Those familiar with the Bible will all know that the Book of Revelation prophesies that 144,000 overcomers will arise in the last days, and these overcomers will receive God’s protection during the great disasters. Revelation 14:1 prophesies, “And I looked, and, see, a Lamb stood on the mount Sion, and with Him an hundred forty and four thousand, having His Father’s name written in their foreheads.” Revelation 7:14 prophesies, “These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.” The “an hundred forty and four thousand” spoken of in the Scripture are the overcomers God will make. They are all those who have undergone great tribulation and stood witness, and they are those commended by God who can enter the kingdom of heaven. Many people believe that good behaviors such as working and expending themselves for the Lord, suffering and paying a price, and refusing to deny the Lord’s name even during persecution, tribulations, or in prison, mean that they can become overcomers, and when the Lord comes they can be raptured up before the throne of God. But have we ever considered whether this is the right perspective? The Lord never said in the Bible that overcomers could be made from such a pursuit, so what exactly are the 144,000 overcomers mentioned in Revelation? We will fellowship on this now.
What Is an Overcomer?
Revelation 14:4–5 says, “These are they which were not defiled with women; for they are virgins. These are they which follow the Lamb wherever He goes. These were redeemed from among men, being the first fruits to God and to the Lamb. And in their mouth was found no guile: for they are without fault before the throne of God.” Revelation 7:14 says, “These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.” God says, “Those whom God refers to as ‘overcomers’ are those who are still able to stand witness and maintain their confidence and devotion to God when under the influence of Satan and while being laid siege to by Satan, that is, when they find themselves amidst the forces of darkness. If you are still able to keep a pure heart before God and maintain your genuine love for God no matter what, then you are standing witness in front of God, and this is what God refers to as being an ‘overcomer’” (“You Should Maintain Your Devotion to God” in The Word Appears in the Flesh). “Those who are made complete before the disaster are submissive to God. They live reliant on Christ, they bear witness to Him, and they exalt Him. They are the victorious male children and good soldiers of Christ” (“Chapter 13” of Utterances of Christ in the Beginning in The Word Appears in the Flesh). We can see from these biblical prophecies and from God’s words that the overcomers are those who follow the Lamb’s footsteps closely. These people have gained the truth as their very life, their corrupt dispositions have been cleansed and changed, and they no longer commit sins or resist God. They are unswervingly honest and loyal to God, they do not lie, and they are without blemish. They work and expend themselves for God with a pure heart, free from any kind of bargaining or adulteration. They make no demands of God and ask for nothing in return; all they do is to repay God’s love. In the performance of their duties, they are able to exalt God and bear witness to Him, be in accord with Him, and bring others before Him. No matter what trials and tribulations they encounter, they are always able to remain steadfast in reading God’s words and performing the duty of a created being. They are without complaint, they obey God until death, and they bear beautiful and resounding testimony to God. Only these people are the overcomers in God’s eyes.
When we check ourselves against God’s requirements for the overcomers, though we may now appear to suffer a little on the outside and have some good behaviors, and though we may not betray the Lord under the cruel tortures inflicted on us by the CCP, what we cannot deny is that our corrupt dispositions have not yet been purified or changed. We still cannot overcome the myriad temptations of Satan, nor do we have hearts of submission and reverence for God. For example, although we can dedicate ourselves entirely and preach the gospel everywhere we go, our motivation is to have a peaceful home life, to receive the blessings of getting into the kingdom of heaven and gaining everlasting life in return. The second our desires are not fulfilled or some catastrophe befalls our family, we blame God, we regret what we have expended for God, and we may even abandon God altogether. Despite refusing to sell out the church after being arrested and imprisoned, some people later capitalize on this, exalting themselves before others and taking credit for achievements before God. Moreover, in our interactions with others, the moment something begins to infringe upon our own interests, we cannot help but tell lies and deceive others. These are just a few examples. Without having our satanic corrupt dispositions purified, we are still capable of betraying God and resisting Him at any time and place, so how could we possibly be overcomers? In fact, if we merely rely on our ability to work and toil, our refusal to deny the Lord’s name when arrested and imprisoned, and being able to stand witness through the atheistic government’s persecution, this can only be called having some true faith in God. However, our corrupt dispositions have not changed, we lack true understanding of our own corrupt nature and essence, and we are not yet people who obey God, who fear God and shun evil. We are not up to the standard of the 144,000 overcomers spoken of in the Bible. So how should we pursue to be made into overcomers by God before the great disasters?
How Can We Be Made Into Overcomers Before the Disasters?
It is important to know that the 144,000 overcomers arise while God performs His work in the last days. God prophesied that He would do another stage of work in the last days and make a group of overcomers. Let us take a look at the Scripture: “And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write…. Because you have kept the word of My patience, I also will keep you from the hour of temptation, which shall come on all the world, to try them that dwell on the earth. 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 3:7–13). “I have yet many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. However, when He, the Spirit of truth, is come, He will guide you into all truth: for He shall not speak of Himself; but whatever He shall hear, that shall He speak: and He will show you things to come” (John 16:12–13). “For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God” (1 Peter 4:17). These verses speak of the rapture of the church of Philadelphia, what the Spirit says to the churches, and that judgment will begin with the house of God, and so on. These are all works the Lord Jesus will do upon His return. That is to say, before the disasters, God will take on a new name, sharing His utterances with the churches, expressing all truths, and judging and purifying all who come before Him. From among those, He will make a group of overcomers. If we wish to be made into the 144,000 overcomers as prophesied in the Bible before the disasters, we must first seek what the Holy Spirit says to the churches and accept God’s work to judge and purify man in the last days.
Throughout the entire world, it is only The Church of Almighty God that now openly testifies to all nations that God has become flesh and come in secret in the last days. The Church of Almighty God testifies that God expresses what the Holy Spirit says to the churches, that, with the name of Almighty God, He has unfolded the work of judgment beginning with the house of God, and that He is purifying and saving people at this very moment. Furthermore, Almighty God has already made a group of overcomers in China and this gospel work is currently spreading all over the world. So how exactly does Almighty God perform the work of making the overcomers?
Almighty God says, “I have previously said that a group of overcomers are gained from the East, overcomers who come from amid the great tribulation. What is meant by these words? They mean that these people who have been gained only truly obeyed after undergoing judgment and chastisement, and dealing and pruning, and all kinds of refinement. The belief of these people is not vague and abstract, but real. They have not seen any signs and wonders, or any miracles; they do not speak of abstruse letters and doctrines, or profound insights; instead they have reality, and the words of God, and a true knowledge of the reality of God. Is such a group not more capable of making plain the power of God?” (“All Is Achieved by the Word of God” in The Word Appears in the Flesh). “In the last days, Christ uses a variety of truths to teach man, to expose the essence of man, and to dissect the words and deeds of man. These words comprise various truths, such as man’s duty, how man should obey God, how man should be loyal to God, how man ought to live out normal humanity, as well as the wisdom and the disposition of God, and so on. … What the work of judgment brings about is man’s understanding of the true face of God and the truth about his own rebelliousness. The work of judgment allows man to gain much understanding of the will of God, of the purpose of God’s work, and of the mysteries that are incomprehensible to him. It also allows man to recognize and know his corrupt substance and the roots of his corruption, as well as to discover the ugliness of man. These effects are all brought about by the work of judgment, for the substance of this work is actually the work of opening up the truth, the way, and the life of God to all those who have faith in Him. This work is the work of judgment done by God” (“Christ Does the Work of Judgment With the Truth” in The Word Appears in the Flesh).
In the last days, Almighty God has expressed all the truths that can enable people to be purified and attain salvation. It is through these truths that God judges our corruption, and arranges all manner of people, events, and things to try us, to expose us, and to refine us. This is how the truth is wrought into us. Almighty God’s words reveal how Satan corrupts man and defies God, and the essence and truth of how mankind is corrupted by Satan. They tell God’s chosen people how they can have discernment of Satan, how they can know themselves, how they can put God’s words into practice, how they can be honest people, how they can resolve their own transgressions and do sufficient good deeds, how they can revere, obey, and love God, how they can become compatible with Christ, and more. Those who love the truth focus on contemplating God’s words, they come to know themselves through the various trials God sets up to expose them, and they see through the judgment of God’s words that they themselves are the progeny of Satan. They see that they are arrogant, conceited, selfish, deceitful. They see they are sick of the truth and adore fame and fortune; they always wish to be equal to God; they perform their duties asking God for something in return, and when they encounter events that are not to their liking, they arbitrarily judge, resist and betray God. From the outside they appear to follow God, but in truth they still live under the dark influence of Satan, and have not yet been truly gained by God. By going through God’s judgment and chastisement, they come to know God’s holiness and righteousness; they see that God hates and curses evil things, while He blesses and takes mercy on those who pursue the truth and yearn for justice. Then a God-fearing heart cannot help but arise within them. They become willing to forsake their own satanic nature, and willing to obey God and live by His words. By never resting in their practice of God’s words and forsaking their own corrupt nature, their satanic dispositions change over time. They become able to revere God in all things, they take God’s words and the truth as their principles of practice, and they gain the truth as their very life.
God has now made a group of overcomers in China. Many brothers and sisters have suffered the frenzied suppression and arrests of the CCP government, they have been rejected, slandered, and framed by the people of the world, yet they stay strong in spreading the gospel and faithfully doing their duty. They give no thought to their own future prospects or fate, or to any impact on their reputation or status. Some have been brutally tortured by the CCP government, and in the face of death they have still remained loyal to God, submitted to God’s orchestrations and arrangements, and stood witness. There are also many brothers and sisters who have experienced God’s judgment, chastisement, trials and refinement, and have rid themselves of their corrupt dispositions. They now live out a human likeness and have born all sorts of experiential testimonies. The testimonies of these overcomers are the crystallization of Almighty God’s work of judgment in the last days, thus precisely fulfilling Revelation 7:14, “These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb” and Revelation 14:4, “These are they which follow the Lamb wherever He goes. These were redeemed from among men, being the first fruits to God and to the Lamb.”
The experiential testimonies of these overcomers are available online. They’re inspiring for so many people; they can really feel that, were it not for the appearance and work of God, no human being could have led this group of deeply corrupted people to cast off the dark influence of Satan and bear victorious testimonies. These testimonies confirm for people that Almighty God is the Lord Jesus returned and, one after another, they accept Almighty God’s work of the last days. Almighty God’s words are being accepted and passed on by more and more people, and the work to bear witness to Almighty God has reached a new height. The kingdom of God has long since come upon the earth, the great disasters will soon be upon us, and God’s work of the last days will come to a close. The time is upon us—we must seek and investigate the true way. All who recognize God’s voice and return before Almighty God’s throne are the wise virgins who attend the wedding feast of the Lamb, and they have the chance to become one of the 144,000 overcomers spoken of in the Bible before the great disasters arrive. Otherwise, when the great disasters fully come upon the world, the chance to be made by God into overcomers will be lost, and there will be no end to people’s remorse.
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