Twinkling

TW: death and suffering

“There she was just a-walkin’ down the street, singin’ ‘do wah diddy diddy dum diddy do.'”

And just like that she was gone. Dead in my truck. She died while smiling and singing to me. But really, she hadn't died, she'd been called up.

I didn't know it at the time, none of us did. It wasn't like a quarter of the population just died all at once. No, no, far fewer. If not for the confusion, the mystery, it could have gone unnoticed.

The news stations didn't start feeding us conspiracies until the hysteria started. Once people realized it was the beginning of the end, there were mass suicides. The government got in front of the cameras to intervene and told us everything was fine. We were told it was just bad reactions to the new vaccines. Those of us unvaccinated knew better. They tried and failed to mislead us.

With all the truly good gone, the truly bad rose. They had nothing to lose. Gunshots could be heard near and far. Terror ran through the streets, and we went into hiding. That is, until all the ammo was gone. That's when they had us.

The president got on TV and finally decided to tell us “the truth.” We were being invaded by forces from outer space. “But don't you worry. We've been prepared, and we'll protect you. You can trust us.”

That's when the roundups started. Left with no food supply chains, no answers and no hope, we were all taken to our nearest army bases. No one could hide. We tried, but we soon learned demons are real, and they used them to find us with their supernatural senses. Anyone that severely resisted was martyred on site. Few resisted.

In my camp, the believers and the unbelievers talked amongst ourselves. The unbelievers believed it really must be an alien invasion coming. The believers were now happy to finally share everything they had learned in church. Explain the demons if you still don't believe. The atheists insisted they were good aliens sent to help. Their rebuttal? Why weren't you taken up with the few?

Great question for a lukewarm Christian to answer. My answer, my discovery, is it wasn't enough to simply believe. I was ashamed that I didn't have a personal relationship with my Lord.

I laid there that night, heartbroken, deep in thought, remembering scripture. Was it Jesus that had said this was not our home? Didn't it say somewhere that this earth belonged to Satan? Was that the mark of the beast? Anyone left behind was marked, because we weren't taken. It all began making sense. I prayed without ceasing.

In the camps, we were all separated, male and female. The men trained all day, everyday. The women were made slaves to cook and be of any service the camp needed. They were making soldiers.

At night, we men whispered amongst ourselves, as it was forbidden to talk unnecessarily. At first, we tried to recruit the nonbelievers, but their hearts were hardened. They would be rewarded for turning us in, they would get to kill us, so we kept them out. We came to the conclusion that we were being prepared for Armageddon.

It was decided that we must train with all our heart, mind and strength. We knew we must defend Israel when the time came. Our camp mates were the enemy. We prayed Christians in the other camps were doing the same. Once our plan was made, we stopped talking.

Training went on for a few years, while the government finished their preparations. The navy was ready for us now. We were all packed into cargo ships and transported overseas.

After they raised a statue at the temple in Jerusalem, everything went from bad to worse. Biblical plagues became more than mere stories on a page. They were a reality. Death and war, earthquakes and darkness, epidemics and sickness, tainted water and famine, you know… the masses were culled. The stench, unimaginable.

Three years of hell on earth, we suffered. Three very long years. There was no more belief in aliens. Oh no. That had long been abandoned. In all this time passed, the new leader, calling himself our “pope” had been brainwashing the camps. The blasphemy he spoke…

“God is real, but he's not good. Why else would you suffer so? Our time has come to defeat him once and for all! We must all stand together and fight. We're going to start with his precious chosen people. Once they're all gone, he'll have no choice but to come down and face us. Together we can take him and reclaim what is ours. Are you with me?”

They were all with him, and they roared. They were ready. Emboldened. It was time. Every man, woman and child alive was brought into the valley to fight against the badly outnumbered Israelites.

Their battle cries were drowned out by the blasting of trumpets though , and with every blast, a new host of heavenly armies ripped through the firmament. The sound was deafening, debilitating. Everyone was on their knees, cowering, trying to cover their heads.

Jesus led the front. There were so many, they were the atmosphere. And there was no battle. It had already been won. All those unworthy of his presence had dropped dead. He never needed our help.

In the silence, His were the only left alive. We slowly stood to witness the victory, then immediately fell to our knees to praise and worship His glory..

“Before your beginning, I was, and I am. There was a war in heaven, and all that stood against me were cast down to the new earth I created to imprison the rebellious in spirit. I created you to replace them, you who truly loved Me. They were given free reign to turn you from Me, but you, pure in heart, were not turned from me, and will forever be Mine. Stand and behold your victory”

With that, we rose and viewed our new Eden. The whole earth was made new, and we walked with Jesus. What had been worse than any nightmare was replaced with unfathomable joy and peace forevermore, and we are honored to sing His praise.