The Harvest

by John David Krygelski

  “As you said, I spoke earlier about the need for judgment. However, I did not explain the mechanism. The result of my judgment is not punishment; it is only reward, reward for being the kind of person I see as being a just, noble, and good person. Perhaps of more importance, the reward is for having become the kind of person who is fit to live with me in Heaven.”

  “Isn’t the absence of that reward a punishment?”

  “I have told you there is no hell, at least in the classical sense. Those who do not go to Heaven simply do not go to Heaven. If they choose to view that as a punishment, so be it. The outcome is, after all, a result of their own doing, their own choices and decisions throughout their lives. If I offer you a loaf of bread, and to receive it, you are asked to walk across the room and fetch it, either you will do so or you will not. If you walk across the room and take bread, I assume you want it. If you do not, I assume you don’t. If you maintain loudly and unpleasantly that you want the loaf very much, and yet, you refuse to walk across the room to get it, I assume that indeed you do not want the bread. I also assume you are a fool. If, in the end, you do not have the loaf of bread, have you been punished?”

  “I understand what you are saying, but you aren’t implying that getting into Heaven is that simple.”

  “Of course I do not mean to imply anything of the sort. I compared a loaf of bread with a brief walk. The price paid is fair for the item received. Living in Heaven is an eternity of wonder and happiness. Surely it is worth a mere, single lifetime of becoming and being a person fit for the privilege? But, please, dear Reese, I continue to wait for you to tell me of a benefit of fear.”

  “I still believe fear prevents us from doing ourselves harm.”

  “In a manner of speaking, it does. However, if you were to find yourself standing at the edge of a roof three stories high, do you not know intellectually that if you step off, you will break your legs, or perhaps worse? Do you need fear to tell you not to do it?”

  “No, I suppose I don’t. You’re saying wisdom takes the place of fear?”

  “Yes. And it is far superior to fear.”

  “Then, perhaps fear is a precursor of wisdom. Perhaps we have it to warn us of a danger we have not yet learned, or perhaps to warn us of a danger we cannot quantify or even identify through wisdom alone.”

  “For example?”

  “I have two. My first example for a precursor would be all of our childhood fears. We have not yet had the time or training to learn all that can hurt us. Doesn’t fear keep us alive until our education is more complete?”

  “Excellent. And your second?”

  “I have met people in my life who looked ‘normal.’ Everything about them, if I analyzed them only intellectually, appeared to be fine. And yet, I have felt fear from time to time, and that fear caused me to get away from those people. In most instances I have never known if it was a wise decision; but, in a few, I later discovered they were not good people, perhaps they were even horrible people, and it was wise to get away. I had no wisdom I could have used at those moments – only my fear, and it served me well.”

  “Both are good examples. You would not have been equipped with fear if it did not serve a purpose, and you have done a very good job of describing the purpose. The problem with fear is that you do begin to rely upon it at an early age and, for many, you never replace it with the wisdom you acquire. It is fear, for some, which prevents you from ever becoming a singer, an actor, or an orator. It is fear which may prevent you from approaching the person who would become the love of your life. Those fears and many others were outgrown long ago and never discarded. So tell me, Reese, what is the name of the fear you feel at this moment? The fear preventing you from asking your question?”

  “I fear your answer.”

  “Why?”

  “Elohim, I was at one time a devout Catholic. In many ways I still am. As a result of, well, a terrible time in my life, I briefly turned my back on the Church, on all faith. I eventually returned, not only to attend mass and receive the blessed Sacrament, but to study the faith. At that time there was a movement in the world which told us our religion was irrelevant and science was all we needed. That movement has grown, and it has intensified to the point where we are now told our faith is dangerous and hateful. I have made it my life’s work to prove them wrong, to show that faith in God and a belief in the teachings of God are more important now than ever.”

  “I know all of this. How does this lead you to fear my answer to your question?”

  “I’m sad to say that it must be my ego. I have quite a lot at stake, have gone so far out on the limb I can barely see the trunk. Your answer will either confirm all I believe, or shatter it, making my life a waste. No, it would be worse than a waste because I would have misled so many who believed me.”

  Reese’s voice, throughout his answer, had gotten softer and more intense. He was leaning forward as he spoke, his face extended halfway across the table toward Elohim. Slowly, gently, Elohim reached out and placed his hands upon Reese’s. Reese’s body shook as he once again felt the surge of joy sweep through him. All of his fear, anxiety, and tension were washed away by the torrent. “My son, my dear Reese, you have nothing to fear from my answer. Ask your question.”

  Taking a deep breath, Reese then swallowed, attempting to ensure a steadiness in his voice. Finally, he asked, “Why are you here? Why have you come now?”

  Elohim removed his hands from Reese’s. Their absence created an immediate void. Reese found himself craving their return.

  “This visitation has been foretold many times. All of the true prophets spoke of it. My Son, Jesus, did His best to prepare you for it. I have come to judge.”

  Reese could not have been prepared for the impact these words had upon him. They pierced him like a bolt of lightning. Struggling to maintain his composure, he remained speechless. Elohim, giving him time to assimilate this news, said nothing. For the first time during these interviews, Reese thought about the others outside the glass, especially Claire, and how they were receiving this.

  After several minutes, Reese recovered sufficiently to speak. “The End of Days?”

  “Again, my friend, I do not want to appear evasive, but, yes, for some that is the case.”

  “I’m afraid I don’t understand…will your visit differ from Revelation?”

  “Revelation portrayed the Day of Judgment as a period of great tumult and calamity. It also spoke of it as being a necessary precursor to this day. Those things which have been described are not inevitable, and they are certainly not of my direct making.”

  “There will not be a holocaust?”

  “If there is, it will be man-made.”

  “No Antichrist?”

  “Not in the sense it is written and as it is interpreted by scholars. There are those who will be most displeased with my arrival and angered by my intent. Among those may arise a leader. I cannot say. His actions may fulfill the prophecy.”

  “Will there be a ‘rapture’?”

  “There were also some slight inaccuracies in that passage, as well. Those among you who have earned the privilege of living for an eternity in Heaven shall be taken. Will there be a mass phenomenon, with the Chosen suddenly disappearing from their beds, offices, cars, and airplanes? No, that is not how it will occur. Nor will it be involuntary. It will be orderly. It will be a pleasant transition for those who go.”

  “Voluntary?”

  “Yes. There are those who are invited and who will choose to stay. They will be allowed to do so. I do not want anyone living with me who does not wish to be there.”

  “Why would anyone choose not to go?”

  “That is an easier question to answer than you might think, and I am certain that if you were not still so shaken by the course of this conversation, it would have occurred to you. Reese, I am not saying this is the case, but, hypothetically, if you learned you were chosen and Claire or Melissa or Matthew was not, would you go?”

  “No
. I would not.”

  “There is your answer. There will be many to whom that decision will be presented.”

  “Do they ever get to Heaven?”

  “Yes, assuming their continued lives on Earth do not suddenly take a different path with their worthiness destroyed, they will join me at a point in the future.”

  “And what of those who have died in the past?”

  “They linger here…waiting for my return. They have watched and guided and helped and protected and loved their earthbound kin from beyond.”

  “Beyond?”

  “As they tarry, not having been yet restored to their earthly forms, they have only their essences, their souls.”

  “As is the case with Lucifer?”

  “An unpleasant comparison, but, yes, the construct is also the same.”

  “So they have no means to sense?”

  “Correct, unless it is through you. To illustrate, if you have loved ones who have passed on, yet remain around you, they can only see you if they look through another being who is close to you, who can see you. They can only hear your voice if they have borrowed the sense of someone within earshot of you. They can only feel your touch if they not only occupy a being within your reach, but also one whom you would touch with love.”

  “You said ‘a being’ as opposed to a person.”

  Smiling, Elohim said, “It is nice to see your powers returning. Yes, a being. An ideal example would be this: A man loses his beloved wife. He adores her and never remarries, never spends an intimate moment with another woman. She wishes to remain with her dear husband. She wishes to see him every day. She wishes to love him and be loved by him until he joins her. She wants to protect him and help him, but her form does not allow any of this to occur.”

  “It sounds as though you are making an argument for remarriage.”

  “Not at all. In fact, if he were to remarry, and she were to ‘borrow’ the senses of the new wife, then his words, his touch, his love would only cause sadness and bitterness for his departed. She would still love him, and yet, his love would not be for her but for the new wife. No, she would need an alternative.”

  “A dog!”

  “Yes. When everyone else is shut out of his life, who else would spend so much time with the grieving husband? Who else could show so much love? Who else could receive so much love back from him with none of the pain a new wife would cause? For some, it might be a cat, a horse, even a canary. I must admit, though, the dog seems to be ideal for this purpose. In fact, it is the primary reason dogs have become so incorporated into your lives.”

  “So, to interact with the living, those who stay must each possess someone?”

  “No, possession is within the realm of evil. It is a usurping of the hosts’ very being to implant their own. The very nature of the essence, the soul, is that it may look through others without displacing them. It is nearly always done without the hosts’ awareness.”

  “Nearly?”

  “Yes. There are some on Earth who are sensitive, much more sensitive than all others. They can feel the presence. And if souls are peering through them at the time, they can even talk with them and hear their answers.”

  “Seems like a flaw in your design.”

  Elohim laughed again. “One could say that. It does no harm, and most do not believe it is real. The Chosen, who have remained, understand what they should and should not disclose and, by definition, they are honorable souls or they would not be chosen.”

  “And those who have died and are not chosen?”

  “Once again, a complex answer. The majority are not chosen, indeed the large majority. And yet most are not irredeemable. In some cases they simply did not live long enough to be tested. I am referring to those killed by accidents or murder, those dying young of disease. In other cases, they were confused and struggling. Perhaps they could have picked a different path. However, they did not. This group is waiting. Some of them have been waiting a long time. After the Chosen join me in Heaven, those in waiting will be allowed another chance, beginning from birth, and will live again on Earth.”

  “You are describing what some believe to be reincarnation and others would call Purgatory.”

  “Only for some. For those worthy of another chance. There are some among you who have been here many times.”

  “And those who do return choose the right path in the next life?”

  “Redemption is always more difficult than making the proper choices the first time. ”

  “Are their souls among us?”

  “Yes, but not as I described for the Chosen who stay. The others are near. The sensitives, whom I mentioned earlier, connect with them also. But the essences-in-waiting, the others, have a somewhat static essence. They have neither the knowledge of being chosen, nor the promise of returning to begin a new life. Their fate is to dwell endlessly on their completed lives.”

  “You spoke of being restored to our earthly form. We will need our body in Heaven?”

  “Yes. As I described, without the body, there are no senses and there is no input. That is as true in Heaven as it is here on Earth. But in Heaven the body is perfect. It does not age. There is no disease, no wearing down.”

  “The last group? The irredeemable?”

  “Fortunately, a very small number. They are gone. Their souls are…let me simply say…the molds are destroyed. They cease to exist.”

  “I’m afraid I am a bit confused. If this is to be Judgment Day, what are the remaining souls waiting for?”

  “The next visit.”

  Reese was incredulous. “The next visit?”

  “Of course, Reese. This is not my first, nor will it be my last.”

  “How many? How many times have you come?”

  “This will be the third.”

  Reese dropped back into his chair, his mind racing. So much of what Elohim said explained so many things which had always burdened him. His role as the interviewer, as the one appointed to authenticate Elohim, was but a faint memory. He had become the student, Elohim the teacher. He struggled to remind himself of his purpose, his reason for being brought to this room.

  “Reese, would you like a break?”

  Stirred from his reverie, Reese answered, “No, thank you. Unless you require one?”

  “Not at all.”

  “I would prefer to continue.”

  “As would I.”

  “Very well, you said that you have done this twice before. Could you tell me more about the previous visits?”

  “I have cultivated and nurtured mankind since your creation. This environment, Earth, was made to be a very dynamic structure, with constant change as the normal way of life here. You call it evolution, natural selection, and the survival of the fittest.”

  “Then evolution does occur?”

  “Yes, it is a part of the structure.”

  “Did mankind evolve?”

  “Yes and no. To explain…I created the sun, the Earth, and the other planets, giving them each a unique signature. If I had stopped at that point, your biologists believe that a soup of amino acids, randomly rearranging themselves over millions of years, would have eventually formed the first protein. From there, random and accidental processes would have continued to influence those proteins until the first amoeba sprang to life. Millions more years would be needed to accidentally create the next primitive form, and so on, until eventually men and women walked the Earth. This theory is based upon the belief that a million monkeys mindlessly pawing at a million typewriters for a million years, by sheer chance, would eventually write Hamlet. That is rubbish, and they are fools. There are millions of other planets in this galaxy alone that are as hospitable to life as Earth, equally as old, and have not yet produced that first protein.”

  “But the fossil record! There is a clear progression of life on Earth with many species, such as the dinosaurs, becoming extinct.”

  “Reese, when I created the flora and fauna of Earth, they were created to eventually suppor
t, sustain, and stimulate mankind. Had the epoch during which the dinosaurs dominated the planet not occurred, there would be no fossil fuel today.”

  Reese groaned. “Oh, my.”

  “Is there a concern in what I’ve told you?”

  Chuckling, Reese explained, “There is a large segment of today’s population who will not be surprised to hear that it really is all about oil.”

  “I am aware of that group, and you are correct. Reese, they will also not be able to tolerate the concept that all of creation was done for the benefit of mankind; they prefer to believe that you are simply another grubbing, rutting animal.”

  “Certainly that belief, resisting the egocentrism of the past, is not a bad thing in and of itself, Elohim.”