There are some people who, although they believe in God, do not willingly and gladly exert themselves for Him, instead performing their duty reluctantly. They only think about laboring to receive blessings but are not willing to strive toward the truth. When performing their duties, they often act perfunctorily and aren’t meticulous, and they are satisfied with just achieving some results so they are not cleared out. But regardless of whether people truly believe in Him and expend themselves for Him, God gives people the opportunity to repent. God will not condemn you because you do not understand the truth or act perfunctorily when performing your duty. God will constantly scrutinize you to see whether you can accept the truth and whether you can truly repent and take the right life path. It depends on how you choose. Some people did not understand any truths when they started to perform their duties, but because they often listen to sermons and often gather and fellowship, they gradually come to understand the truth. Their hearts become brighter and brighter, and they see that they lack too much, have no truth at all, and have no principles in performing their duties, only doing some work according to their own wishes. They feel that performing their duties in this way is not in accordance with God’s intentions, and their hearts become remorseful. They start to strive toward the truth, and they achieve better and better results when performing their duties. Just like this, in one respect, they gain life entry, and in another respect, they gradually become qualified in performing their duties. This is a person who can accept the truth in performing their duties. As their understanding of the truth gradually becomes clearer, they can clearly see their own revelations of corruption. They can pray to God and rely on God in their hearts, be willing to cast away their corruption, put the truth into practice, and take the path of pursuing the truth. This is the gradual growth of life in the course of performing one’s duty. Those who follow God all come to understand the truth and enter into the truth reality in the course of performing their duties. If one does not love the truth, can there be such a change? Definitely not. Some people are particularly arrogant and conceited. When they come to God’s house, especially after doing their duty, the extent of this becomes apparent. With arms crossed over their chest, or their hands on their hips, they display defiance and dissatisfaction. Why are they so arrogant? In their hearts, they say: “In order to believe in god and do my duty, I have forsaken the world, my family, and my job. Is this price not high? I have forsaken so much for god. Shouldn’t god give me some compensation? In addition, according to my status and income in society, shouldn’t god’s house at least give me the same treatment? Now that I am performing my duty, can’t god give me some special favor? I am a special talent, much better than ordinary people. I should have status in god’s house. If others can lead, then I can also lead. My status should not be lower than others, and I should enjoy treatment higher than ordinary people. Most importantly, can god assure me that I will receive blessings and have a good destination in the future?” From the thoughts in their hearts, we can see that they have come to make a deal with God, not to sincerely expend themselves for Him. They think the same way that Paul did, wanting to do their duty in exchange for God’s blessings. But their reason is much worse than Paul’s—it is far inferior to Paul’s. Why do I say this? Because Paul indeed suffered much over the many years he spread the gospel, and the fruits of his spreading the gospel were much better than that of ordinary people. At the very least, his footsteps traveled through most of Europe; he established many churches throughout Europe. In this regard, ordinary antichrists cannot compare to Paul’s reason or how much he labored. But the person I just mentioned becomes incredibly arrogant after doing their duty. Isn’t that too lacking in reason? They are utterly unreasonable, and like a bandit, they cannot let go once they seize the opportunity to receive blessings. Such people are always willfully looking for opportunities to step into the limelight in God’s house, even if it’s just becoming a team leader or a supervisor. In short, when coming to God’s house, they are unwilling to be an ordinary follower. No matter who can admit that they are an ordinary created being, that they are just an ordinary created being like all other living beings, they will never accept this viewpoint—they will never let themselves be wronged in this way. They believe they should have special treatment and that God should give them special grace and blessings. They also want to enjoy special benefits of status in God’s house. They do not allow God’s house to doubt their talents, and even less do they allow people to ask about their work—everyone must have absolute faith in them because they have forsaken everything for God and are absolutely loyal to Him. Is this not an unreasonable request? Does this person have any reason? How many of such people are there? What percentage of the church can it be? Such people always think that they have some abilities and talent, so they brag about how brilliant they are. So, what does this so-called talent mean? It means they can talk big, speak a lot of nonsense, change the way they speak depending on who they are speaking to, and have higher skills at deception than ordinary people. They believe that this is talent and ability, and they want to use this ability to swagger around and bluff. What does true talent mean? It means having special skills. When God created man, He gave various types of people different specialties. Some people are good at literature, some people are good at medicine, some people are good at studying skills, some people are good at scientific research, and so on. People’s specialties are given by God and are nothing to boast about. No matter what specialties one has, it does not mean that one understands the truth, and it certainly doesn’t mean that one possesses the truth reality. People have certain specialties, and if they believe in God, they should use these specialties to do their duties. This is acceptable to God. Boasting about a certain specialty or wanting to use it to make deals with God—this is too lacking in reason. God does not favor such people. Some people know a certain skill, and so when they come to God’s house, they feel that they are a cut above others, they want to enjoy special treatment, and they feel that they have an iron rice bowl for life. They regard this skill as a kind of capital—such arrogance! So, how should you view these gifts and specialties? If these things are useful in God’s house, then they are only tools for you to fulfill your duty. They have nothing to do with the truth. No matter how many you have, gifts and talents are only human specialties and have nothing to do with the truth. Your gifts and specialties do not mean that you understand the truth, and they certainly don’t mean that you possess the truth reality. If you use your gifts and specialties to do your duty and do your duty well, then they have been used in the right place, and their use is approved of by God. But if you use your gifts and specialties to show off, to testify for yourself, and to build an independent kingdom, then your sins will be great, and you will become a grave offender in resisting God. Gifts are given by God. If you cannot use them to do your duty and testify to God, then you would be too unconscionable and lacking in reason, and you would be so indebted to God—this is outrageous rebelliousness! But no matter how well you give play to your gifts and specialties, it does not mean that you have the truth reality. Practicing the truth and acting in a principled way means that you have the truth reality. Gifts and talents are always gifts and talents. They have nothing to do with the truth. No matter how many gifts and talents you have, and no matter how high your reputation or how high your status, it will never mean that you have the truth reality. Gifts and talents will never become the truth. They have nothing to do with the truth. But antichrists do not think this way, and it is precisely these things that they value greatly. For example, some people have acting talents. After playing the leading role in a movie shot in God’s house, they start to put on airs. Even three people helping them put on makeup is not enough to satisfy their needs. They used to be an ordinary person, but now that they believe in God, after doing their duty as an actor, they start putting on airs. Are they not courting death? I think they are doing just that! They aren’t special in appearance, and their acting skills are average. They are just suited for playing certain parts, so they are given another role—isn’t this exalting them? When given a chance to do their duty, they even put on airs. When acting, they order people around to serve them by bringing tea and pouring water, angering all brothers and sisters who saw. I said, “Cleanse them away!” And so the church cleansed them away. Should these people not be cleared out? They thought that the church could not make movies without them, so they dared to put on airs. They did not expect this consequence. This was driven by their nature. Such people cherish knowledge, talent, learning, and experience. They attach too much importance to these things, but they ignore the most precious thing—the truth. They do not realize that the truth reigns in God’s house. If they do not pursue the truth, no matter how high their knowledge or how great their eloquence, they will not be able to stand. Sooner or later, they will be revealed and eliminated. Is it easy for people to understand this bit of doctrine? Those who have believed in God for many years but can’t even see through to this are just muddleheaded people with no value at all. If they were a bit sensible, they would not be so arrogant. Such people are devils and Satans betraying themselves. Now, I directly pointed out this matter so that you can also understand it clearly; so that you can distinguish this matter a little and see it through. If I didn’t point it out clearly, would you be able to distinguish it like this? Would you be able to clear them out? People can’t see the problem, so I have to be straightforward. If I were not straightforward, the problem couldn’t be resolved. Relying on just the few doctrines that you understand, no problems can be resolved.

Antichrists always think of themselves as having special talents. They think that they are college graduates who are profoundly learned and who possess a wealth of knowledge. They greatly treasure and value their knowledge and the spiritual theories they learn, and even treat these things like the truth. Even more so, they frequently take this knowledge and experience which they believe to be correct, and use it to instruct, mislead, or condition those around them. In particular, they often speak of their “glorious” pasts, which they use to persuade and convince other people, and make them esteem and worship them. And what are these “glorious” pasts of theirs? Some of them will say: “I was once a lecturer at a university. All of my students were Masters or Ph.D. students. Every time I gave a lecture, there wasn’t a single empty seat; each of the students sat in complete silence, looking upon me with adoration and admiration in their eyes. I wasn’t even nervous. How grand and impressive it all was! I was born with such talent and such nerve.” Others will say: “I learned to drive when I was 14 years old. I have now been driving for over 40 years and my driving skills are top-notch.” What do they mean by this? They mean: “You’ve only been driving for a few days. What do you know? A seasoned driver like myself has been driving for a lifetime. I have all manner of experience. In the future, you should ask me if there’s something you don’t understand. You must listen to what I have to say.” When they have some kind of skill, antichrists think themselves to be remarkable, they make themselves out to be mysterious, and they show themselves off and testify to themselves, making others esteem and worship them. When people of this sort have a bit of a strength or a gift, it makes them think that they are better than others, and aspire to lead them. When other people come to them for answers, antichrists lecture them from on high, and if those people still don’t understand afterward, they simply attribute it to them being poor of caliber, though in actuality, it is the antichrists themselves who haven’t provided a clear explanation. For instance, upon seeing that someone is unable to repair a faulty machine, an antichrist will say: “How can you still not know how to do this? Haven’t I already told you how to do it? I explained it so clearly, yet you’re still not getting it. You truly are of poor caliber. You fail to learn every time I teach you how to do this.” Yet when that person asks them to fix the machine, they will look at it for the longest time and also not know how to repair it, and they will even hide the fact that they don’t know how to fix it from that person. After sending that person away, the antichrist will secretly do research and try to figure out how to repair the machine, but they still won’t be able to fix it. They will end up taking the machine apart, making a complete mess, and being unable to put it back together again. Then, afraid of this being seen by the others, they will hide the pieces. Is it shameful to not know how to do some things? Is there anyone who can do everything? There’s nothing shameful in not knowing how to do some things. Do not forget that you are just an ordinary person. No one esteems you or worships you. An ordinary person is just that: an ordinary person. If you do not know how to do something, just say you do not know how to do it. Why would you try to disguise yourself? People will feel disgusted with you if you’re always disguising yourself. Sooner or later, you’ll give yourself away, and at that time, you’ll lose your dignity and your integrity. This is the disposition of an antichrist—they always think of themselves as jacks-of-all-trades, as someone who can do everything, who is capable and competent in all things. Won’t this get them into trouble? What would they do if they had an honest attitude? They would say: “I’m not proficient in this technical skill; I just have a little bit of experience. I’ve applied all that I know, but I do not understand these new problems we’re encountering. Therefore, we must learn some professional knowledge if we wish to do our duty well. Mastering professional knowledge will allow us to do our duty effectively. God entrusted this duty to us, so we have a responsibility to do it well. We should go and learn this professional knowledge based on an attitude of taking responsibility for our duty.” This is practicing the truth. A person with the disposition of an antichrist would not do this. If a person has a bit of reason, they will say: “I only know this much. You do not need to esteem me, and I do not need to put on airs—won’t that make things easier? It’s miserable to always be disguising ourselves. If there’s something we don’t know, we can learn it together and then work harmoniously to do our duty well. We must have a responsible attitude.” Upon seeing this, people would think, “This person is better than us; when a problem befalls them, they don’t blindly force themselves beyond their limits, nor do they pass it on to others, or shirk responsibility. Rather, they take it on themselves and approach it with a serious and responsible attitude. This is a good person who is serious and responsible toward their work and duty. They are trustworthy. God’s house was right to have entrusted them with this important task. God truly scrutinizes the depths of people’s hearts!” By doing their duty in this way, they would improve their skills and gain everyone’s approval. How does this approval come about? Firstly, they are approaching their duty with a serious and responsible attitude; secondly, they are able to be an honest person, and they have a practical and studious attitude; thirdly, it can’t be ruled out that they have the guidance and enlightenment of the Holy Spirit. Such a person has God’s blessing; this is what someone with conscience and reason can achieve. Although they have corrupt dispositions, deficiencies, and shortcomings, and they do not know how to do many things, they are still on the right path of practice. They don’t disguise themselves or deceive; they have a serious and responsible attitude toward their duty, and a longing and pious attitude toward the truth. Antichrists will never be able to do these things because their way of thinking will always be different from those who love and pursue the truth. Why do they think differently? Because Satan’s nature lies within them; they live by the disposition of Satan in order to achieve their goal of assuming power. They always seek to use various means to engage in schemes and tricks, misleading people by hook or by crook into worshiping and following them. Therefore, in order to pull the wool over people’s eyes, they find all kinds of ways to disguise themselves, trick, lie, and deceive, to make others believe that they are right about everything, that they are capable at everything, and that they can do anything; that they are smarter than others, that they are wiser than others, that they understand more than others; that they’re better at everything than others, and that they are above others in every respect—even that they are the best of the best in any group. They have such a need; this is the disposition of antichrists. Thus, they learn to pretend to be something they are not, producing each of these various practices and manifestations.

Think about it: What disposition is possessed by people who like to pretend to be something they are not? What do they pretend to be? They do not pretend to be a devil or a negative figure; they pretend to be something lofty, good, beautiful, and kind, to be something that people esteem and admire—they pretend to be these things that people praise or approve of. They pretend to know and understand everything; they pretend to possess the truth, to be a positive figure, and to be the truth reality. Is this not seeking their own destruction? Do they have that reality? Do they have that essence? No. It is precisely because they do not that they are said to be pretending. So, would anyone say that they are the embodiment of the truth because they possess the truth reality? Does this statement hold water? (No, it does not.) Even if you possess some truth realities, you are by no means the embodiment of the truth. Therefore, anyone pretending to be the embodiment of the truth is an arrogant individual and an absurd type! A person who possesses only a tiny bit of the truth reality yet dares to pretend to be the embodiment of the truth is like a mere single drop of water claiming to be a vast, boundless sea. Is this not the height of arrogance? Isn’t this brazen shamelessness? For a person to pretend to be the embodiment of the truth, they must have the capital to do so. And what do antichrists use to pretend to be the embodiment of the truth? It’s those things that I just mentioned—knowledge, experience, and lessons. This includes the special skills and talents people acquire through learning as well as the gifts they are born with. Some people have a gift for speaking in tongues, while others have a gift or eloquence for preaching. Others have learned or mastered certain special professional skills. For example, some people are particularly outstanding in dance, music, fine arts, languages, or literature; while others are adept at politics, which means that they are especially good at manipulating people, that they excel at diplomacy, and so on. In short, this includes people with special talents from all walks of life. These people with special talents or gifts may not necessarily have a certain status or a set career in society. Some people live in small places, yet they can speak about a wide-range of matters from past to present clearly and logically, and in a particularly eloquent manner. If people with these special talents have the disposition of an antichrist, they will not be content with things as they are when they come to the house of God; they will harbor certain ambitions and desires, and they will gradually be revealed.

Regarding the item of antichrists pretending to be the embodiment of the truth once they have acquired a bit of experience and knowledge, and learned some lessons, we’ve just discussed the scope of such knowledge, experience, and lessons. And what has been the focus of this discussion? (Pretending.) That’s right. The crux is antichrists pretending to be the embodiment of the truth. Knowledge, experience, lessons—none of these things are the truth; they have absolutely nothing to do with the truth. These things even go against the truth and are condemned by God. Take knowledge, for example, does history count as a form of knowledge? (Yes.) How did the knowledge and history books about human history, the history of certain countries or ethnic groups, modern history, ancient history, or even certain unofficial histories, come about? (They were written by people.) So, do the things written by people accord with true history? Aren’t people’s ideas and views at odds with the principles, ways, and means of God’s actions? Are these words spoken by man related to true history? (No.) There is no relation. Therefore, regardless of how accurate the records contained in history books are, they are only knowledge. Regardless of how eloquent those historians are, and how logically and clearly they narrate these histories, what is the conclusion you will arrive at after listening to them? (We will know of those events.) Yes, you will know of those events. But are they narrating these histories merely for the purpose of informing you about those events? They have a certain idea that they wish to indoctrinate you with. And what is the focus of their indoctrination? This is what we need to analyze and dissect. Let Me give an example so that you might understand what it is they wish to indoctrinate people with. After reviewing history from ancient times to the present, people have ultimately come up with a saying; they have observed a fact from human history, which is: “The winners take the crown, and the losers get nothing.” Is this knowledge? (Yes.) This knowledge comes from historical facts. Does this saying have anything to do with the ways and means by which God holds sovereignty over all things? (No.) In fact, it is the opposite; it contradicts and goes against them. So, you have been indoctrinated with this saying, and if you do not understand the truth, or if you are a nonbeliever, what might you think after hearing it? How would you perceive this saying? First of all, these historians or history books list all the events of this kind, using sufficient evidence and historical events to substantiate the accuracy of the saying. At first, you may have only learned this saying from a book, and merely know of the saying itself. You might only understand it on one level or to a certain extent until you become aware of these events. But once you hear these historical facts, your recognition and acknowledgment of the saying will deepen. You absolutely will not say, “Some things aren’t like that.” Instead, you will say, “That is how it is; looking at history from ancient times to the present, mankind has developed in this way—the winners take the crown, and the losers get nothing!” When you perceive the matter in such a way, what views and attitudes will you hold toward your comportment, your career, and your day-to-day life, as well as the people, events, and things around you? Will such a perception change your attitude? (Yes.) Above all else, it will. So, how will it change your attitude? Will it guide and change the direction of your life and your methods for worldly dealings? Perhaps you previously believed that “Harmony is a treasure; forbearance is brilliance” and “The good have peaceful lives.” Now, you will think, “Since ‘the winners take the crown, and the losers get nothing,’ if I want to become an official, I’ll have to carefully consider So-and-so. They’re not on my side, so I can’t promote them—even if they deserve to be promoted.” As you think about things in this way, your attitude will change—and it will change quickly. How will this change come about? It will be because you accepted the idea and viewpoint that “The winners take the crown, and the losers get nothing.” Hearing many facts will only further affirm the correctness of this view in real human life for you. You will deeply believe that you should apply this viewpoint to your own actions and comportment in order to pursue your future life and prospects. Will this idea and viewpoint not then have changed you? (Yes.) And while it is changing you, it will also be corrupting you. That’s how it is. Such knowledge changes and corrupts you. So, when looking at the root of this matter, regardless of how accurately these histories are laid out, they are ultimately summarized into this saying, and you are indoctrinated with this idea. Is this knowledge the embodiment of the truth or the logic of Satan? (The logic of Satan.) That’s correct. Have I explained this in enough detail? (Yes.) Now it’s clear. If you do not believe in God, you still won’t understand this even after two lifetimes—the more you live, the more you will feel that you are foolish, and think that you aren’t ruthless enough, and that you should be more ruthless, more cunning, more sinister, and a worse and more evil person. You will think to yourself: “If he can kill, then I must set fires. If he kills one person, then I must kill 10. If he kills without leaving a trace, then I will harm people without them knowing—I’ll even make their descendants thank me for three generations!” This is the influence that Satan’s philosophy, knowledge, experience, and lessons have wrought upon mankind. In reality, it’s just abuse and corruption. Therefore, no matter what kind of knowledge is being preached or propagated in this world, it will indoctrinate you with an idea or viewpoint. If you cannot discern this, you will be poisoned. All in all, one thing is certain now: It doesn’t matter if this knowledge comes from common folk or from official sources, whether it is revered by a minority or revered by the majority—none of it is relevant to the truth. The truth is the reality of all positive things. Its correctness is not determined by the number of people who acknowledge it. The reality of positive things is itself the truth. No one can change this, nor can anyone deny it. The truth will always be the truth.

Let us talk about the fact that God holds sovereignty over all things. Since God began leading mankind, He has also kept a history and an account. How does God view human history? What God wants people to see is the truth, and the evaluations and conclusions that people make about things aren’t the truth. But why do human beings not view history based on God’s words and the truth? Because human beings are averse to the truth, hate the truth, and do not accept any bit of the truth at all. That’s why they are able to come up with a set of specious, ridiculous, and absurd theories. For example, the Lord Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit. This is a positive thing. Yet, what does Satan say about it? Satan does not acknowledge the fact of the conception by the Holy Spirit, and even blasphemes that the Lord Jesus is a bastard, that He was born of man. Satan takes mankind’s dirtiest word, an expression that people scorn and despise, and applies it to the birth of the Lord Jesus. Is this not a distortion of the facts? (Yes.) The conception by the Holy Spirit is the work of God. And regardless of the form it takes, one thing is certain about God’s work: It is the truth, the immutable truth. So, why does Satan not accept such an obvious fact, a fact that was preordained and witnessed by God? Why does Satan ignore this and even describe the Lord Jesus as an illegitimate child who was born of man? (It hates the truth, it hates positive things.) It is deliberately discrediting God! Satan is most aware of this fact; it sees this perfectly clearly in the spiritual realm. So why does it do it? What is its motive, what is its intention? Why does it propagate such a statement? It’s deliberately vilifying and discrediting God. What is the purpose of it discrediting God? To make people believe that Jesus is an illegitimate child, find this disgraceful, and thereby not believe in Him. Satan thinks, “If people have no faith in you, then you won’t be able to complete your work, will you?” In reality, the truth will always be the truth. Even if all of mankind had rejected it at the time, two thousand years later, the Lord Jesus ultimately has followers and people who praise Him all around the world, the cross is prominently displayed everywhere, and Satan has failed. Did Satan’s statement work? (No, it did not.) Therefore, it is not the truth; it does not hold up and discrediting Him is useless. Regardless of whether this thing that God did fits with people’s notions and imaginings, or whether it is contrary to the traditional culture, sayings, or moral ethics of humankind, God does not care. Why does God not care? What does this touch on? Since God holds sovereignty over everything, can these devilish words of Satan destroy God’s work? You can’t see through this, can you? (No.) Tell Me, isn’t everything in God’s hands? (Yes.) Could Satan’s devilish statement, just those few words, destroy God’s management plan? Is that possible? (No, it is not.) Satan wants to succeed, but can it do so? The truth will always be the truth. This is the power of the truth. The power of the truth is something that nobody—including Satan—can change. Even now, Satan continues to propagate that statement. Does it work? No, it does not. The work of the Age of Grace is over; the gospel of the Lord Jesus has been spread to the ends of the earth and the new work of judgment in the last days has been underway for many years. Satan has long since failed and been humiliated. So, is there any use now for Satan to be angry and frustrated? No, there is no use. Therefore, no matter the view, or how high the level of knowledge is, or the number of people among whom the view is applied and propagated, this is all of no use; it will not hold up. God’s work is unstoppable; even Satan cannot stop it. Do a few insignificant people really think they can stop God’s work? That’s delusional! Many of you grew up with these rumors, accepting Satan’s misleading views; your heads were filled with things like Satan’s logic, philosophies, knowledge, and science. And what happened then? When God’s words came to you, you still heard God’s voice and returned before God. Satan’s rumors and devilish words were useless. They did not stop God’s work from going forward in the slightest. God’s chosen people in all countries have begun to accept God’s work in the last days. Every day, they eat and drink God’s words, listen to sermons and fellowship. They do their duties for God and bear witness for Him. Satan ponders this, saying, “Why are my many misleading words not working? I have done so many things to suppress, arrest, and abuse god’s chosen people, why haven’t they had much effect at all? Why are the number of believers in god increasing instead?” Then it knows in its heart that God is truly almighty, after which it is thoroughly humiliated—hence the saying: “Satan will always be vanquished at God’s hands.” Is this a fact? (Yes.) It is indeed God’s words that can accomplish everything! Satan and all devil kings are rendering service to God. In God’s hands they are service objects and foils. Do these service objects and foils have anything to do with us? (No.) No, they do not. We just need to focus on believing in God, we have nothing to do with them. Whether they are kings or bandits, they belong to Satan and they will be destroyed. We need only to follow God with all our hearts, forever betraying Satan, and going only with God. This is the right thing to do.

I have given an example of knowledge and experience, so you ought to understand these things somewhat more accurately now. What is the purpose of fellowshipping about these things? In one respect, it is to enable you to use these facts and examples to discern antichrists, and also recognize this aspect of the disposition of antichrists in yourselves. In another respect, can’t this kind of discussion restrain some people from acting recklessly? (Yes.) In the past, certain people were prone to relying on experience and old-fashioned ways in the performance of their duty, and they clung to their own ways of doing things, so they disrupted and disturbed the work of God’s house, and they were consequently dealt with. They valued their outmoded practices and experience above all else, never considering the most important things: what God had said or required of people, or how to adhere to the truth principles. They also stubbornly clung to their outmoded practices, and furthermore used an absurd logic as a basis for this: “We’ve always done it this way,” “It’s always been done this way where we’re from. This is how our ancestors did it.” Why did they always emphasize things like this? This proved that they did not accept new things; that they did not accept the truth. They couldn’t see through to the clumsiness, backwardness, and ridiculousness of these outmoded ways. They were unaware that there are new ways of doing things, ways that are more advanced, more accurate, and more appropriate. They always stuck to their old-fashioned ways, relying on their old experience, thinking that they were quite advanced; that they were practicing the truth. Are these not absurd types? “It’s always been done this way where we’re from,” “The way I previously did it,” “We’ve always done it this way”—can these old ways, these archaisms replace the truth principles? Does doing things the old-fashioned way mean that someone is practicing the truth? Those people did not understand a thing, nor could they see through to anything. Aren’t they old fuddy-duddies clinging to the old ways and being stubborn? It is too difficult for people like this to accept the truth! Tell Me, regardless of whether something is new or old, how do you approach it? How do you deal with it? What is your basis for dealing with it? If everyone has only limited knowledge about something, how do you approach it in a manner that is right and in line with the principles? You must first ask someone with relative expertise in this field. As long as you find someone knowledgeable, you will have a path. If you cannot find someone knowledgeable, you can fully resolve the issue by going online to seek advice or look up information. And while you search, you still need to pray to God and look up to Him; let God open up a way forward. What do we call this? We call this the principles of practice. Some of you think to yourselves, “I’m a professional in this field with a wealth of experience. I’ve even received awards for doing this, so I have this capital. Since this work has been entrusted to me, I’m the person in charge. I have the authority to make decisions and everything is up to me. Everyone should follow my commands and obey me. Nothing anyone else says matters and anyone who disagrees with me should shut up!” Is this way of thinking correct? It is definitely not correct. Your attitude and the disposition you are revealing are problematic. In your hearts, you think that accepting this commission entitles you to wield power. You want to call the shots and no one else is allowed to have a say. It’s as though you do not need a work partner, or for everyone to express their opinions; everything goes according to what you say, it is all up to you. What kind of disposition is this? Is this not too arrogant and lacking in reason? This is the disposition of an antichrist. It may be that you are of slightly better caliber than others, you may have a bit of perception, and a bit of experience in this matter. However, there is one thing you need to be clear about: None of these things that you possess are the truth. If you believe yourselves to be of somewhat better caliber, to have some perception, some talent, and to possess some knowledge, and you regard these things as the truth, and believe yourselves to be the truth, and think that everyone must follow your commands and obey your arrangements, is this not the disposition of an antichrist? If you truly do things in this manner, then you are nothing less than an antichrist. What is wrong with you treating your gifts as the truth? The caliber, perception, talents, and knowledge you possess are not wrong. So, what are we dissecting here? What we are dissecting is your disposition—a corrupt disposition that you carry behind these things; an arrogant disposition, a self-righteous disposition. When you treat your gifts as the truth, you believe that you have the truth because you possess these gifts. You replace the truth with such gifts, so what kind of disposition is this? Is this not the disposition of an antichrist? Antichrists all treat their own thoughts, their own learning, gifts, and talents as the truth. They think that by possessing these gifts, they possess the truth. They therefore demand that others obey them, follow their commands, and obey their power. This is where antichrists go wrong. Do you truly possess the truth? You do not have a true understanding of God, nor do you have a God-fearing heart, even less are you someone who submits to God, and you do not possess the truth in the slightest, yet you are arrogant, conceited, and self-righteous, thinking you possess the truth, and that others should obey you and follow your commands. You are an authentic antichrist.