How to Get Closer to God in Our Busy Life

By Qingxin

The Bible says, “Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you” (James 4:8). As believers in God, we all know that building a normal relationship with God in order to get closer to God and receive more of the Holy Spirit’s work is crucial. In the fast-paced modern life, however, busy jobs, complicated relationships and evil social trends draw us in and occupy our hearts more and more, and they prevent us from quieting ourselves before God. This causes our relationship with God to become ever more distant and causes us to often feel empty and agitated in the depths of our souls. So how exactly can we establish a proper relationship with God and become closer to God? This is a very important issue put in front of each believer. Actually, we need only to grasp the three aspects below, and our relationship with God will grow closer.

All Things Work Together for Good. A Commentary on Romans 8:28

And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.

- Romans 8:28

The Beam in Your Own Eye—A Commentary on Matthew 7:3–5

And why behold you the mote that is in your brother’s eye, but consider not the beam that is in your own eye? Or how will you say to your brother, Let me pull out the mote out of your eye; and, behold, a beam is in your own eye? You hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of your own eye; and then shall you see clearly to cast out the mote out of your brother’s eye.

                                                                                                              - Matthew 7:3–5

Thoughts on Today’s Verse…

When encountering something in our daily lives, we incline to grumble to others, instead of knowing ourselves. Even if among one family, we are still full of blame and complaints, unable to get on with each other. For example: A husband is always grumbling that his wife shows little empathy and consideration for him, while his wife often blames him for he doesn’t give enough kindness, consideration, and care to her; a mother-in-law is always railing against her daughter-in-law about her unthrifty housekeeping and lacking in filial duty, while the daughter-in-law constantly complains, saying that her mother-in-law is too captious, not regarding her as a member of the family; the parents continually reproach their children for being so disobedient that they are worried sick about them, while the children are always grumbling at their parents about controlling everything of them and depriving of their freedoms; friends, fellows, and brothers and sisters also always blame and grumble to each other for giving too much while gaining too little. When there are some conflicts in our contact with others, we merely blindly blame others … Each of us sees ourselves as an innocent victim and has sufficient reasons to blame and complain to others. Because of such complaints, the interpersonal tension is growing. There is no longer any understanding and tolerance between people, and human relations have become full of hostility and enmity. We are also eager to live in amity with the relatives and friends around us and to love each other. However, without exception, we are all hurting one another. Facing these problems, what should we do to save the day?

God says, “Everyone has small faults and foibles and they all have some things that are characteristic to them; they can all be self-righteous, weak and lacking. You should therefore help others with a loving heart, be tolerant, be forbearing and don’t be too harsh or make a fuss over every tiny detail.”

These words show us the path of practice. If we want to get on well with others, we should view others’ shortcomings correctly and learn to tolerate and forbear with others. Especially when we have disagreements with others, we should first reflect on ourselves and solve our own problems, and should not fixate our eyes on others. When we practice in this way, we will gradually discover we are not better than others and that the problems are more serious in us than in others. Thus we will naturally understand and forbear with others. Then we will be freed from complaints, and the relationship with the people around us will become more and more proper.

God also says, “The truth is related to the life of normal humanity. It can correct all kinds of your bad tendencies and habits, bad and negative thoughts. It can change your satanic disposition and all sorts of things in you that belong to Satan, become your life, and allow you to become proper and have humanity. It will change you so that your thinking and your heart are proper, you possess reason, and you are proper in every aspect.” We have been deeply corrupted by Satan. If we want to get along well with others and live out the likeness of a normal man, the most important thing is to allow the truth to be our life and use the truth to correct our thinking and point of view, so that our arrogant and conceited corrupt disposition can be taken away. Only in this way can our conscience and reason gradually return to normal, and can we learn to forgive, forbear, and understand others. At that time, we will become more and more harmonious in the dealings with others, thus we will get rid of the complaints.

Recommended：These 4 points will help you build a normal relationship with God. Read now, and you'll find the path to get closer to God.

Confusion Resolved: Why Jews Didn’t Believe in Jesus

By Cheng Tu

One day in 33 A.D., dark clouds loomed over Jerusalem, filling the air with gloom.

The Lord Jesus, with a crown of thorns on His head, was standing on the platform where the trial had been held. Off the platform were the angry chief priests, scribes and Pharisees, who shouted, “His blood be on us, and on our children.” Many furious Jewish people were also yelling as they raised their arms, “Crucify Him! Crucify Him!”

…………

What Does It Mean to Pray “Your Kingdom Come, Your Will Be Done”?

By Xiaocao

The Lord Jesus taught us to pray, “Our Father which are in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come, Your will be done in earth, as it is in heaven” (Matthew 6:9–10). Nearly every believer in the Lord can recite this passage of the Lord’s Prayer, but most of the time we just recite it to conclude our worship services or to give thanks before meals while we all neglect to contemplate and understand the true meaning within it. As we get accustomed to this kind of practice, reciting the Lord’s Prayer has become a conventional religious ritual. So how should we interpret the Lord’s Prayer in a way that is in accordance with the Lord’s will?

The Fear of God Is to Hate Evil—Reflection on Proverbs 8:13

Proverbs 8:13

“The fear of the LORD is to hate evil: pride, and arrogance, and the evil way, and the fraudulent mouth, do I hate.”

Fear the Lord and Depart From Evil—Reflection on Proverbs 3:7

Proverbs 3:7

Be not wise in your own eyes: fear the LORD, and depart from evil.

Keep Your Heart With All Diligence—Reflection on Proverbs 4:23

Proverbs 4:23

Keep your heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.

Regarding the Lord’s return, the Bible very clearly records, “But of that day and that hour knows no man, no, not the angels which are in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father” (Mak 13:32). If you are saying that the Lord Jesus has already returned, how would you know?

The Answer from God’s Word:

At the break of dawn, unbeknownst to any, God came to earth and began His life in the flesh. People were unaware of this moment. Maybe they were all fast asleep, maybe many who were watchfully awake were waiting, and maybe many were praying silently to God in heaven. Yet among all these many people, not one knew that God had already arrived on earth.

from “Work and Entry (4)” in The Word Appears in the Flesh

The appearance of God refers to His personal arrival on earth to do His work. With His own identity and disposition, and in His inherent method, He descends among man to conduct the work of initiating an age and ending an age. This kind of appearance is not a form of ceremony. It is not a sign, a picture, a miracle, or a grand vision, and even less is it a kind of religious process. It is a real and actual fact that can be touched and beheld. This kind of appearance is not for the sake of following a process, or for the sake of a short-term undertaking; it is, rather, for the sake of a stage of work in His management plan. The appearance of God is always meaningful, and is always connected to His management plan. This appearance is completely different from the appearance of God’s guidance, leadership, and enlightenment of man. God carries out a stage of great work each time He reveals Himself. This work is different from that of any other age. It is unimaginable to man, and has never been experienced by man. It is work that starts a new age and concludes the old age, and it is a new and improved form of work for the salvation of mankind; moreover, it is work of bringing mankind into the new age. That is the significance of the appearance of God.

What is the difference between God’s words conveyed by prophets such as Isaiah, Ezekiel, and Daniel from the Age of Law, and the words expressed by God in the flesh?

Answer: Due to the difference between the essence of the incarnate God and the prophets, the incarnate God comes to do God’s work whereas the prophets only performed the duty of man. So the nature of their work is different. Let’s see how Almighty God says it. Almighty God says, “The prophets of the Old Testament made prophecies, and similarly, so could Jesus. Why is this so? The distinction here is based on the nature of the work. In order to discern this matter, you cannot consider the nature of the flesh and you should not consider the depth or superficiality of one’s words. Always you must first consider his work and the effects his work achieves in man. The prophecies spoken by Isaiah at the time did not supply the life of man, and the messages received by those such as Daniel were merely prophecies and not the way of life. If not for the direct revelation of Jehovah, none could have done that work, for it is not possible for mortals. Jesus, too, spoke much, but such words were the way of life from which man could find a path to practice. That is to say, first, He could supply the life of man, for Jesus is life; second, He could reverse the deviations of man; third, His work could succeed that of Jehovah in order to carry on the age; fourth, He could grasp the needs of man within and understand what man lacks; fifth, He could usher in a new age and conclude the old. 

It’s written, “There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus …” (Rom 8:1). Because we believe in Christ Jesus, it has already been guaranteed that we won’t be condemned and can enter the kingdom of heaven!

Answer: You guys think that as long as you believe in Jesus Christ, you’re already in Jesus Christ. That is your conception. When we talk about “those who are within Jesus”, we are not referring to everyone that believes in Lord Jesus. The majority of people that believe in Lord Jesus cannot obtain God’s praise. “For many are called, but few are chosen.” Some of those who are not chosen only believe in the Lord to gain something from it. Some people that believe in the Lord never loved and never will love the truth, nor will they ever implement the truth. Some people even do evil in resistance to God, especially religious leaders. The majority of them walk the path of the Pharisees; they are all anti-Christs. Some people just believe in Christ in name; they’re non-believers. If you say all those who believe in Lord Jesus are already in Jesus, those words don’t carry any weight! “There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus….” Which group of people does this really refer to? Those who can keep God’s commandments, implement the truth and obey God. That is to say, those who believe in the Lord, pursue the truth and obtain life, those that who can obey Jesus and refrain from committing acts of evil in resistance to God, those that who are completely in unison with Jesus. Those are the people who are within Jesus. It’s certainly not the case that everyone who believes in Lord Jesus is within Jesus. There are some believers whose faith is not acknowledged by God. “Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in your name? and in your name have cast out devils? and in your name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess to them, I never knew you: depart from me, you that work iniquity” (Mat 7:22-23). Are you saying those who serve the Lord’s name, spread his doctrines, cast out demons and exhibit many different skills are within Jesus? Are they not all people that have been condemned? Therefore, “faith in Jesus Christ” and “being in Jesus Christ” are two different things. Those that believe in the Lord but cannot earn His praise have not entered Jesus because God’s work of salvation does not proceed the way everyone thinks it does. All people who believe in God can be saved, but many of them will be abandoned, especially those who know the truth but sin anyway. These sins include: eating sacrificial offerings, denying God, betraying God, failing to implement the truth, being timid or adulterous, etc. Those people will still be condemned and abandoned by God. Those who commit great acts of evil will be punished. It is just as it says in Hebrews 10:26: “For if we sin willfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remains no more sacrifice for sins” (Heb 10:26). Therefore, we can see that not all believers are in Christ. Only those that believe in the Lord and love the truth, those that are able to pursue the truth and obey Jesus, those that really know Jesus, those that have no conceptions about Jesus, that do not rebel or resist Him, those that take Jesus’s heart as their heart and can implement God’s will Those are the people who have entered Jesus. They are the ones who will obtain God’s praise and enter His kingdom.

from the movie script of Stinging Memories

You say that God becomes flesh in the last days to do the work of judgment. Does this have any basis in the Bible, or fulfill any biblical prophecies? Without a biblical basis, we shouldn’t be so quick to believe it.

Answer: Any major incidents of God’s work are prophesied in the Bible, and there are quite a few prophecies relating to the second coming of the Lord Jesus and God’s work of judgment in the last days. But what we should understand is that prophecies only tell people what will happen. They are reminders for people to be watchful and to seek and investigate carefully in the last days, so they won’t be abandoned or eliminated by God. That’s all the prophecies can do. The prophecies can’t help us know God’s work, nor understand the truth, or help us obey God, or increase our love for God. So, our best course is to directly investigate the words expressed by Almighty God, and the work done by Him, and from these determine whether they are truly God’s voice and expression. That is the most important, and wisest, course of action. This is much more realistic and useful than searching for a basis in biblical prophecies. We all know that when the Lord Jesus came to do work, the apostles and believers who followed Him only recognized gradually, through His work and words, that the Lord Jesus was Christ, the Messiah prophesied to come. The chief priests, scribes, and Pharisees who knew the laws and studied the Bible knew very well that the Lord Jesus’ words were the truth, had authority, and had power, but because they hated the truth, they not only refused to follow the Lord Jesus, they used the letters and rules in the Bible to oppose and condemn the Lord Jesus, and finally nailed Him to the cross. This shows us that the Bible can’t lead or guide us to accept the return of the Lord. For those of us who await the Lord’s return, the Bible only serves as corroboration. The clever virgins don’t welcome the Groom using the Bible. When they hear the Groom’s voice, they ascertain it is God’s voice and go to meet the Lord. Those who rely on biblical prophecy, rather than seeking God’s voice, and who reject and condemn Almighty God’s work in the last days— they are the most foolish virgins, those who God will abandon and eliminate.

When God became flesh in the Age of Grace it was in the image of a Jewish man, so why has God of the last days appeared as an Asian person?

The Answer from God’s Word:

God being the greatest in all the universe, both above and below, could He fully explain Himself using the image of a flesh? God puts on this flesh in order to do one stage of His work. There is no significance in particular in this image of the flesh, it bears no relation to the passing of ages, nor does it have anything to do with God’s disposition. Why did Jesus not allow the image of Him to remain? Why did He not let man paint His image so that it could be passed on to later generations? Why did He not allow people to acknowledge that His image was the image of God? … He becomes flesh only so that the Spirit may find an appropriate place to reside when doing His work, the better to achieve His work in the flesh—so that people can see His work, come into contact with His disposition, hear His words, and know the wonder of His work. His name represents His disposition, His work represents His identity, but He has never said that His appearance in the flesh represents His image; that is merely a notion of man. And so, the crucial aspects of the incarnation of God are His name, His work, His disposition, and His gender. These are used to represent His management in this age. His appearance in the flesh bears no relation to His management, being merely for the sake of His work at the time. Yet it is impossible for God incarnate to have no particular appearance, and so He chooses the appropriate family to determine His appearance. If the appearance of God were to have representative significance, then all those who possess facial features similar to His would also represent God. Wouldn’t that be an egregious mistake? … God is Spirit, and man will never be capable of encompassing what His image is in the final analysis. His image can only be represented by His disposition. … Nor can you use the language of mankind to fully epitomize the image of God, for God is too exalted, too great, too wondrous and unfathomable!

from “The Vision of God’s Work (3)” in The Word Appears in the Flesh

It is imperative that God’s incarnate flesh should depart the earth upon completion of the work that He needs to do, for He comes only to do the work He ought to do, and not to show people His image. Even though the significance of the incarnation has already been fulfilled by God twice becoming flesh, still He will not openly manifest Himself to any nation that has never before seen Him. Jesus will never again show Himself to the Jews as the Sun of righteousness, nor will He ascend the Mount of Olives and appear to all peoples; all that the Jews have seen is the portrait of Jesus during His time in Judea. This is because the work of Jesus in His incarnation ended two thousand years ago; He will not return to Judea in His previous image, much less show Himself in His image from His time in Judea to any of the Gentile nations, for the image of Jesus become flesh is merely the image of a Jew, and not the image of the Son of man that John saw. Even though Jesus promised His followers that He would come again, He will not simply show Himself in the image of a Jew to all those in Gentile nations. … In the same way, the image of Jesus as a Jew can represent only the image of God as He worked in Judea, and He could only do the work of crucifixion. During the period when Jesus was in the flesh, He could not do the work of bringing the age to an end or destroying mankind. Therefore, after He had finished being crucified and concluded His work, He ascended on high and forever concealed Himself from man. From then on, those faithful believers from the Gentile nations were unable to see the manifestation of the Lord Jesus, but only the portrait of Him that they had pasted on the wall. This portrait is but one drawn by man, and not the image that God Himself showed to man. God will not openly show Himself to the multitude in the image from when He twice became flesh. The work He does among mankind is to allow them to understand His disposition. All this is shown to man by means of the work of the different ages; it is accomplished through the disposition He has made known and the work that He has done, rather than through the manifestation of Jesus. That is to say, the image of God is made known to man not through the incarnate image, but rather through the work carried out by the incarnate God who has both image and form; and through His (Her) work, His image is shown and His disposition is made known. This is the significance of the work He wishes to do in the flesh.

from “The Mystery of the Incarnation (2)” in The Word Appears in the Flesh

Jesus and I come from one Spirit. Even though We are unrelated in Our fleshes, Our Spirits are one; even though the content of what We do and the work that We take on are not the same, We are alike in essence; Our fleshes take different forms, but this is due to the change in era and the differing requirements of Our work; Our ministries are not alike, so the work We bring forth and the disposition We reveal to man are also different. That is why what man sees and understands this day is unlike that of the past; this is so because of the change in era. For all that They are different in the gender and the form of Their fleshes, and that They were not born of the same family, still less in the same time period, Their Spirits are nonetheless one. For all that Their fleshes share neither blood nor physical kinship of any kind, it cannot be denied that They are the incarnation of God in two different time periods. That They are the incarnate fleshes of God is an irrefutable truth, even though They are not of the same bloodline and do not share a common human language (one was a male who spoke the language of the Jews and the other a female who exclusively speaks Chinese). It is for these reasons that They have lived in different countries to do the work that it behooves each one to do, and in different time periods too. Despite the fact that They are the same Spirit, possessed of the same essence, there are no absolute similarities at all between the outward shells of Their fleshes. All They share is the same humanity, but as far as external appearance of Their fleshes and the circumstances of Their birth are concerned, They are not alike. These things have no impact on Their respective work or on the knowledge that man has of Them, for, in the final analysis, They are the same Spirit and none can separate Them. Even though They are not related by blood, Their entire beings are in the charge of Their Spirits, which allocates to Them different work in different time periods, and Their fleshes to different bloodlines. Similarly, the Spirit of Jehovah is not the father of the Spirit of Jesus, and the Spirit of Jesus is not the son of the Spirit of Jehovah: They are one and the same Spirit. Just like the incarnate God of today and Jesus. Though They are not related by blood, They are one; this is because Their Spirits are one. God can do the work of mercy and lovingkindness, as well as that of the righteous judgment and of chastisement of man, and that of calling down curses on man; and in the end, He can do the work of destroying the world and punishing the wicked. Does He not do all of this Himself? Is this not the omnipotence of God?

from “The Two Incarnations Complete the Significance of the Incarnation” in The Word Appears in the Flesh

What are the wise virgins? What are the foolish virgins?

Relevant Words of God:

In the past, people have made predictions of “five wise virgins, five foolish virgins”; although the prediction is not accurate, it is not entirely wrong, so I can give you some explanation. Five wise virgins and five foolish virgins certainly do not both represent the number of people, nor do they represent one type of people respectively. Five wise virgins mean the number of people, five foolish virgins represent one type of people, but these two things are not the firstborn sons, they represent creation. This is the reason why they have been asked to prepare oil in the last days. (The creation does not possess My quality; if they want to make wise ones then they need to prepare oil, and thus they need to be equipped with My words.) The five wise virgins represent My sons and My people among the humans that I created. Addressing them[a] “virgins” is because although they are born on earth, they are still gained by Me; one can say they have become holy, so they are called “virgins.” The aforementioned “five” represents the number of My sons and My people that I have predestined. “Five foolish virgins” refers to the service-doers. They do service for Me without placing the slightest degree of importance on life, only pursuing external things (because they do not have My quality, no matter what they do it is an external thing), and they are unable to be My capable helpers, so they are called “foolish virgins.” The aforementioned “five” represents Satan, and their being called[b] “virgins” means that they have been conquered by Me and are able to do service for Me, but this kind of person is not holy, so they are called service-doers.

from “The One Hundred and Sixteenth Utterance” in The Word Appears in the Flesh

Where do rumors come from and how are they created?

Bible Verses for Reference:

Now the serpent was more subtle than any beast of the field which Jehovah God had made. And he said to the woman, Yes, has God said, You shall not eat of every tree of the garden? And the woman said to the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: But of the fruit of the tree which is in the middle of the garden, God has said, You shall not eat of it, neither shall you touch it, lest you die. And the serpent said to the woman, You shall not surely die: For God does know that in the day you eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and you shall be as gods, knowing good and evil (Gen 3:1-5).

Why do you not understand my speech? even because you cannot hear my word. You are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father you will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and stayed not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it (Jhn 8:43-44).

Relevant Words of God:

When the earth did not yet exist, the archangel was the greatest of heaven’s angels. It had jurisdiction over all the angels in heaven; this was the authority that God granted it. With the exception of God, it was the greatest of heaven’s angels. When God later created humanity, the archangel carried out a greater betrayal toward God upon the earth. I say it betrayed God because it wanted to manage humanity and to surpass God’s authority. It was the archangel that tempted Eve into sin; it did so because it wished to establish its kingdom upon earth and to make humanity betray God and obey it instead. It saw that there were many things that obeyed it; the angels obeyed it, as did the people upon the earth. The birds and beasts, trees, forests, mountains, rivers and all things upon the earth were under the care of man—that is, Adam and Eve—while Adam and Eve obeyed it. The archangel thus desired to surpass God’s authority and to betray God. Later on it led many angels to betray God, which then became various unclean spirits. Has not humanity’s development to this day been caused by the archangel’s corruption? Humanity is only the way it is today because the archangel betrayed God and corrupted humanity.

from “You Should Know How the Whole of Humanity Has Developed to the Present Day” in The Word Appears in the Flesh

First God created Adam and Eve, and He also created a snake. Among all things, the snake was the most poisonous; its body contained venom, and Satan used this venom to utilize it. It was the snake that tempted Eve to sin. Adam sinned after Eve did, and the two of them were then able to distinguish between good and evil.

from “You Should Know How the Whole of Humanity Has Developed to the Present Day” in The Word Appears in the Flesh

Because of the existence of Satan and demons, people resist Him and are filled to the brim with rebellious disposition….

from “You Should Know How the Whole of Humanity Has Developed to the Present Day” in The Word Appears in the Flesh

All that disobeys God comes from Satan; Satan is the source of all ugliness and wickedness. The reason that man has qualities alike those of Satan is because man has been corrupted and worked on by Satan.

from “The Substance of Christ Is Obedience to the Will of the Heavenly Father” in The Word Appears in the Flesh

… Man’s corrupt nature entirely originates from Satan and man’s nature has been processed and corrupted by Satan. That is, man survives under the influence of its evil and ugliness. Man does not grow up in a world of truth or a holy environment, and moreover does not live in the light. Therefore, it is not possible for the truth to be innately possessed within each person’s nature, and moreover they cannot be born with a God-fearing, God-obeying essence. On the contrary, they are possessed of a nature that resists God, disobeys God, and has no love for the truth. …

… Mankind’s souls are all within Satan’s grasp. As such, it goes without saying that man’s flesh has also been occupied by Satan. How could flesh such as this and humans such as this not resist God and be innately compatible with Him? The reason Satan was cast down by Me into the air is because it betrayed Me, so how could humans extricate themselves from the repercussions of this? This is the reason that human nature is betrayal.

from “A Very Serious Problem: Betrayal (2)” in The Word Appears in the Flesh

Satan corrupts people through the education and influence of the national governments and the famous and great. Their lies and nonsense have become man’s life and nature. “Everyone for himself and the devil take the hindmost” is a well-known satanic saying that has been instilled into everyone and become the human life. There are some other words of life philosophy that are also like this. Satan educates people through each nation’s fine traditional culture and causes humanity to fall into and be engulfed in an expansive abyss of destruction, and in the end people are destroyed by God because they serve Satan and resist God.

from “How to Know Man’s Nature” in Records of Christ’s Talks

Little does man know that, though the wings of the fly are beautiful and enchanting, it is after all no more than a minuscule fly that is full of filth and covered with germs. On the strength of their pigs and dogs of parents, they run amok across the land (this refers to the religious officials who persecute God on the basis of strong support from the country betraying the true God and the truth) with overwhelming ferocity. It is as if the ghosts of the Jewish Pharisees have returned along with God to the nation of the great red dragon, back to their old nest. They have again begun their work of persecution, continuing their work spanning several thousand years. This group of degenerates is sure to perish on earth in the end! It appears that, after several millennia, the unclean spirits have become even more crafty and sly. They constantly think of ways to secretly undermine the work of God. They are wily and cunning and wish to replay in their homeland the tragedy of several thousand years ago. This almost goads God into giving out a loud cry, and He can hardly keep Himself from returning to the third heaven to annihilate them.

from “Work and Entry (7)” in The Word Appears in the Flesh

The Man’s Fellowship:

Now let’s think back to when Satan first corrupted mankind. What did the snake say? What was it that God said in the beginning? He told people: If you eat the fruit from that tree, you will certainly die. And what did Satan say? It said: God didn’t mean that you’ll definitely die from eating the fruit from that tree. See, first it counteracted God’s words, and after doing that it added some other things to confuse people. As a result, people became corrupted by Satan. The way that Satan confused Eve is the same way that Satan and every kind of evil spirit confuse and corrupt mankind. Satan confused Eve by means of the snake, and it spoke through the body of the snake. In fact, the snake was being controlled by the evil spirit of Satan, so it’s not that all of mankind has been corrupted by just that one snake—there have been many evil spirits who have worked through all kinds of people and all kinds of animals, or they have directly spoken from within people. No one knows how many people among mankind have been subject to the direct corruption of evil spirits, and who have directly encountered the words, the voices of the evil spirit of Satan. That’s why we must realize that all of mankind’s corruption has not been carried down from Adam and Eve. It’s more the case that during the thousands of years over the following ages, Satan and all kinds of evil spirits have been working on corrupted mankind. Don’t you see that those who are currently possessed by demons, who are controlled by evil spirits—aren’t those evil spirits always speaking to them? There’s no way to count how many people receive the words of evil spirits! There are just too many who receive the words of evil spirits. It certainly has not been Eve alone. Currently many believers, after being possessed by Satan or evil spirits, are dispatched to the house of God to disrupt His work and confuse His chosen people. We can see that there are a number of people in the church who have the work of evil spirits. What does someone like that say? He says: “I was praying yesterday, and God spoke to me…. I was praying yesterday, and this is how the Spirit enlightened me, this is what He said to me.” He prays whenever he encounters an issue, and as soon as he does so, evil spirits start to work in him, and they speak to him. Isn’t this Satan corrupting people? What’s the difference between this method and Eve being corrupted by Satan? There’s no difference at all. They are entirely the same. Eve was corrupted by Satan just once, and its toxins got inside. She started to deny the words of God and always maintained an attitude of suspicion toward His words. There are many people who have been possessed by demons who have been corrupted by Satan many times. It’s not an issue of whether it’s dozens of times or hundreds of times—it’s that Satan or evil spirits are permanently residing within them, until death! When there are evil spirits residing within a person, he takes in so much of what Satan says, and he’s corrupted by Satan to such an extent, so when he prays, it’s always evil spirits pointing out this or that to him. On the outside, he, when communicating with brothers and sisters, conveys the words of God, but after that he gives his own explanation, his own views and his understanding. Aren’t his views the same strategy as the snake confusing Eve? So when someone who has been possessed by Satan or by demons has fellowship with brothers and sisters, that is the fellowship of Satan counteracting God’s words. It is the fellowship of Satan confusing mankind. Anyone who has frequent contact with someone who has an evil spirit is disrupted by their words. When you hear them speak, you feel unsettled in your heart and you develop doubts toward God’s words, and you lose hold of your correct understanding. That is how evil spirits corrupt people. They don’t just use all sorts of books, education, and theories to poison people, but even more, many evil spirits reside within people and confuse them. They control them in order to confuse people, and they use people to confuse other people. In the last days, Satan’s methods of corrupting mankind are a multitude, and they are all too common. So if you do not have the truth, you will have no way to discern this.

from “How One Should Seek the Truth” in Sermons and Fellowship on Entry Into Life (I)

What exactly is the great red dragon? What is the connection between the great red dragon and Satan? When Satan first corrupted mankind, it did so by means of an ancient serpent to test and speak with mankind. The ancient serpent was an animal, so how could it speak with people? It was Satan, an evil spirit, that attached itself to the serpent’s body so that it could corrupt mankind, and therefore the serpent was just like an incarnation of Satan. What sort of connection do we see between Satan and the ancient serpent from this incident where Satan attached itself to the serpent’s body to corrupt mankind? In the spiritual world, it is called Satan and it is an evil spirit. However, in the human world, Satan attached itself to an animal’s body in order to corrupt mankind, and so it is called the ancient serpent. In the spiritual world, Satan is an evil spirit, but in the human world, Satan attaches itself to a gang of demons, and that is the great red dragon. The great red dragon is the incarnation of Satan; they are one and the same. So when the evil spirit came into the bodies of this gang of demons, it became the great red dragon, but when it leaves their bodies, it becomes Satan again. In the spiritual world, it is Satan, and in the material world and when it is among humanity, it is the great red dragon; this is the connection between Satan and the great red dragon. More precisely, the great red dragon is the incarnation of Satan, this evil spirit, and the great red dragon is the true image of Satan. All that the great red dragon does is to resist and betray God and commit heinous sins; such are the conduct and deeds of Satan. Satan is the chief among numerous evil spirits and all of the evil spirits that follow it constitute Satan’s system. In this sinister system, the great red dragon is the head and it far surpasses evil spirits. It is the chief among countless evils and it is the source of all sins. This evil spirit has travelled to Europe, where it gave rise to the evil theories of the communism that brought disaster to dozens of countries throughout the world, as well as cruelly corrupted mankind over a century. This has resulted in mankind denying, resisting, and betraying God: the very apex of sin. The great red dragon is the primary culprit behind corrupting mankind; it is the main source that gives power to all other evils.

from “How to Know and Distinguish the Nature and Poisons of the Great Red Dragon” in Sermons and Fellowship on Entry Into Life (III)

The great red dragon is the most dangerous evil force in this world today, and it is also the poisonous root of all evil forces. Whichever place the great red dragon is in power, that place is engulfed in war, it is engulfed in class struggle, it is engulfed in killings and persecutions, it is engulfed in lies and deception, and it is engulfed in plagues and all kinds of natural and man-made disasters. Whichever place the black hand of the great red dragon appears, evil forces run amok and all kinds of disaster are right around the corner. The great red dragon is the root of all darkness and evil. The great red dragon is guilty of the most heinous crimes, and all that it has ever said and done is to mislead, deceive, corrupt, ruin, and slaughter people. All that the great red dragon preaches and promotes is all heresies and fallacies, garbage that misleads and corrupts people. … all the negative things engendered by the great red dragon are all tools used by Satan to deceive, corrupt, and bind people. All those things which the great red dragon promotes and advocates and requires people to follow are negative things. The entire corrupt mankind has been deceived and bound by these negative things, to the point that it can no longer distinguish between truths and fallacies, between light and darkness, and is stuck inside evil and unable to extricate itself.

from “Results That Can Be Achieved by a Genuine Understanding of the Truth” in Collection of Sermons—Supply for Life

We can clearly see that it is the Devil Satan corrupting mankind through the heads of demons, the princes of devils. They brutally persecute and swallow up people’s souls, and it is these princes of devils that are gaining power and are on a despotic rampage on the earth. They are using the influence they possess to expropriate people’s freedom, only requiring that people follow and serve them and that they sacrifice themselves for their illusions. They do not allow any pursuit of the truth or pursuit of light in life at all, and they especially do not allow people to believe in, follow, or serve God. This is a patently clear fact. These heads of demons, the princes of devils, are the embodiment of the great red dragon. They are the representatives of the great red dragon.

from The Fellowship From the Above

Why is God’s work of the last days done in China and not Israel?

The Answer from God’s Word:

Why is the work of the last days being done in China, the darkest, most backward of places? It is to reveal God’s holiness and righteousness. In short, the darker a place is the better His holiness can be revealed. The truth is that doing all of this is for the sake of God’s work. You only now know that God in heaven has descended to earth and stands in your midst, and He has been highlighted against your filthiness and rebelliousness, so that you have begun to have an understanding of God—isn’t this a great uplifting?

from “How the Second Step of the Work of Conquering Bears Fruit” in The Word Appears in the Flesh

The work of Jehovah was the creation of the world, it was the beginning; this stage of work is the end of work, and it is the conclusion. At the start, God’s work was carried out among the chosen ones of Israel, and it was the dawn of a new epoch in the most holy of all places. The last stage of work is carried out in the most impure of all countries, to judge the world and bring the age to an end. In the first stage, God’s work was done in the brightest of all places, and the last stage is carried out in the darkest of all places, and this darkness will be driven out, the light brought forth, and all the people conquered. When the people of this most impure and darkest of all places have been conquered, and the entire population has acknowledged that there is a God, who is the true God, and every person has been utterly convinced, then this fact will be used to carry out the work of conquest throughout the entire universe. This stage of work is symbolic: Once the work of this age has been finished, the work of 6,000 years of management will come to a complete end. Once those in the darkest of all places have been conquered, it goes without saying that it will also be so everywhere else. As such, only the work of conquest in China carries meaningful symbolism. China embodies all forces of darkness, and the people of China represent all those who are of the flesh, of Satan, and of flesh and blood. It is the Chinese people who have been most corrupted by the great red dragon, who have the strongest opposition to God, whose humanity is most base and impure, and so they are the archetype of all corrupt humanity. This is not to say that other countries have no problems at all; the conceptions of man are all the same, and although the people of these countries may be of good caliber, if they do not know God, then it must be that they oppose Him. Why did the Jews also oppose and defy God? Why did the Pharisees also oppose Him? Why did Judas betray Jesus? At the time, many of the disciples did not know Jesus. Why, after Jesus was crucified and rose again, did people still not believe in Him? Is man’s disobedience not all the same? It’s merely that the people of China are made an example of, and when they are conquered they will become a model and specimen, and will serve as reference for others. Why have I always said that you are an adjunct to My management plan? It is in the people of China that corruption, impurity, unrighteousness, opposition, and rebelliousness are manifested most completely and revealed in all their varied forms. On the one hand, they are of poor caliber, and on the other, their lives and mindset are backward, and their habits, social environment, family of birth—all are poor and the most backward. Their status, too, is low. The work in this place is symbolic, and after this test work has been carried out in its entirety, His subsequent work will go much better. If this step of work can be completed, then the subsequent work goes without saying. Once this step of work has been accomplished, great success will have been fully achieved, and the work of conquest throughout the entire universe will have come to a complete end. In fact, once the work among you has been successful, this will be equivalent to the success throughout the entire universe. This is the significance of why I have you act as a model and specimen.

from “The Vision of God’s Work (2)” in The Word Appears in the Flesh

The religious community began resisting Christ in the flesh in the Age of Grace, so why has Christ always been resisted and condemned by the religious community?

The Answer from God’s Word:

Foolish and ignorant men often regard the normal humanity of Christ as a flaw. No matter how He expresses and reveals the being of His divinity, man is unable to acknowledge that He is Christ. And the more that Christ demonstrates His obedience and humility, the more lightly foolish men regard Christ. There are even those who adopt toward Him an attitude of exclusion and contempt, yet place those “great men” of lofty images upon the table to be worshiped. Man’s resistance to and disobedience of God come from the fact that the substance of the incarnate God submits to the will of God, as well as from the normal humanity of Christ; herein lies the source of man’s resistance to and disobedience of God. If Christ had neither the guise of His humanity nor sought the will of God the Father from the perspective of a created being, but was instead possessed of a super humanity, then there likely would be no disobedience in any man. The reason man is always willing to believe in an invisible God in heaven is because God in heaven has no humanity and He does not have a single quality of a created being. So man always regards Him with the greatest esteem, but holds an attitude of contempt toward Christ.

from “The Substance of Christ Is Obedience to the Will of the Heavenly Father” in The Word Appears in the Flesh

An invisible and intangible God is loved and welcomed by all. If God is just a Spirit that is invisible to man, it is so easy for man to believe in God. Man can give free rein to his imagination, can choose whatever image he likes as God’s image to please himself and make himself feel happy. In this way, man may do whatever is most pleasing to his own God, and that which this God is most willing to do, without any scruples. What’s more, man believes that no one is more loyal and devout than he toward God, and that all others are Gentile dogs, and disloyal to God. It can be said that this is what is sought by those whose belief in God is vague and based on doctrine; what they seek is all much the same, with little variation. It is merely that the images of God in their imaginations are different, yet their substance is actually the same.

God’s name may change, but His essence will never change.

Relevant Words of God:

There are those who say that God is immutable. That is correct, but it refers to the immutability of God’s disposition and His substance. Changes in His name and work do not prove that His substance has altered; in other words, God will always be God, and this will never change. If you say that the work of God is unchanging, then would He be able to finish His six-thousand-year plan of management? You only know that God is forever unchanging, but do you know that God is always new and never old? If the work of God is unchanging, then could He have led mankind all the way to the present day? If God is immutable, then why is it that He has already done the work of two ages? His work never ceases to move forward, which is to say that His disposition is gradually revealed to man, and what is revealed is His inherent disposition. In the beginning, God’s disposition was hidden from man, He never openly revealed His disposition to man, and man simply had no knowledge of Him. Because of this, He uses His work to gradually reveal His disposition to man, but working in this way does not mean that God’s disposition changes in every age. It is not the case that God’s disposition is constantly changing because His will is always changing. Rather, it is that, because the ages of His work are different, God takes His inherent disposition in its entirety and, step by step, reveals it to man, so that man may be able to know Him. But this is by no means proof that God originally has no particular disposition or that His disposition has gradually changed with the passing of the ages—such an understanding would be erroneous. God reveals to man His inherent and particular disposition—what He is—according to the passing of the ages; the work of a single age cannot express the entire disposition of God. And so, the words “God is always new and never old” refer to His work, and the words “God is immutable” to what God inherently has and is. Regardless, you cannot make the work of six thousand years hinge upon a single point, or circumscribe it with dead words. Such is the stupidity of man. God is not as simple as man imagines, and His work cannot linger in any one age. Jehovah, for example, cannot always stand for the name of God; God can also do His work under the name of Jesus. This is a sign that God’s work is always moving in a forward progression.

from “The Vision of God’s Work (3)” in The Word Appears in the Flesh

God is always God, and will never become Satan; Satan is always Satan, and will never become God. God’s wisdom, God’s wondrousness, God’s righteousness, and God’s majesty shall never change. His essence and what He has and is shall never change. As for His work, however, it is always progressing in a forward direction, always going deeper, for He is always new and never old. In every age God assumes a new name, in every age He does new work, and in every age He allows His creatures to see His new will and new disposition. If, in a new age, people fail to see the expression of God’s new disposition, would they not nail Him to the cross forever? And by doing so, would they not define God?

from “The Vision of God’s Work (3)” in The Word Appears in the Flesh

Because no matter where God reveals Himself, God is still God, and His substance will never change because of the location or manner of His appearance. The disposition of God remains the same regardless of where His footprints are. No matter where the footprints of God are, He is the God of all mankind. For example, the Lord Jesus is not only the God of Israelites, but is also the God of all people in Asia, Europe, and America, and even more the only God in the entire universe.

from “The Appearance of God Has Brought a New Age” in The Word Appears in the Flesh

One must understand that the message spread by the Lord Jesus in the Age of Grace was only the way of repentance.

Bible Verses for Reference:

“Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Mat 4:17).

“For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins” (Mat 26:28).

“And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem” (Luk 24:47).

Relevant Words of God:

In the beginning, Jesus spread the gospel and preached the way of repentance, then went on to baptize man, heal sickness, and cast out demons. In the end, He redeemed mankind from sin and completed His work for the entire age.

from “The Mystery of the Incarnation (1)” in The Word Appears in the Flesh

The work Jesus did was in accordance with the needs of man in that age. His task was to redeem humanity, to forgive them their sins, and so His disposition was wholly one of humility, patience, love, piety, forbearance, mercy, and lovingkindness. He blessed humanity richly and brought them grace in abundance, and all the things that they could possibly enjoy, He gave them for their enjoyment: peace and happiness, His tolerance and love, His mercy and lovingkindness. In those days, all that man encountered was an abundance of things to enjoy: Their hearts were at peace and reassured, their spirits were consoled, and they were sustained by the Savior Jesus. That they could obtain these things was a consequence of the age in which they lived. In the Age of Grace, man had already undergone Satan’s corruption, and so the work of redeeming all humanity required an abundance of grace, infinite forbearance and patience, and even more, an offering sufficient to atone for humanity’s sins, in order to arrive at its effect. What humanity saw in the Age of Grace was merely My offering of atonement for the sins of humanity, that is, Jesus. All they knew was that God could be merciful and forbearing, and all they saw was Jesus’ mercy and lovingkindness. This was entirely because they lived in the Age of Grace. And so, before they could be redeemed, they had to enjoy the many kinds of grace that Jesus bestowed on them; only this was beneficial to them. This way, they could be forgiven of their sins through their enjoyment of grace, and could also have the chance to be redeemed through enjoying Jesus’ forbearance and patience. Only through Jesus’ forbearance and patience did they win the right to receive forgiveness and enjoy the abundance of grace bestowed by Jesus—just as Jesus said, “I have come to redeem not the righteous but sinners, to allow sinners to be forgiven of their sins.” … The more Jesus loved mankind, forgiving them their sins and bringing unto them enough mercy and lovingkindness, the more mankind gained the capacity to be saved, to be called the lost lambs that Jesus bought back at a great price. Satan could not meddle in this work, because Jesus treated His followers as a loving mother treats the infant in her bosom. He did not grow angry at them or despise them, but was full of consolation; He never flew into a rage in their midst, but forbore with their sins and turned a blind eye to their foolishness and ignorance, to the point of saying, “Forgive others seventy times seven times.” So His heart transformed the hearts of others. It was in this way that the people received forgiveness of sins through His forbearance.

from “The True Story Behind Work in the Age of Redemption” in The Word Appears in the Flesh

Heresy and Cults Cannot Be Determined by People

Heresy and Cults Cannot Be Determined by People

Li Kun Anyang City, Henan Province

God’s last days’ work has already conquered a group of people in Mainland China. Many believers in the religious community who long for God to appear have been conquered by God’s words because they have heard God’s voice and have returned before God’s throne. At the same time, many priests and elders in the religious community are desperate to resist and condemn God’s last days’ work. They always refer to it as heresy or a cult and wantonly condemn and blaspheme it. Their ignorance and arrogance drive them, like the Pharisees of those days, to take the road to perdition of resisting God and viewing God as an enemy, at the critical moment when new work replaces old.

From the creation of the world until now, God has always been doing new work and continuously leading mankind toward development. But every time God’s new work befalls mankind, a great number of people will emerge who resist God’s new work. They cling to the work that God has done in the past and guard people’s notions and imaginations, determine God’s new work through people’s knowledge and intellect and are eventually eliminated by God because they resist God and reject God’s new work.