TWENTY-TWO

'But He (God/Yahweh/Jehovah) said,

"You cannot see My face, for no man can see Me and live!" -

Exodus 33: 20, The Bible

"What are they, Doctor?"

Martin was looking directly above him at the descending 'lights'. His eyes were wide with building fear and his voice coarse and ragged.

"I'm not entirely sure, Marty" The Doctor's head was tilted upwards too as he held his detecting device towards the approaching vessels. "But I have some nasty suspicions and a feeling it's not going to be good if we stick around here…" He suddenly lowered his head to look at Martin and raised his eyebrows, "So I think this is our cue to leave". He pocketed the hand held device and strode purposefully towards the TARDIS.

"You cannot run from God, demon!" The Dark Messiah was stood with his arms open wide and his gaze transfixed on the approaching lights. "There is no hiding place from the Kingdom's throne! Sin does not go unpunished! And punished you will be as your last judgment draws near…"

The Doctor was stood at the door of the TARDIS looking upwards once more. "Oh, I can out run anything in this old thing" He patted the outside of the ship affectionately, "As long as I get a good head start!" He looked over at Martin. "Come on, Marty, it's time we were off!"

Martin frowned intently at The Doctor and then glanced to his right at Jay who was still sat in his deck chair his head tilted towards the heavens watching, with interest, the approaching lights.

"What about Jay?" He asked

"You can leave me here if you wish, Martin, I have nothing to fear" Jay said softly, "Because none of this is real" His eyes turned to Martin and his smile was as warm and as confident as ever. "It is all an illusion created by your own fear. It is your False Evidence Appearing Real and it cannot harm me"

The Dark Messiah laughed manically "You will not be saying that when the Angels of Heaven cast your stinking carcass into the Lake of Fire!" He pointed upwards at the still advancing 'lights' "Very soon you will be on your knees begging for mercy… but none will be shown to you!" He pointed directly at Jay, a look of total disgust on his face. "You sinful insect! You have committed the ultimate blasphemy by pretending to be me and that will never be forgiven! NEVER!"

Martin shifted his gaze between the two Jesus' and then over to The Doctor who was now stood with half of his body inside the TARDIS and his left arm outstretched towards Martin.

"C'mon, Marty… We need to go… Now!" His eyes pleaded with Martin, his face etched in growing fear.

"Why, Doctor?" Martin was really confused now. "I thought you said that none of this was real? I thought you and Jay knew the Truth about everything that's going on here? Why are you frightened? Why…"

The Doctor suddenly rushed over to Martin and grabbed him by the shoulders. "It's because I'm The Doctor and this is what you expect me to do!" His voice was dramatic and excitable. "It's because fighting and running away from big, scary aliens is what I do, isn't it? And it's because you are making me like this!"

"What?" Martin frowned even harder, "I don't understand! How am I…?"

Suddenly a loud, deep klaxon like noise shook violently the very ground they were standing on. It was the same sound Martin had heard before near Mount Sinai. It was the 'Trumpet blast of the Angels'…

A hollow, empty feeling routed itself deep in Martin's stomach as he and The Doctor slowly raised their eyes to see what was above them. The three 'lights' were now slowly forming into recognizable shapes: Two giant metallic Angels were descending either side of a large sphere like object. They were still some distance away but getting larger with every second…

"Oh no, no, no…" The Doctor gasped and turned to run towards the TARDIS once more. "We can't stay here, Marty…" He shouted as he clung to the TARDIS doors and pointed meaningfully up at the approaching trio. "That sphere is Yahweh's personal 'chariot'! You can't remain here and risk seeing him! You'll be killed! You'd be obliterated instantly!"

"You see!" The Dark Messiah said joyously, his eyes still wide and manic, "Now this demon tells you the truth! He fears God at last… as you should!" He pointed directly at Martin and then at the descending sphere. "I have called my Father and he has come… To show you the Truth of things!"

Martin eyes were full of tears. The knot in his stomach tightened and his heart was beating so loud he thought it might leave his chest.

He looked up and saw the vessels clearly for the first time. The two Angels were like the ones he had seen at the Mount: Their metallic bodies held a living creature inside; their wings were vast and full of turning, hypnotic eyes. They descended feet first almost like giant, terrifying eagles creating their own private storm as they did so. Their piercing, juddering shriek cut through the noise of the building wind.

Martin focused his attention between them and onto the giant sphere: It was a perfect, pearl like object that almost looked transparent. Clouds of white and purple mist mingled slowly inside the structure creating swirls of ever changing patterns that danced inside an internal light. Two gold metallic, girder like camps hovered at both the top and the bottom corners of the sphere not quite touching the surface.

"So shall it be in the End times!" screamed the Dark Messiah triumphantly. "Yahweh will return on clouds of great glory… And every eye shall see!" The windstorm creating by Angels blew his hair and garments in every direction and his eyes narrowed to avoid flying grains of sand. "Every man will be judged and only the faithful few will be resurrected to live forever on a paradise Earth!"

Again the 'Trumpet Blast of the Angels' rang out, louder and more terrifying than ever. Martin clasped his hands over his ears tightly but still felt the frequency hit his stomach hard and he felt himself keel over. He staggered forward a couple of paces but managed to remain standing.

After the klaxon died away there was an unearthly silence. Yahweh's chariot and the two metallic Angels had now stopped descending and hovered majestically in front of the hillside: about 300 yards away from where Martin was stood.

The Sphere's surface was perfectly smooth as swirls of purple and white moved gracefully inside the light eradiating from the giant pearl. Water vapor dripped from the gold clamps as jets of a steam like mist occasionally burst out from underneath the metal, breaking the silence with short, hissing sounds. The craft was so close now Martin could even make out strange, almost hieroglyphic markings on the gold 'clamps'.

The two Angels hovered on either side of the Sphere, their wings stretched fully outwards in an almost peacock like pose. One held a device like a golden staff in its right hand. He pointed it slowly at Martin who was now stood paralyzed with fear.

"Get on your knees, sinner!" The Dark Messiah shouted angrily. He came up behind Martin and prodded a bony finger into his back. "You are standing before the Lord your God! Get down on your knees and worship him… Now!"

By now Martin was crying hysterically. He feel forward onto his knees and buried his face into the mixture of grass and fine sand which lined the hillside. He banged his fists into the ground repeatedly sobbing uncontrollably.

"That's it, Marty!" The Doctor suddenly shouted, "Avert your eyes! Don't look at him! Now just turn around and make your way back to the TARDIS! Crawl if you have to! We can still escape!"

"There is no escape, Demon!" The harsh, metallic voice came from the staff wielding Angel. "You are before the presence of the Lord Yahweh… None shall run from his throne… And I, Gabriel, would hunt you until the end of time if you tried to escape!"

"Well…there's no harm in trying" The Doctor responded almost apologetically.

Still sobbing Martin lifted his head and looked around to see what Jay's reaction was to all this. The 'Light Jesus' was still casually sat on his deck chair looking at Martin with great pity and deep concern. He shook his head slowly, then rose to his feet and moved gracefully over to Martin's kneeling form.

"This is not God, Martin…" He said softly placing a hand on the broken man's shoulder. "You know it's not God… God is love… You know that… You experienced that… Internally… You felt the love of God…"

"And now I feel the fear of God!" Martin shouted angrily. He looked up once more at the hovering Sphere. "Both are real to me!"

"But both are not real in ultimate reality" Jay whispered gently. "One is a construct of your own imagination. It is a product of your 'thoughts'… But it is a negative thought…Look at what it is doing to you… Your fear is crippling you… Not to mention everyone else on this journey with you!"

"What is that supposed to mean?" Martin cried frantically.

"It means you're not alone in all this" Jay raised his voice slightly. "There are others to consider here… Others that have shared every step on this journey with you… You're not alone, you know… You never have been…"

"I still don't know…" began Martin.

"Get into the TARDIS now, Marty!" The Doctor's voice rang out from behind Jay. "This is your last chance! I'm going without you if you don't come now!"

Jay turned slowly towards the TARDIS and walks towards the open doors. "It is time to leave this behind you now, Martin. It is time to turn your back on this God of Fear…" He said as he stood by the TARDIS doors next to The Doctor. "Come with us"

"If you go with them you will be destroyed!" The Dark Messiah stepped right up to Martin and gripped his right arm firmly. "They are demons from Satan himself and have been sent here to tempt you from the One True Path!" He physically turned Martin's head towards Yahweh's 'chariot' "You see the truth before you. God is before your very eyes and still you would deny him!"

Martin gazed into the pearl. As he focused he could see a massive dark shape moving within the swirling mist. Was this God?

"Martin… You must choose now…" Jay called out from the door of the TARDIS "I offer love… The love you know exists deep within your soul… There is no trick been played here… I am not the one who is deceiving you… You are the one who is deceiving your self…The God of my teaching is Love… And that's what I offer you now" He extended an open hand towards Martin. "Please come with me"

"You offer nothing but lies and a sure passage to the Lake of Fire!" The Dark Messiah screamed "Be gone, Demons, and leave this man's soul to God Himself!"

Suddenly there was a loud cracking sound and a hiss of compressed air. It was coming from the Sphere…

The Dark Messiah raised his hands towards the floating pearl, his eyes were closed and his head tilted backwards. "The Lord will reveal himself!" He shouted triumphantly "The face of God will enter into this world!"

"Martin!" The Doctor's voice rang out from inside the TARDIS "You cannot stay here! No man can see the face of God and live! We must run… We must run far away from here… And we must run NOW!"

But Martin was literally paralyzed with fear. He was kneeling directly in front of the Sphere, his hands by his sides and his gaze transfixed on the floating chariot. Inside the dark mass was moving...

There was another loud cracking sound and another burst of compressed air.

Then, slowly, the pearl began to open…

'Then the LORD said, "Behold, there is a place by Me, and you shall stand there on the rock; and it will come about, while My glory is passing by, that I will put you in the cleft of the rock and cover you with My hand until I have passed by. Then I will take My hand away and you shall see My back,

But My face shall not be seen."

Exodus 33: 21 -23, The Bible