Chasing Elmer Gantry

Chapter 5
The hospital staff kept Arturo busy all day with therapy and tests, then more therapy.
After the evening meal he drifted to sleep in his exhausted state with his fork still in hand.
He awoke in the middle of the night to the sound of wind rattling the windows
and whistling through unseen cracks. Sheets of rain blew through the partially opened
window, showering the fichus plant directly beneath the windowsill.
While Arturo searched for the button to summon the nurse, the door to his room
opened. In stepped a little old man with walking cane in one hand and watering pot in
the other. He stood no taller than five-foot-two, and wore a blue work apron with a gray
button-down sweater. Skinny and hunched over, he made a laborious trek to close the
window. In a most melodic tone, he said, “Oh, I see I won’t have to water the fichus
tonight; Mother Nature did my job for me.”
Arturo said nothing, employing his artistic powers of observation while curious at
the sight of the delightful night janitor. He sported the most incredible locks of thick,
wavy white hair that Arturo had ever seen. As the old man picked up the fichus and
placed it on a small table, he flipped on the light mounted over the adjoining bed, giving
Arturo a good look at his face. He was clean-shaven and his olive complexion had more
interesting wrinkles and lines than a worn-out leather glove.
The old man reached into his apron pocket and pulled out a pair of pruning shears.
With his back partially turned towards Arturo, he began pruning the plant. “How’s the
therapy going, Arturo?”
“Huh? How did you know my name?”
“It’s on the tag at the foot of the bed, but I knew of you long before tonight.”
“Really, how’s that? Do you know my paintings? I don’t think I’ve ever met you,
and yet there is something familiar. Maybe it’s your voice, I can’t tell.”
Still busy with his pruning, the old man said, “I’ve seen your paintings and have
been impressed right from the first …a red boat on a green sea, right?”
Arturo pushed the button to raise his bed to a sitting position. “How could you
possibly know that? It’s true, I was ten years old when I painted that, so how could you
know? Are we related somehow?”
When the old man snipped the last leaf he put the shears back into his apron,
picked up his cane and with tiny steps made his way to Arturo’s bed. “Yes, we’re related,
but not in any earthly way.”
As he approached the bed he smiled, fixed his eyes to Arturo’s and said, “Let’s
see if you can guess who I am.”
Arturo gazed into his oversized, piercing brown eyes. A flood of unfamiliar
emotions and strange knowledge flooded his mind as if he telepathically saw right into
the man’s mind. Arturo asked, “Are you thinking that I will be a very happy man come
morning?”
“Yes, very good. And it’s true, you will be.”
“I wish I could believe you, but it’ll be another bout with physical therapy. That’s
anything but happy.” Then Arturo looked into his eyes again and discerned another
powerful thought. “I have a distinct feeling that you intend to give something to me, sir.
Am I right?”
“Indeed you are, but look deeper and see if you can discover what it is.”
Curiously astonished, Arturo continued the game as he once again peered into the
pupils of the old man’s compassionate eyes. There was an immediate and overwhelming
realization that he was in the presence of a person with much more intelligence and moral
fortitude than himself. “Who are you? Tell me your name.”
“My name is Nathaniel, and I am first and foremost a messenger. But I like to
help things grow as sort of a second job.”
“That’s hard for me to swallow, Nathaniel. A man of your age a messenger? A
messenger/janitor/horticulturist who chooses to work in the middle of the night? What’s
going on here? How did you know about my paintings? And how is it that you can relay
your thoughts without a word?
“All right I won’t put you off any longer. My intention was to do my best to help
you feel comfortable with me before I tell you why I’ve come, because the message I
have for you will be unusually difficult for you to believe.”
“A message from whom?”
“The King.”
“The King?”
“Yes, the King of Heaven and Earth.”
Are you some kind of church official, or perhaps a self-proclaimed prophet? You
know, I see preachers on TV all the time telling us they have a message from God.
Forgive me if I don’t take your message too seriously.”
“I told you it would be difficult, but please allow me to go on.”
“At the end of your message are you going to ask for a donation?”
“No.”
“Then by all means go on. But before you do, tell me why on earth I should
believe anything you say. These days it’s hard to trust a preacher with a message. After
all, what do you think put me here? It was a bullet meant for a crooked priest. A priest
shrewd enough to fool us all, and guess what? He’s the only one walking around a free
man. The woman who intended to shoot him was arrested, and I’m a prisoner of this
hospital bed, unable to walk for the rest of my life.”
“I’m not a preacher, Arturo; I’m a messenger. And I know everything that has
ever happened to you because I was sent by God.”
“I’ve already told you that many people make that claim. How will I know for
sure that your message is the truth? How will you convince me God has sent you?”
“There are two ways you will know for sure. The first will be that the Holy Spirit
will overshadow you and bear witness that my words are true. And the other is that I will
speak directly to your understanding, without the use of the spoken word.”
“You mean like telepathy?”
“Something like that, only much more specific. Will you will allow me to touch
your forehead?”
Arturo nodded, and Nathaniel touched the center of his head with his index finger.
Arturo closed his eyes, feeling the glory of God descending on him with such intensity
his body trembled. He remembered his sins and mentally pleaded with God to depart
from his unworthy body, but the glory kept increasing in waves until Arturo thought he
would surely die. He cried, “I believe Nathaniel, I believe! Ask the Lord to relent, for I
cannot bear myself in His presence.”
When Arturo opened his eyes, Nathaniel stood over him smiling, emanating a
countenance that was utterly radiant. His eyes projected an extraordinary combination of
virtue and nobility. And while Arturo was still shaking, he heard a voice in his mind.
‘Dost thou truly believe now, oh noble and weary son of man?’
While his eyes were fixed to Nathaniel’s smiling face, Arturo shuddered, gripped
with fear and confusion. He grew faint as the glory of God steadily descended into his
body, and realized that the voice in his mind sounded very much like the voice of
Nathaniel. He answered by thinking, ‘Who are you?’
‘It is I, Nathaniel. Dost thou not know my voice? Fear not, Arturo, for the Lord
shall increase thine understanding threefold from this day forward.’
With bewildered amazement, and still visibly shaken, Arturo observed
Nathaniel’s face as it reflected the emotions of the words he’d just heard in his mind. Still
speaking in thoughts Arturo said, ‘I did recognize your voice, or at least I thought I did.
Why are you speaking in King James English? And how is it possible that we can
communicate like this?’
‘I have chosen this speech that ye may know my voice amongst the many other
voices that proceedeth forth from thine imagination. Of a surety, ye will know that it is I
who speak henceforth until your work has come to an end.’
‘But I don’t understand how it’s possible. And what work is it that I have to do?’
Nathaniel turned away from the bed and crossed the room to the fichus, still
communicating with his mind. ‘It is possible with creatures such as I. What thou seest is
a creature of God, but I am not human. What thou seest is indeed flesh and bone, but
liveth commonly in the heavenly realms. There are many realms in heaven, I abide in the
seventh. On Earth, of a truth, there are four realms, but mankind knows only three.’
‘Are you talking about dimensions, like length, width and depth?’
‘Yea, the body thou seest before thee abideth in the third realm; thou hearest my
voice in the fourth.’
By now, the Lord had relented and Arturo’s mind and body returned to the way he
was before Nathaniel touched him—only now he perceived a sharp increase in mental
agility.
‘Are you saying that what I’m seeing is not real?’
Nathaniel turned off the light on the other side of the room and sat in a guest
chair, revealing only his silhouette in the shadows. ‘Nay, for I am flesh and bone indeed,
but I have transformed my being from its glory in the seventh realm into what is before
thee. Let it be known this day, oh noble son of man, that thou alone hast spoken such
depth of knowledge with a creature from another realm. Thou hast pleased the Lord with
thy life and thoughts and now thou hast been released from thy bitter test of faith. From
this day forth thou shalt have an increase in discernment and wisdom to aid and assist
thee all the days of thy life.’
Arturo scratched his head. ‘The Lord is pleased with my life? I thought that I made
a complete mess of it. You say all of my past adversity was a test of faith. Did God make
me suffer through it all for a reason?’
‘Yea, for many years God has heard thy prayers upon His heart, and it caused
Him great pain to hold back intervention as He witnessed thy suffering. But thou hath
endured every trouble in a blessed manner. Thou hast responded, even to thy present
state, in a manner that pleases the Lord.’
‘I don’t understand, Nathaniel.’
‘Dost thou ever recall returning evil for evil? Hast not only blessings proceedeth
forth from thy speech all the days of thy life? Canst thou recall a day in all thy days on
Earth that ye did not seek, with all thy might, to bring honor to the Lord, in spite of any
trouble that had befallen thee? Thou art a man like any other man, Arturo, save one
thing.’
‘What?’
‘Thou hast truly loved the Lord your God with an enduring passion. And thy
passionate love hath confounded thy sinful flesh and thereby vanquished much sinful
desire. Thou hast, of thy own volition, conformed thy response to adversity in a manner
that doth truly glorify the Lord, even in thy present, most dire state.’
‘It’s true, I love the Lord in a way and with a passion I could never really define
in words. But as for those other things, I really never thought about all that until you
mentioned it.’
Nathaniel laughed. ‘And now the son of man doth show humility, and proves his
humble heart is pure and true indeed, having never given thought to his virtue. Art thou
ready to hear what mission the Lord hath given thee?’
‘Yes, but why do you sit in the shadows. Please come here so that I can see you
again and remember what a genuine angel of God looks like.’
‘The body thou seest is but an art form of my own design, much like the paintings
that ye have composed from imagination. In truth, I am exceedingly different in size and
form.’
‘Can I see what you really look like?’
‘Perhaps through a veil before I depart, but not before thou hearest the word of
the Lord. For I am a fearful sight to gaze upon, and you must retain God’s message
without fear, lest His word to you fail to fix itself as an anchor upon thy heart.’
‘I don’t understand, Nathaniel. How could any of God’s creation be fearful to
look at?’
There was silence in Arturo’s mind for a minute or so, as Nathaniel sat curiously
still in the darkness and, just when the silence became uncomfortable, the angel said,
‘Mankind barely comprehendeth three realms; to behold seven would endanger his life.
Messengers of the fifth realm have visited men in days of old, and when they appeared to
them the men trembled, and bowed down to them in worship. God’s messengers always
rebuked them, saying ‘We are not gods. Thou must worship only the one true God.’ I
dwell in the seventh realm, and my glory far exceeds those who appeared to men before
me. And yet my glory is but a shadow when I stand in the presence of the King.’
‘Are there realms higher than yours?’
‘Yea, but I know not how many. My realm is like unto a great army of beings that
have been in existence since the dawn of creation. If thou comparest it to worldly states, I
am as a General in that great army, and seated next to me are Michael and Gabriel.’
‘Then you are an arch-angel?’
‘So it is defined as such in scripture. Now shall I tell thee the task God has set
before thee.’
‘Yes.’
‘Hast thou read in scripture where it is written that, ‘…and judgment shall come
to the house of God first’?’
‘Yes, it’s in first Peter.’
‘And hast thou also studied the book of Amos and his rebuke of the man of God
who steals from the poor and needy of God’s flock?’
‘Yes I have, and more than once. We have many so-called ‘men of God’ doing the
same thing today. Only these preachers make millions of dollars and build mansions that
are like fortresses, and hire the best lawyers to keep them out of trouble. It’s unbearable
to watch them tempt the viewing public with their sleazy double-talk, proclaiming the Son
of God with every request for money.’
‘The Lord God hath given this enemy into thy hands. He has ordained that ye
shall find every wicked leader that proclaimeth the name of Jesus and deliver God’s word
of judgment upon them. Ye must first offer these leaders a time to repent of their wicked
deeds lest they not see God’s great mercy before His judgment is handed down. For it is
written, ‘God’s mercy triumphs over judgment’.’
Arturo raised his hands over his head. “Blessed is God to honor me with such a
wonderful mission. I have always had it in my heart to confront those who dishonor the
Lord.”
Then, bringing his hands down over his eyes he thought, ‘But I’m not going
anywhere without my twenty-third vertebra. How can I possibly obey God?’
‘Did I not tell thee that it pleased me to help things grow?’
‘Yes, I remember.’
Nathaniel came to Arturo’s bedside, pulling down the sheet to his waist. Still
speaking from his mind the angel said, ‘By tomorrow morning thou shalt walk out of this
place.’ He slid his hand under Arturo’s lower back and said, ‘Dost thou believe?’
‘I believe.’
No sooner then he’d spoken, than Arturo felt an electric shock travel from the
center of his body up his spine and down his legs. And then for the first time since he’d
been shot, he had feeling in his legs and feet, as pins and needles shot from his lower
back to his toes.
Nathaniel pulled his hand out and returned to the chair in the shadows. ‘The bone
that was shattered now grows anew, and the nerves and sinews that were severed have
been restored. When the sun is high this day thou shalt walk again.’
Arturo put his hands to his face again and wept as he felt the blood circulating in
his legs and feet. “Praise God on high! It’s true, I will walk again, I have feeling in my
legs.” And as the feelings in his lower body continued to engross him, Arturo glanced
down and put it in his mind to wiggle his toes. When he saw his toes move under the
sheet, he praised God aloud, then spoke from his thoughts, ‘Nathaniel, why has God
decided to bring this judgment now? He’s let these wicked preachers go on for so many
centuries. Why stop them now?’
‘God’s wisdom is infinitely deep, and the reasons He has not intervened until now
is not given for man to know. Yet, ye must know that the time has come for modern man
to behold the hand of God’s judgment. The Lord prepares His bride, the church, for
Himself. Her wedding gown and body must be unspotted before the day of consummation.
Soon, an event is coming upon the earth that will shake the very foundations of the
nations.’
‘You mean as it is written in Revelation?’
‘Yea, but ye must be single-minded and fulfill all that the Lord has set before thee,
for what comes upon the Earth will tarry until the bride is spotless.’
‘Where do I begin? There are so many corrupt holy men out there.’
‘I will be with thee until thy work is done. I will advise and guide thy way, but ye
must set forth the course and destination.’
‘What do you mean? I don’t understand.’
‘Thou art as a captain of a great vessel. Thou shalt set the course towards those
wicked servants according to the zeal that burns in thee against them. I shall be with thee
as navigator and counselor, but thou shalt be in command of the vessel.’
‘You mean I will choose those that are most corrupt and visit them with a word
from the Lord?’
‘Yea, and much more. Ye must deliver God’s judgment if they repent not.’
‘I thought God alone judges.’
‘God alone will judge in the last day, but His judgment must be meted out upon
His church on Earth so that scripture may be fulfilled. Ye must find a way, oh Captain, to
sail into the dark waters of the wicked man of God until thy wits have shown thee how to
pierce their hull and sink them.’
‘But all of that takes time Nathaniel. How will I manage to get to all of them in a
lifetime?’
‘God has sent many more on this mission as I speak. Now I must return to the
realm from whence I came, but fear not, I will be with thee in thy thoughts.’
‘How is it possible for you to be in the seventh realm and also with me in my
thoughts? I thought only God had that power.’
‘Those that dwell in the seventh realm can divide themselves as such, but to a
limit. Though I will reside in the seventh realm, a portion of my mind shall dwell with
thee.’
‘Will you reveal yourself as you appear in the seventh realm before you go?’
Nathaniel stood and strode to the far end of the room. ‘I have already told thee
that I am exceedingly fearful to gaze upon, but if thou must, pull the sheet over thy face.
For my glory will shine through the cloth as if it were not there.’
As Arturo pulled the sheet up over his head, a blinding light filled the room,
muffling all existing sound, as snow muffles the sounds of the city after a new snowfall.
Gazing through the sheet, he saw a brilliant multicolored figure standing where
Nathaniel, as the old man, stood. As he strained to make out the details of the angel,
Arturo’s heart pounded. Fear seized his faculties, throwing him into a mental posture of
awe and obeisance. He trembled beneath the sheets, unable to utter a word, as his eyes
adjusted to the searing light and he was able to follow the outer rim of Nathaniel’s frame.
His body seemed translucent, and though the ceiling was eight feet high, Nathaniel’s
body rose through the tiles to the height of fifteen feet. With befuddled trepidation,
Arturo wondered how he was able to see the angel through the ceiling tiles, as his eyes
frustrated his mind to make sense of it. Artistic curiosity overcame his fear for a moment,
and he moved the sheet lower, wanting to see Nathaniel straight out.
‘Oh Captain, do not lower the veil and look upon my glory straight away as thy
mortal flesh cannot bear up under a realm that thou canst neither comprehend or behold
without risk of harm.’
Holding the trembling sheet to his forehead, Arturo reached for his son’s
forgotten sunglasses on the bed-stand. ‘Please Nathaniel, even though I can’t stop
shaking, let me see you. I have these shaded glasses to protect my eyes.’
Nathaniel knelt one knee to the floor, bringing his head just under the ceiling tiles.
‘Put on the shaded glasses and remove the sheet from thy face, but do not gaze into mine
eyes. Look upon my feet until thy strength returns.’
Arturo’s hands shook as he slipped the glasses on and removed the sheet from his
head. Obeying Nathaniel, he looked to the floor seeing the angel’s leg and foot.
Observing everything now in fine detail, Arturo marveled at Nathaniel’s translucent
body, as thousands of tiny swirls, composed of what looked like glowing electrons,
danced every which way over his clothes. The angel wore something resembling a
military uniform, but one unlike any ever seen on earth. His pants had no wrinkles or
seams and the constantly swirling electrons all had the same bluish, pulsating tint. His
boots glowed with golden electrons that came all the way up to his knee and, again, not a
wrinkle or seam could be found.
Arturo’s breath was at a standstill as he moved his eyes to the angel’s arms and
hands that rested on his upright knee. Shimmering silver electrons illuminated his hands,
and in them he held a translucent scroll that didn’t have any electrons swirling on its
surface.
Nathaniel turned his head away from Arturo, discerning he would soon attempt to
see his face. Arturo sensed the movement and glanced up in time to see the back of the
angel’s head. Waves of light, appearing like waves of hair, flowed in great masses,
moving gracefully in slow motion as if a wind were blowing in the realm the angel
occupied. On his massive upper torso, he wore a garment similar to a military coat only
without seams, and a glowing, electrified scarlet sash lay across his back and chest from
his right shoulder down to his left hip.
Arturo was mesmerized by the divine elegance and incredible spectacle kneeling
before him. It occurred to him just how feeble and mundane his imagination had been
compared with the infinite scope and grandeur of the Creator’s imagination. Inspiration,
mixed with humility and wonder, captivated the artist and kept him transfixed by the
angel’s every move.
Nathaniel lowered his head and turned towards Arturo saying, ‘When I lift my
head gaze only a moment into my eyes, oh son of man, for I am among the first ten living
beings God spoke into existence in the beginning of time. I am immortal, and within my
eyes ye shall experience the glory of the living God as never before. It is a glory that has
been cast and fixed upon my mind since my creation. And the vast knowledge I have
learned through the eons of time will overwhelm and confound thee because through my
eyes shalt thou enter my realm, but only for a short time.’
When Nathaniel raised his head, fixing his gaze upon the artist’s sunglasses,
Arturo fainted. When he awoke, Nathaniel was still in the room and spoke again into
Arturo’s mind, ‘Did I not warn thee, oh Captain? Hast thy strength revived enough to see
into my realm again?’
As soon as he remembered what he’d seen, Arturo closed his eyes and turned his
head away from the light saying, ‘Forgive me, Nathaniel, I didn’t realize what I was
asking before. If I look into your eyes again I fear I will die.’
Arturo remembered that the moment his eyes met the angel’s he felt his mind and
spirit being drawn out of his body, quickly and uncontrollably. It was as though he was
placed naked before a surrounding host of living beings he could not see, but which he
knew were intensely scrutinizing him. And then, he remembered how Nathaniel’s
piercing eyes terrified him as they vibrated in their sockets, seeming to engulf and subdue
everything they looked upon.
Nathaniel replied, ‘It is written, ‘There is a time for everything under the sun.’
Before thy work is complete we shall try again, and if thou succeedeth then to enter my
realm, thou wilt have wished that thou had done so this day.’
Unable to keep his gaze from the light, Arturo turned his eyes toward the angel’s
chest and asked, ‘Why is that? What is in the seventh realm?’
‘Thou hast already seen into the fourth realm when it confounded thee to see me
stand full length through the ceiling. But if ye enter the seventh thou shalt increase the
power of thy mind threefold, and thou shalt experience and behold a form of life that has
been hidden from man unto this day.’
‘If you say there will be another chance to enter your realm I had better wait and
prepare my mind and spirit for the shock. But please, let me see your face with your eyes
closed before you go.’
Nathaniel closed his eyes and moved a few feet closer to Arturo’s bed. When
Arturo looked at the angel, he lost his breath, overwhelmed by the magnificent aura and
form of Nathaniel’s face. All of his features were similar to a man’s except his symmetry
was profoundly superior to anything Arturo had ever seen on Earth. His face emanated a
white light with no electrons, and his beauty was truly divine, surpassing that of both men
and women. Because of the transcending beauty, Arturo perceived Nathaniel did not have
a gender that could be compared with anything on Earth. His nose was perfectly straight
with chiseled features that highlighted his nostrils, and his closed eyes seemed slightly
larger than proportional. And while his lips were full and feminine, his surrounding jaw
and cheeks were square and strong, reminding Arturo of Michelangelo’s David.
While Arturo lay fascinated and transfixed at the glory of the archangel, Nathaniel
spoke into his mind. ‘I am returning now, oh Captain, to my home in the heavens. But a
part of my mind will remain with thee to navigate thy vessel. Ye must learn to trust what I
say is true.’
Still captivated, and becoming less fearful, Arturo asked, ‘Why wouldn’t I believe
what you say is true?’
‘Because thou hast always harkened unto thine own instincts. It shall be a hard
lesson indeed to turn away thine own instincts when ye must deal with a shrewd and
treacherous man of God.’
At that, the angel stood and walked to the other side of the room, turned to Arturo
and repeated, ‘Harken unto my voice, oh Captain, for thy very life is at stake.’ And he
was gone in an instant.
The hospital room was now as dark and silent as it had been before Nathaniel
walked in posing as the harmless night janitor. Arturo laid his head back, closed his eyes
and tried to digest what had just happened. What he’d experienced was too sensational
for him to think it was anything less then a real event. And just to secure that thought he
wiggled his toes again to confirm it. He was unable to keep the image of the archangel’s
glory out of his mind. Nathaniel’s words kept repeating in his memory and he became
fearful of the responsibility that was given him. Even though he couldn’t have received a
more desirable and exciting mission from God, fear of failure overcame him as beads of
sweat formed over his lip and forehead. As he pulled up the corner of the sheet to wipe
the moisture, he heard Nathaniel’s quiet voice, ‘Fear not, oh Captain, and take thy rest,
for tomorrow thou shalt need all thy strength.’
Nathaniel’s voice so comforted and encouraged Arturo, the fear vanished and his
mind calmed. In moments he was fast asleep before ever realizing he was tired.