Since my childhood, I had believed in the Lord with my parents. In order to serve the Lord better, at 14, I gave up my study under the encouragement of the Lord’s love and joined the Northeast Youth Fellowship. In the association, many preachers from home and abroad came to train us in Bible studying. Once, Elder Yang from Anhui Province preached to us, “There is an Eastern Lightning church that has popped up. Their preaching is very high and they grow very fast. Some fervent brothers and sisters of our church have been stolen by them. They said that God has done the third stage of work and now we don’t need to read the Bible anymore. Brothers and sisters, we all know that the Bible is the canon of Christianity, and all God’s words are in the Bible. There is no God’s word outside the Bible. As long as we hold on to the Bible, we will enter the kingdom of heaven.” The preaching of Eastern Lightning was high, but I very much agreed with what the elder said. Any belief apart from the Bible is not true. There is no God’s words outside the Bible. Only if we hold on to the Bible, can we enter the kingdom of heaven. From then on, I kept on reading and memorizing the Bible every day. A few years later, I graduated from the youth fellowship and became a co-worker who consecrated to the Lord full time, shepherding the churches in various places.
In the fall of 1999, I was assigned to Shandong to shepherd the church. Three months later, during the time when I was training the young believers in the Association, I met two strangers. I guarded against them immediately when seeing their strange faces. I thought, “Which church are they from? I have never seen them before. Are they followers of Eastern Lightning? I have to feel my way first. If they talk about the Bible, they should have the same belief as me. Then it would be OK. If not, something is not right.” Thinking of this, I said tentatively to them, “Sisters, we are all believers in the Lord. Let’s talk about the Bible.” They agreed with me happily. Sister Liu took out the Bible from her bag unhurriedly. When I saw this, my anxious heart was relieved. Later, we discussed about the Bible for one day, and we talked very agreeably. In the evening, Sister Liu said excitedly, “Sister Wang, our Savior Jesus has come back and expressed new words outside the Bible.” Before she could finish her words, I raised my voice in surprise with my face flushed, “What did you say? Does the Lord come back? Does He express words outside the Bible? How could it be possible? All of God’s words are in the Bible. Is there any God’s word outside the Bible? If I didn’t make a mistake, you are believers from Eastern Lightning.” Sister Liu stood up and tried to persuade me to calm down and listen more, but I ignored them. I pulled the host aunty to the west room in a hurry and said to her seriously, “Aunty, they don’t read the Bible. There is no need for us to fellowship with them. Their belief is different from ours. You should drive them away quickly.” But aunty hold my hands and said, “Xiaodan, I have listened to their fellowship for a whole day. Their fellowship doesn’t go beyond the Bible. Why not listen more? Besides, you are familiar with the Bible. You are not afraid of them.” After hearing this, I thought, “Yes, I’ve heard that the preaching of Eastern Lightning followers is very high, but I haven’t seen how high their preaching is. I hardly meet them and I haven’t competed with them yet. Let them stay, I’m not afraid of them.” Then, I pulled aunty, raised my head, and said confidently, “Aunty, let’s go into the room and see what they will say.”
Seeing we came back to the room, Sister Liu immediately gave her seat up to us, and said sincerely, “Sister, we know you may not accept this when you heard God has expressed new words. We can understand your feeling at this moment. If you have some opinions, you can bring them up. We believe that the more we fellowship about the truth, the more clearly we’ll understand it.”
I glanced at her with a haughty manner, and said with confidence, “All right, you said just now that God has expressed new words outside the Bible. That is not in accordance with the Bible. 2 Timothy 3:16 says, ‘All scripture is given by inspiration of God.” In the whole religious world, all the believers in the Lord Jesus read the Bible, because the Bible is the canon of Christianity. All the words in the Bible are God’s words. If one doesn’t read the Bible, he cannot be deemed a believer of God.
Sister Liu said with proud humility, “Everyone who has read the Bible knows that all the epistles and testimonies of experiences of the apostles in it have clearly indicated the authors, and all of these authors are men. If we insist that men’s words are God’s words, is it right? Men’s words must be mixed with men’s opinions. Matthew 27:5 says, ‘And he cast down the pieces of silver in the temple, and departed, and went and hanged himself.’ In Acts 1:16 and 1:18, it says, ‘…Judas, which was guide to them that took Jesus. … Now this man purchased a field with the reward of iniquity; and falling headlong, he burst asunder in the middle, and all his bowels gushed out.’ From these two scriptures, we can see that Judas who sold the Lord had two kinds of death. One man can’t die twice. If they were all God’s words, how could they be contradictory? Let’s see what Almighty God says about the Bible: ‘Not everything in the Bible is a record of the words personally spoken by God. The Bible simply documents the previous two stages of God’s work, of which one part is a record of the foretelling of the prophets, and one part is the experiences and knowledge written by people used by God throughout the ages. Human experiences are tainted with human opinions and knowledge, and this is something which is unavoidable. In many of the books of the Bible are human notions, human biases, and humans’ absurd comprehension. Of course, most of the words are the result of the enlightenment and illumination of the Holy Spirit, and they are correct understandings—yet it still cannot be said that they are entirely accurate expressions of the truth’ (“Concerning the Bible (3)” in The Word Appears in the Flesh). Almighty God tells us the accurate sayings about the Bible. In the Bible, there are not only God’s words but also man’s words, Satan’s words, and donkey’s words. If we insist that these words are all God’s words, isn’t it a blasphemy against God?” Hearing their fellowship, I was shocked, thinking, “I have read these two scriptures for many times these years, why haven’t I realized the contradiction? No, maybe they misinterpret the Bible out of context.” So I said defiantly, “The Bible says, ‘Search the scriptures; for in them you think you have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me’ (John 5:39). I think there is no God’s word outside the Bible, and that the Bible is sufficient to testify to God.” After saying these words, I thought, “I will see how you will answer me.”
Sister Sun said solemnly with justice, “The latter part of this verse said, ‘And you will not come to me, that you might have life’ (John 5:40). The Bible is only a testimony to God. Only through God’s actual words can we gain life. In John 16:12-13, it says, ‘I have yet many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. However, when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will show you things to come.’ In these verses, ‘the Spirit of truth’ refers to God Himself, that is, when the Lord Jesus comes back, He will speak words again to lead us to understand all the truth and things to come. But these truths and things to come are not recorded in the Bible. This shows us that there are God’s new words outside the Bible.” Hearing what they said was well-founded, I thought, “They are very familiar with the Bible, and they answer my questions without preparation. It seems that I underestimate them.”
Then I said, “We know Revelation 22:18 says, ‘For I testify to every man that hears the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add to these things, God shall add to him the plagues that are written in this book.’ You said there are God’s words outside the Bible, this is adding to the Bible and resisting God. God will add to them the plagues written in the Bible.”
Sister Sun said calmly, “This verse says that if anyone adds to the prophecy of this book, but not to the Bible. The Revelation was recorded after John saw the vision on the island of Patmos in A.D. 90. But the New Testament was compiled after 300 A.D. Obviously, ‘this book’ John spoke of means the Revelation, the book of prophecy, but not the entire Bible. ‘No one shall add’ means that man cannot add anything to the prophecy; it does not mean God cannot. For God’s work is not restricted by the Bible; He does whatever He wants to do. Let’s see Revelation 2:17, ‘He that has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches; To him that overcomes will I give to eat of the hidden manna….’ ‘The hidden manna’ is God’s hidden word, that is, the truth that has not yet been expressed by God. They are not recorded in the Bible. Otherwise, can they be called the hidden manna? The words that the Spirit says to the churches and the hidden manna are actually the words expressed by God when He comes back in the last days. Almighty God says: ‘God speaks His words and does His work according to different ages, and in different ages, He speaks different words. God does not abide by rules, or repeat the same work, or feel nostalgia for the things of the past; He is a God who is always new and never old, and He speaks new words every day’ (“All Is Achieved by the Word of God” in The Word Appears in the Flesh). God expresses words in every age according to the need of the corrupt mankind. In the age of Law, mankind was slightly corrupt. So God issued the laws, commandments, statutes and ordinances to lead man’s life on earth. By the end of the Age of Law, because man couldn’t keep the law, God became flesh to serve as a sin offering based on man’s need. He was nailed to the cross to redeem us. In the last days, man has become corrupted deeper and deeper. So, God has personally come back in the flesh again to express all aspects of truths, and He opens up the truth, way, and life to all those who have faith in Him and does the work of judgment beginning with the house of God. All those who can accept God’s actual work can be purified and be saved by God.” After listening to their fellowship, I thought it was reasonable, but because of my arrogance I was not willing to bow my head easily. I thought, “I have believed in the Lord since my childhood, and had professional Bible studying and training. Two Bible books were completely dog-eared by me. And I traveled extensively for many years and saw many spiritual persons. How can I, a dignified co-worker who served the Lord full time, be defeated by you? I was really not reconciled to the fact. Lord, please help me. I am willing to use the Bible as a weapon to safeguard your way. Oh Lord! Please give me the words I should say. Lord!” But whatever I prayed, it was of no avail. My head was ringing, completely blank. I was on pins and needles at that time; my face was flushed and my forehead was beaded with sweat. I felt I had completely lost my face and could no longer stay there at ease. Then I said to the host aunty, “Auntie, I’m going out for a walk.” I put on my down jacket and went out of the room. She said, “Xiaodan, it’s very cold outside. Where are you going? Don’t catch a cold.” “It doesn’t matter. I just go out for a while.” I said.
It was the twelfth lunar month, and the biting cold wind cut into me, but I did not feel cold. Standing outside, I gazed at the sky and felt as if my heart were hollowed out. I was crying in my heart, “Lord, I have given up my study in order to equip the Bible these years, and even devoted my youth to You. Since I entered the youth fellowship, I have been working hard to study the Bible. I even know how many words, verses, and chapters in the Bible. I have explained the Bible to brothers and sisters for many years. Lord, I was useless at this crucial moment because I’m incapable of testifying to Your words. Are my reading the Bible all in vain? The Bible is my life, aren’t all Your words not in the Bible? If I depart from the Bible, am I still a believer in the Lord? Lord, what should I do? ...” Thinking of this, I couldn’t help controlling myself, tears kept rolling down. After a while, some words occurred to my mind: The hidden manna is God’s word that has not been expressed. … Adding things to the prophecy of the book doesn’t refer to adding things to the entire Bible, but to the Revelation. … The two kinds of Judas’ deaths were mixed with man’s will. … And the words they read, “Human experiences are tainted with human opinions and knowledge, and this is something which is unavoidable.” I thought, “These words make sense. The death of Judas recorded in the Bible is indeed contradiction. Could it be that the Bible is not all God’s words but mixed up with man’s will? No. All of God’s words are in the Bible, and there is no God’s word outside the Bible. I have clung to it for so many years, how could it ever be wrong?” Just like this, I stayed in the biting cold wind for more than one hour. Later, I felt too cold, so I went into the room.
On the sixth morning, when I came out of the room, the host aunty leaned over and whispered in my ear, “Sister Liu and Sister Sun barely slept the whole night. They prayed a great deal for you and wept bitterly for you.” Just as she had finished her words, the two sisters walked up to me from the room. I noticed that Sister Liu’s eyes were swollen and bloodshot. Sister Sun’s mouth was blistered and her eyes were full of tears; she carried a book named The word Appears in the Flesh, and said to me sincerely in a hoarse voice, “Sister Wang, through these days’ association with you, we know you are a true believer in God. But the truths we understand are too limited. Only Christ is the truth, the way, and the life, and God incarnate this time has bestowed every aspect of the truth. We truly hope that you can have an investigation on the words of Almighty God.” Seeing their sincere attitude, I felt awful sorry: I was a stranger, and deliberately made things difficult for them, but they never cared about it, and they even worried about me and paid so much for me. If it were not for the work of the Holy Spirit, who could attain this? If I were them, I could never attain this, neither could the brothers and sisters in my church. Their humanity and love really convinced me. Seeing their red and swollen eyes, and hearing their hoarse voice, I felt somewhat remorseful within and my hardened heart began to soften. Seeing the book in Sister Sun’s hands, I thought, “Is their energy from that book? Is it because of this book that they have such great love? Does the Lord really express words? How about reading the book? If I don’t ever read, how could I know whether it is true or not?” At that moment, Sister Sun said, “Sister, these are God’s personal utterances. Please have a look.” I said, “All right.” As soon as they heard me say this, the two sisters were all moved to tears. Sister Sun took my hands and said sincerely, “Sister, we find a passage of God’s words for you, ‘How Peter Came to Know Jesus.’ Read this passage first, and if you have something that you don’t understand in it, we can fellowship about it.” I nodded as I took the book.
I came back to my room and opened the book The Word Appears in the Flesh. Then I saw the title “How Peter Came to Know Jesus.” I thought to myself: There is no God’s word outside the Bible, isn’t it? Then how does this book mention about Peter? Regarding Peter, the Bible only records that Jesus called out Peter, but has no record about how Peter came to know Jesus. Thinking of this, I turned to this passage out of curiosity. The book says, “During the time Peter spent with Jesus, he saw many lovable characteristics in Jesus, many aspects worthy of emulation, and many aspects which supplied him. Although Peter saw the being of God in Jesus in many ways, and saw many lovable qualities, he did not know Jesus at first. Peter began following Jesus when he was 20 years old, and he continued to follow Him for six years. During that time, he never came to know Jesus; Peter was willing to follow Jesus purely out of admiration for Him.” When I saw this, I was shocked and puzzled: I have read the Bible many times during these years. It was almost two thousand years ago that Peter followed Jesus; but this book says that Peter still didn’t know Jesus after he followed Him for six years; how does its author know? This is obviously a mystery that happened two thousand years ago. No one could have known what happened at that time, and there is also no record in the Bible. What is this all about? I thought the answer might be in the following words. So I continued my reading, “When Jesus first called to him on the shores of the Sea of Galilee, He asked: ‘Simon Barjona, will you follow Me?’ Peter said: ‘I must follow he who is sent by the heavenly Father. I must acknowledge he who is chosen by the Holy Spirit. I will follow You.’ At the time, Peter had already heard of a man named Jesus—the greatest of the prophets and God’s beloved Son—and Peter had been constantly hoping to find Him and hoping for a chance to see Him (because that is how he was being led by the Holy Spirit). Although Peter had never seen Him and had only heard rumors about Him, gradually a yearning and adoration for Jesus grew in his heart, and he often yearned to one day look upon Jesus.” Trying over and over to figure out these words, “gradually a yearning and adoration for Jesus grew in his heart, and he often yearned to one day look upon Jesus.” Ah! Only the Lord observes the depths of man’s heart. Except from God, who could have known Peter’s thought at that time? In the past Jesus spoke the mysteries hidden in Samaritan woman, and today these words speak the thoughts deep in Peter’s heart which are not mentioned in the Bible. Are words in this book, as they said, really God’s words? Otherwise, how could it describe the conversation of Jesus and Peter exhaustively? What Jesus said and what Peter said and thought are all clearly and thoroughly told by this book.
This book attracted me and I continued my reading anxiously, “One evening, several of the disciples, including Peter, were on a fishing boat together with Jesus, and Peter asked Jesus a very naive question: ‘Lord! I would like to ask You a question which I have had for a very long time.’ Jesus replied: ‘Then please ask!’ Peter then asked: ‘Was the work done during the Age of Law Your doing?’ Jesus smiled, as if saying: ‘This child, how naive he is!’ He then continued with purpose: ‘It was not Mine. It was the doing of Jehovah and Moses.’ Peter heard this and exclaimed: ‘Oh! So it was not Your doing.’ Once Peter had said this, Jesus spoke no more. Peter thought to himself: ‘It was not You that did it, so no wonder You have come to destroy the law, as it was not Your doing.’ His heart was also eased.” I could not help laughing when I saw this. I thought: Isn’t Jehovah and Jesus the same one God? Is there any need to ask such a simple question? On second thought: Peter, as Jesus’ disciple, didn’t know the Lord and even measured the work of Jesus with his own notions. Then will I not know God’s work just like Peter? While I was seeking, I suddenly recalled: The two sisters have fellowshiped a lot with me that God does the work of the Age of Kingdom upon the foundation of the Bible and expressed new words, and that Almighty God and Jesus are the same one God. But I rejected them all. Today, will I too, as naive as Peter, separate the work of God? If I really oppose God for I don’t know God, my belief in God will be in vain.
When I thought about this, I squared my shoulders and continued my reading, “Jesus said: ‘The One who will come from everlasting to everlasting will do the work of redemption during the Age of Grace to redeem all of mankind from sin, but He will not be constrained by any regulation in leading man out of sin. He will walk out of the law and enter into the Age of Grace. He will redeem all of mankind. He will stride forward from the Age of Law into the Age of Grace, yet none know Him, He who came from Jehovah. The work Moses did was granted by Jehovah; Moses drafted the law because of the work Jehovah had done.’ Once this was said, He continued: ‘Those who abolish the commandments of the Age of Grace during the Age of Grace will meet with calamity. They must stand in the temple and receive God’s destruction, and fire shall come upon them.’” When I read here, I stared at the words “Those who abolish the commandments of the Age of Grace during the Age of Grace will meet with calamity. They must stand in the temple and receive God’s destruction, and fire shall come upon them.” I became somewhat afraid. I thought of the scribes, the elders and the Pharisees, who served God in the temple from generation to generation: They were all familiar with the laws and could recite the whole Old Testament by heart, and even more, they sewed the scriptures to the hems of their garments; but when the Lord Jesus came to work, they still clung to them, and used them to reject the work of the Lord Jesus. During these years, I regarded the Bible as my life, and capitalized the biblical knowledge I acquired standing in the high position and not obeying anyone. The two sister fellowshiped with me so much but I clung to my own notions that there was no word of God outside the Bible. No matter how they fellowshiped with me, I didn’t listen to them. Then wouldn’t I walk on the same path as the Pharisees? In thinking about this, I began to feel unsettled and my heart thumped. If I use the Bible to reject the new work of God like the Pharisees, then will I not get into trouble? And the seven woes that the Lord Jesus condemned the Pharisees with will come to me, won’t it? If it were so, I wouldn’t have a good outcome and would get punishment from God. I became more afraid when I thought about this. So I kneeled to the ground and prayed to the Lord, “Lord! All these years, I have held onto my notions that there is no God’s word outside the Bible. But the words I read now are stirring my heart and only You can speak the mysteries of the two thousand years, and only You can reveal the real thoughts deep in Peter’s mind, for you know all things from everlasting to everlasting. Oh! Lord! Do you really express words outside the Bible? The words I read today make me feel that they contain authority and power, and cannot be spoken by man. No other words except from God’s words can explain what happened two thousand years ago and God’s work so clearly. Oh! Lord! I don’t want to be the Pharisees of modern times, using the Bible to reject You! Lord! I am willing to seek and investigate these words. May You enlighten and guide me.”
After prayer, I saw God’s words say, “The Israelites saw only My mercy, love, and greatness, and the Jews witnessed only My patience and redemption. They saw very, very little of the work of My Spirit, to the point that they understood but one-ten-thousandth of what you have heard and seen. What you have seen exceeds even the chief priests among them” (“What Do You Know of Faith?” in The Word Appears in the Flesh). I was amazed by these words. The Bible records many deeds of the Israelites, like they following the pillar of cloud and fire and being led out of Egypt by Jehovah God. And it also records a lot about the work of Jesus. Since so many have been recorded in the Bible, then why does God still say that these are only one ten thousandth of what we have heard and seen today? Why does He say that what we have seen exceeds that of the chief priests? As the chief priests served Jehovah God directly in the temple and faced Him every day; how can we surpass them? What is this all about? In my quest, I suddenly thought of the words of the Lord Jesus, “Truly I say to you, Among them that are born of women there has not risen a greater than John the Baptist: notwithstanding he that is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he” (Matthew 11:11). John the Baptist is the one who paved the way for the Lord Jesus; but in the Age of Kingdom, the least one is greater than him, and understands more than him. I hastened to read the following words, “The truths you understand today surpass theirs; what you have seen today exceeds what was seen in the Age of Law, as well as the Age of Grace, and what you have experienced surpasses even Moses and Elijah. For what the Israelites understood was only the law of Jehovah, and what they saw was only the sight of Jehovah’s back; what the Jews understood was only the redemption of Jesus, what they received was only the grace bestowed by Jesus, and what they saw was only the image of Jesus within the house of the Jews” (“What Do You Know of Faith?” in The Word Appears in the Flesh). I contemplated this piece of words carefully, “For what the Israelites understood was only the law of Jehovah, and what they saw was only the sight of Jehovah’s back.” I remembered: Moses didn’t saw Jehovah’s face directly but only His back when He appeared to him in the Mount Sinai; the people of Israelites only understood Jehovah’s laws and decrees after He conveyed His will through Moses to them; and the Jews only understood and experienced the Lord Jesus’ work of redemption of crucifixion and saw His disposition of love and mercy. Today, I saw Almighty God’s words say, “What you see this day is the glory of Jehovah, the redemption of Jesus, and all My deeds of this day. So, too, have you heard the words of My Spirit, appreciated My wisdom, come to know My wonder, and learned of My disposition. I have also told you all of My management plan. What you have seen is not merely a loving and merciful God, but a God filled with righteousness. You have seen My wondrous work and known that I brim with majesty and wrath. Furthermore, you know that I once brought down My raging fury upon the house of Israel, and that today, it has come upon you. You understand more of My mysteries in heaven than Isaiah and John; you know more of My loveliness and venerableness than all the saints of ages past. What you have received is not merely My truth, My way, and My life, but a vision and revelation greater than that of John. You understand many more mysteries, and have also looked upon My true countenance; you have accepted more of My judgment and know more of My righteous disposition” (“What Do You Know of Faith?” in The Word Appears in the Flesh).
I suddenly understood why what we saw today exceeds that of the chief priests. Because God has opened His hidden mysteries of six thousand years to us people in the last days. During these days, through two sisters’ testifying of God’s new work and my own reading of the words, I understood what was the lake of fire and brimstone, the bottomless pit, the new heaven and new earth, the kingdom and so on. I have understood so many mysteries and truths that I didn’t understand before; and these truths carry all God’s dispositions: God not only has the disposition of love and mercy, but also has the disposition of majesty and wrath. Doesn’t all this fulfill the prophecy that only the Lion of the tribe of Judah is able to open the seven seals? These truths also let me understand that the work of Jehovah, the work of Jesus, and the work of Almighty God are all done by the same one God. If God didn’t tell us His own work, no one could know about these. Not until then did I understood why God says that we understand more than Isaiah and John: Isaiah only knew God’s work in the Age of Law, John only knew Jesus’ work in the Age of Grace; but through reading these words today, I understand not only the work of Jehovah and the work of Jesus, but also God’s work in the Age of Kingdom. It is so true that what I understand exceeds the chief priests, Moses, Isaiah, and John. If I still keep to the Bible, how can I know so many truths? These words are indeed God’s words. Only God is the truth, the way and the life, and only He can express truths to open the mysteries of six thousand years. That the Bible is God’s former work! I’m so blind and ignorant that I constrain God’s present work within the Bible and my imaginations and conceptions. The Pharisees used the laws of the Old Testament to condemn Jesus’ work, saying that as long as you were not called Messiah, you were not true God. And I delimited that God’s words are all in the Bible all these years, thinking that there is no His word outside the Bible. When God’s new work came upon me, I weighed up God’s new work according to the words of the Bible, and once I found it doesn’t accord with the Bible, I began to condemn and slander it. Aren’t my deeds the same as the Pharisees? Thinking here, I felt remorse and self-blame. Not until then did I know why, as recorded in the Bible, the Lord said that He never knew those who preached and worked in the name of Him, and He called them evildoers. During these years, not only did I cling to the Bible myself, but I implanted my notions in brothers and sisters, let them resist God like me, intending to thwart and disturb God’s work. I hated myself for I believed in God but didn’t know God. At that time, I knelt down with a flop on the floor and could not hold in my self-accusation anymore. My remorseful tears dropped down. I was choked with sobs kneeling before God, and could not speak for a while. Recalling that time after time when I resisted God these days, I was ashamed to come before God. After I cried for a long while, I clasped my hands and said in a quavering voice, “Almighty God! For so many years, I have held on that outside the Bible, there is no God’s word. When Your work came upon me, I didn’t have the slightest thought of seeking the truth, and I used the Bible to reject Your work and words. When the sister read Your words to me, I not only ignored them, but also resisted You with my notions, which were actually developed as a result of my holding on to the Bible. When she testified about Your work, I again confronted Your words with the scriptures, and once they didn’t accord with the Bible, I strongly denied these truths. Not only did I cling to the Bible, but I also brought brothers and sisters into the Bible and let them be in enmity to You. I am so blind! God! If it were not for Your tolerance and patience, such a rebellious man like me would not be qualified to come before you. Oh, God! I was so rebellious, but You didn’t treat me according to the sins I committed, and You gave me the chance and enlightened and led me again and again, allowing me to understand Your voice, know that Your words are not only in the Bible. And You let me know You are the returned Lord Jesus in the last days. Oh! God! Your words have opened my heart so that I no longer blindly believe in the Bible or worship it. Or I would still use the Bible to confine Your work. God! If you didn’t save me, I would still constrain Your work in the Bible like the Pharisees. If I were to continue on like this, the only outcome for me would be the same as the Pharisees—to be punished by You. Oh! God! Thanks for Your words that awaken my hardened heart, let me recognize You in Your words, make the rumors of condemning and attacking You collapse by themselves, and enable me to know how difficult Your work of saving man is. Almighty God! I am willing to accept You as my Lord, and treat Your words as my life, and I am resolved to bring those brothers and sisters who still cling to notions and are deceived by rumors before You.”
Through more than twenty days of reading God’s words, I understood that the Bible only records God’s former work, that is, His first two stages of work. My more than ten years of reading the Bible didn’t bring me any change in disposition, but made me more arrogant. This experience made me truly understand that the Bible cannot give man life, or purify man. No matter how I read or recited the Bible, I was still unable to know God. Only accepting the words of Almighty God—Christ of the last days can my life and disposition be changed and purified, and at last can I come to know God. In God’s words, it can be seen that He speaks from different perspectives. From His consoling and exhorting words, I saw His disposition of love and mercy. From His words of judgment and chastisement, I saw His majesty and wrathful disposition. From His words of revelation, I saw His holy essence and that He has a side that does not tolerate offense from people. God Most High came from heaven to earth, and speaks from the perspective of a created being; he never flaunts or testifies about Himself. This made me see more clearly God’s humble and hidden essence. Only Almighty God’s words are the truth, the way and the life, and the only way for man to be saved. If we don’t accept Almighty God’s words and work, we will wither more and more and stray farther and farther from God. At last, because of resisting God, we will be punished in the disaster that has scarcely been seen through the ages. All the glory be to Almighty God!
From: Grow in Christ
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