The Second Coming, page 8
“I love you more,” Shawn replies. He’s about to hang up when he decides to add, “Sylvia? It’s getting much worse. The enemy and his army are on a rampage. I just need to make one stop before I come home, okay?”
“Well, yeah, okay,” Sylvia answers. She isn’t too pleased about it, fearing for his safety. She has a right to be concerned. Lately, his work, along with his undertakings in trying to prevent the Antichrist’s influence from growing, has kept him from spending time with his family. But despite everything, Sylvia understands, and that’s why she still supports him. He’s thankful to Mr. Pruitt, who convinced Shawn to tell her about everything that had happened since the holy spirit appeared to him, even though he was reluctant for quite a while.
Shawn says, “Thanks. Love you. Bye.” He ends the call and picks up the framed photo of his family, smiling to himself. “I sure will miss ya,” he says softly. “The Tribulation is going to be the longest seven years ever. God save us indeed.”
Shawn has heeded the advice of his father-in-law by devotedly reading and studying the Holy Bible, specifically the book of Revelation, which describes the Tribulation period of seven years after the Rapture. It’s written that during these seven years, the Antichrist (referred to as “the beast” in the Bible) will proclaim himself to be God and institute a reign of terror and deceit on earth.
As Shawn closes his briefcase, the moonlight shines on another photo perched on his desk: a snapshot of Shawn posing with Walter Pruitt, who was taken away, along with Mrs. Pruitt, during the Rapture. Shawn sighs and leaves his office, locking the door behind him.
CHAPTER 6
Samuel and the Messiah’s Podcast
Outside Lester’s Bar and Grill in Elkhart, Indiana, it’s another one of those silent nights where the world seems dead. Even though it’s not yet late, the streets are strangely empty. Inside the bar is another story. While there aren’t many people, they are loud enough to make up for it.
The patrons are drinking, eating, shooting pool, throwing darts, playing cards, dancing, and listening to country music from the jukebox. They are relaxed and calm, determined to enjoy their night after another long workday. Lester, the owner and part-time bartender, serves drinks and washes glasses. Sometimes, he stops to chat with longtime customers. Because the bar isn’t busy tonight, he can relax a little.
A man is slumped over the counter. Lester keeps glancing at him and shaking his head. Finally, he approaches the man and shakes his arm to wake him up. “Hey, get up.” When there’s no response, he repeats loudly, “Hey! You alright, man?”
The man finally lifts his head. He’s old and worn and disheveled, though he clearly was once handsome. But the young Lathan Turner is barely recognizable in this aged man, unshaven and drunk. He’s just a shadow of his former self. Lester shakes his head in disgust.
“Lathan,” Lester says, “you can’t keep coming here and passing out. It’s bad for business, man. I gotta start cutting you off, starting tonight.”
Lathan peers at Lester through half-closed eyes. The effort of holding his head up proves too much, and he tries to drop it again. Lester puts his hand between the counter and Lathan’s head. Lathan stares at Lester pitifully, but the bartender shakes his head again and says, “Go home, get cleaned up, and see about that boy. He needs your time and attention, brother. You can’t keep ignoring him and using my place as an escape.”
Lathan’s head sways from side to side during Lester’s speech, but there’s nothing languid about his response.
“He despises me, Les!” he yells.
Several people turn to stare. Lester glares at him, beginning to lose his patience. Still, he says calmly, “It’s not the boy that hates you. I believe it’s you that hates yourself. Ya gotta get over your wife first and start forgiving yourself. Let go of that ugly guilt. It ain’t doing you no good, only eating you alive, Lathan.”
Lathan stumbles off the barstool—Lester has hit a nerve. He waves the bartender off and clumsily storms away from the bar, bumping into other customers on the way out.
Lester shouts behind him, “That’s free advice, Lathan! Don’t take it lightly!”
Lathan ignores him completely, and as he goes out, he slams the door vehemently behind him. While he has lost his youthful good looks, it’s clear that he still has some of the old strength left.
Early the next afternoon, the sleepy silence outside Lathan’s trailer is broken by the sound of footsteps approaching. They stop abruptly in front of the trailer. The man stands looking at it for some time as if waiting for someone.
Inside the Turner home, it’s less messy today than usual. Samuel has been cleaning. He tries to keep his father’s house as clean as he possibly can. He’s making a peanut butter and jelly sandwich in the kitchen when he hears a knock and looks out the window. When he doesn’t see anything, he walks to the door, opens it a crack, and peeks out. He eyes the peculiar man curiously.
“Can I help you with something?” he asks. Then he adds hesitantly, “My dad’s not at home.” He’s hesitant because he doesn’t think that someone who looks so clean would ever want to meet someone as messy as his father.
The man at the door has a beard and long, woolly hair, and he’s dressed in a long white robe with a gold sash tied around his waist. He wears white sandals on his tanned feet. When he speaks, his voice is soft, gentle, and musical.
“I didn’t come to see your dad,” says the man, smiling. “I’m here for you, Samuel.”
“For me?” Samuel asks. Intrigued, he opens the door wider. Even though Grandma Ruth tells him to never open the door for strangers, he doesn’t feel threatened by this man.
“How do you know my name?” he asks.
“I was with you when your mother died,” the man at the door answers gently.
“You knew my mom?” Samuel asks, now even more surprised.
“Yes, I know your mom,” he smiles as he adds, “She’s now with me in the afterlife.”
At first astonished, Samuel’s entire face lights up as he finally recognizes the man in front of him.
“Oh my God!” he says, excited. “You’re the Messiah? I can’t believe it! This is unreal. Do you mind if I call my friends?”
The Messiah smiles at the childish question. “They’re already on the way over.”
“Oh, okay!” Samuel smiles with joy. As they look into each other’s eyes, the Messiah is first to break the silence.
“I need you to let lost people know—oblivious people, who don’t know about me—that I have returned. Can you help me with that?”
The question brings Samuel back to the real world. He asks sheepishly, “What does ‘o-bli-vious’ mean?” He quickly adds, “Never mind. I’m sorry for being such a dork. I have completely forgotten my manners. Please, come on in and have a seat.”
As the two enter, Samuel turns and says, “And of course, I will help you with anything you want.”
Samuel and the Messiah sit at the kitchen table. Samuel feels disoriented; he has no idea how to fulfill the task he promised. At first, he’s too embarrassed to ask the Messiah to help him out. However, the silence soon becomes overbearing, and Samuel decides to break it by asking, “So, how am I gonna let the world know about your return?” he asks. “I’m just a dumb kid with two left feet!”
The child’s honesty once again makes the Messiah smile. He answers, “Samuel, for most of your life, you’ve wanted to be a reporter and a respected leader. No matter what your father says or thinks, you remind me of another Samuel I know.”
Samuel nods at that.
“Well, it’s time you show what you’re made of. Go get your podcast equipment,” the Messiah finishes.
Samuel gets up and runs to his bedroom, where he pulls out a junior podcast kit from underneath his bed, a Christmas present from Grandma Ruth. He hurries back to the table. After quickly setting up the equipment, he searches for an outlet to plug in the recording mixer. He usually sets up in his bedroom so as not to disturb his father. Thoroughly irritated with himself, he says, “I feel like a total idiot. My dad’s right. I can never do anything right, even if my life depended on it.” He grunts loudly in frustration.
“Come here, Samuel,” the Messiah calls softly. He pulls out a glowing little black box from his sleeve and hands it over to him. “Use this box to plug your device into.”
Samuel cautiously takes the box and stares at it. “Cool! This is really cool! What else does this do? I know it does something cool, huh?”
“After you’re connected,” the Messiah says by way of an answer, “press the green button.”
Samuel plugs his device into the little black box, sets the box on the table, and gently presses the green button; instantly, beams of red, green, blue, and yellow lights shoot into the air and disappear.
“Wow!” he exclaims, his eyes shining in wonder. “This is magic!”
The Messiah smiles at his excitement. “This is much better,” he says, “because it’s more powerful. It also acts as an extension of our remarkable space satellite that transmits to millions of our followers worldwide. Why don’t you sit down now so we can begin?”
Samuel nods quickly and sits in front of the Messiah, putting on his headphones. Upbeat intro theme music plays from the little black box.
As the music reaches its conclusion, the Messiah starts speaking into the podcast kit microphone with a hypnotic cadence, pleasant and professional. “Welcome back to The New World Order Broadcast.”
The theme music ends as he continues, “We’d like to thank our audience of current and new listeners for joining us here today, on our number-one-rated weekly broadcast. I’d like to first introduce our special guest, Mr. Samuel Turner, as our new youth correspondent, who will address as many concerns as possible relevant to our adolescent listeners. So, Samuel, shall we get started?”
Still feeling like all this can’t possibly be real, Samuel intertwines his fingers nervously.
Gosh, I don’t have anything written down, but I’ll be alright, I hope, he thinks.
The Messiah smiles encouragingly, and Samuel feels more confident as ideas stream into his mind. He starts with his first line of questions.
•••
The sun shines brightly on Venice Beach in Southern California. There’s a breeze in the air, and the water is cool. It’s a perfect day to go to the beach, and several people are taking advantage of that fact. A few people frolic in the water—mostly kids—but the majority loiter on the beach or stroll on the boardwalk, enjoying the sun.
A loud voice interrupts their leisure. Everyone looks around, trying to find the source. At first, the voice seems to come from all directions. Finally, they decide it’s coming from a radio belonging to a man and woman who are tanning on a towel on the sand. It’s the only possible source the human mind can fathom, and it seems strange because the radio is small, yet the voice is all around them. However, they all listen intently, as the conversation itself seems to be even stranger.
It’s Samuel’s voice they’re hearing, loud and clear, as he asks, “Are we all going to die and completely perish to nonexistence on account of us messing up the world as we have done?”
Another voice answers the questions. It’s deeper, clearly the voice of an adult, yet soft. The Messiah says, “No. If you join, honor, and follow me, I will renounce all that you have done and let you acquire anything and everything you’ll ever need and desire here on earth.”
“Everything?” Samuel repeats, sounding surprised.
The Messiah sounds like he’s smiling as he replies, “Yes, everything. Ask those who have already received my gifts for their loyalty.”
On the beach, the man and the woman stare at each other, surprised, as more people crowd around them, trying to understand what is happening. The man frantically tries to change stations but to no avail. Finally, he shrieks, “This is on every channel! How is that even possible?”
“The power of the Messiah!” answers another man crouching next to him. The panicked man stares at him and tries to turn off the radio altogether this time. This doesn’t work either; the two voices continue.
“Let’s just listen,” the woman lying next to him says. “A kid’s interviewing the Messiah!”
“Yeah,” several of the people now say. “We want to listen.”
The man sighs, shrugs, and sits up as the small gathering listens closely.
•••
A family in France has also involuntarily tuned in. A wife and her husband, a teenage daughter, and a son about Samuel’s age gawk in surprise at the immense TV screen in front of them. Another show is being broadcast at this late hour, but it’s clear that the words being spoken by the characters aren’t the words they are now hearing. The voices of Samuel and the Messiah are heard instead—speaking in French.
The mystified family tries to make sense of what they’re hearing. Unable to control himself any longer, the husband blurts out, “Qu’est-il arrivé au son? Il s’agit d’un tout nouveau téléviseur ultra haute définition!” (What happened to the sound? This is a brand-new high-definition TV!)
“Je ne pense pas que ce soit le son,” (I don’t think it’s the sound) their teenage daughter mutters softly, almost to herself.
“Je me fiche de ce que c’est!” (I don’t care what it is!) her father shouts angrily. “Ce nouveau téléviseur ne devrait pas faire ça! Je ne peux pas croire ça! C’est ridicule!” (This new TV shouldn’t be doing this! I can’t believe this! It’s ridiculous!)
“Calme! Asseyez-vous, Albert!” (Quiet! Sit down, Albert!) The wife’s voice is commanding. “Écoutez! C’est le Messie!” (Listen! It’s the Messiah!)
The husband stares at her as if she has lost her mind, but the wife is no longer looking at him. She’s transfixed by the TV screen. Albert remains standing, motionless, for a few seconds, listening to the Messiah’s voice coming through his TV.
The Messiah is saying, “Souvenez-vous de ce que j’ai fait pour chacun d’entre vous. Tout ce que je demande en retour, ce sont vos cœurs précieux et dévoués et vos engagements pour une vie éternelle joyeuse dans le monde d’après. Je suis le vrai Messie et je veux vous donner tout ce que vous méritez dans la vie . . . pour le reste de votre vie.”
(Remember what I have done for each and every one of you. All I ask in return are your precious, devoted hearts and commitments for a joyous eternal life in the afterworld. I am the true Messiah and want to give you everything you deserve in life . . . for the rest of your life.)
Samuel responds, “Génial! Y a-t-il vraiment des petits hommes de Mars, des extraterrestres de l’espace ou des êtres extraterrestres?” (Cool! Are there really little men from Mars, aliens from outer space, or extraterrestrial beings?)
As Samuel asks this question, the young French boy leans forward on the couch. The father finally sits, giving in to the bizarre events. During the brief pause that follows Samuel’s question, the family looks at each other uneasily, all except the boy, who waits impatiently for an answer.
The Messiah finally says, “Disons simplement que vous n’êtes pas seul dans ce univers, Samuel.” (Let’s just say that you’re not alone in this universe, Samuel.)
“Mon Dieu!” (My God!) Samuel gasps excitedly. The French family continues to listen.
•••
It’s evening in London, England. Sitting at full capacity inside a movie theater, the audience witnesses the same peculiar phenomenon as the French family. The streets are almost empty outside, but inside this particular movie theater, people of all shapes and sizes sit quietly, watching the on-screen action from the latest “Furious” film but hearing Samuel’s interview with the Messiah. There’s no sound aside from the broadcast, not even the crunching of crisp nachos or popcorn or a slurp from a straw in a fountain drink. There’s no movement, either; everyone is mesmerized by the voices coming over the speakers.
“What should everyone on earth expect from this point, and what should we be doing now if we want a perfect and unobstructed eternal life?” Samuel asks in an authentic British accent. The Messiah’s accent, too, is undeniably British as he answers, “Everyone shall finally have peace, happiness, wealth, and security if you choose to.”
Various theater patrons tear up at the Messiah’s answer. They lean forward in their chairs, trying to catch every word.
“I’m not asking for much. I just want to help you live out your dreams, free from ridicule, by supporting ideologies like ‘Love who you want to love.’ Be the true gender you’ve always felt you are inside since birth, marry who you choose, be who you want to be, and keep being you. It should always be a woman’s right to choose. I’m speaking to every one of you—Muslims, Buddhists, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Mormons, you name it. Trust in me, and you shall live forever. I hurt from your suffering.”
The Messiah chokes up a bit and continues, “I hear your cries. I’m your only hope for eternal life, and remember, there’s not much time left. Do what is right. Also, help all of your family and friends know the truth; help me spread my message. Let them know about my return, and you shall all be rewarded.”
Several theater patrons make the sign of the cross, raise their arms with open palms, and silently vow to start spreading the Messiah’s message as soon as they leave the theater. Others just look at each other, perplexed, as the two voices continue to echo over the theater.
•••
Inside the Turners’ trailer home, Samuel and the Messiah are interrupted by the sound of footsteps on the deck, wheels rolling, some random bumps and thuds, and finally papers rustling at the window. Eric’s and Ronnie’s faces appear in the window; they motion for Samuel to come out.
Samuel tries to shoo them away, looking at the Messiah with embarrassment. However, the two refuse to take the hint. The Messiah smiles at the boy and says, “It’s okay, Samuel. See what they want.”
