ABSTRACT

“NOW THEREFORE; YE ARE NO MORE STRANGERS AND FOREIGNERS, BUT FELLOW CITIZENS WITH THE SAINTS, AND OF THE HOUSEHOLD OF GOD…”

Hello? Who’s there?

“AND ARE BUILT UPON THE FOUNDATION OF THE APOSTLES AND PROPHETS, JESUS CHRIST HIMSELF BEING THE CHIEF CORNER STONE…”

Hello?? Who’s there, please??

“IN WHOM ALL THE BUILDING FITLY FRAMED TOGETHER GROWETH UNTO AN HOLY TEMPLE IN THE LORD…”

Who’s there?? Say something!!!

“IN WHOM YE ALSO ARE BUILT TOGETHER FOR AN HABITATION OF GOD THROUGH THE SPIRIT.”

Who are you?? Say something, please!!! Hello? Hello?? Hello??

KNOW YE NOT THAT YE ARE THE TEMPLE OF GOD, AND THAT THE SPIRIT OF GOD DWELLETH IN YOU??”

I… Uhh, I…

-----

INTRODUCTION

All the world is a stage…men and women—merely players. They have their exits and their entrances. Whether this is an exit or entrance, it is unknown…as unknown as which world-stage it is. But one thing is certain: it is alien. Unfamiliar. Gloomy. Even evil. Entrance unnoticed. Exit inconceivable. Strange locale. Unearthly. Tomblike. More like a gateway to… Wait! To where? Hell? Gateway to hell? Something’s not right! Something’s not right! And what was that voice? That indistinctly fading voice? Anyone here? Hello? Hello?? Hello??

-----

TERRA INCOGNITA

“An uproar. Far away. Far, far away. Familiar chaos. Dissenting voices. Wild chants. Violent outbreaks. Gunshots. Weeping. Lamentations. Confrontations. Vehement threats. Fights. Struggles. Possible deaths. What’s that uproar? And where’s that place? It’s far from here. Still, the uproar echoes, though fading with each passing minute, each passing second, fading slowly, slowly-steadily. Wait! No echoes anymore. No more voices. No uproar. It’s all ceased. Is that silence? It’s silence. Loud silence—suddenly. Where’s everyone? Where was that place? Wait, where’s this place? This dark place. No one’s here. None but me. Or, anyone here? Anyone?

“What’s this dirty white underpants? White has never been a favorite color for short pants, not to mention underpants. How come about this white underpants? Dirty for that matter! No shoes! No shirt! Nothing at all! Just this white underpants! This dirty white saggy underpants! What’re all these? Where is this place? What was the way in? Way in? Seriously? Come on now! Oh no! Rather, what’s the way out? Yes, the way out! Who’s here? Anybody? There’s got to be someone! Anybody! Somebody! Please! A way out, please! It’s too dark! Too gloomy! Too scary! A way out please! Help! Somebody help!”

“WALK!”

“Huh? Who’s there? I heard something. I heard someone! I heard you! I heard you! Did you say “walk?” Hello? Did you say “walk?” Oh c’mon! Talk to me please! I’m already going nuts!”

“WALK.”

“Walk! Yes, walk. I heard that. I’m walking. I’m walking. Yes, I… wait. Walk? Walk where? It’s dark all-around. Black! I can barely see a thing. Walk where? Hello? Hello? Are you there?”

“TRAIL MY VOICE.”

“Trail your voice? Yes! Trail your voice! Erm… erm… there’s a little problem here. I’m afraid trailing your voice might be a little difficult except you speak up more. Would you? Please?”

“THE JOURNEY AHEAD IS FAR AND TEDIOUS. TICK SAYS THE CLOCK; WHAT YOU HAVE TO DO, DO QUICK.”

“Oh my God! Journey? What journey? I don’t remember signing up for any journey. Even if I did, why would I journey to this… this… Uhm… that reminds me; where’s this place? I don’t know this place. Last I remember, I was… I was… yes! That was me! The uproar! That was me! I recall now! Uproar 2023! Wild chants! Streets invasion! Prayer walks! Revolution! That was me! The protests! The relentless marches by wild masses, all clamoring for one thing: a revolution! A better nation! New dawn! And I was the… the… the pioneer! I remember now, vividly. I never journeyed here. I don’t even know this place. I don’t like this place! I don’t!”

“TRAIL MY VOICE, AND YOU’LL BE OUT OF HERE LONG ENOUGH.”

“Thank goodness! Gosh! Uh, wait, long enough? Did you say long enough? That doesn’t quite resonate—if you ask me. I want out of here almost immediately. Very immediately. Can you do that? Would you do that? Do that, please. Yes, now. Do it now. There seems to be no one here beside you… and me. I don’t remember coming here. I don’t even know the way here. I mean, I don’t know here. Wait, did you… did you… did you bring me here? Did you bri…”

“EASY THERE. EASY. I UNDERSTAND YOUR UNEASE. BUT EASE UP. BOTTLE YOUR CURIOSITY. YOU’LL FIND YOUR ANSWERS EVENTUALLY…AS MUCH AS YOU’LL FIND WHAT YOU CAME HERE TO SEEK…IF YOU DON’T GET IT MIXED UP. HOPE YOU’RE AS GREED-FREE AS YOU’RE SELF-ACCLAIMED TO BE? YOU MADE IT HERE TOO FAST, TOO SOON; BEFORE ANYONE COULD VET YOUR RÉSUMÉ.”

“Résumé? I came here job-hunting?”

“NOT EXACTLY.”

“Of course not! Not! C’mon, what’s going on? Would you just spill the beans and spare me the ciphers? I’m fast slipping into an anxious breakdown. I don’t understand a thing that’s going on. Are there others here? Anyone else apart from you and me? I’d love to meet people…people I can see. Where are they? Who are you? And where are you taking me?”

“HEAVEN.”

“Heaven? Hea…”

“YES, HEAVEN. ISN’T THAT WHERE YOU ASKED TO BE TAKEN?”

“I… I…?”

“MAKE NO MISTAKES ABOUT IT…NARROW IS THE WAY THAT LEADS TO LIFE. IT ALWAYS HAS BEEN. IT ALWAYS WILL BE. IF YOU FAINT NOT, HEAVEN WILL BE YOUR HOME—AS YOU DESIRE. NOW, GIRD UP YOUR LOINS. WE’RE ABOUT TO START HAVING COMPANY. WAIT, WE? OH NO; YOU. YOU ARE ABOUT TO START HAVING COMPANY. SOME NICE. SOME DESTITUTE. SOME…SOME…”

“What? Some what? Tell me. Some what?”

“YOU AREN’T ALONE HERE. YOU MIGHT AS WELL BE THE LATEST ARRIVAL. MANY HAVE BEEN HERE. MANY ARE HERE. MANY ARE COMING, STILL. SOME STRAY HERE. SOME COME WITH DEFINITE PURPOSES. SOME…”

“Your words are confusing. I don’t think I’m following.”

“YOU WOULD IF YOU QUIT INTERRUPTING ME LIKE THAT.”

“Sorry.”

“YOU STARTED ON A JOURNEY YOU WEREN’T EXACTLY CLEAR ABOUT. NO IDEA OF THE ROUTE. NO ROAD MAP. JUST A BLIND VENTURE INTO THE UNKNOWN. MORE LIKE AN ADVENTURE. THE GOOD THING IS: YOU’VE GOT A DESTINATION IN MIND. AS MUCH AS IT IS UP TO ME, I’LL OFFER GUIDANCE.”

“As much as it is up to you? I’m only making moves because I’m trailing your voice. How can it not be up to you to offer me guidance all the way? If you hadn’t spoken to me, I’d be stuck.”

“WELL, FOR STATERS, I DIDN’T GUIDE YOU HERE. YOU WERE DRAWN HERE BY YOUR DEEPEST HEART’S YEARNINGS. ZEAL. PASSIONS. THE SAME SHOULD GUIDE YOU THROUGH. BUT THEN, YOU SEEM LOST. UNCERTAIN WHERE YOU ARE OR HOW YOU GOT HERE. EVEN STUCK—IF NOT HELPED. GOOD FOR YOU, AN ASSESSMENT OF YOUR MOTIVE HAS EARNED YOU A DEGREE OF GUIDANCE WHERE NECESSARY. YOU’LL BE HEARING MORE OR LESS FROM ME—DEPENDING ON THE LEGITIMACY OF YOUR PERCEIVED VIRTUOUS MOTIVE.”

“Uhm, can I ask you a question?”

“NO. YOUR HEART IS FULL OF QUESTIONS WHOSE ANSWERS CAN ONLY BE DISCOVERED, NOT ANSWERED. BURIED AT DIFFERENT POINTS IN THIS ADVENTURE ARE THE ANSWERS YOU SEEK. DEPENDING ON THE STATE OF YOUR HEART AND THE GENUINENESS OF YOUR INTENTIONS, YOU’LL DIG THEM OUT AND ADVANCE YOUR COURSE TILL YOU REACH YOUR JOURNEY'S END: HEAVEN. BUT LIKE I SAID, NARROW IS THE WAY THAT LEADS TO LIFE. YOU CHOSE THE NARROW PATH. NOW, WALK THROUGH IT. GOD’S SPEED.”

“Wait! Wait, please! One more thing. You’re there? Hello? Hello??”

“SPEAK.”

“What’s this place? And how do I go on without your voice to trail?”

“FOLLOW YOUR HEART. AS FOR THIS PLACE… THIS PLACE… UNTIL YOU MAKE IT OUT, YOU’LL NEVER REALLY KNOW WHAT THIS PLACE IS. BUT IF IT’S ANYTHING TO YOU, YOU CAN REFER TO THIS PLACE AS ‘TERRA INCOGNITA.’”

“Terra Incognita? What does that mean?”

“AN UNKNOWN AND UNEXPLORED REGION…NOW YOURS TO EXPLORE; AS YOU WISHED TO. I’LL BE WAITING SOMEWHERE AHEAD FOR YOU. IF YOU NEVER HEAR FROM ME AGAIN, KNOW FOR CERTAIN THAT YOU’VE BEEN STUCK.”

“Stuck? I could be stuck here? Wait a minute, are there people stuck here? Why did they get stuck? What did they do? Hello? Give me some hints. What’s your name? Hello?? Hello??”

THOUGHTS

“I didn’t bargain for this. How could I come here job-hunting? Oh, not job-hunting. I was drawn… drawn here … by my deepest heart’s yearnings, zeal, passions. What’s that? How could… how’s that possible? And, my destination is heaven? Heaven? Of course, heaven is the goal. But how can this be the pathway to heaven? I can’t even recall how I got here. Now I’ve got to follow my heart out of here? To heaven? What’s this for Christ’s sake! What’s this! And what’s this saggy underpants I’m wearing. Why is it dirty? Why is it saggy? And my body…dirt all over. I need to take a shower. I’m thirsty too. Is there water here? Is there anything here?

“Oh my! I’m going crazy! I’ve got to be out of here before I suffocate. I need to make a call. I need to call someone. Yes! Where’s my phone? Oh no! I’ve got nothing on me… nothing except this filthy white saggy underpants! Did I get leaner? Or is it just oversized? It wouldn’t cling to my waist. So I’ve got to hold on to it—to keep its grip, else it’ll fall off and I’ll have to go on naked. What’s the difference anyways? What good can some dirtied white saggy and reproachable underpants do in covering the body? The body? The body? That’s just funny, isn’t it? Very funny!

“Who would I be concealing my unclothedness from? There’s no one here for all I care! Just me and these thoughts. Oh, he said there are others. Who is he? Who are the others? How did they get here? Yes! yes! That’s it! The others! I’ve got to find them. I’ve got to! I need to talk to someone. But how do I find someone? Where do I go from here? In what direction? It’s dark. It’s gloomy. It’s scary. I’m losing my mind…even close to tears. What has happened to me? Can I reverse this? Can I go back in time and alter my heart’s yearnings and zeal and passions so I wouldn’t have to thread this path? What can I do to change this fate? Oh, Lord!

“Was I too forward to see forever from yesterday? Did I outrun my shadow? I certainly did. If not, it would at least have been a companion here, though unhelpful. As for forever, this could just be mine if I get stuck. I hope I don’t. I hope I don’t. And what about yesterday? I’d give anything to go back to yesterday. Wait a minute? Yesterday? Yes, yesterday! What about yesterday? I surely can’t go back to yesterday. But there must be something about yesterday that would explain today… this moment… this path… this journey. What about yesterday?”

-----

YESTERDAY

“I’d conceded the quest. I’d gone back to living life to the fullest while keeping tabs with happenings. I’d gone back to reading, digging, searching, self-development, to all that would help prepare me for the future. I’d resolved to take another shot at the quest…sometime later! I’d decided that until such a time, I’d be dedicated to upgrading myself, to be better equipped to seize opportunities when they come along. I was going to be busy learning everything learnable, discovering everything discoverable, searching everything searchable, especially scriptures, having observed that the wisest man to have walked the earth had been in my position, burdened with a glorious purpose of leading a great people and wasn’t overwhelmed like I was.

“Almost immediately after his father (king David) passed away and he (Solomon) took over the throne of Israel, he gave an order to all the officers in charge of units of a thousand/hundred men, all the government officials, all the heads of families, and everyone else; commanding them to go with him to the place of worship at Gibeon. They went there because that was where the tent of the Lord's presence was located. Solomon had a thousand animals killed and offered as a sacrifice to God. That very night, God appeared to him and asked what he (Solomon) would like Him (God) to do for him. These were Solomon’s exact words:”

“…o Lord God, you have let me succeed my father as king, even though I am very young and don't know how to rule. Here I am among the people you have chosen to be your own, a people who are so many that they cannot be counted. Give me the wisdom I need to rule your people with justice and to know the difference between good and evil. Otherwise, how would I ever be able to rule these great people of yours?”

“Pleased with Solomon’s request and the motive behind that request, God answered him thus: ‘because you have asked for the wisdom to rule justly, instead of long life for yourself, or riches, or the death of your enemies, I will do what you have asked. I will give you more wisdom and understanding than anyone has ever had before, or will ever have again. I will also give you what you have not asked for. All your life, you will have wealth and honor, more than that of any other king. And if you obey me and keep my laws and commands; as your father David did, I will give you a long life.’ Yes! That’s it! Those are the last moments of yesterday that I can recall. Oh no, there’s more. I remember some more. Not some. Many!

“I’d set out to replicate that event and become a wise man in the order of King Solomon. I seemed quite sure I’d make that happen sooner than later; that God would also get to ask what I want and I’d reply like Solomon. Yes! Yes! Yes! Though I’d at some point considered myself to be under the illusion that good things do come from Nazareth, I’d nonetheless doubted if I was really under an illusion because good does indeed come out of Nazareth. Isn’t Nazareth known to have birthed the best treasure the world has ever been blessed with? Jesus of Nazareth; the Son of the living God. Yes! I remember. I do! But what has that got to do with any of this? Was that supposed to plunge me into this path? With saggy underpants? Unbathed?

“Something is not adding up. Did I do like Solomon? Had I sacrificed a thousand animals? Did I receive an open cheque in a dream—like Solomon? To fill in whatever my heart longed for? Wait a minute, did I just say ‘whatever my heart longed for?’ Isn’t that what the… the… I don’t know his name. He wouldn’t say. But hadn’t he mentioned that I was drawn here by the deepest longings of my heart? By my zeal? My passion? Oh no! This has got to be a dream! Is this a blank cheque? Could this be a dream—like Solomon’s? Am I supposed to write my heart’s deepest longings on it? Wait. Where’s the cheque? How do I do that? How do I… How…?”

“WELL DONE!”

Who’s there? Who’s there? Show yourself!

“WELL DONE INDEED! YOU IMPRESS ME. I DIDN’T THINK WE’D SPEAK AGAIN THIS SOON.”

“Is that you?”

“YES. NOW THAT YOU’VE CRACKED THE FIRST CODE, YOU’VE EARNED SOME MORE GUIDANCE. AND YOU DON’T HAVE TO WORRY TOO MUCH ABOUT YOUR SAGGY UNDERPANTS AND UNBATHED BODY. YOU’VE CLEANED UP.”

“I’ve cleaned up? How? Wait a minute. My body is all cleaned up! And my underpants isn’t dirty anymore! What’s this? What happened?”

“THE MORE CODES YOU CRACK; THE BETTER YOU GET…UNTIL YOU BECOME ALL YOU HAVE CONCEIVED IN YOUR HEART TO BECOME. AND YES, THIS IS YOUR BLANK CHEQUE. YOU EARNED IT. WRITE ON IT WHATEVER YOUR HEART CRAVES. I MUST ADVISE THOUGH, BE CAREFUL NOT TO GET GREEDY. THAT’S HOW YOU GET STUCK. YOUR HEART’S DEEPEST LONGINGS WILL PREVAIL NONETHELESS. THERE’S NOTHING YOU CAN DO ABOUT THAT. FOR YOUR GOOD, I HOPE YOUR MOTIVE WAS RIGHT FROM THE START.”

“I… You…What… What now?”

“ON TO THE NEXT ONE. THERE’S A BANQUET AHEAD…GRACED WILL ALL MANNER OF DELICACIES…A BUFFET. YOU MUST BE HUNGRY. GET THERE AND SERVE YOURSELF.”

“Really? Wow! Great! I’m dying of thirst already, though I don’t feel hungry. But with such a table set before me, hunger is just around the corner. Haha.”

“GOD’S SPEED, THEN.”

“Please wait. My underpants is still saggy. It’s now sparkling white and my body is sanitized. But… but… am I supposed to grace a place like that with just underpants? How about clothes? Can I get some clothes…to cover my body? I’m naked. There are going to be people there, right? right? Hello? Hello?? Oh, he’s gone. How he just vanishes without warning! Urghhh!”

DISQUIETUDE

“A journey of a million miles begins with a step. This journey might be well over a million miles. Have I even taken a step yet? It doesn’t feel like I have. I’ve got this blank cheque that I’m supposed to write my deepest heart’s cravings on. Is this how it works? Really? Didn’t God simply appear to Solomon in a dream with a question he only had to answer with a few words? What’s with this deepest heart’s cravings? Not to mention that I could get stuck! I don’t know what next to do. There’s a buffet ahead? Where? How’s my heart supposed to lead me there. Am I supposed to pick the aroma of food and trail it to the banquet? Where do I start?

“This place is dark. Apart from trailing the voice, every step I take is like a walk in the wilderness. Wait. Wilderness? Is that what this place is? A wilderness? Yes! It must be! A wilderness! Oh my God, I made to the wilderness. I’ve only ever heard and read of this place. Now I’m here! How do I navigate along a wilderness? I’ve got no compass. Nothing to give me a sort of direction. Oh no, there I go again. Even if I did have a compass, how would I see and grasp direction from it? It’s black darkness here! But how I come I can see this white underpants despite the darkness? Even when it was all dirtied, I could see it, yet I can’t see anything else?

“This must be a mysterious wilderness…an Island. Nothing I’ve heard or read about before. This better not be where I get stuck because it’s been a similitude of ages since the buffet was mentioned. Yet, I’m nowhere close to trailing it. God! This better not be where I get stuck! My heart! My heart! My deepest longings! My zeal! My passion! Lord help me! Please! Wait!

“yesterday.”

“What? What was that? Yesterday? Did I just hear ‘yesterday?’ Was that my heart? My deepest longing? My zeal? My passion? Yes! That was my heart! My deepest longing! Wait. I long for yesterday? How? I don’t understand. Yesterday? Seriously? Oh my! That’s how I cracked the first code. Yes! Yesterday! I have to recall some more events from yesterday. Erm, where do I start from this time? Was there more after the last occurrence I recollected? I recalled up to the blank cheque. What happened after then? Nothing significant that I can think of. I’d left the scene after conceding the quest. Wait a sec…the quest! I conceded! That was very shortly before the blank cheque. Something happened before the concession. What?”

“Uproar! Yes! Uproar! Uproar 2023! That’s it! That’s what happened! The people! They pounced on me on account of my inexperience! Mad masses, fuming with toxic desperateness for the dawning of a new era I’d promised—but failed to deliver despite my excellent oratory in the promise-making. I was forced to concede. There was no other option. The uproar was becoming deafening! Even assuming violent dimensions. Word battering wherever I turned. I’d disappointed many who believed in me. I’d betrayed many trusts. Belittled the effort of many whose shoulders I stood upon—to stand a chance in the race…in the first place.

“Broke many loving hearts. Dishonored many predecessors. Transgressed many laws. Lightly esteemed the gift of men. Wounded many souls. What a monster I’d been. I’d become so self-exultant. Prideful. Haughty. Demeaning. Condescending. Narcissistic. Impelled by greed. Boastful. Arrogant. Reviling. Disobedient. Ungrateful. Profane. Unloving. Calloused. Inhumane. Irreconcilable. Brutal. Reckless. Conceited. Toxic. What a monster I’d become! Little wonder the offense… the clap backs… the retaliation… the uproar. Yes! The uproar! Uproar 2023! The uproar that plunged me into this dangerous adventure. It was the uproar!

“But how? I don’t remember a thing about how that happened. Like a bad dream, I seemed to have closed my eyes…only to open them and find myself in an unknown zone. This unknown zone. This Terra Incognita. What am I to do now? These memories are coming back to me. but what am I to do with them? How do I use them to navigate myself out of here? I want out of here! I want out of here really fast! This is not a good place! I could get stuck! Can I give back the cheque? I want to go back to my past life. To forget about my heart’s longings and zeal and cravings. I want to go back to my past life. How do I get back? How do I get out? How do I? How…

“Did I just hear something? Voices? Did I just hear voices? Voices! Those are voices! Voices indeed! Dissenting voices! Wild chants! Weeping! Lamentations! Confrontations! Vehement threats! Fights! Struggles! Possible deaths. An uproar? An uproar! Where’s that place? It’s not far from here. The voices are closing in, intensifying with each passing minute, each second, strengthening slowly, steadily. Wait, it’s here! It’s them! The people! The uproar! I see them! Some furious! Some troubled. Some wild! Some weak. Some brutal! Some exhausted. Some with a sense of satisfaction. Some disappointed. I see people! Familiar people! People I know!

“This is magical! I’m not advancing towards them; neither are they towards me. Yet we’re closing in on each other. Oh my God! My underpants! I’ve only got this saggy underpants on me! Can they see me? They better not see me like this! It will be such a shame! I must hide! Hide! Where? No hiding place here. I can only hope they don’t see me. How’s that possible? I see them. How can they not see me? Wait, what’s that? Laughter? They’re laughing…at me. They see! They see me! Oh, God! What’s this? They’re pointing…pointing fingers…at me! This doesn’t look good! What’s that look on their faces? Resentment? Anger? Hate? Ill-will? Enmity? Gosh!

“What’s that other look on other faces? Pity? Sympathy? Compassion? There’s this other look on other faces: that of fulfillment, joy, ridicule, mockery, treachery, satisfaction. Goodness me! Look there! I know those people! I know those other people! I know many people there! Old school friends. Old work acquaintances. Old neighbors. Many who fall into the category of ‘old’ and ‘former.’ Hadn’t we lost touch? Hadn’t life dispersed us in different routes? What’s that scornful look on many of their faces? What’s that thrill? I do not suppose they are happy to see me again. Doesn’t look like it. Oh, it’s my underpants! My underpants! My saggy underpants! How come we can see each other despite the darkness. This is a really mysterious place.

“They see me! They see me! Shame! Look! I know the others too! My new acquaintances! My present comrades too! Look! I know the others! We aren’t close! Have never conversed. Just innocent exchange of pleasantries at best! And the others? Who are they? I don’t know them! But they seem to know me! They seem equally resentful, angry, hateful, treacherous, pitiful. They share the same feelings as the ones I know. There’s unity amongst them. An amoral unity…one that can neither accommodate me nor would—if it could. Look! They’re throwing stones! They’re throwing stones…at me! It’s not safe here anymore! I must get out! I must get out now! Wait, the stones…the stones…they aren’t getting to me. They aren’t.

“The stones aren’t getting to me. But I don’t feel any less stoned. The stoning is relentless. If it got to me, I’d be dead by now. Wait. Dead? Death? Is that what they want? They want me dead? Why? Why? For goodness sake, why? What’s going on? What’s all this? Did I wrong all these people? I don’t know 98% of them! How could I have wronged them? So why do they want me…why do they want me…want me…dead…dead? Look there! The others! The pitiful ones. The sympathetic ones. The compassionate ones. I can tell from the look on their faces that they want to help. Somehow, it seems they can’t. I know some. I don’t know most. How did all these people come to know me? Why do they all have their eyes fixed on me?

“Look, there are others! Neither hostile nor friendly. Not exactly caring about me…or my saggy underpants…or my shame. They seem overwhelmed with…overwhelmed with issues…their issues. Do I go to these people and perhaps strike a conversation? Ask some questions? Gain clarity? Possibly get things settled and march along as one to the banquet. Yes! The banquet! They would like that! There’s no food here, and they seem to have been here for long…long before I came along. Are they stuck here or something? They must be hungry. Telling them about the banquet is likely to calm their nerves and put me in their good books, though I lack knowledge of how I made it to their bad books. It’s worth a try, instead of just standing here.

“Jeez! What was that? What did I just run into? A wall? A wall! An invisible wall! Oh, there’s a wall between us! I see. No wonder the stones didn’t get to me. What are they doing now? Laughing? Laughing at me? For running into a wall? Is this how much ill these people wish me? Even the littlest misconduct on my part triggers a forced amusement from them? What would have been my fate—had they not been a wall between us? Death! Death! Certainly death! But wait, is this life? This place, is it a habitation of the living? There’s no one here but me. The company I thought I’d found here, turns out not be be here. They’re somewhere else…watching…watching me…here…alone…alone. What’s happening? What is this place?

“I guess I’ll just have to be on my way to that banquet…get something to eat, though I’m not hungry. That’s strange. I’m not hungry. How come? Just thirsty. Not hungry. As I said, the sight of the free food is likely to stir hunger. Definitely. I just need to get away from these people. They’re relentless. They wouldn’t take a break from the taunting, the ridicule, the mockery, the banter! This is overwhelming! If I spend one more moment here, I might have a nervous breakdown. The toxicity is beyond suffocating! It shrinks my soul within me. Wait! Isn’t that their aim? To shrink my soul? With toxicity? Overwhelm me! And get me stuck here? That’s it! That’s it! I must move along immediately! Jeez! What did I do to these people?

“Looks like no matter where I run, I can’t seem to elude the prying eyes of this carnivorous audience. Thank God they’re not all the same. I can spot the Samaritans among them. The good Samaritans. They’ve been making subtle gestures all along. I don’t seem to understand. More like they’re trying to show me something…something I’m not seeing. Something I’m not paying attention to seeing. My focus has been on the toxic ones all the while. Could that be why I’m not reading the signs? Are they signs or just random gestures? I’ll have to pay more attention to find out. Yeah. I see that. I see that again. Indeed, I see that again. Wait! Look! The toxic ones. They’re now gesturing. They’re gesturing too!

“What are they saying? What are they all saying? I don’t understand. The toxic ones now seem to be less toxic and make the same gestures as the Samaritans. They’re even now looking like the Samaritans. And look! Some Samaritans have become toxic! What? Like, seriously? Look! I’m noticing something strange. There’s this sect among them, alternating between toxicity and Samaritan. What is this? Illusion! Delusion! Deception! Just when I thought I’d encountered well-wishers, this happens? Look! Among them—another sect. neither here nor there. Indifferent. Observers. A neutral audience. The expression on their faces betrays their indifference. A motive is reflected thereof, an undecipherable motive, to never be trusted. Look again! Another sect! Universal in their dealings. No alternations among them.

“There’s consistent uniformity in their gesturing. Look! They’re trying to tell me something! They’re all saying the same thing! It’s hard to decipher. I should go left? Left? Is that it? No? right? which one is it? Left or right? Gosh! This is backbreaking…an arduous task! But it’s my only hope. I’ve got to find a way to decipher the gestures. I’ve got to. I’ve got to. It’s my only hope. Better to be on the move while doing so, than get stuck here trying to decipher the gestures. Who knows how long it’s going to take. I need to move…move, now. All these eyes on me! Aren’t they ever going to get them off me? Not even for a moment? I must be deemed a sort of a wanted criminal…otherwise, why the keenly fixated aggrieved gaze?

“I wish I’d get to the banquet already. It’s cold out here…with these people. I need some solace. Some good energy. Something to shake off the weight of this toxicity, possibly hide from these prying eyes. Where’s the banquet for crying out loud! This is too much for me. I can’t take it anymore. It was much better when I was all alone. But I craved company. Now I have company, and the one thing I now crave is solitude. That doesn’t look like a possibility. Will I just have to cope with all these eyes on me? For how long? How long? Am I stuck already? Is this how one gets stuck? Are they others on this side who are stuck? The voice said there are. Where could that be? Far away? Nearby? Around the corner? Where?

“Look! The gestures…the gestures by the true Samaritans who are all trying to tell me the same thing. No, they are not trying to tell me something. They are trying to show me something. Yes! They’re showing me something. I get it now! Yes! To the right. To the left. Turn around. Few steps forward. Wait. Seriously? What’s this? A dead-end? Did they direct me to a dead end? Why would they do that? I thought they… look, they’re showing me something else. Showing me… no… not showing. They’re now telling me something. What’s that? What are they saying? Bend… bend… bend over! Yes! Bend over! Bend… oh my God!

“It wasn’t a dead end. It has a passageway down below. They want me to go in there. What’s in there? It looks even darker in there. It could be dangerous. I can’t go in there. But they… they’re seriously urging me to go in there. Are they trying to get me stuck here or something? On second thoughts, ain’t I already stuck? I don’t even know where to go from here. They look like good people…the best of them all. They wouldn’t be leading me into a trap, would they? I don’t know…I don’t know. I’m confused. Then again, what other options do I have? Something must kill a man. If this is what kills me, so be it. Hey unknown, here I come!”

THE ENCOUNTER

“What in the world is this place? Who are all these people down here? Children! Teenagers! Young adults! Adults! Fathers! Mothers! Grannies! Who are these people? Why are they here? Wait. This is what the good Samaritans wanted me to see. Yes! These people! Who are they? Can they see me? Why are they all gloomy? Sad. Dispirited. Lamentable. Seemingly lifeless. Who are they? Can they see me? I should show myself and try to get to know them. Oh, there’s a problem. This saggy underpants of mine. I can’t afford to bear another round of reproach. Wait. The saggy underpants. It’s not saggy anymore. It grips tightly to my waist.

“Wait. What? I now have short pants on…covering down to a little above my knee? Goodness me! My covering has been upgraded from mere underpants to short pants. How? When? Where? At what point? Did I… did I…do something to earn this? What? I’m yet to find the banquet. So how come about this upgrade? Did I… was it… was it the… the… the…”

“CONGRATULATIONS.”

“Oh, dear! Mr. Voice! Is that you again? You startled me!”

“I SEE YOU’VE EARNED YOURSELF SHORT PANTS AND NO LONGER HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT unclothedness AND REPROACH.”

“Yes, I have. I indeed have! I just don’t know how, when where, and why.”

“YOU EARNED IT THE MOMENT YOU WALKED THROUGH THAT PASSAGEWAY. IT’S A GOOD THING YOU PAID ATTENTION TO LEADING OF THE ONES YOU CALL SAMARITANS.”

“You’ve been watching me all these while? And you wouldn’t say a thing? Despite my dilemma?”

“RULES ARE RULES AND MUST BE FOLLOWED. I LOVE YOUR SHORT PANTS. SPARKLING WHITE. JUST LIKE YOUR UNDERPANTS. AND I SEE YOUR UNDERPANTS ISN’T SAGGY ANYMORE. NO MORE REPROACH INDEED.”

“Indeed. But what about my bare body? No shirt. What about my feet? No shoes. Normally, I step out of my dwelling fully dressed…fondly with a black pair of trousers, a sparkling white shirt, a sophisticated wrist watch, a classic pair of shoes, a nice perfume…with designer undergarments. Compared to that, I feel very naked in this sparkling white short pants.

“WOULD YOU RATHER GO BACK TO THE INITIAL DIRTY SAGGY UNDERPANTS?”

“No! No! Never!”

“I THOUGHT SO TOO. IT’S TIME TO FORGE AHEAD. THERE’S A BUFFET AWAITING YOU. REMEMBER, TICK SAYS THE CLOCK. YOU DON’T HAVE FOREVER TO COMPLETE THIS QUEST, YOU KNOW. THAT’S WHAT HAPPENED TO THESE PEOPLE YOU SEE HERE. JUST LIKE YOU, THEY WERE DRAWN HERE BY THE DEEPEST OF THEIR HEART’S LONGINGS. BUT THE MOTIVE BEHIND THEIR LONGINGS WAS ULTERIOR. SO THEY COULDN’T GET THROUGH. THEY GOT STUCK. OVER TIME, THEIR NUMBER KEPT ACCUMULATING.”

“Did you say ‘over the years?’ They’re too many people here. It couldn’t have taken just years for them to come down here one by one. It must have taken decades. Even centuries!”

“YOU MAY BE RIGHT. BUT THEY DIDN’T COME HERE ONE AFTER THE OTHER. EACH ENTRY HAD A LEADER AND FOLLOWERS. WHAT YOU SEE HERE IS A SUMMATION OF DIFFERENT GROUPS OF LEADERS AND FOLLOWERS. ONCE THE LEADERS GOT STUCK, SO DID THE FOLLOWERS. SOME LEADERS WERE INTENTIONAL ABOUT IT. SOME WEHRE CAJOLED INTO IT. SOME WERE TRICKED INTO IT BY THE DECEITFULNESS OF THEIR HEARTS…AND AVARICE. IT’S THE FOLLOWERS WHO ARE OBLIVIOUS OF IT ALL…LIKE MERE SHEEP.”

“I don’t understand. If that’s the case, I should have had company from the start. I suppose—you talking to me and offering guidance makes me a leader. And if each entry comprises a leader and followers, where are my… my… followers. I’ve been alone on this all the while.”

“ARE YOU SURE ABOUT THAT?”

“Oh yes! I know it like a pastor knows the Word.”

“I SEE. WHEN LAST DID YOU LOOK BEHIND YOU?”

“Behind me? Why would I look behind me? I’m looking for a way of here, and that way is before me. So I never look behind. I press forward.”

“MAYBE YOU SHOULD LOOK BEHIND THIS ONCE.”

“Look behind this once? If you say so…………oh God! Oh, God!! Oh God!!! Who are all these people??”

“THOSE ARE YOUR FOLLOWERS. THEY HAVE BEEN TRAILING YOUR EVERY STEP ALL ALONG. IF YOU GET STUCK, THEY GET STUCK. IF YOU MAKE IT OUT, THEY MAKE IT OUT. IF YOUR UNDERPANTS IS SAGGY, THEIRS IS SAGGY TOO. IF YOU GET UPGRADED TO SHORT PANTS, THEY GET UPGRADED TOO.”

“Jesus Christ!”

“YOU’VE DONE WELL THUS FAR. YOU NEED TO GO FIND THAT BANQUET NOW. THERE’S MORE THAN ENOUGH ON THE TABLE FOR YOU AND THEM. YOU GET TO SERVE YOURSELVES. THE OPEN CHEQUE YOU EARNED ISN’T JUST FOR YOU. IT’S FOR YOU AND THEM. NOW, GO AND DO WHAT YOU MUST. THE CLOCK IS THICKING. WAIT AROUND LONG ENOUGH AND YOU MIGHT GET STUCK TOO.”

“Wait a minute. Don’t go yet, please.”

“WHAT NOW?”

“What about these other people. They’ve been stuck here for God knows how long. I can’t seem to bear passing them by. Is there something that can be done for them? I suppose they don’t want to be here anymore than I do. But it seems they’ve run out of time and can’t help it. Can I do anything to help? This is not a good place for anyone to be. Something I can do to help?

“OF COURSE. BUT LIKE I’VE ALWAYS TOLD YOU, EVERYTHING HERE DEPENDS ON THE LEGITIMACY OF YOUR DEEPEST HEART’S LONGINGS. IF THE MOTIVE BEHIND YOUR WANTING TO OFFER THIS HELP IS BORNE OUT OF GENUINE CONCERN…AND IF THIS CONCERN HAD ALWAYS BEEN ACCOMMODATED IN YOUR HEART, EVEN WHEN YOU HADN’T BECOME CONSCIOUS OF IT, THEN IT WILL BE TO THEM ACCORDING TO YOUR HEART’S DESIRE. BUT IF THERE’S ANYTHING FOUL BEHIND YOUR CONCERN, WHATEVER IT MAY BE, YOU’LL IMMEDIATELY GET STUCK HERE WITH THEM. YOU AND YOURS. SO, THINK TWICE BEFORE YOU OPEN THAT DOOR. THERE’S NO GOING BACK.”

“Trust me, I don’t have to think twice. I know what I’ve been through to get this far since I was drawn down here. I can imagine what it’s like to be stuck down here for ages. Why should my concern over the plight of these people be anything short of genuine? The memory will haunt me if I pass them by and make it out of here…especially if there’s something I can do to help. Tell me, what must I do?”

“HAVING HEARD AND UNDERSTOOD THE TERMS OF WHAT YOU ASK, ALL YOU NEED DO IS GIVE YOUR CONSENT, AND IT WILL BE TO YOU ACCORDING TO YOUR HEART.”

“I do. I give… I give my consent.”

“WELL THEN. GIVE IT A LITTLE TIME, AND THE OUTCOME WILL BE MADE KNOWN TO YOU. WHILE WE WAIT, I’VE GOT SOME QUESTIONS FOR YOU.”

“Wow. Do you ask questions too? Amazing! I thought I was the only questionnaire around here. Well then, fire on! I won’t hesitate to dish out answers. I pray I have them.

“HOW DID YOU BECOME THE LEADER OF ALL THESE PEOPLE?”

“Yes! How did I become the leader of all these people? I was going to ask you the same thing! I don’t know! Why don’t you tell me?”

“HAHAHA….”

“Look! Look!”

“WHAT?”

“The people! Everyone! Something has happened to them! They’re not dull and weighed down and dispirited and dressed in rags anymore! Their clothes have changed! Look! They’ve got shoes too! Their bodies have been sanitized! They’ve become cheerful. Not mute anymore! Something has happened to them! Look! Look!”

“YOU CHANNEL ALL YOUR FOCUS ON OTHER PEOPLE AND FORGET TO LOOK AT YOURSELF TOO.”

“Myself? My… Oh my God! I’ve got a pair of black trousers on me! And a sparkling white shirt, just as I love it! See, I’ve got a pair of shoes too! I’ve been upgraded!”

“TAKE A LOOK AT YOUR FOLLOWERS.”

“Oh, Gooood! this is adorable! Everyone has been clothed with beautiful attires! So beautiful. Different outfits for different people!”

“YES. THEY HAVE BEEN CLAD IN ACCORDANCE WITH THEIR FAVOURITE WEARS, AS DISCOVERED FROM THE DEPTH OF THEIR HEARTS. WHEN YOU GET TO THE BANQUET—IF YOU MAKE IT—THE SAME WILL BE THE CASE. YOU’LL ALL SERVE YOURSELVES ACCORDING TO THE DEEPEST LONGINGS OF YOUR HEARTS. YOU MAY NOT LIKE THIS PLACE. BUT ONE BEAUTIFUL THING ABOUT THIS PLACE IS THAT IT SEARCHES THE CORE OF A PERSON’S HEART AND REWARDS THEM WITH WHATEVER IT FINDS THEREIN. WHEN YOU DESIRE CERTAIN HEIGHTS IN LIFE THAT ARE BEYOND THE USUAL, THAT DESIRE DRAWS YOU HERE TO GET YOUR HEART TESTED, TO ENSURE THERE IS NO MALEVOLENCY IN YOUR QUEST. THE WORLD IS WEARY OF MALEVOLENT STARS AND MALIGNANT INFLUENCE. WE NEED SOME GOOD OUT THERE.”

“We? Did you say ‘we?’ You know, you haven’t introduced yourself to me. It seems like we have something in common…like a sort of common interest. You want to talk about it?”

“RUN ALONG NOW. YOU HAVE TO LOCATE THE BANQUET SOON ENOUGH. THE CLOCK IS THICKING. YOU NOW HAVE ALL THESE PEOPLE IN YOUR CARE. WHATEVER BECOMES OF YOU—BECOMES OF THEM. YOU’VE COME SO FAR AND DONE SO WELL. DON’T LOSE IT ALL WITH A SINGLE WRONG MOVE. TRY NOT TO BE ENAMOURED WITH YOUR SUCCESS THUS FAR. YOU’RE NOT THERE YET. IF YOU’VE NOTICED, YOUR UPGRADE OF CLOTHING DOESN’T INCLUDE ALL YOU LISTED. YOU NOW HAVE A PAIR OF TROUSERS AND SHOES AND A SPARKLING WHITE SHIRT—JUST AS YOU LOVE IT. BUT NO WRISTWATCH YET. NO PERFUME…AND THE OTHER ELEMENTS THAT MAKES YOUR DRESSING COMPLETE. THE SAME IS THE CASE WITH EVERYONE ELSE. YOU MUST KEEP ADVANCING TO KEEP UPGRADING. IT ALL DEPENDS ON YOU. GO FIND THAT BUFFET. I’LL BE WAITING FOR YOU SOMEWHERE AHEAD.”

“Wait, please! Could you please give me a hint on how to go about finding the buffet? I don’t see a way out of here apart from the passageway through which I came in. And out there is a mass of toxic ill-wishers with a strong desire to sabotage my course. I can’t afford to get back into their view. It’s been so soothing to have eluded their prying eyes.”

“WHO TOLD YOU SO?”

“I know so. I mean, I haven’t seen them since I got in here.”

“AND YOU’RE SURE THEIR PRYING EYES GOT OFF YOU THE MOMENT YOU GOT IN HERE?”

“Yes! Look there! There’s nothi… What? Is that them? They’re still watching? Even beyond these walls?”

“IF I WERE YOU, I’D FOCUS MORE ON THAT BUFFET. IT HOLDS MORE PROMISES FOR YOU AND ALL THESE PEOPLE THAN THOSE PRYING EYES YOU SEEM TO CARE SO MUCH ABOUT.”

“They’re not all toxic. A group of them directed me to this place. Otherwise, I most likely wouldn’t have made it here.”

“THEN YOU SHOULD FOCUS ON THAT GROUP. WHO KNOWS. THEY COULD GIVE YOU HEADS-UP ON YOUR NEXT LINE OF ACTION.”

“That’s true. I see them now. They’re pointing upwards. What’s upward? The sky. They’re pointing to the sky. What about the sky? Am I supposed to fly up there? With what?”

“I’LL BE WAITING FOR YOU SOMEWHERE AHEAD. GOD’S SPEED.”

“Oh, how I wish someone would just tell me clearly what to do. I know how it gets when figuring out what next to do. And now I’ve got all these people depending on the shots I call. I can’t afford to goof! God help me. Those good Samaritans. They keep pointing to the sky. What’s up there? The birds? How is a bird supposed to help? Or, is it about to rain? The rain would get us soaked and would ruin our new clothing. I don’t think so. Look! They’re joining their hands together now, as though praying. Praying? Praying. They point upwards and then join their hands together as though praying. Oh, oh, oh, I get it! I get it now! It’s God. It’s God they’re drawing my attention to. They want me to pray to God. Excellent! Excellent! Prayer!

“Erm, erm, I’ve got a problem here. What am I supposed to pray about? Ask God to show me where the buffet is? Since I got here, I’ve been praying to be taken out of here. Turns out I can’t be taken out of here. I have to find my way out, and finding the buffet is one of the means of finding my way out. What then am I to pray about? I can’t think of anything. But the good Samaritans, they’re insisting I pray. Oh, look! Now they’re pointing to their heads. What does that mean? Pointing to their heads? What’s it with the head? Knowledge? Sense? Wisdom? Yes! Yes! Wisdom! Look! They’re giving me thumbs up. It’s wisdom! I need to pray for wisdom! Excellent! Oh no! You’ve got to be kidding me! Isn’t that what the wise King Solomon filled in his blank cheque after he sacrificed a thousand animals and got offered the cheque?

“Wait. After he sacrificed a thousand animals, right? He offered a sacrifice. A thousand animals. In return, he got a blank cheque from God, and he filled wisdom in that cheque. Pleased with his choice, God added everything else he didn’t ask for. Yes! I must emulate Solomon. I recall that during uproar 2023—after conceding the quest—I’d resolved that I’d go back learning everything learnable, discovering everything discoverable, searching everything searchable, especially scriptures, having observed that the wisest man to have walked the earth, this same king Solomon, had been in my position, burdened with a glorious purpose of leading a great people—the people of God—the Israelites; and wasn’t overcome.

“Almost immediately after his father passed away and he took over the throne of Israel and had a thousand animals killed and offered as a sacrifice to God. That very night, God appeared to him and asked what he would like Him to do for him. And Solomon asked for wisdom. I’m doing the same thing right away! It’s has always been in my heart to do this…to replicate the same event and make the same request. Now, the time has come for me to do so. But…but… there’s a problem. Where do I get a thousand animals to offer as a sacrifice? Even if there are a thousand animals to offer, is God still in the business of animal sacrifice. Oh no!

“In this time and age, what God desires is that every man comes to the knowledge of Him. Isn’t that the motivation behind the great commission? That the gospel of the kingdom be preached to the farthest ends of the earth? And that souls be harvested in preparation for the second coming of Christ? That’s it! That’s it! Souls! Souls! What God desires is souls…the souls of men. Yes! Souls! The best sacrifice to offer to God in these times is the souls of men. Oh dear, how fortunate I am! Here are men with me, men I never thought I’d encounter, not in a place like this. But now we’re here together, supposedly stuck, but not for long anymore.

“I must get these men to offer their lives to God…since they are no animals without a will of their own. Besides, the sacrifice that God finds acceptable is that which comes from a willing heart. I must persuade these men to turn their lives over to God right away…and hopefully, God will appear and ask what I want, then I’ll ask for wisdom. And with that wisdom, we will navigate our way out of here! Perfect! Perfect plan! Now, over these men…and women.

“Hello, ladies and gentlemen. Would you be kind enough to give me your attention for a moment? I’ve got a proposition for you that will get us out of this God-forsaken place in no time. I have a reason to believe we’re very close to exiting this place. But there’s something we need to acquire to advance towards that exit, and it will take all of us to acquire that thing. I do not suppose that any of us wants to spend one more moment here after all this time of being stuck here helplessly. Therefore, if we all subscribe to what I’m about to propose, our long-denied longing to leave this place will be fulfilled soon enough. Are you with me? Do you understand? Am I communicating at all? Hello? Hello everyone? Ladies and gentlemen?

“Oh, Lord! Is this what it appears to be? They’re not talking. They’re not making any suggestions whatsoever. They’re not consenting either. They’re just indifferent…like robots, as though it all depends on me to do what I think is best. Is that it? Is this what this place does to people? So, it’s literally within my jurisdiction to make the call that would decide the fate and destinies of these people? Oh Lord! That’s what it is. That’s exactly what it is. What do I do now? I intend to persuade them to turn their lives over to God, which would serve as a sacrifice like that of Solomon. Would they all consent to that? I do not suppose that any of these people would willingly stay back here, would they? Oh no! Capital no! If it depends on me to make the call for these people, I’ll just have to do it. I’ll surrender all our lives to God as a sacrifice of souls just so we can get out of here. I believe that once we’re out of here, the conditions of these people will change.

“Then, if any of them would have rather remained in here, they can find their way back here like they did the first time. For now, I have to do what I have to do. Like Mr. Voice would say: tick says the clock. What you have to do, do quick. Yes, right! I’m doing it now. I am. How do I do it? Do we hold hands? Oh no, these guys ain’t moving. I just have to make the offer. To say the prayer. To offer up these precious souls to God who made every last one of them. I earnestly long in my heart that God finds these souls pleasing, and grants me the desired wisdom which would get us out of here. Alright. The offer…here it comes, just like Solomon’s:

“Oh Lord God, you have put me in a position where it is required of me to make a key and life-sustaining decision for these many people who You undoubtedly hold dear, even though I’ve been the last to show up on the scene thus far. For I recall that the Apostle Paul, narrating how he had been the last of the Apostles to see Jesus—as one born out of due time, had referred to himself as the least of the apostles, unworthy to be called an apostle because he persecuted the church of God. But then he noted that by the grace of God he had become who he was because Your grace toward him was not in vain, being that he labored more abundantly than the other apostles. However, he conceded that it was not his making, but the grace of God which was at work in him. The case with me here is no different from that of Paul the apostle.

“Therefore, here I am among a people I have reason to believe You’ve chosen to be Yours, a people who are so many that they cannot be counted. As I surrender the lives of these—and my own life to You, I ask that—just as You did for king Solomon whom You loved, do even so to me…and these people—whom you undoubtedly love. Give me the wisdom I need to bring us out of this place to Canaan, for this place that we are, is far from being a land that flows with milk and honey. It has become obvious that from this point on, advancement cannot be possible without wisdom from above. Therefore, let it please you oh Lord, to receive this living sacrifice and reward us with the wisdom that shall see to our salvation, our liberation, our freedom, our possession of our inheritance in Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen.

“WELL DONE.”

“Mr. Voice! Is that you? What’s happening? Everywhere has turned snow-white like it is said to have been on the mount of transfiguration. Is this heaven? Have we made it there? This is heaven! This is heaven! Heaven at last! Mr. Voice, heaven at last!

“KEEP CALM, YOUNG SHEPHERD. THIS IS NOT HEAVEN.”

“Then where is this? It looks like heaven! It fits the description of heaven! It even…”

“I UNDERSTAND YOUR EXHILARATION. BUT THIS IS NOT HEAVEN. YOU WILL GET TO HEAVEN SOMEDAY IF YOU CONTINUE TO HOLD FAST TO THE PROFESSION OF YOUR FAITH WITHOUT WAVERING.”

“Then where is this? Paradise?”

“YOU CAN CALL IT PARADISE IF YOU SO CHOSE? BUT IT IS MY PLEASURE TO ANNOUNCE TO YOU THAT WHAT YOU ARE CURRENTLY EXPERIENCING IS YOUR TRANSITION INTO YOUR FINAL STAGE IN THIS ADVENTURE: THE LONG SOUGHT BANQUET.”

“The banquet? Really? I’ve finally gotten to the buffet?”

“YES. YOU HAVE FINALLY GOTTEN TO THE BUFFET. BUT THAT’S NOT THE BEST PART. THE BEST PART IS THAT YOU GOT THE OTHERS—WHO HAD BEEN STUCK HERE FOR AGES—UNSTUCK. AND NOW THEY HAVE EQUAL OPPORTUNITY TO CHOOSE THEIR FATE AND DESTINIES AFRESH! KUDOS TO THE DEEPEST LONGINGS OF YOUR HEART. CONSIDERING THE INFAMOUS REPUTATION THAT PRECEDED YOU—WHICH EARNED—YOU THIS ADVENTURE, I HADN’T EXPECTED THIS…THOUGH I WASN’T IGNORANT OF YOUR POTENTIALITIES. WELL DONE ONCE AGAIN.”

“Ooooh…thank you so much! Thank you! When is the blinding light going to fade so we can start eating already? I must confess, I still don’t feel hungry. But considering that I’ve made it this far, I’m going to force the various delicacies down my throat. I’m beyond thirsty though. I hope they’re gallons upon gallons of water here? Because I’m likely to drown it all.”

“HAHAHA. FUNNY SPECIES. ALRIGHT THEN. IT’S TIME. THE LIGHTS FADE IN A MOMENT AND YOU’LL SEE THE TABLE SET BEFORE YOU. SERVE YOURSELF. YOU AND THESE PEOPLE. THEY MAY APPEAR INACTIVE, ROBOTIC, AND INDIFFERENT. THAT’S ONLY THE EFFECT OF THEIR BEING STUCK HERE. EVEN THE ONES WHO FOLLOWED YOU DOWN HERE—HAVE BEEN THE SAME WAY. LIKEWISE, THAT HAD BEEN THE EFFECT OF THEIR BLIND FOLLOWING. BUT KNOW THIS: THE MOMENT THIS LIGHT FADES AND YOU SEE THE TABLE BEFORE YOU, EVERY LAST ONE OF THEM WILL BE COMPLETELY RESTORED, AND YOU WON’T HAVE TO BRING THEM UP TO SPEED ON THE JOURNEY THUS FAR, NEITHER WILL YOU HAVE TO EXPLAIN TO THEM WHAT’S EXPECTED OF THEM AT THE BUFFET. THEY ALREADY KNOW. THEY ONLY NEEDED TO BE USHERED INTO THE RIGHT ATMOSPHERE TO FUNCTION IN THAT KNOWLEDGE. YOU’VE DONE WELL TO AFFORD THEM THAT ATMOSPHERE.”

“What happens after the buffet?”

“SHHH. NOW, OFF YOU GO.”

THE BUFFET

“Brightness! Brilliance! Light rays! Serenity! Glitters! Sparkles! Clouds! Mists! Shooting stars and lightning flashes! Winds! Tongues of fire! Excellency of glory and splendor! Indescribable majesty! Rivers of flaming fire. Appearances of the sun! This place, whiter than much snow. What is this place? The banquet? All this allurement just for a dining place? Look! Suspended little glittery diamonds. Aren’t those Cherubim? Fiery cherubim! This is a place like no other. Not even Solomon’s palace compares to this in majesty. If this is where I get stuck in this adventure, I might as well be a happy captive. If this isn’t heaven, it’s heaven’s gate, indeed!”

“UNFORTUNATELY, THERE’S NO GETTING STUCK ANY FURTHER. YOU HAVE MADE IT TO THE BUFFET. THERE’S ONLY GOING FORWARD FROM HERE. WHETHER YOU PROCEED FROM HERE WITH A TRUCKLOAD OF BLESSINGS OR A HANDFUL OF GIFTS, IT’S DEPENDENT ON YOU. THIS IS WHERE YOU DECIDE YOUR DESTINY. THIS IS WHERE YOU CHOOSE YOUR FATE. THIS IS WHERE YOU CORRECT YOUR MISTAKES AND DETERMINE THE COURSE OF YOUR FUTURE. YOUR WHOLE LIFE NOW LIES BEFORE YOU. GRAB THE RUDDER, THEREFORE, AND STEER IT IN WHATEVER DIRECTION YOU SO PLEASE. NO HOLDS BARRED.”

“I don’t seem to follow. Isn’t this supposed to be a buffet where I get to serve myself any meal of my choice? But you’re talking about blessings and gifts and destiny and all. I don’t get it.”

“THIS IS A BUFFET INDEED…ONLY THAT WHAT IS SERVED HERE AREN’T MEALS…LIKE YOU EXPECTED.”

“What?”

“EXACTLY. HAVE YOU WONDERED YOU HAVEN’T BEEN HUNGRY ALL THIS TIME? AGAIN, HAVE YOU WONDERED WHY YOU HAVE ONLY BEEN THIRSTY?”

“What about that?”

“BECAUSE THE BUFFET IS ONLY MEANT TO QUENCH THIRST, NOT HUNGER.”

“So, all I do here is drink, drink, and drink?”

“YES.”

“Oh! I see. So much for a long-sought buffet. Do we get to drink anything else besides water?”

“NO.”

“Oh, for Christ’s sake! Tell me it’s not true! All that gloomy excursion just to get rewarded with volumes of water at heaven’s gate?”

“YES. JUST NOT THE WATER YOU’RE THINKING.”

“What other water could there be besides H2o?”

“LIVING WATER. THE ONE YOU DRINK AND NEVER GET THIRSTY AGAIN.”

“Living water? Isn’t that… Isn’t that… Chri…”

“NOW LISTEN, AS I PUT YOU THROUGH THE MODUS OPERANDI OF THIS FINAL STAGE OF YOUR ADVENTURE. DISPERSED ALL OVER THIS ABODE ARE SCRIPTURE UPON SCRIPTURE UPON SCRIPTURE. IN THE BEGINNING WAS THE WORD, AND THE WORD WAS WITH GOD, AND THE WORD WAS GOD. THE EARTH AND EVERYTHING IN IT WERE CREATED WITH WORDS…GOD’S WORD. AND HE CREATED MAN AND GAVE HIM THE LEVERAGE TO DO THE SAME: TO CREATE THE WORLD AROUND THEM WITH WORDS…THE WORD OF GOD. YOU ARE HERE TODAY BECAUSE OF THE WORDS YOU UTTERED. SADLY, NOT ALL WERE SCRIPTURE-BASED. BUT THERE WAS A RICH CAPTURING OF GOD’S WORD IN YOUR UTTERANCE, MIXED WITH MANY OTHER WORDS THAT ARE BELIEVED TO HAVE BEEN BORNE OUT OF QUESTIONABLE MOTIVES. SO YOU HAD TO BE DRAWN DOWN HERE TO HAVE YOUR HEART TESTED…TO ASCERTAIN THE AUTHENTICITY OF YOUR MOTIVES BECAUSE TALK IS CHEAP.

“YOU CAN AFFORD TO BAMBOOZLE THE WORLD WITH DECEITFUL WORDS, THUS WINNING APPROVAL AND RISING TO A SPHERE OF INFLUENCE WHERE THE BAMBOOZLEMENT CONTINUES—TO THE DETRIMENT OF THE UNSUSPECTING. NOW YOU HAVE PROVEN BEYOND REASONABLE DOUBT THAT YOUR MOUTH INDEED MADE THOSE DECLARATIONS OUT OF THE ABUNDANCE OF YOUR HEART. THE PRIZE FOR UNDERGOING THIS TEST IS THE ABSOLUTE LIBERTY TO WRITE YOUR DESTINY WITH YOUR OWN HANDS. OF COURSE, THERE CAN BE NO FALSEHOOD IN THIS REALM. HENCE, WHATEVER FATE YOU DECIDE FOR YOURSELF IS BORNE OUT OF THE DEEPEST LONGING OF YOUR HEART, AS WHATEVER ISN’T FROM THE HEART CANNOT BE DESIGNATED.

“LOOK! YOUR PEOPLE. THEY HAVE ALREADY STARTED DECIDING THEIR DESTINIES. AS I WAS EXPLAINING TO YOU, THEY WERE GAINING AND UNDERSTANDING OF WHAT IS EXPECTED OF THEM.”

“I can see what they’re picking. Salvation-based scriptures. They all want to be saved!”

“I WOULDN’T EXPECT LESS FROM THEM. IT IS SAID THAT EVERYONE IN HELL IS A BELIEVER. BEING STUCK IN GLOOM FOR SO LONG WITH NO HOPE OF REDEMPTION—WILL AWAKEN YOUR SENSES TO THE ULTIMATE NEED FOR SALVATION. IF THOSE IN HELL GOT THIS SAME OFFER, WHAT DO YOU THINK THEY WILL GO FOR—AS A MATTER OF UTMOST IMPORTANCE?”

“Salvation indeed!”

“CORRECT ANSWER. RUN ALONG, NOW. JOIN THEM. THE CLOCK IS TICKING. MAKING IT TO THE BUFFET DOESN’T STOP THE CLOCK FROM TICKING. IF YOU WAIT AROUND SO LONG WITHOUT DOING THE NEEDFUL, YOU WILL GET PLUNGED BACK TO YOUR ORIGINAL ABODE…TO LIVE A LIFE VOID OF EVERYTHING YOU HAD THE CHANCE TO SECURE FOR YOURSELF, BUT WOULDN’T. HERE IS THE WATER YOU’VE BEEN SO THIRSTY FOR. THE LIVING WATER. GENESIS TO REVELATION. DRINK AS MUCH AS YOU CAN. BUILD YOUR LIFE AND DESTINY WITH SCRIPTURE UPON SCRIPTURE UNTIL THE PERSON YOU’VE ALWAYS ENVISIONED YOURSELF TO BE IS FORMED. GOD’S SPEED!”

“Wow! I can’t believe that this isn’t a dream. Look at all these people. They’re talking now. Smiling lovingly at each other. Helping each other in the building of their lives and destinies. So adorable. They all want to be saved. Look at the women. They all want to be the Proverbs 31 wives…and the men all want to be the husbands of the Proverbs 31 wives. They’re all going for a lifetime of dedication to the purposes of God. They all want to love God with all their hearts. To love each other as they love themselves. To belong to the household of faith. Look! They’re all opting for intimacy with the Holy Spirit…heaven being their primary goal.

“It’s high time I joined the band and do the needful before I run out of time. I didn’t come this far to come this far. Therefore, let it begin! Where do I start? Where do I… Yes! Wisdom is the principal thing. In all thy getting, get understanding. I’ll start from there. Let it be unto me like it was to King Solomon in 1st Kings 3:12-14 as a response to his request for wisdom, for it was said to him: ‘Behold, I have done according to your words; see, I have given you a wise and understanding heart, so that there has not been anyone like you before you, nor shall any like you arise after you. And I have also given you what you have not asked: both riches and honor so that there shall not be anyone like you among the kings all your days. If you walk in My ways, to keep My statutes and My commandments, I will lengthen your days.’”

“So that I do not end up like King Solomon who became spiritually complacent after God had fulfilled all His promise to him—thereby falling from grace, I complement the missing link that drove king Solomon into error with 1st Samuel 2:35 where a similar situation was remedied thus: ‘then I will raise for Myself a faithful priest who shall do according to what is in My heart and My mind. I will build him a sure house, and he shall walk before My anointed forever.’ In walking with God forever, I crave Enoch’s dimension of intimacy with God, thus described in Genesis 5:24: ‘and Enoch walked in habitual fellowship with God; and he was not, for God took him home with Him.’ I long to further strengthen this intimacy with the fire of Elijah’s secret place, applauded thus by the Apostle James: ‘Elijah was a man subject to like passions as we are, and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain: and it rained not on the earth by the space of three years and six months.’ Oh God, this is amazing! I’m loving it!”

“I know for certain that it is God’s will to bless me all-round. But there are many whose hearts shifted from God to the blessings after being blessed. For that to not be my testimony under any circumstance, I reach for 3rd John 1:2 where God wishes above all things that I prosper and be in health, even as my soul prospers. In light of that, I beseech You Lord to only prosper me financially and otherwise in proportion to the prosperity of my soul, that I may not end up gaining the whole world and losing my dear soul. Even as I lay up for myself treasures in heaven this day—where neither moth nor rust destroys; and where thieves do not break in and steal, let it be that where my treasure is, my heart will be also. (Matthew 6:20-21).

“As much as I admire the flawlessness of Jesus while He was on earth; and would love to be no different, the truth remains that temptations will come…for even the revered apostle Paul remarks thus in Romans 7:19: ‘for the good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not to do, that I practice.’ Therefore, let it be onto me according to Romans 14:4—that You, whose servant I am…it is to You that I stand or fall. And indeed I will be made to stand, for You, my God, are able to make me stand. Calling to mind all my afflictions from childhood, I reach for the complete deliverance in Mark 9:25 where a demon was cast out of a young man who had been possessed by the demon from Childhood. Even when it’s a spiritual norm for demons to again seek to possess a body they had been cast out of (if it remains empty), Jesus had defied the odds for this boy, for He thus declared to the demon: ‘thou dumb and deaf spirit, I charge thee, come out of him and enter no more into him.’ Emphasis on ‘enter no more into him.’ Oh Lord!

“Again calling to mind my rank as a seed of the woman—destined to bruise the head of the serpent, I reach for Luke 10:19 and receive power to tread on serpents, scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: that nothing should by any means hurt me. I set my eyes on Romans 8:28-31 and many questions flood my mind all at once. Hasn’t God caused all things to work together for my good because I love Him and I’m called according to His purpose? Am I not he whom He foreknew? Am I not he whom He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son? that I might be the firstborn among many brethren? Moreover, him whom He predestined, didn’t He also call? He whom He called, didn’t He also justify? And he whom He justified, didn’t He also glorify? What then shall I say to these things? If God is for me, who can be against me?

“As much as I would love to skip God’s initial dialogue with the prophet Jeremiah, a strong pull makes it impossible to do so…for God had said to him: ‘Before I formed you in the womb I knew you. Before you were born, I sanctified you; I ordained you a prophet to the nations. Do not be afraid of their faces, for I am with you to deliver you. See, I have this day set you over the nations and the kingdoms, to root out and to pull down, to destroy and to throw down, to build and to plant: (Jeremiah chapter 1 verses 5, 8, and 10). Jeez! Isn’t this getting too much? I better wrap up before I end up biting more than I can chew. Having come this far, I might as well covet the faith of certain uncommon men, thus spoken of in Hebrews 11:32‭-‬34:‬‬‬‬

“For time will fail me if I tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets, who by faith [that is, with an enduring trust in God and His promises] subdued kingdoms, administered justice, obtained promised blessings, closed the mouths of lions, extinguished the power of raging fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, became mighty and unbeatable in battle, putting enemy forces to flight.”

“There is none like You, Lord. No one else can touch my heart as You do. I have searched through all eternity…and found: there is none like You. Therefore, as long as I live, I, in line with 1st Corinthians 12:13, choose the way of the Lord, to remain baptized into the body of Christ by the Holy Spirit…as the scripture says: ‘for by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit.’ And like the apostle Paul in Philippians 3:8, ‘I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ.’ Amen! Amen! And Amen!

“And Jabez called on the God of Israel saying, ‘Oh, that You would bless me indeed, and enlarge my territory, that Your hand would be with me, and that You would keep me from evil, that I may not cause pain! So God granted him what he requested:’ (1st Chronicles 4:10). This moment, it is not Jabez—but I, who fills this prayer request in this blank cheque of mine, this buffet…adding that as David went from being a bush boy to being a palace big boy, even so—may I go from being the bush boy that I am today—to becoming a big boy…not the usual big boy, but a real big boy, such as I’d made plain on tablets in an essay I titled: THE REAL BIG BOYS (RICHES & GLORY). These blessings are just too much—I’m tempted to go on and on.

“Just as Laban was blessed on account of Jacob, may Laban’s words be the testimony of whoever I’m privileged to serve or partner with—in any capacity, as seen in Genesis 30:27: ‘…I have learned by experience that the Lord has blessed me for your sake.’ Likewise, may the testament of Potiphar in Genesis 39:5 be the case with such persons: ‘…the Lord blessed the Egyptian's house for Joseph's sake; and the blessing of the Lord was upon all that he had in the house, and in the field.’ Just like Joseph, I proceed from prison to palace on account of gifts, for a man's gift makes room for him, and brings him before great men: (Proverbs 18:16). In all these, I covet the excellent Spirit in Daniel 6:3: ‘then this Daniel distinguished himself above the governors and satraps because an excellent spirit was in him; and the king gave thought to set him over the whole realm.’ And this is where I draw the curtain!”

“BEAUTIFUL! BEAUTIFUL! BEAUTIFUL!”

“Oh, I forgot to grab two very important blessings. Can I go again?”

“YOU STILL HAVE TIME. WHY NOT?”

“The 1st Corinthians 13 love as the vehicle by which I navigate the course of my life, and the Proverbs 31 woman for a wife. Selah.”

“OH MY! YOU SURE HAVE EYES FOR GREAT THINGS.”

“Apostle Paul says to ‘covet the best gifts.’ Besides, if I don’t match the breaks, I’ll end up reaching for all scriptures. All the promises are great!”

“IMPRESSIVE! HAVING COME THIS FAR AND DONE THIS GOOD, THE TIME HAS COME FOR YOUR VERDICT TO BE READ TO YOU…BY YOUR PERFORMANCE. BRACE UP, AND BE OF GOOD CHEER.”

THE VERDICT

Wow! So after all this time, here I am, about to hear the verdict of my adventure read to me. No doubts—it’s been a journey well-traveled, an adventure well-explored, A ROAD WELL CONQUERED. Oops! I better be careful there before I again get too forward to see forever from yesterday. Nonetheless, if I have nothing else to my credit, I’ll at least have all these people to show for my effort. Look at them! I thought I was being greedy in my accumulation of those scriptural blessings upon which my life and destiny are now being founded. But these people…these people…they can’t seem to get enough. They’re going for every gift of the Spirit, an understanding of kingdom mysteries, grace to adhere to kingdom principles, greatness! So beautiful. Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good and His mercies endure forever!”

“INDEED, HIS MERCIES ENDURE FOREVER…THE MERCY THAT HAS REWRITTEN YOUR LIFE, KEPT YOU FROM BEING CONSUMED, REDEEMED YOU FROM LAWFUL CAPTIVITY, PREPARED A TABLE BEFORE YOU IN THE PRESENCE OF YORU ENEMIES, AND HAS NOW SET BEFORE YOU AN OPEN DOOR WHICH NO MAN CAN SHUT.

“Really?”

“YOU HAVE BEEN ENTRUSTED WITH THESE ONES WHOSE LIVES HAVE BEEN REDEEMED FROM THE PIT ALONGSIDE YOURS. LIKE MOSES, YOU ARE REQUIRED TO LEAD THEM TO CANAAN…THAT PROMISED LAND YOU HAD SET OUT TO JOURNEY TO: HEAVEN.”

“Wow!”

“BUT, DO NOT IMAGINE THAT HEAVEN IS YOUR NEXT PORT OF CALL. HEAVEN IS YOUR LAST IF YOU DO NOT STUMBLE ALONG THE WAY AND FALL. THE WILL OF THE LORD MUST BE DONE ON EARTH AS IT IS IN HEAVEN, AND YOU HAVE WON A SPOT AMONGST THOSE WHO SERVE AS AGENCIES BY WHICH THAT WILL MUST BE DONE. AFTER THAT, YOU’RE WELCOME TO HEAVEN…YOU AND THE SONS THAT HAVE BEEN GIVEN TO YOU…FOR SIGNS AND WONDERS.”

“Sons? Me?”

“DO NOT LET ANYONE LOOK DOWN ON YOU BECAUSE YOU ARE YOUNG, BUT BE AN EXAMPLE FOR THE BELIEVERS IN YOUR SPEECH, YOUR CONDUCT, YOUR LOVE, FAITH, AND PURITY.”

“I… I… I don’t know what more to say.”

“IF YOU’VE NOTICED, THERE’S STILL ENOUGH TO GO AROUND ON THE TABLE. THOUGH YOU AND THESE PEOPLE HAVE DONE WELL IN AMASSING FOR YOURSELVES AS MANY OF ABRAHAM’S BLESSINGS AS YOU CAN, YOU HAVE NOT COME CLOSE TO SCRATCHING THE SURFACE. IT’S GOING TO TAKE ALL OF HUMANITY, BOTH THE LIVING AND THE DEAD, TO SCRATCH THE SURFACE OF THESE BLESSINGS. AND THESE BLESSINGS UP FOR GRABS.”

“What am I supposed to do?

“WHEN YOU EXIT THIS REALM AND ADVANCE THROUGH THE OPEN DOOR THAT HAS BEEN SET BEFORE YOU, IT IS EXPECTED OF YOU TO DISPENSE THEM TO AS MANY AS YOU CAN…EVEN TO THE ENDS OF THE EARTH.”

“How am I supposed to do that? Get people to embark on another adventure here with me?”

“THIS IS NOT AN ADVENTURE YOU EMBARK ON—TWICE. YOU’VE MADE IT TO THE BUFFET. AND, GIVEN THE DESTINY YOU HAVE CHOSEN, IT BEHOLDS ON YOU TO REPRODUCE YOURSELF. YOU ARE NOW A WALKING BUFFET. THOSE AROUND YOU DO NOT NEED TO COME HERE LIKE YOU HAVE—TO DECIDE THEIR FATE AND DESTINY. IT IS YOUR PLACE TO DISPENSE IT TO THEM IN WORD, IN DEED, AND OTHERWISE. YOU HAVE BEEN GIVEN ALL THE SKILLS.”

“Seems like there’s going to be a lot of work to do.”

“YOU ASKED FOR IT, REMEMBER? YOU ASKED FOR IT WHEN YOU CONCEIVED THAT REVOLUTIONARY IDEA THAT STIRRED UP UPROAR 2023, WHEN YOU ENVISIONED A GLORY INVASION IN 9-MINUTES, AND WHEN YOU BECKONED ON THE UNIVERSE, EXTENDING AN INVITE THAT SAYS: ‘LET’S GO TO HEAVEN.’ NOW YOU HAVE IT. AND YOU’VE GATHERED YOUR FIRST SET OF PILGRIMS HERE. THE REST OF THEM AWAIT YOU IN THE EARTH REALM. BE SURE OF THIS, THAT YOU ARE LIKELY TO MEET THE KIND OF CHALLENGE CAPTURED IN LUKE 14:16-23 WHICH SAYS:

“A CERTAIN MAN GAVE A GREAT SUPPER AND INVITED MANY, AND SENT HIS SERVANT AT SUPPER TIME TO SAY TO THOSE WHO WERE INVITED, 'COME, FOR ALL THINGS ARE NOW READY.' BUT THEY ALL WITH ONE ACCORD BEGAN TO MAKE EXCUSES. THE FIRST SAID TO HIM, 'I HAVE BOUGHT A PIECE OF GROUND, AND I MUST GO AND SEE IT. I ASK YOU TO HAVE ME EXCUSED.' AND ANOTHER SAID, 'I HAVE BOUGHT FIVE YOKE OF OXEN, AND I AM GOING TO TEST THEM. I ASK YOU TO HAVE ME EXCUSED.' STILL, ANOTHER SAID, 'I HAVE MARRIED A WIFE, AND THEREFORE I CANNOT COME.' SO THAT SERVANT CAME AND REPORTED THESE THINGS TO HIS MASTER. THEN THE MASTER OF THE HOUSE, BEING ANGRY, SAID TO HIS SERVANT, 'GO OUT QUICKLY INTO THE STREETS AND LANES OF THE CITY, AND BRING IN HERE THE POOR AND THE MAIMED AND THE LAME AND THE BLIND.' AND THE SERVANT SAID, 'MASTER, IT IS DONE AS YOU COMMANDED, AND STILL THERE IS ROOM.' THEN THE MASTER SAID TO THE SERVANT, 'GO OUT INTO THE HIGHWAYS AND HEDGES, AND COMPEL THEM TO COME IN, THAT MY HOUSE MAY BE FILLED.”

“Does that mean I’m going to be a priest?”

“YOU ARE A CHOSEN GENERATION, A ROYAL PRIESTHOOD, A HOLY NATION, HIS SPECIAL PEOPLE, THAT YOU MAY PROCLAIM THE PRAISES OF HIM WHO CALLED YOU OUT OF DARKNESS INTO HIS MARVELOUS LIGHT. YOU HAVE BEEN MADE A KING AND A PRIEST TO YOUR GOD AND FATHER. THE VERDICT OF YOUR ADVENTURE IS PREDICATED UPON THE LONGINGS OF YOUR HEART THAT DREW YOU HERE, THE COMMENDABLENESS OF YOUR JOURNEY, AND THE GENUINENESS OF YOUR MOTIVES IN THE CHOOSING OF YOUR FATE AND DESTINY. HAVING MIXED ALL THESE FACTORS AND PASSED THEM THROUGH FIRE AS GOLD, HERE COMES THE CULMINATION THEREOF:”

“Okay? I’m nervous. I’m listening. I’m nervously listening.”

“AS YOU GO ABOUT DOING ALL YOU ARE TO DO WHEN YOU EXIT THIS REALM—AS I HAVE ALREADY MENTIONED TO YOU—IT SHALL BE THAT THE SUMMATION OF YOUR LIFE AND DESTINY SHALL BE JUST AS YOU HAVE ALWAYS ENVISIONED: GLORY…AN INVASION OF GLORY…A GLORY INVASION.”

“Glory invasion in 9-minutes! I knew it! I knew it! They doubted me! But I was sure of it!”

“AND YOU WILL HAVE YOUR PROVERBS 31 PREGNANT FIRST LADY RIGHT BY YOUR SIDE TO GIVE YOU THE SUPPORT YOU’LL NEED TO DISCHARGE YOUR RESPONSIBILITIES. YOU HAVE EARNED YOURSELF A VOICE…A VOICE IN YOUR GENERATION.”

“Voice in my generation! Yes! Yes! Yes!”

“GOD BE WITH YOU, YOUNG SHEPHERD, AND SEE YOU THROUGH IT ALL UNTIL WE MEET AGAIN…IN HEAVEN—BY HIS GRACE. NOW, PREPARE TO GO HOME, YOU AND THESE PEOPLE, LIKE YOU DESPERATELY CRAVED.”

“Wait! Wait! You haven’t told me your name. Please, tell me who you are. I need to know who guided me through the roughest adventure of my life. Who are you?”

“DO YOU REMEMBER THE STORY OF JEHOAHAZ IN 2ND KINGS 13:1; THE SON OF JEHU WHO BECAME KING OVER ISRAEL IN SAMARIA?”

“Yes. He reigned seventeen years and he did evil in the sight of the Lord and followed the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who had made Israel sin. He did not depart from them.”

“EXACTLY. THEN THE ANGER OF THE LORD WAS AROUSED AGAINST ISRAEL, AND HE DELIVERED THEM INTO THE HAND OF HAZAEL KING OF SYRIA, AND INTO THE HAND OF BEN-HADAD THE SON OF HAZAEL, ALL THEIR DAYS.”

“But Jehoahaz pleaded with the Lord, and the Lord listened to him; for He saw the oppression of Israel, because the king of Syria oppressed them.”

“AND WHAT HAPPENED NEXT? DO YOU REMEMBER?”

“The Lord gave Israel a deliverer so that they escaped from under the hand of the Syrians; and the children of Israel dwelt in their tents as before.”

“THE LORD GAVE ISRAEL A DELIVERER. A DELIVERER. DELIVERER.”

“Are you… are you… a deliverer? The deliverer? That very deliverer?”

“I HAVE BEEN YOUR DELIVERER…YOU AND THESE ONES WHO THROUGH YOU HAVE SEEN LIGHT AGAIN. NOW IT’S TIME FOR YOU ALL TO GO BACK AND DWELL IN YOUR TENTS AGAIN.”

“But…but…this whole process was made easy with you to guide me through. Would it be too much to ask that you never leave? That you stay on with me to guide me all the more?”

“WHAT DID THE SON OF MAN SAY TO HIS DISCIPLES SHORTLY BEFORE EXITING THE EARTH REALM? HE SAID SOMETHING ABOUT A COMFORTER. WHAT WAS IT AGAIN?”

“And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever. When He, the Spirit of truth has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come.”

“THERE YOU GO! YOU HAVE ALL YOU NEED. MORE THAN ENOUGH! YOU DON’T NEED ME OVER THERE. THE SPIRIT OF TRUTH WILL BE THERE WITH YOU, EVEN UNTO THE END OF THE WORLD. GOODBYE NOW, YOUNG SHEPHERD. GO AND MANIFEST IN AN OVERFLOWING DIMENSION. BE A VOICE INDEED TO YOUR GENERATION.”

-----

VOICE IN MY GENERATION

When I stand before the mirror,
I’m more than the image I see.
I may not look like a hero,
But I’m a treasure in an earthen vessel.

A Hero lives in me,
He makes me be like Him.
I am His, He is mine,
And we are one.

I am beautiful.
I am saved.
I am favored.
My destiny’s secure.

I am a miracle,
Going to somewhere to happen.
I am a sign,
I am a wonder.

I am a;
Voice in my generation.

-----

EARTH

“NOW, THEREFORE, YOU ARE NO LONGER STRANGERS AND FOREIGNERS, BUT FELLOW CITIZENS WITH THE SAINTS AND MEMBERS OF THE HOUSEHOLD OF GOD, HAVING BEEN BUILT ON THE FOUNDATION OF THE APOSTLES AND PROPHETS, JESUS CHRIST HIMSELF BEING THE CHIEF CORNERSTONE, IN WHOM THE WHOLE BUILDING, BEING FITTED TOGETHER, GROWS INTO A HOLY TEMPLE IN THE LORD, IN WHOM YOU ALSO ARE BEING BUILT TOGETHER FOR A DWELLING PLACE OF GOD IN THE SPIRIT.”

“Deliverer? Is that you? Did you cross over with us? You crossed over with us! You said you wouldn’t, but you did!”

“NO LONGER DO I CALL YOU SERVANTS, FOR A SERVANT DOES NOT KNOW WHAT HIS MASTER IS DOING; BUT I HAVE CALLED YOU FRIENDS, FOR ALL THINGS THAT I HEARD FROM MY FATHER I HAVE MADE KNOWN TO YOU.”

“You sound different. Is that you, deliverer?”

“LISTEN, IF YOU ABIDE IN ME, AND MY WORDS ABIDE IN YOU, YOU WILL ASK WHAT YOU DESIRE, AND IT SHALL BE DONE FOR YOU.”

“Certainly, this is not you. This is not your voice. Who is this, please?”

“I AM THE WAY, THE TRUTH, AND THE LIFE. NO ONE COMES TO THE FATHER EXCEPT THROUGH ME.”

“Jesus! Savior! Jesus my Savior!”

“IN MY FATHER'S HOUSE ARE MANY MANSIONS. I GO TO PREPARE A PLACE FOR YOU. AND IF I GO AND PREPARE A PLACE FOR YOU, I WILL COME AGAIN AND RECEIVE YOU TO MYSELF; THAT WHERE I AM, THERE YOU MAY BE ALSO. GO THEREFORE AND MAKE DISCIPLES OF ALL THE NATIONS, BAPTIZING THEM IN THE NAME OF THE FATHER AND OF THE SON AND OF THE HOLY SPIRIT, TEACHING THEM TO OBSERVE ALL THINGS THAT I HAVE COMMANDED YOU; AND LO, I AM WITH YOU ALWAYS, EVEN TO THE END OF THE AGE. MY PEACE I GIVE TO YOU; NOT AS THE WORLD GIVES DO I GIVE TO YOU. LET NOT YOUR HEART BE TROUBLED, NEITHER LET IT BE AFRAID. THESE THINGS I HAVE SPOKEN TO YOU, THAT IN ME YOU MAY HAVE PEACE. IN THE WORLD YOU WILL HAVE TRIBULATION; BUT BE OF GOOD CHEER, I HAVE OVERCOME THE WORLD.”

“Thank You, Jesus!”

“BEHOLD, I SEND THE PROMISE OF MY FATHER UPON YOU. YOU SHALL RECEIVE POWER WHEN THE HOLY SPIRIT HAS COME UPON YOU, AND YOU SHALL BE WITNESSES TO ME IN ALL COUNTRIES, AND IN ALL CONTINENTS, AND TO THE END OF THE EARTH. NOW, RECEIVE THE HOLY SPIRIT!”

“Shalabaragobegedosh!”

“IT IS FINISHED. IT IS DONE.”

“Spirit lead me where my trust is without borders,
Let me walk upon the waters,
Wherever You would call me.

Take me deeper than my feet could ever wander,
And my faith will be made stronger,
In the presence of my Savior.”

CONCLUSION

And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance. And there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men, from every nation under heaven. And when this sound occurred, the multitude came together, and were confused, because everyone heard them speak in his own language. Then they were all amazed and marveled, saying to one another, "Look, are not all these who speak Galileans? And how is it that we hear, each in our own language in which we were born? Parthians and Medes and Elamites, those dwelling in Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya adjoining Cyrene, visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabs—we hear them speaking in our own tongues the wonderful works of God." So they were all amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, "Whatever could this mean?"

Others mocking said, "They are full of new wine." But Peter, standing up with the eleven, raised his voice and said to them, "Men of Judea and all who dwell in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and heed my words. For these are not drunk, as you suppose, since it is only the third hour of the day. But this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel: 'And it shall come to pass in the last days, says God, That I will pour out of My Spirit on all flesh; Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, Your young men shall see visions, Your old men shall dream dreams. And on My menservants and on My maidservants I will pour out My Spirit in those days; And they shall prophesy. I will show wonders in heaven above And signs in the earth beneath: Blood and fire and vapor of smoke. The sun shall be turned into darkness, And the moon into blood, Before the coming of the great and awesome day of the LORD.

And it shall come to pass That whoever calls on the name of the LORD Shall be saved.' "Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a Man attested by God to you by miracles, wonders, and signs which God did through Him in your midst, as you yourselves also know—Him, being delivered by the determined purpose and foreknowledge of God, you have taken by lawless hands, have crucified, and put to death; whom God raised up, having loosed the pains of death, because it was not possible that He should be held by it. For David says concerning Him: 'I foresaw the LORD always before my face, For He is at my right hand, that I may not be shaken. Therefore, my heart rejoiced, and my tongue was glad; Moreover, my flesh also will rest in hope. For You will not leave my soul in Hades, nor will You allow Your Holy One to see corruption. You have made known to me the ways of life; You will make me full of joy in Your presence.' "Men and brethren, let me speak freely to you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his tomb is with us to this day.

Therefore, being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that of the fruit of his body, according to the flesh, He would raise up the Christ to sit on his throne, he, foreseeing this, spoke concerning the resurrection of the Christ, that His soul was not left in Hades, nor did His flesh see corruption. This Jesus God has raised up; of which we are all witnesses. Therefore, being exalted to the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He poured out this which you now see and hear. "For David did not ascend into the heavens, but he says himself: 'The LORD said to my Lord, "Sit at My right hand, Till I make Your enemies Your footstool.

Therefore, let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ." Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, "Men and brethren, what shall we do?" Then Peter said to them, "Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call." And with many other words he testified and exhorted them, saying, "Be saved from this perverse generation." Then those who gladly received his word were baptized; and that day about three thousand souls were added to them.

-----

And they continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers.

-----

@Jezuzboi, 2021.