The Unveiling, page 9
part #3 of Chaos Series
Said the narrator, “This is the blessed warning to all believers of a coming Rapture!”
“Wow!” Calloway was completely astonished. Of course, had he read or heard this Scripture prior to the Rapture—which would have been a miracle in itself—it would have meant nothing to him. His heart was too hardened back then, his eyes too blind to see it for what it was.
With his spiritual eyes and ears finally opened, it was as obvious to him as the nose on his face.
Charles clicked on chapter four. It was shaded in a lighter red color.
The voice said, “Whereas Revelation three, verses ten through twelve promises to keep the true believers from the hour of trial that will test all who live on the Earth, chapter four, verse one provides the actual escape, via the Rapture. This is the first mention of a door opening in Heaven. Chapter nineteen, verse eleven also mentions an opening in Heaven, and for good reason.
“In chapter four, verse one, Heaven is opened to receive Christ’s Church at the time of the Rapture. In chapter nineteen, verse eleven, it is opened again so Jesus can return to Planet Earth with His Bride—the Church—to commence His thousand-year reign.
“Just as chapters two and three are similarly connected, the same could be said with chapters four and five. But these chapters are future tense. Chapter four, verse one begins with the words, ‘After this’. After what? John is referring to the end of the church age described in chapters two and three. After this John looked, and there before him was a door standing open in heaven. And the voice he had first heard speaking like a trumpet said, ‘Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after this.’
“Verse two says at once the Apostle John was taken up in the Spirit. Imagine the scene in Heaven. John saw a throne with the Lord Jesus sitting on it, surrounded by the twenty-four elders all dressed in white with crowns of gold on their heads. The fact that they had crowns of gold on their heads meant they’d already appeared at the judgment seat of Christ, as recorded in Second Corinthians five, verse ten, and had already received their eternal rewards.
“Verses five and six explain how from the throne John saw flashes of lightning, and heard rumblings and peals of thunder, signifying impending danger for Planet Earth. In front of the throne, John saw seven lamps blazing, which are the seven spirits of God. Also, in front of the throne John saw what looked like a sea of glass, clear as crystal. This represents the Church at rest.
“In the center, around the throne, John saw four living creatures covered with eyes in front and in back. The first living creature was like a lion. The second was like an ox. The third had a face like a man. The fourth was like a flying eagle. Each of the four living creatures had six wings and was covered with eyes all around, even under its wings. These are the seraphim Isaiah encountered and wrote about in chapter six, verse three in the book bearing his name.
“Day and night they never stopped saying, ‘Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord God Almighty who was, and is, and is to come.’ The reason the word ‘Holy’ is always uttered three times is that one acclamation is for God the Father, one is for Jesus the Son, and one is for the Holy Spirit.
“Whenever these four living creatures give glory, honor and thanks to him who sits on the throne and who lives for ever and ever, the twenty-four elders fall down in worship laying their crowns at the feet of Jesus saying, ‘You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being.’”
As Charles read and listened to this beautiful text, he tried imagining Monique, his five children, his mother, Beatrice—who’d died nine years ago—and his father, Benson, all living in perfect peace in that most glorious Place. It must have been too breathtaking to put into words.
Calloway clicked on chapter five. The voice explained how John saw a scroll with writing on both sides in Jesus’ right hand. It was sealed with seven seals. A mighty angel proclaimed in a loud voice, ‘Who is worthy to break the seals and open the scroll?’
“The marvelous praise session briefly came to an end, as no one in Heaven or on earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll or to look into it. The Disciple John wept loudly because no one was found worthy to open the scroll or even look into it.
“Then one of the elders said to John, ‘Weep no more; behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered, so that he can open the scroll and its seven seals.’
“And between the throne and the four living creatures and among the elders John saw a Lamb standing, as though it had been slain, with seven horns and with seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth. And He went and took the scroll from the right hand of Him who was seated on the throne.
“And when He had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each holding a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints.
“They sang a new song to Jesus: ‘You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, because you were slain, and with your blood you purchased men for God from every tribe and language and people and nation. You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God, and they will reign on the earth.’
“Angels, numbering in the thousands upon thousands, and ten thousand times ten thousand encircled the throne, along with the living creatures and the twenty-four elders and sang, ‘Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise!’ I can only imagine how amazing it will be,” the voice said, rather warmly.
Charles Calloway shook his head in bewilderment. He’d just read two of the most beautiful chapters in all of Scripture. Now more than ever, he wanted to be in Heaven with his departed loved ones.
For the time being, however, he was stuck on Planet Earth. Though fearful of what was to come, he felt this comforting peace knowing he belonged to Jesus for real this time. Only those who were true believers could understand this feeling...
Calloway stopped at chapter six. He clicked on the CONTACT link and sent another email to the site creators.
If he had to e-mail them—whoever they were—a hundred times to get their attention, a thousand times, he was determined to do just that. Lord willing, they would feel led by the Holy Spirit to include him in their plans, whatever those plans might be.
Charles dropped to his knees and prayed again that God would open this door for him, and that those in charge would contact him soon. This site was a miracle from God, a lifeline, really.
Exactly what I needed!
15
BRIAN MULROONEY’S TRAIN ARRIVED at 9:58 p.m., two minutes ahead of schedule. Even with limited rail service, Penn Station was swarming with people hurrying off in all directions, either catching outgoing trains or, like him, arriving from various destinations.
After receiving a text message from his sister, Chelsea, Brian knew his family was already waiting for him in a designated area for non-passengers. He disembarked and followed the mass of humanity up the stairs leading to the main terminal.
Seeing the many underground merchants now closed for business, for who knew how long, was yet another eerily cruel reminder of what happened last weekend. It wasn’t even this bad after 9/11.
Mulrooney pushed and shoved his way through the crowd until he finally spotted his family. Though completely exhausted from the long train ride, just seeing them again filled Brian with unspeakable joy.
The moment he locked eyes with his mother, Sarah started weeping. Chelsea too. After not seeing Brian in nearly a year, her brother was finally home. They group-hugged.
The near silence on the train was replaced with the loud buzz of families reuniting. Laughter, crying and joyful screams echoed throughout the massive terminal. It was good to see society trying to move on again.
It suddenly felt like Thanksgiving, only no one knew for sure how long it would last...
Brian couldn’t ignore the stark terror in his parents’ eyes. They were thrilled to have him back home, but beneath the joy, what he saw on their faces told another story altogether.
Oddly enough, despite that his world was crumbling all around him, Brian felt this certain peace welling up inside he never felt before; all because of the Book he was reading. If his family would only read it for themselves, they, too, would feel the same peace he felt.
Totally unaware that his son was slowly but surely being transformed by the power of the Holy Spirit, Dick Mulrooney grabbed Brian’s suitcase and headed for the 33rd Street exit, to begin the tedious task of hailing a cab.
Brian shouldered his briefcase and followed alongside his mother, Sarah, and Chelsea.
Twenty minutes later, they were en route home.
In the backseat of the taxi, Brian surveyed the mass devastation blanketing much of his beloved hometown. A tear escaped his eye, as his mind drifted back to the World Trade Center incident back in 2001, when he was just a youngster.
Like everyone else in America, Brian was completely terrorized that day, when airplane-turned-missiles struck the Twin Towers and Pentagon. That moment rocked his world and forced him to acknowledge the great presence of evil in the world. Many months had to pass before he was able to define his “new normal” in life.
Since that time, there were too many crises in the world that were so important, so earth-shattering, Mulrooney knew exactly where he was and what he was doing at those precise moments.
The next major tragedy he could recall occurred the day after Christmas in 2004, when a tsunami ravaged much of Southeast Asia, killing more than 230,000 people in eleven countries.
Then, much like the increase of birth pains Jesus spoke of, less than a year later, the horror unfolding on his TV screen literally shook him to the core when Hurricane Katrina nearly destroyed the city of New Orleans.
Soon after that, powerful, devastating earthquakes rocked the planet from China to Haiti to Chile, claiming hundreds of thousands of lives in the process. Many registered 9.0 on the Richter scale, including the massive undersea quake in Japan in 2011 that triggered a deadly tsunami, as the world watched in agony. Then there was Superstorm Sandy which struck the Northeast in 2012, causing $70B worth of damage in the U.S.
And how could Brian overlook the many mass school and university shootings which started shortly before 9/11, and had only escalated since that time, or the rise of terrorism over the years, mostly at the hands of radical Islamists and their quest for world dominance.
The many mass shootings, suicide bombers and beheadings committed in the name of their religion couldn’t be numbered. And for what? Because they didn’t share the same faith?
A spirit of anger, hatred and revenge had slowly crept into every corner of the world. It kept escalating as the days passed. Hence, the constant threat of war. Add to that the total decline of the family unit, the funding of abortion clinics by his own government, the shredding apart of the institution of marriage between a man and a woman, the constant change in weather patterns, and a million other things, and Mulrooney should have heard the time bomb ticking long before the disappearances.
As the years passed, society had slowly but steadily evolved from, “How can I help you?” to “What’s in it for me?” In the blink of an eye, sin went from being openly condemned to openly glorified. Right was suddenly wrong and wrong was right. It seemed all anyone cared about these days was themselves.
Now that the bomb had gone off, causing countless millions to vanish, Mulrooney couldn’t deny the days leading up to the disappearances had been extremely volatile. Society really was spiraling out of control. The signs were everywhere!
But like most others on this fallen planet, Brian was too busy living his life and building his career to heed the constant warnings.
The vehicle they were riding in passed by three connecting 20-story buildings that Brian was quite familiar with. Seeing all three charred and completely gutted, all he could do was shake his head and silently lament for his hometown city.
Looking back, it’s like a fuse was lit on 9/11 that caused a wave of nerve-shredding devastation ever since, leading straight up to the disappearances. The signs were everywhere that the end of the world was near. How could I be so blind?
Sure, New Yorkers proved back in 2001 that they were a resilient people who were determined to rebuild what had been destroyed. But this was a whole new ball game. Devastating as that time was, it didn’t come close to what Planet Earth experienced last weekend.
Nothing could compare to this!
Upon arriving home, Brian had the sudden urge to sit everyone down at the kitchen table and share what was on his mind, including the serious doubts he now had with his Catholic upbringing.
It wouldn’t be easy, but he had to find a way to get his family to understand the basics of God’s Holy Word: believe in Jesus and only Jesus! Only then was anyone ever truly free.
Anything added to that was wholly man-made and not from God. It suddenly sounded so logical to him. Brian sighed. But how do I get my family to see it...
16
MARINE ONE TOUCHED DOWN on the White House lawn at 9:00 p.m.
President Danforth was relieved to be back at his residence at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, where he would remain throughout Thanksgiving. On the constant go since last Saturday, he was tired and drained of every emotion. Not only that, his head throbbed like he had a mouthful of bad teeth.
Burying his beloved mother was the icing on the devastation cake. It zapped what little strength he still had left in him. After the funeral, the First Family held a simple vigil for the family members who’d disappeared. With no bodies to bury, pictures were displayed on walls and candles were lit in their honor.
Mostly because the First Lady was heavily sedated, to the point that she looked like a human zombie, both services were sealed off to the press. This was Melissa’s first time leaving the White House since being whisked out of Camp David after the disappearances.
Her bedroom had become her private fortress ever since.
With the absence of the media, the First Family got to grieve in private, and shed as many tears as they had to release. President Danforth’s handkerchief was soaked all the through with moisture. He, especially, needed this time away from the public eye. It was difficult to be yourself with reporters broadcasting your every move.
Even back at the White House, his mind was still on complete overload. Burying his mother was just one of the many issues he was wrestling with. Regarding the Summit in Brussels, for all the good that was discussed, all this talk of a one-world government, or better put, a one-world system deeply concerned him.
Save for a handful of world leaders, himself included, everyone else seemed in favor of global unification. Just last week, the very thought would have seemed totally unthinkable.
Now, it was clearly the goal of most world leaders.
And then there was Salvador Romanero to consider. Thanks to him, the Summit ended with an unforgettable positive bang. How in the world did he make his bold prediction come true? Who had the power to stop rain and snow from falling from the sky? Apparently, he did.
President Danforth was quite mindful of the technology being used to control weather patterns in remote areas of the world. But the entire planet? This man’s knowledge stretched far beyond any man-made technology.
Another thing troubling him was the severe backlash he received from world leaders, business moguls and celebrities the world over. Their mean-spirited comments were aired over and over again for all to hear. He could almost feel the sting of venomous hatred pressing through the White House walls trying to devour him.
Even though his decision to bring stranded travelers back home went smoothly on all fronts—not a single accident was reported in the air or on the ground—the positive spotlight remained on Salvador Romanero.
With more time to prepare, ten times as many signs, slogans, banners and shirts were worn, held and hung by Americans during the vigil than any other country.
It was like a dagger in the American President’s heart.
Just three days ago most would have said, “Salvador who?” Now he was quickly becoming the envy of the world.
President Danforth had this alarming sense that he would soon detest, and fear, Salvador Romanero more than any person he’d ever known. It was just a matter of time...
17
UPON RETURNING BACK TO Spain, news cameras were rolling when Salvador Romanero exited the jet plane and climbed into a waiting limousine. A helicopter followed the vehicle all the way back to the king’s castle. It was shown on live TV the world over.
Romanero spent an extra day in Brussels after world leaders, including the Prime Minister of Spain and the newly crowned Prince Javier, left for home. This was planned in advance so the young phenom could meet with top members of the secret society.
Whereas two days ago they assured him that, within 24 hours, he would become a household name—which certainly did come true—this meeting was about setting parameters and blueprinting all future steps their front man would take in the coming weeks and months.
Some from the secret society were incensed by Romanero’s bold prediction that it wouldn’t rain or snow anywhere in the world during the vigil. It wasn’t part of the script.
