Editor’s Note:

It is recorded in Acts 4:12 of the New Testament: “Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.” Based on this verse of Scripture, many Christians believe that they can only be saved by putting their trust in the Lord Jesus’ name, and yet it says in the Book of Isaiah 43:11 in the Old Testament: “I, even I, am Jehovah; and beside me there is no savior.” Both the name Jehovah and the name Jesus are God’s names, yet by which name can we obtain God’s salvation? Why was God called Jehovah in the Age of Law but called Jesus in the Age of Grace? Since God changed His name from “Jehovah” to “Jesus,” will God change His name again when He returns in the last days? What mysteries are hidden within God’s name?

Keeping a Vigilant Watch

I began believing in the Lord Jesus when I was 15. Through reading the Bible in gatherings, I understood that the Lord Jesus was crucified for the redemption of us all. He is our Savior. As long as we upheld the name of the Lord Jesus and kept His way, we could be saved, for it is said in the Bible that “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). From then on, I served and spent for the Lord, which I did quite zealously in fact. Over 10 years seemed to go by in a flash, and I saw now that disasters were becoming increasingly bigger, that the state of the world was becoming more and more chaotic, and that wars were about to break out. The prophecies of the Lord’s return were basically already fulfilled, and the church preachers often told us that the last days have arrived, that the days of the Lord were nigh, and that we had to keep a vigilant watch and prepare a good supply of oil for our lamps. So I pressed on in my service and was sober unto prayer, hoping that I would one day be able to meet the Lord’s return.

Has the Lord Really Returned?

In August 2017, I met Brother Wang and Sister Liu on the web, and the three of us began to exchange our knowledge of Scripture online. Sister Liu would often use examples and stories to guide us to understand the Bible. Through her fellowship, I understood how to believe to gain God’s approval, how to have my prayers heard, how to read the Bible to understand the words of the Lord better, and so on. Sister Liu’s fellowship was practical and had light. It allowed me to gain great provision.

One day, we hadn’t been online long when Sister Liu happily exclaimed, “I’ve got good news to tell you! The Lord Jesus has returned already! He has come back this time primarily to do the work of judgment starting from the house of God by expressing His words to judge and purify man. This is the final stage of the work to save man, and it is the work that will bring this age to a close. This fulfills the prophecy of the Bible: ‘For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God’ (1 Peter 4:17). We shall be saved only if we accept the Lord’s new work….” Hearing her say this, I was somewhat shocked and dared not believe it, and I thought to myself: “Has the Lord Jesus returned? How come I’ve never heard this before? And the pastor and elder haven’t preached that the Lord has returned. Is it true? If by some chance I’m wrong about this, won’t I then lose the Lord’s salvation?” In the days that followed, I was constantly guarded with Sister Liu.

Afterward, I saw a trailer for a Christian film on Facebook, called Who’s Nailing God to the Cross Again? In the film, a Christian sister says that Eastern Lightning is testifying that the Lord Jesus has already returned, and that He is the incarnated Almighty God. But a pastor in the film says that this is absolutely impossible…. Watching the film, I couldn’t help but think of how our pastor had urged us again and again to stay away from Eastern Lightning. At that time, I felt surprised and then thought: Sister Liu said that the Lord Jesus has returned already, and the words she was reading were very similar to the words of Almighty God in the film. The way it looks, the returned Lord Jesus is quite possibly Almighty God being witnessed by Eastern Lightning. When I thought of this, I became even more guarded against Sister Liu. Next, the film showed me the reason why pastors and elders condemn Eastern Lightning. Many brothers and sisters in the church, after reading Almighty God’s word, have been conquered by His word, have recognized it is the voice of God and accepted Eastern Lightning one by one. Pastors and elders see their believers dwindling in number, that no one gives them donations anymore, and no one worships them or follows them anymore, and so they judge and condemn Eastern Lightning, they wantonly spread rumors together with the CCP, and they even report Eastern Lightning preachers to the police and have them arrested. Furthermore, in the film, brothers and sisters read some of Almighty God’s words, and when I heard them I felt certain that they carried authority and power, and were not words that any human being could have spoken. My heart was conflicted: “Is Almighty God really the return of the Lord Jesus? But Acts 4:12 clearly says that only by trusting in the name of the Lord Jesus can we be saved. Why is Eastern Lightning testifying that the Lord Jesus has already returned, and taken a new name—Almighty God?” I didn’t know who to listen to, but then I thought, “The second coming of the Lord is a great event, after all, and I need to approach it carefully. I’ll keep seeking, and I’ll be able to ask Sister Liu about it at this evening’s meeting.” So I sent the film to Brother Wang, telling him to be cautious when it came to the matter of the Lord’s return, and afterward I also sent the film to Sister Liu.

Revealing the True Meaning of “Neither Is There Salvation in Any Other” in Scripture

At our meeting that evening, I asked, “It says in the Bible that ‘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). We can only be saved by putting our trust in the name of the Lord Jesus, and besides the Lord Jesus, there is no other God that can save us. Why do you testify to Almighty God? Is this not a betrayal of the Lord Jesus?”

Sister Liu, smiling, said, “Sister, we can’t understand the meaning of the scriptures going only by the literal meaning of the words. See, the Bible also says: ‘I, even I, am Jehovah; and beside me there is no savior’ (Isaiah 43:11). This is saying that, besides Jehovah, there is no one else who can be our Savior. So tell me, should we believe in Jehovah, or should we believe in the Lord Jesus? Exactly who can save us?”

Hearing her say this, I suddenly didn’t know what to say. Pondering Sister Liu’s words, I thought: That’s right. Jehovah is God, and so is the Lord Jesus. If only the Lord Jesus could save us, then how can we explain the words “I, even I, am Jehovah; and beside me there is no savior.” (Isaiah 43:11)? It seemed as though these two verses of Scripture were not as simple as my understanding of them had been.

Sister Liu went on to say: “When God worked in the Age of Law, His name was Jehovah. The people of that age, only by accepting Jehovah’s guidance, worshiping Jehovah, following Jehovah’s way and conducting themselves in accordance with God’s requirements, could they obtain God’s care and protection. Therefore, God’s requirement of people back then was not to worship any God except Jehovah, and this is why Jehovah said ‘beside me there is no savior.’ But when God began a new work, His name thereupon changed, and only by accepting God’s new name and praying in His new name could we obtain God’s praise. As in the Age of Grace, God’s name was no longer Jehovah, but became Jesus, and we all had to accept the name of Jesus and pray to the Lord Jesus in order for our sins to be forgiven, and for us to be able to enjoy an abundance of grace and the peace and joy that comes from the Lord. If we insisted on the name of Jehovah and refused to accept the name of Jesus, then we would have been unable to attain God’s guidance and the Lord Jesus’ forgiveness. Therefore, ‘Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.’—this means that, during the Age of Grace, people could only be saved by accepting the name of Jesus. Although we accepted the Lord Jesus’ redemption and our sins were forgiven, our sinful satanic natures endure, our corrupt dispositions remain deeply rooted within us and we can still often sin and resist God, such as being arrogant and conceited, selfish and contemptible, crooked and deceitful, greedy and evil, etc. For example, when we encounter things that are not to our liking, we can often reveal our hot-bloodedness; when we see a co-worker who is better than we are, jealousy arises; in order to safeguard our personal interests, we often exaggerate too much in our speech, and we lie and try to cheat others, and so on. We go on living in a state of sinning and confessing, without putting into practice the Lord’s words; we cannot be caught up into the kingdom of heaven. Because God is holy, filthy people are not qualified to see His face. Just as it is said in the Bible: ‘And holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord’ (Hebrews 12:14). God also said: ‘You shall therefore be holy, for I am holy’ (Leviticus 11:45). In the last days, in order to utterly save us from sin, God has become flesh once again to express words and do a stage of work whereby man is judged, chastised and purified. When God comes to begin a new work, His name changes to Almighty God, and only by closely following the footsteps of the Lamb and accepting God’s new name will we be able to attain complete salvation and have the hope of attaining God’s salvation and entering into the kingdom of heaven.”

Only after hearing her fellowship did I realize the true meaning of “for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved” as it says in the Bible. As it turns out, these words are referring to the Age of Grace, and that we could only have our sins forgiven if we accepted the Lord’s name—they are not saying that God’s name can only be Jesus. But I still didn’t understand why the Lord Jesus’ name would become Almighty God upon His return. Did this have a basis in the Bible?

Unveiling the Mystery of God’s Name

Sister Liu continued to say, “Concerning God’s new name, this was prophesied long ago. For example, Revelation 3:12 says: ‘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.’ And Revelation 1:8 says: ‘I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, said the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.’ These two verses of Scripture clearly prophesy that in the last days God will have another new name, that of the Almighty, that is, Almighty God. Why does God want to take the name Almighty God when He returns? Actually, the names God takes in each age are not taken arbitrarily, but rather they all have meaning. Let’s read what God’s words say about it.”

Sister Liu sent a passage of God’s words to us: “‘Jehovah’ is the name that I took during My work in Israel, and it means the God of the Israelites (God’s chosen people) who can take pity on man, curse man, and guide the life of man; the God who possesses great power and is full of wisdom. ‘Jesus’ is Emmanuel, which means the sin offering that is full of love, full of compassion, and which redeems man. He did the work of the Age of Grace, and He represents the Age of Grace, and can only represent one part of the work of the management plan. … The name of Jesus came into existence to allow the people of the Age of Grace to be reborn and saved, and is a particular name for the redemption of the whole of mankind. Thus, the name Jesus represents the work of redemption, and denotes the Age of Grace. The name Jehovah is a particular name for the people of Israel who lived under the law. In each age and each stage of work, My name is not baseless, but holds representative significance: Each name represents one age. … And so, when the final age—the age of the last days—arrives, My name shall change again. I shall not be called Jehovah, or Jesus, much less the Messiah—I shall be called the powerful Almighty God Himself, and under this name I shall bring the entire age to an end. … People have never engaged with Me, never known Me, and have always been ignorant of My disposition. From the creation of the world until today, not one person has seen Me. This is the God who appears to man in the last days but is hidden among man. He resides among man, true and real, like the burning sun and the blazing flame, filled with power and brimming with authority. There is not a single person or thing that shall not be judged by My words, and not a single person or thing that shall not be purified through the burning of fire. … I took this name and am possessed of this disposition so that all people may see that I am a righteous God, the burning sun, the blazing flame, and so that all may worship Me, the one true God, and so that they may see My true face: I am not only the God of the Israelites, and I am not just the Redeemer; I am the God of all creatures throughout the heavens and the earth and the seas” (“The Savior Has Already Returned Upon a ‘White Cloud’” in The Word Appears in the Flesh).

Sister Liu continued her fellowship, saying, “God takes a different name in each age to represent the work He does and the disposition He expresses in that age. The name ‘Jehovah’ represented God’s work in the Age of Law and His majestic, wrathful and merciful disposition. Back then, God took the name Jehovah to begin the work of the Age of Law, He guided the firstborn of mankind in their lives on earth, and used Moses to proclaim His laws for man to follow. At the end of the Age of Law, because mankind was becoming more and more deeply corrupted by Satan, they could not keep the laws and commandments; there was no longer any sin offering they could make that could sufficiently expiate their sins, and all were faced with the danger of being condemned to death for having violated the laws. God could not bear to see mankind that He had created being destroyed, therefore He did a stage of work of redemption in the name of ‘Jesus,’ expressed the disposition of love and mercy, brought the way of repentance, healed the sick, drove out evil spirits and laid His boundless grace upon man. And so the name ‘Jesus’ represented the disposition of God as expressed in the Age of Grace, as well as the work He did in that age. In the last days, God takes the name ‘Almighty God’ to begin the work of the Age of Kingdom based on the Lord Jesus’ redemptive work. By means of His righteous and majestic disposition, God expresses His words to judge and purify our corrupt dispositions, to utterly save us from Satan’s domain and to lead us into the beautiful destination. At the same time, He separates man each to their kind, will punish the wicked and reward the good, and brings His management work to save man to a close. So in the last days, God takes the name ‘Almighty God’ to represent the work He does and the disposition He expresses. At last, God will let all people see that He can not only be a sin offering for man to forgive their sins, but can also change and purify man’s disposition and utterly purge man of their sinful nature. He is the first and He is the last, and no one can fathom His wondrousness, His deeds, or His wisdom and almightiness. All of this is the significance of God taking a name in each age.”

After listening to Sister Liu’s fellowship, I felt a little excited. I felt as though a window had opened in my heart and light had come flooding in. Before, I had only known that God was called Jehovah in the Age of Law and Jesus in the Age of Grace. What I hadn’t known was why God had been called by these names. Today, I finally understood: As it turns out, the name God is called by in each age is always meaningful; they are all related to the work God is doing at the time and the disposition He expresses in that age. Therefore, God being called ‘Almighty God’ in the last days is also related to His work of judgment and His righteous and majestic disposition. If God were still called Jesus and expressed His compassionate and loving disposition, then His work could only remain in the stage of redemption. We would then still live every day in the vicious cycle of sinning and confessing, and we would be incapable of entirely casting off the bonds and constraints of sin. At this time, I realized that my knowledge was so limited, and that I absolutely must not refuse to look into Almighty God’s work just because God’s name had changed, for then I would be likely to lose God’s salvation.

Sister Liu went on in her fellowship: “Although God uses different names in different ages, and His work is not the same, the works in the Age of Law, the Age of Grace and the Age of Kingdom are all done by one God. Jehovah, the Lord Jesus and Almighty God are one Spirit. Just as Almighty God says: ‘From the work of Jehovah to that of Jesus, and from the work of Jesus to that of this current stage, these three stages cover in a continuous thread the entire gamut of God’s management, and they are all the work of one Spirit. Since the creation of the world, God has always been at work managing mankind. He is the Beginning and the End, He is the First and the Last, and He is the One who begins an age and the One who brings the age to an end. The three stages of work, in different ages and different locations, are unmistakably the work of one Spirit. All those who separate these three stages stand in opposition to God. Now, it behooves you to understand that all the work from the first stage until today is the work of one God, the work of one Spirit. Of this there can be no doubt’ (“The Vision of God’s Work (3)” in The Word Appears in the Flesh). We can see from God’s word that Almighty God is Jehovah who proclaimed to man the laws that guided them through life, and He is also the Lord Jesus who was nailed to the cross to redeem man’s sins in the Age of Grace. Therefore, our acceptance of the name of Almighty God is not a betrayal of the Lord Jesus, but rather we are following the Lamb’s footsteps like the wise virgins, as it says in Revelation: ‘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’ (Revelation 14:4).”

The Reason Why Pastors Don’t Accept but Stop Us From Looking Into God’s Work in the Last Days

After our meeting was over, I contemplated as I remembered the words of Almighty God and Sister Liu’s fellowship, and I thought that the word of Almighty God is indeed the truth, and that it was very possible that Almighty God is the Lord Jesus returned, for only God Himself could clearly explain the mystery of His name. But why did pastors not only not accept but stop us from seeking and accepting Almighty God’s work? Later, I asked Sister Liu this question online.

Sister Liu gave fellowship, saying: “About this question, Almighty God’s words make it very clear. Let’s first read a passage of God’s word.” Then, Sister Liu sent me a passage of God’s word: “Do you wish to know the root of why the Pharisees opposed Jesus? Do you wish to know the essence of the Pharisees? They were full of fantasies about the Messiah. What is more, they believed only that the Messiah would come, yet did not pursue the life truth. And so, even today they still await the Messiah, for they have no knowledge of the way of life, and do not know what the way of truth is. How, say you, could such foolish, stubborn and ignorant people gain God’s blessing? How could they behold the Messiah? They opposed Jesus because they did not know the direction of the Holy Spirit’s work, because they did not know the way of truth spoken by Jesus, and, furthermore, because they did not understand the Messiah. And since they had never seen the Messiah and had never been in the company of the Messiah, they made the mistake of clinging to the mere name of the Messiah while opposing the essence of the Messiah by any means possible. These Pharisees in essence were stubborn, arrogant, and did not obey the truth. The principle of their belief in God was: No matter how profound Your preaching, no matter how high Your authority, You are not Christ unless You are called the Messiah. Is this belief not preposterous and ridiculous?” (“By the Time You Behold the Spiritual Body of Jesus, God Will Have Made Heaven and Earth Anew” in The Word Appears in the Flesh). After I finished reading, Sister Liu continued to fellowship: “As mankind has been corrupted by Satan, we are all quite arrogant, self-conceited, and do not have any reverence toward God. Once God’s work is at odds with people’s notions, we will judge, condemn and resist God. Especially religious leaders and pastors who have worked and preached for many years, believe they possess biblical knowledge and understand theological theory, thus becoming even more stubborn and arrogant and holding on to their notions and imaginations in resisting and condemning God’s work. Just as in the Age of Grace when the Lord Jesus came to do His work, the chief priests, scribes, and the Pharisees stubbornly clung to the notion and imagination that “you are not Christ unless you are called the Messiah.” Although they saw that the Lord Jesus performed many miracles and expressed many truths, fully demonstrating God’s authority and power, they still didn’t seek and investigate, but vigorously resisted and condemned the Lord Jesus, and misled and hindered people from accepting the Lord Jesus’ work. In order to preserve their own positions and jobs and control and entrap people, they even colluded with the Roman government to crucify the Lord Jesus. Not only had their devotion not earned Jehovah’s praise, but on the contrary they committed a heinous crime and were cursed and punished by God. The Pharisees were arrogant and conceited and they stubbornly clung to their own misconceptions, and that is what led them to resist God and be cursed by God. In the same way, the Lord Jesus has returned in the last days, and with the name of ‘Almighty God,’ God has begun the work of the Age of Kingdom. Brothers and sisters from all denominations who love the truth and long for God’s appearance have recognized God’s voice in the word of God, and returned before God. However, pastors and elders stubbornly cling to their notions and still think that when the Lord returns He must still be called Jesus, or else He can not be God. They unscrupulously judge and condemn Almighty God’s work in the last days, disrupt and obstruct Christians from investigating the true way, and furthermore they call the police to arrest preachers from The Church of Almighty. So they are just the same as the Pharisees in the Age of Law, nailing God to the cross once again. God’s disposition brooks no offense, and they will only be cursed by God in the end. In the last days, God does the work of separating each to their own kind, that being the work of separating the wheat from the chaff and the goats from the sheep. God will reveal the end of every person, and reward good and punish evil. Those who hear God’s voice, who can relinquish their own notions and imaginings, who can accept the name of Almighty God and keep pace with God’s work are clever virgins and have the chance to attain God’s salvation and be led by God into a beautiful destination. Whereas those who hear God’s voice but are unwilling to relinquish their notions about God’s work and who refuse to accept God’s name, are foolish virgins and will be exposed and sifted out by God. We must take on board the lesson of the Pharisees’ failure and absolutely not cling to our own notions, otherwise we will very easily miss the chance to welcome the Lord’s return and lose God’s salvation in the last days.”

Hearing Almighty God’s word and Sister Liu’s fellowship, the confusion in my heart evaporated, and I understood that the reason why pastors and elders of the religious world do not accept but stop believers from accepting God’s work of the last days is because their nature is too arrogant, and because they always measure God’s work by their own notions and imaginings. Because I had been indoctrinated by the pastors, I held on to my own notions and imaginings about God’s name, and almost missed my chance to welcome the Lord’s return. I felt afraid, and I determined to relinquish my notions to seek Almighty God’s work of the last days in earnest.

Afterward, I attended meetings with brothers and sisters from The Church of Almighty God. Reading God’s words I came to understand some truths and mysteries, such as the mystery of God’s name, God’s goal for His three-stage management work for mankind, how God judges and cleanses humans, the future outcome and destination of humans, and so on. I felt very well provided for. My heart confirmed that the words expressed by Almighty God were the voice of God, and I gladly accepted Almighty God’s work of the last days and returned before God’s throne. Thank God for choosing me!

Epilogue: The Lord Jesus said: “Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:3). “Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you” (Matthew 7:7). The experiences of Sister Mingai remind every Christian who longs to welcome the return of the Lord, while keeping vigilant watch and waiting, not to forget to seek with an open mind. Each of us will have much confusion when we come across the true way, but only by actively seeking and investigating can we understand the truth and welcome the return of the Lord!

You might be interested in this article:

• The Mystery of God’s Name – Crosstalk

• The Mystery of God’s Name: The Lord Shall Have a New Name Upon His Return