Every stage of God’s work is for the sake of all mankind, and is directed at the whole of mankind. Even though it is His work in the flesh, it is still directed at all mankind; He is the God of all mankind, and is the God of all created and non-created beings.
Although His work in the flesh is within a limited scope, and the object of this work is also limited, each time He becomes flesh to do His work He chooses an object of His work that is supremely representative; He does not select a group of simple and unremarkable people on which to work, but instead picks as the object of His work a group of people capable of being the representative of His work in the flesh. This group of people is chosen because the scope of His work in the flesh is limited, and is prepared especially for His incarnate flesh, and is chosen especially for His work in the flesh. God’s selection of the objects of His work is not baseless, but according to principle: The object of the work must be of benefit to the work of God in the flesh, and must be able to represent the whole of mankind. For example, the Jews were able to represent the whole of mankind in accepting the personal redemption of Jesus, and the Chinese are able to represent the whole of mankind in accepting the personal conquest of the incarnate God. There is a basis to the Jews’ representation of the whole of mankind, and there is also a basis to Chinese people’s representation of the whole of mankind in accepting the personal conquest of God. Nothing reveals the significance of redemption more than the work of redemption done among the Jews, and nothing reveals the thoroughness and success of the work of conquest more than the work of conquest among Chinese people.
Although His work in the flesh is within a limited scope, and the object of this work is also limited, each time He becomes flesh to do His work He chooses an object of His work that is supremely representative; He does not select a group of simple and unremarkable people on which to work, but instead picks as the object of His work a group of people capable of being the representative of His work in the flesh. This group of people is chosen because the scope of His work in the flesh is limited, and is prepared especially for His incarnate flesh, and is chosen especially for His work in the flesh. God’s selection of the objects of His work is not baseless, but according to principle: The object of the work must be of benefit to the work of God in the flesh, and must be able to represent the whole of mankind. For example, the Jews were able to represent the whole of mankind in accepting the personal redemption of Jesus, and the Chinese are able to represent the whole of mankind in accepting the personal conquest of the incarnate God. There is a basis to the Jews’ representation of the whole of mankind, and there is also a basis to Chinese people’s representation of the whole of mankind in accepting the personal conquest of God. Nothing reveals the significance of redemption more than the work of redemption done among the Jews, and nothing reveals the thoroughness and success of the work of conquest more than the work of conquest among Chinese people.
from “Corrupt Mankind Is More in Need of the Salvation of God Become Flesh” in The Word Appears in the Flesh
If the work of this stage involves only perfecting people, then it could be done in England, or America, or Israel; it could be done on the people of any nation. But the work of conquering is selective. The first step of conquering work is short-term; moreover, it will be used to humiliate Satan and conquer the entire universe. This is the initial work of conquering. One can say that any creature who believes in God can be perfected because to be perfected is something one can achieve only after a long-term change. But to be conquered is different. The specimen for conquest must be the one lagging the farthest behind, living in the deepest dark, also the most degraded, most unwilling to accept God, and the most disobedient of God. This is the kind of person who can testify to being conquered. The main goal of the work of conquering is to defeat Satan. The main goal of perfecting people, on the other hand, is to gain people. It is to enable people to have testimony after being conquered that this conquering work has been placed here, on people like you. The aim is to have people bear testimony after being conquered. These conquered people will be used to achieve the goal of humiliating Satan.
from “Only the Perfected Can Live a Meaningful Life” in The Word Appears in the Flesh
The work of Jehovah was the creation of the world, it was the beginning; this stage of work is the end of work, and it is the conclusion. At the start, God’s work was carried out among the chosen ones of Israel, and it was the dawn of a new epoch in the most holy of all places. The last stage of work is carried out in the most impure of all countries, to judge the world and bring the age to an end. In the first stage, God’s work was done in the brightest of all places, and the last stage is carried out in the darkest of all places, and this darkness will be driven out, the light brought forth, and all the people conquered. When the people of this most impure and darkest of all places have been conquered, and the entire population has acknowledged that there is a God, who is the true God, and every person has been utterly convinced, then this fact will be used to carry out the work of conquest throughout the entire universe. This stage of work is symbolic: Once the work of this age has been finished, the work of 6,000 years of management will come to a complete end. Once those in the darkest of all places have been conquered, it goes without saying that it will also be so everywhere else. As such, only the work of conquest in China carries meaningful symbolism. China embodies all forces of darkness, and the people of China represent all those who are of the flesh, of Satan, and of flesh and blood. It is the Chinese people who have been most corrupted by the great red dragon, who have the strongest opposition to God, whose humanity is most base and impure, and so they are the archetype of all corrupt humanity. … Why have I always said that you are an adjunct to My management plan? It is in the people of China that corruption, impurity, unrighteousness, opposition, and rebelliousness are manifested most completely and revealed in all their varied forms. On the one hand, they are of poor caliber, and on the other, their lives and mindset are backward, and their habits, social environment, family of birth—all are poor and the most backward. Their status, too, is low. The work in this place is symbolic, and after this test work has been carried out in its entirety, His subsequent work will go much better. If this step of work can be completed, then the subsequent work goes without saying. Once this step of work has been accomplished, great success will have been fully achieved, and the work of conquest throughout the entire universe will have come to a complete end. In fact, once the work among you has been successful, this will be equivalent to the success throughout the entire universe. This is the significance of why I have you act as a model and specimen.
from “The Vision of God’s Work (2)” in The Word Appears in the Flesh
Chinese people have never believed in God and have never served Jehovah, have never served Jesus. All they can do is kowtow, burn incense, burn joss paper, and worship Buddha. They just worship idols—they are all rebellious to an extreme, so the lower people’s position is, the more it shows that what God gains from you is even more glory. … If the descendants of Jacob had been born in China, on this piece of land, and they were all of you, then what would be the significance of work done in you? What would Satan say? Satan would say: “They used to fear You, but no one has passed it down for a long time. However, their ancestors feared You; they obeyed You from the beginning and they have no history of betraying You. It’s just that after a period of time that was no longer passed down. They are not the darkest, lowliest, or most backward of mankind. They acknowledged You from the start. There’s no significance in doing it that way! If it’s really done this way, who will be convinced by this work?” Out of the entire universe, the Chinese are the most backward of people. They are born lowly with low integrity, they are dull-witted and numb, and they are vulgar and decadent. They are soaked through with satanic dispositions, filthy and licentious. You have all of these. As for these corrupt dispositions, after this work is completed people will throw them off and will be able to completely obey and be made complete. Only the fruit from this kind of work is called testimony among creation!
from “The Significance of Saving the Descendants of Moab” in The Word Appears in the Flesh
Working now on the descendants of Moab is saving those who have fallen into the most darkness. Although they were cursed, God is willing to gain glory from them. This is because initially, they were all people who lacked God in their hearts—only making them into those who obey and love Him is true conquest, and such fruit of work is the most valuable and the most convincing. Only this is gaining glory—this is the glory that God wants to gain in the last days. Although these people are of low position, they are now able to gain such great salvation, which truly is God’s elevation. This work is very meaningful, and it is through judgment that He gains these people. He is not intentionally punishing them, but He has come to save them. If He were still carrying out the work of conquering in Israel during the last days it would be worthless; even if it bore fruit, it would not have any value or any great significance, and He would not be able to gain all glory. He is working on you, that is, those who have fallen into the darkest of places, those who are the most backward. These people do not acknowledge that there is a God and have never known that there is a God. These creatures have been corrupted by Satan to the point that they have forgotten God. They have been blinded by Satan and they do not know at all that there is a God in heaven. In your hearts you all worship idols, worship Satan—aren’t you the lowliest, the most backward of people? You are of the lowliest of the flesh, lacking any personal freedom, and you suffer hardships as well. You are also the people at the lowest level in this society, without even the freedom of faith. This is the significance of working on you.
from “The Significance of Saving the Descendants of Moab” in The Word Appears in the Flesh
Why is the work of the last days being done in China, the darkest, most backward of places? It is to reveal God’s holiness and righteousness. In short, the darker a place is the better His holiness can be revealed. The truth is that doing all of this is for the sake of God’s work. You only now know that God in heaven has descended to earth and stands in your midst, and He has been highlighted against your filthiness and rebelliousness, so that you have begun to have an understanding of God—isn’t this a great uplifting?
from “How the Second Step of the Work of Conquering Bears Fruit” in The Word Appears in the Flesh
When God came to the earth He was not of the world and He did not become flesh in order to enjoy the world. The place where working would best reveal His disposition and be the most meaningful is the place where He was born. Whether it is a holy or a filthy land, and no matter where He works, He is holy. Everything in the world was created by Him; it’s just that everything has been corrupted by Satan. However, all things still belong to Him; they are all in His hands. His coming to a filthy land to work is to reveal His holiness; He does this for the sake of His work, that is, He endures great humiliation to work this way in order to save the people of this filthy land. This is for the sake of the witness and it is for all of mankind. What this kind of work allows people to see is God’s righteousness, and it is more able to display God’s supremacy. His greatness and uprightness are shown through the salvation of a group of lowly people that no one thinks much of. Being born in a filthy land does not at all prove that He is lowly; it only allows all of creation to see His greatness and His true love for mankind. The more He does in this way the more it reveals His pure love for man, His flawless love.
from “The Significance of Saving the Descendants of Moab” in The Word Appears in the Flesh
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.
… 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 on. And this is precisely the extraordinary significance that this stage of work holds in this land.
from “Is the Work of God So Simple as Man Imagines?” in The Word Appears in the Flesh
He created the whole world; He has carried out His six-thousand-year management plan not only in Israel but also with every person in the universe. Regardless of whether they live in China, the United States, the United Kingdom or Russia, every person is a descendant of Adam; they have all been made by God. Not a single person can break away from the scope of God’s creation, and not a single person can escape the label of “descendant of Adam.” They are all God’s creation, and they are all Adam’s descendants; they are also the corrupted descendants of Adam and Eve. It is not only the Israelites who are God’s creation, but all people; nevertheless, some among creation have been cursed, and some have been blessed. There are many desirable things about the Israelites; God was initially at work with them because they were the least corrupt people. The Chinese pale in comparison to them, and cannot even hope to match them; thus, God initially worked among the people of Israel, and the second stage of His work was only carried out in Judea. As a result of this, people form many conceptions and many rules. Actually, if He were to act according to human conceptions, God would only be the God of the Israelites; in this manner He would be unable to expand His work into Gentile nations, because He would only be the God of the Israelites rather than the God of all creation. The prophecies said that Jehovah’s name would be great in the Gentile nations and that Jehovah’s name would be spread to the Gentile nations—why would they say this? If God were only the God of the Israelites, then He would only be at work in Israel. Furthermore, He would not expand this work, and He would not make this prophecy. Since He made this prophecy, He would need to expand His work into Gentile nations and into every nation and place. Since He stated this, He would thus do so. This is His plan, for He is the Lord who created the heavens and earth and all things, and the God of all creation. Regardless of whether He is at work with the Israelites or in all Judea, the work He does is the work of the entire universe and the work of all humanity. The work He does today in the nation of the great red dragon—in a Gentile nation—is still the work of all humanity. Israel can be the base for His work on earth; likewise, China can also become the base for His work among the Gentile nations. Has He not now fulfilled the prophecy that “the name of Jehovah will be great in the Gentile nations”? The first step of His work among the Gentile nations refers to this work He is doing in the nation of the great red dragon. For the God incarnate to be at work in this land and to be at work among these cursed people runs particularly contrary to human conceptions; these people are the most lowly and without any worth. These are all people whom Jehovah initially abandoned. People can be abandoned by other people, but if they are abandoned by God, these people will have no status, and they will have the lowest amount of worth. As a part of creation, being occupied by Satan or abandoned by other people are both painful things, but if a part of creation is abandoned by the Lord of creation, this signifies that his or her status is at an absolute low. The descendants of Moab were cursed, and they were born within this underdeveloped country; without a doubt, the descendants of Moab are the people with the lowest status under the influence of darkness. Because these people possessed the lowest status in the past, the work done among them is most capable of shattering human conceptions, and it is also the work most beneficial to His entire six-thousand-year management plan. For Him to work among these people is the action most capable of shattering human conceptions; with this He launches an era; with this He shatters all human conceptions; with this He ends the work of the entire Age of Grace. His initial work was carried out in Judea, within the scope of Israel; in Gentile nations He did not do any era-launching work whatsoever. The final stage of His work is not only carried out among the people of Gentile nations; even more so, it is carried out among those cursed people. This one point is the evidence most capable of humiliating Satan; thus, God “becomes” the God of all creation in the universe and becomes the Lord of all things, the object of worship for everything with life.
… Since God wishes to carry out His work among His creation, He will certainly carry it out to successful completion; He will work among those people who are beneficial to His work. Therefore, He shatters all conventions in working among people; to Him, the words “cursed,” “chastised” and “blessed” are meaningless! The Jewish people are quite good, and the chosen people of Israel are not bad either; they are people of good caliber and humanity. Jehovah initially launched His work among them and carried out His initial work, but it would be meaningless if He were to use them as recipients for His conquering work now. Although they are also part of creation and have many positive aspects, it would be meaningless to carry out this stage of work among them. He would be unable to conquer anyone, nor would He be able to convince all of creation. This is the significance of the transferal of His work to these people of the nation of the great red dragon. The deepest meaning here is in His launching an era, in His shattering of all rules and all human conceptions and also in His ending of the work of the entire Age of Grace. If His current work were carried out among the Israelites, by the time His six-thousand-year management plan comes to a close, everyone would believe that God is only the God of the Israelites, that only the Israelites are God’s chosen people, that only the Israelites deserve to inherit God’s blessing and promise. During the last days, God is incarnate in the Gentile nation of the great red dragon; He has accomplished the work of God as the God of all creation; He has completed the whole of His management work, and He will end the central part of His work in the nation of the great red dragon. The core of these three stages of work is the salvation of man—namely, making all of creation worship the Lord of creation. … The previous two stages of God’s work were carried out in Israel. If this stage of His work during the last days were still carried out among the Israelites, not only would all of creation believe that only the Israelites were God’s chosen people, but God’s entire management plan would also not attain its desired effect. During the period in which the two stages of His work were carried out in Israel, no new work had ever been carried out and none of God’s era-launching work had ever been carried out in Gentile nations. This stage of era-launching work is first carried out in Gentile nations, and additionally, it is first carried out among the descendants of Moab; this has launched the entire era. God has shattered any knowledge contained within human conceptions and has not permitted any of it to continue to exist. In His work of conquering He has shattered human conceptions, those old, earlier human ways of knowledge. He lets people see that with God there are no rules, that there is nothing old about God, that the work He does is entirely liberated, entirely free, that He is right in anything that He does. You must fully submit to any work that He does among creation. Any work He does is meaningful and is done according to His own will and wisdom and not according to human choices and conceptions. He does those things that are beneficial to His work; if something is not beneficial to His work He will not do it, no matter how good it is! He works and selects the recipient and location for His work according to the meaning and purpose of His work. He does not adhere to past rules, nor does He follow old formulas; instead, He plans His work according to the work’s significance; in the end He wants to attain its true effect and its anticipated purpose. If you do not understand these things now, this work will not achieve any effect upon you.
from “God Is the Lord of All Creation” in The Word Appears in the Flesh
The appearance of God cannot be reconciled with the conceptions of man, much less can God appear at the behest of man. God makes His own choices and has His own plans when He does His work; moreover, He has His own objectives, and His own methods. It is not necessary for Him to discuss the work He does with man or to seek the advice of man, much less notify each and every person of His work. This is the disposition of God and, moreover, should be recognized by everyone. …
Regardless of whether you are American, British, or any other nationality, you should step beyond your own confines, should surpass yourself, and should view the work of God as a creature of God. In this way, you shall not place constraints on the footprints of God. Because, today, many people conceive it to be impossible that God will appear in a certain country or nation. How profound is the significance of God’s work, and how important is the appearance of God! How can they be measured by the conception and thinking of man? And so I say, you should break through your conceptions of nationality or ethnicity when you seek the appearance of God. In this way, you shall not be constrained by your own conceptions; in this way, you will be qualified to welcome the appearance of God. Otherwise, you shall always be in the darkness, and shall never gain the approval of God.
God is the God of all mankind. He does not make Himself the private property of any country or nation, and does the work of His plan unconstrained by any form, country, or nation. Perhaps you have never imagined this form, or perhaps you deny its existence, or perhaps the country or nation in which God appears is discriminated against and the least developed on earth. Yet God has His wisdom. With His power and through His truth and disposition He has truly gained a group of people who are of one mind with Him. And He has gained a group of people that He wanted to make: a group conquered by Him, who endure agonizing trials and all manner of persecution and can follow Him to the very end. The objective of God’s appearance free from the constraints of any form or country is for Him to be able to complete the work of His plan. For example, when God became flesh in Judea, His aim was to complete the work of crucifixion to redeem all mankind. Yet the Jews believed that it was impossible for God to do this, and they thought it impossible that God could become flesh and assume the form of the Lord Jesus. Their “impossible” became the basis by which they condemned and opposed God, and ultimately led to the destruction of Israel. Today, many people have committed a similar error. They wantonly proclaim the imminent appearance of God, yet also condemn His appearance; their “impossible” once more confines the appearance of God within the limits of their imagination. … Put aside your view of “impossible”! The more that people believe something is impossible, the more likely it is to occur, for the wisdom of God soars higher than the heavens, God’s thoughts are higher than man’s thoughts, and the work of God transcends the limits of man’s thinking and conception. The more that something is impossible, the more there is the truth to be sought; the more that something is beyond the conception and imagination of man, the more it contains the will of God. Because no matter where God reveals Himself, God is still God, and His substance will never change because of the location or manner of His appearance. The disposition of God remains the same regardless of where His footprints are. No matter where the footprints of God are, He is the God of all mankind. For example, the Lord Jesus is not only the God of Israelites, but is also the God of all people in Asia, Europe, and America, and even more the only God in the entire universe. So let us seek God’s will and discover His appearance from His utterances, and follow His footprints! God is the truth, the way, and the life. His words and His appearance exist concurrently, and His disposition and footprints shall always be accessible to mankind. Dear brothers and sisters, I hope that you can see the appearance of God in these words, and will begin to follow His footprints toward a new age, and into a beautiful new heaven and new earth prepared for those who await the appearance of God.
from “The Appearance of God Has Brought a New Age” in The Word Appears in the Flesh
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