it. The sound of an explosion comes to his ears a short time later as he sees the island begin to sink into the waters surrounding it. Within a few minutes the island is no more.
Tim stirs in his bed and awakens as the sun of another day fills his bedroom with light. He looks over at the still sleeping form of his wife and strokes her face gently with his hand. He then moves closer to her and begins to hold her as he feels the need for comfort.
The Realization
:June 22
:11:23 p.m.
For weeks now Timothy has been trying his best to contact Alden Roberts, who is a pastor of one of the largest churches in Memphis. Finally he has the opportunity to talk to him and Pastor Roberts is very impressed by what Tim has told him so much that the pastor invites him to come and speak to the deacons. So here he sits in the office of the pastor.
“Timothy, it’s a pleasure to speak to you in person,” a tall, slender, dark haired man says as he opens the door to his office and walks toward him. This causes Tim to jump slightly as he stands and shakes the man’s hand.
“Thank you for inviting me, Mr. Roberts. I’m looking forward to discussing this some more with you.”
“Well, I found your dreams to be very challenging in their meanings and content. But you do realize that for this church to get involved in this matter more deeply, I must get my deacons involved so that they understand your testimony.” Alden cleans his glasses with his handkerchief while leading Tim toward some double doors. He opens one of the doors and leads the younger man in with his hand upon his back.
Six of the men walk up to Timothy and introduce themselves. Two of the men pour themselves coffee from a small home-style brewing machine with their backs to the new men to the room. The two men turn to talk to each other, still unaware of the presence of their pastor and his guest as Tim looks at them. Immediately he recognizes the two individuals as his mind flashes back to only a few days earlier. He turns to Alden and asks to speak with him outside for a moment.
“What seems to be the problem Timothy?” Roberts asks after they step back out into the main office.
“This is not going to work out. At least two of the deacons for sure will never support my effort.”
“Why is that?” Alden asks with a concerned expression upon his face. So Tim goes on to tell him of the events of the past Sunday.
“I am sorry for this unfortunate event. I’ll speak to the deacons right away and reprimand them,” the pastor states, noticeably concerned by the events.
“Please. There’s no need to resurface the injury. I feel that could cause more of a problem than to fix it. Just, please, give my apologies to the others, and we’ll just drop it right here.”
“I don’t agree, but if that is the way you want it,” Pastor Roberts says as he shakes his hand and then returns to the conference room.
:2:09 p.m.
Christa greets her husband at the door and sees the sadness written upon his face.
“What happened?” she asks in a concerned tone of voice. In response he proceeds to explain to her what has taken place.
“I feel that I have a deeper understanding of my last dream. The lions are tending the sheep in the U.S. It’s going to be hard, but I think I must concentrate upon the children for they are the only hope. We must teach them of God as soon as possible so they don’t end up lions themselves. What I don’t understand is how am I to reach the children if I have to go through the parents first.”
“Don’t upset yourself over it, Honey. Just leave it in the hands of the Lord.”
The Rebellion
:August 5
:5:20 p.m.
Malcom Washington is sitting at the kitchen table holding a glass of iced tea in his hand.
“So how is your brother?” Christa asks as she and Tim work on the dinner for the evening.
“Oh, he’s still involved with the Moslems, but he has been asking a lot of questions ever since the funeral.”
“Why’s that?” Tim asks, puzzled by the statement.
“When, he found out that Dad considered you to be his best friend, it threw off his way of thinking. His hatred of all whites became blurred when Mom talked to him about Dad’s feelings about you and the reasons for these feelings.
“Do you think he may return to the fold, so to speak?” Christa inquires.
“I don’t know, but at least there’s more hope than there was before Dad passed away.”
“Do you think that Gerald’s passing may be doing just what God wanted it to do?” Timothy asks. “It may possibly be making Jamal realize that Jesus is the Son of God.” All fall silent for a while.
:6:12 p.m.
Elizabeth arrives and all four sit at the table as Christa sends the boys into the great room, having just finished eating their meal. After the blessing they begin to eat their dinner.
“I got a call from your friend Alex just before I left, son,” Liz comments as she cuts her chicken into bite-size pieces.
“Oh, really!” Malcom says with a tone of gladness in his voice. “He must be calling to say he’s coming out.”
“Who’s Alex?” Christa asks.
“He’s a friend of mine from the seminary in Springfield. He lives there, but he said he might drive down here during the break.”
“Well, that’s nice. What is he specializing in?” Tim asks.
“Children’s ministry,” Malcom responds.
“That’s great,” his mother comments. “There’s a need for more people in children’s ministry.”
“Yes, I agree,” concurs Tim as his dream of the island flashes back through his mind. He remembers the faces of the children and of the young man that was with him.
“If he does come down, why don’t you bring him by here later this week? We’d like to meet him,” Christa says.
“All right. I’ll do just that,” Malcom says and then returns his attention to his meal.
:10:24 p.m.
Thousands of stars fill the clear night sky. More stars than Timothy has ever seen on an average night in Memphis.
“They are beautiful, are they not?” comes the now accustomed voice of Gabriel.
“Where are we Gabriel?” Tim asks as he continues to look into the beautiful sky above, within his dream.
“In Israel, near the town of Gibeah within the boundaries of the tribe of Benjamin. Come, there is something you must see,” he says as suddenly the sky is dimmed by the red glare of fire. Tim looks down to see several torches near a clay brick structure. Holding the torches are several men of various ages and sizes. Some wear a leather breastplate with a sword strapped to their side. Most though are dressed in long robes like those Tim has seen in most movies about this era and area.
“What’s going on?” he asks, still unable to hear what he thinks to be shouts toward the house. In response he finds himself within the building itself. There he sees an old man moving frantically about the small room. At a table near a rounded clay fireplace built into the corner of the house, he spies a frightened young couple holding each other. The man is handsome and dressed in elaborate robes, which makes Tim think of him as a priest or politician of the time.
“He is a priest,” confirms the sitting angelic form. “He is of the tribe of Levi and his spouse is with him.”
“Well, if this is Israel and they’re Israelites, what’s going on?”
“Those things outside may be of the sons of Israel, but they are no longer of God. They forsook God when they decided to follow their fleshly desires of being with other males.”
“What do you mean when you say, `being with other male?’” Tim asks, feeling he already knows the answer.
“They are the prince of dogs, the scum of the earth. They are that which God is sickened by the most. They are men like those of Sodom and Gomorrah, when my fellow angels went into those cities in search of Lot.
“Before the darkness ends this night that woman shall die as she tries to protect he
r husband from being defiled by those creatures,” Gabriel explains, plainly sickened by the individuals outside. “Come, I can no longer stand this part of the past.”
In that instant Timothy finds himself in the bright sunlight of the day. As his eyes adjust to the sudden brightness, he looks down from the top of a hill into a valley just outside a large village. Before him is a massive onslaught of men. The flashing light of the sun is reflected off hundreds of swords, as flocks of arrows occasionally sail through the air.
“What is happening here?” Tim asks, surprised by the scene before him.
“God was angered by the sins of some of the men of Benjamin and by the fact that the others of the tribe refused to purge themselves of these sicknesses. In response God ordered the other tribes to destroy the rebellious one.”
“But I thought Paul was of the tribe of Benjamin?”
“He is. When most of the tribe was destroyed, they sued for peace. God forgave them and allowed them to once again be reunited to Him.”
“Help me to understand the overview of this then. God hates homosexuality?”
“Yes!”
“Does he hate the people that commit this sin or the sin itself?”
“The sin itself; but if someone says he has accepted the Lord Jesus but still live the life of sodomy, he is hated by God. This is because he is defiling the image of God Himself, and not just themselves any longer.”
“Then is AIDS a punishment from God? A plague?”
“You tell me. Is it not true that AIDS first appeared within the sodomite community in the