I Learned to Discern the Work of Satan I

Meng Liang

One day, Sister Yang and Sister Zheng from the Church of Almighty God came to preach to me Almighty God’s work of the last days. Sister Yang said, “Almighty God carries out His work through expressing the word of judgment, which just fulfills the prophecy of the Lord Jesus, ‘However, when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will show you things to come’ (John 16:13). This prophecy has been fulfilled by Almighty God expressing His word, which is the utterance of the Holy Spirit. Almighty God and the Lord Jesus are both the incarnation of God’s Spirit. Almighty God is exactly the returned Lord Jesus….” Hearing Sister Yang’s fellowship, I felt so happy. What a good fortune to be able to meet the Lord’s return! So, I made up my mind to read Almighty God’s words carefully and investigate this way closely.

Then Sister Zheng said, “Brother, we’ve known that God has expressed new words and done new work. We’ll understand more of the truth when we read God’s words more. If you have any confusion, you may pray to God and seek first, and we can fellowship together in the next meeting. After we have understood God’s will, we can preach the gospel to other brothers and sister in religion so that they will receive God’s salvation in the last days.” I replied in agreement, “Okay. Thanks be to the Lord! I feel so good to read God’s words and meet the Lord’s return. I will read seriously The Word Appears in the Flesh. If there are things I don’t understand, I’ll pray for God to enlighten me to understand His words.” “Great! Praise God!” said Sister Zheng.

After they left, I thought: The Word Appears in the Flesh is the personal utterance of God. I must read it carefully. However, I had trouble keeping my eyes open and even nodded off shortly after I started reading it. I thought to myself: What’s going on? Why am I so sleepy? I might as well stand up. But when I stood up to read, I was even more sleepy and had a headache. I massaged my temples, wondering how I became like this suddenly. With no heart to read Almighty God’s words anymore, I climbed into bed to take a rest. Yet I had not expected that as soon as I lay down, my headache was gone and I was wide awake. I thought: How did this happen? I could not figure it out anyway and did not feel like meeting with the two sisters from the Church of Almighty God.

The next afternoon when the sun was setting, I was at home and wondered where I should go since the two sisters would come soon. After thinking hard for some time, I decided to go to the home of a co-worker of my denomination.

It was over ten o’clock at night when I returned home. My neighbor asked, “Where were you, Mr. Meng? Two young women waited at your gate for a long time, and they have just left.” I knew they must be Sister Yang and Sister Zheng, and my heart was strongly condemned. I thought: It’s so cold. I made a date with them, but actually hid myself away and kept them waiting so long. Am I not to blame? But at the thought of my sleepiness and headaches upon reading the words of Almighty God, my guilt disappeared somewhat, and still I did not want to see them again. The following evening, I thought: The two sisters waited in vain yesterday. Will they still come this evening? What should I do if they come? To meet them or not? If I do, they will fellowship with me about the words of Almighty God, but I will doze off once I read those words. If I don’t, however, they will keep waiting outside, suffering from the cold. I just can’t stand to see that. After a fierce struggle, I recalled that I had vowed to repay the Lord’s great love for it was the Lord Jesus who had cured my cancer after I believed in Him. Faced with Almighty God’s work of the last days, I must be cautious in case I take the wrong way and thus be unworthy of the Lord’s grace. No, I had to avoid them, but I had nowhere else to go. At last I decided to stay at home. I said to my neighbor, “Auntie, today I feel uncomfortable, and I want to have a rest at home without being bothered. Would you mind locking my gate from the outside?”

My neighbor agreed to my request. Soon after, I heard the voices of Sister Yang and Sister Zheng coming from outside the gate. Sister Zheng said, “This brother isn’t in again. Where could he have gone?” Sister Yang said, “Yeah, where has he possibly gone? Today’s environment is set up for us by God, and He is simply testing our faith in Him. Wherever the brother goes, we should wait for him. Let’s pray to God and rely on Him.” Hearing what they said, I felt awful and shifted nervously in the room. It’s freezing cold outside. They come here for me. I have kept them waiting so long last night, yet I’m doing this again. I feel so much sorry for them. They waited at the gate for several hours, and I could hear them pacing up and down due to the cold. At around 9 P.M., I heard Sister Yang say, “We’ve waited for a long time, but the brother has not come back. There is God’s goodwill. God arranged this environment to make perfect our faith. Today we fail to wait until the brother returns, but we can come tomorrow and keep waiting until we meet him. We believe in God’s sovereignty and arrangement, and hope God can lead us. We can pray for God to move the brother’s heart.”

After they went away, I lay awake tossing and turning, feeling very upset: Am I still a believer in God? I broke my word and the two sisters froze for me again and again. What were they doing this for? Were they not trying to fellowship about the truth of the Lord’s coming for me to understand? They didn’t meet me twice, but they will still come and wait until they have met me. What’s more, they pray for me. They just wish to soon give me a firmer belief of Almighty God’s work in the last days. It would seem that people of the Church of Almighty God have genuine love. When my thoughts went there, I could not help but hate myself for shutting them out so inhumanely. I can’t go on like this. I must wait for them at home and figure out why I got a headache and dozed off while reading Almighty God’s words.

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Breaking Out of the Cocoon II

Unexpectedly, my husband found that I went to the meetings of the Church of Almighty God, and he told it to my father. One evening, when I was upstairs, I suddenly heard noises down in the yard. I opened the curtains and looked out, only to find that my father had burst into the yard angrily with four or five co-workers in his church, the sight of which brought me out in a cold sweat. My heart thudded, and I immediately knelt down on the floor and cried out to God for help, “O Almighty God! My father comes again to disturb me with some people in religion. I am timid and afraid. O God! You know I am of little stature. May You give me faith and courage….” Then God’s words suddenly occurred to me: “You should have My courage within you. Hold to the principles before your unbelieving relatives as well. But for My sake you should not yield to any force of darkness. Walk in the perfect way by My wisdom. Don’t let Satan’s schemes succeed. Lay your heart before Me as best you can, and I will comfort you and fill your heart with peace and joy” (“The Tenth Utterance” in The Word Appears in the Flesh). God’s words gave me strength. As I had God’s words in my heart, I was no longer timid and fearful. I thought, “No matter how they disturb me, I will never again let myself be fooled by Satan and deceived by them. It is heaven’s law and earth’s principle for me to believe in and follow God; no one has the right to interfere in it, not even my most loved ones.” So, I went downstairs composedly and greeted them. They all started speaking. A co-worker, looking with wonder at me, said, “Fangfang, I never expected that an intelligent person like you would believe in the Eastern Lightning. It is a false way! You’d better repent before the Lord Jesus….” I said with calmness, “You have never listened to the messages of the Eastern Lightning, nor have you ever read the words of Almighty God; how can you say that the way I put my faith in is a false way?” She said, “We don’t dare to read that book. It is terribly fascinating. If anyone reads it, he will be fascinated by it.” I said, “The words of Almighty God can convince people because they are God’s words and are the truth. Only God’s words have such authority and power.” But they spoke many blasphemies, and they also asked me to go to their leader to confess my sin and repent. They said that if I didn’t do so, I would be cast into hell and be judged. I said firmly, “I have attended the meetings of the Church of Almighty God and seen clearly that your defamation of it is totally groundless. There is no truth in your slander and rumor! If you cannot give proof, it shows that you are all liars, deceivers from Satan. Now the kingdom gospel of Almighty God has spread all over the China mainland, known to every household, and there are several millions of people who have accepted it. But there are also some people who hate the truth, and they have rejected the gospel. Isn’t it because of your disturbance that my youngest sister and I dared not believe in Almighty God anymore in the beginning? Aren’t we both safe and sound now? So you are telling lies and cheating people! Today I am dead set on believing in Almighty God. Don’t try to stop me since you refuse to believe. It is none of your business whether my soul will go to heaven or be cast into hell. Moreover, my fate is controlled by God’s hands, not determined by any man. Don’t come to disturb me anymore.” At that point, my father stood up and threatened me, saying, “If you insist on believing in Almighty God, I will break with you.”

When I heard such cruel words, I felt somewhat hurt, thinking, “You don’t seek or examine the true way, but listen to whatever your leader said. You choose to believe the rumors and lies made up by him rather than to believe me. You brought so many people to disturb and attack me and even said to break with me in front of them.” The more I thought about it, the sadder I felt. At that moment, these words of God came to my mind: “God created this world and brought man, a living being unto which He bestowed life, into it. In turn, man came to have parents and kin and was no longer alone. Ever since man first laid eyes on this material world, he was destined to exist within the ordination of God. It is the breath of life from God that supports each living being throughout his growth into adulthood. During this process, none believes that he lives and grows up under the care of God. Rather, man holds that he grows up under the love and care of his parents, and that his growth is governed by the instinct of life. This is because man knows not who bestowed life or from whence it came, much less how the instinct of life creates miracles” (“God Is the Source of Man’s Life” in The Word Appears in the Flesh). These words of God made me understand: Although my flesh was born of my parents, my life came from God. Had God not bestowed life upon me, my flesh would be an entity of corruption and a walking corpse. It is because of the care and keeping of God that I have survived until today; without God’s care and keeping, I would have long been devoured by Satan. Today I should repay God, not my parents. Although I have a physical relationship with my parents, we are incompatible in the spirit, for their essence is one of resistance to God. I should not join in their opposition to God, but should stand on God’s side. Even if my father disowns me, I should follow God to the end and stand firm in my testimony to God. So I said to my father, “Dad, in belief in God, I must obey God rather than man, and I can’t act by my emotion. If what you say corresponds to the truth and God’s will, I will obey you; if you want me to betray God, that’s impossible!” When they saw I was so determined, they shook their heads and stood up, and went away in dejection. Seeing the sorry figure they cut, I could not but shout for joy in my heart, “O God, You are so almighty! It is Your words that have given me the faith and courage to shame and defeat Satan thoroughly.”

Though the people in religion stopped coming to disturb me, my parents, instigated by their leader, often came to my home to persuade me, insisting that I should go to their leader and repent before him. One day, they came again. They attempted to mislead me with some Bible verses but failed. And then my mother wept uncontrollably, beseeching me to quickly go to their leader and repent before him. Looking at her tearful face, I felt distressed in my heart. “She lost her mother when she was three. Her stepmother ill-treated her, and she suffered a lot. Now she is getting old, but, instead of fulfilling my filial duty to her, I made her worry so much about me.” Thinking of this, I turned to my father and saw him looking at me with expectant eyes. My heart ached, and tears welled up in my eyes. But at that moment, these words of God occurred to my mind: “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. Take when Job was tried, for example: Behind the scenes, Satan was making a bet with God, and what happened to Job was the deeds of men, and the interference of men. Behind every step that God does in you is Satan’s wager with God—behind it all is a battle” (“Only Loving God Is Truly Believing in God” in The Word Appears in the Flesh). God’s words made me realize that on the surface I was confronted with my parents’ interference, but behind that was Satan’s wager with God in the spiritual realm: Satan attempted to deceive me using my emotions, to make me take pity on my parents, stand on their side, and obey them and thus deny and betray God. I must see through Satan’s trick, and should not grieve or disappoint God. I must stand on God’s side firmly and never betray God. So regardless of what they said and how hard they tried to persuade me, my heart remained unshaken. They had no choice but to leave in low spirits.

Afterward, as I didn’t go to my former leader to repent, he asked my father to announce to all the believers that I was expelled from the church, and he also told my parents to draw a clear line with me. Because of the interference of my former leader and my parents, my husband began to persecute me frenziedly. Every time after I came back home from performing my duty, he would curse or beat me, shut me out of the house, or break my electric scooter or my bicycle. Once he even sent me to the local police station. I was worn out and pined away with such tortures from him. The people of our village also ridiculed and slandered me. Faced with such adverse environments, I felt very weak within, thinking that believing in God was too difficult. I was at a loss how to walk the way ahead. Many a time I knelt down before God and prayed tearfully to ask Him to give me faith and strength.

Later, I saw these words of God: “The ‘overcomers’ that God speaks of are those, who, under the siege and influence of Satan, that is, under the forces of darkness, still stand witness and maintain their original faith and their loyalty to God. Regardless of anything else, your chaste heart remains steadfast before God, and your true love of God stays unchanging. This means that you stand witness before God, and you are the ‘overcomer’ of which God speaks. When God blesses you, you pursue well. When God does not bless you, you draw back. Is this chastity? Since you are certain this is the true way, you should walk to the end and keep your loyalty to God. Since you see that God has come to earth to personally perfect you, you should give your heart to Him completely. No matter what God does—He may give you a bad outcome in the end—you can still follow Him. This means that you have kept your chastity before God” (“You Ought to Maintain Your Devotion to God” in The Word Appears in the Flesh).

From God’s words, I came to understand: In the last days, God will make a group of overcomers, and His followers therefore have to undergo many temptations both great and small from Satan. They have to actually experience the persecution from the CCP, the disturbance of the religious world, the rejection of their relatives, and the ridicule and insults of the worldly people. Those who can obey God and be faithful to God and do not betray God in any environment, who can stand firm in his testimony to God, will be the overcomers made by God. They will also be the ones who will receive God’s promises and survive the great disasters. Today God has arranged such environments in order to make me perfect and to see whether I will have a complaining heart, whether I have faith in God, and whether I am one who truly believes and obeys God. After I was clear about God’s will, I made a resolution before God: No matter what persecution or tribulation I may encounter, I will fulfill the duty of a creature to satisfy God. Although Satan frantically hindered and disturbed me, in an attempt to force me to deny and betray God, I prayed and looked to God at every time and equipped myself with God’s words every day. So God opened up a way out for me, which allowed me to see God’s almightiness and wondrous deeds. The more my husband persecuted me, the more God disciplined him. Later he didn’t dare to beat me or break my bike anymore. So my faith in God became greater.

One year later, I went to my youngest sister’s company with Sister Zhang to preach God’s work of the last days to her again, and she accepted it. When I saw her accepting the book of God’s word with both hands, I thought, “It is really difficult for God to save man!” At that moment, my tears streamed down my face uncontrollably, and I kept giving thanks and praises to God in my heart. In 2006, my youngest sister and I went to my younger sister to preach the gospel to her, and she also accepted it. After that, we brought several other relatives of ours to Almighty God as well. This allowed me to see that no matter how desperately the religious leaders try to hinder God’s work, it is to no avail. No force of Satan can halt God’s footsteps, and all God’s sheep will surely recognize His voice and return to Him. Just as Almighty God says: “The kingdom is expanding in humanity’s midst, it is forming in humanity’s midst, it is standing up in humanity’s midst; there is no force that can destroy My kingdom” (“The Nineteenth Utterance” of God’s Utterances to the Entire Universe in The Word Appears in the Flesh).

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Breaking Through Encirclements I

Zhao Gang

The northeastern China was freezing cold in November. The snow even did not melt when it touched the ground. Hunched and tucking their hands under the armpits because of cold, many pedestrians walked forward with caution. One morning, with the northwesterly wind howling, there were me, my brother-in-law and his wife, and more than a dozen brothers and sisters in my home, sitting on the warm kang. Every one of us was holding a book titled Judgment Begins With the House of God, with the Bible laid alongside. Two sisters from the Church of Almighty God were communicating with us about the truth of the three stages of God’s work. While drawing the picture of the three stages of God’s work they fellowshiped, “God’s work is from the Age of Law to the Age of Grace, and then to the Age of Kingdom, rising higher and deeper with each stage. During the last stage God expresses His words to judge, chastise and purify man….” I listened and nodded. My heart was so enlightened: It turns out that there are many mysteries about God’s management plan to save mankind. Who can illustrate them so clearly other than God Himself? So it must be the work of the true God. At the sunset of the next day, we all agreed to seek and investigate Almighty God’s work in the last days.

Later, they two communicated about the truth concerning the significance of God’s incarnation. As we were listening with keen attention, our church leader, Wang Ping, dropped by suddenly. She pointed at the two sisters from the Church of Almighty God the moment she stepped in and asked me, “What are they doing here?” I replied frankly, “They are Sister Zhang and Sister Mu….” Before I could finish my words, she became flustered, saying, “Sister Zhang? Sister Mu? I think they are just the preachers of the Eastern Lightning, just thieves of stealing sheep, just robbers….” What she said totally shocked everyone present. I thought: Sister Wang Ping always talks about loving your neighbor as yourself and loving your enemies. How could she make such far-fetched remarks just after entering the room and even judge and condemn the two sisters? As I thought of this, I heard Sister Zhang calmly talk to Wang Ping, “Sister, today we come only for preaching the gospel of the Lord’s return to you, nothing else….” But Wang Ping interrupted her, saying, “The Lord has come back? The leaders like me don’t even know; how could you know it? That’s impossible. The Lord Jesus has said, ‘All that ever came before me are thieves and robbers: but the sheep did not hear them’ (John 10:8). You two get away immediately and never set foot here again.” Hearing Wang Ping’s words, I felt an aversion to her. How could she have no compassion? Then I said to her, “Sister Wang, it’s so late today. How could you let them go? The Lord taught us to even love our enemies, not to mention the two sisters who are also believers in God. If we treat them like that, do we still count as believers in God? …” Wang Ping became angry before I could get my words out. She pulled the hand of my brother-in-law’s wife and said to them, “Zhao Gang doesn’t tell them to go away, then let’s go. Stop listening to them.” Then, she left in a rage with the couple.

After they left, Sister Mu asked us, “Brothers and sisters, what do you think about what just happened? Let’s talk about it.” They all glanced over their shoulders and looked at me, without saying a word. I said directly, “Through reading Almighty God’s words and listening to your fellowship in these two days, I can recognize that the words of Almighty God are all the truth and He is the second coming of the Lord Jesus. But there is something in what Wang Ping said. She is our leader after all. She has believed in the Lord for years, knows the Bible very well and has always run around and spent for the Lord. When the Lord comes back, she should have known it first.” Sister Zhang replied graciously, “Brothers and sisters, man has the notion that the Lord should first give revelation to the leaders when He comes again and then make it known to ordinary believers. Does this conception accord with the truth or the fact? Let’s recall the time that the Lord Jesus came to do His work. Those Jewish Pharisees believed that when the Messiah came, He would surely appear to them first. However, they never would have thought in a million years that the Lord Jesus did not inform them first when He came. Rather, He first let the fisher men and the tax collectors whom people looked down upon hear the gospel. This shows us that God does not give revelations to the leaders alone and He also enlightens those ordinary believers who follow Him. For God is righteous and absolutely impartial toward all men. The people that bring God joy are those who are good-hearted and who long for and seek the truth. God will enlighten and guide this type of people regardless of whether they have status. Just as the Lord Jesus said, ‘Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled’ (Matthew 5:6) and ‘Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God’ (Matthew 5:8). As long as man yearns after the truth, God will enlighten and lead him to come before Him. If any leader claims to be given revelation first when the Lord comes back, his nature is too arrogant. Just as Almighty God says, ‘And so I say that those who have “seen through” God and His work are ineffectual, they are all arrogant and ignorant. Man should not define the work of God; moreover, man cannot define the work of God. In the eyes of God, man is smaller than an ant, so how can man fathom God’s work? Those who are constantly saying, “God does not work in this or that way” or “God is like this or that”—are they not all arrogant?’ (Preface to The Word Appears in the Flesh). From God’s words, we can see that His almightiness and wisdom are unfathomable. Man is only a tiny creature with limited mind and intellect. How can he then fathom the work of the Creator? Therefore, we should maintain a heart of reverence on the matter of waiting for the Lord’s second coming and seek and investigate it carefully. We should not casually define or judge God by our notions and imaginations, which will offend God’s disposition.” Hearing her fellowship, I realized that man is so insignificant before God, even less than an ant. Moreover, corrupted by Satan, full of arrogant corrupt disposition, man always defines God according to his notions and imaginations. And when God’s work conflicts with the conceptions of man, man will even deny and condemn God. It turns out that man dares to do anything without the knowledge of the truth or the heart that fears God. It is really too dangerous. I then thought that the Lord Jesus once said, “I thank you, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hid these things from the wise and prudent, and have revealed them to babes. Even so, Father: for so it seemed good in your sight” (Matthew 11:25-26). I now finally saw that it was indeed the fact. Sister Zhang’s fellowship made me realize that the viewpoint that the Lord should give revelation to leaders first when He comes back was wrong and ridiculous. Meanwhile, I have gained a new knowledge of God’s fairness and righteousness.

The next morning after Sister Zhang and Sister Mu left, Brother Guan, who was the high-level co-worker of our church, came to my home. He asked me, “Brother Zhao, I heard that you had accepted the Eastern Lightning.” I said seriously, “Yes, I have. Because from Almighty God’s words I come to understand many truths I did not understand before, such as the mystery of God’s three stages of work, the significance of God’s incarnation and so on. From them I see that Almighty God’s words are indeed what the Spirit said to the churches prophesied in Revelation.” He cast a glance at me, saying, “Brother Zhao, do you just convert to their belief? Do you know who they are?” I replied, “I think they are quite humane, and their communication of the truth is clear and illuminating. What they talked about were the truths regarding God’s work. I have gained a lot these two days.” He said angrily, “Why are you so stubborn? It is said in Hebrews 6:6-8, ‘If they shall fall away, to renew them again to repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame. For the earth which drinks in the rain that comes oft on it, and brings forth herbs meet for them by whom it is dressed, receives blessing from God: But that which bears thorns and briers is rejected, and is near to cursing; whose end is to be burned.’ As a preacher, you have enjoyed so much grace from the Lord. Instead of leading brothers and sisters to believe in the Lord properly, you actually led them to leave the church. Aren’t you afraid of being punished? If you still don’t turn around, you will lose the Lord’s keeping. Your good life will be over, your former illness will recur and your two children won’t find good jobs….”

After Brother Guan went away, I became a little uncertain, thinking: What he said seems somewhat reasonable. I have believed in Almighty God; what if I lose the Lord’s grace? Thinking of this, I had some weakness in my heart. So I quickly knelt down and prayed to God: “Almighty God! Brother Guan’s words made me feel a bit weak. O God! I am wondering if what he said is true. I really don’t know what to do next….” In the middle of my prayer, my wife came back. Then I told her what had passed. After listening to me, she asked nervously, “Did he really say this?” I nodded. My wife said with a little worry, “He is a great leader who believes in the Lord for many years. Besides, he is familiar with the Bible very well. I think he is truthful. What will we do then if something happens as he said?” At that point, I suddenly remembered the truth of the three stages of God’s work which Sister Zhang and Sister Mu had communicated with us. Then I said to my wife, “Nevertheless, there is something wrong with Brother Guan’s viewpoint. He said that we had departed from the Lord’s way and betrayed the Lord Jesus. In fact, when we have followed Almighty God, we have kept pace with the footsteps of the Lamb. We are wise virgins. How could the Lord punish us? …” During our communication, Sister Zhang and Sister Mu showed up….

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Feeling Sweetness for Standing Witness

Xiaozhao

I was a believer of the Head Covering Church. One day in 2008, Sister Li in my church paid a call on me. She sang a hymn “Follow Closely,” “… The kingdom exercise is led by God; all His people are joyful in heart. …” I felt so good about this song, for it was the most pleasant song I had ever heard. She said to me, “Sister, the Lord Jesus who we have long yearned for has come back and become flesh descending in China to do His work in a hidden way. This fulfills the very prophecies in the Bible, ‘And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom comes; go you out to meet him’ (Matthew 25:6) and ‘Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watches, and keeps his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame’ (Revelation 16:15) and the Lord God said, ‘I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, said the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty’ (Revelation 1:8). Sister, we know the Lord Jesus prophesied He would descend in secret to save us. Now the prophecies are totally fulfilled. Today, Almighty God is the coming of the Lord Jesus. He has expressed all the truth of judging and purifying man.” Sister Li also read several pieces of God’s words to me, “The Savior Has Already Returned Upon a ‘White Cloud’,” “The Two Incarnations Complete the Significance of the Incarnation,” and “Only Christ of the Last Days Can Give Man the Way of Eternal Life.” I felt that these words are extraordinary, possessing power and authority. I expressed my willingness to seek and investigate carefully. Later, Sister Li often came to my home and read God’s words to me. After a period of seeking and investigation, I was fully convinced that all that Almighty God proclaims is the truth and God’s utterance. Almighty God is the return of the Lord Jesus. So I accepted Almighty God’s work of the last days happily.

After accepting the gospel, I wanted to tell the great news to the brothers and sisters in my former church. The first that came to my mind was one intimate old sister. I had not expected that she told her daughter-in-law the news after I informed her. As a result, all the brothers and sisters in the place where I attended meetings knew that I had accepted Almighty God. Later, the leaders in the church Huang XX, Zhang XX and Xu XX went to my home to disturb me. Fortunately, I happened to go out for something that day. My son was at home. So they asked him where I had gone but my son told them he had no idea. I did not pay any attention to it when I went back home and was apprised of their coming by my son. The second day, they three again came to my home but I was absent. They then asked my son whether or not someone had been to our home recently. Looking at their fierce look, my son was unclear about what had happened. He just told them two young people had visited me. They then left. After I returned home and heard the situation, I began to worry that they might carry out schemes behind their back. For the leaders always told us in their sermons, “Don’t be in the least bit lenient toward the people from the Eastern Lightning once you see them. You can never crack down on them too much. We are defending the Lord’s way….” What if Sister Li gets caught by them? Will they beat her? … The more I thought about it, the more scared I became. No, I should inform Sister Li immediately, telling her not to come to me for the time being to avoid being harmed by them. When I arrived at Sister Li’s home, she communicated with me, “Sister Zhao, the One we believe in is the true God, is almighty. Fear not them. Pray more when something comes along and beg God to lead us. He will give us wisdom. Ever since God did His work in the flesh, the antichrists in the religious world have been disturbing and impairing God’s work. Regardless, His work has not been hindered in the least, but has revealed those hypocritical Pharisees, thereby making us have true discernment about the so-called leaders and clearly see whether they are good servants or evil servants. You can go back first. Let’s pray to God together. I believe that God will surely open up a way out for us. It is no need to be afraid of them, for God is our strongest supporter.” I nodded. Still, I went back with an uneasy heart.

Two days later, Huang XX, Zhang XX and Xu XX came to my home for the third time. That night, I was at home alone. They exerted their strength to push the door and found me at home. Looking at them staring with glaring eyes, I was trembling with fear by their battle formation. I therefore prayed silently to God and asked Him to give me strength and confidence and grant me with the words I should speak so that I wouldn’t be disturbed by them. At that time, Xu XX pointed her finger at the tip of my nose, saying fiercely, “Xiaozhao, where have you been these days? We have come several times but couldn’t see you. You seemed rushed off your feet recently. Where have you been today? Go! Come with us now. Put on your cap. Follow us to the church to repent and confess to the Lord.” Before I reacted, they all talked at once, saying that I had followed the Eastern Lightning, that I had believed in heresy and betrayed the Lord, and forced me to hand the books over. I was bombarded with defamation so that I couldn’t get a word in edgeways. I became so anxious that I didn’t know how to offer my prayer to God. All I could do was pray silently to God and ask Him to protect my heart. Gradually my heart settled. I said, “How could the Eastern Lightning be heresy? The Lord Jesus has prophesied, when He comes back, ‘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). Could it be that you dare to deny the words of the Lord Jesus?” Hearing me say this, they became purple with rage, saying blasphemy against God. I spoke to them, “You are leaders with much more knowledge than me. You all know that the Lord Jesus has said, ‘All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven to men: but the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven to men’ (Matthew 12:31). Today I have followed God’s new work. Almighty God is the coming of the Lord Jesus. You blaspheme God so much, and you’ll reap no good fruit.” Upon hearing these words, Huang XX gave a tight slap on her thigh and said to Zhang XX, “Come on! Move on! Find a way to get her to the church. She is terrifying that she actually teaches us with the Bible.” Then My two arms were pulled by Xu XX and Zhang XX separately. They were keeping on blaspheming God while pulling me. I prayed to God in my heart unceasingly, “Almighty God! They are driving me and dragging me to the church. They will definitely force me to blaspheme You. O God, please give me strength. I can’t go with them.” After finishing my prayer, I was much calmer. Moreover, I also saw God’s deeds: Not only was I not budged regardless of how hard they tried but also left them huffing and puffing with exhaustion. Huang XX ground her teeth with anger, saying, “If you don’t repent with us today, you will be chased out tomorrow and abandoned by all the brothers and sisters.” Then they three walked off in a huff.

The second day fell on the meeting time in the religious church. I thought: What about going there for a meeting? What if I am dismissed by the church and abandoned by my brothers and sisters? Thinking of that, I pedaled my bicycle to the meeting place. I fell off my bike before I went far. My hands hit the ground hard and then I had a great fall. I thought: All is over. Are my arms broken in the fall? I stood up and shook my hands, feeling no pain. At this point I had an awakening, and realized that God was preventing me from going to the religious church. I then went back home. Thanks to God’s arrangement. Not long after I arrived home, Sister Li came on purpose to see me because of her concern about me. When I saw she risked dangers of being beaten or scolded or reported to the police by the religious people, I was moved profoundly. Then I told her the full account of the affair. She comforted me and said, “Thanks be to God! This is really God’s protection to you. Also, it is the battle in the spiritual world. Where there is the work of God, there is Satan’s disturbance. Let’s read a passage of 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. Take when Job was tried, for example: Behind the scenes, Satan was making a bet with God, and what happened to Job was the deeds of men, and the interference of men. Behind every step that God does in you is Satan’s wager with God—behind it all is a battle’ (‘Only Loving God Is Truly Believing in God’ in The Word Appears in the Flesh). God’s words show us that these kinds of things we encountered involve the battle in the spiritual realm. For instance, when Job was tried, his wife advised him to deny and curse God. It appeared to be interactions between people but actually concerned God’s witness, which is very important to God and Job. When man accepts Almighty God’s work in the last days, Satan doesn’t want him to follow God and walk the right path. Then it uses religious leaders to disturb and threaten man so as to cause him anxious and distracted and to waver back and forth, losing witness before God. In order to stand witness for God, we should first know God’s work, have discernment of how Satan deceives and corrupts man. For Satan is evil. All it does is use some methods and ways or some nice words to deceive man. Its essence is disrupting God’s work and hindering man from investigating the true way. These are Satan’s trick and purpose. Whereas God expresses the truth for man to see through Satan’s schemes, seek the truth and stand testimony. Meanwhile, God cares for man’s childlike stature and He couldn’t bear to see man devoured by Satan. Therefore, He gave you a minor discipline to prevent you from going back to the religious church and doing something disobedient and resistant to God because of being deceived by religious leaders.” Her fellowship gave me more recognition of God’s earnest intentions. God could not bear to see me go back to Satan’s camp and be trodden on by Satan. He allowed me to follow Him steadfastly and accept His salvation. At that point, my eyes were full of tears due to excitement. That was so close! If I were not stopped by God timely, I probably would have fallen under Satan’s grasp. This experience further showed that Almighty God is the true God. I could not offend God and I would stand witness for Him.

Then, she read another passage of God’s words, “Those who read the Bible in grand churches recite the Bible every day, yet not one understands the purpose of God’s work. Not one is able to know God; moreover, not one is in accord with the heart of God. They are all worthless, vile men, each standing on high to teach God. Though they brandish the name of God, they willfully oppose Him. Though they label themselves believers of God, they are ones who eat the flesh and drink the blood of man. All such men are devils who devour the soul of man, demons who purposefully disturb those who try to step onto the right path, and stumbling blocks that impede the path of those who seek God. Though they are of ‘robust flesh,’ how are their followers to know that they are antichrists who lead man in opposition to God? How are they to know that they are living devils who specially seek souls to devour?” (“All Who Do Not Know God Are Those Who Oppose God” in The Word Appears in the Flesh). Through Almighty God’s words and the sister’s communications, I saw through the hypocrisy of the religious leaders. They usually preached biblical knowledge and theology on the podium and only paid the lip service. However, when the Lord comes to do His new work, they refused to seek and investigate. Moreover, they controlled and persecuted the believers on account of seeking and accepting the true way. They behaved like the Pharisees who persecuted the Lord Jesus at that time, hindered and imprisoned the Jewish people and made them to be in enmity to God for their position and livelihoods, causing man to lose God’s salvation. I was willing to reject them. No matter how they disrupted me, I would always stand by God’s side and stand witness for Him.

Several days later, when they saw me not turning around but keeping on believing in Almighty God, Zhang XX and Huang XX came to my home again to get close to me with emotion. Zhang XX said to me, “It was me that brought you before the Lord. We were intimate sisters. But now you have actually believed in the Eastern Lightning and betrayed the Lord. You are truly without conscience!” I said, “Sister Zhang, the Lord’s return is a great matter and you know the Bible well. You’d better investigate it.” She responded with a long face, “Today, I give you the last chance, but you spread the Eastern Lightning to me in turn. Again, you’d better come and repent to the Lord before it is too late. If you insist on believing in the Eastern Lightning, it will have nothing to do with us when disasters befall you. Don’t blame us for not reminding you then.” Afterward, they pushed me to kneel down to confess to the Lord, and even forced me to say blasphemy against God with them. Seeing that I didn’t listen to them, they blasphemed God again. I said to them, “You are believers in God and are also preachers. You all know that the outcome of the priests, scribes, and Pharisees in Judaism for crucifying the Lord Jesus on the cross. They were cursed by God for condemning and blaspheming God. It is right and proper for man to accept God’s work and follow God to walk on the right path. Nobody has the right to interfere in it. All those who hinder man from accepting the true way are the Pharisees, and their end is obvious.” Upon hearing these, Huang XX jumped to her feet, and bellowed to me, “I know more than you for I have read the Bible for so many years. Look out for yourself.” After saying these words, they left with their tails between their legs. Thank God for giving me confidence and strength and keeping me not violating His will. Later, the church really dismissed me and informed all the brothers and sisters to abandon me. Yet I did not feel sad but very calm for I have followed God’s footsteps and met the coming of the Lord. Every day, I read the words expressed by God and feel sweet beyond compare in my heart. I praise Him aloud at the bottom of my heart. From then on, the religious leaders never came to disturb me. I realize that it is God’s care and keeping. Soon, I begin to perform my duty within my capability in the Church of Almighty God. Every day is fulfilling and happy. All the glory be to Almighty God!

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