Work and Entry (8)

I have said so many times that God’s work of the last days is done in order to change each person’s heart, to change each person’s soul, such that their heart, which has suffered great trauma, is touched and transformed, thus rescuing their soul, which has been so profoundly harmed by sin; it is in order to awaken their spirit, to thaw their cold heart, and allow it to be rejuvenated. This is God’s greatest intention. Leaving aside, for now, however advanced or deep man’s life and experiences may be, when people’s hearts have been awakened, when they have been roused from their dreams and know full well the harm wrought by the great red dragon, the work of God’s ministry will have been completed. The day that God’s work is finished is also the day when man officially starts on the correct path of belief in God. At this time, God’s ministry will have come to an end, meaning the work of God become flesh will have completely finished. Man will then officially begin to perform the duty that he ought to perform—he will perform his ministry. These are the steps of God’s work. Thus, you should grope for your path to entry upon the foundation of knowing these things. All of this is what you should understand. Only when man has undergone change deep within his heart can he enter more effectively, for God’s work is the complete salvation of man—man who has been redeemed, who still lives under the forces of darkness, and who has never awakened—from this gathering place of demons; it is so that man may be freed of millennia of sin, and be beloved of God, and so that the great red dragon may be hurled down to its death, God’s kingdom firmly established, and rest brought to God’s heart sooner; it is to give vent, without reservation, to the hatred that swells your breast, to eradicate those moldy germs, to allow you to break free from this life that is no different from that of an ox or horse, to no longer be a slave, to no longer be freely trampled upon or ordered about by the great red dragon; you will no longer be of this failed nation, will no longer belong to the great red dragon, whose sins tower to the heavens, and you will no longer be enslaved by it. The demons’ nest will surely be torn to pieces by God, and you will stand beside God—you belong to God, and do not belong to this empire of slaves. God has long since hated this dark society to His very bones. He gnashes His teeth, eager to plant His feet upon this heinously sinful old serpent, so that it cannot rise again for all eternity, and will never again harm man; He will not excuse its actions in the past, He will not tolerate its deceit of man, and He will settle the score for every one of its sins throughout the ages. Not in the slightest will God let this ringleader of all evil^[1] off the hook; He will utterly destroy it!

This land which has been filthy for thousands of years is unbearably dirty, misery abounds, ghosts run rampant everywhere, tricking and deceiving, making groundless accusations,^[2] ruthlessly employing vicious means, trampling this ghost town and leaving it littered with dead bodies; the stench of decay covers the land and pervades the air, and it is heavily guarded.^[3] Who can see the world beyond the skies? The devil tightly trusses all of man’s body, it veils both his eyes, and seals his lips firmly shut. The king of devils has rampaged for several thousand years, right up until today, when it still keeps a close watch on the ghost town, as if it were an impenetrable palace of demons; this pack of watchdogs, meanwhile, stare with glaring eyes, deeply fearful that God will catch them unawares and wipe them all out, leaving them without a place of peace and happiness. How could the people of a ghost town such as this ever have seen God? Could they ever have enjoyed the dearness and loveliness of God? Could they ever understand the matters of the human world? Who of them can understand God’s eager intentions? Small wonder, then, that God incarnate remains completely hidden: In a dark society such as this, where the demons are merciless and inhumane, how could the king of devils, who kills people without batting an eye, tolerate the existence of a God who is lovely, kind, and also holy? How could it applaud and cheer the arrival of God? These lackeys! They repay kindness with hatred, they began treating God as an enemy long ago, they abuse God, they are savage in the extreme, they have not the slightest regard for God, they assail and plunder, they have lost all conscience, they go against all conscience, and they beguile innocent humankind into a stupor. What successors of ancient sages? What beloved leaders? They’re all wretches that oppose God! Their meddling has left all beneath heaven in a state of darkness and chaos! What religious freedom? What legitimate rights and interests of citizens? They are all tricks for covering up evil! Who has supported the work of God? Who has laid down their life or shed blood for the work of God? Humans, who have been enslaved for generations, in an unbroken line from parents to children, have unceremoniously enslaved God—how could this not incite incessant fury? Millennia of hatred are concentrated in the heart, ten thousand ages of evil are inscribed upon the heart—how could this not inspire hatred? Avenge God, completely snuff out His enemy—let’s see it run rampant and rule as a tyrant then! Now is the time: Man has long since gathered all his strength, and shall devote all his heart’s blood and pay every price for this, to tear off the hideous face of this devil and allow people, who have been blinded, and who have endured every manner of suffering and hardship, to rise up from their pain and rebel against this evil old devil. Why block the work of God so tightly that not even a drop can get through? Why employ various tricks to deceive God’s folk? Where is the true freedom and the legitimate rights and interests? Where is the fairness? Where is the comfort? Where is the warmth? Why use schemes to trick God’s folk? Why use force to suppress the coming of God? Why not allow God to freely roam upon the earth that He created? Why hound God until He has nowhere to rest His head? Where is the warmth among people? Where is His welcome among people? Why cause such desperate yearning in God? Why make God call out again and again? Why push God to the point where He must worry for His beloved Son? This dark society and the wretched guard dogs–why do they not allow God to freely come and go in the world which He created? Why does man, who lives amid suffering, not understand? For your sakes, God has endured great pain, in agonizing grief He has given up His beloved Son, His flesh and blood, to bestow Him upon you—so why do you still turn a blind eye? In full view of everyone, you reject the arrival of God, and refuse God’s friendship. Why are you so unconscionable? Are you willing to endure the injustices in a dark society such as this? Why, instead of filling your bellies with millennia of hatred, do you stuff yourselves with the king of devils’ “shit”?

How great are the obstacles to God’s work? Has anyone ever known? With people encaged by deep-seated superstitious colorings, who is capable of knowing God’s true face? With this backward cultural knowledge so shallow and absurd, how could they fully comprehend the words spoken by God? Even when they are spoken to face to face, and nourished mouth to mouth, how could they understand? Sometimes it is like playing the lute to a grazing cow: People have not the slightest reaction, they wag their heads and understand nothing. How could this not be worrisome? This “distant,^[4] ancient cultural history and cultural knowledge” has nurtured such a worthless group of people. What ancient culture—what precious heritage? It’s a pile of junk! It became an everlasting shame long ago, and is not worth mentioning! It has taught people the tricks and techniques of opposing God, and the “ordered, gentle guidance”^[5] of the national education has made people even more rebellious against God. Each part of God’s work is extremely difficult, and every step of His work upon earth has put God in a tricky position. How arduous His work on earth is! How difficult His strides are in His work on earth: For man’s weakness, inadequacies, immaturity, ignorance, and everything about man, God makes meticulous plans and engages in thoughtful consideration. Man is like a paper tiger that one dare not cross or provoke; at the merest touch he bites back, or else falls down and loses his way, and it is as if, with the slightest lapse in attention, he relapses, or else ignores God, or runs to his pigs and dogs of parents to indulge in the filthy things of their bodies. What a great hindrance! At practically every step of His work, God is subjected to a test, and at almost every step God risks great danger. His words are sincere and earnest, and without malice, yet who is willing to accept them? Who is willing to fully surrender? It breaks God’s heart. He taxes Himself day and night for man, He is beset by anxiety for man’s life, and He makes allowance for man’s weakness. He has endured many twists and turns in each step of His work, for every word that He speaks; He is ever between a rock and a hard place, and thinks of man’s weakness, rebelliousness, immaturity, and vulnerability … around the clock over and over again. Who has ever known this? Who can He confide in? Who would be able to understand? Ever does He hate the sins of man, and the lack of backbone, the spinelessness of man, and ever does He worry for the vulnerability of man, and gives thought to the path that lies ahead of man. Always, as He sees the words and deeds of man, is He filled with mercy, and anger, and always does the sight of these things bring pain to His heart. Innocent man, after all, has grown numb; why must God always make things difficult for him? Vulnerable man is utterly bereft of perseverance; why should God always have such unabating anger toward him? Weak and powerless man no longer has the slightest vitality; why should God always chide him for his rebelliousness? Who can withstand the threats of God in heaven? Man, after all, is weak, and having absolutely no other choice, God has suppressed His anger to the depths of His heart, allowing man to slowly reflect upon himself. Yet man, deep in suffering, has not the slightest appreciation of God’s intentions. He has been trampled underfoot by the old king of devils but is completely unaware, and he always sets himself against God, or else is neither hot nor cold toward God. God has spoken so many words, yet who has ever taken them seriously? Man does not understand God’s words, yet he is unperturbed and without yearning; he has never truly known the essence of the old devil. People live in Hades, in hell, but believe they live in an “undersea palace”; they are persecuted by the great red dragon, yet think themselves to be “favored”^[6] by the state; they are made fools of by the devil yet think they are enjoying the superlative artistry of the flesh. What a bunch of sordid, lowly wretches they are! Man has met with misfortune, but he does not know it, and in this dark society he suffers mishap after mishap,^[7] yet never has he awakened. When will he cast off his disposition of being kind to himself and his slavish disposition? Why is he inconsiderate of God’s heart? Does he quietly condone this oppression and hardship? Does he not wish for the day when he can change darkness into light? Does he not wish to retrieve justice and the truth which have been wronged? Is he willing to watch and do nothing as people reject the truth and twist the facts? Is he willing to keep enduring this injustice? Is he willing to be a slave? Is he willing to perish at the hands of God together with the slaves of this failed state? Where is your resolve? Where is your ambition? Where is your dignity? Where is your integrity? Where is your freedom? Are you willing to lay down your entire life^[8] for the great red dragon, the king of devils? Are you willing to let it torment you to death in this life? The face of the deep is chaotic and dark; the common folk rail against Heaven and earth, and all living beings are plunged into misery. When will man be able to hold his head up high? Man is scrawny and emaciated, how could he contend with this cruel and tyrannical devil? Why does he not give his life to God as soon as he can? Why does he still waver? When can he finish God’s work? He is aimlessly bullied and oppressed in this way, and his whole life is ultimately spent in vain; why is he in such a hurry to arrive, and such a rush to depart? Why does he not keep something precious to give to God? Has he forgotten the millennia of hatred?

Perhaps, many people loathe some of God’s words, or perhaps they neither loathe them nor have any interest in them. Regardless, the facts cannot become fallacies; no one may speak words that contravene the facts. God has become flesh this time to do such work, to conclude the work that He has yet to complete, to bring this age to a close, to judge this age, to save the deeply sinful from the world of the sea of suffering and utterly transform them. The Jews nailed God to the cross, thus ending God’s “journey in Judea.” Not long after, God personally came among man once more, quietly arriving in the country of the great red dragon. In fact, the religious world of the Jewish state had long since hung the image of Jesus on their walls, and from their mouths people cried “Lord Jesus Christ.” Little did they know that Jesus had long since accepted for the second time His Father’s order to return among man, to finish the second stage of His work that had yet to be completed. As a result, while everyone was fixing their gaze upon Him, He caught them off guard: He was born into another world in which one age replaced another, and He appeared among man with the look of one who is supremely ordinary. In fact, with the changing of the ages, His clothing and entire appearance have changed, as if He had been reborn. How could people know that He is the very same Lord Jesus Christ who came down from the cross and rose again? He is without the slightest trace of injury, just as Jesus bore no resemblance to Jehovah. The Jesus of today has long since been without the bearing of times gone by. How could people recognize Him? The suspicious “Thomas” constantly doubts that He is the risen Jesus, and always wants to see the scars from the nails on Jesus’ hands before he can put his mind at rest; without having seen them, he would always stand upon a cloud of suspicion, and is incapable of placing his feet on the solid ground and following Jesus. Poor “Thomas”—how could he know that Jesus has come to do the work commissioned by God the Father? Why does Jesus need to bear the nail scars? Are these nail scars the mark of Jesus? He has come to work for the will of God the Father; why would He come clothed and adorned as a Jew from several thousand years ago? Could the outward appearance God takes in the flesh hinder the work of God? Whose fixed rule is this? Why, when God works, must it be in accordance with man’s imagination? The only thing that God focuses on in His work is for it to have an effect. He does not abide by the law, and there are no rules to His work—how could man fathom it? How could man thoroughly understand the work of God by relying on his notions and imaginings? So you had best quiet yourselves down properly: Do not fuss over trifles, and do not make a big deal out of things that are new to you, lest you make a joke of yourself, lest you be sneered at by others. You have believed in God for all these years and yet still you do not know God. Ultimately, you are plunged into chastisement; you, who are placed “top of the class,”^[9] are ascribed to the ranks of the chastised. You had best not outsmart yourself by showing off your cleverness. Can your short-sightedness truly perceive God, who sees through from eternity to eternity? Can your superficial experiences allow you to fully see through to the intentions of God? Do not be conceited. God, after all, is not of the world—so how could His work be as you expected?

Footnotes:

1. “Ringleader of all evil” refers to the old devil. This phrase expresses extreme hatred.

2. “Making groundless accusations” refers to the methods by which the devil harms people.

3. “Heavily guarded” indicates that the methods by which the devil grievously harms people are especially vicious, and control people so much that they have no room to move.

4. “Distant” is used mockingly.

5. “Ordered, gentle guidance” is used mockingly.

6. “Favored” is used to mock people who seem wooden and have no self-awareness.

7. “Suffers mishap after mishap” indicates that the people born in the land of the great red dragon are unable to hold their heads up high.

8. “Lay down your entire life” is meant in a derogatory sense.

9. “Top of the class” is used to mock those who fervently pursue God.