2,000 years ago, our Savior the Lord Jesus came to do the work of redemption

and was madly condemned by the chief priests,

scribes, and Pharisees of the Jewish faith.

Because most of the Jews adored their religious leaders,

they went along with those antichrists in condemning and rejecting the Lord Jesus,

ultimately having a hand in crucifying Him.

This was a tremendous sin and earned them God's damnation and punishment,

dooming the nation of Israel for 2,000 years.

The Lord Jesus has returned in the last days as Almighty God incarnate,

expressing truths and doing judgment work to fully cleanse and save mankind.

He also faces the crazed condemnation and resistance of religious leaders.

They seal off their churches,

standing in the way of believers looking into the true way,

leaving many people afraid to investigate and accept it

even though they've clearly seen that Almighty God's words are the truth,

that they're powerful, authoritative, and come from God.

As a result, many are losing their chance to welcome the Lord

and are falling into disasters.

Where have they gone wrong as far as welcoming the Lord goes?

It's because they adulate their religious leaders!

They believe religious leaders were put in place by God and are used by God,

that obeying them is obeying God,

so they follow along completely with them,

submitting to their words as if they had come from God.

Many also think that

the Lord Jesus is certain to tell the clergy first when He returns,

so not hearing it from them proves that He hasn't come back.

Then they don't even attempt to investigate Almighty God's work,

but follow the religious leaders in condemning Him.

And so they're falling into disasters, losing their chance at being raptured.

Whose fault is this?

There's no simple answer.

The Pharisees who long ago resisted and condemned the Lord Jesus were damned by God,

and many in the religious world today haven't learned that painful lesson from them.

Because they blindly worship their clergy,

they're going along with them in condemning the Lord Jesus returned,

nailing God to the cross once again.

This really is a shame!

So then, have the religious leaders actually been put in place by God?

Is submitting to them the same as following God?

Gaining clarity on this is a pressing matter.

Many believers think

the religious leaders, clergy such as the Pope, bishops, pastors, and elders,

are appointed and used by the Lord Jesus

and have the authority to lead believers,

so obeying them is obeying God.

What is the basis of this belief?

Did the Lord Jesus ever say

that all religious leaders were put in place by God?

He never did.

Do they have the Holy Spirit's testimony, or proof of the Spirit's work?

No.

This means this idea is purely a human notion.

Let's think about it.

According to this human idea that religious leaders are all put in place by God,

then could that be also true about the Jewish chief priests, scribes, and Pharisees

who resisted and condemned the Lord Jesus?

Was following them in crucifying the Lord Jesus also submitting to God?

This is clearly an absurd way to treat clergy!

We can also see from the Bible that in God's work in every age,

He does appoint people to help with His work.

All those people are personally called on and testified to by God

and God's words show this.

They are never appointed by humans, and they aren't trained by humans.

Think of the Age of Law,

when God used Moses to lead the Israelites out of Egypt.

Jehovah God's own words bore witness to this.

Jehovah God said to Moses,

In the Age of Grace,

the Lord Jesus used Peter to shepherd the churches,

and He bore witness to Peter, too.

The Lord Jesus said to Peter,

God personally puts in place and bears witness to the people He uses in each age,

and this is verified by the Holy Spirit's work.

In the Ages of Law and Grace,

sometimes those God used were personally established and borne witness to by Him.

Sometimes He used other methods.

Without His direct appointment, He would reveal this through prophets,

or there was proof of the Holy Spirit's work.

This is undeniable.

In today's religious world,

who gave the Pope, bishops, priests, pastors, and elders the positions they hold?

Is there proof of God's words or the Holy Spirit's work?

Has the Holy Spirit borne witness to them?

Hardly at all!

In fact, all those religious leaders within the churches

have mostly graduated from seminaries and theological schools

and have degrees in theology.

Diploma in hand, they are assigned to churches to lead believers.

Some are gifted and eloquent, and learn their work well,

so they are appointed or recommended by upper leadership and rise in the ranks.

Nearly all the religious world's clergy gain their posts this way,

but most lack the Holy Spirit's work.

A small percentage of them may have some of the work of the Holy Spirit,

but they don't have His testimony.

So we can be sure that

they are not people God bears witness to or uses.

They are very clearly fostered and chosen by other people,

so why would they insist that they're put in place by God?

Isn't that going against the facts?

Isn't that brazenly lying and testifying to themselves?

What are the consequences of this?

Isn't that deceiving and harming believers?

Some religious leaders even quote the Lord Jesus' words calling on Peter

to shamelessly claim

that the authority the Lord Jesus bestowed upon Peter is handed down to the Pope,

so the Pope is authorized by God and can represent the Lord Jesus,

and since the priests follow the Pope, they're also authorized by God,

so they can forgive sins.

Isn't that ludicrous?

Did the Lord Jesus ever tell Peter

to pass down the authority bestowed upon him to generations of clergy?

The Lord Jesus never said that!

Did Peter ever convey such things?

Absolutely not!

No such thing is written in the Bible.

It's also a fact that there was no Pope, there were no priests at that time.

So those religious leaders

who proclaim they're authorized by God and can represent the Lord Jesus

are pretending to be God and misleading people, right?

Aren't those who obey and bow down to them worshiping idols?

Isn't that working against God?

Many people don't understand this,

and they keep blindly worshiping their leaders,

thinking they were put in place by God.

Can you see how foolish and ignorant this is?

How is this different from unbelievers worshiping idols?

If you're a believer but you don't follow the word of God,

if you worship and kneel before other humans to confess your sins as if they are God,

aren't you disrespecting and blaspheming God?

Can those who foolishly do this be saved by God?

Probably not.

Those who foolishly do this cannot gain God's approval.

We need to be clear that

God appointing someone isn't casual or arbitrary.

There has to be proof.

There was proof of God appointing Moses, and at least the Israelites knew that.

The Lord Jesus' appointment of Peter was also real,

which was known by the apostles.

So, a claim that God has put someone in place needs a factual basis.

No human can arbitrarily claim this.

We can also see that anyone God puts in place

will have the Holy Spirit's guidance and verification from the Holy Spirit.

Their work can carry out God's will and it will achieve very clear results.

They can carry out God's commission.

Let's see what Almighty God has to say.

Almighty God's words show us

that God prepares far in advance those He appoints and uses for His work,

that they are the ones God raises up to lead His chosen people.

Their work and sermons are entirely through the Holy Spirit's provision and guidance,

and anyone who hasn't been personally appointed by God

could never replace them.

Moses in the Age of Law and Peter in the Age of Grace

strictly adhered to God's words and demands to lead His chosen people,

and God was always with them, guiding them at every single turn.

God never uses a wrong person or someone who works against Him.

He is always responsible for His own work.

Those God uses are constantly enlightened by the Holy Spirit in their work and words

and can share a pure understanding of God's words

to help God's chosen people understand His utterances, His will, and His demands.

They can always use the truth

to help God's chosen people with their practical struggles

with entering into the reality of God's words and the right track in their faith.

When God's chosen people accept and submit to the shepherding of those used by God

they can gain true sustenance for their lives,

gradually gain more understanding of the truth,

know God's work and disposition better,

and expand their faith and love for God.

That's why they're supported by God's chosen people

who know in their hearts that

those people are put in place by God and are after God's heart.

When we accept and submit to their leadership,

this is following and submitting to God

and is in line with God's will.

Those God uses are put in place

in order to lead His chosen people to experience God's work and follow Him,

and their work and sermons

are entirely from the Holy Spirit's leadership and enlightenment.

Accepting and submitting to their leadership is actually submitting to God.

Resisting them is resisting God,

and will result in being exposed and eliminated by God,

or maybe even damned and punished.

Just like when Moses led the Israelites out of Egypt,

the band of Korah and Dathan who fought against him

were punished by God.

That's a clear fact.

Let's take a look at today's religious leaders,

the Pope, the bishops and priests in Catholicism,

and the pastors, elders, and other clergy in Christianity.

Have they been put in place by God? Has God spoken in support of them?

Do they have proof from the Holy Spirit's work?

Do they have proof from the fruits of their work?

They have none of this.

This proves that they were chosen by humans, not appointed by God.

Since we've seen that they were fostered within seminaries

and appointed by official religious institutes,

we know to be very cautious.

Most of them don't believe in the truth or have genuine faith in God.

They believe in theology,

in their position and title, in the living they make from it.

No matter how elevated their biblical knowledge is or how good their sermons are,

they don't have the Holy Spirit's work and guidance,

or the Spirit's enlightenment.

This shows us that they are false shepherds, nonbelievers

and God does not acknowledge them.

So isn't worshiping and following them incredibly foolish?

On top of them lacking the testimony of God's words and proof from the Holy Spirit,

there is one critical piece of evidence that can help us see them for what they are.

Almighty God has expressed so many truths,

openly revealing people's true colors,

if they love the truth or not,

if they acknowledge the truth or not,

if they accept the truth or not,

and if they hate and reject the truth or not.

It's all revealed.

Those who acknowledge Almighty God's words are the truth,

that He is God in the flesh,

are those that love the truth and have God's approval.

They are the wise virgins

who hear God's voice and are raptured up before His throne.

If someone sees that Almighty God has expressed so many truths

but keeps opposing, condemning, and denying God's appearance and work,

this means they despise the truth,