Though Jesus did much work among
man, He only completed the redemption of all mankind and became man’s
sin offering, and did not rid man of all his corrupt disposition. Fully
saving man from the influence of Satan not only required Jesus to take
on the sins of man as the sin offering, but also required God to do
greater work to completely rid man of his disposition, which has been
corrupted by Satan. And so, after man was forgiven his sins, God has
returned to flesh to lead man into the new age, and begun the work of
chastisement and judgment, and 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
shall gain the truth, the way, and the life.
from Preface to The Word Appears in the Flesh
Before
man was redeemed, many of Satan’s poisons were already planted within
him. After thousands of years of Satan’s corruption, man already has
within him a nature that resists God. Therefore, when man has been
redeemed, it is nothing more than redemption, where man is bought at a
high price, but the poisonous nature within has not been eliminated. Man
that is so defiled must undergo a change before being worthy to serve
God. Through this work of judgment and chastisement, man will fully come
to know the filthy and corrupt substance within him, and he will be
able to completely change and become clean. Only in this way can man be
worthy to return before the throne of God.
from “The Mystery of the Incarnation (4)” in The Word Appears in the Flesh
You
only know that Jesus shall descend during the last days, but how
exactly will He descend? 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 changed. 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.
from “Concerning Appellations and Identity” in The Word Appears in the Flesh
None
actively seek out the footsteps or appearance of God, and none wish to
exist in the care and keeping of God. Rather, they are willing to rely
on the corrosion of Satan and the evil one in order to adapt to this
world and to the rules of life the wicked mankind follows. At this
point, the heart and spirit of man are sacrificed to Satan and become
its sustenance. Moreover, the human heart and spirit become a place in
which Satan can reside and a fitting playground for it. In this way, man
unknowingly loses his understanding of the principles of being human,
and of the worth and purpose of human existence. The laws from God and
the covenant between God and man gradually fade away in man’s heart and
man no longer seeks or pays heed to God. As time passes, man no longer
understands why God created man, nor does he understand the words that
come from the mouth of God or realize all that is from God. Man begins
to resist the laws and decrees from God; the heart and spirit of man
become deadened. … God loses the man of His original creation, and man
loses the root of his beginning. This is the sorrow of this mankind.
from “God Is the Source of Man’s Life” in The Word Appears in the Flesh
Mankind
has developed through tens of thousands of years of history to get to
where they are today. However, the mankind of My original creation has
long ago sunk into degeneracy. They have already ceased to be what I
want, and thus humanity, as they appear in My eyes, no longer deserves
the name of mankind. They are rather the scum of mankind that Satan has
taken captive, the rotten walking corpses that Satan lives in and in
which it is clothed. People do not in the least believe in My existence,
nor do they welcome My coming. Mankind only begrudgingly responds to My
requests, temporarily acceding to them, and does not sincerely share in
life’s joys and sorrows with Me. Since people see Me as inscrutable,
they begrudgingly pretend to smile at Me, striking up an attitude of
cozying up to one in power. This is because people have no knowledge of
My work, much less of My will at present.
from “What It Means to Be a Real Man” in The Word Appears in the Flesh
Man
lost his God-fearing heart after being corrupted by Satan and lost the
function that one of God’s creatures should have, becoming an enemy
disobedient to God. Man lived under Satan’s domain and followed Satan’s
orders; thus, God had no way to work among His creatures, and was all
the more unable to win fear from His creatures. Man was created by God,
and ought to worship God, but man actually turned his back to God and
worshiped Satan. Satan became the idol in man’s heart. Thus God lost His
standing in man’s heart, which is to say that He lost the meaning of
His creation of man, and so to restore the meaning of His creation of
man He must restore man’s original likeness and rid man of his corrupt
disposition. To reclaim man from Satan, He must save man from sin. Only
in this way can He gradually restore man’s original likeness and restore
man’s original function, and in the end restore His kingdom. The
ultimate destruction of those sons of disobedience will also be carried
out in order to allow man to better worship God and better live upon the
earth. Since God created man, He shall make man worship Him; since He
wishes to restore man’s original function, He shall restore it
completely, and without any adulteration. Restoring His authority means
making man worship Him and making man obey Him; it means that He shall
make man live because of Him and make His enemies perish because of His
authority; it means that He will make every last part of Him persist
among humanity and without any resistance by man. The kingdom He wishes
to establish is His own kingdom. The humanity He wishes for is one that
worships Him, one that completely obeys Him and has His glory. If He
does not save corrupt humanity, the meaning of His creation of man will
come to nothing; He will have no more authority among man, and His
kingdom will no longer be able to exist upon the earth. If He does not
destroy those enemies who are disobedient to Him, He will be unable to
obtain His complete glory, nor will He be able to establish His kingdom
upon the earth. These are the symbols of the completion of His work and
the symbols of the completion of His great accomplishment: to utterly
destroy those among humanity who are disobedient to Him, and to bring
those who have been made complete into rest.
from “God and Man Will Enter Into Rest Together” in The Word Appears in the Flesh
Why
must God judge and chastise corrupt mankind, and what is the meaning of
God’s judgment and chastisement of corrupt mankind? This truth is
particularly important, for this involves the truth regarding visions of
God’s work. If man’s faith in God is lacking in vision, then he would
not know how to believe in God; even when man does believe in God, he
would not be choosing the right way. What is the meaning of God’s
judgment and chastisement of corrupt mankind, this mankind that resists
Him and rebels against Him? We must first understand clearly that God is
the Creator. Because He is the Creator, He has the authority to rule
over, judge, and chastise the created. Also, God’s disposition is
righteous and holy, and based on God’s disposition, God does not allow
those humans who resist and rebel against Him to live in His presence.
God does not allow filthy and corrupt things to exist in His presence.
Therefore, God’s judgment and chastisement of corrupt mankind is
completely reasonable and righteous, and it is determined by God’s
disposition. We all know that God is righteous, and that God is the
truth. From the disposition revealed by God we have already seen that
God is the truth. God’s words are all truths. God created the heavens
and earth and all things through His words. God’s words are able to
create all things, and God’s words are the truth that is able to judge
all things. During the last days, God is performing the work of judgment
and chastisement of corrupt mankind. Some might ask: “Has God performed
the work of judgment before? Has God performed the work of judgment and
chastisement in other ages, ages before our time?” God has indeed
performed much work of judgment and chastisement, only people have not
witnessed it. Before there were humans, Satan resisted and rebelled
against God, and how did God judge Satan? God banished Satan down to
earth, and all those angels who followed Satan were also banished by God
down to earth, together with Satan. God expelled them from heaven down
to earth, and wasn’t this a judgment against Satan? This was a judgment
against Satan, as well as a chastisement of it. Therefore, before there
were humans, God had already judged and chastised Satan. We have written
information regarding this matter. Before there was this mankind, were
there any other humans or other creatures? There most certainly were.
And did those other humans receive God’s judgment and chastisement? We
can say with certainty that, all those who have been destroyed by God
were humans who resisted and rebelled against God, that they all
received the judgment and chastisement of God. This is undeniable.
Therefore, ever since God created the heavens and earth and all things,
God’s judgment and chastisement have always existed. This is one aspect
of God’s work in ruling over all things, because God’s disposition
remains the same and will never change. Today, God has initiated the
judgment and chastisement of this corrupt mankind. In the past, all
other human beings who rebelled against God and resisted God all
received judgment and chastisement from God. We have seen that ever
since there were human beings, and they rebelled against God and
followed Satan, they have all lived amid God’s curse. There have been so
many who have died from God’s chastisement because of their evildoing,
and some were even annihilated. There have been so many who believed in
God yet resisted God, and they have all died in the end. Some were
punished in the spiritual realm, while some have received judgment and
chastisement when they were still alive. Therefore, mankind has come to
one conclusion: “Goodness will be rewarded with goodness, and evil with
evil.” Isn’t this God’s judgment and chastisement? This is all God’s
judgment and chastisement. On this day, God has initiated the work of
judgment and chastisement in God’s house to save corrupt mankind. In
accepting God’s work, we are also accepting God’s judgment and
chastisement. When people rebel against God and resist God in
experiencing God’s work, don’t they earn God’s judgment and
chastisement? All people receive God’s judgment and chastisement. Most
of the time people receive judgment and chastisement from God’s words,
and they sometimes also receive judgment and chastisement of factual
events, as well as receiving God’s punishments. We have seen all these
things. Some say, “The unbelievers have never accepted God’s work of
judgment and chastisement, will they be able to escape God’s judgment
and chastisement?” No, they shall also receive God’s judgment and
chastisement. Regardless of whether people accept God’s work in the last
days, all of them must still receive God’s judgment and chastisement,
for no one can escape God’s judgment and chastisement, and this is fact.
Now, those religious figures have also not accepted God’s judgment and
chastisement, so can they escape God’s judgment and chastisement? No. No
one can escape the chastisement that God has predetermined for man.
It’s just a question of time, and everyone has their own individual end.
This end is also determined by God, and no one can escape it. From the
end of mankind, we can see the judgment and chastisement that each one
of them receives. Some accept God’s judgment and chastisement, attain
salvation from God, completely return to God, and the end for them is a
good destination—entering the kingdom, gaining eternal life, and they
are saved. Those who do not accept God’s judgment and chastisement, that
is, those who do not accept God’s work will eventually suffer perdition
and destruction. This is their judgment and chastisement that has been
predetermined by God, and the final outcome for them is also determined
by God’s judgment and chastisement. There are many leaders from the
religious community who are resisting God, and what is the final outcome
for them? If they do not repent, in the end they will most certainly
sink into destruction and perdition, for no one can escape God’s
judgment and chastisement. This is absolute. We have accepted God’s
judgment and chastisement today, that means we have accepted God’s work
of mankind’s salvation. That is, we are accepting and experiencing God’s
judgment and chastisement in a positive way, eventually attaining true
repentance, eventually coming to know God and gaining transformation of
our life disposition. Such a judgment and chastisement is our salvation.
As for those who refuse to accept God’s judgment and chastisement, what
is their end? It is punishment, they shall ultimately suffer perdition
and destruction. Such is their fate for running away from God’s judgment
and chastisement.
from “God Performing
Work in Different Ways to Save Mankind Has Tremendous Meaning” in
Sermons and Fellowship on Entry Into Life (III)
“Why does God want
to judge and chastise us? Why do we have to accept God’s judgment and
chastisement?” This requires some consideration. After you give it some
careful thought, you might be able to understand God’s intentions. Let’s
read some of God’s words: “God does the work of judgment and
chastisement so that man may know Him, and for the sake of His
testimony. Without His judgment of man’s corrupt disposition, man would
not know His righteous disposition that allows no offense, and could not
turn his old knowledge of God into a new one” (“Only Those Who Know
God Can Bear Testimony to God” in The Word Appears in the Flesh). From
these words, you can understand God’s intentions. God’s work of judgment
and chastisement is intended to allow people to know God, so there is
deep meaning in this work. So, how will we attain salvation? It is by
knowing God’s disposition that we will reach this result. By
experiencing God’s judgment and chastisement we come to know the
righteousness, majesty, wrath and holiness of God’s disposition. We will
see our own unbearable filthiness; we will see that we are corrupt and
disobedient and that we often resist God; we will see that we follow
Satan and betray God, and that we are essentially of Satan. In this way,
we will begin to feel true repentance and will be able to turn our
backs on Satan and return to God. This is all the result of knowing the
disposition of God. If there was no judgment and chastisement from God,
we would not be able to know God’s righteous disposition. If we aren’t
able to know God’s righteous disposition, will we be able to truly
change? Will we be able to revere God in our hearts? Will we be able to
know the essence of our corruption? Will we be able to hate Satan? Will
we be able to forsake Satan, return to God and submit to God? This would
all be beyond our reach, so God’s work of judgment and chastisement has
great significance.
from “The Importance of Knowing God and the Way to Know God” in Sermons and Fellowship on Entry Into Life (I)
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