The church of Philadelphia has taken shape, which is entirely due to the grace and mercy of God. Love for God arises in the hearts of the myriad saints, who do not waver on their spiritual journey. They hold fast to their belief that the one true God has become flesh, that He is the Head of the universe, who commands all things: This is confirmed by the Holy Spirit, it is as immovable as the mountains! And it shall never change!
Oh, Almighty God! Today it is You who have opened our spiritual eyes, allowing the blind to see, the lame to walk, and lepers to be healed. It is You who have opened the window to heaven, allowing us to perceive the mysteries of the spiritual realm. Being permeated by Your holy words and saved from our humanity, which was corrupted by Satan—such is Your inestimably great work and Your inestimably great mercy. We are Your witnesses!
Long have You remained hidden, humbly and silently. You have undergone resurrection from death, the suffering of crucifixion, the joys and sorrows of human life, and persecution and adversity; You have experienced and tasted the pain of the human world, and You have been forsaken by the age. God incarnate is God Himself. For the sake of God’s will, You have saved us from the dunghill, holding us up with Your right hand, and freely giving us Your grace. Sparing no pains, You have wrought Your life into us; the price You have paid with Your blood, sweat, and tears is crystallized upon the saints. We are the product of[a] Your painstaking efforts; we are the price You have paid.
Oh, Almighty God! It is because of Your lovingkindness and mercy, Your righteousness and majesty, Your holiness and humility that all peoples shall bow down before You and worship You for all eternity.
Today You have made complete all churches—the church of Philadelphia—and thus fulfilled Your 6,000-year management plan. The saints can humbly submit themselves before You, connected in spirit and following along in love, joined to the source of the fountain. The living water of life runs without cease, washing away and purging all the mud and filthy water in the church, once again purifying Your temple. We have come to know the practical true God, walked within His words, recognized our own functions and duties, and done everything that we can to expend ourselves for the sake of the church. Ever quiet before You, we must heed the work of the Holy Spirit, lest Your will be obstructed in us. Among the saints there is mutual love, and the strengths of some will compensate for the failings of others. They are able to walk in the spirit at all times, enlightened and illuminated by the Holy Spirit. They put the truth into practice immediately upon understanding it. They keep pace with the new light, and follow God’s footsteps.
Actively cooperate with God; letting Him take control is to walk with Him. All of our own ideas, notions, opinions, and secular entanglements vanish into thin air like smoke. We let God reign supreme in our spirits, walk with Him and so gain transcendence, overcoming the world, and our spirits fly free and attain release: This is the outcome when Almighty God becomes King. How can we not dance and sing in praise, offering up our praises, offering up new hymns?
There truly are many ways to praise God: calling out His name, drawing near to Him, thinking of Him, pray-reading, engaging in fellowship, contemplating and pondering, prayer, and songs of praise. In these kinds of praise there is enjoyment, and there is anointment; there is power in praise, and there is also a burden. There is faith in praise, and there is new insight.
Actively cooperate with God, coordinate in service and become one, fulfill Almighty God’s intentions, hasten to become a holy spiritual body, trample over Satan, and put an end to Satan’s fate. The church of Philadelphia has been raptured into God’s presence and is made manifest in His glory.
—The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. Utterances of Christ in the Beginning, Chapter 2
In all nations and all places of the world, earthquakes, famines, plagues, and all manner of disasters occur frequently. As I do My great work in all nations and all places, these disasters will arise with more severity than at any other time since the creation of the world. This is the beginning of My judgment of all peoples, but My sons can rest easy; no disaster will befall you, and I will protect you. (This means that you will afterward live in the body, but not in the flesh, so you will not suffer the pain of any disaster.) Together with Me, you will simply reign as kings and judge all nations and all peoples, enjoying good blessings with Me forever in the universe and at the ends of the earth. These words will all be fulfilled, and they will soon be achieved before your very eyes. I delay not a single hour nor a single day; I do things incredibly quickly. Do not be worried or anxious; the blessing I give you is something no one can take from you—this is My administrative decree. All people will be obedient to Me because of My deeds; they will cheer without cease, and more yet will they leap for joy without end.
—The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. Utterances of Christ in the Beginning, Chapter 92
Those that God intends to perfect will all receive His blessings and His inheritance. That is, they take in what God has and is so that it becomes what they have within; they have all the words of God wrought into them; whatever God is, you are able to take it all in exactly as is, and thereby live out the truth. This is the kind of person who is perfected by God and who is gained by God. Only someone such as this is eligible to receive the blessings bestowed by God:
1. Gaining the whole of God’s love.
2. Acting in accordance with the will of God in all things.
3. Gaining the guidance of God, living in the light of God, and gaining God’s enlightenment.
4. Living out on earth the image that God loves; loving God truly as Peter did, crucified for God and worthy to die in recompense for God’s love; having the same glory as Peter.
5. Being beloved, respected, and admired by everyone on earth.
6. Overcoming every aspect of the bondage of death and Hades, giving no opportunity for Satan to do its work, being possessed by God, living within a fresh and lively spirit, and not growing weary.
7. Having an ineffable sense of elation and excitement at all times throughout life, as if one has beheld the arrival of the day of God’s glory.
8. Winning glory together with God and having a countenance that resembles God’s beloved saints.
9. Becoming that which God loves on earth, that is, a beloved son of God.
10. Changing form and ascending with God to the third heaven and transcending the flesh.
—The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. Promises to Those Who Have Been Perfected
Footnotes:
a. The original text does not contain the phrase “the product of.”