Item four, exalting and testifying about oneself, is a consistent approach of antichrists. You are able to discern the obvious means, ways, and methods by which antichrists exalt and testify about themselves, but can you discern the more hidden behaviors and manifestations? When it comes to obvious things like using language to exalt and testify about oneself, you reveal these things, you have seen others revealing them too, and you can discern them. But if no language is used and there are only behavioral manifestations, will you still be able to discern them? It can be said that most people are not able to. So then, what are the characteristics of behaviors where antichrists exalt and testify about themselves? Their behavior is certainly in line with man’s notions, imaginings, morals, conscience, and feelings. What else? (It garners people’s approval and worship.) It garners approval and worship; this is the outcome it produces. If we look at it from the perspective of the outcome, this behavior really does have a misleading quality to it. From the perspective of the nature of this action, it is very purposeful. For example, when someone falls ill, if they want to mislead people and make them think highly of them, then will they take their medicine in front of people or when nobody is around? (In front of people.) Is there not an intent behind this? This means they are being very purposeful. What is their actual aim in taking medicine like this? They want to get credit for themselves by doing this, and tell you: “Look, I’m so tired from doing my duty that I’ve fallen ill, and yet I still haven’t complained or shed a single tear. I’m treating my illness, but I can still persist in doing my duty while I’m taking medicine.” In fact, they did not necessarily get this illness from tiring themselves out doing their duty or after they came to believe in God. They are just trying to use all sorts of behaviors to transmit a message to people, which is that they are enduring suffering and paying a price, that they have suffered so much in this environment but not complained once, and still do their duty so actively, and that they possess the will to bear suffering. What is this imperceptibly telling people? That their loyalty to God is undoubtable. What they want to express is that they are loyal and willing to pay a price. Is this not a form of covertly exalting oneself? If they had reason, they would not bring up this matter, they would pray to God when no one was around, expressing their resolve and trying to know themselves, or they would just take their medicine normally. In short, they would not use these external behaviors to tell people that they are suffering, that they are doing their duties loyally, and that they should be rewarded. They would not harbor these intentions. However, if they act in a way that’s particularly showy, wanting to make people think highly of them and praise them, then this is very purposeful. And what is their purpose? It is to achieve the result of exalting and testifying about themselves through the message that they transmit to people. If they’re loyal, God will know this, so why must they boast about this to other people and make everyone else know about it? What is their goal in getting everyone to know about it? It is to make people think highly of them. If they did not have this goal, then they would act without intentions, and others would not see them do these things. If they’re very purposeful, they will measure the scale of their actions, and make a fuss and put thought into the time and location, waiting until everyone is around to ask someone to bring them their medicine, disclosing it publicly and with great fanfare. There is a very clear purpose to this. If they did not have this aim, then they would wait until no one was around to take their medicine. Your willingness to endure suffering and pay a price pertains to your relationship with God; you do not need to make it clear and known to others. If you make it clear to others, what can they give you? Aside from gaining their sympathy and praise, is there anything else you can gain from them? No, there is nothing. When you endure some suffering and pay some prices in the performance of your duty, in one respect, these are things that you should do and that you are willing to do, and you are doing your own duty. In another respect, they are manifestations that you should show toward the Creator as a created being, so why should you publicize them? When you publicize them, they become disgusting; what does the nature of such behavior become? It turns into exalting and testifying about oneself and misleading others—the nature changes. For example, some people always scratch their scalps in front of others, and when someone asks them about it, they say: “I haven’t washed my hair in more than 10 days—I’ve been meeting with gospel recipients one after the other. The other day I tried to make some time to wash my hair, but then a potential gospel recipient came to investigate, and I could not leave.” In fact, they are intentionally not washing their hair in order to give people the impression that they are very busy doing their duties. This is called flaunting oneself. What is their aim in flaunting themselves? It is to make people think highly of them, and the nature of this behavior is exalting and testifying about oneself. Even with such a small matter like this, they do not let it pass, they still want to make a big issue of it, turning it into a sort of valuable resource that they can use to show off, satisfy their ambitions and desires, and achieve their aim of getting people to think highly of them and worship them. Is this not shameful? It is shameful and disgusting. Where do all these things come from? They come from Satan’s corrupt disposition, within which pretense, deceitfulness, wickedness, and ambitions lie. People like this are constantly thinking about their image, status, and reputation. They do not let anything go, they are always looking for ways to turn those things into capital, into resources that they can use to make people think highly of them and worship them. In the end, when they achieve their aim, they act like they don’t care about it. This is also a sort of false appearance, and on the inside, they are actually secretly celebrating and pleased with themselves. Is this not even more disgusting? It is clear that they already have very high status, that everyone esteems them, looks up to them, obeys them, and follows them, but on the surface, they still pretend that they do not like status. This is even more hypocritical. In the end, everyone is misled by them, and says that they were born without any ambitions, that they are people of action. Actually, a small test can reveal this: If they are stripped of their status, they will immediately stop doing their duties. It will be that fast; one little thing will reveal their ambitions. These are the behaviors and approaches that Satan’s corrupt disposition brings out in people, as well as people’s various ugly states. From these manifestations, it can be seen that people like status and want to occupy a place in the hearts of others. They want to possess others’ hearts, win others over, and get others to worship, look up to, and even follow them, thereby replacing God’s position in other people’s hearts. This is a desire that every person possesses from birth. And what does this prove? That, in people’s lives, the thing that controls them is Satan’s disposition. Among corrupt mankind, there is not a single person who does not like status—even fools want to become officials, and even the dull-witted want to manage others. Everyone likes status, and everyone does things for the sake of status, and competes with God for status. Everyone has these sorts of behaviors and approaches, as well as this sort of disposition. So, when we expose antichrists exalting and testifying about themselves, we are also exposing the corrupt dispositions of every person. What is the aim of exposing this? It is to make people understand that these behaviors and manifestations of exalting and testifying about oneself are not what normal humanity should possess, but are instead revelations of corrupt dispositions, and negative, detestable things. No matter how smart your methods of exalting and testifying about yourself are, and no matter how covert your actions are, none of these are things that normal humanity ought to possess, and they are all loathed, condemned, and cursed by God. So, people should all put aside these approaches. Exalting and testifying about oneself is not an instinct that God created for man—rather, it is one of the most typical revelations of Satan’s corrupt disposition, and even more so, it is one of the most typical and specific dispositions and approaches of Satan’s corrupt essence.

Is fellowshipping about some specific examples helpful for you in terms of understanding the various manifestations of exalting and testifying about oneself, whether they be obvious or more hidden ways of speaking and acting? (Yes, it is helpful.) What does it help with? It helps people to discern themselves and others. These states, manifestations, and revelations that I’m speaking about are all things that you frequently display, and you should hold your own states up against them for comparison, understand what exactly you are, what exactly the life that you depend and rely on to survive is, what exactly is contained within this life, what exactly these dispositions make people do, and what they make people live out. Through understanding these specific behaviors, manifestations, approaches, and dispositions, people can gradually dissect and get to know themselves, their own essence, and their nature which is antagonistic toward God, and thereby let go of these approaches, come before God and truly turn themselves around, and practice in accordance with the truth and live it out. Some people say: “Since exalting and testifying about oneself is an approach that’s not in line with the truth and that is of Satan and antichrists, if I do not say or do anything, then doesn’t that mean I’m not exalting or testifying about myself?” This is not correct. So, what way of acting is not exalting and testifying about oneself? If you show off and testify about yourself regarding a certain matter, you will achieve the result of making some people think highly of you and worship you. But if you lay yourself bare and share your self-knowledge regarding that same matter, the nature of this is different. Is this not true? Laying oneself bare to talk about one’s self-knowledge is something that ordinary humanity ought to possess. It is a positive thing. If you really know yourself and speak about your state accurately, genuinely, and precisely; if you speak about knowledge that is completely based on God’s words; if those who listen to you are edified and benefit from it; and if you testify to God’s work and glorify Him, that is testifying about God. If, through laying yourself bare, you talk a lot about your strengths, how you have suffered, and paid the price, and stood firm in your testimony, and as a result, people have a high opinion of you and worship you, then this is testifying about yourself. You need to be able to tell the difference between these two behaviors. For example, explaining how weak and negative you were when facing trials, and how, after praying and seeking the truth, you finally understood God’s intention, gained faith, and stood firm in your testimony, is to exalt and testify about God. It is absolutely not showing off and testifying about yourself. Therefore, whether you are showing off and testifying about yourself or not chiefly depends on whether you are talking about your real experiences, and whether you achieve the effect of testifying about God; it is also necessary to look at what your intentions and aims are when you speak of your experiential testimony. Doing so will make it easy to discern what sort of behavior you are engaging in. If you have the right intention when you testify, then even if people have a high opinion of you and worship you, that is not really a problem. If you have the wrong intention, then even if no one has a high opinion of you or worships you, it is still a problem—and if people do have a high opinion of you and worship you, then that is even more of a problem. Therefore, you cannot look solely at results to determine whether a person is exalting and testifying about themselves. You must look primarily at their intention; the right way to distinguish between these two behaviors is based on intentions. If you just try to discern this based on results, you will be liable to falsely accuse good people. Some people share particularly genuine testimony, and some others consequently have a high opinion of them and worship them—can you say that those people are testifying about themselves? No, you cannot. There’s no problem with those people, the testimony they share and the duty they do are of benefit to others, and only foolish and ignorant people who have a distorted comprehension worship other people. The key to discerning whether people are exalting and testifying about themselves or not is to look at the intention of the speaker. If your intention is to show everyone how your corruption was revealed, and how you have changed, and to enable others to benefit from this, then your words are earnest and true, and in line with the facts. Such intentions are correct, and you are not showing off or testifying about yourself. If your intention is to show everyone that you have real experiences, and that you have changed and possess the truth reality, so that they think highly of you and worship you, then these intentions are incorrect. That is showing off and testifying about yourself. If the experiential testimony you speak of is false, adulterated, and intended to hoodwink people, to stop them from seeing your true state, and to prevent your intentions, corruption, weakness, or negativity from being revealed to others, then such words are deceiving and misleading. This is false testimony, this is tricking God and bringing shame upon God, and it is what God hates most of all. There are clear differences between these states, and they can all be discerned based on intention. If you can discern others, you will be able to see through to their states, and then you will also be able to discern yourself, and see through to your own states.

After listening to all these sermons, some people still continue to exalt and testify about themselves as they did before. How should you approach such people? Be discerning toward them, expose them, and keep your distance from them. If their words have value as a point of reference, then you can take on those words, but if they have no referential value whatsoever, you should forsake them and not be influenced by them. If the people in question are leaders, then expose them, report them, forsake them, and do not accept their leadership. Say this: “You always testify about and exalt yourself, you always make us numb and control us, and you mislead us. We have all grown further from God, and we don’t even have God in our hearts—there is only you. Now we are going to stand up and forsake you.” You must act in this way, you must monitor one another, monitoring both yourself and others. Have you not frequently scratched your scalp in front of others, or told people that you have skipped several meals when you were really eating plenty of snacks behind their backs? When, at times, the environment does not allow it, it is normal for people to not shower for a month, or to skip a shower or to skip washing their hair because they are too busy with work. These are all common occurrences, and they are the prices that people should pay. They’re not a big deal—don’t make a mountain out of a molehill. If someone really makes such matters out to be something bigger than they really are, deliberately scratching their scalps in front of others and saying that they have not washed their hair for several days, deliberately taking medicine in front of others, or pretending that they are exhausted and in very poor physical condition, then everyone should stand up to expose them and express displeasure toward them. This way, this shameless person can be restricted. They are being hypocritical, they are flaunting themselves for other people to see, and yet they are trying to get people to express approval for their behavior, to gaze at them with envy, admiration, and appreciation. Are they not tricking people? These approaches are the same as when the Pharisees held Scriptures and prayed to God at street corners. They are no different than this. As soon as someone mentions the Pharisees holding Scriptures and standing at street corners reading scriptures or praying, these people think, “That is too disgraceful. I wouldn’t do something like that.” Yet they intentionally take medicine or scratch their scalps in front of others, unaware that what they are doing is of the same nature. They cannot see through to this. Later on, when you encounter such matters, you must learn to discern and expose people like this, exposing all their hypocrisy—then they will not dare to act in such a way. You must put a little pressure on them, and make them think that such approaches, behaviors, and dispositions are shameful and very much detested by all. If people detest them so much, does God detest them? He detests them even more. Inherently, you are nothing. You are already pitiful enough, even if you do not exalt and testify about yourself, so if you are so pitiful and still exalt and testify about yourself, will this not disgust people? You have never done your duty loyally, you have never acted with principles, and you have not met God’s demands in any respect. You are already in trouble, so if you also exalt and testify about yourself, then won’t things be even rougher for you? You will be even further from God’s demands, and an even greater distance from reaching the standard for attaining salvation.

Tell Me, what is the nature of the problem of exalting and testifying about oneself? Satan has corrupted people to such an extent; isn’t their humanity and reason no longer normal? Have you shown manifestations of exalting and testifying about yourselves in the performance of your duties? Who can speak on this? (I have shown such a manifestation. When I am performing my duty until late at night, I will send a message to the gathering group so that others know I have still not slept at this hour, and so that they will think I can endure suffering and pay the price. I have done this myself and have also frequently seen others do it too.) It seems that there are plenty of such people and they are not in the minority. Is doing such a thing not uncalled-for? How asinine it is! Who else wants to say something? (I have shown such a manifestation. When I see that some problems exist in the church’s work, I will set about resolving them, falsely giving people the impression that I am very enthusiastic, but most of the time I do not actually do anything after speaking up. My actions do not progress and are inefficient, and in the end the problem is unresolved, and the matter is left unsettled. I use my superficial enthusiasm to hoodwink people and cover up the fact that I don’t practice the truth.) You are speaking empty words, talking big, and not taking any real action. You let people see your vigor, as if you are practicing the truth, but when the time comes to do something, you do not earnestly set about doing it and only shout slogans. Ultimately, you start off with a bang and finish with a whimper, leaving the matter incomplete. Such a manifestation is also misleading. And in the future, when something similar befalls you, will you be discerning in this matter? (Now I can discern it somewhat.) Then do you have a sense of direction? If such a thing befalls you again, you can follow two different steps: The first step is judging whether or not you can actually take care of this matter. If you can, then you should go about it seriously and practically. The second step is praying before God and asking Him to guide you in this matter, and when you take action, you also need to accept everyone’s supervision while at the same time being resolved to cooperate and working together with everyone to complete this task. If you learn to do things step-by-step and work in a down-to-earth manner, then you will resolve this problem. If you always speak empty words, talk big, shoot your mouth off, only superficially go through the motions when you do something, and are not down-to-earth at all, then you are roguish. Given that you are able to see that there is a problem in the church’s work and are able to suggest how the problem should be solved, this proves that you may possess potential and may have the working abilities to settle this matter. The only thing is that there is a problem with your disposition—you act impetuously, are unwilling to pay the price, and only focus on shouting empty slogans. Once you discover a problem, first look at whether or not you can resolve it, and if you can, then take on this task and follow through to the end, resolving the problem, carrying out and fulfilling your responsibility, and giving an account of it to God. This is what it means to perform your duties and to act and conduct yourself in a down-to-earth manner. If you cannot resolve this problem, then report it to your leader and see who is best suited to handle this matter. First, you must fulfill your responsibility; this way, you will have held on to your duty and stood in the right position. After you discover the problem, if you cannot resolve it but are able to report it, then you have fulfilled your first responsibility. If you feel that this is a duty that you should perform and that you are up to the task, then you should seek the help of your brothers and sisters, first fellowshipping about the principles and setting a plan, and then working together harmoniously to complete this matter. This is your second responsibility. If you can take on both of these responsibilities, then you will have performed your duties well, and you will be a qualified created being. People’s duties are made up of nothing more than these two aspects. If you can take on the things that you see and are able to do, performing your duties well, then you are in line with God’s intentions.

Are there any other manifestations of exalting and testifying about oneself? (I recently had such a manifestation. When I was performing my duties, I busied myself with things all day, and there were some problems in the church that I did not practically resolve and instead only handled perfunctorily. However, some people saw that I was busy performing my duty every day, so they thought highly of me and admired me. Does this behavior not also contain elements of exalting and testifying about myself? I cannot see this matter clearly and always feel a bit constrained.) Is this testifying about yourself? If you are busy with performing your duties, are able to endure suffering and do not complain, and God’s chosen ones think highly of you and admire you, this is normal and is not caused by testifying about yourself. You are just busy with performing your duties and are not flaunting yourself or showing off, and you do not keep going on about your experiences of suffering, so this is unrelated to testifying about yourself. However, many people appear to be busy on the surface when performing their duties when, in actuality, their work has not yielded any results and they have not resolved any problems. Does God approve of people who are busy in that way? If you are busy all day with simple problems that people who understand the truth and grasp the principles might resolve in two hours, and you feel quite fatigued and that you have suffered a lot, then are you not just busying yourself with nothing, just running around without purpose? Can you gain God’s approval from performing your duties in this way? (No.) You are working too inefficiently! With this matter, you must seek the truth principles. Sometimes people have a lot on their plate and are truly busy, which is normal, but sometimes they don’t have much to do and yet are still busy. What causes this? One reason is that your work has not been planned and arranged reasonably. You must grasp the key work duties, plan and arrange them reasonably, and perform your duties with greater efficiency. Running about without purpose and busying yourself in vain will not be approved of by God. Another situation is when your intention is to make people think you are busy, and you use this means and false appearance to hoodwink others. Whenever they gather, some leaders and workers do not resolve actual problems and instead make pointless remarks, going off-topic nonstop and speaking on and on without getting to the key point. This way of being busy—not striving for efficiency or progress—is called busying oneself with nothing. And what sort of attitude is this? It is going through the motions in one’s work, being perfunctory, killing time, and in the end still thinking, “No matter what other people think or what God thinks, as long as my conscience is clear I’ll be fine. At least I’m not idling away, at least I’m not getting a free lunch.” On the surface, it may seem that you are not idling away, that you aren’t getting a free lunch, that every day you are either attending gatherings or performing your duty, and that everything you are doing is related to the church’s work, but in actuality, deep down, you know that the things you are doing are not useful or of value at all, and that you are going through the motions. This is problematic. So, how well are you performing your duty? You know very well that you have a problem, but you do not seek the truth to resolve it—this is being perfunctory, numb, and intransigent. What is the consequence of being perfunctory and procrastinating when performing your duties? You will certainly not gain God’s approval, because you do not act with principles or efficiency, and performing your duty like this is purely laboring. If you are pruned and helped but still do not repent, and you even make complaints and are negative and slack off while working, then you can only be eliminated. So, if you do not pursue the truth to resolve the problem of being perfunctory, no matter how long you perform your duties it will be of no use, and you will fall short of the standards for performing your duties with loyalty. It is worth reflecting on this problem. God demands that people act with principles, that they practice the truth, and that they be honest. If one can enter these truths, then they will achieve results in the performance of their duties, and at minimum they will be able to act with principles. The foundation and the key to raising one’s efficiency lies here. If one does not have the truth principles, then no matter how busily they perform their duties and no matter how long they work each day, they will not see true results. When judging whether people perform their duties with loyalty, God does not look at how long they perform their duties, but rather at their practical results and their work efficiency, and at whether they are acting with principles and in accordance with the truth. To put it simply, He looks at whether people have true experiential testimony and life entry in the performance of their duties. If people do not have any truth reality, then they are just laborers, but if they can practice the truth and act with principles, then that is a sign that they are performing their duties as God’s people. Through this comparison, it can be understood that only those who meet the standards for performing their duties can be considered God’s people. Those who do not meet the standards, who are always perfunctory, are laborers. If one can come to understand the truth and act with principles, then performing any duty will not be a problem for them, and as long as they grope about for a while, they will eventually meet the standards for performing their duties. As for those who are too low in caliber or who are always perfunctory, it will be difficult for them to meet the demands, and their performance of their duties is nothing more than laboring. As for muddle-headed people, blockheads, and people with poor humanity who don’t do proper work, do not accept the truth no matter how it is fellowshipped, and continue to act recklessly, they can only be eliminated and left to believe in God however they want. So, if one does not perform their duty with principles and is running around with no purpose and busying themselves with nothing every day, then they must quickly seek the truth to resolve this and act with principles. They should be able to perform their duty normally every day and not just be content when they have worked for a long time, placing importance on efficiency and creating a finished product—only such people are people who are approved of by God and who loyally perform their duties.

Nowadays, there are many people who follow God and are performing their own duties, but a portion of them have never pursued the truth, and when performing their duties, they always act recklessly and according to their own wishes, doing whatever they want. They do not make big mistakes, but they make small ones all the time, particularly appearing to look busy every day when in reality, they have not handled any proper matters and are idling away their time. One could also say that they only do their work to get by. Are such people not in danger? If one is always approaching their duties and approaching God’s commission with such an irreverent attitude, what kind of consequences will there be? Working ineffectively and being dismissed with one’s duties is a light consequence—if one does various sorts of evil deeds then they should be cleared out, and God will hand such a person over to Satan. What does it mean to be handed over to Satan? It means that God will no longer look after them, that God will not save them, and that they will begin to take the wrong path and will then be punished. You understand this, don’t you? Now is the time when God reveals people, and if you are temporarily not following the correct path, then God will make use of the practical environment to give you an opportunity to recognize your problems. However, once you know that God has given you some time to reflect, that God is giving you a final opportunity, if you still do not turn back and stubbornly continue to perform your duty perfunctorily, then God will act. When God destroyed the city of Nineveh, did He do so right away? He did not. What was God’s first step when He acted? He first informed Jonah, and explicitly told him how the entire process would go and what His intentions were. After this, Jonah went to Nineveh and walked all around the city, announcing: “Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown” (Jonah 3:4). This message reached everyone’s ears; the men and women, the young and old, and people from all walks of life heard about it—it was known to every household, and even their king heard the news. Why did God act in such a way? By looking at this matter, one can see that whether He is saving people, revealing people, or punishing them, the ways in which He treats people all have procedures and principles. He is not acting on a sudden whim, immediately destroying someone when He doesn’t like the look of them. Instead, He lets some time pass. What is His purpose in allowing this passage of time? (To let people repent.) It is to let the people of Nineveh know what He is going to do, to allow them to reflect and little by little come to understand His intentions and gradually begin to turn back. There is a process to people recognizing this, and these 40 days are the time that God has given people to turn back. If they still have not turned back after 40 days and have not confessed their sins to Him, then God will accomplish this matter according to what He said He would do. This is because God means what He says, and what He says shall be done—there is no falseness to these words. So, what was the reaction of the people of Nineveh when they received this news? Did they instantly cover themselves in sackcloth and ashes? No, there was a process. At the beginning, people might have been in doubt: “God is going to destroy us; did He really say that? What did we do?” After this, all the households informed each other about this matter and discussed it together. They felt that a crisis had arrived and that they were at the crossroads of life and death. So, what should they do? Should they confess and repent, or be skeptical and resist? If they truly chose to be skeptical and resist, the consequence would be that they were destroyed after 40 days, but if they confessed their sins and turned back, they would still have a lifeline. After discussing this matter at all levels for many days, an extreme minority of citizens were able to adopt an attitude of confessing their sins and turning back. They were able to bow down in worship, offer sacrifices, or show some good behaviors and manifestations. But there was one most crucial figure who saved this city—who was this? It was the king of Nineveh. He ordered the whole country, from the king down to the lowliest commoner, to cover themselves in sackcloth and ashes, to confess their sins and repent to Jehovah God. After issuing such an order, could anyone in the city dare not to do it? A king has this kind of power. If he had used the power that he held to do some bad things, then the country’s people would have suffered a great disaster, but instead he wielded this power to do good things, things of worshiping God and turning back to Him, and the city was preserved, the people of the whole country were saved, and they had hope of being absolved. Was this not decided by a single thought of this king? If he had said, “Regardless of whether you’re willing to repent, I’m not going to do it; you’re on your own. I don’t believe in such things, and I have not done any evil. What’s more, I have status, so what can God do to me? Can He ban me from the throne? If the city is destroyed, so be it. Without these commoners I will still be king, just as I was before!” What if he had had such an idea, such a line of thinking? Then much fewer common people would have been saved, and God ultimately may have selectively brought out the people who were willing to repent. After He brought them out, those who would rather die than repent would have been destroyed along with the city, and of course the king would have been among them. And as for those who were willing to repent, they would be able to go on living after God brought them out of the city. But, the best thing about this was that the king of Nineveh was able to take the lead in covering himself in sackcloth and ashes, and also tell the common people of the city, whether they were women or men, young or old—no matter who they were, no matter how high-ranking an official or how low-class a peasant—from aristocrats to ordinary civilians, that they all must cover themselves in sackcloth and ashes and kneel down before Jehovah God in worship, prostrate themselves and confess their sins, express their attitude of turning back, turn away from their evil way and forsake the evil in their hands, repent to God, and pray that He not destroy them. The king of Nineveh took the lead by repenting and confessing his sins to God, and in doing so saved the city’s entire populace, with many people benefiting along with him. By taking the lead in doing this, his power became valuable. This king leading his people to turn back before God is something that God commemorates.

Does fellowshipping about the content of antichrists exalting and testifying about themselves in such detail have any benefits for you? Fellowshipping over and over again like this, giving examples, telling stories, using different means and terms to describe and define it—if people still do not understand, then they truly lack spiritual understanding, and people like this are irredeemable. What is the aim of fellowshipping in such detail? It is to ensure that after people hear these words, what they understand and accept is not doctrines, not literal meaning, and not a certain expression, but rather a truth about the way things are and some truths and principles related to people’s essence, their existence, and their lives. If you can hold these sayings or these examples I have talked about up to your own actual state or to the things you reveal in your own life for comparison, then you can understand the truth and are a person with spiritual understanding. If you can make the connection and find the relationship between each example and matter that is discussed and the aspect of the truth that is being fellowshipped about, as well as their relationship to your own state and your own revelations—if you know how to link these together and put this knowledge to use, then you have spiritual understanding, you have hope of entering the truth reality, and you can understand the truth. If you do not understand no matter what is said, if you cannot relate these matters to yourself, if you feel that no matter what you hear it has nothing to do with what you reveal and with your own nature essence, and if you cannot find the correlation, then you are completely ignorant and can’t get anything into your head; you lack spiritual understanding. Such people who lack spiritual understanding are only good for laboring and cannot enter the truth reality. People who want to attain salvation must enter the truth reality, and to enter the truth reality one must understand these words and understand these stories and circumstances I have talked about, as well as what each matter, each type of revelation, and the essence of each type of person and their manifestations and states are, and become able to hold all of these up to themselves. Only this way can they understand the truth; if they do not reach this point, then they cannot understand it. It is similar to when people raise chickens—if one raises a chicken for half a year, and it has still not laid an egg, can it be said that this chicken does not lay eggs? (No.) If the owner has had this chicken for three years and has fed it grains and greens, but no matter what it eats it still does not lay an egg, then can it be said that this chicken does not lay eggs? (Yes.) So, when it comes to people, some of them do not understand no matter what sermons they listen to and no matter how you fellowship about the truth to them. This is a person without spiritual understanding. There is another type of person, the kind who can understand what they have heard but does not put it into practice, does not turn back. This type of person is done for and is the same as the people from the city of Sodom—doomed to be an object of destruction. Antichrists belong to this category of people; they will not turn back no matter how you fellowship about the truth. Is this merely an intransigent disposition? (No.) They have a nature essence that antagonizes God and is hostile to the truth, and for such a person it is out of the question for them to understand the truth. They make an enemy of the truth, antagonize the truth and God, and are hostile to positive things, so when you fellowship about the truth, they do not treat it as the truth, but rather as a sort of theory, scholarship, or doctrine. After they listen to the fellowship, they equip their hearts with it so that after this they can show off and earn their own interests, status, fame, and gain. This is their aim. No matter how you fellowship about the truth and no matter which examples you discuss, you cannot reform them, and you cannot reverse their intentions or change the way they do things. They are someone who does not pursue the truth. People who do not accept and practice the truth after hearing it cannot be changed by the truth, and God will not save such people. Those of this sort can essentially be defined as people who are hostile to the truth, and to be more specific, they are antichrists. This is the difference between antichrists and ordinary people.