﻿Hello everyone!
Welcome to the Eastern Light News Report.
I'm your host Zhiqing.
The Lord Jesus prophesied,
Today, these prophecies of the Lord Jesus have been fulfilled.
Many who long for the appearance of God,
yearning for the arrival of the Lord Jesus upon a cloud,
have heard the voice of God, and have been raised before His throne.
In 1991, in the world's East, China,
a Son of man began to speak,
shattering the dark night's silence before dawn,
and rocking different Christian denominations throughout China.
People were overjoyed and rushed about telling each other,
testifying that the Lord Jesus had returned and God had begun to speak.
In just over a decade, the utterances of this Son of man
spread across Mainland China,
which was the appearance and work of Almighty God in China.
These events not only caused a sensation in Mainland China,
but rocked the rest of the world as well.
The millions of words expressed by Almighty God
have been made publicly available in different countries via the Internet.
Many who long for the appearance and work of God have begun to seek and investigate the words,
which have drawn the attention of experts and academics.
In late October 2018,
a photo exhibition entitled "The Appearance and Work of Almighty God"
was held at The Church of Almighty God in Seoul, South Korea.
It attracted over a dozen internationally-renowned experts and scholars to visit and investigate.
Christians from the Church described to visitors
their feelings and insights after experiencing the words and work of Almighty God.
On October 24, 2018,
eleven experts, scholars and professors in the fields of religion and society from seven countries
including the US, Canada, the UK, France, and Italy
visited the photo exhibition at The Church of Almighty God
in Onsu, Seoul, South Korea,
where they held in-depth discussions and exchanges with Christians.
I was very touched that you would invite us again here
and I find your exhibition extremely useful,
because it's very well explained, very pedagogical,
so you give a good chronology.
I had not realized last year
the link you had with Watchman Nee and Witness Lee,
so here it's very clearly presented,
so that I can see the origins of your church.
Also, it's very important for us to see,
you know, the people how they worshiped in the beginning, how they met,
but also afterwards, you know, the persecution started.
This photo exhibition of the appearance and work of Almighty God
shows the background of the Church
and several stages in the history of its growth.
It includes the background of the appearance and work of Almighty God,
how Almighty God provided to people by speaking in the house churches,
how Almighty God officially started the work of judgment beginning with God's house,
and how the gospel of the kingdom spread.
Using images and text explanations,
it vividly takes us back
to real-life scenes from the emergence and history of the Church.
I believe the exhibition is very useful
and particularly because scholars were allowed to visit the exhibition
with brothers and sisters who were there since 1991,
because some details were already known,
but some other details are new.
So the exhibition is very useful
to gain a better knowledge of the origins of The Church of Almighty God,
particularly of the crucial years, 1991 and 1992,
which are extremely important for understanding
how The Church of Almighty God came into being.
The first several images show us
the background to the appearance and work of Almighty God, the incarnate Son of man.
In the early 1980s,
when reform and opening began in China,
there was a resurgence in religious belief.
House churches, long the victims of brutal oppression and persecution by the CCP,
began to spring up like shoots after the spring rain,
following years of suppression.
By 1983, house churches across the country were growing rapidly.
In Henan alone, the Shouters grew to at least a million people,
causing panic among the Chinese government.
From 1983 to 1987,
the CCP subjected the house churches, particularly the Shouters,
to two campaigns of rabid harassment and arrests.
It was a huge blow for the Shouters,
who had been flourishing across the country.
Though faced with the CCP's fervent arrests and persecution,
the Christians who truly believed in God did not yield to Satan.
In particular, among the Shouters,
some Christians persevered in assembling and reading the Bible.
Tears streaming down their faces,
they prayed for the Lord's return,
asking Him to save them from darkness.
It was in these house churches
that the incarnate Almighty God began to speak,
working among God's chosen ones.
These house churches were the precursors of The Church of Almighty God.
I began believing in the Lord Jesus along with my parents in 1981.
At that time,
the churches had just started reappearing,
and more and more people believed in the Lord.
Back then we all assembled in people's homes.
Inside, it would be chock full of people.
Some would even have to stand outside.
Some people said that with so many people believing in the Lord,
the government was bound to suppress and arrest them.
In 1983,
the CCP began arresting people from the Shouters.
It was a large-scale campaign,
but before very long the churches began appearing again,
and they really did start growing exceptionally fast.
Then in 1987,
the CCP began arresting the Shouters all over again.
After being arrested,
they were thrown into a large truck,
and their hands were tied behind their backs,
and a big sign was hung around their neck.
The sign said: "political criminal" or "counter-revolutionary."
They were paraded out in the streets
and placed on a stage to face public denunciation.
After that,
some of them were given particularly heavy sentences.
Among the heads of the churches,
some were sentenced to over 10 years,
others to more than 20.
Yet in such a hostile environment,
there were brothers and sisters who still didn't give up on assembling,
for in our hearts, we all had the following conviction:
Ours is the time of the last days,
we must welcome the return of the Lord!
In our hearts was eager anticipation:
Lord Jesus, come back soon!
Save us from darkness,
and end our lives of suffering!
It was in this context that Almighty God began to speak.
On February 11, 1991,
the incarnate Son of man expressed the first passage
testifying to the appearance and work of God.
Seeing these words, some people felt them especially fresh and touching.
They felt that they were no ordinary words,
and so they conveyed them to the man used by the Holy Spirit.
After reading the passage,
the man used by the Holy Spirit said that these are the utterances of the Holy Spirit.
Passage after passage of the Holy Spirit's utterances followed soon after.
These words are possessed of authority and power;
they touch people greatly.
So the man used by the Holy Spirit
decided to print the utterances of the Holy Spirit in the order that they appeared
and distribute them to the churches,
providing them to God's chosen ones to read and fellowship as they assembled.
From that moment onward,
The Church of Almighty God shifted from prioritizing reading the Bible in assembly
to reading the words of Almighty God.
As Almighty God expressed more and more words,
the passages came forth without cease,
almost one a day.
From that time on,
The Church of Almighty God officially began
reading and enjoying the current words of Almighty God during assemblies,
and singing hymns in praise of the appearance and work of Almighty God.
God's chosen ones felt light and great enjoyment in their hearts.
They thought that in all the years they had believed in the Lord,
they had never felt such enjoyment, never felt so free,
and everyone sang and danced in praise of God,
each of their faces flushed and filled with joy.
Thus did the Holy Spirit begin His great work in The Church of Almighty God,
which has lasted right up until today.
These images show that in the house churches
in Henan, Shandong, Anhui and Northeast China,
Christians gathered together,
reading hand copies of the first utterance of Almighty God.
In these images,
the Christians are ecstatic, filled with excitement,
as they share the joy of hearing God's voice.
By February 1991,
the words expressed by Almighty God had spread to churches across Henan.
The first time I read the words expressed by Almighty God,
I really felt them to be so fresh,
and they were something I'd never heard before.
I read this in Almighty God's words:
When I read these words,
I felt that they were a true testimony to the appearance of God,
that they testified to the return of God.
It was then I really started to get excited:
God has returned; where is He now?
In which church is God speaking these words?
The "glorious holy name," "Almighty God,"
is this God's new name?
Does it mean God has already appeared and begun to work?
"Almighty God" is the "Head of the universe,"
"Christ of the last days."
He is "the shining Sun,"
who illuminates all there is, like a great light,
lighting up this dark world.
I knew there and then
that Almighty God is the appearance of God.
Is this not the return of the Lord Jesus?
The Lord has returned;
this is monumental news!
We all felt so excited.
Afterward, everyone got together, and eagerly fellowshiped
and discussed what we'd read.
The more we fellowship,
the more we sensed that these words are the utterances of God.
So we all felt right then and there that
we had welcomed the Lord,
and had been raised before the throne of God.
Later, I read more of Almighty God's words:
When I read these words,
they just seemed incredibly profound to me.
After that,
Almighty God started expressing more and more words,
almost a passage a day,
a constant flow of them that was conveyed to the churches.
And the more we read the words of Almighty God,
the more light we felt in our hearts.
For the words of Almighty God not only showed us the path to practicing the truth,
but also revealed many of the mysteries of the Bible:
What it meant to be "raptured," for example,
and what "Mount Zion" is,
what the "first ripe fruits" are,
and the "144,000 victorious male children,"
the "wise virgins," and the "foolish virgins,"
as well as "opens the scroll,"
and "opens the seven seals,"
"the seven bowls," "the seven plagues," "the seven trumpets sound,"
and "the seven thunders peal."
No one had been able to explain these mysteries of the Bible,
but the utterances of Almighty God were able to reveal them all.
What's more,
the words of Almighty God also told us many details of entry into life.
For example,
what it means to give one's heart to God and commune with God,
how to ponder the words of God and grasp God's will,
how to practice the truth and be honest,
how to cooperate in serving God,
how to distinguish Satan's deceitful schemes,
and so on.
Reading the words of Almighty God
gave us a path of practice for entry into life.
And so by practicing according to these words,
we felt our relationship with God grow closer and closer.
At that time, we had noticed that
Almighty God's words are totally unlike
the enlightenment man receives from the Holy Spirit.
The words derived from the Holy Spirit's enlightenment
are but a small part, and very limited.
But the words expressed by Almighty God
are like a spring of living water,
they flow forth without cease.
After reading the words of Almighty God,
we sensed that they really are the utterances of the Holy Spirit,
that they are the words of God to mankind.
So at that time,
we felt that we had already been raised before God's throne,
and each day we enjoyed the sustenance of the living water of life
flowing from the throne.
It was an overwhelming feeling.
And although we hadn't yet seen the face of Christ of the last days,
we all sensed that
the Lord Jesus we had yearned for for so many years had returned.
After reading the words of Almighty God and hearing the voice of God,
we felt we were face-to-face with the Lord,
so at that time,
each and every one of us was so excited and happy.
We assembled almost every day,
and at each assembly,
together we would read the words of Almighty God.
Afterward, we'd feel much enjoyment, much sustenance.
We also turned some of the words of Almighty God into songs,
and sang and danced in praise of God.
Each and every one of us felt such enjoyment.
When we assembled,
it was like celebrating the Lunar New Year.
Back then, church life was so lively,
the Holy Spirit did great work,
and the brothers and sisters were full of faith.
On February 20, 1992,
the words and work of Almighty God entered a new beginning.
Almighty God spoke to the entire universe as the Creator,
officially commencing the work of judgment
beginning with God's house in the Age of Kingdom.
During this period,
God expressed 47 utterances,
as well as 41 interpretations of the mysteries in God's words,
making for a total of 88 passages.
Almighty God introduced these words thus:
"God's Words to the Entire Universe" were expressed
dating from February 20, 1992 to June 1, 1992.
Afterward, the incarnate Son of man, Almighty God,
began to travel among the churches,
engaging with people, chatting to them, speaking and working.
Almighty God expressed over a hundred utterances
and would express truths to provide to people
in accordance with their states and what they lacked,
indicating the path of practice for entry into life,
such as what viewpoint believers ought to hold,
how to establish a proper relationship with God,
how to experience obedience to God's work,
and how to serve in harmony with God's will.
In addition,
Almighty God also revealed many mysteries,
such as the mystery of God's 6,000-year management plan,
the inside story and purpose of God's work
during the Age of Law, the Age of Grace,
and the Age of Kingdom,
the mysteries of the incarnation,
the difference between being saved and true salvation,
the ends and destinations of different types of people,
the mystery of the Millennial Kingdom, and so on.
God judged and revealed the motivations and impurities in people's faith,
their various fallacious methods of practice,
how their nature and substance were profoundly corrupted by Satan,
and their various satanic dispositions.
Almighty God expressed all the truths that were needed for a corrupt mankind
to be saved and made perfect,
and bestowed them unto mankind,
thus entirely fulfilling the prophecy of the Lord Jesus:
This image shows 70 or 80 Christians
holding assembly in a cave in Henan at the end of 1992.
The background to this
is that they had read the words expressed by Almighty God, namely
"The Essential Difference Between the Incarnate God and the People Used by God"
and passages 1–4 of "The Mystery of the Incarnation,"
and through fellowshiping,
they had come to understand such truths
as what the incarnation was,
and the essential differences between the incarnate God
and the man used by God.
Ultimately, they recognized that this Son of man who expressed the truth
was the incarnate Christ.
He was the Lord Jesus returned during the last days.
At that moment, they all despised themselves for being too blind to know God,
for treating the incarnate God lightly as a person who served some special function.
As a result, they felt the utmost shame,
and were bitterly regretful with tears streaming down their faces.
Though we had believed in the Lord for many years,
and had read the Bible and the messages of Brother Nee and Brother Lee,
and though we often assembled and fellowshiped,
we didn't understand the truth of the incarnation.
As such, when we heard
the words and the utterances of Almighty God,
we felt the words He expressed were the words of the Holy Spirit.
We didn't know He was the incarnate God.
We just thought of Him
as someone who was conveying the words of the Holy Spirit,
we just thought he was serving a function.
In fact, we were blind.
We compiled all of His words into a booklet
called The Utterances of the Holy Spirit.
Each day when we assembled,
we read The Utterances of the Holy Spirit,
and spent less and less time reading the Bible.
Back then, Almighty God also lived among us,
uttering the truth to provide to us,
regardless of time and place.
He also revealed and dissected for us
the arrogance, self-importance,
treacherousness, selfishness, ignobility
and other satanic dispositions that we encountered in our daily lives,
as well as the various forms of corruption in our nature,
and the different thoughts and feelings hidden within our hearts.
Each of His words reached deep into our hearts,
and though these words were stern and upsetting,
they were all fact, they were reality,
and they left us utterly convinced.
We thought to ourselves:
How could He know of all the corruption in our hearts?
How could He see through to our thoughts?
God examines people's innermost being;
who but God could know people so well?
And who could see through to the substance of people's corruption?
This left us even more convinced
that this was in fact the voice of God,
it was "what the Spirit says to the churches"
foretold in the Book of Revelation.
Later, when the mystery of the incarnation was revealed by Almighty God,
I read the following in His words:
When I pondered these words,
I realized what the incarnation is:
The incarnation is the Spirit of God wearing an ordinary flesh.
He is possessed of normal humanity,
but inside Him is divinity.
When He utters the words of God and performs the work of God,
it's the Spirit of God speaking directly,
it's God Himself speaking and working,
and these words are directly expressed by His divinity,
proving that the incarnate God
is possessed of complete divinity,
as well as normal humanity.
And yet, regardless of how normal and practical His humanity is,
when He expresses words,
fear and admiration are born in people's hearts:
These truly are the words of the Holy Spirit,
they are the voice of God!
At that time, I read these words of Almighty God.
Regarding man's words,
although they also involve the Holy Spirit's work,
they are all man's understanding and experiences,
based on the limited knowledge from the foundation of God's words.
Although they, too, conform to the truth,
they aren't equal to the words of God.
For people can't express the truth,
only God can reveal these mysteries,
expressing the disposition of God
and what God has and is.
Only God is capable of the work of judging people,
exposing them, conquering them, and saving them.
So then, we started to realize something:
The Son of man who had expressed all these truths
and had been working among us in the flesh
is the incarnate God, who has appeared to work.
Didn't this fulfill the prophecies of the Lord Jesus?
Only then did we truly learn to bow before God.
In our hearts, we felt so indebted to God.
We were so disobedient!
We felt we were so blind to not know God,
for God had expressed so many truths,
revealed so many mysteries,
yet we didn't know Him, and were incapable of treating Him as the incarnate God.
We felt we committed a heinous sin.
We could only bow before Almighty God in tears of anguish to repent and confess our sins.
Only then did we feel a little better,
only then did we feel safe and at peace.
By early 1995,
after experiencing almost four years of the work of God's words,
God's chosen people had come to understand some truths.
At the same time,
they had also come to understand God's urgent desire to save mankind in the last days,
and had the burden of spreading the gospel.
They undertook God's commission,
and began to spread God's kingdom gospel to various denominations of Christianity.
From 1997 to 1999,
the kingdom gospel spread rapidly in areas like
Henan, Shandong, Anhui, and Northeast China.
In the house churches of various Christian denominations
like the Shouters, Justification by Faith,
Repentance, Great Praise,
Seventh-day Adventist, and the Pentecostal Church,
many who yearn for the appearance of God
recognized Almighty God's words are God's voice
and returned to Almighty God.
In 2002, the spread of the gospel of the kingdom in southern China,
the border areas, and among ethnic minorities officially began,
and by 2005 it had reached every corner of the Chinese mainland.
In 2012 it reached new heights.
After that,
the CCP's oppression and persecution of The Church of Almighty God
was also taken to new heights.
According to incomplete statistics,
in the two short years from 2011 to 2013,
more than 380,000 Christians were arrested and imprisoned.
Though it was a major blow to the work of the gospel,
the Church continued to grow.
Since its founding in 1991,
The Church of Almighty God has suffered brutal suppression and persecution by the CCP.
The CCP has issued a number of secret missives and confidential documents,
it has dispatched armed police squads
and launched round after round of crackdowns against the Church.
But The Church of Almighty God has not been beaten,
much less wiped out.
Instead, amidst this grievous persecution,
it has grown even more quickly.
This is all because of the words of Almighty God,
they're the truth, they have authority and power,
and penetrate deep into people's hearts.
Those who love the truth were put in prison,
and after they got out,
they continued to believe in God,
follow God and testify to God as before.
Over a ten-year period,
almost four million people returned to Almighty God,
and the kingdom gospel has spread across the whole of the Chinese mainland.
Today, it is spreading to countries and territories across the world.
This fulfills the prophecy in the Bible that says,
Many people have asked:
After suffering such brutal persecution at the hands of the CCP,
why does the Church continue to grow?
Many people find this incredible.
In fact,
this is achieved by the words and work of God,
and it fulfills the word that "those who come from God shall prosper."
If this were human work or a human organization,
the Church would have been eradicated
by years of brutal persecution.
Maniacally oppressed and persecuted by the CCP,
the CAG chosen ones are still able to stand firm,
because they are personally shepherded and led by Almighty God
and directly watered and provided for by the man used by the Holy Spirit,
and because the Holy Spirit has worked in the Church throughout the world,
working in all those who pursue the truth.
Those who truly believe in God
are understanding more and more of the truth.
They established their foundation in the true way,
and there has been born in them
a true faith and true love towards God.
In particular,
after experiencing the judgment and chastisement of God's words,
they gained true knowledge of God's righteous disposition,
and had fear of God in their heart.
After suffering the rabid oppression of the CCP over and over again,
they have seen the demonic, ugly face of Satan,
and come to bitterly hate
the ignobility and shamelessness of the great red dragon,
and they began to turn their backs and reject Satan.
They're more determined to follow Almighty God
and put aside everything to expend for God.
Thus,
after enduring over 20 years of rabid persecution by the CCP,
The Church of Almighty God hasn't collapsed,
but grown stronger, and is expanding rapidly.
In Mainland China alone,
almost four million people have returned to Almighty God.
Because of the rabid persecution and arrests by the CCP,
many Christians have been left with no way to survive in China,
and are forced to flee overseas.
Abroad, they have continued to spread the gospel,
testifying to the appearance and work of Almighty God.
In this way,
The Church of Almighty God has been founded in other countries outside China,
and the gospel of the kingdom has spread throughout the universe,
thus revealing fully the miraculous deeds of God,
the wisdom of God, and the almightiness of God.
It is like when the Lord Jesus came to work,
the Jewish leaders and the Roman government nailed Him to the cross.
They thought they had outlawed the work of the Lord Jesus,
but in fact,
it was precisely the opposite:
The gospel of the Lord Jesus spread with even greater speed.
Today, it has spread throughout the entire universe.
No country, no power, and no person
can stop that which God wishes to accomplish.
Today,
Almighty God has already expressed over a million words,
most of which are recorded in The Word Appears in the Flesh.
This book has already been translated into multiple languages and published online.
God's chosen ones have also produced various films,
videos, and choral series
to preach the words of Almighty God
and testify to God's work of the last days.
In many countries,
those who truly believe in God and love the truth
have seen the words of Almighty God online,
they have seen the various films, videos, and choral series
produced by The Church of Almighty God,
and so have begun to seek out and consider the true way.
More and more people are returning before Almighty God,
just as was spoken of in the words of Almighty God:
This photo exhibition shows the appearance and work of Almighty God
as well as the birth of The Church of Almighty God and several stages of its history.
But this is far from capable of showing the entire history of God's appearance and work.
To learn more about Almighty God's work in the last days,
you must first carefully read the words of Christ of the last days, Almighty God.
Most of these words are included in the book,
The Word Appears in the Flesh,
which is publicly available online for all mankind to read and consider.
After many who love the truth read the words of Almighty God,
they recognize the voice of God and return before God's throne,
they soon accept the truth and put it into practice
to be saved and made perfect by God.
But some people are still watching and waiting,
they still long for the Lord Jesus to publicly descend riding upon a white cloud,
they don't know that before the great catastrophe,
God has come in the flesh,
and secretly arrived in China,
where He has been making a group of overcomers.
Today, Almighty God's gospel of the kingdom
is rapidly spreading across the countries of the world.
The great catastrophe is soon to arrive,
and God's great work has been accomplished.
Just as Almighty God says,
That's it for our program today.
Thank you for joining us, and we hope to see you next time!