The Unveiling, page 16
part #3 of Chaos Series
Personally, I don’t know how anyone can read those verses and not connect them to Jesus. Truth is, there are hundreds of passages in the Old Testament that foretell of Messiah’s coming, from His supernatural birth—including the exact location—to His gruesome death on the cross.
Even a staunch atheist historian, though he may choose not to believe in Jesus, can’t deny that each prophecy came to pass in His life. And here’s something you may not know: throughout the centuries—especially in more recent times—an increasing number of scholarly Jews have studied the New Testament hoping to silence Christianity once and for all. Trying to dispel it as heresy, they came to believe that Jesus really was the Lamb of God who took away the sins of the world.
Fully versed in the Law of Moses, they knew sin could never be fully atoned for by the blood of animals. In no way was this a permanent solution. The fact that they needed to do it over and over clarifies that much. They knew God needed a Final Sacrifice, Someone to die for the sins of humanity, Someone without blemish.
With their eyes opened and hearts softened, they became convinced that Jesus’ supernatural birth, His sinless life, crucifixion, and most importantly, His resurrection made Him capable of providing for the remission of sin, thus satisfying the demands of a just and Holy God.
What separates Jesus from all other self-professed messiahs over time is that He actually rose from the dead. In short, death had no power over Him, making Yeshua humanity’s one and only bridge to Yahweh God.
The Bible makes it crystal clear that only by faith in Jesus, the Lion of the Tribe of Judah, Yeshua Ha Maschiach, can a person ever be saved from the eternal sure-fires of hell. All you have to do is search the scriptures for further proof of this.
Craig tossed the letter on the coffee table without finishing it. “Brian was happy to receive this rubbish?! Geez, just when you think you know someone!”
Rubin was thankful that he adhered to Brian’s request to read it in private. Had he opened it at work, he would have been mortified. Apparently leaving New York when they were still young men had a profound negative impact on his two childhood buddies.
Look where it got Justin—dead! As for Brian, it was still too soon to tell...
Rubin took a shower and left for Mitzi’s. Hopefully a little hard work would help him forget about the disturbing letter he’d just read.
31
BRIAN MULROONEY ARRIVED AT the Amtrak train station in downtown Toledo, Ohio at 8:30 p.m. He was exhausted. Reading always did that to him. He felt like he was cramming for his finals. But this subject was infinitely more important to his future well-being than anything he was ever taught at college.
Charles Calloway was right. Having the Book of Revelation dictated to him on the www.lsarglobal.org website, as he read along in the Bible made all the difference. Brian used a yellow highlighter pen for key verses in his Bible that impacted him the most. Yellow was everywhere.
As the bus traveled north on U.S. 23, Mulrooney was starting to understand what “hungering and thirsting for God’s Word” was all about.
Thirty minutes before arriving in Ann Arbor, Brian called Renate to inform that his bus would be on time. He wanted to make sure she was on time too.
The bus pulled into the Ann Arbor Station at 9:50 p.m. Brian was relieved to see his girlfriend standing outside her car in the frigid temperatures waiting for him.
“Welcome home, honey!” Renate McCallister kissed her boyfriend on the lips. “I missed you so much.”
“I missed you, too.” As always, her warm embrace felt good.
Brian was happy to see Renate again. But it no longer felt like a boyfriend-girlfriend thing. The reason for this was his spiritual conversion.
The old Brian Mulrooney would have climbed the walls after not seeing her for a couple of days. Her natural beauty could turn a man’s head with the slightest of ease. One glimpse at her long blonde hair and near perfect build, and many were reduced to putty in her hands. Yet, of all the men out there, she chose him.
It sounded both shallow and trivial to think that for the past five years, he was so obsessed with Renate’s outer beauty that he never really knew who she was on the inside.
Everything was different now.
Driving back to his apartment, Mulrooney wondered if any of his co-workers were among the dead or missing. Aside from the two text messages he received from work—one from his manager, Susan Marlucci, making sure he’d be back at work in the morning; the other from a maintenance man Brian was always joking with—there had been no other communication.
If they were true friends, wouldn’t he have bent over backwards to make sure they were okay? Wouldn’t they have done the same for him? It dawned on him that his friends in Michigan were mere acquaintances only.
Here today, gone tomorrow.
Sure, they were fun to be with most of the time, but the “never a dull moment,” mentality they shared while in each other’s company was just another way of masking their true feelings of uncertainty and despair.
By never openly discussing the deeper issues which usually helped galvanize all “true” friendships, Mulrooney got to see just how superficial his life was prior to the disappearances.
Brian feared Renate was included in that equation. How could he not, when the only “semi-deep” conversations they ever had—important as they were—were about marriage, having children and Renate’s unbridled passion for the environment. She was the reason he drove a hybrid car in the first place. Renate all but demanded that he purchase it.
Other than that, there wasn’t much depth to their relationship. And from a spiritual standpoint, there was nothing to speak of.
Brian grimaced. Could Jesus be setting a boyfriend against a girlfriend?
Brian did not know. But one thing was certain: with a heart changed and a life transformed by the power of the Holy Spirit, he couldn’t imagine losing contact with Charles Calloway as time marched on. He also felt a special closeness to Tamika Moseley. After all, God had used her to connect him to Charles.
The other person he couldn’t imagine ever losing contact with was Jacquelyn Swindell. Even if he was slightly hurt that she hadn’t returned any of his phone calls or text messages, he knew they’d met for a reason, and silently wished she was here to welcome him home instead of Renate.
Upon arriving back at his apartment, Mulrooney couldn’t stop yawning. The couple spent an hour or so cuddling on the couch flicking through the TV channels before Brian reminded his girlfriend for the third time that he had to wake early in the morning for work.
They agreed to meet after his shift ended.
The moment she left, Brian called Jacquelyn. It was 11:30 p.m.
“Hello?”
“Wow! You answered!” Brian was both relieved and surprised to hear her voice again.
“Hi Brian. I was just thinking about you. Sorry for not returning your calls. Lots going on here.” Jacquelyn Swindell was physically and emotionally drained after somehow enduring the most horrific week of her life. It was a week that included losing her husband, a child, her brother, sister-in-law and her niece and two nephews. After identifying her deceased husband’s body at Michigan Stadium the day after the vigil, he was finally buried early this morning. “How was your trip?”
“Life-changing,” he replied. “if you can believe that.”
“Oh?”
“I’ve received Jesus as Lord and Savior,” Brian declared. Step number three!
“You did what?!”
“I’m a born-again believer. That was the reason for my text message yesterday.”
“I see. How’d you do that?”
“I didn’t do anything. It was all God. But do I have a story to tell you! It’s gonna blow your mind! God’s Hand was in it from start to finish.”
“Sounds positive,” Jacquelyn said softly. “Color me curious.”
“Was hoping you’d say that,” he replied.
“Why’s that?”
“Now that I’ve been saved for real, I can assure you I’ll never be the same, even in these crazy times! You need that same assurance for yourself, Jacquelyn.”
“Do you know how many times my brother told me that?”
“I only wish you’d listened to him. If so, you wouldn’t be here now.”
“Hmm...”
“Don’t get me wrong, I’m glad you’re here. Sort of, anyway. Had it not been for you, I may not have survived the mayhem at the football game. On the other hand, I’m convinced your brother’s in Heaven right now, along with everyone else who was evacuated from the planet last week. I’m also convinced it was the Rapture.”
“That’s exactly how my brother used to sound.”
“Let’s get together soon so I can explain what happened to me in New York City.”
Wow, what’s gotten into him? Funny thing is, Jacquelyn wasn’t turned off like in the past with her brother. Everything was different now. “What does Renate have to say about all this?”
“About what? My conversion to Christianity or about us getting together?”
“Both, actually.”
“Truth be told, she doesn’t know.”
“I don’t know, Brian. I just…”
“Come on, Jacquelyn, we’ve already been through this. You know Renate has zero interest in spiritual matters. If she was searching for the Truth like we were, there’d be no need for all this sneaking around nonsense.
“The three of us could openly discuss it together. But invisible things mean nothing to Renate. If she can’t see it, it simply doesn’t exist. If she thought Justin was out there, what will she think of my conversion?”
Jacquelyn couldn’t argue with his logic. He did have a point. “What about my husband? Is Tom in Heaven too?”
Brian almost swallowed his Adam’s apple. How do I tell her? “I’d prefer to discuss it with you in person if you don’t mind. Do you work tomorrow?”
Why won’t he answer me? “I took an extended leave of absence. Too messed up to work right now. Besides, I don’t think there’ll be a job to go back to. My boss sounded extremely pessimistic on the phone the other day. So I’m free all day tomorrow.”
“I get off at six. Anytime after that’s good for me.”
“Why don’t we get together now?”
“Now?” asked Brian.
“If it’s of such great importance, why wait ’til tomorrow?”
“Well…I…uh…sure, why not? I seriously doubt Renate will be coming back tonight.”
After a brief pause, Jacquelyn said, “I’ll be there within a half-hour.”
“Be careful driving.”
“I will,” she said, ending the call.
Brian gulped then winced. This wasn’t going to be easy.
32
NOT EVEN TWENTY MINUTES later, Brian looked out the window and saw Jacquelyn Swindell pulling up. Just seeing her red SUV again struck an equal measure of fear and joy in his heart, as his mind drifted back to last week’s football game.
Before Jacquelyn could even ring the doorbell, Brian buzzed her in. Waiting for her outside in the hallway, he was nervous. What if the first question out of her mouth is about Tom? If so, I’ll just have to level with her. This wasn’t going to be fun.
The first thing Mulrooney noticed, other than the crutch under her left arm, were her tear-swollen eyes; clearly the aftereffects of the week she’d had. For someone who was 29, though still quite beautiful, the stress lines on her forehead and the bags under her eyes made her look ten years older than her actual age. Her penetrating deep blue eyes were fully aglow, after being washed by so many tears. But they were still filled with great pain.
“Nice to see you again, Jacquelyn.” Mulrooney flashed that trademark Irish smile of his. It dawned on him that this was Jacquelyn’s first time being exposed to it. When she didn’t reciprocate, it quickly vanished.
“You too.” Jacquelyn’s voice was scratchy due to a sore diaphragm from vomiting so much this week.
“How about a hot cup of tea?”
“Sounds good, thanks.”
A few moments later they were seated on the couch. Mulrooney took his time explaining every detail of his encounter with Charles Calloway, and how God had used Tamika Moseley to bring them all together.
Jacquelyn listened very carefully.
“I couldn’t help but be impressed by him,” Brian went on about his new brother in Christ. “He even prayed for my safe arrival to his hotel before we met. Said he didn’t want anything happening to me before I understood God’s plan of salvation. It’s like he was more concerned about my spiritual well-being than even I was!”
Jacquelyn noticed that every time Brian mentioned Charles Calloway’s name, his face lit up. It was refreshing to hear good news for a change. Hopefully his enthusiasm will rub off on me.
“Truth be told,” Brian said, “after our call, I prayed that God would guide you safely here to my apartment.”
Jacquelyn was touched by the gesture. Clearly, Brian wasn’t the same person she met last week—not even close! When there was a break in the conversation, she placed her half-empty teacup on the table. It could wait no longer.
“Getting back to my question, what do you think happened to my husband?”
Brian gulped hard. “Well Jacquelyn, he’s…uh…not in…Heaven.”
There was a prolonged silence before she finally spoke. “Where is he then?” Jacquelyn was clearly on the verge of tears.
“According to Charles, aside from the flood in the days of Noah, last Saturday was the only day in history where those who understood the Word of God could be certain that those who died as a result of the Rapture weren’t believers.” Brian closed his eyes. “The fact that Tom was among them confirms he wasn’t a Christ follower. Which means he’s suffering in torment now…”
“What do you mean ‘suffering in torment’?”
“Well, if what I’m learning is true, and I have every reason to believe it is, he’s in a place called Hades, where he’ll remain until he stands trial before God at what the Bible calls the Great White Judgment.” Mulrooney sighed, “However, your unborn child is in Heaven…”
Jacquelyn remained silent as she tried piecing it all together. She bit the inside of her cheek, as her eyes volleyed back and forth from Brian to her purse on the coffee table. Having summed up what he’d just said, she buried her face in her hands and burst into tears.
Brian tried to console Jacquelyn, but she was inconsolable. After a while she got up off the couch, secured the crutch under her left armpit, and limped toward the door without even saying goodbye.
Brian didn’t try stopping her. She was too determined to leave. Her sobs could be heard all the way down the stairs; it was loud enough to wake the neighbors. That was the least of his worries.
Mulrooney glanced out of his living room window and saw Jacquelyn driving off into the night. His heart was shredded in two.
On one hand he felt proud for being strong enough to share the Truth with her. Just the other day, he was too afraid to read the Bible in front of others. This was a seismic step for him.
On the other hand, he felt deep shame for inflicting even more pain on someone who was already grieving enough for a million people. Now this time bomb?
Brian felt sick to his stomach. He dialed her cell phone number. It went to voice message. At the beep he said, “I’m sorry, Jacquelyn. I didn’t mean to hurt you. Hope you can find it in your heart to forgive me. May the Most High God bless and keep you.”
Mulrooney pushed end on his phone and started weeping.
Life was just too crazy right now.
Not even a quarter-mile from Brian’s apartment, Jacquelyn’s vision was too blurred from tears that she was forced to pull to the side of the road. She wasn’t the slightest bit concerned about being approached by some thug out to steal her truck. She felt sorry for anyone foolish enough to mess with her this night. She had a gun underneath the seat, just in case.
Jacquelyn didn’t need Brian informing her that Tom wasn’t a Christ follower. She knew that better than anyone. When his coffin was lowered into the ground this afternoon, she had an eerie sense that the man she’d loved with all her heart wasn’t resting in peace.
But doomed for all eternity? That was the killer, especially knowing there was nothing she could do for him now. He was gone. The unborn child she eagerly anticipated bringing into this world was also gone. Everything was gone.
If there really was a Heaven and hell, the only remaining question for Jacquelyn was which side would she end up on?
Would it be with Tom? Or would she one day be reunited with her unborn baby in Heaven?
Jacquelyn finally regained the necessary strength and put the car in drive. Once she was home, she changed into pajamas and climbed into bed, pulling the covers over her head. She grimaced when the covers rubbed against the 72 stitches in her left leg. Pain ricocheted throughout her body like a pinball in a pinball machine.
Jacquelyn Swindell wanted to die. Most would have committed suicide by now.
