Samuel’s road trip proved to be an eye-opening
experience. His conversation with Luke and Caleb reflected what Disciples
constantly heard about Outsiders. They were immoral, dangerous, wanted to
corrupt The Lord’s people. The Word, through Sermons, Study Articles and
unwritten rules enforced strict limits on contact between Disciples and
Outsiders. Although he worked among Outsiders, he almost never associated with
them when not in the shop.
Contrary to the warnings from his in-laws, he had
no troubles at all, and even made it to the midweek meeting. Everyone was
polite, no one tried to get him drunk, and none of the women propositioned him.
He called home every night, Judith missed him and worried about him. He guessed that Sophia filled her head with
nonsense, he did his best to reassure her.
He and Mr. Rommers planned the trip as
a meet and greet, getting to know the managers and employees at several shops
around the state. He would spend the whole week on the road, visiting the
larger shops and warehouses outside Spokane.
His view of people beyond his religion started
changing with the first stop, in Moses Lake. The manager there said he’d moved
his usual office lunch from Friday to Monday, so everybody could meet him.
A few years earlier, he and a few close associates
started eating lunch together as a time to chat and support each other. The
lunch had now turned into an all-office affair, where people could share and
talk about problems, or celebrate good news. Samuel admitted it sounded
interesting.
At lunch time, what the whole office gathered in
the lunchroom. Larry, the manager ordered in pizza. For Samuel’s benefit, they
went around the table, introducing themselves and saying something about home,
families, hobbies and the like.
Several people mentioned church, they belonged to different
denominations or independent churches. Samuel noticed that most of them
preferred the word “Christian” to describe their beliefs. One man named Sid
said he was Jewish, several identified as atheists or agnostics. Many of them
mentioned charities, community projects, or other volunteer work. This surprised
him, as the Word taught that
Outsiders thought only of themselves. One man said
his principal interest was his model railroad.
This drew some good-natured
ribbing, and an invitation for Samuel to come see it.
Samuel noticed the diversity of beliefs and said
“you guys most have some lively discussions about your beliefs.”
One man noted that their churches mostly taught
the same thing and added that most people decided where to go based on
convenience of location and the style of service. This surprised Samuel, as The
Word always taught that Outsiders generally and churches in particular fought
constantly over differences in faith.
A lively discussion of various subjects followed
as they ate lunch. Obviously, these people enjoyed each other’s company. He
spent the afternoon reviewing operations around the shop and talking to a few
customers and vendors. That night, after
he called Judith he sat in his room, thinking about the happy conversations he
witnessed. They were not at all what he’d
learned to expect from Outsiders, based on The Word’s teachings.
At the next stop, in Yakima, Carlos, the shop
manager invited him to his home for dinner. Carlos mentioned that he had
invited over Scott and Walter, his two foremen. They were also good friends. It
turned out to be a remarkable evening. Carlos’ wife cooked an impressive pile
of Mexican food, children from all three families ran through the house
laughing and playing. Everyone had a good time, the men sipping cold beers
while the meal finished cooking. They ate buffet style, everyone dishing up in
the kitchen, the children taking their plates into the yard. The adults sat
around the living room, talking.
“We all know you are a Disciple,” Carlos said to
Samuel, “but we don’t know much about your beliefs, do you mind talking about
it.”
“Not at all,” Samuel answered, even as he wondered
how Disciples could spend millions of hours in Disciple-making and people still
didn’t know much about them.
He quickly learned that his audience knew
Disciples didn’t take part in politics or celebrate Christmas, and they spent a
lot of time preaching, but that was it. They had only vague notions of the
Signposts pointing to the approach of Armageddon and Paradise.
Samuel quickly found himself tongue-tied trying to
explain the prophetic significance of the time lines in the Books of Daniel and
Revelation. Clearly, the others in the room thought it was all nonsense.
Samuel tried to explain passages from the book of
Daniel that spoke of periods of 2300, 1290 and 1335 days. Revelation spoke of
1260 days. The word explained these as milestones marking the End Times; Israel’s
establishment as a nation, and The Word of God Foundation’s incorporation.
“Didn’t they predict the end of the world a few
years ago based on this?”
“Well not the end of the world, but something
important. It turned out to be an important change in how The Word is
governed.”
Someone asked how they came up with the dates.
Samuel explained how Michael Clifton Adderly, the first Apostle substituted
years for days, adjusting for the difference between the 360-day Jewish lunar
calendar and the modern calendar. The 1335 days began with the completion of
the Dome of the Rock Mosque in Jerusalem, symbolizing the complete domination
of the Jews by Gentiles. This time ended in 2008, a date pointed to by other
time calculations.
This drew a skeptical response. Scott said it was
his understanding the Hebrew Calendar had a means for correcting the lunar
cycle to match the regular year. How did that figure in? Samuel didn’t know. He
didn’t blame them for asking questions, he thought it sounded silly as he said
it. Then a question that hit home.
“I heard you folks shun members that don’t behave
right. Is that true?”
Samuel started to give what he knew was the
approved response to that question, which was there was no rule about shunning,
but that Disciples naturally limited contact with ones that needed correction.
But he thought of Phil Peterson and Gloria Lighthorse.
“I’m struggling with that. Sometimes I think our
discipline might be too harsh. I’m trying to sort out that question of faith
for myself.”
“Questioning your beliefs can be good,” Scot said,
“the most important thing is to be true to yourself.
God does not want us to
believe in him falsely.”
“Or even if you don’t believe in God at all,”
Walter added, “you still need to keep your own integrity.”
The next night he had another fun evening with
Alan, the manager of the shop in Kent, south of Seattle. They didn’t talk religion
much, but Samuel learned about some great camping areas most people didn’t know
about. He learned that Alan, who was Jewish, respected others’ beliefs.
“Are you happy being a Disciple? That is the only
important thing. You should be happy in your relationship with God, He wants
you to enjoy His friendship.”
As he spent the afternoon driving back to Spokane,
he pondered the many conversations, turning over various comments in his mind.
He decided that Outsiders were not nearly as evil as The Word claimed. At every
stop, they had greeted him with kindness and hospitality. Although he’d planned
to eat dinner on his own, the mangers all invited him to their homes. Several invited
him to stay at their homes, instead of a motel. He declined the invitations,
but only to avoid bothering his new friends, not because he didn’t want to
spend the night in a house with Outsiders.
Even though some clearly discounted such matters
as the time prophecies, all respected his beliefs. Although he wasn’t sure what
he still believed. The matter of the time prophecies weighed on his mind. How
had the Apostles determined the meaning behind obscure Bible messages? He did
not actually know the origins of his own religion. He knew only what The Word
published in its literature.
Was it time to do some research? The fear of doing
so produced a visceral sensation. The Word flatly opposed independent study by
Disciples. The other Servants would investigate any hint of doubt about The
Word. But suddenly, it seemed like what he most needed to do.
Armageddon’s Slaves © Jeffrey Thomas All rights reserved.
This
is a work of fiction. All events and characters are products of the author’s
imagination.
Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead is purely coincidental.
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