f. Making Demands

The next item is that antichrists make demands of God, and there are more specific manifestations of this. Antichrists can be described by what nonbelievers call “never lifting a finger without a reward.” What else? (They “don’t release the hawk until they’ve seen the hare.”) They don’t release the hawk until they’ve seen the hare—if there is profit, they’ll go for it, but if there’s no profit, they won’t. Regardless of the situation, they have to weigh it in their minds, thinking, “How great of an advantage can I gain from doing this? How much profit can I obtain? Is it worth paying such a high price for this? If I pay a large price but others end up with the advantage, and I don’t get to showcase myself, then I definitely won’t do it!” Isn’t this the attitude of antichrists toward God’s commission and requirements? If they put forth a little bit of effort in the performance of their duties, but do not gain any benefits, and endure some suffering without receiving grace, they immediately react inwardly, saying, “I put in so much effort—why didn’t I gain any benefit? Is my family business profitable or not?” If they calculate and find that their income is more than the previous month, they continue to go out and spread the gospel, unafraid despite the risks involved. But once there is a problem with the family business, and their profits are noticeably lower than the previous month, they immediately complain about and doubt God in their hearts, thinking, “God, I did my duty without being lazy or cunning, nor did I do it in a perfunctory manner. This month, I traveled more and did more work than the previous month. Why aren’t you blessing my family? Why isn’t my family business doing well?” Their attitude toward God and God’s commission immediately changes, and they think, “If you don’t bless my family, then don’t blame me for doing my duty in a perfunctory manner. Next month, I won’t put in as much effort. If I’m supposed to get up at five, I’ll get up at six. If I’m supposed to leave at eight, I’ll leave at ten. In the past, I could convert five gospel recipients in a month; this time, I’ll only convert two. That should be enough!” What are they calculating? It’s whether what they invest and contribute is equivalent to what God gives them. Moreover, they only find it economical and worth suffering and paying a price for if what God gives them is several times what they ask for and desire. Otherwise, regardless of the task or duty assigned to them by the house of God, they treat them all the same way—acting in a perfunctory manner, getting by when they can, going through the motions when they can, and absolutely never offering a bit of sincerity. This manifestation is both making demands and making a deal; people make demands only when there is a deal to be made, and without a deal, they have no demands.

Antichrists have never harbored the slightest sincerity or loyalty in their hearts toward God’s commission, the work of God’s house, or their own duties. They merely utilize their own intellect, energy, time, and the physical suffering and price they pay in exchange for satisfying their desires for blessings, the rewards they want to receive, and, of course, for peace, joy, inner stability, family happiness in this lifetime, and even smoothness in their surrounding environment, along with other people’s esteem, admiration, and positive appraisal. In short, antichrists never do their duties sincerely in the house of God, and they absolutely won’t offer even a bit of loyalty. Whether enduring hardships and paying a price or perfunctorily getting by, their ultimate goal is to demand from God what they want in order to satisfy their own desires. Hence, whenever they encounter adversity, pruning, or people, events, and things they find disagreeable, they immediately think, “Is the arrival of these things affecting my interests? Will they impact my reputation? Will they influence my prospects and future development?” Regardless of whether their manifestations are positive or negative in the course of doing their duties, in any case, they never operate according to the truth principles. Their minds are filled with transactions, evaluating the worth of what they pay and offer like a businessperson, assessing how large a profit their costs can yield. Some may say, “We believe in God to gain the truth and life, in order to attain salvation.” Antichrists, however, think, “How much is salvation worth? How about understanding the truth? These things are not worth anything. What is truly valuable is gaining a hundredfold in this life and eternal life in the world to come. In this life, being held up and esteemed by others, being honored as great in the house of god, and in the world to come, having authority over all nations—this is a truly substantial profit.” This is the ambition of antichrists, a calculation they make deep within their hearts behind their performance of duty. This calculation is filled with transactions and demands. Their meager “sincerity” toward their duty and toward God is solely to ensure that God grants them eternal life, preserves them from disaster, gives them blessings and grace, and satisfies all their desires. Therefore, antichrists’ hearts are filled with various demands toward God, collectively termed as making demands. Apart from not wanting the truth, antichrists desire everything else—both material and non-material things.

There are some antichrists who once made a small contribution to the brothers and sisters or to the church. For example, they may have taken on certain risky tasks in the church or hosted brothers and sisters who couldn’t return home. Adding on the relatively long duration of their faith in God, most people consider them to be meritorious and qualified individuals. At the same time, they themselves feel a sense of superiority and advantage. They rely on their seniority and boast about it, saying, “I have believed in god for so many years and made some contributions to the house of god. Shouldn’t god give me special treatment? For instance, going abroad is a blessing that people enjoy. Considering people’s seniority, shouldn’t I have priority? Because I have made a contribution to the house of god, I should be given priority and special care, and I should not be assessed based on principles.” Some people have even been imprisoned, and finding themselves homeless after their release, feel that the house of God should provide them with special care: For example, it should allocate some money to help them buy a house, take responsibility for their livelihood in the latter half of their lives, or should meet all of the material needs that they put forward. If they have the need, the house of God should provide them with a car. If they have some health issues, the house of God should buy them health supplements. Aren’t they presuming upon their seniority and flaunting their qualifications? These individuals believe that they made contributions, so they shamelessly and openly make demands of God. They ask for cars, houses, and a luxurious lifestyle. They even ask the brothers and sisters to handle things and run errands for them for free, becoming their servants or slaves. Have they not turned into someone who lives off the church? Your faith in God is actually for your own sake, and you go to prison for your own sake. Whatever duty you do is your responsibility. When you do your duty and gain the truth, it is for your own sake. Your belief in God is voluntary, no one is forcing you. Obtaining life is for your own sake, it’s not for others. Even if you have taken on some risky tasks for the house of God or the church, does that count as merit? It is not merit; it is what you should do. It is God lifting you up and giving you such an opportunity; it is a blessing from God. It is not for you to use as capital for living off the church. So, are these people antichrists? In particular, these people cannot fellowship any truth reality, and when they are with brothers and sisters who have believed for less time and are younger, they only fellowship about their old experiences and flaunt their qualifications; they are devoid of any fellowship or knowledge about valuable life experiences. They don’t edify others, but instead put on airs and act high and mighty. They are unable to take on any substantial work in the house of God, nor can they do any real duties properly. Yet, they still live off the church, and stretch out their hands to make demands of God. Isn’t this shameless? If we talk about qualifications, am I not more qualified than you? Have I put on airs with you? Have I asked anything from you? (No.) Then why can antichrists do such things? It is because they are shameless. When they accept their duties, their minds are filled with transactions. When they do their duties, they lack the correct viewpoint and do not consider it as their duty or obligation, something a created being should do. Although they may do some duty, endure some suffering, and pay a price, what are they thinking in their hearts? “This task is something no one else can do. If I do it, I will become famous in the house of god, esteemed wherever I go, and qualified to enjoy the best everywhere. I will be a big shot in the house of god, able to have whatever I want, and no one would dare to say anything because I have qualifications!” Based on their character, antichrists cannot possibly treat God, His commission, or the work of God’s house with the slightest sincerity or willingness. Even if they outwardly appear willing and capable of enduring suffering and paying a price, immediately after this, they are ready to stretch out their hands to make demands and ask for rewards from God, trying to live off the church and take advantage everywhere. Therefore, judging by their approaches, it is most fitting to define their antichrist disposition essence as wicked. The thoughts and viewpoints they harbor regarding their duties and God’s commission are wicked, not in line with the truth, and certainly not in line with the standard of conscience.

In any duty they do, antichrists follow their own wishes, seeking personal fame and status. They never seek the truth or reflect on themselves. In the face of any deviations or issues arising in their work, their attitude is to neither seek nor accept the truth. Instead, they always strive to conceal the facts, preserve their face and vain glory, and showcase themselves in every aspect, winning people’s esteem. In short, their hearts are filled with wickedness, with the philosophy of Satan and with human notions and imaginings, without anything that is in line with the truth. Antichrists never seek the truth in any duty they do, and they never intend to submit to the work arrangements of the house of God. They always stick to their own way of doing things, and act according to their own preferences. Regardless of the task at hand, they calculate in their hearts how they can benefit themselves. They only measure what duties to do that can win them fame, gain and status, other people’s esteem, and a bit of honor. Once they do their duties, they hope to have their achievements recorded in God’s record book, keeping a mental account of them and ensuring that every contribution is well recorded and nothing is overlooked. They believe that the more work they do and the greater their contributions, the more hope they have of entering the kingdom and receiving rewards and crowns. The attitudes and viewpoints that antichrists harbor toward their duties are just like this. Their minds are filled with transactions and demands—doesn’t this clearly expose their nature essence? Why are their minds filled with transactions and demands of God? The reason is that their disposition essence is wicked—this is absolutely true. It can be seen through the ideas and viewpoints that antichrists harbor regarding their duties—these fully confirm that their disposition essence is wicked. Regardless of how much truth is fellowshipped or how people’s corrupt dispositions are exposed and dissected, antichrists show no knowledge of their disposition essence. Not only do they refuse to accept the truth, they also develop resentment in their hearts. When they feel that their hopes of receiving blessings and rewards are shattered, they believe God is cheating, thinking that God’s exposure and dissection is a deliberate attempt to withhold rewards, causing people to expend themselves for God in vain without gaining anything in the end. Their hearts not only lack a positive comprehension of God’s work and the truth, they even develop notions and misunderstandings, intensifying their resistance against God. Therefore, the more the satanic disposition and essence of corrupt humankind are dissected, and the more Satan’s schemes, motivations, and purposes are exposed, the more antichrists are averse to the truth and harbor hatred toward it. Why does this happen? They believe that the more the truth is fellowshipped, the dimmer their hope becomes of receiving blessings. The more the truth is fellowshipped, the more they feel that the path of exchanging suffering and paying a price for rewards and crowns is not viable, leading them to believe that they have no hope of receiving blessings. The more the truth is fellowshipped in this manner and the more this kind of exposure takes place, the less interested antichrists become in their faith in God. Seeing that nothing of what God says mentions how much suffering and price-paying can get them an equivalent reward, and that He has said nothing about entering the kingdom of heaven based solely on hard work, they feel as if their path of making transactions with God has reached the end. They sense deep down that they are the very objects God is determined to punish, experiencing an unsettling fear and feeling that their days are numbered, as if the end times are upon them. How do you feel after listening to sermon after sermon exposing antichrists? I see that you are all hanging your heads; do you have a somewhat disheartened feeling? Have you realized that you’re walking down the path of antichrists? Are your thoughts also filled with these wicked ideas of bargaining with God? Do you have any perception now? Can you quickly turn things around? (I am also thinking that I need to turn things around quickly; I can’t go on living with these antichrist dispositions.) Although you all have the dispositions of antichrists and the intention to bargain with God and receive blessings, you are not yet antichrists. Therefore, you should promptly seek the truth for resolution, pull yourselves back from the brink of the precipice, and embark on the path of pursuing the truth. Isn’t the problem then solved? Having the disposition of antichrists and walking down their path is a problem that can be easily resolved. As long as you can accept the truth, reflect on yourself, know the corrupt disposition within yourself, understand the essence of the problem of pursuing fame, gain, and status, and then abandon this erroneous method of pursuit, relinquish the mistaken viewpoint of faith in God, discard the intention to receive blessings, and only believe in God for the sake of pursuing the truth and for the purpose of becoming a new person, and only pursue becoming a person who submits to God, and only worship God, without idolizing or following humans, then your state will gradually normalize. You will step onto the path of pursuing the truth—there is no doubt about it. What should be feared is if you do not accept the truth, if you are averse to the truth, and if you, knowing that bargaining with God is wrong and so is pursuing fame, gain, and status, still remain stubborn and never repent. In such a case, you have the nature essence of an antichrist and must be eliminated. If you do many evil things, you will face punishment.

The difference between antichrists and ordinary corrupt humans lies in the fact that the pursuit of fame, gain, status, and blessings and making transactions with God is not just a temporary or occasional manifestation for antichrists—they live by these things. They only choose one path, which is the path of antichrists, living according to the nature of antichrists and satanic philosophies. Ordinary corrupt humans can arrive at a second choice and walk the path of pursuing the truth, but antichrists do not like the truth and do not have this need. Their nature is filled with satanic philosophies, and they will not make the correct choice. Antichrists will never accept the truth; they will persist in their wrongs to the end, never reversing course or repenting. They know that they are full of deals to make with God, testing and antagonizing Him at every turn. However, they have their reasons, and they think, “What’s wrong with it? Making demands of god for some material blessings and enjoying some of the benefits of status are not shameful acts. I haven’t committed murder and arson, nor have I publicly resisted god. Sure, I’ve been working to establish an independent kingdom and acted somewhat arbitrarily, but I haven’t harmed or hurt anyone, nor have I affected or caused losses for the work of god’s house.” Isn’t this irredeemable? No matter how God’s house fellowships about the truth or exposes and prunes them, they refuse to admit their mistakes—it is irredeemable. This is the essence of antichrists. If you say they are evil or wicked, they don’t care, and they will persist in their evil and wickedness. This shows that antichrists are staunchly unrepentant individuals. Would you still fellowship about the truth with such people? They don’t even know which things are positive and which are negative; what can you say to them? There is nothing to say. Antichrists are filled with a wicked disposition essence, and they live within this disposition. Testing God and making transactions with Him is their inherent nature, and no one can change them—they remain unchanged in every situation. Why don’t they change? They don’t change because regardless of how many truths are fellowshipped to them, no matter how understandable and thoroughly exposing the words are, they are not aware of the real issue. They cannot understand the truth and do not know what is the truth and what are negative things; that’s the reason.

Antichrists make transactions with God and make demands of Him in various matters. Of course, they make demands for a multitude of things—tangible and intangible, material and non-material, present and future. As long as they can imagine it, as long as they believe they deserve it, and as long as it is something they desire, they unabashedly make demands of God, hoping He will grant it to them. For instance, when they are performing a certain duty, in order to stand out and become an exceptional figure, to have a chance to be in the spotlight and obtain their desired status along with the esteem of more people, they hope that God will give them some special abilities. They pray to Him, saying, “God, I am willing to loyally perform my duty. After accepting this duty from you, every day I think about how to perform it well. I am willing to dedicate a lifetime of energy to this, to offer you my youth and offer you everything I have; I am willing to endure hardship for this. Please grant me words to speak, grant me intelligence and wisdom, and let me improve my professional skills and my abilities during the performance of this duty.” After expressing their loyalty and stating their viewpoint, antichrists reach right out to God to ask for these things. Although these things are intangible, and people believe it is reasonable to ask God for them, does this not constitute a form of making transactions and demands? (Yes, it does.) What is the focus of this transaction? What is the essence we are dissecting? Antichrists have no sincerity whatsoever for the duties entrusted to them by God, nor do they intend to be loyal in this matter. Before doing it, their thoughts revolve around how to seize this opportunity to display their talents and gain fame among people, rather than using this chance to perform their duty well and to seek the truths they should understand and the principles they should seek in the performance of it. So, when antichrists come before God to pray, they first reach out for and request things that will benefit their reputation and status, such as intelligence, wisdom, unique insights, outstanding skills, having their spiritual eyes opened, and so on. They want these things not in order to understand the truth or to offer their sincerity and perform their duties well. Clearly, these requests are filled with deal-making and demands, and yet they still feel themselves to be justified. When it comes to this kind of prayer and these kinds of transactions that people make, even if people suffer and pay a price in the performance of their duty, and even if they spend some amount of time and energy, will God accept it? From God’s perspective, He will absolutely not accept such performance of one’s duty, because there is no sincerity, no loyalty, and certainly no genuine submission within such people. Based on this aspect, what they subjectively wish to pursue is status and fame and the esteem and admiration of others, yet over the course of performing their duties, there has been no improvement in their life entry or in their dispositional change.

When matters befall them, antichrists immediately begin scheming, calculating, and planning in their hearts. They are like accountants, making transactions with God in everything, wanting many things and making many demands of God. In short, all these requirements are unreasonable in God’s eyes; they are not what God intends to give to people, nor are they what people should receive, because these things do not bring the slightest shred of benefit to people’s pursuit of dispositional change or the attainment of salvation. Even if, during the course of performing your duties, God gives you some light or some new ideas regarding your profession, it is not to satisfy your desire to make demands of God, much less is it to boost your popularity or the prestige you have among people. After receiving such light and enlightenment from God, a normal person applies them to their duty, performing their duty better, making themselves grasp the principles more accurately, and gradually experiencing firsthand how they receive much enlightenment, illumination, and grace from God during the performance of their duties—all of this is done by God. The more they experience, the more they feel that what God does is great, and the more they realize that they have nothing to boast about, that it’s all God’s grace and guidance. This is something a normal person can feel and be aware of. However, antichrists are different, and regardless of how much enlightenment and illumination God gives them, they attribute all of it to themselves. One day, when they make a tally of their contributions and reach out to God to demand rewards, when they settle accounts with God, He withdraws His enlightenment and illumination, and the antichrists are revealed. Before, everything they were able to do was due to the Holy Spirit’s work and God’s guidance. They are no different from other people: Without God’s enlightenment and illumination, they lose their gifts, intelligence, wisdom, good ideas, and good thoughts—they become good-for-nothings and fools. When antichrists encounter such things and go this far, they are still oblivious to the fact that their path is wrong, and unaware that they’ve been making transactions with God and unreasonably making demands of Him. They still think they are competent and capable of anything, deserving to be held in high esteem, admired, respected, supported, and exalted by others. If they don’t receive these things, they see the situation as hopeless and act even more recklessly, becoming full of resentment both against God and against the brothers and sisters. They swear at and complain about God in their hearts, saying God is unrighteous, cursing the brothers and sisters for lacking a conscience and for burning bridges once they’ve crossed them, and even accusing God’s house of trying to get rid of them after it’s done using them. What is this? A shameless person! Aren’t all antichrists like this? Don’t they often say such things? They say, “When I was useful and put in an important position, everybody orbited around me. Now that I’m no longer in an important position, no one pays attention to me, everyone looks down on me, and you all give me attitude when talking to me.” Where do these words come from? Are they not rooted in the wicked disposition of antichrists? Their wicked disposition is full of deal-making with people and God, making requirements of God and of people, as if saying, “I take care of things for you, I expend myself, pay a price, and worry on your behalf, so you must approach me with respect and speak to me politely. Whether I have status or not, you must always remember all that I’ve done, keep me in your minds forever, and never forget me—forgetting me means that you lack conscience. Whenever you eat or use good things, you must think of me, and I must always have priority.” Don’t antichrists often make such requirements? (Yes, they do.) You may have encountered people like this, who say, “Who printed the books of god’s words that you read? Who delivered them into your hands? If it wasn’t for me taking risks and facing the dangers of being arrested, imprisoned or sentenced to death, would you be able to read these books? If it wasn’t for me enduring hardship and paying a price to water you, would you be able to have a church life? If it wasn’t for me enduring suffering and paying a price to spread the gospel, could the church gain so many people? If it wasn’t for me fellowshipping god’s words to you all day, would you have such great faith? If it wasn’t for me running around to provide logistical support for you, could you do your duties peacefully now? If it wasn’t for me leading the charge, could the church’s work have developed to the extent that it has now?” Listening to this, it seems as if without them, the work of God’s house could not progress, and the earth would stop turning. Isn’t this the mentality of antichrists? What is their purpose in shouting out these words? Are they taking credit for things or lamenting and complaining? They believe that God’s house now no longer needs them, that the brothers and sisters have neglected them, that God’s house is unfair to people, that God’s house is not providing for them, respecting them, or letting them grow old there. Isn’t there also an element of cursing in their shouting? They are cursing at others, saying they lack a conscience. What service do antichrists actually render? Everything they do is disturbing and disruptive, and everything they say is misleading. They lack humanity; they are devils. Why should anyone exercise conscience toward them? Is doing this useful? (No.) Why isn’t it useful? Can one understand the truth by following them? (No.) What does everyone who worships and follows antichrists gain? They all betray God along with these antichrists and are led to hell by them. What do antichrists see themselves as? (They see themselves as God.) This is a shameless thought. People should have a conscience toward God, but God never requires people to do so; He only requires people to understand the truth, to be able to practice the truth and attain salvation, and to be qualified created beings. When have I ever asked you to think of Me and save some for Me when you’re eating good food, or to think of Me when you’re staying in a nice place? When you are eating well, living well, and happy, when have I ever felt jealous? When have I ever said that you have no conscience? Yet antichrists are capable of saying such things and cursing people for having no conscience—isn’t this shameless? When God’s house dismisses them, when the brothers and sisters are no longer as enthusiastic toward them as before, they are capable of saying such things, crying about their grievances, and cursing at people and God. All sorts of things can come out of their mouths, and their demonic nature is completely exposed. These are the various manifestations revealed by the wicked disposition of antichrists. Because their hearts are full of deals to make with God, this leads to making various requirements and demands of Him. When antichrists are promoted or dismissed, when God’s house puts them in an important position or doesn’t, all of the various manifestations that emerge from them pertain to their wicked essence—this is entirely true.