One day when I was browsing the web, I saw a short story The Frog in the Well Knows Nothing of the Great Ocean. Although I had read it from the textbook as a child, when reading it again I still couldn’t help laughing: The frog was so shortsighted and ignorant. If it jumped out of the well to broaden its outlook, it would certainly be able to see a vaster sky and a wonderful world. At this thought, it suddenly occurred to me that in the past when I believed in God, I was also shortsighted and lived within my conceptions and imaginations. Thank God for His gracious gift. It was after I attended the feast of the Lamb that I gained a bit of true knowledge of God and His work. Looking out of the window, I thought back to the past unconsciously.

In 2011, I came to America alone. I was quite strange to everything here and felt perplexed about my future. By a chance opportunity, Brother Luo preached the gospel of the Lord Jesus to me. Then I started to go to the church to have meetings. I originally thought that I would understand more and surely be more knowledgeable of God in this way, but never did I expect that the fact was contrary to my imaginations. Although I attended meetings at the church for more than half a year, there was no enjoyment in my heart. What the pastors and elders preached was just empty Bible knowledge, which couldn’t solve my practical problems that I confronted in my life or help me in knowing God. Moreover, while the pastor was preaching on the pulpit, the believers sitting in the congregation would just play on their phones or doze off. The brothers and sisters all talked about a life of pleasure when they gathered. Worse still, many advertisements of letting houses and jobs were released in the church … I felt very disappointed to see those, and so I then didn’t go to church.

In November of 2017, a friend of mine invited me to Sister Wang’s house to attend the Bible study meetings. There I made the acquaintance of Brother Liu. After communicating with him for a while, I found that he was very devout and familiar with the Bible, and that his fellowship was full of brightness. Later on, we mentioned the present situation of the churches. One sister said that she didn’t feel like she was being provided with anything through meetings in the church, and that her spirit felt dark and parched. Moreover, she didn’t feel moved through prayer, didn’t feel enlightened when reading the Bible, and that she hadn’t felt the presence of the Holy Spirit for a long time. Another sister said, “The pastors and elders of our church are never concerned about the growth in life of the believers at all, but rather only put emphasis on whether the believers are giving donations. In the past, they talked about donations in the church, while now they even made calls to believers and went to their homes to seek offerings.” I was amazed to hear this. To think the situation of the churches should have come to this point.

Brother Liu fellowshiped, “The situation of the churches we just talked about is not rare. At present, the entire religious world has become desolate, which shows it no longer has the work of the Holy Spirit. Just like in the latter period of the Age of Law, the temple originally full of Jehovah’s glory fell into desolation. The Jewish people didn’t hold to God’s laws, improper sacrifices were made, and the temple became a place of trade, a den of thieves. It had long since lost the Holy Spirit’s work. That was because God had been incarnated to do the work of redeeming mankind in the Age of Grace, and accordingly, the work of the Holy Spirit had been transferred into the new work of God. All those who accepted the Lord Jesus’ redemptive work received the work and guidance of the Holy Spirit, while those who still stubbornly stayed at the temple and rejected and resisted the work of the Lord Jesus were eliminated by the work of the Holy Spirit and fell into darkness. Similarly, now the churches are desolate because God has again come in the flesh to do the work of purifying man through words in the Age of Kingdom. The core of the work of the Holy Spirit has been transferred into the new work of God, and those who are incapable of following the latest work of God will fall into darkness. In order to attain the Holy Spirit’s work, we must follow and accept Almighty God’s new work immediately. Only in this way can we receive the provision of the living water of life and get out of the plight of darkness and desolation.”

After I heard Brother Liu’s fellowship, my heart lightened immediately. As it turned out, the reason why the churches are suffering from desolation and have lost the Holy Spirit’s work is that God has returned and is doing new work. I didn’t expect that the Lord Jesus I have yearned for all this time has come back. At that time, I was very happy and excited, but then I thought: Why did the Lord change His name when He returned? Why did the name Jesus turn into Almighty God? I felt slightly confused. Brother Liu seemed to be aware of my confusion and then he fellowshiped, “It is difficult for people to accept the fact that God is now doing new work and so has a new name. That is very normal. We can search the scriptures. It was long ago prophesied in the Bible that God will have a new name when He returns. Revelation 3:12 states: ‘Him that overcomes will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go no more out: and I will write on him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, which is new Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from my God: and I will write on him my new name.’ There’s also Revelation 1:8, ‘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.’ These two verses clearly tell us that when God comes again in the last days He will take a new name, so He will no longer be called Jesus. Almighty God is His new name. We will understand more after reading several passages of Almighty God’s word.”

Brother Liu opened the book of God’s word and read: “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 sake of the work of redemption, so would He still be called by the same name when He returns in the last days? Would He still be doing 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 the ages of Their work are different? Could a single name represent God in His entirety? This being so, God must be called by a different name in a different age, and He must use the name to change the age and to represent the age. For no one name can fully represent God Himself, and each name is able only to represent the temporal aspect of God’s disposition in a given age; all it needs to do is to represent His work. Therefore, God can choose whatever name befits His disposition to represent the entire age.” “‘Jehovah’ is the name that I took during My work in Israel, and it means the God of the Israelites (God’s chosen people) who can take pity on man, curse man, and guide the life of man; the God who possesses great power and is full of wisdom. ‘Jesus’ is Emmanuel, which means the sin offering that is full of love, full of compassion, and which redeems man. He did the work of the Age of Grace, and He represents the Age of Grace, and can only represent one part of the work of the management plan. … And so, when the final age—the age of the last days—arrives, My name shall change again. I shall not be called Jehovah, or Jesus, much less the Messiah—I shall be called the powerful Almighty God Himself, and under this name I shall bring the entire age to an end.”

The brother fellowshiped, “God is the almighty, wise God. We human beings have no way to fathom Him. So, we should not delimit God’s name with our conceptions and notions. And a single name is incapable of fully representing God’s work and His disposition. God takes a different name in every age to represent His disposition and His work. In the Age of Law, Jehovah God established the laws and commandments and led man in their lives, making them know how to worship God to receive His blessings, and what punishments they would face after committing sins. In that age, God expressed the disposition of majesty, wrath, curse, and mercy. By the end of the Age of Law, people had become increasingly corrupt, and were unable to keep the law, and everyone was facing the constant danger of being punished for violating the law. Therefore, God was incarnated for the first time. Under the name of Jesus, He ended the Age of Law, did His redemptive work in the Age of Grace, and absolved mankind of sin. In that age, what the Lord Jesus expressed was a disposition of mercy and love. In the last days, people are corrupted deeply. Therefore, in order to deliver man from sin completely, based on the foundation of the work of the Lord Jesus, God becomes flesh again and does the work of judging and purifying man with the name ‘Almighty God.’ He expresses the disposition of righteousness, majesty to bring the entire age to an end. When the age changes, God’s name changes with it. However, no matter how God’s name changes, His substance never changes, neither does the aim of His salvation for mankind. He is still the God Himself who saves us mankind.”

At this moment, my confusion was resolved. It turns out that the name God takes in each age has its representative meaning and is based on the work in that age and the disposition He expresses in that age. Although God’s name changes, His substance never changes. Jehovah, Jesus, and Almighty God are all Him. It is always the same God working for saving man. In the past, I had been completely ignorant of God’s name having such great significance. Without Almighty God revealing the mystery of God’s name, I would never understand it even if I believe in the Lord Jesus all my life. And then I listened more seriously.

Brother Liu also fellowshiped with us about the truth of God’s incarnation. The more I listened to his fellowship, the more I understood. I found lots of mysteries of the Bible were opened up. What the brother fellowshiped made a lot of sense. Nevertheless, the matter of the Lord’s coming is of great importance. I needed to investigate it clearly.

After I returned home, I immediately searched the Internet for information about The Church of Almighty God. Unexpectedly, what I saw was all negative information. In particular there was “Shandong Zhaoyuan Incident.” After seeing that, I had many doubts in my heart and thought: Why is the incident related to The Church of Almighty God? Is the news report true? If it’s true, do I take the wrong path? At that time, I felt a bit uneasy.

Later on, I searched the website of The Church of Almighty God for an answer. I never imagined that after I clicked on the link I accidentally saw a video “The Truth Exposed Behind the Shandong Zhaoyuan Case.” Then I watched it. After watching it, I suddenly saw the light. It turned out that the criminal suspects in this case did not belong to The Church of Almighty God. It was a fabricated case which was schemed up by the CCP, aiming to make up an incident and an excuse to suppress and persecute house churches in China, especially The Church of Almighty God. That was the habitual tactic of the CCP government to crack down on the dissenters. As we all know, some great events in history, such as the June Fourth Tiananmen Movement, the large-scale bloody upheaval in Lhasa Tibet, and so on were all commanded by CCP. How evil and mean the CCP is! I was almost deceived by the lies of the CCP. I believed that I had been so ignorant. The CCP is an atheist party, and lies and deception are its habitual tactic. It is quite ridiculous that I measured what is the true way according to their words. Thank God for leading me to watch this video and allowing me to see through Satan’s schemes in time; otherwise, I would miss the opportunity to meet the Lord again and be saved. It would be too late to regret until then.

In the next meeting, I told my brothers and sisters about this matter. After hearing this, they all said that it was God who guided and led me. And they fellowshiped with me, “The true way has always faced persecution since ancient times. Think back to the time when the Lord Jesus did His work two thousand years ago, the priests, scribes, and Pharisees in religious circles frenziedly resisted and condemned the work and words of the Lord Jesus, and they even joined forces with the Roman government to nail the Lord Jesus to the cross. Nowadays, history repeats itself. The CCP government and the religious world spread negative propaganda on the internet in order to disturb and destroy God’s work and make people deny God and be distanced from Him, and thus lose the chance of being saved by God and go to hell for punishment together with it. This is the evil intention of Satan. We must have discernment toward its schemes. Otherwise, we will lose the opportunity of being saved by God.” Hearing this, I nodded my head a few times and thanked God in my heart unceasingly.

Later, whenever I had time, I read God’s word and watched all sorts of videos and gospel movies on The Church of Almighty God’s website. Through a period of investigation, I saw that Almighty God’s word has revealed all mysteries, and it is full of authority and power and no one could speak such word, so I recognized that it is the Lord’s voice. Besides, after getting into contact with the brothers and sisters of The Church of Almighty God, I saw that they were pious in their words and behaviors. They treated people with love and sincerity, and when they revealed corrupt dispositions, they would open their hearts and seek the truth to resolve it. They all pursued to become an honest person and live out the manner of a true person. And they were often concerned about me when I encountered difficulties in my life, and fellowshiped God’s word with me to help me out in time, causing me to learn to experience and know God’s deeds in life. Although we were from all corners of the country, we were like a family. I felt confirmation in my heart that this is a church with the work of the Holy Spirit. Therefore, I accepted God’s new work with great joy and attended the wedding feast of the Lamb.

Now through reading God’s word, I knew that God personally becomes flesh in the last days, living practically among men and proclaiming His word to humankind, expressing His own disposition and all that He has and is to the masses. From God’s word, I came to understand the inner truth in God’s three stages of work and the mysteries of His incarnations, know which kinds of people God loves and saves, as well as the kinds He detests and punishes. Moreover, through God’s words, I also understood that the root and the truth of man’s corruption, and came to know how to break free from the corrupt disposition and establish a proper relationship with God; I got principles of practice and ways regarding how to be an honest person, how to live out the manner of a true person, and so on. The appearance and the work of God in the flesh enabled me to face-to-face see and know Him. Just as Almighty God says: “The incarnate God brings to an end the age when only the back of Jehovah appeared to mankind, and He also concludes the age of mankind’s belief in the vague God. In particular, the work of the last incarnate God brings all mankind into an age that is more realistic, more practical, and more beautiful. He not only concludes the age of law and doctrine but, more importantly, He reveals to mankind a God who is real and normal, who is righteous and holy, who unlocks the work of the management plan and who demonstrates the mysteries and destination of mankind, who created mankind and brings to an end the management work, and who has remained hidden for thousands of years. He brings the age of vagueness to a complete end, He concludes the age in which the whole of mankind wished to seek God’s face but was unable to, He ends the age in which the whole of mankind served Satan, and He leads the whole of mankind all the way into a completely new era. All this is the outcome of the work of God in the flesh in place of God’s Spirit.”

Thank God for His grace and elevation, allowing me to have the good fortune to come before Him, hear His voice and attend the feast of the Lamb. Thinking back, when I believed in God in the church, I lived within my conceptions and imaginations. Although I called out to the Lord every day, I didn’t have true knowledge of God at that time. Had it not been for coming before Almighty God, I would be just like the frog watching the sky from the bottom of the well, and ultimately be eliminated by God. From now on, I must seek the truth with diligence and pursue knowledge of the most supreme, honorable and unique God. Thank God!