II. The Interests of Antichrists

Last time we fellowshipped on Item Nine of the various manifestations of antichrists: They do their duty only to distinguish themselves and feed their own interests and ambitions; they never consider the interests of God’s house, and they even sell out those interests, trading them for personal glory. We then divided the interests of antichrists into several items. The first is their own safety, the second is their own reputation and status, and the third is benefits. What do these benefits include? (The first is embezzling the assets of God’s house, the second is exploiting brothers and sisters to labor in their service, and the third is using their position to acquire food, drink, and other desirable things by fraud under the guise of believing in God.) These “other things” include special treatment, handling their personal affairs, and so on, right? (Yes.) Does fellowshipping in this way, dividing major topics into subtopics, and subtopics into various aspects to fellowship on, make you feel confused? (No, it doesn’t.) In fact, the more fellowship is carried out in this way, the clearer things should become. We have fellowshipped on three items of the interests of antichrists, but there is another, which is the most important, the fourth of the interests of antichrists—their prospects and destiny. Prospects and destiny are probably the main aim that antichrists harbor in their belief in God. They are also the biggest dreams that they hold in their hearts, and the highest things they pursue deep within their hearts. You’re most likely familiar with the topic of prospects and destiny. It concerns where people will end up, where people will go, or where people are headed in the future or the next age—in short, their future destination. Isn’t this the biggest and most important thing in the heart of each and every one of God’s believers? (Yes.) Prospects and destiny are incredibly important to all who believe in God. And so, it goes without saying that for antichrists, the most core part of their interests must be their prospects and destiny, that is, their destination.

D. Their Prospects and Destiny

Let us also fellowship on prospects and destiny within the interests of antichrists from various angles and aspects so that things will be relatively clear. The various interests of antichrists that we have fellowshipped on before include both material and non-material interests. For example, one’s own safety, reputation, and status are all non-material interests; they are just intangible things in their spiritual worlds. Whereas material interests include assets, food and drink, as well as special treatment, material pleasures, and so on. So, what do the prospects and destiny of today’s fellowship involve? If we look at them from the perspective of human notions, are these tangible or intangible things? (They’re intangible things.) Therefore, they must be things that exist in people’s spiritual worlds, in their notions and imaginings, and in their minds. For people, these things are a kind of hope and sustenance, and they are what people spend their whole lives pursuing. Although these things are invisible and intangible to people, they occupy a dominant position in people’s hearts, dominate people’s entire lives, and control their thoughts and actions, their intents, and the direction of their pursuits. So, prospects and destiny are incredibly important to everyone! Though prospects and destiny are important, antichrists pursue them in a way that is completely different from normal, ordinary people. What exactly is the difference? Which aspects demonstrate this, and enable people to clearly see and discern that it is an antichrist’s method of pursuit, and the characteristic of an antichrist? Isn’t this worthy of discussion and fellowship? Of course, the manifestations of many people are similar in a lot of ways to those of true antichrists and those with the essence of antichrists. But even when their manifestations and dispositions are the same, their essences are different. Let us fellowship on the fourth of the interests of antichrists—their prospects and destiny—from various aspects.

How can we dissect prospects and destiny? What kind of method and which examples can we use to dissect that the prospects and destiny in the interests of antichrists are not in line with the truth, and that they are revelations of the essence of antichrists? From what aspects can they be dissected? This requires careful investigation. Let us divide this into several broad categories so that people can understand the essence of antichrists more accurately and clearly. The first is how antichrists treat the words of God, the second is how antichrists treat their duty, the third is how antichrists treat being pruned, the fourth is how antichrists regard the title “service-doer,” and the fifth is how antichrists approach their status in the church. Why these five categories? Try to figure it out. Can you get a bit of understanding of each one? Can you find some corresponding manifestations or dispositions that belong to antichrists? What exactly should be dissected upon the foundation of these five categories? With regard to these categories, what are the main characteristics of antichrists and the primary dispositions that they display, and what are the manifestations of normal pursuers of the truth and ordinary corrupt people? What are the differences between antichrists and ordinary corrupt people? Where do these differences lie? What is the difference between the paths they have chosen? What is the difference in their manifestations? Do you have some understanding of these categories? (In these five categories, antichrists primarily do not view things based on the truth in God’s words. They always use the superficial appearance of certain things or their own situation to guess at God’s intentions based on their own notions and imaginings, to see if they have any prospects and destiny. For example, when it comes to their duty, if they can get into the limelight and satisfy their desires, vanity, and pride, they will feel like they are useful people in God’s house, and as if they have prospects and destiny. As soon as they get pruned, they will feel that God is displeased with them, that God is dissatisfied with them, and they will become discouraged and disappointed about belief in God, and negativity and opposition will arise within them.) This summary provides some light and touches a little on the truth within this matter. Judging from the general meaning of what you’ve said, you probably have a basic understanding of these five categories. Next, we will fellowship on them one by one.

1. How Antichrists Treat the Words of God

The first category is how antichrists treat the words of God. Antichrists are also people who believe in and follow God; they too have God’s words in their hands, listen to sermons, attend gatherings, and have normal spiritual lives. For antichrists, reading God’s words is also a part of their lives, and they do this often. Though they both read God’s words, antichrists are different from pursuers of the truth; they have a completely different attitude toward God’s words. So, how do antichrists treat God’s words? First, they research and analyze God’s words, studying them from a strange perspective and viewpoint. Why do I call it “studying”? Based on the objective situation, antichrists have to admit that these are God’s words, and they also feel in their hearts that God’s words are so high that ordinary people could not express them and that these words could not be found anywhere else. On this basis, they have no choice but to admit that these are God’s words, but do they accept God’s words as the truth? They do not. So why do antichrists still read God’s words? Because, in God’s words, there are things that they need, things that they want to know, and things that sustain them in their spiritual worlds. What are these things? They are, of course, closely related to the antichrists’ prospects and destiny. When antichrists study God’s words, they are constantly looking for words relating to destinations, outcomes, where people will end up in the future, and so on. Therefore, antichrists’ reading of God’s words is called “studying,” they are researching, analyzing, and making judgments on God’s words while reading them. They research His words while they read: “From god’s tone, it seems that he doesn’t like people of this sort. Why do I feel like I’m one of them? I should find out what destination god gives to these people.” When they see God speak about kicking such people into the bottomless pit, they think to themselves, “This isn’t good. Getting kicked into the bottomless pit means being done for, doesn’t it? People of this sort have no prospects and they do not have a good destination, so what should I do?” They feel a dull pain, uneasiness, and discomfort in their hearts. “Is this really how god treats people like this? No, I can’t give up.” With this, they continue to search God’s words. When they see God’s words saying, “My sons, I will do this and that for you, and this and that will happen to you,” they no longer feel bad. “God’s words warm my heart, they are wonderful. I am one of the ‘sons’ that god speaks of.” Then, they see “firstborn sons” and “reign as kings” mentioned in God’s words, and they think, “Great! There are benefits and a promising future to believing in god. I have chosen the right path. I have made the right bet. I must be diligent in my belief and hold on to god’s robes. I must not give up, even at the last moment!” As they continue reading, they see God’s words mention that “the one who follows to the end will surely be saved.” For antichrists, reading this is like grabbing hold of a lifeline. “I will practice according to these words. No matter when and where, and no matter what happens, even when the seas run dry and the rocks turn to dust, even if the blue seas turn into green fields, these words will not change. Even if heaven and earth pass away, these words will not. So long as I keep to these words, won’t I have a good outcome, a good destination? Won’t my prospects and destiny be settled? Great! I must be one who follows to the end!” By searching over and over again, researching like this and analyzing like that, they finally find a lifeline in God’s words and discover the greatest “secret.” They are filled with joy, “Finally, I don’t have to worry about being eliminated, I don’t have to worry about going to the lake of fire and brimstone, I don’t have to worry about going to hell. I have finally found my destination, and I have finally found a passage to heaven, the beautiful destination of mankind—how wonderful!” But this doesn’t last long, and when they read the chapter of God’s words, On Destination, they think: “What do these words say about destinations? God doesn’t seem to speak very specifically about the destinations of various types of people. What exactly does god mean? What should I do? I shouldn’t worry, I need to keep reading.” Then, when they see God say to “prepare sufficient good deeds for your destination,” they think about it some more. “If I want to have a good destination, I need to prepare sufficient good deeds. Now that god has laid out the conditions, this makes things easier. I don’t have to keep engaging in pointless endeavors and striking out in vain—now I know where to exert my efforts.” Through fellowship, antichrists learn what good deeds are, find a “way,” and have a solution. “Turns out it was so simple. Giving alms and offerings are good deeds. Preaching the gospel and gaining more people are good deeds. Supporting the brothers and sisters is a good deed. Giving away the things that I value is a good deed. For my destination, I’ll stake it all; I’ll give all these things away!” But then they think, “No. If I give away all my money and material possessions, then how will I live in the future? I should read god’s words to see first when his work will end and when people will no longer need these things in their lives on earth. I shouldn’t rush. But if I don’t offer these things, then how can I prepare good deeds? Hosting some brothers and sisters and preaching the gospel to gain people are easy things to do. I can achieve these things.” While preparing good deeds, in their hearts they are constantly counting how many good deeds they have prepared and how likely they are to have a good destination. “I’ve prepared so many good deeds, but why doesn’t god give me a statement of resolution? God’s work has not ended yet, so what should I do? No, I have to see what else god’s words say about prospects and destiny and what other specific explanations they contain.” They continue to search God’s words over and over again. If they find something that benefits their prospects and destiny, they feel happy; if they find something that conflicts with their prospects and destiny, they feel pained. In this manner, during the years they read God’s words, they repeatedly feel negative and weak because of God’s words, and they repeatedly feel positive, happy, and overjoyed because of His words. However, no matter what states or emotions they produce, they just can’t escape their obsession with their destination, prospects, and destiny, and they continue to search God’s words for determinations and statements regarding the outcomes of various types of people. In short, they exert all the effort they can into God’s words. No matter how they read God’s words, they just don’t know that there is the truth, the way, and the life in God’s words. They only know that in God’s words, they can find their destination, mankind’s destination, and a way to avoid going to hell and losing their destination. So, after reading God’s words for many years in this way, what have they gained? They can talk about many correct doctrines and spiritual theories, but they absolutely can’t link God’s words to their essence of opposing God, rebelling against God, not practicing the truth, and not loving the truth at all.

Antichrists often research and search God’s words for His disclosures about mysteries. They also search His words for new terms, new things, and new statements, even going so far as to search for some mysteries that are unknown to any person, spiritual or otherwise, such as what the fig tree is, what the meaning of the 144,000 male children is, and what an overcomer is, as well as some statements and terms in the Book of Revelation which people have researched for so many years without understanding. They work particularly hard on these things and are constantly searching and researching whether there are any statements about people’s destinations in these words, and whether there are any clear explanations about people’s destinations. But no matter how hard they look, their efforts are always futile. Therefore, while antichrists are reading God’s words, following God, and going with the flow in the church, they always feel uneasy deep in their hearts. They often ask themselves: “Can I receive blessings? Just what are my prospects and destiny? Will there be a place for me in god’s kingdom? When my destination arrives, will I be gazing at a blue sky or will I be in a world so dark that I can’t even see my own hand? Just what is my destination?” As they keep questioning themselves like this in their hearts, they are also silently questioning God in the depths of their hearts: “Am I qualified to enter the kingdom of heaven? Can I avoid going to hell? Can I enter the kingdom of heaven by pursuing like this? Can I receive future blessings? Will I enter the world to come? What is god’s attitude? Why doesn’t god give me an accurate and specific statement on this matter so that I can have peace of mind? Just what is my outcome?” Is this not what antichrists think deep in their hearts while they study God’s words, and while they go with the flow and have no choice but to move forward? This is the attitude they harbor toward their prospects and destiny in the depths of their hearts: Their minds are constantly preoccupied by these things, they grasp onto them desperately and refuse to let go.

When antichrists study the word of God, there is something that interests them more than seeking out their destinations and researching mysteries; that is, when God incarnate will leave the earth, when He will end His ministry, when His great enterprise will be completed, when His work will end, when those who follow Him will enjoy great blessings, and see His real person. Whether they will be able to see God leave the earth is also their greatest concern. In addition to the day in which God’s management plan will be successfully completed, they are more concerned about when Christ will leave the earth, what it will be like when Christ leaves the earth, how old they are now, whether they will still be alive to see Christ leave the earth in 10 or 20 years, what will happen if they see it, and what will happen if they can’t; such are the calculations in their minds. Some ponder to themselves, “I’m already 60 years old. If I am still alive in 10 years, I should be able to see christ leave the earth, but if I am already dead when god’s work ends in 10 years, what is the point of my belief in god? Though god has ordained me to be born in this era, if I, a follower of god, miss the chance to witness such a great and big event, then I cannot be considered a blessed person, and I won’t have received any great blessings!” Such thoughts breed unhappiness and dissatisfaction in them. To what extent are they dissatisfied? “I am already so old; why hasn’t god left the earth yet? Why hasn’t god’s work ended yet? When will we finish spreading the gospel? Let god’s work quickly end, let god quickly complete his great enterprise, let the disasters swiftly descend, let god hurry up to destroy Satan and punish evil people!” What are they doing? Are they not making demands of God based on their personal will, hoping to get Him to act according to their will? Aren’t their personal interests contained within this will of theirs? Because of their own interests, they eagerly hope for God to complete His great enterprise, for the disasters to swiftly descend, for God to hurry up and punish the evil and reward the good, and for God to receive His glory. What motives are they harboring in their hearts? Are they considering God’s intentions? (No.) What are they doing? (They are hoping to receive blessings.) They want to get the work of God’s management plan to revolve around their destinations for the sake of their own interests and destinations. Is this not despicable and shameless? In all matters, what is the essence displayed by antichrists? Placing their interests above all else, and letting their interests reign supreme. That is, they do not allow anything to conflict with their interests, even God’s management plan. When God’s work will end, when His great enterprise will be completed, when He will receive glory, and when He will destroy the human race, all this must revolve around their interests and their destinations, all this must be linked to their destinations. Otherwise, they will deny God, renounce their belief in Him, and even curse Him.

One of the primary manifestations of how antichrists treat the word of God is studying. This is the attitude with which a veritable disbeliever treats God’s word. What is it that they study? They do not study the truth, or what God requires of mankind, or His words that expose mankind, or His words that judge mankind, and they certainly do not study His intentions, they study their own prospects and destiny. No matter what part of the word of God they read, if it contains words that relate to their prospects and destiny—which is what concerns them the most—they will study such parts with care and mark them as important. For example, when they see words of God that expose and dissect people like them, or characterizations or statements about people like them, they will painstakingly study such words and read them over and over again. What are they looking for? Are they looking to see how they can understand God’s intentions and find the principles of practice? Are they looking to see how they can understand themselves through the word of God? No. They seek to read between the lines so that they can clearly see the attitude that God harbors toward people like them behind these words, whether God hates and detests them, or if He will save them. They scrutinize not only the content of these words of God but also the tone and attitude of His words and the thoughts behind them. Once they have brought together all of the parts of God’s word that relate to the destinations of people like them, and they have discovered that His attitude toward them is spurning and not salvation, their attitude toward belief in Him will immediately cool off by 80 to 90 percent. Disbelief will immediately rise in their hearts, and their attitude will undergo a 180-degree shift. What is the extent of this shift? They will no longer wish to do the duties they planned to do, or to forsake that which they planned to forsake. Though they originally wanted to preach the gospel to their families, they won’t do that anymore—since they no longer believe, and there’s no question of the people in their families believing either. In sum, they will destroy and give up on all their original plans. Is this not an essential attitude that antichrists harbor toward the word of God? Their aim in studying the word of God is not to pursue the truth and find the principles of putting the truth into practice, so that they can understand His intentions, and be loyal to Him; their aim is to find a precise statement on how God determines the outcomes and destinations for people like them. When they find a glimmer of hope, they will hold on to it for dear life; for this glimmer of hope, they will be able to forsake everything, and their attitude will change drastically. But when all hope of them receiving blessings is shattered, their attitude will change drastically once again, to the point of them losing their belief and resorting to betrayal, and even cursing God in their hearts. These are the manifestations of antichrists.

Of course, antichrists will also use the words of God to seek personal benefit while studying them. What kind of benefit? While studying the words of God, they summarize what the rules of God’s speech are, what His tone is when He prunes people, what His way of speaking is when He exposes mankind, how He comforts and exhorts people, what methods He uses, and what wisdom He has. Antichrists specialize in learning and imitating how God speaks and works; at the same time, they also use words commonly spoken by God to speak to and fellowship with others. While they study God’s words, they are also constantly equipping themselves with the words of the various truths in them, turning them into their own things, using these words of God to do work and accumulate capital. What does this capital refer to? For example, they believe that^[a] at a gathering, whoever is more capable of speaking the right words and doctrines, whoever memorizes more of God’s words, quotes more of God’s words, and explains more of God’s words may be the kind of person in the church most able to receive salvation. No matter what antichrists do, it is linked to their prospects and destiny. They will never simply practice God’s words as the truth, nor will they suffer or pay a price for the sake of practicing God’s words. Rather, they use God’s words to mislead people, use them to elevate their own reputation, and use them to prepare sufficient conditions for their salvation. Therefore, the essence of how antichrists treat the word of God is that no matter when, they never regard the word of God as the truth or as a way people should follow. Though antichrists hold up God’s words and read them every day, and though they listen to the readings of His words, one thing is certain: They do not practice God’s words. Whenever it comes time to practice His words, their sincerity disappears—they conspire only for their own prospects and destiny. On the outside, they present a facade of loving God’s words and yearning for them. But in actuality, in reading and accumulating God’s words every day, their goal is to achieve the conditions for their salvation; they do this in the hopes of making a good impression on God in exchange. They don’t believe that God scrutinizes people’s hearts—they only know that people only look at outward appearances, so God must also only look at outward appearances, and so in these matters they engage in disguise and deceit, resorting to trickery. They think, “I only need to do this on the outside. It doesn’t matter what I think in my heart—people can’t see it, and neither can god. In fact, no matter how I read god’s words, I’m not doing it to become some kind of true created being. If my prospects and destiny were not involved, I wouldn’t endure this hardship, nor would I put up with this grievance!” In their minds, no matter how good God’s words sound, they cannot possibly be realized, and people could not possibly live them out. Even if a handful of people do live God’s words out a little, they must also be doing so for their own aims. As the nonbelievers say, “There’s no such thing as a free lunch.” They think to themselves, “We endure such hardships for our belief in god, reading and listening to his words every day, living according to his words—what is it all for? Is it not just for that one purpose? Everyone is well aware in their hearts that it’s all for the sake of their prospects and destiny; otherwise, why would we give up the wonderful times of pursuing the world just to suffer here?” In this matter, what fact have they denied? The word of God is truth, and the truth can save people, change people, and help them cast off their corrupt dispositions. Is this not the result that the word of God can bring about? (It is.) Do antichrists admit this fact? They deny it, saying: “Everyone claims the word of god can save people, but who has it saved? Who has seen it happen? Why don’t I believe this?” Why is it said that the word of God can save people, change people, and help people break free from Satan’s corrupt disposition? Because the word of God is the truth, and it can be people’s life. When people have the word of God as their life, they can be saved; they become the ones who are saved. This fact goes unacknowledged by the antichrists. They believe that it is only for the sake of receiving blessings and a good destination that people have gotten to where they are now, and that this is the only reason people do their duty in the house of God. They deny the fruits of God’s word, deny the results the truth achieves in people, and deny that the truth can conquer people, change people, and save people. They believe people follow God only out of concern for and in pursuit of their own prospects and destiny. They do not believe that the word of God can change people, make them loyal to God, make them submit to God unconditionally, or make them do their duties as created beings in the house of God—they don’t believe any of this. Therefore, antichrists, who put their interests first, do not pursue the truth themselves; while treating God’s words as a kind of rhetoric, a kind of statement, they do not believe that these words of God can save people. They believe that all those who are sincere and loyal to God are fake and have their own interests involved. No matter how many of God’s words they hear, no matter how many of God’s sermons they hear, what ultimately remains in their hearts are just those two words—prospects and destiny. That is, God’s words, God’s work, and God’s management plan can bring about good prospects and destiny for people, and bring about a good destination for them. For antichrists, this is what is most genuine, it is the most supreme truth. Were it not for this, first, they would not believe in God. Second, they would not endure such grievances to stay in the house of God. Third, they would not do any duties in the house of God. Fourth, they would not endure any hardships in the house of God. And fifth, they would have long since returned to worldly life to indulge in wealth and glory, pursue the world, pursue fame and gain, pursue money, and pursue wicked trends. They temporarily take up residence in the house of God now only because their prospects and destiny are involved. They have a determined attitude toward securing their prospects and destiny, while also harboring a mentality of taking a chance, hoping that when God’s work ends, they will be among those who enter the kingdom of heaven and receive great blessings. What kind of mentality is this? They want to seek profits from God to achieve their goals, yet they don’t want to submit to Him; moreover, they don’t even believe all the words that God has said, nor do they believe that God is sovereign over all things. Isn’t this a bit wicked? When it comes to their attitude of studying the word of God, they are disbelievers. That antichrists can use such an attitude to research, read, and treat God’s words shows that they are textbook disbelievers, outright disbelievers through and through. So why can they still perform some superficial work in the house of God and continue to follow without falling away? No matter how they are pruned, why can they stay and even participate in church life, and keep listening to and reading God’s words? Why is this? (They want to receive blessings.) It’s because they want to receive blessings. As the nonbelievers say, “Whoever feeds me is my mother, and whoever gives me money is my father.” What kind of logic is this? Is this logic not filled with Satan’s philosophy for worldly dealings? It is under the sway of this satanic philosophy that they believe in God: “I don’t care what kind of extraordinary work you’ve done—whatever your disposition or essence may be, as long as you can grant me blessings, a good destination, and a good future, and let me have great blessings, I will follow you and regard you as god for now.” Is there any component of genuine faith here? (No.) Therefore, in terms of how they treat God’s words, characterizing such people as antichrists and disbelievers is all too accurate!

Footnotes:

a. The original text does not contain the phrase “they believe that.”