Bible Verses for Reference:

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God” (John 1:1).

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

Relevant Words of God:

The appearance of God refers to God personally coming to earth to work, descending among mankind to conduct the work of initiating an age and ending an age with His own identity and disposition, and in the way that is innate to Him. This kind of appearance is not a sort of ceremony. It is not a sign, a picture, a miracle, or a kind of grand vision, and even less is it a kind of religious process. Rather, it is a real and actual fact that can be touched and beheld by anyone. This kind of appearance is not for the sake of going through the motions, or for the sake of a kind of short-term work. Instead, it is for the sake of a stage of work in God’s management plan. The appearance of God is always meaningful and always has some relation to His management plan. What is called “appearance” here is absolutely different from the kind of “appearance” in which God guides, leads, and enlightens man. Every time God appears, He carries out a stage of His great work. This work is different from that of any other age. It is unimaginable to man, and has never been experienced by man before. It is work that starts a new age and concludes the old age, and it is a newer and higher stage of work for the salvation of mankind; even more so, it is work that leads mankind into the new age. This is the significance of the appearance of God.

—The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. Appendix 1: The Appearance of God Has Ushered in a New Age

Since we are searching for the footsteps of God, it behooves us to search for God’s intentions, for the words of God, for His utterances. This is because wherever there are new words spoken by God, the voice of God is there, and wherever there are the footsteps of God, God’s deeds are there; wherever there is the expression of God, there God appears, and wherever God appears, there the truth, the way, and the life exist. In searching for God’s footsteps, you have ignored the words “God is the truth, the way, and the life.” And so, many people, even when they receive the truth, do not believe that they have found God’s footsteps, and still less do they acknowledge the appearance of God. What a grave mistake! The appearance of God cannot conform to man’s notions, less still can God appear in the manner that man demands Him to. God makes His own choices and His own plans when He does His work; moreover, He has His own objectives and His own methods. Whatever work He does, He has no need to discuss it with man or seek his advice, much less to notify each and every person of His work. This is the disposition of God, and it should, moreover, be recognized by everyone. If you desire to witness the appearance of God, to follow God’s footsteps, then you must first walk away from your own notions. You must not demand that God do this or that, much less should you place Him within your own confines and limit Him to your own notions. Instead, you should demand of yourselves how you ought to seek God’s footsteps, how you ought to accept God’s appearance, and how you ought to submit to the new work of God: This is what man should do. Since man is not the truth, and is not possessed of the truth, he should seek, accept, and submit.

—The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. Appendix 1: The Appearance of God Has Ushered in a New Age

Throughout the universe I am doing My work, and in the East, thunderous booming issues forth endlessly, shaking all nations and denominations. It is My utterances that have led all men to the present day. I cause all men to be conquered by My utterances, to fall into this stream, and to surrender before Me, for I have long since withdrawn 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 look forward to My return? Who does not thirst for My reappearance? Who does not long for My loveliness? Who would not come to the light? Who would not behold the richness of Canaan? Who does not long for the return of the Redeemer? Who does not admire Him who possesses great power? My utterances shall be propagated throughout the earth; I will utter and speak words more to My chosen people, like mighty thunder shaking the mountains and rivers. I speak My words to the whole universe and to mankind. Hence the words from 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 part with them, and they are also unfathomable to man, and even more so they cause man to feel joy. Like newborn infants, all men feel glad and joyful, and celebrate My coming. By means of My utterances, I shall bring all men before Me. Thenceforth, I shall formally enter into the midst of men, and make it so that they will come to pay homage to Me. With the glory that I issue forth and the words from My mouth, all men come before Me, and see that the lightning flashes from the East, that I have also descended unto the “Mount of Olives” in the East, and have long since come to earth, and that I am no longer the Son of Jews, but 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 that was forsaken by the Israelites countless ages before now. Even more so, I am the all-glorious Almighty God of the present age! Let all come before My throne and see My glorious countenance, hear My utterances, and behold My deeds. This is the entirety of My intention; it is the end and the climax of My plan, as well as the purpose of My management: to have the myriad nations pay homage to Me, the myriad mouths acknowledge Me, the myriad people put their trust in Me, and the myriad of My chosen people surrender to Me!

—The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. The Seven Thunders Peal—Prophesying That the Gospel of the Kingdom Shall Spread Throughout the Universe

This time, God comes to do work not in a spiritual body, but in a very ordinary one. Moreover, it is the body of God’s second incarnation, and it is also the body through which God returns to the flesh. It is a very ordinary flesh. Looking at Him, you cannot see anything that makes Him stand out from others, but you can gain from Him previously unheard-of truths. Just this insignificant flesh is the embodiment of all God’s words of truth, the bearer of God’s work in the last days, and the expression by which man understands God’s whole disposition. Do you not desire greatly to see the God in heaven? Do you not desire greatly to understand the God in heaven? Do you not desire greatly to see the destination of mankind? He will tell you all these secrets—secrets that no man has ever been able to tell you—and He will also tell you the truths that you do not understand. He is your gate to the kingdom, and your guide into the new age. This ordinary flesh holds many mysteries unfathomable to man. His deeds are inscrutable to you, but the entire goal of the work He does is sufficient to enable you to see that He is not, as people believe, a simple flesh, because He represents God’s intentions in the last days, and God’s care for mankind in the last days. Though you cannot hear His words seeming to shake the heavens and earth, though you cannot see His eyes as a flame of fire, and though you cannot receive the discipline of His iron rod, nevertheless you can hear from His words that God is being wrathful and know that God is showing mercy to mankind, and see the righteous disposition of God and His wisdom, and, even more so, appreciate God’s solicitude for all mankind. The work of God in the last days is to allow man to see on earth the God in heaven living among men, and to enable man to know, submit to, fear, and love God. This is why He has returned to the flesh for a second time. Though what man sees this day is a God that is the same as man, a God with a nose and two eyes, and a very unremarkable God, in the end, God will show you that if this person did not exist, the heavens and earth would undergo a tremendous change; if this person did not exist, the heavens would grow dim, the earth would be plunged into chaos, and all mankind would live amid famine and plagues. He will show you that if God incarnate of the last days did not come to save you, then God would have long ago destroyed all mankind in hell; if this flesh did not exist, then you would forever be arch-sinners, and you would be corpses evermore. You should know that if this flesh did not exist, it would be impossible for all mankind to escape a great calamity, and impossible for it to escape the even more severe punishment that God metes out to mankind in the last days. Had this ordinary flesh not been born, you would all be in a state where you beg for life without being able to live and beg for death without being able to die; if this flesh did not exist, then you would not be able to gain the truth and come before the throne of God today, but rather, you would be punished by God because of your grievous sins. Did you know that were it not for the return of God to the flesh, none would have a chance at salvation; and were it not for the coming of this flesh, God would have long ago put an end to the age of old? This being so, will you still reject the second incarnation of God? Since you can derive such great benefits from this ordinary person, why would you not gladly accept Him?

—The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. Did You Know? God Has Done a Great Thing Among Men

God continues His utterances, employing various methods and many perspectives to admonish us about what we should do, while at the same time expressing the voice of His heart. His words carry life power, they provide us with the way we should follow, and enable us to comprehend what exactly the truth is. We begin to be drawn by His words, we begin to pay attention to the tone and manner of His speaking, and subconsciously we begin to take note of the voice of this inconspicuous person’s heart. He works His heart out for us, loses sleep and appetite for us, weeps for us, sighs for us, and groans in sickness for us; He endures humiliation for the sake of our destination and salvation; and our numbness and rebelliousness draw tears and blood from His heart. No ordinary person has this being and these possessions, and no corrupted human being can have or attain them. He has tolerance and patience possessed by no ordinary person, and His love is not something that any created being has. No one apart from Him can know all of our thoughts, or know our nature and essence like the back of their own hand, or judge the rebelliousness and corruption of mankind, or speak to us and work on us like this on behalf of God in heaven. No one apart from Him possesses the authority, wisdom, and dignity of God; the disposition of God and the possessions and being of God are brought forth, in their entirety, in Him. No one apart from Him can show us the way and bring us light. No one apart from Him can disclose the mysteries that God has not made known since creation until today. No one apart from Him can save us from Satan’s bondage and our own corrupt dispositions. He represents God; He expresses the voice of God’s heart, the exhortations of God, and God’s words of judgment toward all mankind. He has opened up a new age, a new era, and ushered in a new heaven and earth and new work, He has brought us hope and ended the life we led in a vague state, and He has enabled our whole beings to completely behold the path to salvation. He has conquered our whole beings and gained our hearts. From that moment onward, our hearts have gained awareness, and our spirits seem to be revived: This ordinary, insignificant person, this person who lives among us and has been rejected by us for so long—is this not the Lord Jesus, who is ever in our thoughts, waking or dreaming, and for whom we long night and day? It is He! It really is He! He is our God! He is the truth, the way, and the life! He has enabled us to live again and to see the light and has stopped our hearts from wandering. We have returned to the home of God, we have returned before His throne, we are face-to-face with Him, we have witnessed His countenance, and we have seen the road that lies ahead. At this time, our hearts are completely conquered by Him; we no longer doubt who He is, no longer oppose His work and His word, and we fall down prostrate before Him. We wish for nothing more than to follow the footsteps of God for the rest of our lives, and to be made perfect by Him, and to repay His grace, and repay His love for us, and to obey His orchestrations and arrangements, and to cooperate with His work, and to do everything we can to complete what He entrusts to us.

—The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. Appendix 4: Beholding the Appearance of God in His Judgment and Chastisement

If people remain stuck in the Age of Grace, then they shall never be rid of their corrupt disposition, let alone know the inherent disposition of God. If people always live in the midst of an abundance of grace, but do not have the way of life that allows them to know God or to satisfy Him, then they will never truly gain Him in their belief in Him. This type of belief is pitiful indeed. When you have finished reading this book, when you have experienced each step of the work of God incarnate in the Age of Kingdom, you will feel that the desires you have had for many years have finally been realized. You will feel that only now have you truly seen God face to face; only now have you gazed upon His countenance, heard His personal utterances, appreciated the wisdom of His work, and truly sensed how practical and almighty He is. You will feel that you have gained many things that people in times past had never seen nor possessed. At this time, you will clearly know what it is to believe in God, and what it is to align with God’s intentions. Of course, if you cling to views of the past, and reject or deny the fact of the second incarnation of God, then you will remain empty-handed, acquiring nothing, and ultimately you will be pronounced guilty of opposing God. Those who are able to submit to the truth and submit to the work of God shall be claimed under the name of the second incarnate God—the Almighty. They will be able to accept God’s personal guidance, gaining more and higher truths, as well as real life. They shall behold the vision never seen before by people of the past: “And I turned to see the voice that spoke with me. And being turned, I saw seven golden candlesticks; And in the middle of the seven candlesticks one like to the Son of man, clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about the breasts with a golden girdle. His head and His hairs were white like wool, as white as snow; and His eyes were as a flame of fire; And His feet like to fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace; and His voice as the sound of many waters. And He had in His right hand seven stars: and out of His mouth went a sharp two edged sword: and His countenance was as the sun shines in its strength” (Revelation 1:12–16). This vision is the expression of God’s entire disposition, and the expression of His entire disposition is also the expression of the work of God in His present incarnation. In the torrents of chastisements and judgments, the Son of man expresses His inherent disposition by means of utterances, allowing all those who accept His chastisement and judgment to see the true face of the Son of man, which is a faithful depiction of the face of the Son of man seen by John. (Of course, all of this will be invisible to those who do not accept the work of God in the Age of Kingdom.) The true face of God cannot be fully articulated using human language, and so God uses the method of expressing His inherent disposition to show His true face to man. Which is to say that all those who have appreciated the inherent disposition of the Son of man have seen the true face of the Son of man, for God is too great and cannot be fully articulated using human language. Once man has experienced each step of God’s work in the Age of Kingdom, then he shall know the true meaning of John’s words when he spoke of the Son of man among the lampstands: “His head and His hairs were white like wool, as white as snow; and His eyes were as a flame of fire; And His feet like to fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace; and His voice as the sound of many waters. And He had in His right hand seven stars: and out of His mouth went a sharp two edged sword: and His countenance was as the sun shines in its strength.” At that time, you shall know beyond all doubt that this ordinary flesh that has said so much is undeniably the second incarnate God. Moreover, you shall truly sense how blessed you are, and feel yourself to be the most fortunate. Are you not willing to accept this blessing?

—The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. Preface