According to news reports, the world is experiencing rare high temperatures in 2022. Continuous extremely hot weather has caused severe droughts, wildfires, and icebergs to melt. Some experts said that climate change was making extreme heat around the world more common.

From March and April in 2022, heat waves have gripped large parts of India and Pakistan. This greatly affected a large part of India’s northwest, with rainfall being only a quarter to a third of normal. Several cities across India had high temperatures over 42.8 °C, with a certain place rising to 45 °C.

In June–July 2022, heat waves started to hit Europe, with Central, Southern, and Western Europe especially impacted. In Portugal, the temperature in some places reached 47.0 °C. In the United Kingdom, the surface temperature in some areas reached over 54 °C. Temperatures in Spain have reached as high as 45.7 °C. Due to the rare high temperatures, wildfires have blazed in many countries. Seeing the sky turn red during wildfires, some people described it as terrifying as the scene before the end of the world. The heat waves have already killed more than 10,000 people across Europe. Experts predicted that heat waves would happen more frequently in Europe because of climate change.

In addition, the global pandemic has resulted in a large death toll, with the virus more infectious after several mutations, and it shows no signs of stopping yet; the outbreak of the Ukrainian-Russian war has also claimed many people’s lives and sent energy and food prices soaring, and the risk of a widening war is serious right now, which can lead to global unrest; what’s worse, earthquakes, floods, droughts, famines, volcanic eruptions and other disasters are also increasing. Faced with irresistible catastrophes, many people are in a state of panic, because no one can guarantee that they will not be plunged into a catastrophe. Therefore, many people are wondering: What exactly does the occurrence of these disasters signal? How can we gain God’s protection and survive disasters?

1. What Does the Fulfillment of Prophecies Indicate?

We all know that these disasters didn’t occur by chance, and that they were not just natural phenomena; instead, their occurrence fulfills the prophecies of the Lord’s return, “For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be earthquakes in divers places, and there shall be famines and troubles: these are the beginnings of sorrows” (Mark 13:8). “For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be” (Matthew 24:21). This indicates that the final age has come, and that the Lord Jesus has already returned. Just as God’s words say, “The last days have arrived and countries across the world are in turmoil. There is political disarray, there are famines, pestilences, floods, and droughts appearing everywhere. There is catastrophe in the world of man; Heaven has also sent down disaster. These are signs of the last days” (The Word Appears in the Flesh, Vol. 1, Practice (2)). “In speaking of the last days, this refers to a separate age, one in which Jesus said you will surely encounter disaster, and encounter earthquakes, famines, and plagues, which will show that this is a new age, and is no longer the old Age of Grace” (The Word Appears in the Flesh, Vol. 1, The Vision of God’s Work (3)).

These words tell us: The occurrence of all kinds of disasters is a sign of the last days. The Lord Jesus has already returned, ending the Age of Grace and opening a new one. However, mankind has been so deeply corrupted. No one actively searches for God or God’s appearance and work, and many people still refuse to seek and investigate even though they hear the testimony that the Lord has come back. Therefore, God allows all kinds of disasters to come in order to warn us, and awaken our numb hearts. He wants us to clearly see that prophecies of the Lord’s return have been fulfilled and that the Lord has already returned; He, through disasters, is forcing us to quickly seek God’s appearance and welcome the Lord’s return. Only in this way can we have the chance to be saved by God, and receive God’s protection and survive disasters.

2. How to Welcome the Lord’s Return

Since the Lord has already returned, how can we welcome Him? In fact, the Lord Jesus has already told us the way. He said, “Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hears My voice, and opens the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with Me” (Revelation 3:20). “And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom comes; go you out to meet him” (Matthew 25:6). “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me” (John 10:27). Telling us, in the last days, when the Lord returns, He would express words to knock on our doors and seek His sheep. The sheep of God, that is, the wise virgins, will seek and investigate proactively when they hear the testimony that the Lord has returned. Once they discover the truth and recognize God’s voice from the returned Lord’s words, they will accept and obey. This is welcoming the Lord’s return and attending the feast with the Lord. Just as God’s words say, “Since we are searching for the footprints of God, it behooves us to search for God’s will, for the words of God, for His utterances—because wherever there are new words spoken by God, the voice of God is there, and wherever there are the footsteps of God, God’s deeds are there. Wherever there is the expression of God, there God appears, and wherever God appears, there the truth, the way, and the life exist. In seeking God’s footprints, you have ignored the words ‘God is the truth, the way, and the life.’ And so, many people, even when they receive the truth, do not believe that they have found God’s footprints, and still less do they acknowledge the appearance of God. What a grave mistake! The appearance of God cannot be reconciled with man’s notions, still less can God appear at the behest of man. God makes His own choices and His own plans when He does His work; moreover, He has His own objectives and His own methods. Whatever work He does, He has no need to discuss it with man or seek his advice, much less to notify each and every person of His work. This is the disposition of God, which should, moreover, be recognized by everyone. If you desire to witness the appearance of God, to follow God’s footsteps, then you must first walk away from your own notions. You must not demand that God do this or that, much less should you place Him within your own confines and limit Him to your own notions. Instead, you should demand of yourselves how you ought to seek God’s footprints, how you ought to accept God’s appearance, and how you ought to submit to the new work of God: This is what man should do. Since man is not the truth, and is not possessed of the truth, he should seek, accept, and obey” (The Word Appears in the Flesh, Vol. 1, The Appearance of God Has Ushered in a New Age). God is the truth, the way, and the life. If we want to keep up with God’s footsteps and see His appearance, the most important thing is to listen to God’s voice and seek God’s utterances and words. If we can recognize God’s voice, this is seeing God’s appearance and welcoming the Lord’s return. Therefore, when we hear someone testify that the Lord has returned, expressed words and carried out a new stage of work, we cannot blindly refuse, but should actively seek and investigate and listen to whether His words are God’s voice. Once we recognize the voice of God, we must accept and obey. Only by doing so can we welcome the Lord’s return and gain the opportunity to be cared for and protected by God.

Now, in the entire world, only The Church of Almighty God has been publicly testifying that the Lord Jesus has come back and that He is Christ of the last days, Almighty God. Almighty God has expressed many truths, and He, on the foundation of the Lord Jesus’ work of redemption, has carried out the work of judgment beginning with God’s house to thoroughly purify mankind, and save us from sin and the influence of Satan. His work will enable us to receive God’s protection and survive disasters and be brought into the kingdom of God. This is the fulfillment of 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” (John 16:12–13). “Sanctify them through Your truth: Your word is truth” (John 17:17). “And if any man hears My words, and believes 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).

It has been more than 30 years since Almighty God started to appear and work. Almighty God has expressed millions of words, revealing not only the mysteries in the Bible, but all the mysteries of God’s 6,000-year management work, such as the mystery of incarnation, how Satan corrupts mankind, how God’s work of judgment in the last days purifies and saves humankind, how God sorts people according to their kind, rewarding good and punishing evil to bring the age to a close, and how mankind enters a beautiful destination. Almighty God also reveals mankind’s anti-God essence and the truth of their corruption. He provides a path for people to rid themselves of their sin and achieve salvation. Almighty God has made a group of overcomers before the disasters. These overcomers’ testimonies have been made into videos and movies available online and are the fruits of Almighty God’s work of judgment in the last days, which are utterly convincing for all who see them. Almighty God’s appearance and work has ended the Age of Grace, opened up the Age of Kingdom, and shook the entire religious world and even the entire world. An increasing number of people are accepting, testifying, and preaching Almighty God’s appearance and work, and Almighty God’s kingdom gospel has reached every country in the world. The facts are enough to demonstrate that Almighty God is the returned Lord Jesus. Nowadays, Almighty God’s work of judgment in the last days is about to come to an end and the great disasters have already begun. In the future, disasters will be even greater. Those who accept God’s work of the last days and have their corrupt dispositions purified will be protected, survive the great disasters, and be brought to the beautiful destination of mankind—the kingdom of heaven. However, those wicked people who refuse to accept God’s work of the last days and even resist and condemn God will all be punished and destroyed in disasters. In this way, God’s management work will be completely finished.

3. God’s Words of Admonition to Man

Finally, let us read these words of admonition from Almighty God—Christ of the last days, to mankind, and appreciate God’s urgent intention in saving mankind. Almighty God says, “In the vast expanse of the world, oceans silting into fields, fields flooding into oceans, over and over. Except for He who rules over everything among all things, no one is able to lead and guide this human race. There is no mighty one to labor or make preparations for this human race, still less is there anyone who can lead this human race toward the destination of light and liberate it from earthly injustices. God laments the future of mankind, He grieves at the fall of mankind, and is pained that mankind is marching, step by step, toward decay and the path of no return. No one has ever given thought to which direction such a mankind that has broken the heart of God and renounced Him to seek the evil one might be headed. It is precisely for this reason why no one senses the wrath of God, why no one seeks a way to please God or tries to draw closer to God, and what is more, why no one seeks to comprehend God’s grief and pain. Even after hearing the voice of God, man continues on his own path, persists in straying from God, evading God’s grace and care, and shunning His truth, preferring to sell himself to Satan, the enemy of God. And who has given any thought—should man persist in his obduracy—to how God will act toward this humanity that has dismissed Him without a backward glance? No one knows that the reason for God’s repeated reminders and exhortations is because He has prepared in His hands a calamity like never before, one that will be unbearable to the flesh and soul of man. This calamity is not merely a punishment of the flesh, but also of the soul. You need to know this: When God’s plan falls through, and when His reminders and exhortations are not repaid, what kind of rage will He unleash? It will be like nothing that has ever been experienced or heard by any created being. And so I say, this calamity is without precedent, and will never be repeated. For God’s plan is to create mankind only this once, and to save mankind only this once. This is the first time, and it is also the last. Therefore, no one can comprehend the painstaking intentions and fervent anticipation with which God saves mankind this time” (The Word Appears in the Flesh, Vol. 1, God Is the Source of Man’s Life).