Return to God

By Piao Zhenhui, South Korea Confusion: Seeking the Footsteps of the Lord In 2008, I received the Lord’s gospel spread by Aunt Hao. After that, I often went to church with her. From the Bible, I learned that it was God who created the heavens and the earth and all things, and human beings as well, and that after mankind became corrupt, the Lord Jesus was crucified on the cross as a sin offering to redeem mankind. I was deeply moved by the great love of the Lord, so I pursued enthusiastically in accordance with God’s words, being honest, tolerant, and magnanimous. I had also been very keen on participating in all kinds of church activities. At that time, I had a strong faith in the Lord: Wherever I went, I would first find a church to worship the Lord; and whatever I did, I would always take the Lord Jesus as my reliance. I had also been expecting the day that I could welcome the return of the Lord. But a few years later, I found that whichever church I went to, the priests’ sermons there were old and boring, having no new light. In addition, my church friends paid little attention to practicing the Lord’s words. They even had no heart of reverence for the Lord when gathering. Some of them came to find a partner, and some to sell things; they were always competing over status and wealth, and their words and behaviors didn’t befit saintly propriety at all. The priest, however, turned a blind eye to such matters and even gave them free reign. What made me even more pained was that I was increasingly unable to keep the commandments of the Lord. When praying, I couldn’t feel the Lord’s presence, and I was continuously committing and confessing sins every day. Every time after I confessed to the priest, he would tell me to recite the rosary, saying that in this way my sins would be spared by the Lord. But after I did that, I still couldn’t rid myself of the bondage of sins. So I couldn’t help but feel a little worried: I always commit and confess sins; will the Lord Jesus forgive such a sinner like me? Could I still have a chance to welcome the return of the Lord? In 2013, I came to South Korea. In hope of finding my original heart of loving the Lord, I visited several churches here, and wanted to know how the faith of the believers in South Korea was and whether their churches were more thriving than those in China. However, every time I went to a church with joy, I came back with disappointment. I found the priests and believers here behaved the same way as those in China did; they all lived in sins and couldn’t keep the teachings of the Lord. I felt so depressed and gradually was unwilling to go to church. However, whenever I saw disasters occurring one after another all over the world from the news report, I would think: “The prophecies of the return of the Lord have basically come true, and the Lord might have come back already, but where is He?” I constantly prayed to the Lord in my heart: “Oh, Lord, where are You? How can I find You?” Discussion: The Reasons for the Desolation of the Church I will never forget one day in March of 2018. That day, when visiting one of my workmates, I got acquainted with her younger brother, Brother Zhang. He is also a believer of the Lord, and we were actually baptized in the same church. This made me feel a sort of closeness to him. In our conversation, when we talked about the widespread desolation of the church at present, Brother Zhang said, “The reason why the church is desolate nowadays, on the one hand, is that the priests and bishops no longer obey the way of the Lord and practice His words, or lead the believers to keep the commandments of the Lord; instead, they always exalt themselves and bear witness to themselves, and make people keep the instructions and rules summarized by them. The church was originally a place where people worshiped God, but because people don’t possess a heart of reverence and don’t respect God above all others, the church has become a religious venue, losing the work of the Holy Spirit. On the other hand, it is because God has begun a new work and the work of the Holy Spirit has turned to it. Just as when the Lord Jesus launched the work of redemption in the Age of Grace, the temple was no longer upheld by the Holy Spirit, so it became a place for doing business. Those who accepted and followed the Lord Jesus all kept pace with the footsteps of the Lamb, obtained the work of the Holy Spirit and enjoyed the watering and supply of the wellspring of living water of God. And those who failed to follow the work of the Lord Jesus, however, lost the work of the Holy Spirit and fell into darkness and desolation. From these facts we can see that when the church gets desolate, we should seek God’s will and consider whether God has launched a new work in other places, and whether we should get out of the church and seek the work of the Holy Spirit. Just as Amos 4:7-8 in the Old Testament says: ‘I also withheld rain from you when the harvest was still three months away. I sent rain on one town, but withheld it from another. One field had rain; another had none and dried up. People staggered from town to town for water. but did not get enough to drink.’ From the scripture we can see: When our church has no ‘rain,’ that is, has no work of the Holy Spirit, there is a church out there with ‘rain.’ Therefore, on the matter of the…

By Ouyang, United States Afraid of Being Deceived by False Christs I migrated to the United States in 2010. Because my job was keeping me busy and the place where I stayed had no Chinese churches, I didn’t attend any meetings. I only read the Bible at home or listened to some sermons downloaded online. There was one time when I was reading the Bible, I saw the Lord Jesus said, “Take heed that no man deceive you. For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many” (Matthew 24:4-5). The Lord reminded us that when He returns, there will be false Christs and prophets deceiving men. At this moment, I thought about how I myself had been drifting through the world, had not been to any meetings or gone to church to listen to any sermons. I was very worried that I would be deceived by false Christs because I didn’t know how false Christs deceive people and I lacked discernment. When I saw the video End Time Events talking about how disasters were getting greater and greater and that the Lord Jesus would return at any time, I was especially more worried. I could only often pray to the Lord asking Him to protect me so I wouldn’t be deceived by false Christs. A Chance Encounter With an Evangelist On Thanksgiving Day 2017, I met Sister Yang on Facebook, and I got to know Sister Li from her. The three of us would have meetings together whenever we were free. Sister Li’s fellowshiping was fresh and had new light, which I had never heard before, such as fellowships on the origins of the Bible, the mystery of God’s incarnation, the difference between being saved and attaining salvation, the difference between God’s work and man’s work, and so on. Sister Li also often sent us words from spiritual books that were very beneficial. Seeing that Sister Li knew so many truths, I told her my concern. I said, “Sister Li, I have a question. The Lord Jesus said that there will be false Christs in the last days. I have small stature, I’m very worried that I will be deceived by them because I have no discernment. Could you please fellowship with me on how to distinguish between the true Christ and the false ones?” Sister Yang also said, “It is very important to understand this aspect of truth. If we do not have discernment and condemn the work of Christ as the work of a false Christ deceiving people, won’t we be the ones that blaspheme the Holy Spirit and resist Christ? The consequence would be very serious!” How to Distinguish the True Christ From the False Ones Sister Li agreed happily and fellowshiped with us, “In actuality, the vital point to discern false Christs is to have a knowledge of the substance of Christ. Once we have it, it is not difficult for us to discern the deception of false Christs. We all know that Christ is the embodiment of God’s Spirit and possesses a divine essence, so Christ can do the work of God Himself, and He is able to express truth to save man, to bestow life upon man and show man the way to practice. Just as the Lord Jesus said, ‘I am the way, the truth, and the life’ (John 14:6). I’ll send a passage of words to the group so that you can understand this aspect of truth better.” I read it carefully, “To study such a thing is not difficult, but requires each of us to know this truth: He who is God’s incarnation shall hold the substance of God, and He who is God’s incarnation shall hold the expression of God. Since God becomes flesh, He shall bring forth the work He must do, and since God becomes flesh, He shall express what He is, and shall be able to bring the truth to man, bestow life upon man, and show man the way. Flesh that does not contain the substance of God is surely not the incarnate God; of this there is no doubt. To investigate whether it is God’s incarnate flesh, man must determine this from the disposition He expresses and the words He speaks. Which is to say, whether or not it is God’s incarnate flesh, and whether or not it is the true way, must be judged from His substance. And so, in determining whether it is the flesh of God incarnate, the key is to pay attention to His substance (His work, His words, His disposition, and many more), rather than external appearance. If man sees only His external appearance, and overlooks His substance, then that shows the ignorance and naivety of man.” Sister Li fellowshiped with us, “To determine whether He is the incarnate God, we cannot look at His external appearance, but should look at whether or not He can express the truth and do the work of God Himself. Christ can express the truth to supply man and save man, and the work Christ does cannot be done by anyone. Just like the Lord Jesus Christ, who brought the work of the Age of Grace based on that of the Age of Law. He healed the sick and cast out demons, made the lame walk and resurrected the dead. Besides, according to the needs of people at that time, He gave many preachings to make man confess and repent their sins, and taught man to love their enemies, forgive others seventy times seven, love one another and so on, which brought people the way to practice. From the work of the Lord Jesus, we can see that He possesses the authority and power of God, and that the work He does and the truth He expresses cannot be achieved by man. While most false Christs are possessed by evil spirits. They are extremely arrogant and absurd, and in substance they are demons and evil spirits. They…

There Was Such Enthusiasm in the Church in the Old Days Our family has been Catholic for generations and I was baptized when I was only a few months old. I remember always being woken with a start to the blaring sound of an alarm, and then having my parents drag me out of bed to hurriedly wash and dress before rushing off to our church to attend mass at night. My parents said that people who believed in the Lord in China were persecuted, and that priests and believers were often arrested and taken into custody, and so it was only safe for us to attend mass at nighttime. Although it was so dangerous, our brethren in the church were still very enthusiastic and devoted. No matter the weather, wherever a mass was being held, they would pass on the details one to another and they would fall over each other to bring the elderly and the young to attend. Everyone would sing hymns, as excited as if it were New Year, and many believers remained in high spirits despite staying up all night … Now the Church Has Become a Desolation In the blink of an eye, I was all grown up, but the church also underwent a great change. People attending mass got fewer and fewer, and most of those who did attend were elderly men and women; very rarely were young faces seen at mass. When the church held the occasional event, mass became lively and bustling, but it was as chaotic as an outdoor food market—there were people engaged in pyramid selling, direct selling, people selling insurance, people who were opening supermarkets and restaurants, and so on. Everyone was pretending to be there to attend mass but they were really there to find customers. When believers got together, they did not talk about how to worship the Lord or how to practice His word, but rather they talked about petty household affairs, or they tried to peddle their family produce; no one was there to sincerely worship the Lord. As time went on, the situation in the church got worse and worse. The priests’ sermons were unenlightening, and they would often wantonly condemn other denominations and would tell the congregation to be on our guard against them. They even split into cliques and separated themselves from other clergy members. Sometimes, because they clung to differing views, they would argue and fight amongst themselves, and the congregation also took sides and judged and verbally attacked each other, and none of the compassion or tolerance that used to be there was there any longer. Witnessing this scene in the church, I couldn’t figure out how it had come to be in such a state, and I felt an inexpressible sadness. In 2009, while I was studying abroad in Japan, I went to church to attend mass and saw that the church in Japan was just as chaotic as the church in China: The priests and the Catholic faithful spoke and acted like unbelievers, they all followed worldly trends, and they all engaged in one-upmanship and were snobbish with each other. The priests would be all smiles toward those with money and would snub those who had no money and speak to them in a brusque tone. Seeing this go on in a foreign country, I felt incredibly disappointed and confused, and I no longer felt as attached to the Lord as I had before. The morning and evening service I attended every day became a burden, and sometimes I just didn’t want to go to church to attend mass. Afraid that the Lord would condemn me to hell, however, I dared not stop going. Later, although I was forcing myself to go to church, my spirit was not being provided for and my heart felt empty. Sometimes, I would think: “How has the church become like this? Before, there were few believers and the CCP persecuted us, and yet we would still enthusiastically attend mass in the middle of the night. But nowadays, the more comfortable and easier our environment gets, conversely, the lazier people get—could it be because more people are believing in the Lord? Or because people have listened to so many sermons that there is no longer any mystique about it?” I felt so perplexed. In May 2018, my husband and I emigrated to the US with our daughter who was not yet one year old. After we’d settled down, we started to attend mass at a church near our home. Inconceivably, there were very few people in this huge, lavish church. The priest stood above us giving his sermon, while most people sat below him looked drowsy or were dozing off. Looking at the sparsity of people and the empty seats in such a big church, and seeing the expressionless, blank faces of the people sitting there, I couldn’t even express how I felt. I wanted to go online and find some good churches, but what I found was that many Catholic churches were filled with memorial plaques for the dead and people just burnt incense and made offerings, and some church priests invited monks to come and chant scriptures, and there were many scandals involving priests and bishops…. Seeing these circumstances, I thought of the words spoken by the Lord Jesus in the Bible: “My house shall be called the house of prayer; but you have made it a den of thieves” (Matthew 21:13). From China to Japan to the United States, from terra firma to the Internet, all Catholic churches were just the same. I suddenly felt that the modern-day Catholic church had entirely gone bad. Although it appeared to be quite lavish on the outside, it was no longer a sacred place. I was at a loss. The church had become so chaotic and stagnant, so why didn’t the Holy Spirit do something about it? In My Bewilderment, a Chance Encounter Reveals the Root Cause of the Church’s Desolation…

by Novo Philippines My name is Novo, I am a Filipino. Since I was little, I believed in God with my mother. I went to church with my brothers and sisters to listen to sermons. Even though I had believed in the Lord for many years, I felt that I was like an unbeliever. Within my heart, I would think about how to earn more money and live a better life all day long. Furthermore, I would frequently go out and drink with friends. Once I had extra money, I would go out and gamble. Even though I knew that what I was doing was bad and I would frequently pray to God saying that I would change these bad habits of mine, I basically never put it into practice. In this way, I became increasingly degenerated. I did not pray sincerely to God. Each week, I would only pray a few simple prayers in a perfunctory way. Sometimes, I felt very desperate because I knew that when the Lord returned, He would judge everybody’s actions. He would then decide whether each person would go to heaven or go to hell. I felt that I was a degenerate and that God would not forgive me. Afterward, I married and had kids. All I thought about was my wife and my children. When it came to my faith, I pushed it to the back of my mind. In order to provide a better future for my children and to achieve my desires to become rich, I decided to leave the country to find work. As a result, I came to Taiwan. Even after I found work, I still had not changed my past lifestyle. During my leisure time, I would still go out to drink and sing with my colleagues. I was living the life of an unbeliever. In 2011, I worked as a welder in a factory in Taiwan. One day in 2012, a colleague in Taiwan asked me if I was a Catholic. I replied that I was. Afterward, she invited me for Mass at her church. Then, one Sunday morning, at dawn, she came to the factory to pick us up and brought us to her friend’s house. There, I met Brother Joseph. He asked me, “Brother, do you expect the second coming of the Lord Jesus?” I said that I did. Joseph asked me again, “Do you know what work the Lord Jesus will do when He returns?” I replied, “He will sit upon a white throne and judge mankind and divide people into different groups. Afterward, God will decide, based on each man’s conducts and deeds, whether he will go to heaven or hell.” Brother Joseph continued to ask me, “If we told you that the Lord Jesus has already come and is doing the work of judgment, would you believe?” I was quite surprised when I heard him say this. I thought: Has the Lord Jesus already returned? How is this possible? Wouldn’t He judge us if He has already returned? I haven’t seen the judgment before the great white throne! However, I did not directly ask him these questions because I felt that God’s judgment is a mystery and God’s wisdom is unfathomable to man. My viewpoints may not be right. I felt it would be better for me to listen to their viewpoints first. As a result, I replied, “This is something that I do not yet dare confirm. Please continue to speak.” Afterward, Brother Joseph and others showed me many passages from the Bible that talked about the judgment work that He would do once He returned. Two verses from this selection are as follows: “He that rejects me, and receives not my words, has one that judges him: the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day” (Jhn 12:48). “For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God” (1Pe 4:17). After I saw these predictions, I focused my attention on what these brothers and sisters had to say. I believed that what they had shared with me was the truth because I knew that the Bible had recorded the work of God. Afterward, Brother Joseph let us read two more passages of  God’s word: “The work of judgment is God’s own work, so it must naturally be done by God Himself; it cannot be done by man in His stead. Because judgment is the conquering of man through the truth, it is unquestionable that God still appears as the incarnate image to do this work among men. That is to say, in the last days, Christ shall use the truth to teach men around the earth and to make all truths known to them. This is God’s work of judgment.” “In the last days, Christ uses a variety of truths to teach man, reveal the essence of man, and dissect his words and deeds. These words comprise various truths, such as man’s duty, how man should obey God, how man should be loyal to God, how man ought to live out the normal humanity, as well as the wisdom and disposition of God, and so on. These words are all focused on the essence of man and his corrupt disposition. In particular, those words that reveal how man spurns God are spoken in regard to how man is an embodiment of Satan and an enemy force against God. When God does the work of judgment, He does not simply make clear the nature of man with just a few words, but carries out revelation, dealing, and pruning over the long term. Such manner of revelation, dealing, and pruning cannot be substituted with ordinary words but with the truth that man does not possess at all. Only such manner of work is deemed judgment; only through such judgment can man be persuaded, be thoroughly convinced into submission to God, and gain true knowledge of God. What the work of judgment…

The Bible prophesied that false Christs would appear in the last days. So when someone preaches the news of the Lord’s coming, how can we discern false Christs and welcome the Lord?

As Catholics, understanding the meaning of names of God in different ages is critical for us welcoming the return of the Lord.

She firmly believed that the Lord would return on a cloud. Not until after nine years did she finally understand what the Lord coming on a cloud is all about, and welcome the Lord’s return.

Having longed for the Lord’s return for 40 years, she was surprised when she heard the Lord had returned. Through seeking and investigating, she confirmed the true way and came before God.

Due to my blind belief in my priest’s words and because I was deceived by the rumors, I rejected God’s salvation many times for 11 years, but God never gave up trying to save me during this period.

Gamble is a means Satan employs to deceive and seduce people. If he didn’t get strength from God’s words, he couldn’t end his over 20 years of grumbling life.