What is the difference between wheat and tares?

Relevant Words of God:

As I have said, Satan has sent those who do service for Me to interrupt My management; these service-doers are tares, yet wheat does not refer to the firstborn sons, but rather to all the sons and the people who are not the firstborn sons. Wheat will always be wheat, tares will always be tares; this means that those of Satan’s nature can never change. So, in short, they remain as Satan. Wheat means the sons and the people, because before the creation of the world I added to these people My quality. Because I have said before man’s nature does not change, wheat will always be wheat.

from Utterances and Testimonies of Christ in the Beginning

No matter how they are tried, the allegiance of those who have God in their heart remains unchanged; but for those who do not have God in their heart, once the work of God is not advantageous to their flesh, they change their view of God, and even depart from God. Such are those who will not stand fast in the end, who only seek God’s blessings and have no desire to expend themselves for God and dedicate themselves to Him. This kind of base people will all be expelled when God’s work comes to an end, and are unworthy of any sympathy. … Those who truly follow God are able to withstand the test of their work, whereas those who do not truly follow God are incapable of withstanding any of God’s trials. Sooner or later they will be expelled, while the overcomers will remain in the kingdom. Whether or not man truly seeks God is determined by the test of his work, that is, by God’s trials, and has nothing to do with the decision by man himself. God does not reject any person at whim; all that He does is so that man may be utterly convinced. He does not do anything that is invisible to man, or any work that cannot convince man. Whether man’s belief is true or not is proved by the facts, and cannot be decided by man. That “wheat cannot be made into tares, and tares cannot be made into wheat” is without doubt. All those who truly love God will ultimately remain in the kingdom, and God will not mistreat anyone who truly loves Him.

from “God’s Work and Man’s Practice” in The Word Appears in the Flesh

Anyone who verbally recognizes God incarnate yet cannot practice the truth of obedience to God incarnate will ultimately be eliminated and destroyed, and anyone who verbally recognizes the visible God and also eats and drinks of the truth expressed by the visible God yet seeks after the vague and invisible God will all the more be destroyed in the future. None of these people can remain until the time of rest after God’s work has finished; there can be no one like these people who remain until the time of rest. The demonic people are those who do not practice the truth; their essence is one of resisting and being disobedient to God, and they do not have the slightest intentions of obeying God. Such people will all be destroyed. Whether you have truth and whether you resist God are determined according to your essence, not according to your appearance or your occasional speech and conduct. Every person’s essence decides whether they will be destroyed; this is determined according to the essence revealed by their conduct and their pursuit of the truth. Among people who similarly do work and also do similar amounts of work, those whose human essences are good and who possess truth are the people who can remain, but those whose human essences are evil and who disobey the visible God are those who shall be destroyed. … all those who do not believe, along with those who do not practice truth, are demons! Those who seek and those who do not seek are now two different types of people, and they are two types of people with two different destinations. Those who pursue knowledge of the truth and practice the truth are the people whom God will save. Those who do not know the true way are demons and enemies; they are the descendants of the archangel and will be destroyed.

from “God and Man Will Enter Into Rest Together” in The Word Appears in the Flesh

Now do you truly know why you believe in Me? Do you truly know the purpose and significance of My work? Do you truly know your duty? Do you truly know My testimony? If you merely believe in Me, yet neither My glory nor My testimony can be seen in you, then I have long ago cast you away. As for those who know it all, they are even more thorns in My eye, and in My house, they are merely stumbling blocks. They are tares to be completely winnowed out in My work, without the slightest function and without any weight; I have long abhorred them. As for those without testimony, My anger is perpetually upon them, and My rod never strays from them. I have long ago turned them over to the hands of the evil one, and they have not any of My blessings. Upon that day, their punishment will be far sorer than that of foolish women. Now I am only doing the work that is My duty to do; I will bind all the wheat in bundles, together along with those tares. This is My work now. These tares shall all be winnowed out in the time of My winnowing, then the grains of wheat shall be gathered into the storehouse, and those tares that have been winnowed out shall be placed in the fire to be burned to dust. My work now is merely to bind all men into bundles, that is, to completely conquer them. Then shall I begin winnowing to reveal the end of all men. So you ought to know how you should satisfy Me now and how you ought to set upon the right track in your faith in Me. What I seek is your loyalty and obedience now, your love and testimony now. Even if you do not know at this moment what testimony is or what love is, you should bring to Me your all, and turn over to Me the only treasures you have: your loyalty and obedience. You should know, the testament to My defeat of Satan lies within the loyalty and obedience of man, as does the testament to My complete conquest of man. The duty of your faith in Me is to bear witness for Me, to be loyal to Me and none other, and to be obedient to the end.

from “What Do You Know of Faith?” in The Word Appears in the Flesh

The Man’s Fellowship:

Right now, the majority of the pastors and elders of the religious world have confined God into the Bible. They obstinately adhere to the Bible. They are absolutely unrestrained when it comes to their condemnation and resistance of Almighty God that expresses the truth and does the work of judgment in the last days. Do these kinds of people truly believe in God or love the truth? Are these people that seek the truth? Are they wise virgins that hear the voice of the Lord and come and welcome the Lord? Actually, they have already been abandoned and eliminated by the work of the Holy Spirit a long time ago. They were revealed by the work of God in the last days as antichrists. These people are tares, dogs and evil servants! How could they be qualified to enter into the kingdom of heaven? Almighty God says, “Those who wish to gain life without relying on the truth spoken by Christ are the most ridiculous people on earth, and those who do not accept the way of life brought by Christ are lost in fantasy. And so I say that the people who do not accept Christ of the last days shall forever be despised by God. Christ is man’s gateway to the kingdom during the last days, which none may bypass. None may be perfected by God except through Christ. You believe in God, and so you must accept His words and obey His way. You must not just think of gaining blessings without receiving the truth, or accepting the provision of life. Christ comes during the last days so that all those who truly believe in Him may be provided with life. His work is for the sake of concluding the old age and entering the new one, and is the path that must be taken by all those who would enter the new age. If you are incapable of acknowledging Him, and instead condemn, blaspheme or even persecute Him, then you are bound to burn for eternity, and shall never enter the kingdom of God. For this Christ is Himself the expression of the Holy Spirit, the expression of God, the One whom God has entrusted to do His work on earth. And so I say that if you cannot accept all that is done by Christ of the last days, then you blaspheme the Holy Spirit. The retribution that should be suffered by those who blaspheme the Holy Spirit is self-evident to all. I also tell you that if you oppose Christ of the last days, and deny Him, then there is no one who can bear the consequences on your behalf. Furthermore, from this day onward you will not have another chance to gain the approval of God; even if you try to redeem yourself, you will never again behold the face of God. For what you oppose is not a man, what you deny is not some puny being, but Christ. Are you aware of this consequence? You have not made a small mistake, but committed a heinous crime. And so I advise everyone not to bare your fangs before the truth, or make careless criticisms, for only the truth can bring you life, and nothing except the truth can allow you to be reborn and behold the face of God.” The words of Almighty God have been spoken very clearly. If we cling obstinately to the Bible in our faith to the Lord and do not receive God’s work of the last days, we will never be able to be raptured into the kingdom of heaven. We will only fall into the great disasters and experience weeping and the gnashing of teeth. Only through accepting the judgment work of Almighty God in the last days will we be cleansed, attain salvation and enter the kingdom of heaven. This is a truth that we believers in the Lord must see clearly. The work of Almighty God in the last days reveals all sorts of people that have entered into God’s house including tares, wheat, good servants, evil servants, goats, sheep, wise virgins and foolish virgins. All kinds of people have been revealed, each according to their kind. This is the wisdom and almightiness of God! Truly, the word of God accomplishes everything! Truly, God being incarnated as the Son of man in the last days to do the work of judgment is very real and very wise!

from Answers to Screenplay Questions

The main ways in which those who attain salvation shows are the following: They are able to submit to God’s work, regardless of personal preference. They follow all sorts of leadership by God; whether in the trial of service-doers, the trial of death, the trial of the times of chastisement, or the final great tribulation—in all of these they have followed along and they were not loafing around or being hypocritical. In their experience of difficulties and frustrations, these people have never abandoned the true way. Up to the present day, they still submit to God’s arrangements and perform the duties that they ought to. In this way the person who submits and is obedient shall certainly be saved. This is how it is with a person who wants God with a true heart. They’d rather give their dear life and follow to the end. “Whatever happens, I will not leave. I can abandon the happiness of family, and can cast away my wife, children, or husband. As long as I can give all of myself for God, it will be all right.” This is the clear distinction between people who are to be saved and people who are to be eliminated. In their experience of God’s work, those who are to be saved pursue truth and emphasize life. They truly attain gratifying results. Changes of life disposition occur to various degrees. They gradually have fewer notions and less disobedience, and they live out the likeness of a real man. Their contacts with other people become more normal, and they are less corrupt. They make progress concerning truth, and ceaselessly pursue deepening of understanding to gain clarity. They cherish and thirst for the word of God. They read God’s word and fellowship about the truth normally, they emphasize knowledge of themselves, and they emphasize the deepening of change of disposition. Regardless of what duty they perform, they always relentlessly go more deeply into life. It can be said that they are on the right track of belief in God, and God does not need to worry much about them. They are people with whom God is fairly satisfied. This is another distinction between people to be saved and people to be eliminated. Those to be saved all expend themselves for God to the best of their ability and do anything they are suited to. They enthusiastically take initiative and are neither slackers nor shirkers. There is no perfunctoriness or slipshod work. They put all their heart and strength into whatever task that is in front of them, taking it seriously. In working with others they are able to consider the benefit to God’s family. Their starting point is the effect of the work, they are considerate of God’s will, and they try to fulfill God’s demands. In performing their duties, these people have no selfish motives and do not plot for themselves. They can put aside pleasures of the flesh, do not argue over individual gain or loss, can put aside benefits to their family, and are willing to endure physical hardship if required. To them, fulfilling their duty well comes first. Saving other people and expanding the work of God comes first. This is their motto. The ability to loyally perform their duty is the proof that a person has a conscience and rationality. Even more laudable is their ability to care for God’s will, and to be willing to endure hardship to comfort God’s heart. Because these people love truth and seek life, they always have the Holy Spirit working in them. They are always able to fellowship about God’s word and accept the truth, so their hearts are ever more enlightened. The more they do their duty, the more energy they have, and other people marvel to see them, asking, “How can they keep doing better and better?” Their relations with the brothers and sisters are ever more normal. They are able to love each other, yet are able to differentiate clearly and separate out the revealed ones who don’t love God and who do not perform their duties, treating them wisely. They see all the world and unbelievers even more completely clearly. They hate them bitterly and become awfully fed up when they come in contact with them. They are able to get along only with the brothers and sisters. Only the brothers and sisters are their family; they would rather cease to live if separated from God’s family. For them it would be better to die than to not live for God. These people are honest and upright in their hearts. If God hates something, they can give it up, and do as God requires, as long as God is satisfied. They have self-respect, and in their hearts they are eager to excel and have resolution. They desire to do service for God, and take it as their glory to be loyal service-doers. Striving to excel, they want to satisfy God, and if it is to be doing service, they will do it to the end, doing it until their very last breaths. They believe that to pursue blessing is so contemptible, to have private longings is to be a paltry person, and it’s their duty to be a perfectly deserved service-doer. God gains glory in these people. Though there is some disobedience and corruption in these people, they love truth and seek justice. They don’t fear difficulty, and don’t lose sight of their duty. Thus they attain God’s blessing. We see the results of God’s work in them particularly clearly. Changes of their life disposition have occurred to varying degrees. Their outlooks on life, thinking, general mood, life-style, and points of view on things have all changed a lot. Their changes lead to them becoming new people to some extent. These people who are saved have more vitality as the end nears. In them shines the freshness of youth. They have passed through the valley of the shadow of death, and they have seen the first light of the dawn. It appears that they have been raised from death. In following God they stand firm witness. This is exactly the group of people whom God predetermined to receive His great salvation today.

Let us look again at the behaviors of those wicked people who have been revealed. They bitterly disappoint people and make them feel afraid, the epitome of “it is easier to change mountains and rivers than to alter one’s nature.” Though in the past they have worked or performed service in God’s family, but ultimately when God revealed them, they relapsed and showed their true colors. They sneaked in hoping to win blessings, but ultimately met their end in crushing and shameful defeat. They don’t love truth at all, and are not interested in the work of God. They have never taken seriously reading the word of God. It is harder for them to read the word of God than it is for them to take medicine. They want even less to fellowship about the truth. This is their main characteristic. To them, understanding the truth and seeking the truth are out of the question, even less so is knowing themselves. They are non-believers; they are tares sowed by Satan. They fundamentally have no life. When they came in they did not have good intentions. The main manifestations are: They never want to dedicate anything, and always want to get a good deal and benefit. They utilize a variety of opportunities to profit, rather than perform their duties. If not for advantage they would not get up early. They are people who seek only profit, and do not perform their duty happily and willingly. Their dispositions are fiendish; they don’t have a heart of compassion or empathy for others at all. They are disgustingly greedy and insatiable. They grab hold of anyone who will benefit them and give them advantage and make the person offer service to them. They always spit out lies. Whatever they say contains lies or meaningless words. Nothing they say is accurate, so you never know when they are speaking the truth versus when they are lying. They do everything furtively, and don’t do anything that is just and honorable. They would never open up their hearts and say something honest to others, except when they are about to die and shed some tears at the sight of the coffin. What comes out of their mouths most is vicious talk about other people, gossiping and criticizing, words that sow dissension and words of blame, as well as words that curse others. What they love most is other people’s flattery and worship of them, with the world revolving around them. They earnestly wish to be the queen or the highest power upon whom everyone waits. When they are doing well and having good luck, they can tuck in their tails and pretend to be good people for a little while. When they suffer defeat and are abandoned by God, however, they immediately show their true colors, and begin to shout abuse right away, declare towering grievances, and become demons. Then they are capable of doing anything. Like a plague that extends far and wide, they spread poison everywhere and propagate rumors to deceive people. All such wicked people who have committed various evil acts are the same in their nature, though their behaviors may differ. They all have the same psychological condition; they only vary in the severity of badness that shows through. This kind of person can be found in every place, and it is easy to identify them. It can be explained like this: All people who seek personal advantage rather than basing their actions on truth are evil people; all who do not pursue life and don’t have the slightest knowledge of themselves are evil people; all who make no contributions though they have money and who are unwilling to do their duty are evil people; all who just get by and practice deception in doing their duty, going so far as to act willfully, are evil people; all who vie for position, disturb church life, and obey no one are evil people; all who are audacious and arbitrary in their actions, who don’t listen to anyone else are evil people; all who hear the voice of God and have no fear, who don’t even repent are evil people; those of fierce and brutal disposition, who treat people cruelly, who attack people right and left with abusive language, who haven’t the least intention of changing their views; these people are even more guilty of the most heinous sins. All of those who relapsed, who returned to the original true colors and are just like the unbelievers, all these are old demons showing who they really are. The Holy Spirit has long left these people. God has already handed them over to Satan, and they do not belong to God’s family.

from The Fellowship From the Above