Breaking Free From the Rumor Trap（part 1）

By Xiaoyun, China

I used to be a female army officer. One day in 1999, a Korean pastor preached the gospelof the Lord Jesus to me. Because of my earnest pursuit, I soon became the focus of the pastor’s training and his right-hand man. The summer of 2000, the pastor came to Yunnan on a short summer missionary trip with more than a dozen college students from the Korean Gospel Church. Unexpectedly this alarmed the CCP government. We were arrested whilst having a meeting at the pastor’s home and then brought to Yunnan Province Public Security Department for trial. The Korean university students were deported the same night and the Korean pastor was also expelled. The church suffered persecution by the CCP and many believers were cowardly and did not dare believe. A proportion of believers were also forced to go to the Three-Self Church and this was how the church was broken up by the CCP. I was one of the main co-workers in the church and the persecution by the CCP this time also caused me to lose my job.

In March 2005, I heard Almighty God’s kingdom gospel. When I learned that the Lord Jesus had returned, I was so excited that tears of joy filled my eyes and so indescribably grateful. I just wanted to quickly bring my brothers and sisters before God. Under God’s guidance, the brothers and sisters gradually accepted God’s last days’ work. But unexpectedly one of the church’s most talented co-workers, after hearing the testimony of the last days’ work of Almighty God, declared: “This doctrine sounds right, but we need to ask the pastor first and see what he says.” Soon the pastor gave me a call and said: “It is very disorderly outside now. You have not believed in God for long and your stature is low. Whatever you do, do not carelessly listen to sermons from outside the church, so that you don’t take the wrong path. We can only accept the shepherding of this church. Do not listen to the doctrines of other churches.” After listening, I said calmly: “Through this period of time studying Almighty God’s last days’ work, I have found that everything they speak of conforms to the Bible, has the enlightenment and illumination of the Holy Spirit and is the truth.” My pastor said: “No matter how well they explain it, we must understand that only the Lord Jesus is the true God. We must not leave the Lord!” I said firmly, “I have not left the Lord, but have followed the footsteps of the Lamb. The Lord Jesus has already returned. It is only right that we should welcome the Lord just like wise virgins.” The pastor said harshly, “How could the Korean Gospel Church not know that the Lord has returned?” I said, “This is not something that can be explained in a few words.” The pastor asserted eloquently: “What they believe in is Eastern Lightning, which was the target of the CCP government’s crackdown. It’s explained very clearly on the Internet. Go online, and you will see. You have to go online to check it out….” After putting down the phone, my heart could not calm down for a long time. The pastor’s words kept ringing in my ears. I particularly wanted to know exactly what was said online.

In order to find out, I quickly ran to an Internet cafe. The moment I opened websites, I was dumbfounded. On the websites there was a lot of CCP government’s blasphemy and condemnation of God, as well as slander and blasphemy from religious figures of authority. God’s flesh bore the brunt of the blasphemy. They condemned God’s incarnation being female. I thought of what was said in God’s words. God had no gender distinction, but seeing the words of judgment about Christ, I had some doubts: How could this be? Could this really be true? It could not be! The words of Almighty God reveal the truth of God’s gender very clearly! The essence of God is spirit. God has no gender distinction. A physical image is only taken for the purpose of carrying out His work of redemption and salvation. This is more conducive to saving people. This flesh can represent God and perform the work that God wants to do, whether male or female in gender. What gender the incarnation of God takes depends on the needs of the work. People cannot and should not set rules for God. Besides, Almighty God’s words cannot be spoken by anybody. They are the expression of the Spirit of truth. This is a fact recognized by many people who sincerely believe in the Lord and yearn for the truth from all factions. But why do the websites start rumors to make people deny that Almighty God is God incarnate? The websites are public media and are published all around the world. It is reasonable to say that they will not make up lies to deceive the public and there are also many famous pastors who also condemn and blaspheme God along with the CCP government. What is going on here? Seeing all this negative propaganda, I felt a flurry of indecision and thought to myself: “The Lord Jesus is Christ. This is universally acknowledged. I must diligently investigate why Almighty God’s last days’ work is opposed by so many people.” After that, I saw an attack on a person used by the Holy Spirit online. My heart once again dropped. Did I really believe in a man? As I continued to browse through the information on the Internet, I became more flustered and felt very bewildered and perplexed. In the end I do not know how I walked out of the Internet cafe.

On the way home, I recalled the time when I was seeking and investigating Almighty God’s work of the last days step by step. When I raised some questions, brothers and sisters from The Church of Almighty God read the words of God to me. As every issue was resolved one after the other, I was completely convinced. It took a full eleven days of debate and investigation before I firmly believed that Almighty God was the Lord Jesus returned. I also read some of God’s words. God disclosed all of the mysteries of three stages of work and the six-thousand-year management plan and also clarified truths such as the inside story and the essence of the Bible, which were God’s words and which were people’s words in the Bible, and how people should approach the Bible. It made me see things clearly and have great rewards. Looking at it from these words of God, Almighty God should be the Lord Jesus returned. But why was the propaganda on the Internet all negative? The more I thought about those rumors, the more depressed and heavier my heart felt, and I was almost hit by a car as I crossed the road.

After returning home, my heart never calmed down and those Internet rumors came to the forefront of my mind from time to time and lingered there. My heart felt wild as I thought one thing and then another. I couldn’t sleep at night, as I thought, “If I take the wrong path, then is that not all in vain? No, I have to turn back right away. But what if Almighty God is the Lord Jesus returned? Then won’t I miss the opportunity to welcome the Lord and lose the chance to be saved?” In my wavering, I came before God in prayer: “God! Since accepting this step of work, my heart has always felt at ease, I have found it very enjoyable to read God’s words and my soul has felt very nourished, but after seeing some negative propaganda on the Internet, I cannot calm down. Please guard my heart. God! My stature is low and I cannot distinguish. If Almighty God is You returned, I hope You will guide me to be certain of Your work without being disturbed by anyone or anything. If not, I hope You can guide me to be able to distinguish….” After praying, I had an idea that started in my heart: quickly finish reading the words of Almighty God in order to determine whether or not it is God’s voice. That night I read God’s words all night and I do not know when I fell asleep at the table.