From childhood, I believed in the Lord with my mother. However, I then only went to the church occasionally. In February, 2015, I came to Japan to work. At the beginning, I felt curious about the circumstances, people, matters and things and I was also full of the beautiful hope towards the future. But after that, facing the troublesome things in the practical life, I felt very lonely and distressed. Then it was the Lord who consoled my lonely heart. My heart got comfort and I didn’t feel lonely. In February, 2016, I fell acquainted with a new colleague named Xiaojie. Having got along with her for half a year, I saw that she was an enthusiastic, outgoing and modest girl. So we often talked about various topics. Afterwards, I fell acquainted with Brother Zhang believing in the Lord through Xiaojie. We usually communicated about the knowledge of the Bible together.

One day, we fellowshiped about the truth of God’s name. Brother Zhang asked me, “If the Lord Jesus comes back, will He still be called Jesus?” I said without hesitation, “The Lord’s name won’t change, because the hymn says, ‘Rock, rock, Jesus Christ! Neither is there redemption in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, Jesus only is our Savior.’” But he said, “Sister, we who believe in the Lord should use His own words as our basis for all things. Because only His word is the truth while people’s words aren’t the truth. Let’s look at Exodus 3:15, ‘And God said moreover to Moses, Thus shall you say to the children of Israel, Jehovah, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you: this is My name for ever, and this is My memorial to all generations.’ The scripture says that the name of Jehovah will last forever, but why did God change His name to Jesus? As a matter of fact, we all know from what is recorded in the Bible that in the beginning, God had no name. The name of Jehovah was taken when Moses led the Israelites out of Egypt. The name of Jehovah means a God who can have mercy on people, can curse people, and can also promulgate laws to lead people’s lives, and also a God who is very powerful. He took the name of Jehovah based on His work of promulgating laws and the disposition He expressed. When the Age of Law ended, the name of Jehovah was also ended along with it. The meaning of the name of Jesus is: full of love, full of mercy, and a sin offering that can redeem mankind. The name of Jesus was only taken in the Age of Grace, which presented God’s work and God’s disposition expressed in the Age of Grace. When the Age of Grace came to an end, the name of Jesus also ended accordingly. Let’s read a passage of God’s word, ‘Some say that the name of God does not change. Why, then, did the name of Jehovah become Jesus? It was prophesied that the Messiah would come, so why then did a man by the name of Jesus come? Why did the name of God change? Was such work not carried out long ago? … If the name of Jehovah can be changed to Jesus, then cannot the name of Jesus also be changed? None of this is odd; it is just that people are too simple-minded. God will always be God. No matter how His work changes, and regardless of how His name might change, His disposition and wisdom will never change. If you believe that God can only be called by the name of Jesus, then your knowledge is far too limited. Do you dare assert that Jesus will forever be the name of God, that God will forever and always go by the name of Jesus, and that this will never change? Dare you assert with certainty that it is the name of Jesus that concluded the Age of Law and will also conclude the final age? Who can say that the grace of Jesus can bring the age to an end?’ (“How Can Man Who Has Delimited God in His Notions Receive the Revelations of God?”). From the first two stages of God’s work, we can see that the name God takes in each age has the representative significance. God’s name represents the work in that age and the disposition He expresses in that age. What’s more, God ushers in a new age by a name and changes the age by a name. When the age and His work change, God will change His name. However, no matter how the age and His name change, His essence will never change.” Hearing the brother’s such communication, I felt it was reasonable. It seemed that God’s name could be changed indeed. So, the priest’s saying that “the Lord’s name won’t change when He returns” was not right.

Brother Zhang said again, “Sister, let’s look at one of the verses, ‘Behold, I come quickly: hold that fast which you have, that no man take your crown. Him that overcomes will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go no more out: and I will write on him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, which is new Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from my God: and I will write on him my new name. He that has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches’ (Revelation 3:11-13). The verses clearly prophesy that when the Lord Jesus comes back, He will have a new name. So the name won’t be ‘Jesus.’” Yes. Why did I not find these verses? Then I asked him, “Brother, the Revelation really prophesies that the Lord will have a new name when He returns. I accept it. Nevertheless, what will the Lord be called when He comes back?” Later, he studied several verses again with me. Revelation 1:8 records, “I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, said the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.” Revelation 11:16-17 says, “And the four and twenty elders, which sat before God on their seats, fell on their faces, and worshipped God, Saying, We give you thanks, O LORD God Almighty, which are, and were, and are to come; because you have taken to you your great power, and have reigned.” Revelation 19:5-7 records, “And a voice came out of the throne, saying, Praise our God, all you his servants, and you that fear him, both small and great. And I heard as it were the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of mighty thunder, saying, Alleluia: for the Lord God omnipotent reigns. Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honor to him….” Brother Zhang said, “These prophecies all refer to ‘the Almighty’, ‘God omnipotent reigns’. And in fact ‘the Almighty’ is just the new name of the Lord Jesus when He returns.”

The fellowship of Brother Zhang was really well-founded. That the Bible records that the Lord Jesus will be called “the Almighty” when He returns is true. The brother continued to fellowship, “Sister, the name of Almighty God has already spread across the whole of Mainland China. The Almighty, that is, Almighty God, is just the Lord Jesus’ coming back and first carries out a step of work of judgment starting from the House of God in China. The brothers and sisters who truly believe in God and yearn for God’s appearance from all denominations have come under the name of Almighty God in succession, enjoying the words expressed by Almighty God—The Word Appears in the Flesh. God has already made complete a group of overcomers. Now the gospel of the kingdom of Almighty God is expending to all nations and tongues. The words of Almighty God, all kinds of gospel movies and videos, the chorus, music videos and so on have been uploaded onto the internet in order for people seeking the true way all over the world to investigate. Because of the words expressed by Almighty God, many people who yearn after God’s word have kept up with the work of God in the last days and have been attending the marriage supper of the Lamb.”

What Brother Zhang said sounded fresh, but I thought of the negative reports and propaganda of the CCP government and the religious world, which are against Eastern Lightning at once. At that moment, I got into a panic in my heart: What should I do? Shouldn’t I have come to listen to Brother Zhang’s sermons? If I investigate the true way wrongly, won’t I sin? But the brother’s fellowship made me get much, and they were full of love and very patient to other people and weren’t like what it was reported by the CCP government and the religious world. Besides, Almighty God’s word is very practical. I felt it is God’s voice. I vacillated in my heart. Feeling upset, I only entrusted my misgivings to God and prayed for God’s enlightenment, “Oh, God! You are the lamp to my feet and the light to my path. Please show me the direction. I don’t know whether Eastern Lightning is the second coming of You or not. I beg You to guide me to come before You and lead me to know Your work.”

Thank God! After my prayer, Brother Zhang sent me a passage of God’s word, “Throughout the universe I am doing My work, and in the East, thunderous crashes issue forth endlessly, shaking all nations and denominations. It is My voice that has led all men into the present. I cause all men to be conquered by My voice, to fall into this stream, and submit before Me, for I have long since reclaimed My glory from all the earth and issued it forth anew in the East. Who does not long to see My glory? Who does not anxiously await My return? Who does not thirst for My reappearance? Who does not pine for My loveliness? Who would not come to the light? Who would not look upon the richness of Canaan? Who does not long for the return of the Redeemer? Who does not adore Him who is great in power? My voice shall spread throughout the earth; I will face My chosen people and speak more words to them. Like the mighty thunders that shake the mountains and rivers, I speak My words to the whole universe and to mankind. Hence the words in My mouth have become man’s treasure, and all men cherish My words. The lightning flashes from the East all the way to the West. My words are such that man is loath to give them up and at the same time finds them unfathomable, but rejoices in them all the more. All men are glad and joyful, celebrating My coming, as if an infant had just been born. By means of My voice, I shall bring all men before Me. Thenceforth, I shall formally enter into the race of men so that they will come to worship Me. With the glory that I radiate and the words in My mouth, I shall make it such that all men come before Me and see that the lightning flashes from the East and that I have also descended unto the ‘Mount of Olives’ of the East. They will see that I have already long been on earth, no longer as the Son of the Jews but as the Lightning of the East. For I have long since been resurrected, and have departed from mankind’s midst, and then reappeared with glory among men. I am He who was worshiped countless ages before now, and I am also the infant forsaken by the Israelites countless ages before now. Moreover, I am the all-glorious Almighty God of the present age! Let all come before My throne and see My glorious countenance, hear My voice, and look upon My deeds. This is the entirety of My will; it is the end and the climax of My plan, as well as the purpose of My management: to have every nation worship Me, every tongue acknowledge Me, every man repose his faith in Me, and every people be subject unto Me!” (“The Seven Thunders Peal—Prophesying That the Gospel of the Kingdom Shall Spread Throughout the Universe”). Brother Zhang fellowshiped with me, “God’s work and words in the last days are the lightning flashing from the East. The lightning is God’s way of judgment in the last days and the word He judging and chastising man. In the last days, God expresses the words to supply the life of man and uses His words to purify man, to transform man and to perfect man. Although the words God judging man are strict, yet they bring us the light and living water of life, moisten our thirsty hearts and make us see God’s true face and achieve true fear and worship for God. What’s more, God’s work and His words spread from the East to the West, that is, Almighty God first in the East—China utters words to make complete a group of overcomers and then let them spread His words to the West to make people all over the world obtain God’s salvation in the last days. But why do the CCP government and the religious world resist and condemn Eastern Lightning? The Bible says, ‘the whole world lies in wickedness’ (1 John 5:19). The Lord Jesus also said, ‘This is an evil generation’ (Luke 11:29). In the Age of Grace, the incarnate Lord Jesus, to redeem man, was nailed on the cross by the religious world and the government then. In the last days, Almighty God came to express the truth to judge man. He is also condemned and resisted by the religious world and the CCP government and is rejected by the age. And so, the true way must be always rejected and condemned by the atheism government and the religious world.” Thank God! It was God’s word that explains the truth, making me have some understanding of Mathew 24:27, “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.” Meanwhile, I also learned that the truth has been persecuted since ancient times.

Then the brother sent me a video, a hymn of God’s word, ‘The Significance of God’s Name.’ After finishing seeing the video, I sensed that the words are personal utterances of God, full of authority and power. God’s words so clearly explain the truth concerning God’s name. What God is is so much that we can’t describe it. Any name can’t represent God’s entire disposition and what He is. God only does a part of work and expresses a part of disposition in each age. He doesn’t express all that He has and is. Therefore, when God does one stage of work, He will use a specific name to represent His work and disposition that He expresses in that age.

Brother Zhang read more words of God, “When the final age—the age of the last days—arrives, My name shall change again. I shall not be called Jehovah, or Jesus, much less the Messiah—I shall be called the powerful Almighty God Himself, and under this name I shall bring the entire age to an end. 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. I took this name and am possessed of this disposition so that all people may see that I am a righteous God, the burning sun, the blazing flame, and so that all may worship Me, the one true God, and so that they may see My true face: I am not only the God of the Israelites, and I am not just the Redeemer; I am the God of all creatures throughout the heavens and the earth and the seas” (“The Savior Has Already Returned Upon a ‘White Cloud’”). He fellowshiped, “In the Age of Law, God took the name of Jehovah, which represented His disposition of majesty, wrath, curse and mercy that He expressed to man in that age. Under the name of Jehovah, God started His work in the Age of Law, issued the laws and commandments and led the newborn mankind to live on the earth. And He demanded man to keep the law strictly, learn to worship God and honor God as great. God’s blessing would lie upon whoever followed the law of Jehovah. Instead, those who broke the law would be stoned to death, or burned by heavenly fire. By the end of the Age of Law, people had become increasingly corrupt and sinful and were unable to keep the law, and everyone was in constant danger of punishment for breaking the law. Therefore God initiated the Age of Grace under the name of Jesus, did the work of redemption and brought man abundant grace. He expressed the disposition of love and mercy, redeemed people from sin, was nailed on the cross for mankind at last and redeemed people from Satan’s hands. The name of Jesus represented God’s work of redemption and His disposition of love and mercy. However, it is undeniable that although we have received the Lord’s redemption, we still don’t break away from the binding of sin and we live in the state of sinning and confessing our sin without any release. Therefore, in order to save us completely from sin, God is doing a new work of completely purifying and saving men based on Jesus’ work. Accordingly, God’s name changes again and He takes the name “Almighty God.” Under the name of Almighty God, He has carried out the work of judgment in the Age of Kingdom. He expresses words to judge man’s unrighteousness and disclose their corrupt nature. Through reading God’s words, they all know their own substance of the nature, know the roots of their corruption, clearly see their true face deeply corrupted by Satan, and know God’s righteous disposition tolerating no offense. At the same time, God’s word also gives them a direction, a way to transform their disposition so that they are able to renounce evil, pursue the truth, achieve dispositional change and be saved by God. However, those who don’t accept God’s work of judgment and purifying in the last days will be completely eliminated eventually. They can’t enter into the future eternal destination.” At that moment, I understood that in the Age of Kingdom, God concludes the age under the name of Almighty God. Only by accepting Almighty God’s work in the last days can we follow the footsteps of the Lamb and gain God’s salvation. It appeared that God takes each name in each age is of significance.

Afterwards, I read a passage of God’s word, “Do you wish to know the root of why the Pharisees opposed Jesus? Do you wish to know the essence of the Pharisees? They were full of fantasies about the Messiah. What is more, they believed only that the Messiah would come, yet did not seek the life truth. And so, even today they still await the Messiah, for they have no knowledge of the way of life, and do not know what the way of truth is. How, say you, could such foolish, stubborn and ignorant people gain God’s blessing? How could they behold the Messiah? They opposed Jesus because they did not know the direction of the Holy Spirit’s work, because they did not know the way of truth spoken by Jesus, and, furthermore, because they did not understand the Messiah. And since they had never seen the Messiah and had never been in the company of the Messiah, they made the mistake of clinging in vain to the name of the Messiah while opposing the essence of the Messiah by any means possible. These Pharisees in essence were stubborn, arrogant, and did not obey the truth. The principle of their belief in God was: No matter how profound Your preaching, no matter how high Your authority, You are not Christ unless You are called the Messiah. Are these views not preposterous and ridiculous? I will ask you further: Is it not extremely easy for you to commit the mistakes of the earliest Pharisees, given that you have not the slightest understanding of Jesus? Are you able to discern the way of truth? Can you truly guarantee that you will not oppose Christ? Are you able to follow the work of the Holy Spirit?” (“By the Time You Behold the Spiritual Body of Jesus, God Will Have Made Heaven and Earth Anew”).

Yes. It reminded me that because the Lord was called by Jesus but not Messiah, the Pharisees rejected the Lord Jesus and used any means necessary to resist Him then. They paid empty tribute to the name of the Messiah but didn’t recognize that the Lord Jesus is just God Himself. And they only believed in God’s name instead of God’s essence and defined God’s name in their own conceptions. All of this is because their nature was too arrogant and disobedient to the truth. I mustn’t walk on the path of the Pharisees rejecting the Lord Jesus. Instead, I wanted to be a clever virgin to meet the second coming of the Lord.

Afterwards, I read many words of Almighty God. From that, I understood God’s six-thousand-year management plan of saving man, the relationship among the three stages of work, the mystery of incarnation and the inside story of the Bible and so on. Except God, nobody can unlock these mysteries. In my heart, I recognized firmly that Almighty God is just the returning of the Lord Jesus.