Both my wife and I accepted the salvation of the Lord Jesus when we first got married. Several years later, I became the first elder in charge of a district of the Praise Church. Afterward, my three daughters started to lead the church and do the works in the pastoral area. In May, 2012, through reading Almighty God’s words, I was certain that Almighty God is exactly the appearance of the Lord Jesus whom I had longed for night and day. At that moment, I was so excited and anxious to share the good news of the Lord’s return with brothers and sisters in the Lord. Thus I made a phone call to Co-worker Shen and his wife who lived in Xinjiang Province. But unexpectedly, our over-80-minute conversation, was recorded by them on a CD. Then they sent it to our pastoral area. Instantly, the news of my belief in Eastern Lightning was known to pastors and leaders.

One noon in June, 2012, Pastor Li and his wife, Pastor Qi, and Leader Cui, Leader Wang, Leader Ding, and Leader Liu came to my house. Seeing them coming in a high-profile way, I thought: “All these years they have been resisting Eastern Lightning and are tough with believers who accept Eastern Lightning …” At the thought of that, I prayed to God silently, asking Him to lead me so that I could deal with this situation. At this time, Leader Cui spoke to me in an official-sounding tone, “Lao Chen, I heard you’ve believed in Eastern Lightning. Am I right?” I nodded calmly and said, “Yes, I’ve read the book of Eastern Lightning and found the words expressed by Almighty God is all the reality of truth. Almighty God is indeed the appearance of the Lord Jesus.” “We warned you many times not to easily listen to strangers’ preaching. But now, you not only believe in it yourself but also steal sheep from the church, how do you answer to the Lord?” said Leader Ding, pointing at me. Then I said, “The Lord Jesus we have longed for years has already returned and done a stage of new work. You don’t seek and investigate, and even don’t allow the brothers and sisters to do so. You’re the ones who disappoint the Lord!” Leader Cui said angrily, “If you insist on following Eastern Lightning, we’ll tell brothers and sisters not to buy your fried dough stick (youtiao). I’ll see what you should do to make a living if your youtiao can’t sell” Hearing that, my heart sank. If pastors and elders really did as what they said they would, then to whom should I sell my youtiao to? And what should I do with my future life? At this time, I thought of the words of the Lord Jesus: “Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knows that you have need of all these things. But seek you first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added to you. Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient to the day is the evil thereof” (Matthew 6:31–34). The Lord Jesus’ words gave me faith and strength. I remembered I had a few mu (a measure of land, equal to approximately 733 square yards) of land, from which I could harvest some crops every year. Couldn’t I still make a living? Thinking of this, I said firmly to them, “Since I’m certain that Almighty God is the very return of the Lord Jesus, I won’t move backward no matter how you hinder me.”

Seeing that I wouldn’t submit to them, they just left. After a while, my eldest daughter called and my wife answered it. She cried on the phone, “Mom, since father believed in Eastern Lightning, we three sisters have been involved. Leaders reproach us for our incapability of persuading father into turning back. They also tell us we are all under suspicion. So, we three were not allowed to go to the church, and our future work will also be affected.” After putting down the phone, my wife burst into tears, saying, “Even if you don’t consider yourself, you should consider your daughters. How could they work in the church from then on?” Hearing what she said, my heart was in much pain. These religious leaders spread the news of my acceptance of Almighty God’s work throughout the entire church. Because of that, my daughters were looked down upon by others at church and thought it was I who got them into trouble. Were the religious pastors deliberately sowing discord amongst them? How malicious they were! But then I thought: “I have recognized through God’s words that Almighty God is truly the returned Lord Jesus I’ve earnestly yearned for many years. I must stand on God’s side. Only then could my family have opportunities to receive God’s salvation in the last days. At the thought of that, I said to my wife, “Before, I didn’t investigate Eastern Lightning because I was deceived by pastors. But now I’ve known the Lord Jesus has returned, so I can’t refuse to accept Him. You can let me betray the pastors, but I can’t betray God. Because the Bible says, ‘For if we sin willfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remains no more sacrifice for sins’ (Hebrews 10:26). Don’t we believe in the Lord for gaining life? Now God doesn’t do the stage of work in the Age of Grace, but you still ask me to stay in religion. Thus, I’ll gain nothing in the end no matter how long I stay.” “I’m not asking that you can’t believe in God, but that you can believe in God secretly when the situation isn’t so tense. Is that OK?” said my wife. Then I asked, “Do you think it is possible? Every time when I attend co-worker meetings in pastoral area, those leaders demand us to stand in a queue praying and cursing Eastern Lightning in turn. The Lord Jesus warned us that we shouldn’t judge people, let alone condemn and curse Eastern Lightning! The Lord Jesus said, ‘And whoever speaks a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him: but whoever speaks against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, neither in the world to come’ (Matthew 12:32). Eastern Lightning is precisely the Lord Jesus returned, and God Himself! Leaders of our church who condemn and curse Eastern Lightning have been met with retribution. Among three elders in the district, two got cancer, one of whom has been dead and the other receives chemotherapy treatment every day. I am the only one left and chosen by God. If I couldn’t hurry to follow God but condemn God with them, then I’ll be the next one to be punished. Revelation says, ‘And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that you be not partakers of her sins, and that you receive not of her plagues. For her sins have reached to heaven, and God has remembered her iniquities’ (Revelation 18:4–5). Today, only churches that accept God’s work in the last days are real churches. The church where those elders are in has fallen into religious Babylon. We should seize the time to escape from the great Babylon, just like Lot in escaping from Sodom. Don’t turn back. It will not be good if we do that. Now I’ve escaped from it, but you want me to go back and take the salary as before without offending pastors. How can it be possible? Though now you and our daughters can’t accept Almighty God, the truth can conquer us. You would believe that sooner or later.” She said nothing after hearing what I said. Thank God for giving me faith so that I could stand testimony in persecution of the pastors and my wife.

In the following days, the pastors and elders didn’t give up disturbing and obstructing me. Without discernment, my wife submitted to them and didn’t allow me to contact brothers and sisters of The Church of Almighty God. I could only take the opportunity of selling youtiao in the morning to contact Brother Yang for a while, yet merely to say a few hurried words. Brother Yang told me to see things through God’s words, not to fall into the trap no matter whatever they said, and then I could stand testimony for God. Besides, he also exhorted me to pray to God with my heart and to rely on God’s guidance, then God would surely make a way out for me. Hearing his fellowship, I thought of God’s words, “You must endure all; for Me, you must be ready to relinquish everything you possess and do everything you can to follow Me, and be ready to expend your all. Now is the time that I shall test you: Will you offer your loyalty to Me? Can you loyally follow Me to the end of the road? Be not afraid; with My support, who could ever block this road?” Then I realized that God was testing my faith. Hence, I made up my mind: “Whatever means the religious pastors use, I will never go back to the religious world. With God guiding me, I have nothing to fear. I have faith in following this path.”

A few days later, Pastor Li and his wife, Pastor Qi, Pastor Wang, and Leader Cui came again. Pastor Wang said with a smile, “Brother Chen, previously you have made much contributions for the Lord. All your three daughters serve in the church. Also, they’ve all married into other places and seldom come back to take care of you. Look, you’re getting on in years. As long as you turn back, you can be looked after by the church, but if you now choose to leave the church, you will gain nothing, and because of your leaving your daughters will leave you uncared for, Mrs. Chen will even blame you as well. What will you do then?” When I heard this, I couldn’t help worrying about my future. I was getting older and older. If no one took care of me in the future, I would suffer many hardships. While I was weak in my heart, I remembered the words of the Bible: “When my father and my mother forsake me, then Jehovah will take me up” (Psalm 27:10). Thank God for His enlightenment. Today, the Lord Jesus has returned. It’s the greatest blessing to me that I can catch up with God’s new work. I was quite content. As for my future, God has His arrangements. At the thought of this, I felt brightened suddenly.

Seeing me still keep silent, Leader Cui went on saying in an official-sounding tone: “We believers in the Lord Jesus suffer much less persecutions than those in Eastern Lightning. They are persecuted by the government every day. If they are caught, they will be fined. What’s worse, they will probably be imprisoned. So I persuade you to turn back quickly.” I answered immediately, “The true way has always been persecuted. When the Lord Jesus did His work, He suffered ridicule, disdain and rejection of man. But finally, hasn’t His redemptive work finished? The Lord Jesus said ‘For as the lightning, that lightens out of the one part under heaven, shines to the other part under heaven; so shall also the Son of man be in his day. But first must he suffer many things, and be rejected of this generation’ (Luke 17:24–25). Almighty God is exactly the incarnate Christ and the Son of man. Today Almighty God comes to work, yet is forsaken by the religious world. God can still endure much pain in order to save us, so, for the sake of obtaining the truth, this little bit of my suffering is nothing? Since I’m certain that this is the true way, I won’t turn back. Don’t persuade me anymore.” After hearing my words, Pastor Qi stood up angrily, ran to my wife’s side saying some offensive things, and then he left in anger.

After they left, my wife said to me sadly, “We two have our respective choices. So, will you move out of the home, or shall I?” I said nothing. Then she cried and started packing up her things. I calmly talked to her: “Don’t do that, you have fell into Satan’s trap. Satan makes up lies to attack and slander God’s work to make you confused and bring discord into our family. The Scripture says: ‘Why take to you the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand’ (Ephesians 6:13). ‘And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God’ (Ephesians 6:17). As believers in God, we must obey God’s words and take His words as the sword to defeat Satan.” While saying that, I grabbed the luggage from her hands, thus, she didn’t leave. She was deeply deceived by the religious leaders, which brought both of us great pain. I then sadly went out of the house and went to the field, singing the Psalms of David in sorrow: “Judge me, O God, and plead my cause against an ungodly nation: O deliver me from the deceitful and unjust man. For you are the God of my strength: why do you cast me off? why go I mourning because of the oppression of the enemy? send out your light and your truth: let them lead me; let them bring me to your holy hill, and to your tabernacles” (Psalms 43:1–3). After singing, I felt better in my heart and had faith to move on.

Thinking back on the time since I believed in Almighty God, I was disturbed and blocked by pastors and leaders almost every day. They seized my weakness trying hard to lure and attack me by means of family affection and interests, attempting to draw me back to my former church, thereby making me reject God’s work of the last days and being destroyed together with them. Their intentions were too malicious! This reminded me of a passage of God’s words, “There are those who read the Bible in grand churches and recite it all day long, yet not one among them understands the purpose of God’s work. Not one among them is able to know God; still less can any one among them accord with God’s will. They are all worthless, vile people, each standing on high to lecture God. They willfully oppose God even as they carry His banner. Claiming faith in God, still they eat the flesh and drink the blood of man. All such people are devils that devour the soul of man, head demons that deliberately get in the way of those trying to step onto the right path, and stumbling blocks impeding those who seek God. They may appear of ‘sound constitution,’ but how are their followers to know that they are none other than antichrists who lead people to stand against God? How are their followers to know that they are living devils dedicated to the devouring of human souls?” (“All People Who Do Not Know God Are People Who Oppose God”). These words of Almighty God reveal at a stroke religious pastors and leaders’ substance of resisting God, which helped me discern them more practically. The religious pastors and leaders equip themselves with many biblical theories and preach sermons to believers every day. Outwardly they seem to be humble, loving, tolerant and patient, but actually they do so for the purpose of deceiving believers and making people worship them as God. When God does the work in the last days, they condemn and blaspheme it without seeking and investigating. Moreover, they obstruct other believers to investigate the true way and follow God. They are exactly the antichrists who hate the truth and God, and are the same as those Pharisees who resisted the Lord Jesus when He did his work in Judea.

I thought they wouldn’t come again after they left angrily last time. But beyond my expectations, these pastors took turns to advise me to turn back every two or three days, making use of the fleshly interests. Meanwhile, they instigated my wife to watch me closely and to keep me from contacting brothers and sisters of The Church of Almighty God.

Once I grabbed the chance of buying flour to get in touch with Brother Yang of The Church of Almighty God. After Brother Yang knew my situation, he fellowshiped with me: “These days you are confronted with religious people’s disturbing and attacking. This is a spiritual war. We should quiet our heart before God, try hard to seek His will and His guidance, ask him to give us discernment and wisdom so that we can wage war against Satan to the end. God’s words say: ‘In every step of work that God does within people, externally it appears to be interactions between people, as if born of human arrangements or from human interference. But behind the scenes, every step of work, and everything that happens, is a wager made by Satan before God, and requires people to stand firm in their testimony to God’ (“Only Loving God Is Truly Believing in God”). Brother, God wants to save us, but Satan doesn’t allow us to come before God by all means. It utilizes kinds of people, things, and events to delude and disturb us. We must believe that all difficulties are not difficulties for God. No matter what things we are facing, as long as we have faith in God, offer our true hearts to Him, pray to Him and depend on Him, we can defeat Satan and stand testimony for God.”

Afterward, he read God’s words to me: “Whoever truly offers their heart to God now is assured of being completed by God. Nothing, no matter what it is, can disturb you; whether it is to prune you or deal with you, or whether you meet with frustration or failure, your heart should always be at peace before God. No matter how people treat you, your heart should be at peace before God. No matter what circumstances you encounter—whether you are beset by adversity, suffering, persecution, or different trials—your heart should always be at peace before God; such are the paths to being made perfect” (“On Quieting Your Heart Before God”). “It is this work which is the main work of the Millennial Kingdom, and if you cannot perceive this work, then you will become weak and topple down; you will descend amid trials and, yet more grievously, be taken captive by Satan. God has come to earth principally to speak His words; what you engage with is the word of God, what you see is the word of God, what you hear is the word of God, what you abide by is the word of God, what you experience is the word of God, and this incarnation of God principally uses the word to make man perfect” (“All Is Achieved by the Word of God”). Brother Yang fellowshiped, “God’s work of the last days is leading man by speaking words. We must believe that all can be achieved by the words of God. If we rely on God and do as God says, we will overcome all temptations and stand testimony for God. Remember, everything that can prevent you from following Christ are from Satan and evil spirits. Now those religious people went to your home to disturb you almost every few days. You can’t follow them and fall into Satan’s trap. You must see through it.” After hearing his fellowship, I felt much more brightened inside and had greater faith in God.

Later, because of pastors and leaders’ indoctrination, I was constrained and persecuted by my wife for 18 months. Every day I couldn’t go out to meet brothers and sisters of The Church of Almighty God and fellowship about God’s words with them. Even at home I could only read God’s words in secret with an electric torch until my wife fell asleep. I was tortured day by day and wondered when there would be an end to such torment.

One night, I felt I couldn’t bear it anymore. I didn’t know whether I could continue moving forward, so I prayed to God constantly asking Him to make a way out for me. Then I said to my wife: “Tonight I want to open my heart to you. You want me to return to the religious world, I really can’t do that. Because God doesn’t do the work there and I wouldn’t be provided with life even if I turned back. Almighty God is the Savior Jesus whom I had waited for many years. He is Jehovah God, and is also the Lord Jesus. Moreover, He is the Almighty in the last days. Today the Lord Jesus comes as Almighty God and He does the work of judging and purifying man in the last days. At present, the majority of believers in the Lord Jesus are confused by religious pastors and thus refusing to accept Almighty God’s work. Some of them even follow pastors to resist God. Do you know how serious the consequences of rejecting and resisting God are? Let me read some words of Almighty God to you. Almighty God says, ‘Christ comes during the last days so that all those who truly believe in Him may be provided with life. His work is for the sake of concluding the old age and entering the new one, and His work is the path that must be taken by all those who would enter the new age. If you are incapable of acknowledging Him, and instead condemn, blaspheme, or even persecute Him, then you are bound to burn for eternity and shall never enter the kingdom of God. For this Christ is Himself the expression of the Holy Spirit, the expression of God, the One whom God has entrusted to do His work on earth. And so I say that if you cannot accept all that is done by Christ of the last days, then you blaspheme the Holy Spirit. The retribution to be had by those who blaspheme the Holy Spirit is self-evident to all. I also tell you that if you resist Christ of the last days, if you spurn Christ of the last days, there will be no one else to bear the consequences on your behalf. Furthermore, from this day onward you will not have another chance to gain the approval of God; even if you try to redeem yourself, you will never again behold the face of God. For what you resist is not a man, what you spurn is not some puny being, but Christ. Do you know what the consequences of this will be? You will not have made a small mistake, but committed a heinous crime. And so I advise everyone not to bare your fangs before the truth, or make careless criticisms, for only the truth can bring you life, and nothing except the truth can allow you to be reborn and behold the face of God again’ (“Only Christ of the Last Days Can Give Man the Way of Eternal Life”).”

I fellowshiped with her after reading, “In recent years, the church is desolate. These pastors and elders have nothing to preach. They either make us seal off the church to protect the sheep, or make us pray to curse Eastern Lightning. But so many years have passed, our church has gotten more and more desolate. Believers’ faith becomes weak. Many people withdraw and return to the world. The Church of Almighty God, however, is ever more prosperous. More and more people in every denomination join The Church of Almighty God. They have greater faith. At this moment, I’m a bit awakened. Then, I began to search for the prophecies regarding the Lord’s return from the Bible. Also, I kept praying to the Lord that I want to get in touch with Eastern Lightning followers so I can investigate it. God knows my thoughts and sended someone to testify Almighty God’s work for me. Through reading God’s words and fellowshiping with brothers and sisters, I realize that Eastern Lightning we’ve been opposing and denying these years is the Savior Jesus I’ve desperately longed for many years. But God doesn’t treat and punish me based on my evil deeds, but still gives me a chance to receive the salvation in the last days. I don’t know what I can do to repay God’s tolerance for me. You ask me to leave God and forsake Him to return to the religious world, I can’t do it. On the matter of believing in the Lord these years, don’t you know what kind of person I am? Since we believe in God, we must submit to God’s words, rather than that of man.” After hearing God’s words and my fellowship, my wife nodded thoughtfully and promised she would not persecute me anymore. She said: “It’s been a long time that I haven’t attended meetings. I feel empty and sad in my heart. Where can I attend meetings then?” Hearing what she said, I replied gladly: “Previously, I preached to hundreds of people. Now I preach only to you. And what I preach now is more abundant than before. If you want to listen to the work done by Jehovah, I will read the Old Testament to you. If you want to listen to the work done by Jesus, I will read the New Testament to you. If you want to keep up with God’s work, I will read Almighty God’s newest utterances to you and thus you will see in His utterances that God has come and has appeared.” From then on, I studied the Bible with my wife and helped her resolve her conceptions. Then, I would read the words of Almighty God to guide her to know God’s work. Thank God for His enlightenment and illumination. Gradually, my wife was certain about Almighty God’s work of the last days.

One day, she said to me with an open heart: “I truly regretted and hated myself for being so foolish and blind. I trusted pastors and elders’ words to persecute you for over a year, during that time you couldn’t eat and sleep well. Besides, I stopped you from gathering with brothers and sisters of The Church of Almighty God. You were almost forced to the end of the road. Now I find that these bitter consequences are caused by the rumors spread by pastors and elders. They frequently attack, judge, and blaspheme Almighty God in front of me. I was deeply deceived by the rumors, heresies and fallacies they spread. Now through Almighty God’s words I see that the essence of their nature is too sinister and malicious. They are the modern-day Pharisees. If God had not shown me grace, using His words to enlighten and guide me to have discernment about them, I would have always been deceived and controlled firmly in their hands. In the end I would have sunk into destruction. Thank God for His great love that allows me to stand before Him again and accept His salvation of the last days.” Hearing the words of my wife, I said excitedly: “Thank God! It’s also God’s illumination that you have such understandings.”

Not long after my wife accepted God’s work of the last days, Leader Dai and Leader Ding of the Praise Church came to my home for the last time. Leader Ding said with a sigh: “Brother Chen, today we came to give you the last chance. It is not late to turn back now. Or, you’ll have no more chances.” After hearing Leader Ding’s words, I said, “Believing in God must keep up with the Holy Spirit’s work. Since our Lord doesn’t do His work in the religious world, why should I go back? Just like the time when the Lord Jesus did His work, there was no use in staying in the temple of Jehovah.” Leader Dai said: “Since you’ve decided, come with us to the church in your district. Pastor Li and others are waiting for you now.” I wondered what tricks they would play. So I prayed to Almighty God in my heart asking Him to guide me not to yield to them. When I got close to the church, I heard someone crying. Upon arriving there, I knew what happened. Pastors and leaders gathered brothers and sisters in our district in order to declare to expel me in front of them. But brothers and sisters began crying and wouldn’t agree. Pastor Qi stepped onto the podium saying: “There is evidence to show he has believed in Eastern Lightning. When you see that, you’ll understand yourselves.” Then, he took out a CD, on which was the recording of our over-eighty-minute conversation recorded by Co-worker Shen and his wife when I preached gospel to them in May, 2012. When he began to play it, the church was in silence. I wanted to take this opportunity to testify God’s work of the last days to brothers and sisters. But pastors and leaders constrained wolfishly and didn’t allow me to speak a word. I saw that brothers and sisters were confused by them again. I was greatly indignant and couldn’t help shouting to them: “I am certain that Almighty God is the Lord Jesus returned! If I believe wrongly, I will be punished by God. But if you resist wrongly, which of you dare to vow to God and ask Him to punish your offspring for your sin of resisting God?” They looked at each other. No one dare to say a word. I continued, “No matter how you humiliate me in front of the masses, I won’t alter my faith in following Almighty God. At last, I’d like to give a word of advice: Don’t be the modern-day Pharisees! The Pharisees nailed the Lord Jesus on the cross. I’m sure you know their outcomes. I hope you can humble yourself, investigate Almighty God’s work of the last days and listen to the new utterances expressed by Him, no longer replaying the tragedy of the Pharisees.” After saying that, I walked calmly out of the church. I knew it was God who gave me faith so that I had the courage to say these words. I was touched to shed tears unconsciously. I felt so relaxed and joyful which I’d never felt before, and I couldn’t help uttering love and respect and praises to God from the bottom of my heart.

Since I accepted Almighty God’s work of the last days, I had been disturbed and obstructed by the religious pastors and leaders and watched by my wife for 18 months. During that period, it was God’s words that showed me the direction. Every time I was weak in flesh and lost faith in God, it was God’s words that gave me comfort and strength and guided me to escape from the religious Babylon. I truly thank Almighty God!

From now on, I formally attend meetings of The Church of Almighty God. I come to know when many brothers and sisters around me just accepted this stage of God’s work, they were disturbed and blocked by the antichrists’ forces of the religious world in differing degrees. In the end, with the guidance of God, they overcame Satan’s sieges and returned to God by relying on God’s words. Then, I deeply realize: It is not easy to escape from the religious Babylon, but with God’s guidance, we’ll certainly succeed!