Gods of the earth -Chapters 13 & 14

Chapter 13

Pastor Adewusi had known he had derailed a long time ago…it had started with a seemingly innocuous invitation to come and preach in a friend’s church. He had allowed himself to be caught up in the glamour of the honour accorded to him as a ‘Man of God’…the lavish hotel he had been lodged…the complicated protocol detailed to serve and meet his every need…and finally the huge check he had been given…since then he had never looked back. His friend and former classmate Pastor Essien had introduced him to his circle of friends as a ‘very dynamic pastor’ and that had resulted in several invitations to ‘minister’ which he had not turned down.

His entire status had changed…his once small church had enlarged and now he received invitations from the US and the UK. The life of luxury and comfort had overwhelmed both himself and his wife till even their sermons had changed…once, their sermons where mostly about Self Denial…the Crucified Life…Keeping one’s self unspotted from the world…but now all that had changed…now they were more concerned about ‘How to be fulfilled in life’ and ‘How to be successful in life’.

It was merely out of a guilty conscience that he had preached that sermon last Sunday on ‘Preparing for the Rapture’. He himself was badly in need of that message…perhaps it was no coincidence that he had almost died. He shouldn’t have preached a sermon that he himself had not been practising; it was very dangerous to do so…he had narrowly escaped death and certain judgement.

It was the reason why he and his wife had decided to go on a Retreat for seven days even though they had only recently returned from a trip abroad…there was a need for deep repentance.

They were in the third day of their fast when a scripture had hit him like a thunderbolt, out of the blue…book, chapter and verse...

Luke 9:23 And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.

He had seen himself clearly in that Scripture…for he had not denied him-SELF, instead he had indulged himself…he had not taken up his cross DAILY – the instrument of his sacrifice; rather he had taken up instruments that revived his Self…clearly he had not therefore been following Christ his Saviour, rather he had been following the god of this world…he had not been serving God, he had been serving Mammon.

This revelation threw him into depths of anguish as he found himself constrained to the floor in godly sorrow for the wasted weeks and months.

It was in the fifth day of their retreat that Pastor Adewusi received some hope…

2Cor 6:17 Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you,

It was his wife who had woken up with that scripture on her lips…it was meant for them both, she said.

Pastor Adewusi knew its implications…he was to come out of this new circle of friends and remain on his own…he was never to preach their messages again, and only then would he be received back into the beloved…in other words he was on probation!

God could not be mocked or deceived…he tried the hearts of men…this was the trying of his heart…it was easy to ask for forgiveness and one would be forgiven…but it was quite another thing to repent.

God had indeed forgiven them…but they had to play their own part too and repent, otherwise they would begin to slide inexorably back into the world from which they had been saved…their consciences would begin to be seared, causing them to lose their sensitivity to the Spirit…perhaps forever.

Pastor Adewusi processed all that in his mind as the import of the scripture sank in. He had lost the fear of the Lord! He had had to be rescued by one of the sheep placed in his care…the sheep rescuing the under shepherd, how he had fallen! 

As they drove back home in sober silence, Pastor Adewusi reflected on how to repair the damage he had done to the flock of Christ…how to make restitution…he cast his mind back to the spiritual attacks that had been going on for a while in the homes of Wunmi and Mary and how powerless he had been to stop any of it.

He had been too caught up in the pleasures of this world that they had choked the Word almost completely out of his life.

EPH 5:18 And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit; 

It had floated subtly into his mind as he drove, thinking about restitution…but he knew exactly what the scripture was saying to him…he had filled himself with exotic meals and fruit wines and juices as a guest minister in so many churches…now it was time to stop and begin to fill himself with the Spirit of God.

He was very familiar with that Scripture…its literal translation in Greek was ‘and be BEING filled with the Spirit of God’; meaning that it was a continuous process this infilling.

He should have known better…but it was a mistake he would never make again…he had not been there for Wunmi and Mary when they needed help with their children, but now…it was time to wrestle against Principalites and Powers and Wicked Spirits in Heavenly Places…as he turned into the driveway of his home, he uttered a silent prayer to the Lord…he was ready!

Muyiwa had been very busy and had wanted no distractions, so he had switched off his phone. The Translucent Man had returned to him and given me something he never dreamt he could have in his lifetime.

The Translucent Man had said he preferred working with Muyiwa than with Kola because Muyiwa was more reasonable. Kola had been scared off because the Translucent Man had gotten a little angry with him…but friends always got angry with each other right? At least that was what the Translucent Man had told Muyiwa.

Anyway the Translucent Man had sat beside him and discussed several propositions…it was the reason why Muyiwa had switched off his phone.

“You wanted badly to be a surgeon…I cannot give you a degree or other certifications, but I can give you the skills of a world class surgeon. Furthermore I can take those experiments that you have in your basement to a whole new level. You want to create talking animals? I can help you do that. If you don’t believe me, take me to your labs downstairs.”

“What if you want to kill me there?” asked Muyiwa uncertainly, he still remembered quite clearly the attempt on his life by the Translucent Man.

“If I wanted to kill you, I would do it right here and now. Why would I go all the way to your basement?” said the Translucent Man reassuringly.

“Now take me down to your basement and let me show you a thing or two.”

The monkey stared at Muyiwa belligerently, but when he saw the Translucent Man behind him, it started howling and hopping around its cage, violently pulling on the reinforced iron bars as it sought for a way of escape.

“It is afraid of me,” said the Translucent Man by way of explanation.

“You will need these instruments if you would like to make it talk,” the Translucent Man reached into his midsection and pulled out two strange instruments that obviously did not exist on earth; at least not that Muyiwa knew of.

“You will need an artificial human voice box or Adam’s apple as you call it here, but you don’t have in your world yet, so I created several for you.” He opened the first instrument and Muyiwa saw what looked like scores of various 'voice boxes'.

“Some are male and some are female, depending on what kind of voice you would want your talking animal to have. I will give you not only all these voice boxes, but also authenticate your invention of them by teaching you right now how to make them by yourself.”

“How will you do that?” asked Muyiwa, not daring to breath…his hands trembled with excitement at the possibilities that were boggling his mind.

“I can simply give you the required skills. All I have to do is transfer them to your mind through means that are not known in your world. I can do it now if you want?”

Muyiwa licked his dry lips and nodded his head. The monkey was still howling until the Translucent Man gave him a deliberate long stare. Suddenly the monkey sat down docilely.

The Translucent Man laid his hand on Muyiwa’s head and Muyiwa felt himself falling…he thought he was falling to the ground, but the falling did not stop…instead it began to accelerate in speed…he felt like he had fallen through the ground and was still falling…his eyes were closed but he felt a palpable darkness all around him.

When he opened his eyes he found himself on a long and circular table and there were several Translucent Men all around him. They were inserting their fingers into his head and chest and curiously he felt no pain…not even numbness.

Muyiwa woke up to find himself on the floor under the stare of the Translucent Man. He felt like a thousand pins were pricking him right in the centre of his brain…he felt his mind expanding with new ideas…but best of all, he remembered skills and knowledge he knew he had never learnt! Indeed he couldn’t have learnt them because they didn’t even exist in his own world!

“You remember skills that you never learnt, do you not?” asked the Translucent Man, staring down at him.

Muyiwa nodded…he was speechless…he turned his head and looked at the monkey…it stared back at him…suddenly Muyiwa knew exactly how to give it a human voice. He stood up slowly and reached out for the second instrument in the Translucent Man’s hand.

“Not so fast,” said the Translucent Man, closing has hand.

“I have given you something and now you have to give me something back in return.”

“I know, and I have tried but she is too powerful, it isn’t my fault that she resists you. I gave her to you already in the ceremony you asked me to perform,” protested Muyiwa mildly.

“Which is why we have to find another way,” persisted the Translucent Man.

“She will return from Church and you will act like you are repentant.  She will forgive you and then you will make love to her, except that I will be in you at that time but I will not surface until you are ready to climax. That is when I will surface in you…I will possess you; and your seed will become my seed. She will bear me a son. If you agree to this, I promise you greatness, fame and power beyond your wildest imaginations. The entire world will fall at your feet and worship you because of this and other breakthroughs that I will give you.”

Muyiwa didn’t hesitate; “I accept.”

The Translucent Man opened the palm of his hand and gave Muyiwa the second instrument.

Chapter 14

Janut stared contemptuously at the Familiar spirit that had been sent to spy on Kola. Wicked Spirits were the lowest level of spirits dwelling in the Heavenlies…they weren’t even fallen angels…they were the spirits of the giants of old…the seed of fallen angels birthed by mortal women…they were the children of fallen angels so to speak.

“Well at least you can be of some use,” said Janut at length. “You will monitor him, especially his thoughts…I want to know everything he thinks.”

The Familiar spirit nodded unhappily; “I am bound with strong ties to a wizard who asked me to report back to him in three days.”

“And who is this wizard, does he have a name?” asked Janut, beginning to feel anger boiling up in him.

“He goes by the name Adebajo,” replied the Familiar spirit.

“Oh, he is well known to me…indeed he is quite a favourite with the Lord of Darkness. Very well then, do whatever he asks, but within those three days I also will require a report.”

“Yes my lord,” said the Familiar spirit, bowing out of Janut’s presence.

Janut watched him disappear before he too faded into his true self…he spread his wings painfully as far as they could go and folded them back…they had been scarred and broken in the battle against Michael and his angels. 

Michael had commanded fire to fall and his angels had obliged him and bombarded the Enemy Hosts with arrows of fire and brimstone…a foretaste of the eternal judgment that would later await them. He batted away the unpleasant memory, remembering how he and many others had been deceived by the Lord of Darkness with grandiose visions and plans of power and freedom from subservience. 

Now he knew exactly what he had to do…he had to recruit an army of Familiar spirits, like the army that had inhabited the man named Legion in the earthly days of the Nazarene…except that this time, he would put them to good use…for even if Kola intended to break oath with him, it would be impossible with such an army dwelling in him…then he Janut could then concentrate solely on Muyiwa who appeared to be more malleable…after all, he had accepted the deal...Familiars would power the supposed ‘voice boxes’…then when he had completed his task of bringing in the son of a fallen angel into the world, he could dismiss them and then kill the man.

“This must stop now and this is the only way Kola, you need to be delivered,” said Wunmi firmly as she linked her hand in his as they walked out of the eatery.

Kola watched her as she drove off into the thick traffic…he wondered if she really believed that some sort of deliverance would deliver him out of the hands of the Translucent Man, especially after he Kola had what belonged to the Translucent Man in his head; and furthermore had actually been using his gifts.

“Is it Pastor Adewusi who will conduct the deliverance for me?” he asked, barely suppressing a giggle of hopelessness.

“Yes, why?” asked Wunmi, glancing briefly at her husband.

“Nothing, it seems to me that he was powerless to do anything at the hospital to help me when I was compelled to poison myself; neither was he able to save himself from certain death if you hadn’t been there to save him, from the story you told me. So how come you suddenly think he will be able to deliver me?” asked Kola sceptically.

Wunmi slowed down and switched over to the slow lane…”Kola, I didn’t save you or him, it was the Holy Spirit working through me. I did nothing. The Holy Spirit merely used me that day. It could have been Pastor Adewusi too,” she said, a little heatedly. It bothered her that her husband still appeared to be sceptical about his deliverance even after he had had a close encounter with death!

“Whatever, but I would have more faith if it were you conducting my deliverance,” said Kola.

“I don’t get it Kola, do you want me to turn back? Would you rather go back and face this Translucent Man again? What exactly do you want?” Wunmi had allowed her emotions to get the better of her.

Janut cackled to himself…he was in his true form…he preferred to inhabit Kola in his true form…the Translucent Man’s body even though it was non-material, yet it was tangible, it limited his functions. The Familiar that had recently arrived joined in the laughter until he encountered Janut’s stern look.

“You should watch and learn, not amuse yourself. I am trying to teach you how to use their thoughts and emotions against them!” said Janut, feigning annoyance.

“Yes my lord,” said the Familiar, immediately preoccupying himself with watching husband and wife…he could see that the wife had lost her temper…he could see that Janut had caused it by using her husband’s indifference against her as a weapon…all Janut seemed to be doing was whispering words into Kola’s mind, and they became his thoughts…which in turn became his words.

Adebajo watched the Sigidi (for that was the traditional name given to an effigy animated by a spirit or Familiar); walk away into the deadness of the night…except that it was no ordinary Familiar…it was the Principality known as Ogun the Yoruba god of war!

He was to be the big diversion in the ultimate plan of the Lord of Darkness…the ‘men of God’ thought they knew all the prophecies and how they would come to pass…they didn’t think that the Lord of Darkness knew them all even much better…it didn’t occur to them that he too had plans of his own…

Lucifer cackled through the lips of Adebajo…it had been necessary for him to possess him briefly for the Plan to work, for Ba’al (that was his rightful name), would never allow a mere mortal to command him, let alone send him on errands. He was a fallen angel...a high ranking Principality.

Adebajo had created the Sigidi…but it had been Lucifer that had sent it forth on its deadly errand, animated by Ba’al lord of death.

 

Once the lord of death had done his work, the Gateway would be open…at first it would be a small Gateway, but like all spiritual things…it was bound to grow in leaps and bounds…it was going to be totally unforeseen…a catastrophe that would draw back the Majesty’s plans.

For as it was in the days of Noah when fallen angels freely walked the earth and mated with mortal women of their choice…so it would be once again…only much sooner than mortals think…for a disruption in the plan of the Majesty would bring about a delay in his plans…this would in turn give him more freedom.

He soared out of Adebajo, leaving him to drop to the ground like a pile of wet clothes…till he was able to regain his senses again.

When Prince Adebajo was finally able to stand up, he stared blankly into space…he knew what was coming next…already the war had begun…a small spark can cause a mighty fire…it was a small spark that had ignited the fire…a fire that would not likely be put out soon.

They had sang songs often that boasted in the power of their God…forgetting their weaknesses, they had come to Services in buildings that had Air Conditioning that they could no longer live without. Weak over pampered spoilt little brats that would run at the sign of the smallest hardship or persecution…they had no endurance whatever!

So let them go through it if they can, muttered Adebajo to himself.

“Let us see how many of them can stand face to face with torture and death”.

It had been all over the news the following day, how an extremist Islamic cult had gone to three churches and razed them down to the ground, killing scores of people and maiming even more.

No one had thought it could happen in the West of the country…they had thought things like that only happened in the Northern parts…now they were face to face with reality.

Within the week, most churches stopped holding any Services…Christians stayed at home, frightened and very fearful…some even went to work wearing turbans! They said 'God had given them that wisdom'.

The streets were full of the Extremists, battling the combined forces of the army and the police…but no one knew where next they would attack.

All members of God’s Glory Church had been contacted, as many as were on the database of the church…there would be no Services until further notice. The Church had been locked up, but it was not just God's Glory Church...most churches had been locked up.

Ogun…or should we say Ba’al, had done his work well…there had been a blood bath, and now the spirit of fear and  intimidation would do the rest of the work. Christians loved their SELVES too much…it was the way they had been brought up and trained…how to be SELF-fulfilled…how to be SELF-confident…how to be successful in this material world.

So now it was time to test their faith…or lack of it…Adebajo smiled and walked back to his car. He had come alone to his shrine where he usually spent at least two nights a week.

Now all they had to do was wait…the smoke would soon flush them all out…all in good time…