Supplement: How to Approach Rumors

Have some people heard some negative rumors recently? (Yes.) What was your reaction when you heard these rumors? Were you afraid? Were you curious? Do you want to know what these rumors are all about? (We do not want to know, because we already know that the great red dragon often fabricates rumors out of nothing. No matter what it says, it is false. Therefore, we are not interested in the details of these rumors and do not want to try to figure out the devilish words it says.) The great red dragon fabricates all sorts of rumors to mislead and corrupt people, and many people, after hearing the rumors, are misled. Some people become afraid and dare not accept the true way; some who have accepted it also become doubtful and no longer want to believe in God. These people, before hearing the great red dragon’s rumors, seemed to have faith in God without any doubts and were willing to follow God and do their duty. But after hearing the rumors, they immediately develop doubts and no longer have the heart to follow God and do their duty. In particular, some of those who are arrested by the great red dragon, under the coercion of its cruel torture, give in and deny God’s name, and some of those people sign the “Three Statements” and are even forced to verbally insult God. There are quite a few such people. You have all heard a lot of rumors and negative propaganda and have also seen that after the great red dragon arrests believers in God, it brainwashes them—indeed, quite a few people have been misled. Furthermore, it also uses those who betray God to render service for it, having them monitor the church and follow and tail believers in God. In order to eradicate religious belief and eliminate God’s church, the great red dragon treats the suppression and arrest of God’s chosen people as important national work, as a political mission, and carries it out with great thoroughness and effort. This causes many believers in God to feel afraid, so they dare not believe in God and dare not do their duty. Especially after hearing the rumors fabricated by the great red dragon, many people are misled. As for these rumors, God’s house has long since summarized them and discerned them, so there is no need to discuss them here. If you truly encounter being arrested, and the great red dragon uses these rumors to try to brainwash you, forces you to take a stance, and forces you to sign the “Three Statements,” what should you do? You now know that the rumors fabricated by the great red dragon are all false, misleading, and deceptive. Although your attitude is to not listen to, not look at, and not believe them, if these rumors were placed before you, causing you to hear them, see them, and even think they were factual, would you be swayed? What would you think in your heart? Would you want to know the truth about the facts? Would you want to verify them? As for the great red dragon fabricating rumors to mislead and intimidate people, or using rumors and atheism to brainwash people and conduct ideological work, do we need to fellowship the truth to inoculate people? Is this a necessary item of work? Some people say, “The great red dragon has been fabricating rumors about us for so many years, especially the rumors about Christ, about the man used by the Holy Spirit, and about the church and the church’s work. We have never clarified them, never come forward to make our attitude or viewpoint clear, never made any defense—is this appropriate?” Some people, from the time they began to believe in God until now, have never been able to clearly discern the various rumors of the great red dragon and the religious world. In their hearts, they have always had a question mark concerning these things. This question mark doesn’t mean complete disbelief, nor complete belief; instead, it means that they take a middle-ground stance to view these matters, thinking that these things might all be rumors fabricated by the great red dragon, or they might be facts. Does this “might be” reflect a perspective of seeking the truth? (No.) This is a perspective of believing that the rumors need to be verified and confirmed, or a perspective of waiting and observing, waiting for informed people to disclose some real circumstances. Tell Me, what consequences do you think will result from people having either of these two perspectives? Are such people in danger? Which of these two perspectives can enable people to stand firm? (Neither of these two perspectives can enable people to stand firm. If someone has this “might be” thought, it shows that they are still not certain about the true way and still have elements of skepticism within them. In this case, rumors become a great temptation for them. If people cannot be certain about the true way, cannot believe in the truth, and cannot see through to the essence of the great red dragon, they are actually in great danger.) These people, to this day, are still not certain about the true way. What is their essence? (In essence, they are disbelievers.) They are disbelievers. Are there many people who hold either of these two perspectives? Certainly, there are quite a few. When these people hear rumors, they develop doubts about God in their hearts and want to get to the bottom of the rumors, to figure out whether they are true or false. However, because they do not know how to seek the truth to resolve this matter, in the end, they simply let it remain unresolved. In fact, this problem still exists in their hearts, and does not get resolved. When you hear these rumors, do you seek the truth? Do you seek the truth to dissect and discern the rumors, or do you examine the rumors one by one to distinguish whether they are correct or incorrect and see whether they are actually true or false? After you hear the rumors, you think in your heart only that they are untrue, that this is purely the great red dragon fabricating rumors and carrying out a smear campaign, but you do not refute them based on the truth and facts, and actually you still have some doubts in your heart and simply use these doctrinal statements to resolve your doubts. Can thinking like this enable you to stand firm? Is this seeking the truth? Does this show you understand the truth and have gained the truth? Has the problem been resolved at its root? (No.) So, do you want to use the truth to resolve this problem, so that you can discern these rumors, not be misled, have no questions whatsoever in your heart, and completely eliminate your doubts, suspicions, and guardedness toward Me? Some people think, “From the time we began to believe in God until now, we have been listening to Your sermons and accepting Your watering and shepherding, and we have made some gains and progress. But we have not actually lived with You or had real contact with You as a person. So, we are totally in the dark and uninformed about what kind of person You are, what Your personality and character are like, and what kind of life You lead.” That is, when it comes to the various manifestations and revelations of the humanity of this flesh, as well as My life, and My attitude and specific manifestations in dealing with people and matters, people have always attached question marks to these things and harbored misgivings toward them. In one regard, people harboring these misgivings stems from people themselves not being 100% certain about the incarnation of God, and in another regard it stems from people being influenced by the rumors of the religious world or the great red dragon because their understanding of the truth is too shallow. Thus, you have many speculations about Me. Of course, the content of these speculations is certainly not positive or proper; it certainly contains some dark and negative elements. Harboring these speculations—is this a good thing or a bad thing for you? Is it an encumbrance, a bondage, or an impetus? What do you think? (If people have these negative speculations in their hearts, it is not a good thing but an encumbrance. It will cause people to be guarded toward God; it will not do anything to help their belief in God.) What impact do these negative things have on you? What consequences will they cause? In certain environments, are these things dangerous for you? (Yes.) Since these things are an encumbrance and not a good thing for you, should you use the truth to resolve them? Or should you set them aside, not bother with them, and not think about them, waiting until some issue actually arises to address them? What is your attitude? (When I heard rumors, I did set them aside and did not bother with them. But just now, through God’s fellowship, I have realized that when these problems arise, they must be resolved with the truth. Otherwise, one cannot lay down this encumbrance in one’s heart, and in certain situations, it can lead to bad consequences, even to being skeptical of God and denying God, which is very dangerous.) Although you say out loud that these are rumors, if you never truly discern these rumors or have the correct attitude toward them, and always carry these negative things in your heart, then you will often be constrained by them. These rumors will be a ticking time bomb for you, ready to explode at any moment and any place. The consequences of this will undoubtedly be unimaginable, and you will be blown to smithereens. Aren’t those who sign the “Three Statements” the ones who have detonated the bomb and blown themselves to smithereens? After they sign the “Three Statements,” the great red dragon still does not let up. It demands that they must verbally say a few things that insult God, and only then can the matter be considered settled. Although they are unwilling in their hearts, they feel they have no choice, and capitulate to Satan to avoid imprisonment. After verbally insulting God, they feel that their hope of receiving blessings is gone, that they are completely done for. They no longer need to think about whether those rumors are true or false, and the worries, concerns, timidity, and dread they have carried for many years of believing in God completely disappear. At the same time, their hope for salvation is also shattered. Tell Me, even if people are skeptical of God incarnate or of this stream, should they insult God? (No.) When the great red dragon tells you to insult God, why do you obey it? No matter who it is, even if one denies the true way, denies this stream, they still should not insult God. What kind of people are those who insult God? (People who can insult God are those who have evil humanity and also those who have a particular hatred for the truth and submit to Satan’s influence.) Tell Me, if people truly believe in their hearts that God exists, believe that God is the Creator, that humankind was created by God, that human life is granted by God, and that God is sovereign over all things, would they insult God? (No.) They never would. No matter the circumstances, they would not insult God. Even if they are skeptical of the name Almighty God or of this stream which is the work of Almighty God, they would absolutely never insult God. So, the kind of person who can insult God not only denies this stream and denies Almighty God incarnate but they also deny God’s work and the truth expressed by God. To what category do people of this type belong, then? (They are devils; they are people who deny God in their hearts.) People of this type are part of the gang of Satan and devils; they are not God’s chosen people, not God’s sheep—they are non-human. Some people, after being arrested by the great red dragon, because they do not understand the truth and have no discernment, become doubtful when they hear rumors. They develop doubts about God incarnate, and under threats, inducements, and the coercion of cruel torture, they deny God’s name, deny this stream which is the work of the Holy Spirit, and deny the church. This already amounts to betraying God. But some people can even insult God—this is utterly lacking conscience and reason, it is unforgivable, and it is committing an unpardonable sin. When you insult people, or attack, judge, or defame them, in legal terms this would at most be defined as the offense of defamation or, in the most severe cases, a personal attack. It is not really serious and does not result in death. However, when someone can insult God, the nature of the problem changes. It is no longer simply insulting God—it is blaspheming against God! What does it mean to blaspheme? It means directly attacking, defaming, insulting, or slandering positive things, the truth, or God—these all constitute blasphemy. God is holy, God is supreme, God is sovereign over all humankind, God is the One who provides life for humankind, and God is the source of human life. God’s essence, identity, and status are supreme. God is perfect, good, and holy, He is faultless and beyond reproach. Precisely because God is holy, perfect, and supreme, and because God is the source that provides life for humankind, any slander, attack, or insult directed toward God by created humankind constitutes blasphemy. You ought to understand what “blasphemy” is now, right? (Any attack, insult, or slander directed toward God constitutes blasphemy.) If the word “blasphemy” is to be explained, it means slander, judgment, or condemnation of positive things, and it is especially the slander, judgment, or condemnation of the truth or God. This is called blasphemy. Therefore, the word “blasphemy” can only be used to describe humankind’s slander, insults, attacks, or judgment toward God—this is relatively apt. When people judge, insult, attack, or condemn other people, if it does not align with the facts, it is, at most, defamation. If it aligns with the facts, then it does not constitute defamation. However, people’s judgment and condemnation of God is a twisting of the facts and turning truth into falsehood—this constitutes blasphemy. What is the nature of people daring to condemn God? Does God have sin? (No.) God is holy, God is without sin, so any slander, attack, judgment, or insult directed toward God is called blasphemy. Those who insult God think, “As long as I say a few things that insult god, I can be released and escape danger. Given the circumstances, god won’t remember this.” From a human perspective, it’s just a few insults, which don’t seem to be a big problem. But how does God view this matter? That you can insult God shows that you have already denied God in your heart. It is only because you harbor hatred in your heart toward God that you can insult Him. Whether you proactively insult God or are forced to insult Him by others, it is a manifestation of denying God and hating God. Therefore, this sort of behavior and action is blasphemy, to a T.

Some people can never let go of various rumors, always thinking that they might be true. They always want to verify whether the rumors spread by the great red dragon that is the ruling party, the religious world, and nonbelievers—especially those rumors and remarks posted online—are true. If God were to never make His stance known or His house were not to provide any clarification, they would fully believe these rumors were true, and would deny God and betray God—what is the problem here? Just on what basis do they believe in God? If their belief is based on whether the rumors are true, then that is a huge mistake. In fact, many rumors have already been very clearly dissected and refuted in the sermons and fellowships, and films of God’s house; there is no need for Me to go into detail here. So which types of rumors do you still want to verify? Let’s lay this topic bare today. If you want to verify rumors, I’ll tell you what I have to say about them, so that some people won’t keep thinking, “Are You hiding something from us that You don’t want us to know? We always feel like we can’t fully figure You out. Although we have followed You and heard so many truths, we still feel uncertain in our hearts about whether the rumors are true or false, so we always have the idea and thought of verifying them.” If you want to verify them, say so boldly. Let’s openly talk about this matter. I’ll tell you what I have to say about them—there’s nothing to hide. Does anyone want to verify them? (No.) Is the reason you don’t want to verify them established on the foundation that you don’t believe the great red dragon’s rumors, or is it because you have an attitude of, “I don’t want to bother with this matter—I’ll just let it be”? Or is it because you are afraid that after verifying the rumors, you will be disappointed and unable to face the result, and you don’t know if you can stand firm, and you don’t want to face such consequences? Regardless of what the content of these rumors is, whether or not you want to verify them, whether or not you want to hear what I have to say about these rumors or My comment on them, and regardless of what your attitude is, I have only one attitude: If you understand the truth, you will naturally be able to discern these rumors; if you do not understand the truth and do not seek the truth, then I have no comment. This is because I have spoken so many words expressing the truth; I have no need to explain these rumors to you—this is not the work I should do. Can you still not discern the rumors even after listening to so many sermons? If you cannot, it means you do not understand the truth. No matter how much is said to someone who does not understand the truth, it is useless—it is like speaking to nonbelievers; no matter how much you say, they will not understand. Therefore, I have no comment when it comes to any rumors! I do not want to explain anything, nor do I want to say anything, nor do I want to justify or defend anything. No matter what is being said in the outside world, I have no comment! Have you heard this clearly? (Yes.) “No comment”—this is a kind of attitude. Additionally, what is it that I want to say to you regarding this matter? It is that, no matter when, God’s identity and essence will not change, God’s status will not change, God’s disposition will not change, God’s authority and power will not change, the fact that God is sovereign over humankind and provides life for them will not change, the fact of God’s incarnation will not change, and the fact that God is the truth, the way, and life will never change. Are these words sufficient to resolve your doubts? (Yes.) This is all I have to say to you about this matter. If you understand, then accept it. If you do not understand, then take your time to ponder it. If you still have doubts in your heart and these words cannot resolve your doubts, then there’s nothing more I can do. Just let things take their course. This is all I can say and do for you. Is this approach appropriate? (Yes.) Can these words have a certain effect on people? When faced with various complicated matters, if a crack appears in the relationship between you and God, or if you develop serious doubts about God, and these words cannot resolve the problem you are currently facing, then you are a disbeliever. What you accept is not the truth but Satan’s lies and whatever devilish words Satan speaks. It’s just like with Adam and Eve at the beginning—God said, “You may eat of every tree in the garden, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it, you shall surely die.” They kept God’s words in their hearts after listening to them. But when Satan said to them, “God said you shall not eat of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil—this is not necessarily true. If you eat it, you will not surely die,” Adam and Eve immediately became doubtful. They abandoned God’s words and believed the serpent’s words. They suspected that what God said was a lie. Because of what the serpent said, they no longer believed God or obeyed God but completely followed the serpent’s lies. It is plain to see what the final consequence of this was. While believing and accepting what the serpent said to them, they were also denying what God had said, thinking that what God said was a lie. They no longer believed that God’s words were true, and they no longer believed in God’s identity and essence. Instead, they were skeptical of God, suspecting that He had ulterior motives in regard to them and was deceiving them with lies. Conversely, they believed that what the serpent said was true and that the serpent was speaking for their benefit. The final consequence was that they were seduced by the serpent and corrupted by Satan. They strayed from God’s care, lost God’s protection, and embarked on a path of no return.

Has the problem of rumors been resolved for you? If it has not been resolved, slowly process it yourselves. As for how to treat rumors, I have already fellowshipped plenty. If there are still people who cannot see through various rumors and cannot discern them, fellowship about this and resolve it yourselves. Although this matter does not count as a major one, in people’s daily lives it is something that can often disturb their minds and disturb their lives. Although some rumors do not go so far as to take your life immediately, they are also a kind of harassment to you, like a pesky fly that does not bite people but disgusts them—they emerge from time to time to disturb you. Especially when you are weak, when you face failure or setbacks, or are negative, these rumors and devilish words will emerge to disturb you, to torment you in your heart, pulling you back, making you sink down little by little. It is in just this way that some people have withdrawn and stopped believing. You see, the people sent to B groups or to ordinary churches are in great danger—but are the people who do duty full-time not in danger? Some of them are also in great danger. Which group among them? The group of people who continually fail to understand the truth. However many of God’s words they have heard, they do not understand them. In their hearts, they are always doubtful: “Why can I not make out which of God’s words are the truth? Everyone says that the truth is the way, the life—why do I not feel it is the life? I have also heard many of God’s words, but the life within me has not changed; I am still me, I have not changed!” They never understand what the truth is, never understand God’s work, and they always remain unclear about visions. Such people are in danger. People of this kind, when hearing rumors, never seek the truth to discern them; they only know to evade and reject rumors. If they can evade them, they luckily avoid disaster; if they cannot evade them, they are captured by Satan. Tell Me, is it a coincidence that such people can be captured by Satan? (No.) Those who never understand the truth, who never understand what believing in God is—are these people God’s sheep? Can they understand God’s words? (They cannot.) These people never understand God’s words, nor do they seek the truth; and they are always concerned with: “When will God’s day come? When will we enter the kingdom of heaven?” Regarding the things people ought to understand in believing in God, they have understood none of them. Just how muddleheaded can they be! Tell Me, when I speak to this kind of muddleheaded person, what feeling do I have in My heart? Is it honor or sorrow? Or is it a feeling of indignation? Seeing these people makes Me irritated. What can these muddleheaded fools gain by believing in God? After the great red dragon arrests and brainwashes them, they are revealed and eliminated. These people do not understand the truth in the slightest, and God’s house does not want such people. It is through the great red dragon that they are revealed and eliminated. Tell Me, is this unloving? (No.) If such people were not arrested by the great red dragon, and without these rumors misleading them, would they always cling to the church? What circumstances can cause them to withdraw? (It is precisely through the rumors of the great red dragon. After they hear the rumors and believe them, they withdraw.) It is precisely through the demonic claws of the great red dragon, this foil, that they are captured and end up no longer believing. In fact, these people cannot comprehend the truth, cannot do any duty, and cannot render any service. In God’s house, they are merely making up the numbers, freeloading and waiting for death. Each one of them is in a pathetic state, yet they claim to be followers of God, to be God’s chosen people—are they not disgraceful? Those who follow God must at least be humans, not dead people without spirit, not beasts. They must be people who can understand the words God says. Only those who can understand God’s words and understand the truth are God’s sheep. Only God’s sheep can sincerely do their duty and follow God. Those who are not God’s sheep are not sincere followers. They infiltrate the church with a purpose, which is to gain blessings. There is no God in their hearts. No matter how many years they believe, they can never possibly have a God-fearing heart. Devils, Satans, and those possessed by unclean spirits and evil spirits also know that this is the true way, and they also desire blessings. But does God want such people? (He does not.) Various evil spirits and unclean spirits possess animals, and after they undergo many years of cultivation and become supernatural beings, they always want to turn into humans. They are unwilling to remain as unclean spirits, evil spirits, or various animal spirits; they want to rise to a higher level—to be human. Similarly, these muddleheaded fools also want to elevate their rank, wanting to be God’s chosen people. Tell Me, does God want such people? He does not. Even if they infiltrate the church, it will be in vain; they must be cleansed away no matter what. Once they are cleansed away, God’s house will be pure, and the church will be pure. Those who remain must at least be people who acknowledge God’s identity and essence, who acknowledge that God is the truth, the way, and the life, and who can willingly render service for God. Can those muddleheaded fools achieve this? They fall far short of achieving this. They are all dead people without spirit, yet they always want blessings, always want to enter the kingdom, always want to go to heaven. Their ambition and desire are not small, but they do not even look at what they are—they overestimate themselves! It is right that such people are eliminated. Do you feel it is a pity? (No.) From the beginning, God said, “What I want is excellence in people, rather than greatness in their numbers.” This is God’s required standard for His chosen people, as well as a requirement and principle regarding the number of people in the church. “What I want is excellence in people”—here, does “excellence” refer to the good soldiers of the kingdom or to overcomers? Neither is accurate. “Excellence,” to put it accurately, refers to those who possess normal humanity, those who are truly human. In God’s house, if you can do duties that a human ought to, if you can be used as a human being, and if you can fulfill a human’s responsibilities, duties, and obligations without others pulling you, dragging you, or pushing you, and you are not useless trash, not a freeloader, not a loafer—you can shoulder the responsibilities and obligations of a human and shoulder the mission of a human—only this is being up to standard as a human! Can those loafers and those who do not attend to proper tasks shoulder the mission of a human? (No.) Some people are unwilling to shoulder responsibility; others cannot shoulder it—they are useless trash. Those who cannot shoulder the responsibilities of a human cannot be called human. Look at those who are intellectually disabled, idiotic, cerebrally palsied, or physically paralyzed—can they be called standard human beings? (They cannot.) Why not? Such people have no ability to live, no ability to survive, and no ability to care for themselves. They rely entirely on others for assistance and care, live without the ability to support themselves, and are unable to shoulder the responsibilities and obligations of a human. Those who are unable to shoulder their own duty in God’s house are not normal humans, and God does not want them. Whether you are a leader or worker, or doing specific work involving professional skills, you must be able to shoulder the work you’re responsible for. Beyond being able to manage your own life and survival, your existence is not merely about breathing, not about eating, drinking, and having fun, but about being able to shoulder the mission God has given you. Only such people are worthy of being called created beings and worthy of being called human. Those in God’s house who always want to freeload and always try to bluff their way through, hoping to finagle themselves through to the end and gain blessings, cannot shoulder any work or any responsibility, let alone any mission. Such people must be eliminated, and it is not a pity. This is because what is being eliminated is not human—they are not qualified to be called human. You may call them useless people, loafers, or idlers; in any case, they are not worthy of being called human. When you assign them work, they cannot complete it independently; and when you assign them a task, they cannot shoulder their responsibility or fulfill the obligation they ought to—such people are done for. They are unworthy of living; they deserve death. God sparing their lives is already His grace, it is an exceptional favor.

Regarding the topic of rumors, we will stop here. If you still have any problems, you can bring them up and fellowship on them or seek the truth to resolve them by yourselves. We will not speak about it anymore, okay? Does anyone have any objections? (No.) If there are any problems that I have not discussed, then you can think of a way to resolve them by yourselves. In this matter, I have fulfilled My responsibility. Suppose someone says, “We have not yet received the answer we want; are those rumors true or false? Please give us a clear answer.” Even if I give you a clear answer, what problem could it resolve? That’s why I say you should find this answer by yourselves. I have no comment on this. It all depends on whether you have discernment. Those who have gained the truth will never be misled. In fact, these rumors have revealed many people. Those who have believed in God for years but have not gained the truth have all been revealed—this is God’s wisdom. This is My answer. Do you understand? (Yes.) So, what is it that I want to tell you? What I want to say is all in the volumes of The Word Appears in the Flesh and in all the sermons. These words are what I want to say to you. Aren’t they enough? (They are.) If some people still insist, saying, “Then, regarding the rumors, do You have any answer?” I say no, I still have no comment. I’ve already said a lot of what I want to say in all the sermons. If you are willing to seek the truth, and you can accept and abide by these words, then your problems will be resolved. If you do not accept these words, then your problems will forever remain problems. I have fulfilled My responsibility; it has nothing to do with Me anymore. Have you heard clearly? (Yes.)