B. Scrutiny and Analysis, Along With Curiosity

Next we come to the second item—scrutiny and analysis, along with curiosity. Is this item easy to understand? With regard to the actions and words of God incarnate, as well as the personality or disposition revealed in His every word and deed, or even His preferences, normal people should treat these correctly. Those who truly follow God and pursue the truth regard these outward revelations of Christ as the normal side of His flesh. Regarding the words that Christ speaks, they can listen to and grasp them with an attitude of treating them as the truth, from these words understanding God’s intentions, understanding the principles of practice, and finding a path of practice to enter into the truth reality. But antichrists behave differently. When they observe Christ speaking and acting, what is contained within their hearts is not acceptance or submission, but scrutiny: “Where do these words come from? How are they spoken? One sentence after another—are they premeditated or inspired by the holy spirit? Are these words learned or prepared in advance? Why don’t I know? Some of these words sound quite ordinary, just plain talk. This doesn’t seem like god; does god really speak so normally, so commonly? I can’t figure it out through scrutinizing, so I’ll observe what he does in the background. Does he read newspapers? Has he read any famous books? Does he study grammar? What kinds of people does he usually interact with?” They do not hold an attitude of submission or acceptance of the truth, but rather scrutinize Christ with the attitude of a scholar conducting scientific research or studying academic subjects. They scrutinize the content of Christ’s words and His manner of speaking, the listeners Christ addresses, as well as Christ’s attitude and purpose each time He speaks. Whenever Christ speaks or acts, everything that reaches their ears, everything they can see, and everything they hear about becomes an object of their scrutiny. They scrutinize every word and sentence spoken by Christ, every action He takes, every individual He handles, His way of treating people, His speech and demeanor, gaze and facial expressions, even His living habits and routines, and His way of interacting with and attitudes toward others—they scrutinize all of these. Through this scrutiny, the antichrists conclude: However I look at Christ, He appears to possess normal humanity; He is quite ordinary, with nothing particularly special about Him except for the ability to express the truth. Could this really be God incarnate? No matter how much they scrutinize, they cannot arrive at a definite conclusion; no matter how much they scrutinize, they cannot ascertain if Christ is the God they acknowledge in their hearts. They are those who scrutinize Christ, not those who experience God’s work—how can they attain a knowledge of God?

Antichrists, in their scrutiny of Christ, are unable to see God’s grandeur, unable to see God’s righteousness, almightiness, and authoritativeness. No matter how they scrutinize, they cannot come to the conclusion that Christ possesses the essence of God; they are unable to see through and understand this. Some people say: “Where you cannot see through or understand, there is truth to be sought.” To which an antichrist would respond: “I don’t see any truth to be sought here; there are only suspicious details worth deeply scrutinizing.” After their scrutiny and analysis, they conclude: This Christ can only speak some words and, beyond that, has nothing different from ordinary people. He lacks special gifts, has no unique abilities, and does not even possess the supernatural powers to perform signs and wonders like Jesus did. Everything He says is the words of a mortal. So, is He really Christ? This result awaits further analysis and scrutiny. No matter how they look, they cannot see the essence of God in Christ; no matter how they scrutinize, they cannot conclude that Christ has the identity of God. In the eyes of an antichrist, the flesh in which god is incarnate should possess extraordinary powers, special gifts, the ability to display miracles, and the essence and capability to manifest and exercise god’s authority. However, this ordinary person before them lacks all these qualities, and His speech is not highly eloquent; even when describing many things, He uses colloquial language that does not fit with human notions, not even reaching the level of a university professor. No matter how antichrists scrutinize Christ’s speech, how they scrutinize Christ’s actions, as well as His attitude and manner in doing things, they cannot see that Christ—this ordinary person—possesses the essence of God. Therefore, in the antichrists’ hearts, what makes this ordinary person most worthy of following are the many things, words, and phenomena they cannot see through—this is what is worthy of their scrutiny and analysis, it is their greatest motivation for following this person. What content and topics are worth their scrutiny and analysis? It is these words about life entry spoken by Christ; ordinary people really can’t say such things, they truly don’t have them, and such words are indeed not found in a second person among humankind—it’s unknown where they come from. Antichrists scrutinize over and over, but can never reach a conclusion about this. For example, when I speak about how someone is, what their essence and disposition are, ordinary people will meticulously match these details to the actual person and verify the matter. When antichrists hear these words, they do not adopt an attitude of acceptance to match and understand the matter, but to analyze. What do they analyze? “How do you know about this person’s situation? How do you know they have such a disposition? What is your basis for defining it? You haven’t had much contact with them, so how do you understand them? We’ve been in contact with them for so long, why can’t we see through or understand them? I need to observe and not just take your word for it. What you say might not be accurate or correct.” Over the course of some people’s interactions with Me, I may guide them in a certain job or profession. If the manner and method of this guidance aligns with the technical knowledge they possess and satisfies them, they will reluctantly execute it. But if it doesn’t satisfy them, they will resist in their hearts and ponder, “Why do you do it this way? Isn’t this contrary to this field? Why should I listen to you? If what you say is wrong, I can’t listen to you; I have to follow my own way. If you are right, I need to understand how you are right, how you came to know this. Did you study it? If you didn’t study, how could you possibly know? If you didn’t study it, you shouldn’t understand it; if you do understand it, that’s abnormal. How do you understand it? Who told you, or did you learn it secretly on your own?” They inwardly analyze and scrutinize. Every sentence I speak, every matter I handle, must pass through the antichrists’ filter, undergo their audit. Only if it passes their audit will they accept it; if it doesn’t, they will criticize, form judgments, and generate resistance.

The flesh in which God is incarnate is the greatest mystery to all people. No one can comprehend what’s really happening in this regard, nor can anyone understand how God’s essence is realized in this flesh—how God has become a person, how this person can speak the words from God’s mouth and perform God’s work, and how exactly God’s Spirit guides and directs this person. In all this work, people have neither seen grand visions nor observed any significant movements from this flesh—there doesn’t appear to be anything special going on; everything seems normal. Imperceptibly, God has brought the glory that was in Israel to the East. Through this person’s speaking and working, a new age has thus begun, and the old one has ended, without anyone realizing how it happened. However, those who truly believe in God, who are simple and open-hearted, who possess humanity and reason, do not scrutinize these matters. If they don’t scrutinize, what do they do? Merely wait passively? No—they see that these words are the truth, believe that the source of all these words is God, and thus acknowledge the fact that this ordinary person is Christ, accepting Him as their Lord and God, without considering anything else. Antichrists, on the other hand, cannot see that all these words and all this work come from God, that the source of all this speaking and working is God, and therefore do not accept this ordinary person as their Lord and God. Instead, they intensify their scrutiny and resist in their hearts. What do they resist? “No matter how much you speak, no matter how great the work you do, no matter who your source is, as long as you are an ordinary person, as long as your way of speaking doesn’t align with my notions, as long as your appearance isn’t grand enough to catch my eye or earn my respect, I will scrutinize and analyze you. You are the object of my scrutiny; I cannot accept you as my lord, as my god.” In the process of their scrutiny and analysis, antichrists not only fail to resolve their notions, rebelliousness, and corrupt dispositions, but their notions grow by the day and become increasingly serious. For instance, when a church leader is revealed as an antichrist, causing disturbances and destruction in that church, the first reaction of antichrists, when such an event occurs, is to ask: “Does christ know about this? Who appointed this church leader? What is christ’s reaction to this? How is he handling it? Does christ know this person? Has christ previously said this person is an antichrist, or prophesied this event? Now that such a major issue has arisen in this church, was christ the first to know?” I say I didn’t know, I’ve just learned about it too. “That’s not right—you are god, you are christ; why don’t you know? You should know.” It is precisely because I am Christ, an ordinary person, that I am not required to know. The church has its administrative decrees and principles for handling people. When antichrists appear, they can be cleared out and expelled according to the church’s principles. This reflects God holding power, it reflects the truth holding power. I don’t need to know everything. If the church fails to handle matters according to its administrative decrees and principles for handling people, then I will intervene. However, if the brothers and sisters understand the principles of God’s house in clearing out and expelling people, I don’t need to get involved. Where the truth holds power, I don’t need to intervene. Isn’t this very normal? (Yes.) But antichrists can create issues and develop notions on this matter, even using these notions to deny Christ and condemn the fact that Christ possesses the essence of God. This is just what antichrists do. Because something doesn’t match their notions, imaginings, or expectations, they can deny the essence of Christ. Their scrutiny of each and every aspect of Christ leads to this conclusion: They do not see the essence of God in Christ; thus, they cannot define this person as having the essence and identity of God. This leads to a situation where, when nothing happens, it’s fine, but as soon as something occurs, antichrists are the first to jump out and deny Christ’s identity and condemn Christ. So just what is the purpose of antichrists’ scrutiny? Their scrutiny and analysis are not to better understand the truth but to find evidence and seize leverage, to deny the fact of God incarnating in the flesh, to deny the fact that the flesh in which God is incarnate is Christ, is God. This is the motive and goal behind antichrists scrutinizing and analyzing Christ.

Antichrists, while following Christ and posing as followers, carry an attitude of scrutiny and analysis, and ultimately fail to understand the truth or ascertain the fact that Christ is the Lord, is God. But why do they still follow so reluctantly, so unwillingly, and reside within God’s house? One point we’ve discussed before is that they harbor the intention of receiving blessings; they are ambitious. Another point is that antichrists possess a curiosity not found in ordinary people. What kind of curiosity? It is their fascination with strange and unusual occurrences. Antichrists are especially curious about all the strange and unusual occurrences, all the events that transcend the laws of nature, in the world. They have a desire to delve into many things and get to the bottom of them. What is the essence of this probing? It is sheer arrogance, wanting to understand everything, to know the truth behind everything, lest they appear incompetent. Regardless of the matter, they want to be the first to know, to be the most informed and most knowledgeable about the ins and outs of this matter—they want to become the “most” in every regard. So, they don’t pass over or miss out on the matter of God incarnating in the flesh either. They say, “The incarnation of god is the greatest mystery in the human world. What exactly is going on with this greatest mystery, this most wonderful thing? Since it exceeds ordinary expectations and this flesh is different from ordinary humans, where does the difference lie? I must see and understand for myself.” What do they mean when they say “see and understand for themselves”? They mean, “I have traveled to various countries in the world, visited famous mountains and historical sites, and interviewed famous and wise individuals; they are all just ordinary people. The only one I haven’t met or learned from is this christ. What exactly is the essence of this christ? I must see and understand for myself.” What exactly do they want to see and understand? “I’ve heard that god can perform signs and wonders. They say Jesus is the lord, is christ; what signs and wonders did he perform to satisfy people’s curiosity? I remember one incident where, after the lord Jesus cursed a fig tree, it withered away. Can this christ now do the same? I must see and understand, and if I get the chance, test him to see if he can perform such acts. It is said that god incarnate possesses god’s authority, enabling the paralyzed to walk, the blind to see, the deaf to hear, and the sick to be healed. These are miraculous and novel events; in the human world, they are considered outstanding abilities that ordinary people don’t have. This is something I have to see for myself.” Additionally, there is another, most significant, matter that preoccupies their mind. They say: “What exactly is the deal with past and present lives, and the cycle of reincarnation in this human world? Ordinary people can’t explain this clearly. Since god has become flesh and god governs everything, does christ know about this? When there’s a chance, I must ask him and inquire about this matter; I’ll have him examine my appearance and see if my destiny is good, what I was in my past life, whether I was an animal or a human. If he knows these things, then I’ll be impressed; that would make him extraordinary, beyond ordinary people, and possibly christ. Also, they say there is god’s throne and dwelling place in heaven, so does this incarnated god know where god’s dwelling and the kingdom of heaven are? It is said that the kingdom of heaven has streets paved with gold, resplendent and splendid; if this incarnated god could take us for a tour, wouldn’t our whole lives have been worthwhile, our faith not in vain? Moreover, we wouldn’t need to farm; when hungry, christ could simply turn stones into food with one sentence. With five loaves and two fish, he fed five thousand people; wouldn’t that be a great advantage for us? And what about when christ speaks? They say he provides living water, but where is this living water? How does it get supplied, how does it flow? These are all matters worth exploring, each one quite novel. If I could witness just one of these with my own eyes, then I would become a person of insight in this lifetime, not just an ordinary person.” Isn’t this curiosity getting the better of them? (Yes.)

Some people come to believe in God, to accept Christ, and to follow Christ, not to obtain the truth, but with other ideas in mind. Some people, as soon as they meet Me, ask, “What do the seven plagues and seven bowls in Revelation mean? What does the white horse signify? Has the three-and-a-half-year calamity arrived yet?” I respond, “What are you asking about? What is Revelation?” They retort, “You don’t even know about Revelation? They say you are god, but I’m not so sure!” Others ask, “During the process of spreading the gospel, we encounter people asking about mystical matters. What should we do?” I don’t even wait for them to finish and say, “Anyone who always asks about mysteries instead of seeking the truth is not someone who accepts the truth; they cannot be saved in the future. Those who always seek mysteries are no good; don’t spread the gospel to such people.” Why do I say this? Who, after all, is asking these questions? It’s not someone else; it’s themselves. They want to ask these questions and know the answers to them, and they think I don’t know who’s asking, as if I can’t see through them! After I say this, they hear it and think, “God said I am no good, so I won’t ask anymore.” How about My approach? Did it not effectively shut them up? If I had answered them, wouldn’t that have played right into their scheme? They would then take an inch and want a mile, asking questions endlessly. Do I have the obligation to explain these things to them? What could you even do with this knowledge? Even if I know, I won’t tell you. Why should I tell you? Am I an interpreter of scriptures? Have you come here for theological studies? You come to scrutinize Me, and should I just open up My heart for your scrutiny? Is that appropriate? You come to test Me, and should I allow you to test Me? Is that appropriate? You are not here to accept the truth; you come asking questions with an attitude of hostility, doubt, and inquiry. I wouldn’t possibly give you answers. Some people say, “Isn’t it necessary to answer any question?” That depends on the matter. When it comes to the truth and church work, I still have to consider the situation. If I have already told you before and you still pretend not to know, pretending to inquire humbly, then I won’t respond to you. I will prune you, and after that, you will understand. From the perspective of how antichrists scrutinize and analyze Christ, and their curiosity about the essence of Christ and God, what exactly are antichrists scrutinizing? They are scrutinizing the truth. They treat everything God does as objects of their scrutiny and analysis, using this as a way to pass time. They follow God as if they were scholars studying a certain field or a certain body of knowledge, just like disbelievers attending a theological school. Can such people receive God’s enlightenment? Can they receive light? Can they understand the truth? (No.)

In the church, there are some tasks that have never been encountered before, and some involve professional work. When I guide such work, some people listen earnestly and humbly, grasping the principles that should be observed in doing these duties, and the truth reality that should be practiced and entered into. However, some people rack their brains scrutinizing in their hearts; they think, “You haven’t studied these fields. Besides, can you really learn so many fields? Who can understand and know everything? On what basis do you guide us? Why should we listen to you? Although sometimes what you say when guiding us really makes sense, how do you know this? If I don’t study something, I won’t know about it. I need to ponder, strive to learn more, see more, hear more, and try to get to the point where I don’t need your guidance and can do it myself. It seems you are also learning as you go, mastering it bit by bit.” They just look at external appearances, not seeing that, in one regard, no matter what this person says or does, there are principles—regardless of which work is being guided, it is being done according to principle, and this principle is related to the actual needs of people and the desired results of the actual work. In another regard, and most importantly, this person hasn’t learned anything; His knowledge, learning, insight, and experience are not remarkable. But there is one thing people should not forget: Regardless of whether or not His insight, knowledge, experience, and expertise are rich or noteworthy, the source responsible for performing the current work is not this external flesh, but the essence of this flesh—God Himself. Therefore, if you judge based on the appearance of this flesh—His height and looks, the tone, intonation, and way of speaking—you will not be able to explain or fathom why He can undertake and be competent in these tasks, you will not be able to see through it. Does not being able to see through it mean it’s an unresolvable matter? No, it can be resolved. You don’t need to see through it; you just need to know, remember, and acknowledge one thing: Christ is the flesh in which God is incarnate. The principles, stance, and attitude people should have toward Christ are not to scrutinize, analyze, or satisfy their curiosity, but to acknowledge, accept, listen, and submit. If you scrutinize and analyze, will that ultimately allow you to see the essence of God? It will not. God does not allow anyone to analyze or scrutinize Him; the more you scrutinize and analyze, the more God will hide from you. What do people feel when God hides? It is that the concept of God in their heart becomes vague, their concept of the truth becomes unclear, and everything about the path they should follow is blurred. It’s like there’s a wall blocking your view; you can’t see the direction ahead, it’s all hazy. Where is God? Who is God? Does God really exist? These questions are like a black wall standing in front of you, which is God hiding His face from you, making it so you can’t see Him. All these visions become vague for you, they become lost, and darkness fills your heart. When your heart is darkened, do you still have a path ahead? Do you still know what to do? You don’t. No matter how clear your original direction and goals were, when you scrutinize and analyze God, they will become vague and dark. When people fall into such a situation, such a state, they are in danger; this is what happens for those who focus on scrutinizing God. Antichrists are always in such a situation, with pitch blackness ahead, unable to discern what are positive things, what is the truth. No matter what God does, they are unable to confirm that it is indeed God, that it is God Himself; no matter how they look, they only see the incarnation as a person, because they are always scrutinizing and analyzing, so God also continues to blind them. You see them with their eyes wide open, bright and large, but they are still blind. When God hides His face from people, it is like their hearts are calloused, plunged into utter darkness. They only see the superficial phenomena, unable to perceive the path lying within, failing to understand the underlying truth—even more, they cannot see God’s essence or His disposition.

Subjecting God’s appearance and work to analysis and scrutiny will not yield any results. It is vital not to fall into a state of analyzing and scrutinizing; this is a path of negativity. What is the positive path then? It is that once you firmly believe this is God’s work, that this ordinary person is the flesh in which God is incarnate and has God’s essence, then you should accept and submit unconditionally. People feel that this flesh has many aspects that are disagreeable, many aspects that are contrary to human notions and imaginings; that is an issue with people. God operates in this way, and what needs to change are people’s notions, their corrupt dispositions, and their attitudes toward God, not the flesh in which God is incarnate. People need to seek the truth here, seek God’s intentions, and assume their proper perspective and position, rather than acknowledging Him as God and nevertheless still wanting to scrutinize Him, or analyze and discuss what He does and says. That would be a major problem. When your position and your angle of accepting the truth are wrong, the outcome of how you view everything will change, affecting the path and direction of your pursuit. In whatever God does or says, whether it fits with human notions or not is just a temporary issue. The contribution and value of all that God does for humankind, the value it brings to human life, are eternal. They cannot be changed by any person, any academic discipline, any argument or theory, or any trend. This is the value of the truth. It might be that at present, the words and actions of this ordinary person cannot satisfy your curiosity or vanity, nor can they fully convince you or win you over in both heart and speech; however, the contributions of all the words He speaks today and all the work He does in this age and during this period to the whole of humankind, to the entire age, and to God’s overall management plan, are eternally unchangeable—this is a fact. Therefore, one day you will realize: “Twenty or thirty years ago, I scrutinized, misinterpreted, resisted, and even judged and condemned a certain statement made by this ordinary person. Twenty or thirty years later, when I revisit that statement, my heart is filled with indebtedness and self-reproach.” Corrupt humans are lowly and insignificant before God, they are forever infants, not worth mentioning. No matter how much work a person does, compared to the contribution to the whole of humankind of every word spoken by God in any period and under any context, the difference is like that between heaven and earth! So, you must understand that God is not an object for people to scrutinize, analyze, and doubt. The work of God and the flesh in which God is incarnate are not here to satisfy people’s curiosity. He does all this work not to pass time or to while away the days—His intention is to save the people of an age, to save the whole of humankind, and the results of the work He intends to accomplish are to last forever. Antichrists treat Christ as an ordinary person to scrutinize and analyze, to satisfy their curiosity. What is the nature of this? Can it be understood or forgiven? They are unremitting sinners, cursed and eternally unforgivable! If a person has humanity, understands the truth, and possesses the truth reality, even scrutinizing them is quite repulsive. Treating Christ as an ordinary person and inwardly scrutinizing Him, treating everything He does with hostility and slander, and seeking only to satisfy your curiosity about the words He speaks—even some people, upon seeing Me, say, “Fellowship some more truth, fellowship more about the language of the third heaven, say more things we don’t know”—what do they take this person for? Someone to relieve their boredom? How does God define this matter? Isn’t this blasphemy against God? If it’s directed at people, it’s called mockery and ridicule; if it’s directed at God, it’s blasphemy.

Within the content of this manifestation—scrutiny, analysis, and curiosity—the nature essence of antichrists reveals itself as wickedness, as being averse to the truth. They ignore all positive things; they despise them and treat them with a dismissive attitude, not even sparing the flesh in which God is incarnate. They need to satisfy their curiosity in all matters, subjecting everything to their scrutiny, wanting to draw conclusions and get to the bottom of everything, to figure out what’s going on, so that they appear knowledgeable and intelligent. This is the corrupt disposition of humans. Having become accustomed to scrutinizing everything, they now turn their scrutiny to God. And what does this bring them? Perfection and salvation? No, it only brings them perdition and destruction! This is how antichrists are defined. They are cursed and condemnable. In their approach to the flesh in which God is incarnate, they never adopt the position of followers or created beings to accept and view Him; instead, they perceive and regard Him from the angle and standpoint of a scholar, of a know-it-all, of someone brimming with curiosity, and of an arrogant individual who is incapable of comprehending the truth and who despises positive things. It is quite clear that such people cannot be saved.

June 6, 2020