Gospel Testimonies

The Awakening of a Deceived Spirit

By Yuanzhi, Brazil

I was born in a small city in Northern China and in 2010, followed relatives to Brazil. Here in Brazil, I got acquainted with a Christian friend who brought me to church to listen to some sermons, after three visits I still hadn't absorbed anything. I got really busy with work after that, so I didn't go back to church again until one day in June, 2015, when my friend brought me to church once more. That time, I finally gained some understanding of the Lord Jesus as the Redeemer through what the brothers and sisters shared. In particular, when I first read Genesis, I realized that man was actually created by God, that God had created all things, and I felt that the Creator is truly wondrous. When I was in school all the textbooks had taught me that man evolved from primates, and all the things in the world were formed naturally—it turned out that I had been deceived for over two decades. Only after reading the Bible did I fully awaken, and from that point on, I believed in the Lord Jesus.

In late 2015, I went back to Brazil after five months in China. This time, I decided to find a steady job and settle down properly. However, things don't always turn out as planned. Things weren't going smoothly with work or my personal life, leaving me very agitated and anxious. One evening, I phoned that Christian friend to complain, and he told me, "Quiet yourself and pray to the Lord and see how the Lord arranges everything for you." So, I quieted my heart and prayed to the Lord, "Lord Jesus! I've encountered some problems at work that I don't know how to deal with. Lord, I hope that I may receive some help from You." To my surprise, four days later, my boss called me and asked me to come back to work. I was ecstatic and thankful that the Lord Jesus heard my prayers. I received more of the Lord's grace after that, so I started attending gatherings every week to repay His love, even if I had to take time off from work.

Starting in June 2016, not only was I attending church gatherings, but I also shared Bible verses with friends on Facebook, plus I would browse through Facebook for content so I could gain more understanding of the Lord. I added a lot of friends who would all share Bible verses with me when they had time. This was extremely rewarding for me. One day while browsing Facebook, I saw a video with a description "God Descends With Judgment"—this immediately grabbed my attention. Curious, I clicked on it. I was pleasantly surprised that it had been so well done. Simply put, it was spectacular! I was drawn in by the sonorous, powerful singing, lyrics that tugged at the heartstrings, and the enthusiasm of everyone in the performance. Giving it a closer look, I saw that the video was from The Church of Almighty God. I thought: "All the performers really throw themselves into it—it's as if they're singing for God to hear. The Church of Almighty God seems not bad at all! This is the first time that I've heard of them; if I get the chance I should get in touch with them."

One day, I sent the link for that video to a Facebook friend, Sister Yang, with whom I frequently discussed the Bible. She really liked it too, and said that she was interested in learning more about The Church of Almighty God. She felt that this church was indeed very special and that it was filled with the Holy Spirit's work. I then shared the video on my Facebook page, but to my surprise, one of my friends watched it and told me that The Church of Almighty God was no good, plus he sent me all sorts of negative stuff about it. Seeing all these materials that blasphemed Almighty God and condemned The Church of Almighty God really scared me and I thought: "This church seems fine—how could anyone have a problem with them?" When I went to give the video another look, I suddenly thought back to something my pastor had once said in a sermon, that false Christs will appear in the last days. If I stray from the Lord Jesus' path, wouldn't it all be over for me? I knew that was something that I couldn't just disregard, so I decided not to watch it just then. I reached out to Sister Yang right away and explained the situation to her. Her response was, "We can't just rely on one side of the story to determine whether it's true or false. This is not in accordance with the Lord's teachings. All of us who are believers in the Lord are awaiting His return, and right now, some people are saying that He has already come. We have to investigate this. We can't just follow the herd, blindly judging and condemning it. Let's find some people from The Church of Almighty God and look into it. We'll see their true colors—nothing real can be made fake, and nothing fake can be made real." I thought: "Sister Yang is right. This is indeed the first time that I've heard anyone preach the gospel that the Lord has returned, plus I have no idea whether that stuff on the Internet condemning The Church of Almighty God is true or false. I can see that the videos and movies shot by The Church of Almighty God are pretty good. I should go and learn about them—that's the only rational way to approach the return of the Lord." And so, I agreed to investigate Almighty God's work of the last days with Sister Yang.