Some people constantly proclaim their faith in God, but when events befall them, they seek every brother’s and sister’s opinion while never seeking the opinion of Christ. They don’t inquire about what Christ says, what His conclusion is, why He wants to do this thing, or how people should submit. They have sought every brother’s and sister’s opinion and are able to respect all of their opinions and thoughts, but they don’t accept a single sentence spoken by Christ, showing no intention to submit. What is the nature of this? Aren’t they antichrists? (Yes.) What’s going on in this situation? Why don’t they implement this matter? Why is it so hard for them to implement? There’s a reason for this. They think, “Christ has the truth and god’s essence, but that’s all official talk, just doctrines and slogans. When it comes to the real matters, you can’t see through anyone at all. Your words are just spoken for us to hear, printed in books, and have nothing at all to do with your actual capabilities. So, if you determine someone to be an evil person or an antichrist, it might not be accurate. Why didn’t I notice that he’s evil or an antichrist? Why don’t I understand this matter?” Isn’t this how they think? They believe, “You’ve only met this person twice, seen him say a few words and do one thing, and you define him as evil. The brothers and sisters don’t think so; how can you? Why should your words carry so much weight? I haven’t seen any evil deeds from this person, nor do I know what bad things he has done, so I can’t say ‘Amen’ to what you say. I have notions and reservations about what you’re doing. But, despite having notions, I can’t express them outright, so I have to resort to indirect methods: I’ll let the brothers and sisters decide this matter through voting. If the brothers and sisters disagree, then there’s nothing to be done—can you really prune all of them too? Besides, you’ve only interacted with this person a few times and then you define him as evil. Why don’t you give him a bit of a chance? Look how tolerant and loving the brothers and sisters are. I can’t be the bad guy; I too must be loving and give people chances—not like you, so quick to make up your mind about people. Clearing someone out isn’t simple—what if the person becomes weak afterward? When facing issues, christ should protect the brothers and sisters. He should tolerate any foolishness, rebellion, or ignorance of the brothers and sisters and not be so decisive and unloving. Isn’t god supposed to be abundantly merciful? Where has that mercy gone? To define anyone you don’t like as evil and want to send them away, that doesn’t comply with the rules at all!” These are notions, aren’t they? (Yes.) When Christ does something or makes a decision, if they don’t agree with it, it becomes difficult to implement. They drag their feet, using various excuses and methods to oppose; they simply refuse to implement it or obey. Their intention is: “If I don’t implement this, then your task won’t be accomplished!” I’ll tell you, if you don’t implement it, then I’ll find someone who can to be leader, and you can go back to where you came from! Shouldn’t this matter be handled this way? (Yes.) I sent them away just like that, straightforward and efficient—there was no need to confer with anyone.

Some people never understand the truth and always have doubts about God’s words. They say, “Is the truth holding power the same as christ holding power? Christ’s words are not necessarily always right, because he has a human aspect.” They cannot accept Christ holding power. If it was the Spirit of God holding power, they would have no notions. What is the problem here? Such people have not the slightest doubt about the God in heaven but are always doubtful about God incarnate. Christ has expressed so much truth, and yet they do not recognize Him as God incarnate. So can they acknowledge that Christ is the truth, the way, and the life? That is hard to say. Even if such people follow Christ, can they testify for Him? Are they compatible with Christ? There isn’t any definitive answer to these questions. It’s also uncertain whether such people can follow to the end of the path. Some people fully acknowledge in their hearts that in God’s house, the truth holds power. But how do they understand the truth holding power? They think that whatever work is done, as long as it’s related to God’s house, everyone should discuss and decide together. As long as a consensus is reached, no matter the outcome, it should be implemented. That, they believe, is what it means for the truth to hold power. Is this view correct? This is a grievous misconception; it is the most absurd and preposterous statement. Where does the truth come from? It is expressed by Christ. Only Christ is the truth, while corrupt humankind doesn’t possess any truth at all, so how can people produce the truth through deliberation? If people could produce the truth through deliberation, that would imply that corrupt humankind possesses the truth. Isn’t that the most absurd thing? Therefore, the truth holding power means Christ holding power, it means God’s words holding power, not everyone having power or having a say. Gathering together to fellowship about the truth and God’s words is correct; this is church life. But what is the effect of practicing in this way? It is to let everyone understand the truth and know God’s words, to make it so everyone is able to submit to God’s words and work according to them. People gather to fellowship about the truth precisely because they do not understand it. If they understood the truth, they could directly submit to Christ and to God’s words; that would be genuine submission. If one day God’s chosen people all understand the truth, all can directly submit to, exalt, and testify for Christ, it will signify that God’s chosen people have been made complete. Even more so, it will testify that God’s house is ruled by the truth, by Christ. Only such facts and testimonies would prove that God has ruled as king on earth, and the kingdom of Christ has appeared. But how do some antichrists and false leaders understand the truth holding power? In their implementation, the truth holding power means the brothers and sisters holding power. No matter what work they do, if they can thoroughly grasp it, they do it according to their own will; if they can’t, they fellowship with a few people and let the group decide. Can this prove that the truth is being practiced? Does the group’s decision necessarily align with God’s intentions? Can such practice bring about the truth holding power? Can it testify that Christ holds power in God’s house? They treat allowing the brothers and sisters to express their opinions, discuss their views, and finally reach a consensus and make decisions as the truth holding power, implying that the brothers and sisters are the spokespeople for the truth, synonymous with the truth itself. Is understanding it this way correct? Clearly, it is not, but some antichrists and false leaders indeed act this way and implement it as such. They think that by doing so, they are practicing democracy, that they are making a democratic decision and it should be done this way regardless of whether it aligns with the truth or not. What is the essence of acting this way? Do matters decided democratically automatically align with the truth? Do they automatically represent God? If democracy were the truth, there would be no need for God to express the truth; wouldn’t it be enough to just let democracy rule? No matter how corrupt humankind practices democracy, it cannot produce the truth through practicing democracy. The truth comes from God, from Christ’s expressions. No matter how much a human method may align with human ideas or tastes, it cannot represent the truth. This is a fact. The essence of the approaches of false leaders and antichrists is, under the guise of the truth holding power, to completely sideline Christ, to replace Christ with democracy, and to replace the rule of Christ with the method of communal fellowshipping and democratic rule. Are the nature and consequences of this easily discernible? Perceptive people should be able to see them. False leaders and antichrists are not those who submit to Christ but those who deny and defy Him. No matter what Christ fellowships in the church, even if they listen and understand, people treat it as just wind blowing past their ears and are unwilling to implement it. Instead, they pay attention to what the false leaders and antichrists say; in the end, it is their words that count. Whether people can practice according to Christ’s words depends on the decisions of these false leaders and antichrists, and most people tend to follow them. Antichrists implement a tight watch over church work, allowing only themselves to make decisions and not letting God have a say or hold power. They think, “Christ is only here to inspect the work. You can say your piece and arrange the work, but how it’s implemented is up to us. Don’t interfere with our work.” Isn’t this what antichrists do? Antichrists are always saying “all the brothers and sisters have fellowshipped” or “all the brothers and sisters have reached a consensus”—do those who say such things actually understand the truth? Who are the brothers and sisters? Aren’t they just a group of people deeply corrupted by Satan? How much truth do they understand, how much of the truth reality do they possess? Can they represent Christ? Are they the embodiment of the truth? Can they be the spokespeople for the truth? Do they have any relationship with the truth? (No.) Since there is no relationship, why do those who say such things always regard the brothers and sisters as supreme? Why don’t they exalt and testify for God? Why don’t they speak and act according to the truth? Aren’t those who speak in this way absurd people? After reading God’s words and listening to sermons for so many years, they don’t understand any truth and can’t see what true brothers and sisters are. Aren’t they blind? Now, all have been classified according to their kind; many have revealed their true character, they are all Satan’s ilk—they are purely beasts. Can’t you see this clearly? You possess no truth at all! Some people are unwilling to listen to Me dissect antichrists. They say, “Oh, don’t always talk about such a trivial thing as antichrists; it’s embarrassing. Why are You always dissecting antichrists?” Would not dissecting them be okay? They must be dissected in this way to teach people to discern. Otherwise, once antichrists appear, they will unleash many heresies and fallacies, mislead many people, and even control the church and establish their own independent kingdom. Do you see clearly how serious the consequences of this matter are? Just now, we fellowshipped about what the truth holding power is. Through the fellowship, people have seen the absurd methods and preposterous views of antichrists. Antichrists always want to hold power themselves and don’t want Christ to hold power, so they turn the rule of the truth into a democratic form, advocating that everyone conferring together on matters is the truth holding power. Isn’t there Satan’s trickery in this? Is the truth something that everyone can arrive at through deliberation? Truth is expressed by God and originates from God. Why can’t you directly practice God’s words, directly submit to God, and directly submit to God’s arrangements? Why must Christ’s commands be determined through everyone’s deliberation? Isn’t this Satan’s plotting? Antichrists often unleash a set of theories to mislead people, and no matter which work task they implement, they have the final say, completely violating the truth principles. Looking at it from the manifestations of antichrists, what exactly is their disposition? Are they people who love positive things and love the truth? Do they have true submission toward God? (No.) Their essence is one of being averse to and hating the truth. Moreover, they are so arrogant that they lose all rationality, even lacking the basic conscience and reason that people should have. Such people are not worthy to be called human. They can only be said to be those of Satan’s ilk; they are devils. Anyone who doesn’t accept the truth in the slightest is a devil—this is beyond all doubt.

There are also some people who adopt a neither humble nor arrogant attitude toward Christ’s words. They neither express complete acceptance nor do they oppose. When Christ speaks, fellowships the truth, discerns an individual, or assigns a work task, on the surface, they appear to be listening and taking notes, showing seriousness and cooperation. They take meticulous notes about everything, jotting down various marks, seemingly very interested in the truth and highly valuing what Christ says, as if they particularly love the truth and are unwaveringly faithful to Christ. But can such people’s attitude toward the truth, their disposition, and their essence be seen from such superficial phenomena? They cannot. Such people seem to be taking notes and listening on the outside, but what are they really thinking in their hearts? When they look at what they’ve noted, they think, “What is all this? Not a single useful line, nothing that looks lofty or aligned with the truth, nor anything that seems logical to me. I might as well tear it up!” Isn’t this a kind of attitude? I’ve seen many people nodding and making various facial expressions while listening to sermons, taking notes at the same time too, but afterward, they don’t take it seriously at all. They don’t remember what they should implement, nor do they keep it in their hearts or act on it. As for practicing what they should, that’s even less likely to happen. What they should implement is related to the work of God’s house and their duty, and what they should enter into pertains to their personal entry. They don’t implement what they should, and even less so do they take their personal entry seriously. They say, “It’s been said that every sentence spoken and expressed by christ is the truth, is what people should enter into, that it’s all the truth, the way, and the life—but I don’t see any truth or way in what I note down each time, nor do I feel it’s life. So how could the statement that christ has the essence of god be fulfilled? How could it be realized? How could it match up to what I see? It doesn’t match up easily.” Some people say, “If this is their attitude after listening, then why did they even take notes? They seemed to have a proper, serious, and responsible attitude; what’s going on?” There’s only one reason. If someone who doesn’t love the truth and is extremely averse to it can appear especially earnest and attentive when Christ speaks, their sole intention is nothing more than to just half-heartedly go through the motions, not genuine acceptance. Every time they read God’s words or come into contact with Christ and converse with Him, what they perceive is not the so-called loftiness, unfathomability, or wonder of God but His practicality, normality, and insignificance. Therefore, from their own viewpoint and stance, it’s impossible for them to associate the words of this ordinary person with the truth, the way, or the life. No matter how they look at this person, they just see a human; they can’t regard Him as God or Christ. So, they cannot possibly treat these exceedingly ordinary words as the truth to observe, to practice, and to use as a guide for living, a goal for existence, and so on—they find it distressing. They say, “How come I can’t see any truth in these ordinary words? How can you all see it? Aren’t these just ordinary words? They are human language, human text, human grammar, even using some human phrases and vocabulary, and dissecting some human proverbs and aspects of culture. How can these words contain the truth? Why can’t I see it? Since you all say it’s the truth, then I’ll just follow along and parrot everyone else; I’ll take notes because that’s what everyone else is doing, but while you all regard him as the truth, I certainly don’t. ‘Truth’ is such a sacred word, it must be something extremely lofty! When it comes to the truth, it involves god, and when it involves god, it can’t be so ordinary, so insignificant, so common. So, no matter how I scrutinize and analyze, I can’t find any hint of god in him. If there’s no hint of god in him, how can he save us? It’s impossible. If his words can’t save us or benefit us, why should we follow him? Why should we implement his words? Why should we live by his words?” Now they’ve shown their true colors as antichrists, haven’t they? From beginning to end, their attitude toward the flesh in which God is incarnate is one of scrutiny. There is neither acceptance nor submission in the way they treat God’s words, much less do they practice, engage with, or experience them. Instead, they treat God’s words with an attitude of resistance, opposition, and rejection. They reluctantly take some notes when Christ is conversing with people, but deep down, they don’t accept a bit of it. After interacting with Christ, some people say, “Speaking and fellowshipping with God face-to-face is truly enjoyable.” The antichrist says, “I’ll give it a try too. I’ll talk face-to-face with christ and see what christ’s facial expressions, actions, and speech are really like when he talks to people. I’ll see what one can gain or discover from it, whether it’s beneficial for people to lay down a foundation and affirm their belief in him as the true god.” With such an attitude toward Christ and His words, can they have any real practice or implementation? No, they can’t. They’re nothing more than spectators come to watch the excitement, they’re not at all here to seek the truth. Do you think the attitude with which these people treat Christ and converse with Him is a bit like a group of neighborhood ladies chatting together on the porch, where speaking to anyone doesn’t require earnestness, and everyone just says what they want? These people treat Christ the same way: “You express your views, I’ll hold onto mine. Let’s agree to disagree; you don’t expect to persuade me, and I certainly won’t accept what you say.” Isn’t it that kind of attitude? What is this attitude? (Disdainful and irreverent.) These people are strange. Since you don’t acknowledge Christ as the flesh in which God is incarnate, then why do you believe in and follow Him? If you don’t believe, why not just leave and be done with it? Who is forcing you to believe? No one is forcing you to believe in God; it’s your own choice.

When some people listen to My fellowship on a matter, they quickly develop different opinions: “You think of it that way, but I think of it this way. You have your ideas regarding each matter, and I have mine; everyone has their own ideas.” What sort of creature would say this? When God supplies the truth to people, is it a kind of argument? Are God’s words an academic theory? (No.) Then what are they? (They are the truth.) Be more specific. (They are the principles and direction for human conduct, the necessities for people’s life.) Why do we say God supplies the truth to people? Has it ever been said that He supplies knowledge? (No.) Why do we say that God’s words are for people to eat and drink? God’s words are like people’s food; they can sustain your physical body and allow you to live, and moreover, they allow you to live well, they allow you to live with the semblance of a human. They’re life for a person! God’s words are not a form of knowledge, an argument, or a saying. Knowledge, arguments, and human traditional culture can only corrupt people. People can live with or without them, but if one wishes to live and become an up-to-standard, qualified created being, they cannot do so without the truth. So what exactly is the truth? (It’s the criterion for comporting oneself, for acting, and for worshiping God.) Right, that’s more specific. Do antichrists see it this way? They don’t accept this fact. They object, resist, and condemn this fact, so they cannot gain the truth. In their thoughts and views, they think, “You’re just an ordinary person. You say one thing and other people go practice according to your words, so why can’t I say something correct and have people go practice it too? Why is it that what you say is always correct and what I say is always wrong? Why are your words considered the truth while mine are considered knowledge and doctrines?” It’s not based on anything—it’s a fact, and that is determined by essence. Christ is the flesh in which God is incarnate, and His essence is God. No one can deny this; even if antichrists refuse to acknowledge or accept it, they cannot deny it. The moment man turns away from Christ and rejects Him, is the moment of man’s destruction. Without Christ and His words, no one can be saved. Isn’t this a fact? (Yes.) What kind of edification can those words and theories of antichrists bring to people? If people don’t accept them, will they suffer any loss? No, there won’t be any loss. The words of antichrists have no positive influence on anyone, but rather have many negative impacts. If Christ didn’t say a single sentence and just came to live a normal life for however many years before leaving, what would humankind gain? Besides bearing the cross, what else could humankind gain? They would still live in sin, confessing and repenting, inextricably trapped in sin, becoming increasingly depraved, and ultimately, when God’s work ends, they would all be destroyed. That would be what becomes of humankind. But Christ came, expressed all the words God intended to say to man, supplied all the truth man needs, and revealed to man what God has and is. Didn’t this bring about a turning point for man? In other words, didn’t Christ’s words create a turning point for man? (Yes.) What is this turning point? Primarily, it’s the shift from humans facing condemnation and destruction to having the opportunity and hope of being saved. Isn’t that a turning point? People’s hope has arrived; they see the dawn and have the hope of being saved and surviving. When God destroys and punishes humankind, they can avoid destruction and punishment. So, for such a humankind that can survive, are Christ and His words a good or bad thing? (A good thing.) They’re a good thing. For antichrists to be so hostile toward and loathe such a Christ, such an ordinary person, this much, is determined by their essence.

There is another manifestation of antichrists in their treatment of God incarnate: They say, “As soon as I saw christ was an ordinary person, notions formed in my mind. The Word Appears in the Flesh is an expression of god; it is the truth, and I admit it. I have a copy of The Word Appears in the Flesh, and that’s enough. I don’t need to have contact with christ. If I have notions, negativity, or weakness, I can resolve them just by reading god’s word. It is easy to form notions if I have contact with god incarnate, and this will show I am too deeply corrupted. If I happen to be condemned by god, I will have no hope of salvation. So, it’s better if I just read god’s word on my own. It is god in heaven who can save people.” It is God’s present words and fellowship, especially those words that expose antichrists’ disposition and essence, that most sting antichrists’ hearts and are the most painful to them. These are the words antichrists are the least willing to read. Therefore, antichrists wish in their hearts that God would leave the earth soon, so that they can rule by dint of their own power on earth. They believe that the flesh in which God is incarnate, this ordinary person, is superfluous to them. They always ponder, “Before listening to christ’s sermons, I felt I understood everything, and was fine in all regards, but after listening to christ’s sermons, it’s different. I now feel as if I have nothing, I feel I am so insignificant and pitiable.” Therefore, they determine that Christ’s words are not exposing them but others, and think there’s no need to listen to Christ’s sermons, that reading The Word Appears in the Flesh is enough. In the hearts of antichrists, their main intention is to deny the fact of God becoming flesh, to deny the fact that Christ expresses the truth, thinking that in this way there is hope for them to be saved through their belief in God, and they can reign as kings in the church, thus satisfying their initial intention in believing in God. Antichrists have an inborn nature of resistance to God; they are as incompatible with the incarnate God as fire and water, in eternal disaccord. They think that every day Christ exists is a day on which it will be hard for them to shine, and that they are in danger of being condemned, eliminated, destroyed, and punished. So long as Christ does not speak and does not work, and so long as God’s chosen people do not look up to Christ, then antichrists’ opportunity is upon them. They have a chance to demonstrate their abilities. With a wave of the hand, masses of people will defect to their side, and antichrists can reign as kings. The nature essence of antichrists is to be averse to the truth and hateful toward Christ. They compete with Christ over who is more talented or who is more capable; they compete with Christ over whose words carry more power and whose abilities are greater. As they are doing the same thing as Christ, they are out to make others see that although they and He alike are human, Christ’s abilities and scholarship are no better than an ordinary person’s. Antichrists compete with Christ in every way, contesting who is better, and trying to deny from every angle the fact that Christ is God, that He is the embodiment of God’s Spirit, and that He is the embodiment of truth. They also think of various ways and means in every area to prevent Christ from holding power among God’s chosen people, to prevent Christ’s words from being spread or implemented among God’s chosen people, and even to prevent the things Christ does and His demands of, and hopes for, people from being realized among God’s chosen ones. It is as if when Christ is present, they are snubbed, and are condemned and rejected by the church—a group of people put in a dark corner. We can see in the various manifestations of antichrists that by essence and disposition, they are irreconcilable with Christ—they cannot be under the same sky as Him! Antichrists have been inimical to God since they were born; they are out specifically to resist God, and they want to defeat and vanquish Christ. They want all the work Christ does to be in vain and for nothing, so that in the end, Christ will not gain many people, and so that no matter where He does work, He will get no results. Only then will antichrists be happy. If Christ expresses truths, and people are thirsty for them, seek them, gladly accept them, are willing to expend themselves for Christ, to forsake everything and spread Christ’s gospel, then antichrists grow despondent and feel there is no hope for tomorrow, that there will never be a chance for them to shine, as though they were cast into hell. To look at these manifestations of antichrists, is this essence of theirs to fight God and regard Him with hostility inculcated in them by someone else? It absolutely is not; they are born with it. Therefore, antichrists are a type of person that, from birth, is the reincarnation of the devil, the devil come to earth. They can never possibly accept the truth, and will never accept Christ, exalt Christ, or bear witness to Christ. Although by appearances, you will not see them publicly judge or condemn Christ, and although they can compliantly exert some effort and pay a price, as soon as they have a chance, when the moment is ripe, antichrists’ irreconcilability with God will show itself. The fact that antichrists fight God and establish an independent kingdom will become public. All of these things have happened before in places where there are antichrists, and they have been especially frequent in these years when God does His work of judgment of the last days; many people have experienced and observed them.

June 27, 2020