By Zhongai, South Korea
I have believed that God exists since childhood. When I was in middle school, my classmate took me to the church. I liked the atmosphere there: reading the Bible, listening to the sermons, singing hymns of praise, and saying morning prayers. I also liked attending all kinds of meetings. I never doubted about anything recorded in the Bible. I believed that God created the heavens and earth and all things; I believed that the Lord Jesus was crucified to redeem us humans; I even more believed that the Lord Jesus would surely come on a white cloud to bring me to the kingdom of heaven in the last days. Meanwhile, I was preparing for entering the kingdom of heaven in the future …
In 2009, I attended worship in a Presbyterian Church in South Korea. At that time, the pastors organized the young people of the church to conduct a short-term missionary work in India. I signed up for it. When all was ready, I bought a ticket and started the short-term mission trip to India. On the first day in India, the missionaries took us to visit the local attractions. In the following several days, we went to distribute food to the children in the slums and the orphanages. Besides that, we bathed and did the cleaning for the children, and told them the stories about God. And then, we preached the gospel by holding public performances in the refugee villages. But after that, we didn’t follow up the villagers or shepherd them, nor did we build any church. On the last day in India, we went to the water park, ate in a restaurant that the poor could not afford to go to, and then went shopping. On my way back home from India, I thought a lot. I was satisfied according to flesh, for I had eaten, drunk, visited and performed, but I felt empty in my spirit. I found that this kind of missionary work was just a case of going through formalities, and it had no effects at all. Because of that, I was confused: Is doing so really in accord with the Lord’s will? Afterward, the church organized another missionary work in India. This time, I quitted.
Although I had believed in the Lord for many years, there were great fluctuations in my faith to Him. In times of ease, I was full of faith and willing to expend for the Lord. And I thanked the Lord and relied on Him in everything. But in times of adversity, I was merely thinking of how to safeguard my own interests against being harmed. The Lord Jesus required us to be tolerant and patient toward others, but I always couldn’t get along well with my sister at home. I even complained why I had such a sister who always borrowed money from me but seldom returned. Even if there were times when she returned the money, she called me a cheapskate, so I often quarreled with her for that. I just restrained myself and tried to be tolerant and patient with her. Besides, I often prayed to God that I was willing to deny myself and bear the cross to follow Jesus. However, I never acted these out. I wondered why it was so difficult for me to put these into practice.
In May, 2016, once in the prayer hall, I heard the Christians of the missions committee, who came from the various churches, said that the prophecies of the Lord’s return in the Bible had basically been fulfilled. They also said that the Christians should watch with one accord, give testimonies of faith through gospel, prayer, and missionary work, and attentively wait for the Lord’s coming to bring us into the kingdom of heaven. After listening to what they had said, I was touched. I recalled recently the media had frequently reported that disasters happened in various places, and that some iniquities increased in the church. I thought: It proved that the last days have arrived and the Lord Jesus is coming. So I should indeed watch and wait for the Lord’s coming to bring me into the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, I expectedly signed up for the courses organized by the missions committee and then went abroad again to put them into practice… However, in the course of study, I found that the brothers and sisters lacked life supply because the sermons of the missionaries were the same old teachings, and their understandings were dry and banal. I wondered why these missionaries were always preaching the same sermons. Before they finished the first sentence, I knew what they were going to say next. To be honest, after taking the courses, I didn’t gain the slightest faith. Instead, I was more negative and weaker. I was thirsty in the spirit but could not be watered. I often had nothing to say in my prayers. At that time, each time I was negative and didn’t know how to pray, I would recite the Lord’s Prayer, which would make me a little comforted and moved in my heart. Soon, a year passed. The messages from the missions committee were always nothing new but of the same courses and activities. I didn’t want to participate in them anymore, but I didn’t know what I should participate in. I was so lost and confused.
In February, 2017, I met a sister from China when I was mailing something in the post office. While chatting with her, I knew she was a Christian, too. We had a good and congenial talk, and exchanged our phone numbers. Later, the sister introduced me to her cousin, Brother Jin. Through our fellowship, I found that Brother Jin understood a lot about the Bible and his understanding of many verses was so enlightening. When it came to the Lord’s return in the last days, Brother Jin asked me, “Sister, how do you understand the return of the Lord Jesus?” I said, “It was prophesied in Revelation: ‘Behold, he comes with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen’ (Revelation 1:7). So I think the Lord will come with clouds.” Brother Jin gently said, “There are many prophesies about the Lord’s return in the Bible. Apart from the saying of the Lord’s coming with clouds, there are also other sayings in the Bible. For example, ‘Be you therefore ready also: for the Son of man comes at an hour when you think not’ (Luke 12:40). ‘Behold, I come as a thief’ (Revelation 16:15). All of these are prophesies about the Lord’s return. They must be fulfilled, because the Lord is faithful and His words never fail. But these prophesies seem to be a little contradictory, so how will they be fulfilled?”
I felt what the brother had fellowshiped was something new. I thought to myself: Having faith in the Lord for all these years, I always believe that the Lord will come with clouds, but ignore the prophesy that the Lord will come as a thief. In that case, doesn’t it mean that no man knows the day that the Lord returns? Many people can’t understand this question Brother Jin asked.
Brother Jin seemed to have read my mind and said, “These two verses mean that the Lord’s return is separated into the two stages: secret arrival at first and then open arrival. The Lord comes like a thief, which means the Lord arrives secretly as the Son of man. It is the same as the Lord Jesus was incarnated as the Son of man to appear and do His work. Outwardly, the Lord Jesus was an ordinary man. No one knew that He is God, the Messiah who was prophesied in the Bible. When the Lord Jesus was preaching and working, only those who could hear God’s voice were able to know that the Lord Jesus was Christ, the appearance of God, through His work and words. In the last days, God becomes flesh again as the Son of man to fulfill the work of ‘judgment beginning with the house of God’ said in the prophesy, which also fulfills the words ‘For the Father judges no man, but has committed all judgment to the Son: … And has given him authority to execute judgment also, because he is the Son of man’ (John 5:22, 27). Today, God is incarnated and arrives secretly among men to speak and utter His words, performing the work of judgment beginning with the house of God, purifying and perfecting those who return before His throne after hearing His voice. God will make complete a group of overcomers before the disaster. Then, He will send down the great disaster to refine and chastise those who don’t accept His judgment of the last days. After that, God will openly appear before all men by descending on a cloud. By then, it will completely fulfill the prophesy in Revelation 1:7, ‘Behold, he comes with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him.’ Those who pierced God are those that don’t seek to hear God’s voice but condemn and resist God’s flesh during the period in which God is incarnated and descends secretly to do His work in the last days. At that time, they will see this flesh they have resisted and condemned is exactly the Savior Jesus they have been eagerly expecting for many years, and they will beat their chests and weep and gnash their teeth. So, they will only end up in being punished.
Then Brother Jin read me a passage of God’s word: “Many people may not care what I say, but I still want to tell every so-called saint who follows Jesus that, when you see Jesus descend from the heaven upon a white cloud with your own eyes, this will be the public appearance of the Sun of righteousness. Perhaps that will be a time of great excitement for you, yet you should know that the time when you witness Jesus descend from the heaven is also the time when you go down to hell to be punished. It will herald the end of God’s management plan, and will be when God rewards the good and punishes the wicked. For the judgment of God will have ended before man sees signs, when there is only the expression of truth. Those who accept the truth and do not seek signs, and thus have been purified, shall have returned before the throne of God and entered the Creator’s embrace. Only those who persist in the belief that ‘The Jesus who does not ride upon a white cloud is a false Christ’ shall be subjected to everlasting punishment, for they only believe in the Jesus who exhibits signs, but do not acknowledge the Jesus who proclaims severe judgment and releases the true way of life. And so it can only be that Jesus deals with them when He openly returns upon a white cloud. They are too stubborn, too confident in themselves, too arrogant. How could such degenerates be rewarded by Jesus? 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.”
Brother Jin then fellowshiped, “The work done by God’s incarnation in the last days during His secret descent among man is a crucial stage of work in God’s perfection of man. All those that accept God’s secret work and are perfected have received God’s special grace and are the most blessed. So, when the Lord descends secretly, we should prepare to be a wise virgin to carefully hear God’s voice and welcome the Lord’s appearance. Only in this way will we be able to attend the wedding feast of the Lamb.”
After hearing Brother Jin’s fellowship, I was utterly convinced and my confusion was resolved, too. I knew that the Lord’s return is separated into two stages: At first, it’s secret; and then, it’s open. This is really a mystery! How could I not find it even though I have read the Bible for so many years? At that time, I thought what Brother Jin had said was right. Before, I didn’t understand this verse, so I went to ask the pastor. But he couldn’t explain it clearly, either. It turned out that this verse refers to all those that refuse to accept God’s salvation of the last days and resist God’s incarnation in the last days. If Brother Jin had not fellowshiped with me, I would have still been obsessively waiting for the Lord Jesus to appear openly to all men while riding on the clouds. I was so foolish and ignorant! Not until then did I know: The stage of God’s hidden work is a good chance for us to accept the judgment and chastisement of God’s word, and to get rid of our corrupt disposition and be saved. When God descends on the clouds and appears to all people publicly, His work of salvation will already be complete and God will have started to reward the good and punish the wicked. At that time, it will be too late for me to be heartbroken with regret.
Later, Brother Jin read another two passages of God’s words to me: “When Jesus came into the world of man, He brought the Age of Grace and ended the Age of Law. During the last days, God once more became flesh, and when He became flesh this time, He ended the Age of Grace and brought the Age of Kingdom. All those who accept the second incarnation of God will be led into the Age of Kingdom, and be able to personally accept the guidance of God. Though Jesus did much work among man, He only completed the redemption of all mankind and became man’s sin offering, and did not rid man of all his corrupt disposition. Fully saving man from the influence of Satan not only required Jesus to take on the sins of man as the sin offering, but also required God to do greater work to completely rid man of his disposition, which has been corrupted by Satan. And so, after man was forgiven his sins, God has returned to flesh to lead man into the new age, and begun the work of chastisement and judgment, and this work has brought man into a higher realm. All those who submit under His dominion shall enjoy higher truth and receive greater blessings. They shall truly live in the light, and shall gain the truth, the way, and the life.” “A sinner such as you, who has just been redeemed, and has not been changed, or been perfected by God, can you be after God’s heart? For you, you who are still of your old self, it is true that you were saved by Jesus, and that you are not counted as a sinner because of the salvation of God, but this does not prove that you are not sinful, and are not impure. How can you be saintly if you have not been changed? Within, you are beset by impurity, selfish and mean, yet you still wish to descend with Jesus—you should be so lucky! You have missed a step in your belief in God: You have merely been redeemed, but have not been changed. For you to be after God’s heart, God must personally do the work of changing and cleansing you; if you are only redeemed, you will be incapable of attaining sanctity. In this way you will be unqualified to share in the good blessings of God, for you have missed out a step in God’s work of managing man, which is the key step of changing and perfecting. And so you, a sinner who has just been redeemed, are incapable of directly inheriting God’s inheritance.” After reading God’s word, he continued the fellowship, “Thanks to the redemptive work of the Lord Jesus in the Age of Grace, we are forgiven for our sins, but our sinful nature is still deeply rooted within us, so that we still oppose and resist God through sinning, which means we have yet to be cleaned. God is righteous and holy. How can people like us who often live in sin and are bound by it be qualified to enter the kingdom of heaven? Therefore, in the last days, God becomes flesh again to express the truth and perform the work of judgment to remove our sins, so that we can completely break free from the influence of Satan and be gained by God. By then, we will be those who obey God, revere God, and become compatible with God. Only then can we enter the kingdom of heaven and receive God’s promises and blessings.”
The more I listened, the more I felt it was good. Unknowingly, it was dark. Brother Jin said he would come and continue sharing with me if I had time the next day, and I happily agreed. At night, I tossed and turned in my bed and could not fall asleep. I thought: What Brother Jin fellowshiped today is really in accordance with the Bible. The Lord Jesus only did the redemptive work and provided man with the way of repentance. We are forgiven for our sins by believing in the Lord, but it is undeniable that our sinful nature has yet to be resolved, so that we still live in the state of committing sins in the daytime and confessing them at night. How can we enter the kingdom of heaven like this! Thinking to the past, I watched and prepared in order to enter the kingdom of heaven. I also bitterly sought the path of how to extricate myself from the bondage of sin. Today, I finally understand that if we want to be purified and enter the kingdom of heaven, we have to accept and obey God’s work of judgment in the last days, cast off our corrupt disposition so as to be cleansed, and become those who are compatible with God. I have listened to many pastors’ sermons, but none of them have ever benefited me so much as the fellowship today. Thank Lord for His preparation!
The next day, Brother Jin testified to me about the fact that the Lord Jesus has returned, who is the incarnate Almighty God. He told me that he didn’t understand the truth he had shared in fellowship with me until he read the words expressed by Almighty God. I was surprised. I thought: How come I just heard this gospel. How I wish I could hear it earlier! Then he read Almighty God’s words to me again. The more I listened, the more I felt that it was God’s voice, so I decided to carefully investigate Almighty God’s work in the last days. Later on, I felt the work of the Holy Spirit again and was brightened and energetic inside through attending meetings and fellowshiping the truth with my brothers and sisters. At that moment, I understood the reason why I lack life supply in religion, why I became more and more negative and weaker and why I was thirsty in the spirit was that I hadn’t kept up with the work of the Holy Spirit and hadn’t heard Almighty God’s word. From then on, I came to the church every day after work. Brothers and sisters fellowshiped with me about the truths concerning what it is to believe in God, the mystery of God’s incarnation, the three stages of God’s work, and so on. I firmly believed that Almighty God is the returned Lord Jesus. I also understood that Christ is the truth, the way, and the life.
After I accepted Almighty God’s work of the last days, I read Almighty God’s word carefully whenever I was free. I was so thirsty for God’s word. Once in the subway, I listened to the recitation of God’s words in the app of the Church of Almighty God. I thought that God’s word tells us all the truths we need to be saved. It really fulfills what the Lord Jesus said: “These things have I spoken to you in proverbs: but the time comes, when I shall no more speak to you in proverbs, but I shall show you plainly of the Father” (John 16:25). “I have yet many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. However, when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will show you things to come” (John 16:12-13). In the past, I really admired the Lord Jesus’ disciples, because they could directly hear the Lord’s voice and see His wondrous deeds. But I never expected that God becomes flesh again in the last days and expresses so many truths. It is a great blessing that I can hear God’s voice, have God’s personal guidance, enjoy God’s abundant feast and return before God’s throne. Thanks be to Almighty God!
Source From: find the shepherd
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