The End of Days, Part 6

The End of Days, Part 6:

Morning light was beginning to shine through the windows when David awoke. He wasn’t sure how long he had been praying the night before but it must have been several hours. He stood up and stretched. He was a little stiff from sleeping on the floor but still felt rested. He grabbed his phone and plugged it in to charge before moving to the kitchen to brew his cup of coffee for the day. As he stood looking out his kitchen window he remembered when he could have multiple cups of it every day. Now, production of coffee beans was becoming harder and rather than being a cheap, common beverage coffee was a luxury only the wealthy could afford to drink more than sparingly.
David returned to his couch, mug in hand, and began reading the news on his phone. People were beginning to flock to Toronto to see the man claiming to be Jesus. The Canada-US border was overwhelmed with pilgrims desperately trying to cross over to meet their lord. Some travelers had even become violent with border security agents for not letting thing through fast enough. The robed man, who had not left his post in front of the church, issued a command through the news cameras that any who wish to come to him must continue to obey the laws of the land and behave themselves in an honorable fashion.

Several religious leaders around the world had already issued statements regarding the alleged second coming of Christ. Some were joyous and celebrated that God is making Himself known even in unexpected ways. Others were more hesitant and urged followers to wait and see if this man truly is Jesus. Noticeably absent from the list of leaders issuing statements was the Pope. A spokesperson for the Vatican said that the Pope and those closest to him were going into isolation to pray for guidance and recommended all members of the church do likewise.
An e-mail notification dinged on David’s phone. It was a message from his pastor stating that due to the events of the previous day no regular service would be held today but that the doors to the church would be open at 8am and anyone who wishes to meet together could feel free to do so. That was less than an hour away. David quickly finished his coffee and ate a cereal bar before rushing off to shower and change. He sent a text to his wife telling her that the church was getting together early and his phone battery was low so he might not get her messages for a while.
David hopped into his car and pulled out of his driveway. He was actually going to be early for once even though he was arriving two hours earlier than usual. Somehow, no matter how quickly he tried to get Gordon and Nadine ready to go out the door, something would always come up and they’d be walking through the church doors at least five minutes late. As he drove through the mostly empty streets he felt a twinge of guilt. He thought of all the times over the years he felt going to church was a chore, something he had to get through before he could enjoy the rest of his Sunday. After the events of the day before and his marathon of scripture reading and praying all he wanted was to be with his fellow believers.

The parking lots was more full than usual when David arrived at the two story former elementary school his church called home. He found an empty spot, grabbed his bible from the back seat, and made his way inside. The foyer was filled with groups of people talking, their voices combining into a dull roar with few distinguishable words. David walked through the crowd as he slowly made his way towards the sanctuary. Several people greeted him and asked about his family. He explained to each how Leah had taken the kids on Friday to visit her mother for weekend and David had stayed behind to work on Saturday but his extra shift ended up being cancelled. As he shook hands and made small talk with the other members of the congregation he felt another brief wave of guilt over how few faces he could attach names to. These were people he attended church with for years. The church was supposed to be a family, brothers and sisters adopted by God, yet there were hundreds here who he had worshipped beside and listened to sermons with but he had never even learned their names.

David made his way to a group with a few people he knew better than the rest. He had talked to a few of the men there at men’s breakfasts over the years and he felt comfortable enough around them. The group was discussing news and rumours about what was going on around the world. One tall, heavy set bald man heard that the US military had been mobilizing to invade Canada because the President had been killed there but that earthquakes disrupted their invasion. A middle-aged woman with short blonde hair said that her cousin was in the Canadian army and he told her that Canada had asked for the Americans to help control the border due to the massive number of pilgrims flooding the border to see Jesus. The conversation then began to get heated, with members arguing over whether this man truly was Jesus or merely an imposter. David stood quietly listening, unsure where he even stood on the matter. He heard one man state that the miracles this man did proved he had to be Jesus. A woman next to him nodded and said that the police who first met him told reporters that Jesus told them all of their darkest secrets and sins. Darryl, one of the men David regularly sat with at men’s events, responded by saying that the magicians in Pharoah’s court were able to perform ‘miracles’ but that wasn’t proof their sorcery was legitimate.

Feedback rang out from the speakers in the sanctuary. “Hello, is this better?” David heard pastor Jon say. “Ok, it seems to be working now.” He continued. “Could everyone join me in the sanctuary?”

A throng of parishioners slowly made its way into the room and David found a seat near the back. He looked around at the crowd filling the grey cushioned chairs until nearly every seat was full. He couldn’t recall the church ever being this packed outside of Christmas and Easter services. The muffled sound of conversations continued outside of the sanctuary.

“I’m glad so many people have decided to be here today.” Pastor Jon began. “I am sure everyone here feels the same way I do. Confused, uncertain, maybe even a little afraid.” Several heads in the congregation nodded and agreeing noises were murmured. “Here’s what we know: yesterday, there was apparently an explosion of some sort in downtown Toronto. Afterwards, a man claiming to be Jesus walked out of the middle of the blast zone. He was confronted by some cops and was shot at a dozen or so times without injury. There was an earthquake, lightning struck a church near him, and the cross on the roof was lit on fire even though it was stone, allegedly at his command.”

More murmurs throughout the sanctuary. “I know, it seems pretty astonishing, right? To be honest I woke up this morning thinking yesterday was just a dream. I’ve spoken to many people who are jumping with excitement that Jesus came back even if he didn’t come back quite the way we were expecting.” Pastor Jon paused and looked around at his congregation. “But the bible commands us to practice discernment, to test every spirit, and warns us the Satan masquerades as an angel of light. I’ve never claimed to know how the end times are actually supposed to be, I’ve listened to too many debates in the lounge in seminary about pre-trib versus post-trib rapture and pre-millenialism versus amillennialism to say I know anything for sure. However, this is different from what any denomination has taught throughout history. I mean, Jesus blows up the downtown of a major city, uses the news to announce his return, and then tells people to go about their days as usual?” Pastor Jon shook his head. “I think today we should dedicate ourselves to prayer and ask God for guidance in this matter. If this man really is Jesus, then he’ll forgive us for wanting to be sure it’s really him. If it’s not, then the last thing we wanna do is follow after a false prophet or imposter.”

Pastor Jon closed his eyes and bowed his head and the congregation followed. He began to pray, asking God for wisdom to discern the truth about this man claiming to be His son. David could hear the sound of people muttering words of agreement. He tried to keep his mind quiet and focused on Jon’s words, fighting the urge to drift off into idle daydreams and fantasies. Soon he heard someone crying somewhere to his left. Quietly at first, then growing into heavy sobs. They cried out “Oh Father, have mercy on me, a sinful man! Forgive me for my selfishness and greed and anger!”

Another voice yelled out across the room. “I’m sorry God, I’m so sorry. I knew I shouldn’t look-“ and was cut off as he was overcome with a choked cry. Soon more crying could be heard throughout the sanctuary and a chorus of voices rose up, crying out their sins. Violence, anger, hatred, racism, greed, lust, pornography, fornication, adultery, and more were shouted out, mingled with calls for mercy and forgiveness. David heard the sound of his pastor beginning to weep on the speakers before the guy in the soundbooth switched off his microphone. David, too, felt tears streaming down his face. He began to remember things he had done and felt a burning shame over them. Mostly, he saw all the time he had spent ignoring God. Days and weeks and even months without ever reading his bible or praying, time he spent on his hobbies and TV. He felt now that all that time and effort and money he had poured into his own amusement was utterly wasted. He slid off his chair onto his knees, bowing forward until his forehead rested on the ground. He covered his head with his hands and wept.

After what felt like an eternity, David noticed the tears had stopped coming and the wailing around the sanctuary had lessened. Suddenly, from the center of the room, an elderly woman began to sing Amazing Grace. At first only her raspy voice could be heard but soon others joined in. David felt a tingle throughout his body and goosebumps appeared on his arms as he joined in. The entire congregation was singing now and when it was finished, a man at the edge began another hymn. The joyous singing continued until one finished and no one started a new one. Pastor Jon began to speak but couldn’t be heard for a few second until the sound tech switched his mic back on.

“-ink a beautiful thing happened here today. Can you hear me now? Ok, good. I think a beautiful thing happened here today. But it might be time to go as I’m sure you’re all getting hungry now too.”

“There’s food in the kitchen here!” an older woman cried out. “We were supposed to have the lady’s prayer meeting yesterday but it was cancelled for obvious reasons.”

“Is there enough for everyone?” Jon asked.

“We can make it enough. I don’t want to leave yet.”

Jon looked around at the congregation. “Ok, we’ll go to the kitchen to eat. If anyone feels the need to leave, by all means please go. We’ll understand if you have to go home, if you have family or pets you need to get back to. Anyone who wants to stay is free to.”

David followed the crowd as they made their way into the gymnasium where tables and chairs were still set up from the previous day’s planned activities. Day-old sandwiches were brought out from the kitchen and passed around. A few times the meal was interrupted as the congregation broke out into spontaneous song, joyous hymns of thanksgiving and praise. When people finally began to leave the church the sun was already low in the sky. David turned his phone on and was surprised to see that he had been in the church for nearly ten hours.