Armageddon's Slaves Chapter Twenty-eight and Epilogue

His arrival at home shattered the sense of reaching a peaceful decision, as a theoretical decision met reality. Judith’s car blocked the driveway, forcing him to park on the street. Both the garage door and the car’s hatchback stood open. He saw Caleb’s and Luke’s cars on the street. As he got out of the car, Sophia came through the front door carrying a large box. She placed it in the car, and glared at him.

“I can’t believe you’re putting Judith through this.”

“I’m not putting her through anything.”

Sophia turned and stomped back into the house without answering him. Any residual hope he and Judith could work things out vanished. He saw at once that she was moving out of the house.

He walked in and confronted Caleb and Luke, “is this what the Lord wants of you? Is destroying my marriage part of the plan?”

“We aren’t breaking up your marriage,” Caleb answered, “we know you’re seeing another woman.”

“WHAT?”

“You drove her home from work the other day, then you spent the night in Missoula. You didn’t go to Gathering like you told us you would.”

“So you admit you’ve been spying on me.”

“You know we have to protect the Gathering,” Caleb snapped.

He went on to say he’d told the Senior Servant in Missoula to call him and let him know if Samuel made it there. He dutifully reported Samuel’s absence. He and Luke had come over this morning to talk to Judith. That discussion led them to believe that Samuel’s actions endangered Judith’s welfare. They had to move her out for her own welfare.

“How am I endangering her?”

“You did that when you opened your home to demons.”

Samuel almost laughed, but Caleb was dead serious. Luke held up a manila folder that had been laying on the coffee table. It was Samuel’s research file.

“We found this.”

“What did you do, ransack the whole house?”

“We talked to Matt, we knew you’d been looking at forbidden books and websites. You have obviously decided to Forsake The Word. We have to protect Judith. Your actions are a danger to her spirituality.”

Judith listened to this exchange from the bottom of the stairs, a box in her arms. After staring at him for several seconds, she spoke, her voice low and controlled.

“I can’t believe you don’t want to see our daughter. Paradise is coming, and soon. She’s gone and now you’re taking our son. I will see Charlene soon, but you and my son are gone forever. You’re going to let our son go to college, and on top of that, live with Outsiders while he’s there. You didn’t even have the courage to discuss it with me.”

“I wanted a chance to meet the other family first.”

“Why? They’re Outsiders, if you were a good Disciple, you wouldn’t need to know anything else about them. You’re throwing everything away.”

“Yes, your fabled new work is going to bring paradise, after they’ve purged everybody that isn’t a good little slave of The Chief Apostle.”

“I assume an idea that stupid could only come from one of your Forsaker websites. It’s ridiculous.” Luke snapped.

“Is it Luke? Are you denying you’re under orders to get rid of people like me, and Norm Halbert?”

“It’s not true. Of course I deny it.”

Samuel pulled out his cell phone, found that picture of the letter on Luke’s table. “What about this?”

Luke barely glanced at it before declaring it a fake.

“Is this a fake?” Samuel asked, holding up the picture of Luke’s notes, “it’s your handwriting.”

“You have no business going through my personal and official correspondence.”

“But it is perfectly all right for you to go through mine?”

“Yes it is. I’m responsible for the spiritual well-being of your family.”

Luke and Caleb looked at each other for a moment, then Caleb nodded agreement with an unspoken question.

“Samuel Wilson,” Luke said formally, “I declare that by your words and actions you have Forsaken the Word. You are Cast-out, no longer a Disciple. We will inform the Gathering of our decision.”

Judith announced that she had everything she needed for the moment. They all left without saying another word. Samuel sat heavily in a chair, overcome with emotional shock. He couldn’t believe they acted so quickly, or had they? Obviously they took some time to collect information, and Luke didn’t sound like he acted alone. After a moment’s thought, he called Matt.

He half expected to get only voice mail. To his surprise, Matt answered, but spoke only briefly.

“I told them everything. They were going to rip my family apart, and I can’t do that. It’s easier to just do what they want. Besides, the New Work may well start Armageddon. I can’t give up now.”

With that, he ended the call. Samuel stared at the phone. The one person he still thought of as a friend had turned his back on him. But it wasn’t Matt’s fault, like a good slave, he just returned to what he knew because he was comfortable there.

He sat alone, thinking, until David came home. His son tried to apologize for causing so much trouble.

“Mom cried, Sophia yelled, and Uncle Luke lectured me. I couldn’t take it. I’m sorry.”

“It isn’t your fault.”

Samuel shook his head, and repeated himself.

“No it isn’t your fault. It’s that damnable religion. The books I’ve read are all right, the Disciples are slaves. They are so tightly bound they can’t even see the chains anymore.”

“They’re pretty much wrong about everything aren’t they?”

“No they’re right about one thing, if you start studying what they teach, it won’t hold up to scrutiny. Once I started studying the door was open and a flood of knowledge poured in.”

He laughed, “maybe that was the demon they think I brought into the house.”

**

“Are you Okay?” Ski, the shop manager leaned into Samuel’s office. “No offense, but you look terrible today.”

Samuel had no idea what to say, just said he was fine. It sounded lame even to him.

“No, I’m not all right. Come in and shut the door, I need to talk to somebody. Judith left me.”

“Jesus.” Ski shut the door and sat in the chair in front of the desk.

It took Samuel a few minutes to run through the events that led to the breakup. He didn’t go into much detail on what he’d found out, only that he could no longer believe his religion, or its leaders.

“I guess I was unhappy with it all for a long time. I was on my way out anyway, I think, they just made it happen sooner. I don’t know what I’m going to do. My wife is gone, I don’t have any friends…” His voice trailed off.

“Sam,” Ski started and stopped abruptly. “Sorry, I know you prefer Samuel…”

“Actually I would prefer Sam. My parents named me after the prophet, and always insisted on using the full name.” He stopped to think for a second, “funny, a lot of Disciples don’t use nicknames. I don’t know why.”

“Okay then,” Ski grinned, “now you can be Sam. A new name for a new life. You have many friends here in the shop. We’ve all been watching you doing your research and cheering you on. That church is a nut house.”

“Really?”

“Yes, really. Look, we wanted to throw a little celebration for you when your kid got into college, but we knew your religion didn’t approve. Why don’t you invite him down tomorrow and I’ll have Irene get us a cake.”

The next afternoon David and Samuel joined the shop staff for a little party at the end of the workday. Everyone congratulated David on his acceptance at college. Upon hearing what he planned to study, several cracked jokes about knowing where the brains in the family went.

Samuel found himself agreeing to help George Cowley get his boat in the water, they could go fishing together. He recognized a need to make new friends, but it was hard to shake a lifetime of prohibitions against forming friendships with Outsiders. Suddenly it struck him, “I am an Outsider.”

David spent most of his time talking to Irene’s daughter about college life. Underneath a festive shell, however, he couldn’t shake an inner sadness. Judith’s absence left a hole his co-workers could not fill.

**

On June First, he sat down at his desk to pay bills as he always did. He ended with extra money, the effects of the raise that came with the promotion. He wondered if Judith needed money and decided that if she did, she could ask for it. He hesitated for a moment over the money he gave to Caleb every month to help with Uncle Harry. He decided to send it any way. Harry had given his life to a fairytale, that was punishment enough.

He wrote the check and put it into an envelope. He wanted to be a fly on the wall when Caleb had to decide to take money from a Forsaker. David called down the hall, asking what he was laughing about. He explained what he was doing.

“Don’t worry, he’ll take the money.”

David still maintained contact with a few friends at the Gathering House, although their parents discouraged talking to him. As he put it, they were waiting to turn eighteen so they could leave home and forget the religion. Sam always wondered what how they planned to live. At least David had the sense to go to school. Two days after he mailed the check to Caleb, David called him at work to pass on news from one of the friends.

“Dad, I’ve got bad news. Uncle Harry died in his sleep last night.”

The news did not surprise him, the man was in eighties. He felt sad, not so much at Harry’s death, but that he’d spent his life chasing a false hope. But he’d been happy with his choice. That afternoon he tried to call Caleb several times, but didn’t get an answer. He called Judith, and left a message. Late in the day she responded with a text.

“We’ve made arrangements for a service for Harry at the Gathering House. Caleb says it is not appropriate for you to be there.” That same day, he noticed the check he wrote Caleb had cleared his account.

Saturday morning, the weekend before the Grand Gathering in Seattle Sam looked out his window to see four Disciples getting out of a car at the end of the block. He could see the small slips of paper they carried, planning to deliver to his neighbors. Every year they handed out invitations to the Grand Gathering. Did they really expect Outsiders to drive across the state to go to a religious convention?

The four split into pairs, each pair taking one side of the street. Robert and Karen Brown had his side of the street. Sam watched from an upstairs window where they couldn’t see him. It didn’t take long for them to reach the neighbor on his left. He couldn’t see what happened, he guessed no one was at home. Then, instead of continuing on the sidewalk, they crossed the street, walked past his house on the far side, and recrossed the street to go to the house on his right.

He heard David laughing in his room. “Dad, did you see that?”

“Yes.”

“What do they think is going to happen, the Forsaker cooties are going to get them?”

“In a sense, yes. I imagine they think we’re demonized.”

**

The boat bobbed on the water of Sprague Lake, forty-five minutes west of Spokane. George and Sam watched the tips of the rods for signs they had hooked a fish, and talked quietly. It was now Sam’s third fishing trip. He had yet to catch a fish, but he enjoyed the time with his new friend. They had a lot in common. George had lost his wife to cancer two years earlier. He understood the losses Sam experienced, both Charlene and Judith. He understood the emotional toll imposed on Sam by the shunning he now experienced. He didn’t try to offer platitudes, but was always willing to lend an ear.

Now Sam looked toward the western horizon, listening to the distant traffic on the interstate. Judith was there, attending the Grand Gathering. Ironically, considering the Word’s view of education, they had rented the University of Washington’s stadium for the event.

“Your wife is at that big convention isn’t she?”

“Yes.”

“Do you hate them?”

“No I don’t hate them. I pity them. It all sounds so wonderful, dead loved ones will live again, we’ll all live forever right here on the Earth. Except it will be a Paradise, no death, sickness, hunger, war.”

“Sounds appealing.”

“Except it’s all an illusion.”

He pointed out The Word’s previous false predictions. Those were just the specific dates. For almost a hundred years, they kept saying the end of the world was due soon. It looked like they were about to announce a new prediction.

George shook his head, and asked why would anybody believe them? Sam talked in general terms about his research. People altered their memory of events, or how they thought about facts to keep the illusions alive. He explained sunk costs, how people couldn’t walk away from emotional investments. Uncle Harry was a perfect example. After giving his life to the Word of God Foundation, the thought of turning away was too much to bear, even though he died old, contrary to the expectations of his youth.

George grunted, and then said “I used to think you were nuts for believing some of what you believed. Now I’m amazed you managed to escape.”

“Yeah, I know. It’s hard to break free, the Apostles have four million people enslaved to this dream of Paradise. The Disciples can’t see they’re slaves, the mental tools to think for themselves have been subverted by their Masters in Seattle.

“I can’t hate them, I want to help them. I’d like to find a way. Maybe that’s my new purpose in life.”

He looked out at the calm waters of the lake.

“I’m free now. It will take some getting used, I’ve never been free to think and do what I want.”

“I’m glad,” said George, “but right now you need to start reeling, you’ve got a fish on.”







Epilogue



Two hundred miles west of Sam and George, Judith Wilson sat in the stand at Husky Stadium with Sophia and Caleb. Their seats, located at the front of the upper level offered them an excellent view of the stage. For two days, they hung on every word, and waited in excitement for today’s climactic speech by the Chief Apostle.

“Isn’t it funny,” Sophia said just before the opening music started, “how the Foundation rented this stadium from the University? The Lord will destroy this place at Armageddon, but now He’s using it to gather us together to learn more about His Word, not Outsider nonsense.”

Judith felt a cold knot in her stomach. In a few months, her son would start school a few miles away. A few months after that, God would end his existence, except in her memory. She pushed the thought away. Yesterday’s program had included a dramatic presentation depicting a rebellion against Moses. The earth opened up and swallowed Korah, the rebel leader, and all those following him. The speaker that followed it admonished the Disciples to avoid the sin and fate of Korah by obeying The Lord’s chosen Apostles.

She had vowed then to keep her loyalty to The Lord. She knew she would face tribulation and great cost but also great rewards. Charlene would join her in Paradise! Perhaps if she stayed faithful her son and husband would return. If not, she still would not give up her faith.

The music started, and the remainder of the thirty thousand Disciples found their seats. After a few minutes of music a speaker announced the start of the afternoon session. The program included another drama before the Chief Apostle’s speech. After the prayer, the speaker urged the audience to pay close attention to the stage presentation, it related directly to Apostle Rodgers’ message.

For an hour, she watched the play depict important events from the lives of Noah, Abraham, and Lot culminating in the destruction of Jericho and the Israelite’s arrival in Paradise. When it ended, the audience rose and roared in approval. Without any further introduction, Rodgers strode across the stage and took his place before the microphone.

“Are you ready to live in Paradise?”

The crowd roared again, applause broke out, followed by cheers. Rodgers held his hands up, indicating silence. The Disciples grew quiet, but still Rodgers stood in silence. After long seconds, he spoke again.

“We have thought The Lord Almighty would bring us to Paradise on Earth in His due time. We have, that is all of us Disciples, Apostles, myself included, have earnestly searched the scriptures to see when that appointed time would occur. Our enemies accuse us of being false prophets.

"Our expectation, our hope for salvation has not changed. We have an assurance from the Bible the Lord will destroy the wicked at the worldwide Battle of Armageddon; that we will receive our reward, eternal life in Paradise on Earth!”

The crowd started to cheer, but Rodgers waved them to silence.

“But we missed an important point. We expected The Lord to bring us Paradise on a silver platter. We ignored the fact the He has always required action from His Disciples. As we just saw, those loyal to The Lord don’t wait, they act.”

He surveyed the crowd for a moment.

“Like Noah will you build a place of safety, and take refuge in it, so you will not be destroyed in the day of The Lord’s wrath?”

Scattered cries of “yes” sounded around the stadium. Rodgers cupped a hand to his ear.

“I can’t hear you.”

The crowd shouted as one voice.

“Like Abraham, will you demonstrate your faith, to show yourself ready to make the ultimate sacrifice?

“Yes,” the crowd answered. Judith began to cry, as the thought struck her that she was already sacrificing her son.

“I am loyal to The Lord,” she shouted, even though no one could hear her over the crowd.

“Like Lot, will you flee from a wicked world, not turning back, heeding The Lord’s commands without question.”

Again, the crowd roared its agreement. Judith joined in, without reservation, yelling her agreement through her tears. She would not be Lot’s wife!

“Like the Israelites of old before the wall of Jericho, will you carry The Lord’s final message to a wicked world, will you do your part to show faith and destroy that world?”

The Disciples yelled and cheered, many clapped or thrust fists in the air.

“If you want Paradise, the time is NOW. Our actions will usher in Paradise. We will prove our Faith and Loyalty to The Lord Almighty, and he will provide our reward. Are you ready to act, and receive?”

The crowd went wild, as if screaming could demonstrate faith and bring in Paradise that moment. Rodgers continued to yell into the microphone, making himself heard over the racket.

“When The Lord called Isiah to action, how did the prophet answer?”

“Here I am, send me.” Thirty thousand Disciples spoke as one.

Judith lost control of her tears, she cried, unsure if she was sad at the loss of her family or overjoyed at the approach of Paradise. She raised her arms high, and joined the shouting.

“HERE I AM, SEND ME.”

The End

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

Armageddon's Slaves Chapter Twenty-seven

Samuel slept poorly that night, his mind constantly churning over the weekend’s events. The call from Norm and Luke’s letters painted a disturbing picture of the Word of God Foundation. He listened to Judith, breathing quietly in her sleep next to him. She found comfort in her faith, the sure and certain knowledge that the Apostles spoke for God, and that she would soon see her daughter again. What would happen to her when events shattered that faith?

Getting to work, and focusing on the tasks at hand provided the relief he needed. His employer thought a move eastward might provide the best opportunity for expansion. Samuel spent the morning researching routes and possible business sites in Montana, a pleasant task. He planned to drive to Missoula on Wednesday and look over the area. As he ate lunch, he pondered ways to confirm what Norm Halbert told him.

On impulse, he picked up his phone and called the Spokane Police Department. After bouncing around various departments, he found a record’s clerk that could provide some facts.

“I can only tell you what’s in the public record. The case was dismissed for lack of evidence.” The woman said, “but I’ll add a piece of advice.”

“Okay.”

“You should tell your friends to shut up. We wasted time chasing rumors. Reporters kept calling with new ones, the girl was underage, she was naked, we found booze in the car, we found drugs in the car, it just went on and on. I can’t give a name, but it all started with some local bigwig in your church.”

Samuel thanked her and ended the call. The “bigwig” was almost certainly Luke. Well, there was proof that a good portion of Halbert’s story rang true.

Until now, he had arranged his life around The Word of God Foundation. It formed the basis of all his actions, family and friendships. He pulled out a piece of paper and started jotting bullet points about this new discovery.

The Apostles planned some special event for the fall.

Publicly they expected this event to bring about Armageddon.

Privately they assumed it would fail.

They intended to blame the Disciples for that failure.

As part of that plan, they intended to remove and discredit Servants and Disciples that might oppose them.

That purge included one or more Apostles.

Luke’s letters, Norm Halbert’s comments, and information from the police, proved the purge was underway. That provided good reason to believe the rest of the story was true.

What to do now? He had hoped to resign quietly, ending his duties as a Servant. He would continue to attend Gatherings and take part minimally in Disciple-making. But given what he now knew, he did not think he could share knowingly in a lie.

He thought briefly of talking to Judith about it, but quickly dismissed the idea. She leaned too heavily on her hope of seeing Charlene in Paradise. Her emotion overwhelmed facts and reasoning. Perhaps he could talk quietly to Luke, maybe there was some other explanation. He expected that to cause more trouble, but suspected he needed to confront his brother-in-law.

He decided to call Matt, the only person he felt he could talk to. Matt didn’t answer, so he left a message and went back to work. Five hours later as he left for home, he realized Matt never answered the call. He punched in the phone number, and again left a message, suggesting lunch sometime in the coming week. It seemed odd that Matt didn’t return his calls, but he didn’t give it much thought.

On the way home, he wondered how he could go about talking to Judith. He dreaded the thought of it, he expected she would lose control if he expressed his thoughts. He could think of no reasonable way to tell her about Luke’s letters and his conversation with Norm. He had no doubt that she simply would not believe him.

When he arrived at home, he saw instantly that he could not avoid confrontation. He had not noticed cars, but Caleb and Luke sat in his living room, with Judith. All three looked grim and determined. He managed a weak and unfriendly greeting. Luke simply told him to sit, they needed to talk.

“We’ve all been very concerned about you lately,” Luke said, “and we had a disturbing conversation with Matt Edwards yesterday.”

“I see.”

Luke, clearly speaking as Area Servant and not a family member, ticked off a litany of problems with Samuel’s spiritual condition. He missed Gatherings, his hours in Disciple-making didn’t meet the goals, his preaching lacked zeal, he spent too much time on secular work. Caleb noted that he neglected the spiritual needs of his family, and even intended to let David go to college.

Caleb spat out the last word, like something dirty that he had to remove from his mouth. He went on to list the many things that could happen to a young man in college, drugs, drinking, young women with no morals. How could he let his son go into that environment?

Luke took over again, running through a string of talking points about the discussions he’d had with Matt. He insinuated that Matt’s spiritual decline was Samuel’s fault. The man was a weak Disciple, as a Servant he had an obligation to build him up within The Word, not undermine his faith. Samuel realized that Matt, who’d he’d thought a friend and confidant, had turned him in to the Servants. Some friend, but perhaps it wasn’t his fault. New Jerusalem took priority over friendships and marriages.

“They’re making a case that I’m a danger to the Gathering,” he thought. “Are they going to accuse me of Forsaking the Word?”

They answered his question as he thought it.

“Samuel,” Luke intoned heavily, “we think you may yet regain your good standing with The Word. But you need to start turning around now, there isn’t much time. World events are reaching a climax, commanded by The Lord. We Disciples must be prepared to do our part.”

“I’m curious, because we keep talking about this. What is ‘our part?’”

“Well, at the moment,” Luke answered, “we are not sure exactly. I know the Apostles plan a bold new campaign to begin this fall, what form it will take, they haven’t told us. They may not know. The Lord will provide us with the proper knowledge in His time.”

Samuel wanted share his new knowledge, but this was not the time. He needed to talk it over with Judith first. He decided to stick his toe in the water and see what happened.

“I’ve heard it’s going to signal the start of Armageddon.”

“Where did you hear that?” Luke snapped.

Samuel shrugged and said he heard it at the House, but he couldn’t remember who said it, perhaps a visitor.

“Well we don’t know that, you shouldn’t let rumors undermine your faith.”

“Okay. I also heard that whatever this big event is, it requires cleaning up the Gatherings first, starting with the Servants.”

This made Luke jump, “The Lord always requires clean worshippers. As Servants, it is our duty to present a clean Gathering to The Lord. Do you think we shouldn’t?”

“I think maybe we need to find a better way to do it.”

All three men turned to Judith as she suppressed a sob. “You can’t talk against The Lord’s Word like that. Are you becoming a Forsaker?”

“No, of course not,” Samuel responded automatically.

“Well then, you need to be a good Disciple,” Luke said forcefully, his face turning red, “The Lord doesn’t want or need wishy-washy believers. You’re in or out. That’s it.”

“I need some time to think about it. Can I have a day or two?” Samuel asked sadly, “Maybe if I think about it we can talk about it calmly.”

The other two men looked at each other, Luke nodded. “We’ll get together later in the week.”

Good, he could use the time driving to Montana to think up a plan. He still hoped to hang on long enough to preserve his marriage, if possible. To emphasize the point Judith added a final comment to the conversation.

“I’m not going to live with a Forsaker. If you give up The Lord, you give up me, too.”

“Judith, let’s be rational…”

“I am being rational,” she screamed. With that she stomped upstairs to the bedroom and slammed the door.

Trying to set up a meeting time for later in the week started another argument. Luke and Caleb wanted to talk after midweek Gathering on Wednesday. Samuel said that he would be traveling on business and would attend Gathering in Missoula.

“You need to be here with your home Gathering.”

“Why? I’m not on the program, I can get everything I need attending in Missoula.”

“Because your position is serious, and you need people who know you to get you back on track. I’ll expect to see you there.”

That night, Samuel slept in the guestroom, Judith refused to leave the bedroom, even to eat. He intended to ignore Caleb’s perfunctory order to appear at midweek Gathering. He had a room reserved and appointments set up with real estate brokers to look at possible business sites. He had, in fact, planned on attending Gathering in Missoula. Now he didn’t feel like going.

**

Late Tuesday afternoon, Irene stuck her head in his office, “Can I ask a favor?” Before he could answer, she said she thought her house was on the way to his. If so, could he give her a ride home? She’d had to take her car to the shop and they weren’t done with it. He said he was happy to help. They had a pleasant conversation on the ride home. It turned out her daughter was about to start her second year at Bellevue College, perhaps David could call if he wanted advice about anything. Samuel said he’d pass a message to David, and drove home, without giving it another thought.

**

Wednesday morning he stopped by the office for a final chat with Ski and Mr. Rommer before he left. As he was leaving, he saw Caleb parked across the street. The Senior Servant had his head down, as if studying something or looking at his cell phone.

The area was all business, there were no houses to sell here. Samuel got in his car and fiddled with some papers for a minute, pretending he didn’t see Caleb. He could see him in the review mirror, watching the car.

“He’s spying on me?” He shook his head and looked at the mirror again. “Really Caleb?”

He drove off, watching to see if Caleb followed him. When he got on Interstate 90 eastbound, he started wondering how far he intended to follow. In fact, Caleb stayed with him for an hour and a half, all the way to Wallace, Idaho.

“Must not have much to do today.” Obviously Caleb intended to make sure he did go to Missoula, why? Did they distrust him so much they couldn’t just ask? Did they want him gone so badly they would go to these lengths to get rid of him? Did Caleb want to destroy his sister-in-law's marriage? Mulling over the problems occupied his mind for most of the drive.

He spent a pleasant afternoon looking at several commercial properties with the broker. One building in particular looked like a good prospect. But he’d look at two more in the morning before going home.

When he returned to his hotel room took a hot shower and changed into casual clothing. He walked a few blocks and found a steakhouse. He checked his watch as he ordered, If he hurried he could get back to his room, change and attend Gathering. As he enjoyed his dinner and forget about his problems, he made an unconscious decision to just enjoy a free evening. The restaurant was only half full, after dinner, he ordered a glass of wine and watched a baseball game on the large TV. Later he walked back to his hotel slowly, finding pleasure in the evening quiet. For the first time in weeks, he slept soundly.

The next morning he toured two more properties with the broker. Around noon, he gassed up the car and started for home. Half an hour out of Missoula, he passed a sign announcing a used bookstore offering “100,000 used books.” With his newfound interest in research, he decided to stop and shop. The store occupied a small house packed with from basement to attic with books. He wandered through the narrow aisles, examining titles. He picked out a Bible that had four translations side by side. The only Bible he’d ever read was “The Word of God Translation” produced by the Foundation. His researched revealed many critics said it contained many flaws. He decided to look at another translation to compare.

Nearby, he found a slim paperback called “When Prophecy Fails”* The back cover described it as an academic analysis of responses to failed religious prophecy. Written by three social scientists, it explored the reactions of a religious group to false prophecy. Interestingly, it looked like they found that such an event did not discourage the followers. It sounded a lot like Disciples.

After he made his purchase, he resumed the drive home, using the time to organize his thoughts. He had a bad feeling about whatever the Chief Apostle planned for the fall. He expected the fallout from another failed prophecy to crush his wife. He wanted no part of a society that required its members to spy on each other. Having Caleb following him was just plain wrong.

That was it then, he no longer wanted to be a Disciple, he wasn’t sure if he wanted any religion. David would go to college, that was good. Judith would leave, his marriage was over. He had to accept that, or live as a hypocrite. Perhaps when the Apostle’s scheme failed, he could support her somehwow. At least that gave him a goal.

*“When Prophecy Fails” by Leon Festinger, Henry W. Riecken, Stanley Schachter. Wilder Publications, Blacksburg, VA 2011. The author highly recommends this work.

 

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

Armageddon's Slaves Chapter Twenty-Six

“I’m disappointed in your performance last night,” Caleb said reproachfully. “I support everything New Jerusalem does, I respect the Apostles leadership, and obey their instructions. I expect you to do the same, and support me as Senior Servant.”

The two men walked slowly along the street, calling on houses in Saturday morning Disciple-making. Wide lots, containing a few goats or sheep, and an occasional horse, separated the houses in this rural area on the outskirts of Spokane. The open space meant lots of time walking, giving them time to talk. Samuel had tried to get out of Disciple-making, to no avail. If he wanted to hide his dissatisfaction, he couldn’t do anything to stand out. Privately he decided to be as ineffective as possible, he had zero interest in making converts, unlikely as that was. The numbers, published each year by the Foundation clearly proved the inefficiency of trying to call on people at home with a religious message.

“A couple of items blindsided me,” he answered, “I can’t imagine why we need a meeting every other week. I also think we deserve a better explanation if they want to ask for our money.”

“They gave us a clear explanation, it’s needed to cover the expenses of this great new campaign we’ll be starting.”

“What expenses?”

Caleb stopped walking and turned to face him. “See this is what I’m talking about. Where is your faith? Where is your trust? You question everything. Frankly, I’m worried about you, and I want some answers. Luke worries about you, too. You’re family, we have extra responsibility in meeting your spiritual needs.”

“Slow down. I’m fine. I just think we deserve more information about all this.”

“Don’t ask questions, don’t think about it all too much. It undermines your faith. We all need to do as the Apostles direct us. They are The Lord’s representatives on Earth. We need to believe that. It’s the real meaning of faith.”

Samuel didn’t agree, but mumbled about trying to do more Disciple-making and taking part in Gatherings more fully. He couldn’t imagine putting up with it, but he’d find a way. Then Caleb dropped another bombshell on him.

“I think you should stay away from Matt Edwards. He’s slacking off, a couple of us think he’s involved in sin of some sort, but we don’t have the evidence yet. There was something between him and Gloria Lighthorse. Laura’s worried about his spiritual progress, or lack of it. Sophia and Judith took her out shopping a last week, she didn’t want to talk much about it, but Sophia could tell she’s worried.”

Meaning probably that Sophia made up something and reported it as fact. What precisely did Caleb mean when he said they had no evidence “yet?” As the two continued walking and knocking on doors, he found it harder to even pretend his heart was in the work.

**

That afternoon, Samuel retreated into his office, saying he had to prepare some reports for work. Judith didn’t object, probably because that left her free to do something with her sister. Shortly after she left, Samuel’s cell phone buzzed. The caller ID showed it was Norm Halbert.

“Hello.”

Norm identified himself and said he wanted to talk about a personal matter, that perhaps Samuel could help him with.

“Maybe you can explain why you’re brother-in-law is after me.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean he’s been spreading lies about me and my son all over Spokane. He denies it, of course, but I’m guessing he’s said something to you.”

Norm said that Luke had encouraged him to have his daughter take up with Gloria Lighthorse “to provide a good example of Disciple teenage life.” He then pushed Gloria into complaining about Ricky’s behavior, trying to cause trouble for the Halbert family. Caleb involved himself, insisting on punishing Gloria, making it harder to discredit Apostle Halbert. Norm didn’t understand what they were doing until the same thing happened with the girl involved in the police complaint.

“Back up a second. Luke encouraged your daughter to be a friend to these young women? To make trouble for your brother?”

“That’s right, he called Naomi and asked her to invite them over. Said she would be a good example to them. I’m sure he put it into their heads that Ricky would be good husband material.”

Samuel didn’t like Luke, but he didn’t believe his ears, Norm sounded like a crazy conspiracy theorist. “That’s stupid…” His voice trailed off as he remembered something Gloria said when he and Matt met with her. He pictured her perfectly in his mind, wiping at tears and trying to smile at the same time. “He told my Mom that I should get to know Ricky better since his uncle was an Apostle.”

“What is it?” Norm asked at the sudden silence.

“Never mind. I think I know what you’re talking about.”

It sounded lame, he had no idea what to say. Could Luke, and possibly Caleb, plot against fellow Disciples?

“You know the police dropped the investigation don’t you?”

“No,” Samuel answered, stunned, “why?”

“Lack of evidence. Ricky was driving her home and got pulled over for a busted taillight. The girl started yelling about sexual assault when the cop approached the car. Again, Luke had been encouraging her to see my daughter, and Ricky was just giving her a ride home.”

Samuel didn’t respond as he thought. Was Luke capable of destroying a young man’s life on orders from John Rodgers? His brain said no, but something in his gut said “Yes.”

“But why would Luke want to wreck your reputation? It doesn’t make sense.”

“Because the Chief Apostle is using me to get at my brother for opposing this crazy scheme he and Howell cooked up.”

Norm went on to explain that it was all supposed to be hush-hush, but Apostle Rodgers was going to announce a special plan at the Grand Gathering in June. He went on to explain the Apostles planned to launch a series of big public demonstrations in the fall. According to his information, this would show the Disciple’s love for The Lord and induce Him to launch Armageddon and usher in Paradise. The real kicker, was that when it failed, the Apostles would blame the failure on the Disciples.

“They’re assuming we aren’t zealous enough?” Samuel asked incredulously.

“Seems like it, except maybe Apostle Howell. It’s all his idea. What Rodgers and Howell are doing convinced my brother they’re nuts. This plan will bring on Armageddon, or destroy the Foundation. He thinks they will be happy with either outcome.

“There’s a big shakeup going on at New Jerusalem. There’s a schism within the Apostles. The hardliners following Rodgers against some reformers who want do away with all the rules and shunning. The hardliners have a majority and my brother is on the wrong side of the fence. Rodgers wants him brought down.”

“Norm, I’m sorry…”

Samuel’s voice trailed off. He didn’t know what to say. It all sounded crazy. He didn’t think there was a way to find the truth. He said as much to Norm. He heard a long sigh.

“It’s hard to believe, but there’s a real fight developing among the Apostles. My brother isn’t alone. They’re after Laban Packard, too.

“I just needed to vent. The police dropped the charges, but my son still has a record. I’m not a Servant anymore, and my business is down. I’m just in a funk. Maybe you can tell Luke I want to be a good Disciple again.”

“I’m not sure he’ll listen to me, but I’ll put in a good word for you.”

After the call ended, Samuel sat at his desk staring at nothing, thinking. A few months ago, he would have dismissed the whole conversation, or reported it to Caleb. Now he wasn’t so sure, but he needed to verify the information, but how? He couldn’t just ask Luke if he was under orders to smear people that disagreed with the Chief Apostle.

**

Sunday morning he found it impossible to focus on Gathering. After the service ended, Judith told him that she and Sophia had plans to have lunch with Laura Edwards, but she had to take some clothing to Luke’s apartment. Could he do it? Since he wanted time to think, Samuel quickly agreed to the errand. She told him where to find several summer weight suits, recently returned from the cleaner. Since Luke lived in a small apartment, he took advantage of his sister’s offer to store them during the winter.

“Isn’t Luke still in the Tri-cities?”

“Yes, I’ll give you his key.”

Since an Area Servant’s home doubled as an office, New Jerusalem discouraged giving out keys. But Judith was family, no one said anything. A short time later, Samuel let himself into Luke’s small apartment. No one knew exactly how much living allowance an Area Servant received from New Jerusalem. In some places, the Area Servant had rather luxurious quarters and even an assistant.

Spokane was not one of those places. The apartment had exactly three rooms, a combined kitchen/living area at the front and a bedroom and bathroom at the back. Luke’s living room doubled as an office, containing a file cabinet and a writing desk. Samuel took the suits to the bedroom, and hung them in the closet. Several heavier suits lay on the neatly made bed, with a note asking his sister to put them in his closet at the Wilson home.

Samuel took them to the car, and returned to lock up the apartment. He did not intend to snoop, but looked around to make sure everything was all right. He noticed a large envelope and some papers on the writing desk. The envelope bore a blue stamp reading “administrative reports.”

Samuel paused, thinking. He should not look at the letters, but curiosity overwhelmed him. He knew that “administrative reports” was a ruse, New Jerusalem always marked confidential communications with that stamp, to prevent undo attention. He had always wondered what they hid behind the James Bond cloak-and-dagger routine.

His curiosity got the better of him. Besides, he reasoned, Sophia or Judith would read it in a heartbeat, if they were here. Besides, it might well be just administrative correspondence. Still, his heart raced a bit as he looked at the papers.

The first item was a letter from New Jerusalem to all Area Servants, it had no signature, only a stamp indicated the Apostles approved it. Nervously, he skimmed the letter, thinking that again that it was private. Then he noticed a sheet of paper with notes in Luke’s handwriting, a list of names, with his at the top. He reread the letter.

“The removal of all Servants not completely loyal to The Word, must be completed by the time the New Work starts in September. Disloyalty may manifest itself in many ways: spreading rumors, lack of zeal in Disciple-making, willingness to dismiss “minor” violations of Christian Conduct as determined by the Apostles, and the like. Area Servants must use care to insure that only those Servants that display complete loyalty to The Word remain in position by September. When in doubt, removing a problematic Servant will be the best course of action. A special help desk at New Jerusalem will field questions on this matter.

“Take care to insure these actions do not disburb the Gathering.

“As the New Work begins, The Lord will continue to remove those with weak faith from his Disciples. Some will no doubt remove themselves as the Work requires active displays of faith. Servants must weed out those lacking faith ruthlessly, consequently only those capable of such action should remain in authority at that time.”

The letter closed with instructions to begin notifying New Jerusalem of Servants requiring discipline or removal. Letters should include only minimal information, New Jerusalem would contact the Area Servants by phone to discuss details, if needed. The tone and wording emphasized a need for secrecy in handling matters related to the New Work.

“Wow,” Samuel muttered under his breath.

Another page lay next to the first, handwritten notes, evidently for a letter that Luke intended to send to New Jerusalem, or possibly a phone call. The list of names, headed by his own, contained the names of several Servants in Eastern Washington. Samuel knew most of them, they were all ones that were not afraid to question instructions. The note after his name stated that he lacked zeal and expressed doubts. Luke noted that he “had evidence that Disciple Wilson is engaging in independent research, which is undermining his faith.” How did Luke know about his research?

He read the next entry.

“Norm Halbert, already removed as Servant. Currently under review and may be Cast-out. Trouble maker, but given his connections to the Apostles, limiting his influence is difficult. GETTING INSIDE INFORMATION FROM NEW JERUSALEM AND SPREADING RUMORS. AM WORKING TO DISCREDIT.”

He realized that he held physical proof that what Norm told him was at least partially true. But how could he prove it? Stealing the papers would just cause more trouble. After a moment’s thought, he pulled out his smart phone and took a few pictures, feeling both guilty and foolish as he did. He made sure they were back where they belonged and quickly left for home.

 

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