Item Fourteen: Promptly Discern, and Then Clear Out or Expel All Manner of Evil People and Antichrists (Part Four)

The Standards and Bases for Discerning Various Kinds of Evil People

Today, we continue with the fellowship on the fourteenth responsibility of leaders and workers: “Promptly discern, and then clear out or expel all manner of evil people and antichrists.” The previous few times, we fellowshipped about the several aspects that leaders and workers should discern, as well as the major truths they should understand, when doing this work; that is, we fellowshipped about how to discern all manner of evil people. How are all manner of evil people defined? They are those who infiltrate God’s house under the guise of believing in God, and yet they do not accept the truth and also disturb the work of the church; all such people fall into the category of evil people. They are the ones whom the church should clear out or expel; that is, those who are not permitted to exist within the church. We differentiate and dissect all manner of evil people through three main criteria. What are these three criteria? The first is one’s purpose for believing in God. The second is one’s humanity—dissecting one’s humanity to discern and see clearly whether they are among those whom the church should clear out. What is the third criterion? (One’s attitude toward their duties.) One’s attitude toward their duties is the third criterion. The first criterion was fellowshipped on before. As for the second criterion—one’s humanity—two points were fellowshipped on. What was the first point? (Loving to misrepresent facts and falsehoods.) And the second? (Loving to take advantage.) From the content of these two points, it might seem insufficient to consider these as manifestations of evil people, but based on the detailed manifestations I’ve previously fellowshipped about, these two types of people have believed in God for years without genuine repentance; their various manifestations have already caused disturbances and destruction to church life, to the life entry of God’s chosen people, and to the relationships between God’s chosen people. According to their manifestations and based on their nature essence, these two types of people should fall into the category of evil people. The church leaders and God’s chosen people should discern and characterize them, and clear them out in a timely manner. Is this appropriate? (Yes.) It’s completely appropriate. The behavior of these two types of people in the church has a very negative impact; they have no interest in the truth whatsoever, nor do they submit to God’s work at all. Among the brothers and sisters, what they live out seems to be no different from nonbelievers; they often lie and cheat others, do their duties in a perfunctory manner and without the slightest sense of responsibility, and do not change despite repeated admonitions. They not only affect church life but also severely disturb the church’s work. Undoubtedly, they are among those whom the church should clear out or expel, and it is entirely appropriate to characterize them as evil people and list them among the ranks of such people—it is not at all excessive to do so. The first type, those who love to misrepresent facts and falsehoods, do not merely have simple problems, such as saying things that are not very appropriate, or communication barriers with others; rather, there is a problem with their disposition. At a deeper level, the problem of their disposition is a problem of their nature essence. On a shallower level, it’s a problem with their humanity; that is to say, their humanity is extremely vile and despicable, making it impossible for them to interact with others normally. They not only lack positive manifestations like provisioning, helping, or loving others, but also their actions and behaviors serve only to disturb, destroy, and demolish. If some people habitually engage in misrepresenting facts and falsehoods, and are always doing this whether openly or secretly, causing severely negative impacts to the church’s work and to the brothers and sisters, then they are among those whom the church should clear out. The other type is those who love to take advantage. No matter the situation, they always seek to gain an advantage, with their eyes always on their own interests. They do not focus on entering into the truth reality, nor on doing their duties well or fulfilling their own responsibilities. Even more so, they do not focus on interacting normally with the brothers and sisters, drawing on others’ strengths to make up for their own deficiencies and building normal relationships, or leading a normal church life. They do not focus on any of these things—they merely come to the church and among the brothers and sisters to take advantage. As long as they are present in the church, and as long as the brothers and sisters are in contact with them, the brothers and sisters will feel discomfort inside. The brothers and sisters not only feel repulsion toward their actions and behaviors, but primarily, they often feel interfered with and constrained in their hearts to a significant extent. What does “a significant extent” refer to? It means that in real-life situations, when faced with harassment from disbelievers or evil people, some individuals are constrained by their feelings and unable to break free, while others, although disliking it, do not dare to speak out but always inwardly feel constrained and lack peace. Isn’t this a serious disturbance to the brothers and sisters? (Yes.) Therefore, God’s chosen people should discern these two types of individuals; all who are categorized as evil people are among those whom the church should clear out. The specific principles for handling such individuals were already fellowshipped on at the last gathering, so they will not be fellowshipped on again in detail now. In summary, the two types of people fellowshipped about above have caused disturbances not only to the church life of the brothers and sisters, but also to the orderly performance of their duties; the behaviors of some of them are even likely to trip up some new believers who lack a foundation. Therefore, based on the ways and means by which they act, as well as the various manifestations of their humanity and the adverse consequences these manifestations cause, these two types of people are among those who should be cleared out, and listing them among the ranks of evil people is not at all excessive. Although the behaviors of those who love to misrepresent facts and falsehoods and those who love to take advantage may not seem as unreasonably crude or vicious as those of the evil people defined in human notions—although they lack such obvious manifestations—the adverse consequences of their behaviors and their humanity necessitate they be cleared out of the church. These were the manifestations of the two types of people, and the principles for handling them, which were fellowshipped last time.

II. Based on One’s Humanity

C. Being Dissolute and Unrestrained

Today, we continue to fellowship on the manifestations of several other types of people in regard to their humanity, starting with the third type of people. What is a primary characteristic of these people’s humanity? It is dissoluteness and lack of restraint. Understanding dissoluteness and lack of restraint from a literal perspective is quite easy; it means that the behavior, demeanor, and speech of these individuals appear improper—they are not dignified and decent individuals. This is a basic understanding of the manifestations of people of this type. In the church, it’s inevitable that some people’s views on believing in God and the ways they pursue will contain deviations or errors. Their speech and demeanor lack any devoutness, their manifestations in life and the quality of their humanity do not meet the decorum of saints at all, and they wholly lack a God-fearing heart. Overall, their speech, behavior, and demeanor can only be described as dissolute and unrestrained. Of course, the specific manifestations are numerous, visible to everyone, and easy to discern. These individuals are akin to disbelievers and nonbelievers; specifically, they exhibit particularly dissolute behavior. When it comes to gatherings, their attire and grooming are very casual. Some do not bother to tidy themselves before leaving their homes, coming to gatherings in a disheveled state, with uncombed hair and unwashed faces. Some are dressed sloppily, wearing worn-out slippers or even pajamas to the gatherings. Others live sloppily, paying no attention to personal hygiene, and do not mind wearing dirty clothes to gatherings. These people all treat the gatherings with extreme casualness, as if dropping round to a neighbor’s home, not taking it seriously. During the gatherings, their speech and demeanor are also unrestrained, and they speak loudly without any scruples, even getting excited and gesticulating wildly when happy, and showing extreme indulgence. Regardless of how many people are present, they laugh, joke, and make sweeping gestures, sitting with their legs crossed, and acting as if they are above everyone else; they are particularly flamboyant and even haughty, never looking anyone in the eye directly when speaking to them, their gaze instead flitting around. Is this not dissolute? (Yes.) It is particularly indulgent and lacking in any ounce of restraint. Of course, nonbelievers might attribute the speech and demeanor of such individuals to a lack of a good upbringing, but we understand it differently; it’s not merely a matter of lacking a good upbringing. As adults, one should clearly know the correct and proper ways to speak, behave, and interact with others—in particular, one should know how to do so in a manner that befits the decorum of saints, that edifies the brothers and sisters, and that constitutes normal humanity—without needing to be told. Especially when living church life, in the presence of the brothers and sisters, although there’s no need for pretense, one must be restrained. What, then, is the measure and required standard of this restraint? It is to conform to the decorum of saints. One’s clothing and apparel should be dignified and decent, avoiding bizarre attire. In the presence of God, one must be devout, and not make sweeping gestures; of course, in front of other people they should also maintain devoutness and human likeness, so that they present themselves in a way that is appropriate, beneficial, and edifying to others. This is what satisfies God. Those who are dissolute and unrestrained pay no heed whatsoever to living out the most basic aspects of humanity, and one definite reason for their indifference is their sheer ignorance of how to be a devout person or someone of integrity and dignity who commands respect; they simply do not understand these things. Therefore, despite the church’s repeated stipulations and demands for neat, dignified, and decent attire at gatherings, without wearing bizarre clothes, they continue to not take these rules seriously, often arriving wearing slippers, disheveled, or even in pajamas. This is one manifestation of those who are dissolute and unrestrained.

Those who are dissolute and unrestrained manifest another behavior, which is to dress fashionably and apply thick, alluring makeup at gatherings. They start getting dolled up and decked out two days before each gathering, pondering over what makeup to wear, what jewelry to put on, what hairstyle to choose, which outfit to wear, what bag to carry, and which shoes to put on. Some women even apply seductive lipstick, eyeshadow, and nose contour, and in more extreme cases, some dress and doll themselves up in an overly seductive manner, exposing their shoulders and back, wearing bizarre clothes. At the gatherings, they do not listen attentively to the fellowship of the brothers and sisters, nor do they pray; much less do they participate in the fellowship or share their personal understanding and experiential testimonies. Instead, they compare themselves with everyone else, concerning themselves with who is better or worse dressed than they are, who is wearing particularly trendy branded clothes, who is wearing cheap street-market clothes, how much someone’s bracelet costs, and so on; they focus only on these matters, even often making such comparisons openly. From the attire, as well as the speech, behavior, and demeanor of these individuals, it’s evident that their participation in church life and their interaction with the brothers and sisters is not aimed at understanding the truth, and much less is it for the pursuit of life entry to achieve a change in disposition; rather, they use the time during gatherings to flaunt their enjoyment of money and material life. Some people come to the gathering places dressed in brand-name clothing to show off, indulging to the full their desires for fashion and social trends among the brothers and sisters, enticing others to pursue these trends and making others envy and look up to them. Despite noticing some of the brothers’ and sisters’ looks and attitudes of disgust toward them, they remain dismissive, continuing to do things their own way, wearing high heels, and carrying designer bags. Some even attempt to pose as well-to-do, wealthy individuals, wearing low-quality perfume to the gatherings, so that after they enter the room the mingled scents of perfume, blusher, and hair oil form a pungent and unpleasant odor. Many other gathering participants are indignant yet dare not speak out, feeling disgusted at the sight of these people, and those who genuinely believe in God keep their distance from them. Whether their attire and grooming are fairly upscale or fairly casual, the hallmark of such individuals is their exceptionally free and undisciplined speech, behavior, demeanor, and lifestyle, not only during gatherings but also in their everyday interactions with the brothers and sisters or in their daily lives. To be precise, they are particularly indulgent, ungoverned by even the slightest restraints. There aren’t regular patterns to their daily lives; they say whatever they want, act recklessly and willfully, never discuss personal experiences, rarely share their understanding of God’s words, and hardly talk about the difficulties encountered in doing their duties. What are the only topics they discuss? Societal trends, fashion, gourmet food, the private lives of famous figures in society and even stars, and unusual stories and anecdotes from society. From these natural revelations of theirs, it is not difficult to see that such people’s belief in God is merely to muddle along in life. Their lives are focused entirely on eating, drinking, and having fun, rather than on such matters as living church life, doing their duty, or pursuing the truth. What is meant by “dissolute and unrestrained” is that these individuals’ lifestyles, what they live out in humanity, and also their ways of handling things, treating others, and interacting with others are all dissolute and unrestrained. They often mimic popular expressions in society; regardless of whether the brothers and sisters like to hear them or whether they can understand them, these individuals just keep speaking. They even frequently imitate the sayings of some famous figures in society and music and film stars. As for the positive vocabulary often used in God’s house and among the brothers and sisters, they never show any interest; they never fellowship about the truth in their daily lives. What they idolize are worldly trends; various famous figures and stars are the targets of their idolization and imitation. For example, they quickly catch on to popular terms and phrases online and use them in their lives and in conversations with the brothers and sisters. Of course, these terms are certainly not anything positive or edifying; they are all negative, holding no value and much less any meaning for those who believe in God. They are popular expressions produced by corrupt and evil humankind, entirely representing the thoughts and viewpoints of evil forces. Such words are often taken notice of, accepted, and used by those disbelievers in the church who are fond of evil trends. They are entirely closed off to the spiritual terminology and vocabulary of God’s house, not listening to or learning about them in earnestness. Conversely, they quickly pick up and put to use the negative things of the world of nonbelievers and those things scummy people pay attention to. Thus, these individuals, whether judged by their external attire, speech, and demeanor, or by the various thoughts and viewpoints and the attitudes toward things that they reveal, stand out as exceptionally different among the brothers and sisters. What does being different mean? It means that their speech, behavior, and demeanor are like those of nonbelievers, exhibiting no change whatsoever; they simply are disbelievers. For example, some people sing two hymns on the stage of God’s house and gain everyone’s appreciation, so they start to think of themselves as stars or big shots, always demanding to apply heavy makeup for performances, insisting on having a certain celebrity’s hairstyle, and dyeing it in odd colors. When others say: “Believers should dress with dignity and decency; your style does not meet the requirements of God’s house,” they complain, saying, “The rules of God’s house are too strict; it’s really troublesome! Why is it so hard to be a star?” After singing just two hymns, they fancy themselves as stars and think they are terrific, and whenever they are unoccupied they constantly ponder: “How many fingers do stars of the world of nonbelievers use to hold the microphone? How many steps do they take to get on stage? Why don’t I receive flowers when I sing so well? Stars out in the world have agents and assistants; they don’t have to handle or address most matters themselves, their assistants do it all. But as a singer in God’s house, I have to take care of mundane tasks like getting food, dressing, and shopping by myself. God’s house is too conservative!” In their hearts, they always feel unhappy living in God’s house; they feel especially aggrieved, always discontent and filled with complaints. Can such a person love the truth? Will they practice the truth? Why don’t they reflect on themselves? Their perspectives on things are so distorted, akin to those of nonbelievers; how can they not realize this? God’s house does not hinder them from becoming a star, but are these viewpoints and approaches of theirs—which are those of disbelievers—feasible in God’s house? They are fundamentally untenable. Their usual speech and demeanor are contemptible to most people. Because of their “open-mindedness” and extreme indulgence, whatever such people say or do is dissolute and unrestrained, revealing nothing but the disposition of Satan.

God’s house repeatedly emphasizes that the brothers and sisters should maintain boundaries between men and women, and not get entangled with the opposite sex. However, some people are dissolute and unrestrained, not heeding this advice whatsoever, and even attempt to secretly seduce or date with others, disturbing church life. They enjoy contacting the opposite sex, even looking for reasons and excuses to make contact and playfully interact. Seeing someone of the opposite sex who is attractive or with whom they get along, they start pulling and tugging at them, flirting and bantering, messing with their clothes and tousling their hair, and even throwing snowballs into their clothes during winter; they play around with each other like animals, without boundaries or a sense of honor, not feeling any shame. Some people say, “How could that be considered playing around? They’re showing affection; that’s called being lovey-dovey, being romantic.” If you’re looking for romance, you’ve chosen the wrong place. The church is where the brothers and sisters do their duties; it’s a place for worshiping God, not for flirtation. Public displays of such behavior in front of everyone cause most people to feel disgusted and repelled. The key issue is that it doesn’t edify others, and you also lose your integrity and dignity. Just how old are you? Can’t you tell your right hand from your left? Don’t you understand the distinction between men and women? And yet you engage in flirtation! It’s normal for seven- or eight-year-old children to play around; such behavior and interests are typical for their age. However, if adults exhibit these behaviors, isn’t it childish? Simply put, that’s exactly what it is. In terms of essence, what is this? (Indulgence, dissoluteness.) It’s all too dissolute! Believing in God, one must know to possess a sense of honor. Even among nonbelievers, few behave so dissolutely. How frivolous and contemptible such dissolute individuals are! Throwing snowballs into a member of the opposite sex’s clothes for excitement, not just chasing them around playfully but even kicking their behind—when someone exposes the fact that such behavior is too dissolute and blurs the boundaries between men and women, they retort, “We only play around like this because we’re so close; people should understand.” They indulge to such an extent, not only allowing themselves to indulge but also enticing others to join in their indulgence. What kind of wretch is this? Tell Me, should such people remain in the church? (No.) Being around this type of person always feels uncomfortable and awkward. When they see someone, they don’t greet them normally; instead, they just give them a punch, saying, “Where the hell have you been all these years? I thought you had evaporated from the face of the earth! How have you been?” Even their manner of greeting is so barbaric and haughty; not only do they speak barbarically, but they even get physical with others. Doesn’t this resemble the behavior of hooligans and bandits? Do you like such people? (No.) Is the feeling of being mocked and toyed with comfortable? (No.) It’s uncomfortable, and you can’t even express it; you just have to endure it, and the next time you see them, you avoid them from afar. In summary, what does this say about the quality of such people’s humanity? (It’s poor.) Regardless of the angle from which they are viewed—whether it’s their speech and demeanor, their personal conduct, the way they deal with the world, and their interactions with others, their perspective toward the trends of the world of nonbelievers, or their manner of believing in God and their attitude toward God and His words—it’s not difficult to see that these individuals lack any devoutness or God-fearing hearts. Nor can one see any sincerity in them to seek or accept the truth. What is observed is their dissoluteness and lack of restraint, their constant emulation of stars and idols, and their lack of any intention to reverse course regardless of how the truth is fellowshipped. What can the characteristics of their humanity be summarized as? Dissoluteness and lack of restraint. Thus, it can be definitively stated that they are nonbelievers who have infiltrated God’s house; they are disbelievers.

Dissolute and unrestrained people employ the same choice of words as bandits and hooligans of the world of nonbelievers; they particularly enjoy imitating the speech and style of stars and negative figures from society, with most of their language carrying a scummy tone that feels like something a hooligan or a hoodlum would say. For instance, when a nonbeliever arrives, uttering a few odd phrases after knocking on the door, the brothers and sisters say, “Something’s off; why is it this person seems like a scout or a spy?” Although they can’t be sure at the moment, it makes most people feel uneasy. Yet, the person who is dissolute and unrestrained speaks impressively, even with a certain air, saying, “A scout? Doesn’t scare me! Why fear them? If you’re scared, you don’t have to go out. I’ll go see what their deal is.” Look how courageous and bold they are. Would you speak like this? (No, this is not how normal people talk; it’s like something a bandit would say.) Bandits speak differently from normal people; they are especially overbearing. People learn the language of their kind; streetwise people specially adopt the popular lingo of society, bandits and hooligans like speaking their jargon, and disbelievers are just like nonbelievers, saying everything that nonbelievers say. Good, dignified, decent people feel disgust and loathing upon hearing the speech of nonbelievers; none of them try to imitate that kind of speech. Some disbelievers, even after believing for ten or twenty years, still use the language of nonbelievers, deliberately choosing such speech, and while speaking they even mimic the demeanor, the expressions, and the gestures of nonbelievers, as well as the looks they give with their eyes. Can such individuals be pleasing in the eyes of brothers and sisters in the church? (No.) Most brothers and sisters find them disagreeable and uncomfortable to look at. What do you think God feels about them? (Detestation.) The answer is clear: detestation. From that which they live out, their pursuits, and the people, events, and things they revere in their hearts, it is evident that their humanity does not embody dignity or decency and falls far short of devoutness and fitting the decorum of saints. It is rare to hear from their mouths the words that believers or saints should speak, and the words that edify others and convey integrity and dignity; they are not likely to say these. What they revere, aspire to, and pursue in their hearts is fundamentally incompatible with what saints should pursue and aspire to, making it difficult for that which they outwardly live out, their speech, and their demeanor to be restrained. Asking them to be restrained, not dissolute or indulgent, and to maintain dignity and decency is a tall order. Let alone living like someone with humanity and reason who understands the truth and enters the truth reality, they cannot even achieve being a normal person with integrity and dignity who fits the decorum of saints, abides by the rules, and appears rational on the outside. Previously, there was a person who went to the countryside to preach the gospel and saw that some brothers and sisters had impoverished families and lived in run-down houses. He sarcastically and mockingly said, “This house is so run-down, it’s not fit for people; it’s barely suitable for pigs. You should move out quickly!” The brothers and sisters responded, “Moving out is easy enough, but who will provide us with another house to live in?” He spoke recklessly and willfully, saying whatever came to mind without considering the impact it might have on others. This is having a scummy nature. The brothers and sisters asked, “If we move out, who will give us a house to live in? Do you have a house?” He had no reply. Seeing that people were facing difficulty, he had to be able to resolve their difficulty before speaking. What were the consequences of his speaking recklessly without being able to resolve their difficulty? Was this a problem of being too frank and outspoken? Absolutely not. The problem was that his scumminess was too severe; he was dissolute and unrestrained. Such people completely lack any conception of integrity, dignity, consideration, tolerance, care, respect, understanding, sympathy, compassion, thoughtfulness, assistance, and so on. These qualities essential to normal humanity are what people should possess. Not only do they lack these qualities, but in their interactions with others, upon seeing that someone is facing difficulties, they can even sneer, ridicule, mock, and deride them; not only are they incapable of understanding or assisting them, but they also bring sadness, helplessness, pain, and even trouble to them. For those with such severe scumminess, most people see them clearly and endure them repeatedly. Do you think such people can have genuine repentance? I don’t think it’s likely. Given their nature essence, they are not lovers of the truth, so how could they accept being pruned and disciplined? In describing such people, nonbelievers have terms like “sticking to one’s own way” or “walking one’s own path regardless of what others say”—what ridiculous logic is this? These so-called famous sayings and idioms are often viewed as positive things in this society, which twists the facts and confuses right and wrong. As for the manifestations of the humanity of those who are dissolute and unrestrained, this basically covers it.

Regardless of whether dissolute and unrestrained individuals affect church life, the normal relationships among the brothers and sisters, or the normal performance of duty by God’s chosen people, so long as the manifestations and revelations of their humanity cause adverse impacts and consequences, disturbing the brothers and sisters, these issues ought to be resolved, and appropriate actions should be taken against such individuals, rather than just letting them act unimpeded. For minor cases, help and support can be offered, or they may be pruned and warned. For severe cases, where their behavior and demeanor are especially dissolute, like that of nonbelievers or disbelievers, lacking a shred of saintly decorum, the church leaders and workers should come up with appropriate solutions to handle these individuals. If the majority of the brothers and sisters agree and conditions permit, these individuals should be cleared out; at the very least, they should not be allowed to do their duties in the full-time duty church. What does “for minor cases” refer to? It means some people are new believers, originally nonbelievers, who have never believed in Christianity and do not understand what believing in God entails. Their speech and demeanor reveal the habits of nonbelievers. However, through reading God’s word, fellowshipping the truth, and living church life, they gradually turn around and change, coming to be like believers, showing some human likeness. These individuals should not be categorized among the ranks of evil people, but as those who can be helped. Another category is young people around twenty years old who, despite believing in God for three to five years, still indulge in playfulness, are not quite settled, exhibit some childishness in their outward speech and demeanor—speaking, behaving, and acting like children—and so forth, because of their young age. For these people, help and support should be offered with love; they should be given enough time to change gradually without imposing overly strict demands. Of course, for adults who have believed in God for many years but still exhibit dissolute and unrestrained speech, demeanor, behavior, and actions like nonbelievers, and who refuse to change despite repeated admonitions, a different approach is warranted; they should be handled according to the regulations of God’s house. If such individuals’ speech, demeanor, and the revelations of their humanity disturb the majority and create an adverse impact in the church, making many feel repulsed at the sight of them, unwilling to listen to them speak, unwilling to see their expressions when they speak, nor willing to look at their attire, and most are happier and in a better condition when such individuals do not attend gatherings—feeling uncomfortable and repulsed by their mere participation in church life and their mere presence among the brothers and sisters, as if there were a bug causing disturbances—then such individuals are undoubtedly evil people. That is, whenever they live the church life and do their duty with the brothers and sisters, most people feel disturbed and particularly repulsed. In such cases, these individuals should be handled as early as possible, not left alone to do as they will or subjected to further observation. At the very least, they should be cleansed away from the full-time duty church and sent to an ordinary church to repent. Why handle it this way? (They have caused disturbances and adverse consequences to most people, disturbing church life.) Because the consequences and impacts of their manifestations are so vile! According to this, leaders and workers, as well as God’s chosen people, should not turn a blind eye to them and blindly indulge their behavior. It is inappropriate for leaders and workers to do nothing even when such individuals cause disturbances to the majority; such individuals should be cleansed away from the church according to the regulations of God’s house—this is the wisest choice.

Has the church previously handled people who are dissolute and unrestrained? (Yes.) When such people were handled, some have cried, saying, “It wasn’t on purpose. It’s just an occasional behavior of mine; I’m not that kind of person. Please give me another chance! If I am not allowed to do my duty, I won’t be able to believe in God once I return home, where everyone is a nonbeliever.” They speak so appealingly and seem genuinely distressed, expressing a reluctance to leave God and asking God’s house for another chance to repent. Granting them another chance is possible, but the crux is whether they can change or not. If it is thoroughly perceived that this person lacks any shred of humanity, has no conscience or reason, basically being a thing with no heart and no spirit, then they should not be given another chance; it would be futile. However, if the person’s substance is good, and it’s just that their humanity is immature due to their young age, and they are bound to change in a few years, then they must be given the opportunity to repent. They should absolutely not be cleared out from the church; no good person may ever be ruined. Some people are inherently disbelievers; they are inherently dissolute, ignorant, and foolish things, and in their humanity they inherently lack the concept of honor, not knowing what a sense of shame is. After acting in an unrefined manner in public, most people would feel regretful and embarrassed to face others. Moreover, when they want to do such things, they are able to be considerate of the feelings and opinions of the brothers and sisters, and mindful of their own integrity and dignity, and they will not behave in such a manner; they will at most perhaps just kick up a fuss at home with their children or siblings. When out and about, interacting with strangers, people should understand what a sense of honor, decency, rules, and dignity mean. Can someone who lacks understanding of these concepts change even with your help? Even if they are restrained now, how long can they endure? It won’t be long before they relapse into their old ways. Because such people lack dignity and a sense of shame in their humanity, not knowing what rules, decency, or the decorum of saints mean, and their humanity inherently does not possess these qualities, you are unable to help them. People who cannot be helped are people who cannot change, people who cannot be instructed or influenced. Such individuals must be cleansed away as quickly and as early as possible, to prevent them from causing disturbances among the brothers and sisters, from bringing shame here. God’s house does not need anyone to just make up the numbers. If God will not save someone, then no amount of just making up the numbers will be of any use for that person. Those whom God does not acknowledge should be cleared out—cleanse away those who should not remain in God’s house, lest the presence of this one person adversely affects many others, which is unfair to the majority. If you see through the essence of those who are dissolute and unrestrained, you should handle them and clear them out as soon as possible, rather than tolerating them indefinitely. Some say, “They do occasionally produce some results when doing their duty. They are still needed for that aspect of the work. They also have quite a loving heart and can pay a little price.” But who among those remaining in God’s house cannot pay a little price? Who cannot achieve some results when doing their duty? If everyone can produce some results, why not choose good people who are dignified and decent to do duties? Why insist on keeping the types of people who are scummy people, rogues, and blockheads in the full-time duty church to cause disturbances? Why insist on keeping those disbelievers who live like nonbelievers to labor in God’s house? God’s house does not lack laborers; God’s house only wants honest people who love the truth, upright people, and those who can pursue the truth, to expend themselves for God.

Most of those currently doing duties are people who have believed in God for more than five or six years, and all kinds of people have been fully revealed in the process of doing their duties—those who are disbelievers, muddleheaded people, false leaders, evil people, and antichrists have all been revealed. Many of God’s chosen people have seen clearly that most of these people refuse to change despite repeated admonitions, having already caused serious disturbances and disruptions to the work of God’s house. The time has come when these disbelievers, evil people, and antichrists must be cleansed away. Not cleansing them away will affect the operation of the church’s work and the spreading of God’s kingdom gospel. Not cleansing them away will impact the life entry of God’s chosen people; church life will continue to be disturbed and will never find peace. Therefore, church leaders and workers at all levels should start cleansing the church according to God’s intentions and based on God’s words. I see that quite a number of people lack humanity. During gatherings, some exhibit all sorts of unseemly behaviors, and do not adopt a proper demeanor whether sitting or standing, with tea, mobile phones, facial cream, and perfume all prepared beside them. Some who like to look pretty are constantly checking their appearance in the mirror and touching up their makeup, and others are always drinking water, scrolling through their phone to read news or watch videos of the world of nonbelievers, speaking and conversing with their legs crossed, twisting their bodies into two bends, resembling the shape of a snake, without even maintaining a proper shape. I’ve also heard that some people return to their bedroom at night and lie on the bed without even taking off their shoes, sleeping until dawn. In the morning, they open their eyes not to pray or engage in spiritual devotions, but to first check the news on their mobile phone. During meal times, when they see delicious food, or when they see meat, they dig into it ravenously—not caring whether others get to eat, as long as they are full—and then go straight back to sleep. They lack human likeness in anything they do, acting dissolute and unrestrained like nonbelievers, not observing any rules at all, without one bit of obedience or submission, just like beasts. Tell Me, can the type of people who have such a seriously scummy nature be saved? (No.) Then is there any point in them believing in God? With a caliber too poor to measure up to the truth at all, can they understand God’s words when they read them? Without possessing any rules in terms of being a person, can their labor be up to standard? Without conscience or reason, can they accept when listening to sermons and listening to fellowshipping on the truth? (No.) Those who exhibit these behaviors fundamentally lack any humanity, so how can they possibly gain the truth? Those without humanity are beasts, devils, dead people with no spirit, who cannot understand the truth when they hear it and do not deserve to hear the truth. Letting them understand and gain the truth is like trying to herd cats or teaching pigs to fly—impossible! Previously, when talking about which types of people are beasts, the word “beasts” was often prefixed with the word “dog,” so they were called “dog beasts.” However, after raising dogs and interacting with them closely, I’ve discovered that dogs possess the best things that humans lack: They behave by the rules, are obedient, and have a sense of self-respect. You set a boundary for them to exercise in, and they’ll only exercise within it, and without exception, they absolutely won’t go to places you forbid them to go to. If they accidentally cross the line, they quickly retreat, wagging their tails continuously, begging for forgiveness and admitting their mistake. Can humans achieve this? (No.) Humans fall short. Although dogs may not understand as much as humans, they grasp one thing: “This is the owner’s territory, the owner’s home. I go wherever the owner allows and avoid places I’m forbidden to go to.” Even without being hit, they refrain from going there; they have a sense of self-respect. Even dogs know what shame is, so why don’t humans? Is it excessive to classify those who do not know shame as beasts? (No.) It’s not excessive at all; most people don’t even possess the virtues of a dog. In the future, when we say that some people are beasts, we cannot call them “dog beasts” anymore; that would be an insult to dogs, as these people, these beasts, are worse even than dogs. Therefore, once such people cause disturbances to church life or to the brothers’ and sisters’ performance of their duties, they must be promptly cleared out—this is only reasonable, justifiable, and not at all excessive. This is not being unloving; this is acting on principle. Even if those who are dissolute and unrestrained show some results in their duties, can they be saved? Are they people who accept the truth? They can’t even restrain their own actions, so can they possibly accept the truth? They can’t maintain their own integrity and dignity, so can they enter into the truth reality? That is impossible. Thus, handling these individuals in such a manner is not at all excessive; it is entirely based on principle, and entirely for the purpose of protecting God’s chosen people from Satan’s disturbances. In summary, upon detecting such individuals, they should be handled accordingly based on the several principles I just mentioned. Is it excessive to categorize the kind of people who are genuinely dissolute and unrestrained, and who genuinely indulge in the flesh without any saintly decorum, as nonbelievers and disbelievers? (No.) Since they are categorized as nonbelievers and disbelievers, including them among the ranks of the various types of evil people that the church should clear out is not excessive. People who cannot even restrain their own behavior and demeanor certainly cannot accept the truth. Are those who cannot accept the truth not enemies of the truth? (Yes, they are.) Is it excessive to characterize those who are enemies of the truth as evil people? (No.) It’s not excessive at all. Therefore, the principles for handling them are entirely appropriate.

D. Being Inclined Toward Vengeance

Our fellowship on the manifestations of the third type of people—those who are dissolute and unrestrained—has concluded. Aside from people of this type, there are many others who fall under the category of evil people, and the church should discern and clear out all these types of evil people. Next, we shall discuss the fourth type. Of the various evil people that the church should discern and clear out, the fourth type presents a significant challenge and trouble. Who might these be? They are those inclined toward vengeance. By the phrase “inclined toward vengeance,” it is evident these people are not anything good; colloquially speaking, they are bad apples. Judging from the consistent manifestations and revelations of their humanity, as well as their principles of action, their hearts are not kind. As the common saying goes, they are “nasty pieces of work.” We say they are not of the kind sort; more specifically, these individuals are not kind-hearted but carry viciousness, maliciousness, and cruelness. Once someone says or does something that touches upon these individuals’ interests, face, or status, or that offends them, for one thing, they harbor hostility in their hearts. For another, on the basis of this hostility, they act; they act with the objective and direction of venting their hatred and relieving their anger, a behavior known as seeking vengeance. There’s always a portion of individuals like this among people. Whether it’s what people describe as being petty, domineering, or overly sensitive, regardless of the terms used to describe or summarize their humanity, the common manifestation of their interactions with others is that anyone who accidentally or intentionally hurts or offends them must suffer and face the corresponding consequences. It’s like some people say: “Offend them, and you’ll get more than you bargained for. If you trigger or hurt them, don’t think of escaping lightly.” Do such individuals exist among people? (Yes.) They certainly do. Regardless of what happens, whether or not it’s worth being angry or petty about, those inclined toward vengeance put it on their daily agendas, treating it as a matter of utmost importance. Whoever offends them, it is unacceptable, and they demand a corresponding price be paid, which is their principle for treating people, for treating anyone they consider an enemy. For example, in church life, some people fellowship about their state or normally fellowship and share their experiences, discussing their states and corruption. In doing so, they inadvertently involve others’ states and corruption. The speaker may be unintentional, but the listener takes it to heart. After listening, this individual cannot correctly comprehend or approach it, and they are prone to developing a vengeful mentality. If they don’t let this matter go and insist on attacking and seeking vengeance, it will cause trouble for the church’s work, so this matter must be handled promptly. As long as there are evil people in the church, disturbances will inevitably arise, so incidents of evil people disturbing the church must not be taken lightly. Whether intentional or not, as long as you trigger or hurt them, they will not let it go easily. They think to themselves: “You speak of your own corruption, why mention me? You talk about your self-knowledge, why expose me? Exposing my corruption makes me lose face and dignity, puts me on the spot among the brothers and sisters, causes me to lose prestige, and damages my reputation. Well then, I’ll seek vengeance against you; you’ll get more than you bargained for! Don’t think I’m easy to bully, don’t think you can push me around just because my family conditions are poor and my social status is not high. Don’t take me for some pushover; I’m not someone to be trifled with!” Never mind how it is they carry out their vengeance; let’s just consider these people themselves: When they encounter these minor matters—matters which are common in church life—not only can they not treat or comprehend these matters correctly, but they also develop hatred and wait for opportunities to seek vengeance, even resorting to unscrupulous means to carry out their vengeance. What does this say about their humanity? (It’s malicious.) Are they kind people? (No.) The best kind of people are those who can accept the truth. When they hear others fellowship and share their experiences, they ponder: “I also have this corruption. What they describe seems like my state. Whether they are intentionally exposing me or unintentionally speaking about something that happens to resemble my state, I will correctly comprehend it—I will hear how they have experienced it, how they seek the truth to resolve this state, and how they practice and enter.” This is someone who truly accepts the truth. A slightly lesser person upon hearing this might think, “How come the corrupt disposition they recognize is just like my state? Are they talking about me? Well, let them talk. After all, I haven’t suffered any loss, and most people probably don’t know anyway. Maybe they’re just talking about themselves, and it just happens to coincide with my state; we all share the same state.” They don’t take it seriously, harbor no hatred in their heart, and do not foster a vengeful mentality. However, it’s different for the non-kind, evil people. Others would view the same matter as commonplace, handling and treating it accordingly. Of course, good people who accept the truth would resolve it proactively and positively. Ordinary people, although not positively resolving it, do not harbor hatred, much less seek vengeance. But for those non-kind people, such a common and utterly ordinary matter can cause them inner turmoil, making them unable to calm down. The things they produce are not positive or ordinary, but vicious and wicked; they seek vengeance. What is the reason for their vengeance? They believe that people intentionally malign them with malicious remarks, exposing real situations about them, as well as their ugly side and their corruption. They take what people say as intentional, thus considering them their enemies. Then, they feel justified in using revenge to settle the matter, employing various means to achieve their vengeful ends. Is this not a vicious disposition? (Yes.) In church life, when the brothers and sisters talk about their states, most listeners can relate and accept it from God. Only those who are averse to the truth and have a wicked disposition generate hostility and even a vengeful mindset upon hearing it, thoroughly revealing their nature essence. Once the vengeful mindset is generated, a series of vengeful behaviors and actions follow. When acts of seeking vengeance unfold, what becomes of the relationships between people? They are no longer proper. And who is the real victim in this? (The person they seek vengeance against.) Correct. The real victims are those who fellowship their experiential testimony. Those inclined toward vengeance will then judge, attack, and even frame or slander those they perceive as exposing or harboring hostility toward them, using words or actions in various situations. Those inclined toward vengeance do not simply harbor hatred momentarily in their hearts and that’s all; they look for and even create all sorts of opportunities to seek vengeance against those who are the targets of their vengeance, those they are hostile toward, and those they perceive as unfavorable to them. For example, during the election of leaders, if the person they are hostile toward meets the principles for using people within the house of God and is qualified to be elected as a leader, their hostility will cause them to judge, condemn, and attack that person. They might even engage in behind-the-scenes actions or do things detrimental to that person to exact their revenge. In summary, their means of carrying out their vengeance are varied. For instance, they might find things to use as leverage against someone and badmouth them, fabricate rumors about that person via exaggeration and baseless hearsay, or spread dissension between that person and others. They might even falsely accuse that person to the leaders, claiming that the person is disloyal, negative and resistant in doing their duties. These are all actually deliberate fabrications, making something out of nothing. See how, from their suspicions and misunderstandings of that person, so many unwarranted behaviors and actions arise; all of these approaches stem from their vengeful nature. In fact, when that person shared their experiential testimonies, it was not targeted at them at all; there was no malice intended toward them whatsoever. It’s merely because they are averse to the truth and have a vicious disposition inclined toward vengeance that they do not allow others to expose them, nor do they permit discussions about knowing oneself, discussing corrupt dispositions, or talking about one’s satanic nature. When such topics are discussed, they become enraged, assuming they are being targeted and exposed, hence developing and forming a vengeful mindset. The manifestations of this kind of person carrying out their vengeance are not at all limited to just one circumstance. Why do I say so? It’s because such individuals have a vicious nature; none may trigger or provoke them. They inherently possess an aggressiveness toward anyone and anything, akin to a scorpion or centipede. Hence, whether someone triggers or hurts them by speaking intentionally or unintentionally, as long as they feel that their pride or prestige has been lost, they will devise ways to salvage their pride and prestige, leading to a series of vengeful actions.

Next, I will fellowship other manifestations of those inclined toward vengeance. Some are pruned by leaders because they did their duties perfunctorily, causing them to harbor dissatisfaction. Tell Me, is pruning them justified? (Yes.) It’s completely justified and normal. If you do your duty perfunctorily, causing harm to the church’s work, and you do not act in line with principles, and someone stands up to expose and prune you, it’s justified, and you should accept it. However, those inclined toward vengeance not only refuse to accept it but also harbor dissatisfaction. Once the leader leaves, they start hurling abuse: “What are you showing off for? Isn’t it just that you have an official position? If I had such a position, I’d do better than you! Pruning me, who do you think you are? I hate you for pruning me. I curse you to be run over by a car, to choke to death on your drink, to choke to death on your food. I curse you to die miserably! You dare to prune me? There isn’t anyone on earth who dares to prune me!” When that leader is pruned by upper-level leaders because of some matters, they revel in the leader’s misfortune and become extremely happy, humming a tune, thinking to themselves: “How about that? You showed off, and now you’re getting retribution! Whoever prunes me, I will make their life miserable!” What do you think of such people? (They’re malicious.) No matter how justified their being pruned is, they cannot accept it. They persistently argue and defend themselves, and afterward they still continue to do their duties perfunctorily, remaining incorrigible despite repeated admonitions. If you always act in a perfunctory manner, in God’s house, you will just be pruned; if you’re at your job in the secular world and you act perfunctorily, you might end up being fired and lose your livelihood. Most of the time in God’s house, the principle is to fellowship the truth and support with love, allowing most people to pursue the truth and do their duties normally. Actually, among leaders and workers, only the minority may face harsh pruning. Most people act based on faith, awareness, conscience, and reason, accepting God’s scrutiny, and do not make grave mistakes, so they do not face harsh pruning. However, being pruned is a good thing; how many people get to face pruning, especially from the Above? This presents a great opportunity for self-knowledge and life growth. Believers must at least understand the significance of being pruned, recognizing it as something good. Even if the pruning from certain individuals is not entirely in line with principles, mixed with personal inclinations and hotheadedness, you should still examine yourself to see which aspects of your actions do not align with principles and positively accept it; doing this is helpful to you. But, these evil people cannot accept even justified pruning. Even if they do not take action to seek vengeance, their hearts are filled with immense dissatisfaction, and they curse and swear. When those who have pruned them face their own pruning or encounter adversity, they are happier than a child celebrating the New Year. This is the manifestation of evil people. There are also some people who are competitive in doing their duty; they often do not follow principles and act perfunctorily, leading to unfruitful performance of their duties. When the leader fellowships about their issues and prunes them, those inclined toward vengeance cannot treat this matter correctly. Even though they internally admit to their perfunctoriness and lack of principle in doing their duties, they still develop thoughts and actions of seeking vengeance in response to being pruned. Subsequently, they write letters falsely accusing the leader, seizing on some of their practices and their revelations of corruption to exaggerate and report to higher-ups in an attempt to replace the leader. If their objective is not achieved, they undermine and cause disturbances behind the scenes, stubbornly resisting the leader’s arrangements. They do not consider the church’s work, the principles required by God’s house, or the effectiveness of doing their duty; they are only concerned with venting their anger. They refuse to listen to anyone, even rejecting the admonitions of leaders and workers. Although they do not talk back or resist to their face, behind the scenes, they can vent negativity, drop their responsibilities in opposition, and seize upon any leverage to wield against the work arrangements of God’s house or against the leaders and workers. They even spread notions; they themselves are negative and reluctant to do their duty, but they also try to drag more people into being negative and slack and neglecting their duties. What is their principle? “I’m not afraid of dying; I need find someone to drag down with me. The leader prunes me, saying my performance of duty is not up to standard—then I’ll make sure everyone fails to do their duty well. If I’m not doing well, none of you will! The leader prunes me, and you all laugh at me; I’ll make life difficult for all of you!” When they do their duty perfunctorily or against principles, and someone reports this to the leaders, they investigate this matter: “Who reported me? Who told on me to the leaders? Who is in close contact with the leaders? If I find out who reported me to the upper-level leaders, I won’t show any courtesy to that person! I’ll never let it go!” They are not only capable of making harsh statements, but of course, they can also carry out such threats. These individuals have many nasty and underhanded tactics for seeking vengeance, not just by seizing leverage with which to judge and condemn others; some deliberately steal the laptop charger of the person they want to seek vengeance against, leaving them unable to recharge their laptop and hindering their performance of duty. Others intentionally add a lot of salt to someone’s food to make it inedible. These crude means of revenge, common among nonbelievers, are also employed by evil people within the church. Their methods of carrying out their vengeance extend far beyond these, including some unscrupulous tactics we’ve never seen before; we’re merely citing a few simple examples. Among them, some individuals deliberately create trouble, obstacles, and difficulties for others; this is a common occurrence. In every group, under various circumstances and environments, the vicious disposition of those inclined toward vengeance is constantly exposed. The vengeful manifestations of evil people and antichrists are even more evident. As long as there are evil people and antichrists within the church, God’s chosen people, who genuinely believe in Him and pursue the truth, will be disturbed. Each day evil people and antichrists are present is a day the church knows no peace—good people will be attacked and excluded; in particular, those pursuing the truth will face the hostility and vengeance of evil people and antichrists. How do evil people and antichrists torment and carry out their vengeance against others? Firstly, they target those who pursue the truth and adhere to principles. These evil individuals clearly perceive that only those who pursue the truth are most detrimental to them. First of all, people who understand the truth can discern them; so long as they do something bad, they will be seen through by those who understand the truth. Second, with people who understand the truth present, their evil deeds will be somewhat restricted, making it difficult for them to achieve their goals. From this perspective, only those who pursue the truth are protectors of the church’s work. With those who pursue the truth present, antichrists and evil people dare not act tyrannically and must exercise some restraint. Thus, those who pursue the truth are a thorn in the side of antichrists and evil people, a pain in their necks, and that is why they devise ways to carry out their vengeance.

When evil people carry out their vengeance, they exhibit a vicious disposition, being unreasonable and lacking rationality. Those who have spent some time with them and understand them fear them to some degree. Conversing with them requires utmost caution and politeness, demanding an excessive degree of respect. They must constantly appease and accommodate them, and any issues or faults they have cannot be pointed out directly. Instead, they must discuss these issues in a roundabout way, coaxingly, and after speaking, they must also praise them, saying, “Although you have this flaw or deficiency, you learn skills faster than us, your professional capabilities are stronger than others, and your work efficiency is higher than ours. I see your faults as strengths.” They even have to flatter them. Why do they do this? It’s out of fear of their vengeance. This way, these evil individuals become pleased, and they feel mollified in their hearts. To avoid their vengeance, most people are afraid to raise any issues they detect with them face to face, nor do they dare to report these issues. Even when it’s clear that they are harming the interests of God’s house, and that the church’s work is being delayed because of their stubbornness and reckless willfulness, or even when some distortions in their direction and principles are noticed, no one dares to object or report them to higher-ups. Because of their vicious disposition and their humanity which is inclined toward vengeance, others are somewhat scared of them, feeling angry but too afraid to speak out about it. Conversations with them must be particularly polite and tactful, with an exceptionally kind, gentle, and refined attitude shown toward them. When people speak to them with respect and politeness, yielding to them, they feel comfortable inside. However, if someone is straightforward, exposing their issues and offering suggestions, they become repulsed, perceiving it as disrespect, as others having objections or enmity toward them. This prompts them to seek vengeance against the person and torment them; they have to bring them down and disgrace their name. If that person falls into their hands, they will not come to a good end. Are such people fearsome? (Yes.) If you don’t understand them and you do offend them, they will hold a grudge against you, contemplating revenge against you even while eating and sleeping. Once you’re on their radar, trouble is inevitable, as they are determined to seek vengeance. While they may speak to you as before outwardly, the moment they contemplate seeking vengeance, everything you’ve previously done or said to them becomes ammunition for them. They’ll treat you as an enemy, carrying out their vengeance bit by bit until they feel sufficiently avenged and fully satisfied. This is the consequence of associating with evil people.

People who are inclined toward vengeance, based on their various behaviors and on the principles and methods in their actions and in them being a person, pose a threat to nearly everyone, except those who are kind-hearted and amiable to all and who lack principles when dealing with anyone—such individuals are safe around vicious people. However, those with even a slight sense of conscience or justice will, to varying extents and to greater and lesser degrees, feel threatened when in the presence of people inclined toward vengeance. In severe cases, they might face physical harm or even threats to their life, while in milder scenarios, they could be subject to verbal attacks, defamation, or framing. These are among the overall revelations and manifestations of the vicious disposition of people inclined toward vengeance. Based on their overall manifestations, such people also cause disturbances among the brothers and sisters and within the church. Nearly everyone who interacts with these vengeful people becomes a target of their vengeance and, almost invariably, a victim. Those inclined toward vengeance have a vicious disposition, they are ticking time bombs that could go off at any moment. Although they can follow the crowd to do their duties and lead a normal church life, judging from their humanity, they could seek vengeance and pose threats to others at any time, and make people fear and guard against them. Doesn’t this already constitute disturbances for the majority? (Yes.) To avoid offending them, to please them, and to evade their grudges and vengeance, people must always be mindful of their expressions and listen to the implied meanings of their speech, trying to figure out their intentions, goals, and directions when they speak. From this perspective, aren’t most people not only disturbed by them but also controlled by them? (Yes.) Therefore, judging from the nature of this matter, aren’t such vengeful individuals evil people? (Yes.) It is very clear that they should be characterized as evil people. If one tries to understand the situation of such individuals, most are afraid to speak the truth about them, and will brush aside every question about them with noncommittal answers like “It’s okay,” daring neither to report their problems nor to talk about or evaluate them. Isn’t this a troublesome situation? Some say, “Such evil people can seek vengeance anytime and anywhere; who would dare to provoke them? Moreover, they always claim to have connections in both the underworld and legitimate circles, threatening that if anyone offends them, things will not end well for that person, they will teach them a lesson, and make their family die a miserable death. Therefore, no one dares to provoke them. Let them be, and we’ll just hope for the best for ourselves.” You see, such a situation is formed in the church, effectively meaning they have already controlled these people. Due to witnessing their vicious disposition in seeking vengeance, people dare not accuse or prune them, nor dare to speak their true evaluations of them. Conversations have to be navigated around them, for fear of offending them, and even speaking in specifics about their true manifestations behind their back is terrifyingly daunting. What are people afraid of? They fear that their words will reach the ears of the vengeful person, who will seek vengeance against them. After speaking, they smack their foreheads and say, “Oh no, I spoke out of turn today. Just wait, I’m going to suffer for it. Why can’t I keep my mouth shut?” From then on, they live in constant fear and anxiety, tiptoeing around life, always observing when around that person, wondering, “Does he know what I said? Has it reached his ears? Is his attitude toward me the same as before?” The more they ponder, the more unsettled they become, and the longer it goes on, the greater their fear becomes, so they decide it’s better to just avoid him altogether, thinking, “I can’t risk provoking him, but I can at least avoid him. Whether he knows what I’ve said or not, can’t I just stay away from him?” This fear becomes so overwhelming that they dare not even attend gatherings, avoiding any place where this vicious person might be, even if it’s where they must do their duty, feeling scared out of their wits.

How should those evil people who are inclined toward vengeance be handled? (Clear them out.) It’s quite simple: Just three words—clear them out—and it’s done. If they are cleared out and the majority celebrates, feeling a deep sense of satisfaction, then it was the right decision to clear them out. Previously, during gatherings, the presence of evil people meant that most people were constrained while fellowshipping; they feared that a wrong word might offend the evil ones, so they guarded against and avoided them while speaking. There emerged an unspoken rule during gatherings: If someone signaled with their eyes, the topic would swiftly change. This was the state of affairs that emerged. Once those inclined toward vengeance were cleared out, the church was at peace, church life became normal, and the relationships among people also returned to normality. The brothers and sisters could now freely share and pray-read God’s words, and freely share their experiential testimonies, without being controlled by anyone, without fearing anyone, and without having to be mindful of anyone’s expressions. Based on this result, was it correct to clear such evil people out? (Yes.) Absolutely. They should be cleared out. Without clearing them out, life would become unbearable for everyone, and many would be too frightened to attend gatherings. Some timid individuals might even suffer from nightmares, always dreaming of being strangled by evil demons. They would always be overly cautious during gatherings, never daring to speak, unable to feel liberated and free. Since the evil people were cleared out, they have changed completely: They now dare to speak during gatherings, they have become more active during fellowship, and they feel liberated and free. Isn’t this a good thing? (Yes.) It is easy to discern such vengeful individuals with a vicious disposition. Generally, after interacting with someone for over six months, everyone should be able to sense and clearly see whether they are that kind of individual; it becomes apparent after spending some time with them. Leaders and workers in the church should not be passive in handling such evil people. What does it mean not to be passive? It means not waiting until they have outraged everyone by misleading some people and committing bad deeds before dealing with them—that would be too passive. So, when is the best time to handle evil people? It is when a small number of people have already been harmed and feel a strong aversion and guardedness toward them, and when they’ve been thoroughly characterized as evil people. At this point, they should be handled and cleared out immediately to prevent more people from being harmed, and to avoid the timid being scared out of wits or made to stumble by them. What is most critical here? If evil people are allowed to cause disturbances within the church for too long, the ultimate result is that they control the church and God’s chosen people. If it reaches this extent, everyone suffers. To avoid harm to everyone, when a portion of people has been harmed, or when some have developed a strong distaste for and have seen through such individuals, identifying them as evil ones inclined toward vengeance, church leaders should then promptly clear them out. They mustn’t wait until the evil people have committed numerous evils and provoked public outrage before deciding to act—that would be too passive; and wouldn’t such church leaders be good-for-nothings? (Yes.) In undertaking such work, church leaders should be particularly sensitive to the states, manifestations, and revelations of such individuals, quickly seeing through their dispositions, and then determining that they are evil people who should be cleared out, handling them as soon as possible. If it’s not possible to make a determination at the beginning, then a focus on observation is necessary, paying close attention to their speech, behavior, and demeanor, understanding their thoughts and the tendencies of their actions. Once it’s discovered that they intend to carry out their vengeance, prompt measures should be taken to clear them out, to prevent more people from being harmed and suffering acts of vengeance.

Some church leaders say, “We’re not afraid of evil people; aside from dreading God, we fear no one. What are evil people to us? We’re not even afraid of Satan, nor do we fear the arrests and persecution by the great red dragon, so why should we fear evil people? An evil person is just a minor demon, why fear them? We’ll just keep them in the church and let the majority of the brothers and sisters suffer harm. After suffering, they’ll grow in discernment, and with discernment, they’ll no longer be bound and constrained by such evil people. That would be great!” Can the majority achieve this stature? (No.) They cannot. Their faith is too weak, the truths they understand are too few, and their stature is too small. They avoid evil people whenever they see them, not daring to offend them. Apart from fearing death and valuing their own lives, most people also protect their various fleshly interests; they are unable to gain discernment or learn lessons from the various things evil people do. Thus, this idea is fundamentally impractical and can’t yield any results. If an evil person appears in a church, when most have recognized and determined that individual to be evil, how many people possess the sense of justice to stand up, break with the evil one, fight against them, and protect the interests of God’s house? What percentage is that? Is it 10%? If not 10%, then is it 5%? (About that.) That means that in a group of twenty, there might be one person who stands up to fight against an evil person, to expose and challenge them with God’s words, engage in debate, and clear them out of the church. Such individuals are the heroes among God’s chosen people, the meritorious figures of the church. Some leaders and workers are afraid to handle evil people. Are such people suited for their roles? Do they qualify to bear witness for God? When they hear of an evil person who needs to be cleared out from the church, they say, “It’s a bit troublesome to clear them out. I used to be quite familiar with them. They know where I live and who in my family believes in God. If I expel them, they will surely seek vengeance against me.” What do you think, do such people deserve to be leaders and workers? (No.) After discovering an evil person who needs to be cleared out, their first thought is of their own interests, fearing the evil person’s vengeance. They fail to consider whether the evil person, knowing some gathering locations and contact information of the brothers and sisters, could sell out the church or the brothers and sisters after being cleared out, as well as how this should be prevented. Their primary concern is not the interests of God’s house but the fear that the evil person, knowing their family situation, might sell out and negatively impact their family. Do such leaders and workers bear witness? (No.) Some leaders and workers see evil people behaving tyrannically and trying to control the church, yet they dare not speak up. Instead, they compromise and evade, not daring to deal with the evil people. When they see evil people, they feel as terrified as if they’d seen an evil demon with three heads and six arms, failing to protect the interests of God’s house. Meanwhile, some ordinary brothers and sisters possess some sense of justice, possessing the courage and faith to stand up and expose the evil ones after detecting them, not fearing that the evil ones will seek vengeance against them. However, such individuals are too few in the church. The 5% you all mentioned earlier might be an exaggeration, not a conservative estimate. From this perspective, what is the majority’s attitude toward individuals with a vicious disposition who are inclined toward vengeance? (Most people are self-protective.) Their first thought is to protect themselves, not considering how to stand up and fight against the evil ones to protect the interests of God’s house and the brothers and sisters, focusing only on self-protection. What problem does this self-protection indicate? (Such people are very selfish.) For one thing, it reflects a deeply selfish humanity, and for another, it shows that most people’s faith in God is too weak. They verbally claim, “God holds sovereignty over everything; God is our support,” but when faced with reality, they feel they cannot rely on God and must depend on themselves, prioritizing their own self-protection, which is something they view as the highest wisdom. The implication is: “No one can protect me, not even God is reliable. Where is God? We cannot see Him! Moreover, I don’t know if God will protect me or not. What if He doesn’t protect me?” People’s faith is so pitiful. They constantly proclaim, “God holds sovereignty over everything; God is our support,” but when situations arise, they only seek self-protection, unable to stand up to fight against Satan and stand firm in their witness, lacking even this much faith. People’s faith is so pitiful; it is likewise completely exposed by this matter. Their stature is just that small. Regarding those evil people inclined toward vengeance, if there are a few individuals who want to expose them but feel isolated and powerless and fear being suppressed by the evil ones, they should unite with several leaders and workers or discerning brothers and sisters. After they join forces, they will have absolute confidence in victory. Then, they can expose and dissect the actions and behaviors of such evil people, allowing most people to discern and clearly see the true faces of evil people, so that everyone will be able to unite in heart and mind and jointly clear the evil people out. Earlier, you mentioned that when evil individuals appear, about one in twenty among God’s chosen people might possess a sense of justice to speak justly and dare to stand up and clear out such evil people. One in twenty is a bit too few; if a church only consists of ten people, how would they cleanse away evil individuals? They would not be able to; those ten people would be under the control of the evil ones, and endure mistreatment from them, which is unacceptable. It would be great to aim for one in ten or even one in five people having the courage to stand up and fight against evil people! Constantly seeking to protect oneself not only results in losing witness in front of Satan, but, even worse, losing the opportunity to attain the truth before God. In a church with one evil individual, at least some people will be harmed; if there are two evil individuals, the majority will be harmed; and if an antichrist holds power, with several accomplices and minions beneath them, then all of God’s chosen people in the church will be harmed. Is this the case? (Yes.) One person standing up against the evil ones represents one unit of strength, while ten people standing up against the evil ones represents ten units of strength. So, do you think evil people fear one person or ten people more? (Ten people.) Then, if twenty, thirty, or fifty people all stand up against the evil ones, who will ultimately win? (The brothers and sisters.) In the end, the brothers and sisters will win. Doesn’t that make clearing out evil people much easier? There is strength in numbers—this simple concept should be clear to all of you. Therefore, discerning and clearing out evil people is not solely the responsibility of a certain leader or worker but a collective responsibility of all of God’s chosen people in the church. With the efforts of the leaders and workers, along with the cooperation of God’s chosen people to clear out evil people, everyone can enjoy good days. If evil people are not cleared out and are left in the church in hopes of their repentance, but no improvement is seen after six months or a year, and they continue to cause unbearable disturbance to God’s chosen people, this is the result of showing mercy to the evil. Allowing evil people to behave tyrannically and control the church is equivalent to handing oneself over to the evil ones, as well as delivering the brothers and sisters into their hands, allowing them to freely control and grievously harm God’s chosen people. Is it easy to understand and attain the truth in an environment in which evil people and antichrists hold power? (No.) Time is precious. By clearing out evil people as soon as possible, you can restore peace and enjoy proper church life as soon as possible, and understand more of the truth. If you do not clear out evil people, they will cause disturbance and destruction among people like rabid dogs, saying and doing whatever they wish. This deprives you of the time to attain the truth, meaning your time and your performance of duty are controlled by the evil ones. Is this a good or a bad thing? (A bad thing.) In theory, everyone knows it’s a bad thing, but when faced with evil people disturbing the church, they no longer think this way, focusing only on not being schemed against or grievously harmed by the evil ones. If all of God’s chosen people in a church fear evil people like this, the church will easily fall under the control of evil people and antichrists, and God’s chosen people will be controlled by them as well. Can they be saved by God then? That’s hard to say. If a church does not have two or three people who understand the truth and are of one heart and mind in bearing witness to and serving God, it is a hopeless church, and that is a tragic situation.

Being inclined toward vengeance is a manifestation of evil conduct, and it is one of the behaviors and manifestations produced by a vicious disposition. Such individuals, when they exhibit this specific behavior, should be characterized as evil people. Of course, some people, because they were petty, lacked insight, or were new believers who didn’t understand the truth, always split hairs with others, harbored hatred toward those who were unfavorable to them or had harmed them, or once used some means to carry out their vengeance against certain individuals—but upon hearing that those inclined toward vengeance are evil people and are to be cleared out of the church, they change their thoughts, secretly turn themselves around inside, and exhibit some moderation and restraint in their behavior. Tell Me, are such people considered to be among the ranks of the evil? (No.) What indicates this? (Their ability to turn themselves around.) What does their ability to turn themselves around demonstrate? It demonstrates that they can accept the truth; it is a good phenomenon. Why do we say they can accept the truth? Because, after hearing the truth in this regard and realizing that seeking vengeance is a manifestation of evil people, they reflect on their own corrupt state, admit their corrupt essence, and then repent to God, act according to God’s words, and restrain their behavior. This is a manifestation of accepting the truth. The evil people we speak of here do not accept the truth. No matter how clearly you fellowship the truth to them, they don’t accept it; they remain obstinate, refusing to listen to anyone. Even if you warn them, “Your actions will lead to being cleared out,” they do not care and continue in their ways, unchangeable by anyone. When you expose them, they do not admit to their wrongs. When you tell them that they are someone who is inclined toward vengeance, they are evil, and they should be cleared out, they will still not abandon their evildoing and will definitely not turn around. What kind of people are these? They are those who are averse to the truth. They do not accept the truth at all—no matter how their disposition essence is characterized, how their evil deeds are exposed, or how they are handled, they remain unmoved, will absolutely not bow their heads and admit their faults, and will certainly not let go. This is an inability to turn themselves around. What is the essence of not turning oneself around? It is the refusal to accept the truth. If they could accept even a single correct statement or a single facet of the truth, they would not continue down the wrong path without turning back. They would reverse course, admit their mistakes, and, to some extent, let go of that with which they previously persisted. Because they are evil people, because they are evil individuals with a vicious disposition, after their behavior of seeking vengeance arises from such a disposition, not only do they refuse to accept what is exposed by God’s words, being pruned, or this sort of characterization, but on the contrary they insist on their ways to the end. They do not plan to accept being characterized or exposed, nor do they intend to admit their corruption. Of course, without admitting their corruption, they also do not plan to abandon their behavior and actions of seeking vengeance, nor their principles for how to be a person. They are utterly and thoroughly evil. Are such evil people not devils? (Yes.) They are devils who absolutely possess the essence of Satan. You cannot change them. Why can’t they be changed? The root cause is their absolute refusal to accept the truth. They reject even the slightest truth, any correct statement, positive word, or positive thing. Even if they verbally acknowledge God’s words as the truth and as positive things, their hearts do not accept the truth whatsoever, nor do they plan to practice and experience God’s words to change their ways of being a person and doing things. Sometimes, they might verbally admit that their actions are entirely based on Satan’s philosophy, but they still absolutely will not accept the truth. Anyone who fellowships the truth with them is met with their extreme repulsion, and even their hatred and judgment, and anyone who exposes and discerns them becomes the target of their hatred and vengeance, regardless of who it is—not even their own parents are spared. Are they not beyond redemption? (Yes.) They are beyond redemption. Is it a pity to clear them out? (No.) Such individuals must be cleared out or expelled. These are basically all the manifestations of those inclined toward vengeance; these are their characteristics, their dispositions, their ways and methods of doing things and their thought processes, as well as their attitude toward the truth—this is basically it. The impact they have on the church and on the brothers and sisters has already been discussed, so there’s no need to fellowship it again. This concludes the fellowship on the manifestations of the fourth type of people—those inclined toward vengeance.

E. Being Unable to Guard One’s Tongue

Next, we will fellowship about the fifth type of people, those who cannot guard their tongue. Is this a serious problem? Looking at it from a literal point of view, not being able to guard one’s tongue does not seem like a significant issue. Some might have certain thoughts about characterizing these individuals as evil people: “Since people have mouths, they are meant to speak anytime and anywhere; they may discuss matters anytime and anywhere. Is it not a bit excessive to categorize those who cannot guard their tongues among the evil ones to be cleared out?” What do you think about this? (If they cause disturbances and disruptions to church life or the work of the church, leading to adverse consequences, they are also to be cleared out.) The problem with such people is not about not guarding their tongues; it is a problem with their humanity. If they cause disturbances to the brothers and sisters, to church life, and to church work, or their words amount to betrayal and selling out the church, and even bring shame to God’s house and God’s name, then such individuals must be handled. Let’s first discuss the manifestations of those who cannot guard their tongues, and then how to handle them. Can people who cannot guard their tongues be called “big mouths”? (Yes.) Is that so? Is this a characteristic of such people? Does being a big mouth mean being foolish and unaware of what should or should not be said, saying whatever comes to mind without considering the consequences? Is this what it means to not guard one’s tongue? (No.) Some people are good at speaking and communicating; they are straightforward, and relatively simple and honest. They often share their inner thoughts and ideas, their own revelations of corruption, what they have experienced, and even their mistakes, with others. However, these individuals are not necessarily foolish or unable to guard their tongues. It seems that they talk about everything and are quite simple and honest; but when it comes to critical issues, issues that could shame God or God’s house, or issues that could involve their betrayal of the brothers and sisters or the church, thus making them Judases, they do not utter a word. This is called guarding one’s tongue. Therefore, it’s not that straightforward people, people with big mouths, or those who are good at speaking cannot guard their tongues. What does it mean here to not be able to guard one’s tongue? Not being able to guard one’s tongue means speaking without principles, and talking recklessly without considering the audience, occasion, or context. Moreover, it involves not knowing to protect the work of the church and the interests of God’s house at all, or not caring at all whether it benefits the brothers and sisters or church life, and just saying anything. What is the consequence of “just saying anything”? It is the inadvertent betrayal of the interests of God’s house and the interests of the brothers and sisters. Unintentionally, due to their reckless speech and inability to guard their tongues, they give nonbelievers leverage against God’s house, allow nonbelievers to mock certain brothers and sisters, and let nonbelievers and people who don’t believe in God know many things they shouldn’t. As a result, these people freely comment on and make disrespectful remarks about the matters of God’s house and the internal affairs of the church, and say things that slander and blaspheme God. They may even fabricate rumors about the brothers and sisters, the church, and the work of God’s house, bringing about adverse consequences. This constitutes a disturbance to the work of God’s house and is considered evildoing. Some individuals pay particular attention to learning about and investigating who the leaders and workers in the church are, their family addresses, personal information of the brothers and sisters, the church’s financial and accounting work, the accounting personnel, and lists of people who have been cleared out or expelled from the church. They also particularly focus on learning about the church’s work arrangements. Such behavior is highly suspicious and could indicate that they are moles or spies of the great red dragon. If these details are leaked to the nonbelieving devils, allowing the great red dragon to know about them, the consequences would be unthinkable. Some, out of foolishness and ignorance, may share this information or part of it with their nonbelieving family members, who then spread it or provide it to agents of the great red dragon. This could pose potential risks and bring many troubles to the church’s work, with unimaginable consequences. These internal matters of the church are often inadvertently shared with nonbelieving family members by some people, who disclose everything without reservation. And they are even shared with their nonbelieving relatives and friends. This leads to a continuous leak of the church’s internal matters through their words to the outside world. What are the consequences of these leaks? Many of their nonbelieving family members, relatives, and friends become aware of many of the church’s internal affairs that even the brothers and sisters might not know, or the home addresses of the brothers and sisters, their real names, and private marital matters. How do these church matters get leaked? How do nonbelievers come to know about them? There are “correspondents” within the church! What are such people called? (Those who cannot guard their tongues.) Exactly. They share everything that happens in daily church life or things concerning the brothers and sisters with their nonbelieving family members, such as a certain sister getting divorced, another sister’s husband losing money in business or her having a disobedient son, or a certain brother or sister buying a house, and so on. They also talk about the brothers and sisters who were arrested by the great red dragon and became Judases, or those who stood firm in their testimony, and even mention that the church leaders pruned them. Their conversations at home revolve entirely around these topics. Their family members even offer advice and strategies to help them act against the leaders, the brothers and sisters, or anyone in the church who doesn’t get along with them, poses challenges, or has exposed them. In gatherings among the brothers and sisters, such individuals appear particularly obedient and well-behaved, speak little, are not good at conversing, never talk about their own corrupt dispositions, never fellowship their experiential understanding, and even seldom pray. They treat the brothers and sisters with a sense of guardedness, while treating their nonbelieving family members as if they were members of God’s house. They recite all details about the church to their family members without omission, sharing everything with them, including even the church’s printing of books of God’s word, who has what talents in the church, and more—these are all discussed with their family members and people who don’t believe in God. Regardless of their purpose in doing so, the ultimate consequence is that they betray the work of the church and the brothers and sisters. They are clued up on the situation of every key member in the church. Of course, these people are also the subjects of their behind-the-back discussions and judgments, and may even become the ones they secretly betray. If someone has a good relationship with them, they incessantly praise that person in front of their family. Conversely, if someone has a poor relationship with them, they incessantly hurl abuse toward that person in front of their family, even causing their family to join in the verbal abuse, calling the brothers and sisters idiots or saying that they are no good. These individuals insult brothers and sisters with whatever insulting words nonbelievers use. They are like nonbelievers; they are purely disbelievers; they aren’t anything good, and such individuals should be promptly cleared out.

In the nation of the great red dragon, the information of everyone who believes in God should be kept confidential, and even when God’s chosen people move overseas, their information must remain private. This is because the spies of the great red dragon are spread throughout every country in the world, infiltrating everywhere with the specific aim of collecting information on those who believe in God. In mainland China, the situation for the brothers and sisters who follow God is very difficult and dangerous. Even when they go abroad, there is a certain level of danger. If the spies of the great red dragon collect their information, for one thing, there is the risk of extradition, and for another, at the very least, their family members and relatives in mainland China could be implicated. For safety reasons and out of respect for individuals, everyone should keep the personal information of the brothers and sisters confidential and should not share it with those who don’t believe in God. Even among those who believe in God, personal information should not be casually disclosed to others without the individual’s consent. It is absolutely impermissible to treat any information about the brothers and sisters, church work, the duties one performs, experiences shared in fellowship, or other such details as conversation topics to be shared with nonbelievers during one’s leisure time. What are the consequences of discussing these matters with them? Is there any positive or constructive result? (No.) The consequence of such discussions is that these nonbelieving devils seize leverage, mock, and judge, and even curse and defame. Is this good? (No.) You should examine whether there are individuals within the church with ulterior motives, who discuss such details as the actual situations of the church’s work and church life—as well as who truly believes in God, who pursues the truth, who does their duties, who does not do their duties, who is often negative, who has a muddled faith, and even personal information and situations about the brothers and sisters—with nonbelievers and unbelieving family members, all without reservation. Check for such individuals. There are matters that even people within the church need not know, yet the nonbelieving family members of such individuals know more about these affairs than those within the church—and know about them more clearly as well. How does this happen? This is the “contribution” of a mole within. This mole treats their family members as if they were church leaders, reporting back home on anything they see in the church to their “leaders” in an attempt to curry favor and deepen their emotional connection with their family. It’s evident that all these matters of the church have been betrayed by those moles who cannot guard their tongues. They do not respect the brothers and sisters, nor do they protect the work and the interests of God’s house. They treat God’s house and the church like society or a public place, casually commenting on and judging the brothers and sisters as if they were nonbelievers, even joining with disbelievers and nonbelievers in freely passing judgment on the brothers and sisters. Furthermore, some individuals, after being pruned by the leaders or after conflicts, disputes, and disharmony with the brothers and sisters, go home and create a scene, making sure their family knows all about it. The consequence is that their family seeks vengeance against the leaders or the brothers and sisters, aiming to sell out and bring down the church. Is this a good phenomenon? (No.) Sharing the internal affairs of the church, and things like how many brothers and sisters live church life, and what duties everyone does with family members, relatives, and friends without reservation—what sort of wretches are they? Are they true believers? (No.) Are they members of God’s house? Can they be called brothers or sisters? (No.) Keeping such moles and hidden traitors within the church will, whether in the past, present, or future, bring significant trouble to God’s house and the brothers and sisters. Even if they do not seem to commit many evil deeds in church life, the consequences and the impact of their secretly passing on various details about God’s house to nonbelievers, Satans, and devils are extremely detrimental! Should such scum be allowed to remain in the church? (No.) Do they deserve to be called members of God’s house? Are they worthy of being treated as brothers and sisters? (No.) How should such people be handled? (They should be cleared out as soon as possible.) They must be cleared out as soon as possible! Kick them out! This is the reason for clearing them out: “You cannot guard your tongue, you fail to recognize what’s good for you, biting the hand that feeds you. You believe in God and enjoy His grace, as well as the help, love, patience, and care from the brothers and sisters, yet you still sell out the brothers and sisters and the church like this. You are no good; beat it!” The matters of the brothers and sisters, the matters of the church, and any work of God’s house should not be disclosed to nonbelievers, nor should they be used as topics of idle conversation by them. They do not deserve it! Whoever spreads such information becomes a cursed figure, someone the church must clear out, and the brothers and sisters should reject them. Based simply on their actions of selling out the brothers and sisters and the church, sharing internal church matters with nonbelievers for casual talk, they are undoubtedly traitors, moles, and evil people who should be cleared out from the church. The brothers and sisters are free to fellowship and debate as needed about whatever work is done within the church—such as who ought to be cleared out or the occurrence of certain events—but it must not be shared with nonbelievers, and it cannot be spoken of with nonbelieving family members. Particularly, the personal and family situations of new brothers and sisters of small stature must not be disclosed to outsiders. If you find it hard to keep it to yourself, you should pray to God and rely on Him to learn self-restraint, and go engage in some meaningful activities. If you truly cannot control yourself, you should first report to the church to seek a solution, to prevent adverse consequences, because spreading such information is most prone to causing problems. For instance, personal phone numbers, home addresses, how many years someone has believed in God, personal family and marital status, and so on, are sensitive topics. These have nothing to do with the truth or life entry; they pertain to personal privacy. Only agents and moles specifically investigate these matters. If you enjoy learning about and spreading such matters, what kind of disposition does that indicate? It’s somewhat vile! Not pursuing the truth but focusing on gossip, acting as a mole or spy and rendering service for the great red dragon—isn’t that vile and nefarious? Anyone who specifically inquires about, investigates, and recklessly spreads sensitive topics and others’ private affairs is harboring ulterior motives and is a disbeliever. God’s chosen people must be especially wary of such individuals. If such people do not repent, their church life should be discontinued, because selling out the brothers and sisters is the most immoral, despicable, and shameful act. God’s chosen people should stay away from these individuals. In church life, people should be restricted from inquiring about and discussing these matters, as they have nothing to do with the fellowship of the truth, and talking about them brings no benefits to others whatsoever.

God’s house has various administrative decrees and regulations that God’s chosen people must adhere to. Matters such as the internal affairs of the church, personnel adjustments to leaders and workers, the church’s cleansing work, and arrangements from the Above, among others, must not be casually spread within the church to prevent them from being betrayed to Satan by disbelievers and evil people. The reason for this is because God’s house is different from society; God requires people to pursue the truth, read God’s word more, ponder and fellowship more. Only propagating God’s words and bearing witness for God can constitute a proper atmosphere; only sharing more experiential testimonies can constitute such an atmosphere. Additionally, there are many new believers in God’s house who have believed in God for only a short time. It’s inevitable that some disbelievers have not yet been revealed. In particular, the first five or ten years of belief is a time for revealing people’s true selves; during this time, it’s uncertain who can stand firm and who cannot, nor how many evil people capable of disturbing the church still exist. Always recklessly spreading personal information and such external affairs, as well as matters unrelated to fellowshipping the truth, can lead to many adverse consequences. For example, someone may ask, “Where is a certain leader from? Where do they live?” This sensitive information is not what God’s chosen people need to know. Someone else may ask, “How much does it cost for God’s house to print a book of God’s words?” Is knowing this useful? (No.) Is the printing cost any of your business? Have you been charged for it? It seems unrelated to you, right? Some might ask, “Who are the upper-level leaders in God’s house now?” If they are not directly leading you, does not knowing this affect you? (No.) In mainland China, knowing these things could be a problem. If caught by the great red dragon and subjected to severe torture, if you don’t know these things, no matter how they beat you, you can’t disclose anything, and so you won’t end up becoming a Judas. But if you do know and can’t withstand the fierce beatings they give you, you might end up speaking out, becoming a Judas. At that moment, you might think, “Why did I recklessly ask those questions then? It would have been much better not to know. Even if beaten to death, I still would have been ignorant of those things; even if I had wanted to make up answers, I wouldn’t have been able to come up with any. In that case, I wouldn’t have become a Judas. I’ve learned my lesson now; it’s best not to know too much about these matters unrelated to the truth. Inquiring about such things is of no benefit; not knowing is better.” And there are some others who may ask, “How many teams are there in God’s house doing specialized work?” What business is it of yours? Just do whatever work is assigned to your own team. Not knowing this doesn’t affect your ability to do your duty normally, pursue the truth in your faith, or live church life; it doesn’t affect anything. Not knowing this doesn’t hinder you from pursuing the truth or achieving salvation as a believer, so why bother asking? “Are most brothers and sisters from urban areas or rural areas? Are they educated or uneducated?” Is knowing these things useful? (No.) So what if they’re all from rural areas? And so what if they’re all from cities? This has nothing to do with the truth. Some may ask, “How is gospel work spreading now?” Asking a bit about this is okay, but some people, out of curiosity, ask in detail about exactly how many countries the gospel work has spread to, which is unnecessary. Even if they knew this, what impact would it have on them? What benefit would knowing such details bring? If you don’t have the truth reality, you will continue to not have it even if you knew; this knowledge won’t help you do your duties well at all or provide any aid to your life entry. It’s okay not to inquire about some general affairs; in fact, it’s better not to know. Knowing too much is a burden. Once such information is leaked, it becomes a problem and a transgression. Knowing these things is not good: The more you know, the more trouble it can cause. Those who understand the truth know what should be said and what should not be said. The muddled ones, who lack spiritual understanding, fail to distinguish between insiders and outsiders when they’re talking, talking only nonsense. Therefore, these matters should not be reported to those in the church who do not understand the truth. Knowing these things does not bring benefits in any way. For one, these people cannot help solve problems. Second, they cannot protect the work of the church. And third, there is no need for them to speak well of God’s house. All of God’s words are the truth, and all of God’s actions are righteous—is there any need for fawning and flattery from those disbelievers and nonbelievers who lack spiritual understanding? There is not. Even if not a single creature in the entire world followed God or worshiped Him, God’s status and essence would remain unchanged. God is God, forever immutable, unchanged by any alterations in circumstances. God’s identity and status are eternally unchanging. These are truths that those who believe in God should understand. Those disbelievers and nonbelievers speak and act without distinguishing between insiders and outsiders—is it beneficial to the work of God’s house for them to know too much? Is it necessary for them to know about the work of God’s house? They are not worthy of this knowledge! Some might ask, “Are these matters all secrets, and that’s why they cannot be known?” Having believed in God up to this point, do you think these matters contain secrets? (No.) But God’s chosen people possess integrity and dignity; they must not be subjected to discussion or ridicule by nonbelievers. God’s house, the church, and the brothers and sisters, whether as a group or individuals, all have dignity; they are all positive, and no one should attempt to defile them. Anyone who acts in a way that allows Satans and devils to wantonly defile and casually defame or harm the reputation of God’s house, or harm the reputation of the brothers and sisters, is cursed! Therefore, the church absolutely does not permit the existence of those who cannot guard their tongues. Once identified, they must be cleared out! Is this approach in line with principles? (Yes.)

Some people are especially careful and cautious when they speak, communicate, interact, or associate with the brothers and sisters, but once they are back home, they become big mouths, spilling everything, even the personal information of the brothers and sisters, such that their family members, nonbelievers with no faith, and those who believe in name only know a lot about the church’s affairs. Such a person is a mole, a traitor—a Judas—and precisely the kind of individual the church should clear out. The longer they stay in the church, the more information they will know about the brothers and sisters, the more they will engage in betrayal, and the more matters there will be that are seized upon by nonbelievers to use as leverage and for defamation. If you are not afraid of them betraying this information to nonbelievers, then keep them; if you do not wish for your personal information and the internal affairs of the church to be spread from their mouths, then you should clear out these moles as soon as possible. Is this appropriate? (Yes.) No leniency should be shown to such individuals; they harbor no good intentions and are not anything good themselves. How do such people compare to those two types of people previously mentioned, those inclined toward vengeance and those who are dissolute and unrestrained? Are they better or worse? (Worse.) These individuals might also do their duties, exert some effort, and endure some hardship; they may cooperate with whatever the house of God asks of them and do not refuse, but there is one problem: They divulge everything about God’s house to nonbelievers. They play the role of a traitor, a mole, every day. Just for this reason, the church cannot tolerate them and must clear them out. Do you understand? (Yes.) Regardless of whether they are happy or unhappy within the church, who provokes them, who gets along with them, whether they are elected as church leaders or dismissed—no matter what happens, they always have to share every detail with their nonbelieving family members. They ensure that their nonbelieving family members and nonbelievers are informed right away and promptly grasp the internal situation of the church. For such individuals, you must absolutely not show them any leniency nor any mercy; upon discovering one, clear them out. How is this approach? (Appropriate.) Is doing it this way ruthless? (No.) It is not being ruthless. You treat them as brothers and sisters, but they do not protect the interests of God’s house or the interests of the brothers and sisters at all. Instead, they betray the interests of God’s house and the brothers and sisters at every turn. You regard them as family, but do they consider you family? (No.) Then do not show them leniency; if they need to be cleared out, then clear them out. Up to this point, have you encountered such individuals? (Yes. They shared everything about the brothers and sisters with their family members, and sometimes they also informed their family members about certain matters and specific arrangements within the church at the first opportunity. Their family members then gathered ammunition to gossip about the church behind its back.) Have these individuals been cleared out? (Yes.) After being cleared out, did they complain? They may feel it’s unfair, thinking, “I haven’t done anything; this doesn’t constitute a violation of the administrative decrees, nor have I caused disruptions or disturbances, so why was I cleared out?” Do you think the nature of their actions is more severe than causing disruptions and disturbances? (Yes.) Can such people be redeemed? Is it easy for them to change? (No.) Why do you say it will not be easy? What aspect shows it is difficult for them to change? (They are not part of God’s house, they are not brothers or sisters; their essence is that of disbelievers and nonbelievers.) This is their essence. So, how can you tell they are nonbelievers and disbelievers? (Whatever emotions they have in the church, they vent to their family, indicating that whatever happens, they do not accept it from God, much less do they learn any lessons. Such people do not experience God’s work and do not accept the truth, so their essence is that of disbelievers.) This essence of theirs has been made clear. They vent their emotions to their family and treat everything based on their emotions. How can you tell that they are not part of God’s house, but are nonbelievers who have infiltrated God’s house? (Because they can betray the interests of God’s house, acting as traitors and moles, and because they are fundamentally not people who protect the work and interests of God’s house. Thus, these individuals are not of one heart with God’s house.) This explanation didn’t hit the mark. Let Me explain. Although these individuals participate in church life and do their duties, have they ever considered the brothers and sisters as their family? In plain terms, have they regarded the brothers and sisters as their own? (No.) Then what do they consider the brothers and sisters? (Outsiders.) Correct, as outsiders, as adversaries. What then do they consider God’s house and the church? Isn’t it just a workplace for them? (Yes.) They regard God’s house and the church as if they were companies or organizations of the world of nonbelievers, viewing the brothers and sisters as outsiders, as those to be guarded against, as adversaries. Thus, they can easily divulge various kinds of information and various actual situations about the brothers and sisters to those who fundamentally do not believe in God. They are aware that these nonbelieving people won’t have any good things to say, and could even slander the brothers and sisters, and defame God’s house–they know all this, yet they still recklessly disclose the situations of the brothers and sisters and the church to these nonbelievers without the slightest reservation. Clearly, they view the brothers and sisters as outsiders, as adversaries, and whenever any unpleasantness arises, they immediately join hands with nonbelievers to mock, defame, and act against the brothers and sisters behind their backs, thus satisfying their own desires. They feel that judging any brother or sister wouldn’t be feasible in the church because if they discuss the church’s matters or the brothers and sisters in front of the brothers and sisters themselves, they feel they would have to bear the consequences, which would be unfavorable for them. But discussing these matters with their family completely satisfies their personal impetuousness, desires, and emotions, without having to bear any consequences, since family is, after all, family, who wouldn’t sell them out. However, it’s not the same with the brothers and sisters, who could report them, expose them, and prune them, and even cause them to lose their duties and positions, at any time or place. So, it’s not false at all to say that they view the brothers and sisters as their adversaries. An adversary is someone who should be guarded against. Thus, they do not speak to the brothers and sisters, neither fellowshipping with them nor exposing anything to them. Instead, they “live church life” with their nonbelieving family members at home, where they share everything and pour out their hearts. They unreservedly express their thoughts, opinions, frustrations, dissatisfactions, and all their distorted views without any scruples whatsoever, finding release and pleasure in doing so. Their family members do not disdain them but instead help and cooperate with them. If they were to speak like this in the church, their true nature as disbelievers would be fully exposed, and the church would have to clear them out. Therefore, they do not view the brothers and sisters as family but as adversaries. This is one aspect. The other aspect is that they never consider themselves as part of the church, so anything that happens to the church, whether it’s defamation and blasphemy from the religious community, baseless rumors and ridicule from nonbelievers, or framing and persecution by the national government, is irrelevant and insignificant to them personally. Suppose that this was how they truly felt: “If the church’s image is damaged, and God’s name is dishonored, our dignity as believers is seriously challenged. Because of this, I would never discuss church matters or the affairs of God’s house with nonbelievers, letting them gossip and laugh about it. Not even to protect myself would I casually talk about the affairs of God’s house with my nonbelieving family members”—if they had such an awareness, wouldn’t they then be able to guard their tongues? So why can’t they do this? It is clear that they fundamentally do not consider themselves part of God’s house, nor do they consider themselves believers. Some people say, “Your words are incorrect. If they don’t consider themselves as part of God’s house, why would they still come to gatherings?” Among those who believe in God, there are all kinds of people. Haven’t we fellowshipped about this before? There are many who come to believe in God with various improper motives and purposes, and this is one such type. Believing in God for amusement, to relieve boredom, or to find spiritual sustenance—aren’t such disbelievers common? Can’t such people be found in ample numbers? (Yes.) They don’t even acknowledge themselves as believers in God. Of course, all the work of the church and God’s chosen people doing their duties are of no concern to them, they pay no heed to them. Thus, they can casually and lightly discuss the work situation of the church, the internal affairs of the church, and even any issues that occur among the brothers and sisters, with nonbelievers. After they finish speaking, nonbelievers proceed to gossip, slander, and satirize, but it doesn’t bother them in the slightest. They might even join the nonbelievers in hurling abuse at the brothers and sisters, judging God’s house, and commenting on the work and the work arrangements of God’s house. Are they believers in God? (No.) A true believer would never act in this manner. Even if it were for the sake of protecting their own dignity and interests, they would never bite the hand that feeds them and side with those outside the church. Isn’t this so? (Yes.) Therefore, such individuals are evil people and disbelievers, who must be cleared out. The sooner they are cleared out, the sooner the church will have tranquility.

Let’s talk about yourselves. For instance, if your parents don’t believe in God, or if your siblings or best friends don’t believe in God, but they don’t oppose your belief and are actually quite supportive of it, would you talk to them about everything that happens in the church? Suppose one of your female friends asks, “Are there any men in your church who are looking for a partner? Are there any who are particularly guileless, and tall, wealthy, and handsome?” Some decent people among the nonbelievers also wish to find a decent partner to spend their days with. Your female friend wants to find someone who believes in God, so will you be willing to tell her? (No.) You should tell her, “Your fondness for believers is useless. You are a nonbeliever and fundamentally incompatible with believers. You have no common language; you walk different paths! Look at you, dressed so flamboyantly—which brother in our church would take a fancy to you?” You don’t think highly of her, so could you talk to her about church matters? (No.) Just a few words in and the conversation would fall apart, with completely divergent viewpoints. Even if some nonbelievers have a good impression of believers, and even if they maintain a friendship with you after you become a believer, would you be willing to share with them the church’s internal affairs or the difficulties you encounter in doing your duties? (No.) Even if they support your belief in God, what’s the use of discussing church matters with them? For example, some brothers and sisters have withstood torture and interrogation by the great red dragon without becoming Judases. This is a testimony that even nonbelievers admire—would you be willing to share this with them? (No.) Why wouldn’t you be willing to discuss it? (Such matters are irrelevant to them, and they couldn’t understand these experiential testimonies.) They wouldn’t be able to understand. What negative effects could discussing these matters have? (They might end up judging the church instead.) They would cast judgment: “Why put yourselves through this? Why go against the national government?” See, a single comment can expose their nature. How can this be considered going against the national government? It’s clear that the devil king ruling the country is grievously harming God’s chosen people, leaving them without a way to live. Even when they witness this, they pretend not to know. It’s clear that they speak in a way that inverts the truth and twists facts. What else could you possibly discuss with them? You cannot speak to them about anything related to faith in God; you cannot let them know anything about this. Those who cannot guard their tongues can tell everything about the church to nonbelievers. They are obviously disbelievers; they are devils coming to God’s house to muddle along, beasts biting the hand that feeds them without a shred of conscience or reason. For them, any harm to the interests or reputation of God’s house or the church doesn’t affect them at all, doesn’t touch on any of their own interests, and they do not feel the slightest bit of sorrow; thus, they can recklessly talk about the internal affairs of the church to nonbelievers and people who don’t believe in God, without the slightest scruple. Are such people hateful? (Yes!) Can a disbeliever, who does not see the brothers and sisters as family but sees nonbelievers as their family, accept the truth? (No.) Can they acknowledge that God is the truth? (No.) Can a person who doesn’t consider themselves a member of the church, when hearing the words of God’s salvation of man, put aside their own interests to pursue the truth and enter the truth reality? (No.) Their daily activities consist only of betraying the interests of the church, siding with outsiders, and serving as moles, Judases, traitors, as if this is their mission. They do not walk a proper path but live to do evil; they deserve to die and be cursed! These Judases, traitors, and servants of Satan who bite the hand that feeds them are negative wretches, they are harmful to humankind, and are despised by all. So, isn’t it absolutely proper for the church to handle them and clear them out? (Yes.) It is absolutely proper! Wouldn’t you dislike being sold out? If the church or God’s house were sold out, most might not empathize deeply or feel too distressed; they’d just be a bit uncomfortable inside, because, after all, they are a member of it. But what if you were sold out by someone in the church to nonbelievers, and because of them selling you out, nonbelievers twisted the facts, defamed, mocked, judged, and condemned you? How would you feel then? Wouldn’t you then experience the humiliation and shame suffered by the church and God’s house? (Yes.) From this point of view, is it appropriate to clear out such individuals? (Yes.) They should be cleared out; there’s no need to show them leniency. Concerning those who cannot guard their tongues, based on the various manifestations of how they live as a person and what they live out, they are disbelievers within the church, a type of evil person who should be cleared out. Regardless of whether their actions are done in secrecy or openly, once it is discovered that someone cannot guard their tongue and their humanity essence is that of a thoroughgoing disbeliever, then immediately report them to the leaders and workers, and notify the brothers and sisters. A timely and accurate discernment should be made about such individuals, and they should then be cleared out from the church as soon as possible. Do not let them have any involvement with the church, its work, or the brothers and sisters; thoroughly clearing them out is the correct action. This concludes the fellowship on this manifestation of humanity—being unable to guard one’s tongue.

Are the three types of people fellowshipped about today more serious cases than the two types fellowshipped about previously? (Yes.) Their circumstances are worse, their humanity is viler and more despicable, and their harm and impact on the interests of the church and all brothers and sisters is greater. Therefore, do not take these three types of people lightly; they should be vigilantly guarded against and not indulged. If anyone is identified as one of these three types, they should be exposed and discerned immediately, and then disposed of as quickly as possible. If they are doing an important duty, find someone to take over their duty immediately, and then remove them from that duty and clear them out. Understood? (Understood.) The various states of the church’s brothers and sisters, their various manifestations in different periods, the church’s work, and even some of its internal affairs are only allowed to be discussed and fellowshipped among the brothers and sisters. This is to enable God’s chosen people to have clearer understandings and insights of the principles required by God’s house, thereby achieving the ability to act according to the truth principles. However, one principle must be clear: Whether it is truths or principles concerning the life entry of God’s chosen people, or whether it’s the regulations for general affairs, they are absolutely not allowed to be spoken of to nonbelievers, which would result in nonbelievers commenting and pointing fingers. This is absolutely prohibited. Some might say, “If it’s absolutely prohibited, does that mean it’s an administrative decree?” It can be put this way; whoever leaks information will bear the corresponding consequences. Why will they have to bear the consequences? Because those who leak internal matters of the church do not protect the church or the brothers and sisters, and can easily betray the church and the brothers and sisters. Since they act as traitors and Judases, they should no longer be shown leniency or considered as brothers and sisters or family. They should be disposed of as traitors and Judases and be directly cleared out of the church. Some people say, “I used to have the bad habit of being a big mouth, I was prone to speaking recklessly. Now that I see the consequences of such actions, I dare not speak recklessly anymore.” Good. Since you’ve said this, your behavior will be observed. If you truly repent and turn around, no longer recklessly passing on information or betraying the interests of the brothers and sisters, and can guard your tongue, God’s house will give you one chance. If it’s discovered again that you’ve done this, that you were the one to spread some information, you will not be shown any leniency—the brothers and sisters in the church will unite to clear you out. When that happens, don’t cry or complain that you weren’t warned in advance. Now that things are explained clearly, if this happens again, God’s house will absolutely not be lenient. Understood? (Understood.) If you see anyone who hasn’t understood, explain it to them; give them pointers using what we’ve fellowshipped today. If you notice someone showing signs of this behavior or someone who has acted this way before, communicate with them, warn them, and inform them of the nature and consequences of such actions, as well as God’s house’s attitude toward these matters and people. After making things clear, observe them to see if they can repent and what they will do in the future. If they change and no longer act in such a way, they can be accepted back and treated as brothers and sisters. But if they remain obstinately unrepentant and continue to covertly act like this, clear them out whenever you find such a person. If you find a pair, then clear out the two of them; if you find a group, then clear out the whole lot. Don’t show any leniency. Some people ask, “Can I talk to those in my family who once believed but were later cleared out?” It seems that those who love to run their mouths and engage in gossip don’t find it easy to control themselves, always stubbornly asking if that is permissible. What do you think, is it permissible? (No.) It’s not permissible to speak to anyone, as it easily leads to consequences. Such people must all be disposed of as Judases. Those who are nonbelievers, those who have been cleared out, those who are close to you, those who are trustworthy, those who are supportive of your belief in God, those who have a favorable impression of believing in God, and those who nominally believe in God, who merely live church life and read a bit of God’s words but do not do their duty whatsoever, must not be spoken to—if one does, they will be disposed of as a Judas. Understood? (Understood.) Who else is included in those who do not do their duties? Are ordinary church members included? (Yes.) Don’t forget this matter; don’t be foolish. You must grasp the principles well. Don’t go on believing only to end up becoming a Judas and betraying God’s house, betraying the brothers and sisters without even realizing it, and even feeling proud of it. Not being able to guard one’s tongue and even betraying the work of the church and the brothers and sisters is a serious transgression. God keeps records of anyone who commits such evil. Now that it’s been clearly explained to you, and you’ve understood, if you do it again, it’s not a simple transgression anymore; it’s a violation of the administrative decree, which makes you a target for being cleared out, and you will be deprived of the right to salvation. Understood? (Understood.)

December 11, 2021