God’s Words From the Bible

“Search the scriptures; for in them you think you have eternal life: and they are they which testify of Me. And you will not come to Me, that you might have life” (John 5:39–40).

“I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man comes to the Father, but by Me” (John 14:6).

Words of Almighty God of the Last Days

God Himself is life, and the truth, and His life and truth coexist. Those who are incapable of gaining the truth will surely not gain life. Without the guidance, support, and provision of the truth, all that you’ll gain is mere words, doctrines, and, even more so, death. God’s life is ever-present, and His truth and life coexist. If you cannot find the source of truth, then you will not gain the nourishment of life; if you cannot gain the provision of life, then you will surely have no truth, and apart from imaginings and notions, your whole being shall contain nothing but your flesh—your stench-ridden flesh. Know that the mere words of books cannot count as life, the records of history cannot be enshrined as the truth, and the regulations of the past cannot serve as an account of God’s current words, and that only the words expressed by God when He comes to earth and lives among man are the truth, life, God’s intentions, and His current way of working. If you take the records of words spoken by God during ages past and adhere to them today, that makes you an archaeologist, in which case, the most fitting way of describing you is as an expert in the research on historical relics. You always believe in traces of the work that God did in times past, you only believe in the shadow of God left from when He previously worked among man, and only believe in the way that God told His followers in former times, but you do not believe in the orientation of God’s work today, do not believe in the glorious countenance of God today, and do not believe in the way of truth currently expressed by God. Therefore, you are undeniably a daydreamer who is completely out of touch with reality. If now you still cling to words that are incapable of bringing life to man, then you are a hopeless piece of deadwood,^[a] for you are too conservative, too intractable, too impervious to reason!

—The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. Only Christ of the Last Days Can Give Man the Way of Eternal Life

Footnotes:

a. A piece of deadwood: a Chinese idiom, meaning “beyond help.”

Many people believe that understanding and being able to interpret the Bible is the same as finding the true way—but in fact, are things really so simple? No one knows the reality of the Bible: that it is nothing more than a historical record of God’s work, and a testament to the previous two stages of God’s work, and that it offers you no understanding of the aims of God’s work. Everyone who has read the Bible knows that it documents the two stages of God’s work during the Age of Law and the Age of Grace. The Old Testament chronicles the history of Israel and how Jehovah worked from the time of creation until the end of the Age of Law. The New Testament records Jesus’ work on earth, which is in the Four Gospels, as well as the work of Paul—are these not historical records? Bringing up the things of the past today makes them history, and no matter how true or real they might be, they are still history—and history cannot address the present, for God does not look back on history! And so, if you only understand the Bible, and understand nothing of the work God intends to do today, and if you believe in God but do not seek the work of the Holy Spirit, then you do not understand what it means to seek God. If you read the Bible in order to study the history of Israel, to research the history of God’s creation of all the heavens and earth, then you do not believe in God. But today, since you believe in God, and pursue life, since you pursue the knowledge of God, and do not pursue dead words and doctrines or an understanding of history, you must seek God’s present intentions, and you must look for the direction of the Holy Spirit’s work. If you were an archeologist you could read the Bible—but you are not, you are one of those who believe in God, and you had best seek God’s present intentions.

—The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. Concerning the Bible (4)

In reading the Bible people can also gain many ways of life that cannot be found in other books. These ways are the ways of life of the work of the Holy Spirit experienced by prophets and apostles in ages past, and many of the words are precious, and can provide what people need. Thus, people all like to read the Bible. Because there is so much hidden in the Bible, people’s views toward it are unlike those toward any writing of great spiritual figures. The Bible is a record and collection of the experiences and knowledge of people who served Jehovah and Jesus in the old and new age, and so later generations have been able to gain much enlightenment, illumination, and paths to practice from it. The reason why the Bible is higher than the writings of any great spiritual figure is because all of their writings are drawn from the Bible, their experiences all come from the Bible, and they all explain the Bible. And so, although people can gain provision from the books of any great spiritual figure, they still worship the Bible, for it seems so high and profound to them! Although the Bible brings together some of the books of the words of life, such as the Pauline epistles and Petrine epistles, and although people can be provided for and assisted by these books, these books are still out of date, they still belong to the old age, and no matter how good they are, they are only suitable for one period, and are not everlasting. For God’s work is always developing, and it cannot simply stop at the time of Paul and Peter, or always remain in the Age of Grace in which Jesus was crucified. And so, these books are only suitable for the Age of Grace, not for the Age of Kingdom of the last days. They can only provide for the believers of the Age of Grace, not for the saints of the Age of Kingdom, and no matter how good they are, they are still obsolete. It is the same with Jehovah’s work of creation or His work in Israel: No matter how great this work was, it would still become outdated, and the time would still come when it passed. God’s work is also the same: It is great, but there will come a time when it ends; it cannot always remain amidst the work of the creation, nor among that of the crucifixion. No matter how convincing the work of the crucifixion, no matter how effective it was in defeating Satan, work is, after all, still work, and the ages are, after all, still ages; work cannot always stay on the same foundation, nor can times never change, because there was the creation and there must be the last days. This is inevitable! Thus, today the words of life in the New Testament—the epistles of the apostles, and the Four Gospels—have become historical books, they have become old almanacs, and how could the old almanacs take people into the new age? No matter how capable these almanacs are of providing people with life, no matter how able they are to lead people to the cross, are they not outdated? Are they not bereft of value? Thus, I say you should not blindly believe in these almanacs. They are too old, they cannot bring you into the new work, and they can only burden you. Not only can they not bring you into the new work, and into new entry, but they take you into old religious churches—and if that were the case, would you not be regressing in your belief in God?

—The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. Concerning the Bible (4)

Christ of the last days brings life, and brings the enduring and everlasting way of truth. This truth is the path by which man gains life, and it is the only path by which man shall know God and be approved of by God. If you do not seek the way of life provided by Christ of the last days, then you shall never gain the approval of Jesus, and shall never be qualified to enter the gate of the kingdom of heaven, for you are both a puppet and prisoner of history. Those who are controlled by regulations, by words, and by the shackles of history will never be able to gain life nor gain the perpetual way of life. This is because all they have is turbid water which has been clung to for thousands of years instead of the water of life that flows from the throne. Those who are not supplied with the water of life will forever remain corpses, playthings of Satan, and sons of hell. How, then, can they behold God? You only seek to hold on to the past, to stand still and keep things as they are, and do not seek to change the status quo and discard history, so will you not always be antagonistic toward God? The steps of God’s work are overwhelming and mighty, like surging waves and rolling thunders—yet you sit passively awaiting destruction, clinging to that which is old and waiting for things to fall into your lap. In this way, how can you be considered someone who follows the footsteps of the Lamb? How can this demonstrate that the God you hold on to is the God who is always new and never old? And how can the words of your yellowed books carry you across into a new age? How can they lead you to seek the steps of God’s work? And how can they take you up to heaven? What you hold in your hands are mere words that can provide but temporary solace, not truths that are capable of giving you life. The words of scriptures you read can only enrich your tongue; they are not words of wisdom that can help you know human life, much less are they the path that can lead you to perfection. Does this discrepancy not give you cause for reflection? Does it not give you insight into the mysteries contained within? Are you capable of delivering yourself to heaven to meet God on your own? Without the coming of God, can you take yourself into heaven to enjoy family happiness with God? Are you still dreaming now? I exhort you, then, to stop dreaming and to look at who is working now—look to see who is now carrying out the work of saving man during the last days. If you do not, you shall never gain the truth, and shall never gain life.

—The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. Only Christ of the Last Days Can Give Man the Way of Eternal Life

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