In 1990, I believed in the Lord Jesus in the stream of recovery. When I first believed in the Lord, I was full of confidence and had never missed a meeting. Owing to my enthusiastic pursuit, the leader promoted me to be a co-worker of the church. In a co-workers meeting, the leader said, “Now there appears to be a denomination called Eastern Lightning. They say the Lord has returned. As co-workers of the church, we must fulfill our duty, watch our lambs and prevent the followers of Eastern Lightning from stealing them.” I kept what the leader said in mind and made a resolution inwardly, “I must take good care of the lambs and be a man who is loyal to the Lord.”

One summer afternoon in 1993, I received a call from a sister. She said she had seen a follower of Eastern Lightning go to Sister Xu’s house to spread the gospel, and she told me to go and see quickly. After laying down my cell phone, I went to Sister Xu’s house immediately. When I arrived, I saw my co-workers had already been there. The one who spread Eastern Lightning was an old sister in her sixties. I said furiously to her, “Don’t spread the gospel here. Go away!” Sister Xu was scared and dared not say anything, just standing aside. Hardly had the old sister begun to speak when we all shouted at her and didn’t allow her to speak. Finally, we hounded her out. Afterward, as soon as I heard that strangers went to believers’ homes, I would bind and hinder believers from listening to sermons. However, two co-workers in the church still believed in Eastern Lightning successively later. I felt puzzled: They have strong faith. How could they both believe in Eastern Lightning? What exactly does Eastern Lightning preach? Why do people believe in it once they listen to its preaching?

In a co-workers meeting in 1997, Leader Xie, on the platform, led us to read 1 Thessalonians 4:17, “Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.” Then he said, “Thank the Lord for making us be born in the last days. We are really so blessed! In the future, the disasters on the earth will be extremely serious. Whoever believes in the name of the Lord Jesus will be guarded by the Lord, be lifted up into the air to meet the Lord, and avoid the three-and-a-half-year disaster on earth. Then we’ll never taste death and our spirit, soul, and body will remain.” The audience all shouted out, “Hallelujah! Glory be to the Lord!”

In the autumn of 2002, a sister who had a good relationship with me came to testify God’s work during the last days to me. She said, “The Lord has come back and He is Almighty God incarnate. He has secretly descended in China and expressed the truth to do the work of judgment in the last days. Hurry and listen to God’s words.” I said in an arrogant tone, “How do you know the Lord Jesus has come back?” Even after I treated him so badly, she still said to me patiently, “You see, that we believe in the Lord Jesus is not because of seeing Him, but because of His words and work. God became flesh this time to speak and work, and He has expressed many truths. We are certain that Almighty God is the returned Lord Jesus by reading His words. In fact, we believe in the same God. Almighty God is the incarnate God Himself. He has done a higher stage of work on the foundation of the redemptive work of the Lord Jesus did in the Age of Grace. God’s management plan to save mankind is divided into three stages. In the beginning, Jehovah God did the work of setting forth the laws and commandments to lead man in their lives upon earth in the Age of Law. During the later stages of the Age of Law, people would be condemned and executed under the law because of failing to keep the laws. Therefore, God was incarnated for the first time and did the work of redeeming mankind under the name of Jesus in the Age of Grace. As long as man repented and confessed their sins to the Lord, then he would be forgiven of his sins and avoid being cursed to death by the law. This is the true meaning of being saved. Although we humans are forgiven of our sins and are saved, we still live in the cycle of sinning each day and confessing each night. This proves our sinful nature hasn’t been resolved, and that the root of sin hasn’t been removed yet, so we can still sin and resist God. Thereupon, in order to purify and gain man completely, God is incarnated for the second time and has performed the work of judging and purifying man in the last days under the name of Almighty God to end His six-thousand-year management plan. Hence, Jehovah, Jesus, and Almighty God are one God. Today, the Lord Jesus has returned and expressed many truths. Only if you dare to seek can you confirm that this is the true way.”

Hearing this, I hastened to poke my head round the door to see if there were people around. Seeing no one outside, I said to her hastily, “Our leader repetitively stresses that we cannot contact followers of Eastern Lightning. Don’t come again. If our leader knows about this, he’ll surely dismiss me.” She said, “Sister, today we believe in God rather than leaders. Almighty God is incarnated to do the work of judgment. He has opened the seven seals, unfolded the scroll, and unlocked all truths and mysteries that people of ages past didn’t understand. No matter what problem you have, as long as you read more of God’s words, you’ll understand.” Hearing her say that Almighty God has unlocked all the mysteries, my heart wavered. I then put forward the questions that had puzzled me for so long, “Can you explain to me what is being raptured recorded in the Bible? Can people really ascend to heaven?” She said with a smile, “How can a living man ascend to heaven? Rapture doesn’t mean, as man imagines, being taken from a low place to a high place, or being caught up from earth to heaven, much less does it mean that a living man disappears in a very short time and ascends to the air to avoid disasters. Sister, let’s make an analogy and then you’ll understand. For example, a person works as a cadre in the township, later he is promoted to work at the county. When people see him, they’ll say, ‘You’ve been promoted.’ Today, we believe in the Lord Jesus in the Age of Grace. If we can keep pace with God’s new work in the Age of Kingdom, a higher stage of work, this means that we’ve been raptured before God.” At her word, I felt it was practical and kind of reasonable. I asked again, “Paul said, ‘be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air.’ What’s this?” She said to me, “Paul was just an apostle preaching the gospel. His words cannot represent the Lord Jesus’ words. We should believe in God on the basis of God’s words. The Lord Jesus didn’t say that we humans can be raptured into the air. On the contrary, He said, ‘And no man has ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven’ (John 3:13). It means that since ancient times until today, no man has ever ascended up to heaven. God’s dwelling place is in heaven. Man is of flesh and blood and cannot ascend to heaven. Our imagination is too naive. We don’t want to stay on earth to do God’s will faithfully but want to ascend to heaven and become glorified together with God. Aren’t we humans too irrational?” I thought what she talked about was really practical. At the time, I thought of the Lord Jesus’ words in the Lord’s Prayer, “Your kingdom come, Your will be done in earth, as it is in heaven” (Luk 6:10). And Revelation prophesies, ‘And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven …” (Rev 21:2). I thought, “It is spoken clearly in these verses that God’s kingdom will come down to earth. Since it says ‘coming down,’ God’s kingdom is surely on earth and His will will be done on earth as well. God will establish His kingdom on earth and live with man. Thus God’s kingdom is on earth. If all the people want to be caught up into the air, won’t God’s words be in vain?” As it can be seen, what she fellowshiped conforms to the Bible and is not vague at all.

She continued to fellowship with me saying, “Genesis 2:7–8 says, ‘And Jehovah God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul. And Jehovah God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there He put the man whom He had formed.’ From these two verses, we can see that the first man that God created in the beginning was on earth. God didn’t put him in heaven but let him live on earth. After we humans committed sin, God also came to earth to save us. In the Age of Law, God did all of His work on earth. In the Age of Grace, to redeem mankind, God incarnate came to earth to do His work as well. In the Age of Kingdom, God’s work of judgment and chastisement is still carried out on earth. As a matter of fact, God does all His work of managing man on earth and mankind also lives on earth. The final destination of mankind is still on earth instead of in heaven. This has been predestined by God.” At this time, she brought out a copy of the book The Word Appears in the Flesh and said to me, “Let’s read Almighty God’s words. Almighty God says, ‘God entering into rest means that He will no longer carry out His work of humanity’s salvation. Humanity entering into rest means that all of humanity will live within God’s light and under His blessings, devoid of Satan’s corruption, and no more unrighteousness will occur. Under God’s care, humans will live normally upon earth. When God and humanity enter into rest together, it means that humanity has been saved and that Satan has been destroyed, that God’s work in humans is entirely complete. God will no longer continue to work in humans, and they will no longer live under Satan’s domain. As such, God will no longer be busy, and humans will no longer be constantly on the move; God and humanity will enter into rest simultaneously. God will return to His original place, and each person will return to their respective place. These are the destinations in which God and humans will reside once God’s entire management is finished. God has God’s destination, and humanity has humanity’s destination. While resting, God will continue to guide all humans in their lives upon earth, and while in His light, they will worship the one true God in heaven. God will no longer live among humanity, nor will humans be able to live with God in His destination. God and humans cannot live within the same realm; rather, both have their own respective manners of living’” (“God and Man Will Enter Into Rest Together” in The Word Appears in the Flesh). She continued to fellowship, “God originally created man and made them live on earth. After man was corrupted by Satan, God set forth laws and commandments to lead man in their lives on earth to worship Him. When man has been deeply corrupted by Satan, God incarnate came to earth to be the sin offering for mankind, redeeming us humans from sin. According to the needs of the corrupt mankind, God has incarnated once again and come among men to do a stage of the work of conquest and salvation in the last days. God expresses the truth to judge and purify man, enabling man to free them from sin and be saved, and making man fear Him and shun evil and live out the likeness of a true man, so that man can be protected by Him and survive in His kingdom after the disasters in the last days. When God’s work concludes, those enemies who have resisted and persecuted God will have been destroyed by the disasters. Afterward, God will live with man and rest with man. God’s kingdom has already descended on earth. The purified people will enjoy a life on earth that is akin to that in heaven in the future. This is the fact that is to be accomplished by God. So, is it God’s will to rapture us humans up to heaven?” At these words, I thought they were very realistic and also made sense. It is really not God’s will that we humans ascend to heaven. I wanted to continue seeking, so I said, “What you said is very practical. I think it’s in line with the truth. Nevertheless, I cannot accept it blindly. Could you lend me the book? I want to seek and investigate. I’ll believe after I’m certain of it.” She said in a cheerful mood, “OK! This time God has opened up all the thousand-year-old mysteries. This is His personal utterance. You need to read it carefully. If there is something that you are not clear about, we’ll fellowship together when I come next time.”

In the evening, I picked up the book The Word Appears in the Flesh, and after I prayed to God, I saw such a passage of God’s words, “‘Being caught up’ does not mean being taken from a low place to a high place, as people might imagine; that is a huge misconception. ‘Being caught up’ refers to My predestining and then selecting. It is directed at all those I have predestined and chosen. … This is most incompatible with people’s notions. Those who will have a share in My house in the future are all ones who have been caught up before Me. This is absolutely true, never-changing, and irrefutable. It is a counterattack against Satan. Anyone I predestined shall be caught up before Me” (“Chapter 104” in The Word Appears in the Flesh). After reading this passage, I thought, “These words are very true and can’t be spoken by any person. Being caught up mentioned here is also practical. It turns out that being caught up refers to man’s entering into the Age of Kingdom from the Age of Grace, keeping up with God’s new work, coming before God’s throne and having a higher knowledge of God. This is the true meaning of rapture.”

Subsequently, through fellowshiping with the sister many times, at last I became certain about Almighty God’s work in the last days, so that I could met the coming of the Lord Jesus and was raptured before God’s throne, enjoying God’s words every day as I was face to face with God. Recalling that I had resisted God for almost ten years by my conceptions and imaginations, and hindered many brothers and sisters from returning before God, I was really a great sinner. However, God didn’t wreak retribution upon me according to what I had done, but waited for me to return to Him and gave me the opportunity to be saved. I was so regretful that I cried loudly, hating myself for opposing God too many times. Simultaneously, I also regretted that I started believing in Almighty God late. Now, God’s work is already of unprecedented magnificence. People who are willing to seek and investigate in various denominations have all returned before His throne. This has fulfilled the gratifying scene of “all nations shall flow to it” in Isaiah. Yet there is a portion of people who still insist on waiting for the Lord Jesus who rides upon a white cloud to rapture them. They hold onto their conceptions and imaginations of the past, and shut the door on the true God. Such people will lose the chance to be saved and their outcome can only be punishment in the end. Nowadays, I can keep up with God’s work and come before God’s throne, which is God’s grace. It is the practical work of God that smashes men’s notions and imagination. And it is God who raptured me from the Age of Grace to the Age of Kingdom, made me keep pace with the footsteps of the Lamb, and made my dream of being raptured become a reality. All the glory be to God!

Extended Reading:

I Understand What Rapture Is

What Is the Meaning of the Rapture in the Bible?