(Sorry this got to be longer than I expected)
Attention Born in Lurkers- 3 rd and 4 th Generation.
A fictional account- .....
The year was 1878, and your Great Grandfather had just received information from God through a dream that the country was going to be destroyed within a few years by means of a massive earthquake. The dream directed him to biblical calculations in the books of Daniel and Revelation that pointed to the exact time period the earthquake would strike. He was shaken by this news and firmly resolved to warn his family and all that he could. He approached this warning work with zeal and conviction. He enlisted the help of his son, your grandfather to publish this warning. The earthquake was due to hit shortly so your Great Grandfather and his family sold all of their property and began to travel to spread the message.
In every City he was met with ridicule and skepticism. The citizens would listen to his message, and dismiss the idea from their minds as the ramblings of a crazy person. This rejection did not flag his zeal though as he would simply continue on to the next city. Some people did listen though and took action first by warning their neighbors of the approaching destruction and then by moving to another part of the world to be safe.
The years began to pass, at first 5 and then 10, and then 20. Soon your Great Grandfather contracted a fatal disease. On his death bed he coughed and gasped, and then called his son over and said “my son, our message is true, I am confident that the earthquake will be here before the autumn of this year. Continue my work and try to save as many people from this disaster. He then closed his eyes and passed away.
The son, your grandfather looked at his father and broke down with grief. He resolved to continue the work that his father had started. He gathered his family, his son and daughter and wife, and explained that the earthquake would hit before the autumn was here. Everyone agreed and began to spread the word with greater intensity. Technology had begun to change rapidly and your grandfather saw the advantages it could have in broadcasting the warning. Soon there were world wide radio interconnects in multiple languages warning of the coming earthquake.
The spring passed as well as the summer, and then the fall. Winter came and snow began to fall. Your grandfather looked out of the window of his small travel trailer at the snow piling up and wondered aloud, “The earthquake was supposed to be here by now. Why hasn’t it come? Was my father wrong? What did we not understand in God’s warning?” He opened the bible that his father had kept and out fell a piece of paper. He read it and reread it and as he did so tears of joy and anguish came to his eyes.
He rushed to the kitchenette where his wife and children were seated and shouted, “We have had it all wrong! My father left me his calculations, and in reviewing it I found that he made a simple mathematical mistake! The earthquake will be here before the middle of the century.” He continued, “I am certain that the paper falling out of the bible was God’s direction. He knew that we had more warning work to do and wanted to give us the boost we needed to continue.”
After a family meeting everyone resolved to continue on in the warning work. The size of the pending earthquake had been previously underestimated and would affect not just one nation but multiple nations. This fact added urgency to the message. Your Grandfather Grandmother, and their son and daughter, who later became your mother, began to go from house to house with a custom made sound car, warning people to leave the Country before the earthquake hit. They spoke to crowds in school gymnasiums, at churches, in theaters. Years passed again, 5, 10, 20 years and still no earthquake came. By this time your Grandfather was elderly and not able to get out as he used to. This fact did not discourage him though. He would say,” even if I can get out of this trailer 15 minutes a day, I can maybe warn someone.”
Your uncle was approaching middle age and decided that he wanted to have a family of his own. He came to his father and said, “Dad, I want to get a job and get married and have kids. I have been on the road with you for almost 50 years warning people about the earthquake, and every year that passes makes me think that maybe we were wrong.” His Father responded angrily- “Son you have spent the best years of your life saving other peoples life. Look at how many people have listened to us. How can you say that the earthquake is not coming? Go ahead and leave, start your family work in your job, but remember this warning message is from God not from me. If you leave us, you are in essence turning your back on God.”
From that day on your Grandfather would not even admit that he had a son. The Family erased the memory of him away and threw themselves back into the work. Still another 5 years passed and your mother and her husband, who had become a believer, had a child….you.
Your early life was spent riding in a car from town to town, telling people about the earthquake that would shortly hit. You have fond memories about those times as well as sad ones such as the memory of your mother weeping in the car as your father consoled her with the words “Oh honey it’s coming I promise. Your grandfather was right about the earthquake. It will come soon.” Still, your family was focused on warning as many people as possible before it was too late.
Another year came and went, and your Grandfather passed away. He had been sick for some time but had always seemed to have the spark that would keep him going. It was a sad day when his son, your uncle whom you had never met, came into the church where the funeral services were being held and placed flowers on the coffin. He silently and slowly turned from the coffin and walked down the aisle and through the door of the church. You wondered at that time as he passed by you, what he was like and who your cousins were, but you knew that you would never be able to know them because he had rejected the warning message of your Grandfather.
And so now we come to the present day 35 years later from the day your Grandfather passed on to his heavenly reward. It was 130 years ago today, that your Great Grandfather had the dream that the nation would be destroyed by a massive earthquake. Your Grandfather spent his life warning everyone he could speak to about the imminent disaster. Your mother and father are still warning people even though they are now well along in years. Every time there is an earthquake anywhere in the world, your Mother calls you excitedly and says “see Son we were right!” Yet none of the earthquakes have destroyed whole nations.
You are now 35 years old yourself. You have forgone schooling and the chance to have a family. Working as a night janitor doesn’t bring in enough money to even put new tires on your car. You see people your age with careers and families, who are going on vacations, and you secretly begin to resent your Great Grandfather and Grandfather and Mother for perpetuating a fantasy.
You sit down and look out the window at the snow beginning to collect and begin to wonder, What if we had it all wrong? What good is a warning message if everyone who heard it over the last century is dead? Is it possible that my Great Grandfather just had a religious experience that somehow snowballed? Why would God allow us to waste our time for 130 years on a warning that is not needed? If my Great Grandfather was wrong on the mathematical calculations is it possible that he was wrong on other things also? Is it fair that I never got to know my Uncle and his family just because he chose not to believe in something that never happened? How can I be sure that what I was taught from birth is right? Does God just want me to blindly believe in this message regardless of the evidence to the contrary?
You sigh deeply and lean down to put your boots on. It is going to be a long night at work.