8. How a Son of Disobedience Was Conquered by the Almighty God
Sun Yongping
Datong City, Shanxi Province
I am Sun Yongping, formerly a co-worker of a house church. Because I was single, without family burdens, and was willing to pursue to make progress, the church paid special attention to training me. So I often had chances to work and study in other places. In recent years, every time I went to work out of town, I came back loaded with rumors about “the Eastern Lightning.” Unconsciously, I was deeply poisoned. Especially after I read a book called Refute the Cult the Eastern Lightning, I was more encouraged to resist the Almighty God. Without verification or investigation, I had a strong aversion and hostility to this “way” that I knew nothing about. So, I joined others in rebuking and refuting “the Eastern Lightning,” and even mobilized all the brothers and sisters to curse “the Eastern Lightning” in their daily prayers. Meanwhile, I also heard the rumors say, “The means of ‘the Eastern Lightning’ is extremely cruel. If you do not accept what they preach, they will use violence on you, such as gouging out your eyes, cutting off your nose, or cutting off your ears. Besides, they will seduce you with beauty or buy you off with money. And as long as you accept their ‘way,’ they will give you whatever you lack. …” Soon those rumors were spread everywhere. The entire religious world accepted them to be true. And I felt more hatred, hostility, and fear toward this “way.” All day long I lived in dread, fearing that I might “lose my footing” and fall into the “trap” of “the Eastern Lightning.”
In the summer of 1999, a sister who believed in the Almighty God, introduced by someone else, came to my home to fellowship with me with the purpose of preaching the way of truth to me. However, I drove her out of my house and warned her, “Don’t come to me anymore from now on. I won’t accept that stuff you preach!”
At another time, a brother told me, “A female colleague of mine also believes in Jesus. She often comes to my home and talks about something concerning belief in God with me. Could she be of ‘the Eastern Lightning’?” I asked him what she talked about. He said, “She fellowshipped with me from Genesis about how God created man and woman, and went all the way to…” Before the brother finished his words, I stopped him by saying, “That’s enough. Ten to one she is a heretic, because I have known some contents of their doctrine and some of the ways in which they preach it. Her fellowship quite fits.” Then and there I devised a plan and said, “Let’s do it this way. When she comes again, you and she can fix a time when she can give you a good fellowship. Then I will bring some people to catch her on the spot.” Thus, we acted according to our plan but did not succeed in the end.
One morning in the autumn of 2001, while I was saying a morning prayer at home, I vaguely heard someone speaking to my mother outside, “Aunty…” At this, I thought there might be strangers who wanted to enter our house. So I immediately stopped praying and walked out. Sure enough, there were two strangers. Seeing me come up, they nodded to me and greeted me kindly. Without saying a word, I pushed them outward and said, “Go, go, go!” They said in surprise and bewilderment, “Brother, how can you do this? …” I pushed them all the way out of the yard and shut the gate behind me. Later, I learned that the two sisters specially came from another place to preach God’s end-time gospel to me. However, I drove them away mercilessly.
In retrospect, I had done too many evil things. And there was one worse thing, which happened in the summer of 2002. One day at noon, I received a call from a sister, who said, “A woman who preaches heresy has come to the home of a co-worker. What should we do? We can’t handle it.” “You stall her first. We’ll be there in a minute!” After I hang up the phone, we immediately took a taxi there. That sister had already come out of the co-worker’s home and was standing outside talking about something with the several sisters of our church. I said, “Catch her!” Then, six people forcibly took her upstairs to that co-worker’s home. As soon as we got in the door, we began to search her and took her bag. I even pointed at her and said fiercely, “I tell you, I won’t let you go easily if you don’t lay it on the line! Having fallen into my hands, you’d better admit defeat!” However, these words did not make her frightened; instead, she became calmer and more collected, sitting there without saying a word. Seeing this, I became furious and gave her a heavy slap on the face. Instinctively, she covered her face with her hands, and blood immediately flowed out through her fingers. The several sisters beside me were so scared that they were all in a fluster. For fear of getting into trouble, they helped her wipe the face with tissues. At that time, I became so devoid of humanity that I even said such words: “Don’t help her. Let her wipe by herself. Don’t have pity on such a person.” After the blood was wiped away, I continued questioning her but she still remained silent. At this time, the tall brother who came with me rushed at her fiercely, kicked her and the chair to the floor, and then gave her several more kicks. Afterward, I walked forward, dragged her up from the floor by her hair, and shouted, “Stop pretending! Today if you don’t make a full confession, the good part is yet to come! …” Thus, under our beating, that sister had no strength to resist. By two and more in the afternoon, I still did not give her anything to eat or drink. And even when she asked me for the medicine in her bag, I did not give it to her. In the end, seeing that we would not release her, she asked me, “Are you believers in Jesus or not? How come you don’t have any love or mercy as a believer in Jesus?” I said, “What makes you say that I don’t have love or mercy?” She said, “Will anyone who has mercy stand by and watch someone suffering from illness? Will anyone who has love beat a weak woman?” I walked up to her and retorted upon her, saying, “How can I treat you people with love? I will beat you as many times as you come, until you dare not come again. …” After a while, that tall brother called me out and said, “Leave here now. I have reported her to the police.” So we left in a hurry. Later, I heard that that sister was taken to the police station. Just like that, I gave the sister who preached the gospel a good beating and handed her over to the “authority of Herod.” Now, as I think of this matter, I extremely hate myself, and I also realize that I am too bad in humanity and really deserve to be cursed.
Later, I found that a large number of brothers and sisters of various churches turned to the Almighty God, and the trend was irresistible. But this did not arouse my desire to seek, nor did I see God’s hand from it, much less see that it was the working of the Holy Spirit and God Godself wanted to call back his sheep. When I heard that the leaders and workers who were admired by many people had also accepted the Almighty God’s end-time work, I still did not wake up. On the contrary, I said to the brothers and sisters when preaching, “None of those who have accepted ‘ the Lightning’ is a good person! You think they are good; that’s because they were hypocritical at ordinary times. Now the Lord has exposed them, so they have naturally shown their true colors. Though they were eloquent and seemed to be spiritual at ordinary times, haven’t they fallen in the end?”
Brothers and sisters, the account of each event I gave above is true, and there is not any exaggeration in it. After reading about my acts of resisting God, you may feel very angry. Yes! I also bitterly hate myself and also feel that I deserve to be cursed and destroyed. However, God’s great love, tolerance, and mercy are beyond measure. Even though I had resisted and slandered the Almighty God so terribly, God’s end-time salvation was still not withheld from me.
One day in 2003, thanks to God’s wonderful arrangement, I was fortunate to hear the testimony about God’s end-time work. But during the fellowship, I could in no way accept the “name” and “gender” of Christ. Then I said to the brother who gave the testimony, “Hebrews 13:8 says: ‘Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.’ So why do you preach another Christ today? And you even say Christ is a female. Can it be right?” He replied gently, “Brother, don’t be angry. Calm down. Let’s read several passages of God’s word, and you will understand.” God says: “When Jesus began to perform his ministry, the Holy Spirit began to testify to the name of Jesus, and the name of Jehovah was no longer mentioned…. When the Old Testament Age of the Law ended, it meant that the work God did mainly with the name Jehovah ended. From then on, God’s name was no longer Jehovah but Jesus. Thereafter, the Holy Spirit began to do the work mainly with the name Jesus. So if now you still eat and drink Jehovah’s word and judge the work according to the work of the Age of the Law, aren’t you judging it according to regulations? Aren’t you holding on to old things? Now you know that the end time has come, so could Jesus still be called Jesus when he comes? … Could God only be called Jesus? Couldn’t he be called by a new name in the new age? Could one image of a ‘man’ and one particular name be God’s everything? God does a new work and takes a new name in each age. How could he do the same work in different ages? How could he hold on to old things? The name ‘Jesus’ was taken for the sake of the redemptive work. Could Jesus still be called by this name when he comes again in the end time? Could he still do the redemptive work? Jehovah and Jesus were one, but why were they called by different names in different ages? Isn’t it because the ages of their works were different? Could one name represent God’s everything? So, God has to take a different name in a different age, changing the age with his name and representing the age with his name, because no name can fully represent God Godself but one name can only represent God’s nature typical of one age and God takes a name as long as it can represent the work. So, God can choose any name that matches his nature to represent a whole age. Whether it was the age of Jehovah or the age of Jesus, God used his name to represent the age. … He was called Jesus when he came before; could he still be called Jesus when he comes this time? He was a male when he came before; could he still be a male when he comes this time? … Some people say that God is unchanging. That is also right, but it means that God’s nature and God’s substance are unchanging. When his name and work change, it does not prove that his substance changes. In other words, God is forever God, and this is unchanging. If you say that God’s work is unchanging, could God’s six-thousand-year management plan come to an end? You only know that God is unchanging, but do you know that God is also ever new? If his work were unchanging, could he have led mankind until today? If he were unchanging, why would he have done the works of two ages? … God is not as simple as man imagines. His work cannot stop in one age, just as the name Jehovah cannot replace God’s name forever and God can also work with the name Jesus. This is a mark that God’s work continuously progresses forward.” After reading this passage, the brother continued to read: “If God were only a male when he was incarnated, people would consider that God is a male and a God of men and would never think that he is a God of women. Then, men would think that God and men are of the same gender. So God would be men’s head. What about women then? That would be unfair. Wouldn’t that be showing favoritism? In that case, God only saved men who are the same as him, so no woman would be saved. When God created mankind, he created Adam and Eve. He did not only create Adam but created man and woman in his image. God is not only the God of men, but also the God of women.” “Every stage of work done by God has practical significance. At that time when Jesus came, he was a male. This time when God comes, he is a female. From this you can see that God’s creating both man and woman can be for his work and with God there is no gender. When his Spirit comes, he can put on any flesh as he wants, and this flesh can represent him. Whether this flesh is a male or a female, he can represent God as long as he is God’s incarnated flesh.” After listening to these two passages, I woke up all at once. “Actually, that God never changes means his substance never changes, but God’s work continuously progresses forward. Otherwise, how could mankind have developed till today? Today when God comes to earth through being incarnated, he takes the outer shell of a female; this even more shows God’s wisdom. Otherwise, wouldn’t man circumscribe God?” Before God’s words, I was really quite convinced, and I also became much calmer.
Then, I asked the brother another question: “You say that God comes the second time through being incarnated. But I have never read such words in the Bible as ‘God will come through being incarnated.’ I only read in 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 that there will be three kinds of voices when God comes. And the Bible also says that he will come on the white clouds with thousands upon thousands of his angels. But how come the Lord does not come today as the Bible says?” The brother answered, “Luke 17:24-25 says: ‘For the Son of Man in his day will be like the lightning, which flashes and lights up the sky from one end to the other. But first he must suffer many things and be rejected by this generation.’ When the ‘Son of Man’ is mentioned, he has to be a person born in a normal family, and when the ‘Son of Man’ is mentioned, he has to have the likeness of a man. If God comes as a spiritual body, he cannot be called the ‘Son of Man.’ Take Jehovah and Jesus as an example. They were both God, but only Jesus could be called the ‘Son of Man’ whereas Jehovah could not be called the ‘Son of Man.’ This is because Jesus was the flesh in which God’s Spirit was clothed, and he had normal humanity and full divinity. Jehovah, however, only had full divinity, and he worked in Israel in the way of the Spirit and appeared to men in the way of the Spirit, so he could not be called the ‘Son of Man.’ Besides, only when God comes to earth through being incarnated can he be said to suffer things and be rejected by this generation. If he came as a spiritual body, those things would be out of the question. Since the Spirit is formless and imageless, intangible and invisible, and not limited by any person, matter, or thing, or by any space or place, how could he be said to suffer things? So, from these verses we can see that the Lord will come the second time through being incarnated instead of appearing to men as a spiritual body.” Checking this against the facts, I found it was truly so. “The religious world says that ‘the Eastern Lightning’ is a heresy, and the government condemns it as a ‘cult.’ Isn’t this the rejection by this generation?”
Having understood that the Lord came the second time still through being incarnated, I was more anxious to know how exactly the Lord came. I thought to myself, “Isn’t it as 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 says?” With regard to this point, the brother fellowshipped, “As to how the Lord comes, we cannot just pay attention to 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 but ignore other verses, such as Revelation 3:3: ‘But if you do not wake up, I will come like a thief,’ and Matthew 24:44, 50: ‘because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.’ These verses all prophesied the Lord’s second coming. Also, Acts 1:9-11 says that as the Lord went, so will he come. Which verse is accurate, then? Which verse will be fulfilled when the Lord comes? In fact, all will be fulfilled, and none will fail. Then, how to solve the contradiction between them? As long as we look at them according to the sequence of the events, the problem will be easily solved. The angel said that as the Lord went, so would he come. Then what do you think the angel meant by saying those words? Do you really dare to say that coming on the clouds is the only way for the Lord to come?” “I dare to say so!” I said firmly. “Turn to John 20:16-17 and see why the Lord Jesus didn’t allow Mary to touch him at that time.” I answered, “That’s because Mary is unholy.” He said, “No. Just look for the answer in these verses.” I read them carefully. Indeed, I found that the answer was given plainly in verse 17: “Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father….” Then, the brother asked me to read John 20:24-29. After I finished reading, he asked, “Why did Jesus allow Thomas to touch him at this time? What does it indicate? If Jesus had not ascended to the Father, how could he have allowed Thomas to touch him? From these two passages, we can see that the Lord Jesus had ascended to heaven secretly once before he ascended to heaven in public. Now, have you understood what the angel meant by saying that as Jesus went, so would he come? Jesus went secretly, so he would come secretly. This has exactly fulfilled the prophecies in Matthew 24:44, 50 and Revelation 3:3. Thus it can be seen that Jesus will come twice as he went twice. Now he has come secretly, and shortly he will come publicly. None of the verses will fail, and all will be fulfilled.” After hearing the brother’s fellowship, I was filled with shocked wonder and felt terribly ashamed. Before the truth and under the enlightenment of the Holy Spirit, my notions had been overturned one by one. At that moment, I said to the brother excitedly, “Now I know what you have preached is correct and is the true way. I have misunderstood you!”
Only after following the Almighty God have I truly realized that all I heard in the religious world in the past are rumors and slanders against the true way. This is because I have personally experienced that God conquered me with many truths. It was not by means of “seducing with beauty, buying off with money, or threatening with violence,” as the rumors say, that I was made to turn to the Almighty God. Of course, those who do not know about my story may think that I was seduced by women of “the Eastern Lightning” into joining it, or that I was swayed by a lot of money they gave me, or that because they are an underworld gang, I had to accept for fear of their using violence on me. Brothers and sisters, now I tell you this seriously: All these thoughts of yours are not facts but misunderstandings about and slanders against the Almighty God! If you still don’t believe after reading my testimony, you may as well come to my home personally to make an investigation and see whether I have become very rich or whether I have ladies accompanying me. Besides, if they were really an underworld gang, how could they have allowed me to frenziedly resist and even beat and abuse them? Then, could I live safely to this day? Could my home and family remain sound? Didn’t they know to revenge?
Dear brothers and sisters, I am a person who loves vainglory, and I really did not have the courage to make public the facts about how I resisted God and how I was conquered by God. But because God’s word kept moving me inside, I could not resist anymore. God says: “Have you ever thought how grieved and worried God’s heart is? How could he bear to see the innocent mankind he created with his own hands suffering such torment? After all, mankind are the unfortunate who have been poisoned. Although they have survived today, who knows that they have long been poisoned by the evil one? Have you forgotten that you were one of the victims? Are you not willing to try hard to save all these survivors because of loving God? Are you not willing to exert all your strength to repay the God who loves man as his own flesh and blood?” It is God’s word that has moved my heart, and it is God’s love that has encouraged me, so that I have broken away from the power of darkness and stood up to bear this testimony for God and for the true way. Thank God for giving me this chance to atone for my sins. I am willing to dedicate all my strength for God’s gospel work at this final time. No matter how great suffering and hindrance there will be, I am willing to make public the facts about my disobedience so that more people who are deceived by rumors can see through satan’s schemes and receive God’s end-time salvation soon.
Wake up! Dear brothers and sisters! God is expecting you, expecting you to turn back now. Throw yourself into his arms quickly, because time is too short, too short! Brothers and sisters, don’t refuse God’s arrival again. Don’t shut the door on the true God who has long since come because there will be false christs appearing in the last days. As God’s word says: “You should not blindly condemn the words expressed by God because there will be false christs appearing in the end time, and should not be ones who blaspheme the Holy Spirit for fear of being deceived. Won’t that be too regrettable?” “I have spoken to you all that I ought to. What path you should choose will be totally decided by your own choice.You should understand such a word: God’s work never waits for anyone who cannot keep up with his pace, and God’s righteous nature is merciless toward anyone.”
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