b. With Imposture

Now we’ll fellowship on the second aspect. Antichrists often use hypocrisy to obtain status; they say certain things people like to hear and which accord with people’s notions, and they do certain things on the surface which cause people to approve of and admire them, thereby increasing their popularity—this is another way in which antichrists mislead people. Is there a difference between imposture and pretense? In terms of external behavior, pretense and imposture are usually one state; they are interrelated. We’ll fellowship on them separately so that they sound clearer for people, and so that people can get to know them more clearly. The primary meaning of “imposture” is not fake, but rather impersonating. Why do antichrists engage in imposture? Naturally, they have certain aims: Antichrists engage in imposture in order to gain status and prestige; if not, they would never engage in imposture, they would never do such a stupid thing. This can be plainly seen by those with discerning eyes. If people often engage in imposture, they will naturally earn the disgust, detestation, and excoriation of others—so why do the antichrists still do as they do? This is just their nature: They don’t care what it takes to gain reputation and status, they already lack a sense of shame. To gain status in people’s minds, the first thing the antichrists do is to make people trust them, look up to them, worship them. So how do they achieve this aim? Apart from faking some good behavior and manifestations that fit with people’s notions, they also style themselves after great and famous figures, copying the way they speak, in order to make people think highly of them and look up to them. In this way, they imperceptibly start to be worshiped, flattered, and supported by certain people in the church, they look upon the antichrists like some spiritual figures or famous people, which means that in the church and in the hearts of a certain proportion of people, the antichrists are admired and revered as spiritual figures. This is because most people are utterly without discernment, and they worship and revere anyone their hearts like and admire. In the church, what kind of person do the antichrists chiefly impersonate? They impersonate spiritual figures, because most people worship spiritual figures. In Judaism, the Pharisees were spiritual figures worshiped by people, people worshiped them for their knowledge, false piety, and good behavior; and so in Judaism, the Pharisees were very popular, they were very admired. Today, there are some in the church who also like to worship spiritual figures. Firstly, they worship those in the church who have believed in God for many years, who have certain so-called spiritual experiences and testimonies, who have received God’s graces and blessings, who have beheld great visions, who have had some extraordinary experiences. In addition, there are also those who are boastful and glib when they’re around people, inspiring worship and admiration in others. There are others whose means, ways, and principles by which they act are in line with church rules, whose external behavior seems pious. There are still others who appear to have great faith in God. These people are all given the title of spiritual people. So how do the antichrists impersonate spiritual people? What they do, quite simply, is to say the things that spiritual people say, and do the things that spiritual people do, in order to make people view them as a spiritual person. But do they say and do these things from the heart? No: This is mimicry, following a regulation, they are just doing it for others to see. For example, when something happens to them, they immediately pray—but they are not truly seeking or truly praying, they’re just going through the motions, putting on a show so that people say they love God so much and have such great fear toward God. What’s more, when illness befalls them and they require treatment, they don’t go for treatment or take the medicine they ought to. People say, “If you don’t take medicine, your illness could get worse. There’s a time for medicine, and there’s a time for prayer. You just need to follow your faith and not abandon your duty.” They reply, “It’s alright—God is with me, I’m not afraid.” On the outside, they pretend to be calm, unafraid, and full of faith, but inside, they’re terrified, and secretly run to the doctor as soon as they feel any discomfort. And if someone discovers they went to the doctor and took medicine, they try to find reasons or excuses to cover it up. They also often say, “Illness is a trial from god. When you live in sickness, you get sick; when you live in god’s words, you have no sickness. We must not live in sickness—if we live in god’s words, this disease will disappear.” Overtly, this is what they often teach people, they use the words of God to help people; but in secret, they resolve their illness using human means. In front of other people, they say they depend on God and that everything is in God’s hands, they say they don’t fear illness or death; but in their hearts, they are more afraid than anyone, they’re afraid of falling ill and going to hospital, and are even more so terrified of death. They have no true faith at all. In front of other people, they pray and say: “I gladly submit to the sovereignty and arrangements of god. Everything comes from god, and people should not complain.” In their hearts, meanwhile, they’re thinking: “I have done my duty so loyally, how could this illness befall me? And how come no one else has gotten it? Is god using this to reveal me, to stop me from doing this duty? Does god detest me? And if he detests me, am I a service-doer? Is god using me for rendering service? Will I have an outcome in the future?” They dare not complain out loud, but in their hearts, doubts have appeared about God, they think to themselves that not everything God does is necessarily right. On the outside, however, they pretend as if nothing’s wrong, they give the appearance that even when they fall ill it can’t hold them back, and they can still do their duty, and be submissive and loyal, that they can still expend for God. Is this not putting on a pretense and engaging in imposture? Their faith and submission are fake; their loyalty is fake. There is no true submission here, no true faith, much less is there true dependence and surrender. They do not seek the intentions of God, they do not reflect on their own corrupt dispositions, nor do they seek the truth to solve their own problems. All they think about in their hearts are their fleshly interests, outcome, and destination; their hearts are filled with complaints, misunderstandings and suspicions about God—and yet on the outside, they give the appearance of some spiritual figure, and whatever happens to them they say, “There is god’s goodwill, I must not complain.” Their mouths don’t complain, but their hearts are reeling: Their complaints, misunderstandings, and doubts about God keep churning in their hearts. To all appearances, they often read God’s words and do not delay in doing their duty, but in their hearts, they have already given up on their duty. Is this not what imposture means? This is imposture.

Antichrists will always engage in imposture, no matter the situation; they make no distinction regarding the occasion. For instance, when attending gatherings, some brothers and sisters exchange greetings. How do antichrists approach this? They say, “Stop chit-chatting, we’re at a gathering! Where do you think you are to be chatting about these kinds of things? You have no god-fearing heart. Be serious!” Some people take a break when doing their duty, and when an antichrist sees this, they say, “Being perfunctory again, ay? Then you should immediately read god’s words and come before him to pray.” When brothers and sisters exchange views to learn professional skills from each other, they will say, “You should fellowship about god’s words and pray first, and then exchange views and ideas later.” If someone hasn’t prayed before a gathering begins, the antichrist will reproach them, define them as being a certain type of person, and have something to say about them. In every respect, they get others to see that they’re very spiritual, very earnest, that they’re very conscientious toward the truth and try hard to pursue it, that they’re very responsible with their duty, that they can read God’s words regularly every day, that they have a normal spiritual life, that they regularly attend gatherings, that when they attend gatherings they pray, read God’s words, and fellowship in the prescribed way, and that they never engage in chit-chat or talk about home matters. If someone says to them, “Your hair’s getting long. You should go get it cut. The weather’s hot now, so you’ll feel cooler if you get your hair cut,” they reply, “It doesn’t matter that my hair’s getting a bit long. Work is important. The heat won’t cause me any problems if I leave my hair to grow a couple more days.” Someone says, “Your clothes are ragged. If you keep wearing them, people will laugh at you.” The antichrist says, “It doesn’t matter. Do we believers in god worry about being laughed at? We’ve all suffered so much, and we’ve endured the persecution of the great red dragon all this time. We’ve walked the path of being rejected by worldly people. So what if people laugh at me for my ragged clothes? So long as god accepts me, that’s all that matters.” Is this a good thing to say? (They’re pretending to be spiritual.) Some people see that I ask questions and get everyone to fellowship on them after a sermon, but people can’t answer them in fellowship, so they give this summary: “I’ve found some new light here. God never eats anything in vain, but we even eat cabbage in vain.” Have you heard this said before? (No.) They say that God never eats anything in vain, meaning that God preaches sermons to people and so He has earned His food. We aren’t able to fellowship on anything, so we even eat cabbage in vain. Some people without discernment take this as the truth and go telling it everywhere. They don’t believe that fellowshipping on self-knowledge, seeking to submit to and love God, and other such common topics often discussed by people can be considered spiritual, lofty, or as new light. To them, only what that person has said is the new light and is lofty! What that person said sounds right, but upon careful consideration, it feels disgusting and is a nonsensical thing to say. This is something invented by those who have no spiritual understanding, yet who still want to pretend to be spiritual, pretend to have knowledge of the truth, and pretend that they understand the truth—isn’t this nonsense? (Yes.) They specialize in learning to say boastful and empty words and doctrines, and they attach no importance to practicing the truth and entering reality. That’s why they specialize in learning to speak spiritual doctrine and they never dissect themselves to see whether or not they have the truth reality—aren’t these people hypocrites? God detests people like this most of all.

When these so-called spiritual people get together, they philosophize, discuss mysteries, talk about knowing oneself and knowing God. The things they talk about are so lofty and it doesn’t sound like earthly talk at all. They talk and talk, drifting away and talking about totally irrelevant things. What does “talking about totally irrelevant things” mean? They talk and talk until they begin talking utter nonsense, they compete with each other to see who has read more of God’s words and how much of a chapter of God’s words they can remember and preach, who can preach in a loftier and more profound way than others, and who can preach in a way that brings more light than others. They compete with these things, and this is called “competing in spirituality.” Sometimes people are chatting together, talking about how they’ve been lately or some external matters. Then a “spiritual person” comes over and, when they hear everyone chatting about these things, they take their book of God’s words and go find a corner to read it in. Doesn’t such a person look antisocial and odd? When I fellowship with some people on a main topic, we’ll take a break in the middle and chat about external matters—isn’t that normal? During this chat, some people don’t make a sound. What they mean by this is, “I’ll listen when you fellowship on the truth, but if you start chatting then I’ll stop listening. If you go on chatting for a long time, then I’ll leave.” Where do they go? They go find someplace to pray, and they say confidently, “Oh god, please take back my heart. Let me be quiet before you, let me not be drawn in and taken up by matters of the nonbelievers, and let me not be taken off by worldly trends.” Is that very spiritual? They believe it is. When you chat about home matters and what your state has been like recently, they think this isn’t fellowshipping on the truth, that God’s words are not mentioned at all, and so they leave and go before God to pray. Isn’t that a little odd? This is the imposture of those who seek to be spiritual—they’re so good at imposture! Their aim in engaging in imposture is to get others to see that they’re spiritual, that they’re earnest in their pursuit, that they live always before God, that there is light in their words, that they pursue the truth, that they are not constrained by the outside secular world or by family affections, that they have no such fleshly needs, that they’re different from normal people, that they have already cast off the secular world and such vulgar interests. When certain people speak a few words to nonbelievers, they say, “That’s not right. These nonbelievers are bad. The moment you speak to them and get mixed up in their affairs, you feel disturbed inside and must hurry before god to confess and pray. You must hurry to read god’s words, let his words occupy you and fill you up.” And so, when they see nonbelievers, people who don’t believe in God, they avoid them and won’t speak to them. They won’t even engage in normal interaction, and people think them odd. Their basis for acting this way is, “Nonbelievers are all devils and we mustn’t speak to them. God detests devils, so if we associate with devils and get close to them, then god will detest it too. We should detest what god detests, and we should reject what god rejects.” If they see a brother or sister speaking with, having a heart-to-heart with, or talking about home matters with a nonbelieving family member or friend, they form a judgment about them, thinking, “They’re an experienced believer who’s believed in god for many years. They don’t try to avoid nonbelievers, but instead get so close to them. This is them betraying god, and when they encounter a problem, they’ll surely become a Judas.” They pin a label on such people. Some people have parents who don’t believe in God themselves, yet neither do they object to their child believing in God. They occasionally call their parents up to ask how they are, or when they’re sick, they return home to look after them—this is entirely normal and God does not condemn it. And what do these spiritual people—these antichrists—do? Is this how they see things? They make a fuss over it, saying, “You ordinarily speak so well and you get others to let go of their affections and not be constrained by them. But I see that your affections are even stronger. Your parents don’t believe in god, so you must reject them.” The other person replies, “My parents don’t believe in God but they don’t stand in my way either. They’re very supportive of me.” The antichrist replies, “Even if they do support you, it’s not acceptable and they’re still devils. How can you still cook for them?” The other says, “Isn’t this normal human affection? Isn’t it normal to cook a few meals for one’s parents and show some filial love for them? God doesn’t condemn it, so what are you condemning it for?” The antichrist replies, “God wouldn’t bother himself with such a small matter! As god won’t bother himself with it, we should take a stand and stand firm in our testimony. You’ve believed in god for all these years and yet you have no discernment or stature, and you can treat devils so well—your affections are too strong!” They condemn even this! They condemn people and pin labels on them for doing anything to show that they have stature, that they’re earnest in their pursuit, that they have faith, but in the end when a member of their own family dies, they cry for so many days that they can’t get out of bed and even want to abandon their faith. Someone says to them, “Aren’t you a spiritual person?” They reply, “Can’t spiritual people be weak too? Can’t I be weak for a little bit?” Isn’t this sophistry? Fake spiritual people are capable of engaging in pretense, and this is called imposture. They pretend to have no weakness, to be submissive, to have faith in God and be loyal to God, to be able to keep their oaths, to be able to endure suffering and expend themselves, not behaving in any way which people might think of as unsuitable or not ideal. Judging by their external behavior, people approve of them and cannot pick out any fault, they appear to be basically consistent with Christian decency, and they don’t even appear to become negative or weak. When they see someone feeling weak and negative, they often sternly rebuke them, saying, “You become weak over such an insignificant matter—doesn’t that hurt god so much? Do you have any idea what time it is now? God has uttered so many words to us, so how can you still become weak? How can you understand god’s heart so little? No matter what issue you encounter, you must always go before god to pray, learn to love god and be loyal to him, and you must submit and not become weak. If you’re always considerate to your flesh, aren’t you rebelling against god?” It doesn’t sound like there’s any problem with any particular thing they say here, but it is all empty and cannot solve people’s problems. They say, “Do you have any idea what time it is now?”—does that have anything to do with people feeling weak? Does it have anything to do with rebelling? People have corrupt dispositions and live within their flesh, and people can always become weak and rebel.

Antichrists want to play the role of spiritual people, of the best among brothers and sisters, and of people who understand the truth and can help those who are weak and immature. What is their aim in playing this role? First, they believe they have already gone beyond the flesh and the secular world, that they have cast off the weakness and fleshly needs of normal humanity. They believe they are the ones in God’s house who can take on important tasks, be considerate of God’s intentions, and whose hearts are filled with God’s words. They praise themselves for having already met God’s requirements and satisfied God, for being able to be considerate of God’s intentions, and for being able to obtain the wonderful destination God has promised. They therefore often feel very smug and that they are a cut above the rest. They use the words they can remember and understand with their minds to lecture others, and to condemn and pass verdicts on others. They also often use certain approaches and sayings they imagine in their notions to delimit and instruct others, making other people keep the regulations and obey them, so that they can safeguard their status in the church. They believe that as long as they can preach a set of spiritual doctrines, shout trendy slogans, lead the way, be willing to come forward and take on work, and maintain the normal order of the church, then they will be spiritual people, and their status will be stable. They therefore pass themselves off as spiritual people and praise themselves for being so, while at the same time they pass themselves off as omnipotent, wholly capable, and perfect people. For instance, if you ask them if they can type, they say, “Yes, typing isn’t difficult for me.” You ask them, “Can you fix machines?” They say, “The principles of all machines are the same. Yes, I can fix them.” You ask, “Can you fix tractors?” They say, “Does fixing that crude machine count as being able to fix machines?” You ask them, “Can you cook?” They say, “I eat food, so of course I can cook!” You ask, “Can you fly a plane?” They say, “I’ve never learned, but if I learned it I could do it. I could be an airplane captain, no problem.” They think they can do anything, that they’re good at everything. Someone’s computer breaks and they ask them to fix it. They say they can fix it easily, but really they have no clue and don’t know how to fix it, and in the end after trying to fix it over and over, they end up deleting all the information on the computer. The person whose computer it is asks them, “Can you fix it or not?” And they reply, “I’ve fixed computers before, but now I’ve somehow forgotten how to do it. You’d best ask someone else to fix it.” They’re so good at pretense, right? People like this have the disposition of the archangel; they can never say, “I don’t know how to do it,” or “I can’t do it,” or “I’m no good at doing it,” or “I’ve never seen that before,” or “I don’t know”—they can never say such things. No matter what the matter is, if you ask them about it, then even if they don’t know how to do it and have never seen it before, they still have to come up with reasons and excuses so that you mistakenly believe they are good at everything, know how to do everything, can do everything, and that everything can be done. What kind of person do they want to be? (Supermen, wholly capable people.) They want to be wholly capable people, to pass themselves off as angels of light—aren’t they this kind of thing? Because antichrists always want to pretend that they are good at everything, when you ask them to work together with others, to exchange views, discuss, fellowship, and communicate with others on issues, they can’t do it. They say, “I don’t need anyone to work with me. I don’t need an assistant. I don’t need anyone’s help to do anything. I can do it myself, I know how to do everything, I’m wholly capable, and there’s nothing I can’t do, nothing I can’t achieve, and nothing I can’t complete. Who am I? You don’t know how to do anything, and even if you know how to do something, you’re not proficient at it. Even though I’ve only learned to do one thing, I know how to do everything. If I’m proficient at one thing, then I’m proficient at all things. I know how to write articles and can speak foreign languages. Even though I can’t speak any foreign languages right now, if I studied, then it would be no problem for me to learn five foreign languages.” Someone asks them if they can act in movies, sing and dance, and they say they can do all those things. They’re great at boasting, right? They pretend that they can do anything and know how to do everything—they really have the archangel’s nature! Someone asks them if they’ve ever become weak over the years they’ve believed in God, and they reply, “What’s there to become weak about? God’s words are spoken so clearly. We mustn’t become weak. If we do, then we’re letting god down. We should make 120 percent effort to repay god’s love!” The other person asks, “Have you ever missed home after leaving it all those years ago? Do you cry when you miss home?” They reply, “What’s there to cry about? God is in my heart. When I think of god, I don’t miss home anymore. All my nonbelieving family members are devils and Satans. I pray for them to be cursed.” The other person asks them, “Have you ever gone astray in your years of faith?” They reply, “God’s words are spoken so clearly, how could one go astray? Those who go astray are absurd people with no spiritual understanding. Can someone with a caliber like mine go astray? Can I take the wrong path? No way.” They believe they’re good at everything, that they’re better than everyone else. What do they think of people who become negative and weak? They say, “People who become negative and weak just have nothing better to do.” Is this really the case? Some negativity and weakness are normal, whereas there is a reason behind some negativity and weakness, so how can they describe this problem by saying these people “have nothing better to do”? Antichrists pretend to be spiritual in this way, they pretend to be able to do anything, they pretend to have no deficiency or weakness, and even more so they pretend to not be rebellious and that they’ve never committed any transgressions.

Regardless of the context, no matter what duty they do, an antichrist will try and give the impression that they aren’t weak, that they are always strong, full of faith, and never negative, so that people never see their real stature or real attitude toward God. In fact, in the depths of their heart, do they really believe there is nothing they cannot do? Do they genuinely believe that they are without weakness, negativity, or revelations of corruption? Absolutely not. They are good at putting on an act, adept at hiding things. They like showing people their strong and splendid side; they don’t want them to see the side of them that is weak and true. Their purpose is obvious: It is, quite simply, to keep face, to protect the place they have in people’s hearts. They think that if they open up before others about their own negativity and weakness, if they reveal the side of them that is rebellious and corrupt, this will be grievous damage to their status and reputation—more trouble than it’s worth. So they would rather die than admit to having times when they are weak, rebellious, and negative. And if a day does come when everyone sees the side of them that is weak and rebellious, when they see that they are corrupt, and have not changed at all, they will still keep putting on an act. They think that if they admit to having a corrupt disposition, to being an ordinary person, someone who is insignificant, then they will lose their place in people’s hearts, will lose everyone’s worship and adoration, and thus will have utterly failed. And so, whatever happens, they will not open up to people; whatever happens, they will not give their power and status to anyone else; instead, they try as hard as they can to compete, and will never give up. Whenever they encounter an issue, they take the initiative to step into the limelight and show and display themselves. The moment a problem occurs and consequences arise, they rush off and hide or try to put the responsibility onto someone else. If they encounter an issue they understand, they immediately show off what they can and grasp the opportunity to let others know them, so that people can see they have gifts and special skills and can think highly of them and worship them. If something major should occur, and someone asks them for their understanding of the event, they are reticent to reveal their views, instead letting others speak first. Their reticence has its reasons: Either it is not that they have no view, but they are afraid that their view is wrong, that if they say it aloud, others will rebut it, making them feel ashamed, and that is why they do not say it; or they do not have a view, and, unable to perceive the matter clearly, they do not dare speak arbitrarily, for fear of people laughing at their mistake—so silence is their only choice. In short, they do not readily speak up to express their views because they are afraid of revealing themselves for what they are, of letting people see that they are impoverished and pathetic, thus affecting the image others have of them. So, after everyone else has finished fellowshipping their views, thoughts, and knowledge, they seize upon some loftier, more tenable claims, which they trot out as their own views and understanding. They summarize them and fellowship them to everyone, thereby gaining high status in the hearts of others. Antichrists are extremely crafty: When the time comes to express a point of view, they never open up and show others their true state, or let people know what they really think, what their caliber is like, what their humanity is like, what their powers of understanding are like, and whether they have true knowledge of the truth. And so, at the same time as bragging and pretending to be spiritual, and a perfect person, they do their utmost to cover up their true face and real stature. They never reveal their weaknesses to the brothers and sisters, nor do they ever try to know their own deficiencies and shortcomings; instead, they do their utmost to cover them up. People ask them, “You’ve believed in God for so many years, have you ever had any doubts about God?” They reply, “No.” They are asked, “Have you ever regretted forsaking everything in expenditure for God?” They reply, “No.” “When you were ill, did you feel upset and did you miss home?” And they reply, “Never.” So you see, antichrists portray themselves as staunch, strong-willed, and able to forsake and suffer, as someone who is simply flawless and without any faults or problems. If someone points out their corruption and shortcomings, treats them equally, as a normal brother or sister, and opens up and fellowships with them, how do they treat the matter? They do their utmost to vindicate and justify themselves, to prove they are correct, and ultimately to make people see that they have no problems, and that they are a perfect, spiritual person. Is it not all imposture? Any who think themselves flawless and holy are all imposters. Why do I say all of them are imposters? Tell Me, is there anyone flawless amid corrupt humanity? Is there anyone who is truly holy? (No.) Definitely not. How can man achieve flawlessness when they are so deeply corrupted by Satan and, besides, not innately possessed of the truth? Only God is holy; all corrupt humanity is defiled. If a person were to impersonate someone holy, saying they were flawless, what would that person be? They would be a devil, a Satan, an archangel—they would be a bona fide antichrist. Only an antichrist would claim to be a flawless and holy person. Do antichrists know themselves? (No.) And since they do not know themselves, will they fellowship about their self-knowledge? (No.) Are there antichrists that will fellowship about their self-knowledge? (Yes.) What kind of people do this? (Hypocrites.) That’s right. These people pretend to know themselves, and make mountains out of molehills and give themselves several big labels, saying they are Satans and demons, pretending that they have a profound knowledge of themselves. They’re falsely spiritual people, aren’t they? Are they not hypocrites? When they fellowship about their self-knowledge, do they really know themselves? (No.) So what do they say about their self-knowledge? (When antichrists talk about their self-knowledge, they don’t talk about their actual situation, they only speak empty words and words of doctrine, which are not practical at all; they seem to have a very profound knowledge, but there is no sign of remorse.) Is this real knowledge of oneself? There is no true remorse, so have they achieved the effect of hating themselves? When there is no remorse and no hatred of themselves, they do not truly know themselves. The self-knowledge that antichrists speak about only includes the things that everyone knows about them, that everyone sees. They also resort to sophistry and self-justification for themselves to make everyone feel that they haven’t done anything wrong, and can nevertheless still speak about their self-knowledge, so that people think even more highly of them. Seeing that they haven’t done anything wrong yet are still reflecting on themselves and trying to know themselves, what people think is, “If he really does do something wrong, he would be even more likely to know himself. How pious he is!” What is the result of the antichrist doing this? They mislead people. They don’t truly dissect or understand their own corrupt disposition so that other people can learn a lesson from this; instead, they use fellowshipping about their self-knowledge to make others think more highly of them. What is the nature of this act? (Testifying to oneself to mislead people.) That’s right. They are misleading people. How does this count as knowing oneself? This is deception, pure and simple. They are using talking about their self-knowledge to mislead people, to make people think they are spiritual, and that they know themselves, in order to make people think highly of them and worship them. This is a despicable and sordid practice—and it is the wickedness of the antichrists.