Words of Almighty God of the Last Days

Exalting and testifying about themselves, flaunting themselves, trying to make people think highly of them and worship them—corrupt mankind is capable of these things. This is how people instinctively react when they are governed by their satanic natures, and it is common to all of corrupt mankind. How do people usually exalt and testify about themselves? How do they achieve the aim of making people think highly of them and worship them? They testify to how much work they have done, how much they have suffered, how much they have expended themselves, and what price they have paid. They exalt themselves by talking about their capital, which gives them a higher, firmer, more secure place in people’s minds, so that more people appreciate, think highly of, admire, and even worship, look up to, and follow them. To achieve this aim, people do many things that testify to God on the surface, but essentially exalt and testify about themselves. Is acting that way reasonable? They are beyond the purview of rationality and have no shame, that is, they unabashedly testify to what they have done for God and how much they have suffered for Him. They even flaunt their gifts, talents, experience, special skills, their clever techniques for worldly dealings, the means they use to toy with people, and so on. Their method of exalting and testifying about themselves is to flaunt themselves and belittle others. They also camouflage and package themselves, hiding their weaknesses, shortcomings, and deficiencies from people so that they only ever see their brilliance. They do not even dare to tell other people when they feel negative; they lack the courage to open up and fellowship with them, and when they do something wrong, they do their utmost to conceal it and cover it up. Never do they mention the harm they have caused to the work of the church in the course of doing their duty. When they have made some minor contribution or achieved some small success, however, they are quick to show it off. They cannot wait to let the whole world know how capable they are, how high their caliber is, how exceptional they are, and how much better they are than normal people. Is this not a way of exalting and testifying about themselves? Is exalting and testifying about oneself something someone with conscience and reason does? It is not. So when people do this, what disposition is usually revealed? Arrogance. This is one of the chief dispositions revealed, followed by deceitfulness, which involves doing everything possible to make other people hold them in high esteem. Their words are completely watertight and clearly contain motivations and schemes, they are showing themselves off, yet they want to hide this fact. The outcome of what they say is that people are made to feel that they are better than others, that no one is their equal, that everyone else is inferior to them. And is this outcome not achieved via underhanded means? What disposition is behind such means? And are there any elements of wickedness? (There are.) This is a kind of wicked disposition. It can be seen that these means they employ are directed by a deceitful disposition—so why do I say it is wicked? What connection does this have to wickedness? What do you think: Can they be open about their aims in exalting and testifying about themselves? They can’t. But there is always a desire in the depths of their hearts, and what they say and do is in aid of that desire, and the aims and motivations of what they say and do are kept very secret. They will, for example, employ misdirection or some shady tactics to achieve these aims. Is such secretiveness not devious in nature? Can such deviousness not be called wicked? (Yes.) It can indeed be called wicked, and it runs deeper than deceitfulness. They use a certain way or method to achieve their goals. This disposition is deceitfulness. However, the ambition and desire deep in their hearts of always wanting to have people follow, look up to, and worship them frequently directs them to exalt and testify about themselves, and to unscrupulously and shamelessly do these things. What is this disposition? This rises to the level of wickedness.

—The Word, Vol. 4. Exposing Antichrists. Item Four: They Exalt and Testify About Themselves

What sort of things do people usually talk about when they exalt and testify to themselves? One thing is talking about their qualifications. For example, some people talk about how they have hosted certain upper-level church leaders. Some even say, “I hosted God Himself, and He was quite nice to me—I’m definitely going to be made perfect.” What do they mean by this? (They are trying to make people think highly of them.) They have an aim in saying these things. Others say, “I’ve come into contact with the Above, they have quite a high opinion of me, and urged me to work hard in my pursuit.” Actually, nobody has any idea what the Above thinks of them. Some people really exaggerate things, and sometimes even make stuff up. They wouldn’t know what to do if a group of people came together to verify and check their stories. The Above may well say to someone, “You are of good caliber and you have comprehension ability. You should practice writing out your experiential testimony. Once you have life experience you could become a leader.” What is the implication here? Even though this person is talented, they still need to train and experience things for a period of time. When that person flaunts and shows off before training or gaining experience, what is the nature of this? They are being arrogant and conceited, and have lost their reason, right? Even if the brother Above says that this person possesses caliber and that they’re talented, this is just offering them encouragement or giving them an appraisal. What is that person’s aim in going around showing off like this? It is to make people think highly of them, to make others worship them. What they’re saying is, “Look—the brother Above thinks highly of me, so why don’t you? Now that I’ve told you this, you should think highly of me too.” This is the aim they wish to achieve. There are also those who say, “I used to be a leader. I was the leader of a region, a district, a church—I kept falling down and down the ladder, and climbing up and up the rungs—I’ve been promoted and demoted several times. Eventually, Heaven was touched by my sincerity, and today, I am an upper-level leader once more. And never once have I been negative.” When you ask them why they have never felt negative, they reply, “I have faith that true gold is destined to glitter eventually.” This is the conclusion they have come to. Is this the truth reality? (No.) So what is it, if it is not the truth reality? It is a bizarre theory; we could also say that it is a fallacy. What consequence may there be of them speaking like this? Some people might say, “This person really pursues the truth. They didn’t become negative after being promoted and demoted so many times. And now they have been made a leader again—true gold really does glitter. It’s only a matter of time before they are perfected.” Isn’t this what the person was aiming for? In actuality, this is exactly what they were aiming for. Regardless of the manner with which antichrists speak, it is always to make people think highly of them and worship them, to occupy a certain place in their hearts, even to take God’s position there—these are all goals that antichrists wish to achieve when they testify to themselves. Whenever the motivation behind what people say, preach, and fellowship is to make others think highly of them and worship them, such behavior is exalting and testifying to themselves, it is done in order to occupy a place in the hearts of others. Though the ways that these people speak are not wholly the same, to a greater or lesser degree they have the effect of testifying to themselves and making others worship them. Such behaviors exist in almost all leaders and workers, to differing degrees. If they reach a certain point where they can’t stop themselves and find it difficult to restrain themselves, and they harbor a particularly strong and clear intention and goal, wanting to make people treat them as though they were God or an idol, and thereby achieve their goal of constraining and controlling others, and of getting other people to obey and worship them, then the nature of all this is exalting and testifying about themselves, and there is a quality of antichrists to it.

—The Word, Vol. 4. Exposing Antichrists. Item One: They Try to Win Over People’s Hearts

The second manifestation of people, events, and things causing disruptions and disturbances in church life is when people spout words and doctrines to mislead and impress others. Usually, most people may speak some words and doctrines. Most people have done this. We should regard the typical occurrence of one speaking words and doctrines as a result of that person’s small stature and lack of understanding of the truth. As long as they don’t take up too much time, aren’t doing it on purpose, don’t monopolize the conversation, don’t demand indulgence from everyone to speak at will, don’t require everyone to listen to them, and don’t mislead others to gain their esteem, then it does not constitute disrupting and disturbing. Because most people lack the truth reality, speaking words and doctrines is a very common occurrence—speaking somewhat inappropriately, it is excusable; it can be forgiven and not treated too seriously. However, there is one exception, which is when the person spouting words and doctrines is deliberate. What is it they do deliberately? It is not the spouting of words and doctrines that they do deliberately, because they also lack the truth reality. Their actions, such as spouting words and doctrines, shouting slogans, and speaking theories, are the same as everyone else’s. However, there is one difference: When they spout words and doctrines, they always want to be esteemed highly by others. They always wish to compare themselves with the leaders and workers, with those who pursue the truth, and, even more unreasonably, no matter what they say or how they say it, their goal is to rally people around them, to mislead people’s hearts, all for the sake of being esteemed highly. What is the purpose of seeking high esteem? They desire to have status and prestige in the hearts of people, to become a standout individual or a leader among the crowd, to be seen as someone extraordinary or uncommon, to become a special figure, someone whose words carry authority. This situation differs from the typical occurrences of people speaking words and doctrines and constitutes disrupting and disturbing. What sets these people apart from those who speak words and doctrines in the more commonly seen manner? It is their constant desire to speak; given any opportunity, they will speak. As long as there is a gathering or a group of people assembled—as long as they have an audience—they will speak, possessing a particularly strong desire to do so. Their purpose in speaking is not to share their inner thoughts, their gains, experiences, understandings, or insights with the brothers and sisters to foster an understanding of the truth or a path to practice it. Instead, their purpose is to use the opportunity to speak doctrines to showcase themselves, to let others know how erudite they are, to show they have brains, knowledge, and learning, standing above the average person. They want to be known as capable individuals, not just ordinary ones, so that for any matter, everyone turns to them and consults them. For any issue in the church or any difficulty the brothers and sisters face, they want to be the first person others think of; they want it so others feel they can’t do anything without them, so they don’t dare to handle any matter without them, with everyone waiting for their command—this is the effect they desire. Their purpose in spouting words and doctrines is to ensnare and control people. Spouting words and doctrines is merely a method, an approach; it’s not because they don’t understand the truth that they spout words and doctrines but rather, through doing so, they aim to make people admire them from the heart, look up to them, and even be afraid of them, becoming constrained and controlled by them. This type of spouting words and doctrines is thus of a disruptive and disturbing nature. In church life, such individuals should be limited, and this behavior of spouting words and doctrines should also be curbed, not allowed to continue unchecked.

—The Word, Vol. 5. The Responsibilities of Leaders and Workers. The Responsibilities of Leaders and Workers (13)

Some people testify about themselves using language, and speak some words that show themselves off, while other people use behaviors. What are the manifestations of a person using behaviors to testify about themselves? On the surface, they engage in some behaviors that are rather in line with people’s notions, that attract people’s attention, and that are seen by people as quite noble and rather in conformity with moral standards. These behaviors make people think that they are honorable, that they have integrity, that they really love God, are very pious, and really possess a God-fearing heart, and that they are a person who pursues the truth. They often display some external good behaviors in order to mislead people—does this not also reek of exalting and testifying about oneself? Usually people exalt and testify about themselves by means of words, using clear speech to express how they are different from the masses and how they have wiser opinions than others, in order to make people think highly of them and look up to them. However, there are some methods that do not involve explicit speech, where people instead use external practices to testify that they are better than others. These sorts of practices are well thought-out, they carry with them a motive and a certain intent, and they are quite purposeful. They have been wrapped and processed so that what people see are some behaviors and practices that are in line with man’s notions, that are noble, pious, and conform to saintly decency, and that are even God-loving, God-fearing, and in line with the truth. This achieves the same goal of exalting and testifying about themselves and getting people to think highly of them and worship them. Have you ever encountered or seen such a thing? Do you possess these manifestations? Are these things and this topic which I am discussing separate from real life? Actually, they are not. I will give a very simple example. When some people do their duties, they seem extremely busy on the surface; they purposefully continue to work at times when others are eating or sleeping, and when others start doing their duties, they go eat or sleep. What is their aim in doing this? They want to attract attention and show everyone that they are so busy doing their duties that they have no time to eat or sleep. They think: “You really do not bear a burden. How are you so proactive about eating and sleeping? You good-for-nothings! Look at me, I’m working while all of you are eating, and I am still at work at night when you’re asleep. Would you be able to suffer like this? I can endure this suffering; I’m setting an example with my behavior.” What do you think of this sort of behavior and manifestation? Are these people not doing this deliberately? Some people do these things deliberately, and what kind of behavior is this? These people want to be nonconformists; they want to be different than the masses and show people that they are busily doing their duties all night, that they are especially able to endure suffering. This way everyone will feel particularly sorry for them and show particular sympathy for them, thinking that they have a heavy burden on their shoulders, to the extent that they are up to their necks in work and too preoccupied to eat or sleep. And if they cannot be saved, then everyone will implore God for them, plead to God on their behalf, and pray for them. In doing this, these people are using good behaviors and practices that are in line with man’s notions, such as enduring hardship and paying a price, to hoodwink other people and fraudulently obtain their sympathy and praise. And what is the ultimate result of this? Everyone who has come into contact with them and seen them paying a price will all say in one voice: “Our leader is the most competent, the most able to endure suffering and pay a price!” Have they not then achieved their aim of misleading people? Then one day, God’s house says, “Your leader does not do actual work. They busy themselves and work to no purpose; they act recklessly and they are arbitrary and dictatorial. They have made a mess of the church’s work, they have not done any of the work that they ought to, they have not performed the gospel work or the film production work, and the church life is also in disarray. The brothers and sisters do not understand the truth, they do not have life entry, and they cannot write testimony articles. The most pitiful thing is that they cannot even discern false leaders and antichrists. This kind of leader is too incompetent; they are a false leader who should be dismissed!” Under these circumstances, will it be easy to dismiss them? It might be tough. Since the brothers and sisters all approve of them and support them, if anyone tries to dismiss this leader, the brothers and sisters will lodge a protest and put forward a request to the Above to retain them. Why will there be such an outcome? Because this false leader and antichrist uses external good behaviors such as enduring hardship and paying the price, as well as nice-sounding words, to move, buy over, and mislead people. Once they have used these false appearances to mislead people, everyone will speak for them and be unable to leave them. They clearly know that this leader has not done much actual work, and that they have not guided God’s chosen ones to understand the truth and gain life entry, but these people still support them, approve of them, and follow them, not even caring if it means they won’t gain the truth and life. On top of that, due to being misled by this leader, these people all worship them, do not accept any leaders other than them, and do not even want God anymore. Are they not treating this leader as God? If God’s house says that this person does not do actual work and that they are a false leader and antichrist, the people in their church will protest and rise up in rebellion. Tell Me, to what extent has this antichrist misled those people? If it is the work of the Holy Spirit, then people’s conditions will only get better, and they will understand the truth more, become more submissive toward God, have more of a place for God in their hearts, and grow better at discerning false leaders and antichrists. From this point of view, the situation we have just discussed is absolutely not the work of the Holy Spirit—only antichrists and evil spirits can mislead people to such an extent after working for a period of time. Many people have been misled and controlled by these antichrists, and in their hearts, they only have a place for the antichrists and no place for God. This is the final result achieved by antichrists exalting and testifying about themselves through external good behaviors.

—The Word, Vol. 4. Exposing Antichrists. Item Four: They Exalt and Testify About Themselves

Do people who exalt and testify about themselves simply talk about all of their merits? Sometimes, they also talk about their bad sides, but are they truly dissecting and trying to know themselves when they do this? (No.) Then how does one discover that their self-knowledge isn’t real, and that it is instead adulterated and has intent behind it? How can one thoroughly understand this matter? The focal point here is that at the same time as they are trying to know themselves and expose their weaknesses, flaws, shortcomings, and corrupt dispositions, they are also looking for excuses and reasons to absolve themselves of guilt. They covertly tell people, “Everyone is capable of making mistakes, not just me. You are all capable of making mistakes too. The mistake I made is excusable; it is a small mistake. If you made this same mistake, it would be a much more severe case than mine, because you wouldn’t reflect on and dissect yourselves. Even though I make mistakes, I am better than you guys and have more rationality and integrity.” When everyone hears this, they think, “You’re exactly right. You understand the truth so much, and really possess stature. When you make mistakes, you are able to reflect on and dissect yourself; you are much better than we are. If we make mistakes, we don’t reflect on and try to know ourselves, and out of fear of embarrassment we do not dare to dissect ourselves. You have greater stature and courage than we do.” These people made mistakes yet they still won the esteem of others and sang their own praises—what disposition is this? Some antichrists are particularly adept at pretending, cheating people, and putting up a facade. When they encounter people who understand the truth, they start talking about their self-knowledge, and also say that they are a devil and a Satan, that their humanity is bad, and that they deserve to be cursed. Suppose that you ask them, “Since you say that you are a devil and a Satan, what evil deeds did you commit?” They will say: “I didn’t do anything, but I am a devil. And I’m not only a devil; I’m also a Satan!” You then ask them, “Since you say that you are a devil and a Satan, which evil acts of a devil and a Satan did you commit, and how did you resist God? Can you tell the truth about the evil things that you did?” They will say: “I didn’t do anything evil!” You then press further and ask, “If you have not done anything evil, then why do you say that you are a devil and a Satan? What are you trying to achieve by saying this?” When you get serious with them like this, they will have nothing to say. Actually, they have done many bad things, but they absolutely will not share the facts about this with you. They will just talk some big talk and spout some doctrines to speak of their self-knowledge in a hollow way. When it comes to how they specifically drew people in, cheated people, made use of people based on their feelings, failed to take the interests of God’s house seriously, went against the work arrangements, cheated the Above, concealed things from the brothers and sisters, and how much they damaged the interests of God’s house, they won’t say a single word about these facts. Is this true knowledge of oneself? (No.) In saying that they are a devil and a Satan, are they not feigning self-knowledge in order to exalt and testify about themselves? Is this not a method they use? (It is.) The average person cannot see through this method. When some leaders are dismissed, they get re-elected soon after, and when you ask the reason for this, some people say: “That leader is of good caliber. They know that they are a devil and a Satan. Who else has such a level of knowledge? Only people who really pursue the truth possess that knowledge. None of us are able to gain that knowledge about ourselves; the average person doesn’t have that stature. For this reason, everyone chose them again.” What is going on here? These people have been misled. This leader knew that they are a devil and a Satan but they were still chosen by everyone, so what effect and consequence does them saying that they are a devil and a Satan have on people? (It makes people think highly of them.) That’s right, it makes people think more highly of them. Nonbelievers call this method “retreating to advance.” This means that in order to get people to think more highly of them, they first say bad things about themselves so that others believe they can open themselves up and know themselves, that they have depth and insight, and a profound understanding, and because of this everyone worships them more. And what is the result of everyone worshiping them more? When it is again time to choose leaders, they are still considered the perfect person for the role. Is this method not quite clever? If they did not talk about their self-knowledge like this and did not say that they are a devil and a Satan, and were just negative instead, when others saw this, they would say, “As soon as you were dismissed and lost your status, you became negative. You used to teach us not to be negative, and now your negativity is even more severe than ours. We won’t choose you.” No one would think highly of this leader. Although everyone would still lack discernment of them, at least they would not choose them to be a leader again, and this person would not achieve their aim of getting others to think highly of them. But this leader takes the initiative, saying: “I am a devil and a Satan; god may curse me and send me to the eighteenth level of hell and not permit me to be reincarnated for all eternity!” Some people feel sorry for them upon hearing this and say: “Our leader has suffered so much. Oh, how they have been wronged! If God does not allow them to be a leader, then we will elect them.” Everyone supports this leader to such an extent, so have they not been misled? The original intent of their words has been confirmed, proving that they are indeed misleading people in this way. Satan sometimes misleads people by exalting and testifying about itself, and sometimes it can admit to its mistakes in a roundabout way when it has no other choice, but it is all a facade, and its aim is to gain people’s sympathy and understanding. It will even say, “No one is perfect. Everyone has corrupt dispositions and everybody is capable of making mistakes. As long as one can correct their mistakes, they are a good person.” When people hear this, they feel that it is right, and continue to worship and follow Satan. Satan’s method is to proactively acknowledge its mistakes, and covertly exalt itself and raise its position in people’s hearts, so that people accept everything about it—even its errors—and then forgive these errors, gradually forget about them, and eventually accept Satan completely, becoming loyal to it unto death, never leaving or abandoning it, and following it until the end. Is this not Satan’s method of doing things? This is how Satan acts, and antichrists also use this kind of method when they act in order to fulfill their ambitions and aims of having people worship and follow them. The consequences that this leads to are the same, and not at all different to the consequences of Satan misleading and corrupting people.

—The Word, Vol. 4. Exposing Antichrists. Item Four: They Exalt and Testify About Themselves

Some people talk about some absurd theories and abstract arguments to make people think that they are intellectual and knowledgeable, and that their actions are very profound, and thereby achieve their aim of getting people to worship them. That is, they always want to participate and offer their opinion in all matters, and even when everyone has already made a final decision, if they are not satisfied with it, they will spout some high-sounding ideas to show off. Is this not a means of exalting oneself and testifying about oneself? With some matters, everyone has actually already talked things over, conferred with each other, found the principles, and decided on a plan of action, but they do not accept the decision and obstruct things in an unreasonable manner, saying, “That won’t do. You have not considered this comprehensively. Aside from the few aspects we talked about, I have also thought of another one.” In fact, the aspect they thought of is just some absurd theory; they are just splitting hairs. They are fully aware that they are splitting hairs and making things difficult for other people, but they still do it. What is their aim in this? It is to show people that they are different, that they are smarter than others. What they mean is, “So this is the level you are all at? I must show you that I’m at a higher level.” They usually ignore whatever anyone else says, but as soon as something important comes up, they start to upset things. What is this sort of person called? Colloquially, they are called a nitpicker and a bad egg. What are the common approaches of a nitpicker? They enjoy spouting high-sounding ideas and engaging in some vile and crooked practices. If you ask them to present a correct plan of action, they won’t be able to produce one, and if you ask them to handle something serious, they won’t be able to. They only do vile things, and they always want to give people a “surprise” and show off their abilities. How does that phrase go again? “An old lady puts on lipstick—to give you something to look at.” This means that they always want to show off their abilities, and regardless of whether they can show them off well or not, they want to let people know, “I’m more outstanding than you guys. You’re all no good, you’re mere mortals, ordinary people. I’m extraordinary and transcendent. I’ll share my ideas to surprise you and then you can see whether I am superior or not.” Is this not upsetting things? They are upsetting things on purpose. What kind of behavior is this? They are causing disruptions and disturbances. What they mean is this: I haven’t shown how smart I am in this matter yet, so no matter whose interests are harmed and no matter whose efforts are wasted, I’m going to sabotage this until everyone believes that I am superior, capable, and able. Only then will I let this matter proceed unimpeded. Do bad people like this exist? Have you done these sorts of things before? (Yes. Sometimes others had finished discussing a matter and found a suitable plan, but since they did not inform me during the decision-making process, I intentionally found some faults with it.) When you did this, did you know in your heart whether it is right or wrong? Did you know that the nature of this problem is serious, that it is causing a disruption and disturbance? (I was not aware of this at the time, but through being pruned severely by my brothers and sisters, and by eating and drinking God’s words of judgment and chastisement, I saw that this problem is serious in nature, that it is disrupting and disturbing the work of the church, and is a kind of satanic behavior.) Since you recognized how serious this is, when similar things befell you after that, were you able to change a little and have some entry in terms of your approach? (Yes. When I revealed such thoughts and ideas, I was aware that it was a satanic disposition, that I could not do things that way, and I was able to consciously pray to God and rebel against those incorrect thoughts and ideas.) You were able to change somewhat. When you have such problems of corruption, you must seek the truth to resolve them, restrain yourself, and pray to God. When you think that others look upon you with disdain, that they don’t think highly of you or take you seriously, and consequently you wish to cause a disruption, when you have this thought, you must be aware that it does not come from normal humanity but rather from a satanic disposition, and that, if you go on like this, there will be trouble, and you will be likely to offend God’s disposition. You must first know to restrain yourself, and then come before God to pray to Him and reverse your course. When people live inside their own thoughts, inside their corrupt dispositions, nothing that they do is in line with the truth or able to satisfy God; everything they do is antagonistic toward Him. You can recognize this fact now, can’t you? Always wanting to fight for fame and gain, and not hesitating to disrupt and disturb the work of the church in order to gain reputation and status, are the most obvious manifestations of antichrists.

—The Word, Vol. 4. Exposing Antichrists. Item Four: They Exalt and Testify About Themselves

How is an antichrist exalting and testifying about themselves different than the average person doing the same? The average person often boasts and shows off to make people think highly of them, and will also have manifestations of these dispositions and states, so how is an antichrist exalting and testifying about themselves different than regular people doing the same? Where does the difference lie? … When an average person with corrupt dispositions exalts and flaunts themselves, it is just to show off. Once they have shown off, that is the end of the matter, and they do not care whether other people think highly or lowly of them. Their intent is not too clear-cut, it is just a disposition governing them, a revelation of a disposition. That is all it is. Is it easy to change this kind of disposition? If the person in question pursues the truth, they will be able to gradually change when they experience being pruned, judged and chastised. They will gradually gain more of a sense of shame and rationality, and they will display this sort of behavior less and less. They will condemn this type of behavior, and they will exercise restraint and rein themselves in. This is unconsciously exalting and testifying about oneself. Although the dispositions contained within consciously exalting and testifying about oneself and unconsciously doing so are the same, the nature of the two is different. How are they different in nature? Consciously exalting and testifying about oneself is done with intent. People who do this are not speaking casually—each time they exalt and testify about themselves, they are harboring certain intentions and hidden aims, and they do this kind of thing with satanic ambitions and desires. On the surface, it seems like the same kind of manifestation. In both cases, people are exalting and testifying about themselves, but how does God define unconsciously exalting and testifying about oneself? As a revelation of a corrupt disposition. And how does God define exalting and testifying about oneself consciously? As someone wanting to mislead people, intent on getting people to think highly of them, worship them, look up to them, and then follow them. Their action is misleading by nature. So, as soon as they have the intent to mislead people, and to take possession of people so that they will follow and worship them, they will employ some means and methods when speaking and acting that can easily mislead and misguide those who do not understand the truth and lack a deep foundation. Such people not only lack discernment, on the contrary, they think that what this person says is correct, and they may look up to and think highly of them, and over time they will worship and even follow them. A most common phenomenon in daily life is that someone seems to understand a sermon quite well after hearing it, but later on when something befalls them, they do not know how to resolve it. They go before God to seek, but this does not bear fruit, and in the end, they must go to their leader to inquire about this matter and ask them for a solution. Every time something befalls them, they want to ask their leader to resolve it. It is like how smoking opium becomes an addiction and a pattern for some people, and in due course, they will not be able to go on without smoking it. So, antichrists exalting and testifying about themselves imperceptibly becomes a sort of drug for those who are small in stature, undiscerning, foolish and ignorant. Whenever anything befalls them, they will go to ask the antichrist about it, and if the antichrist does not issue an order, they do not dare to carry anything out, even if everyone has already finished talking it over and reached a consensus on the matter. They are afraid of going against the antichrist’s will and being suppressed, so with every matter, they only dare to take action after the antichrist has spoken. Even when they have clearly understood the truth principles, they dare not make a decision or handle the matter, instead they wait for the “master” that they look up to for the final verdict and decision. If their master does not say anything, whoever is handling the matter will feel unsure about what they ought to do. Have these people not been poisoned? (They have.) This is what it means to have been poisoned. For them to be poisoned so deeply, how much work does the antichrist have to do, and how much poison does the antichrist need to slip them? If the antichrist frequently dissected themselves and got to know themselves, and often put their weaknesses, mistakes, and transgressions out in the open for people to see, then would everyone still worship them like this? Absolutely not. It appears that the antichrist puts considerable effort into exalting and testifying about themselves, which is why they have achieved such “success.” This is the result that they want. Without them, no one would know how to do their duties appropriately, and everyone would be at a total loss. It is evident that, while controlling these people, the antichrist secretly slips them many poisons and puts in a great deal of effort! If they only said a few words, would these people still be constrained by them like this? Absolutely not. When the antichrist manages to achieve their goal of making people worship them, and look up to them and heed them in every matter, then have they not done many things and spoken many words that exalt and testify about themselves? What is the outcome that they achieve by doing this? It is that people would lack a path and not be able to go on living without them—it is as if the sky would fall and the earth would stop turning without them, and believing in God would have no value or meaning, and listening to sermons would be useless. It is also that people feel they have some hope in their lives when the antichrist is around, and would lose all hope if the antichrist were to die. Have these people not been taken captive by Satan? (They have.) And don’t people like this deserve that? (They do.) Why do we say they deserve it? God is the One you believe in, so why do you worship and follow antichrists, letting them constrain and control you at every turn? Besides, regardless of what duty one is doing, God’s house has provided people with clear principles and rules. If there is a difficulty that one cannot resolve on their own, they should seek from someone who understands the truth, and seek from the Above on more serious matters. But not only do you not seek the truth, on the contrary, you worship and look up to people, believing what these antichrists say. You have therefore become Satan’s lackeys, and don’t you only have yourself to blame? Don’t you deserve this? Exalting and testifying about oneself is a shared behavior and manifestation among antichrists, and it is one of the most common manifestations. What is the main characteristic of how antichrists exalt and testify about themselves? In what way is it different than how the average person exalts and testifies about themselves? It is that antichrists have their own intent behind this action, and are absolutely not doing it unconsciously. Rather, they are harboring intents, desires, and ambitions, and the consequences of them testifying about themselves in this way are too dreadful to contemplate—they can mislead and control people.

—The Word, Vol. 4. Exposing Antichrists. Item Four: They Exalt and Testify About Themselves

Some people say: “Since exalting and testifying about oneself is an approach that’s not in line with the truth and that is of Satan and antichrists, if I do not say or do anything, then doesn’t that mean I’m not exalting or testifying about myself?” This is not correct. So, what way of acting is not exalting and testifying about oneself? If you show off and testify about yourself regarding a certain matter, you will achieve the result of making some people think highly of you and worship you. But if you lay yourself bare and share your self-knowledge regarding that same matter, the nature of this is different. Is this not true? Laying oneself bare to talk about one’s self-knowledge is something that ordinary humanity ought to possess. It is a positive thing. If you really know yourself and speak about your state accurately, genuinely, and precisely; if you speak about knowledge that is completely based on God’s words; if those who listen to you are edified and benefit from it; and if you testify to God’s work and glorify Him, that is testifying about God. If, through laying yourself bare, you talk a lot about your strengths, how you have suffered, and paid the price, and stood firm in your testimony, and as a result, people have a high opinion of you and worship you, then this is testifying about yourself. You need to be able to tell the difference between these two behaviors. For example, explaining how weak and negative you were when facing trials, and how, after praying and seeking the truth, you finally understood God’s intention, gained faith, and stood firm in your testimony, is to exalt and testify about God. It is absolutely not showing off and testifying about yourself. Therefore, whether you are showing off and testifying about yourself or not chiefly depends on whether you are talking about your real experiences, and whether you achieve the effect of testifying about God; it is also necessary to look at what your intentions and aims are when you speak of your experiential testimony. Doing so will make it easy to discern what sort of behavior you are engaging in. If you have the right intention when you testify, then even if people have a high opinion of you and worship you, that is not really a problem. If you have the wrong intention, then even if no one has a high opinion of you or worships you, it is still a problem—and if people do have a high opinion of you and worship you, then that is even more of a problem. Therefore, you cannot look solely at results to determine whether a person is exalting and testifying about themselves. You must look primarily at their intention; the right way to distinguish between these two behaviors is based on intentions. If you just try to discern this based on results, you will be liable to falsely accuse good people. Some people share particularly genuine testimony, and some others consequently have a high opinion of them and worship them—can you say that those people are testifying about themselves? No, you cannot. There’s no problem with those people, the testimony they share and the duty they do are of benefit to others, and only foolish and ignorant people who have a distorted comprehension worship other people. The key to discerning whether people are exalting and testifying about themselves or not is to look at the intention of the speaker. If your intention is to show everyone how your corruption was revealed, and how you have changed, and to enable others to benefit from this, then your words are earnest and true, and in line with the facts. Such intentions are correct, and you are not showing off or testifying about yourself. If your intention is to show everyone that you have real experiences, and that you have changed and possess the truth reality, so that they think highly of you and worship you, then these intentions are incorrect. That is showing off and testifying about yourself. If the experiential testimony you speak of is false, adulterated, and intended to hoodwink people, to stop them from seeing your true state, and to prevent your intentions, corruption, weakness, or negativity from being revealed to others, then such words are deceiving and misleading. This is false testimony, this is tricking God and bringing shame upon God, and it is what God hates most of all. There are clear differences between these states, and they can all be discerned based on intention. If you can discern others, you will be able to see through to their states, and then you will also be able to discern yourself, and see through to your own states.

—The Word, Vol. 4. Exposing Antichrists. Item Four: They Exalt and Testify About Themselves

In God’s family, among brothers and sisters, no matter how high your status or standing, or how important your duty, and no matter how great your talent and contributions, or how long you have believed in God, in the eyes of God you are a created being, an ordinary created being, and the noble titles and appellations you have bestowed on yourself do not exist. If you always regard them as crowns, or as capital that enables you to belong to a special group or be a special personage, then by doing this you resist and conflict with God’s views, and are incompatible with God. … If you do not think you are a created being, but reckon that you have titles and a halo over your head, and that you are a person of status, a great leader, conductor, editor, or director in God’s family, and that you are someone who has made worthy contributions to the work of God’s family—if that is what you think, then you are a most unreasonable and brazenly shameless person. Are you people with status, standing, and worth? (We are not.) Then what are you? (I am a created being.) That’s right, you are just an ordinary created being. Among people, you can flaunt your qualifications, play the seniority card, brag about your contributions, or talk about your heroic exploits. But before God, these things do not exist, and you must never talk about them, or show them off, or assume the airs of an old hand. Things will go awry if you flaunt your qualifications. God will regard you as utterly unreasonable and arrogant to the extreme. He will be repulsed and disgusted by you, and sideline you, and you will be in trouble then. You must first acknowledge your identity and standing as a created being. No matter your status among others, or how distinguished your standing, or what advantages you have, or whether God has given you some kind of special talent, so that you can enjoy an ample sense of superiority among people—when you come before God, these things have no value or significance. Therefore, you must not show off, but instead be a created being meekly before God.

—The Word, Vol. 6. On the Pursuit of the Truth I. What It Means to Pursue the Truth (11)

When bearing testimony for God, you should mainly talk about how God judges and chastises people, and what trials He uses to refine people and change their dispositions. You should also talk about how much corruption has been revealed in your experience, how much you have suffered, how many things you did to resist God, and how you were eventually conquered by God. Talk about how much real knowledge of God’s work you have, and how you should bear witness for God and repay Him for His love. You should put substance into this kind of language, while putting it in a simple manner. Do not talk about empty theories. Speak more down-to-earth; speak from the heart. This is how you should experience things. Do not equip yourselves with profound-seeming, empty theories in an effort to show off; doing so makes you appear quite arrogant and senseless. You should speak more about real things from your actual experience, and speak more from the heart; this is most beneficial to others, and most appropriate for them to see. You used to be people who opposed God the most, who were least inclined to submit to Him, but now you have been conquered—never forget that. You should ponder and think about these matters more. Once people understand them clearly, they will know how to bear testimony, otherwise, they will be liable to commit shameful and senseless acts, which is not bearing testimony for God, but rather bringing shame upon God. Without genuine experiences and an understanding of the truth, it is not possible to bear testimony for God. People whose faith in God is muddled and confused will never be able to bear testimony for God.

—The Word, Vol. 3. The Discourses of Christ of the Last Days. Only by Pursuing the Truth Can One Achieve a Change in Disposition

God has done a significant amount of work on humans, but has He ever spoken about it? Has He ever explained it? Has He ever declared it? No, He hasn’t. No matter how people misunderstand God, He doesn’t explain. From God’s perspective, no matter if you are sixty or eighty years old, your understanding of God is very limited, and based on how little you know, you are still a child. God doesn’t hold it against you; you are still an immature child. It doesn’t matter that some people may have lived for many years and their body shows signs of age; their understanding of God is still very childish and superficial. God doesn’t hold it against you—if you don’t understand, you don’t understand. That’s your caliber and your capacity, and it can’t be changed. God will not force anything on you. God demands that people bear testimony to Him, but has He borne testimony to Himself? (No.) On the other hand, Satan is afraid that people won’t know about even the smallest thing it does. The antichrists are no different: They boast about every little thing they do in front of everyone. Hearing them, it seems like they are testifying to God—but if you listen closely you’ll discover that they’re not testifying to God, but showing off, building themselves up. The intention and essence behind what they say is to vie with God for His chosen people, and for status. God is humble and hidden, and Satan flaunts itself. Is there a difference? Showing off versus humility and hiddenness: which are positive things? (Humility and hiddenness.) Could Satan be described as humble? (No.) Why? Judging by its wicked nature essence, it is a worthless piece of trash; it would be abnormal for Satan to not flaunt itself. How could Satan be called “humble”? “Humility” is said of God. God’s identity, essence, and disposition are lofty and honorable, but He never shows off. God is humble and hidden, so people do not see what He has done, but as He works in such obscurity, humankind is unceasingly provided for, nourished, and guided—and this is all arranged by God. Is it not hiddenness and humility, that God never declares these things, never mentions them? God is humble precisely because He is able to do these things but never mentions or declares them, and does not argue about them with people. What right have you to speak of humility when you are incapable of such things? You didn’t do any of those things, yet insist on taking credit for them—this is called being shameless. Guiding mankind, God carries out such great work, and He presides over the entire universe. His authority and power are so vast, yet He has never said, “My power is extraordinary.” He remains hidden among all things, presiding over everything, nourishing and providing for humankind, allowing all humankind to continue for generation after generation. Take the air and the sunshine, for example, or all the material things necessary for human existence on earth—they all flow forth without cease. That God provides for man is beyond question. If Satan did something good, would it keep it quiet, and remain an unsung hero? Never. It’s like how there are some antichrists in the church who previously undertook dangerous work, who forsook things and endured suffering, who may have even gone to prison; there are also some who once contributed to one aspect of the work of the house of God. They never forget these things, they think they deserve lifelong credit for them, they think these are their lifetime’s capital—which shows how small people are! People are truly small, and Satan is shameless.

—The Word, Vol. 4. Exposing Antichrists. Item Seven: They Are Wicked, Insidious, and Deceitful (Part Two)

God endures all kinds of pain with the utmost patience to work and save people, but people still misunderstand God, constantly pit themselves against Him, constantly protect their own interests with no concern for the interests of God’s house, and always want to live a grand life, but do not want to contribute to the glory of God—in all this, is there any humanity to speak of? Although people proclaim testimony to God out loud, in their hearts they say: “This is the work I have done, which has achieved results. I too have exerted myself, I too have paid a price. Why not testify to me?” They always want to have a share in God’s glory and testimony. Are people worthy of these things? The word “glory” does not belong to humans. It can only belong to God, to the Creator, and has nothing to do with created human beings. Even if people exert themselves and cooperate, they are still under the leadership of the Holy Spirit’s work. If there is no work of the Holy Spirit, what can people do? The word “testimony” does not belong to humans either. Whether it be the noun “testimony” or the verb “testify,” both these words themselves have nothing to do with created human beings. Only the Creator is worthy of being testified to and worthy of people’s testimony. This is determined by God’s identity, status, and essence, and it is also because everything God does comes from God’s efforts, and God is worthy of having it. What people can do is decidedly limited, and is all the result of the enlightenment, leadership, and guidance of the Holy Spirit. As for human nature, people become arrogant once they understand some truths and can do a little bit of work. If they have no judgment and chastisement from God to accompany them, no one can achieve submission to God and testify to Him. As a result of God’s preordination, people may have some gifts or special talents, have learned some profession or skills, or have a bit of cleverness, and so they become insufferably arrogant, and constantly want God to share His glory and His testimony with them. Is this not unreasonable? This is unreasonable in the extreme. This shows they are standing in the wrong position. They regard themselves not as human beings, but as a breed apart, as superhumans. People who don’t know their own identity, essence, and what position they should stand in have no self-awareness. The humility of people is not something that comes from abasement—people are humble and lowly to start with. God’s humility is something that comes from abasement. To say that people are humble is to exalt them—in fact they are lowly. People always want to compete for fame, gain, and status, and compete with God for His chosen ones. In this way, they play the role of Satan, and this is the nature of Satan. They truly are descendants of Satan, without the slightest bit of difference. Supposing God gives people a little bit of authority and power, and supposing they can display signs and wonders and do some extraordinary things, and let’s assume that they do everything according to God’s requirements and do it to the letter. But can they surpass God? No, never. Are the abilities of Satan, the archangel, not greater than those of humans? It always wants to surpass God, but what is the end result? In the end, it must descend into the bottomless pit. God will forever be the embodiment of justice, whereas Satan, the devil, and the archangel, will forever be the embodiment of wickedness, and the representative of the forces of wickedness. God will forever be just, and this fact cannot be changed. This is the exceptional and extraordinary side of God. Even if human beings gain all of God’s truths from Him, they are only tiny created beings and cannot surpass God. This is the difference between humankind and God. People can only exist in an orderly manner within all the rules and laws formulated by God, and can only manage everything created by God within these rules and laws. People cannot create any living things, nor can they change the fate of humankind—this is a fact. What does this fact indicate? It is that no matter how much authority and ability God gives to humankind, in the end no one can transcend God’s authority. However many years, or however many generations, or however many humans there are, humans can only ever exist under God’s authority and sovereignty. This is a fact that is forever immutable, one that will never, ever change!

—The Word, Vol. 4. Exposing Antichrists. Item Nine (Part One)

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