"03 - Acts of God" - читать интересную книгу автора (BeauSeigneur James)

Still, for most people the idea that they themselves would be part of humanity's evolution to some form of powerful spirit beings was more than they could readily accept. Evolution was an easy concept as long as it took place over tens of millions of years, but the idea that they would personally be witness to and a part of a great evolutionary leap, though enticing, was far more difficult to adjust to. Psychologists, discussing the subject on television, likened the anxiety and confusion people were experiencing to the emotions of people who had just found out they had won the lottery: they wanted to believe, but nothing this extraordinary had ever happened and they were not sure how to deal with it.

Additional confusion resulted from Christopher's allusion to people living for a thousand years, and he did little to clear this up later in his address Ч saying only that the path to this extended life 'would be revealed soon, but not until the time was right.' Decker, too, was unclear about this and later asked Christopher how he would give people thousand-year life spans. Offering only slightly more clarification, Christopher answered that there would be a period of perhaps a year to allow people to adjust to the new realization of truth and the new paradigm of life, and then they would be given 'the communion that gives eternal life.'

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But while there remained much that the world did not comprehend, what everyone did understand was that John and Cohen were dead and that the earth was miraculously being restored. Although the amazing plant growth that Christopher initiated had slowed to near normal when he lowered his hand, the earth's restoration was still obvious: flowers bloomed, grass grew, leaves opened and vines stretched forth. Even the most devastated areas of the earth were becoming green and lush again. After all the destruction and death the earth had experienced, most of those who survived were eager to believe in Christopher and all he had promised, even if they did not completely understand it. The world was being restored, and once again there was hope.

Around the world great celebrations marked the death of Yahweh's prophets and the restoration of the planet. People sent gifts to each other to mark the end of John and Cohen's reign of terror. In Jerusalem Ч despite Christopher's warning that the bodies still possessed great residual power and should not be touched for at least four days Ч a crew of city workers had been dispatched to dispose of the corpses shortly after the crowds left. The results were disastrous. The three workers burst into flames the moment they touched the bodies. The gruesome scene, captured live by cameramen and reporters, served to punctuate and confirm the earnestness of all that Christopher had said.

And so the bodies were left where they had fallen, with cameras poised nearby, should any other unexpected event occur. In a way, the bodies became a sort of grisly trophy Ч not just for Christopher, but for the people of the earth, for 'Humankind,' who had steadfastly refused to bow to John and Cohen's teachings. The result was a sort of countdown until the remains of the two men could finally be removed and buried. Thus, ironically, for the next three days the celebration of joy and new life for the earth and hope for Humankind revolved around the vigil of the lifeless bodies of the two Jewish prophets that lay in the streets of Jerusalem.

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At the United Nations in New York, Christopher Goodman officially took the office of Secretary-General. While many, including most of the members of the Security Council, encouraged him to accept even greater control over world government, Christopher declined, explaining that his purpose was not to establish a benevolent planetary dictatorship but rather 'to lead Humankind toward a place of complete individual self-governance.' Any other goal, he explained, would be anathema and contrary to the design of the New Age. "Humankind must ultimately look within itself for the answers, not to me or to any other savior," he stated emphatically. "In the days to follow," Christopher vowed, "I will work together with the Security Council and the rest of the United Nations to lay the foundation for world recovery and the universal advancement of the people of the earth toward the promise that lies ahead." Nevertheless, because of the near annihilation of the populations of the Middle East and East Africa, Christopher accepted caretaker authority over those regions while continuing in his role as Primary on the Security Council for Western Europe.

As he promised in his Jerusalem address, one of his first acts as Secretary-General was to recommend changing the international calendar to reflect the dawn of the New Age. The recommendation received unanimous backing from the U.N., and thus, though the months and days remained the same, the year formerly known as 2023 A.D. was officially changed to the first year of the New Age, notated as 1 N.A.; and March 11, Christopher's resurrection day, became New Year's day.

Not everyone welcomed Christopher's rise to power, however, and not all celebrated the death of the prophets. Certainly the members of the Koum Damah Tatare and their followers did not; but neither did they mourn for their fallen leaders, nor did they retreat into seclusion. It seemed reasonable to assume that at least a few KDT would have accepted Christopher's offer to join him. His offer of amnesty and acceptance, thrice stated in his Jerusalem address and

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restated in his inaugural address to the United Nations, was certainly generous enough. Instead, without exception, the KDT went about their customary activities with a new vengeance, declaring in contrast to Christopher's message of hope and peace, that the world was on the brink of an even greater disaster. Of the 144,000 members of the Koum Damah Tatare, approximately one-third were now in Israel, while the others continued their proselytizing throughout the rest of the world. In Israel the KDT ceased their usual preaching and accusing and instead began to tell the people of Israel to flee into the Jordanian wilderness east of Israel.

9:27 p.m. March 15,1 N.A. (2023 A.D.) Ч Jerusalem

It was the evening of the third day following the deaths of John and Cohen. A light rain had been falling since before dawn and continued until about four o'clock, leaving the formerly dry earth moist and alive. The air was filled with the fresh smell of spring. The Jewish Temple, though quiet since sunset, had been filled with activity each day since Christopher's address from the Temple summit. Attorneys representing High Priest Chaim Levin had lodged formal protests against Christopher Goodman with the United Nations, and Levin spewed an unceasing fount of charges against both Christopher and Robert Milner. As intended, the desecration of the altar and sanctuary by Milner and Christopher had brought to a halt the daily animal sacrifices. Even more infuriating to the High Priest was the destruction of the stone tablets on which the Ten Commandments were written. A massive effort by a team of priests and Levites was underway to piece the tablets back together, but there were so many pieces Ч some little more than dust Ч and it appeared that many of the recognizable pieces had been pocketed by onlookers. There was little hope of actually completing the task.

The KDT were active, as well. In addition to telling the people to flee Israel, they were also telling anyone who would listen that the name Christopher Goodman, written phonetically

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in Hebrew ( pl3 TJVJOID), has a numeric value of 666 Ч a number which, according to the book of Revelation in the New Testament of the Bible, is the value of the name of the Antichrist.8

Near the foot of the Temple steps lay the undisturbed remains of John and Cohen. The bodies, still charged with the strange power, lay unaffected by the passage of time, untouched by insects, and with no sign of decay. Though nothing had happened since the deaths of the city sanitation workers three days earlier, a few cameras, mounted on tripods, still remained trained on the two bodies. The cameramen, who had the misfortune of being assigned to what seemed to be the most boring assignment possible, were killing time playing cards while their cameras continued to record the motionless scene.

Unnoticed by the men, three teenage boys taunted a fourth and younger boy toward the corpses. Slowly moving closer, one of the elder miscreants produced a stick and dared the younger boy to use it to poke at the bodies. Quickly the other two boys joined in, urging the younger onward.

One of the cameramen, who was having a less than prosperous night of cards, looked up and saw the boys. "Hey, look at that," he whispered to the other players.

One of the men started to get up to warn the boys to stay away, but he was stopped by two others. "Let them be," said one of them as he moved slowly and quietly from his seat.

"Let them be," echoed the second as he moved with equal stealth toward the tripod which held his camera.

The fourth player, whose back was toward the dead prophets, turned to see what was so important as to interrupt him from his three eights. Almost immediately he understood and looked dumbfounded at the cameraman whose warning had been silenced. The latter offered only a shrug as he, too, got up to attend to his camera. Within seconds the cameramen had notified their respective networks of the situation. The boys

'Revelation 13:18.

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