Restoring the Normal Life of Man and Taking Him to a Wonderful Destination (Part One) | Utterances of Christ of the Last Days | Eastern Lightning

Restoring the Normal Life of Man and Taking Him to a Wonderful Destination (Part One) 

Restoring the Normal Life of Man and Taking Him to a Wonderful Destination (Part One)

Man understands a little of the work of today and the work of the future, but he does not understand the destination into which mankind will enter. As a creature, man should perform the duty of a creature: Man should follow God in whatever He does, and you should proceed in whatever way I tell you to. You have no way of making arrangements for yourself, and you are incapable of controlling yourself; all must be left to the mercy of God, and everything is controlled by His hands. If the work of God provided man with an end, a wonderful destination, ahead of time, and if God used this to entice man and cause man to follow Him—if He did a deal with man—then this would not be conquest, nor would it be to work the life of man.

Were God to use the end to control man and gain his heart, then in this He would not be perfecting man, nor would He be able to gain man, but instead would be using the destination to control him. Man cares about nothing more than the future end, the final destination, and whether or not there is something good to hope for. If man were given a beautiful hope during the work of conquest, and if, prior to the conquest of man, he were given a proper destination to pursue, then not only would the conquest of man not achieve its effect, but the effect of the work of conquest would also be influenced. That is to say, the work of conquest achieves its effect by taking away the fate and prospects of man and judging and chastising the rebellious disposition of man. It is not achieved by doing a deal with man, that is, by giving man blessings and grace, but by revealing man’s loyalty through stripping him of his freedom and eradicating his prospects. This is the substance of the work of conquest. If man were given a beautiful hope at the very beginning, and the work of chastisement and judgment were done after, then man would accept this chastisement and judgment on the basis that he had prospects, and in the end, the unconditional obedience and worship of the Creator by all His creatures would not be achieved; there would only be blind, ignorant obedience, or else man would make blind demands of God, and so it would be impossible to fully conquer man’s heart. Consequently, such work of conquest would be incapable of gaining man, nor, moreover, of bearing testimony to God. Such creatures would be unable to perform their duty, and would only strike bargains with God; this would not be conquest, but mercy and blessing. The biggest problem with man is that he thinks of nothing but his fate and prospects, that he idolizes them. Man pursues God for the sake of his fate and prospects; he does not worship God because of his love for Him. And so, in the conquest of man, man’s selfishness, greed and the things that most obstruct his worship of God must all be eliminated. In doing so, the effects of man’s conquest will be achieved. As a result, in the earliest conquest of man it is necessary to first purge the wild ambitions and most grievous weaknesses of man, and, through this, to reveal man’s love of God, and change his knowledge of human life, his view of God, and the meaning of his existence. In this way, man’s love of God is cleansed, which is to say, man’s heart is conquered. But in His attitude toward all creatures, God does not conquer only for the sake of conquering; instead, He conquers in order to gain man, for the sake of His own glory, and in order to recover the earliest, original likeness of man. Were He to conquer only for the sake of conquering, then the significance of the work of conquest would be lost. That is to say that if, after conquering man, God washed His hands of man, and paid no heed to his life or death, then this would not be the management of mankind, nor would man’s conquest be for the sake of his salvation. Only the gaining of man following his conquest and his ultimate arrival at a wonderful destination is at the heart of all the work of salvation, and only this can achieve the aim of man’s salvation. In other words, only man’s arrival at the beautiful destination and his entry into rest is the prospects that should be possessed by all creatures, and the work that should be done by the Creator. If man were to do this work, then it would be too limited: It could take man to a certain point, but it would not be able to bring man to the eternal destination. Man is not able to decide man’s destiny, nor, moreover, is he able to ensure man’s prospects and future destination. The work done by God, however, is different. Since He created man, He leads him; since He saves man, He will thoroughly save him, and will completely gain him; since He leads man, He will bring him to the proper destination; and since He created and manages man, He must take responsibility for man’s fate and prospects. It is this which is the work done by the Creator. Though the work of conquest is achieved by purging man of his prospects, man must ultimately be brought into the proper destination prepared for him by God. It is precisely because God works man that man has a destination and his fate is assured. Here, the suitable destination referred to is not man’s hopes and prospects purged in times past; the two are different. That which man hopes for and pursues are the yearnings of his pursuit of the extravagant desires of the flesh, rather than the destination due to man. What God has prepared for man, meanwhile, are the blessings and promises due to man once he has been made pure, which God prepared for man after creating the world, and which are not tainted by the choice, conceptions, imagination or flesh of man. This destination is not prepared for a particular person, but is the place of rest of the whole of mankind. And so, this destination is the most suitable destination for mankind.

The Creator intends to orchestrate all of creatures. You must not discard or disobey anything that He does, nor should you be rebellious toward Him. The work He does will ultimately achieve His aims, and in this He will gain glory. Today, why is it not said that you are the descendants of Moab, or the offspring of the great red dragon? Why is there no talk of chosen people, and only talk of the creatures? The creature—this was man’s original title, and it is this which is his innate identity. Names vary only because the ages and periods of work are different; in fact, man is an ordinary creature. All creatures, whether they be the most corrupt or the most holy, must perform the duty of a creature. When He carries out the work of conquest, God does not control you using your prospects, fate or destination. There is actually no need to work in this way. The aim of the work of conquest is to make man perform the duty of a creature, to make him worship the Creator, and only after this can he enter the wonderful destination. The fate of man is controlled by the hands of God. You are incapable of controlling yourself: Despite always rushing and busying about for himself, man remains incapable of controlling himself. If you could know your own prospects, if you could control your own fate, would you still be a creature? In short, regardless of how God works, all His work is for the sake of man. Take, for example, the heavens and earth and all things that God created to serve man: The moon, the sun, and the stars that He made for man, the animals and plants, spring, summer, autumn and winter, and so on—all are for the sake of man’s existence. And so, regardless of how He chastises and judges man, it is all for the sake of man’s salvation. Even though He strips man of his fleshly hopes, it is for the sake of purifying man, and the purification of man is for the sake of his existence. The destination of man is in the hands of the Creator, so how could man control himself?

Once the work of conquest has been completed, man will be brought into a beautiful world. This life will, of course, still be on earth, but it will be totally unlike man’s life today. It is the life that mankind will have after the whole of mankind has been conquered, it will be a new beginning for man on earth, and for mankind to have such a life will be proof that mankind has entered a new and beautiful realm. It will be the beginning of the life of man and God on earth. The premise of such a beautiful life must be that, after man has been purified and conquered, he submits before the Creator. And so, the work of conquest is the last stage of God’s work before mankind enters the wonderful destination. Such a life is man’s future life on earth, it is the most beautiful life on earth, the kind of life that man longs for, the kind that man has never before achieved in the history of the world. It is the final outcome of the 6,000 years of work of management, it is what mankind yearns for most, and it is also God’s promise to man. But this promise cannot come to pass immediately: Man will enter the future destination only once the work of the last days has been completed and he has been completely conquered, that is, once Satan has been utterly defeated. Man will be without a sinful nature after he has been refined, because God will have defeated Satan, which means that there will be no encroachment by hostile forces, and no hostile forces that can attack the flesh of man. And so man will be free, and holy—he will have entered eternity. Only if the hostile forces of darkness are bound will man be free wherever he goes, and without rebelliousness or opposition. Satan has but to be bound for man to be okay; today, he is not okay because[a] Satan still stirs up trouble everywhere on earth, and because the entire work of God’s management has yet to reach its end. Once Satan has been defeated, man will be completely liberated; when man gains God and comes out from under the domain of Satan, he will behold the Sun of righteousness. The life due to normal man will be regained; all that should be possessed by normal man—such as the ability to discern good from evil, and understanding of how to eat and clothe oneself, and the ability to live normally—all of this will be regained. Even if Eve had not been tempted by the serpent, man should have had such a normal life after he was created in the beginning. He should have eaten, been clothed, and led the life of normal man on earth. Yet after man became depraved, this life became a pipe dream, and even today man does not dare to imagine such things. In fact, this beautiful life that man longs for is a necessity: If man were without such a destination, then his depraved life on earth would never cease, and if there were not such a beautiful life, then there would be no conclusion to Satan’s fate or to the age in which Satan holds dominion over earth. Man must arrive at a realm unreachable by the forces of darkness, and when he does, this will prove that Satan has been defeated. In this way, once there is no disturbance by Satan, God Himself will control mankind, and He will command and control the entire life of man; only this will count as the defeat of Satan. Man’s life today is mostly a life of filth, and still a life of suffering and affliction. This could not be called the defeat of Satan; man has yet to escape from the sea of affliction, has yet to escape from the hardship of the life of man, or the influence of Satan, and he still has but an infinitesimal knowledge of God. All of man’s hardship was created by Satan, it was Satan that brought the sufferings into the life of man, and only after Satan is bound will man be able to completely escape from the sea of affliction. Yet the bondage of Satan is achieved through the conquest and gain of the heart of man, by making man the spoils of the battle with Satan. Today, man’s pursuit of becoming an overcomer and being made perfect are the things that are pursued before he has the life of a normal man on earth, and are the objectives that man seeks prior to the bondage of Satan. In substance, man’s pursuit of becoming an overcomer and being made perfect, or being made great use of, is to escape from Satan’s influence: The pursuit of man is to become an overcomer, but the final outcome will be his escape from the influence of Satan. Only by escaping from the influence of Satan can man lead the life of normal man on earth, the life of worshiping God. Today, man’s pursuit of becoming an overcomer and being made perfect are the things that are pursued prior to having the life of a normal person on earth. They are pursued primarily for the sake of being cleansed and putting the truth into practice, and in order to achieve the worship of the Creator. If man possesses the life of a normal person on earth, a life without hardship or affliction, then man will not engage in the pursuit of becoming an overcomer. “Becoming an overcomer” and “being made perfect” are the objectives that God gives man to pursue, and through the pursuit of these objectives He causes man to put the truth into practice and live out a life of significance. The objective is to make man complete and to gain him, and the pursuit of becoming an overcomer and being made perfect is merely a means. If, in the future, man enters into the wonderful destination, there will be no reference to becoming an overcomer and being made perfect; there will only be each creature performing their duty. Today, man is made to pursue these things simply in order to define a scope for man, so that man’s pursuit is more targeted and practical. Without it, man’s pursuit of entry into eternal life would be vague and abstract, and if this were so, would man not be even more pitiable? To pursue in this way, without goals or principles—is it not self-deception? Ultimately, this pursuit would naturally be fruitless; in the end, man would still live under the domain of Satan and would be incapable of extricating himself from it. Why subject himself to such aimless pursuit? When man enters the eternal destination, man will worship the Creator, and because man has gained salvation and entered eternity, man will not pursue any objectives, nor, moreover, will he need to worry that he is besieged by Satan. At this time, man will know his place, and will perform his duty, and even if they are not chastised or judged, each person will perform their duty. At that time, man will be a creature in both identity and status. There will no longer be the distinction of high and low; each person will simply perform a different function. Yet man will still live in an orderly, suitable destination of mankind, man will perform his duty for the sake of worshiping the Creator, and a mankind such as this will be the mankind of eternity. At that time, man will have gained a life illuminated by God, a life under the care and protection of God, and a life together with God. Mankind will lead a normal life on earth, and the whole of mankind will enter onto the right track. The 6,000-year management plan will have utterly defeated Satan, which means that God will have recovered the original image of man following his creation, and as such, the original intention of God will have been fulfilled. In the beginning, before mankind was corrupted by Satan, mankind led a normal life on earth. Later, when he was corrupted by Satan, man lost this normal life, and so there began the work of God’s management, and the battle with Satan to recover the normal life of man. Only when the 6,000-year work of God’s management comes to an end will the life of all mankind officially begin on earth, only then will man have a wonderful life, and God will recover the purpose of creating man in the beginning, as well as the original likeness of man. And so, once he has the normal life of mankind on earth, man will not pursue becoming an overcomer or being made perfect, for man will be holy. The victory and perfection spoken of by man are the objectives given to man to pursue during the battle between God and Satan, and they exist only because man has been corrupted. It is by giving you an objective, and causing you to pursue this objective, that Satan will be defeated. Asking you to be an overcomer or to be made perfect or used is requiring that you bear testimony in order to shame Satan. In the end, man will lead the life of normal man on earth, and man will be holy, and when this happens, will they still seek to become overcomers? Are they not all creatures? Being an overcomer and being a perfected one are both directed at Satan, and the filthiness of man. Is this “overcomer” not in reference to the victory over Satan and the hostile forces? When you say that you have been made perfect, what in you has been made perfect? Isn’t it that you have divested yourself of the corrupt satanic disposition, so that you can achieve the supreme love of God? Such things are said in relation to the filthy things within man, and in relation to Satan; they are not spoken of in relation to God.

Today, if you do not pursue becoming an overcomer and being made perfect, then in the future, when mankind leads a normal life on earth, there will be no opportunity for such pursuit. At that time, the end of every kind of person will have been revealed. At that time, it will be clear what kind of thing you are, and if you wish to be an overcomer or wish to be made perfect it will be impossible. It is only that because of his rebelliousness man will be punished after being revealed. At that time, the pursuit of man will not be a higher position than others, for some to be overcomers and others made perfect, or for some to be the firstborn sons of God and others to be the sons of God; they will not pursue these things. All will be creatures of God, all will live on earth, and all will live together with God on earth. Now is the time of the battle between God and Satan, it is a time in which this battle has yet to be concluded, a time in which man has yet to be completely gained, and is a period of transition. And so, man is required to pursue becoming an overcomer or one of the people of God. Today there are distinctions in status, but when the time comes there will be no such distinctions: The status of all those who have been victorious will be the same, they will all be qualified mankind, and will live equally upon earth, meaning that they will all be qualified creatures, and what they are given will all be the same. Because the ages of God’s work are different, and the objects of His work are also different, if this work is done in you, you are eligible to be made perfect and become overcomers; if it were done abroad, then they would be eligible to become the first group of people to be conquered, and the first group of people to be made perfect. Today, this work is not done abroad, so they are not eligible to be made perfect and become overcomers, and it is impossible for them to become the first group. Because the object of God’s work is different, the age of God’s work is different, and its scope is different, so there is the first group, that is, there are the overcomers, and so too will there be a second group that is made perfect. Once there is the first group that has been made perfect, there will be a specimen and model, and so in the future there will be a second and third group of those who are made perfect, but in eternity they will all be the same, and there will be no classifications in status. They will simply have been made perfect at different times, and there will be no differences in status. When the time comes that everyone has been made complete, and the work of the entire universe has been concluded, there will be no distinctions in status, and all will be of equal status. Today, this work is done among you so that you will become the overcomers. If it were done in England, then England would have the first group, in the same way that you will be. I am merely being particularly gracious by carrying out My work in you today, and if I didn’t do this work in you, then equally you would be the second group, or the third, or the fourth, or the fifth. This is merely because of the difference in the order of work; the first group and the second group do not denote that one is higher or lower than the other, it simply denotes the order in which these people are made perfect. Today these words are communed to you, but why were you not informed earlier? Because, without a process, people tend to go to extremes. For example, Jesus said at that time: “As I departed, so shall I arrive.” Today, many have been infatuated by these words, and they want only to wear white robes and await their rapture into heaven. Thus, there are many words that cannot be spoken too early; if they were spoken too early man would go to extremes. Man’s stature is too small, and he is incapable of seeing through to the truth of these words.

When man achieves the true life of man on earth, the entire forces of Satan will be bound, and man will live easily upon earth. Things will not be as complex as they are today: Human relationships, social relationships, complex familial relationships…, they are such bother, so painful! Man’s life here is so miserable! Once man has been conquered, his heart and mind will change: He will have a heart that reveres God and a heart that loves God. Once all those within the universe who seek to love God have been conquered, which is to say, once Satan has been defeated, and once Satan—all the forces of darkness—has been bound, then man’s life on earth will be untroubled, and he will be able to live freely upon earth. If man’s life is without the fleshly relationships, and is without the complexities of the flesh, then it would be so much easier. Man’s relationships of the flesh are too complex, and for man to have such things is proof that he has yet to free himself of the influence of Satan. If you had the same relationship with the brothers and sisters, if you had the same relationship with your regular family, then you would have no concerns, and would not need to worry about anyone. Nothing could be better, and in this way man would be relieved of half of his suffering. Living a normal human life on earth, man will be similar to an angel; though still being of the flesh, he will be much like an angel. This is the final promise, it is the last promise that is bestowed upon man. Today man undergoes chastisement and judgment; do you think man’s experience of such things is meaningless? Could the work of chastisement and judgment be done for no reason? Previously it has been said that to chastise and judge man is to place him into a bottomless pit, which means the taking away of his fate and prospects. This is for the sake of one thing: the cleansing of man. Man is not placed in a bottomless pit deliberately, after which God washes His hands of him. Instead, it is in order to deal with the rebelliousness within man, so that in the end the things within man may be cleansed, so that he may have a true knowledge of God, and be like a holy person. If this is done, then all will be accomplished. In fact, when those things within man that are meant to be dealt with are dealt with, and man bears resounding testimony, Satan will also be defeated, and even though there may be a few of those things which are originally within man that are not completely cleansed, once Satan is defeated, it will no longer cause trouble, and at that time man will have been completely cleansed. Man has never experienced such a life, but when Satan is defeated, all will be settled and those trifling things within man will all be solved; all other troubles will end once that main problem has been solved. During this incarnation of God on earth, when He personally does His work among man, all the work He does is in order to defeat Satan, and He will defeat Satan through the conquest of man and making you complete. When you bear resounding testimony, this, too, will be a mark of Satan’s defeat. Man is first conquered and ultimately completely made perfect in order to defeat Satan. In substance, however, along with the defeat of Satan this is simultaneously the salvation of all mankind from this hollow sea of affliction. Regardless of whether this work is carried out throughout the entire universe or in China, it is all in order to defeat Satan and bring salvation to the whole of mankind so that man may enter the place of rest. You see, the normal flesh of God incarnate is precisely for the sake of defeating Satan. The work of the God of flesh is used to bring salvation to all those beneath heaven who love God, it is for the sake of conquering all mankind, and, moreover, for the sake of defeating Satan. The core of all God’s management work is inseparable from the defeat of Satan to bring salvation to all mankind. Why, in much of this work, is it always said for you to bear testimony? And whom is this testimony directed at? Isn’t it directed at Satan? This testimony is made to God, and it is made to testify that the work of God has achieved its effect. Bearing testimony is related to the work of defeating Satan; if there were not a battle with Satan, then man would not be required to bear testimony. It is because Satan must be defeated that, at the same time as saving man, God requires that man bear testimony to Him before Satan, which He uses to save man and do battle with Satan. As a result, man is both the object of salvation and a tool in the defeat of Satan, and so man is at the core of the work of God’s entire management, and Satan is merely the object of destruction, the enemy. You may feel that you have done nothing, but because of the changes in your disposition, testimony has been borne, and this testimony is directed at Satan and is not made to man. Man is not fit to enjoy such a testimony. How could he understand the work done by God? The object of God’s fight is Satan; man, meanwhile, is only the object of salvation. Man has the corrupt satanic disposition, and is incapable of understanding this work. This is because of the corruption of Satan. It is not inherently within man, but is directed by Satan. Today, God’s main work is to defeat Satan, that is, to completely conquer man, so that man may bear final testimony to God before Satan. In this way, all things will be accomplished. In many cases, to your naked eye it appears that nothing has been done, but in fact, the work has already been completed. Man requires that all the work of completion be visible, yet without making it visible to you, I have completed My work, for Satan has submitted, which means that it has been utterly defeated, that all of God’s wisdom, power and authority have vanquished Satan. This is exactly the testimony that must be borne, and though it has no clear expression in man, though it is not visible to the naked eye, Satan has already been defeated. The entirety of this work is directed against Satan, and carried out because of the battle with Satan. And so, there are many things that man does not see as having been successful, but which, in God’s eyes, were successful long ago. This is one of the inner truths of all God’s work.

Footnotes:

a. The original text reads “today, it is because.”

From : Utterances of Christ of the Last Days

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