Exodus: Book Two: Last Days Trilogy by Jacqueline Druga Read Free Book Online Page B

flourishes, his land feeds him. He is protected by a force we do not want to be a part of. As long as he remains, he will take the green land from you.” Devante paused. “Cast him out. Do you know of anyone, your neighbor, your friend, your father, your mother? Do they not believe? Do their gardens grow? They follow the wrong path... Cast them out. Harsh words. Harsh truth. This world will end. You can stop it. Let our numbers alive be greater than the 144,000 predicted in your ridiculous Book of Revelation . Only you can make the change.” His voice softened. “I know you are afraid. You seek these words from the Bible: ‘The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.”
    Devante paused, looking out among the crowd, his voice a sudden force. “Wrong!” The word echoed throughout the rumbling, murmuring crowd as Devante’s voice grew in crescendo. “Your New Testament... wrong! Everything you have been taught about your God is wrong!”
    The people went crazy with panic and screaming.
    “Listen to me!” His command silenced them. “God is not a God of love, understanding and forgiveness. He is a God of vengeance, fury, wrath and punishment. Take a look at the place you called Chicago! By our sun’s setting, take a look at the cities that will be buried with the waters of the sea. You want an end? You want the punishment to stop? The wrath to cease? You know what you must do. You know where to look for your answers. Seek!” Devante shouted deeply. “And you shall find....” He dropped his voice. “Me.”
    The moment Devante spoke his final word, a rush of people charged the stage, screaming his name over and over, the stadium a sea of waving hands.
    Devante stepped back and slipped behind the curtain to the quiet backstage.
     
    The screams faded as Devante retreated into the bowels of the stadium, where Rev. Bailey waited.
    Slowly, Rev. Bailey lifted his eyes and shut his Bible.
    “I spoke to them.”
    “I heard,” Rev. Bailey said softly, his voice spiritless.
    “Do you have any questions of me?”
    “As a matter of fact...” Rev. Bailey stood from his seat and walked toward Devante. “I do. Why would you say what you did?”
    “It is the truth.”
    Rev. Bailey’s calmness abandoned him. His face flushed in anger. “You lie.”
    “You dare take that tone with...”
    “I’ll take any tone I please!” Rev. Bailey charged. “You said not to call you ‘Jesus.’ I wondered why. Now I know. You said God is not a God of love, forgiveness and understanding? How blind can one man be? Yes, I wanted answers, any answer.”
    “Do not preach to me!” Devante demanded.
    “Do not preach to these people!”
    “It is my work!” Devante said. “Do not question it.”
    “Like you told those people out there to question the Bible?” Rev. Bailey chuckled. “And I’m as much a fool as them. You denounce the Bible. Why? It holds the truth. You ridiculed the Book of Revelation . Why? Because it tells about you. You are not the Savior!”
    “I am the savior of this earth!”
    “No. You are the deceiver.” Rev. Bailey’s arm flew out. “And you are here to deceive the people of the four corners of the earth. Your numbers will be as many as the sands on the beach. And, Dear Sweet Lord in Heaven above...” Rev. Bailey stepped back and breathed out. “I helped you.”
    “And you did your job well,” Devante said, and he turned and walked to the door.
    Click-click.
    Devante stopped cold.
    “My job...” Rev. Bailey began, his voice soft and resolute, his hand firmly gripping an extended revolver. “...is not done.”
    Devante spun quickly, his eyes piercing. “You dare to aim a weapon at me!”
    “Oh, I dare to do more than that!” Rev. Bailey chuckled bitterly. “I have erred. A fool’s choice, a test I failed. Though my mistakes of the past cannot be undone, I can change my mistakes of the future.”
    “You ramble like a fool.”
    “No.” Rev. Bailey shook his head. “I speak