“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
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