Of the work done by people, some of it is carried out with direct instruction from God, but there is also a part of it for which God does not provide specific instructions, sufficiently showing that what is done by God has, today, yet to be completely revealed—this is to say, much remains hidden and has yet to become public. However, some things need to be made public, while others need to leave people puzzled and confused; this is what is required by God’s work. For example, God’s arrival from heaven among man—how He arrived, at what second He arrived, or whether the heavens and earth and all things underwent changes or not—these things require people to be confused. This is also based on actual circumstances, for human flesh itself is incapable of directly entering the spiritual realm. Thus, even if God clearly states how He came from heaven to earth, or when He says, “On the day that all things were resurrected, I came among man, and I have spent wonderful days and nights with him,” such words are like someone talking to a tree trunk—there is not the slightest reaction, because people are ignorant of the steps of God’s work. Even when they are truly aware, they believe that God flew down to earth from heaven like a fairy and was reborn among man. This is what is attainable by the thoughts of man. It is because the substance of man is such that he is unable to understand the essence of God, and unable to understand the reality of the spiritual realm. By their substance alone, people would be incapable of acting as an exemplar for others, because people are inherently the same, and not different. Thus, asking that people set an example for others to follow or serve as an exemplar becomes a bubble, it becomes steam rising from water. Whereas when God says “gaining some knowledge of what I have and am,” these words are merely addressed at the manifestation of the work God does in the flesh; in other words, they are directed at God’s true face—divinity, which primarily refers to His divine disposition. That is to say, people are asked to understand things such as why God works in this way, what things are to be accomplished by God’s words, what God wishes to achieve on earth, what He wishes to gain among man, the methods by which God speaks, and what God’s attitude toward man is. It can be said that there is nothing in man worth boasting about—that is, there is nothing in him that can set an example for others to follow.

It is precisely because of the normality of God in the flesh, and because of the dissimilarity between God in heaven and God in the flesh, who does not seem to be born of God in heaven, that God says, “Many years have I passed among man, yet he has always remained unaware, and has never known Me.” God also says, “When My footsteps tread across the universe and to the ends of the earth, man will begin to reflect upon himself, and all people will come to Me and bow down before Me and worship Me. This will be the day I gain glory, the day of My return, and also the day of My departure.” Only this is the day when God’s true face is shown to man. Yet God does not delay His work as a result, and He simply does the work that ought to be done. When He judges, He condemns people on the basis of their attitude toward God in the flesh. This is one of the main threads of God’s utterances during this period. For example, God says, “I have formally embarked throughout the entire universe upon the finale of My management plan. From this moment onward, any who are not cautious are liable to be plunged amid merciless chastisement, and this could happen at any moment.” This is the content of God’s plan, and it is neither odd nor strange, but all part of the steps of His work. The people and sons of God abroad, meanwhile, are judged by God on the basis of all that they do in the churches, and thus God says, “As I work, all angels embark upon the decisive battle with Me and resolve to satisfy My intentions in the final stage, so that the people on earth surrender before Me like the angels, and have no desire to oppose Me, and do nothing that betrays Me. These are the dynamics of My work throughout the universe.” This is the difference in the work God carries out throughout the earth; He employs different measures according to who they are directed at. Today, the people of the churches all have a yearning heart, and they have begun to eat and drink the words of God—this is enough to show that God’s work is approaching its end. Looking down from the sky is akin to once more looking upon dreary scenes of withered branches and fallen leaves, of loess blown by the autumn wind. It feels like an apocalypse is about to occur among man, as if all is about to be turned to desolation. Maybe because of the sensitivity of the Spirit, there is always a sense of unhappiness in the heart, yet bearing a sliver of tranquil comfort, though mixed with some sorrow. This may be the depiction of God’s words that “man is awakening, everything on earth is in order, and the days of survival of the earth are no more, for I have arrived!” People may become somewhat negative after hearing these words, or they may be a little disappointed with God’s work, or they may focus much on the feeling in their spirit. But prior to the completion of His work on earth, God could not possibly be so foolish as to give people such an illusion. If you truly have such feelings, then it shows you pay too much attention to your feelings, that you are someone who does as they please and does not love God; it shows that such people focus too much on the supernatural, and pay no heed to God at all. Because of the hand of God, no matter how people try to get away, they are incapable of escaping this circumstance. Who can escape the hand of God? When have your status and circumstances not been arranged by God? Whether you suffer or are blessed, how could you sneak away from the hand of God? This is not a human matter, but rather is entirely about God’s need—who would be capable of not submitting as a result of this?

“I will use chastisement to spread My work among the Gentiles, which is to say, I will use “force” against all those who are Gentiles. Naturally, this work will be carried out at the same time as My work among the chosen ones.” With the utterance of these words, God embarks upon this work throughout the universe. This is a step of God’s work, which has already progressed to this point; no one can turn things around. Catastrophe will take care of one portion of mankind, causing them to perish along with the world. When the universe is officially chastised, God officially appears to all peoples. And because of His appearance, people are chastised. Furthermore, God also said, “When I formally open the scroll, that is when people throughout the universe are chastised, when people all over the world are subjected to trials.” From this, it can be seen clearly that the content of the seven seals is the content of the chastisement, which is to say, there is catastrophe within the seven seals. Thus, today, the seven seals have yet to be opened; the “trials” referred to here are the chastisement suffered by man, and amidst this chastisement, a group of people will be gained who officially accept the “certificate” issued by God, and thus they will be the people in God’s kingdom. These are the origins of the sons and people of God, and today they have yet to be decided, and are merely laying the foundation for future experiences. If someone has the true life, they will be able to stand firm during trials, and if they are without the life, then this sufficiently proves that God’s work has had no effect on them, that they fish in troubled waters, and do not focus on God’s words. Because this is the work of the last days, which is to bring this age to an end instead of carrying on the work, thus God says, “In other words, it is the life that man has never experienced from the time of creation until the present day, and so I say that I have done work that has never been done before,” and He also says, “Because My day draws near to all mankind, because it does not appear distant but is right before man’s eyes.” In times past, God personally destroyed several cities, yet none of them were razed in the same way as what will happen in the final instance. Although in the past God destroyed Sodom, the Sodom of today is not to be treated as in times past—it is not to be destroyed directly, but first it shall be conquered and then judged, and, ultimately, subjected to everlasting punishment. These are the steps of the work, and in the end, the Sodom of today shall be annihilated in the same sequence as the past destruction of the world—this is God’s plan. The day on which God appears is the day of official condemnation of the present-day Sodom, and His revelation of Himself is not for the sake of saving it. Thus, God says, “I appear to the holy kingdom, and hide Myself from the land of filth.” Because the Sodom of today is impure, God does not truly appear to it, but uses this means to chastise it—have you not seen this clearly? It can be said that no one on earth is capable of seeing God’s true face. God has never appeared to man, and no one knows in which level of heaven God is. This is what has allowed the people of today to be in this circumstance. If they were to behold the face of God, that would surely be the time in which their end would be revealed, the time when each is classed according to kind. Today, the words from within divinity are directly shown to people, which foretells that the last days of mankind have arrived, and will not last for much longer. This is one of the signs of people’s subjection to trials at the time when God appears to all people. Thus, although people enjoy God’s words, they always have an ominous feeling, as if a great calamity is about to befall them. The people of today are like sparrows in frozen lands, on whom it is as if death forces repayment of a debt and leaves them with no way to survive. Because of the debt of death owed by man, people all feel that their last days have arrived. This is what is happening in the hearts of people across the universe, and although it is not revealed on their faces, what is in their hearts is incapable of hiding from My eyes—this is the reality of man. Perhaps, many of the words are not used entirely properly—but it is these very words that are sufficient to show the problem. Every one of the words spoken from God’s mouth shall be fulfilled, whether they be of the past or the present; they shall make the facts appear before people—a feast for their eyes—at which time they will become dazzled and confused. Have you still not clearly seen what age it is today?