The Most Blessed Are Those Who Accept and Obey God’s Word | Eastern Lightning

Picture of The Church of Almighty God

First of all, congratulations to all the brothers and sisters from all nations who have accepted Almighty God’s work in the last days. May God bless you. For today’s meeting, we must first communicate one thing. Do you know why we must believe in Almighty God, instead of believing in the name of “Lord Jesus”? Do you know what the mystery is? The name of Almighty God is the new name of the Lord in the prophecy of the Bible. Where is this new name written? It is written in the Book of Isaiah, in Revelation, and the following is from the letter that the Lord has written to the Church at Philadelphia, from Chapter Three of Revelation: “And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write; These things said he that is holy, he that is true, he that has the key of David, he that opens, and no man shuts; and shuts, and no man opens; I know your works: behold, I have set before you an open door, and no man can shut it: for you have a little strength, and have kept my word, and have not denied my name.
Behold, I will make them of the synagogue of Satan, which say they are Jews, and are not, but do lie; behold, I will make them to come and worship before your feet, and to know that I have loved you. Because you have kept the word of my patience, I also will keep you from the hour of temptation, which shall come on all the world, to try them that dwell on the earth. Behold, I come quickly: hold that fast which you have, that no man take your crown. 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 said to the churches” (Revelation 3:7-13). Here, three names have been mentioned, “I will write on him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, and I will write on him my new name.” The Lord Jesus shall have a new name when He comes again, and this is the proof. Chapter 62 of the Book of Isaiah also mentioned that the Lord “shalt be called by a new name.” This “Church at Philadelphia” refers to the church that is raptured. Most people from the Church of Almighty God have turned to God from the various denominations and sects, and what is the saying in sects after they have turned to God? “The Eastern Lightning has stolen the lambs, they stole all the good lambs from all denominations and sects.” Therefore, they have much hatred for the Eastern Lightning. Is this saying of theirs correct? They think that those are their lambs, but the fact is that God’s lambs have heard the voice of God. Isn’t that correct? Also, what did the Lord say to those to be raptured in the Church at Philadelphia? Here it is said: “I know your works: … you have a little strength, and have kept my word, and have not denied my name.” This is the most precious thing of the Church at Philadelphia, “have a little strength, and have kept my word, and have not denied my name,” this is the proof of being raptured, and the condition for being raptured.

What must those in God’s favor possess? They must obey the way of God. No matter which denomination or which sect one is in, if he believes in God but does not follow the way of God, that is, he is not carrying out God’s word, then he is not blessed by God, he is not favored by God, and God shall abandon him. This is God’s disposition. The Israelites had believed in God for two thousand years, until one day the Lord Jesus arrived. Not only had they not accepted Jesus, but they also resisted and convicted Him, and in the end, crucified the Lord Jesus. What mistake had they made? This is called believing in God yet resisting God. Because they resisted and convicted the incarnate Lord Jesus, they were cursed by God. What happened after the Israelites were cursed by God? There have been such disasters. First, the nation of Israel was destroyed, the Israelites were dispersed to all corners of the world, facing so many massacres, especially the Holocaust initiated by Hitler, massacring millions of Israelites. Is that not a curse? Why were they cursed? Because they resisted the incarnate Lord Jesus. Had they resisted Jehovah? They had resisted, because the Lord Jesus and Jehovah are the same God. Even now, the Israelites do not acknowledge that the Lord Jesus is the appearance of Jehovah. What is the problem? They had believed in Jehovah for two thousand years and experienced God’s work during the Age of Law, yet when Jehovah God incarnated as the Lord Jesus, they did not accept Him. Their rejection, resistance, and condemnation caused them trouble, and spelled the end for them. They failed in their belief of God. Therefore, the mistake of resisting God is not to be permitted in the belief of God, and once one has embarked on the path of resisting God, then the outcome of this person is completely over.

Many people might say: “This should not be the case. There are many people from the Israelites who revered God, many faithful saints who martyred themselves in the Lord’s name, and there are many people such as Job and Abraham. How come they are still cursed? Are they cursed simply because of this matter?” They believe that God is merciful and loving, “The Lord Jesus that we believe in is merciful and loving. He does not curse others, He has no hatred, He has only love for others; God does not become angry. Especially to those who believe in Him, regardless of whether they know Him or not, so long as they do no evil, do not resist Him, God will not curse them. So many Israelites have not accepted Him, so it is not possible that He would curse them.” Is this correct? Some people believe in the Lord their entire life, read the Bible their entire life, yet they won’t accept this fact. Tell me, what mistake have they made? This is a serious issue. It is clearly written in the Bible that the Lord Jesus cursed the Pharisees, saying “woe to you,” “woe to you,” “woe to you,” seven “woe to you” in a row. Is “woe to you” a blessing? Are these words of mercy? “Woe to you” is a curse. Do you think that Judas got to live out the rest of his life peacefully after betraying Jesus? How did he meet his end? When he died, he burst open in the middle, and all his entrails gushed out. After he had betrayed the Lord Jesus, he regretted it, yet his repentance was useless. So how do you explain him “bursting open in the middle and all his entrails gushing out”? Can you say that this is not from the curse of the Lord Jesus? Can you still say that this is the Lord Jesus being merciful and loving toward him, forgiving him indefinitely, forgiving him seventy-seven times? During the Age of Grace, the Lord Jesus has completely, thoroughly forgiven those who believed in Him, a one-time forgiveness of all human sins for all eternity; yet you still sin and resist Him, how is He going to treat you? If you sin without limit, if you continue to sin, sin intentionally, can He still forgive you? Are there any other sayings from Him? “The Lord Jesus is merciful and loving, He will forgive us for all eternity, He will not hold us to our past transgressions.” Is this correct? No. Why is this not correct? Is there any basis in the Bible? In Revelation from the Bible, what did the Lord Jesus say in the letters to the seven churches? What kind of people will be eliminated? What kind of people will be cursed? What kind of people will be raptured? They were blessings to the Church at Philadelphia. What about the Church at Laodicea? It says that they were neither cold nor hot, as if water that is lukewarm, and God was going to spit them out of His mouth, leaving them behind. Is this not the case? They all believed in the Lord Jesus, some people believe in all that the Lord Jesus said, while other people only believe in some of what the Lord Jesus said, only believing in the saying that the Lord Jesus is merciful and loving. When it comes to the harsh words, the words of judgment, the words that determine the end of a person, the words of each to their own kind, the words regarding revealing people in the last days, they accept none of them. Such a belief in the Lord cannot attain a knowledge of the Lord. To believe in the Lord Jesus, we must understand His disposition, we must grasp His mind. Who is He going to save, who is He going to eliminate, who is He going to curse. You cannot say that because the Lord Jesus has sacrificed Himself for our sins during the Age of Grace, He would pardon us without limit and forgive us for all eternity. Such sayings are from the notions and imaginations of men, there is no basis in the Bible. These things that were written in the Revelation, all that God has allowed the apostle John to see and to hear, are the same as those in the books of the prophets; they are all God’s words; this is certain and without any doubt.

Do you think that all those who believe in the Lord all can be saved and will survive? That they will all go to the kingdom of heaven? We have just said “Why must you believe in Almighty God, what is the meaning in believing in Almighty God?” It is very important to understand this matter. Some people ponder: “I originally believed in the Lord Jesus. Now that I have heard a thorough witnessing of the Bible’s truth from the preachers of the Church of Almighty God, in particular, I have heard Almighty God’s utterances, which are all truth and are apparently God’s voice, and it has fulfilled what Revelation has said ‘He that has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit said to the churches’ (Revelation 2:7). Once I have heard all the words of Almighty God, I have confirmed one thing: The Lord has returned, the Lord Jesus has returned, He is Almighty God.” In this way, are we not the people raptured by the Lord because we believe in Almighty God? We belong to the people raptured by the Lord. Which prophecies from the Bible have this fulfilled? The Lord Jesus said: “And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom comes; go you out to meet him” (Matthew 25:6), and, “Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me” (Revelation 3:20). “Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watches, and keeps his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame” (Revelation 16:15). These prophecies have been fulfilled. We are now with the Lord, and the Lord is having supper with us. What is the name of this “supper”? There is one place in the Bible, where the Lord Jesus called it “the marriage supper of the Lamb.” What is the meaning of “the marriage supper of the Lamb”? Why is it called “the marriage supper of the Lamb”? “Lamb” is Christ, and the marriage of the Lamb means that Christ comes to make complete a group of people, to gain people. He will make complete His lambs, those predetermined to be overcomers, He will make these people into overcomers before the disaster, therefore this is called “attending the supper.” “The marriage supper of the Lamb,” “marriage” is to acquire, and what happens after having acquired? We become a family. Therefore, when explaining this scripture, some places say that the Christ is the bridegroom, the Church is the bride. This is called a marriage, and something must be acquired. Speaking of acquiring, this relates to God’s work in the last days, the work of judgment and chastisement, the work of judgment starting from the House of God. People first experience the conquest of God, then they will be cleansed, perfected, gained and made complete after the conquest; the work of judgment starting from the House of God is such a step. After men have experienced God’s work in the last days and become compatible with Christ, the work of judgment starting from the House of God thus comes to an end. What are the people in the kingdom of God who have been perfected after all of this has concluded? They are the group of overcomers who have been perfected before the disaster, these are the overcomers. What is the position of the overcomers in the kingdom of God? They are called the “Pillars of the Kingdom of Christ.” God will make complete a group of people, a group of overcomers, before the disaster, and these overcomers will become the pillars of the kingdom of Christ. Don’t you think it is a tremendous blessing? This blessing is tremendous.

from Sermons and Fellowship on Entry Into Life