Christ of the last days has carried out His work in Mainland China for about 20 years, which has shaken all denominations and sects. There is a question greatly puzzling the religious world: Now almost every Christian denomination is violently condemning and attacking the “Eastern Lightning,” and they spare no human, material, and financial resources and resort various means to publicize how to guard against and shut out the Eastern Lightning, and even join hands with the CCP in arresting and persecuting Almighty God and the brothers and sisters of the Church of Almighty God. But why do more and more believers accept and follow Almighty God under such great oppression and opposition? Why do those who have good humanity and used to have a sincere belief in the Lord have followed Almighty God unwaveringly despite the rejection from their relatives and the danger of imprisonment? Why is it that the Eastern Lightning is so overwhelming that it cannot be crippled or broken up by any forces but instead grows rapidly like a bamboo shoot after a spring rain?
Actually, all those religious people who are familiar with the Bible ignore a very important truth: If it is from God, it must thrive; if it is from man, it will perish. Consider this: If He were not the only true God appearing personally, who could break through all of the hindrance, resistance, and persecution like the walls of copper and steel? If the Holy Spirit did not work and lead, who could have the authority and power to make all peoples stream to the mountain and all denominations become one? If He were not the appearance of the only true God, who could bring the truth and enable people to know God? Who could show people the way of salvation? Who could judge and conquer mankind? Those in all denominations and sects never expect that Almighty God whom they boldly condemn, resist, and persecute is exactly the returned Lord Jesus they have been anxiously longing for.
In the Bible, it is written that only the Lamb can open the scroll and break the seven seals. Almighty God—Christ of the last days—has expressed millions of words. These words disclose all the mysteries of God’s six-thousand-year management plan as well as the background, inside truth, and substance of each stage of God’s work, and they also judge man directing at his corrupt nature and true condition of corruption. And His words also tell us the inside story of the Bible, the mystery of God’s incarnation, the clear will and specific requirements of God for man, the history and future destination of mankind, and so on. The words of Almighty God not only feast man’s eyes and broaden man’s horizons, but also enable man to know God’s work, God’s disposition and substance, and even more can transform man’s disposition and purify them. They are exactly the truths that can enable the corrupt mankind to be saved and perfected. God’s sheep hear God’s voice. Those humble and obedient believers have been conquered by God’s words in the process of their seeking and investigating the true way. They truly see that no human doctrines and knowledge can replace or compare with God’s present work and words, and confirm that Almighty God brimming with righteousness, majesty, and wrath is the Son of man who is prophesied to come back in the last days. They see that the kingdom has already descended on the earth, and clearly recognize that the three stages of work in the Age of Law, the Age of Grace, and the Age of Kingdom are all done by one God, and done by God Himself, which is absolutely true. Only if man equips himself with the truth expressed by Almighty God and experiences His work of the last days will he be able to set on the right track of belief in God, come to know God, and be saved by God. As such, they fall down before God and return to God, and are willing to follow God to the end even at cost of their lives. That is the very reason why more and more true believers in God unwaveringly follow the Eastern Lightning without fearing any hardships and danger.
In fact, God’s work can’t be judged to be right or wrong, and it can only be said as new one or old one, former one or latter one, for the inherent principle of God’s work is this: God’s work is always new and never old, and never follows any doctrines. The new work and the old work are not contradictory but complementary, and the new work is higher than the old one and follows on from the old one. If we calm down and seek and examine it, we will have some knowledge of the three stages of work in God’s six-thousand-year management plan, and will find it not so hard to understand that the work that Almighty God—Christ of the last days—has carried out is based on the work in the Age of Grace and follows the stream of Jesus’ work, and that it does not stand alone, much less is a different way. Then you will be able to understand why only Almighty God’s work of the last days can purify and transform man and enable man to completely break free from the bond of the dark influence of Satan and be saved by God.
Let us look back on the situation at the end of the Age of Law. Though people knew what sins were, they couldn’t refrain themselves from sinning, unable to keep the law. As they committed more sins and the offerings became less, people, who were trapped in sins and unable to escape from them, gradually lost their reverence for God, and they even offered the blind or lame oxen and sheep on the altar. This put them in danger of being cursed by the law. In such circumstances, for God to save mankind, He must do a new stage of work, for only the Creator—God Himself—could save the corrupt, fallen mankind. So God was incarnated as Jesus and carried out the work of the Age of Grace. He was crucified on the cross to bear man’s sins and accomplished the redemption work. Moreover, Jesus taught people to be patient and forbear with others, love their neighbors as themselves, and take the cross and follow Him, and also required them to practice bread-breaking, wine-drinking, feet-washing, head-covering, and so on. The truths He asked people to practice were more and His requirements of them were higher than in the Age of Law. He showed man the direction ahead in the new age and the path to follow, so that they could enjoy the abundance of God’s grace and be redeemed by God. The work Jesus did in the Age of Grace fulfilled the law and put an end to the Age of Law which lasted two thousand years, and is a new and high work on the foundation of the work done by Jehovah.
Thanks to the appearance of Jesus Christ incarnate, the whole mankind was redeemed and man was justified by faith. As long as one believed in Him, he would belong to sin no more and be saved. Although man’s sins were forgiven, the root of sin, that is, man’s satanic nature of resisting and betraying God, was not resolved. Thus, even though God did not remember man’s transgressions or treat man according to his transgressions, man, living in the flesh, still didn’t break free of the bondage of sins completely, and he could only live in the endless cycle of committing sins and confessing them. As man has not truly got rid of sins or become holy, his satanic disposition will be betrayed spontaneously under suitable circumstances. It is just as Paul said, “… to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not.” From this we can see that “be saved” does not mean that man has been completely gained by God. That is to say, the redemption work in the Age of Grace alone can’t make man an overcomer, for God doesn’t do the work of removing man’s corrupt satanic dispositions. If man always remains in the stage of work of the Age of Grace and always holds on to those shallow and old practices without any changes, he cannot become a holy person or have an increasing knowledge of God. Instead, he can only remain stagnant and his life will cease to grow, and he will be farther away from God and finally be taken away by Satan. So, in order to save man completely from the influence of Satan, God must personally do another stage of work, which is more deep and thorough, to supply man with the word of life, so that he will know God’s work, God’s management, God’s almightiness and wisdom, God’s substance, God’s disposition, and what God has and is, and will understand all the truths and set upon the right way of human life. In this way, man’s old conceptions and disposition will be changed, and his sinful nature will be removed, that is, the satanic rules and philosophies and the poisons of the great red dragon hidden in man’s blood and marrow will be cast off, and he will become one who has the truth and humanity and who truly obeys God. Now Almighty God is doing this very work, the work of conclusion. He brings more truths to man on the foundation of Jesus’ work in the Age of Grace, and moreover, He promulgates the commandments and decrees in the Age of Kingdom. He makes a higher requirement of man than in the Age of Grace: He asks man to pursue to understand the truth of God’s word, know God’s disposition and what God has and is, know man’s satanic nature of disobeying and resisting God, practice the truth and live by God’s word after understanding the truth, and thus attain the transformation in his disposition. Hence, man will become holy and recover the life of worshiping God as a created being and enter the wonderful destination God has prepared for him.
The Bible has long prophesied God’s salvation of the last days. In First Peter 1:5, it says: “Who are kept by the power of God through faith to salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.” This verse clearly foretells that God has prepared the salvation of the last time for those who follow Jesus. Then, what is the salvation of the last time? The Bible says: “For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God….” (1 Peter 4:17) “And he had in his right hand seven stars: and out of his mouth went a sharp two edged sword: and his countenance was as the sun shines in his strength.” (Revelation 1:16) “And I saw another angel fly in the middle of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach to them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people, Saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters.” (Revelation 14:6-7) From these verses, we can see that the everlasting gospel refers to the work of judgment God does in the last days, that is, the work of God judging and purifying man with the words like a double-edged sword. This is exactly the judgment before the great white throne spoken of in Revelation, the work of determining the ending and destination of man. Almighty God says: “When it comes to the word ‘judgment,’ you will think of the words that Jehovah spoke to all the places and the words of rebuke that Jesus spoke to the Pharisees. Though these words are stern, they are not God’s judgment of man; these words are only those spoken by God within different environments, that is, different settings, and they are unlike the words spoken by Christ as He judges man in the last days. In the last days, Christ uses a variety of truths to teach man, reveal the essence of man, and dissect his words and deeds. These words comprise various truths, such as man’s duty, how man should obey God, how man should be loyal to God, how man ought to live out the normal humanity, as well as the wisdom and disposition of God, and so on. These words are all focused on the essence of man and his corrupt disposition. In particular, those words that reveal how man spurns God are spoken in regards to how man is an embodiment of Satan and an enemy force against God. When God does the work of judgment, He does not simply make clear the nature of man with just a few words, but carries out revelation, dealing, and pruning over the long term. Such manner of revelation, dealing, and pruning cannot be substituted with ordinary words but with the truth that man does not possess at all. Only such manner of work is deemed judgment; only through such judgment can man be persuaded, be thoroughly convinced into submission to God, and gain true knowledge of God. What the work of judgment brings about is man’s understanding of the true face of God and the truth about his rebelliousness. The work of judgment allows man to gain much understanding of the will of God, of the purpose of God’s work, and of the mysteries that could not be understood by man. It also allows man to recognize and know his corrupt substance and the roots of his corruption, as well as to discover the ugliness of man. These effects are all brought about by the work of judgment, for the substance of such work is actually the work of opening up the truth, way, and life of God to all those who have faith in Him. This work is the work of judgment done by God.” (from “Christ Does the Work of Judgment With the Truth” in The Word Appears in the Flesh) These words of God show us this: In the last days, God uses His word to do the work of judgment so that man will better understand His will, have a true knowledge of Him, know the root and essence of man’s corruption, truly gain the truth, the way, and the life that Christ of the last days bestows on him, and be completely gained and saved by God. This is a more thorough salvation work built on the redemption work of Jesus, and is also the last stage of work to conclude God’s six-thousand-year management plan, that is, the work of conquering and perfecting man. It is exactly the salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.
As people lack the knowledge of God and do not comprehend or understand the deeds and will of God, they always guard against and shun the new work of God or give it a wide berth. The true followers of God, however, are not so. They have a place for God in their hearts, and can put their notions aside and calm down and seek and examine it, so they receive God’s enlightenment and their attitude toward the second incarnate God changes from conception to knowledge, from opposition to acceptance, from rejection to love. They are just like the disciples and Jewish people who recognized the Lord Jesus as the One coming from heaven. Although they are confronted with various blockades, hindrances, restrictions, oppression, and persecution from the religious world, the media, and the political world, once they recognize the true way, they follow it firmly and closely. This is the power of the work of the true God! Now the kingdom gospel of Almighty God has already spread across the Mainland China like splitting a bamboo, and is expanding to the entire universe. Brothers and sisters, are you not willing to receive all the truths God bestows upon man and live in the light? Do you really not understand the real meaning of the Lord Jesus’ repeated warning to people in the last days? Are you not afraid to be one who will regret forever for missing God’s full salvation? What are you still waiting for?
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