Nowadays,
most religious pastors and elders are condemning the Eastern Lightning.
It means the Eastern Lightning can't be the true way.
If it's condemned by the CCP and religious world, it can't be the true way.
That can't be wrong!
… as you say, where are the facts to back this up?
When you try to figure out whether it's the true way,
it's not based on the Lord's words nor the Holy Spirit's work.
You base it on religious leaders'
and the government's acceptance.
Such views are absurd and ridiculous?
Indeed. Yes. It's true. He's right.
Judging based on this criteria,
does this accord with the truth?
Is it in line with the Bible?
No, it's against the Bible and the truth.
Tell me, was Elder Sun so anxious to gather us all
because he knew we were listening to Brother Yu preach?
It's likely.
I wonder if they already know Brother Yu believes in Almighty God.
I was thinking the same thing.
Elder Sun has been resisting this whole time …
Why was Elder Sun so anxious to get everyone together?
I don't know.
Everyone,
what Brother Yu fellowshiped these past few days was profound.
But I worry he believes in the Eastern Lightning.
Brother Yu's from the Eastern Lightning?
No wonder his fellowship is so profound.
Don't forget,
the Eastern Lightning has been condemned by the religious world and the CCP government.
If we accept their preachings and believe in the Eastern Lightning,
we're in for a lot of trouble.
Yes.
Why do we believe in God?
Isn't it so we can have peace?
Won't it be shameful to be captured, jailed by the CCP?
Indeed.
I don't agree. It's persecution for righteousness' sake.
Elder Sun called us here today to commune on this.
No wonder Brother Yu's communion is so enlightening.
He believes in Almighty God.
Yeah, no wonder.
I heard the Eastern Lightning's preaching is lofty and practical.
Now I know it's true.
Yeah.
The Eastern Lightning may be profound, but listening to them is dangerous.
We risk arrest by the CCP and we might be expelled by the pastor. (Yes.)
We can't listen to the Eastern Lightning anymore. (Why?)
What he says has some truth. Why can't we listen?
Yeah.
I've gained a lot of insight from Brother Yu's fellowship recently.
Me too.
I understand many more truths than I did before.
The Eastern Lightning has the Holy Spirit's work. (Yes.)
Why can't we seek and accept it? (Yeah.)
Sister Zhen is right.
His fellowship is so great.
Everyone, now is the time when the Lord will arrive.
False prophets and false Christs are out to deceive man.
Yes.
At our gatherings, we have repeatedly stressed that we can't receive any strangers.
The Eastern Lightning especially, we can't listen to them at all.
Why won't you listen to me?
Aren't you afraid of being deceived?
I know there are good sheep, head sheep even from all sects
who've read the Eastern Lightning's books and heard their sermons.
They believe in the Eastern Lightning.
They cannot be brought back no matter what.
That's right.
Why have so many people accepted it?
The Eastern Lightning's preaching is powerful.
It's shocking the very core of the religious community.
Yeah.
So we all have to remember,
no matter what happens, we'll hold onto the Bible and the Lord's name.
Amen!
We can't listen to the Eastern Lightning's preaching any longer.
To believe in the Eastern Lightning is to abandon the Lord's way, to betray the Lord.
Yeah. You'll probably lose the Lord's salvation.
You must drive this Eastern Lightning person away immediately. (Right.)
This follows the Lord's will and shows true loyalty.
Isn't that what we want?
How can he say that?
Our belief in God is to follow the Bible and cling to it.
The Lord's words and work are in the Bible.
Departing from it, that's heretical. (Right.)
The Eastern Lightning goes beyond the Bible.
We must condemn and reject it. (Amen.)
Elder Sun wants us to send away the Eastern Lightning preacher.
That's in line with the Lord's will. (Yes.)
It can't be the Lord's will.
Yeah, how can we send him away? (That's right.)
I agree. Elder Sun is right.
If everyone listens to the Eastern Lightning,
who listens to the pastors interpret the Bible?
And then,
the church Elder Sun painstakingly built will be destroyed.
Who would Elder Sun be an elder to?
We're all human. We have a conscience, right?
We've all heard preaching from the Eastern Lightning
and it's too great.
Whoever hears it would be convinced.
The Eastern Lightning, isn't it shaking up the religious community?
Haven't you heard this before?
If we don't drive them away,
then they will steal all the good sheep from our church.
You can't say you haven't thought of this before?
I don't agree with what you're saying.
Do you know why the Eastern Lightning caused a shock to the religious world?
Why do so many good sheep and head sheep turn to the Eastern Lightning?
It's because the Eastern Lightning's preaching has the truth and is convincing.
Yes. That's right. Yeah.
These past few days, we've heard Brother Yu preach and know many truths.
After we listen, we understand the Lord's will
and can see the real essence of problems. (Yes.)
Our hearts have been enlightened.
We've resolved all the confusion we felt
and we have a way to practice.
We've restored our faith in the Lord.
Amen! Praise the Lord!
Before, when we listened to pastors and elders preach, it didn't solve problems.
Our church is becoming desolate.
If you compare them,
who really has the truth, the Holy Spirit's work, isn't it obvious?
That's right. It's clear.
Elder Sun, why do you always condemn the Eastern Lightning?
You condemn the Eastern Lightning, but do you know the truth?
Can you fix the church's problems?
That's right.
Can you lead us to hear the Lord's voice and into His kingdom?
Yeah.
Besides, what Brother Yu says is practical and has truth, with solutions to our problems.
Why would you try to drive him away?
Yeah, why would you? It's wrong to drive him out.
After hearing him,
we've obtained the watering and supply of life.
You should feel happy for everyone.
That's right. Yeah.
You don't want us to live in darkness and starve, right?
We've been hearing you interpret the Bible all these years,
and what do we get?
Even now we still don't understand the truth.
We just have Bible knowledge and theological theory.
But we can't solve our problems.
We don't even know how to treat Satan's regime.
Don't you think that's pathetic?
As a church elder,
you should take responsibility for our life.
That's right. I agree.
Elder Sun, the church is so desolate now.
The faith of our brothers and sisters has grown cold and weak.
You must know this by now.
If what the Eastern Lightning preaches is so powerful,
and so many good sheep from all denominations have accepted Almighty God,
this should prove the Eastern Lightning really holds the truth and is from God. (Right.)
You should lead everyone to investigate it more
if you're a good servant of the Lord.
That's right. She's right.
Instead, you restrict and hinder us
and say we should condemn the Eastern Lightning.
Does this accord with the Lord's will?
Are you a seeker of the truth?
The Eastern Lightning has truth.
Why won't you let us study it?
Why do you insist on condemning it?
That's right! Yeah. Why?
Makes me wonder,
are you a good servant or are you just an evil servant?
I really don't understand you.
We must learn to discern. (Yeah.)
In the past, we didn't hear the Eastern Lightning's preaching.
We didn't see the truth and we blindly believed you all.
We too resisted the Eastern Lightning with you. What did it do?
The more we resisted the Eastern Lightning, the worse our spirits felt.
We didn't know what was going on.
Right. Indeed. That's how it went.
Now we all understand.
The Eastern Lightning is the work from the Holy Spirit. (Amen.)
If not, why would our spirits grow darker the more we resisted?
She's right.
How could we not have the presence of the Lord? (Right.)
Now we're already certain.
The Eastern Lightning has communed so many truths.
I know this means it comes from God.
Absolutely. Amen. That's right.
We must study as soon as possible. We can't listen to the elders any more.
Do you all agree?
Yes. For sure.
We didn't understand before. We let them harm us.
This is definitely the Lord's will. (Yes.)
Yes, we have to seek the true way.
We can't let pastors and elders restrict us. (Agreed.)
We can't blindly listen to them anymore.
We've been in the dark for so long. We can't do it any more.
I understand how you feel.
As an elder of the church, I did not shepherd you well.
It's my fault, my responsibility.
But still, how could you listen to the Eastern Lightning?
Don't you know this?
The Lord's words are all in the Bible.
Our faith is based on the Bible.
Leaving it, we're betraying the Lord. (Amen.)
But you don't hold on to the Bible or the Lord's way,
you listen to the Eastern Lightning instead.
You're betraying the Bible and betraying the Lord!
I won't let you study the Eastern Lightning.
It's my responsibility for you.
Isn't this in the best interest of you all?
So why? Why don't you understand?
As a church elder, I must protect you all.
I can't let you leave the Lord's way and betray the Bible.
Am I wrong for doing this?
No, you're right.
Elder Sun is right!
In our belief, we should hold firm to the Bible and the Lord's name.
We can't listen to the Eastern Lightning.
We should only listen to the pastors and elders. (Amen.)
Obeying them is obeying the Lord.
That's right.
Elder Sun won't let us listen to the Eastern Lightning
because he's responsible for our lives.
We should understand where he's coming from.
Elder Sun,
it seems that you're saying this out of concern for us.
You worry we'd leave the Lord's way.
I think that I understand.
But you say hearing the Eastern Lightning is betraying the Bible and the Lord.
Have you heard what the Eastern Lightning preaches?
Oh yeah.
Have you investigated Almighty God's word?
If you've never heard it,
then how can you judge and condemn it?
He's right.
What if the Eastern Lightning really is the work of the Lord?
You're not afraid of resisting the Lord?
That would be terrible.
That's true.
Elder Sun, you know the Bible so well.
You should understand the severity of this.
You often say that people believe in the Lord to obtain life.
That person who can communicate the truth to us,
make us understand the truth and the Lord's will,
and solve our practical problems,
that's the person we should trust and receive.
Am I wrong?
No. You're right. Yeah, I get it. That's right.
The Eastern Lightning preacher communes the truth and reality,
allows us to know the truth and enjoy the Holy Spirit's work,
and can solve all our problems.
So I think that we should receive him and hear him out.
Right. We should welcome him.
Yes, it's the right thing to do. I agree.
If our pastors and elders could communicate the truth and allow us edification and provision,
would we need anybody else?
Don't you agree that this is the case?
Yeah, I agree. I do. It's true.
Pastors and elders only talk about the doctrines in the Bible.
They can't supply us with life or communicate reality of the truth. (Yeah.)
So we looked for another path
and took in the Eastern Lightning person.
This is our freedom and our right.
Why would you interfere with us?
She's right.
You don't want to see us trapped to death here in this religion, do you?
Of course not.
Then why would you stop us from studying the true way?
Yes, why?
By doing that, you're harming all of us. (You are.)
How can you say you're protecting us?
Your words may sound righteous,
but your deeds are base and vile! (Yeah!)
How are you different from the ancient Pharisees?
He's not different at all.
By doing this, aren't you betraying the Bible?
Aren't you betraying the Lord's will? (Yeah.)
You're boxing us in and controlling us.
Why not let us seek the truth and the true way freely?
Yeah!
Is there another motive here?
It's not us who need self-reflection.
It's you pastors and elders.
Why do they restrict us like this?
We should just believe in God.
We shouldn't be restricted. We should just believe in God.
If the Eastern Lightning's preaching offers you provision and understanding of the truth,
you can continue.
I won't object.
I'm not completely unreasonable.
It's just … if you listen to the Eastern Lightning,
please be careful.
Nowadays,
most religious pastors and elders are condemning the Eastern Lightning.
What does this mean?
It means the Eastern Lightning can't be the true way.
Amen.
If the CCP and religious leaders accepted it,
that would prove it's the true way. (Amen.)
Am I wrong? Do you all agree?
I do!
If the Lord Jesus returned to do God's work of judgment in the last days,
it would be advocated by the religious communities.
Right.
How could that be opposed and condemned by religious leaders at all?
Yeah, how could that be?
Would God let the religious communities resist and condemn His work?
Right. God wouldn't allow it. (Yeah.)
Besides, religious leaders often interpret the Bible.
They know it well.
You could say they understand the Bible the best.
Amen. Right.
So if they resist the Eastern Lightning,
they probably aren't wrong.
Right. They can't be wrong!
Are you saying that none of the religious pastors and elders have the truth at all?
How could you dare condemn all elders as the hypocritical Pharisees?
I wouldn't dare say that.
I think that
we should continue to follow the religious community.
Amen.
I don't want you listening to the Eastern Lightning's preaching.
Is this not in your best interests?
He's going around in circles, but we still can't listen?
Elder Sun is right.
If it's condemned by the CCP and religious world, it can't be the true way.
We should follow religious trends and stick to the Bible.
That can't be wrong!
The Lord wouldn't forsake the whole religious world.
The Lord is compassionate.
I don't believe the Lord would ever forsake us. (Amen.)
I don't think you should listen to the Eastern Lightning either.
Me neither.
If the Eastern Lightning is the return of the Lord Jesus,
how come we're not raptured yet?
I don't care if it's the true way.
If I can't get to the kingdom of heaven, I don't want it.
I'll stick to the Bible.
I'll follow religious trends. There's no way I'm wrong.
Even if the Eastern Lightning is the true way, I don't want it.
Get me into the kingdom of heaven, then I'll believe.
How can he say that?
He's an unbeliever.
That is the voice of Satan. (Exactly!)
That's completely absurd. (Awful.)
I have something to say.
If only pastors and elders know the true way as you say,
where are the facts to back this up?
Is it in line with the truth?
Do the Lord Jesus' words support this?
The Lord Jesus didn't say anything like that. (Yeah.)
When the Lord Jesus did His work,
He received fierce condemnation from the Jewish religious world.
And in the end,
He was crucified on the cross by Jewish leaders and the Roman government.
Isn't this true?
It is.
Would you dare say the Lord Jesus isn't the true God and His work not the true way?
No one would dare. No, nobody would say that.
According to you, aren't you condemning the Lord Jesus' work?
Right. They definitely are.
Elder Sun, what do you say to that?
That's how it is.
If you had lived in the Lord Jesus' time,
I don't know whether you would follow religious leaders and resist the Lord Jesus
or follow the Lord Jesus.
Yeah. That's right.
When you try to figure out whether it's the true way,
it's not based on the Lord's words nor the Holy Spirit's work.
You base it on religious leaders' and the government's acceptance.
Judging based on this criteria, does this accord with the truth?
Is it in line with the Bible?
No, it's against the Bible and the truth.
When the Lord Jesus appeared and did His work,
many people condemned His work based on their own conceptions and imaginings.
Yeah.
What was the result?
They resisted and condemned the Lord. They were cursed by God.
That's right.
How is your attitude toward the Eastern Lightning
different from the ancient Pharisees' attitude toward the Lord Jesus?
Exactly the same.
Don't you think such views are absurd and ridiculous?
Indeed. Yes. It's true. He's right.
If the Eastern Lightning is the appearance of God,
then the religious pastors and elders who condemn it
are the modern-day Pharisees.
Yeah.
Some even call the cops and have the Eastern Lightning preachers arrested.
Isn't this standing on the side of Satan's regime resisting God?
That's true.
Their resistance of the Eastern Lightning
makes me wonder if they're God-fearing people at all.
They don't seek the true way or consider the life of us.
How can they restrict us from seeking the true way?
Correct. Yeah. That's right.
I think I fully understand.
They're no better than the Pharisees.
They're hypocrites.
They only care for their own status. (Yeah. You're right.)
Based on how they've dealt with the Eastern Lightning,
I now understand they are evil servants, false shepherds. (Right! Yeah!)
Elder Sun, recently we've already started seeking.
We've found the Eastern Lightning has the truth and comes from God.
That's right. Definitely.
If you want to be responsible for our life,
then you should study the Eastern Lightning
and listen to their sermons, (Agreed.)
and see if the Eastern Lightning has truth or not. (That's right.)
Then, you can confirm whether the Eastern Lightning is God's work.
Right. Yes. That's a good plan. I agree.
If the Eastern Lightning didn't have the Holy Spirit's work,
and was just man's group,
we could condemn it however we want.
But you haven't looked into it. You're just blindly condemning.
You're even believing the CCP's lies.
That's of a different nature entirely.
Absolutely. It's offensive to God.
We're believers in the Lord.
We must be responsible for our actions. (Yes. Right.)
If you're wrong,
how will you explain it to us? (That's right.)
If you ruin our future prospects,
how will you compensate us?
Yeah. Very true. That's right.
If you're really considerate of us,
why don't you search for the true way?
How can you still say irresponsible things? (Yes! Yeah!)
Elder Sun, you're wrong to do this.
If you had compassion,
you wouldn't stop us from seeking the true way. (Yeah! Yes!)
You're the elder, so why don't you let us choose for ourselves?
Why? Yeah. She's right.
Yes. We're now able to understand some truth.
That's a good thing. (Yeah. Yes.)
You don't have to be happy for us,
but why condemn the Eastern Lightning? (Yeah!)
Is that still love?
There's no love. None at all.
You're the elder.
If you can't lead us to find the true way and the Lord's voice,
then you're not qualified!
Yeah, that's right. Agreed.
Restricting us from studying the true way,
do you have a conscience? (Yeah!)
I … I have worked so hard for all these years for you all!
Not only do you disobey me, you try and tell me what to do!
You've let me down! (It's just facts.)
You …
Elder Sun! Elder Sun!
How could you all do this to him?
You are muddled. You can't see the truth.
You can't stick up with the truth.
The Eastern Lightning has the truth. We should study it. (Amen.)