Archives for 7 月 2025
Bible Verse–Luke 19:10
For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.
Bible Verse–John 10:7
Then said Jesus to them again, Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep.
Bible Verse–John 10:11
I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd gives his life for the sheep.
God’s Words Removed the Tension Between the Mother and the Daughter
By Tingting, China
Dong Xin and her daughter Tingting were going out. When she saw Tingting was rolling up her pant legs before the mirror, Dong Xin asked confusedly: “Come now, why are you rolling them up?” Tingting didn’t pay attention to her mom’s question. She looked at her rolled-up pant legs and smiled with satisfaction, thinking: Hum, after rolling them up, I really look different. My legs look thin and long, and I look tall. Nice! As she enjoyed her beauty, she responded to her mom, “Dressing like this I’ll look slimming and pretty.” At Tingting’s words, Dong Xin felt that teenagers’ thoughts were strange today. She said frowning at her daughter, “Look at you. Rolling up your pant legs, you look like a hoodlum. It’s strange. Let them down.” At the moment, Tingting’s smile froze in a flash and a big question mark appeared before her eyes: Oh, my gosh! How can my mom have this thought? Don’t my contemporaries all dress this way? It’s normal. How can my mom describe me like this? She is really outdated. I wouldn’t like to listen to her. So she said, “No. I like this style. It’s in fashion.” Dong Xin saw Tingting didn’t give in, so she played her trump card, saying, “If you don’t let them down, I won’t take you to go shopping.” Tingting thought gloomily: If I don’t meet her requirement, my buying clothes will fall through. Ah, it seems the older the wiser. For the sake of my beloved clothes, I have to be aggrieved and listen to my mom. So she unwillingly let down her pant legs. As a result, Dong Xin was satisfied while Tingting wasn’t content in her heart. She thought: My mom’s so outdated. She doesn’t understand fashion nor can she keep pace with social trends closely. It seems as if she and I belong to different worlds, and we can’t simply communicate with each other.
From food, clothing and shelter to their networks of friends, it seemed that Tingting’s opinions about them were never in tune with Dong Xin’s. As long as they talked about something, they would argue and they each would insist on their own opinions, ending up parting unhappily. Therefore, even if Tingting had something on her mind, she would rather suppress it in her heart or tell others than tell Dong Xin. Although they lived under the same roof, sometimes they even wouldn’t say a word to each other in a day, so that the distance between them increased and they became the most familiar strangers. Dong Xin said Tingting didn’t understand how to do her a favor nor was she willing to be near to her. There was the saying, “The daughter is the apple of the mother’s eyes,” but Tingting fell far short. After she heard this, Tingting felt very uncomfortable and thought to herself: Don’t blame me. Regardless of what I say and what I do, they are all wrong in my mom’s eyes. Since there is no common language, then we have nothing to communicate with each other. Just like this, they complained against one another and wouldn’t put themselves aside, and thus they were always locked in this kind of stalemate.
The generation gap between them didn’t disappear but was even widening. When Tingting hit the market, she met a boy student and said hello to him. Seeing this, Dong Xin would ask her who the boy was, and warn her against calf love; when Tingting sometimes made a facial mask, Dong Xin would also say she was pursuing world trends; every time when Tingting went to shop for clothes with her mother, Dong Xin would be unsatisfied with each dress Tingting picked out, either saying the clothes were too tight, or had plunging neckline, or saying they were offbeat and didn’t fit a girl. In short, Dong Xin’s opinions were all different from Tingting’s, so Tingting felt very wronged and uncomfortable. Nevertheless, she didn’t dare argue with Dong Xin, because she never spoke but Dong Xin scolded her by saying that all she knew was to seek the trends of the world all day and that she wasn’t engaged in honest work. In the aspect of life, she was a bit picky and she liked vegetarian foods and hated meat. For this, Dong Xin often kept dinning in her ears: “It’s more difficult to feed you than feed ten children. If you visit others, will you act like this? If a famine occurs, you’ll absolutely starve to death.…” At these words, Tingting felt like she had a headache. So, what Dong Xin said often went in at one ear and out at the other.
Until that day, under the guidance of God’s words, their relationship began to change silently.…
One day, Dong Xin came to Tingting and said, “Tingting, let’s have a meeting together.” Hearing this, Tingting agreed reluctantly. She thought: Well, in any case, everything is for you to decide. If I don’t listen to you, you’ll nag me again. Then, they sat together and began to read God’s words, “Parents raise their children from infancy to adulthood, nagging them and looking after them throughout. How do parents see time? Whether twenty or thirty years later, their attitude toward their children is the same as when they were born, it doesn’t change. The child has, in fact, long since grown up, he’s long since established his own way of thinking, state of mind, insight, and viewpoints—he’s long since had these things—yet the adults never realize this, they can never keep up, they always talk and interact with the child as if he’d just been born. So what issue does the child have? As soon as the parents start nagging, the child objects. He stays away from them, he avoids them, saying to himself, ‘How I wish there was no nagging, how I wish that no one nagged me, then I’d be free.’ He doesn’t know how to open up to them, or look for the chance to tell them what’s in his heart, which would allow his parents to understand him, and know what he needs, what he’s thinking in his heart, whether there is any problem with what’s in his mind, or anything erroneous about it; whether, if he carries on thinking like this, it will make him do something wrong. He suppresses these things, he doesn’t know how to have a heart-to-heart talk, with the result that the two generations reach an impasse.”
Having finished reading God’s word, Dong Xin looked at Tingting and said, “Tingting, by reading God’s words, I know I’m wrong. I think it’s necessary for me to say I’m sorry. Since you believed in God, in order to let you believe in God properly, for fear that you are attracted by various evil worldly trends and keep far away from God, I, in accordance with my own will, have controlled you and obstructed you from doing this and that. I thought I was doing this for your own good, but I have never expected our relationship becomes more strained for this. Now, through God’s words, I came to realize I’m too arrogant. I regard what I believe is right as the standard and control you in my position as a parent all the time. I always treat you as a child and want you to live in line with my thoughts. When you don’t listen to me, I’m angry with you and still complain about your not understanding things. In hindsight, there’s such great estrangement between us and I should bear much of the blame. In fact, just as what God says, you’ve grown up. You have your own way of thinking and your free space. I shouldn’t always impose my thoughts on you. I ought to talk with you more and understand your ideas. When we understand each other and know what the other think of, can’t we know each other? Then there won’t be such great estrangement between us.”
At Dong Xin’s words, Tingting was lost in thought: Things have progressed to this point today. It wasn’t all my mother’s fault and I was also wrong. If I was supposed to see every matter I encountered from the perspective of the truth, always acted in accordance with God’s words in everything, learned to chat with my mother, and said what was in my heart so that we understood each other, then there wouldn’t happen these things.
Tingting bowed her head and right saw a passage of God’s words, “When some young people are talking, they keep rolling their eyes, they hold everyone in contempt, and everything they say is filled with a note of disdain. If you have a word with them but it’s not to their liking, they will just ignore you. It is rather hard to be a parent nowadays and very hard to get to know the mentality of young people. If they say one wrong word, their child will throw a tantrum and storm off, and it is very difficult for them to communicate with adults. This is to say that there are problems with the thinking of many young people today. Is this situation not created by evil trends and this evil society? The things of people’s normal humanity are becoming fewer and fewer. … Then there is ‘they can’t tell a four from a six.’ This is a dialect expression. Have you heard it before? (Yes.) Explain to Me the literal meaning of these words. (It means that they cannot discern between good or bad. Whatever they think is good is always good. Whatever they think is bad is always bad. No matter how you explain something to them, they don’t listen.) (It means that they are unable to know what is good for them, they have no discernment, they have no understanding about anything and are all mixed up.) This is roughly the literal meaning, that is, not being able to know what is good for them, not knowing what is positive or what is negative and not being able to tell good from bad. Because they are young, brash and arrogant, they don’t listen to anything anyone says. ‘Anything anyone else says is wrong, what I say is right. Don’t anyone try to say anything to me, I won’t take anything in. I know I’m right. Even if I am wrong, I’ll still stick to my guns. Though I know perfectly well that I’m wrong, I’ll still persist with my opinions.’ They have this kind of disposition, of not being able to tell a four from a six. From the outside it is hard to tell whether the child is being clever or stupid; they can put forward ordered arguments. When arguing something, they know better than anyone and they understand more than anyone else, so how come they always do things in such a befuddled way? Though they know perfectly well that a certain way of doing something is right, they don’t listen, they do as they wish and do things however they want—they are willful and muddled.”
After reading God’s words, Tingting felt shamed and humiliated. She thought: All along, although I’m a child believing in God, many of my thoughts and actions were no different from that of nonbelievers. Just as God said, “They are young, brash and arrogant, and they can’t tell a four from a six.” Every time my mother pointed out my mistakes, I either retorted or opposed her with silence; each time she did something that wasn’t to my liking, though I didn’t throw a tantrum, I pulled a long face and gave a dirty look to her. In fact, I obviously didn’t change my views on pursuing, paying much attention to following the trends of the world, but instead I put all the blame on my mother. I think it was my mother who was autocratic and her thoughts were outdated and she always tried to control me. So I was unwilling to communicate with her and opened up to her. As a result, we became the most familiar strangers. In fact, although my mother always tried to control me, that was because she was afraid my heart was attracted by the world, for the evil world is full of sensual pleasures, and we young people will face too many and too great temptations. If we stop paying attention for a moment, we will be seized by Satan. Then she recalled: Each time I went shopping with my classmates, they would talk about how to eat, drink, and have fun and which two classmates fell in love. Every time after I listened to what they said, I would descend into negativity and didn’t thirst for God’s words as before. Didn’t my mother control me because she feared that I kept far away from God and that I was seized by Satan? But I was often muddled and misunderstood her intention. I was really unable to know what was good for me.
After Tingting understood this, she began to apologize to Dong Xin, “Mom, this is not your fault. I should say I’m sorry. I myself follow the trends of the world, even saying you’re outdated. I oughtn’t to put all the blame on you.”
At her words, Dong Xin gently said, “Tingting, I’m wrong, too. I shouldn’t always try to control you. Your growing in life has a process and I shouldn’t ask too much of you. I haven’t considered your feelings, nor have I expected that I brought you such hurt.”
Tingting said, a little embarrassed, “Mom, in the past I didn’t understand your heart and regarded your concern as controlling me. What’s more, I always blamed you for nagging me, ignored you and didn’t know how to get on with you. Now thinking this over, before, I really couldn’t tell a four from a six and didn’t know you doing this was good for me. Mom, I see this passage of God’s word is very good and shows us the path of how to get along. Let’s read it together.”
Dong Xin responded happily, “Okay! Read it.”
Tingting carefully read, “You must endeavor to take the initiative in changing. Put yourself aside, don’t pit yourself against them, don’t contradict them. Don’t always say to yourself, ‘I’m their child, I can do whatever I want.’ When you act from this perspective, such an attitude is inherently wrong. You must put this attitude aside, it must be changed. When you interact with your parents like you would with an ordinary brother or sister, their attitude toward you will most certainly change. … If parents don’t act high and mighty, and the children can open up to them, and treat them as intimates, could there still be the estrangement between them?” “Tell them this: ‘It’s actually very simple. You don’t always think of yourselves as my parents, and I won’t think of myself as your child. The relationship between us will be that of ordinary brothers and sisters. If something’s up with you, tell me. Don’t suppress it or hide it. I won’t laugh at you. If you see something wrong with me, you can point it out to me. Tell me what you understand, so that I can put it into practice and not walk the wrong path.’ What’s it called when two people confer in this way? It’s called speaking heart-to-heart. And what is the purpose of speaking heart-to-heart? Is it to maintain a proper relationship between parents and children? Let Me tell you, narrowly speaking, the purpose of speaking heart-to-heart is for there to be normal human communication, having an exchange of minds. That’s narrowly speaking. Broadly speaking, it is for people to understand each other’s state, learn from each other, support each other, and help one another—that’s the effect. And thus, isn’t the relationship by which people interact with each other normal? … In short, the most proper relationship between children and parents is for them to understand each other, support each other, help each other, and make up for each other’s shortcomings. If you can practice this and achieve this, the conflicts between you and your parents will surely be resolved, and there will be no longer any problems.”
Having finished reading God’s word and pondering for a moment, Tingting said, “Mom, through God’s word, I know why I couldn’t communicate with you before. I always thought since you’re my mom, I could do what I wanted. When what you said wasn’t to my liking, I would be unreasonable before you without the slightest consideration for your feelings. Sometimes I would rather tell what’s in my heart to my brothers and sisters than tell you, and always pitted myself against you, with the result that we reached an impasse. I think about when my brothers and sisters communicated to me, sometimes though their communication didn’t accord with my will, I still could accept it from God and learn a lesson. Nonetheless, with regard to you, I thought your thoughts were too outdated and you were too nagging. Even if what you communicated was right, I wouldn’t like to accept it, and I’m really that kind of a child who sticks to his guns in God’s words. Mom, through this passage of God’s word, I have found the path to practice. Afterward, I just treat you as an ordinary sister. When we have different viewpoints, I’ll no longer suppress my viewpoint in my heart. I’ll have a heart-to-heart talk with you to have an exchange of our thoughts. As a result, we two will understand each other.”
When Dong Xin heard what Tingting said, she felt very gratified. With nodding, she said, “I’ll no longer control you later on consciously. Afterward, when my opinion is different from yours, let’s seek the truth, communicate about the truth and act according to God’s words. In our family, we should let Christ and God’s words reign and shouldn’t stick to ourselves.”
Hereafter, when encountering the matters, they both practiced implementing God’s word. When Dong Xin wanted to make demands on Tingting in accordance with her own will, she would consciously come before God to pray, put herself aside and no longer acted high and mighty in her position of a mother. On the contrary, she would place her in Tingting’s place and try to understand what she thought, and gradually, she wouldn’t control Tingting with intention; when Dong Xin discussed something with her, Tingting would learn to regard her mom as a sister and respect her opinion instead of being unreasonable as before. When she had a different viewpoint, she would open up and speak heart-to-heart to let her mom know her genuine thoughts, in order that they understood each other.
Later, Tingting went shopping with her mother. When choosing the clothes, Tingting no longer held to her viewpoints as before but learned to listen to her mom’s opinion and allowed her mom to give her some advice. Once, an assistant said to Dong Xin, “Present-day young people are of character and assertive. Your daughter is already this big. When she goes shopping with you, she still can listen to your advice. It’s not easy and your daughter is really obedient.” At these words, Tingting and her mom looked at each other and smiled, and they both clearly knew it was God’s words that changed them. They tasted the sweetness in practicing in accordance with God’s word and experienced a happiness they had never felt before in their hearts.
Gradually, their relationship has changed obviously. They dispute less and speak hear-to-heart more; they worry less and smile more; besides, their hearts are closer. Through the true experience, Tingting has tasted that only by practicing according to God’s word can she truly be the apple of her mom’s eyes. She has even more experienced the feelings between her and her mom should be based on practicing God’s words. This kind of affection between them, though without the fragrance of carnations, was simple and genuine like fruits, bringing them the tang of happiness.
Bible Verse–Galatians 1:4
Who gave himself for our sins, that he might deliver us from this present evil world, according to the will of God and our Father:
Bible Verse–John 4:14
But whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.
Bible Verse–John 8:12
Then spoke Jesus again to them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that follows me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.
How to Make Effective Prayers
By Liu Lan, China
Hello, brothers and sisters! Today I’d like to share a topic with you—how should we make effective prayers? Everyone who comes before God knows to pray to Him, but some brothers and sisters are usually unable to feel the presence of God or grasp His will when praying. As a result, although we pray to God when encountering things, we still have no path to practice after that. If we don’t know how to pray effectively, then our prayers may not be heard by God and we are unable to establish a normal relationship with Him. Therefore, it is particularly important for every Christian to find out how to make effective prayers.
First, we should sincerely speak the words within our hearts to God when we pray.
The Lord Jesus said, “But the hour comes, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeks such to worship Him. God is a Spirit: and they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth” (John 4:23–24).
From the Lord’s words, we can know that praying to God requires us to open our hearts to Him and honestly say the words in our hearts. As Christians, we may make a lot of prayers every day, but if we self-reflect on how many times we have honestly shared our hearts with God, we will find that most of the time when we make prayers in the morning, evening, or after meals, though our lips move and we speak fluently, we are actually not speaking from the heart but are merely repeating the same old things. For example, in the morning we pray like this, “God, I commit this entire day to You. May You keep my heart from leaving You.” And in the evening, we pray, “God, thank You for Your protection throughout the day, so that I haven’t fallen into temptations and passed the day safe and sound.” Sometimes, we only focus on saying a bunch of nice-sounding or flowery words to ingratiate ourselves to the Lord. For example, we pray like this, “Lord, thank You for shedding Your precious blood and sacrificing Yourself for us. I’m willing to bear the cross and forsake everything to follow You,” yet actually we don’t have such great resolution. This kind of prayer then is not sincere and is not made with heart and honesty, and so, no matter how many times we pray in this way, we won’t feel touched or enjoyment in our spirits, nor will we sense the presence of God, much less will our life grow.
As we recognize these reasons for which our prayers are not effective, we will find out how to make effective ones. That is, instead of caring about how many times we pray or how much we speak, we should pay attention to praying to God sincerely and touching God’s Spirit with our hearts. In our prayers, we shouldn’t speak nice-sounding words to deceive God, but should honestly speak the words of our hearts, telling God our actual situation, difficulties, or things we don’t understand in our life and work, and seeking to Him with a sincere heart. When we realize we have done something that is not after the Lord’s heart, we should open ourselves to God and honestly acknowledge our mistakes rather than speak something pleasant to deceive God. Take the publican’s prayer in the parable told by the Lord Jesus for example. The publican honestly prayed to God to be merciful to him a sinner. He didn’t pray like the Pharisees, who only spoke about their good deeds without any mention of their own filth and uncleanness. By telling this parable, the Lord showed us that He approved of the publican’s prayer made from his true heart and detested the Pharisee’s hypocritical prayer which was an attempt to deceive God and people. From this we can see that only prayers in which we commune with God with heart and spirit are approved by God. After we pray like this, we will feel especially enriched and have enjoyment in our spirits. And if we frequently practice praying this way, we will feel the presence of God and enjoy the peace and joy bestowed by the Holy Spirit. Praying like this can bring us closer to God and also allow us to obtain His guidance and leadership in our actual difficulties in life.
Second, we should be reasonable and not make demands of God when we pray.
God is the Creator and we are created beings, so when we pray to God we should have reason and a God-fearing heart, and not make requests or demands of God, or trade with Him. Actually, the reason why our prayer is ineffective is often because we take prayer as a way to ask for grace and blessings from God, in which we always demand Him to bless us with this or bestow us with that. For example, we pray for everything to go smoothly in our family, pray for the Lord to cure our illnesses, pray to get a good job and, when we encounter trials or refinement or other unpleasant situations, we pray for the Lord to remove them. When we pray like this, we have already predetermined things ourselves and are just asking God to fulfill what we have planned and demanded. This kind of prayer is actually unreasonable and lacking in the obedience and reverence a created being should have to God. By contrast, Job prayed in a very rational way during trials, who has set an example for us.
When Job lost all his wealth and children, he prayed to God, saying, “Naked came I out of my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return thither: Jehovah gave, and Jehovah has taken away; blessed be the name of Jehovah” (Job 1:21). In Job’s prayer, there was no transaction or demand. Rather, he was very rational and recognized his identity and status as a created being. He thought he was born with nothing and certainly should leave the world with nothing, so whether God blessed or took away, he didn’t make any requests or complaints, but instead just praised the name of God in his prayer. Because Job obeyed and revered God without making any requirements or demands of God, he stood firm in his testimony during the trials, and was approved and doubly blessed by God. From this we can know that no matter what situations we are in or how many unfavorable things we are experiencing, we should only pray to God and worship the Creator in the position of a created being, and obey God’s orchestrations and arrangements. We shouldn’t make requests of God or trade with Him in things we encounter, but should pay attention to seeking His will. If we act this way, God will definitely lead us and allow us to know how to face what’s in front of us and how to walk the path ahead.
Brothers and sisters, I believe that through the fellowship above, we have found the way to make effective prayers. That is, that we must pray to God in spirit and in truth and stand in the place of a created being to pray reasonably and submissively. Only in this way will God hear our prayers. Thanks be to God’s guidance. Glory be to the one true God who loves us!
Bible Verse–John 11:25-26
Jesus said to her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believes in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: And whoever lives and believes in me shall never die. Believe you this?
Bible Verse–John 14:10
Believe you not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? the words that I speak to you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwells in me, he does the works.
What Is the Church of Philadelphia in the Bible?
As we all know, the church of Philadelphia prophesied in the Book of Revelation is a church that is raptured before the great disasters. Nowadays, disasters are everywhere, and only by finding the church of Philadelphia will we be able to be raptured up before the throne of God before the great disasters arrive. Do you know what features distinguish the church of Philadelphia? And how can we find this church? Let us discuss and explore this issue below.
Features of the Church of Philadelphia
It is prophesied in the Book of Revelation, “And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write … Because you have kept the word of My patience, I also will keep you from the hour of temptation, which shall come on all the world, to try them that dwell on the earth. Behold, I come quickly: hold that fast which you have, that no man take your crown. Him that overcomes will I make a pillar in the temple of My God, and he shall go no more out: and I will write on him the name of My God, and the name of the city of My God, which is new Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from My God: and I will write on him My new name. He that has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches” (Revelation 3: 7–13). We can see from this passage that the church of Philadelphia will have three features.
The first feature is something like this: “I will write on him the name of My God, and the name of the city of My God … and I will write on him My new name.” As we know, the Book of Revelation is a book of prophecies, and “My new name” clearly refers to the Lord having a new name when He returns, and since He has a new name, He cannot be called “Jesus” again—this is for certain. Therefore, that which the people of the church of Philadelphia pray to and call on will not be the name “Jesus,” but rather it will be God’s name in the new age. It is just like when the Lord Jesus came to perform His work in the beginning, when those who accepted His redemption no longer called on the name of Jehovah God, but instead prayed in the name of the Lord Jesus. We can therefore be sure that the church of Philadelphia will be the church that accepts God’s new name. This is the first feature of the church of Philadelphia.
The second feature is that the church listens to “what the Spirit says to the churches.” This means that, when the Lord Jesus returns, He will speak more words to the churches, He will open the small scroll for mankind, and all He says will be new. The church of Philadelphia, therefore, will be the church that accepts God’s newest utterances, and those in the church will be able to obtain the watering and provision of the present words of God, just as it says in the prophecy, “And also on the servants and on the handmaids in those days will I pour out My Spirit” (Joel 2:29). This is the second feature of the church of Philadelphia.
The final feature is just as it says in the verse, “Him that overcomes will I make a pillar in the temple of My God, and he shall go no more out.” We can see from this that overcomers will arise in the church of Philadelphia. These overcomers are able to follow God’s way, and no matter what situation they find themselves in, they are always able to forsake their flesh and live by God’s words. Ultimately, they are no longer bound by the many and varied corrupt dispositions of Satan, and they bear powerful testimony before Satan. There are some who, even under the persecution of the satanic regime, are not constrained by death and who refuse to betray God even at the cost of their own lives. Such people bear the victorious and resounding testimony in the face of Satan’s evil forces—they are the overcomers God will make in the last days. Therefore, whatever church that can produce a group of overcomers is the church of Philadelphia. This is the third feature of the church of Philadelphia.
By looking at the three features above, we can know that the church that can accept God’s new name, that can hear God’s voice and obtain the watering and provision of God’s new words, and that can produce a group of overcomers is without a doubt the church of Philadelphia. Conversely, any church that does not recognize God’s voice, that does not accept what the Holy Spirit says to the churches, and that does not accept God’s new name, is definitely not the church of Philadelphia.
The Church of Philadelphia Has Arisen
Only by finding the church of Philadelphia can we be raptured before the great disasters. So where exactly is the church of Philadelphia? Actually, the church of Philadelphia has arisen already, and it is Eastern Lightning that everyone has heard about—it is The Church of Almighty God. Almighty God’s words say, “The church of Philadelphia has taken shape, which is entirely due to the grace and mercy of God. Love for God arises in the hearts of the myriad saints, who do not waver on their spiritual journey. They hold fast to their belief that the one true God has become flesh, that He is the Head of the universe, who commands all things: This is confirmed by the Holy Spirit, it is as immovable as the mountains! And it shall never change!” The church that has arisen from the appearance and work of Almighty God has precisely fulfilled the prophecies in Revelation concerning the church of Philadelphia. We can be certain of this by looking at the below three points.
1. God’s new name. The Church of Almighty God testifies that the Lord has returned already, and that He is called Almighty God. “The Almighty” is mentioned in many verses in Revelation. For example, the Book of Revelation 1:8 says, “I am Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the Ending, said the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.” Revelation 19:6 says, “And I heard as it were the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of mighty thunder, saying, Alleluia: for the Lord God Almighty reigns.” And in many verses, such as Revelation 16:14, it is prophesied that the Lord’s new name shall be “the Almighty,” meaning Almighty God. We can therefore be certain that the name “Almighty God” is indeed God’s new name as prophesied in Revelation, and that it is the name of God as He works in the last days.
With respect to this point, let us read a passage of Almighty God’s words, “I was once known as Jehovah. I was also called the Messiah, and people once called Me Jesus the Savior with love and esteem. Today, however, I am no longer the Jehovah or Jesus that people knew in times past; I am the God who has returned in the last days, the God who shall bring the age to an end. I am the God Himself that rises up from the end of the earth, replete with My entire disposition, and full of authority, honor, and glory. People have never engaged with Me, never known Me, and have always been ignorant of My disposition. From the creation of the world until today, not one person has seen Me. This is the God who appears to man in the last days but is hidden among man. He resides among man, true and real, like the burning sun and the blazing flame, filled with power and brimming with authority. There is not a single person or thing that shall not be judged by My words, and not a single person or thing that shall not be purified through the burning of fire. Eventually, all nations shall be blessed because of My words, and also smashed to pieces because of My words. In this way, all people during the last days shall see that I am the Savior returned, and that I am the Almighty God that conquers all of mankind. And all shall see that I was once the sin offering for man, but that in the last days I also become the flames of the sun that incinerate all things, as well as the Sun of righteousness that reveals all things. This is My work in the last days. I took this name and am possessed of this disposition so that all people may see that I am a righteous God, the burning sun, the blazing flame, and so that all may worship Me, the one true God, and so that they may see My true face: I am not only the God of the Israelites, and I am not just the Redeemer; I am the God of all creatures throughout the heavens and the earth and the seas.” Almighty God’s words show us that whether He is called Jehovah, Jesus, or the Messiah, He is always God Himself, and that these are just different names He takes in different ages. Similarly, in the last days, the Lord Jesus has returned in the flesh and changed His name, and has taken the new name of Almighty God. This is because in the last days, God will do the work of separating each person according to their kind and of rewarding the good and punishing the wicked, and He will save man from sin once and for all and bring God’s six-thousand-year management plan to save mankind to an end. In the last days, therefore, God will reveal Himself to man in His righteous, majestic, wrathful disposition that tolerates no offense and make His inherent disposition and what He has and is open to all. God therefore takes a name that can represent His disposition—the all-powerful almighty God Himself—so that all of mankind may see His authority and power. Mankind can see that not only can God create all things, but that He can rule all things as well, and see that not only can God become a sin offering for man, but that He can also transform and purify man; He is the First and the Last, and no one can fathom His wondrousness and deeds. This tells us that Almighty God is the Lord Jesus returned, the unique God Himself, and that The Church of Almighty God that has arisen from the appearance and work of Almighty God is indeed the church of Philadelphia as prophesied in the Bible.
2. What the Spirit says to the churches. The Lord Jesus once prophesied, “I have yet many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. However, when He, the Spirit of truth, is come, He will guide you into all truth: for He shall not speak of Himself; but whatever He shall hear, that shall He speak: and He will show you things to come” (John 16:12–13). “And if any man hear My words, and believe not, I judge him not: for I came not to judge the world, but to save the world. He that rejects Me, and receives not My words, has one that judges him: the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day” (John 12:47–48). “Sanctify them through Your truth: Your word is truth” (John 17:17). These verses tell us that when the Lord returns, He will express the truth and perform the work of judging and purifying man. Although we may have accepted redemption from the Lord Jesus, we have not been freed from the shackles of sin and we live constantly in a state of sinning and confessing. Because of this, in order to save us from sin once and for all, and on the foundation of the Lord Jesus’ work of redemption, in the last days God expresses millions of words and launches the work of judgment beginning with the house of God. He does this so that man may be completely purified and freed from the shackles of sin. Thus, the appearance and work of Almighty God precisely fulfill the prophecies made by the Lord Jesus.
We will have a better understanding of this after we have read a passage of Almighty God’s words. Almighty God says, “Christ of the last days uses a variety of truths to teach man, to expose the substance of man, and to dissect the words and deeds of man. These words comprise various truths, such as man’s duty, how man should obey God, how man should be loyal to God, how man ought to live out normal humanity, as well as the wisdom and the disposition of God, and so on. These words are all directed at the substance of man and his corrupt disposition. In particular, the words that expose how man spurns God are spoken in regard to how man is an embodiment of Satan, and an enemy force against God. In undertaking His work of judgment, God does not simply make clear the nature of man with a few words; He exposes, deals with, and prunes over the long term. All these different methods of exposure, dealing, and pruning cannot be substituted with ordinary words, but with the truth of which man is utterly bereft. Only methods such as these can be called judgment; only through judgment of this kind can man be subdued and thoroughly convinced about God, and moreover gain true knowledge of God. What the work of judgment brings about is man’s understanding of the true face of God and the truth about his own rebelliousness. The work of judgment allows man to gain much understanding of the will of God, of the purpose of God’s work, and of the mysteries that are incomprehensible to him. It also allows man to recognize and know his corrupt essence and the roots of his corruption, as well as to discover the ugliness of man. These effects are all brought about by the work of judgment, for the essence of this work is actually the work of opening up the truth, the way, and the life of God to all those who have faith in Him. This work is the work of judgment done by God.”
Almighty God’s words show us that He uses many different aspects of the truth to judge and to purify us, and He tells us all the truths we need to obtain full salvation as corrupt mankind, such as “Christ Does the Work of Judgment With the Truth,” “Are You a True Believer in God?” “To Whom Are You Loyal?” “Those Who Are Incompatible With Christ Are Surely Opponents of God,” “A Very Serious Problem: Betrayal (1),” “A Very Serious Problem: Betrayal (2),” “You Should Put Aside the Blessings of Status and Understand God’s Will to Bring Salvation to Man,” and many more. Moreover, Almighty God unveils the mysteries of God’s six-thousand-year management to save mankind, such as “You Should Know How the Whole of Humanity Has Developed to the Present Day,” “Knowing the Three Stages of God’s Work Is the Path to Knowing God,” “The Work in the Age of Law,” “The True Story Behind the Work of the Age of Redemption,” “The Mystery of the Incarnation (1–4),” and so on. He also reveals His promises to man and how He determines the ends and destinations for man, such as “Restoring the Normal Life of Man and Taking Him to a Wonderful Destination,” “God and Man Will Enter Into Rest Together,” “No One Who Is of the Flesh Can Escape the Day of Wrath,” “Transgressions Will Lead Man to Hell,” and more. The words expressed by Almighty God are recorded in the book The Word Appears in the Flesh. These truths reveal the mysteries of God’s several thousand years of management of mankind, and they show us the way to be purified and to attain full salvation. Let us think about it: If these utterances were not from the Holy Spirit, would we be able to understand this matter? Besides the Holy Spirit and besides God, who else could utter such words? Who else could reveal these truths and mysteries? Who else could express these truths to save and purify mankind? This is sufficient to show that the word of Almighty God is the word of judgment expressed by God in the last days, truly Almighty God’s words are what the Holy Spirit says to the churches in the last days, and The Word Appears in the Flesh expressed by Almighty God is the small scroll that was prophesied in the Book of Revelation.
3. God has already made a group of overcomers. Almighty God expresses the truth and performs the work of judgment in the last days primarily in order to make a group of overcomers. All of God’s chosen people who pursue the truth and undergo the judgment and chastisement of Almighty God’s words have clearly seen the truth of their own corruption at Satan’s hands; they are able to truly know all the various corrupt dispositions of Satan that lie within them, and they are willing to forsake their flesh and truly repent. Ultimately, they become able to put God’s words into practice, conduct themselves in accordance with the truth, and obey and revere God, meaning that they have overcome Satan’s dark influence. Just as Almighty God’s words say, “I have previously said that a group of overcomers are gained from the East, overcomers who come from amid the great tribulation. What is meant by these words? They mean that these people who have been gained only truly obeyed after undergoing judgment and chastisement, and dealing and pruning, and all kinds of refinement. The belief of these people is not vague and abstract, but real. They have not seen any signs and wonders, or any miracles; they do not speak of abstruse letters and doctrines, or profound insights; instead they have reality, and the words of God, and a true knowledge of the reality of God.” They have undergone the judgment and chastisement of Almighty God’s words, their life dispositions are transformed to varying degrees, and they bear testimony to having rid themselves of arrogance and conceitedness, to being honest people, to having cast off the chains of being agreeable “yes men,” to having freed themselves from jealousy, and more. These testimonies are the fruit of God’s chosen people after they have experienced the judgment and chastisement of God’s words. Besides this, there are also many people who face being cruelly persecuted by the satanic regime, who are able to take no thought to their own lives and who, with almost no hope for their own survival, rely on the guidance of Almighty God’s words and bear resounding testimony that overcomes Satan for God’s sake. These overcomers’ testimonies have now long been available for all to see online, and they openly testify to all the world that Almighty God is the Lord Jesus returned. We can see from this that a group of overcomers has already arisen within The Church of Almighty God. These things are the crystallization of God’s work in the last days, and they are the exact fulfillment of the prophecy in Revelation that says, “Him that overcomes will I make a pillar in the temple of My God, and he shall go no more out” (Revelation 3:12).
We can see from the above fellowship that Almighty God’s work in the last days exactly fulfills the prophecy in Revelation that says, “And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write … Because you have kept the word of My patience, I also will keep you from the hour of temptation, which shall come on all the world, to try them that dwell on the earth. Behold, I come quickly: hold that fast which you have, that no man take your crown. Him that overcomes will I make a pillar in the temple of My God, and he shall go no more out: and I will write on him the name of My God, and the name of the city of My God, which is new Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from My God: and I will write on him My new name. He that has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches” (Revelation 3:7–13). The Word Appears in the Flesh as expressed by Almighty God is what the Spirit says to the churches, the hidden manna. The name of Almighty God is God’s new name and all who pray and call in the name of Almighty God and who accept the guidance of Almighty God’s words will all be raptured before God’s throne. These people all have the chance to accept the judgment and purification of Almighty God’s words, and they will ultimately gain the truth and become the overcomers who are made before the disasters. The appearance and work of Almighty God precisely fulfill the prophecies in Revelation, and this is proof that The Church of Almighty God is the church of Philadelphia.
Almighty God has now made a group of overcomers and God’s work to save mankind is nearing its end—the gate of grace will soon close. So, now that you are faced with the work of Almighty God, what will you choose?
近期评论