Hey, see that? The devil's back.
Oh no, why are they here?
What's going on?
Again?
All right,
anyone see a man in his forties run by here just now?
No, we didn't. No, sorry.
Listen here.
The man we seek has been preaching illegally.
He believes in Almighty God.
Whoever knows something, tell me!
He's wanted. There's a bounty.
We've been here a long while and haven't seen anything.
Right. Nothing.
If you know something and don't report it, you'll all be in trouble!
Understand?
Keep your eyes peeled.
If you learn anything, report it.
Why do they always arrest people who believe in God?
Yeah. It's absurd.
They're really preoccupied with this.
Let's go home.
I don't understand it.
They're really evil.
Quick! Move, move!
Come on, let's go!
Over there!
Mark my words.
If I catch this guy, I'll kill him.
Hurry! We have to find him!
Look over there!
Over there! Go!
Right there!
Hurry! We see him!
Catch him! He's done for now! Get over here!
Come on, he's up ahead!
I heard something over here.
Where'd he go?
Come on! Where is this punk?
Check over there! Go!
Let's go!
Hey, you hear something? (Yeah.)
I'll go look.
Hey, how'd you get down there?
Uh, I wasn't careful and I fell.
Okay. Let me help you. (Thanks.)
Grab this.
Hey, thank you so much. (No worries.)
You okay? (I'm fine. Thank you, sir.)
That's good.
Thank the Lord.
I heard the police were looking for a preacher.
Was it you they were trying to arrest by any chance?
Yes.
It's the Lord's protection!
Brother, we believe in the Lord too. (Yes.)
Oh. Thanks be to God.
It's not safe here. Quick, let's go! (Okay.)
So you got away from the cops.
It's really a narrow escape.
It's due to God's protection.
Yes.
Don't worry, Brother Yu, the police are long gone by now.
Stay here for now. Don't go back down the mountain.
Well, you'll be safe here.
I'll make other arrangements.
Thanks be to God.
The CCP is cracking down on house churches more than ever.
We gathered on this mountain out of desperation.
We never thought we'd run into you.
It must be the will of God! (Yeah!)
Praise God!
You know the police want me, but you took the risk of hiding me.
This really is the love of God.
It's made me realize everything is really in God's hands.
We are brothers in the Lord, one family. (Yes.)
You've been persecuted by the CCP for preaching the gospel,
for righteousness' sake. (That's right.)
It is our responsibility to receive you. (Yes.)
Thanks be to God.
If we lacked compassion after this many years,
we wouldn't be Christians. (Yeah.)
It's the right thing to do, to take you in.
Praise God!
I thank you both.
Let me introduce you.
Brother Yu was being hunted by the CCP.
We've only just met.
Nice to meet you.
This is Brother Wang and Brother Fang.
Hi! (Hello!)
It was the Lord's protection that let you evade the police. (Yes.)
Well, let's sit down. (Okay.)
Have a seat.
Things are only getting worse around here.
It's hard for us to believe in God in China.
Every time we gather, we're at risk for getting arrested.
That's right. Absolutely.
If we didn't have faith or wouldn't give up our lives for the Lord,
this path would be hard.
We need to pay a high price for following the Lord.
I was arrested for preaching the gospel. I served three years in prison.
So I know all about this stuff.
The CCP is still wantonly persecuting believers in God.
Christians don't have homes to return to. It's broken up families.
Countless Christians have been arrested, imprisoned, and tortured.
Yeah. Right.
Many have even been put to death.
Yes. It's despicable.
Their evildoings really fill people with rage.
Yes. Yeah.
But in the Bible Paul says we should obey the authorities.
I just don't understand.
How should we treat the CCP regime?
Yeah. I've struggled with this for a long time as well.
If we put Paul's words into practice,
then we should always follow the ruling authority.
Yeah.
But the atheist CCP always persecutes religious people and is an enemy of God.
They don't just forbid us from believing,
they persecute those who spread the gospel.
True. That's true. Right.
If we do what they want and don't believe or spread the gospel,
aren't we siding with Satan and betraying the Lord?
Of course. Yes, that's true.
Won't we become those destined to perish? (Right. Indeed.)
I agree.
I really don't understand.
How do we treat the ruling authority?
How do we make sure we're in accordance with the Lord's will? (Yeah.)
Hey, Brother Yu, you're a preacher. (Yes?)
You should have a unique perspective on this.
Please tell us what you think.
Yes, this issue is one that we've never understood.
Brother Yu, tell us about it.
Yes, tell us. (Sure. Okay.)
What don't you understand?
Paul said,
This proves the governing regimes of the world have been ordained by God.
So I think that obeying the regimes is obeying the Lord.
If we follow Paul's words in the Bible,
isn't that obeying God?
The Bible is the word of God.
Betraying the Bible is betraying God's words.
How can we be wrong if we follow the Bible?
No one would dare condemn us.
Yeah.
I think Brother Hou is right.
We should abide by the Bible.
Brother Hou,
according to your opinion,
obeying the regime is obeying the Lord.
But the evil CCP persecutes believers.
They ban us from believing in the Lord and from spreading the Lord's gospel.
You would still obey them?
The CCP called the Bible the book of an evil cult.
This is a direct attack on God's words.
You would really listen to that?
The demonic CCP denies God, the existence of the Lord.
They condemn the Lord and take God as their enemy.
If you obey them, do you still believe in the Lord?
Are you not serving as an antichrist and Satan?
I think you're wrong about this. I just don't agree.
Me neither.
In the Bible, Paul says to obey the higher powers,
but that's only Paul's opinion.
The Lord Jesus never said that.
So I think we must view Paul's words objectively.
The ruling party of every government is different.
We can't make a blanket rule for all of them.
And some countries allow religious freedom;
they don't restrict people's faith.
This is true for democratic countries.
They have freedom to believe in God. (That's right.)
If people don't break the law,
the state will not interfere with them.
That's right.
But the CCP regime is just too evil.
They won't let people believe in God.
They openly arrest and persecute Christians. (True.)
This is a commonly known fact.
She's completely right.
I believe we should not obey the CCP, this atheistic regime,
because it resists God too much!
Yeah. Right.
They're an enemy of God.
If we obey them, won't we also be resisting God?
That's right.
We can obey most ruling regimes,
but with the CCP, we just can't obey them.
That's how I see it.
Brother Yu, what are your thoughts on the matter? (Yes?)
We'd love to hear them.
Yes, please tell us. Yeah, that would be great. (Okay.)
Well, let me give you my thoughts on this. (Great.)
In the Bible, Paul says to obey the authorities.
His words are these:
Because of Paul's words,
many people who believe in the Lord think the ruling authority has been ordained by God,
and that obeying the regime is obeying God.
Some people even think
that even though the authorities restrict us from believing in God,
they should be obeyed.
They say resisting the government is resisting God.
But are these views really correct or in accordance with God's will?
Then what should we really think on this matter?
Actually, from the Age of Law to the Age of Grace,
God never said that we should obey the authorities.
Look at the Age of Law.
The enemy of the Israelites, the Egyptian Pharaoh,
he was a ruler, right? (Yes.)
And how did God treat him?
He forbade the Israelites leaving Egypt, so God sent disasters.
If he hadn't let the Israelites go, God would've destroyed him.
When the Egyptian army chased the Israelites, the Red Sea opened up.
The Egyptian soldiers who chased them were drowned.
Yes. Sure.
In the Age of Law,
the devilish rulers who resisted God were destroyed by Him.
True.
Let's look at the Age of Grace.
Why didn't the Lord Jesus preach at the synagogue?
Why did the Lord Jesus preach in the wilderness and among common people?
Because the ruling regime and religious leaders were resisting God.
They took the Lord as their enemy.
That's why He could only preach among the common people and in wilderness.
If the Lord Jesus' disciples had obeyed the authorities,
then could they have continued to follow Him?
No.
Could they have earned the Lord Jesus' praise?
No, I don't think so. Definitely not.
Based on this,
every true believer in the Lord should be able to tell
how we should treat the CCP in accordance with God's will.
Yes.
If someone's a longtime believer
but still cannot see the ruling regime is God's enemy,
then do they really understand the Bible?
Do they really know the Lord?
They don't know the Lord.
Their faith is confused.
Many people don't discriminate. They can't see through this.
Because they read these words of Paul in the Bible,
they don't know what to do.
Some even think obeying the ruling regime is obeying the Lord,
and resisting the regime is opposing God's ordinance and asking for punishment.
But tell me, isn't this idea actually wrong and harmful?
Yeah, it is wrong.
Isn't it a serious misunderstanding and resistance of God?
I think it is.
This misguided view deceives and harms people.
We all know the CCP is atheistic.
Atheists are in power, so Satan is in power. (Right.)
The CCP sees God as the enemy.
When they see Christ appear and do His work,
they send out armed forces and stop at nothing to ban it.
They want to crucify Christ. (That's right.)
Ever since the CCP came to power,
they've been publicly denying God, condemning God and blaspheming.
They label Christianity as a cult,
and the Bible they label as an evil book to confiscate and burn.
They declare religious groups as cults and subject them to oppression and persecution.
Yes, it's bad.
Especially toward the Christians who believe in and testify to the true God,
the CCP suppresses, captures, and persecutes them.
They commit inhuman torture and savage harm.
It really is ruthless and unwarranted killing.
Yeah.
There are countless Christians they've maimed or killed.
This is a commonly known fact. (Right.)
The CCP resists Heaven and God's will.
Their evil behaviors are countless and in defiance of God. (Right.)
It shows the CCP is an enemy of God, a satanic force.
Yeah.
But why do they persecute those who believe in the true God?
What is the point of their hate?
They fear the Chinese people will start following God.
They fear we will pursue the truth and gain salvation.
'Cause then no one would be enslaved by the CCP anymore.
Yeah. Right.
So then the CCP devil persecutes Christians by any means.
The CCP wants to ban God's work and Christianity
and turn China into a godless land
to secure its place as the dictator of China for thousands of generations.
His words are right on point. (Indeed.)
That is enough to show
the CCP is a satanic regime that hates truth and God the most.
They're devils and resist God. (That's right. I agree. Exactly.)
The CCP's rule is Satan's rule.
Don't you all agree? (Of course, I agree. Yes.)
That's right!
The CCP's reign is Satan's reign.
Their resistance of God is a terrible sin. (Awful.)
That's very true.
It's abhorrent.
They're the worst.
When you said that, my heart felt bright, clear.
This is great.
Thanks be to God.
The CCP arrests and persecutes believers wantonly
to slaughter Christians to wipe them out entirely,
to make China atheistic.
They seek to control China forever,
keeping the people submissive in every sense. (True.)
These are the evil ambitions of the Chinese Communist Party. (Yes.)
They expose their perverse, heretical, and reactionary substance.
That's right.
If we obey them, we're digging our own graves.
I agree. He's so right.
The Three-Self Church submits to the CCP by Paul's words.
They're under its control on Satan's side.
God must really hate the Three-Self Church!
Yes. Of course.
I have believed in the Lord for years and was persecuted by the CCP,
but never knew their essence of hating the truth and resisting God.
Brother Yu, your talk here today has allowed us to see this.
Yes. Praise God.
The CCP is a devilish group
that hates the truth and resists God.
Correct. You're right. Yes, it's so clear.
If Christians let themselves be controlled by it,
they will be forsaken by the Lord! (Right.)
Now I understand this.
Praise God!
Thank the Lord. My heart feels so liberated.
Before I didn't know the truth or see the God-opposing nature of the CCP.
Yeah.
No matter how much they persecuted Christians,
I didn't dare condemn them.
I even prayed for them.
I thought the ruling government was ordained by the Lord,
and failing to obey them was rebelling against the Lord.
We couldn't tell the difference between good and evil. (True.)
Yeah. We really are in quite a dilemma, aren't we?
We can't truly obey and worship the Lord,
and we still worship Satan's power.
We constantly pray for CCP officials.
We pray that people can liberate themselves from poverty.
We pray for harmony in our country.
We pray to end disasters and wars,
and we pray for world peace too. (Yeah.)
We pray that all corrupt men can enter God's kingdom and gain eternal life.
The more I think about it now,
I think we've been on the side of Satan.
We've been praying for Satan's evil forces to be blessed. (Yes. Yeah.)
But that is rebelling against God, right? (It is.)
Isn't this directly contradicting God?
Yes.
We wake up early and pray for them every day, resisting God without knowing it.
Yes, we've been foolish. (Yes.)
Thanks be to God.
God's enlightenment allows us to see things like this.
Praise the Lord!
Now we see it clearly.
During the CCP's rule, they rebel against God and persecute His chosen.
Haven't they committed countless sins? (Yes. Right.)
They really have.
The CCP uses all kinds of methods to hurt and kill countless Christians.
Have they not brought disaster upon countless Christian households?
Yes. That's true.
According to this,
we can confirm that the CCP is the world's most evil satanic regime,
a group of devils who rebel against God.
Don't you all agree?
That's right. Yes. What he says is true.
So we turn our backs on them.
Isn't that in accordance with God's will?
We must reject them. Yes.
The Lord Jesus revealed this long ago:
The Bible also says,
The Lord Jesus reveals the truth and root of this world's evil darkness.
All humanity lives under Satan's influence.
There is no space for God or the truth to exist.
In religious world,
no one dares to openly bear witness to God's incarnation in the church.
No one would dare to testify in the church or in public about the truth Christ expresses.
If anyone is found testifying about the incarnate Christ, they'll be condemned.
They will be driven out of the church and maybe even handed over to the government.
Tell me, isn't this mankind just as evil as it can get?
This humanity is too corrupt and evil.
The whole earth is full of the sounds of denying God,
denying truth or condemning Christ.
Isn't this because the world has been ruled by those evil satanic forces that resist God?
Yes, it is. That's right. Yeah.
Two thousand years ago,
when the Lord Jesus incarnate was born,
He was hunted by the Roman government.
When He preached and did His work,
He was crucified on the cross by Jewish leaders and Roman officials.
When the Lord Jesus' gospel came to China,
it was met with condemnation and resistance by the Chinese government.
We don't even know how many missionaries were afflicted or slaughtered.
Since the CCP took power,
it's even harder to know the number of Christians killed or captured.
That's right.
Why is this important? What does this prove?
Why does the CCP hate believers?
Why have Christians been persecuted so much throughout history?
Why do humans choose to reject and condemn the truth all the time?
Why can't the will of God be carried out on the earth and throughout all countries?
Because Satan is controlling humanity.
It is because the whole world lies under the domain of Satan.
That's right.
Because the earth is ruled by Satan's evil forces, (Indeed.)
and atheistic regimes that resist God!
The CCP regime is an example of Satan's evil forces.
That's the reason humanity is filled with dark and evil.
Isn't this a commonly accepted fact?
He's so right. Indeed.
Yes, that's the truth.
But some people still follow Paul's words,
They think that obeying those in authority is obeying God.
But the CCP prevents us from believing in or worshiping God.
Do we have to obey them as well?
We can't obey them!
The CCP persecutes Christians. It forces us to write confessions.
It forces us to deny, reject, and betray God.
It compels Christians to curse and blaspheme God.
Can we obey a regime that acts like that?
We cannot obey them. No, we cannot.
There's no way that we can.
The CCP forbids us from evangelizing,
forces us to sell out the Lord, makes us serve as their accomplices.
So how can we obey them?
No, we should not obey them.
Obeying them will lead to our destruction.
If we obey the devilish CCP,
then aren't we standing on Satan's side, resisting and betraying God?
Yes. That's right.
We can't obey this satanic regime.
To do so is to stand on the side of Satan,
to resist and betray God! (Yeah!)
Everyone, now let's look at what Paul said,
Can we put these words in practice? Are they in line with truth?
Those words are fallacies.
Right. We can't follow them.
Paul said,
Now if we look at Paul's words here,
they're very problematic and questionable.
Yes.
How could Paul not see through the age of evil and darkness?
Paul was arrested for spreading the gospel.
Logically, he should have greater insight into the evil essence of a satanic regime. (Yes.)
But Paul's words really boggle the mind.
They really just don't make sense.
Many people in the religious communities have been misled by Paul's words.
This is so true for the Three-Self Church.
They obey the authorities according to Paul's words.
They've chosen to side with Satan's regime.
They do whatever the CCP tells them.
Yes.
They even follow the CCP's "love country, love church, honor God and benefit man."
All the church meetings, Bible study, spreading gospel are all restricted by the CCP.
How are they believing in the Lord?
Isn't this worshiping Satan and betraying the Lord?
Absolutely. Yes, it is.
Paul's words are just really misleading.
They have misled and they've ruined many pious believers who don't understand the truth.
Paul's words are so harmful. (I agree.)
Everyone, we all know that
God allows Satan to rule on earth and corrupt humanity.
This is all part of God's wisdom and planning.
Wisdom?
God's wisdom?
Yes. The point of God saving humanity is to defeat Satan,
to make the corrupted mankind into those who obey and worship God.
This is the only way to fully defeat and humiliate Satan
and seal its fate.
Amen. God is so wise. Thanks be to God.
That's great.
So that's why God allows Satan to rule and corrupt man.
He wants to let humans discern for themselves, to see Satan's essence.
God wants mankind to hate and forsake Satan,
and God never said that man should obey Satan.
He never said rebelling against Satan's regime deserves punishment.
Think about it, isn't this the truth? (Yes. It is.)
Right. God never said that.
Right, now I understand.
According to Paul's view,
those saints who were persecuted by satanic regimes or martyred for the Lord
were asking for it because they rebelled against the ruling authority.
Really? (No! Definitely not! Of course not.)
The saints even did time in prison.
Isn't that a beautiful testimony to the Lord?
Of course. Of course it is.
But according to Paul's words,
the persecution of these saints did not constitute testimony for the Lord.
They were asking for punishment as they resisted the power.
The same way,
Paul himself was jailed for spreading the gospel.
Is that not futile?
Then why did Paul use his own suffering as testimony when he talked to other people?
Isn't that a contradiction?
Yes. How didn't we realize this?
Yes, he's truly right.
We believe in the Lord; we spread the gospel of the Lord.
This is a mandate from Heaven. (Amen.)
But satanic regimes stop at nothing to persecute Christians.
They resist spreading the gospel and carrying out God's will.
They're exposed as haters of the truth
and enemies of God in essence. (Yes. That's right.)
People are persecuted by satanic regimes
because they adhere to the true way and spread the Lord's gospel.
They're persecuted for righteousness.
It's most approved by the Lord. (Amen.)
How can we say they're asking for punishment?
Paul was really wrong. (Yeah.)
The Lord Jesus clearly said:
Amen.
Did Paul not know what the Lord Jesus said?
He must have. He spread the gospel for so many years.
See, the Lord Jesus' words and Paul's words obviously contradict.
Yes, they do.
So in this matter,
should we listen to Paul's words or obey the Lord?
Obey the Lord, of course! Obviously, obey the Lord.
Right.
Those were Paul's words, not the Lord Jesus'.
Paul's words don't speak for the Lord Jesus.
The Lord Jesus never said obeying the authorities is obeying God.
Yeah, the Lord Jesus never said that.
Hey, I just realized.
Regarding taxes,
Amen.
The Lord Jesus said that we have to obey authorities in terms of taxes.
But He never said we had to obey all their orders.
Yes. That's right.
He definitely never said rebelling against them is opposing God's ordinance.
Yes, indeed.
So then, what Paul said is not in line with what the Lord Jesus said. (Right.)
It's not in line with truth. (I agree.)
We can't let it guide our behavior.
Amen!
We were created by God, belong to God. (Right.)
We should listen to God's words and obey His authority.
This is righteous and just!
Amen.
Since we believe in the Lord,
we must listen to His words and obey Him.
Whether it's the authorities or famous people,
if what they say doesn't conform to the Lord's words,
we will not listen. (Right.)
As it says in the Bible,
Amen.
Praise the Lord.
Listening to Brother Yu commune here, I feel so enlightened.
Praise God.
We've resolved so much confusion. (Yes.)
We've gained more just today than years of listening to our pastor.
Yes. It's true.
Brother Yu coming here today is truly the Lord's grace and plan.
Yes. Praise the Lord.
I knew there's God's good intention.
Thank God for His guidance. Today's fellowship has been wonderful.
Praise the Lord.
Brother Yu, your fellowship has enlightened us. (Yes.)
Hurry.
Dad, what's wrong?
What's going on?
It's from Brother Lu.
Since the police haven't caught Brother Yu,
they'll keep searching the mountain.
It's not safe for us here.
Let's head home. I will keep you all updated.
Okay. Good.
Let's hurry.
Brother Yu, we'll make the arrangements.
Brother Fang,
cover Brother Yu as he goes down the mountain to Brother Zhang's house.
Got it.
Brother Yu, come with me.
Take care!
Tell me, was Elder Sun so anxious to gather us all
because he knew we were listening to Brother Yu preach?
It's likely.
I wonder if they already know Brother Yu believes in Almighty God.
I was thinking the same thing.
Elder Sun has been resisting this whole time …
Why was Elder Sun so anxious to get everyone together?
I don't know.
Everyone,
what Brother Yu fellowshiped these past few days was profound.
But I worry he believes in the Eastern Lightning.
Brother Yu's from the Eastern Lightning?
No wonder his fellowship is so profound.
Don't forget,
the Eastern Lightning has been condemned by the religious world and the CCP government.
If we accept their preachings and believe in the Eastern Lightning,
we're in for a lot of trouble.
Yes.
Why do we believe in God?
Isn't it so we can have peace?
Won't it be shameful to be captured, jailed by the CCP?
Indeed.
I don't agree. It's persecution for righteousness' sake.
Elder Sun called us here today to commune on this.
No wonder Brother Yu's communion is so enlightening.
He believes in Almighty God.
Yeah, no wonder.
I heard the Eastern Lightning's preaching is lofty and practical.
Now I know it's true.
Yeah.
The Eastern Lightning may be profound, but listening to them is dangerous.
We risk arrest by the CCP and we might be expelled by the pastor. (Yes.)
We can't listen to the Eastern Lightning anymore. (Why?)
What he says has some truth. Why can't we listen?
Yeah.
I've gained a lot of insight from Brother Yu's fellowship recently.
Me too.
I understand many more truths than I did before.
The Eastern Lightning has the Holy Spirit's work. (Yes.)
Why can't we seek and accept it? (Yeah.)
Sister Zhen is right.
His fellowship is so great.
Everyone, now is the time when the Lord will arrive.
False prophets and false Christs are out to deceive man.
Yes.
At our gatherings, we have repeatedly stressed that we can't receive any strangers.
The Eastern Lightning especially, we can't listen to them at all.
Why won't you listen to me?
Aren't you afraid of being deceived?
I know there are good sheep, head sheep even from all sects
who've read the Eastern Lightning's books and heard their sermons.
They believe in the Eastern Lightning.
They cannot be brought back no matter what.
That's right.
Why have so many people accepted it?
The Eastern Lightning's preaching is powerful.
It's shocking the very core of the religious community.
Yeah.
So we all have to remember,
no matter what happens, we'll hold onto the Bible and the Lord's name.
Amen!
We can't listen to the Eastern Lightning's preaching any longer.
To believe in the Eastern Lightning is to abandon the Lord's way, to betray the Lord.
Yeah. You'll probably lose the Lord's salvation.
You must drive this Eastern Lightning person away immediately. (Right.)
This follows the Lord's will and shows true loyalty.
Isn't that what we want?
How can he say that?
Our belief in God is to follow the Bible and cling to it.
The Lord's words and work are in the Bible.
Departing from it, that's heretical. (Right.)
The Eastern Lightning goes beyond the Bible.
We must condemn and reject it. (Amen.)
Elder Sun wants us to send away the Eastern Lightning preacher.
That's in line with the Lord's will. (Yes.)
It can't be the Lord's will.
Yeah, how can we send him away? (That's right.)
I agree. Elder Sun is right.
If everyone listens to the Eastern Lightning,
who listens to the pastors interpret the Bible?
And then,
the church Elder Sun painstakingly built will be destroyed.
Who would Elder Sun be an elder to?
We're all human. We have a conscience, right?
We've all heard preaching from the Eastern Lightning
and it's too great.
Whoever hears it would be convinced.
The Eastern Lightning, isn't it shaking up the religious community?
Haven't you heard this before?
If we don't drive them away,
then they will steal all the good sheep from our church.
You can't say you haven't thought of this before?
I don't agree with what you're saying.
Do you know why the Eastern Lightning caused a shock to the religious world?
Why do so many good sheep and head sheep turn to the Eastern Lightning?
It's because the Eastern Lightning's preaching has the truth and is convincing.
Yes. That's right. Yeah.
These past few days, we've heard Brother Yu preach and know many truths.
After we listen, we understand the Lord's will
and can see the real essence of problems. (Yes.)
Our hearts have been enlightened.
We've resolved all the confusion we felt
and we have a way to practice.
We've restored our faith in the Lord.
Amen! Praise the Lord!
Before, when we listened to pastors and elders preach, it didn't solve problems.
Our church is becoming desolate.
If you compare them,
who really has the truth, the Holy Spirit's work, isn't it obvious?
That's right. It's clear.
Elder Sun, why do you always condemn the Eastern Lightning?
You condemn the Eastern Lightning, but do you know the truth?
Can you fix the church's problems?
That's right.
Can you lead us to hear the Lord's voice and into His kingdom?
Yeah.
Besides, what Brother Yu says is practical and has truth, with solutions to our problems.
Why would you try to drive him away?
Yeah, why would you? It's wrong to drive him out.
After hearing him,
we've obtained the watering and supply of life.
You should feel happy for everyone.
That's right. Yeah.
You don't want us to live in darkness and starve, right?
We've been hearing you interpret the Bible all these years,
and what do we get?
Even now we still don't understand the truth.
We just have Bible knowledge and theological theory.
But we can't solve our problems.
We don't even know how to treat Satan's regime.
Don't you think that's pathetic?
As a church elder,
you should take responsibility for our life.
That's right. I agree.
Elder Sun, the church is so desolate now.
The faith of our brothers and sisters has grown cold and weak.
You must know this by now.
If what the Eastern Lightning preaches is so powerful,
and so many good sheep from all denominations have accepted Almighty God,
this should prove the Eastern Lightning really holds the truth and is from God. (Right.)
You should lead everyone to investigate it more
if you're a good servant of the Lord.
That's right. She's right.
Instead, you restrict and hinder us
and say we should condemn the Eastern Lightning.
Does this accord with the Lord's will?
Are you a seeker of the truth?
The Eastern Lightning has truth.
Why won't you let us study it?
Why do you insist on condemning it?
That's right! Yeah. Why?
Makes me wonder,
are you a good servant or are you just an evil servant?
I really don't understand you.
We must learn to discern. (Yeah.)
In the past, we didn't hear the Eastern Lightning's preaching.
We didn't see the truth and we blindly believed you all.
We too resisted the Eastern Lightning with you. What did it do?
The more we resisted the Eastern Lightning, the worse our spirits felt.
We didn't know what was going on.
Right. Indeed. That's how it went.
Now we all understand.
The Eastern Lightning is the work from the Holy Spirit. (Amen.)
If not, why would our spirits grow darker the more we resisted?
She's right.
How could we not have the presence of the Lord? (Right.)
Now we're already certain.
The Eastern Lightning has communed so many truths.
I know this means it comes from God.
Absolutely. Amen. That's right.
We must study as soon as possible. We can't listen to the elders any more.
Do you all agree?
Yes. For sure.
We didn't understand before. We let them harm us.
This is definitely the Lord's will. (Yes.)
Yes, we have to seek the true way.
We can't let pastors and elders restrict us. (Agreed.)
We can't blindly listen to them anymore.
We've been in the dark for so long. We can't do it any more.
I understand how you feel.
As an elder of the church, I did not shepherd you well.
It's my fault, my responsibility.
But still, how could you listen to the Eastern Lightning?
Don't you know this?
The Lord's words are all in the Bible.
Our faith is based on the Bible.
Leaving it, we're betraying the Lord. (Amen.)
But you don't hold on to the Bible or the Lord's way,
you listen to the Eastern Lightning instead.
You're betraying the Bible and betraying the Lord!
I won't let you study the Eastern Lightning.
It's my responsibility for you.
Isn't this in the best interest of you all?
So why? Why don't you understand?
As a church elder, I must protect you all.
I can't let you leave the Lord's way and betray the Bible.
Am I wrong for doing this?
No, you're right.
Elder Sun is right!
In our belief, we should hold firm to the Bible and the Lord's name.
We can't listen to the Eastern Lightning.
We should only listen to the pastors and elders. (Amen.)
Obeying them is obeying the Lord.
That's right.
Elder Sun won't let us listen to the Eastern Lightning
because he's responsible for our lives.
We should understand where he's coming from.
Elder Sun,
it seems that you're saying this out of concern for us.
You worry we'd leave the Lord's way.
I think that I understand.
But you say hearing the Eastern Lightning is betraying the Bible and the Lord.
Have you heard what the Eastern Lightning preaches?
Oh yeah.
Have you investigated Almighty God's word?
If you've never heard it,
then how can you judge and condemn it?
He's right.
What if the Eastern Lightning really is the work of the Lord?
You're not afraid of resisting the Lord?
That would be terrible.
That's true.
Elder Sun, you know the Bible so well.
You should understand the severity of this.
You often say that people believe in the Lord to obtain life.
That person who can communicate the truth to us,
make us understand the truth and the Lord's will,
and solve our practical problems,
that's the person we should trust and receive.
Am I wrong?
No. You're right. Yeah, I get it. That's right.
The Eastern Lightning preacher communes the truth and reality,
allows us to know the truth and enjoy the Holy Spirit's work,
and can solve all our problems.
So I think that we should receive him and hear him out.
Right. We should welcome him.
Yes, it's the right thing to do. I agree.
If our pastors and elders could communicate the truth and allow us edification and provision,
would we need anybody else?
Don't you agree that this is the case?
Yeah, I agree. I do. It's true.
Pastors and elders only talk about the doctrines in the Bible.
They can't supply us with life or communicate reality of the truth. (Yeah.)
So we looked for another path
and took in the Eastern Lightning person.
This is our freedom and our right.
Why would you interfere with us?
She's right.
You don't want to see us trapped to death here in this religion, do you?
Of course not.
Then why would you stop us from studying the true way?
Yes, why?
By doing that, you're harming all of us. (You are.)
How can you say you're protecting us?
Your words may sound righteous,
but your deeds are base and vile! (Yeah!)
How are you different from the ancient Pharisees?
He's not different at all.
By doing this, aren't you betraying the Bible?
Aren't you betraying the Lord's will? (Yeah.)
You're boxing us in and controlling us.
Why not let us seek the truth and the true way freely?
Yeah!
Is there another motive here?
It's not us who need self-reflection.
It's you pastors and elders.
Why do they restrict us like this?
We should just believe in God.
We shouldn't be restricted. We should just believe in God.
If the Eastern Lightning's preaching offers you provision and understanding of the truth,
you can continue.
I won't object.
I'm not completely unreasonable.
It's just … if you listen to the Eastern Lightning,
please be careful.
Nowadays,
most religious pastors and elders are condemning the Eastern Lightning.
What does this mean?
It means the Eastern Lightning can't be the true way.
Amen.
If the CCP and religious leaders accepted it,
that would prove it's the true way. (Amen.)
Am I wrong? Do you all agree?
I do!
If the Lord Jesus returned to do God's work of judgment in the last days,
it would be advocated by the religious communities.
Right.
How could that be opposed and condemned by religious leaders at all?
Yeah, how could that be?
Would God let the religious communities resist and condemn His work?
Right. God wouldn't allow it. (Yeah.)
Besides, religious leaders often interpret the Bible.
They know it well.
You could say they understand the Bible the best.
Amen. Right.
So if they resist the Eastern Lightning,
they probably aren't wrong.
Right. They can't be wrong!
Are you saying that none of the religious pastors and elders have the truth at all?
How could you dare condemn all elders as the hypocritical Pharisees?
I wouldn't dare say that.
I think that
we should continue to follow the religious community.
Amen.
I don't want you listening to the Eastern Lightning's preaching.
Is this not in your best interests?
He's going around in circles, but we still can't listen?
Elder Sun is right.
If it's condemned by the CCP and religious world, it can't be the true way.
We should follow religious trends and stick to the Bible.
That can't be wrong!
The Lord wouldn't forsake the whole religious world.
The Lord is compassionate.
I don't believe the Lord would ever forsake us. (Amen.)
I don't think you should listen to the Eastern Lightning either.
Me neither.
If the Eastern Lightning is the return of the Lord Jesus,
how come we're not raptured yet?
I don't care if it's the true way.
If I can't get to the kingdom of heaven, I don't want it.
I'll stick to the Bible.
I'll follow religious trends. There's no way I'm wrong.
Even if the Eastern Lightning is the true way, I don't want it.
Get me into the kingdom of heaven, then I'll believe.
How can he say that?
He's an unbeliever.
That is the voice of Satan. (Exactly!)
That's completely absurd. (Awful.)
I have something to say.
If only pastors and elders know the true way as you say,
where are the facts to back this up?
Is it in line with the truth?
Do the Lord Jesus' words support this?
The Lord Jesus didn't say anything like that. (Yeah.)
When the Lord Jesus did His work,
He received fierce condemnation from the Jewish religious world.
And in the end,
He was crucified on the cross by Jewish leaders and the Roman government.
Isn't this true?
It is.
Would you dare say the Lord Jesus isn't the true God and His work not the true way?
No one would dare. No, nobody would say that.
According to you, aren't you condemning the Lord Jesus' work?
Right. They definitely are.
Elder Sun, what do you say to that?
That's how it is.
If you had lived in the Lord Jesus' time,
I don't know whether you would follow religious leaders and resist the Lord Jesus
or follow the Lord Jesus.
Yeah. That's right.
When you try to figure out whether it's the true way,
it's not based on the Lord's words nor the Holy Spirit's work.
You base it on religious leaders' and the government's acceptance.
Judging based on this criteria, does this accord with the truth?
Is it in line with the Bible?
No, it's against the Bible and the truth.
When the Lord Jesus appeared and did His work,
many people condemned His work based on their own conceptions and imaginings.
Yeah.
What was the result?
They resisted and condemned the Lord. They were cursed by God.
That's right.
How is your attitude toward the Eastern Lightning
different from the ancient Pharisees' attitude toward the Lord Jesus?
Exactly the same.
Don't you think such views are absurd and ridiculous?
Indeed. Yes. It's true. He's right.
If the Eastern Lightning is the appearance of God,
then the religious pastors and elders who condemn it
are the modern-day Pharisees.
Yeah.
Some even call the cops and have the Eastern Lightning preachers arrested.
Isn't this standing on the side of Satan's regime resisting God?
That's true.
Their resistance of the Eastern Lightning
makes me wonder if they're God-fearing people at all.
They don't seek the true way or consider the life of us.
How can they restrict us from seeking the true way?
Correct. Yeah. That's right.
I think I fully understand.
They're no better than the Pharisees.
They're hypocrites.
They only care for their own status. (Yeah. You're right.)
Based on how they've dealt with the Eastern Lightning,
I now understand they are evil servants, false shepherds. (Right! Yeah!)
Elder Sun, recently we've already started seeking.
We've found the Eastern Lightning has the truth and comes from God.
That's right. Definitely.
If you want to be responsible for our life,
then you should study the Eastern Lightning
and listen to their sermons, (Agreed.)
and see if the Eastern Lightning has truth or not. (That's right.)
Then, you can confirm whether the Eastern Lightning is God's work.
Right. Yes. That's a good plan. I agree.
If the Eastern Lightning didn't have the Holy Spirit's work,
and was just man's group,
we could condemn it however we want.
But you haven't looked into it. You're just blindly condemning.
You're even believing the CCP's lies.
That's of a different nature entirely.
Absolutely. It's offensive to God.
We're believers in the Lord.
We must be responsible for our actions. (Yes. Right.)
If you're wrong,
how will you explain it to us? (That's right.)
If you ruin our future prospects,
how will you compensate us?
Yeah. Very true. That's right.
If you're really considerate of us,
why don't you search for the true way?
How can you still say irresponsible things? (Yes! Yeah!)
Elder Sun, you're wrong to do this.
If you had compassion,
you wouldn't stop us from seeking the true way. (Yeah! Yes!)
You're the elder, so why don't you let us choose for ourselves?
Why? Yeah. She's right.
Yes. We're now able to understand some truth.
That's a good thing. (Yeah. Yes.)
You don't have to be happy for us,
but why condemn the Eastern Lightning? (Yeah!)
Is that still love?
There's no love. None at all.
You're the elder.
If you can't lead us to find the true way and the Lord's voice,
then you're not qualified!
Yeah, that's right. Agreed.
Restricting us from studying the true way,
do you have a conscience? (Yeah!)
I … I have worked so hard for all these years for you all!
Not only do you disobey me, you try and tell me what to do!
You've let me down! (It's just facts.)
You …
Elder Sun! Elder Sun!
How could you all do this to him?
You are muddled. You can't see the truth.
You can't stick up with the truth.
The Eastern Lightning has the truth. We should study it. (Amen.)
They've only listened to the Eastern Lightning for a few days,
and they're already so incisive and insightful.
I didn't expect this.
It seems that the Eastern Lightning really does have the truth.
Powerful!
I can't let our fellow believers listen to it. (Right.)
Otherwise,
all our believers will turn to the Eastern Lightning.
If that happens, our church will shut down!
It's true.
We need a way to stop them. (Right.)
This can't continue.
They've only been studying the Eastern Lightning a few days,
and they've already changed.
If they take even more over to the Eastern Lightning,
who will follow us and listen to our preaching?
Won't we be left standing alone?
That's right.
No. It's too dangerous.
Well, it doesn't matter if they follow us.
But we must protect the flock.
I think Zheng Xun and the rest are dead set against changing their opinions.
They just want to study the Eastern Lightning.
Thank you.
What we should do
is find that Eastern Lightning preacher and turn him in to the cops.
He'll do eight to ten years!
Then we'll cast out all of them.
We'll make believers reject them, ostracize them.
Then we'll keep our church open.
Ah! Elder Sun has great ideas.
This is the only way that will work.
How can you do this?
The Eastern Lightning preachers believe in God.
Isn't this going a bit too far turning in a believer?
How would you even know?
If we don't do it, we're in trouble.
If none of us resist the Eastern Lightning,
our church would have to shut its doors.
You know the CCP takes believers and drives them close to death.
This is especially true for the Eastern Lightning people.
They're treated like the worst criminals.
If they are sent to jail,
who knows if they'll live or die?
Won't you be selling out the Lord and our friends?
You'll become like Judas.
Won't this offend the Lord?
I think sending them to prison is a terrible thing.
You're just being short-sighted.
If we don't drive the Eastern Lightning preachers to death or to prison,
they'll just continue to steal our sheep, all our good sheep.
Yes.
Could we still maintain the church?
They are forcing me to do this.
What choice do I have? There's nothing.
I'm an elder of the church. Given sermons for years.
I know more than you do.
I do this to protect the flock. I'm being loyal.
Yeah.
Yes.
In these past few years, Elder Sun has been through a lot for our church,
and he's gathered all these sheep himself.
That's right.
So it's natural that Elder Sun shepherds them.
How could he let the Eastern Lightning steal them?
They're stealing our sheep.
That means they're stealing our meal ticket.
We should take a stand against the Eastern Lightning.
Yeah. True.
How dare the Eastern Lightning steal our flock?
They deserve all this. (It's true.)
Brother Zheng! Brother Zheng!
What happened? (This is bad.)
Careful. Take it easy.
Elder Sun and some others, they're searching all our homes for Brother Yu!
For Brother Yu?!
Yes, they said they'll turn him into the police!
And they'll expel whoever houses him.
Quick, give me the bike. (Here.)
We have to hide Brother Yu.
Don't worry, Brother Yu.
My aunt and uncle are good people.
They don't believe in the Lord, but they're good people.
You should hide there for a while.
After the things settle down, I'll come get you.
Okay. It's fine with me.
I've put you all through so much.
Come on. We're all brothers in the Lord.
This is what we're supposed to do.
Almighty God!
You have used Your miraculous ways to lead me here.
I am sure there is Your good will.
As soon as the people here began examining Your work,
they were disturbed by the antichrist forces in the religious world.
The pastors and elders tried many things to stop them from finding the true way.
They're taking people searching for me door to door.
O God! Now that everything is this bad,
I just really don't know what I should do.
O God!
Please open a path for me, give me faith and strength.
Lead me to finish the commission You've given me …
You bought these boards?
No, we made them ourselves.
Wow, really?
Who is it?
It's me, uncle!
Oh, Zheng Xun! Come in, come in!
He's in here. (Thank you.)
Brother Yu. (Oh, Brother Zheng, how are things going?)
Thanks be to the Lord. The Lord has given us a way out.
We've found a house we can meet in.
Ah, that's great! Thanks be to God.
Hey, everybody's there already.
You should get your things. We should go while it's still dark out.
Sounds good, I'll go now. (Great.)
Why did they turn hostile when we talked about the Lord's return? (Yeah.)
Brother Yu, come in, please!
Oh, Brother Yu! Brother Yu's here! (This is great!)
Oh, everyone's here.
Brother Yu, you've come!
I'm sorry for the wait.
How has everyone been?
Oh, Brother Yu, you don't know,
things in the church are completely chaotic. (Yeah!)
Let's sit and talk about it.
Please have a seat. Here, sit.
Brother Yu, have a seat.
I'm so glad Brother Yu's here.
Yes, let's ask him what's really going on around here. (Yes.)
Sister, please go on.
Brother Yu,
the pastors found out you've been witnessing Almighty God to us.
Yeah.
Now they're acting like crazy people,
going around spreading heresies and lies, condemning Almighty God. (It's true. Right.)
They seal off the church,
and have been constraining anyone from hearing your sermons.
It's true.
And they see us all as thorns in their eyes, the most hated.
They also say those who accept Almighty God will be expelled from the church.
Yes, it's true.
Clearly the church has split into two factions.
Some brothers and sisters want to study the true way with us.
It's true. Yeah.
Others are just following the pastors and elders in resisting the Eastern Lightning.
They treat us as though we are their enemies.
Why has the church changed so much and only in a few days?
Yes, why?
Before, we were all brothers and sisters.
How can we be enemies today?
Why did they go crazy when you bore witness to Almighty God?
Yeah. Yeah, why?
I never thought something like this could happen.
What is really going on here?
I agree.
This sudden change in the church has everyone confused.
It does.
Brother Yu, let's talk about it.
Yes, please tell us.
Yes, let's talk about it.
Everyone,
what we're going through is no less than a spiritual war.
Spiritual war?
Why do I say this?
Each time God is incarnated to do His work,
the evil forces of Satan will resist and condemn Him.
Naturally, this leads to a spiritual war.
It exposes and divides the religious community.
Just like in the Age of Grace,
the Lord Jesus' work of redemption shocked the Jewish faith.
Many people followed the Lord Jesus because of what He said and did,
but what about the Jewish leaders?
When they saw the authority of the Lord Jesus' word and work,
they became scared,
because they knew clearly if they let the Lord Jesus do His work like that,
all the believers would follow the Lord Jesus,
and the whole of the Jewish faith would soon crumble.
Yes.
So in order to defend Judaism and secure their positions,
they tried to stop believers from accepting the Lord Jesus.
When that happened, believers in God split into factions.
Some of them hated the truth and resisted God's work;
they were enemies of God.
Some had no discernment and simply became passive observers.
But there were some who had heard God's voice,
and they were able to study and accept His work.
Those people are the ones who obey the work of God.
Now I get it.
When the religious world meets the appearance and work of God,
a spiritual war will follow.
Division will naturally happen.
The Lord Jesus' words and work back then smashed the prevailing order of Judaism.
At the time they exposed and divided the Judaism.
This should be easy for us to see.
I see.
This is true. Right.
It is true now that you mention it.
When the Lord Jesus came to do His work,
a majority of the religious people stuck to the Old Testament and Judaism.
Only a minority loved the truth and accepted the Lord Jesus' work,
and they formed Christianity.
Yes.
That is how Judaism became divided.
Yes, you're absolutely right.
Therefore,
we can see our church's split is another spiritual war.
Yes, this is true.
Now everyone knows the Lord Jesus has returned,
and He is Almighty God incarnate.
Almighty God has expressed all truths that can save and cleanse man.
He has done His work of judgment starting from God's house,
shocking the religious world.
Many good sheep from all denominations
have seen the words of Almighty God are truth and have power and authority.
They recognized God's voice and returned to Almighty God.
So the leaders in the religious community are all up in arms.
They fear when believers see Almighty God's words, they'll return to Him.
This would make them isolated.
Therefore, to protect their own status and eternal control over religion,
they join together to resist and condemn Almighty God,
and stop believers from studying the true way.
This ends up leading to another spiritual war.
It fulfills the biblical prophecies:
So this is how the prophecies are fulfilled! (Yes!)
Everyone, while this spiritual war goes on,
all of us believers will be given a choice.
Those who thirst for the truth and the manifestation of God,
have heard God's voice by studying Almighty God's work in the last days,
and now know that Almighty God is the Lord Jesus' return.
Amen.
They have broken free of the control of religious antichrist forces.
They've been raptured before God's throne for cleansing, salvation, and to be made perfect.
These people are the overcomers that God will make in the last days.
Thanks be to God!
But those who follow the religious leaders,
who reject, resist, and condemn Almighty God,
they are the tares and dogs God has exposed in the last days,
the antichrists and unbelievers.
They have already been forsaken by God and have fallen into darkness.
Of course.
Almighty God's appearance and work brought great famine to the religious world,
and all is revealed.
The wheat and tares, sheep and goats,
wise and foolish virgins, good and evil servants,
have all been categorized, separated in the spiritual war.
I see.
From this, we can see the wisdom of God's work and the wonder of His deeds. (Of course!)
Yes, that's how wheats and tares are separated.
God's work is marvelous.
God's deeds truly are wonderful. (Thanks be to God.)
The manifestation and work of God do expose people. (Yes.)
Ah, that's why our church became two factions when Brother Yu bore witness to Almighty God.
Right. Of course.
We usually believe in the Lord together.
We can't tell true from false believers.
When we bear witness to Almighty God,
the wheat and the tares, the good and evil servants,
the lovers and haters of the truth, are all revealed. (Indeed.)
The Lord Jesus' prophecies are fulfilled in this way.
God is so almighty and wise.
Amen.
Praise the Lord. We have discernment.
Yes, God is so great!
That's right. Hearing this today, I understand.
Antichrists have long controlled the religious world.
So when we examine Almighty God's work,
pastors and elders hate us
and try to stop us from seeking the true way. (Yeah.)
Well, Almighty God's work
has exposed the antichrist essence of the religious leaders as truth hating.
To protect their jobs and status,
the pastors and elders condemn and resist Almighty God.
And believers in Almighty God are like their enemies.
It's true.
They're exactly the same as the Pharisees who opposed the Lord Jesus back in the day. (Right.)
They should be cursed!
Right!
Yes!
Now we understand,
since Almighty God's judgment work in the last days began,
He encountered fanatical resistance and persecution from the CCP regime and the religious world.
Among corrupt mankind, there aren't many who truly love the truth.
Not many people in the religious world truly yearn for God's appearance.
This completely fulfills the prophecy of the Lord Jesus:
No matter how much the CCP and religious antichrists condemn and oppose it,
what comes from God will triumph.
This is a fact. (Amen!)
Hear this,
in just twenty years,
Almighty God's gospel of the last days has spread through mainland China.
It's become common knowledge in this country now.
Yes, spread throughout the land. God's work is amazing.
Almighty God's word, The Word Appears in the Flesh was posted online.
More truth lovers all over the world who hunger for the appearance of God
go study Almighty God's work in the last days.
How great!
We can study God's word online. (Yes, we can.)
Almighty God's words and work are like the lightning, flashing from the East over to the West.
It fulfills the Lord Jesus' words:
The words have come true. (Yes.)
Almighty God's work is the appearance and work of God in the last days,
the work of the returned Lord Jesus. (Amen.)
The result of God's appearance and work will improve,
with more people accepting it and testifying to it.
Time and facts will prove all of this. (Right. Yes.)
Thanks be to God.
It's like the Lord Jesus' work.
In the beginning, no one acknowledged it was God's work,
but then, the gospel spread and more people accepted it.
By the last days, it's spread everywhere. (Yes.)
It's true.
Almighty God's work is the same.
Now that Almighty God's words have spread around,
more people accept them as the words of God.
Thank God.
It proves God's words are almighty
and every sentence will be fulfilled. (Amen.)
God's words will accomplish all. (Amen.)
We've read the prophecies before, but didn't understand them.
Yeah, today they've been fulfilled,
and we understand when we hear witness of God's work. (That's right.)
That's how prophecies go.
Until they happen, people don't understand. (Yeah.)
Everyone, let's watch a video reciting Almighty God's words. (Okay.)
Thanks be to God. That will be wonderful.
A video of Almighty God's words? Great!
Wow!
Almighty God's words are ever so moving. They're filled with power and authority!
When you hear them, you know they're God's voice.
Indeed.
Only God's words can shake the whole religious community.
God's sheep hear His voice, it is totally genuine. (Yes!)
We all are truly blessed to be able to hear God's voice today! (Praise the Lord!)
No person could say something like this!
Yes!
Anyone who has read Almighty God's words will admit
Almighty God's words are truth,
they're the voice of God. (Amen!)
This proves Almighty God is the second coming of the Lord Jesus. (Amen! Yes!)
Since we believe in the Lord, we must accept the return of the Lord Jesus.
This is what it means to follow the Lamb's footsteps. (Yes!)
No matter how long people have believed in the Lord,
if they don't accept His return, they will be forsaken.
The Lord Jesus' return will indeed reveal people.
Only those who listen to the Bridegroom's voice and can accept it are the wise virgins.
Only those who attend the Lamb's wedding banquet
have the opportunity to obtain God's approval,
be cleansed, and enter Christ's kingdom. (Yes!)
If people only believe in the name of the Lord Jesus
and don't accept His return and the truth Christ of the last days expresses,
then how could the Lord Jesus ever acknowledge them?
Right.
The Lord Jesus will condemn them and say,
Yeah.
They're just like the Pharisees who only believed in the name of Jehovah God,
and didn't accept the Lord Jesus incarnate,
and so resisted and condemned the Lord Jesus.
Did their belief in God earn His approval?
No!
Right! No!
Not only did God disapprove of them,
they also were cursed and punished by Him.
It's true. Right.
Therefore, believers who only keep the Lord's name and faith in a vague God in heaven,
but don't obey God's work in the last days,
nor accept the truth uttered by Almighty God, Christ of the last days,
they're exactly the same as were the Pharisees, both believe in God in name.
In practice, both resist and both betray God.
They must all be forsaken by God.
It's true. Yes, true.
The Lord Jesus' return will expose all men.
This is something that all who believe in the Lord should clearly understand! (Yes, we all need to understand.)
You're correct!
I finally realize that believing in God is not all that simple! (Right.)
The Pharisees believed in God just in name.
They just kept the Messiah's name,
but crucified the Lord Jesus to the cross.
They committed a terrible sin.
Yes.
Not only did their faith in God fail to lead to blessings, it resulted in them suffering curses.
Yes.
We've believed in the Lord for years, but still don't know Him.
We follow pastors to resist and condemn His return.
Aren't we behaving just like the Pharisees:
believing in the Lord in name while in fact resisting Him? (Yes.)
How is this true faith in the Lord?
Our faith really is quite muddled!
Yes.
Believing in the Lord like this while resisting Him, not knowing Him,
yet still waiting for Him to rapture us to the kingdom of heaven,
isn't this simply daydreaming?
Right.
Following pastors to believe in the Lord like this is too dangerous!
We will be punished by God before we know what's going on!
Yes. Aren't pastors and elders leading us to resist God?
Tell me, are we not being sold to Satan? (Yes!)
And yet we still trust in them. Just how stupid are we?!
This is really foolish! (Sure it is!)
Right, it's so stupid.
Elder Sun,
the government is working hard to repress the Church of Almighty God.
Your information will help.
If the Eastern Lightning preacher's still here,
he'll have nowhere to run!
We'll increase our police presence and cut off every exit,
giving him nowhere to hide!
Also, you must work quite closely with us.
If you learn anything, you must report it at once!
Yes, yes, Captain Huang.
I follow the government's wishes.
I will work with the government to capture those who believe in the Eastern Lightning.
Besides,
this will help me to protect and defend our own church! (Yes.)
Therefore, we'll definitely cooperate as much as we can.
Do not worry, Captain Huang.
Right.
We believe in the Lord so we always must obey the ruling authorities,
because the ruling authority comes straight from God.
Captain Huang, if the government requires anything,
we'll cooperate no matter what.
You must believe us. (Yes.)
You're right to work with us.
You're indeed pretty smart.
Now you—
Hello. It's Director Wang.
OK, I'll get right on it.
Yes, yes, yes, I understand.
The national government has made "repressing the Church of Almighty God"
one of its utmost important tasks.
It seeks to attack the Eastern Lightning.
We'll work to apprehend and punish
the pillars of the Church of Almighty God. (Yes.)
We'll jail one group and kill another.
We'll completely ban the Church of Almighty God.
As for how you should deal with the Eastern Lightning,
if you believers stand on the side of the government,
working with us to repress and capture those who believe in the Eastern Lightning,
the government will support you.
Yes. We understand.
Otherwise, even your faith will be banned!
Yes, yes, Captain Huang.
We will … we will cooperate with the government. (Yes, yes.)
When we find the Eastern Lightning followers,
we will report them to you.
Yes, we'll report to you at once.
We'll be on our way. Thank you.
Okay. (Bye.)
Well, now that Brother Yu has talked so,
we finally understand.
Those who believe just in the name of the Lord Jesus
can't be saved and enter the kingdom of heaven.
We all must accept the second coming of the Lord Jesus
and obey God's work in the last days to enter the kingdom of heaven!
Right!
There still are many brothers and sisters who don't understand this.
They continue to live in their own illusions.
They think if they keep the Lord's name,
maintain the Bible, and listen to pastors and elders,
when the Lord returns, He'll bring them to the kingdom of heaven.
They follow pastors and elders in resisting and condemning the returned Lord,
and they don't even know it. (Right.)
It seems that what our brothers and sisters most need to learn
is how to believe in God so as to gain His approval
and be raptured into the kingdom of heaven.
Right. Indeed.
Hey, Brother Yu, how about this? (Yes.)
Tomorrow I'll call the brothers and sisters together, and you can commune with everyone.
How does that sound?
OK! Wonderful! (That sounds wonderful.)
Thank God!
Then tomorrow I'll invite another brother and we'll all commune.
Okay. That's great.
Great! Thanks be to the Lord! I'll gather brothers and sisters from our church to listen …
Thanks be to God.
Thanks be to the Lord!
We are indeed fortunate to feel the work of the Holy Spirit as we do today. (Indeed.)
Wow! Many brothers and sisters have come here today! (Yes!)
Sister Yang's here. (Sister Yang.)
You're all here. (Yes.)
Well, these past days,
Brother Yu has given us such insightful fellowship. (It's true.)
It does seem that the path we have taken in our faith in God strayed a bit.
Yes.
What's most important in having faith in the Lord is to follow His words and practice them always.
This is truly obeying God's work. (Yes.)
Yet we seem to only focus on working and preaching for the Lord,
and not on practicing and experiencing His words. (Yes!)
The pastors and elders that interpret the Bible
quote Paul's words the vast majority of the time
and then seldom quote the Lord Jesus. (That's right!)
In this way,
we are unconsciously worshiping Paul and following his example.
That is quite true.
Inevitably, this strays from the Lord's way.
Isn't this a deviation of our faith in God?
That's true it is.
At last we now understand.
We don't believe according to the Lord's words;
we blindly follow our pastors and elders.
Of course this leads to the wrong path. (Yes!)
We're really foolish and ignorant!
We are indeed.
Hey, sister. I'll take these books over. (Thanks.)
Thanks. (Sure.)
They even treat Paul's words as God's words.
Right!
Pastors and elders often quote Paul when they discuss welcoming the Lord's return;
they want us to always obey the ruling authority.
They've also defined that what is condemned by the authorities is utterly false.
As a result,
though Almighty God has performed His work for years,
we've not pursued or investigated.
That's right!
Plus, we follow them in resisting Almighty God's work in the last days.
We're close to becoming sinners through the ages,
incurring God's cursing and punishment.
Oh! The consequences are severe!
Thinking of that now makes me really scared. (Indeed.)
We've listened to them interpret the Bible for years,
but instead of knowing the Lord Jesus' words,
we just know Paul's.
In this way, the Lord Jesus' place in our hearts becomes smaller.
Aren't we straying from the Lord's way?
That's true.
We blindly obey the words of our pastors and elders;
we allow them to set standards and control all.
Even in studying the true way, we feel the need to ask them.
It's true.
Isn't it obvious that we're worshiping and following men? (That's true!)
Hey! I do not agree with what you're saying!
Brother Yu is here! …
Welcome!
What's his name?
Oh, Brother Zhao.
Hello, Brother Zhao! (Hello, my brother!)
Please, come sit.
Hey, everyone please sit!
Let's listen carefully. We can't miss this opportunity!
Don't believers look forward to the Lord's return? (Yes.)
We should seize this chance.
We give thanks to God!
May God lead us! (Good!)
My brothers and sisters, please continue with your discussion.
Yes, Sister Ma, please continue.
Then I'll continue.
I don't agree at all with what you've said.
Paul's words are in the Bible,
and therefore, they were inspired by God,
they are God's words. (Amen!)
Pastors and elders may discuss Paul's words the most
but even then they're still exalting and bearing witness to the Lord.
They don't stray from the Bible or the Lord's words.
Amen!
Believing in Him's believing in the Bible.
Regardless of sect,
if it strays from the Bible, then it's heresy! (Amen!)
We believe in the Lord and must act according to the Bible;
we must keep the words of the Bible. (Yeah.)
The Bible's Christianity's canon, the foundation of our faith.
Amen!
Leaving the Bible's leaving the Lord;
we leave it, how can we believe in the Lord?
Yeah, there'd be no way to believe in the Lord.
The Lord's words are written in the Bible.
Where else could we ever find His words?
If our faith in the Lord's not based on the Bible,
then on what is it based?
Right.
It's true.
The Bible's the foundation of our faith.
Haven't Christians based their faith on the Bible for thousands of years? (Yes!)
Do you see now? What believers do not retain the Bible?
Those without the Bible are simply not Christians.
Unbelievers don't have the Bible, because they don't believe in the Lord.
Correct!
Therefore, to believe in the Lord is to believe in the Bible.
We must keep the Bible's words and hold it firm as that's belief in the Lord.
This is the truth! (Amen!)
Sister Ma,
you say that because Paul's words are in the Bible,
they were inspired by God, they're God's words.
That's not quite proper, is it?
Did the Lord Jesus say, "All scripture is given by inspiration of God"?
Did the Holy Spirit testify this?
The answer's no. Certainly not. No, He didn't.
Then how can you say that all the words in the Bible were inspired by God?
Anyone familiar with the Bible knows that
the words of God conveyed by the prophets are quite clearly marked.
It's clear to see which words were inspired by God and are from God
and which were spoken by men.
Yes!
Yet none of the words in Paul's epistles are marked as having been inspired by God and from God.
Therefore, how can you say that all of Paul's words are God's words?
Right. Yes.
Was Paul a prophet? (No.)
Does the Bible say that Paul was instructed by God to convey His words?
It does not. Certainly not.
Right, it doesn't.
We know that Paul was just an apostle spreading the gospel.
The letters he wrote to each church
were simply an attempt to console his brothers and sisters in time of great difficulty.
Right!
So these words just represent Paul's experiences and knowledge.
They're the words of a human.
How can we say that those words were inspired by and came from God? (Yes!)
There's one point we must be clear about.
Only God incarnate can express the words of God,
because Christ's substance is God Himself.
Amen!
Paul is just a man; he is not Christ.
Therefore, regardless of whether or not Paul's words are recorded in the Bible,
they're just man's words. (Yes.)
This is an undeniable fact!
Correct. Yes.
God's words are God's words; man's words are man's words.
Man's words can never become the words of God.
Clearly, we cannot treat the words of man as if they were the words of God
just because they are in the Bible.
Right. Yes, that's right.
If we understand that they are man's words,
but still want to treat them as if they were the words of God,
are we not distorting facts and betraying the truth?
Isn't this resisting and blaspheming God? (Yes!)
It's an undeniable fact.
Brother Zheng is right!
Brother Zheng has been listening to the Eastern Lightning just a few months.
I'm shocked he already has such insight and has made such progress!
Ah! Wonderful!
Apparently, the Eastern Lightning really does come from God's work;
it clearly has the truth!
Yes!
Hey, why aren't Brother Liu and Sister Jiang here?
Where are they?
They won't be coming.
They're listening to the Eastern Lightning with Brother Zheng.
What?
Oh my!
If Brother Liu and Sister Jiang also believe in the Eastern Lightning,
then we're all in trouble. (Yes. Right.)
They've a lot of prestige
and will lead others to believe in the Eastern Lightning as well.
That's true. That's absolutely right.
If this continues,
the pillars in the church and other good believers will follow the Eastern Lightning.
Our church will not be able to survive!
That is so true.
Ah! Never once did I think that our best church members would all accept the Eastern Lightning!
Yes, they all understand the Bible.
The Eastern Lightning is too powerful!
We keep trying to prevent them from pursuing it,
but we still can't stop them from studying the Eastern Lightning.
Yes.
The number of true believers in the church is always going down.
Elder Sun, please tell us what we should do!
Yes, we must figure something out now.
I believe expelling Zheng Xun and the rest isn't enough;
we must ruin them, we must disgrace them!
Right! True!
Ideally, we should make our believers pray for the Lord to curse them all.
Indeed. They should all be cursed. Yes.
Everyone must promise the Lord
they won't investigate the Eastern Lightning,
nor read the words of Almighty God. (Yes.)
This way, no one will investigate the Eastern Lightning any more.
Tell me now, what do you think of this?
Good! That's we'll do! I fully agree.
That's a good plan!
Hey, Elder Sun,
I think that if we don't want the faithful to listen to the Eastern Lightning,
we should tell them that Zheng Xun accepted bribes and was bought off by the Eastern Lightning preacher.
Why else would he try so hard to believe in the Eastern Lightning?!
That's right. Right.
Man's out for his own interests. Man lives just for money.
Good point. Yes, that's right.
If we say this to them, they'll surely all believe it!
Yeah! This is a good idea! We'll do that!
Yes! You are right! It is a great idea!
Good idea. That should work!
The church collected pamphlets from the CCP and the religious communities
that resist and condemn the Eastern Lightning.
We've arranged them into a small brochure.
You must distribute these brochures to every single believer that we know.
OK. Will do.
That way,
the faithful will not listen to the Eastern Lightning any more.
Great! That's what we'll go do. It's a good plan!
Hey, Elder Sun, by resisting the Eastern Lightning,
we're obeying the authorities and in accordance with the Bible. (Right.)
But if we spread rumors about the Eastern Lightning,
are we not bearing false witness against others? (Yes!)
The Lord Jesus forbids us from bearing false witness.
Will this offend the Lord? Will we incur His wrath?
Ah! I don't feel good about this.
What do you know?
What should we do?
Just let all of the faithful go and believe in the Eastern Lightning?
Yeah!
We can't hold back when it comes to the Eastern Lightning.
By doing this,
we are protecting our sheep and our church. (Right.)
We are being loyal to the Lord.
That's right! Yes. We are.
Loyalty to the Lord? Protecting the sheep?
That doesn't give the right to spread rumors and to frame people.
How could this be framing people?
I really do not understand.
Your faith's been in vain if you can't even grasp this point!
You must see it like this:
We must do whatever it takes to protect the church.
As long as our intentions are good, then we're not doing evil.
Amen! Yes! Indeed!
Don't worry about it. Just be sure to get it done.
If there're any problems, the responsibility will be all mine.
If Elder Sun says that, my mind is at ease.
Right now we must all resist the Eastern Lightning. (Right.)
If this fails, I've one last resort …
Oh, one last resort?
We're far too invested in Paul's words.
We've treated Paul's words as the Lord's.
Brothers and sisters,
the problem we just discussed is quite important!
Indeed. That's right.
This impacts whether our belief in the Lord will gain His approval
as well as the rapture into the kingdom of heaven! (Right!)
In truth, many believers think, "Belief in the Lord is belief in the Bible,"
and that "keeping the Bible is believing in the Lord."
Now is this view in accordance with the words of the Lord?
Did the Lord Jesus ever say, "Keeping the Bible is believing in the Lord"?
Not at all. He did not. The Lord Jesus never said that.
According to this view,
"Belief in God is belief in the Bible and keeping the Bible is believing in God."
Now everyone,
think for a moment about the Jewish chief priests, scribes, and the Pharisees.
Their faith in God followed the Bible; they kept the Bible, correct?
That's right. Correct.
What were the results?
When the Lord Jesus appeared and did His work,
they didn't accept or obey Him.
Instead, they judged the Lord Jesus and said
His words and work overstepped the law of the Old Testament.
What's more, because the Lord expressed the words of God,
they actually convicted Him of blasphemy.
And as a result, they crucified Him on the cross.
That's true.
In light of this fact,
do we dare still say that belief in the Lord is belief in the Bible
and keeping the Bible is believing in the Lord? (No.)
When we put the Bible above all else,
does that mean we fear and magnify the Lord?
When we have blind faith in and keep the Bible,
does that mean we obey and worship the Lord?
It does not.
Does it mean that we follow God's will?
No.
Some believers only believe in the Bible and keep the Bible;
they can't magnify the Lord or practice and experience His words,
nor do they seek truth, obey God's work, or follow His footsteps.
They even resist and condemn God's work based on the literal words of the Bible.
Are they not hypocritical Pharisees?
Are they not antichrists who take God as their enemy?
Yes!
The Lord Jesus once rebuked the Pharisees:
The Lord Jesus exposed the Pharisees' flawed method of faith quite clearly.
The Pharisees' faith in God was only based upon the Bible.
All they did was according to it.
They valued the Bible above everything else;
they thought that keeping the Bible would give them eternal life.
However, they didn't accept the truth expressed by the Lord Jesus.
They chose to keep the Bible rather than follow Lord Jesus.
They clung to the Bible and used literal interpretations to attack the Lord Jesus.
They denied and condemned truths expressed by the Lord.
In the end, they crucified the Lord Jesus upon the cross.
That is why they were cursed and punished.
Yes, this is the truth!
Therefore,
we can see that if a believer only believes in and worships the Bible,
but then denies Christ incarnate and rejects God's work and leadership,
they certainly will not be obtaining God's praise.
Yes.
Is what I say not true? (Yes, it is.)
It seems dangerous to continue to keep the Bible. I'm worried.
Brothers and sisters,
let's read some of Almighty God's words. (OK!)
Please turn to page 944.
Let's read it together. (OK.)
Be honest, don't you think these words refer to us?
Almighty God's words are in line with our true conditions.
Right!
We have believed in the Lord for all these years
and really treated the Bible as if it were the Lord. (That's true!)
We thought following the Bible was after the Lord's heart,
that worshiping the Bible meant the Lord was with us.
It's true.
As long as I put the Bible near my pillow when I sleep,
I feel as if the Lord is protecting and keeping me.
My heart is at peace and so I sleep very well.
Yes! That's right!
In the past, we would often say
that we already had all of God's salvation;
it was all contained in the Bible.
I never realized that by saying that,
I was delimiting God only within the Bible.
Therefore,
I never studied Almighty God's work in the last days.
How could we have been so foolish and ignorant?! (Indeed.)
Brothers and sisters,
Almighty God's words expose the greatest deviations and errors in the religious people's faith in God to us.
Right.
If we compare it to our own experiences,
it seems we've believed in the Lord
but never really practiced or experienced His words.
We've never searched for the truth in the Lord's words or obtained the enlightenment of the Holy Spirit.
We've never tried to find the Lord's will within His words.
The result is that we have never followed the Lord's way,
and we have never really known the Lord.
That's right.
We thought if we could memorize some biblical passages,
God would have a place in our hearts,
that if we could explain some of the Bible,
it would mean that we did know God.
And even we falsely thought
that as long as we could explain the Bible and memorize a lot of the text,
we would be in accordance with God's will.
That's right!
All believers place the Bible above everything else.
In their hearts, the Bible has already replaced the Lord.
Yes.
Many think to exalt and keep the Bible is to exalt and bear witness to the Lord.
In truth,
these actions completely stray from the Lord's way and will.
Right.
This is especially true during the Lord's appearance and work in the last days.
Many still cling to the Bible
and wait till they see for themselves the Lord descend with the clouds.
They don't search for the Holy Spirit's work and utterance.
Even though they've heard the witness of the Church of Almighty God
that the Lord has returned and He is Almighty God
and is uttering the truth and doing judgment work in the last days,
they don't search for God's appearance and work.
They even follow religious pastors and elders in denying, judging, and condemning Almighty God.
They've become those who believe in yet resist God.
They will be forsaken by God, thrown into great disaster and punished.
Yes.
This happens when people blindly believe in and worship the Bible,
confine God within its limits,
and unconsciously walk the path of resistance against God.
The Pharisees were cursed by God
because they clung to the Bible and resisted the Lord Jesus.
What lessons can we learn from their failure?
It's wrong for believers to keep the words of the Bible.
We must practice and experience the Lord's words.
We must search for the truth in the Lord's words and gain the Holy Spirit's work.
This is especially true when the Lord returns.
When we hear someone bear witness to the Lord's arrival,
we must search for God's present work and words.
This way, we can follow the footprints of God's work;
we'll be raptured before God's throne
and receive the supply of water of life,
obtain truth and salvation, and enter the kingdom of heaven.
Amen!
Wonderful. We have a path now.
Thanks be to God.
Almighty God's words are indeed good.
What you say is practical and true. (Yes.)
Thank God! Praise God!
We've believed for years but never grasped how the Lord and the Bible relate.
Indeed.
We believe in the Lord but fail to magnify Him,
emphasizing the Bible instead.
We value classic Bible passages above all else.
We memorize a few dead Bible passages,
but don't obey the Lord, live by and practice His words. (Yes.)
This is especially true when it comes to His return.
I stubbornly kept the Bible.
In no way did I search for the work or for the utterance of the Holy Spirit. (Yes.)
When I heard that the Lord's returned as Almighty God
who is doing His work of judgment in the last days,
I didn't explore it.
Instead, I followed my pastors and elders in resisting and condemning.
Believing in the Lord like this, how are we different from those hypocritical Pharisees?
We believe in Him but don't know we're resisting Him.
Yeah.
This is the case.
Had Almighty God not revealed this,
if it were not for His words,
nobody would know about their deviations or errors in their faith.
In truth, before God spoke or started His new work,
our belief in the Lord according to the Bible was not wrong.
This is because the Bible is a witness to God;
it's a record of God's words and work during the Age of Law and the Age of Grace.
Indeed!
We who read it become aware of God's existence.
We learn about God's almightiness and wisdom,
how He created all and rules over all. (Yes.)
In addition, we can see what God said and did
during the previous two stages of His work,
as well as His wishes and demands on all of mankind,
His many actions revealed to all of humanity, and so on.
Yeah. Correct. Indeed.
The Bible specifically contains
the Lord Jesus' work of redemption during the Age of Grace,
the abundant grace and truth He gave mankind,
allowing us to see God's true love and mercy toward humanity.
Praise be to God. Yes, thanks be to the Lord.
If we did not have the Bible,
it would be hard for us to understand God's past work. (Right.)
Therefore,
the Bible is a necessary and classic book for us believers.
The Bible helps us believe in and know God truly,
and also to walk the right path of life.
Correct! Yeah!
However, regardless of how valuable the Bible is or how much it has helped humanity,
the Bible does not represent God or replace the work of the Holy Spirit,
much less does it stand in for God in the work of salvation.
Isn't this true?
Yes. It's true. That's quite right!
This is a fact! It's certainly is true, don't you agree?
God is the Lord of creation, the source of all life.
Furthermore,
God gives humanity a steady stream of life that is utterly inexhaustible. (Amen!)
However, the Bible is just a historical book about God's past work.
How could it ever be on par with God?
That's true!
Yes! It can't be put on the same level as God!
The Bible is the Bible. God is God.
The Bible and God are different. (Yeah.)
Belief in one does not mean belief in the other. (Right.)
Everyone, am I right?
Yes. That's correct. Indeed.
I finally understand.
The Bible is merely a limited collection of God's work and words,
meanwhile, God is both true and living,
God is the source of man's life.
Most of all, the Bible in no way compares with God! (Correct.)
Hey! That reminds me of a story. I'd like to share it with you all.
It doesn't quite fit this situation, but it does illustrate a problem.
What story? Tell us!
Tell us about it.
A father once took the time to write a long letter to his son.
And his son held this letter tight and cried rivers of tears every day.
He desperately longed for his father to return and be with him.
And then one day, his father did return from far, far away.
Guess what happened?
His son didn't acknowledge him, and he said the letter represented his father.
Tell me, isn't this just the most stupid thing for the son to do? (Yeah.)
Doesn't the father just have to scold his son?
It's a good analogy, right?
It explains the problem! (Yes!)
It's clear what we used to think
that "the Bible represents the Lord and faith in the Bible is faith in the Lord"
is not a valid viewpoint at all.
Yes. That's true.
Correct! You're absolutely right! Praise God!
Our faith in God can't be based just on the Bible.
We must base our faith on what God actually says
and the work of the Holy Spirit.
This is what's most important to faith in God! (Correct. Yes.)
If we don't even understand this basic knowledge concerning faith in God,
aren't we too foolish and ignorant?
It's true. Yes.
This is like it was in the Age of Grace when the Lord Jesus came and did His work.
Could man obtain the work of the Holy Spirit if all they did was read the Old Testament,
but not accept the words and work of the Lord Jesus? (No!)
Could they gain the Lord Jesus' salvation? (No. Of course not.)
Correct! Obviously not!
And so, when the Lord Jesus has returned in the last days as Almighty God,
and He is expressing truth and doing His work of judgment,
can those of us who only keep the Bible and the Lord Jesus' work,
obtain the work of the Holy Spirit and God's salvation of the last days?
Of course not!
Sister, we cannot continue to keep the Bible like this.
Correct!
Thus, when Almighty God does His new work in the last days,
we must all seek the truth within His words, as well as listen to His voice,
follow the footsteps of His work, (That's right.)
and undergo the judgment and chastisement of His words.
Only by undergoing God's work like this can we obtain truth, (Right.)
know God, and gain purification and salvation.
This kind of faith is the only way to gain God's praise. (Amen.)
Thanks be to God!
Now that they've spoken to us, we understand at last!
When God does new work, we must follow Him! (Correct!)
Captain Huang, do not worry.
This time the information is all true.
We'll definitely catch the Eastern Lightning preachers.
Just wait and see!
If we can catch them this time,
Elder Sun, it'll be because of you!
The government will not treat you badly.
That's good!
Praise the Lord!
Hearing your testimony to Almighty God's word,
I understand that I have learned nothing from my years of faith in the Lord.
I failed to see the difference between belief in the Bible and the Lord.
I even used my own bit of knowledge about the Bible to constrain God's work.
I followed pastors and elders in resisting Almighty God.
Long ago I took the Pharisees' path in resisting God and didn't know it.
I'm far too arrogant and unwise.
When I look at my behavior,
I don't resemble a believer in the Lord!
My faith in the Lord had no reality;
I was basically an unbeliever!
Hey, Sister Jiang, how can you say that?
Right! Yeah!
We've all believed in the Lord for many years and maintained His name. (Correct! Right!)
We all read the Bible, pray, and confess our sins to the Lord;
we're humble, patient, and loving toward others.
We perform charity and donate
and sacrifice everything to work for the Lord. (That's all true.)
We spread the gospel. (Correct!)
Are we not practicing the Lord's words?
Aren't we following His way? (Correct!)
How can you say we had no reality of faith in the Lord and are unbelievers?
Right. How can you say that?
We all know Paul said in the Bible,
Amen!
Therefore, I think our faith in the Lord will obtain His praise. (Yes.)
When the Lord comes, He'll bring us to the kingdom of heaven. (Amen!)
Tell me, do you think I'm right? (Amen!)
What Sister Ma says makes sense. (I agree.)
If we didn't have real faith in the Lord,
how could we all sacrifice our work and youth for Him? (Yes!)
How could we suffer so much to spread His gospel and witness Him?
If we didn't truly believe in the Lord,
could we have withstood all of that suffering,
borne our crosses and followed the Lord? (Right.)
Would we rather suffer in jail than ever deny the Lord's name and betray Him?
Isn't this evidence that we all really believe in the Lord?
Indeed!
Isn't this how saints believed in the Lord throughout time? (Yes.)
How can you say this is not true faith in the Lord?
What say you to all these issues?
Yeah, explain to us!
Sister Miao, please sit down.
These issues,
let's let Brother Yu and Brother Zhao talk to us about them.
Good!
Yes, talk to us about them.
Do, please!
I'll listen to you.
Many believers think as long as they keep the Lord's name and read the Bible,
pray and gather frequently,
are willing to sacrifice everything for the Lord, and labor for Him,
then they're indeed true believers.
They think so long as they believe in the Lord in this way,
they'll be lifted into the kingdom of heaven when He returns.
Is believing in God truly as easy as people think?
If people believe in God like this,
can they really obtain God's approval?
The Pharisees who were all denounced and condemned by the Lord Jesus,
isn't that the way they believed in God too?
They also often prayed and worked very hard
and even traveled to the ends of the earth to spread the gospel.
Then why has their faith failed to gain the Lord's approval
and incurred His condemnation and curses instead?
Ah! I really don't know.
Yes, I've never thought about that problem before.
Those who've read the Bible understand
that although the Pharisees read the Bible, frequently prayed,
dutifully spread God's work, suffered immensely, and loved others,
though on the outside they appeared to be very devout, true believers,
in reality, God had no place in their hearts and they failed to magnify God.
In their faith,
they didn't focus on seeking the truth in God's words or understanding His will,
nor did they try to practice His words and follow His commandments.
They only focused on spreading knowledge about the Bible and theological theory,
on observing religious ceremonies and following rules to aggrandize themselves
so they might be worshiped by others.
For years, that's how they believed and they had no true knowledge of God.
They definitely were not obedient and reverent toward God.
Therefore, when the Lord Jesus was doing His work,
they never once searched for the truth.
They measured the Lord Jesus based on their conceptions and imaginings.
Regardless of how profound the preaching of the Lord Jesus was
or how much authority and power His work had,
they didn't search for or study them.
They fanatically resisted and condemned Him,
then crucified the Lord Jesus on the cross.
They were punished and they were cursed.
Everyone, please tell me, can the faith of the Pharisees be called true faith in God?
It can't. No.
Can God acknowledge the faith of the Pharisees?
Certainly not.
Correct! The Lord Jesus never did approve them.
Not only that, He condemned and cursed them, saying,
Isn't this true?
Yes, this is the truth!
The Pharisees only trusted their conceptions and imaginings;
they believed in the vague God in heaven.
They did not believe in the Lord Jesus incarnate who indeed expressed the truth.
They were all bored with the truth and hated the truth.
They believed in God but resisted God as well.
Tell me am I right?
Indeed. Yes. It's true.
They are not true believers in God! It's all true!
We are not the Pharisees.
Let's look at today's religious communities.
Pastors and elders mostly keep the Lord's name;
they pray in His name and read the Bible,
they forsake all for Him and labor for Him.
But when Almighty God expresses truth
and does His work of judgment in the last days,
they define God's work by their conceptions and imaginings.
They think God's words and work are in the Bible
and that anything that exceeds the Bible is heresy.
They know that Almighty God's words are the truth and can conquer men,
yet don't search for or study them.
They still spread rumors and lies to wildly slander, condemn, and blaspheme against Almighty God.
That's true.
They stop at nothing to prevent believers from seeking the true way.
They even report the witnesses of God's work in the last days.
Yes.
Yes, that's true.
Tell me, how are these pastors and elders any different from the Pharisees that resisted the Lord Jesus?
There's no difference. Their essences are the same.
Aren't they all aware of the true way but then resist it nonetheless? (Yes. Yeah.)
Aren't they both enemies of God that hate the truth?
That's right. Yeah. Indeed.
Thus we see that if people believe in and labor for the Lord
but just keep His name and appear devout,
that does not mean they practice the Lord's words or follow His way,
nor does it mean they're true believers that serve the Lord.
Right.
Appearing devout doesn't mean
they can magnify the Lord in their heart, revere Him, or obey Him;
it does not mean they understand truth or know God.
Correct.
What they say is true!
If people believe in the Lord
but don't seek the truth or practice and experience His words,
well then, no matter how many years those people believe in the Lord
or how they labor for Him,
they simply cannot obtain His praise. (Yes.)
This is especially true for pastors and elders in the religious communities.
Although they labor for the Lord's work,
they still fanatically resist and condemn Almighty God, Christ of the last days.
This is enough to prove that they are evildoers that resist God.
They are exposed as antichrists by God's work in the last days.
They'll surely incur God's curses and punishment.
Correct. Right.
This is the righteousness of God.
Yes.
It's just like the Lord Jesus said,
Indeed. Yes.
The words of Almighty God in the last days are clear too.
God's words carry such undeniable majesty.
Isn't this the wrath of God?!
God's words are clearly immutable truths. (Amen!)
Whether believers can gain His praise
doesn't depend on how much they work or how much they suffer;
it just depends on if they practice God's words or obey Him.
It's true. Right.
On the other hand, Paul had said,
These words are Paul's own conceptions and imaginings.
They aren't in accordance with God's words or the truth.
They are the opposite of God's words!
Yes. Indeed. Absolutely.
We all should now be able to see this.
Yes. Indeed. Thanks be to the Lord. Praise God.
After hearing you say all of this,
I can't help but look back at what Paul said.
These are Paul's own conceptions and imaginings; (Indeed.)
they're not in accordance with God's words.
They don't meet the requirements to be raptured into His kingdom.
That's all true. Yes. Correct.
For all these years,
we have been truly misled by Paul's words. (Yes.)
We focused on working for the Lord
and thought that when He returned, we'd attain the rapture.
We didn't try to seek truth or listen to God's voice.
Therefore, we almost missed our chance to greet the Lord.
Indeed. That is all the truth.
Paul's words have just tremendously hurt us.
That's right. Indeed. It's true.
Goudan!
What are you doing here?
Aunt, why have you come here?
I ran back to listen to the preachings.
Please come with me quickly.
What about the hospital?
What is going on?
Why are you panicked and sneaking around, Goudan?
Aunt, you must go. The police are coming for the preachers.
What? The police? How do you know that?
Don't ask. Please let's just go.
No, explain it to me. What happened?
Elder Sun has found out that the Eastern Lightning preachers are here preaching to us.
He's leading the police here to have them arrested!
Elder Sun? How is it Elder Sun knows?
Is it you? Did you send him a message? Tell me now!
Tell the truth!
Alright, Aunt, you know that I've been a bit low on cash lately!
Elder Sun said for each Eastern Lightning preacher I report, I'll get 5,000 yuan!
Two will get me 10,000.
You worthless fool! You're an imbecile!
You're more of a Judas than Judas!
How could you do something like that?
You …
Aunt … stop, please!
Thanks be to God. This fellowship's so clear.
Now it's evident what we originally thought
that believers who keep the Lord's name and labor for Him
will gain His approval and enter His kingdom,
was simply just absurd! (Yes. It's true.)
Hey! Brother Yu, Brother Zhao. (Yes?)
What does it mean to have true faith in God,
and how can we practice faith to gain His approval?
Please talk to us more about this. (OK.)
Thank God. Praise God. Let's.
Hey, what's Sister Wei here for?
Something's wrong! I must speak. (What's going on?)
Goudan has reported us all to Elder Sun.
And now Elder Sun is bringing the police here.
Where are they?
Elder Sun, just what is going on?
Someone must have tipped them off that we were coming!
This water's warm.
We're just too late!
Blast it! I was tricked!
Ah! Brother Yang, this is quite a well-hidden cave you've found here.
Yes. Thanks be to the Lord!
This is all part of the Lord's plan.
Brother Yu, try this. See if it lights. That raid of our meeting was really a close one!
Ah! It lights!
Had it not been for the Lord's protection, we'd have been captured!
The CCP government is so evil!
They're forcing us to resort to new methods each time we want to meet.
It's true.
The pastors and elders are cooperating with them to capture us all.
They don't want us to believe in Almighty God, there is no way! (Indeed.)
Hey! Brother Yu, Brother Zhao,
when we last met,
we mentioned the questions of what it means to have true faith in God
and how we can gain His approval.
We didn't have time to fully discuss these
because the CCP came and broke up our meeting. (Exactly.)
Today, please talk to us about those questions. (Okay.)
Indeed, please discuss them with us.
Thanks be to God!
What does it mean to have true faith in God,
and how can our faith gain His approval?
This question is essential.
Absolutely. Yes, indeed.
This directly relates to whether our belief in God
can earn us salvation and allow us to enter His kingdom.
Yes, indeed. All they say is true. Yes.
Before, in our faith we only focused on working for the Lord
so we could enter His kingdom and be rewarded when He returned. (Yes.)
Now everyone realizes that this is the wrong path of faith.
Right. Yes, we do.
The religious community does not know what true faith in God is,
nor how to believe in God to gain His approval.
None know how to answer these questions.
That's right. Yes.
All mysteries of truth and faith
have been revealed by Almighty God, Christ of the last days.
Almighty God speaks clearly about the question what's true faith in God.
Let's read from the words of Almighty God. (OK!)
Please turn to page 1.
Belief in God isn't that simple.
Please turn to page 775.
I will read it. (Good.)
That's great. Fantastic.
We just read the words of Almighty God.
Now that you've heard them, how do you feel?
Fantastic! I feel enlightened!
The words of Almighty God clearly speak the truth of faith in God.
Yes, it's true.
What I've heard really is convincing! (Praise God.)
I've believed for over 20 years,
but I still do not know what true faith in God is.
Now that we've read Almighty God's words,
we understand what faith in God is.
This is just wonderful!
The words of Almighty God really are the truth!
No wonder so many believe in Almighty God after they hear His words.
Yes, I agree.
Almighty God's revealed the truth and mysteries of faith in God.
So do you all understand this now?
Yes. We do understand.
Many believe in God but still don't understand what true faith in God is,
they still do not know God nor His work.
This is a muddled kind of faith,
a faith that will never earn God's praise.
Indeed. It's true.
Almighty God clearly specifies what true faith is:
Amen. It truly is. This is great.
Almighty God speaks very clearly about real faith! (Yes.)
People who believe in God should believe in God's words,
that is, they should practice His words and experience His work.
This is how they'll truly understand truth,
and how they will really know God. (Yes.)
Now this is real faith in God.
Amen! Thanks be to God!
When they explain it, we understand. (Indeed.)
In the religious community,
we focus on suffering and working for the Lord
and not on practicing or experiencing His words.
Therefore, no matter how long we believe in God,
we won't understand truth or know God.
If we believe in God like this, how can God acknowledge us!
That's true.
What did the Lord Jesus say next?
Amen!
This shows we believers sacrifice for the Lord according to our own will,
we don't practice or experience His words.
Faith like this does not obtain God's approval and is condemned by God.
Yes. Indeed.
Back then, though I believed in the Lord Jesus,
I didn't try to practice or experience the words of the Lord;
I'd only repent after I sinned then beg Him for forgiveness.
When in trouble, I prayed to the Lord, asking Him for help.
I thought as long as I memorized a few Bible passages,
kept the words of the Bible, and followed the rules,
I was believing in the Lord.
I thought if I just zealously sacrificed and worked for the Lord,
I was believing in the Lord well.
I thought I loved the Lord and was loyal to Him.
I thought when the Lord returned,
I'd definitely enter His kingdom.
This continued until I accepted Almighty God's work in the last days
and saw what He says,
Almighty God here reveals the essence of men:
They believe in Him to receive blessings.
That is they want to make a deal with Him.
In time I realized that my motives for my faith were all too impure.
I was seeking blessings, grace, rewards,
and the rapture into the kingdom of heaven.
As long as I could enjoy the blessings of the kingdom of heaven,
I would bear any suffering and pay any price,
but I didn't practice and experience the Lord's words nor try to know God.
So as a result,
my life had nothing to do with the truth contained in God's words.
I'd believed for years but hadn't the slightest knowledge of the Lord.
Yet I thought my faith could obtain the Lord's praise,
and that when He returned, I would be lifted into the kingdom of heaven.
I was shameless and ignorant.
God was incarnated twice to carry out the work of redeeming and saving humanity.
He did this to give the truth to mankind.
This will allow them to accept God's words as their life,
freeing them from the bondage of sin
and making them obedient to God. (Amen!)
I did not understand God's will;
I didn't pursue truth nor seek knowledge of God.
I singularly pursued grace and sought rewards.
Even if I sacrificed,
it would've been only in exchange for the blessings of the kingdom of heaven.
How was I believing in God?
How was I loving and faithful to God?
Clearly, I was trying to make a deal with God;
I was trying to use Him and to trick Him.
In the judgment of Almighty God's words,
I've seen just how deeply I've been corrupted by Satan.
I was selfish and crafty. I lacked humanity.
I was a despicable villain, only looking out for myself.
I wasn't fit to live before God.
God's the Creator of all things. Man is His creation.
Man should believe in and sacrifice everything for God.
That's our responsibility and duty as a created being. (Amen!)
Yet I lacked any reason or conscience.
When I sacrificed or suffered, it was to make a deal.
I wanted God's compensation and blessings.
How could my faith through which I tried to trick God not incur His hatred and His loathing?
How could God possibly allow a satanic creature like I was to enter His kingdom?
Finally, I knelt before God and prayed in true repentance.
No matter how God deals with me,
no matter what my final outcome will be,
I'll willingly obey God's arrangement.
Amen! Thanks be to God!
Even if I just give service to God, I will pursue the truth.
I will do my duty as His creation.
Amen!
By going through Almighty God's many judgments, chastisements, trials and refinements,
my viewpoint of faith in Him has changed.
I've started to pursue and practice the truth.
At last, I'm on the right track of faith for salvation.
Praise God. Great.
This is the result of experiencing Almighty God's judgment in the last days! (Amen!)
Thank Almighty God for saving me! (Amen!)
Praise God!
Listen to their experience and knowledge of faith in God.
That's what it means to practice God's words and experience His work. (Yes.)
Look at how we practiced our faith, how we prayed,
how we read the Bible, and how we sacrificed and labored for Him.
It was all for rewards and entrance to the heavenly kingdom. (Yes.)
We didn't grasp what it meant to practice the Lord's words and experience His work.
This clearly isn't true faith in God, it's actually just a muddled faith!
That's correct.
We in the religious community do believe in the Lord but just keep His name.
We just keep the name the Lord Jesus,
but we do not search for the truth or accept the return of the Lord Jesus.
If we believed like this for 100 years, we couldn't cast off our sin and be cleansed.
Right. It's true.
When it comes down to it, aren't we just like Satan, remaining unchanged?
How can we make it to the kingdom of heaven? (Yes!)
This is true.
Having gone through the judgment of Almighty God in the last days,
I've finally seen that I have been deeply corrupted by Satan;
I was too arrogant and lacked reason.
On the outside, I looked like I could spread the gospel,
do some work, endure suffering,
memorize a few passages of the Bible and talk about its words.
I thought that I knew God
and acted arrogantly and holier-than-thou.
In truth, I neither prayed nor searched for truth and principles.
I went about according to my own conceptions,
especially when it came to my treatment of the Lord's return.
I restricted God to the Bible based on my own conceptions.
I thought that all of God's words and work were in the Bible
and none of His words or work existed outside of it.
I stubbornly maintained that those who believe in the Lord must keep the Bible,
and that anyone who doesn't keep the Bible couldn't be called a believer in the Lord.
The result was
when Almighty God's work in the last days touched me,
I didn't seek or investigate.
I even followed pastors and elders in denying and judging it.
I was arrogant and lost all reason before God.
Could the way I behaved be called true faith in God?
No, it was simply evil!
How am I any different from the Pharisees that resisted the Lord Jesus?
I saw something Almighty God says,
Almighty God's words pricked my heart at that time.
His judgment revealed my nature: I believed in God but resisted Him.
I could feel God's wrath upon me.
I felt His righteous disposition which can't be offended.
I trembled with fear.
The shame of my evil deeds compelled me to kneel to the ground.
I've believed for years,
but how am I still so arrogant and so conceited?
Why do I still lack true reverence to God?
When God's work didn't match my conceptions,
I judged and denied it at will.
I did not search for the truth or obey God.
Am I not arrogant, someone who believes in God yet still resists Him?
My behavior offended God's disposition long ago.
If not for God's mercy and salvation,
I'd have been sent to hell long ago.
How could I have the chance to hear God's voice,
and accept His judgment and cleansing in the last days?
Thank God! Thank God for His mercy.
I felt that I really and truly had been saved by God!
Amen. Praise God!
This time, I hated and cursed myself more than before.
I resolved that
no matter how God judges or prunes, deals with, tests or refines me,
I'll accept it and obey Him.
Amen!
By often reading Almighty God's words
and experiencing His chastisement and judgment,
I now understand truths I previously didn't.
Thanks be to God.
More and more I understand my satanic nature of resisting and betraying God.
Thanks be to God.
I've gained some knowledge of God's holy essence and righteous disposition
which indeed allows no offense.
Praise God!
I've unconsciously developed a reverence of God and a thirst for the truth.
I keep a lower profile than I used to.
I'm not as arrogant and I'm not as conceited.
When confronted with trials,
I can deny myself consciously, search for truth, and practice truth.
My life disposition gradually changed.
All this results from going through judgment and chastisement by God's word.
Amen!
Praise God.
Now finally I understand what true faith in God is.
I grasp the value and meaning of faith in God. (Amen!)
This is something that believers never achieved through the Age of Grace.
Yes!
We believe in the Lord in the religious community.
But we have never listened to people talk about how God's judgment had changed their dispositions.
That's correct!
All that we're discussing is the testimony of grace.
When we compare it to theirs, we see how backward we are! (It's true.)
In the Age of Grace, most of us believers focused on imitating Paul.
We worked for the Lord
and preferred to be jailed rather than deny His name.
Can this manner of faith in God change our life disposition?
No! No, it can't!
Can it allow us to really obey God and love Him?
No, we can't.
In the end, is this faith able to allow us to defeat Satan and satisfy God?
Definitely not! Of course not.
Why does God express truth do His work on men and ask them to practice His words?
He does it to change men's life disposition
and save them from Satan's influence.
It allows men to know and obey Him.
This is what can be achieved by true faith in God.
Amen!
But most believers think hard work
and sacrifice will win the Lord's heart, (Yes, it's true.)
and that when He returns, they'll be raptured into the kingdom of heaven.
But consider this, (Indeed.)
God does His work on us.
Does He do this so after we have spread His work, suffering in the process,
we can then say to Him:
"I've fought the good fight
and even finished running down the path.
There is laid up for me a crown of righteousness?"
No. Not at all.
Is this what God truly demands of men?
No.
Is this truly God's will?
Certainly not. Definitely not.
If that's how we grasp faith in God, aren't we misunderstanding Him?
Indeed. Yes.
It seems if we don't experience God's judgment and cleansing in the last days,
we won't understand truth, our faith will be muddled.
Exactly! Look at their faith in God.
They're undergoing judgment and cleansing by God's words and seeking truth and knowledge of God.
They've testimony of defeating Satan and changing their disposition. (It's true.)
Now look at us.
We often sin and confess,
but feel no shame asking God for grace and blessings.
Where is there any true belief in God? (It's true.)
There's no way we could ever compare with them!
That's right!
Both of us believe in God, but why then are we so far behind? (Indeed.)
Believers in God who don't accept Almighty God's judgment and cleansing in the last days
will all be forsaken!
That's correct!
Brother Yu, Brother Zhao,
your experiences of the judgment of Almighty God's word have moved me so much!
Thanks be to God!
I've believed in the Lord for years,
but never knew what it is to truly believe in Him or experience His work.
Indeed. That's right.
I certainly didn't know what kind of person God would obtain through His work in the end.
Yes!
I was living in my own conceptions and imaginings.
I thought if I labored for the Lord,
I'd obtain His praise and enter the kingdom of heaven. (Yes.)
I did not know that this kind of faith was wrong and hated and condemned by God. (Indeed.)
But you've understood the truth
by undergoing Almighty God's judgment and chastisement by the word.
You clearly see your satanic nature full of arrogance, selfishness, and deceit.
You can hate yourselves and repent.
I now see that if we don't undergo God's judgment or chastisement in the last days,
we will never know truth or God,
even if we believe in the Lord our entire lives. (Indeed. That's right.)
We won't change our life disposition or achieve purification or salvation! (Amen!)
Thanks be to God. Amen. Yes.
Thanks be to God!
Now that we have said all of this,
do you finally understand what true faith in God really is?
Yes. We know. We do.
Is it fine to believe in God but not undergo His judgment or cleansing in the last days?
No, it's not. Not at all.
Can we know God if we believe but don't undergo judgment and chastisement of His word?
No. No way.
Can we understand God's will, obey and worship Him,
if we believe in Him but do not practice His words and we don't experience His work?
No! Absolutely not!
Therefore,
if we really want to know God and change our dispositions,
accepting and going through Almighty God's work of judgment in the last days is vital! (Yes.)
Let's now read more of Almighty God's words. (OK!)
Please turn to page 5.