By Zhang Jian, China

My family has been Catholic for generations. When I was 20, I decided to become a monk and give my life in service to the Lord. After seven years of systematic theological training in the seminary, I was consecrated as a priest at 27, and at 30, I was promoted to be the abbot of a monastery. At that time, I was incredibly arrogant. I felt that I was very young to be the abbot of a monastery, and the priests and monks all said that they benefited from listening to my sermons, so I thought that I understood the Bible better than other people and had knowledge of the Lord. I thought that when the Lord came, I would definitely have His approval and be able to enter the kingdom of heaven.

One evening in June 2001, Deacon Wang came to me in a hurry to say that two Christians had come, and that they spoke very profoundly about faith. When I heard they were Christians, I didn’t take them seriously at all. I thought, “The Catholic Church is the true church, and it possesses the full truth of Jesus’ salvation. I’ve been through many years of theological training, and studied each chapter of the Bible line by line. I’ll go and discuss the question of faith with them and persuade them to convert to Catholicism.” After that, Deacon Wang took me to meet the two of them. They were Brother Cheng Shi and Brother Xiang Guang. When I learned that they had only believed in God for six or seven years, I took them even less seriously, but I still talked to them patiently about the history of Catholicism to get them to join the Catholic Church. I urged them that if they wanted to be sure of entering the kingdom of heaven, they should join the true church, the Catholic Church. But not only did the two brothers not want to convert, Xiang Guang said, “In both Catholicism and Christianity, the state of the church is very desolate now. Preachers read and preach scripture without enlightenment, they aren’t able to deliver any new or profound sermons. Many preachers have even begun to pursue worldly things and have left the path of service. Believers feel even more negative and weak; their faith has gone cold. During congregations, they discuss their daily lives or how to make money, they introduce each other to jobs and matchmake. There are also many believers who pursue worldly trends, and some have even returned to the secular world. How is the state of the church any different from the state of the temple in the latter days of the Age of Law? At the end of the Age of Law, the temple was clearly desolate. People were exchanging money and trading cattle, sheep, and doves there—it had become a den of thieves. This showed that the Holy Spirit was not working in the temple. Where was the Holy Spirit working, then? At that time, the Lord Jesus was already carrying out new work outside the temple, so the work of the Holy Spirit shifted onto the work of the Lord Jesus. It’s a bit like how a stove can make a room feel warm in winter, but if the stove is taken away, the room gradually grows cold. In the same way, when the Holy Spirit works in the church, the brothers and sisters have faith and seek passionately, but once the work of the Holy Spirit is lost, the church gradually becomes desolate. Churches everywhere are in the same state as the temple in the latter days of the Age of Law. They are all desolate. Have you ever considered whether the work of the Holy Spirit has shifted? Where does the Holy Spirit work today?” I was quite surprised by these words. I didn’t expect them to connect the temple’s desolation in the latter days of the Age of Law with the Lord Jesus’ work. This understanding was quite new and refreshing. We had never understood things that way in our church. I also agreed with their appraisal of the state of the church. Among other things, many of the faithful had already stopped observing practices like reading scripture and keeping the Lord’s Day. They were just like nonbelievers, pursuing wealth and worldly pleasures, and the number of people in the church kept dwindling. Those were facts. The church was indeed desolate. Because the brothers’ words were in line with the facts and the Bible, and there was some depth to their understanding, I thought, “I’ve studied the Bible for many years without comprehending this, but they can speak of it after only a few years of belief. It seems I’ve underestimated them.” Seeing that I couldn’t persuade them, I simply echoed a few of their words, and found an excuse to go home.

At that time, I did think about whether the Holy Spirit’s work was shifting. But I also believed that the Holy Spirit was the soul of the Catholic Church, so if the Holy Spirit didn’t work there, where else could He work? I couldn’t understand it, so I didn’t think about it too much. After that, Cheng Shi and Xiang Guang came to see me twice again. They said, “God has become flesh to express new words, to do the work of judging and purifying man, to deliver us from the bondage of sin, and bring us into God’s kingdom.” At the time, I felt very resistant, thinking, “Do you really understand the Bible? The Lord Jesus has already completed the work of redemption, and in the last days He will descend with the clouds as a Spirit to determine people’s outcomes. How could He possibly become flesh and do new work?” Then I remembered that not long ago I’d heard there were some people preaching about Eastern Lightning. These people testified that the Lord had already returned incarnate and was doing new work, and their sermons were very profound. It seemed quite probable that Cheng Shi and Xiang Guang believed in Eastern Lightning. But I thought that the Catholic Church was the true church, and I had never heard of Eastern Lightning before that. As they did not belong to the true church, everything they preached must be wrong. I couldn’t keep listening to them, so I interrupted and asked, “You believe in Eastern Lightning, don’t you? You say the Lord has become flesh again and is doing new work. That is impossible. I don’t believe it! If you mean to preach this gospel to me, save yourselves the effort!” Cheng Shi and Xiang Guang kept patiently fellowshiping with me, but my notions were too strong at the time, and I didn’t listen to them at all. I angrily told them, “What you preach conflicts with my faith, and I don’t want to hear it anymore!” When they saw I had this kind of attitude, they stopped talking. They spoke with me twice again after that, but I was very resistant. No matter what they said, it all went in one ear and out the other. Finally, they left me a copy of the book The Word Appears in the Flesh, and urged me to investigate it. Seeing how earnest they were, I felt too embarrassed to refuse and kept the book. When I saw that thick copy of The Word Appears in the Flesh, I felt a little curious, and wanted to know exactly what was written in it. So, I looked through the book’s table of contents, and then flipped through the pages. I found that some parts of the book differed from our traditional teachings, concerning things like whether the Trinity really exists and the future outcome and destination of mankind, so I closed the book and didn’t look at it again. At the time, I thought it was my duty to protect the flock as abbot of the monastery, and that I needed to inform the priests and monks to stop them from being misled. So, during one of the novice retreats, I said to the priests and monks, “We are in the last days, and many false christs are appearing. A few days ago, I met two people from Eastern Lightning. They said that the Lord Jesus has returned, that He has become flesh and is doing new work. How could that be possible?” I held up The Word Appears in the Flesh and continued, “Look, this is their book. I’ve skimmed through it, and what it teaches is different from our traditional beliefs. I am certain that this doesn’t come from God! You must be on guard. Do not read their books, do not meet with them, and do not listen to their preaching. You must protect the church members from being misled by them!” After hearing me say that, the priests and monks all agreed that this was a critical matter of saving souls, and that the church members must be protected. Seeing that everyone was being so obedient, I felt I had done a very just thing and fulfilled my responsibility and obligation as an abbot to protect my flock. I didn’t realize that I was resisting God at all.

A few days after this incident, Xiang Guang came to see me and asked if I had read the words of Almighty God. I told him, “Almighty God’s words differ from our church’s traditional teachings, so I won’t investigate them, and I won’t let anyone else investigate them, because this is a matter of faith. We will never betray the Lord by listening to your preaching!” Xiang Guang said to me patiently, “You still haven’t read Almighty God’s words. You’ve decided that they’re not God’s voice and words, and refused to investigate them just because you found one thing in them that differs from the traditional teachings of your church. Isn’t that too rash? Almighty God says: ‘I advise you to tread the path of belief in God with care. Do not jump to conclusions; what is more, do not be casual and thoughtless in your belief in God. You should know that, at the very least, those who believe in God should possess humble and God-fearing hearts. Those who have heard the truth and yet turn their nose up at it are foolish and ignorant. Those who have heard the truth and yet carelessly jump to conclusions or condemn it are beset by arrogance. No one who believes in Jesus is qualified to curse or condemn others. You should all be someone with sense and who accepts the truth’ (The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. By the Time You Behold the Spiritual Body of Jesus, God Will Have Made Heaven and Earth Anew). As believers in the Lord, we must have hearts that fear God. We can’t blindly condemn God’s words and work when they don’t conform to our notions or imaginings. If we don’t have a humble, seeking attitude before God, if we always evaluate God’s new work and words with our own minds and imaginings, it is all too easy to commit the great sin of condemning and resisting God. Like when the Lord Jesus came to work: because the Pharisees saw that His words and work surpassed the law, they found something to use against Him, condemned Him, and finally deceived people into nailing Him to the cross. They seriously offended God’s disposition, and they were ultimately cursed and punished by God. This was a lesson paid for in blood. Today, we must be careful in how we treat the matter of the Lord’s return, because if we wrongly condemn it, we may blaspheme the Holy Spirit. The Lord Jesus said long ago: ‘All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven to men: but the blasphemy against the Holy Spirit shall not be forgiven to men’ (Matthew 12:31). It would be a terrible thing to commit this sin! Since Almighty God has appeared and worked, many leaders of different denominations have blindly condemned His work in the last days. Some have even slandered and blasphemed Almighty God. Many of those who seriously resisted were punished. If we do not treat this matter carefully, we could easily forfeit our destinies.” At the time, I thought, “I’m thinking of my church members and protecting them from being misled. How could this offend the Lord?” But when I thought about it more seriously, I realized that he did have a point. I didn’t really know much about Eastern Lightning, yet I was so quick to condemn it, and I had preached the same to the priests and monks. If I was wrongly condemning it just like he said, this would offend God. The consequences of that were unthinkable. When this occurred to me, I said to Xiang Guang, “I’ve never considered that before, but I will treat this matter carefully in the future.” After that, some things happened in our church that made me reflect. One time, I met with our bishop, and he sadly told me, “Many priests in this diocese are looking for excuses to not hand in offerings, and there are some priests who are indulging in licentiousness and refuse to repent. An old priest revealed to me in private that he’d secretly diverted offerings to someone else to set up a factory….” When I heard these things, I thought, “It is a grave sin against the Lord for a priest to indulge in licentiousness or to squander and misappropriate offerings. The Lord said: ‘Unless you shall do penance, you shall all likewise perish’ (Luke 13:3). If the priests are all living in sin and never repent, how will they enter the kingdom of heaven?” In the past, these kinds of problems only arose with a few individual priests. I never imagined that so many had now fallen into depravity. Because of these things, I couldn’t help but think of the desolation of the church that Xiang Guang had described. I thought, “In the past, when the Holy Spirit worked in the church, the Holy Spirit would discipline us when we did something wrong. But now so many priests are sinning against God—why is the Holy Spirit not disciplining them? Could it be that the Holy Spirit really no longer works in our church?” At the time, I couldn’t understand this.

A while later, Brother Xiang Guang and Brother Fang Yi came to see me. At that time, I was still a little resistant. I thought, “You testify that the Lord has returned incarnate to do new work. Is there any biblical basis to this? I don’t think you have any proof! This time, I’ll ask you some questions first. If you can’t answer them, we’re done.” So, I asked, “The Bible says that in the last days, the Lord will return as a spiritual body descending with the clouds. Yet you testify that He has returned incarnate to do new work. What is your basis for saying this?” Fang Yi calmly replied, “God planned and arranged long ago that the Lord would become flesh and return in the last days. There is proof of this in the Lord Jesus’ own prophecy. Let’s look at a few verses. Luke 17:24–25 says: ‘For as the lightning, that lightens out of the one part under heaven, shines to the other part under heaven; so shall also the Son of man be in His day. But first must He suffer many things, and be rejected of this generation.’ And then, ‘Therefore be you also ready: for in such an hour as you think not the Son of man comes’ (Matthew 24:44), as well as, ‘As the days of Noah were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be’ (Matthew 24:37). As you can see, these verses all mention ‘the Son of man.’ What does ‘the Son of man’ refer to here? We all know that the Lord Jesus is the Son of man and God incarnate. There is no doubt about that. The Son of man refers to the Spirit of God clothed in flesh to become an ordinary man—it means God incarnate. So, the Lord Jesus prophesying ‘the coming of the Son of man’ shows that when He returns, it will be incarnate. In addition, the scriptures also say: ‘But first must He suffer many things, and be rejected of this generation.’ What does this mean? It means that when the Lord Jesus returns, people won’t know or recognize Him, that the entire generation will condemn and reject Him. It may be said that only by becoming flesh as the Son of man can God suffer greatly and be rejected by this generation. If the Lord Jesus returns as a Spirit, in His likeness as a Jewish man, majestic and appearing to all in glory, who would see Him and not bow down and worship Him? How, then, would He endure great suffering? How would He be rejected by this generation? So, when the Lord returns, it will be as the incarnate Son of man. This is beyond any doubt.”

After hearing Fang Yi’s fellowship, I couldn’t help but feel shocked. I thought to myself: “He’s right. If the Lord Jesus comes again as a spiritual body, descending with the clouds in great glory, people would fall to their knees as soon as they see Him. Who would dare reject Him? How would He suffer greatly? Only physical bodies can suffer pain. Doesn’t this prove that the Lord will come incarnate? Fang Yi’s fellowship is entirely reasonable and logical! None of the theologians or spiritual figures in the religious world have been able to explain this prophecy of the Lord Jesus. They all say that it is the Lord’s mystery, that humans cannot fully comprehend it. I’ve studied the Bible for so many years, but I’ve never been able to understand this prophecy. I didn’t know why the Lord would suffer greatly, since He would be returning in spirit form. I never thought the people from Eastern Lightning would be able to explain the mystery of this prophecy. It’s enough to really make you sit up and take notice! Could the Lord truly return incarnate? But there are many other prophecies in the Bible that mention the Lord descending with the clouds.” So I asked the brothers, “Many prophecies in the Bible say that when the Lord returns, He will descend with the clouds. For example, the Lord Jesus said: ‘And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all tribes of the earth mourn: and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with much power and majesty’ (Matthew 24:30). It’s also prophesied in Revelation: ‘Behold, He comes with the clouds, and every eye shall see Him, and they also that pierced Him. And all the tribes of the earth shall bewail themselves because of Him’ (Revelation 1:7). If He really does return incarnate, how will these prophecies be fulfilled?”

Fang Yi fellowshiped, “The Lord Jesus did prophesy that He would descend with the clouds in the last days and publicly judge all nations and peoples. These prophecies are sure to be fulfilled. But first He becomes flesh in secret; He will later appear openly to all, riding the clouds. In other words, the Lord will return in two ways. First, He becomes flesh to express the truth, to do His work of judging and purifying people, and to make a group of overcomers. After that, the great disasters will start to descend, and the secret work of God incarnate will be complete. After the disasters, God will appear in glory to all, and reward the good and punish the evil. Therefore, those who have unrepentantly resisted and condemned God during the period of His incarnation and secret work will have lost their chance of salvation completely. They will fall into the disasters, weeping and gnashing their teeth. This fulfills the prophecy in the Book of Revelation: ‘Behold, He comes with clouds; and every eye shall see Him, and they also which pierced Him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of Him. Even so, Amen’ (Revelation 1:7).” After hearing Fang Yi’s fellowship, my heart suddenly felt open and clear. When the Lord returns, not only will He descend openly with the clouds, He will first become flesh and descend in secret. Those are the two ways in which the Lord will appear. In the past, I only knew of one—it seemed that I had an incomplete understanding of it. When I saw that Eastern Lightning had revealed the mystery of the biblical prophecies in a way that sounded reasonable and logical, I thought that this had probably come from God and was worth investigating. After that, my attitude changed completely, and I was willing to listen to their fellowship and read Almighty God’s words without resistance.

After reading Almighty God’s words for some time, I felt certain that the Lord would return incarnate, but I didn’t know how to determine that Almighty God was the returned Lord Jesus. I thought that the Catholic Church was the true church, that it possessed the full truth of Jesus’ salvation. I thought that our souls could only be saved and enter the kingdom of heaven through Catholicism. What if I accepted Almighty God, and it turned out that I had gone astray in my belief? Wouldn’t I be betraying the Lord? How could I enter the kingdom of heaven then? I still felt uneasy because I couldn’t figure out this problem. At that time, I happened to hear that Priest Yuan Yongjin had also accepted Almighty God’s work in the last days. I really wanted to meet with him, because he had been Catholic too, and our teachings and views were the same. I wanted to see how he understood this issue. A few days later, we met and I told him my concerns.

Yuan Yongjin fellowshiped with me, “I once had the same concerns as you. I was worried that accepting Almighty God meant betraying the Lord Jesus. In order to address this issue, the main thing we need to do is discern whether Almighty God and the Lord Jesus are the same Spirit, and if They are the same God at work. In the Age of Law, it was Yahweh at work, and in the Age of Grace, it was the Lord Jesus. Although God’s name changed and the work that He did was different, can you say that the Lord Jesus and Yahweh are not one God? Can you say that to believe in the Lord Jesus is to betray Yahweh? Certainly not. So, one cannot determine whether They are the same God based on Their names. The most important thing is to see whether Almighty God can express the truth and do the work of saving mankind. As long as Almighty God can express the truth and God’s voice, and do the work of saving mankind, then He is God Himself, and He and Yahweh and the Lord Jesus are the same God. We all know that in the Age of Law, Yahweh issued laws and commandments to guide the lives of mankind, so that people could know what sin is, how to offer sacrifices to atone for sins, and how to worship God. At the end of the Age of Law, people were sinning more and more, and there were not enough sacrifices to offer for all of their sins. People were all in danger of being condemned and dying by the law, so Yahweh prophesied through the prophet: ‘Behold a virgin shall be with child, and bring forth a son, and they shall call His name Emmanuel’ (Matthew 1:23), ‘For a CHILD IS BORN to us, and a son is given to us, and the government is upon His shoulder’ (Isaiah 9:6). These words told the Israelites that the Messiah would come, and that He would be the sin offering that redeems humankind. As promised, God then became flesh as the Lord Jesus and did the work of redeeming mankind, building on the foundation of the work of law. The Lord Jesus expressed many truths, bestowed man with the way of repentance, and then was crucified for mankind as an eternal sin offering, thereby completing the work of redeeming all mankind. After that, as long as people accepted Jesus Christ as their Savior and repented to Him, God would forgive their sins and they would not die for violating the law. People were qualified to come before God to pray and obtain His grace and peace. So, the work of the Lord Jesus completely fulfilled the prophecies of the Old Testament. It delivered people from the bondage of the law, ended the Age of Law, and brought mankind into the Age of Grace. That is enough to prove that the Lord Jesus is the Savior and the coming of the Messiah. The Lord Jesus and Yahweh are one Spirit and one God, just as the Lord Jesus said: ‘I am in the Father, and the Father in Me’ (John 14:11), ‘I and the Father are one’ (John 10:30). After the Lord Jesus finished the work of redemption, those who believe in the Lord are forgiven for their sins, but man’s sinful nature has not yet been resolved. People can still frequently sin and resist the Lord, and they are not completely free from the bondage of sin. To give a few examples: We still often lie and deceive for personal gain. We can still be jealous, hate others, and contend for power. When we suffer a sickness or calamity, we still blame the Lord, and will even deny and betray Him. It is written in the Bible: ‘Whosoever commits sin, is the servant of sin. Now the servant abides not in the house for ever; but the son abides for ever’ (John 8:34–35), ‘You shall be holy, for I am holy’ (1 Peter 1:16). God is holy, and He ultimately wants people who can fully submit to His words and achieve holiness. But now, we are still sinful, filthy, and corrupt. We have not broken away from the bondage of sin, and we are not qualified to enter the kingdom of heaven. So the Lord Jesus prophesied many times that He would return to express the truth and do the work of judgment in the last days, that He would completely save mankind from sin and the influence of Satan, and take us into the kingdom of heaven. Just as He foretold: ‘I have yet many things to say to you: but you cannot bear them now. But when He, the Spirit of truth, is come, He will teach you all truth’ (John 16:12–13), ‘And if any man hears My words, and keeps them not, I do not judge him: for I came not to judge the world, but to save the world. He that despises Me, and receives not My words, has one that judges him; the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day’ (John 12:47–48). And in 1 Peter 4:17, it says: ‘For the time is, that judgment should begin at the house of God.’ And as He promised, the Lord Jesus has returned incarnate in the last days as Almighty God to express all the truths required to purify and save humankind. Building upon the foundation of the Lord Jesus’ work, Almighty God is doing the work of judgment starting with God’s house, to resolve man’s sinful nature and lead humankind into all truths, thus fulfilling the Lord Jesus’ prophecies completely.”

Then, Yuan Yongjin read a passage of Almighty God’s words to me. Almighty God says: “Though Jesus did much work among man, He only completed the redemption of all mankind and became man’s sin offering; He did not rid man of all his corrupt disposition. Fully saving man from the influence of Satan not only required Jesus to become the sin offering and bear the sins of man, but it also required God to do even greater work to rid man completely of his satanically corrupted disposition. And so, now that man has been forgiven of his sins, God has returned to the flesh to lead man into the new age, and begun the work of chastisement and judgment. This work has brought man into a higher realm. All those who submit under His dominion shall enjoy higher truth and receive greater blessings. They shall truly live in the light, and they shall gain the truth, the way, and the life” (The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. Preface). Yuan Yongjin fellowshiped, “In the Age of Grace, the Lord Jesus did the work of redemption and absolved man’s sins, but that was only half of the work of salvation. Only Almighty God’s work of judgment will completely save humankind. We can only be saved and become worthy of entering the kingdom of heaven if we accept God’s judgment and chastisement in the last days, if we are cleansed of our corruption, if we break away from sin, and if we are no longer being misled and controlled by the devil. This means that Almighty God’s work of judgment in the last days carries on from the Lord Jesus’ work of redemption, and that it is the work that will conclude the age. Almighty God is the Lord Jesus returned, and They are one Spirit and one God.” Hearing that Yuan Yongjin’s fellowship about the three stages of work accorded with the Bible and the facts, my heart brightened. The Lord Jesus has returned to do the work of judgment in the last days, to resolve our sinful natures, and to save us from the bondage of sin. We do indeed live in sin now, and we are powerless to extricate ourselves from it. We sin, then confess, and after confessing, we sin again. We are always trapped in this endless cycle. Even priests can’t escape the bondage of sin, let alone ordinary believers. These are all undeniable facts. In the past, I could never understand the reason for this, but now I did. We really still needed the Lord to return and do His work of fully purifying and changing people. It seemed entirely possible that Almighty God’s work of judgment in the last days came from God.

After this, Yuan Yongjin read me another passage of Almighty God’s words. Almighty God says: “The work of today has pushed forward the work of the Age of Grace; that is, the work under the entire six-thousand-year management plan has moved forward. Though the Age of Grace has ended, there has been progress in God’s work. Why do I say time and again that this stage of work builds upon the Age of Grace and the Age of Law? Because the work of this day is a continuation of the work done in the Age of Grace, and an advance over that done in the Age of Law. The three stages are tightly interconnected, with each link in the chain closely tied to the next. Why do I also say that this stage of work builds on that done by Jesus? Supposing that this stage did not build on the work done by Jesus, another crucifixion would have to take place in this stage, and the redemptive work of the previous stage would have to be done all over again. This would be meaningless. And so it is not that the work is completely finished, but that the age has moved forward and the level of the work has been raised higher than before. It can be said that this stage of work is built on the foundation of the Age of Law and upon the rock of Jesus’ work. God’s work is built stage by stage, and this stage is not a new beginning. Only the combination of the three stages of work may be deemed the six-thousand-year management plan. The work of this stage is done on the foundation of the work of the Age of Grace. If these two stages of work were unrelated, then why is the crucifixion not repeated in this stage? Why do I not bear the sins of man, but instead come to judge and chastise man directly? If My work to judge and chastise man did not follow the crucifixion, with My coming now not conceived of the Holy Spirit, then I would not be qualified to judge and chastise man. It is precisely because I am one with Jesus that I come directly to chastise and judge man. The work at this stage is built entirely on the work in the preceding stage. That is why only work of this kind can bring man, step by step, into salvation. Jesus and I come from one Spirit. Even though We are unrelated in Our fleshes, Our Spirits are one; even though the content of what We do and the work that We take on are not the same, We are alike in essence; Our fleshes take different forms, but this is due to the change in era and the differing requirements of Our work; Our ministries are not alike, so the work We bring forth and the dispositions We reveal to man are also different. That is why what man sees and understands this day is unlike in the past, which is because of the change in era. For all that They are different in the gender and the form of Their fleshes, and that They were not born of the same family, still less in the same time period, Their Spirits are nonetheless one. … The Spirit of Jehovah is not the father of the Spirit of Jesus, and the Spirit of Jesus is not the son of the Spirit of Jehovah: They are one and the same Spirit. Similarly, the incarnate God of today and Jesus are not related by blood, but They are one, this is because Their Spirits are one. God can do the work of mercy and lovingkindness, as well as that of the righteous judgment and of chastisement of man, and that of calling down curses on man; and in the end, He can do the work of destroying the world and punishing the evil. Does He not do all of this Himself? Is this not the omnipotence of God?” (The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. The Two Incarnations Complete the Significance of the Incarnation). Yuan Yongjin fellowshiped, “Although the content of God’s three stages of work differs and God’s name is not the same in every age, this work is all done by one Spirit and one God. The three stages of work are closely linked, and each stage builds on the work of the previous one, each is more elevated and deeper than the last, and in the end this work will save people from Satan’s power and bring them into God’s kingdom. Therefore, we are not betraying the Lord by accepting His new work, we are keeping pace with His work.” My heart felt even brighter at that point. Now I understood that the three stages of work are closely linked, each more elevated and deeper than the last, and that no stage of work is independent of the others. They are three stages of work done by one God. Yahweh, the Lord Jesus, and Almighty God are all one. I had always thought that the Catholic Church was the true church, that only Catholicism could save souls and bring them into the kingdom of heaven, that leaving Catholicism meant betraying the Lord and losing your chance at salvation. Now I understood that I was only holding to the Lord Jesus’ work of redemption. If I accepted Almighty God’s work of judgment, then I would be following the footsteps of the Lamb, and not betraying the Lord. However, if I remained in Catholicism and clung to the salvation of the Lord Jesus, I would not receive God’s salvation in the last days, and I wouldn’t be able to enter the kingdom of heaven. After thinking this, I was essentially certain that Almighty God’s work of judgment is God’s new work in the last days. After that, Yuan Yongjin fellowshiped with me on truths such as the significance of God’s names, the inside story of the Bible, and how God determines mankind’s ending and destination. After listening to Yuan Yongjin’s fellowship, I was filled with emotion. I had believed in God for so many years, but I had never heard such excellent preaching before. I truly gained so much on that day—I understood more than I had in all my years of believing in the Lord!

Yuan Yongjin read many of Almighty God’s words to me. I saw that Almighty God has revealed many truths and mysteries, and I felt deeply that the words of Almighty God are the voice of God. After I returned home that day, I read a passage of Almighty God’s words: “It is not difficult to inquire into such a thing, but it requires each of us to know this one truth: 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). I understood from this passage that to determine whether Almighty God is the Lord Jesus appearing and working, I principally needed to look at the words He expresses and the work He does. If He can express the truth and do the work of saving and purifying people, then He must be the Lord appearing and working. The Lord Jesus once said: “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No man comes to the Father, but by Me” (John 14:6). Therefore, apart from when God appears to speak and work, no one can express the truth. After that, I took time every day to read Almighty God’s words. Two months later, I had understood much more, like the mysteries of the incarnation and God’s names, the difference between God’s work and human work, how to discern between the true Christ and false christs, and so on. I saw that Almighty God’s words are rich and extensive, and they truly opened my eyes. I thought to myself: Who could express so many truths and unravel so many mysteries if not the Lord returned? The Lord has indeed returned, and is doing the new work of judging and purifying mankind. I was entirely certain that Almighty God’s work of judgment is the Lord’s new work, and that Almighty God is the Lord returned! At the time, I felt overjoyed. The Lord Jesus, who had been awaited for so many years, had truly returned. I felt very fortunate to be able to accept God’s work in the last days. I thought about how the brothers had been preaching the gospel to me for nearly a year, and how I had constantly resisted and rejected it. If it weren’t for God’s mercy and salvation, and the brothers’ preaching the gospel to me time and again, I wouldn’t have been able to come before God. For this, I felt very grateful to God. But then I remembered how I hadn’t sought or investigated God’s work of the last days, how I had blindly judged and condemned it, and even closed off the church and stopped the church members from seeking or investigating it. When I thought about this, I felt very guilty, and I hated myself for being too blind to know God, for not having a heart that feared God, and for resisting Him. Wasn’t I the same as the Pharisees who resisted the Lord Jesus? I’d thought that since I had studied theology for so many years and always served the Lord, I must have some knowledge of Him. I never thought I would “meet” the Lord in this way. At that time, I felt very uneasy, thinking of how I had committed such a great sin by resisting the Lord, and wondering how He would treat me. I fell to my knees before God and prayed to confess my sins, “Almighty God, I have been so arrogant. I did not know You, I resisted and judged Your work, and I closed off the church and restricted the church members from seeking and investigating Your work. What I did was the same as the Pharisees, and I truly deserve Your punishment. I am truly unworthy of Your salvation!” During those days, I lived in a state of regret and anxiety. Each time I read Almighty God’s words revealing people who resist and condemn Him, it felt like God was speaking about me. I felt like I had already been condemned and that God would not save me.

Later, I opened up to my brothers and sisters about my state, and they read me a passage of God’s word which gave me great comfort. God says: “Each person who has accepted being conquered by God’s words will have ample opportunity for salvation; God’s salvation of each of these people will show His utmost leniency. In other words, they will be shown the utmost tolerance. As long as people turn back from the wrong path, and as long as they can repent, God will give them opportunities to obtain His salvation. When humans first rebel against God, He has no desire to put them to death; rather, He does all He can to save them. If someone really has no room for salvation, then God will cast them aside. The reason God is slow to punish certain people is that He wishes to save everyone who can be saved. He judges, enlightens, and guides people only with words, and does not use a rod to put them to death. Employing words to bring humans salvation is the purpose and significance of the final stage of work” (The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. You Should Put Aside the Blessings of Status and Understand God’s Intention to Bring Salvation to Man). After they read God’s words, one brother said, “We have been corrupted by Satan, we all have corrupt dispositions, and we have no fear of God in our hearts. When we see that God’s words and work do not conform to our notions, we rebel against God and resist Him, and are likely to deny and condemn Him. But once we understand the truth, if we turn back to the right path and genuinely repent to God, He will still grant us the chance to be saved. But those who are stubborn, unrepentant, and adamantly resist God will be condemned by Him, and in the end, they will all be punished.” At that moment, I felt very moved. I thought, “I resisted God and did such great evil, yet God will still show me mercy and save me. God’s love is so great! In the future, I must preach the gospel to many people and repay God’s love. I must tell the church members the great news of the Lord’s return, so that they can hear His voice and welcome Him too.” So, after that, I started spreading the gospel to the members of the church.

One time, I testified to a church member about Almighty God’s new work and the bishop found out about it, so he called me and asked me to go see him. When I arrived at the church, I met with an abbot first, who was in his eighties. He quietly told me that the bishop was very opposed to my belief in Eastern Lightning. The abbot tried to persuade me to admit my mistake to the bishop, repent, and beg him to be lenient with me. When I heard this, I was very upset, so I prayed to God, “Almighty God, I don’t know how to face this. Please protect me, and give me faith and determination. No matter what happens next, I ask that You guide me so that I may stand firm on the true way.” After praying, I felt a bit calmer. When I saw the bishop, he asked me if I believed in Eastern Lightning, and I said yes. He became very angry and said, “I heard you were in contact with people from Eastern Lightning, but I didn’t think anything of it. I thought that as you are a priest and have received specialized theological training, you’d never accept Eastern Lightning. I cannot believe you have actually done so!” I told him, “I didn’t accept Eastern Lightning out of confusion. I’ve investigated it for more than half a year and read much of Almighty God’s word. These words are the truth, things which no human could say, and Almighty God is the Lord Jesus returned….” The bishop did not wait for me to finish speaking, and impatiently said, “It’s for the Pope to decide whether Eastern Lightning is the return of the Lord. The Pope is never wrong in matters of faith. If the Pope recognizes it, so will we. If he doesn’t and says that Eastern Lightning is heresy, then we can’t believe in it!” After hearing what he said, I thought, “The Pope is also a corrupt human being. If he does not seek, he can’t possibly receive the enlightenment or illumination of the Holy Spirit, or recognize the Lord’s new work. You believe in the Lord, but instead of listening to His words, you blindly follow the words of the Pope—a man. How is that believing in the Lord? Isn’t that purely belief in man?” I continued to testify Almighty God’s work in the last days to the bishop, but he didn’t listen at all. He said, “If the Pope doesn’t say Eastern Lightning is the work of the Lord returned, we can’t believe in it. Whether it is the true way depends on the Pope’s decision!”

In the past, I had also worshiped the Pope. I thought that he was the Lord’s representative, and that we had to listen to him in all things. But later, I read some of Almighty God’s words that changed my views on the matter. I remember one passage that said the following: “There are several major religions in the world, and each has its own head, or leader, and the followers are spread across different countries and regions all over the world; almost every country, be it large or small, has different religions within it. However, regardless of how many religions there are across the world, all people within the universe ultimately exist under the guidance of one God, and their existence is not guided by religious heads or leaders. This is to say that mankind is not guided by a particular religious head or leader; rather, the whole of mankind is led by the Creator, who created the heavens and earth and all things, and who also created mankind—this is a fact. Although the world has several major religions, regardless of how great they are, they all exist under the dominion of the Creator, and none of them can exceed the scope of this dominion. The development of mankind, the supersedure of society, the development of natural sciences—each is inseparable from the arrangements of the Creator, and this work is not something that can be done by any given religious head. A religious head is merely the leader of a particular religion, and cannot represent God, nor can they represent the One who created the heavens and earth and all things. A religious head can lead all those within the entire religion, but they cannot command all created beings beneath the heavens—this is a universally acknowledged fact. A religious head is merely a leader, and cannot stand equal to God (the Creator). All things are in the hands of the Creator, and in the end they will all return to the hands of the Creator. Mankind was made by God, and regardless of the religion, every person will return under the dominion of God—this is inevitable. Only God is the Most High among all things, and the highest ruler among all created beings must also return under His dominion. No matter how high the status of a man, that man cannot take mankind to a suitable destination, and no one is able to class all things according to kind” (The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. Knowing the Three Stages of God’s Work Is the Path to Knowing God). I understood from Almighty God’s words that the Pope is just a leader, a created being, and he cannot represent God. God is the Creator. He created the heavens and earth and all things, as well as human beings, and led humankind to the present day. God governs the destiny of humankind, and only God can express the truth to save people and lead us to a beautiful destination. This work cannot be done by any created being, nor by any religious leader. Though popes hold a high status, they are also corrupt human beings. They cannot express the truth, let alone do the work of saving humankind, so no matter how high their status, they cannot represent God. If they do not seek when God does His new work, they will not be enlightened or illuminated by the Holy Spirit, and ultimately, they will be abandoned and eliminated by God. They are just like the chief priests and Pharisees in ancient times—they held high status, but when the Lord Jesus came to work, they did not seek at all. They resisted and condemned the Lord Jesus, and were cursed and punished by God.

After that, the bishop ordered me not to have any more contact with the people from Eastern Lightning. I didn’t agree, so he became very angry and said, “Then consider your duties as abbot suspended. Hand over the monastery ledgers and go to the basement and reflect on what you’ve done.” I was a little surprised at the time, I didn’t expect them to dismiss me so quickly. I felt a little lost. I thought about how in the several years I had been an abbot, no matter where I went, the priests and monks would all gather around me, listening to my words and doing whatever I said. Now the bishop had removed me from my post, I knew that the priests and monks would not respect me that way anymore. I also thought of how much work I had done to get to my position as an abbot and priest. As soon as I made the decision to follow Almighty God, I could not possibly continue being an abbot and priest. Although I was already certain about the work of Almighty God in the last days, I still didn’t have the courage to completely cut myself off from Catholicism. I thought, “This choice is no trivial matter. I have to think carefully before I make my decision.” I went to the basement and saw Priest Zhao, who had been placed there to reflect on his fornication. I told him that I was sent there because I had accepted the work of Almighty God in the last days. He was very surprised and said that he had only committed the sin of fornication in a moment of weakness, so if he confessed to the Lord, he could still be saved. He said that my problem was more serious, that it was a question of faith, and that as soon as we misplace our faith, we can no longer be saved and enter the kingdom of heaven. At the time, I was not affected by his words.

After two or three days, Priest Wang and the bookkeeper came to the basement to verify the ledgers with me. Priest Wang looked at me with disdain, and when he asked about the ledgers, it was like he was interrogating a prisoner. It all felt so uncomfortable. After they left, I lay weakly in bed, feeling miserable and wronged. I thought of how everyone was always very deferential to me when I ran the monastery. No matter where I was being hosted, the priests and monks happily came out to greet me, and the host would serve fruit and show me warm hospitality. The priests and monks always looked forward to my sermons, and they usually waited for me to make a decision when discussing anything. I also often arranged the work of the priests and monks, and they all listened to and obeyed me. But now, after I had been made to step down from my position, they all looked down on me. The priests no longer respected me, and everyone was ignoring me while I was in the basement. It was such a huge contrast from how things were when I was an abbot! Not having status really does change things. I then thought that if I chose to follow Almighty God in the future, I would never be able to enjoy the life of an abbot again, and the status and treatment I had received would disappear. That made me feel disappointed. But then I thought, “Almighty God is indeed the returned Lord Jesus. If I don’t follow Almighty God just for the sake of my status and enjoyment, am I truly a believer in God? Can I still be saved by God?” I didn’t know which path I should choose. I felt very tormented, and fell to my knees and prayed to God, asking Him to enlighten and guide me so that I would no longer be constrained by the bonds of status and reputation, and be able to follow God’s footsteps. After praying, I remembered a passage of Almighty God’s word that my brothers and sisters had read to me: “God has humbled Himself to such a level that He does His work in these filthy and corrupt people, and perfects this group of people. God not only became flesh to live and eat among people, to shepherd people, and to provide what people need. More important is that He does His mighty work of salvation and conquest upon these unbearably corrupt people. He came to the heart of the great red dragon to save these most corrupt of people, so that all people may be changed and made new. The immense hardship that God endures is not only the hardship that the God incarnate endures, but most of all it is that God’s Spirit suffers extreme humiliation—He humbles and hides Himself so much that He becomes an ordinary person. God was incarnated and took the form of flesh so that people see that He has a normal human life and normal human needs. This is enough to prove that God has humbled Himself to a great extent. The Spirit of God is realized in the flesh. His Spirit is so high and great, yet He takes the form of a common human, of a negligible human, so as to do the work of His Spirit. The caliber, insight, sense, humanity, and lives of each of you show that you are really unworthy to accept God’s work of this kind. You are really unworthy to let God endure such hardship for your sake. God is so great. He is so supreme, and people are so lowly, yet He still works upon them. He not only was incarnated to provide for people, to speak to people, but He even lives together with people. God is so humble, so lovable” (The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. Only Those Who Focus on Practice Can Be Perfected). It’s true. No country resists God more severely than China. God came incarnate to the nation of the great red dragon to speak and work, He has suffered persecution and slander at the hands of the Communist Party, and the condemnation and rejection of the religious world. God is so supreme, and so noble, yet He has endured great humiliation to come to earth, and everything He does is to save us. God is truly humble and lovely! But all I wanted was to enjoy the benefits of status, and I loved having the support and adoration of others. Even though I was already certain of God’s work, I was still unwilling to give up my status to follow Him. Wasn’t I deliberately resisting, even though I knew the true way? Wasn’t I truly lacking in conscience? When I realized this, I felt a bit guilty and ashamed, and I prepared myself to let go of my position.

A few days later, my cousin came to the basement to try to persuade me and get me to reflect. He said that if I didn’t, the bishop would expel me from the church. When I heard that, I was shocked. I had never heard of anyone being excommunicated from our church. If I were expelled, all the church members around me and everyone in the entire diocese would reject me. During the few days that passed after my cousin left, I couldn’t stop struggling internally. From the moment that I began believing in the Lord, it never occurred to me that I could be excommunicated, and I didn’t think the bishop would expel me for believing in Almighty God. I thought about these things over and over during those days. Every time I saw the prophecies in the Bible about God’s work in the last days, I remembered the brothers and sisters who had testified to me about Almighty God’s work and the passages of God’s word I had read. These scenes flashed through my mind like a movie. Almighty God is the returned Lord Jesus, and I couldn’t give up following Him. But when I thought of leaving the Catholic Church or being expelled, I was unable to make up my mind.

Later, the bishop came to the basement and asked how my reflection was going. When he saw that I was preserving in my belief in Almighty God, he was very unhappy, and said, “Your belief in Eastern Lightning is no trivial matter. You need to really reflect on yourself. If you can sincerely know yourself, repent, and reject Eastern Lightning, we can forget about your mistake and you can remain in your position as an abbot.” After the bishop left, Priest Zhao tried to persuade me again. He said, “You need to write down the conclusions you have come to through your reflection. If you do, you can continue to be an abbot. If you don’t, the bishop won’t let you off lightly!” After hearing that, I thought, “The bishop has already given me an ultimatum, so if I don’t write out the results of my reflection, I will really lose my position as an abbot, and I will be faced with expulsion from the church.” I felt sad when I thought about that. Although I knew I should choose to follow Almighty God, I was still a little unwilling to let go of my position. In my pain, I came before God and earnestly cried out to Him, saying, “Almighty God, I face my final choice now. Please help and guide me, so that I can make the right one.” After I prayed, I thought of some of God’s words that my brothers and sisters had once read to me. God’s words say: “God will certainly never start again elsewhere. God will accomplish this fact: He will make all people throughout the universe come before Him and worship the God on earth, and His work in other places will cease, and people will be forced to seek the true way. It will be like Joseph: Everyone came to him for food, and bowed down to him, for he had things to eat. In order to avoid famine, people will be forced to seek the true way. The entire religious community will suffer severe famine, and only the God of today is the wellspring of living water, possessed of the ever-flowing wellspring provided for the enjoyment of man, and people will come and depend on Him” (The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. The Millennial Kingdom Has Arrived). It is true. Churches everywhere are desolate now, and bereft of the work of the Holy Spirit. There is no illumination in the sermons of bishops and priests, they are only able to preach some theological theories and religious doctrines, and rigorously observe some religious rituals and man-made rules. But clinging to these things does not offer the slightest provision or edification to people’s lives; everyone lives in a cycle of committing sin, confessing sin, and sinning again every day. No matter how hard people try, they can’t solve this problem. Even the clergy can’t refrain from obvious sins like stealing offerings or fornication, like Priest Zhao, who had sunk to such depths that he wasn’t ashamed at all of having committed such a great sin. Catholicism today is nothing but a stagnant pond! The Church of Almighty God is different. When we fellowship on the words of Almighty God at each gathering, it helps us to understand the truth, and gain provision and edification in our lives. If I didn’t keep up with Almighty God’s work and if I didn’t gain the truths He is expressing in the last days, I would never break away from sin. I would be trapped in sin every day, unable to extricate myself. What would be the point of staying in religion and enjoying everyone’s support then? Then I thought of some of God’s words again: “Christ is man’s gateway to the kingdom during the last days, and there are none who can go around Him. None may be perfected by God except through Christ. You believe in God, and so you must accept His words and submit to His way. You cannot only think of gaining blessings while being incapable of accepting the truth and incapable of accepting the provision of life. Christ comes during the last days so that all those who truly believe in Him may be provided with life. His work is for the sake of concluding the old age and entering the new one, and His work is the path that must be taken by all those who would enter the new age. If you are incapable of acknowledging Him, and instead condemn, blaspheme, or even persecute Him, then you are bound to burn for eternity and shall never enter the kingdom of God. For this Christ is Himself the expression of the Holy Spirit, the expression of God, the One whom God has entrusted to do His work on earth. And so I say that if you cannot accept all that is done by Christ of the last days, then you blaspheme the Holy Spirit. The retribution to be had by those who blaspheme the Holy Spirit is self-evident to all. I also tell you that if you resist Christ of the last days, if you spurn Christ of the last days, there will be no one else to bear the consequences on your behalf. Furthermore, from this day onward you will not have another chance to gain the approval of God; even if you try to redeem yourself, you will never again behold the face of God. For what you resist is not a man, what you spurn is not some puny being, but Christ. Do you know what the consequences of this will be? You will not have made a small mistake, but committed a heinous crime. And so I advise everyone not to bare your fangs before the truth, or make careless criticisms, for only the truth can bring you life, and nothing except the truth can allow you to be reborn and behold the face of God again” (The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. Only Christ of the Last Days Can Give Man the Way of Eternal Life). Almighty God brings us the truth, the way, and the life. We can only be purified and saved through these truths. It was by God’s grace and exaltation that I was able to accept the truths expressed by Almighty God and have a way to change my corrupt dispositions. If I chose to stay in Catholicism, coveted status and enjoyment, and rejected God’s salvation in the last days, I would be condemned by God forever and completely lose my chance of salvation. I would be just like the chief priests and Pharisees. They possessed high status among the Jews, and enjoyed the good opinion and support of everyone. When the Lord Jesus came, they knew that His sermons had authority and power, but in order to protect their status and income, they refused to accept His salvation, and even nailed Him to the cross. In the end, they were all eternally cursed and punished by God. I couldn’t follow in their footsteps! I could only achieve salvation and earn God’s approval by keeping up with Almighty God’s new work, enjoying the watering and provision of His words, knowing myself through them, finding the root cause of my sin, and understanding how to be cleansed of corruption—wasn’t that more valuable and meaningful than having high status? The more I thought about this, the brighter my heart felt. I saw completely clearly that there was nothing worth staying in religion for, and that I didn’t need to remain there. So, I gave up my position as a priest and abbot and resolutely left Catholicism.

Although I suffered some hardship during those few days I spent in the basement, the guidance and leadership of God’s words made me understand that I shouldn’t be pursuing status, and that it is not something that God approves of. The road ahead was clear. In the past, I thought that understanding Bible knowledge and theological theories meant that I knew God. I didn’t realize the theological theories I had learned were all notions and imaginings about God, and that they don’t accord with the truth at all. They were like strong walls that had been built all around me, causing me to reach my own verdicts about God and resist His work. They also made me become increasingly arrogant, self-righteous, and obstinate. I didn’t have a humble, seeking, or fearful heart toward God. If it weren’t for Almighty God’s mercy, it would be impossible for me to attain His salvation! Moreover, when I was coveting status and enjoyment and didn’t know what decision to make, God repeatedly enlightened and guided me with His words and led me to relinquish my position and keep up with His work. If it weren’t for God’s providence and support, I could never have returned before Him. God’s love is so practical and real!