My name is Meng’ai. I am 54 years old. I am a Christian in Malaysia who has believed in the Lord for over 30 years. I have four sons. My husband passed away when my youngest son was only several years old, leaving me alone to raise the children. Later, I turned to the Lord. Thanks to the protection and grace of the Lord, and the help of the brothers and sisters, I lived through those toughest years. Now, everything is fine. Thanks be to the Lord! …
I lived a simple and enriched life, my four sons were all Christians who were filial and obedient, I didn’t need to worry much about them and thus had more time to draw close to the Lord. In addition to having meetings and doing service in the church, I would browse some messages in the Lord on the Internet, read and studied the Bible together with my friends on Facebook, and shared with them the Lord’s grace. Whether on Facebook timeline or in Facebook teams, I realized that every brother and sister was longing for the Lord Jesus’ return to take us to heavenly home to enjoy the heavenly blessings. This was also my greatest hope in my belief in the Lord. But, how will the Lord take us to heavenly home when He comes? The Bible says, “…this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as you have seen him go into heaven” (Act 1:11), “Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watches, and keeps his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame” (Revelation 16:15), and “And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom comes; go you out to meet him” (Matthew 25:6). I didn’t know whether the Lord would come upon a cloud or like a thief or in the way that when someone makes a cry and then we welcome Him. I asked many old pastors and read many spiritual books. They all told me that when the Lord comes, He will take us riding upon a white cloud in the sky. The old Pastor Li, who was the most authoritative one in the church, also said that the Bible brims with mysteries and cannot be fully understood by us, but it is a fact acknowledged by Christianity that the Lord will arrive upon a cloud to take us to heavenly home. He told me that we should have faith in the Lord and believe that He will surely come to take us to heavenly home upon a cloud and then we will enjoy the heavenly blessings. I thought: He is right. As long as I don’t forsake the Lord and insist on serving in the church, I believe the Lord will not abandon me when He comes. So, I waited for the Lord’s return with confidence in success.
In December, 2015, as I commented on the post on Xinyi’s Facebook, I got acquainted with her. We often had a good and congenial talk. Xinyi also suffered a lot, we both had been yearning for the day when the Lord would come to take us to the heavenly home. Xinyi was intelligent, obedient, and sensible, and I took her as my own daughter, which in turn added color to my life. I felt really happy to live in the presence of the Lord and have the company of my children every day.
One day, Xinyi sent a message to me. She said she came across a video on the timeline of one of her FB friends which was about the Lord’s coming upon a cloud, and she asked me to have a look at it hurriedly. When I replied to her message, she was occupied with her work. I opened the link Xinyi sent to me, and found it was a gospel film, The Mystery of Godliness. With curiosity, I watched it for several minutes. Because I was busy, I stopped watching it. One day, about one month later, the cousin of my good friend Chen Xin, Sister Lin, testified to me that the Lord had come back and was doing the work of judgment beginning with God’s family. She read one passage of God’s words to me, “Man believes that, following the crucifixion and resurrection, Jesus went back to heaven upon a white cloud to take His place at the Most High’s right hand. In like manner, Jesus shall descend again upon a white cloud (this cloud refers to the cloud that Jesus rode upon when He returned to heaven), among those who have desperately yearned for Him for thousands of years, and He shall bear the image and wear the clothing of the Jews. After appearing to man, He shall bestow food upon them, and cause living water to gush forth for them, and shall live among man, full of grace and full of love, vivid and real. All such notions are what people believe. Yet Jesus the Savior did not do this; He did the opposite of what man conceived. He did not arrive among those who had yearned for His return, and He did not appear to all people while riding upon the white cloud. He has already arrived, but man does not know Him, and remains ignorant of Him. Man is merely awaiting Him aimlessly, unaware that He has already descended upon a ‘white cloud’ (The cloud which is His Spirit, His words, His entire disposition and all that He is), and is now among a group of overcomers that He will make during the last days” (“The Savior Has Already Returned Upon a ‘White Cloud’” in The Word Appears in the Flesh).
These words astonished me. Has the Lord descended upon a cloud? Does the white cloud refer to God’s spirit, God’s words, and God’s entire disposition and all that God is? I was surprised as well as a little confused, “Doesn’t white cloud mean the white cloud in the sky? How can white cloud be God’s words, God’s disposition and all that God is? What’s God’s disposition and all that God is?” I felt very curious. These words completely differed from those of the spiritual books I had read. It was the first time that I heard that the Lord doesn’t come upon a white cloud. But, these words vividly described the mentality and thought of people who were yearning for the Lord to take them to heavenly home. They also said that the Lord Jesus had come upon a white cloud among a group of overcomers that He would make during the last days. Has the Lord Jesus truly come back? I dare not believe it. This was different from the way I always thought in which the Lord would come. I hesitated whether to continue communicating with Sister Lin. I was afraid I would take the wrong way and follow heresy. But then I had another thought: What she fellowshiped is based on the Bible and does not deviate from the Lord’s way. I also want to know what “the Lord has come upon a cloud” is about. Hearing the news that the Lord had come back, Xinyi kept asking me, “Has the Lord truly come back?” As Xinyi didn’t know much about the Bible, I told her not to be anxious and that we should first know the situation of it. I couldn’t make a decision and had to reply to Sister Lin, “Sister, what you said is quite reasonable. However, the Lord’s coming is a great matter. I need time to investigate it. I also know the situation of other denominations. As long as what one says is right and in accord with the Bible, I will not arbitrarily judge it. The Lord Jesus also taught us, ‘For with what judgment you judge, you shall be judged: and with what measure you mete, it shall be measured to you again’ (Matthew 7:2). After careful consideration, I will reply to you.”
I could hardly fall asleep that night. Over the more than 30 years of my belief in the Lord, I have been longing for the Lord to take us to the heavenly home at His return, now I have finally heard the Lord has already come back. Although it differs from what I have in mind, it is related to the great matter of the Lord’s coming. I should take it seriously. Just when I got ready to have a good investigation, a FB friend sent me a message, “Whoever intends to join The Church of Almighty God has to pay $2,000 in advance; besides, he is obliged to swear a blood oath never to give away any affairs of the church, or he will be punished….” I was frightened at this message. What’s all about this church? Isn’t it testifying that the Lord has returned? How come the new believers have to pay and swear a blood oath? Faced with all this, I was afraid and was so agitated that I just could not calm down. I’ve been yearning for the Lord Jesus to come and take us. Now The Church of Almighty God testifies that the Lord has already returned. I’d like to have an investigation, but my FB friend denied it. I am so afraid of taking the wrong path. In entanglement and confusion, I prayed to the Lord, “O Lord! I heard that You have come back, and I want to figure it out. But some FB friends speak ill of that church. O Lord! I don’t know what to do. May you bestow upon me discernment in the spirit, guide me, and protect Xinyin and me. Pray in the name of Jesus. Amen!” In the end, after discussion, Xinyi and I decided to investigate The Church of Almighty God. We couldn’t listen to only one side. Only after practical contact would we know whether what my FB friend said was true or not. If I listened to one side blindly and refused to investigate it, it was not rational. I had to make certain whether it was the Lord’s coming!
Later, I fellowshiped with Chen Xin and Sister Lin, I told them my worries, which were caused by my FB friend’s negative reminder, to see how they would explain. With a smile, Sister Lin said confidently, “God’s sheep can hear God’s voice and God will surely recognize His sheep. Almighty God says, ‘I do not want people’s notions or thoughts, much less your money or your possessions. What I want is your heart. Do you understand? This is My will; moreover, it is what I wish to obtain’ (“Chapter 61” of Utterances of Christ in the Beginning in The Word Appears in the Flesh). Almighty God’s words allow us to understand that what God desires is man’s sincerity, not man’s money and belongings. The Lord Jesus also taught us to worship Him in spirit and in truth, not by our wrong notions and thoughts. The whole world was created by God. No person or thing does not belong to Him. God does not need our worship of money and belongings, because our whole being is from God and everything we have is bestowed by Him. The website of The Church of Almighty God is open. The words expressed by Almighty God, the films and videos produced by The Church of Almighty God are all concerned with the truth fellowship, God’s work, how God saves mankind and how man can live out a meaningful life. There is not a single place mentioning that one has to offer money to be admitted to the church. Furthermore, a great many people have accepted Almighty God’s work across the world, but none of them are said to have been charged when joining The Church of Almighty God. This is because the water of the river of life is freely bestowed to those who are thirsty. God’s words are freely bestowed to those who thirst for the truth. Not only The Church of Almighty God does not demand money from people, but on the contrary sends all kinds of books to them freely. In God, all is open, all is clear, and nothing is hidden. So, the saying that people have to swear not to leak any secrets of the church before their admission is false. Obviously, anyone with normal conscience and sense can never spread such messages on the Internet to slander and defame The Church of Almighty God, but only those with ulterior motives will do that. This carries Satan’s schemes. Satan tries to find every possible way to disturb and impair God’s work, and hinder people from accepting the true way. Don’t be confused by merely a rumor, a lie and thus afraid to investigate Almighty God’s work of the last days. In that case, you may easily miss God’s salvation of the last days. By then, it will be too late to regret. God does all He can to save man and He gives everyone the opportunity to be saved. We should follow God’s footsteps and listen to God’s voice. Whether Almighty God is the returned Lord Jesus is not decided by man, but is answered by God Himself. Almighty God has expressed millions of words. As long as we have a seeking heart to read Almighty God’s words, we can ascertain that Almighty God is the returned Lord Jesus.”
After hearing her fellowship, I became much more grounded. As a believer in the Lord for several decades, I have been expecting the return of the Lord. Both Xinyi and I considered what they said reasonable. Then we dropped our worries to investigate Almighty God’s work of the last days.
The following day, Sister Lin fellowshiped with us about the truth concerning the way of the Lord’s coming. Sister Lin said, “Apart from the verses concerning the Lord’s descending upon a cloud in public, there are still those mentioning the Lord will come in secret. For example, ‘I come as a thief’ (Revelation 16:15), ‘… for in such an hour as you think not the Son of man comes’ (Matthew 24:44), and ‘But of that day and that hour knows no man, no, not the angels which are in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father’ (Mark 13:32). The Lord’s return will be in two different ways. One way will be in secret. The other will be in public: Just as what you said, the Lord will arrive on a cloud and every single eye shall witness Him. However, before God publicly descends on a cloud, He will come in a hidden way through incarnation to do the work of judging, purifying, and saving man. Almighty God’s work of judgment in the last days through incarnation, which we testify today, is the work the Lord does when He comes in secret. The incarnate God comes to the world as a man, looking ordinary and normal. It is a secret for all humanity. No one recognizes Him as God, nor does anyone know His true identity. So, “come as a thief” is a very appropriate metaphor for the appearing of the Son of man. After the Son of man works and speaks, only those capable of recognizing His voice start to know Him. Yet those who can’t discern His voice will treat Him as just an ordinary man, to deny and reject Him. For example, when the Lord Jesus did His work in the flesh, He was like an ordinary man outwardly. So people denied, resisted, and condemned Him. But some people, through the Lord Jesus’ work and word, recognized Him as the Christ in the flesh, the appearance of God. Now is when Almighty God is working in secret to save man. He is expressing His words to judge, purify, and perfect us. During this time, people cannot see the scene of the Lord coming on a cloud in public. Not until He has made a group of overcomers will His hidden work of incarnation come to an end. Then the great disasters fall down. The good is rewarded and the evil is punished. He will openly appear to all nations. At that point, it is the scene of the Lord’s descending upon a cloud as we imagine. Just as what Almighty God says, ‘Many people may not care what I say, but I still want to tell every so-called saint who follows Jesus that, when you see Jesus descend from the heaven upon a white cloud with your own eyes, this will be the public appearance of the Sun of righteousness. Perhaps that will be a time of great excitement for you, yet you should know that the time when you witness Jesus descend from the heaven is also the time when you go down to hell to be punished. That will be the time of the end of God’s management plan and it will be when God rewards the good and punishes the wicked. For the judgment of God will have ended before man sees signs, when there is only the expression of truth. Those who accept the truth and do not seek signs, and thus have been purified, shall have returned before the throne of God and entered the Creator’s embrace. Only those who persist in the belief that “The Jesus who does not ride upon a white cloud is a false Christ” shall be subjected to everlasting punishment, for they only believe in the Jesus who exhibits signs, but do not acknowledge the Jesus who proclaims severe judgment and releases the true way of life. And so it can only be that Jesus deals with them when He openly returns upon a white cloud. … 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’ (“By the Time You Behold the Spiritual Body of Jesus, God Will Have Made Heaven and Earth Anew” in The Word Appears in the Flesh). Today, God becomes flesh and expresses the words to judge, chastise and purify man. Only by accepting God’s hidden work of judgment and achieving purity at last can we enter His kingdom. If we live in our own imagined notions—the Jesus who does not ride upon a white cloud is a false Christ, and reject God’s work of judgment, we will lose God’s salvation of the last days and in the end we will only be subjected to God’s punishment because our sinful nature has not been purified and changed.”
Their fellowship was in complete accord with the Bible. I suddenly came to my senses and understood how these biblical verses fulfilled. “…this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as you have seen him go into heaven” (Act 1:11), “Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watches, and keeps his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame” (Revelation 16:15), and “And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom comes; go you out to meet him” (Matthew 25:6). Actually, the ways of the Lord’s coming are in a hidden way and in a public way. These are the signs concerning the two different ways of the Lord’s appearance. I had asked so many pastors from seminaries and read so many spiritual books but failed to understand them. I only knew that the Lord would come upon a white cloud but did not know the Lord would come in different ways. Now I have understood it. It’s so great! Has the Lord Jesus really come to unlock the mysteries? If not, how could they know so much and speak so clearly? Thank the Lord for His leadership. Today, I have gained a lot.
Only through Almighty God’s words and Sister Lin’s fellowship did I understand a little about how the Lord does the work of judging man and purifying man when He comes. Sister Lin sent me some of Almighty God’s words, “God’s work in the present incarnation is to express His disposition primarily through chastisement and judgment. Building on this foundation, He brings more truth to man and points out to him more ways of practice, thereby achieving His objective of conquering man and saving him from his own corrupt disposition. This is what lies behind the work of God in the Age of Kingdom” (Preface to The Word Appears in the Flesh). “In the last days, Christ uses a variety of truths to teach man, to expose the substance of man, and to dissect the words and deeds of man. 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 normal humanity, as well as the wisdom and the disposition of God, and so on. These words are all directed at the substance of man and his corrupt disposition. In particular, the words that expose how man spurns God are spoken in regard to how man is an embodiment of Satan, and an enemy force against God. In undertaking His work of judgment, God does not simply make clear the nature of man with a few words; He exposes, deals with, and prunes over the long term. These methods of exposure, dealing, and pruning cannot be substituted with ordinary words, but with the truth of which man is utterly bereft. Only methods such as these can be called judgment; only through judgment of this kind can man be subdued and thoroughly convinced into submission to God, and moreover 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 own 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 are incomprehensible to him. It also allows man to recognize and know his corrupt essence 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 essence of this work is actually the work of opening up the truth, the way, and the life of God to all those who have faith in Him. This work is the work of judgment done by God” (“Christ Does the Work of Judgment With the Truth” in The Word Appears in the Flesh). Sister Lin fellowshiped, “From Almighty God’s words, we can see that in the last days, God becomes flesh and expresses the words to do the work of judgment and chastisement to purify man. He discloses and dissects man’s corrupt nature and the root of man’s sinning from different perspectives, so that man can have a knowledge of them and get purified. This stage of work of judgment and chastisement with the word is to remove everything that is not clean within man, so that he can completely break free from the bondage of his sinful nature, have a knowledge of God’s inherent righteous disposition, and thus can obey God and worship God. Though we have been redeemed by the Lord Jesus, the root of our sin within has not been removed yet. We truly need God’s further work of judgment and purification. Now, Almighty God has come and does the work of removing sins, which follows on from that of the Lord Jesus. Only those who accept God’s judgment and chastisement can have a knowledge of their corrupt nature, understand the ways to be transformed in their disposition and be saved and gradually get purified, live out the likeness of a real man to be saved by God, and have the qualification to enter the kingdom of heaven. However, those who don’t love the truth, reject the judgment and chastisement of God, and even openly judge, resist, condemn God’s work in the last days, and who cling to the notion that whoever does not ride upon a white cloud is not the returned Lord Jesus, are antichrists, false believers, and unbelievers who are revealed by God and who detest and hate the truth. They have long ago lost the work of the Holy Spirit, fallen into darkness, and become the objects condemned and eliminated by God. In the end, God will take those who have experienced His judgment and get purified into a wonderful destination. He will destroy all those broods of Satan that are revealed to be resistant to God. This is the final result of God’s expressing the truth to do the work of judgment and is the full salvation God prepares for man in the last days.”
After listening to their fellowship, I felt especially brightened and liberated in my heart. Almighty God’s word is very practical. I understand that in the last days, God’s work of judgment and chastisement with the word is to change and purify man. Only if we accept Almighty God’s work of judgment can we gain the truth, know the fact of how we’ve been corrupted by Satan, know God’s disposition, truly obey and worship God. I should read Almighty God’s word carefully. Almighty God’s word has mysteries and is from God. Xinyi also said, “It is really meaningful that God does the hidden work of judgment with the word.”
Later, Sister Lin fellowshiped with us about many more truths, including the inside story of the Bible, how to tell the true Christ from the false ones, the difference between God’s work and man’s work, and that knowing the three stages of God’s work is the path to knowing God. Having understood these truths, Xinyi and I both ascertained that Almighty God is the returned Lord Jesus, and we gladly accepted His kingdom gospel. We had meetings with the sisters and brothers of The Church of Almighty God on the Internet. From Almighty God’s words, I have understood that only those who listen to His words carefully, and accept the judgment and chastisement of the last days to get purified can enter God’s kingdom. Almighty God is the returned Lord Jesus and is the Almighty who is, who was, and who is to come, the one who is prophesied in Revelation. I have also truly felt the presence and work of the Holy Spirit. Later, two sisters near me visited and fellowshiped about Almighty God’s words with me, making me truly supplied in my spirit. Now, I have the watering and supplying of the living water of life every day, feel that I am face to face with God, and live in a very released and free way.
From Almighty God’s words, I have found the true way to enter the kingdom of heaven: accepting God’s judgment and chastisement with the word and having my corrupt disposition purified and transformed little by little. I really thank God for His salvation. When I see again the messages slandering The Church of Almighty God on Facebook, I have already learned how to discern them, and I will no longer waver. Those who spread these messages are all antichrists, devils, and Satan who hinder people from being saved and entering the kingdom of heaven. The CCP, the atheistic party spread various lies and rumors in order to abolish Almighty God’s work of the last days, people stand in their side to resist and blaspheme God, thus they will lose God’s salvation of the last days and be in hell to be punished. This is the sinister intention of the CCP, the devil. Praise God! Only after I have experienced God’s work personally did I understand God’s thoughtful intention to save man and His love toward man. Now I do cherish this salvation from Facebook. Whenever I have time, I read Almighty God’s word and cooperate with the gospel work. I wish to lead my relatives, friends and the fellow believers in my former church to God’s family and to keep up with God’s footprints and attend the feast of kingdom of heaven together with them.