LV

BEING CONFIDENT OF THIS VERY THING, THAT HE THAT HAS BEGUN A GOOD WORK IN YOU WILL PERFORM IT UNTIL THE DAY OF JESUS CHRIST

PHILIPPIANS 1:6

FATHER AND DAUGHTER

SEVEN SALLIE (FATHER OF SEVENIA SALLIE GIRL PROPHETESS)

My blood pressure must have been through the roof as my heart pounded against my chest! A dozen human beings were assembled in the church basement as my lovely daughter prepared to begin a study of Bible prophecy. However, it wasn’t her being the master of ceremonies that had me beyond nervous to just short of a panic attack. It was my own guilt, shame, and confusion.

Over the last two years, I had developed two platonic friendships with two different women. One was my first love and teenage girlfriend, Salena. Not quite two decades ago, Salena had broken up with me to marry an older, wealthy man for the sake of her impoverished family. A year after she became a widow, we became reacquainted.

The other woman was a former fortune teller by the name of Zella LaStella. She and I began an intense friendship after she and I witnessed the demon possession and deliverance of Lexi Gomez. I call our friendship intense due to the physical attraction and chemistry that simmered between us. Yet we remained platonic due to her extreme caution with romance and my religious conversion. Zella believed in the supernatural, but not the God of the Bible. Zella believed Jesus was a great man, teacher, and prophet. Although I believe those things too, I also believe Jesus is God. Zella did not.

Over the previous months, Zella had softened her stance against romance. I had relaxed my belief that we needed to share the same beliefs. But then I changed my mind. I saw too much turmoil in marriages that differed in belief systems. About the same time, I realized I had been denying a desire for Salena due to pride and jealousy.

Pride because she had dumped me to marry another man. Jealousy because she had a fling with my twin brother that led to her current state of pregnancy. But as I realized that Salena and I shared the same spiritual beliefs, I also realized my pride and jealousy were forms of self-love. I pushed self aside and began to rekindle my love for Salena. My new attitude became confirmed after hearing the story of Jack and Jill Griffin. Jack had waited several uncertain years for his wife to return to him after leaving him for another man. Jack’s situation was far more grueling than mine.

There was one element to my situation that was seemingly more difficult than their situation. Salena was pregnant by another man. However, that other man was my twin brother. So I would be raising my own nephew. My brother also suggested that I should be with Salena. That she loved me. That she needed me rather than him.

After weeks of consideration, I decided to ask Salena to marry me. The thought of finally consummating a marriage with Salena after all these years excited me. But first I felt that I needed to explain things to Zella. So last night I went to her house and explained the situation to her. She seemed to take it well. But then things went awry in a way I hadn’t expected. They went amiss in such a way that I couldn’t ask Salena to marry me right now. Maybe ever.

The Bible study was due to start at 7 pm. It was five minutes till 7. Both Salena and Zella had not arrived. There was no way I would pray that anyone would not show up for a Bible study. Yet as I heard the door open, I felt myself tense. Then I relaxed some when Destiny walked through the door with two young women. Then I re-tensed when Salena walked into the room right behind them.

We smiled and waved at each other, then I kept myself busy fiddling unnecessarily with the slide machine my daughter asked me to operate. I just couldn’t face Salena right now. The strange, unexpected happenings with Zella the previous night was too fresh on my mind

At 7:05 pm, there were sixteen of the roughly thirty people that had shown interest in the study. Zella was not one of them. At 7:07 pm, Sevenia welcomed everybody and I prematurely breathed a sigh of relief. Then the door opened and Zella stepped into the room.

“Sorry, I’m late,” she said as she gave Sevenia a warm, apologetic smile.

“No, you’re fine, Zella,” my daughter said happily. “This is just an informal gathering of friends.”

Zella eyed a dozen available chairs and chose one. As she made her way to it, our eyes met. Her eyes narrowed and seemed to glare at me for a few minutes, even though it was only a couple seconds. Then I think she smirked as she sat and crossed one shapely leg over another.

Zella looked like she could be Naomi Campbell’s daughter. She also didn’t subscribe to our church’s conservative tendency on dress. She was wearing form fitting leggings and a tight athletic top that was glued to her healthy form. Even though said top had long sleeves, the bottom of it rose several inches above her jeans revealing a flat muscular abdomen.

I glanced at Salena, who was staring somberly at Zella. She had a hand on her ever expanding belly, and forgive me, looked a little frumpy in a maternity dress that was a bit too big for her. Zella turned and looked at her. I felt my toes curl. I feared my night was about to become a nightmare. Were these two women aware of some confusing romantic competition between them that I didn’t understand?

Since the evening became an anxiety riddled blur for me, I will now turn this story over to my precious daughter.

SEVENIA SALLIE (GIRL PROPHETESS)

How ironic! I had just done an interview for my dad’s podcast on how a couple managed to save their marriage from a love triangle. Now at the beginning of what we hoped would be a regular Thursday night Bible prophecy study, my dad unintentionally had brought his own love triangle to the meeting.

Moments after Zella LaStella arrived, I noticed a strange look pass between her and my father. It was an odd combination of both hostility and affection. Then I saw Salena staring at Zella. Then Zella looked at Salena. Then the expression on my dad’s face looked like he was about to face a firing squad.

“Shall we open with prayer?” I asked loudly, snapping the strange aura between Salena, Zella, and my father. After I prayed vocally, I begged God silently that he would dispel any discord. So few of the human population thirsted and hungered after God, I knew Satan would be here trying to disrupt this quest for truth.

“Once again, welcome,” I said. “Thanks for coming. I believe I have at least met everyone of you here. I also know that many of you are new students of the Holy Bible. I also know that a few of you have doubts about believing the Bible. If our study accomplishes anything, it is my hope that it instills faith that this centuries old inspired book of books can be relied upon as the ultimate life guide.

“When I first joined Cotton Creek Cove, something Pastor Samson said to me has stuck with me ever since. He told me when this fellowship first began, he wanted the worship to be more of the format of an AA meeting rather than a religious service. That said, at any time you have a question, a comment, a concern, a struggle, a prayer request, please, please, please break in and make your need known.

“Okay, so we’re going to study Daniel and Revelation. Most evangelical churches teach that these prophecies are futuristic, as in haven’t been fulfilled yet. But we’re going to examine scripture and history and discover that much has actually already been fulfilled. We’ll also see the roll the United States will play.”

“Daniel and Revelation mention the United States?” Chloe, one of the ladies Destiny brought asked. “Like, by name?”

“Not by name,” I replied. “Much of Daniel and Revelation is symbolic. But as we examine the symbolic meanings, hopefully you will be able to see the various representations.”

“Why symbols?” Chloe asked. “Why didn’t God just come right out and say this is this and that is that?”

“Good question,” I replied. “My personal opinion is that God used symbols to protect His followers from the very antichrist system it warns us about. It is a persecuting power and the main reason the dark ages were called dark. In the early days of Christianity, the Bible was actually withheld in a large degree from non-clergy.”

Chloe nodded, along with a few others.

“Oh, before we get going, does everyone have a Bible?” I asked. Everyone nodded, except Zella. “Does anyone need one?”

Zella meekly raised her hand, and I handed her one.

“Please turn to Revelation Chapter one and verse one,” I instructed. “Revelation is the last book of the Bible. Destiny, could you read that for us?”

“Sure,” she replied merrily. “The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave to Him, to show to His servants, things which must shortly come to pass; and He sent and signified it by His angel to His servant John.”

“Thanks, Dee,” I said cheerily, and then my face fell. I noticed Heather, the other girl Destiny had brought with her. She looked as though she were on the verge of tears. I couldn’t very well ask her if anything were wrong in front of everybody, so I made myself smile and pressed on.

“At the center of the prophecies we will be studying is Jesus and the law of God,” I continued. “The entire Bible itself is a Revelation of Jesus Christ. I find it fascinating that in the first couple chapters of the Bible, God creates a paradise. Then we have the fall of man. Then in the pages following, we have how God deals with fallen man. Most predominately the life, death, and resurrection of His Son for our salvation. Then in the last couple chapters of the Bible, God creates a new heaven and a new earth.

“But the central theme of the entire Bible is Jesus! The old testament looked forward to Jesus coming, and the new testament looks back. The two books go hand in hand. A lot of Christians just want to use the new testament and forget the old. Yet when Jesus quoted scripture, the scripture he quoted was obviously the old testament.

“Take the book of Matthew, the first book of the new testament. It has at least 129 references to the old testament. Many of those are prophecies concerning Jesus. When…”

A sob barked followed by a gasp. It was Heather. “I’m sorry. I don’t belong here.”

“Oh, Honey,” Destiny said as Heather picked up her things and began to rise. Destiny gently grasped her arm as Heather began to cry. “No matter what is going on in your life you are most certainly welcome here. You definitely belong here.”

“Would you like to talk in private?” I asked.

“No,” she said shaking her head. “You said we’re all friends. I don’t want to be fake. I gave my heart to Jesus a few weeks ago. Destiny was going to baptize me the day after tomorrow. But a few days ago, I had a drink with an old boyfriend. Actually a few. Then one thing led to another.”

She began crying again

“Heather,” I said softly as her tears brought tears to my own eyes. “Have you ever dropped the soap when you were taking a shower?”

“Of course,” she replied with a puzzled frown.

“What did you do?”

“I picked it up,” she shrugged.

“Did you stop showering?”

“Of course not.”

“What we’re doing here,” I said happily. “When we study and pray, it’s like we’re taking a spiritual shower. If you give in to sin, you don’t stop trying to get clean. You use more soap and water.”

“By soap and water, do you mean Bible and prayer?” She asked with a surprisingly shy smile for someone who used to be an exotic dancer.

I nodded. “And fellowship with your fellow fallen human beings. Philippians 1:6 tells us to be confident that He who began a good work in you will finish it until the day of Jesus Christ.”

Heather walked rapidly to me, hugged me and whispered, “Thank you.”

“You’re very welcome.”

“Destiny was so right about you,” she grinned and wiped at a stray tear. “I guess I’ll stay then.”

“Praise God!” I replied cheerily. “Please let me know if you ever want to get together and talk.”

“You’re so sweet,” she said as her eyes filled again. She returned to her seat.

I was about to continue when Zella spoke. “I have a confession.”

I looked from her to my dad. He looked as if someone had just shot him with a taser.