By Xiao Ling, Hong Kong

Editor’s Note: The Lord Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life” (John 14:6). God is the truth, the way and the life, and only God’s words can show us the way forward and allow us to see things clearly. And yet there are many brothers and sisters who do not investigate the true way in the light of God’s words, but rather they investigate it in the light of commentaries they see online. Some then don’t dare to continue investigating it because of the negative reports they read online, and some become so deceived by the lies that they almost miss God’s salvation of the last days…. Sister Xiao Ling was one of these people, but through seeking and fellowship, she came to have discernment of the lies on the Internet, and she welcomed the Lord’s return. Would you like to know about her experience? Then read on …

Contents

I Recognize the Voice of God and Welcome the Lord’s Return

I Stumble Across the Lies on the Internet and Doubts Begin to Arise

After Analyzing the CCP’s Lies, Everything Becomes Clear, and I Feel at Ease

Falling for the Lies on the Internet Can Only Lead One to Miss Out on God’s Salvation

Why Does God Permit These Lies to Exist?

My Faith to Follow God Till the End Is Strengthened

I Recognize the Voice of God and Welcome the Lord’s Return

In October 2018, I was fortunate enough to hear the kingdom gospel of Almighty God. After a period of seeking and investigating, I came to have some understanding of God’s six-thousand-year management plan to save mankind, the mystery of God’s incarnation, and the fact of mankind’s corruption by Satan, and I came to understand that only by accepting God’s work of judgment in the last days, experiencing the judgment and chastisement of God’s words and by having our satanic dispositions changed and purified will we be able to be raised up into the kingdom of heaven by God. From the words expressed by Almighty God, I became certain that Almighty God is the Lord Jesus returned, and I joyfully accepted God’s work of the last days. Over the days that followed, I avidly read God’s words, I attended gatherings and fellowshiped often with my brothers and sisters, and I came to understand many truths I had not understood when I had merely believed in the Lord before. I felt an incredible sweetness in my heart, and I felt a sense of release in my spirit I had never felt before.

I Stumble Across the Lies on the Internet and Doubts Begin to Arise

One day, two months later, I asked my son to buy me a cell phone, so that I could more easily listen to hymns, recitations of God’s words, and fellowships and sermons on life entry. It just so happened that a friend of mine was at my house that day, and my son and my friend were curious about which church I attended, so I told them that I attended The Church of Almighty God. My friend said she hadn’t heard of that church before, so she searched online for it and then clicked on one of the webpages. To my surprise, my friend read the webpage and then said animatedly, “Look, the CCP government says that The Church of Almighty God was set up by a man named Zhao and that it is a human organization! How can you be attending The Church of Almighty God?” My son, who was there as well, also said nervously, “Mom, do you know anything about this church? There are so many churches in Hong Kong. Why do you have to attend The Church of Almighty God?” After hearing the negative reports put about by the CCP government, I became angry, and said anxiously, “Hasn’t the CCP been making false news all these years? Do you actually believe what the CCP says? Don’t talk nonsense when you don’t know anything about The Church of Almighty God! I’ve been in contact with The Church of Almighty God for a while now, and when the brothers and sisters gather together, they all read God’s words and fellowship about their experiences and understanding, and my spirit is supplied and it takes enjoyment from listening to them. Many issues I didn’t understand while I just believed in the Lord have now been solved, and nothing I’ve seen or heard bears any resemblance to what it says online….” My son and my friend, however, simply paid no attention to what I was saying, and they ran a search on Wikipedia. They then said gravely to me, “You see? It even says the same on Wikipedia! Stay away from The Church of Almighty God to avoid being fooled!” Faced with such a sudden barrage of negative information, for the moment I had no idea how to tell truth from falsehood, and I began to worry that I had gone astray in my faith. I began to get upset, so I asked them not to say anymore.

That evening, I sent a message to one of my church sisters, saying, “I’ve seen a lot of negative information online and I feel full of doubt. I won’t be attending church gatherings anymore.” I then sent a series of these negative reports to the sister, and she very quickly responded, saying, “Sister Xiao Ling, all these negative reports online are lies. Don’t be too quick to believe in them. Let’s talk it over when we meet, OK?” My heart was in turmoil just then and I just wanted to just calm down, so I refused her offer.

That night, I lay in bed tossing and turning and unable to sleep a wink. In my mind, I kept thinking back over every tiny part of the past two months of my association with the brothers and sisters in The Church of Almighty God: Their dress and appearance were always decent, they were upright and honest in word and deed, they were of high moral character, they were sincere, they helped each other whenever one had a problem, the things they fellowshiped were enlightened and had unraveled the knots of pain that had long been twisted up in my heart, and I felt that the things they said came from God. So why was there so much negative publicity online about this church? Had I gone astray in my faith or not? The thoughts circled around and around in my head, but I could find no answers. I felt as though I were being tormented, so I got up and prayed: “O God! I feel very torn right now. Over this time of being in contact with The Church of Almighty God, I have indeed come to understand many truths and mysteries. But now I have heard so many negative things, and even Wikipedia says that The Church of Almighty God is a human organization. O God! My heart is in such turmoil and I don’t know how to choose. Please give me the wisdom to understand what to do to accord with Your will.”

The next day, the sister once again sent me a message inviting me to attend a gathering. I felt torn when I read her message, and thought: “Should I go or not? If I don’t go, I won’t understand why there is so much negative publicity about the church online. It’s best if I go and listen to what they have to fellowship about this.” I then said a prayer to God in my heart, asking Him to calm me, and to guide me and lead me. After I’d prayed, I felt a lot calmer, and I accepted the sister’s invitation.

After Analyzing the CCP’s Lies, Everything Becomes Clear, and I Feel at Ease

When I got to the meeting place, I told the church sister about my doubts. “Sister, the words of Almighty God and the fellowships given by you and the other brothers and sisters have resolved much of my previous confusion and they have brought me to understand many truths and mysteries. What I don’t get, however, is not only why The Church of Almighty God is condemned by the CCP, but also why even Wikipedia says some negative things, saying that The Church of Almighty God was established by a man named Zhao and that it is a human organization.” The sister listened to me and then said, “Sister Xiao Ling, I understand how you must be feeling, but we must understand that whether or not a church is God’s church is not determined by any person, group, or state government, but is instead decided entirely by the appearance and work of God. Judaism, for example, arose out of the work of Jehovah, Christianity and Catholicism arose out of the work of the Lord Jesus and, similarly, The Church of Almighty God has arisen from the appearance and work of the returned Lord Jesus—Almighty God—and it is a church that was set up entirely by God Himself. Let’s watch the video, The Origin and Development of The Church of Almighty God, which is about this issue, and then we’ll understand better.”

As the sister spoke, she began to play a video, and I saw that it said in the video: “The Church of Almighty God came into being because of the appearance and work of Almighty God—the returned Lord Jesus—Christ of the last days, and also under His righteous judgment and chastisement. The church is comprised of all those who truly accept Almighty God’s work of the last days and are conquered and saved by God’s word. It was entirely founded by Almighty God personally, and is personally led and shepherded by Him, and it was by no means set up by any man. This is a fact acknowledged by all the chosen people in The Church of Almighty God. Whoever is used by God incarnate is predestined by God, and personally appointed and testified to by God, just as Jesus personally chose and appointed the twelve disciples. Those who are used by God only cooperate with His work, and cannot do God’s work in His stead. The church was not founded by those who are used by God, nor do God’s chosen people believe in or follow them. The churches of the Age of Grace were not set up by Paul and other apostles, but were the product of the work of the Lord Jesus and founded by the Lord Jesus Himself. Likewise, The Church of Almighty God in the last days has not been established by the man used by God, but is the product of the work of Almighty God. The man who is used by God only waters, supplies, and leads the churches, performing the duty of man. Although God’s chosen people are led, watered, and supplied by the man who is used by God, they believe in and follow none other than Almighty God, and accept and obey His words and work. This is a fact that no one can deny.”

After we’d watched the video, the sister gave fellowship, saying, “Sister Xiao Ling, we now have a better understanding of the origin and development of The Church of Almighty God, right? Christ of the last days—Almighty God—has expressed many millions of words and is performing the work of judging and purifying man, which totally fulfills the Lord Jesus’ words when He said: ‘He that rejects 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 12:48). ‘For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God’ (1 Peter 4:17). ‘However, when He, the Spirit of truth, is come, He will guide you into all truth: for He shall not speak of Himself; but whatever He shall hear, that shall He speak: and He will show you things to come’ (John 16:13). Through seeking and investigating Almighty God’s work of the last days, all those who sincerely believe in God and who yearn for the truth in every nation, on every continent, and in every religion and every faith, have recognized Almighty God’s words as the voice of God and that Almighty God is the Lord Jesus returned. One by one, they have returned before God, and these people have united to form The Church of Almighty God. In the church, God’s chosen ones pray in Almighty God’s name, they read and fellowship Almighty God’s words, they experience the judgment of God’s words, they obey Almighty God’s work, and they pursue changes in their dispositions so as to be saved by God—they absolutely do not believe in a human being. From this we can see that The Church of Almighty God arose from God’s appearance and work in the last days and that The Church of Almighty God is the church of Christ of the last days—this is beyond all doubt.

“And the man whom God uses was prepared and perfected in advance by God to cooperate with His work so that His work might achieve even better results. This man bears the responsibility for watering, shepherding and leading the whole church, but all he does is the duty of a human being. Let’s read a passage of Almighty God’s words and then we’ll understand better. Almighty God says, ‘The work carried out by the one who is used by God is in order to cooperate with the work of Christ or the Holy Spirit. This man is raised up among man by God, he is there to lead all of God’s chosen ones, and he is also raised up by God in order to do the work of human cooperation. … The man who is used by God, on the other hand, is someone who has been prepared by God, and who possesses a certain caliber, and has humanity. He has been prepared and made perfect in advance by the Holy Spirit, and is completely led by the Holy Spirit, and, particularly when it comes to his work, he is directed and commanded by the Holy Spirit—as a result of this there is no deviation on the path of leading God’s chosen ones, for God surely takes responsibility for His own work, and God does His own work at all times’ (The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. Concerning God’s Use of Man).”

The sister went on with her fellowship. “We can see from Almighty God’s words that the man who is used by God is raised up by God to cooperate with His work. In the Age of Law, for example, Jehovah God Himself called to Moses and asked him to lead the Israelites out of Egypt. Later, God again used Moses to proclaim the law and the commandments, and to transmit the words of Jehovah to all the Israelites. In the Age of Grace, when the Lord Jesus was performing the work to redeem mankind, He personally chose His 12 disciples, including Peter and John, and He asked them to be the shepherds of the church at that time and to spread the Lord Jesus’ gospel. Similarly, after Almighty God appeared and began His work in the last days, He personally testified to the man who is used by the Holy Spirit. This man is like Moses and Peter—he is someone who is used by God. The work he does is done entirely under the inspection and guidance of the Holy Spirit, and God’s chosen ones within The Church of Almighty God accept and obey, in accordance with God’s words, the leadership of the man who is used by the Holy Spirit; this conforms with the will of God.

“The CCP government, however, disseminates its heretical fallacies, saying that ‘The Church of Almighty God was established by a man and is a human organization.’ Going by the CCP’s logic, then Judaism must have been established by Moses and Christianity in the Age of Grace must have been established by Peter, and that view is so totally absurd and preposterous! In truth, without the appearance and work of God, then it would be impossible for a church to arise. No matter his caliber or gifts, in essence, the man who is used by God is still just a created being and he can only perform his own duty under the guidance of the Holy Spirit’s work—there is no way he could do the work of God. So why does the CCP government want to disseminate these kinds of lies and fallacies? As we all know, the CCP is an atheist government that simply refuses to acknowledge the existence of God, much less allow the people of China to believe in God and follow the right path in life. The CCP says that God’s church is a human organization with the aim of misleading the public, and it intentionally conceals the facts of the appearance and work of Almighty God—Christ of the last days—so that the people will believe its rumors and lies and refuse to investigate or accept Almighty God’s work of the last days, and therefore miss out on God’s salvation of the last days. The CCP even wants to deceive and bring over to its side a group of undiscerning people to go along with its judgment and condemnation of God’s work of the last days, who will ultimately go down with the CCP into hell to suffer God’s punishment. That is why, Sister Xiao Ling, when it comes to investigating the true way, we must be very careful. We must absolutely not just blindly believe in the rumors and lies put about by the atheist CCP government, and we must avoid falling foul of Satan’s cunning schemes and destroying our chance to attain salvation!”

After listening to this fellowship given by the sister, everything suddenly became clear to me. The Church of Almighty God was established by God Himself, and the man named Zhao is just like Moses and Peter all those years ago—men used by the Holy Spirit—and it accords with God’s will for us to accept his watering and leadership. Thinking back over the last two months, I saw that I had been praying in the name of Almighty God and reading and fellowshiping about Almighty God’s words. Although the brothers and sisters sometimes read some sermons and fellowships given by the man who is used by the Holy Spirit, these sermons and fellowships are just to help us better understand God’s will and requirements!

Falling for the Lies on the Internet Can Only Lead One to Miss Out on God’s Salvation

The sister then read a passage from Sermons and Fellowship: “There are also some who, when looking into the true way, look specifically to statements on famous websites from the secular world. They say, ‘What they’re saying on those websites has to be right!’ But, really, what are those websites? Aren’t they of this world, too? Aren’t those words written by corrupt human beings? Are they not part of Satan’s evil power? Do they contain truth? They do not serve God, they certainly do not worship God and they are not groups that God gives testimony for. Why on earth would you believe them? They lie through their teeth and spread falsehoods. They disseminate whatever rumors or lies satanic governments may create. Doesn’t that make them organizations that spread lies? They pass on whatever rumors the Chinese Communist government creates, whatever attempts they make to discredit The Church of Almighty God. So, aren’t they tools for Satan to spread its lies? Aren’t they tools for Satan to deceive man? Why do people believe those things of Satan when researching the true way? Are they sick in the head? Do they believe that the world is righteous and fair? If the government or religious community makes comments and claims as to which is the true way and which is the true God, then they just believe in it. If the government or religious community says something isn’t the true way, or says that some God is not real, then they don’t believe in it. Who do these people believe in? They believe in the government, they believe in the words of the religious community, and the words of religious pastors and elders. Is someone like that a true believer? They do not believe in God, they do not trust in God, they do not believe that God is real, and they do not admit that God is the truth. They particularly do not know the truth. Therefore, when someone like that looks into the true way, they are paralyzed the moment they hear Satan’s lies and rumors” (Sermons and Fellowship on Entry Into Life, Volume 138).

After she finished reading, the sister continued with her fellowship, saying, “In the Age of Grace, the Lord Jesus said, ‘This is an evil generation’ (Luke 11:29). ‘The whole world lies in wickedness’ (1 John 5:19). The Lord Jesus also prophesied: ‘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’ (Luke 17:24–25). When God became flesh the first time and incarnated as the Lord Jesus to perform His work of redemption, He was condemned and persecuted by the Jewish leaders and the Roman authorities and was ultimately crucified upon the cross. God has returned in the flesh to appear and work in the last days and, exactly like before, He faces the wild resistance and condemnation of the atheist CCP government and the pastors and elders of the religious world. From the fact that the appearance and work of God’s two incarnations have been subjected to the judgment, blasphemy and condemnation of the religious world and ruling political powers, we can see that this world is already firmly in Satan’s grip and that mankind has reached the height of wickedness. People advocate wickedness, they are sick of the truth and not one person welcomes the coming of Christ. On the contrary, they despise Christ, they hunt Christ everywhere and subject Him to the greatest humiliations and suffering, and they make it so that Christ has nowhere to rest His head. What’s more, there is no group or organization on earth that is the truth; no matter how strong their forces or how great their renown, everything they propagate originates from corrupt mankind, it is all subject to knowledge and the social background of where it originates from, and it is all influenced by such manifold theories as atheism and materialism. In particular, their comments on God’s work are just the propagation of the lies and fallacies of the ruling political party and the religious world, so can we really judge the right or wrong of things by what they say? As we all know, God is the truth, the way and the life, only God can save us from the shackles of sin and purify us, and only God’s words can help us tell the difference between positive things and negative things, between the good and the wicked, between the beautiful and the ugly. Therefore, we must investigate God’s work of the last days in the light of God’s words. If we investigate it in the light of the negative propaganda online or according to what an atheist government or the pastors and elders of the religious world say, then we will be deceived and will lose God’s salvation in the last days!”

Hearing the sister say this, the doubts in my heart were dispelled, and I instantly felt ashamed: Faced with God’s work of the last days, why had I not investigated it in the light of God’s words, but instead had danced to the tune of those webpages? I had clearly already seen that the words of Almighty God are the truth, and that they are possessed of authority and power, and yet I had been deceived by the CCP’s lies and the excuses online. I had doubted God’s work so much that I had even wanted to give up investigating it—I had been so muddleheaded! If it hadn’t been for God loving me and saving me, and if the sister hadn’t given me fellowship so that I could come to have some discernment of the CCP’s lies and the negative information on Wikipedia, then I would have fallen foul of Satan’s cunning schemes, I would have shunned God and I would have missed out on God’s salvation of the last days!

Why Does God Permit These Lies to Exist?

I then asked the sister, “These lies have deceived so many people. Why does God allow these lies to be propagated online?”

The sister said, “Great question! Behind God permitting this negative propaganda to exist lies God’s good will. Let’s read another passage of Sermons and Fellowship: ‘Today, the Chinese Communist Party has fabricated so many rumors to discredit God and The Church of Almighty God and some people have been revealed to believe the Chinese Communist Party’s rumors and Satan’s lies and they do not believe that God is the truth and that God is holy. What kind of problem is this? Does this reveal whether or not people have true faith in the presence of God and whether they believe in the truth and God or believe in Satan? This is when people are revealed. So in His last days’ work, what does God hope to achieve by allowing the great red dragon to render service in this way and all of Satan’s evil forces to do these things? One aspect is to perfect those who pursue the truth, and the other aspect is to reveal all those who do not love the truth and eliminate all those false believers. Now, those people who do not love the truth and do not believe in God have been revealed and eliminated. Are God’s good intentions not behind Satan rendering service in this way? Some people cannot see it and, actually, this is a good thing! … Therefore, God’s wisdom is exercised based on Satan’s deceitful schemes, and this is entirely true. God is so almighty’ (“Sermons and Fellowship About God’s Word ‘God’s Work, God’s Disposition, and God Himself III’ (III)” in Sermons and Fellowship on Entry Into Life XI).”

The sister went on with her fellowship, saying, “Sister Xiao Ling, are we clear on this issue now that we’ve read this fellowship? God is the Ruler of all things in heaven and on earth, and those who believe in God, those who don’t believe in God, as well as those demons of Satan who resist and condemn God, are all held in God’s hands, and the wisdom of God is exercised based on the cunning schemes of Satan. God’s purpose in allowing this negative propaganda to exist is to better save and expose people, and to better weed people out. Christ of the last days—Almighty God—has come to express the truth and to perform the work of purifying and saving man, and through reading Almighty God’s words, all who truly believe in God, who love the truth, and who yearn for God’s appearance, all become certain that Almighty God is the Lord Jesus returned. No matter how many lies and heretical fallacies the CCP government and the pastors and elders of the religious world spread around, these people are able to keep to the true way and are resolved to follow Almighty God; these people are precisely the ones whom God will save and perfect in the last days. Those, on the other hand, who pretend to believe, who ask only for bread to eat their fill, who do not seek the truth at all, who only parrot what other people say, who blindly believe in the lies and rumors of Satan and who deny God’s work, are the tares exposed by God and they are doomed to be weeded out by God. Those evil forces of Satan who resist and condemn Almighty God, and who use all manner of heretical fallacies to deceive people and disrupt them from accepting the true way play the role of Satan, and they are the ones who will be punished and annihilated by God. We can see from this that God’s work is so very practical and that God is so omnipotent and wise. God uses the negative propaganda and all the various lies and fallacies to expose entirely all those who truly believe in Him and all those who just pretend to believe in Him, and He separates each according to their kind. At the same time, God also reveals into the light the ugly countenance of the evil forces of Satan, so that people can have discernment of negative things. In the end, God punishes and annihilates these evil forces and allows man to see His holy and righteous disposition which brooks no offense.”

Listening to the sister, I finally understood God’s will. It turned out that God uses these heretical fallacies and this negative propaganda to expose every kind of person and to separate each person according to their kind. God is so wise and omnipotent! In my heart, I offered up my genuine thanks to God. Just then, I thought about the spiritual journey I had been on. When I was of small stature and had blindly believed the negative information on Wikipedia, which had caused me to shun God, God chose not to see my ignorance and foolishness, but instead used the brothers and sisters to patiently fellowship about the truth with me, to help and support me, to enable me to understand the truth and see through Satan’s cunning schemes, and to understand the painstaking efforts God goes to to save people. Had it not been for God protecting me and guiding me, I would probably have been deceived by Satan’s lies and would have lost my chance to attain God’s salvation. I silently made a resolution: No matter who might try to disrupt me in the future, I will not be moved, but will rely on God, seek the truth and stand firm in my testimony! I will never again fall foul of the cunning schemes of Satan!

My Faith to Follow God Till the End Is Strengthened

Once I got home, I went online and read some positive comments from many international and well-known experts and academics about The Church of Almighty God, which helped me even more to see the truth of the matter clearly. I also watched Photo Exhibition: Almighty God’s Appearance and Work and the History of The Church of Almighty God. By watching this video, I came to understand more about the origin and development of The Church of Almighty God, and I also came to have some discernment of the God-defying essence of the CCP. I found out that the CCP is an atheist government and that it has always cruelly persecuted religious belief. Especially after Almighty God appeared and began His work, many people read Almighty God’s words and recognized them to be the voice of God, they became certain that Almighty God is the returned Lord Jesus, and they turned to Almighty God one after another. The CCP fears that, once people begin to believe in Almighty God, they will understand the truth from Almighty God’s words and come to have some discernment about the CCP’s God-defying essence, and then reject it and not obey it anymore. So as to maintain its dictatorial rule, the CCP uses the media to fabricate rumors, and to discredit, blaspheme and condemn Almighty God’s work of the last days. It cruelly persecutes Christians and frantically oppresses The Church of Almighty God in an attempt to eradicate totally The Church of Almighty God. But I saw in the video that, no matter how frantically the CCP might fabricate rumors and resist God’s work of the last days, it has no power to stop God’s work at all. Nowadays, Almighty God’s work of the last days has spread to all nations of the world, and churches to Almighty God have been established in many countries. A photo exhibition held by The Church of Almighty God attracted experts, scholars and professors from such academic fields as religion and social studies from seven countries, including the US, Canada, France and Italy. By being introduced to the truth about experiencing God’s work of the last days by Christians in The Church of Almighty God, they have all come to an understanding of God’s work of the last days, they have come to have discernment of the wicked God-defying deeds perpetrated by the CCP, and one by one they have pledged their support to the church. These facts are all the proof that is necessary for the statement that “what comes from God must flourish.” No power can stop God’s work, and this is the manifestation of God’s authority.

I wanted to send this report to my son for him to read, so that he could hear the comments made about The Church of Almighty God by experts from all over the world. If he just applied a tiny bit of discernment, then he would be able to see that all the opinions propagated by the CCP are just rumors and lies and that they don’t accord with the facts at all! I then sent this video to my son, and in my heart, I said a silent prayer to God: “Almighty God! I now see that Your work has spread throughout the universe and I wish to tell these glad tidings to my son. Please protect him so that he is never deceived by Satan again.” Thanks be to God! After watching this video, my son said nothing else to me about The Church of Almighty God, and he no longer had any objection to my belief in God.

Through my experience, I came to have some discernment of Satan’s God-defying demonic essence and its malicious intent to deceive and harm people. I also saw that, without the truth, any one of us can be carried off by Satan at any moment; only by pursuing the truth and understanding the truth will we be able to follow God till the end, and my experience further inspired my determination to pursue the truth. From now on, I will read Almighty God’s words more, experience God’s work, pray more and seek the truth more when I encounter issues, and I will never again blindly believe in the rumors and lies of Satan, so as not to fall foul of Satan’s cunning schemes and end up denying and betraying God. Thanks be to God!