People have realized that the great disasters are upon us and those expecting the Lord to come on a cloud have been waiting with bated breath. After years of waiting, they have yet to see Him come. Instead, they see Eastern Lightning bearing witness to Almighty God’s work of judgment in the last days. This is a great disappointment to them. They’ve been hoping to be raptured up directly where they’ll meet with the Lord, never expecting He’d perform judgment work upon His return. They don’t want to accept it. Many people are following the religious world’s antichrist forces, judging and condemning God’s appearance and work. They think, “Our sins have been forgiven and we’ve been deemed righteous by God, so we don’t need God’s judgment. We’re waiting for the Lord to take us up into His kingdom where we’ll enjoy His blessings.” They cling to their notions, unwilling to seek and investigate the true way, which is why they still haven’t welcomed the Lord, but have fallen into the disasters. This completely fulfills the Lord Jesus’ words: “For to every one that has shall be given, and he shall have abundance: but from him that has not shall be taken away even that which he has. And cast you the unprofitable servant into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth” (Matthew 25:29–30). But there are plenty who love the truth and when they read Almighty God’s words, they saw their power and authority, saw that they’re all the truth. They recognized God’s voice and were no longer held back by their notions, but kept investigating the true way. Their first questions were why God would still need to do judgment work when their sins are forgiven and they’ve been deemed righteous by God, and how God purifies and saves mankind through that work in the last days. These are the two most critical and most confounding questions that everyone investigating the true way must have understood.

Let’s start with why God needs to do the work of judgment in the last days. This is confusing for lots of religious people. They think, “The Lord has already forgiven our sins, and God doesn’t see us as of sin, so we can be taken straight into His kingdom, and we don’t need God’s judgment.” This is a huge mistake. It is true that the Lord has forgiven man’s sins, but does that forgiveness mean that we’ve been purified? Does that mean we’ve achieved true submission to God? It doesn’t. We’ve all seen this fact: In spite of our sins being forgiven, believers, without exception, are living in a cycle of sinning and confessing, sinning by day, and then confessing by night, trying and failing to keep the Lord Jesus’ commandments, trying and failing to love and submit to the Lord, resolving to do good, but still lying and sinning in spite of themselves, failing no matter how hard they work to hold themselves back. Many feel that the flesh is too corrupt, and living in sin is truly painful. So why are people unable to extricate themselves from the bonds of sin? Why can’t we help but sin and sin? It’s because of man’s sinful nature and satanic dispositions. These are the root of sin. Without addressing the root of sin, we can never be freed from it, but we’ll keep resisting God, condemning Him, and being hostile to Him. Think of the Pharisees, who had faith for generations and were constantly making sin offerings. Why is it that when Jehovah God became flesh as the Lord Jesus and expressed so many truths, they didn’t recognize the Lord Jesus as the appearance of Jehovah God, but condemned and judged Him, and even had Him crucified? What was the problem? Now in the last days, Almighty God comes and expresses truths, so why do so many religious people refuse to even look into it, but madly condemn and blaspheme Him, determined to nail God to the cross once again? What does it all mean? It clearly shows while people’s sins have been forgiven, they are still ruled by their satanic nature and may condemn and resist God at any moment. Mankind’s sinfulness isn’t simply a matter of sinful deeds, but it’s so grave that they want to crucify Christ who expresses the truth, standing against God, against the truth, acting and working against God and becoming His enemies. How could such filthy and corrupt people who are against God be worthy of His kingdom? God is righteous and holy, and His disposition is unoffendable. If those whose sins are forgiven aren’t cleansed through the work of judgment, but keep sinning and resisting God, they will never be worthy of God’s kingdom—there is no doubt about this. This fulfills the Lord Jesus’ words: “Not every one that said to Me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that does the will of My Father which is in heaven” (Matthew 7:21). “Truly, truly, I say to you, Whoever commits sin is the servant of sin. And the servant stays not in the house for ever: but the son stays ever” (John 8:34–35). There’s also Hebrews 12:14: “Without holiness no man shall see the Lord.” That’s why the Lord Jesus said many times during His redemption work that He’d come again. So what is He here to do? It is to express truths and perform His judgment work to fully save mankind from sin and from Satan’s forces, so we can fully turn toward God and become people who submit to and worship God. Then He’ll take us into a beautiful destination. Just as the Lord Jesus prophesied: “I have yet many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. However, when He, the Spirit of truth, is come, He will guide you into all truth” (John 16:12–13). “And if any man hears 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” (John 12:47–48). “For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God” (1 Peter 4:17). We can see here that God long ago planned to perform the work of judgment in the last days, and this is exactly what corrupt mankind needs to be fully saved. In the last days, Almighty God is expressing truths and doing the work of judgment starting with the house of God. He is the Spirit of truth come among man, leading God’s chosen people to enter into all truths. This completely fulfills the Lord Jesus’ prophecies. Now let’s read some of Almighty God’s words for more clarity on why God needs to do judgment work in the last days.

Almighty God says, “Though Jesus did much work among man, He only completed the redemption of all mankind and became man’s sin offering; He did not rid man of all his corrupt disposition. Fully saving man from the influence of Satan not only required Jesus to become the sin offering and bear the sins of man, but it also required God to do even greater work to rid man completely of his satanically corrupted disposition. And so, now that man has been forgiven of his sins, God has returned to the flesh to lead man into the new age, and begun the work of chastisement and judgment. This work has brought man into a higher realm. All those who submit under His dominion shall enjoy higher truth and receive greater blessings. They shall truly live in the light, and they shall gain the truth, the way, and the life” (The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. Preface).

“Before man was redeemed, many of Satan’s poisons had already been planted within him and, after thousands of years of being corrupted by Satan, he has within him an established nature that resists God. Therefore, when man has been redeemed, it is nothing more than a case of redemption in which man is bought at a high price, but the poisonous nature within him has not been eliminated. Man that is so defiled must undergo a change before becoming worthy to serve God. 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. … For all that man may have been redeemed and forgiven of his sins, it can only be considered as God not remembering the transgressions of man and not treating man in accordance with his transgressions. However, when man, who lives in a body of flesh, has not been set free from sin, he can only continue to sin, endlessly revealing his corrupt satanic disposition. This is the life that man leads, an endless cycle of sinning and being forgiven. The majority of mankind sin in the day only to confess in the evening. This way, even though the sin offering is forever effective for man, it will not be able to save man from sin. Only half the work of salvation has been completed, for man still has a corrupt disposition. … It is not easy for man to become aware of his sins; he has no way of recognizing his own deeply rooted nature, and he must rely on judgment by the word in order to achieve this result. Only thus can man gradually be changed from this point onward” (The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. The Mystery of the Incarnation (4)).

In the Age of Grace, the Lord Jesus Himself was crucified, becoming mankind’s sin offering and redeeming humanity of sin. Since then, man’s sins have been forgiven and God doesn’t see us as of sin, so we are able to pray directly to God and come before Him. But God no longer seeing man of sin just means that He’s forgiven our sins, not that we’re free of sin, that we’re completely holy. We still have a sinful nature and a satanic disposition. We have to undergo God’s judgment work in the last days so our corruption can be cleansed and we can be fully saved. God’s redemption work in the Age of Grace paved the way for His judgment work in the last days. That is, His judgment work is done on the foundation of the Lord Jesus’ redemption work. God’s redemption work just completed half of His full work of salvation. It is Almighty God’s judgment work in the last days that can fully cleanse and save mankind, and it’s the most crucial stage of God’s salvation work. We have to go experience God’s judgment and cleansing in the last days, be fully freed from sin and cleansed, and truly submit to God and do God’s will in order to be worthy of His kingdom.

At this point I think we have a better understanding of why God is doing His judgment work in the last days. Some people may be wondering how this work purifies and saves mankind. Let’s see what Almighty God has said about this. “Christ of the last days 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. All these different 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 about 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).

“People cannot change their own disposition; they must undergo the judgment and chastisement, and suffering and refinement, of God’s words, or being dealt with, disciplined, and pruned by His words. Only then can they achieve obedience and faithfulness to God, and no longer be perfunctory toward Him. It is under the refinement of God’s words that people’s dispositions change. Only through the exposure, judgment, discipline, and dealing of His words will they no longer dare to act rashly but instead will become steady and composed. The most important point is that they are able to submit to God’s current words, and to His work, even if it is not in line with human notions, they are able to put these notions aside and willingly submit” (The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. People Whose Dispositions Have Changed Are Those Who Have Entered Into the Reality of God’s Words).

“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, through dealing with man, through man’s refinement, and chastisement—so that man may know that God is practical” (The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. Only Those Who Focus on Practice Can Be Perfected).

This helps shed some light on how God does His work of judgment, right? In God’s judgment work of the last days, He’s primarily expressing truths to judge and expose man’s corrupt essence, and our satanic dispositions so we can see the truth of our corruption, have heartfelt remorse, hate and despise ourselves, forsake the flesh and put God’s words into practice, and achieve true repentance and change. Almighty God’s words fully expose the manifestations of man’s corrupt dispositions such as arrogance, deceit, and evil, as well as the motives and adulterations in our faith, and even our deepest, most hidden thoughts and feelings. These are all incisively revealed. Reading Almighty God’s words, it feels like God is right there judging us to our faces. We see our filthy, corrupt, ugly selves thoroughly revealed by God, leaving us feeling ashamed, with nowhere to hide, and unworthy of living before God. While judging man with His words, God also sets up real situations to expose us, then we are pruned, dealt with, and tested by the facts, so that we can reflect and know ourselves. Exposed by reality, and then further exposed and judged through God’s words, we see more clearly the ugliness of us living by our satanic nature. We’re filled with regret and hate ourselves, and gradually develop true repentance. Our corrupt disposition is then cleansed and changed. Next, let’s listen to some of God’s words exposing man’s corrupt disposition to get a clearer idea of how God does His judgment work.

Almighty God says, “My deeds are greater in number than the grains of sand on the beaches, and My wisdom surpasses all the sons of Solomon, yet people merely think of Me as a physician of little account and an unknown teacher of man. So many believe in Me only that I might heal them. So many believe in Me only that I might use My powers to drive unclean spirits out from their bodies, and so many believe in Me simply that they might receive peace and joy from Me. So many believe in Me only to demand from Me greater material wealth. So many believe in Me just to spend this life in peace and to be safe and sound in the world to come. So many believe in Me to avoid the suffering of hell and to receive the blessings of heaven. So many believe in Me only for temporary comfort, yet do not seek to gain anything in the world to come. When I brought down My fury upon man and seized all the joy and peace he once possessed, man became doubtful. When I gave unto man the suffering of hell and reclaimed the blessings of heaven, man’s shame turned into anger. When man asked Me to heal him, I paid him no heed and felt abhorrence toward him; man departed from Me to instead seek the way of evil medicine and sorcery. When I took away all that man had demanded from Me, everyone disappeared without a trace. Thus, I say that man has faith in Me because I give too much grace, and there is far too much to gain” (The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. What Do You Know of Faith?).

“Many who follow God are only concerned with how to gain blessings or stave off disaster. As soon as God’s work and management are mentioned, they fall silent and lose all interest. They think that understanding such tedious issues will not help their lives to grow or provide any benefit. Consequently, although they have heard about God’s management, they pay it little heed. They do not see it as something precious to be accepted, much less do they receive it as part of their lives. Such people only have one simple aim in following God, and that aim is to receive blessings. Such people cannot be bothered to pay heed to anything else that does not directly involve this aim. To them, there is no goal more legitimate than believing in God to receive blessings—it is the very value of their faith. If something does not contribute to this aim, they remain completely unmoved by it. This is the case with most people who believe in God today. Their aim and intention seem legitimate, because as they believe in God, they also expend for God, dedicate themselves to God, and perform their duty. They give up their youth, forsake family and career, and even spend years away from home busying themselves. For the sake of their ultimate goal, they change their own interests, their outlook on life, and even the direction they seek; yet they cannot change the aim of their belief in God. They run about for the management of their own ideals; no matter how far the road is, and no matter how many hardships and obstacles there are along the way, they remain persistent and unafraid of death. What power compels them to continue dedicating themselves in this way? Is it their conscience? Is it their great and noble character? Is it their determination to battle the forces of evil to the very end? Is it their faith to bear witness to God without seeking reward? Is it their loyalty in being willing to give up everything to achieve God’s will? Or is it their spirit of devotion to always forgo extravagant personal demands? For someone who has never understood the work of God’s management to still give so much is, quite simply, a miracle! For the moment, let us not discuss how much these people have given. Their behavior, however, is highly worthy of our analysis. Apart from the benefits that are so closely associated with them, could there be any other reasons why people who never understand God would give so much for Him? In this, we discover a previously unidentified problem: Man’s relationship with God is merely one of naked self-interest. It is a relationship between a receiver and a giver of blessings. To put it plainly, it is akin to the relationship between employee and employer. The employee works only to receive the rewards bestowed by the employer. There is no affection in such a relationship, only transaction. There is no loving or being loved, only charity and mercy. There is no understanding, only suppressed indignation and deception. There is no intimacy, only an uncrossable chasm. Now that things have gotten to this point, who can reverse such a course? And how many people are capable of truly understanding how dire this relationship has become? I believe that when people immerse themselves in the joy of being blessed, none can imagine how embarrassing and unsightly such a relationship with God is” (The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. Appendix 3: Man Can Only Be Saved Amidst God’s Management).

“It would be best for you to dedicate more effort to the truth of knowing the self. Why have you not found favor with God? Why is your disposition abominable to Him? Why does your speech arouse His loathing? As soon as you have demonstrated a bit of loyalty, you sing your own praises, and you demand a reward for a small contribution; you look down upon others when you have shown a modicum of obedience, and become contemptuous of God upon accomplishing some petty task. For receiving God, you ask for money, gifts, and compliments. It makes you heartsore to give a coin or two; when you give ten, you wish for blessings and to be treated with distinction. A humanity such as yours is positively offensive to speak or hear of. Is there anything praiseworthy in your words and actions? Those who perform their duty and those who do not; those who lead and those who follow; those who receive God and those who do not; those who donate and those who do not; those who preach and those who receive the word, and so on: all such men praise themselves. Do you not find this laughable? Knowing full well that you believe in God, you nevertheless cannot be compatible with God. Knowing full well that you are utterly without merit, you persist in boasting all the same. Do you not feel your sense has deteriorated to the point that you no longer have self-control? With sense like this, how are you fit to associate with God? Are you not afraid for yourselves at this juncture? Your disposition has already deteriorated to the point where you are incapable of compatibility with God. This being so, is your faith not laughable? Is your faith not preposterous? How are you going to approach your future? How are you going to choose which path to take?” (The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. Those Who Are Incompatible With Christ Are Surely Opponents of God).

“After several thousand years of corruption, man is numb and dull-witted; he has become a demon that opposes God, to the extent that man’s rebelliousness toward God has been documented in the books of history, and even man himself is incapable of giving a full account of his rebellious behavior—for man has been profoundly corrupted by Satan, and has been led astray by Satan such that he knows not where to turn. Even today, man still betrays God: When man sees God, he betrays Him, and when he cannot see God, so too does he betray Him. There are even those who, having witnessed God’s curses and God’s wrath, still betray Him. And so I say that man’s sense has lost its original function, and that man’s conscience, too, has lost its original function. The man that I look upon is a beast in human attire, he is a venomous snake, and no matter how pitiable he tries to appear before My eyes, I will never be merciful toward him, for man has no grasp of the difference between black and white, of the difference between truth and non-truth. Man’s sense is so benumbed, yet still he wishes to gain blessings; his humanity is so ignoble yet still he wishes to possess the sovereignty of a king. Who could he be the king of, with sense such as that? How could he with such a humanity sit atop a throne? Man truly has no shame! He is a conceited wretch! For those of you who wish to gain blessings, I suggest you first find a mirror and look at your own ugly reflection—do you have what it takes to be a king? Do you have the face of one who could gain blessings? There has not been the slightest change in your disposition and you have not put any of the truth into practice, yet still you wish for a wonderful tomorrow. You are deluding yourself!” (The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. To Have an Unchanged Disposition Is to Be in Enmity to God).

Almighty God’s words are so practical, and every word is so real, revealing the adulterations and vile motives in our faith as well as our God-resisting nature. We always used to think that we were able to make sacrifices, suffer, and pay a price for God, which meant we were devout and obedient, and could gain God’s approval. But through the judgment of God’s words, we reflect and know ourselves, and see that all our sacrifices were tainted, and just to get blessings. When God blesses us with peaceful lives, we submit to Him and work for Him, but when pain and disaster strike, we misunderstand God and blame Him for not protecting us, and may even stop working for Him. Then we see that our faith and sacrifices have been entirely transactional, to extort grace and blessings from God. This is cheating and using God. It’s so selfish and cunning! We’re totally lacking conscience and reason, not even worthy of being called human. So filthy and corrupt, we still think we have a right to be blessed and enter God’s kingdom. It’s shameless and devoid of reason. God’s words of judgment and revelation show us His righteous, holy disposition that cannot be offended, and that what God asks of us is our sincerity and devotion. Having faith and doing a duty with such motives and impurities is cheating and resisting God, and it’s disgusting and odious to Him. God doesn’t recognize this kind of faith. Through the judgment of God’s words and being dealt with and tested many times, we can finally see the truth of our corruption, genuinely hate ourselves and feel regret, and prostrate ourselves before God in repentance. We can also see God’s righteousness and that He truly does see our hearts and minds, and know us backwards and forwards. We are utterly convinced and develop hearts of reverence for God. Our perspective on faith transforms, we approach our duty more purely, without so many extravagant desires, and we’re happy to submit to God’s arrangements and do a created being’s duty regardless of whether God blesses us, whether we receive the kingdom’s blessings. Once we’ve seen what we’re truly made of, we aren’t as arrogant as before. We become reasonable in word and deed, we seek and submit to the truth. This is God’s judgment and chastisement, which gradually cleanses and changes our corruption. Those of us who’ve been experiencing God’s work really know how practical His last days’ work of judgment is, how it truly cleanses and fully saves man. Without this judgment and pruning, we’d never truly see our own corruption, but would stay stuck in our lives of endlessly sinning and confessing, thinking that we could enter God’s kingdom because our sins were forgiven, that we had God’s approval. That’s really foolish and pathetic! Thanks to God’s judgment, we’re able to truly know ourselves, we learn many truths and our corrupt dispositions are cleansed and changed. It’s incredibly freeing. God’s judgment and chastisement give us so much. They are God’s genuine love for us, His greatest salvation. It’s been 30 whole years since Almighty God began expressing the truth and doing His judgment work, and He’s already completed a group of overcomers before the disasters—the first fruits. This entirely fulfills the biblical prophecy: “These are they which follow the Lamb wherever He goes. These were redeemed from among men, being the first fruits to God and to the Lamb” (Revelation 14:4). God’s chosen people have experienced His judgment, chastisement, trials, and refinement, their corrupt dispositions have been cleansed, and they’re finally free of Satan’s forces. They’ve come to submit to and worship God, receiving God’s great salvation. Their experiences and testimonies have been turned into movies and videos that are all online, bearing witness to all mankind for God’s last days’ judgment work, leaving no doubt in viewers’ hearts. Almighty God’s kingdom gospel has spread to every corner of the world, and God’s chosen people everywhere are spreading Almighty God’s words. The magnificent, unprecedented spread of the kingdom gospel is upon us. Clearly, the work of judgment beginning with the house of God is already a great success. God has defeated Satan and gained all glory. Just as Almighty God says, “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. 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, to know His practical and normal work, to obey all of His words and work which do not accord with the notions of man, and to bear testimony to all the work He does to save man, as well as all the deeds He accomplishes to conquer man. Those who bear testimony to God must have knowledge of God; only this kind of testimony is accurate and real, and only this kind of testimony can shame Satan” (The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. Only Those Who Know God Can Bear Testimony to God). “Those who are able to stand firm during God’s work of judgment and chastisement during the last days—that is, during the final work of purification—will be the ones who will enter into the final rest alongside God; as such, all those who enter into rest will have broken free of Satan’s influence and been obtained by God after having undergone His final work of purification. These humans, who will have been finally obtained by God, will enter into the final rest. The essential purpose of God’s work of chastisement and judgment is to purify humanity and to prepare them for their ultimate rest; without such cleansing, none of humanity could be classified into different categories according to kind, or enter into rest. This work is humanity’s only path to enter into rest” (The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. God and Man Will Enter Into Rest Together).