CHAPTER 7
Friday, February 1 – MD Minus 114 days
AS PAUL APPROACHED the warehouse, there was a war going on within him. All his anger and frustration at religious phonies welled up inside, as did his doubts about the existence of God based on the evidence of what was going on around them. He had heard a radio report of the Greenville shooting on his way over and began to wonder why he should bother listening to an old man who’s only real credentials, according to Chaplain Forrest, was that he knows the Bible better than any living man he knew. Paul wasn’t sure he even believed the Bible was true.
What Paul did not know or appreciate was that the Bible was written under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, the light inside, and that the Holy Spirit, who was God, could cause the men whom He called to write what was revealed to them without error.52 That was knowledge Argon intended to keep from Paul if possible. The forces of light sought to advance the opposite agenda. That conflict was the war Paul experienced as he stood at the door to the warehouse. It was a war over his soul. Both sides wanted control of his life, his heart, his desires and affections – all that he was.
Paul’s agenda was much simpler. All he cared about was “old number one” – himself and Samantha, who he was coming to understand he really cared for in a way he had never cared for anyone else. The dream had frightened him, but he could have easily disregarded it as simply a bad dream, except for the end when the huge hands of the dark creature seemed to reach to grasp his head and pierce his skull. That was too real, and the reality of that moment simply would not go away. If this old man could help him understand what he had seen or enable him to disregard it as nothing but a bad dream, he would listen to whatever the Bookseller had to say. It was a chance worth taking.
The Bookseller was predictable if you understood his history and the basis of his faith. The light within glowed brightly for his walk with God was his life. He had been raised a Congregationalist. That denomination was almost dead now and in practice, had been deceived into beliefs that conflicted with most everything in its history. This denomination had been that of many of the founders of America, but they would not know it today, a fact in which the Dark Master took great pleasure. Perverting the work of the Enemy was what gave the Dark Master his greatest joy, and it was so easy to deceive these human creatures – with a few exceptions. Unfortunately for the forces of darkness, the Bookseller was one such exception.
The Bookseller, Samuel Evans White, hung onto the original teachings of the Congregationalists, which mandated evidence of the activity of God in a person’s life or they would not be accepted as a Christian. Before the American Revolution, it would often be two years before someone who expressed an interest in joining a church was allowed to join. They had to prove by their life that God had changed them. Like John the Baptist’s declaration to the Pharisees and Sadducees, they had to visibly “produce fruit in keeping with repentance.”53 That made religious deception much more difficult. Fortunately for the forces of darkness, few today were either willing to wait or willing to make someone wait for confirmation from God.
Along with a fundamental belief that God had to change a person’s heart if they were to be changed, was his absolute belief in the truth of the Bible. He believed that the Bible was God’s revelation to those created in His image and that it formed the foundation of a faith that would not change – because God would not change. He wasn’t arrogant about it. He did not claim to understand it all, but he knew the Bible because he was constantly studying it, seeking to understand what he didn’t know. Studying it was a source of great joy as the light inside would take a passage he had read 100 times and open something new about it. He loved that. For him, the Bible was alive.
The Bookseller was a man of many miles and many battles, a writer whose works were, for the most part, ignored, a teacher and preacher rejected by religious leadership and many local churches where he had been invited to speak. The efforts of the forces of darkness to destroy this man and his message had been intense and constant. They were in many ways like the “thorn in his flesh” which Paul the Apostle suffered as Satan sought to destroy him.54 They had the same result, however, as he was driven to a deeper reliance on God – exactly the opposite of what the attacks intended.
The attacks had not been limited to him alone, they had fallen on his family and business, his wife and friends. He had been discouraged, disappointed, hurt, cheated, lied to, insulted and sometimes confused by what he saw and experienced. But in spite of it all, he remained faithful. That is why he was considered so dangerous to the forces of darkness. He could not be moved or made to compromise. Even now, the plan for his death advanced as Molech sent a messenger to Legend, advising that when the planning session was over in Teheran, he would be needed in Williams.
On this day, the Bookseller was as yet unaware of the Greenville shooting. His early morning hours had been spent in conversation and prayer with Chaplain Forrest. He was ready to hear Paul out and knew that he would be given the words to respond. “What a peace there is in complete reliance on God,” he thought as the door opened and Paul entered.
“Good morning, I’m Paul Phillips. I have an appointment with the Bookseller.”
“Yes, please come in. I have been waiting for you. I am sometimes called the Bookseller.”
Paul was shown to a table in the front of the store surrounded on all sides by old books. They were everywhere – on shelves, in boxes, stacked in piles. It seemed as if there were miles and miles of books. Even the air was filled with a unique musty scent of old books. It was as if he had entered some hidden ancient center of learning and before him came the smiling Samuel Evans White covered in his usual working apron.
He seemed frail but strangely powerful, Paul thought. His voice was rich and heavy, spoken with a distinctive care for every word. He sounded like someone from the East Coast except that he spoke so slowly. All of that discerned from a greeting. Paul was surprised at how intently he was already listening to this little old man.
“Why have you come?” the Bookseller asked, opening the door for Paul to pour out the dream and all his questions and concerns. The Bookseller listened intently as Paul repeated the things he had told Professor Thompson and Chaplain Forrest. He ended with the still unanswered questions, “What did I see and what does it mean?”
No answers were given, only more questions. “What did they tell you?” The Bookseller was praying for discernment even as he listened to the words coming out of Paul’s mouth. He already knew something of the conversations from what Chaplain Forrest had told him. He was listening for something different than what he had already been told, something more, but he didn’t know what. He knew he would know it when he heard it. Thus far there was nothing new, so he dug deeper, seeking to draw everything possible out of this young man God had sent to him.
“Now Paul, think carefully, have you told me everything you saw in your dream?” The question set Paul back. He paused. He hadn’t thought beyond what he considered to be the threat to himself and Samantha. As he reviewed the dream in his mind, he remembered other details.
“No, there was more. Not a lot, but I also saw a great number of the dark wisps gathered together in deference to one who held a pen and book. They seemed to be laughing and celebrating. The one they deferred to was larger physically than the others and he was giving what appeared to be papers to smaller ones who departed in a rush in different directions. It was only then that I saw the dark beings with their great hands resting on the heads of the vast majority, but not all of the people. I had forgotten the beginning of the dream.”
“Every detail is important to comprehend the message,” the Bookseller replied. “Let’s start with the ground rules, so you will understand what I am about to tell you. I understand you are not a believer, so some of this may be confusing to you, but you asked for an answer and I am going to give you as clear an answer as I can. To do that I am going to take your experience – the dream – and lay it along side the Bible to judge whether it is real, and if so, whether it was from God. I know you doubt that the Bible is true. I don’t. I believe that it all came from God and thus is all true. It is from that perspective that I draw my answers. You can accept them, ignore them or reject them as you please. That determination will be part of your search.”
“Look, Mr. White, I didn’t come here to argue about your religion. I came here to listen and ask questions because the chaplain said you could help. This is not a game for me. I don’t understand what is going on in me. It’s like I have a war inside, seeking to draw me this way and that. My emotions are silly crazy going everywhere. I want your honest opinion and I want to know how you support it. I have to get beyond this.”
In his heart, the Bookseller rejoiced. That is what he had been looking for. Here was clear evidence that Paul was truly a searcher. The hunger in Paul to find truth was only possible because God had placed it there by His Holy Spirit.55 God was reaching out to him to reveal Himself and to call Paul to Himself. Paul retained free will. He could reject God’s call, but in these times he had been freed to hear truth and now was the time to start.
Barnabas and others in the forces of light rejoiced too. Paul’s Guardian blocked the Keeper seeking to influence him while others of the light surrounded him to protect him from Tempters sent by Argon. This was Paul’s time to hear and the forces of darkness would not be allowed to interfere.
“We need to begin with hard reality if you really want to get beyond this. Start out considering what this scripture means in light of what you saw, ‘The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, the image of God.’56 Paul the Apostle wrote those words to a church in Corinth. Think about what you saw – the vast majority of the people had lost control of their minds to the darkness. Their eyes were crusted over so they could not see truth. Their ears covered by the huge hands so that they could not hear truth. That is the condition of all unbelievers – you included until God moved to free you so you could seek truth for yourself.”
“Wait a minute,” said Paul. “You mean to tell me that everyone who is not a believer is blind and their mind is under the control of the dark creatures I saw.”
“Not control, but influence, which can be the same thing,” the Bookseller responded.
“How, then, can you explain that I can see, hear and understand,” Paul asked.
“Like I said, God moved, and you are capable of understanding truth,” the Bookseller answered. “That is why you are searching for truth and that is why the huge hands you saw were not wrapped around your head. They had been, but that changed because God enabled you to search. Jesus made that clear. He said that ‘No one can come to Me unless the Father has enabled him.’57 You have been enabled.”
“Why me?” asked Paul.
“Ask God,” the Bookseller responded, “He obviously loves you and has a desire to use you somehow in His service, but let’s back up for a minute. The first question you should have asked is whether there is a biblical basis for a vision of spiritual forces such as you saw. I can tell you there is, which is why I agreed to meet with you when Chaplain Forrest told me about your dream. There is both Old and New Testament authority for such a vision. I know that is confusing to you now, but you will understand if you continue in your search.”
Opening his Bible, the Bookseller showed Paul passages in 2nd Kings, Daniel, Matthew and the Revelation where eyes were opened to see into the invisible, eternal, spiritual world.58 Paul quickly seized on 2 Kings where the story was told of the prophet Elisha and his servant who was afraid because of all the enemies he could see with his eyes. The prophet told him not to fear and then prayed, “Oh Lord, open his eyes so he may see.’ Then the Lord opened his eyes, and he looked and saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.”59 Paul’s own experience had been just the opposite; his eyes had been opened to see the forces of darkness, but not the forces of light.
“Why did I see only the forces of darkness and not the forces of light?” Paul asked.
“I believe you had an incomplete dream because you woke up in fear before it was finished,” the Bookseller sought to explain carefully. “There is obviously much you did not see since you missed the activity of the forces of light. But let’s come back to that. For now, consider the meaning of what you saw beyond the blindness and influence over the mind. What do you think the celebration by the forces of darkness at a funeral meant? What about the book? What about the papers and the small ones going off in different directions? What do you think that all meant, Paul?”
“Obviously, I don’t know. Help me please, Mr. White.”
“I will try, but please listen closely with your now opened ears,” the Bookseller answered. “I believe that each of the things you saw is significant, although the picture remains incomplete. The celebration by the forces of evil at a funeral can mean only one thing, the second death. The forces of darkness are celebrating because they won. The person whose funeral was being observed has experienced the second death, which is Satan’s goal for all humans.60 That is why he blinds eyes and ears and seeks to use influence to control minds regarding spiritual truth. Jesus said that what Satan comes to do is ‘only to steal and kill and destroy.’61 Unfortunately, the second death is not simply physical death, which we all experience; it is an eternal death. I didn’t write it, but what Scripture says is the second death is ‘the lake of fire’ – eternal punishment. Satan rejoices because another is experiencing what he knows he will someday experience. It is clear in the Bible.62 That is how it will end for him.”
“That is hard to swallow,” was Paul’s immediate response. “If God is love, how can he allow that?”
“A better question might be how can He not allow that. What kind of God would He be if He left evil unaddressed? But because of His love, God gave man a choice. I am sure you have at least heard John 3:16 quoted somewhere.”
“I think so, but I’m not sure.”
“Well, it says that ‘God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.’ Samantha’s dad didn’t believe, so he perished. I hope you will come to understand that having the choice evidences God’s love, for God paid an unbelievably high price to give us that choice.”
“Believe what? What choice? I still don’t get it.”
“Paul, don’t be concerned that everything is not immediately made clear. I believe that all of this is a part of that process and the time will come when it will be made clear to you, but for now, focus with me on every detail of what you saw in your dream. All of it is important if we are to understand what you were shown.”
“All right. Let’s start with the book, what could that mean?”
“I believe that it is within Satan’s character to review every ‘victory’ to determine what worked so he can use that against the remaining humans still living. The meeting you saw was most likely a group of the forces of darkness reviewing the life of the deceased and how they had been successful in keeping him away from the knowledge of God. They wrote it down to pass it on to others of their kind. I am sorry. I know that the deceased was your girlfriend’s dad, but what you saw did not indicate a man who will spend eternity with God.
“Consider the differing sizes of the dark beings,” said the Bookseller, seeking to direct Paul’s thoughts away from the deceased and back to the living, “that represents rank and authority among the forces of darkness. They are not all the same. Remember, you said they deferred to the keeper of the book. Scripture teaches that there are hierarchies of authority leading to Satan. The leaders appear to be assigned geographic or territorial ‘kingdoms’ for which they are responsible.63 What you probably saw in your dream was the leader of the forces of darkness in Williams.
“Now, you saw the leader writing what appeared to be notes. That is significant. When you study scripture, you will learn that there are many differences between the forces of darkness and the forces of light. There are major differences in power and in abilities as well as in purpose and direction. Satan and his forces can only be in one place at one time. Accordingly, they must send messages to each other. By contrast, scripture teaches that God is everywhere and that nothing can be hidden from Him.64 He doesn’t need a messenger. He already knows the past, present and future. The Holy Spirit is at the same time present in all believers. Accordingly, the sending of an external messenger to a believer is not necessary. The Holy Spirit can communicate with all or any believer at any time.65 External messengers are used, on occasion, for emphasis, but they are not required.”66
“Wow, that is a lot to take in,” was Paul’s only response.
The Bookseller was silent, knowing that an unbeliever would never be able to understand all of this unless God opened his mind, which might take a while. He remembered that scripture says, “The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them for they are spiritually discerned.”67 Without the light inside, understanding is impossible.
“If only he will continue to search,” he thought. At that exact moment, the Bookseller was given wisdom for what he needed to complete, what God wanted him to do at the moment. He knew what to say.
“Paul,” he began, “I want to ask you to consider doing one more thing.” Paul waited to hear. “Remember the prayer we read earlier by the prophet Elisha for his servant who was afraid in the face of the enemy? I want to ask you if you will pray that prayer for yourself – personalize it. Pray this, ‘O Lord, open my eyes so I may see the forces of light at the funeral.’ If you are allowed to see the dream finished, come back and let’s discuss what the dream as a whole means.”
His face became somber and the Bookseller cautioned Paul, “With that request goes a warning. I told you that Satan counterfeits everything God does to draw people away. Scripture tells us that when necessary, he even ‘masquerades as an angel of light.’ His servants masquerade as ‘servants of righteousness.’68 That is why I told you to measure everything by the Bible. If he is seeking to restore you to his influence, he may appear to you in a dream or otherwise to draw you away. Be very careful to consider what happens in response to your prayer in the context of what we have read from the Bible and the first part of your dream. Don’t allow yourself to be deceived.”
As Paul was preparing to leave, he remembered his list of questions and handed them to the Bookseller. “I need answers to these too,” he said. The Bookseller read each slowly and smiled. “Great questions but they must be saved for another day. I am going to put them here in my Bible and when it is time, come back and we will work through them together one at a time until you have your answers.”
“Can I come back Monday?” Paul asked.
“I should be here,” was the response, “and will look forward to it. Perhaps by Monday, our prayer will have been answered and your dream will have been completed.”