After I Abandoned Buddhism, the Lord Jesus Gave Me Peace
At my age of 16, my elder brother preached the gospel of the Lord Jesus to me. However, influenced by other relatives, I chose to believe in Buddhism, because I thought it made no difference no matter which faith I had and it was enough for me to hold a belief. It wasn’t until over twenty years later that I changed my mind. During that period of time, things didn’t go well in my family and work and I encountered many troubles. My elder brother again advised me to believe in the Lord Jesus, saying that only He could help me. That time I didn’t know why I listened to him. The following day, I went to the church to listen to the sermon. The pastor read these verses, “Come to me, all you that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke on you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and you shall find rest to your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light” (Matthew 11:28-30). These words of the Lord Jesus made me feel very amiable and spoke right to my heart. I was deeply moved by His words and tears dropped down my face. I, like a wandering child, finally found my home. In the face of the pressure of life and work, I felt it was very tiring and painful to live. When I had no aim and direction in my life and was at a loss, the Lord’s words comforted me, allowing me to find the cocoon of rest. I set my mind to rely on the Lord and follow Him for my whole life. Afterward, I read the Bible every day and attended the worship every week and also took part in other church services. I felt happy and peaceful, accompanied by the words of the Lord Jesus and sharing the testimony of experience with brothers and sisters. With the enjoyment of the Lord’s grace and blessings, release and enrichment filled me every day.
Thirteen Years After Believing in the Lord, I Heard About the Gospel of the Lord’s Coming Again
Fast-forward to 2016 and I had believed in the Lord Jesus for thirteen years. In September, I came back home from another place. On my arrival, my wife told me happily, “The Lord Jesus has come back. He is Almighty God incarnate. Almighty God ends the Age of Grace and ushers in the Age of Kingdom, and expresses words and is doing the work of judgment beginning with God’s family to purify and save man.” Her words surprised me: Almighty God expresses words to judge man? I have only heard of Jehovah and Jesus. I have never heard of Almighty God. I asked my wife with surprise and doubt: “Almighty God? How come I have never heard of Him? Who told you that the Lord Jesus had come back and was called Almighty God? Haven’t you taken the wrong way?” She said, “Almighty God is the returned Lord Jesus. Almighty God and the Lord Jesus are God’s names. In the Age of Law, God’s name is Jehovah. In the Age of Grace, God’s name is Jesus. In the Age of Kingdom, God’s name is Almighty God. Although God’s names and works differ in different ages, the three stages of work are done by one Spirit and one God. Almighty God is the name of the Almighty mentioned in Revelation many times. For example, ‘I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, said the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty’ (Revelation 1:8) and ‘And I heard as it were the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of mighty thunder, saying, Alleluia: for the Lord God omnipotent reigns’ (Revelation 19:6). These are the biblical basis. You can take an investigation.” It was a head-scratcher to me. I thought to myself: Why does my wife have such a new knowledge of the Bible in a few days? But the pastor often preached that in believing in the Lord, we should hold on to the name of the Lord Jesus. I believe in the Lord because His words comforted me and led me, making me out of the sufferings. It is the Lord Jesus who has saved me. I said to my wife at the drop of a hat, “It is the Lord Jesus who has saved me. We can’t betray Him and convert to Almighty God.” My wife asked me to read Almighty God’s words and told me that I would understand it after reading them. But I refused.
Later, I worked out of town for a week again. After I went back home, my wife told me again that Almighty God and the Lord Jesus are one God. I was unwilling to hear, so I turned on the TV so as to change the topic. But she didn’t give up, patiently exhorted me to listen to Almighty God’s words and earnestly told me that Almighty God is not another God but the returned Lord Jesus we had been long yearning for. As I saw her devoted and thought of her words that the Bible prophesied that God’s name would be Almighty God, I sat down reluctantly.
I Clung to the Name of the Lord Jesus and Was Unwilling to Accept God’s New Name
Before my wife finished reading those words, I suddenly thought of the fact that I had believed in the Lord for thirteen years and it was the Lord Jesus who helped me and changed me and thus I should hold on to the name of the Lord Jesus and couldn’t betray the Lord. So, I interrupted her, “Stop reading them. I really can’t accept them. It is the Lord Jesus who comforted me and gave me the strength to face the suffering when I was most in need and thus I had the courage to live on. I can’t be ungrateful and betray the Lord. After I believed in the Lord, many friends abandoned me. They say that people in good health will not believe in the Lord and attack me by claiming that only the sick and the poor will believe in the Lord. However, regardless of how they see me, I feel from my heart that the Lord Jesus is the true God and is our Savior. And I’m also blessed by the Lord Jesus’ grace and moved by His words. Before I only knew to eat and drink and make merry and did something wrong. It is the Lord Jesus who has changed me. If I accept Almighty God, am I leaving the Lord Jesus? No. I can’t betray the Lord Jesus. And I don’t want to be rejected by my relatives and friends around me again. Besides, pastors and elders also said that, ‘Never stray from the Lord’s way. As long as we don’t leave the Lord, what we ask will be bestowed by the Lord.’” My wife wanted to continue, but I went away before she started as I was upset and couldn’t calm down.
The Dream Guided Me to Investigate Almighty God’s Work
In the following days, my wife repeatedly tried to persuade me that I should read Almighty God’s words and then I would know that Almighty God is the returned Lord Jesus. But I ignored it. One night, one and a half months later, I tossed and turned and couldn’t fall asleep. I thought about my wife’s exhortation in that period and the passage of words she read. I thought: The words she read are with authority and power. It seems to be the tone of God’s speaking. Except for God Himself, who dare to say that He was once called Jehovah? Who dare to say that He was once called Messiah? Isn’t it that the Lord Jesus has truly come back? I prayed to the Lord silently, “O Lord! Is Almighty God Your coming again? O Lord! May You enlighten me! I’ll follow You and I don’t want to betray You.” Against all expectations, God’s special grace fell upon me. At night when I was sleeping, a voice said to me in my dream, “I’m the God you are worshiping. You should follow My way.” In the next morning when I got up, this word clearly appeared in my mind. I realized that it was God’s confirmation to me. I decided to investigate carefully whether Almighty God is the returned Lord Jesus. But when my wife asked me whether I wanted to fellowship with Sister Zhang Jie in the Church of Almighty God, I was ashamed to say yes. I thought: I was so stubborn in the beginning and even told my wife to believe in her Almighty God and I believe in my Lord Jesus. It is embarrassing to tell her that I want investigation. My wife appeared to know my thought. She said, “I made an appointment with Sister Zheng Jie to have a fellowship at 9 p.m. Do come to join us.” I nodded. That caused me to think of the Lord Jesus’ word “Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and you shall find; knock, and it shall be opened to you” (Matthew 7:7).
My Doubt Was Removed
After we were online, I asked Sister Zhang, “Am I betraying the Lord Jesus if I believe in Almighty God?” She answered, “Brother, when we believe in Almighty God, we’re not betraying the Lord Jesus but following the Lamb’s footsteps. This is obeying God and is approved by God. This is the same as when the Lord Jesus came. If people walked out of their notions and accepted the new work of the Lord Jesus, they would be caught up to God’s throne and follow the Lamb’s footsteps. Only those who accepted the Lord Jesus were approved by God. Those who held on to Jehovah’s name and were unwilling to accept the Lord Jesus were eliminated by God’s work. At that time, as the coming of the Lord Jesus was not in line with Pharisees’ conceptions, they clung to the name of Messiah and condemned the Lord Jesus and suffered God’s punishment. We can’t follow in Pharisees’ footsteps. Let’s read two passages of Almighty God’s words.”
Almighty God says, “The work done at present has pushed forward the work of the Age of Grace; that is, the work in the entire six-thousand-year management plan has moved forward. Though the Age of Grace has ended, the work of God has progressed further. Why do I say time and again that this stage of work builds upon the Age of Grace and the Age of Law? This means that the work of this day is a continuation of the work done in the Age of Grace and an uplifting of that done in the Age of Law. The three stages are closely interconnected and linked one to the next. Why do I also say that this stage of work builds on that done by Jesus? If this stage did not build on the work done by Jesus, then in this stage the crucifixion, the work of redemption done previously, would still need to be carried out. This would be meaningless. Therefore, it is not that the work has completely finished, but that the age has moved forward, and the work has become even higher than before. It could be said that this stage of work is built on the foundation of the Age of Law and the rock of the work of Jesus. The work is built stage by stage, and this stage is not a new beginning. Only the combination of the three stages of work can be deemed the six-thousand-year management plan” (“The Two Incarnations Complete the Significance of the Incarnation” in The Word Appears in the Flesh).
“From the work of Jehovah to that of Jesus, and from the work of Jesus to that of this current stage, these three stages cover the entire breadth of God’s management, and are all the work of one Spirit. From when He created the world, God has always been managing mankind. He is the Beginning and the End, He is the First and the Last, and He is the One who begins an age and the One who brings the age to an end. The three stages of work, in different ages and different locations, are surely carried out by one Spirit. All those who separate these three stages oppose God. Now, you must understand that all the work from the first stage until today is the work of one God, the work of one Spirit, of which there is no doubt” (“The Vision of God’s Work (3)” in The Word Appears in the Flesh).
After reading God’s words, Sister Zhang went on, “God bestowed the law upon man under the name of Jehovah, led man to keep the laws and commandments on earth and to learn to serve and worship God. Later, man was corrupted by Satan and became more and more fallen, couldn’t keep the laws and should be condemned to death according to the laws. Thus, God was incarnated and did the work of redeeming mankind under the name of the Lord Jesus. As long as man came before the Lord to confess and repent, their sins would be forgiven and God would not remember their sins. Although their sins were forgiven, their satanic sinful nature wasn’t removed. So, they continued sinning. In the last days, God is incarnated again and does the work of judgment and chastisement with the word under the name of Almighty God. So that man’s sinful nature will be thoroughly removed, they can break away from Satan’s influence, will no longer commit sins, will be purified and saved by God. This shows us that Jehovah, the Lord Jesus, and Almighty God are indeed one God. It is only that in the Age of Law, God used Moses to work and in the Age of Grace and the Age of Kingdom, God is incarnated to work. Regardless of the changes in God’s name and His work as well as His way of working, God is still that God, is the Creator. So, to accept Almighty God’s work in the last days is not to betray the Lord Jesus but follow God’s new work. This is the same as when the Lord Jesus did the redemptive work, the Lord’s disciples were not betraying Jehovah when they turned to believe in Him. On the contrary, those priests, scribes, and Pharisees who held on to the name of Jehovah and refused to accept the Lord Jesus’ redemptive work were the ones who betrayed God. Similarly, today God does the new work. If we cling to the name of the Lord Jesus but fail to accept God’s work in the last days, we’re ones of betraying God like Pharisees….”
I Recognized that Almighty God Is the Returned Lord Jesus
Almighty God’s words and Sister Zhang’s fellowship made me understand: Each stage of God’s work becomes higher than the last and is established on the basis of the previous stage. Each stage of work is not carried out in isolation. Without the work of the law done by Jehovah, there would be no redemptive work done by the Lord Jesus. Without the redemptive work of the Lord Jesus, there would be no work of judgment done by Almighty God in the last days. Each of the three stages of work goes deeper than the last and eventually saves mankind from Satan’s domain thoroughly. Three stages of work are God’s complete plan of saving mankind. Almighty God’s words are very practical and have indeed unlocked the mysteries of God’s work. Actually, Almighty God and the Lord Jesus are one Spirit, God’s incarnated fleshes. It seems that Almighty God is truly the returned Lord Jesus. I finally understand that believing in Almighty God is not betraying the Lord Jesus but obeying God’s new work. Thanks be to God. Fortunately, I have investigated it, otherwise I would walk on the way of the Pharisees believing in God but resisting God.
The Outcome of Sticking to God’s Old Work
Sister Zhang Jie continued, “We’ll understand it more clearly after reading Almighty God’s words. Almighty God says, ‘Those who do not follow to the very end, who do not keep up with the work of the Holy Spirit, and who only cleave to the old work have not only failed to achieve loyalty to God, but on the contrary, have become those who oppose God, have become those who are rejected by the new age, and who will be punished. Are there any more pitiable than them? Many even believe that all those who reject the old law and accept the new work are without conscience. These people, who only talk of conscience, and do not know the work of the Holy Spirit, will ultimately have their prospects cut short by their own consciences. God’s work does not abide by doctrine, and even though it is His own work, still God does not cling to it. That which should be denied is denied, that which should be eliminated is eliminated. Yet man places himself in enmity of God by holding onto but one small part of the work of God’s management. Is this not the absurdity of man? Is this not the ignorance of man? The more that people are timid and overcautious because they are afraid of not gaining God’s blessings, the more that they are incapable of gaining greater blessings, and of receiving the final blessing. Those people who slavishly abide by the law all display the utmost loyalty toward the law, and the more they display such loyalty toward the law, the more they are rebels who oppose God. For now is the Age of Kingdom and not the Age of Law, and the work of today cannot be held up against the work of the past, and the work of the past cannot be compared to the work of today. The work of God has changed, and the practice of man has also changed; it is not to hold onto the law or bear the cross. So, people’s loyalty toward the law and the cross will not gain God’s approval’ (“God’s Work and Man’s Practice” in The Word Appears in the Flesh).”
Sister Zhang fellowshiped, “From God’s words, we see that God’s work is ever new and never old, is changeless, and progresses forward continually. God doesn’t repeat the same work and always does new work. Only in this way can He lead the whole mankind to constantly progress. But man is stubborn and cleaves to the old by nature. They hold on to God’s work and God’s name in one age. They think God will remain the same for all time and will never ever change. If God’s work and God’s name change, then it is heresy and false. Such an erroneous viewpoint of man and man’s lack of the knowledge of God’s work lead to man’s resistance to God in spite of their belief in God. Take the Israelites for example. They thought that belief in God was holding on to the name of Jehovah and keeping the laws and commandments. If it changed, it was betraying Jehovah and man should be sentenced to death. On account of their erroneousness, when the Lord Jesus came to do the redemptive work, they couldn’t accept Him and eventually crucified Him on the accusation of the Lord Jesus’ violence of the laws. This lesson of blood is worthy of our deep thought.
I Turned Back From the Way of Pharisees
While listening to Sister Zhang’s fellowship, I was doing a self-reflection. Yes. I held on to the name of the Lord Jesus and God’s old way and resisted the new way brought by the Lord Jesus in the last days. Actually, I was walking the old way of the Pharisees. I was afraid of taking the wrong way and losing God’s promise, so I made a stand at every step. God sent my wife to knock at my heart over and over again but I turned my nose up at it and clung to my notions, and didn’t seek or investigate God’s new work. Am I not the typical Pharisee? If I hold onto this, I’ll be inevitably eliminated by God’s work. Thank God for showing mercy to me and giving me the opportunity to seek. Through the seeking, I knew my erroneousness and saw that every word of Almighty God is the truth and the nourishment for my life. I’m willing to accept Almighty God’s work in the last days.
I Was Disturbed by My Pastors
Afterward, I read Almighty God’s words eagerly and began to attend the meetings of the Church of Almighty God. In God’s words, I saw God’s love, God’s deep expectation for man and His earnest supplement, sustenance and teaching between the lines. Against all expectations, only after several meetings, Pastor Lin in my original denomination knew that I had believed in Almighty God. He came to me and said many words of slandering, condemning and attacking the Church of Almighty God and even blasphemies against Almighty God. I thought: As a pastor, how can you condemn and blaspheme it so casually? The sin of blasphemy against God won’t be forgiven either in this age or the age to come. I felt scared on his account. But at the same time, I was kind of disturbed. I introduced the Church of Almighty God to another pastor but he also condemned it. I was even more shaken in my heart and became somewhat confused. What the brothers and sisters in the Church of Almighty God fellowshiped and shared were the experiences of testifying about God. When they had meetings, they read Almighty God’s words and everyone was released and free. Besides, no matter what problems and difficulties one had, the other brothers and sisters would patiently help him and give him answers. Every word of Almighty God is the truth and is edifying. How could these pastors condemn it blindly? Later, after verifying that we believed in Almighty God, they didn’t stop putting pressure on us and even drove a wedge between my wife and me. Despite that I didn’t believe what they said, I was disturbed a lot. When reading Almighty God’s words, I dozed off and even didn’t want to read them.
A War in the Spiritual Realm
As Sister Zhang knew that I was not in a good state, she fellowshiped with me. I said, “Pastors shepherd the churches; why do they not only not seek and investigate God’s work in the last days but even blaspheme and condemn it?” Sister Zhang found a passage of God’s words, “God works, God cares for a person, looks upon a person, and Satan dogs His every step. Whoever God favors, Satan also watches, trailing along behind. If God wants this person, Satan would do everything in its power to obstruct God, using various evil ways to tempt, harass and wreck the work God does in order to achieve its hidden objective. What is its objective? It does not want God to have anyone; it wants all those that God wants, to possess them, control them, to take charge of them so they worship it, so they commit evil acts alongside it. Is this not Satan’s sinister motive? Normally, you often say that Satan is so evil, so bad, but have you seen it? You can only see how bad man is and has not seen in reality how bad Satan actually is. But have you seen it in this issue concerning Job? (Yes.) This issue has made Satan’s hideous countenance and its essence very clear. Satan is at war with God, trailing along behind Him. Its objective is to demolish all the work God wants to do, to possess and control those whom God wants, to completely extinguish those whom God wants. If they are not extinguished, then they come to Satan’s possession to be used by it—this is its objective” (“God Himself, the Unique IV” in Continuation of The Word Appears in the Flesh).
Sister Zhang fellowshiped, “When God carries out a stage of work of saving mankind, Satan trails along behind Him to disturb and destroy it. At that time when the Lord Jesus worked to redeem mankind, the leaders in the Judaism, the chief priests, scribes, and Pharisees acted the role of Satan. Seeing many Jews follow the Lord Jesus and fearing their position would be influenced in the religion, they frenziedly made rumors and false testimonies to frame the Lord Jesus and even blaspheme and condemn Him, so as to hinder believers from investigating the true way and control them firmly in their hands, toiling for them. Today, when the returned Lord Jesus, Almighty God wants to save mankind thoroughly from Satan’s domain, Satan is desperate all the more. Pastors and elders who hate the truth in the religion play the role of Pharisees. As they see that many believers have returned before God after listening to God’s voice and thus fear that they will lose position and jobs, they fabricate numerous rumors and make a lot of false testimonies against God’s work in the last days to slander God’s work and hinder man from returning to God. So, we must see this war in the spiritual realm clearly. We can’t fall prey to Satan and be captured by Satan. Why do the Pharisees of that time and pastors and elders of today not feel fearful after blaspheming and condemning God? It is decided by their substance. The Bible recorded that the moment when the Lord Jesus gave up His Spirit, the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom, the earth shook, and the rocks split. On the third day, the Lord Jesus was resurrected. These are two great miracles! But they didn’t make the chief priests, scribes, and Pharisees repent and turn to God but on the contrary, they resisted God more severely. This is a proof that their substance was unclean demons, evil spirits reincarnated. They were not believers in God in the slightest. They disrupted and disturbed God’s work in substance under the banner of serving God. Pastors and elders of today are no different from them. Although Almighty God’s work in the last days is resisted frantically by the CCP government and the religion, God’s work progresses forward like surging waves, without being hindered by any force. Almighty God’s kingdom gospel becomes more and more thriving and is completely spread to all countries around the world. Isn’t this a great miracle? Those which are from God will flourish. Can’t pastors and elders in the religion see it? In fact, they know it very clearly. Why do they not repent but continue resisting God’s work? Because they’re not true believers in God but are contemporary Pharisees. We must see this clearly and can’t be deceived by them.”
I Kept Pace With the Lamb’s Footsteps
Thanks be to God! These words made me wake up from dreams. Actually, their resistance to God is decided by their substance. Without the revelation of God’s words, I truly don’t know these pastors who resist Almighty God have the substance of the Pharisees and they are definitely the brood that shall suffer destruction. Today I understand that we should have discernment on them. They are ones who disturb God’s work and living Satans who hinder us from being saved. We should reject them firmly. Thank Almighty God for showing mercy to and keeping me! I once resisted and was shaken but God didn’t give up saving me. Through my wife and Sister Zhang’s help, I knew God’s work in the last days, kept pace with the Lamb’s footsteps and was raptured before God. In the following days, my wife and I ate and drank Almighty God’s words eagerly and had meetings to fellowship about the truth with brothers and sisters every week. We are released and free. Thank Almighty God for saving us. It is God’s exception of exaltation and mercy that I can follow the Lamb’s footsteps. I’m willing to follow God forever.
The End.