by Len du Randt
The audience chuckled. Victor smiled warmly.
‘I have always been God,’ Victor said. ‘But when I decided to come down to Earth and lead my people into a new era of peace and safety, I had the divine side of me hide my identity from my human side until the time was right.’
‘So you are the proverbial “Almighty God” of the Bible?’
‘I have never claimed to be Almighty. The Christians have. They take a Satan-inspired book and twist the words to create this all-powerful, all-present thing that cannot possibly exist. I am the real God; flesh, blood, and bone. I have modelled you in my image up to the finest detail; no spooky or magical advantages for myself.’
‘You liar!’ Pastor Fisher cried out. ‘You are Satan!’
‘Calm down, Pastor Fisher,’ the host warned the fuming Pastor. ‘Or I will have you escorted from the set.’
‘Do you see the rage that these Christians advocate?’ Victor asked calmly.
The audience agreed verbally.
‘Are you disappointed?’ Victor asked Pastor Fisher. ‘That I am not the Almighty, all-powerful, all-present creature that you have proclaimed me to be all these years? Can you not see me as your God, because of your preconceptions of how I am supposed to be according to your own, personal views?’
‘If you’re God,’ Pastor Fisher sneered, ‘then I’m the Virgin Mary!’
‘Terrible news, ol’ chap,’ Victor said with a grin that oozed of mockery. ‘Mary had twelve children. She is no more a ‘virgin’ than your very own mother.’
This finally pushed Pastor Fisher over the edge and he jumped up and stormed toward Victor. The host tried to stop him, but couldn’t. Someone in the audience shrieked, but Victor just sat there, calmly looking at the man charging toward him. When Pastor Fisher was almost upon him, Victor merely lifted his hand and an invisible force flung Pastor Fisher back through the air, sending him crashing back into his seat with a sickening crunch.
‘Oh, do behave,’ Victor said and the audience erupted into whoops and cheers. The roar of the crowd grew louder and louder, and the audience stood up, giving him a standing ovation.
‘Please let us not be fickle about the misinterpreted details of my being,’ Victor shouted above the cheers. ‘I am here now. Enjoy the whole of me; enjoy the real and living God for a change!’
He raised his hands and was instantly transformed into a being of brilliance, light emitting from the very core of his body. An invisible shockwave hit the audience at once, and they all fell down on their knees and started worshipping Victor.
‘That’s intense,’ Trevor said, trying to resist the urge to go onto his knees and worship. There was no reply from René. Trevor looked at her, and saw her kneeling next to him, worshipping and weeping. ‘Oh, you are God, and you have come,’ she said softly. ‘Shower your mercy on me; shower me with your love.’ She repeated those words over and over until her sobs overwhelmed her and she couldn’t speak anymore.
Trevor looked at her, then broke himself free from the hypnotic force of Victor and fled to his room. He shut the door and locked it.
‘Oh Lord Yoshe,’ he heard René yell from the living room. ‘Have me!’
‘What’s going on?’ Trevor asked as he slid down against the door. ‘What the Hell is happening?’
- - -* * *- - -
Al Jalil: Two Days Later
‘It is with great pride and honour that we have here today, our Lord and God, Victor Yoshe, to cut the ribbon to the Al Jalil City Hall. As of today, we are officially the sovereign finance and trading hub in the world.’
The gathered crowds cheered behind the barricade as Victor shook the Mayor’s hand and took a pair of scissors from him. He walked to the red ribbon, and smiled at flashing cameras before snipping it.
The crowd applauded, and thousands of balloons were released at once when the marching band started playing. The atmosphere was vibrant, with mimes and roadside stalls lending a carnival feel to the ceremony.
‘I am proud to be here today,’ Victor said to the crowd, ‘and would like to tour the city for a few days. But first, those who wish to be blessed may do so now by worshipping. I will gladly bless all of you who bestow loyalty, trust, and praise.’
The crowd of five hundred instantly fell to their knees and began worshipping.
- - -* * *- - -
Trevor arrived early for work. He logged into his computer and saw that he had seventeen messages in his inbox. One specific message caught his attention:
You have a virtual gift! Click here to view it!
Trevor double clicked on the message, and a website loaded up. After a minute of loading, a small animation about the two prophets in Jerusalem played, portraying their demise in a mocking fashion.
From nowhere they came,
and turned out to be a pain.
But Victor came,
and now we’ll never see them again!
Please send this gift to fifteen people and experience a miracle from Lord Yoshe in two days.
Trevor forwarded the mail to everyone in his address book. After sifting through the rest of the mails, he updated his social media status and then opened the GMN website and loaded a live stream of Victor in Al Jalil. People were worshipping Victor and Antonio on their knees, and the sight sent a shiver down Trevor’s spine. Something was out of place, but he couldn’t figure out what. After the worship session, a few GMN reporters lined up to ask Victor some questions.
- - -* * *- - -
‘Lord Yoshe,’ a reporter asked, ‘Could you please tell our viewers what your plans are for the next few months?’
Victor smiled. ‘John,’ he said politely. ‘My main goal is to assist the world in attaining global peace. With my knowledge of the human race, I have assisted certain companies in using Molecular Nanotechnology to slow down the aging process. People will soon be able to live up to a thousand years, and my personal goal is to usher in a millennium of peace.’
‘When will this technology be available?’ someone else asked.
‘The technology is already here,’ Victor said, ‘we just need to...’
Someone in the crowd shouted something and a few women shrieked. Victor spun around and saw a man pushing Ryan and a few reporters out of his way. Ryan lost his balance and fell down a few steps, almost breaking his neck. The man advanced on Victor and wielded a sword above his head. A second later, the man struck the blade into Victor’s skull, dropping him instantly. The crowd was paralysed, unable to do anything as the man raised his sword again for another blow. His blade never reached its intended target as three bullets ripped through the man’s chest, rupturing his lungs. He dropped to his knees and the blade slid from his limp fingers. Blood trickled from his mouth and he fell forward and tumbled down a few steps.
‘Everybody get back!’ Ryan yelled and waved his pistol in the general direction of the crowd. They instinctively obeyed. ‘Someone get an ambulance, now!’
He rolled Victor onto his back, and was shocked at the horrific disfigurement of his master’s face. There was no sign of life, and no pulse. Ryan put his ear to Victor’s mouth. There was no breathing. He feared for the worst, and cleared the crowd to make room for the ambulance. It took them twelve minutes to get there, and all the shocked crowd could do was watch helplessly as the ambulance sped off to the hospital.
- - -* * *- - -
‘This isn’t happening,’ Trevor said as the events unfolded on the live stream. The GMN cameraman managed to record most of the attack, but at some stage fumbled with the camera, and the actual deathblow was thus not recorded. ‘It just isn’t happening.’
René, who was working the same shift as Trevor, had joined him when she heard him shouting. She bit into her knuckle as the rest of the scene unfolded, wondering if it was some sort of sick joke. But it was real. Victor had been wounded and was being rushed to the hospital. How could anyone do this? Who would be capable of hurting a god? Her legs felt numb, and her mouth dry. She, like Trevor, was in den
ial. ‘Maybe he will be okay,’ she said with a coarse voice.
‘I have to let Andrew know about this,’ Trevor said and picked up his headset again.
- - -* * *- - -
‘Andy, are you watching the news?’ Trevor shouted hysterically through the telephone.
‘No,’ Andrew said. ‘Why?’
‘No time to explain. Just watch GMN, now! We’ll talk later.’
The phone went dead and Andrew stood there for a while.
‘What could be so important?’ he wondered out loud.
The news broadcast confused him at first. He didn’t quite know what he was looking at. The confusing imagery changed to a news anchor sitting behind a desk. A press photo of Victor Yoshe was inserted above the man’s shoulder. ‘It is with great sadness and remorse,’ the man said with a grief-stricken expression, ‘That I have to announce to you that at two o’ clock, Standard Eastern Time, the President of the European Empire, Victor Yoshe, was officially declared dead.’
The words struck Andrew physically, knocking him back into his chair.
‘The President has been assassinated a few minutes ago in front of a crowd of people in the city of Al Jalil. It is still not known who the assassin was, or his motivation for the killing, but we will keep you updated and informed as the story unfolds.’
Andrew whistled through his teeth. ‘It has begun,’ he said softly. ‘God help us all.’
.XIII.
The Image
Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic
- Clarke’s Third Law
‘Okay, Andy; I’ve waited long enough. Just give it to me straight. What’s going on?’
Andrew stared at his coffee as if it were a portal through which he could see into the vastness of space. The gentle August breeze was such a contrast to the events that were about to unfold. He shot up a quick prayer, asking the Holy Spirit to open Trevor’s heart and eyes to what he was about to tell him. He couldn’t risk alienating Trevor now, and realized that what he was about to say, would ultimately be the deciding factor of Trevor’s choice between Jesus and Victor.
‘Andy?’
Andrew looked up sheepishly. ‘Sorry, Trev...just wondering where to begin.’
‘Begin at the alien attacks.’
‘Alien attacks...’ Andrew said softly.
‘You said something last time,’ Trevor guided him, ‘about it not being aliens or something.’
Andrew nodded. ‘You know some Bible facts, right?’ he asked.
Better than most Christians, Trevor thought, and a slight smile curled his lips upward. ‘Some,’ he answered instead.
‘Well, then you should know that before Pentecost, the Holy Spirit had only empowered certain chosen ones like Sampson and Gideon. Only at Pentecost did the Holy Spirit get poured out on all flesh.’
‘Okay...?’
‘Jesus also promised a helper, the Holy Spirit, to guide his followers after He had left. A helper who would never leave us, nor forsake us.’
Trevor nodded out of courtesy.
‘Now for the Antichrist to be able to make his appearance, the Holy Spirit—the restrainer—has to be taken out of the way first. Since it was promised that He would never leave nor forsake the Christians. He didn’t leave them. He left with them.’
‘So based on what you’re saying, the Holy Spirit is gone for good?’
‘God is everywhere,’ Andrew replied. ‘He is still on Earth, but only withdrew His influence and protection. The part of Him that left, took His people with Him. Or at least, that’s how I understand it.’
‘The Rapture...’ Trevor said.
Andrew’s heart skipped a beat. ‘So...you believe it was the Rapture?’
Trevor stared into his friend’s eyes for a moment. He finally answered with a decisive, ‘No.’
‘You don’t?’ Andrew asked. ‘Why not?’
‘I know about the Rapture, but that doesn’t mean that I believe in it. There are still too many loose ends,’ Trevor said. The tone of his voice hinted that he could perhaps be swayed, if fact, and not fiction, were used in the argument.
‘Such as?’
‘The fact that there are millions of Christians left after the Rapture. Some of them even well known Evangelists and Preachers.’
A waiter interrupted, and the two of them each ordered a refill.
Andrew lowered his eyes. ‘We weren’t really Christians, Trev,’ he said after the waiter had left. ‘We claimed to be, but we weren’t. The lukewarm got spat out and I only found that out after it was way too late.’
‘But millions?’
Andrew nodded. ‘The deception was greater than anything we could ever have imagined; and it’s going to get a lot worse before it’s all finally over.’
‘Let’s assume for a minute that you’re right, and that it was the Rapture, and I’m not saying that it was, but let’s assume...does that mean that the Antichrist will make his appearance?’
The waiter brought their order and Andrew dismissed him with a smile. His smile suddenly disappeared and his face became utterly serious. ‘Trev, the Antichrist has already made his appearance.’
‘So you still think that it was Victor Yoshe?’
‘No...it is Victor.’
Trevor shook his head. ‘Newsflash: Victor is dead.’
‘Not for too long,’ Andrew said. ‘You know the story. Your parents or Norman doubtless told it to you before...’
‘Too many times,’ Trevor confirmed, and for a second, a hint of sadness flashed in his eyes as he thought back.
‘So you know what the head wound will do, right?’
‘That ‘head wound’ theory is groundless, Andy,’ Trevor said. ‘There are hundreds of other—equally groundless—theories of what it really could be. The most probable theory is that it’s a powerful country that has a financial crash or something to that effect.’
‘You will see,’ Andrew said, ‘the head wound will heal itself just as prophesied in Revelation...and then...then you will believe...’
Trevor rolled his eyes. ‘Let’s assume that by some freak accident of nature, Victor does come back from the dead,’ he said and deliberately took a sip of his coffee to stall for time, ‘would the rest of the world now...realize...that he is the Antichrist?’
‘Not necessarily,’ Andrew admitted. ‘But because of what he said in the Temple, it would be a lot easier to convince some of the people of that fact.’
‘How so?’
‘You know that wind that shattered windows just after Victor had declared himself God in the Temple?’ Andrew said.
Trevor acknowledged.
Instead of continuing immediately, Andrew now took a deliberate sip of his coffee to stall for time. He was about to speak when he stopped himself and took another sip.
‘The wind...?’ Trevor goaded him.
‘That strong wind was the pouring out of the Holy Spirit; the re-pouring of the Holy Spirit to be precise.’
‘The scriptures don’t prophecy a second pouring out...’
‘Not if you just read it off hand, no.’
‘Whoa,’ Trevor said and raised his hand. ‘Are you going to give me some sort of cult like scriptures-by-numbers tour around the Bible?’
Andrew smiled. ‘Not at all.’
Trevor lowered his hand. ‘Go on…’
‘Almost all prophecy has a double fulfilment. Many of the prophecies about Jesus will be fulfilled again in the Antichrist and his time. The ‘I shall pour out my Spirit on all flesh’ scripture has just been fulfilled...again.’
‘Okay, I’ll give you that for now,’ Trevor said. ‘You were going to tell me why the Jews fled from Jerusalem.’
‘Yes,’ Andrew said. ‘Remember that book that I borrowed from you?’
Trevor nodded.
‘According to the book, one hundred and forty four thousand Jews were sealed by God on the day that Victor declared himself God. Those Jews then somehow instinctively realized who an
d what Victor is and that Jesus Christ alone is the Messiah. They then fled, for the time of the Antichrist’s wrath is at hand. Most of them are scattered throughout the world, and thus the true Gospel about Jesus will be spread again before the second coming.’
Trevor frowned. Andrew’s theories were valid, but not enough for him to go Jesus hunting straight away. He would wait until—and only if—Victor comes back from the dead before putting any serious thought into their conversation. ‘One last thing,’ he said. ‘The Shield of Victor...you think that it’s...’
‘The Mark of the Beast,’ Andrew finished his sentence.
Trevor nodded. ‘Just like the Barcode used to be...or the Credit Card...or even e-commerce.’
‘This is different,’ Andrew said. ‘Soon you won’t be able to do anything if you don’t have it. I just pray that you’ll be able to resist it when your time comes.’
‘I’ll decline it for now,’ Trevor said, ‘Since there’s no use for Victor’s ‘protection’ if he isn’t here to supply it to me. But I must warn you that if your theories prove to be only that: theories...I wouldn’t hesitate to take it.’
‘Understood,’ Andrew said and shot up a prayer that Trevor would realize the truth before it would ever reach that point.
‘I have to go now,’ Trevor said as he motioned for the waiter. ‘But I’ll keep my eye on the news for that thing you said was going to happen at some time.’
Andrew smiled. ‘You do that,’ he said and pushed back his chair to show that he would be on his way too.
‘Will that be all?’ the waiter asked as he placed the bill in front of Trevor.
‘That will be all,’ Trevor confirmed. ‘Thank you.’
Paying with the Smart Card took some time because of ‘electronic technicalities,’ and for a split second, Trevor wondered if the Shield was really such a bad idea. If I had the Shield, he thought to himself, I would have been gone by now.