Supplement: Resolving People’s Misconceptions About the Handling of a Church in Canada

Something unusual happened the last time we gathered together. What was that? (It was the handling of a Canadian church.) This happened a month ago. Is it still fresh in your memory? (It is.) Did this matter stir up your feelings a great deal? (It did.) When problems emerge with certain churches or some people, I make a decision based on the circumstances and handle them in accordance with principles; this was basically the case when I handled the matter of the Canadian church. So tell Me, why did I handle the matter the way I did when an antichrist emerged in the Canadian church and misled people? What are your thoughts on this? Apparently, it frightened some people. Why did it frighten them? Some people say, “It was handled in such a harsh way. Was it that serious? How could it be handled that way? Was it handled in line with principles? Wasn’t it handled on a momentary whim? What will the consequences be of handling it like that? Was what those people did really that serious? Based on what was asked of people there, and on their attitude, statements, and the information that was heard from them, it seems like they shouldn’t have been handled so harshly, right?” This is how some people think. There are others who say, “Perhaps God had His reasons and ideas for handling it that way.” Exactly what ideas are those? Was there any original intent or reason for handling the matter that way? Was it reasonable to handle those people that way? (Yes.) You all say it was reasonable, so today let’s discuss the matter and see exactly why it was reasonable to handle the matter like that, exactly what you think of this matter, what impact it will have on you in the future, whether your ideas about it are right or wrong, and whether there is anything mistaken or distorted about your ideas. If you are always holding back, biting your tongue, and not expressing yourselves, always feeling antagonistic, then problems will never be resolved in the best way, and that’s why we must reach a consensus. What are the principles for reaching a consensus? If you are unable to accept this judgment I made, and you have ideas and notions about it, you feel resistant toward it, and even harbor misunderstandings about it, and questions or bad ideas arise, what then should we do? We should discuss the matter. If we have differing opinions, then there is no consensus between us. How then can we reach a consensus? Is it okay to seek common ground while still retaining our differences? If we settle any differences by way of compromise, if I give way some, and you give way some, would that be okay? Clearly, that’s not okay. This is not the way to achieve compatibility. So, if we want to reach a consensus and reach a consistent understanding and decision on this matter, what is the way to do that? You must seek the truth, strive for the truth, and strive to understand the truth, and it is necessary for Me to explain the whole story to everyone and make it clear. No one should harbor any misunderstandings about it in their hearts. In this way, we will reach a consistent view of the matter, and then it will be over and done with. If I encounter a similar matter in the future, I may handle it in just the same way, or perhaps I won’t handle it in this way, but instead will use some other way. So, what should you gain from this matter? (We should learn how to seek the truth and understand why God handled the matter that way.) You have mentioned two aspects, excellent. Are there any more? (We should seek to understand the principles to God’s actions so as to avoid offending God’s disposition. This is a warning for us.) This is another aspect.

To explain the handling of the Canadian church clearly, we must start at the beginning. What should we start with? We’ll start from when these people left China. Is that going too far back? You may think it funny, but actually this is not a laughing matter. Is this a case of settling old scores? No, it isn’t. When you hear Me talk about My reasons, you’ll know why I start there. Leaving aside whether everyone who comes abroad comes with a commission, a mission, and a responsibility, we’ll start with a minor issue—is it by accident that every single person is able to leave China? (No.) This does not happen by accident. From you having the resolve and being willing to leave China to do your duty to you arriving overseas, throughout this process, apart from your cooperation, tell Me, who determines whether you can smoothly leave China? (God.) That’s right. It is not determined by what social connections you have, nor is it determined by how much money you have, or whether you have all the formalities sorted—all who come abroad should have a shared understanding and experience. What do they all experience? God reigns sovereign over whether someone can smoothly leave China; it has nothing to do with how capable they are or whether they have some great ability. This isn’t just going from one province to another in some country; this is leaving one’s country, and it requires many complicated formalities. Especially in this age with the great red dragon’s mad oppression and hounding of believers, closely monitoring every one of them, the formalities for leaving China are not so easy to handle. Therefore, for these people to smoothly arrive abroad was entirely under God’s sovereignty and it shows God’s almightiness. Who can leave China, whether the formalities are handled smoothly or not, and how long it takes to handle them are all determined by God, and it is God’s hand that orchestrates and arranges all this. It won’t do for you not to believe this, nor will it do for you not to acknowledge this—these are the facts. The matter is concluded with people’s cooperation and God’s sovereignty. If we were to make a determination about you leaving China, who was it who facilitated this? (God.) God did it. People have nothing to boast about, but instead they should thank God. So, what should you do? (Put effort into doing our duty.) You should put effort into doing your duty and do it with a focused mind. Taking a comprehensive view, can we make a final determination and say that you leaving China to do your duty was down to God’s arrangements and guidance, and not your own ability? (Yes, we can.) Some people say, “How is it not down to my ability? Even though I had God’s guidance, if God hadn’t guided me, leaving China wouldn’t have been difficult anyway as I’m a graduate student with a TEM8 qualification in English, and taking a TOEFL exam would not be a problem.” Very few people are in this position. For example, some are rich and can emigrate on an investor visa, but such circumstances are few and far between. So, does these people leaving China happen under God’s sovereignty and with His permission? Yes, it does. We won’t go into individual situations; we’ll just talk about those who can leave China and who later come to sincerely do their duty. This doesn’t come entirely from their own intentions. One aspect of you leaving China is that you have a mission, while another aspect is that you left China under God’s guidance. Looking at the matter from this point, what have you left China to do? (Do our duty.) No matter how long it takes to complete the procedures in the early stages, how much you expend or how God reigns sovereign over the matter, in any case, since you can leave China and do your duty in God’s house, we can say with certainty that you have a mission abroad. You bear a responsibility and a heavy burden, and your goal of coming abroad should be very clear. First, you are not immigrants who came abroad to enjoy life; second, you didn’t come abroad seeking a source of livelihood; third, you didn’t come abroad seeking a different way of life; and fourth, you didn’t come abroad to lead a good life. Isn’t that so? You didn’t come abroad to pursue the world; you came with a mission and with God’s commission to do your duty. Looking at it from this point, what should be your top priority when coming abroad? (To do our duty.) Your top priority is to come to God’s house and find your place, and to do your duty in a grounded and well-behaved way according to the arrangements of God’s house. Isn’t that right? (Yes, it is.) That’s right. Besides, you didn’t come abroad because anyone threatened you or kidnapped you—you came willingly. From whichever aspect you look at it, you have come abroad so you should do your duty. That’s correct, isn’t it? Is this a lofty demand to make of people? (No.) This is not a lofty demand, nor is it an excessive demand. It is not unreasonable. Now, based on what I’ve just said, how should you treat your duty and how should you do your duty in order to live up to the commission God has given you? Should you think about these things? The first thing you should do is think, “I’m not just an ordinary person anymore, I now carry a burden on my shoulders. What burden? It is the commission, the burden, God has given to me. God guided me to come abroad, and I should fulfill the responsibilities and obligations a created being should fulfill in the spreading of God’s gospel—this is my duty. First, I should think about what duty I can do, and second, I should think about how to do that duty well so that I don’t fail to live up to God’s sovereignty over me and His arrangements for me.” Isn’t this how you should think? Is this thinking excessive? Is it a falsehood? No, it isn’t; it is something someone with rationality, with humanity, and with conscience should think about. If some people say, “After I came abroad, I found that it wasn’t as I thought it was going to be, and I regret coming,” what kind of things are these people? Such people have no humanity and they have broken faith. However, most people who come abroad are willing to throw themselves into performing their duty. That’s enough of that. Now let’s join what we’re talking about up to the matter of the Canadian church. The people in the Canadian church are not exempt from this. Was it by accident that they went to Canada? It was not by accident, it was inevitable. Why do I say it was inevitable? I say it because God had long since determined which people were to go to which country, and this “inevitable” was sovereignly ruled by God. When God sovereignly rules that you are to go to a country, then that is what happens. The people in the Canadian church also had a mission and came abroad by God’s sovereignty and arrangement. God guided them to Canada, and based on their respective talents and their professional skills and strengths and so on, the church assigned them to various work posts, and allowed them to do their duty. They did their duty somewhat rigidly right from the start. By “rigidly,” I don’t mean that they were reticent and slow, but rather that even though most of them came to do their duty, they did not pursue the truth. Why do I say they did not pursue the truth? When they encountered issues, they didn’t seek the truth, and they didn’t seek the principles in their actions. Sometimes, when the Above made some arrangements for them or told them to do something, they were unforthcoming—this is the attitude they brought to doing their duty. They went on in this perfunctory manner and the performance of their duty came to be in a foul state, a total mess. There was nothing good about these people’s church life or life entry, the effect of their duty was bad, there was no reality in their fellowship on the truth, and they had no discernment of false leaders and antichrists at all—there was nothing good about anything they did. As time went on, an antichrist named Yan emerged, and they became one with this antichrist. What does “they became one” mean? This antichrist was just a young man, 26 years old, who had been working in the church for two and a half years. During that time, he had attracted many sisters, maybe as many as 10. Some people among these he took a fancy for, and some he did not, and these he ignored, yet all of these people adored this antichrist. Two and a half years before, the people in the Canadian church were not up to much in the performance of their duty and were in a state of lifeless torpor. Whatever work was arranged for them by the Above, they treated it in a perfunctory way and were unforthcoming, and it took a lot of strenuous effort to get the work implemented. After the Above had pruned them, they became dejected, they fell into a low mood, they rarely communicated with the Above, and their attitude toward work also became very downhearted. After the antichrist named Yan became a leader, their situation worsened by the day, and most of them just muddled through the days. Why were they able to get to this stage of muddling along? What was this related to? An objective cause could be that it was related to the leaders. They were without any good leaders, none of their leaders pursued the truth but instead cultivated interpersonal relationships and engaged in crooked activities. And what was the subjective cause? It was that none of them were pursuing the truth. Is it easy for a gang of people who don’t pursue the truth to do their duty loyally and up to standard? (No.) However, is it easy for a gang of people who simply don’t pursue the truth and some nonbelievers to engage in crooked activities, be perfunctory, and oppose the Above? (Yes.) And it is easy for a gang of such people to go downhill and become degenerate like the unbelievers? It is so easy, and this was the path they were following. Under the guise of doing their duty, they ate the food of God’s house, lived in accommodation belonging to God’s house, and God’s house supported them. They cheated God’s house out of food and drink yet still they looked forward to entering the kingdom of heaven and receiving rewards—they lived relying on trickery in this way. When the antichrist disturbed church work, not one of them reported any issue to the Above. Only one woman reported the problem to a false leader, and the result of this was that the matter was not resolved. The others were blind, and seeing so many problems arise in the church, they didn’t report them. The work arrangements of God’s house clearly state the principles for replacing leaders and workers, but no one paid any attention to them, but instead just muddled through the days along with that antichrist. Among these nonbelievers, there were those who had believed in God for over 20 years at one end of the scale, and at the other end there were those who had believed for at least five years, and no one reported these problems. But what was worse? There were many female team leaders and deputy team leaders who flirted with this antichrist, and they vied with each other for his attentions. When a man and a woman begin dating, this can be easily seen by adults and elderly people at a glance. People are all sensitive to the matter of relations between men and women, and they can know what’s going on with just one glance. However, no one reported it, no one stood up to reproach or expose them, and no one was able to discern them. Did anyone come forward and, seeing that they were a gang headed by this antichrist, say to themselves, “I can’t follow you. I must report this to the upper leadership and have you removed, or else organize some brothers and sisters with a sense of justice to oust you”? No, no one did. No one reported it, right up to the moment this matter was revealed. What kind of things were these people? Were they true believers in God? Were they pursuers of truth? (No.) For such a big thing to happen right under their noses and them to be unaware of it, were these people who didn’t pursue the truth able to do their duty well? What was their attitude toward their duty? Clearly, they were just freeloaders, freeloading day after day. They believed they could easily muddle along in God’s house, that no one should say a word if they noticed a problem, no one should offend anyone, and that if they offended “the boss,” then that would be awful, and the consequences would be bad for them. If you’re afraid of offending people and don’t dare to do it, then do you dare to offend God? Will the consequences be good for you if you offend God? How will God handle you? Will there not be consequences? (Yes, there will.) There will be consequences. That they were afraid to offend anyone was, of course, not a major factor. The major factor was that they were wicked people who had no love for the truth. Apart from not pursuing the truth, they also did many stupid things. There were not many people in the Canadian church, yet they had many wild ambitions. The performance of their duties was clearly having no effect, yet they still wanted to expand the scope of their work and were busying themselves with buying property, but in the end they paid a deposit on a property for nothing. Now most of these people have been put in isolation. Tell Me, what things are this bunch of people? Are they not a bunch of beasts and wretches? Clearly, they are nothing, and yet they squandered offerings like this. No one was safeguarding the interests of God’s house, no one had a sense of justice—they are just a bunch of demons! It’s really infuriating!

There were not many people in the Canadian church, only several hundred. They didn’t put much effort into their duty, they were derelict in their duty and formed cliques, all just muddling through the days. Isn’t that infuriating? They were inefficient in work and made no progress, they were all scheming against each other and didn’t work harmoniously together. Leaders engaged in crooked activities with certain others, and no one had any sense of urgency, no one got angry, and no one felt sad about this. No one prayed on this matter, nor did they seek with or ask for assistance from the Above. No one did this, and no one came forward to say, “It isn’t right that we’re doing our duty in this way. This duty we’re doing is our God-given commission, and we cannot let God down!” They lacked nothing, they had enough people, they had enough equipment. What were they lacking? What they lacked were any good people. No one had a sense of burden toward church work, nor could anyone safeguard the work of God’s house, come forward and speak up, or fellowship on the truth about discernment, so that everyone could rise up and discern and expose false leaders and antichrists; no one did this. Was it because these wretches were blind and didn’t see what was going on, or because they were confused due to their lack of caliber and advanced years? (Neither.) It was neither. So what was the true situation? They were all together with the antichrist, all protecting each other and licking each other’s boots, no one exposing anyone, all just hanging out in that lair of demons. Did they ever think about their duty or God’s commission? (No.) They wanted to just muddle along in this way without any feelings of self-reproach. What is this phenomenon, when they had no feelings of self-reproach? It is that the Holy Spirit was not working on them, and God had deserted them. There is another explanation for God’s desertion of them, and that is that, because of their attitude toward their duty and their attitude toward the truth and God, as well as their thoughts, God had become sickened by them and they no longer deserved to do that duty. That’s why there was no reproach or discipline seen in them, no awakening of their conscience, much less did they receive any enlightenment or illumination, any pruning, any judgment, or chastisement. These things were irrelevant to them, they were all numb, and they were no different from devils. They’d been listening to sermons in God’s house for years, and had also listened to sermons on discerning antichrists and sermons on how to do one’s duty up to standard, but did they seek and accept the truth during this time? Did they discern antichrists? Did they hold any debate on the various manifestations of antichrists? No, they did not. If they really had, then there would certainly have been a minority of people who could have stood up and unmasked and reported the antichrist, and things wouldn’t have gotten as bad as they did. They were just a bunch of muddled and useless people! In accordance with their actual situation, their behavior, and the classification given to them, I relegated them to Group B for a period of isolation and reflection. Was it excessive for Me to handle the matter in this way? (No.) No, it wasn’t excessive at all. And if it wasn’t excessive, then can it not be considered to be perfectly proper? It was done to give them some chance. What chance? If they truly have some humanity and conscience, if they can repent and change course, then they will have the chance to return to the church; if they haven’t even the desire to repent, then they will just remain isolated for the rest of their lives, and even be cleared out by the church. This is how it is. They were not immediately cleared out in order to give them a chance to repent. They may say, “We did this bad thing, and You got angry and isolated us. So even though we didn’t earn any merit doing our duty before, we certainly suffered for it. Why don’t You see that?” but actually, isolating them shows sufficient leniency, and according to their actions and behavior, they should have been cleared out. Look at this attitude they have—they’re in such danger! So, how should this matter be handled? I have to divide My approach into two stages: The first stage is to isolate them, and the second stage is to handle them as I see fit based on their situation during their term of isolation and on their individual behavior, and decide whether to keep them in the church or clear them out. Isn’t this showing sufficient leniency toward them?

Those people in the Canadian church did so many bad things and isolating them in accordance with their behavior showed great leniency, so why do some people still have their own ideas on how the matter was handled? Some people say, “It may have been right for You to handle the matter in that way, but there is still a slight problem. Those people in the Canadian church brought this upon themselves and they got what they deserved, but by handling it this way, are You not punishing them severely to set an example for others?” Is this a correct understanding? (No.) I’ve heard some people say, “This is the right way to handle it. You should punish them severely to set an example to others, make of them a warning to others, and show strength to send others a message.” Isn’t this something an unbeliever would say? This is the view on things an unbeliever would have. You are perhaps not yet able to see through to the essence of this problem, and that’s why you can still express an unbeliever’s view. Don’t you think it’s a little disgusting for someone to say this? If you use such words to explain this matter, then you’re saying things that are beside the point, and this is not how things are. So, how would you describe the way I’ve handled the matter? (You’ve handled it according to principles.) That’s right, I’ve handled it according to principles; this is a practical thing to say. Anyone else? Did they not bring this upon themselves? (Yes.) And what is the simplest way to describe this? (They got their just deserts.) That’s right, based on how they behaved, they got their just deserts and they brought this upon themselves. God acts in line with the truth principles; He exacts retribution upon people in accordance with their behavior. Furthermore, people should bear the consequences of their actions, and when they do things that are wrong, they should be punished—this is appropriate. God exacts retribution upon people in accordance with their behavior; this is exacting retribution upon those people in the Canadian church and, to use current vocabulary, they are handled in accordance with principles. Tell Me, which of these things about them that I have exposed are not facts? Which of My analyses and definitions of these matters, which of My classifications of them are not facts? They are all facts. Therefore, retribution is exacted upon them according to these manifestations and according to their actions and behavior—what’s wrong with that? So, showing strength to send others a message, punishing people severely to set an example for others, and making of people a warning to others—is the nature of these actions the same as the way I have handled the Canadian church? (No.) So why punish people severely to set an example for others? What is the nature of this? Punishing people severely to set an example for others, showing strength to send others a message, and making of people a warning to others—the nature of these three actions is basically the same. What is that nature? It is the act of a ruler or a powerful person doing something in a specific situation they believe is necessary to establish their authority and using it to intimidate others. This is called severely punishing people to set an example for others. What would be their aim in doing this? It would be to make others obey them, fear them, and feel intimidated by them, to not do anything impetuous before them, and to not do whatever they feel like before them. Would them doing this be in line with principles? (No.) Why do you say it wouldn’t be in line with principles? A ruler would have his motivation to act, and his motivation would be to consolidate his regime and safeguard his power. He would want to make a fuss over the matter, and this would be the nature of his action. The matter of the handling of the Canadian church was based on the truth principles, and not on the satanic philosophies of the unbelievers. The antichrist misled people, he disrupted and disturbed church work, he turned the church upside down, and most people still spoke out in his defense—the nature of their actions really is so odious! Muddling along in this way, it would have been better for them to leave the church and go live their own lives. At least then the resources of God’s house wouldn’t have been wasted, and that would have been a good thing. But did they do that? Their conscience didn’t have this awareness, and they wasted the financial and material resources of God’s house, they didn’t put effort into doing their duty, and they were in league with the antichrist and did evil together with him—the nature of these actions is so serious! God’s house has handled them in this way to make them reflect on and come to know themselves, so that they know to change course and repent, and this is to their benefit. If they weren’t handled, then perhaps in a year from now they would all have betrayed God and returned to the world. Fortunately, they were isolated and handled in time, and this prevented even more people from doing evil and prevented church work from suffering even greater loss. By doing this, are they being saved or cast out? (They’re being saved.) They’re actually being saved. It was done to help them, to warn them, to sound an alarm bell for them, to tell them that it wasn’t right for them to act that way, that if they carried on that way then they would suffer perdition and perish and would lose any hope of attaining salvation. If they can comprehend this point, then they still have hope. If they can’t even comprehend this point, and they continue to feel dejected, to degenerate, and fall into despair, opposing the Above and venting their notions in a negative mood, then they’ll be in trouble. What do you wish for them? (That they will repent.) You all wish that they’ll be well and will repent. And what do I wish for them? Do I wish that they won’t repent, that I can cleanse them all away, that the church will be better off without these people? Is this what I want? (No.) No, this isn’t what I want. I wish that they’ll be well and will repent, that after they’ve repented they’ll return to God’s house, and that they’ll not do their duty again like they did before. How does that verse go? “Let them turn every one from his evil way, and from the violence that is in their hands” (Jonah 3:8). As far as they’re concerned, if they can achieve this effect then that will be a memory that can never be erased for as long as they live and an extraordinary experience for them, it will become a wonderful event. This depends on what they individually pursue.

Once the matter of the antichrist in the Canadian church was handled, some people thought, “These people have done their duty for many years, and yet because an antichrist emerged and caused disturbance, they’ve been isolated.” They have a sense of crisis, thinking, “Oh, this is the first time I’ve seen God get angry and curse people. Even the antichrist’s associates, accomplices, and followers weren’t spared. God really has no consideration for anyone’s feelings! Ordinarily, it’s often said that God loves and takes mercy on man, but His anger this time is really unbearable!” They start feeling uneasy in their hearts. Tell Me, is it right for people to think this way? (No.) Why not? How should people approach this matter? How many years have you been listening to sermons? Hasn’t it been at least five years? And shouldn’t we be able to reach a consensus in many matters, particularly in certain matters where the principles are relatively clear? (Yes.) What does “consensus” mean? It means a kind of tacit understanding. I do something without telling you the reason why, and you know full well why, you are able to understand it, accept it, and comprehend it from a positive angle—this is what it means to have a tacit understanding. How does this tacit understanding come about? Say that you’ve listened to many sermons, achieved a certain level of understanding of the truth, and we’ve gotten to know each other more. I’ve explained many things to you, and told you My views, My ideas, My principles for action, as well as the things you need to understand and do. I’ve told you all these things and what My views are, and you’ve then accepted My views, and approached things, your duty, faith, life, and other people in accordance with My views. Won’t the tacit understanding between us have grown and grown then? (Yes.) So, have we reached this kind of tacit understanding with regard to the handling of the Canadian church? If I didn’t explain the matter as I am, what would our tacit understanding amount to? “Severely punishing people to set an example for others,” and “Making of people a warning to others”—is this our tacit understanding? (No.) These people listened to sermons for many years, so how could My taking this action provoke such a response from them? Tell Me, how did I feel hearing them voice such views? It made Me feel how tragic this is, that people could say such things! I ask you, should I have felt that way? (Yes.) Why do you say that? It is that this kind of statement, this kind of perspective, this kind of understanding, and this kind of comprehension should not have existed or emerged. Now they have emerged and they have gone beyond My expectations. They are so far removed from My assessment and expectations that I feel ashamed of this matter! Someone will say, “Is it that serious? Aren’t You just making a big deal out of nothing?” Let Me tell you, this isn’t a huge deal, but neither is it a minor matter. From when you start believing in God, when you acknowledge that God is your God and your Lord, when you want to eat and drink God’s words, follow God, accept His orchestrations and arrangements, and submit to everything God asks of you, from that day on, you have established a relationship with God. Once you have established this relationship, there is a most crucial problem that exists between you and God. What problem is that? It is that if you can’t accept the things God does and the ways God behaves, if you can’t understand these things, and you can’t take the initiative to seek and comprehend them, then your relationship with God will be in a state of crisis at every moment. And what does this state of crisis signify? No matter how many of God’s words you eat and drink, no matter how you plan to submit to God, as long as this state of crisis is present even for one day, then the fact of your wanting to follow God and your desire to accept God’s salvation may be destroyed, may become untenable, and may become just a fantasy. Why do I say this? As long as your relationship with God is not a normal one and as long as this state of crisis exists, will you be able to maintain a normal relationship with God? Then what kind of relationship will you have with God? Will it be a relationship of compatibility? A familial relationship, or a relationship between colleagues? Exactly what kind of relationship will it be? So long as your relationship with God is in a state of crisis, then you will be capable of judging and misunderstanding God’s deeds and behavior at any time and place, and you will even be capable of opposing and refusing to accept the things God does. Wouldn’t you then be in danger? How does this danger come about? It comes about because you don’t know God. We won’t speak from the positive side, but rather from the negative side. For instance, you always see God in a certain way, and you think that God is a king on earth, a most important official, a supreme person who wields power on earth. In your mind’s eye, you always think that God is someone in this kind of position and so, on this basis, what perspective will you take on the things God does and says? Let Me give you a few examples and then you might understand what perspective I mean. There is this saying in the world: “Being close to a king is as dangerous as lying with a tiger.” So, are there any people who apply this saying to their relationship with God? (Yes.) There are such people, and many people take this perspective on God. Then there is the saying we mentioned earlier, “Making of people a warning to others.” Doesn’t this also make God out to be a king on earth or someone with influence and status? (It does, yes.) They have this understanding of God because they have this view of God, and it’s because they have this kind of relationship with God, because they see Him in this way, because this is how they understand His identity and status, that they regard God in the same way as they would someone with status in the world—this is natural. There is another saying that goes: “How can one tolerate someone encroaching on their sphere of influence?” This is a way to describe worldly kings and people with status and influence. Some of you may know or have previously associated with people like this, and perhaps you also apply this saying to God. That is, when God does or says something, you may link those sayings with Him and regard God in that way. If you regard God in that way and have that perspective on Him, then what exactly will your relationship with God be like? It will be oppositional. No matter how much you admire and dread the God in your mind’s eye, how obedient you can be and how much you can surrender to him, and no matter what your attitude is to him, your relationship with God will still be oppositional. You may think that by speaking in this way, My words sound a little abstract, but if you ponder them carefully, don’t you then see that this is how things are? Once I’d handled the matter of the antichrist in the Canadian church, I didn’t explain things carefully and in detail to you, and I didn’t tell you the reasons why I handled those people, and so many people became worried about their prospects and destiny. What did this worry come from? It came from people misunderstanding God and not knowing God—this was the root cause! If your understanding of God conforms with God’s essence—for example, if your understanding of God’s righteousness, authority, and wisdom is in line with the truth—then no matter what God does, even if you don’t understand the reasons and don’t understand God’s will, will you misunderstand God? No, absolutely not. Once I’d handled the issue with the Canadian church, some people said, “This was done to make a warning of them and to frighten us.” What’s their problem? Is what they said in line with the truth? Does it show a correct understanding? (No.) Why not? Let Me tell you something extremely simple: Their understanding was at odds with the true situation, the facts were not like that, and they misunderstood. Isn’t that a simple thing to say? (Yes.) So why do you make such a strenuous effort to explain this issue? I never thought that, and I never wanted to frighten anybody. Most people have been continuously improving in effectiveness in their duty over the years, so do they now do their duty up to standard? No, they don’t, yet these people are in the process of being up to standard in their duty, and if there are any minor issues then I let them pass. During this process, some people may cause disturbances, some may procrastinate, or some minor issues may appear among certain people, but overall, they’re pretty good. However, there is one thing you should not forget: You came to do your duty. No matter how hard you work, or how much you suffer, or how much you are pruned, you should thank God. God gave you this opportunity so that you could experience all manner of different situations and come to have all kinds of personal experiences and encounters. This is a good thing, and it is all done so you can understand the truth. So, what are you worried about? Who are you guarding against? There’s no need to be like that. Just pursue the truth normally, find your correct place, and do your duty and the work that falls to you well, and that’s enough. This is not much to ask of you.

From the moment that antichrist appeared in the Canadian church and started causing disturbances, until those people reached the stage where they’re at today, how long have I put up with them for? I wasn’t totally unaware of what was going on with them, I put up with it for a long time. How much did I put up with? For a long time, they were unable to produce finished works, they made no progress in their work, and none of them attended to their proper affairs; they were all arbitrary and reckless, debauched and unrestrained, and should have been handled long ago. If you are also capable of being arbitrary, reckless, and not attending to your proper affairs, then don’t wait for Me to handle you. Instead, take the initiative and quit; that would be more dignified. Would that be the right thing to do? No, that wouldn’t be the right thing to do, either. Don’t keep thinking about leaving, you need to single-mindedly put down roots here and do your duty well. No matter whether you can do your duty well or not, at least put your heart into it, and make sure that you’ve completed all of your tasks in the end. Don’t be a deserter. Some people say, “My caliber is poor, I’m not very educated and I have no talent. I have faults in my personality and I always encounter difficulties in my duty. What will I do if I can’t do my duty well and get replaced?” What are you afraid of? Can this work be completed by you alone? You’ve just taken on a role, you’re not being asked to take on the whole thing. Just take on the things you ought to do, that’s enough. Won’t you then have fulfilled your responsibilities? It’s so simple; why are you always so wary? You’re afraid that falling leaves will hit your head and crack it open, and you think about your own contingency plans first and foremost—isn’t this good for nothing? What does “good for nothing” mean? It means not trying to make progress, not being willing to give it your all, always wanting to get a free meal ticket and enjoy good things—people like this are trash. Some people are too small-minded. How can we describe such people? (They are extremely petty.) An extremely petty person is a vile person, and any vile person can measure the character of a gentleman by their own vile standards and regard others to be just as selfish and despicable as themselves. These people are good-for-nothings, and even if they believe in God, it won’t be easy for them to accept the truth. What causes a person to have too little faith? It is caused by them not understanding the truth. If you understand too few truths and your understanding of them is too shallow, and you consequently cannot understand every work God undertakes, everything God does, and every requirement God has of you, if you cannot attain this understanding, then all kinds of suspicions, imaginings, misunderstandings, and notions will arise in you regarding God. If your heart is filled with nothing but these things, can you have true faith in God? You have no true faith in God, and that’s why you always feel uneasy, and worry about not knowing when you might be replaced. You feel afraid and think, “God could come here at any time to carry out an inspection.” Just relax. As long as you do the work God’s house entrusts to you well, then even if you’re somewhat lacking in your pursuit of the truth and life entry, I’ll let it slide. As for how your attending of gatherings and listening to sermons, your church life, and your eating and drinking of God’s words are going, I’m not going monitor those things, and I won’t bother you when it comes to your work. Why won’t I bother you? There are several reasons. One is that you are more familiar than I with various professional skills. In the process of the past few years of work, you should have improved in terms of your experience or professional skills and come up with a program for your work. Whether written or verbal, you should have summarized some rules and regulations. I don’t know what mode of work you employ, and I have no wish to upset your work plans and methods of working. You can follow your own styles or patterns, or rules and regulations, and do the work in whatever way is easy and convenient, makes everyone feel free and liberated, and results in a high level of efficiency. That is, I give you full freedom in your work. Though I sometimes walk around the churches, I keep out of the way, so that you don’t see Me—I try My best to make you feel free and liberated. Why do I do this? None of you are very familiar with the professional skills; you need to gradually feel your way around as part of the learning process. Whether people are learning professional skills or entering into the truth, they all have their own rate of progress and level of efficiency. You cannot push people to do things that are beyond their abilities. People must go through a process, experience failures, setbacks, or learn some lessons from their mistakes and then gradually summarize a way forward and master certain principles in all areas. Then they will be making progress. You have your own styles of working and your own methods—it would be inappropriate for Me to bother you in these regards. That’s why I very seldom join in discussions concerning these matters to do with your work. This is the reason that relates to you. There is also a primary reason that relates to Me. I’ll be honest with you, what you are capable of seeing and thinking, whether in terms of professional skills or art, or even more so in terms of the truth, all looks very shallow to Me. Would you be able to bear it if I tried to force you to make faster progress? No, you would not. If I acted among you as I desired, then My demands of you would surpass your current real level of professional skills and your real stature regarding life entry. I don’t wish to do that, because it would be very tiring for Me, and it would be very strenuous for you. We would both get into an awkward situation, and that wouldn’t be good; this is not what I wish to see. These are My thoughts on the matter, and this is how things are. Due to two reasons: one that relates to you, and one which is that I have My thoughts on this matter, I’ve handled things in this way. Handling things in this way is suitable for your gradual growth. In terms of life entry, you have books of God’s words, there are all manner of gatherings and sermons, and there are also leaders and workers who water you and support you; there are so many things which you can eat, drink, and receive provision from. Another aspect is that the process of people’s life growth is akin to a seed being sown in the soil, getting watered and fertilized, and then gradually sprouting and growing until it finally bears fruit. It is a very slow process. Of course, the slow process you go through may be even slower than a seed growing from germination to fruition. Why is that? There are many practical and objective reasons for this contained within people. One is that people have corrupt dispositions, but we won’t talk about that. Another is that people are inert and often become negative. They are lazy, and they are numb and slow when it comes to the truth and positive things. Furthermore, people don’t love positive things. Therefore, when people try to enter the truth and attain life entry, they have an uphill struggle on their hands, and they are sailing against the tides. For people, going with the flow, freeloading, pursuing the secular world, and following the trends, is drifting with the current, which is easy, and from a subjective perspective, people really want to act this way. However, pursuing the truth, doing that which is just, and being people with a sense of justice who can attend to their proper tasks, is very strenuous for them. They have to rebel against their subjective desires, their own feelings, their own notions, and they also have to rebel against their laziness and other such adverse and negative things. When they face people, work partners, or environments that aren’t as they imagined, or even when they hear upsetting or unpleasant things, they must rely on prayer to overcome this, and so they encounter tremendous resistance on the path of pursuing the truth in their belief in God. If they are exceptionally resolute and pursue the truth with incredible energy, they’ll see some progress after a year or two of experience. Otherwise, if they act as they please and just let things take their natural course, then they’ll progress very slowly. Perhaps after some time they’ll encounter a special event, one which has extraordinary significance to them, and they’ll learn a lesson, be pruned, and in their innermost hearts they’ll suffer tremendous hurt and be greatly affected, and only after that will they be able to make a bit of a turn for the better in terms of their life entry. Can this turn for the better enable them to make progress? No, it can’t. Their progress depends on how they seek the truth during this period. If they are people who can only make excuses, who indulge in fleshly comfort, and who don’t really love the truth, then all they’d get from this event would be nothing more than a superficial lesson, and they would not achieve an understanding of the truth. According to this slow pace of life progress you are making, I maintain this distance in My association with you and I adopt this method. Do you think this is appropriate? (Yes.) This is highly beneficial for you; at the very least you feel relaxed. I won’t give you any additional burdens to bear, watching you and keeping an eye on you all day long, not letting you relax for all 24 hours of the day, making you work assiduously and tirelessly. I won’t contrive to do that, but instead allow things to take their natural course with you. Does that mean you can sink into self-indulgence? (No.) So how can I confidently make this choice to not watch you? Because there is the Holy Spirit’s scrutiny. Moreover, if someone pursues the truth, has this need, and is willing to pursue the truth in their innermost heart, then even when you’re not watching them, they’ll still be pursuing the truth—they are a decent person who attends to their proper affairs. If they aren’t a decent person, then it won’t be any use even if you do watch them. When you’re watching them, they just act in a certain way on the surface to treat you perfunctorily, and when you’re not watching for a moment, they just act the way they normally do and fall back into how they were before. The pursuit of the truth is not something that people can monitor. This is something I understand thoroughly, and that’s why I adopt this method to associate and interact with you. It is entirely appropriate for Me to do this.

Hasn’t the matter of the Canadian church been explained clearly now? And have you understood some truths from this matter? If you encounter such a matter again in the future, will you still say that it is a case of punishing people severely to set an example for others and making of them a warning to others? Before this happened, you felt that no one could break apart your relationship with God and that you were already compatible with God. However, when you encountered this matter, that bit of small stature you possess was revealed. What stature? You thought you could bear heavy burdens and suffer, that your resolve and faith were greater than before, and that you would soon be perfected; this was the mistaken perception you harbored in your heart. And what do you think now? Your thinking was a bit premature! Look at Me: I look like this on the outside, I can be touched and seen—can My personality be considered open and clear? Judging from My personality, I’m not someone who goes behind your back when an issue crops up and doesn’t tell you anything, secretly taking action and then making you guess what My intentions are. I’m not that kind of person. No matter what issue crops up, I always explain it clearly to you, and yet, you’re still able to summarize such a set of theories and say, “This is my highest understanding of God.” What do you think of this understanding? You’ve learned a lesson now, haven’t you? Can’t it be said that this has been your greatest failure in your understanding of God? You can hear the words I speak and see My appearance, and I am a person of flesh and blood that can be touched and seen. I took that course of action and none of you were able to fathom it, and we weren’t able to reach a consensus—we didn’t even have this smattering of a tacit understanding. You are so very far from God! You are still a way off from understanding God! These are true words; this is the true situation. Don’t think that just because you can do a bit of your duty, have believed in God for many years, and can talk about some doctrines, that you understand God. Let Me tell you, your thinking is premature! Don’t think that you really know a thing or two. Actually, you’re still far from understanding God; you haven’t even touched the edges of this understanding. People can be revealed in any matter, and some people have been revealed by this matter of the handling of the Canadian church. People must continually grow, and continually come to understand themselves and God through these different situations and events in order to learn about God’s deeds and disposition, understand their rebelliousness, understand exactly what their relationship with God is, and see clearly exactly what level their understanding and knowledge of the truth and their understanding of God are at. Through these matters, your true stature and true state will be measured. Have you learned a lesson this time? Strive to not have this kind of understanding next time. It’s so hurtful, it’s all so unbelievable! Do you think this matter was worth taking such a long time to explain? It shouldn’t have been necessary. Why do I say it shouldn’t have been necessary? According to the words and doctrines you’ve grasped, you should have been able to pass the hurdle of this matter; by contemplating on it yourselves, and everyone fellowshipping on it together, you should have been able to understand it in a relatively pure way, without your understanding becoming so extreme. But, as it turns out, extreme understandings have emerged, and it has become necessary for Me to fellowship on certain details. Aren’t your hearts brightened now after listening to this fellowship? You shouldn’t now have any further ideas about this matter, right? So, do you consider the way I handled those people to be excessive? (No.) Let’s end the discussion on this matter here, and I’ll begin to fellowship on the main topic.

A Dissection of How Antichrists Are Wicked, Insidious, and Deceitful

Last time, we fellowshipped on the seventh manifestation of antichrists—they are wicked, insidious, and deceitful. What aspect did we primarily fellowship on? We talked about how antichrists are wicked. Why do we say that they are wicked? What special dispositions, manifestations, and characteristics within their nature essence can classify them as wicked, insidious, and deceitful? What are the obvious traits that prove their wickedness exists, and that it matches with their true circumstances? What are the main characteristics of their nature essence that give us reason to say that people like this are wicked? Please share your thoughts. (Many antichrists understand the truth, but they openly go against it. They obstinately insist on choosing to walk their own path even though they clearly know what is right. The wickedness of antichrists is also manifested in their baseless hostility toward those who genuinely pursue the truth and toward positive individuals.) (Antichrists don’t want to see others doing well. They only want themselves to enjoy the benefits that God’s house provides to the brothers and sisters—they don’t want the brothers and sisters to enjoy them, so they don’t pass these benefits down to them.) (God, Your previous fellowship left a strong impression on me regarding how antichrists use God and the truth as tools for them to attain status, I feel that this is particularly wicked.) Most of you remember some things, that is, a few of the examples I gave when fellowshipping on the wicked essence of antichrists. You only remember the examples, but you’ve forgotten the content of My fellowship on and dissection of the wicked essence of antichrists. How many of the truths that I touched on while fellowshipping about and dissecting the wicked nature essence of antichrists are you able to understand then? Since you can’t remember these things, doesn’t that indicate that you didn’t understand any of them at the time? If My fellowship had left a strong impression on you, wouldn’t you be able to remember them to some extent? Aren’t the things that spring to your memory those that you understand? Aren’t the things you can’t recall those that you find very difficult to understand, or that you simply cannot understand? When you heard those truths at the time, you thought they were correct, and you remembered them in terms of doctrines, and it required great effort for you to do so. However, after one night’s sleep, you forgot them. A month later, they’re entirely gone. Isn’t that how it goes? To see through to a matter or a person’s essence, you need to understand the truth. If you still cling to the viewpoints of unbelievers, and view and consider things based on the statements of unbelievers, it proves that you don’t understand the truth. If you have gained nothing from the several years you’ve spent listening to sermons and fellowship, and when people fellowship the truth with you, you can’t understand it, no matter how they explain it, this indicates your lack of ability to comprehend the truth, it is called poor caliber. Isn’t that the case? (Yes.) Regarding the wickedness of antichrists, none of you mentioned the most crucial statement. Why didn’t you mention it? In one respect, it’s because it has been a long while, and you’ve forgotten it. In another respect, it’s because you didn’t realize the importance of this statement; you didn’t know that this statement is a key one that lays bare and exposes the wicked essence of antichrists. What is this statement? It’s that the wickedness of antichrists primarily manifests in their hostility and loathing toward all things positive and everything related to the truth. Why do antichrists feel hostile toward and loathe these positive things? Have these positive things harmed them? No. Do they touch on their interests? Sometimes perhaps yes, sometimes not at all. So why do antichrists groundlessly feel hostile toward and loathe positive things? (It’s their nature.) They have this kind of nature, they feel hostile toward and loathe all positive things and truths. This confirms the wicked nature of antichrists. Is this statement important or not? You don’t remember a statement this important; you only remember things that are not crucial. Why did I ask you those questions? So that you would speak, and so I could see to what extent you comprehend these things, how much you can remember in your hearts, and how much you were able to understand at the time. As expected, you only remember a few minor things. You treat all the things I talked about as mindless chit-chat. I did not come here to chat—I came here to tell you how to discern people. The statement I expressed is the highest truth principle for discerning the wicked nature of antichrists. If you can’t apply this statement, then you won’t be able to discern or know the wicked nature of antichrists. For example, when a person is defined as an antichrist, some people may say, “He is good to us, he is loving, and he helps us. Why define such a good person as an antichrist?” They don’t understand that even though antichrists may appear loving toward others on the surface, they disrupt and disturb God’s work, and specifically oppose God. This insidious and cunning side to them is something most people can’t see. They can’t discern it at all, and they misunderstand God, develop notions about God, and even condemn and complain about God because of this. Such people are simply scoundrels and they cannot receive God’s salvation. This is because they only see surface matters, such as how antichrists ensnare, entice, and curry favor with people, and they don’t notice the wicked essence of antichrists, nor do they see the methods antichrists use to resist God and establish independent kingdoms. Why can’t they see these things? It’s because they don’t understand the truth and can’t discern people. They are always misled by outward phenomena and can’t see through to the essence and consequences of the problem. They also always use traditional human notions of morality and ways of the world to measure people and pass verdicts on them. As a result, they are misled by antichrists, they stand on the side of antichrists, and conflicts and clashes arise between them and God. Whose fault is this? How did this mistake occur? This is the consequence of them not understanding the truth, not knowing God’s work, and always viewing people and things based on their notions and imaginings.

II. A Dissection of Antichrists’ Love of Negative Things

Today, we’ll continue fellowshipping on the seventh manifestation of antichrists: They are wicked, insidious, and deceitful. The focus of this manifestation is on their wickedness, as wickedness encompasses both insidiousness and deceitfulness. Wickedness is representative of the essence of antichrists, while insidiousness and deceitfulness are subordinate. Last time, we fellowshipped on and exposed the wicked essence of antichrists. We fellowshipped on some broad concepts and some relatively defining content, touching on some words about exposing this aspect of the essence of antichrists. Today, we will continue our fellowship on this subject. Some might ask, “Is there anything to fellowship on when it comes to this subject?” There is. There are some details that still need to be fellowshipped on here. We will fellowship about this subject in a different manner and from a different perspective today. What was the main characteristic and manifestation of antichrists’ wicked nature that we fellowshipped on last time? People like antichrists feel hostile toward and loathe all positive things and the truth. Their hostility and loathing toward the truth and positive things doesn’t require a reason, nor does it happen as a result of anybody’s instigation, and it’s certainly not the result of them being possessed by an evil spirit. Instead, they inherently just don’t like these things. They feel hostile toward and loathe these things; in their lives and in their bones, they feel repulsion when they encounter positive things. If you bear testimony to God or fellowship about the truth with them, they will develop a hatred toward you, and may even have a mind to attack you. We covered this aspect of antichrists feeling hostile toward and loathing positive things in our last fellowship, so we won’t discuss it again this time. In this fellowship, we’ll explore another aspect. What is that other aspect? Antichrists feel hostile toward and loathe positive things, so what do they like? Today, we will analyze and dissect the wicked nature of antichrists from this side and perspective. Is this necessary? (Yes.) It is necessary. Could you realize it on your own? (No.) Antichrists’ dislike of positive things and the truth is their wicked nature. So, on this basis, consider carefully what antichrists like, and what manner of things they like to do, as well as their method and means of doing things, and the kind of people they like—isn’t this a better perspective and side from which to view their wicked nature? This provides a more specific and objective view. First, antichrists dislike positive things, which implies that they are hostile toward them and like negative things. What are some examples of negative things? Lies and trickery—aren’t these negative things? Yes, lies and trickery are negative things. So, what is the positive counterpart to lies and trickery? (Honesty.) Correct, it’s honesty. Does Satan like honesty? (No.) It likes trickery. What is the first thing God requires of humans? God says, “If you want to believe in Me and follow Me, what kind of person should you be first and foremost?” (An honest person.) So, what is the first thing that Satan teaches people to do? To lie. What is the first evidence of the wicked nature of antichrists? (Trickery.) Yes, antichrists like trickery, they like lies, and they detest and hate honesty. Though honesty is a positive thing, they do not like it, and instead they feel repulsion and hatred toward it. By contrast, they like trickery and lies. If someone often speaks truthfully in front of antichrists, saying something like, “You like conducting work from a position of status, and sometimes you’re lazy,” how do antichrists feel about it? (They don’t accept it.) Not accepting it is one of the attitudes they possess, but is that all? What is their attitude toward this person who speaks truthfully? They feel repulsed and don’t like them. Some antichrists say to the brothers and sisters, “I’ve been leading you for some time now. Please everybody tell me your opinions about me.” Everybody thinks, “Since you’re being so sincere, we’ll give you some feedback.” Some say, “You’re quite serious and diligent in everything you do, and you’ve endured a lot of suffering. We can hardly bear to watch it, and we feel distressed on your behalf. God’s house could use more leaders like you! If we had to point out a shortcoming, it would be that you’re too serious and diligent. If you overwork yourself and burn out, you won’t be able to keep working, and won’t we be done for then? Who will lead us?” When antichrists hear this, they feel pleased. They know it’s a lie, that these people are currying favor with them, but they’re willing to listen to it. In fact, the people saying this are playing these antichrists like fools, but these antichrists would rather play the fool than reveal the true nature of these words. Antichrists love people who lick their boots like this. These individuals don’t bring up the antichrists’ faults, corrupt dispositions, or shortcomings. Instead, they covertly praise and exalt them. Even though it’s clear that their words are lies and flattery, the antichrists gladly accept these words, finding them comforting and pleasing. To antichrists, these words are better than savoring the most exquisite delicacies. After hearing these words, they feel smug. What does this illustrate? It shows that there is a certain disposition within antichrists that loves lies. Suppose someone tells them, “You’re too arrogant, and you treat people unfairly. You’re good to those who support you, but if someone keeps their distance from you or doesn’t suck up to you, you belittle and ignore them.” Aren’t these truthful words? (Yes.) How do antichrists feel after hearing this? They become unhappy. They don’t want to hear it, and they can’t accept it. They try to find excuses and reasons to explain things away and smooth things over. As for those who constantly flatter antichrists in person, who always speak nice-sounding words to covertly praise them, and even clearly trick them with their words, antichrists never investigate these people. Instead, antichrists make use of them as important figures. They even put perpetual liars in important positions, assigning them to do certain significant and dignified duties, while arranging for those who always speak honestly, and often report issues, to do their duties in less conspicuous positions, preventing them from having access to upper leadership or from being known by or close to most people. It doesn’t matter how talented these people are or what duties they can do in God’s house—antichrists ignore all that. They only care about who can engage in trickery and who is advantageous to them; these are the individuals whom they put in important positions, without considering the interests of God’s house one bit.

Antichrists love trickery and lies. For instance, suppose that the churches they supervise do not pay any attention to the gospel work, and do not focus on training people to spread the gospel, and as a result, the gospel work gets poor results, and few people are gained. Antichrists, however, fear that people may report the actual situation. They hate anyone who speaks honestly, and like those who can lie, engage in trickery, and sweep all disadvantageous information under the rug. So, what kind of talk do antichrists like to hear the most? “Everyone who spreads the gospel in our church is capable of testifying, and each one of them is an expert at spreading the gospel.” Aren’t these words meant to trick people? But antichrists enjoy hearing such things. How do antichrists respond after hearing this? They say, “Great, the results of our church’s gospel work just keep improving, they’re much better than those of other churches. The people who spread the gospel in our church are all masters at it.” Antichrists and those who flatter them laud each other in this way, and antichrists do not expose their shameless flattery. The antichrists work in this manner: When their subordinates trick them, they willingly fall for it. Antichrists just fool around in this way. If someone knows the real situation and steps forward to say, “This is not accurate. Out of the 10 individuals we’ve been spreading the gospel to, we’ve determined that two of them don’t accept the truth, and they’ve already given up on investigating. Only three out of the other eight genuinely believe in God. Let’s do our very best to bring those three in.” When the reality of the situation is exposed, how do antichrists react? They think, “I didn’t know about those things!” When someone speaks truthfully about the real situation of things that antichrists were unaware of, do they agree or disagree with them, are they happy or unhappy? They’re unhappy. Why are they unhappy? They’re leaders, and yet they’re unaware of and have no grasp of the particulars and the facts regarding the church’s work—they even need someone who understands what’s really going on to explain it all to them. When someone who understands the situation and speaks honestly clarifies these matters, what is the antichrists’ initial feeling? They feel like they’ve completely lost face, and that their prestige is going to take a dive. Given the wicked nature of antichrists, what will they do? Hatred will arise within them, and they will think, “You blabbermouth! If you hadn’t spoken up, this would have slipped past without anyone noticing it. Thanks to you, everyone knows about it, and they might start admiring you instead of me. Doesn’t this make me look incapable, like I’m not doing any actual work? I’ll remember you. You tell the truth, challenging and opposing me at every turn. I’ll make sure you regret it!” Think about it, how do they view those who work conscientiously, who speak honestly, and who loyally do their duties? They see them as adversaries. Isn’t this distorting the facts? Not only do they fail to promptly cooperate and make up for their work-related mistakes, but they also continue to neglect their duties. They even harbor hatred toward those who speak truthfully and who are careful and responsible in their work. They may even try to torment them. Is this not the behavior of antichrists? (Yes.) What kind of disposition is this? This is wickedness. The wickedness of antichrists is exposed in this way. Whenever an honest person appears, whenever someone speaks honest, truthful words, and whenever someone adheres to the principles and investigates the true nature of the matter, antichrists feel repulsed and loathe them, and their wicked nature erupts and reveals itself. Whenever there is trickery, and whenever lies are told, antichrists become delighted, revel in it, and even forget themselves. Have any of you read “The Emperor’s New Clothes”? The behavior of antichrists is somewhat similar in nature. In that story, the emperor paraded naked in the streets, and thousands of people exclaimed, “The emperor’s new clothes are truly beautiful! The emperor looks so wonderful! The emperor is so great! The emperor’s new clothes are indeed magical!” Everyone was telling lies. Did the emperor know? He was completely naked, how could he be unaware of the fact that he was not wearing any clothes? This is called foolishness. So, these wicked antichrists, despite being insidious and deceitful, lack wisdom. Why do I say they lack wisdom? It is because they are like that naked emperor. He had no discernment of words that were meant to trick him. He was even capable of walking around naked, exposing his ugliness. Isn’t this foolishness? So, what is it that antichrists’ wickedness often reveals? It is their foolishness.

Because antichrists have a wicked nature, because they love trickery and lies but dislike honesty, and because they detest truthful speech, therefore, in churches that are under the rule of antichrists, those individuals who are either honest or pursuing to be honest, those who practice the truth and don’t want to trick or lie, are often subjected to torment. Is this not the case? The more you speak truthfully, the more an antichrist will torment you, and the more you speak truthfully, the more they will dislike you. Conversely, those who flatter and trick them gain favor and are well-liked in their eyes. Are antichrists not wicked? Do you have such wicked antichrists around you? Have you ever encountered them? They don’t allow people to speak truthfully; whoever speaks truthfully has their mouth shut. If you ever manage to lie and line up with what they say, becoming their accomplice, then they will no longer be your adversary. If you persist in speaking truthfully and handling matters according to the truth principles, sooner or later, they will torment you. Have any of you been tormented? Just because you exposed the evil deeds of false leaders and antichrists, you were tormented, and in the end, you were tormented to the point that you dared not say anything even if you wanted to. Has this ever happened? Speaking truthfully and reporting issues led to you being tormented. In various churches, have any of you been tormented for reporting issues? If someone who tells lies and tricks the church is pruned, are they being tormented? (No.) This is normal discipline; it’s not the same as torment. This happens because you are derelict in your duty, you violate principles, and you act with wrong intentions, lying and tricking, which leads to being pruned. So, in God’s presence, you will never bear any consequences for speaking truthfully. However, in the presence of Satan and of antichrists, you must be more cautious. This reflects the saying, “Kings and bears often worry their keepers.” When you talk to them, you always have to consider their mood, gauging their happiness and whether their expression is gloomy or sunny, then decide what to say to be in line with their thoughts. For example, if an antichrist says, “Isn’t it going to rain today?” you have to say, “The forecast says it will rain today.” In reality, when the antichrist says it might rain today, it’s because he doesn’t want to go out and do his duty. If you say, “The forecast says it will be sunny today,” he’ll get angry. You’ll have to quickly say, “Oh, I misspoke. It’s going to rain today.” The antichrist says, “You just said it wouldn’t rain. How can you say now that it will rain?” You’ll have to respond, “Just because it’s sunny now doesn’t mean that it will continue that way. As the ancients said, ‘Heaven has its unexpected storms.’ Weather forecasts aren’t always accurate, but your judgment is spot on!” When the antichrist hears this, he becomes pleased and praises you for being sensible. Do you ever comport yourselves like this? You do, right? Are you capable of doing what antichrists often do, not allowing people to speak truthfully and tormenting anyone who does? Haven’t you all watched palace dramas? What’s the relationship between the emperor and his ministers at court? Their relationship might not be easy to express in one sentence, but there is a phenomenon among them, that is, the emperor doesn’t take anybody’s words at face value. He analyzes and scrutinizes everything his ministers say, never taking it as the truth. This is his principle for listening to his ministers speak. As for the ministers, they have to be skilled at listening to unspoken implications. For instance, when the emperor says, “Prime Minister Wang mentioned something today,” and so on and so forth, everyone listens to this and thinks, “The emperor seems to want to promote Prime Minister Wang, but he’s most afraid of people forming factions, seeking private gain, and rebelling, so I can’t openly support Prime Minister Wang. I have to stand in the middle, neither opposing nor supporting him, so that the emperor can’t discern my true intentions—but I’m not opposing the emperor’s will either.” You see, in their minds, even a single statement involves so much thought, with twists and turns even more intricate than a snake’s path. The core meaning of what they say remains elusive, shrouded in ambiguity. It takes years of accumulated experience to analyze which statements are true or false, and you have to decipher their intended meaning based on how they usually behave and talk. In short, there’s not a single truthful statement in their speech, and everything that they say is lies. Everyone’s dialogue, whether those lower in rank or higher up, contains its own manner of speaking. They speak from their own standpoint, but what they say is never the literal meaning you hear—it’s just lies. How do lies come about? Because people carry certain intentions, purposes, and motivations into their speech and actions, when they speak, they are careful with their words and the implications of their words, they beat around the bush, and they have their own method of speaking. Once they have a method, is it still truthful speech? No, it’s not. Their words contain many layers of meaning, a combination of truth and falsehood—some true, some false—and some meant to trick. In any case, they are not truthful. Take the example of Prime Minister Wang that was just mentioned. Someone openly opposes Prime Minister Wang at court. His opposition is not immediately apparent as true or false. You have to look further. In the next scene, he’s drinking in a secret drawing room in Prime Minister Wang’s house. It turns out the two of them are working together. If you just watch the scene where this person opposes Prime Minister Wang, how can you see that the two are working together? Why did he oppose him? To avoid suspicion and use this to make the emperor lower his guard, preventing him from suspecting that they are in cahoots. Isn’t this a tactic? (Yes, it is.) These people live in that circle where they dare not speak a single word of truth. If telling lies every day is so exhausting, why don’t they leave? They even visit the grave of an opponent who has died—what’s up with that? They simply love to fight against others; without fighting, they feel that life is dull. If there’s no fighting, they think that this lifetime is too uneventful. With all these schemes and plots in their mind but nowhere to put them to use, they need a rival to fight against, to see who is superior. That’s when they feel their life has value. If their opponent dies, they feel like there’s no meaning left in their life. Tell Me, can people like this be reformed? (No, they can’t.) This is their nature. Antichrists have this kind of nature: They fight against others and with leaders and workers every day. They even fight against God, telling lies and tricking every day, disrupting and disturbing the work of God’s house. They can’t sit still for a moment. They can’t accept the truth, no matter how it’s fellowshipped to them. Like the great red dragon, they won’t rest until they’re completely destroyed.

Antichrists dislike those who speak truthfully, they dislike honest people. They enjoy trickery and lies. So, what is their attitude toward God? For instance, what is their attitude toward God requiring people to be honest? First, they hold this truth in contempt. Their ability to disdain positive things is really indicative of their problem, and it already proves that their nature is wicked. However, this isn’t the complete or total picture. Digging deeper, how do antichrists understand God’s demand for people to be honest? They might say, “Being an honest person, speaking to God about everything, telling Him everything, and sharing everything openly with the brothers and sisters—doesn’t that mean losing my dignity? It means having no dignity, no self, and certainly no privacy. This is terrible; what kind of truth is this?” Don’t they view it like this? Antichrists not only hold God’s words and demand about being honest in contempt deep within their hearts, but they may even condemn it. If they can condemn it, can they be honest people? Absolutely not, they absolutely cannot be honest. What’s the reaction of antichrists when they see some people admitting that they told lies? From the depths of their hearts, they scorn and mock such behavior. They believe that people who try to be honest are too foolish. Isn’t it wicked for them to define honest people as fools? (Yes, it is.) This is wicked. They think, “Who tells the truth in today’s society? God asks you to be honest, and you actually try to be honest—you even speak honestly about such matters. You truly are incredibly foolish!” The contempt they feel for honest people in the depths of their hearts proves that they condemn and loathe this truth, and that they neither accept it nor submit to it. Is this not the wickedness of antichrists? This truth is clearly a positive thing, and an aspect of living out normal humanity that people should possess in terms of their comportment, but antichrists condemn it. This is wicked. In the church, there are often people who, because they report problems or describe the true state of affairs to the Above, end up being “pruned” by certain leaders—they get tormented. Sometimes, when the Above asks about the situation in the church, some leaders report only positive things and leave out the negative things. When some people hear that these leaders’ reports aren’t factual, and ask them to tell the truth, these leaders push them to the side, and prevent them from telling the truth. Some people don’t accept the antichrists’ way of doing things. They think, “Since you won’t speak honestly, I won’t treat you like a leader. I’ll tell the truth to the Above. I’m not afraid of them pruning me.” So, they faithfully report the real situation to the Above. When they do this, it blows the lid off the church. How come? Because these people have exposed the facts about those antichrists—they have exposed the true state of affairs. Do the antichrists agree to this? Can they tolerate it? They will absolutely not spare the people who reported the issue. What do the antichrists do? Soon after, they call a meeting about this matter, they ask people to discuss it and observe their reactions. Most people, easily swayed, consider the matter and think, “Someone has reported the facts, and now this leader is in danger. We didn’t report what was going on—if the Above decides to punish this leader, won’t we be implicated along with them?” So, these people find ways to defend the leaders, and as a result, the people who reported the truth become isolated. In this way, the antichrists can do as they please, because no matter what evil things they do, nobody dares to report the situation to the Above, and they thereby achieve their goals. Therefore, for some people, reporting the situation to the Above presents many actual difficulties. They know the facts, but antichrists always want to silence them. Out of fear and timidity, they compromise, and in doing so, don’t they fall victim to the antichrists’ coercion? In the end, once these antichrists are revealed and replaced, how do you think the people who compromised feel? Do they regret it? (Yes, they regret it.) They feel both pleased and regretful, thinking, “If I’d known this is how things would end up, I wouldn’t have given up. I should have continued to expose them and report their issues until they were replaced.” But most people can’t do that; they are too cowardly.

Antichrists like trickery and lies and loathe honesty; this is the first obvious manifestation of their wicked nature. You see, some people always speak in a way that makes it difficult for people to wrap their minds around it. Sometimes their sentences have a beginning but no end, sometimes an end but no beginning. You can’t tell at all what they mean to say, nothing they say makes any sense to you, and if you ask them to explain clearly, they won’t. They often use pronouns in their speech. For example, they report something, and say, “That guy—um, he was thinking that, and then the brothers and sisters weren’t very …” They could go on for hours and still not express themselves clearly, stuttering and stammering, not finishing their sentences, just uttering some single words that have no connection to one another, leaving you none the wiser after hearing it—and anxious, even. In fact, they have undertaken a lot of studies and are well-educated—so why are they incapable of uttering a complete sentence? This is a problem of disposition. They are so slippery that it takes great effort to speak even a bit of the truth. There is no focus to anything antichrists say, there is always a start but no end; they blurt out half a sentence then swallow the other half, and they are always testing the waters, because they don’t want you to understand what they mean, they want you to guess. If they tell you directly, you’ll realize what they’re saying and see right through them, won’t you? They don’t want that. What do they want? They want you to guess on your own, and they are happy to let you believe what you guess is true—in that case, they didn’t say it, so they don’t bear any responsibility. Beyond that, what do they gain when you tell them your guess at what their meaning is? Your guess is exactly what they want to hear, and it tells them your ideas and views on the matter. From there, they will speak selectively, choosing what to say and what not to say, and how to say it, and then they will take the next step in their plan. Every sentence ends with a trap, and as you listen to them, if you keep finishing their sentences, you will have completely fallen into the trap. Is it tiring for them to always speak like this? Their disposition is wicked—they don’t feel tired. It’s completely natural for them. Why do they want to create these traps for you? Because they can’t see your views clearly, and they fear that you will see through them. At the same time they are trying to stop you from understanding them, they are trying to understand you. They want to elicit your views, ideas, and methods out of you. If they succeed, then their traps have worked. Some people stall by often saying “hmm” and “hah”; they don’t express a specific point of view. Others stall by saying “like” and “well…,” covering up what they’re really thinking, using this in place of what they actually want to say. There are many useless function words, adverbs, and auxiliary verbs in every sentence of theirs. If you were to record their words and write them out, you would discover that none of them reveal their views or attitudes on the matter. All of their words contain hidden traps, temptations, and enticements. What is this disposition? (Wicked.) Very wicked! Is there trickery involved? These traps, temptations, and enticements they create are called trickery. This is a common characteristic of people with the wicked essence of antichrists. How does this common characteristic manifest? They report the good news but not the bad, they exclusively speak in pleasing terms, they speak haltingly, they partially hide their true meaning, they speak confusingly, they speak vaguely, and their words carry temptations. All of these things are traps, and all of them are means of trickery.

The majority of antichrists exhibit these manifestations and speak and act in this way. Could you discern this if you came into contact with them for a long time? Could you see through them? First, you have to determine if they are honest people. No matter how much they demand that others be honest and speak truthfully, you have to see if they themselves are honest people, if they are striving to be honest, and what their viewpoint and attitude is toward honest people. See if they are repulsed by, loathe, and discriminate against honest people in the depths of their hearts, or if they also want to be honest people deep down, yet find it difficult and challenging to do so, so they can’t achieve it. You need to figure out which of these is their situation. Could you discern this? In a short period of time, you might not be able to do so, because if their tricky methods are clever, you may not see through them. However, over time, everybody will be able to see through them; they can’t hide the truth about themselves forever. It’s like how the great red dragon often says it’s “serving the people” and “acting as the people’s public servant.” But nowadays who still believes that it’s the party of the people? Who still believes it’s making decisions on behalf of the people? Nobody believes that anymore, right? Initially, the people had optimistic expectations, thinking that with the Communist Party, they could change their fortunes and become masters, that it would serve the people and act as their public servant. But nowadays, who still believes its lies? How do people evaluate it now? It has become a public enemy of the people. So, how did it go from being a public servant to being a public enemy? Through its actions, and by comparing its actions to its words, people discovered that all the things it said were just deceitful lies, falsehoods, and words intended to whitewash itself. It spoke the most pleasant-sounding words but did the worst things. Antichrists are like this too. For example, they tell the brothers and sisters, “You should do your duties loyally—don’t let them be adulterated by personal impurities.” But think about it, do they act in this way themselves? When you suggest something to them, as soon as you just reveal a bit of your opinion, they won’t agree with it or accept it. When their personal interests clash with their duties or the interests of God’s house, they fight for every inch of profit and won’t give an inch away. Think about their behavior, then compare it to what they say. What do you notice? Their words sound nice but they are all falsehoods meant to trick people. When they scheme and fight for their interests, their behavior, as well as the intentions, means, and methods of their actions, are all genuine—they aren’t fake. Based on these things, you can gain some discernment of antichrists.

Antichrists love lies and trickery—what else do they like? They like tactics, schemes, and plots. They operate according to Satan’s philosophy, never seeking the truth, relying entirely on lies and trickery and employing schemes and plots. No matter how clearly you fellowship the truth, even if they nod in acknowledgment, they won’t act according to the truth principles. Instead, they’ll rack their brains and act using schemes and plots. It doesn’t matter how clearly you fellowship the truth, it seems that they can’t understand it; they simply do things the way they are willing to do them, the way they want to do them, and whatever way is in their own self-interest. They speak smoothly, concealing their true face and true colors, fooling and tricking people, and when others fall for it, they feel pleased, and their ambitions and desires have been fulfilled. This is the consistent method and approach of antichrists. Regarding those honest people who are straightforward in how they talk, who speak honestly and openly fellowship about their own negativity, weakness, and rebellious states, and who speak from the heart, antichrists are inwardly repulsed by them and discriminate against them. They like people who, like they do, speak in a crooked and deceitful manner and don’t practice the truth. When they encounter such people, they feel delighted in their hearts, as if they’ve found someone like them. They no longer worry about others being better than them or being able to discern them. Isn’t this a manifestation of the wicked nature of antichrists? Can’t it demonstrate that they are wicked? (Yes, it can.) Why can these matters illustrate that antichrists are wicked? Positive things and the truth are what any rational created being with a conscience should love. However, when it comes to antichrists, they regard these positive things as a pain in their necks and a thorn in their sides. Anyone who abides by or practices them becomes their enemy, and they view such individuals with hostility. Doesn’t this resemble the nature of Satan’s hostility toward Job? (Yes.) It is the same nature, the same disposition as Satan’s, and the same essence. The nature of antichrists originates from Satan, and they belong to the same category as Satan. Therefore, antichrists are in league with Satan. Is this statement excessive? Not at all; it’s entirely correct. Why? Because antichrists don’t love positive things. They enjoy engaging in trickery, they like lies, illusory appearances, and pretense. If someone exposes their true face, can they submit and accept it joyfully? Not only could they not accept it, they would respond with a shower of abuse. People who tell the truth or expose their true face would infuriate them and make them fly into a rage. For instance, there might be an antichrist who is very skilled at pretense. Everyone perceives them as a good person: loving, able to sympathize with people, able to understand others’ difficulties, and often supportive and helpful to those who are weak and negative. Whenever others have any difficulties, they are able to show consideration and excuse them. In people’s hearts, this antichrist is greater than God. Regarding this person who postures as virtuous, if you expose their pretense and imposture, if you tell them the truth, can they accept it? Not only will they not accept it, but they will start ramping up their pretense and imposture. Tell Me, if you exposed the imposture of the Pharisees when they carried their scriptures to the street corners to pray and read it for others to hear, and you told them that they were doing it for show, would they confess to what you said? Would they gladly accept it? Would they reflect on your words? Could they admit that what they were doing was imposture and trickery? Could they reflect, repent, and never act this way again? Absolutely not. If you continued by saying, “Your actions are misleading people and you will go to hell and be punished,” wouldn’t that be telling the truth? (Yes.) It is telling the truth. Would they accept it? No, they would become immediately furious and say, “What? You’re saying I’ll go to hell and be punished? That’s rich! I believe in God, not you! Your words mean nothing!” Is that the end of it? What would they do next? They would continue, saying, “I’ve traveled far and wide, spread the gospel to so many people, borne so much fruit, taken up so many crosses, and I’ve suffered so much in prison—you child, when I started believing in the Lord you were still in your mother’s womb!” Their nature is exposed, right? Don’t they preach patience and tolerance—why then can’t they tolerate this small matter? Why can’t they tolerate it? Because you’ve told the truth, you’ve uncovered their true self, and they have no destination. Can they still tolerate this? If they are not antichrists, if they are on the path of antichrists but can accept the truth, and they also show a manifestation of imposture, what will they do if you expose their imposture? They might not immediately reflect on themselves, and to say that they do so may sound unrealistic and hollow. However, most normal people’s first reaction to hearing this is a feeling of discomfort. What does this discomfort signify? It means they’re affected by what they hear; they didn’t expect someone to dare to act so rashly, tell the truth, and condemn them like this in front of them—these words are something they never expected and never heard before. Furthermore, they have a sense of shame and want to save face. As they mull over you telling them that standing at the street corner to pray and read scripture is misleading people, after self-examination they discover that doing this was indeed to show people how devoted they are, how much they love the Lord, and how much they can suffer, that this is imposture, and what you said was true. They discover that if they continue acting like this, they won’t be able to show their face to other people. They have a sense of shame, and with that sense of shame, they might be able to restrain themselves somewhat and stop their evil deeds or their actions that are shameless and would lose face for them. What does it mean when they no longer continue to act like this? It implies a hint of repentance. It isn’t certain that they will definitely repent, but at least there’s a possibility of repentance, which is much better than antichrists and Pharisees. What makes it better? Because they have a conscience and sense of shame, the exposing words of other people prick at their heart. Although they may feel ashamed and that their dignity was wounded, they can at least acknowledge that these words are correct. Even if they are unable to save face, deep inside, they have already acknowledged and submitted to those words, accepting them already. How are antichrists different? Why do we say that antichrists are wicked? The wickedness of antichrists lies in the fact that when they hear something that is right, not only are they unable to accept it, on the contrary, they hate it. Additionally, they resort to their own ways, looking for excuses, reasons, and various objective factors to defend and explain themselves. What purpose do they aim to achieve? They aim to turn negative things into positive things and positive things into negative ones—they want to reverse the situation. Isn’t this wicked? They think, “No matter how right you are, or how much your words are in accordance with the truth, can you withstand my silver tongue? Even though all the words I speak are clearly false, cheating, and misleading, I will still deny and condemn what you say.” Isn’t this wicked? Indeed, this is wicked. Do you think that antichrists, when they see good people, don’t consider them honest in their hearts? They do consider them to be honest people and pursuers of the truth, but what is their definition of honesty and pursuing the truth? They think that honest people are foolish. They are repulsed by, detest, and are hostile toward the pursuit of the truth. They believe it to be false, that no one could be so foolish as to forsake everything in pursuit of the truth, to say anything to anybody, and entrust everything to God. No one is that foolish. They feel that all these actions are false, and they don’t believe in any of them. Do antichrists believe that God is almighty and righteous? (They do not.) So, they draw question marks behind all these things in their minds. What’s the implication here? How do we interpret this heap of question marks? They don’t just doubt or question it; in the end, they also deny it and aim to reverse the situation. What do I mean by reversing the situation? They think, “What’s the use of being so just? If a lie is repeated a thousand times, it becomes the truth. If no one speaks the truth, then it isn’t the truth and it has no use—it’s just a lie!” Isn’t this twisting right and wrong? This is the wickedness of Satan—distorting facts and twisting right and wrong—this is what they like. Antichrists excel in pretense and trickery. What they excel in is, of course, inherent to their core, and what is inherent to their core is precisely that which is in their nature essence. Even more, it’s that which they crave and love, and it’s also the rule for how they survive in the world. They believe in sayings like “The good die young while the bad live a thousand years,” “Every man for himself and the devil take the hindmost,” “One’s destiny is in his own hand,” “Man will triumph over nature,” and so on. Do any of these statements align with humanity or the natural laws that normal people can comprehend? Not a single one. So how can antichrists be so fond of these devilish sayings of Satan and even treat them as their mottos? One can only say that it is because their nature is too wicked.

There was a certain church leader I came in contact with a few times over the course of about a year. We had several opportunities to meet, but our conversations were limited because he was not one to speak freely. What does that mean—“not one to speak freely”? It means he wouldn’t say much even when you asked him questions. Now, was he like this in his interactions with others in the church? There were two possible situations. With those who were of a like mind, he had plenty to say. However, with those who were not of a like mind, he became guarded and spoke less freely. Later on, I summed up that during My interactions with him, he spoke five “classic” phrases in total. He didn’t speak freely, so when he said something, it became a “classic” phrase. What kind of person is this? Can we call him a “distinguished person”? It’s quite normal for church leaders or workers to have contact with Me and discuss matters, isn’t it? However, this person was unique. He spoke only five phrases, five incredibly “classic” phrases. Listen to what makes these phrases so “classic.” Each phrase of his has its own context and a little story behind it. Let’s start with where his first phrase came from.

In the church led by this leader, there was an evil person who had done several bad things and disturbed the church’s work. Everyone saw that he was an evil person, so they started fellowshipping about him and discussing him. If he was to be expelled and sent away, a notice would need to be made about him in the church, so everyone would know what bad things he had done and why he was being classified as an evil person and sent away. While some of the bad things that evil person had done were being exposed, this leader, who usually didn’t talk much, spoke up and said, “He meant well.” How did he view that evil person doing those bad things and disturbing the church’s work? “The fellow meant well.” He believed that the bad things a bad person does are in line with the truth, so long as that person means well. To him, regardless of the nature of their actions, whether good or bad, or the consequences of their actions, as long as they mean well, even the disruptions and disturbances they cause are in line with the truth. “He meant well.” That was the first phrase this leader spoke. Have you ever heard such talk? An evil person is clearly doing evil, and yet someone says that that person harbored good intentions while doing those bad things. Does everyone have discernment of this phrase? I believe some people might be misled by this phrase because the majority of people think that as long as someone means well, they shouldn’t be handled, and that if someone does something bad with good intentions, they aren’t doing evil on purpose. After being thus stirred up and misled by this leader, it was possible that some people might go over to the leader’s side, and start sympathizing with the evil person. Without this leader misleading them, the majority of people would have understood this matter correctly and thought that evil person should be expelled and sent away for doing evil. However, after being stirred up and misled by this leader, some people thought, “He meant well, that makes sense. Sometimes we’re like that too. So, if we do something bad with good intentions, will we also be cleared out and sent away?” As a result, they came over to the side of this leader. Why? They were thinking about their own futures. Wasn’t it easy for people to accept the phrase that this leader spoke? What were the consequences of them accepting it? They developed doubts about God, about His righteous disposition and about His principles for doing things. They developed doubts about the principles that God’s house has for doing things, raised question marks about them, and then they condemned them. They harbored these doubts in their hearts. In reality, this evil person wasn’t being sent away because he had done one bad thing. In God’s house, nobody is sent away simply because they made an occasional mistake, no matter whether they do manual labor, a special duty, or a duty involving technical skills. They all undergo a joint classification of their consistent behavior by church leaders and the brothers and sisters, and then they are handled. For example, if someone is always lazy when they should be working and makes excuses to avoid work, is it appropriate to send them away based on this behavior? (Yes, it is.) That’s right, it is appropriate. For instance, if you’re assigned to clean, and you frequently eat sunflower seeds, drink tea, read the newspaper, and casually toss sunflower seed shells around, aren’t you neglecting your duties? Not only are you not cleaning, you’re also creating a mess, which means you are neglecting your duties. If you’re incompetent in your work, it’s entirely in line with the principles to send you away, and you shouldn’t argue about it. However, this church leader claimed that the person meant well, which misled people. After the leader stirred up and misled people like this, some of them followed his lead, and they reached a consensus. But where did they place God and the truth principles when they acted this way? They became like a family, talking about “our church” and “our house of God.” How are “church” and “house of God” defined? Can there be a house of God where there is no God? (No.) If there is no God in a place, can a church exist or be established there? (No, it cannot.) So, what did it mean when they said “our”? It meant they had split from God. The church became this muddled leader’s church, he became the master of the church, while those so-called brothers and sisters and muddled people formed a gang with him and acted like relatives toward him. They distanced themselves from God, and so God took on a role outside of the “house of God.” These were the consequences that developed when this leader uttered that first phrase under these circumstances. Everybody particularly approved of him, thinking, “Our church leader is fair, he is considerate of us, forgives our weaknesses, and even speaks up for us. When we make mistakes, God always exposes and prunes us. But our leader always protects us, just like a mother hen protects her chicks. With him around, we won’t suffer any wrongs.” Everyone was grateful to him. These were the consequences of the first phrase spoken by this leader.

Let’s continue with the second phrase spoken by this leader. There had been some work concerning outside affairs in the church that most people couldn’t perform or were too busy with their duties to take care of. There were some believers in name only who were adept at handling outside matters, so the house of God allocated a bit money to get someone like this to take care of these tasks, and sometimes God’s house would spend a bit more for him to handle quite a few tasks on its behalf. Tell Me, did it violate the principles for God’s house to spend an extra 200 RMB to handle matters like these? This was the only way to handle those matters, and it bore good results, so that was how they were handled. Giving that person an extra 200 RMB made it convenient for God’s house to handle these matters, and many issues got resolved. Was it worth it to spend that extra 200 RMB? (It was worth it.) It was absolutely worth it. It was appropriate to do things this way. If God’s house gave that 200 RMB to someone who couldn’t handle those tasks, it would just be a waste. Giving that 200 RMB to him meant that those tasks could be done well—so was it in line with the principles for God’s house to handle things in this way? (It was in line with the principles.) So, was it in line with the principles to not discuss or communicate this with the brothers and sisters? (It was in line with the principles.) Does the Above have the right to handle things this way? (Yes.) Yes, that’s certain. But this church leader said, “The brothers and sisters said that person was given another 200 RMB.... I’m just asking about this matter on behalf of the brothers and sisters. They don’t understand this principle, and we want to seek how to fellowship about this aspect of the truth.” He only spoke in half sentences. This was his second phrase. Obviously, this phrase was a question, meaning, “You say that everything You do is in line with the principles, but this thing isn’t, and some brothers and sisters have opinions and notions about it, so I have to question You about it on their behalf. How do You explain this matter? Give me an explanation.” That’s a question, isn’t it? Now, go ahead and analyze how many messages were contained within this—what is your view when you hear a thing like this? How do you view this person based on this matter? (God, there was a questioning tone to this phrase of his. He was questioning God. Actually, he had his own notions on this matter. He didn’t express his own true thoughts, instead he said it was the brothers and sisters who couldn’t accept the Above’s decision, that they had opinions about it. As a church leader, when the brothers and sisters had notions, he should have fellowshipped the truth with them to resolve this issue, but not only did he not resolve it, he came to question God with these notions. There’s a deceitful and wicked disposition in him.) Two points have been mentioned: One is that he was questioning the Above, and the other is the fact that he already had notions inside him, yet he said, “The brothers and sisters don’t understand the principles, and they want to seek them.” Is there a problem with this phrase? Were the brothers and sisters that important to him? Since he regarded the life entry of the brothers and sisters as so important, when they developed such strong notions, why didn’t he resolve them? Wasn’t he being negligent in his duty? He was being negligent. He didn’t resolve the issue, and he even shamelessly brought the brothers and sisters’ notions with him to question the Above. So, what good was he? What made him capable of questioning? Didn’t he also have notions? Didn’t he also have thoughts about the Above’s decision? Didn’t he also feel that this matter was handled inappropriately? That 200 RMB wasn’t spent on him, so he felt like he missed out, didn’t he? He thought, “I should have received that extra 200 RMB, we deserve it. That guy is a nonbeliever, he shouldn’t get it. We truly believe in God and we are people of God’s house, he is not.” Isn’t that what he meant? (Yes.) That’s exactly what he meant. And he didn’t say this directly; he stuttered through it. After hearing this, do you understand it or not? What’s your viewpoint on this matter of spending money? Most people can understand this minor matter. Considering the immense work of God’s house, did that leader really have to take notice of an extra 200 RMB being spent? Besides, it didn’t come from his pocket, so why did he feel so distressed about it? Did he just feel envious upon seeing others being good people? Wasn’t that what he meant? Are you able to understand what I have just explained to you? Are there any of you who disagree, and say, “No! Spending an extra 200 RMB without our knowledge—it’s terrible that we don’t have the right to know about this. Isn’t this squandering the offerings of God’s house?” What is the concept of God’s house? What is the concept of offerings? Let Me tell you, the offerings don’t belong to everyone, they don’t belong to the brothers and sisters; if there were only brothers and sisters and no God, it wouldn’t be called God’s house. When God appears and works, when He calls people before Him and establishes the church—that is God’s house. When the brothers and sisters offer a tithe, it isn’t being offered to God’s house, nor to the church, and it certainly isn’t being offered to any individual. It is to God that they are offering this tithe. In plain terms, that money is given to God; it’s His private property. What does His private property imply? That God can allocate it as He pleases, and that the leader was not qualified to get involved with it. Asking questions and wanting to seek the truth because of this matter, let Me tell you, was a bit excessive and unnecessary; that was him being fake and pretending! There were so many significant matters that this leader hadn’t sought the truth on, yet he chose to seek it in this matter. Why didn’t he handle that evil person? Why didn’t he seek, saying “This person has displayed some manifestations of doing evil; the brothers and sisters are all sickened by him. Shouldn’t I handle this?” The leader didn’t ask about that; he was completely blind to this evil person. Isn’t that a problem? What was the first phrase spoken by this leader? (He meant well.) “He meant well.” Look how “benevolent” this fellow was being; what a hypocrite! He was wicked, yet his words were full of benevolence and morality; there was honey in his words, but daggers in his heart, and he did not act like a human. What was his second phrase? “God’s house gave an extra 200 RMB to someone to complete a task. I want to seek on behalf of the brothers and sisters about how we should understand and grasp the principle in this matter.” I provided this as a complete statement; of course, he didn’t say it like that. He spoke hesitatingly, making it hard to understand what he meant. That’s just how he talked. This was the second phrase spoken by that leader.

Now listen to the third phrase spoken by that leader. Everyone was working together, digging. Each person had been assigned to fill one basket of soil. There was one person who worked quickly and finished first, then sat there drinking some water and resting, waiting for everyone else. Then, something went wrong. What went wrong? The third problem arose. This leader came once again to ask the Above, saying, “We have someone here who works fast and moves swiftly, but there’s one thing wrong with him. After finishing the work, he just sits there and doesn’t help anyone else, so everybody is starting to form opinions about him.” The brother Above asked, “Is he usually lazy when he works?” This leader replied, “No, he isn’t. He just works quickly, and after finishing, he just sits there waiting, not helping anyone, so the brothers and sisters have opinions about him, they say he lacks compassion.” When the brothers and sisters mentioned this, it distressed this leader. He thought, “Oh dear, look at how cruel that person is! My brothers and sisters are tired from working, they work slowly, and no one is helping them.” The whole group felt upset, so he also felt upset. How “empathetic” of him! He brought this “burden” with him to report to the Above. The first thing he asked was, “Can someone like this be punished?” Tell Me, do you think someone like this can be punished? (No.) So, what is your reaction after hearing this? Do you have mixed feelings about it? Do you feel upset? (Yes.) God’s house has always fellowshipped that people must understand the truth and treat others fairly, but he couldn’t even do this small thing. He believed that punishing that person would be fair. Isn’t this wicked? (Yes, it is.) He thought, “My brothers and sisters are suffering, and they’ve reported to me that this person lacks compassion. As a leader, how can I win over these people, appease them, protect them, keep them from being wronged or feeling hard done by?” His first response was to punish that person, thinking that by punishing him, everybody’s anger would be assuaged, and everything would be fair and equitable. Didn’t he want to do this? (Yes.) He thought, “We all eat the same food, live in the same place, and we are all treated the same. What right do you have to work so fast? If you work quickly, why don’t you help the others?” Tell Me, how do people feel after hearing this? “Working fast is a sin. It seems like we must never work fast—it won’t do us any good in the hands of this leader. Working fast is no good, and neither is being proactive. It’s justifiable to be slow!” The Above asked the leader, “What about those who work slowly? Do you reward them?” The leader was stumped, but he wasn’t muddleheaded. He said, “No, I can’t reward them. However, that guy who works quickly should be punished. The brothers and sisters all say he needs to be punished.” That was the phrase that he uttered. Tell Me, does this phrase truly represent the brothers and sisters, or does it represent the leader himself? (It represents the leader himself.) Let’s set aside the brothers and sisters—among them, there are all sorts of muddled people: those who don’t love the truth, those who speak in a crooked way, those who are selfish and self-serving, those who incite arguments, those who speak without principles, and those who act without a moral baseline. What kind of person can’t be found among them? So, what was his responsibility as a church leader? Was it his responsibility to speak for the influential brothers and sisters, to defend these wicked trends and evil practices? (No.) Then what was his responsibility? When he discovered issues of distortion and deviation among the brothers and sisters, it was his responsibility to resolve these issues using the truth, so that those people could understand where the problems were, and the issues with their states, leading them to know themselves and understand the truth, and bringing them before God. Isn’t this the responsibility of a church leader? (It is.) Did he fulfill it? Not only did he fail to fulfill it, he even fostered those wicked trends and evil practices, protecting, inciting, and condoning their breeding and spreading in the church. Isn’t this wicked? (It is.) Tell Me, after the Above prunes and exposes a person with this kind of wicked disposition, will they be defiant in their heart? (Yes.) They certainly will be defiant. Will they treat people fairly according to the principles given to them by the Above? Absolutely not. You can see from the words he spoke that he was thoroughly devious. Later, I thought to myself: “If those who work quickly will be punished, who will dare to work quickly? Everyone will become as slow as turtles, unable to climb onto the riverbank even after puttering around for three days.” Isn’t that how things will be? Besides his inability to treat people fairly, the most fatal and severe aspect of this leader, and the one that could mislead people the most, was that no matter what bad things the brothers and sisters did or what erroneous and absurd viewpoints they spread, he not only failed to discern and correct them, he indulged them, sheltered them, and even tried to please them. Wasn’t he a dangerous individual? (He was.) He was extremely dangerous! This was the third phrase spoken by that leader.

Let’s continue on to the fourth phrase. I frequently visited the church where that leader was in charge, and they kept some chickens there. Every time I visited, he would kill a chicken. One day, a chicken would be stewed in a clear broth; the next day, a chicken would be red braised; the day after, a chicken would be smoked. I thought that if I kept going there every day, that flock of chickens may well be gone in a few days. Why was that? When a chicken was cooked, sometimes I’d have a piece, and sometimes I wouldn’t want any, but those people ate it regardless, and an entire chicken was consumed each time. Later, I considered this: If an entire chicken was consumed each time I visited, no matter how many chickens they had, they wouldn’t last long being eaten like that. So, I told the leader that he couldn’t kill chickens anymore. Wasn’t this the proper thing to do? (Yes, it was.) Now, this really got him in a fix. He came out with a question, saying, “If we can’t kill chickens, then ...” You have no idea what he asked next. What did he finally choke out? “Then what do You want to eat?” I said, “Isn’t there anything else to eat besides chickens? Isn’t the garden full of vegetables? I’m fine with eating any of them.” He meant that if they weren’t allowed to kill chickens, I’d still need to have some meat. “Considerate,” wasn’t he? I said, “What meat! If you have vegetables then I won’t eat meat. If I don’t tell you to kill the chickens, don’t kill them!” This should have been easy to understand, shouldn’t it? (Yes.) But in his case, it became a dilemma. Not being able to kill chickens made him really uncomfortable; he started to act very strangely, like a man possessed. Since he couldn’t eat chicken that time, the next time I visited, he asked another question, which brings us to the fifth phrase. Listen to how his questions got more and more laughable. What was the question? He said, “Since we can’t kill chickens, and we also keep rabbits—would You eat them instead?” That really made Me angry. I said, “The little rabbits we keep are so cute, with their bright red eyes and pure white fur. They’re having a great time playing around. Why are you always thinking about eating meat? Can’t you do without meat?” I didn’t understand. Their kitchen was never short on meat; there were endless chicken legs and pork chops. It wasn’t like there was no meat for him to eat, so why did he keep asking about killing rabbits and eating their meat? I just retorted with these words: “You’re not allowed to kill them! What’s all this killing for?” When he saw Me respond like this, he grew afraid of being pruned and didn’t dare to ask any more questions. What meals did he prepare after that? During the season of June and July, there were all sorts of things in the garden; leafy greens and fruit-bearing vegetables were abundant. One day, that leader prepared a table full of dishes. What did he prepare? Stir-fried mung bean sprouts, soybean sprout soup, tofu stewed with fish, stir-fried green peas and eggs, stir-fried wood-ear mushrooms—there was not a single leafy green vegetable on the table. I took a gander at all those dry dishes. The season called for something fresh, but the foods he prepared were completely out of season. I thought, isn’t this person being wicked? There were all kinds of vegetables in the garden; why didn’t he make some leafy greens? In the end, I said that he should be quickly sent away. With someone like him in charge of cooking, people would never get to eat seasonal foods. Instead, they’d always eat foods that were out of season. Is that normal? It’s definitely not normal!

Through the questions asked by this leader and his way of cooking, I observed that firstly, his character was poor; secondly, that he had a wicked and insidious disposition; and thirdly, that he did not pursue the truth. However, there was a certain unexpected thing; you could even call it bizarre. In the past, every time there was an election in this church, he received the most votes, and even in re-elections, he still received the most votes. What was going on for such a person to repeatedly receive the highest number of votes? Weren’t there reasons for this on both sides? (Yes.) There were reasons for this on both sides. What were the main reasons? On the one side, most of the brothers and sisters did not pursue or understand the truth, and they lacked discernment of people. On the other side, this church leader was extremely capable of misleading people. You don’t know who this person was, you haven’t seen what he did, and you don’t know what kind of person he was behind closed doors. But just based on the matters I’ve spoken about, along with the five phrases that he spoke, what kind of person would you say he was? Was he suited to being a church leader? (No.) Then why did those brothers and sisters keep electing him? It’s because he had strategies and misled these people. He absolutely was not as guileless and down-to-earth as he appeared on the surface; he definitely had strategies. Later, I said that there were no people in that church suited to act as a leader and that someone else should be dispatched to serve in this position. But some people didn’t understand; they felt that this leader wasn’t chosen by the brothers and sisters. How should “brothers and sisters” be defined? Do the brothers and sisters represent the truth? Is this how they are defined? (No.) When the brothers and sisters collectively create a demand, a rule, or an opinion and an argument, are these things necessarily in line with the truth? Should God consider their issues and care for them first? Can God do this? (No.) So how should they be treated? How should these brothers and sisters be defined? Most of them are willing to do their duties, labor, and work, but they don’t pursue the truth. They lack the ability and caliber to comprehend the truth, they are foolish, numb, and dull-witted, they are unable to discern people or to see through matters, and they are selfish and self-serving. Although they possess some good intentions and are willing to forsake things, expend themselves, and labor for God, what’s their fatal flaw? They don’t understand the truth or accept it. They adhere to “Whoever feeds me is my mother; whoever gives me money is my father.” Whoever is good to them or advantageous to them, whoever speaks on their behalf and protects them, that is the person they choose. If such people were allowed to choose their own leader, could they elect a good leader? They could not. Could they make any progress in their life entry? If the Above allowed them to be so willful, and to keep casually acting so recklessly, wouldn’t that be irresponsible? (Yes.) They were muddleheaded, but the Above is not, and the leader these people had chosen was removed and replaced with someone else. Even though these people were unwilling to accept the new leader, as long as that person could do some real work, they were much better than that false leader who misled people. Although these brothers and sisters didn’t understand the arrangement of the Above, there will come a day when they grasp some truths and have some understanding of things, and then they will know who was good and who was bad. By acting in this way, the Above was completely taking responsibility for them. Was doing this appropriate? (It was appropriate.) Even though they didn’t understand, they couldn’t be allowed to just do as they pleased in electing whomever they wanted. Do they want to rebel? If they want to do evil, to become Satan’s accomplices, they’ll be completely destroyed. So, the Above made the decision for them and selected another leader. But they didn’t accept this; they insisted that the person they had chosen was suitable. Isn’t this being wicked? Why did they always think that he was good? What was so good about him? Why were they so determined to keep him? There was a problem there: They had been misled and harmed by this false leader without realizing it. They truly were a pack of fools. I’ve finished talking about this matter. We take people like this false leader as a typical case to dissect and analyze within this topic—doing this is proper. After all, the wickedness in their dispositions is itself typical.

When it comes to our fellowship on wickedness within the seventh manifestation of antichrists, through integrating these specific examples, and analyzing and comparing them, has this subject become any clearer to you? Whether this person I just discussed will be able to pursue the truth in the future is unknown, it is difficult to say, and we will refrain from drawing any conclusions for now. However, one thing is certain: His disposition, essence, and nature were all wicked. So, what did he love? Did he love fairness and righteousness? Did he love the various truths spoken by God? Did he love being an honest person, treating others fairly, acting with principles, and seeking the truth? Did he love these things? He didn’t love any of them—this is one hundred percent certain. Through these few phrases that he spoke and these few questions that he asked, the things he loved deep in his heart and in his bones were exposed. There wasn’t a single thing among them that aligned with positive things. Who were the people he liked and felt willing to protect? He protected those who did evil, who disturbed the work of the church, who completely lacked loyalty and engaged in many evil deeds in their performance of their duties. He didn’t view such people with anger or hatred; he even spoke up for them and defended them. What does this indicate? That they were of the same sort: They shared common interests and a common essence. They were naturally in agreement with one another, and they were two of the same rotten kind. When some brothers and sisters kept harboring notions and misunderstandings about God’s words and actions, how did this leader feel? Did he bear a burden when it came to resolving these issues? (No.) He didn’t bear this burden; he didn’t address these issues or pay attention to these matters—he turned a blind eye to them. When someone humiliated the name of God, or disrupted and disturbed the work of God’s house, when someone lacked loyalty and was perfunctory in doing their duty, or harmed the interests of God’s house and brought about disturbance and destruction while doing their duty, or vented negativity and circulated notions, could he identify any of these as problems? He couldn’t identify them as problems; he thought, “It’s normal for these issues to exist; who doesn’t have revelations of corruption?” What was he implying? He was implying that those people must act this way, as then he wouldn’t seem so bad—he could “hide” and be “protected.” Isn’t this wicked? These people continuously caused disruptions and disturbances, and he didn’t handle them. Based on this, tell Me, did he have a sense of justice? Did he love the truth? What kind of place did he take God’s house for? He didn’t want God’s house to be filled with honest people, people who were loyal to God, people who followed God’s way and knew their place while doing their duties. He didn’t want everybody to open up and fellowship about God’s words, to submit to God and bear witness to Him. He didn’t want everyone in God’s house to be like that. So, what was it that he wanted? He wanted everyone to be making self-serving connections, safeguarding each other’s interests, not harming anyone else, or exposing the skeletons in anybody’s closet. He wanted everybody to be mutually protecting and sheltering one another, concealing any bad things that others did from outsiders, and acting as a united front. That was what he wanted. When someone brought another’s wrongdoings and true circumstances into the open and made these things public, speaking directly and letting everybody know about them, he hated and detested such actions. He liked when wrongdoings remained concealed and shrouded, when lies went unexposed, and when whoever engaged in trickery or harmed the interests of God’s house wasn’t handled according to the principles. In the church he supervised, what became of God’s words and the administrative decrees and work arrangements of God’s house? They became empty words, and they weren’t able to be implemented. Why were they unable to be implemented? Because he blocked them; he became a wall that cut them off. This is the wicked disposition which antichrists reveal by distorting the facts, employing certain tactics and engaging in certain schemes and ruses to fool and trick others in order to achieve their own goals.

In churches where antichrists wield power, the work arrangements of God’s house cannot be implemented. At the same time, a strange phenomenon arises within those churches, where the only work that gets carried out is work that has nothing to do with or that runs counter to the work arrangements of God’s house, which makes different opinions and arguments arise among the brothers and sisters, and brings chaos to the church. How do false leaders act? They don’t work according to the work arrangements of God’s house; it is as if they have nothing to do, and they do not respond to the work arrangements at all. The people under these leaders are clueless; like a pile of loose sand, there’s no one organizing them—everyone does whatever they want, however they want. False leaders don’t express any statements and don’t take on this responsibility. Antichrists, however, act differently. They not only fail to implement the work arrangements, they also come up with their own statements and practices. Some take the work arrangements of the Above and alter them, turning them into their own statements, which they then implement, while others do not act at all according to the work arrangements of the Above, and just do their own thing. They withhold the work arrangements of the Above and don’t send them on down, keeping those below them in the dark while they do whatever they please, even concocting their own theories and statements to mislead and hoodwink those under them. So, don’t look at how much antichrists can forsake or what suffering they can endure on the surface. Put aside their superficial actions and behaviors, and look at the essence of these things that they do. What kind of relationship do they have with God? They oppose everything that God has said and done, everything God requires the brothers and sisters to understand, and everything that He demands to be implemented lower down in the church—they oppose all of these things. Some might ask, “Is failing to implement these things the same as opposing them?” Why don’t they implement these things? Because they do not agree with them. Seeing as how they don’t agree with them, are they higher than God’s house? Seeing as how they don’t agree with these things, do they have a better plan? No, they do not. So why do they dare to not implement these things just because they don’t agree with them? Because they want to dominate and control the church. They believe that if they implemented things in full accordance with the work arrangements and the requirements of the Above, their contributions might go unnoticed, not stand out, and not be seen by anyone. To antichrists, this would be a disaster. If everyone bore witness to God and regularly fellowshipped on the truth, if everyone could understand the truth, handle matters according to the principles, seek the truth and pray and call upon God when faced with issues, what would their function be? Antichrists do not pursue the truth, so they would have no function; they would become mere decorations. If they became decorations, and no one paid attention to them anymore, would they accept this? No, they would not. They would think of ways to salvage the situation. Antichrists possess a wicked disposition and a wicked essence—can they anticipate that they’d be revealed if the brothers and sisters all pursued the truth? Antichrists are so bad, and they do not pursue the truth; they are wicked, deceitful, insidious, and they do not love positive things. If everyone understood the truth, they would have discernment of antichrists. Do antichrists know this? Yes, they do. They can feel this in their spirits. It’s like when you go somewhere and encounter an evil spirit. When the evil spirit looks at you, they find you displeasing, and in just a glance, you find the evil spirit repulsive, and don’t want to talk to them. Actually, they haven’t offended you or done anything to harm you, but you find them disgusting to look at, and listening to them speak makes you feel even more disgusted. In reality, they don’t know you, and you don’t know them. What’s going on here? You can sense in your spirit that the two of you are not of the same kind. Antichrists are the enemies of God’s chosen people. If you have no perception or awareness when you interact with them, then aren’t you quite numb? Say that when an antichrist doesn’t speak a lot, and just says a few words while expressing an argument, putting forward a viewpoint, or harboring a certain attitude in their actions, you can’t see these things clearly. If you interact with them for a long time, and still don’t have this awareness, and one day the Above defines them as an antichrist, and only then do you finally have this epiphany and feel some fear, thinking, “How did I not discern such an obvious antichrist! That was a close call!” how slow and numb you must be!

The wickedness of antichrists has one obvious characteristic, and I will share with you the secret of discerning it: It is that in their speech and action alike, you cannot fathom their depths or see into their hearts. When they speak to you, their eyes always swivel around, and you cannot tell what sort of scheme they are hatching. Sometimes, they make you feel that they are loyal or quite sincere, but this is not the case—you can never see through them. You have a particular feeling in your heart, a sense that there is a deep subtlety to their thoughts, an unfathomable depth, that they are devious. This is the first characteristic of the wickedness of antichrists, and it indicates that antichrists possess an attribute of wickedness. What is the second characteristic of the wickedness of antichrists? It is that everything they say and do is highly misleading. Where is this displayed? In their particular adroitness at feeling out people’s psychologies, at saying things that fit with people’s notions and imaginings and are easy to accept. However, there is one thing you should discern: They never embody the pleasant things they say. For example, they preach doctrine to others, telling them how to be honest people, and how to pray and let God be their master when something befalls them, but when something happens to the antichrists themselves, they do not practice the truth. All they do is act according to their own will, and think of a myriad of ways to benefit themselves, making everyone else serve them and handle their affairs. They never pray to God or let Him be their master. They say things that are pleasant to the ears, but their actions do not line up with what they say. The first thing they consider when taking an action is the benefit to themselves; they do not accept God’s orchestrations and arrangements. People see that they are not obedient when doing things, that they are always looking for a way to benefit themselves and a way forward. This is the deceitful and wicked side of antichrists that people can see. When working, sometimes antichrists can withstand hardship and pay a price, even forgoing sleep and food at times, but they only do this to gain status or make a name for themselves. They suffer hardship for the sake of their ambitions and goals but are perfunctory with the important work the house of God arranges for them, which they barely carry out. So, are they submissive to God’s arrangements in all they do? Are they doing their duties? There is a problem here. There is also another sort of behavior, which is when brothers and sisters put forward different opinions, antichrists will reject them in a roundabout way, going in circles, making people think the antichrists have fellowshipped and discussed things with them—but when it comes down to it, everybody must do as they say. They are always looking for ways to shut down other people’s suggestions, so that people follow their ideas and do as they say. Is this seeking the truth principles? It certainly is not. So then, what is the principle of their work? It is that everybody must listen to them and obey them, that there is no one better to heed than they, and that their ideas are the best and the loftiest. Antichrists would have everyone feel that what they say is right, that they are the truth. Is this not wicked? This is the second characteristic of the wickedness of antichrists. The third characteristic of the wickedness of antichrists is that when they testify to themselves, they often testify to their contributions, the hardships they have suffered, and the beneficial things they have done for everyone, drilling it into people’s minds, so that those people remember that they are basking in the antichrists’ light. If someone compliments or thanks an antichrist, they may even say some very spiritual words, like, “Thank God. This is all the work of God. The grace of God is enough for us,” so that everyone sees that they are quite spiritual, and that they are a good servant of God. In reality, they are exalting and testifying to themselves, and there is no place at all in their heart for God. In everyone else’s mind, the antichrist’s status has already far exceeded that of God. Is this not real proof of antichrists testifying to themselves? In churches where an antichrist holds power and is in control, they have the highest status in people’s hearts. God can only come second or third. If God goes to a church where an antichrist holds power and says something, will what He says get through to the people there? Will they accept it from the heart? It is hard to say. This suffices to prove how much effort antichrists put into testifying to themselves. They do not testify for God at all, but use all their opportunities to testify for God to testify to themselves instead. Is this tactic antichrists use not insidious? Is it not incredibly wicked? By means of these three characteristics fellowshipped here, it is easy to discern antichrists.

Antichrists have one more characteristic, and it is also a major manifestation of their wicked disposition. It is that no matter how the house of God fellowships on the truth, how God’s chosen people fellowship on their self-knowledge, or accept judgment, chastisement, and pruning, antichrists take no note of it. They still pursue fame, gain, and status, and never let go of their intention and desire to obtain blessings. In the minds of antichrists, as long as someone is able to do a duty, pay a price, and suffer some hardship, they ought to be blessed by God. And so, after doing church work for a while, they start taking stock of the jobs they have done for the church, the contributions they have made to God’s house, and what they have done for the brothers and sisters. They keep all of this firmly in their minds, waiting to see what graces and blessings it will earn them from God, so that they might determine whether what they are doing is worth it. Why do they always preoccupy themselves with such things? What is it that they are pursuing in the depths of their hearts? What is the aim of their faith in God? From the start, their belief in God has been about obtaining blessings. And no matter how many years they listen to sermons, no matter how many words of God they eat and drink, no matter how many doctrines they understand, they will never let go of their desire and intention to be blessed. If you ask them to be a dutiful created being and accept God’s sovereignty and arrangements, they will say, “That has nothing to do with me. It is not what I should be striving for. What I should strive for is: when I have fought the fight, when I have made the requisite effort and suffered the requisite hardship—once I have done this according to what God requires—God should reward me and allow me to remain, and to be crowned in the kingdom, and to hold a higher position than the people of God. I should be in charge of two or three cities, at the least.” This is what the antichrists care about most. No matter how the house of God fellowships the truth, their intention and desire to obtain blessings cannot be dispelled; they are the same sort of person as Paul. Does such a naked transaction not harbor a sort of wicked and vicious disposition? Some religious people say, “Our generation follows God on the path of the cross. God chose us, so we are entitled to be blessed. We have suffered and paid a price, and we have drunk from the bitter cup. Some of us have even been arrested and sentenced to jail time. After suffering all this hardship, hearing so many sermons, and learning so much about the Bible, if one day we are not blessed, we will go to the third heaven and argue with God.” Have you ever heard anything like this? They say they will go to the third heaven to argue with God—how bold is that? Doesn’t just hearing it make you fearful? Who dares to try and argue with God? Fortunately, the Jesus they believe in has long since ascended to heaven. If Jesus were still on earth, wouldn’t they try to crucify Him again? Of course, some people might initially find such words powerful and impressive when they first start believing in God, thinking that people ought to have this kind of backbone and resolve. But, having believed up until now, how do you view these words? Aren’t such people archangels? Aren’t they Satans? You can argue with anyone but not with God. You shouldn’t do such a thing, or even think of doing it. Blessings come from God: He gives them to whomever He wishes to. Even if you meet the conditions for receiving blessings and God doesn’t grant them to you, you still shouldn’t argue with God. The entire universe and all of mankind are under God’s rule; God calls the shots. How can you, a tiny human being, dare to argue with God? How can you overestimate your abilities so much? Why don’t you take a look in the mirror to see who you are? By daring to clamor against and contend with the Creator in this way, aren’t you courting death? “If one day we are not blessed, we will go to the third heaven and argue with God” is a statement that openly clamors against God. What kind of place is the third heaven? It’s where God resides. Daring to go to the third heaven to argue with God is tantamount to trying to “overthrow” God! Isn’t this the case? Some might ask, “What does this have to do with antichrists?” It has a lot to do with them, because all those who want to go to the third heaven to argue with God are antichrists. Only antichrists can say such things. Words like these are the voice that antichrists harbor deep within their hearts. This is their wickedness. While antichrists may not openly say these words, they indeed harbor these things within their hearts, they just do not dare to reveal them, and do not let anyone know about them. However, the desires and ambitions in the depths of their hearts burn like inextinguishable fires. Why is this? Because antichrists do not love the truth. They don’t love God’s fairness and righteousness, God’s judgment and chastisement, and they certainly don’t love God’s almightiness, wisdom, and His sovereignty over all things. They do not love any of these things—they hate them. So, what do they love? They love status and care about rewards. They say, “I have gifts, talents, and abilities. I’ve labored for the church, so God must repay me and give me rewards!” Aren’t they in trouble? Isn’t this courting death? Isn’t it a direct challenge to God? Isn’t it challenging the Creator? Daring to point their spearheads directly at God, the Creator—this is something only the archangel, Satan, is capable of doing. If there truly are people with such viewpoints, who are capable of such actions, then there is no doubt that they are antichrists. On earth, only antichrists dare to openly resist God and pass judgment on Him like this. Some might say, “The antichrists we’ve seen weren’t this audacious or brazen.” This needs to be viewed according to the context and environment that antichrists are in. How could they dare to show their sharp edges when they haven’t fully gained power and established themselves? Antichrists know to bide their time, waiting for the opportune moment to rise up. When they come into their own, their sharp edges will be completely exposed. Although some antichrists hide their true colors fairly well while they lack status, and no issues can be seen in them on the surface, as soon as they gain status and establish themselves, their wickedness and ugliness are entirely laid bare. It’s like certain people who lack the truth reality. When they don’t have any status, they can only reluctantly submit to being pruned, and aren’t defiant in their hearts. However, if they become leaders or workers and gain some prestige among God’s chosen people, when they are pruned, it’s highly likely that they’ll expose their true selves, and start to argue with God and clamor against Him. It’s like how some people do their duties well and do not have any complaints under normal circumstances, but if faced with cancer and a rapidly-approaching death, are very likely to expose their true selves. They will start to complain about God, argue with Him, and clamor against Him. Antichrists, this group of people, are averse to the truth and hate the truth, and they never practice the truth. Why, then, even after being exposed and revealed, are they still willing to render service in the church, and even to be the smallest of followers? What’s going on? They have a goal: They have never let go of their intention to obtain blessings. Their mindset is, “I’m going to grab hold of this very last lifeline. If I can’t obtain blessings, I’ll never leave God alone. If I can’t obtain blessings, then God is not God!” What kind of disposition is this? Daring to openly deny God and clamor against Him—this is wickedness. As long as they have even the slightest hope of obtaining blessings, they will stay in God’s house and wait for those blessings. How can this be observed? They are like the Pharisees, always pretending to be good—isn’t the intention and goal behind this obvious? Regardless of how good their outward behavior may seem, no matter how much they may outwardly suffer, they never practice the truth, they don’t seek the truth when they act, or pray to God and seek His will. They never do things that God likes. Instead, they do what they are willing to do and what they like, only striving to satisfy their own ambition and desire for blessings. Won’t this get them into trouble? Doesn’t this expose the essence of antichrists? What antichrists love and pursue just represents their satanic disposition. They treat what they love and pursue as positive things that are pleasing to God, and try to get Him to accept and bless them. Is this in line with the truth principles? Isn’t this opposing God and setting oneself against Him? Antichrists try to make deals with God at every turn. They use their own suffering and price-paying to demand rewards and crowns from God, to exchange them for a good destination. But haven’t they miscalculated? By resisting God in this way, how can they not meet with God’s punishment? This is what they deserve for their sins. This is retribution.

There was once an antichrist who knew a little bit about the craft of singing and dancing, and at that time it was arranged for him to lead the brothers and sisters in the choir to learn about the craft. Those brothers and sisters were young, and most of them hadn’t believed in God for a very long time; they were simply passionate and willing to do their duties, that was all, but they did not understand the truth, and some of them had not even laid down a foundation. While that antichrist worked, he guided them to experience the feeling of the Holy Spirit’s work, getting them to experience the difference between the feeling of God’s presence and that of His absence—he always had them rely on their feelings. He did not understand the truth, nor did he have any real experience, but he misled and misguided the brothers and sisters like this based on his notions and imaginings. The Above knew that he did not have the truth reality, and merely asked him to teach and explain the craft. Fulfilling this aspect of his duty would already have been considered adequate and the fulfillment of his responsibilities. But he still wanted to “fellowship about the truth,” and get people to grasp their feelings and rely on their feelings. By acting like this, wouldn’t it have been easy for him to bring people into the supernatural feeling of an evil spirit’s work? This is too dangerous! Once an evil spirit seizes an opportunity like this and possesses a person, that person is ruined. During the training period, he had these people pray, and after praying, he got them to see how the Holy Spirit was working, and if they were sweating, weeping, or had any other feelings in their bodies. He emphasized these things, but in reality, these things had already been explained clearly enough. There are so many truths, but he didn’t fellowship about them, nor did he lead those people to eat and drink God’s words, and he failed to attend to his proper work. He didn’t allow the brothers and sisters to choreograph dances, and instead let everyone dance on the stage to their hearts’ content, improvising as they pleased, even saying, “It’s okay, God is leading us, so we’re not afraid, the Holy Spirit is at work!” This antichrist did not understand the truth, so he always did stupid things. The brothers and sisters didn’t have any discernment, so they listened to him and began to pray, “God, please work, God, please work….” They tried their best to pray “with all their hearts,” and even cried after praying, and then they went on stage and improvised dances. Those watching from below the stage felt that the atmosphere was great and that the Holy Spirit was doing powerful work! They wept as they watched the others dancing, as if they had felt the work of the Holy Spirit. At the end, these people recorded all these things and took pictures for Me to see. Some of the people in the pictures were weeping with their eyes closed, and in the middle of winter their faces were all red from the heat. I saw that trouble was brewing, and that these people were going to be ruined by him. He was only asked to teach the craft, and he didn’t understand any of the truth. He just acted blindly based on his imaginings, wanting to find the feeling of the Holy Spirit’s work. Is the work of the Holy Spirit a matter of feelings? You have to understand the truth—that is real. Feelings alone are empty and useless. Can you understand the truth and the will of God based on your feelings? Absolutely not. You don’t have to look for a feeling, you just have to seek the principles and God’s will based on God’s words, and then compare them against the things that befall you—this is very practical, and you will slowly come to understand the truth. When you practice according to God’s words, the Holy Spirit will naturally begin to work. Even if the Holy Spirit doesn’t work, since you have practiced according to God’s words, God will recognize you as His follower—this is so practical, this is the truest thing. That antichrist did not fellowship in this way, but continuously encouraged those people to look for feelings, for things such as signs and wonders, and for dreams. This was a layman who lacked spiritual understanding leading a group of foolish and ignorant children to do ridiculous things. The people in the pictures were crying and weeping. What does that represent? It doesn’t represent anything, but there is something that explains the nature of what he was doing. This antichrist took pictures of all these things and labeled them as “details of God’s work.” What were these “details”? Those people did not understand the truth, they searched for the feeling of the Holy Spirit’s work and improvised for no good reason, and each time they danced it was different, because each time the feeling was different, and God’s “leading” was different—those were the “details.” What else did those “details” include? The antichrist also said that they were the results of the Holy Spirit’s work. When he said this, the brothers and sisters grew excited, as if their faith and stature had grown significantly all of a sudden. Why did he say “details”? Where did the word “details” come from? I once mentioned the details of God’s work. What do these details refer to? They are the results of God’s work on people that can be seen and grasped by man, and they are neither supernatural nor vague. They are something that you can feel. They are when God has done a lot of work on you, spoken a lot of words to you, exerted painstaking efforts, and thereby changed your way of existing, your views on things, the attitude you harbor while doing things, your attitude toward God, as well as other parts of you. That is, they are the gains and fruit of God’s work—this is what’s meant by details. That antichrist too called these things he did “details.” Leaving aside the nature of these things for now, what can you see from just analyzing this phrase? God works on people, and He has said that people will see the details of the work that He does on them, but this antichrist was leading everyone to run amok, and made a mess of everything, yet he also called these “details”—what was he trying to do? (He wanted to be equal with God.) That’s right. Where did his use of the term “details” come from? It came from his desire to be equal with God and imitate God. By using this term, he meant, “God works in details, and what I am leading this group of people to do is also in details.” The postmodifier for “details” is “of God’s work,” but in fact, in his heart he was attributing the results of the details of the Holy Spirit’s work to himself, which is what antichrists do. Whenever there is a chance to step into the limelight, whenever there is a glimmer of opportunity, they won’t let it go; they will contend with God for people. What kind of people do they contend for? Some of them don’t understand the truth, they can’t discern people according to the truth principles, and they are foolish and ignorant; some of them don’t pursue the truth, and they like to follow the crowd and act blindly on the outside; and there are also some who are new believers and have a shallow foundation—they don’t yet understand what believing in God is all about, and they are misled by antichrists. This behavior was stopped later on, just in time. The fact that it was stopped isn’t very extraordinary, but it did mean that the foolish things that the antichrist did were exposed, all at once. As everybody fellowshipped and thought back, they said, “Before this antichrist came, though we sometimes couldn’t find our way in terms of the professional and technical aspects of singing, when we sang, we felt that we could take it to heart, and that we could sing every word with our hearts. After he came and spoke about some professional theories, we all felt dried up and didn’t want to sing anymore, because we couldn’t savor what God was saying in every word—we couldn’t feel God.” Weren’t these people in trouble? As soon as antichrists reach out their hands to act, the consequences they bring about are that people can no longer feel where God is, and do not know how to act appropriately. They lose their bearings. Once people are unable to feel God, can they still fulfill their duties? Can they still do things with loyalty in order to testify for God? After humans were corrupted by Satan, they developed a certain characteristic, which is liking to follow the crowd. They’re like flies: There doesn’t need to be a clear goal, so long as there is a leader, other people will join them in blindly fooling around, because it’s livelier like that, and when they act in that way they don’t need to constrain themselves, there’s no baseline to their actions, and no one acts according to principles. They do not need to pray or seek, they do not need to be pious or quiet; as long as they have heads and can breathe, they can act in that way. Isn’t this more or less the same as animals? Because corrupt humans possess this characteristic, they are easily misled, but if you understand the truth and can discern these things, you will not be so easily misled. After this antichrist was exposed, everyone dissected the misleading things he said, and the tactics he used to act in that way, comparing these to God’s words. They realized that this guy was really good at misleading people, that he had thrown things into disorder, and that, though what he’d led them to do had seemed quite impressive, and it had seemed like they were feeling the powerful work of the Holy Spirit, in reality, they hadn’t been able to feel God at all. On the surface, it had looked as though everybody was possessed with a great fervor, and that their faith and stature had suddenly grown; but in reality, this was an illusion, the work of an evil spirit. These supernatural circumstances appeared, so the Holy Spirit did not work. For a period of time after this, through fellowshipping on the truth, everybody was able to discern the antichrist, and their states returned to normal little by little. These people had been misled by the antichrist, and they had grown distant from Me. When I spoke, these people looked at Me like I was an unfamiliar person, they did not want to answer My questions, and we immediately became like strangers. They waited for the antichrist to speak before they obeyed anything; they listened to whatever the antichrist said, and whatever he said represented them. So, these people had no say in anything, but they were willing to have no say; they waited for him to speak and were controlled by him. Evil spirits and antichrists do such things to mislead people.

Some wicked things can be expressed clearly in words and dissected, but others can only be said to have evil spirits at work within them, and cannot be expressed clearly in words, they can only be discerned based on your feelings or based on the truths that you understand and your experiences. This antichrist was quickly discerned and addressed, and church life returned to normal. Afterward, everyone felt lingering fear when they fellowshipped about this incident. They said, “That was really dangerous! That antichrist’s so-called ‘details’ harmed us so badly that we were almost ruined by him.” Therefore, you have to learn to discern antichrists. If you never take discerning antichrists seriously, you will be in danger, and who knows when or on what occasion you will be misled by them. You may even follow an antichrist in a muddleheaded way without knowing what’s going on. You won’t feel that there’s anything wrong with it at the time, and you’ll even feel that what this antichrist says is correct—in this way you will have been misled without realizing it. The fact that you’ve been misled shows that you’ve betrayed God, and then God will have no way of saving you. There are some people who usually perform well, but for a time, they are hoodwinked by antichrists, and the church brings them back in the end through dissuasion and fellowship. However, there are some who do not come back no matter how the truth is fellowshipped to them, and they become hell bent on going with the antichrists—aren’t they completely ruined then? They firmly refuse to turn back, and God does not work on them anymore. Some people lack discernment, and feel sorry for this kind of person, saying, “That person is pretty decent: They believed in God for many years, and they forsook things and expended themselves; they used to do their duty quite loyally, their faith in God was great, and they were a true believer—shouldn’t we give them another chance?” Is this viewpoint correct? Does it conform to the truth? People can only see the surface of another person, but cannot see their heart; they cannot see clearly what kind of person they really are, or what kind of essence they have. They must be in contact with them or observe them for a period of time, and that person must meet with events that reveal them in order for people to be able to see through them. Moreover, if you try to help these people out of the goodness of your heart, but they don’t turn back no matter how much you fellowship with them, you won’t know what the reason is behind all of it. In reality, God has already seen through these people and cast them out. Why did God cast them out? The most straightforward reason is that some antichrists are obviously evil spirits, and can be classified as antichrists with evil spirits working in them. If people follow them for a period of time, their hearts will darken, and they will become so weak that they collapse, which proves that God has long since given up on them. God has a righteous disposition, and He hates Satan. Since these people follow Satan and evil spirits, can God still recognize them as His followers? God is holy and jealous. He does not want those who have followed evil spirits; even if others think they are good people, He does not want them. What does it mean that God is jealous? What does “jealous” indicate? Listen to what I say now, and you will understand. Beginning when God chooses a person, until that person acknowledges that God is truth, righteousness, wisdom, and almightiness, that He is the one and only—once they have understood these things, and after they have had some experiences, they will have a basic understanding of God’s disposition, essence, and what He has and is, deep within their heart, and this basic understanding will become their faith. It will also motivate them to follow God, expend themselves for God, and do their duty. Once they have experience, understand the truth, and their understanding of God’s disposition and their knowledge of God have taken root in their heart—when they are in possession of this stature—they will not deny God. But if they do not have true knowledge of Christ, the practical God, and if they are liable to worship and follow an antichrist, then they are still in danger. They may still turn their back on Christ in the flesh to follow a wicked antichrist. This would be openly denying Christ and cutting off ties with God. The subtext of this is: “I don’t follow God anymore—I follow Satan. I love Satan and I’m willing to serve it; I’m willing to follow Satan. No matter how it treats me, how it ruins, tramples on, and corrupts me, I am more than willing. No matter how righteous and holy God is, no matter how much truth He expresses, I am not willing to follow Him. I dislike the truth. I like fame, status, rewards, and crowns; even if I can’t obtain them, I like them.” Just like that, they’ve followed a person who has nothing to do with them, they have run off with an antichrist who is opposed to God. Would God still want a person like this? Certainly not. Is it reasonable for God not to want them? Exceedingly so. You know from doctrine that God is a jealous God, that He is holy. You understand this doctrine, but do you know how God treats people like this? If God spurns someone, He will give up on them without hesitation. Is what I say not how things are? (It is.) This is how things are. So, does God giving up on a person such as this mean that He has a cruel heart? (No.) God is principled in His actions. If you know who God is, but you do not like to follow Him—if you know who Satan is, yet you insist on following it—then God will not force you. Go ahead and follow Satan forever. Do not come back; God has given up on you. How can one understand God’s disposition? God’s disposition is righteous and holy, and there is an element in His disposition that is jealous. In other words, if, as a created being, you are willing to be depraved, what else can God say? God never forces people to do things they are not willing to do. He never forces people to accept the truth. If you wish to be depraved, that is your personal choice—ultimately, it is you who will bear the consequences, and you will have only yourself to blame. God’s principles for dealing with people are immutable, so if you are happy with depravity, then your inevitable end is to be punished. It does not matter how many years you may have followed God; if you wish to be depraved, God will not force you to repent. It is you who are willing to follow Satan, to be misled and ruined by Satan, and so, in the end, it is you who must bear the consequences. Some people feel sorry for people like this and waste kindness on helping them, but no matter how they are urged, they will not turn back. What is going on here? The fact is that God does not save a person like this; He does not want them. What can man do about that? It is the underlying reason. But when people cannot see a situation clearly, they should do what they are supposed to do, and perform the obligations and responsibilities they are supposed to. As to what results will come of performing these tasks, they must look to God’s leadership. Have you not come to some understanding of the phrase “God is a jealous God” through these details I’ve talked about? This is one aspect of it, that God does not want those tainted by evil spirits. What is the reason God does not want them? If you have chosen Satan, how could God still want you? If you have chosen Satan, how could God still have mercy and stir your heart to make you come back? Is God capable of doing that? He is more than capable, but He chooses not to do this work because His disposition is righteous, and because He is a jealous God.

Last time, our fellowship focused on how the main manifestation of the wicked essence of antichrists is their hostility toward and loathing of all positive things and truths. Today I am fellowshipping from another perspective, which is that antichrists love everything that is contrary to positive things. And what is that? (Negative things.) Yes, it’s negative things, that is, everything that goes against, contradicts, and does not agree with the truth. Antichrists don’t like positive things, so there has to be something they like, right? And what do they like? They like trickery and lies, as well as schemes, plots, and tactics. Are there antichrists who read the “Thirty-Six Stratagems” in their free time? I imagine so. Do you think I read the “Thirty-Six Stratagems”? I don’t read it. I don’t study it. What’s the use of reading it? Reading it makes Me nauseous and sick to My stomach. How do you think normal people feel after reading the “Thirty-Six Stratagems”? Doesn’t it make them feel even more disgusted with wicked mankind? Do they experience this feeling? The more they read it, the more disgusted they feel. They feel that this person is just too bad! Is it worthwhile to have to use stratagems for every little thing, to go to such lengths, to not be able to sleep at night or eat during the day, and to rack one’s brain to figure out how to fight? Some antichrists may study the “Thirty-Six Stratagems” in their free time, and pitch their wits against another person’s and against God’s. They enjoy lies, trickery, plots, schemes, as well as tactics and strategies—but do they like God’s fairness and righteousness? What is the antonym of fairness and righteousness? (Wickedness and ugliness.) Wickedness and ugliness. They like ugly things, everything that is iniquitous and unfair, everything that is unjust and improper. For example, people pursuing the truth is a just cause—how do antichrists define this? They say, “Those who pursue the truth are fools! What is the value of living a life, if one does not live it the way they want to? People must live for themselves, and as for those who live for the truth and for justice, those people are all fools!” That’s their point of view. So then, are they capable of doing just things? They are not. Can they stand up and speak out when things arise in the church that disturb and disrupt the church’s work? Not only do they not stand up, they are secretly amused and take joy in this misfortune—they are bad seeds. They are never anxious about matters to do with the work of God’s house, nor do they ever stand up and do anything to protect God’s chosen people. Those who feel secretly amused, and make a joke out of God’s house when they see evil people doing evil, and bad people tyrannizing the church—what kind of people are they? They are wicked individuals. Then what kind of people are leaders who are capable of sheltering these evil people? They are antichrists. They will not allow their own interests to be harmed, but they don’t blink an eye when the interests of the church are harmed, and they are not sad at all. Behind closed doors they are even glad that they haven’t lost anything. This is the wickedness of antichrists.

We just talked about how antichrists are averse to the truth, how they like unrighteous and wicked things, pursue interests and blessings, never let go of their intention and desire to gain blessings, and always try to make deals with God. So, how should this matter be discerned and classified? If we were to call it putting profit before all else, that would be too mild. It’s like how Paul acknowledged that he had a thorn in his flesh, and that he should work in order to atone for his sins, but in the end, still wished to gain a crown of righteousness. What’s the nature of this? (Viciousness.) It is a kind of vicious disposition. But what is the nature of this? (Making deals with God.) It has this nature. He looked for profit in everything he did, treating everything as a transaction. There’s a saying among unbelievers: “There’s no such thing as a free lunch.” Antichrists also harbor this logic, thinking, “If I work for You, what will You give me in return? What benefits can I obtain?” How should this nature be summed up? It’s being driven by profits, putting profit before all else, and being selfish and despicable. This is the nature essence of antichrists. They believe in God solely for the purpose of obtaining profit and blessings. Even if they endure some suffering or pay some prices, it’s all in order to make a deal with God. Their intention and desire to obtain blessings and rewards is immense, and they cling to it tightly. They don’t accept any of the many truths that God has expressed, in their hearts they always think that believing in God is all about obtaining blessings and securing a good destination, that this is the highest principle, and that nothing can surpass it. They think that people should not believe in God unless for the sake of gaining blessings, and that if it wasn’t for the sake of blessings, belief in God would have no meaning or value, that it would lose its meaning and value. Were these ideas instilled in antichrists by someone else? Do they derive from someone else’s education or influence? No, they are determined by the inherent nature essence of antichrists, which is something no one can change. Despite God incarnate speaking so many words today, antichrists don’t accept any of them, but instead resist and condemn them. The nature of their being averse to the truth and hating the truth can never change. If they can’t change, what does this indicate? It indicates that their nature is wicked. This is not merely an issue of pursuing or not pursuing the truth; this is a wicked disposition, it is openly clamoring against God and antagonizing God. This is the nature essence of antichrists; it is their true face. Since antichrists are able to openly clamor against and oppose God, what is their disposition? It is wicked. Why do I say it is wicked? Antichrists dare to resist God and clamor against Him for the sake of obtaining blessings, and for fame, gain, and status. Why do they dare to do this? Deep within their hearts there is a force, a wicked disposition that governs them, so they are able to act unscrupulously, argue with God, and clamor against Him. Before God even says He won’t give them a crown, before God strips away their destination, their wicked disposition erupts from within their hearts, and they say, “If You don’t give me a crown and a destination, I’ll go to the third heaven and argue with You!” If it weren’t for their wicked disposition, where would they find such energy? Can most people muster such energy? Why don’t antichrists believe God’s words are the truth? Why do they tenaciously hold onto their desire for blessings? Isn’t this their wickedness once again? (It is.) The very blessings that God promises to grant people have become the ambition and desire of antichrists. They are determined to obtain them, but they don’t want to follow God’s way, and they don’t love the truth. Instead, they pursue blessings, rewards, and crowns. Even before God says He won’t grant them these things, they want to contend with God. What’s their logic? “If I can’t obtain blessings and rewards, I will argue with You, I will oppose You, and I will say that You are not God!” Aren’t they threatening God by saying such things? Aren’t they trying to overthrow Him? They even dare to deny God’s sovereignty over everything. As long as God’s actions don’t align with their will, they dare to deny that God is the Creator, the one true God. Isn’t this Satan’s disposition? Isn’t this Satan’s wickedness? Is there any difference between how antichrists act and Satan’s attitude toward God? These two approaches can be completely equated. Antichrists refuse to acknowledge God’s sovereignty over everything, and they want to wrest blessings, rewards, and crowns from God’s hands. What kind of disposition is this? On what basis do they wish to act and seize things like this? How can they muster such energy? The reason for this can now be summed up: This is the wickedness of antichrists. Antichrists don’t love the truth, yet they still want to obtain blessings and crowns, and to wrest these rewards from God’s hands. Isn’t this courting death? Do they realize they are courting death? (They don’t realize it.) They might also have a faint sense that obtaining rewards is impossible, so they first say a statement like, “If I can’t obtain blessings, I’ll go to the third heaven and argue with God!” They already foresee that it will be impossible for them to obtain blessings. After all, Satan has clamored against God in midair for many years, and what has God given it? God’s only statement to it is, “After the work is finished, I will throw you into the bottomless pit. You belong in the bottomless pit!” This is God’s only “promise” to Satan. Isn’t it twisted that it still desires rewards? This is wickedness. The inherent essence of antichrists is antagonistic toward God, and antichrists themselves do not even know why this is the case. Their hearts are solely focused on gaining blessings and crowns. Whenever anything involves the truth or God, resistance and anger arises inside them. This is wickedness. Normal people probably cannot understand the inward feelings of antichrists; it’s quite tough for antichrists. Antichrists possess such immense ambitions, they harbor such immense wicked energy within them, and such a great desire for blessings. They can be described as burning with desire. But God’s house continually fellowships on the truth—it must be very painful and difficult for them to hear it. They wrong themselves and pretend so much in order to endure it. Is this not a kind of wicked energy? If ordinary people didn’t love the truth, they would find church life uninteresting and even feel a sense of repulsion toward it. Reading God’s words and fellowshipping on the truth would feel more like suffering than pleasure to them. So, how can antichrists endure it? It is because their desire for blessings is so immense that it compels them to wrong themselves and reluctantly endure it. Moreover, they sneak into God’s house to act as Satan’s lackeys, and dedicate themselves to causing disruptions and disturbances to the work of the church. They believe that this is their mission, and until they complete their task of resisting God, they feel ill at ease and that they have let Satan down. This is determined by the nature of antichrists.

Antichrists have a clear fondness for status, and everybody knows this. To what extent do they like status? What are the manifestations of this? First of all, they seize any opportunity to climb the ladder, whether it’s through ingratiating or tricky methods, or by doing good things to win over people’s hearts. In any case, whenever there’s an opportunity to climb, they take it. Once they achieve status, they cherish it even more than before. When normal people achieve status, they have a sense of shame and restrain themselves a bit. Moreover, the position of a leader or worker in God’s house is a duty. It’s not a status or an official title, it’s a duty. Sometimes these normal people might reveal a bit of their corrupt dispositions by showing off, thinking that now they are in an official position. Normal people find it somewhat acceptable to behave like this on occasion, but if they do it regularly, they will feel disgusted with themselves and fear that their brothers and sisters will notice. They have dignity and a sense of shame, so they restrain themselves a little. After understanding the truth, they gradually come to place less importance on status. What positive impact will this have, and what good results will it bring? It will enable them to do their duty with peace of mind. Regardless of their current role, they will consider it a duty. Since they were chosen to lead, and leadership is a burden and a duty for man at the same time, first they must understand what things fall under the scope of this duty. When you are not in a leadership role, you don’t need to concern yourself with certain matters, and you do not really have any burdens. But when you take on a leadership role, you need to figure out how to perform your tasks well, and how to do your duty in accordance with the principles and the work arrangements of God’s house. Those who pursue the truth can progress in a positive direction like this. So, what’s the difference between antichrists and those who pursue the truth in terms of how they approach status? Antichrists are passionate about, pursue, cherish, and manage their status. They think about their status at every turn. Status is like their lifeblood. If others do not esteem them, or if they accidentally say something wrong and others look down on them, and they lose their place in other people’s hearts, they’ll feel anxious about their status constantly, and become extremely cautious in how they act and speak. No matter how you fellowship on pursuing the truth, they won’t be able to understand it. What is the only thing they can understand? “How can I perform this ‘office’ well and act like an official?” There are certain specific manifestations of this. For instance, when a church leader takes a group photo with over 20 brothers and sisters, where would someone with dignity and a sense of shame choose to sit? They would find a corner on the side to sit. Where do antichrists usually sit? (In the middle.) Is them sitting in the middle what everyone wants or their personal desire? (It’s their personal desire.) Sometimes, it may be that everybody else leaves a spot in the middle for them, forcing them into a central position, and in their hearts, they feel very pleased with themselves, “Look at how much support I have from everyone! I must sit here. I can see from this that I hold a place in everyone’s heart. They couldn’t do without me!” They feel quite happy and pleased. If they didn’t like the idea of everyone leaving them a spot in the middle, why would they go and sit there? It’s evident that they thoroughly enjoy their position in that particular moment and the feeling it brings. They really need and cherish the feeling of that moment in time, which is why they don’t decline the position. This leader sits right in the middle, surrounded by dozens of other people, and they even use a cushion to make themselves stand out. They think, “Being the same height as everyone else won’t do. How can this showcase my distinction as a leader? I need to raise myself up a bit, sit in the middle, then I’ll be conspicuous. This is knowing the right place to sit. When people look at the photo, the first thing they’ll see is me. They’ll say, ‘This is our leader So-and-so.’ How glorious! This photo will last for so many years. If people can’t see me, and they slowly forget about me, then what’s the point of me being a leader?” This is how highly they cherish their status.

One time, I sought out some people from a church to learn about the situation there. After they turned their video on, they all sat down in front of the camera, leaving a space in the middle. I didn’t understand why and suggested they move closer to the center because the camera’s frame wasn’t that big, and they looked awkward with half their faces showing. After that, they shifted a bit toward the center, but still left an empty seat in the middle. I muttered to Myself, “Why isn’t anyone sitting in the middle? It’s as if there’s some hallowed Buddha there—why does nobody dare to go over there?” Then, a rather fat man came over and plunked himself down right in the middle, looking just like a hallowed “Buddha,” all round and plump. It turned out the middle seat was reserved for him. Can you guess who this person was? (The leader.) Correct, he sat in the dead center. That’s a status symbol. When this devil arrived, looking like a Buddha, and sat there, he occupied that spot quite naturally, as if it were his rightful place. Everyone was more than happy to sit on either side, looking at him with a particular fondness, as if they “understood” him immensely. It felt like they were a bunch of bootlickers, saying, “Ah, you’ve finally arrived. We’ve been waiting for you for so long.” While I’d been speaking, no one had been taking any of it in; they were waiting for the leader. This hallowed “Buddha” had to come out first. If he didn’t come out, I couldn’t go on speaking. How was he able to sit there, and to sit there so naturally? Does this have anything to do with his usual preferences, priorities, and pursuits? (Yes.) What kind of scene would these people usually present? Use your imagination and think about it. When this leader hosts a gathering or enters a room where people are doing their duties, how do they treat him? It’s like he’s an ancestor or a Buddha: They quickly offer him a seat, and the principal seat must be reserved for him. Would it be alright if they didn’t reserve it for him? Based on the phenomenon I saw on camera in that moment, it probably wouldn’t be alright if they didn’t leave him the principal seat—it had become a rule, an unwritten rule. When the “Buddha” arrives, he must immediately be given the main seat. If the “Buddha” isn’t there, the principal seat must remain vacant. That is called status. Do any of you act like this, and regard status as higher than everything else? What can you notice from the scene I just described? Different people treat status differently. Those who love the truth consider their status to be a duty, treasuring God’s commission in their hearts. They accept their duty but don’t assert their status. Some people see status as an encumbrance, they believe it’s an additional burden that brings them pressure, constraints, and even trouble. However, those who worship status treat status like being an official, and always enjoy its benefits. They can’t live without status. Once they attain it, they are willing to sacrifice everything, including their lives and their self-respect for it—they are even willing to sell their bodies for it. Isn’t this wicked? (It is.) This is called wickedness. What is status in their eyes? It is a path and a means to come out on top, and a method for changing their identity, destiny, and standing among people. Therefore, they value status very highly. Once they attain it, and people listen to them, obey them, indulge them, and ingratiate themselves to them in everything, instead of feeling disgusted by all this, they find extreme pleasure in it. Just like that leader who took the middle seat—his posture was so relaxed and at ease, and had such an immense sense of his pleasure and enjoyment to it. Isn’t this wicked? If a person particularly enjoys all the feelings of superiority and all the advantages that status brings, and especially pursues and cherishes these things, unwilling to let them go, then that person is extremely wicked. Why do I say they are extremely wicked? When it comes to those who flatter, speak pleasant words, and give compliments to people with status, what is it that they are saying? They are uttering false words, shameless words, sickening and nauseating words, and words of trickery, and even some things that are offensive to the ear. For instance, say that someone with status has a son who is really quite ugly, with a pointed face and ape-like cheeks—do those flatterers say that he is ugly? What do they say? (He’s really handsome.) Is it enough for them to just say “he’s really handsome”? They have to say something sickening, like, “He has a full forehead and a wide, round jaw. He’s got the face of someone who’ll be wealthy and hold high-status in the future!” Even though it is clear that this isn’t the case, they still dare to openly utter these lies. When that official hears this, they feel elated, they love to hear these things—they enjoy listening to them. How much do they like listening to them? If no one said these hypocritical words, flattering words, and words of trickery in front of them, if no one spoke any false and disgusting words to make them happy and please them, they would find life uninteresting. Isn’t this wicked? (It is.) This is extremely wicked. When they tell lies themselves, that’s already quite nauseating, but they also enjoy having other liars revolve around them like a swarm of stinking flies, and they never grow tired of this. They love anybody who has a way with words, who is good at flattering and ingratiating themselves, and who speaks in a roundabout manner—they keep these people close by their side and place them in important positions. Aren’t such leaders in danger? What kind of work can they get done? Wouldn’t the church be done for if it fell under their control? Could it still have the work of the Holy Spirit?

I’ve heard that some leaders are fond of eating. When they used to live with brothers and sisters who weren’t skilled at cooking and didn’t prepare good meals, they would find a host who knew how to fawn over them and butter them up, and who would specially prepare delicious meals for them every day. Each day, the leaders would eat and drink to their hearts’ content, saying, “Thanks be to God, we get to enjoy God’s banquet every day. This is truly God’s grace!” Such people are in danger. Even if they are not antichrists yet, their behavior has already exposed that they have an antichrist’s nature essence and wicked disposition, and also that they are currently walking on the path of an antichrist. Whether they can become antichrists, or whether they are antichrists, depends on the path that they choose down the line. It’s quite evident that they are currently walking on the path of an antichrist and that their disposition and essence align with those of an antichrist, and this is because they are fond of negative things and dislike things that are positive. They hold positive things in contempt, condemning and rejecting them in their hearts. What do they accept? Duplicity, lies, and all that is related to negative things. When I arrive in a certain place, some people say: “You don’t look well; rest for a while.” Whether I’m feeling well or not and when I need to rest, I know these things Myself. You don’t need to pretend to be smart, and you don’t need to show off how clever you are. I don’t accept this; I find it repulsive. What kind of people do I like? Those who can fellowship promptly when something happens and speak their minds to Me. I fellowship with you to resolve your difficulties, and you can be on closer terms with Me. Don’t be concerned with ingratiating yourself and trying to please Me—that’s terribly repugnant! People like this should stay away from Me, as I find them repulsive. I categorize you as an annoying fly or pest. Keep your distance! Some people say, “Don’t You need someone by Your side to serve You?” In your view, in accordance with My identity and status, there should be some corresponding treatment and service. But I don’t need that. You must not do these things, understand? I feel disgust and detestation toward these things. If you genuinely have it in your heart to be considerate of Me and care for Me, there are plenty of proper ways to do so. For example, if I tell you to do something, you obediently follow through with it, and when you encounter difficulties, you can promptly discuss them with Me. However, whatever you do, don’t imitate the way unbelievers curry favor with people who hold office, uttering a lot of nice-sounding flatteries—I don’t like to hear them. I’m clearly not tall, yet you insist on saying, “You may not be tall, but You’re taller than us.” I don’t like hearing that, so whatever you do, don’t say it to Me; you’re saying it to the wrong person. Antichrists like to hear these kinds of words. For example, they ask the brothers and sisters under them: “Do I look fat?” And some people say: “Even if you’re fat, you look better than us.” “Then am I thin?” “Even if you’re thin, you look amazing. Either way, you’re like a fashion model; everything looks good on you.” When antichrists hear this, they feel delighted and consider you their partners and allies. All these things that antichrists are fond of are repulsive and wicked—how else could one call them wicked? Do antichrists love the elements of normal humanity, like a conscience, reason, a sense of shame, and dignity, as well as discernment between good and evil, black and white, and right and wrong, among other things in normal humanity? Do antichrists love people with a sense of shame? Do they love people with dignity? They love those who are shameless, who can speak in a cloying manner without any self-awareness and without getting embarrassed. Do they not lack a sense of shame? The more cloying your words are, the happier they become. Looking at antichrists’ preferences and their attitudes toward various things, as well as their choices and orientation, it’s evident that their wickedness knows no bounds. Forget about those who understand the truth—even people with a tiny bit of a sense of justice in society don’t appreciate that kind of behavior. You see, some people in official circles desperately ingratiate themselves with those who hold office. They give those in office whatever they need, even giving up their own wives—do they not lack dignity? (They do.) Furthermore, some officials engage in same-sex relationships, and some people of the same sex as these officials will get intimate with them, doing so even if they don’t personally want to. Could you do such things? (No, we could not.) But they could. They have no moral bottom line, no sense of shame, no awareness of conscience, no rationality—that’s why they do these things. You could not even utter those things that they say if you were made to perform them as lines in a play; these people are even more cloying than stage-performers. What do I mean by stage-performers? I mean those who don’t mind and do not bat an eyelash when they are seen or visited on while stark naked. Such people are called stage-performers. So, these flatterers, with their sickening and repulsive words and a preference for wicked things, are even worse than those stage-performers. The latter merely sell their bodies, but what does this gang of wicked folks known as antichrists sell? They sell their souls. They are a bunch of demons, beyond redemption. That’s why speaking the truth to these people is like casting pearls before swine—it’s impossible for them to love the truth. This is how they approach status, enjoying the various feelings of superiority and other good feelings that come with it. What are the various feelings that are derived from this enjoyment? Are they positive or negative things? These are all negative things. When they attain status, they expect to enjoy people flattering them, catering to them, and pandering to their interests. They also want to enjoy special treatment—their food, lodging, and the things they use must all be special, and they must be different from others in everything. Is that physical body of yours really any different from that of others? Once antichrists secure status, they believe themselves to be noble and extraordinary, as if there’s no place on earth that can accommodate them anymore—they must sit upon a “bed of roses” and have people make offerings to them. Isn’t that the case? Tell Me, are these the ideas that normal people usually entertain? Regardless of whether they have status or not, normal people may have a certain aspiration and desire for it, but because they possess a sense of shame, a conscience, and rationality, in addition to now having some understanding of the truth, their attachment to status diminishes and fades. Furthermore, they can put less importance on the advantages that come with status, and if they can see the benefits it brings as unimportant, they can also feel repelled by other people’s flattery and sweet-talking, sycophancy, and other such behaviors, and can distance themselves from or even turn their back on and forsake such things. But can antichrists forsake or let go of these things? Absolutely not. If you ask them to let go of these things, it’s as if you’re asking for their lives. Otherwise, why would some people say, “I won’t believe anymore, I won’t go on living, life is not worth living,” as soon as they lose their status? Isn’t there something going on here? Why is status so important to them? They can’t live an uneventful and ordinary life; they must have status, they must stand above the masses and bask in the veneration, worship, and exaltation of others, as well as the lies intended to pander to, dupe, and flatter them. They want to indulge in these things. Do people with normal humanity willingly indulge in such things? Certainly not; it makes them unsettled. Why do antichrists like to enjoy these things? It’s because they have a satanic disposition within them. Only those of Satan’s ilk pursue these things and have such demands. Normal people might enjoy these things for a while, but they come to find them meaningless and even annoying, and then stay away from all of them. But some people stubbornly refuse to let them go. For instance, why do some movie stars never retire from the film world, despite getting on in years? It’s because without that halo, without people surrounding them, they find life dull. They feel that the sky isn’t as blue, that their life has no direction, and that it has become meaningless and without value. They feel their entire life turns bleak, so they have to return to the film industry to relive the feeling of being a star. Antichrists share the same quality as them: They possess an equally wicked disposition and essence. When antichrists gain status, they flaunt it everywhere, even taking on an authoritarian role in their homes and making their family members obey them. Antichrists possess a wicked disposition and essence, and they treat status with particular affection, going out of their way to display it and flaunt it. What does this show us? Do these people have a sense of shame? They do not. They obtain status and think that their identity has changed, and even their relationship with their parents is altered. Isn’t there a problem here? It’s perverse! That they can hold such an attitude toward status is one type of evidence that exposes their wicked essence.

God is the Creator, and His identity and status are supreme. God possesses authority, wisdom, and power, and He has His own disposition and His possessions and being. Does anyone know how many years God has been working in the midst of humanity and all creation? The specific number of years for which God has been working and managing all of humanity is unknown; no one can give a precise figure, and God doesn’t report these matters to humanity. However, if Satan were to do something like this, would it report it? It certainly would. It wants to show itself off to mislead more people and make more people aware of its contributions. Why doesn’t God report these matters? There is a humble and hidden aspect to God’s essence. What is the opposite of being humble and hidden? It’s being arrogant and displaying oneself. No matter how great the work God does, He only tells people what they can grasp and understand, content with allowing people to gain knowledge, to know His essence through the work He does. What benefits does this bring people? What result does this achieve? Is it that people must know these things in order to worship God? That’s actually not it. People being able to worship God is the eventual objective outcome, but what is God’s original intention in letting people know these things? It is to enable them, after they have knowledge of these things, after they have an understanding of how God manages humanity and how He holds sovereignty over and arranges humanity, to be able to submit to God’s sovereignty, no longer engage in futile resistance, and no longer veer off-track—this way, people will suffer much less. By living naturally and existing in accordance with the ways and laws that God provides, and according to His requirements and the principles He gives, you will not fall into Satan’s clutches anymore, nor will you be corrupted and trampled upon a second time. Instead, you will live forever within the rules established by God, live with human likeness and as a created being, and receive God’s care and protection. This is the original intention and purpose of God’s work. So, with the immense work God has done, has He ever shown it off? Has He ever told people what He has done? He has never. Many people do not know what God has done, or which sorts of things were done by God and which were not. In actuality, God has done a great deal, but He has never declared these things to humanity. God does not declare them to humanity; all you need to do is be clear about what you ought to know. In the future, humanity will be able to exist on earth normally and accept God’s leadership, and when God arrives among humanity, people will be able to have normal interactions with God, receive Him, worship Him, listen to His words, and no longer walk with Satan. This way, God’s kingdom will appear on earth, and on earth there will be a group of people able to worship Him, a group of people who can listen to His words and put them into practice. God’s work will thus be accomplished; it is enough to achieve this result. So, when God does anything, if you don’t understand or aren’t aware of it, God won’t explain it to you. Why doesn’t He explain it? There’s no need to do so. There are many things you don’t understand, and God won’t reveal certain mysteries to you in order to make you know these things or understand His identity and essence, or understand His power. God doesn’t do this work. What is God currently focused on doing? He’s focused on making people understand the truth. Once you understand the truth, you will come to know God, have a foundation for your life, and be able to submit to and worship God in the future, and you will also be able to discern and forsake Satan, no longer being misled by it or going along with it—then His work is complete. As for those mysteries, humanity will have the opportunity to understand them in the future, but the mysteries of God’s actions are incredibly vast, and even if God reveals them to you it doesn’t necessarily mean that you will understand. Even if you come into contact with them, you may not be able to comprehend or grasp them. Why is this? It is because there exists a distance between created beings and God, between human thoughts and God’s ideas. For example, you might know that the rainbow is a sign of the covenant between God and humanity, but do you know how a rainbow is formed? If God were to explain this mystery to you, would you understand? You wouldn’t, so God doesn’t tell you. It would be burdensome for you if He did, since you would need to study and analyze it, which would be a pain. Therefore, God doesn’t say much about mysteries. But can man, who belongs to Satan, keep quiet if he knows about these mysteries? Absolutely not. This is where their essence differs. Does God explain the many things that He has revealed to humanity for years but that people can never understand? Does He do supernatural things? No, He doesn’t. Humanity is created by God, and God knows how much people can understand and to what extent they can understand it. These things are placed in front of people’s eyes, but if it’s unnecessary for them to understand, there’s no need to enlighten them or impose these things on people and have them turn into burdens for them, so God doesn’t work that way. Therefore, there are principles to God’s actions. His approach to humanity is one of cherishing, consideration, and love. God wants what’s best for people—this is the source and original intention behind all of God’s actions. On the other hand, Satan shows itself off, forces things upon people, gets them to worship it and be misled by it, and leads them to become degenerate, so that they gradually turn into living devils and head toward destruction. But when you believe in God, if you understand and gain the truth, then you can escape from the influence of Satan and attain salvation—you won’t face the outcome of being destroyed. Satan can’t stand to see people doing well, and it doesn’t care whether people live or die; it only cares about itself, its own profit, and its own pleasure, and it lacks love, mercy, tolerance, and forgiveness. Satan doesn’t possess these qualities; only God possesses these positive things. God has done a significant amount of work on humans, but has He ever spoken about it? Has He ever explained it? Has He ever declared it? No, He hasn’t. No matter how people misunderstand God, He doesn’t explain. From God’s perspective, no matter if you are sixty or eighty years old, your understanding of God is very limited, and based on how little you know, you are still a child. God doesn’t hold it against you; you are still an immature child. It doesn’t matter that some people may have lived for many years and their body shows signs of age; their understanding of God is still very childish and superficial. God doesn’t hold it against you—if you don’t understand, you don’t understand. That’s your caliber and your capacity, and it can’t be changed. God will not force anything on you. God demands that people bear testimony to Him, but has He borne testimony to Himself? (No.) On the other hand, Satan is afraid that people won’t know about even the smallest thing it does. The antichrists are no different: They boast about every little thing they do in front of everyone. Hearing them, it seems like they are testifying to God—but if you listen closely you’ll discover that they’re not testifying to God, but showing off, building themselves up. The intention and essence behind what they say is to vie with God for His chosen ones, and for status. God is humble and hidden, and Satan flaunts itself. Is there a difference? Showing off versus humility and hiddenness: which are positive things? (Humility and hiddenness.) Could Satan be described as humble? (No.) Why? Judging by its wicked nature essence, it is a worthless piece of trash; it would be abnormal for Satan to not flaunt itself. How could Satan be called “humble”? “Humility” is said of God. God’s identity, essence, and disposition are lofty and honorable, but He never shows off. God is humble and hidden, so people do not see what He has done, but as He works in such obscurity, humankind is unceasingly provided for, nourished, and guided—and this is all arranged by God. Is it not hiddenness and humility, that God never declares these things, never mentions them? God is humble precisely because He is able to do these things but never mentions or declares them, and does not argue about them with people. What right have you to speak of humility when you are incapable of such things? You didn’t do any of those things, yet insist on taking credit for them—this is called being shameless. Guiding mankind, God carries out such great work, and He presides over the entire universe. His authority and power are so vast, yet He has never said, “My power is extraordinary.” He remains hidden among all things, presiding over everything, nourishing and providing for humankind, allowing all humankind to continue for generation after generation. Take the air and the sunshine, for example, or all the material things necessary for human existence on earth—they all flow forth without cease. That God provides for man is beyond question. If Satan did something good, would it keep it quiet, and remain an unsung hero? Never. It’s like how there are some antichrists in the church who previously undertook dangerous work, who forsook things and endured suffering, who may have even gone to prison; there are also some who once contributed to one aspect of the work of the house of God. They never forget these things, they think they deserve lifelong credit for them, they think these are their lifetime’s capital—which shows how small people are! People are truly small, and Satan is shameless.

Tell Me, if antichrists had equal status with God, what would they have to eat and wear? They would have to eat the best foods and wear the best brands, wouldn’t they? So, regarding their demands for material things, tell Me, don’t they have certain specifications? When they go somewhere, they have to take a plane. When they arrive there, can ordinary brothers and sisters host them at their homes? Even if they can, those antichrists won’t stay with them—they have to stay at a high-end hotel. Are antichrists not very particular about their specifications? As for the honor, enjoyment, and vanity that status would bring them, can they give these things up? As long as they have the right conditions and opportunities, they seize these things by the fistful and enjoy them. What are their principles? As long as they have status, they can get their hands on money and wear name-brand clothing and accessories. They do not want to wear ordinary things; they have to wear famous brands. Their ties, suits, shirts, cufflinks, gold necklaces, and belts—everything is name-brand. This isn’t a good sign, and don’t the brothers and sisters suffer because of it? The money that brothers and sisters offer is used by these antichrists to buy name-brand goods. Isn’t this a great evil that they did? Is it not caused by their wickedness? These are the sorts of things they can do. There was someone who dressed modestly when he first took on a leadership role, with only three to five sets of clothes that weren’t name brands or high-end. After several years in leadership, because he didn’t do any real work, he was replaced. When he left, he took a carload of things: name-brand clothes, bags, all sorts of nice stuff. He didn’t make any money as a leader, so where did these things come from? They came from his status. If he were to refuse when others bought these things for him, would the brothers and sisters still insist on buying them for him? Would that sort of thing have happened? If he didn’t want these things, the brothers and sisters wouldn’t have bought them for him. What is the problem here? He was forcibly and greedily seizing these goods. In one respect, he extorted the brothers and sisters, and in another, he actively bought them himself. Moreover, he let the brothers and sisters buy these things for him, and if anyone refused, he tormented them and gave them a hard time. These several reasons all come into play. In the end, he received a “bumper harvest” and became wealthy. Do you envy this kind of leader? If you had the opportunity, could you also gain this kind of wealth? Let Me tell you, it’s not good to get wealthy like this—there are consequences! When some people become leaders, they are afraid of these things happening to them. They think that the temptations would be too great, that it would be difficult to avoid or handle these temptations, and that it would be easy to fall for them. But some people don’t care, and think, “This is normal. Who takes office without enjoying such things? Why take office in the first place? That’s the whole point!” What kind of voice is this? It is the voice of antichrists, and these people are in danger.

I’ve been working for nearly thirty years now. Have I ever extorted anything from anyone? For example, if I saw someone wearing nice jewelry, did I extort it from them by sending a message like, “Give Me your jewelry; it doesn’t suit you. Gold and silver jewelry is meant for people of status, and those without status shouldn’t wear it”? Has this ever happened? It has not. Even when some brothers and sisters had a bit of money and bought Me a leather jacket or something, I always returned it. It wasn’t that I didn’t like it; it was just that I had no use for such things. Later on, I thought about it: “How should I handle these things appropriately? What should I do to avoid making the people who bought them feel hurt?” I took these things to the church so that the brothers and sisters could distribute them according to the principles. If someone was willing to buy the valuable items, the church would sell them at a discounted price. It wasn’t about making money; it was about handling things in a way that was suitable for both sides. Nobody should receive these things for free because they weren’t originally intended for you. These items were limited and couldn’t be distributed evenly among everyone, and it wasn’t appropriate for anyone to be given them. Therefore, the only option was for those who had the money and were willing to buy them to go ahead and buy them. They were certainly cheaper than what was sold at the market, so it was a favor from the house of God. I had the right to do things this way. That’s because once something was given to Me, it became Mine, and I had the right to handle it how I saw fit. It no longer had anything to do with the person who first bought it. By handling matters this way, I had already looked out for that person’s sense of pride. There shouldn’t have been any objections, as this approach was entirely appropriate. Many brothers and sisters have bought Me things. I didn’t entrust them to buy Me things, let alone demand that they do it. They had the heart to do this, which I appreciated, but there were many things that I couldn’t accept because I didn’t need them. This is a practical issue. Is what I’ve said appropriate? (Yes.) Was My handling of it also appropriate? (Yes.) There were also some brothers and sisters who knew I was sensitive to cold and didn’t eat cold foods, so they bought Me some medicine for a “cold stomach.” However, I didn’t feel too well after taking those medicines—My body cannot withstand such experiments, so there are many medicines that I have to be careful with. You need to understand this. Some brothers and sisters also bought some health supplements, such as mountain ginseng, red ginseng, and other types of tonics. I couldn’t take any of them. Why? Because they didn’t suit Me. It wasn’t that I looked down on what the brothers and sisters bought Me or where they were bought from; it was just that I couldn’t use them; I wasn’t able to use them. Not all good things are suitable for everyone. There are many good things out there, and if you take something good and it causes an adverse or allergic reaction, then it isn’t a good thing for you. So, how should this be handled? It’s best to let those for whom it is suitable use it. Therefore, let Me tell you, no matter who is spending money to buy Me things, remember these words—don’t buy them. If I need something, I will tell you directly, and I won’t be so polite about it. Got it? But when you bring these things to Me, and I say I don’t need them or they’re not suitable, that isn’t Me being polite with you either. It’s not false or hypocritical. Everything I say is real; it’s all true. Please, don’t read between the lines when I speak. When I say I don’t need it, it means I don’t need it. When I say I can’t use it, it means I can’t use it. Whatever you do, don’t waste your time thinking about buying things or spend money uselessly. Don’t think that all good things should be given to God—do you even know if I need them or not? If I don’t need them, have you not bought them in vain? If you genuinely wanted to buy something for Me, then let Me tell you—don’t buy Me anything. If you say you bought it for Me to share with everyone, then fine, I can pass it along. When it comes to how I treat such things, and how I treat the material possessions that status and position bring, this is My attitude. Do antichrists treat these matters the same way? (No, they don’t.) First off, they certainly do not refuse anything—the more, the better. No matter who sends them gifts or what they are, they accept them. Secondly, they undoubtedly extort certain things from people, and lastly, they take some things for themselves. This is what they seek and what they want; it’s what the status they pursue brings them.

Regarding the wicked essence of antichrists, based on our fellowship both last time and today, can you come up with a one-sentence summary that lays bare this wicked essence? The greatest characteristic of the wickedness in antichrists is this: They condemn everything positive, everything just and in line with the truth, and all that is considered beautiful among humanity. They hate and are averse to these things. Conversely, everything negative, and everything condemned and looked down on by people with a conscience and reason and a sense of justice is precisely what antichrists delight in. These are the things they pursue and cherish. There is also another sentence that can summarize this: Antichrists hate everything positive that comes from God and hate what God loves, instead loving precisely the things that God detests and condemns. This is the wickedness in antichrists. What is the primary characteristic of this wickedness? It’s that they have a special fondness for everything ugly and negative, while detesting and showing hostility toward everything that is beautiful, positive, and in line with the truth. That’s what wickedness is. You understand, don’t you? Today’s fellowship involved the topic of “what antichrists love.” We also gave some examples, some of which were more typical than others, but all of which can be used as proof to explain antichrists’ wicked nature essence. Next, what you need to do after this is to contemplate and fellowship on which wicked or positive things you see and understand, which negative things antichrists love, which positive things they hate, and what it is that you can understand, as well as what you see and experience. Antichrists and ordinary corrupt humans share certain problems with their dispositions and essences, and while the severity of these commonalities may differ, the essences of their dispositions are the same. The paths they walk and the goals they pursue may also vary, but they reveal many of the same corrupt dispositional essences. Therefore, exposing the various aspects of antichrists’ essence is helpful for every corrupt person. If God’s chosen people can discern the essence of the antichrists, they can guarantee that they will not be misled by them and will not worship or follow them either.

August 7, 2019