Words of Almighty God of the Last Days

Before people experience God’s work and understand the truth, it is Satan’s nature that takes charge and dominates them from within. What, specifically, does that nature entail? For example, why are you selfish? Why do you protect your own status? Why are you so influenced by your feelings? Why do you like those unrighteous things and those evil things? What is the basis for you liking such things? Where do these things come from? Why do you like and accept them? By now, you have all come to understand: The main reason is that Satan’s poisons are within man. So what are Satan’s poisons? How can they be expressed? For example, if you ask, “How should people live? What should people live for?” everyone will answer, “Every man for himself and the devil take the hindmost.” Just this single phrase expresses the very root of the problem. Satan’s philosophy and logic have become people’s life. No matter what people pursue, they actually do it for themselves—and so they all live for themselves. “Every man for himself and the devil take the hindmost”—this is the life philosophy of man, and it also represents human nature. These words have already become the nature of corrupt mankind and they are the true portrait of corrupt mankind’s satanic nature. This satanic nature has entirely become the foundation for corrupt mankind’s existence. For several thousand years, corrupt mankind has lived by this poison of Satan, right up to the present day. Everything that Satan does is for the sake of its own desires, ambitions, and aims. It wants to surpass God, to break free from God, and to seize control of all things created by God. Today, people have been corrupted by Satan to this extent. They all have satanic nature, they all tend to deny and oppose God, and they want to take their fates into their own hands and try to oppose the orchestrations and arrangements of God. Their ambitions and desires are already exactly the same as Satan’s. Therefore, man’s nature is Satan’s nature.

—The Word, Vol. 3. The Discourses of Christ of the Last Days. How to Walk the Path of Peter

Selfishness can be said to be an element of a person’s nature. Everyone has this element within them. Some people are horribly selfish, selfish to the extreme, and in all things, they only consider themselves, seek nothing but personal gain, and they have not even the slightest consideration for others. That selfishness represents their nature. Everyone is somewhat selfish, but there is a difference. When associating with others, some people can watch out and care for others, they can be concerned about others, and consider others in everything they do. However, some other people are not like this. These people are especially selfish and always petty when hosting brothers and sisters. They give their own family the best food with the largest servings and they only give the brothers and sisters the smaller servings of the less appetizing food. When their own relatives come, they arrange for them to be very comfortable. However, when brothers and sisters come over, they are made to sleep on the floor. They think it is good enough that they allow brothers and sisters to stay over on visits. When brothers and sisters fall ill or have some other difficulty, such a person doesn’t even give them any thought, behaving as though they do not notice. Such people do not care about or feel concern for others in the least. They only care for themselves and their relatives. This selfish nature of theirs is what determines their unwillingness to care for others. They feel that caring for others involves suffering losses and is a lot of trouble. Some people might say, “A selfish person does not know how to be considerate of others.” That is incorrect. If they don’t know how to be considerate, why, then, are selfish people so good to their own relatives and show full consideration for their needs? Why do they know what they themselves lack and what is appropriate to wear or eat at a certain time? Why are they unable to be like that for others? In reality, they understand everything, but they are selfish and despicable. This is determined by their nature.

—The Word, Vol. 3. The Discourses of Christ of the Last Days. How to Know Man’s Nature

Regardless of what happens to them or what they’re dealing with, people always protect their own interests and worry about their own flesh, and they always look for reasons or excuses that serve them. They don’t seek or accept the truth in the slightest, and everything they do is justifying their own flesh and planning for the sake of their own prospects. They always solicit grace from God, wanting to gain whatever advantages they can. Why do people make so many demands of God? This proves that people are greedy by nature, and that before God, they don’t have any reason at all. In everything people do—whether they are praying or fellowshipping or giving sermons—what they think about, and what they pursue and yearn for, only ever amount to demanding and soliciting things from God, hoping they might gain something from Him. Some people say that “this comes down to human nature,” which is correct. In addition, people making too many demands of God and having too many extravagant desires proves that people are totally devoid of conscience and reason. They are all demanding and soliciting things for their own sakes, or trying to justify and make excuses for themselves—they do all of this for themselves. In many things, it can be seen that what people do is totally devoid of reason, which fully proves that the satanic logic of “Every man for himself and the devil take the hindmost” has already become man’s nature.

—The Word, Vol. 3. The Discourses of Christ of the Last Days. People Make Too Many Demands of God

Some people really love to take unfair advantage of things, and these people seek to fulfill their own interests in all matters. Whatever they do must benefit them, or else they will not do it. They do not bother with anything unless it gives them some advantage, and there are always ulterior motives behind their actions. They speak well of anyone who benefits them, and they promote anyone who flatters them. Even when their favorite people have problems, they will say those people are correct and try hard to defend them and cover for them. What nature do such people have? You can completely see their nature clearly from these behaviors. They strive to take unfair advantage of things through their actions, constantly engaging in transactional behavior in every situation, and you can be certain that their nature is one of wholeheartedly coveting profit. They are out for themselves in everything they do. They will not rise early unless it benefits them to do so. They are the most selfish of people, and they are utterly insatiable. Their nature is demonstrated through their love of profit and lack of any love for the truth.

—The Word, Vol. 3. The Discourses of Christ of the Last Days. How to Know Man’s Nature

Some are unwilling to cooperate with others in service to God, even when they have been called upon; these are lazy people who covet comfort. The more you are asked to cooperate with others to serve, the more experience you will gain. Due to having more burdens and experiences, you will gain more opportunities to be perfected. Therefore, if you can serve God with sincerity, then you will be considerate of God’s burden; as such, you will have more opportunities to be perfected by God. It is just such a group of people that is currently being perfected. The more the Holy Spirit moves you, the more you will be considerate of God’s burden, the more you will be perfected by God, and the more you will be gained by Him—until, in the end, you will become a person whom God uses. At present, there are some who carry no burdens for the church. These people are slack and sloppy, and only care about their own flesh. Such people are extremely selfish, and they are also blind. If you cannot see this matter clearly, you will not carry any burden. The more considerate you are of God’s intentions, the greater the burden He will entrust to you. The selfish are unwilling to suffer such things; they are unwilling to pay the price, and, as a result, they will miss opportunities to be perfected by God. Are they not doing themselves harm? If you are someone who is considerate of God’s intentions, then you will develop a true burden for the church. In fact, instead of calling this a burden you bear for the church, it would be better to call it a burden you bear for your own life’s sake, because the purpose of this burden you develop for the church is to have you use such experiences to be perfected by God. Therefore, whoever carries the greatest burden for the church, whoever carries a burden for life entry—they will be the ones who are perfected by God. Have you seen this clearly? If the church you are with is scattered like sand, but you are neither worried nor anxious, and you even turn a blind eye when your brothers and sisters are not normally eating and drinking of God’s words, then you are not carrying any burdens. Such people are not the kind in whom God delights. The kind of people in whom God delights hunger and thirst for righteousness and are considerate of God’s intentions. Thus, you should become considerate of God’s burden, here and now; you should not wait for God to reveal His righteous disposition to the myriad people before becoming considerate of God’s burden. Would it not be too late by then? Now is a good opportunity to be perfected by God. If you allow this chance to slip through your fingers, you will regret it for the rest of your life, just as Moses was unable to enter the good land of Canaan and regretted it for the rest of his life, dying with remorse. Once God has revealed His righteous disposition to the myriad peoples, you will be filled with regret. Even if God does not chastise you, you will chastise yourself out of your own remorse. Some are not convinced by these words, but if you do not believe them, just wait and see. Some people will see these words come true in themselves. Are you willing to turn yourself into a sacrifice for these words?

—The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. Be Considerate of God’s Intentions in Order to Attain Perfection

Selfish and base people are perfunctory in their actions and stand aloof from anything that does not concern them personally. They do not think of the interests of God’s house, nor do they show consideration for God’s intentions. They have no sense of burden or responsibility when it comes to doing their duties or bearing testimony to God. What is it that they think about whenever they do something? Their first consideration is, “Will God know if I do this? Will other people see it? If I expend all this effort and work industriously, but other people don’t see it and neither does God, then it’s pointless for me to expend this effort and suffer like this.” Is this not extremely selfish? It is also a base intent. When they think and act in this way, is their conscience playing any role? Does their conscience reproach them? No, their conscience is not playing any role, and it does not reproach them. There are some people who do not take any responsibility regardless of what duty they are doing. They don’t promptly report problems they discover to their superiors. When they see people causing disruptions and disturbances, they turn a blind eye. When they see evil people committing evil, they don’t try to stop them. They don’t protect the interests of the house of God at all, or consider what their duty and responsibility is in the slightest. When people like this do their duty, they don’t do any real work and they indulge in comfort; they are people pleasers, they speak and act only for their own vanity, face, status, and interests, and are only willing to exert some effort and energy on things that benefit them. The actions and intents of someone like that are clear to everyone: They pop out whenever there is an opportunity to be in the limelight or to enjoy some blessing. But when there is not an opportunity to be in the limelight, or when it comes time to suffer, they vanish from sight like a tortoise retracting its head. Does this kind of person have conscience and reason? (No.) Does a person without conscience and reason feel self-reproach for acting in this way? They do not feel self-reproach; the conscience of this kind of person serves no purpose. They have never felt reproach from their conscience, so can they feel the reproach or discipline of the Holy Spirit? No, they cannot.

—The Word, Vol. 3. The Discourses of Christ of the Last Days. By Giving One’s Heart to God, One Can Gain the Truth

Most people are willing to pursue the truth and want to practice the truth, but a lot of the time they merely have the resolve and a desire to do so; inwardly, however, the truth has not become their life. So when you encounter evil forces disturbing and sabotaging the church’s work—for example, when you are faced with false leaders handling matters in violation of the principles and not doing real work, or evil people and antichrists doing evil and disturbing the church’s work and thereby causing harm to God’s chosen people—you do not have the courage to stand up and speak out. Why do you not have this courage? Is it because you are timid or inarticulate, or do you not dare to speak up because you can’t see things clearly? It is not due to any of these things; it is primarily the consequence of you being constrained by your corrupt dispositions. One of the corrupt dispositions you reveal is a deceitful disposition: When something happens, the first thing you consider is your own interests, the consequences of your actions, and whether they will be beneficial to you. This is a deceitful disposition, is it not? Another is a selfish and base disposition. You think, “What does them harming the interests of God’s house have to do with me? I’m not a leader, so why should I get involved? It’s got nothing to do with me, and it’s not my responsibility.” Such thoughts and words are not something that you intentionally think up, but are produced by you unconsciously—these are the corrupt dispositions that people reveal when they encounter an issue. These corrupt dispositions govern your thoughts, they bind your hands and feet, and control what you say. In your heart, you want to stand up and speak out, but you have misgivings, and even if you do speak out, you beat around the bush and leave yourself wiggle room, or you prevaricate and simply don’t speak the truth. Discerning people can see this, and in reality, you also know in your heart that you haven’t said all you should, that you haven’t achieved results, that you were merely going through the motions, and that the problem hasn’t been solved. You have not fulfilled your responsibility, yet you brazenly say that you have, or claim that you did not see things clearly at the time. Do these claims align with the facts? Is it what you really think? Are you not completely under the control of your satanic dispositions? Even if some of what you say is in line with the facts, in key places and on crucial issues, you lie and deceive people. This is enough to prove that you are a liar, and someone who lives by their satanic dispositions. Everything you say and think gets put through a mental filter. As a result, the things you say are all falsehoods, empty words, and lies—in reality, they’re all contrary to the facts, words spoken to justify yourself using sophistry, words that are to your own benefit. When you have misled everyone and made them believe you, you feel you have achieved your aim. This is the way you speak, and it also represents your disposition. You are wholly controlled by your satanic dispositions.

—The Word, Vol. 3. The Discourses of Christ of the Last Days. Part Three

Nonbelievers have a kind of corrupt disposition. When they teach other people a particular area of professional knowledge or a skill, they think, “‘Once the master teaches a student everything he knows, the master will lose his livelihood.’ If I teach everything I know to others, then no one will look up to me or defer to me anymore, and I will lose my status as a teacher. This will not do. I can’t teach them everything I know, I must hold something back. I’ll teach them only eighty percent of what I know and keep the rest up my sleeve; only then can I show that I’m superior to others.” What sort of disposition is this? It is deceitfulness. When teaching others, assisting them, or sharing with them something you studied, what attitude should you take? (I should spare no effort and hold nothing back.) How does one hold nothing back? If you say, “I don’t hold anything back when it comes to the things that I’ve learned, and I have no problem telling all of you about them. I am of a higher caliber than you anyway, and I can still comprehend more elevated things”—that is still holding back and it is quite calculating. Or if you say, “I’ll teach you all the basic things I’ve learned, it’s no big deal. I still have higher knowledge, and even if you learn all of this, you still won’t be as advanced as me”—that’s still holding something back. If a person is too selfish, they will be without God’s blessing. People should learn to be considerate of God’s intentions. You must contribute the most important and essential things that you have grasped to God’s house, so that God’s chosen people can learn them and master them—this is blessed by God, and He will then bestow upon you even more things. This is what is meant by the saying, “It is more blessed to give than to receive.” Devote all of your strengths and gifts to God, and put them to use in the performance of your duty so that everyone can benefit and achieve results in their duties. If you contribute all of your gifts and strengths, it will be beneficial to all those who do that duty, and even more so to the work of the church. Do not just tell everyone some simple things and then think that you’ve done quite well or that you have not held anything back—this will not do. You only teach a few theories or things that people can understand literally, but the essence and important points are beyond the grasp of a novice. You only give an overview, without elaborating or going into detail, all the while still thinking to yourself, “Well, anyway, I’ve told you, and I haven’t intentionally held anything back. If you don’t understand, it’s because your caliber is too poor, so don’t blame me. We’ll just have to see how God leads you now.” Such deliberation contains deceit, does it not? Is it not selfish and despicable? Why can’t you teach people everything in your heart and everything you understand? Why do you withhold knowledge instead? This is a problem with your intentions and your disposition. When most people are first introduced to some specific aspect of professional knowledge, they can only comprehend its literal meaning; it takes a period of practice before the main points and essence can be grasped. If you have already mastered these finer points, you should tell them to others directly; do not make them take such a roundabout path and spend so much time groping around. This is your responsibility; it is what you should do. You will only not be withholding anything, and not be selfish, if you tell them what you believe to be the main points and essence. When you teach skills to others, communicate with them about your profession, or fellowship about life entry, if you cannot resolve the selfish and despicable aspects of your corrupt dispositions, you won’t be able to perform your duties well, in which case, you are not someone who possesses humanity, or conscience and reason, or who practices the truth. You must seek the truth to resolve your corrupt dispositions, and reach the point where you are devoid of selfish motives, and only consider God’s intentions. In this way, you will have the truth reality. It is too tiring if people do not pursue the truth and live by satanic dispositions like the nonbelievers. Competition is rife among nonbelievers. Mastering the essence of a skill or a profession is no simple matter, and once someone else finds out about it, and masters it themselves, your livelihood will be at risk. In order to protect that livelihood, people are driven to act in this way—they must be cautious at all times. What they’ve mastered is their most valuable currency, it’s their livelihood, their capital, their lifeblood, and they mustn’t let anyone else in on it. But you believe in God—if you think this way and act this way in God’s house, there is nothing to distinguish you from a nonbeliever. If you do not accept the truth at all, and continue to live according to satanic philosophies, then you are not someone who truly believes in God. If you always have selfish motives and are petty-minded while performing your duty, you will not receive God’s blessing.

—The Word, Vol. 3. The Discourses of Christ of the Last Days. Part Three

Some people always fear that others are better than they are or above them, that other people will be recognized while they get overlooked, and this leads them to attack and exclude others. Is this not a case of being envious of people with talent? Is that not selfish and despicable? What kind of disposition is this? It is a vicious disposition. Those who only think about their own interests, who only satisfy their own selfish desires, without thinking about others or considering the interests of God’s house, have a bad disposition, and God does not like them. If you are truly capable of showing consideration for God’s intentions, you will be able to treat other people fairly. If you recommend a good person and allow them to train and perform a duty, thereby adding a person of talent to God’s house, will that not make your work easier? Will you not then be devoted in your duty? That is a good deed before God; it is the minimum conscience and reason that those who serve as leaders should possess. Those who are capable of putting the truth into practice can accept God’s scrutiny in the things they do. When you accept God’s scrutiny, your heart will be set straight. If you only ever do things for others to see, and always want to gain others’ praise and admiration, and you do not accept God’s scrutiny, then is God still in your heart? Such people have no God-fearing hearts. Do not always do things for your own sake and do not constantly consider your own interests; give no thought to your own pride, reputation, and status, and do not consider your personal interests. You must above all consider the interests of God’s house, and make them your priority. You should be considerate of God’s intentions and above all contemplate whether or not there have been impurities in the performance of your duty, whether you have been devoted, fulfilled your responsibilities, and given it your all, as well as whether or not you have been wholeheartedly thinking about your duty and the work of the church. You must consider these things. If you think about them frequently and figure them out, it will be easier for you to perform your duty well. The only exception is if your caliber is poor and your experience is shallow, or if you are not proficient in your professional work, and this leads to some mistakes or deficiencies arising in your work, and prevents good results from being achieved, but you are already doing your best. You are not acting in order to satisfy your own selfish desires or preferences. Instead, you are giving constant consideration to the work of the church and the interests of the house of God. Though you may not be achieving good results in your duty, your heart has been set straight; if, on top of this, you are able to seek the truth to solve the problems in your duty, you will be up to standard in the performance of your duty, and, at the same time, you will be able to enter into the truth reality. Then, you will possess testimony.

—The Word, Vol. 3. The Discourses of Christ of the Last Days. Freedom and Liberation Can Be Gained Only by Casting Off One’s Corrupt Dispositions

Antichrists have no conscience, reason, or humanity. Not only are they heedless of shame, but they have another hallmark: They are uncommonly selfish and vile. The literal meaning of “selfish and vile” is not hard to grasp. It means that a person seeks nothing but profit. If something concerns their own interests, they will put their heart into it, they will suffer and pay a price for it, and invest thought and energy into it. If something does not relate to their own interests, they will turn a blind eye to it and take no notice of it; they’ll let others do as they please—even if anyone is causing disruptions or disturbances, they’ll ignore it, and think that it has nothing to do with them. A nice way to put this is that they mind their own business, but it is more accurate to say that this kind of person is vile, base, and sordid—we characterize them as “selfish and vile.” How does the selfishness and vileness of antichrists manifest itself? In anything that benefits their status or reputation, they make efforts to do or say whatever is necessary, and they willingly endure any suffering. But where work arranged by God’s house is concerned, or where work that benefits the life growth of God’s chosen people is concerned, they utterly ignore it. Even when evil people cause disruptions and disturbances, and commit all kinds of evil, thereby seriously affecting the work of the church, they do not concern themselves with it or inquire about it, as if this has nothing to do with them. And if someone discovers and reports the evil deeds of an evil person, they say they saw nothing and feign ignorance. But if someone reports them and exposes that they don’t do real work and only pursue fame, gain, and status, they see red. Meetings are hurriedly convened to discuss how to respond, investigations are held to find out who went behind their back, who the ringleader was, and who was involved. They will not eat or sleep until they have gotten to the bottom of it and the matter has been completely put to rest—they will even only feel happy once they’ve taken down everyone who was involved in reporting them. This is the manifestation of selfishness and vileness, is it not? Are they doing church work? They are acting for the sake of their own power and status and engaging in their own enterprise, pure and simple. Regardless of what work they are responsible for, antichrists never give any thought to the interests of the house of God. They only consider whether their own interests are affected and only think about the little bit of work in front of them that benefits them. For them, the primary work of the church is just something they do in their spare time. They don’t take it seriously at all. They only move when they’re prodded into action, only do what they like to do, and only do work that is for the sake of maintaining their own power and status. In their eyes, any work arranged by God’s house, the work of spreading the gospel, and the life entry of God’s chosen people are not important. No matter what difficulties other people have in their work, what issues they have identified and reported to them, how sincere their words are, the antichrists pay no heed, they do not get involved, it’s as if this has nothing to do with them. No matter how major the problems emerging in the church’s work are, they are utterly indifferent. Even when a problem is laid out right in front of them, they only address it perfunctorily. Only when they are directly pruned by the Above and ordered to sort out a problem will they grudgingly do a little real work and give the Above something to see; soon after, they will continue with their own business. When it comes to the work of the church, to the important things of the wider context, they are disinterested in and disregard these things. They even ignore the problems they discover, and they give perfunctory answers or hem and haw when asked about problems, only addressing them with great reluctance. This is the manifestation of selfishness and vileness, is it not? What’s more, no matter what duty antichrists are doing, all they think about is whether it will allow them to step into the limelight; as long as it will boost their reputation, they rack their brains to come up with a way to learn how to do it, to carry it out; all they care about is whether it will set them apart. No matter what they do or think, they are only concerned with their own fame, gain, and status. No matter what duty they are doing, they only compete over who is higher or lower, who wins and who loses, who has the bigger reputation. They only care about how many people worship and look up to them, how many people obey them, and how many followers they have. They never fellowship the truth or solve real problems. They never consider how to do things according to principle when doing their duty, nor do they reflect on whether they have been loyal, have fulfilled their responsibilities, whether there have been deviations or oversights in their work, or if any problems exist, much less do they give thought to what God asks, and what God’s intentions are. They pay not the slightest attention to all these things. They only put their head down and do things for the sake of fame, gain, and status, to satisfy their own ambitions and desires. This is the manifestation of selfishness and vileness, is it not? This fully exposes how their hearts brim with their own ambitions, desires, and irrational demands; everything they do is governed by their ambitions and desires. No matter what they do, the motivation and source is their own ambitions, desires, and irrational demands. This is the archetypal manifestation of selfishness and vileness.

—The Word, Vol. 4. Exposing Antichrists. Excursus Four: Summarizing the Character of Antichrists and Their Disposition Essence (Part One)

The essence of the antichrists’ selfishness and vileness is obvious; their manifestations of this kind are particularly prominent. The church entrusts them with a piece of work, and if it brings renown and benefits, and lets them show their face, they are very interested, and willing to accept it. If it is work that is thankless or involves offending people, or won’t allow them to show their face or it is of no benefit to their fame, gain, or status, they have no interest, and will not accept it, as if this work has nothing to do with them, and is not the work they ought to be doing. When they encounter difficulties, there is no chance that they will seek the truth to solve them, much less try to see the bigger picture and give any consideration to the work of the church. For example, within the scope of the work of God’s house, based on overall work needs, there may be some personnel transfers. If a few people are transferred from a church, what would be the sensible way for that church’s leaders to treat the issue? What is the problem if they are concerned only with their own church’s interests, rather than the overall interests, and if they are absolutely unwilling to transfer those people? Why, as a church leader, are they unable to submit to the centralized arrangements of God’s house? Is such a person considerate of God’s intentions? Are they attentive to the work’s big picture? If they do not think of the work of God’s house as a whole, but only of their own church’s interests, are they not very selfish and vile? Church leaders should unconditionally submit to the sovereignty and arrangements of God, and to the centralized arrangements and coordination of God’s house. This is what accords with the truth principles. When required by the work of God’s house, no matter who they are, everyone should submit to the coordination and arrangements of God’s house, and absolutely should not be controlled by any individual leader or worker as if they belong to them or are subject to their decisions. The obedience of God’s chosen people to the centralized arrangements of the house of God is perfectly natural and justified, and these arrangements may not be defied by anyone, unless an individual leader or worker makes an arbitrary transfer that is not in accordance with principle, in which case this arrangement may be disobeyed. If a normal transfer is made in accordance with the principles, then all of God’s chosen people should obey, and no leader or worker has the right or any reason to try to control anyone. Would you say there is any work that is not the work of the house of God? Is there any work that does not involve the spreading of God’s kingdom gospel? It is all the work of God’s house, each work is equal, and there is no “yours” and “mine.” If the transfer is in line with principle and based on the requirements of church work, then these people should go where they are needed most. And yet, what is the antichrists’ response when faced with this kind of situation? They find various pretexts and excuses to keep these suitable people by their side, and they only offer two ordinary people, and then find some pretext to turn the screws on you, either saying how work is so busy, or that they’re short-handed, people are hard to find, and if these two are transferred, work will take a hit. And they ask you what they are supposed to do, and make you feel that having people transferred would mean you owe them. Is this not the way devils operate? This is how the nonbelievers do things. People who always try and protect their own interests in the church—are they good people? Are they people who act according to principle? Absolutely not. They are nonbelievers and disbelievers. And is this not selfish and vile? If someone of good caliber is transferred from under an antichrist to do another duty, in their heart the antichrist doggedly resists and rejects it—they want to call it quits, and have no enthusiasm for being a leader or team head. What problem is this? Why do they have no obedience toward the arrangements of the church? They think the transfer of their “right-hand man” will impact the results and progress of their work, and that their status and reputation will be consequently affected, which will force them to work harder and suffer more to guarantee results—which is the last thing they want to do. They have grown used to comfort, and don’t want to work harder or suffer more, so they don’t want to let the person go. If the house of God insists on the transfer, they complain a lot and even want to throw up their own work. Is this not selfish and vile? God’s chosen people should be centrally allocated by the house of God. This has nothing to do with any leader, team head, or individual. Everyone must act according to principle; this is the rule of God’s house. Antichrists do not act according to the principles of God’s house, they constantly scheme for the sake of their own status and interests, and make brothers and sisters of good caliber serve them in order to consolidate their power and status. Is this not selfish and vile? Outwardly, keeping people of good caliber by their side and not allowing them to be transferred by the house of God appears as if they are thinking of church work, but in fact they are only thinking of their own power and status, and not about the work of the church at all. They are afraid that they will do the church work poorly, be dismissed, and lose their status. Antichrists give no thought to the wider work of God’s house, think only of their own status, protect their own status with no compunction for the cost to the interests of the house of God, and defend their own status and interests to the detriment of the church’s work. This is selfish and vile. When faced with such a situation, at the very least one must think with their conscience: “These people are all of the house of God, they are not my personal property. I, too, am a member of the house of God. What right do I have to stop the house of God from transferring people? I should consider the overall interests of the house of God, instead of just concentrating on the work within the scope of my own responsibilities.” Such are the thoughts that should be found in people who are possessed of conscience and reason, and the reason that should be possessed by those who believe in God. God’s house engages in the work of the whole and the churches are engaged in the work of parts. Therefore, when God’s house has a special need from the church, what’s most important for leaders and workers is to obey the arrangements of God’s house. False leaders and antichrists are not possessed of such conscience and reason. They are all quite selfish, they only think of themselves, and they do not think of the work of the church. They only consider the benefits before their very eyes, they do not consider the wider work of God’s house, and so they are absolutely incapable of obeying the arrangements of God’s house. They are extremely selfish and vile! In the house of God, they are even bold enough to be obstructive, and even dare to dig their heels in; these are the people most lacking in humanity, they are evil people. That is the kind of people the antichrists are. They always treat the church’s work, and the brothers and sisters, and even all the assets of God’s house that fall within their scope of responsibility, as their own private property. They believe that it is up to them how these things are distributed, transferred, and used, and that the house of God is not allowed to intervene. Once they are in their hands, it is as if they are in the possession of Satan, no one is allowed to touch them. They’re the big shots, the head honchos, and whoever goes to their territory has to obey their orders and arrangements in a well-behaved and pliant manner, and take cues from their expressions. This is the manifestation of the selfishness and vileness within antichrists’ character. They give no consideration to the work of the house of God, they do not follow principle in the slightest, and only think of their own interests and status—which are all hallmarks of the selfishness and vileness of antichrists.

—The Word, Vol. 4. Exposing Antichrists. Excursus Four: Summarizing the Character of Antichrists and Their Disposition Essence (Part One)

Whether what is revealed in you is arrogance and self-righteousness or twistedness and deceitfulness, whether selfishness and despicableness or perfunctoriness and lying to God, you must reflect on these corrupt dispositions until you see them clearly. This way, you will know what problems exist as you do your duty, and how far away you are from achieving salvation. Only when you can clearly see your own corrupt disposition will you be able to know where the difficulties and obstacles in doing your duty lie. Only then will you be able to resolve problems at their source. For example, say you do not take responsibility for doing your duty, instead always acting perfunctorily, causing losses in your work, but you care about your face, so you are unwilling to openly fellowship about your state and difficulties, or to practice self-dissection and self-knowledge, instead always looking for excuses to deal with things perfunctorily. How should you solve this problem? You must pray to God and self-reflect, saying: “Oh God, if I speak like that, it is only to protect my own face. It’s my corrupt disposition talking. I should not speak like that. I must open myself up, lay myself bare, and speak the true thoughts of my heart out loud. I would rather suffer shame and loss of face than satisfy my own vanity. I only want to satisfy God.” This way, by rebelling against yourself and speaking the true thoughts of your heart out loud, you are practicing being an honest person, and moreover, you are not acting according to your own will or protecting your own face. You are able to put God’s words into practice, to practice the truth according to the intentions of God, to earnestly fulfill your duty, and to completely fulfill your responsibilities. Thus, not only are you practicing the truth and doing your duty well, you are also upholding the interests of the house of God, and God’s heart is satisfied. This is a just and honorable way to live, worthy to be brought before both God and men. This is so wonderful! Practicing this way is a bit difficult, but if your efforts and practice are aimed in this direction, then even if you fail a time or two, you will certainly be successful. And what does success mean to you? It means that when you practice the truth, you are able to take this step that frees you from the bonds of Satan, a step that allows you to rebel against yourself. It means that you are able to put aside vanity and prestige, to stop seeking your own profit, and to stop doing selfish and despicable things. When you put this into practice, you show people that you are someone who loves the truth, who yearns for the truth, someone who yearns for justice and light. This is the result you achieve by practicing the truth. At the same time, you also bring shame upon Satan. Satan corrupted you, it made you look out for yourself, it made you selfish, it made you think of your own prestige. But now, these satanic things can no longer bind you, you have broken free of them, you are no longer controlled by vanity, prestige, or your own personal interests, and you practice the truth, so Satan is utterly humiliated, and there is nothing it can do. Then are you not victorious? When you are victorious, do you not stand firm in your testimony to God? Do you not fight the good fight? When you have fought the good fight, you have peace and joy, and a sense of ease in your heart. If you often have a sense of accusation in your life, if your heart can find no rest, if you are without peace or joy, and are often beset by worry and anxiety about all kinds of things, what does this demonstrate? Merely that you do not practice the truth, do not stand firm in your testimony to God. When you live amid the disposition of Satan, you are liable to often fail to practice the truth, to betray the truth, to be selfish and vile; you only uphold your image, your name and status, and your interests. Always living for yourself brings you great pain. You have so many selfish desires, entanglements, fetters, misgivings, and vexations that you do not have the least peace or joy. To live for the sake of corrupted flesh is to suffer excessively. Those who pursue the truth are different. The more they understand the truth, the more free and liberated they become; the more they practice the truth, the more they have peace and joy. When they obtain the truth, they will live completely in the light, enjoy God’s blessings, and have no pain at all.

—The Word, Vol. 3. The Discourses of Christ of the Last Days. Life Entry Begins With the Performance of Duty

When things happen to you, you must seek the truth, and practice the truth. If, at those times when you need to practice the truth, you always have selfish motives and cannot let go of your self-interest, you will be unable to put the truth into practice. If, no matter what befalls you, you neither seek the truth nor put it into practice, then you are not a person who loves the truth. No matter how many years you believe in God, you will not gain the truth. Some people are always pursuing fame, gain, and self-interest. Whatever work the church arranges for them to do, they always consider: “Will doing this be advantageous or beneficial for me? If it will, I’ll do it; if it won’t, then I won’t.” A person like this does not practice the truth—so can they do their duty well? They most certainly cannot. Even if you don’t outwardly appear to have done evil, you are still not a person who practices the truth. You do not pursue the truth, you do not love positive things, and no matter what befalls you, you only care about your own reputation and status, your self-interest, and what benefits you can gain—this means that you are a person who seeks profit above all else, and who is also selfish and base. A person like this believes in God in order to exploit this for personal gain and get some benefits for themselves, not to gain the truth or God’s salvation. Therefore, people of this sort are disbelievers. People who truly believe in God are those who can seek and practice the truth, as they are certain in their hearts that Christ is the truth, and that they should listen to God’s words, and believe in God according to His requirements. Suppose that a person is willing to practice the truth when something happens to them, but then they consider their own reputation and status, and consider their own pride—it’ll be difficult for them to practice the truth. In a situation such as this, through praying, seeking, and reflecting on and coming to know themselves, those who love the truth will be able to give up their self-interest and personal gain, thereby achieving the practice of the truth and submission to God. Such people are those who truly believe in God and love the truth. And what is the consequence if people always think of their self-interest, if they are always trying to protect their own pride and vanity, if they reveal a corrupt disposition yet do not seek the truth to resolve it? It is that they have no life entry and no true experiential testimony. And this is dangerous, is it not? If you never practice the truth and have no experiential testimony whatsoever, then you will naturally be revealed and eliminated. What use do people without experiential testimony have in the house of God? They are bound to not do any duty well, and to not handle anything properly. Have they not just become useless? If people never practice the truth after years of believing in God, they are disbelievers; they are evil people. If you never practice the truth, and if your transgressions grow ever more numerous, then your outcome is set. It is clear to see that all your transgressions, the wrong path you walk, and your stubborn refusal to repent add up to a multitude of evil deeds, and that your outcome is that you deserve to go to hell and to be punished.

—The Word, Vol. 3. The Discourses of Christ of the Last Days. Part Three

For all who perform a duty, no matter how profound or shallow their understanding of the truth is, the simplest practice for entering into the truth reality is to think of the interests of God’s house at every turn, letting go of their selfish desires, personal intents, motives, pride, and status, and putting the interests of God’s house first—this is the least they should do. If a person who performs a duty cannot even do this much, then how can they be said to be performing their duty? That is not performing one’s duty. You should first think of the interests of God’s house, be considerate of God’s intentions, and take the work of the church into account. Put these things first and foremost; only after that can you think about the stability of your status or how others regard you. Divide it into two steps, making a bit of a compromise—don’t you feel this makes things a little easier? If you practice like this for a while, you will come to feel that satisfying God is not a difficult thing. Furthermore, if you can fulfill your responsibilities; fulfill your obligations and duty; set aside your selfish desires, intents, and motives; show consideration for God’s intentions; and put the interests of God’s house, the work of the church, and the duty that you are supposed to perform first, then, after experiencing like this for a while, you will feel that conducting yourself in this way is good, that people should live in an honest and aboveboard manner, and that they shouldn’t lead a spineless, sordid, base existence, but rather they should be upstanding and just. You will feel that this is the image a person ought to live out. Gradually, your desire to satisfy your own interests will lessen.

—The Word, Vol. 3. The Discourses of Christ of the Last Days. Freedom and Liberation Can Be Gained Only by Casting Off One’s Corrupt Dispositions

Whether or not people’s corrupt dispositions of selfishness, despicableness, deceitfulness, and lies can be resolved depends on whether or not they are able to accept the truth. Those who are able to accept the truth all hate their corrupt dispositions, they hate selfishness and despicableness, and their deceitfulness and lies. They are unwilling to let these things contaminate or constrain them. As long as those who love the truth come to know their own corrupt dispositions, then it is easy for them to cast aside this negative garbage and rubbish. Those who do not love the truth treat these negative things as treasures. They love their own profit too much, they are unwilling to rebel against the flesh, and they are too intransigent. As a result, they are never able to understand what God’s intentions are, nor are they able to submit to Him. It is because people do not love or accept the truth that they believe in God for so many years in such a muddleheaded way. When the time comes for them to bear testimony, their tongues are tied, and they are not able to say anything. People have listened to sermons on the truth for many years, and God’s disposition is always made known to them, so those who pursue the truth should already understand it, but those who do not love the truth are not willing to open themselves up before God. Their hearts are unwilling to give up on the preferences of the flesh, so they dare not practice simply opening themselves up to God. They just want to freely enjoy the grace God gives men, but they do not want to practice the truth to satisfy God. God says: “If you want to obtain My grace, if you want to obtain these truths, there is only one condition—you must give up your own profit, and give Me your true heart.” People are unable to meet even this one condition, and yet they still want to demand God’s grace, to demand peace and joy, and they want to obtain the truth; but they do not want to give their true hearts to God, so what kind of people are they? Are they not Satan’s ilk? Can they do both at the same time? In truth, they cannot. Whether or not you understand God’s intentions, His disposition is always openly made known to people. If a person never accepts the truth, or if they understand the truth without putting it into practice, then it is because they are too intransigent and they have not given their heart to God. Thus, they are never able to obtain the truth, nor are they able to come to know God’s disposition. This is not because God treats people unfairly. People often quote God as saying: “God is gracious to whomever He wants to be,” but they do not understand the meaning of this phrase. On the contrary, they misunderstand God. They think that grace comes from God, that He gives it to who He will, and that He is good to who He will. Is this the case? Is this not human notions and imaginings? God treats people based on their essence. When people are able to be considerate of God’s intentions and accept the truth, then they are blessed by God. If people do not accept the truth and resist God, then the result is different.

—The Word, Vol. 3. The Discourses of Christ of the Last Days. By Giving One’s Heart to God, One Can Gain the Truth

What does God primarily see when He looks at people? He sees their hearts. Everything that people say and do is controlled by their hearts. If your heart is honest, then you will have good humanity. You will be able to gradually understand the truth, you will be able to satisfy God’s requirements to a certain degree, and you will be able to show consideration for God’s intentions. If your heart is too deceitful, closed off, and intransigent, if you are selfish and self-seeking, do not have good humanity, and are always stuck in notions, imagining that God should act this way or that way, if when you encounter something that does not fit your notions, you misunderstand God and never comprehend His intentions, then will you be able to obtain the truth? No, you will not. In the end, when you cannot obtain the truth, will you blame yourself, blame others, or complain about God, saying that God is not fair? (We will blame ourselves.) That’s right, you will blame yourself. So what should someone like this do in order to obtain the truth? They must seek the truth and put it into practice, and they must behave and practice in specific ways. If they understand without practicing, they still cannot obtain the truth. When selfishness and schemes for your own profit appear in you, and you realize it, you should pray to God and seek the truth in order to address this. The first thing you should be aware of is that in essence, acting in this way is a violation of the truth principles, it is harmful to the work of the church, it is selfish and despicable behavior, it is not what people of conscience and reason ought to be doing. You should put aside your own interests and selfishness, and should think of the work of the church—this is in line with God’s intentions. After praying and reflecting on yourself, if you truly realize that acting thus is selfish and despicable, putting aside your own selfishness will be easy. When you put aside your selfishness and schemes for profit, you will feel grounded, you will be at peace, joyous, and will feel that a person of conscience and reason should think of the church’s work, that they should not fixate on their personal interests, which would be so selfish, despicable, and devoid of conscience or reason. Being selfless and capable of considering the work of the church in your actions, and doing things exclusively to satisfy God is honorable and upstanding, and will bring value to your existence. Living this way on earth, you are being upright and candid, you are living out normal humanity, and the likeness of a real man, and not only do you have a clear conscience, but are also worthy of all the things bestowed upon you by God. The more you live like this, the more grounded you will feel, the more peaceful and joyous you will be, and the brighter you will feel. As such, will you not have set foot upon the right track of faith in God?

—The Word, Vol. 3. The Discourses of Christ of the Last Days. By Giving One’s Heart to God, One Can Gain the Truth

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