Prologue: Footsteps in The Sand
It was a harsh time, these troubled days that we as a unified species had faced. We sought peace and tranquility and yet we were mocked and shunned in our efforts and we faced execution and disgrace…
Why do you think- you may ask, that disgrace would be worst- than execution? Well, this is a matter of faith…
Our Leader- He was to us a messiah… He would share with us and with others The Word of all things good and righteous…
Our leader, he was there for us in all our trials and in all our desperations, and at that time it seemed to be ineffective against the evils that we had faced…
We had thought that humanity; in itself, and of itself- could be saved by itself…
We have never been so wrong in our contemplations of the truth we now face today…
Humanity, it had quickly lost its way…
How do I know of these things you may ask?
I know of these things truly because I was there, and my memories; they continue to hold strong to the past- even to this day…
Executions…
Men and women- young and old, crucified for voicing their faith, and for standing on their beliefs…
I can see these horrors, almost as if I were living the long- averted past…
The city walls, they are lined with the crucified dying…
The guards and the people of a once peaceful and noble city- they now mock and ridicule the tortured…
Their hearts lost in a darkness from which they would never escape…
Or so, this is what I once believed…
Pain…
It is unbearable…
The shed blood from my scourging torture and the sweat from my brow, they pour- down upon my face, burning my eyes…
“Where is this truth you call justice?” I scream- the dryness of my throat scathing the one true meaning of my words. For an instant, I feel shame of my weakness…
I was selected from many for execution…
We, these lithesome chosen by court decree; we were now dying…
The guilty gayly entertaining themselves with evil carnal pleasures of drunkenness and of greed, and lust- while we bleed…
Kyrios Atticus, my living nightmare, he spit high upon me to reach my face…
In the still Spring afternoon, the short -wicked barbarian of a man, nearly struck home as- his puked spittle ran down my chin…
“That will be enough from you, you blasphemous anarchist…
You will get what’s coming to you, no matter how many days it takes.”
“Atticus! What have I told you about respecting the rights of the condemned?”
I looked hard on the armor-clad frail form of my executioner to be, and I felt no comfort in this attempt to draw respect unto me…
“Apologies Prefect… The man, he spat down upon me…”
The man I knew only as The Prefect, he scowled on the lying guardsman.
“You are relieved Atticus… Think twice, before you again lie to me.”
Atticus, my nightmare, he quickly faded into the sunset as he stomped angrily away, and I never laid eyes upon him again…
The Prefect looked harder on me.
“Such boldness and courage for a man about to die…” The Prefect seethed.
“By this time tomorrow in front of your peers, I have been granted to execute the court’s- final judgment upon you, that you will no longer grieve.”
The Prefect, he waited for a remark, a comeback in an attempt to- grant me some form of clemency. I said nothing. I bowed my head low, and mumbled prayer to He that promised to save me…
“Fool! Where is this being you pray to? Have you learned nothing?” The Prefect groaned at me as he walked away…
I now slowly raised my head, and gave with a smirk of pending content…
“I learned, dear prefect, that I am not afraid to die… What is your name?” I asked.
“You will find out tomorrow, as will everyone else… There is good reason that we wear- a mask.” The Prefect grumbled as he marched away.
“Tomorrow” I heard from all around me- in one voice that seemed to be as many…
“Tomorrow there will be justice for the innocent, and for the guilty- there will be pain.”
Lord? I cried aloud…
“Am I forsaken? Have I done something to anger you?
“Tomorrow… Tomorrow, it will be a new day.”
The night rose quickly, and the cold began nipping at my scarred and burned flesh…
Through all- of this discomfort, I found peace, and I drifted fast to sleep.
Release…
“My freedom, it came to me- in an unexpected way, for by The Lord I was forgiven; and I- found way to His place…”
The gathered children, old and young surrounding me by the evening fire, they were near mesmerized by my retelling of a tale many years- even centuries now- old…
My story telling was cut short, the voice of the one who had saved me calling me…
One at a time, from the youngest to the oldest sibling, the children looked toward the still waters and to the empty beach; and to the docks that lay beyond our camp site…
There was no ship to be spotted, and yet coming our way was a man illuminated by a radiance the like they have never seen…
The oldest- he was the age of eighteen, looked back upon me in a gaze of expectation.
“Is that him teacher? Has he come for you?”
I smiled on him and turned to the youngest, a young girl the age of nine of her years here on earth, by the name of Ruth…
’Ruth?
Fetch Joseph for me… It is time…”
Now even the children heard his call…
“Dismas Titus… I come… Are ye prepared for what now we must do?”
“I am Lord.” I answered, and yet- I felt less assured than I had felt when first being freed by deliverance from my pain and my suffering.
“Fear not Dismas, for the eyes of God have seen to your innocence, and your place in His kingdom is fast at hand.”
The children looked back to me with many a question on their thoughts. I smiled on them assuredly as I slowly faded away.
“Remember not of me and of my works- but of Him and of His teachings, for I have been but a humble servant of He whom has freed me…
God be with you… Fair well.”
I caught a glimpse of a single tear from the eyes of each…
The twelve, these innocent and sinless ones; they are the last children on earth, and from- their labors shall the new earth be raised, under the guidance of a new heaven in His holy name.
As I walked with The Lord- Jesus Christ, he walked alongside me, and as we both faded- into the light; our footprints on the sand were all that remained.
This story, it is but a tale of one man’s salvation- as he found faith in the Lord; and yet, as we all know, there will be much more to come…
3033 AT (After Tribulation)
The twenty-seven, year-long war that Nostradamus had the wisdom to prophecies so long ago, caught the world by surprise…
The days of darkness- The Tribulation had already taken its toll on mankind…
These long days that were meant to come unto us that believe, as a time of renewed hope; they were looking haggard- all true hope seemed to be lost upon the majority…
As with times long passed those truly faithful to The Word were: few- in number and yet; they kept their faith and courage all their days of hardship…
Me, it would soon become known to all, that I was to be the first, and to be one of the last of those true disciples that would lead God’s remaining people to a new beginning…
My name is Peter, and this is my story…
When I was born, my mother had chosen the name based on a saint, from Biblical history that shared the same…
It would take me to the end of her life to find out that there was much more to her choice- of naming selection…
My mother- Ruth, she passed only three years after my birth…
My father- Jacob, he passed one year after her…
They were devout Christians, and in the end of their lives here on earth; they were happy that I had chosen the right path.
Although my father claimed that he could see my life changed by The Tribulation, and he could not see the details of the change…
As you may or may not have guessed, my father, he claimed to be a true prophet of Jesus- Christ, and during his time of ministry that had lasted just about seven years; my father had done what God had requested of him, for he was no doomsayer warning of The End of Days…
He was a true man of faith, using God’s Word; to try and bring people back to a place of- renewed worship…
I am in my thirties now, and I have been many times told- I look a lot like my father. This is okay, after all- he was a man that accomplished many good things…
Unfortunately, not all would immediately see things the same way…
And this is where my story begins…
