What is the influence of darkness? This so-called “influence of darkness” is the influence of Satan’s misleading, corruption, binding, and controlling of people; the influence of Satan is an influence that has an aura of death. All those who live under the power of Satan are doomed to perish. How can you escape from the influence of darkness after coming to believe in God? When you have sincerely prayed to God, your heart will turn to Him completely, at which point your heart will be moved by God’s Spirit and you will become willing to fully give yourself to Him, and at this moment, you will have escaped from the influence of darkness. If everything a person does is that which pleases God and is in line with His requirements, then they are someone who lives within the words of God and under His care and protection. If people cannot practice the words of God, if they are always acting in a perfunctory manner toward Him, and not believing in His existence, then these are all people living under the influence of darkness. Those who haven’t been saved by God are all living under the power of Satan; that is, they all live under the influence of darkness. Those who do not believe in God are living under the power of Satan. Even those who believe in God’s existence might not necessarily be living in His light, for those who believe in Him are not necessarily living within His words or able to submit to Him. Man is limited to believing in God, and because he does not have knowledge of God, he is still living within the old regulations, living among dead words, and living a life that is dark and vague, neither fully purified by God nor completely gained by Him. Therefore, it goes without saying that those who do not believe in God are living under the influence of darkness; even people who do believe that God exists may still live under its influence due to not having the work of the Holy Spirit. Those who are without God’s grace or mercy cannot see the trend of the work of the Holy Spirit. Those who are unable to perceive whether the Holy Spirit is working in them or not are all living under the influence of darkness; and most of the time, so are people who merely enjoy the grace of God yet do not know Him. If a person believes in God yet spends most of their life living under the influence of darkness, then this person’s existence has lost its meaning—and what need is there to mention people who do not believe that God exists?

All those who cannot accept God’s work, or who accept God’s work but are unable to meet His requirements, are people living under the influence of darkness. Only those who pursue the truth and are capable of meeting God’s requirements are blessed by God, and only they have escaped from the influence of darkness. Those who feel no release, who are always constrained by certain things, and who are unable to give their hearts to God are people under Satan’s bondage who live amid an aura of death. Those who are not devoted to the duties they ought to do, who are not devoted to God’s commission, and who fail to perform their functions in the church are people living under the influence of darkness. Those who deliberately disturb the church life, who intentionally sow discord between their brothers and sisters, or who form cliques are even more so people who live under the influence of darkness, in Satan’s bondage. Those who have an abnormal relationship with God, who always have extravagant desires, who always want to gain an advantage, and who simply do not wish to pursue dispositional transformation are people who live under the influence of darkness. Those who are always sloppy and never serious in their practice of the truth, and who do not seek to satisfy the intentions of God, who only satisfy their flesh, are also people who are living under the influence of darkness, shrouded by death. Those who engage in crookedness and deceit when working for God, who deal with God in a perfunctory manner, who cheat God, and who always make plans for themselves are people living under the influence of darkness. All those who cannot love God with honest hearts, who do not pursue the truth, and who do not focus on transforming their dispositions are people living under the influence of darkness.

—The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. Escape From the Influence of Darkness, and You Will Be Gained by God