Some people may have a little insight into God’s words, but none of them trust their feelings; they are deeply afraid of falling into negativity. Thus, they have always alternated between joy and sorrow. It is fair to say that the lives of all people are filled with grief; to take this a step further, there is refinement in the daily lives of all people, yet I can say that no one gains any release in their spirits each day, and it is as if three great mountains are pressing down on their heads. Not one of their lives are happy and joyous all day long—and even when they are a little happy, they are simply trying to keep up appearances. In their hearts, people always have a sense of something unfinished. Thus, they are not steadfast in their hearts; living in this way, things feel empty and unfair, and when it comes to the belief in God, they are busy and are short of time, or else they do not have the time to eat and drink God’s words, or do not know how to eat and drink God’s words properly. Not one of them is at peace, lucid, and steadfast in their hearts. It is as if they have always lived beneath an overcast sky, as if they live in a space without oxygen, and this has led to the confusion in their lives. God always speaks straight to people’s weaknesses, He always strikes them at their Achilles’ heel—have you not clearly seen the tone with which He has spoken throughout? God has never given people the opportunity to repent, and He makes all people live on the “moon” without oxygen. From the beginning until today, outwardly God’s words have exposed the nature of man, yet no one can clearly see the essence of these words. It appears that by exposing the substance of man, people come to know themselves and thus come to know God, yet this is not the path in essence. The tone and greater depth of God’s words show a clear difference between God and man. In their feelings, this makes people unconsciously believe that God is unreachable and unapproachable; God brings everything out into the open, and it seems that no one is capable of returning the relationship between God and man to how it used to be. It is not hard to see that the aim of all God’s utterances is to use words to “topple” all people, thereby accomplishing His work. These are the steps of God’s work. Yet this is not what people believe in their minds. They believe that God’s work is approaching its climax, that it is approaching its most discernible effect so as to conquer the great red dragon, which is to say, making the churches thrive, with no one having notions about God incarnate, or else all people knowing God. Yet let us read what God says: “In people’s minds, God is God, and is not easily engaged with, while man is man, and should not easily become dissolute. … As a result, they are always humble and patient before Me; they are incapable of being compatible with Me, for they have too many notions.” From this it can be seen that, regardless of what God says or what man does, people are totally incapable of knowing God; because of the role played by their substance, no matter what, they are, at the end of the day, incapable of knowing God. Thus, God’s work will end when people see themselves as the sons of hell. There is no need for God to unleash His wrath on people, or to condemn them directly, or to ultimately sentence them to death in order to conclude His entire management. He merely engages in small talk at His own pace, as if the completion of His work is incidental, something accomplished in His spare time without the slightest effort. From the outside, there appears to be some urgency to God’s work—yet God has not done anything, He does nothing but speak. The work among the churches is not of the same great scale as in times gone by: God does not add people, or expel them, or lay them bare—such work is too trivial. It seems as if God is of no mind to do such work. He merely says a little of what He ought to, after which He turns around and disappears without trace—which, naturally, is the scene of the completion of His utterances. And when this moment arrives, all people shall awake from their slumber. Mankind has been in lethargic slumber for thousands of years, he has been in a sopor throughout. And for many years, people have been rushing hither and thither in their dreams, and they even cry out in their dreams, incapable of speaking of the injustice within their hearts. Thus, they “feel a little melancholy in their hearts”—but when they awaken, they shall discover the true facts, and exclaim: “So this is what’s going on!” Thus it is said that “Today, most people are still fast asleep. Only when the kingdom anthem sounds do they open their sleepy eyes and feel a little melancholy in their hearts.”

No one’s spirit has ever been liberated, never has anyone’s spirit been carefree and happy. When God’s work is completely finished, people’s spirits will be liberated, for each will have been classed according to kind, and thus they will all be steadfast in their hearts. It is as if people are on some voyage to far-flung parts and their hearts become steadfast when they return home. Upon arriving home, people will no longer feel that the world is empty and unfair, but will live in peace in their homes. Such will be the circumstances among all mankind. Thus, God says that “people have never been able to free themselves from Satan’s bondage.” No one is able to extricate themselves from this state whilst in the flesh. For the moment, let us put aside what God says about the various actual states of man, and talk only of the mysteries that God has yet to reveal to man. “Countless times have people looked at Me with mocking eyes, as if My body were covered in thorns and loathsome to them, and thus people abhor Me, and believe that I am without worth.” Contrariwise, in essence, man’s true colors are revealed in God’s words: Man is covered in quills, there is nothing pleasing about him, and thus God’s hatred for man increases, for man is nothing but a spine-covered hedgehog that has nothing admirable about it. Superficially, these words appear to describe man’s notions toward God—but in reality, God is painting a picture of man based on his image. These words are God’s delineation of man, and it is as if God has sprayed a fixative upon the image of man; thus, man’s image stands tall in the universe, and even astonishes people. From when He began to speak, God has been positioning His forces for a great battle with man. He is like a university algebra professor laying out the facts for man, and what is proved by the facts that He lists—the evidence and counter evidence—makes all people utterly convinced. This is the aim of all God’s words, and it is because of this that God casually tosses these mystifying words at man: “I am, in sum, utterly without value in man’s heart, I am a dispensable household item.” After reading these words, people cannot help but say a prayer in their hearts, and they come to know their indebtedness to God, which makes them condemn themselves, makes them believe that man ought to die, and is without the slightest worth. God says, “It is because of this that I find Myself in the situation I am in today,” which, when connected to the actual circumstances of today, causes people to condemn themselves. Is this not fact? If you were made to know yourself, could words like “I truly should die!” come from your mouth? Such are the true circumstances of man, and this is not worth thinking about too much—it is merely a fitting example.

In one sense, when God begs for man’s forgiveness and tolerance, people see that God is making fun of them, and in another sense, they also behold their own rebelliousness—they are just waiting for God to exert Himself to the utmost for man. Besides, speaking of people’s notions, God says He is not proficient in man’s philosophy for worldly dealings or the language of man. Thus, in one regard this makes people compare these words to the practical God, and in another, they see God’s intention in His words—God is mocking them, for they understand that God is revealing the true face of man, and He is not really telling people about the true circumstances of God. The inherent meaning of God’s words is suffused with ridicule, sarcasm, mockery, and hatred toward man. It is as if, in all he does, man is perverting the law and taking bribes; people are whores, and when God opens His mouth to speak, they tremble in terror, profoundly afraid that the truth about them will be thoroughly exposed, leaving them too ashamed to face anybody. But facts are facts. God does not cease His utterances because of man’s “repentance”; the more unspeakably ashamed and embarrassed beyond words people become, the more God fixes His burning gaze upon their faces. The words from His mouth lay all of man’s ugly deeds on the table—this is being just and impartial, this is called Qingtian,^[a] this is judgment from the highest court of the people. Thus, when people read God’s words, they are suddenly struck by a heart attack, their blood pressure rises, it is as if they are suffering from coronary heart disease, as if an apoplexy is about to send them back to the western paradise to meet with their ancestors—this is the reaction when they read God’s words. Man is made infirm by years of hard labor, he is sick inside and out, all of him is ill, from his heart to his blood vessels, large intestine, small intestine, stomach, lungs, kidneys, and so on. Nothing in his entire body is healthy. Thus, God’s work does not reach a level unattainable to man, but causes people to know themselves. Because man’s body is beset by viruses, and because he has grown old, the day of his death draws near, and there is no way back. But this is only part of the story; the inner meaning has yet to be revealed, for the source of man’s illness is being sought. In reality, the time when the entirety of God’s work is completed is not the time when His work on earth is completed, for once this step of work is finished, there will be no way of carrying out the work of the future in the flesh, and the Spirit of God will be required to complete it. Thus, God says, “When I formally open the scroll, that is when people throughout the universe are chastised, the time when My work reaches its climax, when people all over the world are subjected to trials.” The time when the work in the flesh is finished is not when God’s work reaches its climax—the climax of this time merely refers to the work during this stage, and is not the climax of the entire management plan. Thus, God’s requirements of man are not high. He merely asks that people know themselves, thus serving the next step of work, in which God’s intentions shall have been met. As God’s work changes, people’s “work unit” alters. Today is the stage of God’s work on earth, and thus they must work at the grassroots. In the future, it will be necessary to administer the nation, and thus they will be reassigned to the “Central Committee.” If they visit abroad, they will have to deal with procedures for going overseas. At such times they will be overseas, far from their homeland—but this will still be because of the requirements of God’s work. As people have said, “We will lay down our lives for God when necessary”—is this not the path that shall be walked in the future? Who has ever enjoyed such a life? One can travel all over, visit overseas, provide guidance in the countryside, assimilate themselves among the common people, and they can also talk of the important matters of the nation with members of high-level organizations; and when necessary, they can personally taste life in hell, after which they can return and still be able to enjoy the heavenly blessings—are these not the blessings of man? Who has ever compared to God? Who has ever traveled throughout all nations? In fact, people would be able to understand a little of some of God’s words without any pointers or explanations—it is just that they have no faith in themselves, which is what has stretched God’s work out until today. Because people lack too much—as God said, “they have nothing”—the work of today poses tremendous difficulties to them; what is more, their weakness has, naturally, constrained God’s mouth—and are these things not precisely what is hindering God’s work? Can you still not see this? There is hidden meaning in all that God says. When God speaks, He seizes upon the issue at hand, and like a fable, all of the words He speaks contain profound message. These simple words contain profound meaning, and thus explain important issues—is this not what God’s words are best at? Do you know this?

Footnotes:

a. Qingtian: This term is used to refer to a righteous judge in the imperial time of China.