I was formerly a leader of the Pentecostal Church in Bei’an area. In 1995, I believed in the Lord through grace. Encouraged by the Lord’s love, I pursued very hard. Two months later, I joined the youth group. Then, after attending various training programs and studies, I began to preach and worked in various surrounding cities half a year later. Gradually, I enjoyed higher and higher prestige among the brothers and sisters. But all these became what I capitalized on to resist Almighty God’s end-time work afterward. However, Almighty God didn’t treat me according to my disobedience; instead, he stretched out his hand of salvation to me time and time again, so that I, an arrogant person, have finally come under the truth and fallen before Almighty God’s throne.

In the spring of 1999, our upper leader called an emergency co-worker meeting and told us that there arose a new sect called “Eastern Lightning,” that their way was purely a heresy, and that their main characteristics were: first, they said that the Bible was outdated and that we could only be saved by reading their book; second, their book contained a magic potion, and once you read it, you would be spellbound; third, they were of an underworld organization, and some of them even had guns; fourth, if they preached their way to you and you refused to accept it, they would torture you and give you a hundred slaps on the face. Hearing those words, I couldn’t help hating “Eastern Lightning” with all my soul. I thought to myself, “No wonder many people have accepted ‘Eastern Lightning.’ So they use so many vile means to deal with people. How abominable! If they come to deceive me, I would rather lay down my life than accept their way.” When the meeting was over, I hurriedly went home and gathered my relatives and the brothers and sisters together. To arouse their sharp vigilance, I exaggeratedly told them about the rumors I had heard and warned them, “Don’t receive any stranger lest we be deceived and the Lord not recognize us when he comes back.” I also found many Bible verses to prove that “Eastern Lightning” was a heresy. Although I warned the brothers and sisters in advance and told them all these in time, some of them still joined “Eastern Lightning.” After hearing that, I hated “Eastern Lightning” all the more. I cursed “Eastern Lightning” in my prayer every day and told the brothers and sisters to inform me immediately if the people of “Eastern Lightning” came. One day in June 1999, two people who preached the last gospel went to Sister Li’s home. Hearing that, I immediately went there and shouted at them in a rage, “How come you people are so shameless? You are purely the thieves who steal the sheep. The Lord Jesus won’t let you off. Get out quickly! If you don’t leave, I’ll call the police.” Just in that way, the brothers and sisters who preached the last gospel were disgraced and threatened by me over and over again and were ruthlessly driven away by me over and over again. Each time after they left, I felt very contented as if I had won a battle or a great honor and felt that I would surely receive a reward from the Lord. Seeing that I “guarded the churches so faithfully” and that I “loved” them so much, those brothers and sisters who had no discernment were influenced by me and also either beat or abused the people who preached the last gospel of God and resisted even more frenziedly.

One month later, two sisters came to my home and said to me, “God has come and done a new work.” At this, I immediately knew that they were of the “Eastern Lightning” that I hated with all my soul. So I looked at them with a very disdainful eye and said, “Where was the new work? How many years have you believed? What do you know? So few times you have read through the Bible, and you even come to preach to me? Go away now! Come to preach to me later when you have a thorough understanding of the Bible.” Then, I threatened them: “Don’t come again. Otherwise, I’ll send you to the police station!”

In the spring of 2000, someone preached God’s end-time new work to my girlfriend’s mother. She was attracted after listening to it for only one day, and she still wanted to go to listen to it the next day. I hastily stopped her and said, “You must not go there again. ‘Eastern Lightning’ is a cult. If you join it, your belief in God before will be in vain.” Seeing that she insisted on going, I fabricated a tissue of lies on the spot to frighten her. I said, “That band of people are extremely brutal. If you listen to their way but do not follow them into their belief, they will kidnap your daughter and son and make you disabled.” That took effect. She was finally daunted by my words and shrank from going there. I congratulated myself on having kept a sheep for the Lord.

In the summer of 2000, when I heard that my nominally adoptive mother also accepted the work of the last days, I immediately went to her home and frightened her into turning back with the lies I had made up in advance. I thought gladly, “I’ve saved another soul. The Lord will surely be pleased with me.”

Just when I was exerting all my effort to resist “Eastern Lightning” and was complacent about everything I had done, a series of unexpected things suddenly happened to me. One day in October, when I went out by motorcycle to work, I unexpectedly bumped into a tree and was bedraggled. A few days later, when I helped a friend of mine transport stones, somehow I fell off the truck and hurt my knees. So, I could only lean on a stick and limp. Before the wound on my leg was completely healed, my head ached suddenly, which tortured me half to death. By then, I was terribly upset. I prayed to the Lord, “O Lord! You’ve been a loving and merciful God all along and have loved me more than the apple of your eye. But why don’t you care for me and keep me now? O Lord! Haven’t you seen my misery? O Lord! You know my heart for you. To guard your sheep properly, I have exerted all my heart and strength. O Lord! Why does such thing come upon me? I don’t understand. Please guide me and cure my illness.” However, no matter how earnestly I sought, I did not get any better.

In the winter of 2000, another person came to preach the work of the last days to me, but I still persisted in my mistaken way. I thought, “I won’t be deceived so easily! Even if I have only one breath left, I will be faithful to the Lord Jesus to the end. Although I already have no strength because of the illness, I can still dial ‘110’ for the police to arrest you.” So, I said feebly, “If you don’t leave, I’ll call the police. I would rather die than accept your way.” Thus, threatened by me, the sister had no choice but to leave. After that, I also shut the door many times on the sisters who preached the last gospel to me.

However, my illness was not alleviated because of my “faithfulness” to the Lord, but on the contrary, it became worse and worse. In addition, on the eve of the Chinese New Year, my father suddenly fell ill with a high fever. I fell down before the Lord and prayed over and over again, asking him to look upon and have mercy on me again and heal my father and me. But no matter how hard I prayed, I got no response. My heart sank. I collapsed on the bed in despair, unable to refrain from tears. I thought back to the scenes I had experienced over the past one year: I was busy all day long, rushing about from one place to another. What I did the most and tried hardest to do was resisting “Eastern Lightning,” and I cursed “Eastern Lightning” in my prayers many times. However, although I bustled about all the time, they not only had not been stopped, but on the contrary, they had become more and more prosperous. Yet I myself ended up with being sick and not having the power after praying. “What is all this about? O Lord! Could it be that my actions and deeds are not commended by you? O Lord! Could it be that I have resisted wrongly? O Lord! You know my heart. I believe in you with a sincere heart and don’t want to be deceived, but now I don’t understand your intention. Please guide me. If ‘Eastern Lightning’ is the true way and is the work done by you, please don’t abandon me. If it’s not the work done by you, please keep me.” At that time, I dared not act recklessly anymore but only sought and prayed. After I prayed for about one month, the Lord guided me inside, “He who is God’s sheep listens to God’s voice.” At that moment, I thought the Lord was instructing me to read the Bible; but after I pondered it over carefully, I thought, “It’s not right! I read the Bible every day. Will God still specially guide me? Could it be that the book they talk about is really God’s voice?” So, I came before God and prayed, “O God! If it’s truly the new work done by you, please send your children to preach to me once again, and please inspire me so that I can understand your voice.”