Editor’s Note:

Because of believing the CCP’s negative propaganda about the May 28 Shandong Zhaoyuan Case, for a time the protagonist of this article Chenguang tried to block his wife from believing in Almighty God. But though he had tried everything, his wife still persisted in her faith. Afterward, through investigating The Church of Almighty God (CAG), he came to know the truth behind the May 28 Incident and became sure that Almighty God is the returned Lord Jesus. Would you like to know about his experiences? Let’s read them together.

The CCP’s Rumors Were Rooted in My Heart, and I Became Suspicious of My Wife

Due to our work, my wife and I came to Canada, and we attended meetings in a church near our house. Once, the pastor said in a sermon: “CAG is now testifying that the Lord has returned. This is not true. Don’t believe that, and moreover don’t have any contact with them.” Hearing this suddenly reminded me of the negative propaganda about CAG from China’s news media. In particular there was a report by China Central Television (CCTV) on the May 28 Murder Case in a McDonald’s in Zhaoyuan, Shandong, in which the CCP said that the criminal suspects were members of CAG. At that time, I felt so frightened, but I didn’t really pay much attention to it as I thought I wouldn’t come into contact with members of CAG. Now that the pastor talked about this, I must be on guard.

That day, my wife didn’t listen to the sermon because she had to look after the children in the church. On our way home, she asked me about the content of the sermon, and I told her the pastor’s condemnation of CAG. Surprisingly, after hearing what I said, she immediately said: “What the pastor said isn’t in accord with the Lord’s will. The Lord Jesus said: ‘Judge not, that you be not judged. For with what judgment you judge, you shall be judged: and with what measure you mete, it shall be measured to you again’ (Matthew 7:1–2). We believers in the Lord should have reverence for God, so how can the pastor casually condemn other churches? Besides, we all believe in God. Why can’t we treat other denominations fairly?” Seeing that my wife not only wasn’t afraid but had such a big reaction, I was somewhat astonished, and casually asked her whether she had contacted any members of CAG. She said she hadn’t, and so I stopped asking.

One day, when playing with my phone during my break at work, I found it had a GPS system which I hadn’t used before, and I wanted to check it out. Then I put in my wife’s cellphone number, and the result showed that she was in a house near our home. I then sent a message to ask her where she was, and unexpectedly she replied she was on her way to work. Taking another look at the result my phone showed, I felt quite bewildered: Why did she lie to me? But I was too embarrassed to catch her out, so I thought about looking for a right opportunity to ask her.

Finding the Evidence of My Wife’s Belief in Almighty God, I Tried Everything to Stop Her

That day, after getting home from work, when I went to take something from the wardrobe, I accidentally caught sight of a black bag which contained several books. Out of curiosity, I opened one of them, and unexpectedly the words “The Church of Almighty God” leaped out at me. I was shocked and thought: “How could my wife have books from CAG? Could it be that she has contacted people from the church?” At that time, I suddenly thought of my wife’s strong reaction when she heard the pastor’s condemnation of CAG, and her lying to me that morning, so I became even more certain that she had contacted people from CAG. I began to worry and considered how to persuade her if she really had believed in Almighty God. Then I hurriedly went online to search for information on CAG, and when I saw the Chinese government’s news reports about the May 28 Incident, I got more worried about my wife.

When my wife returned home from work, I impatiently asked her whether she had contacted people from CAG. She appeared to be a little surprised at my question, but she still replied she hadn’t. Seeing that, I angrily laid out on the desk the books I had found, and questioned her loudly: “When did you start believing in Almighty God? There is a lot of negative news online about CAG, don’t you know that? You lied to me this morning. You weren’t on your way to work. Where were you?” Seeing that I had found the books, my wife admitted that she had believed in Almighty God and that she was attending a meeting in a sister’s home that morning. At the thought of how she usually was reasonable and cautious, I softened my tone and continued: “The Chinese government said the boundaries between men and women were unclear among believers in Almighty God and that the Zhaoyuan case has something to do with CAG. This is awful! Can you please not contact them anymore? It will be so much better if you just go to church meetings, and I will go with you every week. Why do you want to contact them?” When I finished, I showed her the negative information online. After reading them, my wife said angrily: “These people have never had any contact with the people from CAG at all. They shouldn’t be saying anything about it. These words are completely unfounded and hearsay, they are rumors. They’re completely untrustworthy! In the past few months, I’ve been contacting the brothers and sisters of CAG, and what I’ve seen is that they dress in a simple and honest manner, and they speak and behave in a dignified manner. Brothers and sisters respect boundaries and are principled in their interactions. They are not at all like the rumors the CCP and the pastors and elders spread. The administrative decree for the Age of Kingdom issued by Almighty God clearly states: ‘Man has a corrupt disposition and is moreover possessed of emotions. As such, it is absolutely prohibited for two members of the opposite sex to work together unaccompanied when serving God. Any who are discovered doing so will be expelled, without exception.’ God is holy and righteous, and loathes nothing more than when people engage in fornication. So, God has issued strict administrative decrees for His chosen people, and anyone who violates them will be expelled from the church. The brothers and sisters of CAG strictly abide by God’s administrative decrees, and no one dares violate them. This is what I personally saw and experienced. The rumor spread by the CCP and the pastors and elders that the boundaries between men and women of CAG are unclear is nothing but rumor, defamation, and malicious slander! You have never been in contact with people from CAG, but you blindly believe these rumors, is that appropriate? I didn’t tell you the truth before because I was afraid you would hinder me from believing in Almighty God and I wanted to tell you when I understood the truth.” But no matter what my wife said, I wouldn’t listen and insisted that she no longer go to meetings. Finally, she had no choice but to agree, but she said that she wanted to continue reading God’s word at home. Thinking that there would be no danger as long as she didn’t contact people from CAG, I agreed.

One night, I saw my wife’s phone on the table, and wanted to look at it to see whom she had been in touch with recently. When I found that she still contacted her sisters from CAG, I angrily said to her: “Didn’t you say you wouldn’t contact them? Why are you still in contact with them?” After listening, my wife didn’t say anything. Several days later, I used GPS to locate her during my break at work and discovered that she went to a meeting again. When I got home, I lost my patience with her, I again told her about the negative information online and the May 28 Zhaoyuan Case, and also sent some negative videos to her. But my wife wouldn’t change her mind and still kept on meeting with her brothers and sisters of CAG. Because of this, I frequently quarreled with her and was in a cold war with her for a period of time. I just couldn’t figure out why she still attended meetings though I obstructed her like that and spoke harshly to her. This really was vexing for me.

Later, in order to obstruct my wife’s belief in Almighty God, I secretly deleted the books, hymns, and preachings and fellowships from CAG on her phone, but after she found out that she downloaded them again; I also hid her books of God’s word that were at home but several days later she found them. I was utterly defeated and didn’t know why everything I tried didn’t work at all. Later, I thought: “Now that all this can’t stop her, how about doing ideological work for her? But I am not as good as her in explaining scriptures. What should I do? How about telling the pastor and elder and having them persuade her? But if they know she has believed in Almighty God, they will possibly tell the brothers and sisters to stay away from her, and this will ruin her reputation. Then how about asking her parents in China to persuade her? But they’re getting on in years; if they know she has believed in Almighty God, will they be so furious that they will get sick?” After thinking over and over, I felt they were not viable ways, and finally I decided to do ideological work for my wife by myself. From then on, I started to earnestly study the Bible, and explained to my wife what I heard from the pastor, what I found online and the doctrines I understood. However, every time, I was refuted and rendered speechless, which made me feel embarrassed and helpless. During that period, my wife asked me many times to look into CAG, but I dared not do so because of the rumors.

My Wife’s Change Got Me to Reflect

Later, however, the facts before my eyes forced me to reflect. After my wife began believing in Almighty God, she changed a lot. Every time when I lost my temper with her, she tolerated me; even though I hid her books and deleted some content from her phone, she didn’t quarrel with me out of hot-bloodedness, nor did she fly into a rage. That wasn’t the way my wife used to behave. Seeing her change, I felt really happy. I couldn’t help but think: “After believing in Almighty God, my wife has changed for the better. Besides, she is astute and cautious. In the face of so much negative information online and my hindering, she still persists in her belief in Almighty God. Could it be that Almighty God’s work really is the work of the true God? Has the Lord Jesus truly returned?” But then another thought occurred to me: “If this really is true, then why are there so many negative comments online? How can the May 28 Zhaoyuan Case be explained?”

Due to my wife’s change, in the following days, I didn’t obstruct her that much and no longer prevented her from going out to attend meetings, but just sent her some negative videos occasionally.

Through Seeking and Fellowshiping, I Learned the Truth Behind the May 28 Incident

One day, my wife again fellowshiped with me and persuaded me to examine Almighty God’s work of the last days, and she said: “Back then when the Lord Jesus came to work, because His work didn’t tally with people’s notions He was slandered by the religious Pharisees and was hunted and arrested by the Roman government. But does that mean the Lord Jesus’ work isn’t God’s work? Now is the last days, and is the time when the Lord returns. Since we hear CAG testifying that the Lord has come back, we should be wise virgins, learn to listen to God’s voice, and personally investigate and understand the church. This is the only way we’ll be able to welcome the Lord’s return. If you don’t seek and investigate, don’t have a real understanding of the truth, but just be worried and blindly get your guard up, that won’t do you any good. If you miss out on the Lord’s second coming, your regrets will be too late.” I felt what my wife said made sense—only by personally investigating could I know whether the way was true or not. If it was false, I would directly expose them, and this could also rescue my wife.

So, in July 2018, my wife and I went to CAG, where two sisters received us very warmly. Looking them up and down, I thought: “This young girl and the lady seem dignified and decent, and don’t look like bad people. It won’t be good if I speak too unpleasantly. I’d better listen to them first.” After we exchanged greetings, these two sisters started introducing us to the origin of CAG, and showed us the video, The Origin and Development of The Church of Almighty God. I saw it said in the video: “In the Age of Grace, the Lord Jesus promised to His followers: ‘And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also” (John 14:3). He also prophesied: ‘For as the lightning comes out of the east, and shines even to the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be’ (Matthew 24:27). In the last days, as promised and foretold by Himself, God has again become flesh and descended to the East of the world—China—to do the work of judgment, chastisement, conquest, and salvation using the word, on the foundation of the redemption work of the Lord Jesus. In this, the prophecies of the Bible that ‘Judgment must begin at the house of God’ and ‘He that has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches,’ have also been fulfilled. Almighty God’s work of the last days has ended the Age of Grace and ushered in the Age of Kingdom.” After watching this video, I gained some understanding. It turned out that Almighty God’s appearance and work were based in biblical prophecies and were nothing like what the online rumors had described. Then the two sisters played me many videos and skits, of which the skit The Lord Is Knocking gave me a deep impression. In the skit, Brother Zhen’s effort to persistently and indefatigably spread the gospel moved me. I saw that, in order to testify Almighty God’s work in the last days to the pastor, Brother Zhen tirelessly went to preach the gospel, time after time, regardless of how others treated him. Didn’t such faith and love come from God? Otherwise, who else could have this kind of love? With this in mind, I gradually let my guard down and thought of what the Lord Jesus said: “Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. … Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled” (Matthew 5:3, 6). Then I prayed to the Lord that I was no longer willing to be hardened, and wished to share my confusion and seek and investigate Almighty God’s work of the last days.

And so, I said to them: “Sisters, I’d like to ask: If Almighty God is the returned Lord Jesus, then why does a lot of propaganda on television and the internet in China say that the May 28 Shandong Zhaoyuan Case was done by people from CAG? What’s the truth behind this? Could you explain that to me?”

Sister Lin heard me out and then said patiently: “Brother, this case has nothing whatsoever to do with CAG. It was fabricated by the CCP in order to frame and blame the church. Actually, people who understand about this case all know that, three days after the occurrence of the murder, before the case was heard by the court, three of the top-rated programs of CCTV, Evening News, Focus Report, and Oriental Horizon, were impatient to feature special reports on it, identifying the offenders, Zhang Lidong, Zhang Fan and others, as members of CAG. On the same day, China’s Ministry of Public Security openly declared special crackdown on CAG. Afterward, during the public hearing, however, the offenders said clearly that they had never been in contact with CAG, nor were they members of CAG. But the CCP judge ignored the suspects’ testimonies and firmly determined that they were affiliated with CAG. Isn’t that the CCP intentionally framing and smearing CAG? What are the CCP’s intentions and motives? Why did they tell a bare-faced lie? In fact, those with a discerning eye can tell right away. The CCP framing and blaming CAG for the McDonald’s Murder Case was entirely to create a public uproar to fully suppress it and wipe it out. This is the CCP’s usual trick for persecuting religious beliefs, dissidents, and human rights activists. Just like the June 4th student movement that everyone is familiar with: The college students involved were patriots, and seeing that graft and corruption of officials were severe, they launched a patriotic campaign for anti-corruption. In order to suppress them, however, the CCP specially arranged some unknown people to infiltrate the students’ ranks, then had them hit, smash, loot, burn, and even overturn military vehicles. They then shifted the blame onto innocent students and used that as an excuse to massacre thousands of students with tanks and machine guns. There are also the 2014 Kunming Attack, Xinjiang Incident, Tibet Incident, and so on, which were all deliberately fabricated by the CCP to attack dissenters and maintain its authoritarian regime.”

Sister Liu then fellowshiped this with me: “Yes. As is known to all, the CCP is autocratic and is an atheist revolutionary party. Its missions are to eliminate all religious beliefs and establish China as a godless realm. The CCP hates the truth and God. They use various ways to suppress Christianity and Catholicism, and this causes many believers to be arrested, imprisoned or have difficulty in returning to their homes, and so they all feel it hard to believe in God in China. After Almighty God incarnate has appeared to work and utter His voice in China, people from various denominations and all walks of life who love the truth and long for the appearance of God, have read Almighty God’s words, and determined that they are God’s voice and that the Lord Jesus has returned, and so one by one they have accepted Almighty God’s work of the last days and returned before God’s throne. In no more than twenty-odd years, about four million people have returned to Almighty God in mainland China, and now Almighty God’s kingdom gospel has spread to a number of countries and regions abroad. The rapid development of CAG aroused panic within the CCP—it fears that after believing in Almighty God, people will understand the truth, see through its evil essence, and reject it. In this way, its wild ambition to control and cage the Chinese people and dominate the world will be fully extinguished. So as to maintain its dictatorial rule, the CCP has never stopped oppressing and persecuting CAG and in recent years the persecution has gotten worse and worse, and the number of the Christians brutally tortured to death rises sharply. These are all facts and also the truth behind the fact that the CCP deliberately fabricated the May 28 McDonald’s Murder Case in Zhaoyuan to smear CAG. But the CCP proclaims to other countries that China has freedom of religious belief, and always boasts that they are great, glorious, and correct, using illusions to fool the people of other countries. The truth, however, will be out. Because the CCP has done too much evil, some foreign human rights scholars and experts have seen its true face. For example, Prof. Massimo Introvigne, an Italian sociologist and the founder and managing director of the Center for Studies on New Religions, after investigating the Zhaoyuan case, clarified the facts, saying it has nothing to do with CAG, and verified that it is the basis of public opinions engineered by the CCP for the suppression of CAG. He also censured the CCP government for its deception of the people of other countries.”

The two sisters’ fellowship made me feel as if I was awakened from a dream. As it turned out, the May 28 McDonald’s Murder Case in Zhaoyuan had no relation to CAG, and it was carefully designed by the CCP to suppress and ban CAG with the aim of ruling over China forever. The CCP not only persecutes CAG, but also persecutes Christianity, Catholicism, and Buddhism and other denominations, and they do not even spare Uighurs and Tibetans. They really rack their brains and exhaust all their means to control and enslave people. They are so evil and despicable! I thought of how, since I was born, I had been deceived and enslaved by China, an authoritarian state. So, when hearing the CCP’s negative propaganda against CAG, I became afraid, didn’t dare believe in Almighty God, and even obstructed my wife time and again. How foolish and blind I was! If not for the sisters’ fellowship that day, I wouldn’t have seen through the CCP’s despicable purposes, and would still be kept in the dark, misunderstanding CAG, and even blocking my wife from believing in Almighty God—I almost went along with the CCP in doing evil. Now I finally knew the truth.

The Biggest Key to Examining God’s Work Is Listening to God’s Voice

Then, Sister Lin asked: “Brother, does this fellowship help you understand?” I replied: “Yes. Through your fellowship, I’ve understood the inside story of the May 28 Incident. It has nothing whatsoever to do with CAG, and it was single-handedly planned by the CCP to ban the church. Such despicable methods have always been used by the CCP to attack and discriminate against dissenters.” The sister said: “Thanks be to God! That’s true. Now let me read a passage to you, ‘If you research the true way, then you must seek out whether the words spoken by God incarnate really are the voice of God, whether they are the truth and whether or not they are the work of God. This is what you should be investigating. If these words are the truth, if they are the voice of God, and they are God’s work of the last days, then despite what Satan may tell us, we must believe in it because God is the truth, and Satan’s mouth is filled with lies. God’s words are the truth, His words are His work, and God is righteous and holy. God’s work can never, ever be wrong. Any person can be wrong, but God can never be wrong. Any person can lie, they can cheat and trick others, but God does not lie; God is holy and righteous and He is the truth. Some people do not investigate God’s words but just look at the religious community’s critiques of The Church of Almighty God and the leader of the Church. But do the words of those in the religious world represent God’s words? If you do not believe this person, that’s fine, but you always have to believe God, don’t you? If you do not read God’s words but always take Satan at its word, then is it not Satan whom you trust? Do you really believe that Satan’s words are the truth? If you do, there are problems with your faith; you actively believe Satan’s words. There are also some who, when looking into the true way, look specifically to statements on famous websites from the secular world. They say, “What they’re saying on those websites has to be right!” But, really, what are those websites? Aren’t they of this world, too? Aren’t those words written by corrupt human beings? Are they not part of Satan’s evil power? Do they contain truth? They do not serve God, they certainly do not worship God and they are not groups that God gives testimony for. Why on earth would you believe them? They lie through their teeth and spread falsehoods. They disseminate whatever rumors or lies satanic governments may create. Doesn’t that make them organizations that spread lies? They pass on whatever rumors the Chinese Communist government creates, whatever attempts they make to discredit The Church of Almighty God. So, aren’t they tools for Satan to spread its lies? Aren’t they tools for Satan to deceive man? Why do people believe those things of Satan when researching the true way? Are they sick in the head? Do they believe that the world is righteous and fair? If the government or religious community makes comments and claims as to which is the true way and which is the true God, then they just believe in it. If the government or religious community says something isn’t the true way, or says that some God is not real, then they don’t believe in it. Who do these people believe in? They believe in the government, they believe in the words of the religious community, and the words of religious pastors and elders. Is someone like that a true believer? They do not believe in God, they do not trust in God, they do not believe that God is real, and they do not admit that God is the truth. They particularly do not know the truth. Therefore, when someone like that looks into the true way, they are paralyzed the moment they hear Satan’s lies and rumors. Is this an intelligent person? They are confused! There is just one principle for my belief in God: If someone is God, if He can express the truth and save humanity, then I will believe in Him and my faith will be unwavering. And don’t we believe in God in order to receive the truth? Only by gaining the truth can you gain God. If you do not obtain the truth then your faith is a failure, it is useless, and you cannot gain God’ (Sermons and Fellowship on Entry Into Life, Volume 138).”

The sister then went on with her fellowship, saying: “This passage of fellowship makes it very clear. The negative propaganda online is rumors fabricated by the CCP to smear CAG. Its aim is to deceive those who lack understanding of the facts and make them fear CAG, so that they dare not investigate and accept God’s work of the last days, will even follow it in resisting and condemning Almighty God, and finally lose God’s salvation of the last days. In fact, Almighty God is the second coming of the Lord Jesus and there is a biblical basis to Almighty God’s appearance and work. Just like what the Lord Jesus 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: 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). ‘And if any man hear My words, and believe 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). From this, we see that when the Lord returns in the last days, He’ll utter more words, use the truth to do the work of judgment and purification, and guide us into all truth. So, if we really want to seek and investigate God’s work of the last days, we can’t believe the rumors and lies of the CCP, and instead we should personally listen to Almighty God’s words and see whether they are God’s voice. This is the way we can welcome the Lord’s return. Just like the Lord Jesus’ disciples Peter and John—at that time they didn’t listen to the Roman government’s and the Pharisees’ words of resisting and condemning the Lord Jesus, but instead focused on hearing whether the Lord’s words were the truth and God’s voice, and thus they finally kept pace with God’s work and gained God’s blessings.”

The sister’s fellowship allowed me to understand that, in investigating the true way, I should focus on reading Almighty God’s words instead of listening to the CCP’s words. The CCP is God’s enemy and it has always been opposing God. I believed in God but listened to Satan’s words—was I not foolish? Moreover, only God can express the truth, provide us with life, and purify and transform us. So, I wouldn’t go astray as long as I sought the truth in God’s words. I thought of how after my wife had believed in Almighty God and read His words for a period of time, she indeed changed. For example, she used to be easily angered and we often got into quarrels, but after believing in Almighty God, she had never argued with me though I persistently scolded and obstructed her, and instead she patiently fellowshiped with me. Wasn’t all this her change? It seemed that in investigating the true way, I had to pay more attention to listening to God’s voice and shouldn’t determine God’s work based on the CCP’s rumors; otherwise, I would likely lose God’s salvation in the last days!

Afterward, every week when I had time, I would attend gatherings and read God’s words with my brothers and sisters. I gradually understood many truths and mysteries, such as God’s three stages of work of managing and saving mankind, the work in the Age of Law, the work in the Age of Grace, and the work in the Age of Kingdom, the way God works, His disposition and what results He shall finally achieve in every stage of work, and I came to know that every stage of God’s work is implemented according to the needs of mankind and according to the degree of our corruption by Satan, and that everything God does is for us mankind. I also understood the mystery of the incarnation, the mystery of God’s name, the end and final destination for mankind, etc. These truths were what I had never known and wouldn’t know in religion. Almighty God has opened up all the mysteries of heaven to us and revealed God’s work clearly. Who else could have done so except God? Almighty God truly is the Lord Jesus returned. So I happily accepted Almighty God’s work of the last days.

As I have more contact with the brothers and sisters, I’ve found that they are all simple and sincere, they take God’s words as the principle in their words, actions, and their interactions with others, and they all pursue the truth and practice being honest people. They are not like what the rumors say. In my association with them, I don’t need to keep my guard up and I feel especially secure in my heart. I really enjoy being around them. Now, my relationship with my wife has become more amicable. When conflicts or misunderstandings arise between us, we’ll openly fellowship with each other, recognize the problems that exist within us, and learn from each other. When my wife goes out to attend gatherings or perform her duty, I will actively drive her to her destinations. Moreover, I’m also performing the duty of a created being—fellowshiping with the brothers and sisters in meetings who have just accepted God’s work and helping them resolve problems and difficulties by praying to God and communicating God’s words. Through practicing fulfilling my duty, I have understood more of God’s words, and I could learn something new and gain new knowledge at each meeting. No matter what problems and difficulties occurred, I could find a path of practice in God’s words.

My Gratitude to God

Thinking of the path I’ve followed, at the beginning because I lacked the truth and had no discernment, I believed the CCP’s rumors, tried to prevent and obstruct my wife from believing in Almighty God, and even used all kinds of methods to force her to give up on following Him, playing the role of Satan resisting God. But God wasn’t treating me according to my transgression. Through the sisters’ fellowship, God had enabled me to understand the truth of the fact, so that I could follow Almighty God’s work, perform my duty, and prepare good deeds. I will never be able to repay Almighty God for His mercy, and I only wish to pursue the truth earnestly and fulfill my duty well to return His love. Thanks be to God!

Read more on our Second Coming of Jesus Christ page, or click on the related articles below:

In What Way Will the Second Coming of the Lord Jesus Happen?

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