2. Since the CCP came to power, it has been unceasing in its persecution of religious belief. Its suppression of The Church of Almighty God, in particular, has become increasingly severe. The CCP has not only used television, radio, newspapers, the internet and other media to slander, frame and discredit The Church of Almighty God, but has also conducted wide-scale arrests of its members, resulting in many Christians being imprisoned and cruelly tortured, and even being tortured to death. Why is the CCP’s persecution of The Church of Almighty God so severe?
Bible Verses for Reference:
“The whole world lies in wickedness” (1Jn 5:19).
“This is an evil generation” (Luk 11:29).
“And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceives the whole world” (Rev 12:9).
“And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For every one that does evil hates the light, neither comes to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved” (Jhn 3:19–20).
Relevant Words of God:
From top to bottom and from beginning to end, Satan has been disrupting the work of God and acting in opposition to Him. All this talk of “ancient cultural heritage,” valuable “knowledge of ancient culture,” “teachings of Taoism and Confucianism,” and “Confucian classics and feudal rites” has taken man into hell. Advanced modern-day science and technology, as well as highly developed industry, agriculture, and business are nowhere to be seen. Rather, all it does is emphasize the feudal rites propagated by the “apes” of ancient times in order to deliberately disrupt, oppose, and dismantle the work of God. Not only has it continued to afflict man until this day, but it even wants to swallow[1] man whole. The transmission of the moral and ethical teachings of feudalism and the passing down of the knowledge of ancient culture have long infected humanity, turning them into devils big and small. Few are those who would gladly receive God, few who would jubilantly welcome His coming. The face of all humanity is filled with murderous intent, and in every place, a killing breath pervades the air. They seek to cast God out from this land; with knives and swords in hand, they arrange themselves in battle formation to “annihilate” God. All across this land of the devil, where man is constantly taught there is no God, idols are spread, and the air above is permeated by a nauseating odor of burning paper and incense, so thick as to be suffocating. It is like the stench of sludge that wafts up with the writhing of the poisonous serpent, so much so that one cannot keep from vomiting. Besides this, there can faintly be heard the sound of evil demons chanting scriptures, a sound which seems to be coming from faraway in hell, so much so that one cannot keep from shivering. Everywhere in this land are placed idols of all colors of the rainbow, turning the land into a world of sensual delights, while the king of devils keeps laughing wickedly, as if its dastardly plot has succeeded. Meanwhile, man remains completely oblivious, and nor has he any inkling that the devil has already corrupted him to the point where he has become senseless and hangs his head in defeat. It wishes, in one fell swoop, to wipe out everything about God, and once again to defile and assassinate Him; it is intent upon tearing down and disrupting His work. How can it allow God to be of equal status? How can it tolerate God “interfering” with its work among men on earth? How can it allow God to unmask its hideous face? How can it allow God to put its work in disarray? How can this devil, apoplectic with rage, allow God to have control over its imperial court on the earth? How can it willingly bow down to His superior might? Its hideous countenance has been revealed for what it is, so that one knows not whether to laugh or cry, and it is truly difficult to speak of. Is this not its substance? With an ugly soul, it still believes that it is beautiful beyond belief. This gang of accomplices in crime![2] They come down into the mortal realm to indulge in pleasures and cause a commotion, stirring things up so much that the world becomes a fickle and inconstant place and the heart of man is filled with panic and unease, and they have toyed with man so much that his appearance has become that of an inhuman beast of the field, supremely ugly, and from which the last trace of the original holy man has been lost. Furthermore, they even wish to assume sovereign power on earth. They impede the work of God so much that it can barely inch forward, and they close man off as tightly as walls of copper and steel. Having committed so many grievous sins and caused so many disasters, are they still expecting something other than chastisement? Demons and evil spirits have been running amok on earth for a time, and have sealed off both the will and the painstaking effort of God so tightly that they are impenetrable. Truly, this is a mortal sin! How can God not feel anxious? How can God not feel wrathful? They have gravely hindered and opposed the work of God: How rebellious!
—The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. Work and Entry (7)
For thousands of years this has been the land of filth. It is unbearably dirty, misery abounds, ghosts run rampant everywhere, tricking and deceiving, making groundless accusations,[3] being ruthless and vicious, 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.[4] Who can see the world beyond the skies? The devil tightly trusses all of man’s body, it puts out 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? Have they ever enjoyed the dearness and loveliness of God? What appreciation have they of the matters of the human world? Who of them can understand God’s eager will? 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 hate, they have long since disdained God, they abuse God, they are savage in the extreme, they have not the slightest regard for God, they plunder and pillage, they have lost all conscience, they go against all conscience, and they tempt the innocent into senselessness. Forefathers of the ancient? Beloved leaders? They all oppose God! Their meddling has left all beneath heaven in a state of darkness and chaos! Religious freedom? The legitimate rights and interests of citizens? They are all tricks for covering up sin! Who has embraced the work of God? Who has laid down their life or shed blood for the work of God? For generation after generation, from parents to children, enslaved man has unceremoniously enslaved God—how could this not incite fury? Thousands of years of hate are concentrated in the heart, millennia of sinfulness are inscribed upon the heart—how could this not inspire loathing? Avenge God, completely snuff out His enemy, do not allow it to run rampant any longer, and do not permit it to kick up as much trouble as it wishes anymore! Now is the time: Man has long since gathered all his strength, he has devoted all his efforts and paid every price for this, to tear off the hideous face of this demon and allow people, who have been blinded, and who have endured every manner of suffering and hardship, to rise up from their pain and turn their backs on this evil old devil. Why put up such an impenetrable obstacle to the work of God? 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 deceitful schemes to trick God’s people? 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 men? Where is the welcome among people? Why cause such desperate yearning in God? Why make God call out again and again? Why force God to worry for His beloved Son? In this dark society, why do its sorry guard dogs not allow God to freely come and go among the world which He created?
—The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. Work and Entry (8)
Satan builds its reputation through deceiving people, and often establishes itself as a vanguard and role model of righteousness. Under false pretenses of safeguarding righteousness, it harms people, devours their souls, and uses all sorts of means to benumb, deceive and incite man. Its goal is to make man approve of and go along with its evil conduct, to make man join it in opposing God’s authority and sovereignty. However, when one sees through its schemes and plots and sees through to its vile features, and when one does not wish to continue to be trampled upon and fooled by it or to continue slaving away for it, or to be punished and destroyed alongside it, then Satan changes its previously saintly features and tears off its false mask to reveal its true face, which is evil, vicious, ugly and savage. It would love nothing more than to exterminate all those who refuse to follow it and who oppose its evil forces. At this point Satan can no longer assume a trustworthy, gentlemanly appearance; instead, its true ugly and devilish features are revealed under sheep’s clothing. Once Satan’s schemes are brought to light and its true features exposed, it will fly into a rage and expose its barbarity. After this, its desire to harm and devour people will only be intensified. This is because it is enraged when man awakens to the truth, and it develops a powerful vindictiveness toward man for their aspiration to yearn for freedom and light and to break free of its prison. Its rage is intended to defend and uphold its evil, and it is also a true revelation of its savage nature.
In every matter, Satan’s behavior exposes its evil nature. Out of all the evil acts that Satan has carried out upon man—from its early efforts to delude man into following it, to its exploitation of man, in which it drags man into its evil deeds, to its vindictiveness toward man after its true features have been exposed and man has recognized and forsaken it—not one of these acts fails to expose Satan’s evil essence, nor to prove the fact that Satan has no relation to positive things and that Satan is the source of all evil things. Every single one of its actions safeguards its evil, maintains the continuation of its evil acts, goes against just and positive things, and ruins the laws and order of humanity’s normal existence. These acts of Satan are hostile to God, and they will be destroyed by God’s wrath. Although Satan has its own rage, its rage is just a means of venting its evil nature. The reason why Satan is exasperated and furious is this: Its unspeakable schemes have been exposed; its plots are not easily gotten away with; its wild ambition and desire to replace God and act as God have been struck down and blocked; and its goal of controlling all of humanity has now come to nothing and can never be achieved.
—The Word, Vol. 2. On Knowing God. God Himself, the Unique II
The Man’s Fellowship for Reference:
The CCP’s rabid oppression and persecution of The Church of Almighty God has caused a stir among the global community. Many people cannot comprehend why the CCP could be so frenzied in its opposition and antagonism to God. It is because the CCP is an atheistic political party—a satanic regime that is unequaled in its hatred of the truth and God. Seeing the appearance and work of the true God, how could the CCP not be afraid, how could it not respond with defiance and condemnation? During the last days, Almighty God has expressed many truths, most of which are compiled in The Word Appears in the Flesh. The words of Almighty God have rocked all religions and all denominations. Many who believe in the Lord have seen that the words expressed by Almighty God are the truth, they have recognized that this is the voice of God, that it is the work of God, and they have all returned to Almighty God. Ever greater numbers of people are preaching and testifying to Almighty God. How could the demonic CCP regime, with its fanatical loathing of God and the truth, tolerate the existence of God, or permit the truth to be preached and testified to in the world? The CCP has therefore launched campaign after campaign of rabid oppression and persecution of The Church of Almighty God. It has arrested countless people for spreading the gospel and testifying to God, and has confiscated many copies of The Word Appears in the Flesh. Every day the CCP pores over this text, increasingly perceiving just how powerful this book is, that its words are the truth, and can conquer all people. So no matter how much the CCP vilifies, passes judgment on, and discredits Almighty God, it never dares to make The Word Appears in the Flesh known to the public, nor does it ever make any mention of what has been expressed by Almighty God. Why has the CCP kept such a tight lid on The Word Appears in the Flesh? Why is it afraid of people reading this book? It is because The Word Appears in the Flesh is the utterances of God, it is the expression of the truth, and the appearance of the true light in the East! The CCP is terrified that the whole world will behold the truths expressed by Almighty God, will see that God has appeared and begun to work in the East, that man’s Savior has appeared in the East, and that the hope of man is in the East. The CCP is the most evil and most truth-hating satanic regime. No one is more terrified of the truth’s arrival among man. No one is more afraid that man will accept the truth, and God will reign as King among man, and the kingdom of Christ will appear on earth, thus frustrating its despicable purpose of ever controlling mankind and dominating the world. That is why the CCP rabidly tries to arrest and murder Christ. It uses the media and Internet to spread propaganda and wantonly frame, falsely accuse, and discredit The Church of Almighty God. It even goes so far as to unhesitatingly mobilize armed police, leaving no stone unturned in its efforts to oppress, arrest, and persecute God’s chosen people. Left with nowhere to hide by the persecution of the CCP, God’s chosen people have been forced to flee overseas—and still the CCP has extended its dark hands abroad, using political, economic, and diplomatic means to put pressure on certain countries as it attempts to force Christians who have fled beyond its borders to return to China to face cruelty and persecution. Even more despicable is that the CCP also arrests and persecutes these Christians’ family members, using them as hostages to threaten The Church of Almighty God and forcing them to apply for passports and go abroad to harass The Church of Almighty God in various countries abroad. It attempts to use diplomatic channels to frame and falsely accuse the Christians of The Church of Almighty God as false asylum seekers, thereby spreading lies and fabricating rumors that turn public opinion against the Church, tarnish its reputation, and incite governments and people abroad to oppose and reject the Church and deport Christians, thus achieving the CCP’s evil aim of hampering, repressing, and eradicating the Church’s work of spreading the gospel abroad. The facts prove that the CCP is made up of Satan and demons who loathe the truth and hate God—they are devils who torture people and devour their souls. That the CCP can be so brutal in its oppression, persecution, and attacks on The Church of Almighty God is entirely down to its demonic essence which loathes the truth and hates Christ.
Footnotes:
1. “Swallow” refers to the vicious behavior of the king of devils, which ravishes people in their entirety.
2. “Accomplices in crime” are of the same ilk as “a band of hoodlums.”
3. “Making groundless accusations” refers to the methods by which the devil harms people.
4. “Heavily guarded” indicates that the methods by which the devil afflicts people are especially vicious, and control people so much that they have no room to move.