Antichrists often mislead people, win them over, and control them using claims that they are popular people in God’s house, who have been put in important positions by God, and who God esteems and trusts, in an effort to achieve their goal of always enjoying status and forever having the final say. What do antichrists fear the most? They are most scared of losing their status and being held in bad repute. They fear that the brothers and sisters will think that they do not pursue the truth, that they are of very poor caliber, and that they do not have spiritual understanding, or do any actual work, and that they are incapable of doing any actual work. These are the things antichrists are most terrified of hearing. When antichrists hear such statements and declarations, they fly into a panic and even get annoyed, sometimes going so far as to throw a tantrum, saying, “I have poor caliber, so go ahead and use whoever you can use; I can’t do this work anyway! Isn’t god righteous? I’ve believed in him for all these years, given up my family and career for him, and exerted so much for all of you, my brothers and sisters. Why can’t you even speak a fair word about me?” They could no longer spare any attention to their reputation and status, nor do they try to cover themselves up or pretend anymore; their ugliness is on full display. After venting their anger, they wipe their tears and think, “Oh no; I’ve disgraced myself. I’ll have to make a comeback!” Then they go on pretending, they go on learning good slogans and doctrines, and listening, reading, preaching, and misleading people. They feel that they must salvage their reputation and status, and they hope that one day, when it is election time, the brothers and sisters will still think of them, recall the good things they’ve done, remember the prices they have paid, and the things they have said. This is absolutely shameless, is it not? That old nature of theirs hasn’t changed at all, has it? Why don’t antichrists ever change? This is determined by their nature essence, they cannot change; this is just who they are. When their ambitions and desires have completely gone up in smoke, they throw tantrums, and then they become much better behaved. I recently asked about how one person had been doing, and some brothers and sisters said that he had been very well-behaved. What did “well-behaved” mean? It meant that he had behaved himself a lot better lately, and had been acting a lot better than before; he was no longer causing trouble, attacking people, or vying for status, and he had been learning how to speak to people more gently, modestly, and quietly. And he’d been using correct words to help others, and in his everyday life, he had been showing special concern and care for other people. It was as though he had transformed into a completely new person. But had he really? No. So, what were those practices? (External good behaviors.)

After some antichrists are revealed and all of their evil deeds come to light, when they see the brothers and sisters, they say, “I feel like I’ve been enlightened and illuminated by god recently, and I’m in a really good state. I feel a deep hatred toward my previous actions, and I will never be able to forget or let go of the losses I caused my brothers and sisters to suffer. I feel very sad.” As they say this, they burst into tears and even take the initiative to ask the brothers and sisters to prune them, saying, “Don’t worry about me being weak. If you see me doing something wrong, then prune me, I can accept it—I can accept it from god; I will hold no grudge against you.” They have gone from stubbornly refusing, resisting, and defying being pruned by the brothers and sisters, justifying and arguing on their own behalf, and being full of resentment, to actively seeking to be pruned. This is a rather speedy change of attitude, isn’t it? Does this mean they feel remorse? Based on this attitude, it looks like they have made a turnaround, so you should prune them. Doing this can enable them to realize the wrongs they have committed in the past, and help them to come to know themselves. In that moment, you should help them by showing some sincerity, and say, “I can see that you have been acting quite well recently. I’m going to speak to you from the heart. If something I say is incorrect, and you cannot accept it, then pay it no mind; if you believe what I say to be correct, then accept it from God. My intention is to help you, not to kick you while you’re down or attack you. Let’s open up our hearts to each other and fellowship. Back when you served as a leader, you would strut around the place, and refuse to admit to your mistakes; even if you outwardly admitted to some, you did not actually accept fault deep down—and afterward, when you came across the same sort of issue, you still acted just as you did before. Let’s talk about that last incident, for example. Because you were irresponsible, something went wrong, and a great loss was brought upon the assets of God’s house. Your irresponsibility also led to many brothers and sisters being arrested and imprisoned, and paying a price for this. Don’t you think you should take responsibility for that? You were the person directly responsible for that incident, so you should come before God, confess your sins, and repent. In fact, if you admit your mistake, God will see it as a transgression at worst, and it will not affect your pursuit of the truth in the future. The brothers and sisters will also be able to treat you properly and see you as a member of God’s house; they won’t ostracize you or attack you. It is true that everything about a person is in God’s hands, but if you never pursue the truth, then you are sure to be loathed and abandoned by God, at which point you will be a target for destruction. If you accept and submit to God’s work and can genuinely repent, God will not remember your past transgressions and you will still be a person who pursues the truth before God. We do not ask for His pardon or forgiveness, but at the very least, we must do what humans should do; this is the responsibility and duty of every created being, and it is the path that we all should walk.” These are true words, aren’t they? Is there any mockery or trickery in them? Is there any sarcasm or ridicule in them? (No.) These are just heartfelt words, spoken calmly and in line with the principle of helping and edifying people. These words are correct; within them, there is a path of practice, as well as truth to be sought. However, can antichrists accept these words? Can they comprehend and practice them as the truth? (They cannot.) How will they respond to these words? “Even now, you all just keep seizing upon my mistake, refusing to let go, huh? Even god doesn’t remember people’s past transgressions, so why are you always looking into mine? You say that you want to have a heart-to-heart with me and that you’re helping me. What sort of help is this? This is obviously an attempt to dwell on the past and hold me accountable. You are just trying to make me take responsibility, right? Am I alone responsible for that incident? Everything’s in god’s hands, which means that he’s the one who is responsible. When that incident happened, why didn’t god give us any hints about it? Isn’t this orchestrated by god? Well then, how can you blame me?” This is them speaking their minds, isn’t it? Wherein lies their problem? On the surface, they seemed to have made a turnaround and to have become humbler; they appeared much better behaved than they were before, as though they no longer pursued status and reputation and as if they can calmly sit down, speak with someone, and have a heart-to-heart chat. So how are they still capable of saying something like this? What problem can be seen in this? (The way they acted was just an illusion they put up so that they could make a comeback.) What else? (They don’t truly know themselves at all, and those aren’t displays of real repentance. They are just a kind of hypocritical practice. When other people fellowship with them about their problems, they’re still incapable of accepting the truth. It’s clear that their nature essence is hostile toward the truth.) Two points are very clear in this. First of all, when an antichrist loses their status, one of their states of being is, “Where there is life there is hope”—they are always ready to make a comeback. The second point is that with regard to the erroneous path they were on before and the transgressions they committed, antichrists will absolutely never genuinely reflect on themselves. They will not admit their mistakes or accept the truth, and even less will they come to understand their essence from the facts of their evildoing, or summarize how to practice according to the truth. When they are dismissed and lose their status, they do not think, “What exactly did I do wrong? How should I repent? If this sort of thing happens again, how should I act so that I may be in accordance with God’s intention?” They do not have this attitude of turning themselves around. Even if they are pruned, and even if they get dismissed, they still will not turn back and pursue the truth, seek a path of practice, or change the direction of their pursuit. No matter how great losses they bring to God’s house and no matter how big a fall they take, they will never confess their sins. Their failures will not cause them to pursue and seek the truth in the time that follows; instead they will be calculating just what they can do to salvage everything and get back the status they have lost. These are the two points. The first is a sort of state of being they have after losing their status, which is constantly being ready to make a comeback. The second point is their refusal to admit or understand the erroneous path they were on. Within this second point, not understanding the erroneous path they were on is one part of it; additionally, they absolutely will not genuinely repent, nor will they accept the truth, and they certainly won’t make up for the damage they did to God’s house with hearts of remorse. They absolutely will not think about how to transform, about how to change from people who don’t pursue the truth to people who pursue and practice the truth. These two points make it evident that antichrists are averse to the truth and wicked by nature; they are especially good at disguising themselves and adapting to their environment, like chameleons. They have a fickle essence, and, in the depths of their hearts, their pursuit of status and their ambitions and desires never relaxes, nor will it ever change. No one can change those people. Looking at these manifestations, what is the nature essence of this kind of person? Is an antichrist a brother or a sister? Is an antichrist a real person? (No.) If you see these people as brothers and sisters, doesn’t that mean you are seriously stupid? These manifestations are revelations of the essence of an antichrist. When antichrists have no status, this is the sort of state of being they are in; the calculations in their hearts, what they reveal, and how they outwardly act, and the sort of attitude they have in the depths of their hearts toward the truth and toward their transgressions are like this, and their viewpoint will not change. No matter how much you fellowship on the truth or speak about correct, positive paths of practice, they will never really accept it deep down; instead, they will resist it. They will even believe, “Well, I don’t have status anymore, so what I say doesn’t count. No one supports me anymore; you just want to ridicule me and teach me a lesson. Are you qualified to teach me a lesson? Who do you think you are? When I became a leader, you still hadn’t learned how to walk! Didn’t you learn the few things you speak about from me? And you’re trying to teach me a lesson. You really do not know your place in the universe!” They think people need a certain seniority in order to prune them, speak to them, chat with them, or have a heart-to-heart with them. What sort of thing are these people? Only antichrists are capable of saying such things; normal people, and people who have some sense of shame and a bit of rationality, would never say these things. If someone is preaching a sermon to you, calmly having a heart-to-heart conversation with you, and pointing out problems you have and giving you some suggestions, would you be able to accept this? Or would you have the same sort of mindset as an antichrist? For example, say that you have been a believer for 10 years but never served as a leader. Another person has only believed for two years but has higher status than you do, and you feel upset about this. Say that you believed in God for 20 years before finally becoming a district leader. Someone else becomes a regional leader after believing for just five years and starts guiding you, and you find this hard to accept. If they prune you, you feel uncomfortable, and even if they are right to prune you, you still do not want to accept it. Have you ever possessed this kind of attitude or manifestations? (Yes.) This is an antichrist’s disposition. Do you think that only antichrists have an antichrist’s disposition? Anyone who has the disposition of an antichrist is in danger, they may embark upon the path of an antichrist, and this disposition may destroy them. That’s how things are. When we fellowship on and dissect the essence of an antichrist, this also includes people who have an antichrist’s disposition. Would you say that the people included in this are the minority or the majority? Or does this include everyone? (It includes everyone.) That’s right, because the disposition of an antichrist is the disposition of Satan, and all corrupt humans possess Satan’s disposition. Now, we have fellowshipped a bit about this topic of how antichrists treat being pruned. To go into more detail, some concrete examples can be given. I’ll leave that to you to fellowship on during your gatherings. While you are fellowshipping, don’t always talk about how other people are. Of course, fellowshipping on the manifestations of others is unavoidable, but you should mainly fellowship about your own manifestations. If you can find in yourselves some manifestations or revelations that are linked to the disposition of an antichrist, it will be helpful and beneficial to your self-knowledge, and it will aid you in ridding yourselves of that disposition.

We have fellowshipped on the topic of the various manifestations of an antichrist’s disposition before—are you now able to hold yourselves against them for comparison? Have you been able to attain some understanding? Can you resolve some real problems? Regardless of which aspect of your corrupt dispositions you change, it is all achieved upon a foundation of understanding the truth, holding yourself against the truth for comparison, and then coming to understand yourself. Therefore, being able to discern and dissect the various manifestations of a corrupt disposition is a path that you must tread when it comes to knowing yourself and achieving a change in disposition. Have you come to understand this point yet? Some of you might not have, and be thinking, “You’re always fellowshipping on these trivial topics and things; You never talk about some profound truths or reveal any profound mysteries. This is so boring and tedious! What do these things You’re fellowshipping on have to do with us entering the kingdom of heaven, obtaining great blessings, and being perfected in the future?” These people never understand; they become sleepy as they listen to these things. People who do not have spiritual understanding don’t get it; they do not understand the various human states that each truth touches upon, or the relationships between the various truths. They do not understand these things. The more detailed an explanation you give them, the more confused they get and the less they take in, so they always get sleepy. When a gathering first starts, they are singing and dancing, and do not grow sleepy no matter how dull or repetitive the rules and ceremonies are. However, as soon as you fellowship on the truth and people’s different states, they start to nod off. What is going on with people who always become sleepy like that? Haven’t they been revealed? This is a manifestation of not loving the truth, isn’t it? When it comes to the details of various truths to do with life entry, people who genuinely pursue the truth and who possess a certain caliber understand them better the more they hear about them, whereas those who do not love the truth and do not have spiritual understanding just get more confused the more they hear about them. The more they listen, the more dull they find them, and no matter how much they listen, they still feel the same way; they cannot hear a path in them. They feel that matters to do with life entry are not actually all that complicated, so there is no need to fellowship so much on them. This is what people who do not have spiritual understanding are like. Dispositional change involves a great many truths. If, on the path of seeking to change their dispositions, people do not spend time and effort on each truth, achieve understanding, comprehension, and knowledge of each truth, and find a path of practice, then they absolutely will not be able to enter any truths. What is the way by which people can come to know God? It is by understanding and entering all the various truths; this is the only way. Moreover, each truth is not some kind of theory or a type of knowledge or philosophy; it has to do with people’s lives and the status of their existences, the states they are in and the things they think about each day, and the various thoughts, ideas, intentions, and attitudes that they produce under the domination of their corrupt essences. So, these are the topics we are talking about. When you have figured out these topics, linked them to yourself, found the principles of practice, and come to know the various states and viewpoints that your different dispositions produce, you will have really understood the truths that are related to them, and only then will you be able to practice accurately according to the truth principles. If you only understand the words literally, and when you see God’s exposure of the selfishness and despicableness of antichrists, you think, “Antichrists are selfish and despicable, but I myself am quite selfless; I have a lot of love to give, I am tolerant, I was born into a family of scholars, I have received higher education, and I have been influenced by famous figures and masterpieces, I am not a selfish person”—is saying these things accepting the truth? Is it knowing yourself? It is quite obvious that you do not understand this particular truth, or the various states that are encompassed by this particular truth. When you understand the various states spoken of and exposed by God that are encompassed by a certain truth, and can hold yourself against them for comparison and find the precise principles of practice, you will have embarked upon the path of practicing the truth, and you will have entered the truth reality. If you have not done this, then you have merely understood a doctrine; you have not understood the truth. It’s like the topic we just spoke of, about how antichrists treat being pruned. The various states, manifestations, and revelations we fellowshipped on all have to do with the nature essence and disposition of an antichrist. How many of these do you understand? How many of them have you held against yourself for comparison? Are the statements, details, and states contained within this topic that you’ve grasped related to other people or to you? Do you yourself have any connection with these states? Have you truly linked them to yourself, or have you just reluctantly acknowledged and agreed with them? This depends on your comprehension and on your attitude toward the truth. Linking these states to yourself is merely a prerequisite for you being able to practice the truth; it does not mean you have already started practicing it. However, if you cannot link these states to yourself, then you will have absolutely nothing to do with practicing the truth. That being the case, when you listen to sermons, what will you hear? You’ll just be pretending; it will seem as though you believe in God, but you actually will not be practicing according to His words, and you will not be able to enter the reality of His words. You will just be a layman, a service object, a foil. When it comes to how you should hold yourself against these states for comparison and how you should dissect the various states that relate to the things I’ve said, this depends on your own knowledge. All I can do is tell you these words and supply you with these words, for the rest, you will need to apply effort yourselves. Whether or not you can accept these words depends on your attitude. Some people are intransigent in their hearts; they are always pretending and trying to protect their status and reputation. They clearly have problems, but they cannot see these problems and do not admit to them, and they even take it upon themselves to expose and dissect others. As a result, those other people end up benefiting from this, while they themselves gain nothing. These folks are fools, are they not? This is foolish behavior. The point of listening to sermons is not to learn how to discern other people, nor is it to listen on other people’s behalf; it is so that you yourself can hear what’s said and gain it. You listen to God’s words, the truth, and sermons, and from it all you come to understand the truth, gain the life, and achieve a transformation of disposition. Does this have anything to do with other people? These words have to do with you. If you adopt this sort of attitude, then these words might be able to change you, become your reality, and enable you to achieve a change of disposition.

In this first topic, we spoke about the various manifestations of how antichrists treat being pruned. In one respect, fellowshipping on this subject helps you all to understand the sort of attitude antichrists have, and the revelations of their nature essence, when it comes to this matter; in another respect, it gives you some positive guidance and warnings. You can fellowship on and resolve the remaining problems yourselves; they are your own affairs.