C. Without a Sense of Honor and Heedless of Shame

There is simplicity in normal humanity, but are antichrists simple people? Obviously not. The insidiousness, ruthlessness, and habitual lying we just fellowshipped about run counter to simplicity. Simplicity is easy to understand, so we won’t fellowship on it. Let’s fellowship about having a sense of honor. Having a sense of honor is something that should be present in normal humanity; it means having reason. What is the opposite term to having a sense of honor? (Heedless of shame.) The meaning of being heedless of shame is to be unabashed. In other words, it can be summarized as lacking a sense of honor. What actions do antichrists take, and what specific manifestations or practices show that they lack a sense of honor and are heedless of shame? Antichrists openly vie with God for status, which lacks a sense of honor and is heedless of shame. Only antichrists can openly contend with God for status and His chosen people. Regardless of whether people are willing or not, antichrists want to control them. Regardless of whether they have the capability, antichrists want to strive for status, and after obtaining it, they live off the church, and eat and drink from God’s chosen people, letting God’s chosen people support them without doing anything themselves. They do not provide life for God’s chosen people at all, and yet want to bring them under their power, making them listen to, serve, and slave away for them, and they want to establish their own position in people’s hearts. If you speak well of others, if you praise God’s great kindness, grace, blessings, and almightiness, they feel unhappy and displeased. They always want you to speak highly of them, to have a place for them in your heart, to revere and look up to them, and it must be unadulterated. Everything you do must be for them and in consideration of them. You must place them at the forefront at every turn, in everything you say and do, taking their thoughts and feelings into account. Isn’t this lacking a sense of honor and being heedless of shame? Don’t antichrists act like this? (Yes, they do.) What other manifestations are there? They steal and squander offerings, appropriating God’s offerings for themselves. This also lacks a sense of honor and is heedless of shame—it’s too obvious!

Speaking of stealing offerings, there happened one particular incident. Some brothers and sisters offered items which were passed on to a certain church, and the person in charge of safeguarding the offerings noticed that there were two bottles without labels saying they were intended for the Above, and with no specific instructions. Not knowing what they were, this person kept them without permission and didn’t pass them on to the Above. Later, when I asked if he had those items, he said he had two bottles. I asked how come he had them ready made, and he explained the situation, “Because these two bottles came without labels indicating what they were or that they were for the above, we kept them here. If they were labeled as something we had a use for, we would keep and use them. If they could be sold, we would sell them.” What do you think the issue is here? Some valuable goods are transferred here from various places, some with instructions and many without instructions or labels. Under normal circumstances, if you use rational analysis, to whom should these items be given? (They should be given to God as offerings.) People with normal rationality should think this way. However, someone said, “These things haven’t been labeled that they are for the above.” Implicitly, that person meant to say, “They’re not for you. What do they have to do with you? Since they aren’t labeled for you, I have the right to handle them. I won’t give them to you. If I want to sell them, I’ll sell them. If I want to use them, I’ll use them. If I don’t want to use them or sell them, I’ll just leave them there and waste them!” This was the viewpoint of the person in charge. What do you think of this viewpoint? Are there people who bring these valuable items from afar to the church or give them to individuals without specifying to whom? (No.) Who would exhibit such a great store of love to give valuable items to the church, to the house of God, or to the brothers and sisters? To this day, I haven’t seen anyone with such great love, or anyone who gives such an offering or charity. Even for ordinary and inexpensive items, you have to pay for them. So, regarding these valuable goods, is there anyone who casually gives them away for free? (No.) Although the people who sent these items didn’t specify who they were for, people should know who is meant to receive them; this is a rationality that should be present in humanity. How should the person in charge handle this matter? How should he deal with these items? At the very least, he should ask the Above, “Do You want these items? If not, how should we handle them?” Just with these two questions, the issue could have been resolved; these two questions would indicate that a person’s character possessed normal rationality. But the person in charge of safeguarding offerings couldn’t even ask these two simple questions, nor did he possess the most essential rationality that a person should. How come he believed that these things were for the church? He even added another statement: “They aren’t labeled for the above.” Isn’t this a problem? What does “They aren’t labeled for the above” imply? Why did he add this statement? (To find a reason for his casually squandering God’s offerings.) That’s exactly it. Can a person who does such things really possess a sense of honor in their humanity? Clearly not. What kind of humanity does a person devoid of this character possess? Isn’t this lacking a sense of honor? Did he really not know that these were offerings? He knew that these were offerings, but because he lacked a sense of honor in his humanity, he could utter such words heedless of shame, and afterward, he could naturally and casually enjoy, seize, and squander the offerings, claiming them as his own. Only people with the humanity of antichrists display such manifestations.

Antichrists lack conscience and reason; how else do they manifest that they have no sense of honor and are heedless of shame? When they do something wrong, they do not know to feel remorse, and they harbor no guilt in their hearts. They do not contemplate how to make amends or repent, and they even believe their actions are justified. When faced with pruning or being replaced, they feel unjustly treated. They incessantly argue and engage in sophistry—this is lacking a sense of honor. They don’t do any real work; at every turn, they lecture others, and mislead people with empty theories, making others think they are spiritual and understand the truth. They also boast frequently about how much they’ve worked and suffered, saying they deserve to enjoy God’s grace and the reception and care of the brothers and sisters, thereby living off the church as a matter of course, and they also want to eat and drink delicious things and enjoy special treatment. This is being without a sense of honor and heedless of shame. Furthermore, despite clearly having poor caliber, not understanding the truth, and being unable to find the principles of practice, as well as being incapable of doing any work, they boast about being capable and good at everything. Isn’t this heedless of shame? Despite clearly being nothing, they pretend to know everything so that people esteem and look up to them. If anyone has issues but doesn’t solicit their advice, and asks other people instead, they become angry, jealous, and resentful, looking for whatever way possible to torment that person. Isn’t this being heedless of shame? It’s obvious that they often lie, have various corrupt dispositions, but they pretend that they don’t have corrupt dispositions, that they are favored and loved by God; at every turn, they pretend that they are very capable of enduring suffering, that they can submit, that they can accept the truth and pruning, that they are not afraid of hard work or criticism, and that they never complain—but in reality, they are full of resentment. Despite their obvious inability to fellowship any understanding, or to talk about any truths clearly, and their lack of experiential testimony, they engage in pretense and imposture, speaking in an empty way about their self-knowledge in order to make people view them as being very spiritual and as having a great deal of understanding. Isn’t this being heedless of shame? They clearly have numerous issues and bad humanity, they do their duty without any loyalty, and they rely solely on their own intellect and cleverness in whatever work they do, not seeking the truth at all, yet they still believe that they bear a burden, that they are very spiritual and have caliber, and that they are superior to most people. Isn’t this being heedless of shame? Aren’t these manifestations of the lack of humanity of antichrists? Don’t they frequently reveal such things? Clearly, they lack an understanding of the truth principles, and no matter what work they do, they cannot find any principles of practice, but they refuse to seek or fellowship; they rely on their own cleverness, experience, and intellect to get work done. They even wish to be a leader, to direct others, and to get everyone to listen to them, and they get angry and mad when anyone doesn’t. Isn’t this being heedless of shame? Because they have ambitions, gifts, and a bit of cleverness, they always want to stand out in the house of God, and to get God’s house to put them in important positions and cultivate them. If they are not being cultivated, they feel upset and resentful, complaining that the house of God is unfair, that it cannot recognize talented people, and that there’s no good judge of talent in God’s house to discover their exceptional abilities. If they are not being cultivated, they don’t want to work hard to do their duties, endure hardships, or pay the price; instead, they just want to employ their cunning to get out of work. In their hearts, they hope that someone in the house of God will esteem and elevate them, allowing them to surpass others and carry out their grand plans here. Aren’t these ambitions and desires? Isn’t this being heedless of shame? Isn’t this the most common manifestation of antichrists? If you truly have abilities, you should pursue the truth, focus on doing your duties well, and the chosen people of God will naturally esteem you. If you possess none of the truth and are still always wanting to stand out, that is too lacking in reason! If you also have ambitions and desires, and are always wanting to go all out, you are bound to fall. Having once possessed a certain status and prestige in society, some people want to throw their weight around, have the final say, and make everyone heed their commands after they come to believe in God and enter His house. They want to lay out their qualifications and credentials, they consider everyone to be beneath them and think they should all be subject to their power. Isn’t this being heedless of shame? It is. When some people get some results and make some contributions while doing their duties in God’s house, they always want the brothers and sisters to treat them with great respect, as elders, high-ranking individuals, and special figures. They even want people to look up to them, follow them, and listen to them. They aspire to become the leading figure in the church; they want to decide everything, to render judgment and have the final say on all matters. If no one listens to or adopts what they say, they want to abandon their post, and undermine and laugh at everybody else. Isn’t this being heedless of shame? In addition to being heedless of shame, they are particularly malicious—these are antichrists.

This manifestation of being heedless of shame in the character of antichrists is too prevalent. Most people display it to some degree, but not only do antichrists have this manifestation, they also never recognize how severe it is in nature, nor do they repent, try to know it, or rebel against it. Instead, they consider it natural, which is them refusing to accept the truth. Regardless of how heedless of shame, lacking in reason, disgusting, and detestable their behavior is, they still believe it is natural and justified. They think it reasonable, and that they deserve to lead because of their gifts and abilities, and that they ought to assert their seniority, and others ought to listen to them, because of their contributions, and they don’t see this as something that is heedless of shame. Aren’t they beyond hope? This is not normal humanity; this is the character of antichrists. Ordinary corrupt people may possess these manifestations and thoughts to a greater or lesser extent, and to varying degrees of severity, but through reading God’s words, and accepting and understanding the truth, they recognize that such things are not what normal humanity should possess. They also recognize that when such ideas, thoughts, plans, or irrational demands arise, they should rebel against them, let go of them, reverse them, learn to repent, accept the truth, and practice in accordance with the truth. What is the difference between antichrists and ordinary corrupt individuals? It lies in the fact that antichrists will never believe that their ideas, thoughts, and desires are wrong, condemned, and abhorred by God, or that they are negative things that belong to Satan. Consequently, they never let go of these thoughts or beliefs. Instead, they persist in them, they do not rebel against them, and they certainly do not accept what is right and positive, and let this become the practice they should have and the principles they should adhere to. This is the distinction between antichrists and ordinary corrupt individuals. Look around: Anyone who is this heedless of shame, but never recognizes or even has any awareness of it, is a typical antichrist.

Antichrists have another typical characteristic that is very easy for people to discern: They lack a sense of shame. Just as it is written in the Bible, “An evil man hardens his face” (Proverbs 21:29)—only antichrists are genuinely evil people. Antichrists are shameless; no matter how many things they do that are heedless of shame, insensitive to people’s feelings, and at odds with the truth, they are not aware of this, nor do they recognize it. They do not accept what is right or positive and they do not let go of their wrong viewpoints and practices; instead, they persist in them until the end. This is what antichrists are like. Which situation are you in? When you have these unreasonable demands, shameless thoughts, and intentions and ideas that God loathes, are you aware that these are detested by God and therefore able to rebel against them and let them go? Or, after hearing the truth, do you refuse to let them go, persist in them, and think that you are right? (When I am aware of them I can link them to God’s words, and feel that these thoughts are rather despicable and heedless of shame, and I am able to pray and rebel against them.) Those who can consciously pray and rebel against them are not antichrists; those who never pray or rebel against them, but follow their own thoughts, oppose God in their hearts, and refuse to accept the truth are typical antichrists. No matter how shameless the things they’ve done are, they refuse to admit or acknowledge them. Isn’t it obvious that these are people who do not accept positive things but love negative and wicked things? Are you unable to distinguish which category you fall into, or have you never had these thoughts that are heedless of shame? (I have had these thoughts, and after becoming aware of them, I have been able to pray to God and rebel against them. Sometimes I have not been aware of them, I have acted or spoken without sensing that they were heedless of shame, and only realized it later when I was exposed, then I was able to pray and rebel against them.) If you are unaware that these things are shameless, that isn’t an issue; if you are aware yet do not accept the truth or rebel against yourself, then this is a serious problem. Suppose that, most of the time, you are numb, unable to make connections between this and God’s word, and unaware of what your problem is, but when you become aware of it, you immediately feel guilty and rebuked in your heart, and feel too ashamed to see anyone, and think of yourself as despicable, lowly, and of poor integrity, so you hate and feel disgusted by yourself, then contemplate how to change and let go of these things. This is a normal situation. If you can rebel against yourself once you become aware, then you have hope of salvation. If you become aware and still don’t rebel against yourself, you have no hope of salvation. Whether a person can be saved depends on whether they can accept the truth. Some may say, “I am numb and dull-witted, with poor caliber, but as long as I understand a little of what I hear, I can practice according to God’s words and rebel against myself.” Such people can be saved. Regardless of how good one’s caliber is or how much of the truth they understand, if they do not rebel against themselves, if they insist upon not practicing or accepting the truth, and resist and oppose it in their heart, then it’s over—they are beyond hope. Being heedless of shame is also a typical feature of the character of antichrists. Look to see if there are such people around you, and then examine yourself to determine if you fall into this category—if you constantly feel that you are perfect and great, if you always consider yourself a savior, if you always aspire to be placed high above everyone else, if you are eager to compare yourself with others in any group to see how high you stand, and regardless of whether or not you can ultimately surpass other people, you desire to be outstanding, and want to be highly regarded by others, to stand out from the crowd, and become a special member of the group. What makes you special? Do you have horns growing on your head, or three eyes, or three heads and six arms? There’s nothing special about you, so why do you always feel like you stand out and that you are unique? This is being heedless of shame. In one respect, there’s nothing particularly special about your physical innate abilities, and in another respect, there’s nothing particularly special about your caliber. More importantly, you, like everyone else, are filled with corrupt dispositions, lack an understanding of the truth, and are the ilk of Satan who resists God. What is there for you to boast about? There’s clearly nothing to boast about. The bit of skills, abilities, gifts, and talents that you possess are not worth mentioning, because they do not represent normal humanity and are unrelated to positive things. Yet, you insist on bringing to the forefront things that aren’t worth mentioning, treating them as your own medals of honor, flaunting them everywhere as your glory and capital, in order to gain esteem and reverence from people, even using them as capital to get other people to provide for you, and enjoy the esteem and favorable treatment of others. Isn’t this being heedless of shame? These irrational demands, thoughts, intentions, ideas, and other such things produced by abnormal humanity and reason are all manifestations of being heedless of shame. If these manifestations of being heedless of shame dominate someone’s humanity, and become a major characteristic of theirs that prevents them from accepting and understanding the truth, this is a typical characteristic of antichrists.

Some people spend offerings to buy delicious, high-quality, and fashionable things for the brothers and sisters, claiming that they do this out of consideration for them, so that they can live happily and carefree in the house of God, and then be thankful for God’s love. What do you think of this idea? Is it quite humane? (No, it’s not. They treat God’s offerings as their own money, spending them however they want, rather than using the offerings normally and reasonably according to the principles of the house of God.) What problem of humanity is this? (Being heedless of shame.) Such individuals become typical antichrists as soon as they attain status. They use offerings to ingratiate themselves with others, saying, “The brothers and sisters lack clothing and live hard lives. They have many difficulties, and no one cares about this. I’ve noticed it, and I’ll take responsibility for it. To make things convenient for the brothers and sisters, to enable them to experience god’s warmth, god’s great love, and god’s grace while they live in his house, the house of god needs to spend some money to satisfy every aspect of their lives. Therefore, I need to put some more thought into it, and consider carefully what the brothers and sisters lack or need. Insulated cups need to be purchased so that it’s convenient for the brothers and sisters to drink water and to carry them when they go out. Chairs should be bought for the brothers and sisters: The chairs need to have soft backrests so that sitting for a long time won’t hurt their backs. Sitting in these chairs should be convenient, and they should be of the appropriate height, angle, and softness. Regardless of the cost, we should spare no expense for the brothers and sisters, as they are the pillars of the house of god and the capital and mainstay for the expansion of the work of god’s house. Therefore, taking good care of the brothers and sisters improves the work of god’s house.” The majority of brothers and sisters, upon hearing this, burst into tears, are overwhelmed with gratitude and keep on shouting that this is God’s great love. Those who handled this matter feel warm inside when they hear this, thinking, “Finally, there are people who understand my heart.” What is this? (Being heedless of shame.) How can providing such great benefits to the brothers and sisters be considered heedless of shame? Is this slander? (No, it’s not.) They are using the money of God’s house to show this generosity in order to win over people’s hearts, and pretending to show consideration and loving care for the brothers and sisters. What is their real aim? To put it lightly, it’s to enjoy these benefits along with the brothers and sisters. To put it severely, it’s to ingratiate themselves with people, ensuring that people will always remember them, have a place for them in their hearts, and recall how good they were. If they were spending their own money, would they treat the brothers and sisters the same way? (Certainly not.) Their true colors would be revealed, and they wouldn’t treat people this way. Judging by them recklessly using God’s offerings according to their own wishes, they are people who lack integrity and moral standards, they are vile and shameless people. Could they genuinely treat other people with kindness? What kind of person are they? (They are antichrists who are heedless of shame.) There is also something insidious and ruthless in this heedlessness of shame that antichrists possess and manifest in their humanity—they employ lies to achieve their personal goals. Which of the words that come from their mouths are true? While they seem to be very considerate of people, to really love them, and to spare thought for them quite a lot, behind the scenes, they are actually harboring malicious intents. They pay no prices themselves; they spend offerings, and in the end, it is the house of God that suffers losses while they themselves benefit. This is what antichrists do—not only are they heedless of shame, they are also insidious and ruthless. They are habitually lying, they lie to and trick people wherever they go, uttering not a single truthful word. This alone is disgusting, yet they further boast about being guileless, kind, good to others, loving, sympathetic, incapable of being hard-hearted toward anyone or of bringing themselves to retaliate against those who bully them. They even boast that they are perfect and decent individuals, wishing to make an image for themselves and occupy a place in people’s hearts. Is this not heedless of shame? This is the nature of antichrists; their humanity is full of such things.

Regarding those who run amok doing bad things and are heedless of shame, people can discern them somewhat, but it’s not easy to discern that antichrists are heedless of shame. I’ve seen a special manifestation of an antichrist being heedless of shame: He often acted wild and presumptuous, he lied habitually, and he had a systematic way of speaking, which was organized and well-arranged. However, when it came to handling tasks, he couldn’t finish what he started, he ran amok doing bad things, and he was bankrupt of any principles. After doing his duties in the house of God for some time, everything he did went wrong, and whatever he did was no good. The most crucial problem was that he still wanted to mislead people, to leave a good impression in their hearts, and at every turn inquired about what others thought of him and whether he was held in high regard. Eventually, when it became clear that he was consistently making mistakes in his duties and couldn’t do anything well, the house of God sent him away. He not only failed to recognize these evident manifestations, but also put up a particularly innocent front when he was sent away. What does this innocent front mean? It means that he never acknowledged his past evil actions—his lies, trickery, and his misleading of other people, as well as how he created an independent kingdom and brought the church under the control of his own family, ran amok doing bad things and acted without principles, never sought the truth, and even did as he pleased, among other evil deeds—and that he wasn’t able to recognize these evil actions of his at all. On the contrary, he believed that he had done his duty in God’s house for so many years, that he’d suffered so much, paid such a high price, spent such a long time, and given so much of his energy, and yet, in the end, he’d reached the point where he had a bad reputation and everybody looked down on him, where no one pitied him or sympathized with him, and nobody would speak up for him. Isn’t this an innocent front? What kind of humanity is this innocent front a manifestation of? (Lacking reason and being heedless of shame.) Exactly. He considered the things he did and the duties he ought to perform as his own merits. He completely denied anything he had done that wasn’t in accord with the truth principles or that was disturbing or disruptive, and, in the end, he put up an innocent front. This is being heedless of shame, and he is a typical antichrist. Have you ever encountered such individuals? Regardless of what you put them in charge of or the tasks you give them, they seek to recruit forces, establish an independent kingdom, and keep others out of the spotlight so that they can be in it. They want to surpass everyone, nothing they say to anyone is truthful, they leave those listening to them unsure which of their statements are true and which are false. When they are eventually sent away, they even perceive themselves as particularly innocent and hope someone will defend them. Do you think anyone would defend them? (No, they wouldn’t.) If someone did, they would have to be ignorant of the true facts, a dimwit, a person who was misled by them, or an individual of the same ilk as them.