I was formerly an elder of the Praise Church. As I gained a lot of biblical knowledge after having believed in Jesus for thirty years, I arrogantly thought that I had known everything. I even dared to draw conclusions about God’s work, thinking that God could only work according to the Bible and that anything apart from the Bible was heretical, false, and deceitful. Consequently, when God’s new work did not match my thinking and notions, I resisted it frenziedly and became an arch-criminal against God.

In 1996, a leader from above told me, “Now there is a sect called ‘Eastern Lightning.’ They preach that God has been incarnated and come to the earth and that the Bible is outdated….” On hearing that, I condemned it as a false way to deceive people. Then I began to wantonly spread the rumors in our churches, saying, “Brothers and sisters, be careful! Now there is a sect called ‘Eastern Lightning.’ They say that God has come and done a new work and that there is no need to read the Bible anymore. In this sect, whoever converts a Christian leader will be paid 50,000 yuan; whoever converts an ordinary believer will be paid 10,000 yuan. And they only want good-looking young ones…. Whoever comes into contact with them will be stuck to it as if by glue and never be able to get out of it. In order to induce you to join them, they will give you whatever you want, such as a lover or money. But if you want to back out after joining them, they will gouge out your eyes, cut off your ears, or break your arms or legs. So, never come into contact with them. Once you are deceived, the consequences will be most disastrous….”

In 2001, when the Spring Festival drew near, my wife decided to go to Hubei Province to visit her parents. Before she left, I warned her again and again, “If you come across the people of ‘Lightning,’ don’t talk with them. If you sense that they are trying to preach to you, come back immediately.” But unexpectedly, my wife accepted Almighty God soon after she arrived there, and she also phoned and asked me to go there. In order to prevent my wife from falling into it more deeply, I hurried to my in-laws’ home. On the very evening of my arrival, all my in-laws persuaded me to accept God’s new work. It angered me so much that I sprang to my feet, pointed at my wife, and roared, “You fool without discernment! Are you trying to enrage me? What did I say to you before you came here? …” The next evening, my wife went to her elder sister’s home for a meeting and did not come back that night. I thought she must have run away with someone else, so I kicked up a row with my in-laws, saying, “If you make me lose my woman, I won’t let you off.” When I thought that those of “Eastern Lightning” would give their target whatever he wanted, such as a lover or money, I was really afraid that my wife might have been deceived and run away with them. Thus, I felt anxious and helpless and hated “Eastern Lightning” to the extreme. Early next morning, I set out for home alone angrily. As soon as I got home, I knelt down before the Lord and prayed, “Dear Lord Jesus! By your grace I have this family, but now my wife and I have gone separate ways. Do you not care for us any more? O Lord! May you keep her and touch her heart. If she refuses to turn back, may you strike her with your rod to make her paralyzed and bedridden….” I kept praying in this way and also asked my co-workers to intercede for me. Moreover, I swore: I would rather abandon my wife than betray the Lord Jesus.

My wife’s “betrayal” made me hate “Eastern Lightning” like poison. To vent my rankling hatred, I wrote to her time after time abusing and cursing her by saying: “A person needs face like a tree needs bark, but you give up your face. You run away with someone else. Fine! The Lord will make you bedridden….” In this way, I gave vent to my hatred in the most vicious words. At the meetings, I stood on the platform and deliberately boasted before the brothers and sisters, “I have discarded my wife since she has believed in Almighty God….” My “putting righteousness above family loyalty” made the brothers and sisters look up to me more and even admire me with all their hearts. They all said that I loved the Lord the most and was a faithful servant of the Lord. Hearing that, I gave tacit consent to it shamelessly.

When the wheat harvest was coming, my wife returned from her parents’ home. As soon as I saw her, I hurled a stream of abuse at her, “You shameless woman, why do you come back? Get out! …” She, however, did not retort, but went to work in our wheat fields. When she came back from the fields, she persuaded me earnestly, saying, “God has really done a new work. If you don’t believe me, read the word expressed by God to make an investigation.” But no matter how she tried to persuade me, I turned a deaf ear to it, and in my heart I regarded her as a devil. I not only intensified my prayers to curse her but also beat and abused her when any little thing did not go my way. However, she never minded what I had done to her and still patiently fellowshipped with me about God’s new work and the reason for the Pharisees’ failure. Time and again she tearfully pleaded with me that God’s gospel work in Mainland China was about to end and that I should accept it before it was too late. Even so, my numb and stubborn heart was still not in the least touched, and I thought, “You believe in your Almighty God, and I believe in my Lord Jesus. Don’t try to deceive me. I won’t change my mind.”

Later, a brother, formerly of our denomination, came to preach God’s new work to me. I thought, “I, an outstanding senior leader, have believed in the Lord and worked for the Lord for decades. Which verse in the Bible am I not familiar with? Is there any need for you to preach to me? If the Lord had come back, could he not first reveal it to me? According to my suffering and work for the Lord, I will never be forsaken by him.” So, I went to bed and lay down with my back to him, ignoring whatever he said. Although I treated him that way, he still often came to preach God’s new work to me. When the busy farming season started, he put aside his farm work and came to help me with mine, never minding dirt or fearing fatigue. That fall, he helped me harvest peanuts. He worked so hard that his shirt turned from white to gray, but he did not make any complaint. However, I said to myself, “You asked for it. You did it of your own free will. As long as you do not fear dirt and fatigue, go on. Anyway, I won’t accept the way you preach, however much work you do.” But the brother did not give me up. Whether it was windy or rainy, extremely hot or bitterly cold, he came to preach to me. He persisted in doing this for a whole year, and eventually I was deeply touched by an event. One evening, it was snowing heavily, with the cutting wind blowing hard. The brother came to my home again. At that time, I was talking with a guest in the room and did not notice him at the door. Only when I saw the guest out did I find him standing there shivering with cold. I asked him, “How long have you been here?” “Nearly three hours,” he said, trembling. “I heard you were talking, so I didn’t knock on the door lest I interrupt you.” At that moment, my frozen heart was finally melted. I hastily invited him in and wanted to make a fire for him to warm himself, but he said, “Brother, don’t bother. Let’s fellowship about God’s word.” From the brother’s living out, I could see that the believers in Almighty God were not as evil and bad as what the rumors said. Thinking of how I had treated him formerly, I felt I had gone too far. So, I changed my attitude and became somewhat friendly to him. The brother started to fellowship with me, and after a while he said, “I know little of God’s new work and can’t explain it to you more clearly. It is better if you yourself have a good look at God’s word.” Seeing he was so sincere, I agreed to read it and make an investigation.