To all appearances, the antichrists’ words seem especially kind, cultured, and distinguished. No matter who violates principle or disrupts and disturbs church work, the antichrist does not expose or criticize these people; they turn a blind eye, letting people think they are magnanimous in all matters. Regardless of what corruptions people reveal and what evil deeds they do, the antichrist is understanding and tolerant. They do not grow angry, or fly into a rage, they will not get cross and blame people when they do something wrong and harm the interests of God’s house. No matter who commits evil and disturbs the work of the church, they pay no heed, as if this has nothing to do with them, and they will never offend people because of it. What are the antichrists most concerned with? With how many people think highly of them, and with how many people see them when they suffer, and praise them for it. The antichrists believe that suffering must never be for nothing; no matter what hardship they endure, what price they pay, what good deeds they do, how caring, considerate, and loving they are toward others, this must all be carried out in front of others so that more people can see it. And what is their aim in acting thus? To buy people’s favor, to make more people approve of their actions, their conduct, and their character in their hearts, giving a thumbs up. There are even antichrists that try to establish an image of themselves as “a good person” through this outwardly good behavior, so that more people come to them looking for help. For instance, someone becomes weak and believes that most people are without love, that they are very selfish, and that they don’t like helping others and are not warmhearted, and then they think of that “good person” who is actually an antichrist. Or, someone encounters a difficulty in their work and doesn’t know how to resolve it. They can’t think of anyone who could help, and the first person they think of is this “good person” who is actually an antichrist. Someone doesn’t want to do their duty anymore, they want to pursue the world, pursue power and riches, and live their own life, and even though they become so negative and weak, they don’t pray to God or fellowship with anyone, and in this situation they think of that “good person” who is actually an antichrist. As things go on in this way, these people don’t pray to God or read God’s words anymore when they encounter issues, instead wanting to rely on this “good person” who is actually an antichrist to help them. They only open their hearts and say what’s in their hearts to this people-pleaser, asking this people-pleaser to solve their difficulties; they affirm and follow this antichrist. And isn’t the antichrist’s aim thereby achieved? When the antichrist has achieved their aim, doesn’t their status in the church become higher than that of ordinary people? And when they can be number one and become the big fish in the church, are they really satisfied? No, they’re not. What aim do they want to achieve? They want to get even more people to approve of them, hold them in high esteem, and worship them, to hold a position in people’s hearts, and particularly to get people to look up to them, rely on them, and follow them when they encounter difficulties in their faith in God and have nowhere to turn. This is much more serious than the antichrist wanting to be number one and to be the big fish in the church. What’s so serious about it? (They contend with God to hold a position in people’s hearts. They want to directly replace God.) (Such people are difficult to discern. They use superficial good behavior to mislead others, which leads to others no longer seeking the truth in God’s words or fellowshipping on the truth when they have a problem, but instead depending on and looking up to these antichrists, getting them to solve their problems and regarding their words as the truth, resulting in these people growing more and more distant from God. This is a more insidious and malicious method.) That’s right, you’ve all understood and mentioned the important point, which is that antichrists hold a position and lay down roots in people’s hearts and want to take God’s place. Someone says, “If I go looking for God, I can’t find Him; I can’t see Him. If I look for God’s words, the book is so thick, there are too many words, and it’s hard to find answers. But if I go to this person, then I get answers right away; it’s both convenient and beneficial.” You see, their actions have already made people not only worship them in their hearts, but also leave a place for them there. They want to take God’s place—this is the antichrist’s aim in doing these things. It is evident that, by doing these things, the antichrist has already achieved initial success; there is already a place for this antichrist in the hearts of these undiscerning people, and some people already worship and look up to them. This is the aim the antichrist wants to achieve. If someone has a problem and prays to God instead of seeking the antichrist, they’re displeased, and think, “Why are you always going to god? Why do you always think of god? Why don’t you see me or think of me? I’m so humble and patient, I’m able to forsake things and expend myself so much, and I give to charity, so why don’t you come to me? I help you so much. Why don’t you have any conscience?” They feel unhappy and upset, and they feel angry—angry at that person and at God. In order to achieve their ultimate aim, they keep up the pretense, they keep giving to charity and remain patient and tolerant, they appear humble, they speak benevolently, they never hurt others, and they often provide comfort when people are trying to know themselves. Someone says: “I’m rebellious; I’m a devil and a Satan.” They respond: “You’re not a devil or a Satan. This is just a small problem. Don’t put yourself down so much and don’t underestimate yourself. God has raised us up; we’re not ordinary people, and you mustn’t belittle yourself. You’re much better than I am; I’m more corrupt than you. If you’re a devil, then I’m a wicked devil. If you’re a wicked devil, then I must go down into hell and suffer perdition.” This is how they help people. If someone admits to causing a loss to the interests of God’s house or to the church’s work, the antichrist says to them: “Causing a loss to the church’s work while doing your duty and going a little astray isn’t a big deal. I’ve previously caused losses much greater than you have and I’ve gone down much more crooked paths. Just change how you do things in the future, it’s not a problem. If you feel that your conscience can’t bear it, I have some money and I’ll make up the loss for you, so don’t be upset. If you have any problem in the future, just come to me and I’ll do all I can to help you, and whatever I can do, I’ll do right away.” They have this sense of “personal loyalty,” but what are they actually doing this for? Are they really helping you? They’re harming you, leading you into a ditch—you’ve fallen into the temptation of Satan. They dig a hole for you, and you jump right in; you fall into the trap and still think it’s great there, and you’re ruined by this antichrist without even knowing it—such stupidity! This is how Satan and antichrists treat, mislead, and harm people. The antichrist says: “It’s fine if you just consider the interests of god’s house a little bit and are a bit careful in the future. This matter can be rectified, no one would do it on purpose. Who among us can be a perfect person? None of us are perfect; we’re all corrupt. I used to be much worse than you. Let’s exhort each other in the future. Besides, even if god’s house suffers some losses, god won’t remember them. God is so forgiving and tolerant toward man. If we can show tolerance toward each other, mustn’t god be even more capable of tolerance? If god says he won’t remember our transgressions, then we no longer have any transgressions.” No matter how big a mistake a person may make, the antichrist just downplays it with a joke and passes it over, showing how big their heart is, and how benevolent, great, and tolerant they are. Conversely, this makes people mistakenly believe that God is always exposing people in His utterances, always making a fuss about people’s corrupt dispositions, and always nitpicking with people. If a person has transgressed or rebelled, God prunes, judges and chastises them, and it seems as though He is inconsiderate to people. The antichrist, however, can tolerate and forgive people in all situations; they are so great and respected. Isn’t this how it is? There are also some antichrists who say, “Nonbelievers have this saying: ‘In a big household with lots of property, a little waste is nothing.’ God’s house is so big, and god gives bountiful blessings. It’s not a big deal to be a bit wasteful; god bestows so much on us. Have we not wasted much? And what has god done to us? Hasn’t god tolerated it all? Man is weak and corrupt, and god saw this long ago, so if he’s seen it then why doesn’t he punish us? This proves that god is patient and merciful!” What kind of thing is this to say? They use words that seem right and accord with people’s notions to mislead people and make them fall into temptation, to disturb their vision and misguide them, and to make them misunderstand God, so that they have not even a shred of a desire or wish to submit to Him. Instigated, misled and misdirected by antichrists, people lose what little conscience they have, and they all begin to obey and submit to the antichrists.

Antichrists are particularly adept at pretense when around other people. Just like the Pharisees, they appear on the outside to be very tolerant of people and patient, humble and good-natured—they seem so very lenient and tolerant with everyone. When handling problems, they always show how incredibly tolerant they are toward people from their position of status, and in every aspect they appear magnanimous and broad-minded, not being nitpicky with others, and showing people how great and kind they are. In reality, do antichrists actually possess these essences? They act for the good of others, are tolerant with people, and can help people in all situations, but what is their hidden motive for doing these things? Would they still do these things if they weren’t trying to win people over and buy people’s favor? Is this really how antichrists are behind closed doors? Are they really as they appear to be when around other people—humble and patient, tolerant of others, and helping others with love? Do they possess such an essence and such a disposition? Is this what their character is? Not at all. Everything they do is a pretense and is done to mislead people and buy people’s favor so that even more people come to have a favorable impression of them in their hearts, and so that people think of them first and seek their help when they have a problem. In order to achieve this aim, antichrists deliberately scheme to show off around others, to say and do right things. Before they speak, who knows how many times they will filter or process their words in their minds. They will deliberately scheme and rack their brains, pondering over their wording, expressions, pitch, voice, and even over the look they give people and the tone they speak with. They will ponder over who it is they’re talking to, whether that person is old or young, whether that person’s status is higher or lower than their own, whether that person holds them in high esteem, whether that person privately resents them, whether that person’s personality is compatible with their own, what duty that person does, and what their position in the church and in the hearts of their brothers and sisters is like. They will carefully observe and attentively ponder these things, and once they’ve pondered them, they come up with ways to approach all kinds of people. Regardless of the ways in which antichrists treat different kinds of people, their aim is nothing more than to get people to hold them in high esteem, to get people to no longer look at them as equals but rather to look up to them, to have even more people admire and look up to them when they speak, endorse and follow them when they do things, and absolve and defend them when they make a mistake, and to have even more people fight in their corner, complain bitterly on their behalf, and take a stand to argue with and oppose God when they are revealed and rejected. When they fall from power, they’re able to have so many people assist, express support for, and stick up for them, which shows that the status and power that the antichrists have deliberately schemed to cultivate in the church have taken root deeply in people’s hearts, and that their “painstaking effort” has not been in vain.

Antichrists strive to manage and approach their status, prestige, reputation, and authority among people to the best of their ability—they will not slack off, be softhearted, and even less will they be careless. They observe the expression in everyone else’s eyes, their personalities, their daily routines, their pursuits, their attitudes toward positive and negative things, and even more so they observe everyone else’s faith and loyalty in their belief in God, as well as their attitudes toward expending themselves for God and doing their duties, and so on—they exert a great deal of effort on these things. So, based on this attitude they have, they avoid and guard themselves from those who pursue the truth and who can discern them, and they speak and act cautiously when around such people. When around people with relatively weak personalities, who are often negative and don’t understand the truth, and certain people who are foolish and have poor comprehension of the truth, they frequently do all they can to show themselves, constantly putting on a performance like a circus act and seizing every opportunity to put on a performance. For example, when at gatherings, most people approve of them, a minority of people feel repulsed by them, and even more people have no discernment of them, and so they begin to perform and look for opportunities to give fellowship. They give fellowship on their own experiences, on their past “glorious history,” on the merit they’ve achieved in God’s house, and even on how the Above has appreciated them and personally pruned them—they can’t let even one opportunity like this pass them by. No matter who they’re with or what the occasion, antichrists only ever do one thing: They perform; that is, they engage in grandstanding. This is the essence of antichrists: They’re averse to the truth, wicked, and shameless. How far do they go in their performances? Perhaps you’ve witnessed some yourselves. Some of them can clearly be seen to be putting on a performance, showing off, winning over people’s hearts, and seizing opportunities to get others to think highly of them. Some people despise them, some ignore them, and even mock them, but they don’t care. What do they care about? What they care about is their performance leaving people with a deep impression, getting people to see how they dare to say things, that they have courage, leadership style, leadership talent, the courage to not get stage fright in front of everyone, and even more so the ability to handle things without panicking. They feel satisfied when they’ve gotten people to understand and see these things, and that’s why they do all they can to perform the moment they get the opportunity to do so, and they perform without restraint, without any scruples, and without any shame. This is what antichrists do. If I always fellowship on the main topic in gatherings, some people get drowsy while they listen to Me talk. Or else when I fellowship on the main topic, people’s minds are still on other things and it’s not easy for them to attend to what I’m saying. In situations like these, I chat a little, tell a story or tell a joke. These things and stories usually have to do with certain corrupt dispositions and states that people reveal in their lives. I use stories or tell a joke to wake people up a bit so that they can understand a little better. When antichrists see this, they think, “You tell jokes in your sermons at gatherings. I can too, I’m just as good as you. I’ll just casually make a lame joke and make everyone burst out laughing, and everyone will enjoy it—how great is that! I’ll just casually tell a story, and then no one will want to attend the gatherings anymore, they’ll just want to hear my stories.” They compete with Me on this. Is there any point in them competing with Me on this? Why do I tell stories? Why do I engage in chit-chat? People can understand some things from My chat and stories, and this helps them to understand the truth in a relaxed way—this is My aim. Antichrists, however, seize upon this and try to take advantage of it, saying, “At gatherings, during that time that is so crucial and important, you just engage in chit-chat, so I will too.” Is chit-chat always the same? Antichrists, these pieces of trash, don’t even understand the truth, so what can come from their chit-chat? What can come from their stories or jokes? These beasts without spiritual understanding take the serious matters of fellowshipping on the truth and telling stories too superficially and casually. What kind of people do this? Antichrists, people with no spiritual understanding, and people who don’t pursue the truth like doing things like this.

The eyes of brothers and sisters, the eyes of most people, can pick out almost no fault in the acts of pretense that antichrists engage in. Why is this? It’s because antichrists cover up and hide their faults and won’t let you see them; they keep their wicked side, their debauched side, and their bad side hidden behind closed doors. Where is “behind closed doors”? It’s the places you cannot see, that is, in their home, in society, in their job, in front of their relatives and friends; these are areas you cannot see or come into contact with. Their words and behavior which you can see and come into contact with are entirely the side of them that is pretense, the side of them that has undergone processing. The side of them you cannot see is their true essence, their true face. And what is their true face? When around their nonbelieving family, they say all kinds of bad words—complaints, resentful words, and hostile words against others, words judging and condemning brothers and sisters, complaints about God’s house being unrighteous—they say all these things, leaving nothing out, not holding back in the slightest. When around their relatives and friends, they discuss the secular world and gossip about other people’s families, they join in all the secular activities of the nonbelievers, and even actively participate in weddings and funerals. They gossip with nonbelievers, they judge and curse others, spread rumors about people and slander them behind their backs—they say all these things. When among the nonbelievers, while dealing with other people, they swindle people, they form cliques, they attack people, and in the workplace they can frame others, tell tales on others, and trample over others to get a higher position—they can do all these things too. When with their families or nonbelievers, they’re not patient, tolerant, or humble, but instead they completely reveal their true colors. In God’s house, they’re wolves in sheep’s clothing, and when among nonbelievers, people who don’t believe in God, they reveal their wolf’s face for all to see; they fight against the nonbelievers for their interests, for a word, for a saying, and will argue endlessly for the smallest interest with nonbelievers until their face turns red. If they gain no benefit or get pruned in God’s house, they go home and cause a ruckus, they make trouble, and act in a way that makes their family afraid of them. Among nonbelievers, they have no Christian decency, nor do they bear witness like Christians should—they are a wolf through and through, not even a human. In God’s house and before brothers and sisters, they make promises, they swear oaths, express their determination, and they appear willing to expend themselves for God and seem to have faith in God. When they come among the nonbelievers, however, their pursuits and beliefs are the same as the nonbelievers’. Some even follow celebrities as the nonbelievers do and copy what the celebrities wear every day, exposing their upper body, having disheveled hair, and wearing heavy makeup—they resemble neither a human nor a ghost. They wear fashionable clothes and keep pace with the times every day, feeling that life is so full of flavor, and deep down in their innermost heart, they feel no sense of disgust toward the way nonbelievers live at all. Antichrists do many things and go to great effort to assure themselves a place in the church and have prestige and status in people’s hearts. This effort is made entirely to achieve their aims and to get others to think highly of and worship them. These behaviors, approaches, and external revelations form a clear comparison with how they live behind closed doors, and their actions and behavior behind people’s backs are utterly not things a Christian should do. With such a clear comparison, we can determine that everything they do and reveal around brothers and sisters is all pretense, that it is not real and not a natural revelation. Antichrists engage in pretense only to achieve their aims, otherwise they would never compromise themselves to do these things. Judging by what they do and the revelations of their dispositions behind closed doors, as well as by their own pursuits, they don’t love the truth, they don’t love positive things, they don’t love decency and uprightness, much less do they love enduring suffering and paying a price or following the Christian path. Therefore, these good behaviors they show do not spring from their hearts, they are not voluntary, not genuine, but rather they are contrary to their own wishes, are done for others to see, and are done to win favor and buy off people’s hearts. Some people say, “How do they benefit from buying off people’s hearts?” This is where antichrists are different from ordinary people; this benefit is of such importance to them. So then, what is this benefit? It is that, when they stand among people, there is no one who does not know them, no one who does not give them the thumbs up, no one who does not praise them, no one who does not worship them. People seek the antichrist out when they have an issue instead of seeking and praying to God. And when everyone worships the antichrist and revolves around them, how does the antichrist feel? They feel that they are a godlike or extraordinary person, and they feel like they’re floating on clouds, living on cloud nine, which is different from how an ordinary person lives. When they’re among people, everyone heaps praise and admiration on them and extols them like stars clustering around the moon—what a great feeling this is, and how much enjoyment, comfort, and happiness there is in their heart! This is precisely what antichrists want. However, if no one in a group of people pays the antichrist any attention, if very few people know their name, if no one knows their strengths, if they’re regarded as an ordinary person in most people’s minds, someone without any special characteristics, without any strengths, without anything extraordinary about them, anything for other people to esteem or respect, or anything for anyone to speak admiringly about, then this makes the antichrist feel uncomfortable and bad in their heart; they don’t feel like a deity or like they’re floating on clouds. To them, living like this is too boring, too uncomfortable, too stifling, too unfulfilling, and not worth it. They think that if they are to be just an ordinary person all their life, performing some duty and becoming a qualified created being, then what pleasure is there in such a life? How can there be so little pleasure in believing in God? To them, this is too low a standard, and it needs to be raised. But how is it to be raised? They must increase their popularity so that people look up to them and esteem them highly, and they can live a life of splendor. That’s why, when they pray, they don’t pray at home on their own, but instead must go to church to pray, pray when gathered together with brothers and sisters, pray loudly, pray grammatically, logically, in an orderly way, and thoughtfully, pray so that everyone present can hear, so that everyone present can hear their eloquence and clear thinking, and know that they have their own pursuit. When they read God’s words, they don’t read them alone at home either. First, they prepare at home, and then they read for others to hear so that other people see that the words of God they read are all important, all crucial. No matter what they do, they always do their homework behind closed doors, and only when they are prepared, when other people think them respectable and approve of them, do they come before others. There are even some who preview and prepare at home in front of the mirror before bringing it before others. When they bring it before other people, it is not in its most original state, but has already undergone processing many times, processed via the antichrist’s thoughts, views, corrupt dispositions, cunning schemes and underhanded means. In order to achieve their aim of having status and popularity in the church and among people, antichrists will not flinch at paying any price to do these things. Therefore, what are all these things called? Are they true revelations? Are they practices which someone pursuing dispositional change should be engaged in? (No.) They all spring from pretense; antichrists engage in so much pretense that it makes one sick!

Some people won’t give fellowship at gatherings if they haven’t prepared a draft first. They have to prepare a draft behind closed doors first, amend it many times, process it, polish it, and only when it’s ready will they give fellowship before brothers and sisters. Someone says to them, “We’re all brothers and sisters here. Just speak honestly and truthfully at gatherings. Just say whatever comes to mind. That’s the best way.” They reply, “No, I can’t. If I do that, then brothers and sisters will look down on me.” You see, they unconsciously say something true. In every respect, they do things to safeguard their reputation and status. Some people who are outstanding talents, professors, university students, doctoral students, or scientific researchers in society use certain pretending behaviors and processed behaviors to interact with people in order to prove themselves and safeguard their status and reputation. That is, they wear a mask to interact with people, and people never know what they’re truly after, whether they have any weakness, what exactly they get up to behind closed doors, and there is always a hint of doubt, always a question mark, when it comes to their private life and how they conduct themselves. Don’t these people engage in such profound pretense? So, how should you approach these people? Should it be that because they are false with you, you are false with them? For example, they speak only polite pleasantries when they meet you, so you are just constantly polite with them, too—is this acceptable? (No.) So then, what is the appropriate way to associate with them? (When one discovers that they’re showing these manifestations, one should first expose them, fellowship with them on what the nature essence of this kind of disposition is and what intent it is governed by. If they don’t accept what one says, then one should not fellowship with them again.) You must expose them, and if they don’t accept what you say, then shun them. Are there any among you who could still be misled by them and worship them? With the stature you have now, you are basically able to see through these obvious Pharisees a little, but if you encounter someone who is more capable, who can engage in pretense, who keeps themself deeply hidden, will you be able to see through them? If they only ever say and do the right things, if they appear to have no faults and never make mistakes, if you sometimes become negative and weak with some matters but they never do, and if they do then they can solve it themselves and quickly emerge from it, but you can’t, then when you encounter such people you will approve of and worship them, and you will learn from them and follow them; if you are not able to discern such people, then it’s hard to say whether you will be deceived by them or not.

How many aspects have we fellowshipped on this topic of pretense? One aspect is that they use enduring suffering as a pretense. In their hearts, they really don’t want to endure suffering and they feel very resistant toward it, yet they very reluctantly endure suffering, give things up, and pay a price in order to achieve their aims. After they’ve suffered, they still don’t resign themselves to it and feel that this suffering wasn’t worth it because many people aren’t aware of it. They therefore go publicizing it everywhere, telling lots of people who didn’t know about it. In the end, some people come to know what happened and get a profound impression of them, think highly of them and worship them, and thereby they achieve their aims. There are also some who advertise themselves as good people, as well-behaved and dutiful, wanting to associate with people using this kind of image, identity, and personality so that people believe they are good people and get close to them. They take being a good person like this as their aim in order to receive admiration from even more people, so that people think highly of them and they can increase their popularity. Isn’t that so? (Yes, it is.) Using certain approaches antichrists employ, we’ve just now exposed and dissected the hidden aims behind their pretending behavior and the essence of their pretense, what things they do and say, and what manifestations they display which prove that they are engaging in pretense. We will finish fellowshipping on this aspect here.