Authors: Russ Scalzo
T
he early morning sun bathed Jack as he sat in his old style
wraparound porch, coffee in hand. It was a beautiful morning. He could still
feel the touch of God on him from the night before. There was nothing to
compare it to. God had used him to cast a demon prince out of the town of
Blackstone. The air seemed lighter
and
the birds sang louder. There was an obvious change in the
atmosphere.
He
took another sip of coffee and checked his podcast stats on his phone. His new
series, “
The Growing Evil on Planet Earth,”
w
as getting a lot of
attention- t
en thousand listens this week
alone. Jack knew this was more than just his opinion. It was the real deal and
was getting worse every day. He slid his finger over his phone, found the CNN
app
,
and
clicked on it. He liked to keep up with world events especially in the Mid
East. It served only to underline what he already knew was coming. He was in
the middle of an interesting article when the phone rang. It was Frank.
Putting
the phone to his ear, he said, “Can’t a man have a few moments to himself?”
Frank
laughed. “All you have is time to yourself. We need to meet. I need an update
on the case. I have a report to write you know. Besides we have a new event.”
“A
report! You’ve got to be kidding.”
“Yeah,
you know how it goes. We’ve got it logged in as a paranormal event so they want
your report. You want to get paid, don’t you?”
“Frank,
you know how I feel about getting paid for what I do. I don’t do it for the money.”
“You
know that and I know that. Look at it this way - you get to do what God wants
you to do and pay your bills at the same time! You’re always saying that God
will provide, so there you go.”
“Oh,
so now you’re quoting me! You know I donate that money, right?”
“That’s
your business my friend. My business is to get the report.”
Jack
smiled, “Fine. CJ’s in an hour?”
“You
got it, buddy.”
Jack
finished his last mouthful of coffee and went back in the house to change and
write down a few notes for this evening’s podcast.
Forty-five
minutes later he was on his way to meet Frank when he saw a young man walking
along the road with his thumb out looking for a ride. Jack liked to pick up
hitchhikers. It gave him an opportunity to share his faith. He pulled the car
over, rolled down the passenger side window and hollered out, “Where you
headed?”
The
young man looked over and said, “Just up a ways.”
Jack
responded, “Jump in! I’ll give you lift to wherever you’re going.”
The
young man smiled and got in the car. Jack immediately felt something
particularly unusual about this hitchhiker.
He
wasted no time.
“My
name is Jack. Beautiful day, huh?”
“Yeah, really
nice. I can sense
a different,
let’s say
spirit
,
in the air today.”
That
got Jack’s attention big time.
A different
spirit in the air?
h
e thought,
Okay,
let’s take this a
little further
. “It does have a
lighter
, brighter feeling to it. T
he Lord is good.”
The
young man
smiled and said, “The Lord IS
good
,
Jack Bennett.”
“
He
y, how do you know my
last name?” Jack asked.
“D
o you listen to my
podcasts?
”
“We
know all about you Jack. You’re famous where I come from.”
“And
where would that be?”
“I
don’t have time to get into that right now. I h
ave
a message for you from the Lord
.”
Jack
thought to himself,
A message? W
ho does this guy think he is
?
A prophet?
The
young man continued, “The days are getting darker
.
Y
ou must be on guard. There are forces that are rising up that
wish to suppress and throw the truth of God’s word to the ground and trample on
it. Even now
,
they are gathering and preparing to destroy the faith of God’s people through
fear and despair.”
Every
word the young man spoke pierced Jack’s heart. There was no doubt in his mind
that this was coming from the Lord. Jack asked, “How do you know this?”
“You
do n
ot need to know how I know this. Y
ou only need to know that it is true. You must gather
together men and women of like faith to pray and ask God for help. If you do,
He, the Almighty will fight this battle for y
ou,
but
you must not delay.”
Jack’s
he
art was pounding in his chest. His
mind was racing
with
crazy thoughts
running
through
his head. He didn’t ask the question he
desperately
wanted to
. I
nstead he asked, “Who
am I supposed to conta
ct? I’m not sure how to
proceed.
”
“Right
now you are on your way to meet your friend
. W
hile you are there
,
a woman will come up to you and ask if you are Jack Bennett.
She will be wearing a gold cross around her neck and a small ring with a dove
on it. She is the one who will help you. Sh
e has
the favor of God upon her. L
isten to her
,
for I have told her
about you.”
Jack
could hardly believe
what
was happening. He finally asked, “What’s your name?”
“My
name is not important. Do what I have told you and victory will be yours. You
must occupy until He comes.”
Jack
turned his head and the young man
was
gone. Jack’s heart leaped in his chest.
Oh my
God! He was an angel. I just talked to an angel!
He
could hardly drive
. All he could think of
was how he was
going t
o explain this to Frank and
about this mysterio
us woman he wa
s supposed to meet. Jack let the last couple days roll over
in his mind.
W
hat an incredible two days this has been
!
* * *
Jack
found a parking place right in fro
nt of
CJ’s. He was so pumped!
H
e couldn’t move fast enough
and
nearly fell
over himself
as
he spotted Frank. Frank
sat at his favorite table
, watched
him
stumble
out of the car
,
and began shaking his head. He thought to himself,
Now what?
Not ever wanting
to miss an opportunity to take a poke at his old fr
iend he said, “Drinking already?
I
thought you didn’t do
that kind of thing
anymore?”
A
little out of breath,
Jack sat down
and ignored
Frank
’
s comment. Emily
Richardson
,
their regular waitress
,
saw Jack come in and went over to the
ir
table. She knew them
both
well.
To
say they were regulars
would be an understatement.
“Hello
, Mr. Bennett!
I
…
like that shirt you’re
wearing
. I
t’s
…very… very nice. So, w
hat
can I get you today?”
"I
need a large cup of coffee
,
Emily
. Oh and thanks! I
t’s not really new or anything
,
but thanks anyway.”
Jack
waited
until
Emily
left and said, “You are not going to believe what just happened to me.”
Frank
laughed out loud.
“You’re kidding
, right?
You just had it
out last night with so
me kind of
demon-creature thing. W
hat the hell could be
more bizarre than that? And by the way
,
that girl likes you and she’s a Christian
. Y
ou’re always telling me
you would only date a Christian so...”
Half
listening
, Jack was
some
what stunned. “What?
Emily? You’re crazy! B
esides
,
she’s ten years
younger than me.
”
A little annoyed that Frank wasn’t paying attention to what
was important
,
he took a de
ep breath and collected himself.
“I can’t talk to you about this now. I
’ve
got something to say
that will blow your mind.”
Just
then
,
Emily
brought Jack’s large cup of coffee and put it on the table. “Is there anything
else
,
Mr.
Bennett?”
“No
,
Emily
. T
hank you
, but
not right now.”
She
looked at him and smiled, “Ok
ay! J
ust let me know if
you
need anything.”
He
nodded. As she walked away
,
Frank just smiled
and
shoo his head
.
Jack
gave him his famous
if
-
looks
-could-kill stare and said, “Just shut
up.”
“Ok
ay, okay. So what’s this mind-
blowing
news?”
“Well,
”
Jack paused and
twisted in his chair
a
little bit.
“This might sound
a little over the top
, even for me.
”
Frank
interrupted, “You’re killing me. This is getting painful. Please just spit it
out.”
Jack
leaned across the table and said, “I was just talking to an angel.”
“What?
Like a real
-
life
-
heaven
-type-
angel?”
Jack
’
s heart started to race
again and he began talking faster, “Yeah, like
a
real
-
life
-
heaven
-type-
angel
.
I was on my way here and I saw this guy hitchhiking along
the side of the road, so I stopped and gave him a ride. He seemed to know all
about me. He told
me
some powerful evil was coming and I had to get people praying
in order to overcome it. He said if I did
,
God would come and fight for us.”
Frank’s
head was spinning. He had experienced a lot of what he called
“
wild and crazy Jack
stuff
,” but this? S
eeing
and talking to angels?
Frank put his elbows on the
table and rested his chin on his hands.
“Look, hanging with you these last few years has taught me
that anything is possible. I trust you buddy
. R
eally
. B
ut, maybe this whole episode last night has got you looking
for things that aren’t there. You know what I mean
?
”
“Frank,
there is nothing wrong with me. I’ve never
felt
better. I saw what I saw, okay
? What’s the
problem? I know Jews believe in angels.”
“Ok
ay,
” Frank said leaning
back in his chair. “So did he say anything else?”
“Yeah.
H
e knew I was coming here to meet you. He
told me that when
I got
here
,
a woman w
ould come up to me
and ask if I’m
Jack Bennett.
He also said that she would
be wearing a gold cross around her neck and a small ring with a dove on it. She
is the one who will help
me
.”