II. The Interests of Antichrists

D. Their Prospects and Destiny

First let’s review what we fellowshipped on in the last gathering. (Last time God fellowshipped on the second item of how antichrists treat their prospects and destiny—how antichrists treat their duty. Antichrists have three kinds of attitudes toward their duty. Firstly, God has been providing for and leading humankind, so doing one’s duty as a created being before God is perfectly fitting, natural, and justified, and the most just and beautiful thing among humankind, but antichrists regard it as a kind of transaction and want to exchange doing their duty for good prospects and a good destination. Secondly, when God is working, He expresses many truths; antichrists not only do not regard God’s word as the truth, as something humankind should possess, pursue, accept, and enter into in order to be saved, but on the contrary, they regard the pursuit of prospects, destination, reputation, and status as the truth and as things they should uphold and obtain. Thirdly, God works to manage and save humankind, but from antichrists’ perspective this is just a transaction and a game; they believe that people can only gain the blessings of the kingdom of heaven through hard work and transactions. Judging from the attitude of antichrists toward the truth of God requiring people to do their duty, their disposition is wicked.) Is there anything to add? (Antichrists regard doing their duty as the only way to pursue blessings. Once their desire to gain blessings is dashed, they may immediately abandon their duty or even leave God. This is the attitude of antichrists when their desire to gain blessings is dashed.) (Antichrists do not truly repent. When they are dismissed or expelled because they caused disruptions and disturbances or committed evil deeds, and God’s house gives them another chance to do their duty, they are not grateful. Instead, they complain and pass judgment, saying, “You ask me back when you need me, but just kick me when you don’t.” This shows that antichrists will never repent.) In short, the essences that antichrists manifest in their treatment of their duties and their treatment of God’s word are basically the same; they’re just manifesting the same dispositions and the same essences in their treatment of these different things. We basically fellowshipped on all of the essences that antichrists manifest in their treatment of their duty last time. Item one, they do not believe and refuse to acknowledge that God’s word is the truth; item two, even if you fellowship God’s word with them, and they can understand the truth, they do not accept it; item three, they refuse to submit to God’s sovereignty and arrangements; item four, they never truly repent. Aren’t these the essences of their manifestations? (Yes.) Did you summarize these four items? (No.) Most of what you talked about were some of the manifestations we fellowshipped on last time, but you still haven’t seen through to what essences lie behind these manifestations. The essences which antichrists manifest before the truth and before God are always a refusal to acknowledge, accept, submit, or repent. Since this is how antichrists treat God’s word and their duty, how do they treat being pruned? What other manifestations are there that enable people to see that they possess the aforementioned essences, and confirm that they are antichrists, enemies of God, and enemies of the truth? This is the third item, which we will be fellowshipping on today: how antichrists treat being pruned. This item is the third sub-topic of how antichrists treat their prospects and destiny. See, fellowshipping on each truth requires such specific fellowship and specific seeking and pondering. If I only spoke in broad terms, you would be unable to understand the realities of each truth in a more specific way. Alright, we will not review the content that we fellowshipped last time any further. This time, we will fellowship formally on the third item.

3. How Antichrists Treat Being Pruned

Being pruned is something that everyone who believes in God may experience. Particularly in the course of doing a duty, as their experience of being pruned increases, most people become more and more aware of the meaning of being pruned. They feel that there are so many benefits to being pruned, and they are more and more able to treat being pruned correctly. Of course, as long as they can perform a duty, and no matter what duty they do, every person will have the chance to be pruned. Normal people can treat being pruned correctly. In one respect, they can accept being pruned with a heart of submission to God, and in another respect, they can also reflect upon and come to know what problems they have. This is a common attitude and perspective in how people who pursue the truth treat being pruned. So, do antichrists also treat being pruned in this way? Absolutely not. The attitudes of antichrists and people who pursue the truth are certain to be different when it comes to their treatment of being pruned. First of all, with antichrists, when it comes to the matter of being pruned, they are unable to accept it. And there are reasons they are unable to accept it, the main one being that when they are pruned, they feel they have lost face, that they have lost their reputation, status and dignity, that they have been left unable to raise their heads in front of everyone. These things have an effect in their hearts, so they find it hard to accept being pruned, and they feel that whoever prunes them has it out for them and is their enemy. This is the mentality of antichrists when they are pruned. Of this, you can be sure. It is in pruning, in fact, that whether someone can accept the truth and whether someone can truly submit is most revealed. That antichrists are so resistant to pruning suffices to show that they are averse to the truth and do not accept it in the least. This, then, is the crux of the problem. Their pride is not the crux of the matter; not accepting the truth is the essence of the problem. When they are pruned, antichrists demand that it be done with a nice tone and attitude. If the doer’s tone is serious and their attitude is severe, an antichrist will resist and be defiant, and grow furious from shame. They pay no mind to whether what is exposed in them is right or whether it is a fact, and they do not reflect on where they have erred or on whether they should accept the truth. They think only of whether their vanity and pride have suffered a blow. Antichrists are entirely unable to recognize that pruning is helpful to people, and loving, and salvific, that they are of benefit to people. They cannot even see this. Is this not a bit undiscriminating and unreasonable of them? So, when faced with being pruned, what disposition is it that an antichrist reveals? Without any doubt, that disposition is one of being averse to the truth, as well as one of arrogance and intransigence. This reveals that the nature essence of antichrists is one of being averse to the truth and hating it. Therefore, antichrists are most afraid of being pruned; as soon as they are pruned, their ugly state is completely exposed. When antichrists are pruned, what manifestations do they display, and what things might they say or do, that allow others to clearly see that antichrists are antichrists, that they are different to an average corrupt person, and that their nature essence is distinct from those who pursue the truth? I will give a few examples, and you can think about them and add to them. When antichrists are pruned, they first calculate and think: “What kind of person is pruning me? What is he getting at? How does he know about this? Why did he prune me? Does he feel disdain for me? Have I said something to offend him? Is he taking revenge on me because I have something good and haven’t given it to him, and he’s using this opportunity to blackmail me?” Instead of reflecting and coming to know their own transgressions, past misdeeds, and the corrupt dispositions they’ve revealed, they want to find clues within the matter of being pruned. They feel that there is something suspicious about it. This is how they treat being pruned. Is there any true acceptance here? Is there any true knowledge or reflection? (No.) When most people are pruned, it can be because they revealed corrupt dispositions. It can also be because they did something wrong due to ignorance and sold out the interests of God’s house. It may also be because they were perfunctory in their duty and this caused losses to the work of God’s house. The most detestable thing is that people blatantly do as they wish without restraint, violate principles, and disrupt and disturb the work of God’s house. These are the primary reasons people are pruned. Regardless of the circumstances that cause someone to be pruned, what is the most crucial attitude to have toward it? First, you must accept it. No matter who is pruning you, for what reason, no matter whether it comes across as harsh, or what the tone and wording, you should accept it. Then, you should recognize what you have done wrong, what corrupt disposition you have revealed, and whether you acted in accordance with the truth principles. First and foremost, this is the attitude you should have. And are antichrists possessed of such an attitude? They are not; from start to finish, the attitude they exude is one of resistance and repulsion. With an attitude like that, can they be quiet before God and modestly accept pruning? No, they cannot. So, what will they do, then? First of all, they will vigorously argue and offer justifications, defending and arguing against the wrongs they have done and the corrupt disposition they have revealed, in hopes of winning people’s understanding and forgiveness, so that they need not take any responsibility or accept words that prune them. What is the attitude they evince when faced with being pruned? “I haven’t sinned. I’ve done nothing wrong. If I made a mistake, there was a reason for it; if I made a mistake, I didn’t do so on purpose, I shouldn’t have to take responsibility for it. Who doesn’t make a few mistakes?” They seize on these statements and phrases, but they do not seek the truth, nor do they acknowledge the mistakes they have made or the corrupt dispositions they have revealed—and they certainly do not admit what their intent and goal were in doing evil. No matter how evident the mistakes they have made are or how great a loss they have caused, they turn a blind eye to these things. They do not feel the least bit sad or guilty, and their conscience does not feel reproached at all. Instead, they justify themselves with all their might and wage a war of words, thinking, “Everybody has a justifiable point of view. Everyone has their reasons; it comes down to who’s the better talker. If I can pass my justification and my explanation off on a majority, then I win, and the truths you speak of aren’t truths, and your facts aren’t valid. You want to condemn me? No way!” When an antichrist is pruned, in the depths of their heart and soul, they are absolutely, resolutely resistant and repulsive, and reject it. Their attitude is, “Whatever you have to say, however right you may be, I won’t accept it, and I won’t admit to it. I’m not at fault.” No matter how the facts bring their corrupt disposition to light, they do not acknowledge or accept it, but go on with their defiance and resistance. Whatever others say, they do not accept it or acknowledge it, but think, “Let’s see who can outtalk whom; let’s see who is a better speaker.” This is one sort of attitude with which antichrists treat being pruned.

Whether or not a person can accept the truth is revealed when they are pruned. Antichrists are all very clear when speaking words and doctrines, but when they are pruned, they keep defying, arguing, and resisting, and do not accept the truth at all. They cannot put into practice any of the words and doctrines that they usually spout. Why is this? The reason is that antichrists are in essence averse to the truth. The disposition of antichrists is vicious and arrogant in the extreme. Their attitude before the truth and facts is always one of intransigence, resistance, and antipathy. When they are pruned, in addition to justifying and explaining themselves as much as they can to maintain their own reputation, antichrists have the strongest conviction: “I believe in god, not some person. God is righteous, and no matter how that person prunes me, he cannot decide my destiny. I don’t accept the truth, but what can he do about it?” In their hearts they are defiant, “No matter how right or in accordance with the truth the things that person on earth says are, they are not the truth, only direct utterances from the god in heaven are the truth; no matter how that person on earth judges and chastises people, and prunes them, he is not righteous, only god in heaven is righteous.” What is their unspoken implication? “No matter how right or in accordance with the truth the things that god on earth says are, they are not the truth. Only god in heaven is the truth, god in heaven is the greatest. Although god on earth can also express the truth, he can’t compare with god in heaven.” Isn’t this what they mean? (Yes.) “What I believe in is god in heaven, not god on earth. No matter how right or in accordance with the truth the words that you, this ordinary person, speak are, you are still not god in heaven. God in heaven is sovereign over everything. God in heaven determines my destiny. God on earth cannot determine my destiny. No matter how consistent with the truth the things that god on earth says are, I won’t accept them. I only accept and submit to god in heaven. However god in heaven treats me, I will submit to it.” These words are all words that antichrists reveal when they are pruned. They are all words that come from their hearts. These heartfelt words of theirs entirely represent their disposition and reveal their nature essence that is averse to the truth and hates the truth. When antichrists reveal these words, their true face is completely laid bare. It can be said that anyone who can say these words is a genuine antichrist, and an authentic devil and Satan. Some antichrists display an unyielding attitude that is neither servile nor overbearing when they are being pruned. They do not accept the truth or accept being pruned, nor do they truly come to know themselves. Instead, they retreat into that conviction of theirs and use it to defend their own reputation, status, and sense of presence, completely exposing their disbeliever essence. They use the words “I believe in god, not some person, and god is righteous” to refute and defeat everybody, and to deny the truth and deny God on earth. At the same time, they use these words to conceal and evade their responsibility for their own sins, and to conceal their corrupt dispositions and their nature essence. Antichrists use their conviction and their theories to conceal their own evil deeds, and they also use them to comfort and shield themselves. How do they comfort themselves? They think, “It’s alright, what this person on earth says doesn’t count. No matter how right the things he says are, I won’t accept them. As long as I don’t accept them, then the things he says aren’t facts and they don’t accord with the truth. So, I don’t need to take responsibility for whatever mistakes, misdeeds, or transgressions I make, I can just do as I please, strut around, and do things my own way as I did before.” So, antichrists continue walking their path in this way without any misgivings at all and still without any sense of shame, holding on to their desire and intent to gain blessings to the very end. This is the true face of antichrists.

When antichrists are pruned, they are revealed. This is the time when their nature essence is most likely to be exposed. Firstly: Can they confess to their evil deeds? Secondly: Can they reflect on themselves and know themselves? And thirdly: Can they accept it from God when they are pruned? With these three measures, one can see the nature essence of an antichrist. If a person can submit when pruning befalls them, and reflect on themselves, and thereby come to know their own revelations of corruption and corrupt essence, then that is someone who can accept the truth. They are not an antichrist. These three measures are precisely what an antichrist lacks. An antichrist does something else instead, something no one expected—that is, when they are pruned, they make unfounded countercharges. Instead of confessing their wrongdoing and acknowledging their corrupt disposition, they condemn the person who prunes them. How do they do that? They say, “Not all pruning is right, necessarily. Pruning is all about man’s condemnation, man’s judgment; it’s not done on god’s behalf. God alone is righteous. Whoever would condemn others is to be condemned.” Is this not an unfounded countercharge? What kind of person is it that would make such unfounded countercharges? Only a senselessly bothersome person who is impervious to reason would do so, and only someone who is the ilk of devils and Satan would do so. Someone with a conscience and reason would never do such a thing. So those who make unfounded countercharges when they are pruned must be evil people. They are all devils. When antichrists make unfounded countercharges, what do they often say? “I believe in god, and god is righteous! I submit to god, not to some person! Not all pruning is right, necessarily. If god prunes me, I will accept it, but if people prune me, I won’t!” The first thing antichrists will say is “God is righteous!” You can hear that their tone carries in it a malicious mentality. The second thing they say is “I submit to god, not to some person!” Have you heard these two statements? (Yes.) Have you ever spoken them? (No.) Most people do not dare to say these two statements. It’s only when something happens to them that they believe is positive and something that they should accept, that they say: “God really is righteous, it was right for me to be pruned and disciplined.” They accept it in a positive way, and aren’t at all using these words to defend their own interests or to justify and explain themselves. They truly accept and acknowledge these words and this fact from the bottom of their hearts. The attitude of antichrists is different. In the context of being pruned, they could use this tone of voice or this kind of intent to say, “I believe in god, and god is righteous! I submit to god, not to some person!” What does this mean? Are they people who accept the truth? They certainly are not. They deny that being pruned comes from God and is approved of by God. Their inability to accept it from God completely proves that they do not acknowledge God’s sovereignty over everything and do not believe God’s words are the truth. How can they acknowledge that God is righteous, then? They are clearly using these words, which appear correct on the face of it, to condemn others, to condemn those who are unfavorable to them, who prune them, and who expose their corrupt dispositions. Aren’t these the actions of evil people? These are evil people. Evil people may use correct words to resist God and oppose the truth at critical moments, and use correct words to protect their own interests, their own image, and their own face and reputation. Is this not shameless? “An evil man hardens his face” (Proverbs 21:29), this sentence is borne out in evil people and antichrists. Antichrists are people of this sort.

Another thing antichrists say is: “I believe in god, not in some person!” Does this sentence sound wrong on the face of it? (No.) Believing in God is of course correct—one cannot believe in some person. These words are so decent and correct, there is nothing wrong with them. Unfortunately, the meaning of this sentence changes when it comes from the mouth of an antichrist. What does this change of meaning show? That antichrists use correct words to get themselves out of trouble and explain themselves. What is their intent behind speaking these words? What is their reason for speaking these words? What aspects of their essence does it prove? (Not accepting the truth, hating the truth.) Correct, they do not accept the truth. So, they do not accept the truth, but will they openly say, “I don’t accept it; even if what you said is right, I don’t accept it”? If they said this, people would be able to discern them, and everyone would reject them, and they would be unable to keep their foothold, so they cannot say this. They understand these things clearly in their hearts. This is where the deceitfulness and wickedness of antichrists lies. They think, “If I openly contradict you, openly clamor against and oppose you, you will say I don’t accept the truth. I won’t let you see that I don’t accept the truth, then. I’ll use other means to solve this matter and protect myself.” So, they say: “I believe in god, not in some person.” Regardless of whether they believe in God or in some person, what we are dissecting here is whether antichrists accept the truth. Aren’t they mixing up concepts by saying this? They are mixing up concepts and trying to pull the wool over people’s eyes. To stop people from seeing that they do not accept the truth, they say that they acknowledge God and acknowledge the truth, that they believe in God and believe God is the truth, and that since God is the truth, God cannot become a person, and if He becomes a person, then He does not have the truth, and that person isn’t God. Judging based on this, haven’t they already been revealed as antichrists? They simply do not acknowledge that God can become Christ and become an ordinary person. They think that only God in heaven, only that God which is invisible and intangible, and can be arbitrarily imagined and used by man, is God. Are there similarities between this view and that of Paul? (Yes.) What was Paul’s attitude toward Christ on earth? Did he acknowledge Him? Did he accept Him? (No.) Paul said: “Christ is a son of the living god, and we are also sons of the living god. This means that we are all the brothers and sisters of christ, and in terms of seniority, we are all equal. The god we believe in is in heaven. There is no god on earth. So don’t misunderstand, this person on earth is christ, he is a son of god. He is not the same as god. He can’t represent god in heaven, man can’t regard him as the truth, and man doesn’t need to follow him.” What can we dissect from the words “I believe in god, not in some person” which antichrists say? Like Paul, they only acknowledge the vague God in heaven, and do not acknowledge that Christ is God. In other words, they do not acknowledge the fact that God has become flesh and become an ordinary person—on this point antichrists are exactly the same as Paul. Their meaning is: “If you believe in god, then believe in god, not in some person. It is useless to believe in some person, you cannot gain blessings from believing in some person. To believe in god you must believe in god in heaven, the invisible god. God in heaven is so great and so almighty, what can god on earth do? He can just express some truths and speak some correct words.” If we dissect and judge their essence based on these words, they are resisting Christ, not acknowledging Christ, and denying the fact that God has become flesh. They are out-and-out antichrists.

When antichrists are pruned, when they encounter setbacks, and when somebody exposes them, they use the phrase “God is righteous” to defend themselves, to deny the other person’s exposing of them, and deny the other person’s pruning of them. No matter what, when they are pruned their primary attitude is one of defiance, resistance, and non-acceptance, doing their utmost to explain and defend themselves. Some even say: “Time will reveal everything. God is righteous. Let god reveal this for me one day!” Being corrupt people, no matter how great losses they incur to the work of God’s house in the course of doing their duty, they do not care or pay any heed to this. If this fact is exposed, they still do not acknowledge that these losses were caused by them and they are unwilling to take responsibility. In the end they still want to let God reveal it for them, as if God is there to serve them, and must defend them when they make mistakes, as if He is that kind of God. They do not accept the truth, they cannot accept being pruned, and they aren’t able to know themselves, but that’s not all—they even ask God to give explanations and justifications for them. Isn’t this a shameful thing? This is so shameful! Antichrists are all shameless in the extreme, and they are also wicked in the extreme. This is one aspect. What two statements do antichrists often say when they are pruned? (“I believe in god, not in some person!” “God is righteous!”) These are two sayings they habitually use. They cannot utter any other kind of false reasoning, they do not dare to do so. They use two correct statements to mislead people, to argue unreasonably on their own behalf, trying to turn something wrong into something right, to turn something wicked into something just, to turn their mistakes and the losses they have caused into something justified. They want to use these two statements to write off all these things in one stroke, completely erase them, and pretend that they do not exist, and they continue believing as they always have. Is there repentance in this manifestation of antichrists? (No, there is not.) Not only are they not repentant, they also manifest another aspect of antichrists—aversion to the truth, arrogance, wickedness, and viciousness. Their arrogance manifests in the fact that they despise whoever is pruning them, thinking, “You’re just a person, I’m not afraid of you!” Isn’t this arrogant? (Yes.) In what way does their wickedness manifest? (Making unfounded countercharges.) Making unfounded countercharges is one aspect, and another aspect is using correct words to explain, justify, and defend themselves. What other disposition lies within this? Making unfounded countercharges is also vicious. Antichrists do not acknowledge that God’s word is the truth. If somebody exposes this essence of theirs, they still do not accept the fact that they do not acknowledge the truth. They do not reflect on and try to know themselves; instead, they make unfounded countercharges, and use correct and nice-sounding words to condemn others. The methods and sayings they use to condemn others are both insidious and wicked. They know which words to use to condemn others and silence them, so that other people do not know what to say next and cannot do anything to them. This is wickedness. This method and practice of theirs are an out-and-out vicious disposition. These are several dispositions of antichrists that we can dissect from the matter of antichrists being pruned. Do these dispositions and revelations of antichrists not match up with the four items we previously spoke about? (Yes.) What are those four items? (Item one is not believing and refusing to acknowledge that God’s word is the truth; item two is that even if you fellowship God’s word with them, and they can understand the truth, they do not accept it; item three is refusing to submit to God’s sovereignty and arrangements; item four is never truly repenting.) Not believing, not accepting, not submitting, and not repenting, these “four nots” represent the essence of antichrists. Antichrists will never accept the truth, and they will never bow their heads before facts. This is stubborn unrepentance and it is something that pours forth from the nature of antichrists. This is the first manifestation of how antichrists treat being pruned. Although antichrists share the same disposition essence, the famous sayings and great mottos that come from their mouths are certainly not exactly the same. Sometimes antichrists may say this, and sometimes antichrists may say that, but no matter what kind of speech comes forth from their mouths, its characteristics and essence will be the same—the essence of their words is that of not accepting the truth. If they do not accept the truth, then just what are these words of theirs? Are they words that accord with the truth? Are they human words or words that accord with ethics? Are they words that accord with conscience and reason? (They are devilish words.) Correct. Calling them empty words or muddled words does not quite define them accurately, but saying they are devilish words explains the issue.

When antichrists are pruned, when they are criticized and exposed by the brothers and sisters, what other words do they say? Some antichrists make a mistake or speak some devilish words to mislead people. When the brothers and sisters see this, they criticize them and prune them, exposing them as slippery and deceitful. Although they are not defiant on the outside, inside they are resistant, as if to say, “What do you know? Are you as knowledgeable as me? Have you believed in god for as many years as me? How many years have you believed in god? I won’t lower myself to your level!” When leaders and workers are pruning them, they might adopt a slippery attitude, fobbing them off outwardly, and saying some nice-sounding words, but secretly they are dissatisfied and defiant, seeking an opportunity for revenge. If it is an ordinary brother or sister pruning them, antichrists are not so well-behaved—they will become angry and exasperated, and they will counterattack and retaliate. When they counterattack and retaliate, they often say something like: “You’re too wet behind the ears to prune me! If I didn’t believe in god, I would fear nobody!” Is there anything wrong with these words? These are the kind of words usually spoken by nonbelievers and seriously scummy people. How can this be heard in the church? People who can speak like this are a unique group, and this unique group possesses a unique temperament. How is their temperament unique? Such people often consider seniority within the church. They see everyone as inferior to them, dislike everyone, and want to lecture, punish, and manipulate everyone. They think that even though they believe in God, nobody is qualified to be their partner. It’s no wonder that they come out with these arrogant words when people treat them as brothers and sisters and have heart-to-heart talks with them, exposing their corrupt dispositions, and pruning the words and actions that they’ve displayed which are not in line with the truth. They regard God’s house as society and as their own domain, and regard the brothers and sisters of the church as their juniors. They think that the brothers and sisters know little about and possess only a superficial understanding of matters of society, that they are at the bottom of society, to be looked down on, toyed with, and trampled by others. They think the brothers and sisters are all easy to bully and toy with, and they will not be that kind of person. Therefore, they think that whoever prunes them and exposes them is bullying, belittling, and excluding them. They have already guarded against it in their hearts, “Don’t think that you can punish me and bully me! You’re still wet behind the ears!” Isn’t this something that somebody with a “heroic spirit” would say? Unfortunately, these words are not the truth. However much spirit or moral integrity you have, God will not approve of you. God loathes such dispositions and people who speak these words. People who say these kinds of things before God are condemned and spurned by God. People who hold to these words as if they were the truth can never be saved by God. So, let’s take another look, what is wrong with these words? Everybody is equal before the truth, and there are no distinctions of age or of lowliness and nobleness for those doing their duties in God’s house. Everybody is equal before their duty, they just do different jobs. There are no distinctions between them based on who has seniority. Before the truth, everybody should keep a humble, submissive, and accepting heart. People should be possessed of this reason and this attitude. So, aren’t people who say, “You’re too wet behind the ears to prune me!” full of the atmosphere, ideology, and scumminess of society? They regard God’s house as society, they regard the brothers and sisters of God’s house as a vulnerable group at the bottom level of society, and they regard themselves as the boss of everything, someone who nobody can touch or provoke, and who makes sure that things do not end well for those who expose and prune them. They think God’s house is the same as society, that whoever is unyielding and overbearing will be able to stand firm, that nobody will dare to touch those who are ruthless, fierce, and evil, and they believe that people who accept being pruned are all incompetent and incapable. They think that nobody will dare to touch people who have some ability, that nobody will dare to expose those people even if they make mistakes, and that they are the ironclad tough guys! Antichrists think that no matter what group they’re in, they must be powerful, and ruthless and evil enough that they do not get bullied or casually pushed around by others. They think that this is ability and competence, and they want to use this ability to gain status, fame, and gain, and ultimately secure a good destination. What disposition is this? It is both vicious and wicked. No matter how many sermons antichrists hear, they cannot understand the truth. They cannot see that the truth reigns in God’s house. They cannot see the changes that those who accept the truth undergo, and even if they do see them, they do not acknowledge them as changes. They think that those changes are all a result of pretense and self-restraint, and they won’t restrain themselves and take things lying down for the sake of that. Because they have this kind of logic, they can say things like: “Don’t think that you can punish me and bully me!” Isn’t this the wickedness of antichrists? Such thoughts and viewpoints are wicked. That they can speak these words and act like this is a revelation of their vicious disposition. Are there such people in the church? When brothers and sisters have a heart-to-heart with them, expose them, talk about their problems, shortcomings, and revelations of corruption, they think they are being bullied and humiliated and not taken seriously. Then they say, “You’re too wet behind the ears to prune me!” No matter who they see accepting being pruned, they will always think: “Can you gain the truth by accepting being pruned? That would be impossible!” They do not acknowledge this. They think that pruning people is bullying people and finding some leverage to punish them with, and that people get bullied when they make some small mistakes because they are too guileless. They do not acknowledge that pruning people is loving and helping them. They do not acknowledge that people can only truly repent and change when they accept being pruned, and even less do they acknowledge the fact that the truth reigns in God’s house. Therefore, antichrists often say to themselves: “Whoever prunes me, I’ll never let it go. There’s no way I’ll let anyone bully me!” What kinds of people are able to say such words? Only those who do not accept the truth and hate the truth can say such words. Any person who has this kind of a vicious disposition, and can say such words, has the nature essence of antichrists, and is the ilk of Satan.

When being pruned, antichrists also say another phrase: “If I didn’t believe in god, I would give a damn about nobody!” What does this phrase mean? It is a common statement made by a certain kind of antichrist. Since they say this, let us dissect it. As they can say these words, they must have a certain meaning. On the surface these words seem to say that since these people began believing in God, they have undergone a great change. There seems to be a sense of gratitude within these words, as in: “God has changed me, god has conquered me. If god had not changed me, I would be an insufferably arrogant person.” On the surface these words seem to carry a certain mindset of gratitude, but dissected from another perspective, there is a big problem with them. Antichrists say that before they believed in God, they gave a damn about nobody. What is the disposition of these people? (Arrogant and vicious.) These are extremely arrogant and vicious people, and if they did not believe in God, they would be people of great evil. Not giving a damn about anyone means having no regard for anyone, it means that everyone is trampled under their feet, and that no matter how great or good other people are, they are nothing in their eyes. They do not yield to anybody, they disdain everyone, and they do not serve anyone. If they were asked to serve a person, then it would hurt their dignity. If there is anyone worthy of their service, it is only God in heaven. Now that they believe in God, they have restrained this manifestation and revelation of not giving a damn about anyone, and after coming to God’s house they have begrudgingly condescended to work with others in a group, handling matters and interacting with others like normal people. But when they handle matters and interact with others, some things inevitably don’t go as they’d like them to, and this causes that disposition of theirs to erupt again, giving rise to these words. Originally out in the world when they did not believe in God, they did not yield to anybody, and thought that nobody was worthy of interacting with them. So, since they began believing in God, have they yielded to any brother or sister in God’s house? (No.) Regardless of which group they were in, would a person with normal humanity and normal rationality conduct themselves like this? (No.) Even nonbelievers say, “Among any three people walking together, there is at least one who can be my teacher.” That is to say, among any three people there is definitely one person who is stronger and better than you, who can be your teacher, and help you. Nonbelievers say such words, so do these arrogant people acknowledge the correctness of these words? Can they interact on equal terms with others in a group? Can they be rational? (No.) So, when they are among the nonbelievers who do not have faith in God, what kind of people are these antichrists? (They are difficult people.) Correct, they are scoundrels, they are difficult people. There is no way for anybody to do anything about them. Nobody dares to provoke, anger, or touch them. They are scoundrels! If you anger them then there will be consequences, it is like angering a vicious demon. Normally in society nobody dares mess with such people. Their disposition and their principles in dealing with things are to be rude and unreasonable, and to stir up trouble at every turn. Nobody dares anger them, nobody dares touch them, and nobody dares bully them; they are the only ones who bully people. This achieves their goal. So, are they able to change after coming to God’s house? Have they changed? (No, they haven’t.) What shows us that they have not changed, that they cannot change? (The fact that they say, “If I didn’t believe in god, I would give a damn about nobody!”) They usually do not say these words—in what context do they say these words? When somebody points out their shortcomings, says things which hurt their dignity, or touches a nerve, they blurt out this phrase, “If I didn’t believe in god, I would give a damn about nobody! You dare to fight with me, who do you think you are?” What disposition is this? They even add a premodifier before this phrase, saying, “Before I believed in god, I gave a damn about nobody.” Don’t you still not yield or listen to anyone now that you believe in God? Aren’t you still the same intact devil and Satan? They feel like they have changed for the better after coming to believe in God. If they have changed for the better, how can they utter these words? They have no conscience or reason at all, and they dare to openly clamor and let others know: “I am a thug and I fear nobody!” What does a tyrant, a scoundrel, and a thug have to show off about? What do they have to brag about? Yet antichrists do brag in this way. They regard the fact that they were once a tyrant as their glorious past, and they flaunt it in God’s house. What kind of place is God’s house? This is a place where the truth reigns. This is a place of holiness where God saves people. How can it tolerate you speaking these devilish words? Antichrists have no sense of shame, they do not know these are devilish words, and they even flaunt them as though they were good words and the truth. They are truly shameless individuals, they are dead to shame, and they are loathsome! When this kind of person speaks devilish words to you, do you have something suitable to say as a rebuttal? (I once met a person like this; he did not yield to anybody in the church. At that time, he said words like this to criticize me. I didn’t have any discernment, and I told him I accepted it.) You replied like this. It was incorrect to answer like this; you did not bear witness. You have to point out his issues and shame him. When he speaks devilish words, you must not give in, and you must not obey those devilish words. You must expose him. To be one of God’s overcomers and bear witness for God, you must be able to shame devils and Satan, and say words which can shame Satan and that conform to the truth. Even if he does not accept it, he will have nothing to say, and he will behave himself and submit. Will scaring this kind of person work? What about condemning them? What about having a discussion with them and coaxing them? (No.) Then what will work? (If somebody said such words in the church, I would say: “Are you trying to behave atrociously? If you can listen normally to brothers and sisters fellowshipping the truth and accept the truth, then that’s fine, but if you want to behave atrociously here, then leave. God’s house does not permit you to behave atrociously here. These words of yours do not conform to the truth. Do not make an exhibition of yourself in here!”) These words are very powerful, but people of this sort are tyrants and bandits. Do they fear such words? (No, they do not.)

Let Me tell you about something. In the past, I came into contact with a man who had been a chef before he started believing in God. He once said to Me: “When I was a chef out in the world, and those big shots and officials came in to drink, I didn’t want anything to do with them. When I cooked for them, I would have one hand on my waist, one foot on tiptoes, and I’d cook for them with one hand.” He demonstrated this as he spoke, and his bearing looked as indignant as it did defiant. His implication was: “None of the nonbelievers are a match for me and I won’t yield to any of them. I’m very capable, and out in the world people like me are upstanding. I don’t tend to give a damn about officials!” He gestured as he spoke, sounding pleased with himself, and demonstrating those movements with ease. I could see that he was very adept at displaying those movements, that bearing, and that posture—that he had performed them frequently. I could tell that he was doing this performance with a bit of an intent to show off and flaunt his “glorious past,” in an effort to make others admire him. When I saw him acting this way, I smiled, and then I said to him: “So, you have a bad disposition.” I said this with a smile, and I didn’t say anything else. His face drooped right away, and he immediately stopped his movements and became silent. From then on, he didn’t speak again about his “glorious past.” What did I say to him? (You have a bad disposition.) What was the meaning of this? (It pointed out his nature essence, and he was shamed.) Correct. Did I anger him? Did I argue with him? Did I hurt his dignity? (No.) Did I treat him impetuously and say: “Get out of here! What are you doing believing in God?” or “You’re still wet behind the ears to talk to Me about your ‘brilliant past!’”? Did I use these methods? (No.) Without implying any of this, I just said one sentence, “So, you have a bad disposition,” and he was shamed and went silent. I got My point across without having to elaborate further. If a smart person heard this, they would instantly understand what it meant, and be more restrained in the future. What do you think of this approach? (It is good.) Would it be appropriate to glare at him and argue? (No, it wouldn’t.) If somebody says, “If I didn’t believe in god, I would give a damn about nobody!” you should say to them, “If you didn’t give a damn about anyone before you came to believe in God, that means you had a bad disposition. If you still don’t want to give a damn about anyone now that you believe in God, this means that you have an even worse disposition and there is something wrong with your essence.” Just say this and observe their reaction and their behavior. This is called hitting them where it hurts. Will evil people feel sad upon hearing these words? They will feel upset. They will think, “I thought that I had achieved change in my belief in god, and I even used these words to show off my qualifications and flaunt the glorious past I had before I came to believe in god. I didn’t expect that somebody with understanding would expose the shameful secret behind this matter, and reveal that I have a bad disposition.” What is the meaning of a bad disposition? To put it nicely, it means that their humanity is not good; to put it more bluntly, it means that they are no good. Which people in society are no good? (Hoodlums, thugs, tyrants, and scoundrels.) Correct, it is those people. As soon as you say they are no good and that their disposition is bad, they will understand. They will understand that you are referring to hoodlums, hooligans, tyrants, and evil ones—these terms and types of people. Will they feel good when they hear that they belong to this category? (No.) They won’t feel good at all. And will you need to say anything else? (No.) Their shameful secret will have been uncovered with that one sentence. “So that’s the kind of person you are. You’re still flaunting yourself here, boasting about negative things as if they were positive things. What are you trying to do? This is God’s house, don’t show off here. This is not a place for you to show off. If you want to show off, then leave. God’s house is a place where the truth reigns, not somewhere for you to strut about and proclaim your evil deeds. What do you mean by flaunting wicked and negative things in God’s house? Your meaning is that God’s work has achieved results in you. Did God say that? You are not thanking God; you are boasting of your evil deeds. Who are you trying to deceive with these words? You may fool a three-year-old child, but you can’t fool the brothers and sisters. You can’t get away with it!” They are exposed in this way. Once antichrists have heard this, firstly, they will sense that you have no malice toward them; secondly, your words will hit the mark; thirdly, you will not have targeted them; and fourthly, these words are facts, and you will not have exaggerated at all in saying them. Once they have heard these words, they will immediately restrain themselves. Why will they restrain themselves? Your words will embarrass them and make them feel ashamed. When they are in your presence again, they will be embarrassed to repeat such words. And even if they do say such things again, they will have to find the right occasion, and check who is listening. In any case they will not dare to say them again in your presence. Has this not subdued them? If you encounter such a person, will you dare to speak to them like this? (Yes.) There is a way to treat this kind of person. You do not need to be hotheaded or rude, just subdue them with a smile. This is called exposing and shaming Satan. This is called standing firm in one’s testimony. Your ability to expose them proves that you have seen through them, that you dislike people like them, that you hate people like them, that you look down on people like them. These people are among the ranks of negative characters, and you are the exact opposite of them. Before you, they feel inferior; you are stronger and more upstanding than them.

When antichrists are pruned, when they are occasionally exposed by brothers and sisters, what two shameless sentences do they utter? (“You’re too wet behind the ears to prune me!” “If I didn’t believe in god, I would give a damn about nobody!”) Most people couldn’t say these two sentences, could they? What characteristics do these words have? They are thuggish and scummy, with the imposing manner of Satan’s swagger and Satan’s wicked disposition. These words clearly would not come from the mouth of a normal person, especially not from somebody who pursues the truth. It goes without saying that those who speak these words have the vicious disposition of Satan. They are evil, and they are antichrists. They do not love the truth, and they revere evil forces, violence, and the vicious forces and disposition of Satan. These essences can be spotted from just these two sentences that they speak. When they speak these words, their dispositions and essences are revealed. Among ordinary, normal, corrupt mankind, anyone who often speaks these words is no good, and anyone who does not speak these words despite hearing them, who thinks that those who speak these words are shameful and vicious, who couldn’t speak in this way themselves, who could not possibly say these words no matter how much they hate, resent, and look down on somebody, and who despises people who say these words—such people still have some sense of shame and an upstanding side to their humanity. But those who often say these words, who often regard these words as the highest principles for how they handle matters and conduct themselves, are undoubtedly antichrists that are part of Satan’s gang. Some people say: “Before I believed in God I didn’t know if these words were good or bad. I used them when I was young, but I stopped saying them later when I grew a bit older and more mature.” Are these antichrists? They are not. When people are young and ignorant, when they first encounter society and the general populace, they regard these words as good words, as words of character. They are just too young and immature. When they grow up a bit and are able to distinguish good from evil, to differentiate between good and bad people, they do not say these words anymore. Such people still have a little bit of conscience and rationality. Where does this little bit of conscience and rationality come from? It comes from their ability to distinguish good from evil, to know what is truthfulness and what is falsehood, what is right and what is wrong, from them having choices and boundaries in how they act, speak, handle matters, and conduct themselves. It comes from them not being Satans, not being evil people, not being beasts, from them conducting themselves with standards and principles, and being upright people.

By exposing antichrists, their “words of wisdom,” their life mottos, and their oft-said sayings are all revealed. As these are revealed, their nature essence also emerges, enabling others to see it more and more clearly. If these things are not exposed, and people regard these occasionally or frequently heard words as ordinary words, and have no discernment of them, they won’t be able to classify them. If you cannot classify them, then what use is your understanding of the truth or your knowledge of right and wrong? Can these influence your stance? Can they influence your point of view? (No, they can’t.) Then you are unable to discern what is a normal revelation of corruption and what is a manifestation of the essence of an antichrist. When you can clearly discern these essences, accurately classify and delineate them, and clearly discern the various manifestations, revelations, dispositions, and essences of the positive and negative, the normal and abnormal, only then will you be able to more accurately discern people and things. Otherwise, you will mistakenly think that a manifestation of an antichrist is ordinary corruption or a normal revelation, and you will sometimes mistake some ordinary revelations of corruption as manifestations of the essence of antichrists. Isn’t this mixed up? Say that you are a leader and there are antichrists within your scope of responsibility. If you let them stay, and expel ordinary brothers and sisters who have revelations of corruption, is this not a mistake? (Yes.) Therefore, understanding these detailed and specific distinctions is crucial.

When antichrists face being pruned, their manifestations go much further than what we’ve just discussed. They will not just say a couple of unpleasant sentences or be a little resentful. They will do more things and say more unpleasant words. Even more so, they will do some even more evil things, things that seriously disturb the work of God’s house and disturb the normal church life. Now try fellowshipping on what else antichrists might do, besides speaking those few sentences, which allows people to clearly see and discern that they are antichrists, that their deeds and conduct are those of antichrists, and that their disposition is that of antichrists. In this way, these antichrists can be discerned and identified as antichrists by brothers and sisters before they create greater disturbances. This way, in one respect, brothers and sisters can avoid suffering greater harm to their life entry, and in another respect, the disruption and disturbance that these antichrists cause to the work of God’s house can be prevented. Isn’t it better to discover, resolve, prevent, and rectify this problem earlier rather than later? (Yes, it is.) Then go ahead and fellowship. (When antichrists are pruned, they do not accept the truth and they say some words to attack people. No matter who gives them advice, as long as it touches on their status or pride, antichrists will judge that person in the church, and even distort the truth to defend their status and pride.) Is there anything else? (I once met an evil person who threatened to kill anyone who did anything that was disadvantageous to him. At the time we didn’t understand the truth and we lacked discernment. We were afraid of him. He would act arbitrarily and recklessly when doing his duty, and when we saw some problems in his work and wanted to report them, he blocked us and didn’t allow us to make a report. We didn’t possess the truth, so at the time we didn’t dare to argue back, nor did we promptly report him, which ultimately caused great losses to the work of the church. This was caused by us lacking discernment of antichrists. He was only expelled later when he committed many more evil deeds.) In this matter you failed to stand firm in your testimony or protect the interests of God’s house, and you allowed the work of God’s house to suffer losses. You bear responsibility for this. Now it seems that this person was rightly expelled and not treated unjustly. If you encounter this kind of person again in the future, will you be able to discern them? (Through God’s fellowship, I feel a little clearer on this aspect of the truth about discerning antichrists.)

Why does God’s house want to expel antichrists? Would it be alright to keep them and let them render service? Would it be alright to give them the chance to repent? (No, it would not.) Is there any chance they could pursue the truth? (Antichrists can’t pursue the truth.) Now you have discovered that antichrists are evil people who belong to Satan and cannot repent, which is why they are expelled. Nobody is expelled lightly. God’s house exercises patience over and over again, repeatedly giving them opportunities to repent, and giving them leeway, so that good people are not wrongly accused, and so that no one is expelled or ruined lightly. It is not an easy thing for them to believe in God for so many years; God’s house is tolerant toward everyone until they are fully seen through, until they are completely revealed. But can antichrists repent? They cannot repent. The role they play in God’s house is that of the lackeys of Satan, dismantling, disrupting, and disturbing the work of God’s house. Even if they have some gifts and talent, they could not possibly work hard to do their duty well, or embark on the correct path. Even if antichrists have some useful aspects, they absolutely won’t make a positive contribution to God’s work in God’s house. They do nothing but disrupt, disturb, and undermine God’s work, and they do not do good things. You kept them to observe them and gave them the chance to repent, but they were incapable of repentance. In the end the solution that was adopted was to expel them. Before expelling them, you had already seen through to the fact that this kind of person was an antichrist who would rather die than repent, that they were antagonistic toward God and the truth. Consequently, they were expelled. Would they have been expelled if they were a good person? Would they have been expelled if they could accept the truth and repent? At most they would have been dismissed from their duty and sent to engage in spiritual devotionals and reflection, they would not have been expelled. Once God’s house decides to expel someone, it means that this person would be a scourge in God’s house if they were allowed to stay. They would not do good things, they would just cause disruptions and disturbances, and do all kinds of bad things. Whatever church they were in would be disturbed by them to the point where it was scattered like sand, work stagnated, most people felt very despondent and lost their faith in God, and some people even wanted to stop their faith and couldn’t go on doing their duties. What is the reason for this? It is caused by the antichrist’s disturbances. The antichrist must be handled, cleared out, and expelled in order for this church to have any hope, for church life to become normal, and for God’s chosen people to enter into the right track of believing in God. Some people say: “God is love, so we should also give antichrists the chance to repent.” These words sound very nice, but is that really how things are? Make a careful observation: Which antichrists and evil people who were expelled came to know themselves later on, and were able to pursue and love the truth? Which ones repented? None of them repented and they all stubbornly refused to confess their sins, and however many years later you see them again, they are still this way, still clinging to those things that happened back then and not letting go, trying to justify and explain themselves. Their disposition has not changed at all. If you admit them back and allow them to resume the church life, and let them do a duty, they will still disrupt and disturb the work of the church. Just like Paul, they will make the same old mistakes, exalting and testifying about themselves. They cannot walk the path of pursuing the truth at all, and they will walk their old path, the path of an antichrist, the path of Paul. This is the basis for expelling antichrists.

Because of their malicious nature, antichrists do not yield to anybody who pursues the truth. They look down on any leaders and workers who can do some real work, and even label all leaders and workers as false, as if only they themselves are correct, and all others are mistaken. No matter how the truth is fellowshipped to them, they will not accept being pruned at all and will still maintain their own views. If anyone who prunes them fails to completely convince them, they will not accept it. They think being pruned is useless and has nothing to do with the truth. This is their view. They always maintain their own views, so it is very hard for them to accept the truth, and at the same time, they judge and condemn those who prune them. What disposition do antichrists reveal in how they treat being pruned? Can you see what the antichrist’s nature essence is? One of the main strains in the nature of antichrists is viciousness. What does “viciousness” mean? It means that they have a particularly vile attitude regarding the truth—not only failing to submit to it, and not only refusing to accept it, but even condemning those who prune them. That is the vicious disposition of antichrists. Antichrists think that whoever accepts being pruned is vulnerable to bullying, and that people who are always pruning others are those who wish always to tease and bully people. So, an antichrist will resist whoever prunes them, and they will give that person a hard time. And whoever brings up an antichrist’s deficiencies or corruption, or fellowships with them about the truth and God’s intentions, or has them know themselves, they think that person is giving them a hard time and finds them displeasing. They hate that person from the bottom of their heart, and they will take revenge on them and make things hard for them. This is another manifestation of how antichrists treat being pruned which we will fellowship. They hate whoever prunes them and exposes them. This is a very obvious manifestation in antichrists. What sort of people are possessed of such a vicious disposition? Evil people. The fact is that antichrists are evil people. Therefore, it is only evil people and antichrists who are possessed of such a vicious disposition. When a vicious person is faced with any kind of well-intentioned exhortation, accusation, teaching or help, their attitude is not to be grateful or accept it humbly, but instead to become enraged from shame, and to feel extreme hostility, hatred, and to even retaliate. There are some who prune and expose an antichrist by saying, “You have recently been running wild, not acted according to principle, and consistently flaunted yourself while doing your duty. You have been working for the sake of status and making a complete mess of your duty. Have you done right by God? Why have you not sought the truth when doing your duty? Why have you not been acting according to principle? Why have you not accepted it when the brothers and sisters fellowship about the truth with you? Why have you ignored them? Why have you gone on doing as you please?” These several whys, these words that expose their revelation of corruption—they get under their skin: “Why? There is no ‘why’—I do whatever I want! What gives you the right to prune me? Who are you to do that? I am willful; what can you do about it? Now that I’ve gotten to this age, nobody dares speak to me like this. Only I can speak this way to others; nobody else can speak to me like this. Who dares to lecture me? The person who can lecture me has not been born yet! Do you really think you can lecture me?” Hatred arises deep in their hearts, and they seek an opportunity for revenge. In their minds they are calculating: “Does this person pruning me have power in the church? If I retaliate against him, will anybody speak up for him? If I make him suffer, will the church deal with me? I have a solution. I won’t retaliate against him personally; I’ll do something in absolute secrecy. I will do something to his family to cause him suffering and embarrassment, that way I will be free of this resentment. I must get my revenge. I can’t let the matter drop now. I didn’t start believing in god so that I could get pushed around, and I didn’t come here to let people bully me as they wish; I came to gain blessings and enter the kingdom of heaven! People need their pride just as a tree needs its bark. People must have the spine to fight for their dignity. How dare you expose me. This is bullying! Now that you don’t treat me like an important figure, I’ll give you hell, and I’ll make you bear the consequences. Let’s fight it out, and see who’s fiercer!” Just a few simple words of exposure enrage antichrists and provoke such great hatred in them, causing them to go to such great lengths for revenge. Their vicious disposition is entirely laid bare. Of course, when they retaliate against another because of hatred, it is not because they have hatred toward or an old grudge against that person, but because that person has exposed their mistakes. This shows that the mere act of exposing an antichrist, regardless of who does so, and regardless of their relationship with the antichrist, can trigger their hatred and instigate their revenge. Regardless of who it is, whether they understand the truth, or whether they are a leader or worker or an ordinary member of God’s chosen people, as long as anyone exposes and prunes the antichrist, they will treat that person as an enemy. They will even openly say, “I’ll go hard on whoever prunes me. Whoever prunes me, exposes the skeletons in my closet, gets me expelled by the house of god, or robs me of my share of blessings, I’ll never leave them be. That’s how I am in the secular world: No one dares give me trouble. The person who dares to bother me hasn’t been born yet!” These are the type of ruthless words antichrists let out when they face being pruned. When they let out these ruthless words, it isn’t to intimidate others, nor are they venting to protect themselves. They are truly capable of doing evil, and they will stoop to any means available to them. This is the vicious disposition of antichrists. When some leaders and workers encounter antichrists such as these, they don’t have the courage to expose them or take action against them, and the antichrists end up becoming even worse. Their evildoing becomes even more brazen, they keep trying to mislead and disturb people, and they wind up misleading and controlling the majority of them. This is what leads to disaster. When some antichrists find out that their evil deeds have been exposed or reported to the higher-ups by the brothers and sisters, they take revenge and hand them in to the great red dragon—they turn them in to Satan’s regime. This is a vicious disposition, is it not? And, given that the antichrists are so vicious, do they truly believe in God? Absolutely not. They are Satan’s minions, and they have come to disturb the church; they are demons that have wheedled their way into the house of God and do nothing but disrupt and undermine the work of God, and they oppose God. So, antichrists are the enemies of God and God’s chosen ones. Treating antichrist demons like the brothers and sisters would be a grave mistake; you’d have to be blind to do such a thing. If an antichrist is watered, fed, and supported as though they were a brother or sister, or if they are promoted and given an important role as though they were someone who pursues the truth, the leader is committing great evil. They are playing a part in the antichrist’s evil, and they should be eliminated. Such false leaders are the accomplices of the antichrists, and it is fair to say that they are themselves antichrists who should be cleared out and expelled.

When antichrists are pruned, their attitude is not one of acceptance and obedience. Instead, they are resistant and averse to it, which generates hatred. They hate deep in their hearts everybody who prunes them, everybody who reveals the skeletons in their closet and exposes their actual circumstances. To what extent do they hate you? They grind their teeth with hatred, wish that you would disappear from their sight, and feel that the two of you cannot coexist. If antichrists are like this with people, then can they accept God’s words which expose and condemn them? No, they can’t. Whoever exposes them, they will hate just for exposing them and being unfavorable to them and they will retaliate. They wish they could make the person who pruned them get out of their sight. They cannot stand to see this person doing well. If this person died or met with disaster, they would be happy; as long as this person is alive and still doing their duty in God’s house, and everything carries on as usual, they feel suffering, unease, and annoyance in their hearts. When they do not have a way to retaliate against somebody, they secretly curse them, or even pray for God to bring punishment and retribution upon that person, and for God to redress their grievances. Once antichrists have generated this hatred, this leads to a series of actions. These actions include retaliation and curses, and of course some other actions, such as framing, slandering and condemning others, which stem from hatred. If someone prunes them, they will undermine that person behind their back. When that person says something is right, they will say it is wrong. They will distort all the positive things that person does and make them negative, spreading these lies and causing disturbances behind their back. They will incite and draw in others who are ignorant and can’t see through things or discern for themselves, so that these people join their side and back them up. Clearly the person pruning them has not done anything bad, but they still want to pin some misdeeds on this person, so that everyone mistakenly believes they do these kinds of things, and then get everyone to come together to reject this person. Antichrists disturb church life in this way and disturb people in the performance of their duty. What is their goal? It is to give the person pruning them a hard time and make everybody abandon this person. There are also some antichrists who say: “You pruned me and gave me a hard time, so I’m not going to give you an easy time of it. I’ll give you a taste of what it’s like to be pruned and abandoned. However you treat me, I will treat you. If you don’t give me an easy time, don’t think that you’ll have an easy time either!” When antichrists do evil, some leaders and workers call on them for a chat, tell them they must repent, and read them God’s words to help and support them. Not only do they not accept it, but they also start rumors that the leader doesn’t do any real work and never uses God’s word to solve problems. In fact, the leader has just done such work, but they turn around and distort the facts and slander the person helping them. Is this not vicious? With their eyes wide open, these evil people and antichrists claim that positive things are negative, that their wrongdoings, mistakes, wicked deeds, and malicious acts are positive things that conform to the truth. However big a mistake they make while doing their duty, however much harm they cause to the work of the church, they do not acknowledge it or take it seriously at all. When they talk about it, they play it down and brush over it. The person pruning them because of this matter becomes a sinner in their eyes and becomes the target of criticism instead. Isn’t this calling white black? Some antichrists even make false countercharges when they are pruned by a leader or a worker, saying: “Whatever mistakes us brothers and sisters make are all caused by ignorance and by leaders and workers failing to do a good job. If the leaders and workers knew how to perform their work, gave us prompt reminders, and managed things well, then wouldn’t the losses to god’s house be reduced? Therefore, no matter what mistakes we make, the leaders and workers are entirely to blame and should assume the greatest responsibility.” Isn’t this making false counterclaims? These false counterclaims are calling white black and a form of retaliation.

Antichrists have extremely vicious dispositions. If you try to prune them or expose them, they will hate you and sink their teeth into you as if they were venomous snakes. You won’t be able to swing or shake them off no matter how hard you try. When you encounter such antichrists, do you feel afraid? Some people do get scared and say, “I don’t dare prune them. They are so fierce, like venomous snakes, and if they wrap their coils around me, I’m finished.” What kind of people are these? They are too small of stature, they aren’t good for anything, they aren’t Christ’s good soldiers, and they cannot bear witness to God. So, what should you do when you encounter such antichrists? If they threaten you or try to take your life, would you be afraid? In such situations, you must quickly unite with your brothers and sisters and stand up, investigate, gather evidence, and expose the antichrist until they are cleared out of the church. This is thoroughly resolving the problem. When you discover an antichrist and clearly identify that they have the features of an evil person and are able to punish and retaliate against others, don’t wait for them to commit evil and gather evidence before you handle it. This is passive and will have already resulted in a few losses. It’s best, when antichrists show that they have the features of an evil person and reveal their insidious and malicious disposition, and they are about to act, to handle, address, clear out, and expel them. This is the most sensible approach. Some people fear retaliation from antichrists and they don’t dare to expose them. Isn’t this foolish? You are unable to safeguard the interests of God’s house, which inherently shows that you are disloyal to God. You’re afraid that an antichrist might find leverage to retaliate against you—what’s the problem? Could it be that you don’t trust in God’s righteousness? Don’t you know that the truth reigns in God’s house? Even if an antichrist manages to get hold of some issues of corruption in you and makes a fuss over it, you should not be afraid. In God’s house, problems are handled based on the truth principles. Making transgressions doesn’t mean that someone is an evil person. God’s house never handles someone because of a momentary revelation of corruption or occasional transgression. God’s house deals with those antichrists and evil people who consistently create disturbances and do evil, and who don’t accept even a smidgen of the truth. God’s house will never wrong a good person. It treats everyone fairly. Even if false leaders or antichrists wrongly accuse a good person, God’s house will vindicate them. The church will never clear out or handle a good person who can expose antichrists and has a sense of justice. People always fear that antichrists will find leverage to retaliate against them. But aren’t you afraid of offending God and incurring His spurning? If you’re afraid of an antichrist finding leverage to retaliate against you, why not seize the proof of that antichrist’s evil deeds to report and expose them? In doing so, you will earn the approval and support of God’s chosen people, and most importantly, God will remember your good deeds and acts of justice. So, why not do this? God’s chosen people should always bear God’s commission in mind. Cleansing evil people and antichrists away is the most crucial fight in the battle against Satan. If this fight is won, it will become an overcomer’s testimony. Battling against Satans and devils is an experiential testimony that God’s chosen people should have. It’s a truth reality that overcomers must possess. God has bestowed so much truth upon people, has led you for such a long time, and has provided so much for you, for the purpose of you bearing witness and safeguarding the work of the church. It turns out, when evil people and antichrists do evil deeds and disturb the work of the church, you become timid and withdraw, fleeing with your arms over your head—you are a good-for-nothing. You cannot overcome Satans, you have not borne witness, and God detests you. In this critical moment, you must stand up and wage war against Satans, expose the evil deeds of antichrists, condemn and curse them, giving them no place to hide and cleansing them away from the church. Only this can be counted as gaining victory over Satans and ending their fate. You are one of God’s chosen people, a follower of God. You cannot be afraid of challenges; you must act according to the truth principles. This is what it means to be an overcomer. If you are afraid of challenges and make compromises because you fear retaliation from evil people or antichrists, then you are not a follower of God, and you are not one of God’s chosen people. You are a good-for-nothing, inferior even to service-doers. Some cowards might say, “Antichrists are so formidable; they’re capable of anything. What if they retaliate against me?” This is muddled talk. If you fear retaliation from antichrists, where is your faith in God? Hasn’t God protected you throughout so many years of your life? Aren’t antichrists also in God’s hands? If God does not permit it, what can they do to you? Moreover, no matter how evil antichrists may be, what are they really capable of? Isn’t it all too easy for God’s chosen people to unite and expose and handle them? So why be afraid of antichrists? Such people are good-for-nothings and are not worthy of following God. Go back home, raise your children, and live your life. In the face of antichrists disturbing the work of the church and harming God’s chosen people, how should God’s chosen people respond to their evil deeds? How should those who follow God stand firm in their witness? How should they fight against the forces of Satan and antichrists? Whether you submit and are loyal to God or sit on the sidelines and betray God will be fully revealed when antichrists disturb, do evil, and oppose God. If you are not someone who submits to God and is loyal to Him, then you are someone who betrays Him. There is no other option. Some muddled individuals and those lacking discernment choose to take a middle-of-the-road stance and become fence-sitters. In God’s eyes, these people lack loyalty to God and are betrayers of Him. Some muddled individuals, because of their cowardice, are afraid of antichrists’ punishment, and in their hearts they incessantly ask, “What am I going to do?” This is not the question you should be asking. What should you do? (Fulfill our own duties, fully expose the evil deeds of antichrists, enable our brothers and sisters to learn how to practice discernment, and reject the antichrists. We shouldn’t concern ourselves with our own safety. The most important thing for us to consider is how to fulfill our duty when evil people disturb the work of the church.) What if it affects your family? (We should unhesitatingly fulfill our duty. We shouldn’t discard our duty or fail to stand firm in our testimony because of affectionate concerns for our family’s safety.) Right. First of all, you must stand firm in your witness and fight against the antichrists and evil people to the end, making it so that they have no place to stand in God’s house. If they are willing to labor, let them do so according to rules, and do whatever they are able to do. If they are unwilling to labor, then everybody must unite together and expel them so that they cannot disrupt, disturb, or ruin the work of the church in the house of God. This is the first thing you should do and the witness you should stand firm in. Furthermore, you need to understand that your family and your life are all in God’s hands, and Satan doesn’t dare to act rashly. God has said: “Without God’s permission, it is difficult for Satan to touch even a drop of water or grain of sand upon the land; without God’s permission, Satan is not even free to move the ants about upon the land, let alone mankind, who was created by God.” To what extent are you able to believe in these words? Fighting against antichrists and evil people reveals the size of your faith. If you have a genuine belief in God, then you have true faith. If you only have a little belief in God, and that belief is vague and hollow, then you don’t have true faith. If you don’t believe that God can be sovereign over all this and that Satan is under God’s dominion, and you still fear antichrists and evil people, can tolerate them committing evil in the church, their disturbing and ruining the work of the church, and can make compromises with Satan or beg for its mercy in order to protect yourself, not daring to stand up and fight them, and you have become a deserter, a people pleaser, and a bystander, then you lack a genuine belief in God. Your belief in God becomes a question mark, which makes your belief terribly pitiful! When you see antichrists and evil people causing disturbances and disruptions in God’s house but remain indifferent; when you betray the interests of God’s house and of His chosen people in order to protect your own life, your family, and all your own interests, then you become a traitor, a Judas. This is plain and clear. We often fellowship about and dissect antichrists and evil people, discussing how to discern and recognize them, all for the purpose of fellowshipping clearly about the truth, and of giving people discernment against evil people and antichrists, so that they can expose them. In this way, God’s chosen people will no longer be misled or disturbed by antichrists, and they can break free from Satan’s influence and bondage. However, some people still have philosophies for worldly dealings in their hearts. They don’t try to discern evil people and antichrists; instead, they play the role of people pleasers. They don’t fight against antichrists, don’t set clear boundaries with them, and choose a watered-down, middle-of-the-road approach to safeguard their own interests. They let these devils—these evil people and antichrists—remain in God’s house, inviting peril by nurturing devils. They allow these devils to rampantly disturb the work of the church and the brothers and sisters from doing their duties. What role do such people play? They become a shield for antichrists and accomplices to them. Although you may not do the same things as antichrists or commit the same evil deeds, you have a share in their evil deeds—you are condemned. You tolerate and shelter antichrists, allowing them to wreak havoc around you without taking any action or doing anything. Don’t you have a share in the evil of antichrists? This is why some false leaders and people pleasers become accomplices to antichrists. Anyone who witnesses antichrists disturbing the work of the church but does not expose them or set clear boundaries with them becomes a lackey and accomplice to them. They lack submission and loyalty to God. In the critical moments of battle between God and Satan, they stand on Satan’s side, protecting the antichrists and betraying God. Such people are detestable to God.

When antichrists encounter being pruned, they often show great resistance, and then they start to try their best to argue for themselves, and use sophistry and eloquence to mislead people. This is quite common. The manifestation of antichrists refusing to accept the truth completely exposes their satanic nature of hating and being averse to the truth. They belong purely to Satan’s kind. No matter what antichrists do, their disposition and essence are laid bare. Especially in the house of God, everything they do goes against the truth, is condemned by God, and is an evil deed that resists God, and all of these things that they do fully confirm that the antichrists are Satans and demons. Therefore, they are definitely not happy and certainly unwilling when it comes to accepting being pruned, but in addition to resistance and opposition, they also hate pruning, hate those who prune them, and hate those who expose their nature essence and who expose their evil deeds. Antichrists think that whoever exposes them is simply giving them a hard time, so they compete and fight with anyone who exposes them. Due to this kind of nature of antichrists, they will never be kind to anyone who prunes them, nor will they tolerate or put up with anyone who does so, much less will they feel gratitude or praise anyone who does so. On the contrary, if anyone prunes them and makes them lose dignity and face, they will harbor hatred for this person in their hearts, and will want to find an opportunity to take revenge on them. What hatred they have for others! This is what they think, and they will say openly in front of others, “Today you have pruned me, well, now our feud is written in stone. You go your way, and I’ll go mine, but I swear I’ll get my revenge! If you confess your fault to me, bow your head to me, or kneel down and beg me, I will forgive you, otherwise I will never let this go!” No matter what antichrists say or do, they never see anyone’s kind pruning of them or anyone’s sincere help as the arrival of God’s love and salvation. Instead, they see it as a sign of humiliation, and as the moment when they were most shamed. This shows that antichrists do not accept the truth at all, that their disposition is one of being averse to and hating the truth. Have you ever met any evil people or antichrists who retaliated against others because they were pruned? (Yes.) How did they retaliate? Was their method of retaliation terrible? (Yes, it was terrible. I once met an antichrist who did some evil deeds in the church, and then after the church leader exposed his behavior, he began to spread rumors in the church, saying how this leader didn’t do any real work, and how he spoke words and doctrines to get people to come before him. Afterward, when we went to expose this antichrist, at first he was able to disguise himself, but when we continued exposing him, he threatened us, saying, “Behind my house is a police station, they often come to my house.” His meaning was that if we exposed him again, he would report us to the police. His viciousness was revealed.) (I once encountered an antichrist. A sister had written a letter reporting him, and when he saw this letter, it just so happened that a dangerous situation had arisen in the place where this sister lived, so he gathered all the main co-workers of the church and said, “Why did a dangerous situation suddenly arise where this sister lives after she wrote a letter reporting me? God certainly doesn’t do useless work; perhaps he is going to reveal somebody!” He then said some inflammatory things which led everyone to point the finger at the sister, believing that there was a problem with her. In the end this sister was dismissed and sent away, and her letter was set aside and not dealt with. Afterward, we compared what the antichrist had said from beginning to end and discovered that he had said different things to each of us. We saw that he had been terribly sinister and deceitful. Finally, we distinguished him through fellowshipping, and the matter was dealt with justly.) Now it is confirmed that all antichrists are evil people, and as long as evil people wield power, they are all antichrists.

When antichrists are causing disturbances in the church, is that a good thing or a bad thing? (It’s bad.) In what way is it bad? Did God make a mistake? Did God not watch closely, and allow antichrists to infiltrate His house? (No.) Then what is going on? (God allows antichrists to infiltrate the church so that we grow in discernment, learn how to see through their nature essence, never let Satan fool us again, and are able to stand firm in our witness to God. This is God’s salvation for us.) We always speak of how wicked, vicious, and malicious Satan is, that Satan is averse to and hates the truth, but can you see this? Can you see what Satan does in the spiritual realm? How it speaks and acts, what its attitude toward the truth and God is, where its wickedness lies—you can see none of these things. So, no matter how we say that Satan is wicked, that it resists God, and that it is averse to the truth, in your mind, this is merely a statement. There is no true image to it. It is too hollow, and it is impractical; it cannot serve as a practical reference. But when one has come into contact with an antichrist, they see Satan’s wicked, vicious disposition and its essence of being averse to the truth a bit more clearly, and their understanding of Satan is a bit more incisive and practical. Without these real figures and examples for people to come into contact with and see, their so-called understanding of the truth would be indistinct, hollow, and impractical. But when people come into real contact with these antichrists and evil people, they can see how they do evil and resist God, and they can identify the nature essence of Satan. They see that these evil people and antichrists are Satan incarnate—that they are living Satans, living devils. Contact with antichrists and evil people can have such an effect. When Satan incarnates as an evil person or antichrist, the capabilities of its fleshly body are only so great, yet it can still do so many bad things, and cause so much trouble, and be so wicked and insidious in conduct and in deed. Therefore, the evil that Satan in the spiritual realm does must be a hundred or a thousand times greater than the sum of that done by all evil people and antichrists that live in the flesh. So, the lessons people learn by coming into contact with evil people and antichrists are of great help to them developing discernment and seeing the face of Satan clearly. They enable people to learn to discern what things are positive and what things are negative, what is loathed by God and what is pleasing to Him, what is the truth and what is fallacy, what is righteous and what is wicked, what exactly God hates and what exactly He loves, and which people God rejects and eliminates and which He approves of and gains. It is useless to try to understand these questions in terms of doctrines alone. One must experience many things, especially the misleading and disturbance of evil people and antichrists. It is not until one has true discernment that they can understand these many truths and come to a deeper and more practical understanding of what God requires and what He wants to gain. Doesn’t this lead to a greater understanding of God’s intentions? Can’t it make you surer that God is the truth and the One which is most lovely? (Yes.) God has people learn lessons and develop discernment in the course of experiencing things, and He is certainly training people, as well, while also revealing people of each sort. When some people encounter an evil person or an antichrist, they do not dare to expose or identify them, and they do not dare to come into contact with them. They are afraid, and just try to avoid them, as if they had seen a venomous snake. Such people are too spineless to learn lessons, and they will not develop discernment. Some people who encounter an evil person or an antichrist do not pay attention to learning lessons or gaining discernment; they let their hotheadedness guide their treatment of them, and when the time comes to expose and identify an antichrist, they cannot be of use or do anything practical. Some people see an antichrist doing a great deal of evil, and they feel averse toward it at heart, but they feel there is nothing at all that they can do about it, that their hands are tied. They are consequently toyed with arbitrarily by the antichrist, and they keep enduring this and resign themselves to it. They allow the antichrist to act recklessly and disturb the work of the church, and they do not report or expose them. They have failed in their responsibility and duty as humans. In short, when evil people and antichrists wreak havoc and do as they will, this reveals people of all sorts, and of course, it also serves to train those who pursue the truth and have a sense of justice, enabling them to grow in discernment and insight, learn something, and understand God’s intentions from this. Which of God’s intentions do they come to understand? They are made to see that God does not save antichrists, but simply uses them to render service, and that when antichrists are done rendering their service, God reveals and eliminates them, and ultimately punishes them, for they are evil people and of Satan. Those whom God saves are a group of people who, despite their corrupt dispositions, love positive things, and recognize that God is the truth, and submit to His sovereignty and arrangements, and who, having committed a transgression, are able to truly repent. These people can accept being pruned, being judged and chastised, and even more so they can approach it correctly when other people expose them or point out their issues. Those who, no matter how God works, can accept it and submit to it, and learn something from it—such is the group of people who truly follow God, experience His work, and are gained by Him.

This concludes our fellowship on the manifestations of how antichrists treat being pruned. Later, you can find some examples that you have personally seen or experienced, and dissect them and fellowship about them based on their essence, so that the brothers and sisters can gain discernment. What is the goal of them gaining discernment? It is to enable more people to reject antichrists, to obstruct and restrict their evil deeds in the church, and prevent them from causing disruptions and disturbances in the church and important places where people do duties, or causing any losses to the work of the church. This is called shackling antichrists and evil people. Although most antichrists have not publicly judged God or resisted God in the church, they surreptitiously commit a lot of evil. They disturb the church life, and they obstruct and disturb leaders and workers fellowshipping the truth and acting according to the principles. They make thoughtless remarks and arbitrary judgments about the work of God’s house. They even condemn the leaders and workers, mislead God’s chosen people, and cause disturbances to the work of the church, affecting the results of God’s chosen people doing their duties. This is the great evil of disturbing God’s work. God’s chosen people should all know that the evil antichrists do is a great evil, a reprehensible evil that is beyond redemption. Therefore, antichrists are always the objects of shackling and restriction in God’s house. Antichrists must be expelled from the church—this is in accordance with God’s intention. If antichrists are allowed to be willful and arbitrary in a church, to shout any slogans and arguments they wish to control and threaten, or mislead and misguide the brothers and sisters, and the leaders and workers ignore this and do not act, and do not dare to expose or restrict the antichrists for fear of offending them, and this causes the brothers and sisters of that church to be arbitrarily toyed with and disturbed by the antichrists, then the leaders of that church are people pleasers, they are trash who should be eliminated. If the leaders of a church have discernment of antichrists and evil people, and they enable God’s chosen people to stand up and expose them, and clear out the devils to protect the work of God’s house, then this will shame the devils and Satan, and it will also satisfy God’s intention. The leaders of this church are qualified leaders that possess the truth reality. If a church is suffering from the disturbance of an antichrist, and after being identified and rejected by the brothers and sisters, the antichrist frantically retaliates against, oppresses, and condemns the brothers and sisters, if the church leaders do nothing, turn a blind eye, and try not to offend anyone, then those leaders are false leaders. They are trash and should be eliminated. As a church leader, if one is not able to use the truth to solve problems, if they are not able to identify, limit, and sort out the antichrists, if they give the antichrists free rein to do as they wish in the church, to run amok, and if they are unable to protect God’s chosen ones from being misled, are unable to protect God’s chosen ones so that they can normally do their duty—and, moreover, are unable to maintain the normal progress of church work—then that leader is trash and should be eliminated. If the leaders of a church are afraid to expose, prune, limit, and take action against an antichrist because the antichrist is ferocious and cruel, and thus allow them to run wild in the church, becoming a tyrant, doing whatever they want, and paralyzing much of the work of the church, bringing it to a standstill, then the leaders of this church are also trash and should be eliminated. If, because they fear retaliation, the leaders of a church never have the courage to expose an antichrist, and never try to curb the antichrist’s evil deeds, leading to major obstruction, disturbance, and damage to the church life and to the life entry of the brothers and sisters, then the leaders of this church are also trash and should be eliminated. Would you endorse the continued leadership of such people? (No.) So, what should you do when you encounter leaders such as this? You should ask them, “The antichrists commit such great evil, they run wild in the church, they’re trying to take over—are you able to hold them in check? Do you have the courage to expose them? If you don’t dare to take action against them, you should resign. You should waste no time in stepping down. If you protect your own fleshly interests and hand the brothers and sisters over to the antichrists and evil people out of fear of the antichrists, then you should be cursed. You are not fit to be a leader—you are trash, you are a dead person!” Such false leaders should be exposed and dismissed. They do not do real work; faced with evil people, they do not protect the brothers and sisters, but bend their knees to evil people, and make concessions to them, and beg for mercy, dragging out an ignoble existence. Such leaders are trash. They are traitors, and they should be rejected.

Next we will fellowship on another point, that is, how the attitude of antichrists toward their prospects and destiny is exposed when they are pruned. Some antichrists that work in the house of God silently resolve to act scrupulously, to avoid making errors, being pruned, angering the Above or being caught by their leaders doing something bad, and they make sure to have an audience when they do good deeds. Yet, no matter how scrupulous they are, due to the fact that their motives and the path they take are incorrect, and because they speak and act only for the sake of fame, gain, and status and never seek the truth, they often violate principles, disrupt and disturb the church’s work, act as Satan’s lackeys and even often commit many transgressions. It is very common and very typical for such people to often violate principles and commit transgressions. So, of course, it is very difficult for them to avoid being pruned. They have seen that some antichrists have been revealed and eliminated because they have been sternly pruned. They have seen these things with their own eyes. Why do antichrists act so cautiously? One reason, for sure, is that they are afraid of being revealed and eliminated. They think, “I’ve got to be careful—after all, ‘Caution is the parent of safety’ and ‘The good have peaceful lives.’ I must follow these principles and remind myself at every moment to avoid doing wrong or getting into trouble, and I must suppress my corruption and intentions and not let anyone see them. As long as I don’t do wrong and can persevere to the very end, I will gain blessings, evade the disasters, and I will gain something in my belief in god!” They often urge themselves on, motivate and encourage themselves in this way. Deep down, they believe that if they do wrong, their chances of gaining blessings will diminish significantly. Is this not the calculation and belief that occupies the depths of their hearts? Putting aside whether this calculation or belief of antichrists is right or wrong, based on it, what will they be most worried about when being pruned? (Their prospects and destiny.) They associate being pruned with their prospects and destiny—this has to do with their wicked nature. They think to themselves: “Am I being pruned like this because I am going to be eliminated? Is it because I’m not wanted? Will god’s house stop me from doing this duty? Do I not seem trustworthy? Am I going to be replaced with someone better? If I am eliminated, can I still be blessed? Can I still enter the kingdom of heaven? It sounds like my performance hasn’t been very satisfactory, so I must be more careful in the future, and learn to be obedient and well-behaved, and not make any trouble. I must learn to be patient, and survive by keeping my head down. Every day when I do things, I must imagine that I’m walking on eggshells. I can’t let my guard down. Although I have carelessly given myself away this time and been pruned, their tone didn’t sound very strict. It looks like the problem is not very serious, it seems like I still have a chance—I can still escape the disasters and be blessed, so I should just humbly accept this. It’s not as if I’m going to be dismissed, let alone eliminated or expelled, so I can accept being pruned in this way.” Is this an attitude of accepting being pruned? Is this truly knowing one’s corrupt disposition? Is this really wanting to repent and turn over a new leaf? Is this being genuinely determined to act according to the principles? No, it is not. Then why do they act this way? Because of that glimmer of hope that they can evade the disasters and be blessed. As long as that glimmer of hope still exists, they cannot give themselves away, they cannot reveal their true selves, they cannot tell others what is in the depths of their hearts, and they cannot let others know about the resentment they harbor inside. They must hide these things, they must tuck their tails between their legs, and not allow others to see them for who they really are. Therefore, they do not change at all after being pruned, and they carry on doing things as they did before. So, what is the principle behind their actions? Simply to protect their own interests in everything. No matter what errors they make, they do not let others know; they must make everyone around them think that they are a perfect person without faults or defects, and that they never make mistakes. This is how they disguise themselves. After keeping up their disguises for a long time, they feel confident that they are more or less certain to elude the disasters, to be blessed, and to enter the kingdom of heaven. But because they frequently violate the principles in their actions, to their surprise they find themselves being pruned. Being pruned hurts them: “I’ve suffered so much; how can you prune me? Why has the great thing of receiving blessings not happened to me yet? Why is it still so far away from me? When will this suffering end?” And when they hear the words of pruning, they think, “If I am perfunctory again, and don’t pursue the truth, and willfully do evil things that disturb the work of god’s house, then I will be eliminated and expelled. Won’t I lose my prospects and destiny then? All the suffering I’ve undergone in these years of believing in god will all be in vain!” They repeatedly practice patience and self-restraint, and in their hearts they say, “I must endure this! I must endure it! If I do not endure it, all the suffering and injustice I have undergone will be wasted. I have to keep persevering. If I persevere until the very end, I will be saved! If anyone says something unpleasant to me, I’ll just pretend I haven’t heard them. I’ll act as though they aren’t talking about me, but about somebody else.” But no matter how they listen, they still feel that it means they have no destination. They still feel that by being pruned this time they are being condemned; they feel hopeless, unable to see the light of day, with no tomorrow and no future. At this moment, can these evil people and antichrists remain patient? (No, they can’t. They see their hopes of being blessed shattered, so they can’t remain patient.) Are they merely unable to remain patient? Won’t they take action? (Yes, they will.) What actions might they take? (They may spread negativity, and mislead some brothers and sisters who lack discernment into taking their side, coming to their defense and complaining about their grievances.) Correct, once they feel hopeless, they will take action. They will think: “You’re not training me or putting me in important positions anymore, and you also want to eliminate me. If I can’t be blessed then don’t even think about being blessed yourself! If this place won’t keep me, there’s a place for me out there, but if I leave I’m dragging two more people down with me. You’ve been unkind toward me, so I’ll do wrong to you! Didn’t you want to eliminate me? You’ll pay for saying that!” They will take the gloves off and start clamoring, and their nature essence of hating the truth will be exposed. Then their enthusiasm, their forsaking, their expenditures, and their suffering and price-paying will all disappear as their hopes of being blessed are shattered. At that time, people will be able to see that their original enthusiasm for expending themselves for God and their suffering and price-paying were all false and just a sham.

Once antichrists are replaced or eliminated, they take the gloves off and complain without restraint, and their demonic side is exposed. What demonic side is exposed? In the past, they absolutely did not perform their duties in order to pursue the truth and attain salvation, but to gain blessings, and now they tell the truth about this and reveal the real situation. They say: “If I weren’t trying to get into the kingdom of heaven or gain blessings and great glory later, would I have mixed with you people who are lower than dung? Are you worthy of my presence? You don’t train me or promote me, and you want to eliminate me. One day I’ll show you that there’ll be a price to pay for you eliminating me, and the consequences that you’ll suffer because of it!” Antichrists disseminate these ideas, and these devilish words slip out of them. Once they have taken the gloves off, their malicious nature and vicious disposition are exposed, and they start to spread notions. They also start to rope in those who are new believers, who are of relatively small stature and lack discernment, who do not pursue the truth, and who are often negative and weak, and they also rope in those who are consistently perfunctory in their duties and who do not truly believe in God. As they said themselves, “If you eliminate me, I will have to drag several others down with me!” Hasn’t their satanic nature been laid bare? Would normal people do this? Generally, people with corrupt dispositions just feel sad and hurt when they are dismissed, believing themselves to be hopeless, but their consciences make them think: “This is our fault, we haven’t fulfilled our duties. In the future I will strive to do better, and as for how God treats me and what determinations He makes about me, that’s God’s business. People have no right to make demands of God. Aren’t God’s actions based on people’s manifestations? If one walks the wrong path then they ought to be disciplined and chastened, this goes without saying. Right now, the sad thing is that I have poor caliber and cannot satisfy the intentions of God, and that I do not understand the truth principles and act arbitrarily and willfully based on my corrupt dispositions. I deserve to be eliminated, but I hope I’ll have the chance to make up for it in the future!” People with a little conscience will walk a path like this. They choose to consider the issue in this way, and in the end, they also choose to resolve the issue in this way. Of course, there are not many elements of practicing the truth within this, but because these people have consciences, they won’t go as far as resisting God, blaspheming against God, or opposing God. But antichrists are not the same. Because they have a vicious nature, they are innately antagonistic toward God. When their prospects and destiny are threatened or taken away, when they cannot see any chances to live, what they choose to do is to spread notions, to judge the work of God, and to get the disbelievers who are in league with them to disturb the work of God’s house alongside them. They even refuse to take responsibility for any of their past misdeeds and transgressions, as well as any losses they have caused to the work or property of God’s house. When God’s house handles them and eliminates them, they say one sentence that is most often spoken by antichrists. What is it? (If this place won’t keep me, there’s a place for me out there.) Isn’t this another devilish sentence? This is something that a person with normal humanity, a sense of shame, and a conscience could not say. We call them devilish words. These are various manifestations of the vicious dispositions that antichrists reveal when they are pruned and feel that their status and reputation are in danger, that their status and prestige are being threatened, and especially that they’re about to be deprived of their prospects and destiny; at the same time as this, their disbeliever essence is exposed. In reality, God’s house prunes people entirely because they act willfully and arbitrarily in the performance of their duties, thus disrupting and disturbing the work of God’s house, and do not reflect or repent—only then does God’s house prune them. In this situation, does them being pruned mean that they’re being eliminated? (No, it doesn’t.) Absolutely not, people should accept this in a positive manner. In this context, any pruning, whether it be by God or man, whether it comes from leaders and workers or brothers and sisters, is not malicious, and it is advantageous for the work of the church. Being able to prune a person when they have acted willfully and arbitrarily and disturbed the work of God’s house, is a just and positive thing. This is something that upstanding people and those who love the truth should do. But when people who are pruned because they have committed transgressions do not accept it and defy it instead, producing hatred and a retaliatory mindset, this is improper and wicked. So many people perform duties in God’s house—who among them has not experienced being pruned? How many people have become negative and defiant because they were pruned, or have even attempted suicide, feeling that they would not be blessed and that they were hopeless, and have therefore wanted to give up their duty, to be rude and throw tantrums, and have begun to hate others, and even wanted to retaliate against them? There really are not many people like that. Only evil people can do such things. Only evil people can regard being pruned as being treated incorrectly by hotheaded people. Of course, all the pruning which God’s house speaks of is proper, it is all done for the work of the church and individuals’ life entry. It is a positive thing that is in accordance with God’s intention, and entirely in line with God’s word. When antichrists are pruned, they always try to defend their reputation, status, and dignity, linking it to their own interests, and especially linking it to their prospects and destiny. If being pruned is unfavorable to their reputation, status, and dignity, they cannot accept it. If they are pruned severely, and not only does it destroy their reputation, status, and dignity, it also threatens their prospects and destiny, they are even less able to accept it. In short, regardless of who prunes them, antichrists are unable to accept it from God, unable to reflect and know themselves, to learn lessons from being pruned, to achieve true repentance, or to achieve better performance of their duties. Instead, they have conflict in their hearts and adopt an attitude of defiance and refusal to accept it. This is the attitude of antichrists toward being pruned, and it also represents their attitude toward the truth.

When it comes to being pruned, what is the very least that people should know? Being pruned must be experienced to adequately do one’s duty—it is indispensable. It is something that people must face on a daily basis and often experience in order to attain salvation in their faith in God. No one can be apart from being pruned. Is pruning someone something that involves their prospects and destiny? (No.) So what is pruning someone done for? Is it done in order to condemn them? (No, it’s done in order to help people understand the truth and do their duty according to principles.) That’s right. That’s the most correct understanding of it. Pruning someone is a kind of discipline, a kind of chastening, and naturally it’s also a form of helping and remedying people. Being pruned allows you to alter your incorrect pursuit in time. It allows you to promptly recognize the problems you currently have, and allows you to recognize the corrupt dispositions you reveal in time. No matter what, being pruned helps you recognize your mistakes and do your duties according to principles, it saves you from causing deviations and going astray in time, and it prevents you from causing catastrophes. Is this not the greatest aid to people, their greatest remedy? Those with a conscience and reason should be able to treat being pruned correctly. Why can antichrists not accept being pruned? Because they think being pruned comes from man and not from God. They think that whoever prunes them is making life difficult for them and punishing them. Judging from the mentality of antichrists, they refuse to accept being pruned primarily because they do not accept the truth. They cannot learn lessons from being pruned, and they aren’t able to know themselves or seek the truth. This is the source of them not accepting being pruned. There exists such a big problem in their hearts, which confirms that the nature essence of antichrists is averse to the truth and hostile to the truth.

May 2, 2020