I was born into a Catholic family
and at 13, I studied the catechism and was baptized.
After that, I decided to become a priest to serve God.
To that end, I entered a seminary when I was 22
where I studied theology and the Scriptures and took some other courses.
But some time passed
and I still didn't feel any closer to God,
and my desire to get married and have a family kept cropping up.
I prayed and prayed, but I still couldn't keep it at bay.
I'd sworn myself to chastity before God
so that I could enter the kingdom of heaven,
but I wanted to forsake that commitment.
Wasn't I sinning and lying to God?
How could I get into God's kingdom?
I was at the seminary for 10 years.
After I graduated, I went to a monastery in Indonesia for another year,
but I kept having impure thoughts from time to time.
I was really discouraged.
After finishing my studies,
I decided to become a regular parishioner.
I went home and got married.
But in day-to-day life,
I would argue with my wife over petty household things
and I wasn't very patient.
Sometimes I'd lie to protect my own interests.
I came before God to confess and repent a lot for these things
but then I'd just keep doing them.
I wanted to repair my relationship with God
by going to Mass and saying prayers more,
but that didn't fix my problems.
Then I came to the US in 2014.
I met Li and Liu, a couple of other parishioners at Mass.
Whenever I had the chance I'd discuss matters of faith with them.
I remember once when we were sharing Scripture,
Liu said that he knew a devout deacon who was well-versed in the Bible
who believed in Eastern Lightning.
He said a couple of other fervent church members joined it, too.
He wondered what kind of church Eastern Lightning was
and why so many avid believers had joined it.
I was a bit confused by this, too,
because I'd also known a devout deacon
who had joined Eastern Lightning.
I didn't know what Eastern Lightning preached
or why it drew in so many pious Christians.
Could it be inspired by the Holy Spirit?
I figured I should check it out
and see what was so special about what that church preached.
I wondered if it could help me with my devotionals and with knowing God.
Yes.
At this thought, I told Li and Liu
that I wanted to go check out The Church of Almighty God.
They agreed.
When we went,
a sister played a video for us called
The Origin and Development of The Church of Almighty God.
From this video,
I learned that the Lord Jesus had returned, just as I'd hoped for.
He is Almighty God in the flesh
who is expressing truths to do the work of judgment.
That's why
people from all denominations who love the truth,
and long for God's appearance read Almighty God's words,
see that they're the truth, and God's voice,
and accept Almighty God's work.
Yes.
Also, Almighty God's gospel
has spread from China in the East to many western countries,
fulfilling the Lord Jesus' prophecy:
Amen!
I was really surprised that
that is how this prophecy is fulfilled.
I'd read it all those years without understanding it.
Right.
Then a brother played a gospel movie called The Bible and God.
This one moved me even more deeply
and I saw that there are a great deal of mysteries in the Bible.
I'd read so many spiritual books
but no theologian or Bible scholar
had ever so clearly explained
the truth behind the Bible, and how it came to be,
and its relationship to God.
I gained so much from that movie.
Yes.
I could see why so many enthusiastic believers
accepted Almighty God after hearing His words.
I knew I had to look into it.
Definitely.
Then they said in the last days,
Almighty God expresses truths
to do the work of judgment beginning with God's house
to cleanse and save mankind once and for all.
I was confused.
The Lord Jesus said "It is consummated" on the cross.
That should mean that God's work to save mankind was finished,
so why would God need to judge mankind to purify and save us?
I wanted to find out but it was getting late,
so I arranged to come back the next day.
I felt excited the whole way back home.
I'd learned quite a bit from that day's fellowship
and felt like I'd become closer to the Lord.
Amen!
It seemed that The Church of Almighty God did indeed involve the Lord's work.
It would be incredible
if the Lord really had returned and I could live alongside Him
just like Peter did.
Yes.
This thought made me look forward to the next day's gathering even more.
As soon as I got off work the next day,
I rushed to the meeting place and lost no time asking the sister,
"You say that the Lord Jesus has returned
and expressed truths to do the work of judgment.
But on the cross, He said 'It is consummated.'
That means God's work to save mankind was completed.
Our sins are forgiven through our faith— we're justified and saved by faith,
and when the Lord comes He can take us straight up into His kingdom.
Why would He do more salvation work?
What's the meaning behind this?"
What was her fellowship on this?
What she said was
"The Lord Jesus said 'It is consummated'
because His redemption work was complete.
It didn't mean that all of God's work to save mankind had been finished.
If we determine that God's work to save mankind is done
because the Lord Jesus said 'It is consummated'
and that He won't do new work when He returns,
then how would these prophecies be fulfilled?
Amen!
There's also 1 Peter 4:17:
Amen!
"These prophecies show that in the last days,
the Lord will express more truths and work to judge and cleanse mankind.
If we say that God's salvation work is completely finished,
then how would these prophecies be fulfilled?"
That's right.
They wouldn't be.
Yeah.
"The Bible also prophesies that in the last days,
the Lord will separate the good servants from the evil,
the sheep from the goats, the wheat from the tares,
the wise virgins from the foolish.
It's just as the Lord Jesus said:
"Revelation also prophesies
that God will make a group of overcomers in the last days
and that His kingdom will come to earth.
This is all work the Lord does in the last days.
If we say God's work to save mankind is totally finished
because the Lord Jesus completed His work,
then how would these prophecies be fulfilled?"
That's right.
"So this understanding
is clearly out of line with the Lord's actual words and the reality of God's work."
I nodded my head as I listened. I felt she was right.
Why hadn't I ever seen something so obvious?
She went on to read several passages of Almighty God's words.
Let's take a look at it.
Great.
Yes.
Amen!
After that, she played a video of a reading of God's words.
Let's watch it.
Okay.
After the video, she shared this fellowship:
"The Lord Jesus did the work of redemption in the Age of Grace,
so as long as we believe in Him, pray, confess, and repent, our sins are forgiven.
We can enjoy God's grace and blessings, and won't be condemned under the law."
Right.
"This is what the Lord Jesus' redemptive work has achieved
and it's the real meaning of the phrase 'saved by faith.'
Our sins are forgiven by the Lord Jesus and we don't commit obvious sins anymore
and we mostly behave well.
But we're still not free from sin."
- Right. - Sure.
"We still lie and deceive for our own interests,
we're greedy, jealous, hateful, and harbor evil thoughts.
We can't resist the temptation of worldly trends,
we long for money and love vanity.
We condescendingly reproach people who do things we don't like.
We're full of satanic dispositions
like arrogance and deceitfulness,
we're sick of the truth and adore evil.
These satanic dispositions are more entrenched than outward sins.
They're instilled in us by Satan and are the root of sinning and resisting God.
Until these things are resolved,
we still can't help but sin and we can't be free of sin's bonds.
The Bible says
God is holy and so is His kingdom.
He can't allow filthy human beings in.
Those of us who sin every day are servants of sin,
so how could we be fit to enter God's kingdom?"
Yes.
"So, the Lord Jesus' work of redemption
was just one part of God's work to save mankind,
not all of it.
Our sins have just been forgiven
but we haven't been freed from sin or cast off Satan's influence.
God has yet to completely gain mankind."
Yes.
"Almighty God has come in the last days.
He expresses truths and does the work of judgment
to cleanse our corrupt dispositions
and resolve our sinful satanic nature in opposition to God,
so we can totally cast off the shackles of sin,
be fully saved, and enter God's kingdom."
- Yes. - Amen!
She went on, saying,
"Almighty God's appearance and work
also reveals good and evil servants, sheep and goats, wheat and tares,
wise and foolish virgins."
Yes.
"Those who refuse to hear the Lord's voice,
who deny and condemn Almighty God's work of the last days
are the foolish virgins, the tares, the evil servants
who'll ultimately fall into disaster, weeping and gnashing their teeth."
- Yes. - That's right.
"Those who recognize
God's voice in Almighty God's words and accept His work of the last days
are the wise virgins, the wheat, and the sheep.
They undergo God's judgment of the last days,
are purified, and ultimately brought into God's kingdom.
This completely fulfills the prophecies in Revelation."
Right.
"So when God's work of judgment comes to a close,
God's work to save mankind will be fully completed."
Yes.
Her fellowship was eye-opening for me.
I realized that the Lord Jesus only did the work of redemption
and only Almighty God's judgment work in the last days
can fully cleanse and save mankind.
Yes.
We're redeemed of our sins because of our faith, but our sinful nature remains,
which is why we live in a state of sinning and confessing.
Indeed.
All I could do before was force myself not to sin
but reading the Scriptures and following the monastery's rules
couldn't stop me from sinning.
That's right.
Then I understood
that the only way to uproot the problem of sinfulness
was to be judged and cleansed by God in the last days.
I eagerly asked this sister
how God performs the work of judgment to cleanse people.
She played another video of a reading of God's words.
How about we watch it now?
Sounds good.
She continued her fellowship after the video.
"God expresses truths in the last days to judge and cleanse people.
He expresses all the truths mankind needs to understand and enter into
to be cleansed and fully saved.
He has revealed the mysteries of His 6,000-year management plan,
His three stages of work to save mankind,
the mysteries of God's work in the flesh,
and the mysteries of His judgment work in the last days.
He also judges and exposes the root of why mankind sins and opposes God
and the truth of our corruption by Satan and all sorts of corrupted states.
On top of that, He reveals God's holy, righteous, unoffendable disposition
and tells us who pleases Him, who disgusts Him,
who can enter God's kingdom and who will be punished,
and the destination and outcome for each type of person.
He also gives us the path to transform our life dispositions.
By undergoing the judgment and chastisement of God's words,
we see how deeply Satan has corrupted us,
and that we're full of satanic dispositions, like arrogance,
evil, viciousness, and despising the truth, without any human likeness.
We also see God's righteous disposition and develop reverence for God,
start to truly hate ourselves,
and become willing to forsake the flesh and practice the truth.
Then our corrupt dispositions are gradually changed."
Amen!
Thanks be to God!
After her fellowship
she played another testimonial video for me called The True Light Appears.
The main character has some small talent
that he lords over others, and he looks down on everyone.
He's haughty and condescending and wants everyone to listen to him.
He's a believer and he prays and confesses a lot,
but he can't help but lose his temper and reprimand others.
All his colleagues keep their distance
and his wife and daughter are afraid of him.
He doesn't have a single confidant.
Living in sin, he suffers terribly.
After he accepts Almighty God's work of the last days,
going through the judgment and chastisement of God's words shows him
that always putting himself first,
being self-aggrandizing, and demanding others' obedience
is because he's arrogant and unreasonable,
and that those are satanic dispositions.
This is disgusting to God and alienating for others.
- Yes. - That's so true.
- It is. - Right.
Once he realizes this,
he genuinely hates himself and is filled with regret.
Then he takes a softer approach towards others,
and when faced with a problem,
he forsakes the flesh, seeks the truth, and listens to others.
He's no longer as arrogant as he was.
- Great. - Thanks be to God!
Seeing this video was exciting for me.
I saw what authority and power Almighty God's words have,
that they really can cleanse and transform people.
Yes.
I started reading Almighty God's words every chance I got
and watching gospel movies and hymn videos from The Church of Almighty God.
The more I watched, the more uplifted I felt.
I became certain that Almighty God's words are the truth and the voice of God,
that Almighty God is the returned Lord.
I accepted Almighty God's work of the last days.
Thanks be to God!
Thanks be to Almighty God!
Almighty God's words show us the way to purification.