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| Almighty God’s Chastening Woke Up the Disobedient Me |
Almighty God’s Chastening Woke Up the Disobedient Me
Zhao Kaiyang
Zhumadian City, Henan Province
I started to believe in the Lord in the “Three-Self sect” in 1986. In 1990, I turned to the local church, the “Praise Church,” and became a leader. In June of 1999, I accepted Almighty God’s work of the last days. When I think back to my past, I am terribly ashamed of myself. Because I was blind, ignorant, and didn’t know God, I committed a mortal sin of blaspheming the Holy Spirit. But fortunately, Almighty God chastened and disciplined me in a timely manner, so that I woke up and returned before His throne.
In January of 1999, the elder told me, “The religious world has condemned the ‘Eastern Lightning’ as a heresy, a cult. They don’t believe in Jesus anymore, but believe in a female god. They tempt people with money, cars, and beauty. If you listen to their way but don’t accept it, they will do violence to you, making you suddenly disappear from this world, or they will ruin your family! …” Hearing those words, I believed them to be true without making any discernment. After I came back, I conveyed the elder’s words to the brothers and sisters. From then on, I began to spread rumors and seal off the churches, stepping onto an evil way of resisting God’s new work.
In early March, I went to a sister’s home to inform her to attend a meeting. There I saw two unfamiliar sisters saying something with a book in their hands. I immediately realized that they were people of the “Eastern Lightning,” so I shouted at them loudly, “Where are you from? Give me the book! You can’t read your little scroll. With me here, don’t you try to take away a single person! Get out!” Even though they were the sister’s relatives, I still drove them away forcibly.
At the end of March, I was told that two believers in the “Eastern Lightning” were preaching their way to a host family. Immediately, I called several brothers and rushed there with them. Through the window, I saw two unfamiliar brothers were reading the book of God’s word. I flew into a rage. I kicked the door open, rushed forward, snatched the book, and pointed my finger at them and roared, “You heretics and cultists. You come to steal our sheep. You are really sly vicious wolves! Get out of here!” The brother said mildly, “Brother, let’s have a talk. The Lord Jesus has…” “Fie, do you still have the face to mention the name of the Lord Jesus? You call Him the Lord but draw people away from Him. Does the Lord want people like you? Your faces are as thick as a wall!” With that, I took their book outside and threw it into the manure pit and bawled arrogantly, “I’ll see what your God can do to me! Next time you come to steal the sheep, I’ll break your legs! Out!” I gave a brother two hard punches, and then pushed and shoved them out of the door. And I rebuked the sister of the host family, “Don’t receive strangers again in future, or you will be expelled!” Later, I threatened and intimidated the brothers and sisters who had just accepted the true way and dragged many of them back.
Soon, I ate the bitter fruit of my own making. One night in May, about eleven o’clock, I suddenly had a stomachache. The pain was so severe that I felt as if a knife were being twisted in my stomach. I tossed about and writhed in the bed, and fell heavily to the ground. My wife was so frightened that she didn’t know what to do. As it was late at night and it was raining hard, we couldn’t go to the hospital. I could only bear the pain and pray to the Lord, “O Lord. Why does my stomach suddenly ache so badly? If I did anything that offends You, please enlighten me and let me know…” I prayed like this several times. Finally, I remembered when I threw away the book of the “Eastern Lightning,” I said, “I’ll see what your God can do to me!” I was startled at heart, saying to myself, “Could it be that the Lord Jesus has really come back? Did I resist the true God? It’s impossible! …” My wife said, “You beat them and threw their book into the manure pit. If it is really the true way, you will be done. If it is not the true way, your doing so is not in accord with the Lord’s teaching! Look at you! Are you still like a believer in the Lord? Confess your sin quickly to the Lord!” Hearing my wife’s words, I was still stubborn and unconvinced. I said, “As a leader, shouldn’t I protect the flock? If I didn’t teach them a lesson, they will come again! …” As I said that, a sharp pain in my stomach seized me again, severer than before, as if someone were pulling my heart out. I really couldn’t bear it anymore. So I prayed silently to the Lord again, “O Lord! If You have really come back, please forgive me and don’t make me ache anymore. I won’t resist You from now on.” To my surprise, after I prayed, the pain really stopped! Then I was somewhat awakened, “The ‘Eastern Lightning’ is probably the true way! Otherwise, how could I get better immediately after I prayed like this?” The more I pondered, the more I felt that I must have resisted the true God. While thinking of this, I fell into a sleep. I dreamed that I flew in the air, floating to a place with green hills, clear waters, red flowers, and green willows, like the paradise. Suddenly a lady in a white garment said to me, “Go to preach the gospel quickly.” I said, “I am preaching.” She explained, “Preach the new gospel!” At that moment, the cock’s crow woke me up. I couldn’t sleep anymore, and I pondered in my heart, “The new gospel? Isn’t this God’s revelation to me through the dream?” Then I thought of my illness last night, and I made up my mind, “If anyone comes to preach God’s new work to me again, I must get the facts straight.”
On June 1 of the same year, God sent two sisters to come to preach God’s gospel of the last days to me again. I told them my notion directly, “Why don’t you believe in the Lord Jesus but turn to believe in Almighty God? And why do you say that God is a female?” One sister said smilingly, “God opens a new age and ends the old age with His name. In different ages, God’s names are different. For example, in the Old Testament, God led the Israelites with the name of ‘Jehovah.’ (Exodus 3:15) In the New Testament, God redeemed the whole mankind with the name of ‘Jesus.’ (Matthew 1:21) And in the last days, God does the work of judgment and purification with the name of ‘the Almighty.’ (Revelation 1:8; 4:8; 11:17; 16:7; 19:6) The names are different, but They are all God Himself. Let’s see what Almighty God says about it.” The sisters read these words: “When Jesus began to perform His ministry, the Holy Spirit began to testify to the name of Jesus, and the name of Jehovah was no longer spoken of…. After this, the name of God was no longer Jehovah; instead He was called Jesus…. When Jesus comes again, the age will have already changed, so could He still be called Jesus? Is God only known by the name of Jesus? Could He not be called by a new name in a new age? Can the image of one ‘person’ and one particular name represent God in His entirety? In each age, God does new work and is called by a new name; how could He do the same work in different ages? How could He cling to the old? The name of ‘Jesus’ was taken for the work of redemption, so would He still be called by the same name when He returns in the last days? Would He still do the work of redemption? Why is it that Jehovah and Jesus are one, yet They are called by different names in different ages? Is it not because Their work in these ages is different? Could a single name represent God in His entirety? In this way, God must be called by a different name in a different age, must use the name to change the age and represent the age, for no one name can fully represent God Himself. And each name can only represent God’s disposition during a certain age and needs only to represent His work. Therefore, God can choose whatever name befits His disposition to represent the entire age. Regardless of whether it is the age of Jehovah, or the age of Jesus, each age is represented by a name. After the Age of Grace, the final age has arrived and Jesus has already come. How could He still be called Jesus? … Each time God arrives on earth, He shall change His name, His gender, His image, and His work; He does not repeat His work, for He is always new and never old.” “Each stage of work done by God has a real significance. When Jesus arrived, He was male, and this time He is female. From this, you can see that God created both male and female for His work and with Him there is no distinction of gender. When His Spirit arrives, He can take on any flesh at will and the flesh represents Him. Be it male or female, both represent God as long as it is His incarnate flesh.” “If God was only incarnated as a male, people would define Him as male, as the God of men, and would never believe Him to be the God of women. Then, men would believe that God is of the same gender as men, that God is the head of men—and what of women? This is unfair; is it not preferential treatment? If this were the case, then all those whom God saved would be men like Him, and there would be no salvation for women. When God created mankind, He created Adam and He created Eve. He did not create only Adam, but made both male and female in His image. God is not only the God of men, He is also the God of women.”
Hearing God’s words, I was enlightened in my heart. I understood: God’s work continuously progresses. God’s name changes because the work and the age are different, but His substance is still God Himself. Today God is incarnated to be a female, which even more manifests God’s wisdom, because otherwise people will circumscribe God. Before God’s words, I was completely convinced. I said to the sisters with excitement and shame, “Now I know that what you preach is the true way. I was too blind and ignorant before. I misunderstood you and hurt God’s heart! …” Then I prostrated myself before God and confessed, “O Almighty God! Now I have clearly seen my ugly face. I’m really an antichrist and unforgivably sinful evil servant. I not only condemned and blasphemed You and rampantly sealed off the church, but also used various base means to disturb away many brothers and sisters who had just accepted Your new work, so that many ignorant souls couldn’t come before You. What was more serious was that I even threw the book of Your personal utterance into the manure pit, committing the most heinous sin of blaspheming the Holy Spirit. O God! According to what I did, I should have long been wiped out, and am unworthy to come before You at all, much less receive Your great salvation. But You still tolerated me with Your great love and woke me up with chastening and the dream, so that I could rein in on the brink of the precipice. O God, I’m such a disobedient son and You have expended so much effort and paid so much price on me. Even if I spend all my life and consecrate my all, I can never repay You for Your salvation. O God, I resolve to cooperate with Your gospel work with my actual deeds. I will testify Your holy name and make the deceived brothers and sisters come before You earlier, so as to comfort Your heart!”
Through eating and drinking God’s words and having contact with the brothers and sisters, I saw the evil intent of those who fabricated rumors more clearly. Such words as “they tempt people to join them with money” and “they seduce people with beauty” were purely vicious slanders and malicious attacks! Almighty God has clearly stipulated in the administrative decrees: “The money and the material things of God’s family, including all the possessions, are offerings that man should offer. These offerings can only be enjoyed by the priest and God, and no one else can enjoy them, because the offerings offered by man are for God to enjoy, but God only bestows the offerings to the priest to share, and no one else has the qualification and right to enjoy any of them. All the offerings offered by man (including the money and the material things for enjoyment) are offered to God but not to man. So man should not enjoy these things. If man enjoys these things, he is stealing offerings. All such ones are a Judas, because Judas not only sold the Lord but also stole the money in the purse.” “Man has corrupt disposition and even more has emotion. So, in the service in coordination, two people of different sexes are forbidden to coordinate alone. If discovered, they shall be expelled, no matter who they are.” As to the word “they will do violence to you and ruin your family,” it is even more a mere fabrication. If it were really so, wouldn’t my family have long been ruined and I have been killed as I had abused and maltreated the believers in Almighty God? The facts have proved that they didn’t do violence to us but it was we who abused, beat, or even sicced the dogs on the gospel preachers or reported them to the police. Aren’t they facts obvious to all? In face of all these facts, will we still believe those lies?
Dear brothers and sisters, may we grasp each guidance and chance God gives to us and carefully treat the salvation that comes upon us. May God give us faith and open our spiritual eyes, so that we can know how to discern the true way and false ways and see from God’s words that Almighty God is exactly the reappearance of the Lord Jesus and is the only God Himself. Otherwise, we will lose this last good opportunity to be saved, and fall into the disasters rare throughout thousands of years and live in constant fear!
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