If so much work, and so many words, have had no effect upon you, then when the time comes to spread the work of God you will be unable to perform your duty, and will be shamed and humiliated. At that time, you will feel that you owe God so much, that your knowledge of God is so superficial. If you do not pursue the knowledge of God today, while He is working, then later on it will be too late. In the end, you will have no knowledge to speak of—you will be left empty, with nothing. What, then, will you use to give an account to God? Do you have the gall to look upon God? You should work hard in your pursuit right now, so that in the end you will, like Peter, know just how beneficial God’s chastisement and judgment is to man, and that without His chastisement and judgment man cannot be saved, and can only sink ever deeper into this filthy land, ever deeper into the slurry. Men have been corrupted by Satan, have intrigued against each other and ridden roughshod over each other, have lost their fear of God, and their disobedience is too great, their conceptions are too many, and all belong to Satan. Without the chastisement and judgment of God, man’s corrupt disposition could not be cleansed and he could not be saved. What is expressed by God incarnate’s work in the flesh is precisely that which is expressed by the Spirit, and the work He does is carried out according to that which is done by the Spirit. Today, if you have no knowledge of this work, then you are so foolish, and have lost so much! If you have not gained God’s salvation, then your belief is religious faith, and you are a Christian who is of religion. Because you hold to dead doctrine, you have lost the new work of the Holy Spirit; others, who pursue a love of God, are able to acquire the truth and the life, whereas your faith is incapable of gaining God’s approval. Instead, you have become an evildoer, someone who commits ruinous and hateful acts, you have become the butt of Satan’s jokes, and a captive of Satan. God is not to be believed in by man, but loved by him, and pursued and worshiped by him. If you do not pursue today, then the day will come when you say, “If only I had followed God properly, and satisfied Him properly. If only I had pursued changes in my life disposition. How I regret not being able to submit to God at the time, and not pursuing the knowledge of God’s word. God said so much back then; how could I not have pursued? I was so stupid!” You will hate yourself to a certain point. Today, you do not believe the words I say, and you pay no attention to them; when the day comes for this work to spread, and you see the entirety of it, you will regret, and at that time you will be dumbfounded. There are blessings, yet you do not know to enjoy them, and there is the truth, yet you do not pursue it. Do you not bring contempt upon yourself? Today, although the next step of God’s work has yet to begin, there is nothing exceptional about the demands that are made of you and what you are asked to live out. There is so much work, and so many truths; are they not worthy of being known by you? Is God’s chastisement and judgment incapable of awakening your spirit? Is God’s chastisement and judgment incapable of making you hate yourself? Are you content to live under the influence of Satan, with peace and joy, and a little fleshly comfort? Are you not the lowliest of all people? None are more foolish than those who have beheld salvation but do not pursue to gain it: They are people who gorge themselves on the flesh and enjoy Satan. You hope that your faith in God will not entail any challenges or tribulations, or the slightest hardship. You always pursue those things that are worthless, and you attach no value to life, instead putting your own extravagant thoughts before the truth. You are so worthless! You live like a pig—what difference is there between you, and pigs and dogs? Are those who do not pursue the truth, and instead love the flesh, not all beasts? Are those dead ones without spirits not all the walking corpses? How many words have been spoken among you? Has only a little work been done among you? How much have I provided among you? And so why have you not gained it? What do you have to complain of? Is it not the case that you have gained nothing because you are too in love with the flesh? And is it not because your thoughts are too extravagant? Is it not because you are too stupid? If you are incapable of gaining these blessings, can you blame God for not saving you? What you pursue is to be able to gain peace after believing in God—for your children to be free from illness, for your husband to have a good job, for your son to find a good wife, for your daughter to find a decent husband, for your oxen and horses to plough the land well, for a year of good weather for your crops. This is what you seek. Your pursuit is only to live in comfort, for no accidents to befall your family, for the winds to pass you by, for your face to be untouched by grit, for your family’s crops to not be flooded, for you to be unaffected by any disaster, to live in God’s embrace, to live in a cozy nest. A coward such as you, who always pursues the flesh—do you have a heart, do you have a spirit? Are you not a beast? I give you the true way without asking for anything in return, yet you do not pursue. Are you one of those who believe in God? I bestow the real human life upon you, yet you do not pursue. Aren’t you no different from a pig or a dog? Pigs do not pursue the life of man, they do not pursue being cleansed, and they do not understand what life is. Each day, after eating their fill, they simply sleep. I have given you the true way, yet you have not gained it: You are empty-handed. Are you willing to continue in this life, the life of a pig? What is the significance of such people being alive? Your life is contemptible and ignoble, you live amid filth and licentiousness, and you do not pursue any goals; is your life not the most ignoble of all? Do you have the gall to look upon God? If you continue to experience in this way, will you not acquire nothing? The true way has been given to you, but whether or not you can ultimately gain it depends on your own personal pursuit.

—The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. The Experiences of Peter: His Knowledge of Chastisement and Judgment