What It Means to Pursue the Truth (15) Part One
At present, disasters are getting worse and worse. Not only is plague continuing to spread, but famine is also upon people. War has broken out in some areas and there is chaos in many countries around the world. There is already widespread disunity. It has been said in the past that, “The flames of war swirl, cannon smoke fills the air, the weather turns warm, the climate shifts, a plague will spread,” and this prediction is already coming true. A plague is spreading and not abating, and unbelievers are living in dire straits. Each day and year is worse than the last, and they have already fallen into disaster. They all want to break free from this suffering and escape the days of disaster. They all hope that the government will rescue them and deliver them from disaster, but the government is like a sandcastle buffeted by waves—powerless and unable to save itself, let alone anyone else. Any day now, the government may collapse and be destroyed; it is inevitable. You have all seen what the unbelievers are going through—they are indeed suffering! How is your life at the moment? Aren’t you much better off than them? (Yes.) How are you better off? (We are still able to read the word of God together and fellowship on the truth. We are still able to do our duty in the house of God and seek life entry. Our hearts are at peace and free from anxiety. We are much better off than the unbelievers.) At the very least, people who believe in God are better off than the unbelievers because they have something to rely on. They believe in the sovereignty of God; they believe that everything is in God’s hands, and they believe in God’s orchestrations and arrangements. Because they have faith and real belief in God, they have something real to rely on, and have a sense of security. People who sincerely believe in God have a feeling of real support in their heart, as well as a sense of security, peace and joy, no matter how dangerous or chaotic the wider environment outside is. Therefore, no matter what situation they experience, no matter how the environment outside changes, no matter what happens, whether there is disaster, war or plague, and regardless of whether it is a major event or a minor issue, a person who sincerely believes in God can devote themselves to performing their duty in the house of God, eating and drinking the word of God, experiencing the work of God, and seeking to obtain the truth because they follow God and shun secular trends. This point remains unchanged. The most important thing and the most important goal that you must seek in your belief in God cannot change, and that is the pursuit of truth, performing one’s duty well and bearing beautiful witness to God. This absolutely cannot change.
No matter how the world changes, no matter how Satan’s forces fight and brawl, and no matter how chaotic this society and world become, essential problems such as Satan’s deception, corruption, bondage, and control of humankind remain unchanged. That is to say, that the various heresies and fallacies that Satan instills in people, and all the thoughts and statements that resist God and contradict the laws and regulations of God’s creation of humans and all things, remain unchanged. For one thing, these satanic things have not changed. For another thing, no matter how the state and structure of this world change, the heresies and fallacies that Satan has planted deep in the hearts of people have not been removed. It is not because the world is in a state of chaos, or because Satan is now in bad shape and powerless to control the world that the heresies and fallacies with which Satan deceives and corrupts people have faded from people’s hearts. That is not the case. Satan’s heresies and fallacies still exist in people’s hearts, and no one can dispel them. Right from the start of Satan’s corruption of humankind, Satan’s heresies and fallacies have gradually been planted deep in the hearts and minds of every created human being. These things remain completely unchanged in people’s hearts and minds to this day. Even after God has done many years of work and provided people with a great deal of the truth, people are still unable to identify the various thoughts, views, and sayings that Satan has instilled in them, let alone actively try to identify these things in the absence of influence from environmental factors, or clear them out of their heart. Nor are they able to proactively reject the various thoughts and statements that Satan has instilled in them, even with the provision and guidance of the word of God. Although at first people were passively corrupted by Satan, throughout the process of Satan’s corruption of humankind, people started to live in accordance with Satan’s disposition, and viewed things according to Satan’s thoughts and perspectives. Gradually, people began to cooperate more and more actively with Satan, and became more and more active in rebelling against God, turning away from God, and abandoning God, until in the end, Satan took complete control of them. When Satan’s evil and ridiculous thoughts and views are fully instilled in people, they are completely imprisoned by Satan and become its slaves, or, to be more precise, they become an embodiment of Satan. When this happens, people are completely living out Satan’s disposition. Not only are they living in accordance with Satan’s philosophies and thoughts, but the various notions and views that Satan has instilled in them have been incorporated into their nature. To be more precise, people are not just living out Satan’s image, but they are living as Satan, as the devil. When this happens, people are no longer being passively corrupted, influenced, deceived or controlled by Satan, but rather, they are standing wholly on Satan’s side in opposition to God. When people are corrupted to this extent, you could say they have become an outlet for Satan, and an embodiment of it. In order for God to save a created being who is an outlet for, and embodiment of, Satan, besides providing the truth and revealing people’s various corrupt dispositions and actions which are rebellious against God, it is more important to uncover and dissect the thoughts, views and statements that people hold deep in their hearts which are the same as Satan’s. People and Satan share the same thoughts, views and statements. Satan lives according to these things, and likewise, because people have been deeply corrupted by Satan, they are also naturally living according to these things. It is precisely because people live according to these things and are influenced, swayed and controlled by these views, that even after people understand a part of the truth and know that God is the Creator, they still cannot bow down before Him on the basis of their belief in God, or fully submit to Him, nor can they worship Him with an honest heart. The reason people cannot come to worship God with an honest heart is that, deep in their hearts and minds, they are still possessed and controlled by Satan’s various thoughts and views. This is the reason why once people accept the work of God and are conquered, although they are able to accept the word of God as life, they are still unable to completely give up Satan’s various heresies and fallacies; they still cannot completely break away from the influence of darkness and come to be truly obedient to God, or worship Him. Therefore, if God is to save humankind, for one thing He must express the truth to judge and cleanse people’s corrupt dispositions; make people understand the truth, and come to know God and obey Him; teach people how they should conduct themselves and how they can walk the correct path; and tell people how they should practice the truth, how they can perform their duty well and how they can enter into the truth realities. For another thing, He must expose Satan’s thoughts and views. He must expose and dissect the various heresies and fallacies with which Satan corrupts people, so that people can identify them. Then, people can clear these satanic things from their hearts, become cleansed and reach salvation. This way, people will understand what the truth is, and they will also be able to identify Satan’s disposition, Satan’s nature and its heresies and fallacies. When people acknowledge that God is the Creator and have the faith to follow God, they will be able to see the ugliness of Satan deep within their heart, and truly reject Satan. These people’s hearts can then completely return to God. At the very least, when a person’s heart is starting to return to God but has not yet completely returned, that is, when their heart is not yet possessed by the truth, and has not yet been obtained by God, they will, in the course of their lives, use the word of God to identify, dissect and see through all the statements that Satan instills in people and ultimately come to abandon Satan. In this way, Satan’s place in people’s hearts will become smaller and smaller, until it is completely eradicated. It will be replaced with the word of God, the teachings God gives people, the truth principles God provides, and so on. This life of positivity and truth will gradually take root inside people and occupy a foremost place in their heart, and as a result, God will have dominion over people’s hearts. That is, when the various thoughts, views, heresies and fallacies with which Satan corrupts people are identified and seen through, so that people despise and abandon them, the truth will gradually occupy people’s hearts. It will gradually become people’s lives and they will actively obey and follow God. No matter how God works and leads, people will be able to actively accept the truth and the word of God and submit to the work of God. Furthermore, through this experience, they will actively strive for the truth and gain an understanding of the truth. This is how people develop true faith in God, and as the truth becomes more and more clear to them, their faith will grow and grow. When people have true faith in God, it also creates a fear of God in them. When people fear God, they have a desire to gain God deep in their hearts, and willingly submit to His dominion. They submit to God’s orchestrations and arrangements, and submit to the plans God has for their destiny. They submit to each day and all the special circumstances that God sets out for them. When people have this kind of willingness and thirst, they will also actively accept and submit to the demands God has of them. When the results of this become more and more clear in people, and more and more real, Satan’s statements, thoughts and views will lose their effect in people’s hearts. In other words, Satan’s statements, thoughts and views will have less and less control and influence over people. After a period of struggle, and after a period of people’s active cooperation and resolve to submit to God, they will be able to break free from Satan’s bondage and control. When they reach this point, people will have escaped from Satan’s power. They will completely abandon the statements, thoughts and views that Satan used to deceive them, and their faith in God will become greater and greater. Of course, this effect is dependent on the word and work of God and, even more importantly, on people’s pursuit and cooperation. If a person listens a great deal to the truth and sermons, but still has no awareness of the thoughts and views of Satan and has not come to despise these things, and if the person does not want to actively identify, see through, and abandon these satanic things, instead taking a passive approach or ignoring them, then Satan’s various thoughts and views will still be deeply ingrained in that person. In their daily life and during the path of their whole life, they will still be involuntarily influenced and controlled by Satan’s various thoughts and perspectives, and their views on people and things, and their comportment and actions will still originate from Satan. If all this originates from Satan, then your belief in God is only an acknowledgment of God’s existence, rather than true faith, and you will never truly acknowledge the identity and essence of God. Of course, your heart will not turn toward God of its own accord, and you will not be able to return your heart to God. It can be said that you are not capable of the slightest amount of true devotion to the duty and obligations that God has given you, and cannot truly fear God, let alone be truly obedient to Him. What will be the obvious result if you fail to accomplish these things? You will not be saved. Is this what will happen? (Yes.) This is what will happen. It is clear that the thoughts, views and notions with which Satan corrupts people and plants deep in their hearts, are things which block people from listening to the voice of God, believing the word of God, accepting positive things and certainly from accepting the truth and entering into the truth. These things are superficially different from the corrupt dispositions of human beings. However, the essence of these things is part of Satan’s nature, and they are things with which Satan corrupts human beings. Looking from the outside, there is a clear distinction between Satan’s evil actions which corrupt humankind and Satan’s pretense of doing good, a distinction that is difficult for ordinary people to discern. However, the consequences of Satan deceiving and corrupting people are extremely apparent. It is a clear fact that this has caused all of mainstream society to deny, resist and even be in opposition to God.
The satanic disposition within people is entirely a result of Satan’s deception and corruption of them. Furthermore, the various satanic heresies, fallacies, philosophies and laws which people hold to, as well as their outlook on life and values, are all concrete manifestations of their deception and corruption by Satan. In other words, after Satan has deceived people, and made them turn away from and deny God, it fully instills in them all kinds of satanic thoughts, views, heresies and fallacies. Moreover, Satan openly spreads a great deal of propaganda, including all kinds of notions, views, and statements, which instructs and provokes people on how to deal with everything, and causes them to accept all this into their hearts. As a result, various corrupt satanic dispositions are cultivated within them. This is the method Satan uses to corrupt people. That is, when there is an emptiness deep within people’s souls, when they are not thinking right and when they are an empty vessel, Satan’s various statements enter into their hearts and take up residence there. For example, when statements such as “There has never been any Savior,” “The heavens and earth and all things are created by nature,” “I’d take a bullet for a friend,” “A woman must be virtuous, kind, gentle, and moral,” “Men should be manly,” and so on, are created, people are unconsciously influenced by them. Without any awareness of these evil forces, heresies and fallacies, and without any ability to identify them or any power to resist them, people accept all kinds of thoughts and views from Satan. The process by which people accept these satanic thoughts and views is precisely the process by which people are deceived, provoked, and corrupted. For example, if you are a woman who does not know the correct way a woman should live, and what things she should be doing, then Satan will put forward its heresies and fallacies, such as, “A woman must be virtuous, kind, gentle, and moral, stay at home and not go outside,” “Virtue in a woman is to be unskilled,” and so on. You think these sayings sound quite sagacious and good, so you accept them. When these heresies and fallacies are circulating in society and on earth, you will, as a woman, unconsciously take them on and strictly demand yourself to live up to these sayings. Firstly, you will compare yourself with them, believing that since you are a woman, you must be virtuous, kind, gentle, and moral, stay at home, be an unskilled woman of virtue, etc. In the course of this process, you will gradually be provoked, indoctrinated, and influenced by the statements, thoughts and views circulating in society, and eventually reach the point of being assimilated into them. To be more specific, after being deceived by the thoughts and views of Satan, you will be bound and controlled by them, and then deep in your heart, you will unconsciously make demands of yourself and view others according to them. Therefore, in your daily life, these thoughts and statements will form thoughts and views deep in your heart, and then you will adopt these as criteria and a basis for your conduct and behavior. This is how Satan’s various thoughts and views gradually become common practice in society and the community. As this practice becomes more and more prevalent in society, and the population which it provokes and assimilates becomes larger and larger, it becomes a kind of force. When this force has been created, humankind is completely imprisoned and controlled by these thoughts and views, or in other words, they are possessed by them. To be more precise, people have been taken captive by Satan. For example, in Satan’s world, “men should be manly, tough and ambitious,” “men should have far-reaching ambitions, dreams and an indomitable spirit,” “men should develop themselves, build their family, rule the country and bring peace to the world,” “men should learn to wield power, take control of the situation, and dominate the world,” “men do not shed tears easily,” and so on. Every man is bound by these requirements, thoughts and views from their inception. Both men and women are restricted and bound by the various sayings of traditional culture. If men do not know how a man should act, or how to establish themselves in their community, society or country, they will unconsciously accept these thoughts and views when they hear them. They will gradually become accustomed to them until they take them as criteria and a basis to make strict demands of themselves. Furthermore, they will put these thoughts and views into practice, experience being such a person in reality, and then set an example by working toward these goals. For example, men must have far-reaching ambitions, do big things and have a big career. They should not have loving relationships nor make supporting their parents or raising children their lifelong responsibility or goal. Rather, they must broaden their horizons, follow their aspirations, learn to take control of the situation, and even seize power to control humankind and women. People have accepted these thoughts and views; they have been practicing and living according to them in their lives, and pursuing the goals they entail. Furthermore, when these thoughts and views have formed and taken root deep in people’s hearts, they will view humanity, society and the whole world through them. When they take root in the heart of a man so deeply that they cannot be uprooted, he will view people and things, comport himself and act according to thoughts and views like “Men should be manly and tough,” etc. This is the origin and root cause of men’s world view and view on life. When men view people and things, comport themselves and act according to the thoughts and views instilled in them by Satan, these thoughts and views spread imperceptibly among people and in society, gradually penetrating deep into the heart of every person—not just men, but women too. When these things penetrate deep into the heart of every person, and have even been instilled in the hearts of young children who are just learning to speak, these thoughts and views have become a common practice in the community and in society. This practice will spread faster and faster, and become more and more widespread until it is well-known by everyone, and is recognized and accepted by them one hundred percent. When things have progressed to this stage, sociologists, politicians and heads of state, or more precisely, the devil kings who follow Satan, will go further to solidify the status these thoughts and statements hold among humankind. They will put these things into writing, and systematically spread and promote these statements widely by using all kinds of circumstantial evidence, favorable conditions, people, events and things, so that these statements proliferate among humankind and form a social climate and a fixed moral code in society. With this moral code, they will control and bind people, at which point Satan’s goal will be achieved. When Satan has achieved this goal, all of humankind, including both men and women, will have been deceived, corrupted, and possessed by these thoughts and views. Do you know what the consequences will be when humankind has been deceived, corrupted, and possessed by Satan’s thoughts and views? Why do you think Satan is putting forward these thoughts, statements, heresies and fallacies? Is it merely to corrupt humankind? Is it only to snatch people away? Who is the target of all this? (God.) Correct, you have to be clear on this. In all the evil things Satan does, and specifically all the things Satan does to deceive, disturb, control, and corrupt humankind, people are just serving objects and tools. They are just vessels Satan uses to exert all its abilities and skills. All the things that Satan does are directed toward God rather than people. It wants to oppose God and people are just vessels or tools it uses to do this. So, why does Satan want to fight against God? Why does it want to corrupt humankind like this? It is because God created humankind and wants to save it. Why does Satan not corrupt animals, plants, or aliens? Because God is not trying to save animals, plants, or aliens, or any creature other than humans. God is trying to save the humans that He created on this earth. He is trying to gain this group of humans on earth. What kind of humans? A group of humans who follow God and are faithful unto death, who are of one heart and one mind with God, and who fear God and shun evil. These are the people that God wants to gain. Before God has done His work to save and gain these people, Satan tries to get in first and corrupt them. Satan says, “God, do You want to save humankind? Then I will corrupt them first. When people are corrupted to the point that they are completely demonic rather than human, You will not be able to save them. You will not be successful, and will fail in the end.” This is Satan’s goal. Let’s go back to the question I asked earlier. When Satan corrupts the human disposition, and also puts forward various heresies and fallacies and all kinds of thoughts and views to deceive, paralyze, and control the human mind and heart, what is its purpose? You can’t answer that; you don’t understand it. Satan is not targeting people when it does all this, even though it is people who it corrupts and controls. Rather, all of it is directed toward God. What is the ultimate goal or result of Satan corrupting people? It is to put people in opposition to God. When people become the complete antithesis of God, and His enemy, Satan believes that its plot and self-serving calculations will have succeeded, and that it will be worshiped and followed by people on earth. Therefore, when Satan’s various thoughts, statements, heresies and fallacies are deeply rooted in people’s hearts, they will no longer believe God exists, or accept His orchestrations and arrangements, or His sovereignty. People will completely deny God and betray Him. Satan thinks that it is enough to corrupt people to the extent that they can deny God. Why? Because at that point, the people that God wants to save will have been completely and utterly taken captive and possessed by Satan, and will have completely and utterly become the antithesis of God. This is Satan’s purpose. Is it true that you have never thought about this before? (Yes.) You do not understand. People think, “Satan corrupts people to capture us, trap us, harm us, let us die, send us to hell and keep us from God’s salvation and the correct path in life. Satan makes us suffer.” This is part of it, but it is only one objective effect which is triggered by everything Satan does, and is not, in fact, the underlying goal. Do you understand now what the underlying goal is? Tell Me, why does Satan deceive, control, and imprison people’s minds? (Everything Satan does is aimed at God, and the underlying goal is to turn all people against God.) What else? (Since God wants to save humankind, Satan wants to corrupt them, and turn them against God, so that they are unable to receive God’s salvation. Satan wants to destroy God’s management plan to save humankind.) Satan instills in people all kinds of heresies and fallacies, and when these misguided thoughts and views, heresies and fallacies are deeply rooted in people’s hearts, they control and imprison their minds. This gives rise to a particular situation. What kind of situation? A situation in which the antithesis of God is fully formed, humankind has become a thoroughly hostile force against God, and Satan is happy. This is the goal that Satan is trying to achieve. What is Satan’s purpose in doing all this? Sum it up in one sentence. (Satan instills in people all kinds of heresies and fallacies, and when these misguided thoughts and views, heresies and fallacies are deeply rooted in people’s hearts, a situation is created where the antithesis of God is fully formed, and humans have become people who resist God. They have become God’s enemies, and Satan has achieved its goal.) This is the answer—isn’t it simple? (Yes, it is.) This is the goal and result that Satan wants to achieve by corrupting mankind.
Do you think that God knows about these things that Satan does to corrupt humankind? (Yes.) Then why does God allow Satan to do this? Use what you understand about the truth to explain it. Isn’t there a saying about this? “God’s wisdom is exercised based on Satan’s trickery.” This is an example of the saying coming true, isn’t it? (Yes.) Also, does the phrase “Satan is the foil and service object in God’s work” apply here? (Yes.) Both sayings are relevant and they can be used to explain the question above. Isn’t that right? (Yes.) That’s the way it is. If someone raises this question, how would you explain it to them? If you just vaguely say, “God’s wisdom is exercised based on Satan’s trickery,” they will be confused and will not understand. Do you know how to explain it in more detail? It’s easy to explain, isn’t it? God allows Satan to do these things that corrupt humankind, not because God is incapable of stopping or attending to them, but for a reason. The reason is that “God’s wisdom is exercised based on Satan’s trickery,” as I said earlier. This is not just a saying or a theory, but an indisputable truth, which can be verified by the fact that God can save man after Satan has corrupted him. What is Satan’s purpose in corrupting human dispositions and instilling in people all kinds of heresies and fallacies to control and imprison their minds? Is the ultimate goal to suppress the work of God and to cause His management plan to vanish into thin air? Is this Satan’s trickery? (Yes.) This is the trickery of Satan. What is God thinking when Satan is performing such tricks? What does God do? What is on His mind? How does His wisdom manifest in all this? God is using Satan’s trickery. Satan has a trick. It says, “I provoke and corrupt people until they are like me. They become little Satans who share my thoughts and views, view people and things, comport themselves, and act according to my satanic standpoint, and are opposed to God. I want to take all of the people God created and make them belong to me, Satan, so that God’s work in people will be futile and in vain. Surely this will cause God’s management plan to vanish into thin air.” Is this Satan’s trick? (Yes.) Then what does God think? And what does He do? God says, “Satan, you spread heresies and fallacies to disturb and deceive people, and do many things to disturb and destroy the work of God. This will only instill some heresies and fallacies in people, so that they live by them and oppose God. Then I will base My words and work on the corruption of humankind, expose the heresies and fallacies that you use to corrupt mankind, judge people’s various corrupt dispositions and allow people to identify the various thoughts and statements you have instilled in them. In this way, not only will people understand the truth and understand God, but they will also be able to detect Satan’s various statements, thoughts and views and also see through Satan’s disposition, essence, and various evil deeds. Using an understanding of the truth as their foundation, people will be able to identify and reject Satan more accurately and with greater strength. On the negative side, people will no longer be deluded by Satan, or be taken captive and swallowed up by it a second time. On the positive side, they will be more able to believe in and confirm the existence of God and His identity, and the fact that He rules sovereign over all creatures and things. After these two things have been achieved, a God-fearing heart will arise in them and they will truly obey God. God will win their hearts or, to be more accurate, God will gain them. When people reach this stage, they will no longer be deceived and used by Satan. Rather, they will be able to thoroughly detect Satan, see through it and reject it from the depths of their hearts. They will confess that they are God’s creations, willingly accept the sovereignty and orchestrations of the Creator, and will thus have completely returned to God.” This is God’s specific arrangement and plan. Of course, it can also be said that this is the thought and idea God has deep in His heart. This is how God thinks, how His ideas work, and how He has orchestrated it. While Satan has been deceiving and corrupting people, God has been methodically arranging all creatures and things, and moving His plan and management forward step by step in an organized fashion, continuously until now. Humankind has been completely corrupted and taken over by Satan. However, it is an indisputable fact that when this mankind who has been saturated and filled with all sorts of Satan’s poisons is called by God and hears His voice, they can still come before God, accept His call, and be willing to receive His judgment and chastisement. Even if God condemns and curses such a mankind for being the ilk of Satan and His enemy, they will never leave Him. Even though people’s thoughts and views are full of things which have been instilled in them by Satan, causing them to view people and things, comport themselves, and act in a way which is still deeply influenced and controlled by Satan’s thoughts and views, their hearts are turning toward God more and more genuinely and urgently. Isn’t this an indisputable fact? (Yes.) Furthermore, in the near future, after God has exposed all the evil deeds of Satan, this mankind who has been deeply corrupted by Satan will be able to completely renounce Satan, say “no” to it and return their hearts to God. They will all be willing to steadfastly follow God according to His sovereignty, orchestrations and arrangements. This is the direction the successful completion of God’s great work takes, isn’t it? (Yes.) Especially after fellowshiping about what it means to pursue the truth, more people will have the resolve to view people and things, comport themselves, and act according to God’s words with the truth as their criterion. Regardless of whether people’s resolve is strong or weak, or whether they have entered into this reality or not—no matter what, the fact that such a mankind who has been deeply corrupted by Satan has the desire and resolve to renounce it, and view people and things, comport themselves, and act according to God’s words with the truth as their criterion, rather than the various thoughts and views that Satan has instilled in them, is, in itself, a sign that God has already won. So Satan has already been humiliated, hasn’t it? (Yes.) Therefore, the saying that “God’s wisdom is exercised based on Satan’s trickery,” is not just empty words, but a practical, objective, and indisputable fact. All the evil Satan is doing has reached the point where it is deceiving and controlling humanity. It believes that it has disturbed and destroyed God’s work and that it is impossible for God to continue with His management plan. Therefore, Satan thinks that it has won. However, Satan cannot slow the pace of God’s management plan to save humankind no matter how reckless it becomes, nor can it thwart the great success of God’s management plan and victory over Satan. Now God’s work has expanded throughout the universe, and God’s word has spread to millions of homes. This is the evidence of God’s great success.
If someone asks you again, “Why does Satan deceive, control, and imprison people’s minds? Why does God allow Satan to do this?” Will you be able to answer these questions? Even if you can’t fully explain it, you can at least share some of your understanding. Why is Satan doing all this? What is the significance of God permitting it to do all this? You should think about these things and there should be an exact answer in your heart. God has been working to save humanity for six thousand years. Some people do not understand this and say, “God has been working for six thousand years? Isn’t that too long?” No matter how long God’s work takes, His actions are all of the greatest significance. It’s not only the duration of His work that is significant; the final results that His work achieves are even more significant. If it were not for the fact that God has been working for six thousand years to save humanity, numbness and dull-wittedness would prevent humankind from knowing God or being fully saved by Him. Would people be able to identify antichrists and recognize their nature essence if they have only experienced the deception and disturbance caused by antichrists once or twice? Would three or five times be enough? I’m afraid not. People must experience it many times until they have thoroughly seen the nature essence of antichrists. Only then can they truly identify and completely renounce antichrists. In particular, if people are exposed to the crazy oppression and cruel persecution from the great red dragon for too short a time, they will not experience it thoroughly, and will soon forget it. As a result, they will not truly hate and reject the great red dragon. The cruel persecution of Satan must be seared into people’s hearts like a brand, so that they can hate it from the depths of their hearts and clearly see its true face. If a person has only been persecuted briefly once or twice, it will be difficult for them to hate Satan and forsake it. Given the opportunity, they will still speak well of Satan and sing its praises. A person must be handed over to Satan many times so that they suffer from its torture and cruelty before they can see Satan’s evil, ugliness, meanness, and brazenness clearly, and completely abandon it. These things must absolutely be experienced for a long period of time. In steelmaking, for example, good steel can’t be produced from a short time in the fire; the steel must be thoroughly tempered to get the best results. That is to say, every stage of God’s work requires a long time; every stage demands a long period of time. It must be done this way; if it is not, a good result cannot be achieved. There will be different degrees of changes deep in the human heart and in the corrupt disposition of humankind due to the influence of the larger circumstances of each era, and each of these changes will be related to the work that God wants to do in people during each stage. The reason why God has become incarnate again in the last days to work on such a large scale and speak so much is that in this last phase, the corrupt disposition, thoughts and views of humankind, and the wider environment and background of society, all fit the background of the work God wants to do in the last days. The trends, customs, patterns, or situations in society, the political situation, or even the political power of satanic nations are all factors of the greater environment. At a time when these factors are in the background, people’s inner landscape and corrupt disposition, that is, the inner state of the whole of humankind is exactly what God needs for His work. This is the most appropriate time for God to roll out His judgment and chastisement to reveal His majesty, righteousness, mercy, and lovingkindness. When all these factors are ripe and fully ready, God begins His work. This is the work that God wants to carry out under the influence of the larger background. It is enough for you to understand this. Some people of good caliber will understand, while others who are not experienced may not understand. In particular, those who cannot understand the political situation and the essence of the trends in society, and who are not mature enough in their thinking, are only satisfied with small spiritual experiences and minor testimonies, and may not understand much about the wider political and social background involved in God’s work. It doesn’t matter how much you can understand these things; they will become clear as you slowly experience more of them because they involve God’s management plan and God’s work, which is a great vision. We will not fellowship more about this topic because you are not ready to go deeper.
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