Words of Almighty God of the Last Days

Testing God is when people don’t know how God acts, and don’t know Him or understand Him, and so they frequently come up with some unreasonable demands of Him. For instance, when someone is sick, they may pray that God cure them. “I won’t seek treatment—let’s see if God will cure me or not.” And so, after praying for quite some time with no action from God, they say, “Since God hasn’t done anything, I’ll take medicine and see if He hinders me. If the medicine gets stuck in my throat, or if I spill some water, that may be God’s way of hindering me and keeping me from taking it.” That’s what a test is. Or you are made to spread the gospel, for instance. In normal circumstances, everyone decides through fellowship and deliberation what your duties call for and what you should do, and then you act when the time is right. If something happens while you are acting, that’s God’s sovereignty—if God would hinder you, then He’ll do it proactively. However, let’s say you say in prayer, “Oh, God, I’m going out today to spread the gospel. Is it in accordance with Your intention that I go out? I don’t know whether today’s potential gospel recipient can accept it or not, nor how exactly You’re going to rule over this. I ask for Your arrangements, for Your guidance, for You to show me these things.” After praying, you sit there, unmoving, then say, “Why doesn’t God have anything to say about that? Maybe it’s that I don’t read His words enough, so He can’t show me those things. If that’s so, I’ll get out there, right away. If I fall on my face out there, that may be God keeping me from going, and if everything goes smoothly and God doesn’t hinder me, that may be God allowing me to go.” That’s a test. Why are we calling that a test? God’s work is practical; it’s fine for people to just perform the duties they’re supposed to, arrange their daily lives, and live their lives of normal humanity in a way that accords with the principles. There’s no need to test how God’s going to act or what guidance He’ll give. Concern yourself only with doing what you’re supposed to; don’t always have additional thoughts such as, “Is God allowing me to do this, or isn’t He? If I do this, how will God handle me? Is it right of me to do it this way?” If something is obviously right, then concern yourself only with doing it; don’t go thinking about this and that. It’s fine to pray, of course, to pray for God’s guidance, that He’ll guide your life on this day, that He’ll guide the duty you perform today. It’s enough for a person to have a heart and an attitude of submission. For example, you know that if you touch electricity with your hand, you’ll get shocked, and may lose your life. Yet you think it over: “No worries, God is protecting me. I’ve just got to try it, to see if God will protect me, and to see what God’s protection feels like.” Then you touch it with your hand, and as a result, you get shocked—that’s a test. Some things are clearly wrong and shouldn’t be done. If you’d still do them, to see what God’s reaction will be, that’s a test. Some people say, “God doesn’t like it when people do themselves up flamboyantly and wear heavy makeup. I’ll do that, then, and see what it feels like for God to reproach me inside.” So, after they’re all made up, they glance in the mirror: “Goodness, I look like a living ghost, but I only feel that it’s a bit disgusting and can’t bring myself to look in the mirror. There’s no additional feeling beyond that—I don’t feel God’s loathing, and I don’t feel His words coming down at once, to strike me down and judge me.” What sort of behavior is this? (Testing.) If you’re sometimes perfunctory in your duty, and you clearly know it to be so, it’s enough for you to just repent and turn yourself around. But you’re always praying, “Oh, God, I’ve been perfunctory—I ask that You discipline me!” What purpose does your conscience serve? If you have a conscience, you should take responsibility for your own behavior. You should rein it in. Don’t pray to God—that prayer will become a test. To take a very serious thing and make a joke of it, a test, is something God loathes. When people pray to God and seek Him when faced with an issue, and also in some of their attitudes, demands, and ways of doing things in their treatment of God, some tests will often crop up. What do these tests mainly entail? It’s that you’d like to see how God will act, or that you’d like to see whether God can or can’t do something. You’d like to test God; you’d like to use this matter to verify what God is like, to verify which words that God has spoken are right and accurate, which can come true, and which He can accomplish. These are all tests. Do these ways of doing things regularly appear in you? Say there’s something that you don’t know whether you’ve done right, or whether it’s in line with the truth principles. Here, there are two methods that can confirm whether what you’ve done in this matter is a test, or whether it is positive. One method is to have a humble and truth-seeking heart, saying, “Here’s how I’ve handled and viewed this thing that happened to me, and how it is now, as a result of my handling it that way. I can’t get a handle on whether this is what I actually should have done.” What do you think of this attitude? This is an attitude of seeking the truth—there’s no testing in it. Suppose that you say, “Everyone decides on this thing together, after fellowship.” Someone asks, “Who is in charge of this? Who’s the main decision-maker?” And you say: “Everyone.” Your intention is this: “If they say that this thing was handled in accordance with the principles, I’ll say that I did it. If they say it wasn’t handled in accordance with the principles, I’ll begin by withholding who did it and who made the decision. This way, even if they press on and try to pin the blame, they won’t pin it on me, and if anyone’s disgraced, it won’t be me alone.” If you speak with that sort of intention, that’s a test. Someone may say, “God loathes it when man follows worldly things. He loathes things such as mankind’s memorial days and festivals.” Now that you know this, you can just do your best to avoid such things, insofar as circumstances permit. However, let’s say you intentionally follow worldly matters while doing things during a festival, and as you do them, the intention you harbor is this: “I’m just seeing whether God will discipline me for doing this, whether He’ll pay me any mind. I’m just seeing what attitude He really has toward me, how deep His loathing goes. They say God loathes this, they say He’s holy and abhors evil, so I’ll see how He abhors evil and how He’ll discipline me. If, when I do these things, God has me spewing from my orifices, overcome with dizziness, unable to get out of bed, then it’ll seem that God really does loathe these things. He won’t just be talking—the facts will bear it out.” If you’re always hoping to see such a scene, what sort of behavior and intents do you have? You’re testing. Man must never test God. When you test God, He hides from you and covers His face to you, and your prayers are useless. Some may ask, “It won’t work even if I’m sincere at heart?” Yes, even if you’re sincere at heart. God doesn’t let people test Him; He abhors evil. When you entertain these wicked ideas and thoughts, God will hide from you. He won’t enlighten you anymore, but set you off to one side, and you’ll go on doing foolish, disruptive, and disturbing things until you are shown for who you really are. This is the consequence that comes from people testing God.

—The Word, Vol. 4. Exposing Antichrists. Item Ten: They Despise the Truth, Brazenly Flout Principles, and Ignore the Arrangements of God’s House (Part One)

What are the manifestations of testing? Which approaches or thoughts manifest a state or essence of testing? (If I have committed a transgression or done something evil, I always want to probe God, demand a clear answer, and see if I will have a good outcome or destination.) This has to do with thoughts; so, generally, when one speaks or acts, or when they face something, which of their manifestations is testing? If someone has committed a transgression and feels that God might remember or condemn their transgression, and they themselves are uncertain, not knowing whether God will actually condemn them or not, they come up with a way to test it, to see what God’s attitude really is. They start by praying, and if there is no illumination or enlightenment, they think about completely breaking off their previous methods of pursuit. Previously, they always did things in a perfunctory manner, spending only 30% of their effort where they could use 50%, or 10% where they could use 30%. Now, if they can use 50% of their effort, they will. They take on dirty or tiring work that others avoid, always doing it before others, and making sure the majority of brothers and sisters see it. More importantly, they want to see how God views this matter and if their transgression can be redeemed. When faced with difficulties or things most people cannot overcome, they want to see what God will do, whether He will enlighten and guide them. If they can feel God’s presence and His special favor, they believe that God has not remembered or condemned their transgression, proving that it can be forgiven. If they expend themselves like this and pay such a price, if their attitude changes significantly but they still don’t feel God’s presence, and they certainly don’t feel any discernible difference from before, then it’s possible that God has condemned their previous transgression and doesn’t want them anymore. Since God doesn’t want them, they won’t put in as much effort in the future when they do their duty. If God still wants them, doesn’t condemn them, and there’s still hope for them to receive blessings, they will put some sincerity into doing their duty. Are these manifestations and ideas a form of testing? …

Some people constantly lack any knowledge or experience of God’s almightiness and His scrutiny of the depths of the human heart. They also lack a genuine perception of God’s scrutiny of the human heart, so naturally, they are filled with doubt about this matter. Although in their subjective wishes they want to believe that God scrutinizes the depths of the human heart, they lack conclusive evidence. Consequently, they plan certain things in their hearts and simultaneously begin to execute and implement them. As they implement them, they continually observe whether God truly knows about these, whether the matters will be exposed, and if they remain silent, whether anyone can figure it out, or if God can reveal it through a certain environment. Of course, ordinary people may have some uncertainties more or less about God’s almightiness and His scrutiny of the depths of the human heart, but antichrists are not simply uncertain—they are filled with doubt and fully guarded against God at the same time. Therefore, they develop many approaches to test God. Because they doubt God’s scrutiny of the human heart and, even more, deny the fact that God scrutinizes it, they often think about certain matters. Then, with a bit of fear or some inexplicable feeling of horror, they secretly spread these thoughts around in private, misleading certain people. Meanwhile, they continually expose their arguments and ideas bit by bit. As they expose them, they watch whether God will hinder or expose this behavior of theirs. If He exposes or defines it, they quickly retreat, changing to another approach. If it seems that nobody knows about it, and nobody can see through them or into them, they become even more completely convinced in their hearts that their intuition is correct, and their knowledge of God is correct. In their view, God’s scrutiny of the human heart is basically nonexistent. What kind of approach is this? This is the approach of testing.

—The Word, Vol. 4. Exposing Antichrists. Excursus Six: Summarizing the Character of Antichrists and Their Disposition Essence (Part Three)

In the past, there was a regulation in God’s house: Regarding those who had been expelled or cleared out, if they manifested true repentance afterward, and persisted in reading God’s words, spreading the gospel, and bearing witness for God, truly repenting, they could be readmitted into the church. There happened to be someone who met these criteria after being cleared out, and the church sent someone to find him, fellowship with him, and tell him that he had been admitted back to the church. Upon hearing this, he was quite pleased, but he pondered, “Is the acceptance genuine, or is there some idea behind it? Has god truly seen my repentance? Has he truly shown me mercy and forgiven me? Have my past actions really been disregarded?” He didn’t believe it, and he thought, “Even though they want me back, I should be restrained and not immediately agree, I should not act as if I had suffered greatly and been so pitiful during these years after being expelled. I need to act a bit reserved and not inquire right after I’m admitted back about where I can participate in church life or what duties I can do. I can’t appear too enthusiastic. Although I feel particularly happy inside, I need to stay calm and see whether god’s house genuinely wants me back or is just being insincere in order to use me for certain tasks.” With this in mind, he said, “During the time after I was expelled, I reflected and realized that the mistakes I made were too significant. The losses I caused to the interests of god’s house were immense, and I can never make up for them. I am truly a devil and a Satan cursed by god. However, my self-reflection is still incomplete. Since god’s house wants to bring me back, I need to eat and drink even more of god’s words and reflect and know myself more. At present, I am not worthy to return to god’s house, not worthy to do my duty in god’s house, not worthy to meet with my brothers and sisters, and I am certainly too ashamed to face god. I will return to the church only when I feel that my self-knowledge and reflection are sufficient, so that everyone may validate me.” While saying this, he was also on edge, thinking, “I am just pretending to say this. What if the leaders agree not to let me back into the church? Wouldn’t I be finished?” In reality, he was quite anxious, but he still had to speak in this way and pretend like he wasn’t too eager to return to the church. What did he mean by saying these things? (He was testing whether the church would truly accept him back.) Is this necessary? Isn’t this something Satans and devils would do? Would a normal person behave this way? (No, they wouldn’t.) A normal person wouldn’t. Given such a wonderful opportunity, that he could take such a step is wicked. Being readmitted to the church is an expression of God’s love and mercy, and he should reflect on and know his own corruption and deficiencies, seeking ways to make up for past debts. If someone can still test God in this way and treat God’s mercy in this manner, then they truly fail to appreciate His kindness! That people develop such ideas and approaches is brought about by their wicked essence. Essentially, when people test God, what they manifest and reveal theoretically always pertain to testing God’s thoughts as well as His views and definitions of people, among other things. If people seek the truth, they will rebel against and let go of such practices, acting and behaving according to the truth principles. However, individuals with the disposition essence of an antichrist not only cannot relinquish such practices and do not find them hateful, but they often appreciate themselves for possessing such means and methods. They may think, “Look at how clever I am. I’m not like you fools who only know to submit to and obey god and the truth—I’m not like you at all! I try to use means and methods to find out these things. Even if I have to submit and obey, I’m still going to get to the bottom of things. Don’t think you can hide anything from me or deceive and fool me.” This is their thought and viewpoint. Antichrists never exhibit submission, fear, or sincerity, and much less any loyalty in their treatment of God incarnate.

—The Word, Vol. 4. Exposing Antichrists. Excursus Six: Summarizing the Character of Antichrists and Their Disposition Essence (Part Three)

What is the most wicked disposition people reveal before God? It is testing God. Some people worry that they might not have a good destination, and that their outcome may not be guaranteed because they went astray, did some evil, and committed many transgressions after coming to believe in God. They worry that they will go to hell, and are in constant fear about their outcome and destination. They are constantly anxious, and they always ponder, “Will my future outcome and destination be good or bad? Will I go down to hell or up to heaven? Am I one of god’s people or a service-doer? Will I perish or be saved? I need to find which of god’s words talk about this.” They see that God’s words are all the truth, and that they all expose people’s corrupt dispositions, and they do not find the answers that they seek, so they continually contemplate where else to inquire. Later, when they find an opportunity to get promoted and put into an important role, they want to sound out the Above, thinking: “What is the above’s opinion regarding me? If their opinion is favorable, it proves that god has not remembered the evil I did in the past and the transgressions I committed. It proves that god will still save me, that I still have hope.” Then, following through with their ideas, they directly say, “Where we are, most of the brothers and sisters are not very skilled at their professions, and they have believed in god for only a short time. I have believed in god the longest. I have fallen and failed, I’ve had some experiences and learned some lessons. If given the chance, I am willing to shoulder a heavy burden and show consideration for god’s intentions.” They use these words as a test to see if the Above has any intention to promote them, or if the Above has abandoned them. In reality, they do not genuinely want to take on this responsibility or burden; their purpose in saying these words is solely to test the waters, and see whether they still have a hope of being saved. This is testing. What is the disposition behind this approach of testing? It is a wicked disposition. Regardless of how long this approach is revealed for, how they do it, or how much it is implemented, in any case, the disposition they reveal is definitely wicked, because they have many thoughts, misgivings, and worries over the course of doing it. When they reveal this wicked disposition, what do they do that shows they are people with humanity and people who can practice the truth, and confirms that they only possess this corrupt disposition and not a wicked essence? After doing and saying such things, those with a conscience, reason, integrity, and dignity feel discomfort and pain in their hearts. They are tormented, thinking, “I have believed in God for so many years; how could I test God? How can I still be preoccupied with my own destination, and use such a method to get something out of God and make God give me a solid answer? This is too vile!” They feel uneasy in their hearts, but the deed is done, and the words have been spoken—they cannot be taken back. They then understand, “Though I may have a bit of good will and a sense of justice, I am still capable of such vile things; these are the dealings of a vile person! Isn’t this an attempt to test God? Isn’t it extorting God? This is truly vile and shameless!” In such a situation, what is a reasonable course of action? Is it to come before God in prayer, confessing one’s sins, or is it to stubbornly cling to one’s own approaches? (Praying and confessing.) So, over the entire process, from the moment they conceived of the idea to the point of action, and further on to their prayer and confession, which stage is the normal revealing of a corrupt disposition, which stage is the conscience taking effect, and which stage is the truth being put into practice? The stage from conception to action is governed by a wicked disposition. So, isn’t the stage of introspection governed by the effect of their conscience? They begin to examine themselves, feeling that what they did was wrong—this is governed by the effect of their conscience. Following this are prayer and confession, which are also governed by the effect of their integrity, conscience, and character; they are able to feel remorse, repent, and feel indebted to God, and they are also able to reflect on and understand their own humanity and corrupt disposition, and reach the point where they can practice the truth. Aren’t there three stages to this? From the revelation of a corrupt disposition to the effect of their conscience, and then to the ability to let go of the evil they are doing, repent, let go of their own fleshly desires and thoughts, rebel against their corrupt disposition, and practice the truth—these three stages are what ordinary people with humanity and corrupt dispositions should achieve. Because of the awareness of their conscience, and their relatively good humanity, these people can practice the truth. Being able to practice the truth implies that people like this have hope for salvation. In other words, the probability of salvation is relatively high for those with good humanity.

—The Word, Vol. 4. Exposing Antichrists. Excursus Five: Summarizing the Character of Antichrists and Their Disposition Essence (Part Two)

Testing is a relatively apparent manifestation of the wicked disposition essence. People use various means to obtain the information they desire, gain certainty, and then achieve peace of mind. There are multiple ways to test, such as using words to worm things out of God, using things to test Him, thinking and mulling things over in their minds. … No matter what method people use to treat God, if they have a guilty conscience about it, and then gain knowledge about these actions and dispositions and can promptly turn them around, then the problem isn’t that significant—this is a normal corrupt disposition. However, if someone can consistently and stubbornly do this, even if they know that it is wrong and detested by God, but persist in it, never rebelling against it or giving it up, this is the essence of an antichrist. The disposition essence of an antichrist is different from ordinary people, in that they never reflect on themselves or seek the truth, but consistently and stubbornly use various methods to test God, His attitude toward people, His conclusion regarding an individual, and what His thoughts and ideas are about a person’s past, present, and future. They never seek God’s intentions, the truth, and especially not how to submit to the truth to achieve a change in their disposition. The purpose behind all their actions is to probe into God’s thoughts and ideas—this is an antichrist. This disposition of antichrists is clearly wicked. When they engage in these actions and exhibit these manifestations, there is not a trace of guilt or remorse. Even if they link themselves to these things, they show no repentance or intention to stop, but still persist in their ways. In their treatment of God, their attitude, and their approach, it is evident that they regard God as their adversary. In their thoughts and viewpoints, there is no idea or attitude of knowing God, loving God, submitting to God, or fearing God; they simply want to obtain the information they want from God and use their own methods and means to ascertain God’s precise attitude toward them and definition of them. What’s more serious is that, even though they align their own approaches with God’s words of revelation, even if there is the slightest awareness that this behavior is detested by God and not what a person should do, they will never give it up.

—The Word, Vol. 4. Exposing Antichrists. Excursus Six: Summarizing the Character of Antichrists and Their Disposition Essence (Part Three)

Jesus said to it: “It is written again, You shall not tempt the Lord your God.” Is there truth in these words that Jesus said? There is definitely truth in them. On the surface, these words are a commandment for people to follow, a simple phrase, yet nonetheless, both man and Satan have often offended these words. So, the Lord Jesus said to Satan, “You shall not tempt the Lord your God,” because this is what Satan often did, taking pains as it went about it. It could be said that Satan did this brazenly and without shame. It is in Satan’s nature essence to not be frightened of God and to not have a God-fearing heart. Even when Satan stood beside God and could see Him, it could not help itself but to tempt God. Therefore, the Lord Jesus said to Satan, “You shall not tempt the Lord your God.” These are words that God has often said to Satan. So, is it appropriate for this phrase to be applied in the present day? (Yes, as we also often tempt God.) Why do people often tempt God? Is it because people are full of corrupt satanic disposition? (Yes.) So are the words of Satan above something people often say? And in what situations do people say these words? One could say that people have been saying things like this irrespective of time and place. This proves that the disposition of people is no different from the corrupt disposition of Satan. The Lord Jesus said a few simple words, words that represent truth, words that people need. However, in this situation, was the Lord Jesus speaking in such a way as to argue with Satan? Was there anything confrontational in what He said to Satan? (No.) How did the Lord Jesus feel about Satan’s temptation in His heart? Did He feel disgusted and repulsed? The Lord Jesus felt repulsed and disgusted, and yet He did not argue with Satan, and much less did He speak about any grand principles. Why is that? (Because Satan is always like this; it can never change.) Could it be said that Satan is impervious to reason? (Yes.) Can Satan recognize that God is truth? Satan will never recognize that God is truth and will never admit that God is truth; this is its nature. There is yet another aspect of Satan’s nature that is repulsive. What is it? In its efforts to tempt the Lord Jesus, Satan thought that even if it was unsuccessful, it would nonetheless still try to do so. Even though it would be punished, it chose to try anyway. Even though it would gain no advantage out of doing so, it would try nonetheless, persisting in its efforts and standing against God until the very end. What sort of nature is this? Is it not wicked?

—The Word, Vol. 2. On Knowing God. God Himself, the Unique V

Finally, I would like to give you three pieces of counsel: First, do not test God. No matter how much you understand about God, no matter how much you know about His disposition, absolutely do not test Him. Second, do not contend for status with God. No matter what type of status God gives you or what kind of work He entrusts you with, no matter what kind of duty He raises you up to perform, and no matter how much you have expended yourself and sacrificed for God, absolutely do not compete for status with Him. Third, do not compete with God. No matter whether you understand or if you can submit to what God does with you, what He arranges for you, and the things He brings to you, absolutely do not compete with God. If you can abide by these three pieces of counsel, then you will be quite safe, and you will not be prone to angering God.

—The Word, Vol. 2. On Knowing God. God’s Work, God’s Disposition, and God Himself III

Though God’s essence contains an element of love, and He is merciful toward each and every person, people have overlooked and forgotten the fact that His essence is one of dignity as well. That He has love does not mean that people can offend Him freely, without inciting in Him feelings or a reaction, nor does the fact that He has mercy mean that He has no principles in how He treats people. God is alive; He genuinely exists. He is neither an imagined puppet nor any other object. Given that He does exist, we should carefully listen to the voice of His heart at all times, pay close attention to His attitude, and come to understand His feelings. We should not use human imaginings to define God, nor should we impose human thoughts or wishes on Him, making God treat people in a human manner based on human imaginings. If you do this, then you are angering God, tempting His wrath, and challenging His dignity! Thus, once you have come to understand the severity of this matter, I urge each and every one of you to be cautious and prudent in your actions. Be cautious and prudent in your speech, as well—with regard to how you treat God, the more cautious and prudent you are, the better! When you do not understand what God’s attitude is, refrain from speaking carelessly, do not be careless in your actions, and do not apply labels casually. Even more importantly, do not come to any arbitrary conclusions. Instead, you should wait and seek; these actions, too, are an expression of fearing God and shunning evil. Above all else, if you can achieve this, and above all else, if you possess this attitude, then God will not blame you for your stupidity, ignorance, and lack of understanding of the reasons behind things. Rather, owing to your attitude of fear of offending God, respect for His intentions, and willingness to submit to Him, God will remember you, guide and enlighten you, or tolerate your immaturity and ignorance. Conversely, should your attitude toward Him be irreverent—judging Him as you wish or arbitrarily guessing at and defining His ideas—God will condemn you, discipline you, and even punish you; or, He might offer comment on you. Perhaps this comment will involve your outcome. Therefore, I wish to emphasize once more: Each of you should be cautious and prudent about everything that comes from God. Do not speak carelessly, and do not be careless in your actions. Before you say anything, you should stop and think: Would this action of mine anger God? In doing it, am I fearing God? Even in simple matters, you should try to figure these questions out, and spend more time considering them. If you can truly practice according to these principles in all aspects, in all things, at all times, and adopt such an attitude especially when you do not understand something, then God will always guide you and provide you with a path to follow. No matter what sort of show people put on, God sees them quite clearly and plainly, and He will offer an accurate and appropriate evaluation of these displays of yours. After you have undergone the final trial, God will take all of your behavior and sum it up completely in order to determine your outcome. This result will convince every single person beyond the shadow of a doubt. What I would like to tell you here is this: Your every deed, your every action, and your every thought decide your fate.

—The Word, Vol. 2. On Knowing God. How to Know God’s Disposition and the Results His Work Shall Achieve

Believers in God must understand the truth, they must read God’s words more, and come to know man’s nature and see through to man’s essence through God’s exposure. The exposure of God’s word reveals man’s nature, it teaches people what their essence is, and lets them see through to the essence of their corruption. This is very important. Satan is a muddled thing, and the devilish words that it speaks are difficult to interpret. God asked it, “From where come you?” To which Satan replied, “From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it” (Job 1:7). Think carefully about its answer. Is it coming or going? Its meaning is hard to make out, which is why I say these words are muddled. Based on these words, it can be seen that Satan is muddled. When people are corrupted by Satan, they, too, become muddled. They have no moderation, no standards, and no principles in anything they do. Therefore, any person can easily go astray. Satan lured Eve by saying, “Why don’t you eat the fruit of that tree?” To which Eve replied, “God told us that we will die if we eat from that tree.” Then Satan said, “You will not necessarily die if you eat the fruit of that tree.” Within these words, there was an intention to tempt Eve. Rather than saying with certainty that she wouldn’t die if she ate the fruit from that tree, it simply said that she wouldn’t necessarily die, leading her to think, “If I won’t necessarily die, then I can eat it!” Unable to resist the temptation, she ate of the fruit. In this way, Satan achieved its goal of enticing Eve to sin. It did not take responsibility for this, for it did not force her to eat it. Within every person, there is a satanic disposition; each of their hearts contain the myriad poisons with which Satan tempts God and entices man. Sometimes, their speech is laced with the voice and tone of Satan, and an intent to tempt and entice. The ideas and thoughts of man are filled with Satan’s poisons and they emit its stench. Sometimes, the looks or actions of men carry this same stench of temptation and enticement. Some people say, “If I just follow like this, I am guaranteed to gain something. I can follow God until the very end, even if I don’t pursue the truth. I renounce things and expend myself for God sincerely. I have the strength to persevere to the very end. Even if I have transgressed a little, God will have mercy on me and won’t forsake me.” They do not even know what it is they are saying. There are so many corrupt things within people—if they do not pursue the truth, how can they change? Based on the degree of their corruption, if God does not protect people, they may fall down and betray God at any moment. Do you believe this? Even if you compel yourself, you cannot make it to the end, because this final stage of God’s work is to create a group of overcomers. Is doing this really as easy as you think? This final transformation does not require a person to change 100 percent or even 80 percent, but at least 30 or 40 percent. At the very least, you must dig up, cleanse, and transform the things within you that resist God, which have taken root deep in the depths of your heart. Only then will you achieve salvation. Only when you have transformed by 30 to 40 percent as God requires, or preferably by 60 to 70 percent, will it be demonstrated that you have attained the truth, and that you are essentially compatible with God. You will not be liable to resist God or to offend His disposition the next time something befalls you. Only in this way can you be perfected and gain God’s approval.

—The Word, Vol. 3. The Discourses of Christ of the Last Days. Choosing the Right Path Is the Most Crucial Part of Belief in God

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