Heaven and Earth

Chapter One

Encounter from the porch

Link Osgood was a young minister who was sitting in a wicker chair on his grandmother Lorna’s porch, thumbing through a new King James Bible he had received from the congregation at the Solid Rock Bible Chapel. He had been scanning through the prophets, when he finally settled on Daniel. He was glancing through several chapters, until his interest became focused upon Chapter Eight and verse ten. And he read aloud to himself that strange verse:

“And it waxed great, even to the host of heaven; and it cast down some of the host and of the stars to the ground, and stamped upon them.”

“Humph,” Link mumbled in confusion, “what could this mean?” So he read it again, slowly, pondering on the words: “host of heaven,” “stars,” and “stamped.”

Now let’s see, Link thought, groping for clarification, host of heaven could mean angels. Stars—well, stars are in the universe. And stamped means a stomping. So if you are stomping, like on ants, you’re killing them. That little word “it” in this verse is in reference to the previous verse, where it’s talking about the little horn. And the little horn is in reference to Satan. Then, does this mean angels can be killed by Satan? But what about Revelation Twelve and verse seven? Apparently Michael cannot be killed by Satan, and there is war in heaven— angels going up against angels . . . What could this ever mean? Or that angels having a physical existence and can be killed? And what about Genesis Six, if the Sons of God could be in reference to angels who impregnated human women? If this is the case, it’s a sad song to the ages.

With his legs crossed, Link joggled his foot back and forth, trying to run the confusions out of his mind. When, out of the corner of his eye, he caught a brilliant flash of light from out of the southern hemisphere, low on the horizon. It must be an airplane, Link thought.

But as it approached him, he could see the afternoon sun glinting ever brighter as it grew larger. “I don’t think it’s an airplane,” Link whispered to himself. “I can’t see any wing-span.”
The craft was very low—about fifty or so feet, approaching straight toward him, slowly. Link’s mind spun into excitement, as he thought, this is not science fiction—this is real . . . This is what shakes the whole world . . . But what does this mean?

As he watched transfixed in awe, the object drew closer, nearly one hundred yards away, when a pinkish-white beam silently shot out and struck Link on the crown of his head. The light grew in its intensity as the craft slowly approached him. Link tried to throw up his hands to block the beam, but he couldn’t, he was frozen like a statue. Besides, his head began to glow in the likeness of the beam—strangely, just beneath the skin, it emanated outward into an aural encircling his crown.

After all of this, Link felt no heat or pain, only electrical-like tingles coursing through his brain, wave after wave. But then, pulsating pictures moved so rapidly in his mind, he could no more than detect one detail until the next one: a tree, a sheep, a sea, a basket, a bearded man, and on and on, too numerous to count.

Finally, the beam of light snapped off. The aural about his head still glowed but seconds later, it wavered out. It left him feeling energized, fearless, as if he was invincible. Nothing in this world had ever caused him to feel such power—internal power. It seemed to surge out of a central core like an esoteric ebulliency. And once again he could move freely.

Link rose up from the wicker chair, clutching his Bible to his breast. With his free hand, he grabbed at the chair and focused on the mysterious, saucer-shaped craft. It stood still, hovering; a massive machine one hundred feet or more in diameter. The top portion was made at an angle, but the bottom was flat. He peered again to see the center hub actually had port windows around it.

Oh my gosh, Link thought, gripping the chair arm, they`re people staring at me. And some are smiling. Now, look at that one, he’s got his hand raised up in greeting. Dear Lord, what does this mean? Who are these people?

In the next moment, a strange thought invaded Link’s mind, saying, friend, this will help you in days to come.

A few seconds later the craft meteorically whooshed through the air, even before Link could bat an eyelash, it was all ready into the horizon and soon disappeared from a speck to nothing. Incredible, Link thought, impetuously.

He felt as if he could float as he stood astounded with mouth agape. He staggered, opening the screen door and entering into the house. His brain throbbed in the warming waves of an odd sense of euphoria, seemingly, to be synchronized with his beating heart. And he clutched the Bible to his side.

Disclosure

He made his way gingerly to the dinning room and sat, easing down on the leather-padded chair at the table. He laid his Bible on it, thinking, What has happened? Who were those people? And what did they do to me? What should I do, now—pray?

His head fell forward, looking down, he began to pray earnestly. With his lips silently moving and tears running down his cheeks, his temples began to emanate a gold-whitish light.

Finally he opened his eyes and stood up, stretching out his arms, he cried aloud, “Lord, be with me in this trial. You know what has happened and I don’t. If you will, Lord, shine your light into my heart that I may know you. Lead me, Lord, in the way I should go. Keep me in Your grace and love, forever. Amen."

Link sat and opened the Bible to Genesis One and began reading. After reading Chapter One, he read the first four verses in Chapter Two. He shifted in the chair and shut his eyes. Then images began to pass before his mind’s eye. Yes, there is Arcturus; over on the left is Orion, then to the right is the Pleiades. Suddenly, they all blinked out—gone. Nothing but a blank. What, thought Link, could this mean? The constellations did not re-appear as he anticipated.

He considered; then he was drawn to verse two in Genesis, Chapter One to a particular phrase: and darkness was upon the face of the deep.

Link dwelled upon the strange phrase for a couple of minutes. Let me, Link thought, check it out if there should be any cross reference to this verse.

There was, he found it in Jeremiah Chapter four and verse twenty-three, where he read:
I beheld the earth, and, lo, it was without form, and void; and the heavens, and they had no light.

Link stood up and stretched, then yawned. As soon as he sat back down, it hit him like the light of dawn for the first time. He leaped back up, praising God and Christ because he did understand—now.

He struck off in the direction of his study-nook in the back of the house. There he procured a new notebook and pencil and hurried back to the dinning room. He quickly sat down at the table and jotted down:

In the beginning, there was no universe; only the earth existed in the vastness of space. This means the earth, by far, is much older than any other heavenly body. The universe, if it actually was created by the Big Bang Theory, does not apply to the earth. The Big Bang Theory is at least questionable and seriously doubtful, holding the viewpoint of the written word.

In this same regard, I hold the theory of evolution to be a hoax, no more than the figment of mankind’s imagination. The creation of God, not only, involves the earth, but also, the entire universe.

Can any Christian name the cause of heaven as shown in Genesis Chapter One and verse one and Chapter Two and verse one? Why is heaven singular in the first and plural in the second? I can only relate here that little “s” has made such a vast difference since time was first begun. Whoever can answer correctly has begun to pull in the longest end of the profound. I have never heard this taught by any—

Lorna Osgood

Link heard the screeching brakes of the old Ford church bus grinding to a halt. He looked momentarily at the notebook and a tear welled up; then, he closed it. He wiped away the tear with the back of his hand and strolled to the open, front door. Through the screen door, he watched his grandmother, Lorna Osgood, make her way in the halting step of the aged.
Link’s attention was drawn to his grandmother, because he wanted to help her. But he knew better. She had a sprightly soul, independent and prideful.

By the time Lorna took three or four steps, the bus driver yelled, “Mrs. Osgood, may I help you?”

“No. No, Bill,” Lorna said, turning, then smiled. “Thank you, anyway.”

Link grinned and shook his head, knowingly.

She crept along, somewhat shakily; finally, reaching the porch steps, she stopped to catch her breath.

Link stepped out on the porch, and Bill revved up the motor, pulling out on the driveway.

“Here Jenny, take my hand and be careful,” Link said, encouragingly. He stepped down, extending his hand.

“Thank you, Sonny Boy,” and grasped his hand.

“How the meeting go?” asked Link, opening and guiding her through the door.

“Fine, fine.” She shrugged her shoulders. “Though, I tell you Sonny Boy, those young ladies at church will argue over the silliest thing.”

He chuckled quietly and said, “You have said many times before, ‘a child must grow and learn in due season’.” He hesitated for a few moments and said as an afterthought, “Perhaps, I’ve learned some new thing.” On reaching the recliner in the living-room, he eased her down into her favorite chair.

“Aaaa—thank you, Sonny boy. That’s much better to sit.”

“Jenny, may I do anything more?” Link, for years, had nicknamed Lorna, Jenny. She had always resented being called Granny or Granny Lorna. But Lorna or Jenny would always win her over with pleasantries.

“Why—yes. Do you care to check on the chicken? It’s in the slow-cooker.”

“I’ll be glad to.” He turned and left the room.

In the kitchen, he popped off the cover and poked a fork into the chicken. He found it was tender and smelled delicious. He replaced the cover and switched the cooker off.

As he re-entered the living room, he noticed Jenny had shed her shoes and kick-backed the recliner with her swollen feet and ankles elevated. She said in a relieved voice, “I feel all comfy, now.”

“That’s great. If you like, I can finish up dinner. Mashed potatoes sound about right. Maybe a few other veggies.

“Would you? I do feel a bit tired.”