II. The Interests of Antichrists

C. Scheming for Their Own Benefit

Today, we will continue our fellowship on item nine of the various manifestations of antichrists and the part of this item that relates to the interests of antichrists. Last time, I fellowshipped on the third item of the interests of antichrists: benefits. In that item, I listed specific manifestations of several aspects, and mainly addressed antichrists’ behavior, their thoughts and views, and the various things they do under the control of these thoughts and views. I fellowshipped on two aspects last time: The first was embezzling the assets of God’s house, and the second was exploiting brothers and sisters to labor in their service. These are two specific manifestations of antichrists scheming for their own benefit. Now that I have fellowshipped on these, do you have an understanding of the nature essence of antichrists? There is actually no major difference between corrupted humans in terms of the various manifestations of antichrists, whether it is in regard to their disposition or nature essence. They are more similar than they are different; they only differ in whether they have good or evil humanity, and there is only a marked difference when it comes to their attitude toward the truth. Although people’s corrupt dispositions are all the same, antichrists are capable of hating the truth, resisting God, judging God, and blaspheming against God, and are also capable of doing evil and disturbing the church’s work. These are the areas in which antichrists and ordinary corrupted humans are markedly different. Every person has the disposition of an antichrist, but if they have not done evil and disturbed the church’s work and have not directly confronted God, then they cannot be defined as an antichrist. Although corrupted humans have the same, or similar, thoughts, views, and corrupt dispositions, if someone’s humanity essence is not that of an evil person, then that is a marked difference between them and antichrists. The majority of people cannot see this difference, and group people with the disposition of an antichrist and people who walk the path of an antichrist together and determine them to be antichrists—it is easy to harm good people by doing this! If you do not understand the essence of antichrists clearly, it is a huge impediment to you understanding yourself, too. If you see that your corrupt disposition is the same as that of an antichrist, you will think you are an antichrist, and if you see that the path you are on is the same as that of an antichrist, then you will also think you are an antichrist. You will still define yourself as an antichrist if you see that the way you do things and your thoughts and views are the same as those of an antichrist. If you see yourself as an antichrist in these three ways, then you will determine yourself to be an antichrist. What consequences will this bring? You will certainly become negative to a certain extent and will give up on yourself. Understanding yourself in such a way is somewhat distorted. So then, is it unnecessary to understand your antichrist disposition? No, of course it’s necessary. The purpose of fellowshipping and dissecting the disposition of antichrists is to make you able to draw comparisons with yourself and get to the point of truly understanding yourself. If you just understand that you have an average corrupt disposition but do not recognize that you have the disposition of an antichrist, then your understanding of yourself is very shallow and one-sided; it is not what it should be. You may not yet be aware of this right now. The majority of people think, “I am not walking the path of an antichrist, nor am I an antichrist, nor do I have the essence of an antichrist, so there is no need for me to get to the point where I understand that I have the disposition of an antichrist, am capable of walking the path of an antichrist, and might become an antichrist. If this was my understanding of myself, wouldn’t I be demeaning myself?” Thus, you are not very interested in these topics about exposing antichrists. Regardless of whether or not you are interested, if you are someone who pursues the truth, there will eventually come a day when you gradually grow to understand these aspects of the truth and these sayings. I have heard some people who fellowship their experience and understanding but say nothing whatsoever about how they have the disposition of an antichrist, or how they walk the path of an antichrist. It is obvious that their thoughts, views, and disposition are exactly the same as those of an antichrist—they are identical—but they do not understand this. This is sufficient proof that the extent of many people’s understanding of themselves is very shallow, in that they are only able to understand that they have a corrupt disposition, that they resist God and rebel against God, that their humanity is not very good, and that they do not love the truth very much. Actually, what they manifest and reveal is the disposition of an antichrist, and the path they walk is that of an antichrist, but they do not understand this. Why don’t they understand it? It is because they do not understand the various manifestations related to an antichrist’s disposition, and there are even many people who are afraid to say that they have the disposition of an antichrist or are on the path of an antichrist. Even if they understand it, they do not dare say it; if they say it out loud, it is as though they are being cursed or condemned. In reality, isn’t your situation the same whether you say it or not? Can it change the fact that you have the disposition of an antichrist? No, it can’t. The fact that you do not understand this proves that your comprehension of the truth is too shallow, and that you do not have a true understanding of yourself.

3. Using Their Position to Acquire Food, Drink, and Other Desirable Things by Fraud

Next, we will fellowship about the third manifestation of antichrists scheming for their own benefit—using their position to acquire food, drink, and other desirable things by fraud. Of course, “using their position” may also be called fraudulently acquiring food, drink, and other desirable things under the banner of believing in God. Have you ever tried to ponder this item before and thought about it? (No, we have not.) Have you ever seen this kind of person? Do you have any opinions regarding this kind of person? Do you have any feelings of loathing or revulsion? Do you feel contempt for this kind of person? (Yes.) What kind of person are they? What is their humanity like? Why do they do these things? What is their point of view in believing in God? Is this kind of person someone that God saves? What, in the final analysis, is the aim of their belief in God? They have forsaken their families and careers, and displayed expressions of suffering hardship and paying a price, but what, in the final analysis, is their aim in using their position to acquire food and drink by fraud? Do they know that, when they do this, God detests it and is displeased? Have you ever thought about these questions before? Truth be told, most of you haven’t. And why haven’t you? Some say: “There are too many people like this in society, so it isn’t a big deal to have a few of them in God’s house. What’s more, we aren’t necessarily all that pure ourselves.” You consider yourself to be someone who pursues the truth, and yet you never take your own deeds, thoughts and ideas, as well as the deeds and behaviors of others, and draw a connection between them and the truth, using the perspective of the truth to regard and define them. So, are you still someone who pursues the truth? Do the truths you have come to understand in your belief in God still hold value and meaning for you? No, they don’t. All those who pretend to be spiritual when they have no spiritual understanding have fake spirituality, and they care about nothing except spending all day rigidly adhering to regulations or parroting words and doctrines, which is akin to what ancient scholars did, “burying themselves in the classics and ignoring what is going on beyond their immediate surroundings.” People who pretend to be spiritual think that whatever other people do has no bearing on them, that however other people think is other people’s business, and they refuse to learn how to discern people, see through things, and understand God’s intentions based on God’s words. Most people are like this; when they have finished listening to a sermon or reading God’s words, they note it down on paper, store it in their hearts, and treat it as doctrines or regulations to which they pay token observance and then are done with it. As for how the things that happen around them or the various behaviors and manifestations they see in people around them are related to these truths, they never think about or try to ponder this in their hearts, nor do they pray or seek. Most people’s spiritual lives are in this kind of state. Therefore, many people are slow and superficial in entering the truth; their spiritual life is extremely monotonous, they merely follow regulations, and there are no principles to the way they do things. It can be said that, in the case of many people, their spiritual life is divorced from real life and is empty, and so, even when it comes to the blatant behaviors and manifestations of evil people and antichrists, they have absolutely no concepts, much less any definitions, nor do they have any ideas or show any discernment. Regarding the behaviors, manifestations, and sayings of antichrists in scheming for their own individual benefit, you may have seen a fair amount, but in your hearts you have never tried to ponder exactly what kind of people they are, whether they can gain the truth in their belief in God, whether they are people who pursue the truth, and other questions of the sort. Rather, you idly hang around all day long, going through the motions in everything you do, and do not seek to be able to gain the truth or to understand and enter into the truth reality. Antichrists use their position to scheme for their own benefit and use believing in God as a pretense to obtain all sorts of desirable things through fraud in God’s house. These desirable things naturally include food and drink, as well as certain material enjoyments and the like. The essence of such people is the same as the materialistic essence of antichrists that we previously spoke of—it is the character of the same kind of person. They only seek to enjoy all kinds of material treatment; they do not pursue the truth, and still less do they prepare good deeds. They only put on a pretense of pursuing the truth and appear to do it on the surface. What they pursue in their heart of hearts is basically the fleshly pleasures of eating, drinking, and being treated well that are constantly on their minds. There are quite a few of these sorts of people around; every church is likely to have one or two, and perhaps even more. Today, I will not speak about these people’s manifestations, behavior and essence in a theoretical sense. I will first speak about a few specific representative cases and let you all listen, gain insights from it, and see how people like this are related to this item we are fellowshipping and whether they use their position and fly the banner of believing in God to fraudulently acquire food, drink, money, and material things. Try to discern this type of person, and then think about whether the people you come into contact with have these manifestations we’re talking about. If anyone comes to mind, you can also give a few examples. Tell Me, is it better to give examples or to just fellowship generally like this? (It’s better to give examples.) What is the upside of giving examples? First of all, most people are willing to listen to these stories and real-life cases. They have characters and a plot, and most people find them interesting. It’s just like if you talk about your personal experience: If you write an article about it, people will usually read it once or twice and that’s it, but if you make a movie or a stage play about it, more people will watch it, and they won’t just watch it once. This way, people will look at this aspect of the truth or at the relevant people, events and things more thoroughly and with greater clarity, and it will make a deeper impression on them. Additionally, giving some specific examples helps people more accurately draw comparisons and connections between each aspect of the truth and themselves.

Case One: Pretending to Work in Order to Scrounge for Food and Drink

First, let’s give some examples common to God’s chosen people. Some leaders and workers come to a new place of work, where they encounter different brothers and sisters and discover some good things, and think, “These are good things. Why don’t I have them?” Don’t they have untoward thoughts inside? Their greed has reared its head. As soon as greed rears its head, these base and shameless lowlifes stop in their tracks and find every excuse to work in that place and not leave. What is their purpose in not leaving? (So one day they can take advantage.) That’s right, they want to take advantage. If they do not get this advantage they will not sleep well at night. They worry that if they go somewhere else, someone else will get this advantage and they won’t get this chance again, so they find an excuse to preach and work in that place. Actually, their hearts are always thinking about these desirable things, and their eyes are always focused on these desirable things. Finally, they establish themselves in that place, and most of the brothers and sisters are fond of them, know they are preachers, and worship and look up to them. Now is the time for these leaders and workers to mention there is something they want, so they think of all sorts of different ways to broach the subject, but the more they say, the more anxious they become. They ponder to themselves, “How should I go about asking for this thing? I can’t let the brothers and sisters know that I like this thing and want it. I must make them give it to me of their own accord; I mustn’t make them think I’m asking for it, but rather that it’s something they are giving to me willingly, and of course that it’s something I deserve to have.” After this, they ask the brothers and sisters, “How has your life entry been lately?” The brothers and sisters say, “Since you came, our church life has improved and everyone is invigorated.” “The fact you are invigorated means the condition of your spirit is better. Your business is doing well, too. God willing, in the future your business will do even better.” As the leaders and workers speak, they steer the conversation toward the thing they want. When it becomes apparent to the brothers and sisters that the leaders and workers want that thing, they say the leaders and workers should take some with them when they go. The leaders and workers say, “No, I can’t take any. This isn’t in line with the principles. God wouldn’t be happy.” “It’s no problem. You deserve to have some.” “Even if I deserve it, I can’t.” After saying this, they worry the brothers and sisters will not actually give it to them, so they say some things in a roundabout way, to make the brothers and sisters thank them for their goodness, while at the same time proactively bringing up the thing they want, so that the brothers and sisters would remember to give them some. Afterward, it becomes apparent to the brothers and sisters what the leaders and workers mean, and they say, “Let’s not talk about that matter now. We can talk about it when you leave.” When the leaders and workers hear the brothers and sisters say this, their hearts are overjoyed and they think, “Excellent. I will finally get what I want!” And then they think, “If I leave right away tomorrow, it will be too obvious to people that I want that thing. I will leave in two or three days instead.” When the third day finally comes, the brothers and sisters give them a very heavy package as they leave. The leaders and workers see the package is the thing they wanted, but they pretend they didn’t see it, and do not refuse it. They just take the package without a word. What kind of people are these? They are people who use their work as an avenue—and their labor as currency—in a scheme to obtain desirable things, and who extort things from brothers and sisters. Isn’t this a form of fraud? What is the purpose of their work? To get desirable things by swindling others. As soon as they discover a place with something desirable and that has something they want, they stop in their tracks and do not want to leave. They take every good thing for their own home. After having been a leader or a worker for several years, many things in their homes have been swindled from brothers and sisters. Some of them swindled secret family recipes or heirlooms from brothers and sisters, and some of them swindled local specialty products. These people’s belief in God appears like they are going around from place to place and doing work without asking for anything in return, but in fact, they have swindled far too many desirable things from brothers and sisters.

After a leader arrives at a certain church, he sees that the jujubes in that area are renowned throughout the country, and thinks to himself, “I love eating jujubes. If I was born here I could eat jujubes every day, but unfortunately I can’t stay very many days and the jujubes aren’t ripe yet. When will I be able to eat them? I know—I can find a reason to stay until the jujubes are ripe, then I’ll be able to eat them, won’t I?” Afterward, he makes an excuse saying most of the brothers and sisters here are in a bad state and are not accomplishing anything in their work, so he must be stationed here long term and try hard to get each item of work going before he leaves. However, is that what he is actually thinking in his heart? (No.) In his heart, he is calculating: “Whenever the jujubes are ripe and I can take some with me, that is when I will leave.” His heart is filled with this thought, and it stops him in his tracks and he stations himself there. During his time there, he preaches some words and doctrines and does some surface-level things, but doesn’t accomplish much in the way of work. Finally the jujubes are ripe, and his heart is brimming with happiness: “I can finally eat jujubes. The day I have been dreaming of is finally here!” As soon as the jujubes are ripe, he begins to eat them, while at the same time ruminating in his heart, “It’s not alright for me to just eat jujubes here every day. I can’t stay just to eat jujubes. What if the brothers and sisters notice? I have to think of a way to make them give me some to take with me. If they don’t give them to me, I must try hard and say something more to move this matter along.” As soon as the brothers and sisters who live there see that he likes to eat jujubes, they say they will give him some to take with him when he leaves. When he hears this, he is happy, but his mouth says, “I couldn’t. It is not in line with the principles. Believers cannot covet this. Wouldn’t I be taking advantage of you? I cannot take it without paying you. When I leave I will pay you for it.” These words that he says are just words. When he has pretty much eaten his fill and it is time to go, in his heart he is still always thinking, “Will they not give me any, or just give me some bad ones? I want to eat big ones, good ones.” Two days before he is going to leave, he is always saying, “All the jujubes have pretty much been picked, haven’t they? When will they be ripe next year?” By which he means to remind the brothers and sisters not to forget to give him some to take with him. The brothers and sisters all understand as soon as they hear it: “It looks like we absolutely must give him some to take with him before he goes, and we must pick good ones to give to him; otherwise, he might make things difficult for us.” When it is finally time for him to go, the brothers and sisters give him three large boxes to take with him. He cannot carry them by himself and get other people under him to help. Just before he leaves, he eats as many as he can—even if it makes him sick he feels it is worth it. He is afraid he won’t be able to eat them again after he leaves. When he leaves, it is still reluctantly, and he thinks, “This time I had just enough. I will come again this time next year. I do not need to come too early, but I cannot come too late. I should come just as the jujubes are ripe. That way I can eat some fresh ones, and when they are dried I can eat some dried ones. I can also take some more with me when I leave.” Doesn’t he calculate this in a lot of detail? All his heart thinks about are these things. He is always thinking about taking advantage and concocting schemes to get desirable things, as well as swindling things from brothers and sisters which are in his own interests. He will not pass over any desirable thing he sees. Even if it is something that doesn’t stand out, so long as it catches his eye and sticks in his mind, it is guaranteed to ultimately fall into his hands. Is this not the behavior of an antichrist? Isn’t the humanity and character of people of this kind especially base? No matter how well people of this kind can suffer hardship and pay a price on the surface, and how well they can forsake their family and forgo their career, can it be said that they are people who pursue the truth? Absolutely not. These people are the kind who fraudulently acquire food and drink by flying the banner of believing in God.

Some people go to all sorts of places to spread the gospel and do work, and when they come home they bring back different local specialty products from each place, or even things they extorted from brothers and sisters. Whether it is designer clothing or electronics, so long as it catches their eye they do not pass it over, and they ask to have it. If you do not give it to them, they will think up all sorts of excuses to prune you, will make you understand why they are pruning you, and will not relent until you finally give it to them. These people swindle all sorts of desirable things for themselves by flying the banner of doing their duty, and they are relentless when trying to acquire these desirable things. Sometimes brothers and sisters give them a little something, but these people think it is not worth much money and say, “No, thank you. God has richly blessed me. I do not want for anything.” They use these sorts of words to decline, and trick the brothers and sisters into being fond of them and thinking highly of them. However, should the thing the brothers and sisters give them be something these people have dreamed of, and something they need and constantly think about, when they see these things they want to embezzle them, and they will absolutely not hold back. Some women embezzle cosmetics, good clothes and good shoes out of the hands of brothers and sisters, and some men swindle appliances, motorcycles or electronics out of the hands of brothers and sisters. They move to possess every desirable thing. No matter what good things brothers and sisters have, so long as it catches these people’s eyes, they will think of all sorts of ways to fraudulently obtain it. In addition, these people even come up with all sorts of pretexts and find all sorts of excuses to get together for dinner, and gorge themselves on food and drink. To what extent? Wherever they go, they look to see whose family has money and whose family eats well, then they stay with that family and do not leave. Then, they come up with all sorts of pretexts to hold gatherings for co-workers and hold dinners. And what are their opening words at each dinner? “Our gathering today is a gathering of the kingdom. This table of food gives us a precursory taste of the kingdom banquet.” The people who lick their boots hasten to say, “Amen. Thanks be to God!” There are some so-called leaders and workers who gorge themselves on food and drink wherever they go. Every meal must have nourishing ingredients, and there must be fish and meat, and the dishes must even change every week; they cannot repeat. After dinner they must drink fine tea, and make excuses saying, “I cannot go without tea. I have a heavy workload every day and must burn the midnight oil at night. If I don’t drink a bit of tea to wake me up, I won’t be able to work at night.” This is what their mouth says, but what are they thinking in their hearts? “It wasn’t easy to get to the position I have today. Shouldn’t I throw my weight around a bit? Also, I have dreamed of enjoying some of the better things in life, so shouldn’t I think up all sorts of ways to enjoy these things now? If I don’t use my power now that I have it, I won’t have the opportunity to do so again when it’s gone. I should eat and drink as much as I can. Who knows if there will come a day when I no longer have this position and cannot enjoy these things. I will no longer have this opportunity. Then won’t my entire life be a waste?” People of this kind fraudulently acquire food and drink by flying the banner of doing work. They do a bit of work and preach a few words and doctrines, then want to swindle desirable things and eat good things.

There used to be a person who worked at a certain place, and the brothers and sisters who lived in that locale had to butcher a chicken for this person every day. He developed a habit, which was to eat one chicken a day, every day. After hearing this, how do you feel? (Disgusted.) The brothers and sisters raised chickens for their eggs, and would only butcher a chicken to eat when it was old. Ever since that person arrived, even egg-laying chickens had to be butchered, and as a result, there were fewer and fewer chickens, and the brothers and sisters had reached the end of their rope. Later, he was dismissed and went home, but still could not change this problematic flaw. He made his wife butcher a chicken for him to eat every day; otherwise he would argue with her. What kind of person is this? Eating chicken had become part of who he was. He ate it every day, at every meal. Even after being dismissed he still had to eat it—he had become dependent on it. Doesn’t this person have a problem? What do you say, are people of this kind good? (No.) In short, anyone who flies the banner of believing in God and uses opportunities which arise through the course of doing their duties to extort brothers and sisters out of their belongings at every turn, and to fraudulently acquire food and drink at every turn, are not good people. Their essence is that of an antichrist. No matter where they go to work or what sort of work they do, they first select host families who are relatively well-off and live relatively comfortably to receive them. What is their purpose in looking for these places? To eat well and stay in a nice home—to satisfy the flesh. There are some places they cannot stay because of the adverse environment, but will they let go of their greed and these thoughts of theirs? No, they won’t. They will look for other places like this to receive them. As a result, after these people have done several years’ work in foreign locales, they will look completely different, and when they return home, the brothers and sisters there will not recognize them—their faces will be fuller, their stomachs rounder; they will be dressed better; they will be pickier, and will put on airs. How will the growth of their life be coming along? Their life will not have grown at all; they will just be eating and dressing well, will have grown fat, and will have eaten to the point of being heavy-jowled and potbellied. In a terrible environment such as mainland China, no matter what duty a person does it is a nerve-racking affair. Although they may sometimes eat well and have well-off families receive them, they will be unable to gain weight. So, what kind of people are those who can eat until they are heavy-jowled and potbellied? (People who crave the benefits of status.) It is those who are always thinking about what they will eat and drink and what they will enjoy at their three meals a day. If people of this kind do not have a good meal, they are not in the mood to work or do their duties. If their stomach is not content, their mind is not balanced: “I have eaten so poorly today. There was no meat at all, and after eating you did not offer me tea. So, I will ignore you. When you fellowship on the church’s work, I will not speak. I will exact revenge on you. Who said it was okay for you to not give me good meals? I have to eat food like this, yet you still want me to fellowship with you. There’s no way!” This is what they think inside, but they can’t say it out loud. They just say, “I stayed up too late working last night, so I have to take a nap this afternoon.” Aren’t they a big conman? They sleep until four or five in the afternoon, and there are many people there waiting for them, but they do not want to get up. Suddenly, they smell apples and jump out of bed, worrying they will not get a bite. This is how they work, and this is how they do their duties. No matter where these people go, and no matter how they eat and drink the words of God or listen to sermons, they will not change their intents and objectives, nor will they let go of their ambitions and desires. All material things are the goal of their pursuit in this life; eating well, dressing well and enjoying good treatment are the goals of their belief in God in this life. They think that if by believing in God in this life, they are able to continually eat good things, wear nice clothes, and live in nice houses, as well as have brothers and sisters support them—if they are able to fraudulently acquire these things—they will be satisfied in this life. In this world, working hard at a regular job will not earn a person much money, and it is not easy to earn money by doing business—they will not be able to enjoy things like this. So, after mulling it over in their minds, they still think it is best to believe in God, as they do not need to put in a lot of effort. All they need to do is say a few words, run around a bit, and shoulder a bit of risk, and then they can eat and dress well, even make many people wait on them, and enjoy being treated like a VIP. They think living like this is wonderful, and that they have been richly blessed for believing in God. So, they often say insincere things in front of brothers and sisters, like, “God has gifted us too much, too richly, and more than man has ever asked or wished for.” These words are correct, but are completely incongruent with their personal pursuits and character, and their thoughts, intents and objectives. Everything they say tricks people. Their outward appearance of expending themselves and traveling around doing God’s work also is all to trick people. Only the calculations, intents, and greed in their hearts are true. This is the character of these people. No matter what they do or where they go, these material pleasures take the top spot in their hearts, and they will never let them go and will never forget about them. No matter how you fellowship on the truth, and no matter how you fellowship on God’s intentions, they will perform their duties while stubbornly clinging to this greed and these desires, and harboring these intents and objectives, and no matter whether they have status or do not have status, their intents will not change.

Case Two: Resentment at Not Being Able to Go Abroad

When I was working in mainland China, there was a leader who thought he could go abroad with us, and was very happy about it. He thought, “I have finally made it. I can finally enjoy great blessings with God! Before, I suffered hardship with God. Today I have finally been rewarded. I deserve this. At the very least, I am a leader, and I have experienced much adversity, so when this good thing comes my way I should be able to take part in it—I should be able to enjoy this desirable thing.” This is what he thought. However, after spending a length of time with him in close proximity, I noticed that he was unprincipled in the things he said and did, he did not have good humanity, his intent and desire to be blessed was quite strong, and he sometimes needed to be pruned. After being pruned several times, he thought, “I’m done for this now. The Above has seen right through me and they have not mentioned going abroad again. It looks like there is no hope of me going abroad.” He was constantly turning these things over in his heart. In fact, we could see he was not someone who pursued the truth, was fundamentally unsuited to go abroad, and that even if he went abroad he would not be able to do any work, so we did not talk about it with him. He felt he had no hope of going abroad, so he began to make other plans. One day he went out and never came back. He just left a letter which said, “I believed in God for so many years and did some work. Now, you are going abroad, but I am not suited to come with you. In the days which follow, I will spend time compensating for this. God detests me, so I will leave Him. I will not make Him look at someone He detests. I will hide away.” These words sounded like they made sense, and there was no big problem with them. Next, he said, “It has been this way ever since I was born. No matter who I’m with I just get used. I can suffer hardship with others, but not enjoy blessings with them.” What did he mean by this? (He thought he had been used by God.) That’s exactly what he meant. Especially when he said, “No matter who I’m with I can only ever suffer with them, I am unable to enjoy blessings with them,” what he meant was, “I have suffered so much hardship and shouldered so much risk along with you, yet when it’s time to enjoy blessings with you, you are not willing.” By saying these words he was complaining, and resentment had arisen in him as a result of this issue. With his mouth, he said, “God detests me. I will leave God. I will not make Him feel detestation,” but in his heart he was actually resentful: “You’re going abroad to enjoy blessings and want to get rid of me!” Is this what actually happened? (No.) So what happened? He thought that we pruned him because we wanted to get rid of him, not because he didn’t pursue the truth or was unprincipled in what he said and did. He did not understand that he had a problem. Instead he thought, “I suffered hardship with You, so I should enjoy blessings with You. You absolutely must let me enter the kingdom and let me become one of the people of the kingdom. No matter what I do, You should never abandon me.” Isn’t this what he thought? (Yes.) What is the essence of this way of thinking? (It is the same essence as Paul when he tried to make a transaction with God in exchange for a crown.) That’s right, it is Paul’s essence. He believed in God, followed God, suffered hardship and paid a price in order to get a crown and be blessed. He did not have true faith, nor did he pursue the truth. He just tried to carry out transactions with God. If the deal failed, he was not blessed and he felt he got the short end of the stick, then he became furious, felt the whole thing was a lost cause and threw caution to the wind, and resentment arose in his heart. These are the things he displayed as he spoke. What did this person do next? Afterward, this person went to do business, and had several young ladies circling around him. Even though he didn’t say he didn’t believe in God, he did not do his duty and was not a follower of God. No one ever thought he would give up his chance to follow God and then go do business just because he was pruned a little. His furious demeanor and the way he manifested himself before were like two different people. This was his nature exposing itself. Before, he did not do this purely because the right situation did not present itself. This is one aspect. Another aspect is that he hid who he was, pretended that was not who he was, and restrained himself from doing it. If you are truly a good person, no matter what situation you encounter, you first must stand firm in your place and know who you are. Besides, can people who truly have some humanity do things and misdeeds which are devoid of humanity? (No.) They absolutely cannot. From this matter it is clear when people are unable to accept the truth it is the most rebellious thing, and they are in the most danger. If they are never able to accept the truth, then they are nonbelievers. If the desire of a person such as this to be blessed is shattered, they will leave God. Why is this? (Because what they pursue is to be blessed and enjoy grace.) They believe in God but do not pursue the truth. To them, salvation is an ornament and a nice-sounding word. What their heart pursues is rewards, a crown, and desirable things—they want to get a hundred times this in this life, and want to get eternal life in the next. If they cannot get these things, then they will not believe; their true face will emerge, and they will leave God. What they believe in in their heart is not God’s work, nor is it the truths God expresses, and what they pursue is not salvation, let alone to do their duty as a created being well; rather, it is the same as Paul—to be richly blessed, hold great power, wear a large crown, and be on the same level as God. These are their ambitions and desires. Therefore, every time there is some benefit or desirable thing in God’s house, they fight to get hold of it, start ranking people according to their qualifications and seniority, and ruminate, “I am qualified. I should have a share of this. I must fight to get it.” They put themselves in a foremost place in God’s house, then think it is only fitting that they enjoy these benefits of God’s house. For example, in the matter of going abroad, that person’s first thought was that he should be able to take part, that the majority of people were not as good as him, had not suffered as much hardship as him, were not as qualified as him, had not believed in God for as many years as him, and had not been a leader for as long as him. He used every excuse and method of assessment to rank himself. No matter how he ranked people, he always put himself at the front, and in the ranks of those who were qualified. Finally, he felt it was only fitting that he should enjoy this treatment. The moment he did not get this, and the moment his fantasy of being blessed and gaining things in his interest was shattered, he would do something about it, become furious, reason with God rather than submitting and seeking the truth. It is clear that his heart was already filled with these things he pursued, and it is sufficient to show that the things he pursued are completely incompatible with the truth. No matter how much work he did, his goal and intent was none other than to get a crown—like Paul’s goal and intent was—and he clung to it tightly and never gave up. No matter how the truth was fellowshipped to him, no matter how he was pruned, exposed and dissected, he still stubbornly hung on to the intent to be blessed and would not let it go. When he did not receive God’s approval and saw that his desire to be blessed was shattered, he became negative and retreated, abandoned his duty and ran away. He had not truly fulfilled his duty or rendered good service in spreading the gospel of the kingdom, and this fully reveals that he did not have true faith in God, did not truly submit, and did not have an ounce of true experiential testimony—he was just a wolf in sheep’s clothing that lurked in a herd of sheep. Ultimately, a person who was a nonbeliever to the bone was thoroughly revealed and cast out, and his life as a believer came to an end. This is one case.

This was not an isolated case. This was not the only person who stumbled and was revealed by the matter of going abroad. The example we just gave was about a man, but there was another who was a woman. Initially the plan was also to let this woman come along with us abroad. When this happened, she was very happy inside, and began to plan and prepare for the matter, but in the end due to various reasons she was unable to go. At the time, she was not informed because the situation was too dangerous. At a meeting for co-workers one time, she found out about this decision. Analyze this: What might the result be when this woman found out? (If a person had the thinking of a normal person, they wouldn’t likely have a very big reaction after finding out. They would consider that it was because the situation was dangerous that they couldn’t go abroad, and they would be able to handle the matter correctly. However, if this woman found out, she may have become furious and tried to reason with God.) That’s right, you have somewhat grasped the character of people of this kind. This is how people of this kind are—regardless of what the matter is, they will not take the short end of the stick, but rather take advantage. In everything, they must exceed everyone else, and be better than everyone else. In everything, they must be the best; they must get every desirable thing, and it is unacceptable for them to not have a share in something. After the woman found out about this matter, she got angry in the moment and rolled around on the ground throwing a tantrum. Her demonic side was on display, and she lectured her co-workers and unleashed her anger at them. Where did her anger come from? It appeared as though she was angry at the brothers and sisters, but who was she actually angry at? (She was angry at God.) This is what was going on. Then what was the cause of her anger? Where was its root? (Because her desires were not satisfied.) It is that she did not obtain a desirable thing, and her goal was not achieved. She was not successful in getting an advantage this time; rather, other people got the advantage and she was not able to take part, so she was furious; she could not pretend any longer; she vented and released all of her heart’s discontent and resentment. In the past, she always had to be the first to know what the Above were doing. She always wanted to have contact with the Above, and did not interact with brothers and sisters. She always treated herself as a high-class personage, not an average member, so she thought she should go abroad too this time—if no one else should, she should. She was the primary candidate, and she should have the pleasure of being treated in this manner. This was what her heart truly thought. Now, she saw she would not have the pleasure of being treated in this manner, all the hardship she suffered these years was all for nothing; she had nothing of the status she painstakingly managed and the treatment she wanted. In this instant all these things disintegrated into nothing. Unbelievably, she could not swindle a desirable thing of such magnitude; unbelievably, she was dropped, so she thought she did not occupy a high place in God’s heart, and was an average person. The line of defense in her heart had completely collapsed, and she did not pretend anymore and did not conceal things. She began to throw a tantrum, yell at people, vent, get angry, and expose what was natural to her, without caring about what others said or how they saw it. Afterward, she was sent to a group to do a duty. While she was doing her duty she did many bad things, and the brothers and sisters in the group finally wrote a letter together demanding she be expelled. What was the cause of her being expelled? Brothers and sisters relayed that the evil she did could be described in one phrase: so much it could not all be written down! In other words, she did too much evil, and the nature of what she did was too severe—it could not be conveyed clearly in just one or two sentences, nor could it be recounted in just one or two stories. She did countless evil things and it angered people, so the church expelled her. These evil things she did were not done before the issue of going abroad arose, so why was she capable of doing these things after it arose? Because the issue of going abroad did not turn out as she wished. It is clear that the evil things she did and the ugliness she revealed were a sort of revenge and venting caused purely because she did not get this desirable thing. Tell Me, when a person who truly pursues the truth and who has humanity encounters a situation like this, even if they do not understand many truths, are they capable of giving rise to these manifestations? Are they capable of revealing these things? All people who have a bit of humanity, a bit of a conscience, and a bit of a sense of shame do not do these things, and restrain themselves. Although their hearts are not happy, are dissatisfied, and they are a bit hurt, they think about how they are just an average person, that they should not fight to get this thing, that those who believe in God should pursue the truth, submit to God’s orchestrations in everything, that they should not have any choice, and that people are created beings and are not impressive in any way. They will be unhappy for a couple days, but then it will be water under the bridge. They will still believe as they should, and will not do evil or get revenge on account of this matter, nor will they vent on account of this matter. By contrast, people who do not pursue the truth and whose character is abysmal are capable of displaying all these evil deeds which they never have before just on account of one small matter. This explains the problem. It explains the humanity essence of people of this kind, and explains the true pursuits of people of this kind, namely that their true face is thrown completely into the light through the revelation of this issue. Firstly, their essence is thoroughly that of an antichrist. Secondly, they have never pursued the truth, nor have they ever treated themselves as the object of salvation and submitted to God’s orchestrations and arrangements. They do not pursue submission to God; they pursue only status and enjoyment; they pursue only good treatment, and pursue only to be on the same level as God. Whatever God enjoys, they enjoy too. This way, they are not following God for nothing. These are the things they pursue. This is the nature essence of people of this kind; it is their true face, and the inner landscape of their hearts. This issue brought an end to twenty years of faith for this woman—it all went down the drain.

Tell Me, where should these two people be now? In the church or somewhere else? (In the world of the unbelievers.) Why do you say that? How did you decide this? What are your words based on? (Because they are nonbelievers, and their belief in God is not for the purpose of pursuing doing their duties as created beings. In the end, people like this cannot stand firm in their faith, and can only return to the world.) In the end, they cannot stand firm in their faith, but it is not the end yet, so how come they have disappeared? You must look at what they were thinking inside. They could only do things like this, and make choices like this when some activity was going on in their hearts. In what way did they analyze and assess this matter that made them choose a path like this? Inside their hearts, they thought, “I have believed in God for all these years and suffered much hardship. I have always longed for the day when I can make a name for myself. By being with the Above, I can make a name for myself and show my face. Now I finally have a chance to go abroad. This is huge! This is something I never dared think of before I believed in God. This is the same as believing in God and getting a crown, but it turns out that I will not be part of such a big desirable thing. I am not able to get it. Before, I thought I had a definite place in the hearts of the Above, but now I see that is not the case. It seems like I cannot get any desirable thing from following God. They didn’t think of me when it came to a big thing like going abroad, so isn’t there even less chance of me getting a crown in the future? It’s not certain who will get it, and it looks like there is no hope of it being me.” Were they still willing to follow God when they thought there was no hope? What was their purpose in suffering hardship and paying a price before? It was only on account of that bit of hope, on account of those little ideas they held in their hearts that they acted that way and manifested themselves in that way. Now that their hopes are shattered and their ideas are for naught, can they continue believing? Can they continue being content to stay in God’s house and do their duty? Can they be willing to gain nothing and submit to God’s orchestrations and arrangements? The ambitions and desires of antichrists are so big that they absolutely will not be willing for their efforts and the price they paid to have this result. What they dream of is for the price they pay and their efforts to get them a crown and desirable things in exchange, that no matter what desirable thing God’s house has, they should get a share—it’s fine if other people don’t, but they must. Can people with such strong ambitions and greed do their duty without getting anything in return, and put in effort without getting anything in return? They absolutely cannot accomplish this. Some people say, “Let them pursue the truth. Once they have listened to many truths, won’t they be able to accomplish it?” There are other people who say, “If God chastises and judges them, won’t it change them?” Is this the case? God does not chastise and judge people like this, and does not save people like this. These are exactly the sort of people He will cast out. What is different about what I said compared to what you said just now? Is what you said the true activity of their hearts? Is it the manifestation of the essence of people of this kind? (No.) Then what is it you said? (Feelings and empty theories.) The nature of what you said leans a bit toward analysis and assessment, and is assessing and defining them on the basis of theory. It is not their true thoughts and revelations, nor is it their true views. This is a manifestation of people of this kind who have the essence of an antichrist. If there is a desirable thing they did not get, a benefit they did not enjoy, or an advantage they did not get, they are furious, lose their faith in believing in God and pursuing the truth, are unwilling to believe in God, want to run away, and want to do bad things. They do bad things in order to vent and get revenge—vent their misunderstandings about God and their resentment for God. Should these people be handled? Should they be permitted to continue doing their duty in the church? (No.) Then how should these people be handled? (They should be expelled.) Is there anyone who stopped believing because they could not go abroad? (Yes.) What are these sorts of people? (Nonbelievers. They only believe in God in order to pursue being blessed, and when their ambitions and desires are not satisfied they betray God.) They are able to stop believing in God on account of a little thing like this. People like this cannot be said to have true belief or false belief—their character is so low!

Case Three: Finding It Impossible to Go on Living After Returning Home to the Countryside

Some people are born in the countryside and their families do not have a lot of money to live on. The items they use in their daily life are simple, and aside from a hard bed, a closet and a desk, there is no other furniture in their house. Their floor is made of brick or earth—they do not even have concrete floors. Theirs are very humble circumstances. After coming to believe in God, they do their duty of spreading the gospel, and go to some wealthy areas. There was a woman such as this who looked around and saw that the majority of brothers and sisters had either hardwood floors or tile floors in their homes; the walls had wallpaper on them; their houses were very clean, and they could bathe every day. They also had a lot of furniture in their houses: television stands and big closets, as well as couches and air conditioning. Their bedrooms had Simmons beds, and their kitchens had every sort of appliance: refrigerators, microwaves, ovens, stoves, range hoods, etc. It was a dizzying sight. Apart from this, in big cities such as this, there were some places where she could take an elevator to go up and down between floors. This place opened her eyes, and after working and spreading the gospel there for a while she did not want to go back. Why was this? She thought, “My family’s earthen house doesn’t hold a candle to this place in any way. We all believe in God, so how come these people live so much better than my family? These people’s lives are like heaven. My family lives in a pig pen—it is so much worse than these people!” After making this comparison, she felt upset, felt even more attached to this place and even less like going back. She thought, “If I can work here long term, then I won’t have to go home, will I? That earthen hole is not fit for humans to stay in.” She stayed in the big city for a period of time and learned to eat, dress, and enjoy life like the city folk did, and learned to live like the city folk did. She felt life was so good during those days. It was good to have money. Being poor gave people no future. Poor people were just looked down on by others, and they even looked down on themselves. The more she thought about it, the less she wanted to go back, but there was nothing she could do—she had to go home. After getting home, she felt a mixture of different feelings in her heart and it was very hard to take. As soon as she went inside the house she saw that the floor was earth, and when she sat on the hearth bed it felt so hard and uncomfortable. When she touched the walls her hand was covered in dirt. When she mentioned something tasty she wanted to eat no one understood the names, and there were no facilities for her to bathe herself when she wanted to wash before bed. She thought living like this was too lowly, and she held a grudge against her parents for being so poor they couldn’t afford anything she wanted, and always lost her temper with them. Ever since getting back, it was like she had become a different person. She looked with a disapproving eye at her family members, and looked with a disapproving eye at everything in her home, thinking it was so hick she could not live there anymore, and that if she were to continue living there she would die from the injustice of it all. Leaving home had opened her eyes, but it had become a bad thing, making her parents very angry with her. At that point, an idea came into her head: “If my parents didn’t believe in God, and if I didn’t believe in God, then our lives would definitely be better than now. Even if we couldn’t sleep on Simmons beds, we could at least eat better, and we could put tiles on the floor.” She thought this was a result of believing in God, that believing in God meant one must be poor, that one could not have a good life if one believed in God, and that one could not eat good things or wear nice clothes. From then on, this outstanding heroic woman who had accomplished something in several provinces could not drag herself to her feet and felt sleepy all day. She struggled to get up in the morning, and the first thing she did was get ready and put on makeup, then put on clothes that people in the city often wear. Then she scowled and mulled over when she could be rid of this provincial life and live the way people did in the city. The sermons she used to preach and the resolve she had were all gone—she had forgotten all of it. She didn’t even know if she was a believer. This was how fast she changed. Because her eyes were opened a bit and her living environment and quality of life changed, she was revealed.

Before, this woman went all over the place preaching and doing work. She had strong resolve and great strength, but these were just on the outside. Even she didn’t know what she pursued deep inside, what she liked, and what sort of person she was. One experience of going to the city had changed the state of her life to its core, and one length of time experiencing an affluent lifestyle had completely changed the direction of her life. What exactly was the reason? Who changed her? It couldn’t be God, could it? Of course not. Then what was the reason? It was because the environment had revealed her, revealed her nature essence, and revealed her pursuits and the path she was on. What path was she on? It was not the path of pursuing the truth, nor was it Peter’s path, nor was it the path of those who are saved and perfected, nor was it the path of seeking to fulfill the duty of a created being; rather, it was the path of an antichrist. Specifically, the path of an antichrist is that of pursuing reputation, pursuing status, and pursuing material pleasures. This is the essence of people like this. If these weren’t the things she pursued, and she was a person who pursued the truth, then a small change in environment like this would absolutely not reveal her. At most, her heart would be a bit weak, she would feel a bit upset, and it would feel a bit painful and sad for her, or she would have some foolish manifestations, but not to the point of being revealed in such a stark fashion. What is the essence of the pursuits of people like this? They pursue the same things as unbelievers, and the same things as any person in this world who pursues fame, gain and evil trends. They like the fashionable get-ups of unbelievers, like how unbelievers follow evil trends, and even more do they like unbelievers’ obsession with having an extravagant lifestyle of the flesh. Therefore, with one change in her environment, this woman’s view on life and her attitude toward this world and toward life completely changed. She thought that believing in God and pursuing the truth was not the most important, and that when people are alive in this world, they should enjoy the flesh and enjoy life, should pursue trends, and should be like the charismatic and dashing figures in society who make heads turn as they walk by, make others envious, and make people idolize them. There are some people who, after encountering more environments, encountering all sorts of people, and having their eyes opened, because they pursue the truth and because they understand God’s intentions, are more able to see through these evil trends and through humankind. Their hearts are more able to detest the path worldly people are on, as well as discern it and completely abandon it in pursuit of walking the path God guides them down. As for those people who do not pursue the truth and who have the essence of an antichrist, as soon as their eyes are opened and they encounter different environments, their ambitions and desires do not just fail to diminish, but rather grow and get bigger. After their ambitions and desires get bigger, these people envy even more the lives of those people in the world who enjoy good things and have money and influence, and they develop disdain for the lives of believers deep in their hearts. They think that the majority of believers do not pursue the world, have no money, no status, no influence and have not seen much of the world, that they are not as sophisticated as unbelievers, do not understand how to enjoy life as well as unbelievers and do not show off as much as unbelievers. As a result, opposition and antagonism toward believing in God grows deep in their hearts. Therefore, for many people with the essence of an antichrist, from when they start to believe in God until now, one can’t tell whether they are actually someone with the essence of an antichrist, but one day when the right environment comes along it will reveal them. Before, when the people who were revealed had not yet been revealed, they also followed the rules and did as they should. Whatever God’s house asked them to do they did it, and they were able to endure suffering and pay a price. They appeared to be dutiful, to be people who were on the right path, and to have the likeness and bearing of people who believed in God. However, no matter what they did outwardly, their essence and the path they were on did not stand the test of time, or the trial of different environments. No matter how many years a person believes in God, and no matter how strong a foundation there is to a person’s belief, if they have the essence of an antichrist and are on the path of an antichrist, then they will necessarily pursue material pleasures, pursue an extravagant lifestyle, pursue rich material treatment and moreover, will pursue every sort of desirable thing, while at the same time envying the attitude and approach worldly people have toward living. This is for sure. Therefore, although everyone is now listening to sermons, eating and drinking the words of God and doing their duties, people who do these things but do not pursue the truth will necessarily pursue material things. These things will take priority in people’s hearts, and as soon as the right environment or circumstance comes along, their desires will grow and come into play. As soon as it gets to this point, that is when they will be revealed. If people do not pursue the truth, sooner or later this day will come for them. As for people who pursue the truth, understand the truth, and for whom truth is their foundation, when these temptations and environments come, they are able to approach them correctly, reject them and stand firm in their testimony to God. When these temptations come, they are also able to discern what is positive and what is negative, and know whether it is something they want. It is just like how some women are not interested in men who pursue them no matter how much money the men have. Why aren’t they interested? Because the men don’t have good character. Some women do not look for a partner because there are no rich men who pursue them. If a man with money pursued them and bought them a designer dress that cost 20,000 yuan, they would be attracted, and if he then bought them a mink coat worth 100,000 yuan, or a large diamond, a beautiful big house and a car, they would immediately be willing to marry him. So, when these women used to say they would not get married, was this true or false? It was a lie. Therefore, there are many people who say they do not pursue the world and do not pursue the prospects and pleasures of the world, but that is when there are no temptations put in front of them; the environment isn’t conducive to it. As soon as a conducive environment comes along, they will fall deep into it and be unable to extract themselves. It’s just like the example we just gave. The woman did not extract herself from the situation. After enjoying city life for a while, she didn’t know who she was and lost her way. If she was placed in a palace, then should she have her parents kill themselves as soon as possible so as not to tarnish her name? People like this are capable of doing any sort of stupid thing for the sake of their enjoyment, reputation, extravagant lifestyle and high quality of life. They are worthless and have base characters. Have people like this ever pursued the truth? (No.) Then where did the sermons she preached come from? Did she have sermons to preach? What she preached was not sermons, but doctrine. She was putting on a show and misleading people, not preaching sermons. She preached so many sermons, so how come she could not even solve her own problems? Did she know she could get to this point? Did she see things clearly? She preached so many sermons, yet after enjoying life in the city for a while she could not overcome temptations like these, and could not stand firm in her testimony. So was what she preached sermons? It is obvious they were not. This is the third case.

Case Four: Fraudulently Using Offerings to Pay Off Debts

Before, when I was in mainland China, we needed to find a relatively safe place for co-workers to meet, so we found a host family. This family was willing to host us and helped protect that place. However, after some time had passed, the family started to think, “It looks like you’re planning on meeting here long term. You can’t meet anywhere other than my house, so I should take the opportunity to take advantage of the situation. Wouldn’t I be a fool to do otherwise?” One time when we gathered for a co-worker meeting and not all of the attendees had arrived yet, a person came to the host family’s house for no apparent reason, and sat in the living room and did not leave. The host family came and said that this person had come to collect a debt, and that they had borrowed his money several years ago and had not paid it back. What do you think was happening here? This person could have come before, or they could have come later, but they just so happened to come at this exact time to collect a debt. Was this just a coincidence, or did someone intentionally plan it this way? One couldn’t help but be suspicious. There was something fishy going on. What was it that was going on? Wasn’t it that the family had bad intentions, and purposely called that person to come over? (Yes.) I said, “Get him out of here right away.” The family said, “He won’t leave until he is paid.” I said, “Why don’t you pay him back?” The family hummed and hawed, implying that they wouldn’t pay him even if they had the money—they wanted a free loan. The debt collector waited there and still hadn’t left by the time some of the other co-workers were about to arrive. What was the host family planning to do? Wasn’t this a premeditated scheme? (Yes.) Later, I told someone to give the family money and make them get rid of the debt collector right away. After giving them the money, the debt collector left within half an hour. Common sense tells us that the debt collector should not come back, but this matter was not over yet. A month later, the debt collector came again before a co-worker meeting. The host family said that last time only a portion of the debt was paid off, not all of it. What was their goal in saying this? To make God’s house pay off debt for the family again. It was the same as last time, after giving them the money, the debt collector left. From that point on, whenever we went there to meet, the debt collector never came again because we had already paid off the family’s debt in two payments. They were worried that if they asked for so much money up front, we wouldn’t agree to pay, so they asked for it in two portions. How should this money be viewed? Did God’s house lend it to the family, or did the family manipulate God’s house into giving it to them? (They manipulated God’s house.) In fact, the family tricked God’s house into giving them the money. So, why did God’s house give them the money? Couldn’t we have not given them the money? After all, it is reasonable and legal for us not to give it to them, but that would mean the co-workers could not meet. So what was our rationale in giving it to them? At the time, My thinking was to treat this money as rent. If we rented a hostel or sports arena, wouldn’t it cost us money too? We can’t meet in those places and it is not safe, either. Here, the family helps protect this place and our safety is guaranteed, so is it reasonable for God’s house to spend some money to pay off their debts? (Yes.) It is just that the money wasn’t given in an aboveboard manner. However, in an environment like the country of the great red dragon, it is often necessary to do this sort of thing.

Some people have evil humanity, and they are not entirely willing to do the duty of hosting. We use them to protect the place we are in, so we must allow them to take some advantage of the situation. However, after they take advantage, can they still obtain salvation? No, they can’t. It is not that God would not save them, but that this sort of person cannot achieve salvation. They trick anyone and take advantage of anyone. When they do their duties and try to prepare some good deeds, they always have to swindle something desirable out of it, and no matter who they interact with, they abide by the principle of only ever taking advantage and never getting the short end of the stick. This is the principle they follow for doing duties in God’s house. So, where do these “good deeds” come from? They are bought and paid for by God’s house, rather than these people preparing the good deeds themselves; they do not prepare good deeds. They provide a place, God’s house spends money, and treats it as rent. This has nothing to do with good deeds, and it is not a good deed of theirs. What sort of behavior is it when a person flies the banner of providing a place for brothers and sisters on behalf of God’s house in order to fraudulently acquire money or items from God’s house? What sort of character does this sort of person have? Is their behavior capable of being commemorated by God? Where does their character rank in people’s hearts and in God’s heart? Preparing good deeds is something you are supposed to prepare—you prepare good deeds for your destination’s sake, and everything you do is for yourself, not others. By doing what you should, you have already received a reward, and you have obtained the desirable thing you intended to, so how does God see you in His heart? You do good things in order to gain something in your interests, not in order to gain the truth or gain life, let alone to satisfy God. Can God still save people like this? No, He can’t. They just prepare a small good deed and perform a small obligation and duty, yet they reach out their hands and ask for payment from God’s house, they nickel and dime God’s house, think of all sorts of ways to trick God’s house and gain desirable things, and make sure they never get the short end of the stick, as if they were doing business. As such, this good deed is not a good deed—it has turned into an evil deed, and not only will God not commemorate it, but He will dissolve and strip these people of their right to be saved. When that host family made God’s house pay off their debt for them, was it a bit fraudulent in nature? This is what antichrists do. When they want money, they do not go about it in an aboveboard way; rather, they go about it in a way that is fraudulent in nature, seizing the opportunity to extort things. Does God save those who extort the offerings to God? (No, He doesn’t.) If these people repent and have true belief, should they be saved? (No.) Why? (The fact that these people could act fraudulently toward God’s house means God has no place in their hearts—they are typical nonbelievers.) Will nonbelievers repent? The sort of nonbelievers that are antichrists will not repent. Their own interests are at the center of everything they do, and they will never repent even if they die. They do not admit they have done something wrong, nor do they admit they have done evil, so what would they repent for? Repentance is for people who have humanity, who have a conscience and reason, and who can see their corruption clearly and admit it. When that host family did a small duty they had to swindle something desirable out of it, and did not even pass up an opportunity like this. They were big conmen. This is the fourth case.

Case Five: Demanding Wages for Working for the House of God

In mainland China, there is some work which is relatively dangerous and risky, and which needs people with some brains and certain qualifications to perform. At the time, there was a person who had these qualifications, so the Above arranged for him to do some work. While he was doing this work, he made a request, saying that as soon as he started doing this work, he could no longer go to his regular job every day, and his family was having a bit of a hard time getting by. God’s house gave him some money for living expenses, and he was very happy about it and took on the work given to him; however, his work performance was only average. After a period of time, his family had no problems getting by, but something else came up which he brought up with God’s house, and God’s house gave him some more money for living expenses, to ensure he could get by. He reluctantly agreed to continue doing his work, but how well did he do it? It was a big mess. If he felt like doing something, he did a little bit, and if he didn’t feel like doing something, he didn’t do it at all. This delayed the work and caused the church’s work to suffer some losses, and other people had to go fix it. Later, God’s house got in touch with him to tell him to put effort into his work, and that God’s house would continue to help him resolve any difficulties he had. He did not say it directly to God’s house face-to-face, but told a few brothers and sisters in private, “Are living expenses what I lack? What big problem can that bit of money solve? By doing this work I’m resolving such a huge issue for God’s house. God’s house should resolve big issues for me, too. Right now my son doesn’t have money for tuition, and this issue hasn’t been resolved. This small bit of money is not what I lack.” These words were what he truly thought, but he could not bring himself to tell God’s house face-to-face; instead, it was revealed when he vented in private. How should this situation be resolved? Should God’s house continue to use him, or find someone else? (Find someone else.) Why? His character and essence have already been revealed. Not only did he want God’s house to support his family’s livelihood, he also wanted God’s house to pay for his son’s tuition, and later he said his wife was sick and wanted God’s house to pay for her treatment. Wasn’t he asking for more and more? He thought by doing this small thing for God’s house he had made a big contribution, and that God’s house should provide everything he needed unconditionally. If he worked at a regular job, would he be able to afford to send his son to university? Would he be able to afford his wife’s treatment? Not necessarily. So, when he did this bit of work in God’s house, why did he constantly ask God’s house for money? What was he thinking? What was his view on the matter? He thought that without him, God’s house would have no one else to do the work, so he must take this opportunity to find reasons to ask God’s house for more money, should not forgo it for nothing, and that if he missed this chance it would be gone. Isn’t this what he meant? He thought that doing this work was like doing a job and earning money, so he should shake down God’s house. Afterward, when he realized he could not shake down God’s house, he did not do his work. Is this a person who truly believes in God? (No.)

People who truly believe in God are not afraid of bearing hardship while doing their duty. Some people do not mention difficulties their family has while doing their duty. Some people in poor areas do host duties, and when brothers and sisters come and there is no rice to eat, they go out and borrow money but do not say anything. If they said something, could God’s house give them the money? (Yes.) God’s house can afford the things they need to host brothers and sisters. So, why don’t they say anything? If you offered it to them, they would refuse it. After going out and borrowing the money they will gradually repay it themselves. They do not want money from God’s house. Antichrists are the exact opposite. They set conditions and reach out their hands and make demands before having done any work. How is it so easy for them to reach out their hands? How can they reach out their hands in such a self-assured way? People like that have no shame, do they? After asking for some money, they want more. If they are not given money, they will not do any work—they will not apply themselves unless they have incentive: “I will do as much work as you pay me for. If you do not pay me, then forget about making me do any other work for you. This is a job to me, and if there is no advantage to me I will not do it. I put myself at risk to do my duty, so there has to be something in it for me, and it must be commensurate with what I put in. I cannot get the short end of the stick!” So, they have to ask for the things they feel they deserve, and they have to look for excuses to ask for it—they have to rack their brains to ask for it, and think of all sorts of ways to ask for it. If it can be given to them that’s even better, and if it is not given to them, then they will drop everything and leave, and they will not have suffered any losses. Besides this, they think that all of this work God’s house does involves risk, and that if God’s house does not give them the things they ask for, it would be afraid they would report it, and that it does not have anyone else suitable, so it must use them, and that if it uses them, it must pay them. Isn’t this a bit fraudulent in nature? Isn’t this a bit exploitative in nature? Do people like this count as believers? These are nonbelievers who are not part of God’s house—they are not even friends of the church. When friends of the church see that believers are great people, they help give them cover, and help do some things. People like this can be blessed a little. By contrast, antichrists believe in God purely to get desirable things. If they cannot get desirable things, then they will not do any duty, will not perform any obligation, and will not expend themselves at all. When God’s house arranges for them to perform a duty, they first ask what desirable things it offers, and if it does not offer anything desirable, then they will not do it. What difference is there between them and the conmen of the secular world? These people still want to be saved, and to be blessed by God. Aren’t they asking for impossible things? If these people didn’t have base characters and no shame, then how would their hearts be capable of thinking up such twisted ways of acting? How can they have this sort of attitude toward doing their duty? Are you capable of doing these things? (Yes, we are too.) To what extent? Is there a limit? At what point would you think it was very serious, and that you couldn’t go on doing these things any longer? (Sometimes my heart feels reproached, and my conscience is accused. There are also times when I am scared others will expose the things I’ve done, so I don’t do them anymore.) No matter what people do, their character is of extreme importance. A person who has no shame at all is capable of doing any sort of bad thing. They are a thoroughly evil person. There is no limit to anything they do, and they do not act according to their conscience. What sort of people are those whose humanity has no conscience? They are beasts and demons, and God will not save them. People who are capable of fraudulently acquiring God’s offerings and extorting the offerings to God while God performs His work, and who ask for payment from God’s house are not good people. They think God’s house is easy to trick, and that no one is responsible for looking after the things in God’s house, and that no one owns the things in God’s house, so they can possess and fraudulently take these things as they please. They think by doing this they have acquired an advantage. Is this advantage really that easy to acquire? The advantage you acquired wasn’t big, but what is the consequence of acquiring it? Losing your life.

If a person truly has some humanity and a bit of a conscience will they be capable of doing these things? You believe in God, yet you are capable of defrauding Him and extorting the offerings to Him. What kind of person are you? Are you even a person? Only demons do these sorts of things. Beasts do not do these things. Just look at a dog. The dog’s owner brought it up and it protects the house for its owner. When a bad person comes, it sounds the alarm and attacks them. It chases after anyone who takes its owner’s things. When the chickens, ducks and geese in its owner’s home run off it helps look for them. When the pigs in its owner’s home are fighting it tries to break it up. The dog knows its owner wants it to watch the pigs, so it is able to fulfill this responsibility. The dog does not reason with its owner and say, “I watched the pigs for you, so how come you don’t give me some chicken or something to eat?” It never says this. Even a dog is able to protect its owner’s home, and perform its obligations for its owner without recompense, but these people do not even measure up to animals. After performing a small obligation, they think they have gotten the short end of the stick, and after fulfilling some responsibilities and putting in some effort, they feel uncomfortable, that the arrangement was uneven, and that they have been used, so they think of all sorts of ways to make it even. When you believe in God, God protects you and leads you, and bestows so many truths upon you. How can you not think of repaying Him? You don’t think of repaying Him, but God does not pursue the matter. However, when you perform a small obligation you go to God looking to make it even. When you perform a small obligation you want to extort things and fraudulently acquire something—you think of all sorts of ways to make up for it. Aren’t you looking to die? Is what God gave you not a lot? In terms of people’s manifestations, what do they deserve? Do people have the things they enjoy and have today because they were deserving of them? No. Those are things God bestowed upon you and things He blessed you with. You have already been treated to a lot. God bestowed life, the truth, and the path upon you without asking for anything in return. How have you repaid Him? When you do a bit of your obligations and duties, inside you feel it is hard to take and that you have suffered a loss, and think of all sorts of ways to make it even. If you want to make it even God can give something to you in return, but after you get it will you still be able to be saved? A day will come when these people know exactly what is the most important and what is the most valuable. People who have the essence of an antichrist will never know the value of the truth. When the day comes when their outcome is revealed, and when everything is revealed and made public, then they will know. Won’t it be too late by then? The outcome of all things is nigh, and all things will pass away. Only God’s words and His truth will remain for eternity. Those who possess the truth and practice God’s words will remain along with His words, and with His truth. This is the value and might of God’s words. However, antichrists will never be clear on this fact, so they rack their brains, think of all sorts of ways and use any means possible to scheme for various benefits by flying the banner of believing in God, and use even more clumsily fraudulent means to acquire God’s offerings, and embezzle and seize His offerings. All of these people’s actions and behaviors are recorded in God’s notebook to the letter. When the day comes for their outcomes to be revealed, God will determine each person’s outcome based on these records. All these things are true. No matter whether you believe it or not, all these things will be revealed. This is the fifth case. What kind of person is this man? Is his character noble or base? (Base.) In God’s eyes, he is not an honorable person; he is lowly. He is referred to as a “lowlife” for short.

Case Six: Making an Arduous Effort to Win Office for the Sake of Food and Clothes

After coming to believe in God, many people always pursue status and pursue having other people think highly of them. In God’s house, they always want to stand out from the crowd and be at the head of the flock. For the sake of these things, they forsake their families and forgo their careers, suffer hardship and pay a price, then finally they get their wish and become a leader. After becoming a leader, these people’s lives are truly different. They manifest every aspect of the image and style they used to have in their head of how people in office are, from the way they dress and make themselves up, to the way they talk and act. They learn how to talk like an official, learn how to order people around, and learn how to make people handle their private affairs for them. Simply put, they learn how to be an official. When they go to a place to be a leader, it means they are going there to be an official. What does being an official mean? That they “make an arduous effort to win office for the sake of food and clothes.” This is a matter that pertains to physical pleasures. After becoming a leader, what about their life is different from before? What they eat, wear and the things they use are different. When they eat, they are particular about it being nutritious and tasty. They are particular about the brand and style of clothes they wear. After being a leader in a certain place for a year, they have become pale and fat; they are dressed from head to toe in designer clothes; and their cell phone, computer and the appliances in their home are all from high-end brands. Did they have these conditions before they were a leader? (No.) After becoming a leader they didn’t put effort into making money, so where did they get the money to buy all these things? Did the brothers and sisters donate these things to them, or did God’s house allocate these things to them? Have you ever heard of God’s house allocating these things to every leader and worker? (No.) So, how did they get them? In any case, these weren’t things they acquired through their own hard work; rather, they were things they got after gaining status and becoming an “official”—where they enjoyed the benefits of status—by extorting others, and through fraud and seizures. In churches everywhere, were there any people like this amongst all the different ranks of leaders and workers that you came into contact with? When they first become a leader, they have nothing, but in less than three months they have high-end brand-name computers and cell phones. After becoming a leader, some people think they should enjoy a high standard of treatment—when they go out they should ride in a car; the computers and cell phones they use should be better than the ones average people use, must be a high-end brand, and when the model is old they must replace it with a new one. Does God’s house have these rules? God’s house has never had these rules, and there is not one brother or sister who thinks so. So where do these things these leaders enjoy come from? For one thing, they got these things by extorting brothers and sisters and getting rich people to buy these things for them by flying the banner of doing the work of God’s house. Besides this, they bought these things themselves by misappropriating and stealing offerings. Aren’t they scum who fraudulently acquire food and drink? Is this any different from the people in the previous few cases I shared? (No.) What do they have in common? They all used their position to embezzle offerings and get offerings by extortion. Some people say, “By working in God’s house and being a leader or worker, aren’t they qualified to enjoy these things? Aren’t they qualified to share in God’s offerings along with Him?” Tell Me, are they? (No.) If they need to buy some things to do the work of God’s house, in this case God’s house has rules which say they can buy those things, but are these people buying things within the stipulations of the rules? (No.) What do you see that shows you they are not? (If they really needed it for work, they would think something was fine so long as it could be used, but what antichrists pursue are high-end designer things, and they use the best of everything. Judging from this, we can see they are using their status to enjoy these material things.) That’s right. If it was needed for work, something would be fine so long as it could be used. Why do they need to use such fancy and expensive things? Also, when they bought these things did other people participate in the decision and agree with it? Isn’t this a problem? If other people participated in the decision, could all of them have agreed with them buying these high-end things? Absolutely not. It is very obvious that they got these things by stealing offerings. This is clear as day. Also, God’s house has a rule—whether each church is safeguarding offerings or partnering on work, it is never just one person’s job. So, why could these people, as individuals, make use of and spend offerings as they pleased? This is not in line with the principles. Isn’t the nature of these things they do that of stealing offerings? They bought these things and acquired these things without getting the agreement and approval of other leaders and workers, let alone notifying other people, and without anyone else knowing what they were doing. Isn’t the nature of this a bit like stealing? This is called stealing offerings. Stealing is cheating. Why is it called cheating? Because they bought these fancy things and obtained them by flying the banner of doing the work of God’s house. This sort of behavior is called fraud, and it is called cheating. Have I gone too far by defining it this way? Am I making a big deal out of nothing? (No.) Not only this, but after these so-called leaders stay in a place for a while, they feel out very clearly what work the brothers and sisters there do in the world, what social connections they have, and what benefits they can swindle and get from these people, and what connections they can use. For example, whichever brothers and sisters work at a hospital, for a government department, or at a bank, or whoever is an entrepreneur, whoever’s family owns a store, owns a car, or a big house, and so on, they feel those things out very clearly. Are these things within the scope of these leaders’ work? What are they doing feeling these things out? They want to use these connections, and use these brothers and sisters who have special positions in the world to do service for them, serve them, and provide them with conveniences. You think they are doing this in order to do the church’s work, and fellowship on the truth to address the difficulties of God’s chosen people? Is that what they are doing? There is an intent and an objective behind all these things they do. When true leaders and workers work, they focus on solving problems, and focus on doing the church’s work well. They pay no attention to things that have nothing to do with the church’s work. They just focus on asking who in the church is doing their duty sincerely, who is effective in their duty, who can accept the truth and practice the truth, and who is loyal in doing their duty. Then, they promote them, and investigate those people who cause disruptions and disturbances and deal with them according to principle. Only people who practice like this are true leaders and workers. Do antichrists do these things? (No.) What do they do? They do things and make preparations in order to glean desirable things for themselves, and for the sake of their own interests, but do not apply themselves to the church’s work, and do not treat it with importance. Therefore, after they gain their footing in a certain place, they have pretty much felt out which brothers and sisters can provide what services for them. For example, whoever works in a pharmaceutical factory can give them free medicine when they’re sick, and give them high-quality imported medicine; whoever works at a bank can make it convenient for them to make deposits or withdrawals; and so on. They feel all these things out very clearly. They gather these people before themselves with no regard for whether these people’s humanity is good or not. So long as these people follow them and are willing to be their helpers and wingmen, antichrists will give them desirable things, and keep them close and nurture and protect them, while these people work in order to solidify the position of these antichrists in the church, and to maintain the forces of these antichrists. So, when you want to see whether a church leader is doing real work, ask them about the real situation of the brothers and sisters in that church, and how the church’s work is going, and you will be able to see clearly whether they are actually someone who does real work. Some people feel out clearly the family matters and living circumstances of brothers and sisters in the church. If you ask them who works at a pharmaceutical factory, whose family owns a store, whose family has a car, whose family does big business, or who works at whatever local department and can do things for brothers and sisters, they can tell you exactly. If you ask them who pursues the truth, who is perfunctory in their duty, who is an antichrist, who tries to win people over, who is effective in sharing the gospel, or how many potential gospel recipients there are locally, they do not know these things. What sort of people are these? They want to use all of the social connections in the place they are, and unite them to become a small social group. Therefore, the place where these leaders are cannot be called a church. After they are done with it, it has become a social group. When these people get together, they do not open up their hearts and fellowship each other’s experiences and understanding; instead, they look at who has the stronger connections, who has a high standing in society and is very accomplished, who is well-known in society, who has influence in society, and who can provide especially convenient services and desirable things to the leader. Whoever these people are, they have standing in the leader’s heart. Isn’t this what antichrists do? (Yes.) What is it that antichrists are doing? Are they building the church? They are tearing down the church and destroying the church, and disturbing and disrupting the work of God’s house. They are creating their own independent kingdom, their own private group, and clique. This is what antichrists do.

I have had contact with you for so many years, but do I ask about what your families do, how well off your families are and what your backgrounds are? (No.) Why don’t I ask these things? There is no point in asking those things. God’s house is not society. There is no need to ingratiate yourself to others or grease connections with others. Asking about these things has no connection with believing in God at all. Do not turn God’s house into society. No matter what your family background is, whether it is poor or wealthy, what environment you live in, whether it is a city or a rural area, it doesn’t matter. If you don’t pursue the truth, no matter how high a standing you used to have in society, it doesn’t matter. I will not look at that. When I chat with people, I have never asked about their family situation. If they are willing to talk about it, then I listen, but I have never treated these things as important information I must ask about, let alone tried to glean some sort of information with which to use people. However, when antichrists ask about these things, they are certainly not doing it just to chat; rather, they are doing it to glean some desirable things. For example, whoever’s family owns a store that sells health products and can let them buy health products at wholesale price, they cozy up to this family; or, whoever has a friend they can use to help them buy nice things, they will remember it. They keep a list of these “connections” and these people who they think are special talents, and use them at crucial moments. They think these people are all talented and of great use to them. Is this view correct? (No.) People who do not pursue the truth, and who are of the world and of Satan see these things as more important than life and the truth. If a certain person used to be a regular worker in society, and as soon as a leader hears this they do not want to pay the person any attention no matter how earnestly they pursue in their faith, but when the leader sees that someone used to be a cadre and their family is well-off, has a superior lifestyle and lives life at the top, and they suck up to them, is this a good leader? (No.) Have you ever been subjected to this sort of treatment? What did you think inside after being subjected to this sort of treatment? Did you feel there was no love or warmth in God’s house? Do antichrists represent God’s house? They do not represent God’s house. They represent Satan. The way they act and conduct themselves, and their essence are all of Satan and have nothing at all to do with the truth. They only represent themselves. There are also some antichrists who, after they get these “connections” in their palm and contact them, use these connections to handle private matters for them, or even to arrange work for their family members. Tell Me, do these sorts of things happen? (Yes.) Antichrists are all too capable of doing these things. A person with no conscience, who has no shame, and who is selfish and base to the extreme is capable of doing anything—they are capable of doing any sort of thing which does not accord with the truth, and which flies in the face of morality and one’s conscience. So, in antichrists’ eyes, using their position to handle their private affairs, glean benefits and that sort of thing is the most normal thing in the world, and it should not be brought up and discerned or understood. It is just like how secular people say, “Make an arduous effort to win office for the sake of food and clothes.” This is the goal antichrists pursue by being a leader, too. Just like their pursuit, they are also working hard in this direction without an ounce of self-reproach, using the power in their hands and using their position to threaten brothers and sisters into doing things, as though it were only reasonable, and bringing up all sorts of practices and demands to brothers and sisters which do not accord with the principles. Some muddleheaded people who lack discernment are used and ordered around by these leaders against their will, and there could even be some people who use their own money to do things for them but cannot say anything, and think that by doing this they are doing their duty and preparing good deeds. Let Me tell you: You are actually wrong. In doing this, you are not preparing good deeds; rather, you are assisting a bad person in doing bad things, and are increasing the might of an evil person. Why do I say this? When you do these things it is not in line with the principles. You are not doing your duty. You are helping an antichrist scheme for their personal benefit, and handling private matters for them. This is not your duty; it is not your responsibility. It is not the commission God gave you, nor is it the work of God’s house. By doing this, you are attending to Satan and working for Satan. Will God commemorate you for working for Satan? (No.) Then what will God commemorate? There is a phrase in the Bible which says, “The Lord Jesus said, ‘Truly I say to you, Inasmuch as you have done it to one of the least of these My brothers, you have done it to Me’ (Matthew 25:40).” This is what God stipulated. What do these words mean? If you are able to do something for the least of the brothers and sisters, then that thing is certainly done according to the principles and according to God’s demands. You do not look at how high a person’s status is, but rather do things according to principle. Some people only do things, put in effort and work for those with status, and enthusiastically support them, but should a person with no status ask them to do something, even if it is a duty or responsibility they should do, they pay them no heed. So, how are the things they do defined? From where God stands, these things are defined as working for Satan, and He will not commemorate these things at all. This is the sixth case. Have any of you seen cases like this? (I saw one, God. Before, when there was an antichrist who was a leader where we were, she used her position to keep the good food, useful items, makeup and other things donated by the brothers and sisters for herself. Some things had already expired but she still didn’t give them to the brothers and sisters; she embezzled all these things. Also, she bought a down jacket, but later when she saw a sister had bought a down jacket that didn’t cost much and was of good quality, she thought of all sorts of things to say to the sister to defraud her of her jacket, and made the sister spend more money to buy her own down jacket.) It can be said that every antichrist is an evil person, and that they have no humanity, no conscience, and their character is particularly base. These people must eventually be revealed and cast out.

In the past, there was a family of three that came overseas to do their duty. After arriving, they made the brothers and sisters take them out every day to buy things—some of them wanted down jackets, some wanted pants, and others wanted shoes. They made excuses, saying they hadn’t brought that much money. If they hadn’t brought that much money then they shouldn’t have been buying things, but they still wanted to, and they didn’t want average things, but fancy ones, which the brothers and sisters paid for with their own money. As the family did their duty for a period of time, people became disapproving of their behavior—the food they ate, the place they lived, and the things they used were all too lavish! The father in the family even made the brothers and sisters buy him milk, and when thirsty, he drank milk as though it were water. How many people are there in this world who can drink milk like water? What grade of people must they be? Later, he made the brothers and sisters buy tangerines and oranges, and they bought one big bag which the family finished in two days. After this, he said they wanted some supplementary vitamins, so he told the brothers and sisters to buy some cherries, even using Me as a pretext, saying, “You have to buy cherries for God!” I said, “It’s winter now. It isn’t the season to eat cherries. I won’t eat them; don’t buy them for Me.” He said, “We still have to buy them!” When the brothers and sisters bought a single box of cherries, his family polished it off in no time. I’d never seen someone who could eat like that—they ate fruit like it was rice and drank milk like it was water. And then, when it was time to eat a meal, they saw there was fish and ate it ravenously. The way they ate it would disgust you—they were like starving ghosts who had never eaten anything good before. They thought that this chance to have good things should be taken advantage of, so they eagerly scrambled to stuff themselves. In the end, the kid ate so much that something went wrong with him. After this, the kid said something that had twisted logic: “If I didn’t eat that fish in God’s place, I wouldn’t have gotten sick!” I wasn’t even there when he ate it, and I knew nothing about it. He ate it of his own accord—how could he blame it on Me? But he did blame Me. How should people like this be handled? (They should be cleared out.) What are they? (Devils and Satan.) They are devils. At the time, I said to the local church leaders, “Clear them out and get them out of here, as far away as possible. I never want to see their faces again!”

I’ve gone to some churches and interacted with no small number of brothers and sisters. I have seen all sorts of bad and evil people, but the number of people I can associate with normally is fairly small. There really is no way to interact with the majority of people, and there are too many people who are impervious to reason. Everything they say has twisted and erroneous logic, and there’s no sense in any of it—they’re just beasts, devils, and Satans, and they don’t have an ounce of humanity or reason. People like this constitute at least about a third of the people in each church. None of them are worth anything, and none of them can be saved; they should all be cast out as soon as possible. The people I like interacting with are those who can accept the truth, who are relatively honest, and who can speak from their hearts. Regardless of what corruptions they reveal or what deviations they have, as long as they are willing to fellowship on the truth and can accept the truth, I can get along with them. As for deceitful people and those who like to take advantage of others, I pay them no heed. Some people always want to flaunt themselves when they are in My presence and make Me think highly of them. They act one way in front of Me and another way behind My back to trick Me. People like this are devils, and they should be sent as far away as possible; I never want to see them again. When people have weaknesses and inadequacies I can support and provide for them, and when they have corrupt dispositions I can fellowship on the truth with them, but I do not engage with devils or listen to what devils say. Some people are new believers and there are some truths they don’t understand, so they are capable of speaking and acting ignorantly. We can fellowship on the truth, but if you understand some truths and then deliberately cause a ruckus, acting unreasonably toward Me and finding fault with Me, then I will not put up with you. Why won’t I put up with you? You aren’t someone who can be saved, so why should I put up with you? Putting up with someone means I can tolerate and be patient with them. I am patient with ignorant people and the average corrupt person, but not enemies or devils. If devils and enemies pretend to say pleasant-sounding things to you and bribe you, trick you, or give you momentary happiness, can you believe what they say? (No, we can’t.) Why? Because they cannot accept the truth, you have already seen this clearly, and these people have already been revealed. They are not honest in the things they say, when they fellowship on the truth it is all hypocritical, and it is hard to discern whether what they say is true or false. If you can see these things accurately, then you can be sure they are devils and Satan. Only by clearing them out or expelling them can the problem be thoroughly resolved. Some people say, “Why aren’t they given a little leeway?” These people have no chance of repenting; it’s not possible for them to repent. They are just like Satan—no matter how almighty and wise God is, from its perspective this is not the essence God should have. It does not treat God as God, and it thinks that its cunning schemes are wisdom, that its nature essence is the truth, and that God is not the truth. This is a pure Satan, and it is destined to be hostile to God until the end. So, evil people are destined to be unable to love the truth and pursue the truth, and as such, God does not save them. Clearing them out from the church and expelling them from God’s house is the most correct decision and is not wrong in the slightest.

The antichrists I fellowshipped about and dissected today will never change the direction and goals they pursue. They prioritize self-interest in everything they pursue, using their utmost strength and racking their brains to fraudulently acquire food and drink in God’s house. They have never sincerely expended themselves for God; they just want to cheat their way into food and drink, interests, and good treatment. They think God doesn’t see this, doesn’t know about it, and cannot scrutinize it, so they pursue these things single-mindedly. Of course, this is how their nature essence is—they do not love the truth, nor can they walk the path of pursuing the truth, so they are doomed to be defined as antichrists. These are the sort of people whom God casts out, and the sort of people whom God’s house should expel once they are discovered. From discovering that a person is on the path of an antichrist, to them doing a series of things which do not accord with the truth, to the day when they are defined as an antichrist, this all shows everyone that antichrists do not change. Their ultimate outcome is to be expelled by God’s house and cast out by God—they are incapable of change. So, what good does it do you to know these things? Some people say, “We don’t acquire food and drink by fraud. We pursue the truth and want to do our duty as created beings. We follow God and submit to His orchestrations and arrangements. We do not act like antichrists, nor do we plan on walking the path of antichrists. What use is there in us knowing about these cases?” For regular brothers and sisters, these manifestations and revelations of antichrists can serve as a warning for each person, and let them know which path is correct and which behaviors and ways of doing things are in line with God’s intentions. For church leaders and workers at all levels, this is real-life proof of discerning antichrists. What good does discerning antichrists do for the church’s work? It helps you accurately identify antichrists and expel them from the church at the appropriate time, making the church more pure and free from the disturbances, disruptions and damage of these antichrists, so that those who truly pursue the truth and who can sincerely expend themselves for God have a clean and tranquil environment, free from the disturbances of devils and Satan. So, when it comes to the truth of discerning antichrists, no matter whether you discern them from the perspective of facts and manifestations, or based on the truth principles, you must get a handle on both of these aspects. It is beneficial for your life entry and for the church’s work—this is something you should understand.

Today I talked about several cases. These matters are all some behaviors, ways of doing things and manifestations of antichrists’ viciousness, shamelessness, and complete lack of any moral bottom line. These cases should all be ones which have happened around you, and it can be said that antichrists’ ways of doing things and their manifestations all exist within you to some extent. In other words, you all have some dispositions of antichrists and some of the practices of antichrists. Therefore, as you discern antichrists, you should also check, examine, and reflect on your own behavior. Some people might say, “You always talk about these cases, this gossip, and You go into such detail. How does this benefit our entering the truth? Right now, we are really busy with our duties, and we don’t want to take notes on these things or listen to them. When entering the truth, it’s enough to stick to two things—one is submitting to God, and the other is properly doing one’s duty. It’s so simple!” It may be that simple in theory, but precisely and specifically speaking, it is not so simple. If you understand few truths, your entry will be rough and shallow, and if the truths you understand are general ones, then the details you experience will also be few in number, and you will never be purified in God’s presence. God asks people to pursue the truth and enter into the truth realities, so people must understand these details. What do you see from this? God has made up His mind to save you, so He must be earnest with you and absolutely not be careless, muddled, or satisfied with being close enough or about right. To God, “being about right,” “four out of five,” “perhaps,” and “maybe” do not exist. If you want to be saved and want to walk the path of salvation, you must understand all these details of the truth. If you aren’t up to the task now, it’s okay—beginning to enter into the details of the truth now is not too late. If you are just satisfied with having an attitude of doing your duty well without making mistakes, and being able to submit when things happen to you, then you will never enter into the truth realities. Every truth God provides to people has a lot of specific details, and if people do not understand these details, they will never understand the truth or understand God’s intentions. Is it a good thing that God is serious with people? (Yes.) No matter whether it is in regard to doing their duties, their submission, their interpersonal relationships, or how they approach the matter of their prospects and fate, or even in regard to the things I am talking about now, like how to discern antichrists, how to not walk the path of an antichrist, and how to cast off the disposition of an antichrist, they should get a grasp on these one by one. Once you are truly able to discern these details and do not just know how to preach a bit of simple and empty doctrine, then you will have entered into the truth realities. Only people who enter the truth realities have a chance and a hope of being saved; merely preaching words and doctrines is just rendering service. If people want to enter into the truth realities, they must begin with these details. Otherwise, they will never achieve dispositional change.

April 4, 2020