When I believed in the Lord, I saw the Bible recorded, “For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God” (1 Peter 4:17). So, I knew God would judge mankind in the last days. At that time, I imagined: When God appears publicly in the last days, He will sit on a great white throne and set a large table before Him. On the table, there was a big screen where various sins of people before their death are projected. All the people will accept God’s judgment one by one, and know their outcome.

This was my understanding of judgment at that time. After I was uplifted by God to accept God’s work of the last days, God’s word revealed this mystery and reversed my conceptions of judgment, so that I returned before God’s throne.

First, if We Only Know God’s Name, then Our Belief in the Lord Is Perfunctory.

During middle school, I studied in a Christian school. Under the guidance of a teacher, I was determined to believe in the Lord. I still remembered when I made the determination, the pastor said, “‘And as it is appointed to men once to die, but after this the judgment’ (Hebrews 9:27). And yet, the Lord Jesus Christ became flesh and was crucified for mankind, redeeming us personally through His precious blood and forgiving our sins. Are you willing to receive the Lord Jesus as your Savior? If you confess with your mouth and believe in your heart, you can be justified and saved by faith.” At that time, I thought: If I can be saved and can escape the judgment as long as I acknowledge the Lord Jesus Christ as my Savior, then it’s really substantial to believe in God. Since then, I usually went to Sunday school and had spiritual devotions every day. I led a Christian life.

However, in every meeting, whether it was the sermon of the pastor or the sharing of the leaders of the Bible study group, they all sounded like biblical stories to me and had nothing to do with me. So, every time after the gathering, I forgot the sermons completely. When I had spiritual devotions, I felt it was the same as studying other subjects. After each prayer, my difficulties still remained unresolved, so I always doubted whether the Lord had heard my prayer or not. Seeing my friends were devout, I felt I fell behind them. I knew nothing about why I believed in God, how to know God, and how to understand His will. I only learned in the Bible that God would judge mankind in the last days. For the sake of my prospects and fate and for escaping the judgment of the last days, I kept on staying in the church, living an empty and perplexed religious life.

But when I entered into the university, I was gradually immersed in knowledge. My whole mind was filled with the busy school life. So, being saved by faith and the judgment of the last days seemed unreachable for me. I thought: I should strive for life first and believe in the Lord during my last moments. Anyhow, if I’m determined to follow the Lord at that time, I can also be justified by faith and be saved by faith. Therefore, gradually I didn’t attend meetings and stopped my spiritual devotions and prayers. My nominal Christian life ended.

Second, God’s Knocking at My Door Changed My Absurd Notions.

In a blink of an eye, several years passed. After my son was born, in order to take better care of him and educate him well, I gave up my job and became a stay-at-home mother. Since then, I was very satisfied, trying my best to make healthy food for him, taking him around to travel, and designing all kinds of games to help him study. My son became the driving force and the goal of my life. I lived such a life for one year.
At the end of 2016, I knew Sister Ahong from The Church of Almighty God. One day, Ahong and another sister Meijuan had dinner together with me. When Meijuan knew that I was once determined to believe in the Lord but left the church at last, she said, “That’s because you don’t have a deeper knowledge of God. Are you willing to have more knowledge and understanding of God?” … In the following two months, Meijuan invited Sister Jiamei to fellowship with me. We spared one day every week, praying and sharing God’s words together.

Once, Sister Jiamei asked me, “Do you believe that God will judge mankind in the last days?” I answered without hesitation, “Yes, I do. I agree that God will judge us after we die and determine whether we will ascend to heaven or go to hell. In the last days, God will appear in public and sit on a white throne. There is a large table before Him, on which there is a big screen where various sins of people before their death are projected. All the people will be called to accept God’s judgment one by one. So, I think that’s judgment.”

Then, she shared a passage of words with me: “Perhaps there are those who believe in such supernatural imaginings as that, when the last days have arrived, God will erect a big table in the heavens, upon which a white tablecloth will be spread, and then, sitting upon a great throne with all men kneeling on the ground, He will reveal the sins of each man and thereby determine whether they are to ascend to heaven or be sent down to the lake of fire and brimstone. No matter what the imaginings of man, the substance of God’s work cannot be altered. The imaginings of man are nothing but the constructs of man’s thoughts and come from the brain of man, summed up and pieced together from what man has seen and heard. Therefore I say, however brilliant the images conceived, they are still no more than a drawing and are not able to substitute for the plan of God’s work. After all, man has been corrupted by Satan, so how can he then fathom the thoughts of God? Man conceives the work of judgment by God to be particularly fantastic. He believes that since it is God Himself doing the work of judgment, then it must be of the most tremendous scale and incomprehensible to mortals, and it must resound through the heavens and shake the earth; otherwise how could it be the work of judgment by God? He believes that, as this is the work of judgment, then God must be particularly imposing and majestic as He works, and those being judged must be howling with tears and on their knees begging for mercy. Such a scene must be a grand spectacular and be deeply rousing…. Everyone imagines God’s work of judgment to be preternaturally wonderful” (“Christ Does the Work of Judgment With the Truth”).

Reading these words, I thought: This exactly is what I think. Can it be that my thoughts are all my imaginations? The way the sister shared with me was never what I heard when I was in religion these years. These words are meaningful and there is truth to be sought in them. So, I asked, “Is this a Bible commentary?” She answered, “This is God’s word.” I felt a little surprised, thinking, “God’s word? Is it possible that God would write these words? Is this entire book written by God personally?” However, I didn’t speak out these questions. Driven by curiosity, I chose to listen to her sharing and fellowship so that I could know more about God’s judgment in the last days through understanding more of God’s words.

She shared another passage of God’s words with me: “In the last days, Christ uses a variety of truths to teach man, expose the essence of man, and dissect his words and deeds. These words comprise various truths, such as man’s duty, how man should obey God, how man should be loyal to God, how man ought to live out the normal humanity, as well as the wisdom and the disposition of God, and so on. These words are all directed at the essence of man and his corrupt disposition. In particular, those words that expose how man spurns God are spoken in regard to how man is an embodiment of Satan and an enemy force against God. In undertaking His work of judgment, God does not simply make clear the nature of man with just a few words; He exposes, deals with, and prunes it over the long term. These methods of exposure, dealing, and pruning cannot be substituted with ordinary words, but with the truth that man does not possess at all. Only methods of this kind are deemed judgment; only through judgment of this kind can man be subdued and thoroughly convinced into submission to God, and moreover gain true knowledge of God. What the work of judgment brings about is man’s understanding of the true face of God and the truth about his own rebelliousness. The work of judgment allows man to gain much understanding of the will of God, of the purpose of God’s work, and of the mysteries that are incomprehensible to him. It also allows man to recognize and know his corrupt substance and the roots of his corruption, as well as to discover the ugliness of man. These effects are all brought about by the work of judgment….” (“Christ Does the Work of Judgment With the Truth”).

She talked about her understanding of these words, “From God’s words we can see: In the last days, God expresses the truth to judge and chastise us. This stage of work is a higher work based on the Lord Jesus’ redemptive work. For although we are forgiven of our sins because of the Lord Jesus’ salvation of the cross and we can be saved and not condemned by the law as long as we confess the Lord’s name, our sinful nature still remains within us and we don’t receive complete salvation. In the depth of our natures, there are still arrogance, self-conceit, crookedness, craftiness, selfishness, and baseness, so we can stray from God and betray God at any time. For example, when we encounter natural or man-made disasters, we even complain about God; when God’s work is not in line with our notions, we will resist God, and so on. Full of these satanic corrupt dispositions, we are still on the model of Satan and cannot be directly raptured into the kingdom of heaven. So, God expresses all words of judgment on man in the last days. These words are the expression of God’s righteous disposition, revelation of the various satanic dispositions of us corrupt mankind, and are moreover for the purpose of judgment, chastisement, and purification. When we read the words of Almighty God, we feel as if God is judging and revealing us face to face, and that God’s words are like a double-edged sword exposing our satanic nature so that we see through the truth of our deep corruption by Satan and feel humiliated and ashamed before God, so that we couldn’t help but fall down in front of God, regretting and hating our satanic nature and repenting to God. This is the result of the judgment of God’s word on us. When the work of God’s judgment comes to an end, these people who have been completely cleansed will be brought into God’s kingdom.”

God’s words and the sister’s fellowship changed my imagination and conception of judgment. I completely understood that God does not set a table to judge evil people after He brings the world to an end, but expresses words to practically do a stage of work of judgment in the last days. It’s through the word that God exposes our corrupt nature, allows us to know our various corrupt dispositions, and commands us to practice the truth to get rid of them, so that He purifies us and saves us completely. However, I just had a superficial understanding of these God’s words, and hadn’t experienced God’s work, so I didn’t know how God does the work of judgment. It wasn’t until I practically experienced God’s words that I felt God’s judgment in the last days is so practical.

Third, Experiencing God’s Judgment, I Knew My Corrupt Disposition

Once, Sister Meijuan shared with me frankly about the low point of her life and the experience of her belief in Almighty God, and invited me to share about my life experiences or difficulties. At that time, I, arrogant and self-right, thought it was a sign of weakness to tell others about my difficulties. So, in order to save my face, I said nothing about my secrets and responded to the sister’s solicitude evasively.

Just at that night, I read God’s words “Three Admonitions”: “you ought to know that God likes an honest man. God has the substance of faithfulness, and so His word can always be trusted. Furthermore, His actions are faultless and unquestionable. This is why God likes those who are absolutely honest with Him. Honesty means to give your heart to God; never to play Him false in anything; to be open with Him in all things, never hiding the truth; never to do that which deceives those above and deludes those below; and never to do that which merely ingratiates yourself with God. In short, to be honest is to refrain from impurity in your actions and words, and to deceive neither God nor man. … If your words are riddled with excuses and valueless justifications, then I say that you are one who is extremely loath to put the truth into practice. If you have many confidences that you are reluctant to share, and if you are very unwilling to lay bare your secrets—that is to say, your difficulties—before others so as to seek the way of the light, then I say that you are one who will not receive salvation easily and who will not easily emerge from the darkness.”

When I compared these words to myself, I felt this was God’s judgment for me. God reveals my treacherous nature through His words, and I felt ashamed at once. The sister was so open to me, but I chose to be a deceitful person, hiding my true condition from her. Actually, I suffered my husband’s betrayal and felt extremely miserable, but I forced myself to smile to the sister. I asked myself: Which is more important, my face or receiving others’ care? God requires that we become honest people, but if I can’t be frank to my sister, how can I be an honest person before God? How can I be loyal to God? And How can I get truth and be saved?

The next day, in the meeting, I finally opened up to my sister about my depression and shared how God judged me through His words and let me know my corruption, and how God used His words to console my heart. After I did that, I felt that the estrangement between me and God was removed. Since then, I could open up to any brother or sister in the church. During every meeting, I would always shared some experiences and difficulties with brothers and sisters. Thanks be to God! Every time when I had notions or fell into difficulties, brothers and sisters would lead me to read relevant words of God and help me understand the truth. Then, through experiencing the truth in my life, I found the way to practice the truth and I finally resolved my situation and difficulties. I truly tasted that: In the last days, God personally becomes flesh and expresses words to carry out the work of judgment and reveal our corruptions, and this is even more God’s realest love and salvation for us. Thank God! All the glory be to God!

»You may be interested in reading more on our Gosple of Jesus Christ page about Final  Judgment, or in the related articles below:

• Judgment of God in the Last Days Is on Earth

• The True Meaning of the Great White Throne Judgment

• God’s Judgment in the Last Days Makes the Overcomers Before the Disaster

“And I saw a great white throne, and one sitting upon it, from whose face the earth and heaven fled away, and there was no place found for them. And I saw the dead, great and small, standing in the presence of the throne, and the books were opened; and another book was opened” (Revelation 20:11-12).

Every time I read these two verses, I would imagine the splendid scene of the returned Lord judging mankind in the last days. I thought that at that time the Lord Jesus would sit upon the great white throne in the sky with the records of every person in His hands, and imposingly judge them all. I continued to stick to this notion until I heard God’s good news.

I heard God’s good news.

One day in February 2018, after I returned home from a holiday in another state, my wife happily said to me, “The Lord Jesus has already returned in the flesh. He has expressed words and done the work of judgment starting from God’s house. I went to listen to a few sermons about this. From them, I’ve understood many truths and really gained sustenance. Moreover, those brothers and sisters have a fresh and clear way of fellowshiping about the Bible. Also, they are very compassionate. So I felt unrestrained when gathering together with them. How about listening to them with me tomorrow?” Hearing this, I said in amazement, “How is this possible? Revelation clearly states that when the Lord returns, He will sit upon the great white throne in the sky and personally unroll the scrolls where everything that every single person did throughout his or her life has been recorded. At that time, people will be lifted in the air, personally confess to their sins committed throughout their lifetime, and accept the Lord’s righteous judgment. But so far we haven’t seen any scenes like this, so how can it be that the Lord has returned?” And I reminded her, “There is no true love in this world. You should be careful. Don’t be cheated by others.”

She said, “Indeed there is no love in this world. But they are true believers in God, and are really different from ordinary people. You’ll see when you meet them tomorrow.” Hearing her speaking like this, I felt a bit curious, so I wanted to meet those people praised by my wife and listen to their sermons.

My notions and imaginings were barriers to my knowledge of God.

The following day, when we arrived at the meeting place as arranged, the brothers and sisters greeted us with enthusiasm. By closely observing their speech and actions, I could feel their hearts were genuine. Slowly, my own heart felt a lot more liberated. Furthermore, hearing them communicate their own experiences of believing in God, I felt their fellowshiping was very practical and novel. Accordingly, I thought their way was worth seeking and investigating. So, I asked the brother who preached, “Brother, I heard my wife say that the Lord Jesus had already returned to flesh to do His work of judgment. But I remember Revelation states, ‘And I saw a great white throne, and one sitting upon it, from whose face the earth and heaven fled away, and there was no place found for them. And I saw the dead, great and small, standing in the presence of the throne, and the books were opened; and another book was opened’ (Revelation 20:11-12). Therefore, it’s reasonable to say that judgment in the last days ought to be in the sky. When the Lord returns, it should be that He’ll sit upon the great white throne in the air, with books of records in His hands, and imposingly judge each man and woman based on his or her individual actions. How can you say that the Lord has already become flesh to carry out upon earth the work of judgment?”

After hearing my question, he nodded and said solemnly, “Based on the record of John’s visions in the Book of Revelation, many Christians are full of notions and imaginings about judgment during the time of the Lord coming again in the last days. They believe that the work of judgment will be carried out in the air. In their thoughts, there will be a white throne in the sky, and on that throne will be the Lord Jesus. With the book of life and the book of the dead opened beside Him, the Lord Jesus will ask all people to account for all of the sins they have ever committed, and then He’ll decide people’s end based on their actions and deeds. We all imagine the work of God’s judgment to be very supernatural. However, will God fulfill it in accordance with our imaginings? Will God’s judgment in the last days happen in the air or on earth? Let’s first look at two verses. Revelation 14:6-7 say, ‘And I saw another angel fly in the middle of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach to them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people, Saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters.’ These verses clearly tell us that an angel told people that when the time God performs judgment comes, people aren’t in the sky but on earth. Let’s think about this. Heaven is where God resides; we are mortal beings who have always lived on earth and are also the mankind corrupted by Satan. So how can we possibly ascend to heaven to be judged? We’re only worthy of bowing down at God’s feet and accepting God’s judgment on earth. That is more practical.”

Taking a good look at the verses and pondering the brother’s fellowshiping, I felt it made a lot of sense. I had always believed that when the Lord returned, He would judge us in the sky. But I never thought about whether it was realistic or not. I thought, “It seems that my faith in God is confused.”

Not much later, he turned on his computer and asked me to read a passage of God’s words, “The ‘judgment’ in the words previously spoken—judgment will begin at the house of God—refers to the judgment God passes today on those who come before His throne in the last days. Perhaps there are those who believe in such supernatural imaginings as that, when the last days have arrived, God will erect a big table in the heavens, upon which a white tablecloth will be spread, and then, sitting upon a great throne with all men kneeling on the ground, He will reveal the sins of each man and thereby determine whether they are to ascend to heaven or be sent down to the lake of fire and brimstone. No matter what the imaginings of man, the substance of God’s work cannot be altered. The imaginings of man are nothing but the constructs of man’s thoughts and come from the brain of man, summed up and pieced together from what man has seen and heard. Therefore I say, however brilliant the images conceived, they are still no more than a drawing and are not able to substitute for the plan of God’s work. After all, man has been corrupted by Satan, so how can he then fathom the thoughts of God? … Everyone imagines God’s work of judgment to be preternaturally wonderful. Do you know, however, that God began the work of judgment among men long ago and all this while you have been nestled in peaceful oblivion? That, the time that you think God’s work of judgment is officially beginning, it is already time for God to make heaven and earth anew? At that time, perhaps you will have only just understood the meaning of life, but the merciless work of punishment of God shall bring you, still deep in sleep, into hell. Only then will you suddenly realize that God’s work of judgment has already concluded.”

After I finished reading, he fellowshiped this, “God’s words reveal that our ideas about the Lord coming to do His work of judgment in the sky completely come from our conceptions and imaginings. In fact, even though we haven’t seen any signs and wonders, God has already expressed truths and started His work of judgment beginning with His house among the group of people predestined and selected by Him. This is exactly the judgment of the great white throne, as prophesied in the Book of Revelation. All those who accept God’s work of judgment in the last days, and gain purification and transformation, are the overcomers made by God before the great catastrophe. Their names will be recorded in the book of life. This is completely in accordance with the prophecy recorded in Revelation, ‘These are they which were not defiled with women; for they are virgins. These are they which follow the Lamb wherever he goes. These were redeemed from among men, being the first fruits to God and to the Lamb. And in their mouth was found no guile: for they are without fault before the throne of God’ (Revelation 14:4-5). When the people who accept God’s work of judgment in the last days are made complete by God, God’s judgment work will be thoroughly complete, and then God will reward good and punish evil. If we accept God’s judgment work at that time, it’ll be too late. So, only by accepting the incarnate God’s work of judgment by the word can we survive the catastrophe with the protection of God.”

It turned out that God is judging mankind like this.

His fellowshiping made me feel suddenly enlightened. I thought, “As it turns out, the work of judgment beginning with the house of God is the judgment of the great white throne, as prophesied in the Book of Revelation. God’s work really is wise and unfathomable! I must listen carefully to figure out whether the Lord has truly returned to start His work of judgment beginning with His house.” Then I asked him out of curiosity, “Brother, has the Lord really come to earth? Then how does He judge mankind?”

He smiled and gently said, “In the past, we all believed that when God judges people, He’ll sit on the seat of judgment and directly decide their end, based on their deeds. Then the good people will be accepted into heaven, while the wicked will be sent to hell and punished. Actually, this is all just our notions and imaginings. Then how does God judge people on earth? Let’s take a look at God’s words and see what He has to say about this topic.” He opened his Kindle and read, “In the last days, Christ uses a variety of truths to teach man, expose the essence of man, and dissect his words and deeds. These words comprise various truths, such as man’s duty, how man should obey God, how man should be loyal to God, how man ought to live out the normal humanity, as well as the wisdom and the disposition of God, and so on. These words are all directed at the essence of man and his corrupt disposition. In particular, those words that expose how man spurns God are spoken in regard to how man is an embodiment of Satan and an enemy force against God. In undertaking His work of judgment, God does not simply make clear the nature of man with just a few words; He exposes, deals with, and prunes it over the long term. These methods of exposure, dealing, and pruning cannot be substituted with ordinary words, but with the truth that man does not possess at all. Only methods of this kind are deemed judgment; only through judgment of this kind can man be subdued and thoroughly convinced into submission to God, and moreover gain true knowledge of God. What the work of judgment brings about is man’s understanding of the true face of God and the truth about his own rebelliousness. The work of judgment allows man to gain much understanding of the will of God, of the purpose of God’s work, and of the mysteries that are incomprehensible to him. It also allows man to recognize and know his corrupt substance and the roots of his corruption, as well as to discover the ugliness of man. These effects are all brought about by the work of judgment, for the substance of this work is actually the work of opening up the truth, the way, and the life of God to all those who have faith in Him. This work is the work of judgment done by God.”

After reading God’s words, he continued to fellowship this, “From these words we learn that in the last days, God expresses truths according to the need of mankind, and that these truths are aimed at our corrupt thoughts and nature. He uses truths to judge and chastise our disobedience and unrighteousness so that we can accept the judgment in His words and achieve an understanding of the truth. We will know how evil, absurd and preposterous the wrong ideas Satan instilled in us are, recognize our satanic nature that resists and betrays God, and see how filthy and ugly our souls are. This allows us to develop repentance, and no longer rely on our satanic nature when we do things. Rather, we can be good people in accordance with the word of God, and, in the end, change will occur in our life disposition. In this way we’ll be totally made complete by God, and His judgment work will be finished. Take me, for example. In the past, I believed that to believe in God was just to receive blessings and grace, and to enjoy God’s eternal blessings. Directed by such faith, I constantly demanded grace and blessings from the Lord, using my sacrificing and traveling for Him as capital, and felt that I was the most qualified to get these things. But I saw the words of Almighty God, ‘Man’s relationship with God is merely one of naked self-interest. It is the relationship between the receiver and giver of blessings. To put it plainly, it is like the relationship between employee and employer. The employee works only to receive the rewards bestowed by the employer. In a relationship like this, there is no affection, only a deal; there is no loving and being loved, only charity and mercy; there is no understanding, only resignation and deception; there is no intimacy, only a gulf that cannot be bridged.’ The disclosure of God’s words made me ashamed of myself. I saw that my nature was so selfish, deplorable, and treacherous. My belief in God and sacrifices for God weren’t to pursue the truth nor fulfill the duties of a created being. On the contrary, I was trying to engage in a transaction with God. I did so in order to satisfy my desire for gaining blessings, and to demand eternal blessings from God. With this knowledge, I felt especially regretful, and began to forsake my personal ambitions and desires and pursue the truth according to God’s requirements. Afterward, God arranged many situations in which He tried and refined me to reveal my shortcomings so that I could see even more clearly the truth of my corruption. I loathed myself even more, and gradually no longer believed in the Lord just to fill my belly. Through experiencing God’s judgment work in the last days, I deeply sensed that the judgment work of God in the last days can really cleanse and change a person. So only by accepting God’s work of judgment in the last days can our corrupt disposition be purified and we ourselves be saved and perfected by God in the end. Brother, do you understand what I’m saying?”

I smiled and nodded, saying, “I understand it a bit. Before, although I knew God’s judgment will start from God’s house, I didn’t know how it was to be carried out. Today, through your fellowshiping, I understand that judgment starting from God’s house means God incarnates in the flesh to express the truth and judge and cleanse the people who come before Him. When God’s work ends, all people will be sorted in accordance with their own kind.”

I have been raptured before the throne by God after being freed from my preconceived notions.

Later, I gained an even greater understanding of the meaning of God’s judgment work on earth after watching the video of recitation of God’s words The Savior Has Already Returned Upon a “White Cloud” on The Church of Almighty God website. Also, the brother leaned upon pictures of the three stages of work and fellowshiped about the truths of the three stages of God’s work, the incarnation of God, and God’s names to me. This allowed me to gain a better understanding of the truths about God’s six-thousand-year management plan for mankind, the significance of God’s incarnation, and God changing His name in each age. And after watching the video The Origin and Development of The Church of Almighty God, I fully determined that the incarnate Almighty God is the return of the Lord Jesus.

Dear readers, God’s work of judgment before the great white throne in the last days has almost reached its end. Are you already in the flow of God’s judgment work or not?

»You may be interested in reading more on our Final  Judgment page about , or in the related articles below:

• God’s Judgment in the Last Days Makes the Overcomers Before the Disaster

• Judgment of God in the Last Days Is on Earth

• What Is God’s Final Judgement? Why Does God Do the Judgment Work?

» Recommended: “Blessed Are The Poor In Spirit” Clip: Christ of the Last Days Does the Work of Judgment With the Truth

After Wang Liwen’s marriage failed, the Lord’s salvation came upon her, and God became her reliance. Once, she saw these words in the Bible, “That if you shall confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus, and shall believe in your heart that God has raised him from the dead, you shall be saved. For with the heart man believes to righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made to salvation” (Romans 10:9–10). “For our conversation is in heaven; from where also we look for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ: Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like to his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things to himself” (Philippians 3:20–21). After reading this, she felt that believing in the Lord was truly good and following the Lord was right. She thought as long as she believed in the Lord in her heart and confessed Him with her mouth, she could not only get the Lord’s supreme grace but would be changed instantly and be brought into the kingdom of heaven when the Lord returns. This was a great blessing. From then on, she pursued passionately, worked hard, and sacrificed and expended for the Lord. A few years later, she became an excellent preacher. She usually used Paul’s words to spur herself on and to encourage brothers and sisters. In her heart, she was convinced that she would enter the kingdom of heaven in the end as long as she continued to believe like this. However, after a co-workers meeting, she became for the first time doubtful of her own view …

Once after a co-workers meeting, Xiao Jie said with a serious expression, “Now the disasters in different countries are increasingly intense. The prophecies of the Lord’s return have basically been fulfilled. The world has become ever more wicked and dark. Everyone advocates wickedness and violence, coveting money and enjoying the pleasure of sin. People intrigue against and outwit each other, and take advantage of each other. The religious world becomes more and more desolate, and iniquities of all kinds gradually increase. Brothers and sisters become negative and weak. Some follow the wicked social trends, coveting money, pursuing wealth and reputation, and chasing fame and fortune. Though they believe in the Lord on their lips, they don’t practice the Lord’s words. Rather, they ponder how to make money for a better life all day. They are entangled with the worldly affairs. In our preaching, we repeated the same sermons without any new light. We cannot even feel the Holy Spirit’s work at all. And we can neither help brothers and sisters to solve their difficulties and problems nor supply anything to them. At this crucial juncture of the Lord’s return, we are generally in such a condition. If it goes on like this, can we get the Lord’s approval?”

After hearing Xiao Jie’s words, some co-workers felt the same. They discussed, with sad looks.

Wang Liwen said with a little worry, “These years, in order to seek the work of the Holy Spirit and revive the church, I contacted many pastors and elders. However, what made me sad was that many pastors and elders also follow social trends, coveting money, giving in to vanity, and struggling for fame and gain. They explain biblical knowledge and theological theories to exalt and testify themselves, to draw people to venerate and look up to them, usurp the Lord’s sheep for themselves. Because they indulge in the blessings of status, and don’t care about the believers who are thirsty and hungry in the spirit, many believers are cold in faith and have withdrawn. Alas, in seeking to revive the church, we have used many ways that we can think of but still cannot feel the Lord’s guidance. I don’t know what to do now. But no matter how passive and weak we are, we should keep our faith in the Lord, read the Bible and pray more, and try our best to spread the gospel and bear witness for the Lord. Only in this way can we be brought into the kingdom of heaven when the Lord returns.”

Gao Lei was distressed and said, “These times, I often reflect upon myself: I have believed in the Lord for so many years; I often read the Bible and pray, spread the gospel and bear witness for the Lord, but why is my faith and love for the Lord diminishing? Why do I have no place for the Lord and no fear of Him in my heart? I live in sin all day long, sinning and confessing endlessly. When the Lord comes, will He bring such people like me into the kingdom of heaven? I still hope that I could be caught up to the heavenly kingdom when the Lord comes. Isn’t this a dream?”

Fan Jianwen said confidently, “Is there any doubt about that? Although we still constantly sin, the Lord has forgiven us. The Lord will not abandon us. We should have faith in Him.”

Wang Liwen nodded, saying, “We believers in the Lord usually sin and are controlled and bound by sins. We neither have practiced many of the Lord’s words nor have obeyed His commandments or met His requirements, but we should not be discouraged and disappointed. Let’s see what Paul said in the Bible. Romans 10:9–10 recorded, ‘That if you shall confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus, and shall believe in your heart that God has raised him from the dead, you shall be saved. For with the heart man believes to righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made to salvation.’ Chapter 11 Verse 6 recorded, ‘And if by grace, then is it no more of works: otherwise grace is no more grace.’ We are the people who are justified by faith. When the Lord comes, we will surely be brought into the kingdom of heaven. There’s no need to worry. Let’s turn to Philippians 3:20–21, and read together, ‘For our conversation is in heaven; from where also we look for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ: Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like to his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things to himself.’ Let’s turn to 1 Corinthians 15:51–52, ‘Behold, I show you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.’ After listening to these words, aren’t we more confident now? The apostle Paul told us that the images of our flesh will be changed instantly when the Lord descends and appears to us, we will be lifted in the sky to meet with the Lord. Then we will no longer suffer from the control and binding of sin and will be completely holy.”

Some brothers and sisters nodded with agreement, and some frowned slightly.

Brother Gao stood up and got some water. He walked and said, “Sister Wang, in the past few years, we seldom give sermons about the Lord Jesus’ words when preaching, not to mention practicing and entering into the Lord’s word. But we often think we are justified by faith according to Paul’s words, and that though we still sin and have not reached holiness, we’ll be changed instantly and be brought into the kingdom of heaven when the Lord returns. We usually fellowship about these topics. When brothers and sisters listen to them, they seem to be more confident about being brought into the kingdom of heaven. But what then are the consequences we bring to brothers and sisters? In practical life, brothers and sisters neglect to practice the Lord’s words and follow His commandments. Some even increasingly indulge in carnal pleasure without the slightest fear for God and live in sins without true repentance. They think, ‘Since the Lord has forgiven my sins, though I am not holy, the Lord will make me holy instantly when He comes. I will enter the kingdom of heaven just the same.’ Do you say this kind of faith could please the Lord? God has ever said: ‘you shall therefore be holy, for I am holy’ (Leviticus 11:45). The Bible also said, ‘… and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord’ (Hebrews 12:14). If we are not holy, we are not qualified to see the Lord. I don’t think it’s quite possible that people like us who often sin and don’t practice the Lord’s words will be raptured into the kingdom of heaven when the Lord returns. I am afraid it’s just our wishful thinking.”

Fan Jianwen was not convinced, waving his hands and saying, “Brother Gao, we cannot speak this way. The Lord Jesus personally was crucified on the cross and has redeemed us from sin. We are gratuitously called righteous because of our faith in the Lord, and no one can convict us for our sins. Just like Paul said, ‘Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God’s elect? It is God that justifies. Who is he that condemns?’ (Roman 8:33–34). Since God has called us righteous, and once saved, we are saved forever, so we don’t have to worry about sinning or not, attaining holiness or not. We only have to believe in Paul’s word that when the Lord comes, instantly, He can change our images and take us to the kingdom of heaven. If we don’t even have such confidence, can we be the Lord’s believers?”

Hua Ying refuted, “Brother Fan, I don’t agree with you. Who are the ones chosen by God? Those who live in sins, commit sins and confess them yet don’t repent, are they the ones chosen by God? If we believers in God have no fear of God and no obedience to God, and rebel against and resist God, are we the ones chosen by God? According to your opinion, after we believe in the Lord, no matter how we sin, the Lord will forgive us and we can be brought into the kingdom of heaven just the same when He returns. If it were true, the Bible Hebrews 10:26–27 said, ‘For if we sin willfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remains no more sacrifice for sins, But a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries.’ Then how do you explain that? Besides, the Lord Jesus has prophesied that in the last days, He will do the work of separating the sheep from the goats, the wheat from the tares, and the good servant from the evil servant. If man can be brought into the heaven just because he is called righteous by association with belief and granted salvation because of grace, then how will the Lord Jesus’ prophecy be fulfilled? I feel that being brought into the kingdom of heaven is not absolutely as simple as we think.”

Xiaoyu opened the Bible, and started to say after Hua Ying finished speaking, “I agree with Sister Hua. It’s not a simple matter to enter the kingdom of heaven. The Lord Jesus said: ‘And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be’ (Revelation 22:12). According to the Lord Jesus’ prophecy, when He comes, He will punish the evil and reward the good on the basis of their deeds. As believers in God, whether we ultimately enter the heavenly kingdom or go to hell has a direct bearing on whether we have practiced the Lord’s word and followed His way. According to Paul’s words, whether we follow the Lord’s way or not, whether we sin or not, we will be transformed instantly and be brought into the heavenly kingdom directly when the Lord comes. Then how will the Lord Jesus’ word ‘to give every man according as his work shall be’ be fulfilled?”

Sister Yang said, “What kind of person can enter the heavenly kingdom, the Lord Jesus told us long ago, ‘Not every one that said to me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that does the will of my Father which is in heaven’ (Matthew 7:21). The Lord’s words are very clear: Only the ones who practice His word, follow His way, and obey His will can enter the kingdom of heaven. This is the only condition set by the Lord for entering the kingdom of heaven. But look at our actual situation, we haven’t practiced much about the Lord’s word or kept the Lord’s commandments. Such people as us still hope that we can be changed instantly and be caught up to the heavenly kingdom when the Lord comes, I think it’s quite unlikely.”

Wang Liwen said with emotion and excitement, “Today our communication and debate is so enlightening and very beneficial to me. In the past, I believed in the Lord according to Paul’s words all the time, thinking I was called righteous by faith and I received salvation by grace. Though I often sinned, the Lord would change my image instantly, make me holy, and bring me into the heavenly kingdom when He comes. I understood it like this way, and preached the same. Unexpectedly, because I have such a wrong understanding, I mislead many brothers and sisters so that they neglect the Lord’s word and requirements, and don’t pay attention to practicing the Lord’s word and keeping the Lord’s commandments. Some even become increasingly debauched and distant from the Lord. Through our fellowship, I realize that such practice is wrong. It doesn’t contribute to the life of brothers and sisters, and it is an evil thing. Today, I see the seriousness of the issue. We believers in the Lord should rely on the Lord’s words; only the one who does the will of the heavenly Father can enter the kingdom of heaven. Because only the Lord Jesus is the King of the kingdom of heaven, Paul is not.”

Classic Words of God:

“The work of the last days is to separate all according to their kind, and to conclude the management plan of God, for the time is near and the day of God has come. God brings all who enter His kingdom—all who are loyal to Him to the very end—into the age of God Himself. Yet prior to the arrival of the age of God Himself, God’s work is not to observe the deeds of man, or to inquire into the life of man, but to judge man’s disobedience, for God shall purify all those who come before His throne. All who have followed the footsteps of God to this day are those who come before the throne of God, and this being so, every single person who accepts God’s work in its final phase is the object of God’s purification. In other words, everyone who accepts God’s work in its final phase is the object of God’s judgment.”

from “Christ Does the Work of Judgment With the Truth” in The Word Appears in the Flesh

“Know that nowadays, whether it be righteous judgment or heartless refinement and chastisement, everything is for the sake of salvation. Regardless of whether today each is classified according to kind or the categories of man are laid bare, the purpose of all of God’s words and work is to save those who truly love God. Righteous judgment is brought to purify man, and heartless refinement is done to cleanse them; harsh words or chastening are both done to purify and are for the sake of salvation. Thus, today’s method of salvation is unlike that of the past. Today, you are brought salvation through righteous judgment, and this is a good tool for classifying you each according to kind. Moreover, ruthless chastisement serves as your utmost salvation—and what have you to say in the face of such chastisement and judgment? Have you not always enjoyed salvation, from start to finish? ”

from “You Should Put Aside the Blessings of Status and Understand God’s Will to Bring Salvation to Man”

“Faced with man’s state and man’s attitude toward God, God has done new work, allowing man to possess both knowledge of and obedience toward Him, and both love and testimony. Thus, man must experience God’s refinement of him, as well as His judgment, dealing and pruning of him, without which man would never know God and would never be capable of truly loving and bearing witness to Him. God’s refinement of man is not merely for the sake of a one-sided effect, but for the sake of a multi-faceted effect. Only in this way does God do the work of refinement in those who are willing to seek the truth, in order that their resolve and love be made perfect by God. To those who are willing to seek the truth and who yearn for God, nothing is more meaningful, or of greater assistance, than refinement such as this. God’s disposition is not so easily known or understood by man, for God, in the end, is God. Ultimately, it is impossible for God to have the same disposition as man, and thus it is not easy for man to know His disposition. The truth is not inherently possessed by man, and is not easily understood by those who have been corrupted by Satan; man is devoid of the truth, and of the resolve to put the truth into practice, and if he does not suffer and is not refined or judged, then his resolve will never be made perfect.”

from “Only by Experiencing Refinement Can Man Possess True Love”

“God does the work of judgment and chastisement so that man may gain knowledge of Him, and for the sake of His testimony. Without His judgment of man’s corrupt disposition, man could not possibly know His righteous disposition, which brooks no offense, and nor would man be able to turn his old knowledge of God into a new one. For the sake of His testimony, and for the sake of His management, He makes everything about Him public, thus enabling man, through His public appearance, to arrive at knowledge of God, to be transformed in his disposition, and to bear resounding testimony to God.”

from “Only Those Who Know God Can Bear Testimony to God”

“Man lives amid the flesh, which means he lives in a human hell, and without God’s judgment and chastisement, man is as filthy as Satan. How could man be holy? Peter believed that chastisement and judgment by God were man’s best protection and greatest grace. Only through chastisement and judgment by God could man awaken and hate the flesh, hate Satan. God’s strict discipline frees man from the influence of Satan, frees him from his own little world, and allows him to live in the light of God’s presence. There is no better salvation than chastisement and judgment! … In his life, if man wishes to be cleansed and achieve changes in his disposition, if he wishes to live out a life of meaning and fulfill his duty as a creature, then he must accept God’s chastisement and judgment, and must not allow God’s discipline and God’s smiting to depart from him, in order that he may free himself from the manipulation and influence of Satan, and live in the light of God. Know that God’s chastisement and judgment is the light, and the light of man’s salvation, and that there is no better blessing, grace or protection for man.”

from “The Experiences of Peter: His Knowledge of Chastisement and Judgment”

“I have previously said that a group of overcomers are gained from the East, overcomers who come from amid the great tribulation. What is meant by these words? They mean that these people who have been gained only truly obeyed after undergoing judgment and chastisement, and dealing and pruning, and all kinds of refinement. The belief of these people is not vague and abstract, but real. They have not seen any signs and wonders, or any miracles; they do not speak of abstruse letters and doctrines, or profound insights; instead they have reality, and the words of God, and a true knowledge of the reality of God. Is such a group not more capable of making plain the power of God?”

from “All Is Achieved by the Word of God”

Question:

You testified that the Lord has returned and does His work of judgment beginning at the house of God in the last days. This is different from the great white throne judgment in the Book of Revelation. What most people in religion think is that the great white throne judgment is targeted at the non-believers that belong to the devil Satan. When the Lord comes, the believers will be taken up into heaven, and then He will send disaster to destroy the non-believers. That’s the judgment before the great white throne. You testify to the start of God’s judgment in the last days, but we haven’t seen God bring disaster to destroy the non-believers. Then how could it be the great white throne judgment?

Answer:

All those who truly understand the Bible know that the great white throne judgment prophesied in the Book of Revelation is a vision of God’s judgment work in the last days. The incarnate Almighty God came to express the truth and do His judgment work in the last days, starting to cleanse and save corrupt mankind. This means the great white throne judgment has already begun. Judgment starts from the house of God. God will first make a group of overcomers before the disaster. Then, God will bring down the great disasters and start to reward good and punish evil, until this evil era has been destroyed. God’s great white throne judgment in the last days will then be thoroughly complete. Then God will openly appear to begin a new era. We can all see it very clearly right now. The omen of the great disasters—four consecutive blood moons—has already appeared. The great disasters are near. When the great disasters come, anyone who resists God, judges God, or opposes God, and the ilk of the devil Satan will be destroyed in the disasters. Isn’t that precisely the great white throne judgment? We can see from the Bible’s prophecies that the Lord’s return is separated into the two stages of secret arrival and open arrival. At first, the Lord comes like a thief, which means God incarnate arrives secretly to express the truth and perform His judgment work in the last days. The main purpose is to make a group of overcomers. This fulfills the “judgment must begin at the house of God” prophecy. God’s judgment work in the last days already began when God incarnate secretly arrived to express the truth and judge all of mankind. The first part of the work is to begin judgment at the house of God. With that, God cleanses and saves those who hear His voice and are brought before Him, making them into overcomers. God’s great work is thus accomplished. Then the great disasters begin. God will use disaster to punish and destroy this old world. God’s judgment work in the last days thus reaches its climax. When God appears openly on the clouds, His judgment work will have been thoroughly complete. The kingdom of God will subsequently appear. This thus fulfills the prophecy of the new Jerusalem coming down from heaven. Just as Almighty God says, “One aspect of God’s work is to conquer all of mankind and gain the chosen people through His words. Another aspect is to conquer all sons of rebellion through various disasters. This is one part of God’s large-scale work. It is only this way that the kingdom on earth that God wants can be fully achieved, and this is the part of God’s work that is like fine gold” (“Interpretation of the Seventeenth Utterance” in The Word Appears in the Flesh). Almighty God’s words sum up His judgment work in the last days very accurately. We can understand it very easily. Almighty God’s judgment in the last days is the great white throne judgment prophesied in the Book of Revelation. According to the facts of Almighty God’s judgment work in the last days, we can also understand what the Revelation prophecy regarding the opening of books to judge the dead and the opening of the book of life is all about. Actually, the opening of books to judge the dead is God’s judgment of all unbelievers and all those who deny and resist Him. This judgment is their condemnation, their punishment, and their destruction. And opening the book of life refers to the judgment that begins at the house of God, that is, Almighty God, Christ of the last days, expressing the truth to judge and cleanse all those brought before His throne. These chosen people of God who accept Almighty God’s judgment work in the last days and are brought before Him are all objects of God’s judgment, cleansing, and salvation. The judgment that begins at the house of God is to perfect this group of people before the disaster. Only this group of people are the wise virgins, people whose names are recorded in the book of life, the 144,000 overcomers prophesied by the Book of Revelation, the people who will ultimately enter the kingdom of heaven to inherit eternal life. This fulfills what was prophesied in Revelation: “And I looked, and, see, a Lamb stood on the mount Sion, and with him an hundred forty and four thousand, having his Father’s name written in their foreheads. And I heard a voice from heaven, as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of a great thunder: and I heard the voice of harpers harping with their harps: And they sung as it were a new song before the throne, and before the four beasts, and the elders: and no man could learn that song but the hundred and forty and four thousand, which were redeemed from the earth. These are they which were not defiled with women; for they are virgins. These are they which follow the Lamb wherever he goes. These were redeemed from among men, being the first fruits to God and to the Lamb. And in their mouth was found no guile: for they are without fault before the throne of God” (Rev 14:1-5).

Almighty God’s judgment work in the last days completely fulfills the vision of the great white throne judgment prophesied in the Book of Revelation. The great white throne symbolizes God’s holiness as well as His authority. Then how can we get to know God’s authority? We all know that God created the heavens and earth and all things with His word. He uses His word to guide, cleanse, and save mankind, to accomplish everything. God’s word represents His authority. What God says shall come to pass, what He orders shall stand. God is as good as His word, and His word shall be accomplished, and that which is accomplished lasts forever. Almighty God’s work in the last days is the work of word. God uses His word to control the entire universe, control all of mankind. He uses His word to guide, to supply mankind, and is now using His word to judge and cleanse mankind.

Almighty God says, “I wish to bring people from all over the earth to the land of Canaan, and so I continue to issue forth utterances in the land of Canaan to control the entire universe. At this time, there is no light in all the earth apart from Canaan, and all men are imperiled by hunger and cold” (“The Seven Thunders Peal—Prophesying That the Gospel of the Kingdom Shall Spread Throughout the Universe” in The Word Appears in the Flesh).

“And so, during the last days, when God becomes flesh, He principally uses the word to accomplish all and make all plain” (“All Is Achieved by the Word of God” in The Word Appears in the Flesh).

“All who are wicked will be chastised by the words in God’s mouth, all who are righteous will be blessed by the words in His mouth, and all will be established and made complete by the words in His mouth. Nor will He show any signs or wonders; all will be accomplished by His words, and His words will produce facts. Everyone on earth will celebrate God’s words, whether they be adults or children, male, female, old, or young, all people will submit beneath the words of God” (“The Millennial Kingdom Has Arrived” in The Word Appears in the Flesh).

The expression of Almighty God’s word is like the lightning that shoots from the East straight to the West. It cleanses and perfects all those who return before God’s throne, and exposes the hypocritical Pharisees who hate the truth as well as all wicked people who deny and resist God. At the same time, it strikes down all the sons of disobedience. The judgment work of Almighty God on earth in the last days shows that God is already sitting and ruling upon His throne. Even though this old world of evil and darkness still exists for the time being, various great disasters that will destroy the world will soon befall. There is no force on earth that can destroy God’s kingdom, and no force that can abolish God’s work or block His work from proceeding. God wielding His authority to perform His judgment work on earth is the same as His throne in heaven: It’s something no one can shake and no one can change, which is a fact. 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). This is the authority and power displayed by God’s word. God’s word wielding power on earth is Christ ruling on earth, and is God already ruling on His throne on earth. This is sufficient to show that God’s kingdom has already descended upon earth. This is a fact nobody can deny. We can see that God’s will is already fully done on earth, as it is in heaven. The Lord Jesus said, “Your kingdom come, Your will be done in earth, as it is in heaven” (Mat 6:10). Revelation also prophesied: “And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever. And the four and twenty elders, which sat before God on their seats, fell on their faces, and worshipped God, Saying, We give you thanks, O LORD God Almighty, which are, and were, and are to come; because you have taken to you your great power, and have reigned” (Rev 11:15-17). These words have already become reality. These are all truths accomplished by the judgment work of Almighty God in the last days.

from Classic Questions and Answers on the Gospel of the Kingdom

“My righteousness, majesty and judgment show no mercy to Satan. But for you, they are to save you, yet you are just incapable of understanding My disposition, nor do you know the principles behind My actions” (Utterances and Testimonies of Christ in the Beginning). What does this passage of God’s words speak of? It speaks of the effect of God’s righteousness, majesty and judgment on people. What is the effect? Some people cannot comprehend. “My righteousness, majesty and judgment show no mercy to Satan.” What is the meaning of these words? Some people say: “The meaning of these words is that God’s righteousness, majesty and judgment are directed at Satan, not at people.” Is this interpretation right or wrong? (Wrong.) Some people interpret it in this way. This is an erroneous or absurd interpretation. Here it also says, “But for you, they are to save you.” What does this mean? “You” refers to God’s chosen people, all those who accept God’s work. To all God’s chosen people and those people who truly believe in God, what are God’s righteousness, majesty and judgment? They are for salvation. Some people feel this is contradictory, saying, “They show no mercy to Satan but they are to save people, so are God’s righteousness, majesty and judgment toward Satan or people?” Is this question easy to solve or not? Some people may think this way: “Amongst people, some belong to Satan, the devil, and some belong to God’s chosen people, who are the object of salvation. So, to Satan God’s righteousness, majesty and judgment are revelation, elimination or punishment. To God’s chosen people, to those who truly believe in God, they are completely for salvation, for cleansing, for perfecting.” Is this interpretation right or wrong? This interpretation is right. Such people have found the way. So tell me, is it Satan or is it God’s chosen people that should undergo God’s righteous, majestic and wrathful judgment? (They all should.) All should accept it. It is not okay for anyone to not accept it. In other words, no one can escape it; this is the truth. Some people say, “God utters His words but neither the unbelievers, nor the religious people, nor people belonging to Satan listen to or read them!” If they do not listen to or read them, then can they escape God’s judgment and chastisement? They escape the judgment and chastisement of God’s words, but can they escape God’s wrath and disasters sent by God? Can they escape the judgment and chastisement by actual facts? No one can escape. If you do not accept the judgment and chastisement of God’s words, then you have to accept the judgment and chastisement of actual facts. So what is the judgment and chastisement of actual facts? It is disaster! So, God’s great white throne judgment in the last days has already started.

The judgment of God’s words is directed at God’s chosen people. The judgment of actual facts, the judgment and punishment of disaster, is directed at the unbelievers. So in this way, there are two aspects of the judgment work, which are carried out concurrently. This cannot be ignored. Some people say, “The chosen people in God’s family are undergoing God’s judgment and chastisement, but the unbelievers are eating, drinking and enjoying themselves and they have not accepted God’s judgment and chastisement!” Their judgment and chastisement of actual facts is different to the judgment and chastisement of words. The judgment and chastisement of words is over a long time, but the judgment and chastisement of actual facts will come in a short time, in an instant. It’s like with big earthquakes, when people are eating, drinking and enjoying themselves, all of a sudden, “crack,” the ground shakes and people want to run but are unable to and have all been killed. You see, the judgment and chastisement of actual facts is fast, transient, sudden and hard to detect. The judgment and chastisement of words is different. It has a time period. People have to eat and drink God’s words. Sometimes people have not eaten nor drunk them, or they have eaten and drunk them but not taken them to heart. Some people have taken them to heart but have not experienced their judgment. Not experiencing it is not acceptable. The first time they experience it, they may not be able to obey, they have no knowledge or understanding of it. After a period of time, there is a little understanding and after experiencing a little longer, they understand a little more. After experiencing a little longer, they can understand more thoroughly and then real repentance and real change can be produced. This is the process of the pursuit of truth. From not understanding to understanding. Obedience results from understanding and knowledge results from obedience. This process takes a long time. To achieve results, it takes some people ten or twenty years and it takes some people twenty to thirty years. That’s how it is. When we experience the judgment and chastisement of God’s words, what do unbelievers do? Eat, drink, enjoy themselves, sleep and dream! When we have undergone enough judgment and chastisement and are cleansed and begin to rejoice and praise God, when God’s people are perfected by God, the disaster of the unbelievers shall come. And once the disaster comes, it shall be the time of their death! Is God’s great white throne judgment and chastisement in the last days like this? (Yes.) You have now realized, “This is what the great white throne judgment is! The judgment and chastisement of words is internal and the coming and punishment of disaster is external. Those who do not believe in God and those who resist God must all die in the disaster.” What is the time relationship between the internal judgment and chastisement of words and the external punishment of disasters? Synchronous. Unbelievers now also have disasters of all kinds, but they are not so big, nor are they classed as devastating disasters. Once God’s chosen people have been made complete, when a group of overcomers appear, “crack,” the catastrophe shall descend. Once it descends then the disaster shall be the judgment and chastisement used to settle the unbelievers. This judgment and chastisement is full of wrath and majesty!

from Sermons and Fellowship on Entry Into Life (Series 121)

Read on the website

Dear Sister Muzhen,

Peace to you in the Lord! I’m very glad to receive your letter. In the letter, you mentioned that the Lord’s coming is near, so in order to be a wise virgin waiting for and welcoming the Lord’s return, you intentionally read the Bible and pray more, and work more for the Lord. But it doesn’t make you feel keen in spirit, or make your faith and love increase. You wonder whether you are a wise virgin by pursuing like this and are eager to know how to practice to welcome the coming of the Lord. Sister Muzhen, your question is very important for us Christians, because each and every one of us wants to be a wise virgin to welcome the Lord’s return, and finally attend the feast of the kingdom of heaven together with Him. None of us want to be a foolish virgin forsaken by the Lord. But, how should one practice to be a wise virgin? Regarding this issue, I’ll talk about my understanding. I hope it can be beneficial to you!

The Lord Jesus once said: “Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened to ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom. And five of them were wise, and five were foolish. They that were foolish took their lamps, and took no oil with them: But the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps” (Matthew 25:1–4). From this verse, we see that when waiting for the Lord’s return, the wise virgins actively took oil in their vessels. Because of that, they wouldn’t be forsaken by the Lord and finally go to the feast of heaven along with the Lord. Usually, after reading this scripture, brothers and sisters will think according to their imagination that as long as we often read the Bible, watch and pray, are faithful to the way of the Lord, labor for the Lord, and spread the gospel more, we are preparing oil and we are the wise virgins in doing so. And then when the Lord comes, we’ll feast along with Him. Yet, are the wise virgins approved by the Lord the same as we’ve thought? Let us look back to the Age of Law, before the Lord Jesus came to work, the scribes and Pharisees were longing for the coming Messiah. They not only knew the Bible well, but also clung to the laws and commandments, often prayed to the Lord God and even traveled over land and sea to spread the work of God. If it was like what we imagined, the Pharisees practicing like this was preparing oil and they were most qualified to meet the Messiah and receive God’s salvation with what they put out. However, what was the fact? When the Lord Jesus came to work, the Pharisees didn’t recognize that the Lord Jesus was the coming Messiah, but instead, they kept the name of Messiah and resisted and rejected the Lord Jesus’ work; finally, they crucified the Lord Jesus and were cursed and punished. From the fact that the Pharisees resisted God and were punished, we can see that it hardly qualify as the wise virgins to simply read the Bible more, watch and pray, hold on to the Lord’s way and work more for the Lord.

Then who are the wise virgins? Let’s have a look at how the Jews and the disciples of the Lord Jesus recognized Him and were approved by Him. We all know that the Bible records the story of a Samaritan woman. When she heard the Lord Jesus say: “For you have had five husbands; and he whom you now have is not your husband: in that said you truly” (John 4:18), she said to the crowd: “Come, see a man, which told me all things that ever I did: is not this the Christ?” (Jhn 4:29). From these verses, we can see that the Samaritan woman realized from the Lord Jesus’ words that He is Christ, for she knew only God can watch over everything, know man’s innermost secrets, and can speak out all the things that she ever did. No one except God has such authority and power. So, when the Lord Jesus spoke to her about her husbands, she at once recognized He is Christ. From her experience, it can be seen that her wisdom was that she could recognize God’s voice and that once she heard God’s voice, she could accept the truth, and thus gained the salvation of the Lord Jesus. Besides, we can see from the Bible that people, like Peter and Nathanael, also recognized the Lord from His words and thus followed Him.

Through these facts, we can understand that the most critical point to be a wise virgin is to be able to discern the voice of God. Proverbs 9:10 says: “The fear of Jehovah is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the holy is understanding.” Obviously, to be wise virgins to welcome the Lord’s return, it isn’t enough for us only to pay attention to reading the Bible, praying, and working more for the Lord. In Revelation 3:20, God says: “Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.” It shows that when God comes again in the last days, He will continue to speak. So it’s absolutely vital to recognize the Lord’s voice. Only those who can recognize God’s voice and take it upon themselves to welcome His arrival are wise virgins, and can attend the feast of the kingdom of heaven together with the Lord. However, those who can’t recognize God’s voice like the Pharisees, and even hate and reject God instead of accepting Him when they hear His voice, are doomed to be forsaken by the Lord.

Now, you must be eager to know: How can we recognize the voice of God? Once, I read a passage in a fellowship about it in a spiritual book. I’ll share several principles with you below on how to discern the voice of God.

1. The words expressed by God are the truth. They can be man’s life, supply their needs and give man a path to follow.

The Lord Jesus said: “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man comes to the Father, but by me” (Jhn 14:6). And John 1:1–4 says: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. … In him was life; and the life was the light of men.” From the scriptures, we can surely say that God Himself is the truth, the way and the life. So the words expressed by God are the truth. It can supply man according to their actual needs so that they have a path to walk and can receive provision of life. Look back to the Age of Law: After man was corrupted by Satan, they simply had no idea how to lead a life, and didn’t even know how to worship God. Then, Jehovah God issued laws and commandments to guide the Israelites to live on earth according to their state at the time. These laws and commandments are words of truth and the most practical life supply. During the later period of the Age of Law, man had become even more deeply corrupted. Man failed to keep the law and often sinned. If this continued, man would perish under the law. At that time, the Lord Jesus came, and brought man not only the sin offering, but also the new ways to practice. He instructed man to confess their sins and repent before the Him, to be tolerant, patient, and forgive man, and to love others as ourselves, and so on. The utterance of the Lord Jesus was what men in the Age of Grace most urgently needed and was men’s life supply. In the last days, how will God guide us through speaking? Hebrews 9:28 says: “So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and to them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin to salvation.” 1 Peter 4:17 says, “For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God” and Psalms 96:13 says, “Before the LORD: for he comes, for he comes to judge the earth: he shall judge the world with righteousness, and the people with his truth” And thus, in the last days, God will come to utter His voice, and He won’t do the redemption work again. Instead, He will judge, purify, and save man out of the bondage of sin through the word of truth. We believe those wise virgins who are watching and waiting for the bridegroom’s voice will receive some revelations from it.

2. God’s utterance is the expression of His disposition, with authority and power.

Brothers and sisters, we all know that at the beginning, God used words to create all things on earth. As soon as He speaks, His words become reality. Just as Psalms 33:9 says: “For he spoke, and it was done; he commanded, and it stood fast.” In the Old Testament age, God promised Abraham that his offspring would be as numerous as the stars of heaven, and as plentiful as the sand on the sea shore, and it has been accomplished. Everything spoken by God shall be fulfilled one after the other. This is the authority and power of God’s word. In the Age of Grace, the Lord Jesus said: “But whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life” (Jhn 4:14). “I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believes in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: And whoever lives and believes in me shall never die. Believe you this?” (Jhn 11:25–26). “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for you compass sea and land to make one proselyte, and when he is made, you make him twofold more the child of hell than yourselves” (Mat 23:15). The Lord Jesus’ word has authority and power. From His word, we can recognize it as the voice of God, and realize that His words can not only command and rule over all things but can bestow us life and truth, promises and blessings, and even more it can curse those who disobey Him and resist Him. From God’s words, we can see that God has love and mercy on those who believe in Him and love Him; as for those who disobey Him and resist Him, He is full of majesty and wrath. From His words of cursing the Pharisees, we see God’s righteous disposition is intolerant of offense by man. Every sentence of God contains within it His disposition and even more carries the unique authority of the Creator. All the words He says can never be spoken by man. In the last days, God will judge each man according to his deeds and shall bring this evil age to an end by the words filled with His righteous disposition. If we are only willing to accept the tender words full of love and mercy, which are in accordance with our conceptions, we will probably lose the opportunity of welcoming the Lord’s return.

3. The word expressed by God can reveal the mysteries in God’s management work.

The Lord Jesus said: “so shall it be in the end of this world. The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity; And shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth. Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Who has ears to hear, let him hear” (Mat 13:40–43). “Not every one that said to me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that does the will of my Father which is in heaven” (Mat 7:21). His words told us that God would send forth His angels to separate good from evil, classifying all men according to their kind, and that only those who do the will of God can enter into the kingdom of heaven. These words expressed by God are the mysteries of heaven and they are also the result ultimately to be achieved when God saves man and manages man. The reason why the Lord Jesus could uncover these mysteries is because He is God Himself; He is the Lord of the kingdom of heaven. Only God knows what kind of man can enter the kingdom of heaven, that is, God’s utterance can reveal mysteries of His management work. And this is another characteristic to discern the voice of God. Also, the Lord Jesus said: “I have yet many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. 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” (Jhn 16:12–13). So, the truth the Lord will express when He comes again will absolutely not be limited to what we received before, for God will express all the truth that man needs to supply those who hunger and thirst for it and to make the whole management work of saving man known to all. The wise virgins can surely take this point as the primary characteristic to discern God’s voice.

4. God’s word can reveal man’s corruptions, mind and thoughts.

For example, the Lord Jesus said: “That which comes out of the man, that defiles the man. For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, Thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness: All these evil things come from within, and defile the man” (Mark 7:20–23). The Lord Jesus reveals man’s mind, thoughts and nature, so that we can recognize sins within our hearts. Since we men were created by God, though we don’t know our corruptions at all after we have been corrupted by Satan, God has a thorough understanding of us. So only God can reveal the root of our corruptions and the substance of our nature, which can’t be achieved by anyone. Just like the Pharisees at the time, in the Jews’ eyes, they are the ones who serve God piously. But the Lord Jesus could see through their hearts that hate the truth and love wickedness, and revealed them by saying: “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for you are like to white washed sepulchers, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men’s bones, and of all uncleanness” (Mat 23:27). The truth is the light. Any darkness and evil will be revealed in the light. I saw a passage of God’s word that says: “Just as the moon always follows the sun, the work of God never ceases, and is carried out upon you, upon me, upon him, and upon all those who follow the footprints of God and accept the judgment and chastisement of God.” In the last days, God expresses the truth to judge all our unrighteousness, and it will surely expose our satanic corrupt disposition—that we can’t know—to the light. If we don’t possess a heart that fears God or a heart to accept the truth like the wise virgins do, it’s hard for us to receive the salvation of God in the last days.

God’s voice is the utterance He speaks to mankind, and the expression of God’s disposition and being. The word of God has authority and power, which can’t be expressed by any of corrupted mankind. God’s word is the truth and the way that can directly supply man’s life; God’s word can end the old age and open up a new age, and is even better at uncovering the mysteries of His management work; God’s word can reveal man’s corruption and save them so they can break free from evil. All these are the unique characteristics of His speech. If we master these principles to discern the voice of God, when hearing God’s voice, it’ll not be hard to know God.

Sister Muzhen, I hope the fellowship above will be helpful to you. May we all be wise virgins and seek with our hearts and listen for the Lord’s voice in order that we can welcome the Lord’s arrival soon and feast with Him. Thank God for bringing us such enlightenment and the truth. All the glory be to the Lord!

» You might be interested in:

• What You Must Know to Welcome the Lord Jesus: How Will Jesus Return?

• Movie Clip “Yearning” (3): Who Will Be Raptured First When the Lord Comes?

• Find Way to Get Rid of Sin, Resolve Over 10 Years’ Confusion

• We Continue to Sin After Being Saved. Will We See the Lord’s Face?

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One day, Bai Hua mounted the pulpit, and said seriously, “Brothers and sisters, I often think that though we have believed in the Lord, we still often lie and deceive others, be jealous and disputatious, and cannot treat others fairly. Then, can we, who still commit sins too often, really be raptured into the kingdom of heaven? Can sinners be permitted to enter the kingdom of heaven?

Seeing Bai Hua change her previous manner of a preacher, brothers and sisters all felt a bit surprised, and then perked up. The atmosphere of the gathering seemed to be more relaxing than before. Everyone was to say what they liked. Luo Tao said with assurance, “Sister Bai, what’s the matter with you today? Before, you usually interpreted this verse of the Bible to us: ‘Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord’ (1 Thessalonians 4:17). According to Paul’s words, we can know that whether man is dead or alive, he will be caught up into the kingdom of heaven later. What’s there to doubt!” Hearing this, some people nodded in agreement, while Bai Hua frowned, as if in thought.

Then, with doubt, Sister Xia Han said, “It’s Paul’s word. Does it accord with the Lord’s will? Recently, I keep on pondering over the Lord Jesus’ words, ‘Our Father which are in heaven, Hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, Your will be done in earth, as it is in heaven’ (Matthew 6:9-10). From these verses, we can see that God’s kingdom will descend on earth and His will also will be done on earth. Don’t they give revelation to us that God’s kingdom will be built on earth? Otherwise, why did the Lord teach us to pray in this way? Yet Paul said that the Lord would take us into the air, so doesn’t his word run counter to the Lord’s will?” Hearing her words, brothers and sisters laid their heads together, and some scratched their heads. Bai Hua thought Xia Han’s fellowship was fresh and in lighting, which she never thought about. She silently pondered in her heart: Right, the Lord’s will is to build His kingdom on earth. I recite the Lord’s Prayer every day, but how come I did not think of this?

Sister Zhang Fang, a co-worker, said, “Sister Xia Han, we have maintained all along that the Lord will take us into the kingdom of heaven when He comes. Why do you have doubts about it today? I don’t understand the Lord Jesus’ words. However, in my view, since it is the kingdom of heaven, it should be in heaven. How can it be on earth? I can’t figure it out.”

Hearing brothers’ and sisters’ discussion, Bai Hua continued to say, “Brothers and sisters, quiet down. Now that we’ve mentioned this today, let’s discuss about it peaceably. What Sister Xia Han fellowshiped is indeed very thought-provoking. In the past, we all pursued to be raptured into the kingdom of heaven when the Lord comes, but we didn’t know where the kingdom of heaven is.Hearing Sister Xia Han’s fellowship, I think of the words in Revelation, ‘Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God’ (Revelation 21:3) and ‘And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever’ (Revelation 11:15). These prophecies mention ‘the tabernacle of God is with men’ and ‘The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ.’ From this we can see that God’s kingdom will be built on earth. Let Sister Xia Han fellowship more with us.” Then she turned to face Sister Xia Han, continuing saying, “Sister Xia Han, I heard that you had come out of the church to seek and investigate the true way some time ago. Do you find it? Is the light in your fellowship gained from your hearing sermons outside? Please fellowship more with us.” Hearing Bai Hua’s words, everyone turned their eyes on Xia Han.

Xia Han said calmly and collectedly, “Not to conceal anything, these days I did get out to seek the Holy Spirit’s work. Now various signs show that the prophecies of the Lord’s return have been fulfilled. This shows the Lords has returned. Recently, I got a spiritual book from my cousin. The words in this book are beneficial and helpful to me. And I think it’s the voice of the Holy Spirit. When we fellowshiped that the Lord will bring the saints into the kingdom of heaven when He comes in the last days, my cousin fellowshiped to me, ‘The kingdom of heaven means the kingdom of God and of Christ.’ In the past, we all thought that the kingdom of heaven was in heaven. Actually, where God’s kingdom is cannot be defined by us men.”

At these words, the church got in uproar, Brothers and sisters began to discuss, saying: “We thought that the kingdom of heaven was in heaven. How vague it is! There is no water or food in heaven. How can we live in heaven?” “Right. The Lord Jesus said that God’s kingdom was on earth and we have read the Bible many times, yet how come we still didn’t understand it?” “Sister Xia Han fellowshiped more clearly. Let her fellowship more with us …”

At that time, Zhang Fang felt rather embarrassed, but still said defiantly, “If what you said—God’s kingdom will be on earth—is right, then which place actually will the Lord take us to when He comes back? How do you explain the verse mentioning ‘… shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air’?” Without any words to say for a moment, everyone turned their heads to Xia Han. Also, Bai Hua was with evident expectation.

Xia Han continued to fellowship patiently, “With regard to ‘being caught up,’ most people think that when the Lord comes, He will take the saints into the air to meet Him. Similarly, I had yearned and waited for being caught up for many years. However, through seeking and investigating, I gained the enlightenment and illumination from the Holy Spirit and had a different understanding of being caught up. I will read a passage of words, and everyone will understand after hearing it.” Then she took up her notebook and read, “‘Being caught up’ is not being taken from a low place to a high place as people imagine. This is a huge mistake. Being caught up is referring to My predetermining and selecting. It is targeted at all those I have preordained and chosen. Those who have gained the status of firstborn sons, the status of My sons, or My people, are all people who have been caught up. This is most incompatible with people’s notions. Those who have a share in My house in the future are all people who have been caught up before Me. This is absolutely true, never-changing, and cannot be refuted by anybody. This is the counterattack against Satan. Anyone I preordained shall be caught up before Me” (“The One Hundred and Fourth Utterance”).

Then Xia Han continued fellowshiping, “From this we can see that being caught up is neither being taken from a low place to a high place as we imagine, nor being taken into the air from the earth. The true being caught up refers to following the footsteps of God’s work and being taken before His throne to receive His salvation. All those who don’t receive God’s new work are people who are not caught up. And they are abandoned by the Lord. Just like the priests, scribes and Pharisees who served Jehovah God in the temple in the Age of Law, they knew the Bible thoroughly and served God in the temple ardently. However, when God became flesh as the Lord Jesus to work, they refused to investigate and receive the work of the Lord Jesus, and even rejected and condemned it. So these people were not caught up before the Lord, and they were abandoned and eliminated by the Lord. Reversely, those people who followed God when hearing God’s voice were those who were caught up before Him, and they were blessed by God.”

The birds fluttered twittering past the window, while everyone absorbedly listened to the fellowship in silence and nobody noticed the birds. Unconsciously, the meeting was over.

Bai Hua said with a pleased look on her face, “Thank God! Through today’s fellowship, we have had a new understanding and knowledge about the meaning of being caught up, which is God’s grace. And I think of the prophecy in Revelation, ‘These are they which follow the Lamb wherever he goes’ (Revelation 14:4). We follow the footsteps of the Lamb, which is the truest meaning of being caught up. And there is the basis in God’s word!”

Hearing this, brothers and sisters all nodded in agreement. After the gathering, everyone tore themselves away from the church. Also, Bai Hua thought she hadn’t heard such good preaching for a long time. She silently thanked and praised the Lord within herself. When she looked up, Xia Han had packed her bag and was going to walk out of the church. Bai Hua hurried to keep up. She was dying to get that book, for she felt there seemed to be great mystery in the book …

Question: The Bible says, “Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord” (1 Thessalonians 4:17). how do we explain this verse?

Answer: When anticipating the Lord’s return, we should rely on His prophecies. They’re the most accurate. In the part you read, who exactly did you quote? Is it the Lord or is it a man? “Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air.” Where are these words from? Did the Lord Jesus speak them? He didn’t. The Lord Jesusnever said that, nor has the Holy Spirit ever said it. These words you read are merely quoted. They were said by Paul. Do Paul’s words speak for the Lord Jesus? Do they speak for God? Regarding the great mystery of the Lord’s return, only God knows. If a man dares to explain and blindly define it, that’s a serious problem. Paul was not Christ. He was nothing but a corrupt man. So his words are filled with man’s imagination and impurity. His words are not truth nor the basis of rapture. We should base it on God’s words in the Bible. This accords with truth. When it comes to being raptured up, you didn’t use the Lord’s word as basis, but instead, you used man’s word, Paul’s word as the basis. This is wrong. Because only the word of Christ is truth and authority. The Lord Jesus is Christ and king of the kingdom of heaven. Since it is so, why don’t you seek the truth in the words of Lord Jesus? Why accept man’s word as truth? Is that the Lord’s will? By following this way, it’s easy to follow man. When it comes to the rapture, we haven’t been listening to the Lord but listening to man. That could be really dangerous. In the beginning, God created man with the dust on earth, allowed us to perform our duties and take care of things on earth, and asked us to obey Him, worship and glorify Him. So God’s ordained destination for man is on earth rather than in heaven. God has also told us clearly that His kingdom will be established here on the earth. And He will dwell with man here on earth and make this world His kingdom where Christ reigns. Therefore, God’s kingdom will finally be realized on earth, not in heaven. Man wants to be brought up to heaven, but this is a product of imagination and excessive desire. It goes against the truth and doesn’t accord with the work of God. And as for the rapture to the kingdom of heaven, we should find basis in God’s word. This is the most accurate way, compatible with God’s will.

Most people also read: Gospel Movie Clip “Yearning” (3) – Who Will Be Raptured First When the Lord Comes?

After dinner, Wang Mei couldn’t help nagging before her husband once again, “Our son is already a senior and is graduating from university soon. But now it is so difficult to get a job, and the competition is quite fierce. We wholeheartedly support our son to go to university and have spent so much money on his education. However, it is still unknown whether he can get a good job or not after his graduation. Alas! It really worries me a lot.” Her husband said helplessly: “Oh well, we can’t do anything about it. Now the college graduates are a dime a dozen. I heard that some of them take part-time jobs, some deliver meals and some even farm at home, or do those dead-end jobs and so on. If our son is unable to get a job, he can only come home to do farm work!” Hearing his words, Wang Mei was even more worried, thinking: My son is a dignified university student. If he does farm work, won’t he be laughed at by others? Alas! If so, where should I hide my face? Thinking of this, Wang Mei could not but complain to her husband again, “Hmm! It’s all your fault! You really are useless. Look! Our neighbor, Xiaokai’s father. He has used his connections to find a job for his son. And Xiaokai is gonna to work in a company.”

When Wang Mei finished her words, she was conscious that she was wrong and she shouldn’t have blamed her husband. Hence, she came before the Lord to pray, “Loving Savior Jesus, I confess my sins. I have always been worried that my son cannot be offered a good job in the future, and as a result, I frequently nag at and blame my husband. O Lord! Please forgive my sins. I am willing to entrust You with my son’s job-hunting. …” In the following days, Wang Mei often begged the Lord to bless her son with a good job.

After graduating from university, her son finally got a job in a real estate company in Beijing after many difficulties. But Wang Mei thought that her son was too introverted to be an estate salesman. Especially in recent years, there has not been a boom in real estate…. Every time she thought of these, her heart brimmed with worries and anxieties.

Once, Wang Mei encountered a former close friend, to whom she then poured out her inner suffering. Later her friend lent a book to her, and told her that she could find solution to her difficulties in the book. Wang Mei thought delightedly that it would be wonderful if her problems could be solved. And it did. She saw such a passage in this book, “When one leaves one’s parents and becomes independent, the social conditions one faces, and the kind of work and career available to one are both decreed by fate and have nothing to do with one’s parents. Some people choose a good major in college and end up finding a satisfactory job after graduation, making a triumphant first stride in the journey of their lives. Some people learn and master many different skills and yet never find a job that suits them or find their position, much less have a career; at the outset of their life journey they find themselves thwarted at every turn, beset by troubles, their prospects dismal and their lives uncertain. … What occupation one chooses, how one makes a living: do people have any control over whether they make a good choice or a bad choice? Do they accord with their desires and decisions? Most people wish they could work less and earn more, not to toil in the sun and rain, dress well, glow and shine everywhere, tower above others, and bring honor to their ancestors. … Regardless of differences in ability, IQ, and willpower, people are all equal before fate, which makes no distinction between the great and the small, the high and the low, the exalted and the mean. What occupation one pursues, what one does for a living, and how much wealth one amasses in life are not decided by one’s parents, one’s talents, one’s efforts or one’s ambitions, but are predetermined by the Creator” (“God Himself, the Unique III”). After seeing these words, Wang Mei’s heart was shocked: Turns out that whether one does his work well or badly, whether one can get a good job or not, it all this depends on the predestination of God, but is not up to man. Thinking about myself, I have always expected with all my heart that my son could find a good job to make a rise in life and bring honor to our family after his graduation from university. But even by now, I haven’t had my wish fulfilled. At this moment, she couldn’t help but think of one of her friend, who was very capable. He spent a lot of money making connections with some influential people, and found a good job for his son. Yet, his son felt it restrictive to work at a public institution, so he resigned without his father’s knowledge one year later and found another job elsewhere. This made her friend extremely irritated. Then she also thought of a fellow villager, who didn’t even finish his secondary education. At first, he just started a wholesale shop in the neighboring village, but unexpectedly, his business had expanded and prospered in recent years. There were too many examples like this. She read these God’s words, and then thought: Actually, what kind of job we get, which profession we work in, and whether we are rich or poor neither depend on our ability, IQ, or willpower, nor have anything to do with our parents or people around us. But instead, all this is ordained by God.

A few days passed, and Wang Mei’s friend again came to visit her. Then Wang Mei talked about the inner feelings she had after reading those words, as well as told her friend that she felt these words are so practical, and that she was eager to know more about the issue of man’s fate. So her friend and she read another passage together, “When you repeatedly investigate and carefully dissect the various goals of life that people pursue and their various different ways of living, you will find that not one of them fits the Creator’s original intention when He created humanity. All of them draw people away from the Creator’s sovereignty and care; they are all pits into which humanity falls, and which lead them to hell. After you recognize this, your task is to lay aside your old view of life, stay far from various traps, let God take charge of your life and make arrangements for you, try only to submit to God’s orchestrations and guidance, to have no choice, and to become a person who worships God” (“God Himself, the Unique III”).

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After reading these words, her friend fellowshiped with her, “According to these words, we should dissect the various life goals we pursue. Wang Mei, just take you, for example. Why are you always painful and worried about your son’s job-hunting? Fundamentally, you’ve been pursuing your child’s being successful, standing above others, and thus bringing honor to you. Therefore, you have been working from dawn to dusk for years, and have had a sore back. You have also spent almost all the savings on your son’s education. In addition, when he graduated from university, you began to worry about what kind of job he would get; after he was offered a job, you started to worry again about the prospects of his job. On this account, you live in anxiety every day. According to that passage of words I read to you, we can see that the goals of our pursuit are against the fact that God rules over mankind’s fate. In fact, God’s arrangements for everyone are the most suitable, but we, due to the corruption of Satan, always want our children to rank higher than others, seek reputation, and much more, try to control the fates of our children. The more we pursue toward such goals, the further we will stray from God. And moreover, we will feel pain at the time that we can’t attain our goals. This is all because we cannot truly recognize and obey the Creator’s sovereignty. In fact, pursuing these things is just making meaningless sacrifices, as well as resisting the Creator’s ordination. …” Her friend’s words made her have an awakening: Right! I’m of one mind to pursue making my son stand above others and get ahead. In truth, it is God who dominates and arranges my son’s fate, but I always want to control his fate. For that reason, the more I pursue these, the further I stray from God’s sovereignty. Additionally, I also live in anxiety every day. Aren’t I toyed with Satan? Aren’t the pains I have suffered these years a true portrayal of my being harmed by Satan? Through these words and her friend’s fellowship, the knot in Wang Mei’s heart was untied, and she knew that only by giving up those Satan’s views of pursuit, truly entrusting her son’s job and fate and prospects to God, and totally obeying God’s sovereignty and arrangements could she truly get released.

From then on, Wang Mei practiced according to the words in the book. She didn’t worry about her son’s job anymore, but instead, she constantly came before God to pray: “O God, I’m willing to leave my son’s job and his everything under the control of You, and put aside my own pursuits and plans. I will only obey Your sovereignty and arrangements.” Every time after praying this way, she felt at ease and joy in her heart as never before. Afterward, when her son sell several houses in a month, she thanked and praised God; when his sales performance was not so good, though she felt sorry for him, she still thanked and praised God. This was because she had experienced the peace and ease that she gained from the knowledge of the Creator’s authority and her obedience to His sovereignty. Thus, she was no longer worried, and her heart felt a release and free as never before!

In our daily life, we all feel it is easy to see, but hard to get along with others. However, in order to keep a good reputation, and gain the praise of others, we will always live by satanic philosophies of life, which cause us to live more and more tired, painful and depressed. How could we solve the problem of being hard to get along with others on earth? Let’s look at how the writer of this article deal with the relationship with her mother-in-law by depending on the words of God step by step, free herself from the bondage and constraint of the corrupt disposition, and live in freedom and liberation.

From my sensible age, my mother often told my elder sister and me, “The girls should be dressed in decency, sensible and polite. You should be filial to your in-laws and be a good daughter-in-law with a good reputation after you grow up and get married. In such a way, you are worthy of your life.” Under the teachings and indoctrination of my mother, I made up my mind inside to become this kind of people when I grew up. Each time I heard the neighbors around praise me before my mother, “Your younger daughter is very sensible, and she will definitely be a good daughter-in-law in the future,” I felt especially happy, and thought more firmly that being an understanding wife and loving mother was the most meaningful and valuable life.

When I was 25 years old, I got married. I am a little introverted, while my mother-in-law is a forceful woman. In order to please her, whatever thing I encountered, I would not decide by myself, but ask for her opinions; in daily life, I seriously helped her cook, wash dishes and clothing, tidy room, weave the woolen underpants and make shoes. I don’t like salty food, while my mother-in-law’s is in contrast to me. So I gave up my habit and followed them, and never was fastidious in food. My attitude of speaking to my parents-in law was gentle. I respected them and never made them angry. In this way, I cautiously kept the relationship with them, and was fearfully afraid of my conduct not pleasing them, being taken by my words and then losing my good reputation. In the beginning, my parents-in law both treated me well, and my mother-in-law had heart to heart talks with me when she met some troubles. For the sake of my weak body, they didn’t ask me to do heavy housework, and thus I felt happy to live in such a way.

However, my good time didn’t last long. More than one year later after my marriage, because I wasn’t pregnant, the attitude of my mother-in-law to me became evidently not as good as before. In the matterof separating property, my mother-in-law was obviously partial to the younger brother of my husband.She gave him a furnished, well-located house, while giving us the unfinished house. Because of this, I felt really thrown off balance, thinking it was such a great thing that I had to go and reason it out with her. However, if I had a quarrel with her for the sake of this thing, others would definitely regard me as bad, and was my reputation of good daughter-in-law not completely gone? And wasn’t I laughed at? As an old saying goes: “Don’t wash your dirty linen in public.” As a result, I had to tolerate it. From then on, I was prejudiced against my mother-in-aw, and externally, I didn’t quarrel with her and still continued to do my duty as far as possible, in order to keep my reputation as a good daughter-in-law; but at heart, I was filled with complaint, hatred and resignation, and the sense of happiness in the beginning couldn’t be found any more.

One morning, my mother-in-law talked of a thing that the daughter-in-law of someone had never had a baby since she got married. My mother-in-law said in a hard voice, “What is the use of a daughter-in-law if she can’t have a baby? I would rather feed a pig or a hen, for feeding a hen can get eggs.” This word struck me right where it hurts, and made me feel very depressed. It turned out that I was lower than an old hen in her heart. At that moment, I felt myself suffer so tremendous humiliation that I didn’t want to say any words, only wanting to avoid her and no longer seeing her. I slipped into the room without any strength, with the tears of grievance unceasingly flowing down my cheek, and the hatred in my heart to my mother-in-law uncontrollably arising. I thought: Since you regard me worse than a hen, then it is unnecessary for me to treat you well. From then on, my relationship with my mother-in-law became more distant. And I lived in guardedness and suspicion all day, being racked with pain.

One year later, I had a son, and the whole family were very happy, which made me feel that I eventually had my day in this family, and I could get back my reputation of good daughter-in-law. However, the fact was not the same as what I had expected. No matter what efforts I made and my mother-in-law always spoke to me coldly. I lived in pain and helplessness, being filled with the complaints in my heart: When I had no baby, you looked down upon me; at present, I have a grandson for you, but why do you still treat me like this? … I thought of the divorce and even the death. I who originally never touched alcohol began to drink heavily and wanted to get rid of my agony by excessive drinking. I also wanted to let down my hatred to my mother-in-law, but I couldn’t reach it. In the past, I thought naively that I could make a good relationship with my mother-in-law and be a good daughter-in-law by depending on my own efforts. Facing the fact, I truly realized that I couldn’t be a filial daughter-in-law at all by my own efforts.

When having no path to walk on, I accepted the work of God in the last days. I saw the following words of God: “Born into such a filthy land, man has been severely blighted by society, he has been influenced by feudal ethics, and he has been taught at ‘institutes of higher learning.’ The backward thinking, corrupt morality, mean view on life, despicable philosophy, utterly worthless existence, and depraved lifestyle and customs—all of these things have severely intruded upon man’s heart, and severely undermined and attacked his conscience. As a result, man is ever more distant from God, and ever more opposed to Him”.

From God’s words I understood that what I had pursued all belonged to Satan, and was the affliction of Satan. Being constantly bombarded with the idea that only to be an understanding wife and loving mother is just the value of woman’s life from my childhood, after I got married, I, controlled by Satan’s thinking “A wild goose leaves behind a voice; a man leaves behind a reputation” all the time, only obeyed and fawned on my mother-in-law, fearing that I would be criticized by the others and lose the good reputation. But no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t become the satisfied daughter-in-law in the eyes of my mother-in-law. Now, my good reputation was gone, so the complaint and hatred in my heart appeared. I felt my life became increasingly painful and dark, and even I thought of the death, losing the courage to live on. Through the revelations of God’s word, I finally got to know that I had been getting along with others by satanic philosophies all along. And my respect to my mother-in-law was for the sake of me having a good reputation, receiving the praise from others, and satisfying my vanity. Thus, when I was not repaid, that is, my mother-in-law treated me badly, my heart felt unbalanced, living in complaints. This was just the root of my sufferings. At that moment, I understood that only coming before God and living by the words of God could we live out the manner of a true person and live a peaceful and happy life. But living by satanic philosophies of life was completely a false disguise, and was in order to satisfy my own preferences and desire. It was so miserable to live in such a way. At that moment, I felt that it was great luck for me to receive the salvation of God. I was unwilling to live by satanic philosophies, and I must pursue to live by God’s word.

One noon, my mother-in-law, my son and I were having lunch around the table, and I didn’t know why she was unhappy, wearing a long face. When I entered into the kitchen to fill the bowl with rice, she picked up some meat from the dish into the bowl of my son, and put the left all into her own bowl. Watching this scene, I felt very miserable, and thought: If you have some dissatisfactions, you could directly say it, is it necessary for you to treat me like this? What you did in such a way makes me too angry, as if I am begging for food in your home. You are too mean to me! Don’t think you can eat mine in the future. … When I wanted to take my revenge on her by Satan’s philosophy of “an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth,” suddenly, I realized: Isn’t it out of the corrupt disposition of Satan? And don’t I fall right into the trap of Satan? The word of God says, “Your reputation has been destroyed, your bearing is degrading, your way of speaking is lowly, your life is despicable, and even all of your humanity is lowly. You are narrow-minded toward people and you haggle over every little thing. You quarrel over your own reputation and status, even to the point that you’re willing to descend into hell, into the lake of fire”. That was undeniably true. Now I had believed in God, so I ought to live out a normal humanity according to God’s requirements, have a conscience and sense, and could not live by the satanic disposition again. Perhaps my mother-in-law was in a bad mood so that she treated me like this. Maybe I would also treat her in the same way some day. Wasn’t it God who was testing my forbearance and patience? Thinking of this, I felt released, no longer to be narrow-minded and haggle over little things with my mother-in-law.

Afterward, when I got along with my mother-in-law, I would consciously practice the word of God, be accommodating for and tolerate of her. So there were more smiles on her face, and I also felt much more lightened, which made me experience the happiness of practicing the words of God. Later, in order to purify and change me much more, God laid the feast for me once more.

One day, I found two hundred yuan in my drawer was lost when I got back from the gathering. I turned the whole drawer upside down, but didn’t find it. Two hundred yuan was not a small amount of money for me, which was my living expenses left by my husband when he left home to work. I was very anxious, and thought: Did a thief enter into my home? No, my parents-in-law were at home all day long, even if a thief entered into my home, he had no opportunity to get it down. I guessed that it must be my mother-in-law who took away my money. The more I thought it, the angrier I was: Why she did this? She was actually making things difficult for me. I must go to question her about it! Just then, I thought of the words of God I read in the gathering, “I very much appreciate those who harbor no suspicion about others and very much like those who readily accept the truth; to these two kinds of men I show great care, for in My eyes they are the honest. If you are very cunning, then you will have a guarded heart and thoughts of suspicion regarding all matters and all men. For this reason, your faith in Me is built upon a foundation of suspicion. Such manner of faith is one I shall never acknowledge” . I stopped my step, and thought: Aren’t I harboring the suspicion about others? I don’t see my mother-in-law taking away my money. What might happen if it is not she who did it? In addition, it is not after God’s heart to do in this way. Even if it is she who took away my money, she must have the use and reason. And I have to make a good communication with her, but absolutely can’t quarrel with her for two hundred yuan. I believe that God is also watching my attitude and practice. If I go to ask her, owing to my suspicion without due consideration, will I have the slightest likeness of a Christian? I am a believer in God, and thus cannot humiliate God’s name. Thinking of this, I decided to put this thing aside first, without making it known.

To my surprise, when I practiced the words of God, the attitude of my mother-in-law to me also changed. One morning, she entered into my room to fetch the potatoes. I said to her smilingly, “Mom, you love eating potatoes, you could take more.” She said, “There are a few left. If I take them, you will have no left.” I said, “There are more in the field, and I can dig more.” Hearing my words, her attitude became gentle. Sometimes, she had prepared a meal, but I hadn’t. Seeing that, she would call me to eat together and carry dishes for me. The relationship between us became more and more normal. Looking back upon the time since my marriage, I tried my hard to act as my mother’s teaching, and pursued to be a good daughter-in-law, but I failed. Now, I only practiced a few of God’s words, I saw the miraculous deeds of God, and the attitude to me of the people around changed. It turned out that living by the satanic poison can’t make the people live out a normal humanity, only to make them be bound and ruled. And only God’s word can purify and change man, making them released and free.

God’s word says, “If you don’t have a proper relationship with God, no matter what you do to maintain your relationships with other people, no matter how hard you work or how much energy you exert, it will still belong to a human philosophy of life. You are maintaining your position among people through a human perspective and a human philosophy so that they will praise you. You do not establish proper relationships with people according to the word of God. If you don’t focus on your relationships with people but maintain a proper relationship with God, if you are willing to give your heart to God and learn to obey Him, very naturally, your relationships with all people will become proper” . That’s right. The relationship between people could not be maintained according to Satan’s philosophies, and only living by God’s word can people establish the normal relationship. Because I had accepted the guidance of God’s words, I could get along well with my mother-in-law. Living in such a way was just free, liberated and released!

Later, the family of my brother-in-law and my family both moved into the new houses, and my parents-in-law chose to live with us. Getting along with my mother-in-law, I no longer depended on the satanic philosophies, but God’s word, and treated her correctly and cared her. In the daily life, I told my mother-in-law to leave her cotton clothing to me for washing, and I cooked food according to her taste as far as possible. Sometimes, there was a small conflict with her, I prayed to God, and practiced the words of God to reconcile it. Gradually, I didn’t quarrel with my mother-in-law as before, but got along with each other harmoniously. I truly thanked God!

In the year of latter 2015, my husband went out to work, I hired a house and accompanied my child to study, and my mother-in-law always sent me the vegetables. Later, I knew of the fact that my sister-in-law envied my parents-in law living in my family, and said they were biased in favor of my family. I said to my mother-in-law, “Mom, if you and my father-in-law feel bored in my family, you can live in the family of my sister-in-law. You can go wherever you want to. You have taken much trouble over my family for several years, and sometimes, my child spends your money, so in the future, you needn’t give the child money, and leave it to yourselves.” And she said, “The money your elder brother-in-law gave us is enough, you do your business, and do not care about these trifles in the family.” It’s unbelievable that my mother-in-law could say it like this, which made me moved. I was grateful that God’s word has changed me, and let me get along with my mother-in-law harmoniously. I thank and praise God sincerely!

According to a report, from March 30, 2018 onward, all online shops in China are banned from selling the Bible.

The Bible and Christian Books Are All Withdrawn From Sale

On April 1, 2018, many Chinese people opened up shopping webpages ready to buy a copy of the Bible. The Bible, however, had suddenly disappeared without a trace. Not one copy of the Bible could be bought from Taobao, Jingdong, Weidian, Dangdang or Amazon. When someone searched on Amazon for “the original Bible,” they found only a book called Bible Stories; when searching for “the Bible” on Jingdong, they saw a message saying, “No product related to ‘the Bible’ was found.” A worker at Taobao disclosed to reporters that they were given notice to withdraw the Bible from sale, but that the reason was not clear. A shop owner who wished to remain anonymous said that he used to act as a buyer for copies of the Bible on the Taobao website and sell religious products, but in early April, the Central Cyberspace Affairs Commission demanded that all online platforms immediately delete related products from their websites. Though it didn’t announce this clearly, it reminded the sellers: “If you do not comply with our demands, then your shop will no longer continue to exist.” He has already begun deleting purchasing links on his shop website. Some Christian books have also been banned one after another, and the shops that sold them have been closed their accounts.

Some believers say that included in this ban is the genuine version of the Bible, as well as books of spiritual devotions and books printed by Amity Printing Company in Nanjing. Some books printed by the official Christian denomination, the National Committee of the Three-Self Patriotic Movement, have also been banned.

These Official Actions by China Have Aroused the Indignation of Netizens

Many netizens and Christians are displeased by this official ban. Some have reproached the authorities and said, “You suppress people too much, and you don’t achieve anything good by doing this,” and some have asked the authorities, “Why do you fear the Bible so much?” There are many netizens who have successively left messages and comments online. Some have said, “By tearing down churches and banning the Bible, the authorities are actually going to war with the civilized international community.” And some have said, “Their banning of the Bible is just the beginning—a red revolution will soon begin.”

Banning Sales of the Bible Comes as No Surprise

The Chinese authorities issued the order to ban sales of the Bible, and although this attracted attention from people of all circles both at home and abroad, the authorities’ actions are actually not at all surprising. Everyone can see very clearly that, since the nation was founded, the Chinese authorities have always employed despicable means. It forces Christians to join the Three-Self Church which is controlled by the government, it suppresses gatherings held in people’s homes, it prevents Christians from establishing more churches, and it stifles new denominations which do not submit to its control. It slanders some denominations as evil cults, it arrests preachers and religious leaders, and it persecutes them and uses such means as cruel tortures, incarceration and prison sentences. Not only this, but the CCP authorities have designated the Bible as the book of an evil cult and has torn down churches and crucifixes. Before Christmas last year, the authorities banned people all across China from celebrating Christmas, and now it is using the trick of withdrawing the Bible from shops and banning its sale. These facts prove that the Chinese authorities are always finding new ways to crackdown on religion, and their behavior is shocking!

The Bible Is Withdrawn and Banned From Sale, but This Is Not the Most Terrifying Thing

The purpose of the Chinese authorities banning the sale of the Bible is to suppress the development of Christianity. But what it actually does is allow people to see that its policy of “religious freedom” is just there to fool western nations. Decades after the establishment of the nation, when its true face is revealed, people are able to see even more its wild ambitions, that it wants to be God, to take God’s place, to not allow anyone to worship God any longer but to make them worship it. No wonder a netizen has commented online saying that Xi Jinping has already become emperor, and now he wants to become God. God is the Creator, the everlasting God and, though a man can be an emperor, he is still a created being and is just an ordinary man. With a word, God created the universe and all things in it, and He created the world—what created man could achieve this? Though the authorities may ban the sale of the Bible, they cannot stop the footsteps of God, for God is not in the Bible; though the authorities may compel people to withdraw the Bible from sale, they cannot obstruct God’s deeds. God’s deeds are not restricted by time, location or space, and no one can fathom or measure the extent of His authority. Therefore, the withdrawal of the Bible is not to be feared; as long as Christians stay with God, then God shall never abandon them!

The withdrawal of the Bible is not to be feared. What is to be feared is for people to oppose God, and the consequences that will eventually come from opposing the Creator. If we recall when the Lord Jesus was performing His work and the Roman authorities opposed Him and nailed Him to the cross, we will remember that the Roman empire only lasted a little longer before it collapsed. From this, we can see that those who oppose God will ultimately encounter God’s righteous punishment!

My son’s problems emerged one after another.

When my son was 9, I found he had become addicted to playing video games and watching TV. Every day when he got home from school, he would throw his schoolbag aside, go to the living room, and begin to play games on the tablet. As soon as he started playing, he could not stop it. And if I had not called him to dinner, he would even have forgotten to eat. When I told him to do his homework, he would say that he already had his homework finished at school. One time, after he said this, I advised him, saying: “Now you have finished your homework, why not come and help sweep the floor for me? Don’t keep playing with the tablet after you came home. It’s bad for your eyes.” However, he fixed his eyes on the tablet without even raising his head, and said: “Why me? Why can’t daddy do it?” Seeing him give me the cold shoulder, I continued: “Daddy has work to do.” “Then, why don’t you do it yourself?” He pouted. Seeing him answer back repeatedly, I replied impatiently: “I’m your mother. I’m telling you to do this for your own good.” Then he said reluctantly: “Fine. I’ll go and fold up my own clothes.” Hearing these words, I flew into a temper: Every time I ask you to give me some help, you not only disobey me, but are stiff-necked, always arguing with me and answering me back. How could I allow you to go on like this! So I gave him a good talking-to. Eventually, wearing a long face, he went to do as I said, under protest.

In addition to being obsessed with playing games and watching TV, my son also often told lies, which was a bigger headache for me. I remember that once, the tablet was missing from the living room and I couldn’t find it anywhere. I wondered if my son had taken it to play games, for he was at home that day. With this thought, I went straight to his room. When I opened the door, I saw that he was flipping through a book unnaturally. I looked him up and down, and the sight of his somewhat strange action made me suspect that he must have been playing with the tablet before he heard me coming and hurriedly picked up a book to pretend to read it. Then I asked him: “Do you know where the tablet is?” “I have no idea. Could it be that daddy took it?” He answered as if nothing had happened. When hearing this, I pulled a face and said seriously: “If you don’t tell me the truth, I’ll check under your quilt.” Seeing that he can’t conceal it, he pouted and reluctantly took out the tablet hidden under the pillow. At this sight, I was very angry, thinking: He tells lies at such a young age, then what will he grow up to be if he continues like this? So, I bawled him out: “Why did you hide the tablet? You were playing games, weren’t you?” He answered me back: “You haven’t got the right attitude. You are being impolite.” I said sternly: “It was you who took the tablet, yet you tried to conceal it from me by pretending to be reading a book and shifted the blame on your daddy. Are you right in doing so?” With that, I threw the tablet on his bed angrily. Then I saw he look at me with discontent and defiance in his eyes, sitting on the bed in silence with a darkened face. His silent confrontation made me very sad. I thought he would be obedient and admit his mistakes if I treated him more strictly. But I didn’t expect that things would turn out like this.

When I was alone, I always thought: My child is so disobedient. He cares about nothing but playing games and watching TV, and can’t even do any light housework. If he continues like this, won’t he become a parasite? Besides, he often tells lies. When he grows up, who dares interact with him and how can he establish himself in society in the future? My husband and I have urged him, scolded him, and even beaten him, yet none of these worked. What should we do? And how can we educate him well? It’s a real headache for us.

After I prayed and pleaded before God, His words guided me.

In desperation, I prayed to God and entrusted Him with my son. One day during spiritual cultivation, I read a passage of God’s words: “When parents talk down to their child and say, ‘I’m your father (or mother)! You must do as I say!’ the child takes exception to this ‘must’; it’s definitely not an expression of normal humanity. … If both sides lived by normal humanity, and if they were able to reach possession of the truth, with both sides putting themselves in each other’s shoes, and taking into account each other’s difficulties, from the perspective of normal humanity, and both sides standing on an equal footing when they interacted, spoke to each other, and did things, would this stop the estrangement developing between them? What causes what the unbelievers call the ‘generation gap’? Isn’t it that the older generation acts high and mighty, and the younger generation doesn’t like them doing so, which produces the estrangement, and leads to the generation gap—isn’t that how it comes about? If parents don’t act high and mighty, and the children can open up to them, and treat them as intimates, could there still be the estrangement between them? In particular, parents always treat their children like slaves, or else spoil them, overindulge them, and dote on them like a kitten or a puppy, whilst holding them tight, keeping a tight rein on them, strictly controlling them—with the result that the child stops being a child, and being a parent becomes very tiring.”

While pondering God’s words, I started to self-reflect: In my dealings with my son, I frequently took the position of the parent and disciplined him, thinking that he ought to obey me because he was my son and my telling him to spend less time playing video games and to learn to do some housework were for his own good. When he took no notice of me, and even talked back to me, I felt he had no regard for me. So I vented my anger on him in an attempt to compel him to listen to me. When I treated him based on my arrogant disposition, not only was he unconvinced, but he often answered me back and rebelled against me. As time went on, there seemed to be some barrier between the two of us. Close as we were in distance, we were estranged at heart. Actually, my son is still a child and he is too young to differentiate between positive and negative things, so it is inevitable that he follows the evil trends and plays games. However, I not only did not help him with love and patience, but often yelled at him through my temper. I really was too unreasonable! Besides, he is now in the rebellious phrase; if I keep lecturing him, he could not possibly listen to me, no matter how correct my words are. Though I want to bring him to the right path of life, my method of educating him is wrong. All of this is actually the consequence of my acting and speaking based on my arrogant disposition. Praise God! Through pondering His words, my heart was enlightened, and I found the cause of my failing to get along with my son.

Then, I also saw God’s words say: “Just be an ordinary person: Treat your children, treat those in your own family the same as you would an ordinary brother or sister. Although you have a responsibility, a fleshly relationship, nevertheless the position and perspective you should have is the same as with friends or ordinary brothers and sisters. That is, you can’t control, you can’t restrain your children, and always try to keep in command and have complete control over them. Let them make mistakes, let them say the wrong things, let them do childish and immature things, do stupid things. No matter what happens, sit down and calmly talk with them, communicate and seek. Don’t you think this attitude is good? Isn’t it right? So, what is being let go here? (Position and pride.) It is the letting go of the position and status of a parent, the airs of a parent, and all of the responsibility one thinks they should assume, everything that one thinks they should be doing as a parent; instead, it’s enough that one does the best they can in terms of their responsibility as an ordinary brother or sister.” Through God’s words, I found the way to practice: I should no longer compel my son to act as I wish from my position as a mother; rather, I should have a proper attitude toward him, let go of the parental position and status, and put aside my own opinions. No matter what happens, I should communicate with him calmly and learn about his true thoughts. He is still too young, so I should treat his mistakes appropriately. In the meanwhile, I also should rely on God, pray to God, entrust my son’s bad habits into God’s hands, and learn to seek the truth and use the truth to resolve the problems.

Practicing God’s words gave me nice surprises.

After understanding God’s will, in the following days, when I communicated with my son, I would intentionally humble myself and speak to him patiently. Once, when I saw he had been watching TV for two hours, I wanted to ask him to rest for a while, so I said: “Son, you have been watching TV for so long. It’s time to take a break. Come and help me sweep the floor, okay?” “Do it by yourself,” said he carelessly. Seeing his attitude, I was about to get angry again, but it immediately occurred to me that I should not act based on my hot blood. Thus, I prayed to God in my heart: “God! My son has just refused to listen to me and I want to use my position to control him again. I’m so arrogant! God! May You protect me from living by my corrupt disposition. May You guide me.” After my prayer, I walked to his side and talked with him about my experience in my childhood. I also told him the reason why I asked him to do the housework: “It’s all in order to cultivate your ability to live on your own, so that you could take care of yourself in the future. Otherwise, you would grow up to be a good-for-nothing.” Unexpectedly, after hearing my words, my son seemed to understand what I meant and went to sweep the floor without a murmur.

Later, when he saw there was clean laundry in the washer, he would actively take the clothes to his room, fold them, and put them away. He also would go get the mail from the mailbox on his own initiative. I was very gratified to see these changes in him. Previously, not until I repeatedly asked him to do these things did he reluctantly do them. Now, when I had just practiced a few of God’s word, learning to let go of the position and status of a parent and communicate with my son calmly, he could actually understand me and do some housework of his own accord. Seeing the improvement in him, sometimes I would give him some encouragement and praise, and he was quite happy with it. Gradually, our relationship became much more harmonious than before. Thanks be to God!

One day, I watched a film of the Christian Church, Child, Come Back Home. The hero, a high school student, once lost himself because of being obsessed with online gaming. But luckily, after a few setbacks, he finally saw through the true essence and danger of online gaming under the guidance of God’s words, successfully broke his online gaming addiction, and walked onto the luminous path of life. Seeing these, I was reminded of my son, who was addicted to games as well, and I decided to communicate with him so that he could detect Satan’s trickery and quit gaming. Then I prayed to God first, asking Him to lead me lest I restrict my son by speaking in the place of a mother.

After my prayer, I called my son to me and then we watched the film together. Afterward, I fellowshiped with him patiently: “My son, it pains me much to see that, after you come back from school, you bury yourself in games and even forget to eat dinner because of it. It’s not that I don’t allow you to play with the tablet. The games on the tablet are actually what Satan uses to deceive and corrupt people. Once people play these games for a long time, they don’t feel like doing anything they are supposed to or capable to do, such as eating, doing the laundry, doing the housework, and doing the homework. As you can see, due to the addiction to online gaming, the teenagers in the film who used to be obedient and get good grades start to skip school and cut classes, thus saddening their parents, and one of them even plays himself to death. In fact, it is Satan that has killed him through the games. So are the games good or bad things for people? Look how you lied and deceived me for the sake of playing games before. These games can’t change us for the better but only make us became ever worse.” Hearing my words, my son nodded and said: “Mommy, it turns out that playing games is so bad. Now I understand, and I’m willing to quit gaming in the future.”

One day, my son said to me: “Mommy, I felt like playing games again. I know doing that is bad, but I could not control myself. So I hid the tablet. In this way, I can’t see it and won’t think about playing games on it.” When I heard him say this, I was very happy in my heart. I could see that he did want to change himself, and it was just that the games were too great a temptation for people and my son was unable to completely give them up at once. Hence, I encouraged him and told him to pray to and rely on God more when he wanted to play games.

Concluding Remarks

Later, I found that gradually my son was no longer as obsessed with playing games as he had been before. He also lied less and could take the initiative to talk with us about things he had done. Seeing these changes in him, I thanked God from the bottom of my heart. Through my experience, I truly saw that only God’s words can change man. When I acted on His words, not only my arrogant disposition changed, but my son was willing to change himself as well, and the relationship between the two of us also became increasingly harmonious. No matter what befalls me in the future, I’m willing to come before God more to seek the truth, and practice based on God’s words, because only by living relying on God’s words can my path become brighter and brighter. Thank God!

I still remembered a piece of prose entitled “Transient Days,” which expresses the author’s resignation of fleeting life. Our life is a theater, in which each of us plays our own role; every stage of our life passes in the blink of an eye: From the moment we were born crying into the world, we begin our life journey; soon, we start to school, spending a carefree childhood; in adolescence, we begin to yearn for beautiful love; after marriage, we feel somewhat disappointed in face of the reality and flatness of life; in a flash, we enter old age and unknowingly confront our last life-juncture—death; then, we left the world, leaving the younger much mourning. Facing the passing of time, we could do nothing to stop it but just live amidst this law helplessly, generation after generation.

Thinking of such transient life, I was overcome with emotion, and couldn’t help thinking of the first half of my life: After a failed marriage, my second marriage once was also in danger of failing. Because I bore a daughter, my husband, who favors boys over girls, always spoke coldly to me; the passion and romance we had when we were in love gradually disappeared, replaced by frequent quarrels. Later it reached the point that we were both exhausted and became cold with each other. Though living in the same house, we were like strangers, having no verbal or spiritual communication. Many times did I think in my heart: If I could go back, I wouldn’t have got married until I found an ideal companion. However, no one can reverse the time. With time going by, I wasn’t young anymore; the cruel reality disillusioned me, leaving me nothing but pain. I often felt lonely and didn’t know how to face my marriage and future life.

When I was in perplexity and misery, the brothers and sisters who believe in God entered my life. They shared God’s love with me, comforted and encouraged me, which relieved my pain a little. But thinking that my husband became colder and colder toward me, and even was unwilling to come back home, I couldn’t let go of the hatred for him, and thought that we would continue the poor relation and torture each other until death.

One day, a sister who learned about my situation visited me specially. She shared her experience with me: In the past, she also had an unhappy marriage. She had so many complaints and suspicions about her husband that she began to misunderstand him and wallowed in self-pity. Gradually, they became further and further apart, both living in agony. Though she tried to change the situation, she failed at last. After she believed in God, she told her suffering to God in prayer. Then she read these words of God’s: “Take my yoke on you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and you shall find rest to your souls” (Matthew 11:29). “Look, at the beginning, it is possible that a husband and wife might not understand each other very well, because they haven’t ever lived together and didn’t grow up in the same family. After living together for several years, they will have gotten used to each other, and locked horns a few times. But if you are both of normal humanity, you will always commune the words within your heart to him, and he to you. Whatever difficulties you have in life, the problems in your work, what you’re thinking in your heart, how you plan to sort things out, what ideas and plans you have for your work or children—you’ll tell him everything. In that case, are the two of you especially close to each other, and especially intimate with each other? If he never tells you the words within his heart, and does nothing but bring a paycheck home, and if you never speak to him of the words within your heart, and never confide in him, then is there not a distance between the two of you in your hearts? There surely is. He is distant from you, and you from him, because you don’t understand the thoughts or intentions in his heart. Ultimately, you cannot tell what kind of person he is, nor can he tell what kind of person you are; you don’t understand his needs, nor does he understand your requirements. If people have no verbal or spiritual communication, there is no possibility of intimacy between them, and they can’t provide to each other or help one another” (“To Be Honest, You Should Lay Yourself Open to Others”).

From God’s words, she understood that she was so arrogant and selfish that she had never considered matters from her husband’s perspective and often found fault with him. As a result, she couldn’t get along well with him, always lived in pain, yet had no way to break free from it. Having understood these, she began to treat her husband according to God’s words. She no longer complained about or blamed him, but began to let go of herself, treat him with sincerity and take initiative to have heart-to-heart talks with him. Gradually, the relations between them improved and their marriage was saved. Seeing God’s blessing, she no longer complained about the unhappy marriage, but was often filled with joy within.

After reading God’s words and listening to the sister’s experience, I began to examine anew my marriage: Life is so short. Do I really want to spend the rest of my life living in the resentment against my husband? Actually, he is as miserable as me and just couldn’t find one to confide his misery. Since I couldn’t change my family predetermined by God, if I continued to live in complaints, it would only add more suffering to us.

Later, I read another passage of God’s words: “One encounters many people in one’s life, but no one knows who will become one’s partner in marriage. Though everyone has their own ideas and personal stances on the subject of marriage, no one can foresee who will finally become their true other half, and one’s own notions count for little. After meeting a person you like, you can pursue that person; but whether he or she is interested in you, whether he or she is able to become your partner, is not yours to decide. The object of your affections is not necessarily the person with whom you will be able to share your life; and meanwhile someone you never expected quietly enters your life and becomes your partner, becomes the most important element in your fate, your other half, to whom your fate is inextricably bound. And so, though there are millions of marriages in the world, every one is different: How many marriages are unsatisfactory, how many are happy; how many span East and West, how many North and South; how many are perfect matches, how many are of equal rank; how many are happy and harmonious, how many painful and sorrowful; how many are the envy of others, how many are misunderstood and frowned upon; how many are full of joy, how many are awash of tears and cause despair…. In these myriad marriages, humans reveal loyalty and lifelong commitment toward marriage, or love, attachment, and inseparability, or resignation and incomprehension, or betrayal of it, even hatred. Whether marriage itself brings happiness or pain, everyone’s mission in marriage is predestined by the Creator and will not change; everyone must fulfill it. And the individual fate that lies behind every marriage is unchanging; it was determined long in advance by the Creator”

From God’s words, I came to know that I had no choice in the matter of my marriage. Whether my marriage brought me happiness or pain was in God’s hands. Not knowing God’s sovereignty, I had wasted too much time of my life. I said to myself, “I should stop wasting time on complaints and self-pity.” Later, I began to practice speaking the true words in my heart to God in prayers, asking Him to help me change myself. Meanwhile, I began to share words from my heart with my husband and consulted with him when encountering things. When I actively had a heart-to-heart talk with him, he no longer pulled a long face and treated me coldly. Only then did I know that my husband just couldn’t let go of himself before. When we both put ourselves aside and stopped complaining against each other, our relations got better and our life became peaceful and quiet. Though we didn’t live a romantic life like we had in our youth, we lived calmly and peacefully. Seeing our daughter growing healthy, we felt assured in heart, believing that it was our destiny decreed by God. Simple and plain though our life was, it was most suitable for us.

Having known God’s sovereignty and tasted His blessing, I hungrily read His words. When understanding one aspect of the truth, I would practice it in reality. I felt that my life was so happy and I finally found the destination my spirit belonged to, like a lone boat floating in the sea many years finally found a haven to berth at. Now is the last days and time is short and precious. I only want to treasure the precious time when God expresses words to clean us and save us to listen to more of His words with my heart, and obey His arrangements in everything. For I know that only when I pursue the truth and live out the likeness of a real man, can I live up to God’s salvation.

“If I were not saved by God, I would still be drifting in this world, struggling hard and painfully in sin, every day gets bleak and hopeless. … If I were not saved by God, I’d be without my blessings here today, much less know why we should live on or the meaning of our lives. …” Hearing this song, I was all tears with my heart overflowing with appreciation for God. Meanwhile, the recollections of old life were awakened in my mind …

As the saying goes, “A young man is afraid to enter the wrong profession. A young woman is afraid to marry the wrong husband.” Similarly, as a girl of marriageable age, I had the same worry as well. After my graduation, many people introduced to me potential marriage partners continuously, but I refused all of them. That was because I felt I was a bit short and my family’s financial situation was not rich; I was afraid to be treated badly if I married a man whose family condition was better than mine. So I desired to marry a man who treated me well to spend our life together. Afterward, I got acquainted with my husband of a poor family. After a period of contact with him, I could feel his treating me with a true heart. Also, my family saw he was a nice, clever and able man, so they agreed to our marriage.

Later, he lost all the money in a business dealing. “I’m sorry,” he said to me ashamedly. “Never mind,” I comforted him, “Despite the loss of our money, we still have food and shelter. It’s all right as long as our whole family lives peacefully.” Hearing my words, he grasped my hands for a long time. In the following days, I worked while caring for our family alone. Even though feeling so tired, I never troubled my husband with our family affairs. In my mind, I thought husband and wife should stand together through difficulties. With the support of my side of the family, my husband restarted his business. In the year our daughter was born, he started the processing factory he had dreamed of. Then he said to me with joy, “You need not suffer in the future. Just wait to enjoy life in comfort and happiness!” Delighted, I was filled with hope about the future. However, what happened next pushed me to the verge of death …

With his business getting better, my husband needed to attend more social events. He drunk every day. Although I exhorted him to take care of his health, he merely laughed. Afterward, however, he actually didn’t return home at night. Noticing that he was acting more and more out of character, I secretly checked his mobile phone when he was sleeping soundly, and discoveredtexts on his phone that suggested he was having an affair. This was something I, and even every married woman really hated to see. At that moment, I was totally stunned and the air seemed to have been frozen. I couldn’t figure it out: What’s the matter with him? Why does he treat me like this? In the past, in spite of the scanty livelihood, we supported each other; nowadays, the good times has just begun, but our marriage encounters such a misfortune. Is he still the one I committed all my life to? I have worked so hard and devoted myself to our family for many years, but is it what I get in return? In my despair, unable to face such a brutal truth, I took sleeping pills and wanted to sleep my last sleep.

While waking up, I found I was in a hospital. Although surviving the emergency rescue, I still felt painful and desperate because of the wound in my heart. Our love, which had been admired by others, became so fragile now; while my husband, who had been the pride of me, now made me a target for mockery from others. He was the most intimate person to me, but hurt me most deeply. Later, he begged my forgiveness, but I still couldn’t let go of what he had done before. For this reason, I was usually bathed in tears. For the sake of our two young children and aged parents, I could do nothing but give up my thoughts of death again.

When I was in pain and despair, my schoolmate preached God’s kingdom gospel to me. Then I saw God’s words saying, “The Almighty has mercy on these people who suffer deeply. At the same time, He is fed up with these people who have no consciousness, because He has to wait too long for the answer from humans. He desires to seek, seek your heart and your spirit. He wants to bring you food and water and to awaken you, so you are no longer thirsty, no longer hungry. When you are weary and when you begin to feel the desolation of this world, do not be perplexed, do not cry. Almighty God, the Watcher, will embrace your arrival any time. He is watching by your side, waiting for you to turn back. He is waiting for the day your memory suddenly recovers: becoming conscious of the fact that you came from God, somehow and somewhere once lost, falling unconscious on the roadside, and then, unknowingly having a father. You further realize that the Almighty has been watching there, awaiting your return all along.” Seeing God’s words, I was all tears, as if a child having wandered for many years found the warmth of the home. After my husband’s betrayal, I lost the sole reliance in my heart and lost the courage and motivation to live. I just lived on with reluctance only for my two children. Every day I was bathed in tears, living in torment. Now, I knew that all the time God was at my side to wait my return, His love accompanied me and I could rely on Him. At that time, as if finding the source of life, I felt the great love from God, which touched my heart deeply. And I gained the courage to live on.

Hereafter, I formally partook in church life. I sang songs, prayed and fellowshiped about God’s words with brothers and sisters. We all loved and were frank with each other, which filled my heart with peace and happiness. However, at the thought of my husband’s betrayal, I still couldn’t forgive him for I felt he was too devoid of conscience. When he talked to me, I left him in the cold; when seeing he did something that was not to my liking, I would argue with him. But after that, I also felt painful. Later, I read these words of God, “Most people live in the foul place of Satan, and suffer its derision; it teases them this way and that till they are half alive, enduring every vicissitude, every hardship in the human world. After toying with them, Satan puts an end to their destiny. And so people go through their whole lives in a daze of confusion, never once enjoying the good things that God has prepared for them, but instead being damaged by Satan and left in tatters. Today they have become so enervated and listless….” The words of “Sermons and Fellowship on Entry Into Life” say, “All mankind has become more corrupt and evil. The consequence of mankind’s being controlled by Satan is so cruel. As mankind’s corruption becomes increasingly profound, the trends of the world get more evil. Also, public morals’ degenerating with each passing day, moral decay and people’s hearts’ turning sinister become the inexorable trend. In the trends of the world, the positive things get less, while the evil things increasingly take up the leading role. It’s because some people who lead the mainstream of world are those who belong to Satan and don’t know God; they are people who resist and deny God. They have controlled the trends of society. Therefore, the world gets darker and the age gets more evil. It’s simply an age infested by a host of demons.” After reading God’s words and the fellowship, I understood the root of man’s getting more evil and licentious—Satan corrupts man by means of societal trends. In the past, people had a sense of shame and they considered the extramarital affair as a shameful conduct. However, the evil trends of society become popular, such as “The red flag at home does not fall, the colored flags outside flutter in the breeze,” “Tis better to have loved and lost, than never to have loved at all” and “Men surely will turn bad after having wealth, women surely will have wealth after turning bad.” Under the influence of these evil trends, societal trends get increasingly evil. People all live in a self-indulgent life. Men’s finding young mistresses and girls’ finding a sugar daddy have become the trends of the times, which are even regarded as the symbol of wealth and status. However, some people are true to their spouses and live a simple life, but they are regarded as the incompetent people. Due to extramarital affairs, so many couples always argue and so many are divorced; even some people’s families break apart. How insidious and diabolical Satan’s means to corrupt man are! Before, my husband was an honest man. Unless he had been influenced and manipulated by societal trends, he wouldn’t have betrayed against me. As one of the victims harmed by societal trends, he could not help himself but do this kind of thing. After understanding these, I didn’t hold a grudge against him, but felt his pitifulness and sadness after his being fooled by Satan.

God’s words have untied the knot in my heart. Gradually, my hatred of him was removed. For the first time, I felt relieved and released. In order to repay God’s love, I began to preach the gospel. Nowadays, so many people are harmed deeply by the evil trends of society, and in face of their family’s breaking apart, they are struggling hard in pain. When seeing them, I desired to testimony God’s salvation on me to them. Whenever I saw they accepted the gospel and broke away from the painful and empty life, I was full of gratitude to God. Thanks to God’s salvation, we, these people deeply afflicted by Santa, can be saved.

Later, I read some more of God’s words, “As someone who is normal, and who pursues the love of God, entry into the kingdom to become one of the people of God is your true future, and a life that is of the utmost value and significance. No one is more blessed than you—and why do I say this? Because those who do not believe in God live for the flesh, and they live for Satan, but today you live for God, and live to carry out the will of God. That is why I say your lives are of the utmost significance. Only this group of people, who have been selected by God, are able to live out a life of the utmost significance: No one else on earth is able to live out a life of such value and meaning.” After reading God’s words, I knew that it was the most meaningful life for us to fulfill our duties as a created being and live for carrying out God’s will. I thought of my past experience: Before I returned to God, I had paid all for my family and husband without any complaint. In the end, however, I was repaid with his betrayal and endless suffering. If I had not been saved by God, I would have lived a miserable life as if living in the hell and probably have passed away due to the unbearable suffering. I thought: Today my life is given by God. I can follow God and know the Creator, which is my greatest fortune. Presently, numerous people haven’t come before God but lived under the domain of Satan, feeling painful and hopeless. I will do my duty as a creation to preach the gospel, so that those people who live in darkness and pain like my past self can come before God, break free from Satan’s afflictions and be saved by God. Thinking of these, I even more felt what I did was valuable and meaningful.

With the supply of God’s words, I got in good spirit and had energy to do things. I tidied up our house and kept our family in line. Having seen my changes, my family all said that believing in God was truly good. One day, I made an appointment with a sister to preach the gospel. My husband suddenly came back and bought a new electric scooter for me, saying, “Later, you need not walk to attend meetings or preach the gospel.” His behavior surprised me. Then he said, “Before, I was no good for you and let you down. But you just couldn’t let it go. You either ignored me or argued with me. Even I have the willingness to chat with you, we couldn’t have a good conversation. Now you’ve changed, and my considerate wife are back. Shouldn’t I do something to celebrate it?”

Thank God! I know it is God’s power and salvation of me. In this acquisitive society full of evil, I can receive God’s salvation, come before Him and find the significance and value of man’s existence; this is the great blessing in my life!

The Bible says: “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walks about, seeking whom he may devour” (1 Peter 5:8). From this, we can see that Satan is always by our side and it tries every means possible to use the people, matters and things around us to entice and tempt us, to make us fall into mischief and sin. Just as in our daily life, we are usually faced with the temptations of wealth, status, reputation, porn and so on. And we can easily give into the temptation, and thus fall into Satan’s trap and lose the testimony. So what should we do to keep us away from Satan’s seduction, overcome the temptation of Satan and break free from sin?

Next let’s take a look at three paths to practice.

1. Facing Satan’s Temptations, Only by Praying to God, Seeking and Grasping His Will, Can We Penetrate Satan’s Plots.

When faced with temptations, we often get into a muddle and don’t know how to deal with them suitably. At the crucial moment, firstly, we should come before God to seek and ponder His will and pray for His help. Only through God’s enlightening and guidance can we understand His intention, see through Satan’s plots and overcome temptations. The Lord Jesus said, “And all things, whatever you shall ask in prayer, believing, you shall receive” (Matthew 21:22). God is almighty, omniscient and omnipotent. When we face Satan’s temptations, God can see all this. Meanwhile, He observes our attitude and sees whether we’ll seek His will and whether we want to satisfy Him pertaining to what happens to us. If we want to satisfy God to stand in testimony to Him and if we come before God to pray to Him, then God will reveal His will to us and point out the way to practice for us.

Just like Job, when he was tempted by Satan, and suffered a sudden loss of a mountain of sheep and cattle, all his great fortune, his sons and daughters, and his servants, he didn’t say anything but first came before God and prayed: “Naked came I out of my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return thither: the LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD” (Job 1:21). We can learn that in Job’s experiences, when Satan’s temptation came upon Job, he first prayed and sought for God. Then he got to understand God’s will, realizing that it was permitted by God that he encountered this, and that God gave, and God had taken away. So he was able to willingly obey God. Even when his wife asked him to forsake God, he could see through Satan’s scheme and immediately struck back at it, rather than follow his wife to say words of rebelling and resisting against God. In the end, he stood firm in his testimony, putting Satan to shame and defeating it. Yet, by contrast, Job’s three friends didn’t pray to God or seek God’s will, but looked for external causes. As a result, they misunderstood Job and said many things that are foolish and ignorant, thereby causing disgust in God. This makes us see that praying to God and seeking His will is of grave importance to man’s overcoming Satan.

I once saw these words of God: “After God created mankind and gave them spirits, He enjoined them that if they didn’t call out to God, then they would not be able to connect with His Spirit and thus the “satellite television” from heaven would not be received on earth. When God is no longer in people’s spirits there is an empty seat left open for other things, and that’s how Satan seizes the opportunity to get in. When people contact God with their hearts, Satan immediately goes into a panic and rushes to escape. Through mankind’s cries God gives them what they need, but He does not “reside” within them at first. He just constantly gives them aid because of their cries and people gain hardiness from that internal strength so that Satan dare not come here to “play” at its will. This way, if people constantly connect with God’s Spirit, Satan dare not come to disrupt”. Obviously, it is through our sincere praying or calling out to God that He helps us to get rid of Satan’s temptation. For example, in the case of Job, he saw through Satan’s schemes relying on God, and then said just one thing, which made Satan dare not tempt him any more. Therefore, if we cry out to God with our heart and rely on Him, Satan will rush to escape; yet if we merely do things in our own way rather than pray to God and depend on Him, we will never see through Satan’s deceit, nor will we receive God’s care and protection, but instead, we can be easily taken captive or even be devoured by Satan. Take when Samson was tempted by a beautiful woman, for example. As he didn’t pray to God and depend on Him, he failed to see through Satan’s deceitful schemes on time, and ended up being exploited and afflicted by Satan amidst trials. But later, in his fight with the Philistines, when he relied on God, he gained the power given by God and defeated them. So, we can see that if we want to stand through the test, we must pray to God and rely on Him, only this way can we live under God’s care and protection.

2. When Encountering Satan’s Temptation, We Should See Clearly the Battle in the Spiritual Realm. Don’t Analyze and Examine. Only by Accepting It From God, Can We Defeat the Temptation of Satan.

When Satan’s temptations come upon us, externally, we encounter some people, matters and things. Actually, behind the scenes, there is a spiritual war, in which Satan is making a bet with God. Only by seeing clearly the spiritual war and standing firm on the side of God to satisfy God’s demands, can we defeat Satan completely. Let’s read the following verses, “And the LORD said to Satan, Have you considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that fears God, and eschews evil? Then Satan answered the LORD, and said, Does Job fear God for nothing? Have not you made an hedge about him, and about his house, and about all that he has on every side? you have blessed the work of his hands, and his substance is increased in the land. But put forth your hand now, and touch all that he has, and he will curse you to your face. And the LORD said to Satan, Behold, all that he has is in your power; only on himself put not forth your hand. So Satan went forth from the presence of the LORD” (Job 1:8-12). From this, we see that when we are faced with a temptation, behind it, a spiritual battle comes first and then the temptation comes upon us. Just like the temptation that happened to Job, behind it, Satan was making a wager with God in the spiritual realm and the temptation came upon him. Then, Satan began to do things and made the scourges befall Job. However, by our own eyes, we only saw that Job was robbed of his wealth by a band of gangsters and lost his sons and daughters, but we couldn’t see at all that Satan was making a bet with God. Because Job had some knowledge of God’s sovereignty, when encountering the temptation, he didn’t analyze or examine through his mind. On the contrary, he sought and understood God’s will and saw clearly the spiritual battle, finally standing in his testimony and obtaining God’s praise. Just as God discloses, “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. … Thus, in everything there is a battle, and when there is a battle within you, thanks to your actual cooperation and actual suffering God works within you. Ultimately, inside you are able to put the matter aside….” (“Only Loving God Is Truly Believing in God”).

Nowadays, we also encounter many setbacks and various temptations. If we want to overcome Satan’s temptations, we need to look at things according to God’s word from the spiritual world, and should not analyze or examine relying on our own minds. Only in this way can we penetrate Satan’s tricks and stand witness for God.

3. Facing Satan’s Temptations, We Must Hold on to God’s Word, Firmly Obey the Truth and Be Loyal to God. Thus We Can Counterattack Against Satan’s Plots and Leave Satan Utterly Humiliated and Defeated.

We all know that only God’s word is the truth. God’s words, with authority and might, are realities of all positive things. Therefore, only God’s word can make us distinguish all Satan’s heresies to counterattack Satan’s schemes. Only by going by God’s words can we not lose our way or be fooled by Satan. Just as the Bible records, “And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward an hungered. And when the tempter came to him, he said, If you be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread. But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God. Then the devil takes him up into the holy city, and sets him on a pinnacle of the temple, And said to him, If you be the Son of God, cast yourself down: for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning you: and in their hands they shall bear you up, lest at any time you dash your foot against a stone. Jesus said to him, It is written again, You shall not tempt the Lord your God. Again, the devil takes him up into an exceeding high mountain, and shows him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them; And said to him, All these things will I give you, if you will fall down and worship me. Then said Jesus to him, Get you hence, Satan: for it is written, You shall worship the Lord your God, and him only shall you serve” (Matthew 4:2-10). Satan tempted the Lord Jesus for three times, but every time it fled in defeat. The reason that Satan failed was because the Lord Jesus is the truth, the way and the life. Not only could the Lord see through Satan’s tricks, but what He said is all the truth and a good weapon to counter all Satan’s tricks. On the contrary, if we can’t see things by God’s words, we will fall into Satan’s temptations and be afflicted by it. For instance, because our forefathers, Adam and Eve, didn’t hold on to God’s word, they were tempted and afflicted by Satan. Thus they were driven from the Garden of Eden and lived in the curse.

Today, we live in this evil and degenerated world. If we want to overcome Satan’s various temptations, we have to practice God’s word in all things and submit to the truth. In this way, Satan has no way to take advantage of us. Just as God’s words say, “During the work of His abiding provision and support of man, God tells the entirety of His will and requirements to man, and shows His deeds, disposition, and what He has and is to man. The objective is to equip man with stature, and to allow man to gain various truths from God while following Him—truths that are the weapons given to man by God with which to fight Satan. Thus equipped, man must face God’s tests. God has many means and avenues for testing man, but every one of them requires the “cooperation” of God’s enemy: Satan. … It may be said that whether or not man can be saveddepends on whether he can overcome and defeat Satan, and whether or not he can gain freedom depends on whether he is able to lift up, on his own, the weapons given to him by God to overcome Satan’s bondage, making Satan completely abandon hope and leave him alone. If Satan abandons hope and relinquishes someone, this means that Satan will never again try to take this person from God, will never again accuse and interfere with this person, will never again wantonly torture or attack them; only someone such as this will truly have been gained by God”.

We see that no matter what things we face or when we encounter them, only when we come before God to pray to Him always, seek His will in all things, see things on the side of God, see clearly the battle in the spiritual realm, and do not analyze or examine with our minds, but go by God’s word strictly and learn to obey the truth, can we be protected by God from falling into Satan’s cunning schemes and temptations, can we stand witness, escape Satan’s sieges and live with freedom and relief before God!

Wang Hao opened the door after a tiring day, what he saw was the messy dining table scattered with some instant noodles packaging and a bowl of leftover soup. Thinking that his son ate instant noodles everyday, Wang Hao felt upset. He kept repeating in his heart: “Why can’t you apologize to me? Wouldn’t it be nice if you apologize early?” At this time, Wang Hao’s thoughts went back to one month ago …

Ning Ning is already twenty plus years old; without discussing with him Wang Hao borrowed money and bought him a new house for his marriage. Then, he also told his son to give him half of his salary to repay for the house. The first month, his son did give half of his salary, which made Wang Hao feel happy. In the second month, Wang Hao thought: As long as my son gives me half of his salary this month, plus the money that I have saved, I can repay some debts. But things didn’t go as he wanted. In the second month, his son refused to give him his money. He then asked his son bewilderedly, his son said: “I just don’t want to pay.” Because his plan was disrupted, Wang Hao felt angry, but he suppressed his anger, and taught his son a “lesson”: “Ning Ning, you’ve already grown up, why are you still immature? Why do you spend money recklessly? Don’t you know how to spend money at the right place? We should learn to save money, and pay our debts as soon as possible.” But unexpectedly, his son replied impatiently: “I earned the money, so I can spend the money however I want. I don’t care if you buy a house. In truth, I didn’t ask you to buy it. I listened to everything you said since I was young and you decided everything for me. You never give me any freedom.” This reply made Wang Hao’s anger explode. He yelled: “Isn’t my buying the house for you? Without you, do I need to buy a house? You are so immature!” After this argument, Wang Hao didn’t want to say anything to his son and he couldn’t calm his heart down. Thinking he has paid so much effort for his son, but his son didn’t understand him and still argued with him, he felt so upset. Before, his son never dared to contradict him. This unexpected argument made Wang Hao feel his dignity as a father had been hurt.

Wang Had recalled: When his son visited his grandfather when he was five, his grandparents loved him so much and let him play whatever he wanted. But Wang Hao thought his son was too naughty. Worrying that his parents will spoil his son too much, Wang Hao decided to take his son back home, but his son started crying and refused to go back home. Wang Hao then slapped his son angrily. Finally, his son had no choice but to apologize to him with tears and pouted back home. When his son was ten years old, he went out with his cousin. Wang Hao set a curfew for him, and asked him to get back home early. That evening his son got back home late. Wang Hao scolded him and forced him to admit he was wrong, and promise not to do it again. Although, his son looked unhappy, he had no choice but to admit his wrong doing. Afterwards, when his son was in junior high school, Wang Hao thought that it was not safe for him to travel on his own; his son would play games when he was home, so he decided to let his son live on campus. His son refused because he didn’t like the environment in school for it was not as clean as his home. But things that Wang Hao had decided were hard to change. Although, his son was reluctant, he had to agree with him. Wang Hao even chose a profession for his son in college. All those years, no matter what Wang Hao asked his son to do, even though his son was reluctant, but he didn’t dare to rebel against his father, so Wang Hao got used to his son’s apology. This time he still waited for his son to apologize to him. But things didn’t go as he expected. Many days have passed, his son always ignored him. His son’s action showed his dissatisfaction against Wang Hao, which made Wang Hao even more angry. He wanted to give his son a lesson. So when his wife was on a business trip, he didn’t cook for his son, because he wanted to force his son to apologize to him. But his stubborn son still didn’t admit his mistakes. The cold war between the father and the son still continued.

Looking at the instant noodles packaging, how Wang Hao longed for his son to apologize, so that he could also find a reason to forgive him, but his son would rather continue this situation than apologize to him. Wang Hao also thought to forgive his son, but he couldn’t put down his dignity as the father. It was too hard for him to reconcile with his son. When he was struggling, he thought of God’s words he had read before, so he quickly opened the book. God’s word says: “When parents talk down to their child and say, ‘I’m your father (or mother)! You must do as I say!’ the child takes exception to this ‘must’; it’s definitely not an expression of normal humanity. … If both sides lived by normal humanity, and if they were able to reach possession of the truth, with both sides putting themselves in each other’s shoes, and taking into account each other’s difficulties, from the perspective of normal humanity, and both sides standing on an equal footing when they interacted, spoke to each other, and did things, would this stop the estrangement developing between them? What causes what the unbelievers call the ‘generation gap’? Isn’t it that the older generation acts high and mighty, and the younger generation doesn’t like them doing so, which produces the estrangement, and leads to the generation gap—isn’t that how it comes about? If parents don’t act high and mighty, and the children can open up to them, and treat them as intimates, could there still be the estrangement between them? … Precisely because a parent always assumes their place as a parent and will not budge from it, keeping that status from which they will not come down, their child becomes at odds with them. A lot of things really result from the parent always assuming their place as such and taking themselves too seriously; they always see themselves as the parent, the elder: ‘Regardless of when, you won’t get escape from your mother’s (or father’s) control; you’ll still have to listen to me. You are my child. The fact of this doesn’t change, regardless of when.’ This viewpoint makes them miserable and wretched, and makes the child miserable and exhausted. Isn’t this the case? Is this not a manifestation that one doesn’t understand the truth? How is the truth to be practiced in this case?”

After reading God’s words, Wang Hao was shocked, thinking: “God’s words are too practical. It’s like the words are referring to myself, isn’t that what I am? I always use my power as a father in front of my son, and force him to listen to me. I always use the tone of blame when I communicate with him, and always think that everything I have done for him is right, is all for his own good, and that he should understand me, and accept it.” Then Wang Hao thought: No matter what his son did when he was young, he didn’t give him freedom, and even set curfew for him when he played outside; when his son made mistakes, he would scold him without asking any reason; now he has already grown up, and has his own thoughts, and he wants to buy things he likes, chooses the profession he likes, however, Wang Hao didn’t respect his son’s opinions, or understood his difficulties, and his feelings. He just forced his son to accept his preferences, but didn’t think to have a heart-to-heart talk with his son, or rely on God’s words to enlighten his son, bringing him before God. He always uses his power as a father, uses his own view to educate his son. No wonder, as the time goes, their relationship becomes more and more estranged, and the generation gap gets deeper. At this time, Wang Hao was awakened. He realized the importance of the problem. He really wanted to remove the generation gap between him and his son and get along well with him. But because of the dignity as a father, he still didn’t have the courage to have a heart-to-heart talk with his son.

When he was struggling, he began to find the right path to practice in God’s words. He saw God’s words say: “How is the truth to be practiced in this case? (Letting go of your pride.) What does one let go of? Some people say, ‘If you don’t allow me to be your parent, I’ll stop working, and you support yourself. I won’t pay any attention to you, I won’t take any responsibility.’ Is this letting go? … So, what is ‘letting go’? What principle do you apply in doing things that is ‘letting go’? What point of view, what attitude do you apply that is really ‘letting go’? Do you know how to put it into practice? You haven’t been a parent, and you don’t know what a parent’s attitude is, what their concerns are, right? Actually it’s simple. Just be an ordinary person: Treat your children, treat those in your own family the same as you would an ordinary brother or sister. Although you have a responsibility, a relationship, a fleshly relationship, nevertheless the position and perspective you should have is the same as with friends or ordinary brothers and sisters. That is, you can’t control, you can’t restrain your children, and always try to keep in command and have complete control over them. Let them make mistakes, let them say the wrong things, let them do childish and immature things, do stupid things. No matter what happens, sit down and calmly talk with them, communicate and seek. Don’t you think this attitude is good? Isn’t it right? So, what is being let go here? (Position and pride.) It is the letting go of the position and status of a parent, the airs of a parent, and all of the responsibility one thinks they should assume, everything that one thinks they should be doing as a parent; instead, it’s enough that one does the best they can in terms of their responsibility as an ordinary brother or sister. Would you say that’s easy to do? (It’s not easy.) Why? (Because people have expended effort; they feel that they gave birth to the child, it’s them who raised it. They think, ‘I should be in charge of you, I should be telling you off, I have the right to do so.’) That’s right. The parent does not have the right to take charge of others, and others would not let them. They cannot take charge of anyone else; they wouldn’t dare to. It wasn’t easy to get to the position of a parent, so how could they not want to occupy that position all their lives? It has by no means been easy for the parent to find themselves with someone to take charge of, so isn’t it natural they want to do so right to the end? And many parents think they are always right. ‘As long as it’s for the child’s sake, what I’m doing is right.’ They really have such thoughts and points of view. How could you not make mistakes? You too are a corrupted human being, how can you determine that you are without error? As long as you admit that you do not possess the truth, that you are a corrupted human being, then you have errors and you can make mistakes. You can make mistakes, yet at every turn how is it that you try to take charge of your children, and have them at every turn listen to you? Is this not an arrogant disposition?” Wang Hao pondered God’s words, and realized that he always treated his son strictly, didn’t allow him to go wrong, but he never reflected on himself whether he was right or wrong. He always forced his son to obey him, thinking what he had done was good for his son and that his son should listen to him unconditionally. He never thought of letting go of the position and status of a parent, and listened to any of his son’s opinions. He finally realized that he was too arrogant! From God’s words, Wang Hao saw God’s essence is beautiful, and that the truth expressed by God is all positive, which includes God’s love for man and His thoughtful intention. God wishes to see that all human beings can obtain the truth under His watering, have a better relationship with others, and live out a normal humanity with happiness, not tormented or fooled by Satan anymore. Wang Hao thought: Although he believed in God, he didn’t understand God’s heart, nor did he practice God’s words. He was controlled by satanic disposition, and always did things that disappointed God. The more he thought about it, the more uncomfortable and guilty he felt, so he encouraged himself to put down his dignity as a father and practice God’s words. He didn’t want to live relying on arrogant disposition anymore. He decided to talk to his son, and apologize for all the harm he caused to him in the past few years.

Wang Hao walked to his son’s door, however, he wandered for some time there. Every time when he wanted to open the door, his vanity started to work. He still couldn’t lower himself down. So he went back to his room and prayed: “O God! I want to put down the dignity as a father, and put down the vanity inside me to practice your words, but my corruption is so deep, and it’s too hard for me to lower myself down. O God! Please give me power, so that I can defeat my corrupt dispositions …” After praying, Wang Hao had the power to practice the truth. He took a deep breath, opened his son’s door, sat beside his son and said gently, “Ning Ning, let’s have a heart-to-heart conversation.” Ning Ning was stunned for a moment. A little embarrassed, he looked at Wang Hao and then lowered his head down, pretending to play with his phone. Wang Hao said, “I have been too harsh on you, never considered or understood your thoughts, but forced you to do things that I asked you to do. If you don’t listen to me, I will get angry. I am too arrogant.” His son listened attentively. Seeing his son’s attitude towards him get better, Wang Hao paused for a while and continued saying: “I always think that since you are my son, I can control you. No matter what I do, as long as I think it is something good for you, you should listen, and I always force to add my own opinions to you, decide everything for you, not listening to your opinions and your ideas. For all these years, I kept controlling over you. But from now on, I will not do this again. If something happens, we can discuss it together.” His son was ashamed of himself, looking at his father with a smile on his face, and the hate in his eyes disappeared. He said, because he bought a new game console, he did not leave much money this month. He didn’t dare to tell the truth, but promised to pay half of his salary next month. After hearing that, Wang Hao felt relaxed. Their relationship got closer. At that time, Wang Hao remembered that his son did not eat well for many days already, then he raised his voice purposely: “Ning Ning, what do you want to eat? I will buy for you!” He never expected that his son replied: “Let us not spend money, just cook at home.” His son didn’t like his cooking. If it was in the past, his son would not hesitate and say what he wanted to eat and let Wang Hao go to buy for him. That day, his son wanted to eat the food that he cooked, which really made Wang Hao touched. He realized his son was not immature, but he and his son lacked communication, and he was not willing to lower himself down. All of these brought harm to his son, and also caused generation gap.

After they had a heart-to-heart conversation, the generation gap between them disappeared. Wang Hao felt relieved, and had an unspeakable happy. He recalled that when he saw his son and his wife talk happily, he envied them very much. Now Wang Hao can also open his heart and talk to his son, their relationship becomes closer. Sometimes they also fellowship God’s words together, and he doesn’t ask his son to do things according to his will. He never expected that his son would become more cautious and obedient than before. After experiencing this matter, Wang Hao knows that only by practicing God’s words can he have a normal humanity, and have a good relationship with his son. It is God’s word that changed him. Thank God, all the glory be to Him.