Fire Of Heaven 02 - Threshold
Page 29
As the paramedics moved in, Brandon turned to survey the church. Everything was a mess. Broken glass, strewn debris. Behind him, the cross lay on the ground exactly where it had fallen. Exactly where it had saved his life. How much of it had actually happened and how much of it had been a vision, he didn’t know. But he did know that it was real. All of it. A “superreality,” that’s what Reichner had called it, and that’s what he had experienced.
Dazed and weak, Brandon started up the aisle. More people were entering, many of them heading to the front. Some spoke, most simply stared. He’d nearly reached the back doors when Frank and Del appeared. Not far behind them trailed a silent and very meek Henderson, his right arm in a sling, his wrist bandaged.
Brandon slowed to a stop. Frank was the first to break the silence. “You all right, buddy?”
Brandon looked at him. Even though Frank sounded concerned, Brandon saw something else — sensed it, really. In Frank’s eyes, in his voice, he sensed an anger. A hurt and an anger. How odd. They’d been friends all of these years, and Brandon had never seen it before. Not like this. Until that moment, he’d had no idea the kind of rage Frank held inside.
“Bran?”
Brandon blinked, then slowly nodded to the question. The three of them stood another moment. But no other words could be found. Somehow things had changed. Things had changed, and Brandon suspected that this would be their last conversation for a very long while.
He turned and started back up the aisle toward the doors. Henderson stepped aside to let him pass, but Brandon hesitated. Henderson shifted uneasily under his gaze. Brandon sensed his shame, but he sensed something else as well. There was a goodness here. He knew that there was nothing he could do to take away the pain of Henderson’s guilt. But, just as he had sensed Frank’s rage, he now sensed there was something he could do for Henderson. For the physical pain, for the pain in his arm.
It was an odd impulse, but slowly, tentatively, Brandon stretched out his hand toward the arm. Henderson watched, shifting uncomfortably, throwing a nervous look at Frank and Del.
When Brandon’s hand finally touched the arm, Henderson flinched. Not in pain, but in uncertainty. He looked up at Brandon but didn’t move. Slowly, Brandon felt a heat spread through his fingers and into his palm. Henderson must have felt it, too, for he watched in amazement. The heat lasted only a few seconds. When it faded, Brandon removed his hand. He looked up at Henderson, who reached over with his good hand to rub his injured arm, then squeeze it. Carefully, he pulled it from the sling, holding it up in amazement, wiggling his fingers, checking for pain. There was none. He looked back at Brandon, speechless.
Brandon gave a reassuring smile. He knew that it had been healed.
And with that knowledge came yet another insight. Somebody else, another person, needed his help. Without a word, Brandon turned and made his way through the crowd and toward the exit.
Melinda Hauser knocked on the townhouse door a second time. She saw lights on inside, but there was no answer.
“You sure you got the right address?” Robin asked.
Melinda glanced down at the business card in her hand. The back read “1223 Ramona Drive.” The doctor had written it down earlier that morning while they had stood in line at the grocery store. And that was the address they now stood in front of. As a pre-med student visiting her aunt for the summer, Melinda had heard plenty about Moran Research Institute, and she was more than a little interested. But she knew that this Reichner fellow wasn’t only intrigued by her ESP. His wandering eyes had told her that he was also fascinated by other, more obvious attributes. That’s why she’d invited her friend Robin. It would be fun to listen to the man, to ask questions, to hear him tell about paranormal studies … and Robin’s company would ensure that that was all he did.
“Try the door.”
Melinda hesitated.
“Go ahead.”
Melinda turned the handle. It was unlocked. She pushed it open. The entryway floor was green marble. A chandelier hung above them, and a beveled mirror faced them from the opposite wall.
“Dr. Reichner?”
No answer. They stepped inside. Melinda cleared her throat and tried again. “Doctor?”
Beyond the entryway a dim light glowed.
“Hello? Is anybody home?”
She glanced at Robin, who motioned her forward.
“Hello …” They eased through the entry hall and around the corner to see the living room. “Dr. Reich —”
She stopped. By the armchair, a body was sprawled out on the floor.
“Dr. Reichner!” She raced toward it. Even in the dim light, she could see that his eyes were open and frozen. The skin was ashen white. But it was the expression on his face that made her skin crawl. The mouth was open as if caught in mid-scream. And the eyes — she couldn’t recall ever seeing such horror in someone’s eyes.
She stooped and touched his neck. She could find no pulse, and the body was already cold.
Robin leaned past her. “Should we call 911?”
For a moment Melinda didn’t respond. She was still unable to take her eyes off the tortured expression.
“Mel?” Robin repeated.
Melinda glanced up, then shook her head. “No,” she said, looking back down. “No need to bother them. Not now.”
As soon as Brandon joined the crowd outside, he felt something cold and wet strike his face. Then again. And again.
“It’s raining,” someone shouted. “Look, it’s raining!”
Brandon tilted back his head. More drops splashed onto his face. He could hear excitement sweep through the crowd as the drops came down harder and faster. At last, the long, hot weeks of drought had come to an end.
Brandon lowered his head and surveyed the crowd. They were all looking up at the sky, blinking as the drops splattered on their faces. Old man McPherson had removed his hat. Some of the children started to cheer. The adults were smiling, talking; some were beginning to laugh.
“Brandon?”
He turned to see the reverend moving down the church steps to join him.
“Brandon …” The rain came harder now. Both were getting soaked, but neither moved to find shelter. “In there — I don’t understand. What happened?”
Brandon saw something in the reverend’s eyes he had never noticed before. Fear. A fragile vulnerability. These insights, this seeing into people was growing stronger. Once again, Brandon was moved with compassion. He wished he could do something to ease the man’s fear, to remove his pain as he had Henderson’s. But healing an arm seemed far easier than healing a man’s soul.
“I’m sure it all has a logical explanation,” the reverend continued. “But that voice from the roof. And Henderson’s arm. I saw what you did to his arm.”
Brandon shook his head. “I don’t understand it all — but I’ve got some ideas.”
The reverend looked at him, waiting for more. Once again, Brandon was struck by the man’s eyes, by his searching, his loneliness. Such need.
“Where are you going?” the reverend asked.
Brandon looked over the crowd, then up the road. “To the hospital.”
“The hospital?”
Brandon nodded. “I’ve got a friend there who needs help.”
The reverend continued to stare. Brandon offered no explanation but turned to leave.
“Brandon?”
He looked back.
“Be careful. God knows what you’ve gotten yourself into.”
Brandon nodded slowly. “Then I guess … I guess I’ll leave it to him to get me out.”
They stood silently in the rain. There was much more to be said. Brandon could feel it. But he could also feel a sense of urgency from the hospital. Sarah was in deeper danger than he had thought. Without a word he turned, took a deep breath, and started walking. The battle was over, he knew that. But the war had barely begun. There would be other confrontations on other fronts, far more sinister and far more deadly than what he’d fac
ed in the church. “Our business is not yet finished,” that’s what the beast had said.
But Brandon would be ready.
Not because he was smarter, or stronger, and not because he’d worked up some sort of synthetic, man-made faith. No, Brandon Martus would be ready simply because he now knew how to trust. It would be just as it had been on the floor in front of the altar. In all of his helplessness and ignorance and failure, he would simply reach out to the pierced hand and put his trust in it.
That was his only hope, the pierced hand. And as he continued walking into the downpour, making his way up the darkened street, Brandon knew that was all he would need.
NOTES REGARDING REVELATION 11
I realize some of the issues in this novel are controversial. That’s probably why I chose them. Like Christ’s parables, good storytelling should stir up the audience, wake us from our complacency, and get us to think.
One area of disagreement may involve the two witnesses mentioned in Revelation. There are numerous interpretations of this prophecy. Some believe the two are Elijah and Moses, or Enoch and Elijah, or others. Some scholars don’t even believe that the witnesses are people at all but that they are symbols of the law and the church, or the Jewish people and the church. No one is certain.
And while we’re speaking of uncertainty, I’ve checked with Greek experts about the gender of the two prophets. According to the original language, if the witnesses are indeed individuals, one of them needs to be male. However, there is nothing in the Greek preventing the other from being female.
All in all, I hope these portions of the story will make for interesting thought and discussion. That’s the excitement of finite minds trying to understand an infinite God and his inerrant Word … we seldom get the details of prophecy figured out until after they happen. If you disagree with the book’s interpretation, that’s fine. I’ll probably agree with your disagreement. Again, my purpose, while staying within the boundaries of Scripture, was to stir up our thought, not dictate it. I hope it worked.
Blessings, Bill
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Myers holds a degree in theater arts from the University of Washington and an honorary doctorate from the Theological Institute of Nimes, France where he has taught. As a writer/director his work has won 60 national and international awards. His DVDs and books have sold 8 million copies. His children’s DVD and book series, McGee and Me, has sold 4.5 million copies and has won 24 Gold and Platinum ITA awards, been aired on ABC as well as in 80 countries. He has written, directed and been voices for Focus on the Family’s Adventures in Odyssey radio series and is the voice of Jesus in Zondervan’s NIV Audio Bible. His children book series, My Life As…, has sold 2.1 million copies. As an author, his children series have made the Best Selling list as well as seven of his adult novels. He has been interviewed for Good Morning America and ABC Nightly News. Several of his novels are currently under option for motion pictures including Blood of Heaven, When the Last Leaf Falls and his 12-part Forbidden Doors series (winner of the C.S. Lewis Honor Award). The motion picture, The Wager, staring Randy Travis and based on his novel by the same name, was recently released.
Threshold Copyright © 1997 by Bill Myers
First Paperback Edition: 1997
First eBook Edition: 2011
Amaris Media International.
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Myers, Bill, 1953–. Threshold / Bill Myers.
Scripture quotations are taken from the New International Version, the New American Standard Bible, and the King James Version. The New International Version is copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. The New American Standard Bible is copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977 by the Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means — electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or any other — except for brief quotations in printed reviews, without the prior permission of the publisher.
Published in the United States of America
THRESHOLD
BILL MYERS
Table of Contents
Praise for Bill Myers
Other works by Bill Myers
Dedication
Preface
Prologue
PART ONE: Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
PART TWO: Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
PART THREE: Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Author’s Note on Revelation 11
About the Author
Copyright Information
Table of Contents
Praise for Bill Myers
Other works by Bill Myers
Dedication
Preface
Prologue
PART ONE: Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
PART TWO: Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
PART THREE: Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Author's Note on Revelation 11
About the Author
Copyright Information