the Lord Jesus promised His followers,

I was just like everyone else who believes in the Lord Jesus;

in order to welcome the Lord's coming,

I enthusiastically spread word of the Lord and bore testimony to the Lord.

So I was persecuted and arrested by the CCP government,

and I was sentenced to four years in prison.

Looking back on my transition from believing in the Lord

to welcoming the Lord's coming,

to being raptured up before God,

every step of the way, it was God who led me here.

Thinking back on the grace I've received from God,

there've been too many times to count.

That was ten years ago.

While in school, working as a teacher,

I began to spread the gospel and bear testimony to the Lord …

Okay, we'll continue the lesson tomorrow.

Everyone, remember to complete today's homework assignment;

I'll be checking it tomorrow. (Okay.)

Alright, well, class ends here then.

See you tomorrow! Bye. (Bye. See you.)

Mr. Chen, Mr. Chen, (Yes?)

after listening to the gospel you shared me when you came to our house last time,

my mom and dad felt especially moved.

Is that right?

They'd like to invite you over again this weekend. (Okay!)

Mr. Chen,

my parents and I enjoy hearing you talk about the Bible as well.

We'd like to go and listen, too. (That's great!)

Thank the Lord! Tell your parents that I'll definitely be there this weekend. (Okay.)

Mr. Chen. (Yes?)

The school principal would like to see you in his office. (Oh, okay.)

Okay, see you later, Mr. Chen! (See you.)

Bye-bye! (Bye.)

Please, come in.

Principal Sun.

Please take a seat. (Yes, okay.)

Assistant Principal Hou, Director Ma.

Mr. Chen, there is something we'd like to verify with you.

I hear you believe in the Lord and even preach to others.

Is this true?

Yes, it is true.

I believe in the Lord and spread the gospel. Is there a problem with this?

Since this is true, there is indeed a problem.

So, do you know our country has a law

that prohibits teachers, staff, and students from believing in the Lord?

Yes, I know this.

If you are clearly aware of this national law,

yet you believe in the Lord anyway and even go around preaching your religion everywhere,

then what you're doing is tantamount to a deliberate violation.

The entire school is in an uproar right now;

this issue is quite serious.

As you well know, the Communist Party is in power in our country.

Schools are the Party's frontline in education,

and they are atheist zones.

If a school had a Christian teacher, it would be an outrage;

the effects of this would be enormous.

This is something both the Party and the nation absolutely do not allow.

Your belief in the Lord violates national law,

so the school must deal with this problem seriously.

Right now there are two paths laid out in front of you.

You can choose to keep believing in the Lord,

or you can keep your job and continue teaching at this school.

The choice is yours.

Principal Sun, if the school had a Christian,

would this be really something to make such a fuss about?

So much of the world believes in God;

every government and party in western countries has Christians in it.

Why, then, should our national government prohibit Chinese schools

from having a Christian?

The national Constitution stipulates freedom of religion,

so believing in the Lord is a citizen's right.

My belief in the Lord is both reasonable and legal.

Furthermore, my faith has not influenced my teaching

and has not violated the school's regulations.

Why does the government want to take away my job

and cause me to lose my source of income?

This deprives me of my right to subsistence.

Is this in line with our nation's Constitution?

Please explain these things to me.

Mr. Chen,

the religious freedom stipulated in the national Constitution is for show,

just for foreigners to see.

Did you really think you have religious freedom?

The CCP is an atheist party.

In schools run by the CCP,

only atheism is allowed to be discussed, as well as Marxism and Mao Zedong's Thought.

Believing in the Lord is absolutely forbidden, let alone preaching about it.

Your job is your bread and butter given by the CCP.

Given that you have this bread and butter in hand,

if you preach about God,

aren't you just biting the hand that feeds you?

In China, believing in God is a jailable offense.

If you're not careful, it could even endanger your life.

We've noticed that your performance as a teacher is good,

so we'd like to give you a chance.

Give it some careful thought.

If you want to protect your source of income,

then guarantee in writing that you will no longer worship God.

If you choose to worship God,

then we will have to dismiss you from civil service.

This is a national policy; we have no choice in the matter.

You must decide which path you are going to take.

If the national government fired me from my job due to my belief in the Lord,

it'd be absolutely inhumane.

Is believing in the Lord and being a Christian in China illegal?

Should I be arrested and put in jail?

There is no such law anywhere internationally.

Right now the government wants to fire me from my job due to my belief in the Lord.

Is this not a deprivation of my right to subsistence?

The CCP talks about the right to subsistence for outsiders to hear,

while depriving its own people of that right.

Isn't this an example of sailing under false colors?

Why does the CCP not allow people to believe in the Lord and walk the right path?

The party is just far too evil, isn't it?

Humans were made by God, so they should believe in Him and worship Him.

This is an unalterable truth.

When it comes to believing in God, I refuse to compromise.

Even if the school dismisses me, I am still going to believe in God.

This is what I choose,

and I have no regrets.

Mr. Chen, listen to my advice:

A wise man bends with the wind.

In China, the CCP is the law; whatever the Party says goes.

Who would dare to go against Party policy?

As the saying goes, "The weak cannot contend with the strong."

Do you have to believe in God?

Can God give you food, a home, a source of income?

Think about it:

If you are let go by the school because of your belief in God,

then your spouse's job will get dragged into it, too.

Then what? How will you two be able to make a living?

Furthermore, your daughter won't get into a university,

let alone take the civil service exam.

You should take all these things into careful consideration.

Can you not see the advantages and disadvantages here?

While living in this world, people need to make a living.

You must not head down a dead-end path.

I have taken all these things you mention into consideration.

However,

I believe that a person's fate is decided by God's rule and arrangements.

The Lord Jesus redeemed humanity;

only by accepting the Lord Jesus can people be absolved of their sins

and obtain God's blessings and eternal life.

I cannot deny God or betray Him for the sake of being alive or for monetary gain,

ending up dragging out a shameful existence.

In the future, disasters will become greater,

and only people who believe in God will receive His protection and escape calamity.

If people do not believe in God and resist Him,

then they will fall into catastrophe and be destroyed by God—(Alright, that's enough!)

It appears you are hell-bent on believing in God,

and are not going to listen to anybody's advice.

Fine!

Since you choose to believe in God, we will respect your choice.

I am now giving you formal notice

that starting tomorrow, you no longer work here!

Mom, let me do that.

Mom, let's have supper.

How can I still have an appetite?

You lost your source of income because of your belief in the Lord.

How are you going to make a living from now on?

Don't you realize people will criticize me behind my back if this gets out?

How can I be strong enough to handle this?

Xiangguang,

you are the pillar holding up our family;

we rely on you to be the breadwinner.

Can't you be more considerate of our family's needs?

Are you trying to anger me to death?

I don't even know what I can say to you!

Mom.

Tingting. (Yeah?)

How about you go do your homework in your room. (Okay.)

Xiangguang, we are right to believe in the Lord.

Why can't you believe in secret?

Why must you make it public?

You know the government opposes religion.

How could your belief not cause problems?

This is terrible.

On top of losing your income, what if you're arrested and put in jail?

If you don't think about your own well-being,

shouldn't you at least think about your family?

If the Lord were to return immediately

then it would be worth it.

If it is still too early for the Lord's coming,

how long do we suffer like this?

My faith is not that strong.

Yang Mei—

Xiangguang,

Yang Mei is trying to say this for your own good, and for the good of the family.

If you are arrested, this family will fall apart!

I really do worry about the two of you.

Having lived to this age,

I have come to understand a bit about the CCP.

Their specialty is penalizing and persecuting.

You think only a few people have been punished by the CCP?

Although believing in the Lord is not illegal,

the CCP doesn't care about this freedom of yours.

Right now you don't have a job anymore,

and Yang Mei's own job is going to get dragged into this.

How are we going to get by from now on?

Mama,

Yang Mei,

I understand how you both feel.

I've been fired by the school, and I've lost my job,

and you are both having to suffer in turn;

I feel bad about that.

But my hand was forced.

The CCP was going to fire me,

so I had to make a reasonable decision.

I thought about it for a very long time before making this decision.

Look, all those preachers who labored for the Lord's sake,

the Lord treated them with kindness.

Did they not all live quite well?

When you think about these years that we have believed in the Lord,

He has treated us with a good deal of kindness.

I believe that the Lord's grace is sufficient for our needs;

with the Lord to guide us, what do we have to worry about?

Yang Mei,

doesn't the greatest hope in our belief in the Lord

lie in His coming and rapturing us into the kingdom of heaven?

The Lord's words tell us that the path into the kingdom of heaven is one of suffering,

accompanied by all kinds of coercion, tribulations, ridicule, slander,

as well as arrests and persecution by a satanic regime.

For those of us who believe in the Lord,

if we only care about obtaining blessings and are afraid to suffer for it,

then how can we bear testimony?

When the Lord comes,

how can we be qualified to be raptured into the kingdom of heaven?

As you have seen, natural disasters are getting more serious;

we are in the days before the Lord's return, right now.