Brothers and sisters, peace in the Lord. (Amen.)
For many years, we have been working and laboring for the Lord,
preaching the gospel,
and we have all suffered.
We've all longed for the Lord to return,
expecting Him to rapture us to the kingdom of heaven.
For that, we've always held onto the name of the Lord.
However, when hearing of Almighty God's work in the last days,
we have been completely deceived
by rumors and condemnation from the religious world.
And we've been living in our own imagination.
We've never truly looked at Almighty God's work.
We always thought as long as we believe in the Lord according to the Bible,
and labor for Him,
surely, He'd rapture us up into His kingdom.
But we have forgotten the words that Lord Jesus told us,
The Lord made very clear
how He wants us to welcome His return in His very own words.
Rapture is achieved by hearing the Lord's voice
rather than seeing Him with our eyes or receiving His revelation.
Wise virgins welcome the Lord's appearance just by hearing His voice.
Yet we never go find the voice of the Lord or seek the true way
even when hearing someone witness His return.
We are too arrogant and self-righteous!
Brothers and sisters,
recently, preachers from the Church of Almighty God
have fellowshiped with us in our meeting.
We have learned so much.
I've read some of the words of Almighty God.
They are the truth, practical indeed.
It convinces me fully.
The work of Almighty God in the last days
is very likely to be that of the returned Jesus.
Yet there are still some problems I can't figure out.
So today, I've invited preachers from the Church of Almighty God
to testify about Almighty God's work in the last days for us.
Let's all welcome them. (Yes. Welcome!)
Thank God for giving us this opportunity to fellowship about His words.
If anyone has questions or is confused about Almighty God's work,
please feel free to ask.
We can all fellowship together.
Praise the Lord. (Thanks be to God.)
Sister Chen, Sister Yang, I have a question to start.
I have always thought that the Lord Jesus was nailed to a cross for our sins
and forgave our sins,
and redeemed us from the hands of Satan to bring us into the kingdom of heaven.
Although we still sin and haven't truly attained sanctity,
the Lord has forgiven our sins and we have been justified by our faith.
So as long as we forsake everything and work hard for the Lord,
we'll be raptured into God's kingdom. It's the Lord's promise.
But some of us here still doubt.
They think that though we work for the Lord,
we haven't attained sanctity and we still sin.
The Lord is holy. Unsanctified people can't meet Him.
So my question is: Can we who forsake everything for the Lord
be raptured into the kingdom of heaven?
We have no idea how to answer this question. Please fellowship with us.
Yes. This has also confused me for a while.
I would also like to know. Please fellowship with us. (Yes, please.)
Sister Yu, the Lord Jesus has forgiven our sins.
In His eyes, we have no more sin.
So as long as we work for the Lord and hold onto His name,
then of course we'll enter the kingdom of heaven.
Why do we even need to ask?
Yeah. As long as we stick it out, then we'll be saved.
When the Lord comes, we'll be raptured into the kingdom of heaven.
Sister Guo, Brother Wei, that just doesn't make sense.
Lord Jesus has forgiven our sins; that's a fact.
But we still often sin and resist the Lord,
and do deceitful things and shame His name.
That's just the truth.
The Lord Jesus said that Himself.
God is holy, and so is His kingdom.
For us who work hard but continue to sin,
how can we be allowed to enter His kingdom?
I've felt in my heart that that's impossible.
All the Lord's believers think:
Since the Lord redeemed man through the crucifixion,
we've been forgiven of all of our sins.
And as we are no longer sinners, we are justified by our faith.
So as long as we endure till the end, we'll be saved,
and be raptured directly into the kingdom of heaven when He returns.
Is this common viewpoint correct or not?
Is it really based on God's word?
If this is against the truth, what will it result in?
As believers, we should always act according to the Lord's word.
Especially regarding His return, we should listen to His word even more.
It's not something that can be dealt with by notions.
Otherwise, imagine the consequences.
Just like the Pharisees who nailed Lord Jesus to the cross
while waiting for the Messiah to return.
Think of the bad things that could happen.
It's true that Lord Jesus has completed His work of redeeming humanity.
But does that mean God's work of saving man is thereby finished?
And so, can we be raptured into His kingdom by faith in Lord Jesus alone?
No man can fathom the answer.
The Lord Jesus once said,
The words of God state clearly
that anyone who enters the kingdom of heaven must be cleansed of sin.
They all do God's will, love God, obey and worship Him.
For God is holy, and in the kingdom is God living with man.
Unless sanctified, we aren't qualified to enter God's kingdom.
Many people think we can enter the kingdom of heaven
simply because our sins were forgiven.
But this is a grave misunderstanding.
This is purely man's imagination.
The Lord Jesus has forgiven our sins. That's true.
But He never said this forgiveness meant being purified,
and allowed directly into the kingdom of heaven.
No one can deny this fact.
Why is it that the Lord's believers all think
that they can all enter the kingdom now?
On what basis is this belief?
What gives them the authority to say so?
Many people will say that
they learned this from the words of Paul and other apostles in the Bible.
But do these words represent the Lord Jesus or man?
Represent the Holy Spirit?
Although they are found in the Bible, can man's words be treated as God's?
The Bible has this fact we know for sure:
Those approved by God all listen to His word and obey His work.
They follow the way of God
and only such people are qualified to inherit God's promise.
This cannot be denied.
We can all be sure that even though our sins were forgiven,
we haven't really become purified and often sin and resist God.
God has clearly told us,
From God's own words, even with our sins forgiven
that doesn't automatically qualify us to enter the kingdom of heaven.
We have to attain sanctity and perform the will of God before we can enter.
This is a known fact.
So, I know it's not something easy to understand the will of God.
But just having our sins forgiven doesn't mean we're purified.
We must possess some realities of the truth and become approved by God.
Only then can we enter the kingdom of heaven.
If man does not love the truth,
even is weary of the truth or hates it, struggling only for rewards,
but never really caring for or doing the will of God,
aren't they evil-doers?
How can the Lord approve of them?
Just like the hypocritical Pharisees even with sins forgiven,
they would not enter God's kingdom.
This is unquestionable.
There is one other thing.
Lord Jesus has forgiven man's sin, but sin—what does this mean?
What sins can man possibly confess after believing in the Lord?
These sins mainly refer to the sins
that violate God's laws and commandments, and go against the word of God.
Then mankind would be punished and condemned
for ignoring and disobeying God's laws.
So the Lord Jesus came to redeem man.
You see, as long as man prays in the name of Jesus, confesses and repents,
they would have their sins forgiven and no longer be condemned by the law.
God would no longer regard man as a sinner,
and man could directly call out to God in prayer,
and enjoy His abundant grace and truth.
That is truly "being saved" as man says in the Age of Grace.
So being saved is not the same thing as entering God's kingdom.
Actually, they're very different.
The Lord Jesus never said that man could enter the kingdom of heaven
after their sins were forgiven and they were saved.
Let's read some words from Almighty God.
Almighty God makes it very clear, right? (Yes. It's very clear.)
These words of God really explain it quite clearly with no doubt.
They're so easy to understand!
In the Age of Grace, Lord Jesus only did redemptive work.
Man's sins were forgiven. They were justified and saved by faith.
But Lord Jesus never said that man could enter His kingdom this way.
That's because Lord Jesus had forgiven man's sins,
but not mankind's satanic nature.
Arrogance and deceit, selfishness, and evil,
all these corruptions still exist within us today.
And these are much deeper and more stubborn than sins.
If our satanic nature of opposing God and our corruption remain unresolved,
we could still commit sins not of our own volition,
even worse, sins than simply violating the laws of God.
We ask why did the Pharisees condemn the Lord Jesus and stand against Him,
even nail Him to the cross.
This proves to us that with man's satanic nature,
they can still disobey God, sin, and betray Him.
Right. We've all believed for many years, and we've known a fact
that though our sins are forgiven by the Lord,
we can still commit them in spite of ourselves.
We still tell lies to seek fortune and fame. We make excuses and argue.
Sometimes we frame up others when we're avoiding responsibility.
When disaster strikes us, large or small, we complain and betray God.
When God's work isn't how we want it,
we still oppose Him, deny Him, and judge Him.
Although we believe in God nominally, we still adore and follow man.
Once we get a position, we try to exalt ourselves
like the Pharisees, the chief priests, and the scribes.
We stand in the place of God, let others look up to us.
We enjoy wrongfully the offerings of God,
and we envy others and act according to likes.
Worse yet, we follow the flesh, separate into factions, form cliques,
and establish our own independent kingdoms.
These are all known facts.
This shows if man's satanic nature cannot be resolved,
then we cannot enter the kingdom of heaven even if our sins are forgiven.
The fact that we can still sin and oppose God proves we are still of Satan,
stand against God and are enemies of God,
for which we will surely be condemned and punished.
It says in the Bible,
Let's read some of Almighty God's words.
We see man is redeemed by the Lord Jesus,
yet retains his satanic disposition, constantly sinning and resisting God.
He must undergo judgment and purification in the last days
to be delivered from sin and become after God's heart.
Then he can enter the kingdom of heaven.
In fact, the Lord Jesus said,
The Lord prepares a place for us. Once ready, He'll receive us.
Here "receive" means God arranges for us to be born in the last days.
When the Lord returns, He'll rapture us before His throne
to receive the judgment, purification, and perfection of His word,
thus making us overcomers before the disaster.
The process of receiving us is a process of purifying and perfecting us.
Now the Lord returns to do the work of judgment in the last days,
and we've been taken before God's throne living together with Him.
Hasn't this fully fulfilled the Lord's prophecy of receiving us?
When the great disasters end, the kingdom of Christ will be realized on earth.
And each who survives the disasters and trials
will partake of the kingdom of heaven.
For years, it has deeply confused me
that though the Lord Jesus forgives our sins,
we can't help but continue to commit sins and resist the Lord.
I've been wondering since the Lord is holy,
can one who continues to sin be allowed to enter the kingdom of heaven?
Praise the Lord.
After your fellowship today, my puzzle is finally unraveled.
Amen! Praise the Lord!
The Lord Jesus has forgiven our sins but not so our satanic nature.
That's why we still sin and resist the Lord.
Therefore, to enter the kingdom of heaven,
we must experience God's judgment and cleansing
in order to resolve our sinful nature.
Thanks be to God! That really makes sense.
Judgment and cleansing is necessary. (Right.)
At this point, perhaps some would ask:
Apostles like Paul and those who suffered and labored for the Lord,
aren't they qualified to be raptured?
As Paul said,
So many believe
since Paul could gain the crown of righteousness through labor for the Lord,
then as long as we labor as Paul did for the Lord,
can't we also get the crown and enter the kingdom of heaven?
Is it really the case?
Can Paul's view be supported by God's words?
Did Lord Jesus say Paul could gain rewards and the crown?
Did the Holy Spirit ever testify that Paul could enter the kingdom of heaven?
None of this is recorded in the Bible.
The Lord Jesus never said that Paul was the one to gain the crown
and enter the kingdom of heaven. (Right. It's out of our imagination.)
Therefore, Paul's words are without basis.
And we can't take Paul's words as basis for entering the kingdom of heaven.
On eternal life and entering the kingdom of heaven, the Lord said,
The Lord Jesus said it clearly:
only when one gets rid of sins, attains sanctity,
and is able to obey God's will, can he enter the kingdom of heaven.
If man sacrifices and labors for the Lord due to passion,
but still opposes God and sins, failing to obey God's way,
then they are evil-doers and never shall they enter the kingdom of heaven.
Yet Paul said he'd be rewarded and enter the kingdom of heaven
because he had fought the fight, finished the course, and kept the faith.
Isn't this clearly against the words of the Lord Jesus?
According to Paul,
as long as one labors for the Lord, he can enter the kingdom of heaven.
If this were the case,
those Jewish Pharisees who traveled the land spreading the gospel
but opposed and condemned the Lord Jesus,
couldn't they enter the kingdom of heaven?
And those who cast out devils in the Lord's name, yet don't walk in God's way,
couldn't they also enter the kingdom of heaven?
Isn't such a view simply ridiculous?
Those Jewish Pharisees,
why couldn't their efforts be approved by the Lord Jesus?
Because their suffering for evangelizing
was actually for the sake of their own benefits and rewards.
God is righteous; He looks deep into man's heart.
So when the Lord Jesus came to do His work, they were revealed completely.
To maintain their positions, they condemned and opposed the Lord Jesus,
made Him an enemy, and nailed Him onto the cross.
As a result, they were cursed and punished by God.
This is a fact known to all.
It's true. The Lord Jesus never said
man can enter the kingdom of heaven through labor,
but said only those who do the will of the heavenly Father can. (That's right.)
After this, I am clear.
If we only preach in the Lord's name but do not practice His words,
we can't enter the kingdom of heaven.
Brothers and sisters, how about the religious people in the last days?
Many are the same as the Jewish Pharisees.
Though they work hard for the Lord,
all their efforts are directed by their desire to gain blessings.
It's all for attaining rewards
rather than following the Lord's word and obeying Him.
That's why they can act according to their own will, their own likes,
while working and devoting themselves.
They meet their desire for fame and position.
They exalt and testify to themselves,
form cliques, and establish their own kingdoms.
Even worse, after doing some work and enduring some suffering,
many become conceited and show off their seniority.
They confidently demand God's blessing of the kingdom of heaven.
How could such people gain God's approval?
Faced with God's judgment in the last days,
those religious elders not only refuse to accept,
but wildly resist and condemn Almighty God so as to protect their own status.
Again, they nail God to the cross and provoke God's disposition. (Yes.)
Isn't it true? Haven't you seen through this yet?
As thus proved by facts, people's sacrifice and suffering
doesn't qualify them to enter the kingdom of heaven.
If people refuse to practice the Lord's words or commandments,
and all they do comes not from loving and obeying Him,
but from seeking to enter heaven, then they cheat and use God.
God doesn't approve of such people though they've worked or suffered a lot.
Amen. Yes. That's so true.
Brothers and sisters, let's read more of the words of Almighty God.
From God's words, we see God is holy and righteous.
He never permits the filthy and corrupt to enter His kingdom. (Yes.)
This is decided by God's righteous disposition.
Therefore, man must obey God's judgment and experience purification,
gain the truth to cast away corruptions before he can be saved, (Amen!)
and enter the kingdom of heaven.
This is fact. No one can deny it.
Your fellowship is useful and it applies to my current state.
For many years, I've sacrificed and labored.
Truly all has been to enter the kingdom of heaven,
and not to practice the Lord's words, obey, or love Him.
Were it not for Almighty God exposing our base intentions,
I never would have realized that I am cheating and using the Lord.
I'd continue on the wrong path,
and shamelessly leverage my laboring to make a deal with the Lord.
In the end, when punished by the Lord, I would not understand why.
Think about it. It's so dire.
Exactly. Were it not for Almighty God's disclosure,
we could never know ourselves.
We'd continue to insist we can sacrifice for the Lord that we're above others.
We look down on others and presume to teach brothers and sisters.
How ignorant and shameful we are!
Men as filthy and corrupt as us do need God's judgment and cleansing.
Mm. It's true. I agree.