TWO

“Benjamin? You are my son, Benjamin?” I dropped to one knee and took the boy by the shoulders. The shock was intense. My wife Sheri had become pregnant shortly after we were married and carried the child for several months before miscarrying. We held a small memorial service out by the lake, with just the two of us in attendance, floating a small bouquet of flowers out upon the water. We said that if the child had been a boy, we would have named him Benjamin.

Now, looking into eyes that looked remarkably like my daughter’s, with a broad face framed in a mass of dark curls that reminded me so much of my son’s, I knew that this was, in fact, the child that Sheri and I never knew.  “Benjamin, my boy,” I whispered. “I cannot believe this. Praise God! Thank you for meeting me here.” I trailed off, at a total loss for words.

Benjamin stroked my cheek and said, “You can thank the Father. It is He that sent me to meet you. I am an Emissary for the Most High. He wanted me to welcome you personally to New Jerusalem.” Then he kissed me on the cheek and put his arms around my neck, hugging me. I held him there for a good long time, full of joy to see him, full of joy to know him; just full of joy.

Finally his grip loosened, and I released him as he stepped back from me a pace. “We have places to go and things to do. There is a place that I must take you to receive some things that the Father wants you to have. Then you will have someone to act as a guide so that you may come to know this new home of yours. I’m sure you must have many questions.”

“Yes I do,” I replied as I stood. “First and foremost, what about Sheri, the rest of my family…the rest of our family? Where are they? I had friends on the other side…” my mind was ablaze with the desire to find the others.

“Sheri is here,” Benjamin reassured me, “As is all of the immediate family. Someone else has been sent to meet Sheri. Your daughter Lindsey, her husband Bryant and their children are here safe. You will see them soon. I have spent time with my brother, Noah…we have shared an adventure together.” He beamed at this thought, as if he held some marvelous secret. Then, his expression grew somber. “You will have plenty of time to find your loved ones and meet new friends here, because time no longer has meaning. But you must know that not everyone you knew on the other side is here. Some will be coming; some will never see this place. You must not be troubled by this. The Father makes every effort within His gracious righteousness to make this place available. But some simply will not come.”

I nodded, understanding. It was inevitable that some would not answer God’s invitation. I also understood that since we were here, that meant those that had followed Jesus Christ had been “raptured” or taken away from the other side, setting in motion a series of events known as the Great Tribulation. During that seven year period, a man of great evil would come to power on the other side and many would die under his cruel reign. But some would turn to Christ, and hopefully, some of my friends and family that were not here now would join us later. 

“Shall we go?” Benjamin asked. “We must first visit the Armory. There you will meet your guide,” he said with an enigmatic smile.

“Then by all means, let us go,” I said, taking his hand and smiling. “Lead the way, Ben.”

As we walked and talked together, I was amazed at the scope and beauty of the city. But try as I might, I could not keep my eyes and my attention off the boy at my side. This was my son, one that I had never known. He had lived here in New Jerusalem his entire life. I was so thankful for the opportunity to get to know him. It was almost too good to be true.

As we walked across the courtyard and onto a broad avenue, I noted the paving bricks, made from translucent gold. Beneath the surface of each one were scripture verses from the Bible that seem to change in translation and form. In each version, however, I was able to read and understand without any difficulty, even when the characters had been completely unfamiliar to me on the other side. As I listened to the thousands of people milling about me, I realized that my hearing and comprehension had undergone the same transformation. I had the gift of complete and profound interpretation.

Curious to see how that gift affected my speech, I turned to a  man with a ruddy complexion, a busy mustache and large, completive eyes. I said, “Hello! God’s grace to you, my brother!” But as I spoke, the words came out, “Hei! Jumalan armo teille veljeni!” I was speaking Finnish, a language with which I was completely unfamiliar.

The man returned a toothy grin, and replied, ” Jumalan armo sinulle samoin. Nimeni on Antti.” But as he spoke I heard, ”God’s grace to you as well. My name is Antti.” He stuck out a thick, strong hand and I shook it.

I told Antti my name was Phil, and we exchanged stories about where we were and what we were doing when we suddenly found ourselves standing before The Thrones in New Jerusalem. As we spoke, Benjamin stood by patiently, quietly amused as I made use of my new found ability.

As we parted company so Benjamin and I could continue to our way to the Armory, Benjamin surpressed a smile. ”What’s the deal, Ben? Something funny?” I asked.

”I just remember that Noah had mentioned you were a talker,” he replied. ” Now that you can speak and understand every language ever spoken, it may take a while for you to get anywhere in the city,” he said with a little wink. ”But I cannot say anything; I believe it runs in our family.” And with that, he took my hand and led me to the Armory of New Jerusalem.