Watch! Only by Listening to God’s Word Will We Not Be Abandoned
Xunqiu
The Lord Jesus said, “Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left. Two women shall be grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken, and the other left. Watch therefore: for you know not what hour your Lord does come” (Matthew 24:40–42). In the past, every time I read these verses, I would think: When will these verses be fulfilled? When exactly will the Lord come back? Who will be taken? Who will be left? Am I the left one? The more I thought about it, the more I felt afraid and worried. In the fear and worry, I didn’t dare to leave the church.
At that time, in the church, I gathered together with brothers and sisters, enjoying the presence and work of the Lord. There were always filled with joys and laughters in our meetings. Besides, I coordinated and served the Lord together with my co-workers, bustling around the churches. We also studied and made our efforts in the Lord’s warm embrace, longing desperately for the promise that the Lord will return to rapture us into the kingdom of heaven and all the brothers and sisters will attend the feast prepared by the Lord to be fulfilled soon. As for the word the Lord said “the one shall be taken, and the other left,” every brother and sister of us were often watchful and also afraid to be abandoned. Unexpectedly, around 1998, there were many brothers and sisters everywhere testifying that the Eastern Lightning is the Lord Jesus’ second coming. Some good sheep in our church were stolen by the Eastern Lightning. Then the elders and pastors began to seal off the church, and called on the brothers and sisters to resist the outside “invasion.”
One day, an acquaintance testified to me Almighty God’s work in the last days and gave me a book named The Word Appears in the Flesh expressed by Almighty God. She said that Almighty God is the returned Lord Jesus and has become flesh and expressed new words. After hearing these, I was very happy. Then I quickly opened this book The Word Appears in the Flesh and saw Almighty God say: “The ‘appearance of God’ has already arisen in all churches. It is the Spirit that speaks, He is a raging fire, He carries majesty and He is judging; He is the Son of man, clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about the breasts with a golden girdle. His head and His hairs are white like wool, and His eyes are as a flame of fire; and His feet like to fine brass, as if they burn in a furnace; and His voice as the sound of many waters. He has in His right hand seven stars, a two-edged sword is within His mouth and His countenance is as the sun shining in its strength! … Almighty God! His glorious body appears openly, the holy spiritual body arises and He is the utterly complete God Himself! The world and the flesh are both changed and His transfiguration on the mount is the person of God. He wears the golden crown on His head, His clothing is pure white, across the breasts is a golden girdle and all things in the world are His footstool. His eyes are like a flame of fire, the two-edged sword is within His mouth and He has the seven stars in His right hand. The way to the kingdom is boundlessly bright and His glory arises and shines; the mountains are joyful and the waters laugh, the sun, the moon and the stars all revolve in their orderly arrangement, welcoming the unique, true God whose triumphant return heralds the completion of His six-thousand-year management plan! All leap and dance with joy! Cheer! The almighty God sits on His glorious throne! Sing! The victorious banner of the Almighty is raised high upon the majestic, magnificent Mount Zion! All nations are cheering, all peoples are singing, Mount Zion is laughing joyfully, the glory of God has arisen!” (“The Fifteenth Utterance” in The Word Appears in the Flesh). Reading Almighty God’s words, I felt these words are of great authority and power, which nobody can write out. I could not help thinking of the prophecy in the Book of Revelation: “He that has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit said to the churches” (Revelation 2:7). Right! The words of Almighty God are completely the utterances of the Holy Spirit and the appearance of God. Almighty God is speaking to the churches! I was so happy and excited that I told the good news to my brothers and sisters immediately, so that they could meet the Lord’s return. Contrary to all expectations, I met with their cold words. The co-workers said that I rebelled against the church, betrayed the Lord, walked along a wrong way and was stolen by the Eastern Lightning. … Afterward, the gate of my church was closed tightly to me. At that moment, I shed bittersweet tears unceasingly. To my great joy, I have met the Lord’s appearance, which I was overwhelmed with excitement about. Meanwhile, I was very sorrowful because facing the Lord’s return, my brothers and sisters didn’t seek or investigate. Wasn’t their action like the foolish virgins’?
In pain, I opened the book of Almighty God’s word again. I saw Almighty God’s words: “The return of Jesus is a great salvation for those who are capable of accepting the truth, but for those who are unable to accept the truth it is a sign of condemnation. You should choose your own path, and should not blaspheme against the Holy Spirit and reject the truth. You should not be an ignorant and arrogant person, but someone who obeys the guidance of the Holy Spirit and longs for and seeks the truth; only in this way will you benefit. I advise you to tread the path of belief in God with care. Do not jump to conclusions; what’s more, do not be casual and carefree in your belief in God. You should know that, at the very least, those who believe in God should be humble and reverential. 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 who is rational and accepts the truth. Perhaps, having heard the way of truth and read the word of life, you believe that only one in 10,000 of these words are in line with your convictions and the Bible, and then you should continue to seek in that 10,000th of these words. I still advise you to be humble, to not be over-confident, and to not exalt yourself too highly. With your heart holding such meager reverence for God, you will gain greater light. If you carefully examine and repeatedly contemplate these words, you shall understand whether or not they are the truth, and whether or not they are life. … If you cannot accept such truth spoken so plainly and so clearly, then are you not unfit for God’s salvation? Are you not someone who is not fortunate enough to return before the throne of God? Think about it! Do not be rash and impetuous, and do not treat belief in God as a game. Think for the sake of your destination, for the sake of your prospects, for the sake of your life, and do not play around with yourself. Can you accept these words?” (“When You Behold the Spiritual Body of Jesus Will Be When God Has Made Anew Heaven and Earth” in The Word Appears in the Flesh). “So let us seek God’s will and discover His appearance from His utterances, and follow His footprints! God is the truth, the way, and the life. His words and His appearance exist concurrently, and His disposition and footprints shall always be accessible to mankind. Dear brothers and sisters, I hope that you can see the appearance of God in these words, and will begin to follow His footprints toward a new age, and into a beautiful new heaven and new earth prepared for those who await the appearance of God” (“The Appearance of God Has Brought a New Age” in The Word Appears in the Flesh).
The more I read the word of Almighty God, the more I became certain that Almighty God is the Lord Jesus’ second coming. Because only God Himself says that He is the truth, the way, and the life. Except God, no one possesses such substance. Moreover, Almighty God says clearly in His words: “The return of Jesus is a great salvation for those who are capable of accepting the truth….” That is to say, those who seek and investigate humbly when they hear the news of the Lord Jesus’ second coming and the words spoken by God, can be raptured before God’s throne. As for God’s words “But for those who are unable to accept the truth it is a sign of condemnation,” they mean that, if those who have heard somebody spread that the Lord Jesus has already come back, don’t seek or investigate, but resist, condemn and refuse God’s return, they will be forsaken by God. Almighty God’s words allowed me to see the light. It turned out that the Lord Jesus’ words “Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left. Two women shall be grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken, and the other left” will be fulfilled like this.
After reading Almighty God’s words, I knew plainly that I have already met the Lord’s second coming and followed His footprints. I have been walking on the right way. Almighty God has expressed many words in the last days to do the work of judging and purifying man. Only if we accept His work of judgment in the last days can we be purified, get changes in our disposition and be taken into the next age. Whereas those who don’t follow God’s new work cannot gain His salvation in the last days and will be forsaken by Him in the end. Nowadays, Almighty God’s work is drawing to an end. God’s urgent intention is that He hopes everyone who has heard His words can seek and investigate His words and work, keep up with the pace of the Holy Spirit’s work, return before Him and gain His salvation in the last days. Only in this way will they not be forsaken by God. God is waiting for those who are longing for His appearance and can recognize His voice to return before His throne soon.
From: Grow in Christ
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