By David, Myanmar
“For there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved” (Act 4:12). I remembered that when I was young, my mother exhorted me, “Only by praying in the name of the Lord Jesus can we be forgiven of our sins and gain peace and blessings.” And the pastors in our church often used this verse to emphasize the importance of praying in the name of the Lord. From then on, the name of the Lord Jesus was deeply engraved in my heart. Until one day, I came to know that God is not only called Jesus but was once called Jehovah, and that God’s names contain many mysteries that are not known to man.
This way was truly full of light.
One day in October, 2017, I visited my best friend, who believed in the Lord, and he took me to listen to a sermon. When I listened to it, I felt that it was quite fresh and full of light and that it was different from what the pastors in the church preached. I was curious about it so I went and listened to sermons every Sunday. One day in late November, Sister Xiaomo, the preacher, said that the Lord has returned and that He has become flesh to do a new stage of work in China and taken a new name. Hearing her words, I didn’t take them seriously and thought she said it for fun. Then she let us listen to some hymns and watch some videos about it. And my heart was at once attracted by these hymns and videos; I was deeply moved and felt enjoyment. At that time, I really wanted to ask her to download some hymns and videos for me, but because we were still unfamiliar with each other, I was too embarrassed to do so.
Was the negative propaganda condemning Eastern Lightning on Baidu reliable?
After getting back home, I hurriedly typed Eastern Lightning into Baidu, wanting to see if these hymns and videos could be found on the Internet. However, I didn’t find them but instead saw a lot of negative propaganda condemning Eastern Lightning. I then remembered that Sister Xiaomo said that the Lord has come back and His name has changed. Then I began to doubt her words. I thought, “Does the Bible not clearly say, ‘Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved’ (Act 4:12)? It’s obvious, only by upholding the name of the Lord Jesus can we Christians be saved. However, the sister said that God’s name has changed. Isn’t this at odds with what the Bible says? I’d rather not go and listen to her preaching.”
The next day, I went to my friend’s and told him about what I saw on the Internet. He thought for a moment and said, “With regard to whether or not Eastern Lightning is the true way, we’d better investigate it clearly before making a conclusion. The gossip on the Internet is unreliable.” At his words, I thought they made sense. The information on the Internet was not trustworthy and I could not selectively listen and believe. Therefore, when it was time to attend meetings, I still went with my friend to listen to sermons as before. During the meetings, through the sister’s fellowship, I knew that Baidu is an official website controlled by the CCP. The negative propaganda was fabricated by the CCP to condemn The Church of Almighty God. The CCP is an atheist party and has always persecuted religious beliefs. Its words are surely unreliable! After understanding this, I got rid of my guards. But although I thought the way of Eastern Lightning was profound, I didn’t pray in the name of Almighty God because I thought that the Lord Jesus’ name could not change.
“Jesus” is just one of God’s names.
During a meeting one time, Sister Xiaomo found two passages of God’s words and read them to us: “Some say that the name of God does not change, so why then did the name of Jehovah become Jesus? It was prophesied of the coming of the Messiah, so why then did a man by the name of Jesus come? Why did the name of God change? Was not such work carried out long ago? Cannot God this day do a new work? The work of yesterday can be altered, and the work of Jesus can follow on from that of Jehovah. Cannot then the work of Jesus be succeeded by another work? If the name of Jehovah can be changed to Jesus, then cannot the name of Jesus also be changed? This is not unusual, and people think so[a] only due to their simple-mindedness. God will always be God. Regardless of the changes to His work and His name, His disposition and wisdom remain forever unchanged. If you believe that God can only be called by the name of Jesus, then you know too little.” “God’s wisdom, God’s wondrousness, God’s righteousness, and God’s majesty shall never change. His essence and what He has and is shall never change. As for His work, however, it is always progressing in a forward direction, always going deeper, for He is always new and never old. In every age God assumes a new name, in every age He does new work, and in every age He allows His creatures to see His new will and new disposition.” When hearing these God’s words, I was shocked, because God’s words countered my conception: It turns out God’s name can change.
Sister An said, “From God’s words we can see that God’s name changes as His work changes, which means that when God does a new stage of work His name will change accordingly. Due to our not understanding the truth nor having knowledge of God, we use the literal meaning of the Bible to draw the conclusion that God’s name will never change. In this way, it will be easy for us to resist God. Just like people who believed in Jehovah God in the Age of Law: They held on to the verse, ‘I, even I, am Jehovah; and beside me there is no savior’ (Isa 43:11) and thought that the name Jehovah could be the only name of God. Because Jehovah God once saved them from the Pharaoh, issued forth laws to guide their lives on earth and saved them from attacks from their enemies time after time, they determined that only Jehovah God was their Savior and that they would never abandon the name of Jehovah. When God became flesh for the first time to do the work of redemption, His name became Jesus. Yet they couldn’t accept God’s new name, nor did they acknowledge that the Lord Jesus is God. In the end, they nailed the Lord Jesus to the cross. After the Lord Jesus was crucified and accomplished the work of redemption, all those who believed in and followed Him received God’s salvation. From then on, believers in the Age of Grace began to pray in the name of the Lord Jesus because ‘Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved’ (Act 4:12). From the first two stages of God’s work, we see that the name of God can change. God takes different names in different ages. In the last days, God takes the name Almighty God, which has exactly fulfilled the prophecy spoken of in Revelation 1:8, ‘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.’ But those who believe that only the Lord Jesus is the Savior cannot accept this fact, so they rise up and condemn and defy God Himself who has returned in the last days. In fact, God takes different names and does different works in different ages, but His essence remains unchanged. Now God has done new work and His name has changed. If we don’t accept God’s new work or pray in His new name, then we won’t gain His salvation of the last days and will lose the chance to be saved.”
Through God’s words and the sister’s fellowshiping, I understood that God’s name changes as His management plan progresses, and that if we only uphold God’s old names, then we will easily be eliminated by God’s work and become opponents of God.
What are the significances of the names Jesus and Jehovah?
Sister Xiaomo also said, “God’s name does not remain unchanged. God takes different names as His management plan develops. He begins an age and changes an age with a new name. God’s name represents His work and the disposition He expresses during that age. His every name is meaningful. Let us read a passage of God’s words: ‘“Jehovah” is the name that I took during My work in Israel, and it means the God of the Israelites (God’s chosen people) who can take pity on man, curse man, and guide the life of man. It means the God who possesses great power and is full of wisdom. “Jesus” is Emmanuel, and it means the sin offering that is full of love, full of compassion, and redeems man. He did the work of the Age of Grace, and represents the Age of Grace, and can only represent one part of the management plan. … And so, when the final age—the age of the last days—arrives, My name shall change again. I shall not be called Jehovah, or Jesus, much less the Messiah, but shall be called the powerful Almighty God Himself, and under this name I shall bring the entire age to an end. I was once known as Jehovah. I was also called the Messiah, and people once called Me Jesus the Savior because they loved and respected Me. But today I am not the Jehovah or Jesus that people knew in times past—I am the God who has returned in the last days, the God who shall bring the age to an end. I am the God Himself that rises up at the ends of the earth, replete with My entire disposition, and full of authority, honor and glory. People have never engaged with Me, have never known Me, and have always been ignorant of My disposition. From the creation of the world until today, not one person has seen Me. This is the God who appears to man during the last days but is hidden among man. He resides among man, true and real, like the burning sun and the flaming fire, filled with power and brimming with authority. There is not a single person or thing that shall not be judged by My words, and not a single person or thing that shall not be purified through the burning of fire. Eventually, all nations shall be blessed because of My words, and also smashed to pieces because of My words. In this way, all people during the last days shall see that I am the Savior returned, I am the Almighty God that conquers all of mankind, and I was once the sin offering for man, but in the last days I also become the flames of the sun that burn all things, as well as the Sun of righteousness that reveals all things. Such is My work of the last days. I took this name and am possessed of this disposition so that all people may see that I am a righteous God, and am the burning sun, and the flaming fire. It is so that all may worship Me, the only true God, and so that they may see My true face: I am not only the God of the Israelites, and am not just the Redeemer—I am the God of all creatures throughout heavens and earth and seas.’
God’s words tell us that ‘Jehovah,’ means the God who guides the life of man, and it represents God’s disposition of taking pity on man and cursing man. Because the mankind in the beginning didn’t understand anything, God used the name Jehovah to undertake the work of the Age of Law, issue forth laws and commandments to the Israelites and lead their lives on earth. God took pity on and blessed those who followed the commandments and laws, and cursed and punished those who went against the commandments. At the end of the Age of the Law, mankind became more and more corrupted: They offered lame sacrifices and failed to keep the law. God didn’t have the heart to see men being condemned to death by the law, so He became flesh and took the name Jesus. ‘Jesus’ means the sin offering that is full of love, full of compassion, and redeems man. The disposition the Lord Jesus expressed in the Age of Grace was mercy and lovingkindness. During that age, the Lord Jesus healed the sick and cast out demons, bestowed bounteous grace and blessings upon man and in the end was nailed to the cross as a sin offering for man. In the last days, we are deeply corrupted by Satan and our corruption needs to be changed from the root up. Thus, God uses a new name—Almighty God, to carry out the work of judgment and chastisement, which is also the classifying work and the work of ending an age. The disposition Almighty God expresses is different from that the Lord Jesus expressed in the Age of Grace. Almighty God judges and chastises man through His disposition of justice, majesty and wrath, to let us recognize our own corruption. At the same time, He allows us to see His inherent disposition of justice, which creates within us a reverent heart for Him so that we can thoroughly repent and change, and be saved by Him. Finally, God will let all people see His power and authority: God can not only create the heavens, the earth and all things, and initiate an age, but can also lead men in their lives, redeem men, cleanse and change men, and take them to a wonderful destination. It can be seen from this that God’s name continues to change. God has a name for each age. Each name has its representative significance and represents God’s work and disposition in that age.”
At these words, I came to know that God’s names have profound significance. This really allowed me to open my eyes wide. My heart confirmed that the words the sister read are God’s utterances. Apart from God, who can reveal the mystery of God’s name so clearly? From then on, I began to pray in the name of Almighty God and normally participate in church life. Thank God for choosing me and allowing me to come before Him and hear His voice through brothers and sisters fellowshiping with me. Otherwise, I would continue to live in my conceptions and imaginations, use my own will to understand the scriptures and hold to the name of the Lord Jesus, losing God’s salvation of the last days. Thank God! All the glory be to Almighty God!
Footnotes:
a.The original text reads “which is.”
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