 2017 of Henan Provincial 610 Office, which was issued on March 31, 2017, it reads, “Mobilize influential voices of American and Western experts, scholars, journalists, and patriotic emigrant leaders to generate favorable media comments overseas.” In June and September of 2017 respectively, the CCP had held two international anti-cult academic conferences successively in Henan and Hong Kong. Prof. Massimo Introvigne, an Italian sociologist, the founder and managing director of the Center for Studies on New Religions (CESNUR), who was invited to both conferences as a prominent expert, makes comment on how the CCP clamps down on religious belief under the pretext of banning cults as follows.

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About the Church of Almighty God

The Church of Almighty God was founded by the returned Lord Jesus personally in the last days 

Eastern Lightning | What is the nature of the problem of man not knowing the significance of God’s name and not accepting God’s new name?

Eastern Lightning |  What is the nature of the problem of man not knowing the significance of God’s name and not accepting God’s new name?

　　Relevant Words of God:

　In each period of time, God will begin new work, and in each period, there will be a new beginning among man. If man only abides by the truths that “Jehovah is God” and “Jesus is Christ,” which are truths that only apply to a single age, then man will never keep up with the work of the Holy Spirit, and will forever be incapable of gaining the work of the Holy Spirit. Regardless of how God works, man follows without the slightest doubt, and he follows closely. In this way, how could man be eliminated by the Holy Spirit? Regardless of what God does, as long as man is certain that it is the work of the Holy Spirit, and cooperates in the work of the Holy Spirit without any misgivings, and tries to meet the requirements of God, then how could he be punished? The work of God has never ceased, His footsteps have never halted, and prior to the completion of His work of management, He has always been busy, and never stops. But man is different: Having gained but a modicum of the Holy Spirit’s work, he treats it as if it will never change; having gained a little knowledge, he does not go forth to follow the footsteps of God’s newer work; having seen but a bit of God’s work, he immediately prescribes God as a particular wooden figure, and believes that God will always remain in this form that he sees before him, that it was like this in the past and will always be thus in the future; having gained but a superficial knowledge, man is so proud that he forgets himself and begins to wantonly proclaim the disposition and being of God that simply do not exist; and having fastened upon one stage of the Holy Spirit’s work, no matter what kind of person it is that proclaims the new work of God, man does not accept it. These are people who cannot accept the new work of the Holy Spirit; they are too conservative, and incapable of accepting new things. Such people are those who believe in God but also reject God. Man believes that the Israelites were wrong to “only believe in Jehovah and not believe in Jesus,” yet the majority of people act out a role in which they “only believe in Jehovah and reject Jesus” and “long for the return of the Messiah, but oppose the Messiah who is called Jesus.” No wonder, then, that people still live under the domain of Satan after accepting one stage of the work of the Holy Spirit, and still do not receive God’s blessings. Is this not the result of man’s rebelliousness? … Even though they have the “utmost loyalty” toward the words spoken by God, their words and actions still feel so disgusting because they oppose the work of the Holy Spirit, and commit deceit and evil. Those who do not follow to the very end, who do not keep up with the work of the Holy Spirit, and who only cleave to the old work have not only failed to achieve loyalty to God, but on the contrary, have become those who oppose God, have become those who are rejected by the new age, and who will be punished. Are there any more pitiable than them?

from “God’s Work and Man’s Practice” in The Word Appears in the Flesh

Question 13: Some people ask: We believe that the Lord has absolved our sins, and that if someone is saved once, then they are forever saved. Why must we accept God’s work of judgment in the last days before being able to be saved and brought into the kingdom of heaven?

Answers:

All believers think: The Lord Jesus redeemed us when He died on the cross, so we have already been absolved of all sin. The Lord no longer sees us as sinners. We have become righteous through our faith, and once saved, we are saved forever. As long as we endure until the end, when the Lord returns, we will be directly raptured into the heavenly kingdom. Well, is that the truth? Did God ever give any evidence in His words to back up this claim? If this viewpoint is not in line with the truth, what will the consequences be? We who believe in the Lord should use His own words as our basis for all things. This is especially true when it comes to the question of how to treat the Lord’s return. Under no circumstances can we treat His return based on man’s conceptions and imaginings. The consequences of such behavior are too serious to even contemplate. It’s the same as when the Pharisees crucified the Lord Jesus on the cross while waiting for the Messiah to come. What would the outcome be? The Lord Jesus has completed the work of redeeming mankind. This much is true, but is God’s work of salvation for mankind finished? Does that mean that all of us believers in the Lord Jesus qualify to be raptured into the heavenly kingdom? No one knows the answer to this question. God once said, “Not every one that said to me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that does the will of my Father which is in heaven” (Mat 7:21), “you shall therefore be holy, for I am holy” (Lev 11:45). According to God’s words, we can be sure that those who enter the heavenly kingdom have freed themselves from sin and have been cleansed. They are the ones who do God’s will, obey God, love God, and revere Him. Because God is holy and those who enter the heavenly kingdom shall live together with Him, if we have not been cleansed how could we be qualified to enter the heavenly kingdom?! Therefore, some people’s notion that we believers have been absolved from sin and we can enter the heavenly kingdom is a complete misunderstanding of God’s will. It originated from our imaginations; it’s our own conception. The Lord Jesus absolved us of sin; that is not false. However, the Lord Jesus never said that we have been totally cleansed through this absolution and are now eligible to enter the heavenly kingdom. No one can deny this fact. Then why do all the faithful think everyone who has been absolved from sin can enter the heavenly kingdom? What do they use as evidence? How do they support this claim? Many people say that they base this belief on the words of Paul and the other apostles, as written in the Bible. Well then, let me ask you, do the words of Paul and the other apostles represent the words of the Lord Jesus? Do they represent the words of the Holy Spirit? Man’s words may be in the Bible, but does this mean they are words of God? There is one fact we can clearly see from the Bible: The people that are praised by God can hear His voice and obey His work. They are the ones who follow His way, are the ones eligible to inherit what God has promised. This is a fact that no one can deny. We all know that even though the sins of us the faithful have been forgiven, we have still not been cleansed; we still sin and resist God often. God clearly told us, “you shall therefore be holy, for I am holy” (Lev 11:45), “Not every one that said to me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that does the will of my Father which is in heaven” (Mat 7:21). From God’s words, we can be sure that not all those whose sins have been forgiven are eligible to enter the heavenly kingdom. People must be cleansed; they must become doers of God’s will before they can enter the heavenly kingdom. This is an irrefutable fact. Apparently, understanding God’s will is not nearly as simple as it seems. We don’t become cleansed just because our sins have been forgiven. We must first obtain some reality of the truth and earn God’s praise. Then we will be eligible to enter the heavenly kingdom. If we do not love the truth and in fact are weary of it and even hate it, if we only pursue rewards and the crown but do not care for God’s will, much less to say do God’s will, are we not doing evil? Does the Lord praise this sort of person? If so, we are just like those hypocritical Pharisees: Even though we’ve been forgiven of sin, we are still not able to enter the heavenly kingdom. This is an indisputable fact.

Almighty God's Word "You Ought to Prepare a Sufficiency of Good Deeds for Your Destination"

Almighty God's Word "You Ought to Prepare a Sufficiency of Good Deeds for Your Destination"

Almighty God says, "My mercy is for those who love Me and deny themselves. And the punishment brought upon the wicked is proof of My righteous disposition and much more, testimony to My wrath. When disaster comes, famine and plague will befall all those who oppose Me and they will weep. Those who have committed all kinds of evil during their many years as My follower shall not be guiltless; they too will live in a constant state of panic and fear amidst the disaster that has scarcely been seen through the ages. And all My followers who have been loyal to no other shall rejoice and applaud My might. They will experience ineffable contentment and live in a joy that I have never before bestowed upon mankind. For I treasure the good deeds of men and abhor their evil deeds. Since I first began to lead mankind, I have been hoping for a group of men who are of the same mind with Me. And I have never forgotten those not of the same mind; I have loathed them in My heart, awaiting only the opportunity to see My retribution administered on those wrongdoers and relish in such. My day has finally come and I need no longer wait!"

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Bible Verses for Reference:

“Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Mat: 4:17).

“And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem” (Luk 24:47).

“And if any man hear my words, and believe not, I judge him not: for I came not to judge the world, but to save the world. He that rejects me, and receives not my words, has one that judges him: the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day” (Jhn 12:47-48).

“For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God” (1Pe 4:17).

Relevant Words of God:

In the beginning, Jesus spread the gospel and preached the way of repentance, then went on to baptize man, heal sickness, and cast out demons. In the end, He redeemed mankind from sin and completed His work for the entire age.

from “The Mystery of the Incarnation (1)” in The Word Appears in the Flesh

Question 12: When the Lord Jesus was crucified He said, “It is finished.” So some people believe that God’s work of salvation is already completely finished, and that we do not require God to do a stage of work of judgment in the last days. So exactly how should we understand God’s work to save mankind?

Answer:

  Most people in the religious world think: When the Lord Jesus was crucified and said before He expired “It is finished,” this proved that God’s work of salvation was entirely complete, and there would be no more work. Thus, upon hearing that God is doing a new stage of work in the last days, many people absolutely deny it. They think it an impossible thing. Well, when it comes down to it, what is the truth of the matter? When the Lord Jesus was crucified, did it or did it not represent that God’s work of saving mankind was entirely “finished”? Did the Lord saying “It is finished” mean that all the Lord’s work of redeeming mankind was accomplished, or did it mean that all God’s work of saving mankind was accomplished?

The Expression of Christ of the Last Days | God's Word "Have You Come Alive?" | Eastern Lightning

The Expression of Christ of the Last Days | God's Word "Have You Come Alive?" | Eastern Lightning

Almighty God says, "The living are saved by God, they have been judged and chastised by God, they are willing to devote themselves and are happy to lay down their lives to God, and they would gladly dedicate their whole lives to God. Only when the living bear testimony to God can Satan be shamed, only the living can spread the gospel work of God, only the living are after God’s heart, and only the living are real people."

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Nine International NGOs Jointly Condemn the CCP's Persecution of The Church of Almighty God

Nine International NGOs Jointly Condemn the CCP's Persecution of The Church of Almighty God

On November 28, 2017, nine international non-governmental organizations, including Coordination of Associations and Individuals for Freedom of Conscience (CAP Freedom of Conscience), the Center for Studies on New Religions (CESNUR), and the European Interreligious Forum for Religious Freedom (EIFRF), jointly issued a statement condemning the CCP's efforts to attack and discredit The Church of Almighty God by using the media and swaying public opinion in South Korea, Hong Kong, Taiwan and other regions. The nine NGOs pointed out that "The fact that several articles against The Church of Almighty God appeared at the same time in different countries cannot be a coincidence. It is part of an effort by the Chinese regime to hide the fact that it violates the provisions of international conventions on religious liberty it has subscribed, something for which it keeps being condemned by international organizations." The NGOs also urged responsible media outlets to consult the existing academic literature on The Church of Almighty God, and to refrain from repeatedly reposting false news spread by the Chinese regime.

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