We have read this passage of God’s word for five times. Is that a lot of times? Not to us. Why not? Because this passage of God’s word is crucial. It needs to be read repeatedly, over and over. After reading it for five times, shouldn’t we have gained something? When we read God’s word, we need to strive for the biggest gain, not just content ourselves with some gain. What does it need to be done to strive for the maximum gain? Questions need to be raised for communication. If no questions were raised after reading God’s word, could that be counted as gaining something? No, it couldn’t. In that case, what are the biggest difficulties you have after reading this passage? Which parts of the truth do you not understand? How much do you know about God’s judgment and chastisement? The fundamental question is why God wants to do judgment work in the last days. Have you figured it out? Why does God want to do judgment work in the last days? In the past, many people said that the disaster was about to come. Ultimately, the disaster didn’t happen but the judgment of the last days began. God is doing the work of judgment of the last days among a group of people. What is that all about? What is God doing now? What are the dynamics of the Holy Spirit’s work? Where are God’s footsteps? What is God doing in the last days? Did you find the answers for these questions? Perhaps someone would say, “I found them! We all see them in this passage of God’s word. God has accomplished great things on earth. He has made known all the truth that needs to be expressed for the judgment of the last days. Humanity heard it. Everyone saw it. These words were posted on the Internet. Anyone who searches, seeks, and examines it can see.” Are these the great things that God has accomplished on earth?
God has accomplished great things on earth. Did you all see it? Someone says, “I didn’t see God do any big thing. It was only several passages of His word and some expressions of the truth, wasn’t it? It was the work of judgment in the last days, performed in the Church of Almighty God, wasn’t it? How can you say that God has accomplished great things?” How can this question be explained? Tell me, is it true that God has accomplished a great thing? It is true regardless of how many people have heard, seen or experienced it, and regardless of how many people have ignored, dismissed or overlooked it. However, God has actually done a very great thing on earth. How great is this thing? What is the result? The result is God has cleansed and saved a group of people. God will bring these people into the kingdom of God. Isn’t it a great thing? It is the conquest and salvation of a group of people. The existence of this group of people on earth signifies the emergence of the kingdom of Christ on earth. Isn’t it a great thing? The truth expressed by God in the last days resulted in the emergence of the kingdom of Christ. Isn’t it a great thing? Upon the conclusion of God’s judgment in the last days, all the catastrophes begotten by God will start appearing. Isn’t it a great thing? It can be said that God’s judgment in the last days has brought this dark and evil epoch to an end. Isn’t it a great thing? God’s judgment in the last days has ushered in the Age of Kingdom, the Age of Millennial Kingdom. Isn’t it a great thing? As such, it is true that God has accomplished a great thing on earth. Only the blind have not seen it. The unbelieving devils saw but didn’t recognize it. Only the chosen people of God knew it. You see the fact clearly now, don’t you? You need to understand God’s word. If you have seen God’s word and still don’t understand it, what is the reason? That’s because you didn’t take God’s word to heart. You didn’t know why God said this. Sometimes you merely look at God’s word with very shallow understanding. But the intended result, the fact to be accomplished by this word, is a very great thing. It ended an old age and ushered in a new one. It fulfilled the emergence of the kingdom of Christ. It is too great a matter. It is an earthshaking matter, a regime-changing matter. Do you see the fact clearly now?
How did God achieve the emergence of the kingdom of Christ? The people of the kingdom of Christ are those cleansed and perfected through God’s judgment and chastisement. It is the judgment and chastisement that has made the people of the kingdom of Christ, and achieved the emergence of the kingdom of Christ. Isn’t it true? How will the disaster in the last days come about? What is God’s criterion for condemning this evil mankind, this evil epoch? It is through the truth that God exposes, judges and condemns this evil, dark epoch before the great disaster could arrive. God is too orderly, well-founded, and principled in His work. If God didn’t go through the work of judgment in the last days by revealing the entire mankind’s corrupt essence and the fact of their resisting God, could the disaster occur? People would say God is unreasonable. God will not do anything that is unreasonable. Before God destroys this world, destroys this evil mankind, He would state the reason clearly. God would first clearly state the reason and basis for destroying this evil epoch and then unleash disasters to let man perish therein. In colloquialism, it is called “let demise befall this evil mankind with transparency.” Therefore, when the judgment of this epoch is concluded, the great disaster will ensue. It is justifiable and reasonable. God is too principled in His work! It is so true that God is the truth and righteousness. This is how God acts to let man die knowingly. If the great disaster came too abruptly, man wouldn’t know what happened when he died suddenly. If man died suddenly without knowing why, would that produce any good result? Would that demonstrate God’s righteousness? No. God must speak out first. In the Old Testament times, when God wanted to save Israel, He would first speak about it. When God was about to punish a nation or people, He had the prophets presage the dreadful events. When God was about to destroy Sodom, there were also prophets who presaged it in advance. God’s judgment on Nineveh was announced first. God always speaks before He acts. In the past, there used to be prophecies, warnings, admonitions, reminders, and exhortation. God acts so clearly, so much in line with the truth and principle. Do you see it clearly in this event? Isn’t God righteous, merciful and loving? Where do you see God’s mercy and love? God gave many forewarnings to people through natural disasters, calamities, earthquakes and wars. God gave them numerous warnings and enough time to prepare. That is the mercy of God. God has mercy on man. He lets you repent, lets you understand, and lets you wake up. If He destroyed mankind outright, that would only be righteous but not merciful. However, by issuing so many messages, reminders, exhortation, admonitions, and warnings to let you understand, and give you enough time, that is the mercy of God. When the mercy of God has been shown, but man still has not repented, God’s righteousness will manifest, and disasters ensue. Now, do you have a way to know about God’s mercy and righteousness? God’s judgment in the last days is first made before the great disaster arrives. This is what we often say according to the Bible, “Judgment must begin at the house of God” (1 Peter 4:17). Since judgment begins with the family of God, could it be seen that God is full of grace and mercy for His chosen people? Yes. This is God’s mercy. Destruction does not directly follow judgment. This is a kind of God’s love. Have you ever seen someone being killed as he was reading the word of God? Was there any such thing? No, there wasn’t. Isn’t it mercy? Yes, it is. After reading God’s word, if you still don’t understand the truth and really repent, God then deals with you and prunes you. Isn’t it mercy? Despite the severity of the word of dealing and pruning, is it curse? Is there any curse? No, there isn’t. Only the severe word, dealing and pruning, is it mercy? Is such severe word righteous judgment and chastisement? Can you see God’s mercy in His righteous judgment and chastisement? You all say yes. It is accurate to know God’s disposition this way.
As we experience the judgment and chastisement, should we pursue the truth? Some people have more than ten years of experience but they still don’t understand the truth. They have no grasp on the reality of the truth. Other people have twenty years of experience but still don’t know God. They only know how to recite certain letters and doctrines. What is the problem? The way a man looks at judgment and chastisement determines if he can receive cleansing and perfection through God’s judgment and chastisement! Some people get a headache when they look at the words of God’s judgment and chastisement. They show no interest, only resentment. What is the problem? Someone says these people dislike the truth, so they naturally generate notions and resentment toward God’s judgment and chastisement. Those people who dislike the truth, even after accepting the name of Almighty God and believing in Him for several years, are they considered to be actually obeying God’s judgment and chastisement? No, they are escaping. They are people who evade God’s judgment and chastisement. They are hypocrites, and there are so many of them. Then what is the kind of experience of God’s judgment and chastisement that can attain the result of not only actually knowing God, but also generating the fear of God in their heart? When man has fear of God in his heart, it is easy for him to obey God in doing his duty, easy to implement the truth, and not act perfunctorily. Then he will be principled in his acts, and he will meet the criterion in doing his duty. By way of what does a creature meet the criterion in doing his duty? He must understand the truth, gain a true knowledge of God, and ultimately develop a heart that fears God. How does such a God-fearing heart come into being? It comes into being through real knowledge of God’s disposition and essence. Let me ask you another question. What does it mean to have received life by believing in God? What does that life refer to? Unbelievers don’t understand the meaning. They say man has life as long as he lives. There is no life after he dies. Only the corpse remains. When we say receiving life by believing in God, we refer to a life whose nature is different from that of the physical life. This is the spiritual life, the real life, a new life bestowed by God in His work. When man receives a new life from God, the word of Jesus Christ will come true, “Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God” (John 3: 3). When one receives this new life, he is born again, and a second life is generated. It is a spiritual life, a life that fears, loves and obeys God. If man receives this life, his place in the kingdom of Christ is reserved.
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