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Using the online chat function on The Church of Almighty God’s website, I sent a message telling them that I was interested in learning more about judgment. Someone answered me very quickly, and introduced two sisters from The Church of Almighty God who connected with me: Liu Hui and Li Mei. Over the course of our exchange, I discovered that these two sisters had an open and honest approach, and were very straightforward; I wanted to have a heart-to-heart chat with them. I said to them: “I really like The Church of Almighty God’s website. There are all sorts of spiritual books, hymns of praise, music videos, gospel movies, recitations of God’s words, and more. There really is a lot of content, but I just don’t understand what is meant by God’s judgment. I just read ‘Christ Does the Work of Judgment With the Truth’ which seems to say that God’s work of judgment has already begun and that the idea of judgment in heaven is just a product of human notions and imagination. This is quite different from my usual understanding of judgment. Could you share your understanding of this with me?”

Sister Liu Hui replied: “Praise God! Let’s seek and fellowship together! I used to think of it that way too, believing that God’s work of judgment of the last days would be carried out up in heaven. But after reading Almighty God’s words and fellowshiping with brothers and sisters I came to realize that this really was just my own notion, my own imagining. Whether God’s work of judgment will be done in heaven or on earth is stated very clearly in some of the prophecies in the Bible. For example, Revelation 14:6–7 say: ‘And I saw another angel fly in the middle of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach to them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people, Saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to Him; for the hour of His judgment is come: and worship Him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters.’ In Psalm 96:13 it says: ‘[F]or He comes, for He comes to judge the earth: He shall judge the world with righteousness, and the people with His truth.’ In John 9:39 it says: ‘For judgment I am come into this world, that they which see not might see.’ In these biblical verses it mentions ‘having the everlasting gospel to preach to them that dwell on the earth,’ ‘for He comes to judge the earth’ and ‘For judgment I am come into this world.’ From this we can see that in the last days, God must personally come into the world, and He will come to the earth to do the work of judgment, to judge all peoples and all nations. In addition, from reading the Bible we know that before God created mankind He created the heavens and earth and all things in order to prepare a suitable living environment for us. God then created mankind and arranged for us to live on earth, not in heaven. So how could we possibly ascend up into heaven? Corrupt mankind has no choice but to accept God’s judgment here on earth. Plus, it’s recorded in the Book of Revelation that John saw a great white throne in the sky on the island of Patmos. In fact, this was just one of John’s visions, but some people have interpreted this to literally mean that when God returns in the last days He will judge people in the sky. This is nothing but our own notions and imaginings, and it’s a misinterpretation of the prophecies—it’s not at all a reality of God’s work.”

I was stunned by what I heard: I’d read all of the Bible verses that the sister was sharing with me, so how come I’d never noticed the real meaning of those words? Yes! God had created mankind to live on earth, so how could it be possible for us to go up to heaven? My faith really was full of vagueness and ignorance!

Sister Li Mei then fellowshiped this with me: “In the last days God has not only incarnated to do the work of judgment on earth, but His work started a long time ago and will soon conclude. God’s work of judgment isn’t done in heaven as people imagine, and it’s not directly condemning people as they believe. In fact, before God’s work of judgment concludes, all those who come before God’s throne are those who can be judged, tried, and cleansed by God’s words. All those who accept God’s judgment and are purified will be taken by God into His kingdom. But for those who refuse to accept the judgment of God’s words, since their sinful natures won’t have been judged and cleansed by God, they will continue to live in sin, continuing to constantly sin. They will lie, cheat, rebel against God and resist God. They will be annihilated in hell for their sins—this is a true manifestation of God’s righteous disposition. Those of us who have followed the Lord for many years have deeply experienced that though we have been redeemed of our sins because of our faith, the problem of our sinful nature hasn’t been resolved. We follow the Lord, yet at the same time we often go against the Lord’s teachings and instead give free rein to our fleshly desires to commit sins such as lying, cheating, engage in intrigues, and struggle for fame and fortune. We thirst after empty vanities and chase after the evil trends of the material world. And so on. Particularly when we’re faced with trials, accidents, and disasters, we misunderstand God, blame Him, and even betray Him. We could say that we are living in a constant state of sinning and then confessing our sins, but never shaking off the shackles of our sinful nature. In the Bible it says: ‘[H]oliness, without which no man shall see the Lord’ (Hebrews 12:14). How can people who are as corrupt as we are enter God’s kingdom? Almighty God has said: ‘A sinner such as you, who has just been redeemed, and has not been changed, or been perfected by God, can you be after God’s heart? For you, you who are still of your old self, it is true that you were saved by Jesus, and that you are not counted as a sinner because of the salvation of God, but this does not prove that you are not sinful, and are not impure. How can you be saintly if you have not been changed? Within, you are beset by impurity, selfish and mean, yet you still wish to descend with Jesus—you should be so lucky! You have missed a step in your belief in God: You have merely been redeemed, but have not been chan ged. For you to be after God’s heart, God must personally do the work of changing and cleansing you; if you are only redeemed, you will be incapable of attaining sanctity. In this way you will be unqualified to share in the good blessings of God, for you have missed out a step in God’s work of managing man, which is the key step of changing and perfecting. And so you, a sinner who has just been redeemed, are incapable of directly inheriting God’s inheritance’ (“Concerning Appellations and Identity” in The Word Appears in the Flesh). So, during the last days, God is implementing His management plan, carrying out the stage of work of judging, chastising, and cleansing people in accordance with what corrupt mankind needs. The purpose is to thoroughly save us from Satan’s domain, and to remove the shackles of our sinful nature so that we can be purified and saved. From this we can see that God’s work of judgment of the last days is all about cleansing and salvation. It’s not about condemning us, as people imagine.”

Sister Liu Hui went on in fellowship with me: “That’s right, Sister Enhui. Let’s think about it, if God’s work of judgment was to condemn and punish us, then not a single one of us, who have all been deeply corrupted by Satan, would ever be saved or be able to enter God’s kingdom. If that were the case, what would be the point of God’s work of judgment? The words of Almighty God clearly state why God does the work of judgment in the last days, and what its significance is. Let’s read two passages of Almighty God’s words: ‘Man’s entire life is lived under the domain of Satan, and there is not a single person who can free themselves from the influence of Satan on their own. All live in a filthy world, in corruption and emptiness, without the slightest meaning or value; they live such carefree lives for the flesh, for lust, and for Satan. There is not the slightest value to their existence. Man is incapable of finding the truth that will free him from the influence of Satan. Even though man believes in God and reads the Bible, he does not understand how to free himself of the control of Satan’s influence. Throughout the ages, very few people have discovered this secret, very few have touched upon it. … If man is not cleansed, then he is of the filth; if he is not protected and cared for by God, then he is still a captive of Satan; if he is not judged and chastised, then he will have no means of escaping the oppression of the dark influence of Satan. The corrupt disposition that you show forth and the disobedient behavior that you live out are sufficient to prove that you are still living under the domain of Satan. If your mind and thoughts have not been cleansed, and your disposition has not been judged and chastised, then your entire being is still controlled by the domain of Satan, your mind is controlled by Satan, your thoughts are manipulated by Satan, and your entire being is controlled by the hands of Satan’ (“The Experiences of Peter: His Knowledge of Chastisement and Judgment” 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’ (“The Mystery of the Incarnation (4)” in The Word Appears in the Flesh). So what can we experience from God’s words? Looking at them from one angle, we can see that God’s words are extremely practical and reflect our real-life situation very well. From another angle, we could see that we first have to experience God’s judgment and cleansing to rid ourselves of filth and corruption, and to escape from Satan’s dark influence. Only then will we be qualified to be taken by God into His kingdom. Without God’s work of judgment of the last days we couldn’t be cleansed enough to become people who are after God’s heart, and we certainly wouldn’t be able to enter God’s kingdom. We would just never stop sinning and resisting God, and ultimately, we’d be annihilated by God in hell. In fact, from the real-life testimonies of the brothers and sisters of The Church of Almighty God we can see that God’s judgment and chastisement is the light of salvation for mankind. Every one of us has been corrupted by Satan, but because we can come before Almighty God and receive the judgment and chastisement of God’s words, our life disposition gradually changes. We go from rebellion and resistance to acceptance and submission; we go from arrogance, self-righteousness and giving in to no one, to becoming willing to put aside our own egos and submitting to what is right, submitting to the truth. In addition, all that is expressed in God’s judgment and chastisement is the truth, and it is also an expression of God’s righteous and holy disposition, so the more we experience God’s judgment and chastisement, the more we know God. And the more we know God, the more clearly we can see into people, things, and events in the world. Accordingly, our viewpoints and values change to varying degrees. We gain more reverence of and submission to God. This is what Almighty God’s judgment and chastisement achieve in us. Without the judgment of the light of truth in God’s words, we would all live in darkness, committing sins and then confessing them, confessing them and then committing them again every day, never shaking off the shackles of sin. Then how could we ever be taken by God into His kingdom?”

After fellowshiping with Sisters Li and Liu it felt like a bright light had been turned on in my heart. What they said was true: The pastor, the elders, and the brothers and sisters in my church were all unable to extricate themselves from the bondage of sin. I myself also often sinned in spite of myself and was unable to put the Lord’s words into practice. We are all living in a state of committing sins and then confessing—we truly do need God to return and do a stage of work of judgment and cleansing. If I hadn’t looked into Almighty God’s work of the last days I would never have come to understand these truths. I felt so grateful for God’s guidance. By reading the words of Almighty God and listening to the sisters’ fellowship, plus reading the written testimonies of the brothers and sisters of The Church of Almighty God describing how their corrupt dispositions were purified through the judgment of God’s words, I had gained a bit of understanding of God’s work of judgment of the last days. My own notions had been dispelled, and I now knew that God’s judgment and chastisement are essential for us to escape from sin and gain purification.

Then Sister Liu Hui said: “Let’s read two more passages of Almighty God’s words. Almighty God said: ‘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 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). ‘Those who wish to gain life without relying on the truth spoken by Christ are the most ridiculous people on earth, and those who do not accept the way of life brought by Christ are lost in fantasy. And so I say that those who do not accept Christ of the last days shall forever be despised by God. Christ is man’s gateway to the kingdom during the last days, and there are none who can go around Him. None may be perfected by God except through Christ. You believe in God, and so you must accept His words and obey His way. You cannot only think of gaining blessings while being incapable of receiving the truth and incapable of accepting the provision of life. Christ comes during the last days so that all those who truly believe in Him may be provided with life. His work is for the sake of concluding the old age and entering the new one, and His work is the path that must be taken by all those who would enter the new age. If you are incapable of acknowledging Him, and instead condemn, blaspheme, or even persecute Him, then you are bound to burn for eternity and shall never enter the kingdom of God’ (“Only Christ of the Last Days Can Give Man the Way of Eternal Life” in The Word Appears in the Flesh). From the words of Almighty God it can be seen that in the last days God has become flesh in order to express all truths to cleanse and save humanity, in accordance with mankind’s needs. He reveals God’s righteous disposition which will tolerate no offense to mankind. Through His words, God reveals people’s nature and essence, and the true state of their corruption. Only through accepting the words of judgment that Almighty God has expressed can we know our own arrogance, cunningness, selfishness, evil, etc., which are all part of our satanic nature and corrupt dispositions. Only through accepting God’s judgment and chastisement can we know God’s righteous disposition and develop hearts of reverence for God and true repentance. Thus we can attain transformation and cleansing of our corrupt disposition. This is the significance of God’s judgment, and it is also our only road to salvation. Sister Enhui, as long as we earnestly read as much of Almighty God’s words as we can, then the significance of God’s work of judgment of the last days will become clear to us and even more, we’ll see that only Christ of the last days can bestow the way of eternal life upon people.”

Praise the Lord! I gained an enormous amount from communicating with the sisters. Even though I’ve yet to experience God’s judgment and chastisement, through fellowshiping with them and reading Testimonies of Experiences in Entry Into Life, I’ve felt that Almighty God’s judgment and chastisement really can change people. I also feel that I really need God to perform His stage of judgment and chastisement work to transform and purify me so that I will be qualified to be taken up into the kingdom of heaven. At a later date, after a few more days of fellowshiping, I came to understand more of the significance of God’s work of judgment and the truth concerning God’s names. I also learned truths to discern the true Christ from false ones, and real churches from false ones. I learned truths about God’s incarnation, the difference between God’s work and human work, how Satan corrupts mankind, how God saves us, and more. I came to the firm conclusion that Almighty God really is the returned Lord Jesus, and with a happy heart I accepted Almighty God’s work of the last days. Praise God! Since then I’ve had an unquenchable thirst for reading the words of God. By living a church life, fellowshiping truths with the brothers and sisters, and accepting the watering and feeding of God’s words I feel that my spirit is gaining a great deal of sustenance. This has allowed me to witness the total fulfillment of this prophecy in the Book of Revelation in the Bible: “Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear My voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with Me” (Revelation 3:20). I’ve also felt it being fulfilled in me personally. The words of Almighty God have knocked open my heart’s door and allowed me to hear the voice of God, know God’s work of judgment, and return before Him. Praise be to God!

Source From: The Church of Almighty God Website