God’s six-thousand-year plan of management is coming to an end, and the gate of the kingdom has already been opened to all those who seek His appearance. Dear brothers and sisters, what are you waiting for? What is it that you’re seeking? Are you waiting for God to appear? Are you searching for His footsteps? How the appearance of God is to be longed for! And how difficult it is to find God’s footsteps! In an age such as this, in a world such as this, what must we do to witness the day on which God appears? What must we do to keep pace with the footsteps of God? Questions of this kind are faced by all those who are waiting for God to appear. You have all considered them on more than one occasion—but with what outcome? Where does God appear? Where are God’s footsteps? Have you got the answers? Many people would reply in this way: “God appears among all those who follow Him and His footsteps are in our midst; it’s that simple!” Anyone can provide a formulaic answer, but do you understand what is meant by the appearance of God or His footsteps? The appearance of God refers to God personally coming to earth to work, descending among mankind to conduct the work of initiating an age and ending an age with His own identity and disposition, and in the way that is innate to Him. This kind of appearance is not a sort of ceremony. It is not a sign, a picture, a miracle, or a kind of grand vision, and even less is it a kind of religious process. Rather, it is a real and actual fact that can be touched and beheld by anyone. This kind of appearance is not for the sake of going through the motions, or for the sake of a kind of short-term work. Instead, it is for the sake of a stage of work in God’s management plan. The appearance of God is always meaningful and always has some relation to His management plan. What is called “appearance” here is absolutely different from the kind of “appearance” in which God guides, leads, and enlightens man. Every time God appears, He carries out a stage of His great work. This work is different from that of any other age. It is unimaginable to man, and has never been experienced by man before. It is work that starts a new age and concludes the old age, and it is a newer and higher stage of work for the salvation of mankind; even more so, it is work that leads mankind into the new age. This is the significance of the appearance of God.

Once you have understood what the appearance of God means, how should you search for God’s footsteps? This question is not hard to explain: Wherever God appears, there you will find His footsteps. Such an explanation sounds very straightforward, but is not so easy in practice, for many people do not know where God appears, much less where He is willing to, or where He should, appear. Some impulsively believe that wherever the Holy Spirit is at work, there God appears. Or else they believe that wherever there are spiritual figures, there God appears. Or else they believe that wherever there are people of high renown, there God appears. For the moment, let us leave aside whether such beliefs are right or wrong. To explain such a question, we must first have a clear objective: We are searching for the footsteps of God. We are not searching for spiritual figures, much less are we following figures of renown; we are following the footsteps of God. For this reason, since we are searching for the footsteps of God, it behooves us to search for God’s intentions, for the words of God, for His utterances. This is because wherever there are new words spoken by God, the voice of God is there, and wherever there are the footsteps of God, God’s deeds are there; wherever there is the expression of God, there God appears, and wherever God appears, there the truth, the way, and the life exist. In searching for God’s footsteps, you have overlooked the words “God is the truth, the way, and the life.” And so, many people, even when they receive the truth, do not believe that they have found God’s footsteps, and still less do they acknowledge the appearance of God. What a grave mistake! The appearance of God cannot conform to man’s notions, less still can God appear in the manner that man demands Him to. God makes His own choices and His own plans when He does His work; moreover, He has His own objectives and His own methods. Whatever work He does, He has no need to discuss it with man or seek his advice, much less to notify each and every person of His work. This is the disposition of God, and it should all the more be recognized by everyone. If you desire to witness the appearance of God, to follow God’s footsteps, then you must first walk away from your own notions. You must not demand that God do this or that, much less should you place Him within your own confines and limit Him to your own notions. Instead, you should demand of yourselves how you ought to seek God’s footsteps, how you ought to accept God’s appearance, and how you ought to submit to the new work of God: This is what man should do. Since man is not the truth, and is not possessed of the truth, he should seek, accept, and submit.

—The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. Appendix 1: The Appearance of God Has Ushered in a New Age