We’ve already chatted a few times about God’s judgment work in the last days. Today we’d like to take a look at who performs this judgment work. All believers know that God will carry out His judgment among mankind in the last days, that the Creator will appear to humanity and personally express His utterances. So how does God carry out this judgment? Is it His Spirit that appears in the sky and speaks to us? That’s not possible. The Lord Jesus Himself told us: “For the Father judges no man, but has committed all judgment to the Son” (John 5:22). “And has given Him authority to execute judgment also, because He is the Son of man” (John 5:27). We can see from this that judgment work is done by the “Son.” With any mention of “the Son of man,” we should know this is God incarnate, so this means He comes in the flesh in the last days to do the work of judgment. This is extremely important! So do you know what the last days’ judgment work is all about? Why would God become flesh to carry it out? To put it simply, this is the Savior coming to save humanity. When God becomes flesh and comes to earth, this is the Savior descending. He personally carries out the work of judgment to save mankind from sin once and for all. By accepting His judgment, you can be freed from sin, become pure, and be saved. Then you’ll be kept through the disasters and ultimately enter the kingdom of heaven. So, accepting the Savior’s judgment work has to do with a person’s outcome and destination—wouldn’t you say that’s crucial? Many believers may ask why God absolutely has to become flesh for His judgment in the last days. They think the Lord Jesus is coming on a cloud in spirit form, that God will reach out a hand and sweep us all up, straight into the kingdom—wouldn’t that be wonderful? This kind of thinking isn’t just overly simplistic, but it’s also unrealistic. You ought to know that God has a holy, righteous disposition. Would He take sinners into His kingdom? We’re all familiar with the Bible verse, “Without holiness no man shall see the Lord” (Hebrews 12:14). Everyone is sinful, and constantly sinning. God wouldn’t take man straight into the kingdom—that’s not how He saves us. God hates sinners, and they aren’t qualified to see God. There’s no doubt about this. So then how does the Savior come to save mankind in the last days? First, He performs His judgment to cleanse us of corruption, saving us from sin and Satan’s forces, and then He’ll take us into the kingdom. God won’t save you from the disasters, much less take you into the kingdom if your sinfulness hasn’t been resolved. The disasters have already begun and everyone is feeling like the world is ending, like death is approaching. Everybody is waiting for the Savior to come and save mankind, so accepting Him and His judgment work of the last days is of utmost importance! Herein lies the key to whether believers will be saved and get into the kingdom of heaven.

But first let’s talk about what the judgment work of the last days is. Religious folks think of the last days’ judgment as something very simple, and with any mention of “judgment,” they feel certain that it will be done by the Lord Jesus in spirit form, that the Lord will come and meet with us and take us into the kingdom, then unbelievers will be condemned and destroyed. In fact, that is hugely mistaken. Where does their error lie? Every time God comes to perform work to save mankind, it’s actually very practical, very realistic, not remotely supernatural. Additionally, they’re overlooking the most important biblical prophecies about the Lord’s coming—the prophecies about God becoming flesh as the Son of man to perform judgment work. The Lord Jesus very clearly stated: “For as the lightning comes out of the east, and shines even to the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be” (Matthew 24:27). “For the Father judges no man, but has committed all judgment to the Son” (John 5:22). “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 12:48). “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 there’s 1 Peter 4:17: “For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God.” Aren’t these prophecies perfectly clear? The Lord becomes flesh in the last days as the Son of man, expressing truths and doing judgment work. There is no doubt about this. The judgment work is nothing like people imagine, with God taking believers straight up into heaven, then condemning and destroying unbelievers, and that’s it. It’s not that simple. The last days’ judgment starts with the house of God and it’s first carried out among those who accept God’s judgment of the last days. That is, the Son of man in the flesh comes to earth, expressing many truths to purify and save mankind, guiding God’s chosen people to enter into all truths. This is the Savior’s work in the last days, and God planned this long ago. As for the unbelievers, they will be directly condemned and eliminated through the disasters. Now, the Savior has already come as Almighty God incarnate, expressing all truths required to purify and save mankind, doing the work of judgment beginning with God’s house. These truths expressed by Almighty God have rocked the entire world, and nearly everyone from every nation has heard of them. We can see that the Bible’s prophecies about the Lord’s return have been completely fulfilled.

Unfortunately, there are still many people who don’t understand God’s judgment work of the last days and just keep hoping to see something supernatural: God appearing and speaking from the sky. This is so intangible. Let’s take a look at what Almighty God says to better understand how God carries out His judgment. “The work of judgment is God’s own work, so it must naturally be carried out by God Himself; it cannot be done by man in His stead. Because judgment is the use of the truth to conquer humankind, there is no question that God would still appear in the incarnate image to perform this work among man. That is to say, Christ of the last days shall use the truth to teach people across the world and make all truths known to them. This is God’s work of judgment” (The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. Christ Does the Work of Judgment With the Truth).

“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).

Now we should understand how God does His last days’ judgment. It’s primarily through expressing truths, and using these to judge, cleanse, and save humanity. That is, in the last days God uses this judgment work to cleanse man’s corruption, to save and perfect a group of people, completing a group of people of one heart and mind with God. This is the fruit of God’s 6,000-year management plan, and this is the crux of the judgment work of the last days. That’s why the Savior, Almighty God, is expressing so many truths, exposing and judging all of man’s corrupt dispositions, cleansing and changing people through dealing, pruning, trials, and refinement, resolving the root of man’s sinfulness, allowing us to fully escape sin and Satan’s forces, develop submission and reverence for God. This may be a little confusing for some people. The Lord Jesus redeemed mankind, so why would God need to express truths to judge mankind in the last days? They can’t see how deeply man has been corrupted by Satan. God saves man in the last days by resolving our corrupt dispositions. This is no simple matter. It’s not just about acknowledging our sins, confessing and repenting to the Lord, and that’s it. Corrupt dispositions are different from sinfulness. They’re not about behaviors that are sinful, but they’re something that lives within our minds, our souls. They are dispositions deeply entrenched within us, such as arrogance, cunningness, evil, and loathing for the truth. These corrupt dispositions are hidden deep within people’s hearts and are very hard for us to find. Sometimes there isn’t any kind of overt sin and someone may say nice-sounding things, but they have cunning and despicable motives in their hearts, deceiving and misleading others. This is a problem with their disposition. Without God’s long-term judgment and revelations, along with dealing, pruning and trials, people won’t see this, to say nothing of changing. Who among believers in the Lord has escaped sin after a lifetime of confessing their sins? Not a single one. And so, merely experiencing the Lord’s redemption without the judgment of the last days only allows one to recognize their sinful behavior, but their sinful nature, the root of their sin—that is, the corrupt disposition deeply entrenched within—isn’t something people see, much less fix. No one can deny this! So, it is only through God personally incarnating and carrying out judgment in the last days, expressing volumes of truths, and through His long-term revelation and judgment, that people can clearly see the truth of their corruption and know their own essence, and it is through this judgment that they come to know God’s righteousness and holiness, and develop hearts of reverence for God. This is the only way to cast off corruption and live out a true human likeness. Therefore, it is only by God incarnating and expressing truths to perform judgment in the last days that these fruits can be achieved. Some may ask: Why does God Himself have to do this in the flesh? Why can’t He do it in spirit form? Let’s watch a video reading of God’s words so everyone gets a better understanding of this.

Almighty God says, “God’s saving of man is not done directly using the method of the Spirit and the identity of the Spirit, for His Spirit can neither be touched nor seen by man, neither can man draw near. If He tried to save man directly using the perspective of the Spirit, man would be unable to receive His salvation. If God did not put on the outward form of a created man, there would be no way for man to receive this salvation. For man has no way of approaching Him, much as no one was able to go near the cloud of Jehovah. Only by becoming a created human being, that is, only by putting His word into the body of flesh that He is about to become, can He personally work the word into all who follow Him. Only then can man personally see and hear His word, and moreover enter into possession of His word, and by this means come to be fully saved. If God did not become flesh, no one of flesh and blood would be able to receive such great salvation, nor would a single person be saved. If the Spirit of God worked directly in the midst of mankind, all humanity would be struck down, or else, with no way of coming into touch with God, they would be completely carried away captive by Satan” (The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. The Mystery of the Incarnation (4)).

“No one is more suitable, and qualified, than God in the flesh for the work of judging the corruption of man’s flesh. If judgment were carried out directly by the Spirit of God, then it would not be all-embracing. Furthermore, such work would be difficult for man to accept, for the Spirit is unable to come face-to-face with man, and because of this, the effects would not be immediate, much less would man be able to behold the unoffendable disposition of God more clearly. Satan can only be fully defeated if God in the flesh judges the corruption of mankind. Being the same as man possessed of normal humanity, God in the flesh can directly judge the unrighteousness of man; this is the mark of His innate holiness, and of His extraordinariness. Only God is qualified to, and is in the position to, judge man, for He is possessed of the truth, and righteousness, and so He is able to judge man. Those who are without truth and righteousness are not fit to judge others. If this work were done by the Spirit of God, then it would not mean victory over Satan. The Spirit is inherently more exalted than mortal beings, and the Spirit of God is inherently holy, and triumphant over the flesh. If the Spirit did this work directly, He would not be able to judge all of man’s disobedience and could not reveal all of man’s unrighteousness. For the work of judgment is also carried out through man’s notions about God, and man has never had any notions about the Spirit, and so the Spirit is incapable of better revealing the unrighteousness of man, much less of completely disclosing such unrighteousness. The incarnate God is the enemy of all those who do not know Him. Through judging man’s notions and opposition to Him, He discloses all the disobedience of mankind. The effects of His work in the flesh are more apparent than those of the work of the Spirit. And so, the judgment of all mankind is not carried out directly by the Spirit but is the work of the incarnate God. God in the flesh can be seen and touched by man, and God in the flesh can completely conquer man. In his relationship with God in the flesh, man progresses from opposition to obedience, from persecution to acceptance, from notions to knowledge, and from rejection to love—these are the effects of the work of the incarnate God” (The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. Corrupt Mankind Is More in Need of the Salvation of the Incarnate God).

Now I think we all understand a bit better why God would personally perform the work of judgment in the flesh. It’s because God becoming flesh is the only way for Him to interact with people practically, to speak and fellowship on truth with us wherever and whenever, expose and judge us according to the corruption we reveal, and water, shepherd, and support us according to our needs. It’s the only way He can clearly communicate God’s will and requirements. Isn’t personally hearing about God’s way and understanding the truths He expresses most beneficial for our acquisition of the truth and salvation? Additionally, when God becomes flesh as a regular, everyday sort of person, would you say people might have notions, that they might be rebellious? Definitely. The moment people see Christ’s very normal outward appearance, their notions, rebelliousness, and resistance arise, and even if they don’t say anything or let it show, no matter how well they pretend, God is watching, and no attempts at hiding this can succeed. God reveals whatever is hidden within people, hitting the nail right on the head. So, only God in the flesh can best expose people, revealing their rebelliousness and resistance. This is most beneficial for the judgment work. What if God uttered words directly through the Spirit? People couldn’t see, touch, or draw near to His Spirit, and His Spirit speaking would be terrifying. Then how could they bare their hearts to God, or learn truths? And who would dare to have notions when faced with the Spirit? Who’d dare reveal corruption, or be rebellious or resistant? No one would. Everyone would be shaking with fright, prostrating themselves, faces ashen. With people in such a frightened state, how could the truth of them be exposed? None of their notions or rebellions would show, so how could judgment be performed? What evidence would there be? This is why the work of God’s Spirit couldn’t unearth people’s most genuine behaviors, exposing them, and God’s judgment work couldn’t be completed. And God’s incarnation is more effective for judgment work than His Spirit. We can see Almighty God living among mankind, with us from morning till night. Our every move, our every thought, every type of corruption we reveal, is all seen and fully grasped by God. He can express truths to expose and judge us at any time and place, bringing to light our corruptions, our notions and imaginings about God, as well as our inherent natures of resisting and betraying God. When we read God’s words, it’s as if we’re face-to-face with Him being judged. It’s so poignant and shaming, and we see the truth of our corruption so starkly within His words. We hate and regret ourselves from the heart and feel so unworthy of living before God. Through God’s judgment, we also see how incredibly righteous and holy He is, and that He truly sees into our hearts and minds. The corrupt thoughts and ideas buried deep within our hearts, some that we haven’t even recognized, are exposed and judged by God, one by one. Sometimes it’s through harsh condemnation and cursing, allowing us to see God’s unoffendable disposition, and then finally, we’ll come to fear God. Without undergoing God’s judgment, not a single one of us would know God’s righteousness or holiness, and none could see that when people live by their satanic natures, they are of the kind that resists God, that they deserve God’s damnation and punishment. It is thanks to God’s judgment, chastisement, and trials that we can truly repent, finally cast off corruption, and be purified and transformed. And by following Christ till the present day, we can see that God incarnate lives among us, humble and hidden, earnestly, patiently expressing so many truths, entirely for the sake of fully saving us, corrupt humanity. If it weren’t for God incarnate personally coming to judge and cleanse us, imparting us with all truths, people as rebellious and corrupt as us would certainly be eliminated and punished. Then how could we be saved? God’s love for mankind is so great, and God is so lovely. Almighty God expresses truths among us, guiding, sustaining, accompanying mankind in practical ways. This is our only chance to hear God’s voice and see His face, to undergo judgment and cleansing by God, to learn and gain many truths and live out a true human likeness. Those who gain the most from the work of God incarnate in the last days is this group of us following Christ. What we gain from God is truly immeasurable. Just as Almighty God’s words say, “The best thing about His work in the flesh is that He can leave accurate words and exhortations, and His specific will for mankind to those who follow Him, so that afterward His followers can more accurately and more concretely pass on all of His work in the flesh, and His will for the whole of mankind, to those who accept this way. Only the work of God in the flesh among man truly accomplishes the fact of God’s being together and living together with man. Only this work fulfills man’s desire to behold the face of God, witness the work of God, and hear the personal word of God. The incarnate God brings to an end the age when only the back of Jehovah appeared to mankind, and He also concludes the age of mankind’s belief in the vague God. In particular, the work of the last incarnate God brings all mankind into an age that is more realistic, more practical, and more beautiful. He not only concludes the age of law and doctrine but, more importantly, He reveals to mankind a God who is real and normal, who is righteous and holy, who unlocks the work of the management plan and who demonstrates the mysteries and destination of mankind, who created mankind and brings to an end the management work, and who has remained hidden for thousands of years. He brings the age of vagueness to a complete end, He concludes the age in which the whole of mankind wished to seek God’s face but was unable to, He ends the age in which the whole of mankind served Satan, and He leads the whole of mankind all the way into a completely new era. All this is the outcome of the work of God in the flesh in place of God’s Spirit” (The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. Corrupt Mankind Is More in Need of the Salvation of the Incarnate God).

Almighty God has been expressing truths and doing His last days’ judgment work for all of three decades now. God’s chosen people have had their corrupt dispositions cleansed through the judgment of His words, and God has completed a group of overcomers before the disasters—they are the first fruits. They have persisted in following and bearing witness to Christ even through the great red dragon’s frenzied oppression. They’ve defeated Satan and borne resounding witnesses for God. This fulfills Revelation’s prophecy: “These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb” (Revelation 7:14). While God incarnate has been expressing truths, leaders and antichrists, great and small, from every denomination, have been thoroughly exposed. They see that Almighty God appears to be a regular person, that He’s not the Spirit, and so they wantonly resist and condemn Him. In order to preserve their own status and living, they go crazy keeping believers from hearing God’s voice and investigating the true way. These people’s true faces of hating the truth have been exposed, and they’ve been condemned and eliminated. Without God becoming flesh, they’d remain hidden in the churches, still sucking believers’ blood, devouring God’s offerings, misleading and ruining so many people. Because God performs His judgment in the flesh, the antichrists and nonbelievers, those who do or don’t love the truth, those who detest or despise the truth, have all been revealed. And those who love and understand the truth have clearly seen Satan’s ugly countenance as well as how Satan works against God and misleads mankind. They have thoroughly rejected and forsaken Satan, and fully turned toward God. God ultimately rewards good and punishes evil, using the great disasters to obliterate all evil forces that work against God, finally bringing an end to this old age of Satan holding power, and then bringing those who have been purified through His judgment into a beautiful destination. This fulfills Revelation’s prophecies: “He that is unjust, let him be unjust still: and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still: and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still: and he that is holy, let him be holy still” (Revelation 22:11). “And, behold, I come quickly; and My reward is with Me, to give every man according as his work shall be” (Revelation 22:12).

Let’s wrap up with another passage from Almighty God. “Many have a bad feeling about the second incarnation of God, for people find it difficult to believe that God would become flesh to do the work of judgment. Nevertheless, I must tell you that the work of God often goes far beyond the expectations of man, and is difficult for human minds to accept. For people are but maggots upon the earth, while God is the supreme One who fills the universe; the mind of man is like a pit of foul water that breeds only maggots, whereas each stage of the work directed by the thoughts of God is the distillation of God’s wisdom. People are always trying to contend with God, to which I say it is self-evident who will lose out in the end. I exhort you all not to think yourselves more valuable than gold. If others can accept the judgment of God, why can’t you? How much higher do you stand above others? If others can bow their heads before the truth, why can’t you, too? God’s work has an unstoppable momentum. He will not repeat the work of judgment again just because of the ‘contribution’ you have made, and you will be overcome with regret at letting such a good opportunity slip by. If you do not believe My words, then just wait for that great white throne in the sky to pass judgment upon you! You must know that all of the Israelites spurned and denied Jesus, and yet the fact of Jesus’ redemption of mankind still extended throughout the universe and to the ends of the earth. Isn’t this a reality that God made long ago? If you are still waiting for Jesus to take you up to heaven, then I say that you are an obstinate piece of deadwood. Jesus will not acknowledge a false believer such as you, who is disloyal to the truth and seeks only blessings. On the contrary, He will show no mercy in casting you into the lake of fire to burn for tens of thousands of years” (The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. Christ Does the Work of Judgment With the Truth).