Off The Pages

Jack Hurst had preached to another crowd in the middle east on their way towards their destination in this holy crusade. It surprised him how receptive the Muslims were. Very few displays of power needed to be made, few resisted, and many stopped and listened without opposition. After his sermon, the Lord stepped forward and began healing the sick and injured. It moved his heart and his spirit. These vulnerable people had been left behind by governments and broken by decades of imperialism on all sides, and to see children who had lost limbs to American bombs get healed gave him pride. Those from young to elderly and all in between stepped up and their maladies vanished as they got blessed.

He noticed the expression on the Lord’s face. “My Lord, you look conflicted,” he said. “What troubles you?”

The Lord touched a man’s hand, fingerless after an IED had exploded, and digits returned. “There is no emergency,” the Lord spoke, not turning away from his mission. “It just saddens me when I feel our allies being killed in combat.”

“I don’t doubt our inevitable victory, my Lord,” Jack pleaded, his faith unshakeable.

“Nor do I,” the Lord agreed. “There is a limit to how much I can enhance someone’s power, and our enemies are crafty and come up with strategies our loyal followers haven’t stopped to consider.”

“Will it hurt our cause?” Jack asked.

“Not at all,” the Lord decided. “Giving our enemies a false sense of security will not hurt us at all.”

Those words struck Jack oddly. “Do you think they’ll honestly believe they can win?” he asked. “You think they’ll fall for it?” He trusted his Lord beyond explicitly. It was the kind of trust a young child gave his mother. Yet, his human wisdom failed him. The faint thought occurred to him that his Lord was making a mistake, and yet, he knew the Lord made no mistakes.

“Once again,” the Lord reassured, “I sense and understand your concern. As our allies go to their final reward, our enemies feel their success increase. They might believe at first they aren’t letting their victories go to their head, but as time progresses, they will.”

“It’s human nature, right?” Jack thought out loud.

“Correct,” the Lord replied. “The Word of the Father will play out, even if not as written by ancient men.”

Jack nodded, content with this answer. The crowd finished receiving their blessings and healings, and they waved farewell to the crowd, and headed towards the aircraft. They walked through a military blockade meant to keep out any except the loyal. A crew of loyal supers got into a nearby jumbo jet while Jack and his Lord took their places aboard Air Force One. Within an hour, the plane took off.

“Sir,” a secret service agent said, “in just a few hours we’ll be landing in Tel Aviv.”

“Fantastic,” Jack said.

“Soon, the holy land will receive our final blessing,” the Lord said, “and then we will prepare for our final battle.”

As the secret service and soldiers took their places, Jack turned to his Lord. “Forgive my wavering,” he confessed.

The Lord leaned forward in his seat. “No, my child!” he exclaimed. “You’ve held firm in the face of nigh-impossible opposition! How many others could have survived the insanity you survived so far?”

Jack wiped his eyes. “Thank you,” he said. “I am not worthy.”

“Come now,” the Lord replied. “Sleep.”

Jack leaned his head against the wall, and a soldier placed a pillow under his head. He went into dreams almost immediately. His dream turned to the eternal paradise that God’s Kingdom on Earth would provide. No person would ever suffer again. All wounds would be healed, all debts made equal, and no sorrow would exist. All of God’s people would enjoy the fruits of the Earth without ever wanting for anything, and no evil would be present to cause misery. None of the servants of Satan would be around to sow discord, as they would all be cast into the Lake of Fire.

“Sir, wake up,” a soldier’s voice said, cutting through the fog.

Jack slowly returned to awareness. “We’ve arrived?”

“Yes sir,” the soldier agreed. “They’ve prepared for your arrival well in advance.”

“We shall prepare for the final battle,” the Lord said, rising from his seat.

As the door opened, and Jack Hurst stepped onto the stairs, they saw the full might of the Israeli army on display. The airspace for hundreds of miles around the airport had been cleared by fighter jets and loyal supers. Military vehicles formed a barricade around the plane after it landed. The airport had been surrounded by tanks and Jeeps with heavy caliber machine guns. A literal wall of soldiers began forming a circle around the craft. No dissenters were allowed anywhere close to the airport. Trucks approached every so often to load the bodies of dissenters shot on sight by the soldiers.

A man in a business suit came up to greet them. “Ah…I…” he said, struggling to regain composure. “I’ve been assigned to be your official government liaison. What will you be needing?”

“What is the state of the site of the final battle?” Jack asked.

“We’ve cordoned off a large area of the Valley of Megiddo,” the liaison explained, “and all except loyal supers are kept out. We expect your battle to cause many casualties, after all.”

“Good decision,” the Lord complimented. “Until such time as the final battle is concluded, we don’t want to involve those who have not picked a side.”

They stepped off the stairs and towards a vehicle. “If, uh, you don’t mind my asking,” the liaison asked, “what will be happening…after…” The Lord gave him a confused look. “Well, it’s just that…well, the text of Revelation hasn’t happened as written, so I was wondering.”

“I understand,” the Lord replied, nodding. “After the forces of Satan are defeated, my Father’s eternal Kingdom of glory and happiness shall begin upon this Earth. All who disbelieve shall be cast into the Lake of Fire.”

The man swallowed and nodded. “I…see,” he uttered. “Let me be the first to say, I am a believer.”

He placed a hand on the man’s shoulder. “Do not worry,” the Lord replied. “I have seen you accept my Father’s glory just now, so as long as you remain faithful, nothing bad shall happen to you.”

The man wiped his brow. “Thank you, oh Lord,” he cried.

An armored troop carrier opened its rear compartment. The Lord and his servant stepped in and sat down. Jack Hurst marveled at the thick metal walls and the armed soldiers seated around them. He took a deep breath and relaxed. This ordeal had been a whirlwind of chaos and confusion. He’d seen the best and worst of humanity. His Lord had performed miracles of healing and judgments decried as murder by mortal men. His faith had been tested to its limit, but he would hold strong. Still, this had been what he’d prayed for since he was a child. If only the Glory of God happened in my lifetime, he would pray as a young man. His dream had been to be present when the Lord’s Kingdom on Earth returned.

“Sir?”

The question had come from a soldier no older than twenty-three. “Yes?” Jack asked.

“Will I get to see my grandfather again?” the young soldier inquired.

Jack turned to his Lord. “If you believe and have faith,” the Lord advised, “then anything is possible for my Father. I will advocate on your behalf.”

“Tell me, oh Lord,” another young soldier said, “what will we do all day in Heaven?”

The Lord smiled and Jack let out a laugh. “Oh, my child,” the Lord spoke. “Your mind wasn’t meant to comprehend eternity. Let me assure you that the wondrous experiences that will enter your soul will fulfill you forever and ever. Such is the power of the Father.”

The sense of wonder that drew itself upon their faces gave Jack a sense of pride. “To me,” Jack preached, “that’s what makes this all worth it. Our enemies call us murderers because what they believe is that the physical realm is the extent of pleasures available.” He bowed his head solemnly and sighed. “No. The Kingdom of Heaven is beyond any mere Earthly paradise. God in Heaven has no equal and his love and glory will fill us all and guide us to feelings impossible to describe.”

“They condemn you as a murderer,” a soldier said, “because they only see a forest for the trees.”

“Right,” Jack replied. “I got into preaching as a young man because I wanted to get across the feeling of love that the Lord instilled in me.” He leaned back in his seat. “I don’t enjoy the judgments we must dole out. I wish no one had to be judged and everyone could go to Heaven. The problem is that some people are unwilling to accept the Lord. Some are so unwilling to accept their Christ that they fight to defend this broken place.”

“Said wonderfully,” the Lord exclaimed. “Together we will defeat the armies of the Deceiver and the Kingdom of God shall be restored.”

An almost endless crowd stood behind military barriers. Some cheered, some screamed about a false messiah and were immediately shot by soldiers and their bodies dragged away. Loyal supers flew overhead, or travelled nearby, protecting the convoy. A huge barrier got moved out of the way by soldiers, and the vehicle rumbled into the Valley of Megiddo. The preacher marveled at the sight of the land that would become the greatest battlefield in history.

The Lord pointed, and the vehicle rumbled to a stop in the middle of a large clearing. The rear compartment opened, and everyone stepped out. A man in a decorated uniform approached. “Will you be giving a statement to the press?” he asked. He pointed behind him. “There’s a number of news outlets who want access to you.”

“I imagine that’s our purpose here,” Jack answered.

“That’s the best vantage point,” the Lord said, pointing. “Bring them there.”

A half hour later, equipment had been set up and everyone took their places. Cameras pointed at Jack Hurst and the Lord, and every kind of equipment had been set up. One newsman gave him the thumbs-up.

Jack took a sharp inhalation. He held it for a moment and let it out. “My fellow servants of Christ,” he preached. “In less than forty-eight hours, the final battle will take place here. The Dark One shall marshal his Satanic forces here for the climactic battle against God Almighty.” He stared into the camera. “They will be crushed by the holy might of the Lord. After, the Kingdom of God shall reign upon this Earth in an everlasting peace. No longer shall pain endure. Every debt shall be paid, every misery made right. The things that make you less shall be taken away, and your imperfections made perfect, your shortcomings corrected. There will be no want or need; all shall be provided to all.”

He paced. “All of this bounty shall be provided by the mighty hand of God in Heaven.” His expression darkened. “Our foes are the worst kind of sinner. They blaspheme against their Father in Heaven because they possess righteousness. Satan’s influence has convinced them they can prevail against their Lord and their Father, because they believe the lies of the King of All Liars. They have been misled into believing the eternal goodness will be bad somehow.” He bowed his head. “Believe it or not, I want my enemies to be saved. Unfortunately, they fight for the Evil One, and their misery shall have to be overcome by holiness and joy.”

He approached the cameras. “Should any of you feel like siding against the Lord, your time shall be up, and like our foes, you shall be cast into the eternal Lake of Fire. Your suffering will never end, your pain will be unfathomable. Any who fight against God’s Kingdom will be put through agony worse than death. Their suffering shall never end, and no reprieve shall be offered. Any who disbelieve after the final battle will be cast into the Lake of Fire. Only those loyal to the Lord, and to God in Heaven, shall be spared. Fight in glory against evil! All who perish against our enemies in servitude to God in Heaven shall receive their eternal reward in Heaven!”

He cleared his throat. “I leave you with God’s mercy.”

The camera cut out after the broadcast concluded.