“Therefore repent. If you do not, I am coming to you quickly, and I will war with them with the long sword of my mouth.”​—Revelation 2:16.

As to those who refuse to repent, the Lord Jesus does indeed “war with them with the long sword of [his] mouth.” He is sifting his people in order to preserve the unity for which he prayed during his last evening with his disciples on earth. (John 17:20-23, 26) Since apostate ones refuse the loving counsel and help offered by the stars in his right hand, Jesus judges and punishes them “with the greatest severity,” consigning them to “the darkness outside.” They are disfellowshipped, no more to act as leaven among God’s people.​—Matthew 24:48-51; 25:30; 1 Corinthians 5:6, 9, 13; Revelation 1:16.