The Fanatics
Page 5
“I understand the untimely entrance of a police officer scared many of us, but isn’t it still our job to go into ALL the world and preach the Gospel to EVERY creature? Peter and the other apostles were placed in prison for preaching Christ in Acts chapter five. They were set free by an angel and told to go into the temple and preach Christ again. They obeyed and were again brought before the council, which consisted of the Sadducees and the High Priest. These demanded of them, in Acts 5:28-29, ‘Saying, Did not we straitly command you that ye should not teach in this name? and, behold, ye have filled Jerusalem with your doctrine, and intend to bring this man's blood upon us. Then Peter and the other apostles answered and said, We ought to obey God rather than men.’ Then Peter told the council about Christ and His saving power. The council then took the apostles and beat them, and the apostles went away rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for the name of Christ! Acts 5:42 says, ‘And daily in the temple, and in every house, they ceased not to teach and preach Jesus Christ.’
“Should we do any less? Those who die without Christ are headed to a devil’s Hell! The LORD is coming soon to take the saved away, and those without Christ will face the Tribulation Period, then Hell as well! There is a judgment day coming for the Lost where they will stand before the great White Throne Judgment and face the wrath of God Almighty. How can we do any less than witness of the saving power of our LORD and Saviour Jesus Christ? II Corinthians 5:11 says, ‘Knowing therefore the terror of the LORD, we persuade men.’ We MUST tell others about Jesus! We must!
“Jesus is coming soon to take us all to Heaven with Him. It will happen in an instant, in the twinkling of an eye. The Bible says we will all be here going about our normal business one moment, and the next moment, we will disappear. We will be caught up with Christ in the air to be forever with the LORD. Those who are left behind, those who do not believe on Christ, will be sent a strong delusion. Even if they knew about the rapture coming, they will not believe it. Those who have heard of Christ before will never have another chance to accept Christ again. They will be doomed to Hell. We must tell them before it is too late! We must tell EVERY creature about Christ. We must make them understand. They must know about the Saviour before it is too late. Let’s Pray.”
Chapter 12
The tired officers finally stopped for dinner before continuing their search of the woods. “Ham sandwiches and chips again,” mumbled the officer who had found the torn piece of Jon’s uniform. He shoved it into his mouth ungratefully. “I will be so happy when this rat race is finally over.”
His companion peered at him quizzically out from under gray bushy eyebrows. “I’m just glad they’re feeding us,” said the old man. The combination of his bald head, bushy eyebrows, and three days growth of stubble made him look so comical that the first officer almost lost his bite of sandwich in a fit of laughter.
“I don’t see what’s so funny,” the old man said. He shot up from his seat on the soft pine needle covered forest floor, grabbed his gear, and turned to stomp off in a huff.
“Where are you going, Patrick?” Police Chief Bob insisted in a low growl.
“Gotta relieve myself, Sir,” he lied and continued on his way. He had not walked far from the group when he noticed a queer heap by a tree. “What on earth?” he wondered aloud. Moving on cautiously towards the heap, he noticed it was a uniformed officer apparently taking a snooze. Patrick chuckled to himself as he thought of all the practical jokes he could, and would, play on the sleeping comrade. Stealthily tiptoeing closer, he reached for a long stick to poke the man with. It was then that he noticed what he could not see before, hidden as it was by the odd way the man had been laying. This was not just any officer, for this officer wore a blue and white plaid pajama shirt. Quickly, he whipped his firearm out of the holster, aiming it at the unconscious man. “I’ve got something over here,” he yelled. “I’ve got the Jon man himself!”
Everyone rushed over, tripping over each other, in an attempt to see the man who had for so long eluded their posse. Looking up at the sky in a thankful gesture, Patrick noticed a puff of smoke in the sky not too far away. Could it have been his eyes? Nope, there it was again. Pointing it out to the sheriff, he continued to stare at the strange occurrence. No one lived out in that area. But someone had to be there. More Fanatics? “It should be investigated, Sir.”
“I agree,” said the Sheriff and Police Chief in unison.
“Patrick, stay here with Jon,” ordered the Sheriff. “He’s out cold. Shouldn’t be any trouble. The rest of you, follow me.”
Moving on slowly toward the smoke, they were all soon close enough to hear voices raised in unison as they sang the dismissing song of the Wednesday Evening service. “This should be a cinch,” chuckled Bob Parker to himself, “and with this capture, that re-election is for sure!” Motioning to the officers behind him to follow quietly, they quickly surrounded the building, pistols drawn.
“We have you surrounded,” Police Chief Bob called out. “Come out slowly one at a time with your hands up, and no one will get hurt.”
The singing inside stopped abruptly. There was a murmur followed by people shuffling about. Then, there was silence again. A young child began to cry from somewhere inside. “We’re coming,” said a strong voice from inside. “We’re coming. We have our children with us. Just don’t shoot.”
Pastor Jack Sanders emerged first, followed by Grace. Kellie was the next person to walk out the door.
“Grandpa!” she shouted as she rushed towards him. “Grandpa, you don’t know what you’re…” A shot rang out that silenced the last word. Everyone stood dead still.
Bob Parker rushed forward to cradle Kellie in his arms. NO! How had it come to this? Who fired that gun? “Who fired that gun?” he demanded out loud.
“I’m sorry, Sir,” the scared voice of a rookie officer whispered from beside him. “I thought…” his words dropped off as he watched his police chief gently stroking the hair of the young girl that lay so lifeless in his arms.
The sheriff quickly took over rounding everyone else up and herding them like animals into a large group. Turning to Bob Parker to inquire as to the next move, the sheriff was suddenly stopped in his tracks. Where had Bob’s granddaughter gone? Bob still sat on the ground, his clothes were covered in blood, his hands were poised like he was still holding her body, but she was gone. Turning toward the large group of Fanatics, he was dumbfounded to see they had also somehow “disappeared”. Where could they have all gone?
“Fan out. Find these people,” the sheriff shouted in distress.
At that moment, Patrick came running up to the confused and bewildered Bob Parker. “He’s gone!” He shouted out of breath. “He just disappeared! Jonathon was there one moment, and he just disappeared! Honest, I didn’t take my eyes off him for a moment! He never even came to! He’s just… gone!”
Stooping down to pick a discarded Bible up from off the ground, Bob numbly flipped the pages. A single piece of paper fell onto the ground from between its pages. Picking it up, he read the child-like handwriting out loud, “We must tell others about Jesus. He is coming back soon to take us all away in the Rapture. It will happen in the twinkling of an eye. We’ll be here, then we’ll be gone.” He let his hand drop to his side. “The Rapture,” he repeated quietly. “… What a ridiculous notion.”
“For yourselves know perfectly
that the day of the LORD so
cometh as a theif in the night.”
~~I Thessalonians 5:2
Meet the Author
Nishoni L. Harvey is a saved, sanctified, and soul-winning Baptist. Her husband, Matthew Harvey, and their three young children serve faithfully at Hope Baptist Church in Harrison, Michigan, where they are active members. A graduate of Landmark Baptist College, Nishoni loves teaching, writing stories and poetry, playing her instruments, and being a Mommy.
Nishoni's love for writing started as a young child, at which time she wrote imaginative stories th
at kept her family in suspense and eager for each new chapter to be completed so they could know what happened next in each tale. She went on to write for the "Blacksburg Times", a newspaper, as a teenager. She further culminated her writing skills by taking a course through the "Institute of Children's Literature" and by gaining her Bachelors in Secondary Education with a major in English. She continues to write often and is always in search of ways to use her talents for GOD.