23 Sept 2017: Fulfilment of Revelation 12:1-2 – What is the Lord’s Will?

23 Sept 2017: Fulfilment of Revelation 12:1-2 – What is the Lord’s Will?

On September 23, 2017, the zodiac of Virgo will perfectly appear as being “clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars”, which exactly fulfills the prophecy in the Revelation. What is the God’s will as the disasters are coming? Let us explore together from the following article!

The Fulfilment of the Prophecy of a Woman Travailing in Birth—-What is the Lord’s Will?

Meien France

Jupiter is usually called as “the emperor planet”. The arrival of Jupiter was associated with the birth of the Lord Jesus and therefore it was called “the King planet”. According to the astronomers, “the emperor planet” would enter into the womb of the constellation Virgo on November 20, 2016. Jupiter, due its retrograde motion, would spend the next 41 weeks within the womb of Virgo. This length of time corresponded with a woman’s gestation period. After that, Jupiter would exit out of the womb of Virgo on September 9th 2017. Thirteen days after Jupiter is “born”, that is, on September 23rd 2017, the Virgo will perfectly appear as being “clothed with the sun, and with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars” (Revelation 12:1). This amazing phenomenon has never happened since ancient times and also astonishes the astronomers.

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Although the entire process will only last for several hours, for every Christian who sincerely looks forward to the Lord’s second coming believes that this is not a coincidence. This is predestined by God which proves the prophecy in the Revelation 12:1-2: “And there appeared a great wonder in heaven; a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars: And she being with child cried, travailing in birth, and pained to be delivered.”

The Bible says: “Ask you now, and see whether a man does travail with child? why do I see every man with his hands on his loins, as a woman in travail, and all faces are turned into paleness?” (Jeremiah 30:6). “Howl you; for the day of the LORD is at hand; it shall come as a destruction from the Almighty. Therefore shall all hands be faint, and every man’s heart shall melt: And they shall be afraid: pangs and sorrows shall take hold of them; they shall be in pain as a woman that travails: they shall be amazed one at another; their faces shall be as flames. Behold, the day of the LORD comes, cruel both with wrath and fierce anger, to lay the land desolate: and he shall destroy the sinners thereof out of it. And I will punish the world for their evil, and the wicked for their iniquity; and I will cause the arrogance of the proud to cease, and will lay low the haughtiness of the terrible. Therefore I will shake the heavens, and the earth shall remove out of her place, in the wrath of the LORD of hosts, and in the day of his fierce anger.” (Isaiah 13:6-9, 11,13). “All these are the beginning of sorrows.” (Matthew 24:8). In fact, the signs of disasters have been very evident to us: the occurrence of the four blood moons, the abnormal phenomenon among celestial bodies, the realization of the prophecy of a woman’s travailing in birth. All these signs foretell us that the disasters are coming. Currently, there are all kinds of catastrophes everywhere all over the world, including the solar eclipse, plague, typhoon, earthquakes, flood, drought, and wars. What’s more, some are unprecedented and are spreading further and further. These are not only the start of disasters, but even, the scenes of the fulfillment of prophecy about the Lord Jesus’ His second coming. Besides, the churches are desolate, and people have long lost their faith and love. Israel has been restored, the Mount of Olives has split, the signs of the last days and prophecies of the Lord’s return are basically all fulfilled. The Bible says: “… he that shall come will come, and will not tarry.” (Hebrews 10:37). The Lord will not tarry. Since all the prophecies have been fulfilled, the Lord should have returned. However, why do we still not welcome the Lord’s return before the disasters arrive? If we stay in the same way as we do, what will be our end when the disasters come? This is a question that is worth pondering.

If we only focus on one verse what the Lord Jesus said and ignore other more corresponding words of the Lord Jesus in the Bible, we will misunderstand God’s will easily. It must be proved through many verses. Therefore, I explored the prophecies about the Lord’s second coming, and discovered that there are two different ways of the Lord’ return: secret arrival and public arrival. It is possible that the Lord will return in flesh secretly first, and then reveal Himself to the public. The Revelation 3:3 says: “If therefore you shall not watch, I will come on you as a thief, and you shall not know what hour I will come on you.” The Matthew 15:6 says: “And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom comes; go you out to meet him” “Like a thief”, “at midnight” refer to God’s incarnation, because when God come incarnate as the Son of Man like a thief, people are not able to recognize Him, which is a secret thing. In the Revelation 1:7: “Behold, he comes with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him.” This refers to the Lord’s public appearance. Hence, the Lord will possibly return in two ways, just like the Lord Jesus did, secretly descending first and then appearing publicly. When the Lord Jesus came to do His work, He became flesh and secretly descended among man, and after He was crucified and resurrected, He revealed Himself for 40 days and ascended to heaven.

If this is the case, it is not difficult to understand why we haven’t received the Lord when the prophecies about the Lord’s return have basically come true. If we stubbornly hold the view that the Lord will return publicly, we can easily miss the chance to welcome His return. Actually, the most crucial and important thing is to welcome the Lord’s return in secret. Upon the conclusion of God’s work in secret, all the disasters will start appearing. That is, God will unleash disasters to reward the good and punish the evil. Only after all the disasters will the Lord appear to all peoples upon a white cloud.

After understanding all these, I suddenly realize that the frequent occurrence and the fulfillment of the prophecy of a woman travailing in birth are God’s warnings to us. He will appear publicly to all people soon and send down disasters to reward the good and punish the wicked. If we don’t receive God’s second coming in this short period of time, we will only wail and gnash our teeth in the disasters. The Revelation has mentioned many times that “He that has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit said to the churches” (Revelation 2:7). God also has said: “However, when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will show you things to come”（John 16:13). “Seek, and you shall find; knock, and it shall be opened to you.” (Luke11:9). From the prophecies, we can see that when the Lord returns, He will speak His words. Only those who seek actively, pay attention to listening to God’s voice and welcome God’s return are wise virgins.

Today, according to the signs of the Lord’s return, the Lord should have returned already. The Lord Jesus has said: “And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom comes; go you out to meet him” (Matthew 25:6). The wise virgin are the ones who actively seek and investigate when they hear the news of the Lord’s return and search for God’s footprints. If people wait for God’s appearance passively instead of seeking the footprints of God actively, it will be impossible to welcome the Lord’s return.

Seeing the great calamities are about to happen, if we still do not seek God’s footprints and appearance actively, we will be very likely to fall into the disasters. Those who seek and accept God’s second coming when they hear God’s voice will go to the feast with the Lord as wise virgins. God will grant the water of the river of life to the wise virgins without asking for anything, which also has fulfilled the Lord Jesus’ prophecy: “And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom comes; go you out to meet him” (Matthew 25:6). “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me” (John 10:27). “Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.” (Revelation 3:20).

After reading this author’s interpretation of the verses, I have a sense of urgency. The biblical prophecies have all been fulfilled. Now it appears critical to take the initiative in searching God’s footprint and attach importance to hearing God’s voice. Then where can we find God’s footprint? How can we recognize God’s voice? You may be interested in this article: Searching for the Footprints of God. Please let us know if you have any ideas or suggestions. At this critical moment, we’d like to seek with you to welcome the Lord’s return together!

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Penetrating Satan’s Deceptions in Trials

Penetrating Satan’s Deceptions in Trials

Ji Ying

I had never dreamed that I could meet the return of the Lord Jesus during my lifetime, which made me feel immeasurable joy. However, some time after I accepted God’s work of the last days, I was suddenly diagnosed as having prolapse of lumbar intervertebral disc. My husband suffered a car accident abruptly. Though there was no bone injury, he could not walk temporarily and needed a week of rest before going to work. After that, my four-year-old son caught a cold all of a sudden, wheezing out of breath. Whenever I saw my child fighting for breath, it really tugged at my heartstrings. I thought: How could those mishaps come upon me in succession? Normally, after accepting God’s work of the last days, I should have remained inside God’s care and protection and such misadventures shouldn’t have come upon me. But why do they happen? Although Sister Yang in the Church of Almighty God communicated with me about God’s words, urging me not to misunderstand God’s intentions, yet I just could not listen to her for I got caught up in diseases. I began to wonder whether Almighty God is really the return of the Lord Jesus. Later, my son got over his cold, but his symptom of gasping for breath still remained, even developed persistent asthma. We spent our days going one doctor visit to the next but my son failed to improve. My heart was in so much pain. I thought: Will my son go on gasping for breath? At that point, my mother-in-law said to me, “A doctor concluded that the kid has a heart attack. I’m afraid he will have difficulty to look for a spouse.” My heart sank after I heard this. I recalled that when I lived in my grandma’s home in my childhood, a woman next door had asthma, wheezed out of breath, and looked aged before turning 40. What’s more, she even was not able to work at all. “Could it be that my son will suffer the same fate? Will he struggle against disease for his whole life?” When I saw his contemporaries growing up healthily while my son suffering illness painfully, I felt tortured inside, not knowing how to get through the rest of our life. I thought of that I did not listen attentively when Sister Yang came to communicate with me last time, but at that moment, I hoped so much she could drop in and communicate with me again to resolve my actual difficulties.

God does observe the depths of man’s heart. He is acquainted with man’s inside needs. Sister Yang came to see me very soon. I let all my sufferings out to her. She said to me in a very calm way, “Sister, we need to penetrate all the deceitful schemes of Satan to avoid being tricked by it. Satan sees that we have accepted God’s work of the last days and gotten the chance for salvation, so it becomes desperate and tries all the ways and means to stop us from worshiping God. Therefore, when illness or other misfortunes suddenly befall us, all of these are Satan’s disturbance. Satan uses these things to play on man,  makes man misunderstand God and doubt Him, and then deny God and go back to its camp, losing the opportunity of God’s salvation. This is Satan’s despicable objective.” After saying this, Sister Yang read two passages of God’s words.

Almighty God says, “Because of God’s incarnation, Satan makes every attempt to accuse and wants to attack God by doing so. However, God does not retreat on that account, and He just speaks among men and works among men, letting men know Him through His incarnate flesh. But Satan becomes irritated, and it also puts in a lot of efforts on God’s people, trying to make them become passive, draw back, and even get lost” (“The Interpretation of the Thirteenth Utterance”  in The Word Appears in the Flesh). “God works, God cares for a person, looks upon a person, and Satan dogs His every step. Whoever God favors, Satan also watches, trailing along behind. If God wants this person, Satan would do everything in its power to obstruct God, using various evil ways to tempt, harass and wreck the work God does in order to achieve its hidden objective. What is its objective? It does not want God to have anyone; it wants all those that God wants, to possess them, control them, to take charge of them so they worship it, so they commit evil acts alongside it. Is this not Satan’s sinister motive? … Satan is at war with God, trailing along behind Him. Its objective is to demolish all the work God wants to do, to possess and control those whom God wants, to completely extinguish those whom God wants. If they are not extinguished, then they come to Satan’s possession to be used by it—this is its objective” (“God Himself, the Unique IV” in Continuation of The Word Appears in the Flesh).         

After reading God’s words, Sister Yang continued her fellowship, “Through the revelations of God’s word, we have seen clearly Satan’s evil nature. By the illness, it disturbs our belief in God in order to make us turn away from God, losing God’s care and protection. For those whom God wishes to save, Satan does its utmost to disturb, sows dissension in their relationship with God, schemes to make them misunderstand, complain about, and betray God, and in the end it could devour them. As the Bible recorded, Job was righteous and he feared God. He was a perfect man in God’s eyes. Satan hates people that could fear God and shun evil. So it attacked Job, deprived him of his property and children, and caused sore boils all over his body, to devastate Job in that way and to strike down Job’s faith and loyalty to God with a vain attempt. However, Job stood firm in his testimony in this spiritual war. He not only didn’t complain about God, but on the contrary, he praised God from his heart, saying, “the LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD.” So we encountered the trial of sickness, which is a matter in the spiritual realm. If God did not tell us the reality of the spiritual realm, we wouldn’t know what bad things Satan is doing in the spiritual world, nor would we know God’s work. The spiritual battle is becoming more and more intense. If we don’t understand God’s will, nor do we read more of God’s words, we will be likely to fall prey to Satan’s trickery. Thus, we should read and fellowship God’s words more to know His work and His will. Then we shall face that which befell us calmly, obey the work of God, stand the testimony for God and shame Satan.”

Sister Yang’s fellowship made me suddenly see the light. It turned out that all manner of misfortune I met with was Satan’s affliction. It was due to Satan’s harassment, which made me become doubtful toward God, even become rebellious against God, and thus lose my chance for salvation. Thanks to God’s protection. Through sister’s timely fellowship with me about God’s words, I understood God’s intention and came out of my negativity. I prayed to God, “Almighty God, I thank and praise You! Your words allow me to understand the reality of the battle in the spiritual world. I will no longer misunderstand or complain about You. I believe that everything rests in Your palm. Whether or not my son would have disease sequela is also within Your grasp. No matter what the outcome, I will devote myself to following You and stand testimony for You! Amen!”

At dusk a couple of days later, my son and his little friends were playing in full swing outside. About five or six minutes after he returned home, my mother-in-law said in surprise when she held his small hands, “Why is he so feverish?” When I heard this, I took his temperature immediately. He had indeed gotten a fever, but he neither cried nor made any trouble, just as if nothing happened. I realized right away that was again the scheme of Satan. Satan was disturbing my heart so as to let me misunderstand God. After thinking of that, I proclaimed to Satan in my heart, “Stand back, Satan! I won’t fall prey to your trickery this time to misunderstand God. Whether my son can recover is controlled by the hand of God, so is his life.” At that time, my heart was at peace. Later, my son went to bed with his grandma.

After my prayer, though I was not all that panic-stricken, I still had my own demands on God, unwilling to see my kid suffering illness or something unpeaceful befalling my family. I realized something wrong with my condition, so I opened The Scroll Opened by the Lamb. I saw God’s words, “Are you content to live under the influence of Satan, with peace and joy, and a little fleshly comfort? Are you not the lowliest of all people? None are more foolish than those who have beheld salvation but do not pursue to gain it: They are people who gorge themselves on the flesh and enjoy Satan. You hope that your faith in God will not entail any challenges or tribulations, or the slightest hardship. You always pursue those things that are worthless, and you attach no value to life, instead putting your own extravagant thoughts before the truth. You are so worthless!” (“The Experiences of Peter: His Knowledge of Chastisement and Judgment” in The Word Appears in the Flesh). God’s words made me feel ashamed. I was reminded of my pursuit of receiving grace and blessings when I followed the Lord Jesus. After I had followed God’s new work, I still pursued to gain grace instead of the truth of life or the purification of my corrupt disposition. Wasn’t I the most foolish person who God has exposed? In the last days, God becomes flesh again to do the work of judging and purifying man, causing man to seek the truth and gain the truth when things befall him, so that man can submit to God and bear testimony to God in all circumstances. This is the ultimate fruit of God’s work. Yet despite believing in God I only sought to gain grace and blessings, did not focus on pursuing the truth to achieve a change in my life disposition. This faith of seeking bread to satisfy hunger undoubtedly cannot gain God’s approval. At that time, God arranged some circumstances for my family. And the revelation of His words helped me not only to see through Satan’s evil face of carrying out plots to devour man but also to know my erroneous view of pursuit in believing in God. This is really God’s love and salvation to me. After understanding God’s intention, I prayed to God, “Almighty God! I offer thanks and praise to You! Thanks to Your salvation to me and Your timely reminder that prevents me from falling prey to Satan’s trickery. From this point on, regardless of whether my child gets well or not, or what difficulties befall my family, I will rely on You, no longer follow the thoughts sent by Satan to misunderstand or complain about You. Instead, I will seek and pursue the truth in order to live out a life of value and meaning. Amen!” After I prayed, I felt much more at ease. A while later, my mother-in-law knocked my door and said to me with a thrill, “The kid’s fever has gone!” I was deeply aware that it was God’s care and protection. Otherwise it was impossible for my son’s fever to quickly come and quickly go. This was really God’s wondrous deeds. Everything is in the hands of God.

When I was willing to reverse my perspective on belief in God and developed my true faith in God, I saw God’s wonderful deeds. Before long, I realized my son’s asthma had gone unknowingly. When I took him to a hospital for a check, the doctor said, “The kid’s heart and lung are in good nick. There is nothing wrong with him.” Not only that, I also recovered from prolapse of lumbar intervertebral disc by one therapy so that I could perform my duty and do work normally. Whereas one of my colleagues who suffered from the same illness as I had did not recover though his illness was less serious than mine and we received treatment from the same doctor. What’s more, he even underwent an operation. But he couldn’t manage to work now. His wife asked me how I recovered once she saw me. Though I told her I recovered naturally, I knew well that was because of God’s deeds and His wonderful protection. Almighty God is truly an almighty doctor！

Through this special experience, I realize that in experiencing God’s work of salvation, man is all along accompanied by Satan’s temptation, attack and disturbance. Which is to say, the spiritual battle is very fierce. Satan is like roaring lion prowling around, searching for man to eat up. Only when we pray to God, rely on Him, read more of God’s words to understand the truth, can we defeat Satan and gain God’s salvation in the last days. Thank God for making me perfect by the trials, causing me to lay the foundation in the true way and allowing me to have more confidence to follow Him. All the glory goes to Almighty God!

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Is the Work of God So Simple as Man Imagines?

Is the Work of God So Simple as Man Imagines?

As one who believes in God, you should understand that, today, in receiving the work of God in the last days and all the work of God’s plan in you, you have really received great exaltation and salvation from God. All of God’s work in the entire universe has focused on this group of people. He has devoted all His efforts to you and sacrificed all for you; He has reclaimed and given to you all the work of the Spirit throughout the universe. That is why I say, you are the fortunate. Moreover, He has shifted His glory from Israel, His chosen people, to you, in order to make the purpose of His plan fully manifest through you group of people. Therefore, you are those who will receive the inheritance of God, and even more the heirs of God’s glory.

Perhaps you all remember these words: “For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, works for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory.” In the past, you have all heard this saying, yet none understood the true meaning of the words. Today, you know well the real significance they hold. These words are what God will accomplish in the last days. And they will be accomplished upon those cruelly afflicted by the great red dragon in the land where it lies. The great red dragon persecutes God and is the enemy of God, so in this land, those who believe in God are subjected to humiliation and persecution. That is why these words will become reality in you group of people. As the work is carried out in a land that opposes God, all of His work is met with inordinate hindrance, and many of His words cannot be accomplished in good time; hence, people are refined because of the words of God. This too is an element of suffering. It is greatly arduous for God to carry out His work in the land of the great red dragon, but it is through such difficulty that God does a stage of His work to make manifest His wisdom and wondrous deeds. God takes this opportunity to make this group of people complete. Because of people’s suffering, their caliber, and all the satanic disposition of people in this unclean land, God does His work of purification and conquest so that, from this, He may gain glory and gain those who stand witness to His deeds. This is the full significance of all the sacrifices that God has made for this group of people. That is to say, God does the work of conquest just through those who oppose Him. Therefore, only doing so can manifest the great power of God. In other words, only those in the unclean land are worthy to inherit the glory of God, and only this can give prominence to the great power of God. That is why I say the glory of God is gained in the unclean land and from those who live within. This is the will of God. This is just as in the stage of Jesus’ work; He could only be glorified among those Pharisees who persecuted Him. If not for such persecution and the betrayal of Judas, Jesus would not have been ridiculed or slandered, much less crucified, and thus could never have gained glory. Wherever God works in each age and wherever He does His work in the flesh, He gains glory there and there gains those He intends to gain. This is the plan of God’s work, and this is His management.

In God’s plan of several thousand years, the work done in the flesh is in two parts: First is the work of the crucifixion, for which He is glorified; the other is the work of conquest and perfection in the last days, through which He will gain glory. This is the management of God. Thus, do not regard as too simple the work of God or God’s commission to you. You are all heirs of the far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory of God, and this was specially ordained by God. Of the two parts of His glory, one is revealed in you; the entirety of one part of God’s glory is bestowed upon you so that it may be your inheritance. This is the exaltation from God and His plan predetermined long ago. Given the greatness of the work God has done in the land in which the great red dragon dwells, such work, if moved elsewhere, would have long ago borne great fruit and been easily accepted by man. And such work would be far too easy to accept for those clergymen of the West who believe in God, for the stage of work by Jesus serves as a precedent. This is why He is unable to achieve this stage of work of glorification elsewhere; that is, as there is support from all men and acknowledgment from all nations, there is no place for the glory of God to “rest.” And this is precisely the extraordinary significance that this stage of work holds in this land. Among you, there is not one man who receives the protection of the law; rather, you are penalized by the law, and the greater difficulty is that no man understands you, be it your relatives, your parents, your friends, or your colleagues. None understand you. When God “rejects” you, there is no way for you to continue living on earth. However, even so, people cannot bear to leave God; this is the significance of God’s conquest of people, and this is God’s glory. What you have inherited this day surpasses that of all former apostles and prophets and is greater even than that of Moses and Peter. Blessings cannot be received in a day or two; they must be earned through much sacrifice. That is, you must have refined love, great faith, and the many truths that God asks you to attain; in addition, you must be able to set your face toward justice and never be cowed or submit, and you must have a constant and unabating love for God. Resolution is demanded of you, as is change in your life disposition; your corruption must be remedied, and you must accept all the orchestration of God without complaint, and even be obedient until death. This is what you ought to achieve. This is the final aim of God, and the demands God asks of this group of people. As He bestows upon you, so too must He ask of you in return and make of you fitting demands. Therefore, all the work of God is not without reason, and from this can be seen why God time and again does the work of high standards and strict requirements. This is why you ought to be filled with faith in God. In short, all the work of God is done for your sake, so that you will be worthy to receive His inheritance. This is not so much for the sake of God’s own glory but for the sake of your salvation and for perfecting this group of people deeply afflicted in the unclean land. You must understand the will of God. And so I exhort the many ignorant people without any insight or sense: Do not test God and resist no more. God has already endured all suffering that man has never endured, and long ago suffered more humiliation in man’s stead. What else can you not let go of? What could be more important than the will of God? What could be above God’s love? It is already a task doubly arduous for God to carry out His work in this unclean land. If man knowingly and willfully transgresses, the work of God will have to be prolonged. In any event, this is not in the interests of any, and is of benefit to none. God is not bound by time; His work and His glory come first. Therefore, however long it takes, He will not spare any sacrifice if it is His work. This is the disposition of God: He will not rest until His work is achieved. Only when the time comes that He obtains the second part of His glory can His work be drawn to a close. Should God be unable to finish throughout the universe the work of the second part of His glorification, His day will never come, His hand will never stray from His chosen, His glory will never come upon Israel, and His plan will never be concluded. You should see that the will and the work of God are not as simple as the creation of the heavens and earth and all things. For the work of today is to transform those who have been corrupted, who have grown extremely numb, and to purify those who were created then worked on by Satan, not to create Adam or Eve, much less to make the light or create all manner of plants and animals. His work now is to make pure all that has been corrupted by Satan so that they may be regained and become His possession and become His glory. Such work is not as simple as man imagines the creation of the heavens and earth and all things to be, and it is not akin to the work of cursing Satan to the bottomless pit as man imagines. Rather, it is to transform man, to turn that which is negative into the positive and to take into His possession that which does not belong to Him. This is the inside story of this stage of God’s work. You must realize it, and should not oversimplify matters. The work of God is unlike any ordinary work. Its marvel cannot be conceived by the mind of man, and its wisdom cannot be attained by such. God is not creating all things, and He is not destroying them. Rather, He is changing all of His creation and purifying all things that have been defiled by Satan. Therefore, God shall commence work of great magnitude, and this is the total significance of the work of God. After reading these words, do you believe that the work of God is so simple?

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What does the social trends bring to people?

What does the social trends bring to people?

The ideas that social trends bring about for people, the way they cause people to conduct themselves in the world, the life goals and outlook that they bring about in people. These are very important; they can control and influence man’s state of mind. One after another, all these trends carry an evil influence that continually degenerates man, that lowers their morals and their quality of character more and more, to the extent that we can even say the majority of people now have no integrity, no humanity, neither do they have any conscience, much less any reason.

So what are these trends? You cannot see these trends with the naked eye. When the wind of a trend blows through, perhaps only a small number of people will become the trendsetters. They start off doing this kind of thing, accepting this kind of idea or this kind of perspective. The majority of people, however, in the midst of their unawareness, will still be continually infected, assimilated and attracted by this kind of trend, until they all unknowingly and involuntarily accept it, and are all submerged in and controlled by it. For man who is not of sound body and mind, who never knows what is truth, who cannot tell the difference between positive and negative things, these kinds of trends one after another make them all willingly accept these trends, the life view, the life philosophies and values that come from Satan. They accept what Satan tells them on how to approach life and the way to live that Satan “bestows” on them. They have not the strength, neither do they have the ability, much less the awareness to resist.

So did people come to view money as more important? When people view money as more important, they unknowingly neglect their reputation, their renown, prestige, and integrity; they neglect all these things, don’t they? When you engage in business, you see someone else taking different approaches and using various means to swindle people and get rich. Although the money earned is ill-gotten gains, they get richer and richer. Their whole family engages in the same business as you, but they enjoy life more than you do, and you feel bad, saying: “Why can’t I do that? Why can’t I earn as much as they do? I must think of a way to get more money, to make my business prosper.” You then ponder this through. According to the usual method of making money, cheating neither old nor young and selling things at the same price for all, the money you make is in good conscience, but it cannot get you rich quick. However, under the urge to make a profit, your thinking undergoes a gradual transformation. During this transformation, your principles of conduct also begin to change. When you first cheat someone, when you first defraud someone, you have your reservations, saying “This is the last time I cheat someone and I will not do it again. I cannot cheat people. Cheating people will only earn retribution and bring disaster upon me! This is the last time I cheat someone and I will not do it again.”

When you first deceive someone, your heart has some scruples; this is the function of man’s conscience—to have scruples and to reproach you, so that it feels unnatural when you cheat someone. But after you have successfully deceived someone you see that you now have more money than you did before, and you think this method can be very beneficial for you. Despite the dull ache in your heart, you still feel like congratulating yourself on your “success,” and you feel a little pleased with yourself. For the first time, you approve of your own behavior and approve of your own deception.

Afterward, once man has been contaminated by this cheating, it is the same as someone who gets involved in gambling and then becomes a gambler. In unawareness, he approves of his cheating behavior and accepts it. In unawareness, he takes cheating to be a legitimate commercial behavior, and takes cheating to be the most useful means for his survival and his life; he thinks that by doing this he can get rich quick. At the beginning of this process people cannot accept this type of behavior, they look down on this behavior and this way of going about things, until they try it out and experiment with it in their own way, personally and firsthand, and then their hearts begin to gradually transform. So what is this transformation? It is an approval and admission of this trend, an admission and approval of this type of idea instilled in you by the social trend. In unawareness, you feel that if you do not cheat in business then you will suffer losses, that if you do not cheat then you will have lost something. Unknowingly, this cheating becomes your very soul, your mainstay, and also becomes a type of behavior that is an indispensable rule for your life. After man has accepted this behavior and this thinking, does the heart of man undergo a change? Your heart has changed, so has your integrity changed? Has your humanity changed? (Yes.) So has your conscience changed? (Yes.) Man’s entirety undergoes a qualitative change, from their heart to their thoughts, to such an extent that they are changed from the inside out. This change puts you further and further from God, and you become more and more in conformity with Satan, more and more similar to it.

from A Continuation of The Word Appears in the Flesh

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God Himself, the Unique IX God Is the Source of Life for All Things (III)

God Himself, the Unique IX God Is the Source of Life for All Things (III)

1. God Sets Boundaries for All Things to Nurture All of Mankind

God created all beings and established boundaries for them, and among them nurtured all kinds of living things. As all beings were nurturing all kinds of living things, He also prepared different survival methods for humans, so you can see that human beings don’t just have one way to survive. They also don’t have just one type of environment for survival. We talked before about God preparing various types of food and water sources for humans, which is something that is critical for allowing mankind’s life in the flesh to continue. However, among this mankind, not all people subsist on grains. People have different survival methods due to differences in geographical environments and terrains. These survival methods have all been prepared by God. So not all humans are primarily engaged in farming. That is, not all people get their food from growing crops. This is the third point that we’re going to talk about: Boundaries have been developed from mankind’s various lifestyles. So what other types of lifestyles do humans have? What other different types of food sources do humans have? There are several primary types:

The first is a hunting lifestyle. Everyone knows of it. Do any of you hunt for your living? You are all modern people—you don’t know how to hunt, how to carry a gun. Your food sources are produced from the earth. What do people who live by hunting eat? (Game.) They eat the birds and the beasts of the forest. “Game” is a modern word. Hunters don’t think of it as game; they think of it as food, as their daily sustenance. For example, they would be happy if they got a deer. “Great, this deer is enough food for the family for several days.” When they get this deer it’s just like a farmer getting crops from the soil. A farmer gets crops from the soil, and when he sees his crops he’s happy and feels at ease. “For now there’s something to eat; we don’t need to fear going hungry.” The family won’t be hungry with crops to eat. His heart is at ease and he feels satisfied. And a hunter also feels at ease and satisfied when looking at what he’s caught because he doesn’t have to worry about food anymore. There’s something to eat for the next meal, there’s no need to go hungry. This is someone who hunts for a living. What kind of environments do people who subsist on hunting usually live in? They live in the mountain forests. For the most part they do not farm or plant crops; they live in the mountain forests. Is there arable land in the mountain forests? It’s not easy to find arable land, so they survive on various living things, various types of prey. This is the first lifestyle that’s different from regular people.

The second type is a herding lifestyle. Those who herd for a living don’t farm, so what do they do? Just herd? If anyone here is ethnically Mongolian, you can talk a bit about your nomadic lifestyle. (For the most part, we herd cattle and sheep for a living, no farming, and in the winter we slaughter and eat our livestock. Our main food is made up of beef and mutton, we drink milk tea, eat parched rice, and very few vegetables. Now all types of transportation are convenient and we have all sorts of vegetables and grains. Mongolians drink milk tea, and Tibetans drink butter tea. Although herders are busy all four seasons, they eat well. They do not lack milk, dairy products, or meat. They used to live in yurts but now they all build houses.) Mongolians primarily eat beef and mutton, drink milk, and ride horses to herd their animals. This is the herder lifestyle. The herder lifestyle isn’t bad—they ride bulls and horses in the field with the wind in their hair, the sun on their faces, and they don’t have the stress of modern lives. All day they just see the broad expanses of blue skies and grassy plains. People who tend herds for a living all live on grasslands and they are able to continue their nomadic lifestyles for generation after generation. Although life on the grasslands is a little lonely, it’s also a very happy life. It’s not a bad lifestyle!

The third type is a fishing lifestyle. There is a small portion of humans that live by the ocean or on small islands. They are surrounded by water, facing the ocean. This type of people fish for a living. What do these people who fish for a living rely on for food? What is the source of their food? It’s all types of fish and seafood. When Hong Kong was just a little fishing village, the people who lived there would fish for a living. They didn’t farm—they went fishing every day. Their primary food was various types of fish, meat, and seafood. They would also occasionally trade some fish for rice, flour, and daily necessities. People who subsist on fishing all live by the ocean, and some live on boats. This is a different lifestyle of people who live by the water. Those who live by the water rely on fishing; it is the source of their livelihood as well as their source of food.

Aside from those who farm for a living, there are primarily the three different lifestyles mentioned above. Aside from those who subsist on herding, fishing, and hunting, the majority of people farm for a living. And what do people who farm for a living need? They need soil. Those who rely on farming for their livelihood primarily grow crops for generations. They get their food from the earth. Whether they plant vegetables, fruits or grains, they all get their daily necessities from the earth.

What are the basic conditions for these different human lifestyles? Don’t they require basic maintenance of their environments for survival? That is to say, if hunters were to lose the mountain forests or the birds and the beasts, they would no longer have their livelihood. So if people who subsist on hunting lost the mountain forests and no longer had the birds and the beasts, they would no longer have a source for their livelihood. In which direction would that kind of ethnicity head; where would that kind of people go? The ability to survive or not is an unknown quantity and they could just disappear. And those who herd for their livelihood—they rely on the grasslands. What they truly depend on is not their livestock, but it is the environment in which their livestock survive—the grasslands. If there were no grasslands, where would they graze their livestock? What would the cattle and sheep eat? Without the livestock, what livelihood would the nomadic peoples have? They wouldn’t have one. Without a source for their livelihood, where would a people go? Ongoing survival would become very difficult; they wouldn’t have a future. With no water sources, rivers and lakes would dry up. Would all those fish that rely on water for their lives still exist? Those fish would not exist. Would those people who rely on the water and the fish for their livelihood continue to survive? If they didn’t have food, if they didn’t have the source of their livelihoods, those peoples would not be able to continue to survive. As soon as there is a problem with their livelihoods or their survival, those races would no longer continue. They wouldn’t be able to survive—they could disappear, be obliterated from the earth. And if those who farm for their livelihood lost their soil, what would the outcome be? They wouldn’t be able to plant things, they wouldn’t be able to get their food from various plants. What would the outcome be? Without food, wouldn’t people starve to death? If people starved to death, wouldn’t that type of human be wiped out? So this is God’s purpose in maintaining various ecological environments. He only has one purpose in maintaining various environments and ecosystems, maintaining the different living beings within each environment—it is to nurture all kinds of people, to nurture people with lives in different geographical environments.

A Selected Passage From "God Himself, the Unique IX—God Is the Source of Life for All Things (III)"

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