You are now on the final stretch of the path, and it is a critical part of the path. Perhaps you have endured much suffering, done a lot of work, traveled many roads, and listened to many sermons; perhaps it has not been easy to reach where you are now. If you cannot bear the suffering you currently face and if you continue as you did in the past, then you cannot be perfected. These words are not intended to scare you—they are fact. After Peter underwent a lot of God’s work, he gained insight into some things, and also much discernment. He came to understand many things regarding the principle of service, and later he was able to fully devote himself to what Jesus entrusted him with. The great refinement that he received was mostly because, for the things that he had himself done, he felt that he owed God so much, and that he would never be able to repay Him. Peter also recognized that man is very corrupt, which caused him to feel guilty in his conscience. Jesus had said many things to Peter, but at the time when these things were said, he was only capable of a small amount of understanding, and sometimes he still harbored some resistance and rebelliousness. After Jesus was nailed to the cross, he finally experienced something of an awakening, and within him he felt strong pangs of reproach toward himself. In the end, it reached a point where he felt it unacceptable to have any ideas that were incorrect. He knew his own state very well, and he also knew the Lord’s holiness well. As a result, a heart of love for the Lord grew in him even more, and he became more focused on his own life. Because of this he suffered great hardships, and although at times it was as if he had a serious illness and even seemed as if he were dead, after he had been refined in this way many times, he gained more understanding of himself, and developed genuine love for the Lord. It could be said that his entire life was spent in refinement, and even more than that, in chastisement. His experience was different from any other person’s, and his love surpassed that of anyone who has not been perfected. The reason he was selected as a model was because he experienced the most agony in his lifetime, and his experiences were most successful. If you really are able to walk the final stretch of the path just like Peter did, then there is not a single created being that can take away your blessings.

Peter was a man of conscience, but even with a humanity such as he had, he inevitably had many oppositional and rebellious ideas during the time when he first began to follow Jesus. But while he was following Jesus, he did not take these things seriously, believing that this was just the way that people should be. So, at first he did not feel any reproach and nor was he pruned. Jesus did not treat Peter’s reactions seriously, nor did He pay them any mind, but just continued with the work that He was supposed to do. He never nitpicked with Peter and the others. You might say: “Could it be that Jesus did not know about these ideas they had?” Not at all! It was because He really understood Peter—indeed, it could be said that He had a great understanding of him—that Jesus did not take any measures against him. He hated mankind but also took pity on them. Are there not many people among you now who are resistant just like Paul was, and who have many notions just like Peter had toward the Lord Jesus at that time? I tell you, it would be best if you did not believe too much in your third sense, your sense of perception, which is unreliable and was utterly ruined by Satan’s corruption long ago. Do you think that your perception is perfect and flawless? Paul resisted the Lord Jesus many times, but Jesus had no reaction. Could it be that Jesus was able to cure the sick and cast out demons, yet was unable to expel the “demon” in Paul? Why is it that it was only after Jesus was resurrected and had ascended to heaven, while Paul continued to wantonly arrest Jesus’ disciples, that Jesus finally appeared to him on the road to Damascus and struck him down? Could it be that the Lord Jesus reacted too slowly? Or was it because He did not have any authority while He was in the flesh? Do you think that when you are secretly destructive and resistant behind My back, I do not know? Do you think that the scraps of enlightenment that you derive from the Holy Spirit can be used to resist Me? When Peter was immature, he harbored many ideas regarding Jesus, so why was he not subjected to blame? Right now, many people are doing things without blame, and even when they are clearly told that what they are doing is not right, they still do not listen. Is it not entirely because of man’s rebelliousness? I have said so much now, but you are still lacking even a shred of perception of conscience, so how will you be able to walk the final stretch of the path, to keep walking until the path ends? Do you not feel that this is a question of monumental proportions?

After people have been conquered, they are able to submit to God’s orchestration; they have both their faith and their will by which they love God, and they rely on these to follow Him. So how can the final stretch of the path be walked? In your days of experiencing tribulation, you must endure all hardships, and you must have the will to suffer; only in this way can you take this stretch of the path well. Do you think it so easy to take this stretch of the path? You should know what function you should fulfill; you must raise your caliber and equip yourselves with adequate truth. This is not the work of one or two days, and it is not as simple as you think! Walking the final stretch of the path depends on what kind of faith and will you really have. Perhaps you cannot see the Holy Spirit working in you, or perhaps you are not able to discover the work of the Holy Spirit in the church, so you are pessimistic and disappointed and full of despair for the road ahead. In particular, the great warriors of the past have all fallen—is all of this not a blow to you? How should you see these things? Do you have faith, or do you not? Do you fully understand today’s work, or do you not? These things can determine whether you are able to successfully walk the final stretch of the path.

Why is it said that you are now on the final stretch of the path? It is because you have understood everything that you should understand, and because I have told you everything that people should achieve. I have also told you about everything that you have been entrusted with. So, what you are walking now is the last part of the path along which I lead people. I only require that you attain the ability to live independently; you will always and at all times have a road to take, you will increase your caliber as before, read God’s words normally, and lead a normal human life. I am now leading you to live this way, but in the future when I do not lead you, will you still be able to? Will you be able to keep going? This was Peter’s experience: When Jesus was leading him, he had no understanding; he was always carefree like a child, and he was not serious about the things that he did. It was only after Jesus departed that he began his normal human life. His meaningful life only began after Jesus departed. Even though he did possess some of the sense of normal humanity and some of the things that a normal person should possess, nonetheless his true experience and pursuit did not have a new beginning until Jesus departed. What is your current situation? I am now leading you this way, and you think this is wonderful. There are no environments and trials that befall you, yet in this way there is no way to see what kind of stature you actually have, nor is there any way to see whether you truly are someone who pursues the truth. You say with your mouth that you understand your own substance, but these are empty words. Only in the future, when the facts come upon you, will your understanding be verified. Now, you have this kind of understanding: “I understand that my own flesh is very corrupt, and the substance of people’s flesh is to rebel against and resist God. Being able to receive God’s judgment and chastisement is the way that He raises people up. I have understood that now, and I am willing to repay God’s love.” But this is easy to say. Later when tribulation, trials, and suffering come upon you, it will not be easy to undergo these things. You follow this way every day, but you are still unable to continue your experience. It would be even worse if I were to let go of you and no longer pay any mind to you; most people would fall down and turn into a pillar of salt, a mark of shame. Such eventualities are very possible. Are you not worried or anxious about this? Peter underwent that kind of environment and experienced that kind of suffering, but he still stood firm. If you were subject to that environment, would you be able to stand firm? The things that Jesus said and the work that He did while He was on earth gave Peter a foundation, and it was from this foundation that he walked his later path. Can you reach that level? The paths you have walked and the truths you have understood—can they become your foundation upon which you can stand firm in the future? Can these things become your vision for standing firm later? I will tell you the truth—one could say that what people currently understand are all doctrines. This is because they do not have experience of all the things that they understand. That you have been able to continue until now is entirely because you have been led by new light. It is not because your stature has reached a certain level, but rather because My words have led you to the present day; it is not because you have great faith, but rather it is because of the wisdom of My words, which rendered you unable to do anything but follow all the way until today. If I were to not speak now, to not utter My voice, you would be unable to go on and would immediately stop moving forward. Is this not your actual stature? You have no idea from which aspects to enter in and in which aspects to make up for what you lack. You do not understand how to live out a meaningful human life, how to repay God’s love, or how to bear witness in a way that is powerful and resounding. You are totally incapable of achieving these things. You are both lazy and stupid! All you can do is lean on something else, and what you lean on is new light and the One who is in front, leading you. That you have been able to persist until today is because you have been entirely reliant upon new light and the most recent utterances. You are nothing like Peter, who was adept at pursuing the true way, or like Job, who was able to devotedly worship Jehovah and believe that Jehovah was God no matter how Jehovah tested him, and whether or not He blessed him. Are you able to do that? How have you been conquered? One aspect is judgment, chastisement, and cursing, and another aspect is mysteries that conquer you. You are all like donkeys. If what I speak of is not lofty enough for you, if there are no mysteries, then you cannot be conquered. If it were a person preaching and they always preached about the same things for a period of time, all of you would leave and scatter within two years; you would not be able to go on. You do not know how to go deeper, nor do you understand how to pursue the truth or the way of life. All you understand is receiving something that seems novel to you, such as hearing about mysteries or visions, or how God used to work, or Peter’s experiences, or the background to Jesus’ crucifixion…. You are only willing to hear about these things, and the more you listen the more you are energized. You are just listening to all of this to dispel your sorrow and boredom. Your lives are sustained entirely by these novel things. Do you think that you have reached where you are today by your own faith? Is this not the paltry, pitiful bit of stature that you possess? Where is your integrity? Where is your humanity? Do you possess human life? How many of the elements do you possess for being perfected? Is what I am saying not fact? I speak and work in this way, but still you hardly pay any mind. While you follow, you also watch. You always maintain an appearance of indifference, and you are always led by the nose. This is how all of you have proceeded; what has led you to where you are today has exclusively been chastisement, refinement, and chastening. If only some sermons about life entry were preached, would not all of you have slipped away long ago? Each of you is more snobbish than the last, but in reality your bellies are full of nothing but foul water! You have only been able to persist until now because you have come to understand a few mysteries, some things that humans have not understood before. You have no reason to not follow, so you have just about been able to steel yourselves and follow the crowd. This is just the outcome that has been achieved through My words, and it is certainly not a feat that you yourselves have accomplished. You have nothing to brag about. So, in this stage of work you have been led to the present day primarily through words. Otherwise, who among you would be capable of obeying? Who would be able to persist until today? From early on you wanted to leave at the first possible moment, but you did not dare to; you lacked the courage. Until today, you have been following half-heartedly.

It was only after Jesus was nailed to the cross and departed that Peter started to go his own course and started to walk the path that he should; he began to be equipped only after he saw his own inadequacies and shortcomings. He saw that he had too little of a God-loving heart and his will to suffer was inadequate, that he did not have any insight, and that he was lacking sense. He saw that there were many things in him that were not in line with Jesus’ intentions, and that there were many things that were rebellious and resistant and tainted by human will. It was only after this that he gained entry in every aspect. When Jesus was leading him, Jesus exposed his state and Peter acknowledged it and agreed with what Jesus said, yet he still lacked true understanding until afterward. That was because at the time, he had neither experience nor knowledge of his own stature. That is to say, I am now just using words to lead you, and it is impossible to perfect you within a short period of time, and you will be limited to being able to understand and know the truth. This is because conquering you and persuading you in your heart is the current work, and only after people are conquered will some of them be perfected. Right now, those visions and those truths that you understand are laying a foundation for your future experiences; in the future tribulation you will all have practical experience of these words. Later, when trials come upon you and you undergo the tribulation, you will think of the words you say today, which are: “No matter what tribulation, trials, or great disasters I encounter, I must satisfy God.” Think about the experiences of Peter and then the experiences of Job—you will be galvanized by today’s words. Only in this way can your faith be inspired. At that time, Peter said that he was not worthy of receiving God’s judgment and chastisement, and when the time comes you will also be willing to have all people see God’s righteous disposition through you. You will readily accept His judgment and chastisement, and His judgment, chastisement, and curse will be a comfort to you. Now, it is simply not acceptable for you to not be equipped with the truth. Without it, not only will you be unable to stand firm in the future, but you might not be capable of experiencing the current work. If this is the case, will you not be one of those eliminated and punished? Right now, there have not been any facts that have come upon you, and I have supplied you in whichever aspects you are lacking; I speak from every aspect. You have not endured much suffering; you just take what is available without having paid any kind of price, and, more than that, you do not have your own genuine experiences or insights. So, what you understand is not your true statures. You are limited to understanding, knowledge, and seeing, but you have not reaped much of a harvest. If I never paid any mind to you but had you undergo experiences in your own home, you would have scurried back out into the great wide world long ago. The path that you walk in the future will be a course of suffering, and if you successfully walk this current stretch of the path, then you will have testimony when you undergo the greater tribulation in the future. If you understand the significance of human life and have taken the right path of human life, and if in the future you submit to His designs without any complaints or choices no matter how God deals with you, and if you do not make any demands of God, then in this way you will be a person of value. Right now, you have not undergone tribulation, so you can obey anything without differentiation. You say that however God leads, that way is fine, and that you would leave all up to God’s orchestrations. Whether God chastises or curses you, you will be willing to satisfy Him. Having said that, what you say now does not necessarily represent your stature. What you are willing to do now cannot show that you are capable of following until the end. When great tribulations come upon you or when you undergo some persecution or coercion or even greater trials, then you will not be able to say those words. If you can have that kind of understanding then and you stand firm, this will be your stature. What was Peter like at that time? Peter said: “Lord, I will sacrifice my life for You. If You would have me die, I will die!” That was the way he prayed at the time. He also said: “Even if others do not love You, I must love You until the end. I will follow You at all times.” That is what he said at the time, but as soon as trials came upon him, he fell apart and wept. You all know that Peter denied the Lord three times, do you not? There are many people who will weep and show human weakness when trials come upon them. You are not the master of yourself. In this, you cannot control yourself. Maybe today you are doing really well, but that is because you have a suitable environment. If that changes tomorrow, you will show your cowardice and incompetence, your despicableness and unworthiness. Your “manliness” will have long since come to nothing, and at times you may even cast your task to one side and walk away. This shows that what you understood at the time was not your actual stature. One must look at a person’s actual stature to see whether they truly love God, whether they are able to really submit to God’s design, and whether they are able to put all of their strength into achieving what God requires; and whether they remain loyal to God and give the best of all things to God, even if it means sacrificing their own life.

You must remember that these words have now been spoken: Later on, you will experience greater tribulation and greater suffering! To be perfected is not a simple or easy thing. At the very least you must possess the faith of Job, or maybe even greater faith than his. You should know that the trials in the future will be greater than the trials of Job, and that you must still undergo long-term chastisement. Is this a simple thing? If your caliber cannot be improved, if your comprehension ability is lacking, and if you know too little, then at that time you will not have any testimony, but will instead become a joke, a plaything for Satan. If you cannot hold on to the visions now, then you have no foundation at all, and in the future you will be discarded! No stretch of the path is easy to walk, so do not take this lightly. Carefully weigh up and make preparations for how to walk the final stretch of this path properly. This is the path that must be walked in the future, the path that all people must walk. You must not let this knowledge go unheeded; do not think that what I say to you is all a waste of breath. The day will come when you will put it all to good use—My words cannot be spoken in vain. This is the time to equip yourself, the time to pave the way for the future. You should prepare the path that you should later walk; you should be worried and anxious about how you will be able to stand firm in the future, and prepare well for your future path. Do not be gluttonous and lazy! You must do absolutely everything you can to make the best use of your time, so that you may gain everything that you need. I am giving you everything so that you can understand. You have seen with your own eyes that in less than three years, I have said so many things and done so much work. One reason that I have been working in this way is because people are lacking so much, and another reason is because time is too short; there cannot be any further delays. You imagine that people must first achieve perfect internal clarity before they can bear witness and be utilized—but would that not be too slow? So, for how long will I have to accompany you? If you would have Me accompany you until I am old and gray, that would be impossible! By undergoing greater tribulation, genuine understanding within all people will be achieved. These are the steps of the work. Once you fully understand the visions fellowshipped today and you attain genuine stature, then whatever hardships you undergo in the future will not overwhelm you, and you will be able to withstand them. When I have completed this last step of work and finished uttering the last words, in the future people will need to walk their own path. This will fulfill the words spoken before: The Holy Spirit has a commission for every single person, and work to do in every single person. In the future, everyone will walk the path that they should walk, led by the Holy Spirit. Who will be able to care for others when undergoing tribulation? Each individual has their own suffering, and each has their own stature. No one’s stature is the same as anyone else’s. Husbands will not be able to care for their wives, or parents for their children; no one will be able to care for anyone else. It will not be like now, when mutual care and support are still possible. That will be a time when every type of person is exposed. That is, when God smites the shepherds, then the sheep of the flock will be scattered, and at that time you will not have any true leader. The people will be divided—it will not be like now, when you can come together as a congregation. In the future, those who do not have the work of the Holy Spirit will show their true colors. Husbands will sell out their wives, wives will sell out their husbands, children will sell out their parents, and parents will persecute their children—the human heart is beyond fathoming! All that can be done is for one to hold on to what one has, and to properly walk the final stretch of the path. Right now, you do not see this clearly; you are all short-sighted. It is no easy thing to successfully experience this step of work.

The time of tribulation will not be too protracted; indeed, it will last for less than a year. If it were to last for a year, the next step of work would be delayed, and people’s stature would be inadequate. If it were too long, then people would not be able to withstand it. After all, people’s stature has its limitations. After My own work has been completed, the next step will be for people to walk the path that they should walk. Everyone must understand what path they should walk—it is a path and a process of suffering, and it is also a path of refining your will to love God. Which truths you should enter into, which truths you should supplement, how you should experience, and from which aspect you should enter in—you must understand all of these things. You must equip yourself now. When the tribulation comes upon you, it will be too late. Every person must bear a burden for their own life, and do not always wait for others’ warnings or for others to always pull you along by the ear. I have said so much but you still do not know which truths you should enter into or equip yourself with. This shows that you have put no effort into reading God’s words. You do not bear any burden whatsoever for your own life—how can that be acceptable? You are not clear on what you should enter into, you do not understand what you should understand, and you are still all at sea regarding what future path you should take. Are you not totally worthless? What use do you have? What you are doing now is building and paving your own roads. You must know what people should achieve and you must know the standard of God’s requirements of mankind. You must have the following understanding: No matter what, even though I am deeply corrupt, I must make up for these defects before God. Before God told me, I did not understand, but now that He has told me and I understand, I must rush to make good the deficiency, to live out a normal humanity, and to live out an image that can satisfy God’s intentions. Even if I cannot live up to what Peter did, at the very least I should live out a normal humanity. In this way, I can satisfy God’s heart.

The final stretch of this path will extend from now until the conclusion of the future tribulation. This stretch of the path will be when people’s genuine stature is revealed, as well as showing whether or not they have true faith. Because this stretch of the path will be a more arduous, rockier path than any that people have been led along before, it is called “the final stretch of the path.” The truth is that it is not the very last section of the path; this is because after undergoing the tribulation, you will then undergo the work of spreading the gospel and there will be a portion of people who will undergo the work of being used. So “the final stretch of the path” is only spoken of in reference to the tribulation of refining people and to the harsh environment. On that segment of the path which was walked in the past, I personally led you on that happy journey, taking you by the hand to teach you, and feeding you from My own mouth. Although you have gone through chastisement and judgment many times, they have been nothing more than a series of light blows as far as you are concerned. Of course, that has caused your perspectives on belief in God to change significantly; it has also caused your disposition to stabilize significantly, and allowed you to gain some small amount of understanding of Me. But what I am saying is that when people were walking that stretch of the path, the price or painstaking effort paid by people was fairly small—it is I who have led you to where you are today. This is because I do not require you to do anything; indeed, My requirements of you are not at all high—I just allow you to take in what is available. During this period of time I have provided for your needs unceasingly, and I have never raised unreasonable demands. You have suffered repeated chastisement, yet you have not achieved My original requirements. You retreat and are dejected, but I do not take this into account because this is now the time of My personal work, and I do not take your “devotion” to Me so seriously. But on the path from here on, I will no longer work or speak, and when the time comes I will no longer have you continue in such an idle way. I will allow you to have ample lessons to learn, and I will not have you take in what is available. The genuine stature that you have today must be exposed. Whether or not your years-long effort has ultimately been fruitful will be seen in how you walk this final stretch of the path. In the past, you thought that believing in God was very simple, and that was because God was not treating you stringently. And how about now? Do you think that believing in God is simple? Do you still feel that believing in God makes you as happy and carefree as children playing in the street? It is true that you are sheep; however, you must be able to walk the path that you should walk in order to repay God’s grace, and to entirely gain the God you believe in. Do not make fun of yourselves, and do not fool yourselves! If you can persist on this stretch of the path, then you will be able to see the unprecedented spectacle of My gospel work spreading throughout the entire universe, and you will have the good fortune to be My intimate, and to play your part in expanding My work throughout the universe. At that time, you will very gladly continue to walk the path that you should walk. The future will be boundlessly bright, but the primary thing now is to properly walk this final stretch of the path. You must seek, and prepare for how to do this. This is what you must do right now; this is now a matter of urgency!