Next, let us speak of the fourth kind of disposition. During gatherings, some people can fellowship a little on their own states, but when it comes to the essence of issues, to their personal motives and ideas, they become evasive. When people expose them as having motives and aims, they appear to nod and admit to it. But when people try to expose or dissect anything deeper, they can’t stand it, they get up and leave. Why, at the crucial moment, do they slip away? (They do not accept the truth and are unwilling to face their own problems.) This is a problem of disposition. When they are unwilling to accept the truth in order to solve the problems within them, does this not mean they are averse to the truth? What kinds of sermons are some leaders and workers least willing to hear? (Sermons on how to discern antichrists and false leaders.) Correct. They think, “All this talk of identifying antichrists and false leaders, and about Pharisees—why do you go on about this so much? You’re stressing me out.” Hearing that there will be talk of identifying false leaders and workers, they find any excuse to leave. What is meant by “leave” here? This refers to slipping away, to hiding. Why do they try to hide? When other people speak facts, you should listen: Listening is good for you. Note down the things that are harsh or that you find hard to accept; then you should think on these things often, take them in slowly, and change slowly. So why hide? Such people feel that these words of judgment are too harsh and that they are not easy to hear, so resistance and antipathy develop within them. They say to themselves, “I am not an antichrist or false leader—why keep going on about me? Why not talk about other people? Say something about identifying evil people, don’t talk about me!” They become evasive and oppositional. What disposition is this? If they are unwilling to accept the truth, and always reasoning and arguing in defense of themselves, is there not the problem of a corrupt disposition here? This is a disposition of being averse to the truth. Leaders and workers have this kind of state, so what about ordinary brothers and sisters? (They do, too.) When everyone first meets, they are all so loving and quite happy to parrot words and doctrines. They all seem to love the truth. But when it comes to personal problems and real difficulties, many people go dumb. For example, some people are constantly constrained by marriage. They become unwilling to do a duty or pursue the truth, and marriage becomes their largest obstacle and greatest encumbrance. At gatherings, when everyone is fellowshipping on this state, they match the others’ words of fellowship against themselves and feel they are talking about them. They say, “I have no problem with you fellowshipping the truth, but why bring up me? Do you not have any problems? Why only talk about me?” What disposition is this? When you gather to fellowship the truth, you must dissect real issues and allow everyone to speak on their understanding of these problems; only then are you able to know yourselves and solve your problems. Why can’t people accept this? What disposition is it when people are incapable of accepting being pruned, and cannot accept the truth? Shouldn’t you discern this clearly? These are all the manifestations of being averse to the truth—this is the essence of the problem. When people are averse to the truth, it is very difficult for them to accept the truth—and if they cannot accept the truth, can the problem of their corrupt disposition be fixed? (No.) So someone like this, someone who is incapable of accepting the truth—are they able to obtain the truth? Can they be saved by God? Definitely not. Do people who don’t accept the truth sincerely believe in God? Absolutely not. The most important aspect of people who truly believe in God is being able to accept the truth. People who cannot accept the truth absolutely do not sincerely believe in God. Are such people able to sit still during a sermon? Are they able to gain anything? They cannot. This is because sermons expose people’s various corrupt states. Through the dissection of God’s words, people gain knowledge, and then, by going on to fellowship the principles of practice, they are given a path to practice, and in this way an effect is achieved. When such people hear that the state that is being exposed relates to them—that it relates to their own issues—their shame drives them into a fit of rage, and they may even get up and leave the gathering. Even if they don’t leave, they may start to feel irritated and wronged inside, in which case there is no point in them attending the gathering or listening to the sermon. Is the purpose of listening to sermons not to understand the truth and solve one’s own real problems? If you are always afraid of your own problems being exposed, if you are constantly fearful of being mentioned, why believe in God at all? If in your faith you can’t accept the truth, you don’t really believe in God. If you are always afraid of being exposed, how are you going to be able to resolve your problem of corruption? If you can’t resolve your problem of corruption, what is the point in believing in God? The purpose of faith in God is to accept God’s salvation, cast off your corrupt disposition, and live out the likeness of a true human being, all of which are achieved through accepting the truth. If you can’t accept the truth at all, or even being pruned or exposed, then you have no way of attaining God’s salvation. So tell Me: In each church, how many are there who can accept the truth? Are those who cannot accept the truth many or few? (Many.) Is this a situation that really exists among the chosen ones in the churches, is it a real problem? All those who are unable to accept the truth and unable to accept being pruned, are averse to the truth. Being averse to the truth is a kind of corrupt disposition, and if this disposition cannot be changed, can they be saved? Certainly not. Today, many people have a hard time accepting the truth. It is by no means easy. To resolve this, a person has to experience some of God’s judgment, chastisement, trials, and refinement. So what do you say: What disposition is it when people are incapable of accepting being pruned, when they do not compare themselves to God’s word or the states exposed during sermons? (A disposition of being averse to the truth.) This is the fourth corrupt disposition: being averse to the truth. How averse are they? (They do not wish to read God’s words, or listen to sermons, and do not wish to fellowship the truth.) These are the most obvious manifestations. When someone says, for example, “You truly believe in God. You have put aside family and career to perform a duty, and have suffered much and paid a considerable price over the past several years. God blesses such people. God’s word says that those who sincerely expend for God shall be greatly blessed,” you say amen and accept such truths. However, when the person goes on to say, “But you must keep striving for the truth! If people always have motives in what they do, and always run amok in accordance with their own intentions, then sooner or later they shall offend God and incur His loathing,” when they say things like this, you can’t accept it. Hearing the truth being fellowshipped, you are not only incapable of accepting it, but also grow angry, and in your mind, you retort: “You spend all day fellowshipping the truth, but I haven’t seen any of you go to heaven.” What disposition is this? (Being averse to the truth.) When talk turns to practice, when people get serious with you, there is exhibited in you the utmost repulsion, impatience, and resistance. This is being averse to the truth. And how is the kind of disposition that is being averse to the truth chiefly manifested? In refusing to accept being pruned. Not accepting being pruned is one kind of state manifested by this kind of disposition. In their hearts, these people are especially resistant when they are pruned. They think, “I don’t want to hear it! I don’t want to hear it!” or, “Why not prune other people? Why pick on me?” What is the meaning of being averse to the truth? Being averse to the truth is when a person is completely uninterested in anything connected to positive things, to the truth, to what God asks, or to God’s will. Sometimes they feel repulsed by these things, sometimes they are aloof to them, sometimes they are irreverent and indifferent, and treat them as unimportant, and they are insincere and cursory toward them, or take no responsibility for them. The chief manifestation of being averse to the truth is not just people feeling repulsed when they hear the truth. It also includes unwillingness to practice the truth, shrinking back when the time comes to practice the truth, as if the truth has nothing to do with them. When some people fellowship during gatherings, they seem very animated, they like repeating words and doctrines and making lofty statements to mislead and win others over. They seem full of energy and in high spirits as they do this, and they go on and on endlessly. Others, meanwhile, spend all day from morning to night busy with matters of faith, reading God’s words, praying, listening to hymns, taking notes, as if they cannot be apart from God for even a moment. From dawn till dusk, they busy themselves with the performance of their duty. Do these people really love the truth? Do they not have the disposition of being averse to the truth? When can their true state be seen? (When the time comes to practice the truth, they run away, and they are not willing to accept being pruned.) Could this be because they don’t understand what they hear or is it because they don’t understand the truth that they are unwilling to accept it? The answer is neither of these. They are governed by their nature. This is a problem of disposition. In their hearts, these people know full well that God’s words are the truth, that they are positive, and that practicing the truth can bring about changes in people’s dispositions and make them able to satisfy God’s will—but they do not accept them or put them into practice. This is being averse to the truth. In whom have you seen the disposition of being averse to the truth? (The nonbelievers.) The nonbelievers are averse to the truth, that is very clear. God has no way of saving such people. So among the believers of God, in what matters have you seen people being averse to the truth? It may be that when you fellowshipped the truth with them, they did not stand up and leave, and when the fellowship touched upon their own difficulties and issues, they faced them correctly—and yet they still have the disposition of being averse to the truth. Where can this be seen? (They often hear sermons, but they don’t put the truth into practice.) People who do not put the truth into practice unquestionably have the disposition of being averse to the truth. Some people are occasionally able to put into practice a little of the truth, so do they have the disposition of being averse to the truth? Such a disposition is likewise found in those who practice the truth, just to varying degrees. Your being able to practice the truth does not mean you do not have a disposition of being averse to the truth. Practicing the truth does not mean your life disposition has changed immediately—that is not the case. You must resolve the problem of your corrupt disposition, this is the only way to attain change in your life disposition. Practicing the truth on one occasion does not mean you no longer have a corrupt disposition. You are capable of practicing the truth in one area, but you are not necessarily able to practice the truth in other areas. The contexts and reasons involved are different, but what’s most important is that a corrupt disposition does exist, which is the root of the problem. Therefore, once a person’s disposition has changed, all of their difficulties, pretexts and excuses involved in practicing the truth—these problems are all fixed, and all of their rebelliousness, defects, and faults are solved. If people’s dispositions do not change, they will always have difficulty practicing the truth, and there will always be pretexts and excuses. If you wish to be able to practice the truth and submit to God in all things, there must first be a change in your disposition. Only then will you be able to solve problems at their roots.

What is the disposition of being averse to the truth mainly in reference to? Let us first discuss a type of state. Some people have a strong interest in listening to sermons, and the more they listen to fellowship on the truth the brighter their hearts become and the more elated they become. They have an attitude of positivity and proactivity. Does this prove they do not have the disposition of being averse to the truth? (No.) For example, some children aged seven or eight are interested when they hear about faith in God, and they always read God’s word and attend gatherings with their parents, and some people say, “This child does not have a disposition of being averse to the truth, they are very clever, they were born to believe in God, they were chosen by God.” They may well have been chosen by God, but these words are only half right. This is because they are still young, and the direction of their pursuit and their aims in life have yet to take shape. When their outlooks on life and society have yet to take shape, it can be said that their young souls love positive things, but you cannot say that they do not have a disposition of being averse to the truth. Why do I say this? They are of a young age. Their humanity is still immature, they lack any experience, their horizons are limited, and they do not understand, at all, what the truth is. They merely have a taste for positive things. You cannot say that they love the truth, much less that they are possessed of the truth reality. What’s more, children have no experience and so nobody can see just what is hidden within their hearts, what kind of nature essence they have. Simply because they are interested in the faith in God and listening to sermons, people determine that they love the truth—which is a manifestation of ignorance and foolishness, because children have no knowledge of what the truth is, and so one can’t even mention the matter of whether they like the truth or are averse to the truth. Being averse to the truth mainly refers to a lack of interest and an antipathy toward the truth and positive things. Being averse to the truth is when people are able to understand the truth and know what positive things are, and yet still treat the truth and positive things with an attitude and state that is resistant, perfunctory, antipathetic, prevaricating, and indifferent. This is the disposition of being averse to the truth. Does this kind of disposition exist in everyone? Some people say, “Even though I know the word of God is the truth, I still don’t like it or accept it, or at least, I can’t accept it right now.” What is the matter here? This is being averse to the truth. The disposition inside them does not allow them to accept the truth. What specific manifestations are there of not accepting the truth? Some say, “I understand all the truths, but I just can’t put them into practice.” This reveals that this is a person who is averse to the truth, and that they don’t love the truth, and so they can’t put any truths into practice. Some people say, “That I have been able to earn so much money is something God holds sovereignty over. God has truly blessed me, God has been so good to me, God has given me great riches. My whole family is well-clothed and fed, and they want for neither clothes nor food.” Seeing that they have been blessed by God, these people thank God in their heart, they know that this was all ruled by God, and that if they had not been blessed by God—if they had relied on their own talents—they would absolutely not have earned all this money. This is what they really think in their heart, what they truly know, and they truly give thanks to God. But a day comes when their business fails, when times are hard for them, and they suffer poverty. Why is this? Because they are greedy for comfort, and give no thought to how to perform their duty properly, and they spend their whole time chasing after riches, becoming slaves to money, which affects their performance of their duty, and so God strips this from them. In their heart, they know that God has blessed them with so much, and given them so much, yet they have no desire to repay God’s love, they do not wish to go out and perform their duty, and are timid and constantly fearful of arrest, and they are afraid of losing all these riches and pleasures, and as a result, God strips these things from them. Their hearts are clear as a mirror, they know that God has taken these things from them, and that they are being disciplined by God, and so they pray to God and say, “Oh God! You blessed me once, so You can bless me a second time. Your existence is eternal, and so Your blessings are also with mankind. I give thanks to You! Whatever happens, Your blessings and promise shall not change. If You take from me, still I shall submit.” But the word “submit” rings hollow from their mouth. Their mouth says they can submit, but afterward, they think about it, and something doesn’t sit right with them: “Things used to be so good. Why did God take it all away? Wasn’t staying home and doing my duty the same as going out to do my duty? What was I delaying?” They are always reminiscing about the past. They have a kind of complaint and dissatisfaction toward God, and constantly feel depressed. Is God still in their heart? What is in their heart is money, material comforts, and those good times. God has no place whatsoever in their heart, He is no longer their God. Even though they know it is a truth that “God gave, and God has taken away,” they like the words that “God gave,” and are averse to the words that “God has taken away.” Clearly, their acceptance of the truth is selective. When God blesses them, they accept it as the truth—but as soon as God takes from them, they cannot accept it. They cannot accept such sovereignty from God, and instead they resist, and become disgruntled. When asked to perform their duty, they say, “I will if God gives me blessings and graces me. Without God’s blessings and with my family in such a state of poverty, how am I to perform my duty? I don’t want to!” What disposition is this? Though, in their heart, they personally experience God’s blessings, and how He has given them so much, they are unwilling to accept when God takes from them. Why is this? Because they cannot let go of money and their comfortable life. Though they may not have kicked up a big fuss about it, they may not have held out their hand to God, and they may not have tried to wrest back their former assets by relying on their own efforts, they have already become disheartened toward the actions of God, they are wholly incapable of acceptance, and say, “It is truly inconsiderate that God should act like this. It is beyond comprehension. How can I continue to believe in God? I no longer wish to acknowledge that He is God. If I do not acknowledge that He is God, He is not God.” Is this a kind of disposition? (Yes.) Satan has this kind of disposition, Satan denies God in this way. This kind of disposition is one of being averse to the truth and hating the truth. When people are averse to the truth to this extent, where does it lead them? It makes them oppose God and it makes them stubbornly oppose God to the very end—which means it is all over for them.

Just what is the nature of the disposition of being averse to the truth? People who are averse to the truth do not love positive things or anything that God does. Take God’s work of judgment during the last days, for example: No one wants to accept this work. Few people are willing to listen to sermons about God exposing people, condemning people, chastising people, testing people, refining people, chastening people, and disciplining people, yet they are happy to hear about God blessing people, exhorting people, and of His promises to people—no one rejects these things. It’s like during the Age of Grace, when God did the work of forgiving, pardoning, blessing and bestowing grace upon man, when He healed the sick and cast out demons, and made promises to people—people were willing to accept all that, they all praised Jesus for His great love of man. But now that the Age of Kingdom has arrived and God does the work of judgment, and expresses many truths, no one cares. No matter how God exposes and judges people, they do not accept it, and even say to themselves, “Could God do such a thing? Doesn’t God love man?” If they are pruned, chastened, or disciplined, they have even more notions, and say to themselves, “How is this the love of God? These words of judgment and condemnation are not loving at all, I do not accept them. I’m not that stupid!” This is the disposition of being averse to the truth. Upon hearing the truth, some people say, “What truth? This is just a theory. It seems so noble, so mighty, so holy—but these are just nice-sounding words.” Is this not the disposition of being averse to the truth? This is the disposition of being averse to the truth. Is this kind of disposition in you? (Yes.) What state did I just mention that you are most likely to fall prey to, that you see most commonly, and have the deepest appreciation of? (Not wanting to encounter difficulty when performing our duty, not wishing to be judged and chastised by God, wanting everything to go smoothly.) Refusing God’s sovereignty, refusing God’s discipline and chastening, clearly knowing that God is doing good in this but still resisting in your heart: this is one kind of manifestation. What else? (Being happy when we have been effective in performing our duty, and being negative, weak, and incapable of actively cooperating when we haven’t.) What kind of manifestation is this? (Intransigence.) You must be accurate about this. Do not get confused and make blind assertions. Sometimes, people’s states are highly complex; they are not simply one kind, but two or three mixed together. How do you define it then? Sometimes, one disposition will reveal itself in two states, sometimes in three, but despite these states being different, at the end of the day this is still one kind of disposition. You must understand this disposition of being averse to the truth, and you should probe into what the manifestations of being averse to the truth are. In this way, you will be able to truly understand this disposition of being averse to the truth. You are averse to the truth. You know full well that something is right—it doesn’t necessarily have to be the words of God or the truth principles, and sometimes it is positive things, correct things, correct words, correct suggestions—yet you still say, “This is not the truth, these are simply the correct words. I don’t want to listen—I do not listen to the words of people!” What disposition is this? There is arrogance, intransigence, and being averse to the truth here—all these kinds of dispositions are present. Each kind of disposition can produce many kinds of states. One state can relate to several different dispositions. You must be clear about what kinds of dispositions these states are produced by. In this way, you will be able to discern the various kinds of corrupt dispositions.

Of the four kinds of corrupt dispositions on which we have just fellowshipped, any one of them is enough to condemn people to death—is it going too far to say that? (No.) How do people’s corrupt dispositions come about? They all come from Satan. People become imbued with all of the heresies and fallacies released by Satan, devils, and famous and eminent individuals, and thus these various corrupt dispositions come into being. Are these dispositions positive or negative? (Negative.) On what basis do you say they are negative? (The truth.) Because these dispositions violate the truth and resist God, and they are in hostile opposition to God’s disposition and all that God has and is, therefore, if one of these corrupt dispositions is found in people, they become a person that resists God. If every one of these four dispositions is found within a person, then this is troublesome and they have become an enemy of God, and they are destined for certain death. No matter what disposition it is, if you weigh it up using the truth, you will see that the essence each manifests is all directed against God, in resistance to God, and in enmity toward God. Therefore, if your dispositions do not change, then you will not be compatible with God, you will hate the truth and you will be an enemy of God.

Next let us talk about the fifth kind of disposition. I’m going to give you an example, and you can try to figure out just what kind of disposition this is. Imagine two people are talking, and one of them is overly direct in what they say, and so the other person takes offense. In their mind, they’re thinking, “Why are you being so hurtful to my pride? Do you think I let people pick on me?” and so a hatred develops within them. In reality, this problem is easy to resolve. If one person has said something to hurt another person, so long as the speaker apologizes to the listener, the matter will pass. But if the offended party can’t let this matter go and for them, “it is never too late for a gentleman to take his revenge,” what disposition is this? (Maliciousness.) That’s right—this is maliciousness, and this is a person with a vicious disposition. In the church, some people are pruned because they don’t do their duty properly. The things said when pruning a person often involve that person being reprimanded and perhaps even scolded. This will certainly upset them, and they will want to look for excuses and answer back. They say things like, “Although you pruned me by saying things that are correct, some of what you said was really offensive, and you humiliated me and hurt my feelings. I’ve believed in God for all these years, working hard despite never making any contribution—how could I be treated like this? How come you don’t prune anyone else? I can’t accept this and I’m not putting up with it!” This is a kind of corrupt disposition, is it not? (Yes.) This corrupt disposition is only manifesting through complaints, disobedience, and antagonism, but it has yet to reach its peak, it has not reached its zenith, though it is already showing some signs, and it has already begun to reach the point where it is about to break through. What is their attitude soon after this? They are not submissive, they feel irritated and defiant and start acting out of spite. They start rationalizing: “The leaders and workers aren’t always right when they prune people. The rest of you might be able to accept it, but I can’t. That you can accept this is because you are stupid and wimpy. I don’t accept it! Let’s hash it out and see who’s right or wrong.” People then fellowship with them, saying, “Regardless of right or wrong, the first thing you must do is obey. Is it possible that the performance of your duty is not in the least bit tainted? Do you do everything right? Even if you do everything right, being pruned is still helpful for you! We’ve fellowshipped on the principles with you so many times, but you never listened and chose to just blindly do as you pleased, causing disturbances to the church’s work and bringing about massive losses, so how can you not face being pruned? The wording may be harsh, and it may be hard to hear, but that’s normal, isn’t it? So what are you arguing about? Should you just be allowed to do bad things without other people being allowed to prune you?” But will they be able to accept being pruned after hearing this? They won’t. They’ll just continue making excuses and resisting. What disposition did they reveal? Devilishness; it is a vicious disposition. What did they actually mean? “I don’t suffer people irritating me. No one should try and touch a hair on my head. If I show you that I’m not easy to mess with, you won’t dare prune me in the future. Won’t I have won then?” How about it? The disposition has been exposed, right? This is a vicious disposition. People with vicious dispositions are not just averse to the truth—they hate the truth! When they are subjected to pruning, they either try to flee, or they ignore it—in their hearts, they are incredibly hostile. It’s not simply a case of them coming up with excuses. That’s not their attitude at all. They are uncompliant and resistant, they even argue back like some harpy. In their hearts, they think, “I understand that you are trying to humiliate me and deliberately embarrass me, and though I do not dare contradict you to your face, I will find the chance to get my own back! You think you can just prune me and push me around? I’ll get everyone on my side, single you out, and then I’ll give you a taste of your own medicine!” This is what they’re thinking in their hearts; their vicious disposition has finally revealed itself. To achieve their aims and vent their spite, they do their utmost to come up with excuses that will allow them to justify themselves and get everyone on their side. Only then are they happy and mollified. This is malicious, is it not? This is a vicious disposition. When they have yet to be pruned, such people are like little lambs. When they are subjected to being pruned, or when their real self is exposed, they immediately change from a lamb to a wolf, and out comes their wolfishness. This is a vicious disposition, is it not? (Yes.) So why isn’t it visible most of the time? (They haven’t been provoked.) That’s right, they haven’t been provoked and their interests haven’t been endangered. It’s like how a wolf won’t eat you when it’s not hungry—could you then say it’s not a wolf? If you waited until it tried to eat you to call it a wolf, that would be too late, wouldn’t it? Even when it hasn’t tried to eat you, you should be vigilant at all times. The wolf not eating you does not mean it does not want to eat you, just that the time has not come yet—and when the time does arrive, its wolfish nature strikes. Being pruned reveals every kind of person. Some people think to themselves, “Why am I the only one being pruned? Why am I always being picked on? Do they see me as an easy target? I’m not the kind of person you can mess with!” What disposition is this? How could they be the only ones being pruned? This is not the way things really are. Who among you has not been pruned? All of you have. Sometimes leaders and workers are wayward and reckless in their work, or else they do not carry it out according to work arrangements—and most of them are pruned. This is done to protect the church’s work and to prevent people from going rogue. It is not done to target any specific individual. What they said is obviously a distortion of the facts, and this is also manifestation of a vicious disposition.

In what other ways is a vicious disposition manifested? How is it related to being averse to the truth? In fact, when being averse to the truth manifests itself in a serious way, bearing the attributes of resistance and judgment, this reveals a vicious disposition. Being averse to the truth includes a number of states, from lack of interest in the truth to an aversion to the truth, which progresses to judging God and condemning God. When being averse to the truth has reached a certain point, people are liable to deny God, to hate God, and to oppose God. These several states are a vicious disposition, are they not? (Yes.) Therefore, those who are averse to the truth have an even more serious state, and within this is a kind of disposition: the vicious disposition. For example, some people acknowledge that everything is ruled by God, but when God takes from them, and they suffer losses to their interests, they are not outwardly complaining or opposing, but inwardly they are without acceptance or submission. Theirs is the attitude of sitting passively and awaiting destruction—which is clearly the state of being averse to the truth. There is also another, even more serious state: They don’t sit passively and await destruction, but instead resist the arrangements and orchestrations of God, and resist God’s taking things away from them. How do they resist? (By disrupting and disturbing the work of the church, or else by sabotaging things, trying to set up their own kingdom.) That is one form. After some church leaders are replaced, they are always disrupting things and disturbing the church as they lead church life, they resist and disobey everything the newly chosen leader says, and they try to undermine them behind their back. What disposition is this? This is a vicious disposition. What they’re really thinking is, “If I can’t be a leader, then no one else can keep this position, I’ll chase them all off! If I force you out, I’ll be in charge like before!” This is not simply being averse to the truth, it is vicious! Jockeying for status, jockeying for territory, jockeying for personal interests and reputation, stopping at nothing for revenge, doing everything one can, employing all of one’s skills, doing everything possible to achieve one’s aims, to salvage one’s reputation, pride, and status, or else to satisfy one’s desire for revenge—all these are manifestations of viciousness. Some of the behaviors of a vicious disposition involve saying much that is disturbing and disruptive; some involve doing many bad things in order to achieve one’s aims. Whether in their words or actions, everything such people do is at odds with the truth, and in violation of the truth, and it is all a revelation of a vicious disposition. Some people are incapable of discerning these things. If the mistaken speech or behavior is not blatant, they can’t see it for what it is. But for people who understand the truth, everything that evil people say and do is evil, and could never contain anything that is right, or in line with the truth; these things these people say and do can be said to be 100 percent evil and are absolutely the revelations of a vicious disposition. What are evil people’s motivations before they reveal this vicious disposition? What kinds of goals are they trying to achieve? How can they do such things? Can you discern this? I’ll give you an example. Something happens at somebody’s home. It is placed under surveillance by the great red dragon, and they can’t go back, which pains them greatly. Some brothers and sisters take them in, and seeing how nice everything is in their hosts’ home, they think to themselves, “How come nothing has happened to your home? How come it happened to my home? That’s not fair. This won’t do, I must think of a way to make something happen to your home, so you can’t go home. I’ll give you a taste of the same hardship I suffered.” Regardless of whether they do anything or not, or whether or not this becomes a reality, or whether they achieve their aims, they still have this kind of intent. This is a kind of disposition, is it not? (Yes.) If they can’t live a good life, they won’t let other people do so, either. What disposition is this? (Maliciousness.) A vicious disposition—this person is nasty! They are, as the saying goes, rotten to the core. This describes just how vicious they are. What is the nature of such a disposition? Have a go at dissecting what, when this disposition is revealed in them, are their motivations, intents, and aims? What is the starting point of their revealing this disposition? What do they wish to achieve? Something happened at their own home, and they were being well provided for at their hosts’ home—so why would they want to mess this up? Are they only happy when they’ve messed things up for their hosts, so something happens at their hosts’ home and their hosts can’t go back, either? For their own sake, they should protect this place, stop anything from happening to it, and not harm their hosts, as harming them is the same as harming themselves. So just what exactly is their purpose in wanting to do this? (When things aren’t going well for them, they don’t want things to go well for anyone else, either.) This is called viciousness. What they’re thinking is, “My home has been destroyed by the great red dragon and now I don’t have a home. But you still have a nice warm home that you can go back to. This isn’t fair. I can’t stand to see you being able to go back home. I’m going to teach you a lesson. I’ll make it so you can’t go back home and you’re just like me. This’ll make things feel fair.” Is doing this not malicious and ill-intentioned? Of what nature is this? (Viciousness.) Everything that evil people say and do is done to achieve an aim. What kinds of things do they usually do? What are the most common things that people with vicious dispositions do? (They disrupt, disturb, and wreck the church’s work.) (They try to curry favor when they are face-to-face with people, but then they try to undermine people behind their backs.) (They attack people, are vengeful and maliciously lash out at people.) (They spread rumors and slander.) (They malign, judge, and condemn others.) The nature of these actions is to disturb and wreck the work of the church, and they are all manifestations of resisting and attacking God, all revelations of a vicious disposition. Those who are capable of doing these things are undoubtedly evil people, and all those who possess certain manifestations of a vicious disposition can be defined as evil people. What is the essence of an evil person? It is that of the devil, of Satan. This is no exaggeration. Are you capable of these actions? Which of these actions are you capable of? (Being judgmental.) So do you dare to attack or take revenge on people? (Sometimes I do have these kinds of thoughts, but don’t dare to act on them.) You just have these thoughts, but you dare not act on them. If someone of a lower status is hurtful toward you, would you dare take retribution? (Sometimes I would, I am capable of doing such things.) If this person were really formidable—if they were very articulate, and they hurt you—would you dare take retribution? Perhaps only a few would not be afraid to do this. People like this, people who pick on the weak but fear the strong, do they have vicious dispositions? (Yes.) No matter what kind of behavior it is, and who it is aimed at, if you are capable of performing the evil deed of retaliating against other brothers and sisters, this proves there is a vicious disposition within you. This vicious disposition doesn’t seem too different from the outside, but you must be able to distinguish it and you must be able to distinguish who you are targeting. If you are fierce toward Satan and you are able to subdue and humiliate Satan, is this considered a vicious disposition? It is not. This is standing up for what is right and being fearless in the face of one’s enemy. This is having a sense of justice. In what circumstances would this be considered a vicious disposition? If you were to bully, trample on, and humiliate good people or brothers and sisters, then this would be a vicious disposition. Therefore, you must be possessed of conscience and reason, approach people and matters with principles, be able to discern evil people and devils, have a sense of justice, you must be tolerant and patient toward God’s chosen people and brothers and sisters, and you must practice in accordance with the truth. This is totally right, and in line with God’s will. People with vicious dispositions do not treat people according to principles like this. If someone, no matter who it is, does something that is hurtful to them, they will try and get their own back—this is viciousness. There is no principle to the way evil people act. They do not seek the truth. Whether it’s acting out of personal spite, or picking on the weak and fearing the strong, or daring to take retribution on anyone, all of these pertain to a vicious disposition, and all of these constitute a corrupt disposition. Of this there is no doubt.

What is the most obvious manifestation of a person with a vicious disposition? It is when they encounter a guileless person who is easy to pick on and they start to pick on them and toy with them. This is a common phenomenon. When a person who is relatively kindhearted sees a person who is guileless and cowardly, they will feel a sense of compassion for them, and even if they can’t help them, they won’t bully them. When you see that one of your brothers or sisters is guileless, how do you treat them? Do you bully them or tease them? (I’d probably look down on them.) Looking down on people is a way of seeing them, of viewing them, a kind of mentality, but how you act and speak toward them involves your disposition. Tell Me, how do you act toward people who are timid and cowardly? (I order them about and pick on them.) (When I see them doing their duty wrong, I discriminate against them and exclude them.) These things you mention are manifestations of a vicious disposition and relate to people’s dispositions. There are many more of these things, so there’s no need to go into detail about them. Have you ever come across such a person, someone who wished death upon whoever offended them, and even prayed to God, asking Him to damn them, to wipe them from the face of the earth? Although no man has such power, in their heart they think about how good it would be if they did, or else they pray to God and ask that God do this. Do you have such thoughts in your heart? (When we are spreading the gospel and encounter evil people who attack us and report us to the police, I feel hateful toward them, and have thoughts like “the day will come when you are punished by God.”) That’s quite an objective case. You were attacked, you suffered, you felt pained, your personal integrity and self-respect were utterly trampled on—in such circumstances most people would have a hard time getting over it. (Some people spread rumors about our church online, they make many allegations, and it makes me really angry when I read them, and there is a lot of hatred in my heart.) Is this viciousness, or is it hot-headedness, or is this normal humanity? (It is normal humanity. Not hating demons and God’s enemies is not normal humanity.) That’s right. This is the revelation, manifestation, and response of normal humanity. If people do not hate negative things or love positive things, if they have no standards of conscience, then they are not people. Under these circumstances, what actions can a person perform to develop into a vicious disposition? If this hatred and loathing morphs into a certain kind of behavior, if you lose all reason, and your actions cross a certain red line for humanity, if you are even liable to kill them and break the law, then this is viciousness, it is acting in a hot-headed way. When people understand the truth, and are able to discern evil people, and they hate wickedness, this is normal humanity. But if people handle things in a hot-headed way, they are acting without principles. Is this any different from committing evil? (Yes.) There is a difference. If a person is extremely bad, extremely vicious, extremely evil, extremely immoral, and you feel great antipathy toward them, and this antipathy reaches the point that you ask God to curse them, then this is okay. But is it okay if God does not act after you have prayed two or three times and you take matters into your own hands? (No.) You can pray to God and express your views and opinions, then search for the truth principles, in which case you will be able to handle things correctly. But you should not demand or try to force God to exact payback on your behalf, much less should you allow your hot-headedness to make you do stupid things. You should approach the matter rationally. You should be patient, await the time of God, and spend more time praying to God. See how God acts with wisdom toward Satan and devils, and in this way, you can be patient. Being rational means entrusting all of this to God and letting God act. This is what a created being should do. Do not act out of hot-headedness. Acting out of hot-headedness is not acceptable to God, it is condemned by God. At such times, the disposition revealed in people is not human weakness or passing anger, rather it is a vicious disposition. Once it is determined to be a vicious disposition, you are in trouble, and not likely to be saved. That’s because when people have vicious dispositions, they are liable to act in violation of conscience and reason, and they become highly disposed to breaking the law, and violating the administrative decrees of God. So how can this be avoided? At a minimum, there are three red lines that must not be crossed: The first is not doing things that are in violation of conscience and reason, the second is not breaking the law, and the third is not violating God’s administrative decrees. Additionally, do not do anything extreme or anything that will disturb the work of the church. If you abide by these principles, at the very least your safety will be assured, and you will not be eliminated. If you viciously resist when you are being pruned because you committed all kinds of evils, then that’s even more dangerous. You are likely to directly offend God’s disposition and be cleared out or expelled from the church. The punishment for offending God’s disposition is much more severe than for breaking the law—it is a fate worse than death. Breaking the law entails a prison sentence at most; a few hard years and you’re out, that’s it. But if you offend God’s disposition, you will suffer eternal punishment. Therefore, if people with vicious dispositions have no rationality, they are in extreme danger, they are liable to commit evil, and they are sure to be punished and suffer retribution. If people have a little rationality, are able to seek and submit to the truth, and can refrain from committing too much evil, then they absolutely have hope of being saved. It is crucial for a person to have rationality and reason. A person with reason is likely to accept the truth and handle being pruned in a correct way. A person without reason is in danger when they are pruned. Say, for example, someone is very angry after being pruned by a leader. They feel like spreading rumors and attacking the leader, but do not dare to for fear of causing trouble. Such a disposition already exists in their heart, however, and it is hard to say whether they would act on it or not. As long as this kind of disposition is in someone’s heart, as long as these thoughts exist, then although they might not act on it, they are already in danger. When circumstances permit—when they get the chance—they may well act. So long as their vicious disposition exists, if it is not resolved, then sooner or later this person will commit evil. So what other situations are there in which a person reveals a vicious disposition? Tell Me. (I was perfunctory in my duty and didn’t get any results, and then I was replaced by the leader in accordance with the principles, and I felt somewhat resistant. Then when I saw that he revealed a corrupt disposition, I thought of writing a letter to report him.) Does this idea come out of thin air? Absolutely not. This was produced by your nature. Sooner or later, the things in people’s natures are revealed, there is no knowing in what instance or context they will be revealed and acted out. Sometimes people do nothing, but that is because the situation does not permit it. If they are someone who pursues the truth, however, they will be able to seek the truth to resolve this. If they are not a person who pursues the truth, they will do as they please, and as soon as the situation permits, they will commit evil. Therefore, if a corrupt disposition is not resolved, it is extremely likely that people will get themselves into trouble, in which case they will have to reap what they have sown. Some people do not pursue the truth and are constantly perfunctory in the performance of their duties. They don’t accept it when they are pruned, they never repent, and eventually they are ostracized for the purpose of reflection. Some people are cleared out of the church because they constantly disturb church life and they have become rotten apples; and some people are expelled because they perform all kinds of evil. Therefore, no matter what kind of person they are, if someone frequently reveals a corrupt disposition and does not seek the truth to resolve this, they are liable to commit evildoing. Mankind’s corrupt disposition does not consist of arrogance alone, but also wickedness and viciousness. Arrogance and viciousness are just common factors.

So how should this problem of revealing a vicious disposition be solved? People must recognize what their corrupt disposition is. Some people’s disposition is particularly vicious, malicious, and arrogant, and they are totally unscrupulous. This is the nature of evil people, and these people are the most dangerous of all. When such people hold power, the devils hold power, Satans hold power. In God’s house, all evil people are revealed and eliminated because of their performance of all kinds of evil acts. When you try to fellowship the truth to evil people or to prune them, there is a high chance that they will attack you, or judge you, or even take revenge on you, which are all consequences of their dispositions being so malicious. This is actually very common. For example, there could be two people who get along very well, who are very considerate and understanding of each other—but they end up divided over a single thing concerning their interests, and they cut ties with each other. Some people even become enemies and try to take revenge on each other. They are all highly vicious. When it comes to people doing their duty, have you noticed which things that are manifested and revealed in them fall under a vicious disposition? These things certainly exist, and you must root them out. This will help you to discern and recognize these things. If you do not know how to root them out and discern them, you will never be able to discern evil people. After being misled by antichrists and falling under their control, some people’s lives are harmed, and it is only then that they know what an antichrist is, and what a vicious disposition is. Your understanding of the truth is too superficial. Your understanding of most truths stops at the spoken or written level, or you only understand words and doctrines, and these do not match up at all with reality. After hearing many sermons, there seems to be understanding and enlightenment in your heart; but when faced with reality, you still can’t discern things for what they really are. You all know, theoretically speaking, what the manifestations of an antichrist are, but when you lay eyes on a real antichrist, you are unable to discern them as an antichrist. This is because you have too little experience. When you have experienced more, when you have been hurt by antichrists enough, you will well and truly be able to discern them for what they really are. Today, though most people listen to sermons conscientiously during gatherings, and want to strive for the truth, once they have heard the sermon, they only understand the literal meaning, they don’t get any further than the theoretical level, and they are incapable of experiencing the practical side of the truth. Therefore, their entry into the truth reality is very superficial, which means they lack discernment of evil people and antichrists. Antichrists have the essence of evil people, but apart from antichrists and evil people, do other people not have vicious dispositions? In reality, there are no good people. When nothing’s wrong, they are all smiles, but when they are faced with something that harms their own interests, they turn ugly. This is a vicious disposition. This vicious disposition can be revealed at any time; it is involuntary. So what exactly is happening here? Is it a matter of being possessed by evil spirits? Is it a matter of demonic reincarnation? If it is either of these two things, then the person has the essence of an evil person and they are beyond help. If their essence is not that of an evil person, and they just have this corrupt disposition, then their condition is not terminal, and if they can accept the truth, there is still hope for them to be saved. So how is a vicious, corrupt disposition to be resolved? Firstly, you must often pray when you encounter matters and reflect on what motivations and desires you have. You must accept God’s scrutiny and keep your behavior in check. Moreover, you must not reveal any evil words or behavior. If a person finds themselves with incorrect intents and malice in their heart, wanting to do bad things, they must seek the truth to resolve it, they must find the relevant words of God to understand and resolve this matter, they must pray to God, ask for His protection, swear to God, and they must curse themselves when they do not accept the truth and commit evil. Fellowshipping with God in this way grants protection and stops a person from doing evil. If something happens to a person and evil intentions emerge, but they pay it no heed, and just let things play out, or take it for granted that this is the way they should act, then they are an evil person, and they are not someone who genuinely believes in God and loves the truth. Such a person still wants to believe in God and follow God, and to be blessed and enter the heavenly kingdom—is that possible? They’re dreaming. The fifth kind of disposition is viciousness. This is also an issue related to corrupt dispositions, and that’s more or less it for this topic.