By Li Xin
On June 8, 2017, Thursday, Cloudy
During today’s meeting, the pastor preached to us, “The last days have already come. The prophecies of the Lord’s return have basically been fulfilled. The four blood moons have appeared. The great disaster is right at hand. We must wait for the Lord watchfully. The Lord Jesus told us: ‘Then if any man shall say to you, See, here is Christ, or there; believe it not. For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall show great signs and wonders; so that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect’ (Matthew 24:23–24). In the last days, false Christs and false prophets will surely come to deceive us. So, if someone preaches that the Lord Jesus has come back, don’t investigate carelessly in case you’re deceived by false Christs and are forsaken by the Lord….”
These years, the pastors have always spoken to us: False Christs would emerge to deceive people, and so, if someone testified the return of the Lord Jesus, don’t listen or believe. And this was what I had been sticking to. However, when the meeting broke up, an elder sister said to me: “The pastor always tells us not to investigate or believe if we hear someone spreads the news of the Lord’s return. But the Lord Jesus told us clearly: ‘And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom comes; go you out to meet him’ (Matthew 25:6). If we insist on not investigating when someone preaches the Lord’s return, if by any chance the Lord really comes back, then won’t we miss the chance of meeting Him and be forsaken by Him?”
Her words set me thinking: Yeah, I have believed all the time that false Christs will appear to deceive people. As a result, I only focus on guarding against false Christs. I have never thought of how to seek God’s appearance actively. If someone preaches “the bridegroom comes” and I don’t seek or investigate God’s work, I will miss the chance of meeting the Lord. If so, then it will be too late for me to regret. If we only guard against false Christs rather than know the true Christ, as it seems, we can’t meet the Lord, let alone be raptured before the throne of God. No! I can’t just sit still and wait for death like this. I must take the initiative in seeking, and first of all, I must understand the truth of how to distinguish the true Christ from false ones. Only in this way can I guard against false Christs and meet the true Christ. The Lord ever promised us: “Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and you shall find; knock, and it shall be opened to you” (Matthew 7:7). So I believe that as long as I seek with my heart, the Lord will certainly lead me to understand it.
On June 13, 2017, Tuesday, Cloudy
Lately, I have been in confusion all day long. Sometimes I even expcted the Lord to appear in my dream and solve it for me. No, I couldn’t just wait. I must go to ask for the pastors’ opinion. Outside, it was dull and cloudy, as if to rain, but I couldn’t worry about that. After a hurried breakfast, I took the raincoat and rode my electric scooter, heading for the pastors’ houses.
I went to Pastor Li’s house and then to Pastor Wang’s. About my confusion, they only told me: Whoever preaches the Lord Jesus has returned through incarnation, it’s definitely false. We must refuse to believe it so as not to be deceived. But with regard to the traits and manifestations of false Christs, they couldn’t give a clear explanation at all. I was very disappointed at their replies and left with my confusion unresolved. Pushing my electric scooter without power and caught in the rain, I was just like a drowned rat. The chill went straight to my body and my heart, too. I was in low spirits.
At night, there was no stars in the sky, the moon hid itself in the thick clouds, and the air was still close. I took up the Bible and knelt before the Lord in prayer: “O Lord! I’ve always been yearning for Your return. But the pastors and elders tell us not to receive strangers. They say it’s to avoid being deceived. I have no discernment, so I dare not listen to and believe the gospel of testifying Your return. However, now the prophecies of Your return have almost been fulfilled. I’m more eager to meet Your return. O Lord, how should we distinguish the true Christ from the false ones so as not to be deceived by the false Christs? Lord, may You guide me. Amen!”
On August 16, 2017, Wednesday, Sunny
It was sunny and bright. Birds were chirping and chasing each other, as if spreading some good news. And I was in a good mood, because Sister Li, a believer in the Lord, wanted to see me. She said that a sister, who had worked and preached for many years, happened to visit her today and so I could seek from that sister about my confusion. After seeing that sister, I felt a feeling of kindness, and without much greetings exchanged, I straight told her what had confused me.
After she finished listening, Sister Chen said to me smilingly, “Actually, about how to distinguish the true Christ from the false ones, the Lord Jesus has long since told us. He said: ‘Then if any man shall say to you, See, here is Christ, or there; believe it not. For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall show great signs and wonders; so that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect’ (Matthew 24:23–24). From these words, we can see that the most prominent traits of false Christs are that they will show signs and perform miracles to deceive people. Because they are not God and they are devoid of truth, they can’t do the work of beginning and concluding ages. They can only trail the work of God and imitate some of God’s previous work to deceive people. Take, for example, Ji Sanbao and Hua Xuehe in mainland China, An Shanghong in South Korea. All of them could show signs and wonders and all claimed themselves to be God. But they couldn’t bring new work, and the signs they had shown were what had been done by God in His former work. These are false Christs. However, God never repeats His work and God is always new and never old. Whether it was in the Age of Law when God used Mosses to issue the law to lead people, or in the Age of Grace when God became the Son of man and was crucified to redeem man, each stage of God’s work was done to save man according to His management plan and man’s needs. So, in the last days, we must watch out for people who could perform miraculous signs and wonders. If they could work miracles and call themselves Christ, then they are nothing but false Christs.”
I said ecstatically, “Thank the Lord. It turns out that the Lord’s words have long since told us about the traits of false Christs. How can I be so muddle-headed? Now I see: False Christs refer to those who imitate God’s previous work and who manifest miracles in the last days to deceive people.” At the same time, I suddenly thought: If someone coming before me proclaims himself to be Christ and doesn’t show wonders, can it be that he is the true Christ? If false Christs don’t reveal his talents or perform miracles, then how can I discern them? Thinking of this, I couldn’t help asking her worriedly, “Sister Chen, you say false Christs perform signs and wonders and call themselves Christ, so it’s easy for us to discern them. But if someone claims himself to be Christ and doesn’t reveal miraculous things, then can he be the true Christ?”
Sister Chen said with a smile, “Sister, this is a crucial question. Because if false Christs don’t show miracles, then it will be impossible for us to recognize them with our naked eyes. About this point, the Lord’s words have already shown us the way. The Lord Jesus said, ‘I am the way, the truth, and the life’ (John 14:6). Christ is the embodiment of the Spirit of God. Christ is the appearance of God. Only Christ can bestow on us the truth, the way, and the life. Only Christ can express what God has and is. He has God’s wisdom and He can express God’s disposition. His words carry authority and power, His utterances make us know more of God. For example, the Lord Jesus is an ordinary and normal flesh in outward appearance but is Christ in substance. His words carry authority and power, and once spoken, they are accomplished. The Lord Jesus said, ‘Lazarus, come forth’ (John 11:43). And Lazarus came back to life and went out from the tomb. When the Lord Jesus rebuked the wind and sea, then the sea became calm as ever. Moreover, the incarnate Lord Jesus began a new age and did a stage of redemptive work. His words could bring us a new way of practice. As long as we live by His words and obey His teachings, our heart will be secure, peaceful, and joyful.
In contrast, false Christs are possessed by evil spirits and their substance is evil spirits. They are not possessed of the truth, their words are full of lies, nonsenses, fallacies, and the confounding of black and white. False Christs can only deceive people by taking the Bible out of context and misinterpreting it, or by giving people some blessings and promises and pretending they are in the name of the Lord Jesus. In no way do they benefit people’s life entry. They can’t bring a new way and moreover, they can’t open a new age. Their interpretation of the Bible and their weird views such as when God’s time arrives, they are full of lies and nonsenses and none of them has been fulfilled. Additionally, their messages can’t actually make people know God and obey God, or achieve the practical result of improving people’s spiritual life, let alone show us a new way of practice. Instead, they throw people into disarray.”
Having heard Sister Chen’s words, I was suddenly enlightened. I said in joy, “Words spoken by false Christs, in fact, can only deceive people. They can’t bring people a new way. This is because false Christs are created beings and they have no truth. Since Christ is the embodiment of the Spirit of God, and is God Himself, only God’s word is the truth, has authority, and can point out a way to people. Just as when the Lord Jesus came, He concluded the old work of Law and brought the new work of redeeming the whole mankind. He gave us the truth, the way, and the life, as well as the new direction ahead. This is actually the way of distinguishing the true Christ from the false ones.” After I finished my words, Sister Li nodded her approval happily.
As it was late then, we made an appointment to continue our fellowship for the next day.
On August 17, 2017, Thursday, Sunny
Yesterday’s communication made me suddenly see the light. The knot in my heart these days was undone. And I finally knew how to distinguish the true Christ from false ones. But after I met Sister Chen, she said, “To distinguish the true Christ from the false ones, another way is to discern them according to God’s dispositions.” This surpassed my expectations and was very refreshing. I listened to her fellowship with full expectation.
Sister Chen communicated, “False Christs are evil spirits in substance and they are arrogant and unreasonable to the extreme. False Christs exalt themselves as Christ and as God. Besides, they say they are sent by God, they are the sons of God, and that they have God’s spirit living in them. They boast that they will do new work to show themselves off and praise themselves. Nevertheless, they can only imitate God’s words. They don’t possess the substance of Christ. So, even though they call themselves Christ, they can’t do the work of God. They only work for the purpose of letting others look up to them, unable to point out to us a new way of practice.
Christ is the incarnate God; this is not said by Himself, but is testified by the Holy Spirit. Baptism of JesusJust as the Bible says, ‘And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, see, the heavens were opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting on him: And see a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased’ (Matthew 3:16–17). The Holy Spirit personally bore witness to the Lord Jesus, from which we can see only the Christ that is testified by the Holy Spirit is the true One. In addition, God is inherently humble and hidden, and never shows Himself off. This is just like the Lord Jesus. He is God Himself but He wears the appearance of a common man, humbly hiding among men and expressing truths to provide for us. He experienced all the sufferings of the world, and He endured the slanders, insults, and isolation of various men, but He could still tolerate and bear man, without any complaint. The coming of the Lord Jesus Christ ended the Old Testament Age of Law and opened the Age of Grace. He brought us the new direction forward, but he was never boastful or opinionated, let alone stood on His position. This reveals God’s honorable and holy essence, and that He is the embodiment of love. In the end, He offered His holy flesh up to the cross, completing His work of redeeming all of mankind.”
I gladly said, “Right. In substance, false Christs are evil spirits and their nature is arrogant. They show off, they praise themselves, and they stand up high. They exalt themselves as God and as Christ. But they don’t have truth and can’t do the redemption work. The true Christ represents the Spirit of God Himself and has authority and power. He can open a new age, end an old one, and bring a new work. He works in a humble and hidden and silent manner. He never shows off or praises Himself. He is holy and honorable.”
Sister Chen, with a nod of her head, continued, “False Christs are only created beings. Thus, no matter how they exhibit themselves or perform miracles, they may deceive people for a while, but their deception can’t last long. They will soon break up in an uproar and will completely disappear and perish of themselves. This is an undisputed fact.”
Apart from these, Sister Chen said, “As a matter of fact, the Lord Jesus’ intention of cautioning us against false Christs is to tell us to be watchful and remember God’s words to keep us from being deceived. His intention is not for us to wait blindly for death when we hear someone preaches the return of the Lord Jesus. If we neither seek nor investigate, doesn’t it reveal our foolishness? The Lord Jesus said: ‘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). ‘He that has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches’ (Revelation 2:7). ‘My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me’ (John 10:27). His words explicitly told us that God will come again in the last days to utter His voice and express the truth. If we don’t seek or investigate but wait blindly, then how can we hear the Lord’s voice or meet the Lord’s second coming?”
At her words, I couldn’t help reflecting: Yes. I had been stubbornly upholding myself and refusing to listen to any messages of witnessing the Lord’s return. It seems that I’m really wrong. If the Holy Spirit speaks to the churches and I don’t listen, then won’t I miss the opportunity of meeting the returned Lord? God’s sheep hear the voice of God. I can’t wait here and do nothing any longer. I must open my heart to see who is testifying the words of the Holy Spirit to the churches. And I must pay attention to listening to God’s voice myself. …
