Walks With Wise Men—Gospel Reflection on Proverbs 13:20

Proverbs 13:20

“He that walks with wise men shall be wise: but a companion of fools shall be destroyed.”

Does the Bible Contain the Way of Eternal Life?

By Weixiang

One evening, Brother Gao was rushing along, gripping the Bible and hurrying to the home of Brother Gui …

When he got there, the two of them sat down on the couch.

Brother Gao opened the Bible and said, “Brother Gui, I’ve come across a problem in my reading of the Bible and I don’t know how to solve it. I feel like this problem is key to us obtaining eternal life through our faith in the Lord, so I hurried over to seek the answer with you.”

The Truth About Sin: The Difference Between Being Saved and Attaining Full Salvation

By Zeng Xin

Whenever the difference between being saved and attaining full salvation is mentioned, there are perhaps some brothers and sisters who will say, “Is there any difference between being saved and attaining full salvation? Doesn’t being saved mean attaining full salvation? We have been saved through our faith in the Lord Jesus, so have we not attained full salvation? When the Lord comes, we will immediately be raptured up into heaven.” But are things really this simple? It would be well for us to seek and discuss this matter.

4 Principles for Wise Virgins to Recognize the Voice of God

Dear Sister Muzhen,

Peace to you in the Lord! I’m very glad to receive your letter. In the letter, you mentioned that the Lord’s coming is near, in order to be a wise virgin waiting for and welcoming the Lord’s return, you intentionally read the Bible and pray more, and work more for the Lord. But it didn’t make you feel keen in spirit, or make your faith and love increased. You wonder whether you are a wise virgin by pursuing like this and eager to know how to practice to welcome the coming of the Lord. Sister Muzhen, your question is very important for us Christians, because each and every of us wants to be a wise virgin to welcome the Lord’s return, and finally attend the feast of kingdom of heaven together with Him. None of us want to be a foolish virgin forsaken by the Lord. But, how should one practice to be a wise virgin? Regarding this issue, I’ll talk about my understanding. I hope it could be beneficial to you!

God Is Almighty, but Why Did Jesus Redeem Us by Crucifixion?

By Xiaoqi

Since accepting the Lord Jesus’ gospel, I often heard the pastor expound this verse to us: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16). The Lord Jesus was nailed to the cross, shed all His blood, and redeemed all mankind, so we can get a chance to come before God, be qualified to pray to Him, and enjoy the abundant grace and blessings He bestows on us. Every time thinking of the Lord’s selfless love for us, I would be greatly moved, feeling that the Lord endured so much humiliation and pain for saving us, and that He loves us so much. Besides being moved, I also had some confusion in my mind: Since God is almighty, there is nothing difficult for Him to accomplish. And He can change the heaven and earth tremendously with one word. Thus, He can save mankind from the influence of Satan with only one word. But why did He redeem mankind by the crucifixion? I felt very puzzled about it and also asked many brothers and sisters, and even the pastors and elders to resolve it, but none of them could give me an answer.

God’s Blessing and Wrath Upon Solomon

By Chunyu

God approved King Solomon and gave incomparable abundance to him.

After Solomon was born, he received Jehovah God’s favor. Just as it is written in the Bible, “And he sent by the hand of Nathan the prophet; and he called his name Jedidiah, because of Jehovah” (2Sa 12:25). When he started to become king of Israel, he didn’t ask God for more wealth or a longer life expectancy, but for wisdom so that he could rule his kingdom better. And moreover, he accomplished the lifelong desire of his father King David—building a temple for Jehovah God and leading the people of Israel to worship God there. Therefore, Jehovah God gave him blessings. As a result, under his government, Israel became extremely strong, to the point that it was beyond compare. So, many kings of Gentiles came to render plenty of treasure and rare wood to him and hear his words of wisdom, and thus he was admired as the wisest king. This is just as Jehovah God said to him: “And if you will walk before me, as David your father walked, in integrity of heart, and in uprightness, to do according to all that I have commanded you, and will keep my statutes and my judgments: Then I will establish the throne of your kingdom on Israel for ever” (1Ki 9:4–5).

Inspirational Reading: Why God Does the Work of the Last Judgement

On one particular winter, a man was lost in the mountains. He was very cold and hungry, so he sat down and took a break. Because it was in the middle of a cold winter, once he stopped walking, he would surely freeze to death. However, he didn’t know that he was very close to his home. After a while, a warm-hearted man passed by and advised him to go home quickly. Though he shivered with cold, he didn’t get up. The warm-hearted man could only give him his winter jacket and then left. Soon after, a carriage passed by. Seeing that this man was about to freeze to death, the coachman knew that the most important thing to do was to make the man move his body. So, he used his whip to beat the man and scolded him. The man was outraged by the coachman. He got up immediately and wanted to fight with the coachman. The coachman started to drive his carriage, and the man kept chasing behind. While running, the man felt that his body was becoming warmer and his mind became clearer; moreover, he saw his house was only a few steps away from him. At this moment, he realized that the driver had saved his life.

Having read this story, all of us are glad that the man was lucky enough to meet the carriage, and that the driver used a special way to save his life. In the meantime, this story tells us that no matter what we encounter in life, do not judge it only with our minds; there are some hidden messages or stories behind everything. In this story, the man was very grateful when the first warm-hearted man gave him the winter jacket, but the winter jacket could only bring temporary warmth for him; it could not save his life. He would freeze to death if he stayed there too long. However, the driver whipped the man, and in our view, the driver seems to have done something wrong, but the driver actually saved the man’s life. From this story we can understand that things that conform to our conception might not be the best; on the contrary, some ideas or ways that we are not willing to accept might be more beneficial to us. It reminds me of those brothers and sister who are still holding on to the Age of Grace. When they heard that the return of Lord Jesus, Almighty God, has come and done the work of judgment and chastisement, some of them cannot accept it, thinking that God is merciful and God always bestows man grace; it is impossible for God to do the work of judgment; if God judges man, man will be condemned and die. As a result, they refuse God’s work in the last days. Are these views correct?

I Found the Way to Be Free From Sin and Enter the Kingdom of God

By Aixi, Malaysia

When I was 12, I began believing in the Lord Jesus and became a Christian. After I began believing, I actively and persistently participated in Sunday worship and Bible study groups. At Bible study meetings, we often discussed 2 Timothy 4:7–8, “I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: From now on there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness.” We thought that, as Christians, we should imitate Paul and strive to run around and do works, because the Lord would bestow crowns of righteousness upon us. Our pastor also often encouraged us by saying the kingdom of heaven is entered through effort, and as long as we make efforts to pursue and diligently do the Lord’s work, when the Lord returns, He would rapture us up to the kingdom of heaven. These teachings became the cornerstone of my belief in God, and I swore to myself that I would do all in my power to participate in church service work so that I could accrue enough “value” to satisfy God, so that when He came, I could be raptured up into the kingdom of heaven.

Progeny: The Fifth Juncture

After marrying, one begins to nurture the next generation. One has no say in how many and what kind of children one has; this too is determined by a person’s fate, predestined by the Creator. This is the fifth juncture through which a person must pass.

If one is born in order to fill the role of another’s child, then one rears the next generation in order to fill the role of another’s parent. This shift of roles makes one experience different phases of life from different perspectives. It also gives one different sets of life experiences, in which one comes to know the same sovereignty of the Creator, as well as the fact that no one can overstep or alter the predestination of the Creator.

Confidence in God Helped Me Stand Testimony When My Family Opposed My Belief

By Xiufen, Singapore

The editor’s word: On the path of believing in God, we often encounter different kinds of situations and barriers. Sometimes due to small faith, we’ll be timid and hang back, and don’t know how to cope with the difficulties ahead. When the author of this article faced her family opposing her belief in God, it was God’s word that guided her to see through Satan’s schemes and follow God unswervingly. The following article will tell you her true experience.

In July 2017, by chance I got to know that the Lord had returned to flesh, and that His name is Almighty God. He has expressed many words and carried out the work of judgment beginning from the house of God. On hearing the news, I was amazed as well as joyful. Through a period of investigation and reading Almighty God’s word, I felt God’s word is exactly the truth and carries authority and power. His word not only reveals my corrupt nature and judges my unrighteousness but also makes me see the truth of my corruption by Satan and know God’s righteous disposition. At the same time, God’s word shows me how to get rid of sins and attain salvation. I was sure that Almighty God is indeed the returned Lord Jesus and then joined The Church of Almighty God formally.

What Is Faith and How to Have True Confidence in God

 By Shen Mingxin

What is faith? Many brothers and sisters in the Lord think that as long as they acknowledge God’s name, persist in reading the Bible, meeting and praying, and furthermore are able to sacrifice everything and labor, they are believers who have faith in God. But, this understanding is one-sided. In fact, true faith means that when our mind and body endure great suffering during refinement or adversity, we still don’t misunderstand or complain about God, but instead can obey God and persevere in believing in and following God.

From Biblical records we see: When Job was tempted by Satan, his livestock was robbed from him by bandits, his servants were killed, calamity befell his children, he got sore boils all over his body, and his wife laughed at him and asked him to forsake the name of God. Facing these sudden misfortunes, he endured pain in both his body and spirit. However, he didn’t complain about Jehovah God’s taking away from him, but said, “Jehovah gave, and Jehovah has taken away; blessed be the name of Jehovah” (Job 1:21). He bore a strong and resounding testimony for God, which shamed and defeated Satan. Seeing Job’s faith in Him, God blessed Job doubly, bestowing upon him more cattle, sheep, and beautiful children. And finally Job died, full of days. Job is the model of faith and he is worthy of emulation by each of us believers in the Lord.

From the testimony of Job, we can see that when God blessed him, he believed that everything man has is due to God’s blessings, so he thanked God and worshiped God; when God’s trials befell him, though he didn’t understand and felt pain inside, he still obeyed God and didn’t have any complaints. Only this is true faith in God, and is also the sincere heart of man toward God. Just as God’s words say, “What does faith refer to? Faith is the genuine belief and the sincere heart that humans should possess when they cannot see or touch something, when God’s work is not in line with human notions, when it is beyond human reach. This is the faith that I speak of. People are in need of faith during times of hardship and refinement, and along with faith comes refinement. These are inextricable.”

Then, how can we develop true faith in God? This needs us to practically experience and appreciate God’s work in our daily life. When we are able to see God’s mastery, orchestrations and arrangements for our life and God’s authority and deeds, and have a genuine understanding of God through them, then no matter how God’s work doesn’t conform to our conceptions, we will still be able to maintain our faith in God. Just like Job: He only heard of God but he had never seen God. However, he could know God’s sovereignty and see God’s righteousness among all things. For example: Man’s fortune and misfortune, how much money one would possess, and how many children one would have in life—he knew all these were under God’s sovereignty, despite man’s own plans and calculations. He saw who were evil and punished by God, who were kindhearted and received God’s grace and blessings, and so on. Because of these understandings of God, he developed true faith in God. So when Satan’s temptations came upon him, although he was miserable, he knew all the things he enjoyed had come from God and had not been earned through his own hard work, and that if God wanted to take them back, he shouldn’t complain about or misunderstand God but should obey God. Thus, he made no demands of God, and accepted and obeyed God’s orchestrations and arrangements, giving a resounding testimony to God before Satan and being accepted by God. Another example is Moses. He stayed in the wilderness for forty years. There was nobody there, and his only companions were sheep during the day and stars at night. At last, he survived the forty difficult years by relying on God. Through his experiences, he truly appreciated that everything is orchestrated by the hand of God, and that there is nothing God cannot do. Such understanding of God helped him develop true faith in God. Thus, when God asked him to lead the Israelites out of Egypt, he prostrated before God and accepted His commission without hesitation. He didn’t worry about how to defeat the Egyptian army singled-handed but simply obeyed, because he believed that all things are in God’s hands and are orchestrated by God. In the end, by relying on his true faith in God, he succeeded in leading the Israelites out of Egypt.

Therefore, if we want to develop true faith in God as Job and Moses did, we must practically experience God’s work in our daily life. Especially when some hardships and distressing situations befall us, we should first intentionally obey, and then look to God, pray to God and seek God’s will. When we, through this, achieve true obedience to God, we will surely see His wondrous deeds and develop true faith in Him. At this point, I am reminded of a new sister’s experience. Not long after she accepted God’s new work, an illness befell her. Later, it got worse and worse, and she was even in danger of getting bell’s palsy. At that time she was very weak and in great pain. However, through praying and reading God’s words, she came to understand that Satan was using the illness to disturb her. That illness was Satan’s temptation and was also God’s test. After understanding God’s intention, she prayed to God, saying that she was willing to give herself to God and was determined to stand witness. After that, amazingly she recovered very quickly. Thus, she not only didn’t leave God because of that illness, but she actually strengthened her resolution of following God even more after seeing God’s marvelous deeds. There’s also a brother. When he first started believing in God, he was very passionate. However, later he was hunted by the CCP because of his faith in God, so he had to leave home and lead the life of vagabonds, of the homeless. That was extremely hard, so he became weak. Afterward, only through reading God’s words did he realize his own impurities in believing in God, and that his faith in God was in order to receive God’s blessings and grace. So, he turned his incorrect views on faith in God around. After that, because he, in harsh environments, relied on God at every moment to fulfill his duty spreading the gospel, so many times he managed to escape from under the CCP’s nose. From this, he personally experienced God’s marvelous protection and also saw God’s almightiness and wisdom. Hence, he had more and more faith in God.

These practical experiences allow us to see that in our real environment, as long as we carefully experience God’s guidance, support, help, or chastening and discipline, we will understand that what God does in us is all His love and salvation for us. Then we will have true understanding of Him, appreciate His almightiness and wisdom, and even more know that His righteous disposition is inviolable by man. When that time comes, we will have a heart of reverence for God and subsequently we will develop true faith in God.

Q&A About Why the True Way Is Persecuted-Question 5

Question 5: I used to think that the CCP’s days were numbered and that it should collapse soon, so wouldn’t it save a lot of trouble if I waited for it to collapse before I believed? But now I see that the purpose of the CCP persecuting and arresting us is so that we will be sent to hell! If we wait until the CCP perishes before we believe in Almighty God, would we still be able to receive God’s salvation in the last days and enter God’s kingdom? Would we miss our chance at salvation?

Answer: Today, because we believe in God, seek the truth and walk the right path of life, we face the CCP’s furious oppression and persecution. This is a meaningful thing! This is because God is using the CCP satanic regime to do service for perfecting a group of overcomers, while at the same time revealing and eliminating those who don’t sincerely believe in God and don’t love the truth. The true overcomers are those who, living under the authoritarian regime of the CCP, can experience God’s word with true faith, and through experiencing the CCP’s wild suppression and cruel persecution, thoroughly see the true colors of the devil Satan, and can then hate Satan, forsake Satan, and sincerely turn to God, achieving salvation and being perfected! Overcomers are made in the special environment of the CCP satanic regime’s resistance against God and persecution of God’s chosen people. Without the harsh environment created by the evil CCP’s oppression and persecution, true overcomers cannot be created. For those who sincerely want God, no matter how the CCP persecutes, or how harsh the environment gets, they will still follow God, perform their duty, risk everything to pursue the truth, and have more and more faith in God! They see through the CCP’s crackdown of justice, support of evil, and its lawless, perverse and evil, reactionary essence. They see clearly that the CCP is Satan, the demon that corrupts, afflicts, and devours mankind, thus they hate the great red dragon even more, rebel against it, and genuinely turn to God. Through the contrast brought out by the CCP satanic regime, people have also gotten to know God’s righteousness and holiness, His beauty and goodness. All God does is love and salvation to mankind! The faith and love people have in God have grown greater, and their hearts have become even closer to God. These people have thoroughly broken through the CCP satanic regime’s dark influence and have borne overcoming testimony. They are the overcomers made by God amid the great tribulation, and also the group of people who have a part in Christ’s “tribulation, kingdom, and patience.” They are Christ’s true witnesses, the 144,000 overcomers stated in the Book of Revelation, the ones who will enter God’s kingdom and receive eternal life! That is why our experiencing the CCP’s persecution for belief and pursuit of truth is so meaningful! As the Lord Jesus said: “Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness’ sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake” (Matthew 5:10-11). Almighty God says, “Perhaps you all remember these words: ‘For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, works for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory.’ In the past, you have all heard this saying, yet none understood the true meaning of the words. Today, you know well the real significance they hold. These words are what God will accomplish in the last days. And they will be accomplished upon those cruelly afflicted by the great red dragon in the land where it lies. The great red dragon persecutes God and is the enemy of God, so in this land, those who believe in God are subjected to humiliation and persecution. That is why these words will become reality in you group of people” (“Is the Work of God So Simple as Man Imagines?” in The Word Appears in the Flesh). Now is the golden time for God to perfect the overcomers. When the CCP collapses, these overcomers will rise up among the masses to bear witness to God’s victory! When their witness to God reaches the peak, the kingdom of God will officially be realized on earth! God’s work of saving mankind will be concluded by then. Those who will be saved and be perfected will already be set. If we wait until then to believe, we will miss out on the opportunity to be made overcomers by God. Such people will not have borne the overcoming testimony and cannot enter God’s kingdom. Even if they survive, they merely count as a “service-doer,” and cannot be a member of God’s kingdom.

God is almighty and God’s wisdom is always exercised based on Satan’s scheming. Almighty God’s work in the last days cannot be stopped by any hostile forces. Though religious leaders collude with the devilish CCP to frenziedly resist and condemn God’s work in the last days, God’s kingdom gospel has still spread through all of Mainland China, reaching an unprecedented extent with tens of thousands of churches being established all over the country and millions of people coming under Almighty God’s name. Almighty God has gained a group of people who are of the same mind with Him. The gospel website of Almighty God has already been opened to various nations and places around the world. The words of Almighty God are being accepted and spread by more and more people. The expanding of the kingdom gospel completely reveals God’s almightiness and wisdom!

Almighty God says, “Today, God has returned to the world to do His work. His first stop is the grand assemblage of dictatorial rulers: China, the staunch bastion of atheism. God has gained a group of people by His wisdom and power. During the period, He is hunted by China’s ruling party in every means and subjected to great suffering, with no place to rest His head and unable to find a shelter. Despite this, God still continues the work He intends to do: He utters His voice and spreads the gospel. None can fathom the almightiness of God. In China, a country that regards God as an enemy, God has never ceased His work. Instead, more people have accepted His work and word, for God does all He can to save each and every member of mankind. We trust that no country or power can stand in the way of what God wishes to achieve. Those that obstruct God’s work, resist the word of God, disturb and impair the plan of God shall ultimately be punished by God” (“God Presides Over the Fate of All Mankind” in The Word Appears in the Flesh).

“The kingdom is expanding in humanity’s midst, it is forming in humanity’s midst, it is standing up in humanity’s midst; there is no force that can destroy My kingdom. … I am now walking abroad in the midst of My people, I live in the midst of My people. Today, those who bear genuine love toward Me, people like these are blessed; blessed are those who submit to Me, they will surely stay in My kingdom; blessed are those who know Me, they will surely wield power in My kingdom; blessed are those who seek after Me, they will surely escape from Satan’s bonds and enjoy blessing in Me; blessed are those who are able to forsake themselves, they will surely enter into My possession, and inherit My kingdom’s bounty. Those who run around for My sake I will commemorate, those who go to expense for My sake I will joyfully embrace, those who make offering to Me I will give enjoyments. Those who find enjoyment in My words I will bless; they will surely be the pillars that hold up the ridgepole in My kingdom, they will surely have matchless bounty in My house, and no one can compare with them. Have you ever accepted the blessings that you were given? Have you ever sought the promises that you were made? You will surely, under the guidance of My light, break through the stranglehold of the forces of darkness. You will surely not, in the midst of darkness, lose the light guiding you. You will surely be the master of all creation. You will surely be an overcomer before Satan. You will surely, at the downfall of the kingdom of the great red dragon, stand up amid the myriad throngs to bear witness to My victory. You will surely be resolute and unwavering in the land of Sinim. Through the sufferings you endure, you will inherit the blessing that comes from Me, and will surely irradiate all within the universe with My glory” (“The Nineteenth Utterance” of God’s Utterances to the Entire Universe in The Word Appears in the Flesh).

Q&A About Dissections of the Pharisees’ Substance-Question 10

Question 10: Our Pastor Yuan often expounds on the Bible, teaching us to be humble, patient, and obedient. He speaks very convincingly, and seems quite godly from the outside. He also listened to your testimony of God’s work in the last days with us and admits Almighty God’s word is the truth, but why does he not accept it? Why is he even spreading rumors everywhere, condemning and resisting God’s work in the last days, and blocking people from turning to Almighty God?

Answer: Religious leaders resisting and condemning the work of Almighty God is not something unusual. When the Lord Jesus came to do His work, didn’t those Jewish leaders also condemn and persecute Him? In the end they even nailed the Lord Jesus to the cross. That’s a historical fact. Almighty God of the last days comes, and the words He expresses are all the truth and make people utterly convinced. Anyone who sincerely believes in God and hungers for the truth, once reading Almighty God’s word, will turn toward Almighty God. Religious leaders fear that if all believers turn to Almighty God, there won’t be anyone to listen to them. Then their status and livelihood would be at risk. That’s why they must resist and condemn Almighty God like crazy. Let’s take a look at a passage from Almighty God’s word. Almighty God says, “Any who do not understand the purpose of God’s work are those who stand against God, and even more so are those who are aware of the purpose of God’s work yet do not seek to satisfy God. Those who read the Bible in grand churches recite the Bible every day, yet not one understands the purpose of God’s work. Not one is able to know God; moreover, not one is in accord with the heart of God. They are all worthless, vile men, each standing on high to teach God. Though they brandish the name of God, they willfully oppose Him. Though they label themselves believers of God, they are ones who eat the flesh and drink the blood of man. All such men are devils who devour the soul of man, demons who purposefully disturb those who try to step onto the right path, and stumbling blocks that impede the path of those who seek God. Though they are of ‘robust flesh,’ how are their followers to know that they are antichrists who lead man in opposition to God? How are they to know that they are living devils who specially seek souls to devour?” (“All Who Do Not Know God Are Those Who Oppose God” in The Word Appears in the Flesh). No one believed that the religious world would resist God, but the coming of the Lord Jesus revealed the antichrists in religious circles. Religious leaders persecuted and condemned the Lord Jesus, and in the end they crucified Him. This fact proves that religious leaders are all resisting God while serving Him. When pastors and religious leaders of the last days explain the Bible, they often use words and doctrines to flaunt themselves, but they don’t carry out the Lord Jesus’ words. Especially when Almighty God’s work arrives upon them in the last days, their truth-hating, satanic nature is fully exposed. To protect their positions and livelihoods, they make up all sorts of rumors and furiously resist and condemn Almighty God, deceiving and controlling believers. They even seal off the church under the guise of “protecting the sheep flock and defending the true way,” obstructing people from investigating the work and words of Almighty God. What’s more detestable is that some pastors and leaders shamelessly steal Almighty God’s words and preach them to believers in order to build and maintain their own prestige, trying to achieve their despicable purpose of caging and controlling people. This completely exposes their wild ambitions to compete with God for status. These pastors and religious leaders are just the same as the Jewish Pharisees who condemned and resisted the Lord Jesus back then. They all hate the truth and are antichrists who see God as the enemy. They are devils who trample people and swallow their souls. They have seriously offended God’s disposition and are bound to receive God’s righteous punishment.

Q&A About the Name of God

Question 2: God’s name in each age doesn’t represent God in His entirety, then what does God’s name in each age mean?

Answer: This question is very important. Today Almighty God has given us the answer to this question. Almighty God says, “‘Jehovah’ is the name that I took during My work in Israel, and it means the God of the Israelites (God’s chosen people) who can take pity on man, curse man, and guide the life of man. It means the God who possesses great power and is full of wisdom. ‘Jesus’ is Emmanuel, and it means the sin offering that is full of love, full of compassion, and redeems man. He did the work of the Age of Grace, and represents the Age of Grace, and can only represent one part of the management plan. That is to say, only Jehovah is the God of the chosen people of Israel, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob, the God of Moses, and the God of all the people of Israel. And so in the current age, all the Israelites apart from the tribe of Judah worship Jehovah. They make sacrifices to Him on the altar, and serve Him wearing priests’ robes in the temple. What they hope for is the reappearance of Jehovah. Only Jesus is the Redeemer of mankind. He is the sin offering that redeemed mankind from sin. Which is to say, the name of Jesus came from the Age of Grace, and existed because of the work of redemption in the Age of Grace. The name of Jesus existed to allow the people of the Age of Grace to be reborn and saved, and is a particular name for the redemption of the whole of mankind. And so the name Jesus represents the work of redemption, and denotes the Age of Grace. The name Jehovah is a particular name for the people of Israel who lived under the law. In each age and each stage of work, My name is not baseless, but holds representative significance: Each name represents one age. ‘Jehovah’ represents the Age of Law, and is the honorific for the God worshiped by the people of Israel. ‘Jesus’ represents the Age of Grace, and is the name of the God of all those who were redeemed during the Age of Grace. If man still longs for the arrival of Jesus the Savior during the last days, and still expects Him to arrive in the image He bore in Judea, then the entire six-thousand-year management plan would stop in the Age of Redemption, and would be incapable of progressing any further. The last days, furthermore, would never arrive, and the age would never be brought to an end. That is because ‘Jesus the Savior’ is only for the redemption and salvation of mankind. I took the name of Jesus for the sake of all the sinners in the Age of Grace, and it is not the name by which I shall bring the whole of mankind to an end” (“The Savior Has Already Returned Upon a ‘White Cloud’” in The Word Appears in the Flesh).

Will the Lord Jesus take believers up into the kingdom of heaven when He comes again?

One may ask: The Bible says, “Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord” (1 Thessalonians 4:17). How should this verse be interpreted? How will the verse concerning believers being raptured in the last days be fulfilled?

For every Christian who is waiting devoutly for the return of the Lord, the topic of the believers’ rapture when the Lord returns in the last days is always attractive. None of believers are not expecting to be raptured into the kingdom of heaven when the Lord comes back. However, what on earth is the true meaning of rapture? Does it really mean that the believers are lifted into the air by the Lord in the last days? To understand this aspect of the truth, let’s first read several verses. Acts 8:39-40 says, “And when they were come up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught away Philip, that the eunuch saw him no more: and he went on his way rejoicing. But Philip was found at Azotus: and passing through he preached in all the cities, till he came to Caesarea.” According to man’s thought, since here it is said that Philip was caught away by the Spirit of the Lord, he was taken to heaven. Yet, in fact, “Philip was found at Azotus” and he preached the gospel in all cities, carrying out the Lord’s will on earth. From this we can see that Philip was not taken into heaven but was still on the earth.

The Transformation of a Fallen Man

Tong Xin    Fujian Province

I was born in the countryside. I came from a line of humble farmers and on top of that our family was few in number, so we were often bullied. When I was 13 years old, there was a child beaten by someone from outside of our village. The villagers falsely accused my father of instigating it and they said they were going to search our house and confiscate our property, take away our pigs and even beat my father. There was also a time when another villager took our fishing net and kept it as his own. When my father went to get it back, the villager actually hit my father, relying on his own power and influence. My father had to just eat humble pie as he knew that he had neither money nor power. My mother told my brothers and me that we must fight for ourselves in the future, and never live a life of oppression like this. Being young and detesting the injustice in society, I was determined that in the future I would stand out from the crowd and earn their respect, and never be oppressed. So I studied very hard, but I wasn’t smart enough and I couldn’t get into any universities, so I chose to pursue development in the army and joined easily by going through connections.

In Your Experience, How Much Practical Understanding Do You Have of God’s Salvation?

Nannan

Since I was small, I had always had a strong desire to be better than others. No matter what group of people I was in, I always sought to be the best. While I was still at school, though I had an average mind and my grades weren’t outstanding, I studied very hard so that I wouldn’t fall behind the other students. Teachers praised me for my desire to make progress, and relatives also praised me for being such a diligent student and taking my studies so seriously. I would often feel proud of myself for receiving their praise and getting favorable comments from them, and I considered myself top of my age group. After I’d accepted God’s work in the last days, I came to understand some truths by reading God’s words and living the church life, and I saw that, no matter what disposition God expresses, whether it be mercy, lovingkindness or righteous judgment and chastisement, they are all God’s true love for man. My heart was moved and inspired by God’s love, and I felt that the only right path in life was to believe in God and seek to be perfected by God. I therefore made a resolution to pursue the truth in earnest, to give up everything and expend myself for God to repay His love. But because my deeply-rooted corrupt disposition and satanic nature had not yet been resolved, I still sought to distinguish myself and to make others look highly upon me when performing my duties. I remember one time when I was given the choice of two duties, and without any hesitation whatsoever I chose the duty that I thought would cause others to look highly upon me. Once I’d started this duty, a sense of superiority arose in my heart, so much so that I looked down on other brothers and sisters, thinking that they were only doing common duties, whereas I was performing an important duty, and that I was a person of talent in God’s family.