65. Adam and Eve created by God in the beginning were pure people, which is to say, while in the Garden of Eden they were pure, untainted with filth. They were also loyal to Jehovah, and knew nothing of the betrayal of Jehovah. This is because they were without the disturbance of the influence of Satan and they were without Satan’s poison. They were the purest of all mankind. They lived in the Garden of Eden, undefiled by any filth, unpossessed by the flesh, and in fear of Jehovah. Later, when they were tempted by Satan, they had the poison of the serpent, and the desire to betray Jehovah, and they lived under the influence of Satan. In the beginning, they were pure and they feared Jehovah; only in this state were they human. Later on, after they were tempted by Satan, they ate the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, and lived under the influence of Satan. They were gradually corrupted by Satan, and lost the original image of man. In the beginning, man had the breath of Jehovah, was not the slightest bit rebellious, and had no evil in his heart. At that time, man was truly human. After being corrupted by Satan, man became a beast. His thoughts were filled with evil and filth, without good or holiness. Is this not Satan?

—The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. The Experiences of Peter: His Knowledge of Chastisement and Judgment

66. Since the advent of the social sciences, the heart of man has become occupied by science and knowledge. Science and knowledge then have become tools for the ruling of mankind, leaving man without sufficient room to worship God, and without as many favorable conditions for the worship of God. The position of God has sunk ever lower in the heart of man. Without a place for God in his heart, the inner world of man is dark, hopeless and empty. Subsequently many social scientists, historians, and politicians have come to the fore to express theories of social science, the theory of human evolution, and other theories that contradict the truth that God created man, to fill the hearts and minds of mankind. And in this way, those who believe that God created everything have become ever fewer, and those who believe in the theory of evolution have become ever greater in number. More and more people treat the records of the work of God and His words during the age of the Old Testament as myths and legends. In their hearts, people become indifferent to the dignity and greatness of God, and they become indifferent to God’s existence and to the tenet that God holds sovereignty over all things. The survival of mankind and the fate of countries and nations are no longer important to them, and man lives in a hollow world concerned only with eating, drinking, and the pursuit of pleasure. … Few people take it upon themselves to seek out where God does His work today, or to look for how He holds sovereignty over and arranges the destination of man. And in this way, unbeknownst to man, human civilization becomes less and less able to hew to man’s wishes, and there are even many people who feel that, living in such a world, they are less happy than those who have already passed away. Even people of countries that used to be highly civilized air such grievances. For without the guidance of God, even if rulers and sociologists rack their brains to preserve human civilization, it is to no avail. No person can fill the emptiness in the heart of man, for no person can be the life of man, and no social theory can free man from the troubles of emptiness. Science, knowledge, freedom, democracy, pleasure, and comfort bring man only temporary consolation. Even with these things, man still inevitably sins and complains about the unfairness of society. Having these things cannot hinder man’s longing and desire to explore. This is because man was made by God and his senseless sacrifices and explorations can only increasingly bring distress upon him, and cause man to be in a constant state of anxiety, not knowing how to face the future of mankind or how to face the path that lies ahead, to the extent that man even becomes frightened of science and knowledge, and even more so frightened of the feeling of emptiness. In this world, regardless of whether you live in a free country or one without human rights, you are utterly incapable of escaping the fate of mankind. Whether you are the ruler or the ruled, you are utterly incapable of escaping the desire to explore the fate, mysteries, and destination of mankind, much less are you capable of escaping the inexplicable feeling of emptiness. Such phenomena, which are common to all of mankind, are called social phenomena by sociologists, yet no great man can come forth to solve such problems.

—The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. Appendix 2: God Holds Sovereignty Over the Fate of All Mankind

67. This land which has been filthy for thousands of years is unbearably dirty, misery abounds, ghosts run rampant everywhere, tricking and deceiving, making groundless accusations,^[1] ruthlessly employing vicious means, 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? Could they ever have enjoyed the dearness and loveliness of God? Could they ever understand the matters of the human world? Who of them can understand God’s eager intentions? 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 hatred, 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 assail and plunder, they have lost all conscience, they go against all conscience, and they beguile innocent humankind into a stupor. What successors of ancient sages? What beloved leaders? They’re all wretches that oppose God! Their meddling has left all beneath heaven in a state of darkness and chaos! What religious freedom? What legitimate rights and interests of citizens? They are all tricks for covering up evil! Who has supported the work of God? Who has laid down their life or shed blood for the work of God? Humans, who have been enslaved for generations, in an unbroken line from parents to children, have unceremoniously enslaved God—how could this not incite incessant fury? Millennia of hatred are concentrated in the heart, ten thousand ages of evil are inscribed upon the heart—how could this not inspire hatred? Avenge God, completely snuff out His enemy—let’s see it run rampant and rule as a tyrant then! Now is the time: Man has long since gathered all his strength, and shall devote all his heart’s blood and pay every price for this, to tear off the hideous face of this devil and allow people, who have been blinded, and who have endured every manner of suffering and hardship, to rise up from their pain and rebel against this evil old devil. Why block the work of God so tightly that not even a drop can get through? Why employ various tricks to deceive God’s folk? Where are the true freedom and the legitimate rights and interests? Where is the fairness? Where is the comfort? Where is the warmth? Why use schemes to trick God’s folk? 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 people? Where is His welcome among people? Why cause such desperate yearning in God? Why make God call out again and again? Why push God to the point where He must worry for His beloved Son? This dark society and the wretched guard dogs–why do they not allow God to freely come and go in the world which He created? Why does man, who lives amid suffering, not understand? For your sakes, God has endured great pain, in agonizing grief He has given up His beloved Son, His flesh and blood, to bestow Him upon 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 hatred, 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 grievously harms people are especially vicious, and control people so much that they have no room to move.

68. From top to bottom and from beginning to end, Satan has been disturbing the work of God and acting in opposition to Him. All this “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 brought 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 teachings of feudal ethics 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 devils, 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 gaudy, garish world, while the king of devils keeps laughing wickedly, as if its 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. 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 disturbing His work. How can it allow God to be of equal status? How can it tolerate God “interfering” with its work in the human world? How can it allow God to expose 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 ugly souls, they still believe that they are 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 pure 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? Devils and demons have been running amok on earth for a time, and have sealed off both the intentions and the heart’s blood of God so tightly that nothing can get out. Truly, this is a mortal sin! How can God not feel anxious? How can God not get angry? They have gravely hindered and opposed the work of God: How rebellious!

—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 gang of villains.”

69. Ancient cultural history and knowledge spanning several thousand years has closed off man’s thoughts 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 is never 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 justice and fairness; 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, discolored, and thin. People have long since lost their memory; they live helplessly 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, until he falls into Hades, and push man further and further away from God such that today he feels that God is a complete stranger to him, 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 anger 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 endures 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 offspring. The Four Books and Five Classics^[a] have taken man’s thoughts and notions into another age of rebellion, causing him to give even greater worship than before to those who compiled these Four Books and Five Classics, and as a result to further intensify 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 has become possessed of an ugly soul and of the countenance of the king of devils. A hatred of God has filled his chest, and the maliciousness of the king of devils has spread within man day after day until he has been utterly consumed. Man no longer has the least bit of freedom and has no way of breaking free from the entanglements of the king of devils. He has had no choice but to be taken captive on the spot, to surrender and submit in its presence. Long ago, when man’s heart 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 service to their country. Man, unwitting, has been brought into its presence, and it unhesitatingly arrogates all the credit (meaning the credit belonging to God for holding all of mankind in His hands) unto itself. It never has any sense of shame. Moreover, it shamelessly seizes God’s people and drags them back into its house, where it leaps like a mouse onto the table and has 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 is generated by changes that are governed by 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 the splitting of nuclear particles 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 unspeakable statements like the following: “Man evolved from apes in the ancient past, and the world today comes from primitive society that began 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 worship it and make offerings to it. At the same time that it cries out, “There is no God,” it sets itself up as god, unceremoniously 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 that 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 disarray,^[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 has long since been completely unmasked, and it is now utterly overwhelmed and harried by troubles,^[4] 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 numb and dull-witted. 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 an unprecedented splendor? This gang of scoundrels has come into the world of man 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 destroy 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 to 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 mental outlook.

2. “Roams free, outside the reach of law” indicates that the devil is unrestrained in its savagery and runs amok across the land.

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

4. “Utterly overwhelmed and harried by troubles” 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 malicious schemes. The expression is used mockingly.

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

70. In man’s so-called knowledge, Satan has imbued quite a bit of its philosophy for worldly dealings and its thinking. And as Satan does this, it allows man to, by means of its thinking, philosophy, and points of view, deny the existence of God, and deny God’s sovereignty over all things and over man’s fate. So when man learns more and gains more knowledge, he feels the existence of God become vague, and might even no longer feel that God exists. Because Satan has instilled certain thoughts, views, and notions in man, once Satan has instilled these poisons inside man, is man not misled and corrupted by Satan? So what would you say the people of today live by? Do they not live by the knowledge and thoughts instilled by Satan? And the things hidden inside this knowledge and these thoughts—are they not the philosophies and poisons of Satan? Man lives by the philosophies and poisons of Satan. And what lies at the core of Satan’s corruption of man? Satan wants to make man deny, resist, and stand against God like it does; this is Satan’s goal in corrupting man, and also the consequence of Satan corrupting man.

—The Word, Vol. 2. On Knowing God. God Himself, the Unique V

71. During the process of people acquiring knowledge, by employing all manner of methods, whether it be telling stories, simply providing them with some piece of knowledge, or allowing them to satisfy their desires or aspirations, just what road does Satan want to lead people down? People think there is nothing wrong with learning knowledge, that it is perfectly natural and justified. To put it in a way that sounds appealing, to establish lofty aspirations or to have ambitions is to have drive, and this should be the right path in life. If one can realize their own aspirations, or establish a successful career in their lifetime, is that not a more glorious way to live? In this way, one can not only honor one’s ancestors but also have the chance to leave one’s mark for generations to come—is this not a good thing? This is a good thing in the eyes of worldly people, and to them it should be proper and positive. Does Satan, however, with its insidious motives, lead people down such a road and then that’s it? Of course not. In fact, no matter how grand man’s aspirations are, no matter how realistic man’s wishes are or how proper they may be, all that man wants to achieve, all that man pursues, is inextricably linked to two words. These two words are vitally important to every person throughout their life, and they are things Satan intends to instill in man. What are these two words? They are “fame” and “gain.” Satan uses a very mild method, a method that’s very much in line with people’s notions, and that isn’t very aggressive, to cause people to unknowingly accept its means and laws of survival, develop life goals and life directions, and come to possess life aspirations. No matter how high-sounding people’s descriptions of their life aspirations may be, these aspirations always revolve around fame and gain. Everything that any great or famous person—or, in fact, any person—chases throughout their life relates only to these two words: “fame” and “gain.” People think that once they have fame and gain, they have the capital to enjoy high status and great wealth, and to enjoy life. They think that once they have fame and gain, they have the capital to seek pleasure and to engage in wanton enjoyment of the flesh. For the sake of this fame and gain which they desire, people happily and unknowingly hand over their bodies, hearts, and even all that they have, including their prospects and fates, to Satan. They do so without reservation, without even a moment’s doubt, and without ever knowing to reclaim everything that they once had. Can people retain any control over themselves once they have given themselves over to Satan and become loyal to it in this way? Certainly not. They are completely and utterly controlled by Satan. They have completely and utterly sunk into this quagmire, and are unable to free themselves. Once someone is mired in fame and gain, they no longer seek that which is bright, that which is just, or those things that are beautiful and good. This is because the enticement of fame and gain is too great for people, and these are things that people can pursue without end throughout their lives and even for all eternity. Is this not the actual situation? Some people will say that learning knowledge is nothing more than reading books and learning some things that you do not already know so as not to lag behind the times or be left behind by the world. Knowledge is only learned in order to put food on your table, for your own future, or to provide the basic necessities. Is there any person who would endure a decade of hard study just for the basic necessities, just to resolve the issue of food? No, there are none like this. So why does a person suffer these hardships for all these years? It is for fame and gain. It is because fame and gain are waiting for them in the distance, beckoning them, and they believe that only through their own diligence, hardships, and struggles can they step on the road that leads to fame and gain, thereby gaining these things. Such a person must suffer these hardships for their own future path, for their future enjoyment, and to gain a better life. What on earth is this knowledge—can you tell Me? Is it not the laws and philosophy of survival that Satan instills in man, such as “Love the Party, love the country, and love your religion” and “A wise man submits to circumstances”? Is it not life’s “lofty aspirations” instilled into man by Satan, such as the thoughts of great people, the integrity of the famous, the brave spirit of heroic figures, or the chivalry and kindness of the knights and swordsmen in martial arts novels? These ideas and statements influence one generation after another; many people accept these ideas, and they pursue, continually struggle, and are even willing to sacrifice their lives in order to fulfill these “lofty aspirations.” This is the means and method by which Satan uses knowledge to corrupt people. So after Satan leads people onto this path, are they able to submit to and worship God? And are they able to accept God’s words and pursue the truth? Absolutely not—because they have been led astray by Satan. Let’s now consider this: Within the knowledge, ideas, and views instilled in people by Satan, are there the truths of submission to God and worship of God? Are there the truths of fearing God and shunning evil? Are there any of the words of God? Is there anything in them that is of the truth? Not at all—these things are totally absent.

—The Word, Vol. 2. On Knowing God. God Himself, the Unique VI

72. Satan uses fame and gain to control man’s thoughts, making him think of nothing but these two things, and getting him to struggle for fame and gain, suffer hardships for fame and gain, endure humiliation and bear heavy burdens for fame and gain, sacrifice everything he has for fame and gain, and make every judgment or decision for the sake of fame and gain. In this way, Satan places invisible shackles upon man, and, with these shackles upon him, he has neither the ability nor the courage to break free. Unknowingly, he bears these shackles as he trudges ahead step by step, with great difficulty. For the sake of this fame and gain, mankind strays from God and betrays Him, and becomes increasingly wicked. In this way, one generation after another is destroyed in the midst of Satan’s fame and gain. Looking now at Satan’s actions, are its insidious motives not utterly hateful? Maybe today you still cannot see through to Satan’s insidious motives because you think that without fame and gain, life would have no meaning, and people would no longer be able to see the way ahead, no longer be able to see their goals, and their futures would become dark, dim and gloomy. But, slowly, you will all one day recognize that fame and gain are massive shackles that Satan places upon man. When that day comes, you will thoroughly resist Satan’s control and thoroughly resist the shackles brought to you by Satan. When you wish to free yourself from all these things that Satan has instilled in you, you will then make a clean break with Satan, and you will truly hate all that Satan has brought to you. Only then will you have a real love and yearning for God.

—The Word, Vol. 2. On Knowing God. God Himself, the Unique VI

73. Science allows people to just see the objects of the physical world, merely satisfying man’s curiosity, but it cannot enable man to see the laws by which God holds sovereignty over all things. Man seems to have found answers in science, and those answers are misleading and bring temporary satisfaction, a satisfaction that serves to confine the heart of man to the material world. Man feels that he has received answers from science, so whatever issue arises, he uses scientific views as a basis to verify and accept that issue. Man’s heart becomes seduced by science and possessed by it, and as a result, man no longer has the mind to know God, to worship God, and to believe that all things come from God, and that man should obtain all answers from God. Is this not so? The more someone is a believer in science, the more absurd they are, believing that everything has a scientific solution, that research can solve anything. They do not seek God and they do not believe He exists. There are many long-term believers in God who, when faced with any problem, will use a computer to look things up and search for answers; they believe only in scientific knowledge. They do not believe that God’s words are the truth, they do not believe that God’s words can solve all of mankind’s problems, and they do not view every one of mankind’s problems from the perspective of the truth. No matter what problem they encounter, they never pray to God or try to resolve it by seeking the truth in God’s words. In many matters, they still believe that knowledge can solve the problem, and that science is the ultimate answer. God is totally absent from such people’s hearts. They are disbelievers, and their views on belief in God are no different from those of many high-level intellectuals and scientists, who are always trying to study God using scientific methods. For example, there are many religious experts who have gone and inspected the mountain where the ark came to rest, and thus they proved the existence of the ark. But in the outward appearance of the ark they do not see the existence of God. They believe only in the stories and the history; this is the result of their scientific research and study of the material world. If you research material things, whether it be microbiology, astronomy, or geography, you will never find a result that determines that God exists or that He holds sovereignty over all things. So what does science do for man? Does it not distance man from God? Does it not cause people to subject God to studies? Does it not make people more doubtful of God’s existence and sovereignty, and thus cause them to deny and betray God? This is the consequence. So when Satan uses science to corrupt man, what aim is Satan trying to achieve? It wants to use scientific conclusions to mislead people and make them numb, and use ambiguous answers to occupy people’s hearts so that they will not seek out or believe in God’s existence. So this is why I say that science is also one of the ways in which Satan corrupts people.

—The Word, Vol. 2. On Knowing God. God Himself, the Unique V

74. Satan has fabricated and invented many folk stories or stories that appear in history books, leaving people with deep impressions of traditional cultural or superstitious figures. For example, in China there are the “Eight Immortals Crossing the Sea,” “Journey to the West,” the Jade Emperor, “Nezha Conquering the Dragon King,” and “The Investiture of the Gods.” Have these not become deeply rooted in the minds of man? Even if some of you do not know all the details, you still know the general stories, and this general content sticks in your heart and your mind, so that you cannot forget it. These are all various ideas of Satan or legends which Satan devised for man long ago, and which have been disseminated at different times. These things directly harm and erode people’s souls and put people under one spell after another. That is to say that once you have accepted such traditional culture, stories, or superstitious things, once they are established in your mind, and once they are stuck in your heart, then it is like you are spellbound—you become enmeshed and influenced by such culture, such ideas, and such traditional stories. They influence your life, your outlook on life, and your judgment of things. Even more so they influence your pursuit of the true path of life: This is a spell. Try as you might, you cannot shake them off; you chop at them but you cannot cut them off; you beat at them but you cannot beat them away. Furthermore, after people are unknowingly put under this kind of spell, they unknowingly begin to worship Satan, establishing the image of Satan in their hearts. In other words, they treat Satan as their idol, an object for them to adore and look up to, even going so far as to regard it as god. Unknowingly, these things control people’s words and deeds from within their hearts. Moreover, you first regard these stories and legends to be false, but then you unknowingly acknowledge their existence, regarding them as real figures and real, existing objects. In your unawareness, you subconsciously receive these ideas and the existence of these things. You also subconsciously receive devils, Satan, and idols into your own home and into your own heart—this is a spell.

—The Word, Vol. 2. On Knowing God. God Himself, the Unique VI

75. The superstitious activities that people engage in are what God hates the most, but many people are still unable to let go of them, thinking these superstitious activities to be ordained by God, and even today have yet to shed them completely. Such things as the arrangements young people make for wedding feasts and bridal trousseaus; gifts of cash, banquets, and similar ways with which joyous occasions are celebrated; ancient formulae that have been handed down; all the meaningless superstitious activities conducted for the dead and their obsequies: these are even more detestable to God. Even the day of worship (as well as the Sabbath, as observed by the religious world) is detestable to Him; and the social relationships and worldly interactions between people are all the more spurned by God. Even the Spring Festival and Christmas Day, which are known to everyone, are not ordained by God, let alone the toys and decorations for these festive holidays such as couplets, firecrackers, lanterns, Holy Communion, Christmas gifts, and Christmas festivities—are they not idols in people’s minds? The sharing of bread and wine on the Sabbath, and fine linen are even more emphatically idols. All the traditional festival days popular in China, such as the Dragon Heads-raising Day, the Dragon Boat Festival, the Mid-Autumn Festival, the Laba Festival, and New Year’s Day, and the festivals in the religious world, such as Easter, Baptism Day, and Christmas Day, all of these unjustifiable festivals have been fabricated by and handed down from olden times to today by many people. It is humanity’s rich imagination and ingenious conception that have allowed them to be passed down to today. They appear to be free of flaws, but are in fact tricks Satan plays on humanity. The more a place is thronged with Satans, and the more obsolete and backward that place is, the more deeply entrenched are its feudal customs. These things bind people tight, allowing absolutely no room for movement. Many of the festivals in the religious world seem to display great originality and to create a bridge to the work of God, but they are actually the invisible ties with which Satan binds people from coming to know God—they are all Satan’s schemes. In fact, when a stage of God’s work is finished, He has already destroyed the tools and the style of that time, without leaving any trace. However, “devout believers” continue to worship those tangible material objects; meanwhile they consign what God has to the back of their minds, not studying it, seeming to be full of the love of God when they actually pushed Him out of the house long ago and placed Satan on the table to worship. Portraits of Jesus, the Cross, Mary, Jesus’ Baptism, and the Last Supper—people worship these as the “Lord of Heaven,” all the while repeatedly crying out “Lord, heavenly Father.” Is this not all a joke? To this day, many similar sayings and practices that have been passed down among humanity are detestable to God; they seriously obstruct the way ahead for God and, even more so, inflict huge losses on humanity’s entry. Putting aside the extent to which Satan has corrupted humanity, people are filled to the brim with things like the law of Witness Lee, the experiences of Lawrence, the surveys by Watchman Nee, and the work of Paul. There is simply no way for God to work upon human beings, because they have inside them too much individualism, too many laws, rules, regulations, systems, and so on; these things, in addition to the tinge of people’s feudal superstitions, have captured and devoured humanity. It is as if people’s thoughts are an interesting film narrating a fairy tale in full color, with fantastic beings riding the clouds, so imaginative that they amaze people, leaving them dazed and speechless. To tell the truth, the work that God comes to do today is mainly to deal with and dispel the tinge of human superstitions and completely transform their mental outlook. God’s work has not lasted until today due to the inheritance that has been handed down through the generations by humanity; it is work as personally initiated by Him and completed by Him, without any need for succeeding to the legacy of a certain great spiritual man, or inheriting any work of a representative nature done by God in some other era. Human beings need not concern themselves with any of these things. God today has a unique style of speaking and of working, so why should there be any need for people to worry about these things? If humans walk the path of today within the current stream while continuing the legacy of their “ancestors,” they will not reach their destination. God feels deep repugnance for this particular mode of human behavior, just as He abominates the years, months, and days of the human world.

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

76. Satan corrupts and controls man through social trends. Social trends cover many aspects, including areas such as the worship of famous and great figures, as well as film and music idols, celebrity worship, and online games. These are all part of social trends, and there is no need to go into detail here. We will only talk about the ideas that social trends bring about in people, the way they cause people to deal with the world, and the survival goals and outlook on life that they bring about in people. These are very important; they can control and influence people’s thoughts and views. Each and every one of these trends carries with it an evil influence. This evil influence continually debases mankind and causes people to keep losing conscience, humanity, and reason, continually weakens their morals, and increasingly diminishes their integrity, to the extent that we can even say that the majority of people now have no integrity, no humanity, and no conscience, much less any reason. So what are these social trends? They are trends that you cannot see with the naked eye. When a new trend comes along, perhaps only a small number of people are early adopters—they take the lead in doing this kind of thing, accepting this kind of idea, and accepting this kind of view. The majority of people, nonetheless, will be continually infected, attracted, and assimilated by this trend without realizing it, until they all unknowingly and involuntarily accept it and become submerged in it and controlled by it. One after another, such trends cause people, who are not of sound body and mind, who do not know what the truth is, and who cannot differentiate at all between positive and negative things, to happily accept them as well as the outlook on existence and the values that come from Satan. They happily accept what Satan tells them about how to approach life, and the way of survival that Satan “bestows” on them. They have neither the strength nor the ability, much less the awareness, to resist. …

… Satan uses these social trends to lure man step by step into a den of devils, so that man unknowingly reveres money, material desires, evil, and violence amid social trends. Once these things have entered man’s heart, what then does man become? He becomes a devil and a Satan! This is because man’s heart becomes occupied by that which he reveres; when man reveres negative things, he begins to love evil and violence, and he does not like beauty and goodness, much less peace. He becomes unwilling to live a simple life in normal humanity, but instead wishes to enjoy high status and great wealth, to take pleasure in the flesh, sparing no effort to satisfy his own flesh, with no restrictions or bonds—in other words, doing whatever he desires. So when you have gotten caught up in these kinds of trends, can the knowledge that you have learned help you to free yourself? Can the aspects of traditional culture and superstitions that you know help you escape from this predicament? Can the traditional morals and etiquette that you know help you exercise restraint? Take the Analects and the Tao Te Ching, for example. Can they help people pull their feet out of the quagmire of these evil trends? Absolutely not. Thus, man becomes more and more evil, arrogant, haughty in the extreme, selfish, and malicious. There is no longer any affection and loyalty among man, no longer any love between family members, no longer any understanding among relatives and friends; human relationships are full of violence. Each and every person seeks to live among others with violent means and methods, to seize a livelihood for themselves using violence, to win their positions and obtain their profits using violence, and to use violent and wicked ways to do any of the things they want. Isn’t this mankind horrifying? It is, very much so: Not only did they crucify God, but they would also annihilate all who follow Him—because this mankind is too evil.

—The Word, Vol. 2. On Knowing God. God Himself, the Unique VI

77. “Money makes the world go round” is a philosophy of Satan. It is very prevalent among people, in every society; you could say it is a trend. This is because it has been instilled in the heart of every single person, who at first did not accept this saying, but then gave it tacit acceptance when they came into contact with real life, and began to feel that these words were in fact true. Is this not a process of Satan corrupting man? Perhaps people do not have the same degree of first-hand knowledge of this saying, but everyone has different degrees of interpretation and acknowledgment of this saying based on things that have happened around them and on everything they have personally experienced. Is that not the case? Regardless of how deep the experience a person has with this saying, what negative effect has it had on their heart? It is that the people in this world—and it can be said that this includes each and every one of you—reveal something from their disposition. What is it? It is the worship of money. Is it easy to remove this from people’s hearts? No, it is not easy! This shows that Satan’s corruption of man is deep indeed! Satan uses money to entice people, and corrupts all of them into things that worship money and material desires. And how is this worship of money manifested in people? Don’t you think that in this world you couldn’t survive without money, and that you couldn’t go a single day without it? How much money people have determines how high their status is, and how distinguished they are. The poor do not feel they can stand tall and proud, while the rich have high status, stand tall and proud, and can speak loudly and live in an arrogant and unbridled manner. What does this saying and trend bring to people? Is it not true that many people are willing to make any sacrifice in order to make money? Do many people not lose their dignity and integrity in the pursuit of more money? Do many people not lose the opportunity to do their duty and follow God for the sake of money? Is losing the chance to gain the truth and be saved not the greatest of all losses for people? Just using this method and this saying, Satan corrupts man to such a degree. Is Satan’s intention not sinister? Is this not a malicious trick? As this saying becomes popular, you go from disagreeing with it to finally believing that it is the truth, and by that point your heart has fallen completely into Satan’s grasp, and therefore you involuntarily come to live by the saying. To what degree has this saying affected you? You might know the true way, and you might know the truth, but you are powerless to pursue it. You may clearly know that God’s words are the truth, but you are unwilling to pay the price or to suffer in order to gain the truth. Instead, you would rather sacrifice your own future and fate to oppose God to the very end. No matter what God says, no matter what God does, no matter how deep and how great the love that God has for you is, insofar as you are able to understand it, you would stubbornly insist on exerting yourself because of this saying. That is to say, this saying has already misled and controlled your thoughts, it has already governed your behavior, and you would rather let it rule your fate than let go of your pursuit of wealth. That you can act thus, that you can be controlled and manipulated by the words of Satan—does this not mean that you have been misled and corrupted by Satan? Does this not mean the philosophy and thoughts of Satan, and the disposition of Satan, have taken root in your heart? When you single-mindedly pursue wealth, and abandon the pursuit of the truth, has Satan not achieved its aim of misleading you? This is exactly the case. So can you feel it when you are misled and corrupted by Satan? You cannot. If you cannot see Satan standing right in front of you, or feel that it is Satan acting in the shadows, would you be able to see the wickedness of Satan? Could you know how Satan corrupts mankind? Satan corrupts people at all times and in all places. Satan makes it impossible for them to defend against this corruption and makes them helpless against it. Satan makes people accept its thoughts, its viewpoints, and the wicked things that come from it in situations where they are unknowing and when they have no recognition of what is happening to them, and after accepting these things, people take no exception to them. They cherish and hold on to these things like a treasure, they let these things manipulate them and toy with them; this is how people live under the power of Satan, and unconsciously obey Satan, and Satan’s corruption of man grows ever deeper.

—The Word, Vol. 2. On Knowing God. God Himself, the Unique V

78. There Are Six Primary Tactics That Satan Employs to Corrupt Man

The first is control and coercion. That is, Satan will do everything possible to take control of your heart. What does “coercion” mean? It means using threatening and forceful tactics to make you obey it, making you think of the consequences if you do not obey. You are afraid and dare not defy it, so you give in.

The second is cheating and trickery. What does “cheating and trickery” entail? Satan makes up some legends and lies, tricking you into believing them. It never tells you that man was created by God, but neither does it say directly that you were not made by God. It does not mention the word “God” at all, but instead uses something else as a substitute, using this thing to mislead you so that you basically have no idea of the existence of God. Of course, this “trickery” includes many aspects, not just this one.

The third is forceful indoctrination. With what are people forcefully indoctrinated? Does forceful indoctrination happen when people have a choice? Is it done with man’s consent? Definitely not. Even if you do not consent, there is nothing you can do about it. Without you knowing it, Satan indoctrinates you, instilling you with its thinking, its laws of survival, and its essence.

The fourth is threats and inducements. That is, Satan employs various tactics to cause you to accept it, follow it, and work in its service. It will do anything to achieve its goals. It sometimes gives you small favors, all the while luring you into committing sin. If you do not follow it, it will make you suffer and torment you, and use various ways to attack and plot against you.

The fifth is misleading and paralysis. “Misleading and paralysis” is when Satan instills in people some sweet-sounding statements and ideas that align with their notions and seem right but are actually wrong. It seems like it is showing consideration for your flesh, your life, and your future, but actually its goal is to fool you. It then paralyzes you so that you do not know what is right and what is wrong, so that you are unwittingly tricked and come under its control.

The sixth is the ravaging of body and mind. What part of man does Satan ravage? Satan ravages your mind, making you powerless to resist, meaning that, little by little, your heart turns toward Satan in spite of yourself. It instills these things in you every day, and uses these ideas and cultures to influence and condition you every day, breaking down your will little by little, so that you no longer desire to be a good person, so that you no longer wish to stand up for what you call “justice.” Unknowingly, you no longer have the willpower to swim against the current, but instead flow along with it. “Ravaging” means Satan tormenting people so much that they resemble neither human beings nor ghosts. This is when Satan takes the opportunity to devour them.

Each one of these tactics that Satan employs to corrupt man renders man powerless to resist; any one of them can be deadly to man. In other words, anything Satan does and any tactic it employs can cause you to degenerate, can bring you under Satan’s control, and can mire you in a quagmire of sin. Such are the tactics Satan employs to corrupt man.

—The Word, Vol. 2. On Knowing God. God Himself, the Unique VI

79. Man, who was born into such a filthy land, has been infected by society to a severe extent, he has been conditioned by feudal ethics, and he has received the education of “institutes of higher learning.” The backward thinking, corrupt morality, debased outlook on life, despicable philosophy for worldly dealings, utterly worthless existence, and base customs and day-to-day life—all of these things have been severely intruding upon man’s heart, and have been severely damaging and attacking his conscience. As a result, man grows ever more distant from God, and ever more opposed to Him. Man’s disposition becomes more ruthless by the day, and there is not a single person who willingly gives up anything for God, not a single person who willingly submits to God, and even less is there a single person who willingly seeks the appearance of God. Instead, man pursues pleasure to his heart’s content under the power of Satan, and corrupts his flesh in the mire with abandon. Even when they hear the truth, those who live in darkness have no desire to practice it, and they aren’t inclined to seek even when they see that God has already appeared. How could a depraved mankind like this have any room for salvation? How could a decadent mankind like this live in the light?

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

80. Although Satan Appears Humane, Just and Virtuous, Satan’s Essence Is Cruel and Wicked

Satan builds its reputation through deceiving the world, and often establishes itself as a vanguard and role model of justice. Under false pretenses of upholding justice, it harms people and devours their souls, and it uses all sorts of means to benumb, mislead and incite people, the purpose of which is to make people approve of and go along with its evil conduct, and join it in opposing God’s authority and sovereignty. However, when one sees through its schemes and plots and sees through to its hideous face, and when one does not want to continue to be trampled upon or fooled by it or to continue slaving away for it, or to be punished and destroyed alongside it, then Satan changes its previously saint-like face, tears off its false mask, and reveals its savage true self, which is wicked, vicious, and ugly. It would love nothing more than to exterminate all those who refuse to obey it and who oppose its wicked forces. At this point Satan can no longer assume a trustworthy, upright appearance; what replaces this is its ugly true self—the devil—that was previously hidden beneath sheep’s clothing. Once Satan’s schemes are brought to light and its true self is exposed, it will fly into a rage and unleash its barbarity, and its desire to harm and devour man will intensify. It is enraged by man’s awakening to the truth, and it develops a powerful hatred and vindictiveness toward man for his yearning for freedom and light and his aspiration to break free of its prison. Its rage is intended to defend its wickedness, and it is also a true revelation of its savage nature.

In everything Satan does, it reveals its wicked nature. Out of all the evil deeds that Satan has carried out upon man—from its early efforts to mislead man into following it, to its exploitation of man, in which it causes him to join in its evil deeds, to its vengeance toward man after its true self has been exposed and man has discerned and forsaken it, and so on and so forth—not one of these deeds fails to expose Satan’s wicked essence, nor to prove the fact that Satan has no relation to positive things and that Satan is the source of all evil things. All of its actions serve to safeguard its evilness, ensure the continuation of its evil deeds, go against just and positive things, and ruin the laws and rules of humanity’s normal existence. All these actions are hostile to God, and they will be destroyed by God’s wrath. Although Satan has its own rage, its rage is just a means of venting its wicked nature. The reasons why Satan is exasperated and flies into a rage are these: Its unspeakable schemes have been exposed; it is unlikely that its plots will succeed; its wild ambition and desire to replace God and pass itself off as God have been struck down and blocked; and its goal of controlling all of humanity has now come to nothing and can never be achieved. What has stopped Satan’s schemes from succeeding and cut short the emergence and rampancy of Satan’s evilness is the repeated descent of God’s wrath, time after time. For this reason, Satan both hates and fears God’s wrath. Each time God’s wrath descends, it not only unmasks Satan’s true vile self, but also exposes Satan’s evil desires to the light, and at the same time, the reasons for Satan’s rage against humanity are laid bare. The eruption of Satan’s rage is a true revelation of its wicked nature and an exposure of its schemes. Of course, each time that Satan is enraged heralds the destruction of evil things and the protection and continuation of positive things; it heralds the fact that God’s wrath cannot be offended!

—The Word, Vol. 2. On Knowing God. God Himself, the Unique II