A man was standing silently behind a pulpit. He wasn’t saying anything, which surprised Kathy. She let her thumb hover over the channel button and was immediately reminded of Pastor Tim and what he had said about Mark. Her father seemed to do well with this religion stuff, so she thought she’d see what this guy had to say. The man on TV moved but remained silent. This was odd and Kathy figured that he must be pausing for some dramatic effect before trying to say something profound. Or, she thought, maybe he lost his sermon notes. She chuckled. After five more seconds, he spoke.
“And this is why you must believe what Jesus says over anyone else. No one but Jesus has fulfilled detailed prophecies. No one else has commanded a storm to be still and it obeyed. No one else has walked on water. No one else has raised people from the dead. No one else has changed water into wine. No one else fed five thousand people with a few fish and a little bread. No one else has spoken such words of truth and power that they reach in the heart and cause us to truly see ourselves. And no one else claimed to be God in the flesh and proved it by performing numerous miracles and rising from the dead as he predicted he would.”
Continuing with a serious tone, the preacher said, “Jesus was crucified on the cross, died, and was buried, but he did not stay dead.” With each syllable of the last sentence, the preacher gently pounded his hand on the pulpit, sending a low, reverberating, emphasis with every word. The man was not angry. He had a gentle but firm tone.
Kathy was intrigued.
“My people, you must listen to the words of Christ. Do not trust your own feelings. Do not trust your own preferences. Do not trust your own wisdom. Do not risk eternity by failing to heed the words of Jesus.
“Jesus said in John 14:6 that he alone was the way, the truth, and the life and that nobody comes to God the Father but through him. Jesus said in Matt. 5:29 that it is better for you to lose one of the parts of your body than for your whole body to be cast into hell.”
He paused and looked out at the congregation and then stepped out in front of the pulpit.
“Can we trust this man from so long ago? How can we not? Remember, Jesus claimed to be divine. When Moses was on Mt. Sinai, he asked God what his name was and God answered him in Exodus 3:14 by saying, ‘I am, that I am.’ Jesus said in John 8:58, ‘Before Abraham was, I am.’ The false religious leaders wanted to kill him for claiming the very name of God for himself, but Jesus hid himself because his time to die on the cross had not yet come.”
He paused and in a calm voice asked calmly, “People, do I have your attention?”
He looked around again. The place was silent and every eye was on him.
“Let me speak plainly and directly, for what I am about to say is very important.”
He turned around, picked up the Bible, and then he faced the congregation. “Please understand that God is holy and perfect and his standard of righteousness is also perfect. If you have ever lied, then you are not perfect; you are a liar. If you have ever stolen, then you not perfect; you are a thief. To lie and to steal is to break the Law of God. It is to commit sin against God. Now, please understand that laws have punishments. Therefore, all who have broken the law of God must face the punishment of his law. This is why the Bible says in Roman 6:23 that the wages of sin is death and Isaiah 59:2 says that such death is separation from God.”
The preacher again stopped and looked out at the congregation. Kathy realized that it must be a Saturday night service. She watched as the cameras panned across hundreds of people before cutting back to the preacher.
“God is holy and he must punish the lawbreaker. If he did not, then he would not be righteous. But, my brothers and sisters, God is not only righteous, he is also love. This is why God has provided a way for you to escape his punishment. In his great love and mercy, God the Father sent his Son to take your sins upon himself by bearing your sins in his body on the cross, as it says in 1 Peter 2:24. All you have to do is receive, by faith, what Christ has done and you will escape that holy judgment. Again, you accept Christ’s sacrifice on the cross by faith. You must receive him as it says in John 1:12. You must believe and accept what Christ did for you there on the cross the same way you would accept a free gift. Ask Jesus to forgive you and to give you this gift of eternal life with him. Rely on nothing in yourself. Trust completely in him.”
He again paused, looked down, and then back to the people.
“In Matthew 11:28 Jesus tells us to come to him so that he can give us rest. In Luke 5:20, Jesus forgave sins. In John 10:27, Jesus said he gives eternal life to those who trust him. Ephesians 2:8 says we are saved by faith. That is, we are saved from damnation by faith in Christ’s sacrifice on the cross, the sacrifice that removes your sins if you receive, by faith alone, what he has done.”
“My people, it is only through the cross of Christ that you can escape the wrath of God. Yes, I know, God’s wrath is not a popular thing to preach on and far too many pastors ignore it. It is not comfortable to hear that God is a righteous and holy God and will pass judgment on all who have sinned against him. People don’t want to hear about unpleasant things. They want to hear what makes them feel good, sometimes even at the expense of truth.”
With the last syllable, the preacher firmly planted his fist on the Bible and the low thud served to emphasize the following moments of silence. After a few seconds, he began again.
“But if I only tell you what makes you feel good, then I would be doing you a disservice. Woe to me if I do not speak all the truth.”
The preacher again paused for dramatic effect. Kathy was unaware of how intently she was listening.
“I am not trying to make you all feel bad about yourselves. And I’m not trying to bring fear upon you. I’m only trying to speak the truth.” He stepped down from the pulpit towards the congregation.
“There is a spiritual war going on around us, and there are demonic forces that seek to undermine the truth of the Gospel. But there are also angelic forces at work. Above them all is the supreme God of the universe, who allows what he will for his purposes. He has spoken to us through his son Jesus Christ. If you fail to trust in him, if you fail to receive his sacrifice on the cross and what he has done for the forgiveness of sins, then you will have no hope, and instead of the punishment you deserve falling on Jesus, it will fall upon you.”
He took a few steps to his right.
“You cannot rely upon your goodness because your goodness just isn’t good enough. Nor is your sincerity good enough to please God because your sincerity is an appeal to God based on the goodness of your heart—and this amounts to pride. You cannot do enough good things to bring God’s favor. You cannot be sincere enough to make things right with him. Salvation isn’t found in church membership or rituals. It isn’t found in traditions and habits. It is found only in Jesus, only in what he has done on the cross.”
“Galatians 2:21 says that if there were any way to God through your own efforts, then there was no need for Jesus to die for our sins. But he did die, didn’t he?”
The preacher moved a few steps to the side and raised the Bible in his hand.
“If you want your eyes opened, your sins forgiven, and a new life given to you, then you must acknowledge that you have sinned against God. Turn away from your sins. Confess them to God. Ask Jesus to forgive you of your sins. You must seek him. Put your trust, your hope, your life, and your eternal destiny in his hands. Trust him. Receive him. Turn from your pride. Turn from your sins and come to Jesus. He is the only way.”
The lights suddenly went out as the TV flickered off and the house was immersed in darkness. Kathy was startled. She looked around and listened; everything was still and quiet.
“Power outage,” she muttered to herself.
She thought about her father. He was asleep and the darkness wouldn’t matter to him. So she sat there a little while as she waited for her eyes to adjust. “Where does Dad keep the flashlight?” It comforted her to hear her own voice. Then she remembered that ther
e was one in the kitchen junk drawer so she got up to retrieve it.
Sotare looked up through the rafters at Nomos. Nomos spoke to him saying, “It is only this house that is dark.”
In the garage, three demons were crouched in front of the electrical panel. They had emerged from beneath the earth and had somehow remained undetected by the angels.
As Kathy moved towards the kitchen she could see out the living room window across the street. The house lights were on, and she noticed that the streetlights were, too. She glanced out the kitchen window towards the back and could see lights in a neighboring house. “Great,” she said. “It looks like we blew a circuit breaker.”
She headed into the kitchen, easily managing with the filtered light from outside and rummaged through a couple of drawers until she found the flashlight. She clicked it on and headed towards the garage.
Nomos had drifted down through the ceiling and was standing next to Sotare in the living room. “The timing is too coincidental,” he said.
“Agreed,” replied Sotare. “We should sweep the house.”
Each angel spread his wings and quickly moved through each room. Sotare spotted the three demons near the electrical panel in the garage. There was a fourth that had its wings spread over the other three. “Nomos!” he cried out. The demons were not fighters, but they could present a problem if they decided to try. Nomos appeared in an instant, and both angels launched at the creatures that immediately fled down into the ground and disappeared.
The lights flickered back on. “A cloaker demon!” scowled Nomos. “They used a cloaker to hide from us.”
Kathy was out in the garage when the lights went back on. She slumped her shoulders. “Of course.”
Sotare and Nomos followed Kathy as she headed towards the kitchen. She returned the flashlight to the drawer and went back to the living room couch, where she plopped down, wanting to hear more of what the TV preacher was saying.
The TV had come back on, but it was a different program, something about the Bible lands. She sat there thinking about what the preacher had said.
Sotare leaned close to her ear and whispered gently, “The Bible. Pick up the Bible.”
Next to the couch was an end table with a Bible on it. Kathy had seen it before but ignored it. This time she was curious. She had no idea where to look, so she fanned through the pages. Sotare focused on her, looking at her fingers, watching the pages, and then he said into her ear, “Stop.”
She did and scanned the pages at the end of Luke chapter 22.
“And when it was day, the council of elders of the people assembled, both chief priests and scribes, and they led Him away to their council chamber, saying, ‘If you are the Christ, tell us.’ But He said to them, ‘If I tell you, you will not believe; and if I ask a question, you will not answer. But from now on the Son of Man will be seated at the right hand of the power of God.’ And they all said, ‘Are you the Son of God, then?’ And He said to them, ‘Yes, I am.’ And they said, ‘What further need do we have of testimony? For we have heard it ourselves from His own mouth.’”
The passage was interesting but perplexing. Down at the bottom of the page were some notes. She read them. They explained that Jesus was on trial for claiming to be the Son of God, a term which meant equality with God. The notes cross-referenced John 5:18 for support of this statement. Furthermore, to be seated at the right hand of someone meant to be in the position of authority and Jesus would have the authority to judge all people, even those who condemned him. But to the Jewish leaders of the time, this was blasphemous. And when Jesus said what he did, it was just what they needed as an excuse to get rid of him. The Jews did not have the authority under Roman rule to kill Jesus, so they would have to send Jesus to the Roman ruler in the area.
She decided to keep reading about Jesus going before Pilate and then to Herod. She read how Barabbas was released instead of Jesus. She looked at the note at the bottom of the page, which stated that Barabbas was a combination of two words “bar,” meaning son, and “abba,” meaning father. Barabbas meant “son of the father,” and that Barabbas was condemned for being a thief. The note then quoted John 10:10, where Jesus said that the thief comes to “steal, kill, and destroy.”
This coincidence really caught her interest. Jesus, who had done nothing wrong, was being sentenced to death; and the thief, who came to kill and destroy, was being set free.
As a young child she had seen many films on TV about Jesus and had gone to Sunday school a few times, but as she got older and went to college, she dismissed religion. She considered her college education to be an eye-opener since it explained evolution as a fact. It had been presented with so much evidence by Ph.Ds that she finally accepted it. Anyway, she could recall the films of her youth and the stories of Jesus. She returned to the pages and read how Simon of Cyrene helped to carry Jesus’ cross. She continued through to the end of the book of Luke and read where Jesus was crucified, buried, and rose from the dead—just like the TV preacher had said.
She finished and set the Bible down on the end table. Her mind was filled with images and ideas. She could not help but wonder if what her father had found was worth believing in. He was at such peace, and she had noticed a good change in him over the past few years. He loved his church, always speaking about the great people in it. But, there were good people everywhere.
The TV was still showing a special on the Bible lands and there was a man walking around explaining some historical facts found in the New Testament. She decided to watch it.
For the next hour, she learned about the Ancient Near East, Jesus, and some Old Testament characters. Many of the things touched her heart and she kept reflecting back on Jesus claiming to be the Son of God. He spoke with authority and without compromise. Yet, he was not harsh or unkind. He just spoke truth, and they killed him for it.
The evening finally grew late and Kathy became tired. She headed off to the guest bedroom after turning off the TV, checking the doors, and turning off the lights. The quiet in the house seemed to make her contemplation of spiritual things all the more serious. Although her father had told her these things before, and she had known the basic story from youth, it felt different. This time both her heart and mind had been stirred.
She got ready for bed while she thought about the day, the pastor, her dad, and Mark. It would be great to be back home.
Finally, after changing, taking off her makeup, and getting out her clothes for tomorrow, she tucked herself beneath the covers, safely snuggling under their warmth and comfort.
Sotare stood beside her. He looked up into the rafters to Nomos who, once again, was on top of the roof surveying the spiritual world. They eyed each other and nodded. Sotare opened his wings, rose through the rafters, and disappeared into the night.
***
Mark had been driving for hours, and it was now around 5:00 a.m. He was, of course, quite anxious to get to where Kathy was, especially after the vision. So far, fatigue hadn’t been a problem since it had been kept at bay by a large coffee which was, by now, less than warm.
When Kathy made the trip, she stopped at a hotel. She didn’t like to drive long distances. But Mark liked to drive straight through, especially tonight. He pushed himself and forced away every approaching sliver of fatigue. He was on a mission.
By now Mark was on a lonely road between two cities. He was doing about seventy on cruise control, relaxing in his seat, listening to the radio, and of course, thinking about everything. He was on autopilot.
Up ahead was a curve, Mark remembered from a couple previous trips that he and Kathy had made, that brushed up against a river thirty feet below. He would have to suspend the cruise control and drop down to forty to safely navigate it. Mark reached for the button to disable it. Nothing happened. He hit it again. Still nothing happened. He tapped the brakes to disengage it but that didn’t work either. The curve was coming up quickly. He hit the brakes harder and the car slowed just a bit as the engine raced, countering
the speed decrease. Adrenaline dumped into his system. The curve was just a couple hundred feet away. Frantic, Mark applied both feet to the brakes and, although the car slowed, the engine raced in defiance. All he wanted to do was slow it down as fast as possible. Then it occurred to him, shift into neutral. He grabbed the shifter and took it out of drive. He engine raced wildly.
He slammed on the brakes and finally the car began to slow quickly, but it wasn’t enough. He turned the wheel to the left trying to lessen the impact. A moment later he slammed into the metal rail. The airbag burst open and then deflated. Crashing and scraping noises filled the compartment. Another jolt smashed his body against the door. He felt the strong tug of the seatbelt keeping him in place. The car slid along the guardrail, sparks flying into the darkness, the grinding and scraping ringing loudly in his ears. Mark did his best to muscle the steering wheel until the car finally ground to a stop. The engine had finally quit racing and the sudden silence was almost as disturbing as the crash.
He sat breathing quick and shallow breaths in the driver seat and watched as one headlight shined into the darkness, illuminating the dust kicked up by the accident. He looked out the dark window into the cold blackness, spotting the moonlit whitewater below in the river. The thought of careening over the side skidded across his mind. He rebuked it.
What was going on? Was this Nabal attacking him or was it just a coincidental mechanical problem? He didn’t know. Would Sotare appear and tell him what was going on? Was he alone, really alone? Maybe the angel was watching. Maybe there were demons around him. He looked out into the darkness and listened. All he heard was the faint sound of the river crashing against some boulders.
He opened the driver’s side door, stepped out, and looked himself over. Surprisingly he wasn’t hurt, just shaken up. As he walked to the front of the car he could see that the right fender was badly damaged and steam was billowing from under the hood with a faint hiss. He looked both ways on the road. Not a car in sight.
“This can’t be happening,” he bellowed into the night air.
The Influence (Supernatural Thriller) Page 25