II. The Interests of Antichrists

D. Their Prospects and Destiny

What topic did we fellowship on at our last gathering? (God fellowshipped on the ways in which antichrists regard the title “service-doer.” First, God fellowshipped on how God defines the title “service-doer.” God also fellowshipped on the difference between someone who has left the state of a service-doer behind and someone who is still a service-doer, and lastly God dissected antichrists’ perspectives and pursuits regarding the title “service-doer.”) So, what perspective and attitude do antichrists have toward the title “service-doer”? What do they say and do? (Antichrists’ attitude toward the title “service-doer” is one of non-acceptance and repulsion. They don’t accept the title no matter who it comes from, and they believe that being a service-doer is degrading. They believe that service-doers are not defined by God based on the essence of mankind, but that it is rather God challenging and scorning human identity and value.) (Antichrists say this well-known phrase: “I’m not going to toil away behind the scenes while others take the spotlight.” Antichrists just want to get others to render service to them and they think that rendering service to God is a shameful thing to do, and so when they realize that they themselves are service-doers they don’t want to continue rendering service in God’s house and instead begin to seek a way to escape, and will even cause disruptions and disturbances, and do destructive things.) Judging by antichrists’ attitude toward the title “service-doer,” what do we see their essence to be? (Their essence is one that is hostile toward God and that hates the truth.) And what disposition is this, when their essence is one that is hostile toward God and the truth? (It is a wicked and vicious disposition.) That’s right, it is a wicked and vicious disposition. What are antichrists’ first motivation and intent in their belief in God? What do they want to gain? What are their ambitions and desires? Do they come to be service-doers? Do they come based on the attitude of being a good person and following the right path through believing in God? (No.) So what do they come for? To be accurate, they come for blessings, and to be specific, they seek to reign as kings, to reign as kings with God, and they seek lofty and great things. So, when God says that people are service-doers, this is entirely at odds with and against antichrists’ ambitions and desires to seek blessings and to reign as kings, it goes beyond their expectations, and they never thought that God would give this title to people. Antichrists are unable to accept this fact. And what things are they capable of doing when they can’t accept this fact? Do they seek to accept this fact and change themselves? They don’t seek to accept this fact, nor do they seek to change their ambitions and dispositions. Therefore, if they are told that they are service-doers and their intent and desire to gain blessings are stripped away, they are no longer able to stand firm in the church. The moment they realize the truth and know that such people as them with such manifestations are service-doers, they give up all hope and reveal their true colors. They don’t seek to change their situation as service-doers, nor do they seek to change their wrong attitude and perspective toward the title “service-doers” and follow the path in pursuit of the truth. That’s why, no matter what arrangements God makes, such people won’t submit to or accept them, and they won’t seek the truth. Instead, they rack their brains trying to think of a human way to rid themselves of this label, and they do everything possible to cast off this identity. Judging by this manifestation antichrists display, antichrists are averse to the truth right down to their very bones. They don’t love the truth, they don’t accept the truth, and they have their own ideas and notions about the truth, but not in the normal way. Rather, they feel profound aversion, hatred, and even hostility toward positive things and the truth from deep within their hearts—this is the antichrists’ essence.

From your answers just now, I see that you haven’t summarized the content of each fellowship, and afterward you didn’t pray-read or ruminate. Last time we fellowshipped on three main aspects: The first was defining what service-doers are; the second was the ways in which antichrists regard the title “service-doer” or, to be specific, what exactly the manifestations and behavior of their not wanting to be service-doers are, and what exactly the reasons behind that are; and the third was what antichrists’ intentions are since they don’t want to be service-doers, that is to say, what they want to do, what their ambitions are, and what their aim is in believing in God. Basically, we fellowshipped on the subtopic of “the ways in which antichrists regard the title ‘service-doer’” from these three aspects, and through these three aspects we dissected the various practices and behaviors antichrists employ in their approach to the title “service-doer,” as well as their thoughts and perspectives on it. You don’t contemplate the content of each fellowship after you hear it. You remember only these things in the short term, but if a long time passes, you can’t even remember these things. If you want to understand and gain the truth, then you must make an effort in your heart and frequently pray-read and contemplate—you must have these matters in your heart. If you don’t, if you don’t take these matters to heart and make no effort, and you don’t think about these matters in your heart, then you won’t gain anything. Some people say, “The matter of antichrists is so far away from me. I’m not planning on being an antichrist and I’m not a bad person like them. I’ll just dutifully be the most insignificant person, and that’s fine with me. I’ll do whatever I’m asked to do and I won’t follow the path of an antichrist. What’s more, even if I have a little of an antichrist’s disposition, I’ll change it gradually over time, and that’s just an ordinary corrupt disposition and not that serious. There’s no point in listening to this.” Is this perspective correct? (No.) Why not? If someone wants to achieve dispositional change, then most importantly they must comprehend what states, thoughts, and perspectives can arise from their corrupt dispositions in all manner of situations. Only by comprehending these things can they know what their own corrupt dispositions are, in what areas they resist God and go against the truth, and what things they have inside them that are at odds with the truth; once they know these things, they can resolve these problems and corrupt dispositions, and attain entry into the truth reality. If you have no comprehension of the various corrupt dispositions that are revealed or the various states that can arise in various situations, and you have no comprehension of the ways in which these things oppose the truth or where the problems arise, how then will you resolve these problems? If you want to resolve these problems, you must first comprehend where their source lies, what their states are, where the specific problems arise, and then set about solving how you are to enter in. In this way, your corrupt dispositions and the various states that arise can be resolved one by one. It seems that you’re still not very clear on entering the truth reality or on resolving corrupt dispositions and attaining dispositional change; you still aren’t on the right track.

5. How Antichrists Approach Their Status in the Church

Today, we’ll fellowship on the final topic concerning the interests of antichrists: how antichrists approach their status in the church. When it comes to their status in the church, what manifestations antichrists display, what things they do, and what their perspectives and disposition essence are when they do those things—we’ll divide them into three aspects and dissect them one by one. The first aspect is “with pretense,” the second is “with imposture,” and the third is “by towering over all.” Each of these three aspects is written in few words and can be considered condensed, yet there are many of the various actions, manifestations, and sayings of the antichrists, as well as their attitudes and dispositions included in each one. Have a think now about why I defined these three aspects to fellowship on today’s topic. How did you define this topic of how antichrists approach their status in the church in your minds after you’d read it? What ideas did you have? What most people think of in their minds is undoubtedly the antichrists’ tyranny, their asserting of status, their winning people over, and their seizing of power in the church, that is, they always want to be officials, to assert their status, to hold power, and to control people—basically, these things are what people think of. These are relatively obvious aspects which antichrists often manifest in the church, so besides these, what other manifestations are there that people can’t see? What else do antichrists do to get a firm foothold in the church, to gain status and high prestige, and even to take power and control more people? What other manifestations do they have? These things are the more misleading, insidious, and covert ways and means antichrists employ, and could also be the unknown thoughts and hidden intents and aims in their innermost hearts, right? So, let’s fellowship on them one by one.

a. With Pretense

The first aspect is “with pretense.” The literal meaning of the word “pretense” is easy to understand and it is clearly not commendatory. When someone is said to be good at pretense, that everything they do is a pretense, that everything they do is impenetrable to others, and they only act and speak on a superficial level with others, then someone who acts and behaves in such a way is certainly a very deceitful person. They are not an honest person, and they are not a simple, guileless person, but rather they are very good at mind games, they are very subtle, and they are very good at deceiving others. This is the most fundamental understanding of the word “pretense.” So, what then is the relationship between the behavior and actions of antichrists and this kind of behavior? What do they do that shows they have an essence of pretense? What exactly is their purpose in engaging in pretense? What exactly is their intent? Why do they have to engage in pretense? These things are closely related to the topic we will fellowship on today.

Antichrists are people who are unwilling to fall behind others. They are unwilling to be dependent upon others, unwilling to accept other people’s orders, instructions, and commands, and unwilling to be ordinary and looked down upon by others. Rather, they are people who wish to have prestige, to have others hold them in high esteem, and to have others value them highly. Moreover, in the church and among other people, they wish even more to be people who give orders and instruct others to do things for themselves. They want to implement their wishes by means of their own prestige, influence, and the power they wield, and they don’t want to be ordinary people whom anyone can order about and instruct to do things. These are the pursuits and desires antichrists have among other people. Antichrists are quite sensitive when it comes to their status among other people. When in a group, they don’t believe their age and physical health are of any importance. What they believe to be important is how the majority sees them, whether the majority gives them time and saves them a place in their speech and actions, whether their status and position in the hearts of the majority are high or ordinary, whether the majority sees them as high up or ordinary or nothing special, and so on; what the majority considers their credentials of faith in God to be like, how weighty their words are among people, that is, how many people approve of them, how many people praise them, give them the thumbs up, listen attentively, and take it to heart after they say something; moreover, whether the majority sees them as having great or little faith, what their determination to endure suffering is like, how much they give up and expend, what their contributions to God’s house are like, whether the post they hold in God’s house is high or low, what they’ve suffered in the past, and what important things they’ve done—these are the things they are most concerned about. Antichrists often rank position and order in their minds, often comparing who is the most gifted in the church, who is the most articulate and eloquent in the church, who is good at professional skills and most proficient in technology. While they compare these things, they are constantly expending effort to study various professional skills, striving to be able to be proficient in and have mastery over them. Antichrists mainly focus on making effort with giving sermons and with how to explain God’s words in a way that shows themselves off and gets others to think highly of them. While they’re making this effort, they’re not seeking how to understand the truth or how to enter the truth reality, but rather they’re pondering how to remember these words, how they can show off their strengths to even more people, so that even more people come to know that they’re really something, that they’re not just ordinary people, that they’re capable, and that they’re higher up than ordinary people. Harboring these kinds of ideas, intents, and views, antichrists live among people doing all kinds of different things. Because they have these views, and because they have these pursuits and ambitions, they cannot help but engender good behaviors, correct sayings, and good actions of all kinds, great and small. These behaviors and actions cause those people who have no spiritual understanding, who basically don’t pursue the truth and who focus only on having good behavior to envy and admire the antichrists, and even imitate and follow them, and in this way, the antichrists’ aim is fulfilled. When antichrists harbor such intents and ambitions, how do they behave? This is what we’ll fellowship on today. It is a topic worth fellowshipping on, and even more so it is a topic worth focusing on and knowing for each of you.

Antichrists are averse to the truth, they do not accept the truth at all—which manifestly indicates one fact: Antichrists never act according to the truth principles, they never practice the truth—which is the most blatant manifestation of an antichrist. Apart from reputation and status, and being blessed and rewarded, another thing they pursue is the enjoyment of the comforts of the flesh and of the benefits of status; and with this being the case, they naturally cause disruptions and disturbances. These facts show that what they pursue, and their behavior and manifestations are not beloved by God. And these are absolutely not the actions and behaviors of people who pursue the truth. For example, some antichrists who are like Paul have the resolve to suffer when they do their duty, they can stay up all night and go without food when doing their work, they can subdue their own bodies, can overcome any sickness and discomfort. And what is their aim in doing all this? It is to show everyone that they are capable of putting themselves aside—of self-abnegation—when it comes to God’s commission; that for them, there is only duty. They exhibit all this in front of other people. When people are around, they do not rest when they should, even deliberately extending their working hours, getting up early and going to bed late. But what about work efficiency and the effectiveness of their duty when the antichrists toil like this from morning until night? These things are beyond the scope of their considerations. They only try to do all this in front of others, so that other people can see them suffering, and see how they expend for God without any thought to themselves. As for whether the duty they do and the work they are doing is carried out according to the truth principles, they don’t think about this at all. All they think about is whether their outwardly good behavior has been seen by everyone, whether everyone is aware of it, whether they have left an impression on everyone, and whether this impression will provoke admiration and approval in them, whether these people will give them the thumbs up behind their backs and praise them by saying, “They really can endure hardship, their spirit of endurance and extraordinary perseverance are beyond any of us. This is someone who pursues the truth, who is able to suffer and endure a heavy burden, they are a pillar in the church.” Hearing this, the antichrists are satisfied. In their hearts they think, “I was so clever to pretend like that, I was so smart to do this! I knew everyone would only look at the outside, and they like these good behaviors. I knew that if I acted like this, it would earn people’s approval, it would make them give me the thumbs up, it would make them admire me in the depths of their hearts, make them look favorably upon me, and that no one would look down on me ever again. And if a day comes when the above discovers that I haven’t been doing real work and dismisses me, there will undoubtedly be many people who stick up for me, who cry for me, and urge me to stay, and speak on my behalf.” They secretly rejoice over their fake behavior—and does this rejoicing not also reveal the nature essence of an antichrist? And what essence is this? (Wickedness.) That’s right—this is the essence of wickedness. Dominated by this essence of wickedness, antichrists engender a state of complacency and self-admiration which causes them to secretly clamor against and oppose God in their hearts. On the surface, they appear to pay a great price and their flesh endures much suffering, but are they truly considerate of God’s burden? Do they genuinely expend themselves for God? Can they loyally do their duty? No, they can’t. In their hearts, they secretly compete with God, thinking, “Didn’t you say I’m without the truth? Didn’t you say I have corrupt dispositions? Didn’t you say that I’m arrogant and conceited, and that I try to establish my own kingdom? Didn’t you say I have no spiritual understanding, that I don’t understand the truth, and so am a service-doer? I’ll show you how I render service, and what the brothers and sisters think of me when I render service like this and I act like this. I’ll show you whether or not I can win the admiration of even more people by acting like this. And one day when you want to send me away and condemn me, then I’ll see how exactly you’re going to manage that!” Antichrists compete with God in this way in their hearts and they try to replace pursuing the truth with these good behaviors. In so doing, they try to negate the practical effect of God working and leading people to practice the truth so that they achieve dispositional change. In essence, they use this interpretation to negate and condemn God’s work of saving man through judgment and chastisement, and they believe that it’s wrong and ineffective for God to judge people. These ideas and perspectives antichrists have are wicked, insidious, God-resisting, and against God. When God has not condemned them explicitly, they begin to compete with God in their hearts; when God has not exposed them and condemned their behavior, they begin to use pretense to mislead others and win over people’s hearts in order to deny God’s words and deny the fact that only pursuing the truth can lead to dispositional change and the satisfaction of God’s intentions. Isn’t this the essence of their interpretation? Don’t antichrists have a wicked disposition? Behind their suffering, they harbor such ambitions and adulterations, and that’s why God detests such people and such a disposition. Antichrists, however, never see or acknowledge this fact. God scrutinizes man’s innermost heart, whereas man sees only the external appearance of man—the stupidest thing about antichrists is that they don’t acknowledge this fact, nor can they see it. And so they do all they can to use good behavior to package and glamorize themselves so that others think they can suffer and endure hardship, endure suffering which common people cannot, do work that common people cannot, so that others think they have stamina, that they can subdue their own bodies, and that they have no consideration for their own fleshly interests or enjoyment. Sometimes they’ll even intentionally wear their clothes until they’re a little dirty and not wash them, not washing them even when they begin to smell; they do whatever makes other people worship them. The more they’re in front of others, the more they do all they can to show themselves so that others see them as different from common people, that their desire to expend themselves for God is greater than that of common people, that their determination to suffer is greater than that of common people, and that their stamina for enduring suffering is greater than that of common people. Antichrists engender such behaviors in these kinds of circumstances, and behind these behaviors is the desire of the antichrists deep in their hearts for people to worship and think highly of them. And when they achieve their goal, when they hear people’s praises, and when they see people casting envious, admiring, and appreciative looks at them, that is when they feel happy and satisfied in their hearts.

What is the difference between antichrists’ superficial good behavior of enduring suffering and paying a price and genuinely being considerate of God’s intentions, being loyal, and sincerely expending oneself for God? (The intent is different. Those who genuinely expend themselves for God will focus on seeking the principles, on work results, and on work efficiency. Antichrists appear to expend themselves for God on the surface, but it is only to get others to hold them in high esteem. They don’t consider work efficiency or work results at all.) That’s right, there’s a difference in the intent, motivation, and source of their speech and actions—it is absolutely different. People who endure suffering like they do and pursue the truth seek the principles in the course of this suffering. Seeking the principles shows at the very least that they have a mentality of submission; they don’t try to do their own things or try to do things for themselves, they have submission and a God-fearing heart in their actions, and they know very clearly that they are doing their duty and not engaging in the business of man. Although antichrists likewise appear to endure suffering, they just go through the motions and make a show of it for people to see; they don’t seek the truth principles, they have no submission or God-fearing heart in their actions, their hearts don’t live before God, and they try to use such behavior and manifestations to win people over and buy people’s favor. There is a difference here, isn’t there? Judging by the essence of antichrists’ behavior, can we say that their enduring suffering is a pretense? (Yes.) This is sufficient to prove that their behavior and manifestation of enduring suffering is just them going through the motions and making a show of it for people to see—they are not acting before God. This is one aspect. Another aspect is that no one is more adept at pretense and deception than the antichrists—so they are highly adaptable, and often employ certain crafty means to mislead and deceive people in order to achieve their aims of making people worship them. This is what they’re best at, it is in their bones, they innately possess this crafty and changeable essence. There are some antichrists, for example, whose words and behavior seem very kind and humble, who never expose the weaknesses of others, who are accommodating, who are not quick to judge or condemn others, who, when people are negative and weak, immediately reach out a helping hand. They give the impression of being warmhearted and kind, a good person. When people are in difficulty, they sometimes help with words, and sometimes with a few actions; there are even times when they donate some money or material things to help them. On the outside, their actions seem good. In most people’s minds, this is the type of person they want to meet and associate with; such people will not threaten or disturb them, and they can gain much help from them—material or mental assistance, for example, even help with higher spiritual theories, and so on. Outwardly, such people do nothing bad: They do not disrupt or disturb in the church, and seem to bring harmony to whatever group they’re in; under their operation and mediation, everyone seems happy, people get on, and have no quarrels or disputes. When they’re there, everyone feels how well they get on with each other, how close they are. When they’re gone, some people start gossiping with each other, ostracizing each other, getting jealous and disputing things; only when these antichrists are among them and call for peace does everyone stop arguing. These antichrists seem very capable in their work, but there’s one thing that shows what they’re really up to: Everyone whom they teach and lead is able to speak words and doctrines, they all know how to stand on their high horse and lecture others, they all know how to flatter people and curry favor with them, they know how to be slippery and deceitful, they know what to say to which people, they become people-pleasers, and on the outside, seem perfectly at peace. What have these antichrists made the church into? Into a religious organization. And the result? People live by their satanic philosophy, and are not willing to pursue the truth, and have no life entry, and have completely lost the work of the Holy Spirit. This is how the antichrists bring harm upon the brothers and sisters and forfeit them—and yet they still think that they’ve made great contributions, that they’ve done great things for the brothers and sisters, and brought them great blessings. They frequently teach the brothers and sisters to be humble and patient, to be tolerant and considerate when they see that a brother or sister has a problem, to not be coarse in speech or hurtful to others, and they instruct others on what pose to adopt when sitting or standing or what clothes to wear. What they often teach the brothers and sisters is not how to understand the truth or enter the truth reality, but how to follow regulations and behave well. Under their tutelage, people’s interactions are based not on God’s words, not on the truth principles, but on an interpersonal philosophy of being a people-pleaser. On the outside, no one is hurtful to each other, no one points out others’ failings, but no one tells anyone what they’re really thinking, and they do not open up and fellowship their corruption, rebelliousness, shortcomings, and transgressions. Instead, on a superficial level, they prattle on about who has suffered and paid a price, who has been loyal in doing their duty, who has been beneficial to the brothers and sisters, who has made considerable contributions in the house of God, who has been arrested and sentenced because of spreading the gospel—that’s all they talk about. Antichrists don’t just use good behavior—being outwardly humble, patient, tolerant, and helpful—to package and disguise themselves; they also try to set a personal example to infect others with this good behavior, and encourage them to emulate it. The aim behind their good behavior is nothing more than to make themselves the focus of people’s attention, to make people think highly of them. When God’s chosen ones speak of their self-knowledge and dissect their own corrupt dispositions, they keep silent, and make absolutely no attempt to dissect their own corruption. When the brothers and sisters expose and prune each other’s revelations of corruption, the antichrists are the only ones who practice humility, patience, and tolerance toward all; they don’t expose the corruption that anyone reveals, and even commend and praise the brothers and sisters for their good behavior, and for changing; they play the part of people-pleasers, putting on an act of being loving, considerate, tolerant, and comforting. These are the manifestations of antichrists being supremely adept at pretending and deceiving and misleading people.