How Does God Perform His Work of Judgment in the Last Days?
Question 18: You testify that in the last days, God expresses the truth and does the work of judging and purifying man, so how exactly does God judge, purify and save man?
Answer:
Currently, all those who seek and study the true way want to know how Almighty God does His work of judgment in the last days. Almighty God has expressed plenty of words on this aspect of the truth. Let us look at a few passages:
Almighty God says, “God’s work in the present incarnation is to express His disposition primarily through chastisement and judgment. Building on this foundation, He brings more truth to man and points out to him more ways of practice, thereby achieving His objective of conquering man and saving him from his own corrupt disposition. This is what lies behind the work of God in the Age of Kingdom” (Preface to The Word Appears in the Flesh).
“In the last days, Christ uses a variety of truths to teach man, to expose the essence of man, and to dissect the words and deeds of man. These words comprise various truths, such as man’s duty, how man should obey God, how man should be loyal to God, how man ought to live out normal humanity, as well as the wisdom and the disposition of God, and so on. These words are all directed at the essence of man and his corrupt disposition. In particular, the words that expose how man spurns God are spoken in regard to how man is an embodiment of Satan, and an enemy force against God. In undertaking His work of judgment, God does not simply make clear the nature of man with a few words; He exposes, deals with, and prunes over the long term. These methods of exposure, dealing, and pruning cannot be substituted with ordinary words, but with the truth of which man is utterly bereft. Only methods such as these can be called judgment; only through judgment of this kind can man be subdued and thoroughly convinced into submission to God, and moreover gain true knowledge of God. What the work of judgment brings about is man’s understanding of the true face of God and the truth about his own rebelliousness. The work of judgment allows man to gain much understanding of the will of God, of the purpose of God’s work, and of the mysteries that are incomprehensible to him. It also allows man to recognize and know his corrupt substance and the roots of his corruption, as well as to discover the ugliness of man. These effects are all brought about by the work of judgment, for the substance of this work is actually the work of opening up the truth, the way, and the life of God to all those who have faith in Him. This work is the work of judgment done by God” (“Christ Does the Work of Judgment With the Truth”).
“The work done by God during this age is chiefly the provision of the words for the life of man, the disclosure of the substance of the nature of man and the corrupt disposition of man, the elimination of religious conceptions, feudal thinking, outdated thinking, as well as the knowledge and culture of man. This must all be laid bare and cleansed away through the words of God. In the last days, God uses words, and not signs and wonders, to make man perfect. He uses His words to expose man, to judge man, to chastise man, and to make man perfect, so that in the words of God, man comes to see the wisdom and loveliness of God, and comes to understand the disposition of God, so that through the words of God, man beholds the deeds of God” (“Knowing God’s Work Today”).
“God has many means of perfecting man. He employs all manner of environments to deal with the corrupt disposition of man, and uses various things to lay man bare; in one regard He deals with man, in another He lays man bare, and in another He reveals man, digging out and revealing the ‘mysteries’ in the depths of man’s heart, and showing man his nature by revealing many of his states. God perfects man through many methods — through revelation, dealing, refinement, and chastisement — so that man may know that God is practical” (“Only Those Who Focus on Practice Can Be Perfected”).
From the words of Almighty God we see that when judging corrupt mankind in the last days, God uses many aspects of the truth and the righteous disposition He expresses in order to judge, reveal, and condemn man’s satanic nature, to cleanse and transform man’s satanic disposition and save man from the influence of Satan. Within the majestic and wrathful judgment and chastisement of God, we feel as if we are face to face with Him; we come to clearly see the essential nature and the actual facts of our corruption by Satan and truly understand God’s holy essence and His righteous disposition that cannot be offended. A God-fearing heart is born in us and we develop a real understanding of God while also understanding many truths at the same time. This allows our life disposition to be transformed, so we can finally live out the true human likeness of one who is honest and obeys God. All the words expressed by God unfold to mankind many aspects of the truth: God’s righteous disposition, what He has and is, the mysteries of His management plan, the inside information of God’s three stages of work, God’s aims and will in His salvation of mankind, the root of sin and the truth of mankind’s corruption, people’s destination and outcome, and so on. These truths are the words that give us life and the way of eternal life. When we read the words of Almighty God, we feel them like a double-edged sword, with God’s majesty and wrath emanating from each word and each line. They pinpoint the notions about God we hold in the depths of our hearts, our despicable goals and devious intentions in our faith, and even the satanic toxins hidden in our nature unbeknownst to us are revealed, so that we can see we are utterly corrupted by Satan. We live by Satan’s toxins, philosophy, logic and laws in all respects. Our hearts are filled with the viciousness, arrogance, greed, deceit, and other satanic dispositions. We live out nothing but devilishness; we have become the offspring of Satan, the progeny of the great red dragon, who rebel against and resist God. After reading God’s words of judgment and revelation, we are in awe of God, feeling His observation of our innermost hearts. The words of God strike at our satanic nature in every aspect as if we are face to face with Him, at times reminding or warning us, at times reproaching us, dealing with us, or disciplining us. Sometimes God’s fierce words are filled with anger, and in them we see the truth of our corruption, making us feel we have nowhere to hide and we are incredibly shamed. At the same time, we deeply feel that the words of God are indeed the truth, full of power and authority, and that they are the revelation of God’s disposition and His life being. The holy essence of God cannot be defiled, and His righteous disposition is unoffendable. We cannot help but prostrate ourselves before God and repent to Him. We hate our own satanic natures, we are filled with remorse and are willing to accept His judgment and chastisement. We are utterly convinced and determined in our hearts to lead a new life to satisfy God. This is the outcome of the judgment of God’s word on God’s chosen people. After experiencing such judgment and chastisement, those who truly believe in God and love the truth can gain the truth and be made perfect by God. Those who do not love the truth and do not truly experience God’s judgment and chastisement are bound to be eliminated by God.
While God judges and reveals people through His words, He also prepares a variety of circumstances and events to deal with and prune people, test them, and reveal them. After experiencing the facts of the judgment, chastisement, chastening and discipline that come upon us, we recognize that our satanic nature and satanic disposition is too obdurate. As we are expending ourselves, suffering and paying a price for God, we can still unwittingly rebel against and resist Him. Under His righteous, majestic and wrathful judgment, we clearly see our hideous satanic appearance that resists God. We see that we are the children of hell and that we aren’t fit to live before God. Our hearts ache in pain. We tremble with fear and show remorse. We forsake ourselves and curse ourselves. When we truly repent before God, He bestows compassion and tolerance upon us; He illuminates, enlightens, comforts, and supports us so that we may understand the good intentions of God’s salvation for us and come to know His loveliness. We become willing to live by the truth of God’s word to comfort and satisfy Him. The judgment and chastisement of God gives us clarity on who He likes, who He saves, who He makes perfect, who He blesses, who He detests, who He eliminates, and who He punishes and curses, thereby truly understanding God’s righteous disposition. After experiencing God’s judgment and chastisement, we truly comprehend that the truths expressed by God are judgment of corrupt mankind; they are chastisement, observation, and cleansing. God should reveal His righteous, majestic, wrathful and unoffendable disposition to the satanic nature of mankind that resists God. Only this way can we develop a God-fearing heart, pursue the truth, love God, and obey and worship Him, living out the likeness of a true human being to glorify and bear witness for God. These are the outcomes of God’s judgment and chastisement. Now we should all understand that for utterly corrupted mankind, God must become flesh to express the truth and do the work of judgment in order to cleanse and save mankind. Otherwise, corrupt mankind is beyond salvation. If we only stop with the Age of Grace in our faith and refuse to accept God’s judgment work in the last days, we are bound to be eliminated and destroyed. This is absolute.
Excerpted from Classic Questions and Answers on the Gospel of the Kingdom
Source: Walk in the Light
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