A Dissection of How Antichrists Have Others Submit Only to Them, Not the Truth or God

IV. A Dissection of Antichrists’ Pretending to be the Embodiment of the Truth Once They Have Acquired a Bit of Experience and Knowledge

Last time, we fellowshipped on the eighth item of the manifestations of antichrists—they have others submit only to them, not the truth or God. Item eight is divided into four sub-topics in total. We have finished fellowshipping on the first three sub-topics, so what is the fourth? (Antichrists pretend to be the embodiment of the truth once they have acquired a bit of experience and knowledge, and learned some lessons.) This is the fourth sub-topic of item eight. Of course, this also involves an aspect of the manifestations of item eight’s subject—they are related. What is this subject? That they have others submit only to them, not the truth or God. Let’s split this sub-topic up and talk about it bit by bit. What, respectively, are experience, knowledge, and lessons? What kind of people possess them? What kind of people like to equip themselves with them? What kind of people emphasize equipping themselves with these things rather than the truth? What kind of people regard these things as the truth? First, one thing is certain: No matter the caliber of these people, and no matter what their perception is like, they have a great love for knowledge, and their love for knowledge surpasses their love for the truth reality. The goal and direction they pursue in their belief in God is to gain some so-called experience and knowledge. They want to use this knowledge and experience to arm and package themselves so that they become more tasteful, more stylish, more cultivated, and more able to be esteemed and worshiped. With this knowledge and experience, they think that their life is more valuable, more fulfilling, and more filled with self-assurance. In their view, they believe in God to equip themselves with this knowledge, and with sayings that relate to theology and to various aspects of common sense, knowledge, and lessons. They believe that by equipping themselves with these things, they can occupy a place in God’s house and in this group of people. Therefore, what they think about, worship, and follow in their hearts every day is all related to knowledge, experience, and so on.

Let’s first take a look at what kinds of knowledge, experience, and lessons there are, as well as which of these kinds can be called pretending to be the embodiment of the truth. First, it can be said with certainty that these things have nothing to do with the truth, are not in line with the truth, and run counter to the truth. These may be things that are right according to people’s notions, things that, according to their notions, are positive and beautiful and good. But in fact, in God’s eyes, these things are not related to the truth, and these things are even basically the source of people’s condemnation of the truth, the root and source of people’s resistance to God and their notions about Him. Experience, knowledge, and lessons—is there a difference in age and gender among those who acquire these things? (No, there isn’t.) There most likely isn’t. Some people have gifts. What are gifts? For example, after some people listen to a theory or saying and comprehend the core or basic concepts of such a theory, their mind reacts very quickly. They immediately know how to explain such a theory or saying and how to turn it into their own language which they use to speak with other people. After listening to these things, they quickly remember them; this falls short of them being highly perceptive, they merely have an excellent memory, which is a kind of special gift. Is there anyone who possesses a gift like this? (Yes.) There are people like this who, after you say one thing, can immediately use that thing to make inferences about something else. They can, when presented with information about one aspect of a subject, apply it to other areas. They are very good at using the subject that’s under discussion to put forward their own ideas. They are very good when it comes to logical and linguistic things like external matters and theories. That is to say, they excel at playing word games and using theories to draw in and convince others. There are some people with this kind of gift. They are very eloquent, with extremely agile thinking and reactions. On hearing an aspect of the truth, with their petty cleverness and gifts, they understand this aspect of the truth as a type of knowledge and learning, and then use this sort of learning to fellowship with others and do the so-called work of watering and shepherding. What effect does this have on people? Are there any good results? (No, there aren’t.) Why is this? (It’s not practical, and people have no path to practice when they hear it.) After listening to what these people have said, others think that everything they said is right, that there is not a word wrong and not a word that goes against the principles—all of it is correct. But, when putting them into practice, they feel that these words are empty, that there is no goal or direction when practicing, and that these words cannot be used as principles of practice. So, what are these words? (Doctrines.) They are a kind of doctrine, a kind of knowledge. Such manifestations of antichrists are very evident and prominent. They regard the truth as knowledge, as something academic, as theory. While only half understanding things, they always demand that others do this or that. When others do not understand and ask them to explain in detail, antichrists cannot explain clearly and instead respond in a rebuttal: “You do not love the truth. If you loved the truth, you would be able to understand what I say and have a path to practice.” Upon hearing this, some who are muddled and lacking in discernment think, “That’s right. If I really loved the truth, I would be able to understand their words.” People who have no discernment feel that what this person is saying is right—that they don’t understand the truth. They place the responsibility on themselves and are thus misled by antichrists into losing their bearings.

Let’s now talk about experience. Experience is a method that has been summed up over a long period of going through things. Do people who have worked for two days have any experience? (They do not.) Then those who have worked for 10 or 20 years certainly have experience. Some people feel that they have experience from working for many years, that when it comes to what they should do when certain matters befall them, how to deal with certain types of people, and what kinds of doctrines they should speak to which kinds of people, they know it all. As a result, when one day something new happens that they do not know about, they flip through the records of their past 20 years of work, ponder on them, and then indiscriminately apply these past sayings and practices. When they act in this way, those who do not understand the truth still think that what they are doing is in line with the truth, while those who understand the truth look and say, “This person is acting blindly. They have no principles in their work; they rely entirely on experience and do not understand God’s intention, nor do they understand how to act in a way that safeguards the interests of God’s house and conforms to the principles of God’s house on how to treat people. They are applying regulations blindly.” There’s a problem here. If the average person has only worked for a short time, they may not have the capital to say, “I have experience; I am not afraid. I have worked for so many years. What type of person have I not seen, and what matters have I not dealt with?” But these people dare to say this. Even if you have dealt with a lot of things and more than a few different types of people, can you guarantee that you are acting in accordance with the truth principles in dealing with every matter and when approaching every person? In actuality, this is not something you dare to guarantee. But for those who regard experience and routine as the truth, if anyone raises an objection to them, they say: “I’ve been working for so many years. I’ve crossed more bridges than you’ve walked paths, yet you still dare to disagree with me? Go home and pray, why don’t you!” In front of them, no one dares to say the word “no,” put forward different opinions, or voice a word of dissent. What is this behavior? This is regarding experience as the truth and believing oneself to be the embodiment of the truth. Some say: “I don’t regard myself as the embodiment of the truth—who would dare to bear such a title? Only god is the truth. I have never acted like that, nor have I ever thought as such.” Subjectively, you do not think in that way, nor do you intend to act like that. But objectively, your ways of doing things, your behavior, and the essence of your actions ultimately characterize you as one who regards themselves as the embodiment of the truth. Why do you get people to obey your suggestions to the letter? If you don’t regard yourself as God and are just an ordinary person, are you qualified to make others obey you? (No, I am not.) There is one circumstance in which people can obey you, which is if you understand the truth—if you are a person who understands the truth. But then again, even if you are a person who understands the truth, you are still just an ordinary person, and can an ordinary person be the embodiment of the truth? (No, they cannot.) If one can figure out all of the words that God has spoken and all the truths that God requires man to understand, can that person become the embodiment of the truth? (No, they cannot.) Some say: “That may be because they have not been perfected. Peter was a perfected man. Could Peter be called the embodiment of the truth?” Being perfected does not make one the embodiment of the truth, and do you know why? (There is a difference in essence.) There is a difference in essence; this is one aspect of it. Whether man can become the embodiment of the truth—this is a matter we must discuss. Why is it said that man cannot possibly be the embodiment of the truth? Is the embodiment of the truth merely a question of essence? Some people say: “Man is born as a created being, and the One in heaven is inherently the Creator. We don’t need to argue about this matter—God will always be the embodiment of the truth. Then is it because Christ understands the truth and has the truth that He is the embodiment of the truth? If we have gained all of the truths from God, can we also be called the embodiment of the truth?” Others say: “You cannot. I used to think that when people understood more of the truths, they could become christ and become god. Now I know that this essence is irreplaceable and unchangeable.” Their understanding has reached this point. So, are you capable of understanding this matter even further? You should understand this matter as soon as I’m done fellowshipping with you. When we speak of the embodiment of the truth, just what is this “embodiment”? This term is a bit abstract, so let’s put it in the simplest terms. God Himself is the truth, and He possesses all the truths. God is the source of the truth. Every positive thing and every truth come from God. He can pass judgment on the rightness and wrongness of all things and all events; He can pass judgment on things that have happened, things that are happening now, and future things yet unknown to man. God is the only Judge who can pass judgment on the rightness and wrongness of all things, and this means the rightness and wrongness of all things can only be judged by God. He knows the criteria for all things. He can express truths at any time and place. God is the embodiment of the truth, which means that He Himself is possessed of the essence of the truth. Even if man understands many truths and is perfected by God, would they then have anything to do with the embodiment of the truth? No. This is a certainty. When man is made perfect, regarding God’s current work and the various standards God requires of man, they will have accurate judgment and methods of practice, and they will fully understand God’s intentions. They can differentiate between what comes from God and what comes from man, between what is right and what is wrong. Yet there are some things which remain unattainable and unclear to man, things which they can only know after God tells them. Could man know or predict things yet unknown, things that God has not yet told them? Absolutely not. Moreover, even if man obtained the truth from God, possessed the truth reality, and knew the essence of many truths, and had the ability to discern right from wrong, would they have the ability to control and govern all things? They would not have this ability. That is the difference between God and man. Created beings can only ever obtain the truth from the source of the truth. Can they obtain the truth from man? Is man the truth? Can man provide the truth? They cannot, and therein lies the difference. You can only receive the truth, not provide it. Can you be called a person that possesses the truth? Can you be called the embodiment of the truth? Absolutely not! What exactly is the essence of the embodiment of the truth? It is the source that provides the truth, the source of governance and sovereignty over all things, and it is also the sole criterion and standard by which all things and all events are judged. This is the embodiment of the truth. Antichrists often refuse to accept this point. They believe that knowledge is strength, that experience is a weapon for people to equip themselves with to become powerful, and that when people have experience, knowledge, and these lessons, they can control everything. They can control people’s fates, control and sway people’s thoughts, and even sway people’s behavior. Or, some people will think that these things can instruct people, change people’s minds, and change people’s dispositions. What kind of thoughts are these? (The thoughts of antichrists.) These are the thoughts of antichrists. Why can God hold sovereignty over mankind’s fate? God is the reality of all positive things, and His words are the reality of all positive things. What is the essence of God? His essence is the truth, and that is why He is able to hold sovereignty over mankind’s fate. Antichrists do not see or recognize this point, let alone accept it. They regard as the truth those things that come from people, from knowledge, and from society and that are esteemed by evil mankind, and they attempt to use these things to mislead people, control people, and gain a place in the church and among God’s chosen people. What is the purpose of them misleading people? What is their purpose in studying and equipping themselves with these things? It is to make people obey them and listen to their words. What is their purpose in getting people to listen to their words? (To control them.) That’s right, their purpose is to control them. This means that when they utter some words, people will comply with and be manipulated by them, becoming their tools and their slaves. Because people accept their viewpoints and accept their so-called experience, knowledge, and lessons, these people then worship them. Does worshiping them not mean listening to them? (Yes, it does.) Does listening to them not mean that these people can be easily manipulated? Have the antichrists not succeeded? (Yes, they have.) Once someone listens to them, does this not mean they have been taken away from God? (Yes, it does.) This makes the antichrists happy; this is their purpose. Actually, deep in their hearts, they don’t necessarily believe unequivocally that they are the embodiment of the truth and that they are the truth, but they do think like that and act like that. Why do they think and act like this? They believe that their knowledge, experience, and all that has come from their gifts are right, and they want to use these things to control people and grasp people firmly in their hands. Some of their knowledge, experience, and lessons are obviously devilish words meant to trick people. Some, although not obvious, have schemes, cunning plots, and conspiracies hidden inside, and those who cannot see through them will be misled. What are the consequences of being misled? People grow far away from God and no longer understand the truth, regarding human knowledge, experience, and lessons as the truth and putting aside God’s words. People become very hazy about God’s words, but they care very much about and hold in esteem this knowledge and experience, even putting effort into practicing and implementing them. This is the purpose of antichrists’ actions. If they did not have such ambition to manipulate people, control people, and make them obedient, would they equip themselves with these things? They would not put any effort toward it. They have a goal; their sense of purpose is very clear. What is this clear purpose? (To control people.) It is to control people. Regardless of whether they control a whole group of people or only a portion of them, would they be able to control anyone without a theoretical basis? They must first find a set of thoughts and theories that are most in line with people’s notions and imaginings and most suited for people’s tastes, and use every means possible to spread them among people. This means brainwashing people, doing psychological work on them, constantly indoctrinating them, and constantly making people listen to, familiarize themselves with, and accept these thoughts and viewpoints. In fact, people are being passively indoctrinated and passively brainwashed, and they unconsciously accept these views. Because people do not have the inner ability to distinguish right from wrong, before understanding the truth, they have no ability to resist these things—they have no antibody for this. When people accept these fallacious views, they are quickly captured by them. What is meant by “captured”? It means that after accepting these views, people become increasingly dead set on believing that these things are right and constantly use these views to convince themselves and others. They have been misled and controlled, and this is how Satan achieves its goal when misleading people.

Some who have learned some special professional skills in the world, or those who have a certain social status in society, have a common thought after coming to God’s house, which gives rise to a common manifestation in them. What is this thought? They consider themselves as the elite in society. What are the elite? They are people who stand out in groups. They have received some special higher education, and their talents, caliber, and gifts are a cut above the rest. What does it mean to be a cut above the rest? It means that among a group of people, they have outstanding thinking, intelligence, and eloquence, and they have a special ability to understand certain things and skills. This is called being a cut above the rest, and these people are known as elites in society. Every country cultivates this kind of person. What is the purpose of their cultivation? To make the country develop faster. When such people devote themselves to various positions, development speeds up in all walks of life. Is the status of such people in society high or low? (High.) They definitely do not have an ordinary status. They have some special talents, have learned some special knowledge, and have received some special education. Their caliber, talents, and learned knowledge are higher than those of ordinary people. If these people come to the church, what is their mentality? What is their first thought? First, they think: “A weakened bear is still stronger than a deer. Although after believing in god, I do not pursue the world or enjoy renown there, given the special education I have received, as well as the knowledge I have learned and the talents I am equipped with, I should be a leader among you. In god’s house, I should be a mainstay and a pillar. I should be one who leads and guides.” Is this not how they think? What is this thinking based on? If they were a lowly farmer, would they dare to think like this? (They would not.) Why not? (They don’t have the capital.) They don’t have the capital to think like this. So, what kind of people can think this way? They are all people with certain knowledge, talents, gifts, and so-called caliber. When they come to God’s house, they think: “I no longer pursue the world. The world is too evil, so I will come to god’s house and pursue there instead. In god’s house, I can at least gain the position of a leader or a worker.” Do they harbor good intentions? (They do not.) Why do they not harbor good intentions? The things they have learned and their social status harm them terribly. If they do not pursue the truth, they will never come down from such a position in their lives. They will always feel that they are high in the clouds, but in fact, from God’s point of view, they are no different from any ordinary created being. They will always place themselves high up in the clouds. Is this not dangerous? If they fall, they will fall harshly, and their life may be in danger! Why do such people feel that they should have a high status, should be worshiped, should have many people revolve around them, should be consulted on everything and have their opinions listened to, and should be thought of and put first in everything? Why do they think of so many “shoulds”? Because they attach great importance to their social status, knowledge, and the special things that they have learned. They think, “No matter how much or how high the truth is spoken, these things of mine are still valuable; they are more valuable than the truth and cannot be replaced by the truth. In society, I am the boss of a company. I manage thousands of people. With a wave of my arms, everyone has to listen to me. I have such great power—so just think of what kind of position and status I hold! Among these little people in God’s house, how many are higher than me? When I look around, I don’t see many special people. If I were to manage them, it wouldn’t be a problem; it wouldn’t be a big deal!” Suppose that you tell them: “Okay. It’s good that you have this ambition. I’ll satisfy your desire, I will recommend you as a church leader. You bring these people before God so that they know how to read God’s words and put the truth into practice, and you prop up the weak, the negative, and those who do not do their duty.” They will say: “That’s easy. When I was in business, I did all of that psychological work. This is something that I’m good at.” What happens after more than thirty people in a church are placed in their hands? In less than two months, those who were weak become weaker, those who were negative become more negative, and those who spread the gospel cannot gain people. Those who do not know how to read God’s word become drowsy as soon as it’s time for a gathering and no longer even want to listen to sermons from the Above. When asked: “Aren’t you quite capable?” they say: “Yes, I was a boss. My capabilities are obvious!” Whatever kind of boss you are in the world, it is useless. If you do not understand the truth, then you are a layman in doing church work. If these people are allowed to take charge of the gospel work, they will only engage in useless and superficial formalities, they will not get any results, and a church with dozens of people will not be watered well. What is going on here? Such knowledgeable people were once corporate bosses and executives in society, so why can’t they exhibit their skills when they come to God’s house? (The Holy Spirit does not preserve them.) That the Holy Spirit does not preserve them is one aspect, but what is the main reason? They don’t understand the truth, so when it comes to people’s states, people’s corrupt dispositions, God’s requirements for man, God’s words that expose man, and the way God speaks, they lack spiritual understanding and cannot see through to what is going on with these things, and they just act in a blind and superficial way. They think that church work is like running a business in the world, and that as long as they inspire people’s minds, and stir up their enthusiasm, then they will have done a good job. They think that they should, in one respect, do psychological work, and in another, make good use of their established ways of dealing with things in the world, trying to bribe those above them and buy those below them. They believe that as long as you make sure that people get money, then they will listen to and follow you—they think that it’s just that simple. Outside things do not involve the truth. In believing in God, everything one does involves the truth and changes in disposition. Will using the same methods as they did in the world work? (No.) It won’t work. When it comes to how to deal with people’s states, how to deal with people’s weaknesses, how to support people well, how to deal with people’s notions about God, how to make people know themselves when they reveal their corrupt dispositions, and how to get people to be honest, they are clueless and even talk nonsense and impose regulations blindly. For example, if someone says something that is amateurish and lacking in spiritual understanding, they will say that this person is of poor caliber and does not pursue the truth. They just blindly apply regulations, and they do so in this way and that until others have no road forward, disturbing them and making them unmotivated. Those who do their duty no longer have any energy for it, while those who are negative become even more negative. Some people say that it would be better for them to read God’s words at home if such a person leads their church. What caused this? When they lead a church, they cause people to become unmotivated, making them no longer want to believe in God. Why don’t people want to believe? Because people originally had a little clear vision, but this person’s actions disturb and confuse them. There weren’t any truths in these people’s hearts to begin with—only understanding of doctrines. After they are disturbed by this person, they become even more muddleheaded, and they can no longer grasp the work of the Holy Spirit. The existence of God Himself also becomes a little unclear. So, what kind of methods do they use to bring people to this point? For example, is the statement “Man was created by God” truth? (Yes.) You must use your real insights, understanding, and experience to prove this statement so that the brothers and sisters can more firmly believe that this statement is the truth and right and be convinced that mankind came from God, thus increasing their faith in God. Once a person has faith in God, when they accept discipline or suffer some hardship or persecution, they will have strength in their hearts. This is a fact. But what do these people say? “There is a TV program that says that it’s been discovered that humans lived in tribes 100 million years ago.” When they show off their knowledge and talk about history like this, everyone who hears them is confused: “Isn’t it said that man was created by God? When you put it that way, it doesn’t sound like it. Did man come from apes?” Look, where have they taken people? Is this not harming people? (It is.) Whenever they have a chance, they show off their knowledge and talk about history, philosophy, and how they deal and collude with government officials in the world, just showing off these things. When they show off like this, and when some brothers and sisters who are young in stature, weak, and whose faith is small, hear these things, where do their hearts go? (Running toward the world.) That’s right. What does this equate to? These people who were entrusted to them are forfeited by them. They are obviously a layman. Not only do they not understand the matters of life entry, but they also don’t understand what their job is, let alone spiritual matters in life or changes in disposition. They don’t understand any of this, yet they still pretend to be one that understands the truth and want to be a shepherd to lead God’s chosen people. Is this not absurd? If you don’t understand spiritual matters in life, what should you do when chosen as a leader? You say: “I am a layman, and I have never led a church. I have to seek and see what the work arrangements stipulate about this, and find people who understand this to fellowship with on how work should be carried out, or find brothers and sisters who understand the truth and coordinate with them.” Is this the right attitude? (It is.) But some people don’t do this. They put on airs and say, “You want me to coordinate with others—who has more senior qualifications than me? Who has a higher social status than me? I am quite renowned in society. Anyone who meets me needs to pay a bit of respect.” They just brag and show off their capabilities like this. When they lead a church like this, do the brothers and sisters still have hope of entering into the truth reality? (They do not.) They don’t. And even though this is the case, these people still make others report everything to them. These devils went to university for a bit, and they possess a bit of knowledge, and consequently they dare to swagger and swindle in secular society, and to do all manner of bad things. They have some means of survival, so they want to come to God’s house to achieve something. In order to obtain status and bring glory to their ancestors, they even want to pretend to be the embodiment of the truth so that God’s chosen people will listen to and follow them. What does “the embodiment of the truth” mean to them? It means, “Every one of my thoughts, approaches, and opinions, you all must uphold them as the truth. I have set a rule for you: All bills, even those that are under five dollars, must be reported to me.” Others say: “There should be no need to report five dollars. We also have a scope of authority. Can we not just act according to principle?” What do they think? “How could that be okay? This is a big deal. I am the leader. I alone have the final say!” Though they don’t say it, this is how they think in their hearts. This is how they control people. They can do anything that is bad or deceives others. When they deceive and harm others, they do not blink, their hearts don’t skip a beat, and they do not feel uneasy inside at all. When given a position in God’s house, they dare to take it. Once they take it, they don’t want to step down and wish to pretend to be the embodiment of the truth to make others obey. Do such people exist? (They do.)