Daily Words of God  Excerpt 300

After several thousand years of corruption, man is numb and dull-witted; he has become a demon that opposes God, to the extent that man’s rebelliousness toward God has been documented in the books of history, and even man himself is incapable of giving a full account of his rebellious behavior—for man has been profoundly corrupted by Satan, and has been led astray by Satan such that he knows not where to turn. Even today, man still betrays God: When man sees God, he betrays Him, and when he cannot see God, so too does he betray Him. There are even those who, having witnessed God’s curses and God’s wrath, still betray Him. And so I say that man’s sense has lost its original function, and that man’s conscience, too, has lost its original function. The man that I look upon is a beast in human attire, he is a venomous snake, and no matter how pitiable he tries to appear before My eyes, I will never be merciful toward him, for man has no grasp of the difference between black and white, of the difference between truth and non-truth. Man’s sense is so benumbed, yet still he wishes to gain blessings; his humanity is so ignoble yet still he wishes to possess the sovereignty of a king. Who could he be the king of, with sense such as that? How could he with such a humanity sit atop a throne? Man truly has no shame! He is a conceited wretch! For those of you who wish to gain blessings, I suggest you first find a mirror and look at your own ugly reflection—do you have what it takes to be a king? Do you have the face of one who could gain blessings? There has not been the slightest change in your disposition and you have not put any of the truth into practice, yet still you wish for a wonderful tomorrow. You are deluding yourself! Born into such a filthy land, man has been severely blighted by society, he has been influenced by feudal ethics, and he has been taught at “institutes of higher learning.” The backward thinking, corrupt morality, mean view on life, despicable philosophy for living, utterly worthless existence, and depraved lifestyle and customs—all of these things have severely intruded upon man’s heart, and severely undermined and attacked his conscience. As a result, man is ever more distant from God, and ever more opposed to Him. Man’s disposition becomes more vicious by the day, and there is not a single person who will willingly give up anything for God, not a single person who will willingly obey God, nor, moreover, a single person who will willingly seek the appearance of God. Instead, under the domain of Satan, man does nothing but pursue pleasure, giving himself over to the corruption of the flesh in the land of mud. Even when they hear the truth, those who live in darkness give no thought to putting it into practice, nor are they inclined to seek out God even if they have beheld His appearance. How could a mankind so depraved have any chance of salvation? How could a mankind so decadent live in the light?

—The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. To Have an Unchanged Disposition Is to Be in Enmity to God

Daily Words of God  Excerpt 301

The root cause of corrupt dispositions arising in man is Satan’s deception, corruption, and poison. Man has been bound and controlled by Satan, and he suffers the egregious harm that Satan has inflicted upon his thinking, morality, insight, and sense. It is precisely because the fundamental things of man have been corrupted by Satan, and are utterly unlike how God originally created them, that man opposes God and cannot accept the truth. Thus, changes in man’s disposition should begin with changes in his thinking, insight, and sense that will change his knowledge of God and his knowledge of the truth. Those who were born in the most deeply corrupted of all lands are even more ignorant of what God is, or what it means to believe in God. The more corrupted people are, the less they know the existence of God, and the poorer their sense and insight. The source of man’s opposition and rebelliousness against God is his corruption by Satan. Because of Satan’s corruption, man’s conscience has grown numb; he is immoral, his thoughts are degenerate, and he has a backward mental outlook. Before he was corrupted by Satan, man naturally followed God and obeyed His words after hearing them. He was naturally of sound sense and conscience, and of normal humanity. After being corrupted by Satan, man’s original sense, conscience, and humanity grew dull and were impaired by Satan. Thus, he has lost his obedience and love toward God. Man’s sense has become aberrant, his disposition has become the same as that of an animal, and his rebelliousness toward God is ever more frequent and grievous. Yet man still neither knows nor recognizes this, and merely opposes and rebels blindly. Man’s disposition is revealed in expressions of his sense, insight, and conscience; because his sense and insight are unsound, and his conscience has grown supremely dull, thus his disposition is rebellious against God. If man’s sense and insight cannot change, then changes in his disposition are out of the question, as is conforming to God’s will. If man’s sense is unsound, then he cannot serve God and is unfit for use by God. “Normal sense” refers to obeying and being faithful to God, to yearning for God, to being absolute toward God, and to having a conscience toward God. It refers to being of one heart and mind toward God, and not deliberately opposing God. Having an aberrant sense is not like this. Since man was corrupted by Satan, he has come up with notions about God, and he has had no loyalty to God or yearning for Him, to say nothing of a conscience toward God. Man deliberately opposes God and passes judgments on Him, and, furthermore, hurls invective at Him behind His back. Man passes judgment on God behind His back, with clear knowledge that He is God; man has no intention of obeying God, and merely makes blind demands and requests of Him. Such people—people who have aberrant sense—are incapable of knowing their own despicable behavior or of regretting their rebelliousness. If people are capable of knowing themselves, then they have regained a little of their sense; the more rebellious against God people who cannot yet know themselves are, the less are they sound of sense.

—The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. To Have an Unchanged Disposition Is to Be in Enmity to God

Daily Words of God  Excerpt 302

The revelation of man’s corrupt disposition has its source in nothing more than man’s dulled conscience, his malicious nature, and his unsound sense; if man’s conscience and sense are able to become normal again, then he will become someone fit for use before God. It is simply because man’s conscience has always been numb, and because man’s sense, which has never been sound, is growing ever duller that man is increasingly rebellious toward God, such that he even nailed Jesus to the cross and refuses God’s incarnation in the last days entry into his home, and condemns God’s flesh, and sees God’s flesh as lowly. If man had but a little humanity, he would not be so cruel in his treatment of God’s incarnate flesh; if he had but a little sense, he would not be so vicious in his treatment of the flesh of God incarnate; if he had but a little conscience, he would not “give thanks” to God incarnate in this way. Man lives in the era of God become flesh, yet he is incapable of thanking God for giving him such a good opportunity, and instead curses the coming of God, or completely ignores the fact of God’s incarnation, and is seemingly against it and weary of it. Regardless of how man treats the coming of God, God, in short, has always carried on patiently with His work—even though man has not been the slightest bit welcoming toward Him, and blindly makes requests of Him. Man’s disposition has become supremely vicious, his sense has grown supremely dull, and his conscience has been completely trampled by the evil one and long ago ceased to be the original conscience of man. Man is not only ungrateful to God incarnate for bestowing so much life and grace upon mankind, but has even become resentful toward God for giving him the truth; it is because man has not the slightest interest in the truth that he has grown resentful toward God. Not only is man unable to lay down his life for God incarnate, but he also tries to extract favors from Him, and claims an interest that is dozens of times greater than what man has given to God. People of such conscience and sense think this is no great matter, and still believe that they have expended so much of themselves for God, and that God has given them too little. There are people who, having given Me a bowl of water, hold out their hands and demand I pay them for two bowls of milk, or, having given Me a room for one night, demand I pay rent for several. With such a humanity and such a conscience, how could you still wish to gain life? What contemptible wretches you are! This sort of humanity in man and this sort of conscience in man are what cause God incarnate to wander across the land, with no place to find shelter. Those who are truly possessed of conscience and humanity should worship and wholeheartedly serve God incarnate not because of how much work He has done, but even if He were to do no work at all. This is what should be done by those who are of sound sense, and it is the duty of man. Most people even speak of conditions in their service to God: They do not care whether He is God or man, and they only talk of their own conditions, and only seek to satisfy their own desires. When you cook for Me, you demand a service fee, when you run for Me, you ask for running fees, when you work for Me you demand work fees, when you wash My clothes you demand laundry fees, when you provide for the church you demand recuperation costs, when you speak you demand speaker’s fees, when you give out books you demand distribution fees, and when you write you demand writing fees. Those I have dealt with even demand recompense from Me, while those who have been sent home demand reparations for the damage to their name; those who are unmarried demand a dowry, or compensation for their lost youth; those who kill a chicken demand butcher’s fees, those who fry food demand frying fees, and those who make soup demand payment for that, too…. This is your lofty and mighty humanity, and these are the actions your warm conscience dictates. Where is your sense? Where is your humanity? Let Me tell you! If you carry on like this, I will cease to work among you. I will not work among a pack of beasts in human attire, I will not suffer thus for such a group of people whose fair faces hide feral hearts, I will not endure for such a pack of animals that has not the slightest possibility of salvation. The day I turn My back on you is the day you die, it is the day that darkness comes upon you, and the day that you are forsaken by the light. Let Me tell you! I will never be benevolent to a group such as yours, a group which is beneath even animals! There are limits to My words and actions, and with your humanity and conscience as they are, I will do no more work, for you are too lacking in conscience, you have caused Me too much pain, and your despicable behavior disgusts Me too much. People who are so lacking in humanity and conscience will never have a chance at salvation; I would never save such heartless and ungrateful people. When My day comes, I will rain down My scorching flames for all eternity upon the children of disobedience that once provoked My fierce wrath, I will impose My everlasting punishment upon those animals that once hurled invective at Me and forsook Me, I will burn for all time with the fires of My anger the sons of disobedience who once ate and lived together with Me but did not believe in Me, who insulted and betrayed Me. I will subject all those who provoked My anger to My punishment, I will rain down the entirety of My anger upon those beasts that once wished to stand beside Me as My equals yet did not worship or obey Me; the rod with which I strike man will fall upon those animals who once enjoyed My care and once enjoyed the mysteries that I spoke, and who once tried to take material enjoyments from Me. I will be forgiving of no person who tries to take My place; I will spare none of those who attempt to wrest food and clothes from Me. For now, you remain free from harm and continue to overreach in the demands you make of Me. When the day of wrath arrives, you will not make any more demands of Me; at that time, I will let you “enjoy” yourselves to your heart’s content, I will force your face into the earth, and you will never be able to get up again! Sooner or later, I am going to “repay” this debt to you—and I hope you patiently await the arrival of this day.

—The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. To Have an Unchanged Disposition Is to Be in Enmity to God

Daily Words of God  Excerpt 303

Man fails to gain God not because God has emotion, or because God is unwilling to be gained by man, but because man does not want to gain God, and because man does not seek God urgently. How could one of those who truly seek God be cursed by God? How could one of sound sense and sensitive conscience be cursed by God? How could one who truly worships and serves God be consumed by the fires of His wrath? How could one who is happy to obey God be kicked out of God’s house? How could one who could not love God enough live in God’s punishment? How could someone who is happy to forsake everything for God be left with nothing? Man is unwilling to pursue God, unwilling to expend his possessions for God, and unwilling to devote a lifetime’s effort to God; instead, he says that God has gone too far, that too much about God is at odds with man’s notions. With a humanity like this, even if you were unstinting in your efforts you would still be unable to gain God’s approval, to say nothing of the fact that you do not seek God. Do you not know that you are the defective goods of mankind? Do you not know that no humanity is lowlier than yours? Do you not know what others call you to honor you? Those who truly love God call you the father of the wolf, the mother of the wolf, the son of the wolf, and the grandson of the wolf; you are the descendants of the wolf, the people of the wolf, and you should know your own identity and never forget it. Do not think that you are some superior figure: You are the most vicious group of non-humans among mankind. Do you not know any of this? Do you know how much of a risk I have taken by working among you? If your sense cannot become normal again, and your conscience cannot work normally, then you will never cast off the name of “wolf,” you will never escape the day of curse and will never escape the day of your punishment. You were born inferior, a thing without any worth. You are by nature a pack of hungry wolves, a pile of debris and rubbish, and, unlike you, I do not work upon you in order to gain favors, but because of the need of work. If you carry on being rebellious in this way, then I will stop My work, and will never work upon you again; on the contrary, I will transfer My work to another group that pleases Me, and in this way will leave you forever, because I am unwilling to look upon those who are in enmity to Me. So then, do you wish to be compatible with Me, or in enmity against Me?

—The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. To Have an Unchanged Disposition Is to Be in Enmity to God

Daily Words of God  Excerpt 304

All men wish to see the true countenance of Jesus, and all desire to be with Him. I do not think that any brother or sister would say that they do not wish to see or to be with Jesus. Before you have seen Jesus—before you have seen the incarnate God—you are likely to entertain all sorts of ideas, for example, about Jesus’ appearance, His way of speaking, His way of life, and so on. But once you have really seen Him, your ideas will swiftly change. Why is this? Do you wish to know? Man’s thinking cannot be overlooked, which is true—but more than that, the essence of Christ does not brook alteration by man. You think Christ an immortal or a sage, but no one considers Him a normal man possessed of divine essence. As such, many of those who yearn day and night to see God are actually enemies of God, and are incompatible with Him. Is this not a mistake on the part of man? Even now you still think that your belief and loyalty are enough to make you worthy of beholding the countenance of Christ, but I exhort you to equip yourselves with more things that are practical! For in the past, present, and future, many of those who come in contact with Christ have failed or will fail; they all play the role of the Pharisees. What is the reason for your failure? It is precisely because there is in your notions a God who is lofty and deserving of admiration. But the truth is not as man wishes. Not only is Christ not lofty, but He is particularly small; not only is He a man, but He is an ordinary man; not only can He not ascend to heaven, but He cannot even move about freely on earth. And this being so, people treat Him as they would an ordinary man; they treat Him casually when they are with Him, and speak to Him heedlessly, all the while still waiting for the coming of the “true Christ.” You take the Christ that has already come for an ordinary man, and His words for those of an ordinary man. For this reason, you have not received anything from Christ, and have instead completely exposed your own ugliness to the light.

Prior to contact with Christ, you may believe your disposition to have been entirely transformed, that you are a loyal follower of Christ, that no one is more worthy of receiving the blessings of Christ than you—and that, having traveled many roads, done much work, and brought forth much fruit, you will surely be one of those who ultimately receive the crown. Yet there is one truth that you may not know: The corrupt disposition of man and his rebelliousness and resistance are exposed when he sees Christ, and the rebelliousness and resistance exposed at this time are more absolutely and completely exposed than at any other. It is because Christ is the Son of man—a Son of man who possesses normal humanity—that man neither honors nor respects Him. It is because God lives in the flesh that the rebelliousness of man is brought to light so thoroughly and in such vivid detail. So I say that the coming of Christ has unearthed all the rebelliousness of mankind and has thrown the nature of mankind into sharp relief. This is called “luring a tiger down the mountain” and “luring a wolf out of its cave.” Dare you presume to say that you are loyal to God? Dare you presume to say that you show absolute obedience to God? Dare you presume to say that you are not rebellious? Some will say: “Whenever God sets me up in a new environment, I invariably submit without a murmur, and furthermore I entertain no notions about God.” Some will say: “Whatever God tasks me with I do to the best of my ability and am never remiss.” In that case, I ask you this: Can you be compatible with Christ when you live alongside Him? And how long will you be compatible with Him? One day? Two days? One hour? Two hours? Your faith may well be commendable, but you do not have much in the way of steadfastness. Once you are really living with Christ, your self-righteousness and self-importance will be exposed through your words and actions, bit-by-bit, and so too will your overweening desires, your disobedient mindset and discontent naturally be revealed. Finally, your arrogance will become ever greater, until you are as much at odds with Christ as water is with fire, and then your nature will be completely exposed. At that time, your notions can no longer be covered up, your complaints, too, will naturally come out, and your debased humanity will be completely exposed. Even then, however, you still refuse to acknowledge your own rebelliousness, believing instead that a Christ such as this is not easy for man to accept, that He is too exacting of man, and that you would wholly submit if He were a kinder Christ. You believe that your rebelliousness is justified, that you only rebel against Him when He pushes you too far. Never once have you considered that you do not look upon Christ as God, that you lack the intent to obey Him. Rather, you stubbornly insist that Christ work in accordance with your own wishes, and as soon as He does a single thing that is at odds with your own thinking, you believe that He is not God but a man. Are there not many among you who have contended with Him in this way? Who is it, after all, that you believe in? And in what way do you seek?

—The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. Those Who Are Incompatible With Christ Are Surely Opponents of God

Daily Words of God  Excerpt 305

You always wish to see Christ, but I urge you not to hold yourselves in such high esteem; anyone may see Christ, but I say no one is fit to see Christ. Because the nature of man brims with evil, arrogance, and rebelliousness, at the moment you see Christ, your nature will destroy you and condemn you to death. Your association with a brother (or a sister) may not show much about you, but it is not so simple when you associate with Christ. At any time, your notions may take root, your arrogance begin to sprout, and your rebelliousness bear figs. How can you with such humanity be fit to associate with Christ? Are you truly able to treat Him as God every moment of every day? Will you truly have the reality of submission to God? You worship the lofty God within your hearts as Jehovah while regarding the visible Christ as a man. Your sense is too inferior and your humanity too debased! You are incapable of always looking upon Christ as God; only occasionally, when it takes your fancy, do you grab hold of Him and worship Him as God. This is why I say you are not believers of God, but a posse of accomplices who fight against Christ. Even men who show kindness to others are repaid, and yet Christ, who has done such work among you, has received neither man’s love nor his recompense and submission. Is this not something heartrending?

It may be that in all your years of faith in God, you have never cursed anyone or committed a bad deed, yet in your association with Christ, you cannot speak the truth, act honestly, or obey the word of Christ; in that case, I say that you are the most sinister and malicious person in the world. You may be exceptionally amiable and devoted toward your relatives, friends, wife (or husband), sons and daughters, and parents, and never take advantage of others, but if you are incapable of compatibility with Christ, if you are unable to interact in harmony with Him, then even if you expend your all in relief to your neighbors or take meticulous care of your father, mother, and members of your household, I would say that you are still wicked, and moreover one full of cunning tricks. Do not think yourself compatible with Christ simply because you get along with others or do a few good deeds. Do you think that your charitable intent can finagle the blessings of Heaven? Do you think that doing a few good deeds is a substitute for your obedience? Not one of you is able to accept being dealt with and pruned, and you all find it difficult to embrace the normal humanity of Christ, notwithstanding which you are constantly trumpeting your obedience to God. Such faith as yours will bring down a fitting retribution. Stop indulging in fanciful illusions and wishing to see Christ, for you are too little in stature, so much so that you are not even worthy of seeing Him. When you are completely purged of your rebelliousness, and are capable of being in harmony with Christ, at that moment God will naturally appear to you. If you go to see God without having undergone pruning or judgment, then you shall surely become an opponent of God and are destined for destruction. The nature of man is inherently hostile to God, for all men have been subjected to Satan’s most profound corruption. If man tries to associate with God from the midst of his own corruption, it is certain that nothing good can come of this; his actions and words will surely expose his corruption at every turn, and in associating with God his rebelliousness will be revealed in its every aspect. Unknowingly, man comes to oppose Christ, to deceive Christ, and to forsake Christ; when this happens, man will be in an even more precarious state and, should this continue, he shall become the object of punishment.

Some may believe that, if association with God is so dangerous, then it might be wiser to keep God at a distance. What can people like this possibly gain? Can they be loyal to God? Assuredly, association with God is very difficult—but that is because man is corrupted, not because God is unable to associate with him. It would be best for you to dedicate more effort to the truth of knowing the self. Why have you not found favor with God? Why is your disposition abominable to Him? Why does your speech arouse His loathing? As soon as you have demonstrated a bit of loyalty, you sing your own praises, and you demand a reward for a small contribution; you look down upon others when you have shown a modicum of obedience, and become contemptuous of God upon accomplishing some petty task. For receiving God, you ask for money, gifts, and compliments. It makes you heartsore to give a coin or two; when you give ten, you wish for blessings and to be treated with distinction. A humanity such as yours is positively offensive to speak or hear of. Is there anything praiseworthy in your words and actions? Those who perform their duty and those who do not; those who lead and those who follow; those who receive God and those who do not; those who donate and those who do not; those who preach and those who receive the word, and so on: all such men praise themselves. Do you not find this laughable? Knowing full well that you believe in God, you nevertheless cannot be compatible with God. Knowing full well that you are utterly without merit, you persist in boasting all the same. Do you not feel your sense has deteriorated to the point that you no longer have self-control? With sense like this, how are you fit to associate with God? Are you not afraid for yourselves at this juncture? Your disposition has already deteriorated to the point where you are incapable of compatibility with God. This being so, is your faith not laughable? Is your faith not preposterous? How are you going to approach your future? How are you going to choose which path to take?

—The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. Those Who Are Incompatible With Christ Are Surely Opponents of God

Daily Words of God  Excerpt 306

I have expressed so many words, and have also expressed My will and disposition, yet even so, people are still incapable of knowing Me and believing in Me. Or, it could be said, people are still incapable of obeying Me. Those who live within the Bible, those who live within the law, those who live on the cross, those who live according to doctrine, those who live amid the work I do today—who among them is compatible with Me? You only think of receiving blessings and rewards, but have never spared a thought as to how to actually be compatible with Me, or to how to prevent yourselves from being against Me. I am so disappointed in you, for I have given you so much, yet I have gained so little from you. Your deception, your arrogance, your greed, your extravagant desires, your betrayal, your disobedience—which of these could escape My notice? You are slipshod with Me, you fool Me, you insult Me, you wheedle Me, you exact Me and extort Me for sacrifices—how could such maleficence elude My punishment? All this evildoing is proof of your enmity against Me and is proof of your incompatibility with Me. Each of you believes yourself to be so compatible with Me, but if that were the case, then to whom would such irrefutable evidence apply? You believe yourselves to possess the utmost sincerity and loyalty toward Me. You think that you are so kindhearted, so compassionate, and have devoted so much to Me. You think that you have done more than enough for Me. But have you ever held this up against your actions? I say you are plenty arrogant, plenty greedy, plenty perfunctory; the tricks with which you fool Me are plenty clever, and you have plenty of contemptible intentions and contemptible methods. Your loyalty is too meager, your earnestness too paltry, and your conscience even more lacking. There is too much maliciousness in your hearts, and no one is spared from your malice, not even Me. You shut Me out for the sake of your children, or your husband, or your own self-preservation. Instead of caring about Me, you care about your family, your children, your status, your future, and your own gratification. When have you ever thought of Me as you spoke or acted? On frigid days, your thoughts turn to your children, your husband, your wife, or your parents. On blistering days, I hold no place in your thoughts, either. When you perform your duty, you are thinking of your own interests, of your own personal safety, of the members of your family. What have you ever done that was for Me? When have you ever thought of Me? When have you ever devoted yourself, at any cost, to Me and My work? Where is the evidence of your compatibility with Me? Where is the reality of your loyalty to Me? Where is the reality of your obedience to Me? When have your intentions not been for the sake of gaining My blessings? You fool and deceive Me, you play with the truth, you conceal the existence of the truth, and betray the essence of the truth. What awaits you in the future by going against Me in this way? You merely seek compatibility with a vague God, and merely seek a vague belief, yet you are not compatible with Christ. Will not your maleficence beget the same retribution as that deserved by the wicked? At that time, you will realize that no one who is incompatible with Christ can escape the day of wrath, and you will discover what kind of retribution shall be wrought upon those who are against Christ. When that day comes, your dreams of being blessed for your belief in God and of gaining entry into heaven shall all be shattered. It shall not be so, however, for those who are compatible with Christ. Though they have lost so much, though they have suffered much hardship, they shall receive all of the inheritance I bequeath to mankind. Ultimately, you will understand that I alone am the righteous God, and that I alone am capable of taking mankind into his beautiful destination.

—The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. You Should Seek the Way of Compatibility With Christ

Daily Words of God  Excerpt 307

God has entrusted much to humans and has also addressed their entry in countless ways. But because people’s caliber is considerably poor, many of God’s words have failed to take root. There are various reasons for this poor caliber, such as the corruption of human thought and morality, and a lack of proper upbringing; feudal superstitions that have seriously taken hold of the heart of man; depraved and decadent lifestyles that have lodged many ills in the deepest corners of the human heart; a superficial grasp of cultural literacy, with almost ninety-eight percent of the people lacking education in cultural literacy and, what is more, very few receiving higher levels of cultural education. Therefore, people basically have no idea what is meant by God or the Spirit, but have only a vague and unclear image of God acquired from feudal superstitions. Pernicious influences that thousands of years of “the lofty spirit of nationalism” have left deep in the human heart, as well as the feudal thinking by which people are bound and chained, without an iota of freedom, with no will to aspire or persevere, no desire to make progress, remaining instead passive and regressive, entrenched in a slave mentality, and so on—these objective factors have imparted an indelibly filthy and ugly cast to the ideological outlook, ideals, morality, and disposition of humanity. Humans, it would seem, are living in a dark world of terrorism, which none among them seeks to transcend, and none among them thinks of moving on to an ideal world; rather, they are content with their lot in life, to spend their days bearing and raising children, striving, sweating, going about their chores, dreaming of a comfortable and happy family, and dreaming of conjugal affection, of filial children, of joy in their twilight years as they peacefully live out their lives…. For tens, thousands, tens of thousands of years until now, people have been squandering their time in this way, with no one creating a perfect life, all intent only on mutual slaughter in this dark world, on the race for fame and fortune, and on intriguing against one another. Who has ever sought after God’s will? Has anyone ever heeded the work of God? All the parts of humanity occupied by the influence of darkness have long since become human nature, and so it is quite difficult to carry out the work of God, and people have even less heart to pay attention to what God has entrusted to them today. In any case, I believe that people will not mind Me uttering these words since what I am talking about is the history of thousands of years. To speak of history means facts and, moreover, scandals that are obvious to all, so what point is there in saying that which is contrary to fact? But I also believe that reasonable people, upon seeing these words, will awaken and strive for progress. God hopes that humans can live and work in peace and contentment while at the same time be able to love God. It is God’s will that all of humanity may enter into rest; more than this, the filling of the entire land with God’s glory is God’s great desire. It is just a shame that human beings remain sunk in oblivion and unawakened, so badly corrupted by Satan that today they no longer have the likeness of humans. So human thought, morality and education form an important link, with training in cultural literacy forming a second link, the better to raise the cultural caliber of human beings and change their spiritual outlook.

—The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. Work and Entry (3)

Daily Words of God  Excerpt 308

In people’s life experiences, they often think to themselves: “I’ve given up my family and career for God, and what has He given me? I must add it up, and confirm it—have I received any blessings recently? I’ve given a lot during this time, I’ve run and run, and have suffered much—has God given me any promises in return? Has He remembered my good deeds? What will my end be? Can I receive God’s blessings? …” Every person constantly makes such calculations within their heart, and they make demands of God which bear their motivations, ambitions, and a transactional mentality. This is to say, in his heart man is constantly testing God, constantly devising plans about God, constantly arguing the case for his own individual end with God, and trying to extract a statement from God, seeing whether or not God can give him what he wants. At the same time as pursuing God, man does not treat God as God. Man has always tried to make deals with God, ceaselessly making demands of Him, and even pressing Him at every step, trying to take a mile after being given an inch. At the same time as trying to make deals with God, man also argues with Him, and there are even people who, when trials befall them or they find themselves in certain situations, often become weak, passive and slack in their work, and full of complaints about God. From the time when man first began to believe in God, he has considered God to be a cornucopia, a Swiss Army knife, and he has considered himself to be God’s greatest creditor, as if trying to get blessings and promises from God were his inherent right and obligation, while God’s responsibility were to protect and care for man, and to provide for him. Such is the basic understanding of “belief in God” of all those who believe in God, and such is their deepest understanding of the concept of belief in God. From man’s nature and essence to his subjective pursuit, there is nothing that relates to the fear of God. Man’s aim in believing in God could not possibly have anything to do with the worship of God. That is to say, man has never considered nor understood that belief in God requires fearing and worshiping God. In light of such conditions, man’s essence is obvious. What is this essence? It is that man’s heart is malicious, harbors treachery and deceit, does not love fairness and righteousness and that which is positive, and it is contemptible and greedy. Man’s heart could not be more closed to God; he has not given it to God at all. God has never seen man’s true heart, nor has He ever been worshiped by man. No matter how great the price God pays, or how much work He does, or how much He provides to man, man remains blind and utterly indifferent to it all. Man has never given his heart to God, he only wants to mind his heart himself, to make his own decisions—the subtext of which is that man does not want to follow the way of fearing God and shunning evil, or to obey the sovereignty and arrangements of God, nor does he want to worship God as God. Such is the state of man today.

—The Word, Vol. 2. On Knowing God. God’s Work, God’s Disposition, and God Himself II

Daily Words of God  Excerpt 309

Do many people not oppose God and obstruct the work of the Holy Spirit because they do not know the varied and diverse work of God, and, furthermore, because they possess but a smidgeon of knowledge and doctrine with which to measure the work of the Holy Spirit? Though the experiences of such people are superficial, they are arrogant and indulgent in nature and they regard the work of the Holy Spirit with contempt, ignore the disciplines of the Holy Spirit and, moreover, use their trivial old arguments to “confirm” the work of the Holy Spirit. They also put on an act, and are wholly convinced of their own learning and erudition, and convinced that they are able to travel across the world. Are such people not those who are despised and rejected by the Holy Spirit, and will they not be cast out by the new age? Are not those who come before God and openly oppose Him ignorant and under-informed villains, who are merely trying to show how brilliant they are? With but a meager knowledge of the Bible, they try to run riot in the world’s “academia”; with but a superficial doctrine to teach people, they try to reverse the work of the Holy Spirit and attempt to make it revolve around their own thought process. Short-sighted as they are, they try to behold in one glance 6,000 years of God’s work. These people do not have any sense worth mentioning! In fact, the greater people’s knowledge of God, the slower they are to judge His work. Furthermore, they only talk a little of their knowledge of God’s work today, but they are not rash in their judgments. The less people know of God, the more arrogant and overconfident they are and the more wantonly they proclaim God’s being—yet they only talk of theory, and offer no real evidence. Such people are of no value whatsoever. Those who see the work of the Holy Spirit as a game are frivolous! Those who are not cautious when they encounter the new work of the Holy Spirit, who run their mouths off, are quick to judge, who give free rein to their temperament to deny the rightness of the Holy Spirit’s work, and who also insult and blaspheme it—are such disrespectful people not ignorant of the Holy Spirit’s work? Are they not, furthermore, people of great arrogance, people who are inherently proud and ungovernable? Even if a day comes when such people accept the new work of the Holy Spirit, still God will not tolerate them. Not only do they look down upon those who work for God, but they also blaspheme against God Himself. Such desperate people will not be forgiven, either in this age or the age to come, and they shall forever perish in hell! Such disrespectful, indulgent people are pretending to believe in God, and the more people are like this, the more liable they are to offend God’s administrative decrees. Do not all those arrogant ones who are innately unbridled, and who have never obeyed anyone, all walk upon this path? Do they not oppose God day after day, God who is always new and never old?

—The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. Knowing the Three Stages of God’s Work Is the Path to Knowing God

Daily Words of God  Excerpt 310

Knowledge of ancient culture and history spanning several thousand years has closed off man’s thinking and notions and his mental outlook so tightly as to render them impervious and non-biodegradable.^[1] People live in the eighteenth circle of hell, where, just as if they have been banished by God into the dungeons, the light may never be seen. Feudal thinking has so oppressed people that they can barely breathe and are suffocating. They have not the slightest jot of strength to resist; all they do is endure and endure in silence…. Never has anyone dared to struggle or stand up for righteousness and justice; people simply live a life worse than an animal’s, under the blows and abuse of feudal ethics, day after day, and year after year. They have never thought to seek out God to enjoy happiness in the human world. It is as if people have been beaten down to the point where they are like the fallen leaves of autumn, withered, desiccated, and yellow-brown. People have long since lost their memory; they live helpless in the hell which is called the human world, waiting for the coming of the last day so that they may perish together with this hell, as if the last day that they yearn for is the day when man shall enjoy restful peace. Feudal ethics have taken the life of man into “Hades,” further weakening man’s power to resist. All sorts of oppression push man, step by step, to fall deeper into Hades, farther and farther away from God, until today he has become a complete stranger to God and makes haste to avoid Him when they meet. Man does not heed Him and leaves Him standing alone to one side, as if man has never known Him, has never seen Him before. Yet God has been waiting for man all through the long journey of human life, never hurling His irrepressible fury toward him, merely waiting quietly, without a word, for man to repent and start anew. God long ago came into the human world to share the sufferings of the human world with man. In all the years that He has lived with man, no one has discovered His existence. God only endures in silence the misery of shabbiness in the human world while carrying out the work He brought in person. He continues to endure for the sake of the will of God the Father and for the sake of the needs of mankind, undergoing sufferings never before experienced by man. In man’s presence He has quietly waited upon him, and in man’s presence He has humbled Himself, for the sake of God the Father’s will and also for the sake of the needs of mankind. Knowledge of ancient culture has surreptitiously stolen man from the presence of God and turned him over to the king of devils and its progeny. The Four Books and Five Classics^[a] have taken man’s thinking and notions into another age of rebellion, causing him to give even greater adulation than before to those who compiled the Book/Classic of Documents, and as a result to further exacerbate his notions about God. Unbeknownst to man, the king of devils heartlessly cast God out from his heart and then occupied it itself with triumphant glee. Since that time, man became possessed of an ugly and wicked soul and of the countenance of the king of devils. A hatred of God filled his chest, and the spiteful malice of the king of devils spread within man day after day until he was utterly consumed. Man no longer had the least bit of freedom and had no way of breaking free from the toils of the king of devils. He had no choice but to be taken captive on the spot, to surrender and fall down in submission in its presence. Long ago, when man’s heart and soul was still in its infancy, the king of devils planted in it the seed of the tumor of atheism, teaching him such fallacies as “study science and technology; realize the Four Modernizations; and there is no such thing as God in the world.” Not only that, it shouts out at every opportunity: “Let us rely on our industrious labor to build a beautiful homeland,” asking each and every person to be prepared from childhood to render faithful service to their country. Man, unwitting, was brought into its presence, where it unhesitatingly arrogated all the credit (meaning the credit belonging to God for holding all of mankind in His hands) unto itself. Never did it have any sense of shame. Moreover, it shamelessly seized God’s people and dragged them back into its house, where it leaped like a mouse onto the table and had man worship it as God. What a desperado! It cries out scandalous, shocking things, such as: “There is no such thing as God in the world. The wind comes from transformations according to natural laws; rain comes when water vapor, meeting with cold temperatures, condenses into drops that fall to earth; an earthquake is the shaking of the surface of the earth due to geological changes; drought is due to dryness in the air caused by nucleonic disruption on the sun’s surface. These are natural phenomena. Where, in all this, is there an act of God?” There are even those who shout out statements like the following, statements that should not be given voice: “Man evolved from apes in the ancient past, and the world today comes from a succession of primitive societies starting from approximately an eon ago. Whether a country flourishes or declines rests entirely in the hands of its people.” In the background, it makes man hang it on the wall or place it on the table to pay homage and make offerings to it. At the same time that it cries out, “There is no God,” it sets itself up as God, with summary roughness pushing God out of the bounds of the earth, while standing in God’s place and taking up the role of the king of devils. How utterly lost to reason! It makes one hate it to the very bone. It seems that God and it are sworn enemies, and the two cannot coexist. It schemes to chase God away while it roams free, outside the reach of law.^[2] Such a king of devils it is! How can its existence be tolerated? It will not rest until it has made a mess of God’s work and left it all in a complete shambles,^[3] as if it wants to oppose God to the bitter end, until either the fish dies or the net breaks, deliberately setting itself against God and pressing in ever closer. Its hideous face having long since been completely unmasked, it is now bruised and battered^[4] and in a sorry condition, yet still it will not relent in its hatred of God, as if only by devouring God in one mouthful will it be able to relieve the hatred pent up in its heart. How can we tolerate it, this enemy of God! Only its eradication and complete extermination will bring our life’s wish to fruition. How can it be allowed to continue running rampant? It has corrupted man to such a degree that man does not know the heavensun, and has become deadened and devoid of feeling. Man has lost normal human reason. Why not offer up our whole being to destroy it and burn it up to eliminate all worries for the future and allow the work of God to sooner reach unprecedented splendor? This gang of scoundrels has come into the world of men and reduced it to turmoil. They have brought all of humanity to the edge of a precipice, secretly planning to push them over to be dashed to pieces so that they may then devour their corpses. They vainly hope to break up God’s plan and enter into a match with Him, staking everything on a single throw of the dice.^[5] That is by no means easy! The cross has been prepared, after all, for the king of devils, who is guilty of the most heinous crimes. God does not belong to the cross. He has already tossed it aside for the devil. God has long before now emerged victorious and no longer feels sorrow over the sins of mankind, but will bring salvation to all mankind.

—The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. Work and Entry (7)

Footnotes:

1. “Non-biodegradable” is intended as satire here, meaning that people are rigid in their knowledge, culture, and spiritual outlook.

2. “Roams free, outside the reach of law” indicates that the devil goes berserk and runs amok.

3. “A complete shambles” refers to how the devil’s violent behavior is unbearable to see.

4. “Bruised and battered” refers to the ugly face of the king of devils.

5. “Staking everything on a single throw of the dice” means placing all one’s money on a single bet in hopes of winning in the end. This is a metaphor for the devil’s sinister and nefarious schemes. The expression is used mockingly.

a. The Four Books and Five Classics are the authoritative books of Confucianism in China.

Daily Words of God  Excerpt 311

From top to bottom and from beginning to end, Satan has been disrupting the work of God and acting in opposition to Him. All this talk of “ancient cultural heritage,” valuable “knowledge of ancient culture,” “teachings of Taoism and Confucianism,” and “Confucian classics and feudal rites” has taken man into hell. Advanced modern-day science and technology, as well as highly developed industry, agriculture, and business are nowhere to be seen. Rather, all it does is emphasize the feudal rites propagated by the “apes” of ancient times in order to deliberately disrupt, oppose, and dismantle the work of God. Not only has it continued to afflict man until this day, but it even wants to swallow^[1] man whole. The transmission of the moral and ethical teachings of feudalism and the passing down of the knowledge of ancient culture have long infected humanity, turning them into devils big and small. Few are those who would gladly receive God, few who would jubilantly welcome His coming. The face of all humanity is filled with murderous intent, and in every place, a killing breath pervades the air. They seek to cast God out from this land; with knives and swords in hand, they arrange themselves in battle formation to “annihilate” God. All across this land of the devil, where man is constantly taught there is no God, idols are spread, and the air above is permeated by a nauseating odor of burning paper and incense, so thick as to be suffocating. It is like the stench of sludge that wafts up with the writhing of the poisonous serpent, so much so that one cannot keep from vomiting. Besides this, there can faintly be heard the sound of evil demons chanting scriptures, a sound which seems to be coming from faraway in hell, so much so that one cannot keep from shivering. Everywhere in this land are placed idols of all colors of the rainbow, turning the land into a world of sensual delights, while the king of devils keeps laughing wickedly, as if its dastardly plot has succeeded. Meanwhile, man remains completely oblivious, and nor has he any inkling that the devil has already corrupted him to the point where he has become senseless and hangs his head in defeat. It wishes, in one fell swoop, to wipe out everything about God, and once again to defile and assassinate Him; it is intent upon tearing down and disrupting His work. How can it allow God to be of equal status? How can it tolerate God “interfering” with its work among men on earth? How can it allow God to unmask its hideous face? How can it allow God to put its work in disarray? How can this devil, apoplectic with rage, allow God to have control over its imperial court on the earth? How can it willingly bow down to His superior might? Its hideous countenance has been revealed for what it is, so that one knows not whether to laugh or cry, and it is truly difficult to speak of. Is this not its substance? With an ugly soul, it still believes that it is beautiful beyond belief. This gang of accomplices in crime!^[2] They come down into the mortal realm to indulge in pleasures and cause a commotion, stirring things up so much that the world becomes a fickle and inconstant place and the heart of man is filled with panic and unease, and they have toyed with man so much that his appearance has become that of an inhuman beast of the field, supremely ugly, and from which the last trace of the original holy man has been lost. Furthermore, they even wish to assume sovereign power on earth. They impede the work of God so much that it can barely inch forward, and they close man off as tightly as walls of copper and steel. Having committed so many grievous sins and caused so many disasters, are they still expecting something other than chastisement? Demons and evil spirits have been running amok on earth for a time, and have sealed off both the will and the painstaking effort of God so tightly that they are impenetrable. Truly, this is a mortal sin! How can God not feel anxious? How can God not feel wrathful? They have gravely hindered and opposed the work of God: How rebellious! Even those demons, big and small, behave like jackals at the heels of the lion, and follow the evil current, contriving disturbances as they go. Knowing the truth, they deliberately oppose it, these sons of rebellion! It is as if, now that their king of hell has ascended to the kingly throne, they have become smug and complacent, treating all others with contempt. How many among them seek the truth and follow righteousness? They are all beasts, no better than pigs and dogs, at the head of a gang of stinking flies, wagging their heads in smug self-congratulation and stirring up all kinds of trouble,^[3] in the middle of a dung heap. They believe that their king of hell is the greatest king of all, little knowing that they themselves are no more than stinking flies. And yet, they take advantage of the power of the pigs and dogs they have for parents to malign the existence of God. As diminutive flies, they believe their parents to be as large as blue whales.^[4] Little do they know that, while they themselves are tiny, their parents are unclean pigs and dogs hundreds of millions of times larger than they. Unaware of their own lowliness, they rely on the stench of putrefaction exuded by those pigs and dogs to run amok, vainly thinking to procreate future generations, oblivious to shame! With green wings upon their backs (this refers to their claiming to believe in God), they are full of themselves and boast everywhere of their own beauty and allure, while they secretly fling the impurities on their own bodies onto man. Furthermore, they are exceedingly pleased with themselves, as if they can use a pair of rainbow-colored wings to conceal their own impurities, and by these means they bring their oppression to bear on the existence of the true God (this refers to what goes on behind the scenes in the religious world). How would man know that, as enchantingly beautiful as the wings of a fly may be, the fly itself is after all no more than a tiny creature, with a belly full of filth and a body covered with germs? On the strength of the pigs and dogs they have for parents, they run amok across the land (this refers to the way in which the religious officials who persecute God rely on the strong backing of the government of the nation to rebel against the true God and the truth), unrestrained in their savagery. It is as if the ghosts of the Jewish Pharisees have returned along with God to the nation of the great red dragon, back to their old nest. They have begun yet another round of persecution, picking up their work of several thousand years ago. This group of degenerates is sure to perish on earth in the end! It would appear that, after several millennia, the unclean spirits have become even more crafty and sly. They are constantly thinking of ways to undermine the work of God in secret. With tricks and wiles galore, they wish to reenact in their homeland the tragedy of several thousand years ago, goading God nearly to the point of crying out. He can hardly keep Himself from returning to the third heaven to annihilate them. For man to love God, he must grasp His will, know His joys and sorrows, and understand what it is that He abhors. Doing this will spur on even more the entry of man. The faster man’s entry, the sooner God’s will is satisfied, the more clearly man sees through the king of devils, and the closer he draws to God, so that His desire may be brought to fruition.

—The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. Work and Entry (7)

Footnotes:

1. “Swallow” refers to the vicious behavior of the king of devils, which ravishes people in their entirety.

2. “Accomplices in crime” are of the same ilk as “a band of hoodlums.”

3. “Stirring up all kinds of trouble” refers to how people who are demonic run riot, obstructing and opposing the work of God.

4. “Blue whales” is used mockingly. It is a metaphor for how flies are so small that pigs and dogs appear as big as whales to them.

Daily Words of God  Excerpt 312

For thousands of years this has been the land of filth. It is unbearably dirty, misery abounds, ghosts run rampant everywhere, tricking and deceiving, making groundless accusations,^[1] being ruthless and vicious, trampling this ghost town and leaving it littered with dead bodies; the stench of decay covers the land and pervades the air, and it is heavily guarded.^[2] Who can see the world beyond the skies? The devil tightly trusses all of man’s body, it veils both his eyes, and seals his lips firmly shut. The king of devils has rampaged for several thousand years, right up until today, when it still keeps a close watch on the ghost town, as if it were an impenetrable palace of demons; this pack of watchdogs, meanwhile, stare with glaring eyes, deeply fearful that God will catch them unawares and wipe them all out, leaving them without a place of peace and happiness. How could the people of a ghost town such as this ever have seen God? Have they ever enjoyed the dearness and loveliness of God? What appreciation have they of the matters of the human world? Who of them can understand God’s eager will? Small wonder, then, that God incarnate remains completely hidden: In a dark society such as this, where the demons are merciless and inhumane, how could the king of devils, who kills people without batting an eye, tolerate the existence of a God who is lovely, kind, and also holy? How could it applaud and cheer the arrival of God? These lackeys! They repay kindness with hate, they began treating God as an enemy long ago, they abuse God, they are savage in the extreme, they have not the slightest regard for God, they plunder and pillage, they have lost all conscience, they go against all conscience, and they tempt the innocent into senselessness. Forefathers of the ancient? Beloved leaders? They all oppose God! Their meddling has left all beneath heaven in a state of darkness and chaos! Religious freedom? The legitimate rights and interests of citizens? They are all tricks for covering up sin! Who has embraced the work of God? Who has laid down their life or shed blood for the work of God? For generation after generation, from parents to children, enslaved man has unceremoniously enslaved God—how could this not incite fury? Thousands of years of hate are concentrated in the heart, millennia of sinfulness are inscribed upon the heart—how could this not inspire loathing? Avenge God, completely snuff out His enemy, do not allow it to run rampant any longer, and do not permit it to rule as a tyrant! Now is the time: Man has long since gathered all his strength, he has devoted all his efforts and paid every price for this, to tear off the hideous face of this demon and allow people, who have been blinded, and who have endured every manner of suffering and hardship, to rise up from their pain and turn their backs on this evil old devil. Why put up such an impenetrable obstacle to the work of God? Why employ various tricks to deceive God’s folk? Where is the true freedom and the legitimate rights and interests? Where is the fairness? Where is the comfort? Where is the warmth? Why use deceitful schemes to trick God’s people? Why use force to suppress the coming of God? Why not allow God to freely roam upon the earth that He created? Why hound God until He has nowhere to rest His head? Where is the warmth among men? Where is the welcome among people? Why cause such desperate yearning in God? Why make God call out again and again? Why force God to worry for His beloved Son? In this dark society, why do its sorry guard dogs not allow God to freely come and go among the world which He created? Why does man not understand, man who lives amid pain and suffering? For your sakes, God has endured great torment, with great pain He has bestowed His beloved Son, His flesh and blood, to you—so why do you still turn a blind eye? In full view of everyone, you reject the arrival of God, and refuse God’s friendship. Why are you so unconscionable? Are you willing to endure the injustices in a dark society such as this? Why, instead of filling your bellies with millennia of enmity, do you stuff yourselves with the king of devils’ “shit”?

—The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. Work and Entry (8)

Footnotes:

1. “Making groundless accusations” refers to the methods by which the devil harms people.

2. “Heavily guarded” indicates that the methods by which the devil afflicts people are especially vicious, and control people so much that they have no room to move.

Daily Words of God  Excerpt 313

If people can truly see clearly the right path of human life, as well as the purpose of God’s management of mankind, they would not hold their individual future and destiny as a treasure in their heart. They then would no longer be interested in serving their parents, who are worse than pigs and dogs. Are man’s future and destiny not precisely the present-day so-called “parents” of Peter? They are just like man’s flesh and blood. Just what will the destination and future of the flesh be? Will it be to see God while still alive, or for the soul to meet God after death? Will the flesh end up tomorrow in a great furnace of tribulations, or in conflagration? Are not questions such as these concerned with whether man’s flesh will endure misfortune or suffer the biggest news with which anyone in this current stream who has a brain and is sensible is most concerned? (Here, suffering refers to receiving blessings; it means that future trials are beneficial for man’s destination. Misfortune refers to being unable to stand firm, or being deceived; or, it means that one will meet with unfortunate situations and lose one’s life in the midst of disaster, and that there is no suitable destination for one’s soul.) Though humans have sound reason, perhaps what they think does not entirely correspond to that with which their reason should be equipped. This is because they all are rather confused and follow things blindly. They should all have a thorough grasp of what they should enter into, and in particular, they should sort out what should be entered into during the tribulation (that is, during the refinement in the furnace), as well as what they should be equipped with during the trials of fire. Do not always serve your parents (meaning the flesh) who are like pigs and dogs and are even worse than ants and bugs. What is the point of agonizing over it, thinking so hard, and racking your brains? The flesh does not belong to you, but is in the hands of God, who not only controls you but also commands Satan. (This means that the flesh originally belongs to Satan. Because Satan is also in God’s hands, it can only be worded this way. This is because it is more persuasive to say it that way; it suggests that men are not entirely under Satan’s domain, but are in God’s hands.) You are living under the torment of the flesh—but does the flesh belong to you? Is it under your control? Why bother racking your brains over it? Why bother obsessively pleading with God for the sake of your putrid flesh, which has long been condemned, cursed, and defiled by unclean spirits? What need is there to always hold the associates of Satan so close to your heart? Do you not worry that the flesh could ruin your actual future, your wonderful hopes, and your life’s true destination?

—The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. The Purpose of Managing Mankind

Daily Words of God  Excerpt 314

Today, what you have come to understand is higher than that of any person throughout history who was not made perfect. Be it your knowledge of trials or the belief in God, it is all higher than that of any believer in God. The things you understand are what you come to know before you undergo the trials of environments, but your real stature is completely incompatible with them. What you know is higher than what you put into practice. Though you say that people who believe in God should love God, and should strive not for blessings but only to meet God’s will, what is manifested in your lives is a far cry from this, and has been greatly tainted. Most people believe in God for the sake of peace and other benefits. Unless it is to your benefit, you do not believe in God, and if you cannot receive God’s graces, you fall into a sulk. How could what you have said be your true stature? When it comes to inevitable family incidents such as children falling ill, loved ones being hospitalized, poor crop yields, and persecution by family members, even these oft-occurring, quotidian matters are too much for you. When such things happen, you are thrown into a panic, you do not know what to do—and most of the time, you complain about God. You complain that God’s words tricked you, that God’s work made a mockery of you. Do you not have such thoughts? Do you think such things happen among you only rarely? You spend every day living amid such events. You do not give the slightest thought to the success of your faith in God, and how to meet God’s will. Your true stature is too small, even smaller than a little chick’s. When your family’s business loses money you complain about God, when you find yourself in an environment without God’s protection you still complain about God, and you complain even when one of your chicks dies or an old cow in the pen falls ill. You complain when it is time for your son to get married but your family does not have enough money; you want to perform the duty of hosting, but cannot afford it, and then you also complain. You are overflowing with complaints, and you sometimes do not attend gatherings or eat and drink the words of God because of this, sometimes becoming negative for a great length of time. Nothing that happens to you today bears any relation to your prospects or fate; these things would also happen even if you did not believe in God, yet today you pass responsibility for them to God, and insist on saying that God has cast you out. What of your belief in God? Have you truly offered up your life? If you suffered the same trials as Job, none among you who follow God today would be able to stand firm, you would all fall down. And there is, quite simply, a world of difference between you and Job. Today, if half your assets were seized you would dare to deny the existence of God; if your son or daughter were taken from you, you would run the streets crying foul; if your only way to make a living reached a dead end, you would try and take it up with God; you would ask why I said so many words in the beginning to scare you. There is nothing you would not dare to do at such times. This shows that you have not gained any true insights, and have no true stature. Thus, the trials in you are too big, for you know too much, but what you truly understand is not even a thousandth of what you are aware of. Do not stop at mere understanding and knowledge; you had best see how much you can truly put into practice, how much of the enlightenment and illumination of the Holy Spirit was earned through the sweat of your own hard work, and in how many of your practices you have realized your own resolve. You should take your stature and practice seriously. In your belief in God, you should not try to merely go through the motions for anyone—whether or not you can ultimately gain the truth and life depends on your own pursuit.

—The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. Practice (3)

Daily Words of God  Excerpt 315

Some adorn themselves beautifully, but superficially: The sisters adorn themselves as prettily as flowers, and the brothers dress like princes or rich young dandies. They care only about external things, like the things they eat and wear; inside, they are destitute and have not the slightest knowledge of God. What meaning can there be in this? And then there are some who are dressed like poor beggars—they really look like East Asian slaves! Do you really not understand what I ask of you? Commune among yourselves: What have you actually gained? You have believed in God for all these years, and yet this is all that you have reaped—are you not embarrassed? Are you not ashamed? You have been pursuing on the true way for all these years, yet today your stature is still lower than a sparrow’s! Look at the young ladies among you, pretty as pictures in your clothes and makeup, comparing yourselves to one another—and what do you compare? Your pleasure? Your demands? Do you think I have come to recruit models? You have no shame! Where is your life? Is what you pursue not just your own extravagant desire? You think you are so beautiful, but though you might be dressed in all manner of finery, are you not in truth a wriggling maggot, born in a dung heap? Today, you are fortunate to enjoy these heavenly blessings not because of your pretty face, but because God is making an exception by raising you up. Is it still unclear to you where you came from? At the mention of life, you shut your mouth and say nothing, as dumb as a statue, yet still you have the gall to dress yourself up! Still you are inclined to apply blush and powder to your face! And look at the dandies among you, wayward men who spend the whole day sauntering about, unruly, with nonchalant expressions on their faces. Is this how a person should behave? What does each among you, man or woman, devote your attention to all day? Do you know upon whom you depend to feed yourselves? Look at your clothing, look at what you have reaped in your hands, rub your belly—what have you profited from the price of blood and sweat that you have paid over all these years of faith? You still think to go sightseeing, you still think to embellish your stinking flesh—worthless pursuits! You are asked to be a person of normality, yet now you are not simply abnormal, you are aberrant. How can such a person have the audacity to come before Me? With a humanity such as this, parading your charms and flaunting your flesh, living always within the lusts of the flesh—are you not a descendant of filthy demons and evil spirits? I will not allow such a filthy demon to remain in existence for long! And do not suppose I do not know what you think in your heart. You might keep your lust and your flesh under tight control, but how could I not know the thoughts you harbor in your heart? How could I not know all that your eyes desire? Do you young ladies not make yourselves so pretty in order to parade your flesh? What benefit are men to you? Can they truly save you from the sea of affliction? As for the dandies among you, you all dress to make yourselves seem gentlemanly and distinguished, but is this not a ruse designed to bring attention to your dashing looks? Who are you doing this for? What benefit are women to you? Are they not the source of your sin? You men and women, I have said many words to you, yet you have complied with but a few of them. Your ears are hard of hearing, your eyes have grown dim, and your hearts are hard to the point that there is nothing but lust in your bodies, such that you are ensnared in it, unable to escape. Who wants to go anywhere near you maggots, you who squirm in the filth and grime? Do not forget that you are nothing more than those whom I have raised from the dung heap, that you were not originally possessed of normal humanity. What I ask of you is the normal humanity that you did not originally possess, not that you parade your lust or give free rein to your rancid flesh, which has been trained by the devil for so many years. When you dress yourselves so, do you not fear that you will become more deeply ensnared? Do you not know that you were originally of sin? Do you not know that your bodies are filled so full with lust that it even seeps from your clothing, revealing your states as unbearably ugly and filthy demons? Is it not the case that you know this more clearly than anyone? Your hearts, your eyes, your lips—have they not all been defiled by filthy demons? Are these parts of you not filthy? Do you think that as long as you do not act, then you are the most holy? Do you think that dressing up in beautiful clothes can conceal your sordid souls? That will not work! I advise you to be more realistic: Do not be fraudulent and fake, and do not parade yourselves. You flaunt your lust to each other, but all you will receive in return is everlasting suffering and ruthless chastening! What need have you to bat your eyes at each other and indulge in romance? Is this the measure of your integrity, the extent of your uprightness? I loathe those among you who engage in evil medicine and sorcery; I loathe the young men and women among you who love their own flesh. You had better restrain yourselves, because you are now required to possess normal humanity, and you are not allowed to flaunt your lust—yet you take every opportunity you can, for your flesh is too plentiful, and your lust too great!

—The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. Practice (7)

Daily Words of God  Excerpt 316

Now, whether or not your pursuit has been effective is measured by what you currently possess. This is what is used to determine your outcome; this is to say, your outcome is revealed in the sacrifices you have made and the things you have done. Your outcome will be made known by your pursuit, your faith, and what you have done. Among all of you, there are many who are already beyond salvation, for today is the day of revealing people’s outcomes, and I will not be muddle-headed in My work; I will not lead those who are entirely beyond salvation into the next age. There will be a time when My work is finished. I shall not work on those stinking, spiritless corpses that cannot be saved at all; now are the last days of man’s salvation, and I will not do useless work. Do not rail against Heaven and earth—the end of the world is coming. It is inevitable. Things have come to this point, and there is nothing you as a human being can do to stop them; you cannot change things as you wish. Yesterday, you did not pay a price to pursue the truth and you were not loyal; today, the time has come, you are beyond salvation; and tomorrow, you will be cast out, and there will be no leeway for your salvation. Even though My heart is mild and I am doing My utmost to save you, if you do not strive on your own behalf or give any thought for yourself, what does this have to do with Me? Those who think only of their flesh and who enjoy comfort; those who seem to believe but who do not really believe; those who engage in evil medicine and sorcery; those who are promiscuous, tattered and ragged; those who steal sacrifices to Jehovah and His possessions; those who love bribes; those who dream idly of ascending to heaven; those who are arrogant and conceited, who strive only for personal fame and fortune; those who spread impertinent words; those who blaspheme God Himself; those who do nothing but make judgments against and slander God Himself; those who form cliques and seek independence; those who exalt themselves above God; those frivolous young, middle-aged and older men and women who are ensnared in licentiousness; those men and women who enjoy personal fame and fortune and pursue personal status among others; those unrepentant people who are trapped in sin—are they not, all of them, beyond salvation? Licentiousness, sinfulness, evil medicine, sorcery, profanity, and impertinent words all run riot among you; and truth and the words of life are trampled in your midst, and the holy language is defiled among you. You Gentiles, bloated with filth and disobedience! What will your final outcome be? How can those who love the flesh, who commit sorcery of the flesh, and who are ensnared in licentious sin have the audacity to continue living! Do you not know that people such as you are maggots beyond salvation? What entitles you to demand this and that? To date, there has not been the slightest change in those who do not love the truth and only love the flesh—how can such people be saved? Those who do not love the way of life, who do not exalt God and bear testimony to Him, who scheme for the sake of their own status, who extol themselves—are they not still the same, even today? What is the value in saving them? Whether you can be saved does not depend on how great your seniority or how many years you have been working, and much less does it depend on how many credentials you have built up. Rather, it depends on whether your pursuit has borne fruit. You ought to know that those who are saved are the “trees” that bear fruit, not the trees with lush foliage and abundant flowers that yet yield no fruit. Even if you have spent many years wandering the streets, what does that matter? Where is your testimony? Your reverence for God is far less than your love for yourself and your lustful desires—is this kind of person not a degenerate? How could they be a specimen and model for salvation? Your nature is incorrigible, you are too rebellious, you are beyond salvation! Are such people not those that will be cast out? Is the time when My work is finished not the time of the arrival of your last day? I have done so much work and spoken so many words among you—how much of it has truly entered your ears? How much of it have you ever obeyed? When My work ends, that will be the time when you stop opposing Me, when you stop standing against Me. As I work, you act against Me constantly; you never comply with My words. I do My work, and you do your own “work,” making your own little kingdom. You are nothing but a pack of foxes and dogs, doing everything in opposition to Me! You are constantly trying to bring those who offer you their undivided love into your embrace—where is your reverence? Everything you do is deceitful! You have no obedience or reverence, and everything you do is deceitful and blasphemous! Can such people be saved? Men who are sexually immoral and lascivious always want to draw coquettish harlots to them for their own enjoyment. I absolutely will not save such sexually immoral demons. I hate you filthy demons, and your lasciviousness and coquettishness will plunge you into hell. What have you to say for yourselves? You filthy demons and evil spirits are repulsive! You are disgusting! How could such trash be saved? Can they who are ensnared in sin still be saved? Today, this truth, this way, and this life do not attract you; rather, you are attracted to sinfulness; to money; to standing, fame and gain; to the enjoyments of the flesh; to the handsomeness of men and charms of women. What qualifies you to enter My kingdom? Your image is even greater than God’s, your status even higher than God’s, to say nothing of your prestige among men—you have become an idol that people worship. Have you not become the archangel? When people’s outcomes are revealed, which is also when the work of salvation will draw near its end, many of those among you will be corpses beyond salvation and must be cast out. During the work of salvation, I am kind and good toward all people. When the work concludes, the outcomes of different types of people will be revealed, and at that time, I shall no longer be kind and good, for people’s outcomes will have been revealed, and each will have been classified according to their kind, and there will be no use in doing any more work of salvation, because the age of salvation will have passed, and, having passed, it will not return.

—The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. Practice (7)

Daily Words of God  Excerpt 317

Man has ever lived beneath the shroud of the influence of darkness, held in bondage to the influence of Satan, unable to escape, and his disposition, having been processed by Satan, becomes increasingly corrupt. It can be said that man has always lived amid his corrupt satanic disposition and is incapable of truly loving God. This being so, if man wishes to love God, he must be stripped of his self-righteousness, self-importance, arrogance, conceit, and the like—everything that is of Satan’s disposition. If not, his love is an impure love, a satanic love, and one which absolutely cannot receive the approval of God. Without being directly perfected, dealt with, broken, pruned, disciplined, chastened, and refined by the Holy Spirit, no one is able truly to love God. If you say that a part of your disposition represents God and therefore you are able truly to love God, then you are someone whose words are arrogant, and you are preposterous. Such people are the archangel! The inborn nature of man is incapable of directly representing God; he must shed his innate nature through the perfection of God and only then—only by caring for God’s will, fulfilling God’s intentions, and furthermore undergoing the work of the Holy Spirit—can what he lives out be approved of by God. No one who lives in the flesh can represent God directly, unless he be a man used by the Holy Spirit. However, even for a person like this, it cannot be said that his disposition and what he lives out entirely represent God; it can only be said that what he lives out is directed by the Holy Spirit. The disposition of such a man cannot represent God.

Though the disposition of man is ordained by God—this is unquestionable and can be considered a positive thing—it has been processed by Satan, and so the whole of man’s disposition is Satan’s disposition. Some people say that God’s disposition is to be straightforward in doing things, and that this is also manifested in them, that their character is also like this, and so they say that their disposition represents God. What kind of people are these? Is the corrupt satanic disposition able to represent God? Whosoever declares that their disposition is representative of God blasphemes God and insults the Holy Spirit! The method by which the Holy Spirit works shows that God’s work on earth is solely the work of conquest. As such, the many corrupt satanic dispositions of man have yet to be cleansed, what he lives out is still the image of Satan, it is what man believes to be good, and it represents the deeds of man’s flesh; more precisely, it represents Satan, and absolutely cannot represent God. Even if someone already loves God to the extent that they are able to enjoy a life of heaven on earth, are able to make such statements as: “Oh God! I cannot love You enough,” and have reached the highest realm, still it cannot be said that they live out God or represent God, for the essence of man is unlike that of God, and man can never live out God, much less become God. What the Holy Spirit has directed man to live out is only in accordance with what God asks of man.

All of the actions and deeds of Satan are manifested in man. Today, all of the actions and deeds of man are an expression of Satan and hence cannot represent God. Man is the embodiment of Satan, and the disposition of man is unable to represent the disposition of God. Some people are of good character; God may do some work through such people’s character, and the work they do is directed by the Holy Spirit. Yet their disposition is unable to represent God. The work God does upon them is nothing more than working with and expanding on what already exists within. Be it prophets in ages past or those used by God, no one can directly represent Him. People come to love God only under the duress of circumstances, and not a single one strives to cooperate of their own volition. What are positive things? All that directly comes from God is positive; the disposition of man, however, has been processed by Satan, and cannot represent God. Only the love, the will to suffer, the righteousness, submission, and humbleness and hiddenness of the incarnate God directly represent God. This is because when He came, He came without a sinful nature and came directly from God, without having been processed by Satan. Jesus is only in the likeness of sinful flesh and does not represent sin; therefore, His actions, deeds, and words, up to the time prior to His accomplishment of the work through crucifixion (including the moment of His crucifixion), are all directly representative of God. The example of Jesus is sufficient to prove that anyone with a sinful nature cannot represent God, and that the sin of man represents Satan. Which is to say, sin does not represent God, and God is sinless. Even the work done in man by the Holy Spirit can only be considered to have been directed by the Holy Spirit, and cannot be said to be done by man on behalf of God. But, as far as man is concerned, neither his sin nor his disposition represents God. By looking at the work the Holy Spirit has done on man from the past to the present day, one sees that man has that which he lives out all because the Holy Spirit has done work upon him. Very few are able to live out the truth after being dealt with and disciplined by the Holy Spirit. Which is to say, only the work of the Holy Spirit is present; cooperation on the part of man is absent. Do you see this clearly now? This being so, how will you do your utmost to cooperate with Him and fulfill your duty when the Holy Spirit works?

—The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. Corrupt Man Is Incapable of Representing God

Daily Words of God  Excerpt 318

Your belief in God, your pursuit of the truth, and even the way you conduct yourself should all be based on reality: Everything you do should be practical, and you should not pursue things that are illusory and fanciful. There is no value to behaving in this way, and, moreover, no meaning to such a life. Because your pursuit and life are spent amid nothing more than falsehood and deceit, and because you do not pursue things that have value and significance, the only things you gain are absurd reasoning and doctrine that are not of the truth. Such things bear no relation to the significance and value of your existence, and can only bring you to a hollow realm. In this way, your whole life will be without any value or meaning—and if you do not pursue a life of meaning, then you could live a hundred years and it would all be for nothing. How could that be called a human life? Is it not actually the life of an animal? Likewise, if you try to follow the path of belief in God, yet make no attempt to pursue the God that can be seen and instead worship an invisible and intangible God, then is such pursuit not even more futile? In the end, your pursuit will become a pile of ruins. Of what benefit is such a pursuit to you? The biggest problem with man is that he only loves things that he cannot see or touch, things that are supremely mysterious and wondrous, and that are unimaginable by man and unattainable by mere mortals. The more unrealistic these things, the more they are analyzed by people, and people even pursue them heedless of all else, and attempt to obtain them. The more unrealistic they are, the more closely people scrutinize and analyze them, even going so far as to make up their own exhaustive ideas about them. On the contrary, the more realistic things are, the more dismissive people are toward them; they simply look down their noses at them, and are even contemptuous of them. Is this not precisely your attitude toward the realistic work I do today? The more realistic such things are, the more prejudiced you are against them. You do not spare any time to examine them, but simply ignore them; you look down your noses at these realistic, low-standard requirements, and even harbor numerous notions about this God who is most real, and are simply incapable of accepting His reality and normality. In this way, do you not hold to a vague belief? You have an unshakable belief in the vague God of times past, and no interest in the real God of today. Is this not because the God of yesterday and the God of today are from two different eras? Is it not also because the God of yesterday is the exalted God of heaven, whereas the God of today is a tiny human being on earth? Is it not, moreover, because the God worshiped by man is the one produced by his notions, whereas the God of today is of real flesh, produced on earth? When all is said and done, is it not because the God of today is too real that man does not pursue Him? For what the God of today asks of people is precisely that which people are most unwilling to do, and which makes them feel ashamed. Is this not making things difficult for people? Does this not lay bare people’s scars? In this way, many people do not pursue the real God, the practical God, and so they become enemies of the incarnate God, which is to say, antichrists. Is this not an obvious fact? In the past, when God had yet to become flesh, you may have been a religious figure, or a devout believer. After God became flesh, many such devout believers unwittingly became antichrists. Do you know what is going on here? In your belief in God, you do not concentrate on reality or pursue the truth, but instead obsess over falsehoods—is this not the clearest source of your enmity to God incarnate? God incarnate is called Christ, so are not all those who do not believe in God incarnate antichrists? So, is the one you believe in and love truly this God in the flesh? Is it really this living, breathing God who is most real and extraordinarily normal? What, exactly, is the objective of your pursuit? Is it in heaven or on earth? Is it a notion or is it the truth? Is it God or is it some supernatural being? In fact, the truth is the most real of life’s aphorisms, and the highest of such aphorisms among all mankind. Because it is the requirement that God makes of man, and is the work personally done by God, thus it is called “life’s aphorism.” It is not an aphorism summed up from something, nor is it a famous quote from a great figure. Instead, it is the utterance to mankind from the Master of the heavens and earth and all things; it is not some words summed up by man, but the inherent life of God. And so it is called “the highest of all life’s aphorisms.” People’s pursuit of putting the truth into practice is the performance of their duty—that is to say, it is the pursuit of satisfying God’s requirement. The essence of this requirement is the most real of all truths, rather than empty doctrine achievable by no man. If your pursuit is nothing but doctrine and contains no reality, do you not rebel against the truth? Are you not someone who attacks the truth? How could such a person be someone who seeks to love God? People who are without reality are those who betray the truth, and they are all inherently rebellious!

—The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. Only Those Who Know God and His Work Can Satisfy God

Daily Words of God  Excerpt 319

You all wish to be rewarded before God and favored by God; everyone hopes for such things when they start believing in God, for everyone is preoccupied with the pursuit of higher things, and no one wants to fall behind others. This is just how people are. Precisely for this reason, many among you are constantly trying to curry favor with the God in heaven, yet in truth, your loyalty and candor toward God are far less than your loyalty and candor to yourselves. Why do I say this? Because I do not acknowledge your loyalty to God at all and, furthermore, because I deny the existence of the God that is in your hearts. Which is to say, the God that you worship, the vague God that you admire, does not exist at all. The reason I can say this so definitively is that you are too far from the true God. The reason for your loyalty is the idol within your hearts; as for Me, meanwhile, the God whom you look upon as neither great nor small, you merely acknowledge with words. When I say you are far from God, I mean that you are distant from the true God, while the vague God seems near at hand. When I say, “not great,” it is in reference to how the God that you believe in this day appears to merely be a person without great abilities, a person who is not very lofty. And when I say “not small,” this means that, although this person cannot summon the wind and command the rain, He is nonetheless able to call upon the Spirit of God to do work that shakes the heavens and earth, leaving people completely confounded. Outwardly, you all appear highly obedient to this Christ on earth, yet in essence, you do not have faith in Him, nor do you love Him. Which is to say, the one you truly believe in is that vague God of your own feelings, and the one you truly love is the God you yearn for night and day, yet have never seen in person. Toward this Christ, your faith is but fractional, and your love nothing. Faith means belief and trust; love means adoration and admiration in one’s heart, never parting. Yet your faith in and love of the Christ of today fall far short of this. When it comes to faith, how do you have faith in Him? When it comes to love, in what way do you love Him? You have simply no understanding of His disposition, still less do you know His essence, so how do you have faith in Him? Where is the reality of your faith in Him? How do you love Him? Where is the reality of your love for Him?

Many have followed Me without hesitation to this day. So, too, have you suffered much fatigue over the past several years. The innate character and habits of each of you I have grasped with crystal clarity; interacting with every one of you has been tremendously arduous. The pity is that, though I have grasped much about you, you understand nothing of Me. No wonder people say you fell for someone’s trick during a moment of confusion. Indeed, you understand nothing of My disposition, much less can you fathom what is in My mind. Today, your misunderstandings about Me are snowballing, and your faith in Me remains a confused faith. Instead of saying that you have faith in Me, it would be more apt to say that you are all trying to curry favor with Me and toady up to Me. Your motives are very simple: I will follow whoever can reward me, and I will believe in whoever allows me to escape the great disasters, whether he be God or any certain God. None of this is of any concern to me. There are many such people among you, and this state is very serious. If, one day, there were a test of how many among you had faith in Christ because of insight into His essence, then I am afraid that not a single one of you would be satisfactory to Me. So it would not hurt for each of you to consider this question: The God you believe in is vastly different from Me, and this being so, what then is the essence of your faith in God? The more you believe in your so-called God, the further you stray from Me. What, then, is the essence of this issue? It’s certain that none of you has ever considered such a question, but has the gravity of it occurred to you? Have you given thought to the consequences of continuing to believe in this way?

—The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. How to Know the God on Earth

Daily Words of God  Excerpt 320

I take pleasure in those who are not suspicious of others, and I like those who readily accept the truth; toward these two kinds of people I show great care, for in My eyes they are honest people. If you are deceitful, then you will be guarded and suspicious toward all people and matters, and thus your faith in Me will be built upon a foundation of suspicion. I could never acknowledge such faith. Lacking true faith, you are even more devoid of true love. And if you are liable to doubt God and speculate about Him at will, then you are, without question, the most deceitful of all people. You speculate whether God can be like man: unpardonably sinful, of petty character, devoid of fairness and reason, lacking a sense of justice, given to vicious tactics, treacherous and cunning, pleased by evil and darkness, and so on. Is not the reason that people have such thoughts because they lack the slightest knowledge of God? Such faith is nothing short of sin! There are even some who believe that the ones who please Me are precisely those who flatter and bootlick, and that those lacking in such skills will be unwelcome in the house of God and will lose their place there. Is this the only knowledge you have acquired after all these years? Is this what you have gained? And your knowledge of Me does not stop at these misunderstandings; even worse is your blasphemy against God’s Spirit and vilification of Heaven. This is why I say that such faith as yours will only cause you to stray further from Me and be in greater opposition against Me. Throughout many years of work, you have seen many truths, but do you know what My ears have heard? How many among you are willing to accept the truth? You all believe you are willing to pay the price for the truth, but how many of you have truly suffered for the truth? There is nothing but unrighteousness in your hearts, which makes you think that everyone, no matter who they are, is equally deceitful and crooked—to the point that you even believe that God incarnate could, like a normal person, be without a kind heart or benevolent love. More than that, you believe that a noble character and a merciful, benevolent nature exist only within the God in heaven. You believe that such a saint does not exist, that only darkness and evil reign on earth, while God is something with which people entrust their longing for the good and beautiful, a legendary figure fabricated by them. In your minds, the God in heaven is very upstanding, righteous, and great, worthy of worship and admiration; this God on earth, meanwhile, is but a substitute, and an instrument, of the God in heaven. You believe this God could not be the equal of the God in heaven, much less be mentioned in the same breath as Him. When it comes to the greatness and honor of God, they belong to the glory of the God in heaven, but when it comes to the nature and the corruption of man, they are attributes in which the God on earth has a part. The God in heaven is eternally lofty, while the God on earth is forever insignificant, weak, and incompetent. The God in heaven is not given to emotion, only righteousness, while the God on earth only has selfish motives and is without any fairness or reason. The God in heaven has not the slightest crookedness and is forever faithful, while the God on earth always has a dishonest side. The God in heaven loves man dearly, while the God on earth shows man inadequate care, even neglecting him entirely. This erroneous knowledge has long been kept within your hearts and may also be perpetuated in the future. You regard all deeds of Christ from the standpoint of the unrighteous and evaluate all His work, as well as His identity and essence, from the perspective of the wicked. You have made a grave mistake and done that which has never been done by those coming before you. That is, you serve only the lofty God in heaven with a crown upon His head, and never attend to the God whom you regard as so insignificant that He is invisible to you. Is this not your sin? Is this not a classic example of your offense against the disposition of God? You worship the God in heaven. You adore lofty images and esteem those distinguished for their eloquence. You are gladly commanded by the God that fills your hands with riches, and crave the God who can fulfill your every desire. The only One you do not worship is this God who is not lofty; the only thing you hate is association with this God whom no man can regard highly. The only thing you are unwilling to do is to serve this God who has never given you a single penny, and the only One who is unable to make you yearn for Him is this unlovely God. This God cannot enable you to broaden your horizons, to feel as if you have found a treasure, much less fulfill what you wish. Why, then, do you follow Him? Have you given thought to questions like this? What you do does not merely offend this Christ; more importantly, it offends the God in heaven. This is not, I think, the purpose of your faith in God!

—The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. How to Know the God on Earth

Daily Words of God  Excerpt 321

You long for God to delight in you, yet you are far from God. What is the matter here? You accept only His words, but not His dealing or His pruning, much less are you able to accept His every arrangement, to have complete faith in Him. What, then, is the matter here? In the final analysis, your faith is an empty eggshell, one that could never produce a chick. For your faith has not brought you the truth or given you the life, but has instead given you an illusory sense of sustenance and hope. It is this sense of sustenance and hope that is your aim in believing in God, not the truth and the life. Thus do I say that the course of your faith in God has been none other than trying to curry the favor of God through servility and shamelessness, and can in no way be deemed true faith. How could a chick be born of faith such as this? In other words, what can faith such as this accomplish? The purpose of your faith in God is to use Him to achieve your own aims. Is this not further a fact of your offense against the disposition of God? You believe in the existence of the God in heaven and deny that of the God on earth, yet I do not recognize your views; I commend only those people who keep their feet on the ground and serve the God on earth, but never those who never acknowledge the Christ who is on earth. No matter how loyal such people are to the God in heaven, in the end they will not escape My hand that punishes the wicked. These people are the wicked; they are the evil ones who oppose God and have never gladly obeyed Christ. Of course, their number includes all those who do not know and, further, do not acknowledge Christ. Do you believe that you can act as you please toward Christ as long as you are loyal to the God in heaven? Wrong! Your ignorance of Christ is ignorance of the God in heaven. No matter how loyal you are to the God in heaven, it is merely empty talk and pretense, for the God on earth is not only instrumental in man receiving the truth and having more profound knowledge, but more than that is instrumental in the condemnation of man and afterward in seizing the facts to punish the wicked. Have you understood the beneficial and harmful outcomes here? Have you experienced them? I wish for you one day soon to understand this truth: To know God, you must know not only the God in heaven but, even more importantly, the God on earth. Do not get your priorities confused or allow the secondary to supersede the principal. Only in this way can you truly build a good relationship with God, become closer to God, and bring your heart closer to Him. If you have been of the faith for many years and have long associated with Me, yet remain distant from Me, then I say it must be that you often offend the disposition of God, and your end will be very difficult to reckon. If the many years of association with Me have not only failed to change you into a person possessed of humanity and the truth, but, moreover, have ingrained your evil ways into your nature, and you not only have twice as much arrogance as before, but your misunderstandings of Me have also multiplied, such that you come to regard Me as your little sidekick, then I say that your affliction is no longer skin deep but has penetrated to your very bones. All that remains is for you to wait for your funeral arrangements to be made. You need not beseech Me then to be your God, for you have committed a sin deserving of death, an unforgivable sin. Even if I could have mercy on you, the God in heaven will insist on taking your life, for your offense against the disposition of God is no ordinary problem, but one of a very grave nature. When the time comes, do not blame Me for not telling you beforehand. It all comes back to this: When you associate with Christ—the God on earth—as an ordinary person, that is, when you believe that this God is nothing but a person, it is then that you shall perish. This is My only admonishment to you all.

—The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. How to Know the God on Earth

Daily Words of God  Excerpt 322

In man exists only the uncertain word of faith, yet man knows not what constitutes faith, much less why he has faith. Man understands too little, and man himself is too lacking; his faith in Me is but mindless and ignorant. Though he knows not what faith is, nor why he has faith in Me, he continues to believe in Me obsessively. What I ask of man is not merely for him to obsessively call upon Me in this way or to believe in Me in a desultory fashion, for the work I do is so that man may see Me, and know Me, not so that man is impressed and looks at Me in a new light. I once manifested many signs and wonders and performed many miracles, and the Israelites of the time showed Me great admiration and greatly revered My exceptional ability to heal the sick and exorcise demons. At the time, the Jews thought My healing powers to be masterly, extraordinary—and because of My many deeds, they all venerated Me, and felt great admiration for all of My powers. Thus, all who saw Me perform miracles followed Me closely, such that thousands surrounded Me to watch Me heal the sick. I manifested so many signs and wonders, yet people merely looked upon Me as a masterly physician; so, too, did I speak many words of teaching to people at the time, yet they merely regarded Me as a teacher superior to his disciples. Even today, after men have seen the historical records of My work, their interpretation continues to be that I am a great physician who heals the sick and a teacher to the ignorant, and they have defined Me as the merciful Lord Jesus Christ. Those who interpret the scriptures may have surpassed My skills in healing, or may even be disciples who have now surpassed their teacher, yet such men of great renown, whose names are known around the world, consider Me so lowly to be a mere physician. My deeds are greater in number than the grains of sand on the beaches, and My wisdom surpasses all the sons of Solomon, yet people merely think of Me as a physician of little account and an unknown teacher of man. So many believe in Me only that I might heal them. So many believe in Me only that I might use My powers to drive unclean spirits out from their bodies, and so many believe in Me simply that they might receive peace and joy from Me. So many believe in Me only to demand from Me greater material wealth. So many believe in Me just to spend this life in peace and to be safe and sound in the world to come. So many believe in Me to avoid the suffering of hell and to receive the blessings of heaven. So many believe in Me only for temporary comfort, yet do not seek to gain anything in the world to come. When I brought down My fury upon man and seized all the joy and peace he once possessed, man became doubtful. When I gave unto man the suffering of hell and reclaimed the blessings of heaven, man’s shame turned into anger. When man asked Me to heal him, I paid him no heed and felt abhorrence toward him; man departed from Me to instead seek the way of evil medicine and sorcery. When I took away all that man had demanded from Me, everyone disappeared without a trace. Thus, I say that man has faith in Me because I give too much grace, and there is far too much to gain. The Jews believed in Me for My grace and followed Me wherever I went. These ignorant men of limited knowledge and experience sought only to behold the signs and wonders I manifested. They regarded Me as the head of the house of the Jews who could perform the greatest miracles. And so when I exorcised demons from men, it caused much discussion among them: They said that I was Elijah, that I was Moses, that I was the most ancient of all prophets, that I was the greatest of all physicians. Apart from Myself saying that I am the life, the way, and the truth, none could know My being or My identity. Apart from Myself saying that heaven is the place where My Father lives, none knew that I am the Son of God, and also God Himself. Apart from Myself saying that I shall bring redemption to all mankind and ransom mankind, none knew that I am the Redeemer of mankind, and men only knew Me as a benevolent and compassionate man. And apart from Myself being able to explain all there is of Me, none knew Me, and none believed that I am the Son of the living God. Such is people’s faith in Me, and the way they try to fool Me. How could they bear witness to Me when they hold such views of Me?

—The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. What Do You Know of Faith?

Daily Words of God  Excerpt 323

People have long believed in God, yet most of them have no understanding of what the word “God” means, and merely follow in bewilderment. They have no clue as to why exactly man should believe in God, or what God is. If people know only to believe in and follow God, but not what God is, and if they also do not know God, then is this not just a great big joke? Even though, having come this far, people have witnessed many heavenly mysteries, and have heard much profound knowledge never before understood by man, they are ignorant of many of the most elementary truths never before contemplated by man. Some might say, “We have believed in God for many years. How could we not know what God is? Does this question not belittle us?” In reality, however, though people follow Me today, they know nothing of any of the work of today, and fail to grasp even the most obvious and easiest of questions, let alone such highly complex ones as those about God. Know that the questions that you have no concern for, that you have not identified, are the ones that are most important for you to understand, for you know only to follow the crowd, paying no attention and giving no care to what you should be equipping yourself with. Do you truly know why you should have faith in God? Do you really know what God is? Do you truly know what man is? As a person who has faith in God, if you fail to understand these things, do you not lose the dignity of a believer of God? My work today is this: to have people understand their essence, understand all that I do, and know the true face of God. This is the closing act of My management plan, the last stage of My work. That is why I am telling you all of life’s mysteries in advance, so that you can accept them from Me. As this is the work of the final age, I must tell you all the truths of life that you have never been receptive to before, even though you are incapable of understanding or bearing it due to being simply too deficient and too ill-equipped. I shall conclude My work; I shall complete the work I am supposed to do, and shall tell you of all I have commissioned of you, lest you again stray and fall for the evil one’s schemes when darkness descends. There are many ways that you do not understand, many matters of which you have no knowledge. You are so ignorant; I know full well your stature and your shortcomings. Therefore, though there are many words you are incapable of understanding, I am still willing to tell you all these truths that you have never been receptive to before, because I keep worrying whether, in your current stature, you are able to stand firm in your testimony to Me. It is not that I think little of you; you are all beasts that have yet to undergo My formal training, and I absolutely cannot see how much glory is within you. Though I have expended much energy working on you, the positive elements in you seem practically nonexistent, and the negative elements can be counted on one’s fingers and serve only as testimonies that bring shame on Satan. Just about everything else in you is Satan’s poison. You look to Me like you are beyond salvation. As matters stand, I look at your various expressions and demeanors, and finally, I know your true stature. This is why I am always fretting over you: Left to live life on their own, would humans really be better off than or comparable to how they are today? Does your infantile stature not make you anxious? Can you truly be like the chosen people of Israel—loyal to Me, and to Me alone, at all times? What is revealed in you is not the mischievousness of children who have strayed from their parents, but the beastliness that bursts forth from animals that are out of reach of their masters’ whips. You should know your nature, which is also the weakness that you all share; it is an ailment common to you all. Thus, My only exhortation to you today is to stand firm in your testimony to Me. Do not, under any circumstances, allow the old ailment to flare up again. Bearing testimony is what’s most important—it is the heart of My work. You should accept My words just as Mary accepted Jehovah’s revelation that came to her in a dream: by believing, and then obeying. Only this qualifies as being chaste. For you are the ones who hear My words the most, the ones most blessed by Me. I have given you all My valuable possessions, I have bestowed everything upon you, yet you are of such vastly different status to the people of Israel; you are simply worlds apart. But compared to them, you have received so much more; while they desperately await My appearance, you pass pleasant days with Me, sharing My bounty. Given this difference, what gives you the right to squawk and squabble with Me and demand your share of My possessions? Have you not gained much? I give you so much, but what you give Me in return is just heartrending sadness and anxiety, irrepressible resentment and discontent. You are so repugnant—yet you are also pitiable, so I have no choice but to swallow all My resentment and voice My objections to you again and again. Over thousands of years of work, I have never remonstrated with mankind because I have discovered that, throughout humanity’s development, it is only the “hoaxes” among you that have become the most renowned, like precious inheritances left to you by famous ancestors of ancient times. How I hate those subhuman swine and dogs. You are too lacking in conscience! You are of too base a character! Your hearts are too hardened! If I had taken such words and work to the Israelites, I would have gained glory long ago. But among you this is unattainable; among you, there is only cruel neglect, your cold shoulder, and your excuses. You are too unfeeling, and utterly worthless!

—The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. What Is Your Understanding of God?

Daily Words of God  Excerpt 324

You should all now understand the true meaning of faith in God. The meaning of faith in God of which I previously spoke related to your positive entry. Today is different: Today, I would like to analyze the essence of your faith in God. Of course, this is guiding you from a negative aspect; if I did not, then you would never know your true face, and would forever boast of your piety and faithfulness. It is fair to say that if I did not expose the ugliness in the depths of your hearts, then each of you would place a crown upon your head and keep all the glory for yourselves. Your arrogant and conceited natures drive you to betray your own consciences, to rebel against and resist Christ, and to reveal your ugliness, thereby bringing to light your intentions, notions, extravagant desires, and eyes full of greed. And yet you continue to prattle on about your lifelong passion for the work of Christ, and repeat again and again the truths long ago spoken by Christ. This is your “faith”—your “faith without impurity.” I have held man to a strict standard throughout. If your loyalty comes with intentions and conditions, then I would rather be without your so-called loyalty, for I abhor those who deceive Me through their intentions and extort Me with conditions. I wish only for man to be absolutely loyal to Me, and to do all things for the sake of—and in order to prove—one word: faith. I despise your use of blandishments to try to make Me rejoice, for I have always treated you with sincerity, and so wish for you to also act with true faith toward Me. When it comes to faith, many may think that they follow God because they have faith, and would not endure such suffering otherwise. So I ask you this: If you believe in God’s existence, why do you not revere Him? If you believe in God’s existence, why is there not the slightest fear of Him in your heart? You accept that Christ is the incarnation of God, so why do you hold Him in contempt? Why do you act irreverently toward Him? Why do you openly judge Him? Why do you always spy upon His movements? Why do you not submit to His arrangements? Why do you not act in accordance with His word? Why do you try to extort and rob Him of His offerings? Why do you speak from the place of Christ? Why do you judge whether His work and His word are correct? Why do you dare blaspheme Him behind His back? Are these and others what constitute your faith?

In your words and behavior are revealed elements of your unbelief in Christ. Unbelief pervades the motives and objectives of all you do. Even the character of your gaze contains the unbelief in Christ. It can be said that minute by minute, each of you harbors the elements of unbelief. This means that, at every moment, you are in danger of betraying Christ, for the blood that runs through your body is infused with unbelief in the incarnate God. Therefore, I say that the footprints you leave on the path of faith in God are not real; as you walk the path of faith in God, you do not plant your feet firmly upon the ground—you are merely going through the motions. You never fully believe the word of Christ and are incapable of immediately putting it into practice. This is the reason you do not have faith in Christ. Always having notions about Him is another reason you do not have faith in Him. Forever being skeptical about the work of Christ, letting the word of Christ fall on deaf ears, having an opinion on whatever work is done by Christ and not being able to correctly understand this work, struggling to put aside your notions no matter what explanation you receive, and so on—these are all the elements of unbelief mingled within your hearts. Though you follow the work of Christ and never fall behind, there is too much rebellion mixed in your hearts. This rebellion is an impurity in your belief in God. Perhaps you do not think this is the case, but if you are incapable of recognizing your intentions from within this, then you are bound to be among those who perish, for God perfects only those who truly believe in Him, not those who are skeptical of Him, and least of all those who reluctantly follow Him despite never having believed that He is God.

—The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. Are You a True Believer in God?

Daily Words of God  Excerpt 325

Some people do not rejoice in the truth, much less judgment. Instead, they rejoice in power and riches; such people are called power seekers. They search only for those denominations in the world with influence, and they search only for pastors and teachers that come from seminaries. Though they have accepted the way of truth, they are only half-believing; they are incapable of giving all of their hearts and minds, their mouths speak of expending themselves for God, but their eyes are focused on the great pastors and teachers, and they do not spare Christ a second glance. Their hearts are fixated upon fame, fortune, and glory. They think it out of the question that such a meager person could be capable of conquering so many, that one so unremarkable could perfect man. They think it out of the question that these nobodies among the dust and dunghills are the people chosen by God. They believe that if such people were the objects of God’s salvation, then heaven and earth would be turned upside down, and all people would laugh themselves silly. They believe that if God chose such nobodies to be perfected, then those great men would become God Himself. Their perspectives are tainted with unbelief; more than not believing, they are simply preposterous beasts. For they value only status, prestige, and power, and they esteem only large groups and denominations. They have not the slightest regard for those led by Christ; they are simply traitors who have turned their backs on Christ, on truth, and on life.

What you admire is not the humility of Christ, but those false shepherds of prominent standing. You do not adore the loveliness or wisdom of Christ, but those libertines who wallow in the filth of the world. You laugh at the pain of Christ who has no place to lay His head, but you admire those corpses that hunt for offerings and live in debauchery. You are not willing to suffer alongside Christ, but you gladly throw yourself into the arms of those reckless antichrists, though they only supply you with flesh, words, and control. Even now, your heart still turns toward them, toward their reputation, toward their status, toward their influence. And yet you continue to hold an attitude whereby you find the work of Christ hard to swallow and you are unwilling to accept it. This is why I say that you lack the faith to acknowledge Christ. The reason you have followed Him to this day is only because you had no other option. A series of lofty images are forever towering in your heart; you cannot forget their every word and deed, nor their influential words and hands. They are, in your heart, forever supreme and forever heroes. But this is not so for the Christ of today. He is forever insignificant in your heart, and forever undeserving of reverence. For He is far too ordinary, has far too little influence, and is far from lofty.

In any case, I say that all those who do not value the truth are nonbelievers and traitors to the truth. Such men shall never receive the approval of Christ. Have you now identified how much unbelief is within you, and how much betrayal of Christ you have? I exhort you thus: Since you have chosen the way of truth, then you should devote yourself wholeheartedly; do not be ambivalent or half-hearted. You should understand that God does not belong to the world nor any one person, but to all those who truly believe in Him, all those who worship Him, and all those who are devoted and faithful to Him.

—The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. Are You a True Believer in God?

Daily Words of God  Excerpt 326

In their faith, people seek to make God give them a suitable destination and all the grace they need, to make Him their servant, to have Him maintain a peaceful, friendly relationship with them so that, no matter when, there would never be any conflict between them. That is, their belief in God demands that He promise to meet all their requirements and to bestow upon them whatever they pray for, in keeping with the words they have read in the Bible, “I will listen to all your prayers.” They expect God not to judge or deal with anyone, for He has always been the merciful Savior Jesus who keeps a good relationship with people at all times and in all places. Here is how people believe in God: They just shamelessly make demands of God, believing that whether they are rebellious or obedient, He would just grant everything to them blindly. They just continually “collect debts” from God, believing He must “repay” them without any resistance and, moreover, pay double; they think, whether God has gotten anything from them or not, He can only be manipulated by them, and He cannot arbitrarily orchestrate people, much less reveal to people His wisdom and righteous disposition, which have been hidden for many years, whenever He wants and without their permission. They simply confess their sins to God, believing God would just absolve them, that He would not get sick of doing so, and that this will go on forever. They just order God about, believing He would just obey them, because it is recorded in the Bible that God did not come to be served by humans, but to serve them, and that He is here to be their servant. Have you not always believed in this way? Whenever you are unable to gain something from God, you wish to run away; when you do not understand something, you grow so resentful, and even go so far as to hurl all kinds of abuse at Him. You simply will not allow God Himself to fully express His wisdom and wonder; instead, you just want to enjoy temporary ease and comfort. Until now, your attitude in your belief in God has merely consisted of the same old views. If God shows you just a slight bit of majesty, you become unhappy. Do you see now exactly how great your stature is? Do not assume that you are all loyal to God when in fact your old views have not changed. When nothing befalls you, you believe that everything is going smoothly, and your love for God reaches a high point. When something minor happens to you, you fall down into Hades. Is this being loyal to God?

—The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. You Should Put Aside the Blessings of Status and Understand God’s Will to Bring Salvation to Man

Daily Words of God  Excerpt 327

In your seeking, you have too many individual notions, hopes, and futures. The current work is in order to deal with your desire for status and your extravagant desires. Hopes, status, and notions are all classic representations of satanic disposition. The reason that these things exist in people’s hearts is entirely because Satan’s poison is always corroding people’s thoughts, and always people are unable to shake off these temptations of Satan. They are living in the midst of sin yet do not believe it to be sin, and still they think: “We believe in God, so He must bestow blessings on us and arrange everything for us appropriately. We believe in God, so we must be superior to others, and we must have more status and more of a future than anyone else. Since we believe in God, He must give us limitless blessings. Otherwise, it wouldn’t be called believing in God.” For many years, the thoughts that people have relied upon for their survival have been corroding their hearts to the point that they have become treacherous, cowardly, and despicable. Not only do they lack willpower and resolve, but they have also become greedy, arrogant, and willful. They are utterly lacking any resolve that transcends the self, and even more, they don’t have a bit of courage to shake off the strictures of these dark influences. People’s thoughts and lives are so rotten that their perspectives on believing in God are still unbearably hideous, and even when people speak of their perspectives on belief in God it is simply unbearable to hear. People are all cowardly, incompetent, despicable, and fragile. They do not feel disgust for the forces of darkness, and they do not feel love for the light and the truth; instead, they do their utmost to expel them. Are not your current thoughts and perspectives just like this? “Since I believe in God I should just be showered with blessings and it should be ensured that my status never slips and that it remains higher than that of nonbelievers.” You have not been harboring that kind of perspective within you for just one or two years, but for many years. Your transactional way of thinking is overdeveloped. Although you have arrived at this step today, you still have not let go of status but struggle constantly to inquire about it, and observe it daily, with a deep fear that one day your status will be lost and your name will be ruined. People have never put aside their desire for ease. So, as I judge you thus today, what degree of understanding will you have in the end? You will say that although your status is not high, you have nonetheless enjoyed the elevation of God. Because you are of lowly birth you do not have status, but you gain status because God elevates you—this is something He bestowed upon you. Today you are able to personally receive God’s training, His chastisement, and His judgment. This, even more so, is His elevation. You are able to personally receive His purification and burning. This is God’s great love. Through the ages there has not been a single person who has received His purification and burning, and not a single person has been able to be perfected by His words. God is now speaking with you face to face, purifying you, revealing your inner rebelliousness—this truly is His elevation. What abilities do people have? Whether they are the sons of David or the descendants of Moab, in sum, people are created beings who have nothing worthy of boasting about. Since you are God’s creatures, you must perform the duty of a creature. There are no other requirements of you. This is how you should pray: “Oh God! Whether I have status or not, I now understand myself. If my status is high it is because of Your elevation, and if it is low it is because of Your ordination. Everything is in Your hands. I have neither any choices, nor any complaints. You ordained that I would be born in this country and among this people, and all that I should do is to be completely obedient under Your dominion because everything is within what You have ordained. I do not give thought to status; after all, I am but a creature. If You place me in the bottomless pit, in the lake of fire and brimstone, I am nothing but a creature. If You use me, I am a creature. If You perfect me, I am yet a creature. If You do not perfect me, I will still love You because I am no more than a creature. I am nothing more than a minuscule creature created by the Lord of creation, just one among all created humans. It was You who created me, and now You have once again placed me in Your hands to do with me as You will. I am willing to be Your tool and Your foil because everything is what You have ordained. No one can change it. All things and all events are in Your hands.” When the time comes that you will no longer give thought to status, then you will break free from it. Only then will you be able to confidently and boldly seek, and only then can your heart become free of any constraints. Once people have been extricated from these things, then they will have no more concerns. What are the concerns for the majority of you right now? You are always constrained by status and constantly concerned over your own prospects. You are always turning the pages of God’s utterances, wishing to read sayings concerning mankind’s destination and wanting to know what your prospects are and what your destination will be. You wonder, “Do I really have any prospects? Has God taken them away? God only says I am a foil; what, then, are my prospects?” It is difficult for you to put aside your prospects and destiny. You are now followers, and you have gained some understanding of this stage of work. However, you have still not put aside your desire for status. When your status is high you seek well, but when your status is low you no longer seek. The blessings of status are always on your mind. Why is it that the majority of people cannot remove themselves from negativity? Is the answer not invariably because of bleak prospects? As soon as God’s utterances are issued you hurry to see what your status and identity really are. You prioritize status and identity, and relegate vision to second place. In third is something that you should enter, and in fourth place is God’s current will. You first look at whether God’s title for you as “foils” has changed or not. You read and read, and when you see that the title of “foil” has been removed, you become happy and profusely thank God and praise His great power. But if you see that you are still foils, you become upset and the drive in your heart immediately dissipates. The more you seek in this way, the less you will reap. The greater a person’s desire for status, the more seriously they will have to be dealt with and the more they will have to undergo great refinement. Such people are worthless! They must be dealt with and judged adequately in order for them to thoroughly let go of these things. If you pursue this way until the end, you will reap nothing. Those who do not pursue life cannot be transformed, and those who do not thirst for the truth cannot gain the truth. You do not focus on pursuing personal transformation and entry, but focus instead on extravagant desires and things that constrain your love for God and prevent you from drawing close to Him. Can those things transform you? Can they bring you into the kingdom? If the object of your pursuit is not to seek the truth, then you may as well take advantage of this opportunity and return to the world to make a go of it. Wasting your time this way is really not worth it—why torture yourself? Is it not true that you could enjoy all sorts of things out in the beautiful world? Money, beautiful women, status, vanity, family, children, and so on—are these products of the world not the best things that you could enjoy? What use is it to wander around here looking for a place where you can be happy? The Son of man has nowhere to lay His head, so how could you have a place of ease? How could He create for you a beautiful place of ease? Is that possible? Aside from My judgment, today you can only receive teachings on the truth. You cannot gain comfort from Me and you cannot gain the bed of roses that you long for night and day. I will not bestow upon you the riches of the world. If you pursue genuinely, then I am willing to give you the way of life in its entirety, to have you be like a fish back in water. If you do not pursue genuinely, I will take it all back. I am not willing to give the words from My mouth to those who are greedy for comfort, who are just like pigs and dogs!

—The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. Why Are You Unwilling to Be a Foil?

Daily Words of God  Excerpt 328

Look into yourselves to see whether you practice righteousness in all that you do, and whether all of your actions are being observed by God: This is the principle by which those who believe in God conduct their affairs. You will be called righteous because you are able to satisfy God, and because you accept God’s care and protection. In God’s eyes, all those who accept God’s care, protection, and perfection, and who are gained by Him, are righteous, and He regards them all as precious. The more you accept the current words of God, the more you will be able to receive and understand God’s will, and the more you will therefore be able to live out God’s words and satisfy His requirements. This is God’s commission for you, and it is what all of you should be able to achieve. If you use your own notions to measure and delimit God, as if God were an unchanging statue of clay, and if you completely delimit God within the parameters of the Bible and contain Him within a limited scope of work, then this proves that you have condemned God. Because the Jews in the age of the Old Testament took God to be an idol of fixed form that they held in their hearts, as if God could only be called the Messiah, and only He who was called the Messiah could be God, and because humanity served and worshiped God as if He were a (lifeless) clay statue, they nailed the Jesus of that time to the cross, sentencing Him to death—the guiltless Jesus was thus condemned to death. God was innocent of any offense, yet man refused to spare Him, and insisted on sentencing Him to death, and so Jesus was crucified. Man always believes that God is unchanging, and defines Him on the basis of one single book, the Bible, as though man has a perfect understanding of God’s management, as though man holds all that God does in the palm of his hand. People are absurd in the extreme, arrogant in the extreme, and they all have a flair for hyperbole. No matter how great your knowledge of God, I still say that you do not know God, that you are someone who opposes God the most, and that you have condemned God, because you are utterly incapable of obeying the work of God and walking the path of being made perfect by God. Why is God never satisfied with the actions of man? Because man does not know God, because he has too many notions, and because his knowledge of God in no way agrees with reality, but instead monotonously repeats the same theme without variation and uses the same approach for every situation. And so, having come to earth today, God is once more nailed to the cross by man. Cruel mankind! The connivance and intrigue, the snatching and grabbing one from another, the scramble for fame and fortune, the mutual slaughter—when will it ever end? Despite the hundreds of thousands of words God has spoken, no one has come to their senses. People act for the sake of their families, sons and daughters, for their careers, future prospects, position, vainglory, and money, for the sake of food, clothing, and the flesh. But is there anyone whose actions are truly for the sake of God? Even among those who act for the sake of God, there are but few who know God. How many people do not act out of their own interests? How many do not oppress or ostracize others in order to protect their own position? And so, God has been forcibly sentenced to death innumerable times, and countless barbaric judges have condemned God and once more nailed Him to the cross. How many can be called righteous because they truly act for the sake of God?

Is it so easy to be perfected before God as a saint or a righteous person? It is a true statement that “there are no righteous upon this earth, the righteous are not in this world.” When you come before God, consider what you are wearing, consider your every word and action, your every thought and idea, and even the dreams that you dream every day—they are all for your own sake. Is this not the true state of affairs? “Righteousness” does not mean giving alms to others, it does not mean loving your neighbor as yourself, and it does not mean refraining from quarrels and disputes or robbing and stealing. Righteousness means taking God’s commission as your duty and obeying God’s orchestrations and arrangements as your heaven-sent vocation, regardless of time or place, just like all that was done by the Lord Jesus. This is the righteousness of which God has spoken. That Lot could be called righteous is because he saved the two angels sent by God without considering his own gain and loss; it can only be said that what he did at that time may be called righteous, but he cannot be called a righteous man. It was only because Lot had seen God that he gave his two daughters in exchange for the angels, but not all of his behavior in the past stood for righteousness. And so I say “there are no righteous upon this earth.” Even among those who are in the stream of recovery, no one can be called righteous. No matter how good your actions, no matter how you appear to glorify the name of God, neither hitting and cursing others, nor robbing and plundering from others, you still cannot be called righteous, for this is what a normal person is capable of having. What is key right now is that you do not know God. It can only be said that at present you have a little bit of normal humanity, but no elements of the righteousness spoken of by God, and so nothing that you do is capable of proving that you know God.

—The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. The Wicked Will Surely Be Punished

Daily Words of God  Excerpt 329

Before, when God was in heaven, man acted in a way that was deceitful toward God. Today, God has been among man—no one knows how many years it has been—yet in doing things man is still going through the motions and trying to fool Him. Is not man much too backward in his thinking? It was the same with Judas: Before Jesus came, Judas would tell lies to deceive his brothers and sisters, and even after Jesus came, he still did not change; he did not know Jesus in the least, and in the end he betrayed Jesus. Was this not because he did not know God? If, today, you still do not know God, then it is possible that you may become another Judas, and following upon this, the tragedy of Jesus’ crucifixion in the Age of Grace two thousand years ago would be played out again. Do you not believe this? It is a fact! At present, the majority of people are in a similar situation—I may be saying this a little too soon—and such people are all playing the role of Judas. I am not speaking nonsense, but on the basis of fact—and you cannot but be convinced. Although many people make a pretense of humility, in their hearts there is nothing but a pool of dead water, a ditch of stinking water. Right now there are too many like this in the church, and you think I am completely unaware of this. Today, My Spirit decides for Me, and bears testimony for Me. Do you think I know nothing? Do you think I understand nothing of the devious thoughts within your hearts, the things you keep within your hearts? Is it so easy to get the better of God? Do you think you can treat Him in whatever way you like? In the past, I was worried lest you become constrained, so I kept on giving you freedom, but humanity was unable to tell that I was being good to them, and when I gave an inch they took a yard. Ask around among yourselves: I have almost never dealt with anyone, and have almost never lightly reprimanded anyone—yet I am very clear about the motivations and notions of man. Do you think God Himself, to whom God bears testimony, is a fool? In that case, I say you are too blind! I will not expose you, but let us see just how corrupt you can become. Let us see whether your clever little stratagems can save you, or whether trying your best to love God can save you. Today, I will not condemn you; let us wait until the time of God to see how He takes retribution upon you. I have no time for idle chitchat with you now, and I am unwilling to delay My greater work solely on your account. A maggot like you is not worthy of the time it would take God to deal with you—so let us see just how dissolute you can get. People like this do not pursue knowledge of God in the least, nor do they have the least bit of love for Him, and still they wish for God to call them righteous—is this not a joke? Because a small number of people are actually honest, I will focus only on continuing to provide life to man. I will only get done what I should get done today, but in the future I will bring retribution upon each person according to what they have done. I have said all that there is to say, for this is precisely the work I do. I do only what I should do, and not what I should not. Nevertheless, I hope that you spend more time in reflection: Exactly how much of your knowledge of God is true? Are you someone who has once more nailed God to the cross? My final words are these: Woe be unto those who crucify God.

—The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. The Wicked Will Surely Be Punished

Daily Words of God  Excerpt 330

As you walk the path of today, what is the most suitable kind of pursuit? In your pursuit, what kind of person should you see yourself as? It behooves you to get to know how you should approach all that befalls you today, be it trials or hardships, or merciless chastisement and cursing. Faced with all of these things, you should reflect carefully on them in every case. Why do I say this? I say it because the things that befall you today are, after all, trials of brief duration that occur over and over again; perhaps as far as you are concerned, they are not especially taxing to the spirit, and so you let things drift along their natural course, and do not regard them as a precious asset in the pursuit of progress. How thoughtless you are! So much so that you think of this precious asset as though it were a cloud floating before your eyes, and you do not treasure these harsh blows that rain down time and again—blows that are brief and that seem to you of little weight—but rather look upon them with cold detachment, not taking them to heart, and treat them merely as a chance blow. You are so arrogant! Toward these ferocious attacks, attacks akin to storms, that come time and time again, you show only flippant disregard; sometimes you even go so far as to give a cold smile, revealing an expression of total indifference—for you have never once thought to yourself why you keep suffering such “misfortunes.” Could it be that I am grossly unfair to man? Do I make it My business to find fault with you? Even though the problems with your mentality may not be as serious as I have described, you have, through your outward composure, long since painted a perfect portrait of your inner world. There is no need for Me to tell you that the only thing hidden in the depths of your heart is crude invective and faint traces of sadness that are barely discernible to others. Because you feel it so unfair to have suffered such trials, you curse; and because these trials make you feel the desolation of the world, you are filled with melancholy. Far from viewing these repeated blows and acts of discipline as the very best protection, you see them as the senseless trouble-making of Heaven, or else as fitting retribution upon you. You are so ignorant! You mercilessly confine the good times in the darkness; time after time, you view wonderful trials and acts of discipline as attacks from your enemies. You do not know how to adapt to your environment, and you are even less willing to try to do so, for you are unwilling to gain anything from this repeated—and, to you, cruel—chastisement. You make no attempt either to search or to explore, and, simply resigning yourself to your fate, go wherever it leads you. What may seem to you to be savage acts of chastening have not changed your heart, nor have they taken over your heart; instead, they stab you in the heart. You see this “cruel chastisement” only as your enemy in this life, and so you have gained nothing. You are so self-righteous! Seldom do you believe that you suffer such trials on account of your own contemptibility; instead, you regard yourself as unfortunate, saying moreover that I am always finding fault with you. And now that things have arrived at this pass, how much do you really know about what I say and do? Do not think that you are a natural-born prodigy, only slightly lower than the heavens but infinitely higher than the earth. You are far from being smarter than anyone else—and, it could even be said that it is simply adorable how much sillier you are than any of the people on earth who are possessed of reason, for you think too highly of yourself, and have never had a sense of inferiority, as if you can see through My actions down to the tiniest detail. In point of fact, you are someone who is fundamentally lacking in reason, because you have no idea of what I intend to do, and you are even less aware of what I am doing now. And so I say that you are not even the equal of an old farmer toiling on the land, a farmer who has not the faintest perception of human life and yet puts all his reliance on the blessings of Heaven as he cultivates the land. You do not spare a second’s thought to your life, you know nothing of renown, and still less do you have any self-knowledge. You are so “above it all”!

—The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. Those Who Do Not Learn and Remain Ignorant: Are They Not Beasts?

Daily Words of God  Excerpt 331

As for the teachings that I have given you, over and over again, you have long since relegated them to the back of your mind, even to the point of treating them like playthings to beguile your idle moments. All of these you always regard in the light of your own personal “talisman.” When accused by Satan, you pray; when negative, you fall into a deep sleep; when happy, you run about wildly; when I rebuke you, you bow and scrape; and then, as soon as you go forth from My presence, you laugh with malevolent glee. You feel yourself to be above all others, but you never see yourself as being the most arrogant, and are only ever lofty, complacent and haughty beyond words. How could such “young gentlemen,” “young misses,” “milords” and “miladies,” who do not learn and remain ignorant, regard My words as a precious treasure? I ask you again: Just what have you learned from My words and My work over such a long time? Is it that you have gained greater skills in your deception? Or greater sophistication in your flesh? Or greater disrespect in your attitude toward Me? I tell you straight: It is all this work I have done that has made you, who used to have the courage of a mouse, grow bolder. The trepidation you feel toward Me lessens with each passing day, for I am too merciful, and have never imposed sanctions upon your flesh by means of violence. Perhaps, as you see it, I am merely speaking harsh words—but it is much more often the case that I show you a smiling countenance, and I almost never censure you to your face. Moreover, I am ever forgiving of your weakness, and it is entirely because of this that you treat Me as the snake treated the kindly farmer. How I admire the extreme degree of skill and perspicacity in the observational powers of the human race! Let Me tell you one truth: Today it matters very little whether or not you have a heart of reverence; I am neither anxious nor worried about that. But I must also tell you this: You, this “person of talent,” who do not learn and remain ignorant, will ultimately be brought down by your self-admiring, petty cleverness—you will be the one who suffers and is chastised. I will not be so stupid as to accompany you as you continue to suffer in hell, for I am not the same kind as you. Do not forget that you are a created being that has been cursed by Me, and yet is also taught and saved by Me, and there is nothing in you that I would be reluctant to part with. At whatever time I do My work, I am never constrained by any person, occurrence, or object. My attitude and My view vis-à-vis mankind have always remained the same. I am not particularly well disposed toward you, because you are an appendage to My management, and far from being more special than any other being. This is My advice to you: You must remember, at all times, that you are nothing more than a creature of God! Although you may share your existence with Me, you should know your own identity; do not think too highly of yourself. Even if I do not rebuke you, or deal with you, but greet you with a smiling face, this is not enough to prove that you are of the same kind as Me. You—you should know yourself to be one who pursues the truth, not the truth itself! You must at all times be ready to change in accordance with My word. You cannot escape this. I urge you, during this precious time, when you have this rare opportunity, to try and learn something. Do not fool Me; I do not need you to use flattery to try and deceive Me. When you seek Me, it is not entirely for My sake, but rather for your own!

—The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. Those Who Do Not Learn and Remain Ignorant: Are They Not Beasts?

Daily Words of God  Excerpt 332

Right now, each day you live through is crucial, and it is of the utmost importance to your destination and your fate, so you must cherish everything you have today, and treasure each minute that passes. You must carve out as much time as you can to give yourselves the greatest gains so that you will not have lived this life in vain. You may feel confused about why I speak such words. To be frank, I am not at all pleased by the behavior of any of you, for the hopes I had of you were not as you are today. Thus, I can say this: Each one of you is on the brink of danger, and your erstwhile cries for help and former aspirations to pursue the truth and seek the light are approaching their end. This is your final display of recompense, and it is something I never expected. I do not wish to speak contrary to the facts, for you have greatly disappointed Me. Perhaps you do not wish to take this lying down, do not wish to face reality—yet I must ask you this seriously: In all these years, what exactly have your hearts been filled with? To whom are they loyal? Do not say that these questions came out of nowhere, and do not ask Me why I asked such things. Know this: It is because I know you too well, care for you too much, and have invested too much of My heart in your conduct and deeds that I have called you to account without cease and borne bitter hardship. Yet you repay Me with nothing more than indifference and unbearable resignation. You have been so remiss toward Me; could it be possible that I know nothing of it? If this is what you believe, it further proves the fact that you do not truly treat Me with kindness. And so I say that you are burying your heads in the sand. You are all so clever that you do not even know what you are doing—so what will you use to give an account to Me?

The question of most concern to Me is exactly to whom your hearts are loyal. I hope, too, that each of you will try to marshal your thoughts, and ask yourself to whom you are loyal and for whom you live. Perhaps you have never given careful consideration to these questions, so how about I reveal the answers to you?

Anyone with a memory will acknowledge this fact: Man lives for himself and is loyal to himself. I do not believe your answers to be entirely correct, for you each exist in your respective lives and each are struggling with your own suffering. As such, you are loyal to the people you love and the things that please you; you are not entirely loyal to yourselves. Because you are each influenced by the people, occurrences, and objects around you, you are not truly loyal to yourselves. I speak these words not to endorse being loyal to yourselves, but to expose your loyalty to any one thing, for over the course of so many years, I have never received loyalty from any of you. You have followed Me all these years, yet have never given Me one iota of loyalty. Instead, you have revolved around the people you love and the things that please you—so much so that at all times, and wherever you go, you keep them close to your hearts and have never abandoned them. Whenever you become eager or passionate about any one thing that you love, it happens while you are following Me, or even while you are listening to My words. Therefore, I say you are using the loyalty that I ask of you to instead be loyal to and cherish your “pets.” Though you may sacrifice a thing or two for Me, it does not represent your all, and does not show that it is Me to whom you are truly loyal. You involve yourselves in undertakings about which you are passionate: Some people are loyal to sons and daughters, others to husbands, wives, riches, work, superiors, status, or women. You never feel weary or annoyed toward the things you are loyal to; instead, you grow ever more eager to possess these things in greater quantity, and higher quality, and you never give up. I and My words are always pushed back behind the things you are passionate about. And you have no choice but to rank them last. There are even those who leave this last place for things they are loyal to that they have yet to discover. Never has there been the slightest trace of Me in their hearts. You may think that I ask too much of you or am wrongfully accusing you—but have you ever given any thought to the fact that while you are happily spending time with your family, you have never once been loyal to Me? At times like this, does it not pain you? When your hearts are filled with joy, and you are rewarded for your labors, do you not feel disheartened at not having furnished yourselves with sufficient truth? When have you wept for not having received My approval? You rack your brains and take great pains for the sake of your sons and daughters, yet still you are not satisfied; still you believe that you have not been diligent on their behalf, that you have not done everything you can for them. Toward Me, however, you have always been remiss and careless; I am only in your memories, but I do not endure in your hearts. My devotion and efforts forever go unfelt by you, and you have never had any appreciation of them. You merely engage in brief reflection and believe that this will suffice. Such “loyalty” is not what I have long yearned for, but that which I have long despised. Nevertheless, no matter what I say, you continue to admit only one or two things; you cannot fully accept this, for you are all very “confident,” and you always pick and choose what to accept from the words I have spoken. If you are still like this today, I do have some methods for dealing with your self-confidence—and, what’s more, I shall make you acknowledge that all My words are true, and that none of them distort the facts.

—The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. To Whom Are You Loyal?

Daily Words of God  Excerpt 333

If I were to place some money in front of you right now and give you the freedom to choose—and if I did not condemn you for your choice—then most of you would choose the money and forsake the truth. The better among you would give up the money and choose the truth reluctantly, while those in-between would seize the money in one hand and the truth in the other. Would your true colors thus not become self-evident? When choosing between the truth and anything to which you are loyal, you would all make this choice, and your attitude would remain the same. Is that not so? Are there not many among you who have seesawed between right and wrong? In contests between positive and negative, black and white, you are surely aware of the choices that you have made between family and God, children and God, peace and disruption, riches and poverty, status and ordinariness, being supported and being cast aside, and so on. Between a peaceful family and a broken one, you chose the former, and you did so without any hesitation; between riches and duty, you again chose the former, even lacking the will to return to shore;^[a] between luxury and poverty, you chose the former; when choosing between your sons, daughters, wives and husbands, and Me, you chose the former; and between notion and truth, you once again chose the former. Faced with all manner of your evil deeds, I have simply lost faith in you. It simply astounds Me that your hearts are so resistant to being softened. Many years of dedication and effort have apparently brought Me nothing more than your abandonment and despair, but My hopes for you grow with each passing day, for My day has been completely laid bare before everyone. Yet you persist in seeking dark and evil things, and refuse to loosen your grip on them. What, then, will be your outcome? Have you ever given careful consideration to this? If you were asked to choose again, what then would be your position? Would it still be the former? Would you still bring Me disappointment and wretched sorrow? Would your hearts still possess the sole modicum of warmth? Would you still be unaware of what to do to comfort My heart? At this moment, what do you choose? Will you submit to My words or be weary of them? My day has been laid out before your very eyes, and what you face is a new life and a new starting point. However, I must tell you that this starting point is not the beginning of past new work, but the conclusion of the old. That is, this is the final act. I think you can all understand what is unusual about this starting point. One day soon, however, you will understand the true meaning of this starting point, so let us move past it together and welcome the finale to come! However, what continues to worry Me about you is that, when faced with injustice and justice, you always choose the former. That, though, is all in your past. I, too, hope to forget everything of your past, though this is very difficult to do. Nevertheless, I have a very good way of doing it: Let the future replace the past, and allow the shadows of your past to be dispelled in exchange for your true self of today. Thus must I trouble you to make the choice once more: To whom exactly are you loyal?

—The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. To Whom Are You Loyal?

Footnotes:

a. Return to shore: a Chinese idiom, meaning “turn from one’s evil ways.”

Daily Words of God  Excerpt 334

Whenever destination is mentioned, you treat it with special seriousness; it is, moreover, something that you are all particularly sensitive about. Some people cannot wait to knock their heads against the ground, kowtowing before God in order to obtain a good destination. I can identify with your eagerness, which does not need to be expressed in words. It is no more than that you do not want your flesh to fall into disaster, and still less do you wish to descend into everlasting punishment in the future. You only hope to allow yourselves to live a little more freely, a little more easily. And so you feel particularly agitated whenever destination is mentioned, deeply afraid that, if you are not attentive enough, you may offend God and thus be subject to the retribution you deserve. You have not hesitated to make compromises for the sake of your destination, and even the many of you who were once devious and flippant have suddenly become especially gentle and sincere; your appearance of sincerity chills people to the marrow. Nevertheless, you all have “honest” hearts, and you have consistently opened up to Me the secrets in your hearts without keeping anything back, whether it be grievance, deceit, or devotion. All in all, you have very candidly “confessed” to Me the substantive things that lie within the deepest recesses of your being. Of course, I have never skirted around such things, for to Me they have become all too familiar. You would rather enter the sea of fire for the sake of your final destination than lose a single strand of hair to gain God’s approval. It is not that I am being too dogmatic with you; it is that you are too lacking in a heart of devotion to come face to face with all that I do. You may not understand what I have just said, so let Me provide you with a simple explanation: What you need is not truth and life, nor the principles of how to conduct yourselves, much less My painstaking work. Rather, what you need is everything you possess in the flesh—wealth, status, family, marriage, and so on. You are utterly dismissive of My words and work, so I can sum up your faith in one word: perfunctory. You will go to any lengths to achieve the things to which you are absolutely devoted, but I have discovered that you would not do the same for the sake of matters concerning your belief in God. Rather, you are relatively devoted, and relatively earnest. That is why I say that those who lack a heart of utmost sincerity are failures in their belief in God. Think carefully—are there many failures among you?

You ought to know that success in belief in God is achieved as a result of people’s own actions; when people do not succeed but instead fail, that too is due to their own actions, and no role is played by any other factor. I believe that you would do anything it takes to achieve something that is more difficult and entails more suffering than believing in God, and that you would treat it very seriously, so much so that you would be unwilling to tolerate any errors; these are the kinds of unremitting efforts all of you put into your own lives. You are even capable of deceiving My flesh under circumstances in which you would not deceive any member of your own family. This is your consistent behavior and the principle by which you live. Are you not still projecting a false facade to deceive Me for the sake of your destination, so that your destination may be perfectly beautiful and all that you desire? I am aware that your devotion is but temporary, as is your sincerity. Are not your resolve and the price you pay only for the sake of the present moment and not the future? You want only to exert one final effort to strive to secure a beautiful destination, with the sole aim of making a trade. You do not make this effort to avoid becoming indebted to the truth, and less still for the sake of repaying Me for the price I have paid. In short, you are willing only to employ clever stratagems to get what you want, but not to do open battle for it. Is this not your heartfelt wish? You must not disguise yourselves, nor rack your brains over your destination to the point where you are unable to eat or sleep. Is it not true that your outcome will have already been determined in the end? You should each do your own duty to the best of your ability, with open and honest hearts, and be willing to pay whatever price is necessary. As you have said, when the day comes, God will not be remiss toward anyone who has suffered or paid a price for Him. This kind of conviction is worth holding on to, and it is right that you should never forget it. Only in this way can I put My mind at ease about you. Otherwise, you will forever be people about whom I cannot put My mind at ease, and you will forever be the objects of My distaste. If all of you can follow your conscience and give your all for Me, sparing no effort for My work, and devoting the energy of a lifetime to My gospel work, then will My heart not often leap for joy on your account? This way, I will be able to put My mind entirely at ease regarding you, won’t I? It is a shame that what you can do is but a pitifully tiny part of what I expect. This being the case, how can you have the gall to seek from Me what you hope for?

—The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. On Destination

Daily Words of God  Excerpt 335

Your destination and your fate are very important to you—they are of grave concern. You believe, if you do not do things with great care, it will mean that you cease to have a destination, that you have destroyed your own fate. But has it ever occurred to you that people who expend effort solely for the sake of their destination are laboring in vain? Such efforts are not genuine—they are fakery and deceit. If that is the case, then those who work only for the sake of their destination are on the threshold of their final defeat, for failure in one’s belief in God is caused by deceit. I have previously said that I do not like to be flattered or fawned on, or treated with enthusiasm. I like honest people to face up to My truth and My expectations. Even more, I like it when people are able to show the utmost care and consideration for My heart, and when they are even capable of giving up everything for My sake. Only in this way can My heart be comforted. Right now, how many things are there about you that I dislike? How many things are there about you that I like? Can it be that none of you has realized all the different manifestations of ugliness you have put forth for the sake of your destination?

In My heart, I do not wish to be hurtful to any heart that is positive and aspires upward, and still less do I wish to dampen the energy of anyone who is faithfully doing his duty. Nonetheless, I must remind each of you of your inadequacies and of the filthy soul that lies in the deepest recesses of your hearts. I do so in the hope that you will be able to offer up your true heart in coming face to face with My words, because what I hate most is people’s deceit toward Me. I only hope that, in the last stage of My work, you will be able to give your most outstanding performance, and that you will devote yourselves wholeheartedly, no longer half-hearted. Of course, I also hope that you can all have a good destination. Nevertheless, I still have My requirement, which is for you to make the best decision in offering up to Me your sole and final devotion. If someone does not have that sole devotion, then he is surely a treasured possession of Satan, and I will no longer keep him to use but send him home to be looked after by his parents. My work is a great help to you; what I hope to get from you is a heart that is honest and that aspires upward, but so far My hands remain empty. Think about it: If one day I am still so aggrieved, beyond the scope of words to tell, what will My attitude toward you be then? Will I be as amiable to you then as I am now? Will My heart be as serene then as it is now? Do you understand the feelings of a person who, having painstakingly tilled the field, has not harvested a single grain? Do you understand how greatly a person’s heart is injured when he has been dealt a great blow? Can you taste the bitterness of a person, once so full of hope, who has had to part on bad terms? Have you seen the wrath issuing forth from a person who has been provoked? Can you know the eagerness for revenge of a person who has been treated with enmity and deceit? If you understand the mentality of these people, then I think it should not be difficult for you to imagine the attitude God will have at the time of His retribution! Finally, I hope you all put in serious effort for the sake of your own destination, though you had better not employ deceitful means in your efforts, or else I will continue to be disappointed with you in My heart. And what does such disappointment lead to? Are you not fooling yourselves? Those who take thought for their destination yet ruin it are the people least able to be saved. Even if he were to become exasperated and enraged, who would take pity on such a person? In sum, I still wish for you to have a destination that is both suitable and good, and, even more, I hope that none of you will fall into disaster.

—The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. On Destination