Read The Incubus, Succubus and Son of Perdition Box Set: The Len du Randt Bundle Online
Authors: Len du Randt
‘Simon?’ Justin asked as he and
Rebecca limped towards the angel and their son. ‘It’s you, isn’t it?’
Simon nodded and smiled. He sheathed
his sword and took a step back. ‘Victory to the Lamb!’ he shouted.
The angels drew their swords in a
salute and shouted in unison,
Victory to the Lamb!
With that, they disappeared.
The light faded, and with it, the
bodies of the fallen demons. Once the light was completely gone, Jared and his
parents looked around the empty hangar. There was no sign of Greg or Tanya
anywhere.
‘What are you doing here?’ Rebecca
asked and lovingly wrapped her arms around Justin’s waist.
‘It’s a long story,’ Justin said and
stifled a chuckle. ‘So I’ll tell it on the way to the hospital.’ He then looked
at Jared and embraced his son for the first time in years. ‘Thank you,’ he
said. ‘Thank you for coming.’
No more words were exchanged. The
three just stood there, embraced in each other’s arms for a very long time.
*
- - - *
‘If what you’re saying is
true,’ Pastor Jacobs said and looked over the lake for a long time before he
continued. ‘You have quite a remarkable tale to tell your fellow believers.’
Jared picked up a piece of dried
bread and tossed it into the water. A fish immediately bobbed up and swallowed
the piece of bread in one swift motion. ‘Where do I begin, Pastor?’ Jared
asked. ‘How do I know that anyone would even believe this story?’
‘Are you kidding?’ Pastor Jacobs
asked rhetorically. ‘Jared, this story of yours encouraged me whether I
believed it or not. How about starting small? How about you tell it to my
congregation on Sunday evening?’
‘I don’t know...’
‘It would be a terrible waste if you
had to live through the whole ordeal just so that no one would ever be able to
hear about it.’
‘I could always write a book,’ Jared
said and grinned. ‘I’m not much of a public speaker when it comes to people I
don’t know.’
‘Pretend as if though you’re
addressing the staff at a company function,’ Pastor Jacobs said and smiled.
‘I’m sure you’ve done that before, right?’ He chuckled and gave Jared a pat on
the shoulder. ‘But seriously, speak to your parents about it and ask the Lord
what He thinks you should do. When you have the answer, let me know. And please
remember that regardless of what you do decide in the end, I’ll respect your
final decision.’
‘Okay,’ Jared said. ‘I’ll sleep on
it and let you know.’
The two men continued talking for a
while longer, after which they greeted one another and went their separate
ways.
*
- - - *
There was a vibrant buzzing amongst
Church-goers as they filled the building for Sunday evening service. Jared sat
in the front row next to the Pastor’s wife. It wasn’t until she smiled warmly
at him and lightly tapped his hand that he realised how nervous he was. He had
to consciously force the bounce in his leg to stop and when Pastor Jacobs made
his way to the podium, a swarm of butterflies raged in his stomach.
‘I greet you in the wonderful name
of our Lord, Jesus Christ,’ Pastor Jacobs greeted his congregation.
Amen!
came the reply.
The Pastor opened the service with
prayer, after which he made his usual announcements to the congregation. There
was a reminder for next Sunday’s bazaar—the annual Church fund raiser—and a
plea to support Mrs. Feebly by buying one of her delicious apple pies after the
service.
After the offering had been
collected, the band led the congregation into Praise and Worship. Afterwards,
everyone was asked to be seated again.
‘I am proud to announce our guest
speaker for today,’ Pastor Jacobs said.
Jared’s stomach tightened.
‘He met Jesus just a few short days
ago and has had a truly amazing experience which I believe would encourage us
as believers.’ Pastor Jacobs scanned his eyes across the two hundred plus faces
staring up at him. ‘The spiritual battle between good and evil is very real,’
he said. ‘And is happening amongst us right now.’
Amen!
‘But I will rather step aside and
let this son of God tell you about his experiences in his own words.’ He looked
at Jared and smiled warmly. ‘Jared, would you be so kind as to share your
experiences with us?’
Jared nodded and stood up. He made
his way up the stairs with the help of his cane and couldn’t help but feel
self-conscious as he limped towards the podium where he joined Pastor Jacobs.
‘Before he tells his remarkable
tale,’ the Pastor said, ‘I would like us all to just join together and pray for
our brother.’ The congregation raised their hands towards Jared as the Pastor
prayed, asking the Lord to bless Jared and to have his message encourage and
teach. Pastor Jacobs then introduced Jared and left the stage to take his seat
next to his wife.
Jared looked at the congregation,
placed the cane on the ground next to him, and pressed his hands into his
trouser pockets. He took a step towards the microphone, took his hands out and
placed them on the pulpit for stability. ‘Hi,’ he greeted faintly. His own
voice over the speakers was followed by a shrill scream of feedback. Jared took
a step back. A few people laughed.
Hey!
Someone from within the
congregation shouted and more people chuckled.
Jared’s head spun slightly. He
searched the crowd for his mother’s face. If he could focus on her face, he
could blur out the rest of the people. He spotted his father first and then his
mother.
Let’s do this,
he thought as he
took a deep breath before
he spoke again. ‘Thank you, Pastor Jacobs.’
The Pastor nodded.
‘I’m sure that what I’m about to
tell you might, at times, sound like nothing but pure fiction,’ Jared said and
took another deep breath, ‘but all I can do is share with you what I’ve
experienced and trust the Lord to write upon your hearts the message that He
wants you to hear.’
It took Jared just over forty
minutes to tell everyone his story of the past few months. He told them about
Amy, about Natasha; how he lost the company and all his money. He told them
about the accident and about the recovery. He told them about the ability to
see angels and demons, about how Jesus forgave him for everything, and about
his personal meeting with his Saviour. Finally he finished with the showdown at
the hangar and once he stopped talking, he scanned his eyes over the crowd to
gauge their reactions.
The silence hung thick over the
congregation. No one dared even to cough.
It was only when the twelve men
suddenly stood behind Jared that the people gasped out. Everyone stood up for a
better view of the twelve giants that seemingly appeared from nowhere. The men
were roughly twice the size of Jared and stood side by side, staring out
directly in front of them. Jared turned around and shrank back when he saw the
men. He looked back at the people. ‘You can see them?’ he asked.
No one answered, but he gauged from
their reactions and pointing that they did.
With one swift motion, the twelve
men unsheathed their flaming swords and saluted.
‘
Worshippers, ARISE!
’ the
angels shouted in unison.
Everyone fell to their knees, crying
out to God. Some prayed and begged Jesus to come into their lives. Others
begged forgiveness. Some wept as they re-committed themselves to their Saviour.
Jared merely stood there, looking on
as two hundred people, including the Pastor and his wife, cried out and aligned
themselves with their Lord and God. Jared went down on his knees. ‘Thank You for
being faithful, Lord,’ he prayed softly. ‘Thank you for staying true, no matter
what.’
The people continued praying and
worshipping throughout the rest of the evening into the early morning hours.
When the angels finally disappeared, the people stopped worshipping and left
for home. No one knew exactly what had happened, but everyone felt more
rejuvenated than ever before.
Jared was one of the last to leave
the Church. He walked to the lake and watched as the sun came up over the
horizon. A new dawn broke on the small South African town. Jared inhaled deeply
and sighed out loud. It was a new day, a new beginning for Kelwick, and what a
beautiful day it was indeed.
The atmosphere was electric. Ten
thousand people crammed themselves into the soccer stadium. A stage had been
erected on one side of the field from which Jared could tell the people of his
experiences.
‘I can’t believe the effect that one
Sunday service has had all over the world,’ Jared said. He peered through the
dividing curtain behind the stage at the thousands of people outside taking
their places and snapping photos of the packed arena.
‘For over two thousand years there
has been no physical contact with the spiritual realm,’ Simon said. ‘Until
now.’
‘This is huge,’ Jared said. ‘People
from all over the world are converting. This stadium has been fully reserved by
various Churches for the next three months. Thousands of people are coming from
all over the world and many more have invited me to speak in their countries.’
Simon merely nodded. ‘You will
affect the lives of millions, Jared,’ he said and smiled. ‘For good, of
course.’
Jared raked his fingers through his
hair. ‘If this keeps up,’ he said and chuckled, ‘the whole world will soon be
converted.’
‘This is the final harvest,’ Simon
said. ‘The day of the Lord is upon us. We know not the hour nor day; but the
season is upon us, and that’s why Satan’s army wanted to recruit you so badly.’
Jared locked eyes with Simon as the
revelation dawned on him.
‘Many will come to believe because
of this,’ Simon said. ‘Some people would not believe even if someone came back
from the dead and witnessed to them personally. Many will see the wonderful
things that the Lord will do in this hour, but still, many will choose not to
believe. This is how it will be on the fearful and wonderful day of the Lord.’
‘Wait. So you’re telling me that
this is the end?’ Jared asked.
The people outside praised loudly
along with the band on the stage.
‘No,’ Simon said. ‘This is the
beginning.’
For a moment both said nothing.
Outside the atmosphere became more electrifying with each passing moment.
‘Thank you,’ Jared said, ‘for everything.’
Simon nodded and gave Jared a pat on
the back.
Jared closed his eyes and sent up a quick
prayer. He took a deep breath and stole one last glance at Simon before he
opened the curtains and stepped out onto the stage.
“
Let
no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come
a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed,
the son of perdition.
”
-
2 Thessalonians 2:3,
KJV
2)
Chaos
7)
God inc.
9)
Messiah
11)
Abomination
13)
The Image
14)
Resurrection
15)
Abaddon
16)
Persecution
17)
Onslaught
20)
Showdown
‘By the grace of the
Almighty, the great Monarch will annihilate heretics and unbelievers. He will
have a great army, and angels will fight at his side.
He will be like the sun
among the stars.
His influence will spread
over the whole Earth.’
- St. Francis of
Paola (15
th
Century)
Germany: September, 1931
The scream chilled his blood. Hanz
rushed towards the closed door and hesitated before opening it. Was he prepared
for what he was about to see?
He slowly opened the door and peered around it into the
vast and beautifully furnished room. His master stood in the middle of the
room, swaying from side to side while his eyes darted around wildly.
‘He...he...he was here!’ he gasped.
Hanz noticed that his master’s lips were white and that
sweat was streaming down his face. He couldn’t believe his eyes. The swaying
man—at most times a very intimidating person—was now nothing more than a broken
down man; pathetic looking and almost childlike in nature.
Hanz slowly reached out to his master. He had never
before seen him shaken up like this.
What on Earth is going on?
Hanz
wondered. The sweat, the wild eyes darting about, searching—something had
scared his employer out of his wits.
‘Sir?’ he asked and gently touched the man’s shoulder
and in an instant Hanz lay sprawled across the carpet, a few feet from the man
he had just touched. A force so violent that it almost knocked him out cold had
flung him across the room as if he was nothing more than a mere rag doll.
‘Mein Herr?’ Hanz managed to utter with what strength
he had left.
He looked at his master who had now begun to reel off
numbers and odd, broken off words that were entirely void of meaning or sense.
He used strangely composed and entirely non-German word formations. Then,
eventually, the man stood quite still, only his lips moving. Gradually he grew
calm and dismissed Hanz.
Once Hanz left the room, his master went to bed and
fell into a very deep, dreamless sleep.