Since the advent of the social sciences, the heart of man has become occupied by science and knowledge. Science and knowledge then have become tools for the ruling of mankind, leaving man without sufficient room to worship God, and without as many favorable conditions for the worship of God. The position of God has sunk ever lower in the heart of man. Without a place for God in his heart, the inner world of man is dark, hopeless and empty. Subsequently many social scientists, historians, and politicians have come to the fore to express theories of social science, the theory of human evolution, and other theories that contradict the truth that God created man, to fill the hearts and minds of mankind. And in this way, those who believe that God created everything have become ever fewer, and those who believe in the theory of evolution have become ever greater in number. More and more people treat the records of the work of God and His words during the age of the Old Testament as myths and legends. In their hearts, people become indifferent to the dignity and greatness of God, and they become indifferent to God’s existence and to the tenet that God holds sovereignty over all things. The survival of mankind and the fate of countries and nations are no longer important to them, and man lives in a hollow world concerned only with eating, drinking, and the pursuit of pleasure. … Few people take it upon themselves to seek out where God does His work today, or to look for how He holds sovereignty over and arranges the destination of man. And in this way, unbeknownst to man, human civilization becomes less and less able to hew to man’s wishes, and there are even many people who feel that, living in such a world, they are less happy than those who have already passed away. Even people of countries that used to be highly civilized air such grievances. For without the guidance of God, even if rulers and sociologists rack their brains to preserve human civilization, it is to no avail. No person can fill the emptiness in the heart of man, for no person can be the life of man, and no social theory can free man from the troubles of emptiness. Science, knowledge, freedom, democracy, pleasure, and comfort bring man only temporary consolation. Even with these things, man still inevitably sins and complains about the unfairness of society. Having these things cannot hinder man’s longing and desire to explore. This is because man was made by God and his senseless sacrifices and explorations can only increasingly bring distress upon him, and cause man to be in a constant state of anxiety, not knowing how to face the future of mankind or how to face the path that lies ahead, to the extent that man even becomes frightened of science and knowledge, and even more so frightened of the feeling of emptiness. In this world, regardless of whether you live in a free country or one without human rights, you are utterly incapable of escaping the fate of mankind. Whether you are the ruler or the ruled, you are utterly incapable of escaping the desire to explore the fate, mysteries, and destination of mankind, much less are you capable of escaping the inexplicable feeling of emptiness. Such phenomena, which are common to all of mankind, are called social phenomena by sociologists, yet no great man can come forth to solve such problems. Man, after all, is man, and the status and life of God cannot be replaced by any man. What mankind needs is not just a fair society in which everyone is well-fed, equal, and free; what mankind needs is the salvation of God and His provision of life to man. Only when man receives God’s provision of life and His salvation can his needs, his desire to explore, and the emptiness of his heart be resolved. If the people of a country or a nation are unable to receive the salvation and watching over of God, then such a country or nation will move toward decline, toward darkness, and as a result it shall be annihilated by God.

Perhaps your country is currently prospering, but if you allow your people to stray from God, then your country shall find itself increasingly bereft of the blessings of God, its civilization shall be increasingly trampled underfoot by man, and, before long, its people shall rise up against God and curse Heaven. In this way, the fate of a country shall unknowingly be ruined. God shall raise up powerful countries to counter those countries cursed by God, and may even wipe them from the face of the earth. The key to the prosperity or demise of a country or nation is whether its rulers worship God, and whether they lead their people to get close to God and to worship Him. But in this final era, because those who sincerely seek and worship God are increasingly scarce, God bestows special favor upon countries in which Christianity is the state religion. He gathers those countries together to form the world’s relatively just camp, while the atheist countries and those countries that do not worship the true God become the opponents of the just camp. In this way, God not only has a place among mankind where He can perform His work, at the same time, He also gains countries that exercise just authority, allowing sanctions and restrictions to be imposed on those countries that resist Him. Despite this, God still isn’t able to gain more people to worship Him, because man has strayed too far from Him, and has forgotten God for too long, and on this earth there are merely countries that exercise justice and resist injustice. But this is far from reaching the wishes of God, for no country’s rulers will allow God to reign over their people, and no country’s political party will gather together its people to pay homage to God; God has lost His rightful place in the heart of every country, nation, ruling party, and even in the heart of every person. Although some just forces do exist in this world, any rule in which God holds no place in the heart of man is very fragile, and the political scene, which lacks the blessing of God, is in disarray and unable to withstand a single blow. For mankind, being without the blessing of God is equivalent to being without the sun. Regardless of how assiduously rulers make contributions to their people, regardless of how many just conferences mankind holds together, none of this shall reverse the tide or alter the fate of mankind. Man believes that a country in which people are fed and clothed, in which they live together peacefully, is a good country, and one with good leadership. But God does not think so. He believes that a country in which no one worships Him is one that He shall annihilate. Man’s thoughts always differ greatly from those of God. So, if the head of a country does not worship God, then the fate of this country shall be a very tragic one, and this country shall have no destination.

God does not partake in the politics of man, yet He controls the fate of every country and nation, He controls this world and the entire universe. The fate of mankind and God’s plan are intimately connected, and no person, country, or nation can escape the sovereignty of God. If man wishes to know his fate, then he must come before God. God shall cause those who follow and worship Him to prosper and shall bring decline and extinction upon those who resist and reject Him.

—The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. Appendix 2: God Holds Sovereignty Over the Fate of All Mankind