When God speaks from the perspective of the Spirit, His tone is directed at all of humanity. When God speaks from a human perspective, His tone is directed at all who follow the guidance of His Spirit. When God speaks in the third person (from what people refer to as an observer’s point of view), He shows His words to people directly, so that they will see Him as a commentator, and it seems to them that from His mouth come forth boundless things of which humans have no knowledge and which they cannot fathom. Is this not the case? When God speaks from the perspective of the Spirit, all of humanity is astonished. “Humans’ love of Me is minuscule, and their faith in Me is also pitifully small. If I did not direct the brunt of My words at people’s weaknesses, they would boast and exaggerate, pontificating and coming up with bombastic theories, as if they were omniscient and all-knowing with regard to earthly matters.” These words not only reveal humanity as they actually are and the position God has in the hearts of humans, but also lay bare the entire life of humankind. Each person believes that they are extraordinary yet does not even know that there is such a word as “God.” Therefore, they dare to come up with bombastic theories. However, this “coming up with bombastic theories” is not “speaking” in the sense that people understand it. Rather, it means that humans have been corrupted by Satan. Everything they do, every action they take is contrary to God and opposes Him directly, and the substance of their actions comes from Satan and is in opposition to God, and is intended to achieve independence, counter to God’s will. This is why God says that humans all come up with bombastic theories. Why does God say that the brunt of His words is directed at human weaknesses? It is because, in accordance with God’s intention, if He did not reveal the things hidden deep in people’s hearts, then no one would submit; as such, people would not understand themselves, and they would not hold God in reverence. In other words, if people’s intentions are not laid bare, then they will dare to do anything—perhaps even direct curses at Heaven or at God. These are humanity’s weaknesses. Therefore, God speaks thusly: “I journey to all corners of the universe world in perpetual search of those who align with My intention and are fit for My use.” This statement, in conjunction with what is later said about the salute of the kingdom ringing formally out, makes it evident that God’s Spirit is engaged in new work on earth; it is just that humans cannot see it with their physical eyes. Since it is said that the Spirit is on earth doing new work, the entire universe world also undergoes momentous change: God’s sons and God’s people begin to accept the testimony of God’s incarnation, but more than that, every religion and denomination, every walk of life and place also accept it to varying degrees. It is a great movement of the universe world in the spiritual realm. It shakes the entire religious world to its core, which is partly what the previously mentioned “earthquake” refers to. Next, the angels formally begin their work and the people of Israel return to their home, never again to wander, and all those included accept being shepherded. In contrast, the Egyptians begin to break away from the scope of My salvation; that is, they receive My chastisement (but that has not yet formally begun). So, when the world simultaneously undergoes these several great changes, it is also when the salute of the kingdom rings formally out, a time that people have called “the time when the sevenfold intensified Spirit begins to work.” Each time God does the work of recovery, at these phases (or in these transitional periods), no one is able to sense the work of the Holy Spirit. Therefore, God’s words, “when people lose hope,” ring true. Furthermore, during each of these transition phases, when humans lose hope, or when they feel that this is the wrong stream, God begins anew and undertakes the next step of His work. From the time of creation until now, God has recovered His work and altered the methods of His work in such a manner. Though most people, to varying degrees, can grasp some aspect of this work, they are in the end nonetheless washed away by a torrent of water, for they are too small of stature; they are unable to grasp the steps of God’s work, and so they are eliminated. However, this is also how God purifies people, and this is God’s judgment of humanity’s outdated notions. The more of a foundation people have, the greater their religious notions of God, which are difficult for them to set aside; they always cling to old things, and it is hard for them to accept new light. On the other hand, if one is standing, then one must have some foundation to stand on, yet most people still have trouble letting go of their notions. This is especially true of their notions about the God incarnate of today, a point that is clear to see.

In today’s words, God speaks much of visions, and there is no need to elaborate. God speaks primarily about how building the church lays the foundation for building the kingdom. More specifically, while the church was being built, the main goal was to convince people both in heart and in word, though they have not known God incarnate with their own eyes. Even though they harbored faith in their hearts, they did not know God incarnate, because at that stage He was indistinguishable from a person. In the Age of Kingdom, all must show conviction in their hearts, their speech, and their eyes. This suffices to show that for all to show conviction in their hearts, speech, and eyes, they must be allowed to know God living in the flesh with their physical eyes—not under duress, nor with mere casual belief, but with knowledge that comes from conviction in their hearts and mouths. Therefore, at this stage of construction, there is no fighting and no killing. Instead, people will be led to enlightenment by way of God’s words, and through this they may pursue and explore, so that they can subconsciously come to know God incarnate. Therefore, to God, this stage of work is much easier, in that it lets nature take its course and does not run counter to humanity. It will, in the end, lead humans naturally to knowledge of God, so do not be worried or anxious. When God said, “The state of battle of the spiritual realm is made plain directly among all My people,” He meant that when people embark on the right track and begin to know God, not only is each person tempted internally by Satan, but they may also be tempted by Satan in the church itself. However, this is a path that everyone must take, so no one need be alarmed. Satan’s temptation may come in several forms. Someone may neglect or forsake what God says, and might say negative things to dampen other people’s positivity; however, such a person will usually not win others to their side. This is difficult to discern. The main reason for this is: Such a person might still be proactive in attending meetings, but they are unclear about visions. If the church does not guard against them, then the entire church could be swayed by their negativity into responding tepidly to God, and thereby not paying attention to God’s words—and this would mean falling straight into Satan’s temptation. Such a person might not rebel against God directly, but because they cannot fathom God’s words and do not know God, they may go so far as to complain or have a heart full of resentment. They might say God has abandoned them and they are therefore incapable of receiving enlightenment and illumination. They may wish to leave, but they are slightly afraid, and they might say that God’s work does not come from God but is instead the work of evil spirits.

Why does God mention Peter so often? And why does He say that even Job did not come close to being his equal? Saying so not only causes people to pay attention to Peter’s deeds, but also has them set aside all the examples they have in their hearts, as even the example of Job—who had the greatest faith—will not do. Only in this way can a better result be achieved, wherein people are able to cast aside everything in an effort to imitate Peter, and, in doing so, advance a step in their knowledge of God. God shows people the path of practice that Peter took to know God, and the goal of doing so is to give people a point of reference. God then goes on to predict one of the ways in which Satan will tempt humans when He says, “However, if you are cold and uncaring toward My words, then you undoubtedly oppose Me. This is fact.” In these words, God foretells the crafty schemes Satan will try to use; they stand as a warning. It is not possible that everyone could be indifferent to God’s words, yet nonetheless, some people will be taken captive by this temptation. Therefore, at the end, God reiterates with emphasis, “If you do not know My words, nor accept them, nor put them into practice, then you will inevitably become objects of My chastisement! You will surely become victims of Satan!” This is God’s counsel to humanity—yet in the end, as God foretold, a portion of people will inevitably fall victim to Satan.