130-A-6

Now the gospel of the kingdom is expanding to every country and in every direction, and in later times there will be the Church of Almighty God in each country. The Church of Almighty God will spread more and more quickly, and when this gospel of the kingdom has spread widely throughout the earth, the end of the world will have arrived. When the Church of Almighty God is established in every country, the great calamity will befall, and God will begin to demolish all the satanic countries in the world. In the end, the kingdom of Christ will appear on earth, and this is the coming of the Millennial Kingdom, the realization of the Millennial Kingdom. So how did God tell of this in His administrative decrees proclaimed to the entire universe? “All who worship Satan will be laid low by My burning fire—that is, except for those now within the stream, the rest will be turned to ashes.” Everyone will be turned to ashes! Do you know what it means to be turned to ashes? Some people say everyone will die, and this is true—everyone will die—but even in death one is not finished, and they will also be turned to ashes. When you say they are turned to ashes, that means they will all be burned to ashes. Some people ask whether these words are true or false. Clear your eyes and wait to see, for in time you will know. Some people here still wildly condemn God, arrogantly judge God, and this may be called “not crying until you see the coffin.” These are digging their own grave! Do you know what is it that is called “digging your own grave”? If you do not do this thing, you may have many more days to live, and after you have finished this thing, once you have finished this evil deed, there is no one who can come to save you. You have already been condemned, and your death has already become reality. God says, “Whoever resists will die!” These words have been fulfilled, and this is called digging your own grave. Do you understand? Tell me, can water that is spilled be retrieved again? If people speak any word of condemnation against God, can they ever withdraw it? They cannot withdraw it, and once the words are spoken, they are already condemned. Once condemned, their death has already become a reality. Some people say, “After he finished speaking these words, he did not die, and he is still quite vigorously alive.” Then tell me, when a branch is chopped off a tree with a ‘chop,’ do its leaves immediately wither up? The leaves are still on that branch, but this branch is already dead the moment when it is cut off. Its source has been severed, so it can be said that it is a dead branch. A dead branch, even if on the outside its leaves are still green, is still dead because once it has been cut off you can no longer attach it back onto the tree. That is to say that as soon as a person has uttered words of condemnation of God from his mouth, he has already been condemned, and the foregone conclusion of this condemnation is death. You see how the religious world keeps condemning God, and what are these people doing there? They are digging their own graves. They have already been condemned, and it is finished. Are they still brothers and sisters? They are not. They are eternal corpses, finished.

Some people say, why do I half believe and half doubt? When you do not know God, you half believe and half doubt, and one day when you know God, you will understand this matter and at that time you will truly believe. You say, what is believing in God with sincerity? Is this easy or not to explain? Some people say, “I acknowledge God, I acknowledge Him absolutely, so I believe truly.” It is not tenable to say this. Why can it be said to be untenable? When you acknowledge the existence of God, you acknowledge that heaven, earth, and all therein are created by God, and so you believe in God, thinking that you believe in God with sincerity. I ask you, do you believe that God’s disposition is righteous? Since you believe God is righteous, then why are there so many good people who believe in the Lord who die? Can you comprehend this? Do you dare say that you have no notion about this? When the great disaster suddenly befalls, regardless of whether the people of the world are good, mighty, or of great prestige, they all die together. On the basis of this matter, do you believe that God is righteous? How do you know the righteousness of God? Do you know Him or not? If a bad person whom you know should die, you would exclaim, “God is righteous, so righteous! He was an evil person, so he has encountered the punishment. Look, he has met retribution. God is righteous.” If suddenly your mom and dad who do not believe should also die, would you say these same words? You could still say “Good, my mom and dad were evil people, and they should die. God has dealt retribution, and is righteous.” Can you say this? If your mom and dad truly constrained you from belief in God, you would say “God has dealt out retribution. They have long constrained me in my belief in God, and are truly devils. The devils have met their recompense.” This is good. If your mom and dad are also people who believe in God, they may also suddenly die. How would you look upon this? Is it easy to bear witness? Whoever says it is an easy thing to bear witness is merely boasting. That is just bluster. What does one need for this? One must know God’s disposition is righteousness. Is knowing God really as simple as you imagine? When these matters befall you, it reveals you for what kind of person you are. God says, “Everything in the whole universe, without exception, is decided by Me. Is there anything that is not in My hands?” How do you understand these words? In every affair, God has the final word. God has the final say in the U.S. elections. When two countries go to war, God has the final say in victory or defeat. It is all arranged by God, and only God knows the final conclusion. God has the final say in whether there is war or not as well as whether an epidemic occurs. God has the final say in all these matters, and in everything that takes place in the universe. Do you believe this? Some say they believe. In your words, you believe, but will you have knowledge when these things befall you? Will you be able to bear witness? Believing and being able to bear witness are two separate things. When you believe in God, you acknowledge that God is the Ruler, is the true God, and that there really is a God, absolutely. This is a real thing, but can you have faith that God’s disposition is righteousness? Can you have faith that God’s every word will be accomplished in its appointed time? Can you have faith that God’s word will achieve everything? In this your faith is lacking, so can it be up to God’s standard? What is your belief reckoned as? Is it reckoned as true belief? It is not up to the standard.

When God just began the work of the last days, He used the examples of Peter and Job. People who believe in the Lord and read the Bible know the example of Job and that of Peter, but why does God use these two examples? What questions does using these two examples mean to answer? What demands does God have of people, and people who seek the truth should be able to understand some of this. People who do not seek the truth will only be able to supply a couple of doctrines, but not understand. What was the faith of Job like? What degree had he reached? Why did God commend Job on his faith? Peter experienced God’s work and was made perfect, and what results did he reach? What was the witness that Peter bore in the end? It was submitting all the way up to death, it was loving God to the extreme so that he was willingly nailed upside down to the cross. This bearing of witness is one of love of God. It is a bearing of witness of obedience unto death. People can see and understand this, that God praised Peter in being the best in knowledge of God among the saints of all generations. The work of God in the last days is in order to perfect man, but to perfect man in achieving what result? It is the bearing witness of Peter. Have the people of God not been made perfect? At the very least, you must be equipped with the faith of Job in order to meet the standard. If you do not have the faith of Job, then do not think you will pass the test or think that you will continue on to enter the kingdom of God. The administrative decrees of God are severe, and no one can enter through a roundabout way. No matter how much wealth you spend, it is all of no use. Honestly accepting the judgment and chastisement before the seat of Christ, you will attain to being cleansed and be able to submit to God unto your death. This is the only path by which to enter the kingdom of heaven. Do you understand?

Some people say, “I am not willing to suffer the judgment and chastisement.” “Why?” “Because it is too painful, and I am uneasy and am suffering in my heart.” If you cannot accept that suffering, can you attain happiness? If you do not accept the judgment and chastisement before the seat of Christ, then you must bear the suffering of descending into hell and enjoy the everlasting torment of hell. The Bible therefore says, “For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, works for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory” (2 Corinthians 4:17). This refers to the final suffering before the seat of Christ, and if you are able to completely endure this suffering then you will attain to having been cleansed. You will attain the truth and know God’s disposition, and become a person like Job who reveres God and departs far from evil. You will be of the people of the kingdom—this is the faith that people of the heavenly kingdom must be equipped with. Do you understand? In what way did the faith of Job stand out? Some say it is quite simple. Job’s faith is that he believed that all the wealth he had obtained and all that he possessed was conferred on him by God. He sensed clearly all that was granted to him by God, rest assured! If there were people who said, “Job, where did all this that you possess come from? You are so capable and of great ability. You truly know how to conduct business and really have a brain for commerce!” Job would say, “Wrong! It is not this. Everything is granted by God. There are many people with brains, so why did they not attain this?” If God has not given it to you, then even if you are smart it is of no use. If God wants to give this to you, then even if you are clumsy and stupid you will attain it. This is your fate—the “fate” that Gentiles speak of. Could it be that Job had only so much faith? Wherein was Job’s faith, after all? He acknowledged that everything he possessed was granted by God, and had not the slightest doubt. Is it enough only to understand Job’s faith to this extent? What else is there? “He who takes away is also Jehovah, also God.” This is difficult to accept, and ordinary people cannot accept this. Job said, “He who takes away does not do so as theft. All this was permitted by God, and one cannot complain that this is theft.” Some people say, “Chase after it, go snatch it back!” “It is not like this. Do not chase after what God takes away. It is of no use. Submit to God!” Is this true faith? Ordinary people do not possess faith like this. If a matter like this were to befall me, I would have to ponder it. “How many bandits have come?” “Twenty.” “Gather thirty men to go wrest it back! Grab our guns and go seize it back. Can I let them run off with the things I have gained?” But Job did not act in this way. Job had many people he knew, and was of a rich family in the east and also had a certain amount of power. There were also many people who associated with him and wanted to have dealings with him, so if he wanted to go find people, would that have been easy? Then why did Job not act in that way? Job saw clearly, “All this was taken away by God, and is not a matter of theft. You are only looking at this externally, and truly do not understand the spirit! This is a matter of the spiritual world, and is permitted of God; if it were not permitted of God, would these thieves dare to come? Why has this not happened in all these years? This is reaching a time appointed by God, and whatever will come will come. This is God taking away. Submit!” He spoke of how Jehovah had acted and how Jehovah had treated him. Look: Anyway, he acknowledged that it was Jehovah who allowed him to be deprived and who had taken these things back. Is this not true faith? This faith in the second phrase is something ordinary people cannot reach. Is there a third phrase? What is the third phrase? “Blessed be the name of the LORD!” (Job 1:21). It is not easy to speak these words! Others say, “You all acknowledge that it is God who allowed you to be deprived, that it is Jehovah who permitted these thieves to come and steal and snatch away all that you possessed, and after that you praise the name of God? Are you someone who is not in a good mental state?” They say Job was insane, that he was unable to withstand the blow when this matter befell him, that his mind fell apart and he spoke nonsense. Is that what happened? Then how was he able to speak these words? Do you believe these words were written blindly? Do you dare to say that these words were spoken in hyperbole? Now, when people bear witness, they may go and exaggerate, but in the record of Job it was not exaggeration. The things recorded in the Old Testament are all very true. “Blessed be the name of the LORD!” What knowledge of God must there be here to be able to say these words? Ponder this well. Why was he still able to praise God? Are scholars of the Bible able to say what the inner meaning or the origin of these words is? They are not able. Why? As for these two phrases of Job, no one in the later generations of saints was able to penetrate them, no one was able to penetrate them. Only God knows what happened, so in the record of Job those several good friends of Job who spoke all those foolish words were all in judgment of Job. Were they people who knew God? Those people were only experts in words and doctrines, only verbal theoreticians, all looking at matters only externally. No one understood Job’s heart. So Job felt extreme sorrow in his heart, feeling that his friends all did not understand him, and that what they said did not accord with his heart. How difficult for him it was to bear! Especially when Job heard his wife say those rebellious words, it was very severe, it pained Job’s heart so much. What did his wife say? “Do you still retain your integrity? Curse God, and die” (Job 2:9). Tell me, what kind of words are these? Before, Job’s wife also believed in God, on the same path as Job, and Job was shocked that she could say such words. What was the essence of the words his wife spoke? They were words that betrayed God—do you understand? Their meaning is, “If you believe in God, this is the result. Why do you still believe in this God? Curse God, and die. You have believed in vain, it is better to not believe in God.” It is of this meaning. These are words of betrayal. They are also words that reveal who she really was after undergoing the trial! What did Job say? “You speak as one of the foolish women speaks” (Job 2:10). The foolish people do not acknowledge that there is God, and these words saw through her. “This foolish woman, you do not believe in God.”