Sermon and Fellowship Excerpts for Reference:

The great red dragon blasphemes and slanders God so much; is it not, as a foil, rendering service to Him? What results are achieved through the service rendered by this foil? For those who do not love the truth, it overthrows and binds them and blocks their path to the entrance of the kingdom of heaven. For those who love the truth, it allows them to be perfected. The more that the great red dragon judges, resists, discredits and blasphemes Christ, the more those who love the truth will pursue the truth and the more they will dispose of their notions, thereby ultimately becoming more compatible with Christ. Is this not the function that the great red dragon has as a foil? In the Book of Revelation, it is said: “He that is unjust, let him be unjust still … and he that is holy, let him be holy still” (Rev 22:11). When the great red dragon does this or that, he that is unjust gives up his faith and he eliminates himself. For those who love the truth, the more they see the great red dragon blasphemes, slanders and attacks Christ, the more they hate the great red dragon and the more they seek the truth; ultimately the effect that will be achieved is that they will be completely compatible with Christ, without a single notion about Him. And so is fulfilled God’s word that His work in the last days is to save and perfect those who pursue the truth, and to reveal, eliminate and condemn those who do not love the truth and who are sick of the truth. Think about those who have some notions. As soon as they fellowship about the truth, their notions are resolved, and eventually they come to have a deeper love of God. They know that the words spoken by the devil are only lies which almost make them fall, almost ruin them, and so they have even more hate for Satan the devil. Those who listen to the rumors and lies of the great red dragon will develop notions about God and will retreat and no longer believe and, in the end, a day will come when God will appear publicly and say: “I am the Almighty God that you have persecuted and condemned.” And then they shall weep and gnash their teeth! They’ll just have to accept it, for who caused them to have notions and to leave the church? Why did they not seek the truth? Why did they not read more of the word of God? Why did they believe the devil’s words? Some people have notions, but whenever brothers and sisters in God’s house fellowship with them out of love, some of these people’s notions will be alleviated or eliminated, and they will accept God’s work in the last days. But for some people, no matter how our brothers and sisters fellowship, it will be to no avail. Today, after our fellowship is over, their notions will be dispelled, but tomorrow when they see some bad things, once again, notions will arise in them. Then, our brothers and sisters will once again fellowship with them to dispel these notions, and then the day after, when they see negative things, once again, they will fall down. They continuously stand up and fall down, stand up and fall down, but in the end they will still be fallen, and eventually no one will pay them any notice. This kind of people enjoy the words of the devil and they do not love the word of God. These people will be kicked out, the church does not want them. They can fall down one or two times, but they are not allowed to keep falling forever, and it is in this way that some people are eliminated.

from Sermons and Fellowship on Entry Into Life, Volume 139

Today, the Chinese Communist Party has fabricated so many rumors to discredit God and The Church of Almighty God and some people have been revealed to believe the Chinese Communist Party’s rumors and Satan’s lies and they do not believe that God is the truth and that God is holy. What kind of problem is this? Does this reveal whether or not people have true faith in the presence of God and whether they believe in the truth and God or believe in Satan? This is when people are revealed. So in His last days’ work, what does God hope to achieve by allowing the great red dragon to render service in this way and all of Satan’s evil forces to do these things? One aspect is to perfect those who pursue the truth, and the other aspect is to reveal all those who do not love the truth and eliminate all those false believers. Now, those people who do not love the truth and do not believe in God have been revealed and eliminated. Are God’s good intentions not behind Satan rendering service in this way? Some people cannot see it and, actually, this is a good thing! How are those people who pursue the truth after they have experienced the persecution of the Chinese Communist Party? After God’s chosen people in mainland China have been through a period of being traced and arrested, framed, judged, set up and discredited by the Chinese Communist Party, ninety-nine percent of people stand firm and hate the Chinese Communist Party even more, and their belief in God becomes even truer. These people have become unbeatable by Satan. It is only the minority of individuals who are deceived and passively retreat. The Chinese Communist Party believed that national suppression and destruction of The Church of Almighty God had been successful, but what they hadn’t expected was that many videos of life experience and testimony, videos of hymns and of God’s words and articles of testimony in The Church of Almighty God were then put online overnight. “How come so many movies have been put online overnight? Where are the people who made them? These people have not been wiped out or suppressed. On the contrary, they are even stronger!” Does this not humiliate Satan? Have these people been defeated? They have not. On the contrary, they are even stronger. How are these people who are in pursuit of the truth now? They are even energized. Many brothers and sisters stand up, find strength and find the path to pursue the truth the moment they see God’s latest utterances. “We seek to act as Job and to become people who fear God and shun evil.” After experiencing this national large-scale suppression by the Chinese Communist Party, God’s chosen people are even energized. Not only have they not decreased in number, but they are actually still increasing. There are far fewer who leave than join. Why does this happen? This is the power of God’s words and the power of the truth. The word of God can accomplish everything. What role do all those outright lies, those various evil practices and the arrests, persecution and torture of God’s chosen people by the Chinese Communist Party play? They do service for the life growth of God’s chosen people. People who have come out of prison believe in God even more and are more certain that Almighty God is the true God and that He is the One that can be relied on, and they are more certain that the word of Almighty God is incomparably powerful! The word of Almighty God can become people’s life. This is completely true. The Chinese Communist Party never imagined that, after this period of suppression, not only would they not have destroyed The Church of Almighty God, but on the contrary, God’s chosen people of The Church of Almighty God would be even stronger and would enter into the reality of truth even more and give beautiful resounding testimonies. … Now the whole world of nonbelievers is beginning to have a little knowledge of The Church of Almighty God and of Almighty God. After experiencing this propaganda and suppression by the Chinese Communist Party and this period of defamation, people are all starting to wake up, and some people are beginning to study The Church of Almighty God. People wonder, “How powerful is this Church of Almighty God? How can it make the Chinese Communist Party mobilize the whole nation to take concerted action to suppress it?” People ponder this but fail to find the answer despite much thought. Finally, they go online to investigate this matter, and they discover that Almighty God’s words are so good, so practical and that they are all the truth! The Chinese Communist Party is most afraid of the words of Almighty God and of all the truths that Almighty God utters spreading throughout the world and across the universe. This is why it spares no effort in suppressing The Church of Almighty God. Remember this: Everything can be accomplished by the word of Almighty God. It can change the world and can change mankind. Do you believe these words? (Yes.) Now, the word of God has gained more and more attention from the whole of mankind and people have begun to think about it deeply: “How powerful is the word of Almighty God that the CCP suppresses the Church?” People will start to pay attention to the word of God, but the awakening of mankind is slow. The 21st century is the era of the word of Almighty God wielding power on earth. The book, The Word Appears in the Flesh, shall be the most famous book of the next era which shall be praised and held in high esteem. It will also be the brilliant blockbuster of the next era, guiding and leading mankind! In the next era, the whole of mankind will read The Word Appears in the Flesh and treat this book as life’s greatest classic work. Later, more and more people will start to read the word of Almighty God. This will certainly come true, and it is a fact which God shall accomplish. When the Chinese Communist Party suppresses The Church of Almighty God to the extreme, the fruits of this work will begin to come into effect; once a certain limit is reached a change in the opposite direction is inevitable! If the CCP did not suppress The Church of Almighty God this much, would the whole of mankind be able to read the word of God? Would they be able to study the word of Almighty God? It could not be so. Even if we spread the gospel and gave out books every day, this outcome would still not be achieved. This can only come about by the Chinese Communist Party suppressing The Church of Almighty God in this way! As soon as I see the Chinese Communist Party suppressing us in this way, I say that God is so wise and that this move is so good. The service rendered by the CCP is absolutely essential. If they did not render this service, then we would not be able to achieve this result. You see this, don’t you? Now, China has become the center of world attention, and the Chinese government’s every move attracts the world’s concern. Therefore, when China suppresses The Church of Almighty God, the whole world pays attention and people ask: “What is actually wrong with The Church of Almighty God? Why does the Chinese government suppress it so hard? Why does the Chinese government hate The Church of Almighty God so much?” The Chinese government does not give any answers or conclusions. They just say that you are an evil religion, but do not say anything else, and they just persistently suppress you. People say: “What is your basis for saying that they are an evil religion? Tell me how they are evil. What is this based on?” They cannot respond. They are incapable of explaining! The classic work of The Church of Almighty God is The Word Appears in the Flesh. Do they dare show this book? Do they dare to say that this book is an evil book? They do not dare say so, nor do they dare to show, for they are afraid that everyone around the world will come and read it. As a result, we highlight and hold aloft The Word Appears in the Flesh on our websites, on websites around the world and in all videos produced by God’s house, so that it may gleam and shine. We always mention this book. As soon as people see The Church of Almighty God, they will first see The Word Appears in the Flesh and will all understand “this is the classic work of The Church of Almighty God! After reading this book, we will know what The Church of Almighty God is all about.” Now people are all starting to read and study it. Do you think the Chinese Communist Party studies it? Does the Chinese Communist Party listen to the sermons of the man used by the Holy Spirit? They listen to them secretly. If they did not study them, how could they hate The Church of Almighty God so much? The more they study them, the more they feel that Almighty God’s words are the truth and the true light. The more they study them, the more they fear them. The more they fear them, the more they are revealed to be the devil Satan by the true light. They fear Almighty God’s words too much and they fear that we will bring all people before God, and this is why they suppress us. As a result, some new believers give up their belief, but God’s chosen people in The Church of Almighty God are strengthened and their faith grows. And what happens when they are suppressed again and again? They will enter into the reality of the truth and bear resounding testimony. What about that mass arrest? Many people bore beautiful and resounding testimonies, and true believers in God were perfected, while false believers were exposed and eliminated. By doing this, did they not render service for God’s work? Therefore, God’s wisdom is exercised based on Satan’s deceitful schemes, and this is entirely true. God is so almighty. The great red dragon is the defeated general and a chess piece in God’s hands, and it renders a service for God’s work. They have rendered good service, and the work of separating all according to their kind is done through the service rendered by the great red dragon. Those who do not love the truth and do not hate the great red dragon are exposed and eliminated through the great red dragon’s service. Those who pursue the truth but who have not discerned the great red dragon’s satanic nature can see through the great red dragon’s essence and discern it through the service which the great red dragon renders, and they can truly forsake the great red dragon. You can all see this effect happening now, right? These results are all achieved by the great red dragon’s service. If it did not render this service, and only God’s family watered and guided people without the advent of facts, then the results would not be so clear. Some service is needed from the great red dragon. From this, we again see that God is so almighty and that God’s wisdom is exercised based on Satan’s deceitful schemes. Countless facts prove that this statement is true and is not wrong at all. Anyone can come up with a lot of evidence to prove it is so. The great red dragon is God’s foil and serving object. The more you look, the truer and more real it is and thus those who love the truth have greater faith in God and more knowledge of God’s work. God is so almighty, therefore it is so fitting that God’s name is Almighty God!

from “Sermons and Fellowship About God’s Word ‘God’s Work, God’s Disposition, and God Himself III’ (III)” in Sermons and Fellowship on Entry Into Life XI

In the nation of the great red dragon, God selected the great red dragon to be His foil and His service doer. How does the great red dragon do? The great red dragon does “very well” and performs “remarkably well”! In what ways does it perform “remarkably well”? Its satanic nature and desires are brought into play to the maximum extent and it mobilizes the manpower, material resources and other resources of the whole nation to resist God’s work and oppose God. It has been whipped into a confused and terrible state by God, and so it can be said that it has performed “remarkably well.” What practices has it adopted? Its search for, its arrests and persecution of God’s chosen people across the whole nation have reached its limits. It has also mobilized media throughout the nation to wantonly misrepresent and condemn God’s work, and it has carried this out to extremes. This service has spread the name “Almighty God” to the whole world, hasn’t it? Now every nation in the world knows The Church of Almighty God. Even Israel knows about it. How effective is the great red dragon’s service? It should receive God’s “commendation” now, and by “commendation” I mean punishment.

from “Sermons and Fellowship About God’s Word ‘God Himself, the Unique I’ (XII)” in Sermons and Fellowship on Entry Into Life XII

Some people do not know God and say: “What actually is righteousness? What is holiness? What is the light?” Now if you are asked to speak about your own experience and to base your understanding on God’s work, you will be unable to speak about it. If you are asked to speak of letters and doctrines, then that is okay, and you all can say something about it, but you have nothing to say when speaking of reality. You do not have any understanding of God’s righteousness and God’s holiness, but do you have knowledge of Satan’s evilness, meanness and shamelessness? You should have knowledge of this, right? What aspects of God’s disposition can Satan’s extreme meanness and shamelessness act as a foil for? God’s righteousness, justice and uprightness. God acts in a just and upright manner, right? The great red dragon is overwhelming in its slander, judgments, fabrications, framing and discrediting of The Church of Almighty God. Is this not a well-known fact? Is the great red dragon righteous? Does the great red dragon have light? From what they do, we can see clearly that they are so mean and shameless, able to distort the facts, confuse right and wrong, slander and spread rumors, and they are experts in defamation! The essence of all that the great red dragon does represents the evil of Satan. Against this background, does God get angry with them? Does God destroy them? Not yet. For the time being, God endures them and still justly and honorably testifies to His work and lets God’s chosen people speak about their experiences, spontaneously bear witness to God, write articles, make films, sing hymns and put them on the Internet. Then people around the world will come and comment, and all those who have eyes and ears and can see and hear will be clear about this fact: Is it God who is righteous or Satan? Is it God who has the truth or Satan? Is it God who is just and honorable or Satan? Isn’t this what God does? (Yes.) This enables us to see that God does this “because God is just, of the light and flawlessly holy.” God is not afraid of Satan’s defamation, slander and judgment. God does not care! God does His work, utters His words and leads His chosen people to enter the truth and achieve knowledge of God as usual. This shows that God is just and honorable, holy and pure! When God has finished expressing all the words He wishes to say and has finished watering, providing for and feeding God’s chosen people and they have achieved knowledge of God, that is when the great red dragon will meet its demise, and that is when the wrath of God will be unleashed and when all enemy forces will be destroyed. From this, we can see that God truly is almighty! From the reactions online now, we can see that some people are starting to wake up and see the word of Almighty God, to see the films and testimonies of God’s house and to recognize that this is a positive energy, that these people are positive, that the great red dragon is negative and evil, and that the great red dragon’s slander, rumors and attacks are all unfounded. Therefore, the comments online have also changed. Even nonbelievers do not stand on the side of the great red dragon. They do not believe their outright lies and many people are willing to seek and investigate the true way. What does this prove? It proves that God is the light, that God is holy, righteous, and almighty, and that He will always triumph and that Satan will always fail! No matter how frenzied and how disguised those dark evil forces are, one day sooner or later their true colors will be revealed!

from “Sermons and Fellowship About God’s Word ‘God Himself, the Unique II’ (VI)” in Sermons and Fellowship on Entry Into Life XII

In God’s work, God permits antichrists and all sorts of evil spirits and wicked people to enter His church. He permits the great red dragon to frenziedly suppress and capture believers. He permits the religious world’s blasphemy, resistance and condemnations. God does not strike down these people nor does He destroy them. Why is this? This is a mystery! Does this indicate God’s powerlessness, or does it bear witness to God’s almightiness? (It bears witness to God’s almightiness.) Why do we say this? It is because God is not afraid of how you condemn or resist Him. God is not afraid of you no matter how many things you say, how many allegations you make and how savage your actions are. He allows you to do whatever you want. He allows Satan to tyrannize and tell falsehoods as it wishes, yet God is not afraid. He does not pay attention to any of this. This is because after the conclusion of this stage of God’s work, this mankind will be destroyed, and before He destroys mankind, He must collect evidence and proof. Only when He finishes doing this can He then destroy mankind. God said that the God on earth is “instrumental … in seizing the facts to punish the wicked.” That is why, in order to collect evidence of the evil things that evil people do, He allows them to reveal themselves and to play their part. Once they have played their part for long enough, then He will punish them and capture them in His net. After the judgment work of the last days, God will do the work of concluding the age; to conclude the age, He has to have evidence and He has to have facts. This is why God must allow Satan to play its part. The more savage and unrestrained Satan’s actions are, the more clearly everybody can see it for what it is. The truth would be publicly acknowledged, and the evidence would be complete. If God immediately destroyed the great red dragon before it had resisted Almighty God and spread so many rumors, what would the consequences be? The great red dragon would say: “God is unjust. We have not done much evil, yet He destroys us.” Moreover, in the spiritual world, Satan would not be convinced. It would accuse God. That is why everything that God does must be done to utterly convince people, to shut Satan’s mouth and put it to shame. These are the principles of God’s actions. Did God know in the beginning of all the evil things that the great red dragon would do and all the lies it would spread? God definitely knew that the great red dragon would resist Him. And what is the significance of God incarnating in China? It is to contest against the great red dragon and to destroy the great red dragon. When God incarnated in China, the great red dragon would definitely launch a vicious counterattack, and it would savagely seek to kill, resist and condemn God. What does God’s prophecy say? “Wherever the incarnation appears, so the enemy is destroyed from that place. China is the first to be annihilated, to be laid to waste by the hand of God. God gives absolutely no quarter to China” (The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. Interpretations of the Mysteries of “God’s Words to the Entire Universe”, Chapter 10). God says that the great red dragon will be the first to be destroyed before the world gets destroyed. What does this indicate? Before God incarnated in the flesh and before He had performed His work in the last days, He already knew of all these matters. God knew that the great red dragon would definitely do this, and that is why God spoke these prophecies before He destroys the great red dragon.

from Sermons and Fellowship on Entry Into Life, Volume 142

Do you now know what the religious community is doing when they judge and brazenly attack Almighty God? They are seeking death. Some people say they have not yet died, that it is not good for them to die now and to die later is better. They say that there is time for death and time for death should be carefully chosen. Do you think it is appropriate for them to die now? If they are made to die now, then how can other people be revealed? There are many demons that have not yet been revealed and that must all be revealed. All those who resist and deny God will eventually rise up and resist. They will be thoroughly revealed and rounded up in one clean sweep. If one is killed the moment they reveal themselves, would the next one dare to show themselves? No one would dare show themselves. Do not kill them now. Let them live a bit longer. When others see them, they will say: “They resisted God and nothing happened. It does not look like it really is God, so let’s resist God too.” They will then rise up and resist. When they resist God and nothing happens, some people will become even bolder, and will say: “It looks like it isn’t really God. Let’s all resist Him.” And so people will all rise up and, after they have resisted, Satan and demons will all be revealed. Is it not better for God to punish them all together? How is separating all according to their kind achieved? A period of time must be gone through during which all kinds of things shall be revealed. As soon as people are revealed, then each will be separated according to their kind. Without this process of revealing, each cannot be separated according to their kind. Therefore, there will be a big revelation in the final stage of God’s work, and this process of revealing will separate each according to their kind. So, when some people resist and judge Almighty God, God does not fly into a rage because of the resistance of one person and instantly strikes them down. If they are killed right away like that, those other demons and Satans will not dare to show their faces. When they are resisting and judging God, God silently observes them, hiding in secret. Those demons look all around them but they do not see the existence of God and, seeing that nothing happens after that person resists God, one after another they all rise up and everyone attacks and judges God. When they have almost all been revealed, God will begin to punish people, the disasters will come, and many people will be destroyed. But they will not all be allowed to die, and they will be made to see why they die. So no matter what God does, it is all significant, and it is not as people imagine. What God does is most wise and most meaningful. The order in which God does things is also most brilliant, much more brilliant than people are. People do things so simply.

from “Only Through Knowing God’s Inherent Disposition to Be Righteous Can One Revere God” in Sermons and Fellowship on Entry Into Life IX