When I went into the big church, I saw many sisters and brothers seated in good order. A brother was standing on the platform and said, “Brothers and sisters, peace to you in the Lord! Please turn to 1 Thessalonians 4:17. The apostle Paul said, ‘Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord…’” Then a sister suddenly stood up and asked, “Pastor Gao, how shall we be raptured by the Lord? Can we really be raptured to meet the Lord in the air?” Pastor Gao said with certainty, “We should believe that what we are waiting for shall never fall through, for the Lord’s word is faithful. As it is said in the Bible, ‘For all the promises of God in him are yes, and in him Amen…’ (2 Corinthians 1:20) Therefore, the Lord will come again in the last days, take all those who truly love Him into the sky to meet Him and attend the wedding feast of the Lamb. Among believers of Him, those who have a good faith, those who devote and spend in obscurity, and those who is loyal will be rewarded and taken into the kingdom of heaven to enjoy the good blessings forever.” The brothers and sisters discussed excitedly, and I also indulged in fantasy: It’s unbelievable! How do I deserve to be so lucky to get God’s blessings, and be taken into heaven to meet the Lord and be with Him forever? Then I made a resolution inwardly to truly believe in the Lord, spread the gospel, and satisfy Him with all my might. And I believe that I’ll surely be taken into the kingdom of heaven when the Lord comes.
Several years passed, however, our church became more and more desolate. The brothers and sisters all lost their former faith and love, and grew increasingly passive and weak. Our preachers felt dark in the spirit and had nothing to preach. I also lost previous resolution of pursuit, and began to doubt what the pastor said on the matter of being raptured into the kingdom of heaven. One day when I was doing my spiritual devotion, I read Revelation 21:2-3, “And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven… Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God.” I thought to myself, “Does it mean that God’s kingdom will come on earth and God will personally dwell with man? Then is it wrong that we have been expecting to be ‘raptured’ to the air? What actually does ‘being raptured’ mean?” I could not understand anyway…
One day, after the supper, I had an inexplicable feeling of fluster, so I just went out for a walk, and saw Brother Liu, a fellow villager, working in the fields before his house. I heard that he also believed in the Lord, and had been at other places before he returned recently. Then I walked toward him to have a talk with him. He looked up and saw me, and said kindly, “Isn’t this Brother Jin? It’s been a long time to see you. Please have a rest in my house.” I said happily, “Okay. Somehow, I walked my way here.” While talking, Brother Liu brought me into his house. He warmly asked me to take a seat, and said with a smile, “Brother, I’ve long expected such an opportunity to fellowship with you. Thank God for His arrangement.” I felt Brother Liu was very sincere, so I wanted to tell my confusion to him.
I thought for a while and asked, “Brother Liu, we both believed in the Lord for many years. To be honest, there is a question that has puzzled me all along. It’s said in Scripture that the remaining portion of humanity will be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord, while the Book of Revelation prophesied ‘new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven’ and ‘the tabernacle of God is with men.’ It seems that God’s kingdom will come on earth. I don’t know where man will be raptured, in heaven or on earth?” Brother Liu smiled and said, “It is really the enlightenment and guidance of God that you can raise such a question! In the past, I was also puzzled about it. Brother, could you tell me where God created man in the beginning?” I said, “Of course on earth. The Genesis of the Bible says clearly that God created Adam and Eve with dust and then put them in the Garden of Eden.” Brother Liu continued, “Since God created man on earth, we could not be taken into heaven. Heaven is God’s dwelling place, and who dares be on an equal footing with God? Let’s look at what the Lord Jesus said, ‘And no man has ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven.’ (John 3:13) Obviously, there is no such an example of being taken into heaven in the Bible. That is just man’s notions and imaginations; it’s untenable at all. Besides, the conception ‘rapture’, which we hold on to, was put forward by Paul, not by the Lord Jesus. Paul was a corrupt man, not God. Only Christ is the truth, the way and the life. Man’s word is after all man’s word. Even though there is enlightenment of the Holy Spirit in it, it can’t be treated as God’s word. It is said in Revelation 11:15, ‘The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever.’ This means God’s kingdom will be built on earth; the kingdoms of this world will surely become the kingdoms of Christ and last forever. Therefore, after being saved thoroughly by God, man will still live on earth rather than be taken into heaven as we imagine.” Then, Brother Liu took out a book from the drawer, and said, “This is a very good book, and it can end our confusion. Let’s read one passage together, ‘God will return to His original position, and each person will return to his or her respective place. These are the destinations that God and man will respectively reside in after the end of God’s entire management. God has God’s destination, and man has man’s destination. God in rest will continue to guide all of humanity in their lives upon earth. Man in God’s light will worship the one true God in heaven. … When humanity enters into rest, it means that man has become a true creation; humanity will worship God from upon the earth and have normal human lives. People will no longer be disobedient to God or resist God; they will return to the original life of Adam and Eve. These are the respective lives and destinations of God and humanity after they enter into rest. Satan’s defeat is an inevitable trend in the war between God and Satan. In this way, God’s entering into rest after the completion of His management work and man’s complete salvation and entrance into rest likewise become inevitable trends. Man’s place of rest is on earth, and God’s place of rest is in heaven. While man rests, he will worship God and also live upon earth, and while God rests, He will lead the remaining portion of humanity….’ (from The Word Appears in the Flesh) These words tell us that God and man will enter into rest together in the future. God’s place of rest is in heaven while man’s place of rest is still on earth. This is the good destination God has prepared for man, which is to say that God’s kingdom will come on earth. If ‘rapture’ refers to being taken into heaven as we think, then won’t these prophecies fail? So as we can see, man’s destination is on earth instead of in heaven. That is ordinated by God.”
Hearing brother’s fellowship, I thought to myself: That’s right. God created man on earth. How can man go to heaven? Before, I was doubtful about “rapture” and thought it was impossible and vague, but I was unclear about it. After Brother Liu’s fellowship, I understand a little. During my over twenty years of believing in the Lord, I have never heard such a fellowship as Brother Liu’s. It’s fresh and practical. Then I asked, “Brother Liu, what does ‘be caught up’ in Scripture actually refer to?”
Brother Liu said mildly, “Brother, about the truth of ‘being raptured,’ let me read another passage of words, ‘“Being raptured” does not mean being taken from a lower place to a higher place as man imagines. That is greatly wrong. “Being raptured” means that one who was predestined by Me is chosen, and it is directed at all those who were predestined and then chosen. … This is most discordant with man’s notion. Whoever has a part in My future family is one who is caught up to Me. This is absolutely true; it will never change, and no one can refute it. This is a counterattack to Satan. Whoever I predestined will be caught up to Me.’ (from The Word Appears in the Flesh) These words are very clear. ‘Being raptured’ does not mean being taken from a lower place to a higher place, from earth to heaven as we imagine, but means man can accept and obey it as the wise virgins when God does a new work. Just as the Bible says, ‘These are they which follow the Lamb wherever he goes.’ (Revelation 14:4) Therefore, man is taken up before God’s throne when he follows God’s footsteps. Just as in the Age of Law, man was required to keep the laws and commandments. However, in the later phase of that age, man failed to keep the laws and was in the danger of being stoned to death or burned by heavenly fire. So God came to flesh personally and did the redemptive work, and bestowed upon man abundant grace. If man walked out of the law, followed God’s new work, and gained the Lord Jesus’ redemption, then he was ‘raptured.’ Likewise, according to man’s needs, God has done a new work after the work of the Age of Grace. Only if man follows the new work will he be ‘raptured’ before God’s throne.”
I thought for a while and said, “So, ‘being raptured’ refers to following God’s new work and being caught up to God, rather than being taken up to the air. The Book of Revelation also mentions many times that God’s kingdom will be established on earth eventually, and that God will come to earth and live with man together. Rapture into heaven is only our imagination! My former understanding was too deviant and erroneous, and I considered it to be too supernatural and vague. How ridiculous! After hearing your fellowship today, I really gained a lot, and also feel ashamed.” Brother Liu said happily, “Thank God.” Pondering for a while, I said, “Brother Liu, your fellowship is so good and practical. But you said that God has done a new work; I don’t understand. We’ve already been saved through our belief in the Lord Jesus. Why does God still do the new work?”
Brother Liu replied, “The question you asked is crucial. Many brothers and sisters who believe in the Lord all think like that. But is our view after God’s heart? Let’s read a passage of God’s word, ‘It is true that you were saved by Jesus, and that you are not counted as sinners because of the salvation of God, but this does not prove that you are not sinful, and are not impure. How can you be saintly if you have not been changed? … You have missed a step in your belief in God: you have merely been redeemed, but have not been changed. For you to be after God’s heart, God must personally do the work of changing and cleansing you; if you are only redeemed, you will be incapable of attaining sanctity. In this way you will be unqualified to share in the good blessings of God, for you have missed out a step in God’s work of managing man, which is the key step of changing and perfecting. And so you, a sinner who has just been redeemed, are incapable of directly inheriting God’s inheritance.’ (from The Word Appears in the Flesh) These words tell us man is forgiven for his sins and is not counted as a sinner because of the salvation of the Lord Jesus, but it does not mean man is not sinful. Because the Lord Jesus didn’t do the work of transforming and cleansing man’s corrupt disposition, man’s sinful nature still exists, so that man can still sin, and resist and disobey God at any time. God is holy and righteous. God once said, ‘… you shall therefore be holy, for I am holy.’ (Leviticus 11:45) God will definitely not allow the filthy and corrupt man to enter His kingdom, so man cannot enter God’s kingdom until he has been cleansed. And the only path for man to be cleansed is to accept God’s new work, that is, the work of judgment and chastisement done by Almighty God—the returned Lord Jesus. Only those who have experienced God’s work of judgment in the last days and been cleansed are qualified to enter the kingdom of heaven. Let me read one more passage of God’s word, ‘You must know what kind of people I desire; those who are impure are not permitted to enter into the kingdom, those who are impure are not permitted to besmirch the holy ground. Though you may have done much work, and have worked for many years, in the end if you are still deplorably filthy—it is intolerable to Heaven that you wish to enter My kingdom! From the foundation of the world until today, never have I offered easy access to My kingdom to those who curry favor with Me. This is a heavenly law, and no one can break it! … If you only look to rewards, and do not seek to change your own life disposition, then all your effort will be in vain—and this is an unalterable truth! (from The word Appears in the Flesh) The words above tell us God’s will. If our belief in the Lord only looks to enter into the kingdom of heaven and gain rewards, yet we are not rid of our corrupt disposition, and can still resist and disobey God, then we cannot enter into the kingdom of heaven. This is a heavenly law, and is also the true revelation of God’s righteous disposition. So we should drop our conceptions and imaginations, follow God’s footsteps, accept God’s work of judgment and chastisement in the last days, and thus be cleansed eventually.”
I was shocked at those words, and thought inwardly, “These words have authority and speak my mind. It’s the fact that we believe in Lord only look to enter into the kingdom of heaven and gain rewards. So, such pursuit is against God’s will. Only those who are truly cleansed can enter into God’s kingdom.” I thought about it for a moment, and then said, “These words are all fact. We are still living in the condition of sinning and confessing and being overwhelmed by sins, without breaking free from the bondage of sin. After listening to your fellowship today, it seems we really need God to do another stage of work of cleansing. Now I don’t understand it well, but I’m willing to investigate more. Could you lend me the book?” Brother Liu said delightedly, “Sure.” While saying, Brother Liu passed the book to me, “It’s too late today. We can fellowship together the other day if you have any confusion.” I said, “Okay!”
Two days later, on a bright sunshine morning, a group of pigeons perched on the roof of the house, cooing gently.
I invited Brother Liu to my home. My wife gladly welcomed him and gave him a cup of tea. Having been investigating the word of Almighty God with me for a couple of days, my wife also wanted to fellowship God’s word with Brother Liu. Then I said to him, “These days, my wife and I gained a lot after reading Almighty God’s words. The word is indeed the expression of the Holy Spirit and benefits man a lot. I also read the truth about how God judges and chastises man, but my understanding is superficial. Could you fellowship more with us about how Almighty God does the work of judgment and purification in the last days?” My wife echoed, “Yeah, this is the question we’re most concerned about now.”
Brother Liu said gently, “Almighty God, Christ of the last days, has done the work of judgment with the truth. Without experiencing judgment and chastisement, man can’t get rid of his sinful nature and be cleansed, can’t turn to God and be gained by God, and thus will live under Satan’s domain forever. This is the fact that no one can deny. Let’s read Almighty God’s words.” Then he opened the book and read, “‘In the last days, Christ uses a variety of truths to teach man, reveal the essence of man, and dissect his words and deeds. These words comprise various truths, such as man’s duty, how man should obey God, how man should be loyal to God, how man ought to live out the normal humanity, as well as the wisdom and disposition of God, and so on. These words are all focused on the essence of man and his corrupt disposition. In particular, those words that reveal how man spurns God are spoken in regards to how man is an embodiment of Satan and an enemy force against God. When God does the work of judgment, He does not simply make clear the nature of man with just a few words, but reveals, deals with, and prunes over the long term. Such manner of revelation, dealing, and pruning cannot be substituted with ordinary words but with the truth that man does not possess at all. Only such manner of work is deemed judgment; only through such judgment can man be persuaded, be thoroughly convinced into submission to God, and gain true knowledge of God. What the work of judgment brings about is man’s understanding of the true face of God and the truth about his rebelliousness. The work of judgment allows man to gain much understanding of the will of God, of the purpose of God’s work, and of the mysteries that could not be understood by man. It also allows man to recognize and know his corrupt substance and the roots of his corruption, as well as to discover the ugliness of man. These effects are all brought about by the work of judgment, for the substance of such work is actually the work of opening up the truth, way, and life of God to all those who have faith in Him. This work is the work of judgment done by God.” “Although I have spoken many words of chastisement and judgment, no facts have come to you. I have come just to do the work, just to speak. Although my words are stern, I speak them to judge your corruption and disobedience. My purpose in doing so is still to save people from Satan’s domain, that is, to save people with the word, not to hurt people with the word. I speak stern words for achieving the results of the work. Only if I do the work this way can people know themselves and break away from their disobedient disposition.’ (from The Word Appears in the Flesh) From God’s words, we know that in the last days, Christ judges and chastises corrupt mankind through expressing the truth. All the words that God judges man with are the revelation of His righteous disposition and what He has and is, and the words that can be man’s life. Therefore, they are all truths. For corrupt mankind, these words of truth themselves are judgment, chastisement, searching, and purification. Meanwhile, Almighty God also thoroughly discloses man’s nature and substance corrupted by Satan, the truth of his corruption and the roots of sin. Then man reflects on himself, and sees clearly that his living out is completely the likeness of Satan, so he truly repents, willingly accepts God’s judgment, and chastisement, trials and refining, and pursues transformation in his disposition under the leading of God’s word. And he gradually breaks away from the bondage and restraint of his corrupt satanic disposition, rebels against Satan thoroughly and returns to God. Man’s nature of sinning is therefore resolved radically. If Christ didn’t use the word to judge, chastise, and reveal the corruption of man, man could never see his corrupt satanic disposition and deep-rooted nature and substance of hating the truth, disobeying and resisting God, and would mistakenly take some good deeds as the transformation in disposition. Man can’t become holy in this way. For example, one doesn’t find himself making a mistake in doing things and considers what he does as legitimate, while others see clearly he is doing wrong. Under such circumstance, only when someone points out the mistake can he realize it and then come to know himself according to God’s word, find a way of practice in God’s word, and act and transform according to God’s will and requirements. In the past, I absolutely couldn’t accept it if someone said I couldn’t be raptured. I worked and preached for the Lord, carried the cross and abandoned the secular world; if I couldn’t be approved by the Lord, then what man could? This is completely caused by the haughty and arrogant nature of man. Man has been corrupted by Satan to such an extent that he is devoid of any conscience and sense, without the slightest obedience to God and full of satanic dispositions; however, they know nothing about themselves. Therefore, God has to use word to disclose, judge and chastise man to wake him up. So the judgment of the word is the most beneficial for man to change his disposition, and is the most crucial step in God’s work of saving mankind. No matter how faithful one is to the Lord Jesus, if he doesn’t accept Almighty God’s work of judgment, he won’t be approved by the Lord Jesus, much less be ‘raptured.’”
After hearing the fellowship, I thought to myself, “It’s very practical that Almighty God does the work of judgment with the truth and uses the word to reveal the corruption within man. And thus man can know what corruptions he is possessed of as well as the path to enter into. Only in this way can man have a true transformation! No one can open these mysteries. Of men, who can reveal the things within man’s nature? Only God searches man’s heart and mind. I need to further investigate.” Then I asked, “Brother Liu, what’s the final result that Almighty God’s work of judgment, chastisement and purification aims to achieve?”
Brother Liu replied, “Brother, Almighty God’s word has explained the truth in this regard. Let’s read another two passages of Almighty God’s words. Almighty God says, ‘The essence of God’s work of chastisement and judgment is to cleanse humanity, and it is for the day of final rest. Otherwise, the whole of humanity will not be able to follow their own kind or enter into rest. This work is humanity’s only path to enter into rest. Only God’s work of cleansing cleanses humanity of their unrighteousness, and only His work of chastisement and judgment brings to light those disobedient things among humanity, thereby separating those who can be saved from those who cannot, and those who will remain from those who will not. When His work ends, those people who remain will be cleansed and enjoy a more wonderful second human life upon the earth as they enter a higher realm of humanity; in other words, they will enter into humanity’s days of rest and live together with God. After those who cannot remain have undergone chastisement and judgment, their original forms will be entirely revealed; after this they will all be destroyed and, like Satan, will no longer be allowed to survive upon the earth. The humanity of the future will no longer contain any of this type of people; these people are not fit to enter into the land of the ultimate rest, nor are they fit to enter into the day of rest that God and man will share, for they are the targets of punishment and are the wicked; they are not righteous people.’ ‘The work of the last days is to separate all according to their kind, to conclude the management plan of God, for the time is near and the day of God has come. God shall bring all who have entered His kingdom, that is, all those who have been loyal to Him to the end, into the age of God Himself. However, before the coming of the age of God Himself, the work that God desires to do is not to observe the deeds of man or to inquire about the lives of man, but to judge his rebellion, for God shall purify all those who come before His throne. All those who have followed the footsteps of God to this day are those who have come before the throne of God, hence all who accept the last of God’s work are those to be purified by God. In other words, all those who accept the last of God’s work are those who will be judged by God.’ (from The Word Appears in the Flesh) In the last days, God will classify all things according to their kind by the work of judgment and chastisement, for God’s six-thousand-year management plan has come to an end. God will take those true believers of Him in every sect and denomination before Him and let them accept the judgment of His word, so that they can know themselves and thus rebel themselves, gradually attain the transformation in their disposition, be cleansed and approved by God, and finally remain and be brought into the beautiful destination that God has prepared for man. Meanwhile, God will thoroughly reveal the irredeemable men who don’t acknowledge but disobey and resist Christ of the last days, and then destroy them all. Through the work of chastisement and judgment, the good will be separated from the evil, which is to say that true believers will be completely separated from false believers, and sheep from goats. Through the judgment and chastisement, the true believers come to know God and know themselves, and have true obedience to and reverence for God. They have a right outlook on life and values, live by the truth completely, live before God in a released and free way, and have the likeness of a real man. These men entirely break away from Satan’s dark influence and are fully sanctified, live in the guidance of God’s light and enjoy the life on earth as if in heaven.”
With tears in her eyes, my wife delightedly said, “Almighty God’s word is so clear. Only the word expressed by Christ of the last days can judge, cleanse, and save man. The work is so practical.”
I said excitedly, “Brother Liu, these words are the mysteries revealed by God! Almighty God is the returned Jesus. Accepting the work of Almighty God is ‘being raptured’. I shall never cling to the old without any movement. I’ll follow the footsteps of Almighty God. In the past, I pursued to be ‘raptured’ in vagueness and supernatural imaginations. How foolish I was! God’s work is really unfathomable to man!”
Brother Liu showed a gratified smile and said, “Thank Almighty God for His salvation! Our meeting today is totally God’s arrangement. God will rapture all the people He is to save to His throne so that they can accept His personal shepherding and watering, and gain the truth as life at last. Almighty God says, ‘Christ of the last days brings life, and brings the enduring and everlasting way of truth. This truth is the path through which man shall gain life, and the only path by which man shall know God and be approved by God. If you do not seek the way of life provided by Christ of the last days, then you shall never gain the approval of Jesus, and shall never be qualified to enter the gate of the kingdom of heaven, for you are both a puppet and prisoner of history.’ (from The Word Appears in the Flesh) Almighty God has expressed all the truth of cleansing man and saving man, and is perfecting a group of overcomers. This group of overcomers are the first fruits made complete by God before the disaster, who will attend the lamb’s banquet as prophesized by the Lord Jesus, and they are, of course, the wise virgins. Only if man comes out of the religion and receives Almighty God’s work of judgment in the last days, can he really be raptured to God’s throne, be cleansed and saved, and enter the kingdom of heaven.”
I nodded and sighed with emotion, “Thank the Lord! Almighty God’s word has shown man the way of entering the kingdom of heaven. Christ of the last days is man’s gateway to the kingdom of heaven. Without His work of judgment, man could never enter God’s kingdom. We need to investigate the work and word of Almighty God carefully, and can’t miss this opportunity to be raptured!”
After that time, my wife and I investigated carefully for one month, and were certain about Almighty God’s work in the last days. Under God’s leading, we live the church life with the brothers and sisters from the Church of Almighty God. We read the word of Almighty God, experience the judgment and chastisement of God, live in the light of God’s countenance, and have a new life. I no longer eagerly yearn for the Lord coming suddenly to bring me into the kingdom of heaven as before, but practice God’s word and experience God’s work realistically, and pursue to change my disposition. We feel happy, delighted, and released and free. I can’t help sighing with emotion: I am eventually raptured to God’s throne!
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