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Authors: J. G. SANDOM
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9
Present Day
Los Angeles
B Y THE TIME M ICHAEL ROSE FINALLY MADE IT ONSTAGE, HE was late. He'd been forced to endure a phalanx of supplicants and petitioners from the parking lot to the dressing rooms, with time-sensitive questions about Webinars and search engine optimization, telethons, tax exemptions and gross rating points. His pretty wife, Judy, and Thaddeus were already up front by the podium. The attendance was excellent. More than ten thousand teens, tweens and twenty-somethings swelled the arena. When they saw him, a few girls pressed forward, crowding the stage. One was wearing a pink and white dress with blue ribbons. Barely eighteen, Michael guessed. Then the spotlight came on.
“Why do we study the End-Times?” Michael said. The auditorium grew dark. A giant screen behind the dais burst into light as the first of the three cameras caught the figure descending the stage. “What are the four pillars which support this assembly?”
The crowd murmured and voices cried out, “Salvation through Christ!”
“Amen. And what else?” Michael asked.
“Divine healing!”
“Deliverance from sickness is provided for in the atonement,” he said.
“Baptism in the Holy Spirit!”
“Yea, all believers are entitled to receive the baptism in the Holy Spirit, and should expect and seek the promise of the Father. And what's the last pillar, my brothers and sisters?”
“The Second Coming!” someone shrieked.
Michael turned toward the voice. “That's right,” he said. “The Second Coming.” A rampart of kettle drums sounded. Horns blew. The words WHY STUDY THE END-TIMES appeared on the gargantuan screen, superimposed upon Michael's flushed face. “It is fitting to study the End-Times for three reasons: first, to come to know Jesus; second, because the Bible tells us to be prepared for His coming; and third, because when Jesus returns He will bring His reward, as the apostles foretold. Al most all the letters of the New Testament look forward to some future age. And they call for complete obedience in lifestyle as it relates to the judgment and blessings you'll receive in that future. I tell you that great and terrible Day of the Lord…” he continued as the stage lights grew dim and the spotlight went out, “…which the Bible tells us will shake the whole world, the whole planet, is coming—sooner than you probably think.”
With that, the auditorium seemed to erupt into flames. Fireworks burst in the air. Giant screens behind the stage came to life. They depicted volcanic explosions and earthquakes and floods. They pictured infernos of fire. The seats of the auditorium started to shake, to bounce, and a portentous blowing of horns filled the air. Then it stopped. A spotlight shone down on a figure on the far side of the stage—a young girl, dressed in white. She was kneeling and praying, bathed in pearlescentlight. Another spotlight shone down upon Michael. “But there is a shift taking place in this world,” he continued, “especially amongst the young, such as you.” The screens of disaster were replaced by a close-up of the young girl in white, fused gently with Michael's own face. “God is stirring you to seek out more than an eBay of self-help philosophies. Could it be, I ask you, that the Holy Spirit is awakening a prayer movement to contend for revival on a planetary scale?
“Much has been written about the first generation of Christians, who seemed convinced that the Lord would return in their lifetimes.” Renderings of the saints and apostles shimmered behind him. “Then, something happened.” A depiction of the Temple of Jerusalem filled the screen. In a flash, it was gone, burnt to rubble. “Jerusalem was destroyed in A.D . 70 after a failed Jewish revolt, and with it, the Temple. Brick by brick, as Jesus foretold. Then, in 135, after another rebellion, Jerusalem was wiped off the face of the earth. The kingdom of Israel was no more. And many Church leaders began to write of
Present Day
Los Angeles
B Y THE TIME M ICHAEL ROSE FINALLY MADE IT ONSTAGE, HE was late. He'd been forced to endure a phalanx of supplicants and petitioners from the parking lot to the dressing rooms, with time-sensitive questions about Webinars and search engine optimization, telethons, tax exemptions and gross rating points. His pretty wife, Judy, and Thaddeus were already up front by the podium. The attendance was excellent. More than ten thousand teens, tweens and twenty-somethings swelled the arena. When they saw him, a few girls pressed forward, crowding the stage. One was wearing a pink and white dress with blue ribbons. Barely eighteen, Michael guessed. Then the spotlight came on.
“Why do we study the End-Times?” Michael said. The auditorium grew dark. A giant screen behind the dais burst into light as the first of the three cameras caught the figure descending the stage. “What are the four pillars which support this assembly?”
The crowd murmured and voices cried out, “Salvation through Christ!”
“Amen. And what else?” Michael asked.
“Divine healing!”
“Deliverance from sickness is provided for in the atonement,” he said.
“Baptism in the Holy Spirit!”
“Yea, all believers are entitled to receive the baptism in the Holy Spirit, and should expect and seek the promise of the Father. And what's the last pillar, my brothers and sisters?”
“The Second Coming!” someone shrieked.
Michael turned toward the voice. “That's right,” he said. “The Second Coming.” A rampart of kettle drums sounded. Horns blew. The words WHY STUDY THE END-TIMES appeared on the gargantuan screen, superimposed upon Michael's flushed face. “It is fitting to study the End-Times for three reasons: first, to come to know Jesus; second, because the Bible tells us to be prepared for His coming; and third, because when Jesus returns He will bring His reward, as the apostles foretold. Al most all the letters of the New Testament look forward to some future age. And they call for complete obedience in lifestyle as it relates to the judgment and blessings you'll receive in that future. I tell you that great and terrible Day of the Lord…” he continued as the stage lights grew dim and the spotlight went out, “…which the Bible tells us will shake the whole world, the whole planet, is coming—sooner than you probably think.”
With that, the auditorium seemed to erupt into flames. Fireworks burst in the air. Giant screens behind the stage came to life. They depicted volcanic explosions and earthquakes and floods. They pictured infernos of fire. The seats of the auditorium started to shake, to bounce, and a portentous blowing of horns filled the air. Then it stopped. A spotlight shone down on a figure on the far side of the stage—a young girl, dressed in white. She was kneeling and praying, bathed in pearlescentlight. Another spotlight shone down upon Michael. “But there is a shift taking place in this world,” he continued, “especially amongst the young, such as you.” The screens of disaster were replaced by a close-up of the young girl in white, fused gently with Michael's own face. “God is stirring you to seek out more than an eBay of self-help philosophies. Could it be, I ask you, that the Holy Spirit is awakening a prayer movement to contend for revival on a planetary scale?
“Much has been written about the first generation of Christians, who seemed convinced that the Lord would return in their lifetimes.” Renderings of the saints and apostles shimmered behind him. “Then, something happened.” A depiction of the Temple of Jerusalem filled the screen. In a flash, it was gone, burnt to rubble. “Jerusalem was destroyed in A.D . 70 after a failed Jewish revolt, and with it, the Temple. Brick by brick, as Jesus foretold. Then, in 135, after another rebellion, Jerusalem was wiped off the face of the earth. The kingdom of Israel was no more. And many Church leaders began to write of
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