Eastern Lightning | Destruction in the Blink of an Eye

—Qingping Township in Sichuan Province disappeared twice because of its defiance of Almighty God’s gospel of the last days

Jing Wei, Sichuan Province

During the great earthquake that occurred on May 12, 2008, a town vanished entirely: That was Qingping Township in the Mianzhu municipal area in Sichuan Province. Because of the government’s information blackout, this is not something that many people know about.

Qingping Township was located north-west of the hard-hit area of Hanwang Town in the Mianzhu municipal area. Before the earthquake struck, situated deep in the mountains, it was a place of clean air, clear waters and blue skies, and the mountains abounded with kiwi fruit and gingko fruit. God bestowed this abundance on the people and provided them with all they needed to live; yet the people living there did not know God, and even more they were unaware that they should be grateful to God—they had only a lust for riches. Owing to this town being situated deep in the mountains, the scenery was incredibly beautiful and the air was fresh and pleasant. In summer, there was no need to use air conditioning; it was a natural oxygen bar, and even more so it was a place for leisure and relaxation. The mountain people set up rural home stays one by one and put great effort into developing the tourism industry there. It also became a place of recreation and entertainment for all levels of government officials. Many officials desired to take up government posts in Qingping Township, and many provincial-level leaders were frequent visitors to the town. As everyone knows, wherever government officials go, they fuel the economic growth of the area’s hotels, karaoke bars, health spas, foot massage spas and hair salons. So although Qingping Township was deep in the mountains, it was by no means a backward place, and it was nevertheless a place of feasting and revelry, flashing neon lights and nightly music and singing; Communist Party officials turned this Heaven-sent place of beauty into a modern-day Sodom.

Ever since Almighty God launched His work of the last days in mainland China, brothers and sisters of the church traveled many times to this mountain town to spread the gospel. But the people there lived affluently and had no worries about food or clothing. They thought they didn’t need God, so every time the brothers and sisters came they refused to accept the gospel, and even scolded the brothers and sisters, saying: “Right now, life is so good and the Party’s policies are so good. You have nothing better to do, saying these things, but we don’t believe what you say. We only believe in money!” The brothers and sisters each time had to walk such a long way to spread the gospel to these people, but every time they had doors slammed in their faces. The brothers and sisters told them that this was the gospel of God of the last days, and that it was their one and only chance to be saved, but they closed their ears; the brothers and sisters told them that all those who did not believe in Almighty God would not have God’s protection when the disasters came, but they ignored that. The people of Qingping Township rejected the words of Almighty God and rejected the salvation of Almighty God—there was not one person in that town who believed in Almighty God!

At 2:28 p.m., on May 12, 2008, the earthquake struck. Suddenly the earth trembled and the mountains shook, giant boulders rolled and rumbled from the mountains, the air instantly filled with great clouds of dust, the sky was obscured and the land became dark, and some mountains just collapsed and disappeared within a very short space of time. The seat of the local government was situated at the bottom of a valley between two mountains. When the earthquake hit, the gap between these two mountains began to close and, in the blink of an eye, Qingping Township was crushed beneath these folding mountains. Everyone in the town was buried, and in a split second the two mountains had come together and merged into one! At that moment, no matter how much money they had, it was all to no avail; money did not save their lives, and even less were the Communist Party officials able to save them! This town that did not worship God was destroyed instantaneously! When I think of this catastrophic disaster, I can’t help but think of when Jehovah God wanted to destroy the city of Sodom. Abraham pleaded with Jehovah God, saying: What if there are ten righteous people in the city, will you still destroy the city? Jehovah God replied, saying: I will not destroy it. In the end, only Lot and his family managed to escape under the angels’ guidance, and all those left were destroyed by a great fire that fell from heaven! (See Gen 18:20-32 and 19:1-25) This unrepentant, licentious city that did not worship God was from that day on wiped from the face of the earth, and this is what also happened to Qingping Township. After Qingping Township had vanished, the army immediately issued a notice to the officers and soldiers engaged in the rescue effort that they were forbidden from divulging this information to the outside world, use of their mobile phones was to be completely controlled, they couldn’t call their families, and if anyone leaked the information then they would be dealt with according to military law.

The people of Qingping Township—who had been infected with atheism—did not examine themselves in the wake of this great disaster, and even less did they think about the reasons for Heaven’s anger; they just continued creating their beautiful homes with their own two hands, maintaining the evil creed that man can overcome Heaven, and contending with Heaven! They were unrepentant.

After the earthquake, the lay of the land in all regions of the whole town had undergone great change (many mountains had collapsed, moved or merged), and the original town was completely unrecognizable; in addition, the floods pouring out of the mountains blocked all the roads. For such reasons, the top level of the local government decided to delete the Qingping Township administrative region from the map. And yet some provincial party committee leader, for the sake of creating yet another vanity project, wanted to build a socialist new rural pilot scheme, and disagreed with the town’s deletion. So, without hesitation, the government began to invest heavily in the area, and they brought senior technicians in bridge engineering and from the Provincial Planning and Design Institute to conduct site investigation, site selection, design and reconstruction. Pretty soon, a brand new Qingping Township, complete with all supporting facilities, was founded once again in the mountains. It included township government offices, a hospital, schools, residential blocks and so on; it was all done in one go and all modernized. To plant just one tree in their own private residence, it cost one township government official up to 50 thousand yuan. Just when everyone was feeling grateful to the Party’s policy and was immersed in the joy of having moved into a better place, on August 15, 2009, suddenly a torrential rain fell from the sky that got heavier and heavier, and which triggered landslides down the mountains. Very quickly, mud and rocks flowed in a fierce flood down the mountains, heading straight for where the new Qingping Township stood. Again, in an instant, the newly-built seat of the township government was completely buried under the flow of mud and rocks, and the town was once again hit by catastrophic disaster! Once again, the town was wiped from the face of the earth!

This fulfilled precisely the words of Almighty God: “If the people of a country or a nation are unable to receive the salvation and care of God, then such a country or nation will tread the road to ruin, toward darkness, and shall be annihilated by God.” “If you are a true Christian, then you will surely believe that the rise and fall of any country or nation occurs according to the designs of God. God alone knows the fate of a country or nation, and God alone controls the course of this mankind. If mankind wishes to have a good fate, if a country wishes to have a good fate, then man must bow down to God in worship, repent and confess before God, or else the fate and destination of man will unavoidably end in catastrophe.” “We trust that no country or power can stand in the way of what God wishes to achieve. Those that obstruct God’s work, resist the word of God, disturb and impair the plan of God shall ultimately be punished by God. He who defies the work of God shall be sent to hell; any country that defies the work of God shall be destroyed; any nation that rises up to oppose the work of God shall be wiped from this earth, and shall cease to exist” (“God Presides Over the Fate of All Mankind” in The Word Appears in the Flesh).

This great disaster enables us to know God’s righteous disposition! God becoming flesh this time is to save man to the utmost limit and, during the disasters, He shall be merciful to those who love Him sincerely and who call upon Him; His wrath shall fall upon those who defy Him and who are unrepentant! God says: “The disaster is brought down by Me and of course orchestrated by Me. If you cannot work for good in My presence, then you will not escape suffering the disaster” (“You Ought to Do Enough Good Deeds to Prepare for Your Destination” in The Word Appears in the Flesh).

Next, we will share with everyone some experiences and testimonies of the brothers and sisters who believe in Almighty God from the hard-hit areas such as Mianzhu and Shifang in Sichuan of how they were saved by God, and of their wondrous escape during the “5.12” earthquake, using facts to bear witness: God’s words are the forever unalterable truth!

1. On the day of May 12, Sister Xiaojiang, the leader of Yuanmen church, was alone on Leigu Mountain (a hard-hit area) beating the rapeseeds. When the earthquake came, she felt only the earth move and the mountain shake and she became dizzy. When the earthquake first started she thought she was suffering from heatstroke. A little while later, she saw that all around her the mountains were falling, the earth was splitting and that the mountain was shaking itself apart and back together again. Fissures several meters across were opening up and mountain rocks were falling straight at her. Only then did she know it was an earthquake, and then she was continuously dodging the rocks. She prayed and called upon God constantly: “Oh God! Today is the day You chastise the great red dragon. I also have the poisons of the great red dragon within me. I don’t normally do my duties very well. … If You could only calm Your fury today, no matter how You chastise me, I wish to obey You. Even if I am swallowed up by the earth like those 250 leaders were, there is Your good will behind it….” She constantly prayed obediently like this, and afterward she thought of the hymn of God’s words called “The Last Work God Will Do in Man,” and her heart was calmed. Straight away, Xiaojiang saw with her own eyes God’s wondrous deeds: The mountain she was on collapsed; right next to her, half the mountain was as though it was sliced clean through with a knife and slid down in a line beside her. And yet the half of the mountain that Xiaojiang was standing on did not collapse and she was not injured at all. Her family saw from afar that the mountain Xiaojiang was working on collapsed and they all thought she was dead. They hadn’t expected her to come back alive and well, and the unbelievers said: “You have been so lucky!” Sister Xiaojiang cried and cried as she recounted her experiences on the mountain to her brothers and sisters. Many people were moved, and they felt God was so almighty and so wonderful.

2. A brother from Anxian County church, whose home was a meeting place. He had been an unbeliever, and accepted Almighty God’s work of the last days in October 2007, and he was a newcomer to the church. After he accepted God’s work, he was earnest in his seeking, and had since that time performed hosting duty. During the earthquake, most of the buildings in his village collapsed, and those that didn’t collapse became unsafe, and yet his house was unharmed. His production team leader was very puzzled, and asked him: “Your house has not collapsed. What’s the secret behind it?” The brother was very glad, and he understood that this was God looking after him and protecting him. He now has even more faith, and wishes to continue doing his duties and spreading the gospel.

3. Brother Zhao, 60 years old, from Chaping church. On May 12, he took the bus from Chaping to Sangzao. On the bus that day there were altogether between 10 and 20 people. At 2:28 p.m., the bus had just reached a point on the road below a high mountain when the earthquake began. All at once, the earth trembled and the mountains shook, and rocks flew down from the mountain like raindrops. The falling rocks blocked the road in front and behind, and the roof of the bus was smashed in. Inside the bus, all was chaos and confusion with everyone trying desperately to get out, running and calling on heaven and earth, some crying out to the heavens, some crying out to the Buddha…. At that moment, Brother Zhao said, “You are calling out to the wrong things. You need to call on Almighty God!” The only thing people were concerned with, however, was escaping the bus and saving their lives, and no one paid him any attention. After a little while, the people in the bus had all run away, and only Brother Zhao remained on the bus, calling on Almighty God. Some of the people who had managed to get out were killed and some were injured by falling rocks; those who were injured all thought that Brother Zhao must surely have died. In the end, just after the earthquake stopped, Brother Zhao walked down out of the bus without a scratch. The unbelievers were all astounded. They thought that for Brother Zhao to be able to come out of such an environment without even a scratch was truly a miracle. After they questioned him about the reasons for his miraculous escape, they all began to follow Almighty God. Several days later, Brother Zhao and between 10 and 20 unbelievers walked to the foot of a high mountain. Because of the aftershocks, boulders from the mountain top kept falling down and, as the road was long, the others didn’t dare walk on any further. In the confusion, and with no one knowing what to do for the best, Brother Zhao shouted loudly: “Do as I command. Don’t call upon the heavens, and even more so don’t call upon the Buddha. Everyone call upon Almighty God!” In the end, the party of people all heeded Brother Zhao’s words and called out to Almighty God, and so they passed along the road safe and well.

4. Brother Tan, 37 years old, from Jiulong church. Both he and his wife believe, and at that time they were not very earnest in their seeking. On May 10, Brother Tan went to Dongfang Turbine Factory in Hanwang (a hard-hit area) where he worked as a painter. He’d only been doing it for a day and a half when his line manager told him his work wasn’t up to scratch and asked him to go home. Brother Tan was very angry, and returned home on the afternoon of May 11. (After the earthquake, he learned that the Dongfang Turbine Factory building had severely collapsed, killing or injuring many people.) The earthquake happened on May 12. When it came, Brother Tan was working in a local temple and, one minute before the earthquake struck, he suddenly heard the sound of a plane in the sky and ran out to look. No sooner had he left the temple than it completely collapsed, and those inside were buried under the rubble—only he was left unhurt. Having come through this earthquake, he knows that it was God who saved him and that it was God’s love that had come upon him. In his heart, he is very grateful to God, and he is now earnest in his seeking. He has a son who was five years old and at school on that day, and when the earthquake hit his son hid under the stairs, suffering only a slight injury to his forehead. Brother Tan’s wife saw God’s protection and love and she also began to seek the truth. Now she leads new members of the church in meetings.

5. Brother Wu and Sister Cai (who is paralyzed on one side of her body), from Hanwang Town, a married couple who are both believers, and both over 60 years old; at that time, they had only accepted the work of God two months prior. On May 12 when the earthquake happened, their building shook tremendously (they lived on the fifth floor) and they were simply unable to stay on their feet. Their bed was overturned and Sister Cai fell to the floor. Because she had difficulty moving, she could only lie sprawled on the floor, calling for help. The roof subsequently caved in and crushed the bed, and another piece of flooring fell and was blocked by a chair, leaving a space around Sister Cai’s head. She wasn’t hurt, and Sister Cai had an idea: “I’ll see if I can find the way out.” So she crawled forward, edged a brick out of the way with her hand and saw light, and began to call out. Her eldest son heard her and began to dig, and three hours later she was rescued. When the earthquake struck, Brother Wu was in the bathroom. When he heard Sister Cai calling for help after falling to the floor, he tried to run to her but was knocked backward twice by the bathroom door. Just then, the ceiling fell in and a bamboo basket fell down from above. Brother Wu sat underneath the basket and was trapped for 30 hours. Being out of his mind with anxiety, God gave him the faith to wait quietly. Brother Wu’s son was outside yelling for the soldiers to come and save his father, but the soldiers saw that it was dangerous and were not willing to help. So Brother Wu’s son kept imploring them to help, and only then did they dig a hole and rescue him; he suffered superficial injuries to his legs. Brother Wu’s eldest son worked at Dongfang Turbine Factory (the hard-hit area) and had only just swapped shifts with someone that day. He didn’t go to work at the factory that day and so escaped the disaster. His seven-year-old son was at Dongqi Primary School and, after the earthquake, he crawled out through a hole without having suffered any injuries. Due to God’s wondrous protection, all three generations of their family survived.

6. Brother Wei, 50 years old; both he and his wife are believers. Brother Wei is blind, and their home has always been a meeting place. Their house was pretty old and, in July 2007, it was classified by the state as a danger to the occupants. They were asked to carry out renovations, but because they were a poor family, the work was never done. On May 12, brothers and sisters were gathered at a meeting at their house. When the earthquake happened, everyone ran outside and came out unscathed, and the house also remained unharmed. The neighbors couldn’t understand it at all, and they said: “Sturdy houses and apartment buildings have all fallen down. Why hasn’t their house fallen down when it is such a danger to live in? It’s so strange!”

7. Several brothers and sisters from Guantan church lived at the foot of the mountain. When the earthquake struck, the mountains fell and the earth split. The mountain opposite them collapsed and their houses fell down. When this happened, they knelt and prayed to God, also asking unbelievers to kneel together with them and pray, and the mountain they lived beneath did not collapse.

8. In Jiucun Village, Jiulong Town, there are two elderly sisters, one 71 years old, one 68 years old. When the earthquake hit, the 71-year-old Sister Li was taking an afternoon nap at home. Her house collapsed and the roof beams that fell down onto her bed left a gap, and she was unhurt. Afterward, her neighbors managed to pull her out. 68-year-old Sister Li was upon a mountain used for mining, helping someone by looking after their house. When the earthquake happened, she had only just left the house when it collapsed. The two elderly sisters walked with unbelievers for two days before they emerged from the mountains. Both of them now seek in earnest, and are performing their duties.

9. Brother Yang, over 60 years old. After lunch on May 12, Brother Yang’s wife and daughter-in-law went out to beat the rapeseeds. Usually at this time of day, Brother Yang would take a nap. But on this day, he suddenly had an idea: “They’ve all gone out, so what’s the point in me staying here by myself?” So he hurried to take his cattle out to pasture. It wasn’t long after he left the house that the earthquake began, and Brother Yang remained fine and well.

10. Sister Han, 39 years old, from Hanwang church. When the earthquake happened, Sister Han was at work on the seventh floor of a factory. She was sweeping the floor when suddenly the building began to sway, and she came to the sobering realization that it was an earthquake. She threw down her broom and ran downstairs, calling out to Almighty God. There was a woman unbeliever running with her down the stairs who died of fright halfway down; Sister Han remained unharmed.

11. Brother Tan, 85 years old, seeks the truth and often attends meetings. At the time of the earthquake, his house collapsed and he was buried under the rubble. Afterward, he was dug out by his neighbors and, besides some superficial injuries on his legs, he was otherwise unhurt.

12. Sister Li, over 60 years old, from Hanwang church. On the day of the earthquake, several brothers and sisters were meeting in her home, which was on the first floor. When the building began to shake, they all knew it was an earthquake, and they knelt down in the room to pray to God. After a while, the house stopped shaking, and they then ran outside. Only after they got out did they see that only her building and the one opposite had remained standing, whereas all the other buildings around had collapsed. Sister Li said: “This is all down to God’s care and protection. If the building opposite had fallen, we would have been crushed to death, as there is only a five-meter gap between the two buildings.”

13. An elderly sister from Mianzhu City, who had only just accepted God’s work of the last days. At the time of the earthquake, she was taking an afternoon nap. The walls of other people’s homes collapsed and woke her up with a start, and the elderly sister immediately put her pillow on her head and ran, shouting: “Almighty God, I can only rely on You, I have nothing else. Almighty God, save me!” No sooner had she fled the building than the walls of her home fell in and her bed was smashed.

14. Brother Wang, 70 years old, and his wife Sister Wang, 68 years old, both from Dongbei Town church. Ordinarily, they would both have been taking an afternoon nap, but on the afternoon of the earthquake they felt in their hearts a constant fear and agitation, feeling as though there was someone outside calling to them. Later, they both went out into the fields to work and luckily escaped the disaster—when they got home they saw that their house had entirely collapsed.

15. Sister Su, 60 years old, from Qitian church. On the day of the earthquake, her home collapsed. When that happened, she didn’t have enough time to run outside and was buried under rubble. She knew, however, that man’s life is in God’s hands, and so she kept calling upon Almighty God in her heart. Several hours later, she managed to crawl out of the ruins without any injury.

16. Brother Liu, the leader of Qitian church, 55 years old, and his wife Sister Zhou. Usually, they would nap every afternoon and not get up until after 3 p.m. But on the day of May 12, Sister Zhou couldn’t sleep at all, and they both got up at 1:50 p.m. to go into the fields to work. When the earthquake came, their house collapsed, yet they escaped the disaster.

17. Brother Zhang, 70 years old, from Qitian church; both he and his wife are believers. When the earthquake hit, they both ran outside, but the gate out of their yard was closed tight and they couldn’t open it, so they had no choice but to stay inside the yard. Because of the swaying and shaking of the ground, they couldn’t stay on their feet, so they clung onto each other and continually called out to Almighty God. The wonderful thing was that, although their house and the surrounding walls all fell down, the only walls left intact were the ones surrounding where they stood.

18. Sister Yan, from Qitian church; her home was a meeting place. On May 12, brothers and sisters were attending a meeting at her home. At the time of the earthquake, everyone ran outside, calling on Almighty God. Out of the five people there, not one was killed or injured.

19. Three brothers surnamed Yang from Yongle church, who were all aged in their fifties, lived around a courtyard together with their elder brother. The three brothers all believed in Almighty God, while their elder brother still believed in the sect of the Three Redemption. On the day of the earthquake, the houses of the three brothers were not harmed, nor was anyone killed or injured. But their elder brother’s house collapsed and he was seriously hurt.

20. Brother Xiao, 59 years old, and his daughter-in-law, Sister Luo, 30 years old, both from Yongle church. Ordinarily, the whole family were in the habit of taking a nap after midday. But on the afternoon of May 12, Brother Xiao could not sleep, so he got ready to go into the fields to spray pesticide, and Sister Luo also got ready to go into the fields to pull weeds. They had just got to the fields when the earthquake began and their house collapsed. Brother Xiao’s granddaughter was only 10 at the time and was at school on that day. The school building she was in collapsed entirely and all the children in her class were crushed. Only four survived. The other three were seriously injured, and only she came out safe and well. It was Almighty God who protected all three generations of their family.

21. Brother Xiao, 62 years old, from Zundao church. Both he and his wife are believers. When the earthquake struck on May 12, Brother Xiao and his wife were both working beside the walls of their compound when they suddenly heard a great roar come from the south. A yellow smoke rose straight into the air, but their home was completely surrounded by a white smog. Then the earth moved and the mountains shook, and rocks both big and small began to crash ceaselessly down from the mountain toward both sides of their house. At that point, the sister kept crying out: “Almighty God, save me!” Brother Xiao was also incredibly anxious, and thought: “There are church books in the house. What should I do? If they get damaged, how will I account for it to God?” The wondrous thing was, as the rocks kept tumbling and crashing down, their home was not damaged in the slightest. The next day, their son and his wife hurried over and advised them to leave their home, saying it was too dangerous to stay there. But Brother Xiao would not leave no matter what. Their son called other relatives over to advise him to leave, but he still wouldn’t go. He thought in his heart: “I have seen with my own eyes the wonder and the power of God. I’m afraid that I’ll lose contact with the church if I leave here.” In the end, he said to his son, “If you advise me to leave again, I’ll kill myself!” He went on to say, “Now that God has today spared my house, this must surely be by His will. I will wait here for my brothers and sisters to come. If I leave, I will have no way to contact my brothers and sisters.” Consequently, there was nothing his son could do, except to say, “Then let us know how you are every day.” And Brother Xiao said, “This I can do.”

22. Four people with an average age of 70, surnamed Xie, Chen and Li, etc., from Zundao church. On May 12, they were holding a meeting when the earthquake happened and their house collapsed, burying them in the ruin. Before long, two sisters crawled out of the rubble and, looking at the ruin, said, “Oh no, they must surely be dead.” At that moment, a voice coming from the rubble said, “We’re not dead. We’re calling on Almighty God!” The two sisters were desperately moved and they hurried to move bricks and dig a hole, and they saved the other two from the ruin. Out of the four of them, only one brother suffered tiny superficial injuries to the corner of his eye, and the other three were unscathed.

23. An 82-year-old sister from Zundao church; she normally ate her lunch at 2 p.m., but on the day of May 12, because she wanted to go to her daughter-in-law’s home, she ate her lunch at 11 a.m. Once she’d reached her daughter-in-law’s home, something came over her and she felt only a panic in her heart. She constantly felt a need to go outside, and she thought in her heart: “Maybe I could go out a bit earlier to help my son harvest the rapeseeds.” It wasn’t long after she left the house and was halfway up the mountain when the earthquake began. The earth moved and the mountain shook and right away she sat down on the ground, calling out “Almighty God, save me!” Although boulders kept tumbling down off the mountain, she suffered no injury at all. Her unbelieving daughter-in-law, however, was crushed to death in her home.

24. Sister Zhang, 72 years old, from Chengguan church, lived on the fifth floor of her building. On that day, the earthquake came too suddenly and she knew she wouldn’t have time to run outside, so she just knelt down and prayed to Almighty God, saying: “Oh, Almighty God. You gave me my breath and my life, and I now see Your righteous disposition!” Afterward, Sister Zhang saw with her own eyes that every building around her had been instantly reduced to rubble, and only the building in which she lived was left tottering in empty space. A little while after praying, she felt the building stop swaying, and she hurriedly ran outside. No sooner had she run outside than the whole building in which she lived came crashing down. Sister Zhang had originally thought that her grandson must surely have been crushed to death at school, but she later learned that he had not gone to school that day and had also managed to escape the calamity. Once she got to their home, the whole family held each other and cried and thanked Almighty God for saving them.

25. Brother Zhang was the leader of Mawei church. At 2:25 p.m. on May 12, his unbelieving grandfather became angry and took unkindly to seeing some brothers and sisters talking together in Brother Zhang’s house. So he handed his great-grandson over to Brother Zhang and went to his room to sleep. When the earthquake came, he was crushed to death on the spot; and yet Brother Zhang, his wife and their child all called on Almighty God and came through safe and sound. At that time, Sister Bi and Sister Zhou were in the house crying out constantly to Almighty God, and they came under God’s protection. Because the house was swaying so violently, one of them fell and banged her leg and it became swollen, but four days later it was all better.

26. Sister Zhang, 45 years old, from Fangquan church. On May 12, she was buried under rubble when her house collapsed. While she was under the rubble, she prayed to God, saying: “Oh, Almighty God. Everything I have is in Your hands and is orchestrated by You!” Her husband was not at home at that time. Afterward he came home and saw that his house had collapsed and began calling for his wife. She answered from within the ruin and her husband dug her out; she was completely unhurt.

27. Sister Xu, 38 years old, from Dongbei Town church. She performed her duty of leading new members in meetings. On May 12, she was called to a meeting, but she didn’t go, thinking: “Today I’ll go and transplant rice seedlings, and tomorrow I must go and lead the new church members.” She was sleeping when the earthquake hit and she was shaken awake. Her first reaction was that an earthquake had come and that the day of God had arrived, so she ran and cried out to Almighty God. She’d only just run into the living room when the bedroom behind her collapsed. As she ran forward, the rooms and walls behind her collapsed, and once she’d run from the main gate, her house and the courtyard walls all collapsed. Everything in her home was smashed to pieces, yet she was unhurt.

28. Sister Chen, 65 years old, leader of Dongbei Town church. On the day of May 12, she and her second son were out in a restaurant having lunch. After her son had finished eating, he returned home to sleep. When the earthquake struck, the two main beams of the house fell in and just happened to crash down on either side of his bed, with each side of the bed holding up one of the beams, just managing to withstand the things crashing down from above. Furthermore, the walls on two sides of the house fell outward, as did the courtyard walls, and her son was not injured. Afterward, Sister Chen’s son said: “Mom, only because you believe earnestly in God was I blessed and protected.” Her son also had a four-year-old daughter. On the afternoon of the earthquake, she suddenly began crying and wouldn’t go to school, and said she just wanted to be with her mommy. During the earthquake, the child’s school (Wufu School) collapsed, and only his daughter was unhurt. Because of this, Sister Chen’s daughter-in-law also began to believe in God.

29. Sister Zhao, 73 years old, from Dongbei Town church. After 2 p.m. on May 12, Sister Zhao had finished lunch and was washing the dishes. She had only three dishes left to wash when something came over her and she felt only very exhausted and really wanted to go to sleep. (Ordinarily she was not in the habit of taking afternoon naps.) She thought: “I have to go outside and tell my grandson that I’m off to bed, so he knows where I am.” As it happened, no sooner had Sister Zhao gone outside than her house collapsed.

30. Brother Zhu, from Tumen church. He went to a meeting on May 12. After the meeting, he went back home and, just as he was pushing open the doorway to his house, he felt as though someone in front of him had pushed him back with all their might. He stumbled quite a few steps backward, and he’d only just backed away when the doorway collapsed, and concrete slabs and his refrigerator crashed down on top of it (it was a two-story house). He knew that this was God’s protection as, if he had been in the house, he would either have been killed or seriously injured. None of the people who attended the meeting that day were killed or injured.

31. Brother Wang, from Tumen church. Before the earthquake struck, he went to fetch CDs. He’d only just picked them up when the earthquake destroyed his house, burying him inside. A sister called out to him and he responded: “I’m praying to Almighty God!” The sister and others dug him out, and he had suffered only superficial injuries to his ears, and his right hand suffered a slight fracture. Over a month later he was back to normal.

32. Brother Gu, 70 years old, from Tumen church. He and his wife are both believers. Ordinarily, they only ate their lunch after 2 p.m. when they had finished their work. On May 12, after they’d finished carrying the sacks of rapeseeds, Brother Gu asked his wife to make lunch a little early. After they’d finished their lunch they went to the fields to work and when the earthquake came, both were left unhurt. They now both have great faith and are performing their duties.

33. Sister Liu lived on the sixth floor of her building in Mianzhu City. Her home was a meeting place and, on the day of the earthquake, her building collapsed without injuring her, and the books she kept in her home were also completely undamaged.

34. Sister Li, 46 years old, from Zundao church. Her home was used to keep books, small CD players, and CDs for four churches. Ordinarily, Sister Li would take an afternoon nap every day. But on the afternoon of May 12, she thought in her heart: “I must divide up the books the church has sent over for the different churches, so that it doesn’t take too long when the sisters come to pick them up.” So she didn’t take a nap that afternoon and, when the earthquake hit, she ran outside and her house collapsed. Every other box of things in her house was smashed, but only this one box of church books was undamaged. When she had dug out this box from under the rubble, she saw that the four CD players, the CDs and the books didn’t even have a speck of dust on them, and they were all in perfect condition.

35. Sister Ye, 46 years old, from Xinglong church. When the earthquake happened, she ran outside holding her granddaughter. After she had run out, she saw her home and the walls of her courtyard all collapse. But the amazing thing was that the pigsty her family kept had always been dilapidated, but because she had kept books of God’s words inside it, she continuously prayed to Almighty God, asking Him to protect the books, and sure enough the pigsty did not collapse.

36. At the time of the earthquake, Brother Li, a church leader, had gone out to attend a meeting and was unhurt; only his house collapsed. The wonderful thing was that the walls of the room in which he kept church books and CD players all fell outward, and everything inside the room was fine and completely undamaged.

37. Sister Liu, 60 years old, whose home was used for keeping church books. After the earthquake, most of her house had collapsed and it had all been soaked by rain. Only the roof tiles above the cupboard which had the books inside did not fall down, and the books were kept completely dry.

38. A female unbeliever surnamed Li, 40 years old, had previously been told of the gospel by Sister Wu, but she did not accept it. On May 12, Li was at her mother’s home transplanting rice seedlings. When the earthquake came, her leg was crushed and it left an open wound. The strange thing was that there was no bleeding, and she later got well on her own without any medical help. Afterward, she actively sought out Sister Wu and asked if she could believe in God. She subsequently spread the gospel to her mother, her younger brother and his wife, and they all accepted it; she said she wanted to believe earnestly in God.

39. A sister surnamed Yuan, 40 years old, from Zundao church. She ordinarily didn’t seek the truth, and she worked in a restaurant. Including her, four people worked at the restaurant, with the other three being unbelievers. Yuan took an afternoon nap every day, but on the day of May 12, the three unbelievers asked her to go and wash the dishes. By the time Yuan had finished washing up, it was already 2 p.m. and there was no time to have an afternoon nap. Yuan had only just sat down when the earthquake happened. She ran outside, whereas the other three workers were all crushed to death.

Above are living examples of people coming under God’s wondrous protection and surviving amidst a great disaster. But there are some people who have left God and offended Him after accepting His work, and these people have all lost God’s care and protection.

1. A woman surnamed Deng, 54 years old, from Suishui church. Before the earthquake, she had not been to the meeting for two weeks. Her brothers and sisters came to find her and she said: “Just wait until I’ve earned enough money, and then I’ll believe earnestly in God.” On May 12, she still hadn’t gone to attend the meeting that day. When the earthquake struck, she was chopping wood up on the mountain and was crushed to death.

2. A woman surnamed Zhao, 60 years old, a man surnamed Chen, 60 years old, and his wife, surnamed Zhang, 59 years old, all from Chengguan church. Because they clung to the world, these three quit the church in April that year and they no longer wished to believe in Almighty God. Their brothers and sisters offered them support so many times but they were still unwilling to turn back. When the earthquake came, their houses collapsed and they were crushed to death.

3. A woman surnamed Ren, 60 years old, from Chengguan church. After she accepted the new work, she was constantly doubting and uncertain. Afterward, she never attended meetings because she was unwilling to leave worldly things behind. In April 2008, she found a job on a mountain, and on May 12 she was crushed to death during the earthquake.

4. A woman surnamed Ding, from Zundao church. She was a believer along with her husband, but she could never quite bring herself to really believe in God. Before the earthquake, she had broken her leg, and she said to her husband: “We both believe in God, so why have I broken my leg?” Her husband said to her: “You don’t really believe in God.” After that, not only did she not know herself but, on the contrary, her conceptions about God got stronger. During the earthquake on May 12, her house collapsed and crushed her to death, but her husband was unhurt. Her husband did not complain about his wife’s death, and said: “What God did cannot be wrong, as she didn’t really believe in God.”

5. A man surnamed Zhao, 54 years old, the gospel deacon of Dayan church. He accepted the new work in December 2005. During his time as gospel deacon, he never reaped any results. Whenever the church leader asked him to go out and spread the gospel, he always came up with excuses, showed consideration to his flesh and was unwilling to cooperate. When the earthquake came on May 12, a rock rolling down the mountainside crashed into a motorcycle. A mechanical spring inside the motorcycle shot up and just so happened to hit Zhao in the eyes, blinding him. After the brothers and sisters saw this, they were afraid, and no longer wished to show consideration to their flesh; instead they all wished to go forth and spread the gospel.

6. A believer of Yuanmen church, over 50 years of age, accepted the new work in 2006, but was a believer in name only. She never sought the truth, never read God’s words and never did her duty. Her husband said to her: “We’ve believed in God for so long but haven’t done our duties. How about we donate 500 yuan to the church?” She said: “Donate my hard-earned money? No way!” Her husband didn’t listen to her and still donate the money. After she found out, she gave her husband a good scolding. The earthquake shook her house to pieces, and a brick fell from the wall and struck her blind.

7. A man surnamed Jiao, 60 years old, from Yuanmen church. He accepted the new work in 2007 but was a believer in name only. He had a bad human nature, and he also defied God, obstructed his wife from doing her duty and he smashed and broke her CD player. When the earthquake came, his house collapsed and he was crushed to death.

Brothers and sisters who are currently investigating the true way, faced with these facts, do we still not know how to choose our own path? “God shall cause those who follow and worship Him to prosper, and shall bring decline and extinction upon those who resist and reject Him” (“God Presides Over the Fate of All Mankind” in The Word Appears in the Flesh). This is the disposition of God!

At the end of 2012, the CCP government once again ramped up its suppression and cruel oppression of the Church of Almighty God. They wildly defied the work of Almighty God, everywhere arresting brothers and sisters spreading the gospel. After they had captured them, they threatened them, saying: “If someone believes in God, their offspring for three generations will be implicated, and it will affect their going to school, becoming Party members, joining the military and getting a job!” And yet what we have seen is that, when disasters happen, not only the brothers and sisters who believe in Almighty God come under His protection themselves, but even their families come under God’s protection during disasters (so long as they don’t resist, but uphold and support their family members’ belief), and there are many cases where three generations of families have all been saved by God! Whereas Communist Party members and government officials cannot even save themselves during disasters, so who can they protect? I believe that these iron-clad, irrefutable facts will cause you to deliberate and consider carefully, so make the right choice!

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