The religious world clings to the literal meaning of these words in the Bible, “God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16), and thinks that so long as they believe in the Lord Jesus they will have eternal life, without needing to accept God’s work of judgment in the last days.

Words From the Bible

“Not every one that said to Me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that follows the will of My Father which is in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, and in Your name have cast out devils, and in Your name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess to them, I never knew you: depart from Me, you that work iniquity” (Matthew 7:21–23).

“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).

“For if we sin willfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remains no more sacrifice for sins” (Hebrews 10:26).

“Therefore be you also ready: for in such an hour as you think not the Son of man comes” (Matthew 24:44).

“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 as the lightning, that lightens out of the one part under heaven, shines to the other part under heaven; so shall also the Son of man be in His day. But first must He suffer many things, and be rejected of this generation” (Luke 17:24–25).

“He that believes on the Son has everlasting life: and he that believes not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God stays on him” (John 3:36).

“Whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life” (John 4:14).

Words of Almighty God of the Last Days

Though Jesus came among man and did much work, He only completed the work of redeeming all mankind and served as 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 Satan-corrupted disposition. And so, after man was forgiven of his sins, God returned to the flesh to lead man into the new age, and began 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 a nature that resists God. Therefore, when man was redeemed, it was nothing more than a case of redemption. That is, man was bought back at a high price, but the poisonous nature within him was not eliminated. Man that is so filthy 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 purified. Only in this way can man become worthy to return before the throne of God. All the current work is performed so that man can be purified and be changed; it is so that man can cast off his corruption and be purified through the judgment and chastisement of the word, and through refinement. Rather than deeming this stage of work to be that of salvation, it would be more apt to say it is the work of purification. In truth, this stage is also the work of conquest, as well as the second stage in the work of salvation. It is through judgment and chastisement by the word that man comes to be gained by God, and it is through refinement, judgment, and exposure by the word that all of the impurities, notions, motives, and personal hopes within man’s heart are completely revealed. Although man has been redeemed and forgiven of his sins, this can only be considered as God not remembering the transgressions of man and not treating man in accordance with his transgressions. However, man lives in the flesh without being set free from sin, and can only continue to sin, endlessly revealing his satanic corrupt dispositions. This is the life that man leads, an endless cycle of sinning and being forgiven. The majority of people sin by day and confess in the evenings. And so, even though the sin offering is forever effective for man, it cannot save man from sin. Only half the work of salvation has been completed, for man still has corrupt dispositions. … It is not easy for man to become aware of his sins, and he has no way of recognizing his own deeply rooted nature. It is only through the judgment of the word that this result can be achieved. 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)

You only know that Jesus shall descend in the last days, but how exactly will He descend? A sinner such as you, who has just been redeemed, and hasn’t undergone change or God’s perfection—can you be in line with God’s intentions? For you, you who are still of your old self, it is true that you were saved by Jesus, and you are not of sin because of the salvation of God, but this does not prove that you are without sin or impurity. How can you be sanctified if you have not undergone change? Within, you are full of impurities, and you are selfish and base, 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 you have not undergone change. For you to be in line with God’s intentions, God must personally do the work to change and cleanse you; otherwise you’ve only been redeemed and could not possibly become sanctified. In that case, you are unqualified to enjoy wonderful blessings together with God, for you have fallen a step behind in God’s work of managing man, which is the key step of changing and perfecting man. You, a sinner who has just been redeemed, are therefore incapable of directly receiving God’s inheritance.

—The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. Concerning Appellations and Identity

The first incarnation was to redeem man from sin, to redeem him by means of the fleshly body of Jesus, that is, He saved man from the cross, but the satanic corrupt dispositions still remained within man. The second incarnation is no longer to serve as a sin offering but rather to save fully those who were redeemed from sin. This is done so that those whose sins have been forgiven may be free from sin and fully purified, and attain dispositional change, and thus break free of Satan’s influence of darkness and return before the throne of God. Only in this way can man be fully sanctified. After the Age of Law had come to an end, and beginning with the Age of Grace, God began the work of salvation, which continues until the last days when, in judging and chastising the human race for their rebelliousness, He will completely purify mankind. Only then will God conclude His work of salvation and enter into rest.

—The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. The Mystery of the Incarnation (4)

The work of the last days is to speak words. Great changes can be effected in man by means of words. The changes now effected in these people upon their accepting these words are much greater than those effected in people upon their accepting the signs and wonders in the Age of Grace. For, in the Age of Grace, the demons were cast out from man with the laying on of hands and prayer, but the corrupt dispositions within man still remained. Man was healed of his sickness and forgiven his sins, but as for just how man could cast off the satanic corrupt dispositions within him, this work had yet to be done on him. Man was only saved and forgiven his sins for his faith, but the sinful nature of man was not removed and still remained within him. The sins of man were forgiven through the incarnation of God, but this did not mean that man no longer had sin within him. The sins of man could be forgiven through the sin offering, but as for just how man can be made to sin no more, how his corrupt dispositions and sinful nature may be cast off completely, and how his life disposition may be changed to some extent, he has no way of solving this problem. The sins of man have been forgiven, and this is because of the work of God’s crucifixion, but man continues to live within his old satanic corrupt dispositions. This being so, man must be completely saved from his satanic corrupt dispositions, his sinful nature must be completely cast off, never to develop again, and his disposition must undergo transformation. This requires man to understand the path of growth in life, to understand the way of life, and to understand the way to change his disposition. Furthermore, it requires man to practice in accordance with this path, so that his disposition may gradually be changed and he may live under the shining of the light, so that all that he does may be in accord with the intentions of God, so that he may cast off his satanic corrupt dispositions, and so that he may break free from Satan’s influence of darkness, thereby emerging fully from sin. Only then will man have received complete salvation. At the time that Jesus was doing His work, man’s knowledge of Him was still vague and unclear. Man always believed Him to be the son of David, and proclaimed Him to be a great prophet, the benevolent Lord who redeemed man’s sins. Some, on the strength of their faith, were healed just from touching the edge of His garment; the blind could see and even the dead could be restored to life. However, man was unable to discover the corrupt satanic disposition deeply rooted within himself, neither did he know how to cast it off. Man received much grace, such as the peace and happiness of the flesh, the faith of one member bringing blessing on an entire family, the healing of sickness, and so on. The rest were the good deeds of man and his godly appearance; if someone could live on the basis of these, they were considered an up-to-standard believer. Only believers of this kind could enter heaven after death, which meant that they were saved. But, in their lifetime, these people did not understand at all the way of life. All they did was to commit sins and then confess their sins in a constant cycle without any path to change their disposition: Such was the condition of man in the Age of Grace. Has man received complete salvation? No! Therefore, after that stage of work was finished, there still remained the work of judgment and chastisement. This stage is to cleanse man by means of the word, and thereby give him a path to follow. This stage would not be fruitful or meaningful if it continued with the casting out of demons, for it would fail to extirpate man’s sinful nature, and man would come to a standstill at the forgiveness of his sins. Through the sin offering, man has been forgiven his sins, for the work of the crucifixion has already come to an end and God has prevailed over Satan. But the corrupt disposition of man still remaining within him, man can still sin and resist God, and God has not gained mankind. That is why in this stage of work God uses the word to expose the corrupt disposition of man, causing him to practice in accordance with the proper path. The work of this stage is more meaningful than the previous one, as well as more fruitful, for now it is the word that directly supplies man’s life and enables the disposition of man to be completely renewed; it is a much more thorough stage of work. Therefore, the incarnation in the last days has completed the significance of God’s incarnation and completely finished God’s management plan for man’s salvation.

—The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. The Mystery of the Incarnation (4)

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 submit to 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. These words are all directed at the substance of man and his corrupt dispositions. In particular, the words that expose how man rejects God are even more so directed at how man is an embodiment of Satan, and an enemy force against God. In undertaking His work of judgment, God does not fully explain the nature of man in a few words; He exposes and prunes over the long term. All these different methods of exposure and pruning cannot be substituted with ordinary words; rather, the truth which man absolutely does not possess is used to carry out this work of exposure and pruning. 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 has enabled man to gain much understanding of the intentions of God, of the purpose of God’s work, and of the mysteries that are incomprehensible to him. It has also enabled man to understand and know his corrupt essence and the root of his corruption, as well as to discover his ugly face. These effects are all brought about by the work of judgment, for the essence of this work is actually the work of opening up God’s truth, way, and life 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

Christ of the last days brings life, and brings the enduring and everlasting way of truth. This truth is the path by which man gains life, and it is the only path by which man shall know God and be approved of by God. If you do not seek the way of life provided by Christ of the last days, then you shall never gain the approval of Jesus, and shall never be qualified to enter the gate of the kingdom of heaven, for you are both a puppet and prisoner of history. Those who are controlled by regulations, by words, and by the shackles of history will never be able to gain life nor gain the perpetual way of life. This is because all they have is turbid water which has been clung to for thousands of years instead of the water of life that flows from the throne. Those who are not supplied with the water of life will forever remain corpses, playthings of Satan, and sons of hell. How, then, can they behold God? You only seek to hold on to the past, to stand still and keep things as they are, and do not seek to change the status quo and discard history, so will you not always be antagonistic toward God? The steps of God’s work are overwhelming and mighty, like surging waves and rolling thunders—yet you sit passively awaiting destruction, clinging to that which is old and waiting for things to fall into your lap. In this way, how can you be considered someone who follows the footsteps of the Lamb? How can this demonstrate that the God you hold on to is the God who is always new and never old? And how can the words of your yellowed books carry you across into a new age? How can they lead you to seek the steps of God’s work? And how can they take you up to heaven? What you hold in your hands are mere words that can provide but temporary solace, not truths that are capable of giving you life. The words of scriptures you read can only enrich your tongue; they are not words of wisdom that can help you know human life, much less are they the path that can lead you to perfection. Does this discrepancy not give you cause for reflection? Does it not give you insight into the mysteries contained within? Are you capable of delivering yourself to heaven to meet God on your own? Without the coming of God, can you take yourself into heaven to enjoy family happiness with God? Are you still dreaming now? I exhort you, then, to stop dreaming and to look at who is working now—look to see who is now carrying out the work of saving man during the last days. If you do not, you shall never gain the truth, and shall never gain life.

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 loathed by God. Christ is man’s gateway to the kingdom in the last days, and there are none who can bypass Him. None may be perfected by God except through Christ. You believe in God, and so you must accept His words and submit to His Word. Do not only think of gaining blessings while being unable to accept the truth and the provision of life. Christ comes in the last days so that He may provide all those who sincerely believe in Him with life. This work exists for the sake of concluding the old age and entering the new one, and this work is the path that must be taken by all those who would enter the new age. If you do not acknowledge Christ, and moreover condemn, blaspheme, or persecute Him, then you are bound to burn for eternity and shall never enter the kingdom of God.

—The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. Only Christ of the Last Days Can Give Man the Way of Eternal Life

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