Words of Almighty God of the Last Days

Based on the word “vicious,” what are the things that a person might do when they reveal this disposition? First of all, they will want to manipulate people. What does it mean to manipulate? It means that whatever happens in the church, they will want to intervene, interfere, and make arrangements. They will set a rule for you, and you must then keep to it. If you don’t, they will get angry. They want to manipulate you: If they tell you to go east, you have to go east, and if they tell you to go west, you have to go west. They have this desire, and then they act in this way—this is called manipulation. These people want to take charge of a person’s destiny, to take charge of and control a person’s life, mind, behavior, and preferences, so that this person’s mind, ideas, preferences, and wishes accord with what they say and what they want, rather than according with what God says—this is called manipulation. They always want to arrange for people to do this or that according to their own will, they do not act based on the principles, but based on their own intentions and preferences. They don’t care how you feel, they forcibly order you, and you have to do whatever they tell you to; if you don’t act according to their will, they’ll handle you and make you feel that you really have no choice and that nothing can be done. You know in your heart that you’re being duped and controlled, but you still don’t know how to discern it, much less dare to resist. Are their actions not the behavior of Satan? (Yes.) This is Satan’s behavior. Satan fools people like this and controls people like this, so a satanic disposition manifests itself in people as always trying to control and manipulate others. Regardless of whether or not they can achieve this objective of controlling and manipulating others, all people have this kind of disposition. What is this disposition? (Viciousness.) This is viciousness. Why is it called viciousness? What are clear revelations of this disposition? Does it carry a sense of coercion? (Yes.) It carries a sense of coercion, which means that no matter whether you listen or not, no matter how you feel, whether you enjoy it or understand it, they forcibly demand that you listen to them and do what they say, without any discussion, without giving you the opportunity to speak, and without giving you any freedom—does it not have this layer of meaning? (Yes.) This is called “ferociousness,” which is one aspect of viciousness.^[a] The other aspect of viciousness is “evil,”^[b] what does “evil” refer to? It refers to people using methods of coercive indoctrination and suppression to achieve the result of controlling you and making you heed their manipulation, and thereby satisfying themselves. This is called “evil.” In its actions, Satan wants to stop you from having free will, from learning to ponder and discern, and from understanding the truth so that your life can mature. Satan doesn’t let you do those things, and it wants to control you. Satan doesn’t let you seek the truth and understand God’s intentions, and it doesn’t bring you before God, instead it brings you before itself and makes you listen to it, as if it is the truth, and whatever it says is right, and as if it is the center of all things, so you have to listen to it and not try to analyze whether its words are right or wrong. The disposition of coercively and violently manipulating and controlling people’s behavior and minds is called viciousness.

—The Word, Vol. 3. The Discourses of Christ of the Last Days. Knowing One’s Disposition Is the Foundation of Changing It

Footnotes:

a. The original text does not contain the phrase “which is one aspect of viciousness.”

b. The original text does not contain the phrase “The other aspect of viciousness is ‘evil.’”

In what other ways is a vicious disposition manifested? How is it related to being averse to the truth? In fact, when being averse to the truth manifests itself in a serious way, bearing the attributes of resistance and judgment, this reveals a vicious disposition. Being averse to the truth includes a number of states, from lack of interest in the truth to an aversion to the truth, which progresses to judging God and condemning God. When being averse to the truth has reached a certain point, people are liable to deny God, to hate God, and to oppose God. These several states are a vicious disposition, are they not? (Yes.) Therefore, those who are averse to the truth have an even more serious state, and within this is a kind of disposition: the vicious disposition. For example, some people acknowledge that everything is ruled by God, but when God takes from them, and they suffer losses to their interests, they are not outwardly complaining or opposing, but inwardly they are without acceptance or submission. Theirs is the attitude of sitting passively and awaiting destruction—which is clearly the state of being averse to the truth. There is also another, even more serious state: They don’t sit passively and await destruction, but instead resist the arrangements and orchestrations of God, and resist God’s taking things away from them. How do they resist? (By disrupting and disturbing the work of the church, or else by sabotaging things, trying to set up their own kingdom.) That is one form. After some church leaders are replaced, they are always disrupting things and disturbing the church as they live the church life, they resist and disobey everything the newly chosen leader says, and they try to undermine them behind their back. What disposition is this? This is a vicious disposition. What they’re really thinking is, “If I can’t be a leader, then no one else can keep this position, I’ll chase them all off! If I force you out, I’ll be in charge like before!” This is not simply being averse to the truth, it is vicious! Jockeying for status, jockeying for territory, jockeying for personal interests and reputation, stopping at nothing for revenge, doing everything one can, employing all of one’s skills, doing everything possible to achieve one’s aims, to salvage one’s reputation, pride, and status, or else to satisfy one’s desire for revenge—all these are manifestations of viciousness. Some of the behaviors of a vicious disposition involve saying much that is disturbing and disruptive; some involve doing many bad things in order to achieve one’s aims. Whether in their words or actions, everything such people do is at odds with the truth, and in violation of the truth, and it is all a revelation of a vicious disposition. Some people are incapable of discerning these things. If the mistaken speech or behavior is not blatant, they can’t see it for what it is. But for people who understand the truth, everything that evil people say and do is evil, and could never contain anything that is right, or in line with the truth; these things these people say and do can be said to be 100 percent evil and are absolutely the revelations of a vicious disposition. What are evil people’s motivations before they reveal this vicious disposition? What kinds of goals are they trying to achieve? How can they do such things? Can you discern this? I’ll give you an example. Something happens at somebody’s home. It is placed under surveillance by the great red dragon, and they can’t go back, which pains them greatly. Some brothers and sisters take them in, and seeing how nice everything is in their hosts’ home, they think to themselves, “How come nothing has happened to your home? How come it happened to my home? That’s not fair. This won’t do, I must think of a way to make something happen to your home, so you can’t go home. I’ll give you a taste of the same hardship I suffered.” Regardless of whether they do anything or not, or whether or not this becomes a reality, or whether they achieve their aims, they still have this kind of intent. This is a kind of disposition, is it not? (Yes.) If they can’t live a good life, they won’t let other people do so, either. What disposition is this? (Maliciousness.) A vicious disposition—this person is nasty! They are, as the saying goes, rotten to the core. This describes just how vicious they are. What is the nature of such a disposition? Have a go at dissecting what, when this disposition is revealed in them, are their motivations, intents, and aims? What is the starting point of their revealing this disposition? What do they wish to achieve? Something happened at their own home, and they were being well provided for at their hosts’ home—so why would they want to mess this up? Are they only happy when they’ve messed things up for their hosts, so something happens at their hosts’ home and their hosts can’t go back, either? For their own sake, they should protect this place, stop anything from happening to it, and not harm their hosts, as harming them is the same as harming themselves. So just what exactly is their purpose in wanting to do this? (When things aren’t going well for them, they don’t want things to go well for anyone else, either.) This is called viciousness. What they’re thinking is, “My home has been destroyed by the great red dragon and now I don’t have a home. But you still have a nice warm home that you can go back to. This isn’t fair. I can’t stand to see you being able to go back home. I’m going to teach you a lesson. I’ll make it so you can’t go back home and you’re just like me. This’ll make things feel fair.” Is doing this not malicious and ill-intentioned? Of what nature is this? (Viciousness.) Everything that evil people say and do is done to achieve an aim. What kinds of things do they usually do? What are the most common things that people with vicious dispositions do? (They disrupt, disturb, and wreck the church’s work.) (They try to curry favor when they are face-to-face with people, but then they try to undermine people behind their backs.) (They attack people, are vengeful and maliciously lash out at people.) (They spread rumors and slander.) (They malign, judge, and condemn others.) The nature of these actions is to disturb and wreck the work of the church, and they are all manifestations of resisting and attacking God, all revelations of a vicious disposition. Those who are capable of doing these things are undoubtedly evil people, and all those who possess certain manifestations of a vicious disposition can be defined as evil people. What is the essence of an evil person? It is that of the devil, of Satan. This is no exaggeration.

—The Word, Vol. 3. The Discourses of Christ of the Last Days. Only Knowledge of the Six Kinds of Corrupt Dispositions Is True Self-Knowledge

Do evil people love positive things? Evil people love wicked, vicious, and venomous things; they love all that is associated with negative things. When you talk to them about positive things, or about how something benefits people and comes from God, they are not pleased and not interested to hear about them—they have no hope of being saved. No matter how well one fellowships the truth to them or how practically they are spoken to, they are simply not interested, and might even express hostility and antagonism. But their eyes light up when they hear somebody talking about fleshly pleasure, and they become full of energy. This is a vicious and wicked disposition, and they are not goodhearted. So, they cannot possibly love positive things. In their heart, how do they regard positive things? They despise and look down upon them, they deride these things. When it comes to being an honest person, they think, “Being honest only puts you at a disadvantage. I’ll pass on that! If you’re honest you’re a fool. Look at you, enduring hardship and working hard to perform your duty without ever considering your own future or your own health. Who’s going to care if you collapse from exhaustion? I can’t tire myself out.” Someone else might say, “Let’s leave an out for ourselves. We can’t be breaking our backs like dopes. We’ve got to prepare our backup plan and then just exert a bit more effort.” Those evil ones will be happy upon hearing this; it hits right home with them. But when it comes to absolute submission to God and loyally expending oneself for one’s duty, they feel repulsion and detestation, and will not take it in. Isn’t someone like this vicious? All people like this have a vicious disposition. All you have to do is fellowship the truth and talk about the principles of practice with them, and they become repulsed and unwilling to listen. They’ll think this injures their pride, wounds their dignity, and they can’t benefit from it. Inwardly they’ll say: “Going on and on about the truth, about the principles of practice. Always talking about being an honest person—can honesty feed you? Can speaking honestly make you money? Cheating is how I’ll profit!” What logic is this? It is the logic of a bandit. Isn’t this a vicious disposition? Is this person kindhearted? (No.) This kind of person cannot attain the truth. What little they do commit, expend, and forsake is all directed at a goal, one they’ve calculated well in advance. They only think it’s a good deal to offer something if they get more back in return. What disposition is this? It is a wicked, vicious disposition.

—The Word, Vol. 3. The Discourses of Christ of the Last Days. Only Self-Knowledge Is of Aid in Pursuing the Truth

In the church, some people are pruned because they don’t do their duty properly. The things said when pruning a person often involve that person being reprimanded and perhaps even scolded. This will certainly upset them, and they will want to look for excuses and answer back. They say things like, “Although you pruned me by saying things that are correct, some of what you said was really offensive, and you humiliated me and hurt my feelings. I’ve believed in God for all these years, working hard despite never making any contribution—how could I be treated like this? How come you don’t prune anyone else? I can’t accept this and I’m not putting up with it!” This is a kind of corrupt disposition, is it not? (Yes.) This corrupt disposition is only manifesting through complaints, disobedience, and antagonism, but it has yet to reach its peak, it has not reached its zenith, though it is already showing some signs, and it has already begun to reach the point where it is about to break through. What is their attitude soon after this? They are not submissive, they feel irritated and defiant and start acting out of spite. They start rationalizing: “The leaders and workers aren’t always right when they prune people. The rest of you might be able to accept it, but I can’t. That you can accept this is because you are stupid and wimpy. I don’t accept it! Let’s hash it out and see who’s right or wrong.” People then fellowship with them, saying, “Regardless of right or wrong, the first thing you must do is obey. Is it possible that the performance of your duty is not in the least bit tainted? Do you do everything right? Even if you do everything right, being pruned is still helpful for you! We’ve fellowshipped on the principles with you so many times, but you never listened and chose to just blindly do as you pleased, causing disturbances to the church’s work and bringing about massive losses, so how can you not face being pruned? The wording may be harsh, and it may be hard to hear, but that’s normal, isn’t it? So what are you arguing about? Should you just be allowed to do bad things without other people being allowed to prune you?” But will they be able to accept being pruned after hearing this? They won’t. They’ll just continue making excuses and resisting. What disposition did they reveal? Devilishness; it is a vicious disposition. What did they actually mean? “I don’t suffer people irritating me. No one should try and touch a hair on my head. If I show you that I’m not easy to mess with, you won’t dare prune me in the future. Won’t I have won then?” How about it? The disposition has been exposed, right? This is a vicious disposition. People with vicious dispositions are not just averse to the truth—they hate the truth! When they are subjected to pruning, they either try to flee, or they ignore it—in their hearts, they are incredibly hostile. It’s not simply a case of them coming up with excuses. That’s not their attitude at all. They are uncompliant and resistant, they even argue back like some harpy. In their hearts, they think, “I understand that you are trying to humiliate me and deliberately embarrass me, and though I do not dare contradict you to your face, I will find the chance to get my own back! You think you can just prune me and push me around? I’ll get everyone on my side, single you out, and then I’ll give you a taste of your own medicine!” This is what they’re thinking in their hearts; their vicious disposition has finally revealed itself. To achieve their aims and vent their spite, they do their utmost to come up with excuses that will allow them to justify themselves and get everyone on their side. Only then are they happy and mollified. This is malicious, is it not? This is a vicious disposition. When they have yet to be pruned, such people are like little lambs. When they are subjected to being pruned, or when their real self is exposed, they immediately change from a lamb to a wolf, and out comes their wolfishness. This is a vicious disposition, is it not? (Yes.) So why isn’t it visible most of the time? (They haven’t been provoked.) That’s right, they haven’t been provoked and their interests haven’t been endangered. It’s like how a wolf won’t eat you when it’s not hungry—could you then say it’s not a wolf? If you waited until it tried to eat you to call it a wolf, that would be too late, wouldn’t it? Even when it hasn’t tried to eat you, you should be vigilant at all times. The wolf not eating you does not mean it does not want to eat you, just that the time has not come yet—and when the time does arrive, its wolfish nature strikes. Being pruned reveals every kind of person. Some people think to themselves, “Why am I the only one being pruned? Why am I always being picked on? Do they see me as an easy target? I’m not the kind of person you can mess with!” What disposition is this? How could they be the only ones being pruned? This is not the way things really are. Who among you has not been pruned? All of you have. Sometimes leaders and workers are wayward and reckless in their work, or else they do not carry it out according to work arrangements—and most of them are pruned. This is done to protect the church’s work and to prevent people from going rogue. It is not done to target any specific individual. What they said is obviously a distortion of the facts, and this is also manifestation of a vicious disposition.

—The Word, Vol. 3. The Discourses of Christ of the Last Days. Only Knowledge of the Six Kinds of Corrupt Dispositions Is True Self-Knowledge

By the phrase “inclined toward vengeance,” it is evident these people are not anything good; colloquially speaking, they are bad apples. Judging from the consistent manifestations and revelations of their humanity, as well as their principles of action, their hearts are not kind. As the common saying goes, they are “nasty pieces of work.” We say they are not of the good sort; more specifically, these individuals are not kind-hearted but carry evil, maliciousness, and cruelness. Once someone says or does something that touches upon these individuals’ interests, face, or status, or if they themselves have been offended by someone’s words or actions, for one thing, they harbor hostility in their hearts. For another, on the basis of this hostility, they act; they act with the objective of venting their hatred and relieving their anger, a behavior known as taking revenge. There’s always a portion of individuals like this among people. Whether it’s being petty, domineering, or overly sensitive, regardless of the terms used to describe or summarize their humanity, the common manifestation of their interactions with others is that anyone who accidentally or intentionally hurts or offends them must suffer and face the corresponding consequences. It’s like some people say: “Offend them, and you won’t get away with it easily. If you trigger or hurt them, don’t think of escaping lightly.” Do such individuals exist among people? (Yes.) They certainly do. Regardless of what happens, whether or not it’s worth being angry or petty about, those inclined toward vengeance prioritize it in their daily agendas, treating it as a matter of utmost importance. Whoever offends them, it is unacceptable, and they demand an equivalent price be paid, which is their principle for treating people, for treating anyone they consider enemies. For example, in church life, some people fellowship about their state or normally share their experiences, discussing their states and corruption. In doing so, they inadvertently involve others’ states and corruption. The speaker may be unintentional, but the listener takes it to heart. After listening, this individual cannot correctly comprehend or approach it, and they are prone to developing a vengeful mentality. If they cling to this and insist on attacking and retaliating, it will cause trouble for the church’s work, so this matter must be handled promptly. As long as there are evil people in the church, disturbances will inevitably arise, so disturbances caused by evil people in the church must not be taken lightly. Whether intentional or not, as soon as you trigger or hurt them, they will not let it go easily. They think to themselves: “You speak of your own corruption, why mention me? You talk about your self-knowledge, why expose me? Exposing my corruption makes me lose face and dignity, puts me on the spot among the brothers and sisters, causes me to lose prestige, and damages my reputation. Well then, I’ll take revenge on you; I won’t let you get off so easily! Don’t think I’m easy to bully, don’t think you can push me around just because my family conditions are poor and my social status is not high. Don’t take me for some pushover; I’m not someone to be trifled with!” Never mind how it is they take revenge; let’s just consider these people themselves: When they encounter these minor matters—matters which are common in church life—not only can they not treat or comprehend these matters correctly, but they also develop hatred and wait for opportunities to take revenge, even resorting to unscrupulous means to carry out their vengeance. What does this say about their humanity? (It’s malicious.) Are they good people? (No.) … Others would view the same matter as commonplace, handling and treating it accordingly. Of course, good people who accept the truth would resolve it proactively and positively. Ordinary people, although not actively resolving it, do not harbor hatred, much less seek revenge. But for those non-good people, such a common and utterly ordinary matter can cause them inner turmoil, making them unable to calm down. The reactions they produce are not positive or ordinary, but vicious and wicked; they seek revenge. What is the reason for their vengeance? They believe that people intentionally slander them, exposing their true colors, their ugly side, their corruption. They take what people say as intentional, thus considering them their enemies. Then, they feel justified in using revenge to settle the matter, employing various means to achieve their vengeful ends. Is this not a vicious disposition? (Yes.) In church life, when the brothers and sisters talk about their states, most listeners can relate and accept it from God. Only those who are averse to the truth and have a wicked disposition generate hostility and even a mindset for revenge upon hearing it, thoroughly revealing their nature essence. Once the mindset for revenge is generated, a series of retaliatory behaviors and actions follow. When acts of revenge unfold, what becomes of the relationships between people? They are no longer proper. And who is the real victim in this? (The person they seek revenge on.) Correct; the real victims are those who fellowship their experiential testimony. Those inclined toward vengeance next aim to judge, attack, and even frame or slander those they perceive as exposing or harboring hostility toward them, using words or actions in various situations. Those inclined toward vengeance do not simply harbor hatred momentarily in their hearts and that’s all; they look for and even create all sorts of opportunities to retaliate against those they wish to exact revenge upon, those they are hostile toward, those they perceive as unfavorable to them. For example, during the selection of leaders, if the person they are hostile toward qualifies for election as a leader according to the principles of using people in God’s house, their hostility would cause them to judge, condemn, and attack that person, engaging in behind-the-scenes maneuvers or actions detrimental to them to exact their revenge. In summary, their means of revenge are varied. For instance, they might latch onto any detail about someone and badmouth them over it, exaggerate or baselessly spread rumors about that person, or spread dissension between that person and others. They might even falsely accuse that person to the leaders, claiming that the person is not loyal in doing their duties or is negative and resistant, which are actually all deliberate fabrications, making something out of nothing. See how, from their suspicions and misunderstandings of that person, so many unwarranted behaviors and actions arise; all of these approaches stem from their vengeful nature. In fact, when that person shared their experiential testimonies, it was not targeted at them at all; there was no malice intended toward them whatsoever. It’s merely because they are averse to the truth and have a vicious disposition inclined toward vengeance that they do not allow others to expose them, nor do they permit discussions about knowing oneself, discussing corrupt dispositions, or talking about one’s satanic nature. When such topics are discussed, they become enraged, assuming they are being targeted and exposed, hence developing and forming a vengeful mindset. This kind of person’s tendency to seek revenge is not at all limited to just one scenario. Why do I say so? It’s because such individuals have a vicious nature; none may trigger or provoke them. They inherently possess an aggressiveness toward anyone and anything, akin to a scorpion or centipede. Hence, whether someone triggers or hurts them by speaking intentionally or unintentionally, as long as they feel that their pride or prestige has been lost, they will devise ways to salvage their pride and prestige, leading to a series of retaliatory actions.

—The Word, Vol. 5. The Responsibilities of Leaders and Workers. The Responsibilities of Leaders and Workers (25)

Those who are wicked and do not love the truth always have active thoughts. If today they see a glimmer of hope for receiving blessings, they’ll give it their all and do good deeds for everyone to see, hoping to win them over. After a while, however, when God has not blessed them, they become regretful and complain, and this is the conclusion they arrive at: “God is sovereign over all; He shows no partiality—I’m not so sure these words are true.” They cannot see beyond their own immediate interests; if it doesn’t benefit them, they won’t lift a finger. Isn’t this vicious? No matter who they interact with, they try to make deals with them, and they even dare to try to make deals with God. They think: “I need to see some profit, and right now. I must profit right away!” Such forcefulness—would it be going too far to say they have a vicious disposition? (No.) How can their viciousness be proven, then? When they are faced with a little trial or disaster, they won’t be able to take it and won’t perform their duty. They’ll feel they’ve suffered a loss: “I’ve invested so much and God still hasn’t blessed me. Is there even a God? Is this the right way or not?” Their heart stirs with doubt. They want to see profit, and this proves that they do not willingly and earnestly make sacrifices; in this way they are revealed. What did Job’s wife say when Job was experiencing his trials? (“Do you still retain your integrity? curse God, and die” (Job 2:9).) She was a disbeliever, denying God and forsaking Him when disaster struck. When God granted blessings, she said, “Jehovah God, You are the great Savior! You’ve given me so much property and blessed me. I will follow You. You are my God!” And when God took her property away, she said, “You are not my God.” She even told Job, “Do not believe. There is no God! If there were, how could He let our property be taken away by bandits? Why didn’t He protect us?” What disposition is this? It is a vicious disposition. As soon as their interests are compromised, and their own goals and desires are not met, they fly into a rage, rebel, and become a Judas, betraying and forsaking God. Are there many people like this? Such rather obvious evil people and disbelievers may still exist within the church to some extent. But some people only have this kind of state; that is, they have this disposition, but they are not necessarily of this type. However, if you have this kind of disposition, does it need to change? (Yes.) If you have this kind of disposition, then it means your nature is also vicious. With this kind of vicious disposition, you are capable of opposing God, betraying God, and acting hostilely toward Him at any moment. Every day you do not change these corrupt dispositions is a day you are not compatible with God. When you are incompatible with God, you cannot come before Him and experience His work and you have no way of receiving salvation.

—The Word, Vol. 3. The Discourses of Christ of the Last Days. Only Self-Knowledge Is of Aid in Pursuing the Truth

One of the main strains in the nature of antichrists is viciousness. What does “viciousness” mean? It means that they have a particularly vile attitude regarding the truth—not only failing to submit to it, and not only refusing to accept it, but even condemning those who prune them. That is the vicious disposition of antichrists. Antichrists think that whoever accepts being pruned is vulnerable to bullying, and that people who are always pruning others are those who wish always to tease and bully people. So, an antichrist will resist whoever prunes them, and they will give that person a hard time. And whoever brings up an antichrist’s deficiencies or corruption, or fellowships with them about the truth and God’s intentions, or has them know themselves, they think that person is giving them a hard time and finds them displeasing. They hate that person from the bottom of their heart, and they will take revenge on them and make things hard for them. This is another manifestation of how antichrists treat being pruned which we will fellowship. They hate whoever prunes them and exposes them. This is a very obvious manifestation in antichrists. What sort of people are possessed of such a vicious disposition? Evil people. The fact is that antichrists are evil people. Therefore, it is only evil people and antichrists who are possessed of such a vicious disposition. When a vicious person is faced with any kind of well-intentioned exhortation, accusation, teaching or help, their attitude is not to be grateful or accept it humbly, but instead to become enraged from shame, and to feel extreme hostility, hatred, and to even retaliate. There are some who prune and expose an antichrist by saying, “You have recently been running wild, not acted according to principle, and consistently flaunted yourself while doing your duty. You have been working for the sake of status and making a complete mess of your duty. Have you done right by God? Why have you not sought the truth when doing your duty? Why have you not been acting according to principle? Why have you not accepted it when the brothers and sisters fellowship about the truth with you? Why have you ignored them? Why have you gone on doing as you please?” These several whys, these words that expose their expression of corruption—they get under their skin: “Why? There is no ‘why’—I do whatever I want! What gives you the right to prune me? Who are you to do that? I am willful; what can you do about it? Now that I’ve gotten to this age, nobody dares speak to me like this. Only I can speak this way to others; nobody else can speak to me like this. Who dares to lecture me? The person who can lecture me has not been born yet! Do you really think you can lecture me?” Hatred arises deep in their hearts, and they seek an opportunity for revenge. In their minds they are calculating: “Does this person pruning me have power in the church? If I retaliate against him, will anybody speak up for him? If I make him suffer, will the church deal with me? I have a solution. I won’t retaliate against him personally; I’ll do something in absolute secrecy. I will do something to his family to cause him suffering and embarrassment, that way I will be free of this resentment. I must get my revenge. I can’t let the matter drop now. I didn’t start believing in god so that I could get pushed around, and I didn’t come here to let people bully me as they wish; I came to gain blessings and enter the kingdom of heaven! People need their pride just as a tree needs its bark. People must have the spine to fight for their dignity. How dare you expose me. This is bullying! Now that you don’t treat me like an important figure, I’ll give you hell, and I’ll make you bear the consequences. Let’s fight it out, and see who’s fiercer!” Just a few simple words of exposure enrage antichrists and provoke such great hatred in them, causing them to go to such great lengths for revenge. Their vicious disposition is entirely laid bare. Of course, when they retaliate against another because of hatred, it is not because they have hatred toward or an old grudge against that person, but because that person has exposed their mistakes. This shows that the mere act of exposing an antichrist, regardless of who does so, and regardless of their relationship with the antichrist, can trigger their hatred and instigate their revenge. Regardless of who it is, whether they understand the truth, or whether they are a leader or worker or an ordinary member of God’s chosen people, as long as anyone exposes and prunes the antichrist, they will treat that person as an enemy. They will even openly say, “I’ll go hard on whoever prunes me. Whoever prunes me, exposes the skeletons in my closet, gets me expelled by the house of god, or robs me of my share of blessings, I’ll never leave them be. That’s how I am in the secular world: No one dares give me trouble. The person who dares to bother me hasn’t been born yet!” These are the type of ruthless words antichrists let out when they face being pruned. When they let out these ruthless words, it isn’t to intimidate others, nor are they venting to protect themselves. They are truly capable of doing evil, and they will stoop to any means available to them. This is the vicious disposition of antichrists.

—The Word, Vol. 4. Exposing Antichrists. Item Nine (Part Eight)

Antichrists expropriate everything from the house of God and the property of the church, and treat them as their personal property, all of which is to be managed by them, and they do not permit anyone else to intervene in this. The only things they think about when doing the work of the church are their own interests, their own status, and their own pride. They do not allow anyone to harm their interests, much less do they allow anyone of caliber or anyone who is able to speak of their experiential testimony to threaten their reputation and status. And so, they try to suppress and exclude as competitors those who are able to speak of experiential testimony, and who can fellowship the truth and provide for God’s chosen people, and they desperately try to isolate those people completely from everyone else, to drag their names thoroughly through the mud, and to bring them down. Only then will the antichrists feel at peace. If these people are never negative, and are able to carry on doing their duty, speaking of their testimony, and supporting others, then the antichrists will turn to their last resort, which is to find faults with them and condemn them, or to frame them and fabricate reasons to torment and punish them, until they get them cleared out of the church. Only then will the antichrists completely relax. This is what is most insidious and malicious about the antichrists. What causes them the most fear and anxiety is the people who pursue the truth and are possessed of true experiential testimony, because people with such testimony are the ones whom God’s chosen people approve of and support the most, rather than those who blather on emptily about words and doctrines. Antichrists do not possess true experiential testimony, nor are they capable of practicing the truth; at best, they are capable of doing a few good deeds to curry favor with people. But no matter how many good deeds they do or how many nice-sounding things they say, these are still incomparable to the benefits and advantages that a good experiential testimony can bring to people. Nothing is a substitute for the effects of the provision and watering provided to God’s chosen people by those who are able to speak of their experiential testimony. And so, when antichrists see someone speaking of their experiential testimony, their gaze becomes a dagger. Rage ignites in their hearts, hatred rises up, and they are champing at the bit to shut the speaker up and stop them from saying any more. If they carry on talking, the antichrists’ reputation will be completely ruined, their ugly faces completely exposed for all to see, so the antichrists find a pretext to disturb the person who is speaking testimony, and to suppress them. Antichrists permit only themselves to mislead people with words and doctrines; they do not allow God’s chosen people to glorify God by speaking of their experiential testimony, which indicates what kind of people the antichrists hate and fear the most. When someone distinguishes themselves with a little work, or when someone is able to speak of true experiential testimony, and God’s chosen people receive benefits, edification, and support from it, and it earns great praise from everyone, envy and hate grows in the hearts of the antichrists, and they try to exclude and suppress that person. They do not, under any circumstances, allow such people to undertake any work, in order to prevent them from threatening their status. People with the truth reality serve to accentuate and highlight the poverty, wretchedness, ugliness, and wickedness of antichrists when they’re in their presence, so when the antichrists choose a partner or co-worker, they never select people with the truth reality, they never select people who can speak of their experiential testimony, and they never select honest people or people who are able to practice the truth. These are the people the antichrists envy and hate the most, and they are a thorn in the side of the antichrists. No matter how much these people who practice the truth do that is good or of benefit to the work of God’s house, the antichrists will try their hardest to cover these deeds up. They will even twist the facts to claim the credit for good things while shifting the blame for bad things onto others, as a means to elevate themselves and belittle other people. Antichrists have a great jealousy and hatred toward those who pursue the truth and are able to speak of their experiential testimony. They are fearful that these people will threaten their own status, and so they do all they can to attack and exclude them. They prohibit the brothers and sisters from contacting them or getting close to them, or from supporting or praising these people who are able to speak of their experiential testimony. This is what most reveals the satanic nature of antichrists, which is averse to the truth and hates God. And so, too, does it prove that the antichrists are an evil countercurrent in the church, that they are the ones to blame for the disturbance to church work and impedance of God’s will.

—The Word, Vol. 4. Exposing Antichrists. Item Eight: They Would Have Others Submit Only to Them, Not the Truth or God (Part One)

Once antichrists are replaced or eliminated, they take the gloves off and complain without restraint, and their demonic side is exposed. What demonic side is exposed? In the past, they absolutely did not perform their duties in order to pursue the truth and attain salvation, but to gain blessings, and now they tell the truth about this and reveal the real situation. They say: “If I weren’t trying to get into the kingdom of heaven or gain blessings and great glory later, would I have mixed with you people who are lower than dung? Are you worthy of my presence? You don’t train me or promote me, and you want to eliminate me. One day I’ll show you that there’ll be a price to pay for you eliminating me, and the consequences that you’ll suffer because of it!” Antichrists disseminate these ideas, and these devilish words slip out of them. Once they have taken the gloves off, their malicious nature and vicious disposition are exposed, and they start to spread notions. They also start to rope in those who are new believers, who are of relatively small stature and lack discernment, who do not pursue the truth, and who are often negative and weak, and they also rope in those who are consistently perfunctory in their duties and who do not truly believe in God. As they said themselves, “If you eliminate me, I will have to drag several others down with me!” Hasn’t their satanic nature been laid bare? Would normal people do this? Generally, people with corrupt dispositions just feel sad and hurt when they are dismissed, believing themselves to be hopeless, but their consciences make them think: “This is our fault, we haven’t fulfilled our duties. In the future I will strive to do better, and as for how God treats me and what determinations He makes about me, that’s God’s business. People have no right to make demands of God. Aren’t God’s actions based on people’s manifestations? If one walks the wrong path then they ought to be disciplined and chastened, this goes without saying. Right now, the sad thing is that I have poor caliber and cannot satisfy the intentions of God, and that I do not understand the truth principles and act arbitrarily and willfully based on my corrupt dispositions. I deserve to be eliminated, but I hope I’ll have the chance to make up for it in the future!” People with a little conscience will walk a path like this. They choose to consider the issue in this way, and in the end, they also choose to resolve the issue in this way. Of course, there are not many elements of practicing the truth within this, but because these people have consciences, they won’t go as far as resisting God, blaspheming against God, or opposing God. But antichrists are not the same. Because they have a vicious nature, they are innately antagonistic toward God. When their prospects and destiny are threatened or taken away, when they cannot see any chances to live, what they choose to do is to spread notions, to judge the work of God, and to get the disbelievers who are in league with them to disturb the work of God’s house alongside them. They even refuse to take responsibility for any of their past misdeeds and transgressions, as well as any losses they have caused to the work or property of God’s house. When God’s house handles them and eliminates them, they say one sentence that is most often spoken by antichrists. What is it? (If this place won’t keep me, there’s a place for me out there.) Isn’t this another devilish sentence? This is something that a person with normal humanity, a sense of shame, and a conscience could not say. We call them devilish words. These are various manifestations of the vicious dispositions that antichrists reveal when they are pruned and feel that their status and reputation are in danger, that their status and prestige are being threatened, and especially that they’re about to be deprived of their prospects and destiny; at the same time as this, their disbeliever essence is exposed.

—The Word, Vol. 4. Exposing Antichrists. Item Nine (Part Eight)

No matter how they are tried, the allegiance of those who have God in their heart remains unchanged; but for those who do not have God in their heart, once the work of God is not advantageous to their flesh, they change their view of God, and even depart from God. Such are those who will not stand fast in the end, who only seek God’s blessings and have no desire to expend themselves for God and dedicate themselves to Him. Such base people will all be expelled when God’s work comes to an end, and they are unworthy of any sympathy. Those without humanity are incapable of truly loving God. When the environment is safe and secure, or there are profits to be made, they are totally obedient toward God, but once that which they desire is compromised or finally refuted, they immediately revolt. Even in the space of just one night, they may go from a smiling, “kind-hearted” person to an ugly-looking and ferocious killer, suddenly treating their benefactor of yesterday as their mortal enemy, without rhyme or reason. If these demons are not cast out, these demons that would kill without blinking an eye, will they not become a hidden danger? The work of saving man is not achieved following the completion of the work of conquest. Although the work of conquest has come to an end, the work of purifying man has not; such work will only be finished once man has been wholly purified, once those who truly submit to God have been made complete, and once those disguisers who are without God in their heart have been cleared out. Those who do not satisfy God in the final stage of His work will be completely eliminated, and those who are eliminated are of devils. As they are incapable of satisfying God, they are rebellious against God, and even though these people follow God today, this does not prove that they are those who will finally remain.

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

In which matters in your daily lives do you have a God-fearing heart? And in which matters do you not? Are you able to hate someone when they offend you or impinge on your interests? And when you hate someone, are you capable of punishing them and getting revenge? (Yes.) Then you are quite scary! If you do not have a God-fearing heart, and are able to do evil things, then this vicious disposition of yours is far too severe! Love and hatred are things which normal humanity should possess, but you must differentiate clearly between what you love and what you hate. In your heart, you should love God, love the truth, love positive things, and love your brothers and sisters, whereas you should hate Satan and devils, hate negative things, hate antichrists, and hate evil people. If you are capable of suppressing and taking revenge on your brothers and sisters out of hatred, this would be very frightening, and this is the disposition of an evil person. Some people simply have hateful thoughts and ideas—evil ideas, but they would never do anything evil. These are not evil people because when something happens, they are able to seek the truth, and they pay attention to the principles in how they conduct themselves and deal with things. When interacting with others, they do not ask more of them than they should; if they get along with the person well, they will keep interacting with them; if they do not get along, then they won’t. It barely affects the performance of their duty or their life entry. God is in their heart and they have a God-fearing heart. They are unwilling to offend God, and are afraid to do so. Though these people might harbor certain incorrect thoughts and ideas, they are able to rebel against and abandon them. They exercise restraint in their actions, and do not utter a single word that is out of line, or which offends God. Someone who speaks and acts this way is someone who has principles and who practices the truth. Your personality might be incompatible with another person’s, and you may not like them, but when you work together with them, you remain impartial and will not vent your frustrations in doing your duty, or take out your frustrations on the interests of God’s family; you can handle affairs according to principles. What is this a manifestation of? It is a manifestation of having a basic God-fearing heart. If you have a bit more than that, when you see that someone else has some inadequacies or weaknesses, then even if they have offended you or have a bias against you, you still have it in you to treat them correctly and lovingly help them. This means there is love in you, that you are a person who possesses humanity, that you are someone who is kind and who can practice the truth, that you are an honest person who possesses truth realities, and that you are someone with a God-fearing heart. If you are still of small stature but you have a will, and are willing to strive for the truth, and to strive to do things according to principle, and you are able to deal with things and act toward others with principle, then this also counts as having somewhat of a God-fearing heart; this is most fundamental. If you cannot even achieve this, and cannot restrain yourself, then you are in great danger and are quite frightening. If you were given a position, you could punish people and give them a hard time; you would then be liable to turn into an antichrist at any moment.

—The Word, Vol. 3. The Discourses of Christ of the Last Days. The Five Conditions That Must Be Met to Embark on the Right Track of Belief in God

What is the most obvious manifestation of a person with a vicious disposition? It is when they encounter a guileless person who is easy to pick on and they start to pick on them and toy with them. This is a common phenomenon. When a person who is relatively kindhearted sees a person who is guileless and cowardly, they will feel a sense of compassion for them, and even if they can’t help them, they won’t bully them. When you see that one of your brothers or sisters is guileless, how do you treat them? Do you bully them or tease them? (I’d probably look down on them.) Looking down on people is a way of seeing them, of viewing them, a kind of mentality, but how you act and speak toward them involves your disposition. Tell Me, how do you act toward people who are timid and cowardly? (I order them about and pick on them.) (When I see them doing their duty wrong, I discriminate against them and exclude them.) These things you mention are manifestations of a vicious disposition and relate to people’s dispositions. There are many more of these things, so there’s no need to go into detail about them. Have you ever come across such a person, someone who wished death upon whoever offended them, and even prayed to God, asking Him to damn them, to wipe them from the face of the earth? Although no man has such power, in their heart they think about how good it would be if they did, or else they pray to God and ask that God do this. Do you have such thoughts in your heart? (When we are spreading the gospel and encounter evil people who attack us and report us to the police, I feel hateful toward them, and have thoughts like “the day will come when you are punished by God.”) That’s quite an objective case. You were attacked, you suffered, you felt pained, your personal integrity and self-respect were utterly trampled on—in such circumstances most people would have a hard time getting over it. (Some people spread rumors about our church online, they make many allegations, and it makes me really angry when I read them, and there is a lot of hatred in my heart.) Is this viciousness, or is it hot-headedness, or is this normal humanity? (It is normal humanity. Not hating demons and God’s enemies is not normal humanity.) That’s right. This is the revelation, manifestation, and response of normal humanity. If people do not hate negative things or love positive things, if they have no standards of conscience, then they are not people. Under these circumstances, what actions can a person perform to develop into a vicious disposition? If this hatred and loathing morphs into a certain kind of behavior, if you lose all reason, and your actions cross a certain red line for humanity, if you are even liable to kill them and break the law, then this is viciousness, it is acting in a hot-headed way. When people understand the truth, and are able to discern evil people, and they hate wickedness, this is normal humanity. But if people handle things in a hot-headed way, they are acting without principles. Is this any different from committing evil? (Yes.) There is a difference. If a person is extremely bad, extremely vicious, extremely evil, extremely immoral, and you feel great antipathy toward them, and this antipathy reaches the point that you ask God to curse them, then this is okay. But is it okay if God does not act after you have prayed two or three times and you take matters into your own hands? (No.) You can pray to God and express your views and opinions, then search for the truth principles, in which case you will be able to handle things correctly. But you should not demand or try to force God to exact payback on your behalf, much less should you allow your hot-headedness to make you do stupid things. You should approach the matter rationally. You should be patient, await the time of God, and spend more time praying to God. See how God acts with wisdom toward Satan and devils, and in this way, you can be patient. Being rational means entrusting all of this to God and letting God act. This is what a created being should do. Do not act out of hot-headedness. Acting out of hot-headedness is not acceptable to God, it is condemned by God. At such times, the disposition revealed in people is not human weakness or passing anger, rather it is a vicious disposition. Once it is determined to be a vicious disposition, you are in trouble, and not likely to be saved. That’s because when people have vicious dispositions, they are liable to act in violation of conscience and reason, and they become highly disposed to breaking the law, and violating the administrative decrees of God. So how can this be avoided? At a minimum, there are three red lines that must not be crossed: The first is not doing things that are in violation of conscience and reason, the second is not breaking the law, and the third is not violating God’s administrative decrees. Additionally, do not do anything extreme or anything that will disturb the work of the church. If you abide by these principles, at the very least your safety will be assured, and you will not be eliminated. If you viciously resist when you are being pruned because you committed all kinds of evils, then that’s even more dangerous. You are likely to directly offend God’s disposition and be cleared out or expelled from the church. The punishment for offending God’s disposition is much more severe than for breaking the law—it is a fate worse than death. Breaking the law entails a prison sentence at most; a few hard years and you’re out, that’s it. But if you offend God’s disposition, you will suffer eternal punishment. Therefore, if people with vicious dispositions have no rationality, they are in extreme danger, they are liable to commit evil, and they are sure to be punished and suffer retribution. If people have a little rationality, are able to seek and submit to the truth, and can refrain from committing too much evil, then they absolutely have hope of being saved. It is crucial for a person to have rationality and reason. A person with reason is likely to accept the truth and handle being pruned in a correct way. A person without reason is in danger when they are pruned. Say, for example, someone is very angry after being pruned by a leader. They feel like spreading rumors and attacking the leader, but do not dare to for fear of causing trouble. Such a disposition already exists in their heart, however, and it is hard to say whether they would act on it or not. As long as this kind of disposition is in someone’s heart, as long as these thoughts exist, then although they might not act on it, they are already in danger. When circumstances permit—when they get the chance—they may well act. So long as their vicious disposition exists, if it is not resolved, then sooner or later this person will commit evil. So what other situations are there in which a person reveals a vicious disposition? Tell Me. (I was perfunctory in my duty and didn’t get any results, and then I was replaced by the leader in accordance with the principles, and I felt somewhat resistant. Then when I saw that he revealed a corrupt disposition, I thought of writing a letter to report him.) Does this idea come out of thin air? Absolutely not. This was produced by your nature. Sooner or later, the things in people’s natures are revealed, there is no knowing in what instance or context they will be revealed and acted out. Sometimes people do nothing, but that is because the situation does not permit it. If they are someone who pursues the truth, however, they will be able to seek the truth to resolve this. If they are not a person who pursues the truth, they will do as they please, and as soon as the situation permits, they will commit evil. Therefore, if a corrupt disposition is not resolved, it is extremely likely that people will get themselves into trouble, in which case they will have to reap what they have sown. Some people do not pursue the truth and are constantly perfunctory in the performance of their duties. They don’t accept it when they are pruned, they never repent, and eventually they are ostracized for the purpose of reflection. Some people are cleared out of the church because they constantly disturb church life and they have become rotten apples; and some people are expelled because they perform all kinds of evil. Therefore, no matter what kind of person they are, if someone frequently reveals a corrupt disposition and does not seek the truth to resolve this, they are liable to commit evildoing. Mankind’s corrupt disposition does not consist of arrogance alone, but also wickedness and viciousness. Arrogance and viciousness are just common factors.

So how should this problem of revealing a vicious disposition be solved? People must recognize what their corrupt disposition is. Some people’s disposition is particularly vicious, malicious, and arrogant, and they are totally unscrupulous. This is the nature of evil people, and these people are the most dangerous of all. When such people hold power, the devils hold power, Satans hold power. In God’s house, all evil people are revealed and eliminated because of their performance of all kinds of evil acts. When you try to fellowship the truth to evil people or to prune them, there is a high chance that they will attack you, or judge you, or even take revenge on you, which are all consequences of their dispositions being so malicious. This is actually very common. For example, there could be two people who get along very well, who are very considerate and understanding of each other—but they end up divided over a single thing concerning their interests, and they cut ties with each other. Some people even become enemies and try to take revenge on each other. They are all highly vicious. When it comes to people doing their duty, have you noticed which things that are manifested and revealed in them fall under a vicious disposition? These things certainly exist, and you must root them out. This will help you to discern and recognize these things. If you do not know how to root them out and discern them, you will never be able to discern evil people. After being misled by antichrists and falling under their control, some people’s lives are harmed, and it is only then that they know what an antichrist is, and what a vicious disposition is. Your understanding of the truth is too superficial. Your understanding of most truths stops at the spoken or written level, or you only understand words and doctrines, and these do not match up at all with reality. After hearing many sermons, there seems to be understanding and enlightenment in your heart; but when faced with reality, you still can’t discern things for what they really are. You all know, theoretically speaking, what the manifestations of an antichrist are, but when you lay eyes on a real antichrist, you are unable to discern them as an antichrist. This is because you have too little experience. When you have experienced more, when you have been hurt by antichrists enough, you will well and truly be able to discern them for what they really are. Today, though most people listen to sermons conscientiously during gatherings, and want to strive for the truth, once they have heard the sermon, they only understand the literal meaning, they don’t get any further than the theoretical level, and they are incapable of experiencing the practical side of the truth. Therefore, their entry into the truth reality is very superficial, which means they lack discernment of evil people and antichrists. Antichrists have the essence of evil people, but apart from antichrists and evil people, do other people not have vicious dispositions? In reality, there are no good people. When nothing’s wrong, they are all smiles, but when they are faced with something that harms their own interests, they turn ugly. This is a vicious disposition. This vicious disposition can be revealed at any time; it is involuntary. So what exactly is happening here? Is it a matter of being possessed by evil spirits? Is it a matter of demonic reincarnation? If it is either of these two things, then the person has the essence of an evil person and they are beyond help. If their essence is not that of an evil person, and they just have this corrupt disposition, then their condition is not terminal, and if they can accept the truth, there is still hope for them to be saved. So how is a vicious, corrupt disposition to be resolved? Firstly, you must often pray when you encounter matters and reflect on what motivations and desires you have. You must accept God’s scrutiny and keep your behavior in check. Moreover, you must not reveal any evil words or behavior. If a person finds themselves with incorrect intents and malice in their heart, wanting to do bad things, they must seek the truth to resolve it, they must find the relevant words of God to understand and resolve this matter, they must pray to God, ask for His protection, swear to God, and they must curse themselves when they do not accept the truth and commit evil. Fellowshipping with God in this way grants protection and stops a person from doing evil. If something happens to a person and evil intentions emerge, but they pay it no heed, and just let things play out, or take it for granted that this is the way they should act, then they are an evil person, and they are not someone who genuinely believes in God and loves the truth. Such a person still wants to believe in God and follow God, and to be blessed and enter the heavenly kingdom—is that possible? They’re dreaming.

—The Word, Vol. 3. The Discourses of Christ of the Last Days. Only Knowledge of the Six Kinds of Corrupt Dispositions Is True Self-Knowledge

Related Experiential Testimonies

Lessons Learned From Lashing Out

I Learned to Treat People Fairly

How I Cast My Hateful Emotions Aside