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, I thought, life would no longer be painful!

February 22, 2021

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, “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” (The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. Preface).

“In the last days, Christ uses a variety of truths to teach man, to expose the substance 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 substance 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 essence 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 essence 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” (The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. Christ Does the Work of Judgment With the Truth).

“By means of this work of judgment and chastisement, man will fully come to know the filthy and corrupt essence 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 Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. The Mystery of the Incarnation (4)).

“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, and nor would man 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” (The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. Only Those Who Know God Can Bear Testimony to God).

From God’s words, we can see that God uses the truths He has expressed in the last days to judge and chastise corrupted humanity. Every word of His judgment displays His righteous disposition and all that He has and is; they are all words that can be mankind’s life. Therefore, they are all the truth. These words of truth are judgment on corrupt humanity. They are chastisement, condemnation, observation and purification to them. God uses His words of truth to cleanse corrupt humans of their satanic disposition, and to resolve the problem of their nature and substance: resistance to God. That is the significance of God using His work of judgment to cleanse, save and perfect humanity. During His judgment work in the last days, the words expressed by Almighty God reveal all the mysteries of His 6,000-year management plan. They clearly reveal the purpose of God’s three stages of work of salvation and the substance of every stage of work, especially the path by which believers can change their disposition and be cleansed. At the same time, Almighty God thoroughly exposes man’s nature and substance corrupted by Satan, the truth of their corruption, and the roots of their sins. This makes people reflect on themselves and realize that they have the very satanic natures. They see that they live out a completely demonic, satanic likeness. This allows them to truly repent and makes them willing to accept Almighty God’s chastisement and judgment, trials and refinement. They then pursue the truth and a change in disposition under the guidance of God’s words. Gradually, they are able to free themselves from the controls and restrictions of their corrupt satanic disposition. Eventually they are able to rebel against Satan, forsake evil, and return to God. This allows people to resolve their sinful nature at the root.

In addition, through experiencing and practicing God’s words, they unconsciously understand many truths. For example: What does it mean to be saved? What is full salvation? What does it mean to do God’s will? What does it mean to act on one’s own desires? What does it mean to follow God? What does it mean to follow man? What are the Pharisees? Who does God save? Who does God abandon? The most important thing is for people to actually experience God’s righteous and unoffendable disposition in the judgment and chastisement of His words. Through knowing God, these people gradually become able to revere Him and shun 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 practice the truth, more and more. They unknowingly release themselves from sin and attain sanctity. This end result is something that everyone who believes in the Lord during the Age of Grace “but does not accept God’s work in the last days can never achieve.” Therefore, only if people accept Almighty God’s judgment and chastisement by the word in the last days, will they be able to understand the truth and know God and completely break free of satanic influences and corrupt disposition. They will be able to live according to the truth and God’s words. That is the true meaning of full salvation.

—the movie script of Stinging Memories