The Awakening of a Deceived Spirit (Part 2)

By Yuanzhi, Brazil

One day, while I was browsing through Facebook, I read an article about someone’s experience and testimony titled “I Have Found Salvation in the Last Days on Facebook.” After I opened it, I read that this sister had similar experiences to me. When she first started contacting TheChurch of Almighty God, she encountered rumors about it that her friends sent to her. She was very disturbed. I wanted to understand what the conclusion was, so I continued reading impatiently. I read that this sister prayed to the Lord and asked the Lord to guide her. After she finished praying, she felt that she could not selectively listen and believe. She had to realistically investigate The Church of Almighty God in order to differentiate whether it was true or false. If she blindly listened to the rumors and refused to investigate the second coming of the Lord, it would not be very rational. She had to find out the truth about the Lord’s return. When I read this, I felt that it was correct. The return of the Lord is an important thing and one must treat it prudently. I cannot simply follow the herd and blindly reject and resist it. I continued reading the article and saw that the circumstances regarding The Church of Almighty God that this sister came to understand were completely different from what her online friends were telling her. Additionally, she personally received as visitors some sisters from The Church of Almighty God. They fellowshiped with her about Almighty God’s words and they also helped and cared for her. The true experiences of this sister told me that I could no longer continue to be deceived by these rumors, nor could I believe gossip and reject investigating the work of Almighty God in the last days. Otherwise, it is possible that I would lose God’s grace of the last days. I must connect with The Church of Almighty God again for further investigation!

At night, while I was tossing and turning restlessly in bed, I thought, “I must find Sister Yang, whom I have blacklisted. If I can find her, I would definitely be able to find Brother Zhang from The Church of Almighty God.” I recalled that Sister Yang is someone who truly believes in God. All along, she has investigated the work of Almighty God in the last days. Right now, she should have already understood a lot. I want to know how her investigation is coming along. Through the help of some friends, two days later, with difficulty, I found Sister Yang’s Facebook account. I was glad that she was not angry at me for blocking her. After I contacted her, she told me that she had already investigated things quite clearly. Almighty God is the return of Jesus. She also happily connected me with Brother Zhang. Through the Internet, I contacted Brother Zhang and Sister Yang. I said, “After this period of experience, I can see that the Lord is guiding me. I am also willing to seek and investigate the work of Almighty God of the last days. However, I have many questions to ask you two. The thing I do not understand the most is that Jesus incarnated as a man to do His work. However, today, why can Jesus incarnate as a woman to do the work? This is a mystery. Brother Zhang, can you explain this to me?”

In response to my question, Brother Zhang replied, “Yes. Within God’s incarnation, there is a mystery. The meaning of His incarnation is great and it is deep. It is also something that we cannot fathom. Therefore, we must have a heart of reverence in regard to the return of the Lord. Even if God’s work is not in accordance with our notions at all, we must watch our tongues. We must not judge it without thinking the matter through. Seriously speaking, arbitrarily judging God’s work is blaspheming against God. The sin of blaspheming God cannot be pardoned in this life or the next. Almighty God of the last days has come and opened up all the mysteries. This is exactly fulfilling Jesus’ prophecies: ‘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’ (Jhn 16:12–13). If we read the words of Almighty God together, we will be able to understand this aspect of the truth. Almighty God said: ‘Back then, when Jesus came, He was male, but this time He is female. From this, you can see that God created both male and female for the sake of His work, and with Him there is no distinction of gender. When His Spirit comes, He can take on any kind of flesh at will and that flesh can represent Him. Whether male or female, it can represent God as long as it is His incarnate flesh. If Jesus had appeared as a female when He came, in other words, if an infant girl, and not a boy, had been conceived by the Holy Spirit, that stage of work would have been completed all the same. If such had been the case, then the present stage of work would have to be completed by a male instead, but the work would be completed all the same. The work done in either stage is equally significant; neither stage of work is repeated nor conflicts with the other. At the time, Jesus in doing His work was called the only Son, and “Son” implies the male gender. Then why is the only Son not mentioned in this stage? This is because the requirements of the work have necessitated a change in gender different from that of Jesus. With God there is no distinction of gender. He does His work as He wishes and in doing His work He is not subject to any restrictions, but is especially free. However, every stage of work has its own practical significance. … In the beginning, when Jehovah created mankind, He made two kinds of human being, both male and female; and so His incarnate flesh was also differentiated into either male or female. He did not decide upon His work on the basis of the words He spoke to Adam and Eve. The two times He became flesh were determined entirely according to His thinking at the time He first created mankind, that is, He completed the work of His two incarnations based on the male and the female before they had been corrupted’ (‘The Two Incarnations Complete the Significance of the Incarnation’ in The Word Appears in the Flesh). ‘In gender, one is male and the other female; in this the meaning of God’s incarnation has been completed. It dispels man’s misconceptions of God: God can become both male and female, and the incarnate God is in essence genderless. God made both man and woman, and He does not differentiate between the genders’” (“The Essence of the Flesh Inhabited by God” in The Word Appears in the Flesh).

After we finished reading God’s words, Brother Zhang said, “Whatever God does has meaning. God absolutely does not get involved with matters that do not have meaning or value. The Bible says: ‘So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them’ (Gen 1:27). From this we can see, in the beginning, He created man and woman in His image. The reason He chose to embody different genders the two times He was incarnated is to make whole the meaning of His creation of man and woman. At the same time, by doing so, He dispels man’s fallacious belief that God can only incarnate as a man and that He cannot incarnate as a woman. This allows man to acknowledge that not only could God’s incarnation embody the identity of a man, but it could also embody the identity of a woman. This allows man to see that God is indeed almighty, that man is unable to fathom it and he should not arbitrarily judge or define God. Additionally, God’s essence is spirit. Spirits are sexless. Sex only applies to created mankind. In order to save and redeem mankind, God incarnated Himself twice. Therefore, the sex of God’s incarnation is only dependent on the period of time in which He does His work. Once the incarnated God’s work on earth concludes, God will return to the spiritual world. At that time, He will no longer be differentiated by sex. Therefore, if we confine God to a certain sex, it is a great blasphemy against God! …”

After listening to the words of Almighty God and Brother Zhang’s fellowship, I had a sudden flash of insight. Finally, I understood the reason why God took on a different sex the two times that He was incarnated. As it turns out, this embodies the will that God had when He first created man and it also embodies God’s kind intentions. If God embodied a man the two times He was incarnated to do work, we would have believed that God is eternally a man and we would fallaciously believe that the male sex is greater and has higher status than the female sex. God incarnate of the last days working as a woman embodies God’s impartiality and righteousness and it lets me see that God’s incarnation this time working as a woman is very meaningful! Otherwise, I would never know God and my notions and definition about God would never have been eliminated. Furthermore, due to my defining God, I would have offended God’s disposition. The first time that God was incarnated, He embodied the identity of a man. In the last days, God’s incarnation embodied the identity of a woman. From these two times of God’s incarnation, it can be seen that these two instances indeed make whole the meaning of God’s incarnation. It allows me to have a more accurate and a more genuine understanding of God. Thank God! God’s work is truly wise!

After Sister Yang and Brother Zhang listened to my understanding and knowledge of God’s words, they were happy that I was able to understand God’s will and that I had eliminated my notions and misunderstandings about God. They were so moved by the salvation work that God had done upon me that they cried. Afterward, we had fellowship three more times. Thanks to God’s guidance, I understood more and more of the truth, I learned about the mystery of God’s incarnation and I learned about the mystery of God’s three stages of work. I learned of the differences between God’s work and man’s work, the differences between the Holy Spirit’s work and Satan’s work and other such aspects of the truth. I could truly feel that Almighty God is the return of Jesus and that He is the truth, the way and the life. On Saturday night, Sister Yang sent me a new MV called Love the Practical God With All Our Heart, “God’s will has been revealed—to perfect the true lovers of God. Lively and innocent people all offer up praises to God, and dance beautiful dances around the true God together. People are called back by God’s voice from different places. Words of life are bestowed upon us. We are purified by the judgment of God’s words. …” After I listened to this song, I was very encouraged, and I cried tears full of emotion. I called Sister Yang’s telephone, but I was so emotional that I could not speak. All I could do was repeatedly say one sentence: “Thank God! Thank you….”

After my emotions subsided, that night, I had a very heartfelt conversation with my brother and sister. I was thankful that Almighty God did not give up on my salvation all this time and that He did not treat me based on my resistance and contradiction. Instead, He was with me all this time. He used gospel movies or videos and my brothers’ and sisters’ experience articles to guide and move me bit by bit, and brought me back to His family and before Him. From the bottom of my heart, I told my brother and sister: “I have already experienced God’s love. I also understand the truth of God’s incarnation. I no longer believe hearsay and rumors. I completely accept Almighty God as my Savior and as my God. Since I have already determined that Almighty God is the return of Jesus, He is a God that has provided me with a lot of grace and He is the Redeemer of mankind.”

I recalled the past when I listened to rumors, was full of conflict in regard to the work of God in the last days and said some words of judgment against God. I was so rebellious! My heart felt very indebted to God and I was remorseful and grieved. However, Sister Yang told me: “During circumstances when someone does not know God, it is very easy for them to be deceived by lies. As long as we truly repent, God will not remember. God’s word says, ‘God did not come this time to strike people down, but rather to save people to the greatest extent possible. Who is entirely free from errors? If everyone is struck down, then how could it be called salvation? Some transgressions are done on purpose and other transgressions are done involuntarily. With involuntary matters, you can change after you recognize them, so would God strike you down before you change? Is this how God saves people? It is not like that! Regardless of whether you transgress involuntarily or out of a rebellious nature, you must remember: Hurry and wake up to reality. Press onward; no matter what situation arises, you must press onward. God is working to save people and He will not randomly strike the people He wants to save’” (“God’s Will Is to Save People to the Greatest Extent Possible” in Records of Christ’s Talks). God’s words have given me great comfort and they have allowed me to see that God is full of mercy and forgiveness. God’s love is great! Within my heart, I cannot help but be grateful to God. Afterward, I got into contact with the brothers and sisters of The Church of Almighty God. I could see that The Church of Almighty God was not at all what the rumors purported it to be. In fact, it was completely opposite. This was the place where we can pursue the truth and know God. When we had gatherings in The Church of Almighty God, nobody talked about a life of pleasure. Nobody talked about cars, money or houses. Nobody talked about the dirty and filthy evil in the world. Everybody read Almighty God’s word together and we communicated our experience and knowledge of God’s words. We practiced adhering to Almighty God’s words. I can see that God’s word, the truth, and Christ are completely in power within The Church of Almighty God. This place is filled with equality and righteousness. It is like I had a taste in advance of a beautiful life in a new heaven and earth! At this time, when I recall those rumors, I realize that they simply trap and harm people. Due to those rumors, I almost lost God’s salvation of the last days. Thankfully, Almighty God saved me and helped me have an understanding of God’s work. My spirit was awakened, I broke through the net of Satan’s rumors and I came before the throne of God. I am thankful to God for saving me. All the glory be to Almighty God!