The co-founder of the South African Satanic Church, Riaan Swiegelaar, has resigned from the church after he had a “personal encounter with Jesus Christ”.
Swiegelaar said in a live video on his Facebook page that he hoped to “quietly slip out the back door” because he did not think people would be so interested in his reasons for leaving and dissolving his membership from the SASC, reports IOL.
Swiegelaar explained that he joined the SASC at a time when he was “broken”. He was gay and had “certain abilities”.
He said he resonated with a lot of what was being shared in the Satanic church.
Swiegelaar said in May, he was interviewed on a Cape Town radio station, where he proclaimed that he did not believe in the existence of Jesus Christ.
After the interview, a staffer from the station walked up to him and hugged him.
“She held me in a way that I have never been loved. She just said it was nice to meet me in person. A week later, I saw on WhatsApp that she is a Christian.
“I’ve never had a Christian showing me so much love and acceptance unconditionally. That stayed with me,” he said.
He said a week later, he had to perform a ritual to see “how to get more power and influence”, and Jesus appeared to him.
“I said, ‘if you are Jesus, you need to prove it’. And he flooded me with the most beautiful love and energy, and I recognised that immediately because the woman at the radio station showed that to me. That’s how I recognised the love of Christ.”
SASC confirmed that Swiegelaar resigned on June 29: “We wish him success with all his future endeavours.”
dailyvoice@inl.co.za