Recently, I’ve often heard brothers and sisters discussing how to welcome the Lord’s coming. It usually goes something like this:

A: “Disasters are getting worse and worse around the world and the prophecies of the Lord’s coming have now largely been fulfilled. What should we do to be able to welcome the Lord?”

B: “Speaking of welcoming the Lord, I recently saw online that The Church of Almighty God is testifying that the Lord Jesus has already returned as Almighty God, and that He is expressing what the Spirit says to the churches. He’s doing the work of judgment beginning with the house of God. Do you think Almighty God could be the Lord Jesus returned?”

A: “The Lord Jesus said: ‘My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me’ (John 10:27). And in Revelation, it is prophesied many times that ‘He that has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches’ (Revelation 2, 3). These prophecies show us that the Lord will speak more utterances when He returns and Almighty God expressing what the Spirit says to the churches fits with these biblical prophecies. But how can we be sure that Almighty God’s words are the voice of God?”

B: “Um …”

Everyone knows that The Church of Almighty God is testifying that the Lord Jesus has returned, but many people have no way to be sure whether Almighty God’s words are the voice of God or not. If we want to solve this conundrum, we must grasp the three paths to discern the voice of God, which we will fellowship on in detail here.

1. God’s voice is the utterances of the Creator, and possesses both authority and power

As we all know, whether God is expressing the truth in the flesh or His Spirit is speaking utterances, He always speaks to mankind in His identity as the Creator. This directly demonstrates God’s identity and essence. His words are authoritative and powerful, able to move men’s hearts, and they could not be spoken by any normal human being. Even if people don’t understand the real meaning of God’s words, they can recognize them as the voice of God the moment they hear them. His words are like the Creator speaking to us—authoritative, powerful, and causing reverence to arise in our hearts. This is how it feels when we hear God’s voice. Take these words spoken by the Lord, for example: “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man comes to the Father, but by Me. If you had known Me, you should have known My Father also: and from now on you know Him, and have seen Him” (John 14:6–7). “I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believes in Me, though he were dead, yet shall he live” (John 11:25). When we hear these words, we sense that they are the truth, that they possess authority and power, that no ordinary human could say them, and that they are the voice of God.

The utterances of Almighty God, Christ of the last days, are the same as the Lord Jesus’ words—replete with authority and power. The moment we hear them, we sense that God is talking to us and that they are the voice of God. As Almighty God says: “So long as the old world continues to exist, I will hurl forth My rage upon its nations, openly promulgate My administrative decrees throughout the universe, and visit chastisement upon whosoever violates them:

“As I turn My face to the universe to speak, all mankind hears My voice, and thereupon sees all the works I have wrought throughout the universe. Those who set themselves against My will, that is to say, who oppose Me with the deeds of man, will fall under My chastisement. I will take the multitudinous stars in the heavens and make them anew and, thanks to Me, the sun and the moon will be renewed—the skies will no longer be as they were and the myriad things on the earth will be renewed. All will become complete through My words. The many nations within the universe will be partitioned afresh and replaced by My kingdom, so that the nations upon the earth will disappear forever and all will become a kingdom that worships Me; all the nations of the earth will be destroyed and cease to exist. Of the human beings within the universe, all those belonging to the devil will be exterminated, and all who worship Satan will be laid low by My burning fire—that is, except for those now within the stream, all will be turned to ashes. When I chastise the many peoples, those in the religious world will, to varying extents, return to My kingdom, conquered by My works, because they will have seen the advent of the Holy One riding on a white cloud. All people will be separated according to their own kind, and will receive chastisements commensurate with their actions. All those who have stood against Me will perish; as for those whose deeds on earth have not involved Me, they will, because of how they have acquitted themselves, continue to exist on the earth under the governance of My sons and My people. I will reveal Myself to the myriad peoples and the myriad nations, and with My own voice, I will sound forth upon the earth, proclaiming the completion of My great work for all mankind to see with their own eyes.”

“I was once known as Jehovah. I was also called the Messiah, and people once called Me Jesus the Savior with love and esteem. Today, however, I am no longer the Jehovah or Jesus that people knew in times past; I am the God who has returned in the last days, the God who shall bring the age to an end. I am the God Himself that rises up from the end of the earth, replete with My entire disposition, and full of authority, honor, and glory. 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. Eventually, all nations shall be blessed because of My words, and also smashed to pieces because of My words. In this way, all people during the last days shall see that I am the Savior returned, and that I am the Almighty God that conquers all of mankind. And all shall see that I was once the sin offering for man, but that in the last days I also become the flames of the sun that incinerate all things, as well as the Sun of righteousness that reveals all things. This is My work in the last days.”

We can see that these words expressed by Almighty God are spoken directly to mankind in His identity as the Creator. Almighty God’s words are imbued with the unique authority and power of God. Even if we are unaware of their inner meaning, we perceive as soon as we hear them that they absolutely could not have been spoken by any created mankind. Besides God, who else could face the whole of mankind and speak such utterances? Who else could speak and express to man God’s intention to save mankind? Who else could reveal God’s administrative decrees to the entire universe? Who else besides God could change heaven and earth? Who else could separate each according to his kind? None but God could do these things! This is God standing in His identity as the Creator to speak His utterances and reveal His righteous, majestic, and inviolable disposition to mankind. Whoever possesses both heart and spirit and who hears Almighty God’s words will sense the authority, power, and majesty in each and every word, and sense that the tone and manner of speaking in Almighty God’s words are no different from those spoken by the Lord Jesus. The moment they hear Almighty God’s words, they will feel that this is God speaking to mankind and that they are the voice of God.

2. God’s utterances can uncover the mysteries of God’s management work

The Bible says, “The secret things belong to Jehovah our God: but those things which are revealed belong to us and to our children for ever, that we may do all the words of this law” (Deuteronomy 29:29). We can understand from this that only the utterances of God can uncover all mysteries. This is because only God can clearly explain His own work and the prophecies of His work—man can never fathom anything to do with God. If God did not explain these things to us, we as mankind would never be able to know them. It is therefore God’s utterances that must uncover the mysteries of God’s management work.

When the Lord Jesus came to perform His work, He revealed many mysteries, such as the mystery of how to enter the kingdom of heaven: “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. Many will say to Me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name? and in Your name have cast out devils? and in Your name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess to them, I never knew you: depart from Me, you that work iniquity” (Matthew 7:21–23). “Truly, truly, I say to you, Whoever commits sin is the servant of sin. And the servant stays not in the house for ever: but the son stays ever” (John 8: 34–35). God is the king of heaven, and only He knows who will be able to enter the kingdom of heaven and what the standards for entry are. So when the Lord Jesus came in the flesh to perform His work, He very clearly explained to us the standards for gaining entry into the kingdom of heaven, so we would know that only those who do the will of the Father and who are cleansed of their sins can enter the kingdom of heaven.

Similarly, Almighty God’s words unveil the mystery of entering the kingdom of heaven: “You must know what kind of people I desire; those who are impure are not permitted to enter into the kingdom, those who are impure are not permitted to besmirch the holy ground. Though you may have done much work, and worked for many years, in the end if you are still deplorably filthy, then it will be intolerable to the law of Heaven that you wish to enter My kingdom! From the foundation of the world until today, never have I offered easy access to My kingdom to those who curry favor with Me. This is a heavenly rule, and no one can break it!” Almighty God’s words entirely reveal God’s holiness and righteousness and uncover the standards for getting into the kingdom of heaven. Whoever does not follow God’s way and lives in sin can never enter the kingdom of heaven, and this is identical to the standards spoken by the Lord Jesus. When those who possess both heart and spirit hear Almighty God’s words, they are immediately able to verify that the source of Almighty God’s words is none other than that of the Lord Jesus’ words.

Almighty God not only tells us the standards of entry into the kingdom of heaven, but He also reveals many mysteries which we were never aware of before. Almighty God’s words say, “It is only during the last days that the work I have been managing for thousands of years is entirely revealed to man. It is only now that I have disclosed the full mystery of My management to man, and man has learned the purpose of My work and, moreover, has come to understand all My mysteries. I have already told man everything of the destination about which he is concerned. I have already uncovered for man all of My mysteries, mysteries that were hidden for over 5,900 years.” “This stage of work will elucidate for you the law of Jehovah and the redemption of Jesus, and is principally so that you may understand the entire work of God’s six-thousand-year management plan, and appreciate all the significance and essence of this six-thousand-year management plan, and understand the purpose of all the work done by Jesus and the words He spoke, and even your blind credence in and adoration of the Bible. All this it will allow you to understand thoroughly. You will come to understand both the work done by Jesus, and the work of God today; you will understand and behold all of the truth, the life, and the way. … The final stage will bring God’s work to a complete end and will provide its conclusion. All will come to understand and know of God’s management plan. The notions within man, his intentions, his erroneous and absurd understanding, his notions about the work of Jehovah and Jesus, his views about the Gentiles, and his other deviations and errors will be corrected. And man will understand all the right paths of life, and all the work done by God, and the entire truth. When that happens, this stage of work will come to an end.”

Almighty God, Christ of the last days, reveals to us the important mysteries—those of the past, the present, and the future, which relate to God’s management plan. He also reveals the purpose of God’s management of mankind, the development of mankind till the present day, and the inside stories of God’s work in the Age of Law, His redemption work in the Age of Grace, and His judgment work in the Age of Kingdom; He reveals the essence and truth about the Bible, the mystery of the incarnations, the mystery of God’s names, the mystery of the judgment of the great white throne as prophesied in Revelation, as well as the mysteries of the seven seals, the seven bowls, and the seven plagues, and more. This fulfills the Lord Jesus’ words when He 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” (John 16:12–13). These mysteries revealed by Almighty God relate to God and to His work, as well as to things God will accomplish in the future. These mysteries are all connected to God’s management plan, and none can know them except God. We can therefore be sure from this that Almighty God’s utterances are the expressions of the Holy Spirit, and they are the voice of God.

3. The utterances of each of God’s incarnations relate to a complete stage of work, and God’s words are able to save and purify man

We all know that each time God becomes flesh to perform a stage of work, He must speak many words. He certainly does not just express a few words and He does not merely reveal many truths and mysteries. He also expresses God’s will and requirements concerning mankind, He judges and exposes mankind’s corruption, and so on. His words are able to save and purify man, and they represent a complete work of God in a single age. When the Lord Jesus came to perform His work, He said many things and taught people to love their enemies and love others as themselves. He also asked people to be humble and patient, and so on. These words were all the truths He bestowed on man as He performed the work of redemption. Now, Almighty God performs the work of judgment beginning with the house of God, and He does this work upon the foundation of the redemption work done by the Lord Jesus. Almighty God expresses all the truths that can enable man to be cleansed and saved, and these words represent the complete work God performs in the last days. He does this to save and purify man, and to save man from sin once and for all. So are words that are able to save and purify man not the voice of God?

Almighty God says, “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 all 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.” “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 you 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. You, a sinner who has just been redeemed, are therefore incapable of directly inheriting God’s inheritance.”

God’s words are very clear; the Lord Jesus did the work of redemption in the Age of Grace which just forgave man his sins. But man’s corrupt dispositions have not yet been entirely expunged, and so Almighty God, Christ of the last days, has now come to do the work of judging and purifying man upon the foundation of the Lord Jesus’ redemption work. This precisely fulfills the Lord Jesus’ prophecies: “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). “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 12:48).

Almighty God has expressed millions of words and has expressed all truths necessary for corrupt mankind to attain salvation. He not only exposes the truth of mankind’s corruption by Satan, but He tells us how to be honest people after His own heart, how to distinguish between the work of the Holy Spirit and the work of Satan, how to distinguish between following God and following man, how to truly obey, revere, and love God, how to do the will of the heavenly Father, how to pursue the truth, cast off our sinful natures and be cleansed, and more. These words are truths which enable people to be cleansed and attain salvation. Who can speak words to save people from sin once and for all? Who can speak words that redeem people from sin? Only God Himself! Almighty God is therefore the Lord Jesus returned, and these words of purification and salvation expressed by Almighty God are indeed the voice of God.

Almighty God has come in the last days to do His work. He expresses all the truths which cleanse and save man, He performs the work of judgment beginning with God’s house, and He uncovers all the mysteries of God’s management plan. The words Almighty God expresses are what the Spirit says to the churches. Many people who thirst for the truth have recognized Almighty God’s words as the truth, as the voice of God, and one by one have turned to Almighty God and returned before God’s throne. So what should we choose to do when we hear the voice of God? Only by being the wise virgins, by focusing on hearing God’s voice and recognizing God’s voice, and then hurrying to accept and submit can we become those who keep up with the Lamb’s footsteps and attend the Lamb’s feast. Just as it is prophesied in the Book of Revelation, “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).

Editor’s Note: Has the above fellowship concerning how to recognize the voice of God now shown you the way? If you have found it helpful, please feel free to share it with more brothers and sisters, so that everyone can learn how to recognize God’s voice and welcome the Lord. If you find you have any other issues or questions in your belief, please get in touch with us via Messenger or WhatsApp, and we’ll be happy to discuss them with you.