Some people are fortunate enough to be chosen as leaders in the church, but in actuality, their calibers and statures are not up to the mark. Being a leader is a high honor from God, but they don’t perceive it that way. Instead, they think, “As a leader, I am better and more elevated than others; I am no ordinary person anymore. While you all need to bow and worship before god obediently, I don’t have to, because I am different from you; you are created beings, but I am not.” Then what are you? Aren’t you also flesh and blood? How are you different from others? The difference lies in your shamelessness; you lack a sense of honor and rationality, you don’t even compare to a dog. You act arbitrarily and dictatorially, ignoring any advice from others—that’s the difference. No matter how poor their own calibers or how low their efficiency in doing things, they still think they are above the average person, believing they have ability and talent. Thus, they don’t confer with others to reach a consensus no matter what they do, thinking they are qualified or have the absolute capability to control everything. Isn’t this arrogance leading to loss of reason? Isn’t this shamelessly brazen? (Yes.) Before becoming a leader, they behaved with their tail tucked in between their legs; they believed they had talent and capability, and harbored some ambition in their actions, but just lacked the opportunity. Once they became a leader, they set themselves apart from the brothers and sisters, assuming a superior position. They began to act superior, showing their true colors; they started thinking they could achieve grand things, believing, “God’s house picked the right person; I am indeed talented—true gold is destined to glitter eventually. Look at me now: God has recognized me, hasn’t he?” Isn’t this disgusting? (It is.) You are just one among the ordinary created beings; regardless of how great your gifts or talent are, your corrupt disposition is the same as everyone else’s. If you think you are uniquely extraordinary and consider yourself superior, wanting to rise above all others, to be superior to everything, then you are mistaken. Due to this misconception, you act arbitrarily and dictatorially, without fellowshipping or conferring with others, and you even wish to bask in the obedience and compliance of others to you, which is wrong. Where does the mistake lie? (In assuming the wrong position.) Why do antichrists always stand in the wrong position? One thing is certain, which you may not have realized: There’s something extra in their humanity compared to others; they always have a kind of misconception. How does this misconception come about? It’s not given by God, but by Satan. Everything they do, everything they reveal and express, is not an instinct within the normal bounds of humanity, but is driven by an external power. Why is it said that their actions are devious, and their ambitions and desires are uncontrollable? Their desire to control people has exceeded the limits. What does exceeding the limits mean? It means resorting to any means, surpassing rationality and sense of shame; it’s irrepressible, like a spring—it may stay down temporarily when you press it down, but once you let go, it springs back up. Isn’t this being consumed by desire and driven to obsession? It’s not an exaggeration at all.

Wherever antichrists hold power in a church, that church can no longer be called a church. Those who have experienced this should have a sense of it. It’s not an atmosphere of tranquility, joy, and collective uplifting, but rather one of tumultuous disharmony. Everyone feels particularly restless and uneasy, unable to feel peace in their hearts, as if some great disaster is about to happen. The words and actions of antichrists bring about an atmosphere where people’s hearts become clouded, losing the ability to discern positive from negative things. Additionally, being misled by antichrists for a long time distances people’s hearts from God, leading to abnormal relationships with God, just like people in religion who nominally believe in God but have no place for Him in their hearts. There is also a real issue, which is that when antichrists hold power, it causes division and chaos within the church. Those who love the truth feel no enjoyment or liberation in gatherings and thus want to leave the church to believe in God at home. When the Holy Spirit works in a church, regardless of whether people understand the truth or not, everyone unites in heart and effort, creating a more peaceful and stable atmosphere, free from agitation. However, whenever antichrists act, they bring about a restless and eerie atmosphere. Their meddling leads to the emergence of factions, with people becoming defensive toward each other, judgmental of each other, and attacking each other, undermining each other behind their backs. Clearly, what role do antichrists play? They are Satan’s minions. The consequences of the actions of antichrists are: Firstly, mutual judgment, suspicion, and guardedness among the brothers and sisters; secondly, the dissolving of boundaries between men and women, gradually leading to inappropriate interactions; and thirdly, in their hearts, people become unclear about the visions, and they stop focusing on practicing the truth. They no longer know how to act in accordance with the truth principles. The little understanding of doctrines they once had is lost, their minds become clouded, and they blindly follow the antichrists, focusing only on running about doing superficial tasks. Some people can feel that following antichrists leads nowhere; if only those who pursue the truth could gather and do their duties together, what joy that would bring! Once antichrists hold power in a church, the Holy Spirit ceases to work, and darkness falls upon the brothers and sisters. Believing in God and doing duties become lackluster. If this continues for a long time, won’t the majority of the brothers and sisters be eliminated by God?

Today, in one regard, we dissected the manifestations of the arbitrary and dictatorial behavior of antichrists. In another, by dissecting these manifestations, everyone is made aware that even if you are not an antichrist, having such manifestations links you to the quality of antichrists. Is acting in an arbitrary and dictatorial manner a manifestation of normal humanity? Absolutely not; clearly, this is a display of a corrupt disposition. No matter how high your status or how many duties you can perform, if you can learn to fellowship with others, then you are upholding the principles of the truth, which is a minimum requirement. Why is it said that learning to fellowship with others equates to upholding principles? If you can learn to fellowship, it proves that you don’t treat your status as a meal ticket or take it too seriously. Regardless of how high your status, you are performing your duty. Your actions are done for the sake of performing your duty, not for status. At the same time, when encountering problems, if you can learn to fellowship and, regardless of whether it’s with ordinary brothers and sisters or those you collaborate with, you are able to seek and fellowship with them, what does this prove? It shows that you have the attitude of seeking and submitting to the truth, which firstly reflects your attitude toward God and the truth. Furthermore, performing your duty is your responsibility, and seeking the truth in your work is the path you should follow. As for how others respond to your decisions, whether they can submit or how they submit, that’s their business; but whether you can properly perform your duty and meet the standards is yours. You must understand the principles of performing duty; it’s not about submitting to some individual but submitting to the truth principles. If you feel that you understand the truth principles and, through fellowshipping with everyone, reach a consensus that everyone agrees is appropriate, but there are a few who are recalcitrant and want to cause trouble, what should be done in such a situation? In this case, the minority should follow the majority. Since most people have reached a consensus, why do they come out to cause trouble? Are they deliberately trying to cause destruction? They can express their opinions to let everyone discern them, and if everyone says that their opinions do not conform to the principles and don’t hold up, then they should abandon their viewpoints and stop holding onto them. What is the principle in dealing with this matter? One should uphold what is right and not force others to obey what is wrong. Understood? Actually, before antichrists exhibit this behavior and practice of being arbitrary and dictatorial, they already have their own plans in mind. Being arbitrary and dictatorial definitely does not refer to doing the right thing or practicing the truth. It certainly refers to doing what is wrong and what violates the truth, following the wrong path, and making wrong decisions while still expecting others to heed them. This is what is called being arbitrary and dictatorial. If something is right and conforms to the truth, then it must be adhered to. This is not being arbitrary and dictatorial; this is adhering to principles. These two should be distinguished. What is mainly referred to by antichrists being arbitrary and dictatorial? (Doing things that are not in line with principles or the truth, and still making others follow along.) Right, no matter what situation arises or what problem is being handled, they do not seek the truth principles but make decisions based on their own notions and imaginings. They know in their hearts that doing so goes against the principles but still want others to listen and submit. This is the consistent approach of antichrists.

When the work of expanding the gospel first began, some people took The Word Appears in the Flesh to religious circles to preach the gospel. The religious folks, after reading God’s words revealing mysteries, fellowshipping visions, and discussing life entry, all said they were quite good. However, they found some words of judgment and exposure about people too harsh in their choice of words. They felt as if they were being scolded and couldn’t accept it, saying, “Can god speak in a way that scolds people? These words at best seem to be written by a wise person.” The person responsible for spreading the gospel said he had a solution. Later, he altered all the parts of God’s words that didn’t align with people’s notions, imaginings, and tastes, as well as those words which he feared would cause people to develop notions after reading them. For instance, words God used to expose human nature, like “harlot,” “prostitute,” “scoundrel,” and phrases like “cast down into hell” and “cast into the lake of fire and brimstone,” were all deleted. In short, any words that could easily give rise to notions or misunderstandings were entirely removed. Tell Me, after removing these words of judgment, condemnation, and cursing from God’s words, do they remain God’s original words? (No.) Are they still the words expressed by God in His work of judgment? This “old gentleman” didn’t confer with anyone and deleted many of God’s words that were especially harsh about refinement and exposing people’s corrupt dispositions, particularly those pertaining to the time of the trial of the service-doers. Later, when the religious people read the revised version, they said, “Not bad, we can believe in such a god,” and they accepted it. This old gentleman thought to himself, “Look how smart I am! It’s not wise for god’s words to be too harsh. With those people, it’s all about coaxing them—how could you say things that might be mistaken for scolding? That’s not wise! I made some changes, and look what happened: Even the religious pastors are willing to believe, and more and more people are accepting it. How about that? Aren’t I wise? Aren’t I smart? Isn’t that quite impressive?” The results of his changes made him exceedingly proud of himself. However, some religious people who entered the church found that the words of God they had read were altered and different from the original texts in the church, and this issue was raised. It was later discovered that this old gentleman had changed the content of God’s words. What do you think about what this old gentleman did? Let’s not mention anything else and just say: Those words were not yours, you had no right to change them. Even if it were an article or book written by a human, if you want to make changes, you first need to obtain the original author’s consent. If they agree, you can make changes. If they don’t agree, you absolutely cannot alter even a single word. This is called respecting the author and the readers. If the author lacks the energy to make modifications and authorizes you, saying you can change anything as long as it stays true to the original meaning and achieves the desired effect, can you then make changes? (Yes.) If the author has given their consent or authorization, then changes can be made. What is this kind of behavior called? It’s justifiable, legitimate, and proper, right? But what if the author has not agreed and you change it without their authorization? What is that called? (Being reckless and willful.) That’s called being reckless and willful, arbitrary and dictatorial. Now, what did this old gentleman change? (God’s words.) The original words of God, which carry God’s mood, disposition, and intentions toward humankind. God’s words are meaningful in the way they are said. Do you know the mood, purpose, and desired effect behind each word spoken by God? If you can’t fathom it, why blindly make changes? Each sentence spoken by God, the choice of words, the tone, and the atmosphere, mood, and emotions they make people feel, are all carefully formulated and considered. God has deliberation and wisdom. What did this old gentleman think? He regarded God’s way of speaking as unwise. That’s how he viewed God’s work. He believed, “Those in religion who wish only to eat their fill of bread need to be coaxed and treated with love and mercy. The words cannot be so harsh. If they are too harsh, how can the gospel be spread? Can the gospel still expand then?” Doesn’t God know about this? (Yes.) God knows very well. Then why does He still speak in this way? This is God’s disposition. What is God’s disposition? To speak in His way, whether you believe or not. If you believe, you are one of God’s sheep; if you don’t, you are a wolf. God’s words expose you and scold you a bit, and you then refuse to acknowledge that you are a believer in God? What, are you no longer a created being of God? Has God ceased to be God? If you can deny God because of this, then you are an evil person, a devil. God does not save such people, so the church should not forcibly or coaxingly accept them. Some people say: “Even if God scolds me, I am happily willing. If He is God, He can save me. If He strikes me, it is deserved. If He calls me a muddleheaded person, then that’s what I am, and even more muddledheaded than that; if He calls me a harlot, although I don’t seem to have done what a harlot does, since God says it, I acknowledge and accept it.” They have the simplest belief, acknowledgment, and acceptance, and the simplest God-fearing heart. God wants to gain such people. Some people find God’s words too harsh and piercing, feeling they won’t receive blessings, and thus don’t want to believe anymore. They think, “Even if you are god, I won’t believe in you. If you speak like this, I won’t follow you.” Then beat it! If you don’t even acknowledge God, how can God recognize you as His created being? That’s impossible! God’s words are laid out here; believe them or not, it’s your call. If you don’t believe, then take a hike. You will miss out. If you believe, you will have a glimmer of hope for salvation. Isn’t this fair? (Yes.) But did this old gentleman think this way? Could he see through God’s thoughts? (No.) Wasn’t he foolish? People who do not have spiritual understanding commit such foolish acts. He perceived God as very insignificant and simple, thinking God’s thoughts were not much higher than human thinking. He often spoke of God’s thoughts being higher than man’s, preaching these grand doctrines during ordinary times, but when actually confronted with a situation, he tossed these words to the back of his mind, feeling that these words of God did not seem like something God would say. In his heart, he did not acknowledge these words of God, so he just couldn’t accept them. Just as the gospel was being spread, he took the opportunity to change God’s words, even under the guise of “spreading the gospel effectively and gaining more people.” How did I ultimately designate his behavior? As tampering with God’s words. What does tampering mean? It means arbitrarily adding, subtracting, or altering the original meaning, changing the author’s intended meaning, disregarding the author’s initial intentions and purpose in speaking, and then randomly altering them. This is called tampering. Did he have a God-fearing heart? (No.) Such audacity! Is this something a human would do? (No.) It’s the work of a devil, not of a human. You can’t even casually alter the words of an ordinary person; you must respect the author’s opinion. If you want to make changes, you need to notify them in advance and get their consent, and only after receiving their permission can you make modifications according to the original meanings. This is called respect. When it comes to God, what’s required is much more than just respect! If even a single sentence in God’s words is printed incorrectly, if it’s missing even a single grammatical article, you have to ask if it’s acceptable; if not, you have to reprint that page. This requires such a serious and responsible attitude; this is called having a God-fearing heart. Did this old gentleman have such a heart? (No.) He did not have a God-fearing heart. He considered God beneath him; he was utterly audacious. Such a person should be expelled.

A similar incident happened recently. Some people once again used the excuse of spreading the gospel and gaining more people as a reason to recklessly alter God’s words. This time it was slightly better than the last; in the last instance, it was done arbitrarily and dictatorially, without fellowshipping with others, acting randomly and heedlessly to tamper with God’s words. This time, they asked the Above first, saying, “The people from a certain ethnic group can’t accept some of the terms in god’s words. We’ve come up with a strategy to remove or change those terms, and the parts of sayings or passages in god’s words they can’t accept, and then preach to them with a specially tailored version of god’s words. Wouldn’t they believe then?” Look at that; they’re truly audacious. What kind of behavior is this? If treated leniently, such people could simply be considered foolish and ignorant, and too young; they could just be told not to do so again. But if we judge the nature of what they did, they were casually altering God’s words to please Satan. What is this called? This is the behavior of Judas, of traitors and rebels, selling out the Lord for glory. They tampered with God’s words, making them more palatable and agreeable to people to please them and get them to accept the gospel—what does this amount to? Even if not a single person on earth believes, do God’s words cease to be God’s words? Does the nature of God’s words change? (No.) Are God’s words only the truth if they accept them, and if they don’t, His words are not the truth? Can the nature of God’s words change because of this? Absolutely not. The truth is the truth; if you don’t accept it, you perish! Some people spreading the gospel think, “How pitiful they are for not accepting! What a great and noble people they are. God loves and mercies them so much, how can we not show them some love? Let’s change god’s words so they can accept. How wonderful those people are, and how good and merciful god is toward them. We should be considerate of god’s intentions!” Isn’t this posing? (Yes.) Another imposter—those who don’t understand the truth can only do foolish things! It has already been said that someone who tampered with God’s words was handled and expelled, and now there are people who want to tamper with them again. What are they trying to achieve? Isn’t this selling out the Lord for glory? (Yes.) This is selling out the Lord for glory, pleasing Satan. Are God’s words not practical? Can’t they be presented openly? Don’t you acknowledge them as the truth? If you don’t acknowledge them, then why do you still believe? If you can’t accept the truth, what’s the point of believing in God? It’s impossible to achieve salvation like this. No matter how God speaks, whatever words He uses that don’t align with your notions, He is still God, and His essence does not change. No matter how pleasant you speak, no matter what you do, no matter how kind, benevolent, or loving you think you are, you are still a human, a corrupt human. You refuse to acknowledge God’s words as the truth and attempt to alter God’s words to please Satan. What kind of behavior is this? It’s contemptible! I thought that after previous fellowships about the nature of tampering with God’s words, such an issue wouldn’t arise in spreading the gospel again now. Yet, unbelievably, there are still people daring to tamper and entertain such thoughts. What is the attitude of these people toward God’s words? (Irreverence.) They are utterly reckless! In their hearts, God’s words are as light as feathers, they are of no consequence. They think, “God’s words can be put in any way; I can change his words as I please. It’s better to make them align with human notions and tastes. That’s what god’s words should be!” Those who do such things as tampering with God’s words can be labeled as antichrists. They act recklessly and thoughtlessly, randomly tampering; they are arbitrary and dictatorial, and share the same disposition and quality as other antichrists. And there’s another point: What is their first thought and action when they face danger or when their own interests are harmed? What do they choose? They choose to betray God’s interests and the interests of God’s house to protect themselves. Those who tamper with God’s words, do they really do it to effectively spread the gospel? What’s the ulterior motive behind their so-called effectiveness? They want to show off their talents and capabilities, making people see, “Look how capable I am! See how effectively the gospel spreads after my alterations? You don’t have the same skills, you wouldn’t even dare to think like that. Look, with my thoughts and actions, see the results I achieved?” These people disregard God’s words and tamper with them to satisfy their own ambition and desire to pursue fame and status. Don’t they have the character of an antichrist? Labeling them as antichrists is not at all unjust.

What is another manifestation of the arbitrariness and dictatorialness of antichrists? They never fellowship the truth with the brothers and sisters, nor do they resolve people’s actual problems. Instead, they merely preach words and doctrines to lecture people, and even force others to obey them. What about their attitude and approach toward the Above and toward God? It is nothing but deceit and duplicity. Regardless of the issues within the church, they never report anything to the Above. Whatever they do, they never inquire of the Above. It seems as though they have no issues that require fellowship or guidance from the Above—everything they do is furtive and secretive, and behind the scenes. This is called underhanded manipulation, where they wish to have the final say and be the decision-maker. However, sometimes they also masquerade, bringing up trivial matters to inquire of the Above, posing as someone pursuing the truth, leading the Above to mistakenly believe they seek the truth in everything with utmost meticulousness. In reality, they never seek guidance on any significant matter, making unilateral decisions and keeping the Above in the dark. If any problem arises, they are even less likely to report it, fearing that it might affect their power, status, or reputation. Antichrists act arbitrarily and dictatorially; they never fellowship with others and force others to obey them. To put it plainly, the primary manifestations of this behavior are engaging in personal management; cultivating their influence, personal clique, and connections; pursuing their own ventures; and then, they do whatever they please, doing things that benefit themselves, and acting without transparency. The wish and desire of antichrists to have others submit to them are particularly strong; they expect people to obey them like a hunter making his hound obey his commands, not allowing any discernment of right or wrong, insisting on absolute compliance and submission.

Another manifestation of the arbitrariness and dictatorialness of antichrists can be observed in the following scenario. For instance, if the leader of a certain church is an antichrist, and if higher-level leaders and workers intend to learn about and intervene in the work of that church, would this antichrist agree? Absolutely not. To what extent does he control the church? Like an impenetrable fortress, where neither needle can pierce nor water seep in, he allows no one else to get involved or inquire. When he learns that leaders and workers are coming to learn about the work, he says to the brothers and sisters, “I don’t know what these people’s aim is in coming. They don’t understand the actual situation of our church. If they interfere, they could disturb our church’s work.” That’s how he misleads the brothers and sisters. Once the leaders and workers arrive, he finds various reasons and excuses to prevent the brothers and sisters from contacting them, while hypocritically entertaining the leaders and workers, keeping them secluded in a place under the guise of ensuring their safety; but in reality, it’s to prevent them from meeting the brothers and sisters and learning about the situation from them. When the leaders and workers inquire about the work situation, the antichrist engages in deception via presenting a false image; he deceives those above him and hides the truth from those below him, pads his statements, and exaggerates the work’s effectiveness to deceive them. When the leaders and workers suggest meeting with the church’s brothers and sisters, he replies, “I haven’t made any arrangements! You didn’t notify me before coming. If you had, I would have arranged for some of the brothers and sisters to meet you. But given the current hostile environment, for safety reasons, it’s better you don’t meet with the brothers and sisters.” Although his words sound reasonable, a discerning person can detect the issue: “He doesn’t want the leaders and workers to meet with the brothers and sisters because he fears being exposed, afraid that the flaws and deviations in his work will be revealed.” The antichrist tightly controls the brothers and sisters of the church. If the leaders and workers are not responsible, they can easily be deceived and fooled by the antichrist. The actual situation of the church’s brothers and sisters, their difficulties that remain unresolved, whether the Above’s fellowships and sermons and books of God’s words are timely delivered to the brothers and sisters, how the various work projects of the church are progressing, whether there are deviations or problems—all these things the leaders and workers would not know. The brothers and sisters are also unaware of any new work arrangements in God’s house; thus, the antichrist completely controls the church, monopolizing power and having the final say in matters. The church’s brothers and sisters have no opportunity to contact the upper-level leaders and workers, and not knowing the factual truth, they are misled and controlled by the antichrist. These inspection leaders and workers, regardless of how the antichrist speaks, lack discernment and still think the antichrist is doing good work, placing their complete trust in him. This is tantamount to entrusting God’s chosen people to the antichrist’s care. If, during the antichrist’s deception, the leaders and workers are unable to discern, are irresponsible, and do not know how to handle it, isn’t this hindering the church’s work and harming God’s chosen people? Such leaders and workers, are they not false leaders and workers? With regard to a church controlled by an antichrist, the leaders and workers must intervene and make inquiries, and they need to promptly handle and get rid of the antichrist—this is without question. If there are false leaders who do not do real work and ignore the antichrist’s misleading of God’s chosen people, the chosen people should expose these false leaders and workers, report them, remove them from their positions, and replace them with good leaders. This is the only way to thoroughly resolve the issue of the antichrist misleading people. Some may say, “Such leaders and workers might be of poor caliber and lack discernment, which is why they failed to handle and resolve the issue of the antichrist. They are not doing it intentionally; shouldn’t they be given another chance?” For such muddleheaded leaders, no more chances should be given. If given another chance, they will only continue to harm God’s chosen people. This is because they are not people who pursue the truth; they lack conscience and reason, and are unprincipled in their actions—they are despicable people who should be eliminated! In the past two years, some brothers and sisters in certain churches have united to dismiss, replace, and eliminate such false leaders and antichrists who do not do real work. Isn’t that a good thing? (Yes.) It pleases Me to hear of such good news; it is the best evidence of God’s chosen people growing in life and entering the right track of believing in God. This shows that people have gained some discernment and stature, and are no longer controlled by false leaders and antichrist demons. Ordinary false leaders and antichrists can no longer mislead or control God’s chosen people, who are not constrained by status or power anymore. They have the courage to discern and expose false leaders and antichrists, daring to banish and dismiss them. In fact, whether leaders and workers or the ordinary among God’s chosen ones, they all have equal status before God, differing only in their duties. In God’s house, there is no distinction in status, only differences in duty and responsibility. When faced with false leaders and antichrists disturbing the work of the church, both leaders and workers and God’s chosen people should expose and report them, handling them promptly, expelling the antichrists from the church. This responsibility is the same and shared by all.