Question 6: You say that if people want to be freed from sin and be cleansed, they must accept Almighty God’s work of judgment in the last days. How does God judge and cleanse people in the last days? Throughout all these years that I’ve believed in the Lord, I thought that it’d be great if there came a time when people no longer sinned. At that time, my life would no longer be painful!
Answer: As for how Almighty god judges and cleanses people in the last days, let’s read some more of Almighty God’s words! 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” (Preface to The Word Appears in the Flesh).
“In the last days, Christ uses a variety of truths to teach man, expose the essence of man, and dissect his words and deeds. 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 the 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, those 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 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” (“Christ Does the Work of Judgment With the Truth” in The Word Appears in the Flesh).
“By means of this work of judgment and chastisement, man will fully come to know the filthy and corrupt substance within his own self, and he will be able to change completely and become clean. Only in this way can man become 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 through refinement, man can purge 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” (“The Mystery of the Incarnation (4)” in The Word Appears in the Flesh).
“God does the work of judgment and chastisement so that man may gain knowledge of Him, and for the sake of His testimony. Without His judgment of man’s corrupt disposition, man could not possibly know His righteous disposition, which brooks no offense, nor would he be able to 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, through His public appearance, to arrive at knowledge of God, to be transformed in his disposition, and to bear resounding testimony to God. The transformation of the disposition of man is achieved through many different kinds of God’s work; without such changes in his disposition, man would be unable to bear testimony to God and to be after God’s heart. The transformation of man’s disposition signifies that man has freed himself from Satan’s bondage and from the influence of darkness, and has truly become a model and specimen of God’s work, a witness of God, and one who is after God’s heart” (“Only Those Who Know God Can Bear Testimony to God” in The Word Appears in the Flesh).
From Almighty God’s words, God uses the truths He espouses in the last days to judge and punish our corrupted humanity. Every word of His judgement displays His righteousness and all that He has and is; they are all words that give mankind life. Therefore, they are all the truth. These words of truth are judgments on our corrupt humanity. They punish, condemn, examine and cleanse us. God uses His words of truth to cleanse corrupt humans of their satanic natures. He resolves the problem of their true nature: corruption and resistance to Him. That is how God uses His works of judgment to cleanse, save and perfect humanity. During His works in the last days, the words espoused by Almighty God reveal all the mysteries of His 6000-year management plan. They will clearly reveal the purpose of God's three-step work of salvation and the true nature of every step, especially the path by which believers can change their temperament and be cleansed. At the same time, Almighty God vividly exposes mankind's satanic nature, the true essence of their corruption and the source of their sins. This makes people reflect on themselves and realize that they have satanic natures. They see that they live a completely demonic, satanic lifestyle. This allows them to truly repent and makes them willing to accept Almighty God's punishment, judgment and trials. They then pursue the truth and a change in disposition based on God's words of guidance. Gradually, they are able to free themselves from the controls and restrictions of Satan's corruption. Eventually they are able to betray Satan and return to God. This allows people to resolve their sinning at the root.
In addition, through experiencing and implementing God’s words, they unconsciously understand many truths. For example: What does it mean to be saved? What is salvation? What does it mean to implement God's will? What does it mean to act on your own conceptions? What does it mean to follow God? What does it mean to follow other people? Who are the Pharisees? Who does God save? Who does God abandon? The most important thing is for people to actually feel God’s temperament in His words of judgment. His temperament is not easily offended. Through knowing God, these people gradually become able to revere Him and become freed from evil. They live their lives according to God’s words. As they begin to understand the truth, these people gradually gain a deeper knowledge of God. They obey God, and implement the truth, more and more. They unknowingly release themselves from sin and become cleansed. The end result is: during the Age of Grace, everyone that believes in the Lord but does not accept His works in the last days will never achieve any of this. Therefore, as long as people accept Almighty God’s words of judgment and punishment in the last days, they will be able to truly know Him and truly break free of Satan’s domain and corrupt temperament. They will be able to live according to the truth and God’s words. That is the true meaning of salvation.
from the movie script of Stinging Memories
