Pastors and elders are ordained by the Lord, that's true. (Amen!)
Obeying pastors and elders is obeying the Lord. (Amen!)
Is such a view founded in the Bible?
Is it proven by the Lord's word?
Does it have testimony of the Holy Spirit and confirmation of His work?
Isn't this just a figment of people's own imaginations? (Yeah.)
After these last two meetings,
I never realized their preachings would make so much sense
and be all based on the Bible.
It's enough to convince anyone.
I really can't find a flaw in it. I really can't!
I agree.
But if our whole congregation believes in Almighty God,
wouldn't that be bad for our church? (Yeah.)
Brother Jia, we need to find a way to keep them back with us.
I don't want to lose our church, but what can we do?
They found the words of Almighty God to be truth, and they must accept it.
How can I stop them?
After all, none of the lies from the CCP have stopped them.
That's true.
Jia …
There is something.
Sister Fu is going to another meeting tomorrow …
Come in!
Jia Hongwei has started to gather brothers and sisters
along with some co-workers,
and is threatening them into not accepting the Eastern Lightning.
Listen, we need to check it out.
Quick. Call Brother Li and the others now.
Hurry! (Okay.)
Let's go. (Hurry.)
So we must stick to the Bible and cease all contact with the Eastern Lightning.
Right.
We'll stop from now on.
Brother Dou, Brother Zhu,
only after reading Almighty God's words and understanding many of the truths,
have I realized what it really means to believe in God. (Amen.)
It's strengthened our belief.
Our initial faith and love have all come back.
Yeah! Yes!
So in my heart I feel the word of Almighty God must be the truth. (Amen.)
It supplies us and resolves our problems of belief.
Yeah. Yes.
Isn't that what the Holy Spirit said to the churches? (Amen!)
Why won't you let us accept it?
Yes, why? Let us accept.
Why won't they let us?
Yeah. We all used to listen as elders analyzed the Bible,
but we didn't enjoy the Holy Spirit's work or receive any life supply.
That's right.
Our spirits have been dark and withered because of this.
Yes. She's right! That's right. That's true. Completely.
Thanks be to the Lord.
Since receiving the watering of the words of Almighty God,
we have found faith and love. (Yeah!)
I regret not reading the words sooner. (Yeah!)
We already worry that we're too late,
so why hold us back from reading Almighty God's words?
Yes, why try to deny us? Sister He, I must—
Sister Fu!
She's arrived!
Thanks be to God!
What's she doing here?
I have no idea.
I'm so glad she came.
Sister Zhang.
Oh, she came too!
Brother Li, Brother Chen, please have a seat. (Please.)
Take a seat.
Thanks.
Please sit.
Brothers and sisters, take a seat.
Brothers and sisters,
you just said that pastors and elders preach Bible knowledge and doctrines,
which doesn't help,
but isn't that how pastors have done it all over the religious world?
That's right.
Pastors and elders have interpreted the Bible for us for years.
And even if you disagree, they worked hard!
They have. Amen.
How can you say that?
We ought to suffer for the Lord. Why talk about hard work and merit?
Pastors and elders are appointed by the Lord. (Amen!)
If we obey them, we obey the Lord! (Amen!)
If we resist them, then we resist the Lord! (Yeah, that's right.)
Everyone, if the pastors and elders don't want us to hear the Eastern Lightning,
then we must obey them. (Yes.)
We won't hear that. (Yes. We can't listen to the Eastern Lightning anymore.)
We have to obey what the pastors say.
We can't accept anything that's not in the Bible. (Absolutely right.)
We can't go wrong if we stick to the Bible. (Agree. That's right.)
Brothers and sisters,
it's wrong for us to say that.
What? How is it wrong?
It does not conform with the Bible!
What did Peter say?
Amen!
Pastors and elders are just men.
Why should believers listen to men and not the Lord?
That's right. Right. Yes.
Can the words of pastors and elders represent the words of the Lord Jesus?
No, they can't. Absolutely not. They cannot.
Right. Almighty God is the second coming of Lord Jesus. (Amen!)
Almighty God's words are the truth and can supply us.
Amen!
Why won't you let us hear it? (Yes! Yeah!)
Do you want to be like the Pharisees? (That's right.)
She's right.
What have we gained from listening to pastors all these years?
It's not easy to hear God's voice today,
so why won't you let us accept it?
Yeah, why?
Only those Pharisees and antichrists
would stop people wanting to seek the true way!
Precisely. Indeed. I completely agree. Sister Zheng is right.
Sister Zheng. You can't— Hey, look.
They've started to understand the truth,
yet you refuse and try to stop people from accepting the true way.
Yeah. That's right.
Isn't this just like in the Bible?
Brothers and sisters, we must all believe, right?
Pastors and elders are ordained by the Lord, that's true.
Amen!
They are people who serve the Lord.
Obeying pastors and elders is obeying the Lord.
Amen!
If we resist our pastors and elders, we are resisting the Lord.
That's true. Amen!
How is this resisting the Lord?
Can pastors and elders represent the Lord?
Pastors and elders cannot be compared to the Lord. (Right.)
Okay. Let's think about this logically, right?
Who preaches when you're sitting in church?
The pastors and elders.
Right. Pastors and elders. (That's right.)
Only pastors and elders can understand and interpret the Bible.
They alone can shepherd us all. (Amen!)
Yes.
Therefore, if what the pastors and elders tell us
conforms to the Bible and has basis in it,
we should comply and obey.
Amen!
As long as pastors' and elders' actions conform with the Bible,
we should accept it and follow them.
Amen!
Tell me this, obeying and listening to pastors and elders—
where can we go wrong? (Exactly! I agree. That's right.)
I think we should listen to God instead of people.
I mean the pastors and elders have been leading us for years.
Everyone, calm down. One moment.
Everyone,
regarding whether pastors and elders were chosen and appointed by the Lord,
we can find out.
Let's listen to the fellowship from the Church of Almighty God.
Let's hear from the Church of Almighty God.
Yes. Let us hear it.
Please!
What they preach is profound. We cannot listen!
Let's hear what they come up with.
Brother Li, communicate with us.
Yes, do it, please. (Tell us!)
Thanks be to God.
Everyone, please allow me to share my knowledge on this. (Sure.)
In religion,
many believe religious pastors and elders are chosen, appointed by the Lord,
and therefore, people should obey them.
Is such a view founded in the Bible?
Is it proven by the Lord's word? (No.)
Does it have testimony of the Holy Spirit and confirmation of His work?
No, it doesn't.
If all the answers are no,
then doesn't that mean
this belief that the pastors and elders are appointed by the Lord
is just a figment of people's own imaginations?
Yeah.
Think about it: In the Age of Law, Moses was set up by God.
However, does that mean all Jewish leaders in the Age of Law were set up by God?
No.
In the Age of Grace,
the twelve apostles were appointed by the Lord Jesus Himself.
Does this mean that all of the pastors and elders in the Age of Grace
were appointed by the Lord?
No. Of course they weren't. Definitely not.
A lot of people like to follow rules
but don't approach things according to facts.
That's why they worship people instead.
You see the problem?
Why can't people make the distinction?
Why can't they seek the truth on these things?
Yeah.
We've never thought of it that way before.
It seems the truth is there to find.
Right. Brother Li, fellowship with us please.
Yes, please communicate more.
We can see from what's recorded in the Bible,
in every age of His work, God chooses some people to cooperate with His work.
And those personally appointed and used by God have confirmation of His word.
Like in the Age of Law,
God appointed Moses to lead the Israelites. It's proven by God's words. (Yes.)
Let's look at Exodus 3:9-10.
Who would like to read?
Here, let me.
Amen.
It's proven by God's word. (Yes, that's God's word.)
In the Age of Grace,
the Lord Jesus appointed twelve apostles to shepherd the church.
As the Lord Jesus said when He appointed Peter,
Amen!
Yes, indeed.
From this,
we can see anyone appointed and used by God is personally witnessed by God,
and God's word is proof, it's confirmed by the Holy Spirit's work.
Yes. That's right.
All their work is upheld by God.
Obeying their work and leadership is obeying God.
Anyone resisting these people is to resist God,
he will be cursed and punished by God.
Yes.
Just like in the Age of Law,
what happened when Korah, Dathan, and their people resisted Moses?
They were directly punished by God.
God caused the earth to swallow them all. (Yes.)
Right. Everyone knows, that's a fact.
Yeah. That's true.
In the Age of Grace,
the apostles appointed by the Lord have confirmation of His word.
But are today's pastors appointed by the Lord?
Is it evidenced by the word of the Lord?
No.
Most of them have certificates in theology or attended theological school.
They did this to become pastors,
not because the Holy Spirit personally used them.
Is this not a fact?
Yes. That's true. It's definitely true.
Has anyone seen or heard the Holy Spirit personally appoint a pastor?
No. I haven't.
This simply doesn't happen.
That's true.
There would be testimony of the Holy Spirit if they were,
and believers to witness.
So we know pastors and elders are not appointed by the Lord.
This is certain.
Thank the Lord. That's true.
I've even heard some of them
don't think the Lord Jesus came from conception by the Holy Spirit.
They don't think "conception by the Holy Spirit" is scientific.
They might not even admit that Christ is the appearance of God.
Indeed. Yes. Yeah.
If such pastors existed back in the time when the Lord Jesus worked,
they would not have accepted the Lord Jesus.
Then how would they treat
the appearance and work of God incarnate in the last days?
They would all be like the Pharisees, scribes, and chief priests,
condemning the Lord Jesus and opposing Him.
That would be the case. (That's right.)
Yes.
Are such pastors and elders people who genuinely obey God?
No, they resist God.
They don't even believe in God incarnate
and don't acknowledge truth expressed by God incarnate.
Isn't antichrist an accurate thing to call them?
Yes, antichrists.
So the idea that pastors and elders are all appointed by the Lord,
does this still make sense?
It does not. No, it definitely not. There is no question about that.
If one insists these pastors and elders are appointed and used by the Lord,
isn't this slander and blasphemy against God?
Indeed. Yes! It is.
Would God ever use unbelievers and antichrists to lead God's chosen people?
No. Of course not.
Isn't this idea completely absurd and wrong, fallacious?
Yes. Absolutely ridiculous.
Isn't this just confusing facts black and white?
Yeah. So true.
It's so true.
There's no way we can see through anything without knowing the truth.
Everyone, I hope now we've cleared things up.
Those appointed and used by God are personally testified by God,
and have the confirmation and effects of the Holy Spirit's work,
and can help God's chosen people attain life supply and true shepherding.
Yeah.
He's absolutely right.
God is righteous, holy.
Amen.
So, all those appointed by God are in line with God's will.
They won't be like the hypocritical Pharisees,
and they won't be like truth-hating, God-opposing antichrists.
Yes. That's right.
God won't use antichrists. He's absolutely right.
Definitely. Amen.
Let's look at today's religious pastors and leaders.
Most of them come from theological schools.
But they're not personally appointed by God.
They merely study theology and the Bible.
Their work and preaching focuses only on Bible knowledge and theology,
and its characters, stories, and history, biblical trivia.
Yeah. That's true indeed. That's indeed true.
The other thing they teach is how to follow religious rituals and rules.
They don't try to communicate the truth of God's words,
nor do they lead people to experience His words or observe God's commandments.
They never talk about knowing themselves and real life experiences, (Yeah.)
or discuss true knowledge of God.
Can such work and preaching attain the work of the Holy Spirit?
No.
Can such service satisfy God's intentions? (Surely not.)
No.
Can it lead people to practice the truth
and enter the right track of faith in God?
No. That's not possible.
Explaining the Bible this way,
aren't they following their own path, resisting God?
They surely are. Yes, indeed. They are. Yes, it's definitely resisting God!
And when Almighty God expresses truths and performs His judgment work,
these religious leaders know
that Almighty God's words are the truth and can purify and save people,
yet they do not accept it.
Even worse, they don't allow believers to read Almighty God's words.
Yes. Indeed. Right.
Just to protect their position, they furiously condemn Almighty God.
They even work with the CCP to arrest and persecute evangelists.
It's completely evil. How could believers in God do such a thing? How could they do such a thing?!
How are these pastors any different from the Pharisees
who resisted the Lord Jesus back in the day?
They are the modern Pharisees. (Yeah.)
Are they not preventing people from accepting the true way? (Yeah!)
How could these truth-hating, God-opposing people
possibly be appointed and used by God?
Yeah! He's right!
Would God choose these people who hate the truth and get in the way of His will
to lead His chosen people?
Definitely not. No. Not a chance! No, He wouldn't.
That's right, He never would. That's just the truth. (Amen.)
Praise God. The more I listen to you, the more enlightened I feel.
Thanks be to God.
So all people appointed and used by God are personally witnessed
and confirmed by God's word.
In the very least, there should be confirmation of the Holy Spirit's work.
Yes! Amen. It's so obvious.
Pastors and elders aren't confirmed by God's word
or by the work of the Holy Spirit.
How could they be appointed or used by God?
Yes. That's right!
We believed in the Lord for so long, yet we couldn't even see this.
We've really been ignorant and blind. (Yes.)
Without such fellowship, I would never have understood.
Thanks be to the Lord. Today has been enlightening.
Amen. Thanks be to God.