Disturbances From the “May 28” Rumor (Part 1)
Xingwu, France
The First Time I Heard This Rumor a Shadow Was Cast Over My Heart
My mother is a devout Christian. Ever since I was old enough to understand things, she would often tell me stories about the Lord Jesus, telling me that the Lord Jesus is the only true God. When I was 13 years old I went with my mom to church. At that time I really enjoyed listening to the pastors’ sermons, and I had a great deal of faith. I would actively participate in every fellowship. But I gradually discovered that there was no illumination in the sermons preached by the pastors. They always repeated some theories and knowledge of the Bible or some theological theories, and as time went on I didn’t receive the least bit of pleasure from listening to their sermons, nor did I feel I was being provided with life. Therefore, I started going to fellowships less and less frequently.
After graduating I went to France, and I thought to myself: “The situation in overseas churches certainly must be better than the situation in churches back home.” So, I set out right away in search of a church. When I went to a Chinese church, I discovered that the sermons they preached were virtually the same as those preached back home, and they had nothing new to say. Sometime after the church invited some American pastors to preach sermons, but they too spoke with no illumination. In order to rejuvenate the church, the pastors and elders even organized an outing for us believers to go on, using sightseeing and entertainment to spark the enthusiasm of the believers, thereby consolidating their outward power and fame. As I saw that this was how the church was, I felt very disappointed, and for lack of a better option all I could do was leave it. After this, my elder sister took me to go to another church, and to my surprise the situation in this church was even worse. The believers were all scrambling for fame and wealth. Disputes and fights broke out within the church until ultimately the police had to be called in to break them up. After witnessing these scenes I never wanted to go to a church again.
One day, as I was stepping into my sister’s home, she ran up to me saying: “Have you heard? There is an Eastern Lightning church that has popped up, and they are preaching very lofty sermons, focusing on ‘stealing’ the good sheep from the churches. I’ve heard that many good sheep and their shepherds from all denominations and sects have accepted Eastern Lightning, and that all over they are spreading the word and bearing witness to the return of Lord Jesus. I even heard that once you start believing in Eastern Lightning, you can’t get out, that if you want to leave they will gouge out your eyes, cut off your nose and rob you of your wealth.” My sister warned me again and again, telling me that I must be careful and that I must protect myself against Eastern Lightning. When I got back home my husband also shared with me some negative publicity on Eastern Lightning that he had found on the Internet. In particular there was the May 28 Murder Case in a McDonald’s in Zhaoyuan, Shandong that CCTV was reporting on. After hearing about this I felt even more frightened, and after that moment Eastern Lightning had cast a shadow over my heart.