By Mingzhi, China

The Lord Jesus spoke of two types of people when He prophesied His return: the wise virgins and the foolish virgins. All who hear the Lord’s voice and then accept and submit, are wise virgins. All who don’t hear His voice, or who hear it but don’t believe, or even deny and condemn Him, are foolish virgins. Wise virgins are wise because they seek the voice of the Lord when they hear of testimony to His return, and on hearing His voice they recognize and welcome Him. But foolish virgins don’t listen to the Lord’s voice. They simply trust what they’re told by the pastors, elders and priests, and believe their own notions. They may hear the Lord’s voice, but don’t dare to accept it, and so miss their chance to welcome the Lord. This is where the foolish virgins go wrong. I used to be just like a foolish virgin. I blindly believed what the priests and bishops said about false christs appearing and misleading people in the last days, and thought I’d better not look into testimonies claiming that the Lord Jesus had returned and was expressing the truth to do the work of judgment in the last days. So, I nearly lost the Lord’s salvation of the last days.

I followed my family into the Catholic faith when I was little, and I’d always hear the priest say in Mass, “The time for the Lord to return is near. Don’t listen to anyone else’s sermons. The Bible says: ‘Then if any man shall say to you: Lo here is Christ, or there, do not believe him. For there shall arise false Christs and false prophets, and shall show great signs and wonders, insomuch as to deceive (if possible) even the elect’ (Matthew 24:23–24). False christs will appear in the last days. You are small of stature and lack discernment, so you’re easily misled. Believing in the wrong way would be a betrayal of the Lord! We must keep to the way of the Lord and wait for Him to come and bring us into His kingdom. We cannot listen to, read, or inquire into other teachings, without exception, especially those that claim the Lord has already returned.” I thought the priest had a point. I was immature in life and lacked discernment, and if I was led astray by a false christ my years of faith would all be in vain. I swore to myself that I would be careful, and that I wouldn’t listen to anyone who preached other teachings.

One day in April 2012, a parishioner named Mu Zheng said, “The Lord Jesus has returned. He’s Almighty God in the flesh. He’s doing new work, the work of judgment beginning with God’s house, as prophesied in the Bible.” I was surprised on hearing this, and doubtful, so I asked, “How do you know the Lord has returned and is doing new work? How can you be sure?” Mu Zheng’s response was, “The Lord Jesus said: ‘My sheep hear My voice: and I know them, and they follow Me’ (John 10:27), ‘And at midnight there was a cry made: Behold the bridegroom comes, go you forth to meet him’ (Matthew 25:6), and, ‘Behold, I stand at the gate, and knock. If any man shall hear My voice, and open to Me the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with Me’ (Revelation 3:20). The Lord Jesus told us He would return and knock at our doors with His words. His sheep will recognize His voice from the words He utters. They’ll welcome the Lord’s return and attend the Lamb’s wedding feast. They are the wise virgins. Just think of when the Lord Jesus appeared and did His work. People like Peter, John and Philip listened to His voice and knew that He was the awaited Messiah. They readily followed the Lord Jesus and gained His salvation. I’ve read many of Almighty God’s words and I’ve confirmed that they are the truth. They possess authority and are the Lord’s voice. That’s how I’m sure Almighty God is the Lord Jesus returned. If, instead of listening out for the voice of the Lord, we focus blindly on being vigilant against false christs, shutting ourselves off for fear of being misled, and if we don’t inquire into it when we hear of testimony to the Lord’s return, then we’re liable to shut out the Lord and miss His salvation of the last days.”

Mu Zheng’s fellowship was enlightening for me. Listening for the Lord’s voice to welcome Him is in line with the Bible and the Lord’s words. If I didn’t look into it or attend to the Lord’s voice when someone said the Lord Jesus had returned, how would I welcome Him? I’d never heard anyone fellowship the Lord’s words like that, and I found it enlightening. I wanted to learn more, but then I remembered the priest repeatedly warning us about false christs misleading people in the last days, and telling us not under any circumstances to trust teachings from other churches. I was immediately on the alert, reminding myself against casually listening to other teachings and that my years of faith would all be wasted if I took up the wrong belief. So, I dismissed what Mu Zheng had said. He told me a few more times that I should read Almighty God’s words to see if they were the voice of God, but I was wary, and always found ways to decline.

A couple of months later, my wife returned from her hometown one day with a copy of The Word Appears in the Flesh. She said it was “what the Spirit saith to the churches” (Revelation 2:7) and that Almighty God is the Lord Jesus returned. She suggested that I read it. I was afraid that she’d been led astray, so I told her that she had to be more careful about what preaching she listened to, but she was determined to believe in Almighty God. I was afraid that she’d betrayed the Lord, and could only fast and pray for her in tears. A few days later, my mother-in-law also came to preach the Lord’s return to me. She told me, “The Lord said: ‘I come quickly’ (Revelation 22:7). If we decide that all news of the Lord’s return is false because we’re afraid of being misled by false christs, and uniformly refuse to listen to, read, or investigate it, wouldn’t we be denying and condemning the Lord’s return? Wouldn’t that be like giving up eating for fear of choking? If we shut out the true Christ, it will be too late for regrets. By asking us to guard against false christs, the Lord is telling us that Christ will come in the last days, and that false christs will also emerge and pose as Him to mislead people—this means that we need to learn to discern the true Christ from the false ones. If we can’t do that, and simply reject and refuse to listen to any news of the Lord’s coming, then we’re liable to miss our chance to welcome the Lord, and we will be abandoned by Him.” I was moved by what my mother-in-law said, and I thought, “That’s right. I’ve been waiting day and night to welcome the Lord. How will I ever hear the voice of God and welcome the Lord if I uniformly refuse to listen to, read, or investigate the news of His return? It seems like always being on guard is not a solution to this problem. What if I rejected the Lord? That would be so foolish!” After my mother-in-law left, I saw my wife attentively reading The Word Appears in the Flesh. I couldn’t help but think about how desolate the church had been over the past few years, and how all the parishioners had become negative, weak, and apathetic toward their belief in God. It had been a long time since I’d seen my wife so full of faith. Could those words be as powerful and authoritative as they said? Could they be the voice of God? I also thought about how enlightening it had been listening to Mu Zheng. What if the Lord really had returned? I decided that I should investigate this further to make sure that I didn’t miss my chance to welcome the Lord’s return. So I prayed to God to grant me the discernment to hear His voice.

After dinner that evening, my wife and I read this passage of Almighty God’s words: “‘Belief in God’ means believing that there is a God; this is the simplest concept as regards believing in God. What’s more, believing that there is a God is not the same as truly believing in God; rather, it is a kind of simple faith with strong religious overtones. True faith in God means the following: On the basis of the belief that God holds sovereignty over all things, one experiences His words and His work, purges one’s corrupt disposition, satisfies the intentions of God, and comes to know God. Only a journey of this kind may be called ‘faith in God’” (The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. Preface). Almighty God’s words were wonderful. I saw that faith isn’t just a matter of reciting scripture every day, and attending gatherings and Mass like clockwork. We also need to focus on practicing God’s words, rid ourselves of our corrupt dispositions, and have true knowledge of the Lord. Only that kind of faith accords with God’s intention. The more I thought about it, the more I felt that Almighty God’s words were truly wonderful, that they were the truth, and not something that could be uttered by man. It seemed very likely that they were the words of God. When this occurred to me, I became less guarded.

A few days later, Mu Zheng came by our shop to see me, and I told him what I’d been thinking about over the past few days. He said, “I used to feel the same way. I was afraid of being misled by a false christ, so I blindly believed the priest and wouldn’t listen to anyone who preached the Lord’s return. But I never thought about whether the priest’s words accorded with those of the Lord. The Lord told us that false christs would come to mislead people in the last days, because He wanted us to learn how to discern them. But the priest misrepresented the Lord Jesus’ words, and told us not to investigate, read, or listen to any news of the Lord’s return. Wasn’t this obstructing us from welcoming His return? If the priest was genuinely concerned about us being misled, why didn’t he teach us how to discern the true Christ from the false ones? If we could do that, we wouldn’t be led astray.” Mu Zheng’s explanation made sense to me. If we were passive and cautious, like the priest wanted, that would entirely contravene the Lord’s words. It was just a covert way of keeping us from welcoming the Lord’s return. I knew that I couldn’t just blindly obey the priest anymore. I had to be a wise virgin and seek the voice of the Lord and welcome Him. I eagerly asked Mu Zheng to explain to me how to discern the true Christ from the false ones. He said, “Actually, the Lord Jesus has already told us the principles for discerning them in Matthew 24:24. He said that false christs and false prophets will display great signs and wonders. That’s the principal manifestation of a false christ of the last days misleading people.” Then Mu Zheng read a passage of Almighty God’s words for me: “If, during the present day, there is to emerge a person who is able to display signs and wonders, cast out demons, heal the sick, and perform many miracles, and if this person claims that they are Jesus who has come, then this would be a counterfeit produced by evil spirits which imitate Jesus. Remember this! God does not repeat the same work. Jesus’ stage of work has already been completed, and God will never again undertake that stage of work. The work of God is irreconcilable with the notions of man; for example, the Old Testament foretold the coming of a Messiah, and the result of this prophecy was Jesus’ coming. This having already happened, it would be wrong for another Messiah to come again. Jesus has already come once, and it would be wrong if Jesus were to come again this time. There is one name for every age, and each name contains a characterization of that age. In the notions of man, God must always display signs and wonders, must always heal the sick and cast out demons, and must always be just like Jesus. Yet this time, God is not like that at all. If, during the last days, God still displayed signs and wonders, and still cast out demons and healed the sick—if He did exactly the same as Jesus—then God would be repeating the same work, and the work of Jesus would have no significance or value. Thus, God carries out one stage of work in every age. Once each stage of His work has been completed, it is soon imitated by evil spirits, and after Satan begins to follow on the heels of God, God changes to a different method. Once God has completed a stage of His work, it is imitated by evil spirits. You must be clear about this” (The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. Knowing God’s Work Today). After reading Almighty God’s words, Mu Zheng said, “God is eternally new. He doesn’t do the same work twice. Every time He comes to do His work, He begins a new age and ends the old one, bringing in a newer and more elevated stage of His work. When the Lord Jesus did His work, He didn’t repeat the work of the Age of Law. He built upon it with His new work—the work of redeeming mankind. He commenced the Age of Grace and concluded the Age of Law. If the Lord returned in the last days to repeat the work of redemption, healing the sick, casting out demons, and showing signs and wonders, then God’s work would not move forward. Almighty God has come in the last days; He has opened up the Age of Kingdom and ended the Age of Grace. He’s doing the work of judgment beginning with God’s house, upon the foundation of the work of redemption. He’s expressing the truth to judge and cleanse people, so that they can free themselves from the bonds and constraints of sin, be purified and attain salvation. But false christs are evil spirits and devils in their essence. No matter what signs and wonders they display, or how much they call themselves God, they cannot express the truth or utter the words of God, and they certainly cannot begin a new age and end the old one. False christs just imitate the old words and work of the Lord, or show a few simple signs and wonders and spout a few specious fallacies and heresies to mislead muddled people who lack discernment. But false christs can never replicate the miracles of the Lord Jesus, like feeding the five thousand with five loaves and two fish, rebuking the wind and the sea, and bringing Lazarus back from the dead.” My heart felt brighter after hearing Mu Zheng’s fellowship. I thought, “I’ve never heard such a clear explanation of how to discern the true Christ from the false ones. Almighty God’s words are the truth and they give people a path to follow. Now I see that false christs can only copy the work the Lord has done in the past and show a few signs and wonders to mislead people. Only God can begin a new age and end the old one, and express the truth to sustain us.”

Then Mu Zheng read a couple more passages of Almighty God’s words: “God become flesh is called Christ, and so the Christ that can give people the truth is called God. There is nothing excessive about this, for He possesses the essence of God, and possesses God’s disposition, and wisdom in His work, that are unattainable by man. Those who call themselves christ, yet cannot do the work of God, are frauds. Christ is not merely the manifestation of God on earth, but also the particular flesh assumed by God as He carries out and completes His work among man. This flesh cannot be supplanted by just any man, but is a flesh that can adequately bear God’s work on earth, and express the disposition of God, and well represent God, and provide man with life. Sooner or later, those who impersonate Christ will all fall, for although they claim to be christ, they possess none of the essence of Christ. And so I say that the authenticity of Christ cannot be defined by man, but is answered and decided by God Himself” (The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. Only Christ of the Last Days Can Give Man the Way of Eternal Life). “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). After reading Almighty God’s words to me, Mu Zheng said, “Christ is God clothed in the flesh, as the Son of man, who comes to appear and work among man. From the outside, He looks just like a regular person, but His essence is divine. That’s why He can express the truth and express the disposition of God, and do the work of redeeming and saving mankind. No human being could achieve that. The key to discerning the true Christ is seeing whether He can express the truth and do the work of salvation. This is the most fundamental, most critical principle. When the Lord Jesus appeared and did His work, He looked just like a regular person. But He revealed mysteries of the kingdom of heaven and bestowed on mankind the way of repentance. He taught people to love the Lord with all their heart, soul and mind. He taught them to love others as themselves, and to forgive people seventy times seven times. He expressed God’s loving, merciful disposition, and ultimately He was crucified as an eternal sin offering, thus completing the work of redemption for mankind. We can be sure from the Lord Jesus’ work and words, and the disposition He expressed, that He was Christ. He was God Himself incarnate. Now Almighty God has come in the last days, and He does the work of judgment beginning with God’s house. He expresses all truths which can cleanse and save mankind. Almighty God has revealed the mysteries of God’s management plan to save mankind, how people are corrupted by Satan, how God saves us step by step, the mystery of God’s incarnations, the significance of God’s judgment work in the last days, how He determines the destination and outcome for different types of people, how Christ’s kingdom is realized on earth, and more. Almighty God not only unveils the mysteries of the Bible, but also exposes and judges the source of our sinning and resistance against God—namely, mankind’s satanic nature and various satanic dispositions. He reveals God’s righteous, holy disposition that will tolerate no offense, and shows us the way to cast off sin and be purified. He tells us how we should have faith, how to repent to get into God’s kingdom, how we should submit to God and love God, what following His will is, and more. Almighty God’s work in the last days has already made a group of overcomers, and more and more of God’s chosen people have given testimonies of overcoming Satan. Almighty God’s kingdom gospel has spread across many countries, from East to West, entirely fulfilling the Lord’s prophecy: ‘For as lightning comes out of the east, and appears even into the west: so shall the coming of the Son of man be’ (Matthew 24:27). The truths Almighty God expresses, the work of judgment He does, and the fruit of His work all prove that He is the Lord Jesus returned. He is the Christ of the last days. No one can deny this. It’s just as Almighty God says: ‘He lets His work affirm His identity, and lets that which He reveals attest to His essence. His essence is not baseless; His identity was not seized by His hand; it is determined by His work and His essence’ (The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. The Essence of Christ Is Submission to the Will of the Heavenly Father). False christs don’t have a divine essence and they can’t express the truth. No matter how they insist that they’re God, that they’re Christ, it’s all false and is designed to mislead people. Following them is like falling for a bunch of crooks, and leads only to ruination. No matter how they may pose as Christ, they can only deceive people for a while. They’re bound to be exposed by the facts and eventually perish in defeat. Only Christ can express the truth and do the work of mankind’s salvation. That’s why the key to discerning the true Christ is seeing whether He can express the truth and voice of God and whether He can do the work of cleansing and saving man. That is crucial.”

I was fully enlightened by Mu Zheng’s fellowship. The key to discerning the true Christ is seeing whether He can express the truth. If so, then He is Christ, the Lord returned. For anyone who can’t express the truth, no matter how they claim that they are Christ, they are still a fraud, a false christ and a misleader. I found this method of discernment was both simple and practical. Just wonderful! Almighty God’s words are crystal clear on how to tell the true Christ from the false christs. They really are the truth! I thought of how foolish and ignorant I’d been, blindly believing what the priest said. Afraid of being misled by a false christ, I hadn’t inquired into Almighty God’s work of the last days. I hadn’t tried to listen for the Lord’s voice, and as a result I nearly missed my chance to welcome the Lord. If not for the Lord’s mercy and tolerance, and for His knocking at my door by means of my loved ones and my brother repeatedly sharing the gospel with me, I’d have been waiting in religion my whole life without hearing God’s voice or welcoming the Lord’s return. I truly give thanks for Almighty God’s salvation!