I need some reaction to this. I'll discuss why later. Thanks for any input.
Chapter one
"You shouldn't even be looking at those people."
Mark Whitworth jumped. He turned from where he had been leaning against the cement parapet that formed the edge of the walkway that circled the outside of the Tacoma Dome.
"Sorry Will, I wasn't really looking at them, just taking some air while we're on our lunch break."
"I understand, but we don't want them to think they're actually getting our attention. It would be best if you came away from the edge there."
"Oh sure," Whitworth mumbled, hoping his face wasn't turning red.
In fact, he had been looking at the little knot of protestors standing near the main entrance to the dome property. In particular, he had noticed a sign: "Do you remember '97." He did remember 1997; he and Lisa had become Disciples the year before, caught up in all the excitement about the prophetic significance of the year. Of course that was over ten years ago, and the significance turned out to be a lot less than what the Disciples had thought.
"Come on back in, it's almost time for the Keynote speech."
Will Jarvis flashed a grin, "the Chief Apostle is giving it himself."
Whitworth forced himself to smile as they walked back inside. Around them, others were packing up the box lunches they had brought with them. Family groups, many older people, and a few single young people that had been taking advantage of the public setting to meet members of the opposite sex from other Gathering Houses. Whitworth himself was in his late thirties, Jarvis was perhaps a few years older.
Whitworth smiled as Javis walked ahead of him. Unlike most of the throng he had decided it was too hot to wear a suit. As a concession to the formality of the occasion he was wearing a tie with his lightly starched slacks and shirt. Javis, who owned a construction company in Spokane, their hometown, thought nothing of wearing cowboy boots with his off the rack suit.
Inside the dome was low-level confusion in action. Six or seven thousand Disciples, lunch nearly over were finding their seats. Music, taken from the Word’s songbook, provided a calming background. Over the stage at the center of the dome, suspended from the ceiling was a large banner, three lines announcing the obvious:
WORD OF GOD FOUNDATION
“THE FINAL DAY IS CLOSE”
GRAND GATHERING, TACOMA, WA.
The two men made their way to the section assigned to their Gathering. Within their assigned sections, the Disciples were free to sit where they wished, but Jarvis and Jerry Covington, the Gathering’s senior Servant; had insisted that the three families sit together.
"They want to keep an eye us," Whitworth said to himself, "do they think they have to run everything?"
Lisa clearly wasn't happy about having to sit next to Shari Covington. Lisa's long red hair was the talk of the Gathering, something that clearly annoyed Shari Covington, who couldn't stand not being the center of attention.
"We were just talking," Shari said as Mark found his seat, "about how wonderful it will be to hear the Chief Apostle again."
"I thought there wasn't really a Chief Apostle anymore, why do we keep talking about him that way?" Lisa asked. Mark thought he saw a wink as Lisa smiled up at him.
"Well," Shari sniffed, "those of us who were raised as Disciples still tend to think of him that way."
Mark shrugged, "he's just one of twelve men that guide the foundation."
"The Apostles are our spiritual leaders. We need always to speak of them with the deference they deserve."
Jerry Covington a sharp faced, dark haired man always spoke as if he was giving a lecture from the stage at the Gathering House back in Spokane. Mark could no longer remember why they had once been friends.
"Fellow Disciples," a man spoke from the stage, "please find your seats; our afternoon program will begin in a moment."
The music grew louder and the crowd quieter as the last of them sat down.
"We will begin our afternoon session of this year’s kickoff Grand Gathering by singing song number one hundred one, 'The Word of Prophecy.'"
The Disciples stood and sang (sort of) to the accompaniment of taped music. Mark looked around his first thought was "this is sad." He couldn’t hear any one that sounded like a real singer. Most of the crowd looked in their songbooks and mumbled the words. After a few excruciating minutes, the song was over.
“We used to have small orchestras,” he thought, “now even the music has to come from New Jerusalem.”
"Fellow Disciples, we now have the privilege of hearing from Apostle John Rodgers on the subject "What Must We Do to Gain Paradise?"
The crowd stood and applauded, some of them seemed genuinely excited. Whitworth couldn't understand why. Every year The Word of God Foundation held hundreds of these three day "Grand Gatherings" at various places around the world. New Jerusalem, the Foundation’s world headquarters located in Seattle, always hosted the first, or Kickoff, Grand Gathering. Tacoma’s smaller venue was their actual site in recent years. And Rodgers ALWAYS spoke at this one.
"I have a bad attitude about this," Whitworth thought to himself as he watched Rodgers approach the stage. Rodgers was...what? In his seventies? However his height, commanding baritone voice and silver hair (had it been longer) gave him the appearance of an Old Testament prophet.
And he clearly still loved his job.
###
Rodgers bounded ahead of his escorts. As he sprang up the steps to the stage, the audience rose to its feet. The applause was polite, respectful. He walked briskly to the microphone and held up his hands for silence. After another few seconds of clapping, the crowd sat down and quieted in anticipation. They all assumed (correctly in Rodgers’ opinion) that he had new, inside information from God that they would want to hear.
As the applause died down, he began speaking, quietly at first.
“My fellow Disciples, today you are going to hear a message unlike any other you have heard before.”
There was a stir in the crowd. He could see many leaning forward to catch his words.
“You see, we’ve been looking for the wrong things. We’ve been reading our bibles, looking at prophecies, and basically sitting around waiting for The Lord Almighty to bring Paradise to us.”
He could see frowns on the faces of the other eleven Apostles in the VIP area in front of him. He had told them the previous night that he was changing his script, but not how much. He could see two of them, Laban Packard and Phil Hogeboom whispering to each other.
“Do you have any idea what he’s talking about?” Laban asked.
“Beats me, but it’s not like one of us can run up there and ask him.”
Sitting next to Hogeboom was David Howell, another of the Apostles.
"Maybe somebody should," he murmured.
"What was that?"
"Nothing, I'll talk to him later," Howell said.
"Better you than me," said Peter McCarrick, seated on the other side of Howell, "I'd rather face the wrath of God than our dear Chief Apostle."
Laban looked around trying to gauge the reactions of his fellow Apostles. Old Ed Knight was smiling and nodded. Laban wondered if he even knew what Rodgers was saying. His friends Ted Kluth and Alvin Lowman looked shocked. Howell looked scared, McCarrick looked amused. The others looked like Knight. Whatever the Chief wanted to say was fine with them.
Rodgers could see the looks and whispered comments; he had a good idea what they were saying. However, he didn’t' care. He was already getting the crowed where he wanted them.
“Of course all of you have been hard at work at the job Jesus gave us, The Disciple Making Work. Many of you have been doing this faithfully for years or even decades. This is commendable; you may anticipate your reward.
“Disciples don’t you think it is about time for your reward?”
This was greeted with a bit more applause.
“Here is the important part of today’s message.
“You will get your reward when you earn it, and the time to earn it is right now. We will no longer wait, we are done waiting!
“The time to usher in the Lord’s Day, to be followed by His blessings in Paradise on Earth is RIGHT NOW!”
Again applause, but again not whole hearted.
“I know some of you are saying to yourselves ‘Apostle Rodgers, haven’t we been down this road before?’ Well no, we haven’t, because this time we aren’t waiting for some great cosmic sky god, like the Outsiders believe in, to come bless us. This time our destiny is in our own hands. We are going to act now for the Lord Almighty and He will bless us for efforts.
“Are you ready to take action for the Lord Almighty?”
The applause was a bit stronger. Rodgers looked up at the crowd, a good number of them still thought they knew what they were about to hear.
Rodgers held is hands up to the microphone and patting them together, mocking the crowd.
“I SAID, are you ready to take action? Do you think that this,” he patted his hands together again, “tells the Lord Almighty that you are ready to take action for Him?
“Disciples, you don’t understand, you are not hearing my words. We will act for the Lord, and he will act for us. The time is NOW! ARE YOU READY?”
Louder applause.
“I asked if you were ready to act on The Lord Almighty’s behalf, and take the first step so that he can bring in Paradise?”
More applause, and a few cheers.
The next sentence was a spoken statement, barely more than a whisper, not a shout.
"Are you really ready?"
This time there was no applause. The sudden lowering of his voice had the dramatic effect he wanted; they felt rebuked. Now he had their attention. He continued to speak, softly, but effectively. The quietness of his voice served only to emphasize the importance of his words.
"That is the question each of us must ask himself. `Am I ready?'
"The time to be ready is here.
"Lot's wife died because she looked back as God destroyed Sodom. Why did she die? Because she wasn't ready to leave behind her old life, even though she had been living in the midst of evil.
"Jesus said that when the time comes two men will be plowing a field, and one will be taken, the other left behind.
"Why? One is ready to serve The Lord Almighty the other is not.
"Are you ready to serve?"
Scattered applause and shouts of "Yes" resounded around the stadium. The chief paused for a moment, like a parent waiting for a child to pay attention to a lecture.
"Jesus said that when the time comes two men will be standing on a roof; one will be taken, one will be left behind.
"Why? One is willing to serve the other is not.
"Are you willing to serve?”
This time there was silence.
"Friends, the time to be ready and willing to serve is at hand. Now is the time to turn from our old lives, to accept the New Work that The Lord commands of His Disciples! The Lord Almighty is speaking to his people. He desires that we take action on his behalf. When The Lord Almighty needs something done He always turns to His people to accomplish it. How could it be otherwise? Sure, he could make the world perfect in the blink of an eye. He could make all of us perfect in the blink of an eye. But what would that prove?
"NOTHING!"
He shouted this last word, and for a moment it echoed around in the poor acoustics of the building.
"Do you think you can all just sit there until The Lord Almighty brings the Paradise?
"No that is not how it's going to happen!
"We have before us the opportunity to perform a great New Work, a time to prove to The Lord that we are worthy of the Paradise that he intends to be our reward.
"When The Lord Almighty's people stand up and say to Satan `Get behind me,' when they say to a World of evildoers `We have no part in you,' when they say to The Lord Almighty `We will work for you.'
"When these people, who call themselves The Lord's chosen people, His Disciples, the Servants of spiritual Israel; when they take ACTION to serve HIM, THEN HE WILL BRING PARADISE."
The audience applauded uncertainly, they knew they wanted to serve God, but this sounded like they were being chastised for failing to do so.
"I want every one who is ready, RIGHT NOW to do The Lord Almighty's bidding, to participate in this New Work, to raise his hand."
Around the stadium hands thrust into the air.
"No," the Chief Apostle was now back to shouting, "I want all of you who are ready to stand. Stand up now for the Lord. Stand up to show Him that you are ready. Stand up to show Him that you WILL do what he asks of you. Stand up now to show Him you love him and reject Satan. Stand up now to show that you are ready to take the actions that he requires of you to bring about the Paradise! Stand up to show your willingness to be part of His New Work."
Around the stadium, people were jumping to their feet. They stood on their chairs and waved their hands above their heads. Who would want to look less than totally enthusiastic about serving God?
Rodgers was on a roll.
"When God called Isaiah how did that prophet answer?"
A few voices responded.
“Ok come on you can do better than that. I know you know the answer. Now, let’s try that again.
“When The Lord Almighty called Isaiah how did that prophet answer?”
"Here am I, Lord Almighty, send me."
“Again, when The Lord God called Isaiah, how did the prophet answer Him?”
“Here am I, Lord Almighty, send me." Stronger this time.
"Disciples of The Word, God is calling you to a new work for Him, How do you answer?"
"HERE AM I, LORD ALMIGHTY, SEND ME."
After the applause died down, the Chief of the Lord's Apostles, The Lord Almighty’s chosen spokesman on Earth, spoke quietly, compellingly.
"In the very near future, you will be given a New Work, the Work which God has called you to accomplish before He can bring in His Paradise.
"ARE YOU READY TO GO TO WORK FOR GOD?"
A roar filled the stadium. They were ready.
###
Word (gr. Log'-os) The Lord Almighty speaks, and what he speaks comes into existence. In Genesis God spoke and the world came into being, in stages, as he communicated his will into the physical universe.
The Lord spoke and Jesus came into existence as His first-born child. When God communicated to the virgin Israelite, Mary, that child came into the physical universe as a man.
The Bible is The Lord’s Word his spoken communication with his fallen creation. It contains in sum total the full reality of God’s relationship with His People, and those that are not His people. It speaks into existence the future history of the world, and the coming Paradise. The Bible’s prophetic messages are reality.
The Bible is difficult to understand. When asked if he understood the passage he was reading the Ethiopian eunuch lamented “How can I with no one to explain it to me?” (Acts 8:31) Today the Word of God Foundation is our Lord Almighty's chosen system of explaining His Word with his Disciples in the last days. The Lord has called for Apostles to provide the explanation, and Servants to guide every Gathering of his Disciples so that all may come to a clear understanding of the pure language of His Word.
-ENCYCLOPEDIC DICTIONARY OF THE BIBLE; WORD OF GOD FOUNDATION, SEATTLE, WA; 1980.