The Last Day

by Glenn Kleier

  As was revealed to me this 23rd Day of November, in the year of Our Lord 1929.

  Respectful servant of God, Marie Lúcia de Jesus, R.S.D.

  And there it was. The ultimate conundrum.

  If this strange woman, Jeza, was as she said, a New Messiah, then the First Prophecy was being fulfilled. Mankind had failed God and fallen short of the Virgin's stipulations. Man would be denied, indefinitely, his promised reunion with Christ “until the twilight of time.” And this angry Jeza, God forbid, heralded a period of divine punishment and desolation.

  On the other hand, if the Second Prophecy was the correct one, then Jeza was truly the Jezebel, the Antichrist, and she portended a violent struggle between good and evil. Armageddon. After which would come the Second Advent of Christ and the beginning of the long-awaited One Thousand Year Glorious Rule. The fulfillment of the scriptures.

  So which was she, Messiah or Antichrist? Was it to be desolation or a thousand years of bliss? In his final reflection on the letter, the pontiff's choice had become no easier. There were certainly aspects of each prophecy that paralleled current developments, causing him to question any decision he might make.

  Yet, Nicholas had to feel that each pope in possession of this portentous Last Revelation, including Nicholas himself, had done everything within his power to meet the Virgin's requirements and to earn the blessings of the Second Prophecy. The major work of Nicholas's papacy, his Millennial Decree, was consecrated entirely to this purpose. Surely he and his predecessors had succeeded in meeting the Virgin's stipulations, just as the Church had succeeded before in ushering in the fall of communism in Russia.

  Needless to say, Nicholas hoped with all his soul that di Concerci was correct. And there were subtle indications in the Secret Letter that supported the prefect's arguments. The passage in the second paragraph of the Second Prophecy and its reference to a “snake,” for example, was highly reminiscent of the Book of Genesis and the serpent in the Garden of Eden. This would tend to cast Jeza as Eve, seducer of Adam and precipitator of the fall of man. And this was the only section of the letter that might be construed as gender-reflective. But this was not a new inspiration to Nicholas. He'd considered this point before.

  At length, Nicholas returned to more conclusive passages, the same passages he'd always relied upon each time he referred to this difficult document for guidance. He went back to the two phrases that appeared to hold the key. The only lines, in his estimation, which offered the foundation for a decision.

  Referring to the First Prophecy, last paragraph, first line:

  “In the eleventh hour shall these things be accomplished as I have prophesied.”

  And buried in the second to last paragraph of the letter:

  “But if the First Prophecy is to be, it shall be fulfilled before the turn of the millennium; and if the Second Prophecy is to be, it shall be fulfilled thereafter.”

  So, assuming “fulfilled,” as translated from the Portuguese, meant “concluded” or “satisfied,” then Jeza's appearance came past deadline. Under this interpretation, if Jeza were the New Messiah, her work should have been completed before the millennial transition. This was why Nicholas had been able to breathe a short-lived sigh of relief on New Year's Day, despite the millenarians in his courtyard, the cracks in his fresco and altar, and the disturbing happenings in the Holy Land. If this view were correct, Jeza couldn't be the “Anointed One.” She would have to be the Antichrist, meaning that the Second Prophecy was materializing and it was time to marshal the troops for the final holy war.

  On the other hand, as Nicholas had painstakingly considered, “fulfilled” could be construed to mean “to put into effect,” or “to convert into reality.” Certainly, Jeza had come into being before the year 2000. She was “converted into reality” on Christmas Day, in the eleventh hour of the last year. Adhering to this definition of “fulfilled,” the Desolation was at hand, and Nicholas knew if he were to condemn Jeza, he would be guilty of denouncing the living messenger of God and opposing the will of the supreme being!

  Then again, favoring the One Thousand Year Glorious Reign was the fact that the term “jubilation” happened to appear in the last line of the Second Prophecy. Was there a connection with John Paul II's call for a “Jubilee Year?” Had Nicholas detected a veiled clue, or was he merely being misled by a coincidence?

  The ambiguity was maddening. Despite his intense prayers amongst the world's greatest wealth of religious icons, the pope had yet to glean even the slightest sign from any source to which he'd turned.

  “Enough!” he cried out in anger. “My God, why have you forsaken me?”

  If he had to make this dreadful decision alone and abandoned, then so be it. This was his conclusion:

  While Jeza's physical arrival may have occurred prior to the millennial transition, unquestionably, the essence of the First Prophecy was not fulfilled beforehand. She did not even become active in her ministry until after the year 2000. What was more important, to accept her as the “Anointed One” was to turn fatalistic and despondent, to accept the Desolation, to deny hope and the future of the world. Of man.

  “My God!” The pontiff dropped from his chair to his knees. Trembling, he leaned over the letter, rereading a passage upon which the first beam of dawn light had now fallen through his window:

  “Whichever shall be fulfilled is by your doing, as the decision is still within your province to effect.”

  God help him, the letter meant exactly what it said! He, Pope Nicholas VI, supreme representative of Christ on Earth—he alone was to decide! It was his faith that was being tested here!

  ”… And whatever you shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” (Matthew 16:19)

  The pope moaned and crossed himself repeatedly. At last, with the first light of day, he'd been given his sign. Large, pent-up tears streamed down his cheeks as his whole body shuddered and heaved with the relief of his understanding. So, without realizing it, he had held the answer to this quandary all along. Whichever prophecy was to be fulfilled, the decision was his.

  He thanked his Lord, rose unsteadily to his feet and, with fumbling hands, secured the Holy Letters in his vault. Taking a few more moments to compose himself, he headed straightaway to the Palace of the Sanctum Officium where the Congregation anxiously awaited his announcement.

  91

  WNN regional headquarters, Cairo, Egypt 4:30 P.M., Tuesday, March 28, 2000

  Another wild goose chase?” Bollinger assumed, as Feldman and Hunter entered the meeting room to join the bureau chief and staff for a discussion in progress.

  “Yeah,” a disappointed Feldman responded. “Jeza was long gone when we got there, but we took some footage of seventy-two people she allegedly cured.” The two men had just returned from a new Jeza sighting, only her second public appearance since the memorable Vatican episode. Jeza had been spotted first at an area orphanage yesterday morning, and then earlier today at a Cairo hospital where she was said to have healed an entire wing of AIDS patients.

  The most interesting aspect, disturbing from Feldman's perspective, was that both times the Messiah happened to be in the company of a certain Cardinal Alphonse Litti. It would appear as though Feldman had been displaced as Jeza's preferred liaison. He decided she must have found his garish display of affection simply too forward. He mentally kicked himself.

  “Still no word from Litti?” Feldman wondered.

  “No,” Bollinger answered. “The cardinal hasn't been back to his hotel room since Sunday morning.”

  Feldman shook his head gloomily.

  “And now, gentlemen”—Bollinger changed the subject to a more positive one—”let me bring you two up to speed on the latest turn of events: while you and Hunter were out, WNN Europe notified us that the pope is going to make an important announcement Monday night, April 3, at nine o'clock their time. The Vatican is inviting all the world media to St. Peter's Basilica aga
in to cover the message live, and they're granting WNN prime, front-row space. Additionally, they're also allowing us an exclusive live interview with their Cardinal Prefect di Concerci immediately following the address. Another WNN exclusive!”

  “Rather accommodating of them, wouldn't you say?” Feldman observed, suspiciously.

  “They're just ensuring themselves the biggest possible TV audience for their message,” Cissy declared. “We're simply the network with the widest reach.”

  “What's the address about?” Feldman wanted to know.

  “A concession speech,” Hunter quipped.

  “More likely a counterattack,” Bollinger opined. “Jeza tore ‘em up so bad last week that half the world's Catholic parishes are in open revolt.”

  “We don't know the specifics of the address,” Sullivan clarified, “other than it concerns the Jeza situation, naturally.”

  “The Vatican says it's going to be a major papal announcement,” Bollinger added, “an ex capita decree, whatever that is.”

  “You mean ex cathedra,” Erin Cross corrected him, suppressing a smile. “And that is a major papal announcement.”

  “Right,” Sullivan laughed. “Erin, as our expert on religious affairs, perhaps you wouldn't mind enlightening Jon and Breck a little on the subject?”

  “Of course,” she agreed pleasantly. “Ex cathedra is Latin for ‘from the chair.’ It's a unique designation given to the most sacred pronouncements of the Catholic Church. Ex cathedra, which can only be invoked by the pope, is extremely rare, employed solely for issues of faith and morals. When the pope speaks ex cathedra, he's speaking from his papal throne, with complete infallibility.”

  “Infallibility?” Hunter arched his eyebrows.

  “Yes,” Erin elaborated. “A pronouncement from the throne of Saint Peter in an ex cathedra capacity carries divine authority. The pope's decision has the same binding effect on the faithful as if Christ Himself were speaking. All Catholics are required, on faith alone, to fully accept and follow the ruling, whatever it might be.”

  “You mean,” Hunter questioned, screwing up his broad face in disbelief, “if the pope says that, uh,” and he searched around for an example, finally seizing upon Robert Filson, literally, by the lapel, “if the pope decides that Filson here is God, then all the billion-odd Catholics in the world have to bow down to him?”

  Everyone got a laugh out of this except for Filson, who was visibly miffed.

  “Well,” Erin explained, “the pope's not going to make an ex cathedra ruling on something as theologically spurious as that.” Hunter released Filson, who unruffled his suit coat and glowered haplessly at the much larger videographer. Hunter paid no notice and Erin continued. “Ex cathedra is only invoked for serious religious purposes. In fact, I don't think there's even been an ex cathedra decree in my lifetime.”

  “Excellent, Erin,” Sullivan commended her. “Everyone, this is precisely the sort of background material I want refined into a feature story to preface Monday night's program. Jon, you and Erin will be on loan to WNN Europe working as co-hosts for the program. You'll fly back Monday morning.”

  “What about Breck?” Feldman questioned.

  “Sorry, Breck.” Sullivan turned to the clearly disappointed cameraman. “WNN Europe will be using their local crews since it's a simple set production.” Hunter accepted this with a shrug of his big shoulders.

  “Okay.” Sullivan got down to business. “Let's collect our thinking and see what approaches we want to take in the coverage. Jon, how'd you feel about letting Erin handle the ex cathedra history and you take the wrap-up interview with the cardinal?”

  “Sure,” Feldman agreed, conceding the logic of the decision.

  Erin reached across the table and gave Feldman's hand an appreciative squeeze. Feldman acknowledged this with the briefest flash of uncomfortable smile as Sullivan proceeded to engage the group in a discussion of strategies and research plans. This was all conducted without benefit of Cissy, who sat back in her chair, curled up and withdrawn in a huff.

  The circle deliberated briefly over a suitable format for Erin's history lesson, and then moved on to structure Feldman's interview. This subject, however, required some speculation regarding the content of the pope's address.

  “All right,” Sullivan tossed out, “I have my own suspicions, but what do the rest of you think the Vatican's up to with this ex cathedra business?”

  “That's not too hard,” Hunter snorted. “It's payback time. They're gonna do a number on Jeza and order all their Catholic followers to dump her, right?”

  There was collective agreement around the table.

  Particularly from Feldman, whose mind had been traveling this very route. “The Catholic Church has no choice,” he said, reinforcing the consensus. “Their survival depends on successfully discrediting Jeza. They're going to take their best shot, and I'm afraid it could lead to a lot more world turmoil and violence.”

  “If that's what we anticipate the Vatican's position will be,” Sullivan advanced, “I'd suggest, in the interest of balanced reporting, that we be prepared to follow up the pope's address with a critique. Assuming the Church will be leaning heavily on biblical scripture to debunk Jeza, this may be another area in which we need Erin's expertise.”

  Cissy rocked forward in her chair to reenter the circle. “We're going to lose the audience with all these dry recitals!” she protested. “We need to put the emphasis on Jon's interview with di Concerci. The cardinal is where the action is. He's hot media. Everyone's going to want to hear from the guy who took on Jeza twice and got his ass kicked both times. Besides, Jon can critique the pope's speech with his questions of di Concerci.”

  A volley of arguing ensued and Feldman held up his hands to impress a point. “As much as I'd like to carry the ball on this one, we've got to be realistic about what we're up against here. No doubt, the sole purpose of this proposed interview is to put a positive spin on the pope's speech. It's a manipulation game. The Vatican's sending in their heavy hitter to deflect any criticisms we toss at them. And I’ m certainly no match for a cardinal prefect of the Holy See. I can't go toe-to-toe with him in scriptural matters. And with all due respect to you, Erin”—he locked eyes with WNN's expert on religious affairs—”I'm not sure you want that assignment either.”

  Erin's brow wrinkled at this and she pursed her tips, no doubt contemplating the thought of being humbled in the glare of international TV.

  Cissy countered, “Then let's level the playing field and give the world a real show. Let's bring in a strong counterpoint person to neutralize di Concerci. Jon can act as referee and provoke some high-charged debate.”

  This gave everyone pause.

  “I like it, Cissy,” Sullivan mused. “Who do you have in mind?”

  “I don't know just yet”—she backpedaled for a second—“but there are certainly plenty of good candidates out there. I'm sure we'll get someone qualified. If only we could find Cardinal Litti.”

  Bollinger was cautious. “We don't have much time, guys. And just any pro-Jeza millenarian won't do. We need a really first-class opponent.”

  “A real biblical scholar,” Sullivan added. “Someone highly regarded. And assuming we do find such a candidate, we'll need to be subtle in how we work him or her into the program. We don't want the Vatican to become suspicious and quash our plans.

  “irrespective,” Sullivan concluded with a presumptuous smile, “I suspect Monday night at the Vatican should prove yet another ratings triumph for WNN.”

  92

  WNN regional headquarters, Cairo, Egypt9:12 A.M., Thursday, March 30, 2000

  Feldman sat in his office, staring at a phone message from Anke dated the day before. “Please call as soon as possible, “ it read. He knew full well he was long overdue in providing the very tolerant lady with some sort of explanation. Only he had none yet.

  An appreciated diversion, Cissy came strolling into Feldman's office with a self-satisfied grin on her freckl
ed face and plopped down triumphantly on the cluttered couch. Feldman looked up from the note, questioningly.

  “I did it!” she exclaimed.

  “You did what?”

  “I found him! The perfect antithesis to di Concerci.”

  “You found Cardinal Litti!” Feldman's heart jumped.

  “No,” Cissy responded, momentarily annoyed. “Rabbi Mordachai Hirschberg.”

  Feldman searched his memory in vain.

  “Hirschberg's the current head of the Jewish Lubavitcher movement,” Cissy elaborated, sifting through news clippings she'd brought with her. “He's a resident of New York City … he's considered one of the foremost scholars in the world on Old Testament scripture … he attended both Mormon convocations—and he was one of the first rabbis to recognize Jeza as Messiah.”

  “Sounds good,” Feldman concurred. “Let's bring his name up at this morning's meeting and see if he works for everybody else. Is he available?”

  Cissy's pleased expression deflated slightly and she bit her lower lip. “I don't know yet. I had a brief conversation with him yesterday to broach the subject, and he's agreed to a teleconference call with me at three this afternoon. It's such short notice. I was hoping you'd sit in and help me convince him.”

  “Sure,” Feldman offered without hesitation, and Cissy flitted away to prepare for the staff meeting.

  A little before three that afternoon, Feldman accompanied Cissy to the WNN teleconferencing center and together they settled in behind a table in front of a large TV screen and video camera for a conversation with the rabbi. Feldman was not quite sure what to expect from this reputedly mercurial, often confrontational religious teacher. In a moment they were teleconnected to their party halfway around the world in Brooklyn, New York.