I am an old preacher and am also responsible for ushering in my church. In the past, I had often heard of various heresies such as "Mengtoujiao," "Eastern Lightning," "Berea," and so on, and had refuted them in my sermons. Little did I expect that recently I would come face-to-face with some suspected heretics.
They came to my home and tried to brainwash me in twenty minutes, but I simply rejected them. It was only when I thought about what had happened that I began feeling the fear that heresy was just around the corner.
This is what happened: The day before Christmas, a brother in Christ who used to come to our meeting place for Sunday worship called me and said that a sister in Christ wanted to meet with me. So, we made an appointment to meet at my home. After waiting about ten minutes, the brother brought a lady in her forties. As soon as the lady sat down, she began to talk at length about her faith, sharing that she had been a believer and a preacher for many years and that the church she attended was in a nearby urban village, which I knew immediately from her remark that it was an unregistered church.
Then the lady asked, "So you are a preacher? Do you preach the Book of Revelation?" "Of course I do." She asked again, "Do you preach about the Great Tribulation?" "We preach on all the truths of the Bible." She went on to say that now that it was the last days, it was important to preach the message of the Judgment, and as she quoted Ezekiel 3:16, she said that if those who were the watchmen of God's house did not warn the wicked who would die, God would hold them accountable for causing those deaths. She then told me that the witness recorded in the book of Revelation was already here and had been preaching on earth for more than a decade, but was continually rejected. I asked, "Are you talking about the female Christ?" But she denied it. Then she pointed out that only the witness was worthy of opening the scroll. When I shared a testimony of a believer who was healed of his sickness, she "corrected" me by saying that people who believe in God should not get sick because sickness is the punishment for sin.
Then she mentioned some online spiritual training courses conducted by an overseas seminary and said that there were more than 100,000 graduates in the most recent course. She told me that I could join the course if I was interested. When I heard this, I felt that this was the usual tactic of the heretics, so I categorically refused, and the couple left dejectedly. Later, I talked with other believers and realized that this was a common tactic of religious cults such as "Shinchonji" ("New Heaven and Earth").
In this light, every church, no matter how large or small, must be careful and firmly reject any attempt by heretics. It is important not to leave any room for the devil and Satan, as I have heard during my visits that some church members and even some preachers and church leaders have been deceived, causing great losses.
As believers, we must not only be firm in our faith but also not entertain people we know nothing about or listen to sermons from unknown sources, and we must not participate in training from outside sources, especially those on the Internet. When encountering heresy, one should think with a discerning mind, persist in one's refusal, and report the event immediately.
Note: A church worker in Linfen, Shanxi Province, wrote this guest/freelance article.
- Translated by Joyce Leung
我是一名老传道人，并且担负教会接待活动的任务。以前常听说有异端邪说，包括蒙头会、东方闪电、庇哩亚等，也常在讲道中进行过批驳。没想到，最近我也真实遇到了疑似传异端的分子。
对方来到我家传讲洗脑，短短的二十分钟，被我拒绝。细细想来，感到后怕，原来异端邪说就在身边。
事情的经过是这样：圣诞节前的一天，一位以前曾来我们活动点上礼拜的一位弟兄联系我说，有一位姊妹要见我。于是就在家里约见我，等了十多分钟后，他带了一位约四十多岁的妇女来了。一坐下，她就滔滔不绝聊开了信仰。说她信主多年，一直在做传道，是在附近一个城中村礼拜。我一听就知道是没有经过合法注册的教会。
然后她就问，你是传道人，你们讲《启示录》吗？我说，当然讲啊。她问，你们讲最后的大灾难吗?我说，圣经所说真理我们都要讲。她说，末后时代不讲审判的道不行，特别引用了以西结书3章16节的经文，说作为神的家里守望的人，若不警戒要死的恶人，神必要追讨使他死亡的罪。之后又讲启示录所记载的见证人已来到世上十几年了，并且传道，但人们一直拒绝他。我问她：“女基督吗？”她矢口否认。然后她又说只有他配得打开小书卷。当我说到病得医治的见证时，她“纠正”说，信神的人就不应该生病，生病是罪的惩罚。
然后她又讲在某国有神学院在网上进行属灵课程培训，她说最近一期是十多万学员毕业，如有兴趣可以上网课。听到这些，我感到这就是异端邪说的惯用伎俩，立即断然拒绝，他们就灰溜溜地走了。后来我和信徒交流，这就是类似“新天地”的一些异端的手法。
由此我想到，我们每个教会（不管大小）都应小心谨慎，坚决拒绝异端邪说，不给魔鬼撒旦留地步。因为在走访中也听说，一些教会信徒，甚至一些传道人和教会负责人也被迷惑，造成很大的损失。
作为信徒要坚定信仰，不接待不了解的人，不听来路不明的人讲道；不参加任何外来的学习，尤其是网络上的。如果遇到异端邪说，要明辨是非，拒绝接待并及时上报。
注：本文为特约/自由撰稿人文章，作者系山西临汾一教会同工。
疑似异端分子走进牧会多年的传道人的家
I am an old preacher and am also responsible for ushering in my church. In the past, I had often heard of various heresies such as "Mengtoujiao," "Eastern Lightning," "Berea," and so on, and had refuted them in my sermons. Little did I expect that recently I would come face-to-face with some suspected heretics.
They came to my home and tried to brainwash me in twenty minutes, but I simply rejected them. It was only when I thought about what had happened that I began feeling the fear that heresy was just around the corner.
This is what happened: The day before Christmas, a brother in Christ who used to come to our meeting place for Sunday worship called me and said that a sister in Christ wanted to meet with me. So, we made an appointment to meet at my home. After waiting about ten minutes, the brother brought a lady in her forties. As soon as the lady sat down, she began to talk at length about her faith, sharing that she had been a believer and a preacher for many years and that the church she attended was in a nearby urban village, which I knew immediately from her remark that it was an unregistered church.
Then the lady asked, "So you are a preacher? Do you preach the Book of Revelation?" "Of course I do." She asked again, "Do you preach about the Great Tribulation?" "We preach on all the truths of the Bible." She went on to say that now that it was the last days, it was important to preach the message of the Judgment, and as she quoted Ezekiel 3:16, she said that if those who were the watchmen of God's house did not warn the wicked who would die, God would hold them accountable for causing those deaths. She then told me that the witness recorded in the book of Revelation was already here and had been preaching on earth for more than a decade, but was continually rejected. I asked, "Are you talking about the female Christ?" But she denied it. Then she pointed out that only the witness was worthy of opening the scroll. When I shared a testimony of a believer who was healed of his sickness, she "corrected" me by saying that people who believe in God should not get sick because sickness is the punishment for sin.
Then she mentioned some online spiritual training courses conducted by an overseas seminary and said that there were more than 100,000 graduates in the most recent course. She told me that I could join the course if I was interested. When I heard this, I felt that this was the usual tactic of the heretics, so I categorically refused, and the couple left dejectedly. Later, I talked with other believers and realized that this was a common tactic of religious cults such as "Shinchonji" ("New Heaven and Earth").
In this light, every church, no matter how large or small, must be careful and firmly reject any attempt by heretics. It is important not to leave any room for the devil and Satan, as I have heard during my visits that some church members and even some preachers and church leaders have been deceived, causing great losses.
As believers, we must not only be firm in our faith but also not entertain people we know nothing about or listen to sermons from unknown sources, and we must not participate in training from outside sources, especially those on the Internet. When encountering heresy, one should think with a discerning mind, persist in one's refusal, and report the event immediately.
Note: A church worker in Linfen, Shanxi Province, wrote this guest/freelance article.
- Translated by Joyce Leung
Suspected Heretics Visited Veteran Preacher's Home
