against him and attacked him. This was the greatest cause of suffering to him and forced
organism." Some came and met with the church for a time, expecting to receive some post in the work. Eventually, however, when they discovered that they could not obtain what they were after, they left and became opponents.
F. Rebellion and Attack
Rebellion of the brothers and sisters was another source of suffering to Watchman Nee. A brother co-worker committed immorality. Watchman assisted the church in that coworker's locality to excommunicate him. He in turn rebelliously attacked Brother Nee. During World War II, after the Japanese army occupied Shanghai, that co-worker sent mail to Watchman of such a nature that if the contents had been disclosed or discovered by the censors it would have caused much trouble. What an evil attack that was!
Through the years a number became rebellious and attacked him. The most serious case centered around his involvement in business and involved the saints in Shanghai in 1942. Most of the brothers and sisters, including the co-workers and elders, rebelled against him and attacked him. This was the greatest cause of suffering to him and forced him to discontinue his ministry for six years. That was a severe and long suffering.
Through all these sufferings, however, he learned the lessons. These sufferings not only assisted him in trusting the Lord; they also worked for him in dealing with his flesh, his self, his soul, and his natural life. In my own personal knowledge of him, the final experience he learned through his sufferings, when his ministry was terminated for six years, was that of the breaking of the outer man. He never passed on mere teachings and doctrines; his messages contained the reality he acquired through the experience of suffering. The experience he acquired through suffering served as a great help to all of us and became a rich heritage to all the churches in the Lord's recovery. This rich heritage was acquired by him at a high price.
His sufferings also helped him to receive revelations from the Lord. Often through a certain kind of suffering, he received a certain kind of revelation. His sufferings often became the Lord's revelation. He was purified, dealt with, torn down, and constituted by the Holy Spirit with the divine life through his sufferings. Through such experience of suffering, he was equipped and positioned to receive the Lord's revelation.
V. OTHERS
A. False Condemnation and Imprisonment
Watchman Nee was arrested in March 1952. He was judged, falsely condemned, and sentenced to fifteen years imprisonment in 1956. He died in confinement on May 30, 1972. There is no way to know what he experienced of the Lord during this long imprisonment. The following eight letters were written at the end of his confinement in his own handwriting and are the only means through which we can see a small glimpse of his suffering, feeling, and expectation during his confinement.