Zhang Lian
Zhumadian City, Henan Province
I was formerly a co-worker of the “Justification by Faith Church.” In the spring of 1999, the elder warned us at a co-workers’ meeting, “Now there is a sect called the ‘Eastern Lightning.’ It preaches that the Lord has come to China to work. It’s impossible at all! Zechariah 14:4 says, ‘And his feet shall stand in that day on the mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east.’ So it’s exactly a heresy, a deceptive, false way! It’s said that they will be paid 2,000 yuan for converting a co-worker and 300 yuan for a common believer. So, never receive them, or the consequences will be disastrous! …” After hearing what the elder said, I hated and also feared the “Eastern Lightning.” At the same time, I rejected it in my heart, “China is an atheistic country. God will absolutely not come to China to work!” So, I came back in a hurry and conveyed the elder’s words to the brothers and sisters. I also instructed them not to receive strangers lest they be deceived by the “Eastern Lightning” followers. From then on, I embarked on the evil way of resisting God.
In the summer of 2000, I learned that Sister Wang in our church was drawn away by the believers in Almighty God. So I rushed to her home and dragged her back by saying some frightening words. And I also dragged back several brothers and sisters who had accepted the true way. During that time, the believers in Almighty God came continually to preach to me. But I regarded them as dreadful monsters. Sometimes I avoided them like the plague, and sometimes I abused or beat them and drove them away.
One day in September 2002, a sister of our denomination, who had accepted Almighty God, came to preach to me. At the sight of her, I roared harshly, “What a wretch! Out! …” Before she opened her mouth, I rushed to her and gave her a slap in the face. However, she didn’t get angry but put her hand over her face, which turned red from the slap, and said with tearful eyes, “Sister! It’s not proper to do so…” “Not proper? Humph! It’s a polite manner. If you dare to come again, I will let you crawl on your belly!” After that, I asked my husband to drive her out ruthlessly.
One day in June 2003, my most intimate co-worker (who had accepted the new work) came to my home, her face covered with sweat. At the sight of her, I was filled with anger. I pointed at her nose and shouted abuse, “You traitor of the Lord! Devil! You yourself are doomed to hell, but you came to harm me. Go away! …” With that, I pushed her out of the gate. She raised her hand and wanted to say something, but I banged the gate shut. I heard a cry outside, and then I opened the door and saw that her fingers caught in the iron gate were bleeding. Seeing this, I not only didn’t show any mercy but was gloating, “Serve you right! It’s your own fault. I’ll see whether you will still come to preach to me! …” Unexpectedly, after two days, she came again with her wounded fingers wrapped. I clenched my teeth in bitter hatred and cursed, “What a cheek! To tell you the truth, even if you come one hundred more times, I won’t accept it!” “Sister, it doesn’t matter how you abuse me. As long as you are willing to listen to God’s utterance, I’m happy to come here countless times!” She said smilingly, wiping her sweat on the forehead. I became more angry at this. Whiling cursing, I shouldered the hoe and went to the field. But she followed me to the field and started to work. At noon, I went home alone for lunch, leaving her in the field. I had thought that she must have left because of the scorching heat, but when I arrived there in the afternoon, I found that she was working alone in the field, with an empty package of instant noodles on the ground beside her. Obviously that was her lunch. Like this, the sister helped me with the field work for several days. She ate instant noodles for her daily meals and slept in my yard at night. Her face was spotted with red swellings from the mosquito bites, and her lips were covered with bleeding blisters. Seeing that, I felt guilty within and was pricked by my conscience. I began to ponder, “For what does she endure such suffering and humiliation? What strength is supporting her? …” On a rainy day, for fear that she would preach to me, I lay in the bed, pretending to be sleeping, but in my heart I thought, “Their doings are not like what the elder said! Take the sister as an example. I know her very well. In the past, she was very sharp and couldn’t bear any grievance. But since she believed in Almighty God, she has been changed into a different person. How is she changed? …” As I thought, I fell into a dream: I was walking on a trail, and all of a sudden a river coursed athwart my way. I was worried and sweaty, when suddenly I heard a voice saying, “You ignorant person, wake up!” I hastened to look toward the direction from which the voice came, and saw a bridge. I was very excited and ran onto the bridge and saw a bright way in front of me. I couldn’t help jumping with excitement, and shouted loudly, “Come here and see, everyone! It’s really so wonderful! …” Suddenly I heard someone calling my name. After I woke up, I realized I had been dreaming. The sister was standing beside the bed and asked curiously, “What did you say was wonderful?” I told her what had happened in my dream. Hearing it, she said joyfully, “God loves you so much. He is revealing to you, telling you to wake up quickly and break away from the plight and take the way of light! The ‘trail’ in your dream is exactly the church you are in. It is desolate and has no way to go. The leaders and co-workers give no fresh messages and they raise envy and strife and form cliques. The brothers and sisters love the world. Is there any sign of the Holy Spirit’s work? This fulfills the verse, ‘Behold, the days come, said the Lord GOD, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the LORD.’ (Amos 8:11) Isn’t it a full proof that God has done a new work? If one doesn’t follow the pace of the Holy Spirit’s work, how can he turn away from the ‘trail’ and take the ‘way of light’? The voice you heard in the dream is the revelation from the Holy Spirit. He is telling you to wake up quickly and accept the new work of Almighty God! In the past, God sent many people to preach to you, but you shut the door on them. Today God personally gave you revelation. If you are still stiff-necked and don’t seek and accept the call of the Holy Spirit, it will make God grieved. It would be foolish to do so!” Hearing what the sister said, I was lost in thought. “Our church is in a decline and mess, and it’s exactly like what the sister said. The believers in Almighty God, however, are extraordinarily vigorous. Are they really being led by the true God? Did God really call me by the dream today? Otherwise, how can all this be explained?” Then, I, disregarding the elder’s “earnest instructions,” told the sister my notion eagerly, “You say the Lord has come back and done His work in China. Do you have any biblical basis? The Bible says the Lord will stand on the Mount of Olives. God should descend to Israel. How can He come to our country, which disbelieves and denies God the most, to work?”
Seeing that my heart somewhat turned, the sister stopped frowning. She said with a smile, “Let’s read the prophecies in the Bible first! ‘For 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 from the rising of the sun even to the going down of the same my name shall be great among the Gentiles…. said the LORD of hosts.’ (Malachi 1:11) From these verses, we can be sure that the Son of man will descend to the east of the world in the last days. China is globally recognized as the ‘Oriental Pearl’ and well known as the ‘rising of the sun.’ So it is an unquestionable and undeniable fact that the work of the last days will be done in China, the land of ‘Sinim.’” Then she opened the book of God’s word and read these words: “The prophecies said that Jehovah’s name would be great in the Gentile nations and that Jehovah’s name would be spread to the Gentile nations—why would they say this? If God were only the God of the Israelites, then He would only be at work in Israel. Furthermore, He would not expand this work, and He would not make this prophecy. Since He made this prophecy, He would need to expand His work into Gentile nations and into every nation and place. Since He stated this, He would thus do so. This is His plan, for He is the Lord who created the heavens and earth and all things, and the God of all creation. Regardless of whether He is at work with the Israelites or in all Judea, the work He does is the work of the entire universe and the work of all humanity. The work He does today in the nation of the great red dragon—in a Gentile nation—is still the work of all humanity. Israel could be the base for His work on earth; likewise, China can also become the base for His work among the Gentile nations. Has He not now fulfilled the prophecy that ‘the name of Jehovah will be great in the Gentile nations’?” (from “God Is the Lord of All Creation” in The Word Appears in the Flesh) She continued to fellowship, “There is a more profound significance in God’s being incarnated in China to do His work. Just as Almighty God says: ‘The work of Jehovah was the creation of the world, it was the beginning; this stage of work is the end of work, and it is the conclusion. At the start, God’s work was carried out among the chosen ones of Israel, and it was the dawn of a new epoch in the most holy of all places. The last stage of work is carried out in the most impure of all countries, to judge the world and bring the age to an end. In the first stage, God’s work was done in the brightest of all places, and the last stage is carried out in the darkest of all places, and this darkness will be driven out, the light brought forth, and all the people conquered. When the people of this most impure and darkest of all places have been conquered, and the entire population has acknowledged that there is a God, who is the true God, and every person has been utterly convinced, then this fact will be used to carry out the work of conquest throughout the entire universe. This stage of work is symbolic: once the work of this age has been finished, the work of 6,000 years of management will come to a complete end. Once those in the darkest of all places have been conquered, it goes without saying that it will also be so everywhere else. As such, only the work of conquest in China carries meaningful symbolism.’ (from ‘The Vision of God’s Work (2)’ in The Word Appears in the Flesh) ‘If the work of the last days were still done in Israel, then there would not be any significance at all. Why is it done in China, the darkest and the most backward place? It is for revealing God’s holiness and righteousness. In a word, the darker a place is, the better God’s holiness can be revealed. Actually doing so is all for the sake of God’s work.’ (from ‘How Does the Second Step of the Conquering Work Achieve the Results’ in The Word Appears in the Flesh) ‘… because these people were originally ones who didn’t have God in their heart. Working people who don’t have God in their heart to an extent that they can obey and love God is a true conquest. Such a working result is most valuable and most convincing. This means having gained glory, and this is the glory God wants to gain in the last days. It is really God’s uplifting that today these people, though low in position, can receive such a great salvation. This work is so significant….’” (from “The Significance of Saving the Descendants of Moab” in The Word Appears in the Flesh) God’s words cleared the puzzle in my mind and made me enlightened. “Ah! God’s coming to China to work this time not only has biblical basis, but has such a profound significance! The more the work is done in the place which is most corrupt and dark and denies God the most, the better God’s righteousness and holiness can be revealed. Because of this, we people of this group have received God’s great uplifting and grace. Ay! In the past, I held fast to the letters of the Bible and restricted the location of God’s work by my imagination. I was really too arrogant and senseless!” Later, the sister and I ate and drank God’s words concerning God’s three stages of work, the mystery of the incarnation, the inside truth of the Bible, and so on, and I was more certain that the “Eastern Lightning” was the true way, and the “Eastern Lightning” was God Himself and the reappearing of the Lord Jesus.
Then when I looked at the blisters on the sister’s lips and thought of my past evil deeds, I felt extremely remorseful and shed a flood of tears. I knelt before God and slapped myself in the face. “O Almighty God, I have really owed You too much. These years, I have sealed off the churches and resisted Your new work and ruined so many souls. I have even drawn away several brothers and sisters who had accepted Your work. I’m a lead devil who eats people’s flesh, drinks their blood, and purposely hinders them from taking the right way! O God! You overlooked my foolishness and ignorance and sent the messengers of the gospel to save me many times, but I abused and insulted them and drove them away by various means. I even had my formerly intimate sister’s hand caught in the gate. I’m really malicious-hearted! The sister was encouraged by Your love and still came continually to preach to me without minding what I did to her. She helped me with field work, but I didn’t even let her have a meal at my home, and left her sleeping in the yard and bitten by mosquitos. O God! I’m really not a human. I’m a brutal beast and mad dog! I’m really unworthy to live before You! O God! According to my evil deeds, I should really deserve to be cursed and suffer the eternal punishment in the lake of fire and brimstone. But You still tolerated me with Your immeasurable love. You revealed to me by the dream and woke me up with Your words and saved my numb soul. Facing Your great salvation, I deeply feel that I’m unworthy. Even if I offer all I have, I cannot repay Your great grace and kindness. All I can do is to do my best to cooperate with You and perform my duty to comfort Your heart!”
To repay God’s great love, I immediately joined the stream of the gospel preaching. In preaching the gospel, I was confronted with humiliation, abuse, and even beating from the co-workers and the brothers and sisters of my denomination. But I didn’t hate or complain about them, because they were like what I had been yesterday. I got what I should deserve! At the same time, the facts made me know that what the elder said was purely groundless fabrication and Satan’s mean trick. How could there be such a mafia in the world? No matter how others mistreated them, they didn’t fight or revile in return but always helped them with love. Who could have such endurance? Who could have such a great heart? As to the word “they will be paid money for preaching,” it was a baseless rumor. The sister who preached to me has accepted the new work for several years. She has preached the gospel to many people, but she still lives in a shabby house (with two rooms) built in the 1980s. If the word “they will be paid 2,000 yuan for converting a co-worker and 300 yuan for a common believer” were true, as the elder said, she would have made big money. Would she still live in a poor house? The iron facts made me hate my foolishness and ignorance more bitterly. I believed in God but listened to men, and was nearly ruined by those rumors. If Almighty God didn’t call me to the utmost, the blind me wouldn’t even know why I died at the time of my death.
Dear brothers and sisters, I hope you will learn a lesson from my experience and no longer believe the hearsay. We believers in God should have discernment and not let others control us. Wake up! Open the door of your heart! Please listen to Almighty God’s latest utterance and accept His newest work! Time is so short. When God appears publicly, it will be too late to repent!
Following Almighty God-To Be Wise Virgins 