At the last gathering we fellowshipped about the fact that, besides controlling people’s hearts, antichrists also control church finances. What were the main points we fellowshipped about? (We fellowshipped about two main points: The first point was prioritizing their own access to possession and use of church property, while the second point was squandering, embezzling, lending, fraudulently using, and stealing offerings.) We fellowshipped about these two main points. Today we will be fellowshipping about the fourteenth item of the various manifestations of antichrists: They treat the house of God like their own personal domain. Let’s look in this item at what manifestations antichrists have that prove them to have the essence of an antichrist. They treat the house of God like their own personal domain: On the surface, these two terms—“house of God” and “personal domain”—give no indication of what evil antichrists can do. Saying “antichrists treat the house of God like their own home” gives no outward indication of just what this “home” is referring to, whether it is something positive or negative, whether it is being used as a compliment, or pejoratively. But does swapping “home” with “personal domain” suggest that there are certain problems? First of all, what does “personal domain” tell us? (Antichrists want to have the final say.) What else? (They treat God’s house as their own sphere of influence, cultivating cronies and people from their own household, and then gaining control over the church.) This is also a manifestation of antichrists. Anything else? Does the superficial meaning of this phrase indicate that it is the antichrists’ sphere of influence, that this is where antichrists wield power and hold sway, the place where all is controlled, monopolized, and held in check by the antichrists, the place where antichrists call the shots? (Yes.) We can read such meaning into this phrase; because when previously discussing the various manifestations of antichrists, we fellowshipped a lot about dissecting and exposing the essence of antichrists. Chief among these manifestations are antichrists’ attempts to control people and wield power—though of course there are various other manifestations, too.

So now that we have fellowshipped the general meaning of antichrists exercising “personal domain,” let us fellowship what exactly is meant by the “house of God.” Do you have a concept of what the house of God is—can you provide an accurate definition of it? A group of brothers and sisters gathered together—is this the house of God? Is a gathering or assembly of people who follow Christ and God considered the house of God? Is a gathering of church leaders, deacons and various team leaders considered the house of God? (No.) Just what is the house of God? (Only the church where Christ rules is the house of God.) (Only a gathering of people who take God’s words as their principles of practice can be considered the house of God.) Are these two definitions accurate? You can’t explain it. Even after all the sermons you’ve heard, you can’t provide such a simple definition. Evidently, you’re not in the habit of taking these spiritual terms and vocabulary seriously and giving them due consideration. How careless you are! So think it over: What, exactly, is the house of God? If it is defined theoretically, the house of God is a place where the truth reigns, an assemblage of people whose principles of practice are the words of God. In which case, antichrists treating the house of God as their personal domain is a problem; they are treating the gathering of brothers and sisters who follow God as their own personal sphere of influence, as the place where they exercise power and as the object upon whom they exercise power. This is the literal meaning that can be discerned from the antichrists treating the house of God as their personal domain. No matter what angle you explain or look at it from, antichrists treating the house of God as their personal domain shows their nature essence of trying to mislead and control people and hold absolute power. The house of God is the place where God works and speaks, where God saves people, where God’s chosen people experience God’s work, are purified, and attain salvation, where God’s will and intention can be carried out unobstructed, and where God’s management plan can be implemented and accomplished. In sum, the house of God is the place where God holds power, where God’s words and the truth reign; it is not the place where any individual exercises power, conducts their own operation, or achieves their own desires or grand designs. However, what antichrists do goes precisely against what God wants: They don’t pay attention and give no heed to what it is that God wants to do, they care not whether God’s words are brought to fruition among people, nor whether God’s words and the truth principles can be understood, practiced, and experienced among people; they only show consideration for whether they have status, power, and a voice; whether their intentions, ideas, and desires can be realized among people. That is, within their sphere of influence, how many people listen to their words and obey them, and what kind of image, reputation, and authority they have—these are precisely the key things they try to manage, and these are what they care about the most in their hearts. God speaks and works among man, He saves people, leads people, and provides for people, He guides their coming before God, understanding His intentions, entering the truth reality step by step, and gradually attaining submission to God. Everything antichrists do runs precisely counter to this. God leads people in coming before God, yet antichrists vie with God for these people, and try to bring them before themselves. God guides people in entering the truth reality, understanding the intentions of God, and submitting to the dominion of God step by step; antichrists try to control people step by step, grasp their movements, and bring them firmly under their own power. In sum, everything antichrists do is in order to turn followers of God into followers of themselves; after they win over those muddleheaded people who do not pursue the truth under their power, they go a step further and try every means to win over those who are able to follow God and do their duty loyally under their power, making everyone in the church listen to what they say, and making them live, act, behave, and do everything according to the antichrists’ wishes, so that they end up obeying everything the antichrists say, obeying their wishes, and obeying their demands. Which is to say, whatever God wishes to do, whatever effect God wishes to achieve, that is the result antichrists wish to achieve as well. The result they wish to achieve is not to make people come before God and worship God, but come before them, and worship them. All in all, once the antichrists have power, they try and control every person and thing within their sphere of influence, they try to control what sphere they can, they try to make the church, the house of God, and those who follow God the sphere where they exercise their power and are able to reign. That is to say, God leads people before Himself, while antichrists mislead people and also want to lead those people before themselves. The antichrists’ aim in doing all of this is to make God’s followers their followers, to turn the house of God and the church into their own house. Since antichrists possess these motivations and essence, what specific manifestations and behaviors do they have which indicate that these antichrists are antichrists, that they are the enemies of God, that they are demons and Satans which are hostile to God and the truth? Next, we will dissect concretely what kind of specific manifestations and approaches antichrists have which prove that they treat the house of God like their own personal domain.

I. Antichrists Monopolize Power

The first manifestation of how antichrists treat the house of God like their own personal domain is one we have often fellowshipped, and it is an essential manifestation that is unique to antichrists: Antichrists love status more than anything. Why do they love status the most? What does status represent? (Power.) That’s right—this is key. Only with status can they have power, and only with power can they easily get things done; only with power can their various desires, ambitions, and aims hope to be realized and become a reality. So, antichrists are very cunning, they are very clear-sighted in such matters; if they are to make the house of God their personal domain they must first monopolize power. This is a prominent manifestation. Among those antichrists you’ve encountered, heard of, or witnessed with your own eyes, which of them did not try to monopolize power? No matter what means they employ, whether through slipperiness and cunning, through being outwardly poised and genial, or through employing more vicious and particularly ignoble means, or through violence, antichrists only have one aim: To possess status and then wield power. Thus, the first thing I want to fellowship is that before all else, antichrists try to monopolize power. Antichrists’ desire for power goes beyond that of normal people; it surpasses that of ordinary people with a corrupt disposition. Ordinary people with a corrupt disposition only want others to think highly of them, to have a good opinion of them; they love to gain the upper hand when they talk, but they are not so pained if they don’t have power and people’s worship; they can get by whether they have it or not; they do have some fondness and hankering for power, but not to the degree of antichrists. And what degree is that? Without power, they are in a constant state of anxiety, they can find no peace, they suffer from eating and sleeping poorly, every day seems to bring only boredom and restlessness, and in their hearts, it feels as if there is something they are failing to achieve, and also as if there is something they have missed. Ordinary corrupt humans are happy to have power, but not overly upset by the lack thereof; they may feel a little disappointed, but they are also content to be an ordinary person. If antichrists have to be ordinary, they can’t survive, they can’t carry on, it is as if they have lost their life’s direction and purpose, they don’t know how to continue along the road—the life—ahead. Only with status, they feel, is their life filled with light, only with status and power is it made glorious, peaceful, and happy. Is this different from normal people? Once they have status, antichrists become unusually excited. Others see this and think: Why are they different from before? Why are they so radiant and beaming? Why are they so happy? Upon asking, it turns out this is because they have status; they have power; they have influence over discourse; they can boss people around; they can exercise power; they have prestige; and they have adherents. When they have status and power, something changes in the mental outlook of antichrists.

Antichrists’ desire for power indicates that theirs is no ordinary essence; it is not an ordinary corrupt disposition. And so, regardless of who they’re among, antichrists will try and find a way to stand out, to show off, to advertise themselves, to make everyone see their merits and virtues and pay attention to them, and to secure some position for themselves in the church. When church elections are held, antichrists sense that their opportunity has arrived: The chance to advertise themselves, to make their wishes a reality, to satisfy their desires, is here. They do everything they can to get elected as leader, they do everything they can to gain power, believing that gaining power will make it easier for them to get things done. Why will it be easier? When antichrists have no power, it may well be that you cannot discover their ambitions, desires, and essence from their outward appearance, because they hide them, and put on a pretense, so that you can’t see through them. But what is the first thing they do once they gain status and have power? They try to shore up their status, to expand and cement the power in their hands. And what methods do they employ to cement their power and shore up their status? Antichrists have many means; they would not miss such an opportunity, they would not do nothing when they have already seized power. For them, the arrival of such an opportunity is a time of great happiness—as well as when they bring their cunning to bear, and give full play to their abilities. After an antichrist is elected, he first sifts through his direct family and relatives, checking who is closely related to him, who cozies up to him, who is close to him, and who gets along with him and speaks the same language. He also checks who is upright, who won’t take his side, who reports him if he does something that goes against the rules and principles of the house of God—these are the ones whom he’s going to wheedle out. After sifting through them, he thinks: “Most of my relatives have a good relationship with me, we get along, we speak the same language; if they become my subordinates and I can use them, will my influence not grow? And will this not stabilize my status within the church? As the saying goes, ‘Promoting the capable without avoiding relatives.’ Unbelieving officials all have to rely on their close friends and associates to help them—now that I’m an official, I must do the same, it’s a good idea. First, I must promote my relatives. My wife and children go without saying; the first thing I’ll do is arrange some positions for them. What will my wife do? Looking after offerings in the church is a vital and important role—financial power must be in our hands, only then will I be able to spend money freely and easily. This money can’t be put in the hands of an outsider; if it is, then it will be theirs after all, and expenditure will be monitored and controlled, which isn’t convenient. Is the person who currently manages the accounts on my side? They seem okay on the outside, but who knows what they’re thinking on the inside. No, I must come up with a way to replace them and let my wife manage the accounts.” The antichrist talks it over with his wife, who says, “This is great! Now that you’re a church leader, you have the final say on church offerings, don’t you? You decide who’s in charge of them.” The antichrist says: “At the moment, though, there’s no good way of getting rid of the person who currently manages the accounts.” His wife gives it some thought, and says: “Won’t that be easy? Say they’ve been doing the job too long. That’s bad; there could be dead accounts, bad debts, or incidents of graft. Mistakes easily happen when someone has been entrusted with something for a long time; as time goes on, they feel that they have capital, and stop listening to other people. What’s more, the person managing the accounts is quite old, they get muddled easily and often forget things. If there is ever any oversight it will lead to losses. It’s such an important role—they have to be replaced.” And who should say that they have to be replaced? Any talk of replacing this person can’t come from the mouth of him as the church leader; the brothers and sisters must be left to suggest the antichrist’s wife on their own. Once his wife has made her proposal, the church offerings are entrusted to her. But church principle dictates that safekeeping offerings cannot be done by one person alone, but jointly, by two or three people, which helps avoid any one person exploiting a loophole and embezzling the finances of God’s house. So the antichrist recommends his cousin to join in safekeeping it, saying she’s a long-time believer in God, has made many offerings, enjoys a good reputation, and can be trusted. Everyone says, “Both of these are your relatives. Someone from outside your family must also be found.” So the antichrist recommends a muddleheaded elderly sister to help manage and control the finances. First, the antichrist brings the finances under his family’s control, after which his family governs specifically how this money is spent and the specific ins and outs—control over all of this is in his hands.

After monopolizing financial power and controlling property, has the antichrist achieved his goal? Not yet. What matters most is controlling the supervisors of various church work, getting them on his side, and calling the shots. This, the antichrist feels, is what matters most; it relates to whether people in each team lower down do as he says, and whether his power penetrates to the lowest levels. So how does he do this? He introduces sweeping reforms. First, he fellowships, and says that the work of each original team had this and that wrong with it. Certain issues have appeared with the Video Editing Team, for example, and the antichrist says, “These problems were caused by the supervisor. These huge oversights in their work and the huge problems they have caused are proof that the supervisor is not up to the job, and should be replaced; if they are not, this work cannot be done properly. So, who will replace them? Do you have anyone in mind—are there any candidates? Who is best at what they do in the team?” Everyone thinks it over, and someone says, “There’s a brother who is very good, but I don’t know if he’s suitable.” The antichrist responds: “If you don’t know, he can’t be chosen. I’ll recommend one for you. My son—he’s 25 and a computer science graduate, he majored in special effects and video production. He’s a new believer in God, and doesn’t pursue the truth much, but he’d be better than all of you at this work. Are any of you professionals?” And everyone replies, “We’re not what you would call professionals, but we have been doing our duty for a long time and understand the principles of this work of the house of God. Does he?” “It doesn’t matter if he doesn’t understand; he can learn.” This sounds right to everyone and they go along with what he says, all agreeing to promote whomever he likes, and thus is another important role controlled by the antichrist. Next it occurs to the antichrist that the gospel work is important to God’s house—and its supervisor isn’t someone on his side. They must be replaced. How to replace them? By the same means: Finding fault. The antichrist says, “How has it turned out with last time’s potential gospel recipient?” Someone replies, “After believing for a month, they heard some negative propaganda and put their belief in that, so they didn’t believe anymore.” The antichrist asks, “How could they stop believing just like that? Is it because you didn’t fellowship the truth of visions clearly? Or is it because you were lazy, or you were fearful of the adverse environment and afraid of putting yourselves in danger, so you did not fellowship things clearly? Or is it that you didn’t promptly care about them? Or did you fail to help them resolve their difficulties?” They ask a whole heap of questions, one after another. And no matter how others reply, or what explanation they provide, it makes no difference; the antichrist insists that the gospel team’s supervisor has too many issues, their faults are too severe, they are irresponsible, and unqualified for the job, thus forcibly dismissing them. And after they have been dismissed, the antichrist says, “Sister So-and-so has spread the gospel before and has experience, too—I think she’d be good.” Hearing this, people say, “She’s your older sister! She may talk the talk, but her humanity is not good. She has a really bad reputation, she can’t be used,” and the brothers and sisters disagree. The antichrist says, “If you don’t agree then the gospel team will be disbanded. You are not to spread the gospel anymore, you are not capable of doing this duty properly. Either that or choose a suitable team leader, and my sister will be assistant team leader!” The brothers and sisters select someone, and the antichrist reluctantly agrees, on condition that his older sister be allowed as assistant team leader. With consensus thus reached, the gospel team is just able to remain in place.

No matter where it is or what work is involved, antichrists have to embed their cronies, people who are on their side. Once antichrists become leaders and gain status, the first order of business is not inspecting how the members of each team are doing in their life entry, or finding out how their work is getting on, or how the various difficulties they have encountered in their work can be resolved, and whether there are any outstanding issues or challenges; instead, they look at the state of personnel, and who the head of each team is, who is against them in each team and which people will be a threat to their status in the future. They are quite well-informed about such matters, but they never ask about the situation with the church’s work. They never ask about the state of the brothers and sisters, their life entry, or how church life is going, and they want to care even less. But they are well aware of the people in charge of each team: whether they are their cronies, whether they get along with them, and whether they pose a threat to their power or status. They know all these details and have worked them out very clearly. Regarding whoever in the group is relatively upright and speaks truthfully, they believe such a person should be guarded against and not given any status; yet they favor those who are adept at flattery, who know how to suck up, who speak pleasing words that cater to other people, and who can follow cues when doing things. The antichrist feels favorably disposed toward them and plans to promote them and put them in an important position. They even think about taking them with them wherever they go, ensuring they listen to more sermons and cultivating them into their cronies. As for those in the church who pursue the truth, have a sense of justice, and dare to speak truthfully, who consistently exalt God and bear witness to Him, who do not bow to wicked forces, status, or authority—they guard against them, loathe them, discriminate against them, and exclude them in their hearts. However, for those who flatter them, especially their family members, their distant relatives, these who can revolve around them are regarded as their own people and treated as family. All those under the antichrist’s power who are able to revolve around them, follow their cues and take direction when they do things, and carry things out according to their wishes—these people lack conscience or reason, humanity, and the slightest God-fearing heart. They are a bunch of nonbelievers. No matter what bad things they do, the antichrist nurtures, protects, and regards them as their own family, bringing them under their power—in this way the antichrist’s domain is formed.

And who makes up the antichrist’s personal domain? First of all, the antichrist is the head, the leader, the king possessed of absolute authority whose word is beyond question in this domain. People related to them by blood, their immediate family, their cronies, buddies, hardcore fans, others who gladly follow and take orders from them, and still others who happily associate with them and join in their evildoing, and those who, regardless of how the arrangements and administrative decrees of the house of God are regulated, regardless of what the words of God and truth principles say, gladly work themselves to the bone for them, risk themselves for them, and toil for them—these are the members of the antichrist’s domain. Taken together, they are the diehard followers of the antichrist. And what do all these members of the antichrist’s domain do? Do they do their duty and every job according to the regulations and principles of the house of God? Do they do as God requires and treat His words and the truth as the highest of all principles? (No.) When such people exist in the church, can the truth and the words of God proceed without obstruction? Not only can they not, but because of the disturbance, misleading, and sabotage of the antichrist’s gang, God’s words, the truth that He expresses, and the requirements He makes of people cannot be brought to fruition in the church; they cannot be implemented. When the domain of the antichrist exists, God’s chosen ones cannot have a normal church life, nor can they do their duty normally, much less can they do things in accordance with the truth principles; every job in the church is controlled by the antichrist. Where this is to a lighter degree, the disturbance of the antichrist causes chaos, people are in a state of anxiety, work makes no progress, and people don’t know how to do their work well or do their duty properly; everything is thrown into chaos. In serious cases, all work comes to a standstill, and no one shows any concern or care. Even though a few people can tell that there’s a problem, they can’t discern that this trouble is caused by the antichrist; they, too, are disturbed and disoriented by the antichrist, not knowing who is right or wrong; even if there are some who can spot certain issues and want to speak out or take charge of the work, they are unable to undertake the work. The antichrist suppresses whoever tries to expose them, or has a sense of justice and tries to take on the work themselves. And how far do they go in suppressing them? If you dare not make a sound, if you beg for mercy, if you dare not inform about them, if you dare not report them to the upper levels, or bring up issues with their work, or fellowship the truth, or speak the word “God,” then the antichrist forgives you. If you uphold the principles and expose them, they will do everything possible to punish you, they will employ every means to condemn and suppress you, and will even instigate the members of their domain, together with other fence-sitters, and those people who are the gutless, cowardly, and fearful of the forces of the antichrist, to reject and suppress you. Ultimately, some of small faith and stature will be brought to their knees by the antichrist. And this makes the antichrists happy; they have achieved their aim. Once they have power, in order to monopolize this power and secure their status, they not only give all the important jobs in the church to their kin, and to those who have a good relationship with them, but simultaneously recruit others who are of no relation to them to render service and work themselves to the bone for them, the aim being to hold on to their status in the future, to always have power in their hands. In their mind, the more people in their domain, the larger their forces, and so the greater their power. And the greater their power, the more afraid of them are those who could resist them, who could say no, and who would dare to expose them. Such people become ever more scarce, too. The more afraid people are of them, the more capital they have to contend with the house of God and God; they are no longer afraid of God, and are unafraid of being dealt with by the house of God. Judging by the antichrist’s desire for power, what they do with it, and their various behaviors, in essence, the antichrist is an enemy of God; they are Satan and a devil.

And what does the antichrist do after setting up their own domain? Are they terribly anxious about how the church’s gospel work is going? Are they concerned about it, or do they inquire after it? They only make an inspection tour, going through the motions, getting by perfunctorily with a few words and nothing more. What is the aim of their inspection tour? To what end do they embark on these wide-ranging travels to see how the brothers and sisters are doing? Is it because they care about how their life entry is going? No. They are looking to see whether anyone within their scope of influence has an intention of resisting them, whether there is anyone who looks at them askance, or dares to say “no” to them, or dares to not yield and not do as they say; they have to see with their own eyes, they have to personally be acquainted with the situation. That’s one aspect. What’s more, after the antichrist establishes their domain, they make themselves the rightful king—and if you say they’re a tyrant, the town bully, the bandit leader, they don’t care, as long as they have status and power. Within their sphere of influence, inside their domain, all the power is in their hands, they alone call the shots. At the same time, they also enjoy the worship, admiration, and esteem of their clique, as well as their flattery, flummery, and even all those feelings of superiority and special treatments they give them. Do you think when the antichrist monopolizes their power it is just in order to speak from a high position? Is it merely to satisfy such a desire? No. They want something more substantial: all of the treatment that comes with the status and power they enjoy in their domain. Once the antichrist establishes their domain, once they have their diehard followers, their days are passed in greater comfort than the ancient emperors. They don’t have to do anything: With a word, their wish is done; with a word, the things they want are brought to them. For example, the antichrist says, “It’s fine weather today; why do I feel like eating chicken so much?” Before noon, someone has already made chicken stew. During lunch at noon, the antichrist says, “We believers in God can’t drink alcohol, but how about some refreshments?” Hearing their leader’s words, the antichrist’s followers have someone rush off to buy refreshments. Doesn’t he get whatever he wants? He has but to reach out his hand, to open his mouth, and things will be brought to him and all his wishes come true. His days are passed in great comfort. Then the antichrist says, “It’s cold today. Last year’s cardigan had a hole eaten in it by moths, it’s unseemly when I wear it—not a good look. I don’t know where this year’s cardigan is.” When someone offers to buy him several cardigans, he says that they shouldn’t buy them casually, he must conform to the propriety of saints, and the money must be spent according to principle. Soon after saying this, someone buys him several cardigans. After they arrive, the antichrist feels that if he says nothing, this will all seem deliberate, so he says: “Who bought these? Isn’t this a violation of the principles? Wouldn’t this put me in the wrong? Who bought them? I’ll give them the money.” He asks his wife to take some money out of church offerings first, and says that he’ll pay it back later when he has money. In reality, he says this casually; he has absolutely no plans of paying it back. The antichrist truly gets whatever he wishes, enjoying everything ready-made. And in his heart, does he have any sense of recrimination after enjoying these things? Does he feel accused by his conscience? (No.) How could he feel accused? This is precisely what he’s after, it is what he has longed for day and night—how could he refuse it? This advantage can’t be wasted, if he doesn’t take advantage of it then it will expire and be for nothing; once it is taken advantage of, he will still say something nice-sounding, so that the person spending the money does so willingly, and doesn’t dare think anything of it.

In their own domain, antichrists not only receive various special treatments and services provided by their subordinates but also train those in their domain to obey them absolutely. For instance, if an antichrist asks everyone to wake up at 5 a.m., everybody must be up before 5 a.m. Those who wake up late will face pruning—they have to watch the antichrist’s looks; during meals, no one dares to sit at the table until they sit down, and before they begin to use chopsticks nobody else dares to do so. Whatever they decide to do, it must be done; however they decide to do something, others must follow, and disobedience is not tolerated. In their domain, they are the leader, the king, and their word is final—whoever fails to comply will be punished. Their subordinates are trained to unquestioningly follow their orders, not daring to go against them in the slightest, and believing that whatever they command is justified and worth it—it is their duty and obligation. Under the banner of believing in God and doing their duties, the antichrist’s subordinates unquestionably obey them, carrying them in the palms of their hands and treating them as their king and master. If anyone has thoughts or opinions about the antichrist, if they have viewpoints that differ from the antichrist’s, they will spare no effort to refute, belittle, dissect, pass judgment on, condemn, and suppress them, resting only when the person completely submits to them. The antichrist thrives in their domain, where it is wonderfully comfortable. The money that the brothers and sisters offer all goes to the antichrist, and anything the antichrist lacks must be provided by them. The brothers and sisters must promptly fulfill the antichrist’s needs to keep them satisfied and make them happy. The antichrist has trained these people into virtual slaves. Their most frequent preaching revolves around how they suffered and were loyal, emphasizing how people should understand and obey them in order to please God and be in accordance with the truth principles. The antichrist preaches lofty sermons, chants slogans, and presents doctrines that completely align with human notions and imaginings, earning the worship and admiration of others. Simultaneously, they effectively prevent any suspicion, doubt, or discernment from arising against them, and also prevent people from having the thoughts of exposing or discerning them or having their own thoughts of betrayal. This ensures that their power will go on forever, that it will be consolidated in the church without any variables. Isn’t the antichrist thinking quite far ahead? So then, what is the purpose behind all of these actions? One word—power. Whether it’s those within their domain or those outside, whether it’s their diehard followers or the brothers and sisters who discern them, what does the antichrist fear and worry about the most? It’s that these individuals may understand the truth, come before God, discern them, and reject them. This is what they fear the most. Once everyone rejects them, they become a commander without an army, losing their status and prestige, and having their power stripped away. Therefore, they believe that only by securing their domain, locking down their diehard followers, harshly misleading and controlling those who follow them, keeping them firmly in their grasp, can they consolidate their power. This way, they firmly hold onto the special treatment that their power brings them. Some antichrists are particularly astute in their self-conduct and dealings, adept at winning people over. Within the domain they manage, there are those who run errands for them, those who supply their material needs, and those who gather information or smooth things over for them—a variety of different individuals. Within the antichrist’s sphere of influence, if there is no one with good caliber, no one pursuing the truth, and no one upholding the truth principles, the antichrist can maintain long-term control over the church, and the people within this church will be thoroughly corroded and misled to an irreparable degree. Even if someone is sent by the Above to investigate the work, it would be in vain. The church has become impervious and impenetrable under the control of the antichrist—their sturdy fortress. Regardless of who exposes and dissects the antichrist, or who fellowships the truth principles, those who have been misled won’t listen to them. Instead, they will stand on the side of the antichrist, opposing the truth and condemning the exposure and dissection of the antichrist.

The antichrist, their diehard followers, and the members of their domain are always discussing and examining the matters of God’s house: Who has been transferred where? Who has been replaced? The Above has issued another fellowship and sermon about exposing such and such—should we release it? And how will we release it? Who will it be released to first, and who after that? Do we need to intervene and make some redactions or edits? Who has recently been in contact with outsiders? Has anyone been sent down by the Above? Have any of those people had contact with our people lower down? They frequently discuss such things together; they often collude and conspire, discussing countermeasures, schemes, and means to respond to all of the Above’s work arrangements; so, too, do they frequently discuss and examine the circumstances of brothers and sisters below them. The antichrist and the members of their domain spend all day conspiring together, thick as thieves. When they are together, they don’t fellowship the truth, or the will of God, much less the work of the church, or how to do one’s duty, advance the work of the church, or guide the brothers’ and sisters’ entry to the reality of God’s words, or how to respond to external situations. They never fellowship about these proper things, but examine who is getting closer to whom, who these people talk about when they’re together, whether they have been talking about the leaders behind their back; and they pay attention to whose family is rich, and whether they have made any offerings. These are the things they go on about in private, they are always passing judgment on the brothers and sisters, and on the work arrangements of the Above—they are always doing everything they can to finesse the brothers and sisters and the Above. What they do in private is disgraceful: If it is not harmful to the church, it is harmful to the brothers and sisters; they are always plotting or making a fuss about the brothers and sisters who are of good caliber and pursue the truth, they are always trying to bring good people down or blacken their name. Whenever antichrists do anything, they always discuss it with people in their camp—there are plots and schemes involved here. Nothing said by the antichrist’s gang holds up to analysis; if a careful analysis is made, problems are found in all of it. With people outside the domain, they hold back and are guarded; within the antichrist’s domain, nothing is off limits: They pass judgment on the brothers and sisters, on the work of God’s house, on upper leaders—even on God. Everything is fair game. But when someone from outside the domain is present, they conceal their words, clam up, hold back, and even speak in a secret language that outsiders cannot understand. They have a look that has a certain meaning, a devious smile that means something, even a snort and a cough that means something—these are all their secret codes. Sometimes they scratch their head, sometimes they tug their ears, sometimes they stamp their feet, sometimes they rub their hands together; they all mean something. These are the common manifestations of the antichrist’s gang, the various behaviors they manifest once they have monopolized power in the church. Judging by their various behaviors and manifestations, and dissecting them from the perspective of their humanity, what are these people? Aren’t they the acolytes of deceitfulness and wickedness? (Yes.) And do these people have any sense of justice? Do they have any conscience or morality? Are they honest? No. These people have no shame. They consume the donations of the brothers and sisters, and think it their due; at the same time, they take liberties and run wild in the house of God, bringing harm to the brothers and sisters—and they don’t just live off the church temporarily, but do so every day, for generation after generation. Are these not devils who eat man’s flesh and drink man’s blood? They have no shame! Together, the antichrist and their gang are always discussing “national affairs.” But are their discussions behind closed doors disgraceful? (Yes.) What do they talk about? Do they fellowship the work of the church? Do they feel burdened by the work of the church? In some places, the church is under supervision and the brothers and sisters are being stalked and monitored by the great red dragon, the government, and even most of the brothers and sisters are put under government control and face the dangers of arrest and imprisonment. Do they care? Do they try to come up with a way to protect the brothers and sisters, to help them avoid persecution and suffering in prison? In private, do they discuss how to safeguard the church’s books, belongings, and so on, to protect the church from suffering loss? If a Judas appears in the church, do they react promptly, quickly arranging a safe place for the affected brothers and sisters in order to protect them? Would they do such things? (No.) When people have power, they can do good things and they can also do bad things. So, what does the antichrist do when they have power? (Bad things.) What bad things do they do? (They find ways to punish anyone who doesn’t listen to them. When God’s house sends some leaders and workers to ask about the work, they will find a way to avoid them, or a way to get leverage and pass judgment on them, condemn them, and find reasons to make them hurry off, to stop them asking about the work and finding issues with them.) Some antichrists do the exact opposite: Fearing that the brothers and sisters will report their issues, they keep a watch on the leaders sent from the Above, treating them to good food and drink, and stopping them coming into contact with the brothers and sisters lower down. When the leaders ask after the brothers and sisters, they reply, “They’re all good. At the moment our gospel work is progressing smoothly. We’ve resolved all those issues that arose from the adverse environment, and expelled the Judases who tried to sell us out; we’ve handled those who tried to disturb the work of the church, and cleared them all out, and the books of God’s words have been distributed as normal. There aren’t any problems at all.” Saying this, they also report a few things about other people. When the Above sends someone to investigate them, if they think someone has reported them—they will intentionally report that person’s issues to misdirect the upper leaders and make them think that the person the antichrist reported has issues, to stop the leaders from being able to tell what’s actually going on with the church’s work, and from discovering the antichrist’s issues, so that ultimately, they are not replaced, and are no longer in danger. The antichrist’s aim in protecting their domain is to consolidate their power and make it effective, and so they cultivate many adherents, minions, diehard followers, and cronies. Their aim in cultivating such people is to thoroughly monopolize power, to stop it from being weakened or stripped from them.

Antichrists treat the house of God like their own personal domain, and the first thing they do after assuming leadership is to monopolize power. Have you thought of any instances regarding antichrists monopolizing power? (Previously, there was a church leader who was an antichrist. Whenever someone pointed out his issues or exposed him, he would suppress that person and confiscate their books of God’s words. I went to some gathering groups at his churches to find out more about the situation. That antichrist, fearing that his evil deeds may come to light, tried to drive me away and seized the opportunity to accuse me of secretly attending gatherings without his permission. Later, the upper leaders sent someone to investigate, and the antichrist slandered me, spoke ill of me, and even placed me under house arrest, instructing brothers and sisters not to associate with me. At that time, this antichrist, in collaboration with a leader and a worker, controlled eight churches. Finally, after several months of fellowship and discernment, the brothers and sisters finally banished this group of antichrists.) This is how antichrists operate. Whatever they do in the church, it is aimed at laying their grasp on power and controlling people. They are especially sensitive to anyone who poses a threat to their status and power. Their nose for such matters is extremely keen, and they immediately realize that these matters are unfavorable to them and threaten their position. Isn’t this wicked? Why are antichrists so sensitive to such matters? Why don’t others perceive it? This is related to their nature; only antichrists can be aware of these things. This confirms one point: Antichrists have this kind of essence. Their desire for power is extraordinary, and they possess a unique craving. When someone comes to the church where they are in charge, they will study them, thinking, “Does this person pose a threat to my status and prestige? Are they here to promote me or to dismiss me? Are they here to investigate my issues or to fellowship normally about the work?” They first try to find out these things. They are especially sensitive to such matters because they have a special affection and desire for status and power; they live for power and status. They think that if they lose power, have fewer adherents, and become a commander without an army, life will have lost its meaning. Therefore, concerning the status and power they have obtained, whether they are in charge of three churches, five churches, or ten churches, antichrists believe the more, the better. They absolutely won’t yield their power up to other people. They think it is rightfully theirs, something they fought for, something they obtained through revolution and strategy. If others want to get it, they must be prepared to give their lives in exchange for it. It’s like the great red dragon—if someone suggested democratic change to end its dictatorship, urging the Communist Party to conduct fair elections, what would the great red dragon say? “Democracy? You’d have to exchange it for the heads of twenty million people! The Communist Party obtained its power through the blood of countless individuals. If you want to seize power, you’ll have to exchange it with the blood and lives of that many people!” Antichrists are the same. If you want them to relinquish power, it’s not enough to fellowship the truth for them to concede; they will contend and fight with you. No matter how despicable their methods or means, they must safeguard their power. Unless God’s chosen people all wake up and unite to expose and remove them, they won’t do it. Aren’t antichrists just too wicked? This fully confirms and exemplifies the wicked and vicious disposition of antichrists. Regardless of whether the controlled subjects are willing or not, whether they genuinely yield or not, whether they are willing to obey and follow, antichrists don’t care about this. They forcefully use their power to suppress and control people. No one may disobey: Anyone who does not yield will be sanctioned. These are antichrists.

Just now, we fellowshipped about certain specific practices and manifestations of how antichrists monopolize power. From these practices and manifestations, can’t we see that antichrists possess a vicious and wicked disposition and essence? Can anyone change them? Whether by reasoning with them, appealing to their emotions, presenting God’s words and the truth, pruning them, or seeking to change them through genuine feelings—can any of these methods make them abandon the practice of monopolizing power? (No.) Some people say, “Antichrists are just people with corrupt dispositions. People have human emotions. If you appeal to them emotionally, explain things logically, and clarify the pros and cons, then when they understand the principles, they might not act in such a way. They might admit their mistakes, repent, and stop walking the path of antichrists. They might not establish their own domain within the house of God, draw in their own diehard followers to monopolize power in the house of God, and engage in these actions that are not in line with humanity and morals.” Can antichrists be influenced this way? (No.) Has anyone ever changed an antichrist? Some say, “Maybe they weren’t properly educated by their mother from a young age, they were spoiled. Now, if their mother talks to them or if the person with the highest prestige in their family, or the one who has been a believer for the longest time, reasons with them, they might stop doing the things that antichrists do.” Does this hold true? (No.) Why not? (Reasoning with them doesn’t work; the more you talk, the more they resent it. If you keep exposing and pruning them, they will hate you.) Right. Haven’t they heard God’s words and the truth quite a bit? Some antichrists have believed for ten or twenty years without any change and have read God’s words quite a lot. Why hasn’t there been any change? It’s because their hearts are filled with evil—even God doesn’t save them, can humans change them with what little knowledge and doctrine they have? In human society, countries have education, and there are laws in society, all of which encourages people to learn to be good and avoid committing crimes. But why can’t it change people? Have the national education and systems had any positive impact on society? Do those things promoted by the nation have any educational significance or value for humanity? Have they been effective? (No.) Even the legal departments of each country, such as juvenile correctional facilities and prisons, which are the highest and strictest places for disciplining people, have these changed the essence of people? Take certain rapists, thieves, and thugs—they go in and out of prison so many times that they become habitual offenders—do they eventually change? No, no one can change them. The essence of a person cannot be changed. Similarly, the essence of antichrists cannot be changed either. The practice of monopolizing power represents the essence of antichrists, and this essence cannot be changed. What is God’s attitude toward this unchangeable type of person? Is it one of doing His utmost to change and save them, and then achieve a transformation in their nature? Does God do this work? (No.) Now that you understand that God doesn’t do this kind of work, how should you deal with antichrists? (Reject them.) First, discern and dissect; once you see through them, reject them. Don’t reject someone just based on your notions and imaginings, thinking that they are arrogant and self-righteous and like an antichrist. This won’t do; you can’t be blind. Through contact, investigation and discernment, gradually establish and confirm that someone is an antichrist. First, fellowship and dissect them to everyone, discern them, and then unite with those in the church who pursue the truth and have a sense of justice to reject them. First discern and dissect them, and then reject them—this is the best approach to deal with antichrists. For some antichrists who are good at hypocrisy and are quite cunning, if you, through contact with them, have investigated and discerned them, confirming that they are antichrists, but the brothers and sisters don’t know them well, they still lack real discernment, and when you fellowship and dissect them with the brothers and sisters, they not only don’t believe or acknowledge that they are an antichrist but even say, “You are prejudiced against them; this is your personal opinion”—what should you do? If you say, “Anyway, I have discerned them, I won’t be misled or constrained by them, I won’t listen to what they say, and I certainly won’t obey them. Whether you discern them or not isn’t my concern. I’ve told you about their manifestations and the things that they do, and whether you believe it or not, whether you listen or not, my responsibility is fulfilled either way. If you are misled and controlled by them, if you listen to what they say and follow them, then you deserve the consequences and are unlucky by rights!”—is this approach acceptable? Does this count as fulfilling your responsibility? Does it count as being loyal to God? (No.) Then what should you do? Such things are unavoidable; such matters will definitely arise. Some people, no matter how many sermons they hear, cannot understand the truth, and they are unable to compare the manifestations of antichrists or discern them. When it’s clear as day that someone is an antichrist, they just can’t see through them and are still misled. Unless antichrists harm them personally, suppress them themselves, scold them, prune them, or act out right in front of them, they won’t acknowledge that they are an antichrist. Even if others speak the facts or present evidence, they won’t believe it. They have to see with their own eyes what antichrists do and personally experience the abuse of antichrists before they can admit it. What should be done about this situation? (Let them follow antichrists and experience abuse; only after being abused will they wake up.) Isn’t this a bit harsh? (It’s not being harsh on them. Such people cannot understand the truth through fellowship, and they can only gain awareness and wake up by experiencing abuse personally. Therefore, this is the only way to deal with such people.) This is a principle. Some people don’t understand when you talk to them in a positive way; they lack the capacity to understand it. For instance, if you tell them, “That area is dangerous; if you walk alone at night, you might meet with muggers. This has happened to several people. Don’t go walking at night; come back early!” They don’t believe it and insist on walking alone at night without a companion. In that case, you let them walk alone but secretly protect them, ensuring they don’t actually get into trouble. This is fulfilling your responsibility. When real trouble arises, you can protect them, prevent any trouble from coming to them, and help them learn a lesson and commit it to memory. Eventually, they will believe that what you said was right. Therefore, for those who are misled by antichrists and cannot discern them no matter how the truth is fellowshipped, they have to suffer severe harm, learn a lesson, and commit it to memory in order to develop discernment. Those who are muddleheaded and ignore advice cannot see through the wickedness and viciousness of antichrists, and even treat antichrists as brothers and sisters, interacting with them as such, even helping them with love and treating them sincerely, speaking with them from the heart. As a result, they fall victim to the antichrists. Some people have to be harmed not once, but several times, before they develop discernment. When you fellowship with them and support them, they believe you. It’s an effective method, and some people have to suffer in such things. Previously, there was a certain muddleheaded person who lacked discernment and didn’t take it well when the house of God replaced an antichrist. The evil deeds of the antichrist were obvious and they were even classified as such. Everyone acknowledged it but him, and no one could fellowship with him. Eventually, he followed the antichrist out. After a period, having suffered severe harm, he returned in tears, acknowledging that the antichrist was really terrible. In fact, the antichrist had always been that bad, but because he had a good feeling about the antichrist and wanted to curry favor, he tolerated and accommodated everything the antichrist did. When the antichrist lost status, he interacted with the antichrist on equal footing, and started to have opinions about some of the things the antichrist did. His perspective changed, and he started to see the issues. In the end, even if asked to follow the antichrist again, he refused outright—he was willing to die rather than follow the antichrist, because he had suffered great harm and seen through the antichrist. In fact, what he saw through had already been communicated to him earlier, but he refused to concede or acknowledge it. It couldn’t be helped. For such people, they have to take a winding road and endure more hardship—their suffering is deserved. Why do I say it’s deserved? I mean that when you have blessings but refuse to enjoy them, and you insist on suffering—it can’t be helped—you have to endure hardship and suffer first. This is deserved suffering.

When monopolizing power, antichrists primarily entrust important tasks to those who unquestioningly obey them. They then train those individuals who are still wavering, who have malleable minds, bringing them over to their side. Once these individuals are adequately trained and become members of the antichrist’s domain, the antichrist can rest assured. As for the rest of those who can’t be used by them, the antichrist completely abandons them, excluding them from their domain. All those who unquestioningly obey them are considered their diehard followers, faithful members of their domain. They regard these individuals as their followers, adherents, and confidants. Their power holds sway within this group; that is, it is effectively exercised through them. Therefore, it can be said that when antichrists monopolize power, transforming the house of God into their own domain, they invest considerable effort. They undertake various actions and pay a significant price for this, but the result of this price is enmity with God, with the truth, and with all the brothers and sisters who pursue the truth. What is the value and significance of this power? It lies in the fact that antichrists gain capital to contend against God and His house, establish their own strongholds, form independent kingdoms, and wield great power independently.

II. Antichrists Manipulate Circumstances

Earlier, we fellowshipped about the first manifestation of antichrists treating the house of God like their own personal domain: monopolizing power. With regard to monopolizing power, we primarily fellowshipped the specific content of how antichrists obtain power, how they stabilize their status after obtaining it and further consolidate that power, and ultimately, how they wield that power. Besides monopolizing power, the second concrete practice of antichrists treating the house of God like their own personal domain is manipulating circumstances. The literal sense of manipulating circumstances should be easy to understand, so what do the “circumstances” refer to? After an antichrist has monopolized power, established his own domain, and amassed his own diehard followers, cronies, and sphere of influence, can he allow others to meddle in his work? Can he permit others to get involved or meddle in the affairs and sphere of influence he oversees? (He does not permit this.) To an antichrist, power is his life. Within his sphere of influence, everything must be dictated by him. Regardless of what happens within his sphere of influence, the people and matters involved, as well as the final outcome of the matters, must all be engineered and controlled by him. It must align with his wishes and meet his needs, without causing him any losses. For instance, if he doesn’t interfere, meddle in, or manipulate a certain matter, but lets it develop normally on its own, then he might be given a bad reputation or be reported by someone and face dismissal, in which case his status might be jeopardized and the power he possesses could then disappear. Therefore, for all kinds of matters, large and small, that happen within the church, the antichrist must handle them on his own. These matters involve his reputation and status, as well as his power. As for matters unrelated to his power, he may choose to not look into them or to turn a blind eye. Especially regarding the work of God’s house, the life entry of the brothers and sisters, the church life, and such various matters, as long as these do not touch his status and power and as long as they don’t involve his interactions with the Above, he doesn’t bother about, look into, or concern himself with them. For example, the monthly number of people gained by the gospel team is crucial to him because it impacts his status. If the reported number each month can ensure his status, he will go to great lengths to achieve that figure in order to safeguard his status while other matters remain irrelevant to him. For example, let’s say that the area he oversees should gain one hundred people in a month under normal circumstances. However, if due to the environment not allowing it, special situations happening that month, or some people still being in their investigation period, the number of people gained falls short of one hundred, then the antichrist puts effort into this matter and grows anxious. What is he anxious about? Does he feel burdened and anxious because he sees that the expansion of God’s gospel is not going smoothly? Is it that those spreading the gospel lack a sense of burden and are perfunctory, and he is worried about how to water them and resolve it? Or is it a concern about not having enough manpower to spread the gospel, and how he should adjust and increase it? No, he is not anxious about these things. He is anxious about how to raise that number to one hundred without the Above discovering his underhanded methods. If the actual number is only eighty instead of a hundred and he truthfully reports it, the Above might send somebody to investigate and learn more about the situation, so how can he report the number so that the Above won’t react? He reports ninety-eight people. Somebody says, “You can’t falsify like this; this is cheating, it’s unacceptable.” He responds, “It’s fine. I call the shots; if anything happens, I’ll take responsibility for it.” Why did he report this particular number? Is there some deeper meaning behind it? Did he consider it carefully? He did. Reporting one hundred people when the actual number is only eighty is too large a discrepancy, making it hard to patch up the lie later. However, if he reports ninety-eight, although the Above will see that it’s below one hundred, it seems like a legitimate number and won’t prompt inspection from the Above, which ensures the security of his status. Sometimes, if he gains one hundred people, he dares to report two hundred, and if the Above sends someone to investigate, he has ways of handling it. He claims the extra one hundred are currently investigating and will be gained next month. If the Above sends no one to inspect this, he then finds a way to show off his contributions. Sometimes, if he hasn’t gained a single person in a month, he even falsely reports gaining thirty or fifty people, then figures out a way to make up for it the next month. In short, when it comes to reporting the numbers of people gained through spreading the gospel, the antichrist can falsify them, lie about them, cheat, and use underhanded methods. How a figure is reported, and what figure to report, are directly instructed by the antichrist. Isn’t this manipulating circumstances?

The antichrist utilizes his status and power to consistently interfere with and disturb God’s chosen people’s performance of their duties. He suppresses and excludes anyone who operates based on principles and is effective in doing their duty. What is his purpose in acting this way? It is to manipulate circumstances; he asserts total control, subduing those below him and hoodwinking the Above. What is his aim in manipulating circumstances? It is to prevent the truth from being revealed, to keep people from knowing the truth, to cheat the Above, to conceal the actual situation of his work below, and to conceal whether or not he did any actual work and how he did his work. His aim in manipulating circumstances is to cover up the facts, shield the truth, and conceal his evil intentions, and also to hide his evil deeds, his wildly defiant actions, and the truth about how he does not and cannot do any actual work, among other things. For example, when the house of God needs a certain amount of money and inquires about how many offerings his church keeps, the antichrist first asks how much God’s house needs. If you say you need a few thousand, he claims to have only a few hundred; if you say you need tens of thousands, he says he has only a few thousand. In reality, he is holding tens of thousands of yuan in church offerings and is unwilling to let go of it. Is he not harboring evil intentions? What does he want to do? He wants to seize these offerings for his own use. Does this count as manipulating circumstances? (Yes.) The antichrist manipulates circumstances to the extent of not even letting go of offerings. If you ask whether his church has anyone skilled in writing, music, or video production, he might say, “We have someone skilled in writing who is seventy-eight years old, a former journalist with a severe stomach condition.” In reality, this person is only in their thirties, in the prime of their life, and not suffering from any serious stomach ailment. Why doesn’t the antichrist loosen his grip? Why does he provide false information? He wishes to manipulate circumstances. He believes that letting go of such talent would affect his rule; he also wants to retain these talented individuals. Do these talented people really belong to him? (No.) Then why doesn’t he let go of them? Why doesn’t he provide these skilled people when the work of God’s house needs them and even go so far as to falsify information? He wants to mislead people in order to secure his status—he is indeed manipulating circumstances. He doesn’t ask if the parties involved are willing to do these duties, nor does he truthfully present these people’s circumstances to the house of God. Instead, he keeps them for his own use, or if he doesn’t use them, he still withholds them from the house of God. For instance, if the house of God needs a video producer from the church, the antichrist sees this and thinks, “Providing someone skilled in producing videos—could I let such a good opportunity pass me by? Every miller draws water to his own mill: My daughter, son, and a few relatives understand a few things about video production, so I’ll provide them regardless of whether or not they meet the demands of God’s house.” When faced with a good opportunity such as providing people, he gives precedence to his relatives and friends, leaving nothing for outsiders. Isn’t this manipulating circumstances?

Based on the examples mentioned above, what exactly does the antichrist manipulating circumstances refer to? Does it not mean that the antichrist asserts complete dominance, controlling and manipulating everyone and everything? Everything is in his hands, and he has the final say in everything; he is the one controlling the board, directing and manipulating from behind the scenes. This is manipulating circumstances. When the Above sends somebody to his church to understand the situation, and this person wishes to talk to a few people and see how the brothers and sisters are getting on in their life entry and the performance of their duties, and to check if materials such as the books of God’s words and sermon recordings have been distributed to every one of God’s chosen people, the antichrist says, “No problem, I’ll take you to two of the brothers’ and sisters’ homes.” Who are these two people? Are they not both people in the antichrist’s domain? (Yes, they are.) These two people are his younger sister and his wife’s younger brother. After taking the person sent from the Above to these two homes, these two people say, “Our church life is great, and we have all kinds of sermons and fellowships and testimony videos. Our church leader has been away for quite a few days for the church’s work and hasn’t returned home.” No matter who goes to his church, they can’t even grasp the slightest bit of the real situation. The antichrist covers up everything about the true situation in the church, the problems that have arisen, the evil people causing disruptions and disturbances, who is doing their duties in a perfunctory manner, which tasks have experienced slip-ups, and so on. What you see when you go there are merely scenes that look pleasing—it’s all a false appearance. There is only one thing of note: If the person sent from the Above inquires about whether there is an appropriate place to store church offerings and whether some of the offerings need to be taken away, the antichrist hastens to state that the church offerings don’t amount to much. With regard to all other work, he speaks positively, except for the situation involving offerings—he shuts down the conversation before the person can speak. The antichrist controls church personnel who are suitable for doing all sorts of duties, while offering some of the people whom they are fond of or those who do not meet the conditions to do a duty in God’s house, especially certain people with bad humanity and in whom an evil spirit is working, or others who fundamentally lack spiritual understanding, whose humanity is abominable, who do their duties in a perfunctory manner, who lack a foundation in their faith in God, and who are just like unbelievers. Apart from doing their duty in a perfunctory manner, these people also cause disturbances and disruptions and engage in unruly behavior, and some cannot endure hardship and want to leave God’s house. Some even spread rumors and propagate notions, and others do not do their duties properly, spending their days watching television dramas or a bunch of other nonsensical videos. And what happens in the end? Some of these people are sent away. Among those who are sent away, more than ninety-five percent have bad humanity. How bad is their humanity? Extremely bad—they lack humanity, and some do not believe in God at all. Where did these people come from? Weren’t they all provided by the church? Since they were provided by the church, there must be a problem with the people who provided them. It can’t be ruled out that some of these people could be antichrists, and that the individuals provided could be antichrists’ relatives, cronies, or diehard followers. Isn’t this the case? Can someone who truly has humanity and has a bit of conscience treat the important matter of providing talented individuals with care? Can they be a little bit responsible? Can they eliminate some of their selfish motives? Someone with humanity and a conscience can absolutely achieve this, and there’s only one type of person who cannot, which is antichrists. They want to hoard all good things for themselves, and they categorically reject and refuse to cooperate with anything that is not advantageous to them—such are antichrists.

There’s an even more disgusting aspect of antichrists’ manipulating circumstances aside from them always wanting to assert total control and dictate matters in the church. Can antichrists colluding together with their diehard followers submit to the arrangements of God’s house, do their duties properly, uphold the work of God’s house, and fulfill their responsibilities and obligations? (No, they cannot.) That’s why I said they’re colluding together. Once it is said that they collude, it becomes evident that everything they say and do together involves under-the-table dealings. On the surface, these people appear to be friendly, to have respect for seniority and be orderly, and to be extremely loving, courteous, and respectful toward one another, as well as polite and in possession of good character. In reality, it is all superficial, duplicitous, and hypocritical. Why can they be so courteous and show the utmost respect and politeness to each other? There’s a reason for this. Their purpose in colluding together is not to learn from each other to offset their own weaknesses or support one another in entering the truth reality in order to follow God’s will and do the work of the church well. Instead, it’s for the sake of mutual exploitation, dependence, and aid. They collude because more people means more power, and more power makes it easier to deal with things, and facilitates the handling of private matters. So, when they are together, they appear very amicable, as though they were a close-knit family. They address older individuals politely, call those of similar age “sister” or “brother,” saying these words with affection and full of social convention. If someone is unaware of the facts of the situation, they might even praise them for their love, mutual aid, and reliance on each other; they seem willing to lend a helping hand in times of difficulty, and they are quite happy and satisfied, saying, “We are all family; we believe in the same God.” As they speak, they share their love through meaningful glances, further confirming that they are indeed a family and a tight-knit group. So, what exactly do they do when they collude together? For instance, one of the elder sisters is the general manager at a company and has extensive social relations and connections. She has done many things for people in the antichrist’s domain, and most people have received favors from her, so they refer to her as their “big sister.” Whenever someone has something going on at home, like a son going to university or a daughter seeking employment, they are sure to consult her and seek her help in resolving matters. If someone is hospitalized, and there’s a person in the church who works at a hospital and can help them get imported medicines, the antichrist quickly considers this person as a close confidant and a part of the family. They collude together to handle such tasks, mutually benefit one another, and create win-win situations. Therefore, when they are together, they appear on remarkably good terms and harmonious with each other, happy as can be and never quarreling. However, behind this harmony, each person secretly harbors ulterior motives, thinking about how to exploit the other party and use others, as well as how they can assist others while creating mutual benefits and answering the favors of other people. After the antichrist establishes their domain and has their diehard followers, they have their team and their “family” to help them with all the small matters in daily life. For instance, in terms of finding a job, going to college, getting a promotion, dealing with a serious illness, relocating, or even finding someone to pay money as a mediator in order to get released from jail after they are arrested—there is someone to handle all these affairs. From the antichrist’s perspective, aren’t these “family members” useful? Can’t they be relied on? Can’t they depend on and help each other? (Yes.) Therefore, within such a domain, what one sees is not people interacting together with God’s words as their principles, or people acting according to their conscience, living according to God’s words, worshiping God, interacting normally with each other, fellowshipping heart-to-heart, opening their heart and laying themselves bare, fellowshipping about and knowing their own corrupt disposition, or learning from each other to make up for their shortcomings—there is nothing of the sort. This band, this domain, is the domain of the antichrist’s gang, where the truth holds no power, where the Holy Spirit is not at work, and where God’s words do not exist in people’s hearts. Instead, the antichrist’s gang live contentedly, comfortably, and with relish here, treating it as their own home. In reality, this is neither God’s house nor the church; it is society, the antichrist’s gang.

Antichrists turn the church into their own domain, transforming it into a social group and their gang. They engage in destructive and hateful deeds, and they speak or act entirely with the tactics and methods of unbelievers. Each one is glib-tongued, frivolous in their speech, full of ruffianism, insidious and wicked, and refuses to accept the truth. Outwardly, they disguise themselves as refined, civilized, polite, disciplined, and even well-mannered, with caliber and character. However, each of them is in fact an insidious, cunning, base, and wicked character. They collude with each other, establishing connections, competing influences, paying attention to extravagance, and emphasizing communal and personnel relationships in society. They pay attention to who has greater influence, higher status, and more prestige in society, as well as who is best at strategies. From their speech and behavior, you cannot discern any genuine belief; even less can you see the smallest place for God’s words and the truth in their hearts. Their belief is nothing more than a game and a fraud. These wicked characters have turned the church into a social group, a domain for wicked characters to collude together, all the while expressing their high-sounding words nonstop, saying: “We believe in God, do our duties in God’s house, follow God like this, contribute to the welfare of our brothers and sisters in that way, help and support them like this, and love one another in such and such a way.” Through wicked means that mislead and ensnare people, along with various base methods, they harm the brothers and sisters, yet believe they are doing their duty, assisting the brothers and sisters, glorifying God, and bearing witness to Him. Little do they realize that behind these actions and behaviors lies the essence of antichrists manipulating the circumstances. Antichrists ensnare those who follow God under their power, turning the church into their own domain, into a social group, into an organization of people under Satan’s power. Can such an organization still be considered a church? Clearly not. Isn’t the behavior of antichrists utterly nauseating? Have you ever seen an antichrist’s gang like this? What do you feel when you are among them? On the outside, they seem to be polite and amiable—but when you fellowship the truth and the will of God with them, the attitude they display is one of particular revulsion and lack of interest, in contrast to their outward politeness and amiability. When you fellowship the truth with them, they feel you to be an outsider, and when you fellowship the work of the church, they feel so all the more; when you go on to fellowship about the truth principles that should be practiced in doing a duty, they feel frustrated and uninterested, and that is when they reveal their demonic likeness, they scratch their heads, they yawn, and their eyes water. Is this not abnormal? Why does their demonic likeness emerge as soon as you fellowship the truth? Does not each of them have much love in their hearts? How could they lose interest when you start to fellowship about the truth? Are they not thereby revealed? Do they not have great enthusiasm and loyalty toward carrying out external tasks? And if they are loyal, are they not possessed of reality? If they have reality, then they should be happy when they hear people fellowshipping the truth, they should yearn for it. Why is their state always abnormal, with even possession by evil spirits occurring? It shows that their usual harmonious interactions, and their politeness and amiability, are entirely false. It is God’s words of judgment and the truths He expresses that expose them utterly. Then their anger wells up, and their condition is quite unlike it usually is, and they begin to do evil and cause disturbances. Then, God gives them over to Satan and no longer concerns Himself with them. In their myriad devilries, they have shown their true colors.

Antichrists manipulating circumstances is indeed a reality. In milder cases, one person manipulates a certain number of people; in severe cases, one gang manipulates a certain amount of people and every matter besides. The number of things and circumstances that one person can manipulate is limited; so, in order to expand their forces and secure their status, antichrists must train a team of people. They need to draw in and control a group of people to assist them, secure their status and power, and help them manipulate circumstances. Once antichrists establish their gang, their sphere of influence grows larger, allowing them to manipulate more things, and their involvement broadens. Consequently, the number of victims increases. What should you do if you encounter an antichrist’s gang capable of manipulating the circumstances? Have you ever seen such a gang? The main members of this group usually consist of four or five individuals, or more than ten. Each is responsible for various tasks. For example, there are those who specialize in personnel adjustments, who handle finances, who deal with the Above, and who promptly cover things up for the antichrist no matter what happens; as well as those who give advice from behind the scenes, who plot bad things to harm people; who specialize in spreading rumors, who sow discord, who help evildoers do evil, who gather information, and even those who procure benefits and give them medical treatment. In short, there is someone in this cohort to play every kind of role. Antichrists disregard individuals who don’t have influence, are guileless and simple, and lack the ability to handle matters in society. Instead, they specifically target believers with status, reputation, influence, and experience as an official or in doing big business in society—people who have seen the world, are capable of getting things done, and acquire good things for them. For instance, if a car costs 400,000 yuan, a capable person who can play the market could obtain a second-hand car for the antichrist at half the price, equivalent to a new car. Will the antichrist bring such an individual in if they get close to them? (Yes.) Antichrists bring in people like this. What is their objective? They aim to transform God’s house, the place of God’s work, into a social group, obstructing the flow of God’s work and the truth among people—they want to achieve their own goals. If an ordinary believer believes in God heart and soul, can forsake her family and career, is guileless and simple and lacks the ability to handle things, would the antichrist want her? (No.) If her husband and son can both make money in business, they have influence in society, and no one dares to bully them, does an elderly lady like this have any value to the antichrist? Although she may lack inherent value in the eyes of the antichrist, in terms of her family she is highly valuable. She is not short of money, her home can host brothers and sisters, and if something comes up, she can have her family help handle it. Such a person is valuable to the antichrist. The antichrist does everything possible to draw in and mislead such a person, making them stand on their side and be used by them. The antichrist accurately assesses the people who are useful to them. They don’t care about or value those with genuine faith, who sincerely believe in God, or who have good character, and are loyal in the performance of duty, and after being shepherded and watered, can make progress and genuinely pay the price. The more upright you may be, and the more conscience and reason you have, the more repulsed by you they feel. If you speak truthfully and in a straightforward manner, they are repulsed and disgusted by you. When they see you, they give you a wide berth. If you interact with them, they exchange superficial pleasantries but do not speak from the heart unless you are valuable to them. They prefer people who are valuable to them, those advantageous to their power and status. If someone can be used by them, and can help them to carry things out, cover up the true facts, do bad things while finding suitable excuses for them, and mislead the brothers and sisters without anyone noticing, without anyone being able to expose or see through it, that person becomes an object of their exploitation and recruitment. If a person, regardless of who they talk to, always speaks flattering words, sings the praises of those with authority, follows whoever holds status, and shows no discernment toward anyone, does the antichrist use them? Such a person has value for the antichrist, but they also treat them cautiously. They don’t completely trust those who flatter them, and they won’t let them know certain things. In meetings where hierarchy matters, they exclude such individuals from more important gatherings. Gatherings of lower importance or ordinary gatherings are where such vacillating individuals can participate. It is because if another leader emerges, these vacillating individuals might betray them and expose them at any time. The antichrist is cunning in dealing with such people, utilizing them based on the situation. Therefore, when it comes to manipulating circumstances, the antichrist is very cautious. They approach such matters with a systematic and measured approach, carefully considering how to act and which people to leverage. They distinguish between those who are close cronies and those who are general cronies in their mind.

When the antichrist comes into contact with a stranger, such as an upper-level leader or someone not well-known to them, they first probe into the person’s character, whether they have certain pursuits or hobbies, whether they have genuine faith, their years of belief in God, whether they have the truth reality or discernment of them, and whether they carry a burden for life entry. They assess and observe every aspect, then use various methods to worm their words out of them and test them. If they see that a person is muddleheaded, they relax their guard and ignore them. However, if a person seems shrewd and not easy to fathom, they feel like they have to be cautious. The antichrist’s control of the circumstances is to take control of everything, wanting to have the final say in everything, including all types of people being under their control. The regulations of God’s house become meaningless to them, akin to a piece of waste paper, and God’s administrative decrees and disposition have no existence whatsoever, as if they were air. Their ambition and desires go beyond controlling people and making people listen to them; they go as far as controlling every event experienced by every person, as well as those matters that take place under their nose, both within and even outside their sphere of influence. What is the purpose of this control? To secure their power and status as well as their reputation. One phrase encapsulates the antichrist’s manipulation of circumstances: Everything is under their control. Hence, the antichrist does not dare to overlook any matter, whether big or small. They don’t dare overlook anything, they want to participate in and interfere with anything related to their status or to their sphere of influence, not missing any benefits. They want to be actively involved in many matters within the church, and grasp the situation of how things are developing. For instance, if some people don’t really listen to them or submit to them and always have opinions about them, they find ways to punish them. But if they can’t find any excuse for pruning them, what do they do? They find a way to control the books and sermon recordings sent down from God’s house. They determine who receives these materials promptly based on who is obedient to them. If you don’t listen to them or display unfavorable behavior during that period, they claim that resources are limited and won’t send them to you. The antichrist watches your behavior. If you think about it clearly, see it through, and grasp the antichrist’s psychology; if you voluntarily admit your mistakes, and get close to the antichrist, they will find an excuse to say, “This time, God’s house sent down enough resources for everyone, and you’re included.” However, if they see that you distance yourself again after a period, they’ll still punish you. They won’t even notify you when new resources arrive, they simply won’t give you a thing, and they might even find an excuse to confiscate what you originally had. Especially when the antichrist discovers that someone might know about their misdeeds behind the scenes and could report them, they take preemptive action, proactively admitting their mistakes and sharing their self-knowledge, employing a soft approach first. Once it seems that a soft approach won’t work, it appears unsound, and this person might still report them, the antichrist will go to great lengths to rally more people to besiege and forcefully threaten this individual. This continues until the person compromises, making their position known that they won’t report them, and only then does the antichrist stay their hand. In some cases, an antichrist might even expose others first; fearing that others might expose and report them, they take preemptive action, deliberately seizing leverage from another person to make false accusations and set a trap for them. Later, they find an excuse to isolate and expel the person, cutting off their communication with the Above and with the church. Now, the antichrist feels secure and no longer has to worry. Isn’t this manipulating the circumstances? (Yes.) One can say that the antichrist’s actions in such matters are more than just one or two isolated instances or employing only one or two methods. In order to manipulate the circumstances, secure their status, and make it so their domain does not waver, the antichrist does many evil deeds. For example, they alter personnel systems and arrangements within the church. In order to control more people, they sow discord among the brothers and sisters, making the brothers and sisters attack and pass judgment on one another. They even incite their followers to besiege some brothers and sisters who have more of a sense of justice; they also claim before the brothers and sisters how highly regarded they are by the Above. What’s more, they write letters to the Above, boasting about their excellent work and claiming they’ve gained self-knowledge, can voluntarily lay their issues bare, and so on. They write letters and inform about their own issues all in an attempt to gain favor with the Above. They use various means and methods to manipulate circumstances, control their diehard followers, trick the brothers and sisters, and simultaneously trick the house of God. These are the various practices antichrists employ to control circumstances within the church. Of course, there are many more specific practices, but they won’t be listed here. In summary, these matters regarding how antichrists control the church are common, and the various practices they manifest are also common.

III. Antichrists Probe and Take Control of People’s Hearts

In addition to monopolizing power and manipulating circumstances, what other actions can confirm that antichrists treat the house of God like their own domain? With monopolizing power, we primarily fellowshipped about aspects of personnel matters, while manipulating circumstances is mainly about controlling the development of events. Antichrists’ monopolizing power is an external action, and manipulating circumstances is also something external that people can see—these aspects are easy to control. However, there is one thing that is exceptionally difficult for anyone to control. What is that one thing? (The control of people’s hearts and people’s thoughts.) Tell Me, is that correct? (Yes, it is.) The Bible says, “The heart is deceitful above all things” (Jeremiah 17:9), that is, the human heart is the most difficult thing to control. Would antichrists attempt to control the most difficult thing? Might they say, “Because the human heart is the most deceitful and difficult to control, I won’t control it. Let them think what they want; as long as I have power, as long as I have control over people, that’s enough. I’ll just control their actions and behavior, and their thoughts can be left for God to manage; I don’t have the ability, so I won’t bother with those”? Would antichrists compromise like this? (No, they wouldn’t.) Judging from the essence of antichrists, their ambition is to control the entirety of a person. The most challenging thing for them to control is the human heart, but it is also what they most desire to control. They ensnare people under their power, taking complete control over everything: In what direction events unfold, how many people are involved, what matters are brought into play, the entire course of these events’ development, and what the outcomes will be—all developing according to what they set in motion and to their heart’s desire. However, there is one thing, namely, what are people thinking in their hearts? What are they thinking about them? Do they have a good impression of them or not? Do they like them or not? In their hearts, do they believe that they are antichrists? Do they discern or resent their actions? When people outwardly show respect to them and flatter them, what are they truly thinking in their hearts? Is what’s in their hearts truly consistent with their outward appearance? Are they genuinely obedient to them? This is a matter that troubles antichrists greatly. The more troubled they feel, the more they seek answers. This is the third manifestation of antichrists treating the house of God like their own domain—probing and taking control of people’s hearts.

Is probing and taking control of people’s hearts easy? Probing and taking control represent two different degrees of action or behavior when doing something. When an antichrist holds power and takes control of the entire course of an event’s development and its outcome, when he takes control of these things, then what it is that people under him or within his sphere of influence are truly thinking in their hearts—whether they treat him like God or like a perfect person, whether they harbor hatred, opinions, or notions toward him, and whether they discern him—what people are truly thinking in their hearts, these things are quite challenging to gauge. What does he do then? He observes those under him, giving benefits or speaking a few pleasant-sounding words to anyone who lacks discernment and is easy to exploit. These people are just like rubber balls: They gather more energy each time you hit them. He employs such individuals as pawns. What does he use them to do? He has these pawns probe people’s hearts for him. He might say to a pawn, “Recently, Sister Li and her daughter in our church have been offering less. They used to offer quite a bit, but now they don’t come around much. What have they been up to lately? Have they had any contact with outsiders? Is there anything happening at home? Go take a look and offer some support.” That person visits Sister Li’s home and has a look around, thinking, “There are no unfamiliar faces here. The two sisters seem to be leading quite a peaceful life. It doesn’t look like they’ve encountered any difficulties. Why aren’t they going to our gatherings? Let me inquire further.” This person asks, “Have you had any new light recently at home? I’ve been feeling weak lately; fellowship with me for a while.” Seeing that the person has come to seek the truth and to seek help, the sisters fellowship with them and say, “Recently, we’ve gained a new light that believers in God should not follow or always rely on other people; when faced with challenges, we should come before God in prayer; this is the highest wisdom. People are unreliable, one can only rely on God; He can bestow on people the truth, life, and the path they ought to walk—people cannot do this. I used to always depend on others, but later through fellowship with a sister….” They respond, “Through fellowship with a sister? Where is that sister? Is she an outsider?” The sisters say, “She’s not exactly an outsider; she’s a sister from our church who returned after several years doing her duty away.” They respond, “Isn’t that still contacting an outsider? You associated with outsiders rashly; you need to report the issue to the church!” Having gathered this information, that person uncovers two crucial pieces of information: Firstly, the two sisters do not want to be close to the leader, and have shown some discernment toward him; secondly, they’ve had contact with an outsider, and that outsider said something to them; the specifics are unclear, the sisters won’t say anything about them, they are intentionally concealing it, which means that their loyalty toward the leader is wavering and they have begun to guard against him. When this person returns and makes their report to the antichrist, is the antichrist happy after hearing it? Would he think, “Great, my subordinates finally have shown some discernment toward me”? (No, he wouldn’t.) What would he think? “This is bad. The two sisters used to be obedient, they were genuine believers in the church, and they offered a lot. Ever since this unknown person started interacting with them, these two have become a bit disobedient. Will they continue to make offerings in the future? This is troublesome and risky.” The antichrist feels uneasy. Why is he uneasy? (People are discerning of him and no longer listen to him.) Exactly, people’s hearts are no longer under his manipulation and control, they are undergoing a change of heart, so they feel uneasy. In the past, these two were guileless and simple, they were pretty obedient and showed little discernment toward him, whatever he said was accepted without a second thought. Now that they have undergone a change of heart, developed discernment, and are keeping their distance, possibly rejecting him, and perhaps even intending to report him—that spells trouble. Isn’t this a specific manifestation of how antichrists probe and take control of people’s hearts?

When the antichrist notices anything unusual, he quickly dispatches his cronies or henchmen to find out about the situation and grasp its underlying reasons. If there is no change, if people remain the same and haven’t had a change of heart, then he feels reassured, no longer uneasy or tense. However, if he discovers something unusual, something unknown to him, not under his manipulation, not what he imagined, then that’s troublesome. He becomes worried and anxious, and in his haste, he will take action. What is the aim of his actions? He wants people to be of one mind with him, to have no changes of heart. People must make their thoughts known to him and report to him constantly, expressing loyalty, determination, and sincerity. He must continually take control of the changing thoughts and ideas of people’s hearts, and the direction and principles of their thoughts. As soon as he detects anyone harboring dissent, he must move to change them. If they cannot be changed and become a friend, then they will become an enemy instead. What are the consequences of becoming his enemy? They will be subjected to punishment and suppression. This is one approach. There is another as well. The antichrist is always apprehensive about those around him, never able to gauge them fully, fearing that people might discern and report him, and saying in his heart: “Did you see when I stole offerings and did things my own way? If you did see it, could you discern it? Could you report me?” Some antichrists are even sexually promiscuous behind the scenes, and they think, “Who knows about these things? What are those who know about it thinking? Should I pretend somehow, create a false impression, then test these people, worm their innermost thoughts out of them, and see what they are truly thinking?” Would antichrists do such things? To wicked people like antichrists, doing such things is like second nature; they are naturals at it—they do it superbly. The antichrist gathers people together and says, “Today, I called everyone here with no other purpose than to examine my shortcomings in the work I’ve done in the church recently and to talk about my knowledge of the corrupt dispositions I have revealed. Speak openly, don’t hold back. I won’t condemn you. Let’s fellowship openly heart-to-heart and face-to-face. If I did something, I’ll change; if not, I’ll take it as an admonishment not to do it. Everything in God’s house is open, unhidden, and laid bare. We do everything before God, and there’s no need for anyone to be on guard against anyone else. Brothers and sisters, put your mind at rest. I’ll start by examining myself. Recently, due to my own laziness and a desire for comforts of the flesh, I haven’t done my work well. The gospel work hasn’t been going well lately, and I haven’t paid much attention to church life. I’ve been busy with gospel work and couldn’t find time for other matters. Of course, I am responsible. Relying on my imaginings, I assumed that church life would be self-regulated by the brothers and sisters, and I wouldn’t need to worry too much. You are all adults, and God’s words are so clear, so I wholeheartedly devoted myself to gospel work. However, I also didn’t do well at gospel work. I need to admit my mistakes before the brothers and sisters, seek your forgiveness, and ask for God’s forgiveness. Here, let me bow to all of you.” Everyone sees this and thinks to themselves, “He’s changed; he doesn’t seem as crafty as before. Why is he so sincere today? Something is off. I shouldn’t jump to conclusions; I’ll see what he says next.” The antichrist continues, saying he recognizes he is a devil, Satan, admitting he hasn’t done any actual work, expressing willingness to be at the disposal of the Above and accept any criticism or reproof from the brothers and sisters. He goes further and says, “Even if they dismiss me and don’t let me lead, I am willing to be one of the least. I recommend Sister Li and her daughter from our church to take over my work.” He has already chosen his successor. Isn’t his attitude quite sincere? Is there even any need for suspicion? While saying this, he even begins to cry. Then, he brings his wife over and says, “During this time, you haven’t done any actual work either, only causing disruptions and disturbances, and even pruning brothers and sisters blindly. You should also be dismissed.” The antichrist points the finger at himself and then his family, making people feel that he is sincere. When everyone hears this, someone says, “Actually, we’ve been discerning you for a long time. You don’t consult with us on matters; a few of you privately discuss things together and make decisions. This doesn’t align with the work principles in God’s house. Moreover, you’ve finalized who will be the leader among yourselves without our knowledge—we don’t even have the right to know. The person whom you chose not only fails to do actual work but also causes disturbances, but you don’t dismiss them.” The brothers and sisters voice their opinions one after another. When the antichrist hears this, he thinks, “This is bad! However, it’s good that they’re pouring out their true thoughts all at once. This will benefit my future work. If they didn’t speak up and instead stabbed me in the back, directly writing a report letter to the Above without my knowledge, then I’d be finished, wouldn’t I? Fortunately, I used this tactic, I’m clever and have quick reflexes, and I got a hold on their opinions just in time.” He then continued, proclaiming unctuously, “Thank you, brothers and sisters, for your trust, and for sincerely criticizing my mistakes today. I will definitely change them in the future. If I don’t, may punishment and curses fall on my head.” The antichrist’s probing and taking control of people’s hearts is not limited to eavesdropping and peeking through doors. In serious situations, he has an ace up his sleeve. What kind of ace? He practices democracy and freedom, giving people enough freedom of speech, allowing them full freedom to express their opinions and innermost thoughts, encouraging people to voice their innermost feelings, even if it’s complaints. Then, he seizes upon the vulnerabilities of those who have differing ideas from them or opinions about them, wiping them out all at once. How does the antichrist’s approach sound? It’s incredibly wicked! Doesn’t it resemble that of the great red dragon a bit? They are essentially the same group, sharing the same nature essence. Isn’t that how the great red dragon operates? Seeing how the antichrist performs is like seeing the ugly face of the great red dragon.

Antichrists are adept at using pleasant and correct words to entice people and make people confide in them. After probing and worming the true situations of people out of them, what is the result? Will the antichrists repent because people spoke these true words to them? Will they throw in the towel, stop doing evil, let go of their power, abandon their desire for power, and disband their domain? Never. Instead, they will step up their efforts. After doing everything they can to take control of people’s hearts, they retain those who align with them and dispose of all those who don’t. We cannot rule out that some brothers and sisters in the church have been cleared out, expelled, or had their books of God’s words confiscated under such circumstances. These individuals were wronged. What should these wronged brothers and sisters do? Should they stop believing in God because an antichrist appeared in God’s house who punished them like this and made it impossible to believe? Can they do that? (No, they cannot.) Is it appropriate to compromise or bow your head to antichrists or to dark or wicked forces? Is that the path you should choose? (No, it’s not.) So, what path should you choose? (To expose and report the antichrists.) When you discover someone is an antichrist, let Me tell you, if their influence is significant, and many leaders and workers listen to them and won’t listen to you, and if you expose them and you very well might be isolated or cleared out, then you must carefully consider your strategy. Don’t take them on single-handedly; the odds are not in your favor. Start by contacting a few people who understand the truth and have discernment, and seek fellowship with them. If you reach a consensus, approach two more leaders or workers who can accept the truth and come to an agreement. With several people acting together, expose and handle the antichrist jointly. This way, you stand a chance of success. If the antichrist’s influence is too great, you can also write a report letter to the Above. This is the best approach. If a few leaders and workers really try to suppress you, you can tell them, “If you don’t accept our exposure and report, we will escalate this matter to the Above and let them handle you!” This increases your chances of success, as they won’t dare to move against you. When dealing with antichrists, you must adopt this reliable approach—never go it alone. If you don’t have the support of a few leaders and workers, your efforts are destined to fail, unless you can write a report letter and hand it over to the Above. Antichrists are extremely insidious and cunning. If you don’t have sufficient evidence, refrain from moving against them. Reasoning or debating with them is useless, showing love to try and change them is useless, and fellowshipping with them about the truth won’t work; you won’t be able to change them. In a situation where you cannot change them, your best course of action is not to have a heart-to-heart talk with them, reason with them, and wait for them to repent. Instead, expose and report them without letting them know, let the Above handle them, and encourage more people to expose them, report them, and reject them, ultimately leading to them being rooted out from the church. Isn’t this a good approach? If they aim to worm your inner thoughts out of you, to probe you, and see if you have any discernment toward them, what should you do if you have already identified them as an antichrist? (I should not speak truthfully with them, but follow along with their words for the time being, not letting them discover my discernment, and then I should privately expose and report them.) How is this approach? (Good.) You must see through the schemes of devils and Satans and avoid setting off their traps or falling into their pits. When dealing with Satans and devils, you must use wisdom, and refrain from speaking truthfully to them. This is because the ones you can speak truthfully to are God and the genuine brothers and sisters. You should never speak truthfully to Satans, to devils, or to antichrists. Only God is worthy of understanding what’s in your heart and of holding sovereignty over and scrutinizing your heart. No one, especially devils and Satans, is qualified to control or scrutinize your heart. Therefore, if devils and Satans try to worm the truth out of you, you have the right to say “no,” refuse to answer it, and withhold information—this is your right. If you say, “You devil, you want to worm my words out of me, but I won’t speak truthfully to you, I won’t tell you. I will report you—what can you do to me? If you dare to torment me, I will report you; if you torment me, God will curse and punish you!” does this work? (No, it doesn’t.) The Bible says, “Be you therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves” (Matthew 10:16). In such situations, you must be as wise as serpents; you should be wise. Our hearts are only fit for God to scrutinize and possess, and they should only be given to Him. Only God is worthy of our hearts, Satans and devils are not deserving! Therefore, do antichrists have the right to know what’s in our hearts or what we’re thinking? They do not have that right. What is their purpose in trying to worm the truth out of you and probe you? They aim to take control of you; you must recognize this clearly. So, don’t speak truthfully to them. You must find ways to unite more brothers and sisters together to expose and reject them, pull them down from their position, and never let them succeed. Root them out from the church, denying them any and all chances to disturb and wield power in God’s house again.

Antichrists probing and taking control of people’s hearts is a stark reality. Judging from the essence of antichrists, it is apparent that engaging in such activities comes naturally to them, and is quite commonplace. In various churches, antichrists often send their confidants to infiltrate the brothers and sisters, probe intelligence, and collect insider information. Sometimes, the information they gather pertains to domestic trivialities or casual conversations between people, which are not important at all. However, antichrists always make a fuss over these affairs, even raising them to the level of thoughts and viewpoints in order to promptly grasp the changes of people’s thoughts and opinions. This is so that they can effortlessly take control of the circumstances and of each person’s situation, responding promptly to each. Antichrists are particularly specific in their actions regarding power and status. Specific to what extent? As for each person’s viewpoint on how they handle matters, as well as their viewpoint on material things, money, status, believing in God, doing duties, and quitting jobs—they want to know all this like the back of their hand. After they do know it like the back of their hand, antichrists do not use the truth to provide for people, alter people’s misguided viewpoints, or resolve issues. Instead, they use it to serve their own status, power, and domain. This is the antichrists’ purpose in probing and taking control of people’s hearts. To antichrists, everything they do seems meaningful and valuable, but all these supposedly meaningful and valuable things are precisely condemned by God. They go precisely against God and are in enmity with Him.

November 7, 2020