Question 6: You say that the Lord has come to do the work of judgment and purification in the last days, but the Lord Jesus said: “And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment” (Jhn 16:8). The Lord Jesus’ words and work have already achieved having people recriminate themselves for their sins, for righteousness, and for judgment. By confessing our sins to the Lord and repenting, we have already undergone His judgment, so what really is the difference between what you say is the work of judgment in the last days and the work of the Lord Jesus?
Answer: The Lord Jesus said, “Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send him to you. And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment” (Jhn 16:7-8). Many religious people believe that these words refer to the work of the Holy Spirit in the Age of Grace. They believe that in the Age of Grace, the Lord Jesus did the work of redemption; the process of people accepting the Lord Jesus and confessing and repenting in front of the Lord was that the Holy Spirit came, told the people of the world to reproach themselves for their sins, for righteousness, for judgment, and had people confess and repent to the Lord. This was God’s judgment. As people see it, this perspective is very much in line with their notions, but we must be clear that what the Lord Jesus did was the work of redemption, and all He gave to mankind was a way for repentance. Just as the Lord Jesus said: “Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Mat 4:17). He did not do the work of judging and purifying people; His words that carry the essence of judgment were able to have people acknowledge in front of the Lord the sins they committed and repent. However, the outcome that His work and words achieved was just to have people confess and repent; it did not achieve judgment and complete purification of mankind. So to put it accurately, when the Lord Jesus said “And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment” this referred to the Lord returning in the last days and doing the work of judgment. Just as the Lord Jesus said: “And if any man hear my words, and believe not, I judge him not: for I came not to judge the world, but to save the world. He that rejects me, and receives not my words, has one that judges him: the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day” (Jhn 12:47-48). God’s work of judgment in the last days is not just having people confess and repent, but it is to resolve the source of mankind’s sins, which is people’s satanic natures and dispositions, so that they can entirely cast off the influence of Satan and achieve holiness. It is the work of saving, purifying, and perfecting mankind. It is also the work of rewarding good and punishing evil, and of ending the age. So we cannot say that the Lord Jesus’ work of redemption was the work of judgment, and we particularly cannot take the Holy Spirit’s work in the Age of Grace to be God’s work of judgment in the last days.
In the Age of Grace, the Lord Jesus only did the work of redemption, and He only preached the way of repentance. This was just to achieve the result of mankind confessing, repenting, and then being able to turn back to the Lord, so the truths that the Lord Jesus expressed were very limited—far fewer than those expressed in God’s utterances in His work in the last days. How much of the truth the Lord Jesus expressed was entirely determined by the essence of the work He was doing, whereas Almighty God expressed such a great deal of words in His work of judgment in the last days because His work is to thoroughly purify, save, and perfect mankind. It is the work to end the age, so His words must be more prolific; this is determined by the necessities of His work. Almighty God has expressed all the truths to purify, save, and perfect mankind. These words of judgment have not only exposed mankind’s corrupt essence and the truth of our corruption, but they have also exposed the darkness of all religious circles and the entire world. They have not only provided all people with a path to a change in disposition and progress in life, but they have also opened up God’s will and His requirements to mankind. Not only have they revealed all the mysteries of God’s 6,000-year management plan but even more importantly, God’s inherent disposition, what He has and is, as well as His identity and essence have all been expressed within Almighty God’s words. Almighty God’s goal in expressing so many truths is to allow people to cast off Satan’s influence and achieve holiness, and it is also to have people know, obey, and love God. Even more, it is to reveal the outcome and final destination of every type of person. Only this is God’s work of judgment in the last days. Just as Almighty God said: “The words I speak today are to judge man’s sins, to judge man’s unrighteousness, to curse man’s disobedience. Man’s crookedness and deceitfulness, man’s words and deeds—all that is at odds with God’s will must be subjected to judgment, and man’s disobedience denounced as sin. His words revolve around the principles of judgment; He uses judgment of man’s unrighteousness, the curse of man’s rebelliousness, and exposure of man’s ugly faces to make manifest His own righteous disposition” (The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. How the Effects of the Second Step of the Work of Conquest Are Achieved). “The last days have already arrived. All things in creation will be separated according to their kind, and divided into different categories based on their nature. This is the moment when God reveals humanity’s outcome and their destination. If people do not undergo chastisement and judgment, then there will be no way of exposing their disobedience and unrighteousness. Only through chastisement and judgment can the outcome of all creation be revealed. Man only shows his true colors when he is chastised and judged. Evil shall be put with evil, good with good, and all humanity shall be separated according to their kind. Through chastisement and judgment, the outcome of all creation will be revealed, so that the evil may be punished and the good rewarded, and all people become subject to the dominion of God. All this work must be achieved through righteous chastisement and judgment. Because man’s corruption has reached its peak and his disobedience become exceedingly severe, only God’s righteous disposition, one that is principally compounded 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” (The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. The Vision of God’s Work (3)). In the last days, God’s work is primarily the judgment and chastisement of words. Almighty God has expressed millions of words, exceeding the sum of God’s words in both the Age of Law and the Age of Grace. At the heart of all of these words are judgment and chastisement, and they fully reveal God’s disposition of righteousness, majesty, wrath, judgment, and damnation. It is only by having this kind of disposition that He is able to purify and save mankind, reward good and punish evil, and end the age. It is only Almighty God’s work in the last days that is the true work of judgment. It is entirely different from the work of redemption that God did in the Age of Grace. This is a fact that every single person who is awaiting the appearance of the Lord must see clearly.
—The movie script of Song of Victory
