A Heavenly Man
A review of “The Heavenly Man: The Remarkable True Story of Chinese Brother Yun” by Brother Yun with Paul Hattaway
Yun, B. and Hattaway, P. The Heavenly Man: The Remarkable Story of Chinese Brother Yun. E-book, UK, Monarch Books, 2002.
Dear Fellow,
It appears there are too few reminders today that Christianity is not a life free of trials, challenges and tests. This book co-authored by Brother Yun and Paul Hattaway exists as a reminder of that fact. It also illustrates how there is purpose even in suffering.
Jesus said about suffering:
“Remember what I told you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also. If they obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours also” (John 15:20, NIV).
Brother Yun, originally named Liu Zhenying, was in 1958. He was a member of a peasant family in the most populated province in China, Henan. His family worked in the fields as the primary source of family income. He never went to school until he was nine, and had to leave schooling at sixteen. His dad was widely known for his toughness, and as an anti-communist, he earned the dislike of the majority of his locals.
Brother Yun’s father had cancer which spread to his stomach. He was bedridden for quite a long time. It was a near-hopeless situation; Yun and his siblings resorted to begging to make ends meet. His mother, struck by her husband’s condition and the harsh living conditions they were in as a family, resigned to her bed one evening, half asleep. She contemplated suicide. She then heard a compassionate voice, which said: “Jesus loves you.” A flood of assurance drowned her in remembrance. She had heard about Jesus as a teenager and had confessed Him as Lord and saviour. Lack of fellowship for a very long time starved her faith. She will respond to that tender voice, gather her children, and they simply prayed for him: “Jesus, heal father! Jesus, heal father.” he was relieved and eventually had an appetite for food by the next day.
In China, at the time, gatherings were prohibited. However, their testimony must be shared. She called relatives to share with them what miracle they had experienced. That meeting reminded her of her commitment to Jesus; most of the leaders of the Chinese house churches became Christians because of her testimony. Her children all became Christians because of the healing her husband miraculously experienced.
Brother Yun became more curious about the faith and who Jesus was. He asked his mum and got minimal answers. But one remark got him the most; that Jesus recorded his teachings in the Bible. It set Yun on a mission to own a Bible. In China, it is unlawful to have a Bible. During the Cultural Revolution of the 1960s, all Chinese folks were entitled to read only Mao’s Red Little Book. Yun asked for a Bible, to know what it feels and looks like. His mother didn’t have one. Under constant pressure, she remembered one old man who should have a Bible. They visited and Yun was told that if he wants a Bible, he should pray about it. He left only with a prayer point; the man couldn’t deny his fears of being arrested and imprisoned again for the faith. Yun prayed and waited but to nought. He returned to the man, complaining that he had no answers yet. The man urged him to fast and pray if he is really serious about having a Bible. He complied. Just at the appointed time, he got a Bible. He got a vision: he was given bread by a group of three men descending a hill, and when he took a bite from it turned into a Bible. That was a few hours before the men in the vision knocked on his door the following morning with a Bible for him.
This was Yun’s first answered prayer. He began to read the Bible dedicatedly and considered it a precious treasure; He felt God speaking to him directly through the Bible. He memorised the Bible, chapter after chapter, book after book as though he knew his future circumstances.
There came a time in his life when he was wanted and yet a somewhat itenary missionary. He led two thousand in his first year as a Christian to Jesus. He was wanted all over the place, with his face on posters declaring him wanted, because he preached about Jesus. It led to a series of arrests, where he would not be allowed to have the Bible in prison. During such moments, he meditated on what he had memorised; his first preaching was a speedy recitation of the entire gospel of Matthew.
His last arrest in China is “the most amazing experience of my life,” he admits in this book. When he fractured his legs in trying to escape arrest in 1997. Unsuccessful, he got tortured severely, beaten brutally, and shut down in solitary confinement. Miraculously, after spending way less than the initial time set for his detention, he was led out of prison by the instructions of the Lord through the words from scripture, a vision, people, and the events unfolding. He will leave China in 1997. His family followed.
(He earned the tag “The Heavenly Man” when he was being tortured to show the Public Security Bureau officials where his brethren were hiding during an arrest. By way of introduction (under imposure), refusing to disclose details to help the officials, he screamed, feigning insanity, “I am a heavenly man! I live in Gospel village! People call me Morning Star! My father’s name is Abundant Blessing! My Mother’s name is Faith, Hope, Love!” Since that event in 1983, he has been called “the heavenly man.”)
Brother Yun has a wife and two children, Isaac and Yilin. His wife is Deling. They are currently living in the United States and are still committed to Jesus and the ministry.
Brother Yun exists as a testament that trials, temptations, tests, and difficulties are a part of the Christian life. They are part of a believer’s reality. In an age when we are more acquainted and selective with the financial prosperity and rosy side of Christianity, we need an account to remind us that this is a pilgrimage. That we are actually on pilgrimage; every one of us living today. And that for a Christian, a stranger isn’t treated at all like a house member in a strange land. And that suffering is an intentional part of a Christian’s story; that it serves a purpose.
Get the book for your reading pleasure.
Your LetterMan,
Tongjal, W. N.
Read more about Brother Yun: Click to read