I heard Chen Yongguang and others read Almighty God's words in meetings.
They all seem to have renewed faith and love.
It's unbelievable.
Could Almighty God's words be higher than the Bible?
Why are there so many true believers converting to Almighty God?
Amen!
Just lovely!
This is God's great love bringing us all together. (Yes, it is.)
Thanks be to God.
In these days of fellowship on the words of Almighty God,
we've all grown considerably. (Yes, we have!)
We've sensed that Almighty God's word is truth and reality. (Amen!)
We've come further in these few months than in many years of faith.
It does seem so! Yes, indeed!
It's true.
We now understand aspects of the truth we hadn't before known.
We've enjoyed the Holy Spirit's work. (Praise God! Thanks be to God!)
Seems we've come face-to-face with God.
Yes. We are all truly blessed.
Yes, indeed. We're all truly blessed.
It's the confirmation of the Holy Spirit and our hearts. (Amen!)
I'm ever more brightened reading Almighty God's word.
It's a pity we received His word so late
and only now accept Almighty God.
Indeed! Yeah.
If we must blame someone, blame the religious pastors and elders.
They entrapped us with their lies and their fallacies.
Yes. They did!
But now,
we know that Almighty God's words are the expression of the Holy Spirit.
Amen!
They're the words of the Holy Spirit to the churches. (Amen!)
We've heard God's word and accepted
Almighty God as the second coming of the Lord, (Amen!)
the one and only God who created heavens, earth, and all things.
Amen. Thanks be to God.
One could say, we've been raptured before God's throne. (Yes.)
What say you? Am I right?
Yes!
We have been raptured before God's throne.
God has truly given us His grace. (Thanks be to God!)
Yes, in these few months, I've read much of Almighty God's word,
and I've come to understand truths which have long puzzled me.
I've resolved various notions and confusions I had within my own faith
and achieved a clearer understanding. (Amen.)
Almighty God's words are so vast. They've truly opened my eyes.
In every passage of God's word, I always receive sustenance.
This is the living water of life which flows from God's throne.
The more I read, the more sweet I feel.
Thanks be to God! That's great!
Let's hear another passage. (Alright! Yes!)
We haven't communicated the truth in the Bible in a way that's clear.
Our believers understand very little of the Lord's word
and aren't capable of discerning.
They have yet to keep their footing on the true way!
True!
We must continue to expound the truth in the Bible.
So we can ensure they'll follow the Lord's way
and not the Eastern Lightning.
This is how I see it:
If it's true that the Eastern Lightning has really arisen from God,
and if the words of Almighty God are the truth,
then more believers will follow the Eastern Lightning.
If that's so, then nothing will stop them.
However, if this really were the work of men,
they'd've vanished long ago, succumbing to the CCP's brutal suppression.
How is it that they've developed at such a rapid rate?
This is not what any human can do.
Recently, I keep wondering:
If the Eastern Lightning really does come from God,
but this seems impossible.
God's words and work can't exist outside the Bible!
Yet the Church of Almighty God has developed so quickly.
They've managed to stand firm despite such brutal suppression.
Only the work of God could account for it!
Has the Eastern Lightning arisen from God?
It's really hard to say.
Brother Hu is here.
Let's get going. (Let's go!)
Who would be coming here now?
Who's there?
Quiet.
Someone's there.
It might be someone from church. I'll go see.
It's Pastor Zhu and Elder Liu. Please come in.
It's Pastor Zhu and Elder Liu.
Oh …
Pastor Zhu and Elder Liu are here.
Brother Chen, Brother Lin, why are you not reading the Bible?
Why do you instead read the Eastern Lightning's books?
You're even watching their films?
It seems you've become their adherents.
How could you do that!
We must follow the Bible.
During sermons we should interpret the Bible. (Amen!)
Neglecting the Bible amounts to betrayal of the Lord.
Amen!
You all ought to confess your sins.
Yes, the prophecies are coming true.
The Lord could come at any moment to lift us up into the kingdom of heaven.
Amen!
You two should lead brothers and sisters to read the Bible
and watch for the Lord's coming.
Amen!
Only by reading the Bible do we keep the Lord's way.
When the Lord comes, we will be taken by Him into the kingdom of heaven.
Is this not so?
The Lord has come with new words.
If we continue reading the Bible, we'll be lagging behind. (You're right.)
There's no way more truths can be understood through the Bible
than through the word of Almighty God. (That's right.)
Brother Chen,
you read Almighty God's word in meetings
and commune about Almighty God's word too.
Why don't you read the Bible?
Tell me, what's going on here?
Elder Liu, Pastor Zhu, please have a seat.
Yes, have a seat, please.
How about we all have a seat?
Elder Liu, you can sit here. (Thank the Lord!)
Elder Liu, Pastor Zhu,
these years, the religious world has become so bleak.
So many have lost their faith and their love.
Attendance numbers are way down for meetings.
You are well aware of this situation. (Yes. That's true.)
It is only because of the bleak situation within the church
that we've sought the work of the Holy Spirit.
That's true.
And now,
we've finally found what the Holy Spirit says to the churches. (Amen! Indeed!)
We've heard the voice of God, found the footsteps of His work. (Amen!)
Shouldn't we be rejoicing? (Right.)
Why? Why do you still object? (Yes.)
You say that faith in the Lord must be in accord with the Bible,
and so we must interpret it.
All these years, have we not all been reading the Bible?
Have you not often interpreted the Bible for us?
For what? Where's the work of the Holy Spirit?
Not enjoyable at all. There's no work of the Holy Spirit.
It's true. There isn't.
Our lives have not received the least bit of provision.
We have become passive, and some have even left.
How could you not be aware of these facts?
If we still don't seek the work of God
or the words of the Holy Spirit to the churches,
we will be stuck here or starve to death.
Yes, that's right. Indeed.
And now,
as we eat and drink the words of Almighty God, our states become normal.
We have renewed faith and love,
and we've tasted the sweetness and experienced the joy of the Holy Spirit's work.
Reading the words of Almighty God, we feel the Lord's voice.
It is the voice of the returned Lord Jesus. (Amen!)
The more we read His words, the more we grasp truth.
We see more clearly how to move forward.
Seems now, we're on the right path of our faith. (Yes, indeed.)
Are you not happy to see how we have been blessed at last?
Are you not willing to welcome the Lord's appearance? (Yes. That's right.)
We can't continue to cling to the Bible.
We must accept God's words of the last days! (Yes.)
Read the words of Almighty God,
see if they are indeed the words of the returned Lord,
words of the Holy Spirit to the churches,
the expression of the truth, the way, and the life.
These things are most important.
If you become clear with regard to these things, you'll know who is speaking,
who it is that does the work of judgment in the last days. (Yes. That's right.)
Only God can do this work.
As pastor and elder, shouldn't you investigate like this?
That's right. You ought to be investigating!
Now when we read Almighty God's word in meetings,
we better understand the truth
and resolve some of our problems. (Right. That's right.)
We have ways of practice no matter what problems we face. (Yes.)
As I often host, to me, it is clear.
In the past, we all felt one meeting a week was too much.
Now it seems three times a week is not enough!
Yes. Right. Indeed.
We get so much out of every meeting.
Is this not the effect of the work of the Holy Spirit? (Amen!)
Doesn't this prove that what Almighty God expresses is the truth? (Amen!)
Yes, indeed. Yes, I agree.
That's right!
In present meetings,
the more we commune Almighty God's word, the more we understand truth.
To be honest, you interpreting the Bible never achieved that effect on me.
Why is it that as soon as we read Almighty God's words,
we start to grasp the truth and have a clear understanding?
Why is it that reading His words brings the supply of life,
understanding of God's will, knowledge of God and the work of the Holy Spirit?
Yes. Yeah, why?
This all proves that the words of Almighty God are the truth
and the voice of God!
Amen!
Come now, why not just try to seek the true way?
Come see for yourselves the words of Almighty God!
Yes, that's a good idea. Come see for yourselves.
Come see for yourselves.
Don't miss this opportunity!
Thank the Lord.
You've received renewed faith through reading the words of Almighty God.
You're all gaining joy from church life. That's a good thing!
Thanks be to God!
This is God's love.
We do not object to searching for the true way,
but there's a problem when you leave the name of Lord Jesus for Almighty God!
We can't stray from the Bible in our faith!
The Bible's words are all God's words.
Amen!
In reading it, we read the words of God. (Amen!)
I can't understand why you need to look for God's word elsewhere.
God's word and God's work are within the Bible.
You still haven't realized?
You've worked and preached for many years.
You must know God's words are all within the Bible. (Right.)
The word of God is nowhere else.
Doctrines that stray from the Bible are heresy. Don't you understand?
Why read the words of Almighty God?
Why is it exactly? Tell me.
Pastor Zhu, Elder Liu, let me ask you:
In your many years of interpreting the Bible,
why couldn't we enjoy the work of the Holy Spirit? (Yeah, why?)
Why didn't we receive the supply of life
through listening to your interpretations? (Right. That's a good point.)
Have you once considered any of this?
Why is it we've come to understand many truths
through reading the words of Almighty God?
Why do we receive the work of the Holy Spirit at meetings now? (Amen.)
Can't you see what "it is this" means?
We all know Lord has promised He will come again.
He will come again to do the work of judgment starting with the house of God.
Almighty God is doing judgment starting with the house of God. (Amen!)
Why don't you seek and investigate?
That's right! You all should be investigating.
Do you think the Bible can substitute the returned Lord Jesus' work?
Do you think that interpreting the Bible can be a substitute
for seeking and hearing the voice of God?
You say the Bible is all God's word,
and therefore you aim to block people from seeking the true way
and hearing the voice of God.
Does this not oppose God? (Yes, this is opposing God!)
Can God's words in the Bible
replace the Holy Spirit's words spoken to churches as prophesied?
Can the Bible substitute God's judgment in the last days?
Hmph! All along you've held such absurd ideas and fallacies.
No wonder you've been holding back the believers from seeking the true way.
You really ought to reflect on your actions.
Stop blocking people from seeking the true way.
Right. Stop holding people back from seeking and studying the true way.
Right. We should all be seeking and studying.
When Lord Jesus began His work, the Pharisees clung to the Bible.
They opposed and condemned the Lord
and even held others back from following Him.
And what became of them?
Did they not meet with God's curses and His punishment?
That's right, we can't make the same mistake.
The lesson of the Pharisees' failure is quite clear.
We can't take the same wrong path.
Elder Liu, Pastor Zhu,
why don't you read the words of Almighty God with us. (Yes, please.)
See for yourselves if the words of Almighty God
are indeed those of the returned Jesus.
If the Lord has returned, shouldn't we seek and study more?
Yes, we should. Let us study together.
Elder Liu, Pastor Zhu,
tomorrow join us as we commune with witnesses from the Church of Almighty God.
Yes, join us! Please! Come on!
If you still have questions, you can then debate with them.
The more we debate, the more we understand.
Please don't miss out on this opportunity. (Right.)
Okay.
Thank God! Thanks be to God!
And you?
Invite them over.
I wanna see how high the way of the Eastern Lightning is.
Thanks be to God!
What's wrong? What are you brooding about so late?
Pastor Zhu and I went to Chen Yongguang's meeting.
They do believe in the Eastern Lightning.
Really?
Yes.
I can't believe just how quickly
Brother Chen and the others have gained true insight.
Their communion is so well grounded.
I didn't know how they could improve so quickly.
So they've been studying the Eastern Lightning all along
and reading Almighty God's words.
The truth they fellowship can not be denied.
I am convinced!
It seems the Eastern Lightning does have the truth.
No wonder many believers who pursue truth accept the Eastern Lightning.
From what you say, the Eastern Lightning is really worth studying!
Otherwise,
why would so many of the church's lead sheep convert to Almighty God?
Zhizhong,
do you think the Eastern Lightning might really be the return of the Lord?
Hard to say now.
Tomorrow, Brother Chen will invite over some of their members.
They will fellowship with us.
I'll use this time to investigate
though I still believe that belief in the Lord cannot stray from the Bible.
Brother Gao, Brother Song, have a seat, please.
Thanks.
Please have a seat.
Thank God! Now for introductions.
Brothers Song Yang and Gao Zhiyuan from the Church of Almighty God.
Thanks be to God!
This is Pastor Zhu and Elder Liu of our church.
We welcome the two of you to our church.
Please sit! (Mm.)
Please!
We all know
that since Almighty God has begun His work of judgment here in China,
people from different denominations who thirst for God's appearance
have turned toward Almighty God. (Yes. Amen!)
They have all been raptured before God
because of hearing His voice (That's so great. Yes.)
and enjoyed the living water of life which flows from God's throne. (Amen!)
They've attended the marriage supper of the Lamb. (Amen!)
These are the wise virgins who've been brought before God's throne. (Yes.)
Only through these months of investigation do we see this truth.
Yes. That's right.
Thank God.
Before, we all had imaginations and notions,
we believed the Bible was all God's word and inspiration,
that the Bible represented God,
and that the words of the Bible represented all God's words and work.
We believed that salvation lay in the Bible.
Therefore we never sought the work of God in the last days.
We all lived in desolation.
We lost the Lord's presence and the work of the Holy Spirit.
We felt forced to search for a church that held the Holy Spirit's work.
Yes. That's right.
Thanks be to God!
God has given us His grace and allowed us to hear His voice
and find the footprints of His work and return before Him.
Amen!
Through this experience, we've learned about
how we should think of the Bible in our faith
and the relationship between it and God.
Understanding this aspect of the truth is so important. (That's true! Yes.)
It determines whether or not we'll be brought before God's throne,
whether we will enter God's kingdom!
Yes, indeed. That's true. Yes.
If this issue is not resolved,
false notions will keep us from seeking the true way. (Yes, it's true!)
Such mistaken theories have really resisted God.
We should seek truth in the relationship between God and the Bible.
Aright.
Right, this is crucial. We should definitely seek the truth. (Right! Yes.)
Now then, please raise any questions you have.
We'll all fellowship. (OK.)
Yes, it's about time we really seek the truth.
Brothers Gao and Song, now let me raise a question.
Mm.
You say that the Lord Jesus has already arrived.
He's Almighty God and He's doing the work of judgment.
Is that true? (Right. Indeed.)
I think this can't be.
We've always maintained that God's words and work are contained in the Bible,
and that they don't exist outside the Bible. (Indeed! Amen.)
We believe that belief in the Lord can't stray from the Bible.
Through the Bible, we'll enter the kingdom of heaven. (Amen!)
Is anything wrong with this understanding?
Please commune with us.
Elder Liu is right.
God's words and work are within the Bible. (Amen!)
It's simply impossible for God to speak beyond the Bible.
The Bible contains the fullness of God's salvation.
The Bible is the Lord. (Amen!)
Our belief is based on the Bible.
Straying from it is a betrayal of the Lord! (Amen!)
Do you not accept all this as fact?
That's right! The words and work of God are all contained within the Bible.
No matter what happens, we must exalt and uphold the Bible. (Amen!)
Isn't that so? (Right.)
Hmph! The Bible is all we need to follow. (Amen!)
He is wrong. What we should exalt is God. How come it is the Bible?
Everyone, you say that all God's words and work are within the Bible,
and that it contains God's full salvation,
and that God's words and work will not appear outside the Bible.
The religious world believes this.
It seems no one can truly ascertain if this view is valid.
In the past, we treated all issues according to the Bible.
Let me ask:
Does this religious world's view accord with the Bible or with God's word?
No!
Lord Jesus never said anything like that in the Bible,
nor did the Holy Spirit ever speak so.
So where does this idea come from, you may ask?
Yes, where does it come from?
Well alright, let's hear it. So where does it come from?
Right! Let's hear it.
Mm. OK! This isn't hard to explain.
It can be said with certainty
that this notion comes from man's imagination. (Right!)
The conception and imagination …
Why do I say this?
We all know both Testaments of the Bible record two stages of God's work.
As for God's words and work during the Age of Law and the Age of Grace,
do any dare say the Bible records all? (No.)
Do any dare say all God's words delivered through prophets in the Age of Law
and all of the Lord Jesus' words in the Age of Grace are in the Bible?
No. I wouldn't dare.
Actually, you're all well aware that
many of Lord Jesus' words are not recorded in the Bible. (Right.)
The words of Lord Jesus within the Bible are just the tip of the iceberg!
Many of the prophets' books in the Age of Law
are also not included in the Bible.
This is commonly acknowledged.
How could you say all God's words and work are recorded within the Bible?
Does this not contradict all fact?
In this sense, are you not liars?
It is resisting God to lie.
Lord Jesus foretold He would come again.
How could the returned Lord Jesus' words be recorded in the Bible ahead of time?
That's impossible!
Right, impossible!
We should be very clear:
The Bible is a record of God's work performed in the past.
Many years since the writing of the Old Testament,
Lord Jesus did the work of redemption during the Age of Grace. (Yes!)
Tell me now, would the Lord Jesus' words automatically get written down?
No, impossible. No way.
That's right. That would be impossible!
God's words and work had to be compiled
before they could be in the Bible. (Amen!)
That does make sense.
In the last days, Almighty God has come to do judgment starting from God's house
and has expressed truths to save mankind.
Could these truths automatically appear in the Bible? (Impossible!)
The Church of Almighty God compiles all truths Almighty God expresses
into the Bible of the Age of Kingdom—The Word Appears in the Flesh.
This Bible of the Age of Kingdom contains only the expression of God
with none of man's words inside. (Amen.)
We say The Word Appears in the Flesh is the eternal way of life
given by God in the last days.
Amen!
Thank God! (Thanks be to God!)
This is the precious treasure God has bestowed us.
The view that God's words and work are all within the Bible,
and that God's words and work won't appear elsewhere
is not true, absurd,
and completely the product of man's notions and imaginations.
Amen!
Do we all agree with these facts? (Indeed! Yes, it's all true.)
They spoke well. They're aligned with fact!
I'm reminded of the Gospel of John,
This Bible passage clearly states
that it doesn't contain all of Lord Jesus' words and work.
The Bible's actually a very limited account.
How could we say that all of God's words and work are within the Bible?
That's right!
Therefore, what is this but a bare-faced lie? (Yes, that's right.)
The pastor and elder's view
that God's word is only in the Bible just doesn't hold up! (Indeed!)
Let's read from Almighty God's words to further clarify. (OK.)
Please turn to page 984.
Now page 1274.
I will read. (Mm, good.)
Amen! Thanks be to God!
Yes, that's right.
Almighty God's word is completely aligned with facts.
The Bible's just a record of God's word and work
in the Age of Law and the Age of Grace. (Right!)
The words and work of God in the last days couldn't be written in advance.
Right.
We used to claim all God's words and work were only within the Bible.
This doesn't line up with the fact of God's work.
It's true.
Yes, and if we don't seek and study the work of God during the last days
and refuse to accept the return of the Lord Jesus,
we'll be forsaken by God! (That's right. Right!)
This fulfills the Lord Jesus' words,
Yes.
If we don't welcome the Lord when He comes, are we not betraying Him?
How does adhering to the Bible and the Lord's name constitute betrayal?
I don't agree with your views.
How many times have pastors and elders said
we mustn't ever forsake the Bible in our faith.
Only by adhering to the Bible may we enter the kingdom of heaven. (Amen!)
How could this be wrong?
Right, pastors and elders can't be wrong.
Why do you always listen to pastors and elders?
You claim only through the Bible may we enter the kingdom of heaven.
Let me ask: Is there any evidence of this in the Bible?
Did Lord Jesus ever say this? Did the Holy Spirit ever say this?
So where does this idea even come from?
That's right, there's no evidence.
There is a grave problem with this idea.
The Bible was compiled by man and not by God.
Given this, naturally some things were left out and errors were made.
Man had not received God's salvation and perfection and so lacked the truth.
Man was not able to tell what issued from God and what was from man.
They were even less able to recognize deviations
in the experience, testimonies of men.
Right!
And so, lacking truth and discernment,
man often selected what he liked according to his imagination,
and left out that which issued from God but did not align with his own thinking.
He was prone to mistakes.
So inevitably, man made mistakes while compiling the Bible.
If our faith is based solely on the Bible,
how can we know we'll enter the kingdom of heaven?
Tell me now, am I right? (Yes. Indeed!)
No one can ensure that.
You say it well!
The Lord Jesus has never said
that only through the Bible can man enter God's kingdom.
As for entrance into His kingdom, He said,
Amen!
The Lord Jesus put it clearly:
Only those that do the will of the heavenly Father shall enter God's kingdom.
To those who say only by clinging to the Bible may we enter God's kingdom,
let me ask: Does adhering to it mean doing the heavenly Father's will?
Can the Bible stand in for the work of the Holy Spirit? (No.)
Without the work of the Holy Spirit, can man achieve salvation?
There's no way. It's true.
Can the Bible alone cleanse man's corrupt disposition?
Can the Bible change his life disposition?
By understanding the Bible alone, can man know God? (No way! Right!)
As everyone knows, the Pharisees understood the Bible.
But why did they nail Lord Jesus to the cross?
When the Lord Jesus came, why did He curse the Pharisees,
those great Bible interpreters?
Does clinging to the Bible mean you know God's voice?
Does it mean you've been raptured before God's throne?
Does it bring you to the feast of the Lamb?
Do you have an answer for these questions?
No, we've never thought about that.
Amen!
You substitute the Bible for the Lord and the words and work of His return.
Isn't that a betrayal of the Lord?
Are you a servant of the Lord or a servant to the Bible?
Are you serving the Lord or serving the Bible?
If you don't grasp the relationship between them,
how do you ever expect to know Him? (That's right.)
You put blind faith in the Bible to bring eternal life,
and yet you fail to obey and worship the Lord.
Is this not the path the Pharisees walked?
It sure is. It definitely is. Yes. Just like the Pharisees.
Didn't the Pharisees all worship the Bible, not the Lord?
Did they not nail the Lord to the cross, incurring curses of the Lord?
This is fact. There's no denying it. (That's right!)
Yet you say through the Bible you'll enter God's kingdom,
is this not just absurd?
Indeed it is.
You've served for years as elder and pastor, yet still hold such absurd views.
How are you any different from those hypocritical Pharisees?
Indeed. Aren't they the right hypocritical Pharisees?
You've believed for years and still don't understand. (Right!)
After years of faith, man should know the Lord's will.
His return is to deliver all saints to His kingdom. (Amen!)
As to how the Lord delivers the saints, no one is quite sure.
The Lord Jesus has said
the wise virgins who hear the bridegroom's voice
shall go with the Lord to the feast. (Amen!)
This proves that when the Lord comes again during the last days,
those who have heard His voice and have gone with Him to the feast
shall be taken into His kingdom. (Amen!)
Those who hear the voice of the Lord are indeed the most blessed.
Amen! Thanks be to God!
Yes, we're truly blessed.
Thanks be to God.
Does knowing the Bible by heart mean that one can recognize the Lord's voice?
No, it doesn't. (It certainly does not.)
Does knowing it by heart mean one knows the Lord's voice? (No.)
Right, the Pharisees memorized and even interpreted it,
yet they still nailed Him to the cross.
What went wrong?
Thus, it's clear only those who love truth and can hear God's voice
will welcome the Lord, (Amen!)
and receive life from Him.
Only they shall be brought to the kingdom of heaven. (Amen!)
Thank God!
Thanks be to God!
Praise the Lord.
It truly is as you've said.
Before, we blindly followed pastors and elders
and confined the work of God within the Bible.
We thought that as long as we adhered to the Bible,
we would enter into the kingdom of heaven,
never bothering to seek the true way
and unaware of how to search for the words of the Holy Spirit
spoken to the churches.
How'd we think we'd see God's appearance? (That's right.)
The worst of it is
I even followed them in resisting Almighty God's work of the last days.
By following pastors and elders,
I opposed God just as the Pharisees once did. (Indeed, that's right!)
Yes, we were all so blind, so ignorant! (Yes!)
Only through your fellowship did I see
that following the footsteps of God's work
is how we might receive salvation. (Indeed. Yes.)
If we just accept the Bible and not the work of God in the last days,
then we'll be abandoned.
Right.
How do we expect to be purified and receive salvation?
That is all true!
It's been years
that we've been listening to pastors' interpretation of the Bible,
yet received little truth. (That's right.)
We believed all God's words and work are within the Bible,
and that by adhering to it, we'd enter the kingdom of heaven.
Therefore, we rejected the work of God in the last days.
Thinking back, we're lucky. God didn't abandon us! (Right.)
Thanks be to God.
Bad news … Brother Chen,
someone's reported our meeting place. (What?)
We better relocate.
Where there is the work of the Holy Spirit, there is Satan's interference.
Let's adjourn now before the police arrive.
Sister, let's go first.
Pastor Zhu,
this fellowship had everyone sitting on the edge of their seats. (Yes.)
Let's try to find a safe place to continue?
That's my wish too!
I agree too. Yes, me too.
Very well, their fellowship is quite enlightening and all seem intrigued.
Brother Chen, let's move to a new location. (Okay.)
Hey, let's use my storehouse.
It's safe and out-of-the-way.
Good, good, let's go then.
Great. Let's clean up here first.
Let's get going!
Please, Elder Liu.
There's my storehouse. Be careful!
Both Testaments of the Bible record two stages of God's work.
As for God's words and work during the Age of Law and the Age of Grace,
do any dare say the Bible records all?
No.
Lord Jesus foretold He would come again.
How could the returned Lord Jesus' words be recorded in the Bible ahead of time?
Amen!
Brother—
Go ahead.
Mm.
The testimony that you just fellowshiped aligns with the Bible. (Mm.)
You've also brought new insights and light.
God's work is always developing and unfolding.
We can't be sure that all God's work is contained in the Bible. (That's true!)
I'm willing to try and seek the true way.
Thanks be to God!
Thank God!
Let's go!
There are still some issues I'm not quite clear on.
Brother Li, your place seems to be really hidden.
Yes, it's very safe here.
Having faith in China, we face great persecution.
Brother, leave it to me. (OK.)
That's right!
We have meetings as if at war. (You're right!)
Change places always.
Exactly right!
Brother Song, let's move this ladder.
It's quite safe for us to have a meeting here.
Careful!
Brothers Gao and Song, there is still one matter I'm not quite clear on.
You say that the Bible is not entirely the word of God
but also contains the word of man.
I have a different interpretation.
For thousands of years, the religious world has believed the Bible
is the word of God,
that it represents the Lord.
For these many years, this has been my belief.
So I hope you'll commune with me in regard to this question.
The Bible is inspired by God, is God's word.
The religious world acknowledges this. (Amen!)
There's no room for doubt.
Right!
Everyone, the Bible's Christianity's canon.
It's highest authority.
It does represent the Lord. (Amen!)
Those who deny that the Bible is God's word
will be both condemned and labeled as heretics.
You must be clear on this! (Amen!)
The Bible's inspired by God and is His word,
so adhering to the Bible could never possibly be wrong!
Amen! Thank the Lord!
Pastor Zhu, may I raise a question?
Of course.
If the religious world acknowledges something, does that guarantee it's truth?
Does that mean it's definitely in line with God's meaning?
What do you think?
Well …
Having been a pastor for many years, you must be clear
that the Lord Jesus was condemned by the Jews when He came to do His work.
Pastor Zhu, do you agree with this?
Of course I agree.
Does God agree with the religious world's condemnations?
Do the religious world's views represent the truth?
If the whole religious world calls something heresy,
does it accord with facts? (No. It doesn't.)
Pastor Zhu, I assume you're very clear about all of this.
On what grounds do you claim that the Bible's inspired by God and is His word?
What's your proof?
Paul said, "All scripture is given by inspiration of God," didn't he?
Do Paul's words represent Lord Jesus'?
Did Lord Jesus ever say that?
Did the Holy Spirit ever? (Oh no.)
If neither the Lord nor the Holy Spirit testified to this,
and Paul raised it on his own, can we be sure this accords with the truth?
Only God's word is truth, can man's word be the truth?
Who do you believe in?
Do you really believe in the Lord Jesus, or do you believe in Paul?
To whom does the Bible testify?
Is it to Paul, or is it to God? (Of course it's to God!)
You say the Bible represents the Lord.
Pastor Zhu, are you really sure?
Can the Bible really represent the Lord?
Can the Bible stand in for the second coming of the Lord?
Can it do God's judgment work of the last days in His stead? (It can not.)
Pastor Zhu, please respond to these questions.
Pastor Zhu, did you hear me?
Could you please respond?
Looks like Pastor Zhu has no answers for these questions.
Well …
Since you've invited the witnesses of the Church of Almighty God,
please ask them to fellowship!
Let's hear their fellowship on this issue.
Yes, let's hear what they have to say.
Thanks be to the Lord!
Many people of the religious world believe
the Bible is inspired by God, is all His word.
This clearly is a faulty notion.
All of the testimonies of apostles in the Bible
as well as the epistles state the author.
The Bible is written by people of different times.
How could it be that their testimonies are construed as the word of God?
If we go by the religious world's thinking,
though the writers clearly are all men,
somehow their words become the word of God.
What kind of logic is this?
God is essentially different from man. Only God can speak God's word. (Amen!)
And man speaks human word. (Right!)
If we insist that man's word is actually God's,
then let me ask: Could the Bible's authors in fact be God? (No way. No.)
Did they claim that they were God? (Of course not.)
Did they claim that all their words were inspired by God? (No, not at all.)
What do you say in response to this question?
If you claim they were all God, you contradict fact
because there's only one God. (Amen!)
Also, clearly they're all men, but you insist they're God.
This is blasphemous. This is a deadly sin.
Yes. It causes a serious outcome.
If you accept that they are all men
but still maintain that their words are God's words,
it is a distortion of the facts,
and it amounts to blasphemy of God.
Within the Bible, apart from Moses and the prophets,
none were told by God to convey His word.
Also, they never claimed to have the inspiration of God in their writing.
Yes.
If one hasn't such evidence
but claims that these men were speaking the word of God,
he's just shamelessly spouting off nonsense.
That's right. Without any factual evidence, what is it but nonsense?
The authors of both Testaments were all men used by God.
And they experienced God's work at that time.
They had some knowledge of God and burden in their hearts.
They set their experiences and testimonies to writing
and spread them to the saints of the churches.
This is fact. (Yes.)
But there were some who felt all of this was particularly edifying
and higher than testimonies of common man,
therefore, they blindly followed and worshiped
thinking their words must have issued from God
because no one else was capable of writing such things.
So these fallacies and false notions came into being,
and these fallacies and false notions spread far and wide
and were adopted by many people.
In the end, they became conceptions of religious people.
Oh, I see.
The damage this caused is so vast. (Right!)
Had Almighty God not come, who would have realized all this?
Right! You said it!
Right.
Though many say that all things should align with the Bible and God's word,
no one tries to discern all this according to God's words;
no one tries to seek the truth and scrutinize facts with regard to this issue.
What do you all say, am I right? (Yes, you are. You're right!)
Let's read Almighty God's word. (OK! Thanks be to God!)
Turn to page 956.
Amen!
Everyone, having read these words,
we can all see the Bible's not all inspired by God nor all God's word. (Yes.)
As for which parts of the Bible are God's words and which are from men,
it's clear to those who're discerning. (Right!)
The author is named for each scripture,
and it's clearly stated which parts of the Bible contain the words of God.
So how is it without batting an eye,
people continue to take the words of man and Satan as those of God?
Now is this a fair way of speaking? (No, it's not.)
If believers insist the words of men in the Bible are the word of God,
how do you think God will feel?
Is this fair to God?
Is this not blasphemy and defamation of God? (Indeed. It is.)
What is the weight of man's word in the eyes of God?
Why don't we just take a moment to think?
How can the word of man compare with that of God?
It can't compare. That's right!
Man's essence differs from that of God,
so of course man's words greatly differ from God's. (Amen!)
If through enlightenment, man's word can accord with truth,
this is a great achievement.
If man's word is not guided by the Holy Spirit,
is it not fallacies and lies? (Yes. It is.)
If believers in God can't see this,
then I'm afraid they're just too foolish and ignorant! (Right.)
Today, the religious world takes the words of men within the Bible
as the words of God.
This shows no one in the religious world truly knows God.
Most leaders in the religious world are hypocritical Pharisees.
Those who truly know God would not believe
that the Bible is all inspired by God and all God's word. (Amen!)
They certainly would not worship the Bible as if it were God.
The religious world believes the Bible
was all inspired by God and is God's word,
that it represents God.
That is the most absurdly false notion in the religious world. (Amen!)
That is right. (That's true.)
Acknowledgment by the religious world doesn't make fact.
People don't accept God's new work because of all these absurd fallacies.
Paul said all scripture's inspired by God.
None of God's words back up this notion! (Mm.)
In the Bible, God's word is the word of God, and man's word is the word of man.
It's true.
There's no two ways about it.
Thinking back, I realize that in reality we were all deceived.
By insisting that man's words within the Bible were God's,
man's words replaced God's unknowingly,
and man's words within the Bible were all taken to be truth. (Right!)
Believing like this, we strayed from the Lord's way,
which caused the rise of all these separate denominations
and brought utter chaos. (Right.)
From this, it is clear
man's word is not the truth and can't serve as man's life. (Amen!)
This word of Paul has brought so much harm to humankind.
That's true!
Thanks to your fellowship and thanks to the words of Almighty God,
we can now discern this fallacy of the religious world.
Imagine, if I continued down that path …
Thanks be to God!
Everyone, let's take a break then continue, sound good? (Great!)
Brother Song, this has been a great fellowship.
We're all beginning to understand the truth.
The Bible contains the words of God, of man, and of Satan.
Yet pastors and elders insist it is all the words of God.
Well, won't this lead people to go astray? (True. That is true!)
It seems like they really don't understand the Bible. (Right!)
Listening to them preach, it would be easy to take the wrong path.
Indeed, it seems we need to be wary of them.
Not only are pastors' words unreliable,
but views of the religious world may not be in line with truth.
That's right. We must really scrutinize the words of the pastors and elders
and weigh everything against God's word
and not blindly follow them listening to their fallacies.
Yes, I agree.
Thanks be to God!
Pastor, it seems Elder Liu stands with the Eastern Lightning.
What should we do?
If our numbers continue to dwindle, who will we preach to? (Right!)
The way of the Eastern Lightning is much higher.
Especially the words of Almighty God, they're certainly the truth!
Right!
It now seems we can't count on Elder Liu to protect the flock.
Mm.
We need a plan to deal with them. (Mm.)
We can't stand by watching as the Eastern Lightning steals our sheep! (Mm.)
We must fight the Eastern Lightning to the end! (It's true.)
Pastor Zhu.
Elder Liu.
Mm.
In the past, we never read Almighty God's words and weren't aware of the facts.
We blindly followed the religious world in condemning the Eastern Lightning.
But today we heard the words of Almighty God
and confirmed that they're the truth.
He speaks fact, all issues from God.
If we continue to condemn them, don't we oppose what we know to be the truth?
This is truly a grave issue!
If that is so, there will be no more sin offering.
That is right!
Opposing what we know is the true way is an offense to God
and will surely earn His punishment.
Pastor Zhu, you'd better think this through.
Elder Liu, I never thought you'd convert to the Eastern Lightning so quickly.
No matter how great their preaching may seem, we cannot accept it
for their preaching goes beyond the Bible.
Our faith must be based on it.
Even if I'm punished, I'll hold on to it.
I will not change my view on this point.
Nor will I.
Everyone, did we not enter faith through the Bible? (Yes!)
Do we not practice faith according to the Bible? (Right.)
We've not seen the Lord, so what do we base our faith on?
Do we not base our faith on the Bible?
The Bible's the foundation of our faith in the Lord. (Amen!)
These two thousand years, all the believers have based their faith on the Bible.
So I believe the Bible stands for the Lord.
Belief in one means believing in the other. (Amen!)
No matter what, we can't stray from the Bible.
How we suppose to practice faith without the Bible?
Is that even faith?
Tell me what could possibly be wrong with practicing faith in this manner.
Everybody,
many believe that the Bible represents the Lord and God,
and that belief in one means believing in the other.
People place the same status to the Bible as they do to God.
There's even those who acknowledge the Bible but not God.
They regard the Bible as supreme and even use it to replace God.
There are even religious leaders who acknowledge the Bible and not Christ,
and claim that those who preach the second coming of the Lord are heretics.
What's the issue here?
The religious world has sunk to the point where they only acknowledge the Bible
and not the Lord's return, and so they're doomed. (Indeed.)
It's clear that the religious world has become a group of antichrists
who take God as their enemy.
It is undeniable, many religious leaders are just like hypocritical Pharisees.
Especially those claiming
that "those who preach the Lord's return are heretics,"
they are all antichrists and unbelievers. (Right. Indeed.)
It seems many people do not know what exactly faith in the Lord truly is.
They all call their belief in this vague God "orthodox faith,"
yet they replace God with the Bible.
They even condemn Christ incarnate of the last days
as they ignore and neglect any truth which Christ expresses.
What's the problem here?
It's quite a deep question.
It's worth reflecting.
Way back in the days when Lord Jesus did His work,
did the Jews not act in just the same way?
Before Christ appeared to perform His work,
man all based their faith in God completely on the Bible.
None could tell whose faith was real and whose was false,
and surely none could tell who was truly obeying God
and who was opposing Him. (Right! That's right.)
Why was it that when the Lord Jesus Christ became flesh and performed His work,
each kind of man was revealed?
This is where God's wisdom lies.
When Almighty God, Christ of the last days, appears and performs His work,
the wise virgins hear God's voice and see His footprints;
thus, quite naturally, they become those brought before God's throne. (Amen!)
As for those foolish virgins,
because they fail to see Almighty God, Christ of the last days, is indeed God,
they're revealed and cast off. (Yes!)
Although for now they continue to hold firm and cling to their so-called faith,
yet when the disasters do come,
they will end up with wailing and gnashing of teeth.
From this it's clear those that cling to the Bible and fail to accept the truth;
those that believe in God in heaven but don't accept Christ incarnate
are all unbelievers and will be eliminated by God. (Amen!)
This is the truth! (Yes.)
God's disposition is unoffendable!
Let's see what Almighty God says.
Alright!
I'd like to read. (Mm.)
Turn to page 944.
Elder Liu, let's read together!
Amen! Thanks be to God.
Brothers and sisters, having read Almighty God's words,
let us ponder together: What is belief in the Lord?
What does it mean to believe in the Bible?
How does the Lord relate to the Bible?
Which came first, the Bible or the Lord? (Of course the Lord came first.)
Then who is it that does the work of salvation?
God does the work of salvation.
Can the Bible do the work of the Lord? (No!)
Can the Bible represent the Lord? (It can't.)
If people place blind faith in the Bible,
does this mean they worship God?
It can't.
Is holding to the Bible tantamount to practicing the word of God?
Does holding to the Bible necessarily mean
that one is following the Lord's way? (It can't.)
So if people deem the Bible supreme,
does this mean they magnify the Lord
that they are reverent of and obedient to the Lord?
No one sees the truth of these issues.
For thousands of years now, people have been worshiping the Bible
as if it were the Lord.
Some even substitute it for the Lord and His work, (Yes.)
but none truly knows the Lord and is obedient to Him. (Yes.)
The Pharisees held onto the Bible,
yet nailed the Lord Jesus to the cross. (That's right.)
What was the issue?
Does understanding the Bible mean knowing God?
Does holding onto the Bible mean following the Lord's way?
The Pharisees were experts of biblical exegesis, but didn't know God.
They nailed Lord Jesus, who did redemptive work and expressed truth,
to the cross. (That's right.)
Have people actually forgotten this?
Exactly what does it mean to really know God?
Does just being able to interpret the Bible
and understanding the Bible knowledge qualify as knowing God?
If that's the case,
then why would the Pharisees condemn and oppose the Lord Jesus
even as they interpreted the Bible?
The key of whether one is able to truly know and obey God
is whether or not he knows and obeys the incarnate Christ. (Amen!)
God incarnate reveals all of mankind, this is what most people fail to realize.
The Lord Jesus' curse on the Pharisees
is testament to the fact that God treats everyone with righteousness.
Amen!
Thanks be to God!
God's disposition does not tolerate offense.
As is clear, if one does not obey and worship the Lord
but only blindly believes in and worships the Bible,
he will not receive God's approval. (Right.)
If man's faith consists solely in abiding by the Bible
and their heart has no place for the Lord;
if they cannot worship the Lord as great and practice His words;
if they are incapable of accepting and obeying God's work and guidance,
then everyone,
wouldn't you say that such a man is a hypocritical Pharisee? (Yes! Yes, he is.)
Is such a man not an antichrist,
a man who has made God his enemy? (Yes. Absolutely.)
Thus, if man only clings to the Bible,
this certainly does not mean that he has gained truth and life.
It is wrong to worship and blindly follow the Bible,
by doing so one certainly will not receive the Lord's approval. (Yes. Right!)
God has become flesh and expressed the truth to purify and save man
and to rescue him from Satan's influence, (Thanks be to God!)
so that man may worship, obey, and be gained by God. (Amen.)
This is the purpose and meaning of God incarnate doing His work. (Amen.)
The key to man's faith is seeking and practicing the truth and the Lord's word.
This way we'll gain the Holy Spirit's work and know God.
Amen! Thanks be to God.
Then we'll be able to revere and magnify God.
We will have true obedience and faith.
That's the true meaning of faith. (Amen!)
In this way, we'll receive the Lord's approval. (Amen.)
Thanks be to God! I've never understood before. (I know!)
So from this, we know belief in the Bible
is not the same as belief in the Lord. (Mm, yes. Of course.)
Brother, we now see that belief in the Bible isn't belief in God.
Hmm, so what is their relationship then?
Yes, please fellowship about the truth to us!
In this regard, the Lord Jesus spoke very clearly.
Take a look at the Gospel of John Chapter five verses 39-40.
Amen!
Right! That's exactly it.
The words of the Lord Jesus are very clear.
We see the Bible is only a testimony, a record of God's work in the past. (Yes.)
It does not represent God,
because it only contains a limited amount of God's word and work.
How can this limited amount of record represent God? (Right. Exactly.)
God is the Creator. He is the Master of all things. (Amen.)
God's life is unlimited and inexhaustible. (Amen.)
We can never fathom God's greatness and abundance. (Amen. Mm. Yes.)
And this limited record of God's words and work in the Bible
is just a drop in the vast sea of God's life.
How could the Bible represent God?
How could the Bible even be on par with God?
That's right!
God can save man. But can the Bible do the same?
No. Definitely not.
God can express the truth. Can the Bible do that? (No.)
God can enlighten and guide mankind at any time.
Can the Bible do that? (No way. Not at all. Of course not.)
Of course not.
So the Bible cannot represent God. (Amen!)
Amen!
Man places the Bible on par with God, thinking it can represent God.
Is this not belittlement and blasphemy?
Using the Bible in place of God's work is denial and betrayal of God.
Yes. That's dire. That's pretty serious.
God is God, and the Bible is the Bible. (Amen!)
The Bible can't represent God, nor can it replace His work. (Yes. Amen. Agree.)
The Bible is merely a record of His work.
God's words in the Bible are truth.
They are a manifestation of His life and show His will.
And each stage of work can only represent His will during that age for mankind.
But they do not represent the words and work of God in other ages.
Is this now a little clearer for everybody?
Yes, of course. Yeah. So clear now.
Thanks be to God!
What a practical fellowship!
The more I hear, the more it makes sense! (Yes!)
Me too. I'm glad I finally understand.
Turns out belief in the Bible isn't belief in God. (Yes.)
To believe in the Lord is to experience and practice His word
and understand His word, (Right!)
then we can keep the Lord's way and receive His approval!
True. Yeah. Thanks be to God!
I always thought that faith in the Lord required biblical knowledge alone.
Maybe the more biblical knowledge I had,
the more spiritual I would become. (Yes.)
But I ignored the most important thing,
actually following the way of the Lord. (Right.)
But that was the path of the Pharisees, wasn't it?
Yes, it was. Don't you think so?
Brothers, I've learned so much from your fellowship today. (Yes.)
I've gained more today than in all my ten years since entering the faith.
Yes, me too. Thanks be to God.
It's God's enlightenment and guidance. (Yes.)
When it comes to knowing the inside story of the Bible,
we should read the words of Almighty God. (All right!)
Yes.
Turn to page 951.
Elder Liu, why don't you read this.
Sure. (Thanks be to God!)
Amen!
Amen.
Yes! Praise God!
Everyone, seeking the truth when it comes to this,
whether the Bible can represent God and the relationship between them
is of the utmost importance. (Right. Yes.)
And first, we must come to know God is really what kind of God.
God is the Creator of all things!
God is omnipotent and wise!
God is wondrous!
The one and only!
Omnipotent and wise!
God is all encompassing!
Ruler of all!
The Almighty, who is and was and is to come. (Amen!)
God alone can save and guide mankind.
Only God can determine the fate of mankind. (Amen!)
This is widely acknowledged.
Now let's ask ourselves: How was the Bible written?
We just communed on this.
After God finished His work,
the men used by Him wrote their testimonies and experiences,
then these were compiled to make the Bible.
Yes. So then we know for certain
the Bible is merely a record of God's work in the past,
and is just a testimony to God's work. (Yes.)
The Bible can't represent God
or stand in the place of God to work and save man.
Amen.
If man's faith is focused only on reading the Bible instead of on God's work,
he won't gain Holy Spirit's work and be saved.
So how do we know this?
Because God's work of salvation is an ongoing process. (Absolutely!)
So, we can't just fixate on one or two stages of God's work. (Yes, of course.)
Because man should follow the footsteps of God's work
until God completes His work of saving man.
In this way, man can truly receive God's full salvation.
Amen! Praise be to God! We are truly blessed.
God's management plan of salvation has three stages of work:
the work of the Age of Law, the Age of Grace, and the Age of Kingdom.
Everyone knows the Age of Law was the time when God used laws to guide mankind.
In the Age of Grace, God did His work of redemption.
The Lord Jesus was nailed to the cross to redeem man from Satan's domain,
to pardon all their sins,
and to qualify them to come before God and to pray to Him. (Yes.)
As for the judgment in the Age of Kingdom,
this is the work that will cleanse, perfect, and save mankind.
If mankind only passes through the Age of Law and through the Age of Grace,
but fails to accept God's judgment of the last days,
they will not be thoroughly saved and gained by God.
Why is this the case?
Let's think for a moment.
We all see that in the Age of Grace,
the purpose was for Lord Jesus to redeem mankind.
In that age, belief in the Lord allowed man to be forgiven of sins,
and to be qualified to pray and receive grace. (Mm.)
But man wasn't cleansed in this age.
Why is that?
Because man's nature is sinful,
and we often rebel against God and oppose Him.
Yes.
The Lord Jesus promised He would come again
and express all the truth that would save mankind in the last days
to purify those who hear God's voice and are brought before God's throne.
Amen.
Just as the Lord Jesus foretold,
Amen. Thanks be to God.
Almighty God's words and work are a fulfillment of this verse from John:
Amen!
So Almighty God is the returned Lord Jesus. (Amen!)
Almighty God is performing judgment, purifying,
and perfecting all those who have come before His throne,
all of those wise virgins who have returned to Him after hearing His voice
into overcomers, to bring them to the kingdom of God.
Amen!
Isn't it great?
The Lord has finally come.
Yes. Thanks be to God!
God doing His work in three stages allows us to see
that God has always been working to lead and save man.
Amen!
Each stage of God's work is more profound than the last. (Amen!)
Thanks be to God!
As for the Bible, it's no more than an important book for God's followers.
But the Bible cannot do the work of God like save mankind or guide them.
Right. Amen!
Yes.
Really, the Bible is just a record.
When God completed work,
it was documented in the Bible by His followers. (Right.)
Though of course the Bible's indispensable,
man needs the work of the Holy Spirit to understand it, to understand truth.
That's just a fact. (Yeah. Yes.)
So, we should follow the footsteps of the Lamb
and accept and obey God's judgment work.
This way, we can receive the work of the Holy Spirit
and God's salvation and perfection.
Amen!
Thanks be to God!
If man only reads the Bible
but fails to accept the words and work of God in the last days,
he cannot be purified and saved.
Right.
Actually, even if every word God said was in the Bible,
without the Holy Spirit's work,
mankind would never be able to understand it. (Amen!)
To understand the truth, man must practice the word of God,
receive enlightenment of the Holy Spirit.
And only thus can he understand God's word,
enter reality of truth, and be perfected. (Amen!)
Thanks be to God!
Knowing this, we need to understand something.
What is the key to our salvation as believers?
Holy Spirit's work …
Right. The key is the Holy Spirit's work and His perfection. (Amen!)
Who is the Holy Spirit? (He's God Himself!)
Right! Is the Holy Spirit not just God Himself? (Amen!)
The Bible is just a record of God's work in the past.
So how could it possibly stand in for Him? (It can't. No.)
So I've said God alone can save man.
The Bible cannot save man. (Amen!)
If man only follows the Bible in his faith,
and he doesn't accept the work of God in the last days
or follow the steps of God's work,
then he will be abandoned. (Right. That's right.)
Many in the Age of Law failed to accept the work of Lord Jesus
and thus were eliminated.
Those who believe in Lord Jesus but fail to accept the work of Almighty God
will also be abandoned and eliminated.
We can see these people are blind and don't know God.
They'll bear the brunt of the disasters, left to suffer. (Mm.)
The judgment done by Almighty God through expressing the truth,
that is the core of God's management plan to save mankind.
It's also the last stage of God's work to purify, to save and perfect mankind.
That's right.
So if believers only keep to the first two stages in the Bible,
but fail to accept the work of purification done by Christ in the last days,
then they can never enter the kingdom of God.
Doesn't matter how long they've believed in the Lord,
all that will be for naught.
Because all those who reject the end-time salvation of Almighty God
are opponents of God.
They are all hypocritical Pharisees.
No question about it.
Even though the Pharisees on the basis of the Bible rejected the Lord Jesus,
and the pastors and elders in the last days
reject the work of Almighty God using the Bible,
this just doesn't make any sense.
They have based their arguments on biblical letters instead of on God's word.
Mm, yes.
In the eyes of God, no matter what your reasons are,
anyone who rejects the work of Almighty God in the last days is a betrayer.
Amen!
In God's eyes, they are all evil doers. God will never acknowledge them.
These nonbelievers and antichrists that are exposed in the last days,
they'll have to bear the punishment and suffer through the disasters.
God will have them all cast off and eliminated,
and they will never again have the opportunity to see God.
Amen!
We do know this much is true:
The Bible cannot represent God, (Amen. Right.)
and it cannot stand in for God's work. (Amen.)
God is God. The Bible is the Bible. (Amen!)
Thanks be to God!
So since we believe, we must experience God's work,
must follow the pace of God's work;
we must eat and drink God's word in the last days;
and we must follow and accept God's truth. (Amen!)
This is the real meaning of faith. (Amen!)
Thanks be to God.
Every time God becomes flesh to work,
He must cast off those who only follow the Bible and fail to obey God.
So we can say with confidence
that "Faith in God must be in line with the Bible,
abiding by the Bible is true faith in God, the Bible represents God,"
these ideas are fallacy.
Anyone who speaks like this so blindly does not know God.
When one puts the Bible above all else, even in place of God,
is he not walking the path of the Pharisees? (Yes.)
It is what the Pharisees did.
The Pharisees adhered to the Bible, opposed God, and so they were cursed.
Is this not a fact? (Yes. That's right.)
Brothers, thanks for your clear fellowship.
Have some water. (Thanks be to God! God be praised.)
Yes. When we practiced our faith before,
we always listened to pastors and elders interpret the Bible in these meetings.
But what did we ever learn all those years?
We never learned the slightest truth.
We had no knowledge of the Lord.
We didn't even have reverence for the Lord, or magnify Him in our hearts.
Yes.
We equated the Lord with the Bible
and even obeyed pastors and elders in all things.
As believers in the Lord, we had no obedience to Him.
We worshiped, followed, and obeyed men.
Right.
What kind of faith were we practicing?
And still, we expected the Lord to rapture us to His kingdom.
We were living a fantasy. (Yes.)
Yes. When it comes to the judgment of the returned Lord Jesus in the last days,
I failed to seek and accept it.
I even followed the religious Pharisees and antichrists in opposing God.
I had been on the path of the Pharisees opposing God
and become hypocritical without knowing it just like them.
Yet I thought I was guarding the true way and being faithful to God.
How ignorant I was!
But now I understand:
Faith in the Lord requires hearing His voice,
following the Lamb's footsteps and obeying the work of Christ of the last days.
That is the true meaning of faith.
Only by practicing faith in this way can one enter into the kingdom of heaven!
Amen!
Otherwise,
if we're deceived and controlled by pastors and elders as we were before,
even with a life of belief,
we would only understand biblical knowledge and theological doctrine.
Yes. That's right.
We would never gain truth and life. (Right.)
We would just become like the hypocritical Pharisees,
condemned and eliminated by God.
That's right. In the past, we gave equal status to the Bible and God,
thinking the Bible represented Him.
That's just blasphemous of God. (True. Indeed.)
God is the Creator, the source of life for all things. (Amen!)
The Bible is just a record of God's first two stages of work.
How could the Bible represent God?
How could it stand in for God in man's salvation? (Indeed.)
How could we have been so foolish?
How could we even place them on the same pedestal?
Lord Jesus said very clearly
there is no eternal life to be found in the Bible.
Only Christ can give man truth and life. (Amen!)
How on earth did we not understand His words before?
Yes, that's right.
Without the truth, man perceives nothing.
But luckily we heard the words of Almighty God.
Thanks be to God. Praise God.
Otherwise, we'd never have realized
we were opposing and blaspheming God. (Yes! That's right.)
What a dangerous situation that was.
Almighty God's every word is truth.
Amen!
It corrects our past deviations, the errors in our faith. (Right.)
Almighty God has saved us. (Amen!)
Great thanks be to Almighty God! (Thanks be to Almighty God!)
Thanks be to Almighty God! Praise God.
If we hadn't heard Almighty God's word today,
we would still be in darkness and fail to see God's appearance!
Yes, that's right!
There's no way to obtain salvation in any religion. (Yes.)
We would have been cast off and eliminated.
Almighty God has saved us! (Thanks be to Almighty God!)
You know you've spoken well. It makes sense.
However, when you say that Almighty God is the return of Lord Jesus,
I think I'll need to verify with the Bible.
Only if your testimony is completely in line with the Bible
will I be wholly convinced and accept your assertions.
Because I'm a pastor, so I must check this with the Bible.
God's work shall align with the Bible.
I can't accept anything that goes against the Bible
even if it means I'm condemned to hell.
Brothers and sisters, if you read the words of Almighty God
and only seek the truth, the voice of God,
but not study the Bible,
then I won't stop you.
That's your right.
You have the right to seek the true way.
You're all free.
And I respect that.
From now on, I won't interfere.
Well then, this concludes today. Praise the Lord.
Pastor Zhu …
Let's listen a little more, please.
Pastor Zhu came to me last night.
Really?
He tried to say not to believe in the Eastern Lightning.
He even wanted my help with sealing off the church. I said no.
So we parted ways.
Pastor Zhu … (Detestable!)
He kept saying his faith is based on the Bible,
and he wouldn't accept even if the Eastern Lightning is the true way.
So, what do you think is up with him?
Can't you see it?
He won't accept the true way. How can he call himself a believer? (Right.)
The worst part is he's also trying to control our brothers and sisters.
He doesn't allow others to examine God's work
or learn about the Eastern Lightning.
Does that not make him an antichrist exposed by the work of Almighty God?
Yes.
Without the work of Almighty God in the last days,
we wouldn't be able to discern such people.
God's work really exposes man.
Pastor Wei, you've a great reputation.
Elder Liu has always respected you.
If you step up this time, Elder Liu will definitely listen.
Elder Liu is a deep and independent thinker.
On this matter when it comes to faith,
if he's made up his mind, it will be hard to convince him otherwise.
If he now thinks the Eastern Lightning is the true way,
I think he might be unwilling to listen to me.
Not necessarily.
In everyday matters, he might compromise.
But in faith he is serious and uncompromising.
Don't you know how he is?
Yesterday, Pastor Zhu said to the congregation
that he wouldn't interfere with us seeking the true way.
But he went back on his word so quickly.
That's so two-faced of him.
Now I see what it means to be a hypocritical Pharisee.
Yeah. From now on, we won't listen to him.
Yes, if not for Almighty God expressing the truth and performing judgment,
exposing the evil servants,
we wouldn't be able to see this.
You're right. Right.
Pastor Zhu touts his knowledge of the Bible,
but he doesn't understand the truth.
And I think he doesn't even want the truth.
He hates the truth. He's an antichrist.
It's true.
He's been exposed.
Thanks be to God. We finally see him for what he really is.
We won't be deceived any more.
Right, we won't be fooled in the future.
Thanks be to God. Let's go. (Let's go.)
Zhizhong, (Yes?)
you're a church elder and have served for many years.
You have good faith and an understanding of the Bible,
but I never thought you would turn to the Eastern Lightning.
This really surprised me.
Yeah.
I've read the Eastern Lightning's books.
I know their way has truth, and it is very convincing.
But you should be clear,
no matter how much truth they have, how high their way is,
if it's not written in the Bible, we can't believe it.
Right.
God's words and work are all in the Bible.
God's work cannot exist outside the Bible.
Don't you believe this?
Our faith must align to the Bible. We must cling to it.
To go astray would be just like betraying the Lord. (Amen.)
I've had faith all my life, and I know more on this than you.
Let's hear your argument. I'll listen.
Have some water, please. (Thank you.)
Pastor Wei,
you've been a man of faith for many years
and have a deep understanding of the Bible.
You understand things clearly.
Now let me ask you: When the Lord Jesus appeared to do His work,
as to those who left the Bible, who accepted His words,
and who accepted His work,
would you say they were deniers and betrayers of Jehovah?
What would you say to that?
I wouldn't say that.
So when you say departing from the Bible is betraying the Lord,
does that make sense?
How is that fact?
In that age, the Pharisees clung to and protected the Bible,
but they still nailed Lord Jesus to the cross incurring the curse of God.
Shouldn't we reflect on this and learn from the failure of the Pharisees?
Pastor Wei, we need to deeply reflect here.
We can't continue the path of the Pharisees.
Otherwise, what'll happen to us?
Pastor Wei has spoken for your good, and this is how you talk to him?
By putting your faith in the Eastern Lightning,
you are straying from the Lord's way, you're betraying Him.
I think you should confess your sins to the Lord and see the error in your ways!
Otherwise, all those years you believed are for nothing.
Zhizhong, we are men of faith,
we've sacrificed much for the Lord, and we've suffered.
Haven't we done this for the Lord's approval
and to enter the kingdom of heaven?
Yeah.
The Gospel of John Chapter 3 verse 16 says,
Amen.
With belief in Lord Jesus, we can receive eternal life.
But with Almighty God, isn't this betraying Lord Jesus?
How can you justify it?
There's no doubt you believe in Lord Jesus,
but how do you dare say you know the Lord Jesus?
If the Lord Jesus appears again, you would not recognize Him.
Now if this is true and you don't accept Him,
and you only believe in Him in name,
how can you be taken to the kingdom of heaven?
The only way to know if you'll be taken
is if you recognize the second coming of the Lord Jesus.
The wise virgins who hear the voice of the Lord will be raptured before Him
while the foolish will be eliminated.
Now what do you make of this prophecy?
I based my argument on the fact that the words of Almighty God
are God's voice and God's own utterance.
This is why I believe that Almighty God is the second coming of Lord Jesus
and the appearance of God.
My acceptance of Almighty God is based on the Lord's prophecy.
That's in accordance with the Bible.
How can you even say otherwise?
The Pharisees interpreted the Bible,
but they still nailed Lord Jesus to the cross.
Where did they go wrong?
Isn't the problem that they merely knew letters of the Bible,
failing to know the Lord Jesus;
that they heard the word of Lord Jesus but failed to recognize it as the truth?
As a result, they nailed Lord Jesus to the cross.
Faith in the Lord is not faith in the Bible.
The Bible and God are different.
The Bible is not God.
See, believers should listen to Lord's word and seek His work and follow Him.
This is the most important.
If you truly understand the Bible,
how could you not see the true nature of this?
Pastor Wei,
I think you should examine the work of Almighty God in the last days.
Read more of His words, and you'll see what's going on.
Once you've read Almighty God's words, we will have something to commune.
Liu Zhizhong, this …
After so many years of helping you, I don't believe it!
You're on your own now!
Liu Zhizhong, if you insist on following the Eastern Lightning,
I won't get in your way.
But I'll make myself clear.
You are no longer an elder.
On behalf of the church, you're dismissed.
And don't try to come and steal our sheep in the church.
Pastor Zhu, God's sheep do not belong to one man or to one church.
God's sheep hear God's voice.
If He wishes to call back His flock, no man can stand in His way!
Fine.
Everyone,
during this time, I've listened to the fellowship of the Church of Almighty God
and have read many of Almighty God's words.
When it comes to the inner truth of the Bible,
the relationship of God and the Bible, and how we should treat the Bible
as well as the true meaning of faith in God,
God's management plan to save humanity,
how to experience God's work,
how to seek truth and attain salvation and perfection,
and the right way to practice our faith—
about all these things, I began to understand. (Amen.)
What Almighty God expresses is the truth and is the voice of God. (Amen.)
It is the word of the Holy Spirit to the churches. (Amen!)
I believe Almighty God is the return of the Lord Jesus. (Amen.)
This is great! The Lord has returned? This is so great!
Elder Liu, has the Lord really returned? (Yes!)
It's really true? (The Lord has returned.)
The Lord really has returned!
Impossible.
Amazing! I can't believe it!
If this is true, why didn't I see Him?
Please settle down, please settle down, I'll explain it.
Today, I've invited preachers of the Church of Almighty God
to talk to us, (Good! Great!)
to help us seek the truth and examine the true way,
so we can hear the voice of God, be brought before His throne,
be purified before the judgment seat of Christ and attain salvation.
Amen!
Welcome them!
If you have any questions, please ask any time.
They will fellowship and answer them for us. (Okay.)
Brother Gao. (Mm.)
Everyone, thanks be to God for giving us this opportunity
to gather together and fellowship. (Thanks be to God.)
Feel free to ask questions at any time.
Almighty God's word can resolve all our difficulties at any time.
Amen!
Brother Gao, in our last fellowship,
we learned about the true relationship between the Bible and God.
The Bible is the Bible, God is God.
They are different, and they can't be thought of as the same.
Praise God!
We should all hold God to be great and worship Him, obey Him, fear Him.
We can't use the Bible to replace Him. (Right.)
Man has blind faith in the Bible, seeing the Bible as equal to God.
This is simply blasphemous to God.
Yes.
But many people might be confused by this.
Since the Bible's a record of God's word and man's testimony,
why can't we receive eternal life from reading the Bible?
The Bible is a testimony to God's work and has been so beneficial to mankind.
Through reading the Bible,
man comes to acknowledge God as the Creator of all things;
he comes to learn of God's omnipotence and deeds how great they are.
Amen.
So since the Bible contains God's words,
why is the way of eternal life not found in the Bible?
Yes. Right. Why?
Everyone has yet to understand this aspect.
Brother Gao, please fellowship with us on this.
Yes, please fellowship with us.
That's right. Seeing as the Bible is so important to man,
why doesn't it have the way of eternal life? (Yeah, why?)
You say the Bible can't give eternal life,
so why do I have some doubts?
Please discuss this with me. (I do wonder that.)
You know, I also wonder this. Please fellowship with us.
Please let's hear it.
Brothers and sisters, with the Bible,
we understand that God is the Creator of all things.
It lets us see His wondrous deeds.
That's because the Bible is a testimony to God's past works.
It is a record of His word and work
and the testimony of man in the first two ages.
So of course, the Bible is important to our faith. (Yes.)
It's true, if not for the Bible,
how would man come to understand the words of the Lord?
How else could man know God's deeds and begin to develop his true faith?
Yeah.
If we don't read the Bible,
how else would we find the testimony of all the saints
throughout the ages obeying God?
So reading the Bible is essential to practicing faith,
and no believer of the Lord should go without reading it.
You could say he who goes astray from the Bible could not believe in the Lord.
Yeah. That's right. That's true.
The saints throughout the ages have verified this fact.
No one denies the value of the Bible when it comes to practicing faith.
So then, saints through the ages all agreed the Bible is very important
and should be read.
Some would say reading the Bible and praying are essential,
just like our two legs both are needed.
Mm. Yes, of course.
But the Lord Jesus has said,
Yes. Amen.
Well, some people are confused.
They think that since the Bible contains God's word and man's testimony,
reading the Bible should give man eternal life. (Right. Yes.)
Why is it the Lord Jesus said eternal life is not in the Bible?
Yeah, why did He say this?
What is that about?
Actually, it's not that hard to understand.
Just as long as we understand the inside story of God's work
in the Age of Law and Age of Grace
and what they each achieved,
we'll come to understand why we can't receive eternal life in the Bible.
First, let's look at the Age of Law.
In this age, Jehovah issued laws and commandments for man to follow.
His words were a guide for humanity which was newly born.
These words did not involve changing man's life disposition.
So God, during the Age of Law, aimed to make people follow and abide
by the laws and commandments.
And although these words were truth, this truth was superficial.
During the Age of Grace,
the Lord Jesus' words and work focused more instead on redemption.
His words were about redemption,
and they taught people they should confess their sins
and repent and refrain from evildoing,
and they taught how to pray
and demanded that man must love the Lord with all their heart and soul,
love their neighbor as themselves,
be tolerant and patient, and forgive others seventy times seven times, etc.
These are all included in the way of repentance.
Yes.
So then, by reading the Bible,
man understands the work of God in the Age of Law and the Age of Grace.
They learn that all things are created by God
and learn how to live on earth and how to worship God.
They understand what is sin, who are God's blessed and who are cursed by God.
They come to know how to confess their sins and repent.
They learn humility, forbearance, and forgiveness,
and how to take up the cross and follow Lord.
They learn about unlimited mercy and compassion of Lord Jesus, (Amen!)
and learn that only by coming before Lord Jesus in faith
will they enjoy His abundant grace and the truth.
Amen!
The words and work of God during the Age of Law and the Age of Grace
as written in the Bible
were the truth spoken by God according to His management plan
and the needs of mankind at that time.
These truths caused man to adopt some good behaviors,
but they were unable to solve the root of sin,
to change man's life disposition
or allow mankind to attain purification, salvation, and perfection.
Thus, the words said by the Lord Jesus in this age
can only be called the way of repentance,
not the way of eternal life.
Amen.
The Lord Jesus gave way of repentance, not way of eternal life.
You know, it all makes sense now.
Then what is the way of eternal life?
Well, let's hear his answer.
Brothers and sisters, so what is the way of eternal life?
The way of eternal life is the way of truth that lets man live forever;
the way that allows man to cast off the binds of his own sinful nature,
change his own disposition and gain the truth, the truth as life,
break free of Satan's influence and become compatible with Christ.
It allows man to know, obey, and revere God
so as to never again sin or oppose or betray God.
Only with this effect can it be called the way of eternal life. (Amen!)
Amen.
Man dies as a result of sin.
If man attains the truth as life and resolves his sin,
then of course God will bless him with eternal life. (Thanks be to God.)
So then, only by receiving salvation in the last days
can man enjoy the way of eternal life that God has given us.
Amen!
Thanks be to God.
I finally understand why the way of eternal life isn't in the Bible.
As it turns out, the Bible only records God's words and work
during the Age of Law and the Age of Grace,
is not the way of eternal life God expresses in the last days.
Of course you're right.
Without this fellowship today, we might never have realized.
Thanks be to God! (Right. Yes!)
The fellowship is clear today.
Thanks be to the Lord. This fellowship has been a great help to me.
The Bible is merely a record of the first two stages of God's work.
So if we only read the Bible, we cannot gain eternal life. (Yes.)
The Bible can't give eternal life. Of this, there is no doubt.
Thanks be to God.
But we believe, by following the Lord, we can achieve it. (Right.)
The Lord's own words back this up.
Amen.
This passage is the Lord Jesus' promise. (Yes.)
The Lord Jesus can grant eternal life.
His way is the way of eternal life. (Amen.)
However,
you testify that Christ of the last days brings us the way of eternal life.
I don't quite understand this.
We are all followers of the Lord Jesus.
Why is this not enough to gain the way of eternal life?
We can gain the way of eternal life this way, right?
My brothers, please fellowship on this issue.
Yes, fellowship. Let us know, please.
He's right. The Lord Jesus is Son of man. Is He not Christ?
The Bible says,
Didn't Lord Jesus have the way of eternal life?
By believing in the Lord Jesus,
we should then also have the way of eternal life.
So why do we also have to accept the words and work of Christ in the last days?
I'm also unsure of this. I'd like to learn more about this.
Yes, fellowship, please. We'd like to learn more.
Alright.
Everyone, the Lord Jesus is God become flesh, is God's appearance.
Amen.
The Bible says,
All these words are truth. They are fact.
Lord Jesus is God become flesh.
He has God's substance and identity.
He Himself is the way of eternal life. (Amen.)
All He says and does is a manifestation of God's life.
All He expresses is truth and what God is.
Amen.
So Lord Jesus Himself is eternal life
and can grant the way of eternal life. (Amen.)
He can bring the dead back to life.
By believing in Lord Jesus, the one true God, we can receive eternal life.
This is known fact. (Amen.)
There is proof in the resurrection of Lazarus,
proof that Lord Jesus can give us eternal life,
and He has this authority. (Amen!)
Then, why did Lord Jesus not grant way of eternal life in the Age of Grace?
Yeah. Right. Why is that?
Because Lord Jesus had to be nailed to the cross to redeem mankind,
not for the work of purification and salvation in the last days.
The Lord Jesus' work of redemption only pardoned man's sins,
but it did not rid man of his satanic nature and disposition.
So yes, with belief man was pardoned for his sins,
but his satanic nature was never cleansed.
Man still sins in spite of himself and betrays God.
Isn't this undeniable? (Indeed.)
Mm. Having said this, let's be clear on something.
Lord Jesus' work during the Age of Grace
paved the way for the judgment of the last days
so that after Lord Jesus completed the work of redemption,
He promised He would come again. (Oh …)
The Lord Jesus once said,
Amen!
From the words of Lord Jesus, we can see
only when the Lord comes again will He express all truth that saves man.
Here,
These truths are exactly the truths
that Almighty God of the last days expresses
in purifying and saving mankind. (Amen!)
They are the words the Holy Spirit says to the churches, (Amen.)
also the way of eternal life
which God in the last days gives to mankind. (Amen!)
That is why the Lord's followers
were unable to obtain eternal life in the Age of Grace.
Amen!
Oh …
I see. Only the returned Lord Jesus can give the way of eternal life.
Yes, this fellowship made it so clear. (Yes, thanks be to God.)
Yes, praise Almighty God.
And the Bible also says,
However, the Lord said this to testify that He is God's appearance,
and only He can grant man eternal life.
The Lord Jesus' promise that those who believe in Him would never die
is a testimony to God's authority.
God Himself is the way of eternal life, (Amen.)
and He can grant us eternal life. (Amen!)
That's not to say
man receives eternal life only upon accepting Lord's work. (Right.)
I trust everyone understands this. (Yes.)
But many religious people think that
as long as their sins are forgiven, they'll enter the kingdom of heaven.
Is there basis for this found in the word of God?
No. There's not. There isn't.
Right. Lord Jesus never said anything like that.
Why don't we really think about it.
According to our imagination,
as long as our sins are forgiven, we can enter the kingdom of heaven.
But why did Lord Jesus prophesy that He would come again?
Yeah.
And why did He tell His disciples so many prophecies, so many parables?
These are things He is going to accomplish when He returns.
Can we believe in the Lord for years and still not know this?
Ah, yes.
We need this fellowship to understand.
If man only accepts the Lord but not His return, that's an issue.
Isn't this betraying the Lord? (It's true.)
No wonder Lord Jesus said,
Amen!
And now, the Lord's words come completely true.
If you accept the Lord Jesus but don't accept His return,
do you really believe in the Son? (No, we don't.)
This is betrayal of the Lord.
True believers in the Son refer to those
who not only believe in the Lord but accept His return,
following Christ to the end.
Only they can gain eternal life. (Amen!)
Those who believe in Lord Jesus but reject Almighty God
are people who betray Lord Jesus.
They believe in the Lord
but because they don't follow God to the end,
their belief is for nothing, and they fail.
Yes, of course.
The Lord Jesus has determined that they are evildoers
because they only acknowledge His name,
but they don't accept His return.
He had said,
Amen.
Those people who are condemned and cast out by the Lord,
those who only keep His name,
how can they gain eternal life? (No, they can't. It's impossible.)
Yes. It is known they'll gain nothing.
They will descend into hell and suffer.
This is proof of God's righteous, holy disposition.
Don't you think that's the case?
Yes!
Brother Gao was right.
We once read the Lord's words,
I always thought belief in Lord Jesus gave man eternal life.
But after this fellowship, I understand more now. (Yes. Thanks be to God!)
Not only must we believe in Him, we must also accept His return.
Then we'll have eternal life! (Amen!)
Now I see how important it is to accept the work of the returned Lord Jesus.
That's right, we can't miss this opportunity! (That's right!)
We can't! Praise God.
Brothers and sisters,
we all know this fact that even though man accepted Lord's redemption,
and their sins were forgiven and they were given the right to pray to God
and enjoy His grace and blessings,
it can't be denied that man is still being controlled
by their nature of sinning.
Yes, that's right.
And they're incapable of practicing Lord's word, obeying and revering God.
Man often still lies and deceives God, (Yes.)
they seek fame and fortune,
lust for wealth and follow worldly trends. (Mm.)
Especially when the work of God is not in line with man's notions,
mankind blames, resists God, judges God.
These people can't even really repent.
So can they obtain the Lord's approval?
Absolutely not.
How can they gain Lord's approval without repenting? (I agree.)
Though many men are able to testify and be martyred for the Lord,
and all have even truly repented,
in all honesty, have they been cleansed so that they may attain holiness?
No, they haven't. Definitely not. They haven't.
So have they truly known the Lord? (No.)
Are they rid of Satan's influence and gained by God? (No, they are not.)
Right, they are not. This is known fact.
This proves the work of Lord Jesus in the Age of Grace was for redemption,
not salvation and perfection of the last days.
The words of Lord Jesus in the Age of Grace were the way of repentance,
not the way of eternal life. (Amen.)
That's why Lord Jesus said that He would come again.
The returned Lord Jesus will express the truth
and give man the way of eternal life. (Amen!)
So then, they can break free from Satan's influence and gain truth as life,
and they become men who know God, obey God, and are compatible with Him.
So they can enter the kingdom of heaven. (Amen!)
Based on Lord Jesus' redemption,
Almighty God has commenced the work of judgment starting from God's house
and has expressed all truths to purify and save mankind.
He has revealed God's righteous, majestic, unoffendable disposition, (Amen!)
judged and exposed man's corruption by Satan.
He has unearthed the root of man's rebellion
and told man all of God's intentions and requirements.
Also, He's told mankind all truths we need to achieve salvation,
including the inside story and essence of three stages of God's work
and the relationship of these stages,
the difference between the work of God and the work of man,
the truth of the Bible,
the mystery of the judgment of the last days, the rapture of the wise virgins,
perfecting people into overcomers before the disasters,
and God becoming flesh, what is to truly believe in, obey, and love God,
how to revere God and shun evil, be compatible with Christ,
and how to live a life of meaning and so on.
These truths are the way of eternal life
and are all bestowed by God to mankind in the last days. (Amen!)
The truths from Almighty God are the way of eternal life.
Within the religion, that's something we could never attain. (Yes.)
So then,
if we want to attain truth and life, salvation, and also be perfected,
then we must accept and obey the words and work of Almighty God. (Amen!)
This is the only way that man may attain truth and life. (Amen!)
Thanks be to God!
Let us look at the words of Almighty God. (Yes.)
Brother, may we have a book of God's word? (Of course.)
The word of Almighty God.
Brother Chen, can you please hand these out? (Certainly.)
We'd like one over here, please!
Sister, yeah, we need some over here! (Oh, thanks.)
May I have one as well?
This is wonderful.
The word of Almighty God!
This is God's word.
Please turn to page 1459. (Yes.)
Amen.
Turn to page 1460.
Amen!
Amen.
Amen!
Almighty God has explained the path
for us to gain truth and the everlasting life so clearly,
and told us explicitly what will be the end result for us
if we only cling to the Bible and don't accept Christ of the last days. (Yes!)
How ignorant would we be to not accept Almighty God! (Yes! Indeed.)
Yes. Because we have heard the voice of God,
we can't cling to the Bible anymore. (Amen!)
We must accept and obey the words and work of God in the last days! (Amen!)
Yes.
Now, I understand what the Bible means
by "He that believes on the Son has everlasting life."
Thanks be to God!
"Believing on the son" also means
believing in the second coming of the Lord Jesus, (Amen!)
accepting all the truths of Christ of the last days. (Amen!)
Only in this way can we gain the way of eternal life. (Amen!)
Thanks be to Almighty God!
Thanks be to God!
Almighty God has expressed truths
which will purify and save mankind in the last days. (Amen!)
These words are abundant, comprehensive and give all the sustenance we need.
They open our eyes and give us knowledge, (Amen.)
letting us see Christ is the truth, the way, and the life. (Amen.)
Christ is the way of eternal life. (Amen!)
The words that God expresses in the Age of Kingdom reach far beyond anything
that was said in the Age of Law and the Age of Grace. (Mm. Yes.)
Especially, as in "God's Utterances to the Entire Universe"
in The Word Appears in the Flesh,
God makes Himself known for the first time.
It is also the first time
humankind hears the Creator's utterances to all of man. (Amen!)
This has sent shockwaves through the entire universe
and opened the eyes of man.
This is the work of judgment
before the great white throne in the last days. (Amen!)
The Age of Kingdom is when God does His work of judgment,
and God's righteous disposition is made manifest to all mankind. (Amen!)
So, in the Age of Kingdom,
God expresses His word, judging, purifying and perfecting man.
He'll send down disasters.
The bad will be punished, the good rewarded.
We will see God's righteousness, majesty, and wrath.
Amen!
Truths from Almighty God aim to purify, save and perfect mankind
and are the way of eternal life in the last days. (Amen!)
These truths are the water of life which flows from the throne. (Amen!)
It's great! (So great.)
Thanks be to God. (Mm. Thanks be to God.)
So then, to attain the way of eternal life
and rapture into the kingdom of heaven,
man must accept the work of judgment of Almighty God,
Christ of the last days, (Amen!)
as well as the judgment and chastisement of His words. (Amen.)
This way, they can gain the work of the Holy Spirit, (Amen.)
understand and gain the truth,
and then be purified and be saved. (Amen.)
Only those who undergo God's judgment in the last days
are entitled to enter the kingdom of heaven. (Amen.)
This is absolutely a fact. (Amen.)
Therefore, if some continue to hold onto their religious notions,
in the end, they will suffer loss. (Right.)
The wise virgins focus on the truth and hear God's word,
and the foolish virgins keep to the letters of the Bible
and their own imaginations.
Those men don't hear God's voice, they don't seek the truth.
But one day, they'll fall into disaster, and they will suffer.
They won't be able to escape. (Yeah.)
Those who do not accept Almighty God will all fall into disasters and suffer.
God has ordained this. It cannot be changed. (Amen!)
Those who condemn the work of Almighty God in the last days
have been revealed by God to be antichrists in the last days.
They will be punished for all eternity,
and they have lost their chance to ever meet God. (Yes. That's right.)
It is clear the work of Almighty God is to classify man according to kind
and bring the age to an end. (Amen!)
Today, we are able to accept Almighty God's work,
and we have received His grace and mercy.
We have been raised up by Him. (Amen!)
We should give thanks to Almighty God. (Thanks be to God!)
Praise God.
Praise Almighty God!
We should truly thank Almighty God.
We are really blessed. Amen!
I thank God for His grace.
Recently, with the help of the fellowship here,
I've come to understand the truth.
As for God's three-stage work of salvation, substance of Christ
and the source of truth and life as well as the way of eternal life,
all of these I understand finally! (Amen!)
Truths of Almighty God are abundant for us, are full sustenance from God.
I know no matter what difficulties and questions we have,
we can always find the answer and resolution in the words of Almighty God.
The more I read these words, the more I am sure
Almighty God is the embodiment of the Spirit of truth. (Amen!)
He guides us to understand the truth in a practical way, (Amen!)
and provides for our every need. (Yes.)
Almighty God is the return of the Lord Jesus, (Amen!)
and comes bearing the way of eternal life. (Amen!)
Thanks be to Almighty God! (Thanks be to God!)
Praise God!
I've learned so much from the words of Almighty God
just in the past few days alone.
You could say, I learned more now than in decades of faith before.
Almighty God has opened the door to every truth and mystery
and clarified His management plan, mystery of the incarnation,
and the inside story of the Bible for all of us to finally understand.
Yes.
The words of Almighty God have solved so many things for me in faith,
letting … letting me no longer be blind, blindly worshiping the Bible,
but learning the Bible does not have eternal life.
Only Christ is the life, the truth, and the way. (Amen!)
Only Christ of the last days can bestow the way of eternal life,
and only if we believe in Almighty God can we gain this truth and life. (Amen!)
And now I … I feel very strongly
that only belief in God incarnate and experiencing His words and work
qualifies as true belief in God.
It lets us know the truth, truly understand Him and obey Him. (Amen!)
In this way, we'll receive God's approval. (Amen!)
Praise God!
When I think back on my faith in these years,
I had accumulated so much knowledge of the Bible,
and yet I still didn't have the slightest understanding of the truth.
I didn't know God.
When the Lord came, not only did I not seek and accept Him,
I even used the words of the Bible to resist and condemn God's work
like the Pharisees.
How blind I was,
how lacking was my knowledge of God!
O God, I have committed such great sins,
and yet You do not remember my transgressions
but pity me and bestow Your grace upon me
allowing me to hear Your voice and see Your appearance
so that I am raptured before God's throne
and attending the wedding feast of the Lamb.
I'm so grateful for Almighty God's salvation!
I am willing to dedicate myself
to do all I can to spread the kingdom gospel of Almighty God far and wide!