Chapter 24
My chastisement comes upon all people, yet it also remains distant from all people. The whole life of every person is filled with love and hate toward Me, and no one has ever known Me—and so man’s attitude toward Me blows hot and cold, and is incapable of being normal. Yet I have always cared for and protected man, and it is only because of his dull-wittedness that he is incapable of seeing all of My deeds and understanding My eager intentions. I am the leading One among the myriad nations, and I am the Most High among the myriad people; it is simply that man does not know Me. For many years I have lived among man and experienced life in the world of man, yet he has always ignored Me and regarded Me as a being from outer space. In consequence, because of differences in disposition and language, people treat Me like a stranger in the street. My dress and grooming, it seems, is too idiosyncratic, as a result of which man lacks the “faith” to approach Me. Only then do I sense the desolation and injustice of the world of man. I walk among passers-by, observing all their faces. It is as if they live amid an illness, an illness that fills their faces with melancholy; and it is as if they live also amid chastisement, which prevents their release. Man constrains himself, and makes a show of humility. Most people put up a facade before Me so that I might applaud them, and most people deliberately make themselves appear pitiable before Me so that they might gain My help. Behind My back, people all wheedle and rebel against Me. Am I not right? Is this not man’s way of survival? Who has ever lived Me out in their lives? Who has ever exalted Me among others? Who has ever been restrained before the Spirit? Who has ever stood firm in their testimony to Me before Satan? Who has ever added truthfulness to the “loyalty” they have toward Me? Who has ever been eliminated by the great red dragon because of Me? People wallow with Satan in the mire; they are “experts” at rebelling against Me, they are the “inventors” of opposition to Me, and they are “graduate students” in their perfunctory ways of dealing with Me. For the sake of his own destiny, man searches here and there on earth, and when I beckon him, he remains unable to feel My preciousness, and continues to rely upon himself with “faith,” unwilling to be a “burden” on others. Man’s “resolutions” are precious, yet never have anyone’s resolutions achieved full marks: They all wobble before Me, and then topple without sound.
I speak each and every day, and each day I do new things. If man does not draw upon all of his strength, then he will have difficulty hearing My voice and seeing My face. The beloved may be extremely fine, and His speech of the utmost gentleness, but man is incapable of easily beholding His glorious face and hearing His voice. Throughout the ages, no one has ever easily beheld My face. I once spoke to Peter and “appeared” to Paul, but no one else—with the exception of the Israelites—has ever truly seen My face. Today, I have personally come among man to live together with him. Could it be that this does not seem rare and precious to you? Do you not wish to cherish your time? Do you want to let it pass you by in this way? Could the hands of the clock of time suddenly stop in people’s minds? Or could time flow backward? Or could man become young again? Could the blessed life of today ever come again? I do not give man an appropriate “bonus” for his “waste.” I merely persist in doing My work, detached from all else, and do not stop the flow of time because man is busy, or because of the sound of his cries. For several thousand years, no one has been able to divide My energies, and no one has been able to upset My original plan. I will transcend space, and span the ages, and embark upon the core of My entire plan both above and among all things. Not a single person has been able to receive special treatment from Me or “rewards” from My hands. Even though they open their mouths to supplicate Me, and even though they stretch out their hands, and forgetting everything else, demand these things of Me, not a single one of these people ever caused Me to be moved, and they have all been pushed back by My “heartless” voice. Most people believe that they are “too young,” and so wait for Me to show great compassion, to be merciful toward them for a second time, and they ask that I allow them to come in through the back door. Yet how could I casually meddle with My plan? Could I stop the earth rotating because of man’s “young age,” so that he could live a few more years on earth? Man’s brain is so complex, yet it seems that there are also things it lacks. In consequence, in man’s mind there often appear “wonderful ways” to deliberately disrupt My work.
Although many are the times that I have forgiven man his sins and taken special care of him because of his weakness, many are also the times that I have given him appropriate treatment because of his ignorance. It is simply that man has never known how to appreciate My kindness, such that he has sunk to his present situation: covered in dust, his clothes in tatters, his hair covering his head like a growth of weeds, his face caked in grime, his feet shod in crude, self-made shoes, his hands like the claws of a dead eagle hanging weakly at his sides. When I open My eyes and look, it is as if man has just climbed out of the bottomless pit. I cannot help but be angry: I have always been tolerant of man, yet how could I allow a devil to come and go as it pleases from My holy kingdom? How could I allow a beggar to eat for free in My house? How could I tolerate having an unclean spirit as a guest of My house? Man has always been “strict with himself” and “tolerant of others,” yet he has never been the least bit courteous toward Me, for I am the God in heaven, and so he treats Me differently, and has never had the slightest affection for Me. It is as if man’s eyes are especially astute: As soon as he encounters Me, the look on his face immediately changes and he adds a little more expression to his cold, impassive visage. I do not impose appropriate sanctions on man because of his attitude toward Me, but merely look upon the firmament from above the universes and thence carry out My work on earth. In the memories of man, I have never shown kindness to any person, but neither have I ever mistreated anyone. Because man does not leave an “empty seat” for Me in his heart, when I fling caution to the wind and reside within him, he unceremoniously forces Me out, and then uses smooth talk to make excuses, saying he is too lacking and incapable to provide himself for My enjoyment. As he talks, his face frequently becomes overcast with “dark clouds,” as if disaster might come among man at any time. Yet still he asks Me to leave, without any consideration of the dangers involved. Even though I give to man with My words and the warmth of My embrace, he seems to have no hearing organ, and so he pays not the slightest attention to My voice, instead clutching his head as he swiftly makes his exit. I depart from man feeling a little disappointed, but also a little wrathful. Man, meanwhile, immediately vanishes amid the onslaught of great gales and mighty waves. Soon after, he cries out to Me, but how could he affect the movement of the wind and waves? Gradually, all trace of man is lost, until he is nowhere to be found.
Before the ages, I looked upon all lands from above the universes. I planned a great undertaking on earth: the creation of a mankind that was in accordance with My intentions, and the building of a kingdom on earth like the one in heaven, allowing My power to fill the firmament and My wisdom to spread throughout the entire universe. And so today, thousands of years later, I continue with My plan. Yet no one knows of My plan or management on earth, and much less do they see My kingdom on earth. Hence, man chases shadows, and comes before Me to try to fool Me, wanting to pay a “silent price” for My blessings in heaven. In consequence, he provokes My anger and I bring judgment upon him, but still he does not awaken. It is as if he is working underground, completely ignorant of that which is above ground as he pursues nothing other than his own prospects. Among all people, I have never seen anyone who lives beneath My shining light. They live in a world of darkness, and they seem to have become used to living amid the gloom. When the light comes they stay far away, and it is as if the light has disturbed their work; as a result, they look a little averse toward it, as if the light has shattered all their peace and left them unable to sleep soundly. In consequence, man summons all his strength to drive away the light. The light, too, seems to “lack self-awareness,” and so rouses man from his sleep. When man awakens, his eyes are closed, and his heart is filled with anger. He is somewhat displeased with Me, yet in My heart I know the score. I gradually intensify the light, causing all people to come to live amid My light one by one, such that before long they become adept at associating with the light, and, furthermore, all treasure the light. At this time, My kingdom has come among man, all people dance with joy and celebrate, the earth is immediately filled with jubilation, and several thousand years of silence is broken by the arrival of the light …
March 26, 1992