Item Ten: They Despise the Truth, Brazenly Flout Principles, and Ignore the Arrangements of God's House (Part Five) Section Two
Regarding this manifestation of tampering with and interpreting God’s words, do you have any examples? (During the production of the 20th video of the choral album, God instructed that the scriptures be listed one by one on the screen. At that time, some brothers and sisters found the scriptures too long and deleted some phrases. Later, God discovered this issue and dissected it quite sternly, saying it was a blasphemy of God’s words.) As for the original words of God recorded in the Bible, those are God’s words and must not be altered by people, and the same goes for the prophecies of some prophets; these too are God’s words, they are inspired by God and also should not be altered. In My view, although these words are not in the original language and are translations, the meaning of the translated text has been largely accurate over many years of revisions. You should recognize this. Therefore, these words, if used in regular fellowship, don’t need to be recounted in full; the gist can be conveyed. However, the actual facts shouldn’t be altered. If quoting, the original complete sentences must be extracted. How does this principle sound? (Good.) Why do it this way? Some people say, “That’s all in the past, do we need to be so serious?” No, this is about an attitude, a mindset. Whether in the past, present, or future, God’s words are God’s words and should not be equated with human words. People should treat God’s words with a rigorous attitude. After the Bible was translated from the original text into various languages, some meanings might not align precisely with the original, or there might be discrepancies between the same sentence in a translation and in the original text. Translators might add, “Note: something something,” or add in brackets, “Or translated as….” Do you think the people who translated the original texts of the Bible were all believers in God? (Not necessarily.) They certainly weren’t people who feared God and shunned evil, so why could they handle this task with such precision? Nonbelievers call this professionalism, but believers in God should call it having a God-fearing heart. If you don’t even have this much of a God-fearing heart, are you still a believer in God?
You must have a devout attitude toward the words of God, and when you gather and fellowship on God’s words, after you have read them, you can incorporate your personal experiences as you talk of your own knowledge and what you have learned from these experiences. You must not, however, treat God’s words as your own private works and interpret them however you wish. God’s words do not need you to explain them, nor could you explain them clearly or understandably. It is enough that you have some minor enlightenment and illumination or experience, but to try to explain the truth, or to try to use your explanation to allow people to understand God’s intentions would be impossible. This is the wrong way of doing things. For example, some people read in God’s words that God loves honest people. God once told man, “Let your communication be, Yes, yes; No, no: for whatever is more than these comes of evil” (Matthew 5:37). Today, God’s words also call for people to be honest. So what should be the right attitude to take toward God’s words and demands? Search in God’s words: God said, “Let your communication be, Yes, yes; No, no.” How exactly do those who are honest in the eyes of God behave, then? How do honest people speak, how do they act, how do they approach their duty, and how do they work harmoniously with others? People should search God’s words for these principles and paths of practice and become the honest people that He demands. This is the right attitude, the attitude that ought to be possessed by those who seek the truth. So how do those who do not seek or love the truth, and who have no fearful heart of God and His words behave? After reading God’s words, they think, “God demands that people be honest; that’s what the lord Jesus said before. Today, god is once more saying for people to be honest. I’ve got it—are honest people not simply those who are guileless? Is it not as people say, that guileless people ever prevail, that the good have peaceful lives, and that it is a sin to cheat those who are guileless? Look, god is redressing the injustices suffered by the guileless.” Are these words the truth? Are these truth principles that they have identified from God’s words? (No.) So what are these words? Could they be called heresies and fallacies? (They could.) Those who have no spiritual understanding and do not love the truth always connect God’s words with what, among mankind, is believed to be pleasing to the ear and right. Is this not downgrading the value of God’s words? Is this not making the truth into a kind of slogan among mankind, an argument for how to conduct oneself? God calls for people to be honest, but these people ignore how those who are honest behave, how to be honest, and what the precepts of being honest are, unabashedly stating that God asks that people be guileless, and that people who are guileless, good-for-nothings, and fools are all honest. Is this not a misinterpretation of God’s words? They misinterpret God’s words, yet still think themselves very clever, at the same time thinking that God’s words are nothing more than this: “The truth isn’t so profound, is it not just being a guileless person? It’s pretty simple to be a guileless person: Don’t steal and don’t swear at people or hit others. ‘Execution does nothing but make heads roll; be lenient wherever possible.’ Be lenient with others in all things, be strict with yourself and tolerant of others, be a good person, and the good have peaceful lives.” They say a lot, but none of it is in line with the truth; it is nothing but heresies and fallacies. It seems to bear some relation to the words of God, it appears to have a bit of a connection to them, but after one ponders and discerns the matter, they realize it is nothing but misleading statements, nothing except fallacies that disturb people’s thoughts. For example, God says that there is love in His essence, that He loves man. God’s love of man is shown to people through what He says, the way He treats man, His painstaking efforts to save man, and the myriad aspects of how He works in man, and at the same time as showing His salvation of man, God’s intention and the means by which He saves man are also made evident so that people will know God’s love. What do those people who lack spiritual understanding think? “God is a god that loves man, god wants every person to be saved and does not want anyone to suffer perdition. God has said that the returned prodigal son is worth more than gold.” Did God say this? Are these God’s original words? (No.) What else do they say? “Saving one life beats building a seven-tier pagoda” and “The Buddha is benevolent.” Are they not turning things upside down? Clearly, they are only pretending to be spiritual, to understand God’s words, and to love the truth; they are obviously outsiders, laymen, and fools with no spiritual understanding. I have met many such people—they’re rash folks, bold in speech but bereft of brains, the thoughts and arisings in their minds nothing but heresies, fallacies, and fakeries. Those who possess the utmost powers of misleading others and are able to often employ these heresies and fallacies and some seemingly sound theological arguments to mislead others, forcing them to obey and practice what they say—these people are antichrists. To all appearances, they seem highly spiritual, often quoting passages of God’s words in front of others, and once they have finished arbitrarily interpreting them, then they let loose some heresies and fallacies. Such people can be found in every church. They help and lead people under the banner of quoting and fellowshipping on God’s words, but in fact, what they are instilling in people is not what God’s words demand of man, nor the truth principles contained in God’s words, but rather heresies and fallacies which they come up with through processing, interpreting, and imagining based on God’s words, causing people to stray from the words of God, and obey them instead and causing disturbances and misleading people. For example, there are those who say: “In doing the work of his six-thousand-year management plan, god has experienced the abandonment and resistance of all mankind; god is god, and his heart has no bounds! As people say, ‘A prime minister’s heart is big enough to sail a boat in,’ and ‘It is never too late for a gentleman to take his revenge.’ How magnanimous god is!” To all appearances, they seem to be bearing witness for God and what God has and is to people, but what message are they actually transmitting? Is it the truth? Is it truly the essence of God? (No.) Who are they bearing witness for? They are bearing witness for the prime minister. They are likening God to a prime minister, to a gentleman—is this not blasphemy? Can such words be found in God’s words? (No.) So where did these words come from? From Satan. Not only do antichrists not bear witness for God, they also twist the facts and blaspheme against God, often misleading those who have no foundation, who lack true faith in God, and who are incapable of understanding the truth. These people are of small stature, have no foundation, and have no ability to comprehend the truth, and so they are misled by these heresies and fallacies. Antichrists treat the heresies and fallacies as spiritual sayings, and one thing they say about God’s love is, “God wants every person to be saved and does not want anyone to suffer perdition.” When speaking about what God demands of man, another thing they say is, “The good have peaceful lives.” And about God not remembering people’s transgressions and His leaving them a chance to repent, they say, “Execution does nothing but make heads roll; be lenient wherever possible.” Can such words be found in the words of God? (No.) Why do I get so angry as soon as I hear these words? Why am I so bothered by them? Why do I get so worked up? For how many years have these people been reading God’s words? Are they dull-witted, or have they gone insane? Where in God’s words are such things mentioned? When did God demand that people be guileless? When did God demand that people abide by the saying “Execution does nothing but make heads roll; be lenient wherever possible”? Is this what God does? Where, in these heresies and fallacies that they espouse, can any connection be made to what God demands of mankind, His intentions, and the truth principles? They are wholly unrelated. For example, God lets people have ideals, wills, and pursuits, but what antichrists say is: “God encourages us to have pursuits. There’s a saying that conveys this well: ‘A soldier who doesn’t want to be a general is not a good soldier.’” This saying is a sort of societal trend, a societal view—is it appropriate to use it in God’s house? Is it useful? (No.) Which of God’s words does this statement align with? Is it related to God’s words? (No.) Then why do antichrists say it? Their aim in saying this is to make people feel deeply that they are very spiritual, that they have understanding of and enlightenment from God’s words, that they have the ability to comprehend the truth, and that they’re not ignorant commoners. But does it achieve their expected purpose? Upon hearing these words, do you feel approval or repulsion in your hearts? (Repulsion.) In what way does it make you feel repulsed? (Antichrists link Satan’s fallacies together with God’s words, misconstruing them. All of the words that they speak lack spiritual understanding.) Antichrists speak only words that reflect a lack of spiritual understanding, causing people to feel disgusted and averse upon hearing them. They clearly don’t understand God’s words, cannot grasp them, and lack the caliber and ability to comprehend God’s words, yet they pretend to understand them and shamelessly interpret them to others, speaking irrelevant and amateurish words that disgust people, offering no edification, and instead upsetting people’s thoughts. This is truly detestable! What should you do when you encounter such people? (We must dissect the fallacious parts of what they are saying.) How should you go about doing this? Actually, it’s quite easy. You say to them: “Your grasp of God’s words after reading them doesn’t seem like much to me.” They respond, “I don’t think so, I feel it’s good.” You say, “You think it’s good no matter what, so by your reasoning, does that mean God’s words are equivalent to human heresies and fallacies? If you agree with these heresies and fallacies, then why do you even read God’s words? You don’t need to read them. This problem of yours is serious now—you’re treating God’s words as wicked humankind’s philosophy for worldly dealings, as the methods of handling things and views of wicked humankind. In your view, the honest people God speaks of are just the same as guileless people, huge fools, and simpletons. You interpret every word spoken by God using human terms, equating them to fallacies and sayings summed up by wicked humankind. Are you implying, then, that God’s words are human words, human language, and human heresies and fallacies? In understanding God’s words this way, you’re not comprehending them; you’re blaspheming against them and blaspheming against God.” Would you all be able to speak these words clearly? If God’s words meant what antichrists say, then why wouldn’t God just directly say those words? When God tells people to be honest, why doesn’t He just tell them to be guileless and be good people and stop there? Is it merely a difference of wording? (No.) God’s words are the truth, and within them lies a path for people to practice. If people act and live according to God’s words, they can become people who fear God and shun evil, people who are in line with God’s intentions. Meanwhile, acting and living according to what humans say turns one into a complete muddler, an outright living Satan. Do you recognize this point? What would be the result if you acted and practiced according to what God said to be an honest person? And what would be the result if you acted and lived according to what humans called a good or guileless person? Wouldn’t the results be different? (Yes.) So what is the result of living as an honest person? (Having normal humanity, being able to worship God, calling a spade a spade, and being able to be frank and open with God. If one conducts themselves as the guileless or good person as defined by humans, they become increasingly cunning and adept at disguising themselves, they only speak pleasant words, they live by Satan’s philosophy for worldly dealings, and they become a living Satan.) You see, there’s a difference, isn’t there? Acting and living according to what God calls an honest person makes a person’s heart increasingly purer; their heart is able to be open to God, and they are able to give their heart to God without disguising, cheating, or falsifying. Their heart doesn’t hide from God but is simply opened to Him; what they think inside is outwardly revealed and lived out, and what’s outwardly revealed and lived out is consistent with what’s inside them. This is what God wants; this is the truth. On the other hand, what are the principles of conducting oneself and the principles of practice for those whom people call guileless or good? Actually, it’s all a guise. They don’t readily say what they’re thinking, nor do they let others see it. They do not rashly hurt others’ self-esteem or interests, but not harming others is also for self-preservation. They’re cautious inside and camouflaged on the outside, appearing particularly devout, tolerant, patient, and compassionate. But no one can see what they’re thinking inside; there’s corruption, resistance, and rebellion in them, but others can’t see it. On the outside, they pretend to appear particularly edifying, gentle, and kind. No matter how many bad things they do, or how rebellious or wicked they are inside, no one can tell. Outwardly, they’re also willing to help others and give to the needy, always ready to respond, a veritable living Lei Feng. They smile and show others their best side at all times, and no matter how many tears they’ve shed in private, they always wear a smile in front of others, making people feel edified. Isn’t this what people call a good person? Comparing this good person with an honest person, which is positive? Which one possesses the truth reality? (The honest person.) Honest people possess the truth reality, are loved by God, and meet God’s standards as He demands, whereas good and guileless people do not; they are precisely the kind of people that God condemns and spurns. When antichrists arbitrarily interpret the honest people that God demands as just good or guileless people, isn’t this a sort of imperceptible condemnation of what God has said? Isn’t this blaspheming God’s words? Isn’t it blaspheming the truth? This is an obvious fact. Antichrists don’t understand God’s words, much less what the truth is, yet they resort to flawed arguments and blindly apply their own interpretations, feigning understanding when they are clueless, wildly misinterpreting God’s words at will, and misleading and disturbing others. Would you act like this? Pretending to understand God’s words when one clearly doesn’t and, based on one’s literal understanding, using one’s own vocabulary, expressions, and viewpoints to interpret and delimit God’s words—this is the disposition of an antichrist.
What is the difference in substance between the words of God and man, and between the truth and doctrine? God’s words cause people to grow in reason and conscience, to act with principle, and what they live out to become increasingly possessed of the reality of positive things. The words of man, on the other hand, may seem to sit perfectly with people’s tastes and notions, but they are not the truth, they brim with pitfalls, temptation, and heresies and fallacies, and so if people act according to these words, what they live out will stray ever further from God, and from the standards of God. Even more serious, the way people live will become ever more evil and akin to Satan. When people live and act entirely by the heresies and fallacies of man, when they have wholly embraced these arguments, they live as Satan. And does living as Satan not imply that they are Satan? (Yes.) So they have “successfully” become a living Satan. Some people say, “I don’t believe it. I just want to be a guileless person who is liked by others. I want to be someone that most people regard as good, and then I’ll see whether god takes delight in me or not.” If you do not believe what God says, go and look, and—see if God’s words are the truth, or if man’s notions are the truth. This is the difference in essence between the words of God and the words of man. It is the essential distinction between the truth and heresies and fallacies. No matter how the heresies and fallacies of man seem to fit with people’s tastes, they can never become their life; meanwhile, no matter how unadorned the words of God seem, how vernacular, how at odds with people’s notions, their essence is the truth, and if what people do and live out is in accordance with the principles of God’s words, eventually, one day, they will become genuine qualified created beings, and will be capable of fearing God and shunning evil. Conversely, if people do not practice according to God’s words and do not act according to God’s demands, they cannot become qualified created beings. Their actions and the path they walk will only be spurned by God; this is a fact. Through this fellowship, do you have a new understanding or concept of God’s words? What are God’s words? They are the truth, the way, and the life—there is no falseness in this. Only antichrists, those who are innately averse to positive things and hate them, treat God’s words with disdain, do not regard God’s words as the truth, and deny the fact that God’s words are the truth, the way, and the life. At no time will they accept God’s words as their life; they are a group of people who are beyond saving. After such a fellowship, some understand that these manifestations amount to the tampering with and arbitrary interpretation of God’s words, which are manifestations of antichrists. Would you say that this includes those who organize God’s words? (Yes.) Does it? What does tampering mean? (It means to arbitrarily delete or add something, changing the original meaning of God’s words. This is tampering. If His words are organized according to the principles, then it’s not tampering.) That’s right, that’s what you need to understand. With this understanding, you won’t have any concerns when organizing God’s words, right? Can you now grasp the principles properly? When you are asked to organize, it’s not an invitation to tamper. There are also those who do translation work—these people are asked to translate God’s words directly and to translate the original meaning of God’s words and God’s own words into another language, not to interpret God’s words while translating. You’re not qualified to interpret, and you must pay attention to and be careful about this. Grasping the principles well, understanding what constitutes tampering and what does not—grasp these principles well, and it will be difficult to make such errors. If you don’t understand these principles and always want to add or modify the meaning while organizing, always feeling that the way God says this isn’t too ideal or the way He says that seems off, thinking it should be said a certain way, such thoughts will make you prone to committing the error of tampering. As for translators who say, “I know what this sentence of God’s words means, so I’ll translate based on that meaning. Once it’s translated, won’t the reader understand it and that’s that? There’ll be no need to seek or pray-read; they’ll directly receive enlightenment and light”—isn’t this a mistake? This violates the principles; it is arbitrarily interpreting God’s words. In summary, never treat God’s words as you would human words, like a novel, a famous person’s writings, or something related to scholarly discourse. In addition to not tampering with or arbitrarily interpreting them, one should approach God’s words with an attitude of seeking, acceptance, and submission when eating and drinking and pray-reading them. Only then can one see the truth, understand God’s intentions, find the path to practice in God’s words, and resolve their corrupt dispositions and the various difficulties encountered in doing their duty and in life. Achieving this result proves that your attitude toward God’s words is correct. Our fellowship on the first manifestation of antichrists despising the words of God—arbitrarily tampering with and interpreting the words of God—concludes on this point.
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