Appreciating God’s Love From the Miraculous Efficacy of Houttuynia Cordata

By Guan Liang

In my childhood, whenever I got a feverish cold, my mother would pull up a handful of houttuynia cordata on the ridges between the fields and decoct it for me. Not long after I drank the decoction despite its pungent smell, I would feel much better. At that time, I knew nothing about houttuynia cordata except that it could be used to alleviate fever and that the fishy taste it left in my mouth would linger there for a long time. In the evening I could still taste the decoction of it which I drank in the morning. For this reason, I had little liking for it.

It was after I saw another wonderful efficacy of houttuynia cordata that I didn’t so dislike it. I remember that time my mother accidentally cut her hand while she was harvesting rice and the wound was bleeding. She picked several leaves from the houttuynia cordata, rubbed them, and pressed them onto the cut expertly. Soon the bleeding stopped and after dressing the wound, she continued with her work. Only when I saw this did I know that houttuynia cordata’s heart-shaped leaves could actually stanch bleeding and reduce swelling. And this has remained in my memory ever since.

As Prophesied in Revelation 3:12, Will Jesus Have a New Name in the Last Days?

By Chengxin

The alarm clock on my table showed that it was 11:05 pm. I had a habit whereby, every night before bed, I would read a verse of the Scriptures. Normally, I’d already have read a verse and would be asleep by this time, but on this night, I had been perplexed by a verse in the Scriptures.

It says in Revelation 3:12: “Him that overcomes will I make a pillar in the temple of My God, and he shall go no more out: and I will write on him the name of My God, and the name of the city of My God, which is new Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from My God: and I will write on him My new name.” I’d read this verse before many times, but on this night, my eyes were held by the words “My new name,” and this had perplexed me. I pondered: Does “My new name” mean that the Lord Jesus will have a new name when He returns in the last days? It says in the Book of Hebrews, however: “Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever” (Hebrews 13:8). The Lord Jesus’ name cannot change. So what then do the words “My new name” mean in Revelation? Could it be that the Lord Jesus’ name will change when He returns in the last days?

“Tick tick tick,” the second hand on my alarm clock moved round the dial. It was much later and I still hadn’t figured it out. This question was not to be taken lightly, for it had a direct bearing on the important matter of my entry into the heavenly kingdom. I had to seek and understand the answer. “O Lord, please enlighten and guide me….” I prayed silently in my heart and entrusted the question over to the Lord.

As it was approaching dark the next day, I suddenly received a call from an old classmate, Wang Fang, who had been preaching the gospel in other parts of China. She said she wanted to come over for a chat. When I hung up the phone, I felt really happy, and I thought to myself: I’ll be able to seek the answer to my question from my old classmate.

In my living room, Wang Fang and I were sitting on the sofa and I told her all about the perplexities in my heart.

After listening, my old classmate said to me, “Hui Zhen, you say that God’s name cannot change, so let me ask you: What is God’s name in the Old Testament?”

Without any hesitation, I answered, “Jehovah!”

“And what is God’s name in the New Testament?” asked Wang Fang.

“Jesus!”

Smiling, Wang Fang looked at me and said, “So has God’s name not changed?”

I was stumped by Wang Fang’s question. It couldn’t be … could it? God’s name had changed from the Old Testament to the New Testament, and the name Jehovah had become Jesus. If that was the case, then God’s name was not eternally unchanging….

Still smiling, Wang Fang said as she looked at me, “Hui Zhen, I’ll read some passages to you, and then you’ll understand.” As she said this, she took her cell phone out from her pocket, swiped through until she’d found what she was looking for, and then read: “God originally had no name. He only took on one, or two, or many names because He had work to do and had to manage mankind” (“The Vision of God’s Work (3)”). “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.” “‘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” (“The Savior Has Already Returned Upon a ‘White Cloud’”).

Wang Fang then fellowshiped, “From these two passages, we understand that, before God had begun to perform His work to save mankind, He had no name, but was simply God, the Creator. After mankind was corrupted by Satan, God began His work to save mankind, and only then did He take a name. God only took the name Jehovah when He called on Moses to lead the Israelites out of Egypt. The Bible records, ‘And Moses said to God, Behold, when I come to the children of Israel, and shall say to them, The God of your fathers has sent me to you; and they shall say to me, What is His name? what shall I say to them? And God said to Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and He said, Thus shall you say to the children of Israel, I AM has sent me to you. And God said moreover to Moses, Thus shall you say to the children of Israel, Jehovah, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you: this is My name for ever, and this is My memorial to all generations’ (Exodus 3:13–15). Thereafter, God used the name Jehovah to begin the work of the Age of Law, to lead the Israelites out of Egypt and across the Red Sea and to guide their lives in the wilderness with pillars of cloud and fire. He gave them manna and quail to eat and used Moses to proclaim His law and commandments on Mount Sinai, and He guided the Israelites of that time to learn how to live on earth and how to worship God. Those who abided by the law and the commandments received Jehovah God’s blessing, and those who violated the law and the commandments were punished. The name Jehovah was a name specific to the Age of Law, and it represented God’s disposition as being both merciful and cursing.

“At the end of the Age of Law, man was being corrupted more and more deeply by Satan. No one was able to keep the law any longer, and all were in constant danger of being sentenced to death by the law. God took mercy on man, however, and, in order to save mankind, He brought an end to the Age of Law in which He had taken Jehovah as His name, He incarnated and, with the name Jesus, He launched the work of the Age of Redemption. The Lord Jesus preached wherever He went, telling people that the heavenly kingdom was nigh and that they should repent. He also performed many miracles, healing lepers, making the lame walk, the blind see, and even making the dead live again, and so on. So long as people followed the Lord, accepted His redemption and prayed in His name, then their sins were forgiven, and they would no longer be condemned to death by the law. In the Age of Grace, God’s name changed from Jehovah to Jesus, and the disposition expressed by the Lord Jesus primarily placed loving kindness and mercy at the forefront. This allows us to see that, every time God performs a new stage of work and begins a new age, He changes His name and adopts a name that possesses epochal significance in order to represent the work He performs in that age and to express His disposition in that age.”

I nodded and said, “Oh, so God’s name changes along with His work! One name can only represent one age and one stage of God’s work. The age changes, God’s work changes, and God’s name changes along with it. Jehovah was the name specific to the Age of Law, and Jesus was the name God adopted in the Age of Grace when He was performing His work of redemption. God changed His name from Jehovah to Jesus because people at the end of the Age of Law could no longer keep the law, and it was only when God was to perform His work to redeem mankind in the Age of Grace that He changed His name. Have I understood this right, Wang Fang?”

Smiling, Wang Fang nodded her head, and said, “Yes, that’s right! You’ve got it.”

But I still felt a little perplexed, and so I said, “So what do the words ‘Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever’ (Hebrews 13:8) in the Book of Hebrews mean? Could it not be referring to God’s name? How should I understand this verse of the Scriptures?”

Wang Fang continued smiling and spoke slowly and calmly, saying, “Let’s read a couple more passages, and then we’ll understand. ‘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? … 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.’ ‘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’ (‘The Vision of God’s Work (3)’).

“We can see from these two passages that the words ‘God is immutable’ are referring to the immutability of His disposition and essence, and do not mean that His name never changes. Although God performs different works and adopts different names in different ages throughout the course of His salvation of mankind, whether God is called Jehovah or Jesus, His essence does not change—God is forever God, and His righteousness and holiness never change. Therefore, the words, ‘Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever’ (Hebrews 13:8), are referring to the immutability of God’s disposition and essence, and do not mean that God’s name never changes. The Pharisees at the time of Jesus, however, did not know that God’s name changes along with His work, and so they believed that only Jehovah was their God and that there was no Savior other than Jehovah. When God began the work of the Age of Grace, therefore, and His name became Jesus, they were unable to accept it, and they frantically condemned and resisted the Lord Jesus. They crucified Him upon the cross, committing a heinous sin, and thus they were punished by God. They didn’t understand what the immutability of God was referring to and they didn’t recognize the principles of God’s work, and so they did evil deeds and resisted God, and so they lost God’s salvation.”

When Wang Fang had finished speaking, I nodded my head and, filled with emotion, I said, “I understand so much more now, because of your fellowship. It turns out that the words ‘Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever’ (Hebrews 13:8), mean that God’s essence is unchanging, but God’s name can change. God’s work forges ever onward, and His name changes along with His work. Ah! The Pharisees in the time of Jesus didn’t understand this point, and they delimited God within the scope of His work in the Age of Law, believing that God’s name was Jehovah and that it couldn’t change to anything else. In the end, they were unable to recognize that the Lord Jesus and Jehovah were one and the same God—what fools they were! If you hadn’t given me fellowship on this matter today, I’d still be as blind as the Pharisees and would not understand God’s work!” Just then, I remembered the words “My new name” in Revelation 3:12, and I said, “In light of what we’ve said, God will surely have a new name when He returns in the last days! So, what will God’s name be?”

Wang Fang then said excitedly, “Thank the Lord that, a few days ago, several co-workers and I were fellowshiping and seeking together, and we finally reaped results. The Bible actually already tells us what God will be called in the last days. It says in Revelation, ‘I am Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the Ending, said the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty’ (Revelation 1:8). ‘And the four beasts had each of them six wings about him; and they were full of eyes within: and they rest not day and night, saying, Holy, holy, holy, LORD God Almighty, which was, and is, and is to come’ (Revelation 4:8). ‘We give you thanks, O LORD God Almighty, which are, and were, and are to come; because You have taken to You Your great power, and have reigned’ (Revelation 11:17). The Almighty is also mentioned in such scriptures as Revelation 15:3, 16:7 and 16:14, and 21:22. These show that when the Lord returns in the last days, it is highly probable that He will take the name the Almighty to perform His work of saving man. Therefore, if someone preaches that the Lord Jesus has returned to perform a new work, and that His name has changed to the Almighty, then it is very likely that this will be the appearance and work of the Lord, and we must make all haste to study and seek it. Only then will we have the chance to welcome the Lord!”

After listening to her, I was thrilled, and said, “Thank the Lord! I’ve gained so much today! I often read these passages of scripture before, but I never pondered them in this way and I never understood these things. Today, I finally understand that God’s name can change and that He shall have a new name in the last days! What’s more, I’ve found the way to welcome the Lord!”

I was so happy, and my heart felt filled with sweetness and joy. Wang Fang and I then continued with our fellowship …

Mystery of Revelation: The Lord Jesus’ Name Will Change When He Returns in the Last Days

By Chengxin

The alarm clock on my table showed that it was 11:05pm. I had a habit whereby, every night before bed, I would read a verse of the Scriptures. Normally, I’d already have read a verse and would be asleep by this time, but on this night, I had been perplexed by a verse in the Scriptures.

It says in Revelation 3:12: “Him that overcomes will I make a pillar in the temple of My God, and he shall go no more out: and I will write on him the name of My God, and the name of the city of My God, which is new Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from My God: and I will write on him My new name.” I’d read this verse before many times, but on this night, my eyes were held by the words “My new name,” and this had perplexed me. I pondered: Does “My new name” mean that the Lord Jesus will have a new name when He returns in the last days? It says in the Book of Hebrews, however: “Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever” (Hebrews 13:8). The Lord Jesus’ name cannot change. So what then do the words “My new name” mean in Revelation? Could it be that the Lord Jesus’ name will change when He returns in the last days?

Does Having Our Sins Forgiven Mean We Can Be Raised Up Into the Heavenly Kingdom?

By Qiao Ning

The greatest longing for those of us who believe in the Lord is to enter the heavenly kingdom, and so we often imagine how beautiful it must be there. Of course, we are also confident about our entry into heaven, for it says in the Bible: “In whom we have redemption through His blood, even the forgiveness of sins” (Colossians 1:14). We therefore believe that our sins are forgiven after we have faith in the Lord, and that we are then no longer sinful. We also believe that, when the Lord comes, we will immediately be raised up into the heavenly kingdom. Thinking of these things gets us very excited, and we long for the Lord to hurry to us. This is what I longed for before too. But later, after fellowshiping and discussing this matter with my brothers and sisters, I came to a new discovery, and here I’d like to fellowship what I gained with you all …

Where Is the Kingdom of God? The Answer Is in the Lord’s Prayer

By Jinyi, United States

Many Christians believe the kingdom of heaven is in heaven, but the Lord’s Prayer says, “Your kingdom come, Your will be done in earth, as it is in heaven” (Matthew 6:10). And the Book of Revelation also says, “The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of His Christ” (Revelation 11:15). So, is the kingdom of heaven in heaven or on earth? In this article, we reveal the answer for you.

Is the Kingdom of God in Heaven or on Earth?

At meetings, I often hear my pastor say, “In My Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also” (John 14:2–3), “And he carried me away in the spirit to a great and high mountain, and showed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God…. And the twelve gates were twelve pearls: every several gate was of one pearl: and the street of the city was pure gold, as it were transparent glass” (Revelation 21:10, 21), and similar passages from the Scripture to tell us that the Lord has gone to prepare a place for us, and that when He returns, we will all directly be raptured up to heaven to enjoy the pearls and gold of heaven, and that we should soberly await and pray often to avoid being left behind when the Lord returns …

Supermoons 2019: Three Successive Rare Supermoons

As predicted by relevant experts, two supermoons will appear successively on 19th February and 21st March 2019, being two fantastic astronomical sights that follow on from the “super blood wolf moon” which appeared on 21st January.

Related information states that the term “supermoon” refers to when the full moon moves to its closest point to the earth, its perigee, at which point the moon’s diameter is 14% larger than normal and its brightness also increases by 30%—it is the largest, roundest moon visible to the naked eye. Three supermoons will appear in succession this year, which is a rarely seen astronomical sight. In actual fact, wonderful sights such as blood moons and supermoons have been making constant appearances over recent years, for example the blood moons of 2011 and 2013, the series of four blood moons that appeared through 2014 and 2015, the super blue blood moon of 2018, which also occurred 152 years ago, and the super blood wolf moon that appeared on 21st January 2019 which perfectly combined the three astronomical sights of a supermoon, a blood moon and a wolf moon, and it was hailed as the most dazzling astronomical wonder.

Sermon：It Is Only Through Faith in Christ That We Are Able to Know God in Heaven

How to know that Christ is the truth, the way, and the life is a crucial question. The essence of Christ is the truth, the way, and the life. But how do you experience and understand the word of God in the words spoken by Christ, so that you’ll truly see Christ in your heart as the truth, the way, and the life? Now we all believe in Christ, which is to believe in the practical God. Because Christ is God incarnate, therefore Christ is the practical God. What this practical God has and is is the truth, the way, and the life. Although from the outside God incarnate is a totally ordinary human being, however the essence of His life is the truth, the way, and the life. What would you say is the difference between belief in such a practical God and believing in God in heaven? Does faith in Christ have meaning, or does believing in God in heaven have meaning? Christ has an external appearance of a flesh, a normal humanity, He does not have the authority and especial power like God in heaven and like the Spirit of God. In believing in the practical God, from the outside people have faith in a person. Externally, the practical God and God in heaven are as different as the gulf between heaven and earth. In the case of God in heaven, He is supremely omnipotent, dominating over the entire universe. With one word, He can alter everything, He can bring about enormous change in heaven and earth. However, the practical God does not have the great ability of God in heaven. Therefore, those who believe in the practical God are few, while those who believe in God in heaven are particularly numerous. Everyone looks up at the power and authority of God in heaven and they feel that the more that God cannot be seen, the more powerful He is, and the more that God like ordinary flesh and blood can be seen and felt, then He has no omnipotence at all. Man selects his belief in God according to human conceptions and imagination. In fact, in believing in God man ought not to care about how omnipotent or how great God is from the outside, but he should care about what he is able to obtain and what results he can achieve through a faith in God; this is most crucial. Today, we, this group of people, believe in the practical God and now we all know why God has come to carry out His work, what work God has come to do, what man ought to obtain from believing in God. We know that what man ought to obtain is the truth and salvation. If man wants to obtain salvation and the truth, can he obtain these through faith in a vague God in heaven? He cannot. But as it happens he can obtain these by believing in Christ because Christ is the truth, the way and the life, everything that He has is the truth, the way and the life. Apart from the truth, the way, and the life, He has nothing else, and He does nothing else. What He has, and what He is, is just that which corrupted mankind ought to obtain. Therefore, it is precisely appropriate that we believe in the practical God as this completely accords with God’s intention. Now that we have experienced the work of the practical God and we are all receiving God’s judgment and chastisement, and we are receiving God’s pruning and dealing as well as all manner of trials and refinement, what sort of knowledge do we have of Christ? All the truth that Christ delivers is exactly a direct expression of God’s Spirit, it is exactly the expression of God in heaven; it is God in heaven taking on a flesh to carry out His work among men on earth. What corrupted mankind requires is salvation, what it needs is the truth. God incarnate has brought to mankind all that it needs, and that which He has brought is God’s salvation, God’s love, and also the truth, the way, and the life. The more that we experience the work that Christ undertakes, the more we know the disposition of God in heaven, the more we know what God in heaven has, and what He is, the more we know the omnipotence and wisdom of God in heaven; what God in heaven has, and what He is, is entirely expressed through Christ. It is only through faith in Christ that it is possible to truly know what God has and is, and to truly understand the disposition of the Creator. So, our faith in Christ is entirely faith in God in heaven because He is the expression of God in heaven. It is only those who believe in Christ who can truly know God in heaven. If you do not believe in Christ, you cannot arrive at a knowledge of God in heaven. This is the meaning of knowing Christ. Christ is the practical God, and God’s essence is within Him. He has what God has and what God is, and what He brings is one stage of God’s work. What He delivers is precisely the truth, the way, and the life that corrupted mankind needs. In our experience of God’s work, we have all basically seen God’s disposition which gives primacy to righteousness, and God’s disposition which does not tolerate man’s offense; we have seen God’s holiness, we have seen His omnipotence, we have seen God’s wisdom; all of these are a true knowledge of God. When we have come to such knowledge of God, we then see that Christ really is the truth, the way, and the life. After we have experienced the judgment and chastisement of Christ, we have a true knowledge of Christ’s disposition, and an understanding that God’s disposition is righteousness, it is dignity, it is wrath. With this understanding, we then obtain a truth from Christ—God’s disposition is righteousness. If we have not experienced the work of God, and we have not experienced God’s judgment and chastisement, then we cannot understand that the disposition of God is righteousness.