Image Credit: Riaan Swiegelaar Facebook 
A co-founder of the Satanic Church of South Africa has announced he’s leaving the organization after a spiritual encounter with Jesus Christ.
Riaan Swiegelaar announced his resignation from the church on June 29th and posted a video explaining his decision on July 4th.
He began by describing how he initially got involved in satanism after being a Christian in his youth.
“I got involved with satanism because at the time it resonated with me, being very broken and sad without realizing it,” Swiegelaar said. “I think the reason a lot of people resonate with satanism is they come from a very broken place. I have met thousands of satanists over the last three years, and I’m not saying the intentions are bad, they are extremely broken and extremely hurt… that’s the one thing we all have in common.”
Tearing up as he spoke, the former satanist said, “I’ve never known unconditional love in my whole life and up to today, there’s only four Christians in my whole life that have shown me what unconditional love is. I want to thank those four people. Words cannot express what you have done for me.”
Continuing, he said the four Christians showed him unconditional love at a time when he “was a monster” and “an ugly person.”
Swiegelaar told the story of appearing on a CapeTalk radio station where proclaimed he did not believe in Jesus Christ.
Following his interview, a woman who worked at the radio station gave him a hug and held him in a way that he’d “never been loved.”
A week later, Swiegelaar engaged in a satanic ritual seeking assistance in spreading the message of the satanic church and instead, he saw Jesus.
“I did this ritual and I opened myself up and Jesus appeared and I was extremely cocky, and I said, ‘If you are Jesus, you need to prove it.’ And he flooded me with the most beautiful love and energy, and I recognized it immediately because that woman at the radio station showed it to me. That’s how I recognized the love of Christ,” he said.
On Thursday, Swiegelaar posted another video where he told his followers even satanists are children of God who can be saved.
“God is holding them at his heart,” he said. “Your wound is where the light enters you. That’s how the light came into my life. I was broken. I was wounded. A lot of people are broken and they need love. Love them!”
“I was very hurt,” he continued. “I’m healed. It doesn’t mean I’m perfect. I will probably get hurt again, but I know where the healing will come from. Finally, I get it. It’s love. Jesus said it when he was here on Earth. He said, ‘Love them.’ If you are a Christian and you are a true believer, love them. Jesus said that is how people will know you are my disciples.”
Swiegelaar also addressed those claiming he left satanism for attention or for money by possibly breaking an NDA he signed with the satanic church.
He claimed a member of the church offered him 1 million Rand, South Africa’s official currency, if he were to stay with the church.
Finishing his video, Swiegelaar said he’ll be launching a website next week to share more information about his spiritual journey.
The council of the South African Satanic Church issued a statement following Swiegelaar’s departure, wishing him luck in the future.
“Riaan Swiegelaar resigned from his position as the presiding reverend of the South African Satanic Church on May 30. He also stepped down from our church council as well as dissolved his membership with the organisation. We as the SASC Council would like to thank him for his contribution to the SA Satanic Church. We wish him success with his future endeavours,” the council said.
This testimonial highlights the true power of love and the extreme changes a small act of kindness can bring.