Today is no longer the Age of Grace, nor the age of mercy, but the Age of Kingdom in which the people of God are revealed, the age in which God does things directly through divinity. Thus, in this passage of God’s words, God leads all those who accept His words into the spiritual realm. In the opening paragraph, He makes these preparations in advance, and if one possesses the knowledge of God’s words, they will follow the vine to get the melon, and shall directly grasp what God wishes to achieve in His people. Before, people were tested through the title “service-doers,” and today, after they have been subjected to the trial, their training officially begins. In addition, people must have a greater knowledge of God’s work based on the foundation of the words of the past, and must look upon the words and the person, and the Spirit and the person, as one inseparable whole—as one mouth, one heart, one action, and one source. This requirement is the highest requirement that God has made of man since the creation. From this can be seen that God wishes to expend part of His efforts on His people, that He wishes to display some signs and wonders in them, and, more importantly, that He wishes to make all people obey the entirety of God’s work and words. In one regard, God Himself upholds His testimony, and in another, He has made requirements of His people, and has directly issued forth God’s administrative decrees to the masses: Thus, since you are called My people, things are not as they used to be; you should listen to and obey the utterances of My Spirit, closely follow My work, and may not separate My Spirit and My flesh, for We are inherently one, and are not apart. In this, to prevent people from neglecting God incarnate, there is once again an emphasis on “for We are inherently one, and are not apart”; because such neglect is man’s failing, this is once more listed in God’s administrative decrees. Next, God informs people of the consequences of offending God’s administrative decrees, without hiding anything, by saying, “they shall suffer loss, and will only be able to drink from their own bitter cup.” Because man is weak, after hearing these words he can’t help but become more wary of God in his heart, for the “bitter cup” is enough to make people ponder a while. People have many interpretations of this “bitter cup” of which God speaks: being judged by words or expelled from the kingdom, or being isolated for a period of time, or having one’s flesh corrupted by Satan and possessed by evil spirits, or being forsaken by the Spirit of God, or having one’s flesh terminated and consigned to Hades. These interpretations are what can be achieved by people’s brains, and so in their imagination, people are incapable of going beyond them. But God’s thoughts are unlike those of man; that is to say, the “bitter cup” does not refer to any of the above, but to the extent of people’s knowledge of God after receiving God’s dealing. To put this more clearly, when someone arbitrarily separates the Spirit of God and His words, or separates the words and the person, or the Spirit and the flesh with which He clothes Himself, this person is not only incapable of
knowing God in God’s words, but is also a little suspicious of God—after which they become blinded at every turn. It is not as people imagine that they are directly cut off; rather, they gradually fall into God’s chastisement—which is to say, they descend into great catastrophes, and no one can be compatible with them, as if they have been possessed by evil spirits, and as if they’re a headless fly, butting against things wherever they go. Despite this, they are still incapable of leaving. In their hearts, things are indescribably hard, as if there is unspeakable suffering in their hearts—yet they cannot open their mouths, and they spend all day in a trance, unable to feel God. It is under these circumstances that God’s administrative decrees threaten them, so that they do not dare to leave
the church despite having no enjoyment—this is what’s called an “internal and external attack,” and is terribly hard for people to endure. What has been said here is different from people’s conceptions—and that is because, under those circumstances, they still know to seek God, and this happens when God turns His back on them, and what’s more important is that, just like an unbeliever, they are totally incapable of feeling God. God does not save such people directly; when their bitter cup is emptied out, that is the time when their last day has arrived. But at this moment, they still seek God’s will, wishing to enjoy just a little bit more—but this time is different from the past, unless there are special circumstances.
