When God speaks from the perspective of the Spirit, His tone is directed at all of humanity. When God speaks from a human perspective, His tone is directed at all who follow the guidance of His Spirit. When God speaks from the perspective of a third party (from what people refer to as an observer’s point of view), He shows His words to people directly, causing people to feel that He is a commentator, and it seems to them that from His mouth come forth boundless things of which humans have no knowledge and which they cannot fathom. Is this not the case? When God speaks from the perspective of the Spirit, all of humanity is astonished. “Humans’ love of Me is minuscule, and their faith in Me is also pitifully small. If I did not direct the brunt of My words at people’s weaknesses, they would boast and exaggerate, pontificating and coming up with bombastic theories, as if they were omniscient and all-knowing with regard to earthly matters.” These words not only expose humans as they actually are and the position God has in their hearts, but also lay bare the entire life of humankind. Each person believes that they are extraordinary yet does not even know that there is such a word as “God.” Therefore, they dare to come up with bombastic theories. However, this “coming up with bombastic theories” is not “speaking” as conceived in human notions. Rather, it means that humans have been corrupted by Satan, so everything they do, every action they take, rebels against God and resists Him directly. The substance of their actions comes from Satan and resists God, and is intended to achieve independence, counter to God’s intentions. This is why God says that humans all come up with bombastic theories. Why does God say that the brunt of His words is directed at human weaknesses? It is because, in accordance with God’s intentions, if He did not lay bare the things hidden deep in people’s hearts, then no one would yield; as such, people would not understand themselves, and they would not have God-fearing hearts. In other words, if people’s intentions were not laid bare, then they would dare to do anything—even rise up to curse Heaven and revile God directly. These are humanity’s weaknesses. Therefore, God speaks thusly: “I journey to all corners of the universe world in perpetual search of those who accord with My intentions and are fit for My use.” This statement, in conjunction with what is later said about the salute of the kingdom ringing formally out, makes it evident that God’s Spirit is once again doing new work on earth; it is just that humans cannot see it with their physical eyes. Since it is said that the Spirit is once again doing new work, the entire universe world is once again undergoing momentous change: Not only are God’s sons and God’s people beginning to accept the testimony of God’s incarnation, but every religion and denomination, every walk of life and place, also accept it to varying degrees. It is a great movement of the universe world in the spiritual realm. It strongly shakes the entire religious world, which is partly what the previously mentioned “earthquake” refers to. Next, the angels formally begin their work and the people of Israel return to their homeland, never again to wander, and all those included begin to accept shepherding. In contrast, the Egyptians begin to fall outside the scope of My salvation; that is, they receive My chastisement (but that has not yet formally begun). So, when the world simultaneously undergoes these several great movements, it is also when the salute of the kingdom rings formally out, a time that people have called “the time when the sevenfold intensified Spirit begins to work.” Each time God resumes His work, at these phases (or in these transitional periods), no one is able to sense the work of the Holy Spirit. Therefore, God’s words, “when people lose hope,” are grounded in actual circumstances. Furthermore, during each of these transition phases, when people lose hope, when they feel that this is the wrong stream, God begins anew and undertakes the next step of His work. This is the similarity in God’s resuming His work and altering the methods of His work from the time of creation until now. Though most people, to some extent, can grasp some aspect of this work, they are in the end nonetheless washed away by a torrent of water, for they are too small of stature; they are unable to hold fast to the steps of God’s work, and so they are eliminated. However, this is also how God purifies people, and this is God’s judgment of humanity’s old notions. The more of a foundation people have, the greater their religious notions of God, which are difficult for them to let go of; they always cling to old things, and it is hard for them to accept new light. On the other hand, if one is standing, then one must have some foundation to stand on, yet most people still have trouble letting go of their notions. This is especially true of their notions about the God incarnate of today, a point that is clear to see.

In today’s words, God speaks much of visions, and there is no need to elaborate. God speaks primarily about how building the church lays the foundation for building the kingdom. More specifically, while the church was being built, the main goal was to convince people both in heart and in speech, though they have not known God in the flesh with their own eyes. Even though they all believed in Him in their hearts, they did not know Him, because at that stage He was indistinguishable from a person. In the Age of Kingdom, all must become convinced in their hearts, their speech, and their eyes. This suffices to show that for all to become convinced in their hearts, speech, and eyes, they must be allowed to know God living in the flesh with their physical eyes—not under duress, nor with mere casual belief, but through coming to know Him, they become convinced in both heart and speech. Therefore, this stage of building is not about fighting or killing, but enabling humanity to gain enlightenment from God’s words, thereby allowing them to pursue and explore, so that they can subconsciously come to know God incarnate. Therefore, to God, this stage of work is much easier, in that it lets nature take its course and does not run counter to people. It will, in the end, lead humans naturally to knowledge of God, so do not be overly worried or anxious. When God said: “The state of battle of the spiritual realm is revealed directly among all My people,” He meant that when people embark on the right track and begin to know God, not only is there Satan’s temptation within people themselves, but there is also Satan’s temptation within the church. However, this is a path that everyone must take, so no one needs to be alarmed. Satan’s temptation comes in several forms, such as treating God’s words with indifference and giving up on them, and saying negative things to dampen other people’s positivity; however, a person who does such things will not win others to their side. This is difficult to discern. The main reason for this is: Such a person may still be proactive in attending gatherings, but they are unclear about visions. If the church does not guard against them, then their negativity could cause the entire church to respond tepidly to God, and thereby not pay attention to God’s words. This would mean falling into Satan’s temptation. Such a person does not resist God directly, but because they cannot grasp God’s words and do not know God, they utter complaints, and grievances arise in their heart. They say God has forsaken them and they are therefore incapable of receiving enlightenment and illumination. They wish to leave, but they are somewhat afraid, and they say that God’s work does not come from God but is, in their view, the work of evil spirits.

Why does God mention Peter so often? And why does He say that even Job did not come close to being his equal? Saying so not only causes people to pay attention to Peter’s deeds, but also has them cast aside all the examples they have in their hearts—even the example of Job, who had the greatest faith, will not do. Only in this way can a better result be achieved, wherein people are able to let go of everything in an effort to imitate Peter, and, in doing so, come to know God more deeply. God shows people the path of practice that Peter took to know God, and the goal of doing so is to give people a point of reference. God then goes on to predict one of the ways in which Satan will tempt humans when He says: “However, if you treat My words with indifference, then you undoubtedly resist Me. This is a fact.” In these words, God foretells the schemes Satan will try to use and warns people that they should take heed. It is not possible that everyone could be indifferent to God’s words, yet nonetheless, some people will be taken captive by this temptation. Therefore, at the end, God reiterates with emphasis: “If you do not know My words, nor accept them, nor put them into practice, then you will inevitably become objects of My chastisement! You will surely become victims of Satan!” This is God’s counsel to humanity—yet in the end, as God foretold, a portion of people will surely become victims of Satan.