In churches where antichrists wield power, the work arrangements of God’s house cannot be implemented. At the same time, a strange phenomenon arises within those churches, where the only work that gets carried out is work that has nothing to do with or that runs counter to the work arrangements of God’s house, which makes different opinions and arguments arise among the brothers and sisters, and brings chaos to the church. How do false leaders act? They don’t work according to the work arrangements of God’s house; it is as if they have nothing to do, and they do not respond to the work arrangements at all. The people under these leaders are clueless; like a pile of loose sand, there’s no one organizing them—everyone does whatever they want, however they want. False leaders don’t express any statements and don’t take on this responsibility. Antichrists, however, act differently. They not only fail to implement the work arrangements, they also come up with their own statements and practices. Some take the work arrangements of the Above and alter them, turning them into their own statements, which they then implement, while others do not act at all according to the work arrangements of the Above, and just do their own thing. They withhold the work arrangements of the Above and don’t send them on down, keeping those below them in the dark while they do whatever they please, even concocting their own theories and statements to mislead and hoodwink those under them. So, don’t look at how much antichrists can forsake or what suffering they can endure on the surface. Put aside their superficial actions and behaviors, and look at the essence of these things that they do. What kind of relationship do they have with God? They oppose everything that God has said and done, everything God requires the brothers and sisters to understand, and everything that He demands to be implemented lower down in the church—they oppose all of these things. Some might ask, “Is failing to implement these things the same as opposing them?” Why don’t they implement these things? Because they do not agree with them. Seeing as how they don’t agree with them, are they higher than God’s house? Seeing as how they don’t agree with these things, do they have a better plan? No, they do not. So why do they dare to not implement these things just because they don’t agree with them? Because they want to dominate and control the church. They believe that if they implemented things in full accordance with the work arrangements and the requirements of the Above, their contributions might go unnoticed, not stand out, and not be seen by anyone. To antichrists, this would be a disaster. If everyone bore witness to God and regularly fellowshipped on the truth, if everyone could understand the truth, handle matters according to the principles, seek the truth and pray and call upon God when faced with issues, what would their function be? Antichrists do not pursue the truth, so they would have no function; they would become mere decorations. If they became decorations, and no one paid attention to them anymore, would they accept this? No, they would not. They would think of ways to salvage the situation. Antichrists possess a wicked disposition and a wicked essence—can they anticipate that they’d be revealed if the brothers and sisters all pursued the truth? Antichrists are so bad, and they do not pursue the truth; they are wicked, deceitful, insidious, and they do not love positive things. If everyone understood the truth, they would have discernment of antichrists. Do antichrists know this? Yes, they do. They can feel this in their spirits. It’s like when you go somewhere and encounter an evil spirit. When the evil spirit looks at you, they find you displeasing, and in just a glance, you find the evil spirit repulsive, and don’t want to talk to them. Actually, they haven’t offended you or done anything to harm you, but you find them disgusting to look at, and listening to them speak makes you feel even more disgusted. In reality, they don’t know you, and you don’t know them. What’s going on here? You can sense in your spirit that the two of you are not of the same kind. Antichrists are the enemies of God’s chosen people. If you have no perception or awareness when you interact with them, then aren’t you quite numb? Say that when an antichrist doesn’t speak a lot, and just says a few words while expressing an argument, putting forward a viewpoint, or harboring a certain attitude in their actions, you can’t see these things clearly. If you interact with them for a long time, and still don’t have this awareness, and one day the Above defines them as an antichrist, and only then do you finally have this epiphany and feel some fear, thinking, “How did I not discern such an obvious antichrist! That was a close call!” how slow and numb you must be!

The wickedness of antichrists has one obvious characteristic, and I will share with you the secret of discerning it: It is that in their speech and action alike, you cannot fathom their depths or see into their hearts. When they speak to you, their eyes always swivel around, and you cannot tell what sort of scheme they are hatching. Sometimes, they make you feel that they are loyal or quite sincere, but this is not the case—you can never see through them. You have a particular feeling in your heart, a sense that there is a deep subtlety to their thoughts, an unfathomable depth, that they are devious. This is the first characteristic of the wickedness of antichrists, and it indicates that antichrists possess an attribute of wickedness. What is the second characteristic of the wickedness of antichrists? It is that everything they say and do is highly misleading. Where is this displayed? In their particular adroitness at feeling out people’s psychologies, at saying things that fit with people’s notions and imaginings and are easy to accept. However, there is one thing you should discern: They never embody the pleasant things they say. For example, they preach doctrine to others, telling them how to be honest people, and how to pray and let God be their master when something befalls them, but when something happens to the antichrists themselves, they do not practice the truth. All they do is act according to their own will, and think of a myriad of ways to benefit themselves, making everyone else serve them and handle their affairs. They never pray to God or let Him be their master. They say things that are pleasant to the ears, but their actions do not line up with what they say. The first thing they consider when taking an action is the benefit to themselves; they do not accept God’s orchestrations and arrangements. People see that they are not obedient when doing things, that they are always looking for a way to benefit themselves and a way forward. This is the deceitful and wicked side of antichrists that people can see. When working, sometimes antichrists can withstand hardship and pay a price, even forgoing sleep and food at times, but they only do this to gain status or make a name for themselves. They suffer hardship for the sake of their ambitions and goals but are perfunctory with the important work the house of God arranges for them, which they barely carry out. So, are they submissive to God’s arrangements in all they do? Are they doing their duties? There is a problem here. There is also another sort of behavior, which is when brothers and sisters put forward different opinions, antichrists will reject them in a roundabout way, going in circles, making people think the antichrists have fellowshipped and discussed things with them—but when it comes down to it, everybody must do as they say. They are always looking for ways to shut down other people’s suggestions, so that people follow their ideas and do as they say. Is this seeking the truth principles? It certainly is not. So then, what is the principle of their work? It is that everybody must listen to them and obey them, that there is no one better to heed than they, and that their ideas are the best and the loftiest. Antichrists would have everyone feel that what they say is right, that they are the truth. Is this not wicked? This is the second characteristic of the wickedness of antichrists. The third characteristic of the wickedness of antichrists is that when they testify to themselves, they often testify to their contributions, the hardships they have suffered, and the beneficial things they have done for everyone, drilling it into people’s minds, so that those people remember that they are basking in the antichrists’ light. If someone compliments or thanks an antichrist, they may even say some very spiritual words, like, “Thank god. This is all the work of god. The grace of god is enough for us,” so that everyone sees that they are quite spiritual, and that they are a good servant of God. In reality, they are exalting and testifying to themselves, and there is no place at all in their heart for God. In everyone else’s mind, the antichrist’s status has already far exceeded that of God. Is this not real proof of antichrists testifying to themselves? In churches where an antichrist holds power and is in control, they have the highest status in people’s hearts. God can only come second or third. If God goes to a church where an antichrist holds power and says something, will what He says get through to the people there? Will they accept it from the heart? It is hard to say. This suffices to prove how much effort antichrists put into testifying to themselves. They do not testify for God at all, but use all their opportunities to testify for God to testify to themselves instead. Is this tactic antichrists use not insidious? Is it not incredibly wicked? By means of these three characteristics fellowshipped here, it is easy to discern antichrists.

Antichrists have one more characteristic, and it is also a major manifestation of their wicked disposition. It is that no matter how the house of God fellowships on the truth, how God’s chosen people fellowship on their self-knowledge, or accept judgment, chastisement, and pruning, antichrists take no note of it. They still pursue fame, gain, and status, and never let go of their intention and desire to obtain blessings. In the minds of antichrists, as long as someone is able to do a duty, pay a price, and suffer some hardship, they ought to be blessed by God. And so, after doing church work for a while, they start taking stock of the jobs they have done for the church, the contributions they have made to God’s house, and what they have done for the brothers and sisters. They keep all of this firmly in their minds, waiting to see what graces and blessings it will earn them from God, so that they might determine whether what they are doing is worth it. Why do they always preoccupy themselves with such things? What is it that they are pursuing in the depths of their hearts? What is the aim of their faith in God? From the start, their belief in God has been about obtaining blessings. And no matter how many years they listen to sermons, no matter how many words of God they eat and drink, no matter how many doctrines they understand, they will never let go of their desire and intention to be blessed. If you ask them to be a dutiful created being and accept God’s sovereignty and arrangements, they will say, “That has nothing to do with me. It is not what I should be striving for. What I should strive for is: when I have fought the fight, when I have made the requisite effort and suffered the requisite hardship—once I have done this according to what god requires—god should reward me and allow me to remain, and to be crowned in the kingdom, and to hold a higher position than the people of god. I should be in charge of two or three cities, at the least.” This is what the antichrists care about most. No matter how the house of God fellowships the truth, their intention and desire to obtain blessings cannot be dispelled; they are the same sort of person as Paul. Does such a naked transaction not harbor a sort of wicked and vicious disposition? Some religious people say, “Our generation follows god on the path of the cross. God chose us, so we are entitled to be blessed. We have suffered and paid a price, and we have drunk from the bitter cup. Some of us have even been arrested and sentenced to jail time. After suffering all this hardship, hearing so many sermons, and learning so much about the Bible, if one day we are not blessed, we will go to the third heaven and argue with god.” Have you ever heard anything like this? They say they will go to the third heaven to argue with God—how bold is that? Doesn’t just hearing it make you fearful? Who dares to try and argue with God? Fortunately, the Jesus they believe in has long since ascended to heaven. If Jesus were still on earth, wouldn’t they try to crucify Him again? Of course, some people might initially find such words powerful and impressive when they first start believing in God, thinking that people ought to have this kind of backbone and resolve. But, having believed up until now, how do you view these words? Aren’t such people archangels? Aren’t they Satans? You can argue with anyone but not with God. You shouldn’t do such a thing, or even think of doing it. Blessings come from God: He gives them to whomever He wishes to. Even if you meet the conditions for receiving blessings and God doesn’t grant them to you, you still shouldn’t argue with God. The entire universe and all of mankind are under God’s rule; God calls the shots. How can you, a tiny human being, dare to argue with God? How can you overestimate your abilities so much? Why don’t you take a look in the mirror to see who you are? By daring to clamor against and contend with the Creator in this way, aren’t you courting death? “If one day we are not blessed, we will go to the third heaven and argue with god” is a statement that openly clamors against God. What kind of place is the third heaven? It’s where God resides. Daring to go to the third heaven to argue with God is tantamount to trying to “overthrow” God! Isn’t this the case? Some might ask, “What does this have to do with antichrists?” It has a lot to do with them, because all those who want to go to the third heaven to argue with God are antichrists. Only antichrists can say such things. Words like these are the voice that antichrists harbor deep within their hearts. This is their wickedness. While antichrists may not openly say these words, they indeed harbor these things within their hearts, they just do not dare to reveal them, and do not let anyone know about them. However, the desires and ambitions in the depths of their hearts burn like inextinguishable fires. Why is this? Because antichrists do not love the truth. They don’t love God’s fairness and righteousness, God’s judgment and chastisement, and they certainly don’t love God’s almightiness, wisdom, and His sovereignty over all things. They do not love any of these things—they hate them. So, what do they love? They love status and care about rewards. They say, “I have gifts, talents, and abilities. I’ve labored for the church, so god must repay me and give me rewards!” Aren’t they in trouble? Isn’t this courting death? Isn’t it a direct challenge to God? Isn’t it challenging the Creator? Daring to point their spearheads directly at God, the Creator—this is something only the archangel, Satan, is capable of doing. If there truly are people with such viewpoints, who are capable of such actions, then there is no doubt that they are antichrists. On earth, only antichrists dare to openly resist God and pass judgment on Him like this. Some might say, “The antichrists we’ve seen weren’t this audacious or brazen.” This needs to be viewed according to the context and environment that antichrists are in. How could they dare to show their sharp edges when they haven’t fully gained power and established themselves? Antichrists know to bide their time, waiting for the opportune moment to rise up. When they come into their own, their sharp edges will be completely exposed. Although some antichrists hide their true colors fairly well while they lack status, and no issues can be seen in them on the surface, as soon as they gain status and establish themselves, their wickedness and ugliness are entirely laid bare. It’s like certain people who lack the truth reality. When they don’t have any status, they can only reluctantly submit to being pruned, and aren’t defiant in their hearts. However, if they become leaders or workers and gain some prestige among God’s chosen people, when they are pruned, it’s highly likely that they’ll expose their true selves, and start to argue with God and clamor against Him. It’s like how some people do their duties well and do not have any complaints under normal circumstances, but if faced with cancer and a rapidly-approaching death, are very likely to expose their true selves. They will start to complain about God, argue with Him, and clamor against Him. Antichrists, this group of people, are averse to the truth and hate the truth, and they never practice the truth. Why, then, even after being exposed and revealed, are they still willing to labor in the church, and even to be the smallest of followers? What’s going on? They have a goal: They have never let go of their intention to obtain blessings. Their mindset is, “I’m going to grab hold of this very last lifeline. If I can’t obtain blessings, I’ll never leave god alone. If I can’t obtain blessings, then god is not god!” What kind of disposition is this? Daring to brazenly deny God and clamor against Him—this is wickedness. As long as they have even the slightest hope of obtaining blessings, they will stay in God’s house and wait for those blessings. How can this be observed? They are like the Pharisees, always pretending to be good—isn’t the intention and goal behind this obvious? Regardless of how good their outward behavior may seem, no matter how much they may outwardly suffer, they never practice the truth, they don’t seek the truth when they act, or pray to God and seek His intentions. They never do things that God likes. Instead, they do what they are willing to do and what they like, only striving to satisfy their own ambition and desire for blessings. Won’t this get them into trouble? Doesn’t this expose the essence of antichrists? What antichrists love and pursue just represents their satanic disposition. They treat what they love and pursue as positive things that are pleasing to God, and try to get Him to accept and bless them. Is this in line with the truth principles? Isn’t this opposing God and setting oneself against Him? Antichrists try to make deals with God at every turn. They use their own suffering and price-paying to demand rewards and crowns from God, to exchange them for a good destination. But haven’t they miscalculated? By resisting God in this way, how can they not meet with God’s punishment? This is what they deserve for their sins. This is retribution.

There was once an antichrist who knew a little bit about the craft of singing and dancing, and at that time it was arranged for him to lead the brothers and sisters in the choir to learn about the craft. Those brothers and sisters were young, and most of them hadn’t believed in God for a very long time; they were simply passionate and willing to do their duties, that was all, but they did not understand the truth, and some of them had not even laid down a foundation. While that antichrist worked, he guided them to experience the feeling of the Holy Spirit’s work, getting them to experience the difference between the feeling of God’s presence and that of His absence—he always had them rely on their feelings. He did not understand the truth, nor did he have any real experience, but he misled and misguided the brothers and sisters like this based on his notions and imaginings. The Above knew that he did not have the truth reality, and merely asked him to teach and explain the craft. Fulfilling this aspect of his duty would already have been considered adequate and the fulfillment of his responsibilities. But he still wanted to “fellowship about the truth,” and get people to grasp their feelings and rely on their feelings. By acting like this, wouldn’t it have been easy for him to bring people into the supernatural feeling of an evil spirit’s work? This is too dangerous! Once an evil spirit seizes an opportunity like this and possesses a person, that person is ruined. During the training period, he had these people pray, and after praying, he got them to see how the Holy Spirit was working, and if they were sweating, weeping, or had any other feelings in their bodies. He emphasized these things, but in reality, these things had already been explained clearly enough. There are so many truths, but he didn’t fellowship about them, nor did he lead those people to eat and drink God’s words, and he failed to attend to his proper work. He didn’t allow the brothers and sisters to choreograph dances, and instead let everyone dance on the stage to their hearts’ content, improvising as they pleased, even saying, “It’s okay, god is leading us, so we’re not afraid, the holy spirit is at work!” This antichrist did not understand the truth, so he always did stupid things. The brothers and sisters didn’t have any discernment, so they listened to him and began to pray, “God, please work, God, please work….” They tried their best to pray “with all their hearts,” and even cried after praying, and then they went on stage and improvised dances. Those watching from below the stage felt that the atmosphere was great and that the Holy Spirit was doing powerful work! They wept as they watched the others dancing, as if they had felt the work of the Holy Spirit. At the end, these people recorded all these things and took pictures for Me to see. Some of the people in the pictures were weeping with their eyes closed, and in the middle of winter their faces were all red from the heat. I saw that trouble was brewing, and that these people were going to be ruined by him. He was only asked to teach the craft, and he didn’t understand any of the truth. He just acted blindly based on his imaginings, wanting to find the feeling of the Holy Spirit’s work. Is the work of the Holy Spirit a matter of feelings? You have to understand the truth—that is real. Feelings alone are empty and useless. Can you understand the truth and the intentions of God based on your feelings? Absolutely not. You don’t have to look for a feeling, you just have to seek the principles and God’s intentions based on God’s words, and then compare them against the things that befall you—this is very practical, and you will slowly come to understand the truth. When you practice according to God’s words, the Holy Spirit will naturally begin to work. Even if the Holy Spirit doesn’t work, since you have practiced according to God’s words, God will recognize you as His follower—this is so practical, this is the truest thing. That antichrist did not fellowship in this way, but continuously encouraged those people to look for feelings, for things such as signs and wonders, and for dreams. This was a layman who lacked spiritual understanding leading a group of foolish and ignorant children to do ridiculous things. The people in the pictures were crying and weeping. What does that represent? It doesn’t represent anything, but there is something that explains the nature of what he was doing. This antichrist took pictures of all these things and labeled them as “details of God’s work.” What were these “details”? Those people did not understand the truth, they searched for the feeling of the Holy Spirit’s work and improvised for no good reason, and each time they danced it was different, because each time the feeling was different, and God’s “leading” was different—those were the “details.” What else did those “details” include? The antichrist also said that they were the results of the Holy Spirit’s work. When he said this, the brothers and sisters grew excited, as if their faith and stature had grown significantly all of a sudden. Why did he say “details”? Where did the word “details” come from? I once mentioned the details of God’s work. What do these details refer to? They are the results of God’s work on people that can be seen and grasped by man, and they are neither supernatural nor vague. They are something that you can feel. They are when God has done a lot of work on you, spoken a lot of words to you, exerted painstaking efforts, and thereby changed your way of existing, your views on things, the attitude you harbor while doing things, your attitude toward God, as well as other parts of you. That is, they are the gains and fruit of God’s work—this is what’s meant by details. That antichrist too called these things he did “details.” Leaving aside the nature of these things for now, what can you see from just analyzing this phrase? God works on people, and He has said that people will see the details of the work that He does on them, but this antichrist was leading everyone to run amok, and made a mess of everything, yet he also called these “details”—what was he trying to do? (He wanted to be equal with God.) That’s right. Where did his use of the term “details” come from? It came from his desire to be equal with God and imitate God. By using this term, he meant, “God works in detail, and what I am leading this group of people to do is also in detail.” The postmodifier for “details” is “of God’s work,” but in fact, in his heart he was attributing the results of the details of the Holy Spirit’s work to himself, which is what antichrists do. Whenever there is a chance to step into the limelight, whenever there is a glimmer of opportunity, they won’t let it go; they will contend with God for people. What kind of people do they contend for? Some of them don’t understand the truth, they can’t discern people according to the truth principles, and they are foolish and ignorant; some of them don’t pursue the truth, and they like to follow the crowd and act blindly on the outside; and there are also some who are new believers and have a shallow foundation—they don’t yet understand what believing in God is all about, and they are misled by antichrists. This behavior was stopped later on, just in time. The fact that it was stopped isn’t very extraordinary, but it did mean that the foolish things that the antichrist did were exposed, all at once. As everybody fellowshipped and thought back, they said, “Before this antichrist came, though we sometimes couldn’t find our way in terms of the professional and technical aspects of singing, when we sang, we felt that we could take it to heart, and that we could sing every word with our hearts. After he came and spoke about some professional theories, we all felt dried up and didn’t want to sing anymore, because we couldn’t savor what God was saying in every word—we couldn’t feel God.” Weren’t these people in trouble? As soon as antichrists reach out their hands to act, the consequences they bring about are that people can no longer feel where God is, and do not know how to act appropriately. They lose their bearings. Once people are unable to feel God, can they still fulfill their duties? Can they still do things with loyalty in order to testify for God? After humans were corrupted by Satan, they developed a certain characteristic, which is liking to follow the crowd. They’re like flies: There doesn’t need to be a clear goal, so long as there is a leader, other people will join them in blindly fooling around, because it’s livelier like that, and when they act in that way they don’t need to constrain themselves, there’s no baseline to their actions, and no one acts according to principles. They do not need to pray or seek, they do not need to be pious or quiet; as long as they have heads and can breathe, they can act in that way. Isn’t this more or less the same as animals? Because corrupt humans possess this characteristic, they are easily misled, but if you understand the truth and can discern these things, you will not be so easily misled. After this antichrist was exposed, everyone dissected the misleading things he said, and the tactics he used to act in that way, comparing these to God’s words. They realized that this guy was really good at misleading people, that he had thrown things into disorder, and that, though what he’d led them to do had seemed quite impressive, and it had seemed like they were feeling the powerful work of the Holy Spirit, in reality, they hadn’t been able to feel God at all. On the surface, it had looked as though everybody was possessed with a great fervor, and that their faith and stature had suddenly grown; but in reality, this was an illusion, the work of an evil spirit. These supernatural circumstances appeared, so the Holy Spirit did not work. For a period of time after this, through fellowshipping on the truth, everybody was able to discern the antichrist, and their states returned to normal little by little. These people had been misled by the antichrist, and they had grown distant from Me. When I spoke, these people looked at Me like I was an unfamiliar person, they did not want to answer My questions, and we immediately became like strangers. They waited for the antichrist to speak before they obeyed anything; they listened to whatever the antichrist said, and whatever he said represented them. So, these people had no say in anything, but they were willing to have no say; they waited for him to speak and were controlled by him. Evil spirits and antichrists do such things to mislead people.

Some wicked things can be expressed clearly in words and dissected, but others can only be said to have evil spirits at work within them, and cannot be expressed clearly in words, they can only be discerned based on your feelings or based on the truths that you understand and your experiences. This antichrist was quickly discerned and addressed, and church life returned to normal. Afterward, everyone felt lingering fear when they fellowshipped about this incident. They said, “That was really dangerous! That antichrist’s so-called ‘details’ harmed us so badly that we were almost ruined by him.” Therefore, you have to learn to discern antichrists. If you never take discerning antichrists seriously, you will be in danger, and who knows when or on what occasion you will be misled by them. You may even follow an antichrist in a muddleheaded way without knowing what’s going on. You won’t feel that there’s anything wrong with it at the time, and you’ll even feel that what this antichrist says is correct—in this way you will have been misled without realizing it. The fact that you’ve been misled shows that you’ve betrayed God, and then God will have no way of saving you. There are some people who usually perform well, but for a time, they are hoodwinked by antichrists, and the church brings them back in the end through dissuasion and fellowship. However, there are some who do not come back no matter how the truth is fellowshipped to them, and they become hell bent on going with the antichrists—aren’t they completely ruined then? They firmly refuse to turn back, and God does not work on them anymore. Some people lack discernment, and feel sorry for this kind of person, saying, “That person is pretty decent: They believed in God for many years, and they forsook things and expended themselves; they used to do their duty quite loyally, their faith in God was great, and they were a true believer—shouldn’t we give them another chance?” Is this viewpoint correct? Does it conform to the truth? People can only see the surface of another person, but cannot see their heart; they cannot see clearly what kind of person they really are, or what kind of essence they have. They must be in contact with them or observe them for a period of time, and that person must meet with events that reveal them in order for people to be able to see through them. Moreover, if you try to help these people out of the goodness of your heart, but they don’t turn back no matter how much you fellowship with them, you won’t know what the reason is behind all of it. In reality, God has already seen through these people and eliminated them. Why did God eliminate them? The most straightforward reason is that some antichrists are obviously evil spirits, and can be classified as antichrists with evil spirits working in them. If people follow them for a period of time, their hearts will darken, and they will become so weak that they collapse, which proves that God has long since given up on them. God has a righteous disposition, and He hates Satan. Since these people follow Satan and evil spirits, can God still recognize them as His followers? God is holy and abhors evil. He does not want those who have followed evil spirits; even if others think they are good people, He does not want them. What does it mean that God abhors evil? What does “abhorring evil” indicate? Listen to what I say now, and you will understand. Beginning when God chooses a person, until that person acknowledges that God is truth, righteousness, wisdom, and almightiness, that He is the one and only—once they have understood these things, and after they have had some experiences, they will have a basic understanding of God’s disposition, essence, and what He has and is, deep within their heart, and this basic understanding will become their faith. It will also motivate them to follow God, expend themselves for God, and do their duty. Once they have experience, understand the truth, and their understanding of God’s disposition and their knowledge of God have taken root in their heart—when they are in possession of this stature—they will not deny God. But if they do not have true knowledge of Christ, the practical God, and if they are liable to worship and follow an antichrist, then they are still in danger. They may still turn their back on Christ in the flesh to follow a wicked antichrist. This would be openly denying Christ and cutting off ties with God. The subtext of this is: “I don’t follow God anymore—I follow Satan. I love Satan and I’m willing to serve it; I’m willing to follow Satan. No matter how it treats me, how it ruins, tramples on, and corrupts me, I am more than willing. No matter how righteous and holy God is, no matter how much truth He expresses, I am not willing to follow Him. I dislike the truth. I like fame, status, rewards, and crowns; even if I can’t obtain them, I like them.” Just like that, they’ve followed a person who has nothing to do with them, they have run off with an antichrist who is opposed to God. Would God still want a person like this? Certainly not. Is it reasonable for God not to want them? Exceedingly so. You know from doctrine that God is a God who abhors evil, and that He is holy. You understand this doctrine, but do you know how God treats people like this? If God spurns someone, He will give up on them without hesitation. Is what I say not how things are? (It is.) This is how things are. So, does God giving up on a person such as this mean that He has a cruel heart? (No.) God is principled in His actions. If you know who God is, but you do not like to follow Him—if you know who Satan is, yet you insist on following it—then God will not force you. Go ahead and follow Satan forever. Do not come back; God has given up on you. How can one understand God’s disposition? God’s disposition is righteous and holy, and there is an element in His disposition that abhors evil. In other words, if, as a created being, you are willing to be depraved, what else can God say? God never forces people to do things they are not willing to do. He never forces people to accept the truth. If you wish to be depraved, that is your personal choice—ultimately, it is you who will bear the consequences, and you will have only yourself to blame. God’s principles for dealing with people are immutable, so if you are happy with depravity, then your inevitable end is to be punished. It does not matter how many years you may have followed God; if you wish to be depraved, God will not force you to repent. It is you who are willing to follow Satan, to be misled and ruined by Satan, and so, in the end, it is you who must bear the consequences. Some people feel sorry for people like this and waste kindness on helping them, but no matter how they are urged, they will not turn back. What is going on here? The fact is that God does not save a person like this; He does not want them. What can man do about that? It is the underlying reason. But when people cannot see a situation clearly, they should do what they are supposed to do, and perform the obligations and responsibilities they are supposed to. As to what results will come of performing these tasks, they must look to God’s leadership. Have you not come to some understanding of the phrase “God is a God who abhors evil” through these details I’ve talked about? This is one aspect of it, that God does not want those tainted by evil spirits. What is the reason God does not want them? If you have chosen Satan, how could God still want you? If you have chosen Satan, how could God still have mercy and stir your heart to make you come back? Is God capable of doing that? He is more than capable, but He chooses not to do this work because His disposition is righteous, and because He is a God who abhors evil.

Last time, our fellowship focused on how the main manifestation of the wicked essence of antichrists is their hostility toward and loathing of all positive things and truths. Today I am fellowshipping from another perspective, which is that antichrists love everything that is contrary to positive things. And what is that? (Negative things.) Yes, it’s negative things, that is, everything that goes against, contradicts, and does not agree with the truth. Antichrists don’t like positive things, so there has to be something they like, right? And what do they like? They like trickery and lies, as well as schemes, plots, and tactics. Are there antichrists who read The Thirty-Six Stratagems in their free time? I imagine so. Do you think I read The Thirty-Six Stratagems? I don’t read it. I don’t study it. What’s the use of reading it? Reading it makes Me nauseous and sick to My stomach. How do you feel after reading The Thirty-Six Stratagems? Doesn’t it make you feel even more disgusted with wicked mankind? Do you experience this feeling? The more you read it, the more disgusted you feel. You feel that this person is just too bad! Is it worthwhile to have to use stratagems for every little thing, to go to such lengths, to not be able to sleep at night or eat during the day, and to rack one’s brain to figure out how to fight? Some antichrists may study the Thirty-Six Stratagems in their free time, and pitch their wits against another person’s and against God’s. They enjoy lies, trickery, plots, schemes, as well as tactics and strategies—but do they like God’s fairness and righteousness? What is the antonym of fairness and righteousness? (Wickedness and ugliness.) Wickedness and ugliness. They like ugly things, everything that is iniquitous and unfair, everything that is unjust and improper. For example, people pursuing the truth is a just cause—how do antichrists define this? They say, “Those who pursue the truth are fools! What is the value of living a life, if one does not live it the way they want to? People must live for themselves, and as for those who live for the truth and for justice, those people are all fools!” That’s their point of view. So then, are they capable of doing just things? They are not. Can they stand up and speak out when things arise in the church that disturb and disrupt the church’s work? Not only do they not stand up, they are secretly amused and take joy in this misfortune—they are bad seeds. They are never anxious about matters to do with the work of God’s house, nor do they ever stand up and do anything to protect God’s chosen people. Those who feel secretly amused, and make a joke out of God’s house when they see evil people doing evil, and bad people tyrannizing the church—what kind of people are they? They are wicked individuals. Then what kind of people are leaders who are capable of sheltering these evil people? They are antichrists. They will not allow their own interests to be harmed, but they don’t blink an eye when the interests of the church are harmed, and they are not sad at all. Behind closed doors they are even glad that they haven’t lost anything. This is the wickedness of antichrists.

We just talked about how antichrists are averse to the truth, how they like unrighteous and wicked things, pursue interests and blessings, never let go of their intention and desire to gain blessings, and always try to make deals with God. So, how should this matter be discerned and classified? If we were to call it putting profit before all else, that would be too mild. It’s like how Paul acknowledged that he had a thorn in his flesh, and that he should work in order to atone for his sins, but in the end, still wished to gain a crown of righteousness. What’s the nature of this? (Viciousness.) It is a kind of vicious disposition. But what is the nature of this? (Making deals with God.) It has this nature. He looked for profit in everything he did, treating everything as a transaction. There’s a saying among nonbelievers: “There’s no such thing as a free lunch.” Antichrists also harbor this logic, thinking, “If I work for you, what will you give me in return? What benefits can I obtain?” How should this nature be summed up? It’s being driven by profits, putting profit before all else, and being selfish and despicable. This is the nature essence of antichrists. They believe in God solely for the purpose of obtaining profit and blessings. Even if they endure some suffering or pay some prices, it’s all in order to make a deal with God. Their intention and desire to obtain blessings and rewards is immense, and they cling to it tightly. They don’t accept any of the many truths that God has expressed, in their hearts they always think that believing in God is all about obtaining blessings and securing a good destination, that this is the highest principle, and that nothing can surpass it. They think that people should not believe in God unless for the sake of gaining blessings, and that if it wasn’t for the sake of blessings, belief in God would have no meaning or value, that it would lose its meaning and value. Were these ideas instilled in antichrists by someone else? Do they derive from someone else’s education or influence? No, they are determined by the inherent nature essence of antichrists, which is something no one can change. Despite God incarnate speaking so many words today, antichrists don’t accept any of them, but instead resist and condemn them. The nature of their being averse to the truth and hating the truth can never change. If they can’t change, what does this indicate? It indicates that their nature is wicked. This is not an issue of pursuing or not pursuing the truth; this is a wicked disposition, it is brazenly clamoring against God and antagonizing God. This is the nature essence of antichrists; it is their true face. Since antichrists are able to brazenly clamor against and oppose God, what is their disposition? It is wicked. Why do I say it is wicked? Antichrists dare to resist God and clamor against Him for the sake of obtaining blessings, and for fame, gain, and status. Why do they dare to do this? Deep within their hearts there is a force, a wicked disposition that governs them, so they are able to act unscrupulously, argue with God, and clamor against Him. Before God even says He won’t give them a crown, before God strips away their destination, their wicked disposition erupts from within their hearts, and they say, “If you don’t give me a crown and a destination, I’ll go to the third heaven and argue with you!” If it weren’t for their wicked disposition, where would they find such energy? Can most people muster such energy? Why don’t antichrists believe God’s words are the truth? Why do they tenaciously hold onto their desire for blessings? Isn’t this their wickedness once again? (It is.) The very blessings that God promises to grant people have become the ambition and desire of antichrists. They are determined to obtain them, but they don’t want to follow God’s way, and they don’t love the truth. Instead, they pursue blessings, rewards, and crowns. Even before God says He won’t grant them these things, they want to contend with God. What’s their logic? “If I can’t obtain blessings and rewards, I will argue with you, I will oppose you, and I will say that you are not god!” Aren’t they threatening God by saying such things? Aren’t they trying to overthrow Him? They even dare to deny God’s sovereignty over everything. As long as God’s actions don’t align with their will, they dare to deny that God is the Creator, the one true God. Isn’t this Satan’s disposition? Isn’t this Satan’s wickedness? Is there any difference between how antichrists act and Satan’s attitude toward God? These two approaches can be completely equated. Antichrists refuse to acknowledge God’s sovereignty over everything, and they want to wrest blessings, rewards, and crowns from God’s hands. What kind of disposition is this? On what basis do they wish to act and seize things like this? How can they muster such energy? The reason for this can now be summed up: This is the wickedness of antichrists. Antichrists don’t love the truth, yet they still want to obtain blessings and crowns, and to wrest these rewards from God’s hands. Isn’t this courting death? Do they realize they are courting death? (They don’t realize it.) They might also have a faint sense that obtaining rewards is impossible, so they first say a statement like, “If I can’t obtain blessings, I’ll go to the third heaven and argue with god!” They already foresee that it will be impossible for them to obtain blessings. After all, Satan has clamored against God in midair for many years, and what has God given it? God’s only statement to it is, “After the work is finished, I will throw you into the bottomless pit. You belong in the bottomless pit!” This is God’s only “promise” to Satan. Isn’t it twisted that it still desires rewards? This is wickedness. The inherent essence of antichrists is antagonistic toward God, and antichrists themselves do not even know why this is the case. Their hearts are solely focused on gaining blessings and crowns. Whenever anything involves the truth or God, resistance and anger arises inside them. This is wickedness. Normal people probably cannot understand the inward feelings of antichrists; it’s quite tough for antichrists. Antichrists possess such immense ambitions, they harbor such immense wicked energy within them, and such a great desire for blessings. They can be described as burning with desire. But God’s house continually fellowships on the truth—it must be very painful and difficult for them to hear it. They wrong themselves and pretend so much in order to endure it. Is this not a kind of wicked energy? If ordinary people didn’t love the truth, they would find church life uninteresting and even feel a sense of repulsion toward it. Reading God’s words and fellowshipping on the truth would feel more like suffering than pleasure to them. So, how can antichrists endure it? It is because their desire for blessings is so immense that it compels them to wrong themselves and reluctantly endure it. Moreover, they sneak into God’s house to act as Satan’s lackeys, and dedicate themselves to causing disruptions and disturbances to the work of the church. They believe that this is their mission, and until they complete their task of resisting God, they feel ill at ease and that they have let Satan down. This is determined by the nature of antichrists.