5 The angel took the censer, and he filled it with the fire of the altar, and threw it on the earth. There followed thunders, sounds,
then the Angel took the censer and filled it with fire…and threw it to the earth – the Angel was Christ, and the fire that He poured out was the same holy spirit that was poured out on the Day of Pentecost, with “tongues of fire.”
In 1917, after Paul Wei obeyed the instruction of God to baptize face down, he received the comfort of the holy spirit as evidenced by the tongue emitting sound, laleo glossa. This experience was much different than the “speaking in tongues” of Pentecostal denominations from the West. Those in the West prayed in a kind of language, that followed the moving of their mouth. But for Paul Wei, and the Church in China, the tongue emit sound. There was also a strong comforting movement of the holy spirit that could be seen by all. As on the Day of Pentecost, the evidence of the holy spirit was both seen and heard (Acts 2:33).
On his deathbed, Paul Wei pleaded with the Western missionary Bernt Berntsen saying, “if you are able to believe that Jesus gave me a face down baptism and that He personally appeared and gave me commands then you will indeed enter that holiest place” (True Jesus Church Thirtieth Anniversary Commemorative Volume, Nanking: True Jesus Church, 1948). But Berntsen refused, saying that he would wait until the holy spirit revealed it to him.
As Ezekiel prophesied, the Church of the end days would come from the East.
The Church of the East rejected the image and mark of the beast, and obeyed five doctrines:
① The rest of the Sabbath Day
② Baptism in the name of Jesus, in like manner
③ The washing of feet after baptism
④ Holy Communion, and
⑤ The laying on of hands for gift of the holy spirit
there followed peals of thunder…lightning and an earthquake – “peals of thunder and sounds, and flashes of lightning,” are also found in Rev 4:5; Rev 11:19; and Rev 16:17-18. They described the dramatic encounter with God on Mount Sinai, in Exod 19:16 and Exod 20:18. Here, they describe the outpouring of the spirit of God.
John said that these peals of thunder and sounds, and flashes of lightning were followed by an earthquake. “An earthquake” in the Book of Revelation represents war. The “earth” refers to the people, and a “quake” describes their war. The earthquakes in Rev 6:12, 11:13, and 16:18 are called “great earthquakes.” Rev 6:12, and Rev 16:18 describe the Battle of Armageddon, the battle that ends man’s existence. The great earthquake in Rev 11:13 described the Reformation wars that killed 1/10 of Europe, and one third of Germany.
In 1917, the holy spirit was poured out in China. In the same year, China joined World War I. John did not call this a “great earthquake,” but it was called “the Great War,” because it was compared to the Battle of Armageddon.
The outpouring of the holy spirit in China was accompanied by signs and miracles. By 1923, more than 100 churches were established in the south. And all received the same spirit, the same evidence of the tongue emitting sound, that was first experienced by Paul Wei in 1917.
On Mount Sinai, after the peals of thunder and flashes of lightning, the Israelites heard the sound of a trumpet blast. Here, the peals of thunder and flashes of lightning introduce the sounding of the seven trumpets.