 |
| How Does God Carry Out His Work of Judgment and Chastisement in the Age of Kingdom? |
Let us look at how God carries out His work of judgment and chastisement in the Age of Kingdom; here it is necessary to quote Almighty God’s words to testify to God’s last days work.
Almighty God says: “When God becomes flesh this time, His work is to express His disposition, primarily through chastisement and judgment. Using this as the foundation, He brings more truth to man, shows more ways of practice, and so achieves His objective of conquering man and saving man from his corrupt disposition. This is what lies behind the work of God in the Age of Kingdom.”
“In undertaking His work of judgment, God does not simply make clear the nature of man with just a few words; He exposes, deals with, and prunes it over the long term. These methods of exposure, dealing, and pruning cannot be substituted with ordinary words, but with the truth that man does not possess at all. Only methods of this kind are deemed 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. If you do not regard these truths with importance and constantly think of avoiding them or of finding a new way out apart from them, then I say you are a grievous sinner. If you have faith in God, yet seek not the truth or the will of God, nor do you love the way that brings you closer to God, then I say that you are one who is trying to evade judgment, and that you are a puppet and traitor who flees from the great white throne. God will not spare any of the rebellious that escape from under His eyes. Such men shall receive even more severe punishment.”
from “Christ Does the Work of Judgment With the Truth”
“Through this work of judgment and chastisement, man will fully come to know the filthy and corrupt substance within him, and he will be able to completely change and become clean. Only in this way can man be worthy to return before the throne of God. All the work done this day is so that man can be made clean and be changed; through judgment and chastisement by the word, as well as refinement, man can cast away his corruption and be made pure. Rather than deeming this stage of work to be that of salvation, it would be more apt to say it is the work of purification. In truth, this stage is that of conquest as well as the second stage of salvation. Man is gained by God through judgment and chastisement by the word; through the use of the word to refine, judge and disclose, all of the impurities, notions, motives, and individual hopes within man’s heart are completely revealed.”
from “The Mystery of the Incarnation (4)”
“God does the work of judgment and chastisement so that man may know Him, and for the sake of His testimony. Without His judgment of man’s corrupt disposition, man would not know His righteous disposition that allows no offense, and could not turn his old knowledge of God into a new one. For the sake of His testimony, and for the sake of His management, He makes His entirety public, thus enabling man to achieve the knowledge of God, and change his disposition, and bear resounding testimony to God through God’s public appearance. Change is achieved in the disposition of man through different kinds of God’s work; without such changes in man’s disposition, man would be unable to bear testimony to God, and could not be after God’s heart. Changes in man’s disposition signify that man has freed himself from Satan’s bondage, has freed himself from the influence of darkness, and has truly become a model and specimen of God’s work, has truly become a witness of God and someone who is after God’s heart. Today, God incarnate has come to do His work on earth, and He requires that man achieve knowledge of Him, obedience to Him, testimony to Him—know His practical and normal work, obey all of His words and work which do not accord with the conceptions of man, and bear testimony to all His work of saving man, and all the deeds He does that conquer man. Those who bear testimony to God must have a knowledge of God; only this kind of testimony is accurate, and real, and only this kind of testimony can shame Satan. God uses those who have come to know Him through undergoing His judgment and chastisement, dealing and pruning, to bear testimony to Him. He uses those who have been corrupted by Satan to bear testimony to Him, and so too does He use those whose disposition has changed, and who have thus gained His blessings, to bear testimony to Him. He does not need man to praise Him in word only, nor does He need the praise and testimony of the ilk of Satan, who have not been saved by Him. Only those who know God are qualified to bear testimony to God, and only those whose disposition has changed are qualified to bear testimony to God, and God will not allow man to intentionally bring shame upon His name.”
from “Only Those Who Know God Can Bear Testimony to God”
“You ought to know that perfecting men, completing men, and gaining men have brought nothing but swords and smiting for their flesh, and brought endless suffering, the burning of fire, merciless judgment, chastisement, and curse, as well as boundless trials. Such is the inside story and truth of the work of managing man. However, all these things are aimed against man’s flesh, and all spearheads of hostility are mercilessly directed toward man’s flesh (for man was originally innocent). All of that is for the sake of His glory and testimony, and for His management. This is because His work is not solely for the sake of mankind, but it is for the entire plan and to fulfill His original will when He created mankind. Therefore, perhaps ninety percent of what people experience is sufferings and trials of fire, but there are very few or even no sweet and happy days which man’s flesh has yearned for, and they are even more unable to enjoy happy moments in the flesh spending beautiful evenings with God. The flesh is filthy, so what man’s flesh sees or enjoys is nothing but God’s chastisement which is not favored by man, and is as if it were lacking normal reason. This is because He will manifest His righteous disposition which is not favored by man, does not tolerate man’s offenses, and loathes enemies. God openly reveals all of His disposition through any means necessary, thereby concluding the work of His six-thousand-year battle with Satan—the work of the salvation of all of mankind and the destruction of the old Satan!”
from “The Purpose of Managing Mankind”
“The last days have already arrived. All things will be classed according to their kind, and will be divided into different categories based on their nature. This is the time when God reveals people’s outcome and their destination. If people do not undergo chastisement and judgment, then there will be no way of revealing their disobedience and unrighteousness. Only through chastisement and judgment can the end of all things be revealed. Man only shows his true colors when he is chastised and judged. Evil shall return to evil, good shall return to good, and people shall be classified according to their kind. Through chastisement and judgment, the end of all things will be revealed, so that the evil will be punished and the good will be rewarded, and all people will become subject under the dominion of God. All the work must be achieved through righteous chastisement and judgment. Because man’s corruption has reached its peak and his disobedience has been too serious, only God’s righteous disposition, which is principally one of chastisement and judgment and is revealed during the last days, can fully transform and complete man. Only this disposition can expose evil and thus severely punish all the unrighteous.”
from “The Vision of God’s Work (3)”
“You should see that the will and the work of God are not as simple as the creation of the heavens and earth and all things. For the work of today is to transform those who have been corrupted, who have grown extremely numb, and to purify those who were created then worked on by Satan, not to create Adam or Eve, much less to make the light or create all manner of plants and animals. His work now is to make pure all that has been corrupted by Satan so that they may be regained and become His possession and become His glory. Such work is not as simple as man imagines the creation of the heavens and earth and all things to be, and it is not akin to the work of cursing Satan to the bottomless pit as man imagines. Rather, it is to transform man, to turn that which is negative into the positive and to take into His possession that which does not belong to Him. This is the inside story of this stage of God’s work. You must realize it, and should not oversimplify matters. The work of God is unlike any ordinary work. Its marvel cannot be conceived by the mind of man, and its wisdom cannot be attained by such. God is not creating all things, and He is not destroying them. Rather, He is changing all of His creation and purifying all things that have been defiled by Satan. Therefore, God shall commence work of great magnitude, and this is the total significance of the work of God. From these words, do you believe that the work of God is so simple?”
from “Is the Work of God So Simple as Man Imagines?”
“Do you understand now what is judgment and what is truth? If you have understood, then I exhort you to submit obediently to being judged, otherwise you shall never have the opportunity to be commended by God or to be brought by Him into His kingdom. Those who only accept judgment but can never be purified, that is, those who flee in the midst of the work of judgment, shall forever be detested and rejected by God. Their sins are more numerous, and more grievous, than those of the Pharisees, for they have betrayed God and are rebels against God. Such men who are not worthy even to do service shall receive more severe punishment, a punishment that is moreover everlasting. God shall not spare any traitor who once evinced loyalty with words but then betrayed Him. Men like these shall receive retribution through punishment of the spirit, soul, and body. Is this not precisely a revelation of the righteous disposition of God? Is this not God’s purpose in judging man, and revealing him? God consigns all those who perform all kinds of wicked deeds during the time of judgment to a place infested with evil spirits, letting these evil spirits destroy their fleshly bodies at will. Their bodies give off the stench of corpses, and such is their fitting retribution. God writes down in their record books each and every one of the sins of those disloyal false believers, false apostles, and false workers; then, when the time is right, He casts them amidst the unclean spirits, letting these unclean spirits defile their entire bodies at will, so that they may never be reincarnated and never again see the light. Those hypocrites who did service at one time but are unable to remain loyal to the end are numbered by God among the wicked, so that they walk in the counsel of the wicked and become part of their disorderly rabble; in the end, God shall annihilate them. God casts aside and takes no notice of those who have never been loyal to Christ or dedicated any effort, and shall annihilate them all in the change of ages. They shall no longer exist on earth, much less gain passage into the kingdom of God. Those who have never been sincere to God but are forced by circumstance into dealing with Him perfunctorily are numbered among those who do service for His people. Only a small number of such men can survive, while the majority shall perish along with those who are not qualified even to do service. Finally, God shall bring into His kingdom all those who are of the same mind as God, the people and the sons of God as well as those predestined by God to be priests. Such is the distillate obtained by God through His work. As for those who are unable to fall into any of the categories set by God, they shall be numbered among the unbelievers. And you can surely imagine what their outcome shall be. I have already said to you all that I should say; the road that you choose shall be your decision to make. What you should understand is this: The work of God never waits for any that cannot keep pace with Him, and the righteous disposition of God shows no mercy to any man.”
from “Christ Does the Work of Judgment With the Truth”
“That you are able to accept the judgment, chastisement, smiting, and refinement of God’s words, and, moreover, are able to accept God’s commissions, was predestined by God at the beginning of time, and thus you must not be too distressed when you are chastised. No one can take away the work that has been done in you, and the blessings that have been bestowed within you, and no one can take away all that has been given to you. People of religion brook no comparison with you. You are not possessed of great expertise in the Bible, and are not equipped with religious theory, but because God has worked within you, you have gained more than anyone throughout the ages—and so this is your greatest blessing. Because of this, you must be even more dedicated to God, and even more loyal to God. Because God raises you up, you must bolster your efforts, and must ready your stature to accept the commissions of God. You must stand firm in the place God has given you, pursue becoming one of the people of God, accept the training of the kingdom, be gained by God and ultimately become a glorious testimony to God. How many of these resolves do you possess? If you are possessed of such resolves, then ultimately you are sure to be gained by God, and will become a glorious testimony to God. You should understand that the principal commission is being gained by God and becoming a glorious testimony to God. This is the will of God.”
from “Know the Newest Work of God and Follow the Footsteps of God”
From the above several paragraphs of God’s words, we can clearly see that God’s judgment work in the last days is the work of purifying man, saving man, and perfecting man. The work of judgment is first conquering man, and then perfecting man. Only after being conquered can one truly obey God’s work, pursue the truth and enter the correct path of believing in God, and gradually be made perfect by God. Only people who have been conquered by God’s words can truly prostrate themselves before God, generate a heart that reveres God and obey God’s work. Only people who have been conquered by God’s words can know that God’s disposition absolutely does not brook offense. Only such people can truly know that mankind’s corruption runs deep, that they are of the type that rebels against God and resists God, that they are filled with satanic disposition, and incessantly and impulsively rebel against and resist God. Only people who have been conquered by God’s words can see clearly that corrupt mankind is unworthy to meet with God; they can only be conscientious and well behaved in accepting God’s judgment and chastisement, to obtain purification and attain salvation. Only this is a person who truly turns toward God, and obeys God’s work. It is only after being conquered that a person can begin to pursue the truth and obey God’s work in order to enter the right path of believing in God, and afterward attain the salvation and perfection of God.
from “How to Know God’s Work of Judgment and Chastisement in the Last Days” in Collection of Sermons—Supply for Life
