Regardless of whether you are American, British, or any other nationality, you should step outside the confines of your own nationality, transcending your own self, and view God’s work from the perspective of the identity of a created being—that way, you will not limit God’s footsteps to any particular scope. This is because, according to their notions, many people nowadays believe God couldn’t possibly appear in a particular country or among a certain nation. How profound is the significance of God’s work, and how important is the appearance of God! How can man’s notions and thinking possibly take their measure? And so I say, you should break through your notions of nationality and ethnicity in order to seek the appearance of God. Only thus will you not be bound by your own notions; only thus will you be qualified to welcome the appearance of God. Otherwise, you will remain in eternal darkness, and never gain the approval of God.

God is the God of the entire human race. He does not consider Himself the private property of any country or nation, but does His work as He has planned it, without being confined to any form, country, or nation. Perhaps you have never imagined this form, or perhaps your attitude to this form is one of denial, or perhaps the country in which and nation among which God appears just happen to be discriminated against by everyone and just happen to be the most backward on earth. Yet God has His wisdom. With His great power, and by means of His truth and His disposition, He has truly gained a group of people who are of one mind with Him, and a group of people that He wished to make complete—a group, conquered by Him, who have endured all manner of trials and suffering and all manner of persecution, and can follow Him to the very end. The aim of God’s appearance, which is not limited to any form or country, is to enable Him to complete His work as He has planned it. This is just as when God became flesh in Judea: His aim was to complete the work of the crucifixion in redeeming the entire human race. Yet the Jews believed that it was impossible for God to do this, and they thought it impossible that God could become flesh and assume the form of the Lord Jesus. Their “impossible” became the basis on which they condemned and opposed God, and ultimately led to the destruction of Israel. Today, many people have committed a similar error. They proclaim with all their might the imminent appearance of God, yet at the same time condemn His appearance; their “impossible” once more confines the appearance of God within the limits of their imagination. And so I have seen many people break into wild and raucous laughter after coming upon the words of God. But is this laughter any different from the condemnation and blasphemy of the Jews? You are not reverent in the presence of the truth, still less do you possess an attitude of yearning. All you do is doggedly scrutinize, and wait with blithe unconcern. What can you gain from scrutinizing and waiting like this? Do you think you will receive personal guidance from God? If you cannot discern God’s utterances, in what way are you qualified to behold the appearance of God? Wherever God appears, there the truth will be expressed, and there the voice of God will be. Only those who can accept the truth are able to hear the voice of God, and only such people are qualified to behold the appearance of God. Let go of your notions! Quiet yourself and read these words carefully. As long as you have a heart that yearns for the truth, God will enlighten you so that you will understand His intentions and His words. Let go of your arguments of “impossibility”! The more that people believe something is impossible, the more likely it is to occur, because the wisdom of God is higher than the heavens, God’s thoughts are higher than man’s thoughts, and God performs His work beyond the limits of man’s thinking and notions. The more that something is impossible, the more there is truth to be sought in it; the more something can’t be imagined by man’s notions, the more it contains the intentions of God. This is because, no matter where He appears, God is still God, and His essence will absolutely not change on account of the location or manner of His appearance. The disposition of God will not change regardless of where His footsteps are, and no matter where the footsteps of God are, He is the God of all mankind, just as the Lord Jesus is not only the God of the Israelites, but is also the God of all the people of Asia, Europe, and America, and even more than that, He is the one and only God above and throughout the entire universe. So let us search for God’s intentions and discover His appearance in His utterances and words, and keep pace with His footsteps! God is the truth, the way, and the life. His words and His appearance exist concurrently, and His disposition and footsteps are shown publicly to mankind at all times. Dear brothers and sisters, I hope that you can all see the appearance of God in these words, begin to catch up with His footsteps and stride forward into a new age, and enter into the beautiful new heaven and earth that God has prepared for those who await His appearance!

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