Something fell behind them, a prop of some kind. The screen went black, and the local news team returned.

“We’re not sure what’s going on with our Middle Eastern friends. Hopefully, all is okay.”

Erica felt a tap on her shoulder. She turned to see Johnny pointing to his phone, open to his Bible reading app.

“It’s all here, Mum. It’s in Revelation.” He was excited. “It says after the two witnesses went up to heaven in a cloud, within that hour, a severe earthquake would occur, and a large part of the city will be destroyed. How can people still doubt?”

Jack. Lord, please speak to his heart.

38 - No longer an amber person

After visiting Cath, Jack followed up on a number of investigations. One call was close to home.

Peter and Cassie Thomas were attacked by an anti-religious mob. They were unharmed, but their house was badly damaged. They were both in good spirits, considering. Jack had met them both a number of times through Erica. Peter was the pastor of her church.

“It’s been building up, Jack. We’ve been sheltered in this country. The persecution of Christians has been increasing globally for some time. Many reports have come in of more Christians suffering persecution and intolerance, often in the world’s poorest communities.”

He hadn’t known—it wasn’t something the media covered, although he’d noticed the persecution starting to build up locally.

“You’re not the first Christians to come under attack in the last few days. We will investigate and see if there are any links between the cases,” Jack said.

“Don’t worry about taking it further,” Peter said. “Something’s about to happen that will make this irrelevant. There are more important things to be concerned about, like making sure you’re right with God.”

“It’s time for people to get on their knees,” Cassie said. “And soon.”

“Those two witnesses have spent the last three and half years telling people to get on their knees, to repent and get right with God. Many have. You need to. Now.”

As he drove back towards the office, Jack’s thoughts were on what Peter had said. Jack tried to brush their words off as church talk but sensed a stirring in his heart.

The car park was full at police headquarters, so he had to make a detour to the underground car park at King George Square. As he surfaced from the car park, people were surrounding the big screen. What had happened now?

A massive close up of the asteroid took up most of the screen. Amazing that the technology could show such a clear picture of something so far away—well, maybe not that far away. He could just make out a structure behind the semi-transparent tinted skin—like how a person in a dark tinted car became clearer the closer you got. He’d seen the structure before, but in low quality black and white. But why the sense of increased panic? The subtitles scrolling at the bottom of the screen told him why. Adventus now closer to Earth than the Moon. A twinge of panic crept in. Thoughts were zigzagging around in his head.

The screen zoomed in on a small cloud approaching then disappearing into the great structure.

Some are saying this was the two witnesses, who were brought back to life at 2.00 pm our time, returning to their spaceship. They vanished in a puff of smoke.

Why were the newsreaders smiling?

As indicated in our previous reports, many believe the vanishing was a magic trick performed by a pyrotechnicsexpert. Authorities are attempting to trace the culprit. The puff of smoke was put down to a piece of space junk hitting the asteroid.

Someone from NASA was being interviewed.

We have tried to make contact with what we now believe is an alien craft, but have yet to receive any response. The overall feeling is that the craft is on a peaceful mission.  

The NASA spokesperson suddenly looked right. Something had got his attention.

Uh, sorry. Reports have just come in that the craft has started moving again, and quickly. It’s moving sideways.

He stopped talking and looked closer at what must be a monitor.

Tracking figures are coming in. It looks like it’s starting an orbiting pattern.

The reporters shook their heads.

Maybe we have a new moon.

The last comment read like an attempt to convince the world that all was well. If NASA was bewildered, how did the average person in the street feel? Jack needed to sit down.

Jack headed towards the park bench near the entrance to the Town Hall, the same one he’d sat on back before this journey—or whatever it was—started. He needed privacy, and the bench was still a good place to think. The man with the “Repent! The end is near” placard was still doing his rounds. People were probably paying attention now.

Maybe Jack needed to pay attention. He stared down at his feet and watched a line of ants taking food back to their nest. Preparing. He wasn’t prepared. As Erica would say, faith had always been on the fringe for Jack. He believed there was a God but was often confused about why He allowed so much suffering in the world. Jack saw a lot of suffering in his job and hated it all, particularly the abuse of children.

A shadow appeared on the ground, covering the ants. Jack looked up. It was placard man. The man would’ve been in his late sixties. His face was hardened by the world, but his eyes took away that hardness.

“I know you’re a police officer. I’ve seen you coming and going from police headquarters up there. We appreciate all you do for society.” The man turned and waved his arm to take in all the people wandering the street. “You know it’s a mess out there, and you know it’s not getting better.”

He lifted up his placard and placed it against a nearby wall. “Can I sit with you?”

This was different. “Sure.”

“You know most people think I’m a weirdo.”

Jack had already dealt with that thought. “People are like that. Believe me, I don’t put you in that category. I encounter a lot of weirdos in my job, and they don’t carry placards. They carry knives and guns, and they’re normally controlled by some drug or another.”

The man smiled looked into Jack’s eyes. “God has put this on my heart to tell you that there is a better place coming. The world will be made new again. It will be refreshed, restored back to the way it was meant to be. God has been patient with man, but He needs to intervene soon, or the planet will be destroyed. The bad things you question aren’t from God. They’re from a world that wants to do its own thing.”

Sometimes words skim past and don’t connect. These didn’t. Placard man’s words connected. Pastor Peter words connected.

“I know the cruelty of the world puzzles you,” the man said. “At times, the world appears meaningless and you question everything. Those who suffer can be healed by God. Suffering is not caused by God. If man acted out of love, those things wouldn’t happen.”

The man was right. Men and women caused the suffering.

The man stood. “We have to give the world back to God. You have to give your heart back to God.” He put out his hand. “Hopefully, I’ll see you in the New Jerusalem.”

“Yes, I think I need a holiday.” That was a dumb response, but Jack had no idea what or where the New Jerusalem was.

The man picked up his placard and put it over his head. He looked at Jack. “It’ll be a good one. A good holiday for you. No more death, no more mourning, no more crying, no more pain, no more tears.” He pointed towards the people. “I’ve many more to share with, and time is running out.”

Placard man started walking off but stopped and turned back to Jack.

“Remember. Time is running out.”

Jack half expected him to vanish in a puff of smoke.

Jack’s heart was heavy and his mind all over the place. A single thought was making its way through the haze. He needed to go home and protect his family. This situation was now out of the ordinary. Spaceship or God. All out of the ordinary. He needed to focus on what was happening in the world and his family.

As he headed back to his car, he thought about God. He thought about Erica and Johnny and Cath. He thought about Jesus and his role in all of this, about God, the creator of all things, and about the alien craft. He said a little prayer as he walked. He hadn’t prayed for a while and it was a different prayer. Jack did believe. He told God he believed, and that he was sorry.