Читать книгу The Curtain - David T. Maddox - Страница 12
ОглавлениеCHAPTER 4
Thursday, January 31 – MD minus 115 days
AS PAUL PHILLIPS sought to find Chaplain Forrest’s office, meetings were being held as groups of leaders and planners gathered at various places around the world to advance the two very different agendas that were at work. One sought to act while the other sought to prevent, but neither could predict or control the future, for they had little actual knowledge of the other. Simultaneously unseen gatherings of rulers, powers and authorities of both the forces of light and darkness gathered to forge the different futures desired by their very different rulers.27 One to force his will, the other to act as necessary to make possible the future He desired to provide, but would not force on an unwilling people.
In human thought, the two meetings that appeared to matter most were one occurring in that room far beneath the earth on the Pakistani/ Afghan border and another in the Washington office of the director of Homeland Security. The events of 9/11 and the military action which followed had changed everything. The underground room had become the unofficial headquarters of the man they called the Sheik, because the one was now dead who had originally declared jihad against America. Before 9/11, there had not even been a Department of Homeland Security. Homeland America had not seen the threat coming and was unprepared when it arrived. They hoped not to repeat that mistake and thus far had been successful – actually lucky – or maybe even blessed and protected.
“What report, El-Ahab,” asked the Sheik, “are we nearing readiness?”
“Yes,” he responded, “but patience is still required. Remember please, mighty one, we worked on a comprehensive plan for over four years and have been seeking since then to put in place all that is required to make it operational. We are close, but not yet ready. We will get only one chance to use the weapons of choice to bring the infidel nation to its knees. The strike must be coordinated and fatal. We can’t forget that 9/11, as successful as it was, only made the infidels mad and they launched another crusade. We did not really hurt them. We just embarrassed them. This time, it must be a fatal blow.”
“Most of our brother Arabs have shown themselves to be cowards and traitors,” the Sheik answered angrily. “They have not risen in mass to expel the occupation in Iraq and Afghanistan. We must do it ourselves while preparing the attack on the American homeland. Later we will deal with all the Arab cowards. They too must die so the land will be purified. There is no place for any but those faithful to Jihad.”
The Sheik paused, wondering how there could be any who claimed adherence to the faith but were without the passion for fighting. They were becoming soft, like the Americans who do not understand that if there is nothing worth dying for, there is nothing worth living for. “The Americans have no stomach for a real fight against a dedicated foe willing to battle for decades and committed to spilling their blood at any cost,” the Sheik continued. “Vietnam and Beirut showed that, and there is every reason to believe that Iraq and Afghanistan will be a repeat performance. Look at what ISIS has accomplished. This so called Christian faith of the infidels is powerless to stand against the Jihad. I despise the weakness of these cowards, with their technological weapons to kill at a distance without dirtying their hands. They will taste their own blood soon enough,” and then he was silent, looking down in obvious thought.
Ahem El-Ahab never spoke in these moments, waiting respectfully, almost worshipfully until the Sheik looked at him, signaling that his moment of meditation had ended and he was ready to proceed. It was in those moments of silence that he knew the Sheik sought inspiration, which he was unaware, was received from his Keeper and also from Legion, the ruler of the spiritual forces of darkness in the Middle East.
Legion was a direct report to the Dark Master, a member of the inner circle known as the Counsel of Darkness. He was one who actually encountered the Son in the flesh; a story included in the Enemy’s Book. He was cast out of a man and sent into a large herd of several thousand pigs, which immediately rushed down a steep bank into a lake and were drowned.28 The Dark Master took note of his inspired ability to promote suicide, which was what he knew would be needed to advance his agenda from the Middle East. Because of that, Legion had been promoted over many others and had served the Dark Master well. He would continue to be needed to raise an army of those desiring death so they might indiscriminately kill many others considered enemies of the faith. It is a unique talent to be able to deceive a healthy young man into killing himself so that others might die, simply for the hope that he would be rewarded for his service in the afterlife by having all his sexual fantasies met eternally.
Obviously, they had to keep the Enemy’s Book away from that crowd. The truth was that Legion had barely escaped being sent to the pit by the Son. Fortunately, few read the Enemy’s Book and most of those who did could easily be convinced it contained nothing more than myths and fables.
When El-Ahab’s eyes again met the Sheik’s, he continued, “Let me go through the basics of the plan and update you on where we are and what’s next. We have established research centers at Universities in Tehran, Mexico City, and Madrid to independently conduct an investigation using the internet. The centers have been useful in determining what firms to acquire to obtain control over the weapons of choice. They have also been helpful in identifying and targeting vulnerable installations so we will know where to strike. With internet access to satellite photographs, we do not have to send people to physically investigate a target and thus avoid attracting suspicion.”
“Yes,” said the Sheik, “but what have we done with what we have learned?”
“Mighty one, we have refined the plan. We now believe we need a minimum of a 1,000 weapons and an equal number of trained warriors dispersed across the infidels’ land for a coordinated attack at night. Since the target of this part of the effort is economic destruction, and not killing people, a night attack offers a better opportunity for operational success and for mass terror as they will awake to the destruction of industries necessary for their continued economic survival. We are going to put Americans on foot, living in the dark. It will be a great victory.”
“The warriors have been recruited. That was the easy part. Training has been ongoing in our camp located in the Kerman Province of our brothers in Iran. Once trained, the warriors are being transported to a gathering point in Oaxaca, Mexico where they are equipped, assigned a location for their mission and prepared for the border crossing. We have a coordination unit located in Carmen, Arizona, a small town down Interstate 19 not far from the border. Thus far we have been able to get warriors across without detection by sending them in groups of one or two. Patience is the key to success as discovery with equipment could be disastrous. We have tried to limit the possible damage by not telling the warriors anything about their targets or timing.”
“Our brothers in Saudi Arabia have provided richly the resources need to purchase the businesses that own and operate the weapons. We will not have to commandeer a single unit. They will be owned by operatives through American or Mexican shells. We will employ Americans and pay American taxes until the warriors are in position and ready to use the units for our purposes. We will give the American workers a paid holiday, substitute operators and complete our mission of destruction. How glorious it is to take the money the foreign infidels spend to purchase our oil and use it to finance their destruction.”
“Yes, but what of the plans to kill millions of these infidels,” asked the Sheik. “I will not rest until they beg to sit at my feet and cry out for peace. Then we will drive them from Muslim land and prepare for the final assault that will demand they convert or die.”
“Mighty one, we continue to work with our Iranian brothers hoping to develop and obtain atomic weapons to clean from the earth the Jewish curse and bomb parts of America into the stone age, killing millions. We have tested new chemical weapons and are directing our efforts on a way to attack their food supplies and to poison the water supplies of major cities. This is the focus of their investigation, which makes it more difficult and dangerous. It is also harder because of the technology we don’t yet fully understand. We will not be ready for this before we launch the economic strike.”
“What about the execution units? We cannot let these Americans send their troops to kill our brothers and not feel pain,” the Sheik cried in a loud and passionate voice, pounding the table in front of him. “I have had to endure years of threats and all the attempts to hunt me down like an animal and kill me. They killed bin Laden in his own home, but they have failed to kill me because I was protected and wise enough to retreat to the caves. They too must be driven by fear to seek safety deep within the earth.”
“We continue to guide our people across the border,” El Ahab responded, “and they are being housed with college students around the country. A test is being prepared in Williams, Illinois. We have two teams there in the final planning stages for their first strikes. One will hit open enemies of the faith and the other will strike at the heart of fear so prevalent in these Americans. We are using this test to confirm tactics and gage response. We want this to be a continuing effort over a long period of time, so we need to be sure what works before we unleash the total assault.”
“If you have followed Williams recently, mighty one, you can see the fear our teams will be able to inflict. A single shooter has had the whole town living in terror for months now. They cannot catch him and the people are a step away from rebellion. Many are leaving the city. What a great model. When we unleash our assault across the country, there will be no safe place for them to hide. Eventually, the people will force the American president to beg you for peace on his knees.”
“What a great day that will be,” the Sheik said with joy and expectancy. “It will happen. What the Russians learned in Afghanistan, the Americans will learn in their hometowns. We cannot be defeated and we will not surrender. Kill us and we only multiply. Victory will be ours.”
The discussion closed by El-Ahab advising the Sheik, “Messengers have been sent throughout the Muslim world to gather selected Jihad leaders together to finalize plans. It won’t be long now.”
“Good. It cannot happen too soon,” was the Sheik’s only response.
A Discovery, But of What
On the other side of the world, in the Washington office of the director of Homeland Security, the head of the CIA, the head of Military Intelligence, the director of the FBI and the president’s National Security advisor had gathered at the urgent request of Director Hollister. “Something is definitely afoot. We not only have detected increased chatter out of the Middle East, but numerous messengers have been sent to known operatives which would indicate that a centralized plan of some nature is nearing the operational stage. We have no clue regarding the details of the plan but believe that it is directed at a major assault on the nation as a whole based on some of the intercepts. They are frankly terrifying, and if true, indicate that whatever is planned has been being put in place over a period of years and is almost ready to be launched. The enemy is among us preparing to strike. The information is credible and cannot be ignored. Somehow we have to ascertain the details and prepare a defense.”
As the group struggled with how to respond to the limited information they now had, the forces of light and darkness gathered to advance their competing agendas through those who were now players on what had unknowingly become an eternal stage.
Contrasting Consultations
Two other meetings of significance were being held in Williams. They were different in that only one person was visibly attending each. In a garage apartment close to the campus, a young woman shut down her computer, having gathered the bus schedule for the park and ride in a neighboring city. She was ready to continue the game tomorrow, but it was getting a little boring. It was too easy now. She was searching for something more challenging and dealing for the first time with an internal conflict. She was troubled and didn’t know why. Beyond her sight, in the invisible, a Keeper and a Guardian were in conflict. The Holy Spirit had begun to open her eyes so that she may see herself what she was doing.29 She would have choices to make.
The other meeting was being held in a room in a converted warehouse beside the railroad tracks, down a couple of blocks from College Church, and within two blocks of Kingdom Day Care. There, the Bookseller prayed alone – or so it appeared. In reality, the forces of light in Williams were centered there. Argon feared this old man more than any other in the City of Williams. The Dark Master had told him that the Bookseller was one of the five most dangerous people in America. They had been trying to inspire the shooter to kill him, but this man lived under the protection of the Enemy. Argon sent Zaccur back to the Dark Master. This time, he sought instructions. The message was simple, “How can I neutralize the Bookseller before he interferes with your plan?”
Samantha is Stirred
Samantha had not been able to shake Paul’s dream from her consciousness. It was as if someone or something had burned a desire deep within her to know what the dream meant.30 What were these creatures? Were they after her too? Did they already have her?
The dream was real to Paul and it was increasingly becoming real to her. She was glad that they would be going out in a few hours. Perhaps he would have some answers after his discussion with Professor Thompson. She had to know. It was important, although she didn’t know why. It seemed as if the search was drawing her closer to Paul.
Paul Continues His Search
The discussion with Professor Thompson had helped some. Clearly these creatures were demons and what they appeared to be doing would fall under the broad category of demonic activity against humans. But what was it exactly that they were doing and what was their effect on the humans? He agreed with Professor Thompson that the people he saw in the dream were not demon possessed. The argument that not everyone is demon possessed was convincing. Beyond that, however, as he understood demon possession, a demon inhabited the body of a human so that the human effectively ceased to exist other than in the flesh, and the demon lived as it wished through the body of the one possessed. It was kind of like putting on someone else’s suit of clothes. Contrasted with his dream, where the demons were pictured as being outside the human’s body except for the fingers reaching into the skull, what he saw was not demon possession, but it certainly was demonic and it appeared to be forced unknowingly upon humans.
Paul couldn’t get the picture of the huge hands reaching for him out of his mind. He had a strange conflicting sense of peace in the midst of fear of what he did not yet understand. Professor Thompson was a beginning, thought Paul, but he apparently didn’t know much about demons and was obviously uncomfortable with the subject. Hopefully, Chaplain Forrest could provide some additional illumination to all this darkness. It seemed that the answer must lie somewhere in an understanding of things religious. The search continued.
Chaplain Forrest
Chaplain Forrest was guided by the light within, but it did not burn brightly within him, for he chose to listen to other voices as well. What made Argon so comfortable with him speaking to Paul Phillips was that Forrest had become a victim of his own fears. Having embraced the temptations of fear, doubt and worry, Chaplain Forrest had opened himself to the continued attacks of Tempters by the same names. Though the forces of darkness did not have a Keeper to place the Dark Master’s influence into his head and heart, the Tempters he had accepted gave them the opportunity to control or negate Chaplin Forrest’s service of the Enemy, and when necessary, to protect the Dark Master’s agenda. They had done well over the years. He was not considered a threat.
For eighteen years Derrick Forrest had been the Chaplain of Williams College. He had five years until retirement and surviving until then had become his real motivation. Things had changed over the years. The students were different with different values; their parents demanded more and would put up with less. Large donors to the college had their own agendas on social issues which they enforced by the power of the purse. Professors openly ridiculed the teachings of scripture and the president of the school, although a professed believer, was using his position to advance a political agenda. He felt naked and unprotected, no longer free to teach or preach as led.
Worse yet, Chaplain Forrest had come to doubt his own faith. When his adult kids rebelled against what they had been taught and openly renounced their faith, he was not only crushed, he began to wonder what was true and what was nothing but the teachings of man. There were no simple answers and simple is all anyone wanted to hear. He felt dry and burned out. People were unwilling to listen, so he had stopped saying what he had always believed. The gospel of this generation was spelled “t-o-l-e-r-a-n-c-e” and so rather than boldly proclaiming what scripture taught and create conflict, he turned away so he would not see and have to confront what he knew in his heart was wrong.
There had been a time some ten years ago when he thought that he was part of a great movement of God. A group of college students from Texas had come and spoken at a regular chapel. Something happened that could not be explained. Suddenly, kids were in tears rushing down to the stage to take a microphone and confess what in the old days was considered sin (lust, fortification, pornography, cheating, stealing, lying, homosexuality, etc.).31 They asked for forgiveness and prayed together. This went on day after day for a week with breaks, only late at night to allow for some sleep. More people came and emotions were high. Everyone wanted the microphone. It began to be a contest for who could “confess” the worse sin. Fellow students began to excuse the sin with a blanket, “Don’t feel so bad, everyone does that.” He hadn’t known what to do, so he did nothing. It ended. The school term ended, and the students left. It did not appear to have made any long-term change in any of the student’s hearts. How could that be? How had he failed?
His doubt and confusion were real. It had been carefully crafted and encouraged by the servants of darkness over many years. Having embraced it, he allowed it to control him and to negate his usefulness to the Father. He now looked to his own fears and had ceased listening to the light within. As a result, Chaplain Forrest had become blind to the activities of the forces of light. “Wrong choices with negative consequences,” thought Barnabas. Fortunately, wrong choices were not necessarily permanent choices. It was time to seek to retrieve this man to usefulness, and so another battle in the invisible began.
Paul entered his office and introduced himself. “How may I help you,” asked Chaplain Forrest. “You can tell me what my dream means,” and with that, Paul went through the same description he had given Professor Thompson. He had seen wisps of darkness with fiery orange eyes, bright yellow skin and huge hands with enormously long fingers, the hands encircling the heads of most all of the people, the long fingers seeming to pierce the skulls as if they held the brains of the people in their hands. The eyes of the people became crusted over. He had awoken screaming when he saw hands reaching for him. His questions had not changed. “What did I see? Why are they after me?”
“What did Professor Thompson tell you?” asked Chaplain Forrest. He knew that Paul has just left Professor Thompson’s office because Thompson had called to tell him that Paul was probably on the way to see him.
“Professor Thompson concluded I had a nightmare and should forget it, but before he came to that conclusion, he convinced me that what I saw was a picture of some kind of demonic activity, but not demon possession. Beyond that, he did not know and seemed irritated that I wouldn’t drop the subject. Look, I know this has something to do with the spiritual world. Please, Chaplain. I have to know what I saw. They seemed to be coming for me. What was it, and what were they doing? Can you help me or direct me to someone who can?”
Chaplain Forrest paused to phrase his answer carefully. He was immediately filled with a sense of conflict. He did not want to say something that would get back to Professor Thompson and offend him, and at the same time, he had a sincere desire within to help this young man if he could. This student was obviously searching for truth. It had been a long time since he really felt like a chaplain dealing with serious spiritual issues, and something deep inside told him this was important. He felt a strange sense of boldness as he prayed silently for wisdom, something he hadn’t done in a long time – and reached for his Bible – that too was something he hadn’t done while counseling in a long time.
Unseen, there had been a change in influence within the chaplain. The three Tempters had been vanquished by his Guardian as Chaplain Forrest chose to shift his focus from self to the searcher before him and how he could help him. The prayer was the turning point as he had asked for wisdom.32 The response of the forces of light had been immediate. The void created when the Tempters departed was filled by Providers named Wisdom, Discernment and Boldness, because that is what Chaplain Forrest needed most at that moment. His light within now glowed brighter. Argon looked on in horror, considering how to respond and retrieve what had been lost with no control or influence over what was playing out before him.
“Paul, I have to start by admitting that there is little I can do for you, but I do believe I know a man who can help you if anyone can. I have years of education and experience as a pastor. I have studied and preached the Bible for over 30 years, but what you experienced is something that is way over my head. I have avoided growing in understanding of the invisible world, choosing rather to focus on the physical world I can see and touch and feel. I have chosen that as my escape because I fear what I don’t understand – and that is wrong. The Bible teaches that what is real includes the invisible.33 You cannot know what is real without understanding the invisible. They cannot be separated. The invisible world drives and often controls the visible world. The saying, ‘Things are not always as they seem’ is a universal truth,” he said pausing for the moment to gather his thoughts.
“I agree with Professor Thompson that what you saw was demonic activity against humans. There is nothing else it could have been. I don’t agree with him saying it was simply a nightmare. In my heart, I have an assurance that what you saw was real and that you were chosen to see it, but you were not shown everything that was occurring at the funeral in the invisible world.
“The Bible teaches that there is a great on-going struggle for humans in the invisible world. Another Paul, this one a first-century follower of Jesus wrote, ‘Our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.’34 What you saw in your dream is some of that which Paul the Apostle warned about. Apparently you did not see the forces of light, but they were there, for that is the conflict – light versus darkness.35 It is a conflict over every man, woman and child on the face of the earth. When you saw what appeared to be a demon reaching for you, I believe that it was a clear warning that there is a fight going on right now in the invisible world for you because you have been chosen by God for some greater purpose.”
Paul gasped and asked, “How can that be? I am not religious. I don’t even go to church. I despise the religious hypocrites I see every day. I have no respect for their so-called religion. Look at the world today, how many people die every day, killed in the name of some religion? People kill innocent men, women and children by blowing themselves up in the name of service to their god because they have been taught that their god will reward them for eternity. The history of religion is a history of the shedding of innocent blood. Where is this God you speak of who allows all of that innocent death in his name and the killer loose here in Williams inflicting death and injury seemingly at will? I want nothing to do with that kind of religion or that kind of god. I am only here today because I don’t want to become like the others I saw. This is about self-defense for me and for Samantha, my girlfriend – protection from those dark things that are after us.”
Chaplain Forrest paused and again prayed silently for guidance. In the invisible Argon screamed as if in pain. “Perhaps,” Chaplain Forrest continued, “it is because of your unwillingness to become a religious hypocrite or to accept a god of violence and hate that you have been chosen to be shown something of truth in the invisible world and how that affects the visible world. God is reaching out to you to reveal Himself as He truly is, not as He has been portrayed in the name of man-made religions. The Bible reveals a God, who has the same opinion you have expressed about what many call religion. He hates religious hypocrites and those who kill and destroy in the name of religion more than you can imagine.36 I told you there was one who I believe could help you if you are serious in your search. Are you serious?”
Paul was filled with conflicting emotions – anger, fear, passion, and desire all flooding through him at once. It was again decision time as the forces of light and darkness sought to influence the future of this young man and their conflicting agendas, but Paul chose wisely. “I must know more. I know I will never have real peace until this search ends. It is strange, but right now the only peace I have is in the search.”
“Good,” responded Chaplain Forrest. “You know the old warehouse just inside the railroad tracks down from College Church?”
“Yes,” Paul responded, “I drive by it nearly every day.”
“The old man who lives there is named Samuel Evans White. He is known around here simply as the Bookseller. He converted that warehouse into a rare and old bookstore years ago. He and his wife live upstairs in an apartment and mind the store. If anyone can help you, he can.”
“How can this Bookseller help me?” Paul asked incredulously.
“Oh, this man is so much more than a simple book salesman,” Chaplain Forrest answered. “He is an iterant preacher who for decades has gone anywhere he is invited to speak to anyone willing to listen. He looks and talks like one of the Old Testament prophets, with flowing white hair and beard. He is slight in body, but when he speaks he can burn the paint off the walls with his force and power. He knows the Bible better than any living man I know and speaks carefully to be sure what he says is absolutely consistent with all its teachings. But I have to be honest with you. Some of his teachings frighten me, not because they are wrong, but because I fear he is right. I have been afraid to allow him to speak in chapels because of the reaction he would generate. I only wish I had followed my heart and not my fears. He has things to say that the students needed to have heard.
“The Bookseller believes that 9/11 was a judgment of God, clear evidence that God’s hedge of protection around America is being taken away, making us increasingly vulnerable to the attacks of our enemies within and without. It was, however, a judgment with mercy, he would say, for only 3,000 were killed. Had those attacks come at the noon hour, the numbers could have easily exceeded 50,000.
“What frightens me most is that the Bookseller doesn’t seek to blame the nation or any group advocating what the Bible would describe as sin for this judgment. I know some have sought to blame 9/11 on homosexuality or abortion etc. He would not agree. He would take you through scripture and show you that God’s judgment falls on his own people first, the Christians of America, for the way they live and for what they are willing to tolerate.37 We proclaim one thing but live another – hypocrites just as you said. He would agree with everything you have said about religion, but disagree with your conclusion. He is the one you should go see if you really want to know what you saw in your dream.”
“Please, yes, I want to meet this man,” Paul answered. “How can I get an introduction?”
“I know him and will call him for you,” Chaplain Forrest offered. “If the Bookseller is in town, I am sure he will give you all the time you want. He will understand the importance of your search,” and with that, a phone call was made and time set aside to meet at the bookstore tomorrow at 10:00 AM.
“When you have your answer,” Chaplain Forrest asked, “please come back and let me know for I too must search before it is too late.”
Paul left to go and spend time with Samantha, wondering what all he had been told meant, but more committed than ever to stay with the search. All that could stop him now, he thought, was if the shooter made him a target – a possibility Argon intended to explore further before it was too late. In a panic, he sent off another of the dark wisps, this one to Molech, the leader of the forces of darkness over America. Molech had been chosen by the Dark Master because of his service as a god who required children be burned in the fire as a sacrifice.38 In America his success in the destruction of children through abortion, drugs, sex, rebellion and divorce was unparalleled. He would know how to deal with this young searcher.
