TWENTY-ONE
"No one goes to the Father except by me"
–Jesus' words JOHN 14:6, The Bible
"So who's going to start then?"
The Doctor looked between the two Jesus' with unhidden anticipation. He was stood up now just over Martin's left shoulder rubbing his hands together and grinning confidently. Both Jesus' were still locked together in an unblinking stare, their bodies almost statue like and their breathing soft.
The Dark Messiah's eyes suddenly moved to look at the Doctor, a look of contempt written all over his face. His eyes then moved once more to Martin and his facial expression relaxed slightly.
"Tell me this, Martin", The Dark Messiah said in a tone that reminded Martin of a strict schoolteacher, "Why do you believe these… Men?" He pointed at The Doctor and Jay. "Why do you believe their lies when you have already seen the truth with your own eyes?"
Martin looked puzzled "What… What do you mean?" He said frowning.
"Before you came here you visited another time, did you not? The time of Moses? You saw Yahweh's mighty chariot above the Mount… You encountered the Angels of Heaven… You saw the Judgement of God?" The Dark Messiah's eyebrows were raised inquiringly.
"Well…" Martin began unconfidently, "The Doctor said that none of that was real" He shifted in his seat "And he said that I made it all up in my head"
"Oh I see" The Dark Jesus said sarcastically "So The Doctor just told you none of it was real and you believed him?" He stared over at The Doctor with accusing eyes "And then he brought you here, showed you a book with a simple mirror in it and then got one of his deceiving minions to come along and pretend to be me?" His harsh glare turned first to Jay and then back to Martin. "Then he filled your head with the lies of Satan, told you blasphemy after blasphemy and then told you I was not real" He pointed at Martin's still sore cheek. "And we both know that's not true, don't we?"
Martin thought back to the face slap he'd just received from The Dark Lord. He could still feel how real, and how hard, the blow was when he hit him.
"But… There was an experience too," Martin protested. "I felt Love… Pure, unconditional love… And a connection… A 'One-ness' with all things!" His eyes turned to The Doctor and then to Jay. "That was real… I know it was!"
"Of course it was real, Marty" The Doctor smiled warmly at Martin and nodded encouragingly. "You can't fake that, can you?"
"Tricks of the Devil?" The Dark Messiah suggested. "Dark, forbidden magic?" He looked down at Martin's empty cup "Or simply… Drugs in the coffee?"
"Oh come on!" The Doctor shouted, "Since when have tricks of the devil ever felt like love? And unconditional love, at that? We're here giving him a message about peace and love and you're saying that we're the demons?" He scrunched his nose up as if in disgust. "What planet are you from?"
Martin thought that was an ironic question coming, as it did, from a Galifreyean.
The Dark Messiah's voice was calm. "I am from the realm of Heaven. And I do the will of my Father"
"Is it your Father's will that they should be blood shed?" Jay spoke softly; the expression on his face was of almost genuine concern.
The Dark Messiah paused. He turned his head slowly to Jay "My Father's will is to be followed without question. If bloodshed is required in defence of the law of God then it is my Father's will and therefore must be obeyed"
Jay sighed "And thus… Wars begin" He said sadly.
The Dark Messiah turned to face Martin once more. "Do you deny that you live in the End Times, Martin?" His voice was loader now, as if trying to drown out anything that the 'Other' Jesus might say. "Do you deny that your time is full of war? And of barbarity and cruelty?"
"Mainly in the countries ruled by religion, I'd say, wouldn't you, Marty?" The Doctor interjected.
The Dark Messiah ignored him "Is your time not full of sin and fornication? Do you not worship false idols… 'Rock' stars… 'Movie' stars… 'Celebrity'? Is your society not a fallen, decadent race leading lives of dishonour and immorality?"
"Not all of us, no" Martin responded.
"Oh, so you think yourself superior, is that it?" The Dark Lord mocked.
"No, I didn't mean that… I…."
"Are people from your time not lovers of money? And themselves? Are you not ruining your very world with pollution? Does not your whole world financial system hang on a thread… corrupted by the deceits of your sinful leaders? The Whore of Babylon has many friends…"
"It's not like that everywhere! There's a lot of good people in the world and…"
"You are all children of the Devil! And Satan himself feeds your world with his fornicating filth!" The Dark Messiah shouted angrily. "Your sin is greater than at any other time in your earth's history and your judgement will be hard and just! Yahweh will return and the world will be cleansed of all evil!"
"But I find that evil in itself" Martin's voice was cracked and broken. "The idea that God is so… Tyrannical… And angry… Not to mention jealous and blood thirsty!"
"God is what he is, sinner" The Dark Messiah retorted, "If you think that God cannot be all those things and more then you do not know God!"
"It is you that doesn't know God, my friend" Jay said quietly. "God is love… And love would never be the punishing deity of your imaginings"
The Dark Messiah looked shocked and almost lost for words "My 'imaginings', Demon?" His voice was raised once more. "It is your imaginings that have led billions on the road to Hell itself! Small is the way to Heaven and few truly find it! But I am here to give this man a chance of redemption. I am the Life and the Way. He must follow me… or be consumed by the lies of your Master!" The Dark Messiah rose to his full height and turned his back on the three of them. He walked slowly over to the campfire and began to warm his hands within the heat of the flames. "You must choose, Martin" He said coldly, his back still to them. "You must choose eternal Life with me… Or eternal death with these demons. The choice is yours… But choose quick for God is returning and his wrath is great!"
"When's all this supposed to be happening then?" The Doctor asked condescendingly. "When's this great and terrible day going to happen? Pretty soon, is it?"
"Yes" The Dark Lord replied, "I am its herald. The end will come soon… Very soon. Many here now will not taste death before the end comes"
"Well, that's a bit interesting really 'cos Marty here is from two thousand years in your future… Or there abouts… And still… nothing… Not a glimmer of 'The Kingdom Come'… Some of your more 'fanatical' followers are still waiting for the end to come… They've been waiting quite a while…" The Doctor buried his hands once more in his pockets.
"They will have not long to wait now" The Dark Messiah almost whispered the words. He then looked around at The Doctor "And two thousand years is but a blink of an eye to an Immortal God!"
The Doctor remained silent. Martin looked around at him, then at Jay and then over towards the campfire where the The Dark Messiah remained in his silloutted form. "So do you expect all your followers for the next two thousand years to live in fear of God? Do you want them to think that the end of the world is about to happen and live in constant fear of that? Is that your real message?"
The Dark Messiah said nothing. His head was bowed and his hands locked together in prayer.
"Is it?" Martin repeated.
Still The Dark Messiah did not respond.
"Tell me!" Martin screamed, but still the Dark Messiah said nothing...
Martin turned to the 'Light' Jesus next to him. "Jay, please tell me that that is not true"
Jay smiled at him confidently. "It's not true, Martin. Your world and time has its problems… many of them, in fact… But you can all rise above it… As many of you are doing already" He put his left hand on Martin's right arm "Look at how some of mankind has spiritually evolved by your time. In many of your more advanced nations, you are free to question now… Your women are given 'equal rights'… Certain races are no longer used as slaves and are treated as all mankind should be treated… equally. Mental illness is no longer put down to 'demonic possession' and charitable acts are improving the lives of millions everywhere. Your awareness of your environment and your changing world are helping you make radical changes for the better. There is much too do but you are slowly turning the corner… Yours is a race awakening from its slumber… Yours is a race at the start of its next, greatest adventure" He turned his whole body to face Martin and took both his hands in his. "What your world needs now is a new understanding about God and about Life. Your old ideas about God are creating the sort of religious extremism that we've faced here today". He pointed at the Dark Messiah who was still facing away from them deep in prayer. "He represents the old ideas about God. That's why you've brought him to this moment. This God of fear and judgement is the tool that all false religions use to control their members. Mankind has taught of this God for millennia… But it is a god of your own imagining and has no truth in Ultimate reality at all" The 'Light' Jesus smiled his perfect smile and lowered his voice to a gentle whisper. "This new message that I bring about God is my real message. It is the one you will take back to your time with you so that you can help remove the fear of God from your planet and thus help save the world from it's own self destruction" He pointed then once more at The Dark Messiah. "Both he and his vengeful god are not real…"
Suddenly a loud, bleeping noise rang out across the hilltop. It seemed to be coming from inside the TARDIS.
"ou-oh" The Doctor said nervously "That doesn't sound good" He craned his neck upwards and looked up into the clear, night sky. He began moving towards the TARDIS doors. "I better go and check that! It sounds like the proximity alarm!" He disappeared inside the time machine.
Martin raised his eyes up and looked deep into the star filled sky. Thousands of the bright pinpricks of light swam inside the heavens. Martin stared into the endless abyss; it's majesty and wonder were breath taking.
Then, out the corner of his eye, he could see what looked like stars going out one by one. He turned his head to see more clearly. The stars weren't going out at all. Something dark and huge was passing in front of the distant suns blocking them from his view. His stomach turned and his heart felt like it had almost stopped.
"We're in trouble" The Doctor raced out of the TARDIS holding a phone sized device in his right hand. He pointed upwards and its bleeping increased in speed and almost became one, long tone. "Something really large and unfriendly looking has just entered the Earth's atmosphere right above us!" He continued pointing the hand held machine at the black, oval mass that could now be clearly seen directly above them. It had stopped moving now and taken its place within the night sky. "It's locked into geo-stationary orbit!" The Doctor's machine suddenly altered its tone and was now producing a loud, high-pitched whine. "Oh no, no, no…" The Doctor looked scared and confused. "Now three smaller objects have left the Mother ship… And are heading straight for us!"
Martin's heart was racing. He could see three lights coming out of the middle of the black silhouette; they were slowly getting brighter against the darkness of the ship.
The Dark Messiah turned to face them all once more. His head was lowered yet his eyes were locked on Martin's. He raised his head slowly, his smile was more of a sneer. His prayers were finished now... for they had been answered.
"Now you will see the truth for your selves… There is nowhere for you to run" He said calmly and then added…
"My Father is coming…"
'God will invade. But I wonder whether people who ask God to interfere openly and directly in our world quite realise what it will be like when he does. When that happens, it is the end of the world. When the author walks on the stage the play is over. God is going to invade, all right: but what is the good in saying you are on His side then, when you see the whole universe melting away like a dream or something else - something it never entered your head to conceive - comes crashing in; something so beautiful to some of us and so terrible to others that none of us will have any choice left? For this time it will be God without disguise; something so overwhelming that it will strike either irresistible love or irresistible horror into every creature. It will be too late then to choose your side'
- CS Lewis, 'Mere Christianity'