Gospel Testimonies

The Tabernacle of God Is With Men

By Chen Bo, China

Editors' Note: Many brothers and sisters long for the day when they can be raised up into heaven and can meet the Lord, and this is the greatest dream of everyone who believes in the Lord. But it is prophesied in Revelation: "The tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them...." This passage of scripture says that the kingdom of God will come on earth, so will we go up to heaven in the future, or will we be reunited with the Lord on earth? We trust you would all like to know the answer to this question. Today, we recommend a sister's experiences for you to read, and we believe that, when you have finished reading it, you will all reap the harvest.

The greatest longing we believers have is to be able to enter the kingdom of heaven, and to enjoy the eternal bliss bestowed upon man by the Lord. Every time I heard a pastor say in a sermon that the place the Lord will prepare for us in the future is up in the heavens, that there will be fields of gold and walls of jade, gems will glisten everywhere, we'll be able to eat the fruit of the tree of life and drink the water of the river of life, there will be no more pain, tears, or sorrow, and all will be free and liberated, I would feel this incredible surge of emotion and joy. This is a place I longed for so much, and my life on earth of toil and sorrow truly left me so weary within my heart. And so, I ran around preaching the gospel and expending myself enthusiastically for the Lord; I would spread the gospel and establish churches, and I never stopped to catch a breath no matter how painful or difficult it got. Especially since I knew that we're in the last days and that the Lord would soon return to take us all into our heavenly home, I worked and expended myself that much more proactively.

One day, I went to my sister's house to visit our mom, and just as I was about to leave, my sister gave me a book and urged me to read it carefully. I thought to myself: "This book that my sister gave me has to be something spiritual, and it just so happens that my spirit feels quite parched right now. I'm not feeling the presence of the Lord. When I read the Bible I'm not gaining any illumination. When I get back, I have to give this book a good read. Perhaps I'll gain some sustenance from it." After returning home, I opened up the book and started reading—I was sucked in before I knew it. The more I read it, the more I wanted to read, and the more I felt that there was light within these words, that they contained the enlightenment of the Holy Spirit and there was no way that these words could be uttered by a regular person. After reading that book I came to understand truths that I had never understood before from reading the Bible, and I felt a sense of internal clarity and enjoyment. It made me want to pray and grow closer to the Lord—my faith grew and my spiritual state got better and better. I thought: "Only the work of the Holy Spirit can provide man with faith and strength, and provide nourishment and sustenance for man's spirit. The words in this book certainly come from the Holy Spirit." As a result, the first thing I did every morning after getting up was read this book.

One day, I opened the book and read the following passage: "God entering into rest means that He will no longer carry out His work of humanity's salvation. Humanity entering into rest means that all of humanity will live within God's light and under His blessings; there will be none of Satan's corruption, nor will any unrighteous things occur. Humanity will live normally upon earth, and they will live under God's care" ("God and Man Will Enter Into Rest Together" in The Word Appears in the Flesh). My heart skipped a beat when I read this, and I thought to myself: "In the future man is going to live upon the earth? Didn't the Lord Jesus promise that in the future we would live in heaven? Why does this say we'll be on earth? How could this be possible? Am I misreading this?" So, I carefully re-read the passage; it really did say that in the future man would live upon the earth. I wondered, what does that actually mean? This wouldn't do—I knew I had to understand what this actually meant. I continued reading: "God has God's destination, and man has man's destination. While resting, God will continue to guide all of humanity in their lives upon earth. While in God's light, man will worship the one true God in heaven. ... When humanity enters into rest, it means that man has become a true creation; humanity will worship God from upon the earth and have normal human lives. People will no longer be disobedient to God or resist God; they will return to the original life of Adam and Eve" ("God and Man Will Enter Into Rest Together" in The Word Appears in the Flesh). The more I read the more confused I felt: Man will worship God from upon the earth? How is this going to happen? Doesn't the Bible mention being in heaven? How could it be on earth? I rushed over to my Bible, opening it to John 14:2–3, and read these words from the Lord Jesus: "In My Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also." The Lord Jesus clearly says that His resurrection and ascent into heaven was to prepare a place for us, so our destination should be up in heaven. This is the Lord's promise! I thought to myself: "What this book is saying is different from what the Lord says, so I cannot keep reading it." After closing the book I was in a very confused state of mind and didn't know what the right thing to do was, so I prayed to the Lord over and over: "Oh Lord, please guide me and lead me. Should I read this book, or not? Oh Lord, please enlighten me, guide me...." After praying I thought about how after reading this book, I felt closer in my relationship with the Lord, more enthusiastic about my faith, and that my spirit had gained sustenance. I felt that if I put it down and stopped reading it, I'd return to my previous state of feeling spiritually parched. Since that book had been so incredibly edifying for me, and since I could confirm that it had come from the Holy Spirit, and anything from the Holy Spirit could not possibly be in error, I knew I shouldn't reject it and refuse to read it, even though some of its content wasn't in line with my notions. After thinking through all of this, I decided I should keep reading before making up my mind.