Max, USA
I was born in the USA in 1994 and my mom and dad were both Chinese.
My mother was a typical successful career woman and was very independent
and capable. I loved my mom very much. When I started second grade, my
parents brought me back to China so I could learn Chinese, and I also
began to learn about the Lord Jesus at that time. I remember it was one
day in 2004, I got out of class and went home to discover that we had a
guest. My mom introduced her as a pastor who had come from America. I
was really happy, because I knew that my mom had already believed in the
Lord Jesus for a while. On that same day, this American pastor told me
some stories about the Lord Jesus. Shortly after, I was led to the
bathroom, and without even waiting for my response, the pastor dunked my
head into the bath with a splash. In an instant I was again pulled out
of the water by the pastor. I just heard my mom and the pastor saying to
me at the same time: “Welcome to the embrace of the Lord Jesus. We are
all the lost sheep.” Just like that, I became a believer in the Lord in a
way that was unfathomable. After that, I went to the church every week
to attend services, to hear the pastor tell stories from the Bible, and
to read the scripture. I was always happy, and was very steadfast in my
heart, feeling that the Lord Jesus was truly good.
In 2008, I came
to America to study, and my dad went with me to accompany me. The whole
time I was there I kept going to the church to take part in gatherings.
In 2012, when I graduated from high school I returned to China to visit
my mom. When I was about to leave, my father talked to me in a
heartfelt and meaningful way. He told me that my mom back in our home
country had begun to believe in something called “Eastern Lightning,”
and hoped that after I went back I would talk to my mom about it and get
her to give up her belief in Eastern Lightning. As someone who was
about to begin university, I of course could not just hear my father’s
side of the story. So, after that, I got online and searched a little
for information about Eastern Lightning, wanting to really understand it
a little bit. As a result, I found some remarks spread by the Chinese
Communist Party and the religious pastors and elders accusing and
slandering Eastern Lightning. I was a little worried about my mom while I
was preparing to go back to China and see my mother’s recent situation.
After I got back, I saw that everything was normal, and she hadn’t
changed at all in her love and care for me. She had especially grown in
her faith in God, and had become even more pious than before. I set
aside my worries about my mom.
In that short time that I had
returned to China, my mother sure enough mentioned Eastern lightning to
me. She said: “The Lord Jesus has already returned, and has done a stage
of the work of judgment starting with the house of God….” From what my
mother said, I understood that God incarnated in the last days in the
physical form of a female to come do the work. When I heard that I
stared blankly, because this was completely the opposite of what I had
heard when I was abroad about believing in the Lord Jesus. When the
pastor preached, he always said that Jehovah is the Holy Father and the
Lord Jesus is the Holy Son, and since it is said They are father and
son, They are both male in gender. Furthermore, all the portraits of the
Lord Jesus that were hanging in the church and the images of the Lord
Jesus on the cross are all male, so in my notion I thought that when God
became incarnate it would be as a male. But my mom had said that God
incarnated as a female in the last days, and this completely went beyond
my knowledge of the Lord Jesus, so in my heart I could not accept it. I
said to my mom: “The Lord Jesus is male, so when the Lord returns how
could He be female?” My mom fellowshiped to me: “God’s essence is
Spirit, and God is not differentiated by gender. He only incarnates for
the sake of people’s salvation, and only then does He select a gender….”
But since the point of view that had been inculcated in me by the
pastor had already had a strong impression, given that it was the first
thing that I was exposed to, I just wouldn’t listen to anything my mom
said, no matter what it was.
After a few days, my mom suggested
that she wanted to take me to participate in a gathering, and even
though I didn’t want to, I still felt like I should go with her out of
respect for my mother. I remember at the time there was an aunt who
said: “Now it is the period of the last days, and the Lord Jesus has
already returned in the flesh among humans to deliver the truth and do
the work of judgment beginning from His house. Today, the churches of
the Age of Grace already are without the work of the Holy Spirit, and
are universally in a state of desolation….” But because the door to my
heart was already sealed, I was determined that the Lord Jesus was male,
and that when the Lord returns He would definitely be in male form. So I
didn’t pay any attention to what the aunt said. Until the time that I
left China, I still was confused: How could the Lord Jesus be female
when He returns? I was afraid that my mom had taken the wrong path and
could only pray for her. I said: “Lord Jesus! I ask that You protect my
mother and not let her go astray, but lead her to return to Your
embrace….”
After returning to the USA, I continued going to attend
services at church. But gradually I discovered that what the pastor
preached was just the same old tune, specifically about giving
contributions, and that believers couldn’t receive true shepherding.
Many people were sleeping during the gatherings, and the people who
attended them were becoming fewer and fewer. In 2014, the church that I
went to had a major incident when the pastor embezzled the contributions
and went and bought a house in another state, and our church went
bankrupt and closed down. When I saw all of this, I felt extremely
disappointed. Just at that time, a fellow student took me to their
church to participate their gatherings, and this church was much bigger
than the one I had been at previously. Every Sunday when the pastor was
preaching I could sit on the second level to listen, but I still saw
many people sleeping, and sometimes I even fell asleep myself. The
pastor often raised his voice intentionally to try to get the brothers
and sisters to listen more attentively, but it didn’t have any effect
whatsoever on the situation. It reminded me of my old church, where the
pastor had taken the money for himself to buy a house, and the sermons
could not provide for the spiritual needs of the brothers and sisters.
Even though the brothers and sisters came to church they still slept,
and now this church was just the same, but could it be that all churches
were really desolate? I suddenly thought of when I went back to my home
country in 2012, when my mom and that Aunt had said to me, God has now
undertaken the work of the Age of Kingdom, and the Age of Grace has
ended, God is no longer working in the churches of the Age of Grace, and
only by catching up with God’s work of the Age of Kingdom can one
obtain the work of the Holy Spirit. At the time, I asked myself for the
first time: Could it be true that the Lord Jesus has returned?
In
the blink of an eye the end of 2015 had come, and I found out that my
mom had gone to San Francisco to visit my brother. I bought a plane
ticket to go see my mom. My mom brought up Eastern Lightning to me a
second time—the second coming of the Lord Jesus, and also made me watch
many gospel movies of The Church of Almighty God as well as read the
words of Almighty God. This time I was not conflicted as I had been
before, because in these two years, I had seen too many sights of the
desolation in the church. I confirmed from my heart the desolation of
the religion that they talked about was indeed the case! I began to
still my mind and listen to what my mom was fellowshiping. At the same
time my mom targeted my notions, read the word of God that talked about
the gender of God’s incarnation, and gave me a profound impression. She
also explained away my confusion that I had held all along about the
gender of the Lord’s second coming. The word of Almighty God says: “Each
stage of work done by God has its own practical significance. Back
then, when Jesus came, He was male, but this time He is female. From
this, you can see that God created both male and female for the sake of
His work, and with Him there is no distinction of gender. When His
Spirit comes, He can take on any kind of flesh at will and that flesh
can represent Him. Whether male or female, it can represent God as long
as it is His incarnate flesh. If Jesus had appeared as a female when He
came, in other words, if an infant girl, and not a boy, had been
conceived by the Holy Spirit, that stage of work would have been
completed all the same. If such had been the case, then the present
stage of work would have to be completed by a male instead, but the work
would be completed all the same. The work done in either stage is
equally significant; neither stage of work is repeated nor conflicts
with the other. … If in this stage He did not become flesh in order
personally to do work for man to witness, man would forever hold on to
the notion that God is only male, not female” (“The Two Incarnations Complete the Significance of the Incarnation” in The Word Appears in the Flesh). “God’s
wisdom, God’s wondrousness, God’s righteousness, and God’s majesty
shall never change. His essence and what He has and is shall never
change. As for His work, however, it is always progressing in a forward
direction, always going deeper, for He is always new and never old. … If
God came into the flesh only as a male, people would define Him as
male, as the God of men, and would never believe Him to be the God of
women. Men would then hold that God is of the same gender as men, that
God is the head of men—but what then of women? This is unfair; is it not
preferential treatment? If this were the case, then all those whom God
saved would be men like Him, and not one woman would be saved. When God
created mankind, He created Adam and He created Eve. He did not only
create Adam, but made both male and female in His image. God is not only
the God of men—He is also the God of women” (“The Vision of
God’s Work (3)” in The Word Appears in the Flesh). After reading the
word of God, my mental preoccupation was resolved in an instant. I felt
from my heart that these words were all correct. God first made Adam and
Eve, and male and female were both made in the image of God Himself.
They were originally equal, and God is not only the God of males, but
also the God of females. So why, then, could His second coming not be in
the form of a female? God’s essence is Spirit, so of course He may come
among mankind in whatever physical form He chooses. Whether or not God
incarnates as male or female, that is God’s freedom to do so. God has
the authority to choose what gender He incarnates as, because God is the
sovereign of all existence, and the Lord of creation. Does God have to
be restricted by man in doing His work? What are we humans in the face
of God? Are we not nothing more than dust? So how could we ever fathom
God’s wisdom? I first thought that God could only incarnate as a male,
but this is me making up rules for God. It also shows that I didn’t
understand God in the slightest, and that I was too arrogant and without
reason.
After reading more and more from the word of God, my
notions about God incarnating as a female this time were completely
dispelled. I was also able to accept that God has already returned to do
a new work, but I still didn’t have a totally accurate picture of the
work of Almighty God. Because of the negative propaganda resisting and
accusing Almighty God that I had read previously, I still had some
misgivings in my heart. I thought: I should really investigate this some
more and see what kind of church The Church of Almighty God really is.
At that, starting in February 2016, I formally attended online
gatherings with the brothers and sisters of The Church of Almighty God
with an observant attitude. I prayed that I would be able to distinguish
for myself between right and wrong and see clearly whether it was true
or false in the negative propaganda about Almighty God, and asked God to
guide me.
Through a short period of investigation, I discovered
that every time at a gathering the brothers and sisters would all read
the word of God, and fellowship the truth and God’s will. I saw that the
contents of Almighty God’s word were things like requirements for
people to live out normal humanity, requirements for people to be honest
people, how to know God’s disposition, and how to seek the truth and
attain God’s salvation. All these are our needs in spiritual life, and
is very beneficial for us in living out the manner of a true person. I
saw from what the brothers and sisters fellowshiped that they provided
for and helped each other in their spiritual lives a lot. How a person
is in his conduct and behavior can be seen merely from how he talks and
the viewpoints he displays. In contact with the brothers and sisters of
The Church of Almighty God, I felt that they were not like what it said
on the internet, but that they really were honest, sincere and good
people, and that in their actions and speech they had hearts full of
reverence for God. I also felt that the work of the Holy Spirit was in
this church, and that brothers and sisters had a lot of enthusiasm in
seeking the truth. Each person had the enlightenment and illumination of
the Holy Spirit in their fellowshiping the word of God and the personal
knowledge and experience at gatherings. Every time I attended
gatherings I could understand a bit of the truth, and gain some benefit,
and this was something I never experienced at my original church. Facts
speak louder than words, and those rumors collapsed in the light of the
truth.
One time at a gathering, I told my sister about rumors
fabricated by the CCP and religious pastors I had found online, and said
that I did not understand that since The Church of Almighty God has the
work of the Holy Spirit and is a church that came into being because of
the appearance and work of God in the last days, why it faces the
fanatical opposition and accusations of the CCP and of the pastors and
elders in the religion. The sister fellowshiped this truth with me and
said: “We have to see through the rumors online. This is how the CCP and
religious pastors attack and criticize God’s work in the last days.
They accuse The Church of Almighty God, and this is not a strange thing
at all, because the true way has always faced persecution since ancient
times. Satan has consistently been the enemy of God, and it fabricates
and disseminates all kinds of lies to deceive and disturb us, and to
make us shun and betray God, and thereby to attain the goal of
controlling and possessing us. It is just like how Satan used lies in
the beginning to mislead Eve into denying the word of God and betraying
God. When the Lord Jesus came to work, the chief priests, scribes, and
Pharisees of Judaism relied on concocting all kinds of rumors to mislead
the Jewish commoners. They slandered the Lord Jesus as being the son of
a carpenter and spoke blasphemy that He cast out demons with the help
of the demon king. They even collaborated with the Roman authorities in
crucifying the Lord Jesus. After the Lord Jesus rose from the dead, they
bribed the soldiers to make up lies that Jesus had not come back to
life to stop the Jewish commoners from returning to God. In the last
days, God incarnated again to do a stage of the work of judgment, to
completely cleanse and save people. The gospel of God’s kingdom has
already become known to everyone in mainland China, and today the work
of Almighty God is being spread to all countries on earth. Under the
guidance of the word of God, more and more people have gained
discrimination of the evil forces that comes from Satan, and have
clearly seen the demonic essence of the atheist CCP and religious
leaders as the enemies of God. They are abandoning them in great numbers
and beginning to return to God to seek the truth and take the right
path for human life. Satan is not resigned to defeat, but is in its
death throes vying with God for the chosen people of God. The satanic
regime of the CCP has united with religion through online and media
sources to wantonly spread rumors and slander The Church of Almighty
God, to mislead those foolish and ignorant people who cannot distinguish
this. They attempt to block people from investigating the work of
Almighty God and to disturb and obstruct the work of God. Just as it is
said in the Bible: ‘And the whole world lies in wickedness’ (1 John 5:19). The Lord Jesus said: ‘And
this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men
loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For
every one that does evil hates the light, neither comes to the light,
lest his deeds should be reproved’ (John 3:19-20). As for how to see through Satan’s trickery, and not be misled by Satan, Almighty God says: ‘When
you have undergone experiences, you will be able to differentiate many
things—you will be able to distinguish between good and evil, between
righteousness and wickedness, between what is of flesh and blood and
what is of the truth. You should be able to distinguish between all
these things, and in so doing, no matter the circumstances, you will
never be lost. Only this is your real stature. Knowing the work of God
is no simple matter: You should have standards and an objective in your
pursuit, you should know how to seek the true way, and how to measure
whether or not it is the true way, and whether or not it is the work of
God’ (“Only Those Who Know God and His Work Can Satisfy God” in
The Word Appears in the Flesh). When we think of the environment in
which the Lord Jesus was working, and then use the truth to consider
God’s work of salvation in the last days, and all kinds of rumors and
falsehoods disseminated by Satan to stop people from returning to God,
it is not difficult to see Satan’s sinister motives. It is also easy to
understand the reason why The Church of Almighty God receives the
resistance, condemnation, and persecution of the Chinese government and
religious circles.”
Having listened to what the sister
fellowshiped, I had some discernment of Satan’s schemes. I also had some
knowledge of Satan’s essence of resistance to God. Furthermore, I saw
that one simply has to practically investigate and understand God’s work
to distinguish all these rumors and separate the truth from the lies.
If one blindly listens to only one side of the story and does not seek
truth or investigate the facts, he will be deceived by the rumors spread
by the CCP and religious leaders and miss his chance to be saved by God
in the last days. At that time, I thanked Almighty God from my heart
for enlightening and leading me to understand these truths, for making
me completely sure that Almighty God is the second coming of the Lord
Jesus, so that I could catch up with the footsteps of God and welcome
the return of the Lord. Thanks be to God! Amen!
from The books of Eastern Lightning How I Turned Back to Almighty God
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