What Is God’s Name When the Lord Jesus Returns?

By Han Lei

Over the last two millennia, Christians have been praying, preaching, curing sicknesses, and driving out demons all in the name of the Lord Jesus with the firm belief that He is our sole Savior, we can only be saved through Jesus’ name, and that the name of the Lord Jesus will remain forever unchanged. Just as it is written: “Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved” (Acts 4:12), and “Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever” (Hebrews 13:8). That’s what I always thought, too. But a few days ago, while doing my devotionals I saw this in the Book of Revelation: “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. He that has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches” (Revelation 3:12–13). I was suddenly drawn in by the two words “new name” and I turned it over and over in my mind. “Could it be that the Lord Jesus really will take on a new name when He returns in the last days? That can’t be, can it? But it’s very clearly stated in the Scripture that God will have a new name and that anyone who has an ear will know, will be able to hear what the Spirit says to the churches. What does this really mean?” Feeling both perplexed and amazed, I read that passage again and thought it over carefully. That’s exactly it! I saw that’s exactly what is written in the Scripture; this came from God’s own mouth. I thought to myself, “According to this, when the Lord Jesus returns in the last days He really will adopt a new name! But in the Book of Hebrews it is written that the name of the Lord Jesus is immutable, so how could this prophecy in the Book of Revelation say that it is going to change? What’s going on with this?” I simply couldn’t make heads or tails of it. I sought out the pastors and elders to consult with them and looked into a number of relevant gospel books, but I still couldn’t find an answer. In the midst of my confusion, I learned that my old friend, Wang Zhong, had just come back from a missionary trip. I felt so excited, because Brother Wang has always had a very pure understanding, and he’s a thoughtful, insightful person. We had discussed the Bible on many occasions and I always gained clarity on the Scripture we sought and fellowshiped on together. I figured he might have some insight on this topic, so I paid him a visit as soon as I could.

Mysteries of the Bible: Is It Right to Delimit God’s Words and Work to the Bible?

By Xia Yu

A few days ago, Brother Li, who had returned from working elsewhere, hurried over and said to me that he happened to come across someone who preached to him that the Lord Jesus had already returned, and that the Lord was speaking new words and performing new work beyond those that are recorded in the Bible. He didn’t think this possible, however, because pastors and elders often preached at church assemblies that all of God’s words and works are recorded in the Bible, that there are no words of God beyond the Bible, and that God cannot possibly perform any new work beyond that which is in the Bible. The pastors and elders often said that anyone who preached that God was performing new work and expressing new words beyond recorded in the Bible were sure to be heretics! I didn’t think this was possible, either, when I heard it, because ever since I started believing in the Lord, I often heard the pastors and elders talk like this, and this was a belief held by the whole religious world as well. But then I thought about how important the matter of the Lord’s coming was and that I shouldn’t lightly come to any conclusions. I decided that I must take a pious attitude and have the desire to seek with humility. Moreover, we are now in the last days, and there are many signs that show the Lord will soon return, and any news we hear concerning the return of the Lord must be treated with care! We therefore discussed this matter many times, but still we came to no conclusions. This matter perplexed me greatly: “How can the Lord Jesus who returns in the last days speak words and perform work beyond that which is in the Bible? What exactly is the Lord’s will?” I often prayed to the Lord and sought the answers to these questions until, one day, I met a preacher named Brother Lin. Through seeking and discussion, I came to have a new understanding about whether or not there are words and work of God beyond that which is in the Bible …

Giving Credence to Rumors Means Losing God’s Salvation of the Last Days

Many brothers and sisters are unable to take heed whenever they hear someone talking about Almighty God’s gospel of the last days, and don’t dare accept what is preached because they have been spooked by the sensationalized rumors fabricated within religious circles. They may hear someone say: “Those who believe in Almighty God are really something—you’ll be taken in as soon as you have contact with them. There are many true believers from every denomination who are good sheep and even bellwethers of good caliber, but they are being stolen by believers in Almighty God….” Or some have said: “The believers in Almighty God are really enthusiastic about spreading the gospel. If they convert a believer they receive a prize of 2,000 RMB, if they convert a church leader they can get 10,000 to 20,000 RMB….” And still others have said: “They don’t maintain good boundaries between men and women—they are all very promiscuous….” Some have even said: “Eastern Lightning is a criminal underworld organization. If you get involved with them, you’ll never escape. If you try, they’ll gouge out your eyes and cut off your ears, or they’ll break your legs….” and so on, and so forth. It is rumors like these that stop some brothers and sisters who are not clear on the facts from seeking and studying Almighty God’s work of the last days. Brothers and sisters who believe the rumors, have you earnestly considered or investigated whether there is any basis for these things, and if they are in line with the facts? Have you ever thought about what sort of dire consequences there will be if you blindly believe all the rumors you hear and miss the opportunity to welcome the Lord’s arrival? For now, we will first have a simple fellowship on these rumors so that our brothers and sisters can clearly see their substance, and have clear discernment regarding who is really spreading them, what the motivations are behind their fabrication, and what goal they want to achieve.

What’s the Origin of Eastern Lightning?

We are now in the last days, the prophecies of the Lord’s return have basically been fulfilled, and thousands upon thousands of pious believers are fervently hoping for the Lord Jesus’ return. At the same time, however, Eastern Lightning has openly given testimony that the Lord Jesus has already returned—that is, Almighty God, the incarnation of the last days—and that He has already done His work of judgment beginning with God’s house. The emergence of Eastern Lightning has shaken the whole religious world as well as all those who sincerely believe in God and thirst for the truth. Through seeking and investigating the words and work of Almighty God, many people confirm that Almighty God is the returned Lord Jesus, and one after another they come before Almighty God. This has thrown pastors and elders of the religious world as well as the CCP government into a panic; they collude together to suppress and outlaw Eastern Lightning, fabricating many rumors and savagely condemning and vilifying Eastern Lightning as heresy. They do all they can to obstruct and harass sincere believers who want to seek and investigate the appearance and work of Almighty God in the last days. The historical tragedy of the Jewish religious world allying itself with the Roman government to cruelly oppress the Lord Jesus is being played out again. Opinions vary as to whether or not Eastern Lightning is the return of the Lord Jesus, and whether or not it is God’s work; some people follow along with the pastors and elders of the religious world in their denial and condemnation, but there are also some who believe Eastern Lightning is related to the Lord Jesus’ prophecy in the Bible that says, “For as the lightning comes out of the east, and shines even to the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be” (Matthew 24:27), and that it is connected to the coming of the Son of man in the last days. So what really is the origin of Eastern Lightning? Is it God’s work, and what kind of mysteries does it hold?

Christian Testimony: How to Maintain Friendships in the Face of Making a Profit

By Ye Qing, China

Monday, September 3, 2018 Clear sky

As of today, I’ve been working in the beauty parlor for a month. When I first started, the boss arranged for a girl named Xiao Jie to show me the ropes. She had a very upbeat personality, and she would tell me everything, whether it was things going on at home or problems she’d encountered at work, and we got to know each other pretty quickly. With Xiao Jie’s help, and through studying and training hard and learning from the strengths of my colleagues, my skills improved rapidly, and many customers began to ask for me personally. To express my thanks to Xiao Jie, I bought some make-up products and clothes just for her. We are becoming closer and closer, we confide in each other whenever we have an issue, and we’ve become friends that can say anything to each other. I’m so happy to have made such a good friend.

The Lord Jesus was nailed to the cross as a sin offering for man, thereby redeeming us from sin. If we stray from the Lord Jesus and believe in Almighty God, would this not be a betrayal of the Lord Jesus? Would this not be apostasy?

Answer:

In our years of believing in the Lord, each of us has received from the Lord Jesus much grace and blessing, with hearts full of love and thanks to the Lord. And precisely for this reason, when we hear the gospel of Almighty God of the last days, we can’t help but get a kind of concern in our hearts: If we leave the Lord Jesus and put our faith in Almighty God, isn’t that betraying the Lord Jesus?

Brothers and sisters, let us make an analogy. Suppose we lived in the period when the Age of Law turned into the Age of Grace, and it was the time when the Lord Jesus came to earth to work. What would our hearts be like inside? Would we think the believers in the Lord Jesus were betraying Jehovah God? Actually, all the thoughts in our hearts now are the same as those of the devout believers in Jehovah God. Jews of that time must also have thought: To follow the Lord Jesus would be disloyalty to Jehovah God, departure from the way of Jehovah God, and betrayal of Jehovah God. As they saw it, the work of the Lord Jesus was not the same as the work of Jehovah God, and His name was not Messiah, but Jesus. They did not realize that the Lord Jesus and Jehovah God were one, but thought the Lord Jesus and Jehovah God were unrelated, saying the Lord Jesus was misleading people (see Jhn 7:45-48), saying that to believe in the Lord Jesus was heresy (see Act 24:14), which meant betraying Jehovah God. Clearly, the reason those people condemned the work of the Lord Jesus as heresy, as a cult, and condemned departing from the Old Testament law to believe in the Lord Jesus as apostasy, was that they did not know the working principles of God—always new and never old. They were using God’s previous work to measure God’s new work, and they condemned and resisted the new work which they thought didn’t tally with the previous work. They clung to the old! … We all know, God’s work is not unchanging, but, based on mankind’s needs and God’s own management plan, it keeps developing. Only in this way can mankind be saved step by step from Satan’s influence. In fact, the Lord Jesus is Jehovah God’s Spirit incarnate. His work is the continuation of Jehovah God’s work. That is to say, the work of the Age of Grace is a continuation of the work of the Age of Law, and the work done by the Lord Jesus is a furtherance on the basis of Jehovah God’s work. The two stages of work are two kinds of work done in two different ages by one God. Although due to difference of the ages God’s names were not the same and God’s work was not the same, still Jesus and Jehovah are one (see Jhn 10:30). Both are God Himself. Those who accepted God’s new work, the followers of the Lord Jesus, certainly were not betraying Jehovah God, but were following God’s footsteps, were loyal to God, which was completely after God’s heart. And those who thought themselves to be loyal to Jehovah God refused to accept God’s new work and did not leave the temple to follow the Lord Jesus, were the ones resisting God. They not only did not receive God’s approval, but on the contrary became objects of God’s rejection.

1 How to Pursue to Be an Honest Person

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Let’s first read a passage of God’s words, “Only Christ of the Last Days Can Give Man the Way of Eternal Life.”

2. What Is Incarnation? What Is the Essence of Incarnation?

Bible Verses for Reference:

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God (Jhn 1:1).

You testified that the Lord has returned and does His work of judgment beginning at the house of God in the last days. Is this the same as the great white throne judgment in the Book of Revelation?

Answers:

All those who truly understand the Bible know that the great white throne judgment prophesied in the Book of Revelation is a vision of God’s judgment work in the last days. The incarnate Almighty God came to express the truth and do His judgment work in the last days, starting to cleanse and save corrupt mankind. This means the great white throne judgment has already begun. Judgment starts from the house of God. God will first make a group of overcomers before the disaster. Then, God will bring down the great disasters and start to reward good and punish evil, until this evil era has been destroyed. God’s great white throne judgment in the last days will then be thoroughly complete. Then God will openly appear to begin a new era. We can all see it very clearly right now. The omen of the great disasters—four consecutive blood moons—has already appeared. The great disasters are near. When the great disasters come, anyone who resists God, judges God, or opposes God, and the ilk of the devil Satan will be destroyed in the disasters. Isn’t that precisely the great white throne judgment? We can see from the Bible’s prophecies that the Lord’s return is separated into the two stages of secret arrival and open arrival. At first, the Lord comes like a thief, which means God incarnate arrives secretly to express the truth and perform His judgment work in the last days. The main purpose is to make a group of overcomers. This fulfills the “judgment must begin at the house of God” prophecy. God’s judgment work in the last days already began when God incarnate secretly arrived to express the truth and judge all of mankind. The first part of the work is to begin judgment at the house of God. With that, God cleanses and saves those who hear His voice and are brought before Him, making them into overcomers. God’s great work is thus accomplished. Then the great disasters begin. God will use disaster to punish and destroy this old world. God’s judgment work in the last days thus reaches its climax. When God appears openly on the clouds, His judgment work will have been thoroughly complete. The kingdom of God will subsequently appear. This thus fulfills the prophecy of the new Jerusalem coming down from heaven. Just as Almighty God says, “One aspect of God’s work is to conquer all of mankind and gain the chosen people through His words. Another aspect is to conquer all sons of rebellion through various disasters. This is one part of God’s large-scale work. It is only this way that the kingdom on earth that God wants can be fully achieved, and this is the part of God’s work that is like fine gold” (“Interpretation of the Seventeenth Utterance” in The Word Appears in the Flesh). Almighty God’s words sum up His judgment work in the last days very accurately. We can understand it very easily. Almighty God’s judgment in the last days is the great white throne judgment prophesied in the Book of Revelation. According to the facts of Almighty God’s judgment work in the last days, we can also understand what the Revelation prophecy regarding the opening of books to judge the dead and the opening of the book of life is all about. Actually, the opening of books to judge the dead is God’s judgment of all unbelievers and all those who deny and resist Him. This judgment is their condemnation, their punishment, and their destruction. And opening the book of life refers to the judgment that begins at the house of God, that is, Almighty God, Christ of the last days, expressing the truth to judge and cleanse all those brought before His throne. These chosen people of God who accept Almighty God’s judgment work in the last days and are brought before Him are all objects of God’s judgment, cleansing, and salvation. The judgment that begins at the house of God is to perfect this group of people before the disaster. Only this group of people are the wise virgins, people whose names are recorded in the book of life, the 144,000 overcomers prophesied by the Book of Revelation, the people who will ultimately enter the kingdom of heaven to inherit eternal life. This fulfills what was prophesied in Revelation: “And I looked, and, see, a Lamb stood on the mount Sion, and with him an hundred forty and four thousand, having his Father’s name written in their foreheads. And I heard a voice from heaven, as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of a great thunder: and I heard the voice of harpers harping with their harps: And they sung as it were a new song before the throne, and before the four beasts, and the elders: and no man could learn that song but the hundred and forty and four thousand, which were redeemed from the earth. These are they which were not defiled with women; for they are virgins. These are they which follow the Lamb wherever he goes. These were redeemed from among men, being the first fruits to God and to the Lamb. And in their mouth was found no guile: for they are without fault before the throne of God” (Rev 14:1-5).