Learning How to Discern the True Christ and False Ones, I Have Welcomed the Lord’s Return（Part-1）
By Zhenxin
In June 2011, I became a believer of the Lord Jesus. During meetings, Elder Zhang, standing at the pulpit, often said with emphasis, “Brothers and sisters, the Lord Jesus said, ‘Then if any man shall say to you, See, here is Christ, or there; believe it not’ (Mat 24:23). Now it is the last days. The apocalypse is coming. All those who preach the Lord Jesus has returned are fraudulent. No matter what they preach, do not believe them, or receive them, much less treat them in a friendly way.” At that moment, I thought: False Christs will appear in the last days to deceive people? If so, I had better listen to the elder. I’ll have meetings in the church and be well versed in the Bible, lest I be deceived. After that, I insisted on reading the Bible every day, believing that as long as I read more verses, I would be able to avoid being deceived and gain the approval of God then.
One day in 2014, a classmate of mine came to my home with a radiant smile. She said, “Today, I have a piece of good news to tell you. The Lord Jesus has returned, and He is Almighty God. He has performed a new stage of work on the foundation of the work of the Age of Grace, expressing the truth to judge and purify man’s corrupt disposition, and deliver us from sin thoroughly.” I could not help but be stunned after hearing this because I was reminded of the words of Elder Zhang, “All those who preach the Lord Jesus has returned are fraudulent.” Could it be that … I didn’t dare to think more. With this in my mind, I didn’t want to listen more. But, I was afraid that it would affect our harmony, and we might be estranged from one another, so I stood up and intended to cook. However, she still fellowshiped with me patiently. Not a little could I listen to her because I felt conflicted. Seeing my attitude, she said earnestly, “Almighty God is really and truly the second coming of the Lord Jesus. You ought to conduct a thorough investigation of the work of Almighty God in the last days because it relates to whether we can be saved or not.” I was a little moved by her sincere words, but at the thought of Elder Zhang’s words, I felt a sense of hesitation and thus answered perfunctorily, “Okay.” Then, I turned around to cook. My classmate had no choice but to leave.
Later, once at a co-worker meeting, Pastor Li, standing at the pulpit and waving his arm, said arrogantly, “Brothers and sisters, now we are in the last days. Deception from false Christs occurs in the religious circles of various countries. Even in our church, many believers lack discernment, causing them to be deceived into following false Christs. This has just fulfilled the Lord Jesus’ prophecy, ‘Then if any man shall say to you, See, here is Christ, or there; believe it not’ (Mat 24:23). All news preaching the Lord has returned is false. We can’t believe it….” After hearing Pastor Li’s words, I didn’t dare to stop having meetings in the slightest, and I read the Bible more carefully, with a deep fear that I would be deceived one day and thus couldn’t be raptured and brought into the kingdom of heaven.
Afterward, I knew my husband had an affair, so we divorced. During that time, I felt miserable and weak. Moreover, the pastor and elder couldn’t speak of any new illumination in the meetings. Even some believers who were pretty enthusiastic before didn’t come to meetings, and some co-workers returned to the world to make money. Gradually, I felt distant from God.
In October 2016, I couldn’t go to work because my legs ached. During my recuperation, I suddenly thought of the following verse in the Bible, “Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is” (Heb 10:25). Then I began to seek a church around my home. Coincidentally, once, when I went to the hospital to buy medicine, I heard a song of praising God, “Jesus loves you, Jesus loves you. It’s the greatest blessing that we can receive His love for you and me. … Jesus saves you. …” Immediately, a warm feeling rushed into my heart. I realized that it was the Lord Jesus who was calling me, and then I followed the singing and found “The Happy Church”. I thought: The churches in our area became more and more desolate; the brothers and sisters had lost their original love and faith; the preachers had nothing to preach about. Today, I would listen to sermons in the grand church, and I wondered whether the pastor here could preach something new and whether my parched spirit could obtain nourishment. With great expectations, I attended the meeting. After spending a whole morning listening to the pastor’s sermon, I felt I was not moved by the Holy Spirit at all, nor did I understand anything. I prayed to God silently in my heart, “Lord, where are You? Why can’t I feel Your presence? The pastor merely followed ceremony in his sermons, and I received nothing. O Lord! I feel very thirsty in my spirit. May You water my heart….”
One day, when I chatted with an auntie, a neighbor of mine, I knew she also believed in the Lord Jesus. So, I felt very happy. Afterward, as soon as I was free, I would visit her. Once, when I went to visit her, I happened to see her and several people watching a movie. They enthusiastically greeted me by saying, “You’ve come at the right time. Come and watch the movie.” I saw that in the movie, two brothers were debating about a question regarding the Bible. When I was going to figure it out, I suddenly saw the words “The Church of Almighty God” in the movie. I thought: Can it be that they are believers in Almighty God? Then I was reminded of the words of the pastor and elder in our church so I gave rise to feelings of resistance. A brother seemed to read my mind and said to me with a smile, “Go on watching, and we can fellowship when it finishes.” The auntie said similar words. At that time, I was all at sixes and sevens, not knowing whether I should go on watching. Just at that moment, I heard someone in the video reading, “The work of this day is a continuation of the work done in the Age of Grace and an advance over that done in the Age of Law. The three stages are tightly interconnected and each link in the chain is closely tied to the next.” After watching the movie, the brother fellowshiped with me about the truth of God’s three stages of work, and said that there are three stages of work in God’s six-thousand-year management plan: the Age of Law, the Age of Grace, and the Age of Kingdom in the last days. … His fellowship made sense, which was something I had never heard of in the churches. If God Himself hadn’t revealed these mysteries, who would have been able to see them? Through a day’s fellowship, I felt that Almighty God seems to be the return of the Lord Jesus, but I was not completely certain about that.
In the evening, I prayed to the Lord, “O Lord, that brother fellowshiped that Almighty God is Your second coming. I got a lot out of it. But I’m still not sure whether or not Almighty God is the true God and whether or not He is Your return. May You guide me to seek and investigate Almighty God’s work. Amen!” After praying, I thought of the words of the Lord Jesus, “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” (Jhn 16:12–13). I thought to myself: The Lord Jesus says that He will speak and work and guide us to understand all the truth when He returns. Now I have heard the words of Almighty God and known His six-thousand-year management plan, which is the truth I didn’t understand previously. At that moment, I remembered that my classmate had preached the gospel to me before. She said Almighty God is the true God, and asked me to examine the work of Almighty God carefully. However, I was afraid of embarking on the wrong path, so I refused to accept the kingdom gospel. I pondered: After hearing that brother’s fellowship, I feel that his fellowship has the enlightenment and guidance of the Holy Spirit, and also has new light, which is something that I have never heard of and seen before. After believing in Almighty God, he has really understood a lot. Could it be that Almighty God is the return of the Lord Jesus? But just then, I recalled that in that co-workers meeting, Pastor Li said that all news preaching the Lord had returned was false and told us not to believe. Whom should I listen to on earth? At last, after praying and seeking, I determined to investigate whether Almighty God is the return of the Lord Jesus on earth.
To be continue…
Source from: find the shepherd.
Read more on our Jesus second coming bible verses page.
