Raised Catholic, just seeing the Miracle Maker and the Pope up close and personal elevated the blissful feeling he already had.
Even so, he silently wondered why the man who’d received ten times as many gifts from an adoring public as he had, looked so troubled?
Even when they were seated during the awarding ceremony, Yogesh squirmed in his chair each time a new image of Romanero flashed on the large arena screens. And when photographs of him and his wife were shown, from the many photo-op sessions they were asked to be part of all this week, Yogesh looked away in anguish.
Gomes tried engaging in conversation with him, once or twice, but the man from India seemed resigned to keep to himself. Plus, he was sweating profusely.
Whether he was nervous about being the first to speak, or it was due to the language barrier between them, Gomes didn’t know.
For whatever reason, Thiago sensed it ran deeper than that.
Now just moments from being introduced, the father from Brazil stood directly behind the man from India. His twitching and shaking increased considerably. As the first man to be seen and heard all over the world, Gomes chalked it up as nothing more than a case of nerves on Yogesh’s part. He was about to see just how wrong he was!
Even Gomes was nervous. But after everything Salvador the Great did for his family, not to mention millions of other families around the globe, his willingness to give thanks to his hero far outweighed his fear of public speaking. Just meeting the Miracle Maker and the Pope in person was, by far, the honor of a lifetime for him.
Looking at the back of Yogesh Patel’s head, he thought, ninety-seven seconds cost me a half million dollars!
31
A FEMALE VOICE ECHOED throughout the rafters, “Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome to the stage, Mister Yogesh Patel!”
The audience rose as one and erupted into thunderous applause, as Patel approached the lectern looking rather spiffy. To go along with his blue pinstriped suit, Hana had one of Dubai’s most sought-after hairdressers come up to their suite to give her husband a new look.
Yogesh was reluctant, but Hana insisted that he look the part. Otherwise, they might not let him on stage with Romanero and the Pope. Not only that, she wanted him to look his best for the photo-op session.
With his ridiculously expensive Armani suit on and jet-black hair trimmed to perfection and slicked back with hair gel, Yogesh certainly looked like a true success story.
The very thought sickened him. The money would have been better spent given to his fellow Christ followers back home.
Yogesh placed both hands on the lectern. Soon his voice would be heard by billions of citizens across the globe. He found it impossible to comprehend how anyone would want to listen to him, a simple man, as if he was a college professor or someone counted among the world’s elite.
With so many fathers waiting behind him, Yogesh was given just ten minutes to speak. Everyone following him would have half that time.
Wonder if they’ll even let me finish…
Seeing so many well-known faces on the edge of their seats, eager to cheer him on, as if they were best friends, terrified him even more than he already was. He feared the outcome…
Yogesh took a deep breath, “Good evening. This is my first time speaking to a large group of people. I’m quite nervous. Please forgive me if I’m not good at it. And please pardon my broken English.”
Laughter filled the arena.
“Three months ago, when Hana and I won the contest, life drastically changed for us. In the blink of an eye, we went from having nothing to gaining the whole world and its many trappings. I still have difficulty wrapping my head around it all.”
Heads nodded thoughtfully throughout the arena.
“Thanks to Mister Romanero, our ship has finally come in. From a financial standpoint he really is a Miracle Maker!” The crowd erupted in applause. “Because of this, my wife and I were convinced he was god or, at the very least, a god…”
Yogesh paused, then gulped; his hands started trembling. Lord, give me the strength to speak boldly for You, like I saw in my dream!
Without looking back at Romanero or his wife and daughter, he said, “I no longer believe this to be true…”
A loud, collective gasp filled the arena. Eyes widened all throughout. Heads tilted and jerked; many exchanged confused glances.
Yogesh took a long breath and released it, “After recently encountering the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the Holy Scriptures, I wish to take this moment to announce to the whole world that Jesus Christ is my Lord and Savior and I am not ashamed!”
Some were taking sips of beverages and spit liquid from their mouths. They were incredulous. Sounds of booing and heckling filled the arena.
Someone shouted, “Get off the stage!”
Someone else yelled, “You don’t deserve the many blessings you received from us!”
Many glared at him angrily.
Unable to hold their gaze, Yogesh went blank. His body trembled even more ferociously. He remembered what Braxton Rice had told him about keeping the main thing the main thing.
But it was difficult with the antichrist seated just a few feet behind him. Without even looking back, Yogesh felt his gaze burning into him like hot coals on his flesh. Remain strong!
“Let me ask you all, what shall it profit any of you to gain the whole world yet lose your soul? A good friend whom I’ve never met, recently shared that Scripture with me. It impacted me greatly. I know you are watching. If I never get the chance to meet you on this side, my dear brother, we will surely meet on the other side someday.”
Shooting a quick glance at Hana, he knew she was mortified. Yogesh knew she knew to whom he was referring—Brad Henriksen. Now more than ever, he was thankful he didn’t know his American friend’s name.
Yogesh glanced at his daughter resting on Hana’s lap. Her face was covered with a surgical mask; her innocent black eyes were wild with activity, drinking it all in as only a child could.
She was totally clueless of the ramifications of her father’s actions or that this very well may be the last time they would ever see each other.
His eyes drifted back up until they met Hana’s. “Sorry, my love, I know we’ve just gained the whole world, but I recently exchanged it for the salvation of my soul. I hope in time you will do the same.”
Hana lowered her head. She was completely flabbergasted.
Returning his attention to the angry mob before him, he pointed his finger out at them and grew more bold, “For those of you who do not repent and trust in Jesus for your salvation, make no mistake; it will come at the peril of your souls.”
The booing and heckling continued, only it was louder now and more pronounced. They cursed him.
“We want our gifts back!”
“Arrest him!”
Hundreds of armed guards waited expectantly to pounce on Patel the moment the order was given. But it never came…
Yogesh gripped the lectern as tightly as he could, and continued, “Let me take a moment to speak to those of you who were visited in dreams by male Jewish virgins, proclaiming to be one of the one hundred and forty four thousand God will soon seal for the end times harvest upon the earth. First let me say, if you were fortunate to be visited by one of them in your dreams, consider yourself blessed!”
Many in the audience exchanged confused glances. Most had no clue what he was talking about…
“Just like the Two Witnesses preaching the Word of God in Jerusalem, these men are trustworthy. Once they have been sealed by God Almighty Himself, they will cause the greatest soul harvest for Jesus in all of humankind, even among the constant mayhem.”
Knowing who they were, this incensed Romanero to no end.
“The only reason God chose me to share this with you is that I had the same dream myself, and because of the huge platform I’ve been given. As a new Christian, I’m no expert on the Word of God. So please don’t think of me as anything special. I am a si
mple man, a poor man, whose worth is found in Christ Jesus. Nothing more.
“But the men in your dreams are very special. If you didn’t dream about them, fear not! The Message they will soon preach to the far corners of the world, is the very same Gospel message I now speak of. It’s the very same message that saved my soul from hell. If you believe it and receive Christ as Lord and Savior, you will escape the coming judgment.
“I know many in this arena wish to harm me, kill me even, but thanks to Jesus, I no longer fear death, not even the second death.” This caused more confusion.
When the booing was at fever pitch, Yogesh paused. He looked to his left then right, half-expecting someone to shoot him in the back of the head or drag him off the stage in handcuffs.
When it didn’t happen, he went on, “I wish to make it known to the whole world that I will never again call my daughter by her birth name. Until another name has been chosen for her, I will call her ‘daughter’”.
“My daughter!” Romanero hissed, under his breath.
Hana heard him and shot him a quick glance. Salvador knew she was staring, but he ignored her. He was too incensed to take his eyes off her husband. Hana started quaking in her seat.
Yogesh let his eyes drift up to the ceiling, “Forgive me, Lord, for naming my child after your ultimate enemy in the flesh. Please don’t curse my daughter by counting this great sin against her. It wasn’t her choice; it was ours. We are the ones who named her.
“In closing, before winning the contest, I was a lowly fisherman. It was all I knew since childhood. After my daughter’s birth, the future looked bright for me and my family. We have a beautiful new home, new cars, new friends, new everything…”
Yogesh let his eyes wander over the arena. The hatred on so many faces seated before him was impossible to ignore or overlook. The audience would have already thrown whatever they could get their hands on at him, but there was too much precious cargo up on stage with him.
Someone yelled, “You deserve death for this?!”
Steeling himself against the wave of profanities being strewn at him like a tidal wave, Yogesh said, “Until a few weeks ago, I was retired from my job and very much looked forward to living the good life with my wife and daughter…I hereby declare that after three months of retirement, I’m back in the fishing business. Only this time, as a fisher of men!”
Yogesh lowered his head and prayed aloud, “Lord, even if I die today, as You prepare the way for Your one hundred and forty four thousand blessed servants, use my words, this declaration, long after I’m gone to rescue many, especially my wife and daughter, whom I love with every fiber of my being.
“Thank You, Jesus, for being my Lord and Savior, and for rescuing me from Salvador Romanero and his false antichrist system. Remember me in Your kingdom, Lord,” Yogesh pleaded from the very depth of his being, “where I will worship you forevermore…”
Everyone was on their feet now hurling threats and insults at Patel. The booing and hissing hit fever pitch. It was so loud that even if he kept speaking, his voice would have been drowned out by all the noise.
Yogesh glanced back at his wife and child. Sensing in his spirit it was for the last time, his heart burned within him. He wiped tears from his eyes and walked off the stage, frequently looking over his shoulders to make sure no one was following him.
As the world watched, Romanero burned with fury. He did his best to steady himself in his seat. The expression on his face was quite even. It looked like something unpleasant was swimming inside his mouth, tickling his taste buds against his will.
As much as he wanted to get up out of his seat and strangle Patel with his own two hands, he couldn’t move. The name of “Jesus”—genuinely spoken—caused loud shrieking to reverberate in his soul. The mention of any other so-called god or savior had zero effect on him.
Only the name of Jesus tore him up inside….
Even if no one in human form heard or felt it, the Miracle Maker did. It echoed loudly and clearly throughout the vast spirit world.
At any rate, the man walking off the stage was already a dead man for disrespecting him with the whole world watching. It wasn’t a question of if Patel would die for this unforgiveable sin—that decision was already made—but when, and how he would ultimately meet his demise.
Hana lowered her head in shame. Who is this man I married? She feared for her husband. But right now, she was too angry and too frightened to show any other emotion.
The future was suddenly uncertain again. Would she be forced to forfeit the million-dollar monetary card she’d just received, due to his foolish self-centered actions? She could only wait and wonder.
A female voice echoed through the rafters, “Please welcome to the stage, Mister Thiago Gomes…”
As Gomes was introduced, the look on the Brazilian man’s face was utter shock. Like everyone else in the arena, he couldn’t believe what his ears had just heard. So, that’s why he was acting so strangely…
Unlike Patel, Gomes wasted no time waxing poetic in his native Portuguese, with broken English mixed in, thanking Salvador Romanero for the many financial blessings and praising both him and the Pope for helping his family prosper. Many, trying to regain the momentum Patel had just sucked out of the arena, cheered his every word.
After he was finished, he bowed down before the Miracle Maker and kissed his feet, before falling completely prostrate before him in worship. Though he was told he only had five minutes, Romanero let it continue for nearly 20 minutes, before the next father was introduced.
Gomes didn’t know it yet, but the half-million dollars they’d missed out on, by giving birth 97 seconds after the Patels had, would soon come back to them in spades. The steady flow of gifts Hana Patel had received up to this point would soon be freely given to Paula Gomes.
With Yogesh Patel already dead to them, the Gomes’ family would catapult over the Patels to become the new “first family” so to speak.
Hana Patel was dying a slow death in front of the entire world. Why couldn’t my husband have done that? Unable to mask the complete humiliation she felt, she wanted to disappear from this place with her daughter and reappear on a desolate island where no one could find them.
She thought back to the night Yogesh had nightmares about the trip to the Middle East and how he woke in a pool of sweat. Never in a million years would she have guessed it would be something of this magnitude!
Her husband would have to live in hiding the rest of his life. He could never be seen walking the streets. Nor could he step foot inside their new home. The moment he tried someone would be waiting for him. Perhaps she would have to go into hiding someday herself with baby Salvadora?
With a sinking feeling that she might never see her husband again, Hana Patel burst out in tears.
Salvador Romanero handed her a handkerchief, then placed his left arm around her to comfort and strengthen her and make her feel perfectly safe in his care. He just hoped Hana wouldn’t eventually follow in her husband’s footsteps and jeopardize her own life in the process.
Romanero would gain a little more insight once the tapes were analyzed and he was briefed on what was said between the Patels.
Either way, Baby Salvadora never had to worry…
32
IN COEUR D’ALENE, IDAHO, Clayton Holmes was watching with Travis Hartings, Charles Calloway, Dr. Lee Kim, Amy Wong and Jefferson Danforth. All were rendered utterly speechless.
That is, until Holmes flew out of his chair, as if shot out of a cannon; adrenaline soared through every inch of his 6'5" body. “Man, that was bold!” he shouted. “KO’d by a poor fisherman!” Holmes punched the air, “Pow! Indian peasant, one, antichrist, zero!”
Clayton Holmes was a giant of a man. The 50-year-old dark skinned man with a head full of tightly coiled, thick black hair, had lost 45 pounds since the Rapture, dropping his weight to 225 pounds. Then again, 99 percent of the people left on the planet were thinner now.
Charles Calloway
was the next to jump to his feet; he paced back and forth. “God sure used the meek and humble to accomplish His purposes today! Surely, our prayers were answered!”
“You got that right!” Clayton high fived Charles. Both men hadn’t felt this joyful in a very long time. It went so much better than they’d expected. They couldn’t have been any prouder of their brother in Christ.
Up until now, there was cause for concern. After Braxton and Nigel met with Yogesh at the coffee shop, Rice feared Patel was too timid and too soft spoken to have a profound impact on the masses.
When Rice briefed his two bosses, he said, “How could he impact anyone if they couldn’t hear him? It’s not like we’ll get a do over!”
When Yogesh first spoke, his voice was very soft. It was evident he was terrified. He even asked forgiveness for not being good at it.
But in the end, no one questioned why God chose him to address the world, as Patel vividly saw in his dream. He wasn’t good; he was dynamic! Every word and syllable he uttered was delivered with a level of articulation that only God Himself could have provided, through the power of the Holy Spirit.
Travis Hartings and Dr. Lee Kim exchanged astonished glances. Both were mindful of Patel’s intentions; they just didn’t know what words would come out of his mouth. They both marveled.
For Jefferson Danforth, it was one of the most heroic speeches he had ever heard. It made him think of the many times he could have, should have, spoken more boldly about issues that were important to him, but he refrained. Jefferson met Romanero twice in person, once in Brussels and once at the White House. He felt the man’s great power, evil as it was.
Yet, Yogesh managed to pull it off. It made him respect the man even more. Jefferson was so inspired that he wanted to hold a press conference and make the very same declaration for Jesus that Yogesh had just made.
But he couldn’t. Those days were over.
The Sealing Page 21