(1) All who work only for status, reputation, and gain, who do not pursue the truth, and who do not possess truth reality are false leaders and workers;

(2) All who are arrogant and self-righteous, who do not accept the truth in the least, and who act without principles, being capable of willful, arbitrary action, are false leaders and workers;

(3) Those who only preach letters and doctrines, who cannot use the truth to resolve problems, and who cannot do practical work, are false leaders and workers;

(4) All who do not know themselves, who have not genuinely repented, and who cannot offer practical testimonies from experience are false leaders and workers.

Relevant Words of God:

The work of a qualified worker can bring people to the right way and grant them greater entry into the truth. His work can bring people before God. In addition, the work he does can vary from individual to individual and is not bound by rules, allowing people liberation and freedom, and the capacity gradually to grow in life and to have a more profound entry into the truth. The work of an unqualified worker falls far short. His work is foolish. He can only bring people into rules, and what he demands of people does not vary from individual to individual; he does not work according to people’s actual needs. In this type of work, there are too many rules and too many doctrines, and it cannot bring people into reality, nor into normal practice of growth in life. It can only enable people to adhere to a few worthless rules. Such guidance can only lead people astray. He leads you to become like him; he can bring you into what he has and is. For followers to discern whether leaders are qualified, the key is to look at the path on which they lead and the results of their work, and to see whether followers receive principles in accordance with the truth, and whether they receive ways of practice suitable for their transformation. You should distinguish between the different work of different types of people; you should not be a foolish follower. This bears on the matter of people’s entry. If you are unable to distinguish which person’s leadership has a path and which does not, you will easily be deceived. All of this has a direct bearing on your own life.

—The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. God’s Work and Man’s Work

How can it be judged whether a leader is fulfilling their responsibilities, whether they are a false leader? Most fundamental is to look at whether they are able to do practical work, at whether or not they have this ability. Secondly, look at whether they actually do this practical work. Disregard the words that come from their mouths, how well they understand the truth, whether, when they are carrying out external tasks or anything else, they possess a certain degree of caliber, intelligence, gift, or ability—disregard all that, and look only at whether they do practical work; if they do not, then no matter how capable they are, they are a false leader. Some people say, “Who cares whether they do or not? They have great ability, and they’re skilled; when they get down to work, they’re better than most people. What’s more, though they don’t do real work, and spend a lot of time hanging around, they’ve done nothing bad, nor have they committed evil, nor caused disruptions or disturbances. They have not caused any loss or ill effect to the brothers and sisters or to the church. So how can You say they are a false leader?” How to explain this? Right now, forget how talented you are, how great your caliber is, or how well-educated you are; what matters is whether or not you do practical work, and whether or not you fulfill the responsibilities of a leader. During your time as leader, did you take part in every specific piece of work within the scope of your responsibility, how many problems that arose during work did you effectively solve, how many people, because of your work, your leadership, your guidance, came to understand the truth principles, how much of the work of the house of God was advanced and pushed forward? These are what matter. Forget how many mantras you can repeat, how many words and doctrines you have mastered, forget how many hours you spend toiling each day, how exhausted you are, and forget how much time you have spent out on the road, how many churches you have visited, how many risks you have taken, how many meals you have missed—forget all this, and look only at the accomplishments of all the work for which you are responsible. How much work within the scope required by the house of God, that you are responsible for, has been implemented, whether it be human resources, administrative, or related to professional work; how well it has been implemented, how well it has been followed up, how many oversights, deviations, issues and mistakes related to principle you have helped to rectify and remedy, how many problems you have helped solve, whether you solved them according to principle and the requirements of the house of God, and so on—these are all the criteria by which it is assessed whether or not a leader is fulfilling their responsibilities.

—The Word, Vol. 5. Identifying False Leaders (9)

As leaders and workers in the church, if you want to lead God’s chosen people into truth reality and to serve as God’s witnesses, most importantly, you must have a deeper understanding of God’s aim in saving people and the purpose of His work. You must understand the will of God and His various requirements of people. You must be practical in your efforts; practice only as much as you understand and communicate only on that which you know. Do not boast, do not exaggerate, and do not make irresponsible remarks. If you exaggerate, people will detest you and you will feel reproached afterward; this is just too inappropriate. When you provide the truth to others, you don’t necessarily have to deal with them and scold them in order for them to attain the truth. If you yourself don’t have the truth and only deal with and scold others, they will fear you, but that doesn’t mean they understand the truth. In some administrative work, it’s fine for you to deal with and prune others and discipline them to a certain degree. But if you cannot provide the truth and know only how to be overbearing and to chide others, your corruption and ugliness will be revealed. With the passage of time, as people are unable to obtain the provision of life or practical things from you, they will come to detest you and feel disgusted by you. Those who lack discernment will learn negative things from you; they will learn to deal with and prune others, to get angry, and to lose their temper. Isn’t that tantamount to leading others onto the path of Paul, onto a path toward perdition? Is that not an evildoing? Your work should focus on communicating the truth and providing life to others. If all you do is blindly deal with and lecture others, how will they ever understand the truth? As time goes by, people will see you for who you really are, and they will abandon you. How can you expect to bring others before God in this way? How is this doing the work? You will lose everyone if you keep working in this way. What work do you hope to accomplish anyway? Some leaders are incapable of communicating the truth to resolve problems. Instead, they just blindly deal with others and flaunt their power so that others come to fear them and obey them—such people are of the false leaders and antichrists. Those whose disposition has not changed are incapable of performing church work, and are unable to serve God.

—“Only Those With Truth Reality Can Lead” in Records of Talks of Christ of the Last Days

Many people behind My back covet the benefits of status, they gorge themselves on food, they love to sleep and give every care to the flesh, always afraid that there is no way out for the flesh. They do not perform their proper function in the church, but freeload off the church, or else they admonish their brothers and sisters with My words, lording themselves over others from positions of authority. These people keep saying they are doing God’s will and always say they are God’s intimates—is this not absurd? If you have the right intentions, but are unable to serve in accordance with God’s will, then you are being foolish; but if your intentions are not right, and you still say you serve God, then you are someone who opposes God, and you ought to be punished by God! I have no sympathy for such people! In the house of God, they freeload, always coveting the comforts of the flesh, and give no consideration to the interests of God. They always seek what is good for them, and they pay no heed to God’s will. They do not accept the scrutiny of God’s Spirit in anything they do. They are always maneuvering and deceiving their brothers and sisters, and being two-faced, like a fox in a vineyard, always stealing grapes and trampling over the vineyard. Could such people be God’s intimates? Are you fit to receive God’s blessings? You take no burden for your life and the church, are you fit to receive God’s commission? Who would dare trust someone like you? When you serve like this, could God dare to entrust you with a greater task? Would this not cause delays to the work?

—The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. How to Serve in Harmony With God’s Will

If one serving as a leader is possessed of the ability to understand God’s words and the caliber to understand the truth, then not only can they themselves understand God’s words and enter the reality of His words, but they are also able to advise, guide, and assist those they lead in understanding God’s words and entering the reality of God’s words. Such caliber, however, is the very thing that false leaders lack. They do not understand the words of God, and they do not know which states God’s words are referring to, which states they expose as those in which people reveal their corrupt dispositions, or those in which there is born opposition to God and grievances against God, or the motivations of man, and so on. They are incapable of measuring things against God’s words, and merely comprehend a few words, rules, and catchphrases at the superficial level of His words. When fellowshiping with others, they memorize a passage of God’s words and then explain their superficial meaning. False leaders’ understanding, knowledge, and acceptance of God’s words is limited to this alone. They lack the ability to understand God’s words. They merely understand the wording and depth of meaning that is universally evident at the literal level of these words—and think they have understood and comprehended His words as a result. So, too, do they use the literal meaning of God’s words to admonish and “help” others in daily life, believing that in this, they are doing their work, that they are guiding people in eating and drinking God’s words and entering the reality of God’s words. False leaders often fellowship God’s words to others and impart God’s words to them in various ways, telling them to eat and drink this passage of God’s words when they encounter some issue, and that passage of God’s words when they encounter another issue. When misunderstandings about God occur in people, they say, “Look, God’s words are perfectly clear and understandable about this. How could you still misunderstand God? Do God’s words not ask that we abide by such-and-such, and do they not ask that we abide by so-and-so?” Thus do they teach people how to understand and enter into God’s words. Under their guidance, many people become capable of reciting God’s words and able to recall certain of God’s words when they encounter an issue. But no matter how much they read and recite, they remain ignorant of what God’s words are referring to. When they are genuinely beset by adversity, or have certain doubts, the words of God they know and remember cannot solve their difficulties. This illustrates a problem: The words of God they understand are mere doctrine, nothing but a certain kind of rules; they are not reality, and they are not the truth. Thus, false leaders’ guidance of people in eating and drinking God’s words and entering the reality of God’s words is limited to teaching them the literal meaning of His words; it is incapable of allowing them to achieve enlightenment from His words and cannot let them know which corrupt dispositions are within them. The disposition and essence that are revealed in people each time something happens to them, and how they can be solved using God’s words, and what people’s states are each time such things happen to them, and how such states can be solved, and what God’s words have to say about this, what His words require, what the principles are, and what the truth is therein—they understand none of this. All they do is exhort people: “Eat and drink more of God’s words. God’s words contain the truth, and if you listen to His words more, over time you will understand the truth. The key parts of God’s words are the very ones you don’t understand, so you should pray more, search more, listen more, and contemplate more.” False leaders go on and on with such exhortations. Each time a problem of a certain kind arises, they say the same thing, and afterward, people still do not recognize the essence of the problem and still do not know how to practice God’s words; they merely abide by the literal rules and meaning of His words, but when it comes to the truth principles of practicing God’s words and the reality the truth demands, they do not understand.

—The Word, Vol. 5. Identifying False Leaders (1)

The chief characteristic of the work of false leaders is that, after shouting out their slogans, after issuing their orders, they simply wash their hands of the matter. They ask no questions about the project’s subsequent development; they do not ask whether any problems, abnormalities, or difficulties have arisen. They consider it finished as soon as they hand it over. In fact, keeping track of a project’s progress is something that leaders can do. Even if you are a total novice in these matters—even if you lack any knowledge of it—you can carry out such work; find someone who is knowledgeable, who understands the work in question, to check the situation and give suggestions. From their suggestions you can identify the appropriate principles, and thus you will be able to keep track of the work. Whether or not you have any familiarity with, or understanding of, the type of work in question, at the very least you must preside over it, keep track of it, make enquiries and ask questions to inform yourself about its progress. You must maintain a grasp of such matters; this is your responsibility, the part you must play. Not keeping track of the work—washing your hands of it—are the actions of false leaders. Not taking specific action to keep track of specific items of work—having no understanding and no grasp of the specific progress of these specific items of work—is also the manifestation of a false leader.

Because false leaders do not understand the status of the work’s progress, this often leads to repeated delays. In certain work, because people have no grasp of the principles and, moreover, there is no one suitable to preside over it, those who are carrying out the work frequently reside in a state of negativity, passivity, and waiting, which severely affects the progress of the work. If, in the first place, the leader had fulfilled their responsibilities—if they had taken charge, pushed the work forward, hurried them along, and found someone who understands the type of work involved to give guidance, then the work would have progressed more quickly rather than suffer repeated delays. For leaders, then, it is vital to understand and grasp the actual situation of the work. It is, of course, highly necessary for leaders to understand and grasp how work is progressing—for progress relates to the efficiency of the work and the results that this work is intended to achieve. If a leader lacks even a grasp of how the work is progressing, then it can be said that, most of the time, the work will develop slowly and passively. Most people who are engaged in performing their duty will work slowly and passively without the presence of someone who has a sense of burden and some ability in that type of work, someone to urge them on, to provide supervision and guidance. This is also the case when there is no criticism, discipline, pruning or being dealt with. It is of the utmost importance that leaders and workers maintain an up-to-date grasp and understanding of their work’s progress, for people are indolent, and without guidance, urging, and following-up by leaders, without leaders who possess an up-to-date understanding of the work’s progress, people are liable to slack off, to be lazy, to be perfunctory—if this is their approach to their work, progress and effectiveness will be severely impacted. Given these circumstances, leaders and workers should promptly keep track of every item of work and stay informed about the situation regarding staff and the work. False leaders, of course, are careless and indifferent in this work; they are incapable of taking responsibility. And so, whether in terms of the present status or progress of work, false leaders always “admire the flowers from the back of a galloping horse”; they are careless and indifferent, as well as perfunctory; they speak high-sounding and empty words, preach doctrine, and go through the motions. In general, this is the way false leaders work. To compare them with antichrists, although they do nothing overtly evil and are not deliberately maleficent, does not their attitude toward work eclipse even evil? Though their work cannot be defined as evil in nature, it is fair to say that from the perspective of effectiveness, its nature is carelessness and perfunctoriness, a lack of any sense of burden; they have no loyalty to their work.

—The Word, Vol. 5. Identifying False Leaders (4)

Within the ambit of the work for which false leaders are responsible, a few people who truly pursue the truth and are fit for promotion and cultivation are frequently stifled. Some of these people spread the gospel, and some of them are arranged to cook. In truth, they are capable of doing work, though they may not show it—yet a false leader is blind to this, and neither engages with nor makes inquiries of those people. Meanwhile, those people with a bit of special talent, flatterers, those who like to appear in public, smooth talkers, and those who wish for office and status are brought up through the ranks, to the extent that those who served in society as village chiefs and secretaries, and those who were corporate executives, and those who studied business management are all given positions of importance. It matters not whether these people are true believers or whether they pursue the truth—wherever false leaders are responsible for the work, they are promoted and given positions of prominence. Is this not just the same as in society? Under the tenure of false leaders, those hard workers who can truly endure suffering, who have a sense of righteousness, who love positive things, and who should, in truth, be promoted and cultivated, yet are not—they hardly have a chance to train, while those of poor caliber and evil humanity, who are eager to take action, love to show off and have no real talent whatsoever, occupy important jobs and supervisory positions in the house of God. This leads to much of the work of God’s house being delayed and unable to progress smoothly and with the efficiency that God’s house requires, and to its not being done according to the principles, and to a failure in the implementation of the requirements of God’s house. This is the consequence and the impact brought about by false leaders’ improper employment of people.

False leaders are poor of caliber, blind of eye and heart, and they do not understand the truth principles, which itself is a very grave problem. They have another, more serious problem still, which is that when they have understood and mastered a few letters and words of doctrine and can shout out a few slogans, they think they understand the truth reality. Whatever work they do and whomever they choose to employ, they do not seek and do not deliberate, and they do not fellowship with others, and less still do they look in detail at the work arrangements and the principles of God’s house. They are quite confident, believing that whatever they think is what should be done and that whatever they believe is accurate, that it is all in accord with the principles. They also mistakenly believe that having worked for many years, they have sufficient experience serving as a leader in God’s house, that they know how the work of God’s house operates and develops, and that all this is within their hearts. They measure the work of God’s house and do the work of God’s house by means of their experience and their own notions and imaginings, which causes the work of God’s house during their tenure to be a mess, in chaos, and without order. If, within a group, there are a few competent people, people who can suffer and pay a price and perform their duties with loyalty, then the work they do may continue to be carried out well, but this has nothing at all to do with the false leader. And where there are no such people, a false leader cannot be of the least use in the work being done. For one thing, a false leader will not pick the right people for the work, those who would see to it that the work picks up and makes progress and improves; for another thing, where there is a weak link in the work, they do not positively and proactively participate or provide coaching in its specifics. Say, for instance, that, for some batch of work, several people doing that work are new believers without much of a foundation, who do not understand the truth well, are not very familiar with the task, and have not quite grasped the principles of the work. A false leader, being blind, cannot see these problems. They believe that as long as someone is doing the work, it does not matter whether it is done well or badly. They do not know that all weak links in the work should be inquired after, observed often, supported often, and may even call for their personal supervision and participation, their personal counsel regarding the work, and their constant support, until those people have understood the truth and embarked on the proper track. Only with suitable supervisors can they cease to fret. Yet false leaders do not work in this way. They do not see that it is their work to do this, so, in the scope of their work, they treat all work and all people identically. They do not go more often to places where there are weak links in the work or where no one suitable is in charge, nor do they provide counsel or participate personally in the specific tasks to be done; and, where someone suitable and capable of undertaking the work is supervising, they do not go and investigate or provide guidance in the work, nor do they participate personally in the details of the work, and they certainly do not try to emulate the strengths of the supervisor there. In brief, false leaders do not do the specifics of the work. They believe that no matter the work, as long as the personnel are in place and the supervisor has been chosen, then everything is just dandy. They believe there is nothing more for them to do there and that it has nothing more to do with them, that all they have to do is convene a congregation every so often and make a phone call if an issue arises. Even as false leaders work in this way, they think they are doing a good job and are quite pleased with themselves, thinking, “There are no problems with any of the work programs. The personnel are all neatly arranged, and the supervisors are in place. How’d I come to be so good at this work, so talented?” Is this not shameless? They are so blind of eye and heart that they cannot see any tasks to be done and cannot find any problems. In some places, the work has ground to a halt, yet there they are, contented, thinking that the brothers and sisters of that place are all young and fresh-blooded, that they will perform their duties with fiery verve and that they will certainly be able to do the work well, when, in fact, those young people understand nothing and cannot do anything. There are those who know a bit about some task, but nothing they do turns out as it should. None of what they do is principled, and it all requires correction and ceaseless reworking. There are such gaping flaws in the work; and there are so many things these personnel do not understand; and there are so many principles that need to be fellowshiped to them, so many matters in which they need guidance, so many problems that need to be resolved … and a false leader cannot see anything or find any problems, yet think themselves just fine. Where, then, are their thoughts all day? They are thinking how, as an office-holder, they might enjoy the felicities of status. A false leader is a heartless thing.

—The Word, Vol. 5. Identifying False Leaders (5)

The type of false leaders who are pseudo-spiritual believe that working means preaching words and doctrine, repeating mantras, going through the motions, preaching phrases from the words of God; they don’t know how to actually do work, or what the duties of leaders and workers truly are, nor why the house of God chooses an individual to be a leader or worker, what problem it is meant to solve. Thus, no matter how you fellowship about how they should dive into their work, stay on top of it, identify problems within it, and so on, they don’t take any of it in, nor do they understand any of what they hear. They are incapable of practicing what the house of God asks of leaders and workers, and they will never achieve it. They fail to identify all manner of work-related problems—personnel issues, questions of principle, technological or professional issues. And so, under the leadership of such pseudo-spiritual people, there is a constant stream of personnel issues and other work problems; technological or professional issues, too, keep on coming, keep on piling up, and the more they pile up, the more problems arise. Within the scope of these false leaders’ responsibilities, personnel and work matters become ever more chaotic, and work performance and efficiency decline further and further. As far as managing people goes, those who are somewhat skilled and are smooth talkers are allowed to take charge—they get their own way, and they are able to control the work, and control people. The wicked are not curbed, held in check, or purged, and some who perform their duty faithfully are so disturbed that they become negative and weak, unwilling to perform their duty or eat and drink the words of God. They lose faith in their duty, lose faith in God, and lose faith in pursuing the truth. Those who possess certain skills, who are technologically proficient, are not properly put to use. The lines are blurred between who is a good person and who is a bad person, who possesses caliber and who does not, who should be cultivated and who should not—there is just total chaos. However, pseudo-spiritual false leaders are utterly blind to this; they cannot see it. When it comes to personnel issues, no matter what the house of God fellowships and stresses regarding the principles to be followed about who to purge, who to expel, who to rein in, and who to promote, pseudo-spiritual leaders do not comprehend, do not understand what they hear. They unquestioningly stick to their own pseudo-spiritual viewpoints. These false leaders think that with their own explanations and tutelage, each person has a role to play; there is no disorder, everyone is doing well, they all have faith, and are all willing to perform their duty. They believe that no one fears either prison or danger, because all have the fortitude to suffer, and none are willing to be a Judas. These leaders think that everything is going wonderfully. No matter what grievous problems may arise or what evil people may appear, no matter how glaring the problem is, they do not see it. Even if they do, they don’t know it is a problem, and even if they do know it is a problem, they do not know how to solve it. Likewise, pseudo-spiritual leaders are even more blind to those myriad problems that crop up during work that are at odds with the principles. They say, “I have conveyed the work principles that I ought to, I have exhorted them over and over, and even made people write them down.” Yet whether they conveyed all this to the right person, whether the points they conveyed are correct, in line with the principles, in line with the words of God, and practical—this, they do not know. As for that morsel of doctrine they preached, what kind of people can be satisfied digesting it? Those who are foolish and ignorant, the uneducated, the dolts, the idiots, the fools. These people are left muddled, they believe that it’s all the words of God, and that none of it could be wrong. Only such people can be sated by this doctrine. Pseudo-spiritual leaders are incapable of identifying problems that arise during work; they are blind to them. And of course, they are even more blind to things involving technology or expertise—these things are even more beyond them.

—The Word, Vol. 5. Identifying False Leaders (8)

What is the chief characteristic of pseudo-spiritual false leaders? They excel at preaching. But what they preach is not the true way, and it is not the way preached by God. It is not the way of the truth, but instead it is just literal doctrine. They are good at preaching literal doctrine, good at applying themselves to mere words and texts of God’s words, whether it be reciting them or pondering them. In sum, they are particularly diligent and perseverant when it comes to preaching the doctrine. On the outside, whatever they do appears to be relevant to the truth; they don’t seem to disrupt or interfere, to behave inappropriately, or to say or do the wrong thing. And yet, they are incapable of undertaking any practical work or fulfilling the slightest responsibility, which ultimately leads to them being unable to identify any problems with work. They work like blind men; they are blind, they can’t see the problem, can’t identify it, and so are they able to promptly report the problem and engage in seeking? Absolutely not. Is the problem of pseudo-spiritual false leaders a serious one? Are such people abhorrent, are they disgusting? (They are disgusting.) They believe themselves to have some tricks of the trade, to be able to preach some doctrine and recite many of God’s words, that they are capable of summarizing all aspects of God’s requirements of people thoroughly and accurately—but they can’t do practical work. The words and doctrines that they equip themselves with, understand, and know cannot help them perform the duties of a leader or worker, much less help them discover and address the issues they encounter in work. Is this kind of leader or worker qualified for this position? Clearly not. Should you elect a pseudo-spiritual false leader who is not qualified? (No.) So have you ever elected such leaders? (Yes.) I expect you’ve elected quite a few. Whoever has believed in God for many years, has read a lot of God’s words, listened to plenty of sermons, has rich work and preaching experience, can preach for hours—you think that kind of person has to be capable in work. And the result? After electing them, you discover a serious problem: They can never be found, their door is always shut, they have retreated from the brothers and sisters. However, others think to themselves, “He’s been a believer all these years, he understands the truth and he has a foundation. He should have stature and be able to solve problems—so why is he always closed off? This shows that he has a great burden! Since being elected as a leader, he’s become taciturn, he speaks differently, and he’s not like the rest of us anymore. This is why he’s mostly out of sight.” Is that what you believe? Will you elect this kind of false leader again? (No.) Why not? What would you say are the consequences of choosing a blind man as your guide? Can a blind man lead you onto a good path? He is blind, so how could he guide you? Wherever he goes and whatever work he does, he needs someone else to guide him; he himself has no direction or goals, and the doctrine he understands he only preaches for others to hear—it has no real impact or value. If you revere him for being able to preach words and doctrine, what kind of person are you? You are blind, foolish, a dolt. You are delighted to encounter a blind man and you ask him to lead the way. Then are you not blind, too? What do you have eyes for? There is a saying among unbelievers: the blind leading the blind. Electing the pseudo-spiritual as leaders is the blind leading the blind.

—The Word, Vol. 5. Identifying False Leaders (8)

False leaders often say things that seem correct on the surface, in order to confuse and mislead people, which in turn has a negative impact on those people’s life entry. This also leads to some consequences that should never occur. False leaders’ so-called spiritual sayings and turns of phrase may be called heresies and fallacies. It does not superficially sound like there is anything wrong with them, but they actually serve as obstacles, disruptions, and confusion in people’s life entry and on the path they walk. They even cause some people to develop misunderstandings toward God and to form doubts and resistance toward God’s words. These are the effects that false leaders’ words have on people. False leaders use such heresies and fallacies to guide others, so that at the very time these people are following God, they are constantly giving rise to notions, defenses, and doubts about Him. So, under the false leaders’ confusion and influence, a new religion takes hold. This sort of new religion is just like the Christianity of 2,000 years ago, which only upholds human words and human teachings, such as the teachings of Paul or some other disciple, without adhering to God’s own way. What false leaders do is misleading, and they stand in the way of people taking the normal and proper path of pursuing the truth. They wrest people off the right track of pursuing the truth and onto a pseudo-spiritual path; they bring them into faith in the religious mode. When people are confused, led, and guided by false leaders, they constantly come up with theories, sayings, actions, or perspectives that have nothing to do with the truth, though they appear totally correct. These things are utterly at odds with and utterly unrelated to the truth. But under the guidance of false leaders, everyone takes these things as the truth and they all mistakenly believe that they really are the truth. They think that as long as someone speaks well and has belief in their heart and professes faith with their mouth, that person has gained the truth. Misled by these thoughts and views, people not only become unable to enter into the truth reality, or to enter into God’s words, or to put them into practice, or to live within His words, but instead end up growing ever further from God’s words. They seem to be doing everything in accordance with God’s words, but these so-called words of God bear no relation whatsoever to God’s requirements and His will. They have nothing to do with the truth principles. What, then, do they have to do with? The teachings of false leaders, the intentions of false leaders, and those false leaders’ own personal desires and understandings. Their way of leading brings more people into religious rituals and rigid rules, into the mere letter of doctrine, toward knowledge and philosophy. Although, in contrast with antichrists, false leaders do not bring others before themselves or before Satan, people’s hearts become taken over by these heresies and fallacies all the same. When people, consumed by these heresies and fallacies, mistakenly believe that they have already gained life, they become dyed-in-the-wool, unmitigated enemies to the truth, to God’s words, and to what God demands.

—The Word, Vol. 5. Identifying False Leaders (2)