Fellowship From the Brother Above – July 1, 2025 (Part One)

Let’s begin answering questions. How about we start today with questions regarding preaching the gospel? (Good.)

I. Questions Regarding the Preaching of the Gospel

Question 1: When we’re testifying and mention that we have now entered the Age of Kingdom, some potential gospel recipients ask: What is the Age of Kingdom? Doesn’t entering the Age of Kingdom mean we’ve entered our wonderful destination? If the Age of Kingdom has already arrived, then why haven’t the evil people of the world been destroyed? What exactly will happen after the Age of Kingdom? And what are the differences between the Age of Kingdom and the Age of Millennial Kingdom?

Answer: Many people don’t understand this matter. What does “entering the Age of Kingdom” refer to? It refers to God’s work entering the Age of Kingdom, which means God has begun the work of the Age of Kingdom. God doing the work of the Age of Kingdom does not mean we have already entered the Age of Millennial Kingdom. The Book of Revelation is very clear about the Age of Millennial Kingdom: After the nations of the world have been destroyed by the great catastrophes of the last days, the people who survive will enter the Age of Millennial Kingdom that God has predestined. The Age of Millennial Kingdom appears only after the great catastrophes of the last days have ended. Some people ask, if God’s work has now reached the Age of Kingdom, why do the nations of the world still exist? They can’t see through this. A line is often mentioned in the movie Meeting the Lord During the Catastrophes: “God will become incarnate and descend in secret to do a stage of work before the great catastrophes.” Many people don’t understand this. They think, “God is supposed to descend openly on a cloud after the catastrophes, so why would He descend in secret to express the truth and do a stage of work before them?” Well, if some people survive after experiencing the great catastrophes and see the Millennial Kingdom, how do you suppose they survive? They survive because they accepted God’s judgment and chastisement before or during the catastrophes, were purified, and bore a beautiful and resounding testimony for God. From this fact, we can see the purpose of God’s work of judgment and chastisement before the catastrophes: It is to save a group of people—to save God’s predestined chosen people from every nation and land, saving them from under Satan’s power so they may be spared destruction in the great catastrophes. This way, when the great catastrophes end, a group of people will survive. These people will survive because they accepted God’s work of judgment and their life dispositions were changed. If these people had not accepted God’s judgment and chastisement, could they have survived when the great catastrophes descended? (No.) And what is the reason for the deaths of those who will die in the great catastrophes? The reason is that they did not accept the judgment work of Almighty God before or during the catastrophes, so their corrupt dispositions were never purified or changed. In the end, they will perish, destroyed by the great catastrophes. Tell me, isn’t their destruction well-deserved? (It is.) So, is there a contradiction between God doing the work of the Age of Kingdom before and during the catastrophes and the realization of the Millennial Kingdom after them? (No.) There is no contradiction. Now that I’ve fellowshipped on it in this way, do you understand? (Yes.) Some people have notions about this. They say, “Since the Age of Kingdom has arrived, why do the evil people of the world still exist? If it had truly arrived, they should have been destroyed!” It’s quite understandable why people think this way; it’s because they don’t know God’s work and they imagine His work of salvation to be very simple. Tell me, why must we, this group of people who have accepted God’s work, still experience Satan’s persecution, arrest, and oppression? Why must we still experience the attacks, slander, and judgment of wicked forces, especially the defamation, condemnation, and rejection of the religious world? Why must we experience these things? Actually, God sets up this environment to train us and lead us into all truths, getting us to learn lessons through the persecution and condemnation of Satan’s wicked forces. What lessons do we learn? For one thing, we come to recognize how pitiful we are, living by our corrupt dispositions without the truth, where we can only be fooled and harmed by Satan just like nonbelievers. For another, we also learn to discern Satan, to discern wicked forces, and to discern our God-resisting nature essence. This enables us to consciously rebel against the flesh, practice the truth, and uphold the truth principles, so we can devotedly do our duties and bear a resounding testimony for God. Without the existence of this wicked world, without the persecution and condemnation from Satan’s wicked forces, our talk of knowing ourselves and rebelling against the flesh would be somewhat hollow. Our talk of warring against Satan would also be hollow and impractical. Without these real-world environments and backdrops, talk of training for the kingdom would just become empty words, something unrealistic. Isn’t that the case? (It is.) The ones God makes perfect are those who pursue and gain the truth. Only when people understand the truth and possess the truth reality can they overcome Satan’s influence and bear a resounding testimony for God. So what does it mean to overcome Satan? It means overcoming your own flesh, being able to rebel against your flesh and practice the truth. And what enables you to do that? Knowing yourself. And how do you come to know yourself? The prerequisite is to experience judgment and chastisement and achieve understanding of the truth. Once people understand the truth, they can know themselves. They can then hate their corrupt dispositions, hate their flesh, and hate Satan; they can then rebel against the flesh and Satan, and come to practice the truth and break free from Satan’s influence. This is how they become overcomers. Overcomers are those who, while this wicked world still exists and people are still constrained and bound by Satan’s influence and satanic corrupt dispositions, can rely on God’s words to rebel against Satan, break free from its dark influence, and bear a resounding testimony of victory over it. These are the overcomers. Only overcomers are qualified to survive the great catastrophes and enter the next age—the Age of Millennial Kingdom. Do you understand this issue now that I’ve fellowshipped on it in this way? (We do.)

What age are we in now? We are in the age of the start of the great catastrophes of the last days. These great catastrophes have already begun. The Book of Revelation says the great catastrophes are divided into two stages: the first three and a half years and the last three and a half years. There’s a mystery here, and we’ll fellowship on it today. The “first three and a half years” in the prophecies refers to the time when God works to save His chosen people in all the nations of the world. Before the catastrophes, God first makes a group of overcomers in China. During the catastrophes, He then makes His chosen people from around the world into overcomers as well. After the overcomers from all nations have been made, the great catastrophes of the last three and a half years will begin. What’s the difference between the great catastrophes of the last three and a half years and the great catastrophes of the first three and a half years? The first three and a half years are a time when everyone in the world is tried and refined. That is, every country and every nation in the world will enter a period of trials, refinement, and disaster. However, this won’t affect people’s acceptance of God’s work or His judgment and chastisement. In this real-world environment of disaster, God’s chosen people from around the world accept God’s work, begin to live the church life, and are able to do their duties and propagate God’s gospel of the kingdom. Through this process, they experience God’s judgment and chastisement, gradually come to understand the truth and enter into the truth reality, and cast off their corrupt dispositions. In the end, they fulfill their duties and become loyal to and considerate of God. This is bearing a beautiful and resounding testimony for God, and such people are made into overcomers. This is the result God’s work achieves during the first three and a half years. When God’s chosen people from around the world have entered into the truth reality—that is, when all those whom God has predestined and chosen have completely returned to Almighty God—His work of salvation will end, the gate of salvation will close, and the great catastrophes of the last three and a half years will begin. The great catastrophes of the last three and a half years are different from the great catastrophes of the first three and a half years; they are catastrophes that will destroy mankind! In the first three and a half years, only some people will die. This is just to let everyone see that the catastrophes have arrived, to make them feel that their survival is at risk, and to show them that if they don’t seek the true way, they will surely die. You could say that in the first three and a half years, God uses the disasters to compel His chosen people to accept His work. This is prophesied in the Bible. What does the Bible say? “I smote you with blasting and with mildew and with hail in all the labors of your hands; yet you turned not to Me” (Haggai 2:17). It’s just like the Old Testament account of Joseph storing up a lot of grain in Egypt. During the years of famine, people had to go to Joseph for grain, or else they would have nothing to eat and would starve to death. Therefore, God’s intention is behind the descent of the catastrophes; His intention is to compel people to seek the true way and return before Him to receive His salvation. The disasters are now growing ever greater, and many religious people around the world yearn for God’s return and are searching for His appearance. So how does God appear to mankind? He does so by expressing the truth to do the work of judgment. All who are God’s sheep can hear His voice and welcome the Lord. After welcoming Him, if they can eat and drink God’s words, experience His judgment and chastisement, and are ultimately purified, then they will be made complete and be qualified to survive and enter God’s kingdom. Those who do not accept God’s work of judgment in the last days are eliminated. Therefore, when many people from every nation and land have accepted Almighty God’s work, His great work will be mostly complete. This reality is now approaching. Look, in every country, God’s chosen people number at least in the hundreds, with some countries having several thousand, and even tens of thousands. Isn’t this far more than the number of people who entered the ark in Noah’s time? (Yes.) Far, far more. When these people have entered into the truth reality, the great catastrophes of the last days will begin, and God’s work of salvation will end. Some people ask, “How will God’s work end?” This stage of God’s work is done in the flesh, so it is not at all supernatural. Think about it: When the disasters reach a certain degree of severity, can God’s work continue? (No.) At that point, God’s work will naturally come to an end. If nuclear war breaks out, if great earthquakes and tsunamis occur in many nations, if many volcanoes erupt, and the internet is down, can God’s work still proceed normally? At that time, it will be impossible to gather either online or locally. Tell me, are these great catastrophes about to begin? (Yes.) How can we tell? First, the Russia-Ukraine war has reached a climax. Second, the Israel-Palestine war may escalate even further. Third, a war in the Taiwan Strait is also on the brink of breaking out. Fourth, great earthquakes triggering major tsunamis are also set to occur. Next, great disasters will descend one after another. Once these disasters strike, it won’t just be people in one country who are unable to gather and do their duties; many countries will be affected. Take extreme heat, for example. Is this abnormal weather easy for humanity to bear? (No.) When temperatures reach fifty or sixty degrees Celsius, it’s difficult for people to survive! Do you think you could fill a tub with cool water and squat in it? (No.) When the temperature gets that high, the water in the tub will also get hot—hot enough to cook a person. Even jumping into the sea won’t work. Unless you flee to a cave in the mountains or dig a three-meter-deep tunnel and crawl inside, you’ll have nowhere to escape! You see, extreme heat alone is no small disaster; many people will die from it. The disasters are getting bigger and bigger. What does that signify? Does it mean the great catastrophes are about to begin? (Yes.) Many people ask, “So how far away are we from the great catastrophes—the last three and a half years of catastrophes?” Tell me, can it be far off? (No.) I wouldn’t presume to give a specific time, but it is not far off. In some places, it will arrive very soon. But we don’t know and can’t explain exactly how severe these catastrophes will be or how many people will die in them. In any case, these catastrophes will be severe enough to destroy a portion of mankind! Doesn’t this mean the great catastrophes are almost here? As soon as the great catastrophes arrive, God’s work will stop immediately. Look, today we can still gather together online, but in the future, we won’t have this opportunity. Even if you want to gather, you won’t be able to, and you probably won’t have the chance to preach the gospel either.

The phrase “entering the Age of Kingdom” mentioned in the question refers to God’s work of the last days taking place in the Age of Kingdom. That is, God is working to save people before and during the catastrophes, and His work will end when the great catastrophes begin. Some people say, “We, God’s chosen people from around the world, have only believed in Almighty God for a few years—some for one or two, some for three to five, and at most seven or eight. In such a short time, can we fully enter into the truth reality? Can we achieve a change in our dispositions?” Do you have this concern? (Yes.) You all do. Actually, God’s chosen people from around the world can be made complete after a few years of experience during the catastrophes. Have you seen this mentioned in God’s words? What does God say? “Because they will not have to undergo the step of removing themselves from the great red dragon’s venom, it will be easy for them to enter onto the right track under various kinds of guidance” (The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. Revelations of the Mysteries of “God’s Words to the Entire Universe,” Chapter 27). Let me tell you, God’s chosen people in China have the great red dragon’s poisons in them, so they need a longer period of experiencing God’s work to cast off these poisons. How long? As long as the thirty-odd years from when God began to speak until the great catastrophes descend. Although you, God’s chosen people from other countries, have also been corrupted by Satan, you don’t have the great red dragon’s poisons in you, and so you don’t need such a long period of experience. You only need a few years of experience during the catastrophes to be made complete. Right now, most of God’s chosen people from around the world have believed for three to five years. So, what level of experience have you reached in that time? You are all now willing to pursue the truth and do your duty. But as soon as you start doing your duty and specific tasks, you feel there are many difficulties and a lot of pressure, and you don’t know how to do the work well. What’s the issue here? (Lacking the truth principles.) This is a sign of having small stature. Your understanding of the truth isn’t very thorough, your grasp of the principles isn’t accurate, there are many things you still can’t see clearly, and when the pressure gets a bit greater, you can’t handle it. You want to shrink back and escape, to throw in the towel and abandon your duty. That’s what people with small stature are like; it’s inevitable that they are sometimes weak and sometimes negative. But don’t forget, a person’s stature grows gradually throughout the process of constantly experiencing God’s work. Today your stature is small, but tomorrow and the day after, you’ll have made progress. This year your stature is small, but after a year or two of experience—next year and the year after—it will have grown. Isn’t that how it is? (It is.) You feel your stature is small, but do you think I understood all the truths when I first started doing church work? (No.) Back then, my understanding of the truth was very shallow and limited, just as yours is now. When I encountered many difficulties, I could only pray to God and read His words to seek the truth. I’ve experienced things like this, bit by bit, up to this day, and I have gradually gained a clear understanding of the truth. There is a process to the growth of a person’s stature. Do you understand? (Yes.) Are the difficulties you’re encountering now as great as those faced by God’s chosen people in China when doing their work? (No.) At the very least, you don’t face government persecution. God’s chosen people in China do their duties under severe persecution, pursued by the CCP regime. Tell me, isn’t that a great difficulty? (It is.) It’s an immense difficulty. Once arrested by the CCP police, their lives are in constant danger! The CCP has a policy that “believers in Almighty God can be beaten to death with impunity.” What does this mean? It means that if the CCP police beat a believer in Almighty God to death after an arrest, the state won’t hold them accountable; they won’t have to bear any legal responsibility. Tell me, isn’t this persecution severe? (It is.) So, besides China, in what other countries do God’s chosen people face government persecution, pursuit, arrest, and imprisonment for doing their duty? How many such countries are there? Hardly any. Currently, besides Myanmar, there are a few other communist-ruled countries that persecute and arrest God’s chosen people. For example, there is some persecution in Vietnam, but for now, it doesn’t seem to be a major risk; we haven’t heard of any large-scale government arrests. Believers in the democratic countries in the West do not risk persecution or arrest at all. Therefore, the difficulties and pressures that God’s chosen people around the world face in their duties are much smaller than those faced by God’s chosen people in mainland China. Isn’t that the case? (It is.) You must see this matter clearly. How do you think God’s chosen people in China have made it this far? They have survived great mortal danger! So many have been beaten to death, so many have been beaten until disabled, and so many have had their families torn apart and lives lost—there are countless such cases! God’s chosen people in China have made it through, step by step, by praying to God and relying on God, His words, and their faith in and submission to Him! Many have borne powerful and resounding testimonies, shaming Satan and the great red dragon. These are the overcomers! Now, when you, God’s chosen people from around the world, encounter some difficulties in preaching the gospel, you don’t know what to do. Some of you say, “The pressure is too great. I’ve run into so many difficulties. I don’t know how to do the work. I don’t know how to do my duty in a way that satisfies God. I feel so negative and weak.” When I hear this, I tell you it’s perfectly normal. As long as you don’t shrink back, as long as you don’t abandon your duty, as long as you don’t betray God, and as long as you pray to God, rely on Him, and seek the truth, there are no difficulties that can’t be overcome, no hurdles you can’t get over. Do you understand now? (We do.)

The age of God’s work in the last days is the Age of Kingdom, but the Age of Kingdom comes before this wicked age has ended. It is when God becomes incarnate, descends in secret, and appears to work. It is during this period that God does the work of judgment of the last days. God intends to make a group of overcomers before the great catastrophes arrive. He intends to make a group of people complete, to gain a group of people. This is God’s plan, a plan He had before the creation of the world. This is what God thought and decided at the time of creation. Therefore, God’s thoughts and ideas are both far more profound and far more lofty than man’s! Man’s thoughts and ideas are too simple, not much higher than those of animals. God’s thoughts and ideas are so lofty that He predestined and arranged things thousands of years in advance. That God would appear in advance to work and express the truth to save man before this age has ended is, even more so, something God predestined long ago. There is a movie produced by God’s house called My Belated Testimony. In it, after the main characters are being pursued, the brother cooperating with the protagonist says, “This great red dragon is so detestable. Why doesn’t God destroy it sooner?” These words come from the heart. When people are being pursued and persecuted, they all think that way, and I thought the same too: “God, please destroy the great red dragon quickly. It’s truly a demonic cabal, God’s arch-enemy!” The CCP is the most wicked regime in the world, the very embodiment of Satan and evil demons. It has thrown the world into chaos, so it’s normal for people to think this way. But what did the protagonist in the movie say then? He said, “If God destroyed the great red dragon, where would we go to bear testimony? Would we even have the chance to bear testimony?” What do you think about what he said? (It’s good.) Why doesn’t God just immediately send down disasters and destroy the great red dragon while it’s brutally persecuting His chosen people? Some people understand God’s intentions, and can see that “God is using the great red dragon to render service. The great red dragon has become a foil for God’s work. This is so meaningful; it reveals God’s wisdom.” Yet, just for our own selfish gain, for temporary physical comfort, we want God to destroy the great red dragon. Tell me, are such intentions correct? (No.) This is why God is allowing this wicked world to exist for now. Only after He has made all of His chosen people complete will He send down disasters to destroy it. What God is doing here is so meaningful! We should understand this. So, since this world hasn’t ended yet, how should God’s chosen people experience His work? We must waste no time equipping ourselves with the truth, quickly accept judgment and chastisement to be purified, and bear a resounding testimony for God. At the same time, we must hurry to fulfill our duties as created beings. This is what accords with God’s intention. If you’re always preoccupied with God destroying this wicked world, is that appropriate? If this world were destroyed right now, what would you have gained? Have you gained the truth right now? Have you borne a true testimony? Do you have enough good deeds? Have you been made complete by God? You’ve gained nothing. If God were to destroy this world right now, you would be destroyed along with it. You wouldn’t receive God’s blessings. Isn’t that how it is? (It is.) So, would you want God to destroy this wicked world right now? (No.) Why not? (We haven’t gained the truth yet. If God destroyed this wicked world now, we would be destroyed too.) If we haven’t gained the truth and haven’t been made complete by God, and He were to destroy this wicked world, wouldn’t our lives suffer a loss? (Yes.) Once you see this matter clearly, you’ll stop saying foolish things. You’ll stop acting based on your notions and imaginings. You’ll be able to submit to God’s orchestrations and arrangements and make the most of the time to pursue and equip yourselves with the truth. That is the most crucial thing.