By Chen Ai, China
I followed my parents in their belief in the Lord ever since I was small, and now old age is staring me in the face. Although I’ve believed in the Lord all my life, the problem of how to rid myself of sin and get into the kingdom of heaven had been an unsolvable riddle that caused me constant consternation, leaving me feeling lost and pained. I wished so much to be able to figure out during my lifetime how to rid myself of sin and get into the kingdom of heaven so that when my time came I would be able to face death with the knowledge that my life was complete, and I could at last meet the Lord with peace in my heart.
In an attempt to resolve this dilemma, I avidly consulted the Bible, going from the Old Testament to the New and from the New Testament back to the Old, reading the Bible over and over. But in the end, I could find no right answer. Out of options, all I could do was throw my effort into behaving as well as I could according to the Lord’s teachings, for the Lord said: “[T]he kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent take it by force” (Matthew 11:12). But I discovered that in real life, no matter how hard I tried, I still couldn’t live up to what the Lord required of me. Just as the Lord said: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like to it, You shall love your neighbor as yourself” (Matthew 22:37–39). The Lord requires that we love God with all our hearts and minds, and that brothers and sisters love each other. But no matter what I did, I just couldn’t achieve this kind of love, because my love for my family was greater than my love for the Lord, and I just wasn’t capable of truly loving my brothers and sisters in the church as I loved myself. On the contrary, I was often petty and calculating with others when my own interests were involved, so much so that resentment would be aroused within me. How could someone like me ever be saved and get into the kingdom of heaven? The Lord Jesus also said many things about getting into the kingdom of heaven, such as: “Truly I say to you, Except you be converted, and become as little children, you shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 18:3). “For I say to you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:20). I was unable to put any of these requirements of the Lord into practice. I would often tell lies, and would blame the Lord whenever I encountered something that wasn’t to my liking. My thoughts contained deceit and dishonesty, and I was constantly languishing in sin, sinning and repenting, repenting and sinning, over and over again. The Lord is holy, and in the Bible it states: “[H]oliness, without which no man shall see the Lord” (Hebrews 12:14). How could someone as utterly filthy as me ever be fit to enter the kingdom of heaven? This was very vexing for me. But whenever I read about the way of justification by faith as espoused by Paul in Romans, Galatians, and Ephesians—that to have faith and be baptized means that one is certainly saved, that if we believe in the Lord in our hearts and acknowledge Him with our mouths, then we are justified by faith, forever saved, and that when the Lord comes again He will surely raise us up into the kingdom of heaven—I would feel overwhelmed with joy. I would feel that I need not worry about getting into the kingdom of heaven. But then I would remember what the Lord said about people only being able to get into the kingdom of heaven through their own efforts, and I would feel uneasy. To be justified by faith and then to get into the kingdom of heaven—could it really be that simple? Especially when I saw old pious believers nearing the end of their lives and appearing restless and worried, so much so that they would even weep copiously and not one of them seemed happy to go, I couldn’t help but wonder: If they say that they can get into the kingdom of heaven through justification by faith alone, why then do they look so terrified on their deathbeds? It seemed as though they themselves had no idea whether they’d been saved or not, nor where they would be going after death. I pondered the Lord Jesus’ words over and over, and I contemplated Paul’s words, too, and discovered that the words of Jesus and the words of Paul differed greatly on the matter of who could get into the kingdom of heaven. According to Paul, a person is justified by faith simply by believing in the Lord—if that were the case, then everyone would be saved. So then why did the Lord Jesus say, “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like to a net, that was cast into the sea, and gathered of every kind: Which, when it was full, they drew to shore, and sat down, and gathered the good into vessels, but cast the bad away” (Matthew 13:47–48)? Why, when the Lord returns in the last days, does He need to separate the wheat from the tares, the sheep from the goats, and the good servants from the evil servants? From these words spoken by the Lord Jesus, it is clear that not everyone who believes in Him can get into the kingdom of heaven. So I wondered: Am I saved? And will I be able to get into the kingdom of heaven when I die? These questions still lingered in my mind like riddles, and I was at a loss to answer them.
In an effort to resolve this problem, I consulted works written by well-known spiritual personages throughout the ages, but most of what I read were interpretations of justification by faith as it appears in Romans, Galatians and Ephesians, and not one of those books could dispel my confusion. I then paid visits to all the well-known elders in the Lord and attended gatherings of many different denominations, but found that they all said pretty much the same things, and no one could clearly explain to me the mystery of how to get into the kingdom of heaven. Later, I found a new up-and-coming foreign denomination, and I thought to myself that this kind of church would perhaps be able to shed some new light. And so, in high spirits, I went to attend one of their gatherings. At the beginning of their sermon I found it to be somewhat illuminating, but by the end, I found that they too were preaching the way of justification by faith, and I felt crushed with disappointment. After the gathering, I sought out the head pastor, and asked, “Pastor, I’m afraid I didn’t understand when you said, ‘Once saved, always saved.’ Can you share more fellowship with me on this?” The pastor said, “This is a very easy thing to understand. It says in Romans, ‘Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God’s elect? It is God that justifies. Who is he that condemns?’ (Romans 8:33–34). The Lord Jesus Christ has already absolved us of all our sins by being crucified upon the cross. That is to say, all of our sins, whether they be the sins we’ve committed in the past, the sins we commit today, or the sins we have yet to commit in the future, are all forgiven. We are forever justified by faith in Christ, and if the Lord doesn’t condemn us for our sins, who would possibly accuse us? Therefore, we must not lose faith in getting into the kingdom of heaven.” The pastor’s reply confused me even more, so I followed up by asking, “How do you explain what is written in Hebrews, ‘For if we sin willfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remains no more sacrifice for sins’ (Hebrews 10:26)?” The pastor’s face reddened and he said no more, and my question was left unanswered. Not only had this gathering failed to resolve my confusion, but instead, it had increased my vexation. I thought to myself: “I’ve believed in the Lord for decades, but if I’m not even clear on whether or not my soul will go to the Lord when I die, doesn’t that mean that I’ve had a muddled sort of faith all my life?” I then embarked on the path of searching absolutely everywhere for the answer to my problem.
In March 2000, I went to study at a seminary run by foreigners, confident that the sermons preached by foreigners would be superior and that they would surely resolve my confusion. To my surprise, however, after studying there for two months, during which time I was bursting with faith, I discovered that the pastors all preached the same old things, and there was no new light in their sermons at all. While there, I didn’t hear about a single life-giving sermon, nor did I read even one spiritual essay. Not only had my confusion not been dispelled, but instead my time there only left me feeling even more flustered. I couldn’t help but feel confused, and I thought: “I’ve been here for more than two months, but what have I gained? If I can’t gain provision here, then what’s the point in continuing with these studies?”
One evening after dinner, I asked a pastor, “Pastor, as students of theology, is this all we study? Can we not talk about the way of life?” The pastor replied very solemnly, “If we don’t discuss these things in our theological studies, then what should we talk about? Just relax and keep studying! We are the largest religious organization in the world and we are internationally recognized. We’ll train you here for three years and then you’ll be internationally certified as a pastor. When that time comes, you can take that certificate anywhere in the world to preach the gospel and establish churches.” The pastor’s response was really disappointing for me. I didn’t want to be a pastor, I just wanted to know how to get into the kingdom of heaven. And so I asked him, “Pastor, seeing as having a pastor’s certificate unlocks so many doors, will I be able to use it to get into the kingdom of heaven?” Upon hearing this, the pastor fell silent. I went on. “Pastor, I heard that you’ve believed in the Lord since you were a boy. It’s now been many decades, so I wonder, have you been saved?” He replied, “Yes, I have.” I asked, “So will you be able to get into the kingdom of heaven?” Self-assuredly, he said, “Of course I will!” I then asked, “May I ask then, what’s your basis for saying that you’ll be able to get into the kingdom of heaven? Are you a more righteous man than the scribes and Pharisees were? Do you love your neighbors as you love yourself? Are you holy? Think about it: We still can’t help but sin all the time and go against the Lord’s teachings, and we live every day in the state of sinning by day and confessing by night. God is holy, so do you really think we’ll be able to get into the kingdom of heaven when we are so full of sin?” The pastor was stumped and his face turned beet red, and he didn’t utter another word for quite a while. I found his reaction very disappointing, and I felt that if I continued my studies there I would not be able to understand the mystery of how to gain life and enter into the kingdom of heaven. And so, I left my studies at the seminary behind and went back to my hometown.
On my trip home, I felt the lowest I had ever been; I felt as though my last hope had been crushed. I thought to myself: “Even at a seminary run by foreign pastors my seeking still didn’t yield the path to rid myself of sin and get into the kingdom of heaven. Where else can I go to seek this path?” I felt like I’d reached the end of the road. At that very moment, the image of my old father and an old pastor weeping as they approached death flashed before my eyes again. I thought about how they had spent their whole lives preaching the way of justification by faith, that people would get into the kingdom of heaven after death, but ultimately they passed away filled with regrets. I had believed in the Lord all my life and had been telling people every day that they would get into the kingdom of heaven when they died, and yet I had never had real clarity on how to actually get into the kingdom of heaven—would I leave this life filled with regret just as my father and the pastor had? In the midst of my grief, these words from the Lord suddenly came to mind: “Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and you shall find; knock, and it shall be opened to you” (Matthew 7:7). “That’s right,” I thought. “The Lord is faithful, and as long as I seek with a true heart then the Lord will surely guide me. I cannot give up. As long as there is a single breath left in my body, I will keep searching for the path to the kingdom of heaven!” I then came before the Lord to pray: “Dear Lord, I’ve searched everywhere for the way to rid myself of sin and enter into the kingdom of heaven, but no one has been able to solve my problem. Dear Lord, what should I do? As a preacher, I tell brothers and sisters every day that they should be diligent seekers and be patient till the end, and that You will come to take us into the kingdom of heaven after we die. But at this point, I really have no idea how to rid myself of sin and get into the kingdom of heaven. Am I not the blind leading the blind, leading my brothers and sisters into a pit? Dear Lord, where should I go to seek the path into the kingdom of heaven? Please guide me!”
After I got back to my hometown, I heard that many good sheep and head sheep in our church had been stolen away by Eastern Lightning. Many people were saying that the way of Eastern Lightning provided new understanding and new light, and even seasoned pastors had admiration for their sermons. Whenever I heard these things, I would think: “It seems as though the sermons given by Eastern Lightning are lofty indeed. It’s a shame I haven’t come across anyone from Eastern Lightning. It would be so great if I could meet them one day! If that day comes, I’ll certainly listen and seek in earnest to see why exactly their sermons are so good, and whether or not they can dispel this confusion I’ve carried with me for years.”
One day, a church leader said to me, “Such-and-such church has had many of its good sheep stolen away by Eastern Lightning. All denominations are now locking down their churches, and we have to urge our brothers and sisters to absolutely not have anything to do with anyone from Eastern Lightning, and particularly to not listen to their sermons. If all our faithful start believing in Eastern Lightning, who will be left for us to preach to?” I was disgusted to hear the church leader say this, and I thought to myself: “Our church is open to everyone, so why do we have to lock it down? Why would you not welcome a stranger from a far-away place? It says in the Bible: ‘Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares’ (Hebrews 13:2). Abraham took in strangers and was thus blessed by God, and he had a son at the age of one hundred; Lot took in two angels and so was saved from the destruction of Sodom; Rahab the prostitute admitted spies from Israel and her whole family was saved; and a poor widow received Elijah the prophet and thus they staved off starvation for three-and-a-half years. Out of so many people, not one was harmed because they took in strangers from a far-away place but, on the contrary, they were all blessed by God. It is therefore clear that taking in strangers accords with the Lord’s will. So why then would you go against the Lord’s will, wantonly locking the church down and not allowing any strangers in?” As I thought this, I shook my head, and said to her, “Doing this is at odds with the Lord’s will. Our church belongs to God and it is open to all. As long as their fellowship is about faith in the Lord, we should welcome anyone, no matter who they are, and we should seek with open minds and explore ideas together. Only by doing this will we be in accord with the Lord’s teachings.”
One day in July 2000, I met two sisters who were preaching Eastern Lightning while at Brother Wang’s house. After briefly greeting each other, I asked them, “I’ve always been perplexed about whether or not I can be saved and get into the kingdom of heaven. The whole religious world now adheres to the words of Paul in the belief that we will be saved just by believing and being baptized, and that by believing in the Lord in your heart and acknowledging the Lord with your mouth, you’re justified by faith, forever saved, and will surely be raised up into the kingdom of heaven when the Lord returns. But personally, I don’t think getting into the kingdom of heaven can be that simple. As it says in the Bible: ‘[H]oliness, without which no man shall see the Lord’ (Hebrews 12:14). Whether it’s me or the brothers and sisters around me spending all day every day languishing in sin, I don’t think that people like us who live every day in sin can get into the kingdom of heaven. I’d just like to know exactly how to get into the kingdom of heaven. Can you share fellowship with me on this?”
Sister Zhou smiled and said, “Brother, this question you ask is crucial. How to get into the kingdom of heaven is a major concern for every believer. Gaining clarity on this issue means first knowing that believers in the Lord should always conduct themselves in accordance with the Lord Jesus’ words, and not according to what human beings have said. The Lord Jesus has told us clearly: ‘Not every one that said to Me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that does the will of My Father which is in heaven’ (Matthew 7:21). The Lord never said that we can get into the kingdom of heaven just by relying on grace to be saved, or by being justified by faith. To be justified by faith, to be forever saved because of faith, and then to be raised up into the kingdom of heaven—those were the words of Paul. Paul was just an apostle, one of corrupt mankind, and he needed the Lord Jesus’ salvation as well. How could he have possibly determined whether other people could get into the kingdom of heaven or not? Only the Lord Jesus is the Lord of the kingdom of heaven, the King of the kingdom of heaven; only the words of the Lord are the truth, and only they possess authority. Therefore, when it comes to how we can get into the kingdom of heaven, we should listen only to the Lord’s words—this is beyond question!
“Then there are the questions ‘What are justification by faith and being saved because of faith all about?’ and ‘Can you get into the kingdom of heaven once you’ve been saved?’ These are explained very clearly in Almighty God’s words, so let’s now read a couple of passages of God’s words. Almighty God says: ‘You only know that Jesus shall descend during the last days, but how exactly will He descend? A sinner such as you, who has just been redeemed, and has not been changed, or been perfected by God, can you be after God’s heart? For you, you who are still of your old self, it is true that you were saved by Jesus, and that you are not counted as a sinner because of the salvation of God, but this does not prove that you are not sinful, and are not impure. How can you be saintly if you have not been changed? Within, you are beset by impurity, selfish and mean, yet you still wish to descend with Jesus—you should be so lucky! You have missed a step in your belief in God: You have merely been redeemed, but have not been changed. For you to be after God’s heart, God must personally do the work of changing and cleansing you; if you are only redeemed, you will be incapable of attaining sanctity. In this way you will be unqualified to share in the good blessings of God, for you have missed out a step in God’s work of managing man, which is the key step of changing and perfecting. And so you, a sinner who has just been redeemed, are incapable of directly inheriting God’s inheritance’ (“Concerning Appellations and Identity” in The Word Appears in the Flesh). ‘Though Jesus did much work among man, He only completed the redemption of all mankind and became man’s sin offering; He did not rid man of his corrupt disposition. Fully saving man from the influence of Satan not only required Jesus to become the sin offering and bear the sins of man, but it also required God to do even greater work to rid man completely of his satanically corrupted disposition. And so, now that man has been forgiven of his sins, God has returned to the flesh to lead man into the new age, and begun the work of chastisement and judgment. This work has brought man into a higher realm. All those who submit under His dominion shall enjoy higher truth and receive greater blessings. They shall truly live in the light, and they shall gain the truth, the way, and the life’ (Preface to The Word Appears in the Flesh).”
Sister Wang continued her fellowship, saying, “In the Age of Grace, the Lord Jesus performed the work of the redemption of mankind, becoming a sin offering for humanity by means of the crucifixion, and redeeming us from the clutches of Satan. As long as we accept the Lord’s salvation and confess and repent our sins to the Lord, then our sins are forgiven, and we are then fit to enjoy the grace and blessings of the Lord. What I mean by ‘our sins are forgiven’ is that we are no longer condemned or sentenced to death under the law for violating the law, and this is what justification by faith and being saved because of faith really mean. But this doesn’t mean that we are then without sin or without filth, nor does it mean that we’ll be able to get into the kingdom of heaven. This is because, although our sins may be forgiven, our sinful nature remains deeply rooted within us, and when we encounter issues we still often tell lies and deceive others to protect our own positions and interests. When we enjoy the Lord’s grace, we give thanks and praise to Him, and we expend ourselves energetically for the Lord. But the moment a catastrophe occurs, or something bad happens to our family, we misunderstand the Lord and blame Him, to the point that we may even deny and betray the Lord. And so how can people like us, who have been redeemed but who often sin and resist God, ever be qualified to enter into the kingdom of heaven? God is righteous and holy, and He would never allow filthy and corrupt people to enter His kingdom. In order to save us once and for all from the influence of Satan, He works according to His management plan and our needs as corrupt mankind, performing His work of judging and purifying man in the last days. God incarnate has expressed millions of words in order to judge our corruption, our filth, our unrighteousness and resistance, and to show us the path to cast off our corrupt dispositions. When we, through experiencing the judgment and chastisement of God’s words, cast off our satanic corrupt dispositions, are able to put God’s words into practice, and have become people who truly obey and worship God, only then will we become fit to enter into God’s kingdom. In fact, the Lord Jesus prophesied long ago that He would return in the last days to perform the work of judgment. As He said: ‘And if any man hear My words, and believe not, I judge him not: for I came not to judge the world, but to save the world. He that rejects Me, and receives not My words, has one that judges him: the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day’ (John 12:47–48). ‘And when He is come, He will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment’ (John 16:8). It is therefore clear that only by accepting God’s work of judgment in the last days, casting off our corrupt dispositions and achieving purification can we enter into God’s kingdom.”
After listening to the sisters’ fellowships, everything suddenly became clear and light instantly filled my heart. “Ah, so that’s how to get into the kingdom of heaven!” I thought. “Only now do I finally understand that the Lord Jesus performed the work of redeeming mankind, not the work of ridding us of sin. The Lord did indeed absolve us of our sins, but our sinful nature remains deeply rooted within us, and we still frequently and involuntarily sin and resist the Lord. It’s no wonder I’ve never been able to free myself from the bonds and fetters of sin—turns out it’s because I haven’t accepted Almighty God’s work of judgment in the last days!” And so, I said to the two sisters, “Thank the Lord! By listening to Almighty God’s words and your fellowships, at last I know that the belief we’ve held—that everyone who believes in the Lord in their heart and acknowledges the Lord verbally can be raised up into the kingdom of heaven—is just our notion and imagining! I now understand that the work the Lord Jesus performed was the work of redemption, and that the returned Lord will perform the work of judgment. That is, He will thoroughly cleanse and transform our corrupt dispositions, and only then will we be able to get into the kingdom of heaven. It’s no wonder I’ve read so many spiritual books but never found the solution to the problem of man’s sinfulness! Sisters, how then does God perform the work of judgment and chastisement in the last days? Can you share more fellowship with me?”
Sister Wang then said, “The answer to this question is clearly stated in God’s words, so let’s read a passage of them. Almighty God says: ‘In the last days, Christ uses a variety of truths to teach man, to expose the essence 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 essence 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 substance 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 substance 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).
“God’s words tell us clearly that, in the last days, God expresses all the truths we need to attain full salvation, judging and exposing our God-resisting satanic nature and corrupt essence. All these words are the truth, they carry God’s own authority and might, and they reveal to us what God has and is as well as His righteous disposition that brooks no offense. Through the judgment and chastisement of God’s words, and by the revelation of facts, we come to have some understanding of our satanic nature and the truth of our corruption by Satan; we see that we have been so deeply corrupted by Satan, that we are by nature arrogant, conceited, crooked, deceitful, selfish, egotistical, greedy, wicked, eager to prevail over others, and that all we reveal down to our very blood and bones are our satanic dispositions. Dominated by these corrupt dispositions, we constantly resist and rebel against God in spite of ourselves. For example, when we work and deliver sermons in our churches, we ramble on with high-sounding speeches, and we show ourselves off and exalt ourselves so that others look up to us and hold us in high regard; we often tell lies and deceive others to protect our own interests, even going so far as to engage in intrigues and vie with one another; when we encounter people, events, things or situations that are at odds with our own notions, we always make unreasonable demands of God or harbor extravagant desires, and we are unable to submit to God’s orchestrations and arrangements. Through experiencing the judgment and chastisement of God’s words, we gradually come to understand some truths, we gain some true understanding of our satanic nature and feel genuine hatred for it, and we also come to have some true understanding of God’s righteous disposition. We know what kind of people God loves and what kind of people He hates as well as what kind of pursuit accords with His will. We learn some discernment between positive and negative things. Once we understand these things, we become willing to forsake our flesh from the very bottom of our hearts and practice in accordance with God’s words. Slowly, over time, the desire to revere and love God arises within us, we are freed from some of the bonds and fetters of our satanic corrupt dispositions, and we make fewer unreasonable demands of God. We become able to take our place as created beings and perform our duty, we submit to God’s orchestrations and arrangements, and we begin to live out a semblance of a true human being. As we experience God’s work, we come to have a deep appreciation for the fact that the only path for us to get into the kingdom of heaven is to accept Almighty God’s work of judgment and chastisement in the last days, pursue the truth, achieve knowledge of God and knowledge of ourselves, and have our corrupt dispositions changed.”
Hearing these words from Almighty God and the sister’s fellowship brought me even greater internal clarity. The truths expressed by Almighty God are very practical and are indeed what are needed by us corrupt human beings. Only by accepting and experiencing Almighty God’s work of judgment in the last days can we cast off the bonds and fetters of our corrupt dispositions once and for all! I couldn’t help but heave a sigh, and I said, “I’ve believed in the Lord for so many years and yet, I always sin by day and then confess those sins by night, living a life of just languishing in sin. If God hadn’t expressed all the truths to purify mankind, if He hadn’t shown us the path to rid ourselves of our corrupt dispositions, I would certainly have been bound up so tightly by sin that I never would have found the path to freedom. It’s no wonder the Lord said, ‘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’ (John 16:12–13). The Lord Jesus told us long ago that He had more words to express in the last days and that He would lead us to enter into all truths. The words of Almighty God carry authority and might, they have revealed all the truths and mysteries that I’d wanted to understand but never could, and they’ve utterly convinced me. At last, I’ve found the path to get into the kingdom of heaven!” The two sisters nodded happily.
I then said excitedly, “This is the voice of the Lord. Almighty God is the Lord Jesus returned! Something I’ve wished for so long has finally happened, and I’m so lucky, so blessed! Back when the Lord Jesus was born, Simeon felt incredible joy when he saw the baby Jesus who was just eight days old. To be able to welcome the Lord’s return and hear God’s own utterances in my lifetime, I’m so much more fortunate even than Simeon was, and I’m so grateful to the Lord!” As I spoke, I was overcome by emotion, and I shed tears of excitement. I knelt down on the floor to pray to God but was crying so much I couldn’t speak; the sisters were moved to tears as well.
The vexation that had plagued me for so many years finally found its resolution in the words of Almighty God. I thought about how I had sought everywhere but could never find the path of purification that would lead to the kingdom of heaven, but now I’ve found it at last. I know that this is God’s grace and salvation for me! Afterward, through attending gatherings and fellowshiping with brothers and sisters on Almighty God’s words, I came to understand more and more truths, and I gained some understanding of God’s will to save us. I now wish to accept more of the judgment and chastisement of God’s words, experience His work, gradually rid myself of my corrupt dispositions and be purified. Thanks be to God!
