I was formerly a co-worker in the Born Again Church. In February 1997, our leader warned us at a co-worker meeting, “Now there has appeared a sect called ‘Eastern Lightning,’ which is very dangerous. They do nothing but try to convert the believers in the Lord to it. They will be paid 200 yuan if they convert an ordinary believer, and 1000 yuan a leader. Many leaders and co-workers of various denominations have been snatched away by them. You must take strict precautions and keep a good watch over the Lord’s flock. Don’t give them any chance to snatch the sheep from our churches….” After I came back from the meeting, I not only conveyed the leader’s words to the brothers and sisters, but I also passed judgment, saying, “The people of ‘Eastern Lightning’ preach that the Lord has returned. That’s sheer nonsense! The Bible says that no one knows about the day of Jesus’ coming, so how can they know? They are utter deceivers! …” And I also frightened them with these lies: “All believers in ‘Eastern Lightning’ have an evil spirit in them, which is like a spider web or glue. Whoever is caught in it won’t be able to escape. Once you are deceived into joining them, you will never be able to withdraw. If you try to withdraw, they will gouge out your eyes, cut off your ears or nose, or break your legs….” Hearing this, they were so terrified that they started to talk at once and kept on expressing their fear. Seeing that my incendiary words had succeeded, I was secretly pleased and thought, “From now on, no one will dare to come into contact with those of ‘Lightning.’”

One day in September 1998, an unfamiliar woman came to my home and said to me, “Uncle, God has done a new work….” “Shut up! You devil, get out of here!” I pushed her out and shut the iron door with a bang, without giving her a chance to explain. But she advised me again and again through the door, “Uncle! Have a listen! …” Seeing that she kept begging and pestering me with no intention of giving up, I thought, “I’ll have to close our churches more tightly to outsiders….” Afterward, I emphasized again and again in the churches, “We’ve got to show no mercy to those of the ‘Eastern Lightning.’ No matter what tricks they play, we shouldn’t be soft on them.” I also fabricated rumors, saying, “Those of the ‘Eastern Lightning’ are extremely cruel. Once they know where you live, they will do all they can to take you captive. After capturing you, they will starve you for a few days, and then they will pour chili water into your mouth, force you to kneel on brick, and beat you with a stick until you accept their way.” Moreover, I formulated a prayer: “O merciful Savior! Those of ‘Eastern Lightning’ are devils. They always come to disturb your churches, deceive your children, and steal your ‘sheep.’ May you curse and punish them severely….” And I ordered everyone to pray like this regularly to curse “Eastern Lightning.”

One morning in November 2000, a stranger, crunching through the ice and snow, came to preach God’s new work to me. Seeing his hair and eyebrows matted with ice and his body trembling with cold, I could not help feeling a spark of sympathy for him. But when I thought that he came to preach “Eastern Lightning,” I was filled with anger and burst out, “You evil spirits, devils, have deceived so many brothers and sisters. Today you even come to me. I’ve got to fix you!” As I spoke, I rushed forward, grabbed his collar, raised my hand, and hit him. I beat and pulled him out of my house and threw him in the snow. And at the same time, I cursed him, saying, “You good-for-nothing fool! Get away! If you dare to come again, I’ll break your legs….” The brother picked himself up with difficulty and left in tears. An unbeliever saw what I had done and asked me with perplexity, “People say that you believers in the Lord neither beat nor curse others, but why do you do that?” I was at a loss for a reply.

Although I exerted myself to the utmost to resist and guard against “Eastern Lightning,” there were still over thirty people in our three churches who had accepted “Eastern Lightning.” Seeing that the number in our churches was decreasing and that the remaining brothers and sisters were passive and weak, cold in their faith, and listless through the meetings, I got very worried but could do nothing about it. So I had to keep calling on God. One night, I knelt on the floor and prayed in bitter tears, “O my gracious Lord! So many brothers and sisters in our churches have been deceived. Don’t you feel heartache for them? What’s the matter with all this? O Lord! Have you really abandoned us? …” In distress, I kept praying to the Lord, begging and crying, and I even paid the Lord several kowtows. I did not know how long I prayed, but suddenly my head swam and I, prone upon the ground, fell into a fitful sleep. Half awake and half asleep, I heard a voice saying, “There’s a new way today but you refuse. Almighty God has sowed and now reaps. You don’t discern right and wrong, truth and falsehood. Punishment has to be meted out to make you submit.” In an instant, my drowsiness disappeared completely. Pondering over those words in my dream, I suddenly felt uneasy and did not sleep a wink all night.