What It Means to Be a Real Man

Managing man is My job, and having him be conquered by Me is even more something that was ordained when I created the world. People may not know that I will completely conquer them in the last days and may also be unaware that the evidence of My defeat of Satan is to conquer the rebellious ones among mankind. But, when My enemy joined battle with Me, I had already told it that I would become the conqueror of those that Satan had taken captive and made into its children and its loyal servants watching over its home. The original meaning of conquer is to defeat, to subject to humiliation. Couched in the language of the Israelites, it is to completely defeat, destroy, and render incapable of further resistance against Me. But today, as used among you people, its meaning is to conquer. You should know that My intent is to completely extinguish and put to rout the evil one of mankind, so that it can no longer rebel against Me, much less have the breath to interrupt or disturb My work. Thus, as far as man is concerned, it has come to mean conquest. Whatever the connotations of the term, My work is to defeat mankind. For, while it is true that mankind is an adjunct to My management, to put it more precisely, mankind is none other than My enemy. Mankind is the evil one that opposes and disobeys Me. Mankind is none other than the progeny of the evil one accursed by Me. Mankind is none other than the descendant of the archangel that betrayed Me. Mankind is none other than the heritage of the devil who, spurned by Me long ago, has been My irreconcilable enemy ever since. Above the human race, the sky lowers, murky and gloomy, without so much as a glimmer of clarity, and the human world is plunged in pitchy darkness, so that one living in it cannot even see his outstretched hand before his face or the sun when he lifts up his head. The road beneath his feet, muddy and rife with potholes, meanders tortuously; the whole land is littered with corpses. The dark corners are filled with the remains of the dead, and in the cool and shady corners crowds of demons have taken up residence. And everywhere in the world of men demons come and go in hordes. The progeny of all manner of beasts, covered in filth, are locked in pitch battle, the sound of which strikes terror in the heart. At such times, in such a world, such an “earthly paradise,” where does one go to seek out life’s felicities? Where would one go to find his life’s destination? Mankind, trampled under Satan’s feet long ago, has from the first been an actor taking on Satan’s image—even more, Satan’s embodiment, serving as the evidence that bears witness to Satan, loud and clear. How can such a human race, such a bunch of degenerate scum, and such offspring of this corrupt human family bear witness to God? Whence comes forth My glory? Where can one begin to speak of My witness? For the enemy that, having corrupted mankind, stands against Me, has already taken mankind—the mankind that I created long ago and that was filled with My glory and My living out—and soiled them. It has snatched away My glory, and all it has imbued man with is poison heavily laced with the ugliness of Satan, and juice from fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. In the beginning, I created mankind, that is, I created mankind’s ancestor, Adam. He was endowed with form and image, brimming with vigor, brimming with vitality, and was, furthermore, in the company of My glory. That was the glorious day when I created man. After that, Eve was produced from the body of Adam, and she too was the ancestor of man, and so the people that I created were filled with My breath and brimming with My glory. Adam was originally born from My hand and was the representation of My image. Thus the original meaning of “Adam” was a being created by Me, imbued with My vital energy, imbued with My glory, having form and image, having spirit and breath. He was the only created being, possessed of a spirit, who was capable of representing Me, of bearing My image, and receiving My breath. In the beginning, Eve was the second human endowed with breath whose creation I had ordained, so the original meaning of “Eve” was a created being who would continue My glory, filled with My vitality and furthermore endowed with My glory. Eve came out of Adam, so she also bore My image, for she was the second human to be created in My image. The original meaning of “Eve” was a living human, with spirit, flesh, and bone, My second testimony as well as My second image among mankind. They were mankind’s ancestors, man’s pure and precious treasure, and, from the first, living beings endowed with spirit. However the evil one took the progeny of mankind’s ancestors and trampled on them and took them into captivity, plunging the human world into complete darkness, and making it so that the progeny no longer believe in My existence. Even more abominable is that, even as the evil one corrupts people and tramples them down, it is cruelly wresting away My glory, My testimony, the vitality I bestowed on them, the breath and the life I blew into them, all My glory in the human world, and all the heart’s blood I have expended on mankind. Mankind is no longer in the light, and has lost everything I have bestowed on them, discarding the glory I have bestowed. How can they acknowledge that I am the Lord of all created beings? How can they continue to believe in My existence in heaven? How can they discover the manifestations of My glory upon the earth? How can these grandsons and granddaughters take the God their own ancestors revered as the Lord who created them? These pitiful grandsons and granddaughters have generously “presented” to the evil one the glory, the image, as well as the testimony that I bestowed on Adam and Eve, as well as the life I bestowed on mankind and on which they depend in order to exist, and, without minding in the slightest the evil one’s presence, have given all My glory to it. Is this not the origin of the appellation of “scum”? How can such a mankind, such evil demons, such walking corpses, such figures of Satan, and such enemies of Mine be possessed of My glory? I will repossess My glory, repossess My testimony that exists among men, and all that once belonged to Me and that I gave to mankind long ago—I will completely conquer mankind. However, you should know, the humans I created were holy men who bore My image and My glory. They did not belong to Satan, nor were they subject to its trampling, but were purely a manifestation of Mine, free of the slightest trace of Satan’s poison. And so, I let humanity know that I want only that which is created by My hand, the holy ones that I love and that belong to no other entity. Furthermore, I will take pleasure in them and consider them as My glory. However, what I want is not the mankind that has been corrupted by Satan, that belongs to Satan today, and that is no longer My original creation. Because I intend to repossess My glory that exists in the human world, I will gain complete conquest over the remaining survivors among mankind, as proof of My glory in defeating Satan. I take only My testimony as a crystallization of My self, as the object of My enjoyment. This is My will.

Mankind has developed through tens of thousands of years of history to get to where they are today. However, the mankind of My original creation has long ago sunk into degeneracy. They have already ceased to be what I want, and thus humanity, as they appear in My eyes, no longer deserves the name of mankind. They are rather the scum of mankind that Satan has taken captive, the rotten walking corpses that Satan lives in and in which it is clothed. People do not in the least believe in My existence, nor do they welcome My coming. Mankind only begrudgingly responds to My requests, temporarily acceding to them, and does not sincerely share in life’s joys and sorrows with Me. Since people see Me as inscrutable, they begrudgingly pretend to smile at Me, striking up an attitude of cozying up to one in power. This is because people have no knowledge of My work, much less of My will at present. I’ll be honest with you: When the day comes, the suffering of anyone who worships Me will be easier to bear than yours. The degree of your faith in Me does not, in actuality, exceed that of Job—even the faith of the Jewish Pharisees surpasses yours—and so, if the day of fire descends, your suffering will be more grave than that of the Pharisees when rebuked by Jesus, than that of the 250 leaders who opposed Moses, and than that of Sodom under the scorching flames of its destruction. When Moses struck the rock, and the water bestowed by Jehovah sprang forth, it was because of his faith. When David played the lyre in praise of Me, Jehovah—with his heart filled with joy—it was because of his faith. When Job lost his livestock that filled the mountains and untold masses of wealth, and his body became covered in sore boils, it was because of his faith. When he could hear the voice of Me, Jehovah, and see the glory of Me, Jehovah, it was because of his faith. That Peter could follow Jesus Christ, it was by his faith. That he could be nailed to the cross for My sake and give glorious testimony, it was also by his faith. When John saw the glorious image of the Son of man, it was by his faith. When he saw the vision of the last days, it was all the more by his faith. The reason why the so-called multitudes of the Gentile nations have obtained My revelation, and came to know that I have returned in the flesh to do My work among man, it is also because of their faith. All those who are smitten by My harsh words and yet are solaced by them, and who are saved—have they not done so because of their faith? Those who believe in Me but who yet suffer hardships, have they not also been rejected by the world? Those who live outside My word, fleeing the suffering of trial, are they all not drifting through the world? They are akin to autumn leaves fluttering here and there, with no place to rest, much less My words of consolation. Although My chastisement and refinement do not follow them, are they not beggars who go drifting from place to place, wandering the streets outside the kingdom of heaven? Is the world really your place of rest? Can you really, by avoiding My chastisement, attain the faintest smile of gratification from the world? Can you truly use your fleeting enjoyment to cover up the emptiness in your heart that cannot be concealed? You can fool anyone in your family, yet you can never fool Me. Because your faith is too meager, you are still to this day powerless to find any of the delights life has to offer. I urge you: better to sincerely spend half your life for My sake than your whole life in mediocrity and busywork for the flesh, enduring all the suffering a man can hardly bear. What purpose does it serve to treasure yourself so much and flee from My chastisement? What purpose does it serve to hide yourself from My momentary chastisement only to reap an eternity of embarrassment, an eternity of chastisement? I do not, in fact, bend anyone to My will. If a man is really willing to submit to all My plans, I would not treat him poorly. But I require that all people believe in Me, just as Job believed in Me, Jehovah. If your faith exceeds that of Thomas, then your faith will attain My commendation, in your loyalty you will find My bliss, and you will surely find My glory in your days. However, people, who believe in the world and believe in the devil, have hardened their hearts, just like the masses of the city of Sodom, with grains of windblown sand in their eyes and offerings from the devil in their mouths, whose beclouded minds have long ago been possessed by the evil one that has usurped the world. Their thoughts have almost wholly fallen captive to the devil of ancient times. And so, mankind’s faith has gone with the wind, and they are unable even to take notice of My work. All they can do is to make a feeble attempt at coping or to analyze very roughly, because they have long since been occupied by Satan’s poison.

I will conquer mankind because men were once created by Me and have, moreover, enjoyed all the bountiful objects of My creation. But men have also rejected Me, and their hearts are without Me, and they see Me as a burden on their existence, even to the point where, having truly caught sight of Me, men still reject Me, and wrack their brains thinking up every possible way to defeat Me. People do not allow Me to treat them seriously or to put strict demands on them, nor do they permit Me to judge or to chastise their unrighteousness. Far from finding this interesting, they are annoyed. And so My work is to take the mankind that eats, drinks, and revels in Me but does not know Me, and defeat them. I will disarm humanity, and then, taking My angels, taking My glory, I will return to My dwelling place. For what people have done has completely broken My heart and shattered My work into pieces long ago. I intend to repossess the glory that the evil one has taken away before happily walking away, letting mankind continue to live their lives, continue “living and working in peace and contentment,” continue “cultivating their own fields,” and I will no longer interfere in their lives. But now I intend fully to repossess My glory from the hand of the evil one, take back the entirety of the glory I wrought into man at the creation of the world, and never again bestow it on the human race on earth. For people have not only failed to conserve My glory, they have exchanged it instead for the image of Satan. People do not treasure My coming, nor do they prize the day of My glory. They are not blithe to receive My chastisement, much less are they willing to return My glory to Me. Nor are they willing to cast away the evil one’s poison. Humanity is still constantly deceiving Me in the same old way, still wearing bright smiles and happy faces in the same old way. They are unaware of the depths of gloom that will descend on mankind after My glory leaves them, and particularly unaware that when My day comes to the whole of mankind, they will face an even harder time than people in the times of Noah. For they do not know how dark Israel became when My glory departed from it, for man forgets at dawn how hard the pitch-dark night was to get through. When the sun goes back into hiding again and darkness descends upon man, he will again raise lamentation and gnash his teeth in darkness. Have you forgotten, when My glory departed from Israel, how difficult it was for its people to get through their days of suffering? Now is the time when you see My glory, and it is also the time when you share the day of My glory. Man will raise lamentation in the midst of darkness when My glory leaves the filthy land. Now is the day of glory when I am doing My work, and it is also the day when I exempt mankind from suffering, for I will not share the times of torment and tribulation with them. I want only to conquer mankind completely, and completely to defeat the evil one of mankind.

 from The Word Appears in the Flesh

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