SPY DISCIPLE (Episodes 1-5)

EPISODE 1

History has it that over 142 generations ago, a certain male child was conceived and birthed under the most unusual circumstance—in a land whose king was displeased by news of the newborn—since he supposed that the child’s birth posed threats to his throne. As such, he began devising means to destroy the child before he became a man. Oracles had predicted that, at such time, a certain child would be mysteriously conceived and birthed to salvage the world and rule over it for a period of time that knew no end. That fact troubled the mortal king who had grown to consider himself immortal and wasn’t interested in being challenged by anyone, let alone a child. It seemed to him like his plot to kill the child was made easy when he encountered wise men who had been summoned by a star to go in search of the child and pay him homage…for, indeed, the oracles were right about the child.

The men trailed the star to the king and tabled their course before him. The king tried to manipulate them into bringing him to the child’s reach so he would end the boy’s life and claim to have averted prophesy. Indeed, the trick would have worked if not for a paranormal interference which prevented the men from returning to the king with news of the child’s whereabouts as agreed. Having tarried long enough, the king sensed he had been outplayed by the men. So he ordered for the annihilation of the age range of offspring the targeted child was predicted to fall within. His attempt to destroy the child proved futile, for the child’s father, having been hinted in a vision about the king’s plan, fled with the child and his mother to the capital and dwelt there until the passing away of the evil king.

The child then returned with his parents to the land of his birth, and there he grew with much wisdom, such as was uncommon among children his age. At age 30, he became a man and choose a path that no man had ever traded since the beginning of time. He recruited twelve grownups and handed them a philosophy meant for the whole world. Three years later he returned to his acclaimed heavenly estate which location is believed to be in the third heaven. And the twelve—who drew much confidence from his presence—were left to themselves with an obligation to pass the said philosophy onto the rest of the world before his next visit to planet earth. This philosophy was referred to—as the teacher’s “teachings…” while he, the divine child, had grown to become known as “the teacher.”

The twelve, who were later named “apostles,” went about carrying out the teacher’s instruction to pass his teachings to everyone, persuading them to receive it, as a terrible fate awaited those who wouldn’t. Many received, while many others despised it greatly. Those who received the teaching became followers of the teacher, led by any of the twelve disciples who introduced these teachings to them. In that same manner, one very gentleman also received the teaching and became an ardent follower of the teacher, led by one of the twelve who was deemed the teacher’s “beloved disciple.”

The said gentleman who had become an ardent follower of the beloved disciple, however, only followed him from a distance. He wasn’t too forward but was focused. He did according to all the beloved disciple commanded but was never known by the beloved as one who got to know the teacher through him. The gentleman had been a spy all his life…that even after forsaking his old ways and embracing the lifestyle suggested by the teacher’s teachings, he couldn’t break free from spying. Not that he made an attempt anyway. He loved spying and was not considering quitting anytime soon. So he remained the spy who became a disciple and soon got to be known by many as the “Spy Disciple.”

The spy disciple trailed the beloved disciple every step of the way without the beloved disciple’s knowledge. Even when the teacher’s teachings commenced attracting torture to those who taught and learned it, especially the twelve apostles, the spy kept following the beloved as far as to a desert where those who hated those teachings had banished the beloved disciple to. After much effort to destroy him proved futile, they resolved to starve and thirst him to death in the wilderness. The beloved, having been manhandled by mean pagans, was left with little or no strength to endure such vile environment. When the last of his strength vanished, he fell like a tree cut down from its root. From a distance, the spy observed the beloved’s predicament but made no move to save the situation.

Not until the beloved fell in a faint—did the spy go out of hiding to examine the beloved. He found the beloved have initiated the journey of no return. For the first time, the spy wished he had gotten to know the beloved when life was still in him. But it was too late for that. So the spy could do nothing more than shed tears with bitterness of heart. The beloved was not completely lifeless and was likely to regain consciousness, but definitely not in that desert. That got the spy contemplating bringing him back to the human territory. But again he thought, “would he still be alive by then?” Downhearted, the spy continued bleeding many tears…so much that the earth which had robbed on the beloved’s face when he fell, got washed off the beloved’s face by the spy’s tears. The spy was not leaving the beloved in that desert all alone. He resorted to dying there with him. As he continued to weep profusely because of the fate that had befallen the beloved, something really uncanny occurred. 

The clouds suddenly gathered as though in preparation to release the rain contained in it, and the area grew dark as though the night was approaching in a hurry. Strong winds broke forth from the skies and disturbed the peace of the desert. Provoked by the wind, the dust from the desert rendered the spy’s sight limited, as even the sky was masked by it. But somehow, the spy’s eyes managed to catch manlike images approaching him from a distance. In his attempt to investigate further and discover what figures were approaching him, he found that, in addition to their semblance to man, they had extra features that were not synonymous with man. His effort to determine the look on their faces was thwarted by the dust of the desert which was tossed endlessly by the whirlwind.

The manlike figures continued pacing slowly but constantly towards him until they were just some feet away from the spy. At that point, the spy was struck with a kind of fear he had not experienced before in his entire life. So he clung to the still body of the beloved disciple and anticipated the worst horror ever. His eyelids clung to each other, as his heartbeat pounded like that of a man who was about to be shot to death by a firing squad. Then suddenly he heard a voice from nowhere like the sound of many waters and like the sound of loud thunder, saying; “it is time, but do not harm the earth, the sea, nor the trees until we seal the receivers of the teacher’s teachings on their foreheads.”

Some moments later, a multitude of people from every nation and tribe disappeared from the earth into the clouds, leaving behind a multitude of other people from every nation and tribe. Chaos broke forth among the remainders when a comprehensible explanation could not be ascribed to the just occurred incident. People began running helter-skelter to nowhere, searching for someone who could draw reasonable connotation from the incidence of the disappearance. Some intelligent speakers rose to fame at that point, satisfying everyone’s curiosity with intelligible words which found their way to the vulnerable hearts of the remainders, making them believe that the occurrence was not a cause for worry. Some others who had partially learned the teacher’s teachings rose to explain to the rest of the remainders that the occurrence served as a blessing to those who disappeared but spelled doom to the remainders. None was interested in opening up to ideas that suggested doom. So a majority of the remainders went with the philosophies of those who explained away the incident to be only but a mere scientific revolution. Their doubts were soon going be cleared, as the first batch of doom was set to be released upon the earth by the teacher in no distant time. Earth is in trouble!

To be continued…

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EPISODE 2

Meanwhile, the spy and the beloved were among the fortunate ones to have disappeared from that desert to the third heaven to meet the teacher, whose teachings they had received and held fast to. The teacher was so happy to have his beloved disciple with him again. It seemed like he had missed him for eternity. He called the beloved out from the rest of the believers onboard the third heaven to show him the woes he had prepared to unleash on the earth for refusing and rejecting his teachings. The beloved marveled at the horrifying sight his eyes beheld and couldn’t help but plead for mercy to be shown on the remainders. The teacher explained to his beloved that the remainders had exhausted all mercy and were only entitled to a fate deserving of their resolute insubordinations.

The dreadful sight the eyes of the beloved beheld refused him to come to terms with the fact that the remainders actually merited the doom ascribed to them by the teacher. So he sought for a means to deliver them but found none. Seeing how depressed his beloved disciple was, the teacher proffered a means by which the remainders could be saved, only if the beloved was willing to risk his soul to save as many of the remainders as he possibly could within the space of time assigned to that undertaking. The beloved’s heart leaped for joy on hearing the teacher proffer a solution. But it only lasted for as long as the terms and conditions attached to the solution remained unknown to him. The beloved suddenly found himself in a dilemma when the teacher cited those terms and conditions to him.

“To save the remainders on earth from my rage, you must go back to earth and take them on a journey back in time to any point where they had a chance to receive my teachings but neglected it. They will be presented with that same opportunity again to receive my teachings. Anyone who receives will instantly join the fortunate once in this realm. Whoever can’t find a point in the past where he or she had a chance to receive my teaching will be back to the present after 10 minutes to face my rage after all. You only have ten minutes to spend in the past, after which you and all you go there with—will supernaturally find yourselves in the present. Only you can travel back in time for more than once, meaning that the remainders have as little as ten minutes to change their fates.”

“You, however, have seven years to get this done and must return to this realm on the last day of the seventh year. You cannot return to this realm before the end of seven years. Neither can you return after seven years is past. The portal will only be open to receive you on the last day of the seventh year. If you miss returning on that very day, you’ll be trapped on earth with the remainders who couldn’t take advantage of the second chance given to them because of your plea and will suffer the same faith allotted to them. Then all the good you had done to get yourself here will be for nothing.”

“A mystical apparatus was presented to the beloved. The teacher continued; “this apparatus will be made available to you to aid your journey back in time. This same apparatus will aid your journey back to this realm on the last day of the seventh year. If you happen loose it while on earth, then you’re as good as trapped on earth with the remainders. Note, you cannot control the point you travel back in time to. Once you make a certain pronouncement with this apparatus, it will take you to any point in the past. It will then be your duty to find any point there—where my teachings were being declared for people to receive. There and then, the remainders you are able to convince to follow you back in time will have the chance to receive it and join the blessed once here. But be careful because the mystical apparatus may take you far back to times when my teachings hadn’t been proclaimed.”

“A time when you hadn’t been my disciple. A time when you were still given to your own ways, and you may be tempted to drown in the pleasures of those times, thereby rendering all your effort so far useless. This is the portal through which you are to go back to earth with the aid of the mystical apparatus,” the teacher continued, pointing to a spherical balloon-like channel, suspended in the air. “It will deliver you at the desert you were before my messengers came to get you and the other receivers of my teachings. On the last day of the seventh year, you are to go to that same point where this channel will deliver you at—and make a certain pronouncement which shall aid your return here. The pronouncement you are to make each time you want to travel back in time is “Rachamim.”

“Once you say that word with this mystical apparatus raised up, whatever you want accomplished will be accomplished in a moment. The same thing will be done when leaving this realm to earth and when returning here on the last day of the seventh year. Anything short of all I’ve said will subject you to the fate of the remainders. Are you willing to go that far to risk your own soul because of your love for those who remain on earth?” On hearing those conditions, the beloved wept profusely. He couldn’t consent to the destruction of the remainders, neither could he risk his soul for their sake. 

The teacher consoled him, reminding him of how patient he had been with the inhabitants of the earth. But despite all his warnings, signs, and wonders, the remainders didn’t think it wise to heed the teacher’s advice to receive his teachings. And now they have to face the penalty for their insubordinations. Just as the teacher had decreed, there was no one to save them on the day of his wrath. The remainders were busy on earth doing all-what-not, trying to convince themselves that life just got better, not knowing the woes that were about to hit them. A number of them knew anyway, but there was just no escaping it. The teacher then left that section of the heavenly realm with his beloved and his envoys who were there present all the while, leaving behind the mystical apparatus in its place, since it wasn’t going to be of use anytime soon. Soon enough, no one was left there.

Strange silence overwhelmed the whole place. Suddenly, something dropped from a dark corner in that area, and the sound echoed melodiously. But then, no one came to investigate the source of that noise. Or, perhaps, no one heard it. But where did the noise come from? Amazingly, it was the spy disciple. He had been there all along, spying on them and listening to their conversation. Just like he always did, he had followed the beloved disciple when the teacher called him out from the multitude to show him the woes he had prepared for the earth. It was hard to believe that even in the heavenly realm, the spy remained a spy. He then came out of his hiding to explore the area and examine all his eyes could see. He couldn’t comprehend the paranormal play of events. The spherical balloon-like channel, suspended in midair, was spinning, producing beautiful light rays which lit up the area. It seemed like every item there had a voice with which it harmonized to unknown heavenly melodies.

The spy’s eyes ran through nearly all the items in that area until his eyes met the mystical apparatus that possessed the power to enable a trip back to earth, back in time, and back to the heavenly realm on the last day of the seventh year. He went for it, grabbed it, and took his position in front of the spherical balloon-like channel that leads to earth upon the pronouncement of a certain word. The spy became lost in thoughts. Then he soon began muttering the magical word. With him before the portal and the mystical apparatus in his hands, it only took a loud pronouncement of the magical word for the spy to find himself back in the earth. Being that he was already muttering the magical word, there’s every tendency he’s considering making a loud pronouncement of that word and zooming off on the mission the beloved disciple had bailed out of. Would he be that dumb?

To be continued…

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EPISODE 3

It wasn’t an easy decision to make. Just like the beloved disciple, the spy couldn’t bear to see the remainders suffer what was about to be unleashed on them. At the same time, he feared for what would become of him if he took on the mission and failed. His dilemma continued until he suddenly heard loud scary voices, thundering, and lightning. Upon investigating to determine the source of that disturbance, he found that the teacher had commenced unleashing his wrath upon the earth. There was no more time to waste. If he was considering taking on the mission, that was the right time, as further delay would see more doom befalling the earth without any remainders encountering the chance to rewrite their fates. Over at the throne of judgment stood the teacher, twenty-four elderly spirit beings, innumerable company of angels, and a multitude of humans who had been caught up to the third heaven from the earth for having paid attention to the teacher’s teachings.

The teacher called forth seven of his messengers who all had trumpets with them and commanded them to sound their trumpets one after the other. The sounding of each trumpet would unleash a plague upon the earth…such that humanity had never known…not even in the order of the plagues of Egypt. It was time for the great horror that was foretold centuries back to be unleashed upon the earth, and only the ill-fated ones were present on earth to feel its dread. They should have received the teacher’s teachings. But they didn’t. And now, the first trumpet was about to be blown. There was about thirty minutes of strange silence in the third heaven. Then the teacher looked to the seven messengers who had the trumpets and instructed to the first of them to sound his trumpet! Damn!

Immediately, the first messenger sounded his trumpet, and the whole realm, even the earth, was bombarded by that great sound. Suddenly, hail and fire came together and mysteriously mixed with blood. Then the first messenger, who had sounded his trumpet, supernaturally cast the mixture of hail, fire, and blood upon the earth. The mixture had become like the material used for sword forgery…except that it was seven million times hotter! The spy could sense the dread already. He could feel the horror! Straightway, he took the bold step he might regret for eternity. He endangered his soul—which he had sacrificed so much to preserve and exempt from the great tribulation. He slashed his chances of reaping the eternal reward he worked for, just for the sake of pity and concern for the unrepentant who outrightly refused to receive the teacher's teachings and be saved. The spy took on the mission. He grabbed the mystical apparatus and positioned himself right in front of the portal that leads to earth. Then he bravely proclaimed the magical pronouncement; “Rachamim.”

Just like a man knocked out of consciousness by anesthesia, the spy knew not what became of him until his sudden landing in the desert where he and the beloved were caught up from. Once again, he found himself on earth. But nothing on earth looked the way they were before the disappearances. There was chaos everywhere. People screamed from much pain. And a third of the earth had been destroyed by the mixture of hail, fire, and blood, which had been hurled down by the first messenger. Upon seeing this, the spy’s heart skipped. He couldn’t contain the sight his eyes beheld. He got so frightened that he sought for a means to get back to the third heaven where he just came from.

But there was no going back. Not until the last day of the seventh year. He better starts his count and ensure he makes no mistakes. Seeing that there’s only one way forward, the spy ran off from the desert to the midst of people, fireballs flying randomly past him as continuous explosions at different points in the earth caused them to. Soon enough, he was in the midst of people. But it was hard for him to gain their attention, being that everyone was running for their dear lives. That first woe lasted for a long while, after which a strange silence struck the earth. The only thing heard were the cries of those who had been hurt by the woe. People started coming out of hiding fearfully, questioning themselves about the just occurred incident while carefully examining those that had been hurt.

Some were badly burnt, some lost a part of their bodies, and some were even completely fried. But the strange thing was; none of them died! Death became a rare privilege. The tendency to die was withdrawn from the remainders so they would suffer physical hurt without passing away. Even suicide was impossible! So the spy began carrying out his mission at once, starting by explaining to the remainders all that is yet to come upon the earth as he had heard and saw in the third heaven while the teacher narrated them to his beloved disciple. Because of the fear that gripped every single person who heard him speak, they obliged to travel back in time with him when he told them of the chance they still had to change their fates and join the saints in the third heaven of blissful beings.

At once, over three thousand people who were there, all joined the spy on a journey back in time—in search of an opportunity to receive the teacher’s teachings which they had ignored before now. God so bless, there was a spy with the heart of gold—who endangered his own soul to save theirs. So they assembled together and the spy loudly pronounced the magic word; “Rachamim.” At once, they were all gone from the present to the past. Though the teacher had said that trips back in time can land them at any point in the past, including a time when no human feet walked the earth, this first trip was an exceedingly wonderful one, as the spy and the remainders found themselves in a crusade grand just when folks were being called out to receive the teacher’s teachings and become converts. 

The remainders quickly left the spy, ran to the scene and received the teacher’s teachings with tears flooding down their eyes. Then, in just a matter of seconds, they all ascended into the sky, smiling, and bidding the spy farewell. Tears welled up in the spy’s eyes. He was glad he could help secure over three thousand remainders a place in eternity. Again I say; he was glad! Plus, it was easy. So he got extra motivation to do more. He couldn’t wait for ten minutes to elapse so he could return to the present and save the next batch of remainders. Oh, how fulfilling it was for the spy! Ten minutes elapsed soon enough, and just like a man knocked out of consciousness by anesthesia, the spy knew not what became of him until he suddenly found himself back in the present. In that same spirit, he set out on a random walk in search of more remainders he could send to heaven. Good luck to him.

Meanwhile, back at the third heaven, the second messenger was about to be commanded to unleash the second woe by sounding his trumpet. Just at that time, the arrival of the over three thousand remainders who were led back in time to receive the teacher’s teachings—all showed up in the third heaven, screaming for joy. All attention fell on them, and the higher beings began to wonder at the possibility of that occurrence. There was only one way that could happen, and the beloved disciple, who was the only one presented the opportunity to make that happen, had declined the mission. The higher beings began casting random stares at each other, seemingly stunned by that development. Then the teacher conclusively declared; “there is a man on the earth, from this realm, who has taken on the mission to save the remainders.” Fixing a stern gaze at his messengers, he asked with solemn strictness; “who is he? And how did he get through the portal with the mysterious apparatus?”

To be continued...

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EPISODE 4

There was tension in the air. It seemed like the heavenly realms had been breached by an unknown trespasser. I wouldn’t say the higher beings were at a loss regarding the trespasser because that isn’t synonymous with the supernatural. But then, the messengers made to put up a search for whatever had breached the heavenly security. Yet, the teacher stopped them from doing so. It seemed like he wasn’t interested in knowing who it was. Perhaps he knew. Nonetheless, the process of sounding the trumpets had to continue just as it was purposed to, long before time began. I fear for the spy, for he was all alone on earth, on a self-imposed rescue mission, without the backing of the heavenly bodies. 

His presence on earth was not put into consideration by the higher beings, being that his return to earth wasn’t empowered by anyone but himself. Be that as it may, principles remain principles. Laws remain laws. If the spy does exactly as he heard the teacher recite to the beloved, then his mission is bound to be successful, and he’ll be back to the realm of divine spirits on the last day of the seventh year. Again I say, good luck to him. At once, the second messenger was commanded to sound his trumpet, which he did. And then, something that looked like a huge mountain on fire emerged out of nowhere. Then the teacher said to his beloved disciple; “this blazing mountain will be thrown into the sea of the earth and a third of the sea will turn to blood. A third of the living creatures in the sea will die. And a third of the ships on the sea will be destroyed.” The teacher then turned from his beloved disciple to the second messenger and commanded him saying: “throw it into the sea!”

The second messenger supernaturally lifted the blazing mountain, ready to do according to the teacher’s command. The beloved broke down in tears. But his tears couldn’t change a thing. The only one that could make any difference was the spy, who was already on earth, making that happen. Talking about the spy, he had found himself another group of remainders at this time and was busy filling them in—on what he knows about the past woe and the coming ones. But only a few remainders who experienced the past woe paid attention to him. The others only heard of what had happened, as the woe didn’t extend to their part of the world. And so they doubted the spy’s televised words and wouldn’t consent to follow him back in time. Their doubts would soon be cleared. Soon.

The second woe was about to hit the earth. This time, only a few people obliged to join the spy on a trip back in time. Others on the scene saw the spy as one who sought for undue attention that would probably pave the way for him to perpetrate fraudulent acts. Also, those sets of people belonged to the group who despised the teacher’s teaching right from the onset. So they just stood by and watched the supposed magic the spy was about to perform. Those who were ready to join the spy on the trip back in time took their positions behind him. Just then, a very little bright light was seen approaching the earth from the skies. It was little and looked like a golden star. Nothing like that had ever been spotted in the sky all through human existence. So it became a thing of wonder to those who saw it, and they were interested in finding out what it really was. The spy tried to warn them that the approaching light could be a woe from above, sent to plague the remainders on earth for their refusal to adhere to the teacher’s teachings. But none paid attention to him. The spy tried his best to make them understand that what they saw wasn’t anything wonderful. Yet they wouldn’t heed his words.

The approaching light became bigger as it got nearer and really looked like great gold. Those who were watching began to think of making a fortune out of whatever it was—the moment it landed on earth. Knowing fully well what was coming, the spy gave up on them, took his position in front of the remainders who were ready to go back in time with him to search for an opportunity to receive the teacher’s teachings. Then he loudly pronounced the magic word; “Rachamim.” At once, they were all gone from the present to the past. The seeming golden light kept approaching and kept getting bigger in the view of the people. When it had gotten really close, its true identity became overly apparent to the remainders, as they saw the blazing fire wildly exploding like violent volcanos in midair. Gosh!

They started screaming and running to safety. At that point, they believed the spy’s words and longed to do as he had said. But the spy was nowhere to be found. Wailing uncoordinatedly, they sought for safety nearby and made to hide in buildings and other structures around the scene. Luckily for them, the destination of the blazing mountain wasn’t the ground. It was the sea. So the blazing mountain found its way to the Atlantic Ocean and plunged itself into it violently. Just like the teacher had said, the sea began to turn into blood the same way it happened when God plagued Egypt for Pharaoh’s refusal to let the Israelites go as He had commanded him to. It was such a horrifying sight to behold! 

The creatures of the sea began wailing from underwater, and their wails could be heard by those on shore. Sea monsters who had been in the depths of the waters all through their existence, made to come to land in a bid to save themselves from the horrible occurrence. But just like the teacher had said, a third of them were destroyed. Also, the offshore workers and sailors on sea noticed the sudden mysterious transformation of the sea into blood. So the attention of everyone onboard all ships on the sea were drawn to it. They all marveled upon seeing such a thing and attempted to sail to land in a hurry. But sea creatures that were still struggling for their lives underwater, troubled the water immensely with turbulences, thereby rendering the sea unstable and tossing the ships on the sea until they eventually crashed, fell into the bloody water, and sunk…alongside everyone onboard.

Back at some point in the past—was the spy and those he had led there the second time. But unlike his first trip back in time, he wasn’t so fortunate to land in a location where the teacher’s teachings were being taught. So he and the remainders who went there with him had to go in search of an opportunity to receive the teacher’s teaching which was missed by any of them. But argument sparked up between them. Many of them believed they were closer to their missed opportunities than the others, and should take the lead and be followed by others. With all of them holding onto such conviction, there was great disagreement between them. They all believed that following another person to search for that person’s missed opportunity was risky, as ten minutes may elapse without the person finding an opportunity they missed. They spy tried to calm them down and make them understand that they all had to work together to ensure the success of that trip back in time.

But none of them was ready to trust the other. So their arguments continued until five minutes passed, leaving them with just five minutes more to change their fates. They spy called their attention to the time wasted and they couldn’t believe that—what seemed like a little argument had consumed that much time. With just five minutes to go, it’s hard to believe any of them would make it to the third heaven like the first batch of fortunate remainders who came back in time. They didn’t even know what year they had traveled back to, and they had just five minutes more to figure that out, then find a missed chance to receive the teacher’s teaching and be saved. The clock was ticking!

To be continued…

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EPISODE 5

As a result of their lack of time and refusal to reach an agreement, they split and went separate ways. It became operation “all man for himself.” Only 30% of them stayed back with the spy. But then, this 30 % were very indecisive, dependent, clingy, needy, weak-willed, and extremely slow. They left their fates in the spy’s hands. Seeing that he was left to take the lead, the spy somewhat got lost, as he now had less than four minutes to save those helpless ones who encircled him, crying and lamenting and begging him to “do something.” Only one thing succeeded in coming into the spy’s mind at the time. He quickly recalled that—at different times in real life, he usually heard people reciting the teacher’s teachings in market places and junctions. So he quickly asked the remainders with him to follow his lead, as he tried to figure out which city where they had traveled back in time to—and find his way to a marketplace in the city. Hopefully, they would find an opportunity there. So they made their move.

It was two minutes to go, and the spy was nowhere near any of the city’s market. They tried to board a cab, but no driver paid attention to them, being that no such thing happened at the actual time when things were still normal. The clock kept ticking until it was 45 seconds to go. The spy nearly broke down, as he couldn’t believe that his second trip back in time would yield no results. Even the remainders with him gave up and nearly started cursing the spy. But just then, a commercial bus passed by that caught their attention. The bus had an inscription on it that read: “wise men receive the teacher’s teachings. What are you still doing? Have you received it yet? If not, receive now by simply saying; I receive.” Upon reading that inscription, all of them began screaming; “I receive!”

Before they knew it, ten minutes was over and they were still there. When the spy saw that they were still there, he bowed his head in sorrow and began weeping profusely. Like one knocked out of consciousness by anesthesia, the spy knew not what became of him until his sudden landing in the present, still bowed as he was before his return to the present. Then he wailed in anger and bitterness because he couldn’t save any soul on his second attempt. But when he raised his head, he couldn’t find any of them there with him. He didn’t understand. He looked round for them, but couldn’t find any. And he wondered where they were. He recalled the teacher had said that those who fail to find a chance to receive his teachings when they travel back in time—would return to the present after ten minutes. But the teacher never mentioned if their place of landing would be the same spot they took off from—to the past, or a different location. The spy was left in confusion. But he still had a mission to accomplish. And so he set off to accomplish it; more determined this time. 

Meanwhile, the second woe was still prevalent in the earth. The transformation of a third of the sea into blood had driven out horrible sea monsters from the depths of the sea to the land. In anger, these monsters made a prey of humans and brought destruction on the city. Proceeding out of the sea to land—were fiercer monsters than King-Kong, deadlier reptiles than anacondas, more ravenous lizards than crocodiles and alligators, and more intimidating giants than Goliath. Mankind couldn’t believe the sea accommodated such creatures. Scientists thought they had discovered all there was to discover underwater. But this sight proved that there’s more to life than meets the human eye.

The ten, fifteen, and twenty feet tall creatures that emerged from underwater troubled the earth immensely, and life became unbearable for the remainders. The earth became like a jungle, with humans as the most vulnerable existing beings. Many cried and regretted not receiving the teacher’s teachings when they had the chance to. But their cries changed nothing. As a matter of fact, more events that would bring them even more pain and evoke tears was soon coming on them, as the third messenger was on the verge of being commanded to blow his trumpet. While the chaos was still unsettling the earth, another strange occurrence caught every living thing's attention, including the sea creatures who were making a mess of humans. High in the sky, a large star, burning like a torch, could be seen dropping down. No one knew its destination. In fear, everyone ran to safety, as they had now gotten to learn by experience that whatever came from the sky was meant kill and destroy.

But the large burning star was headed for the rivers and the springs of water to carry out a different assignment. So the large burning star, which was named “bitterness,” plunged itself into the rivers and springs of water, and a third of the rivers and the springs of water became bitter, killing everyone that drank from it afterward. At this point, dehydration became prevalent in the earth, as many refrained from drinking water in fear of dying afterward like the others, being that the rivers and springs are the ultimate sources the water. That was the third woe. The third messenger had blown his trumpet upon the teacher’s command, and the fourth was about to blow his upon the teacher’s command as well, which was soon to be uttered. No sooner than the teacher had given the order, did the fourth messenger blow his trumpet, and the most terrible of the woes thus far, struck the earth!

Upon blowing the fourth trumpet, a third of the sun was struck, and a third of the moon, and a third of the stars, so that their light lost a third of its brightness. So, there was no light during a third of the day and a third of the night also. From that moment onward, mankind experienced more darkness than ever before in the history of humanity. It couldn't really be said when was night and when was day. Time was of no essence anymore. Fear became the common factor amongst the remainders. It was horrible! The spy himself couldn't believe the reality of these occurrences. Indeed, those who received the teacher's teachings were beyond lucky, as what humanity now had to face—was terrible.

Over at the divine realm lay the beloved disciple on golden streets, crying and weeping for mankind. That was all he could do. But the loud voice of a flying eagle caused his tears to cease flowing, for the eagle’s utterances further troubled his weary soul. When he looked, he heard the flying eagle say with a loud voice, “O horror! Horror! How horrible it will be for all who live on earth when the sound comes from the trumpets that the other three messengers must blow!” Even the manner with which the eagle spoke was enough to depict what was to be expected upon the blowing of the remaining three trumpets. The teacher ordered the fifth messenger, saying; “blow your trumpet!” Goodness! It was horror at its peak! The heart of the beloved disciple bled for the ill-fated remainders on earth!

To be continued…

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