Supplement: Additional Truths in Spreading the Gospel

The theme discussed in the previous few gatherings was about performing one’s duties adequately, and we categorized the duties that people should perform as well as the personnel. What are the specific categories? (The first category is the personnel who spread the gospel, the second category includes leaders and workers at various levels in the church, the third category encompasses personnel who perform various special duties, the fourth category consists of those performing ordinary duties, the fifth category involves those who perform duties in their spare time, and the sixth category refers to those who do not perform duties.) In total, there are six categories. Last time, we discussed the first category, which concerns the principles and truths related to the duty of spreading the gospel, involving subject matter from all aspects of gospel spreading, including points for attention, relevant principles and truths, and areas that people should be cautious about, as well as common errors and distortions that occur in the process of performing this duty. After listening to a sermon on a particular theme, can you summarize the main points within it? If you can grasp the key content of a theme, take to heart the related truths, then gradually, over the course of performing your duty, turn them into your own reality, your own life, and your own path of practice, then you have truly absorbed the content I’ve been fellowshipping. If, after fellowshipping about a sermon, you only have a general idea or remember certain events and stories but don’t understand what the underlying truths and principles may be, and why these things were discussed, does that count as having comprehension? Does that count as understanding the truth? (It doesn’t.) It doesn’t count as understanding the truth; that is, you didn’t understand what truths were being conveyed, you didn’t comprehend them, and you didn’t accept them. Then can you do a summary? Can someone tell Me the main points from our last fellowship? (We summarized seven points: first, how to define the personnel who spread the gospel; second, the essence of the duty of spreading the gospel; third, people’s attitudes toward this duty as well as their inner viewpoints; fourth, specific principles of practice for gospel spreading, such as who conforms to the principles for spreading the gospel and who doesn’t; fifth, how to treat those who align with the principles of spreading the gospel; sixth, the consequences when gospel spreading personnel desert their post and flee during the process of performing their duty; seventh, the sacrifice of saints throughout history in spreading the gospel, and how we should treasure the present opportunities to perform our duties and quickly equip ourselves with the truth.) Your summary basically covers the key aspects of our previous fellowship—very good. Did anything get left out? (There’s one more point: changing people’s viewpoints so that they understand that spreading the gospel is not just the duty of gospel personnel but a responsibility that all those who believe in and follow God cannot shirk. This is a truth that God’s chosen people must grasp.) Spreading the gospel is the responsibility and obligation of every individual—this is also one aspect of it. Do you know the purpose of fellowshipping about this truth? It is to address the deviations in people’s comprehension. Do you know in which aspects there are deviations? (I don’t know.) Not knowing proves that you don’t understand this aspect of the truth. So, why did I need to fellowship about this truth? On the positive side, it is one aspect of the truth that people should understand. On the negative side, it is to address the deviations that all people have in their understanding of spreading the gospel.

Many people have deviations in their understanding of this matter of spreading the gospel. Some people think, “I am currently doing a special duty, so spreading the gospel has nothing to do with me. It’s not my concern. Therefore, the truths, principles, and God’s requirements that need to be understood in order to spread the gospel are irrelevant to me. I don’t need to understand these things.” So, when this aspect of the truth about spreading the gospel is being fellowshipped, they are careless, they don’t take any careful consideration, and they don’t pay attention. Even if they listen, they don’t know what was discussed. There are also those who say, “After believing in God, I’ve always been a leader. I have caliber and the ability to work. I was born to be a leader. It appears as though the duty God gave me and my life mission is to be a leader.” Implicitly, they mean that spreading the gospel has nothing to do with them. So, when the truth about spreading the gospel is being fellowshipped, they don’t take it seriously. When asked to summarize what was fellowshipped in the last gathering, some people flip through their notes for a long time and still don’t know. Why does this happen? Is it due to their poor memory? (No.) Is it because they have too much going on, and their minds are full? (No.) It’s not. This shows that people’s attitude toward the truth is one of being averse to it and not loving the truth. Therefore, I admonish everybody and let everyone know that spreading the gospel is not a special responsibility for a certain type of person or group of people, but the responsibility of every person who follows God. Why must people understand the truth of spreading the gospel? Why do people need to know these truths? As a created being, as one of those who follow God, regardless of age, gender, or how young or old one is, spreading the gospel is a mission and responsibility that everyone must accept. If this mission comes to you and requires you to expend yourself, pay a price, or even lay down your life, what should you do? You should be duty-bound to accept it. This is the truth, it’s what you should understand. This is not a simple doctrine—it is the truth. Why do I say it’s the truth? Because no matter how times change, how the decades go by, or how places and spaces change, spreading the gospel and bearing testimony to God will always be a positive thing. Its meaning and value will never change: It absolutely won’t be influenced by changes in time or geographical location. Spreading the gospel and bearing testimony to God is eternal, and as a created being, you should accept and practice it. This is the eternal truth. Some people say, “Spreading the gospel is not the duty I perform.” However, this truth related to spreading the gospel is something people should understand, because it is a truth related to visions, and those who believe in God should all understand it; it is foundational to faith in God and beneficial to life entry. Furthermore, no matter what duty you perform in the church, you will have opportunities to come into contact with nonbelievers and therefore a responsibility to spread the gospel to them. Once you understand the truth of spreading the gospel, you will know in your heart, “It is my responsibility to proclaim the new work of God, to spread the gospel of God’s work of saving humanity. Regardless of when or where, and no matter what my position or role may be, if I’m serving as an actor, I have an obligation to spread the gospel; and if I am currently a church leader, I also have an obligation to spread the gospel. No matter what duty I’m currently performing, I have an obligation to proclaim the gospel of the kingdom. Whenever there’s an opportunity or spare time, I ought to go and spread the gospel. This is a responsibility that I cannot shirk.” Is this how most people think currently? (No.) What do most people think then? “I have a fixed duty right now. I’m studying and delving into a specific profession, a branch of learning, so spreading the gospel has nothing to do with me.” What kind of attitude is this? It’s an attitude of shirking one’s responsibility and mission, a negative attitude. These people are not considerate of God’s intentions, they are rebellious against God. Regardless of who you are, if you have no burden for spreading the gospel, isn’t this a sign that you lack conscience and reason? If you’re not actively and constructively cooperating, taking things on, and submitting, then you’re passively and negatively going through the motions—this attitude is unacceptable. No matter what duty you perform, no matter what profession or branch of learning it involves, one of the primary outcomes you achieve should be your ability to bear testimony to and proclaim the gospel of God’s work in saving humanity. This is the minimum requirement for a created being. If you can’t even meet this minimum requirement, what have you obtained from performing your duty during these years of believing in God? What have you gained? Do you understand God’s intentions? Even though you’ve been performing your duty for many years and have become adept at your profession, if you can’t say anything or fellowship any aspect of the truth when asked to bear testimony to God, what is the problem here? The problem is that you don’t understand the truth. Some people might feel it’s unfair to say they don’t understand the truth. They might think they’ve been effective in performing their duty, but they don’t understand the visions of God’s work and His intention for saving humanity. Does this amount to understanding the truth? At the very least, you haven’t established a foundation in the true way for your belief in God. You bear no burden for proclaiming God’s work and the gospel of His salvation for humanity, and you lack any insight, understanding, or comprehension. Can you then truly be considered someone who follows God? Have you established a normal relationship with God? If you haven’t achieved any of these things, then you don’t possess the truth reality.

Now, let’s return to the topic we were discussing earlier. Spreading the gospel is the responsibility and obligation of all God’s chosen people. Having discussed this aspect of the truth, what is the one item that everyone should understand? Regardless of whether a person pays a price, forsakes their family and work to expend themselves for God, or even offers up their life, in reality these are all superficial things. What does God ultimately require from people? It’s that as your stature grows and your life matures, as time passes, you gradually start to understand the various truths about God’s work and His intention in saving humanity. Your burden for spreading the gospel and bearing testimony to God becomes increasingly evident, and your determination to bear this duty grows stronger. If a church leader has been working for many years, but as their years of leading the church go by, they feel less of an emotion, are less moved, and have less of a burden for spreading the gospel, how well do they perform their duty? (Not well.) How come? What is the issue that arises? If they develop or live in such a state, at least one thing is certain: This person hasn’t pursued the truth during these years and hasn’t done any actual work. They are like the bureaucratic cadre of the great red dragon. As a result, they have no burden and no insight for proclaiming God’s name and bearing testimony to His work. Isn’t this the outcome? (Yes.) It is an inevitable outcome. No matter how many years this person has been working, even if they think they have a great stature, that they can be considerate of God’s burden, and can serve according to God’s intentions, yet when it comes to spreading the gospel, they step back, they don’t know how to do it. When they encounter people who are eager for God’s appearance and come to seek and investigate the true way, they become tongue-tied. They can’t say a word, and don’t know where to start. What’s the problem here? It’s that they don’t understand the truth and haven’t gained the truth, so they can’t bear testimony to God. Only those who understand the truth can bear testimony to God. Spreading the gospel and bearing testimony to God fall within your range of duties. If you understand the truth, if you’ve gained the truth, why would you have nothing to say when you meet people investigating the true way? Isn’t this a problem? Do you often find yourselves in situations like this? (Yes.) What’s the problem here? You don’t have a burden. Is not having a burden a problem? Can you perform your duty without a burden? Even if you perform your duty, can you do it loyally? Can you do it adequately? While not having a burden might not be a fatal issue, it’s still a serious problem, because it affects how well you perform your duty. Doesn’t this problem need to be resolved? (Yes, it does.) So, how do you resolve this? You have to reverse your erroneous viewpoints about spreading the gospel and understand the truth of it. All the work you are currently engaged in is directly related to that of spreading the gospel and falls within the scope of spreading the gospel. It is aimed at bearing testimony to God, expanding the work of the gospel, testifying about God’s name, and proclaiming this gospel of God’s work in saving humanity, so that more people become aware of it, and more people come before God, accept God’s conquest, receive God’s salvation, and ultimately, if they are fortunate enough to receive God’s perfection of them—that’s even better. What does it mean to have more people come before God, and what is the ultimate outcome this should achieve? (To cause more people to obtain God’s salvation.) Why should this goal be achieved? Because it’s God’s intention. That’s why we tirelessly explain these truths. If it had nothing to do with God’s intention, talking about these things would be useless and empty. Because it is God’s intention, we make it clear and help everyone understand it, so that they know that this is the truth and that everyone should put effort into this truth of spreading the gospel, so that every person has this kind of insight and develops this kind of burden.

The next question is, why should we let more people understand God’s intention so that they are able to spread the gospel and fulfill their duties? Why should this be done? Some may say, “God wants every person to be saved and does not want anyone to suffer perdition, so we should let more people accept God’s work.” This statement is correct, but it isn’t the essential answer to the question. So, what is the essential answer to this question? Do you know? (God wants to gain a group of people who are of one heart and mind with Him.) God wants to gain a group of people who are of one heart and mind with Him, and this must be achieved through the expansion of the gospel. What we are talking about now is widely spreading the gospel. Is there a difference between spreading the gospel widely and gaining a group of people? (Yes.) Then, what is the purpose of spreading the gospel widely? (To save as many people as possible.) To save as many people as possible is a principle of God’s salvation but not the answer to this question. From the time this work began, I have repeatedly talked about how, this time, God has come to do work in order to inaugurate an age, to bring a new age and end the old one—to bring the Age of Kingdom and end the Age of Grace. All those who accept God’s work in the last days have witnessed this fact. God is doing new work, expressing the truth to judge humanity, purifying and saving humanity. The gospel of the kingdom has begun to spread in many countries. This humanity has already emerged from the Age of Law and the Age of Grace. They no longer read the Bible, they no longer live under the cross, and they no longer call on the name of Savior Jesus. Instead, they pray in the name of Almighty God and simultaneously accept God’s present words as the principles, methods, and goals of survival in their lives. In this sense, haven’t these people already entered a new age? (Yes.) They have entered a new age. So, what is the age in which even more people, who haven’t accepted the gospel in the last days and God’s new words, are still living? They are still living in the Age of Grace. Now, what is your responsibility? It is to bring them out of the Age of Grace and into the new age. Can you fulfill God’s commission by just praying to God and calling on His name? Is it enough to just preach a few words of God? It definitely isn’t. This requires all of you to have a burden to take up this commission of spreading the gospel, to broadly disseminate God’s words, to spread God’s words in various ways, and to proclaim and expand the gospel of the kingdom. What does it mean to expand? It means to convey God’s words to those who haven’t accepted God’s work in the last days, to let more people know that God is doing new work, and then to testify about God’s words to them, to use your experiences to testify about God’s work, and bring them also into the new age—this way they will enter into the new age just like you. God’s intention is clear. It is not only for you who have heard His words, accepted them, and followed Him, to enter into the new age, but He will lead all of humanity into this new age. This is God’s intention, and it is a truth that every person now following God should understand. God is not leading a group of people, a small faction, or a small ethnic group into the new age; rather, He intends to lead all of humanity into the new age. How can this goal be achieved? (By widely spreading the gospel.) Indeed, it must be achieved by spreading the gospel widely, using various methods and avenues to widely convey the gospel. Speaking about spreading the gospel widely is easy, but how should it specifically be done? (It requires human cooperation.) Exactly, this requires human cooperation. If people always cling to some old things in their hearts, always harboring certain distorted elements, holding onto old regulations and practices, but do not take the gospel work seriously, and do not accept God’s commission, treating gospel work as irrelevant to themselves, can such people be promoted and used by God? Can they have the qualifications to live before God? Can they obtain God’s approval? Absolutely not. Therefore, I must work on your thoughts, taking note of any elements that you do not understand, and tirelessly explain the relevant truths until you grasp them. Regardless of how numb and dull-witted you may be, I have to keep speaking to you and make you understand that this is God’s intention, this is the duty you must perform, and it is your mission and obligation in this lifetime. If you don’t pay attention to what I say or don’t understand it, I have to continue speaking. Even if you’re fed up with it, I have to go on speaking until you understand the truth. What is the truth? The truth is what God expresses; it is God’s intentions, God’s requirements for humanity, and the truth reality that people in the new age must possess. How should people treat God’s intentions? They should unreservedly and absolutely accept them, then submit themselves and cooperate, thereby satisfying God’s intentions. This is a person’s obligation. Do you understand when I say it like this? Some might say, “Oh dear, God requires people to accept His commission, but what does that have to do with us insignificant individuals?” Do you think it has anything to do with them? (Yes, it does.) What does it have to do with them? Let Me explain. God is the Creator, and humans are His created beings. What is the relationship between “create” and “created”? It is the relationship between acting and being acted upon, between creating and being created. Since the Creator’s intentions have been made known to you, with what attitude should you respond? (Accept them and cooperate with all my might.) Exactly, you should submit to them and accept them, cooperating with all your might, no matter the cost. Does this cooperation include seeking the truth? Does it include understanding the truth? It includes both. Since you understand God’s requirements and commission, these are related to your mission, they are your duty—since you know this, you should accept it. This is what someone with a conscience and reason ought to do. If you know God’s requirements and commission but cannot accept them, then you are devoid of both conscience and reason, and you don’t deserve to be called a human being. Some people might still not understand, thinking, “What do God’s intentions have to do with us?” If God’s intentions have nothing to do with you, then you are not a follower of God or a member of God’s house. For example, your parents have given birth to you and raised you for many years; you’ve eaten their food, lived in their house, and spent their money. But when there’s a problem at home, and you say it has nothing to do with you, you ignore it and just run away, what kind of wretch is this? To say you are an outsider sounds pleasant; in reality, you’re a rebellious wretch, a brute in human clothing, lower than a beast. God’s intention has been made clear to you, and God says, “You have accepted this stage of work, and I have already given you these words first, so that you may hear them first, and you have heard them, understood them, and comprehended them. Now, I will also tell you My intention and My requirement for you. You should proclaim My work, My words, and the things I am going to accomplish in order to allow the whole of humanity to hear My voice; you should expand My gospel of the kingdom to allow all of humanity to quickly accept God’s work and enter into the Age of Kingdom. This is God’s intention and requirement.” How should you reflect upon hearing this? What kind of attitude should you have? How should you choose? How should you fulfill the duty that a created being should fulfill? Some people might feel that the burden is heavy, but feeling is not enough by itself; you need action and genuine understanding. You should pray to God like this: “Oh God, You have entrusted me with the responsibility of spreading the gospel—this is Your exaltation. Although I understand too little of the truth, I am willing to do my utmost to fulfill this commission. I have heard so many sermons and have understood some truths—all this is Your blessing, and I now have this responsibility to bear testimony to God’s words and work, in order to fulfill this commission.” That is correct; when people have a heart of submission to God, He guides them. God has clearly told people already and said that spreading God’s gospel is an obligation and a responsibility that no one can shirk. It is a lifelong duty, a duty of every created being. Do these words contain a command from God? Do they contain His exhortation? (Yes, they do.) Do they contain God’s intention? (Yes.) Do they contain truths that people should understand? (Yes.) Are there principles and paths of practice here that one can follow? (Yes.) How many points did I mention in total? (Four points: The first is God’s command and exhortation. The second is God’s intention. The third is truths that we should understand. The fourth is principles and paths of practice that one should follow.) That’s right; I’ve mentioned these four points in total. Next, let’s fellowship the specific content of each one.

The first item is God’s command. What is God’s command? (To proclaim the gospel of the kingdom.) It is to spread the gospel of the kingdom widely. The second item is God’s intention. What is God’s intention? It is to let more people know that God has already come, that He is doing new work, that God intends to change the age, to end the old age, and to lead humanity into a new age. This is God’s intention, isn’t it? Can one say that God’s intention is expanding the gospel? It’s not that simple. Expanding the gospel has an ultimate purpose and result—what should that be? (To let more people know that God has come, He is doing new work, and He intends to end the old age, and lead all of humanity into a new age.) That’s correct, to lead all of humanity into a new age. What impact does this have on humanity? Humanity enters a new age; this age is transformed. So, what is God’s intention? Please repeat it. (God intends to change the age, to end the old age and lead humanity into a new age.) You can’t leave anything out—have you noted it all down? (Yes.) The third item is the truth that people should understand. What should this truth be? (Spreading the gospel is the duty and responsibility of every created being.) That is the truth. Within this truth, what people should do is to accept the duty of spreading the gospel and then find the principles and paths of practice within this statement. This statement is the truth for people. What is the statement? (Spreading the gospel is the duty and responsibility of every created being.) It should be the duty and mission. How do you understand duty and mission? Duty is the responsibility that one should fulfill, and the responsibility one should fulfill is also their duty. But mission is different; mission is greater, more fitting, with a deeper meaning and greater weight than responsibility. Have you noted this down? (Yes.) Now, I’ve noticed something; all these contents we are discussing need to be recorded in writing before you have an idea of them. If you don’t note them down, just listening like this, it doesn’t even leave an impression. What does this indicate? It shows that people don’t understand the truth; they only grasp a bit of doctrine and know the definition, concept, and outline of certain truths. When it comes to the specific details of these truths, how to practice them and apply them, they’re clueless, aren’t they? For most of you, talking about doctrine for two or three hours is not difficult, but when it comes to applying the truth to resolve situations, using the principles and paths of practice that you have experienced and understood—that’s difficult. What’s the problem here? Not understanding the truth, isn’t that right? Now, let’s proceed to the fourth item. What is the fourth item? (The principles and paths of practice that one should follow.) How are these principles and paths determined? They are determined based on two things: One is God’s intention, and the other is the truth. These two things are what people must understand. For example, if you are reluctant to spread the gospel when you are asked to do so, but God says spreading the gospel is His intention, what should you do? What should your principles of practice be? What should your attitude be? You should submit to and accept it wholly, without declining, without analysis or scrutiny, without asking the reason. This is true submission. It is an important principle that must be followed in practicing the truth. When we talk about God’s intention in a defining manner, what does it typically refer to? God’s intention is essentially God’s desire, the purpose, source, and starting point for His actions. In spiritual terms, it’s referred to as His “intention” or the “vision.” When God reveals His intention to you, He gives you a general direction, letting you know what He intends to do. However, if God doesn’t provide the specifics or principles, do you know the exact path and direction to practice? You won’t. That’s why when I tell people to do something, those who have a head on their shoulders, who have a heart and a spirit, will immediately seek the details and how specifically to do it after accepting it. Those without a head on their shoulders, without a heart and a spirit, might think that it’s easy and rush into action without waiting for further details. This is what it means not to have a head on one’s shoulders and to do a task blindly. When you receive a commission from God and aim to fulfill your duty and complete your mission, you must first understand God’s intention. You need to know that this commission comes from God, that it’s His intention, and you should accept it, be considerate of it, and, more importantly, submit to it. Secondly, you should seek out which truths you need to understand to perform this duty, which principles you should follow, and how to practice in a way that benefits God’s chosen people and the work of God’s house. These are the principles of practice. After understanding God’s intention, you should promptly seek and understand the truths related to performing this duty and, after understanding the truth, ascertain the principles and path of practicing these truths. What do “principles” refer to? Specifically, a principle refers to something upon which achieving a target or producing results must be based when practicing the truth. For instance, if you’re tasked with purchasing an item, what are the specific principles of practice? Firstly, you need to understand the specifications and model of the item to be purchased, the quality standards it must meet, and whether the price is suitable. In the process of seeking, you’ll gain clarity on the specific principles of practice. These principles provide you with a scale and a range—you’ll be fine as long as you stay within this range. Once you’ve understood the basic principles regarding the specifications, quality, and price of the item, it shows you’ve grasped the required standards for this task. It means you’ve essentially learned how to practice. One must grasp the principles in order to practice the truth: Principles are the key, the most basic element. Once you’ve grasped the fundamental principles of performing your duty, it shows that you understand the required standards for performing that duty. Mastering these principles is equivalent to knowing how to practice the truth. So, on what basis is this ability to practice established? It is on the foundation of understanding God’s intention and the truth. Is it considered understanding the truth if you only know a sentence of what God requires? No, it isn’t. What standards must be met to be considered understanding the truth? You must understand the meaning and value of performing your duty and, once you have been clear about these two aspects, you have understood the truth of performing your duty. Furthermore, after understanding the truth, you must also grasp the principles of performing your duty and the paths of practice. Once you can grasp and apply the principles of performing your duty, and sometimes apply a little wisdom, you can ensure the effectiveness of performing your duty. By grasping these principles and acting according to them, you can be up to practicing the truth. If you perform your duty without mingling any human intentions, if it is done by absolutely submitting to God’s requirements and according to the work arrangements of God’s house, fully aligning with God’s words, then you have fulfilled your duty in a fully qualified manner, and even if there might be some discrepancies in the results compared to God’s requirements, this still counts as achieving God’s requirements. If you perform your duty fully in accordance with the principles, if you are loyal, all to the best of your ability, then your performance of duty completely aligns with God’s intention. You have fulfilled your duty as a created being with all your heart, mind, and strength, which is the result achieved by practicing the truth. Now, to grasp the principles and paths of practice, what should you understand first in order to achieve this result? (Firstly, we should understand God’s intention, and then accept and submit to it wholly and without declining.) This is what people should possess in terms of practice and attitude. What should be understood next? You should understand the truth, and the details within the truth constitute the principles and paths. To grasp the principles and paths of practice you should follow, the first thing you must understand is God’s intention, followed by the truth. These are the two main points, and everything else consists of detailed content contained within these.

The first category concerning those who perform their duty in spreading the gospel will be temporarily concluded here. Today, I added a bit more as a supplement to serve as a prompt for the main subject matter discussed last time. At the same time, it serves as a warning to make everyone recognize the importance of this truth, so that every task you are currently engaged in and every duty you perform are oriented toward this direction and goal and carried out on this foundation—all related to spreading the gospel. Although you are not on the frontlines interacting with potential gospel recipients, all of the duties you are currently performing can be said to relate to the work of the gospel. On this basis, shouldn’t everyone have a clearer and more illuminated understanding of the truth related to spreading the gospel? (Yes.) By way of today’s supplement, have you gained a clear view of the weight and importance of the duty of spreading the gospel? (Yes.) Now then, what is the most suitable and appropriate attitude to have toward this truth in the future? Expanding the gospel is God’s intention. God intends to bring an end to this old age, and lead more people before Him, out of the old age and into the new one. This is God’s intention, and it is something that everyone should understand. Some may say, “I understand, but I can’t muster the zeal needed to spread the gospel, and I don’t have the heart for cooperation.” What’s the issue here? (Lack of humanity.) Exactly. You acknowledge yourself as a created being and a follower of God, but when it comes to God’s intention that He often admonishes everyone about, His urgent intention explained clearly to all people, if you pay no attention and give no heed, what kind of person does that make you? It’s a manifestation of lacking humanity. You want to honor God as great and say that He is your God and your Lord, but when it comes to God’s intention, you show not a single regard, no consideration whatsoever. This is a lack of humanity, and such a person is heartless. This topic concludes here.

The Definitions of Leaders and Workers and the Reasons for Putting Them in Place

Next, let us discuss the second category: those who perform the duties of leaders and workers. Though few in number, such people play an important role in terms of the nature of their work. The duties of leaders and workers involve many truths too—more truths, even, than spreading the gospel. Why do I say this? These duties are very broad in scope. One aspect of these duties is the work of outwardly spreading the gospel, and the other is internally watering and supplying God’s chosen people, managing the church life well, as well as handling church matters and solving all sorts of problems. That is to say, leaders and workers must understand more truths, and stricter demands are made of them regarding certain principles of practice, and their relationship with God must be closer. Being a leader or worker involves practice and entry into various aspects of the truth, the paths that people take, as well as many other aspects. Compared to performing the duty of spreading the gospel, being a leader or worker is more closely related to life entry and also requires achieving dispositional change. This means that the various truths relating to how to do the work of leaders well are greater in number and scope. Yet no matter how many there are, they still fall under several main themes, so let’s go through them item-by-item, point-by-point, and you will gradually come to understand them. Let us start by talking about the definition of leaders and workers. Why is it necessary to define them? A definition is equivalent to positioning something, that is, it tells people the nature and scope of the responsibilities of these duties, as well as their titles—in other words, what to call them. By accurately defining these duties, people can gain mental clarity with regard to the standing that this category of people has in God’s mind, what He demands of them, and what requirements He has for their performance of these duties, what path they should take, and what principles they should practice. Regardless of whether they are young or old, of high and noble position, or of lowly and base position, and regardless of their background, in any case, God has required standards for such people. In other words, there are truths that people who perform such duties must understand; there are truth principles that they should grasp and practice, and there is a certain path they should follow. So, how are those chosen from among God’s followers to lead and work usually defined? What is the precise definition? What do people believe to be the definition? And what exact position do such people hold in the hearts of others? Is this not related to defining the identity and status of such people? How do others position this group of people in their hearts? Is it as apostles? No. Is it as disciples? It’s not as disciples, either. Is there anyone who calls them shepherds? (Yes.) Is “shepherds” a suitable title? (It is not.) Why is it not? (It’s the wrong position.) Are people capable of performing the role of shepherds? (No.) Since they are not apostles or disciples, and “shepherds” is not appropriate either, what exactly is the most suitable name for the people who perform these duties? What is the more apt term? (Watchmen.) Is “watchmen” suitable? I don’t see any difference between this title and “shepherds.” It is a grand-sounding name, but the work these people do is rather minor. None of these titles are suitable. So, based on the nature of the duties these people perform, what is a more apt name and definition? What are the principles for defining such people? The definition must match the nature of their work, as well as their identity and status, and it must be just right, and not too grand. If we defined these people as “apostles,” would that be too grandiose? (Yes.) Or, what about “watchmen”? (That’s even more grandiose.) Are you capable of watching over people? If not, you are not a watchman. What about “shepherds”? What does “shepherds” refer to? (People who tend to a flock.) It refers to people who tend to and watch over a flock of sheep. The name actually fits this group, just based on the nature of their work. However, given what people can shoulder these days, what they can achieve, and their corrupt dispositions, is the title “shepherds” suitable? (No.) It’s a little grandiose. They’re not capable of this, nor does it match the nature or scope of the work people do these days. Obviously, this title does not suit them. What, then, is the most suitable way to define this category of people? (As leaders and workers.) This phrase is relatively suitable.

What is the cause of the emergence of the category of people who are leaders and workers? How did they emerge? On a grand scale, they are needed for God’s work; on a smaller scale, they are needed for the work of the church, they are needed by God’s chosen people. Regardless of their identity or status, and irrespective of the role they play, they are equal to ordinary members of God’s chosen people; their identity and status before God are the same. Though the term “leaders and workers” exists in the church, and though these individuals are “leaders” and “workers” who perform different duties than their brothers and sisters, their title of “created beings” before God is still the same; this identity will not change. The difference between leaders and workers and ordinary members of God’s chosen people is only a special characteristic in the duties they perform. This special characteristic shows principally in their leadership roles. For example, no matter how many people a church has, the leader is the head. So what role does this leader play among the members? They lead all of God’s chosen people in the church. So what effect do they have throughout the whole church? If this leader takes the wrong path, all those in the church will follow them down the wrong path, which will have a huge impact on all of God’s chosen people in the church. Take Paul for example. He led many of the churches he founded and God’s chosen people. When Paul went astray, the churches and God’s chosen people he led also went astray. So, when leaders take their own diverging path, they are not the only ones who are impacted, the churches and God’s chosen people they lead are impacted as well. If a leader is a right person, one who is walking the right path and pursues and practices the truth, then the people they lead will eat and drink God’s words normally and pursue the truth normally, and, at the same time, the leader’s life experience and progress will be visible to others, and will impact others. So, what is the correct path that a leader should walk? It is being able to lead others to an understanding of the truth and an entry into the truth, and to lead others before God. What is an incorrect path? It is to pursue status, fame, and gain, to frequently show off oneself and to bear witness to oneself, never bearing witness to God. What effect does this have on God’s chosen people? (It brings them before oneself.) They will stray far from God and come under this leader’s control. If you lead people to come before you, then you are leading them to come before a corrupt person, and you are leading them to come before Satan, not God. Only leading people to come before truth is leading them to come before God. Leaders and workers, no matter whether they walk the right path or the wrong one, have a direct influence on God’s chosen people. When they have yet to understand the truth, the majority of God’s chosen people follow blindly. The leader could be someone good, and they would follow them; the leader could be someone bad, and they would also follow them—they don’t differentiate. They follow as they are led, regardless of who the leader is. And so it is crucial that the churches choose good people to be their leaders. The path walked by each person who believes in God is directly related to the path walked by their leaders, and can to varying degrees be influenced by those leaders and workers. Let us begin by fellowshipping along these two lines on the various truths involved in the duties of leaders and workers—the correct path, on the one hand, and the incorrect path, on the other. Which of these two should we fellowship about first? (The incorrect path.) Why do you choose this? Is it better to discuss the correct path first, or the incorrect path? (The incorrect one.) Both are correct, actually—but which one we discuss first will have a different effect. If we start with discussing the incorrect path, people can discover more about the correct path within the incorrect path and also find out many passive and negative things or knowledge, which they can use to admonish themselves. They can derive something positive from this, and if we then go on to discuss the correct path, people will be able to comprehend what is positive on a deeper level and more rapidly. Basically, this approach is viable, and it is of benefit to people. Let us therefore begin by discussing the incorrect path.

The Techniques Antichrists Use to Control People

Once a person is selected as a leader or worker and has begun performing their duties, should they adopt a certain demeanor? Some ask, “What demeanor? Should they be mounting the clouds or commanding the wind and the rain?” Neither is correct. Although they should not be mounting the clouds or commanding the wind and the rain, and they certainly should not be shouting from the rooftops, as they are a corrupted human being with the corrupt disposition and essence of Satan, at such times every person does feel a thunderous force deep inside them. They all have lofty ambitions, and feel a drive to succeed in their career, to show off their skills, to make a splash, and to go all-out. Let us not discuss, for the moment, whether this sort of drive is right or wrong. When someone is selected as a leader or worker, they harbor very complex feelings deep inside of them. What do I mean by complex? Some believe it is not easy at all to get chosen as a leader, and although they are not sure if they can do a good job, and do not know what their future path will be, their inherent nature is such that they are very glad for this opportunity, very happy to accept this honorable responsibility and heavy burden. Also, deep down, they feel a bit self-satisfied and fortunate. What do they feel fortunate about? They believe, “I was chosen from among dozens of others—I must be quite stellar and capable. I must be better than ordinary people, and have better comprehension and more spiritual understanding than most. I have believed in god for many years, and I have expended and exerted a lot. The facts prove that I am qualified to take the lead in the church, guiding people in entering god’s words and understanding the truth. There are so many people who are cleverer, better-educated, and more articulate than me, so why was I chosen instead of them? It shows that I’m capable and have good humanity. This is the grace of god.” This is their internal monologue. “Grace of god” is tacked on at the end, but in fact their true thoughts and true understanding are in the first part of what they said. They think, “Even though I didn’t compete or fight for this, I was still chosen. And what should I do now? I can’t let everyone down, I must go all out!” And how do they go all out? Their first day on the job, they call the supervisors of each group together for a gathering, and they have a certain demeanor and energy about them. What kind of energy? They act swiftly and decisively, and mean what they say, eager to make an impressive start. First, they try to show everyone how capable they are, then they try to get people to discern and forsake their predecessor. They say: “Today, let us first spend some time dissecting my predecessor, for example, the ways in which he constrained people, which aspects of the work he was flawed or negligent in, and so on—we can fellowship about all of these things. When we have finished fellowshipping, and you have clear discernment of the previous leader, are able to forsake him, are no longer constrained by him, and no longer long for him, you can then be considered as possessing understanding, and as being loyal and submissive to god. In today’s gathering we will start by criticizing the previous false leader and antichrist. Let us expose him.” In response, everyone says that they have already fellowshipped about this, and discerned that the predecessor was a false leader and antichrist, so there is nothing for them to expose. But these new leaders do not agree, and they start singling people out and getting them to fellowship. Some people’s fellowship is not to their liking, so they ask one of the brothers and sisters who was closest to the former leader to expose and dissect him, but after hearing this fellowship, these new leaders think, “This person doesn’t have discernment of my predecessor, and they haven’t forsaken him either. It seems as if he still has a place in this person’s heart. That won’t do at all; today I must think of a way to completely expose my predecessor.” After that, they call on somebody who was on the worst terms with the previous leader to get up and expose him. Once that person has exposed the previous leader, they are satisfied, and think that this person is worthy of cultivation. And what do they want to cultivate? They want to cultivate an accomplice, to cultivate their own forces. This is how the first gathering goes. And can they achieve their goal after this gathering? Not so thoroughly, or so quickly. What are they plotting in their hearts? “Nothing is more inscrutable than the human heart, and nothing is more sinister. I have to ascertain what each person thinks of my predecessor, and I must be clear on what they think of me, whether they know about my past, and whether they know the ins and outs about me, and ultimately show them all that I am not to be messed with. But I have to select my methods and tactics carefully. I can’t expose my intentions; I have to conceal them.” And where do these thoughts, methods of work, and motives all come from? Their satanic nature. Do you have such manifestations? The day you were selected as leaders or workers, you may have started off by warning yourselves to not take the wrong path, to not walk the path of false leaders and antichrists. You may have told yourselves that you must let go of status, and not work for the sake of your own fame, gain, or status, or be led by desire while you work, and instead work hard to do your duties, and be loyal to God. Yet, as time passes, there are those who cannot help themselves, and as soon as they speak or act their goal becomes very clear—they immediately try to consolidate their own status and win over people’s hearts. As soon as someone reveals the slightest hint of dissatisfaction or defiance, it irks them, and though they may not openly exclude or attack the person, deep down they feel very repulsed by them. How do they manifest this feeling of repulsion? (They ignore that person.) Ignoring them is a quiet manifestation, so what specific actions does the repulsion involve? For example, they seat the people they like facing them at gatherings, and they find a reason to seat the people they don’t like off to the side. Is this an attack? (Yes.) This is the start of their attack. They are taking action, are they not? (Yes.) Actions are more serious and severe than words or thoughts. Why are they more severe? Thinking something but not acting on it—this derives from one’s mind and thoughts. But as soon as there is action, it becomes a fact. When it becomes behavior, it is not merely the corrupt disposition of Satan but an evil deed. After people are chosen to be leaders, they bring their own wishes, aspirations, and ideals to the work they do and the duties they perform. But what is a shared manifestation that all humans who possess Satan’s corrupt disposition have? What do they all have in common? They try to seize power and consolidate their own status. By what means do they try to seize power? Firstly, they observe in groups who are trying to curry favor with them and draw close to them. Then, they actively get closer to those people, and, whether through flattery or through offering small favors, they create underhand connections and ingratiate themselves with them, so that these people—with whom they have shared preferences, interests, ambitions, or the same natures—become their die-hard followers, and join forces with them. And what is their goal in making these people join forces with them? To consolidate their status and expand the scope of their forces. Once they gain power, it is not only a matter of them having the final say, and that’s it—they also want to get more people to follow them, support them, and speak on their behalf, so that even when they say something wrong, do bad things, or attack and restrict people, there will still be those who do as they say and approve of them. This is their goal. Then, if the Above discovers their problems and replaces them one day, there will still be people who do their utmost to speak on their behalf, who come to their defense, and try to protect their reputation. And what method are they using for these actions of theirs to achieve this kind of outcome? Winning over people’s hearts. They use the method of winning over people’s hearts in order to consolidate their status and expand the scope of their forces. This is one of the methods by which antichrists seize power.

When it comes to the techniques that antichrists use to consolidate their status, the first one is winning over people’s hearts and the second is attacking and excluding dissenters. Winning over people’s hearts means that they use the method of winning over people on those who curry favor with them, who draw close to them, who trust them, and who follow them no matter if they are right or wrong. Attacking and excluding dissenters means that they view as enemies all those who understand the truth, and who can consequently discern them, refrain from following them, and keep away from them. They treat these people as nails in their eyes and thorns in their sides, and the technique they use on these people is to attack and exclude them. For example, say that an antichrist notices that every time they fellowship, people are very enthusiastic, with some taking notes or recording them on a tape recorder. There is only one young sister who never takes notes or speaks up. So, they think to themselves: “Does she have a problem with me? Or does she think that I don’t fellowship well? What’s more, every time I arrive, other people greet me and nod to me in a friendly way, pouring water for me and offering me a seat, but she’s never treated me like that. It looks as if she isn’t yielding to me—I have to think of a way and find an opportunity to teach her a lesson! What kind of opportunity should I look for? I’ll arrange for her to go handle something that she’s certain to do a poor job at—that will give me a reason to lecture her. This is my best chance to get her to yield to me.” Subsequently, they arrange for this sister to go work somewhere dangerous. They think: “I’ll get her to go and spread the gospel to an old religious pastor, one who is a bit lecherous and does not accept the truth. Let’s see if she can convert him. What will she have to say for herself if she can’t? If she doesn’t yield to me, I’ll send her away!” Then, they proceed to say to her: “Right now most of the other brothers and sisters think very highly of you. You’ve believed in god for many years, and you understand many truths. There is a religious pastor who knows the Bible well, and you’re the one who is best suited to go and spread the gospel to him.” When the sister meets the pastor, the pastor sees that she is young and beautiful, and takes a liking to her—he even takes some liberties with her. After she returns, the sister says she does not want to go back again, to which the antichrist replies: “The church has assigned you to spread the gospel to him. This is your duty, you must go!” Hearing this, the sister has no choice but to obey, and as a result she cries after each visit. This leader is capable of doing such things in order to attack and retaliate against others. What kind of person is this? An evil one. If they were a woman, would they go in this kind of situation? (No.) Absolutely not. They would avoid it more than anyone. They see who displeases them, who is easy to pick on, who does not yield to them and does not curry favor with them, and then find opportunities to scheme against these people and get revenge on them. Tell Me, when someone has bad and evil intentions, are they not capable of doing all kinds of horrible things? And how do these bad, evil intentions come about? One of the chief reasons is that their nature essence is too bad and malicious, and another is that they do not have a God-fearing heart. When people do not possess God-fearing hearts, there is nothing that they do not dare do; they won’t just harm other people, they can even do things like judging and selling out God—harming people is a piece of cake for them. They will not think it’s a big deal no matter how much they harm other people; they have no sympathy for others and are very malicious at their core. And what was the goal of this antichrist when they pushed this young sister toward the fiery pit? They did not do this to spread the gospel and gain people; it was just to torment her. What kind of people do they torment? If it is someone who complies with them and obeys them, will they torment them? No, they will not. So why was the sister subjected to such treatment? (Because she did not yield to them.) Because she did not yield to them, did not curry favor with them, do as they said, or treat them as a big deal, and disdained them instead, she was treated like this and harmed as a result. When antichrists harm people in this way, how will those who are small in stature and do not understand the truth generally react? They will think to themselves: “Local officials have more control than state officials. Right now, we are under this person’s control, so we should do as they say and go wherever they tell us to. However other people act toward them, that is how we should act toward them. We must integrate with the group. We should curry favor with them in the same way that other people do, and we should do it better and more attentively than others. Only then can we keep this leader off our backs. This leader isn’t easy to serve—we shouldn’t mess with them!” And is this not precisely the outcome that the antichrist wants to see? (Yes.) In this, they have achieved their goal. Is this not the same as the technique that Satan uses to abuse people? (It is.) What does this show? That their actions represent Satan. They have become an outlet for and representative of Satan; they act on behalf of it. Is doing a duty in that way the true performance of a duty? Is it serving God? (No.) Such leaders are not fit to be called leaders—they are evil people and Satans.

As soon as antichrists become leaders, the first thing they do is try to win over people’s hearts, to make people believe them, trust them, and support them. When their status is secure, they begin to become abnormal. To protect their status and power, they begin to attack and exclude dissenters. Toward dissenters—particularly toward people who pursue the truth—they’ll try anything, using steady, precise and unrelenting methods to suppress and attack them, to torment them. Only when they have brought down and vilified anyone who threatens their status do they feel at ease. Every antichrist is like this. What is their aim in using these myriad tactics to win over and suppress people? Their goal is to gain power, to consolidate their status, to mislead and control people. What do their intentions and motives represent? They wish to establish their own, independent kingdom, they want to stand against God. Such an essence is even more grievous than a corrupt disposition: The ambitions and treacherous schemes of Satan have been completely exposed. This is not solely a problem of the revealing of a corrupt disposition. For example, when people are a little arrogant and self-righteous, or are sometimes a bit deceitful and mendacious, these are merely the revelations of a corrupt disposition. Everything antichrists do, meanwhile, is in order to win over people’s hearts, to attack and exclude dissenters, to consolidate their status, to seize power, and to control people. What is the nature of these actions? Are they practicing the truth? Are they leading God’s chosen people in entering God’s words and coming before God? (No.) So what are they doing? They are vying with God for His chosen people, competing for people’s hearts, and trying to set up their own, independent kingdom. Who should have a place in people’s hearts? God should have a place. But everything the antichrists do is precisely the opposite of this. They do not allow God or the truth to have a place in people’s hearts; instead, they want man, the leader that they are, and Satan to have a place in people’s hearts. As soon as they discover that they do not have a place in someone’s heart, that this person does not treat them like a leader, they are extremely disgruntled, and will probably try to suppress them and torment them. Everything the antichrists do and say revolves around their status and reputation, and is meant to make people think highly of them, to make people envy and worship them—even to make people fear them. They want to make God’s chosen people treat them like God, thinking, “No matter what church I’m in, people must listen to me, they must take their cues from me. No matter who reports what problem to the above, it must go through me, they are only allowed to make reports to me, and not directly to the above. If anyone says ‘no’ to me, I’ll punish them, so that everyone who sees me feels fear, trepidation, and shivers in their heart. What’s more, if I give an order or assert something, no one must dare to disagree; whatever I say, people must fall in line with it. They must listen to me absolutely, they must obey me in all things, and I must be the one calling the shots there.” This is precisely the tone with which antichrists speak, this is the voice of antichrists, this is how antichrists try to lord over the churches. If God’s chosen people do as they say and obey them, do such churches not become the kingdoms of the antichrists? They say, “The work arrangements issued by the above have to be checked over by me, I must take responsibility for you, I must be the one who analyzes right and wrong, the outcome must be decided by me. You don’t have enough stature, and you are not sufficiently qualified. I am the leader of the church and everything is up to me.” Aren’t the people who say these things not being extremely pompous? They truly are so arrogant that they lack any reason! Are they not trying to establish their own, independent kingdom? What kind of people are liable to try to create their own kingdom? Are they not bona fide antichrists? Is not everything antichrists say and do in order to protect their own status? Are they not trying to mislead and control people? Why are they called antichrists? What is the meaning of “anti”? It means antithetic and hatred. It means hostility toward Christ, hostility toward the truth, and hostility toward God. What does “hostility” mean? It means standing on the opposite side, treating you like an enemy, as if one is filled with a great and profound hatred; it means to be in diametric opposition to you. Such is the mentality with which antichrists approach God. What attitude do people like this, who hate God, have toward the truth? Are they able to love the truth? Are they able to accept the truth? Definitely not. Therefore, people who stand in opposition to God are people who hate the truth. The number one thing that is exhibited in them is an aversion toward the truth and hatred of the truth. As soon as they hear the truth or the words of God, there is hatred in their hearts, and when anyone reads the words of God to them, an expression of anger and rage appears on their faces, just like when the words of God are read to a demon when people are spreading the gospel. In their hearts, people who are averse toward the truth and hate the truth feel the utmost aversion toward God’s words and the truth, theirs is an attitude of resistance, and they even go so far as to hate anyone who reads God’s words to them or fellowships the truth to them, they even treat that person as an enemy. They feel extreme aversion toward various truths, and toward positive things. All the truths such as submitting to God, loyally doing one’s duties, being an honest person, seeking the truth in all things, and so on—do they have a little bit of subjective yearning or love? No, not in the slightest. Therefore, given this sort of nature essence that they have, they are already standing in direct opposition to God and the truth. Without a doubt, such people do not, deep down, love the truth or any positive thing; deep down, they even feel averse toward the truth and hate it. For example, people in positions of leadership have to be able to accept the differing opinions of their brothers and sisters, they must be able to open themselves up and lay themselves bare to the brothers and sisters, and be able to accept their reproach, and they must not assert their status. What would an antichrist say of all of these correct ways of practicing? They would say, “If I listened to the brothers’ and sisters’ opinions, then would I still be a leader? Would I still have status and prestige? If I have no prestige, then what work can I do?” This is precisely the kind of disposition possessed by an antichrist; they do not accept the truth in even the most minute way, and the more correct a way of practice is, the more they resist it. They do not accept that acting according to principle is practicing the truth. What do they think that practicing the truth is? They think that they must use plotting, tricks, and violence on everyone, rather than relying on the words of God, the truth, and love. Their every means and path is wicked. All this is wholly representative of the nature essence of the antichrists. The motives, opinions, views, and intentions that they often reveal are all dispositions of aversion to and hatred of the truth, which is the nature essence of the antichrists. What, then, does it mean to stand in opposition to the truth and to God? It means hating the truth and positive things. For example, when somebody says, “As a created being, one should fulfill the duty of a created being. No matter what God might say, people should submit, for we are created beings,” how does an antichrist think? “Submit? It’s not untrue that I am a created being, but when it comes to submitting, that depends on the situation. First and foremost, there has to be some benefit in it for me, I mustn’t be put at a disadvantage, and my interests have to come first. If there are rewards or great blessings to be gained, then I can submit, but without rewards and without a destination, why must I submit? I cannot submit.” This is an attitude of not accepting the truth. Their submission to God is conditional, and if their conditions are not met, not only do they not submit, they are also liable to push back against and resist God. For example, God asks that people be honest, but these antichrists believe that only fools try to be honest, and that clever people do not try to be honest. What is the essence of such an attitude? It is hatred of the truth. Such is the essence of antichrists, and their essence determines what path they walk, and the path they walk determines everything they do. When antichrists have the nature essence of hatred of the truth and of God, what kinds of things are they liable to do? They are liable to try and win over people’s hearts, attack and exclude dissenters, and torment people. The aim they are trying to achieve in doing these things is to wield power, to control God’s chosen people, and to set up their own, independent kingdom. Of this there is no doubt. Any person who, once they have status, is incapable of absolute submission to God, and is not able to follow God or pursue the truth, is an antichrist.

What kind of things do antichrists do while doing the duty of leaders? We just talked about how they try to win over people’s hearts and also attack and exclude dissenters, but antichrists share another common manifestation—what is their attitude toward those who pursue the truth? (Hatred.) And what does that make them do? Do they simply hate those people, and that’s it? No, they look for ways to exclude and suppress them. They attack and exclude dissenters. These dissenters may be people who are a bit muddled, who don’t know how to curry favor with others or utilize philosophies for worldly dealings. They could also be people who are relatively zealous and who pursue the truth quite a bit. So, what is the third technique of antichrists? They exclude and attack those who pursue the truth. There’s one more as well: They try to secure a place for themselves in people’s hearts. What is this called? (Occupying people’s hearts.) This is what they’re trying to achieve. What means do they use to do this? (They exalt themselves and bear testimony to themselves.) And what is the antichrists’ aim in exalting themselves and bearing testimony to themselves? It is to occupy people’s hearts and control them. What sort of things do people usually talk about when they exalt and testify to themselves? One thing is talking about their qualifications. For example, some people talk about how they have hosted certain upper-level church leaders. Some even say, “I hosted God Himself, and He was quite nice to me—I’m definitely going to be made perfect.” What do they mean by this? (They are trying to make people think highly of them.) They have an aim in saying these things. Others say, “I’ve come into contact with the Above, they have quite a high opinion of me, and urged me to work hard in my pursuit.” Actually, nobody has any idea what the Above thinks of them. Some people really exaggerate things, and sometimes even make stuff up. They wouldn’t know what to do if a group of people came together to verify and check their stories. The Above may well say to someone, “You are of good caliber and you have comprehension ability. You should practice writing out your experiential testimony. Once you have life experience you could become a leader.” What is the implication here? Even though this person is talented, they still need to train and experience things for a period of time. When that person flaunts and shows off before training or gaining experience, what is the nature of this? They are being arrogant and conceited, and have lost their reason, right? Even if the brother Above says that this person possesses caliber and that they’re talented, this is just offering them encouragement or giving them an appraisal. What is that person’s aim in going around showing off like this? It is to make people think highly of them, to make others worship them. What they’re saying is, “Look—the brother Above thinks highly of me, so why don’t you? Now that I’ve told you this, you should think highly of me too.” This is the aim they wish to achieve. There are also those who say, “I used to be a leader. I was the leader of a region, a district, a church—I kept falling down and down the ladder, and climbing up and up the rungs—I’ve been promoted and demoted several times. Eventually, Heaven was touched by my sincerity, and today, I am an upper-level leader once more. And never once have I been negative.” When you ask them why they have never felt negative, they reply, “I have faith that true gold is destined to glitter eventually.” This is the conclusion they have come to. Is this the truth reality? (No.) So what is it, if it is not the truth reality? It is a bizarre theory; we could also say that it is a fallacy. What consequence may there be of them speaking like this? Some people might say, “This person really pursues the truth. They didn’t become negative after being promoted and demoted so many times. And now they have been made a leader again—true gold really does glitter. It’s only a matter of time before they are perfected.” Isn’t this what the person was aiming for? In actuality, this is exactly what they were aiming for. Regardless of the manner with which antichrists speak, it is always to make people think highly of them and worship them, to occupy a certain place in their hearts, even to take God’s position there—these are all goals that antichrists wish to achieve when they testify to themselves. Whenever the motivation behind what people say, preach, and fellowship is to make others think highly of them and worship them, such behavior is exalting and testifying to themselves, it is done in order to occupy a place in the hearts of others. Though the ways that these people speak are not wholly the same, to a greater or lesser degree they have the effect of testifying to themselves and making others worship them. Such behaviors exist in almost all leaders and workers, to differing degrees. If they reach a certain point where they can’t stop themselves and find it difficult to restrain themselves, and they harbor a particularly strong and clear intention and goal, wanting to make people treat them as though they were God or an idol, and thereby achieve their goal of constraining and controlling others, and of getting other people to obey and worship them, then the nature of all this is exalting and testifying about themselves, and there is a quality of antichrists to it. What means do people typically use to exalt and testify about themselves? (They speak about capital.) What does speaking about capital include? Talking about how long they’ve believed in God, how much they’ve suffered, how much of a price they’ve paid, how much work they’ve done, how far they’ve traveled, as well as how many people they’ve gained and how much humiliation they’ve endured through spreading the gospel. Some people also often talk about how many times they’ve been arrested and put in jail without ever selling out the church or the brothers and sisters, standing firm in their testimony, and so on; these things all belong to talking about capital. Under the guise of doing the work of the church, they carry out their own enterprise, consolidating their status, establishing a good impression of themselves in people’s hearts. At the same time, they use all manner of methods and tricks to win over people’s hearts, even going so far as to attack and exclude anyone who has differing views from theirs, in particular doing all they can to exclude and suppress those who pursue the truth and stick to the principles. And as for those who are foolish and ignorant, and muddle-headed in their faith, as well as the ones who have only believed in God for a short while, and are of small stature, what methods do they use on these people? They mislead, draw in, and even threaten them, using these strategies to achieve their goal of consolidating their status. These are all the tactics of antichrists.

This sort of thing happens often in churches: Some brothers and sisters listen to sermons and fellowship in which the Above says that if a leader or worker does something that violates the work arrangements of God’s house, God’s chosen people have the right to report it. After hearing this and discerning that a leader in their church is working in a way that’s not in line with the work arrangements, some of them decide that they want to report the leader. Then, the leader finds out about this, and thinks to themselves, “It turns out there are people who still have the gall to report me. How dare they! Who are these people?” Subsequently, they investigate every single one of the church’s several dozen members. How far do they go in this investigation? They look up everyone’s age, how long they’ve believed in God, what duties they’ve performed in the past, what their current duties are, who they’re in contact with, whether or not they can make contact with the Above, and so on. They look all this stuff up, putting so much effort into it. After their thorough investigation is complete, they discover that two or three people seem suspicious, so during the next gathering, the leader preaches a sermon that specifically targets this matter. They say, “People must have a conscience. In your faith in god, who has led you up to now? You now understand so many truths; if I didn’t hold gatherings and fellowship with you, could you understand these truths? Our church has brought so many people in by spreading the gospel to them, and our gospel work has made such enormous progress. If I was not here directing it, would you be able to bring anyone in? Who do you have to thank for all this, anyway?” Some people mull this over and think, “God is the One I should thank; what contributions has man made?” But then the leader continues on, saying, “If I hadn’t brought back these books of god’s words for you, would you be able to get a hold of them? Without me to organize gatherings, would you be able to congregate? People must have a conscience! So, if you have a conscience, what should you do? When your leader occasionally makes a minor error, you shouldn’t investigate it too thoroughly. By seizing at their shortcomings and refusing to let go of them, are you trying to revolt against them? If something minor transpires, we should handle it internally. What’s the point of filing a report? People who report matters are incompetent and small of stature. Is it appropriate to report everything to the above? How could the above have time to resolve such problems? If they must be resolved, then the church leaders shall resolve them. Can’t things be discussed behind closed doors? Do you have to report everything to the above? Won’t this just be disturbing the above? Listen, if you report something to me, I will calmly and amicably find a solution without pruning you. But do you know what the above’s attitude will be if you report it to them? The above is not to be trifled with—they are like lions and eagles. Can people with small stature like us reach their level? Nothing good will come of you reporting a problem to the above; you will definitely be subjected to being pruned. This has happened to me many times; how could someone with stature as small as yours be able to handle it? You might even stop believing, and who will be the one that bears the consequences of that? If you want to report something, you will bear the consequences. When the time comes and you are pruned and become negative and weak, don’t come blaming me. If you want to file a report, I won’t stop you. Go ahead and do it; I’ll see who is reporting it!” Would anyone dare to file a report when this leader is being so intimidating? (No.) Some people would want to, but they’d be too frightened to. Are these people not good-for-nothings? What are they afraid of? How could they be so frightened by the leader? Even if that leader wanted to torment them to death, their lives are not in the hands of that leader; how would that leader dare to torment them without God’s permission? After a few frightening words from that leader, there are people who really would be too afraid to file a report; they would think to themselves, “God is nowhere to be seen. Will the Above handle the leader if I file a report? What if they don’t—will the leader take revenge on me? Would I still be able to do my duty normally then? I must not file a report then. Besides, this matter is none of my business. No one else has reported it, so why should I?” They would shrink back, not daring to file a report. Is an antichrist likely to show mercy to such people? (No.) What will they do to them? Once they’ve ascertained who is planning to report them, who is not of one mind with them, they will start thinking: “You’re always up to something; you always want to spout high-sounding ideas, you’re always looking to stir up trouble, always wanting to report my issues—this is outrageous! You’ve been looking for a chance to get in touch with the above so that you can report my situation to them. Now you’re backing off, you don’t dare to do it; but who knows, if you find the right opportunity, you might still report me. Oh, I’m gonna get you!” So, the antichrist will look for pretexts and opportunities to disparage those people, to make the brothers and sisters feel repulsion toward them. Then they will think up all sorts of ways to catch them out, to create trouble for them and tarnish their reputations. And what do those people think to themselves afterward? “This is terrible! I disobeyed the leader, I blindly tried to report them, and now I’ve been made to suffer. I must remember this lesson: I absolutely must not offend the leader! Right now, it is this leader who calls the shots. If they say ‘east,’ I can’t say ‘west’; if they say ‘one,’ I can’t say ‘two.’ I must do whatever the leader tells me to do. I absolutely must not contact the Above to report problems. This is really serious! I’ve been made to suffer by the leader, and the Above doesn’t know about it—who will stand up for me? As they say, ‘Local officials have more control than state officials!’” These people have become negative. They do not believe that the truth rules in God’s house, much less that God is sovereign over all things. Do they still have God in their hearts? No, they don’t have God in their hearts. They lack true faith in God, they want to report a problem but they are afraid of that evil person, they have no discernment of wicked forces whatsoever, they have been made to suffer by that evil person in the place where they hold power, and they have become good-for-nothings. They originally had a bit of a sense of justice, which is a desirable quality, but because they do not understand the truth and don’t know how to act according to the principles, they were crushed by that evil person, false leader, and antichrist, to the point where they lost all faith; they don’t know how to rely on God to seek the truth or act based on wisdom. Now they become scared and timid whenever they see an antichrist. How scared are they? They think, “Evil people hold power in this world. Whatever group I’m in, I must behave myself. I lack that kind of ferocity and guts, so wherever I go, I’ll have to willingly endure mistreatment and willingly obey others—I have to treat them like my ancestors. If they say ‘east,’ I can’t say ‘west.’ I can’t voice differing opinions, I cannot file reports about other people’s issues, and I can’t stick my nose into other people’s affairs. I can only focus on believing in God. I mustn’t offend the leaders and workers, adhere to the truth principles, yearn for light, or love justice—there is no light or justice in this world. I’ll just concentrate on enduring to the end, and remember wherever I go in the future to always prioritize keeping the peace!” This is the conclusion they reach. Haven’t they been beaten by that antichrist? (Yes.) What confirms this? After being suppressed by that antichrist, they have become scared out of their wits, they are too afraid to say or do anything. They have lost their true faith and no longer do their duties loyally; in their hearts, the small flame of their love for justice has been extinguished; they have been utterly defeated and beaten by that antichrist. Are they not good-for-nothings? Are they not cowards? (Yes.) How can you tell? If you ask them, “How is so-and-so doing at your church?” they’ll reply, “Not bad.” If you say, “And how about that new church leader that you all chose; do you know them?” they will respond, “I’m not too familiar with them.” If you ask, “How is church life there now? Has anyone been causing disturbances?” they’ll say, “It’s good, it’s going alright.” Whatever you ask them, they will just reply with these few words. Is this not because they’ve been frightened? Why are they this frightened? It’s because they do not know the righteousness of God; they cannot see through the wickedness, cruelty, ruthlessness, and darkness of Satan; they don’t know what it means for the truth to rule, nor what significance this has—and so they are afraid. Therefore, whatever you ask, their reply will be vague and obscure; you won’t get an answer about what’s really happening in the church from them, or find out what they’re really thinking inside. They’ll wrap themselves up so tightly, you won’t even be sure what they’re talking about. They’ll say nothing about the problems that exist in the church, or how the leaders and workers are, and you won’t learn anything about the difficulties that God’s chosen people are facing. You won’t find out any of this—they’ll only converse with you in this manner. And what will you feel as you listen to them? You’ll feel that there is something between the hearts of the two of you. Their mindset is: “Do not seek to learn anything about me, I don’t want to reveal any information or what’s really going on to you. Stay away from me; if you try and find out what’s going on in the church from me, then you’re trying to cause trouble for me and disrupt my current living environment, routine, and situation. Don’t get involved in any aspect of my life; let me handle these things myself.” They’re afraid that the antichrist will make them suffer or take revenge on them, and they’re scared to report any problems about their church. Is this not capitulating to that antichrist? Have they not been misled and controlled by that antichrist? (Yes.) And it pleases that antichrist to see this. They’ve tormented people to the point where they dare not report their issues anymore, so they have firm control over the church. Are many people in the church controlled by an antichrist in this way? Have you yourselves ever stopped someone from reporting an issue? You may have done but not be aware of it, or you may do so in the future. So, can people being won over and controlled by antichrists be considered a problem? (Yes.) Some people say: “Certain people in the church are afraid of an antichrist, but they do not believe in that antichrist or follow that antichrist, much less do they serve that antichrist. It’s just that they’ve been constrained a bit by that antichrist, and delayed in entering the right track of believing in God. Why do You say that this is a problem?” In one regard, by looking at the methods antichrists use to win over and control people, you should be able to see that their nature essence is the essence of Satan; it is hostile to the truth and to God. Antichrists want to vie with God for people, to compete for His chosen people. In another regard, the methods and ways by which antichrists operate can indeed have an effect on people who are foolish, ignorant, confused, and do not understand the truth. They can indeed mislead those people, keep them behaving themselves under the antichrists’ control, and make them have to consult the antichrists and comply with them in all things. Antichrists not only keep the mouths of these people shut; they also control their actions, influence their thoughts and ideas, and affect the direction they walk toward. These are the effects and consequences that the actions of antichrists bring upon those who are foolish and ignorant.

Just now I’ve talked about various truths relating to doing the duty of a leader or worker. I also exposed certain issues that leaders and workers possess, chiefly focusing on the manifestations of the most severe type of person—and which kind of person is that? (Antichrists.) What is a common manifestation shared by all antichrists? They try to seize power for themselves and control the church. Their desire for power surpasses all else; power is their life, their root; it is the theme, the direction, and the goal around which everything they do in life revolves. Therefore, the actions of antichrists and the dispositions they reveal are identical to the tactics that Satan uses to mislead, win over, and control people. It can be said that everything this sort of person does makes them nothing less than an outlet, an embodiment, and an expression of Satan; the main goal of their every action and all their behavior is to possess power. And whom do they try to control? It is the people they lead, who are followers of God, it is the people who are under the scope of their power, who they are able to control. A moment ago, we also talked about the techniques that antichrists use to control people. The first is to win over people’s hearts; the second is to attack and exclude dissenters; the third is to exclude and attack people who pursue the truth; the fourth is to constantly exalt and testify about themselves; and the fifth is to mislead, draw in, threaten, and control people. All five of these major manifestations are basic techniques and means employed by antichrists in order to obtain power, and possess and control people. These are the broad categories. Next, we will dissect and fellowship on these broad categories in greater detail.

A Dissection of How Antichrists Try to Win Over People’s Hearts

A. Drawing People In With Small Favors

The first technique that antichrists use to control people is winning over their hearts. How many ways are there to win over people’s hearts? One way is to draw them in with small favors. Sometimes antichrists give people some nice things, sometimes they compliment them, sometimes they make little promises to them. And sometimes, antichrists see that some duties can enable people to step into the limelight, or that others think these duties can bring advantages to whoever does them and make everyone esteem them, and they assign these duties to those they want to win over. “Small favors” include many things: Sometimes they are material things; sometimes they are intangible things; sometimes they are pleasing words that people want to hear. For instance, a person becomes weak when something befalls them, and loses motivation in their duty, and when they hold this weakness of theirs up against God’s words, they realize that it is disloyalty to God, an unwillingness to do their duty, a lack of true submission, and they feel very reproached. A leader, seeing this, may say, “You are just small of stature. God won’t view this matter in that way. You have only believed for a short time. You can’t expect so much from yourself. This kind of thing takes time—you can’t rush it. God doesn’t have high demands for people, and for you, a person who has only believed in him for a short time, being a bit weak sometimes is normal and you shouldn’t worry about it.” What this means is that there is nothing to worry about in being weak, less to worry about in continuing to be weak, and that all of this is normal negativity, and God does not remember it. Some people are overly sentimental, and they are always constrained by their feelings when doing their duty, and their leader says, “This is due to your small stature, it’s fine.” Some people are lazy and disloyal in their duty, but their leader does not rebuke them, instead they say nice-sounding things that those people want to hear at every turn in order to please them and be called good by them, and to show them how understanding and loving they are. Those people think, “Our leader is like a loving mother. They truly have love for us—they really do represent God. They really are from God!” The unspoken implication in this is that their leader can act as God’s mouthpiece, that they can represent God. Is this the goal of this leader? Perhaps it is not that clear, but one of their goals is obvious: They would have people say that they are a wonderful leader, considerate of others, sympathetic to people’s weaknesses, and very understanding of their hearts. When a church leader sees brothers or sisters doing their duties perfunctorily, they may not rebuke them, though they should. When they clearly see that the interests of God’s house are suffering, they do not concern themselves with this or make any inquiries, and they do not cause the least offense to others. In fact, they are not really showing consideration for people’s weaknesses; instead, their intention and goal is to win over people’s hearts. They are fully aware that: “As long as I do this and don’t cause offense to anyone, they’ll think I’m a good leader. They’ll have a good, high opinion of me. They’ll approve of me and like me.” They don’t care how much damage is done to the interests of God’s house, or how great losses are caused to the life entry of God’s chosen people, or how greatly their church life is disturbed, they just persist in their satanic philosophy and cause no offense to anyone. There is never any self-reproach in their hearts. When they see someone causing disruptions and disturbances, at the very most they might have a few words with them about it, downplaying the issue, and then be done with it. They will not fellowship on the truth, or point out the essence of the problem to that person, less still will they dissect their state, and they will never fellowship what God’s intentions are. A false leader never exposes or dissects the errors people frequently make, or the corrupt dispositions people often reveal. They don’t solve any real problems, but instead always indulge people’s erroneous practices and revelations of corruption, and no matter how negative or weak people are, they do not take this seriously. They merely preach some words and doctrines and speak a few words of exhortation to deal with the situation in a perfunctory manner, trying to maintain harmony. As a result, God’s chosen people do not know how to reflect on and know themselves, there is no resolution for whatever corrupt dispositions they reveal, and they live amid words and doctrines, notions and imaginings, without any life entry. They even believe in their hearts, “Our leader has even more understanding for our weaknesses than God does. Our stature is too small to live up to God’s requirements. We just need to fulfill the requirements of our leader; by submitting to our leader, we are submitting to God. If a day comes when the Above dismisses our leader, we will make ourselves heard; to keep our leader and stop them from being dismissed, we will negotiate with the Above and force them into agreeing to our demands. This is how we will do right by our leader.” When people have such thoughts in their hearts, when they have established such a relationship with their leader, and this kind of dependence, envy, and worship has arisen in their hearts toward their leader, they come to have ever greater faith in this leader, and always want to listen to the leader’s words, rather than seeking the truth in God’s words. Such a leader has almost taken the place of God in people’s hearts. If a leader is willing to maintain such a relationship with God’s chosen people, if they derive a feeling of enjoyment from this in their heart, and believe that God’s chosen people ought to treat them like this, then there is no difference between this leader and Paul, they have already set foot on the path of an antichrist, and God’s chosen people have already been misled by this antichrist, and are completely lacking in discernment. In fact, that leader doesn’t have the truth reality, and they do not bear a burden at all regarding the life entry of God’s chosen people. They can only preach words and doctrines, and maintain their relations with others. They’re good at showing off using hypocritical methods, their speech and actions accord with people’s notions, and they thereby mislead people. They don’t know how to fellowship the truth or know themselves, and this makes it impossible for them to lead others into the truth reality. They work only for the sake of reputation and status, and they say only nice-sounding words that ensnare people. They’ve already achieved the effect of getting people to worship and look up to them, and they have seriously impacted and delayed the work of the church and the life entry of God’s chosen people. Isn’t a person like this an antichrist? Some people act in the same way as antichrists, but when they see an antichrist revealed, they’re able to hold themselves up against that antichrist for comparison. They feel that the path they’re on is also the path of antichrists, that they should rein themselves in from the brink of disaster and repent to God at once, and stop focusing on their personal status and image; they think that they should exalt and bear witness for God in all things, and get people to have a place for God in their hearts, and honor Him as great—they feel that only then will they know true peace in their hearts. Only a person who does this is one that loves and can accept the truth. If a person has an antichrist’s nature, they’ll also feel ill at ease in their heart when they hear words that expose antichrists, but they won’t be able to accept the judgment and chastisement of God’s words, or open up and lay bare their corrupt dispositions. This demonstrates that they can’t accept the truth and that true repentance is impossible for them. They’re going to persist in asserting their status, enjoying the benefits of status, and enjoying God’s chosen people worshiping and looking up to them. This causes those who have been misled by them to stray from the true way and from God’s words; they shun God and follow that person instead. Yet that person doesn’t reflect on themselves at all. Unaware that they’ve already fallen into peril, they still think quite well of themselves, and continue misleading others and winning them over. So long as people heed what they say and obey them, then no matter how perfunctory or irresponsible those people are in the performance of their duties, they’ll turn a blind eye to it. What’s more, they’ll delight in enjoying those ignorant, foolish people worshiping and looking up to them, and even grant them protection, not permitting anyone to expose or discern them. In doing this, isn’t the antichrist establishing an independent kingdom for themselves? An antichrist does not do real work, they do not fellowship on the truth to solve problems, they do not guide people in eating and drinking God’s words and entering the truth reality. They work only for status, fame and gain, they care only about establishing themselves, protecting the place they hold in people’s hearts, and making everyone worship them, look up to them, and follow them all the time; these are the aims they want to achieve. This is how an antichrist tries to win over people’s hearts and control God’s chosen people—isn’t such a way of working wicked? It is simply too disgusting! They work like this for a while, making people well disposed toward them, trustful of them, reliant on them—but what are the consequences? Those people aren’t just unable to understand the truth, they don’t just fail to progress at all in their life entry—instead, they adopt the antichrist as their spiritual parent, as a stand-in for God, allowing the antichrist to displace God’s status in their hearts. When someone has an issue, they no longer come before God, and whatever problem befalls them, they don’t pray to God or rely on Him, nor do they seek the truth in His words. Instead, they go ask this leader about it. They ask the leader to show them the way, and more and more, they look up to this leader and depend on them. They don’t know how to seek God, and they don’t know how to look up to Him and rely on Him, much less how to act in accordance with the truth and with the principles. No matter what befalls them, they wait with bated breath for the leader to make the call about it. They do whatever the leader tells them they should do, and they comply with whatever the leader’s directions are. By bringing people to this point, is an antichrist not misleading and controlling them? Why aren’t God’s chosen people seeking the truth from God when things happen to them? Why are God’s chosen people blindly obeying what their leader says, without subjecting their words to examination or exercising discernment? Why can God’s chosen people submit to their leader’s words immediately upon hearing them, but can’t do this with God’s words? They’re seeking their leader’s desires instead of seeking God’s; they’re heeding their leader’s words instead of heeding God’s, and instead of seeking and submitting to the truth. They rely on their leader to act, as well as to bolster them, speak for them, and make decisions for them, instead of relying on God, looking up to Him, and submitting to Him. Haven’t these so-called leaders occupied a certain position in people’s hearts? This is the consequence of an antichrist misleading people and ensnaring them.

When something happens to some people and you tell them to pray to God, they say that they’re too small of stature and don’t know how to seek. If you tell them to eat and drink God’s words, they say they have no caliber and can’t attain great light. If you tell them to listen to sermons, they say that the content of sermons is too lofty and profound for them, that it’s beyond them. They believe that if a person is of poor caliber, and has weaknesses, and they’re inadequate in every way, then they need to seek out leaders. Suppose that you ask them, “Why do you need to seek out a leader? Why don’t you seek God and come before Him?” They say, “It’s very difficult for people to come before God: We have notions, our caliber is poor, and we’re slow-witted and numb. God’s words aren’t always so straightforward, and there aren’t any examples in His words to show what they mean. Our leader just tells us outright what to do, in a way that’s really straightforward, like how one plus one equals two. When it comes to reading God’s words, if I can read them out loud, that’s already quite good, but I have no clue what they mean, and I don’t know what God requires of man or how to practice in a way that’s in line with God’s intentions. I can never find answers. Seeing as I’m a person of poor caliber, someone who’s so small of stature, who’s numb and dumb, who can’t see through to anything, I have to ask our leader about everything that comes up, and have them call the shots. Our leader can find answers for me; I just do whatever they tell me. That’s just the kind of person I am—simple and obedient.” “There’s nothing wrong with being simple and obedient, but does your leader really have the truth reality? Are they really someone who submits to God? If all they can do is preach words and doctrines and they’re not someone who submits to God, then does you submitting to them mean that you’re submitting to God?” They say, “Our leader is of high caliber, and everything they say is right. That proves that they understand the truth and that they are in line with God’s intentions.” There’s a bit of logical reasoning in what they’re saying, isn’t there? It’s all based on their personal feelings. Their caliber is poor and they lack discernment, so if there really were something wrong with their leader, they wouldn’t be able to see it. Most people are foolish, ignorant, and of poor caliber, but let’s leave that reason aside for the time being. Looking at it in terms of the leader, if people exhibit these manifestations, have such dependency on their leader, and harbor this kind of view and attitude toward them, doesn’t that have some connection to the leader’s tactics and methods for winning over people’s hearts? (It does.) How big of a connection? Does it connect directly to the leader’s way of working? We can say with certainty that there’s an absolute, direct connection there, that these things are one hundred percent connected. Why do I say this? There are a lot of leaders who, in terms of their subjective will, would like to bring people before God, but because they don’t understand the truth, or know how to resolve various real problems, can only handle some administrative tasks and general affairs, and show off so that people will esteem them, they unwittingly set off on the path of antichrists. They use their own ways and means to keep trying to win over people’s hearts, and to control their hearts, behavior, and thoughts, so that people always do what they say in their actions, their practice of the truth, and in every aspect of their performance of their duties. If people submit to an antichrist, and don’t truly submit to God—if they submit to the antichrist far more than they do to God—and their performance of their duties yields no results whatsoever, and they aren’t doing man’s duty well, then are such people those who will be saved? People have “accurate” paths of practice for obeying and being loyal to leaders and workers, but they don’t even practice accurately when it comes to submitting to God and being loyal to Him—no one fellowships on this, and no one performs this aspect of real work. People all like to speak and act for the sake of their own status and reputation, and they rack their brains and forget to eat or sleep working to make God’s chosen people obey and worship them. Obviously, they do all this in order to achieve their aim of reigning in the church as a leader or worker. What’s the reason for this? It’s that all corrupt humanity has the same disposition and the same preferences. When someone points out a path for you, and you’re very willing to practice it, that doesn’t mean you’re practicing the truth—it means you’re doing what that person says and obeying them. So, why aren’t people willing to come before God, or to seek Him? Because there’s nothing that lines up with the truth in man’s humanity. What people like, what they yearn for, and what they hold in their hearts all runs contrary to the truth, in contradiction to it. Therefore, if you ask someone to seek the truth when something happens to them, they’ll find it harder than flying to the moon—yet if you ask them to pay heed to a person, they’ll find that much easier. It’s evident that antichrists achieve results very quickly when they use the technique of winning over people’s hearts to control people. With just a comment dropped in passing, they can make someone have a favorable opinion of them; with just a casual comment that harbors some intent or point of view, they can make someone see them from a new perspective, in a new light. This reveals exactly what the things inside of people are. This means that if you don’t pursue the truth, and instead take the path of pursuing status and power, the impact and consequence everything you do will have on any member of corrupt mankind, will be to make them turn their back on the true way, shun the truth, shun God, and reject God. That’s the only consequence, the only outcome. This is plain to see.

The first manifestation of antichrists’ trying to win over people’s hearts is drawing people in with small favors. Small favors are not necessarily material things; they cover a wide range. Sometimes they are considerate words; sometimes they are the fulfillment of someone’s desire or preference; and sometimes they are feeling out someone’s thoughts and saying whatever pleasant-sounding things that person wants to hear, to make that person think their leader is very good and very understanding. In other words, antichrists pile on tolerance, love, warmth, and so-called consideration in order to conceal their secret ambition to control people. If the brothers and sisters have donated some nice things, for instance, they may share a few of those things with whomever they’re on good terms with. They use these small favors to win over people’s hearts and buy them off. If there’s an undemanding job in the church, one that doesn’t involve exposure to the elements and can enable someone to step into the spotlight, they’ll have whoever they’re on good terms with go do it. Why are they capable of doing this? Part of it is that they inherently don’t love the truth, and act without principles. The other part is that they reserve this good duty for those they’re on good terms with, and then say some nice-sounding things to them, so that those people feel grateful to them. In doing so, they accomplish their goal of winning over these people’s hearts. This tactic isn’t merely about giving out little things and saying a sweet thing here or there—there’s an intent in it, a goal. And what goal is that? It’s meant to leave people with a favorable appraisal of them in their hearts. If there’s a group of ten people, they’ll begin by assessing them: “Of these ten, there are two who are good at sucking up to people. I don’t need to bother with them, and they’ll butter me up all the same. Then, there are two muddleheaded people; they’ll do what I say if I give them a few perks. Another two are people of some caliber; as long as I preach a few lofty sermons and speak some impressive words to them, they’ll yield to me. Then, there are three who seem to pursue the truth, so they’ll be a bit tough to handle. I’ll need to get a clear read on their actual situation, see what they need, and then satisfy them. If any of them don’t buy this and don’t obey me, I’ll ultimately handle them and clear them out. Even if the last one’s against me, there’s only so much trouble they can cause me, and they’ll be easy to deal with.” With just a sweep of their eyes, they can determine whom in a group they can handle and whom they cannot. How can they know this so quickly? They are capable of this because their hearts are filled with satanic politics and philosophies. The principles of their conduct and their ways of comporting themselves and interacting with others are not about getting along amicably with people, or having normal interpersonal relationships, they are not about helping or supplying for others, or edifying them, or about engaging with others as equals, or using the truth principles to handle matters and deal with other people. They absolutely do not possess the slightest bit of these principles. What are their principles? “How does each person regard me in their heart? I don’t need to bother with those who think highly of me, who have me in their heart, and who are afraid of me, respect me, and revere me. Such and such is what I should do next with those who don’t revere me, and such and such is what I should do about those who do revere me, but haven’t quite yielded to me yet. And as for those who don’t generally pay much attention to others, such and such is what I should do about them.” They have a step-by-step procedure to control people. Why do they produce these steps and thoughts? Because the desire for power in their hearts is uncontrollable. If they were to get along amicably with the people in a group, they would feel quite unfulfilled and undignified. So what is their goal? To make everyone have a place for them in their hearts—if not first place, then second place, and if not second, then third. To interact with others on equal footing just won’t do. As leaders, can these people heed the differing opinions of others? They cannot. What does everything they do revolve around? (Power.) Everything they do revolves around power. What things do they do that revolve around power? First, they probe into your heart and get a grasp on it; that is, first they buy you off, and make you open up to them, they get your true feelings out of you, and figure out your true opinion of them. Having grasped this, they tailor their methods to each situation, acting on each case individually. They want to control people’s hearts, and when they find someone who isn’t of one mind with them, someone who does not revere them, someone who isn’t loyal to them, then that is when they strike and torment that person. So, the impetus of antichrists in winning over people’s hearts is power. And what are the methods and techniques they use to acquire power? They thoroughly understand, grasp, and control people’s hearts. What are people’s thoughts controlled by? By their hearts and their nature. When someone’s heart is controlled by an antichrist, that person’s ideas and thoughts are no longer of any concern. Once the antichrist controls someone’s heart, they control their whole person.

B. Flaunting Their Strengths So That People Will Worship Them

Aside from using small favors, which we just talked about, what other techniques do antichrists commonly or habitually use to win over people’s hearts? For example, say that everyone has a bad impression of a leader. People think that this leader lacks talent, that they can only speak words and doctrines, and that they have no real understanding of truth. If that leader finds out that people harbor this sort of impression of them, will they do their utmost to hide these faults and flaws? (Yes.) What will they do? What manner of things will they say? Pretending to open up is one aspect of this. What else? (Explaining things away.) Explaining things away also serves as a means of concealment. In addition, the leader may use their strengths and things that others view as great to hide their weaknesses. Is this a common technique? (Yes.) For example, one person says, “I’ve only believed in god for a short time, so why was I chosen as a leader? It’s because I ran a company in the secular world, and our staff have grown from 10 people to 200, which shows I have leadership ability. Though god’s house doesn’t attach importance to such matters, this ability is useful in some situations, right?” After hearing this, others disagree, so this person continues with their performance, saying, “For example, if you talk to your employees, but they don’t listen, what should you do? They will listen to you when you achieve good results. I’ve already laid out my proof: My company has gone public!” At first, some might say that this is a gift, that this is how nonbelievers do things, but there are indeed methods and results to how this person acts, so some people go from doubting them to trusting them, to unknowingly beginning to worship them, little by little, as they act. In addition, this person misleads others, and conceals their own deficiencies; people’s hearts are bought off by them without their knowing it, they are misled by them, and they bow down before them. Is this not a technique? (It is.) What is it? It is doing one’s utmost to flaunt one’s expertise and gifts and boast of one’s abilities and skills. What is the aim of these actions? It is also to win over the hearts of others. In order to win over others’ hearts, aside from giving out some nice things, they also have to make others esteem them. If they were just an ordinary person, or an uneducated person without much schooling, who would esteem them? Therefore, this person intentionally shows off their diplomas, letting people know that they have advanced degrees and advanced academic credentials, and as a result they mislead some people. They do their utmost to flaunt their gifts, expertise, and abilities to make other people have a high opinion and good impression of them, and so that people even frequently think to or have the impulse to solicit their advice while doing things. Isn’t everything they do to attain this goal also a strategy for winning over people’s hearts? These are two manifestations of antichrists winning over people’s hearts. The first is using small favors. The second is flaunting their own abilities and gifts, in other words, the things that make them superior, and using this method to beat out the rest of the pack, so that they stand out from the crowd, and so that everyone esteems them, admires them, willingly comes before them to follow their orders and accept their leadership, and even willingly accepts and obeys all of their arrangements. Is this not a form of psychological attack? (It is.) Winning over others’ hearts is a sort of psychological attack. What is meant by a “psychological attack”? It is a means by which Satan occupies and controls people’s hearts. God scrutinizes the depths of man’s heart. He conquers and gains people’s hearts. So why is the phrase “gain people’s hearts” not used when referring to Satan and antichrists? This is because Satan and antichrists use abnormal and wicked techniques to seize, mislead, draw in, and control people’s hearts, so that people can’t help but develop a high opinion of them and deeply respect and admire them.

We just fellowshipped about two tactics for winning over people’s hearts. What other quintessential tactics are there? If you haven’t experienced the tactics and methods antichrists use to mislead and constrain people, you might look at yourselves to see how you compare. Look at whether you have these manifestations in you. Everyone who lives amid corrupt dispositions possesses these things. Giving out small favors, misleading people, drawing people in—aren’t these things you often do? And doing your utmost to flaunt your gifts and strengths—isn’t that also something you often do? (It is.) In particular, when you do something that goes against the truth, when your weaknesses and faults are exposed, and even when you are pruned and really lose face and every shred of your prestige gets swept away, don’t you do things like using these methods and techniques to remedy the situation and to restore your position and prestige in people’s hearts? (We also do these sorts of things.) When you do these things, do you have any awareness, and feel that this is the wrong path and that you can’t do this? Do you feel self-reproach? Are you often insensate to it, or is it that you have self-reproach, but must do these things anyway, despite yourselves, because your reputation and image are so important to you? Which is it? (We do them despite ourselves.) You do them despite yourselves—well then, do you feel self-reproach? Or do you not feel it at all, but make light of those things once you’ve done them, and go on eating and sleeping as you did before? (We feel self-reproach.) If you feel a bit reproachful of yourselves, then that’s not so bad. It proves that your numbness has only gone so deep—you still possess awareness. People with awareness have hope of being saved; those who are without it have no humanity, so they’re in danger.

C. Using Facades to Mislead People and Win Their Good Opinion

What other techniques do antichrists habitually use to win over people’s hearts? There’s another situation, which is that no matter what antichrists are doing, they don’t do it in front of God, but in front of people. What’s their goal in that? (To draw people in.) It’s to draw in people’s hearts. On the surface, they’re more willing to suffer and pay a price than others; they seem more spiritual than others, more loyal to God, and more serious about their duty. But when there’s no one there to watch them, that’s not how they act. It’s not their true intention to act that way; rather, they have an ulterior motive. They behave that way in front of others so those people will see how good they’re acting, and that they’re doing their duties with such loyalty, when in fact loyalty is absolutely not their inner motivation. Their aim is to get people to see them as loyal and responsible. They utterly convince others by paying a price in this way. Consequently, other people are willing to accept their leadership, and to forgive them no matter what mistakes they make. What sort of behavior is this? This is using facades to mislead people. What does “facades” mean here? It means good behaviors, and actions that appear to be in line with the truth. Using facades that appear to be in line with the truth to mislead people and win their good opinion—this sums up the characteristics of this behavior, does it not? Their goal is to ultimately win people’s good opinion. Once people have a good opinion of antichrists, they feel some respect for them—antichrists will have occupied a certain position in their hearts using this method. For example, there is a sort of person who is willing to pay a price in their performance of their duty, mostly relies on experience in their actions, and basically does not violate any of the major principles, but when you fellowship with them about seeking the truth principles, what do they say? “There’s no need to fellowship about this with me. I have these things all in mind!” When they really do encounter a problem, not only do they not seek, they also refuse to listen to anyone else’s advice, let alone their opinions; they just do whatever they think is good. When they pay a price, when their actions make them appear swift and decisive and possessed of certain authority, how do other people view them in their hearts? Do they have a good opinion of them, or not? From the perspective of other people, they have not violated the truth in any obvious ways, and they’re very skilled in how they do things. Their level of “loyalty” and their experience in doing their duties are sufficient to convince others. People think, “Look at them: They’ve believed in God for many years, and they’ve got experience doing this duty. They’re seasoned. We couldn’t do that.” When people hold such a positive view of them, do they carry a lot or a little weight in those people’s hearts? (A lot.) A lot; they carry weight in their hearts. Some people never seek the truth, in part because they lack spiritual understanding, and in part because they have no interest in the truth, and do not love the truth at all, and have absolutely no understanding of what the truth principles are. They rely purely on their passing enthusiasm, their own good intentions, and their years of experience to do their duties. However, they do not wish to let other people know these things, so they do their utmost to put forth great effort and pay a price. If anyone discovers that they lack spiritual understanding, or that they don’t understand the truth, and do things without principles, they quickly produce some achievements for people to see. They say, “Look and see whether or not I really do have spiritual understanding. Take a look; see whether or not I really do act with principles, whether I really do understand the truth.” As they act like this, a fair number of people get misled by them. They say, “Those people are experienced at doing their duties, and understand the principles; we’re the ones who don’t understand.” “We’re the ones who don’t understand”—what does this statement reveal? It reveals that deep down, they approve of those people’s external good behavior. What is this approval equivalent to? It is equivalent to thinking that they are people who practice the truth, who love God, and who receive God’s perfection of them. Isn’t others evaluating them in such a way tantamount to them occupying a certain position in people’s hearts? More specifically, it can be said that they have a kind of prestige. So what does this prestige bring them? It makes others look up to them, esteem them, and even depend on them. How do others depend on them? As soon as they have a problem, they immediately seek them out. Suppose that someone says, “This is a major issue, and we don’t understand it; we should ask the Above, shouldn’t we?” Some will then say, “There’s no need. We can just ask our leader. Our leader understands it all.” Everyone has it in their head that leaders and workers are busy with their work most of the time and haven’t done evil, and consequently think they’re definitely people who understand the truth and act with principles. What do you make of this sentiment? If someone hasn’t outwardly done evil, does that mean they understand the truth? Not necessarily. There’s a limit to any person’s understanding of the truth. If you, believing that leaders understand everything, don’t pray to God, seek from Him, or seek within His words, regardless of what problem you have, but go straight to a leader to ask about it, won’t this delay things? If you’re always doing what leaders say, always looking up to them, then some things might go wrong, and you may well bring losses upon the work of the church. This is why worshiping and looking up to people is the easiest way to go astray and make mistakes, to bring about a loss to your own life, and to God’s house and the work of the church.

There are three main manifestations of antichrists winning over people’s hearts: The first is drawing people in with small favors; the second is flaunting their strengths, gifts, and talents; the third is using facades to mislead people and win their good opinion. These manifestations can be found in everyone. Some people often reveal some pieces of gossip that other people don’t know about, talk about all kinds of topics, or share some unique, expert opinions. What is this called? There’s a two-part saying that goes: “An old lady puts on lipstick—to give you something to look at.” These people always want to exhibit their skills and win people’s esteem. Sometimes, however, they don’t do a good job of this, and people see flaws in them, so they consequently do everything they can to remedy the situation and argue their way out of it. No matter what things they have done that go against their conscience and the truth, or that are unrelated to doing their duties, they never know to admit fault or reflect upon themselves and repent, nor do they ever realize how serious this issue is. On the contrary, they think hard and rack their brains for ways to argue on their own behalf and smooth things over. They burn with impatience to achieve their goals, to the point that they even cannot eat or sleep, afraid that their good standing in the eyes of others might suffer a sudden and devastating decline. Some people, for instance, think that their writing is good, that they’re skilled writers; some think that they’re good leaders, that they’re the pillars supporting the church; others think that they’re good people. As soon as these people lose their good self-image for some reason or another, they invest a lot of thought and pay a price for its sake, racking their brains trying to remedy the situation. Yet they never feel shame, or self-reproach, or indebted to God for the wrong paths they’ve taken, or for the various things they’ve done that went against the truth. They never have that sort of feeling. They use all manner of tactics to mislead people and win over their hearts. Is this doing the duty of a created being? Absolutely not. Is that the work church leaders should be doing? Absolutely not. They’re living by satanic dispositions, doing evil and disturbing the work of the church, and disrupting and disturbing the work of God’s house. Judging based on their actions and behaviors, the paths they take, and their various behaviors that mislead people and control them, they’re not doing the duty of a leader, but dismantling and disrupting God’s work of saving man, stopping people from coming before God, and attempting to keep people in their own hands, under their control. Are these not the actions and behaviors of an antichrist? There’s no doubt about it. This is proof enough that antichrists play the role of Satan to a tee. Judging by the nature of these things which they do, they’re not just failing to do well the duty they should do—on the contrary they’re playing the role of Satan. All that they do is absolutely vying with God for His chosen people. Sheep that are God’s should follow God and be gained by Him, yet these people stop others from following God; they take God’s sheep into their own hands and control them, and make people worship and follow them. That’s the nature of their actions. Can such people be called “leaders”? (No.) What should we call them, then? (Evil servants.) “Evil servants”—that’s a fitting name. “Antichrists,” “evil servants”—both of these titles will do, won’t they? These people fly the banner of doing the duty of a leader, but they don’t do what a leader ought to. What they do is not at all the performance of a leader’s duty, it’s playing the role of an antichrist, standing in for Satan to disturb and destroy the work of God’s house, and misleading God’s chosen people into shunning the true way and shunning God. All their actions and behaviors reveal the disposition and nature of Satan, and achieve the result of making people shun God, reject the truth and God, and worship and follow them. One day, when they have completely misled people and brought them under their control, people will begin to worship, follow, and obey them. They’ll then have achieved their goal in ensnaring people’s hearts. They’re church leaders, but they don’t do the work God has entrusted to them; they don’t do the work of leaders and workers. Instead, they act upon God’s chosen people, misleading them, ensnaring them, and controlling them, taking sheep that clearly belong to God into their own hands, under their control. Are they not thieves and bandits? In vying as they do with God for His chosen people, are they not serving as Satan’s lackeys? Are such antichrists not God’s enemies? Are they not the enemies of His chosen people? (They are.) They one hundred percent are. They’re enemies of God and His chosen people; this is beyond a shadow of a doubt.

Back when I was speaking and working in all the churches in mainland China, I had someone with Me who was responsible for audio recordings and transcribing sermons. This person was somewhat gifted, he had a sharp mind and fast responses. But there was this one thing about him: He was excellent at saying pleasant-sounding things that people wanted to hear. If you said something tasted nice, he’d say, “You’re right. I’ve tried it. It’s great.” If you said it was hot out, he’d say, “It sure is. I’m all sweaty.” If you said it was cold out, he’d say, “It’s cold, alright. I’ve got fleece-lined shoes on.” He was hard-pressed to say something true or honest. He seemed like someone who really pursued, but when something came up that required a price to be paid, he hid. He was sneaky and deceitful. That’s the sort of person he was. Some may ask, “Well, why’d You choose a person like that?” I didn’t choose him—it was decided by the circumstances at the time. It was even hard to find someone like him back then, and at least he had quick responses—he’d hit “record” whenever I started to speak. He followed Me all over the place, recording and transcribing sermons; he did some real work. But the way he behaved in My presence and the things he did in the church were like the actions of two entirely different people. In My presence, he acted obedient, well-behaved, and diligent, conscientious, and responsible—but was he like that when he did his duty in the church? Given that that’s how he was when he was in contact with the Above, was he also like that when he was among God’s chosen people? Would you dare offer a sure answer on this? No, you wouldn’t. So how, then, could you know what his real situation was? To do that, you’d have to be in contact with him. After you interact with him for a while, everything in his nature essence would then emerge. He especially loved status, and was particularly vain; whenever he was with anyone, he really loved to talk about his capital, and to flaunt the things he could do, the things he had done, how much he had suffered, and how great he was. He did these things and talked like this very frequently, and was a completely different person compared to when I was around. In addition, anyone who was around him felt constrained and bullied, and didn’t dare say anything about it. What was the biggest problem here? He took this bit of work he was doing, this bit of a duty he was doing, and treated it as capital to flaunt wherever he went. To what degree did he flaunt it? Everyone looked up to, worshiped, and envied him. Finally, they said, “This guy has suffered so much for God’s sake. Just look at the faith he has, and the love he has for God! We can’t even compare to a single hair on his head. We are so inferior to him!” He was always being mentioned by people, and those who could not meet Me thought that meeting him was as good as meeting Me. The influence he had on people’s knowledge, thoughts, and minds eventually reached this level. To get to this point, he must have said and done quite a few things, right? He certainly didn’t just use a few words to mention what duties he had done, he certainly spoke and talked about these things at length; moreover, he had his own motives and objectives, he said some things that could seduce and mislead people, making people worship him, and in the end he achieved his goal. What do you think about this sort of person? Him getting to do his duty by My side was a good thing for him, whether in terms of him learning how to conduct himself or gaining the truth. It was an opportunity for him to be made perfect early. Sadly, he did not cherish this opportunity. He did not see how precious and vital this opportunity was, nor that it was a path, foundation, and source for gaining the truth and attaining knowledge of God. Instead, he used this opportunity to achieve his own goal of standing out from the masses and winning over people’s hearts. That spelled trouble; he was walking the wrong path. Tell Me, as he was so wantonly spreading word of how much he’d suffered, of how God guided him, and how God treated him, and how God trusted him, was he able to recognize that there was a personal intent within this? (Yes.) He should have been able to. It was not something that was impossible to recognize. He could recognize it—so why was he unable to curb his evil deeds? Because he didn’t love the truth; he only liked influence and status. When a person who really loves the truth reveals corruption, when they’re testifying to how they’ve suffered, they feel reproachful and accusatory toward themselves. They feel that it was vile of them to do that, resistant against God, and that they must not do it again. When they want to do it again in the future, they’re able to restrain themselves and put a stop to their doing such things. That’s quite normal. But at such times, even if their conscience rebukes them, antichrists can’t control their ambition and desire, and even if they’re pruned, they won’t accept the truth. Why does their nature swell up and expand irretrievably? (Because they don’t love the truth.) In their nature, they don’t love the truth. What do they love, then? (They love status.) What will status bring them? It will make people worship them, esteem them, and envy them. Ultimately, their goal is to enjoy the same status and treatment as God, as well as the honor, happiness, and joy that this status brings to them. After listening to everything I’ve just said, don’t you feel disgusted? (Yes.) There was something else that person did that was more disgusting. Later on, he got sick and returned to his hometown, and that made him feel even more that he deserved to enjoy the benefits of status. How do you think he would act while under the control of this thought? Wouldn’t he demand that people give him even more, better treatment? (Yes.) Why did he demand this? Did he not feel it to be excessive or unreasonable? He felt he deserved it. He thought, “I have suffered a great deal for god’s sake, and for the sake of my brothers and sisters. I have the right to this; I grew ill because I suffered so much, so my brothers and sisters must serve me.” While he was sick, he did not lift a finger; he just lay in bed all day, making others tend to him and feed him. After he had lain there for a long time, he began to grow bored, so he made people bring food and drink and go out with him to relieve his boredom. This is quite disgusting, is it not? If he had genuinely been that sick, it would not have been such a big deal; if he hadn’t been that sick, then surely his behavior was too lacking in reason, right?

Some people seem quite enthusiastic in their belief in God. They love to attend to and concern themselves with the affairs of the church, and they’re always running ahead. And yet, unexpectedly, they disappoint everyone once they become leaders. They don’t focus on resolving the practical problems of God’s chosen people, instead doing their utmost to act for the sake of their own reputation and status. They love showing off to make others esteem them, and they’re always talking about how they expend themselves and suffer for God, yet they don’t put their efforts into pursuing the truth and their life entry. This isn’t what anyone expects of them. Though they busy themselves with their work, show off on every occasion, preach some words and doctrines, gain the esteem and worship of some people, mislead people’s hearts, and consolidate their status, what comes of this in the end? Regardless of whether these people use small favors to bribe others, or flaunt their gifts and abilities, or use various methods to mislead people and thereby win their good opinion, no matter what method they use to win over people’s hearts and occupy a position therein, what have they lost? They have lost the opportunity to gain the truth while doing the duties of a leader. At the same time, because of their various manifestations, they have also accumulated evil deeds that will bring about their ultimate outcome. Regardless of whether they are using small favors to bribe and ensnare people, or flaunting themselves, or using facades to mislead people, and no matter how many benefits and how much satisfaction they outwardly seem to obtain from doing this, looking at it now, is this path a correct one? Is it the path of pursuing the truth? Is it a path that can bring about one’s salvation? Clearly, it is not. Regardless of how smart these methods and tricks are, they cannot deceive God, and they are all ultimately condemned and loathed by God, because hidden behind such behaviors is man’s ambition and an attitude and essence of antagonism toward God. In God’s heart, He would absolutely never recognize these people as those who are doing their duties, and would instead define them as evildoers. What verdict does God pass when dealing with evildoers? “Depart from Me, you that work iniquity.” When God says, “Depart from Me,” where does He want such people to go? He is handing them over to Satan, to the places inhabited by throngs of Satans. What is the ultimate consequence for them? They are tormented to death by evil spirits, which is to say they are devoured by Satan. God does not want these people, which means He will not save them, they are not God’s sheep, let alone His followers, so they are not among the ones He will save. This is how these people are defined by God. So, just what is the nature of trying to win over the hearts of others? It is walking the path of an antichrist; it is an antichrist’s behavior and essence. Even more serious is an essence of vying against God for His chosen people; such people are enemies of God. This is how antichrists are defined and categorized, and it is completely accurate.

January 22, 2019