c. Why Antichrists Are Unwilling to Be Service-Doers

Antichrists don’t want to be service-doers and are unwilling to be service-doers. They think that by being service-doers, they will suffer tremendous insult and discrimination. So, what exactly do they want to be? What’s their objective when they start to believe in God and come to God’s house? Are they willing to be one of God’s people, God’s followers? Are they willing to be a person who is perfected? Are they happy to be like Peter and Job and call it good? (No.) Does anyone say they’re happy to be one of God’s chosen people in their faith in God, that that’s enough for them? Is anyone willing to be a toy in the hands of God? No, people are especially not willing to be this. When anyone comes to God’s house, they come looking to gain benefits, blessings, rewards, and a crown. As they accept being exposed and judged by God’s words, they come to know that by harboring such intentions in their faith in God, they will not be able to understand the truth and will ultimately not be able to attain salvation. So, many people then choose to first let go of their desire for blessings and their desire for a crown and rewards, to let go of all these benefits and first listen to what God is saying, what His demands of man are, and what He has to say to man. Many people who listen to God’s words feel a secret joy in their hearts, saying: “God exposes our corruption, He exposes our ugly true colors, and He exposes our essence of opposing God and being averse to the truth—these are all facts. Fortunately for me, I didn’t hasten to stretch out my hands to God asking for good fortune, grace, and blessings; fortunately, I let these things go first. If I hadn’t let these things go, wouldn’t I have made a fool of myself? Everything God says exposes man’s nature and essence, so how could I cast off those things? God has said that people must first take up doing their duty and cooperate with the work within God’s management plan. During this process, if people can embark upon the path of understanding and accepting the truth, then they will have hope of attaining salvation and can gain many benefits in the future.” At this point, many people stop thinking about those things. Their wonderful wishes, their longing and hopes for the future don’t seem so realistic anymore. They feel that, in this moment, how to do their duties well, how to satisfy God’s intentions, and how to understand the truth and stand firm are more realistic, important, and crucial than those desires and ideals. Therefore, at this crucial juncture, most people choose to do their duty, experience God’s work, gain the truth, dedicate their time and youth, and forsake their family, their job, and their worldly prospects for God and for the performance of their duty, and some people even leave their marriage for this. These kinds of manifestations, behaviors, and actions people have are undoubtedly a kind of obedient and submissive attitude toward positive things and all the demands that God speaks of, and it is precisely this attitude that is a necessary condition people must possess in order to be able to understand the truth, practice the truth, submit to God, and finally attain salvation. These are the various manifestations and thoughts every normal person has before they come to God’s house to do their duty. From when these people first began to believe in God up until now, their thoughts and views are undergoing constant changes, and their attitude toward the truth and God are also undergoing constant transformation. At the same time as these previous desires and ambitions of man are undergoing constant destruction, they are gradually and actively letting go of these things and giving them up. This is the good fruit that is ultimately produced by people’s wish to cooperate with and submit to God. It is a positive and good manifestation, and it is a good result. While people are making constant progress, those who genuinely pursue the truth have almost let go of their desire and intention to gain blessings, and so most people are basically not very sensitive to or interested in the various promises that God made to man before. This is because, when measured according to the reason of a normal person, if someone can’t do their duty up to standard and fails to understand the truth, they will miss their chance to gain all the blessings promised by God and will have nothing to do with them. Everyone should understand this simplest of logic. Of course, there are now many people who already understand such a fact, and also acknowledge and accept this fact; it is only the antichrists who don’t accept it. Why don’t they accept it? It’s because they are antichrists. They don’t accept this fact, and so what do they want to do? When they come to God’s house, they scrutinize God’s words and find in them various titles and statuses such as “God’s person,” “firstborn sons,” “God’s sons,” “God’s people,” and “service-doers,” and their eyes light up. Their desires and ambitions are quickly satisfied, and they think, “Being one of god’s sons is too ordinary; most people are god’s sons. Being one of god’s people means being a commoner, part of the masses, just a regular person with no power or influence. And don’t even think about making me a service-doer. I’ll have nothing to do with being a service-doer for as long as I live; it’s totally unrelated to me.” And so, they fix their gaze on the two titles of “God’s person” and “firstborn sons.” In their notions, they believe that “God’s person” is God Himself, that the “firstborn sons” are God’s firstborn sons, and that these two bring power and influence, and can reign as kings among mankind, control people, control God’s chosen people, possess absolute power, and have the power to call the shots, the power to be a leader, and the power to orchestrate people and decide whether people live or die—they believe these powers to be so great. That’s why it’s impossible to get them to be service-doers. If they were allowed to choose for themselves, they would choose to be firstborn sons or God’s person; otherwise, they would stop believing in God. When they do their duty or act as leaders and workers in God’s house, they act, pay a price, suffer, and run about in pursuit of these two goals. During this time, they continually calculate how far they’ve gone while rushing about, how many people they’ve gained when spreading the gospel, how many people revere and look up to them, whether brothers and sisters dealing with problems go to others or come to them when they lead the church, and whether they can control and sway the thoughts and views of others. They continually calculate, weigh, and observe these things, aiming to achieve what they want: to rule as kings in God’s house. Most people, after coming to God’s house and understanding some truths, can normally do the duty of a created being—but not antichrists. They believe they come from a noble bloodline, that they are part of a noble and special group, and that they must be called great in God’s house; otherwise, they won’t believe in God. If they are to believe in God, then they must be honored as great in God’s house and be the top dog. At the same time, they also calculate and work out how much credit they have in God’s notebook, and whether they are sufficiently qualified to rule as kings alongside God. Therefore, the source, the starting point, and the motivation for some antichrists coming to God’s house to do their duty is to come to His house to rule as kings. They certainly aren’t willing to do their duty just to be ordinary and most insignificant followers, and the moment their ambition and desire is extinguished, they suddenly turn hostile and refuse to do their duty.

There are some people in God’s house now who have been doing their duty for several years, doing everything badly, and being eliminated wherever they do their duty. Because they have terrible humanity and low integrity, don’t pursue the truth, and have a vicious and wicked disposition that is averse to the truth, they are ultimately rejected by brothers and sisters. As soon as they see that their desire for blessings is about to go up in smoke, and that their dream of ruling as a king and standing out in God’s house can no longer be realized, how do they live in their private life? They don’t read God’s words, they don’t listen to hymns, they don’t attend gatherings, they ignore God’s house when asked to do a duty, and brothers and sisters even need to call on them, invite them, and remind them when it’s time to attend gatherings. Some of them reluctantly keep attending gatherings, but during the gatherings they don’t say a word, they don’t fellowship, and they feel repulsed by everything the others say and don’t want to hear it. When brothers and sisters pray, they close their eyes too, but they don’t say anything—they have nothing to say to God. And what do some other people do during gatherings, when listening to sermons, or when brothers and sisters are fellowshipping on the truth? Some go to sleep, some look at their phones and read the news, some chat with others, and some play games online. Believing in God, they think that in God’s house, if they can’t be well-liked, can’t be in good graces with others, have no supporters crowding around them, and can’t be assigned important tasks, then they won’t be able to rule as kings with God in the future, and therefore, God does not exist to them. Whether God exists, to them, is linked to whether or not they can receive blessings. Isn’t this how antichrists behave? They believe that if a god cannot let them receive blessings, then he is not a god and he is without truth, and that only a god who can let them act wantonly, seize power in the church, and rule as kings in the future is a god. This is the logic of Satan—it is confusing right and wrong and distorting facts. As believers in God, the reason they can’t follow God’s footprints and are unwilling to do their duty is that they’re averse to the truth, that in their hearts they revere only the philosophies of Satan, knowledge, fame, gain, and position. They deny that God is truth, they pay no attention to God’s work, and that’s why at gatherings they look at their phones, play games, eat snacks, and chat casually—they do whatever they want and still feel pleased with themselves. The moment their hopes of being blessed are shattered, they find no meaning to faith in God anymore, and when they find no meaning to faith in God, they regard the church—the place where brothers and sisters gather together—as a playground, they regard the time of gathering together as leisure time, and they think of gatherings and listening to sermons as oppressive, dull, and boring. What do they regard the sermons that brothers and sisters listen to and the truth as? They regard them as slogans, as groundless nonsense, and they regard the time spent gathered together with brothers and sisters as time wasted. Have these people not been revealed? They bring their ambitions, their desires, and their illusions to their faith in God, and this is a signal that determines they will be unable to follow the path to the end, and that they’re unworthy even of rendering service for God’s work and God’s management plan. They look with contempt upon those who listen to sermons and on brothers and sisters who pursue the truth, and even more so, they deny God’s work, God’s existence, and the existence of the fact of the work of God’s management plan.

When antichrists—those people who are averse to the truth—come to think that believing in God won’t bring them any benefits, their demonic countenance is unmasked. Some female antichrists apply makeup at home until they look like ghosts. They wear whatever is trendy or attractive to the opposite sex, and some even sneak around playing mahjong, gambling, and smoking—these people are too dreadful and disgusting. They come to God’s house with pretense, and what happens in the end? They can’t maintain it, can they? Only the truth can reveal people, and if someone doesn’t love the truth, is averse to the truth, and has a vicious disposition, then they are destined to be hostile to the truth and unable to hold on. Does the church still need to eliminate such people? Does God still need to condemn them? Does God still need to reject such a person? No, God pays no attention to them whatsoever. To God, these people are just bugs, unworthy even of being service-doers—they are just not up to it. When they have such a contemptuous attitude toward gatherings, church life, and their duty, what does this prove? God does not watch over or protect them, nor does He lead them. He does not perform any work of enlightening, guiding, or disciplining them, and thus they live such undesirable and ugly lives. They themselves, however, think, “I don’t believe in god; I’m free. You folks who believe in god, you have to suffer and pay a price, forsake your families and careers, while I don’t have to suffer anything. I can enjoy the leisure of being at home, revel in the pleasures of the flesh, and enjoy the delights of life.” They believe they have gained happiness and freedom. Does God pay them any mind? (No.) Why not? To God, these people are bugs, not humans, and they are not worth His attention. If God pays them no mind, will He still save them? No, God won’t save them. So, does what they do have anything to do with God? Does it bear any relation to the administrative decrees of God’s house? No, it does not. Therefore, they appear on the outside to live very comfortably, freely, and loosely, quite happy every day. Did you think that was a good thing? One glance at what they live out and the path they follow, and you know that they’re finished, that God doesn’t want them anymore. These bugs are really a stinky bunch! God pays such people no mind whatsoever.

Those who, regardless of the environment and circumstances, strive as much as they can to reign as kings and be on an equal footing with God in the world to come are incorrigibly obstinate elements among the antichrists. Such people are just like Paul; they bear thorns in their flesh, they harbor doubts about God, they resist and threaten God, and they show great reluctance when they work, expend themselves, endure hardships, and pay a price. They do these things only in exchange for a crown and in exchange for being able to reign as kings in the world to come. Doesn’t this whole process make antichrists sound so pitiable? Actually, they’re not pitiable. Not only are they not pitiable, but they’re actually somewhat laughable. After God has said so much, if they still don’t understand the truth then just forget it; how can they not make sense of such straightforward language? How can they not understand such a simple tenet? If you don’t practice the truth, you won’t be able to achieve dispositional change or attain salvation; and even if God has made you a promise, you won’t be able to attain that. Any promise God makes to man is conditional; He does not make promises to people without reason or conditions. God has His requirements of man, and these requirements never change at any time. God will not violate the truth, nor will He change His intentions. If you understood this point, would you still stubbornly cling to your desires and ambitions? Only idiots and irrational people would stubbornly cling to these things. Those who have some normal rationality and normal humanity should let go of these things and pursue that which they should pursue, attain, and enter into—they should first meet God’s requirements. Second, what should people with normal rationality also understand? There are prophecies in the Bible that say we will reign as kings with God for all eternity, and in God’s current work, He also mentions God’s person, firstborn sons, God’s sons, God’s people, and so on, classifying various levels and titles for people. Since God has promised man these things, why can’t people pursue them? So, what should the correct comprehension and the correct approach be? If someone regards reigning as a king and the promises made by God as goals to pursue, is this the correct path? Certainly it isn’t; this isn’t positive, it is too adulterated by human will, and this path is at odds with the truth. Some people say, “Since You’ve made this promise, why won’t You permit us to attain it? Since You’ve said all these things and stated them publicly to all mankind, why won’t You permit us to pursue this?” This relates to the truth; no one has ever understood this right from the very beginning up till now. Which aspect of the truth does this relate to? You must look at it this way: God made a promise to man, and from God, man became aware of the idea of reigning as kings, as well as various titles like “God’s person,” “firstborn sons,” “God’s sons,” and so on. These are just titles, however. As to what title pertains to which people depends on an individual’s pursuit and performance. Whatever title the Creator gives to you, that is what you are. If He doesn’t give you a title, then you are nothing; it’s merely a promise from God, not something people are entitled to or deserving of. Of course, this promise is a goal people desire, but this goal is not the path that humans should take, and it has nothing to do with the path people take. Who has the right to make decisions on this matter? (God.) That’s right, people must understand this. If God says He’s giving you something, then you have something; if He says He’s taking it away from you, then you have nothing, you are nothing. If you say, “I’ll pursue this even if God doesn’t give it to me, and if God does give it to me, then I’ll accept it as a matter of course,” then this is wrong. Why is it wrong? It violates a major taboo. You don’t recognize the fact that God will always be God and man will always be man—this is why it’s wrong. Some people say, “It’s prophesied in the Bible. In many places, the Bible says that we’ll reign as kings with God for all eternity. Why can God say this and yet we can’t pursue it?” Is this the reason a created being should possess? You see God’s promise for people to reign as kings as a good thing and you pursue it, but God has spoken about service-doers too—would you pursue rendering service well for God? Would you seek to be a qualified service-doer? God also requires people to do their duty; would you require yourself to do your duty well? God also requires that people act as created beings, and what do you do? Do you regard being a qualified created being as your goal and go pursue it? God saying that people will reign as kings is a promise He made to man, and there is a premise and a context to this promise: You must be a good created being, do the duty of a created being well, cast off the role of service-doer, achieve submission to God and fear of the Creator. God has said that when you achieve all this, then you will be able to reign as kings with God forever—this is the context in which these words were spoken. People lack reason. As soon as they hear this, they think, “It’s great that we can reign as kings with God! When will this happen? How will we reign as kings? How will we be on an equal footing with God? Whose kings will we be? Who will we reign over? How will we reign? How will we be kings?” Aren’t people lacking in reason? Even though this is a promise God made to man, something that was spoken for man to hear, letting people know that there is this wonderful thing, you should take your own measure—who are you? God has this idea and is willing to allow man to live in this way with Him, but are you qualified to attain it? Why don’t you ask God, “Before we attain this promise, what requirements do You have of us? Is there anything You need us to do? What must we first achieve before we can attain this promise?” You don’t ask these things, you just demand it. Isn’t this lacking reason? Man lacks this kind of reason. When people see something beneficial, they reach out their hands and grasp for it. People are like bandits; if you don’t give them what they want, they get angry, they turn hostile, and they start shouting abuse. Isn’t this how people are? This is the lowliness of mankind.

One reason why man lacks reason is that people still don’t understand the truth; it has nothing to do with their corrupt dispositions. But when they aren’t given what they want, they get angry, shout abuse, hate, and take revenge—what is this? This is the demonic countenance of Satan emerging; it is their satanic corrupt dispositions. Therefore, as for the promise God made mankind, what every single person manifests before God doesn’t satisfy God. People immediately reach out their hands, wanting, without knowing their own measure, immediately demanding, and if they can’t get what they demand, they ponder what they can use to exchange for it. They forsake their families and careers, they suffer and pay a price, they run about and expend themselves, they spread the gospel and gain more people, they work more, and they use these things to exchange for what they want. If they can’t exchange these things for what they want, they become furious, hatred fills their hearts, and they grow averse to anything to do with faith in God. If they feel they can exchange these things for what they want, then every day they long for God’s work to end soon, for God to quickly destroy Satan, to quickly end mankind, to quickly bring down the disasters, otherwise they feel they can’t hold on. What does every single person reveal in the presence of the truth? They reveal such dispositions as being averse to the truth and viciousness. Looking at it now, people’s arrogance, deceitfulness, and occasional intransigence can be considered mild and not very severe among all of mankind’s corrupt dispositions. The corrupt dispositions that mankind has more of, that are more severe and deeper, are those of wickedness, being averse to the truth, and viciousness—these are the lethal elements among man’s corrupt dispositions. Of course, when it comes to antichrists, these dispositions are even more severe, and when they reveal them, they don’t take them seriously, they don’t examine them, they don’t feel any indebtedness to God, much less do they feel they have any problem whatsoever; they don’t accept the truth, they don’t know themselves, and even less is it possible for them to repent. Therefore, no matter the circumstances, the environment, or the context, they regard reigning as kings—the loftiest and best promise God has uttered—as their goal to be pursued. No matter how you fellowship on the truth with them, they won’t let go of this pursuit, but instead insist on following their path, and this makes them beyond saving. These people are so awful! From what these people reveal, you can see exactly what the disposition and true face of Satan are. So much truth has been fellowshipped, and those who have reason, who can accept the truth, and who have the aspiration to obey and submit actually understand exactly what God’s intention is. They no longer doggedly pursue position, prospects, and destiny, but are willing to repent under the exposure of these words of God, willing to let go of their desire for blessings, pursue the truth, seek to submit to God and satisfy God, and strive to attain salvation. Looking now at the inner desires of most people, the goals they pursue have undergone a fundamental change; they’re willing to achieve adequate performance of their duty, they’re willing to be genuine created beings, and they’re willing to attain salvation. They don’t do their duty to gain blessings, and they don’t muddle through in God’s house for the sake of gaining blessings. Besides the antichrists, who always want to reign as kings, most people are willing to pursue the truth. Only antichrists regard the pursuit of prospects, blessings, and reigning as kings as goals and as the fruit to ultimately be gained in their faith in God. They won’t let these things go or change course no matter what you say—aren’t they in great trouble? They know perfectly well that God’s words are the truth, they just don’t accept it, so there is nothing that can change them; they can only be eliminated and punished. This is the ultimate result of the antichrists’ belief in God.

Have I now fellowshipped clearly on this matter of people seeking to reign as kings? Have you come to a new comprehension? Is this path of pursuing reigning as a king correct? (No.) Then how should people approach this matter? In this matter, what truth should be understood in order to know man’s essence? It is up to God to judge what a person’s essence and behavior truly are. What does God base His judgment of all this on? He bases it on the truth. Therefore, a person’s outcome or destination is not determined by their own will, nor by their own inclinations or imaginings. The Creator, God, has the final say. How should people cooperate in such matters? People have but one path that they can choose: Only if they seek the truth, understand the truth, obey God’s words, achieve submission to God, and attain salvation will they ultimately have a good end and a good destiny. It is not hard to imagine people’s prospects and destiny if they do the opposite. And so, in this matter, do not focus on what God has promised man, what God says about mankind’s outcome, what God has prepared for mankind. These have nothing to do with you, they are God’s business, they can’t be snatched, begged for, or bartered for by you. As a created being, what should you do? You should do your duty, doing what you ought to with all your heart, mind, and strength. The rest—things to do with prospects and destiny, and humankind’s future destination—these are not something you can decide, they are in the hands of God; all of this falls under the sovereignty of the Creator, it is arranged by Him and has nothing to do with any created being. Some people say, “Why tell us this if it has nothing to do with us?” Though it has nothing to do with you, it does with God. Only God knows these things, only God can speak of them, and only God is entitled to promise these things to humankind. And if God knows them, should God not speak of them? It is a mistake to still pursue your prospects and destiny when you do not know what they are. God did not ask you to pursue this, He was just letting you know; if you mistakenly believe that this was God telling you to make it the goal of your pursuit, then you are utterly lacking in reason, and do not possess the mind of normal humanity. It is enough to be aware of all that God promises. You must acknowledge one fact: No matter what kind of promise it is, be it good or ordinary, be it pleasing or uninteresting, all is encompassed within the sovereignty, arrangements, and determinations of the Creator. Only following and engaging in pursuit according to the correct direction and path indicated by the Creator is the duty and obligation of a created being. As for what you ultimately gain, and the share of which of God’s promises you receive, this is all based on your pursuit, on the path that you take, and on the Creator’s sovereignty. Are these words clear to you now? (Yes.) And will these words help you to satisfy your ambitions and desires, or will they help you to follow the right path in life in pursuit of the truth? (They’ll help us to pursue the truth and follow the right path in life.) For those who possess normal humanity and reason, who love positive things and the truth, not only are they not disappointed when they hear these words, but they can also be steadfastly faithful in their pursuit of the truth and acceptance of God’s salvation; those without normal rationality, however, those abnormal people who doggedly pursue blessings, fleshly interests, and the satisfaction of their ambitions and desires, may lose enthusiasm when they hear these words, and lose interest in believing in God. Of course, there are also some people who don’t know how to believe when they hear these words. Isn’t it so important for people to understand the truth? Isn’t the truth better able to lead people to follow the correct path and satisfy God? (Yes.) Only the truth can enable people to attain salvation; if you don’t understand the truth, then on the road to salvation you will often go astray, make mistakes, and suffer losses, and when you reach the end of the road in your faith, you will possess no truth reality whatsoever and become a service-doer through and through. If you play the role of a service-doer all through your many years of believing in God and aren’t able to ultimately become a qualified created being, then that is a tragedy.

May 9, 2020