“They Killed My Mother, They Arrested My Father”: Sister Zou Demei’s Father’s Day Reflections

The former leader of The Church of Almighty God in four Chinese provinces is free in the United States, but her mother has been killed and she cannot contact her elderly father in China.

Editorial note: Bitter Winter readers are familiar with the story of Sister Zou Demei. In the United States, June 16 is Father’s Day. In this article, she talks about her father and how the persecution prevents her from contacting him.

A Persecuted Family

All my family belongs to The Church of Almighty God. In 2002, we learned that the police had identified us as members of the Church, and my father will soon be arrested on the three charges of being a “political criminal,” a “counter-revolutionary,” and “engaged in the subversion of state power.” I will be arrested too, together with my mother and my two sisters. We went our separate ways. I was on the run for ten years and only in 2012 saw my father again.

Gospel Movie Clip "The Mystery of Godliness" - The Mystery of God's Incarnation

Gospel Movie Clip "The Mystery of Godliness"

In the Age of Grace, God incarnated and became the Lord Jesus who came to redeem mankind, and the Jewish Pharisees said that the Lord Jesus was only a man. In the last days, God has incarnated and become Almighty God who has come to do His work of judgment, and the pastors and elders of the world of religion also say that Almighty God is just a man, so what is the matter here? From the outside, God incarnate looks to be an ordinary, normal person. But within Him there lives the Spirit of God; He is able to express the truth, express the voice of God and do God's work, so is God incarnate a man, or God?

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God's Word | "The relationship between each stage of God’s work and His name"

(1) The significance of God taking the name Jehovah in the Age of Law

Bible Verses for Reference:

“And God said moreover to Moses, Thus shall you say to the children of Israel, Jehovah, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you: this is My name for ever, and this is My memorial to all generations” (Exo 3:15).

Relevant Words of God:

    “Jehovah” is the name that I took during My work in Israel, and it means the God of the Israelites (God’s chosen people) who can take pity on man, curse man, and guide the life of man. It means the God who possesses great power and is full of wisdom. … That is to say, only Jehovah is the God of the chosen people of Israel, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob, the God of Moses, and the God of all the people of Israel. And so in the current age, all the Israelites apart from the tribe of Judah worship Jehovah. They make sacrifices to Him on the altar, and serve Him wearing priests’ robes in the temple. What they hope for is the reappearance of Jehovah. … The name Jehovah is a particular name for the people of Israel who lived under the law. In each age and each stage of work, My name is not baseless, but holds representative significance: Each name represents one age. “Jehovah” represents the Age of Law, and is the honorific for the God worshiped by the people of Israel.

from “The Savior Has Already Returned Upon a ‘White Cloud’” in The Word Appears in the Flesh

Gospel Movie Clip (6) - Differences Between the Way of Repentance and the Way of Eternal Life

Gospel Movie Clip (6) - Differences Between the Way of Repentance and the Way of Eternal Life

The Lord Jesus and Almighty God are one God. The Lord Jesus carries out the work of redemption, He preaches the way of repentance. Almighty God of the last days carries out the work of judgment to cleanse mankind, He brings the way of eternal life. Now, if you want to know the differences between the way of repentance and the way of eternal life, please watch this short video.

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"The Eastern Lightning" has testified that the Lord Jesus has already returned, expressed the truth, and made complete a group of overcomers. Does this fulfill the prophecies from the Bible?

Questions and Answers on the Inside Story of the Bible (8)

Question 8: How can we believe in the Lord and gain life if we move away from the Bible?

　　Answer: The question you raised is very key. This is something all of us believers want to know. The Lord Jesus once said these words: “Search the scriptures; for in them you think you have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me. And you will not come to me, that you might have life” (Jhn 5:39-40). In the past, we searched the Bible repeatedly, thinking that eternal life can be gained from the Bible. In reality, the Bible is only a testimony of God. if we want to gain the truth and life from our belief in God, relying on the testimony of the Bible is not enough. Almighty God says, “Christ of the last days brings life, and brings the enduring and everlasting way of truth. This truth is the path through which man shall gain life, and the only path by which man shall know God and be approved by God. If you do not seek the way of life provided by Christ of the last days, then you shall never gain the approval of Jesus, and shall never be qualified to enter the gate of the kingdom of heaven, for you are both a puppet and prisoner of history. … The steps of God’s work are vast and mighty, like surging waves and rolling thunders—yet you sit and passively await destruction, sticking to your folly and doing nothing. In this way, how can you be considered someone who follows the footsteps of the Lamb? How can you justify the God that you hold on to as a God who is always new and never old? And how can the words of your yellowed books carry you across into a new age? How can they lead you to seek the steps of God’s work? And how can they take you up to heaven? What you hold in your hands is the letters that can provide but temporary solace, not the truths that are capable of giving life. The scriptures you read are that which can only enrich your tongue, not words of wisdom that can help you know human life, much less the ways that can lead you to perfection. Does this discrepancy not give you cause for reflection? Does it not allow you to understand the mysteries contained within? Are you capable of delivering yourself to heaven to meet God on your own? Without the coming of God, can you take yourself into heaven to enjoy family happiness with God? Are you still dreaming now? I suggest, then, that you stop dreaming, and look at who is working now, at who is now carrying out the work of saving man during the last days. If you do not, you shall never gain the truth, and shall never gain life” (“Only Christ of the Last Days Can Give Man the Way of Eternal Life” in The Word Appears in the Flesh). We understand from the word of Almighty God that only Christ can express truths to redeem and save mankind. Man must come to Christ to gain the truth and gain life. The Bible cannot replace God’s authority and power, nor can it represent God in giving life to man, and moreover it cannot substitute the work of the Holy Spirit. Only by accepting and obeying Christ of the last days can we gain the work of the Holy Spirit, gain the truth, and gain life. We cannot gain life unless we accept the words expressed by Christ of the last days, because the Bible is not God; it is merely a testimony of God’s work. From this, we can see that life does not originate from the Bible, but from Christ. Christ is the Lord of the Bible and the source of life

Gospel Movie Clip (5) - Who Is It That Bestows the Way of Eternal Life Upon Man?

The Lord Jesus said, "But whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life" (John 4:14). The Lord Jesus is the fountainhead of the living water of life, He is the way of eternal life, but, as witnessed by the Eastern Lightning, only Christ of the last days—Almighty God can give people the way of eternal life. So, do Almighty God and the Lord Jesus come from the same source? Are Their works carried out by one God? Why can only Christ of the last days bestow on us the way of eternal life?

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Christian Praise and Worship Song "Thanks and Praise to Almighty God"

Praise and Worship Song "God's Love Brings Us Close Together" (Male Solo)

Gospel Song "God's Love Brings Us Close Together" (Male Solo) 

Though separated by countless seas and mountains,

we are one people, with no boundaries between us,

with different colored skin and speaking different tongues.

Because Almighty God’s words call to us,

we are raised up before God’s throne.

I

Though separated by countless seas and mountains,

we are one people, with no boundaries between us,

with different colored skin and speaking different tongues.

Because Almighty God’s words call to us,

we are raised up before God’s throne.

There is the elderly, with hair all white,

and the young, bright and radiant.

Hand in hand, shoulder to shoulder,

we walk on together through wind and rain, encouraging each other in adversity.

With one mind we fulfill our duty.

Our hearts are connected, we become confidants in life.

God’s love brings us closer together.

Questions and Answers on the Inside Story of the Bible (6)

Question 6: Since Paul stated that “All scripture is given by inspiration of God,” it is not wrong, because he was an apostle of God. God was telling mankind through Paul that scriptures were all inspired by God and are all the word of God. Do you dare deny this?

　　Answer: This issue is highly representative. Next, let us communicate on whether these epistles written by Paul and other apostles were really inspired by God and whether they can represent the word of God. That way we will know how to treat these epistles of the apostles. Before we continue communicating, allow us to first read two passages of Almighty God’s word! Almighty God says, “And thus, the Pauline epistles of the New Testament are epistles that Paul wrote for the churches, and not inspirations from the Holy Spirit, nor are they the direct utterances of the Holy Spirit. They are merely words of exhortation, comfort, and encouragement that he wrote for the churches during the course of his work. So, too, are they a record of much of Paul’s work at the time. They were written for all of the brothers and sisters in the Lord, and were in order to make the brothers and sisters of all of the churches at the time follow his advice and abide by all of the ways of the Lord Jesus. By no means did Paul say that, be they the churches of that time or of the future, all must eat and drink the things of him, nor did he say that his words all came from God. According to the circumstances of the church at that time, he simply communed with the brothers and sisters, and exhorted them, and inspired belief in them; and he simply preached or reminded people and exhorted them. His words were based upon his own burden, and he supported the people through these words. … All he said that was edifying and positive to people was right, but it did not represent the utterances of the Holy Spirit, and he could not represent God. It is an egregious understanding, and a tremendous blasphemy, for people to treat the records of a man’s experiences and a man’s epistles as the words spoken by the Holy Spirit to the churches! … His identity was merely that of a working apostle, and he was merely an apostle who was sent by God; he was not a prophet, nor a foreteller. So to him, his own work and the lives of the brothers and sisters were of the utmost importance. Thus, he could not speak on behalf of the Holy Spirit. His words were not the words of the Holy Spirit, much less could they be said to be the words of God, for Paul was nothing more than a creature of God, and was certainly not the incarnation of God. … If people see the epistles or words like Paul’s as the utterances of the Holy Spirit, and worship them as God, then it can only be said that they are too indiscriminating. To speak more harshly, isn’t this nothing but blasphemy? How could a man talk on behalf of God? And how could people bow down before the records of his epistles and of the words he spoke as if they were a holy book, or a heavenly book? Could the words of God be casually uttered by a man? How could a man talk on behalf of God? And so, what say you—could the epistles that he wrote for the churches not be tainted with his own ideas? How could they not be tainted with human ideas? He wrote epistles for the churches based on his personal experiences and the extent of his own life. For instance, Paul wrote an epistle to the Galatian churches which contained a certain opinion, and Peter wrote another, which had another view. Which of them came from the Holy Spirit? No one can say for sure. Thus, it can only be said that they both bore a burden for the churches, yet their letters represent their stature, they represent their provision and support for the brothers and sisters, and their burden toward the churches, and they only represent human work; they were not entirely of the Holy Spirit. If you say that his epistles are the words of the Holy Spirit, then you are absurd, and you are committing blasphemy! The Pauline epistles and the other epistles of the New Testament are equivalent to the memoirs of the more recent spiritual figures. They are on a par with the books of Watchman Nee or the experiences of Lawrence, and so on. It’s simply that the books of recent spiritual figures are not compiled into the New Testament, yet the substance of these people is the same: They were people who were used by the Holy Spirit during a certain period, and they could not directly represent God.” (“Concerning the Bible (3)” in The Word Appears in the Flesh).

Questions and Answers on the Inside Story of the Bible (5)

Question 5: Paul said in 2 Timothy 3:16: “All scripture is given by inspiration of God….” This shows that everything in the Bible is the word of God. But there are actually people who say that not everything in the Bible is the word of God. Isn’t this denying the Bible and deceiving people?

　　Answer: About the viewpoint “All scripture is given by inspiration of God,” we must understand the context in which Paul said these words. At the time Paul wrote letters to Timothy's church there was only the Old Testament. The New Testament had not been formed yet and there were just dozens of epistles scattered around and kept by various churches. This shows that these words of Paul were referring to the Old Testament. The Israelites only regard the Old Testament as the Bible. The New Testament was not formed until after AD 300. Church leaders at the time held a meeting as they thought the last days were near, and that the utterances of Jesus and the epistles of the apostles should be brought together into a book, and distributed to the various churches like the Old Testament. Therefore, they compiled together the epistles written by Jesus' apostles and disciples, and following research and confirmation, selected 27 books to become the New Testament, which was later combined with the Old Testament to become the complete Bible. This is how the New and Old Testaments were formed. Further, regarding the formation of the Bible, we must also understand just who wrote it and who recorded it. The Bible has several dozen authors, but none of them said the epistles they wrote were inspired by God. if God had said all scripture is given by inspiration of God, then God should have said it via prophets, but the books of prophets contain no such words. The Lord Jesus has also never said such words. The apostles have also never said the epistles they wrote and their testimonies were all inspired by God, and moreover they did not dare to say they were God's words. This is fact! But later on, all believers in God think that all that God uttered is in the Bible, and that even though the New and Old Testament were written by men, they were both inspired by God. But have we ever thought about whether this conforms with the facts?

Gospel Movie Clip (3) - To Study the Lord's Return We Should Listen to the Voice of God

Basically all of the prophecies mentioned in the Bible pertaining to the Lord's return have already come true. Most people have sensed that the Lord has already returned, so, how should we investigate this to make sure about the matter of whether or not Almighty God is the returned Lord Jesus? Should we make our judgment based on the prophecies of the Bible or should we directly investigate the word and work of Almighty God? How should we seize this extremely rare opportunity and greet the return of our Lord? Almighty God says, "What you ought to do is acceptance of, without the need for further substantiation from the Bible, any work so long as it is that of the Holy Spirit, for you believe in God to follow God, not to investigate Him. You should not search out further proof for Me to show that I am your God. Rather, you ought to discern whether I am of benefit to you; that is the key" (The Word Appears in the Flesh).

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That Day the Sky Was Especially Clear and Sunny (Part 2)

By Tian Ying, China

　　I mulled over the sister’s words and felt that what she said made a lot of sense, so I sat there listening quietly. The sister continued talking: “The word of Almighty God has already opened up the mystery of ‘being saved’ and ‘attaining full salvation,’ so let’s take a look at the word of Almighty God and see what He has to say about this. Almighty God says: ‘At the time Jesus’ work was the redemption of all mankind. The sins of all who believed in Him were forgiven; as long as you believed in Him, He would redeem you; if you believed in Him, you were no longer a sinner, you were relieved of your sins. This is what it meant to be saved, and to be justified by faith. Yet in those who believed, there remained that which was rebellious and opposed God, and which still had to be slowly removed. Salvation did not mean man had been completely gained by Jesus, but that man was no longer of sin, that he had been forgiven his sins: Provided you believed, you would never more be of sin’ (‘The Vision of God’s Work (2)’ in The Word Appears in the Flesh). ‘Before man was redeemed, many of Satan’s poisons had already been planted within him and, after thousands of years of being corrupted by Satan, he has within him an established nature that resists God. Therefore, when man has been redeemed, it is nothing more than a case of redemption in which man is bought at a high price, but the poisonous nature within him has not been eliminated. Man that is so defiled must undergo a change before becoming worthy to serve God. By means of this work of judgment and chastisement, man will fully come to know the filthy and corrupt substance within his own self, and he will be able to change completely and become clean. Only in this way can man become worthy to return before the throne of God. … For all that man may have been redeemed and forgiven of his sins, it can only be considered as God not remembering the transgressions of man and not treating man in accordance with his transgressions. However, when man, who lives in a body of flesh, has not been set free from sin, he can only continue to sin, endlessly revealing his corrupt satanic disposition. This is the life that man leads, an endless cycle of sinning and being forgiven. The majority of men sin in the day only to confess in the evening. This way, even if the sin offering is forever effective for man, it will not be able to save man from sin. Only half the work of salvation has been completed, for man still has a corrupt disposition. … running deeper than sin, it is something planted by Satan and deeply rooted within man. It is not easy for man to become aware of his sins; he has no way of recognizing his own deeply rooted nature, and must rely on judgment by the word in order to achieve this result. Only thus can man gradually be changed from this point onward’ (‘The Mystery of the Incarnation (4)’ in The Word Appears in the Flesh). ‘You only know that Jesus shall descend during the last days, but how exactly will He descend? 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’” (“Concerning Appellations and Identity” in The Word Appears in the Flesh).

Heart Voice of a Preacher: I Have Found the Way to Get Rid of Sin

By Chuandao, South Korea

The church became desolate and my faith grew cold.

　　When I was in high school, I suddenly got tuberculosis. Tortured by the disease, I was miserable and helpless, and felt so close to death. In 1980, I started to believe in the Lord in a church near my home. Through reading the Bible, I came to know that it was God who created the heavens and earth and all things. Afterward, I persisted in attending meetings in the church and reading the Bible.

　　Later, I attended the theology classes held by the church. To my surprise, not long after that, the lung disease that had tortured me for years healed without treatment. I gave true thanks and praise to the Lord from the bottom of my heart. After that, my faith of expending for the Lord became greater, and I wrote a lot of testimony articles about how I was saved and called upon by the Lord. In 1994, I quit my job, and donated all my retirement pay and savings to the church. After a year of training, I formally became a preacher. Since then, I had been energetically preaching, working, and sustaining the church. Such situation lasted for four years.

Questions and Answers on the Inside Story of the Bible (4)

Question 4: You say the words in the book The Word Appears in the Flesh are God’s new word! But the Revelation clearly states: “For I testify to every man that hears the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add to these things, God shall add to him the plagues that are written in this book” (Rev 22:18). Don’t you add to the Bible?

Gospel Movie | Know the Judgment in the Last Days "Song of Victory"

Harvest after watching:

I was attracted by the title “How Will the Lord Appear and Perform His Work When He Returns” on seeing it. In the past, as most believers, I also thought the Lord would appear and work in the spiritual body of the resurrected Lord Jesus when He comes. But how can we humans came from dust fathom God’s wondrous deeds? This time, the Lord Jesus is called Almighty God when He comes. He becomes flesh and expressed the truth and does the work of judgment beginning with God’s family to cleanse and save all those who come before His throne. I could receive God’s grace and have the good fortune to come before God’s throne to hear the truth expressed by Him, experience His work, and to be cleansed and saved by Him. I really give thanks to God. I’m willing to strive to pursue the truth, and I’d like to share this movie clip to you.

The judgment work of Almighty God in the last days has reverberated throughout every sect and group. Following the spreading of the kingdom gospel, Almighty God's words are accepted and spread by more and more people, true believers in God who thirst for Him to appear have been returning one by one before God's throne. In the meantime, the Chinese government and religious pastors and elders have ceaselessly repressed and persecuted the Church of Almighty God from start to finish. The heroine of this movie, Zheng Xinjie, is a member of the Church of Almighty God who spreads the gospel. She has faced the deranged oppression and attacks from the Chinese Communist government and religious leaders. Together with her brothers and sisters, relying on God, how will she triumph over these dark, satanic forces to sing a song of victory? …

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Questions and Answers on the Inside Story of the Bible (2)

Question 2: The truths in the Bible are already complete. Having the Bible is enough for our belief in God. We don’t need any new words!

       Answer: The content recorded by the Bible is limited. The Old Testament only recorded the work of Jehovah God, while the New Testament only recorded the work of the Lord Jesus. But regarding God’s work of the last days, the Bible only contains prophecies. The precise details are not recorded in the Bible. This is because the work of God in the last days is judgment work, it is new work outside of the Bible. God is the Expressor of truth, and moreover the Ruler of all things in the universe. His richness is inexhaustible and always in supply. He cannot be fathomed by any created being. Therefore, the content of the Bible cannot completely explain all of God’s deeds. Let’s read a passage of Almighty God’s word! Almighty God says, “All that is recorded within the Bible is limited and unable to represent all the work of God. The Four Gospels have fewer than one hundred chapters altogether in which are written a finite number of happenings, such as Jesus cursing the fig tree, Peter’s three denials of the Lord, Jesus appearing to the disciples following His crucifixion and resurrection, teaching about fasting, teaching about prayer, teaching about divorce, the birth and genealogy of Jesus, Jesus’ appointment of the disciples, and so forth. These are but a few writings, yet man values them as treasures, even verifying the work of today against them. They even believe that Jesus only did so much in the time after His birth. It is as if they believe God can only do this much, that there can be no further work. Is this not ludicrous?” (“The Mystery of the Incarnation (1)” in The Word Appears in the Flesh). “No one knows the reality of the Bible: that it is nothing more than a historical record of God’s work, and a testament to the previous two stages of God’s work, and offers you no understanding of the aims of God’s work. Everyone who has read the Bible knows that it documents the two stages of God’s work during the Age of Law and the Age of Grace. The Old Testament chronicles the history of Israel and Jehovah’s work from the time of creation until the end of the Age of Law. The New Testament records Jesus’ work on earth, which is in the Four Gospels, as well as the work of Paul; are they not historical records? Bringing up the things of the past today makes them history, and no matter how true or real they might be, they are still history—and history cannot address the present. For God does not look back on history! And so, if you only understand the Bible, and understand nothing of the work God intends to do today, and if you believe in God but do not seek the work of the Holy Spirit, then you do not understand what it means to seek God. If you read the Bible in order to study the history of Israel, to research the history of God’s creation of all the heavens and earth, then you do not believe in God. But today, since you believe in God, and pursue life, since you pursue the knowledge of God, and do not pursue dead letters and doctrines, or an understanding of history, you must seek God’s will of today, and must look for the direction of the Holy Spirit’s work. If you were an archeologist you could read the Bible—but you are not, you are one of those who believe in God, and you’d best seek God’s will of today” (“Concerning the Bible (4)” in The Word Appears in the Flesh).

Questions and Answers on the Name of God (1)

Question 1: It is clearly written in the Bible: “Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever” (Heb 13:8). So the name of the Lord does not change, but you say that the name of the Lord Jesus will change in the last days. How can you explain that?

　　Answer: Brothers and sisters, the Bible says, “Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever” (Heb 13:8). This refers to the fact that God’s disposition and His essence are eternal and unchanging. It does not mean that His name will not change. Let’s take a look at the words of Almighty God.

The Voice and Word of the Holy Spirit | "When It Comes to God, What Is Your Understanding"

Almighty God says, "The so-called God is not only the Holy Spirit, that Spirit, the sevenfold intensified Spirit, the all-encompassing Spirit, but also a person, an ordinary person, an exceptionally common person. He is not only male, but also female. They are similar in that They are both born to humans, and dissimilar in that one is conceived by the Holy Spirit and the other is born to a human but derived directly from the Spirit. They are similar in that both incarnate fleshes of God carry out God the Father’s work, and dissimilar in that one does the work of redemption and the other does the work of conquering. Both represent God the Father, but one is the Lord of redemption filled with lovingkindness and mercy, and the other is the God of righteousness filled with wrath and judgment. One is the Supreme Commander to launch the redemption work, and the other is the righteous God to accomplish the work of conquering. One is the Beginning, the other the End. One is sinless flesh, the other is flesh that completes the redemption, continues the work, and is never of sin. Both are the same Spirit, but They dwell in different fleshes and are born in different places. And They are separated by several thousand years. Yet all Their work is mutually complementary, never conflictual, and can be spoken of in the same breath. Both are people, but one is a baby boy and the other is an infant girl."

More details: 

Teachings of Jesus Christ: What Is God’s Will Behind the Parable of the Master and Servant?

"Faith in God" (2) - Is the Way Condemned by the CCP and Religious Circles Not the True Way?

Many people seek and investigate the true way without basing these actions on the words and work of God. Instead, they follow the trends of the religious world and they believe that which the Chinese Communist government and the religious world condemn is not the true way—is this the right path to take? The Bible says, "the whole world lies in wickedness" (1 John 5:19). "This is an evil generation" (Luke 11:29). Thus it can be seen that atheistic political regimes and the religious world will certainly reject and condemn the true way. When the Lord Jesus did His work in the Age of Grace, the Jews and the Roman government frantically opposed and convicted Him, and in the end the Lord Jesus was nailed to the cross. Are these not the facts of the situation? When Almighty God comes to do His work in the last days, He suffers the wild defiance and condemnation of the Chinese government and the religious world. What does this show? Is it not worth us reflecting on this?

Know more: 

Why does the Chinese Communist government wildly persecute, suppress and crack down on Almighty God and The Church of Almighty God?

The Spreading of Almighty God’s Kingdom Gospel in China

　　In 1995, the work of testifying to the kingdom gospel of Almighty God formally began in Mainland China. Through our gratitude to God and with a love that was true, we testified to the appearance and work of Almighty God to the brothers and sisters in various denominations. Little did we expect to suffer extreme resistance and slander from their leaders. We could only come before Almighty God to pray earnestly, beseeching God to work in person. From 1997 onward, we beheld the Holy Spirit work on a great scale. There was a rapid increase in the members of churches in various locations. At the same time, many signs and wonders occurred, and many people in various denominations returned to Almighty God as a result of receiving God’s revelations or seeing these signs and wonders. If the Holy Spirit had not worked, what could man do? This made us realize: Although we understood some truths, we could not testify to Almighty God through our human strength alone. After these people from various denominations accepted Almighty God, they gradually became certain of Almighty God in their hearts through eating and drinking and enjoying the word of Almighty God, and after a period of time, there was produced in them genuine faith and obedience. People from every denomination were thus lifted before the throne, and no longer expected to “meet the Lord in the sky” as they had imagined.

Questions and Answers on Being Saved and Being Finally Saved (4)

Question 4: People are sinful, but the sin offering of the Lord Jesus is forever effective. As long as we confess our sins to the Lord, He will forgive us. We are sinless in the Lord’s eyes, so we can enter the kingdom of heaven!

　　Answer: Lord Jesus absolves mankind’s sins, but that doesn’t mean we don’t sin. That doesn’t mean we have been freed from the control of our sins or have been cleansed. Lord Jesus absolves our sins. What does “sin” really refer to in this context? We all know adultery, theft, etc. Anything that violates laws, commandments or God’s words is a sin. Any action that resists, condemns or judges God is also a sin. Any blasphemy against God is a sin, a sin that cannot be absolved! In the Age of Grace, Lord Jesus martyred himself for our sins. Only those that pray to the Lord and repent will not be condemned or sentenced to death. That is to say, God will no longer see them as sinners. People who are absolved of their sins can pray directly to God and share in His grace. That is the true meaning of “absolution”. Although our sins were absolved by Lord Jesus, that doesn’t mean we have stopped sinning and resisting God. Because sinning is in our nature, we are still able to resist and betray God and take Him as our enemy. How can people like that be qualified to enter the heavenly kingdom? It’s just as Almighty God said, “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” (“Concerning Appellations and Identity” in The Word Appears in the Flesh). Lord Jesus’s work of absolution only absolved our sins; it didn’t resolve our corrupt nature. Our inner arrogance, selfishness, deceitfulness, and other aspects of our satanic nature still remain. This corruption is deeper than sin; it is much more tenacious than sin. It is the source of our resistance of God. If these satanic temperaments are not resolved, people will continue to sin, resist God and judge and condemn Him according to their own conceptions. When they suffer and are persecuted, they can deny God and betray Him as Judas did. When they hold positions of power, they establish independent kingdoms in resistance to God. Some people steal God’s offerings and offend His disposition; they will be condemned and extinguished by God. Now most pastors and leaders in the religious community do not implement the words of Lord Jesus. They interpret the Bible based on their own conceptions. They treat the words of biblical people as if they’re the words of God. They exalt people’s words instead of testifying about Lord Jesus’s words. This makes the faithful revere people and follow people. They have no place for Lord Jesus in their hearts. They become trapped and controlled by their religious leaders’ dominion. This is especially true when Lord Jesus returns to do His works. Those priests and leaders do not pursue or study God’s works. Instead, they condemn His works, judge Him and blaspheme against Him. They spread lies to trick their believers and lock them in the church. They publicly take God as their enemy and offend God’s disposition. This is the most serious resistance of God that there is. This is a sin that cannot be absolved! Their evil behavior in resistance to Lord Jesus is even more egregious than the Pharisees’ was! Therefore, if people’s nature, their resistance of God, is not resolved, if their satanic corruption is not cleansed, they’ll be capable of any evil behavior in resistance of God. How can these kinds of people enter the heavenly kingdom? Therefore, according to His management plan to save mankind and the actual requirements of corrupt humanity, God expresses many different aspects of the truth in the last days, and carries out His work which fulfills the prophecy in the Bible, “Judgment must begin at the house of God,” and is to resolve the key problem that corrupt mankind is controlled by their satanic nature. That is the way that man will gradually free themselves from their corrupt satanic disposition, stop rebelling against and resisting God, become able to truly obey and revere God. Only then will they be cleansed and enter the kingdom of heaven.

from the movie script of Stinging Memories