and at 13, I studied the catechism and was baptized.

After that, I decided to become a priest to serve God.

To that end, I entered a seminary when I was 22

where I studied theology and the Scriptures and took some other courses.

But some time passed

and I still didn't feel any closer to God,

and my desire to get married and have a family kept cropping up.

I prayed and prayed, but I still couldn't keep it at bay.

I'd sworn myself to chastity before God

so that I could enter the kingdom of heaven,

but I wanted to forsake that commitment.

Wasn't I sinning and lying to God?

How could I get into God's kingdom?

I was at the seminary for 10 years.

After I graduated, I went to a monastery in Indonesia for another year,

but I kept having impure thoughts from time to time.

I was really discouraged.

After finishing my studies,

I decided to become a regular parishioner.

I went home and got married.

But in day-to-day life,

I would argue with my wife over petty household things

and I wasn't very patient.

Sometimes I'd lie to protect my own interests.

I came before God to confess and repent a lot for these things

but then I'd just keep doing them.

I wanted to repair my relationship with God

by going to Mass and saying prayers more,

but that didn't fix my problems.

Then I came to the US in 2014.

I met Li and Liu, a couple of other parishioners at Mass.

Whenever I had the chance I'd discuss matters of faith with them.

I remember once when we were sharing Scripture,

Liu said that he knew a devout deacon who was well-versed in the Bible

who believed in Eastern Lightning.

He said a couple of other fervent church members joined it, too.

He wondered what kind of church Eastern Lightning was

and why so many avid believers had joined it.

I was a bit confused by this, too,

because I'd also known a devout deacon

who had joined Eastern Lightning.

I didn't know what Eastern Lightning preached

or why it drew in so many pious Christians.

Could it be inspired by the Holy Spirit?

I figured I should check it out

and see what was so special about what that church preached.

I wondered if it could help me with my devotionals and with knowing God.

Yes.

At this thought, I told Li and Liu

that I wanted to go check out The Church of Almighty God.

They agreed.

When we went,

a sister played a video for us called

The Origin and Development of The Church of Almighty God.

From this video,

I learned that the Lord Jesus had returned, just as I'd hoped for.

He is Almighty God in the flesh

who is expressing truths to do the work of judgment.

That's why

people from all denominations who love the truth,

and long for God's appearance read Almighty God's words,

see that they're the truth, and God's voice,

and accept Almighty God's work.

Yes.

Also, Almighty God's gospel

has spread from China in the East to many western countries,

fulfilling the Lord Jesus' prophecy:

Amen!

I was really surprised that

that is how this prophecy is fulfilled.

I'd read it all those years without understanding it.

Right.

Then a brother played a gospel movie called The Bible and God.

This one moved me even more deeply

and I saw that there are a great deal of mysteries in the Bible.

I'd read so many spiritual books

but no theologian or Bible scholar

had ever so clearly explained

the truth behind the Bible, and how it came to be,

and its relationship to God.

I gained so much from that movie.

Yes.

I could see why so many enthusiastic believers

accepted Almighty God after hearing His words.

I knew I had to look into it.

Definitely.

Then they said in the last days,

Almighty God expresses truths

to do the work of judgment beginning with God's house

to cleanse and save mankind once and for all.

I was confused.

The Lord Jesus said "It is consummated" on the cross.

That should mean that God's work to save mankind was finished,

so why would God need to judge mankind to purify and save us?

I wanted to find out but it was getting late,

so I arranged to come back the next day.

I felt excited the whole way back home.

I'd learned quite a bit from that day's fellowship

and felt like I'd become closer to the Lord.

Amen!

It seemed that The Church of Almighty God did indeed involve the Lord's work.

It would be incredible

if the Lord really had returned and I could live alongside Him

just like Peter did.

Yes.

This thought made me look forward to the next day's gathering even more.

As soon as I got off work the next day,

I rushed to the meeting place and lost no time asking the sister,

"You say that the Lord Jesus has returned

and expressed truths to do the work of judgment.

But on the cross, He said 'It is consummated.'

That means God's work to save mankind was completed.

Our sins are forgiven through our faith— we're justified and saved by faith,

and when the Lord comes He can take us straight up into His kingdom.

Why would He do more salvation work?

What's the meaning behind this?"

What was her fellowship on this?

What she said was

"The Lord Jesus said 'It is consummated'

because His redemption work was complete.

It didn't mean that all of God's work to save mankind had been finished.

If we determine that God's work to save mankind is done

because the Lord Jesus said 'It is consummated'

and that He won't do new work when He returns,

then how would these prophecies be fulfilled?

Amen!

There's also 1 Peter 4:17:

Amen!

"These prophecies show that in the last days,

the Lord will express more truths and work to judge and cleanse mankind.

If we say that God's salvation work is completely finished,

then how would these prophecies be fulfilled?"

That's right.

They wouldn't be.

Yeah.

"The Bible also prophesies that in the last days,

the Lord will separate the good servants from the evil,

the sheep from the goats, the wheat from the tares,

the wise virgins from the foolish.

It's just as the Lord Jesus said:

"Revelation also prophesies

that God will make a group of overcomers in the last days

and that His kingdom will come to earth.

This is all work the Lord does in the last days.

If we say God's work to save mankind is totally finished

because the Lord Jesus completed His work,

then how would these prophecies be fulfilled?"

That's right.

"So this understanding

is clearly out of line with the Lord's actual words and the reality of God's work."

I nodded my head as I listened. I felt she was right.

Why hadn't I ever seen something so obvious?

She went on to read several passages of Almighty God's words.

Let's take a look at it.

Great.

Yes.

Amen!

Amen!

After that, she played a video of a reading of God's words.

Let's watch it.

Okay.

After the video, she shared this fellowship:

"The Lord Jesus did the work of redemption in the Age of Grace,

so as long as we believe in Him, pray, confess, and repent, our sins are forgiven.

We can enjoy God's grace and blessings, and won't be condemned under the law."

Right.

"This is what the Lord Jesus' redemptive work has achieved

and it's the real meaning of the phrase 'saved by faith.'

Our sins are forgiven by the Lord Jesus and we don't commit obvious sins anymore

and we mostly behave well.

But we're still not free from sin."

- Right. - Sure.

"We still lie and deceive for our own interests,

we're greedy, jealous, hateful, and harbor evil thoughts.

We can't resist the temptation of worldly trends,

we long for money and love vanity.

We condescendingly reproach people who do things we don't like.

We're full of satanic dispositions

like arrogance and deceitfulness,

we're sick of the truth and adore evil.

These satanic dispositions are more entrenched than outward sins.

They're instilled in us by Satan and are the root of sinning and resisting God.

Until these things are resolved,

we still can't help but sin and we can't be free of sin's bonds.

The Bible says

God is holy and so is His kingdom.

He can't allow filthy human beings in.

Those of us who sin every day are servants of sin,

so how could we be fit to enter God's kingdom?"

Yes.

"So, the Lord Jesus' work of redemption

was just one part of God's work to save mankind,

not all of it.

Our sins have just been forgiven

but we haven't been freed from sin or cast off Satan's influence.

God has yet to completely gain mankind."

Yes.

"Almighty God has come in the last days.

He expresses truths and does the work of judgment

to cleanse our corrupt dispositions

and resolve our sinful satanic nature in opposition to God,

so we can totally cast off the shackles of sin,

be fully saved, and enter God's kingdom."

- Yes. - Amen!

She went on, saying,

"Almighty God's appearance and work

also reveals good and evil servants, sheep and goats, wheat and tares,

wise and foolish virgins."

Yes.

"Those who refuse to hear the Lord's voice,

who deny and condemn Almighty God's work of the last days

are the foolish virgins, the tares, the evil servants

who'll ultimately fall into disaster, weeping and gnashing their teeth."

- Yes. - That's right.

"Those who recognize

God's voice in Almighty God's words and accept His work of the last days

are the wise virgins, the wheat, and the sheep.

They undergo God's judgment of the last days,

are purified, and ultimately brought into God's kingdom.

This completely fulfills the prophecies in Revelation."

Right.

"So when God's work of judgment comes to a close,

God's work to save mankind will be fully completed."

Yes.

Her fellowship was eye-opening for me.

I realized that the Lord Jesus only did the work of redemption

and only Almighty God's judgment work in the last days

can fully cleanse and save mankind.

Yes.

We're redeemed of our sins because of our faith, but our sinful nature remains,

which is why we live in a state of sinning and confessing.

Indeed.

All I could do before was force myself not to sin

but reading the Scriptures and following the monastery's rules

couldn't stop me from sinning.

That's right.

Then I understood

that the only way to uproot the problem of sinfulness

was to be judged and cleansed by God in the last days.

I eagerly asked this sister

how God performs the work of judgment to cleanse people.

She played another video of a reading of God's words.

How about we watch it now?

Sounds good.

She continued her fellowship after the video.