When the bright moon rises, the tranquil night is at once shattered. Though the moon is in tatters, man is in fine spirits, and sits peacefully under the moonshine, admiring the beautiful scene beneath the light. Man can’t describe his emotions; it is as if he wishes to cast his thoughts back to the past, as if he wishes to look ahead to the future, as if he is enjoying the present. A smile appears on his face, and among the pleasing air there permeates a crisp scent; as a “gentle breeze” begins to blow, man detects the rich fragrance, and he seems intoxicated by it, unable to rouse himself. This is the very time that I have personally come among man, and man has a heightened sense of the rich aroma, and thereby all men live amid this fragrance. I am at peace with man, he lives in harmony with Me, no longer is he deviant in his regard of Me, no longer do I prune the deficiencies of man, no longer is there a distressed look upon the face of man, and no longer does death threaten the whole of mankind. Today, I advance together with man into the era of chastisement, going forth with him side by side. I am doing My work, which is to say, I strike down My rod among man and it falls upon that which is rebellious in man. In the eyes of man, My rod seems to have special powers: It comes upon all those who are My enemies and does not easily spare them; among all who oppose Me, the rod performs its inherent function; all those who are in My hands perform their duty according to My original intention, and never have they defied My wishes or changed their substance. As a result, the waters will roar, the mountains will topple, the great rivers will disintegrate, man will be ever given to change, the sun will grow dim, the moon will darken, man will have no more days of living in peace, there will be no more times of tranquility upon the land, the heavens will never again remain calm, and quiet, and will never again endure. All things will be renewed and will recover their original appearance. All households upon earth will be torn apart, and all nations on earth will be rent asunder; gone will be the days of the reunion between husband and wife, no more will mother and son meet again, never again will there be the coming together of father and daughter. All that used to be on earth will be smashed by Me. I do not give people the opportunity to release their emotions, for I am without emotions, and have grown to detest the emotions of people to an extent. It is because of the emotions between people that I have been cast to one side, and thus I have become an “other” in their eyes; it is because of the emotions between people that I have been forgotten; it is because of the emotions of man that he seizes the opportunity to pick up his “conscience”; it is because of the emotions of man that he is always weary of My chastisement; it is because of the emotions of man that he calls Me unfair and unjust, and says that I am heedless of man’s feelings in My handling of things. Do I also have kin upon earth? Who has ever, like Me, worked day and night, without thought for food or sleep, for the sake of My entire management plan? How could man be comparable to God? How could he be compatible with God? How could God, who creates, be of the same kind as man, who is created? How could I always live and act together with man on earth? Who worries for My heart? Is it the prayers of man? I once agreed to join man and walk together with him—and yes, unto this day man has lived under My care and protection, but when is the day that man can separate himself from My care? Though man has never cared for My heart, who can keep living in a land without light? It is only because of My blessings that man has lived until today.

—The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. God’s Words to the Entire Universe, Chapter 28