2. You testify that Almighty God is the return of the Lord Jesus, and that He is expressing the truth and performing the work of judgment of the last days. Although what you testify to is in line with the Bible, many people in our church do not accept it. We believe that, to be the true way, it has to be accepted by many people, and that what is accepted by few people is a false way. We’ll wait until many people in our church accept this before we start believing in it.
Answer:
Most people base whether something is the true way or a false way upon how many people accept it, believing that if many people do so, then it is the true way, and that if only a few people accept it, then it is a false way. Is such a view in line with the truth? Does it have a basis in God’s words? Recall when God destroyed the world with floods: Only Noah trusted in the words of God and, as instructed by God, built an ark whilst preaching the way. Yet after 120 years, not a single person believed or accepted what he preached, and the only ones who ultimately boarded the ark were Noah’s family of eight, while everyone else drowned in the floods. So can you say that Noah did not preach the true way? Now recall when the Lord Jesus appeared and performed His work during the Age of Grace: Apart from an exceedingly small number of people who accepted the Lord Jesus, the whole of Judaism condemned and opposed the Lord Jesus, before ultimately collaborating with the Roman authorities to nail Him to the cross. Because of this, could you say the utterances and work of the Lord Jesus were not the true way? Do you not feel that to measure things thus is utterly ridiculous? The work of God in generations past is proof that corrupt mankind has been so profoundly corrupted that he worships evil and is sick of the truth; when the true way comes among man, only an exceedingly small number of people are able to obey and accept it, with most denying and forsaking it. As the Lord Jesus said, “This is an evil generation” (Luke 11:29). 1 John 5:19 says, “The whole world lies in wickedness.” Thus, the true way is not necessarily accepted by many people, and what is recognized by most people is not necessarily right, is not necessarily the truth. In fact, all that is determined by the majority belongs to the notions and imaginings of man, and is out of line with the truth and the facts. It is so absurd and ridiculous to measure whether a way is the true way or not based on how many people accept it. In many places in the Bible it is said that God wishes for quality, not quantity, in people. For example, in Matthew 22:14 it says: “For many are called, but few are chosen.” Matthew 7:13–14 says: “Enter you in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leads to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leads to life, and few there be that find it.” Zechariah 13:8 says: “And it shall come to pass, that in all the land, said Jehovah, two parts therein shall be cut off and die; but the third shall be left therein.” These verses show us that only an extremely small number of people are capable of finding the true way, and that only a small number shall remain. It is not as we believe, that if it is the true way then it will be accepted by many people; such a means of reckoning is at odds with the truth and the facts of God’s work, and is nothing more than the imaginings of man. God Himself is the truth, the way, and the life, and His essence shall never change. Even if not a single person were to believe in Him, accept Him, or follow Him, His work and words would still be the true way, and this is something no one can deny. As Almighty God says: “My words are the forever unchanging truth. I am the supply of life for man and the only guide for mankind. The worth and meaning of My words are not determined by whether they are recognized or accepted by mankind, but by the essence of the words themselves. Even if not a single person on this earth can accept My words, the value of My words and their help to mankind are inestimable to any man. Therefore, when faced with the many people who rebel against, refute, or are utterly contemptuous of My words, My stance is only this: Let time and facts be My witness and show that My words are the truth, the way, and the life. Let them show that all I have said is right, that it is that which man should be furnished with and, moreover, that which man should accept” (The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. You Ought to Consider Your Deeds).
Since the number of people who accept a way cannot serve as a benchmark for measuring whether it is the true way or a false way, just how are we to measure it? The key is to look at whether it contains the expression of the truth and is the voice of God. If it is the utterance of God, if it is the expression of the truth, then no matter how many people accept it—even if only one person does—it is the truth, and the true way. Recall when the Lord Jesus came to work during the Age of Grace. Peter, John, Matthew, Nathanael, and the others, all followed the Lord Jesus because they recognized the voice of God in what He preached; they did not do so based on how many people accepted and followed the Lord Jesus at the time. Similarly, differentiating today between the true way and false ways must be done according to the work and words of God. Almighty God says: “What is the most basic principle in seeking the true way? You have to look at whether or not there is the work of the Holy Spirit in this way, whether or not these words are the expression of the truth, who is testified to, and what it can bring you. Distinguishing between the true way and the false way requires several aspects of basic knowledge, the most fundamental of which is to tell whether or not the work of the Holy Spirit is present therein. For the essence of people’s belief in God is the belief in the Spirit of God, and even their belief in God incarnate is because this flesh is the embodiment of the Spirit of God, which means that such belief is still belief in the Spirit. There are differences between the Spirit and the flesh, but because this flesh comes from the Spirit, and is the Word become flesh, thus what man believes in is still the inherent essence of God. So, in distinguishing whether or not it is the true way, above all you must look at whether or not it has the work of the Holy Spirit, after which you must look at whether or not there is truth in this way. The truth is the life disposition of normal humanity, which is to say, that which was required of man when God created him in the beginning, namely, normal humanity in its entirety (including human sense, insight, wisdom, and the basic knowledge of being man). That is, you need to look at whether or not this way can lead people into a life of normal humanity, whether or not the truth that is spoken of is required according to the reality of normal humanity, whether or not this truth is practical and realistic, and whether or not it is most timely. If there is truth, then it is able to lead people into normal and real experiences; people, furthermore, become ever more normal, their human sense becomes ever more complete, their life in the flesh and the spiritual life become ever more orderly, and their emotions become ever more normal. This is the second principle. There is one other principle, which is whether or not people have an increasing knowledge of God, and whether or not experiencing such work and truth can inspire a God-loving heart in them and bring them ever closer to God. In this it can be measured whether or not this way is the true way. Most fundamental is whether this way is realistic rather than supernatural, and whether or not it is able to provide for the life of man. If it conforms to these principles, the conclusion can be drawn that this way is the true way” (The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. Only Those Who Know God and His Work Can Satisfy God).
“He who is God incarnate shall possess the essence of God, and He who is God incarnate shall possess the expression of God. Since God becomes flesh, He shall bring forth the work He intends to do, and since God becomes flesh, He shall express what He is, and shall be able to bring the truth to man, bestow life upon him, and point the way for him. Flesh that does not have the essence of God is decidedly not the incarnate God; of this there is no doubt. If man intends to inquire into whether it is God’s incarnate flesh, then he must corroborate this from the disposition He expresses and the words He speaks. Which is to say, to corroborate whether or not it is God’s incarnate flesh, and whether or not it is the true way, one must discriminate on the basis of His essence. And so, in determining whether it is the flesh of God incarnate, the key lies in His essence (His work, His utterances, His disposition, and many other aspects), rather than external appearance. If man scrutinizes only His external appearance, and as a result overlooks His essence, this shows that man is benighted and ignorant” (The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. Preface).
Almighty God’s words clearly state the principles of seeking the true way. When determining whether something is the work of God, and whether it is the true way, the key is to look at whether it contains the work of the Holy Spirit and the expression of the truth, whether it can provide for people’s lives, and whether, after accepting this way, people’s humanity and sense become ever more normal, and whether their knowledge of God grows. These are the standards for weighing up whether a way is the true way or a false way. In determining just whether or not the work of Almighty God is the true way, we must look at whether the work and words of Almighty God are the work of the Holy Spirit, and we must listen to whether the words of Almighty God are the expression of the truth, and whether they are the voice of God. So, too, can we determine whether the work of Almighty God is the true way by looking into whether those who follow Almighty God bear testimony to overcoming Satan, whether there has been a change in their life dispositions, whether they know the righteous disposition of God, and whether they fear and obey God. If people determine whether a way is the true way based on how many people accept it, if they blindly follow the masses, pay no attention to listening to the voice of God, and refuse to investigate and accept Almighty God’s work of the last days, then they are extremely foolish and ignorant. Such people will in the end miss their chance to be raptured when the Lord comes, and can only be plunged into the great disasters and eliminated, thus fulfilling these words in the Bible: “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge” (Hosea 4:6) and “fools die for want of wisdom” (Proverbs 10:21).
