Spiritual Warfare

We always experience repeated spiritual battles and encounter all kinds of Satan’s temptations on the path to the kingdom of heaven. Especially when facing constraints on our belief, how will we be able to stand witness through this spiritual warfare and have a path to follow in the face of these temptations?

By Haoran, Portugal “Haoran, have you really started to believe in Eastern Lightning?” asked my mother worriedly. “See? Mom is crying. Is it that your belief in Almighty God is more important than mom?” my brother’s tone was filled with reproach. “O God, no matter what difficulties and obstacles I may encounter, I wish to rely on You and follow You to the very end!” I prayed in a firm tone. Whenever I think back to scene after scene of the past, deep emotions well up within me. If not for God’s guidance, I wouldn’t have been able to follow God to this day. My Family Obstruct Me From Accepting the True Way One day in 2018, I was fortunate enough to hear the kingdom gospel of Almighty God. Through a period of seeking and investigating, I saw that the words expressed by Almighty God were so rich that they had revealed many truths, such as what it is to believe in God, the inside story of the Bible, the mystery of incarnation, the mystery of mankind’s future end and destination, and so on. The more I read God’s words, the more I felt they are exactly what the Spirit says to the churches, and I believed from the depths of my heart that Almighty God is the returned Lord Jesus and then began to attend gatherings. Not long after, however, my family found out that I had accepted Almighty God’s work of the last days, and a battle without weapons thus began … One night I was studying when my mother and brother suddenly broke into my room. “Have you made contact with Eastern Lightning?” asked my mother anxiously. Hearing this, I became very nervous and thus called to God to guide me by giving me wise responses to what my mother said. In earnest, I said, “The Lord Jesus has returned as Almighty God. You too should investigate it.” Holding my hand, my mother said anxiously, “Haoran, I’ve heard about Eastern Lightning from the pastor. It is a church that is being cracked down on by the CCP government in China. The pastor doesn’t allow us to have contact with them.” My brother also said to me with a look of concern, “Haoran, you should see what it says on the internet about Eastern Lightning …” As he said this, my brother held his cellphone in front of my face for me to see the online rumors that condemned Eastern Lightning. “Could it be that The Church of Almighty God is really like what it says on the internet?” I thought. “But through interacting with the brothers and sisters and reading Almighty God’s words during the meetings, I’ve really gained a lot, and The Church of Almighty God is nothing like what the online rumors describe….” But I didn’t know how to handle my mother and brother, so I immediately prayed to God: “O Almighty God, I’ve been certain through reading Your words that You are the returned Lord Jesus. I ask only that You help me and bestow on me the words I should say.” After the prayer, my heart calmed down a little. I then said to them, “All the rumors on the internet were fabricated by the CCP, an atheistic political party which doesn’t believe in God’s existence and is in enmity of God, so how can we believe their words? When it comes to studying the true way, we shouldn’t listen to those rumors, but should practically study the way to see whether it is expressed by God and whether it has the truth. This is because the Lord Jesus said: ‘I am the way, the truth, and the life’ (John 14:6). Only by practicing according to the Lord’s words can we receive Him. But now we just blindly believe the rumors fabricated by the atheistic CCP government and the pastor without investigating—is this in line with the Lord’s will? The Jewish chief priests, scribes and Pharisees back then stubbornly held on to their own notions, believing that a man who was not called Messiah could not possibly be God, thus arrogantly refusing to accept the truth spoken by the Lord Jesus. They wantonly condemned the Lord Jesus’ work, created many false rumors about Him, and in the end colluded with the Roman government to crucify Him, becoming eternal sinners against God. Let’s look at the pastors and elders nowadays. When faced with the Lord’s return, not only do they not seek, but on the contrary they collude with the CCP government to resist God’s work in the last days, spread the CCP’s rumors in the church to deceive the believers, and forbid the brothers and sisters to listen to the word of Almighty God and accept the true way, firmly controlling the believers in their own hands. Are they any different from the Pharisees who defied God in the time of Jesus? There is a passage of God’s words I’d like to share with you.” As I took out my laptop and was about to read, my mother immediately stopped me and said, looking worried: “Haoran, have you really started to believe in Eastern Lightning? …” Before I had the chance to answer, my brother snatched away my laptop and cellphone. I was stunned and didn’t know what to say. My mother kept trying to persuade me and then began to cry. “See? Mom is crying,” said my brother. “Is it that your belief in Almighty God is more important than mom?” At these words and the sight of my mother’s tears, I felt really bad, so I called out to God in my heart: “O God, my mother and brother are obstructing me from accepting the true way, which is really painful for me, but I know You are the returned Lord Jesus and I don’t want to betray You. Please give me faith so that I can stand witness.” I lowered my head and kept praying to God in my…

“See what you’re believing in?” said my husband, brandishing his cell phone to show me the online information.
“I believe in Almighty God, the one, true God, the One who holds sovereignty over all things, and the God who expresses the truth and guides us along the right path in life!”
……

Two thousand years ago, when the Lord Jesus worked, the Pharisees fabricated many rumors about Him to deceive and confuse Jewish believers and prevent them from seeking the true way. Now, in the last days, Satan fabricates even more rumors about the returned Lord Jesus.

By Xiaoling, Italy In February 2018, the brothers and sisters of The Church of Almighty God testified to me of God’s work of the last days, and also communicated to me about the inside story and background of God’s three-stage work, and the mystery behind God’s name. I gained more from their communion than I did in all the ten years I believed in the Lord. So I decided to investigate the work of Almighty God. But unexpectedly, a spiritual war erupted … After hearing that I was studying Almighty God’s work, the pastor and his wife started to question and disturb me. After learning that I was examining the work of Almighty God, my husband told that to the sisters in our Bible study class, and he also threatened me, saying, “If you keep on investigating, I’ll tell it to the pastor’s wife ( It’s an unwritten rule of our church. If brothers are weak, the pastor will go to see them; if sisters have problems, the pastor’s wife will go to resolve them).” I thought, “My seeking the true way is my business. It has nothing to do with anyone else. If you don’t want to seek, that’s fine, but at least don’t prevent me from seeking.” The day after was Sunday and I went to our church early as usual. As soon as I entered the side hall, one of my co-workers told me that the pastor was looking for me. After we met, with a stern expression on his face, the pastor questioned me, saying, “Who have you been interacting with? Where do they live?” At that time, the pastor’s wife and my co-workers also came, and the pastor’s wife then asked, “What did they talk with you?” They kept on asking me who preached the gospel of Almighty God to me as if they were interrogating a criminal, and they also said, “If you convert to Eastern Lightning, you’ll be expelled from the church.” Hearing all this, I felt oppressed: Why are the pastor and his wife trying to obstruct me from investigating Almighty God’s work of the last days? Sitting in the church hall, I prayed to God with tears in my eyes, “God! Now both the pastor and his wife are trying to stop me, so I’m very weak. God, may You help me stand firm in my position and lead me to act according to Your intentions. Amen!” After the prayer, my heart became somewhat peaceful. One Sunday evening shortly after 8 p.m., when my family and I were about to have dinner, the pastor’s wife and 4 or 5 co-workers came to my house. After they sat down, the pastor’s wife smiled and said, “Xiaoling, why haven’t you gone to our church recently? Are you still investigating Eastern Lightning? We’ve believed in the Lord Jesus for generations, so how could you believe in Almighty God? If you don’t believe in the name of the Lord Jesus, you’ll be shut outside the kingdom of heaven.” I said to her, “Actually, God’s name changes along with His work. In the Age of Law, God’s name was Jehovah; in the Age of Grace, God’s name was Jesus, and the Book of Revelation prophesied that in the last days God would have yet another new name. Just as the Bible says, ‘To him that overcomes will I give to eat of the hidden manna, and will give him a white stone, and in the stone a new name written, which no man knows saving he that receives it’ (Revelation 2:17). ‘LORD God Almighty, which was, and is, and is to come’ (Revelation 4:8). God’s new name prophesied in the Book of Revelation is the Almighty, namely, Almighty God. So, Almighty God is the returned Lord Jesus.” After hearing me say this, they looked at each other and then the pastor’s wife said in surprise, “Where did you hear that? Almighty God is the returned Lord Jesus? How could it be possible?” I replied, “This is recorded in the Scriptures, and also is the mystery opened up by the Lord’s work of the last days. Recently, through reading Almighty God’s words, I’ve gained some understanding of God’s work and will. My heart really is brightened. Almighty God’s work and words fulfill the prophecies in Revelation, ‘He that has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches’ (Revelation 2-3). If we want to welcome the Lord’s return, we should read Almighty God’s word more and listen to the voice of the Holy Spirit.” However, they simply did not listen to anything I said. The pastor’s wife said, “Galatians 1:6–8 say, ‘I marvel that you are so soon removed from Him that called you into the grace of Christ to another gospel: Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ. But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you than that which we have preached to you, let him be accursed.’ All those who depart from the Lord Jesus and accept any other gospel commit apostasy and will be cursed.” And they also said all sorts of things opposing and condemning Almighty God. After they left, I felt physically and mentally exhausted and my heart was weak. So I hurried to pray to God, “O Almighty God! Because of their harassment, my heart feels very disturbed right now. They said that I believe in another gospel. I don’t understand this aspect of the truth. I beg You to help me and lead me so that I won’t stray from Your way.” I understood the true meaning of “another gospel” and saw through Satan’s tricks. The following day, I asked Sister Lin of The Church of Almighty God the question about “another gospel.” She fellowshiped this with me, “The words in Galatians 1:6-8 are Paul’s words, and there is a background to these words. We all know that the…

By Fang Ci’en, Taiwan She used to really idolize her pastor, because her pastor was good at expounding the Bible and he had much theological knowledge. After she accepted God’s work of the last days and experienced two attempts by the pastor to disrupt her, however, she finally saw the pastor’s true colors, and she came to understand that, just because someone is good at expounding on the Bible, it doesn’t mean they know God. Not long after I started believing in the Lord, I was made a co-worker in my church. Seeing my pastor expound on the Bible so well and have such theological knowledge, I idolized him a lot, and I hoped to one day be as well-versed in the Bible as him. After several years, however, the pastor was just preaching the same old things, co-workers were scheming against each other, brothers and sisters were splitting into different offshoot groups and the church was in a total state of chaos. My spirit was also not being provided for, and so I left the church. I floundered around for a while and found two churches which were basically exactly the same, and I became very disheartened; all I could do was beseech the Lord Jesus to return as soon as possible. In September 2018, I met Sister Zhang online and she showed me some movies and videos produced by The Church of Almighty God. Through our meetings and by fellowshiping the words of Almighty God, I recognized that Almighty God was the Lord Jesus returned, and I very quickly accepted God’s work of the last days. When Preacher Liu found out that I had begun to believe in Almighty God, he sent me a message warning me to leave my church immediately and telling me that I was not permitted to have any contact with brothers and sisters from my church again, and he stated that I was expelled from the church. In the wake of that message, my pastor began to harass me … My Pastor Purposefully Comes to Talk With Me Because I Have Accepted the True Way One day, Sister Zhao called me out of the blue and said, “The pastor wants a word with you.” I was very surprised by this, and I thought to myself: “You lot expelled me from your church and were so unfeeling toward me. What do you want to talk to me now for? Do you want to stop me from believing in Almighty God?” Just then, I thought of two movies I’d watched before, “Deadly Ignorance” and “Break Through the Snare.” These movies talked about pastors and elders disrupting the faithful from accepting the work of Almighty God. At that time, I had still had my doubts, and I’d believed that, because the pastor was well-versed in the Bible and had a lot of theological knowledge, he surely wouldn’t do anything that would defy God, much less obstruct anyone from accepting the true way. Now, however, because I had accepted the work of the returned Lord, I had not only been expelled from the church, but the pastor also wanted to have a word with me, and I couldn’t help but begin to feel a little worried. I thought to myself: “My stature is so small, and I understand too few truths. If I’m without discernment and I end up deceived, then I’ll be in great danger.” I immediately refused to speak with the pastor, but Sister Zhao kept on trying to get me to meet with him. If I didn’t go, I would lose face, and if I did go, I’d be worried that I wouldn’t be able to cope with his questions—what was I to do? In my helpless state, all I could do was pray to God. After praying, I thought of when, in the movie “Break Through the Snare,” the brothers and sisters were faced with the deception and harassment of the Chinese government and the religious world. Not only did they not cower down but, on the contrary, they relied on God to face their situation and, under the guidance of God’s words, they stood firm in their testimony. Now, all I had to deal with was that the pastor wanted to talk with me, so I should be much more able to rely on God to face this situation and I should believe that God would guide me. Just then, I found my confidence and I decided to go meet the pastor so that I could make my position clear. The First Conversation: The Pastor Tries to Use the Views of the CCP and the Religious World to Make Me Give Up the True Way The next day, I went to a church meeting. As soon as I walked in, I saw the pastor sitting straight-backed on a chair looking very imposing. I couldn’t help feeling nervous as I tried to guess what he might say. The pastor then cordially poured me a glass of water and, smiling, he said in a soft voice, “Sister Fang, how have you been lately? How are you coping with being expelled from the church?” I thought to myself: “He’s being so considerate toward me—what’s he up to?” Because I couldn’t figure out his intent, I didn’t want to answer him. Seeing that I stayed silent, he went on. “Actually, Preacher Liu expelled you from the church so that you would come back to us, and it was done with your best interests in mind. You were a co-worker in our church, chosen by the deaconry. You are highly respected, and the church has been intentionally training you. But you’ve disappointed us so much, now that you’ve gone off to believe in Almighty God.” I listened to him but didn’t respond. Just then, Sister Zhao, who was standing to one side, said to me with a sad look on her face, “See how good the pastor is being to you. He’s so concerned about you…

By Yingying, Malaysia A pilgrim’s path is perilous. A Christian’s road of following God on the right path is full of difficulties and obstacles—all sorts of Satan’s tests emerge one after another. Aside from having faith in God, Christians must also learn discernment. This is the only way to see through Satan’s trickery and stand witness when Satan’s test befalls you. Now, I’d like to share my own personal story with everyone. Wonderful News—The Lord Has Returned! In early September 2017, one of my Facebook friends bore witness to me of Almighty God’s work of the last days. She fellowshiped on God’s three stages of work, the significance of His names, His management plan for saving mankind, and the mysteries of the Bible. This helped me understand that in the work performed by God in the Age of Law, the Age of Grace, and the Age of Kingdom, although the names and the works of Jehovah, the Lord Jesus, and Almighty God have all been different, they are all from the same source. It is all one God working, speaking, and saving us. Almighty God appearing and working in the last days fulfills what the Lord Jesus prophesied: “For as the lightning comes out of the east, and shines even to the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be” (Matthew 24:27). “And if any man hear My words, and believe not, I judge him not: for I came not to judge the world, but to save the world. 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” (John 12:47–48). I realized that Almighty God is the return of the Lord Jesus. After that, I attended gatherings with brothers and sisters from The Church of Almighty God, and through gatherings and fellowship I came to understand more and more truths. Each day was happier than the last; I felt fulfilled within my soul. Some time later, a brother from my previous church learned that I had been in contact with members of The Church of Almighty God and angrily questioned me, “Why are you in contact with them?” He also told me I should turn my back on them. I replied: “They’re all believers; we’re all one family. Why would I turn my back on them? Besides, they’ve shared many truths with me in fellowship so that I have a better understanding of God!” At the time, I was thinking to myself: “Through gatherings and fellowship on God’s words with these brothers and sisters with The Church of Almighty God, I’ve understood a number of truths that I had never gotten before  when reading the Bible. I’ve understood that the truth Almighty God expresses to judge and cleanse us is so that we may attain salvation and enter into God’s kingdom. You haven’t bothered to look into it, but are just arbitrarily condemning and rejecting it. That’s really arrogant.” So, I didn’t listen to him and continued to contact those brothers and sisters online. The Pastor Spreads Lies and I See the Truth Behind Them One day when I went to the church to worship, Pastor Li was on the podium saying all sorts of things opposing, condemning, and blaspheming Almighty God. He even played a video by the Chinese Communist Party condemning The Church of Almighty God that said that those spreading the gospel of Almighty God don’t care about their families. Hearing them say that I was somewhat concerned, thinking: “They don’t care about their families? What can they do if they can’t go home because they’re spreading the gospel?” I turned this question over and over in my head, and I felt really downcast. After going home I sought out a sister to talk over my worries and concerns. This is what she said to me in fellowship: “Sister, if it weren’t for the persecution of the CCP, how is it possible that our brothers and sisters would have homes they couldn’t go back to? The CCP is an atheistic government that doesn’t allow its people to believe in or follow God. It particularly doesn’t allow people to spread the gospel or bear witness to God. They do everything to arrest and persecute people of faith. So many brothers and sisters have been arrested and persecuted by the CCP—some have been sentenced to prison time and have suffered brutal torture; some have even been harmed to the point of death. There have also been many who have been terrorized to the point that they cannot return to their homes. These are all facts that are plain to see. But the CCP fabricates rumors and slander, saying that these Christians don’t care about their families. Isn’t this distorting the facts, upending right and wrong?” “The Lord Jesus said, ‘Go you into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature’ (Mark 16:15). God’s commission for us is to spread the gospel and bear witness to God. It is also the bounden duty of all Christians. For generations, there have been so many saints and missionaries who have given up their own families to spread the gospel of the Lord Jesus, crossing oceans to bring the gospel to every corner of the world. It’s only because of this that we have received the grace of the Lord’s salvation. Could we really claim that spreading the gospel is wrong? God Himself has now become flesh and come to earth, doing the work of judging and cleansing mankind to thoroughly save us from Satan’s influence. Our brothers and sisters have understood God’s urgent will to save humanity and they are completely willing to give up everything to share the gospel of God’s salvation for mankind with more people who long for God to appear. This is an upright thing. But the CCP’s atheistic government is on the wrong side of history; it will not allow…

By Anna, Italy In the course of following God, we will inevitably encounter various kinds of disruptions and temptations of Satan. If we fail to see through Satan’s plots and overcome its temptations, we will be captured by it and lose the chance of gaining God’s salvation and entering the kingdom of heaven. So it is of great importance for each of us Christians to stand witness for God through persecutions and tribulations of Satan. Before, I also encountered Satan’s temptations, and it was God who led me to stand testimony under siege by Satan. In December of 2016, I accepted Almighty God’s work of the last days and later preached the gospel to my daughter-in-law. We often read God’s words and watched videos from The Church of Almighty God together. However, just when I was enjoying God’s love, Satan’s disruptions came upon me quietly. The May 28 Murder Case brought about a storm at home. One night, I was reading God’s words sitting on the sofa in the living room, when my son came back home from work. Upon seeing me, he said, stony-faced, “You are reading God’s words again? Can’t you read them less?” Hearing this, I felt very perplexed: “I have believed in God for a long time, and he never opposed me. But why did he say such words today?” The next evening, my daughter-in-law said to me, “Mom, a few days ago, your son showed me lots of negative information made up online by the Chinese Communist Party to frame The Church of Almighty God. Mom, is the God we believe in really the one true God?” Hearing her say this, I felt upset, thinking, “Never did I expect that my son would oppose my belief in God.” At this thought, I immediately came before God, praying, “O Almighty God! Now I feel very upset inside. May You quiet my heart. I know the negative information online is false. I’m sure that You are the true God, but I feel this environment around me is insurmountable. May You give me cleverness and wisdom, and guide me to experience this environment.” After praying, I remembered God’s words, “In every step of work that God does within people, externally it appears to be interactions between people, as if born of human arrangements, or from human interference. But behind the scenes, every step of work, and everything that happens, is a wager made by Satan before God, and requires people to stand firm in their testimony to God.” From God’s words, I understood this: The environment that I’m in appears on the outside to be my son obstructing me from believing in God, but, behind the scenes, it is Satan disrupting me to make me give up the true way. I can’t fall for its tricks. I should persist in believing in God and stand firm in my testimony to God. After understanding God’s will, I had the power to face the environment calmly. Later I walked to my son with my daughter-in-law. Upon seeing me, my son quickly took out his cellphone and showed me the news about May 28 Zhaoyuan Murder Case, saying with anxiety, “This is reported by the news media, so how could it not be true?” Seeing that the CCP brought false charges against The Church of Almighty God, I was filled with righteous indignation, saying, “These are all rumors and absolutely go against fact! It is reported by the news media—but so what? The ‘Tiananmen Square self-immolation’ incident was also reported by the news media, but wasn’t it also fabricated by the CCP? When the court heard the May 28 Zhaoyuan Case, Zhang Fan said, ‘I never had contact with The Church of Almighty God because they are very secretive.’ Lyu Yingchun said, ‘What the state cracks down on is the Almighty God that Zhao Weishan believes in, not the Almighty God that we believe in.’ They themselves said they were not members of The Church of Almighty God, but the CCP insisted that they were. This is not in line with the fact at all. Anyone with a discerning eye can easily see that this is the CCP trying to frame The Church of Almighty God. Its purpose is to persecute against religious beliefs. Besides, the kingdom’s administrative decrees promulgated by Almighty God clearly stipulate, ‘Kin who are not of the faith (your children, your husband or wife, your sisters or your parents, and so on) should not be forced into the church. God’s household is not short of members, and there is no need to make up its numbers with people who have no use. All those who do not believe gladly must not be led into the church. This decree is directed at all people. In this matter you should check, monitor and remind each other, and no one may violate it. Even when kin who are not of the faith do reluctantly enter the church, they must not be issued books or given a new name; such people are not of God’s household, and their entry into the church must be put a stop to by any means necessary.’ God’s words have clearly told us to preach the gospel based on the principle: ‘All those who do not believe gladly must not be led into the church.’ God’s disposition does not tolerate man’s offense, so all believers in God preach the gospel with a heart that fears God. However, it was reported that when Zhang Lidong and his gang preached gospel to Ms. Wu, they asked her for her phone number, and even killed her just because of her refusal. The way they preached the gospel was not at all in accordance with God’s words or the principle of The Church of Almighty God in transmitting the gospel. So obviously, Zhang Lidong and his gang are not members of The Church of Almighty God. As we all know, the CCP resists God and has been using textbooks…

Since the pastor—my son’s mother-in-law—found out that I’d accepted the gospel of the Lord’s return, she tried to disrupt me several times, and even instigated my family to try and stop me. After repeated battles, I saw through the essence of the false pastor.

She is a Christian who has just accepted the work of God in the last days. Because her husband listens to the rumors condemning God’s work in the last days spread by the CCP and the religious world, he continually tries to prevent her from believing in God……

Her true experience tells us that Satan uses rumors to deceive people, only if we see through its rumors can we avoid missing the chance to be saved by God.

Not long after she accepted the work of Almighty God in the last days, her husband persecuted her. It was God’s words that guided her to bear witness and follow God in the spiritual war.

In spiritual warfare, she has seen through the true colors of the modern Pharisees and overcome the elder’s tricks by relying on God.

According to the text, She would teach students to deny God’s creation in the open class, But she relied on God to testify God’s deeds instead.

Spreading the gospel is God’s commission. Although she suffered lots of setbacks in gospel-spreading, her faith became ever greater. Let’s see her experience of spreading the gospel.

Yang Xue I was an ordinary believer of a house church. Around 2000, our church began to become desolate, and we felt no enjoyment in the meetings. But our leaders restricted us from going out to listen to other messages and receiving strangers. And they often said to us, “The Lord Jesus is our only Savior, and only the way of the Lord Jesus is the true way. Any way that does not preach the Lord Jesus is false. Now the Eastern Lightning followers are preaching that the Lord Jesus has come back, who is called Almighty God. This is an impossible thing. You should have discernment so that you will not be deceived and betray the Lord Jesus. Whoever is found to have listened to their preaching and been deceived will be expelled from the church at once. …” These words made us live in fear every day. No one dared to contact any strangers or go out to listen to other messages. In September 2003, Sister Zhao of our church, who pursued actively, invited me to investigate the words of Almighty God along with her, because she felt there was light in Almighty God’s words after hearing them. At first I was afraid of being deceived, but then I thought: There is no light in the preaching of our leaders, and I have felt no presence of the Lord for a long time when praying. Is it that I have been forsaken by God and haven’t kept up with God’s work as Sister Zhao said? If it continues, I’m afraid I will miss the Lord’s return. Sister Zhao is a person who pursues the Lord. Since she dares to investigate, I should also actively seek the footprints of the Lord, and can’t passively wait anymore. So I let my guard down and went with Sister Zhao to the Church of Almighty God to listen to the preaching. When Sister Chen fellowshiped about the words expressed by Almighty God, I felt her fellowship was novel and practical, and that Almighty God’s words were indeed the truth. Sister Chen told us, “God’s work of saving mankind is divided into three stages. The Lord Jesus’ work of redeeming man is the second stage. In the last days Almighty God expresses His word to judge and purify people—this is the third stage of God’s work, newer and higher work upon the foundation of the Lord Jesus’s work of redemption. The stage of work done by the Lord Jesus was the redemption of mankind from the cross. As long as people accepted the name Jesus and confessed and repented before Him, they would be forgiven of their sins. However, man’s sinful nature is still deep-rooted within and is not eradicated, so they often sin in the day only to confess in the evening, bound by sins, and they are not qualified to enter into God’s kingdom. Man has to accept the work of judgment and chastisement that God does in the last days in order to be saved and enter into the kingdom of heaven. Only by doing so can man get rid of the sinful nature and corrupt disposition, be purified and transformed, and be saved by God and enter into the kingdom of heaven.” After hearing her testimony, Sister Zhao and I both felt that Almighty God was the returned Lord Jesus. Afterward, we took Sister Chen to preach the good news of the Lord’s return to Sister Zhu of our church. She also wanted to investigate after hearing it. But due to the deception and disturbance of our leaders, when Sister Chen went to testify to her again, Sister Zhu said our leaders didn’t allow her to accept the kingdom gospel and rejected Sister Chen, and also didn’t allow us to go to her home again. We had a premonition that our church leaders would come to disturb us too. One day after lunch, Sister Zhao, Sister Chen, and I were reading God’s words at my home, when suddenly we heard sharp knocks on the door, and then someone called my name. I went to the door to listen carefully. The outside was noisy. The church leaders and co-workers had come. My heart rose into my throat. I thought that they must have come to disturb me and stop me believing in Almighty God. Being of small stature and afraid of their disturbance, I didn’t dare to open the door. At the time, Sister Chen calmed us, saying that it was Satan’s disturbance and that we should not be afraid, and she asked us to pray to Almighty God for protecting us from being deceived by our leaders. After a while, seeing that we didn’t open the door, they shouted from behind our house, “Sister Yang, Sister Zhao, you have received so much grace from the Lord; how can you betray the Lord and follow them? That’s not the true way. Turn back quickly, or else you will be abandoned by the Lord!” At least four or five people were shouting, and the voice was more and more urgent. I began to be a little frightened. I thought, “The leaders and co-workers all came to persuade us, placing so much importance on the matter; could it be that the way is actually wrong? It seems that I shouldn’t accept the way.” I couldn’t help guarding against Sister Chen. “But the word of Almighty God sounds like the voice of the Lord Jesus. It states God’s work so clearly, and conforms with the Bible. In addition, after listening to the sister’s fellowship about Almighty God’s words, I felt the peace and joy in the heart and had strength in believing in God. This should be the confirmation of the work of the Holy Spirit, and the way should be the true way. If I don’t accept it and can’t be saved in the future, what will happen to me?” My mind was in turmoil. When I noticed that Sister Chen…

By Chentu, France After knowing I had believed in Almighty God, the priest and people from my original church often came to my home to disturb and obstruct me and every time they left very late. My husband was very unhappy because they would often disturb his rest, so every time they left, he would give me a dirty look. My life was disturbed by this so that I had no peace and I felt great pain inside. Once, the priest and Brother Chen from my previous church came to my house to talk to me again. I didn’t know what way they would use to disturb and obstruct me, so I was very afraid, thinking: “I’ve only accepted Almighty God’s work for a short time and I understand few truths; if I can’t bear witness to God then, I will not have a testimony in the eyes of God.” So I prayed to God within, “O God, today’s situation is set up by You and is allowed by You. I only ask You to give me confidence and strength, bestow wisdom upon me and protect me to stand witness and resist their disturbances.” When they arrived, they presented many evil teachings and fallacies to deceive me, but thanks to God’s guidance and protection, I contradicted all of them with God’s words. I saw that fallacies couldn’t stand firm before the truth. Later in our discussion, a brother said angrily, “The Almighty God you believe in is just an ordinary man. Don’t believe in Him anymore.” Hearing his words, I felt very disgusted and angry inside, thinking: “You do not seek or investigate the work of Almighty God in the last days but sin through your words. You do not have a heart of reverence for God at all.” So I said excitedly to him, “Brother, you haven’t come in contact with The Church of Almighty God nor have you sought and studied the words expressed by Almighty God, but just make blind judgments. This doesn’t conform with the Lord’s teachings! You say that Almighty God is an ordinary man; then when the Lord Jesus came to work 2000 years ago, didn’t He work in the form of a man among men? If we lived in that time, wouldn’t we also deny the incarnate Christ just like the Pharisees? Almighty God’s words clearly explain the truth of the incarnation. His word says, ‘For God to be incarnated, He must first be flesh, flesh with normal humanity; this is the most basic prerequisite. In fact, the implication of God’s incarnation is that God lives and works in the flesh, God in His very essence becomes flesh, becomes a man.’ ‘The incarnate God is called Christ, and Christ is the flesh donned by the Spirit of God. This flesh is unlike any man that is of the flesh. This difference is because Christ is not of flesh and blood but is the incarnation of the Spirit. He has both a normal humanity and a complete divinity. His divinity is not possessed by any man. His normal humanity sustains all His normal activities in the flesh, while His divinity carries out the work of God Himself.’ In outward appearance, the incarnate God looks like an ordinary, normal man, but He can express God’s disposition, all that God has and is. According to our needs, He can express truth to supply our life and save us at any time and place. Just like the Lord Jesus Christ, from the outside, He looks like an ordinary, normal person but He can perform signs and miracles, such as calming the wind and sea, feeding five thousand with five loaves of bread and two fish, raising the dead and so on; He can also express the truth, provide man with the way of repentance and do the work of redeeming all mankind through crucifixion. The Lord Jesus’ words and work are a manifestation of God’s life disposition and all that God has and is. Now, like the Lord Jesus, Christ of the last days—Almighty God is also the practical God incarnate. He can express all the truth which we need to supply us at any time and place; He has also expressed millions of words and performed His work of judging, cleansing and saving mankind in the last days. This work cannot be done by any created being and cannot be done by any man in His stead. So, if we only see Christ’s normal humanity, we will be apt to treat Him as an ordinary person.” After I finished fellowshiping with them, they not only couldn’t accept but said more words which twisted the facts. Brother Chen took out a little booklet that was known for resistance to Eastern Lightning, asked me to read it and told me, “You need to believe what this little booklet says; it is all true.” When he finished saying this, they turned and walked away. Seeing they didn’t accept the truth but hated it, I thought some words in the Bible, “For many deceivers are entered into the world, who confess not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist” (2 John 1:7). “Hereby know you the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God” (1 John 4:2). Through this environment, I clearly saw that they were not people who truly believed in God or loved the truth at all. The root of their resistance to God was decided by their nature and substance of resisting and hating the truth and God. I threw the little booklet away and didn’t even look at it. A few days later, the priest and people from my previous church came again to disturb me. Seeing I couldn’t be bound by biblical knowledge, they switched to being soft, wanting to take advantage of emotions to destroy me. This time, a sister and the priest’s wife came…

By Chentu, France My family is all Christians. After I grew up, because of my work I came to France. Afterward, I met my husband. His family is all Catholics. At that time, because our belief was different, I didn’t go to the Catholic church to attend meetings. After we got married, my husband began to lose himself online, and all the difficult burdens of household life were placed upon my shoulders. In the midst of my pain, my mother-in-law asked me to go to the Catholic church to attend meetings. I thought to myself: Catholics also believe in the Lord Jesus, so it doesn’t matter which church I go to. From then on, I started attending meetings of the Catholic church and every Sunday I would go to the church for Mass. But after a period of time, I found that the priest had nothing to preach and only emphasized on leading believers to engage in rituals when having meetings. We had not ceased to attend meetings all the year round but we didn’t have any rewards. The believers didn’t talk about belief at all and their words, actions and clothes did not have the likeness of a Christian at all; sometimes, the priest would also engage in recreational activities and parties in the church. … Seeing these actions, I felt very confused within: Is this the church of the Lord? Why can’t I feel the Lord’s presence? In confusion, I prayed to the Lord, “Lord Jesus, I don’t know whether I should go to this church to attend meetings or not. I don’t feel Your presence. O Lord, may You guide me.” One day, a sister gave me a call and invited me to listen to sermons. After we met, the brothers and sisters from The Church of Almighty God witnessed God’s work of the last days to us. Through fellowshiping Almighty God’s words, I understood: The desolation in the churches is mainly because the work of the Holy Spirit has been transferred, and God has already performed a new stage of work. That is, the work of judging and purifying man in the last days. Just like when the Lord Jesus came to work, the temple where people had worshiped Jehovah God once became a den of thieves for money changers and sellers of cows, sheep and doves. This was because the Lord Jesus concluded the Age of Law and began the Age of Grace and the work of the Holy Spirit had transferred to uphold the work of the Lord Jesus. All those who could keep up with the work of the Lord Jesus could receive the Holy Spirit’s work. Similarly, the Holy Spirit has left the churches during the Age of Grace and starts to uphold the work done by Christ of the last days. Those who accept God’s new work will be accompanied by the work of the Holy Spirit; those who don’t accept will have no work of the Holy Spirit and then their churches will become the same as the temple at the end of the Age of Law. Later, they also fellowshiped with us about the substance and inside truth of each stage of God’s three stages of work, as well as the effect achieved through them; their fellowship was based on the Bible. After hearing them, I was totally convinced and then joyfully accepted Almighty God’s work in the last days. As I constantly attended meetings and read Almighty God’s words, I saw that His words had authority and power and that this was the voice of God, so I believed firmly that Almighty God was the returned Lord Jesus. I was very excited because I had never thought that I would welcome the Lord’s appearance in my lifetime. I wanted to tell my relatives and friends close to me this excellent piece of information. Therefore, I first told my husband, but I didn’t expect that he not only wouldn’t believe but also would tell my parents who were in China that I had accepted Almighty God’s work in the last days. Not long after, my little brother and my dad called me to obstruct me from believing in Almighty God. One day, my brother had a video call with me and asked, “Have you believed in Eastern Lightning? People in the religious world have believed in the Lord for a long time and they understand the Bible better than you do; if Eastern Lightning is the true way, then why do none of them accept it?” What my brother said reminded me of a passage of God’s word, “What is the most basic principle in seeking the true way? You have to look at whether or not there is the work of the Holy Spirit in this way, whether or not these words are the expression of the truth, who is testified to, and what it can bring you. Distinguishing between the true way and the false way requires several aspects of basic knowledge, the most fundamental of which is to tell whether or not there is the work of the Holy Spirit.” Distinguishing between the true way and the false way shouldn’t be based on the number of believers; instead, it should be based on whether there is the Holy Spirit’s work, whether there is the expression of truth and whether it can bring us benefit and make us know God better and better. I thought: Although I haven’t accepted the work of Almighty God in the last days for very long , I have understood many truths in the words of Almighty God, such as the causes of desolation in religion, the three stages of work in God’s 6000-year management plan, the mysteries of God’s incarnation, how to tell the difference between the true Christ and false Christs, the difference between following man and following God, and so on. These truths could not have been uttered by any great or famous man. I was sure in…

Xiaohan Sister Shi nodded and said with a smile: “It is necessary to fellowship about this question. Only when we are able to recognize God’s voice can we be certain about God that we believe in. We will not be deceived by various heresies and fallacies from Satan any more. Then how should we recognize the voice of God? Let’s look at what God says about it. Almighty God says: ‘The words of God incarnate initiate a new age, guide the whole of mankind, reveal mysteries, and show man the direction ahead in a new age. The enlightenment obtained by man is but simple practice or knowledge. It cannot guide the whole of mankind into a new age or reveal the mystery of God Himself. God, after all, is God, and man is man. God has the substance of God, and man has the substance of man. If man views the words spoken by God as simple enlightenment of the Holy Spirit, and takes the words of the apostles and prophets as words personally spoken by God, then man is wrong.’ ‘He is well aware of the essence of man, He can reveal all kinds of practices pertaining to all kinds of people. He is even better at revealing human corrupt disposition and rebellious behavior. … because He fully understands human nature’ (“God’s Work and Man’s Work”). From God’s words, we can see it clearly: The words of God incarnate can initiate a new age, show us the direction ahead in a new age, reveal the mysteries unknown to us, reveal our corrupt nature, and moreover, bestow eternal life upon us. All of these are unattainable by us humans. So the words spoken by us can’t start a new age or reveal mysteries and our corruption. We humans’ words, no matter how profound, are only a little experience and knowledge of us. The experience and knowledge are also in the scope of God’s work, which are obtained from God’s work and aren’t what we have and are. These are several features that we must master to determine the utterances of God incarnate. For example, when the Lord Jesus officially did His work, He began to preach the way of repentance. Although John also preached then: ‘Repent you: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.’ He didn’t conclude the Age of Law or bring the Age of Grace because he only did the work of paving the way for the Lord Jesus in advance. As the Lord Jesus preached: ‘Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.’ He concluded the work of the Age of Law and started the work of the Age of Grace accordingly. Later, the Lord Jesus worked, spoke and taught people of that time to confess and repent, to love enemies, to love your neighbor as yourself, to be humble and patient, and asked them to cover head, to be baptized, to break bread and to drink wine. People of that age followed the Lord Jesus to enter into a new age unwittingly and started new practices. As a creature, nobody could make it. Only God incarnate can bring us the new practice. Almighty God says: ‘There could only be a new age when Jesus came to do new work, launched a new age, and broke through the work that had previously been done in Israel, and did not conduct His work according to the work done by Jehovah in Israel, did not abide by His old rules, and did not follow any regulations, and did the new work that He should do. God Himself comes to begin an age, and God Himself comes to bring the age to an end. Man is incapable of doing the work of beginning an age and concluding the age. If Jesus did not bring the work of Jehovah to an end, then that proves that He was merely a man, and did not represent God. Precisely because Jesus came and concluded the work of Jehovah, followed on from the work of Jehovah by beginning His own work, new work, it proves that this was a new age, and that Jesus was God Himself’ (“The Vision of God’s Work (3)”). The expression of God’s words can change the entire old age, and the whole of mankind will progress forward accordingly. It is the authority and power of God’s words. Today, in the last days, because we have been corrupted more and more deeply by Satan, mere confession and repentance are not able to solve our corrupt nature. That is to say, the root of sin within man is still ingrained. So God incarnate comes to earth for the second time to express several millions of words, and He begins the Age of Kingdom and ends the Age of Grace. God won’t only let us confess and repent or walk the path of the cross, but shows us a more practical way to change our disposition. Then the whole of mankind will keep pace with God’s work with one step forward. Just as Almighty God’s word says: ‘In the Age of Kingdom, God uses the word to usher in a new age, to change the means of His work, and to do the work for the entire age. This is the principle by which God works in the Age of Word’ (‘The Age of Kingdom Is the Age of Word’). ‘Christ of the last days brings life, and brings the enduring and everlasting way of truth. This truth is the path through which man shall gain life, and the only path by which man shall know God and be approved by God’ (‘Only Christ of the Last Days Can Give Man the Way of Eternal Life’). The words expressed by God are the truth, the way and the life, and are the practical needs of us. As long as we accept these truths, we will have a path to walk. Almighty God has expressed all aspects of the truth…

By Xiaohan I was once an ordinary employee in a private enterprise. Though I wasn’t worried about food and clothes, the fast-paced life, shuttling back and forth between home and company every day, made me feel extremely empty and tedious. Besides, the present society is too dark. I was dismissed just because I couldn’t fawn over our leaders and was too guileless while working. In the face of these unfair treatment, I felt frustrated and lost the courage to live on. However, when I fell to the lowest point in my life, fortunately, I welcomed the dawn, which illuminated the direction of my life. By chance, a friend preached Almighty God’s work of the last days to me, making me, the one who had never known God before, feel especially surprised. Under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, I began reading God’s words, living the church life, singing and dancing to praise God together with brothers and sisters. I saw each of them was so simple and plain, and they were equal without the distinction of high and low when getting along with each other. Feeling so relaxed and released, and being at peace and enjoyable in my heart, I was deeply affected by such a new world. However, because I had believed in God for only a short time, and didn’t have the ability to discern Satan’s trickery, when facing people, matters, things and environment God orchestrated, I showed a pathetic look without truth … One night, after performing my duty, I arrived home happily. Seeing that I came back, my mother-in-law passed me her phone and said coldly: “Read it!” Watching her expression, I murmured within: What is it that makes her so serious? Then, I took her phone curiously. When I scrolled down the screen, suddenly, I saw a negative public report against The Church of Almighty God. I knew China, an atheistic country, only advocated atheism and had been cracking down us believers in God severely all the time. I had listened to the fellowships of brothers and sisters: The CCP government has spread numerous words to attack and blaspheme Almighty God on the Internet. The negative propaganda is not in accordance with the truth, nor is it on the basis of the facts. Then I thought: If I don’t read them, how can I know what they talk about? We always say the CCP government has fabricated a lot of rumors about The Church of Almighty God, but what on earth do the rumors say? I’d better read them and then I can gain some discernment! So, driven by curiosity, I tapped that link. I sat on the sofa, and read that report word for word, in which there were many fallacies and heresies. At first, I could discern what they said was false the moment I read several of them. But when I read one line of the last page, all of a sudden, I was confused and my mood plummeted to an all-time low, I collapsed on the sofa without moving for a long time. It read clearly on the webpage: “The people in The Church of Almighty God worships a man as God, all believers obey His words and treat Him as God and believe in Him.” I was confused by these words. I asked myself over and over again: Was my belief really wrong? Do I believe in a man, not God? How could it be possible? … But I couldn’t make it clear whether I believed in a man or in God. So I stood up, gave the phone to my mother-in-law without saying a word and went back to my bedroom. On that night, I couldn’t fall asleep for a long time, and my mind was filled with the words about believing in a man. No matter how I forsook my flesh and forced myself not to think about it, it was useless. How should I determine that Almighty God I believe in is the incarnate God Himself? The more I thought about it, the more irritated I became. Is my faith wrong? And I thought: How could it be possible? When attending meetings with the brothers and sisters of The Church of Almighty God, I see they live out godly. For the sake of satisfying God, they can suffer bitterness and pay costs, and they perform their duties with the utmost confidence. If it weren’t the work of the true God, how could they run about willingly? How could they have such great love for man? I could not figure it out anyway and was in a great quandary. I felt as if time went especially slowly, and I only longed for daybreak, so that I could find the brothers and sisters who understood the truth and let them have a fellowship with me. The next day, I went for sister Shi at the break of dawn. Another two sisters were just there. Sister Shi saw my face looked extremely bad and concernedly asked my condition. Then I told her my experience of last night and said: “My previous visions all disappeared just because of seeing those words, and I don’t know how to distinguish them. We often fellowship: In the Age of Kingdom, God carries out His work by becoming flesh. Since He is a normal man, how can we ascertain that Almighty God is the true incarnate God?” Then she answered me with a smile: “No wonder you look so bad, you are poisoned by the negative propaganda on the internet. So how can we determine that Almighty God we believe in is the incarnate God Himself? Let’s look at the work of the Lord Jesus first. When the Lord Jesus became flesh and came to do the work of redemption, none of us could tell that He was God Himself from His external appearance. We only saw that He was the son of a poor carpenter and was from Nazareth. Then why could nobody…

Believing in Rumors and Lies and Rejecting God’s Salvation Several Times In the past, I saw the propaganda from TV news and public bulletin boards: The CCP government opposes and cracks down people believing in Almighty God. It also says that anyone who discovers these people should report them and that the informer will be rewarded with 500 to 2000 yuan for reporting each of them. So I thought: It’s too dangerous to believe in Almighty God. I dare not believe. Once I’m arrested for belief, what a shame it will be! In 2012, my aunt came to preach Almighty God’s work of the last days to me. At that time, she read God’s words for me. Hearing them, I felt God’s words indeed made sense and couldn’t be found fault with. However, when I recognized that what my aunt had believed in was Almighty God, I thought: No matter how well you say, I can’t believe. What if I’m arrested by the CCP after believing in Almighty God? But for the sake of saving face, I felt embarrassed to speak plainly. So I dodged her with the excuse of going out to work. Seeing my perfunctory attitude, she had to leave in disappointment. In September, 2016, I was pregnant and stayed at home. A neighboring sister also came to preach Almighty God’s work of the last days to me. I listened to her read God’s words for me. The more I listened, the better I felt God’s words spoke. God has revealed many truths and mysteries such as how He nourishes and provides for mankind, how mankind has developed until today, and so on. I thought: These words can make people worship God with a heart of gratitude; there is nothing wrong with that. But then I thought: If I accept the way, I will be arrested by the government. Once I’m really arrested, won’t I be laughed at by others? Thinking of this, I was still full of concern, not daring to accept. Being Saved From Illness Revealed God’s Wonderful Deeds Just when I was seven months pregnant, one night, I suddenly had a so bad stomachache that I couldn’t even straighten my waist. The next day, I went to the hospital for an ultrasound check. The doctor said I might get appendicitis and need an operation urgently, and that I was in danger of miscarriage. Hearing that, I was so scared that I didn’t know what to do but kept saying in my heart: It’s so hard for me to be pregnant for seven months; I don’t want an operation. Later, in order to confirm the diagnosis, the doctor asked me to take a blood test. After the result was out, the doctor was confused and said with puzzlement, “It’s really strange! Other people with appendicitis usually have fevers. But why do you not?” Afterward, as the doctor couldn’t make sure whether I had appendicitis, I was asked to receive treatment for preventing miscarriage. I had little thought that after I was given a bottle of intravenous drips, my pain was gradually relieved. My anxious heart finally calmed down. After I returned home from the hospital, the neighboring sister told me that since I was sent to the hospital, she had prayed for me at home. She said that this time I received God’s care and protection. But I thought: It may be a coincidence because common illnesses can be cured through infusion. I didn’t really believe what she said. Just then, the sister brought me a book of God’s words. As I saw that she often came to accompany and comfort me, as well as prayed for my illness, I started reading some God’s words in my leisure time. Hardly had I expected that the more I read, the more I was attracted by it. I felt God’s words all spoke to my heart. I saw a passage of them, which says, “From the moment you come crying into this world, you begin to perform your duty. You assume your role in the plan of God and in the ordination of God. You begin the journey of life. Whatever your background and whatever the journey ahead of you, none can escape the orchestration and arrangement that Heaven has in store, and none are in control of their destiny, for only He who rules over all things is capable of such work” (“God Is the Source of Man’s Life”). From God’s words, I came to know man’s fate is in the control of God, and that no one can escape the sovereignty and arrangement of God. When I thought of myself and many people around me, I found that many things in everyone’s life, including birth background, marriage and family, can never be controlled by ourselves. Thinking of these facts that God rules over mankind’s fate, I couldn’t help being convinced by God’s words. From then on I grew interested in the matter of believing in God. Whenever I was free, I would secretly read God’s word at home alone. If there was anything I didn’t understand, I would go to ask the sister. Through communications, I gradually understood some truths, knowing how people should live out normal humanity, how to fairly treat others, how to be an honest person, how to practice fearing God and shunning evil, etc. I wondered in my heart: Obviously people who believe in God are walking the right way. Why does the government arrest them? Another month later, my illness recurred. Like last time, I was still in severe pain. At midnight, I was hurried to the hospital, and the next day, my pain was brought under control. A few days later, when I was about to give birth, my amniotic fluid suddenly broke in advance, so I had to choose the cesarean. At that time, as my situation was not good, I got upset in my heart, afraid of my baby’s safety. In addition, the anesthetic had no effect…

Since Headmaster Wang knew about Li Jin’s belief in God, …The headmaster told him that he had better clearly see the situation, or else believing in God under the CCP’s nose would not come to a good end. He also obliged Li Jin to return to school to work, otherwise his salary would suffer loss.

In the following half a month, things happened just like what the sister said—Satan not only did not stop there, but instead, its disturbance became more and more serious. After we just gathered several times, my Wi-Fi got terrible. As a result, my Skype account went offline and I couldn’t audio chat with other brothers and sisters, which completely made it impossible for me to go on with the meeting. At that point, I was very anxious and thought: The time for our gathering is actually short. Now the Wi-Fi signal is weak, this is wasting my time, what should I do? I was so anxious that I continued clicking the audio chat button, but the moment I joined their Skype Group call, the next moment my Skype account went offline. Afterward, I went on trying several times, but all failed. Finally Sister Xia could only have a one-on-one audio chat with me, and then chat with others. Even we could chat, but with a lot of pauses, so I could not hear the sister’s fellowship clearly, and could only kept on in this way until the meeting was finished. In a meeting, as for the matters I encountered recently, my sisters read some God’s words to me: “When people have yet to be saved, their lives are often interfered with, and even controlled by, Satan. … Only if you stand up and do battle with Satan, using your faith in God and obedience to, and fear of God as the weapons with which to fight a life-and-death battle with Satan, such that you fully defeat Satan and cause it to turn tail and become cowardly whenever it sees you, so that it completely abandons its attacks and accusations against you—only then will you be saved and become free” (“God’s Work, God’s Disposition, and God Himself II”). “Regardless of how ‘powerful’ Satan is, regardless of how audacious and ambitious it is, regardless of how great is its ability to inflict damage, regardless of how wide-ranging are the techniques with which it corrupts and lures man, regardless of how clever are the tricks and schemes with which it intimidates man, regardless of how changeable is the form in which it exists, it has never been able to create a single living thing, has never been able to set down laws or rules for the existence of all things, and has never been able to rule and control any object, whether animate or inanimate. Throughout the vast expanse of the universe, there is not a single person or object that was born from it, or exists because of it; there is not a single person or object that is ruled by it, or controlled by it. On the contrary, it not only has to live under the dominion of God, but, moreover, must obey all of God’s orders and commands. Without God’s permission, it is difficult for Satan to touch even a drop of water or grain of sand upon the land; without God’s permission, Satan is not even free to move the ants about upon the land—let alone mankind, who was created by God. In the eyes of God, Satan is inferior to the lilies on the mountain, to the birds flying in the air, to the fish in the sea, and to the maggots on the earth. Its role among all things is to serve all things, and work for mankind, and serve God’s work and His plan of management. Regardless of how malicious its nature, and how evil its substance, the only thing it can do is to dutifully abide by its function: being of service to God, and providing a counterpoint to God. Such is the essence and position of Satan. Its substance is unconnected to life, unconnected to power, unconnected to authority; it is merely a plaything in God’s hands, just a machine in service to God!” (“God Himself, the Unique I”). Then, Sister Xia fellowshiped with me, “Since you accepted Almighty God’s work, Satan has never stopped its disturbances and destruction. First, it caused you to suffer from illness and then it used your friend to give you money to let you help with her grandson. Now WiFi is not available. From these we can see Satan is not willing to be resigned to let us follow God. Now we have meetings online, and we can only contact with each other through the internet. If WiFi doesn’t work, it means we have to stop our meetings. Satan just grasps our most vital weakness to attack us and obstruct us from coming before God. From these we can see more clearly that when we have yet to be truly saved, Satan won’t let us go lightly and we also can see that Satan is really too evil. However, all things are held in the hand of God and God possesses the unique authority. Though Satan is very evil, in the eyes of God, it is just a serving tool for God’s work. No matter what it can do, it must be permitted by God. That God allows us to encounter these things is to test our faith and give us a chance to testify for God before Satan. As long as we have faith in God, rely on Him and don’t give up, Satan will be unable to do anything with us and then it will withdraw naturally.” After hearing her fellowship, I understood: Now Satan wants to use the terrible WiFi signal to disturb me so that I can’t have meetings with my sisters normally. When I suffered from illness I could overcome it and I could also give up the money, but I have no way to control the signal. She and I are not in the same country. If we got no wireless connection, we couldn’t contact with each other and I would be unable to attend meetings. Then she said, “No matter how Satan tempts us, there is God’s permission. God also…

I grew up in an idolatrous family and had never heard God’s gospel. When I was sixteen years old, my auntie preached the Lord Jesus’ gospel to me. When I first started attending meetings, I felt very great—there was peace and joy in my heart, so I had great energy for seeking. However, after several years, in the meetings, I gradually felt that the more I listened to the preaching, the more I felt boring. And when I came to meetings, I just dozed off. I couldn’t receive supply within the spirit, nor could I feel the work of the Holy Spirit. In order to have more understanding of the Bible and more knowledge of the Lord, I took Bible classes in our church, such as the disciple’s course, etc. However, I still didn’t know about the contents of the Bible. On June 10, 2017, I got acquainted with Sister Xia on FB. When we talked about the experiences of believing in the Lord, I felt when she encountered things, she was good at seeking God’s will and that she had some understanding of God, so I liked to communicate with her very much. Later, she said that she knew Sister Luo, a sister in the Lord, who fellowshiped about the truth very clearly and then invited me to join their meetings. I happily agreed to it. During a meeting, Sister Luo spoke of the sign of the last days. She said, “Now is already the time when the Lord will arrive, but our sinful nature hasn’t been cast away and we are still living in a state of sinning and confessing, becoming bound by our sins. The Bible says, “Holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord” (Hebrews 12:14). So, sinners like us will be unable to enter the heavenly kingdom and God must perform another stage of work of purification. Only then can we escape the bondage of sin, achieve cleanness and enter the heavenly kingdom.” Hearing her fellowship, I felt it was unbelievable: How can her acceptance be so wonderful and she understand so much? Previously, I had never heard these contents in our church, so the more I heard, the more I was spirited and I also thirsted for the contents she fellowshiped very much. Several days later, she fellowshiped with me about the purpose of God’s three stages of work in His management plan, the truth of God’s name and the incarnation and so on. Besides, she told me, “The Lord Jesus has returned and He is Almighty God incarnate.” I was unexpectedly hearing that the Lord Jesus had returned, and I couldn’t completely dare to believe it. However, I recalled that through this period of reading Almighty God’s words, I had gained much understanding of God’s work and His will to save us. I thought: If it isn’t the work of God Himself, then who else can explain the mysteries of the Bible so thoroughly and with so much specificity? From the Age of Law to the Age of Grace, only God Himself knew the mysteries of He managing mankind and only He could reveal these mysteries. I had confirmed from within my heart that Almighty God’s words were indeed God’s words, so I accepted Almighty God’s work of the last days. One day, my chest suddenly began to hurt. It hurt so seriously that I couldn’t breathe hard and even when I bent to pick up things I felt my heart was pressed so hard that I couldn’t breathe. I felt very strange: No matter how badly I coughed before, my chest hadn’t hurt so seriously. Today, how could it hurt so badly? Have I suffered from any illness? I started to feel very uneasy. Later, as my chest hurt so badly, I told Sister Luo this matter. Upon hearing this, she read a passage of God’s word to me, “God works, God cares for a person, looks upon a person, and Satan dogs His every step. Whoever God favors, Satan also watches, trailing along behind. If God wants this person, Satan would do everything in its power to obstruct God, using various evil ways to tempt, harass and wreck the work God does in order to achieve its hidden objective. What is its objective? It does not want God to have anyone; it wants all those that God wants, to occupy them, control them, to take charge of them so they worship it, so they commit evil acts alongside it. Is this not Satan’s sinister motive?” (“God Himself, the Unique IV”). Then she fellowshiped with me, “Previously, we didn’t follow God’s actual work and it meant we were living under Satan’s domain all the time and being controlled and ruled over by it. Today, under the guidance of God, we have followed the footsteps of the Lamb and accepted the true way, so we no longer belong to Satan. Satan is not willing that we are gained by God, so it will use all kinds of methods to disturb us, including letting us suffer ailments. Its purpose is to obstruct us from accepting the true way so that we will lose God’s salvation and once more return under its domain. So we should pray to God more and rely on God to see through Satan’s crafty schemes.” Hearing her fellowship, I came to understand that my chest hurting was in fact Satan’s disturbance. Satan was afraid that I would be gained by God and didn’t want me to gain much understanding of God, so it tortured my body behind my back. After knowing that it was Satan’s trickery, I prayed to God, “O God, I know my illness is Satan’s disturbance. I’ll entrust myself to You and no longer be worried about or afraid of my body. I’ll continue to attend meetings.” Right after that, I lay on the sofa with two pillows behind my back to relieve my pain and then continued with the meeting. Several days later, I…

By Jiahui God said: “In every step of work that God does within people, externally it appears to be interactions between people, as if born of human arrangements, or from human interference. But behind the scenes, every step of work, and everything that happens, is a wager made by Satan before God, and requires people to stand firm in their testimony to God.” Though I haven’t believed in God for a long time, I can understand from God’s words that behind this world which appears tranquil, there is a spiritual battle, which is hidden and unknown to man. Satan is trying to find ways and means to compete with God for people, attempting to keep us human under its control forever and make us betray God and forsake God so that we will lose His salvation in the last days. Especially in China where atheists hold the power, Satan’s sinister tricks hide everywhere and we are surrounded with danger when believing in God. When I first went to the high school, we fresh students would have a major exam. It was related to our placings and the classes we would be sorted into. And even our future might be affected. So I expected to get a good result in the exam. The day of the examination finally came. Every examination room was so quiet that we could only hear the scratching of our pens on the papers. Bending our heads and frowning in concentration, all of us were thinking about the questions. And we were so tense. For the sake of placings and glitz, we were striving with all our might, struggling hard, thinking, and competing. After we finished one examination, we nervously waited for the next one to come. However, when the politics examination came, a debate question came into my sight, which made me almost catch my breath. It showed a dialogue between A and B, which was a slander on The Church of Almighty God, and we were asked to discuss it according to the theory of dialectical materialism. If it were a usual debate question, it would take me a short while because answering the debate question was in my element. However, at that moment, I was stunned and thought: The full marks of the politics paper are 70, yet this question takes 12. I am a believer in The Church of Almighty God, and I clearly know the dialogue is the words fabricated by Satan to frame and discredit God, and is the lies used by Satan to refute God’s existence with the theory. So I cannot answer it. The pen in my hand was trembling … At that moment, I felt uneasy in my heart and couldn’t make a decision. I thought: What should I do? It is a question on which I can get a high score. We students compete so fiercely in our placings and scores that sometimes the placing will drop a lot when the total points were only 0.5 less. Therefore, if I do not answer this question, my placing will be several dozen lower. Then I will be sorted into a poor class, and my future will be…. Thinking about this, I twirled my pen and prepared to answer it. Just at that very moment, a word flashed in my mind continually: God sees deep into the heart of man. God’s timely enlightenment made my heart suddenly awaken. I stopped writing and thought: No, I cannot do it. A man may dig his grave with his teeth. If I write those words on the paper, won’t this allow Satan to take advantage of the situation? If I write those words on the paper, that is the same as someone’s signing the “three statements” in the prisons of CCP, which is a betrayal of God, and then I will be imprinted by the mark of the beast. It is a sin that will never be washed off from my soul. The sin of blaspheming God shall never be forgiven. Just when I was at a loss, God enlightened me to a passage of His words: “Understanding your nature is actually analyzing the depth of the soul; it is what is in your life. It is the logic of Satan and the many viewpoints of Satan that you had been originally living by, that is, the life of Satan that you have been living by. Only by uncovering the deep things of your soul can you understand your nature.” The passage of God’s words suddenly waked me up. I thought it over and over and realized: I have been living in the corrupt disposition of Satan. In the depths of my soul I have been led by the nose by honor and glitz. Satan tempts me by fame and gain, and makes me almost betray God and blaspheme God in exchange for the so-called placing. I, believing in God, have been enjoying the watering and feeding of His words, yet for the sake of my fame and future, I almost slander God. If I betray God merely for a front ranking, my faith in God will end up in vain. God is now inspecting my thoughts and choice, if I cannot stand testimony for Him while enjoying the provision of His words, am not I turning against Him? I’m really too conscienceless! I looked into my heart and asked myself once and again. Regret filled the depths of my soul, and my tears kept flowing down. At that moment, I thought of another passage of God’s words: “‘Normal sense’ refers to obeying and being faithful to God, to yearning for God, to being unequivocal toward God, and to having a conscience toward God. It refers to being of one heart and mind toward God, and not deliberately opposing God.” God’s words struck my conscience once and again. In front of fame I became an obsequious slave. I even wanted to distort the fact and quit my integrity of being a…